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Winter Puppets Chapter Three : Safe Haven by Bottou-chan |
An hour later, Neon and Joker were sitting on a bench which had been dragged up to a fireplace hearth. A good-sized fire was crackling away, and they were wrapped in blankets. Neon's wrist had been taped up, and the glass had been cleaned from Joker's neck, which was now striped with bandaids. Mugs of green tea were on the floor by their feet, in varying stages of consumption.
Chii, the hostess of the Eipuriru Hotel, came in carrying a large pot of tea. "It's good for health and healing," she explained, carefully replenishing the mugs. She preferred to use more traditional cups when serving tea, but necessity had dictated otherwise. The tiny cups would have hardly provided a mouthful, and would have been too much trouble to keep filled. "Drink up."
"Thank you," said Neon, stretching her toes closer to the fire as her fingers closed around her replenished mug. The warmth seeped through the ceramic. She closed her eyes and took a sip.
"Perhaps you're doing a little better?" inquired Chii, looking at them with concern. "I think I got all the glass out, and we should probably change the bandages in an hour or so."
Joker nodded. "That would be best. Do you have a phone I can use? I need to call long-distance to tell a friend we're all right, but we'll be late showing up."
"There's one at the front desk you can use," smiled Chii.
"Arigatou." Joker swigged the last of the tea down, making a slight face. Green tea was never his favorite beverage, and it wasn't the best idea in the world to swig any hot liquid. He left the two women together in front of the fireplace.
"I'm surprised you had an accident in this weather," said Chii, indicating the flurries of snow which were falling. Night had fallen, but the snow still fell silently. "Usually, if there's some snow on the ground, it helps you drive better, as opposed to just driving directly on the ice."
"My bad luck," said Neon, a rueful smile on her lips. She took a dainty sip. "Perhaps I haven't been living right."
The two women laughed easily over the joke.
"Are you very hungry?" inquired Chii solicitously. "If you like, I can fetch some soup from the kitchen. The chef makes a marvelous egg-drop soup. It should be warming and filling, but not too heavy, considering your injuries."
"Thank you for your kindness," replied Neon kindly. Another sip. "I'm sure Hiroji would love some. He can eat no matter what, although I must admit, I don't have much of an appetite myself."
"Wait until you smell it, and then you'll be ravenous," Chii reassured Neon with a knowing smile. She refilled both mugs once more before leaving with the teapot.
Several minutes passed before Joker returned with a concerned look on his face.
"Is all well?" inquired Neon curiously.
Joker glanced around to make sure no one could overhear. He resumed his place on the bench next to the fire, leaned forward, and mumbled under his breath, "Renzo Nobio."
"Renzo Nobio?"
"Shhhh... Renzo Nobio. You know, *the* Renzo Nobio."
Neon looked at the ceiling for inspiration. "Ohhh..." she answered, as her memory suddenly struck. "Him..."
"Bodyguard for Shigemasa, who runs that drug ring," said Joker.
"So that means Shigemasa is here, too, then," concluded Neon.
"How brilliant of you to state the obvious," remarked Joker dryly. "But I also saw Tetsui and Nakaga pass by."
"They're in the Shigemasa gang, too, right?" hazarded Neon. "I know Nakaga is, but I don't think I've ever heard of Tetsui before."
"Nakaga is Shigemasa's right hand," replied Joker. "Tetsui is in charge of bumpings-off, as it were."
"Ahhhh," answered Neon. "So. Did they recognize you?"
Joker shook his head. "I left my mask behind, and since my extremely distinctive uniform was pretty badly bloodied, I was decked out like this." 'This' referred to a pair of black sweatpants, a nondescript gray sweatshirt, and a pair of black socks, all borrowed from Chii's husband, who was fortunately an equally-tall, equally-thin man. "So no, I think it's safe to say they don't know we're here."
"Let's keep it that way," answered Neon, blowing at the steam which curled from the surface of her tea.
Joker shook his head. "No can do. I told Kurei about it. He was quite pleased. Told me to take Shigemasa out of the picture completely. His men, too."
"Any given reason? It seems a bit odd Kurei would make such a decision so spontaneously."
"He didn't say, but I can guess. I don't suppose you ever worked much with Ototarou? He was Mokuren's predecessor. A much more charming person than Mokuren, too, for that matter. Mokuren is more Mori's man than Kurei's, and I think Kurei has always hosted a grudge for the Shigemasa people since they made a hit on Ototarou."
"Kind of tall? Wire-rimmed glasses?" asked Neon curiously. "Oh, him. I remember. Goodness, I hadn't thought about him in ages... he meant so much to Kurei?"
"Ototarou was really more useful as a secretary to Kurei than as a member of the Uruha. But the madougu showed an affinity to him, so Kurei had him experiment with its powers. It didn't last too long before he ended up where he shouldn't have, and that was curtains for him." Joker paused. "Of course, Kurei immediately had ten men taken down from Shigemasa's people, to compensate for Ototarou. But you know Kurei and his grudges... I doubt he's ever really gotten over it."
Neon sat in silence for a few moments. "Yours is in the car, still. Mine's in my purse," she said absentmindedly, referring to their weapons. "But to be perfectly honest, I feel so horrible, I just want a good night's rest and nothing else to bother about." Her gaze fell to her bandaged hand. "Not to mention, it'll be hard to perform with this hand the way it is."
One of her words seemed to inspire a gleam of impish mischeviousness, and he opened his mouth to make an unwanted comment. But Chii seemed to have chosen that moment to make her reappearance.
"I brought two bowls," she said, carefully setting a tray in front of them. "See, doesn't it just smell so good?"
"Oh, yum," answered Neon, feigning enthusiasm. She leaned forward to accept her bowl, and she sniffed the aroma. "Mmm, it does smell good. It almost makes me hungry."
"Eat up; you need your strength," answered Chii cheerfully, and the conversation was steered into safer channels.