|
RPC Background Stories Part 4: Evanescent Loyalties (sec.4) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* * * *
A few hours later, the group arrived at the electric plant.
“Kuro, I should probably dismiss you now,” Rei said as the plant came into view. They had borrowed a van and Ichiro was driving. “I’ll summon you if I need help, all right?”
Kuro nodded. Guardians could be summoned and dismissed. While dismissed, a guardian’s soul resided in their binding point while their physical for resided in a place called Tartarus. Tartarus wasn’t Hell as the ancient Greeks believed, but the headquarters of the nameless organization that created and controlled the guardian system as well as countless other world affairs. Some families had made contracts with Tartarus, offering to work for them in exchange for guardians. The Nerio Clan was one of these families.
Rei put her hand on her right shoulder where her binding point was and Kuro did the same. Rei began to mutter an incantation, and both she and her guardian began to glow with a black light. Rei’s binding point shone brightly and Kuro’s became visible through his clothes. Kuro’s shape began to fade, and in a moment, he was gone. Rei and her binding point glowed for a minute, but she soon stopped.
Kuro, can you hear me? Rei asked.
Yes. I will keep my mind open to you just in case you need my help.
Thank you.
“All right, everyone. We’re nearing the front gate. Remember the plan,” Ichiro said. “Rei, you act as our leader. Kim, Kiran is just your pet wolf. Stella Mare, no flirting, and definitely no singing!”
Kim, Kiran, and Rei nodded. Stella Mare scowled. “Why?”
“You can’t sing because you’re a siren and the shameless flirting is embarrassing. You’re supposed to be acting like a human.” Stella Mare opened her mouth to say something, but Ichiro cut her off by adding, “I know that’s hard for you. Just try, okay?”
“Fine,” Stella Mare pouted.
Ichiro drove up to the security checkpoint and rolled down the window to talk to the security guard. After he told them who they were and why they were there, the guard nodded and told them where to go. Ichiro parked the van and everyone piled out.
“Where do we go?” Kim asked Ichiro. Rei noticed that the more she listened to Kim talk, the more she noticed her southern drawl.
“He said that someone was waiting for us in that building over there.” Ichiro pointed to a five-story building near the actual factory that looked like an office building.
They went inside the building and found themselves in a rather comfortable reception area. A young secretary sat at a front desk. She was talking on the phone via a wireless headset and typing on the computer. The group walked up to her and waited for the secretary to notice them.
The secretary noticed them right away. “Are you the other demon slayers?”
“Yes, miss,” Ichiro replied.
“Good. Just go through that door over there. Sasaki-san will be with you shortly.”
“Arigato gozaimasu*.”
As they walked towards the door, Kim whispered to Rei, “Did she say ‘other demon slayers’? Does that mean the other group is already here?”
“I think it does,” Rei whispered back.
The moment Ichiro opened the door, Kim’s suspicions were confirmed. Five people were lounging in the conference room. Rei, Ichiro, and Stella Mare recognized two of them right off the bat.
“Hello,” Bakar said sunnily.
Daichi turned away from the window he was standing in front of when he heard Bakar welcome the newcomers. Rei’s heart skipped a beat when he looked at her. This was the moment of truth. It would be all over if Daichi recognized them. She figures that they’d managed to fool Bakar, but Daichi was just a bit sharper.
Daichi examined the faces of the group. “Hello,” he said.
Kim waved slightly. “Hello.”
There was an uncomfortable silence that was broken by Stella Mare saying, “I suppose we should introduce ourselves. My name is Maria Estrella.” She flashed a blinding smile.
A young man with black hair in a long, thin ponytail and steely gray eyes dressed in light blue blushed slightly. “N-nice to meet you, Estrella-san. I-I’m Haku Somai,” he stammered.
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Stella Mare said, flashing another smile.
“My name is Bakar Kiba,” Bakar said. He looked directly at Rei and asked, “What might your names be?”
“Aki Guchiyama. It’s nice to meet you.”
“I’m Jill Stuart.”
“My name is Etsuko Nasu.”
“Stuart-san, you wouldn’t happen to be from the United States, would you?” Bakar asked.
Kim nodded. “Yes. I moved here about a week ago. Why?”
Bakar smiled. “My mom’s from Michigan. What area are you from?”
“Tennessee, although I lived in Washington D.C. shortly before we moved here.”
“That’s the capital, right?”
Kim nodded.
“Hey, guys, introduce yourselves!” Bakar said.
Daichi walked a couple paces away from the window and faced the other group. “I’m Daichi Somai. Haku is my younger brother.”
A girl wearing a bright red kimono that came to the middle of her thighs with very long sleeves jumped up from the chair she was sitting in like a pop tart. Her long black hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. Her face was round and it had a childish air to it. She was smiling broadly and her steely gray eyes sparkled and seemed to smile as well.
“My name is Amimi Somai, no blood relation to Daichi and Haku, though. We’re just members of the same clan,” she said sunnily. She spoke quickly and someone who was not fluent in Japanese would find it hard to understand her. “It’s very nice to meet you. Oh, and please don’t refer to any of us as ‘Somai-san.’ None of us will know who you’re talking to.”
Rei smiled. “Okay.”
Amimi giggled and walked over to a girl sitting in a chair by a window. “And this is Zara Mohan. She doesn’t talk much.”
Zara looked away from the window and over at the new arrivals. She had dark tan skin and her features made it obvious that she was from India. She had large caramel brown eyes that had an almost nervous expression. She had shoulder-length, straight black hair and mid-forehead length bangs. She was wearing a black, V-neck, collared tank top, black slacks with a black belt that had a simple silver buckle, and black dress shoes. She was also wearing a turquoise pendent. On her left shoulder was a beautiful tattoo of a yellow crescent moon in an indigo sky with little pale blue dots that looked like stars. It almost looked like an oil painting; an extremely realistic oil painting.
“Um, hello,” Zara said quietly.
“Hello, miss,” Ichiro said politely.
Zara bowed her head slightly. She looked down at Kiran and said, “Hello there. What’s your name?”
“Kiran,” Kim stated.
Zara looked up at Kim. “So he’s yours? A wolf is an interesting choice for a pet.”
Kim shrugged. “He’s good in a fight.”
Zara smiled uneasily. “I suppose he would be.”
Amimi went over to Kiran and squatted down so she could look him in the face. The wolf flattened his ears back and leaned a little away from the hyper girl.
“Can I pet him?”
“If he’ll let you.”
Amimi reached out and scratched Kiran behind the ear. Kiran made a sighing sound and leaned his head into Amimi’s hand. Amimi giggled. “He’s cute.”
“I think our employer is here,” Zara said suddenly.
Everyone’s gaze snapped to the door as it opened. A short, squat, plump, balding man entered the room. He was wearing a business suit that seemed barely large enough to keep from splitting. What was left of his hair was beginning to gray, and he had a short, bristly little moustache. He looked like a walrus, but without the tusks.
“Hello, everyone,” said the walrus man. His voice sounded almost like a monotone, but a bit happier. “You may refer to me as ‘Sasaki-san.’ I am the owner of this fine establishment.”
“Hello, sir. It’s nice to see you,” Daichi said with forced politeness. He’d never been too fond of Sasaki. Truth be told, the only reason he was there was because Sasaki had asked for him and Haku specifically.
Sasaki looked over at Daichi. “Ah! Hello, Daichi, Haku. I’m glad you two came.”
Daichi restrained myself from going off on Sasaki. It bothered him that Sasaki never used an honorific when he spoke to him or his brother. Sasaki thought that because he was friendly with their grandfather that he could call them by their first names. Daichi knew it bothered Haku, too, but he was too polite to say anything.
“It’s no problem,” Daichi lied.
Sasaki grinned and rubbed his hands together. “Now I’ll just make this quick. All I want from you is for you to ensure that the thunder demons won’t be bothering my company. I have had room prepared for you. The secretary will direct you to them when you’re ready. I don’t care what you do to keep them away, just make sure you do.”
“We will, sir,” Daichi and Rei said in unison. They glanced at each other and Rei noticed a strange glint in Daichi’s eye. Rei’s hear skipped a beat and she looked away.
“See that you do.”
* * * *
* A polite way to say "thank you."
 Kyokiri · Mon Jun 16, 2008 @ 03:52am · 1 Comments |
|
|
|
|
|
