A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES
Apr. 6th, 2012 08:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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gumi_reloadedDate: Sunday, February 5
Time: Late Afternoon
Place: New Meiji lower district, the Sunshine Cafe
Characters: Kenshin, Tokio, Saitoh
katananokokoro
The espresso cup shook, clattering against the table as an earthquake rumbled through the ground. The plastic suns affixed to the ceiling swung in the chaos and a child started crying nearby. Kenshin stilled his cup with one hand and absently looked for the source of the crying-- imagining it must be that harried looking older woman three booths down, though the seat was too high for him to tell of there was a child there.
As soon as it started, however, the earthquake stopped. 4.5 maybe. Not bad. His phone buzzed and he flipped it open, light sliding across the magenta surface. Another delivery lined up. That made it ten today, to various parts of the lower district, all due before twelve, maybe one considering everyone would be on their lunch break. It was only nine now. He had plenty of time. He confirmed his availibilty and once the message sent, he was moved back to his contact list.
There were two people on it, work and Shishou.
Kenshin took a sip of espresso, staring Shishou's number. He hadn't contacted him in four years. No point in starting now. He flipped the phone shut and stared outside, watching workers clear shards of glittering glass off a street where a store front window had shattered.
tokio_takagi
As soon as she felt the motion, Tokio held her breath, the cup of green tea that she was holding frozen halfway between the table top and her lips. Without thinking she slammed the drink to the table’s smooth, but sticky surface, sloshing lukewarm tea over her fingers and wrist. Drat. At least she hadn’t worn a long-sleeved blouse today, or she’d be sporting tea-colored cuffs all day at the office. Good thing she wasn’t due in court today, either.
How could she have been more careful with her drink when she didn’t know whether this one would keep escalating or not? The shaking reached its peak, rattling everything in ‘New Meiji’s Best Greasy Spoon’ as Tokio referred to the place, but not sending anything crashing to the floor. This one was a small one . It had to be less than 5.0. And anything under 5.0 was not a big quake, and really nothing to worry about unless it was a very shallow quake and you were in a place that had been built on fill dirt. In that case, there may have been a cracked window, or a glass or two that had jumped to the floor.
As the motion slowed and then came to an abrupt halt, she thought of the last 6.9 that she’d experienced, shuddering at the memory of the intensity of that one, and remembering how the sandy ground below the building she was in caused the sensation of a gentle rocking for minutes after the actual shaking stopped.
Glancing out the window, she noticed with surprise that a window in a building across the street had shattered. Must have been old glass with some hairline cracks in it for that to happen, or maybe the soil across the street under that building was sand, which was always unstable in a quake, especially when it was wet. Soil liquefaction…that though made Tokio shudder.
Lost in her thoughts she was vaguely aware of a crying child. Poor thing. There weren’t too many people in here this morning. The before work breakfast rush was over and it was too early for lunch. Tokio rose in her booth. Where was that waitress. She’d need some extra napkins to mop up the tea that now covered the table in front of her and dripped off her fingers.
katananokokoro
Ah, it seems it wasn't a middle aged woman at all, but a young woman who he had been staring at. Relatively young anyway. 27, 28. Some kind of professional by the looks of her clothes and now a tea stained professional. He watched the tea drip from her fingertips for a moment (like sheathes of skin, seared off by fire).
He closed his eyes briefly and when he opened them there was tea, not blood, puddled on the floor underneath her booth. He then realized with a guilty start what she must be after.
"Ah, excuse me," he said, sliding out of his own booth and straightening his apron. He was technically off shift but he couldn't look away from a lady in need.
"It seems you've had some trouble. I'm sorry about that." He bowed slightly. "Would you like to clean up?" The Sunshine Cafe didn't have a public restroom and though he technically wasn't allowed to offer but what harm could it do?
tokio_takagi
The spilled tea had reached the edge of the table and now trickled over the side, making a small puddle on the floor. What Tokio wouldn’t have given for a stack of napkins. She could have prevented most of this mess, if only she’d asked for a couple of extras when she placed her order. She usually needed more than one napkin. It wasn’t as though she was that messy, but at eateries things just seem to happen. Like today.
Giving a start, she looked up and around the diner . Someone was staring at her. She could feel it .
A red-haired guy with an apron was sliding out from a nearby booth. Hm. He looked like an employee, although she’d not seen him there before, and she considered herself a ‘regular’ at this joint. He must be new.
"Would you like to clean up?"
“Oh, thank you, but all I need is a few napkins to wipe my hands and a rag to catch the drips on the table and mop this puddle,” she replied with a friendly smile.
katananokokoro
"Oh never mind cleaning up. That's my job," Kenshin said with a smile. He was glad to know she was a conscientious customer at least. Those were few and far between. However, if she didn't wish to go the back room...
"Please, wait here." Then, quickly, he ducked into the back and got a moist towelette and a soft clean towel for her hands before coming back out and flipping the towel over his wrist until she needed it, while handing out the packet.
"We're getting quite a lot of earthquakes these days, aren't we?" he offered, small talk always helped calmed the nerves. (Though whose were really on edge here?)
"I can't help but be a little shaken up." It was a bad joke but it wasn't as if he knew any good ones. Though there was one about a penguin that Shishou had made him promise never to say again. Whether because it was so bad or so good, Kenshin had never been able to tell.
tokio_takagi
"Oh never mind cleaning up. That's my job..."
So he did work here. The name tag she just noticed pinned to his shirt even confirmed it. Otherwise, there was no way that he'd offer to clean-up for her. Guys just never did that sort of thing...unless they got paid for it. But the way he smiled before he raced way made Tokio want to believe, that employee or not, he still would have helped her.
She was usually the skeptical type, needing more than one piece of evidence before deciding what to believe.
He was back in a flash. "Thank you Ken," she replied as she took the packet he offered and ripped it open with a little twisting motion.
"It certainly does seem like we are getting more than our fair share of them lately." There was no way she could stifle the light laugh that erupted in response to his pun.
"I do believe that even the tea in my cup was shaken this time." It was obvious to Tokio that the red-haired man was making pleasant small talk. No doubt to distract her mind from her klutzy behavior. Honestly, she shouldn't have slammed that cup down on the table, just because of a little earth shaking.
"Have you worked here long?" Well, maybe asking him that was prying, but she was sure that he would recognize it as her her feeble attempt to continue their conversation.
She then wadded up the little moist towlette and stuffed it back in its packet.
katananokokoro
"Aa, long enough," Kenshin said absently, taken aback by the way she said his name. He wondered-- but then remembered. The name tag. Such a strange custom though many businesses of this kind seemed to frequent them. It was so easy to fake a name, to pick any identity out of a hat and no one looked close enough. (Easy enough when you have no official identity to begin with.) He noticed the woman was done with the towelette and took the trash from her, offering the towel in its place with a little bow.
"The earth is restless, she is." A man passing by outside caught his attention for a brief moment. Long enough for Kenshin to note that he was rough in appearance if not person. "Do you come here often?"
Time: Late Afternoon
Place: New Meiji lower district, the Sunshine Cafe
Characters: Kenshin, Tokio, Saitoh
katananokokoroThe espresso cup shook, clattering against the table as an earthquake rumbled through the ground. The plastic suns affixed to the ceiling swung in the chaos and a child started crying nearby. Kenshin stilled his cup with one hand and absently looked for the source of the crying-- imagining it must be that harried looking older woman three booths down, though the seat was too high for him to tell of there was a child there.
As soon as it started, however, the earthquake stopped. 4.5 maybe. Not bad. His phone buzzed and he flipped it open, light sliding across the magenta surface. Another delivery lined up. That made it ten today, to various parts of the lower district, all due before twelve, maybe one considering everyone would be on their lunch break. It was only nine now. He had plenty of time. He confirmed his availibilty and once the message sent, he was moved back to his contact list.
There were two people on it, work and Shishou.
Kenshin took a sip of espresso, staring Shishou's number. He hadn't contacted him in four years. No point in starting now. He flipped the phone shut and stared outside, watching workers clear shards of glittering glass off a street where a store front window had shattered.
tokio_takagiAs soon as she felt the motion, Tokio held her breath, the cup of green tea that she was holding frozen halfway between the table top and her lips. Without thinking she slammed the drink to the table’s smooth, but sticky surface, sloshing lukewarm tea over her fingers and wrist. Drat. At least she hadn’t worn a long-sleeved blouse today, or she’d be sporting tea-colored cuffs all day at the office. Good thing she wasn’t due in court today, either.
How could she have been more careful with her drink when she didn’t know whether this one would keep escalating or not? The shaking reached its peak, rattling everything in ‘New Meiji’s Best Greasy Spoon’ as Tokio referred to the place, but not sending anything crashing to the floor. This one was a small one . It had to be less than 5.0. And anything under 5.0 was not a big quake, and really nothing to worry about unless it was a very shallow quake and you were in a place that had been built on fill dirt. In that case, there may have been a cracked window, or a glass or two that had jumped to the floor.
As the motion slowed and then came to an abrupt halt, she thought of the last 6.9 that she’d experienced, shuddering at the memory of the intensity of that one, and remembering how the sandy ground below the building she was in caused the sensation of a gentle rocking for minutes after the actual shaking stopped.
Glancing out the window, she noticed with surprise that a window in a building across the street had shattered. Must have been old glass with some hairline cracks in it for that to happen, or maybe the soil across the street under that building was sand, which was always unstable in a quake, especially when it was wet. Soil liquefaction…that though made Tokio shudder.
Lost in her thoughts she was vaguely aware of a crying child. Poor thing. There weren’t too many people in here this morning. The before work breakfast rush was over and it was too early for lunch. Tokio rose in her booth. Where was that waitress. She’d need some extra napkins to mop up the tea that now covered the table in front of her and dripped off her fingers.
katananokokoro Ah, it seems it wasn't a middle aged woman at all, but a young woman who he had been staring at. Relatively young anyway. 27, 28. Some kind of professional by the looks of her clothes and now a tea stained professional. He watched the tea drip from her fingertips for a moment (like sheathes of skin, seared off by fire).
He closed his eyes briefly and when he opened them there was tea, not blood, puddled on the floor underneath her booth. He then realized with a guilty start what she must be after.
"Ah, excuse me," he said, sliding out of his own booth and straightening his apron. He was technically off shift but he couldn't look away from a lady in need.
"It seems you've had some trouble. I'm sorry about that." He bowed slightly. "Would you like to clean up?" The Sunshine Cafe didn't have a public restroom and though he technically wasn't allowed to offer but what harm could it do?
tokio_takagi The spilled tea had reached the edge of the table and now trickled over the side, making a small puddle on the floor. What Tokio wouldn’t have given for a stack of napkins. She could have prevented most of this mess, if only she’d asked for a couple of extras when she placed her order. She usually needed more than one napkin. It wasn’t as though she was that messy, but at eateries things just seem to happen. Like today.
Giving a start, she looked up and around the diner . Someone was staring at her. She could feel it .
A red-haired guy with an apron was sliding out from a nearby booth. Hm. He looked like an employee, although she’d not seen him there before, and she considered herself a ‘regular’ at this joint. He must be new.
"Would you like to clean up?"
“Oh, thank you, but all I need is a few napkins to wipe my hands and a rag to catch the drips on the table and mop this puddle,” she replied with a friendly smile.
katananokokoro"Oh never mind cleaning up. That's my job," Kenshin said with a smile. He was glad to know she was a conscientious customer at least. Those were few and far between. However, if she didn't wish to go the back room...
"Please, wait here." Then, quickly, he ducked into the back and got a moist towelette and a soft clean towel for her hands before coming back out and flipping the towel over his wrist until she needed it, while handing out the packet.
"We're getting quite a lot of earthquakes these days, aren't we?" he offered, small talk always helped calmed the nerves. (Though whose were really on edge here?)
"I can't help but be a little shaken up." It was a bad joke but it wasn't as if he knew any good ones. Though there was one about a penguin that Shishou had made him promise never to say again. Whether because it was so bad or so good, Kenshin had never been able to tell.
tokio_takagi "Oh never mind cleaning up. That's my job..."
So he did work here. The name tag she just noticed pinned to his shirt even confirmed it. Otherwise, there was no way that he'd offer to clean-up for her. Guys just never did that sort of thing...unless they got paid for it. But the way he smiled before he raced way made Tokio want to believe, that employee or not, he still would have helped her.
She was usually the skeptical type, needing more than one piece of evidence before deciding what to believe.
He was back in a flash. "Thank you Ken," she replied as she took the packet he offered and ripped it open with a little twisting motion.
"It certainly does seem like we are getting more than our fair share of them lately." There was no way she could stifle the light laugh that erupted in response to his pun.
"I do believe that even the tea in my cup was shaken this time." It was obvious to Tokio that the red-haired man was making pleasant small talk. No doubt to distract her mind from her klutzy behavior. Honestly, she shouldn't have slammed that cup down on the table, just because of a little earth shaking.
"Have you worked here long?" Well, maybe asking him that was prying, but she was sure that he would recognize it as her her feeble attempt to continue their conversation.
She then wadded up the little moist towlette and stuffed it back in its packet.
katananokokoro
"Aa, long enough," Kenshin said absently, taken aback by the way she said his name. He wondered-- but then remembered. The name tag. Such a strange custom though many businesses of this kind seemed to frequent them. It was so easy to fake a name, to pick any identity out of a hat and no one looked close enough. (Easy enough when you have no official identity to begin with.) He noticed the woman was done with the towelette and took the trash from her, offering the towel in its place with a little bow.
"The earth is restless, she is." A man passing by outside caught his attention for a brief moment. Long enough for Kenshin to note that he was rough in appearance if not person. "Do you come here often?"
no subject
Date: 2012-04-12 05:52 am (UTC)Saitou moving to protect him made him snort. Kenshin leaned against the wall, letting Saitou take care of it. A wolf had his honor and Kenshin would let him keep it. A strange twist of something like déjà vu made a cold chill run down his back.
“You never brought me that pot of coffee, you asshole,” the cop said making Kenshin feel irritated and amused at the same time.
“You didn’t ask politely, you bastard,” Kenshin said, voice still flat, though he didn’t think the cop had heard him. He watched electricity snap off of Salamander’s thug’s body armor and then the thug came toward him, swinging a knife so slowly and in such an obvious arc that even a child could block it. Saitou didn’t. The knife sunk into flesh and muscle and the smell of hot blood snicked through the air. Kenshin jerked off the wall, gripping his sword only to nearly drop it as pain ratched through his arm, making spots dance in front of his vision. Not high enough a dosage not to feel pain and already wearing off.
He clutched at his shoulder, starting forward to help the cop and then jerking back as the thug went sailing into a booth, crashing into the table. He could smell burning now, a high pitched whine. What the hell was it? Where was it coming from? It didn’t matter as Saitou was going forward to attack Salamander who was screaming it was going to blow.
“Don’t!” Kenshin said and he saw the woman come up to the counter with a gun pointed right at the thug who had jerked upright. A shot like a bomb blast and the cop was sailing across the room in a violent streak of light. Another and there was a perfect hole in the center of his forehead, blood spattering on the window.
Salamander stared at Kenshin. Ready to bolt. Kenshin returned the stare, ready to eviscerate him. Salamander would not be allowed to escape from this alive. Too long had he been able to run from the crimes he’d committed. And all the bloodshed here. He would die with his men. Kenshin promised that with his eyes.
A thin film of sweat streaked down Salamander’s face. Kenshin twisted Kitetsu.
“Hajime!” the woman screamed and Kenshin startled, winced. Salamander bolted. Hammering toward the door. Kenshin jerked after him, waves of ice cold pain wringing his arm, he pushed it away, pushed it all away, saw nothing but the retreating back of Salamander. The dealer bolted across the street. Reached toward a car.
Oh no you don’t
“Dou Ryuu Sen!” Kenshin slammed Kitetsu into the ground, sending a wave of energy ripping through his arm (ripping up his arm. Tearing at his shoulder). The asphault split in a straight line and Salamander caught the tail end of the energy, sailing into the car and smashing against the door, the passenger side window shattering with the force of his head.
Kenshin covered the space in two steps.
Salamander recovered enough to look at him.
Scream.
Silence.
His head fell into the passenger seat. Body slumped on the ground. Kenshin looked down at him. Chest heaving. Tasting blood in his mouth.
You… a distant voice said, a soft ghost of an echoing sigh in his head. Cold twisted his gut and his hand trembled as the wave of sickness washed over him. Darkness all around him and something…Someone…