[log] Akutsu, Yukimura, Zaizen, Kenya, Yuushi, Kamio
Date: Day 012 Rating: G Summary: Yukimura checks up on Kamio for himself.
"You know, you didn't have to come with me."
Yukimura's tone was light -- affectionate -- as he sat straddled across his idling Viper, its engine a low, throaty purr in the otherwise quiet night. Seated on a ridge overlooking a small farm, another bike murmured beside his; Yukimura could just make out the lean silhouette of his travel companion from the corner of his eye and the burning flicker of the man's cigarette butt, a white trail of smoke curling in the faint moonlight.
Junon was behind them. They'd skirted the edge of the city on their ride across the plains and Yukimura had no plans to enter the city itself. He was too well known, his face easily recognized among the underground elite even this far from Midgar. The last time he'd been here, of course, he'd been with the rest of The Eight and the business had been official; this time… Well. His business was by no means personal, if he were honest, but it was also no business of The Eight or, in his estimation, of anyone else. And while he could easily handle it by phone call, recent attempts to breech his security made him wary.
Akira Kamio had called three days ago, at least, and explained why he had suddenly disappeared to Junon. Over the phone, Yukimura had accepted the explanation with his usual grace -- if only to not arouse any suspicions should the wires have been tapped.
Besides, there were certain things that should only be said face to face.
In the house below, lights flickered on in the front rooms and upstairs, figures crossed in front of the closed drapery. The doctor's office seemed to have quieted down for the night. Good, Yukimura breathed, using his legs to push back the mass of the bike so he had room to turn and race down the ridge.
"An' you didn't have to leave without backup," Jin Akutsu groused under his breath, knowing it wouldn't make a lick of a difference to his boss At least he wouldn't be staking out that stinking Chocobo stable this time. Kamio wasn't getting away.
He sat hunched forward, arms dangling off the bars of his bike in much the same way the cigarette was dangling out of his mouth. All he had to do was wait for Yukimura to move and lead the way before he bothered to stir a muscle. Since he was here as primarily unneeded backup--cause sure his boss didn't need backup, but if he wasn't going to take Gin, he sure as hell wasn't going anywhere alone--he could sit this one back and enjoy the show.
Yukimura gave a soft chuckle, followed by a melodramatic sigh. "I never get to have any fun," he complained, gunning the bike's engine.
Besides, he pretty much had to sneak out, if only to avoid Rufus' man and the R&D people from ShinRa that had been giving him headaches. He certainly didn’t want to explain where he was going to them. At least, not until he'd had a chance to talk to Kamio himself and possibly get a cover story straight. Even if the redhead wasn't going to admit to being in the reactor, Kamio was smart enough to realize he was going to need to cover his own ass.
Badly.
And Yukimura had done all he could without drawing suspicion. Even this venture, if found out, would raise Rufus' eyebrow. But what was life without a few risks every now and then, hm?
"C'mon on, then," he smiled over his shoulder. "It looks like they've cleared out for the night."
The bikes roared down the gentle slope, Yukimura using his weight to maneuver the Viper under him with practiced ease. Minutes later, he was skidding the bike to one side, laying it over enough to catch the weight with one extended leg. The engine cut off; he knocked the kickstand on the other side of the bike down, shifting the hulking beast again to rest on the slender metal before dismounting from the bike.
Yukimura fiddled with the cuffs of his gloves as he boldly approached the front door of the house. If anyone in the house was concerned about two motor bikes suddenly stopping in front of their home, they gave no indication; no one peered out through the curtain-covered windows, the lights hadn't gone off or on anywhere in response. But the man who lived here was a doctor, the young Don reasoned; he and his family were probably used to unexpected visitors.
Well, good then. If they had no reason to be suspicious… Yukimura smiled faintly as he raised his fist and rapped hard on the front door.
Hikaru was the one to fling the door open, just as Akutsu was coming up behind Yukimura, lighting another cigarette. The teenager scowled at them both, barring their way in. "Clinic's closed. Can't the two of you read?" He pointed at the sing in one of the windows that he'd only recently made up and put there, in his quest to make sure the doctors didn't simply drop dead of exhaustion.
The doctors he'd been trying to shoo and nag to bed unsuccessfully before the knock on the door had come. But, damnit, they'd both been up at the crack of dawn and hadn't taken any breaks Hikaru hadn't forced them to. They were tired, and they knew it, and he knew it, and Kenya and Ryuusuke needed to go to bed. So, he wasn't going to bother with two people that weren't visibly sick or injured. And hey, they didn't cure mental illness here So he slammed the door in their face, feeling justified in doing so.
Well, wasn't that cute?
In a rabid pit-bull puppy kind of way.
Yukimura chuckled gently under his breath and turned to glance at Akutsu, the man only a shadow with a lighted ember glowing at his lips. "Do you think we could take him home with us?" he wondered. "I've been wanting a new guard dog to sic on Hyoshi-kun." And then, unperturbed by their previous dismissal, he raised his fist and knocked a second time.
"Maybe if ya neutered him first," Akutsu groused under his breath, a plume of gray smoke breaking the darkness as Yukimura knocked. Back in the house, Hikaru listened to the knocks with a pissed off frown, watching to make sure no one else was coming to answer it.
Of course, if the moron outside didn't stop with the knocking altogether and get his ass out of here, someone was going to come to investigate. After the fourth knock, Hikaru got too paranoid and fed up and yanked the door open again. "WHAT! I told you we're closed!"
"I'm sure I could arrange something," Yukimura answered, and shifted to grab the door just as the young man on the other side threw it open again. Putting on his best benign smile, Yukimura raised an eyebrow at both him -- and the wet-haired blonde that had come up behind him.
"Hikaru." The blonde's voice was flat, not quite annoyed but also not too pleased with the young guard dog's attitude. Though if the dark rings under his eyes were any indications, then the man was also exhausted to boot.
Yukimura could use that to his advantage.
"My apologies," the young Don started, only partly addressing the snarling youth still blocking the door way. "Doctor Oshitari?" The blonde nodded, and Yukimura tilted his head to the one side. "I'm sorry to disturb you so late, but we're looking for an associate of ours and were told that he is currently under your care. I wouldn't bother you but… I'm afraid it's urgent business."
"You're supposed to be in bed," Hikaru hissed at Kenya, hands on his hips. He didn't know what ticked him off more, that these assholes were trying to barge in, or that Kenya was up again.
In another part of the house, Yuushi's eyes drifted open, instantly aware that something was amiss. His arms tightened around Akira, dropping a kiss into his hair. "Someone's here," he breathed softly, hearing the words drift through the hall and his door.
"I needed a shower," Kenya argued under his breath, before turning his attention back to the man at his front door. He was holding the wooden plank open easily, yet neither he nor his companion made a motion to come inside. "Ah, well, we don't normally have a lot of patients staying here…" Kenya started, scratching the back of his head.
"His name is Kamio," the strange man smiled. "Akira Kamio."
"Seiichi Yukimura," the man introduced. "I'm very sorry, but could I please see him? We need to speak."
"Sure, sure," the blonde yawned. "Hikaru, for gods' sake, let 'em in," he sighed, turning to head back up the stairs. "I'll go see if I can wake him up." Once at the top of the stairs, he turned left in the hall to the guest room that his cousin and his cousin's lover slept in. Knocking on the door, he started with a clear, "Yuushi. Akira. You guys still up?"
Hikaru's voice followed as Kenya walked off, loud enough for the doctor to hear. "Good. Take him with you when you leave." With that, the teenager stalked off to see if he couldn't bully Ryuusuke to bed yet.
In Yuushi's bedroom, he clutched Akira closer. "...Yukimura."
Kamio had come awake the moment Yuushi's grip on him shifted, ingrained instincts rendering him alert to the smallest shifts in his lover's breathing. "Babe, calm down," he murmured, though hearing that name…
Damn. He'd been sure Yukimura had believed him when he'd called. What was the man doing here?
Gently, he pulled out of Yuushi's grip as Kenya knocked again. "We're up, hang on!" he called back, and tossed the covers back. Grabbing a pair of sweats from the floor and a plain white t-shirt, Kamio pulled them on, then flung open the door. "What?"
Kenya leaned against the wall sleepily, and yawned. "Someone's downstairs to see you. Said he's name's Yukimura."
To his credit, Kamio didn't even flinch in front of the weary doctor. "Yeah, okay. I'll be right down. Just give me a minute." Letting the door close again, Kamio drew a slow breath and ran his fingers through his hair, then grabbed his boots from the floor and sat down the bed.
"Are you going back with him?" Yuushi moved behind him and tugged him back against his chest, unwilling to let him go. "Don't go. Stay here, Akira."
Kamio's breath hitched a little, Yuushi's arms curled around tight. "No," he started. "No, babe. No. I'm not going anywhere. I just… I don't want to go down there looking like I'm… Ya know," he trailed off and swallowed.
"Babe, it'll be fine, okay," he tried again, voice smoothing over. "I… I don't think Yukimura would just show up here himself if he wanted to drag me back. Shit, he's got people to do that crap, right? And if he showed up at the door, then… It's gotta be important, okay, babe?"
It was a long moment before Yuushi's hold lessened, reluctantly. He knew he had to trust Akira. And he would go with him, and watch Yukimura. Nodding amid his worries, he moved back and climbed off of the bed fluidly, waiting.
He could care less what the Don of Midgar thought of his nightly attire of black sweats and nothing else.
Yukimura stood casually in the front hall, admiring the few decorations that adorned it. Nothing… Ostentatious, he noted, gliding his hand over a table with only a simple bowl of fruit and candlesticks a top it.
Homey, perhaps?
His wandering attention was drawn by heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. The young doctor was leading the way, though Yukimura's attention fell on the familiar redhead behind him. Now that he knew his weapons' expert was indeed ill, the Don was mentally kicking himself for not noticing sooner. Kamio's skin was gaunt, he was thinner than normal, and even his eyes were just a bit sunken.
Truly, he needed rest just as much as the blonde who led the way.
Though another glance had Yukimura raising a curious eyebrow at the dark-haired, shirtless young man who followed at the rear. Well, this was more people than he'd prefer to have around, but… Kamio stepped around the blonde doctor and made a low bow. "Yukimura-sama."
"Kamio-kun." Yukimura's smile thinned a bit. "I'm sorry to have to have disturb you while you're under medical care," he began, watching the redhead's expression as he raised back up. "But I'm afraid this is very important. If we may speak privately."
Yuushi put forth his objection by standing next to Akira, arms crossed over his chest. Akutsu eyed his move suspiciously, but didn't make any of his own moves yet. He was enjoying his cigarette now that he'd tossed the 'no smoking' sign out the door.
Hikaru broke the tension by stomping back into the room, heading straight for Kenya. "I'm getting ONE of you to go to bed tonight, damn it!"
Kenya's attention snapped from the confused look he was giving both Yuushi and Akira to Hikaru. "Hikaru, would you--" he protested as the younger man shoved him towards the stairs. Not that it was doing him much good, really; a moment later, and he was being forced up each step. "Fine!" his voice echoed down from the top of the stairwell. "I'm going to bed, geez!"
Kamio glanced behind him once, then at Yuushi, then finally back to Yukimura. "I… Think this is as private as it gets, Yukimura-san." Because really, he doubted his boyfriend was going to leave him be with the Midgar Don.
Yukimura drew a soft breath, eyeing the strange man once more before relenting. "I'm sure you recall that Jin came to look for you in regards to the Sector VII reactor, Kamio." The Don watched as the redhead paled just a bit at the mention of it.
"Didn't get far either," the man in question muttered around his cigarette, catching the stony look Mr. No-Shirt flicked his way. Oddly unsettled by just the look alone, Akutsu shot him one back, and kept his eyes on the stranger.
Yuushi, at the same time, was engaged in an internal struggle to stay calm. His Phoenix half was on alert, perceiving danger for his mate. It wouldn't allow him to leave, even if he was in danger himself of transforming right in front of Yukimura himself. So he repeated to himself that he needed to trust Akira's judgment, and he needed to remain calm and unemotional until the two left.
Still, despite his current self-control, strands of his hair were starting to very slowly elongate down his back. Thankfully, at the moment it was out of Yukimura or Akutsu's line of sight.
"Er yeah…" Kamio swallowed, adding under his breath, "Kinda hard to forget." Across from him, Yukimura made a soft 'hm' and fiddled absently with the cuff of one glove.
Hell, even with the Don's eyes not focused on him, Kamio's nerves were jumping under his skin. He shifted from foot to foot, scratching the back of his head, before Yukimura finally looked back up. "Kamio-kun," he started again, "I'm not saying that anyone really knows who was down in that reactor, but the fact of the matter remains that someone did. And whoever went down there was also responsible for the death of a creature that was considered Shinra property."
Yukimura paused, frowned. "You know as well as I do how Shinra is about their property."
Kamio nodded, and Yukimura continued, "Good, because whoever it was… They really, really should have taken more precautions in regards to the security cameras. They're very fortunate that the hard drives malfunctioned and erased the data, aren't they?"
Kamio's nervousness was affecting Yuushi as well. Curling his fingers to hide the minute amount his nails were extending, he frowned at the Midgar Don and interjected. "I don't see how it matters if its destroyed. Shinra should be glad it was never publicly reported."
Since Akutsu had kept his eye on the dark haired man, he caught the strange flash that flew across the man's eyes for an instant, and had to blink. What...the fuck, was he seeing things now? Almost looked like the guy's eyes had glowed for a nanosecond...
Yukimura allowed his gaze to slide from Kamio's unnerved expression to the shirtless man hovering over him. "Shinra could easily disavow knowledge of its creation," he pointed out smoothly. "And claim that they were keeping that beast trapped until they could safely exterminate it." Yukimura sighed and shrugged.
He'd spent far too many hours entertaining the R&D people that had trailed in a mere day after the last of Rufus' little pet dogs had shown up in his office. It wasn't even as if the scientists cared that they were drawing attention to the old reactor.
Someone was going to start asking questions. And soon, Yukimura thought.
Still, he continued, "The scientists were very disappointed that there was so little of the corpse left to study, really, but they are very curious about whatever killed it."
Next to Yuushi, Kamio felt his eyes widen and forced himself to take a slow breath.
In his peripheral vision, Akutsu did notice that, and shifted his own eyes back to the redhead grimly. "… Ya did have something to do with it, didn't ya Red?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Yuushi shot back, trying in vain to keep his temper in check as he moved a step in front of Akira. "He's been too ill to even lift his sword."
Kamio's gaze darted over to Jin, only to sharpen and frown when Yuushi stepped before him. He could see the lengthening hair down the other man's back, the way his boyfriend was curling his hands into fists…
Oh hell.
"Ishe, it's fine. Just calm down," the redhead groused, reaching out to tug the black hair meaningfully -- and sharply. If Yukimura or Akutsu noticed this…
Across from the shirtless man, Yukimura only crooked an eyebrow. Ishe?
As in… The black Chocobo racer Ishe? Well… That was unexpected, to be certain. And interesting as well, given how familiar Kamio seemed to be with the man. He'd have to file that thought away for later though, instead turning to shake his head at Akutsu. "Jin, enough please. I didn't come here to throw around accusations," Yukimura said coolly. "I'm sure that on the day that the reactor was broken into, Kamio-kun and his… Companion here had already left Midgar and were on their way to Junon. Isn't that right, Kamio-kun? Ishe-san?"
Kamio opened his mouth, hesitated, and closed it again. Akutsu had pretty much caught him dead in the lie he'd told the other earlier -- and surely Yukimura realized that they had him if they wanted him. Expressions were more telling than words, and even Yuushi's contradicted what he had said. But… It took a moment for all the gears to click in place.
"Yeah. Yes, sir," the redhead agreed, suddenly. "We were… Held up because I can't ride Chocobos that good, even when I'm well. Weren't we, Ishe?"
The black rider quickly nodded, catching on even without the sharp hair tug. Just knowing that Yukimura wasn't about to point fingers--at least not yet--calmed him considerably. But he didn't like the way Akutsu Jin was eyeing him again. "He and Darkwing don't get on very well. It was a difficult trip." Which he assumed was all true anyway, as he'd been unconscious through it all.
Akutsu just went back to smoking his cigarette, taking Yukimura's hint and keeping quiet.
"Uh, yeah. Stupid bird," Kamio added, under his breath, though the words lacked his usual bite. He'd honestly been too distracted himself to pay Darkwing much mind… And Swallow had been there, at least.
Yukimura just smiled and nodded. "I'm sure it was," he agreed, casual, then paused to look around. "As for the nature of my visit, it seems that you are under excellent care here, correct, Kamio-kun?" Kamio nodded, his expression curious. "Clean facilities, good staff?"
Each question earned another nod in turn.
"Wonderful," Yukimura said, tone going pleasant and business-like. "There have been rumors of recent outbreaks of this new strain of Geostigma in other sectors of Midgar. I'm certainly not happy that you are among the afflicted, Kamio-kun; I'm missing my best weapons' runner after all. But… Should any other cases of this appear in our sector, I do feel better knowing that perhaps there is some possible place I can send those who show signs of it. Medical care is hard enough to come by in Midgar, let alone something this specialized."
"Yeah, uh… The doctors here are doing their best to help out," Kamio shrugged awkwardly.
"Good." Yukimura's smile was once again pleasant as he turned towards the door. "However it is late, and you are ill," he said lightly. "So Jin and I will just see ourselves out so that you may rest, Kamio-kun. Ishe-san. Oh… And please stay in contact if you have anything to report, Kamio."
Outside, Akutsu kept quiet until they were well away from the clinic. Straddling his bike and chain-smoking yet another cigarette, he looked over at Yukimura, blowing the grey smoke out into the dark night. "Seen that guy before. Off the track. Can't be too hard to find out who he is." He looked back down at the clinic in the distance, still disturbed. "You're not gonna leave it there, are you?"
Yukimura looked back over his shoulder at the clinic, the lights upstairs dim now, and drew a heavy breath. "For now, I don't think I have a choice, Jin. Whatever -- whoever -- killed that thing in the reactor had to be incredibly powerful.
"Power that Shinra would want, if they thought they could control it."
And the first rule of dealing with Rufus Shinra? Was to never give the man everything he wanted.
"Investigate Ishe with care," he advised. "I don't want to attract any more attention to the two of than absolutely necessary. And… Should you learn that anyone in our ranks has developed the 'Stigma, send them to me immediately." If they could be trusted, then… Well. Yukimura wasn't above keeping an eye on Kamio and his 'friend' indirectly, even if it meant using someone's diagnosis as an excuse to get a plant into the clinic who wouldn't draw ShinRa's attention.
"Come on, now. I'd like to be past the city before dawn," he instructed, gunning the engine of his bike and heading back onto the dirt trails.
Inside, Kamio waited only two heartbeats before quickly stepping forward, wrapping his arms around Yuushi's waist, and pressing his cheek against Yuushi's shoulder blade. "Babe? You gonna calm down or… You wanna go outside for a bit?"
For a handful of seconds, it looked as if Yuushi was going to transform right then and there. The black locks of his hair flew out, extending down to his hips, and his eyes glowed brightly, angry slits in his paled face. Even Akira's voice, the feel of his arms and the warmth of his breath didn't immediately register.
Then, abruptly, he calmed, taking a deep breath. The glow in his eyes faded, and his nails receded, back to normal. His hair visibly shortened, if still longer than it should be. Yuushi stared coldly at the door for a moment, sunk in the feeling that something had to be going on behind Yukimura's benign smile. "I don't like him." He said it bluntly and repeated it, relaxing more with each syllable.
Eventually, he let Kamio lead him back to bed.
It was only then that Hikaru moved from his hiding spot near the top of the stairs. He'd watched it all with wide eyes, taking in everything they said even as he was both riveted and horrified by the impossible physical changed he witnessed in Kenya's cousin. Once they'd left, he crept back up the stairs, too confused and alarmed to go back to his own room. He slipped into Kenya's room, curling up at the foot of the bed, somehow more comfortable in the idea that nothing was going to hurt him or get to him the closer he was to his doctor.