A/N: I'm sooooo sorry at how long this chapter took to put up! Expect slower updates as well in the future, school is being a pain. GOMEN!
Disclaimer: Don't own this wonderful series, do ya think Nobuhiro Watsuki would trade it for some cookies? …. Damn, didn't think so….
Chapter 3: Somewhere… Someone's Waiting- Part A
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In a cramped room filled with wires and gadgets sprawled all over the place, a pair of men bent over a desk, both observing the thing in front of them. They wore uniforms. The slacks and jacket were the same color, but the undershirt was white. The taller of the two had a more defined sense of superiority than the other, and it was he who spoke first.
"So she's the new one huh?" A finger pointed at the TV that connected to one of the many security cameras. "Has she been screened yet?"
"No sir. We'll get on that right away." Answered a light baritone smoothly.
"See to it. It wouldn't do to have a spy or worse in our midst. Question her thoroughly, if there is anything suspicious at all found, report immediately. For now however, give her the pretext that she is officially working here. Once I have a look at her file, then the board will make a decision. Understood?"
"Yes sir. Sir, who do you recommend questioning her?"
"I'm leaving that judgment in your hands. I expect a full report about her by the end of the day." He turned to leave, then paused. "But before you get started, send a coffee downstairs to my office, that will be all." He left the brightly lit room.
The owner of the baritone voice turned back to the TV screen where a young woman with a ponytail, in comfortable-looking navy jeans, and yellow t-shirt was seen lounging in the waiting room. The man picked up a nearly empty folder; a name was printed neatly on the tab.
"…Kamiya Kaoru…" Came the quiet mutter, he knew just the person to interview her, although the interviewer herself wouldn't be too pleased at the prospect.
The company was located on the outskirts of Tokyo, luckily for her, the dojo was also on the outskirts and happened to be conveniently near her destination. It had taken a while to find the place, but Kaoru had found it tucked in snugly between a construction yard and a convenience store. The beige building was a bit worn down on the outside, and the shrubbery that had been planted around the front needed watering, but once inside, Kaoru found herself surprised at how immaculate it was. Looks really were deceiving.
After speaking to the secretary on shift, the one she had talked on the phone with, Ms. Ishino was off today; Kaoru was led into a waiting room. There she was told to wait until it was her turn to speak to the manager. So Kaoru settled in a leather chair and waited as she had been asked to, not sure exactly of how long she'd have to wait. Bored, Kaoru decided to look at her surroundings.
There were paintings that depicted scenes from Japan's history, ferns decorated shelves, and statues of oddly shaped creatures were placed around the room. Kaoru got up and moved closer to one of the jade statues.
It was a human of sorts; actually it was a man holding a spear in a salutary pose. The figurine itself was only a few inches tall, but the detail was amazing. All in all the stone man looked like some warrior from ancient Japan, the only things off were the pointed ears and the claws on his hands. Kaoru was impressed at the pains that the craftsperson must've gone through to create this work of art. She couldn't help looking over it, minutes passed by and she was still looking at it. What was this person supposed to be? She was so lost in her musings that she failed to hear the tapping of high heels behind her.
"A rather odd piece isn't it? Personally I think that it has a mysterious quality about it, wouldn't you agree?"
She blinked, and then blinked again for good measure. Turning to face the arrival she saw an elegant and graceful woman in a form fitting business suit, her dark hair done up into a bun- presumably to keep it out of her face.
The woman gave a smile that didn't reach her eyes. It was more professional than anything else.
"You must be Ms. Kamiya, do you mind if I call you Kaoru?"
Kaoru shook her head. The woman smiled again, this time the smile seemed more honest.
"Good, my name is Takani Megumi, but Megumi will do just fine." Megumi motioned Kaoru over to where she was standing. She lead her over to a door, it opened to reveal a gray-carpeted hallway. They walked down half the length, Megumi stopped, Kaoru was in front of a door with a nameplate, and the word 'Takani' etched out on the brass surface. That was all that marked the door.
She waited for Megumi to open the door; several seconds passed and when the door was still closed, Kaoru glanced up. Megumi was studying her intensely as if searching for something. Kaoru met her eyes and Megumi turned away.
'What was that all about, and what was she looking at me like that for? This is too strange; maybe I should've faked sick instead of coming in?' Kaoru thought worriedly, and then scolded herself for her paranoia. She figured that her nervousness must've been getting the better of her; she'd really have to calm down a little.
Kaoru was offered a seat while Megumi sat down, an oak desk between the two. There were files on the top and scattered pens, as well as a lamp; a laptop graced the desk as well. A filing cabinet was placed in a corner behind the woman and a few pictures dotted the walls. A clean scent lingered in the room, and Kaoru found herself taking a deep breath. Megumi had been turned around, rustling around in the cabinet, so she missed Kaoru's actions and curious looks.
"So Kaoru, I'm sure you know why you're here," the business woman turned to face Kaoru, seeing a nod Megumi continued, "I'm going to start with your past work experiences…"
With that they began.
An hour later found Megumi sending Kaoru off to the secretary to be informed of her schedule. After bidding the teenager goodbye, and assuring her that her interview went well, Megumi went back to her desk. She shuffled the papers and glanced over what notes she had taken during the questioning. By all appearances Kaoru seemed to be an ordinary young woman, there were a few intriguing details although. One that she was the shihondai of a dojo, another that her reasons for wanting to work here were a change from what everyone else who passed through wanted.
She put her head in her hands, brow furrowed in concentration. Yes, Kaoru would make a fine addition to this company, while she would never join the higher ranks, Kaoru would do fine as cover for what this company actually did; she wouldn't be the only one, there were others just like her used for that same purpose. She'd have to keep an eye on the young woman however, Kaoru didn't seem to be a person that fooled easily, and from what Megumi had seen and heard from the girl, she appeared to have a quick mind. Not to mention a kind heart.
Megumi prayed that Kaoru's heart wouldn't wind her up into the same mess that she was in.
A quick glance at the wall clock told her that it was almost time for the report to be submitted.
'Damn those people for making me write this out! As if I didn't have enough to worry about, I still have to run medical tests on the subject. Hmm, they did offer me more assistants, so I guess that its not all bad, but still I would rather not have to do those wretched tests if i could help it...' she trailed off.
She swiveled over to the running laptop and typed in a few things, a list of names came up and she clicked on one with her mouse. A blank page appeared and Megumi went to work, fingers flying over the keyboard. There she would stay for the rest of the workday.
Kaoru groaned in pain. She hadn't had to walk so much since, well, never. After her time with Megumi was over she'd been subjected to torture. Carrying heavy binders, and books back and forth from the dozens of offices. Not to mention that she'd gotten lost on her way to the bathroom, which by the way, was all the idiotic man's fault for pointing her in the wrong direction. She swore that if she saw him again she'd make him apologize.
She was stiff all along her shoulders, lower back, and down the back of her legs, a hot relaxing bath would remedy some of her aches and pains. Kaoru never thought that work would be so, for lack of a better word, painful. Her muscles felt overused and they were swollen.
One more delivery to make, she smiled tiredly. After she finished this round Kaoru was allowed to head home. So far she'd worked six hours with two fifteen minute breaks, which wasn't all that bad for her first day.
A heavy cardboard box was straining her arms as she walked down towards the storage room; the annoying woman at the front desk had ordered her to drop it off outside of the door. It was a plain door, just like all the others that she'd seen while going about her business.
Kaoru lowered the box to the floor, as she did so her trained ears heard a hum, like that of a machine, coming from the steel door next to the storage room. 'What is that? I-I guess it'll be okay if I just listen for a little bit. No harm done right?'
Stepping closer to the metal door, she pressed an ear against the chilled metal and heard the hum grow louder. Now she was really curious, what was that noise? Was it the generator that ran the building? Kaoru pressed her body flush against the strange door and focused on the noise emanating from the other side. The teen listened and…heard voices. Voices that became louder signifying that whoever was talking was coming closer to where she stood.
Hastily she backed away and pretended to fuss over the almost forgotten box, re-arranging the flaps a bit and shifting the contents. The door opened and two men in their thirties stepped out, talking like she wasn't even there, but Kaoru was sure that they'd seen her. Peering from behind her bangs, Kaoru saw the standard gray and white colored uniforms of the company, Fukumaden
'Guess they must not care if I listen in, sort of like an invitation.' A gleam came into her eyes. Kaoru didn't really like to listen in to what others spoke about, especially if it wasn't for her to hear, but this time she couldn't help herself. Keeping her eyes on the cardboard she monitored their conversation.
"Everything's working out fine, soon I'll be getting that raise I've been asking for and me and the missus will go on a vacation!" One said enthusiastically.
"…Lucky dog, wish the boss would let me take time off from the project!" The other moaned.
"Well, maybe if you'd quit slacking off and actually processed the scans-"
"That's not my job! How many times do I have to tell you? I don't do medical, that's the doc's job. Anyways…" the voices drifted off into the distance as they left Kaoru pondering all that she'd learned.
This company was supposed to be making microchips for phones, TV's, and other economical things like that. Then why would Fukumaden Technologies be involving itself with medical scans and the like? From all I've read about in newspapers is that they manufactured and created better processing circuits for appliances. Since when had they been involving themselves with medicine? Maybe Megumi would tell her if she asked nicely. Fully set on the decision, Kaoru decided that she'd ask her newest acquaintance about what this all meant.
She stood up and brushed an irritant strand of hair out of her eyes, taking one last longing look at the mysterious metal door she bustled off to fill out her hours on the time sheet. Later she'd find out the answers to her questions. Right now Kaoru had a brother waiting at home for her and a bath that was calling her name. Heck, she was so wiped out from the labour that maybe she'd pass out without any of those dreams- strange how they didn't want to leave her, she'd had them for about a week or so now-tonight. Cheered at the prospect Kaoru left with an extra bounce in her step.
Above her in a corner, a tiny black security camera swiveled following her progress down the deserted hallway.
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A/N: There! Sorry if its shorter than my other chapters, but I couldn't write in the second part. This is just the first part, and the next chapter will be the second part, after that, this story will speed up even more. I tend to dwell on things don't I? I'm trying to get out of the habit. Oh, and I'm not doing first person POV's anymore! I don't really like 'em.
Translations:
Fukumaden: (n) abode of demons / hotbed (of graft) / pandemonium
Reviewer's Replies:
himesama16: Thanks sooooo much for reviewing! I think you'll like the next chapter even though they don't meet not in a physical sense, but soon they will. See ya later!
Appa: Thanks! I can't stand that kind either, always thinking that the world owes them something, oh well, how's this chapter? That was a scary dream wasn't it, just wait till the next one rolls around!
Angel-of-dark-spirits: Yup, not doing POV's anymore! Btw, refer to the summary of this fic, its very literal in a sense. Can't say much more, sorry. I really enjoyed all your advice, and I definitely have to agree with most of your points, arigatou!
Jing-Jing: Don't we all just wanna see Kenshin? I know I do, but it's leading up to it. Next chapter holds promise just you wait and see! Thanks for all your info! Sorry 'bout the cliffy, I tried to wrap it up.
iLuvJaeWon: Thanks for all your praise!
Bradybunch4529: Thanks! I'm glad that Kaoru is portrayed to your liking. I don't like it either when she's mean without a reason, or too clingy. She is a modern independent woman in this fic, and that's the way it's gonna be, but that doesn't mean that she'll be all powerful or anything like that. Well, since I've introduced the fox, the rooster will have to make an appearance soon, eh? Megumi also won't be as flirtatious in this story, but she'll have her times.
Eternal Light/Fire Dragon: Ah, yes, the question of when dear Oro-chan will be coming in. Well, lets just say that you better watch any new developments concerning Fukumaden closely. Oh, and Kenshin is Battousai at first, and in a way Kaoru has already met him. There will be more contact between the two, but only in their dreams. After continued dreams about him, even though they're not mentioned much in the story, she'll have a tolerance towards him. Just the important dreams are going to be mentioned. BTW, you're welcome!
readerkikilala: I appreciate your note. Yes, Battousai is taking a while to join the fray, but this fic will soon be buzzing with excitement, and then…lets just say it'll be a real killer. Probably will have to bump the rating up!
Thanks for reading, and please review! Don't forget, this IS a story involving demons, hence the supernatural genre. Oh and sorry about the lack of description for Megumi and Kaoru.
Dewa mata!