Identity
Chapter 3: Plan
"Are you sure you can afford this, Kirisawa?" Mikagami asked as he looked around at the luxuriously furnished room.
"I've saved a lot from my salary," Fuuko replied shortly.
Oh. He'd forgotten. It was a sensitive subject. She didn't want to talk about it and he certainly hadn't wanted to touch it – it hurt when a person you thought you knew did something you'd thought they'd never do.
"And anyway, this is the hotel that Kinta is staying in while he's in Hiroshima." Fuuko continued briskly, "He'll be here until the day after tomorrow. I gather you want to catch him before then."
Mikagami looked at her in surprise. "How do you know all this?" he asked.
She smiled humourlessly. "You don't know a lot about Kinta Yoshida, do you? The guy's drunk on his own power. He's convinced that he's a god. He owns the media, so everything he does makes the headlines."
"Isn't that kind of a death wish?"
"Kinta has set aside a very large amount of funds in a trust. If something happens to him, those funds will go towards the financing of his posthumous vendetta – and trust me, the money won't be spent on just any lousy assassin. No-one would want to touch him because of that."
"I see," Mikagami said bleakly. "So if someone does decide to kill him, they'll be hunted down and executed – if they're lucky."
"Lucky?"
"If they're not, they'll be looking over their shoulder for the rest of their life."
"What a happy thought."
"So are we lucky or unlucky, Kirisawa?"
"Don't wet your pants, Mikagami," Fuuko replied. "He's not going to come after us. We just want to talk to the guy, right?" She frowned at the ensui-wielder when he didn't reply. "Right?"
"Yeah, right," Mikagami mumbled, still annoyed at her earlier comment. "So, what's the brilliant plan?"
"Kinta's staying in the penthouse on the top floor. I figured that the best way to do this is to sneak into his room and get him alone there. A guy like Kinta will have guards posted at the door, but he'll be too condescending to let them in the room itself."
Mikagami raised an inquiring eyebrow. "And how do we manage to sneak in when there are guards at the door?"
"Tomorrow morning, Kinta's due to give a speech at the opening of the new Hiroshima mega-mall. When he leaves, his two bodyguards will follow him. That's when I sneak in and – "
"Wait a minute. What do you mean 'I'?"
"Uh," Fuuko said, not looking at him, "I'm sure I mentioned to you before that I'll be doing this alone. If the plan goes wrong it'll best if I'm the person caught. I'm part of the organization – I can use that to bluff my way out of it."
"No."
Fuuko scowled. "It's my plan."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I want to be the one to question Kinta."
Fuuko wanted to argue further, but stopped when she saw the angry light in Mikagami's eyes. It was strange to see him so riled. "Fine," she finally said. "Getting in will be easy. Kinta won't be back until at least the afternoon, so you should have plenty of time to find a suitable place to hide. Getting out, though, will be another matter.
"It's rumoured that Kinta's guards are madougu-users. I don't think you'll want to cause a stir by taking them on – no matter how good you are with your ensui." Fuuko looked hard at him before continuing. "Since getting out through the door wasn't a favourable option, I went and found out that the room directly below the penthouse is vacant. Do you think you're up to it?"
Mikagami stared at her for a moment. "That's the best you can come up with?" he asked.
"What? You aren't scared of heights, are you?"
The question seemed innocent enough, but Mikagami thought that she might just as well have smirked openly. "Of course not," he replied with a hint of indignation. "How do you know the window will be unlocked though?"
"I'll take care of it."
"How…"
"I'll take care of it.," Fuuko repeated firmly.
Mikagami frowned. "Alright," he conceded, "just make sure you do. I don't want to be stranded on the window sill the whole day."
"Well, you can always let me be the one to do this."
"No." Mikagami stood and turned his back to her. "Besides, Kinta was the one who recruited you. He might know you by sight."
"I wasn't planning on letting him see me."
"Still, that's a chance we can't take." He turned back to her, his face grim. "If he finds out who we are, Sakoshita-san might end up being in more danger than she already is. I won't risk that."
Fuuko looked away. "Of course," she said softly. Then she stood up abruptly and said, "By the way, you'll need this to get into Kinta's room." She took a card out of her pocket and handed it to the ensui-wielder.
Mikagami stared at the key card. "How did you…"
"I'll be down in the lobby in the morning to check on when Kinta and his guards leave," Fuuko interrupted. "And after they do, I'll come up to your room and give you the green light. I'll see you then."
Mikagami didn't get a chance to speak until the door clicked shut behind her. He looked down at the card in his hand. What was all that about, he wondered. Another touchy subject. Maybe in the future, it would be best if he avoided asking any 'how' questions.
Mikagami stood and looked out the window. He didn't have reservations about Fuuko being an ally, but then he didn't doubt that she had changed over the years either.
It wasn't this thought, however, that was making Mikagami frown. It was the thought that in many ways, the fuujin-wielder would make a more dangerous enemy than Kinta.
******
Fuuko shut the door behind her and threw her bag on the table. It was already getting dark outside and she hadn't had anything to eat since the plane trip, but at the moment, food was the last thing on Fuuko's mind.
A bath, I need a bath.
She walked into the bathroom and turned on the taps. She sat on the side of the bathtub and watched as the water ran.
She didn't know whether she could stand it anymore – being two different people. Hanging around Mikagami was bringing back old memories and consequently, the old Fuuko was beginning to resurface. This wasn't what was scaring her though. It was the fact that she didn't want to do anything about it.
You can't do your job like this, she reprimanded herself. It'll just make things harder once this whole thing is resolved and you go back to Kobe.
Kobe. It was strange, but she missed it. She might have to find a new apartment if her old one has already been let out when she gets back – which would mean that she wouldn't be able to walk down to the deli to buy pasta anymore. It could also mean that she would have to leave university and she wouldn't be able to see Asagi anymore.
Sorry Asagi. I couldn't keep my promise.
Fuuko reached over and turned off the taps as water threatened to overflow from the tub. Within seconds, she was lying in the warm water, eyes closed.
It was going to be alright, she reassured herself. A few more days and she could go back to her other identity. Fuuko the assassin, she thought mockingly. It has a nice ring to it. Mikagami certainly thought so – she noticed that he had been treating her a little cautiously. Not that she blamed him. This was the path she had chosen and she deserved every little bit of contempt he felt for her.
It didn't matter anyhow. In a few days, she would return to being anonymous. For now, she had to get her rest for tomorrow.
******
Fuuko was woken up by the loud rapping on the door. She groaned. Was it morning already?
"Kirisawa, open up!" Mikagami's voice came from the other side.
She reluctantly stood up and walked to the door. She scowled as she opened it. "You'd better have a goo– " she began to say when Mikagami pushed past her and into her room.
Fuuko stood at the door, hands on hips. "You know, you can't just barge into somebody's room whenever you like."
"You haven't heard, have you?"
She was about to give Mikagami a piece of her mind, but stopped when she saw his face. "What?"
"Someone got to Kinta before we did."
"What?"
"Kinta's dead, and has been since early this morning."
And suddenly, Fuuko didn't feel quite so sleepy anymore.
~
Author's note: I have to admit, I was going to go down the path where they actually carried out their plan, but changed my mind half-way. Don't ask me why, I just thought there'd be more suspense this way (and it's easier for me to write this way). That's why this chapter is kind of short and to be honest, I'm not very satisfied with it. I promise the next chapter will be better :)
I know the whole idea's clichéd – especially the bad guy who smokes expensive cigars (heh). My intention is for you to be asking "what?", "who?", "why?". All of which will eventually be answered (I think. Can't make any promises), but just not in this chapter *evil laugh*
On another note not FoR related, if anyone has seen a Gundam Seed fic with the pairing of Dearka and Milly, please please tell me :)
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