WITCH HUNTER ROBIN: The Flames of A Past
After the group was rounded up by Nagira's men, they were taken into his apartments, to hide and recover. Michael was placed in a special ward of the apartment complex, where doctors were busily working on him with each passing moment. The boy would live, but would almost certainly lose his arm.
That's going to drive him nuts, Doujima thought, paging through a woman's magazine as she waited in the hall next door. No more massive flights into the internet for him. He'll be lucky if he can play landmine, or solitaire.
Nagira's doctors insisted that there might be a procedure that would let them replace his arm with either a prosthetic one, or with a cyborg-like contraption, allowing him to do the things he liked to do. After a long hesitation Director Kosaka decided to let them use their best judgment on the operation, but if Michael did not need either replacement, if it cost too much money, if it would cost the boy his life, then forget it. Michael would understand.
Doujima frowned. Sure he would. She wasn't quite sure why she had been the one selected to baby sit the boy, but everyone in the group, especially Nagira, had insisted on it. Well, she knew why he had insisted. Better to let her watch over the injured that plague him with questions he was not ready to answer yet.
So there she sat, sitting in a light white plastic chair, her back complaining about how uncomfortable it was, in a bright whitish blue hallway. She looked up from her magazine, and watched Michael's chest rise and fall, his eyelids fluttering as he dreamed. The young woman looked at her watch, and sighed, two hours they'd been here. She wanted to think how boring this all was, but hated feeling like the wicked witch, leaving the kid alone. Resignedly she put down her magazine, which she had read from cover, to cover, and picked up another one, with a cute little woman, in an even cuter swim suit. The eighteen year old smiled, stroked her chin, and studied the suit until her hand went for her purse, and out came a piece of paper and a pen, jotting down the maker of it, the price, and her clothes size. At least this vigil wouldn't all go to waste.
In another part of the complex sat the rest of the STN-J, their eyes on the windows of Nagira's office, waiting for the police to arrive, bearing questions that not one of them really wanted to answer. That wouldn't be able to be helped though. There were too many gawkers who watched the attack, and then watched the forced retreat from Raven's Flat. Many of them had gasped at Michael's condition, and despite his best efforts it seemed like not many people believed Nagira's story. A few of them followed the group to his apartments, and then called the police, and so here they waited.
"Well one good thing about this, is that the Director has many friends in high places in the police department," Sakaki said, holding his head between his knees.
"Kin does too, isn't that right?" Karasuma asked, looking over at the former officer. He smiled awkwardly and shrugged.
"Don't know if I could call any of the higher ups, my buddies, but I know a few minor officers," he said in a very tired tone. And would rather not have to talk to any of them right now.
Nagira sat on the outer edges of his desk, for some reason constantly looking at a certain door to his right, and flinching when he was caught. He crossed his arms and smiled at Karasuma, who frowned and studied his features. That made him flinch again, and sent him off on a whistling spree, trying to avoid her glare. Damn it to hell, she could pass for Mika's sister.
A blaze of motion caught his attention, and he nearly choked on his spit as the woman made a beeline toward the door. "Hey, wait a minute," he stammered.
She paused for a second, and shot him a look. "What?" she snapped.
With a whirlwind twist of his legs, that would make any break dancer jealous, Nagira pounced off the table and leapt toward the door, blocking it with an arm. "Look, I have a lot of clients who are in those halls, whose privacy I absolutely guaranteed. Having someone like you enter this door would smash that all to pieces."
"And just who are these clients of yours?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Are you dense woman?" he shouted, interesting a little too loud, and looking at the door. "If I told you their names that would be just as bad as letting you waltz right in there."
She stared at him for a moment, and snatched his arm, swiftly bending it around his back and at an arch. "I think you better explain yourself," she said, the sound of her voice hot and bitter.
"Karasuma," Director Kosaka snarled. He narrowed his eyes and put his hands on his waist. "That is enough of this."
"Director," she began.
"I won't warn you again," he howled, his eyes narrowing with deadly ferocity.
The woman stared at her boss for a long time, her eyes looking hurt, like a child who had just been chastised by a favorite uncle for the first time. She stared at Nagira with warm bitter frustration, and then at the door, and back at him, before releasing his arm. She walked down the stairs, and looked at her director as she passed. "This is a mistake," she murmured as she passed him.
"Then let it be my mistake, and think nothing more of it," he snapped between clenched teeth.
The odd situation quickly dispersed as fast as it happened when the director's assistant barreled through the doors. "Director Kosaka sir," he said through labored breath, "the police are here."
As on cue, four Japanese officers walked into the room and glanced at the small group. There was a fifty year old man with a big belly and graying hair, who looked ready to retire – or eat his weight in donuts, whichever came first – who took the lead. Behind him was a tall, wiry man with short black hair, and sunken in eyes. He wore large thick glasses which slipped from his long thin nose, and had small tuffs of hair under his bottom lip. In his hand he held a pad and pencil, and he looked ready to turn loose "righteous" fury on the group for making him work so late.
The other two officers were both young looking things. The third was a very small man, probably right out of the Academy, who was giddy at getting his first case, and shook like he either had crapped his pants, or had too much caffeine in his system. His hair was blonde, and his eyes were deep chocolate brown. There were freckles on his nose, and he kind of carried the image of an all American farm boy about him, except for the fact that he was not American.
It was the last officer that caught Kin's attention, and not in a good way. She also looked like she had come straight out of the Academy, and had the body of a cheerleader. Her hair was light brown, as were her eyes, but there was strength in them that could not be matched by her three compatriots. She flexed her fingers and memorized each aspect of them room, the windows, the doors, the escape routes. With a firm determination she grinned and nodded to herself that she had done an accurate analysis of the situation. Then her glance fell on Kin, and her smile only widened with shock, though it lasted only a few seconds.
Director Kosaka indeed knew the two older men, and was quickly telling them jokes and laughing with them. A few minutes later he introduced the group of officers.
"This is Captain Kaemon Danno, and Lieutenant Nikkiwa Horishima," he said pointing to the older man and then to the younger, both who bowed as he introduced them. He pointed to the youngest of the men and shook his head. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with you, though, or the young lady for that matter."
"I am Matsushita Yamamoto," the boy said with a grin.
Director Kosaka and the others nodded, and turned to the young woman. She smiled and stroked her hair.
"Her name is Sarah Tokutoyu," Kin said bitterly. He turned to her, and their eyes clashed with iron wills the gods wished they possessed. "And before you ask your next question, yes, she's my sister."
"Well, this should make things pleasant and very easy to deal with then," Director Kosaka said with a warm smile.
Depends on your definition of pleasant. Kin gawked at his sister, and waited his turn before answering certain questions from the officers. His blood pressure was rising, and he was sure that she could sense it too.
"That's an interesting tattoo, Ms. Tokutoyu," Sakaki said, looking at the winged figure on her right shoulder. He inched closer to examine it, but she backed away with a sly smile.
"Sorry fella, not on the first date," she giggled, her voice high and childlike, yet full of feminine charm and warmth. She covered the tattoo, and glared over at her brother, giggling as he squirmed. Looking at her superior officer, she motioned to him, and quietly asked if she could take her brother outside, after a few moments of thinking he nodded.
She turned to him and grinned, nodded toward the exit. He sighed and looked at her and rose to his feet, so much for a being very easy to deal with. What Sarah had in mind had nothing to do with the law.
"Tell them I am not going to come back," he snarled at her, as the sky grew pitch dark. Kin turned to his little sister, a year younger than himself and scowled. "I want nothing from that man, and I want nothing to do with them."
Like a stroke of lightning her hand reached out and pulled back his sleeve, a winged being with a fiery sword etched on his arm. "Is that why you got this then?" She narrowed her eyes and pulled back. "You are apart of the new enlightenment more than you could possibly know." She smiled and brushed his hair, "Don't you know your role in this whole play?"
"Let's not get dramatic, Sarah," he growled. He turned from her and crossed his arms. "I left that stage a long time ago," he said, his eyes beginning to water at the thought of graduation day, the first anyway.
"Father is growing anxious, and a little angry," Sarah said, leaning against the wall of the apartment complex. She smiled, and watched cars and trucks rush back and forth as if they were all participating in a race that none of them would ever win. There was a slight breeze that blew all around them, and rustled the bushes and trees.
"Like I give a flying fuck what he thinks," Kin roared, batting his arms around like a maniac. "I don't have a father."
"They won't like hearing that," she said, narrowing her eyes. Now her tone was starting to grow angry. "Father put in a lot of money with them, for this scheme of theirs, and if everyone doesn't play their part, I'm not really sure what they'll do."
"Again, I ask, why should I care?" Kin said, looking toward Nagira's door and hoping for the sanctity of the place. Well, maybe not sanctity, but there was a very sanctuary feel about it, much more so than Raven's Flat had for him.
"You are one of the Knights of Malake, servents to the Grigori, who are ministers to the Holy Archons of the angel Puruel," she howled, lowering her voice only when she realized someone might overhear.
"Take your fanaticism somewhere else, like medieval Europe," Kin snarled.
"You can't escape who you serve for much longer," his sister hissed, turning her head away from him. "Apocalypse is coming soon, and when it does, you will play your part."
Kin frowned and looked around the scenery scratching his head. When he finally managed to drive her nuts enough to ask what he was doing, he smirked evilly and crossed his arms. "I think there must be a baseball game somewhere around here, because there's a screwball loose by me."
Sarah shook her head and turned away, just in time for her superiors to exit the building. Before they could hear her, she turned back to him and jutted out a finger. "Just so you know, it was me who had you investigate that case three months back, she said her smile dark and shadowed. "Father had me do it."
Three months ago that bit of news might have driven him over the edge, now it only made him smirk right back at her. "You can tell father that, that was his major mistake. If this end of the world scheme of yours happens, you can expect me to be one of the major players to stop you."
"Have it your way," she snarled. She followed the other officers and got behind the wheel of one of the patrol cars. Her partner looked at her, back at her brother, and then shivered at the weight of the other man's glance.
Kin sighed as they drove off, and looked down at his feet. "I kind of wish fate had been kinder to me," he whispered.
Well time to answer some reviews!
Sakaki's Girl: Well if that's the case, all it means is I can create my own name for him !
Sparky 16: Glad you liked the last three chapters, I may go on line sooner than I thought, so it may not be three chapter updates, but it will be hopefully at least two chapters.
Lynx: Kool a new face! Well I'm glad you like it so far, and do not worry, the entire group will be reunited in a very short pace of time, and Robin and the American Hunter? It won't take them long to bang heads now, either, but first the gang has to deal with a coming Mafia war.
And hang on to this, ladies and gents before this story is over, one of the people who Robin holds most dear will no longer be among the living! chuckles evilly okay so on to chapter 8!