After several hours of restless sleep, Ran jolted awake. That dream
again.... Why was it returning now? He hadn't had that dream since...
since before Weiss. He shook his head. No premonitions. No bad omens.
What was left of Weiss would take care of the traitor... and his allies.
Ran blinked in the darkness. He hated having to call Bombay -- ne, Omi --
a traitor. But he had talked to Manx. He knew what needed to be done.
Ran adjusted the way he was sitting. He was stiff. Sleeping upright would do that for you. His injured leg ached slightly, and Ran knew that although the bandaging job Chelsea did was more than adaquite, he needed to get to a hospital and get stitches. He sighed. With a gasp of breath, he pulled his legs into his body and tossed off the blankets. Ran put his hand down for balance and set it on the blade of his katana. Now he remembered. He dropped it there. Why had he abandoned his blade during a fight? His finger crept along the blade until it hit something cold. The crossbow bolt. Ran slid both weapons away and set his hand on flat ground. He painfully pushed himself to standing, using the wall to keep him upright. He stretched his hand along the wall until he found the lightswitch. After flipping it, Ran took a second or two to blink in the new light.
It was then he got a good look around the shop. There was blood all over everything, most drying into brown puddles on the floor and wall. There were splatters reaching up the cabinets and splashes across the glass. Ran sighed heavily. He tried his leg. Liquid pain ran up from the wounds, and blood pressed the bandage, but he could stand. "Small favors..." he mumbled to himself.
For the next few hours, ran limped around painfully, cleaning up all the blood he could see. He'd had to stop several times to rest. "At least the flowers made it out mostly unscathed." Ran pulled out a single white rose from the bunch, stripes stained with red blood. It had to have been Omi's... Bombay's. He stared at it for a handful of minutes. Tossing it over to where he left his sword, he continued his cleaning.
Light was slowly growing in the east as Ran was finishing. He dumped the last of countless buckets of red water down the drain. Looking around, the Koneko was looking mostly back to normal. There wasn't much he could do about the punchures in the floor and the counters. Nothing he could do for the missed gunshots in the walls.... Ran sighed. He rinsed his blood- soaked shirt as best he could in the sink then wrung it out and drapped it over his shoulder. He glanced at the clock. "Running out of time."
Half an hour later, Ran limped back down the stairs quietly, trying not to wake either Ken or Chelsea. He was wearing clean clothes, and his leg wounds had been rebandaged. The limp was getting less painful, but every now and then, a shot of pain lept under his skin. The katana and bolt had been cleaned and hidden under Ran's black trenchcoat where it hung near the back door. The keys, he had in his pocket.
Crack of dawn, there came an unsure knock on the metal gate. Ran limped over and unlocked and opened it. A man in a plain grey shirt and a pair of jeans stood looking back nervously. "Um... I was told you needed the locks changed?" Ran nodded and let him inside.
As he worked, the man tried to make conversation with Ran. "So... why does a flowershop need its locks changed at this early in the morning?"
Ran narrowed his eyes, "We had a rather serious break-in." The man gulped under Ran's gaze and continued the work in silence.
Less than half an hour later, the outside doors had a full set of new locks, and the basement had a different lock with only one set of keys. The man had looked down into the pitch-black of the basement, seeing nothing. "What do you keep down there?" he asked timidly.
"Only the rarest breeds." Ran paid the man and tipped him well for coming out so early. The man left in a hurry, unnerved by the red-headed florist. Won't /he/ have some stories to tell to his friends?
On the counter, Ran set out an envelope addressed to Ken. Inside were two new sets of keys (for him and Youji), a wad of cash, and a brief letter explaining that Ran was going out to follow a lead. A note laid on top of the envelope was for Chelsea, asking her to use the money to get Ken medical attention if he needed it. Behind the counter, Ran placed a bottle from Youji's stash.
There was another knock at the gate. Ran opened it to see a young woman with a small flowerpot in her hands. "I'm from the other flowershop a few blocks from here. I was told that a customer requested these?" Ran nodded and took the pot from her. The pot held dozens of tiny yellow and blue blossoms. Two varieties of the same plant grown together. The girl stepped into the Koneko as Ran set the pot over near the register. He put a note "Sold" written in red on the pot.
He turned to the girl, "And we were supposed to trade you for an arrangement of irises?" The girl nodded enthusuastically, staring at Ran. He quickly and neatly put the arrangement together and handed it to the girl. She blushed, thanked Ran kindly, and left.
Ran looked around and nodded. "One more thing...." He headed down to the basement.
Fifteen minutes later found Ran in his car, heading away from the Koneko. He had hidden in his backseat his coat and sword, the crossbow bolt, and Omi's laptop. A cellphone was charging in the front. There was a private hospital of sorts nearby. One that didn't ask too many questions. He'd stop there first, and then... and then....
Ran adjusted the way he was sitting. He was stiff. Sleeping upright would do that for you. His injured leg ached slightly, and Ran knew that although the bandaging job Chelsea did was more than adaquite, he needed to get to a hospital and get stitches. He sighed. With a gasp of breath, he pulled his legs into his body and tossed off the blankets. Ran put his hand down for balance and set it on the blade of his katana. Now he remembered. He dropped it there. Why had he abandoned his blade during a fight? His finger crept along the blade until it hit something cold. The crossbow bolt. Ran slid both weapons away and set his hand on flat ground. He painfully pushed himself to standing, using the wall to keep him upright. He stretched his hand along the wall until he found the lightswitch. After flipping it, Ran took a second or two to blink in the new light.
It was then he got a good look around the shop. There was blood all over everything, most drying into brown puddles on the floor and wall. There were splatters reaching up the cabinets and splashes across the glass. Ran sighed heavily. He tried his leg. Liquid pain ran up from the wounds, and blood pressed the bandage, but he could stand. "Small favors..." he mumbled to himself.
For the next few hours, ran limped around painfully, cleaning up all the blood he could see. He'd had to stop several times to rest. "At least the flowers made it out mostly unscathed." Ran pulled out a single white rose from the bunch, stripes stained with red blood. It had to have been Omi's... Bombay's. He stared at it for a handful of minutes. Tossing it over to where he left his sword, he continued his cleaning.
Light was slowly growing in the east as Ran was finishing. He dumped the last of countless buckets of red water down the drain. Looking around, the Koneko was looking mostly back to normal. There wasn't much he could do about the punchures in the floor and the counters. Nothing he could do for the missed gunshots in the walls.... Ran sighed. He rinsed his blood- soaked shirt as best he could in the sink then wrung it out and drapped it over his shoulder. He glanced at the clock. "Running out of time."
Half an hour later, Ran limped back down the stairs quietly, trying not to wake either Ken or Chelsea. He was wearing clean clothes, and his leg wounds had been rebandaged. The limp was getting less painful, but every now and then, a shot of pain lept under his skin. The katana and bolt had been cleaned and hidden under Ran's black trenchcoat where it hung near the back door. The keys, he had in his pocket.
Crack of dawn, there came an unsure knock on the metal gate. Ran limped over and unlocked and opened it. A man in a plain grey shirt and a pair of jeans stood looking back nervously. "Um... I was told you needed the locks changed?" Ran nodded and let him inside.
As he worked, the man tried to make conversation with Ran. "So... why does a flowershop need its locks changed at this early in the morning?"
Ran narrowed his eyes, "We had a rather serious break-in." The man gulped under Ran's gaze and continued the work in silence.
Less than half an hour later, the outside doors had a full set of new locks, and the basement had a different lock with only one set of keys. The man had looked down into the pitch-black of the basement, seeing nothing. "What do you keep down there?" he asked timidly.
"Only the rarest breeds." Ran paid the man and tipped him well for coming out so early. The man left in a hurry, unnerved by the red-headed florist. Won't /he/ have some stories to tell to his friends?
On the counter, Ran set out an envelope addressed to Ken. Inside were two new sets of keys (for him and Youji), a wad of cash, and a brief letter explaining that Ran was going out to follow a lead. A note laid on top of the envelope was for Chelsea, asking her to use the money to get Ken medical attention if he needed it. Behind the counter, Ran placed a bottle from Youji's stash.
There was another knock at the gate. Ran opened it to see a young woman with a small flowerpot in her hands. "I'm from the other flowershop a few blocks from here. I was told that a customer requested these?" Ran nodded and took the pot from her. The pot held dozens of tiny yellow and blue blossoms. Two varieties of the same plant grown together. The girl stepped into the Koneko as Ran set the pot over near the register. He put a note "Sold" written in red on the pot.
He turned to the girl, "And we were supposed to trade you for an arrangement of irises?" The girl nodded enthusuastically, staring at Ran. He quickly and neatly put the arrangement together and handed it to the girl. She blushed, thanked Ran kindly, and left.
Ran looked around and nodded. "One more thing...." He headed down to the basement.
Fifteen minutes later found Ran in his car, heading away from the Koneko. He had hidden in his backseat his coat and sword, the crossbow bolt, and Omi's laptop. A cellphone was charging in the front. There was a private hospital of sorts nearby. One that didn't ask too many questions. He'd stop there first, and then... and then....