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 Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 10:19 am
~::Shirahama Apartment Complex::~
[Downtown District, Oshu City - Shirahama Apartment Complex Room 212, Apartment of Sakurazaka Sai]
A 3-story, nondescript apartment complex in Downtown Oshu City that somehow manages to remain untouched by the Syndicates and the looters despite the many rumors that are told about it; most of its tenants and even the owner moved out long ago, with the deed having been claimed by the apartment's most prominent resident a while ago. Those who get too desperate or take their chances at looting the place are promptly tossed from the building, but for those who seek a safe place to live within the Syndicate City at an affordable price may find the man now in charge of the building by default, and they may yet find the apartment is something of a small haven...protected by the urban legend who stays within.
In Room 212 of the complex resides this myth of a man, the subject of so many ill rumors in his time. Strong, brilliant, and focused, he is a symbol of hope in a city that swiftly decays into shades of black and gray under the Syndicates...even though such belief in himself he finds to be poorly placed.
[Apartment room contains...wall-length fish tank with exotic fish and one goldfish, big-screen television and home theater, large-supply pudding, canned food, generator for electricity, couch, rollout futons, queen-sized master bed, more...]
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 5:05 pm
Suzume Kirihara [Location: Oshu High]  "Oh! Well, I was thinking of maybe joining the Outdoors Club. It looks pretty fun! They go hiking, biking, climbing...and many other activities I can't remember! And and they have an annual trip somewhere. I am not sure if it will interfere with the track team's practices yet, but... it would be cool, don't you think?" The girl bounced with each step, the simple thought of joining one club or another shifting her thoughts away from his reluctance to join one, or the reasons behind that reasoning....for a bit, at least. "Do you think I need to go to each and every trip? If I don't have to, then yes! I will probably join!" The girl concluded, eyes turning for a brief second to the streets, noticing the cool old man's sweet shop coming nearer, her face brightening up. She loved that shop, and she was really fond of its owner as well, so when she saw him there, an energetic wave was sent his way along with one of her smiles, before questioning eyes turned back to Sai, no signs of stopping down making her wonder if this wasn't where they were going in the first place. If not the sweet shop, then...where? Oh! Probably they would go to the karaoke place near the park! They had spent an afternoon there once, and she had quite some fun, she had to admit. Though... even so, Sai didn't look all too comfortable that time either...Hmm... well! Maybe he changed his mind and he would sing this time!
Brushing the matter to the back of her mind, she returned her attention back to the question in hand. Well, she wasn't done talking about clubs yet! "Oh oh!" her chirpy voice broke the brief silence again after her small confusion on their secret destination, big, brown orbs returning to her companion having remembered some other clubs catching her interest...or at least making her recall them. "There's also the Cooking Club! I am not all that great cooking (she was so dangerous inside a kitchen, really), buuut perhaps I could learn a thing or two." She wrinkled her nose a bit, "Though, thinking about it... no, nevermind, it doesn't sound like a good idea." The brunette grinned sheepishly, her gaze lowering only for a moment, as if she were thinking on her next words. "Though... I was thinking that, well, maybe...we could join a club together. I-if you like! I know you just said you weren't interested in them, but... but... I think it could be nice. You can choose the club, even! So it's something you like! What do you say, Sai?" Her gaze returned to him, hopeful and shining, an innocent, softer smile curling her lips up. And it was then that she shifted her eyes once again to her surroundings, not being able to recognize much of what she was seeing. This wasn't the park...or the Karaoke place either. She had been following Sai blindly, not worrying about their destination at all, trusting him to find the best place for them to spend some time. But, her curiosity won over this time, as she took in the building they had entered not so long ago, and all the different doors around. It looked like an Apartment Complex, but... "Ah! Where are we?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 10:44 pm
Suzume Kirihara Big, brown eyes stared at the closed door intently, fingers fidgeting with the corner of the golden scarf, lips pursed in concentration. The girl had been standing outside the apartment with the number 212 for several minutes now, mostly coming up with the plan she hadn't worked in before arriving there. Unlike others days, when she could text or call Sai, or meet him in one of their usual places, the brunette had decided to walk to his place and surprise him with a cool plan for the two of them for the day. Only that she had no said plan in her mind as she walked up the stairs to the second floor...nor when she knocked on other apartment and got greeted by a complete stranger...and definitely not now that she had finally found her companion's real apartment. Now that she thought about it more thoroughly though...perhaps she should have called first. What if he wasn't home and she came all the way for nothing? Or what if he was busy and couldn't go out today? Suzume Kirihara wasn't one for coming up with plans...in fact, she was more of a 'follow your heart and do what you think is right' sort of girl, and well, it usually worked...kinda...but this time, for some reason, she felt slightly nervous.
She had been here only once before, and the girl couldn't say she hadn't been extremely excited about seeing Sai's home for the first time. Then, she had been invited in, not appearing unannounced though. "He did say I could come look for him whenever I needed him..." Suzu muttered to herself as she tap her bottom lip thoughtfully, chestnut orbs turning once more to the door, wondering what could the violet haired young man be doing inside. She could see him working silently or watching a movie sitting on the cool couch in the living room… The girl crossed her arms, her head tilting slightly to the side. Sai wouldn't be bothered when he saw her there, she felt...but still...what could they do? She turned to look outside, the day being quite lovely today...and in that instant, the girl knew what she wanted to do, her apprehension evaporating in an instant. It was as if she had forgotten any nervousness, now focusing on the great time they could spend together. A grin appeared on her face, and without thinking, a hand reached out to ring the doorbell, before taking a step back with a little bounce. Only that, it wasn't even a second after she had done that that the girl’s face changed into one of concern. "Wait! Perhaps I should text him first!" Not that it would do any good at that moment, seeing as she was already outside of his house, and had already made it noticeable someone was outside, if her voice and continuous mumbling hadn't alerted him of that by now. Still, clumsy fingers reached for the phone inside of her bag in that instant, only to have the tote slip from her shoulder, falling to the ground with a soft thud. "A-ah!" She knelt down to pick up whatever had fallen out of her bag, as she texted, her fingers fumbling quickly.
Yes, she was a mess...but, well...she was trying, at least?
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Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 11:34 pm
Sai Sakurazaka, the Urban Legend of Oshu City
"...You can trip as many times as you want; I will never let you fall..."It wasn't long after the school day ended that the violet-haired teen known to all throughout Oshu as the subject of a variety of urban legends, myths, and varying rumors of all sorts had made his way through the streets of the city to the confines of the Shirahama Apartment Complex and his own, personal home. Most of the people who lived there before the Calamity remained gone, even though they didn't remember why they had moved out in the first place, which left the majority of the place abandoned...save for those who had moved in under Sai's protection during that same time, and, of course, the man himself. It wasn't as though he had intended to become the unofficial representative of the entire building, but in a way he had fallen into that role. People who knew of him and liked him enjoyed spending time there, or living there, if they were so inclined...people who knew of him that had any sort of an ill intention stayed far clear of it because he was there. It was simply his role, given and accepted or not, and he paid it little mind. He still came and went as he pleased, whether it was late at night after spending some time on the town working odd jobs here or there, or right after classes as the case seemed to be today. It was a welcoming community inside of the building, and those who lived there were all, in some measure, indebted to the young man in apartment 212 whether he was even aware of what he had done for them or not. And it was also well-known throughout the population there (thanks to a particularly talkative college student who had witnessed her first visit and spread the word) that if a young girl around the same age as Sai, with chestnut hair and a perpetually beaming smile appeared in the complex, that she was somebody important to the 'Cherry Blossom Killer' and was to be dealt with in the utmost respect and care. Thus, it was no surprise that she had been casually redirected towards the proper room after she had knocked on the wrong door, and if she noticed a low din of conversation rising throughout the complex, then it certainly had nothing (something) to do with her presence there and the person she had no doubt come to see.
Not that the man inside the well-insulated (and nearly soundproof to the noises of his neighbors) noticed the commotion in the other rooms, of course. But from his seat on the sofa he could hear the idle rustling just beyond his door, the shuffling of feet, and then the ringing at his door. His crimson eye shifted there immediately, but whereas he might have been concerned or even on edge at the sound of an actual visitor at his apartment before now, he was at ease. Amakusu Assassins were rarely so careless as to make noise just beyond the door and announce their presence so easily for him. And if they were the loud sort, they would have simply busted down the door by now and started shooting. No, that hesitation and clamor could only have been the presence of one person, he decided in an instant, one which prompted him to press back against the couch and then force himself to his feet, adjusting his red tie back into place as he moved towards the entrance to greet them. Shoes found their way onto his feet, barely breaking stride the action was so practiced. And his strong fingers wrapped themselves around the door handle, flicking the lock open before pulling the entrance back to reveal just who he had suspected would be standing there. His expression upon seeing Suzume Kirihara delivering unto him a 'surprise' visit was...anything but actually surprised. Nonetheless, there was no hardness in his expression, none of that cold distance that usually characterized him. He had gone from relaxed but tense (at rest) to guarded (at the noise) to quite warm (for him) in a matter of moments...and the only person who could make him feel that way so easily was this very girl before him. A crimson eye focused on her for just a moment before he stepped outside of the door and closed it behind him, and if the corner of his lips seemed to curl upward in the barest hints of a smile, it was something only she would notice. And something only she would get to see.
"Where would you like to go, Suzume?"
His question was quick, intuitive, and straight to the point. She didn't seem to have brought anything for a sleepover or a movie night, which meant that she had come here for a reason that didn't involve staying inside. Moreover, if she had wanted to watch a movie she wouldn't have been hesitating to ask. It wasn't as though he could guess where she had in mind to visit (though he could always guess there would be pudding involved), nor if she had any kind of a plan in mind before she got here (most likely not), but he could guess as much as she wanted to spend some time together. And to him, it really didn't matter where they went (as long as it wasn't karaoke) so long as she was happy to go there. Yeah, it was safe to say that even if he wouldn't say it plainly, he was glad to spend some time together with her, too.
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 6:44 pm
Suzume Kirihara Eyes darted up just as the girl finished shoving her stuff back into the bag, the door opening in front of her. And the person greeting her at the other side was exactly who she had been expecting, making her slight frown to change into the brightest smile in less than a second. The girl jumped to her feet, taking a moment to look at the unfinished text before putting the phone away inside the bag as well, returning big eyes to her companion, just as a slight sheepish giggle escaped her lips. "Sai! Hi!" Just the sight of him made her spirits rise; made her stomach to flutter...as if she had missed him, even if they saw each other most days. It was his warm gaze and that almost invisible smile that always managed to ease her and to let herself go, knowing that no matter what, he would always be there by her side, never to judge. He stepped out of the door, already knowing the reason of her visit, ready for whatever plans she might have come up with, and that made her grin, pleased. The excitement inside of her was barely contained as she balanced herself on her heels, her hands clasped at her back, the girl making a pause for a dramatic effect. "Weeeell..." Of course, Suzu sounded more silly than mysterious. And she couldn't wait, herself. "The beach!" The brunette blurted out after a tiny pause, eyes already shimmering with the thoughts of the white sand and the clear, warm water.
"Wouldn't it be cool? We could go swimming! And we could buy some pudding! And there's also the boardwalk! And we could visit the Rock! And the Cove! And and and...we could go swimming!" Her arms linked around one of his, her cheek brushing softly against his shirt as she looked up at him with eyes that could put a cute puppy to shame. "I am sure we still have some time before it starts getting cold! And and well...Iwadate is special, and we had a really great time last time...and...I am sure it could be that way this time as well!" She kept the memories of that day very close to her heart...the pudding dates, the seashell hunting...how nice it felt being carried by him...the fireworks...and even the way back, when she had fallen asleep against him in the train. Yeah...it had been nice. It was true, though, that any place could become special if it was him there with her.
"It will be fun!" Suzu added, pulling his arm gently before sliding away, giving a few short steps/hops before turning around to face her violet haired companion again. "So can we? Pleaaaase?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 11:04 pm
Sai Sakurazaka, the Urban Legend of Oshu City
"...You can trip as many times as you want; I will never let you fall..."It was hard to say not to Suzume when she really had her heart set on something. She was innocent and excited, but never insistent; when she wanted something she simply said it and believed in you, then let her charm do the rest of the work. It wasn't as though it were a calculated ploy, and she never thought that far ahead, never really knew whether or not the person she was asking would agree or disagree. One thing that Sai had learned well was that she wanted, she simply did things...she didn't hesitate, she didn't worry, and she always believed that things were going to work out. She trusted...perhaps far too easily. And he loved that about her as much as he worried about it. It was just the type of person that she was, and he couldn't help but go along with her sometimes, when she looked at him with those puppy eyes of hers. He could be prudent when it mattered most, but when it came to free time, to recreation, what could he say to her energetic suggestions? If it weren't for her, after all, he would hardly ever have anything that might be considered fun. Did he really want to go swimming right now? Something so frivolous really wasn't the sort of thing he was used to doing, and it was hard for him to ever consider doing something so lighthearted when there was work still to be done in shaping up this city into something better than it was. Swimming really didn't fit into his plans. And yet...when she suggested it, the situation changed. Seeing how hopeful she looked, the excited way that she suggested going down to the beach, having pudding (not that he even ate pudding), visiting the same places that had made themselves special to them the last time they visited the resort town not so very long ago, he couldn't well ignore her hopes at all. Besides, just because he wanted to go swimming didn't mean that he didn't want to go to the beach together. No, that wasn't true at all.
"I can't imagine we have enough time to visit all of those places in just one night, Suzume," his response was simple, the casual look in his eye a thin mask for the warmth there in as he allowed her to take his arm, catching her hand as she slid out to a distance from him to keep her within his grasp...otherwise, who knew how quickly she might bound off here or there, making him rush to keep up with her all the while, "But since you're so insistent, I'll take you there." His tiny smile could almost be heard in his voice as he looked down at the precious person standing opposite him, his feet slowly treading along the path towards the front door beside her. Behind him he could hear the click of a door in the hall, feel the curious eyes upon his back, but he paid them little mind, as always. He didn't mind them...rumors had always surrounded him, and the whispers of the people here were much more friendly than those that he was used to. It was a nice change; lots of those had been coming to him lately. And the source of all his good fortune, all his changes, could be found within the person beside him. Taking her to the beach was but a drop in the bucket towards all he owed her for that. More than that, he was happy to do it. There was little that he wouldn't do for her...especially with those puppy eyes staring at him so closely.
"If we don't hurry, we'll miss the train," the young man warned as his fingers wound closer with hers, pressing the front door to the streets of the city open and allowing her to pass through before him, "Come, Suzume...let's go."
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2014 5:46 pm
Sai Sakurazaka, the Urban Legend of Oshu City
"...You can trip as many times as you want; I will never let you fall..."It wasn't often he had visitors at this time of night. It was even less likely that he'd open the door to his apartment, unknown to all but the closest people to his heart, to find not just Suzume standing there...but old man Juugo from the Sweet Shop behind her, acting as something of an escort for the evening. It set off warning bells inside of his head in an instant, but he didn't question whether or not the two of them were in danger when they came here. If that old man was involved, there was no danger now; that didn't mean that whatever happened to lead the two of them to his door wasn't serious enough to warrant attention. ...But then, it wasn't as though he was ignorant to what had been going on throughout the city of Oshu today, nor the whispers of his name that had been on the tongue of those encountering a pair of unusual characters who had been searching the neighborhoods for any sight of a Lin Kuei associate who was supposed to have been dead for nearly a year and a half now. He knew that something nefarious had been about, and he had placed one of the few people in the world he trusted at the guard of the most important person in the world to him. And it had been the old man himself who had kept him best informed, every scrap of information and rumor that flowed through this neighborhood being one that he heard sooner than anyone. Little did people know just how connected he was, how his old contacts kept him in the loop on the slightest of details and rumors, and from that friendship he had formed with the old man, the partnership in cleaning up his shop when the thugs of the syndicates came calling, he had gained an invaluable ally in maintaining the peaceful life outside that world that he had hoped to carve out after he met her. It was most likely that whatever had brought the two of them here had begun to threaten that life...threaten the peace that he sought...threaten to drag him back into a world of danger and bloodshed that he had hoped he would never have to be a part of again. ...A world that he had prayed she would never have to know so long as he was with her. Then again, in his life...bloodshed was an inevitability, wasn't it? He resisted the urge to grab her hand or apologize when he saw her, chestnut eyes and light brown hair probably assuaged by the pudding the old man had given her...but not entirely convinced to drop the curiosity of the incident prior. Would he have to explain to her just who he had been before that night in the hospital not so very long ago? Would she...could she even understand the type of person that he had been before she had saved him from that world?
"Chin up, kid," a sage old voice spoke after a brief silence Sai hadn't even recognized, his easy smirk making it hard not to feel at least a little comforted or reassured by the gesture...though the violet-haired young man's taciturn frown gave little evidence to said relief if it was present, "Suzu and I just ran into an old friend of mine on her way home from classes. We talked it out...and I just thought since I was in the neighborhood, I'd escort her by. Nothing to lose any sleep over. Anyway, I've got to go lock up the shop...and hope some little opportunist didn't raid the pantry while I was gone. Later...and you too, Chickpea." The old man smirked and chuckled under his breath, ruffling the girl's hair for a moment before turning and heading down the hall of the apartment complex and on his way. He couldn't solve everything for them, he knew...and Sai knew it just as well...but he had this feeling that if those two crazy kids were together, things were going to work out just fine. He and the axe-murderer blondie had done all they could for one day. The rest, they'd figure out on their own, right?
...
It was quiet for a moment as he watched her expression, saw the pudding in her hands, and he hoped that Suzu wasn't thinking about whatever had happened before that lead to her being here. He hoped that she would still smile that carefree smile at him without worrying about whatever bastards were out there lurking in the streets to find him. More than anything, he hoped that she would never change, never cease to be that lighthearted person that he had grown to care so deeply for. He hoped...and it made him smile this faint, wry smile because he wondered just when in his messed up life he had started to become the type of person who 'hoped' and 'wished' when all his life he had never believed in anything except the strength of his own two hands and the wits and will that had kept him alive until this day. Except that he already knew the answer to that question as easily as he knew just what the sole word he needed to describe what he felt for this person in front of him was, exactly. Special, important, those were good ones, but the one and only was simple. And they both knew what that was.
"Little Suzume missed you," he spoke once he had let his momentary hesitation fall to the side; smiling as though nothing at all had happened or changed...that tiny comforting smirk that she would know so well by now. The only sort of smile that he tended to show to anyone...but mostly her. "She always swims faster when you're around. Come in and say 'Hello', Suzume..."
...
Maybe that was a little silly for him, but the day called for it. And, crazy as it all was, he wasn't lying. Nothing seemed to cheer the goldfish they had won together at that festival as fast as that smiling face pressed against the glass and the rat-a-tat-tat of her fingers playfully drumming...no matter how many times he asked her not to do that.
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2014 7:48 pm
Suzume Kirihara It had been a strange day. Perhaps it was better to say it had been a confusing day. There were questions that had popped into her mind; questions that kept nagging her; questions that she had asked, only to have them answered with vague explanations or change of topics. She had followed along because, well, the change of topic really did lead her off the trail, if only for a while, before the questions came swarming back into her mind. Kiri ojii-chan had been very kind to her, cheering her up, distracting her, treating her with her favorite dessert (or food really), and when it came to going back home, the brunette didn't question or deny his company. It was always fun chatting with the cool old guy from the Sweet Shop; he always had the most interesting stories to tell. When the idea of visiting Sai popped up, Suzu was ecstatic, the energy that characterized her shining through. If there was someone that could make her forget about confusing questions or worrying thoughts, that was Sai. During the rest of their way there, the petite brunette couldn't stop blabbering about her companion, their 'little pet' and just how happy she was of seeing Sai.
Once they were in front of the apartment belonging to the violet haired young man though, Suzu couldn't help the fidgeting and the strange nervousness she felt, despite the big smile on her face. There was silence, and Suzu couldn't read the expression of her companion, making her to furrow her eyebrows just slightly. Before the girl could even open her mouth to question about it though, Kiri ojii-chan spoke up, explaining the sudden and random visit, before walking off; not before ruffling her hair, which made her giggle slightly. "Bye bye Kiri ojii-chan! Thanks for everything!" Big chestnut eyes followed the old man down the hall, waving until he had disappeared down the stairs. Then, without warning, (though he probably was used to the assault by now) the girl threw her arms around Sai in a tight hug, nuzzling into his chest.
She looked up when he spoke, a big smile curling at her lips at the mention of the little fish. "Oh! I missed her as well! Is she doing well? Is she the fastest swimmer in the tank?" She giggled, letting go of him and skipping inside in a beeline towards the tank. And sure enough, the little goldfish was there, happily swimming along the other fish. Her face pressed to the glass, as the girl made silly faces for the fish to notice. "Hey, Sai..." the drumming fingers slowed down, her expression sobering if only a little.
If there was someone who could read Sai better than anybody, that was Suzu. And she had felt the slight worry in his expressions and words since he had opened the door. And it was then that the questions came flowing back...muffled at times...but always finding a crack in her distracted mind to get back into the front of her thoughts. "Something really strange happened today..."
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2014 10:45 pm
Sai Sakurazaka, the Urban Legend of Oshu City
"...You can trip as many times as you want; I will never let you fall..."It almost didn't fit, seeing someone so carefree and happy in his apartment, enjoying life so fully in spite of the severity of what had happened earlier and what it meant to the violet-haired young man. So many things that he had wanted to bury over the years, to leave behind for this life that he had chosen since that fateful night not so very long ago, were threatening to come boiling back to the surface now that he wasn't sure whether to savor this easy smile in front of him or dread the moment that it might disappear. In the back of his mind he always knew that he could never entirely avoid the topic, never fully escape the world from which he had once come, especially as he continued to grow closer with Suzume...but despite his honesty, that open clarity with which he always approached the girl that he cared so deeply for, his past was the one area about which the two of them had never really covered ground together. His scars remained a mystery, his stay in the hospital when they had first met a subject he had danced around before them, and to his relief, she had never really dug into the life that he had lead prior to the one they shared now together. But what had happened today...for Titus Martillo, that carefree idiot of all people to be the one who had come for him only barely registered as logical (he knew in his heart the source of that must have been his manipulation)...it didn't matter what reason they had, to drag her into this was unforgivable.
"She is certainly the most lively," he answered her smiling question with an easy, honest retort...the goldfish seemed to have more energy than any of his much more exotic-looking fish, particularly when the little fish's namesake came to visit and tap on the glass (no matter how many times Sai asked her not to tap it)...whether that was logical or just another idiosyncrasy of those who bore the name of 'Suzume' was beyond him and he didn't care to investigate. He was happy with the way things were now. Amazingly, and against any hope that he had ever had for himself, he was...happy with this simple life, with daily visits with and from this bubbly girl and her beaming smiles, with working odd jobs and helping the old man at the shop and dealing with these strange, decent people he had become entangled with. Why did Titus have to show up now? What might have happened if the old man hadn't picked up on that rumor spreading around town about that bonehead Martillo bumbling around town asking anybody and everybody about him? Was this how his simple life came to an end? He wasn't afraid of his life ending...he never had been. But Suzume's life...her happiness...her innocence that shouldn't be tainted by the sins of his own past...that, of all things, was what he feared the most. He didn't want her to ask him about his past. He didn't want her to know how he became scarred as he was. He didn't want her to know about the life that he had lived and the things that he had done before that night when he had almost died in the alleys of this cold, rotting city.
In the end, though, it was always inevitable...wasn't it? Men like him couldn't lead a simple life without putting at risk the things they wanted to hold onto. They were poisoned. And the people who touched them became poisoned. All he could do was protect what he loved with all of his strength, and silently, as those eyes turned to him with that uncertain expression he repeated to himself what he had always promised as it dawned upon him how dear an existence she was becoming to him...to his life and this world and this city.
Nobody would ever hurt her. He wouldn't let them.
"The Old Man told me you ran into someone on the way home today," Sai spoke finally, knowing that avoidance wasn't an option if he wanted her to keep looking at him with those clear, trusting, caring eyes of hers...but answering her questions, her worries, wouldn't mean he'd have to tell her everything just yet. His trust for her was absolute. But there were some things, even knowing how she felt, he didn't want to talk about just yet. And if she didn't ask about them, if she could be content trusting him just as much, he would be happy to let her stay the way that she was now. He would. "I'm glad that you made it home safely, Suzume."
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Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 5:55 pm
Suzume Kirihara "Mmhm..." The hum rumbled at the back of her throat, her gaze still on the tank and the colorful fish swimming about, thoughtful. The scene from that afternoon returned to her mind and the girl couldn't help but to wonder what the tension had been all about. Suzu wasn't dumb, despite what many would think of her, and she knew that the people that had appeared that afternoon and Denmark and Kiri-ojii weren't on friendly terms. She hadn't seen much, the blond's back towering over her and blocking much of her view...but she had heard a scream, and she had heard the loud and threatening voices coming and going between them. Big, chocolate orbs finally turned to her violet-haired companion, her eyebrows knitted together in concentration. "There were two of them...A guy and a girl. They seemed to be..." Suzu paused for a moment, suddenly scared. "...looking for you, Sai. I can't remember his name, but...he knew Kiri-ojii. Said they knew each other from long ago. And, and even Denmark knew who they were..." Her fingers slid down from the fish tank and back to her side, before the girl took a few steps closer to her companion. "Denmark wasn't happy..." the girl mentioned, as an afterthought, a finger finding its way to her chin in a thoughtful sign.
"Sai...the guy said he was looking for some kind of deal. I don't know what he wanted...but he sounded desperate. He said he didn't want to hurt anybody." The girl frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked at Sai for a moment, her hopeful gaze on his crimson eye...somehow, she was hoping nothing bad was going to happen...that there was nothing to worry about... "Do you..." she chewed the inside of her cheek, not knowing if she should really ask. She had never asked him questions like these before. Or well...she might had long ago, when she had just met him that time at the hospital, when she had blurted out questions that popped into her mind... and of course, he hadn't answered any of them back then. But now... well...now was different, wasn't it?
"Do you know them, Sai? Do you...know what they wanted?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2014 2:52 pm
Sai Sakurazaka, the Urban Legend of Oshu City
"...You can trip as many times as you want; I will never let you fall..."It was no use hiding entirely; he couldn't lie to her. Anything less would have been a betrayal of their trust, of the faith that Suzume had put into him whether it was right or wrong. His crimson eye caught the girl's uncertainty and the anxiety that was plainly threatening to creep over her at all that had happened, at what might have been reflected in his own face, and it was a look that he didn't want to see...that he had never wanted to see on a face that should have always been smiling, laughing, devouring cups of pudding without a care in the world about the darkness in the streets that he had grown up surrounded by. There were reasons he didn't want to talk about his past, why he wanted to shelter her, but in his heart, he supposed that he couldn't keep the truth about where he had come from secret forever. Not if he wanted to keep her in his life...and that, despite all of his best efforts, was the one thing in all the world that he did want more than any other. His lips curled faintly into an expression somewhere between the beginnings of a mea culpa and the great concern he had always concealed about what she would think of him if she knew...though the expression was of a typically reserved nature, his control of himself too sure to reveal much. But to someone who knew him, he supposed, his unease would be obvious.
Nobody could truly bury their past...right?
"Come sit with me, Suzume," the dark violet-haired young man's voice was low, calm, and though he had said his request more as a statement, she would know that she didn't need to join him right away if she didn't want to...his feet carried him with practiced grace around the couch and in an easy motion he sat himself upon the cushions of his high-quality couch, waiting for her to come join him so that his hands could find her own and take the slender, soft fingers of the chestnut-haired girl within them. And once she had taken her place at his side, he began to speak...without hesitation, as Sai Sakurazaka had always been a decisive person even in those instances when he did not like the road that he knew must be traveled. His eye remained on her the whole time, evenly and revealing nothing of the uncertainty and/or turmoil that might be hidden within. "If you want to know the truth about the man and woman that you encountered today, then the story begins when I was young. There are a lot of things about my past that I've never spoken with you about, Suzume, but that ends tonight. That the two of them have found me, and approached you, means that things are likely to become more dangerous. For your sake, you need to know the truth about the person that I was before that night we met in the hospital. If knowing means that you think differently of me, then so be it, I will accept the consequences of my past. But know this, Suzume; I care for you more than I have ever cared for another person. And I will always protect you." His fingers gave hers a gentle squeeze, as if to remind her of that...that no matter what she heard, what happened, he would always be watching over her. She would be safe. He would see to that.
If it was an ominous lead-in to the story of his past, he hoped that she would forgive him and be set at ease by the sincerity of the last few words he had spoken. They were true, clear, and likely as raw as she had ever heard him, though even that wasn't but the slightest of margins. Even in his most open, Sai wasn't an open book...or even a slightly cracked one. He paused to consider the perfect starting point for his story...but he swiftly understood that there was no natural beginning, no easy entry point into his life B.S. (Before Suzu). The best that he could do for her was simply to tell her all that he felt relevant, all that would help her to understand who he was and who he is, so that she could judge for herself whether or not he was someone deserving of the affection that she had given to him. It was all that anyone could do in the end, wasn't it?
"When I was a child, I had a sister named Kaori. Though I can barely remember her face now, we were the only family either one of us had ever known. The two of us squatted in an abandoned apartment building room, scoring food and supplies as best we could from generous neighbors and by doing lesser versions of the odd jobs I do now for the old man. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep us alive. Together, that was enough. For a while..." he confessed calmly, revealing the fact that he had once had family almost as easily as he might have related having breakfast in the morning...as though the emotions he had felt back then were somewhere buried deep inside of him, stymied and repressed with the rest of his cocktail of negative emotions built up over the years, "I was nearly seven when she disappeared. I assumed she was late, but soon realized that she must have either been kidnapped or killed. I staked out the morgue for weeks before I allowed myself to believe that she was gone, though I had known right away when she didn't come home. Kaori had always come home right on time...we were all we had. And when she was gone, it was only me. It wasn't enough...not for any semblance of a normal life, not for happiness...but I continued to live simply because I saw no other choice. I did not want to die. So I worked, and when I needed to, I stole. I had no regrets about those days. I still don't. If I'd simply laid down and died, I wouldn't be here with you today. However I'd never expected to be grateful for my will to survive by any means necessary in those days...that is a feeling that you are responsible for as well."
He paused a moment to take a breath, glancing back to the kitchen only once as he wondered if Suzume would like a drink or a pudding while she sat. Though he hadn't a taste for the latter, he hadn't gone a day without filling his fridge with at least enough for a few days' worth that his companion would never go wanting when she came to visit him. He wished he could see her eating as freely and happily right now as she always did, a useless, tiny little desire that had begun to nestle itself in the back of his mind. When did he become distracted by such little things? No, he knew exactly when...and why...and about whom he cared so very much...but there was on use stalling this story any longer, was there?
"For more than two years that was how I lived. Scavenging, stealing, surviving...I picked out the shops that had the best food and sneak in unlocked doors while employees were on smoke breaks, I'd keep an eye out on street corners for trash bins filled with old, still-functional appliances being tossed out or furniture for the apartment I was in. Anything to keep from becoming idle or from simply giving up. And then one night, I found myself in the kitchen of a bar called the 'Yellow Dragon' in Oshu City's harshest district..." the gravity began to grow a little stronger at that, the memory growing clearer...the connection to the day's incidents a little stronger, "A man caught me taking the meat right off of a plate while the cook was taking a phone call in the front of the bar. The steak was being prepared for a man named Liu Bei Lin Kuei; the man who caught me was his right hand, Juugo Kirikaze..."
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Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 10:43 pm
Suzume Kirihara The conversation was starting to feel as the heaviest conversation the petite brunette had ever had, and it hadn't even started yet. Suzu could feel it in Sai's expression, despite the fact there wasn't much to read on it. As always, he kept his expression leveled; a mask for any other person. But she knew better. If anything, years of spending with the violet haired young man had given her the ability to read the tiniest signs in his expressions: the little tug of his lips that meant a smile...the glare on his eye that wasn't as threatening as it looked...the sigh that might have sounded exasperated to any other, but was actually relenting, almost a chuckle...and in this case...the expression that showed just how torn he looked...how uneasy...
And that really sank her heart.
Suzu followed behind him when the request came, her hand itching to take his...for him to guide her. She took her seat, and it didn't take long for his strong hand to find hers, making her to exhale a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Big, chestnut orbs observed the hands with great detail, almost mesmerized by them. Her fingers looked so frail and tiny compared to his; Sai's hands were tough, strong; calloused due to days and days of work, but still...so gentle. They were hands she knew so very well... and as much the girl wanted to believe she knew everything there was to know about her companion...she knew there were parts of him she didn't know anything about. Her gaze, wide and slightly scared turned up to him as he began his tale...her fingers squeezing his to keep the tension away...and to let him know that she was there, no matter what.
Sai's past... Suzu had wondered about it time and time again, she wouldn't lie. In all the time they had been together, it had been a topic that had popped into her mind whenever she talked about her family, or any time she talked about her childhood. She had wondered how Sai had been as a kid...how his parents were like... what had his life been like. She had never asked though...either she had forgotten about it, distracted by some other conversation that seemed important at a time...or because she had believed he'd open up when he felt like it. She couldn't really push him...not Sai. The day for that had arrived...and somehow, Suzu thought she'd be more excited about it.
Suzu listened, and her frown turned into a puffy-cheeked pout when the mere thought of thinking differently of him was said. "No, Sai! Nothing would make me change my mind about you! I really like you Sai! And...and I promise nothing will change!" With her free hand, the girl crossed her heart and nodded seriously. His tale began...and questions were starting to get answers. And as the words kept flowing, chestnut pools grew wider and wider.
And when he paused... Suzu could only stare. "You have a sister!? Oh! oh! I am sure she must be out there! She's your sister! So she must definitely be tough like you right?" The girl blurted out, excitement barely contained in her voice. ... ... Wait, had she even heard all he had said? Suzus will be Suzus.
After the initial outburst, though, and despite the thousand questions about the matter in her head, the girl sobered up a little, and frowned as her companion resumed the tale. The life Sai had lived was completely different of what she had ever imagined. In her little bubble, Suzu had imagined a life like her own...with caring people supporting him... He had had, instead, a life of hardships and struggles. She could not even start to fathom something like that. It was almost illogical for her for things like that to happen to kids. A sniffle escaped the girl, eyes watery... but still there was complete admiration in them at the strength he kept despite the difficulties...there was still the same care and love in them for the person that was the most important to her.
"...Lin Kuei..." Anybody in Oshu had heard that name. It was in the news...in the streets people whispered about it...People were afraid of them. It was like some kind of legend...like a monster she had never encountered, but everyone was scared of. Unlike monsters though...the Amakusu were completely real. A gasp escaped her...eyebrows furrowing in an attempt to understand that last part. "Wait...but... his right hand? Isn't that... Kiri...ojii chan...?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 6:14 am
Sai Sakurazaka, the Urban Legend of Oshu City
"...You can trip as many times as you want; I will never let you fall..."He had known it all along, but if the violet-haired teen had any doubts about the reasons why he loved this girl beside him (which he never did), she had a way of reminding him at the strangest moments. The atmosphere in the room was as heavy as it had ever been between the two of them, and the uncertainty that filled him as he removed the veil of secrecy from his past before her eyes weighed upon him in a fashion that he couldn't entirely hide. He knew, somewhere in his heart, that she would be able to forgive him for whatever he would tell her, but there was also that part of him that knew...with people like her, whose innocence was so honest and untouched, that there was always a breaking point. There was a point where innocence was either damaged or lost in the realization that someone you believed in wasn't the person you thought they were, or worse, that despite forgiveness the trust and affection between two people could be lost entirely. Sai thought he had prepared himself for whatever her response would be; he believed that no matter if she wished not to see him, if lost faith, if her affection for her dimmed, he would be all right so long as she was safe...as long as she knew that she was safe so long as she believed in him. And yet, there was that part of him that had once been so empty that was filled now with something only she could have given him, something that she had awakened that he thought once dead, and he wasn't sure who he would be, what he would have left, or if that something would live on should she reject him entirely. Whatever the decision he would protect her, he owed her that and more, but who he was, what his life was worth...those were all things she now held within her hand. Yes, this was fear...the only thing that scared him half as much as the thought of her being hurt was, in the end, the fear of being alone without her.
...But then, she just had to go and remind him why after all they had been through and seen, he had come to love her just as much as she seemed to care for him as well. It was the wonder in her eyes and the childlike hope and happiness at the revelation that he'd had a sister, and it was the unwavering certainty that her feelings would never change for him in the face of such a dangerous world, and it was in the air and glee that permeated her every pore...those little quirks that made her irreplaceable to him, that wove her essence into the very fiber of his being. She reminded him that she was a part of him now, this special existence in a life otherwise devoid of anything of value prior, and there was an unshakeable will inside of him to keep her safe, to tell her the truth that she sought, to make her happy. And there was much more of the story yet to be told. Her expressions ranged wildly as she listened and took in this part and that which surprised her, and he did not miss the uncertainty and fear that captured her eyes when he mentioned the boogeymen who had haunted their city for a while now. She didn't know them, but everybody in the city knew of the Lin Kuei. She was struggling to understand the meaning behind the last important bit of information he had told her, and he could understand her surprise. How would she have ever known that the cool old man who had treated her to pudding day-after-day and kept Sai employed, off the grid, and informed on the movements of his enemies from his humble corner of the neighborhood had once been such an important and terrifying figure in the Oshu City underworld? How could she have guessed apart from the imposing figure when low-level, recently-initiated goons like those who had wrecked the shop a few times to try and 'rattle the old man's cage' in recent days didn't have the wits to realize they were prodding a tiger? That was just the first of a few hard truths on the horizon, however, and it wouldn't do to let her dwell too long on the beginning.
"My sister...no, there's nothing to say about her. If she is alive, I am sure our paths will cross again. As for the Old Man, you're right. The one that's been watching out for you from behind the counter at the Sweet Shop is one and the same with the man I met on that night. Since then, I can only tell you that many things have changed both in my life and in his. Though he remains as intimidating a man to anger as he was in his days amongst the Lin Kuei, I promise you that the affection and the kindness that you see in him now is...and has always been...genuine. On that night in the Yellow Dragon, the Old Man had every right to toss me out onto the street empty-handed, or worse, to turn me over to the Boss of the Lin Kuei. Instead, I ate my fill as he watched me, and when I finished, he told me there was something in my eyes that both impressed and frightened him. The Old Man could have given me up, but instead, he gave me a purpose. And for a time, he gave me a home," his eye closed as his lips tightened for a moment and his hand gave hers a small squeeze, a hesitation and a feeling of something sharp threatening to seize him in the pit of his chest...but as he recalled how the old man had smiled at him as he'd gorged on the steak and as much rice as he'd been able to fit into his stomach on that day, how he'd picked the stray grain from the younger Sai's cheek and hummed as if in thought as he lit up a cigarette and looked towards the dining room where his boss had been, Sai remembered...if he had to choose the moment that had set him on the path to the person he had become, that was the one. The old man had looked at him with those sharp eyes of his and seen something, some potential buried inside this ragged, lonely boy, and he'd made it his business to see it realized. Was it the right choice, he wondered? Would it have been better just to die and not witness all that had come to pass and would thereafter? Only one thing kept him from giving the idea any real consideration. This chocolate-eyed, chestnut-haired bundle of warmth sitting so closely beside him, that was what...and it was in this hand connected to his own that he found the truth in his lack of regret. "I became something of a pet project for him. He told me to meet him at a building in the heart of the upper-class residential district in the city; mostly I'd convinced myself that it was a cruel game being played upon a boy with no hope, that no one would miss or care for. He hadn't done anything to engender suspicion, but I had learned not to trust too easily. But I went to the address anyway; the Old Man was half-drunk by the time he'd stumbled down to the door to let me in. I could smell the alcohol in him, and his tongue has loosened considerably. I almost walked away, but for the same inviting warmth in his face when he pulled me inside."
He paused a moment, his breath escaping him poignantly...his eye opening, finding hers and holding her gaze firmly. It was an important moment, an admission...the confirmation to one of the oldest and most fearsome rumors about the person that he had been before he'd appeared as a student in the Oshu City High School alongside Suzume not so very long ago now.
"...From that day on, Suzume...I was an agent of the Lin Kuei."
He'd finally admitted the truth, the first kernel of an important part of the person that he had been...the darkness he'd allowed himself to be swept up into in those days before he'd known her. Though he wasn't entirely proud of the person that he had been, there was no changing the truth of the world that he had once lived in and been a part of, and though it might hurt her to know that he had once been that selfsame boogeyman that had filled her eyes with fear when they'd come up before, he had to tell the truth to her now if he ever hoped for her to trust him enough to believe in him ever-after this. If he wanted her safe, she needed to know that the people who'd approached her were a part of the Lin Kuei Family...and she needed to know that the reason they were searching for him was due to this connection that he'd had with them before...that if he had never made that choice to follow the old man and become a part of his Family that night, she could have lived her life in peace to this day and never known him. And she'd know that if he separated himself from her now, if that was what she wished, that she would never find herself in danger from the likes of them again. He was the one responsible, the source of any threat that would come to her...like a magnet attracting threats from the world around them. And if she wanted no part of that world for her own, she need only say the word and he would distance himself no matter how much it hurt him, no matter how little meaning his life would hold thereafter. He'd go away...but he'd protect her still, from a distance. None of the person he had been would ever touch her and bring her harm, or he'd truly be the monster...the monster that her fear of the Lin Kuei might have made them out to be. And that he would not allow.
"Do you still want to hear more, Suzume?" he asked after a moment, pausing to consider whether or not the girl would even want to hear his words after such a revelation. Did she hate him? Did she fear him? Had not telling her the truth of what he had once been damaged the bond between them, severed her trust? He dared not give voice to those questions, but assumed only that in some fashion, she had to be losing faith in the good person that she wanted him to be...that he had tried to be for her, for this new life of his. But in the end, only she could know. Only she could decide who she cared for, who she believed in. And if this much wasn't enough, maybe she'd want to know more...maybe she needed to know more about who he had become under the watch of the old man, Kirikaze as a member of the Lin Kuei? Only she knew...and he would wait for her to tell him. Amongst all other things, he owed her that...and more.
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Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 7:05 pm
Suzume Kirihara [Location: Oshu High] This was being difficult for him, Suzume could see it. Every little breath escaping his lips, and the pauses he made to collect his thoughts made the brunette frown slightly, the grip of her hand on his tightening in support. She had made her mind up, and nothing Sai were to say would change her idea of him. Nothing. She listened to the story, her gaze always on him, not letting anything else distract her from the truth unraveling before her. And when it came, she seemed to freeze only for a moment; her eyebrows furrowing almost as if not understanding. Chestnut colored eyes lowered to their entwined hands, her mind whirling quickly. He said he had been part of the dreaded family that terrorized the city, but... "But you are nothing like them, Sai..." Wide orbs returned to him, examining his every feature. His crimson eye was always sharp...and to any other, perhaps always in a perpetual state of glaring; unfriendly and scary...but...she always saw the way it softened when he looked at her...the way he looked at her as if she were the only one in the world at that moment; she liked his gaze...how it had landed on her that first night at the hospital...how he had seen that sad girl, and was kind enough to cheer her up. No one else had done that.
Her gaze turned then to the eyepatch and the scars running down that pale cheek. She had heard her friends whispering about those scars before at school...how it marked Sai was a delinquent, a lost soul not meant for a normal life, but...those scars had never scared her. And then...there was the hard line on his lips...adding to the unapproachable aura about the young man, she had heard her friends say before, but... Suzu had seen the tiniest smile on them...and those meant the world to her. She had felt those lips against her own...and she still felt butterflies on her belly at the memory.
Yes. He was very important to her. And while his past was the tiniest bit darker (alright, a whole lot darker) than she had imagined... she wouldn't let that carry her away from him. The past was in the past, right? "Sai..." Her voice finally broke the silence, her hips scooting just the tiniest bit closer to him as her other hand rested softly over the other two hands. "I know who you are right now, Sai...and it is all that matters to me. But I waaaant to know about your past, too. I think...it could make us grow closer. Don't you think? No more secrets, and... if it would make you feel better...I could tell you about my past as well?" She really was trying, as silly as it might have sound to any other... she really wanted to support him. She really wanted him to know that she was there...and that she wanted to be part of what he did.
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 9:46 pm
Sai Sakurazaka, the Urban Legend of Oshu City
"...You can trip as many times as you want; I will never let you fall...""You are one of a kind, Suzume," a small, almost self-depreciating and yet somehow pleasantly amused laugh escaped the lips of the Sakurazukamori just then...all of his tension and concern had been wrapped up in a moment that seemed almost not to register with her at all. Only he knew that she understood the implications of what he had told her, knew that somewhere inside of her mind the fact that he must have been a part of some terrible things remained. But she forgave him for his past, for the things that he had done and the things that he couldn't stop even when he wanted to. She saw him the way that she had always seen him, as the young, wounded man in the hospital waiting room who had extended a hand to her when he'd barely had a leg left to stand on and no safe place in all the world to call his own. She propped him up and made him forget about the type of person he might have been and focus only on the person that he wanted to be, the person that one day soon, he hoped he could believe he had become. And it was a relief to him, a relief that she hadn't held it against him or been upset to find out about the Old Man's role in the past knowing that he had never told her all this time. Kiri had always gone out of his way to look after the ray of sunshine that had found its way to Sai's side, and that hadn't been out of any misplaced sense of duty or shame. It had been because the girl was a precious innocent in a city that was rotten and corrupted. It had been because she reminded him of what was good. It was because...well, Sai wouldn't speculate too far, but he knew that it would have crushed him to see some of the light in this girl's eyes die when she looked at him. And no matter what had happened, the old man had always done right by Sai. But there was more to be said, and as his short laughter ended he held the girl's hand and considered what else there was to say. The rise, the fall...the night that they had met and everything that had happened before he'd come ambling painfully out of his hospital bed to find her there through little more than a whim of fate? What was important for her to know about his past and where did they go from here? Talking had never been his strongest suit. Especially when it came to talking about himself. But he owed her that...she was trying, and he didn't have it in him to betray such an outright trust as hers. No chance.
"At first things seemed almost too normal; the old man always seemed a little worn out by the world around him, coming home half-drunk and teaching me until he passed out about the true nature of the Lin Kuei family. But even through the haze of alcohol you could still see the sort of man he was. He taught me diligently, with an eye for strategy and historical knowledge that far outstripped any normal man. He rarely cursed, never raised a hand to me so long as I was under his roof even when my childish anger got the better of me, but there was a despair in him that I am certain had something to do with the daughter that he almost never mentioned. And if the lessons on how to fight, how to work within the family, ever ended before he'd passed out in his chair then we would talk about the Lin Kuei as they are and how they used to be...then, I think, he would be the saddest. I have no doubt it had something to do with why he rarely talked about his daughter, but at the heart of the matter was that the Lin Kuei were slowly dying. Not in a literal sense, but in that the city of Oshu had outgrown them. And it was going to be my job, and the job of the Syndicate's leader's son, to see it restored to life. Despite the fact that I had never met the boy, the Old Man taught me to be his conscience, his reason, and his guardian. It was six months before I finally met him...my best friend and my greatest enemy...the Lin Kuei's current Leader, Jian," there was a grave severity and a pain, a determination in his eyes when he spoke that name with emphasis. His hand clenched gently over hers but at his side the other was white-knuckled. This...was a sign, perhaps the most important bit of information so far that he had shared. Whatever the connection was between Sai and Jian Lin Kuei, Suzume could see more raw emotion in his expression and his actions than she had likely ever seen in him before. It was deep, the wounds that bound them. And he didn't wait long before he spoke again, his crimson eye finding hers as his tone fell just a little, as if the weight of the story had grown just a little heavier in the telling.
"Jian was the son of Liu Bei, the Lin Kuei's Founding Father and leader. He was immensely talented, clever, and charming when he wanted or needed to be. To me, he was like a mirror...young, strong, caught up in this thing that was larger than either of us...he became my first real friend. But what lay beneath the surface was a secret ruthless nature that he well-concealed in the early days. Like a dragon he knew when to lay low...when to speak of honor and loyalty and to obey the command's of the family's older members in order to keep them docile...but behind his eyes there was a naked ambition he only flashed at rare moment...and a cruelty that flared up in the heat of battle that worried me. We met on the day that the Old Man reintroduced me to the Family's leader. It was then that he and the Old Man decided officially that Jian and I would work together...two prodigy children working together to collect debts, settle scores, and intimidate those that even the adults of the family couldn't accomplish. His father and the Old Man lectured us about the weight of our responsibility...that one day, Jian might become the future of the Lin Kuei. He impressed upon us that one day, our family might escape from the cycle of bloodshed. They told us...of a vision for the Lin Kuei family that is far different from what it was then, and even further from what it has become. It sounded like peace; a just cause for a family that had taken me from obscurity and given me a life beyond the streets. And I believed, Suzume...in the vision for this city that they sold me. I wanted to believe that what I would do had a purpose. I imagine that they wanted to believe as well, but that in their hearts...no, I can't say..." He sighed, glancing towards the window as if somehow willing it might change what had happened, alter the past and change the course of history for both this city and the Family that he had once been a part of. Where had everything gone wrong? Why hadn't he seen things coming sooner and done something more to stop it? What could he have done? It wasn't worth thinking about now, no. The past was the past...and the future...was sitting beside him now. Because there was no future in this city for him without her. He couldn't imagine it. Wouldn't want to dream it. Which was why he had to protect her...from the world he had once occupied.
"At first our work together was simple. Collecting debts to the Lin Kuei and establishing our territory could be as simple as a hard stare, knocking down a single belligerent man deserving of a reality check. Jian and I were more than formidable, despite our age, and we worked in-sync in the way that only friends who trust one another can. But the more successful we were, the more I began to notice a concern in the eyes of the Old Man...the distance between he and the Master, Liu Bei. I couldn't understand it then, but I think...that he had grown weary. Teaching me had been his last good act as a member of the Lin Kuei Family. Maybe he sensed what was coming; maybe he simply had enough. A year after I'd begun to work with Jian, the Old Man left the Family. And I was on my own...just myself and my new Family. Jian...and the Master," his pause came as he glanced towards the window and let out a small breath again...what was it beyond the walls that had him thinking so hard? "And without his influence, things began to change in the Family. Jian began to show more and more of the 'Dragon' within him, with more violent outbursts on missions...he began to fill the space around him with people who reflected his growing arrogance and cruelty. And behind the Master's back, my friend changed...or revealed the true ambition he had held back all along. He spoke of the day when he would be the Family's leader more and more, despite his father still trying desperately to lead the Lin Kuei down the path that he desired. And as for the Master...with his friend gone, Liu Bei Lin Kuei spent less time with his Family and more time alone. Eventually, the only people in the Syndicate that he would meet with at all were his son...and me. But were you not to know him, you'd struggle to guess just which of the two of us was the son and which was the servant. Jian's ambition hadn't gone unnoticed...and in me, I believe he saw the last embers of his and the Old Man's dream for the family struggling to hold on. What had been so promising only a short time ago was threatening to become something different. And yet, so long as my bond and Jian's remained strong...he had hope. A faint, vain hope...that would soon become a memory."
His eye found hers and his lips curled faintly into a frown that only barely looked pained...but she could see into his heart, he knew. And there was a deep cut within...dredged to the surface now by what he had to say next.
"It was a little less than two years ago that things reached the nadir, the worst that it had ever been under the Master's guidance. Our leader was mocked for his weakness by our own men and the city followed, but those who spoke out or tried to get one over on the LIn Kuei were quickly smashed by Jian and myself. His began to change, to no longer hide their cruelty, and the time we spent together grew more and more scarce...his father entrusted him with a gift that only made him grow stronger, more confident, and what the Master had hoped would gain his loyalty only stoked the flames of rebellion. And then, the moment came...the moment that I understood that my friend, who I had fought back-to-back together with and had grown to see as though he were a brother within this Family...was gone, replaced by the Starless Dragon of Oshu City. And that I, the Sakurazukamori who stood beside him, was just as guilty for allowing him to rise," Sai's guilty ate at him, and he remembered that night...the warehouse, the small gang that had nicked a bit of their stuff...such a small thing, such a heavy price, "A small gang had stolen from us, nothing major...I told them I'd let them go if they returned what they had taken and they did, our...reputations having scared them into a justified submission. But as we were leaving with what we had recovered, Jian..." He couldn't hide it...couldn't pretend that it hadn't happened or that he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. He couldn't pretend that he hadn't been able to act fast enough to stop it...
"...Kakyo Kaido...that was the only man who walked out of the warehouse that night. If he is still out there, I don't know. Suzume, if I had known what I know now...I could have stopped him. But when that man and his friends needed someone to protect them, to see through the lies to the monster that Jian had become, I failed them. The man who spent more time with him than anyone else, and I'd even suspected him before. I never imagined he would take things so far over so little...and they paid for it.'
"That is a weight I will always carry. Do you see now, Suzume? That is the world that I come from. That is why you deserve better..."
He paused, sighing...was there more to the story, yet? There was still a missing gap, wasn't there? Apart from the tales of their friendship which were likely left to another time, there was also the story of the fallout of that fateful mission...of the Master's fall from grace and Jian's rise to power...and how Sai finally escaped the Syndicate life...and how he wound up in that hospital the night that they met. But for now, he sighed...and he looked at his free hand and tried not to tear through skin clenching his fist in regret.
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