http://clampfix.fanworks.net/kenichi/essen03.txt </head><body><pre> Warning: Please do not throw tomatoes at me after reading this fic... |P "Man is a complex being; he makes deserts bloom and lakes die." -Gil Stern Chapter Three I did not envy Richmond's position in the group that night; though I was unable to decipher exactly what they were speaking about, it didn't take much imagination to tell that the entire group was wholly displeased. Apparently, there are some things even a difference in language can't hide. I was down to my last box of cigarettes, smoking one as I stood, watching the events go by like a shadow play before me. The entire room was almost shivering with the arguments going on; Professor McCarthy...Julie, I correct myself... mainly taking the floor against Richmond. The other two team members stood by their professor, making it seem like it was him against the world. I stood silently in the corner, quite content to watch... And think. But of thoughts that had nothing to do with the conversation whatsoever... That boy earlier... What did he have to do with any of this...? Seishirou said he was dangerous to the both of us. But, in what way? And why do I still find myself believing him? I was jolted by a slamming of a door. Apparently, Richmond had heard enough and left. Julie was running a hand through her scalp in exasperation. "Kono Kusotarre...!" I pulled the cigarette out of my mouth and snickered to myself. "McCarthy-San, please remember that your'e not the only Japanese speaker in the room..." Her face turned beet red. "G...Gomenasai! I lost my poise... for a second..." A hand flew to her face as her head tilted slightly. "Gomen... I lost control of myself a moment. It won't..." I put the unfinished smoke on the ashtray. Three steps brought me close to her, as I laid a hand on her shoulder. For some reason, the smile came naturally to me. "We all make mistakes, and lose our temper. You shouldn't let that be a hindrance to you." I licked my lips an instant. "Look, you don't have to follow the local custom to the letter. Even we Japanese make mistakes...Can we possibly blame you?" Julie smiled a bit, and nodded. "Hai. I'm sorry if it was too troublesome..." Her face turned bitter. "...It's just that Richmond has been a pain ever since the beginning. I'm starting to think the only reason the University wanted him with us was so that they could be free of him for a while." I shut my eyes and smiled. "Well, he's apparently enjoying his vacation." The smile dropped when I opened my eyes again. "I still want to look around, find what I can about these murders." "Arigato, Sumeragi-San. I have a friend, a Chinese lady who works at the base... She can speak English as well as Nihongo, so I think she might be able to help you..." I frowned, a reflex I did not anticipate. Luckily, Julie seemed not to mind it, and continued. "...U.S. Marines were the first people to see the bodies..." "I see. And you?" Julie had an apologetic tone to her voice. "Anna, Charles, and I will be doing research in the local library. Perhaps there's something there that can give clues to what killed them." "I understand..." Almost an afterthought... "...What of Richmond?" Julie didn't answer. I'm sure I wouldn't have wanted to know, anyway. The sun was not as harsh as I expected. Summer, it seems, was quickly nearing its end. This close to autumn, the climate had cooled somewhat. Even a normally warm place such as Okinawa felt cool. Cold. Like a breath of ice. I found myself pulling the jacket tighter around me as I walked. Reaching in my pocket, I fished out anothe Philip Morris and my lighter. This might take awhile. I was lucky that Okinawans speak Nihongo as well as most native Japanese; although Julie and her troupe... well, most of her troupe, anyway.. were kind enough to help me, it still felt good to be among people who, though were not racially Japanese, you could speak to naturally, without fear of being misunderstood. The locals informed me that base employees were usually let out at around 5:00pm, give or take a few minutes. My watch read only 4:30. Apparently, I still had plenty of time on my hands. I let my feet guide me, out of the base area and into the smaller towns nearby. It's a quaint place, Okinawa. One that reminded you of how life was before the 20th century. Small town life was something I would really have enjoyed... With people I care about. A Cherry tree by the roadside rustled in the wind. Oneechan... Seishirou... One is dead. The other is a betrayer. The two people I cared about most in the world, and this is what happens. Both touched, no surrounded, by death. One who worships it, The other has joined it. Voices... A loud cajoling roused me out of my reverie. I turned to meet the sounds, and stopped. Not me. No, the jeering I heard was not directed at me. Five teenagers, around sixteen years or so, and one young boy in the very center. They were incessantly pshing him around, one of them clutching a bag that the younger boy tried to take back. The more the boy flailed, the more the jeering and pushing continued. I felt spite grow in my soul. Bullies. No matter where you go, there was always someone who had nothing better to do than to make everyone else's life miserable. Five older boys ganging up on one younger boy. Typical. My fists tightened as I approached. Only five feet away, I stopped. The boy they jeered was the same boy in my dream. <He is dangerous to you and I both...> But he was being hurt... <dangerous...> I can't stand by... <dangerous...> The jeering went on. "Little Chinese Half-breed! No wonder your dad bought the farm!" My senses were shocked at what I saw next. No warning. One minute, the jeering group of boys were laughing. Now, they screamed in horror. I must have blinked; I hadn't seen the actual blow. But the tallest among them, of which I presumed was the leader of the gang, suddenly cartwheeled in midair. Not a second later, his body slammed into the ground facefirst. The boy in the center, my mysterious dream savior. The same ferocity with which he attacked Seishirou in my dream. One foot describing a perfect arc in the air. The foot suddenly reversed it's direction, slamming heelfirst into the next bully. By now, the other three had gone to their senses, but it was far too late, as the second boy relentlessly clasped his groin, doubling up in agony. What are you doing, Sumeragi? Help him! Yet I stood stock-still, marveling at the speed at which the boy moved. It couldn't possibly be human, yet... There was an audible Crack as a hand spun around to meet its target, the ribs of another opponent. In a single, fluid move, the same hand shot up to meet the recipient's chin. I then noticed that the current object of the boy's ire was the one who took the bag, which by now was flying upward. The boy caught his package as his third opponent collapsed to the ground writhing, unsure of which pain to feel first. There was a cold hate in his eyes, one that I had not anticipated in someone so young. His voice, young, but as tainted with the cold as his eyes were. "I could make this a bit more painful, you know..." There was no need for further comment as the remaining two scampered for their lives. The other three were either unconscious or wished they were. I hadn't expected that; it happened too fast...how could one young boy do all that with the skill and cool of a master...? "Your'e not from around here, are you, mister?" The question took me by surprise. I then noticed I was staring at the three slumped bodies like a fool. I looked to the boy as I spoke. He was fairly short, maybe barely five feet. To think he defeated a gang nearly twice his size... "Hai. I'm sorry if I..." "No apologies... I guess real fights scare the daylights out of most people... Gomen, I was only trying to defend myself... and my package." His mien changed so quickly that it took me off-guard. One moment intense, the next moment, cheerfully candid. "I understand. But why did they want your 'package'?" "Not the package. Me." He shrugged thoughtlessly. "I guess people don't like children of a Chinese-Japanese marriage." I reached into my pocket. "I don't see why they should..." Damn. Out of cigarettes. My hand idgeted as I pulled it out of my jacket. "...Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan... Wer'e all Asian here." I grinned. "What was that, anyway? I mean, how did you..." "Chang Quan Wushu... My Father taught it to me years ago." Chinese Martial Arts. No wonder it seemed so fast. "Your'e very good at it." He nodded, slightly bashful. "Not that good, I'm afraid, mister..." "Subaru. Sumeragi Subaru." "Hai. Gomenasai, Sumeragi-San, I have to deliver this quickly." A skip back, and he was off and running. "Wait... you are...?" He was too far already. On a day like this, he was working. A young boy, working as a courier of sorts. Tough one second, gentle the next. Not frightening at all. I chuckled to myself. That's what your'e afraid of Seishirou? I should laugh myself sick. He's good. But he isn't like one of us. No, I don't think he is an Onmyoudo like us. But... Isn't it intruiging how someone that young, even given training from birth, could be that efficient in a fight...? And why did he wait until the last moment before fighting back? Is he hiding something? I peered over the bodies of the three unconscious youths. Badly bruised, all of them. Common sense took the better part of me and I left before the three awoke. It just wouldn't do for me to hang around and get involved in a local disturbance. And maybe that boy was far more skilled than he appears. A curse escaped my lips as I realized that it was already 5:15. With questions yet to be answered, I trod back to the base. My meeting with Linda Wang was most entertaining. I met with a slightly Thirty-ish woman who was cheerful and keen, somehow she reminded me of how Obachan was... though their ages and demeanors differed greatly. Her enthusiasm was almost contagious as she was happy to show me around Okinawa and it's urban area, the city. After looking at the countryside earlier, however, I felt slightly disiillusioned at the sight of grey stone once again. We talked as we strode down Okinawa's streets, stopping to buy food "for dinner", she said, along the way. The brown paper bag, she carried like a babe, close to her chest. I soon gathered from our conversation that She worked as a secretary of sorts to the base's local service. It was she who first informed Julie of the deaths. She smiled often, yet it seemed that it was all an act, a facade put up for my benefit. Probably because she was Chinese, and that she was afraid to err. Maybe that boy was right. Maybe Chinese people just aren't treated right in some parts of Japan. "So, Sumeragi-San... What kind of assistance can I give to you?" I let a small smile crack through. "I was wondering if you could help me talk to those soldiers who first saw the body... I'd like to ask them some things..." A frown creased her face. "Ai-ya... Those soldiers involved have all been transferred..." "Transferred...?" "Yes. oddly, only three days after they found the bodies." I tried not to let coincidence interfere. Yet, it's so odd... "Why were they transferred?" Linda looked straight ahead as she spoke, yet I could see her brow crease with worry. "For some reason or other, they all went crazy..." "Crazy? I don't understand..." She shrugged her shoulders and held the bag closer. "In the three days after seeing the bodies, one by one, all of them went from toughened soldiers to stark raving lunatics. There was no alternative but to send them back home, the poor souls." "Hm. I wonder what it was that drove them that way?" What indeed? I doubt it was the condition of the bodies. I and the Miskatonic team were queasy over the photographs, but we didn't go insane... How much more a group of soldiers, who have at least trained to deal with death, if not face it themselves...? I escorted her to her home, a small but roomy bungalow not far from the base where she worked. We stood under the front porch as she fumbled for her keys. I was just about to bid my thanks and farewell. "Sumeragi-San?" I turned, slightly startled. "Hai?" "It's getting dark. It would be an honor for me if you could stay for dinner..." "Domo, but I think that I should..." A crack of thunder, and the heavens poured down on us. Linda's offer of dinner became suddenly irresistible. "On second thought, Wang-San... I would be delighted to." Linda was still fumbling with the keys, when the door lock opened. "Your husband, Wang-San?" She shook her head. "Iie. My son. It's been some time since his father died... Well, you must be soaking... Please go in..." I stepped in... And came face to face with the boy I met earlier that afternoon. The boy from my dream. The surprise was mutual, as we stood staring at each other dumbly. I was too surprised to speak, while the boy could only make out a few phrases and fragments, chewing on his own words as he spoke. It was Linda who broke the silence. "Have you two met each other..?" I recollected myself in time to answer. "Not formally..." She turned to her son sternly. "Son, this is Sumeragi Subaru." The boy nodded. "Uh... yeah. I kind of ran into him this afternoon..." I let myself smile once again. It was funny how the boy blushed crimson around his mother. "Yes, and you didn't even bother to tell me your name." The crimson on his face turned beet red. "Gomenasai, Sumeragi-San... I was in a hurry..." "Forgive my son, Sumeragi-San. He's just too impatient sometimes... Been like that since his father died." She nudged him with her elbow. "Intoduce yourself." "Gomen, Sumeragi-San..." "No need to be apologetic. I understand." The formality of his tone put me at a slight unease. "Watashi wa Kaeda, Kenichi desu. Dozo Yoroshiku." </pre><p><a href="./">Back</a></p><p><a href=http://www.dreamhost.com/donate.cgi?id=216><img border=0 alt="Donate towards our web hosting bill!" src=https://secure.newdream.net/donate1.gif></a></p></body></html>