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| That Night, At the Lake... And Other Things; [Toru, Benkei - Closed] | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 15 2013, 09:51 PM (510 Views) | |
| The One True Nobody | Jul 16 2013, 02:23 PM Post #11 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Toru nodded. "Thank you, Yukimura-san..." he said, as he got to his feet and slipped his notebook into his pocket. "You've been a great help. If you don't mind, for your trouble..." The journalist, hesitated, and then reached into his pocket again. He extracted a leather wallet, and held out a small, folded, but rather substantially-thick handful of yen bills. Kiyoko's eyes snapped to the money, looking simultaneously suspicious and disbelieving. "Honest pay for an honest deed," Toru said quietly. Kiyoko's suspicion melted away, and she reached out to take it. As she did, though, she stopped, opened her mouth, closed it again, and then said: "There's one more thing. Not--really t'do with Amaya at all, and more a feelin' I have," she said quickly. "Maybe my old crush is makin' me think things that ain't there, but Kenshin-san... Bicycle's boyfriend... he disappeared for like a week before he died. Cops think it was a random street-thug murder, or maybe that Kenshin-san'd got in with the Yakuza or somethin'. Bicycle found his body, see? She was pretty much dead after." Kiyoko paused. Toru's eyebrows quirked up a bit, and he continued to hold the money out. "Nishiyo was in a weirdly... good mood, after it happened," the girl went on. Then, she took the money, and quickly stashed it in her pocket. "That's all I've got t' tell ya..." |
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| Nonsequitur | Jul 16 2013, 02:49 PM Post #12 |
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Yellow Bubblegum
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So, in summary: This bitch tried to kill Charinko over a rumor, had her boyfriend-who was Chika's brother- kidnapped and murdered and the cold-blooded thing had the audacity to come back playing at the airhead. "Hey man. Don't forget." His Shadow was there, standing there. For once, it's expression wasn't mocking or teasing. If anything, it seemed a good mirror to his own thoughts at the time. "Bitch is Yakuza. You've seen how that goes, haven't you? They'll be a big song and dance about 'justice' even more useless than that four-eyed idiot Takeda's rants. And then? She'll get off, free as a bird." It approached him, face to face with him, his Shadow's yellow eyes were smoldering. "So, I put to you, my friend, For the sake of Amaya, and Chika, hell, even for Charinko. What are you prepared to do to make sure she doesn't duck this like she's ducked her comeuppance for the rest of what she's done?" After seemingly staring into empty space for a moment, he turned on his heel and mumbled. "Yeah, thanks. Yukimura. I appreciate it." He didn't know where he was going to go, but sticking around here couldn't have helped. |
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| The One True Nobody | Jul 16 2013, 05:12 PM Post #13 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Kiyoko stared after Benkei as he walked away. Toru gave the girl one last nod and farewell, and without further ado they both put their outdoor shoes back on and left the house. Sighing a bit, Kiyoko turned around and pulled out Toru Motou's little compensation. It was quite a lot of money, from her perspective anyway... there was... hang on, eight thousand... sixteen thousand... ...Twenty thousand yen in here. Almost the same amount Nishiyo had given Kiyoko when she'd turned down the Yakuza job. The blond-haired girl laughed a bit, and slipped the money into her pocket. She then returned to her room, and slumped onto her bed. She turned her head to stare into the murky reflection of her room cast by the old television. Twenty thousand yen. And another twenty thousand sitting under her mattress, untouched and unused. ... Maybe it was time to stop feeling guilty about it all... yeah, talking about this had been good. Kiyoko felt lighter, somehow. She closed her eyes, took a breath, and started to tick off the seconds. She would wait until those two were well away from her house, she decided. And then, she would go out and buy some groceries. Something nice for her mother to eat when she got back from work, too. --- Toru walked along, falling into step next to Benkei as they put distance between themselves and Kiyoko Yukimura's residence. He gave the boy a look of concern. After a moment, he said: "Benkei-san, what are you thinking right now?" Returning his eyes to the sidewalk in front of them, Toru added: "Not taking the law into your own hands, I hope... becoming a murderer strikes me as a poor answer to the problem of a murderer at large." And now I speak the words of a hypocrite, Toru mused darkly, beneath his neutral facade. I wonder if someone is thinking the same thoughts about a faceless 'me,' right this very moment... |
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| Nonsequitur | Jul 16 2013, 05:47 PM Post #14 |
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Yellow Bubblegum
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"Yeah? If I was?" He said, rather flatly. Not only was he annoyed with the situation, but he was pretty transparent, too. "Tell me, Motou-san? What happens when the 'right thing' is to ineffectual to make a damn difference? What then?" He growled to himself and hat his hands in his pockets. "Fine, we'll talk about it on the way back to Nagashima, I suppose we've found out all we can about this shit in Osaka, eh?" |
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| The One True Nobody | Jul 16 2013, 06:11 PM Post #15 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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What happens if-- Toru had no answer to that question. It was already one that he had been turning over in his mind for quite some time. Toru was fully aware that he had already erred on the side of not doing the right thing purely for that reason; both in killing the culprits behind the attack on Takeo, and in working to assist a woman who was--if he were honest about it--a fugitive at fault for who-knew-how-many counts of murder and abduction, directly or otherwise. The journalist shook his head, and took a breath. "That question is one that mankind has grappled with for time beyond measure," he said quietly. "If it were so easily answered, we wouldn't still be arguing the finer points... would we?" Toru sighed and slipped his hands into his pockets, and continued to walk in silence. Whatever the answer to that question, they were probably done here... and in this city, for that matter. It was time to return to Nagashima. --- Ten minutes later, Kiyoko Yukimura left her house and, twelve minutes after that, caught a bus at the corner. She and her mother had a delicious dinner that night. And afterward, Kiyoko slept somehow more soundly than she did on most nights. It wasn't quite as though a weight had lifted off her shoulders, exactly--more as though the weight had become more balanced and bearable. Maybe that was the most anyone could ever hope for. |
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2:39 AM Jul 11