Author's notes: Hullo! Thanks so much for the best reviews! I have a little something for Shinobi Love in here. This chapter tips its hat to the Shinobi Love's February challenge. Let's play a game, shall we? Whoever guesses first the element I placed here for the challenge will win a prize! Hurrah! Ready? GO! (pops a cork gun)
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, or the song "Coin Operated Boy" by the Dresden Dolls
----Made of plastic and elastic/ He is rugged and long-lasting/ Who could ever ever ask for more/ Love without complications galore! ----
Coin Operated Boy!
By Tesuka- chan
Chapter 2: Plastic and Elastic
Those cold, blue eyes.
She suddenly gasped.
Wide eyes saw a man, uncannily tall, wearing a black sleeveless trench coat, wine-colored v-neck top, tight dark pants, and leather strips wound on his forearm. He looked like a ninja.
A ninja in the 30th century? Impossible.
That was her last thought before she saw what he was holding. Her last thought before he seemingly vanished and reappeared in front of her, holding the hilts of the two blades sticking out of her back.
She shrieked, her voice high-pitched and coarse, her silver eyes turning to a dull black. Blood filled up her mouth, fangs protruded from her upper lip. Then her screams suddenly halted, and all was silent once again.
He pulled out his bloody swords, flicked the crimson fluids off, and sheathed them behind his back. He was Shinomori Aoshi, the vampire hunter.
This is Kodachi, the story of his revenge.
A day before the Anime Convention:
Aoshi looked at the paper on his hand. It was a copy of a page on Katsu's manga, the first issue of Kodachi. In one of the boxes that occupied half of the page, a man wearing a black, sleeveless trench coat posed in a rather impossible position. He was killing some… vampire thing. He could barely make out the forms. When he asked Sano for a better, clearer copy, his roommate just waved his hands offhandedly and mumbled something about the character being a killing machine and a vengeful lover. He sighed. This was what he got from asking him for a picture of the main character, Shinomori Aoshi.
Oh, and that was another issue.
Why did he ever agree Katsu's request for using his name in the manga?
"Oi, Shinomori, I'll base my character on ya… how'd ya like that, eh?"
"Hn… yeah, what the hell. You can even use my name for all I care…" He grumbled, his head throbbing, limbs heavy. Then Katsu patted him happily on the back and he blacked out. The next day, he had a killer hangover and he swore that he will never drink sake again.
He sighed yet again. One cup of sake that fateful night. One cup was all it took to ruin his life.
Sake was a killer. Yet another sigh. He should start getting the things that he needed. Now how will he get his hands on some face paint?
Present situation:
Oh, Kami-sama!
Kaoru was frozen to the spot. A Shinomori Aoshi who… who… oh, gods, she can't say it! She can't even think of it properly! This was bad… very, very bad. Misao, the number 1 fan of Kodachi, shouldn't be there on the floor, looking up at him with a stunned expression on her face. Misao, the number 1 fan of Kodachi, should be miles away from this place. Misao, the absolute number 1 fan of Kodachi – nay, of Shinomori Aoshi – shouldn't even be in the same planet as this guy!
He was sooo gonna get it.
Kaoru covered her face with her hands, closed her eyes, and braced herself. Because knowing Misao, as the number 1 fan of Kodachi, she would most probably –
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!"
– criticize that poor man until he hangs himself. Kaoru winced at Misao's outburst. It has begun. She bit her lower lip as she tried to make her way inch by inch towards her frantic friend. But a lot of people already gathered around the scene and she was pushed aside so many times that she found herself at the back of the crowd. Mou! This situation was getting worse! She looked around. She HAS to get to Misao. Or get help. Or bully someone to help. Then she saw him, that guy Misao was talking with earlier.
He'll do.
Cold blue eyes.
Misao gasped. She couldn't believe it. It can't be.
Bishie vampire hunter extraordinaire. An anguished lover bent on revenge. The main character of Kodachi. Those cold, blue eyes.
Shinomori Aoshi.
…
…
…
… OR NOT! THAT IS SO WRONG!
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!"
She quickly scrambled up, oblivious to the small crowd gathering around them. There was only one thing in her mind at that moment: that abomination who calls himself a cosplayer!
"I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU COULD DO SUCH A CRUEL THING! It's absolutely sacrilegious!" Misao shrieked, looking up at the rather tall man. Sure he got the height and the clothes right, but… but his face! It was too horrible, too cruel. She almost cried right then and there.
The stupid man painted black, white, and red stripes on his face… not to mention a small, pink heart on his left cheek.
"Is this some kind of a sick joke? Well, you've had your fun, mister! If I were you, I'd change and go home before someone kicks your ass for making fun of the best manga, and the best character ever created!" She paused, looked up at him with contempt and saw the doll on his hand. She quickly grabbed it and said, "and you definitely don't have a right to hold or even look at a Katsu original!"
Aoshi was astonished. He looked down at the girl in front of him who looked both indignant and weepy at the same time. Sure it was his fault that her doll fell (as he did bumped into her) but he saved it from being smashed into pieces, didn't he? And she repays him by yelling at him and staring rudely at his face. He raised an eyebrow.
"…"
"What, nothing to say? HA! All the silent ones are guilty!" With that, she turned around and walked away, the crowd parting and closing at her wake.
Aoshi blinked. What the hell just happened?
"Hey, what's going on here – WHOA, Aoshi, my man! What's with the face!" Katsu exclaimed after barging through the crowd. Behind him stood a grinning Sano and a rather perplexed girl.
"Why, what's wrong with my face?"
"Why did you paint it like that!"
"…"
He fished out of his pocket the picture that Sano gave him and handed it over to the bemused Katsu. The artist looked at the page, then at Aoshi. Then he looked at the page again and began to chuckle, which soon gave way to a hard laugh. Sano's grin was wider than ever. The girl beside him mumbled thanks, excused herself, and walked away with her hand covering her mouth, shoulders shaking in concealed mirth. Some people in the crowd began to giggle while others shook their heads and left.
Aoshi's blue eyes narrowed. He did not appreciate being laughed at.
Katsu wiped the tears at the corners of his eyes. "Man, that was a good laugh. Here, wipe that goop off your face," he said and gave him his handkerchief and steered him towards the toilet. "You know, this speaks loads about you. Apparently, you're so obsessive compulsive, dare I say anal, to the point that you even copied the shadows in the picture." He grinned widely, almost identical to Sano's.
Aoshi blinked. Those were shadows?
Sano laughed and patted his friend's back. "Sorry dude, I really wanted to tell you when you came out of the room – " this got him an accusing glare from the ice man, "– really, I did! It was just too rich, you know? It would be such a shame if people didn't see it. I mean, who would ever imagine that the ice man can pull it off?" He grinned mischievously and held up a couple of bills. "Well I did, and I won a wager. Haha! Thanks, man!"
Aoshi dampened the handkerchief and wiped off the face paint. Sano must really want to die. Painfully. Good thing Katsu was there, or he would've punched the stupid grin off the idiot's face. "That's it. I'm done with this."
"Maa, maa…" the artist raised his right hand up, stopping Sano's comments before the situation gets worse. Then he turned to his precious cosplayer while adjusting his rimless glasses.
"You know what your problem is, Aoshi? You totally lack imagination."
"And I care?"
"No, really. Look at it this way. You're great at your academics and your work, that's true, but you're too serious. You're social life is non-existent and your idea of fun is sipping tea while shifting through bills." Katsu exhaled a long-suffering sigh. "I'm really doing you a favor here. You need to loosen up, interact with people –"
"Your point?"
"- and you did sign a contract. And you need the money. And I need a mascot to attract the people who will buy my manga and give me money so I can give YOU money." His so-called friend smiled innocently. "Okay, how about this: just appear at the auction while I bid off my stuff. That's it. You don't have to go out like that before the auction, all right? Plus, Sano will give you half of his winnings."
The rooster sputtered.
"WHAT? NO WAY!"
"That's for humiliating him in public. Give."
"It's not like the ice man FELT humiliated. It's not like he FEELS at all! And I won it fair and square!"
"By using your roommate. Now…"
Sano begrudgingly gave Aoshi half of the bills, sniffed a bit and left. Aoshi smirked. "All right, at the auction." He pocketed the cash. The auction and that's it, he thought. He will never accept any job offerings from Sano again next time, even if he needed the cash. He wiped off the last of the paint on his cheek.
"Thanks, man." Katsu half- turned away and paused, apparently remembering something. "Oh yeah, why did you paint a pink heart on your cheek? I was wondering about that."
"Sano was said something about a vengeful lover. I thought that it would give people a clue about it. I thought you of all people would get it."
The artist laughed, choked and coughed at the same time. "Yeah, my fault." He thumped his chest to ease the cough. He shook his head in amazement and grinned. Aoshi was really something. "Well anyway, I'll see ya later at the auction." He sketched a salute and walked out, closing the door behind him.
Aoshi frowned and gritted his teeth. Just the auction. After that, he's free. Nothing can go wrong there, right?
"ARGH! I cannot believe the gall of that asshole!" Misao raged on, stomping from one booth to the next. She had been going around the place for over an hour now and at her vexed state, bought everything from key chains to the latest cd album of the Asian Kung-Fu Generation. She was on a vengeful, shopping rampage.
Her friend, Kaoru, trudged on beside her with traces of humor on her face.
"You know, that asshole you're talking about is not that bad actually. He seems decent under all that make-up." She grinned. It was so much fun to tease Misao.
"What? DECENT? Anyone who does something that cruel must not know the meaning of the word. To mock a work of art like that… it's absolutely UGH!" The enraged girl plopped her purchases on the floor and started making strangling movements with her fingers.
Kaoru rolled her eyes at the antics of her friend. She was always like this when she gets riled up about something. She glanced at her watch, wondering on how much time they spent going around the convention. She looked away, then did a double take. It couldn't be…
"Ne, Misao, what time's the auction again?"
The fine arts student was now punching the air. "4, why?"
"Umm… it's already 5."
"HUWWWAAAAATTTT?"
Misao suddenly stiffened, chagrin written all over her face. Then she grabbed her parcels, clutched her friend's wrist and sped her way toward function room 1, bumping into a lot of people on the way. Misao burst through the door, panting heavily. She quickly got a number from a box, number 204. Oh please, don't let the doll be sold… please…
She looked up and surveyed the room.
It was an informal bidding. There were a lot of people, mostly girls. There was an auctioneer on the stage, and beside him was a table where five covered items were placed, including one shaped like the doll that Misao wanted. A sign on the table said, "Blind items".
Then she saw the auctioneer speaking, and only then did she really hear what he was saying. "80 dollars from the lady in white. 80 dollars for the last, blind item!"
80 dollars! How was she to know if it's the doll?
"80 dollars going once…"
What if it isn't the doll? But it's the last item… and the doll-shaped figure is the last on the right so it makes sense that it might be the doll.
"80 dollars going twice…"
Oh, bugger it! She raised her hand. "85 dollars!"
"85 dollars from the lady in black."
The lady in white demurely raised her number and bid again. "90 dollars."
She glared at the back of white-lady. "100 dollars!"
"105 dollars."
"150 dollars!"
Oh crap. 150 dollars? Am I insane?
There was a collective murmur and a few whistles from the audience. Even the auctioneer raised his eyebrows. "Very well, 150 dollars from the lady in black. Madame white?" He asked white-lady. Misao glared at her back so hard that she could've bored a hole on it. White-lady stiffened, as if she felt the gaze, and shook her head. The lady in black grinned triumphantly.
"150 dollars going once, 150 dollars going twice, sold to number 204!"
Misao cheered, did a little dance and patted her almost-forgotten friend beside her who was still catching her breath from the sprint. The genki girl couldn't believe it… she won! She got the doll at last!
"All winners, please pay at the table beside the stage."
She was the first to arrive. However, they were giving out the none-blind items first so she had to wait a few minutes for her turn. By the time they called her number, she was in a high state of euphoria and excitement. This was it… she was going to own that Shinomori Aoshi doll… she will never let it go…
"Number 163, please wait a moment. Number 204. Please pay and sign here." As she paid and signed, she kept on looking at the covered figure on the table. It was finally going to be hers…
The assistant at the counter picked up the doll-shaped, covered figure. Misao reached out her hands, excitement flowing through her veins. She could see it, see it being carried to the counter, see it going towards her, see it going away... going away? NO! NO! It's hers! Why is it going away!
She was about to follow the assistant to demand and explanation when someone called out to her, "Makimachi-san? Here's your item!" Misao turned towards the speaker with a confused look on her face. Another assistant was smiling broadly and handed her a piece of paper.
She paid 150 goddamn bucks for a paper.
Stunned, she accepted it and vaguely heard the assistant calling someone from the back. She couldn't believe it. A piece of paper. Is it pure gold? Can she sell it for a thousand dollars? How can things get any worse? She was staring at it blankly when someone appeared in front of her.
She looked up.
He looked down.
"You!" both said simultaneously.
"Congratulations!" the assistant exclaimed excitedly. "The last blind item is a date with THE Shinomori Aoshi!"
"WHAT?" Both exclaimed.
"I DID NOT BID FOR THIS!"
"Where's Katsu? I'm going to kill him."
"THIS IS ALL A MISTAKE!"
"I was certainly not informed beforehand."
"I WANT MY MONEY BACK!"
The poor assistant raised her hands in defeat. "Anou... that paper says it all. Non-refundable... last blind item..." She shrank under the terrifying stares of the two. "And ummm... Katsu's away so... I've got to go!" She sped away so fast it was as if she vanished into thin air.
This was not happening. She did NOT just pay 150 bucks for a date with a stupid cosplayer! Misao stared at the paper on her hand and turned it over. It says: A date with Shinomori Aoshi at the Akabeko.
She looked up and glared at the man. He glared back.
One thing's for sure. This was not going to be your typical date.
----------
Somewhere in the background, a lady in white walked happily away with a doll, whispering "Kamatari oka-san will take care of you, honey bun!"
THE END.
...JUST KIDDING.
A/n: Mwahahahaha! My evilness comes forth once again! What do you think? Please read and review!