So here I am, quietly having a smoke as I wait for my two victims to show up.
The interesting thing is, I don't actually like cigarettes. Filthy things. They don't taste good, don't do a single thing for me. So why am I smoking one? Well, this is what I like to call a statement smoke. The statement that I am here. Let's see how fast they pick up on it.
The front door opens as I lean against a wall, letting out a good cloud of smoke. Then I move forward, dropping the cancer stick into a half-full teacup before going back to supporting the wall. On the way, I pull up my scarf. I'm wearing a scarf over my face and another over my hair. All they'll see of me is my eyes, which is how I want this. Of course, they'll get to know my Lilinette but there's no hope for that.
"…And then I told him to fetch me some more! The look on his face was –" The cheerful voice stopped abruptly and I watched as the man in the kimono unsheathed his smaller sword. What was it called again? Eh, I don't care. Short sword would do. The other one started warming up a kido.
"Someone is here." The white haired one said and I give them both high marks. Two for two, excellent. "What is that on the table?" He asked and I'm tickled pink that they've noticed. I set that out pretty carefully, it would just be lame if they walked right on by.
"Oh my kami." The man in the kimono sounds shocked and horrified. Well, you should my man, you should. I've taken a nice array of my photos and spread them out on the table for them. I move away from the wall and he readies his weapon as the white haired dude looks at me with a hard glare. I spread my hands, showing that I've got no weapons. Well, I do but it's just a short sword and it's in its sheath. Wouldn't do me any good against two taichou anyway. I'm good but I'm not a god.
"Hey there." I keep my voice a soft rasp. Trying to keep a low profile here. "I have a proposition for you. You'd be wise to listen." I reach down and touch a photo, gently playing with it with the tips of my fingers. "Very wise." Of course these aren't the only photos I've got. Not even close.
"What do you want?" Kyoraku says and he sounds very pissed. The white haired dude just noticed the pictures and he's going seriously pale. I'm pretty sure they both think I want money. I almost wish I did, it would be a hell of a lot simpler.
"I was hired recently to spy on you." I have to tell them the background or the whole 'look after my girl' thing won't make any sense. "As you can see, I met with great success." I glance down at the photos as Kyoraku swallows and Juushiro puts a hand over his mouth. He's looking sick now. So decapitation probably isn't off the table. I kind of thought so. "However, I decided to keep the fruits of my efforts to myself and give the money back." I say, watching them carefully. They both seem a little confused. "Unfortunately, my employer is coming back to haunt me in the worst sort of way. And I can tell you one thing about him… you probably know him." I wasn't deluding myself into thinking I'd met the man. Everyone I'd dealt with had been hired hands. Kyoraku frowned at me and I reached into my shirt, pulling out that little necklace I'd taken. "I got this from one of his goons. Looks familiar?"
"I see." His voice is hard, carefully controlled. "How did you manage to get these pictures? Where were you?" He suddenly asks and I laugh without thinking. Ooops, that was my normal voice. Oh well.
"Your closet." I say honestly and they both look completely taken aback. Heh, that's a funny look. "I'd say that makes me a closet pervert but I get paid for it. So it's all cool." Well, maybe not from the slightly nauseated look on their faces. "Do you have any more questions before we get to what I want?" Because I want something. Oh yes, I do.
"…Why didn't you just give these to your employer?" The white haired guy asks softly. "He must have been paying you well." That's certainly true. I charge a lot to spy on two taichou in the middle of the Seireitei. I gently stir the pictures with my fingertips.
"If I'd found what I expected, which was a woman, I would have." I say honestly. "But I have a philosophical problem with killing innocents. I'm a lot of things but not an assassin. And we both know that handing these over might be murder." I'm pretty sure that once in a while I've technically been an accessory, but I never meant it to happen. This would be pretty damned deliberate. And of course I've killed people, but they damned well weren't innocents. These two probably have plenty of sins – they're taichou, it's not always a nice job – but they haven't done a single thing to me. "And also…" I pick up one particular picture and catch the upper edge in my fingers, flipping my hand so it's facing them. It's a picture of them cuddling. "You guys are just too cute." Ooops. Did that sound as seductive as I think it did? From the shocked look on their faces, I think it did. Well damn, they made me tight in the pants. And that loving stuff… I really envy them that. I wish I had someone to love. I let the photo drop back to the table. "Nevermind that. Let's get into what I want from you." They both tense up again. Expecting me to put the screws on them for money, no doubt. "I have a daughter, my little girl." I say softly and that surprises them. "Everything I do is for her. These fuckers tried to kidnap her and they were talking about raping her." That still pisses me off so much. So glad they're dead, but I know there's more where they came from. "I'm going to deal with this shit myself. But I can't protect my little girl at the same time. So you're going to look after her for me. And if I don't come back, you'll find a good home for her, support her for me." That hurts to think about but I know it's a possibility. I might not get out of this one.
"Oh my kami." The white haired taichou says, looking sick. Ukitake Juushiro, that's his name. His friend is a bit more hardheaded about it.
"I'm surprised you would trust us with this. You don't have anyone else to put her with?" He asks and I sigh.
"I've got three people off the top of my head. None of them know kido and only one is good with a sword. And they have jobs. You have jobs too but I reckon you've got underlings you could put on my girl." I say honestly and Shunsui nods slowly as Juushiro looks at the pictures. "You have resources my other buddies don't. And frankly, you helped get me into this shithole, you can help get me out." That makes Kyoraku smile, ever so slightly.
"Too bad we don't have a rope, hmm? Well, it seems we have little choice." He says lightly and Juushiro nods. "When will we be getting the rest of the pictures?" Because obviously these aren't the only ones. I sigh and give him an honest answer.
"Right away. My girl has them." He arches an eyebrow at me and I shrug. "I don't really have a good place to keep them. And even if I did, well… if I get caught…" I have no doubt at all that this guy will torture me. These two are going to be looking after my girl if I get killed, I need them to stay breathing. "Also, your buddy there was a reputation for liking kids and not in a creepy way. So I'm not too worried that you'll cut her throat and keep the photos." They both look a little grossed out by my logic. But hell, I have to think of these things. "Let me go get her. She's not far away." I've stashed her somewhere close. She's probably pissed at me by now though. It's raining out there.
Sure enough.
"Starrk! What the hell! I'm soaked! If you didn't put this shit in waxed paper it's all ruined!" She hisses at me as I get her. Sighing, I help her out of the little concealed thicket I built for her. What? It's a park, I have survival skills. Really, I do.
"It's in waxed paper. What kind of amateur do you take me for? Come on. And remember, no names." Not that I have high hopes for that. I give it a day before she slips my name to them but whatever. It's not like I'm anyone important.
I have to go in the front door with her. She's no kind of super spy, my Lilinette. But whatever. I knock and Kyoraku lets me in. Lilinette sniffles a bit and Juushiro immediately starts to mother her. Or that's how I think of it, at least.
"Kami, you're soaked! Let me get you a towel. Shunsui, make that poor girl some tea!" He orders and his lover smiles before starting on that. I sigh a bit, feeling like a shitty dad. But what could I have done to keep her warm out there? It's raining damnit! I gently hug her, ignoring the water.
"Hey. You be good kid." I whisper to her and she sniffles again, burying her cold little face against my neck. "I'll be back for you, count on it."
"You better." She says threateningly and I smile. So cute. Then Juushiro's getting that towel around her and Shunsui has the tea. I step back to let them take care of her before giving them a few tips. "She's a good girl but a total cock block." Juushiro chokes a little as Kyoraku looks like he must have misheard. Go me. Lilinette just gives me the finger. Nice. "She also has a filthy mouth. Feel free to wash it out with soap. I don't want her slapped but if she gets really annoying, hang her out a window by her ankle and waggle her a bit. She hates that."
"Screw you Starrk!" She snaps and tries to kick me. I block but fuck!
"Brat! What did I tell you about my name?" I snap at her and she suddenly looks stricken. Forgot already. Lilinette can keep a secret, oh yes she can, but she's too used to using my name.
"Uh, I'm sorry Coyote!" She apologizes and I bite back a groan. What. The. Fuck?
"Now you gave them my other one… oh hell. Whatever. Take good care of her." I say to the two taichou. They're looking at me all funny now. I wonder why? But there's no time for that. I pull down my scarf and give her a quick kiss before making my escape.
Now I need to get to work bringing this bastard down.
"Oh my kami. Was that really…?" Shunsui whispered as he watched the man vanish like a puff of smoke. How could someone with so much spiritual pressure hide it so incredibly well? So close to him they'd both been able to feel the force of it, wafting off him like smoke off a hot pan. And then, when he chose, it seemed to simply vanish.
"Huh? You know Starrk?" They both looked at the little girl and Juushiro smiled reassuringly to her before bending down a bit to be on her level.
"We might, we're not sure. What's your name?" He said and his sweet uncle aura immediately began winning the child over. She smiled back, a touch uncertainly.
"I'm Lilinette Gingerbuck." She said and they both exchanged glances. "Oh yeah, these are for you." She pulled out a packet covered in waxed paper and Shunsui took it before opening it and taking a quick peek. It was the promised photos, complete with negatives. "You might wanna burn those right off. I haven't looked at them but I know what they are, Starrk told me." She said and Kyoraku nodded. "So, um… where am I gonna stay?" She suddenly seemed lost, this little girl. Juushiro smiled at her and she smiled back, sipping her tea.
"We have extra rooms. I'll go ready one for you." Shunsui offered as Juushiro got her settled into the kitchen. He smiled at the sight, sure that when he came out he would find his partner was plying the child with sweets. The photos were quickly gathered up and put into the envelope with the others. "Here, let me get that." A quick burst of kido and the contents were incinerated. As lovely as the pictures were, they were far too dangerous to keep. He quickly prepared the room for her. It didn't require much, just a quick freshening. When he came out, though, he found that Juushiro was only trying to ply the girl with sweets. She wasn't touching any of it, just looking at the plate with sad eyes… well, one eye. The eyepatch was definitely a reminder of the arrancar girl Juushiro had fought.
"What's wrong? You can tell me." Juushiro said softly to her and she sniffed, rubbing her face for a moment. Then she looked up at him, tearing up a little.
"Am I gonna see Starrk again?" She asked quietly and they exchanged a glance. "He's in pretty deep. And we're just dirt to guys like that. They'll hurt him really bad if they catch him."
"I'll do what I can to help him." Shunsui said softly and she sniffled before nodding. "Can you tell me a bit more about him?" She looked at them warily and he gave her a charming smile. That only seemed to make her more distrustful.
"We need to know more if we're going to help him, Lilinette." Juushiro said and she bit her lip, looking into her tea. Then she sighed.
"Starrk wouldn't like it, he'd say I'm a babble mouth. But I think you're right, Starrk really needs help right now." She said unhappily. "I don't know if I can tell you anything useful though. I mean, I don't know a lot about what's going on right now. Starrk doesn't know too much either, just that someone in your clan must really hate you."
"Oh yes." Shunsui said bleakly and Juushiro winced. They both knew that was true. Someone was attempting to remove Shunsui from his position as the clan heir. They wouldn't have minded – Shunsui didn't want it – but they were aiming to do it in a very permanent fashion. "But anything you can tell us would be helpful. How long have you and Starrk been plus souls?"
"Um, I don't know exactly. About two years?" She said, which matched perfectly with the end of the Winter War. Not that either of them were surprised. "We woke up in an alley an' we were both naked. That was fun, Starrk about burst something when he thought this guy was looking at me, hehe… anyway, we got clothes and he stole some food and we just got on in the world. Nothing special really. Starrk's a low life thug and I'm common scum." She said it like it was the most natural thing in the world and Juushiro and Shunsui exchanged a glance.
"Who told you that?" Juushiro asked and she grinned at him.
"Starrk! He's proud of it. He says he can't remember it but he's pretty sure he was born a bastard and got an education in lowlifery when he was just a kid." She said merrily and Juushiro blinked as Shunsui chuckled. "And he's pretty sure I'm his daughter which means I'm probably a bastard too and definitely common scum. That's alright though. We like being scum."
"Really." Juushiro said weakly. He'd never encountered that attitude before. Shunsui had, from some of his bar crawls in the Rukongai when he was younger. A lot of the members of the Eleventh considered themselves to be common scum, too. He chuckled again before speaking.
"Has Starrk ever considered becoming a shinigami?" He asked casually and Lilinette nodded.
"Yeah, he's been thinking about it. He figures he's gonna be recruited anyway if you get my drift." She said and Shunsui frowned as Juushiro bit his lip. "He's noticed someone following him sometimes. He says they're like a ghost. He doesn't like it too much but not much he can do, yah?"
"I see." Shunsui said calmly… too calmly, to Juushiro. They both could imagine why the Onmitsukido would be taking an interest in Coyote Starrk and it wasn't necessarily to recruit him. But the young, purified soul would have no idea. It seemed he and Lilinette had truly lost their memories. But would the more paranoid elements of Soul Society believe that? Doubtful. There was no point in alarming the child, though. "Well, I think I should set up an audience with my grandmother. She would be highly interested to know about this." Although he would give her a highly edited version of events.
She would be very upset that someone was attempting to destroy her grandson.
Ow. Ow. Ow.
My ankle is getting worse. Too much pressure on it, too soon. I keep trying to put healing spells on it but I know what my body is saying to me. It's saying lay off you dumb bastard, sit down and take a load off. Too bad I can't listen. Muttering something foul I keep hobbling along.
I'm going to a whorehouse that's noted for serving noble clientele. It's sort of a long shot, but people babble to whores all the time. I'll see if anyone knows –
A carriage screeches to a halt and that's all the warning I've got before three guys pile out and go for me. I immediately make a run for it, ignoring my ankle. Fuck that thing. Although who are these guys? Tell me I didn't somehow stumble across my erstwhile employers goons. Can't I ever get a damned break?!
That's when a kido hits me, to my absolute shock. I'm not ready for it and I go down hard, my arms suddenly trapped behind my back. I skid on my knees, probably skinning them both and narrowly avoid face planting onto the ground. Shit! My legs are free and I'm pulling myself up fast but not fast enough. The douchebags are onto me, grabbing me and I can't move my arms.
"Sai – " I manage to use exactly one, crappy kido before I get a punch in the face. One guy goes flying but the other two are still on me. I manage to make life miserable for them, though. I stomp on one guy's instep and head butt the other in the face.
Then things get nasty. The guy I sent flying is fucking huge and his fist is like a shovel. He hits me and I feel like my head just exploded. Everything is ringing, the side of my face is nothing but a mass of pain and there's something wet going down my face. I go down hard and someone yanks me around and starts putting something on my neck? I don't understand. What's that? My arms are still behind me and now that I've got a moment I manage to snap the kido just before they get that thing on my throat.
What. The. HELL? I suddenly can't feel my own reiatsu! Oh shit. It's some kind of retaining collar! I've never had anyone use something like that on me before because they are DAMNED expensive. Of course, money wouldn't be an object to these assholes. I struggle for all I'm worth but they're taking me to that fucking carriage. If they get me in there it's all going to be –
Wait. Wait! Fucking amateurs! There's no one in the carriage. There should be someone in there to make sure I can't get out the other door. And you know what? That's exactly what I do! In and out, oh yeah, score one for Coyote Starrk. There's cries of surprise and anger behind me as I take off running. Woo hoo, I'm free!
My ankle is killing me and I must look like someone fucked me up with a two by four, but whatever. I'm getting away. Then I hit a dead end but no problem. I start to climb, making it the roof of the building. Then I pause for a moment, fiddling with the reiatsu suppressor thing. There must be some way to get it off and if I can pawn the thing I'll have made a solid –
"Fuck!" Only really good reflexes saves me. This guy in black comes out of nowhere and tries to stab me! He's using shunpo, too. I have shunpo and I'm pretty damned good at it but not when I'm wearing this damned collar! I'm not sure how I'm surviving here, but somehow I am. Just barely though. I draw my blade as I frantically try to –
Then my foot hits empty air and I realize I've been suckered. This guy has pushed me to the edge of the roof and it's not a long drop, but it's enough if I land wrong. I've got no time to react at all before a blade goes for my throat and I have to dodge, I have to but I can't. There's nowhere to go but down and that's exactly where I go with a short scream. Short because the ground isn't far away and I land bad, really bad. I hear something crunching and red hot pain.
Then it's lights out for me.