Cimmerian
Chapter Two
-Recounting-
"She's got this body like bam, and these eyes like wow, and her voice is just…ah." Kai sighed, smiling slightly at his friend, whom he was having breakfast with. "I'm telling you Hideaki, despite the fact that she's a contractor, she's so lively, in such a subtle way."
"Sounds exciting." The brunette replied dully as he sipped his morning noodles.
Kai nodded in agreement, taking a drink of his coffee. "I want you to keep an eye out for her though, cause' I have a feeling she'll come back to try and finish me off." he smirked. "Her name is Izayoi, and she controls sand. From what I could gather, her contract involves kissing a man. So don't let her kiss you, cause' she's mine." He pointed a fork at his friend, before stabbing it into the food he was eating and taking a bite.
Hideaki looked up at the white haired man with dead fuchsia eyes. "Then she will die…" he said simply. "If the contract is not complete…"
He rolled his eyes. "Oh fine, but show some restraint. You'll just have to find your own woman."
"What for…?" Hideaki wondered, before looking off as the bell to the café rang. "Watch out…" he warned as an auburn haired woman walked in, looking around.
Kai glanced over and held in a sigh. It was Sabaku no Ami, Chief of Police here in Tokyo. He knew for a fact she was young to be in her position, as they were the same age, but that only seemed to make her more determined to do her job. And it consisted of crimes related to Contractors. "We'll be fine…or not." He muttered, seeing her teal gaze land on them.
She walked over with purposeful strides, looking every bit of the professional she was in her grey pantsuit. Her long auburn locks were pulled back into a tight ponytail, making her look harsh and serious. She stopped next to their table, standing between the two men. "Hello, I'm Chief Sabaku of Sector Four, and I would like to ask you a few questions." She said to Kai, not even holding out her hand, and completely ignoring Hideaki.
"Of course Chief, I'd be glad to assist you." the white haired man said with an easy smile, though it didn't seem to have an effect on her.
"Last night there was a robbery at the Haburi Hotel, and witnesses say they saw a man of your description leap from the building." The chief said. "I just need to know your whereabouts from eleven to twelve."
Kai smiled and leaned back in his chair, looking quite convincing. "I was hanging out with Hideaki here." He said, pointing to his friend. "We were at a karaoke bar over near the red lights district."
Ami arched a brow, her gaze sliding over to the brunette. "Is this true?" she asked him.
Hideaki had to repress a sigh. "Yes…I love karaoke." He said, staring forward with a bored expression.
"Clearly." She said, returning her attention so Kai and pulling out a business card. "I'm going to check up on your alibi, so here's my information in case you hear anything. Just give me a call."
"Will do." Kai said, taking the card from her.
Ami nodded to them, before turning and walking out of the café. Kai looked over her card and chuckled. "You'd think she was a Contractor she's so stiff." He said, setting her card on the table.
Hideaki glanced down at it, reading over her name. "I await the day I get orders to kill her." He said, meeting Kai's gaze once more. "She's too…driven."
"I heard they were gonna try and get her to join us." Kai said, finishing off his drink. "She'd be useful in hunting down the others, and she does have access to the National Astronomical Observatory."
"She is the most irrational human I've ever heard of. How can you go after contractors, yet I heard from an inside source she's actually related to some." He informed Kai. "In fact, I believe her father is one."
He shrugged. "Maybe she's jealous that she didn't become one, I dunno. I doubt her reasoning would make sense to you anyways. It's not like you have the emotional capacity of a human, so of course she would seem irrational." The white haired man said. "Besides, women aren't supposed to make sense to men, that's just how it works. And that's why you need to start dating. I think it would help you understand the world and how it works a lot better if you worked on your interaction skills. I mean, you can't lie worth a damn."
"It seems pointless to lie when it would only fuel her more." Hideaki rolled his eyes and stood. "I will see you at work tomorrow. Try not to talk about your unrequited love. It's quite irritating." He said, before placing some money down on the table and walking out of the restaurant. He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked leisurely down the street. He wasn't really paying attention, until he slowed to a stop, and his eyes locked with suspicious teal.
Ami was leaning against a pot a ways down from where he was going, clearly watching him. He sighed and continued forward, stopping once he was before her. "I assume you have more questions."
"I always have questions." She quipped, straightening so that he didn't seem so much taller than her. "You shouldn't lie for your friend. It will only cause you to become dragged into his mistakes. If he's the one who broke into the Haburi I want to know."
Hideaki actually smirked. "Your concern is flattering, but you already know the culprit." He said, enjoying her confusion. "In fact, you are closely affiliated with her. The name Uchiha Izayoi ring any bells for you?" he wondered.
Ami stared at him in surprise, before it was quickly wiped from her features and she glared at him. "Any other leads for my case are none of your business. The fact of the matter is that there was more than one thief, and I believe your friend to be one of them. So why don't you do us both a favor and give him up."
Hideaki leaned forward, resting his hand on the post behind her so their faces were closer. "Trust me. If he did it and I found it threatening to me, I would gladly give him up. But he didn't do it. And I'm all about self-preservation…unlike your cousin." He whispered the last part. "You make no sense to me human." The brunette chuckled, pulling away from her and walking off.
Ami stared after him in slight shock, and when he rounded the corner, she turned and headed back to her car. There was no mistaking it, that man had to be a Contractor. And if he was a contractor, then his partner was undoubtedly the man she was looking for. So, she pulled out her phone and pressed speed dial, waiting until her cousin answered on the other end. "Iza, its Ami. We need to talk."
Izayoi stared forward as she waited for her cousin. It was odd that as a contractor, her cousin was the police chief. Only one of life's many ironies she supposed. She wondered for a moment what it was the auburn haired woman wanted. She glanced off when Ami came into her view and joined her at the table of the nice restaurant they'd picked. "Ami." Izayoi nodded.
"Izayoi." Ami replied, giving the waiter her drink order before picking up the menu. She skimmed over it, and once she'd picked what she wanted to eat she set it down and met her cousin's jade gaze. "I'm just going to get to the point of my call." She said. "I know that it was you who broke into the Haburi last night, and I know that you weren't alone. Now, I don't want you to say anything confirming my 'suspicions'," she made air quotes, "because then I'd be obligated to arrest you. All I want to know is what happened concerning the other thief. I'm assuming they weren't a partner in crime."
The dark haired woman didn't even appear surprised with her cousin's knowledge, but Ami knew that didn't mean she wasn't. Contractors were emotionless, at least most of the time they were. "I think it would be best Ami…if you didn't go sniffing around this one. You might end up getting hurt."
Ami smirked. "You know I can't do that Iza, it's my job." She said, before becoming serious once more. "Look, I have a lead concerning who they were, but it's thin, and their alibi actually proved to be true." She pulled out a file from her purse and slid it over to her cousin, waiting to continue once it was opened. "His name is-"
"Ryū Kai." Izayoi interrupted, reading over the information.
"Yes." She nodded. "Not much is known about him or his work, as far as I can tell he does a lot of odd jobs around the city. But this is the one I want you to look out for." She pulled out another folder and handed it to her. "His name is Akechi Hideaki. He's one of the few people closely linked to Kai, and while we know virtually nothing about him, I suspect he is a Contractor."
Izayoi looked back up at her cousin, before her gaze slowly shifted to the side. "Is he now." she wondered, her gaze still off. "And…he's the one who told you about me…correct?"
Ami nodded, growing confused at the other woman's behavior. "Yes. Why?" she asked, about to turn around and see what caught her cousin's attention, but Izayoi stopped her.
"Don't turn around." She ordered, jade meeting with teal. "He used you to find me. How foolish could you be." Izayoi glared, taking her hands from the table and placing them in her lap. Because right outside the window was the very man in the file, and the white haired annoyance with him, both pretending to read the paper on the street.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry Iza." Ami said, looking apologetic. "I wasn't thinking, I just wanted you to be warned about him…" she said, just as their drinks were dropped off. "What exactly was it that you stole from the Qing Tang Long Gang anyways? They told me it was a virus, but I know it had to be more to catch your interest."
Izayoi stood, grabbing Ami's wrist and pulling her up with her as they went to the bathroom while Kai and Hideaki were being spoken to by a salesman. When they were in the ladies' room, Izayoi locked the door and looked around. "I told you to just stay out of it. But it's an experimental drug that could get rid of a contractor's abilities."
"But that's good." Ami tried to seem hopeful.
"So far it only causes their deaths."
She looked off. "Oh…well I can probably get you out the back if you want to sneak off." she said, retuning her gaze to her cousin. "And I'll stay to take care of the idiots."
"He's going to kill you too Ami, don't you understand. You obviously know too much already." Izayoi glared, walking over to the window and sliding it open. It was just big enough for them to barely get through. "So come on."
Ami sighed, but followed after the ebony haired woman. Once they were on the ground in the alley, they began to make their way away from the diner. "I think it's best if we split up." Ami said when they were at a safe distance. "I still have work to do at the office anyways."
"Well now." Someone said, making the girls stop. Hideaki was ahead of them, a dark smirk on his face. "Looks like I was right about you leading us to the woman. I just didn't know you were that easily followed."
Izayoi's glare focused on Hideaki, before she glanced back and saw Kai behind them a ways. "We were just gonna follow you…but this opportunity was such a rare find." The white haired man smirked. "And Hideaki's been dying to get you out of the way." he said, his stormy gaze on Ami.
She glared at him. "Why? If you two had just left everything alone, I might have closed the case." She lied. Because there was no way she would have ever dropped it, not after what the brunette had said to her earlier that morning.
Hideaki smirked. "Don't pretend pretty little captain."
"Killing us won't get you the vial. So this was pointless." Izayoi snapped.
Kai chuckled. "We're not going to kill you Izayoi." He said, slowly moving towards her. "We need you for interrogation. It's your nosy cousin that we came to get rid of."
Ami snorted, slowly reaching for the gun that was strapped to her waist. She gasped as suddenly a small wire wrapped around her wrist, and she looked up in time to see it was connected to some kind of weapon Kai was holding. He smirked, yanking on the wire and bringing her into a kneeling position. "Ah, ah, ah." He wagged a finger, earning another glare.
Izayoi sighed, looking back at Hideaki and then Kai. She flipped out a knife and cut the wire, before her sand shot out at both of them. Hideaki dodged to the side while Kai shot out a wire and avoided the mass. The dark haired woman grabbed her cousin and the two shot up towards the roof, where they landed. "Come on!" she ordered, running to the edge and forming a bridge with her sand.
Ami picked up her pace and ran alongside her cousin, glancing back and seeing that somehow Hideaki was just behind them on the roof. "Run faster Iza!" she said, drawing her gun and firing a few times on the brunette to try and get him to hesitate in his pursuit.
Izayoi stopped, facing Hideaki. "Keep going Ami! Don't stop!" she yelled, heading straight for Hideaki. The brunette slid to a stop as the two entered hand to hand combat. Izayoi twisted around and pushed him back, before pressing her lips against his in a kiss. Hideaki's eyes widened slightly, but he pulled back and moved his hands, and suddenly trees grew out from the roof and surged at her.
She dodged around, flipping out of the way and throwing a few hidden knives at Hideaki. A branch reached out and blocked the projectiles. Hideaki frowned, lifting his hand and biting one of his nails. "Stupid woman." He growled.
Kai ran past the brunette suddenly, flipping over the branches and throwing a knife to intercept Izayoi's attack. "I just got a call from HQ!" he shouted, pulling out another small sword-like weapon. "They want us to leave the chief alone and focus on bringing in Izayoi."
"Then let's get her. We can use the ME even on her corpse." He ordered, jumping over the branch as well and going after the dark haired woman. Izayoi moved out of the way for both their attacks. Her sand shot out at both of them, breaking into more strands and twirling around in attempts to grab them and rip them apart.
They avoided her attacks, both moving in to corner her. Just as they did, a shot was fired and Kai let out a sound of pain, halting in his motions and clutching his arm. He glared past the ebony haired woman. "Run Iza! Now!" Ami shouted from the roof she had run to. She fired her gun once more, the bullet breaking through a branch of wood that Hideaki had aimed at her cousin.
The dark haired woman turned around and ran forward, about to jump to the other roof when she jerked back. Hideaki had grabbed onto her hair and pulled her against him. Tears swelled in her eyes as she tried to break from his grip. Hideaki glared past her, moving his free hand towards Ami. A giant branch shot out, about to slam into her when they all heard a loud snap and the wood suddenly burst into flames.
Hideaki appeared confused, until a dark haired man landed in front of Ami. He straightened, one of his hands in his pocket as he looked over at the two. He had black hair that spiked out and familiar jade depths. He was dressed in all black, with a sword strapped to his side. "Now, now. I really think you should let go of my sister. Before something really bad happens."
"Nori!" Ami let out a relieved breath, knowing that now that her cousin was here they were saved. Because if anyone could get them out of this situation, it was him.
Kai glared at the ebony haired man, tightening the strip of cloth around his arm to stop his blood flow. "Who the fuck are you?" he asked.
"We're triplets." Someone said from behind Kai, and the white haired man only narrowly avoided a slash from an almost identical man as the first. "And you've got your hands on our sister." He hissed, stretching out his hand and shooting out lightning straight at Kai.
He rolled to the side, looking over at his partner. "Let her go Hideaki, we're outnumbered." He said.
"You don't have to tell me that." The brunette snapped, glaring down at Izayoi before releasing her. She ran forward once more and jumped onto her sand and joined her brother and cousin, along with her other triplet. When they were all safely on the other roof, Izayoi took her brother's face and kissed him for her payment.
The lightning user pulled out a book and glanced down at it as he began reading. "Stay away from us." He warned.
"This isn't over." Kai said, pulling something out of his pocket and slamming it to the ground. Smoke filled the air then, and when it cleared, the two men were gone.
Ami let out a sigh, looking around the area before putting her gun away. "I'm so sorry Iza. This is all my fault."
"It's alright." Izayoi sighed, rubbing her head from the sore roots. "That douche touched my hair." She grumbled, looking back at her brothers. "Thank you Kanamé. Noriaki." She smiled.
The elder triplet nodded, closing his book. "What were you two doing anyways?"
"I'm investigating the robbery on the Haburi." Ami said. "That white haired man, Ryū Kai, was the other one that was there, and so I was warning Iza about them. Mostly the brunette, since he's a Contractor, and he sort of…threatened Izayoi when I was questioning them about their involvement." She explained. "But they followed me to the restaurant, and wanted to kill me and take Izayoi to their base for questioning, and then to use an ME on her."
"How could you let yourself be followed?" Noriaki huffed. "Not to mention you shouldn't be getting involved with dangerous things Ami. You know we can't be following you around all the time."
She rolled her eyes. "Getting involved in dangerous things is my job Nori. And I never asked for any of you to follow me around, so don't act like it's such an inconvenience. I can take care of myself." She said, crossing her arms.
Kanamé arched a curious brow, smiling kindly. "Can you now, dear cousin?"
"Now, now." Noriaki waved off the matter, giving his cousin a small smirk. "Ami, would you kindly help me with my payment once more?"
Ami huffed, a slight blush coming to her cheeks. "Nori, I told you it was just going to be that one time. It's not right for family to do that, even if it's for your payment." she said in a hushed tone, as if anyone would overhear them.
"Oh come on." Noriaki pouted, crossing his arms. "It's totally fine. It's just so I don't die, and you even liked it last time."
Kanamé arched a curious brow. "Then how come you won't ever ask Izayoi?"
The younger man gasped, a look of disgust coming to his face. "As beautiful as Iza is Namé, that's my sister and completely boorish and disgusting. Ami and I are only kind of related." He tried to explain, though there was a small blush on Izayoi's cheeks now.
"Oh my God, you are so stupid." The auburn haired woman said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm going back to the office. After all of this, I have work to do." She waved, heading over to the fire escape. "Just go find yourself a hooker Nori. Thanks for your help." She told the trio, making her way down the side of the building.
Noriaki growled lowly, before looking to his elder brother. "Take her home." He ordered, before heading off as well.
Izayoi sighed and took her brother's hand. "Come on, we need to talk to dad." She said. He nodded, and the two took off together.