Homeplot (2)

[babyviper]

Chapter 1:
The Empty Room in Osaka

Apartment 217, in a nondescript block of an apartment building on the outskirts of downtown Osaka, Japan.

Laying on a bare floor, a clunky mobile phone began to ring. Despite the amount of money such a phone would cost in the late part of the eighties, before the big rush really began, it wasn't even the most expensive item in the room. The real treasures in this tiny, bare apartment had to do with what was in the closet, which bore a simple combination lock.

The ringing seeped into O-Ren's consciousness even as she struggled to wake up. How late had she been out last night? That wasn't like her, and surely Angua and Dean would have had questions. Was she sick, then? Why the heavy haze around her? The fucking ringing was beginning to wear itself out, too.

O-Ren snapped up from her futon so quickly that she had to brace against the window. She was no longer even a bit sleepy, so aware she couldn't keep her hands from shaking as she patted herself down. Same self that had gone to bed the night before.

But a look around confirmed this was her old apartment. Only a few pots to boil ramen in. Blood spots she'd never bothered to clean up. Locked closet. Mobile phone ringing on the ground. She'd cut the regular telephone line herself, preferring this.

It stopped ringing, and O-Ren took a deep breath. "What the fuck."

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[lonewolflives]

The ground was harder than she expected, even landing as lightly as she always did, and she almost didn't hear O-Ren, caught up in watching a car. She knew it was a car, she'd seen one not working in a scrapyard, and in motion in one of the few films she'd seen, but it was still faintly strange.

She mentally shook herself. "Which way?"

[babyviper.livejournal.com]

"This way," O-Ren said. It seemed funny to her that they might be safer speaking in English. She half-sprinted to a sign that neatly laid out the nearest train stations, tracing the lines with her finger. "I should still have some money, enough that we won't have to sneak on," she told Arya.

She blinked, finally seeming to realize something. The way Arya had looked at that car.... "Have you ever seen a train?"

[lonewolflives]

Arya was staring at the lines, trying to interpret them the way O-Ren seemed to be.

"Where would I have seen a train?" she said defensively; she'd gotten so used to knowing every corner and feature of the island, to being Arya Underfoot again, that suddenly being somewhere entirely strange and new again, being lost, rankled some.

So she didn't add that she wasn't sure what a train was, precisely. Something like cars, only you couldn't steer, she thought.

[babyviper.livejournal.com]

"The island has done stranger shit than trains," O-Ren said bluntly. "And I don't know much about where you come from." She glanced around. "It'll be better when we get to Tokyo, but here, there's nothing I can do to make you disappear. The only way to blend in is to stand out as a gaijin. It will keep us both safe. No one will try anything in the open, especially if they think you're an American."

She pulled a small, bright Hello Kitty wallet from her skirt pocket, and counted out the money. "If we get separated, use this to get to Tokyo." Realizing that she'd been more bossy than usual, she flushed a little. "You're not the one they're trying to kill. I... I'd rather have you chance it on your own, if we need to, than see anything happen."

[lonewolflives]

"We're not getting separated," Arya said, although she took the money anyway; whatever she said, she knew you couldn't rely on things like that. "In winter, the lone wolf dies, while the pack survives."

But she'd always survived, anyway. The words were mostly for O-Ren. Arya knew what it was like to be alone in the world and then have the people you thought would stick with you leave you to fend for yourself.

[babyviper.livejournal.com]

She found that she wanted to hold Arya's hand again, but she rested her fingers on the gun at her thigh instead, where it was concealed under cloth. "That's probably why I turn out so fucked up, ne?"

Not wanting to stay any longer than they needed, she nodded for Arya to follow.

"...do you mean that?" she asked after a minute. "I would rather draw them away than have you hurt, but...."

[lonewolflives]

"And what, I get stuck here on my own, not even knowing what a fucking train looks like?" Arya said, falling into step beside her, resisting the urge to look behind her. Normal people walking somewhere didn't constantly glance behind themselves.

That wasn't the only reason, of course, but Arya felt she should point out her reasons had logic as well as sentiment behind them. "Of course I mean it. We stick together."

[babyviper.livejournal.com]

"You'd figure it out," O-Ren said. "You'd figure it all out." She let out a slow breath. "Then I won't leave you. Even if it gets messy."

The smile she shot over her shoulder was a little brighter than usual. "It will get messy."

[lonewolflives]

Arya's return smile had a tinge of the feral to it.

"I'm not afraid of messy," she said.

She'd rather messy than the stupid skirt and bow. She wondered how long she'd have to keep them on.

Probably too long.