Prophetic Defense

[VampiricTouch]

The loud echo from the pistol's discharge that reverberated through the alley made her whimper as they, whoever they were, escorted her. She tried not to flinch as she heard the scream of another wounded man that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She could hear the man's knees buckle as he hit the ground in his agony but she ignored it. Fought to block the vision that came with the sound from her mind as they unceremoniously prodded her forward. She moved slowly as the the blindfold that stole her sight and cuffs that took her freedom hampered her. The hesitant steps she took only chafed at their patience as a hard tug and disgruntled push sent her staggering forward a few steps and a hand steadied her before she hit the ground.

"If you'd just came without a fuss, this wouldn't have happened you know." The snide drawl from her left spoke up as her head snapped towards the direction of the voice.

She could feel his smirk dripping from his words and it was all she could do to not shudder and bolt. She shifted her handcuffed hands again even though she knew she couldn't get free of them. It was a way to pass the time as she told herself to wait. The time to run would come. It just wasn't now. But it was soon.

-- The bullets whizzed by her head to slam into the man beside her and another two followed suit. The scream of her terror in the darkness was pitched higher than those dying by her feet as another pack arrived to claim her for their own interest. This path was gray. All other paths were black. --

It occurred immediately. The vision ended before her eyes and the ominous cracks of pistol fire broke the dull quiet as the bullets whizzed by her head. She could have run during the fray, but didn't. That path was black, ominously black. She held still. Knowing that she would not die. She had not seen her own death, only death to those around her. This path was gray... here, she stood a chance of survival. She didn't scream, having already seen it happen, but it didn't take away the shaking terror that rolled through her body leaving her hands clammy and cold.

"So nice of those idiots to capture you for us. There was a moment where you could've ran... did you know?" The voice she heard circled around, like he were stalking his prey before closing in for the kill. His hands trailed around her back, dragging across her shoulders before coming around to cup her chin in an almost bruising grip. "I suppose not, since they also did the honors of blindfolding you for us."

They turned in a different direction and silently she followed their brusque guidance. Soon. She had seen him in the flashes of her visions, and even in the darkness she knew he would come soon.

-- The path before her grew darker with every step. As if her hope of life were slowly squeezed out of all the possible choices she could take. It was then that the strange light of her intuition was illuminated before her. -- NOW!

The screech of cars was all she heard as the sudden calls for help and surprise rang in the air. She saw and understood none of it. Instead, she followed blindly that single line of her hope and ran, leaving the staccato of weapons fire in the wake of her path as two sides battled each other for the right to make claim on her. Strangely, even blindfolded, she ran without bumping anyone. Deftly she weaved through to suddenly stop short in front of a single person in her path. It was him.

"Save Me!!!" The despair that rung in her voice was etched in every line of her restrained body when the next vision hit her.

-- The volley of fire from the competing shooters roared louder than a dragon as both sides brought out their automatic weapons, seeking to end the fight as quickly as possible. He shuddered, stepping backward slightly as his torso blossomed with rapidly spreading pools of crimson that ran like water over his clothes. His legs buckled, falling backward from the knees to strike the ground with a sickening thud. -- They had to move.

"It's not safe here!" She turned and grabbed the corner of his sleeve with her cuffed hands, dragging him along as she ran unerringly through the zigzags of streets and alleyways. -- Back up will arrive from that corner, the cars from this street, the cops from that alley. -- She lost track of the visions that swept before her, as the possibilities raced to the limit of what she could mentally comprehend. Instead, she followed her intuition, the narrow path of gray that led her to a stop slowly bled out into white. She was out of danger. She had no idea why 'here' was safer than any other place, all she knew was that she was guided here, and that something here would insure his victory. With him, she would be safe. If he chose to defend her.

"Haruka. You can't do that. Running like that will do you no good. Now behave and come here, come towards my voice." She could hear the steps ring out, and as she shook her head, she backed away to hide behind the man she knew gave her a chance to hope.

"Save me please! I'll give you anything!" The plea rang out again at him as the approaching footsteps stopped.

"You're hiring me? I'm expensive."

She could almost see the skeptical arch of his brow in his voice as she responded with the desperation of darkness closing in. "I'll give you anything! Money, Jewels... Whatever you want!! Just please - "

"I'm not really interested... but, whatever. You've got a deal." She heard a gun cock as the men also heard his statement. "How long is this for..."

"Until death do us part." The humor in such words were lost in the gravity of her voice as she continued to deliver the point home, "I'm serious. If you don't save me, I WILL die."

The silence as he contemplated her words rang louder than the crossfire that had assaulted her ears earlier that night. She held her breath as she waited for his decision in the darkness of her blindfold. Waiting, hoping, praying that he'd take the offer.

"I'm taking care of her now. Fuck off." The air exploded from her lungs as relief washed over her. Everything would be alright now...

"I don't know what group you're from," Haruka heard someone's fingers snap and heavy footfalls approached them. "But I'd suggest you to back off now."

________________________
OOC: Many thanks to Marauder13 for the help on killing with firearms. I would've been much less creative about that sort of thing... definitely not my forte!
For those that know this manga I stole this idea from, hush. I know I took her name as well. That's a bit rare for me, but I couldn't find another name I liked so deal with it.​

 

[Ahren1]

'Ten months... Shit, I was so close.'

His piercing blue eyes were hidden behind the glare of a nearby streetlight against his glasses, but they specifically focused on the three men approaching him, the fourth remaining behind obviously signifying his authority over the others. They who wore yellow and black bike jackets with a familiar symbol across the right breast... A Yakuza clan. He didn't need this, but... the girl's voice had a tone of horror to it he'd never heard before, even with all the things he had seen in the past.

"I don't know what group you're from," The man in the black suit and golden tie uttered as he gestured his men forward. "But I'd suggest you to back off now."

"Group? Just a... helpful stranger. Can't we talk this over like gentlemen?" He chuckled softly, replying in fluent but American-accented Japanese as he held up his hands to signify he was unarmed, though he still clutched a zippo lighter in his right palm, leaving it easily seen so it would not be mistaken for a weapon. As the guns cocked, the man's smile faded a bit. 'Kobra model...? They're not fucking around...'

"Guess that's a no. Don't say I didn't offer..." The blonde man continued, adjusting his crimson tie a bit beneath his black jacket slightly.

Suddenly, he flicked the lighter on and tossed it to the left of the alley. The henchmen continued to keep their eyes fixated on their target, but their leader watched as the lighter headed for a pool of liquid seeping out of a spilled barrel... conveniently next to two more... and the truck they had been set aside to fuel... The Japanese man's eyes widened as he dove to the ground, while the American grabbed the girl and ducked behind a large trash bin. The resulting explosion created a majestic display of flame, combined with a thunderous blast that shook the entire street. Shouts from the henchmen were heard, one particularly agonizing, but the blonde man didn't stick around to watch the results. As soon as the flaming pieces of shrapnel from the half-detonated truck had passed them by, he grabbed the girl and began to run, eventually reaching the end of the alley and out into a mostly deserted street.

Two of the henchmen and their leader made their way to their feet, only to be greeted by a horrifically charred corpse of the third.

"Akira!" One of them shouted in dismay until the lieutenant roughly grabbed him by the jacket.

"GET THE GIRL. ALIVE. OR OYABUN WILL HAVE OUR HEADS." He commanded. The men soon complied, the one running ahead before the other was released to follow.

The American and the girl were already out of sight, but the yellow-jacketed men had seen which way they went. The one in front rushed into the street, only to be soon greeted by an extended-fingered strike to the throat by the blonde man. Sounds of violent choking were heard as he then gripped the Yakuza's head and brought it down to collide with his raised knee, knocking him out cold. Grabbing the sleek handgun that he had dropped, the American didn't hesitate for a moment as he unloaded one round into the skull of his opponent.

The pair continued to run. The blonde man could only hope he was taking the right path back to his car. Thankfully, he soon came upon the parked black sedan and turned to the girl, ripping her blindfold off as he had nearly forgotten she was wearing one. After all, she had dragged him through alleyways with it on...

His eyes connected with hers for a moment, almost as if before then he wasn't emotionally invested in this task. The sincere terror in her voice had convinced him to help, but her eyes held a desperation that somehow made him know he had to. "Get in." He ordered, practically pushing her into the passenger seat. As he rounded to the driver's side, a shot came from behind, grazing his left shoulder as fibers from his jacket danced in their torn form, adorned by small drops of blood. He made no sound of pain however, just a small wince as he quickly got into the car and peeled out with an ear-piercing screech.

The henchmen stopped his shots there, as if he was too afraid of hitting the girl from that range. As the American sped down the street, it seemed as if they might be in the clear. However that wasn't the case quite yet. A minute or so later, the growing roar of a motorcycle could be heard from the rear. The sapphire-eyed man glanced in his rear-view and cursed under his breath. "Fucking give up already..."

His car was nice but it was no Formula-1 racer. The metallic yellow bike, on the other hand, seemed to be made for speed as it began to close in. As it did, the henchman felt safer about taking shots. "Keep your head down." The American spoke in an almost eerily calm tone as he weaved through what thankfully little traffic there was. Then an unnerving bang was heard following one of the gunshots and the car began to swerve. A tire had been shot out. He wasn't terribly unfamiliar with that sort of driving, though. After a few seconds, he straightened the vehicle out, but it was slowed even more now, and the scraping of the metal against the street was just asking for trouble.

Almost instinctively, the man slammed on the breaks. The motorcycle continued barreling toward them until the man in the crimson tie thrust his door open quickly. The motorcycle tried to break, but the speed was too much, causing the tires to just slide across the ground before the bike and door collided, ripping the door from the car, sending the cycle spinning out of control and the man flying, helmet-less, face first onto the pavement...

The blonde man quickly exited the car and ran up to the fallen Yakuza whose face was half-shredded and skull fractured, yet amazingly still conscious. He made a few unintelligable mumbling sounds, but the American couldn't care less about what he was saying. Instead he simply fished for his gun and returned to the car, speeding off again, only to leave their attacker bleeding and dying...

After a few more blocks where everything was quiet, the man turned into an alley and shut everything down. He quickly checked the guns. Each magazine held 30 rounds, but one had used a dozen already, and one was down ten. Finally, he turned to the girl and looked her over. Her rather drab clothing didn't explain much. The Yakuza were pretty big on running prostitution rings, but they seemed severely concerned about this girl being alive. There had to be something about her. He noticed it in her eyes from before. Something in them that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"We wait ten minutes, then we find a new car." He spoke first, almost as if he didn't want to hear her voice again. He reached into the back and pulled out a briefcase which he opened only slightly enough to pull out a lockpick. After only a few seconds, the girl was uncuffed and his eyes were focused back on the rearview again which angled into the street. He seemed against talking to her at all at first. Like the less he knew, the better, but certain words from before rang over and over in his mind.

"Until death do us part."

Was she serious? Were they together for good now? What stupid mess had he gotten himself into now? Was he even thinking? Of course not... Always acting on impulse. He had a gift for improvising, but it was also his curse. Whether or not he wanted to be in this situation was moot now. He was there, and they'd probably be looking for her, and now him. This would have been a lot easier a year ago...

Finally, he looked over to her again. She was actually very attractive, but for some reason he knew that really wasn't why they were after her. He still wasn't sure he wanted to know why. He wasn't sure this no-talking thing was going to go well either, though.

"Haruka, was it...?" He finally spoke again, with a bit more softness to his voice, though it was sort of obvious he still had a bit to go before he sounded genuinely sympathetic, though his next words did a better job. "I'm Adrian... You don't happen to speak English, do you...?"

 

[VampiricTouch]

The phone rang twice before he picked up. The urgency that blared through the earpiece made him wince and Kaibara immediately reported to the man demanding the whereabouts of the girl they'd still yet to capture. "Hirota ran into a bit of trouble securing the girl. His crew took out the Kakuhoukai group escorting her but were intercepted by their back up."

"And the girl? Where's she? Is she alone?"

"The girl is with a gaijin, an outsider. It doesn't seem like he's part of the Kakuhoukai or any other group we know of. The tracker we left on her says she's in the Totsuka district. We're sending the boys in that direction now."

"Dispose of the gaijin. That'll teach him to mess with the Inagawa-kai. I don't care how you do it, the girl needs to be brought back alive."

"Yes sir, If I may ask why we're taking an interest in the girl?"

"I heard it's because she's a precog capable of over 90% accuracy."

"Ex - excuse me?! A precog? Sir, are you sure we can capture her if she can predict the future?"

"She can predict the future, but she's not omnipotent. It's mostly an instinct to protect her life - or so I'm told."

~~~~****~~~~​

She stole glances at the man who'd saved her. The accent she'd heard from him seemed different, but it was now in the lull of their running that it hit her - She'd recruited the help of a gaijin. Her instincts were almost never wrong... but a gaijin? She'd kept quiet for the duration of their time together, her gut instinct telling her that it'd be better that way. That, and he didn't seem to invite her opinion or her story. Her eyes drifted over him again, following the shock of blonde hair that marked him as a gaijin, a foreigner and catching his blue eyes as they weighed each other.

"It doesn't seem necessary now does it. But no, only Japanese." There was a pause before she continued, "Thank you for saving - " and the vision came again.

-- The screech of tires rounded the corner as they closed off both sides of the road with their vehicles and boxed them in. The barrage of weapon fire studded holes through the already wrecked car... and her world went up in flames as the gas tank exploded. --

"We don't have time to wait ten minutes. They're coming." She stood up and headed out of the street, past the row of parked cars and after a moment's pause, she pointed to the last car. "Can you take that one please?"

"Wouldn't have been my first choice... Used to being the one making decisions, are you?" He eyed the vehicle she pointed at and quipped. Deciding that there wasn't any time to argue, he gave her the benefit of the doubt in regards to the small, navy compact. Taking an automotive-style lockpicking device from his case and began to work.

"You're probably being tracked..." He spoke up after a few seconds. "Unless you can already tell me how, you should get rid of your clothing and check your body for a device."

There was a dull thud as the lock popped up, allowing Adrian into the car and to unlock the passenger side. He wasted no time ducking under the steering wheel as he began to hot-wire the car. "Hopefully they didn't inject it into you... Those can be quite a pain to disable... Literally."

She let him work in silence as she started searching her clothes and body. He was good. Maybe having the help of a gaijin wasn't so bad. Surprisingly, the alarm didn't go off as the lock popped open. "I don't know what I'm looking for though... I didn't get an injection, not that I remember anyways."

Adrian's eyes momentarily looked up from where he was working. "So... Why you? Actually, to be honest, right now I'm a bit more curious why me?"

She stopped searching at his question to choose the words for her answer "Would you understand if I told you it was instinct? The gut feeling that I stood a chance at getting away if you helped me?"

"I guess... As long as you're not telling me it was 'fate' or some bullshit like that." He sighed as if he were hoped for a more descriptive answer.

The car came to life just as the gunning of motorcycles came within range of their ears. Along with it came the blaring radio that was quickly silenced with Adrian's fist as the pair peeled out of the neighborhood. Haruka returned to her search for the tracker and finally gave up altogether when they approached a shopping district in Yokohama. With some insistence, he pulled up to park and headed into the closest store.

A change of clothes from bra to skirt to shoes were grabbed without ceremony. Haruka slammed the bills down in front of the cashier and ran for the fitting room without waiting for the change. They stepped out of the store as Haruka began fingering the blonde wig she'd taken on another streak of instinct when the road before her narrowed to a single point of white just in front of the store. She froze. They were coming... Neither direction was safe, but how was staying put safer than moving?? The flashes of approaching men on both sides told her that time was running out once more. There was something here... that would ensure their safety.

"I'm sorry, please bear with me." It was the only warning she gave him before she shoved Adrian onto the bench in front of the store. She sat down to straddle his lap, as the position pushed her skirt farther up her thighs, leaving just the shadowy hint of her panties for the people passing behind her. Her hands worked quickly to unbutton the top half of her blouse, pulling the shirt and bra strap loose to hang suggestively off her shoulders. The curls of her blond wig fell to cover part of her face as her hands lifted to cup his face in the imitation of a kiss. She knew that he could see the laced cup of her bra if he looked and despite the blush that flamed in her cheeks, she held her position. Her lips were a hairsbreadth away from his as she waited. She was so close she could smell him, the faint scent of cigarettes mixed well with the light cologne, all of which mingled with the ashy burn of their earlier explosions. Even with the thrumming of nervous adrenaline pounding in her veins, she couldn't help but notice the sapphire blue eyes that stared back at her...

"Fucking gaijin have no shame..." The words spat from someone passing behind her, she could almost feel him leer at her ass as he passed. "Aniki, did you find her? "

"No. The tracker said she'd be in this area... think she might've found it and ditched it?" The voice came from the other side of the store as the two groups passed to continue their search.



___________________

OOC notes:
Gaijin - Foreigner
Aniki - Older brother (term of respect that tends to be used more in a yakuza setting)

 

[Ahren1]

'What the fuck am I doing...' Adrian thought to himself as Haruka rushed through the store. There wasn't exactly time for this, but she insisted. Not to mention he did tell her to get rid of her clothing. What else was she supposed to do? Go naked? Thankfully the store was mostly empty due to the fact that closing time was near, so their odd and hurried manner didn't really alert anyone except cause the cashier. The woman did however manage to give a few curious looks when Haruka simply thrust the money at her and immediately went to get changed. He had ruled out prostitution as a reason the Yakuza wanted this girl. Now he could rule out money. Whether she was a ransom or just rich, it was unlikely they wouldn't have left her with any cash during her time in capture.

Honestly, such could have likely been crossed off the list of reasons much earlier. The Yakuza generally had plenty of other ways of making their money. They didn't need to hold people random or rob them. Though he still speculated she was well-off. After all, she offered up a lot of things to him for her safety. Then again, that was in the midst of a life or death moment. There was always the possibility she really couldn't back such offers up and simply hoped he would be more forgiving.

His thoughts were interrupted when Haruka returned from the changing room. It took him half a second to recognize her with the wig. It was a good call, but it would probably be ineffective seeing that he was the one who stuck out more. Out of the store they went, with the Japanese girl leading the way once again. How'd this keep happening? Following some strange girl's gut instinct without question was his purpose now? Fuck that. He was taking charge again, but his confusion at Haruka's sudden halt caused him to search for possible attackers instead.

"I'm sorry, please bear with me."

He didn't even have a time to open his mouth in protest before he was tossed onto a nearby bench with his lap subsequently being straddled by the young woman he had been protecting. He had seen some forward women in his time, but this was the perhaps the quickest shift in attitude he had ever seen. His thoughts became muddled as her unbuttoned blouse left her bra in clear view, leaving him no choice but to notice and stare for a moment. His attention was then directed back at her face when her hands caressed his face, bringing her lips less than an inch away from his own.

He very nearly leaned in the rest of the way to close the rest of the gap and lock their lips together when he read her expression. From the blush, to the look in her eyes; This was an act. They were here. Which meant that he'd look foolish with his hands just held off to the side. Adrian slipped into his role promptly, letting one hand run along the incredibly soft skin of her leg up to her thigh. The other slid up her side, stopping when his thumb began to brush the base of her right breast through the fabric. He decided to focus on her eyes, partially because it allowed him to see around her with peripheral vision and also because, well... They were rather beautiful.

It was then that he heard their voices... They were here after all. 'How the hell did she see them before me...?' Adrian began to wonder, sticking to his role as he moved his hands around a bit. In some backwards way he was glad they showed up when they did, because any longer focusing on Haruka's pleasing scent or her gentle touch, she'd likely begin to feel his rather genuine... excitement.

Once they had left, Adrian knew they were in the clear. They spoke of the tracker in a manner that convinced him it was indeed on her clothing and not her body. He wasn't going to make that assumption with 100% certainty but, regardless, it was time to go.

Right? Time to go. So... why was he still holding her? In fact, his right hand had managed to sneak higher up her thigh. Enough so that the tips were slipping under her panty line. "Uh... Sorry..." He spoke softly, his words only sounding halfway sincere, before helping her off him and hurrying back to the car.

"It's alright...I put you in that situation..." She answered in a bare whisper, the embarrassment etched in her voice as the flush darkened her face.

A light smirk etched across Adrian's lips. "Another gut feeling?"

"Yeah." She replied simply as she followed after him, her hands working to button her blouse as she ran.

The reasonable part of his mind was kicking his libido for taking over for a few moments there, and also for apologizing. It was her idea... but he shouldn't have gotten into it even for a second knowing it was just an act... At the very least, he wouldn't be bringing up the fact that he almost kissed her...

He tried to think of something else in the meantime. His previous thoughts... Why'd they want her? Did she hold a position in a powerful company, or perhaps was related to someone who did? Adrian tried to remind himself that he shouldn't know.

That used to be a rule. The less he knew, the better... but this was something new for him. He wasn't used to defending people. Just killing them. In this inverted situation, he felt he deserved to know everything. Who he was protecting her from, and why. The who was already partially answered, but 'Yakuza' was too general. That was the same as saying the Mafia wanted someone. The Mafia wasn't exactly a singular entity. There were many families. Each with their own goals.

The symbol on the jackets of the bikers looked vaguely familiar, but ever since he got to Japan he had stayed out of trouble, or learning the details of things related to anything that could even be considered trouble. Kinda boring, actually...

"Any more weird directions, like randomly knowing where's safe, or am I finally getting to decide?" The blonde man asked as they reached the vehicle and set off once again. After all, this had probably been the longest amount of time where she hadn't directed him somewhere.

"Not at the moment, no. We should be relatively safe now... " Haruka answered sheepishly, realizing that she'd been dragging him across Yokohama on the basis of instinct.

"Figures..." He sighed. Now he got to make the choices when there weren't any. Home was really the only place he could think to go. "My place it is..."

The rest of the drive through the city was thankfully uneventful, reinforcing Adrian's assumption that they had effectively ditched the tracker. Eventually they came across a small shopping complex that was quiet now due to most of the places being closed. One nice looking building still had the lights on, however. A tea shop.

The car was parked in a nearby alley and with a still-hurried pace, Adrian guided Haruka back to that very shop and entered, causing a small bell to jingle.

"Welcome, welcome! What can I get for- Oh, Adrian! How'd everything go?" An older, bald Japanese man with a white goatee looked up from the counter. Adrian grew a reluctant expression as he motioned for Haurka to wait at the door for a moment as he walked over to the shop owner, pulled out his wallet and slammed down ¥45,000 (~$500). The man first glanced at the money, then Adrian's face, then to the blonde girl still waiting at the front.

"I almost made it, Hideo-san... Two more months." Adrian shook his head, causing the man to chuckle and gaze back at him once again.

"Bringing home a call-girl doesn't count as getting into trouble, you know." Hideo lowered his voice and leaned in over the counter.

"That's not...!" Adrian shouted back at first before realizing his tone and lowering it in return. "That's not what she is!" He finished in a manner that made him sound more defensive of her character than his own. "I'll explain later..."

With that, Adrian began to guide Haruka upstairs, hearing Hideo call out once more. "Aren't you at least going to introduce me?!"

"LATER!" He shouted back, sighing afterward as he reached a door, eventually allowing them in to an apartment space. The first thing that one might notice is that the apartment was virtually spotless. As if no one really lived there. It also contained very little decor. The furnature was nice- mostly black leather, a flat screen TV, and a kitchen portion off to the side with stainless steel appliances. A small hallway lead to some closed doors which one could safely assume at the very least contained a bedroom and bathroom. The last could have been anything from a guest room to a ritualistic sacrifice chamber, however.

The blonde man set his briefcase onto the nearby counter, along with his wallet, keys... and the two Kobra pistols that he had concealed in his jacket pockets, all very casually. He slipped his glasses off next in order to rub the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. "Well, you've managed to give me a fairly interesting evening, and predicament." Adrian chuckled softly, turning back to Haruka and placing his glasses on once again, adjusting them with his middle finger momentarily.

"I guess you're staying here tonight, as I really couldn't think of any alternative. You can use my bed... I'm fine with the sofa. I'd really like to talk about everything that happened tonight, but I suppose that can wait if you'd like a chance to relax... Is there anything you need?" Adrian spoke in that calm tone he'd had at the beginning. He had a lot of questions, but for once he made an attempt to be empathetic. She'd been through a lot. It was possible she brought it on herself somehow, but he'd give her the benefit of the doubt, at least for now. Maybe it was her little act from earlier that was making him go easy on her, but he wasn't going to admit that. He hadn't allowed women to manipulate him for years, but there was something about Haruka. In all her effort dragging him around on "gut instinct", he never got the impression that he was just being used. She had genuinely needed him, and likely still did...

 

[VampiricTouch]

Haruka screamed in the silence of her visions as she watched the girl turn the corner... Already the visions were coming in a torrid flood as the two men mugged the girl and raped her.... and left her for dead. The girl might have lived if they'd called an ambulance... but no. The two men waited, lurked in the shadows until her life expired before leaving the scene... and the police chalked it up as another mugging gone wrong.... But Haruka knew. From her visions, she knew they arranged for the girl's death. She knew even before they arrived to inform her that the girl had died in an accident of random violence, that they had killed her - her sister.

The dreams shifted as one door closed and another opened.

It was the first time she tried to run. They'd been lax with their watch on her, and she'd taken the opportunity to get away. The group holding her had been experimenting with the extent of her abilities... all of which she tried to down play. But it didn't change the fact that they watched her like a hawk and its prey. Always, she was escorted with their men at her sides and a loose spread of members that fanned out to block all 'routes' she could move. They understood that much when it came down to cornering her.... to cut away her choices so that she had to follow them... but she was in a rage that day. When they had told her that her sister had died... even so much as to say that her sister was hindering the development of her ability... So she ran. Regardless of the screaming alarm in her gut, she tried to get away. It didn't take long before they caught up to her. The bullet that grazed her thigh slowing her down. The fist that connected with her stomach knocking the wind from her voice as she tried to call for help... silencing the scream...

As she woke up.

The cold sweat beaded across her brow as she she gasped for air. The panic rose to suffocate her as she found herself in a strange room on a strange bed... and the events came rushing back to her. The light that filtered through the blinds told her that it was morning as she slid off of the bed. She found Adrian asleep on the couch and with a smile, gently pulled the blanket up to his chin.

A bit of wandering led her to the kitchen and she began to rummage for breakfast. What would a gaijin eat for breakfast...? She wondered as she opened the fridge. A memory of eggs bacon and toast came to mind as she found sufficient materials to make all of them.

It was with a satisfied smile when she settled down into a chair by the table laid for breakfast. It didn't take long before he stumbled into the room, the bleary eyes and disheveled hair telling her that he just rolled out of bed... or the couch.

"Good morning. I'm took the liberties of fixing breakfast... I hope it'll be okay." She greeted him as he pulled a chair and slumped in. "Itadakimasu"

She took a chomp into her toast, it was certainly different than her normal mornings of rice, fish and tea... She chewed for a few moments before finally breaching the subject he probably wanted to talk about. "You wanted to discuss what happened yesterday?"

____________
OOC: Itadakimasu: It means something like 'lets eat' or 'thank you for the meal' and it's polite to say before a meal.

 

[Ahren1]

Adrian looked down at the breakfast for a moment in quiet surprise before glancing back up to the once again dark-haired woman at the other end of the table. No one had made breakfast for him in... many years, and now this girl he had barely known 12 hours was doing so? He knew people in Japan put a lot of weight on being polite, and he had saved her life, but it was still unexpected.

"Breakfast. An American one... You didn't have to, but... thanks..." Oddly enough, it seemed as if Adrian was avoiding the question at first, despite his eagerness to figure everything out the previous evening.

Haruka shrugged, "The materials were there. So I used them. I've never really made an... American breakfast before... You're not a morning person are you?" She asked with a bit too much cheer in her voice for the hour it was in the morning.

He took a few moments to sample every portion, chuckling softly as he tapped the fork on the table as he swallowed. "It's... quite good actually..." He stated before looking up from his plate back to young woman. "I'm whatever person I need to be... but... had a bit of trouble sleeping last night, is all..." Adrian quickly glanced back down at his plate. He had kept one eye open nearly the entire night since he couldn't be totally sure the tracker had been ditched. After a bit of silence while they finished breakfast, the blonde man looked up to Haruka with a pensive gaze. "Let's go outside a minute, I need a bit of air..." He finally spoke up, not really saying the question on his mind. As he guided the girl downstairs, they stepped out the door into the cool morning air where Adrian proceeded to slip out a cigarrette. This was followed by a sigh as realized he no longer had his lighter. "Shit... You don't have a light do you?.... Sorry... Course not."

She eyed the cigarette held between his lips for a moment before plucking it and the original pack from his pocket. Taking a step back, she flung the pack as far as she could and watched as the cigarettes flew out of sight. "It's a good thing I don't have one. Smoking is bad for you." With that, she sauntered forward through the still quiet streets. Adrian blinked in utter confusion which was only worsened by Haruka apparently taking lead again; Walking away from him casually.

The blonde man quickly caught up, looking slightly annoyed. "Yeah listen, thanks for the advice, but I know that already."

"Then why do you still do it?"

He paused for a minute as if he had an answer but couldn't really word it correctly. "Because I feel like it..." He responded vaguely. "Anyway, we're supposed to be talking about you..."

"Alright... so what about me?" She continued with her rather straightforward responses.

Adrian was torn between scolding her about the cigarrettes and just asking what needed to be asked. The latter was definitely more important. "Exactly. What about you? Always going around on your gut instinct. I'd argue that's riskier than smoking."

She sighed, she knew that the question would come sooner or later... and he had a right to know. Without answering the question, she stopped by a lottery stand and asked for three scratch cards. The man at the stand handed her 10 to choose from. With her eyes closed, she waited for that intuition that vaguely preferred one over the other. From there she picked three cards. It was like a magic trick, the way she turned to show him the three cards, and then scratched off the film. It was only took a few seconds before she handed back the cards to be informed that all three cards had won cash. She turned around and handed Adrian the 7000 yen cash she'd won, knowing that the man at the stand still watched her with a touch of surprise. "Call it extreme good luck if you will... Or a sixth sense."

She hesitated a moment longer before she finally spoke softly, taking that step of faith to trust him with the information she'd been reluctant to admit. "They... they said that I'm a precog."

Adrian watched with a bit of an eye-roll as Haruka chose the scratch cards. His expression turned a bit more serious after each one turned out to win something. Still, she hadn't done anything impossible. Luck? He didn't really believe in that. A sixth sense? Even less so. As he stared at the money she handed him and admitted to being a 'precog', Adrian just stared back with his piercing sapphire eyes. "So... what, you're telling me you can see the future...?"

"No..." She drew out the sound with even more hesitation. "I... I don't see everything, and I can't see everything." Her voice dropped even lower as she tried to find the words to explain, "I can only occasionally see things that will directly happen to me, or someone connected to me."

Adrian sighed softly. She sounded quite serious, and he couldn't deny she had made some quick decisions that were definitely in the realm of 'improbable' like running through alleyways blindfolded. He couldn't help but be a bit skeptical nonetheless. Still, Haruka was in danger. That part was genuine, and he had still agreed to protect her. "So this is why 'they' want you. Can you elaborate a bit more on who 'they' are?"

"I don't think they are a single group. Otherwise I'd never had the chance to get away. "I know that 'they' were having issues with the group that controls Yokohama.... so that would be the Inagawa-kai. I don't know the original group that took me. They've been careful about what names they've dropped." Haruka's voice got softer and softer as she spoke, almost reluctant to remember the time she spent confined in her cell. "And you? Just who are you?"

Adrian hesitated for a moment. She'd been honest with him, as far as he could tell. Would it be right to show her the same courtesy? What if she resented him for it...? "I'm... a locksmith." He spoke finally, stopping there to gague her reaction to that first.

She arched a brow at the simple answer, "Really. Is that.... all?"

"It is now..."

"And it's common knowledge for locksmiths to be able to handle packs of rioting Yakuza." Her voice dripped with a touch of annoyance as she pressed for the information he was withholding. "So what were you before that?"

Adrian stopped their short stroll and looked Haruka directly in the eye. The street was thankfully still quiet, but his voice was low and intimidating nonetheless. "You don't need specifics nor is it really any of your business, but when you came up to me, I guess you had a vision, right? I probably really was the only one who could save your life then... There are more important matters at hand. Namely the fact that they've seen me now, and I don't think I can take them all on..."

"What do you suppose we do about that problem then?"

Adrian glanced down at the ground wishing he had a better answer than what he was about to give. "I'm not so sure. I'm not used to protecting people... My own 'gut' is telling me that you should probably get away from me... Get out of the country and get a new identity..."

"Will you help me? I'm not leaving your side. It would be dangerous... for both of us." Haruka replied, seeming to almost ignore the part where he said she should stay away from him.

Adrian observed the young girl for a few moments in silence. What about her made it impossible to say no when she asked for help. What about her made him want to stay by her side? Likely because he knew they'd find her again, and he was the only chance she had. "I'll do my best..." Out of nowhere, he chuckled and shook his head. "Hideo-san is going to kill me... We should head back. I'm sure the tracker was in your clothing now, but even so we don't have much time until they find us... Couple days at best. I'm going to make some calls and hopefully stall them as well as get us out of here before that happens..."

 

[VampiricTouch]

"The boys found a car in the suburban district of Totsuka, from the damages the wreck looks like it belongs to the gaijin." Kaibara reported passively, as if he never saw the half dressed girl being groped on Hideki, the Oyabun's lap.

"So, did the car pick up any leads on them?" Hideki asked before lathing his tongue from the base of her neck to her ear as the girl tried to hide the cringe of her distaste.

"They found the name it was registered under. Turns out it’s some average salary man as instead of the gaijin we’re looking for. They’ve been grilling him for information-"

He was interrupted as his radio came to life and chirped a scratchy–“Kid finally spilled the beans. We’re sending a few in to confirm the target.”

~~~~****~~~~​

It had been a peaceful two days. Was this what it was like to be ‘free’? It was too good to last…. The quiet mornings where she fixed breakfast… was too easy to slip into and believe as normal. Money was easy to come by and she took the liberties of picking up another copy of the books she’d left at the university before they’d taken her.

It was that night she woke up in a cold sweat as the choke hold of her visions returned to haunt her. They were coming. She rolled out of bed to find Adrian, and discovered the couch empty and cold. The blanket was still folded as if he’d yet to sleep in it.

She ran through the apartment, throwing open the doors in search of him and found nothing. Finally, she ran down the steps to Hideo’s shop, “Adrian? Hideo, have you seen Adria-“

She stopped short to see Adrian, along with Hideo in the back of the shop. The expectant looks told her she'd intruded upon a serious conversation.

“They’ll be here soon…” She summoned the courage to break the silence as the pair turned to stare at her with askance.

 

[Ahren1]

Back in America, this would have been much easier. In Japan, Adrian was a ghost. That was the way he wanted it. That's how it had been, until Haruka came along. Did he resent her for it? No... After all, it wasn't her fault she was being hunted, or that he had been in the wrong place at the right time. If there was anyone to blame, it would be himself. He agreed to help her and he took her home. Everything would have been over with had he just walked away or left her somewhere else. He wasn't emotionless, and he would have felt guilty, but he would have moved on. One of the reasons he was so good at his past profession was because he had the ability to not let emotion get the best of him.

So why this time? Was it his subconscious informing him that his new life was an absolute bore? He wasn't really a huge thrill seeker. He'd rather be alive.

Or was there really something about her?

There wasn't really a lot of time to dwell on it. Adrian spent the last couple days re-establishing contacts, and that wasn't easy after he had gone through a lot of trouble to disappear. If it weren't for Hideo, he might not have been able to secure their ride out. He hadn't been able to speak with Haruka much lately, but she was surprisingly trusting that he would save her; Never once asking just what exactly his plan was. Could she their future was safe, or was it the lack of any predictions that made her feel secure? Regardless, their safety wasn't assured, even if they did manage to get away. All Adrian could do was hope some of his old contacts were... forgiving about his sudden disappearance.

"Good thing I saved some money. I have a feeling I might have to bribe some people just to get them to talk to me again." Adrian sighed as he looked down at two small booklets in his hands. The light in the back room of the Tea Shop was dim, but it was enough to make out the details. This would work for now. It had to.

"At the very least, you could rent a nice hotel room for yourselves, hmmmm?" Hideo responded, wiggling his eyebrows.

"This isn't a fuckin' honeymoon..." Adrian glared in response, causing Hideo to laugh which only served to annoy the blonde man further.

"But I can see you would not mind!"

"Geez, Is there some sort of creepiness quota you have to meet once you're an old man or something?"

Hideo finally stopped laughing to scowl which resulted in a smirk Adrian couldn't manage to hide. "Respect your elders!"

"I'm sorry!" Adrian quickly replied before allowing his smirk to fade, once again looking down to the booklets in his hand. "You sure you don't want to come?"

"I have a good thing here. Besides, I burned my bridges there. I would only slow you down."

"They'll find out I was here anytime now..."

"Then you better get going!" Hideo smiled slightly, showing no concern for himself. Adrian had to give the man credit. He had handled himself on his own quite well despite his past reputation... Before Adrian could add anything else, however, Haruka's concerned voice could be heard from the shop.

“Adrian? Hideo, have you seen Adria-“

She stopped short to see Adrian, along with Hideo in the back of the shop. The expectant looks told her she'd intruded upon a serious conversation.

“They’ll be here soon…” She summoned the courage to break the silence as the pair turned to stare at her with askance.

"That's why we're leaving sooner." Adrian replied without missing a beat, holding out a passport and plane ticket to Haruka. "Guess I'm really taking you home, this time." He added as she likely had noticed that the plane ticket took them to America. Miami, Florida to be more specific. Haruka looked as if she was going to keep her opinion on this matter to herself. It was hard to read her, but at least it seemed there were no objections. Not like she had much of a choice. If they stayed, they were just in for more running and hiding, and Adrian didn't know where else to go.

After gathering together one medium suitcase of luggage along with his briefcase, they were as ready as they could be. No weapons. They were going to the airport after all. The last thing they needed was to cause a stir. He could only hope that the Yakuza wouldn't follow. As the pair headed out the door, Hideo called to Adrian once more. "Bet you same as before that you'll be back here within a year!"

"Yeah... You're on." Adrian smirked back to the older man before rushing out with Haruka. Hideo sighed heavily and returned to the back room. Well.. That was that...

 

[VampiricTouch]

The flight was a quiet one. They had both been watchful of their surroundings and her relief was almost tangible when the taxi pulled away from the airport.

How long she was safe here, she didn't know. How long would it take before the yakuza found their trail? Would they risk tailing them to a foreign country? Did their reach extend this far? She grimaced and took reign of her wandering thoughts. It was pointless to worry about things she could not control.

Haruka's eyes wandered over to Adrian sitting beside her. His arm was set against the window, hand propped against his chin and fingers drumming his jawline. Despite the relaxed posture, his eyes were hard and jaw set, as if he too contemplated what would come. Slowly, her fingers inched across the distance between them, covering his hand with her small one. When he turned to look at her in askance, she quietly answered, "Thank you."

The taxi pulled to a stop in front of an apartment complex, deposited it's cargo and sped off to find more work for the night. The air was humid as she followed Adrian to what would be their new haven. Lights hummed as they lit up a few of the doors. Others flickered intermittently as if on the last dregs of life. He walked with familiarity through the courtyard to door 107, the light there was dead and the metal plated numbers could barely be made out. Unlocking the door and kicking it open, he walked in. She hesitated a moment before following him.

The apartment was small. In the darkness, she could barely make out the kitchenette along one wall and the couch and coffee table along the other.

The lights did not work.

"I'll get the electricity started tomorrow, for now get some sleep" He motioned towards one of the doors at the end of the room. It was ajar and the shadow of a bed and table could be seen.

He dropped his briefcase by the couch, about ready to drop into it before she stopped him.

"Take the bed." She said quietly, her hand on his arm. "You don't sleep well on the couch, and you need the sleep." Her hand lifted to brush just under the shadows that were under his eyes.

"I promise not to molest you." Her smile broke the tension of the moment, her hands lifted free from him in a carefree display of surrender before she turned to close the front door. She picked her way through the darkness to the bedroom before tossing back the word. "Much."

~~~~~~~~****~~~~~~~~​

It was the dream again. The vision. The same one she'd had for the last year of her captivity. The clarity of this vision had always been vague. Mere shadows of people, but now... The vision had never been clearer.

She was alone. Running through the alleys of a foreign land.

Cornered. Again.

The man that approaches her is nonchalant. "You know Haru-chan. It makes little difference to run. We know how you work. Your paths are blocked. You know that better than anyone." His hands lift in a perfect picture of goodwill.

"We don't have to make this difficult. In fact. Your friend is already keeping company with us. Though from what he tells me it's been a few weeks since he saw you." His voice was sinisterly sweet and the fact that he was a shadow in her dream made him far more ominous. "Here. Take a look."

He handed her a tablet, the monitor lighting up his face. When she backed away from him, he shrugged and placed it on the ground. It was only after he stepped away that she moved forward to pick it up and look at what was displayed on the screen.

It took her a moment to recognize what she stared at. Adrian's broken features, bruised face came into focus, sideways. A soft groan told her he was alive as she choked back a sob. This was the first time she had seen the monitor in such clarity in her dreams. It had always been the understanding that whoever, whatever she saw was related to the man that had saved her. And because of her, he was there. In this predicament.

A heel came down against his head and a shadowed face came partially into view. "Now Ms. Haruka. Why don't you play nice." A gun cocked and came to press against his temple. "And I'll think twice about sending him to hell."

Her shoulders sagged in defeat and the tablet dropped onto the pavement and cracked. Her dark eyes bleak on the image that continued its live feed. The man and his team came back to surround her, clicking handcuffs to her wrists and ankles.

"We've secured her." He chirped into his radio.

The radio on his shoulder crackled and responded. "Good. Now Ms. Haruka. I've thought about it. And I think an example is in order so that the lesson will stick. This is what happens when you involve other people into your escapades."

The gun went off as she screamed and bolted up in bed.

 

[Ahren]

Adrian barely spoke on the flight. It was an enclosed space with no escape options. He hated being in that position. He hated the way he had to eye everyone else on the plane while wondering if they were a tail for himself and Haruka. If she so much as got up to use the restroom, he'd watch her carefully. Likely anyone who noticed probably wondered if he was just some rich white man who went to Japan to woo some submissive foreign bride whose life he'd control every second of. Thankfully, there had been no signs of anything of the sort. Once in the taxi, he felt a bit more relaxed, but still sufficiently paranoid. As he gave directions to the cab driver, he had to stop himself mid-sentence from speaking in Japanese, which the Caucasian driver merely responded to with a raised eyebrow. America again. He'd have to readjust, but it was home so it likely wouldn't take too long. Haruka, on the other hand, was in for a bit of a culture shock. She didn't speak English very well yet, and she'd need some time before she was fluent enough to get by on her own.

Admittedly the newly formed partners in crime didn't have much of a plan, but the young Japanese girl had initially said that they were together "till death do us part." Was he still supposed to be taking that literally? At the moment, it didn't matter. He'd bring her to a safe spot and they'd discuss the next step together in the morning. At this point, Adrian was dead tired. He'd barely slept at all in the past week, and the jet lag wasn't doing him any favors either.

His idle stare out the window and his train of thought were both broken when he felt the soft skin of her fingers slide over his hand. She expressed her gratitude genuinely. The look in her eyes was that of someone who knew their life was saved by a person, and it was very surreal to have someone look at him in such a way. In fact, he wasn't even sure how to respond, so for now he merely nodded while offering a slight smile. Adrian was glad she was alive. She was still pretty much a stranger, but she was not someone who deserved to be hunted or abused or tortured or whatever the Yakuza had planned to do to her. She was special...

As Adrian approached the door to the apartment complex, he did so casually, as not to alert anyone watching that he had reason to act paranoid or suspicious. That wasn't to say he wasn't keeping his eyes and ears sharp for anyone planning some sort of ambush. Still, he wasn't too concerned. This was a safe spot for a reason. It was essentially never used, and only merely checked upon every couple years to make sure it hadn't been broken into or burned down or some other equally pointless incident that would make the safe-spot suddenly not so safe.

Thankfully it was there, and was untouched since his last visit. The air inside was stale, but for the most part it was a serviceable stop. Naturally the electricity had been shut off long ago, and they were quite fortunate this was one of the cooler months of the year, as a room without air conditioning in Miami may as well be a death sentence.

"I'll get the electricity started tomorrow, for now get some sleep" He finally spoke up, gesturing to the bedroom before preparing to take the sofa once again.

Rather unexpectedly, he felt Haruka gently touch his arm.
"Take the bed." She spoke softly, as if the sleepy nighttime atmosphere was already settling in. "You don't sleep well on the couch, and you need the sleep." Her hand lifted to brush just under the shadows that were under his eyes.

"I promise not to molest you."

Adrian was a calm person who was able to take sudden changes in high stress situations in stride, but even he admittedly did not expect such a comment. He chuckled softly and glanced off to the side as she disappeared into the bedroom, only to throw out one final word. "Much."

"Thanks, I was really worried." Adrian replied softly, more to himself than anything. So it seemed he would be sharing the bed. He wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. It had been a while since he had shared a bed with a woman without it being for a romantic encounter, and sleeping alone had been the most common situation for him otherwise. The blonde man shrugged to himself. It was just sleep. There was no need to over-analyze it.

Adrian undressed down to a t-shirt and shorts. It may have been November but it was Florida, therefore not unlike a summer month anywhere else. One more thing was needed before settling off to sleep, however. He approached the sofa and opened up the cushion. Reaching into the tattered foam, Adrian withdrew a Baretta M9 pistol and a magazine of rounds. After a quick inspection and load, he entered the bedroom. The bit of moonlight that shone in from the window cascaded over the thin white sheets Haruka had settled under, having tossed the comforter to the side on account of it being too warm. It was then he was reminded that she really was beautiful, and it was kind of a shame her previous comment had been in jest. Regardless, he didn't plan to leverage the situation in his favor and take advantage of her in any way, but he had to admit he enjoyed her company...

Adrian took his side of the bed and stuck the gun under his pillow. He placed his glasses on the small nightstand and then proceeded to lay on his back, staring at the ceiling for a few moments before closing his eyes. He'd try and actually sleep this time. He needed it. For the first time since he had met Haruka he felt safe enough to do so...

The former-locksmith's comfortable slumber was suddenly interrupted in the middle of the night by a scream and movement beside him. Without a second thought, Adrian grabbed the gun under his pillow and drew it out, aiming it toward the doorway and angling his body closer to Haruka protectively. It didn't take long to realize there was no actual intruder and she had likely been woken by a nightmare.

Adrian lowered the weapon and placed a hand upon Haruka's shoulder. "Hey, hey, it's all right... Just a dream." He tried to comfort her quickly. Sometimes coming out of vivid nightmares was a terrifying experience and it could take a moment to realize you truly were fine. Adrian placed the gun on the table and rubbed his forehead for a moment. The headaches were starting, likely since he hadn't had a cigarette in a while...

 

[VampiricTouch]

The gun shot still rang in her head. Pitched into the darkness, her body heaved. She flinched at the touch on her shoulder, turning wildly to push it away as Adrian backed away. It took a moment before her eyes adjusted and she realized the vision had ended.

More importantly, he was alive, his hands raised to prove he wasn't trying to hurt her.

"Oh.... Oh my god.... you're-you're alive..." Her relief was tangible.

Her hands, clammy and shaking with fear, reached for him, as if to confirm to herself that he was still there, and he met her half way. Still beside her. Not another vision. or dream. So shaken, she didn't notice that her cheeks were still wet. That she'd been crying. That she still was crying.

"I'm alive, yeah... Whatever happened was just a dream. It's all right." His eyes adjusted to the darkness and he reached to gently wipe the tears from her cheek. "Are you okay...?" The tenderness in his voice was unlike him, but this was different. It felt natural to try and make her feel better.

"You don't understand...." A hoarse whisper, "It's not just a dream.... They happen. They come true. They.... " Her voice trailed off. She shouldn't have involved him. Shouldn't have pulled him into the whirlwind that would threaten to encompass her life.

"They're visions." Her hand reached up to hold his that touched her cheek, her face leaning into it before letting it drop to her lap.

Adrian was silent for a moment. Her predictive abilities had to be taken into account. It was a bit worrying, but he had no plans on letting her know that. "Guess I'll just have to work extra hard to make sure this one doesn't come true then." He replied with a soft chuckle. "Besides, you don't know it was a vision for sure..."

"I - It was - " She stopped short of telling him that she knew visions from dreams. His bravado was strangely reassuring. He had no idea, but for now.... perhaps it was better this way.

"Just... just don't leave." She settled for that. A soft whisper, barely heard in the room as she held both his hands in hers. If he ever wanted to know what she saw... he would ask. It wasn't like she had other information.... she didn't know anyone else in her vision.

He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her in an effort to prove he wasn't going anywhere. "I won't." He whispered in response. Did he even know what he was saying? The plan was to get her a new identity, a new home, and part ways. His life was too dangerous for her, and all things considered it wasn't surprising if she saw a vision of his death. So why did he also want her to stay?

He was lying to himself to claim he didn't know why. He was beginning to feel something for Haruka, and that was the part that frightened him. Going back to a normal life may never be an option, and even if he had saved her once, he wouldn't forgive himself if remaining by her just ended up getting her killed later on. This was becoming a situation he was struggling to find a solution to.

He pushed the thought aside. It didn't matter now. He was still protecting her and would continue until it was no longer necessary.

"Do.. you need anything?" He asked, still holding her and finding that he was rather enjoying the human contact. Such a thing was rare for him these days...

Her shoulders slowly relaxed at his reassurance. "No... I'll - I'll be okay." A soft muffled voice came up. "Sorry for waking you." She made an effort to smile. A broken chuckle as she continued. "So much for letting you get a good nights sleep"

~~~~****~~~~​

She sauntered into the room. Escorted by his men, and not the least bit cowed by the ones sent to find her services. In fact, one might say that they were unsettled by her.

He liked that about her.

It helped that she was easy on the eyes. The blouse was cut low, enough to show an inch of laced trim; the slit in her skirt, high. The necklace drew attention to the cleavage, the slit to her long legs. Easy on the eye, was an understatement.

"Natalia Steele." He stood and started even before she had reached the front of his desk. "We were - "

"Skip the pleasantries", She ignored the hand, slid the manilla envelope to her side of the table and dropped into the chair in front of him. "How much?"

The entire room bristled with tension.

He took a deep breath and sat. His hands steepled before him as he answered, "Two hundred million."

Natalia swiveled the chair back to face him as she leafed through the first few pages. "Double it." Green eyes framed by blonde hair finally lifted to meet his. "Two hundred up front. Two hundred for her location when I find her, and then we can talk about how much it takes to bring her back."

______________________
OOC: Btw, for the people thinking 200mil is a bit too excessive, convert it from yen to dollar.

 

[Ahren]

He stirred, and her eyes opened. She'd been awake, in a half conscious moment of peacefulness. These moments were rare. It helped that he was there. His eyes blinked open only to shut again once greeted with the light from the nearby window. The Florida sun was in full force, as usual, but the the feeling of a warm figure beside him convinced them to open once again and remain that way. She had curled up beside him, taking the arm he had outstretched hostage as well. This was not a bad way to start the day.

"Good morning." Her face tilted to look at his.

"Ah.. have you been awake long...?" He uttered tiredly, still in the process of waking up.

Her head shook as she yawned and rubbed sleep from her eyes. "Was just drowsing... I was comfortable." He merely nodded in response. It was comfortable, no doubt about that.
"Did you manage sleep all right after...?" He cut his sentence off there, as it was obvious what he referred to, anyway. She rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling. "Yeah. Visions only come... at most once a night. Thankfully. Otherwise I'd never sleep." There was a humorless chuckle. "Sorry I woke you. Catch up much on sleep?"

He shook his head slightly. "Don't apologize. You can't help seeing what you do. I planned on staying beside you even if you woke up like that a dozen more times. Though even with that it was still the best night of sleep I had in a while." He chuckled, a bit surprised at that fact. "I've always been a bit of a restless sleeper so I hope I wasn't waking you also..."

She glanced back at him with a peculiar look on her face before she grinned. "Anyone ever tell you that you're surprisingly sweet?" She shook her head and continued, "Never mind. Don't answer the question. Lets find food.. Breakfast calls."

Her grin forced one on him as well, even though he was usually good at maintaining his composure. He also was rarely "sweet" so it was beginning to seem like this girl was bringing out sides of him he didn't show often, or at least get a chance to show. "Right. Breakfast. I like the way you think. I wonder if that diner is still nearby... Good waffles... Well then, shall we?"

The diner was intact, appropriately retro, and generally well-kept which was a relief, as it would have been incredibly embarrassing to take her to some bug-ridden shack. Adrian sat on his edge of the booth looking a bit pensive. He wasn't sure if he wanted to approach the touchy subject of her vision from the night before.

"What's on your mind." Observant eyes watched him from across the table.

"If this is too uncomfortable for you I'll understand, but... are there any details you can tell me about that vision last night? If something is going to happen to me, to us.. then perhaps it would help to have some clues..." He asked quietly, making sure it wouldn't be overheard somehow.

"I was there. They showed you to me... to make a point. So that I wouldn't do this again..." Her voice quieted as she put down her utensils. Quietly she described the vision. A pen and napkin drew a brief outline of her path down the alley. Memory served to show that she'd reached the fork in the road she had been running on.

"Who is they? Do you have any idea?"

"I can only see the faces of people I've met, people that are connected to me. If I've never met them, or if I've only met them in passing or in unmemorable circumstances, I won't see them. They want me back there. They spoke Japanese. Not English."

Japanese. So they hadn't lost the Yakuza. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Adrian thought in silence for a few moments, then asked the question that concerned him the most. "Did you actually witness me die?"

She looked away. "I don't believe you would live with a bullet through your head." There was a slight tremor in her hands as she responded.

"Hey, a guy once lived for like ten years after getting a huge iron rod clean through his head..." He chuckled softly, attempting, perhaps in poor taste, to bring some humor to the situation.

But as he saw her shake, his smile faded and he reached over the table to put his hand onto hers. "It was a woman." Her hands stilled under his and her gaze returned. "There was a heel to the shoe. Most men don't wear shoes like that... I can't say much for voices... Sound gets distorted in this medium. Maybe next time the vision comes... I'll get a better feel for the sound."

"They always come true?"

"No. They are a warning of what is to come. They can be avoided."

Adrian let out an audible sigh of relief. The dire visions now had a silver lining. They could be helpful. "I'd still prefer you not to have them at all, but at least that means we can use the visions we get to our advantage..."

"I believe that when I stop seeing them.... The vision is either occurring, has occurred, or has been averted."

Adrian sat back in the booth once again, raising an eyebrow. "You believe?"

She took a breath. as her eyes focused on her hands before her. "I saw them kill my sister. The week I stopped dreaming about her death, they came in to tell me she'd died in... an accident. I believe that if the conditions of that night had not been met, they would not have had the opportunity. Perhaps it might've occurred on a different night, under different circumstances. But it would not have happened the way I saw it."

Adrian nodded slowly. "I'm sorry about your sister. I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure the same doesn't happen to you..."

"They aren't interested in killing me. Too valuable for that."

"Kill you, use you, it doesn't matter. They won't get to do it." He glanced back down at his plate, finally resuming to eat. "But let's worry about right now, okay? We're going to probably need to do some shopping..."

 

[VampiricTouch]

Natalia had localized the girl’s disappearance down to the tracker’s radius. That was the easy part. Figuring out how she disappeared, who she was with, was harder.

Hard. But not impossible.

Given that the tracker had been on Haruka’s clothes, Natalia quickly narrowed down the possibilities to the three stores that carried clothing. And then tapped their security camera data base.

An hour of footage later, she found her prey. Child’s play.

It was five minutes of a clip that she kept on replay as she watched the girl run in, check out and pay.

The girl would’ve changed.

A few clicks brought up the footage that monitored the customers entering and exiting the changing room. There was the girl, running into the changing room and moments later, coming out.

This sort of a job wasn’t worth two hundred million.

She stared at the monitors as the clip replayed itself. What made it worth two hundred million was the gaijin. A wildcard. One who’d proven to be more of an obstacle then her employers had anticipated.

She slowed down the clip. Frame by frame until she caught the man Haruka had joined up with. A few frames forward and he turned. A perfect capture of his face on the camera.

Adrian Lande

She always did like it when she could bill her employer for her own personal interests. Especially when it came to interests of vengeance.

She had traced Adrian’s trail to Japan. This was where his trail had gone cold. Had he been in the U.S. things might’ve been different. There she had connections. They had connections. But here, in a foreign land with fewer resources, he had vanished.

Now that Ms. Haruka had his help, what would Adrian do...

Natalia stepped onto the balcony of her room. Lighting up a cigarette, she leaned against the wooden rail to watch the night life of the city. She really hated smoking. But, it was a reminder of him. The taste it left on her palate was a reminder of the hatred she felt. A connection for her. To get into his frame of mind that she knew -oh-so-well.

She breathed, a puff of smoke rising lazily from her lips.

What would Adrian do?

He’d leave the island. She put out the cig with a grin. She knew she kept the pack for a reason.

 

[Ahren]

Adrian's eyes fixated on the cell phone resting on the small coffee table along with the half-eaten sandwich and perspiring beer bottle. He hated waiting. He hated being at the mercy of someone else's meticulously planned schedule. One they would 'fit him into' whenever was most convenient for them.

He hated not knowing how much time they had.

But he really had no choice but to follow their orders at the moment. He needed their help. Keeping Haruka adequately safe was going to take resources. Only his former employers... no, his employers could provide such resources without having to deal with miles of legal red tape.

The first day following the vision, Adrian had considered they split up. That had been the plan after all. Haruka's abilities could theoretically protect and provide for her, but he wasn't sure how reliably. The vision also made him seem like the prime target, so perhaps distancing herself from him was merely another safety measure. Attracting trouble was sort of a habit of his. On the other hand, he didn't like the idea of leaving her alone. He had knowledge and skills that could protect her in ways merely seeing the future could not. Even if someone sees that their ship is going to hit an iceberg, it does not necessarily mean they can avoid it in time.

Suggesting any sort of split didn't thrill Haruka either, and asking why she even wanted to stay near him elicited the somewhat cryptic answer
"Because you need me."

He neglected to ask her to elaborate. His affection for her was growing, but he often wondered if he was letting his emotions affect his reasoning a bit too much. Still, however she meant it, it sounded as if they did in fact need each other. That had been two weeks ago. He continued to watch the phone, idly chewing a toothpick. It seemed if he made an attempt to buy cigarettes, Haruka would just take them away. It was beginning to get rather annoying. Did she have another vision of him dying of lung cancer, or something?

--A week ago--

After deciding that they would stick together, at least for the time being, and taking a few days to settle in, Adrian made the call to his 'old friends.' It was difficult to tell how they would feel about his return, since such a thing might require emotion. He sighed as he shut the door of the rusty phone booth and inserted his coin. There was a brief chuckle as he realized he nearly forgot the number, but it soon came back to him. He hadn't been gone that long, but it felt like ages.

The other end rang, and he promptly hung up. A few moments passed and then the phone rang. After three rings, Adrian picked the phone back up once again.

"4 8 15 16 23 42." Adrian enunciated clearly.

"Lande." A male voice replied.

"Scratch."

There were a few moments of silence.

"Does this seem like the sort of organization that would allow you to leave and return whenever your heart desires?" Scratch asked in a smooth yet intense tone.

"Admit it, you missed me."

"Spare me your droll repartee and get to the point."

"I need a few things, nothing major, but the sooner the better."

"Philanthropy is not a common practice for our syndicate. Things will come at a cost."

Adrian sighed, though softly enough to where it would not be heard over the phone. "Then reinstate me and we'll talk about what I can do for you."

More silence followed, and it was the first time in a while Adrian had felt genuinely apprehensive.

"...I'll discuss it with the committee. Await a direct call."

The line went dead before anything else could be said.

 

[VampiricTouch]

Green eyes stared at the portfolio before her. The jolt of the plane jarring the papers into a gentle series of tremors. It had taken her longer then she’d liked to find out where Adrian had been headed with the girl. Given his lack of resources, she was impressed at how he was able to hide his trail.

A nuisance at best. She still found him.

Miami Florida.

She grinned as she remembered Miami weather - It was a fitting place to turn up the heat.

The plane lurched as it landed, and long moments later, rolled to a stop. With her luggage in tow, she switched her phone back on.

Time to call in some favors.

~~~~~~~~~~~******~~~~~~~~~~~​

“Lande”

“You’re one lucky bastard. We’ve recently acquired some... assets from one of our affiliates. The council decided that they have use of you. ”

A brief pause for breath.

“You’ve been assigned to the team escorting it in. We can discuss details after the mission. You’re on probation until then.”

The line went dead as he turned to glare at the woman in the room. She unsettled him. Her green eyes unreadable. Always plotting.

“There. Satisfied?”

“Very.”

~~~~~~~~~~~******~~~~~~~~~~~​

Haruka hefted the pistol. The weight of the weapon was heavy in her hands, the ramifications of learning this weapon, heavy on her heart.

Squeeze the trigger.

She had to remind herself as she willed her hands to steady themselves.

-crack!-

Her hand jerked hard with the recoil. Steadied. Squeezed.

-crack!-

It was a stark percussion. A hollow sound with a grim purpose.

-crack!-

It was terrifying to know that she could hurt someone so easily. Kill.

-crack!-

She emptied the magazine and set the pistol down and pulled in the target. The smattering of holes that missed their target made her grin. She’d never kill anyone. Not like this. Perhaps it wasn’t a bad thing.

Looking back as Adrian came in, she showed him her results. “I need more practice.”

 

[Ahren]

Adrian chuckled at Haru's statement of the obvious. More practice indeed, but that was normal. She'd never fired a weapon before, after all. He approached and pulled in the target sheet, looking it over. "Well, you may have missed the actual target but at least this time you put some holes in the paper, so it's a start." He said with a bit of a raised voice as she still had her ear protection on.

She grinned, "I'll keep working on it."

She shook out her hands, the weight of the weapon and the recoil making them ache. "Do you ever get used to this...." Her eyes turned from the weapon, to the target and it's vague outline of a human being.

"You do. I mean, you get used to the weight and the force. If you're asking if you ever get used to shooting at people, then that really depends on the person." He shrugged, taking the gun from her and reloading it. "Your grip is still too low and too lose, and your shoulders are too far back. The recoil is causing you problems and you end up jerking too much upon firing. That's what's causing your accuracy to falter." He continued.

"Watch me."

Adrian returned the target to its position and took a stance almost as if he was mounting a skateboard. He then held the weapon firmly, his hands were placed high on the handle, and his shoulders slightly forward. Quickly he rolled his finger over the trigger and released six shots in succession. Each one hit the target in a vital position. He retrieved the target sheet and pinned up a new one.

"Let's have you try once more." Once again, he reloaded the weapon and handed it back to Haru, this time, he wrapped his arms around her and placed his hands on hers, helping her mirror his previous form. "It might feel like your balance is off a bit at first, but when the weapon is actually releasing, this helps compensate."

Her heart rate thrummed when they touched. It made the lesson harder to remember. She had to take a deep breath before sighting down range at her target.

Focus.

A force of will brought her mind forward to the grim task at hand. His larger hands steadied the slight tremor in hers. Her finger tightened to pull the trigger. "Gotta squeeze...." She told herself and relaxed. Then squeezed.

The gun went off and the bullet tore another hole into the target sheet, this time connecting with the target in a considerably better spot. A smile etched across Adrian's face as he released her hands and took a step back. "Much better. And good job remembering about squeezing the trigger. Movies have tossed around 'pull' way too much and it has contributed to an annoying amount of handgun misconception. I can't say I'm complaining though, as if people are shooting at me I'd prefer they be less informed..."

She looked back at him, then at the target. Aiming as her posture lost the finesse he had supported into her frame. The pistol cracked and a hole sprouted back where she'd been firing earlier. She muttered a soft curse under her breath as she repositioned herself. Working to remember how he had placed himself, more importantly, how he had placed himself beside her.

He chuckled softly. "It's okay, take your time. Line up the sights, then focus on the front sight. Watch that, because right now your target isn't going anywhere." He took a moment to step forward, taking her hands once again just to momentarily reposition them properly. Whether or not she needed it was debatable, but he wasn't opposed to getting close to her when he had a good excuse. He did eventually step back again, however, as it was important that she learned this without having him to literally lean on.

She worked to remember the posture. The touch of his hand reminding her the points she missed. Another crack. Another hole. Each one marching itself closer.

"Nice, not bad..." He offered as a mild compliment. There was still a lot for her to learn if she was ever going to be trading shots with another person. Hopefully that would not be the case, but given what they had been through, it helped to be prepared. "Ready for a break?" Setting the weapon down, she nodded.

Adrian donned a pair of sunglasses as they began their stroll back to the apartment from the firing range. He remained silent for a portion of the journey before stating a possibly concerning piece of information. "I have a job coming up. But it's the sort of thing I'm familiar with, so it shouldn't be a problem. It'll probably be best if you remain in the apartment when I'm gone."

She was a half step behind him. Quiet as she thought over the ramifications of a new mission. It was good that he had work. He needed it. But she worried. "Give me a comm-link. I'd ask to be able to see what you're seeing, but that might be pushing my luck wouldn't it." She glanced over at him before facing forward again. "But if I can at least talk to you, hopefully, I can intercept anything bad before it happens."

The tenseness Adrian had in his shoulders loosened upon hearing Haru's suggestion. He had feared she'd insist on actually joining him on the mission, and he'd have to flat out deny such a request. A comm link was a lot more reasonable, though who knows if his bosses would allow this random girl to spy in on the mission. He'd have to explain why, and then more people would know about her abilities, which seemed like the opposite of what they wanted at this point.

"We'll see..." He replied, offering no real confirmation on her idea. Truthfully, he wanted to keep her away from this job and any job. Protecting her and teaching her how to protect herself were one thing, but he never intended on dragging her completely into his life. It wasn't safe, precog abilities or not, and as... nice as her companionship would be, the thought of her dying as a result of his actions terrorized him.

 

[VampiricTouch]

Haruka settled into the back corner of a Starbucks. After discussing her plans with Adrian, she’d gotten his expected route for the mission. Armed with a venti mocha frappucino and a laptop, she was ready to try her own experimenting of her abilities.

Plugging in her white earbuds, she looked, for all intents and purposes, like a student listening to her music and working. Opening the lid on her machine, she pulled up a map of the area. A small blinker on the map indicating Adrian’s location. It had taken all her arguments to convince Adrian to let her tag him with a GPS and commlink.

She hoped it would pay off.

~~~~~~*********~~~~~~​

Natalia picked up her cappuccino as she waited. Her machine had already tapped into the security cameras she’d need to spy on Adrian’s route. Having insider information was always a wonderful thing.

With her eye on the clock, she sampled her drink, leaving a dark red print on the lip of her cup.

It was almost time.

~~~~~~*********~~~~~~​

Haruka stared at the monitor. Burning the lines on the map into her mind as she focused on the blinking dot that was Adrian. Minutes passed as she concentrated. Hoping to summon her capricious abilities.

Nothing.

Sweat beaded across her brow as they furrowed, but not even the assurance that he would be safe bubbled forth. She almost gave up.

Twenty-two minutes into the mission was the first flash of her vision. Different than her normal expectations, but a vision nonetheless.

“Adrian.” She murmured into her mic. “We need to take a detour. Something’s wrong. The next intersection should be 4th Ave. Make a right.”

She gave him concise directions to an alternative path before she dropped off. Her head pounded as she finished her sentence. Perhaps there was a reason why it was so difficult to invoke her abilities, but now was not the time for such things.

~~~~~~*********~~~~~~​

Natalia was suddenly thankful she’d gone through the extra precaution of tapping into the team’s communication line. She had set men like chess pieces to intercept the individual shipments that were being escorted. Not enough to cause real damage, but enough to ruffle their feathers.

For Adrian, her welcome was different. Packing heat and numbers, she’d left them waiting for him. Watching her plan fall into place as he disappeared off one security camera to appear moments later on the next.

And then he was gone.

She bolted straight up from her seat as she glowered at the monitor, scanning the footage, hoping she hadn’t missed him in the crowd. Her earpiece chirped as she heard him announce his change of plans. He had been so close. Two streets away...

Why?

There was no time to ask questions. With a growl, she called her boys in, giving instructions to relocate camp for the ambush.

~~~~~~*********~~~~~~​

Haruka felt sick. Her face dangerously pale as she braced herself to watch the map and it’s small blinking dot. She had to pay attention. But now, it was getting much harder.

Another flash of the map came as she gripped the table. Her body was shaking and her mouth paper dry.

“Change of plans.” She croaked into the microphone, she paused trying to summon moisture into her mouth. “Take a left on your next street. This time. Don’t call it in.”

 

[Ahren]

After a bit of convincing, Adrian finally agreed to allow Haruka to keep a com-link open with him during the mission. His hesitance was mostly for her safety more than anything else. If his organization discovered what exactly she was then he'd have quite a bit of explaining to do, and he couldn't even be sure they wouldn't try to just use her for their own gain. It was a bit ironic seeing that he was essentially doing that now, but she had chosen to help him and was in no way being coerced to do so.

The mission was simple. Escort a man with a briefcase of important material to a downtown research facility for its secured analysis. Adrian's probation didn't allow him access to the knowledge of the contents, which was often worrying. All he knew was that the man he was escorting was privy to such information and was being extremely gentle with the case, more so than if it were just some important documents or a hard drive.

Four teams were sent in different directions, each with their own briefcase and escort. One was the real thing and the rest were merely decoys. No resistance was expected, but no chances could be taken. A specific map was laid out with an abstract path to deter followers. Vehicles weren't used to reach the location as they were too easy to keep track of.

Adrian's hair was long enough to conceal the earpiece which linked to Haruka, but she remained silent for the first portion of the mission. Nothing out of the ordinary had come up so there had been no need for her input. Soon her voice entered his ear.

“Adrian.” She started suddenly. “We need to take a detour. Something’s wrong. The next intersection should be 4th Ave. Make a right.”

Any detours made for any reason had to be called in, and so he did, patching into his home base and informing them of the change in plans. Upon being questioned what brought about this decision, Adrian gave some bullshit about noticing some suspicious figures that seemed to be following his movements a bit too closely. The mission director reluctantly agreed and Adrian gestured to his carrier to the new path.

Adrian was now in alert mode. Haruka wouldn't have told him to make a change if something wasn't amiss. Another block later, Haruka issued another detour, and told him not to call it in. Immediately he knew that someone had tapped their communications. Messages were being sent from the other teams that were now encountering hostiles. They were seemingly being dealt with easily enough, but Adrian was not about to make any assumptions that things would be just as easy for him. The mission lead radioed in, wondering why he wasn't taking his path, but Adrian gave no response. The illness in Haruka's voice was beginning to concern him, but this wasn't the time to get distracted. After one more detour, the checkpoint was reached, and the carrier was lead into the building. Adrian sighed with relief as he listened into the reports. The lead's voice came over the com.

"Lande, you made two unauthorized detours. Explain yourself."

"I think our line was being tapped somehow. If I called in my route changes I probably would have run into the same trouble or worse." Adrian explained.

"We'll determine whether or not that is the case. You're to follow procedure unless otherwise notified."

"I like to think my track record earns me a little faith."

"That may have been the case in the past, but you do not have the authroity to make such calls any longer. Perhaps when... if you are fully reinstated. This will be discussed with the committee... for now, await your next mission."

The line cut off there and Adrian sighed. The mission lead was likely just irritated he lost control of things. Scratch knew Adrian well, and trusted his judgement, so it was unlikely his actions on the mission would actually end up hurting his chances of reinstatement. He exited the building via the underground garage in a transport assigned for him and made his way back home. His worry about Haruka was causing a knot in his stomach, not only because of how she sounded but he hated leaving her alone at all... It was strange... Worrying about someone else. It was strange but he also liked it. Not the worrying part, but having someone to worry about...

 

[VampiricTouch]

Natalia was furious. How had he escaped, bypassed her men?! She’d accounted for everything, his last location before he called in, the most likely route taken from there... And then nothing.

Disappeared off the radar.

"FUCK!!!!" Her fists pounded against the table as she glowered at her screen. The customers at the cafe turned, startled at the profane outburst from such a beautiful woman.

“What’re you looking at?!” She snapped at the nearest man that had turned to look at her, quickly turning away and leaving the cafe as she directed her anger at him.

“That’s right. Mind your own fucking business.” Rage made her ugly.

“Head to the destination. You already know the target. Dispose of him. In the event that you and yours are unable to do so, make sure you leave a tracker on him.”

She didn’t think they’d succeed. She knew Adrian.

Her laptop slammed shut as she stormed out of the cafe. Her cappuccino left forgotten on the table.

Some things, you just had to handle yourself.

~~~~****~~~~​

Haruka breathed her relief as she clicked her laptop shut. Sweat beaded across her brow as her ears roared. Her breath was labored and the onset of a headache pounded a dull beat in her temple. She rested her head against the wall behind her. Letting the relief wash over the tension in her system. It was over.

Adrian would be here soon.

The vision came. Even when she wasn’t trying. Wasn’t working to see.... The side street was deserted and they were waiting. Adrian! The bullets came fast. Not fatal. *What was fatal was the sniper. In a moment of reprieve from the gunshots around her-him, a single shot that resounded in her mind before everything turned red.

Her mouth was paper dry. It silenced the cry, dampening it into a guttural groan as she gathered herself to act on what she saw.

“Ad-” She croaked. Swallowed and then tried again. “Adrian... There’s an ambush. Three. Maybe four. Probably four. Semi-automatic. And a sniper... be careful...” Her words trailed off, spent.

She’d exhausted too much in her support of him.

She didn’t know how long she was there like this. With the sound of her own breathing louder than anything else she could hear. She was surprisingly calm, considering how wrecked she was feeling. Perhaps it was because she didn’t see herself in the vision. She knew that she would make it. But Adrian? She struggled to her feet, pushing the laptop into her bag as she stumbled out of the door She turned to find a secluded corner behind the establishment. Reviewing, reliving the vision she saw as she braced herself against the wall.She had to find the sniper. She had to warn him.

The sound of bullets came through her com-link.

It had begun.

Her fists clenched at the sound of the scuffle of the fight. The over arching boom of gunshots deafening. No doubt the cops would be arriving soon.

And the silence.

“Sniper. Left, on the roof of the high rise.” Her calm broke as she cried out into the earpiece. Slumping against the wall, she sank down to her knees. The laptop thumping unceremoniously down her side.

“Please make it.... Oh god, please make it” A soft whisper. A prayer to a god she didn’t believe in. A mantra for his well being.

 

[Ahren]

Adrian loosened his tie as he trekked back in the direction of Haruka, muttering to himself at his scolding despite his successful completion of the mission. "Asshole thinks I'm some sort of fuckin' newbie or something..."

The ragged voice of Haruka suddenly echoed into his still-active comlink. Ambush. He should have been more careful. However the most concerning part was the mention of a sniper in the mix. He simply had no way of combating an opponent at such a long range right now, especially if there were others ready to engage him.

He readied his pistol, keeping his eyes sharp as he turned the corner only to be met by a small group of men with weapons primed. These men, however, were convinced of their ambushing status, and were immediately thrown off by shots in their direction. One man was hit instantly, collapsing to the ground as his gun went off uselessly. The others returned fire while moving toward cover but Adrian's relentless assault combined with impressive marksmanship took down another before any sort of defensive position could be taken.

Haruka's voice came through quickly and sharply once more, providing him with the most crucial piece of information. “Sniper. Left, on the roof of the high rise.”

Adrian's head quickly turned in the direction of the nearby apartment building noticing a shadowy form before immediately ducking behind another building out of the offending roof's line of sight. The shots ceased momentarily as the remaining men seemed to also lose vision of their target. They glanced around frantically, not noticing a figure land behind them from the nearby building's fire escape. A quick strike to the kidney of the gunman on the right caused him to keel over in pain. He barely had time to register the butt of the gun coming toward his face before it struck him into unconsciousness. The other man now alerted raised his gun only to have his arm gripped and twisted by Adrian, forcing the weapon out of his hand and onto the ground. A strong kick to the chin helped knock him, allowing him to join his friend on the ground.

He knew he had heard Haruka whisper something during the skirmish but he couldn't make it out. Now out of immediate danger he could focus on another troubling matter which was her clearly exhausted voice. "I'm coming." He spoke with promise as he weaved his way through the streets toward the coffee shop, all the while keeping the figure upon the key high rise from getting any sort of look at him. Who the fuck was orchestrating this, and why did they seem to have something against him in particular? It didn't matter so much at the moment. Haruka did.

--

Back home, Adrian sat upon the edge of the bed, quietly observing Haruka as she slept. When he had found her she was barely conscious and sweating profusely. It was clear she had expended just about all of her energy trying to assist him. It worried him, and he was beginning to think using her abilities in such a way wasn't worth the potential harm it could cause having now seen the effects. Then again, it was entirely possible he would have died if not for her warnings. As he watched her he smiled slightly. There were plenty of things he wanted to say but it would all have to wait.

For now, he just wanted her to recover...

Adrian laid back on the bed and stared toward the ceiling for a while. Had anyone ever pushed themselves so hard for his sake? He continued to wonder before drifting off to sleep himself.

 

[VampiricTouch]

Time was hazy in this state.

Darkness. With no concept of time, or place she floated in darknesss. How long she was there, was uncertain. Nor did it seem to matter. Afterall, what was out there beyond the darkness?

Adrian.

From the deepest recesses of her consciousness, the name came back to call her. Adrian. Adrian would be waiting.

Her eyes opened. She sat up from the bed. Confusion clouded her as she wondered how she ended up back in a bed. After all, there was the cafe, and the mission, and Adrian.

The warmth beside her reminded her that she wasn’t alone. The street light filtered in through the window, as she blinked to adjust. It took a moment before her eyes focused in the room, dimly bathed in gray. Just enough for her to realize that she was home. With Adrian.

Her hands coiled into the sheets when she remembered. Was Adrian okay?

She leaned over to stare at him, the steady rise and fall of his chest was enough to tell her that he was alive. Careful not to jostle him from his sleep, she shifted her position on the bed. Her fingers reached to brush the stray strands of blonde hair out of his face. It was strangely calming. To be here, with him, like this.

All the battles outside. The gun shots, the sirens, the visions... the self preservation, all of that seemed so far away. Unimportant, compared to the here and now.

 

[Ahren]

Adrian sat up from bed and sighed softly, running a hand through his ruffled hair. A few moments were spent idly staring at the wall until he glanced over to Haruka. It came as a surprise when he noticed her eyes were open and a sense of relief washed over him. He tried to keep his reaction subdued. "Haru... How.. uh, how you feeling...?"

She stirred when he moved, not realizing that she'd dozed off watching him. The nickname made her smile as she nodded, "I'm fine. You? Were you hurt during all.... that?" She didn't specify what that was. He would know

"I'm all right..." He began before smiling a bit as well. "Thanks..." He added, suggesting he was only fine because of her. "You had me worried, though. I didn't realize how dangerous it was if you pushed yourself so hard. I don't know how comfortable I am with you doing it anymore..."

His point made her grimace. The experience wasn't something she wanted to repeat either. But..."I - " her mouth opened before she stopped herself. "This... this was an experiment." She paused for a moment before continuing.
"I've never tried to impact when these... visions would happen. I never wanted to. Her voice dropped low as she run a hand through her short crop of hair. "At least not til now."

"Well you likely saved my life... Guess we're even now, huh?" He chuckled softly. "But I'm not sure we can consider the experiment a success. You were out a couple days... If it stresses you out enough for that sort of result then it's not safe... We can talk about that later, though. Is there anything you need? You must be hungry at least." She nodded furiously at the mention of food. She was starved. Adrian smirked and got up from bed, pausing to face Haruka before exiting the room. "Stay comfy then, m'lady. Breakfast will be ready shortly!" With that, he disappeared from the bedroom, smacking his forehead as he moved into the kitchen. "M'lady? Where the fuck did that come from?"

She stared at his exit for a moment longer than normal before she swung her legs off the bed and followed him out of the bedroom. She made her way to the bathroom, unable to wipe the silly grin off her face as she cleaned up. A quick shower, and a change of clothes later left her feeling so much better. Tossing the dirty clothes into a hamper in the corner, she trailed into the kitchen. Leaning against the wall, she watched him for a moment. Finally, she stepped close to hug him from behind, her wet hair leaving a damp spot along his back. "Thank you."

He smiled, not responding at first and just enjoying the warmth of her body against his. Eventually he spoke up softly as he glanced back. "Ah well... don't thank me yet, I haven't cooked pancakes in a while and you'd be surprised at my ability to mess up simple recipes..."

She chuckled before stepping back. Pulling up a chair by the kitchen table, she straddled the seat and propped her elbows against the seat back to watch him. "I'm sure it'll turn out fine."

Eventually he laid out what he had prepared onto the table for her. Pancakes, eggs, bacon. Nothing fancy as he never considered himself much of a cook, but it looked as if he had put effort into it just the same. "Probably won't be as good as what you made for me the first time but hopefully still acceptable..." He glanced over to Haruka and looked contemplative for a moment. "Maybe we should take today off. I mean.. not worry about our situation for a little bit... Is there anything you'd like to do...?"

Her attention was on the food he held in front of her. Nevermind the comments. Large eyes watching the plate descend in front of her like it was the last meal she'd ever have. Her stomach growled it's impatience as she attacked her eggs and bacon. Practically inhaling her food. "You." She spoke between bites "Are a wonderful wonderful man, and..." another bite "A good cook. I'm not sharing. This is too good." She gave him a wolfish grin as she started cutting into her pancakes. "Okay... maybe I will. If you ask nice."

Adrian did his best to stop from laughing, but it was no use. "Don't worry about it. This moment is yours. But thank you, I'm glad it's satisfactory... Anyway... maybe we should take today off. I mean.. not worry about our situation for a little bit... Is there anything you'd like to do...? Besides stuff your face, that is?" He smirked.

She started from her food. Looking up from her plate with surprise. "I - Can - Can we do that?" It was a soft query of disbelief.
She wondered how long she'd been captive. And the short time she had with Adrian that allowed her this sort of freedom. Her mind raced at all the things that could be done, to be normal again. Finally her gaze returned to his, "Can... can we go to the beach?"

"Oh man..." He sat back in his chair in thought. Sand getting everywhere. Blistering sun. Salty water.... Haruka in a swimsuit? "I think that could be arranged."

She polished off the plate. "I didn't think I ever could be... live... normal again"

"Not sure I'd consider what we're doing 'living normal', but if we can't ever take a moment for ourselves then what's the point? So.. you know, fuck it. Let's do it." He shrugged. A couple years ago he never would have considered such a thing. He took care with every step. The even slightest chance of something going wrong had to be accounted for, and going out in public when she, and now apparently he, were wanted, was a risk... but as he looked at Haruka he came to the realization that such a life, just hiding and living only to stay alive, was bullshit. If you couldn't live to be happy, even for a bit, then what was the point?

 

[VampiricTouch]

Given the weekday, beach goers were sparse. The sun warmed her face as she stood on the beach, the waves lapping against her feet as she let her toes sink into the sand. She took a deep breath, taking in the smell of brine carried on the wind that whipped through her short crop of hair.

This was what freedom smelled like.

She was radiant when she turned back towards Adrian. With a grin, she ran back to him, kicking up sand in her wake and pulling him to his feet. “Come on. We’re here aren’t we? Don’t just bake in the sun! Get wet!!”

She dragged him into the water. The waves dampening her one piece swimsuit as it washed over her waist. Each step took them further out to sea only to be brought back in with the rush of waves that crashed through them.

Her hand never left his. Even when dunked underwater, when they resurfaced for air, when she shook out the water from her hair, or rubbed her eyes with her free hand, her small hand held tight to his.

In a lull of waves, she stepped in close. A moment of seriousness in the surprising frivolity of the day. “Adrian... you know. I can’t thank you enough. For defending me this far, putting your life on the line for... well a complete stranger. And now this. A moment, however brief, to forget all of that. I owe you everything.” She hesitated, before she leaned in and pressed her lips to his cheek. “Thank you.”