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: 2012-05-07 06:20 am (UTC)"You're not my target," he told her in Mandarin. "If you're good." And it was true. As long as Takani liked her, she would be okay. As long as he was useful. He didn't like that word. It tasted like sandpaper in his mouth. The car bumped a little on a different kind of road and in the hum of the tires he could hear the screaming again. Why was killing people so easy? (right in the throat and Guang had burbled, his eyes wide, the crazy finally leaving him)
Shintaro felt a little sick and sheathed the dagger again. The driver pulled to a stop by a dusty road and looked at him til he figured he was supposed to get out. The heat rolled onto his face, sucking the breath out of him in wet waves. He carried the sheathed dagger clenched in his fist. He was supposed to hide it. Takani had said to hide it. But Takani wasn't here and he'd broken promises before. Maybe he'd stop giving Lien-Hua the new stuff that made her skin peel off, or maybe he'd pretend they'd never had the conversation.
His head hurt and he realized his teeth were clenched. He kept them that way. There was a man standing outside a low, dirty looking building. A stern, impatient, angry looking man that made Shintaro irritated just by looking at him for some reason. It didn't matter. The man would feel what it was like to look upon an assassin. Shintaro glared up at him, gathering all the anger, and heat into a tight little ball in his chest and then pushing it out. The wind kicked up and the leaves rasped around him, swirling in the hot air.