Disclaimer: I own nothing except Icharus McKenzie.
Author's Notes:
Oh shoot. I forgot to type in a few words in the last chapter. When Yoneda spoke to Icharus at the end, he said those words in Low Gothic which is the common language of the humans in Warhammer 40,000. Can't think of what else to say. Hope u enjoy this part.
"For the twentieth time, Kanna, stop tapping the floor! I don't need a headache right now!" Sumire whined as she rubbed her neck where two red, angry, hand-shaped marks adorned her skin.
"Sorry… it's just that I'm not comfortable with that man alone with the manager. Who knows what he might do." Kanna muttered through gritted teeth.
The rest of the Hanagumi remained silent. They were all worried about the same thing.
Two hours ago, Manager Yoneda had practically invited the stranger with open arms into his office in spite of what he had done. Of course the Hanagumi objected furiously but it was no use. Yoneda even posted Ayame outside his office with orders to not let anyone near the office.
Now, all seven members, including Ohgami, gathered at the medical bay at a loss of what to do.
"I can't believe the manager actually forbade us to restrain or even disarm him." Kohran grumbled as she adjusted the sling that held her right arm which had suffered a sprain during her encounter with Icharus. "There's something fishy going on around here, right Maria-han?" The genius scientist turned to look at her vice-captain leaning at the doorway.
A slight nod was Maria's only answer. Her dissatisfaction about the situation was obvious.
"I wonder what provoked him to attack us." Sakura said out loud, more to herself than to the others but it didn't mean they didn't hear her.
"It doesn't matter why! The maniac tried to kill me! Nothing can justify that!" Sumire practically screamed in her outrage, launching her into a fit of coughs as she strained her throat. Ohgami patted her back and quickly gave her some water, gently telling her to calm down.
"I just hope the manager is ok," Ohgami mused aloud changing the subject back to the original.
"And why wouldn't I be ok Ohgami? You want me dead so soon? Young people these days," a gruff, familiar voice said from outside the doorway.
"Manager Yoneda! Are you all right?" Everyone said in unison.
"Why wouldn't I be? I don't remember being in danger at all." Ikki Yoneda replied in feigned ignorance.
"Where is that maniac sir?" Kanna asked in barely controlled anger.
"Calm down Kanna. He's back in his room and he's got a name too you know."
His answer baffled everyone and they began to look at each other in disbelief.
"Manager! How can you talk as if nothing happened! Sumire almost got killed today, not to mention he threatened to kill Ayame!" Maria growled in anger.
Yoneda sighed. It was going to take some effort to calm down his subordinates. He turned to Iris and smiled at her.
"Iris, why don't you tell everyone our guest's name?"
"Wait! Iris knows his name?" Ohgami blurted in disbelief.
Iris nodded timidly, unsure whether to speak or not. Maria's obvious look of displeasure meant she was in trouble later. Yoneda gave her an encouraging nod.
"He said his name was Icharus McKenzie. The other stuff, Iris doesn't understand."
"When did you talk to him Iris? I don't remember him waking up long enough to…" then a thought hit the young captain, "Oh."
Yoneda nodded. "Yes. Iris was inside his mind just before all this madness occurred."
"But I don't understand. What does this have anything to do with this Icharus going homicidal all of the sudden?"
Yoneda sighed again. Now the hard part came. He recited the lies and half-truths he was about to tell his beloved children in his mind and hoped they would forgive him if the truth ever came out. After all, no one had to know who Icharus really was, just as no one had to know who he really was too.
First the half-truths.
"Icharus is a man on the run," he began. "For years there are people and forces hunting for him relentlessly. Most of them hunted him because he had betrayed them, some hunt him because of the people he had killed directly or indirectly and others hunt him because he was personally responsible for thwarting their plans."
"He fears none of them except one group which I cannot name. Suffice to say that they were the first people he betrayed and if caught, their psychic interrogators will pry open his mind like a coconut and make him spill his secrets. After that, they will torture him for the remainder of his days."
"Iris' presence in his head made him think that his mind was being invaded," Yoneda gestured at Iris, "To avoid his fate, it is not strange at all that he would wish to kill anyone around him and escape."
Yoneda's words caused Iris to turn pale.
"So…so it was my fault? I almost got Sumire killed?" She stammered, almost in tears.
"Now, now… It's not your fault Iris. Curiosity is good for one such as young as you." Yoneda patted the little girl attempting to comfort her.
A veil of silence was cast onto the group as they let Yoneda's words sink in.
Now that they had some understanding as to why it had all happened the anger the Hanagumi felt subsided a bit. Not everyone was satisfied with Yoneda's answer, however. Maria was one.
"Manager, what did he actually do to warrant this amount of hatred? I cannot think of any organizations, lawful or unlawful, to go to such extremes to hunt one person." The Russian pointed out.
Yoneda chuckled, "Nothing much escapes you huh, Maria. Unfortunately, I can't tell you much about who are hunting Icharus and the exact reasons. All you need to know is that Icharus has done much to make him worthy of the wrath of these people. If it weren't for the fact that he had saved my life before and redeemed himself when he fought for the side of justice once more, I would not be defending him now. I hope you will understand."
"No I don't! From what you say, this person seems to have a nasty habit of changing loyalties. How can you expect us to trust him? He might just as easily turn on you and all of us." Sumire objected, refusing to believe that her assailant was anything associated with law and justice.
A wiry grin crossed Yoneda's lips, "You are all entitled to your opinions towards Icharus but you would have to learn to trust and accept him sooner or later."
"What do you mean sir?" Sakura asked, obviously confused about his last statement.
"As of this moment, Icharus McKenzie is formerly the eighth member of the Teigoku Kakegidan Hanagumi."
Icharus dumped the last dictionary he had read for the past hour onto the floor of his quarters and felt the words and their definitions rumbling inside his head. The Tau didactic implants he had had as a youth was working its magic, allowing him to master the Japanese language just as he read them.
Although he had come into contact with a similar language in his own dimension, it had been incomplete. Lost to the ravages of time as those few who could even remember how to speak it continue to dwindle in numbers thanks to the influence of the Imperium.
Sergeant Yoshimo, now Lieutenant General Ikki Yoneda, had suggested that he mastered the language if he were to fit in.
Fitting in. The thought of it made him cringe as he remembered the conversation with Yoneda about three hours ago.
After surviving the murderous glances from the mob of young women, Yoneda had led him into his office and told him things that had made him question the former sergeant's sanity.
Apparently, the travel through the Warp had not simply dumped the unfortunate crew on the escape pod on some remote planet as Icharus had first thought. Not only were they sent back into time, about forty millenniums give or take one or two millenniums, they were thrown into a completely different reality. What more? He was on Terra, birthplace and homeworld of all human kind.
Icharus had no doubt that Yoneda was telling the truth, he had the facts to prove it anyway. The obvious backwardness of the current technology, the fact that the map of the world looked exactly like Terra and the fact that they had such an advanced steam technology which never existed in his own reality to his knowledge.
There was more however. Not everyone exited the Warp at the same time. Sergeant Yoshimo had been thrown into this reality 39 years ago in relative to the current reality's timeline and during that time he adopted the identity of Ikki Yoneda (how he did this he did not elaborate, much to Icharus' relief) and a personality that grated at Icharus' nerves.
The former strict, blockheaded sergeant was treating the youth like he was some long lost friend to which Icharus found both annoying and repulsive. After all, to Icharus, Yoneda had been someone who would have been gladder to shoot him in the head for being a heretic once he had the chance than offer him a friendly hug just a day ago. Now he was a tearful, happy old man who was relieved to finally see someone he knew in a past life. Apparently, 39 years living in a world where war and worshipping the Emperor was not the norm of the day had somehow colored the former sergeant's view of him and changed the man into something new, something different.
Something resembling an old and senile chatterbox who seemed to find the bottom of his sake bottle more wondrous than anything else.
What happened later irritated him to even greater lengths.
The Chimera, the purple crystal he had almost lost his life over to steal and the reason why he was thrown into some Warp-damned "other reality" was gone. Stolen, perhaps, by the brute that had attacked him after his arrival, Yoneda had said.
To make matters worse, the brute belonged to an organization called the Kuronoskai which, in his own opinion, wasn't so different to the demented Chaos cults in his old reality. It meant that he had no idea who his enemy was. It also meant that he needed help from the locals which seemed to be suspiciously what Yoneda had in mind all along because he was all too eager to lend him his help.
The reason the cheeky old man had provided was that the Chimera was too dangerous to be left in the hands of demon worshippers or those who toyed with the dark arts. A sound one but something just didn't feel right and Icharus hated surprises.
However, Yoneda did give him a pleasant one. Contrary to Icharus' view of the old man (a retired military man who still held his rank and sinking in booze and women of his private harem he called a theater), Yoneda was actually the commander of a secret organization with a questionable name.
Frankly, sunshines and rainbows did not go well with Icharus and calling a division as the Flower Division made him grimace unconsciously. To being unable to decline the offer to join the squad made him wanted to hack the smiling and aloof Yoneda as he agreed.
Pushing the memories of his ordeal with the Lieutenant General aside, Icharus got out of bed and out of his room, eager for some air.
He found a balcony overlooking the street outside to be a perfect spot to relax after some exploration. He let out sigh as he rested his arms on the banisters and observed the people like a child observing an ant farm: amusing but pointless.
The soft rustle of cloth behind him informed him of someone's presence behind him.
He ignored it.
He heard the sound of someone softly tapping his or her foot on the ground.
He ignored it again.
Then, there was a small polite cough which sounded female and young.
He ignored it again.
"Ano…" A girl's voice said.
He yawned and continued ignoring the person or persons behind him. He grinned as he felt that they were becoming nervous and restless. It had been some time since he had nervous subordinates trying to attract his attention. He couldn't help playing with them for a while.
The sounds of whispering confirmed his guess that there were at least two people behind him.
"Ano McKenzie-san," the girl began again, obviously unsure whether she should talk to him at all.
This time he turned around and found the 'the girl who had tripped' and 'the psyker' standing side by side and avoiding his gaze but obviously with something to say.
He raised an eyebrow.
This is getting nowhere. Better break the ice.
"Icharus McKenzie. And you two lovely ladies are…?" He began, offering his hand.
"Shinguji Sakura." The pony tailed girl replied quickly, smiling dashingly at the comment as she shook the offered hand.
Icharus found himself admiring the attractive young girl. She was probably around 18 and sported a traditional look and obviously from good stock. He frowned inwardly at his last phrase; he had better ditch his 'assessing slaves for master's use tonight' mentality if he was going to fit in.
Sakura was blushing when he returned to reality and he realized he had been staring. Turning his attention quickly towards the young blonde girl with her teddy bear, he asked, "And yours?"
"Aeris Chateaubriand" she replied hesitantly, "but everyone calls me Iris."
The young French shook his hand rather timidly and started to say something before she stopped herself. Sakura nudged Iris and the little girl mustered all her courage before she spoke.
"Icharus-san, I am sorry to have entered your mind and caused you trouble."
Icharus was taken aback by the girl's apology. If memory served, she wasn't the one who scared her out of his mind and she wasn't the one who almost strangled her friend to death after all. He felt a bit ashamed, an emotion he had no contact with for years. It seemed that he had more to apologize for than her.
He knelt and brought himself to eye level with Iris. The serious look he had on made the girl shrink back a bit. He reached out and patted her head.
"Apology accepted. But I think I have more to apologize for. I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble." He said as he flashed a grin at her causing the girl to go red.
"Besides Jean-Paul here will kick my ass if I don't behave," He whispered with a wink. Iris looked shocked then understanding what happened, smiled in response.
Sakura, seeing the exchange but not understanding it, was just glad that everything turned out nicely.
"So what should we call you McKenzie-san?"
"Just Icharus will do. Unless you want me to call you Shinguji-san."
Sakura shook her head. "Sakura will do McKe… Icharus-san."
"Can Iris call you Onichan?"
"Iris! If you do that, how would we know who you are referring to?" Sakura reminded the girl.
Watching Iris struggling to think of a term to call him, Icharus sighed.
"What about just Eike?" he suggested, recalling his nickname
The girl nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Eike-onichan! Iris will call you Eike-Onichan!"
The other two chuckled at the little girl's innocence.
"So, Sakura and Iris, now that is decided," he nodded to each of them. "Who's going to show me around this place?"
To his astonishment, each girl grabbed one of his arms and pulled him along, chattering excitedly as they introduced him to every thing about their imperial theater.
"They sure warmed up to him easily," Kohran commented, amused at Sakura and Iris' ability to act so familiarly to a stranger, even one who was hostile before, so easily. "You still think he's dangerous?"
Kanna shrugged. Maria, on the other hand, was silent as usual but the deadly glint in her eyes had diminished significantly.
End notes:
I'm sorry if it this first part turns out too long. Will branch into Sakura Wars story after Icharus finally gets initiated. Should take 1 more chapter or so I think.
Finally finished this part. R&R pls.