Ch 3: The Blood of Divinities
Harada smirked to himself as the crimson-haired beauty stormed into his office. His personal bodyguards, Viktor and Luther stood poised to attack, but he calmly waved them off. He knew Rahne would not have the audacity to attack him in his office, with his position and sway over her.
"Harada, what in God's name was that?"
Harada chuckled. "That is the latest thorn in my side, Ms. Wallace. Tylon has a new toy."
"And ye want it, don't ye?"
"Of course."
"Curse ye, Harada Busuzima, Ah'm not one o' ye lapdogs!"
"Yes you are, Rahne Wallace. As is every single person in this city, whether they know it or not."
Rahne turned to walk away but looked back and shot one last glance at Harada Busuzima. "Ye are your father's son, Harada, but ye are not God."
Harada smirked as she walked away. No, he was not God. In fact, he was as far from divinity as one could get. A man not born of a woman, he was as unholy as Satan herself. In the twilight of his life, Harada's "father" Hajime came to the realization that he would die with no progeny, no heir to his brilliance. So he took a DNA sample of himself, and spliced it with that of another, a woman formerly under his care in the Old Tylon Corporation. From those scraps of gernetic material, Harada was born. Schooled in Genetics, bionics, politics, Harada became ever the genius his father was, no, even more so. He had a insatiable thirst for knowledge, and at age 12 graduated the world's top universities. He was the jewel of his father's eye. Until that day. With the Neo-ZLF founded and his political career on the rise, there was one man who could damage him. One man who held secrets that could ruin him. Certainly he'd never speak, but one could not be too careful. And so, on Harada Busuzima's 20th birthday, he was sad to hear of his father's passing, of an apparent suicide. Apparent, but false. He wished he could see the look on his old man's face as he fell to his death, but he'd get over it. Besides, then as know, he'd more important things to worry about.
"The woman, she could prove troublesome." A voice barely recognizable as human called from the shadowy corners of Harada's office.
"She always is. But she's useful."
"What of this Lisseth? Could she not be of more use than an insubordinate wench like her?"
"Dear Dr. Goldberg, you overstep your bounds. I know what I am doing, just like when I found you, restored you, and made you into what you are now. Ms. Wallace does not know it, but she is far more special than even she realizes."
Rahne arrived at her loft, and plopped down on her futon with a heavy sigh. Reiko entered from the bathroom; clad in a violet bathrobe Rahne had lent her. "I take it from your breathing patterns that your meeting with Harada did not produce the desired results?"
"Tryin ta get a straight answer from that man is like trying wina dog sled race with a team o' Chihuahuas."
"Heh..."
Rahne looked a little wide-eyed at her companion. "That's the first time I've heard ye laugh. Ye know, ye say ye know everything about me, but I know bupkiss about ye."
"Yes," Reiko sighed, "I suppose that is rather rude of me. Where should I start?"
Rahne smiled; finally she'd be able to learn of this fascinating creature before her. "At the beginning."
"Very well. My name is Reiko Alison Ohgami, eldest daughter of Kenji Ohgami and Uriko Nonomura-Ohgami." Rahne's ears perked at those names. There probably wasn't Zoanthrope alive who didn't know those names. The Nonomura- Ohgami Foundation has done more for Zoanthrope rights in the past 20 years than any other organization prior. "I was born with Stargardt disease. By the age of 5 I was legally blind, and by 7 my vision was completely gone."
"Ach, I'm sorry..."
"Don't be. It's not as bad as you may think. I can hear and smell so well that I have no trouble getting around. 'Turn your weakness into your strength,' my father would say. I became to the Foundation what my father once was to the ZLF. A warrior, draped in darkness, an enforcer, but this time one for the good of human and Zoanthrope alike."
"Wow. Yu're so strong. Ah don't know if Ah could..."
"Of course you could, Rahne. As I said before, I know all about you. "
"What exactly do ye know?"
"I know that the name Rahne Wallace is not the one you were born with. I know how you turned up in New York, with no memory as to who you were, or where you came from. I know how you were raised by an international spy, Jenny Burtory."
"Jenny..." that name stuck in Rahne's mind, a searing memory of happier times long since past.
"I know how you followed in her footsteps, becoming a mercenary who'd take the highest paying contracts one day, and the lowest the next. I know how all your missions were to benefit Zoanthrope/Human relations. I also know about the night of January 15, 2051." Rahne's eyes widened. Images flashed in her head as Reiko sat closely besides her, taking her hand. "You had accepted an assignment, rather uncharacteristically, from Harada Busuzima. He had just split from Tylon Corporation, and wanted you to destroy his own research logs on something called the Divinity Project. You went, and did your job, but someone stood in your way, your own surrogate mother. I know that Jenny Burtory never made it out of that laboratory, and I know that you've blamed yourself all this time."
"I know..." Rahne's voice trailed off and tears filled her eyes, "It's not truly my fault that Jenny died. But the hurt, its still there..."
"I know it's hard. I lost a brother to Tylon." Reiko drew close," but I had the strength of my family to rest upon."
"Maybe that's the problem, Ah don't..."
"You have me..." Reiko's lips gently brushed against Rahne's. For a moment, Rahne wanted to give in, but she abruptly pulled away.
"Ah... ah'm sorry, ah can't..."
"I understand," Reiko sighed as Rahne stood up.
"Its not that, its just..." Rahne took a deep sigh, "You can have me bed tonight." She looked back and smirked. "And don't ye dare try arguing with a Scotswoman."
"Ok. Good night, Rahne, and pleasant dreams." Reiko kissed Rahne on the forehead, and walked into Rahne's bedroom. Rahne collapsed on the futon and again tears filled her eyes.
"Ah want to, but ah can't. She knows most everything about me, but not all. Dear Lordy, how can I tell her what really happened in that lab, about the Divinity Project? How can I tell her what Harada knows? That their blood runs in me veins? Ah'm no different from Lisseth herself... curse ye Harada, curse ye for doin this tah me!"
Harada smirked to himself as the crimson-haired beauty stormed into his office. His personal bodyguards, Viktor and Luther stood poised to attack, but he calmly waved them off. He knew Rahne would not have the audacity to attack him in his office, with his position and sway over her.
"Harada, what in God's name was that?"
Harada chuckled. "That is the latest thorn in my side, Ms. Wallace. Tylon has a new toy."
"And ye want it, don't ye?"
"Of course."
"Curse ye, Harada Busuzima, Ah'm not one o' ye lapdogs!"
"Yes you are, Rahne Wallace. As is every single person in this city, whether they know it or not."
Rahne turned to walk away but looked back and shot one last glance at Harada Busuzima. "Ye are your father's son, Harada, but ye are not God."
Harada smirked as she walked away. No, he was not God. In fact, he was as far from divinity as one could get. A man not born of a woman, he was as unholy as Satan herself. In the twilight of his life, Harada's "father" Hajime came to the realization that he would die with no progeny, no heir to his brilliance. So he took a DNA sample of himself, and spliced it with that of another, a woman formerly under his care in the Old Tylon Corporation. From those scraps of gernetic material, Harada was born. Schooled in Genetics, bionics, politics, Harada became ever the genius his father was, no, even more so. He had a insatiable thirst for knowledge, and at age 12 graduated the world's top universities. He was the jewel of his father's eye. Until that day. With the Neo-ZLF founded and his political career on the rise, there was one man who could damage him. One man who held secrets that could ruin him. Certainly he'd never speak, but one could not be too careful. And so, on Harada Busuzima's 20th birthday, he was sad to hear of his father's passing, of an apparent suicide. Apparent, but false. He wished he could see the look on his old man's face as he fell to his death, but he'd get over it. Besides, then as know, he'd more important things to worry about.
"The woman, she could prove troublesome." A voice barely recognizable as human called from the shadowy corners of Harada's office.
"She always is. But she's useful."
"What of this Lisseth? Could she not be of more use than an insubordinate wench like her?"
"Dear Dr. Goldberg, you overstep your bounds. I know what I am doing, just like when I found you, restored you, and made you into what you are now. Ms. Wallace does not know it, but she is far more special than even she realizes."
Rahne arrived at her loft, and plopped down on her futon with a heavy sigh. Reiko entered from the bathroom; clad in a violet bathrobe Rahne had lent her. "I take it from your breathing patterns that your meeting with Harada did not produce the desired results?"
"Tryin ta get a straight answer from that man is like trying wina dog sled race with a team o' Chihuahuas."
"Heh..."
Rahne looked a little wide-eyed at her companion. "That's the first time I've heard ye laugh. Ye know, ye say ye know everything about me, but I know bupkiss about ye."
"Yes," Reiko sighed, "I suppose that is rather rude of me. Where should I start?"
Rahne smiled; finally she'd be able to learn of this fascinating creature before her. "At the beginning."
"Very well. My name is Reiko Alison Ohgami, eldest daughter of Kenji Ohgami and Uriko Nonomura-Ohgami." Rahne's ears perked at those names. There probably wasn't Zoanthrope alive who didn't know those names. The Nonomura- Ohgami Foundation has done more for Zoanthrope rights in the past 20 years than any other organization prior. "I was born with Stargardt disease. By the age of 5 I was legally blind, and by 7 my vision was completely gone."
"Ach, I'm sorry..."
"Don't be. It's not as bad as you may think. I can hear and smell so well that I have no trouble getting around. 'Turn your weakness into your strength,' my father would say. I became to the Foundation what my father once was to the ZLF. A warrior, draped in darkness, an enforcer, but this time one for the good of human and Zoanthrope alike."
"Wow. Yu're so strong. Ah don't know if Ah could..."
"Of course you could, Rahne. As I said before, I know all about you. "
"What exactly do ye know?"
"I know that the name Rahne Wallace is not the one you were born with. I know how you turned up in New York, with no memory as to who you were, or where you came from. I know how you were raised by an international spy, Jenny Burtory."
"Jenny..." that name stuck in Rahne's mind, a searing memory of happier times long since past.
"I know how you followed in her footsteps, becoming a mercenary who'd take the highest paying contracts one day, and the lowest the next. I know how all your missions were to benefit Zoanthrope/Human relations. I also know about the night of January 15, 2051." Rahne's eyes widened. Images flashed in her head as Reiko sat closely besides her, taking her hand. "You had accepted an assignment, rather uncharacteristically, from Harada Busuzima. He had just split from Tylon Corporation, and wanted you to destroy his own research logs on something called the Divinity Project. You went, and did your job, but someone stood in your way, your own surrogate mother. I know that Jenny Burtory never made it out of that laboratory, and I know that you've blamed yourself all this time."
"I know..." Rahne's voice trailed off and tears filled her eyes, "It's not truly my fault that Jenny died. But the hurt, its still there..."
"I know it's hard. I lost a brother to Tylon." Reiko drew close," but I had the strength of my family to rest upon."
"Maybe that's the problem, Ah don't..."
"You have me..." Reiko's lips gently brushed against Rahne's. For a moment, Rahne wanted to give in, but she abruptly pulled away.
"Ah... ah'm sorry, ah can't..."
"I understand," Reiko sighed as Rahne stood up.
"Its not that, its just..." Rahne took a deep sigh, "You can have me bed tonight." She looked back and smirked. "And don't ye dare try arguing with a Scotswoman."
"Ok. Good night, Rahne, and pleasant dreams." Reiko kissed Rahne on the forehead, and walked into Rahne's bedroom. Rahne collapsed on the futon and again tears filled her eyes.
"Ah want to, but ah can't. She knows most everything about me, but not all. Dear Lordy, how can I tell her what really happened in that lab, about the Divinity Project? How can I tell her what Harada knows? That their blood runs in me veins? Ah'm no different from Lisseth herself... curse ye Harada, curse ye for doin this tah me!"