Amethyst, Tiger's Eye & Jade [NOT FOR PUBLIC!]

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Inoue, Age Unknown (Image (c) Wingless 2005)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v345/freeflyingluciddreaming/inouesmoke.jpg


An hour before, in another part of the city...


Amber eyes flickered at the gates of the school before rounding towards the back. The four story building wasn't new but it was new to him. The nine year old slipped between the gates in the back and hid in the bushes. Seeing a teacher or two he sighed and headed for the old building behind his school-- it lay in ruins and two of the four floors were missing. The roof was gone in most parts and there was concrete everywhere.

No one came out here; in fact it was off limits to the children. They said the structure was unstable and it could collapse at any time.

It was the one place they wouldn't look for him; the one place he could be alone and nobody would interrupt him.

Slipping into the building he looked up at the sky and frowned. Kicking at a rock it went tumbling off somewhere.

Squeezing through a few cracks, he brushed the sediment out of his hair as he sat in a chair. He'd stolen one from the janitor's closet and dragged it out there. Reaching into his hiding spot he pulled out the metal lunch box. Setting it in his lap he opened it and pulled out the arrowhead that lay hidden within, his face filling with tears as he moved his thumb across it. First his mother was taken from him... and now his Ojisan was giving away his only friend. He wasn't big enough to stop the man and no one seemed to ever listen to him anyways.


The crunch of heavy boots sounded in the gravel and broken cement outside the building; violet eyes flashed up at the rooftop then back down towards one of the boarded up doors. The child had not been in any of the usual places a child would be, and the child's guards had given Inoue the name of the school Ethan went to after very little persuasion. When he'd gone into the school and haunted the halls for a bit, interrogating children and teachers, it was obvious that the boy hadn't been seen. However, it wasn't a complete dead end, and the assassin had moved to the security room, going over tapes and spotting the brat jumping the wall and heading to the back of the school. So there he had gone and now he'd found this abandoned ruin; likely, it was the original school before the new one had been built.

Kicking out, Inoue made the boards over the doorway nearest him shatter to splinters and marched through the doorway. He didn't say anything or call out; he didn't need to, sure that the noise of his entry had alerted the child to his presence. What he wanted was to flush the brat out, not chase him down and spend hours hunting. Moving through the building, he continued to make an ungodly amount of noise, sending cement flying and shattering glass without even breaking a sweat, his tight leather jacket moving both like a second skin around his upper body and a demonic cape behind him as he moved.


As soon as the first crash was heard he jumped out of the chair. Putting the arrowhead in the lunchbox he slid it back into the hiding spot. Squirming his way through the building he tried to stay hidden to see who had come. He'd always been told that if he disobeyed someone would come and kill him. Now it seemed to be true as he squatted his whole body trembling.

Seeing the red haired man in black he tried to run, slipping through a small space in the cement and towards the back of the building. There was a small spot that only had one entrance and Ethan was barely able to slide through it himself. If he could make it there the man couldn't get him-- he couldn't hurt him and he wouldn't end up like his mother.


Inoue moved the second he heard noises in the building that weren't made by him, and entered a back room in time to watch a little foot escape through a crack in the wall. Naturally he couldn't fit in there but going in after the child was a waste of time and effort. Reaching into his jacket, he removed a live grenade without a second thought and spoke out in his deep voice, "I'm pulling the pin." Either Ethan came out of there and tossed this grenade out the window or this whole building was going down and the child would die in it, crushed like a rat under a mountain of cement when the grenade went off. At that, he pulled the pin just as he'd said and threw the grenade a few feet away from the crack Ethan had squirmed into-- the weapon was visible to the boy and too far out of reach to just stick out an arm and grab.


Inoue moved the instant the child crawled out of the hole; he'd been expecting the boy to just run as most children would but was actually surprised that the boy reached out and threw the grenade. It didn't read in his emotionless face but he was impressed; most children would scream and run from a grenade but this one had the balls to pick it up and toss it. The redhead reached out and grabbed his target by the back of his shirt as the grenade went off outside, closing his eyes just before it did and turning his face away. It was a flash grenade-- he'd bluffed with the child and let him think it was just a regular exploding weapon because if the boy had been too frightened to move then at least he would be paralyzed and unconscious and blinded.

He said nothing as he picked the child up and heaved the boy over his shoulder easily, like a sack of potatoes. Walking through the building, he moved outside once more and headed across the field towards his vehicle.


Thrashing on the man's shoulder he grabbed fistfuls of red hair and yanked. At the same time he pulled his leg back and tried to knee the man hard in the chest. He wasn't going to be just dragged away easily. Ethan had been tricked and he didn't like that. It was too close to Ojisan's own tricks and lies. Leaning over he bit the man's ear as he tried to encircle his head keeping hold of the red hair tightly.


The kicking and hair pulling and biting were-- sadly-- nothing new, and he dealt with adults most of the time when he was abducting and assassinating. They were highly irritating however, and Inoue paused halfway across the field, drawing the child off his shoulder. Tossing him in the air, he caught him by the ankle, drew back, and whipped the child through the air, sending him in a high arc before landing on his back, knocking the wind out of him. The assassin moved after Ethan quickly, picking him up by the arm this time and throwing him back at the ground. Once more he reached out, this time grabbing the boy by the hair, and he threw the child into the air, sending him tumbling across the field.

"I can carry you, or I can take you to my car this way," the assassin threatened as he picked the bruised and bloody child up by the throat, squeezing his tiny toothpick neck in steady, lethal hands.

As one last example, the redhead threw Ethan several yards forward, causing the boy to crash into the brick wall of the new school and break a few fingers when he hit the cement below. "Your choice?" the redhead growled, his face still emotionless and lacking any sypmathy at all.


The boy looked up through one eye with hazy vision at the man glaring at him. The other was closed tight as blood trailed down his face. He could taste it in his mouth and his whole body hurt badly; the pain was like nothing he'd ever felt before. Pushing himself up, he tried to bend his fingers but only cried harder when the pain shot through his arm.

When the redhead started near him he cowered and folded into a ball, holding his arm against his stomach keeping the man from hurting it anymore. The redhead wasn't like the others; the guards never hurt him or threw him around. This guy would kill him and not give it a second thought. "I'll go just don't do that anymore." He sobbed as he covered an ear with his good hand.


He did not play with kid gloves no matter who the client, and this child was no exception. He was a spoiled brat and used to being picked up and carried home and coddled when he cried and it seemed that Inoue was some sort of wake up call for him. No matter. Reaching out, the redhead picked up his target by the belt, carrying him that way to the car. He opened the passenger side door and tossed the child in, then got in on the driver's side, starting the engine and taking off from the school, still without any emotion registered on his perfectly trained face. He drove in silence until they reached the Aikawa residence, where he grabbed Ethan once more and slung the boy over his shoulder. Marching up the walk, he didn't even bat an eyelash at the guards; they spotted Ethan and moved aside immediately.

Entering the building, he moved up the flights of stairs, faster with each level as his anger finally started to build. He was an assassin, not a babysitter or bounty hunter. The fact that Takiyama Aikawa or anyone for that matter had called in the deadliest man on this continent to pick up a child and bring him home made his blood boil like few things did-- Inoue had spent all of his adult life working and making himself what he was today. Being an assassin was his definition and not his hobby-- when he went home after a kill he exercised, ate, studied and slept. That was all. That somebody would look at him so frivolously and see a blood hound to be sent after some snot-nosed little shit factory instead of the professional killer with a perfect record that he was... that enraged him.

He kicked open the door to Takiyama's bedroom and found the man in bed with yet another child; the assassin's face finally changed and took on at least two emotions: disgust and anger.

He threw the child across the floor, causing the boy to hit the foot of the bed headfirst and get knocked out cold.


...A few minutes later the white-haired child had run out of the room with Ethan, and violet eyes flicked over to look at Takiyama once more. Reaching out, Inoue closed the door slowly with one hand, and their fight began. However, among the excuses that Takiyama was giving for sending Inoue on a fucking goose chase, the man let it slip that being a bodyguard would be a position that required far more killing than just an assassin would. Licking his lower lip slowly, he took another step forward, looking down at the man.

"I have one thing left to say to you for having the sheer audacity to offer me that assignment," the redhead said slowly. Without warning, he pulled his arm back and delivered a haymaker punch to the man's face, sending him on his ass with a cut opened on his face. The assassin cracked the knuckles in his hand and lowered it once more, the anger seeping out of his face and the emotionlessness returning. "Now then," he said quietly, peace resumed, "I would like to discuss the possibility of adding another title to my position within this household."


Using the bed to help him stand he put the sleeve of the robe against his face. "What position would that be Inoue. I don't recall offering you any position in this house-- especially when my only kin comes back looking like that. I understand you don't fucking care but he's a child he couldn't have been that much trouble."

Sitting back down on the bed he pulled his arm away and frowned. He knew Ethan could be a handful but to beat the child that much was wrong. He'd made sure Ethan wasn't hit or yelled at unless it was himself. The boy had already had a hard life; Takiyama just wanted to make it a little easier.


"Bodyguard," the redhead said simply, folding his arms over his chest. Takiyama could accept or reject the idea, it didn't make a whit of difference; the idea appealed to Inoue. As just a regular bodyguard to anybody it would be just as lacking in events as being an assassin for this soft, weak Don was... but because this Don was weak and soft, Inoue was sure that there was a great need for a bodyguard. One that would kill without hesitation and one that could take on the dozens of dangers that must surely come with the Mafia territory.

Violent violet eyes flashed with something akin to pleasure for just an instant. "My strengths and talents will be used to the fullest in that position. As merely an assassin under you I am a hunting dog growing fat and useless with lack of exercise but as both I would be kept busy at a constant and in the mean time you would benefit from never being in any real danger again. What I require for the position are two things-- utter and complete access to all places of this house and all information, and never to have my actions questioned."


"Bodyguard!" He coughed and laughed at the same time, the dual noises coming out strange. Looking at Inoue his eyes widened slightly when he saw the man was dead serious. Inoue had never let him down and he knew the young man's reputation well. Adding Koji had gained some protection but adding Inoue would be even greater.

"What do you want for pay... and I have rules of my own you would have to abide by. You will not senselessly beat people in this house for no reason. You will not touch Ethan unless necessary and you will never hurt him again like that. I will make sure he understands not to go near you Inoue and make sure he understands you are in charge. If you can deal with those rules and agree to a fair pay then fine I will add that title."


"I cannot agree to those rules," Inoue said firmly, shaking his head. "What you call senselessly beating a person and what I call disciplining them into submission to get answers or cooperation are two different things-- and on top of that I always have a reason. That is why I stated my second rule-- you must not question what I do. If I was a less compassionate man, or even just an enemy of yours instead of somebody going to pick Ethan up, then I could have killed the boy immediately for the way he was acting. I have taught him to know his place when he is in danger and he will learn to use his head first before acting; it might keep him alive some day." He unfolded his arms and continued, "And I cannot guarantee that I will never hurt him like that again either. I am not typically a spiteful person; every action I make has a reason. In order for me to function to the best of my ability I need your complete and absolute trust in me Aikawa. In exchange for that, I won't ask for a cent more than my equipment, weapons, supplies and living costs amount to-- all I want out of my life is to kill and enjoy myself while doing it and this position would provide for that opportunity."


Takiyama looked at the floor and sighed; what Inoue had said was truth. "Just try and not hit him unless necessary and when it is not as hard as you have today. You should know full well children are easier to break; he's not an adult just yet. No one-- not even I-- will question you. Your price is fine and I'm sure you want to start immediately. I'm also sure I won't see you unless you want me to."

Standing, he stood across from Inoue, staring into the violet eyes. They scared him and enticed him almost as much as Koji's did. The first time he'd seen Inoue he'd been scared witless; he remembered it clearly.

Takiyama had put out a call in the underground world: he needed an assassin to take out a very highly guarded, very dangerous man. All other assassins that had been hired had come back in shoe boxes or not come back at all and Takiyama had put out a high price for the one that would take the job, since nobody would touch it any more. Four hours later there had been a knock at his bedroom door, and when he opened it, there stood the assassin, covered in blood from the nose down. He was soaked and dripping with it and those violet eyes were the only thing not crimson on the assassin as he extended his arm and dumped onto the floor the head of the man Takiyama had put the hit out on. He hadn't said a word; all Inoue did was reach into his pocket, draw out a piece of paper with an account number and phone number on it, and handed it to the man before walking away.

The second time he met the assassin he wasn't as scared; in fact he'd stroked himself off thinking about the young assassin. To have him working in this house he knew he wouldn't be able to keep his attraction quiet. The man probably knew but he wasn't about to come out and say anything either.

Finally, there was the matter of Inoue's mild English accent-- it added to the whole package as Takiyama felt the stirring in his groin.


"Again I cannot promise that I will never strike him that hard again. However, I will attempt to use more restraint with the child if that is the only requirement of this position. You have yourself the best bodyguard the human population has to offer." He extended his hand and tightened it firmly around Takiyama's; they shook and he nodded. Inoue watched as the man's expression changed and his eyes began to roam over the assassin's tight clothing. He knew that look-- he got it often. Takiyama approved of Inoue's personal appearance, to put it mildly.

He ignored the look and released the man's hand. "I will need quarters and exclusive access to every part of the security in this house. I also need a detailed list of every one of your enemies, and a list of every place you are likely to be in the event that the world is falling apart."


Walking to the phone he pressed the button and his secretary answered. "I need the plans to the mansion and the office. I've added Inoue as a private bodyguard; he has level one clearance. All security is to be handed over to him as he sees fit." Hanging up the phone he nodded towards Inoue and headed towards his office. Whether the redhead followed or not was his own doing.

Opening the door he sat behind a large desk. Placing a disk into the computer he downloaded the contents of his security network and the safe houses and tunnels he used. Of course there were false ones in the documents, but only Takiyama knew which ones were real and which weren't-- he'd never shared the information with anyone; not even the head of security.

Placing the disk in a case he put it on the desk and slid it towards the other side. Glancing up at the assassin in the room he flushed and turned his eyes away. "Within the hour you should have the plans you need. I will make sure you know what is real and what isn't on that disc." Looking back up he tried to harden his face and stare at the violet eyes. "You should know I've never shared this information with anyone; that is the level of trust I have in you Inoue."


The assassin reached out and accepted the disk, tucking it into one of the dozens of concealed pockets in his jacket. He pulled off his gloves slowly and slipped them into the abyss of his garment as well, then took a seat on the edge of the desk, looking into Takiyama's eyes. "The more information you give me the easier it will be for me to protect you. I need a family tree, I need to know your past, I need to know Ethan's past, and I need to know what the child in your bed means to you. And lastly," he leaned in closer and stared directly at the man until their eyes finally locked. "I need you to understand that this is not a sexual relationship. Simply because I am on your payroll does not entitle you to my body. I know that you understand this but it still must be said." Standing again he lifted both hands and tied his hair back once more before turning around and examining the office thoroughly. He spoke as he inspected a hidden camera in one of the paintings, tapping the lens with the tip of his finger. It wasn't hidden well enough; he would have a lot of work ahead of himself to bring this place into being a fortress rather than a rickety shed. "Alternatively, sometimes this job requires a certain amount of acting or necessary actions. It has happened more than once before that I had to sleep with those I wouldn't normally have anything to do with in order to carry out my mission. Do you understand what I am saying to you?"


Pursing his lips he stood up placing his palms flat on the desktop. "Just because I sleep with Don Ono does not mean I fuck every man that comes my way. I full well know the difference between acting and actual lovers. I have had enough of my fill of sleeping in the beds of men for a deal and not for pleasure. I know how to act happily with someone and I know how to act in total disgust. I've been doing this job longer than you have been alive. I promise you I won't get those feelings crossed or come at you."

He stepped around the desk stopping when he was directly in front of Inoue. He didn't touch the man but he stood close enough to him to make a point. "You're just as desirable as Kojinsei is. You scare and entice me and yes I want you. But that is a personal matter and has nothing to do with business. I will leave it to you to make it personal when and if you chose."


Nodding, Inoue reached into his jacket and pulled something out, placing it into Takiyama's hand. "You will need these. Use them. The trigger is one of a set; I have one on me at all times and as soon as you activate it I will know that you need me. The key is a skeleton key." Violet eyes flashed dangerously. "Before I accepted that first mission I intruded this mansion, took a mold of every lock in this place and made the key. I have more copies but hold on to that one-- it will save your life some day."

At that Inoue nodded and turned to go. "I have much work to do," he said blandly. "Oh. And one more thing." Glancing over his shoulder as he touched the doorknob, he uttered quietly, "Just because I don't answer, never assume I have not heard you. Remember that." The assassin walked out and closed the door behind him without making a sound.

In fact, now that Takiyama thought about it, he couldn't remember ever hearing the assassin make a sound while he walked, breathed or moved unless he was throwing things around or stomping purposefully.

A shiver went up his spine as he watched the redhead leave.




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