the first of many road trips
May. 7th, 2012 12:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shishou_xiiiDate: June 12, 2043
Time: Morning
Place: A village in Hunan province, a few hours drive from Xiangtan
Characters: Hiko, Kenshin
This person, this 'Shintaro' was supposed to have shown up nearly an hour ago. He was late. Hiko glanced down at his watch irritably, then shifted his weight against the wall to get more comfortable. At least he was in what passed for shade. This fact didn't stop the bead of sweat that trickled down his neck, disappearing into the collar of his shirt. It was hot already, and the haze on the horizon, filtering out the sun and only intensifying the humidity, promised even more heat before the day was done. There were times when Hiko sorely missed his home in the mountains, where the air was clean and it never got this thick and uncomfortable.
If only the pub was open this early. Apparently, the people in this village didn't believe in drinking before noon. So he made do, leaning against the wall of the pub, which so happened to be on the shady side of the narrow, dusty street. How convenient. An old lady stumped past, a basket full of herbs strapped to her back. She gave him a curious glance. Hiko narrowed his eyes in a glare, and the woman averted her gaze and picked up her pace. Why this village of nosey folk had been chosen was a mystery to Hiko. It was out of the way, yes, but as the morning dragged on, more people were going to be out and about.
The car he'd been issued was parked around the corner, fueled and ready to go. He still couldn't figure out why he was needed to babysit an assassin. As far as he knew, they were supposed to be quite capable of caring for themselves. Traveling alone, working alone, dying alone, if things went wrong. So why an escort? Xiangtan wasn't hard to find. It was well connected with roads and even some of the remaining railways. It wasn't a tiny berg like this little pit of hell in which he was waiting.
Hiko shifted his weight again, but realized with a grimace that that had been a mistake. Moving away from the nail poking him in the back, he repositioned himself against the wall to a less dangerous spot and crossed his arms over his chest. He squinted up at the hazy sky and wondered if it would rain. The pollution was thick even this far outside the city, and sometimes it was hard to tell the dirt in the air from the clouds. Rain would be nice, he decided. If nothing else, it would be a change.
Time: Morning
Place: A village in Hunan province, a few hours drive from Xiangtan
Characters: Hiko, Kenshin
This person, this 'Shintaro' was supposed to have shown up nearly an hour ago. He was late. Hiko glanced down at his watch irritably, then shifted his weight against the wall to get more comfortable. At least he was in what passed for shade. This fact didn't stop the bead of sweat that trickled down his neck, disappearing into the collar of his shirt. It was hot already, and the haze on the horizon, filtering out the sun and only intensifying the humidity, promised even more heat before the day was done. There were times when Hiko sorely missed his home in the mountains, where the air was clean and it never got this thick and uncomfortable.
If only the pub was open this early. Apparently, the people in this village didn't believe in drinking before noon. So he made do, leaning against the wall of the pub, which so happened to be on the shady side of the narrow, dusty street. How convenient. An old lady stumped past, a basket full of herbs strapped to her back. She gave him a curious glance. Hiko narrowed his eyes in a glare, and the woman averted her gaze and picked up her pace. Why this village of nosey folk had been chosen was a mystery to Hiko. It was out of the way, yes, but as the morning dragged on, more people were going to be out and about.
The car he'd been issued was parked around the corner, fueled and ready to go. He still couldn't figure out why he was needed to babysit an assassin. As far as he knew, they were supposed to be quite capable of caring for themselves. Traveling alone, working alone, dying alone, if things went wrong. So why an escort? Xiangtan wasn't hard to find. It was well connected with roads and even some of the remaining railways. It wasn't a tiny berg like this little pit of hell in which he was waiting.
Hiko shifted his weight again, but realized with a grimace that that had been a mistake. Moving away from the nail poking him in the back, he repositioned himself against the wall to a less dangerous spot and crossed his arms over his chest. He squinted up at the hazy sky and wondered if it would rain. The pollution was thick even this far outside the city, and sometimes it was hard to tell the dirt in the air from the clouds. Rain would be nice, he decided. If nothing else, it would be a change.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-23 04:49 am (UTC)He kicked his feet as he munched, thumping them against the underside of the dashboard. And he hummed a song he'd heard a long time ago. Something from TV. He hadn't seen TV in a long time. He hadn't seen anything fun in a long time. He wondered what it would be like to watch a movie again and be hands deep in buttery popcorn. That kind of life was for kids though.
It was like that song that he saw. He forgot most of the words, but the first ones always stuck with him.
I'm overcome with tears and don't know what to do...
Oh wait...he knew the next ones... what was it....
"I wish I could erase the pain for you," he murmured. But you couldn't do that by slitting someone's throat. Ahh, but he was supposed to be relaxing. He pressed his forehead to the window. Smushed his face against the glass. It was cool because of the airconditioner so it was strange to think the outside was hot.
"Hey look, look, Shishou an Ox!" he said as they passed by a low rice feild and one lone lady behind a bony old ox. "Do you think Ox are nice? Do you think that's fun? It looks like fun. I want to stand in a rice field like that. I think the water would feel great today."