Chapter 8
Disclaimer haiku:
It's really not mine
Believe me when I say this;
Sunrise does not share.
The sight of two well-dressed young ladies was an odd one in the farmer's market area of the park. It was hardly a proper place for them to be walking. The ground was littered with unspeakable debris, the air was filled with the shouts of grocers extolling wilting produce, and the breeze was heavy with the metallic tang of animal blood. If the bystanders – mainly sailors on shore leave - did stare at the two strolling figures, then those figures had obviously become accustomed enough to ignore it. Certainly, neither Shizuru nor Natsuki complained about the respectful and slightly puzzled space that automatically opened for them as they moved through the crowd.
The visit of Shizuru's relatives had very badly annoyed Natsuki, and out of pure pique, she had spent the rest of the afternoon scouring the house for hidden riches. Shizuru had seemed less interested in helping with the search than simply watching her guest and occasionally preventing structural damage. When Natsuki finally gave up in exasperation, tired and dusty, Shizuru had the tea already made.
The night passed once again in comfortable camaraderie before the glowing fire.
Today, Natsuki walked with a cheerful spring in her step, despite carrying all the purchases. The exercise had brought a warm flush to her cheek - and the pleasant company a ready smile to her lips. Dressed in her own clothes, with a newly acquired hat atop her head, she looked the very picture of health. Shizuru glided along beside her, gracefully unencumbered, halting occasionally to inspect a choice piece of fruit or the quality of some new bag of flour. All in all, it was a beautiful winter's day, and the perfect opportunity to forget the unsettling events of the past several nights.
Unfortunately, those events would not forget them.
The first hint that something was wrong was an extremely large man stepping out from behind a stall. Another man, slender and missing most of his teeth, moved to flank the women from the other side. The faint flash of a knife told Natsuki that this was not a game; these gentlemen were planning efficient violence. It seemed that both she and Shizuru were the targets.
Green eyes narrowed. The purchases were carefully placed onto a nearby booth, and Shizuru equally as gently pushed out of the way. The older woman looked frankly astonished, at least until the first man attacked.
There was no warning; just the heavy rush of a big man equipped with the knowledge that he outweighed his opponent by at least seventy pounds. Natsuki didn't even bother arguing; she sidestepped neatly, then immediately launched herself at skinny-and-toothless. Screams and yells rose from the people around her; mixing with the crashing of tipped stalls, the confusion breeding chaos.
Natsuki heard a muffled cry behind her, but apart from a brief flash of fear, she could spare her companion no thought. The toothless man had dashed forward, and was now circling slowly, his knees bent and his centre properly grounded. The knife was held in a fist hidden somewhat by a ragged sleeve. This man was clearly more dangerous than the heavy thug, reliant as he appeared on skill rather than brute power.
Natsuki circled with him, nimbly avoiding the chaos, silently watching her opponent. Skinny did likewise. Both watched and waited for that critical first opening.
Suddenly there was another cry of pain, slightly off to her left, and it wasn't female. Quick thudding sounds came – wet, and heavy, like meat being struck on a butchers block. The thin man took his eyes off Natsuki for a brief, flashing instant, his eyes widening in surprise, and that was all it took. Natsuki lunged forward, inside the reach of his arms, hammering the palm of her hand into his nose. As Skinny staggered back, Natsuki pummelled his chest, his face, anything she could reach, trying to keep him off-balance and the knife out of play. Even so, things were not looking good. Toothless was tough, and it was clear he wouldn't stay on the defensive for long… until (as so often happens) luck decided the outcome. Skinny stepped back one step too far. His leather shoes landed on something both unspeakable and slippery, sending him off-balance. Natsuki drove forward in triumph, seizing the opportunity - a slashing kick into his shin took the legs right out from under him. As he fell to the ground, he flung out a desperate hand - the knife slipped from it to bounce harmlessly out of reach.
Suddenly, two policemen appeared; they swarmed over the toothless man, their heavy boots beating him into submission. Natsuki staggered back before turning. Her heart was racing, and her mind detached itself from all concerns but one. Shizuru. The sounds of the city faded into a high-pitched ringing, dreamlike time flashed past her, and her vision narrowed down to her immediate front.
Shizuru was standing next to a moustachioed Bobby, her face expressionless. A tall awning-pole was held loosely in her hands. Another constable was dragging away the unconscious body of the large man, who looked as if he had lost an argument with a windmill.
Natsuki nodded to herself, her mind still detached, strangely incurious. Good, good.
It took another couple of seconds before a male voice registered as speaking to her. A constable had approached, his helmet off respectfully.
"Miss?" He said in a voice like crushed gravel. "Are you alright?"
Natsuki took some deep breaths, steadying her racing heart. "Fine, thank you."
"I'm going to need you to make a statement," said the policeman, "but it shouldn't take long."
Natsuki glanced back towards Shizuru. She seemed remarkably composed; a cup of tea was being nervously proffered to her from the most evil-looking sailor Natsuki had ever seen. Other bystanders worshipfully scurried around gathering her purchases and generally being useful. That moustachioed man eyed them watchfully, ensuring their good behaviour.
The constable next to Natsuki followed where she was looking, pulling out his notebook as he did so. His face cracked into a wide smile. "Your friend is very impressive, Miss. He won't forget today in a hurry!"
They both paused to watch hardened street-scum collectively blush as Shizuru favoured them with a small smile.
"Really?" Natsuki said faintly.
"I've never seen anything like it!" Exclaimed the policeman with unprofessional glee. "She took that staff and waved it around as if she had six extra arms."
Natsuki took the time to both process this statement, and to attempt to reconcile it with previously understood information. "Ah?"
After a brief struggle, she mentally filed this under 'find out more later' and moved on. "Will you be able to find out who hired these men?"
The broad Constable frowned thoughtfully, tapping his pencil against the pad. "I don't rightly know, Miss. We'll do our best."
Natsuki nodded. "I see."
"When we do know, we'll need you to come to Court as a witness, Miss."
"Yes, of course."
"Now Miss, if you'd just like to state your name for the record…"
Her eyes involuntarily drifted closed. A crushing tiredness was spreading through her body, and she wanted nothing more than to curl up out of the way and sleep. The Policeman was neither blind to this, nor unkind. The questioning was swift, and immediately upon its completion, his sharp whistle summoned a cab. The chattering bystanders loaded Shizuru's legitimate purchases into the boxes, along with some items which perhaps rightly belonged elsewhere. The policeman, if they noticed, made no comment. Natsuki and Shizuru ignored the staring crowd with good grace until, thankfully, the driver clicked his tongue, and the cab swayed into motion.
The younger girl took the brief respite to glance over to her companion again – Shizuru had said nothing since before the attack. By accident or design, as Natsuki did so, she saw brief flicker of exhaustion, flashing past almost faster than the eye could catch.
Natsuki was suddenly wide awake again, and swayed a little sideways to brush her shoulder against Shizuru's side. We'll be home soon. Just a little more.
When the cab deposited them securely before the old house in Eastgate road, the cabbie insisted on waiving the fare, and neither of the two ladies could muster up the pride to object. The parcels and his charges safely ushered inside, this worthy driver politely declined the offer of tea, and headed back out into the London sunshine.
Natsuki watched him go, face gloomy. "Well. At least we have groceries."
Shizuru sat in the single chair, face grey with fatigue. "Natsuki…" The woman paused, closed her eyes, and visibly cantered herself. "Perhaps it might be best if I spoke to the Admiral… in order for Natsuki to be received back to the manor again."
Natsuki felt all the electricity of combat again; she whirled to face Shizuru, startling the other woman with the violence of her motion.
"No." The single word was flat and uncompromising. "No. I will not leave a friend in trouble. No."
Not one who refused to leave me.
Those words lay unspoken between them.
Shizuru watched Natsuki for a second or so before capitulating with a shallow sigh, leaning back in the chair. "This wasn't the work of the ghost."
Natsuki blinked, and then let herself relax again. "How do you know?"
Shizuru's eyes flickered shut. "This attack felt desperate."
Natsuki smiled grimly. "Much more desperate, I should say. It lacked… a certain elegance."
Shizuru opened her eyes and gave Natsuki an utterly indecipherable look. "Exactly."
Both women looked at each other.
"There won't be another attack tonight." Shizuru finally said, in tones of absolute surety. "It is safe to sleep." As if to encourage the younger woman that this was so, she herself lay back in her chair and let her eyes fall closed.
The other woman, frowning, retreated to the corridor. The sounds of someone clumsily unpacking the purchases followed; muffled curses, dragging sounds, and footsteps. Eventually however, Natsuki returned to her blankets as well and settled snugly down into them. Slowly her eyes drifted shut.
Night fell.
Natsuki was in no way a stupid creature – rather the opposite – and so she waited far into that cold night, completely motionless. Only long after becoming convinced Shizuru was truly asleep, and with patience few would credit her with, did she dare stir from her blankets.
During that brief afternoon, she had not only unpacked the groceries – she had also secured all of the windows throughout the house. She had quietly mapped possible weaknesses, scouted for escape routes, and had strategically placed certain innocuous items around the house.
Natsuki had turned the house into a fortress, and now it was up to her to defend it.
This was the reason she tiptoed out of the drawing room, wincing at the cold - better light a fire; Shizuru might get cold during the night - but leaving her feet stealthily bare. Her patrol route was an easy loop; simple enough to navigate in darkness, especially with the help of a few clandestine rehearsals conducted during the daytime. The path covered all the obvious routes in.
Natsuki didn't know Edward Clyde very well, but he hadn't struck her as a man much interested in subtly.
Natsuki was fairly convinced Shizuru's uncle had been responsible for the attack that had occurred in the marketplace. A child could have figured as much. No one else had any motive to attack Shizuru, or the knowledge that Natsuki should also be targeted in the attempt.
How he survived marrying into Shizuru's family…
Natsuki was still thinking dark thoughts about that unworthy gentleman as she finished her patrol, and began the long pad back along the corridor to the drawing room. It pained her slightly to admit it, but Shizuru had been right. The night was safe.
The front door-lock chose this point to quietly click.
Natsuki froze. The next several moments were as still as a grave.
The handle turned downwards, slowly, and the door was gently pushed open until its progress was halted by the full extension of the chain. A slender set of fingers reached through, holding a complicated twist of wire, moving to unhook it.
Natsuki struck.
She slammed the door brutally with the hand still in the jamb, ignoring the anguished cry outside. She grabbed the chain and practically ripped it off in her haste to get to the intruder but it still took several seconds before she could wrench the door open. Yanking it open, Natsuki rushed through the opening to try and maintain her element of surprise. This turned out to be a tactical mistake.
Two figures, not one, were crouching outside. As the first man howled in agony, the second man flung a handful of red powder directly into her face. It caused her eyes to burn like fire. Blinded and yelling, Natsuki took a wild swing, hoping to get lucky - this connected (excruciatingly) with the doorframe. This blunder made her situation completely hopeless, and the two intruders took full, merciless advantage of it. Something heavy was smashed into the side of Natsuki's head, the force of the blow tossing her sideways.
Her last thought before unconsciousness was the realisation she had failed; the way to a sleeping Shizuru was now open.
When Natsuki woke up again it was into a world of pain. The terrified face of Shizuru swam into focus, along with that of a concerned-looking gentleman she didn't know. A brief tilt of the head was enough to confirm she was lying on her back before the fireplace. The weak light of false-dawn was highlighting everything in shades of grey. Upon seeing her awake, Shizuru gave a low cry and ran gentle fingers over the contours of Natsuki's face. The dishevelled young woman looked like she had been dragged through a very personal hell.
Somehow, Natsuki's instinctive words of reassurance came out of her mouth as a pained groan, and her attempts to sit up were thwarted by limbs grown strangely heavy. The man, clearly some kind of doctor, pressed her back down and shook his head firmly. "Stay down. That robber gave you a rather powerful blow."
Natsuki struggled to think through stabbing pain. "Robber?" She mumbled, wincing. "I don't remember a robber…"
The man nodded and drew up a large bag. "Memory loss is normal and temporary." Natsuki growled weakly and tried to get up again. "No, there wasn't a robber! It was…" But the doctor was already packing away his tools.
"She's lucky." He said absently to Shizuru, ignoring Natsuki totally. "The brain doesn't seem to be swollen. My advice is to let her sleep, but wake her up every hour. Keep her away from strenuous exercise for a few days."
Shizuru nodded and said something quiet. Natsuki couldn't really hold her thoughts together. Consciousness suddenly seemed like a huge effort.
Shizuru is fine. Everything else can wait.
Without a whimper, Natsuki slipped back into the arms of sleep.
The next time she awoke it was with Shizuru gently shaking her awake. The light had grown stronger and her head split a little less. Natsuki spent a thoughtless moment simply being alive. Then the reality of the previous night struck her, and she bolted upright, hands pressing down into the soft pallet. "Shizuru!"
A hand clasping a cup of water reached out. "Natsuki must be thirsty."
Natsuki waved it away, face intent. "They weren't robbers, Shizuru; they weren't trying to take anything. They were trying to bring things in!"
Shizuru looked impressed, but unsurprised. "Yes. My – Natsuki was very observant last night. The police didn't understand the crime until the burglars confessed."
Natsuki deflated. "Oh."
"The gentlemen in question handed themselves in to the Metropolitan police immediately after." Shizuru continued, patting her friend on the shoulder. "They now sit in jail, awaiting trail."
Natsuki thought about this for a second, then looked utterly incredulous. "They handed themselves in?"
Shizuru turned her face away, and Natsuki couldn't see her expression. "I think they received rather a nasty fright," she said, in a careful voice, her tone quelling any attempt to seek further information, "after which they were only too happy to confess. They were to place stolen items inside the house without waking the occupants, and then alert the constabulary in the morning. A rather clever scheme."
The cup was gently, but firmly, brought to Natsuki's lips again. The younger girl capitulated and drank the damn water.
There was a brief lull in the conversation.
"That last attack actually feels more like what the ghost would do." Natsuki said, once the cup was dry. "It's a very… roundabout way of getting rid of us. The attack on the street…"
Shizuru leaned back. "Yes. The attack on the street was far more direct."
Natsuki lay back on the pallet and closed her eyes. "So, there are two people working independently." She muttered.
Shizuru said nothing.
The silence was a balm for Natsuki's aching head, although (she grudgingly admitted to herself) the water helped.
Two people working independently.
We have no idea who the cleverer of the two could be.
Blast.
AN: My god, was this chapter a disaster area. I hated writing it. I really did; I just wanted to get it posted and away from me. This is possibly why I perhaps made a little free with the editing. Thankfully (and undeservedly), BunnyJoker and Black Mephistophelesonce again pointed out how wrong everything was, and gently prodded me into fixing it up. Trust me; I made every mistake in the book. Black Mephistopheles in particular; your beta'ing work is superb, and my delay in posting was unconscionable.
As an aside, for those lucky enough to have avoided it, the symptoms Natsuki displays briefly – a ringing in her ears, time speeding up, tunnel vision – they are all very common in folks during a fight or during major shock. Fatigue afterwards is also very real. The body diverts everything it can to its own defence, and once the threat is over it needs a period of time to recover. So yeah.
OUTTAKE TWO (For BunnyJoker.)
Shizuru is calmly sipping tea. Natsuki is pacing.
Natsuki: "ARRRRRRGGG! Tell me what's going on! Every time I ask plot related questions…"
Shizuru holds up a stick. Natsuki pauses, transfixed.
Natsuki: Oooooo, stick. Stick. Throw the stick! ((Bounces))
Shizuru waves the stick, then gracefully throws it across the room. Natsuki races after it, and fetches it back, dropping it at Shizuru's feet.
Natsuki: "…yes! Wait… what was I talking about again?"
Shizuru: "Hmmm? Oh, nothing. Would Natsuki like a belly-rub?"
Natsuki: "What the… yeah? Ok."
A raging Crosswood comes barrelling into the room.
Crosswood: "No, no, no! I won't let you wriggle out of answering plot-important questions this time! No!"
Shizuru isn't listening. Neither is Natsuki.
A blushing Crosswood gives up on the omake again.
END
