[log] Kamio Akira, Akutsu Jin
Date: Six days after this log. Rating: G Summary: Kamio needs some space; Akutsu wants some answers.
Junon was, in Kamio's experience, a dirty, crowded city. Docks littered the edge of the water, the stink of fish markets permeated around the wharf, and the back alleys were a maze of thugs. He'd made enough deals in dirty little holes-in-the-wall while drinking watered-down alcohol to know the back streets and the slums, at least.
Hell, the last time he'd been in Junon, he'd been stranded by a fever for over a week in an unfamiliar bed in some cheap inn.
But he'd never been near the beaches just past the city. Truthfully, it hadn't even occurred to him that it might be possible to go to the beaches; the land on the outskirts of the city was mostly occupied by private farms and certainly not the kind of place a weapons' runner visited. It was strangely quiet, standing this close to the water's edge. He watched as the waves lapped at the shore, their subtle sloshing the only sound besides the distant caw of unfamiliar birds. The sun was low against the horizon. Kamio sat on the sand just past the water line and hunched his shoulders up as a cool breeze stirred; the fur ruff that lined the collar of his coat itched at his neck.
Six days ago, his lover had died.
The redhead had seen it. The final strike, the mangled body kicked aside by some twisted beast he still couldn't name. But he'd also seen the other man in the air above that beast, gold and blue wings. Fire. It hadn't made sense at the time -- and it still didn't make sense, even if he'd been sitting in a basement laboratory just an hour ago, holding Yuushi's hand while a man who claimed to be the chocobo rider's uncle busied himself with machines and tests. The beeping had finally gotten to Kamio, though, and knowing his lover was at least safe, he'd left the lab and wandered out of the house, past the stables, with no particular destination in mind.
Just... Away. For a little while.
Not far, half hidden by the rock he was leaning against, Akutsu sucked in a long drag of his cigarette. He watched the redhead for awhile. Kamio obviously wasn't on his game right now, he concluded, considering the swordsman hadn't even sensed him near. In fact, the weapons runner looked very preoccupied, brooding even.
Well, that was another part he needed to figure out. He'd only been taking a break from his mission. The past few days had been spent hitting up all his contacts around Junon, gathering information. Apart from that, he'd been staking out the Oshitari place, noting Kamio occasionally leading a huge black Chocobo back into the stables. Didn't Red hate the damn things? So what was he doing taking care of one? And a black to boot. Not a lot of this had been becoming any clearer for Akutsu, and that annoyed him.
All he knew so far was that Kamio had shown up in Junon nearly a week ago with some blonde guy with a green Chocobo. They'd hauled in another guy, a man dressed all in black, carried on the same black Chocobo Akutsu had seen. They'd gone more or less straight to the Oshitari's clinic, and seemed to be staying there. There were plenty of rumors going around the town already. That they were mercenaries on the run, or they'd been running an illegal Chocobo race somewhere and something had gone wrong. There was an odd one about one of the men being a relative of the Oshitari's themselves. All of the rumors seemed to include the man in black having been attacked by a monster. He'd tried to focus on that, but he had yet to catch a glimpse of anyone but Kamio or the blonde.
And if the blonde was really an ex-SOLDIER as he and Yukimura has assumed, he didn't wanna fuck with him just yet. He'd probably have to start working on Kamio himself, and he was considering how best to approach the man when the black Chocobo came running up the beach. He watched as it slowed down and stood next to Kamio, warbling something softly, and the redhead patting it.
He half chuckled under his breath at the sight, and it gave him away. The Chocobo spied him first, and squawked angrily. His opportunity to think up a good approach lost, Akutsu let his arms dangle between his knees, cigarette smoldering, and smirked a little at Kamio as the man turned around. "Yo. Fancy runnin' into you here, Red. On vacation?"
Kamio hadn't been certain whether he should have been surprised or not when he heard the sound of talons scratching at the sand him, nor the soft warble that his lover's Chocobo made as it stood next him. Still sitting on the ground, Kamio had reached up to absently pat against Dark's feather-covered breast. It was... Oddly comforting to have the Chocobo nearby, though Kamio wouldn't admit to that out loud.
The redhead would have been content to just stay as they were for awhile. However, Dark's angry squawk drew his attention to the nearby rocks and a familiar figure leaning against them.
Fuck.
Kamio's eyes widened as he scrambled to feet. "Akutsu?" Fucking hell.Akutsu? Was here? In Junon? The redhead's fingers, still resting against Dark's feathers, twitched uneasily. Part of him wanted to grab for his sword, but that would be foolish -- especially against Akutsu Jin. The white haired man looked casual enough, with his cigarette dangling lax from his fingers. The tip was burned down; if the other had been sitting there, then just by that, he'd been there awhile.
And Kamio hadn't even noticed? Inwardly cursing at himself for letting his guard down, the redhead gave the other half a shrug. "Something like that," he answered carefully.
Kamio's initial expression wasn't very promising. 'Freaked as shit' didn't strike Akutsu as an innocent look by any stretch of the imagination.
And that was a damn shame. He would've like to start thinking that Red wasn't involved in this shit very deeply, or trying to avoid the Boss somehow. But the guarded, neutral look Kamio gave him now told him there was something the redhead was trying to hide. Hell. This promised to be frustrating, and all Akutsu wanted to do by now was just go home to Midgar.
Ifrit only knew what sort of creeps and stalkers were hanging around the brothel in his absence.
"Figured it was you," he commented, keeping his own expression bored as he smoked. "Heard about a redhead comin' into town with some blonde, a guy in black and two Chocobos. Heh, you lose a bet with your friends or something, Red? Never seen you go near one of those birds before." His eyes slid over to the black. Most of his sources assumed the black and the green were yellow racing Chocobos that'd had their feathers dyed. Akutsu probably wasn't any closer than they were, but if size counted for anything, plus the way the thing was looking at him, he'd have to say he was looking at a real black.
What the fuck would Kamio be doing with a real black?
Dark didn't like the tension forming between the two men. He ruffled his wings in agitation and kept close to his rider's mate.
Kamio moved his hand from Dark's breast to his back, fingers absently stroking the bird's feathers as the black chocobo fluffed up his wings and edged closer. He wasn't skilled in reading Dark's moods -- that was Yuushi's concern, normally -- but even he understood the instinctual reaction to the heavy tension in the air.
Fuck, Kamio did not want to deal with this right now. Did not need to deal with it.
Still, he should have expected them to be noticed when they cut through the city. They weren't exactly inconspicuous, not with the Chocobos, and there hadn't been any way to move Yuushi through the city without them. Besides, the redhead doubted Dark would have left his rider. Akutsu had confirmed there were rumors about the three of them, at least; Kamio had yet to venture back into Junon. Hell, this was probably the furthest he'd gone from the Oshitari house in days.
Kamio gave an annoyed grunt, still, at the other man as he chuckled about the Chocobo hovering close the redhead. "He's a friend's," Kamio ground out. "I'm looking after him for a bit."
"Sounds like a bullshit hassle. Hope he's payin' ya." Akutsu kept his replies flippant, still very carefully hiding his cards from his quarry. "Pretty good luck bumping into you here, though. Boss just mentioned you a couple of days go." He kept one eye on Kamio and one on the bird, knowing one or both of them would bolt if he slipped this up.
"He's gotta job for you. Seems like someone broke into Sector 7's reactor. Needs you to help sniff it out." Taking a long drag of his cigarette, Akutsu leveled his gaze on Kamio fully, through the smoke. "Looks like his call didn't get through, huh?"
"Haven't had it my phone on," Kamio answered, honestly this time. Yuushi's uncle had requested he keep it off downstairs, with all the delicate equipment lingering about -- and Kamio hadn't bothered to turn it on the few hours of the day he wasn't interred in the basement lab with his lover. It wasn't like he was in any frame of mind to answer calls.
Nor had he expected any, really. Shinji, perhaps, or Jun, but... He could probably dissuade them just by mentioning something about the 'Stigma.
But the rest of what Akutsu had said -- that Yukimura wanted him to investigate Sector 7 -- had his heart speeding up. Fuck. Fuck. He took a breath, closing his eyes and trying to clear his head. "I can't," he replied, voice even. "I gotta stay here for a bit longer."
He'd figured that. Akutsu sucked in another drag and gave Kamio a curious look. "What, you're gonna tell the Boss you're bird-sitting when he needs ya? Are you nuts?" Of course, if Kamio had a better excuse, he'd love to hear it. Whatever it was wasn't good enough to deny Yukimura's wishes, in his opinion. Unless he wanted to come clean about just what he and his two little friends had been doing in the reactor. "Why don't I just take ya back, huh? Was on my way back anyway. Ran into a dead end up here."
"Look, it's more than just the god damn bird," Kamio snapped out easily enough, his fingers still firm against Dark's feathers.
He'd apologize or something later. Right now, Akutsu needed to think he didn't have any particular reason to look after Dark -- or anyone else. He wouldn't -- couldn't -- mention anything about Yuushi, or as Akutsu probably knew him, Ishe, and of course, he had no attachments to Swallow outside of their shared knowledge of what had happened in the reactor. But going back to Midgar right now just wasn't conceivable.
And he needed to give Akutsu a reason as to why.
One that he would believe, which meant bullshitting up something was out of the question. Even half a truth would be better than no truth at all. Kamio closed his eyes, palm rubbing against his face tiredly, and sighed. "I'm here because I need a god damn doctor, all right?"
Akutsu had a niggling suspicion that he ought to just leave that statement alone. It could be a lot of things, but Kamio looked serious enough that it was obvious this was no normal checkup. And whatever it could be, it was Kamio's business. He didn't want to know.
But...fuck. He couldn't just leave it at that. He knew damn well that even if there was some truth in the redhead's statement, it wasn't the only reason he was up here. And if it was something he'd gotten from the reactor, he damn well needed to get that information to Yukimura. It did occur to him that he might be getting dicked around on this, but he usually could tell when Kamio was outright lying to him.
"Don't look like you're injured," he drawled, flicking his eyes up and down the redhead. "This something one of the Boss's docs can't take a look at?"
Kamio shook his head slowly. "It's not an injury, okay? It's... Something else. Docs' back in Midgar can't do shit for it." Well, probably they couldn't, he thought; he hadn't exactly asked. And honestly, there was probably no point in asking either.
He'd accepted that the last time he'd been in Junon.
GeoStigma didn't have a cure. He'd overheard that much from the Oshitari doctors, along with vague snippets about trying to slow it's advance or something like that. He hadn't caught much, pretending to be asleep next to Yuushi, but it'd been enough for him to be wary of letting on about his symptoms in the presence of the two doctors. Sneaking potions outside had been easier, and even those, he was getting low on. And with Akutsu around... He wasn't going to be heading into Junon for more anytime soon.
Fuck, he'd deal with that later. Right now, he drew a deep breath. His nerves weren't feeling any more steady, and the words nearly choked in his throat. "It's GeoStigma, okay? They can't do anything."
Akutsu's eyes widened a fraction. He was really fucking sure that Kamio was not lying to him. Even if he should have been, what with all he knew about the redhead being in that reactor and then running up here immediately after. So...fuck. Was he missing something? Had the reason Kamio had come up to Junon really have been nothing to do with being in the reactor?
Something felt off. It was driving him crazy, but he didn't want the redhead to shut down on him and run away if he pressed him too directly. Interrogation really wasn't his thing, especially not when it had to be subtle. That was more Yukimura's thing. But if he couldn't get Kamio back down to Midgar, he had to at least try and get as much information as he could. "The boss know about this?" was all he could think to ask. At least if Yukimura knew, he could try to guilt the swordsman into going back.
Kamio shook his head, not bothering to open his eyes and look at Akutsu. "Shinji knows. Jun. Couple of the guys in the Vipers probably got a good idea," he recited off listlessly. Yuushi knew, of course, but there was no reason to call attention to his lover.
Hell, he didn't think most of Midgar even knew he had a lover.
And that was the way that they needed it to stay.
Kamio gave a half shrug instead, reaching over to scratch at the back of neck under the ruff of his jacket. "'s not like I want to announce it to everyone," he grumbled flatly. He'd not even said the word -- GeoStigma -- since he'd first admitted it to Yuushi.
Damn it. Akutsu wasn't a pro at this; he was running out of ways to coerce Kamio without force. Scratching his neck, he stared at the redhaired man for a long moment and sighed. "Look..you oughta tell the boss. Ain't gonna sound right comin' from me. Fuck, at least call him and let him know where the hell you are, yanno? Else he might send Chatty Kathy up here to find you..and ya don't want Blue runnin' around Junon again, right?" Threatening the other with Ibu was probably a low ass blow...but it might give Kamio a healthy dose of 'oh fuck' enough to get in touch with Yukimura.
And that would give Akutsu time to go after the blonde SOLDIER. Cause...hell. He wasn't getting anywhere with Kamio, and he would like to get back to Midgar sometime this century, not hang around Junon forever waiting for a clue to drop outta the sky.
Kamio grimaced at the mention of Shinji.
Fuck, no, he didn't want Shinji coming back to Junon right now -- and certainly, he didn't want the other to get involved in whatever-the-hell was going on with Yuushi. "Yeah, yeah. Fine," he sighed, not wanting to talk to Yukimura either. Not that the man didn't give him quite a bit of leeway, but... No, if they knew something had happened at the reactor, then Kamio needed to keep as much distance between himself and Midgar as possible.
He'd figure out a way to work around it. Later.
After he'd talked to Yuushi, because fuck... This did put him in a position. If he were going to tell Yukimura that he was here for the sake of seeing a doctor? He needed to be able to spout off something that sounded like he'd actually seen a doctor. Still scratching at his neck, Kamio frowned. That wasn't just a regular itch, and he knew it. "Look... I need to get back," he started, shifting his arm to itch along the edge of the bandage hidden under his back. "It's... Acting up again."
"You sure about that?" Not that Akutsu couldn't see for himself. The redhead was practically twitching and scratching at himself. The thought crossed his mind that he could take the redhead back himself and check out his story. "I'll take ya back. Is the place in town?" It made sense to offer, at least. Kamio was a colleague and it'd look suspicious if he didn't want Akutsu to know where he was staying after telling him about his illness. At least that's what he figured.
Damn it! Kamio really didn't want Akutsu near the Oshitari house. Not with Yuushi still acting odd, and the father-and-son doctors not actually knowing about his illness.
But it'd look bad if he refused to let Akutsu go with him.
He gritted his teeth, ostentatiously at the irritation that the itch was causing him, and shook his head. "Doc doesn't live in town," he answered shortly. "'s on farm, not that far from here. Geez, Akutsu, I can make it back. I'm not so fucking helpless I need someone to walk me there."
Akutsu sensed he could press the issue, make it about Kamio's impairment. Only the chocobo, who had been silent up until now, if not keeping itself imposed between them, seemed to sense it as well. Dark, alarmed over Kamio's state, simply was not going to tolerate the platinum-haired man pressuring the redhead any longer. He let out a furious squawk at Akutsu, feathers ruffling and standing up, giving the black a rarely-seen intimidating look.
To his credit, Akutsu sat there and took it with only a brief look of surprise at the violent display. But he had no time to protest when Dark reached around and, exerting formidable power, plucked Kamio up by the back of his jacket and literally tossed the slender swordsman up onto his back.
Kamio jerked his hand away from Dark as the chocobo gave his angry squawk at the other man. "Whoa, Dark, calm dow--" he started, only to cut off with an angry yell of his own when he was suddenly hoisted into the air and deposited on the bird's back.
"DARKWING!" he snapped, flailing momentarily on the bird's back before latching his arms around its neck. Fuck. Fuck, he still wasn't used to sitting on damn chocobos. "I'm not a fucking invalid, damn it!"
To Akutsu, the answering warble sounded a lot like 'Too bad'. He didn't have a chance to say or do anything else, however, as the black suddenly leapt away from him and sped off, carrying the redhead back to the clinic. He watched them go, scratching his neck in irritation as he reached into his pocket for his cell phone.
Yukimura was going to want to know what the hell was going on up here.