Right, so. Hello again.
Apologies for the massive hiatus. During the writing of this arc I hit one scene that I pulled off really badly, and my frustration with it stopped the whole project dead in its tracks for an age. After seeing all the posts in recent days asking 'what happened when is the next chapter', I thought to myself that I'd left it off for long enough.
So with another shot I wrote that scene the RIGHT way, and as an encore finished the rest of the Red Lily arc. That's right, I'm coming back in with a solid 18,000 words of content. (Not all at once, though. That'd be a bit silly.) Doesn't make up for six months of nothing, but it's all I've got.
Thanks for bearing with me, and I hope what I produce ends up being worth the wait!
Quick recap of the arc for those who haven't read this in a while:
After local mobster Rinnosuke Morichika escapes a jail sentence by buying out the court, the Sirens go undercover at a local newspaper to make contact with an infamous underground informant, the Red Lily. After chasing the woman into a back alley, they're unexpectedly saved by one of the newspaper's employees - Momiji Inubashiri, actually an operative for the White Pearl. Now the team brings the Lily back to a local safehouse to see if they can shake any news out of the Lily - in particular, his new association with the Black Claw...
-----
The safehouse was like something from a housing catalogue, in that everything inside looked completely by-the-book. There were no hints of personal decoration - no mementos, no pictures, nothing. Momiji closed the door behind the group as they entered, putting on a pair of chain locks for good measure, before hauling the Lily?s body onto the living room couch.
?She?ll wake up in a little while. No lasting damage, but she?ll have one hell of a headache.?
Momiji pulled her jeans down slightly, and Koishi saw a small bushy tail slip out from underneath. Now that she?d seen the ears it wasn?t much of a surprise, so she nodded as if in approval. The wolf let out a sigh of relief, letting her tail wriggle around a little.
?Hate these jeans you humans always wear. I?d have gone for a skirt, but then all it?d take is one gust of wind and the secret?s out. Anyway, if you?re looking for something to drink, there?s plenty of coffee in the back.?
She made no attempt to move towards the kitchen. Neither did anyone else. The incident in the alleyway had knocked any hint of sleepiness out of them.
?I?m fine, thanks,? Koishi said with a small bow. Mokou and Sakuya muttered similar apologies, eyes darting around the room for somewhere to sit. There was only one other chair in the room, and Momiji had already taken it for herself. The Lily was sprawled over the couch, so the Sirens were left to sit on the floor. At least the carpet was comfy enough.
?Hey, Sango-san, you probably want to sit down,? Koishi said, looking up at the dolphin. ?Your legs?ll hurt if you keep standing like that.?
Either Sango wasn?t listening to Koishi?s suggestion, or she was ignoring it. Her eyes stayed fixed on Momiji. Now that the wolf was seated, Sango was looking down on her with a childish frown. Momiji?s eyes never turned to her, moving instead between the three Sirens, gauging them.
?Which one of you is the leader of this band of misfits??
Koishi blinked. They had a leader? She?d never thought about it. It couldn?t be her, though. Maybe Mokou. She had the charisma. But Sakuya had the brains to run the operation. She turned to her companions for their opinions, only to find both of them staring right back at her.
?Well, Koishi-san here was the first of us,? Mokou said, rubbing at the back of her head. ?She pulled me outta a dark spot - hell, if it wasn?t for her, I?d pretty much be a living popsicle.?
?She has that talent of hers, as well,? Sakuya chimed in, correcting her posture slightly as she did so. ?She?s the only one here who can pull people out of that Mindcoil, or whatever it is you call it.?
Momiji?s eyes turned to Koishi. They flared with intensity. Koishi only managed to return the look for a few seconds before her head drooped like a weight had been placed on it. The wolf sighed.
?If you?re the one in charge of this operation, then you may need my help even more than I thought you would.?
The words hit Koishi hard, and her head slumped down further.
?Oh, come on!? Sango stamped a foot into the carpet. ?We?re on the same team, aren?t we? Why?re you being so hard on Koishi-san? You?ve only just met her!?
Momiji?s glance finally turned to Sango, and frustration spilled out of her voice. ?I know a leader when I see one, and this girl doesn?t fit the description. If she gets nervous just from one stare, how am I meant to think she can keep her cool against a Black Claw operative??
Was she right? No, she couldn?t be. She?d made it this far. Didn?t that stand for something?
?Bullshit!? Mokou yelled. ?Yeah, she?s a little anxious and all, but when it comes down to it Koishi-san gets things done! The maid and I both owe her our lives, right??
Koishi felt a hand on her shoulder. Warm, friendly. She managed to pull her head up again.
?Indeed,? Sakuya continued, placing her own arm on Koishi?s other shoulder. ?Perhaps she needs a little more faith in herself, but her heart is always in the right place.?
Of course. They trusted her, didn?t they? She felt their hands on her shoulders, and power seemed to flow into her. She looked up at Momiji again, gulping as she found her voice.
?I...I may have moments when I?m not the best leader. But I?m part of a great team, and we cover each others? weaknesses. They don?t just depend on me. We all depend on each other.?
Momiji raised her eyebrows. She looked into Koishi?s eyes again. Her expression was blank, like she couldn?t make out what was going on inside, one way or the other.
Finally she let out a small grunt. ?Hmph. I dunno what Yakumo was thinking when she chose you, but the woman wasn?t the sort to make a mistake when things got serious.?
Sango?s eyes widened. ?Wait, you knew ol? Yukari? How old does that even make you??
?That?s a question you?re not supposed to ask a woman,? Momiji snapped back, looking to Sango for a moment before turning away again. The dolphin tried to return the favour, but she couldn?t match the wolf?s intensity. ?But yes, I was around back in the War of Catalcysm. Just a cub, learning how the world worked.
?Those were the days - back when we had forts built into the mountains, when the wolves had forests to hunt in and the birds could soar in the sky.? Her voice had drifted into a nostalgic, almost sorrowful tone. She looked upwards at nothing in particular, and Koishi could make out a glint in her eyes.
?Wait, what forts are these?? Mokou asked, rubbing her head. ?Are you saying you guys had buildings you built yourselves??
Momiji?s attention turned to Mokou, giving the Siren another dirty look. ?Had was the key word there. We had to take the forts down as the human colonisation expanded - we couldn?t leave evidence for the humans to look for us, because if we were discovered it would start another war all over again.?
Now she looked downward, her eyes on her lap. ?So as the centuries went by, we lost our footholds one by one, until eventually there wasn?t anywhere left for us. Mankind has claimed ownership of just about every landmass on the planet - we don?t have anywhere to hide anymore. So we either live in the deepest, darkest hiding spots we can find or just live out simple lives as domestic animals. We?re the ones that run away when they?re getting old, or just mysteriously vanish into the night to find a new owner. Either way, it?s a pretty shitty life compared to all the things you can do with opposable thumbs.?
She twiddled hers, smiling for a moment at her first attempt to crack a joke. It didn?t go over very well with her audience, so she gave up and went back to her normal tone. ?As for me, the Pearl wanted me to work deep undercover for the job, so I?ve been living a ?human? life around here for the last few months.
?Your laws are ridiculous, by the way - why would any self-respecting nation ban dueling to resolve grudges? Honestly, nanny states and kid gloves all around.?
She cricked her neck, and her expression gained a hint of snark. ?But hey, at least there are some youkai that don?t have to worry about that sort of thing. I hear it?s still pretty easy living out in the ocean, so all those finny folk have plenty of room to hide in. It must be nice being able to swim around without humans showing up and acting like they own the place.?
On the last sentence, her eyes turned to Sango. The dolphin flinched, needing a moment to collect herself. When she did, she repaid Momiji?s glare in equal measure. ?So what, you?re mad at me because I haven?t had to go through the same crap you have??
?Not you,? Momiji stated. ?All your kind. You, Kawashiro, and the rest of your fishy friends. Easy for you to keep fighting the good fight when humanity hasn?t been dumping their waste in your front lawn, isn't it??
Sango took a large step forward. Momiji stood up from her seat to meet her. Both sides raised their fists, and if another moment had passed they would have doubtlessly come to blows.
?Both of you, quit it!?
Koishi had jumped up from her spot on the floor, jumping between the two youkai. Sango looked down on her in shock, while Momiji maintained her stance.
?Out of the way, kid. This doesn?t concern you.?
?Of course it concerns me!? Koishi answered, turning around to Momiji. Her voice burst out with a power she never knew she had. ?We?re a team, remember? And you can?t blame Sango-san for being who she is. You?re acting like she?s the one who got you in this mess in the first place!?
Momiji?s ears stood on end, and for an instant her look shifted down to Koishi. That stare reminded Koishi exactly who she was messing with, and she started to regret interfering in the first place.
Before Momiji could do anything else, a groan resounded from the couch.
?Nngh...?
The Lily squirmed in her sleep, reaching out with one arm and almost grabbing Sakuya. Every eye in the room fell on her.
?...We?ll finish this later,? Momiji said, only turning to Sango for a moment. ?Our guest won?t co-operate if she sees you beaten to a pulp in the corner.?
?Strange,? Sango said with a smirk, ?I was gonna say the exact same thing to you.?
Koishi sighed. She hoped this talk with the Lily would go on long into the night.
-----
What just happened...?
Komachi?s mind was hazy. Everything hurt. She curled forward on instinct, her hands clutching the back of her head. Her eyes were squeezed shut, every muscle in her body tensing in an attempt to distract herself from the pain.
She remembered being followed by Morichika?s goons into the alley, leading them out and trying to scare them off with her weapon. It had worked, she was sure of it, but everything between then and now was a blank. When was now, anyway? Where was she, what was she doing here, who was watching her?
She?d start working on finding the answers to those questions after the pain stopped.
?...Tororetsu, out here. Can?t risk her seeing us...?
Someone was speaking above her. One voice, followed by two sets of footsteps leaving the room. The leaders of the gang that had jumped her in the alley? Whoever they were, they?d left.
The pain had dulled now. Amazingly quickly, in fact - within thirty seconds it had become nothing more than a mild throb in the back of her head. She opened her eyes and found herself staring head on at the back of a couch. She squirmed as her own warm breath struck her face.
?How?re you feeling??
A different voice called out to her. Young, rough, feminine. One of the high-schoolers who had tailed her. Sure enough, as she turned around she saw three of the girls who had stalked her into the back alleys. One of the grey-haired ones had left; the other was still looming over her, along with the rough looking girl with the black hair and the blonde kid who seemed way too formal for a gangster. None of their expressions looked immediately aggressive - if anything, the silver-haired girl looked outright concerned.
?Like I just got shot in the back of the head,? Komachi replied, pulling herself up to a sitting position. The girls were right next to the couch, so she wasn?t getting anywhere any time soon. On the bright side, she wasn?t being beaten to a bloody pulp, so things could always have been worse.
The short one with the silver hair frowned, sitting across the arm of the couch. ?I?m sorry about what happened...we didn?t know that Momiji-san would be so aggressive. We never meant to hurt you...?
The throbbing headache Komachi was brandishing disagreed with that claim. She?d never met a gangster who wasn?t willing to break a few bones to get his point across. Maybe they?d deliberately picked out the kids to interrogate her, just to sell that angle a little more.
Well, Komachi wasn?t buying a word of it. Unless all three of them pulled out police badges, she was going to assume they all had it in for her.
?High schoolers? This here city's goin' to the dogs, ain't it?? Komachi smirked, leaning back on the couch. ?Cut to the point, girls. You gonna buy me out??
The blonde one sighed. ?We didn?t think this far ahead, did we? Unless we?re actually going to do this like Morichika would. Koishi-san?? Her grin was a little too genuine, and Komachi almost thought she?d go ahead with it until the silver-haired girl frowned at her.
?No, Sakuya-san. We?re better than that.?
The blonde nodded knowingly, as if she?d expected the answer from the beginning. Komachi did not share in the smile. Why would they discuss this in front of her? Either this trio had no plan at all, or this was all a trick to get her to drop her guard.
She had no reason to even consider the former. Morichika never moved without knowing what to do in every instance, and he was the only figure in Gensouto who would be out for her blood.
She?d keep her guard up, then, and play along with their little charade. It would buy her time to figure out an escape.
?So, Miss Red Lily...? The black-haired one sat in front of the couch, legs crossed. She seemed the most genuine of the three in that she was the gruff sort Komachi expected to see in Morichika?s gang. ?We wanted to ask about your work tracking down Rinnosuke Morichika.?
Checking how much she had on Morichika. What else would he want to know? It was so simple Komachi almost laughed at herself for not thinking of it sooner.
She shrugged, hoping it didn?t come off as too artificial. ?Well, I?ve been doing a lotta work for the last coupla months. I?d be here all day if I told ya everythin?, and I have a reservation for dinner tonight.?
Black Hair frowned at Komachi?s reaction. The prisoner allowed herself a little smirk. If she was at their mercy, she may as well make the most of it. The other two - Silver and Blondie, she?d named them - were looking at each other uncertainly. Eventually it was Blondie who broke the silence, getting comfortable on the other arm of the couch, her grip a lot looser than Silver?s.
?Well, we?re relatively certain that he isn?t working alone. What do you know about his accomplices??
Accomplices? That was a strange suggestion. Who was around that Morichika would ally with? Gensouto had some smaller criminal groups, but none of them could to match Morichika in power or wealth.
Then again...now that Komachi thought about it, Morichika?s influence had grown rapidly in the last few months. The Rabbit?s Foot getting larger, running that crazy no-limit festival...all sorts of new dramatics that even Morichika shouldn?t have been able to afford. That money had to be coming from somewhere, but from where?
Dammit. Now they had her thinking. Were these girls trying to mislead her, or were they checking if she knew something dangerous? If so, what would they do if she said something they didn?t want to hear? Komachi could feel the hairs on the back of her neck tremble. She rubbed at her head, pretending to think as she looked around the room.
At the doorway on the left behind the silver-haired girl, she could see a pair of shadows. The ones who?d been talking when she woke up, probably. That was a non-option, then. The window in the room was right behind Black Hair, but she could see a street outside. So they were on the ground floor. That was good.
That left the door on the right, the one the blonde was blocking. Komachi could see a kitchen beyond - if it had a door, there was no doubt they?d have locked it securely.
Which left one course of action, and she?d only have one shot at it.
Slowly, deliberately, she yawned. She let her body sway to the left.
?Man, so tired...?
Silver leaned back in time with Komachi?s approach. The blonde made up for it, leaning forward on the couch arm.
That was Komachi?s cue to shift to the right and push Blondie off the couch.
?Wha-?
The blonde had been caught off guard, falling off the edge. Komachi took the opportunity, grabbing the couch arm and vaulting over it, hitting the ground running.
?H-Hey, wait up!? Black-Hair yelled at her. She broke for the door to the kitchen, assuming that was where Komachi was headed.
Kids nowadays. No imagination.
Komachi swung to her side, away from the kitchen door - and towards the window.
The glass exploded outward as she leapt into a side alley. Shards of glass dug into her arms, drawing blood. Her hands scraped against concrete, and she grimaced as she rushed to her feet. She ran for the main street full pelt, knowing that the thugs would be right on her tail.
She had to get to the court. They?d figured her out. She needed protection. Maybe she?d have to admit her little side-job as the Red Lily, but Eiki would understand.
It had all been for the greater good.
