| Truth and Lies |
[May. 25th, 2006|07:37 pm] |
“Hyyagh!”
CRASH!
Kayoko dropped the clippers she has been holding and looked up disdainfully at the now vibrating ceiling. Dust fluttered slowly down like so many weightless snowflakes. She brushed herself down before shaking an accusing finger upwards.
“Its too much Sensei!” she said sternly, “I can’t concentrate with all this noise.”
The older woman looked up from her own work a smile slowly spreading across her face. “Can you not shut it out Kayoko?” she uttered, “It’s but noise, let it drop away – focus on what is important,”
“I don’t think I can.” She replied as another crash came from above them. She held her hand above her head to stop the dust from settling in her hair. The Sensei sighed and let her eyes drop down to her own creation without looking up she spoke once more.
“If you can’t then you’ll just have to go up there and explain your situation to them.”
A flash of courage snapped Kayoko out of her stupor, she stood up suddenly. “I will! I’ll show them!” she announced, “They’re being selfish; they can’t make that much noise and not expect to disturb anyone.”
The woman smiled despite her brash student, “You do that.”
Walking up the stairs to the floor above, she started to have doubts about her plan. She didn’t even know who or what was up there. What if it was that evil Judo teacher Jaguar? What if there are lots of them? They’re going to laugh at me. She stopped outside the dojo door, hand raised in preparation to knock.
“Hyyargggh!”
She leapt backwards as if the door had suddenly caught alight. She did a little indecisive prancing backwards and forwards – hand raised to knock.
“Maybe I shouldn’t…no I shouldn’t…I can’t, but, no...I should really, I will…must…I WILL!” She rapped briskly on the door and then immediately turned to run away. But a called of “Enter” from inside made her freeze.
She took a deep breath and turned back to push open the door. It swung open. To her great relief there were only two guys in the room, with a fresh grunt the older one threw the boy to the ground where he froze, motionless on the polished floorboards, but still panting heavily.
“I yield.” He said quickly, “I yield with gratitude.”
Kayoko recognised him, he was in her class. He hung around with Mimura and that lot, Takako Chigusa’s boyfriend. He’s a big scary guy…The Ice maiden, this guy was her confidant, the one she favoured the most. He was the one making all the noise, Kayoko had no idea he did martial arts.
“I accept” said the teacher, brushing his hands together before turning to Kayoko, smiling brightly. “Miss Kotohiki, for what reason have we been honoured with your company this evening?”
The man read the surprise on her face instantly, not that Kayoko was very good at hiding her emotions anyway. She was already severely regretting ever coming up the stairs. “You wonder ho I know you Kayoko?” he continued, “Come now, you don’t expect my wife to tell me nothing about her star pupil. She knows all about mine.” He gestured to the boy on the floor who was looking at Kayoko with a mild astonishment.
“Your wife…” she stuttered.
“Is your Sensei, yes.”
“She never said”
“I expect you never asked.” Ok, this conversation was going nowhere, time to come what you came here to do and then get out, she turned a faint shade of pink as she was sure the boy was laughing at her.
“I…um, was wondering, If you could be a bit quieter…maybe?” she mumbled, looking at the floor. “I’m only downstairs; it’s getting really difficult to concentrate with all the crashing y’know?”
The man bowed, “We shall honour your request Miss Kotohiki,” He turned to throw a water bottle to his student who was now standing. “Young Sugimura here has earned a break.”
She returned his bow, “Thank you.” She tried her best to avoid eye contact with the boy as she exited the dojo; she merely turned and scurried out of the room. But for one instant, his burning blue eyes met her hazel ones. Then she was gone. She took the stairs two at a time and didn’t stop running until she reached the sanctuary of her own flower class.
Kayoko never visited the dojo again, nor did she complain about the noise. She just did her best to shut it out. It never worked entirely, but it was a lot better.
That was the first time Kayoko and Hiroki ever met. And he had come down to watch her work the very next day, from afar of course. And apart from the kitten incident they had hardly spoken. But somehow she always felt safer…
…when he was watching over her.
“Following him is boy number 11, Hiroki Sugimura…”
It felt like her heart had stopped beating, just frozen inside her small chest. She didn’t collapse, she didn’t sit down, she didn’t drop her bag or her gun or anything like that. Kayoko Kotohiki just stood motionless….
Her eyes on the other hand, were brimming with tears, fluttering slightly as the memories flashed past. Faster and faster, like a distant drum roll or approaching thunder…slow at first. But then so fast that her very world seemed to spin.
“Following him is boy number 11, Hiroki Sugimura…”
“Hiroki…”
“Hiroki…”
“Hiroki Sugimura…”
Watch over me…
”Your not scary at all your…”
“Boy Number Eleven”
Everything I touch…
…nice.”
Everything I touch…
“Hiroki Sugimura”
“I’m glad I was wrong about you.”
What are you hiding from?
Everything…
“Boy Number 11, Hiroki Sugimura.”
“Glad I was wrong…”.
“Eleven”
Hiroki…
What are you hiding from?”
Watching over me…
Everything I touch…
“Boy number eleven Hiroki Sugimura.”
…Falls to pieces.
“…how unfortunate! Over and out!”
Mizuho’s words seemed to very far away, muffled, she could only just make them out.” We should probably leave. I don't like being next to a danger zone. Your opinion?"
Its not possible
“Kayoko?”
“It’s not possible!” Kayoko’s voice cracking now, words fell from her mouth, thick with unshed tears. She fell to her knees, reaching out blindly. Both hands finding Mizuho’s waist she shook her, almost violently. “Tell me it isn’t true! Mizuho…please…say he’s lying!”
“Kayoko…what?” Mizuho stuttered, obviously taken by surprise.
“It wasn’t supposed to be this way! Look around…” she continued, “He was supposed to be here! He’s looking for me! Don’t you see? He can’t be dead, he just can’t”
Mizuho seemed at a complete loss, she stroked Kayoko’s hair, like she would a distraught child. A calming noise escaped her throat.
“I’m sorry Kayoko.”
“He was supposed to be here…”
Watching over me.
”I’m glad I was wrong about you Sugimura. Really really glad.”
“It’s not possible.”
Everything’s falling apart.
Kayoko Kotohiki clung to Mizuho Inada, until the tears subsided.
I'm falling apart |
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| Eyes on the Prize |
[May. 25th, 2006|07:33 pm] |
"Um...Mizuho? Where are we going?"
Kayoko was getting into trouble, carrying her heavy kit bag, a revolver and a small cat was starting to take its toll. She couldn't quite see where she was stepping and often found herself wobbling to and fro when she hit an ill placed rock or tree root. Mizuho was more than a few feet ahead of her and the distance between them was getting greater by the stride. Kayoko wouldn't be able to keep up much longer. Maybe leaving Tadakatsu wasn't such a good idea, he's been drunk before...he would know how to take care of her. Her chest froze when she thought of him. She had left him, alone, wounded and afraid, without as much as a farewell. She shook her head violently as a fresh wave of nausea consume her, startled by this sudden movement Sakura jumped down, much to Kayoko's relief. No, she had to leave him, he didnt trust her, it would only have been a matter of time before...before...
"I'll kill you dead I swear I'll do it BACK OFF!"
"Kotohiki NO!"
BANG
An explosion, a scream, an instant pang of regret
She had taken first shot. He should have left her, not the other way around, she was to unpredictable to dangerous...
"Mizu...I think I'm going to be sick."
The taller girl turned around and, rolling her eyes, moved to Kayoko's side. He eyebrows furrowed as she slipped a slender hand under Kayoko's fringe and rested it gently on her forehead.
"Sit," she said at once, "Your too hot, Fumiyo would know, she would know what to do. Your sick, sick-sick."
"It's my fault," Kayoko responded, sinking to the floor she lay her head on her knees. "Eugggh! My stomachs never felt so weird in my life, its all...growley" By sheer coincidence, Kayoko's stomach let out a fresh gurgle. "My head too, its all cloudy."
"I think I know whats wrong." said Mizuho reassuringly, brushing her own hair back behind her ears.
Kayoko looked up in surprise as the girl continued, "He poisoned you."
"WHAT?! HE??" Kayoko waved her hands about frantically in panic, "Oh my no, he would never...never...it was me...I took."
Mizuho rested a hand on each of Kayoko's small shoulders, she shook her a little, adopting that strange wistful voice that Kayoko had heard her use on many occasions before. "It's OK Megumi, you are a pure soul...he is not. A lustful boy with a heart full of hatred he would have soon either raped you or killed you, or both even. Boys like that, they can't keep their eyes off the prize."
Kayoko was deeply confused, she stroked Sakura absent mindedly. She was sure she had missed something, something important. But she couldnt for the life of her remember what it was, her brain wasn't really letting her think coherant thoughts. She placed her gun on the floor and rested her head in her hand. "Wait..wha? Prize?"
"The prize!" cried Mizuho suddenly very excited, making Kayoko shrink back a bit. "To emerge victorious, to pass through the gateway to the land of light! Surely you must know...knowledge burns daughter! Have you so soon forgotten?"
"Um...right, I'm sorry! I'll try and remember that...um...so, where ARE we going?"
"To the promised land, where the beloved Ahura Mazda will favour us best among all his children!"
"Oh right..." She paused a little to consider this, before realising exactly what it was Mizuho had just said. She waved her free hand again. "Wait! No I mean, now! Where are we going now?"
"Now?" asked Mizuho, a little unsure as if she too hadn't really considered this.
"Yes....now"
Mizuho raised her hand slowly and pointed vaguely in front of them. "This way."
"Right..."
Kayoko had feeling that this was going to be a very, very long morning. |
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| Antitrust and Deliverance H4 |
[May. 25th, 2006|07:32 pm] |
Doing her best to avoid Tadakatsu’s disdainful gaze Kayoko sat happily at the base of a large tree, playing with Sakura. She seemed an awful lot bigger in Kayoko’s arms than the kitten had been in Tadakatsu’s. Kayoko winced as the cat dug its small claws into her forearm, little droplets of blood swelled to the surface, as if aware of what she had done Sakura begin licking at the wound, lapping the blood away. Kayoko put the cat down and rubbed at her raw arm.
“Yeeeuuuch!” she said standing up suddenly, swaying slightly she wagged a maternal finger “Icky Kitty! Looks like our Little Sakura has a taste for blood.”
“Just between us, I don’t think she’s the only one” came the gruff voice from over her shoulder; Tadakatsu lay there, fiddling with his makeshift bandage, “Didn’t you hear the report? Somebody out there’s a murderer, perhaps more than one…and I have a good idea who.”
“Sho?” she asked warily. Slapping at Tadakatsu’s hand, before adding “Don’t play with it” under her breath. Sighing he put both hands on his lap and looked up at the sky.
“Yeah” he responded, “amongst others.”
“Like who?” she rubbed at her eyes, the alcohol was far from wearing off, but she had a very strong feeling that her drunken state would only aggravate him even more. She had drunk all his beer after all. So she did her best to wear a fake look of sobriety to humour him, despite the fact that in her head she was torn between either prancing around a bit more or throwing up.
“Oh, I dunno.” He continued, ticking them off on his hand one by one. “Kazuo for one, he’s never given a rat’s ass about anyone. Mitsuru, he would do anything Kazuo asked him, even kill, so that’s Hiroshi and Ryuhei as well not to mention Sho. Mimura’s always wanted a chance to prove he’s better than everyone else, to him this is just another basketball game.”
Kayoko sat wide eyed and disbelieving as the names kept coming. “Kazuhiko, nice guy but he’s always said he would do anything to protect Sakura. Kyouichi, like Oda, he would feel that he has a right to survive, that everyone else should die. Most of the girls Mizuho, Kaori, Yuka, Chisato, the put on a smiley face of unity but each one has there boundaries, there own limit where they would put there own life above others. Then there’s the so called nice guys, Yutaka, Sugimura…he finally has a chance to put that black belt into good use.”
Tears fell silently down Kayoko’s cheeks, Tadakatsu hadn’t seemed to notice, and he merely continued talking. Kayoko tried to block him out put all she could hear was the lists of her classmates being read off some sort of giant wanted poster. ”satomi….kazushi….noriko….hirono…”
She threw up her hands, begging him to stop, the tears fell freely now.
“Not Sugimura…he would never! Oh Tadakatsu! Do you really trust everyone that much? Your writing off people you don’t even know. Even Noriko…? What are you thinking?!”
“I don’t need to know them; I’ve seen how all the girls look at me, like I’m some sort of slug that they would quite happily live without. Even the guys, Sho at shot me without even thinking.”
“Fine, you think what you want. Whatever I say it’s not going to make any difference. You’ve already made up your mind.”
Tadakatsu looked completely at a loss; he obviously wasn’t used to little girls crying all over him. He sat up a bit more in a vain attempt to look concerned and failing dismally.
“Who can you trust then?”
“Yuuchiro.” He answered immediately, “Without a doubt.”
“Not me then?”
He looked over at her sharply, suddenly aware of his mistake. He fixed her with a stern stare, like some inner struggle was going on in his head. He opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again. When he finally did speak, it wasn’t at all what Kayoko wanted to hear.
“I need a piss.”
Kayoko said nothing as he walked away, still holding his bat tightly. She scooped up Sakura and held her tightly to her chest, the cat purred softly.
Suddenly a slender hand closed over Kayoko’s shoulder, she turned and saw the calm, collected face of Mizuho Inada only inches from her own. The first thing Kayoko noticed that this newcomer, like her, was also holding a gun. She opened her mouth to call out, but the taller girl instantly clasped her hand over her mouth. She raised her free hand, which was also holding the gun, and placed a single finger over Kayoko’s lips and drew the other hand away.
Silence
Okay, she understood that, now what?
She flinched slightly as Mizuho spoke, in a soft ethereal voice that chilled Kayoko to the bone.
“Come with me, daughter of light,” She whispered softly, finger still resting on Kayoko’s lips, “and I will lead you to salvation.” |
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| Things to do in BR before you die |
[May. 25th, 2006|07:31 pm] |
Kayoko sighed as a fresh rumble of thunderous snoring emanated from the recumbent figure of Tadakatsu. Jeez, she thought, Could he possibly be any louder?. Twiddling her thumbs she looked around her, half heartedly considering if it was even possible to play a game of I-Spy with herself, when her eyes drifted over to Tadakatsu’s open bag. And, more importantly what she could see inside the bag.
“I spy with my little eye, something beginning with B!”
The beer Five full cans and one almost empty one, the same one that she used to soak Tadakatsu’s bandage earlier. Kayoko had never had a beer in her life; she had never even had a drop of alcohol in her life, pretty surprising considering she spent a lot of time helping out at her mothers bar. Guys always tried to buy her drinks; she had politely declined every offer.
“I might be dead tomorrow,” She said under her breath, “There are so many things I have never tried.”
This realisation just made the beer look even more tempting. What difference is one beer going to make? Its not like Tadakatsu is going to drink it – he already said he brought it for other people. Tentatively she crawled over on her hands and knees and reached for the nearest, unopened can. She cracked it open and a soft froth bubbled to the surface, she sniffed it with distaste Well it certainly doesn’t smell good. She raised the can to her lips and drank a little, she recoiled and stuck out her tongue in disgust.
“Eugh!” she said aloud, “Who would drink this willingly?”
Better finish what I started, I don’t want to seem rude
She rolled her eyes and raised the can above her head in some sort of mediocre toast. “Oh well, “she sighed, “Bottoms up!”
She drank the entire can in one, letting the cold, frothy liquid gush down her throat. She threw the can to the side once it was empty, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. It didn’t taste as bad the more of it you drink, apparently. Using this theory she discovered that the second can didn’t taste as bad as the first, and the third was definitely better than the second, and the forth as well, as a matter of fact. She stifled a small burp with the back of her hand.
“I don’t see what all the fuss is about.” She said, not troubling to keep her voice down. “It doesn’t seem to have that much efHIC!…..fect.” She clapped her left hand over her mouth in surprise, a second hiccup morphed inexplicably into an infectious giggle. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Oops!” she mustered before a fresh wave of laughter consumed her.
Oh dear…
She chewed on her sleeve in a vain attempt to contain her mirth, but it just seemed to keep coming. She swayed a little as she tried to stand up, her head felt as heavy as a bowling ball for some reason, she was all top heavy. She placed both hands on her knees and took a deep breath…HIC! Now her head was really starting to spin. Suddenly, she pitched forward and fell on top of the sleeping form of Tadakatsu, who jerked awake instantly, reaching blinding for his bat.
“Wassatgoin??” he yelped blearily.
Surprised, Kayoko placed both hands on either side of Tadakatsu’s chest and pushed she small frame off of his. “Oh!” she cried, “Whoops! I’m so sorry Katsu….erm….AGAIN!”
“Kayoko…” he mumbled rubbing his eyes, “Why are you….” He wrinkled his nose a little “Are you DRUNK?” he demanded, glancing over at the empty beer cans which now lay strewn about on the grass.
“NO!” Kayoko exclaimed, “NO! Never, I would never HIC….er…yes….a little, I think, is your head supposed to spin like thus? If it is I don’t think I like it very much AND this weird thing keeps HIC…happening where I think about saying something and the words just fall out of me mouth while I’m still deciding whether I should say them or not, then again, that’s no change there then HAH! HIC! and my heads all cloudy and everything keeps moving around quite a lot…sooooooo…if you think about it HIC…I suppose I am a little bit drunk,, so the answer to your question is YES! …I mean, yes, yes I am…..a little.”
As she said the last sentence she held up two of her fingers indicating a very small distance. Tadakatsu rested his head in his hands giving Kayoko a disapproving look in the process.
“Oh brother…”
“Whose?” Kayoko had started spinning in circles with her arms outstretched, she got to about the sixth rotation or so before she collapsed in a heap for the third or forth time that day. Undeterred she jumped up again and staggered in a zig zag fashion to the final, unopened can, she offered it to Tadakatsu with a slightly hazy expression on her face, she grinned brightly at him.
“I saved you one!” |
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| Silenced Screams H7 |
[May. 25th, 2006|07:30 pm] |
The blissful silence that had enveloped the island for over and hour was shattered by a renewed explosion of anguish screams mixed with a rattle of gunfire. The threatening atmosphere that followed ever so swiftly afterwards was perhaps even more disturbing that the chaos itself. The calm after the storm. It had come from the clinic: three, four, five separate cries of desperation, as far as she could tell they were all girls.
With difficulty Kayoko threw her bags into the back of the familiar transit van - whose security she had left only an hour or so before - she then clambered in herself. She wrapped her small arms around her knees to stop them from shaking. The screams, she couldn't get them out of her head, it was virtually impossible to tell who it was that had died, one scream is the same as any other. People were dying, and there was nothing she could do about it except wait for the list of the dead to be read at midday, then all she could do was mourn them. And that wouldn't do anyone much good, least of all the dead. But she did anyway, she didn't know them all, but they were probably very nice people - people that didn't deserve to die. Now they were just echoes.
Silent screams
"If only I could see what they see." she mumbled, thinking of the cameras, idly wondering how many were fixed on the van in which she was hiding. "Maybe there's someway of helping, of finding Tadakatsu." Kayoko wasn't entirely sure what it was that was driving her to this particular mission. She just felt she owed him an apology and an explanation. Maybe if she could take it all back, what she had said and done, then everything would be alright again. She looked around at her surroundings as if she had never seen them before. Despite her crusade she had instinctively returned to the van - it felt safe, secure. But it wasn't going to help her find Tadakatsu.
What are you hiding from?
She quickly took a mouthful of bread before throwing the doors of the van open once more - hiding literally wasn’t going to get her anywhere for now. She jumped down and hurriedly checked left and right clutching her gun against her chest apprehensively. She then headed in the direction that Tadakatsu had taken earlier.
Mum, Dad, Sensei, Tadakatsu...I'm so sorry...
Sensei. What was it that she had said that day?
"It is in the company of others that you are more yourself that you ever could be if you were alone." she said quietly.
"Sugimura right?" she heard herself say, stepping into the empty classroom. He looks angry, her mind was screaming at her to leave, but something kept her there.
"Uh...yeah?" came the stuttering reply, there was a tiny kitten on the table in front of him, mewing like its little life depended on it. The boy kept poking at it, trying to work out what was wrong.
"Oh...so young. Poor little kitty...” She sighed as she watched Sugimura's face go pink. Typical man, he has no clue about maternity. "Shove over. I'll show you what to do." And she did, she showed him how to teach the kitten how to pee and explained why. He seemed to get more and more embarrassed as she continued talking. This guy's not scary at all - he's almost kind of sweet.
"I gotta scoot" she said suddenly, taking his obvious discomfort as a hint to leave. "There are books you know, tell you all you need to know about kittens and stuff. I'd invest."
"Books...invest...right...I don't suppose you'd consider four kittens?" She grinned at him, he’s not like I had imagined him at all, she thought, if he's going out with Takako, surely he would have to be scarier than this.
"I used to be afraid at of you." she said cheerfully, becoming even more amused as his face went scarlet again. "Your dojo's one floor up from my flower class. All that yelling and thumping...and with you being so big in all...its just...you were kinda scary. To me, I mean, I'm glad I was wrong."
She took a deep breath. Good God, I thought I'd never get to the end of that sentence.
"You’re not scary at all you’re ...nice."
"Nice?" he exclaimed sounding aghast, she gave him another infectious Kayoko grin.
"I'm glad you’re not scary Sugimura, really really glad."
"Sugimura." she muttered. "If only you were here now, I could use some of you strength."
it is when someone is watching am when you Ki is at its most radiant.
No one is watching me, she thought, not anymore. "I drive them away, all away, just like Tadakatsu."
What are you hiding from Kayoko?
She still didn't know, but Kayoko knew that when she did finally find the answer: she would never ever let it go. It just wasn't quite time yet - but soon, she could feel it approaching like a fire in her blood.
Soon
And she would be patient. Kayoko gripped the gun tighter as she journeyed onwards. She would wait, alone if need be, alone but for the silenced screams dancing in the morning breeze. It was a beautiful morning, but it wouldn't be for much longer.
* * * * * * *
"YEEEK!" she screamed as Tadakatsu came bumbling out of the trees, covered in blood. "Hatagami! I'm so sorry!" she blurted, great Kayoko she thought angrily, this totally seems like the time and place for this, he's bleeding! But still she continued. "“I came back to apologize. What I did wasn’t right.”
He looked at her aghast, he looed down at himself and gestured at his shoulder, making sure that she hadn't missed anything. "Apology accepted. Now Run!"
What?
"Huh?? Um...ok..." Not that she hand much of a choice in the matter, Tadakatsu was already yanking like she was a dog on a leash. She didnt know how long she ran. But she thought that by the time they had finally stopped, she would proabaly never be able to walk again. She collapsed to the ground exhausted. Tadakatsu let out a groan as he too, fell to the earth.
"What happened?" she asked tentively, knowing full well what had probably happened. She just didn't want to be the one to say it.
"I was shot
“By me!?!" it all came back, what it was she was apologizing for, she had shot at him. "I didn’t mean to I’m so sorry Hatagami. I didn’t mean to. I…I”
“Shhh! No.” said Hatagami as softly as he could manage, probably afraid that she was going to start crying again. “It wasn’t you. You shot my bat remember? It was Shou.”
“Shou?” Now thats a shocker, he wans't nice, sure, but he never seemed like a murderer.
Hatagami wasn’t sure if she was shocked by this or not.
“So he’s playing?” she asked.
“It appears to be.”
“We need to clean your shoulder. It could get infected.” She grabbed a water bottle formr her bag and tore at Hatagami’s sleeve, she could feel her face going pink, hes only a guy, she told herself, hes wounded, get a grip. She did her best to tend to the wound, it seemed to her that she was making a pretty poor job of it, but Tadakatsu seemed satisfied.
“I think you need to pour alcohol on it too to clean it.” he said, “I brought some beer on this trip. I don’t drink, but I thought maybe some of the guys would want some. I have a bottle in my bag. Oh yeah don’t be surprised when you open it. Sakura’s in there too.”
WHAT!?!
“SAKURA! You have Sakura in your bag!? What!?!”
“No, not Sakura Ogawai. My cat that I found, her name is Sakura.”
“Oh…hahaha…of course…Silly me.” she cursed herself, thank god he couldn't read minds. She didn't want to see the image of Ogawa's svered head that wouldnt disppear from her vision for some reason. She walked over to the bag and carefull unzipped it with her eyes closed, you know, just in case. It was a welcome relief when a kitten lept into her lap.
“She’s so cute! I had no idea you liked cats too. Wow, I love her!” Oh my god! it looks just like Sugimura's kitten
“Don’t mean to sound rude, but do you mind getting the beer?”
Whoops, focus on the now Kayoko, not the time to visit memory lane
“Oops, sorry forgot.” she replied, setting Sakura down and turning her attention back to Tadakatsu. He winced as she tied the know alochol soaked bandange around his arm.
“Thank you.”
“I’m sorry about earlier Hatagami." she mumbled fuitily, "I-I didn’t mean to shoot you.”
“It’s okay. You made up for it by helping me. Thanks.”
She didnt talk for a long time after that, idly playing with Sakura rather than making eye contact with the injured Hatagami.
He's not quite Sugimura, but he's all I've got.
She wasn't alone anymore, for now. But who knows what the Program would throw at them next. Whatever it was though, she would be ready for it...she hoped.
“I’m glad I’m not alone anymore Hatagami.”
"Me too Kotohiki. Me too.”
((Sorry for the scene directly lifted from the manga but it was relevant and i thought it might be helpful for people that havent read it to know what kind of a relationship Hiroki and Kayoko have, I sorry I didnt continue from there Johnathan but its all yours now! mwhahaha! Mail me if you want me to post again first etc.)) |
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| Disillusion (H6) |
[May. 25th, 2006|07:25 pm] |
Oh my god! Oh my god! I shot at a classmate! I'm gonna get in so much trouble! The Cameras! They saw everything! Mum and Dad are gonna be so mad at me!
Abandoning all thoughts of stealth and tact Kayoko bundled through the undergrowth, trying to but as much distance between herself and the incident with Tadakatsu, her bag dragging along the rocky earth behind her. She was absolutely disgusted at her own behaviour, she hadn't meant to say all those awful things, they just kind of fell out when she wasn't concentrating hard enough. She skidded to a stop in a thicket and looked up at one of the many television cameras. A soft whirring could be heard as it whirred around to face her. In the camera lenses she saw the faces of all the thousands of people watching her every move, perhaps placing bets on when she'll die. Jeering, cheering, who knows? How many of them saw me? Mum...please don't be watching please...
"He's watching you again Kayoko."
She blinked and looked up from her arrangement, she didn't really need Sensei's confirmation. She had long since been able to feel the boy's gaze on her. Gawping like she was some sort of bird in a cage, she let her eyes wander over to him. He was a tall guy, with shoulder length dark hair, he jumped back when he saw Kayoko looking at him and became very interested in something he had appeared to have found on the floor before bowing his head and striding away. She turned back to her task with a troubled look on her face.
"I wish he wouldn't," she mumbled delicately moving a lily stem to a new position, "I can't concentrate when I know someone's watching, I make mistakes."
The sensei moved forward a sat down cross legged in front of Kayoko, she looked thoughtful for a moment, then grasped the stem of the same lily Kayoko had just moved and put it back in the place it was before. Kayoko sighed.
"On the contrary, little Kayoko," said the master kindly, "I think it is when someone is watching you that your Ki becomes at its most radiant. Don't you see? The arrangement looks more beautiful looks more beautiful if you had left the lily where it was”
She looked down at her work and to her surprise, the master was right. "That is enlightening master, thank you."
"You should trust yourself more Kayoko, let you heart dictate your work, feel don't think. Let your emotions guide you."
Kayoko smiled, "I will try my best, I think...I think I’m done for today."
The Sensei looked up at the clock above the door, it already read six o clock. "Perhaps you’re right," she replied, picking up Kayoko's arrangement and placing it by the window. She walked over to the front of the room and picked up a small can of water spray and began misting Kayoko's arrangement to stop the leaves going brown in the harsh sunlight. "That's the third time this week he's come to watch you."
"Who?" answered Kayoko quickly, picking up her bags, trying desperately to change the subject. Sensei just smiled.
"He's very handsome, you could do worse than him."
"Pfft." came Kayoko's indignant reply as she hoisted her school bags onto her shoulder, "Not likely, he just wants to laugh about me with his friends, flower arrangement is an art they don't understand it. They all think it’s stupid."
Sensei turned from misting the window ledge and gave Kayoko a knowing glare. "Say what you will about boys, Kayoko, that ones different, I can just feel it." Kayoko took the can from the Sensei and placed carefully back at the front of the room.
"I don't think he's any different." she mumbled.
Sensei laughed, "Exactly!" she said, pointing at her, "You don't think! You must feel, love is a very difficult thing to think about. But to feel the presence of love...well...that’s not that hard at all." She looked over proudly at the window ledge, "And you arrangement's looking more beautiful by the day, soon it will be perfect."
"I hope he doesn't come again tomorrow." Kayoko whispered
"I hope he does," said Sensei kindly, "It is when others are watching over you that you become more yourself then you ever could be if you were alone. You would flourish in the company of others Kayoko, you don't suit alone, yet you come here, day after day."
Kayoko was silent, for once, she couldn't think of anything to say, despite all the inspiration this room had given to her over the year, nothing came to her. Sensei placed both hands on Kayoko's small shoulders, her face was not far from Kayoko's own.
"What are you hiding from Kayoko?"
What was she hiding from? What indeed, was she running from? She looked up at the camera, to Kayoko this camera represented the masses, the spectators. It seemed to be questioning her every move, her every thought What is she running from and where is she running to? It asked a thousand and one questions at once, and she was unable to answer a single one. Her brain was buzzing She could only think of one question she wanted to ask in return.
"What do you want from me?" she said softly, in a tone filled with since unearthed remorse, "I am not entertainment! I'm not some horse you can bet on!" Her hands balled into fists as she stamped her tiny feet. "How can you do this to us? You...you bastards!"
She clapped her hand over her mouth, then she brought her other hand up and covered her face warm tears dripped into her hands. Mum, Dad, Sensei, Tadakatsu....I'm so sorry. she thought.
Tadakatsu, he was still out there.
She hauled her bags over her back and took a tighter grip on her gun. She turned and staggered back in the direction she had come.
Tadakatsu
I have to find you.
I have to tell you how sorry I am |
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| Matter of Fact (H6) |
[May. 25th, 2006|07:24 pm] |
She trembled as she slowly crossed out the names of her dead class mates, ending with "Boy # 3 Tatsumichi Ooki". Could it be? Could Kamon be teliing the truth? Seven students dead already...and Kayoko hadn't even seen as much as a raccoon. She quickly put big crosses through the new danger zones as well as they were called out, instinctively feeling the cold metal collar around her her small neck. It wasn't as if it was choking her, but its prescence made her feel restricted. They were being herded about the island like beasts. That was what they are now, we no longer have names,only numbers, like cattle ready for the slaughter.
She was no longer Kayoko Kotohiki to anyone anymore, she was Girl Number Eight: A Statistic
She folded her map carefully and slipped it back into her bag, which now lay across her knees. She glanced around and grinned slightly...yes...this was a very good hiding place. Kayoko was currently hiding near the warhouse complex in the back of transit van. She congratulated herself for finding such an excellent hiding place. No one would look here. She had managed to get a couple of hours sleep in theis place before the sound of Kamon's sickly voice rang out over the loudpspeaker system. It was so loud, it was almost like he was in here with her, talking to her directly. She ran over the names of the dead aloud. Being Kayoko and being stealthy didn't really go together all that well.
"Yoshio, Yuko, Yoji...Yumi and Yuki, Yoshitoki...and Tatsumichi." she muttered, "Oh no, they didn't hide well enough." she sighed,"or maybe they put too much faith in their friends...time like these...maybe its better to be alone after all."
She curled over, making herself as small as possible, resting her head on the bulky kit bag. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
"I just wish it wasn't so lonely." |
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| Nost so comfortably numb D6 |
[May. 25th, 2006|07:19 pm] |
"Girl Number Eight, Kotohiki Kayoko."
Numb, thats all she felt, complete emotional shutdown. Kayoko stood up slowly, she winced as she pushed back her chair - it scraped on the polished, dojo-like floor like nails across a blackboard. Several of the class jumped, yanked out of their temporary rollercoaster of hopes and fears. Even if the soldiers were ignorant - Kayoko couldn't help but notice the silent communication between her classmates. The Furtitive glances, the note passing. They were all doing it, Megumi, Sakura, even Kiriyama. She shivered as she recalled his face as he had left the room. Cold and heartless, no emotion there. Something is very wrong with that boy, she thought Everyones wigging out, yet he stays as frosty as a cucumber.
"A kit bag for the lucious lady!" Kamon's voice called from the front of the room in a voice so sweet and sickly, it could have been poured over pancakes.
She nearly buckled under the weight of the bag as it was thrust into her grasp. God, this things bigger than me! With a sigh, she heaved the bag onto her shoulder, the strap was so long it nearly dragged on the floor. Kayoko (next to Toshinori Oda and Yuuichiro Takiguchi) was the smallest member of the class and by far the smallest girl. (The next closest was Megumi or Chisato Matsui) Megumi's bag didnt drag on the floor! She was just too small.
Too small
She looked back around at the remainder of the class and said her silent goodbyes. None of the other girls were even looking in her direction, but then again what had she expected? Some sort of heroic send-off? She had never made much of an effort to be part of the class. She had shrugged off a chnace to join the volleyball team with Yukie, Haruka and the others, preffering to hurry away to her flower class after school. Rough sports were super intimidating, and she was never much of a socialite - therefore never really noticed.#
I'll be dead by sunrise and no one will even mourn my passing, She thought I wish I had spent more time with these people, they really arn't all that bad.
"Hurry along." urged Kamon. And so heaving her bag further onto her shoulder she tottered clumsily past the stern, seated figure of Takako Chigusa and out the door. The last person to she saw was that of Shinji Mimura (seated at the front) he gave her a reassuring grin before he too, disappeared from site.
She half staggered, half ran down an ominous wooden corridor that led out into the night. Fourteen students were already out there including Kiriymam and that big Kawada guy. Both equally intimidating, both people Kayoko didn't really want to run into - Battle Royale or no Battle Royale. But she did need to move, and fast.
"Boy Number Nine," she muttered under her breath, "Run away from boy nine."
She was surpried to find that the sound of her own voice was calming her down. She was done was Numb now, finished, now moving on to an all new stage: Panic. She shoved her way through the bracken muttering "Boy number nine, Boy number nine. First kill to Boy number nine, Kayoko Kotohiki! Wait....who is boy number nine?"
Sure, she knew their names, but numbers? Not a chance. She grumbled to herself as she put more distance between herself and D6. "How's a girl supposed to know the exact number order of all forty one of her classmates? No way! Stupid numerical system!" she fumed. IN comparison to Battle Royale, oether people may think that grumbling about the Government's numerical class system was pretty darn trivial; but not Kayoko. At the moment it seemed rather crucial. Running and grumbling, two reasonably simple tasks when performed separately, but together - they tend to screw up your concentration, as Kayoko found out in a few seconds time.
"Number Nine must begin with a K, like me. Kuro, kuromoto? No. Wait I got it! It has to be Kuronagaaaarrrrrrrgh!"
She tumbled, quite a way in fact and unbeknownst to Kayoko it will be exactly the same hill which young Yoshimi Yahagi falls prey to a mere forty five minutes later. Kayoko's bag had somehow managed to unzip itself and scatter water bottles and bread in a five or six metre radius. She scrabbled around on her hands and knees for a bit, stuffing everything back into her bag. Suddenly she came across a foreign object, definately not a water bottle, she was sure of that. It was her weapon. Shaking, she withdrew it from the bag and looked down incredulously at it.
It was a torch.
"What?" she yelped, "How am I supposed to defend myself with a....wait a second..."
She dropped to her knees and tipped out the contents of the bag, intentionally this time. She was digusted to find a wave of relief washed over her. On the ground, along with her map and rations was a gun. The very instrument she had been dreading to face only moments ago, an object of death. And yet now she looked down at the small metal object in her grip and felt relieved. This is not natural she thought, Something is very wrong here
She jumped up suddenly as she realised she had been sitting in the same spot for over two minutes. She scooped up all her equipment, including the torch but except the gun and shoved them haphazardly into her bag and then swung the bag over her shoulder. The sheer weight and momentum of this swing nearly sent her over again but she just about managed to keep her balance. She grabbed the gun and headed east. She looked down at the gun every now and again to check that ashe was still holding it. It seemed strange that a girl of no more than five feet tall was holding a revolver; or that she would even need a reason to possess one in the first place. Kayoko tried not to let those thoughts trouble her. She wasn't even sure that she could bring herself to pull the trigger if she was forced into combat.
She nearly laughed at the thought. She never thought she would ever hear her own name and the word combat in the same sentence. The whole idea was ridiculous. But still, she felt slightly safer, just knowing it was there.
She knew what she did have to do though. She was Kayoko Kotohiki, five foot flat, the flower arranger of Shirowia Clas 3B: She was going to do what she had always done.
School's out
Go where they can't find you. |
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| Kayoko Kotohiki: Antitrust and Deliverance. (F4) |
[Sep. 25th, 2005|09:02 pm] |
Doing her best to avoid Tadakatsu’s disdainful gaze Kayoko sat happily at the base of a large tree, playing with Sakura. She seemed an awful lot bigger in Kayoko’s arms than the kitten had been in Tadakatsu’s. Kayoko winced as the cat dug its small claws into her forearm, little droplets of blood swelled to the surface, as if aware of what she had done Sakura begin licking at the wound, lapping the blood away. Kayoko put the cat down and rubbed at her raw arm.
“Yeeeuuuch!” she said standing up suddenly, swaying slightly she wagged a maternal finger “Icky Kitty! Looks like our Little Sakura has a taste for blood.”
“Just between us, I don’t think she’s the only one” came the gruff voice from over her shoulder; Tadakatsu lay there, fiddling with his makeshift bandage, “Didn’t you hear the report? Somebody out there’s a murderer, perhaps more than one…and I have a good idea who.”
“Sho?” she asked warily. Slapping at Tadakatsu’s hand, before adding “Don’t play with it” under her breath. Sighing he put both hands on his lap and looked up at the sky.
“Yeah” he responded, “amongst others.”
“Like who?” she rubbed at her eyes, the alcohol was far from wearing off, but she had a very strong feeling that her drunken state would only aggravate him even more. She had drunk all his beer after all. So she did her best to wear a fake look of sobriety to humour him, despite the fact that in her head she was torn between either prancing around a bit more or throwing up.
“Oh, I dunno.” He continued, ticking them off on his hand one by one. “Kazuo for one, he’s never given a rat’s ass about anyone. Mitsuru, he would do anything Kazuo asked him, even kill, so that’s Hiroshi and Ryuhei as well not to mention Sho. Mimura’s always wanted a chance to prove he’s better than everyone else, to him this is just another basketball game.”
Kayoko sat wide eyed and disbelieving as the names kept coming. “Kazuhiko, nice guy but he’s always said he would do anything to protect Sakura. Kyouichi, like Oda, he would feel that he has a right to survive, that everyone else should die. Most of the girls Mizuho, Kaori, Yuka, Chisato, the put on a smiley face of unity but each one has there boundaries, there own limit where they would put there own life above others. Then there’s the so called nice guys, Yutaka, Sugimura…he finally has a chance to put that black belt into good use.”
Tears fell silently down Kayoko’s cheeks, Tadakatsu hadn’t seemed to notice, and he merely continued talking. Kayoko tried to block him out put all she could hear was the lists of her classmates being read off some sort of giant wanted poster. ”satomi….kazushi….noriko….hirono…”
She threw up her hands, begging him to stop, the tears fell freely now.
“Not Sugimura…he would never! Oh Tadakatsu! Do you really trust everyone that much? Your writing off people you don’t even know. Even Noriko…? What are you thinking?!”
“I don’t need to know them; I’ve seen how all the girls look at me, like I’m some sort of slug that they would quite happily live without. Even the guys, Sho at shot me without even thinking.”
“Fine, you think what you want. Whatever I say it’s not going to make any difference. You’ve already made up your mind.”
Tadakatsu looked completely at a loss; he obviously wasn’t used to little girls crying all over him. He sat up a bit more in a vain attempt to look concerned and failing dismally.
“Who can you trust then?”
“Yuuchiro.” He answered immediately, “Without a doubt.”
“Not me then?”
He looked over at her sharply, suddenly aware of his mistake. He fixed her with a stern stare, like some inner struggle was going on in his head. He opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again. When he finally did speak, it wasn’t at all what Kayoko wanted to hear.
“I need a piss.”
Kayoko said nothing as he walked away, still holding his bat tightly. She scooped up Sakura and held her tightly to her chest, the cat purred softly.
Suddenly a slender hand closed over Kayoko’s shoulder, she turned and saw the calm, collected face of Mizuho Inada only inches from her own. The first thing Kayoko noticed that this newcomer, like her, was also holding a gun. She opened her mouth to call out, but the taller girl instantly clasped her hand over her mouth. She raised her free hand, which was also holding the gun, and placed a single finger over Kayoko’s lips and drew the other hand away.
Silence
Okay, she understood that, now what?
She flinched slightly as Mizuho spoke, in a soft ethereal voice that chilled Kayoko to the bone.
“Come with me, daughter of light,” She whispered softly, finger still resting on Kayoko’s lips, “and I will lead to salvation.” |
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| Kayoko Kotohiki |
[Jul. 26th, 2005|03:02 pm] |
Hey all! I've had one of these Livejournals for ages, only just realised you guys all had one! In other news I finally found out who was making all that noise in the room above my flower class. Its that tall guy, Hiroki Suigimura practicing his martial arts, I dont know much about him only one time brought this kitten into school, and kept it in his desk! heehee! Highly amusing, I found him with it after math, playing with it. He said he'd found it on the way to school and hadnt had chance to take it home yet. It had been abandoned! poor kitty. It kinda changed my opinion of him. After realising it was him practicing his martial arts, all noisy and scary like. I mean, not scary like kiriyama or mimura scary just sorta intimidating you know?
Maybe hes not so scary after all |
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| (no subject) |
[Jul. 13th, 2005|09:05 am] |
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new icons! all thanks go to kristin! |
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