Chapter 7: Arriving at Fundamental Truth
"Gah!" Ban complained loudly as he waited with Hevn outside of Ginji's room, "how long does it take to give the guy a bath anyway?"
"Oh leave it alone," a somewhat feminine Katsuki said, "he's probably not enjoying it much given the size of that man that went in to give it to him."
The thread master was recovered enough from his injury that he could be moved in a wheelchair but bandages still were wrapped over the whole of his chest. He'd been told that the wounds were just short of killing him in every area that would have killed him. Like he'd been left alive as some sort of reward for entertaining the sick monster that had carved his trademark 'J' into his chest.
"True enough," Ban agreed without noticing Katsuki's internal struggles. Wrinkling his nose in anger before announcing, "I'm gonna get Dr. Jackal and his little bitch for this. How dare they ruin our almost perfect record!"
"Might want to think about that a little more Ban," Hevn chided as she entered the room, a beige folder in one hand. She took a seat, long blond hair flowing around her and her chest bouncing slightly as she sighed.
"What did you find Ms. Hevn?" Kazuki asked, wincing after sitting up to far, closing his eyes at the sensation of sticky wetness growing inside the bandages, the wounds weren't life threatening but they reopened quite easily given the position they were in and how deep many of them were carved. He shook his head at the look of concern though, motioning for the negotiator to continue her report.
"This woman was nearly impossible to trace. Paul finally managed to get a hold of some old reports that were labeled confidential by the government in the forties. The files he found talks about a woman named Peliaiah Horace who was some sort of psychic and worked for the government on various cases to help them hunt down criminals." Hevn relaxed some in her chair as she explained, looking between either of her listeners. "She was kidnapped though by some of the mafia of the era, a group that called themselves the Ao Long, after the four great Chinese dragons. Their leader at the time didn't want her to call him out so he'd kidnapped her and originally planned to kill her."
"Is there a point to this story Hevn?" Ban snapped impatiently.
"Just wait," Hevn's eye twitched a little as she growled back, "I wouldn't tell it if it wasn't important…Ginji is my friend too you know!"
"Ms. Hevn," Katsuki said calmly to get her attention, "please continue."
Hevn frowned at Ban and glared a moment before looking back at Katsuki purposefully and speaking again, "at any rate. He took her as a personal concubine of sorts after he kidnapped her and impregnated her with a daughter that was named Constantina Yori. The girl didn't seem to develop her mother's talents for soothsaying so the father trained her for everything, combat, piloting, demolitions, mostly he developed her best ability for sharpshooting. But she was never caught doing anything wrong, her nose was always completely clean."
Hevn paused to sip some coffee a nurse had brought her and nod her thanks.
"At any rate, after a while she just sort of disappeared and the files say they thought she moved to another country and given those records she should be in her late sixty's to early seventy's. But…we kept searching and found one other report on a recently successful negotiator named Constantina Donata, with a face and build perfectly matching the old Yori. All that's said is that the government believes she arrived from Russia…"
"Russia?" Ban and Katsuki exchanged confused looks then turned back to Hevn.
She shrugged and went on, "…and that she's likely a daughter of the famed Constantina Yori, but by the records they've obtained is equally as skilled if not more so. Not to mention if she's developed any talents like her grandmother she'd not only be able to find Akabane successful jobs, but even tell him where to go to put his…talents…to the best use."
"It mention anywhere why she's got a sick obsession with the inhuman abomination?" Ban asked soberly.
Hevn shook her head, "nothing else, we were lucky to get what we did. Paul almost got himself caught and if his equipment had gotten fryed it would have been a large number added to your tab."
Ban blanched a bit as he saw money signs appear and beat him over the head a bit, too dizzy with the idea of -more- debt to comment again until he noticed Himiko rushed by in the hallway outside, moving to follow the streak of blue and (at least temporarily) forgetting about the money he owed.
"Himiko…what happened to her dog boy?" Ban demanded as nurses helped the injured woman onto a stretcher and rushed her off for emergency care for the shots and other wounds.
"She went a little crazy," Shido answered with a shrug, "I didn't see the whole battle, just that she was fighting with the business woman following Akabane around. When I grabbed her she was still beating on the unconscious girl…she should be dead after all the bruises Himiko left. But right after I got her she went limp and her eyes were open for a while but she wouldn't talk…on the way here she passed out."
"So you run away from Akabane and let Himiko get her butt kicked? She could have died using that perfume! Leave it to an animal…" Ban fumed as he headed off after his semi-friend.
Shido frowned but let it slide, sighing when the nurses brought him a wheelchair to admit him as well. He glanced to Hevn and Katsuki and then looked back down before speaking, "the girl said that they already had Ginji, that they'd gotten him from the hospital somehow. My birds told me while I was heading here. Also that he's heading into the limitless fortress for a job…one that ends in Babylon City."
He sat down after that, ashamed that he'd run away from the monster that was Dr. Jackal. Katsuki and Hevn exchanged worried looks and Katsuki got up, "I should call MakubeX and see if he can delay him as long as possible. Tell Ban."
Scene Switch (cause really…I can't add a new chapter without at least a little Akabane)
The going had been easier than he'd remembered it the last two times…but thus far, not all fruitless, a few street gangs in the outer areas had given him at least a small bite of the large feast that awaited him above. He was heading up a set of stairs and along a corridor that had once been windowed but was now open to the air when a storm started to stir.
"Hmm, never seen rain here before. I wonder if MakubeX is going to give me a bit of a run before I head upstairs. Glad to see you've caught up Constantina, that was quick."
"Not fast enough doctor," she bowed her head as she replied, back to her irritatingly perfect self, "I didn't mean to cause you delay."
"Nothing to worry about," Akabane returned as he kept walking, "though if MakubeX starts to bore me too much, you'll have to steer a little clear. I wouldn't want to kill you in the crossfire, you bring me jobs far too great for that."
"Whatever you wish doctor," Constantina naturally deferred.
They walked in a pleasant silence (at least for them) and even as it started to pour rain and lighting streaked in the sky above Akabane smiled and Constantina stayed neutral. Neither of them jumped or reacted much at the thunder, no matter how loud or how much it rattled the tower building they were in.
She watched the doctor, her world faultless no matter the weather as long as she was near him. Following him like some bewitched slave, enthralled by any move he made, no matter if it ranged from minor steps to deadly swings. Even if she preferred the later, she was completely content by his nearness, taken in by every breath.
And despite her intent study she managed to speak when she had no real way of knowing what was there.
"Doctor, one Juubee Kage is lingering within the room we are about to enter. Orders?" She waited for those as they didn't slow in pace.
"Enjoy yourself Constantina, you do like to watch right?" Akabane observed languidly, "you need to have a little more recreation. Don't want that suit to suffocate you."
He tipped the hat to his obsessed assistant, knocking the water gathered on it off and slipped into the room, side-stepping the needles that flew his way and grinning as his own knives slid from his flesh glimmering in the pale moonlight…
End Chapter
Well that was fun…a much longer chapter than usual but I really liked it. I think it started a lot more storyline hints and got the creative juices flowing for me. Sorry there wasn't too much Akabane in this chapter. (Makes me sad as well: ( ) However, he'll be back in full swing in the next chapter…along with Constantina. Who finally got a wee bit of a back story (that I've mentioned so far at least)…and no worries, there is much more to come there. I hope everyone will like it and continue to review. Always happy to hear people's thoughts and criticisms (preferably creative ones but I'll take what I can get).
To my reviewers:
TheDarkMessanger: Please don't nuke my house. I would die and it would make me sad. Not to mention I'd never be able to finish it that way! Silly goose. blushes Thank you for the energy with which you say you enjoy my story though. I hope you continue to do so. And I chose Constantina's name for a specific reason, though I may or may not get to that or use it in the story. If I complete it without that reasoning, I'll tell you at the end : ).