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Apr. 12th, 2005 09:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
onemuseleftPart One of Sonnet's birthday fic. I figure if I start it early, it might actually be done in time. ^_^ Maybe.
Ten points to whoever can guess the crossover first!
There was a storm brewing in Shinjuku. The rain had been coming down for an hour or more, and the clouds grew darker and darker over the day. Now, as night approached and the streetlights slowly flickered on, thunder rumbled in the distance.
Hevn paused outside the doors of the Honky Tonk and tipped her umbrella back just far enough to see the sky. A jagged bolt of lightning ripped through the dark clouds and she smiled.
She heard the door open, the bell jingle. "Hevn-san, I presume?"
From the corner of her eye she could see a man in a dark suit holding the door open for her. Light hair, dark eyes, not much older than she was and dressed – she quickly noted the gold watch and rings on his right hand – expensively.
"You have one up on me, it seems." She lowered the umbrella as she turned to face him more fully. She held the umbrella in one hand and wrapped the other around her ribs, smirking as he stared at her chest for a moment.
"Forgive me." He recovered quickly, but didn't look even a little abashed as he stepped and gestured for her to come in. "I shouldn't leave a lady standing in the rain."
She snapped the umbrella shut and flipped her hair over her shoulder as she passed him. "Good evening, Paul. Natsumi-chan."
Natsumi smiled and waved from her place behind the counter. Paul rustled his newspaper slightly, but otherwise didn't deign to respond. Two other men sat in a booth at the back of the café, very pointedly not looking her way – friends of the suit, then. Hired guns, possibly, or just bodyguards. Either way, nothing she needed to worry about yet.
Hevn propped her umbrella up against the edge of the counter and smoothed her skirt as she perched on one of the stools. Natsumi hurried over with a cup of coffee, the steam still rising off the top. "Oh, Natsumi-chan," Hevn said gratefully, "you read my mind."
The stranger took a seat on the stool beside her while Hevn blew gently on the coffee. "I was hoping we could speak for a moment, Intermediary?"
She quirked a brow at that. Business matters, then. "My time costs money, you understand." She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the counter as she sipped the coffee. "Ah, too hot."
"Of course. Your standard fee." He leaned forward as well and tried out a smile. "And the coffee's on me."
"How could I turn that down?" Hevn returned the smile over the rim of the mug. "What can I do for you?"
He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a battered photograph, creased at the corners and worn. Wordlessly he held it out and Hevn accepted it, holding it between two fingers and flipped it over so she could see the image it held.
A young girl, fifteen or so at a glance, dressed in a traditional kimono, standing at a window and holding out one hand to a bird perched on the windowsill.
Hevn took another sip of her coffee before saying anything. "Cute. Who is she?"
"My sister." He gazed at the photograph in her fingers. "I understand you have contacts with a number of retrieval agencies?"
"I know a few people in the business. There are some with whom I work frequently." In the back of her mind, Hevn ran through the list. There were several within her sphere of contacts, although not as many as there had been a year or so ago. Retrievers had a nasty habit of dropping out of the business unexpectedly, if they weren't killed outright, and it took some effort to keep a steady group of them in her network. It was a hassle, especially when the Get Backers were always willing to take anything she threw at them.
"I understand you often do business with an agency calling itself Get Backers?"
She set the mug down. "Is this a special request, Mr. Tarukane?"
Tarukane was staring at the photograph in her grasp as if he expected the girl to suddenly move. "I've heard they aren't human. I've heard they are truly demons."
"The rumor mill is strong at work, I see." Hevn flipped the photograph over and was rewarded by the sight of her client visibly shaking himself. "The Get Backers have a good success rate. Some of their competitors are understandably annoyed."
"Ah." If anything, Tarukane seemed disappointed. "I was hoping – the stories I'd heard about their... powers. For a brief while I thought I'd finally found someone who could rescue her. But if they're only normal humans-"
"Normal?" Hevn echoed. Tarukane glanced up, and she grinned. "Normal's never heard of these guys," she said with a wink. "If you've got a job that needs a special touch, they're the ones to go to."
"I see. Perhaps this was the right idea, after all. Can you arrange a meeting, Hevn-san?" Tarukane reached over and picked up the photograph, sliding it back into his jacket. "I would like to meet the Get Backers and discuss the terms."
"I charge ten thousand for specific contact," Hevn informed him, glancing past his shoulder. "And I don't guarantee they'll accept the meeting. They might have a job lined up at the moment." They didn't of course, but it never hurt to make the client think the guys were in high demand. Made them feel better about forking over thousands of yen if they thought they were getting what everyone else wanted.
He smiled thinly and handed her a slim envelope. "Your fee, Hevn-san, as well as an additional fifty thousand. Tell the Get Backers it's theirs if they agree to meet with me as soon as possible."
"You're very generous," she murmured, accepting the envelope. "I believe they'll be willing to hear you out, at that price."
There was a smothered snort from behind Paul's newspaper, which Hevn ignored like a pro.
"Tomorrow afternoon," Tarukane said.
"Four-thirty," Hevn offered. "We meet here."
"Agreed. Thank you for your services, Hevn-san. I look forward to meeting these Get Backers whom I've heard so much about." He didn't gesture, but the two men in the back booth stood as he did, and the three of them walked out into the rain.
"Fifty thousand just to talk?" Paul said quietly, when the door had closed behind them. "That sounds like bad news."
Hevn ran a finger over the rim of her mug. "It's easy money."
"No one pays that much for nothing, Hevn."
She licked a drop of coffee off her finger. "Our boys always deliver, Paul. What's to worry about?"
"Well good luck finding them, Hevn-san!" Natsumi bounced by, carrying a tray to clear off the now empty table at the back.
"Eh?" Hevn sat up and turned to stare at the girl. "What do you mean 'good luck'?"
Paul smirked at her from behind his paper. "The guys haven't been by here in more than a week, Hevn."
"How am I supposed to find them by tomorrow!" Hevn glared at the proprietor, trying to remember if the Get Backers had an apartment this month or if they were living out of the Subaru again.
"You could just leave a big bowl of ramen outside," Paul suggested dryly. "One of them will probably turn up for the free meal eventually."
She gaped at him temporarily then snapped her mouth shut with a force of will. "Thanks a lot, Paul."
From the back of the café, Natsumi suddenly cheered. "They left a huge tip!"
Ten points to whoever can guess the crossover first!
There was a storm brewing in Shinjuku. The rain had been coming down for an hour or more, and the clouds grew darker and darker over the day. Now, as night approached and the streetlights slowly flickered on, thunder rumbled in the distance.
Hevn paused outside the doors of the Honky Tonk and tipped her umbrella back just far enough to see the sky. A jagged bolt of lightning ripped through the dark clouds and she smiled.
She heard the door open, the bell jingle. "Hevn-san, I presume?"
From the corner of her eye she could see a man in a dark suit holding the door open for her. Light hair, dark eyes, not much older than she was and dressed – she quickly noted the gold watch and rings on his right hand – expensively.
"You have one up on me, it seems." She lowered the umbrella as she turned to face him more fully. She held the umbrella in one hand and wrapped the other around her ribs, smirking as he stared at her chest for a moment.
"Forgive me." He recovered quickly, but didn't look even a little abashed as he stepped and gestured for her to come in. "I shouldn't leave a lady standing in the rain."
She snapped the umbrella shut and flipped her hair over her shoulder as she passed him. "Good evening, Paul. Natsumi-chan."
Natsumi smiled and waved from her place behind the counter. Paul rustled his newspaper slightly, but otherwise didn't deign to respond. Two other men sat in a booth at the back of the café, very pointedly not looking her way – friends of the suit, then. Hired guns, possibly, or just bodyguards. Either way, nothing she needed to worry about yet.
Hevn propped her umbrella up against the edge of the counter and smoothed her skirt as she perched on one of the stools. Natsumi hurried over with a cup of coffee, the steam still rising off the top. "Oh, Natsumi-chan," Hevn said gratefully, "you read my mind."
The stranger took a seat on the stool beside her while Hevn blew gently on the coffee. "I was hoping we could speak for a moment, Intermediary?"
She quirked a brow at that. Business matters, then. "My time costs money, you understand." She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the counter as she sipped the coffee. "Ah, too hot."
"Of course. Your standard fee." He leaned forward as well and tried out a smile. "And the coffee's on me."
"How could I turn that down?" Hevn returned the smile over the rim of the mug. "What can I do for you?"
He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a battered photograph, creased at the corners and worn. Wordlessly he held it out and Hevn accepted it, holding it between two fingers and flipped it over so she could see the image it held.
A young girl, fifteen or so at a glance, dressed in a traditional kimono, standing at a window and holding out one hand to a bird perched on the windowsill.
Hevn took another sip of her coffee before saying anything. "Cute. Who is she?"
"My sister." He gazed at the photograph in her fingers. "I understand you have contacts with a number of retrieval agencies?"
"I know a few people in the business. There are some with whom I work frequently." In the back of her mind, Hevn ran through the list. There were several within her sphere of contacts, although not as many as there had been a year or so ago. Retrievers had a nasty habit of dropping out of the business unexpectedly, if they weren't killed outright, and it took some effort to keep a steady group of them in her network. It was a hassle, especially when the Get Backers were always willing to take anything she threw at them.
"I understand you often do business with an agency calling itself Get Backers?"
She set the mug down. "Is this a special request, Mr. Tarukane?"
Tarukane was staring at the photograph in her grasp as if he expected the girl to suddenly move. "I've heard they aren't human. I've heard they are truly demons."
"The rumor mill is strong at work, I see." Hevn flipped the photograph over and was rewarded by the sight of her client visibly shaking himself. "The Get Backers have a good success rate. Some of their competitors are understandably annoyed."
"Ah." If anything, Tarukane seemed disappointed. "I was hoping – the stories I'd heard about their... powers. For a brief while I thought I'd finally found someone who could rescue her. But if they're only normal humans-"
"Normal?" Hevn echoed. Tarukane glanced up, and she grinned. "Normal's never heard of these guys," she said with a wink. "If you've got a job that needs a special touch, they're the ones to go to."
"I see. Perhaps this was the right idea, after all. Can you arrange a meeting, Hevn-san?" Tarukane reached over and picked up the photograph, sliding it back into his jacket. "I would like to meet the Get Backers and discuss the terms."
"I charge ten thousand for specific contact," Hevn informed him, glancing past his shoulder. "And I don't guarantee they'll accept the meeting. They might have a job lined up at the moment." They didn't of course, but it never hurt to make the client think the guys were in high demand. Made them feel better about forking over thousands of yen if they thought they were getting what everyone else wanted.
He smiled thinly and handed her a slim envelope. "Your fee, Hevn-san, as well as an additional fifty thousand. Tell the Get Backers it's theirs if they agree to meet with me as soon as possible."
"You're very generous," she murmured, accepting the envelope. "I believe they'll be willing to hear you out, at that price."
There was a smothered snort from behind Paul's newspaper, which Hevn ignored like a pro.
"Tomorrow afternoon," Tarukane said.
"Four-thirty," Hevn offered. "We meet here."
"Agreed. Thank you for your services, Hevn-san. I look forward to meeting these Get Backers whom I've heard so much about." He didn't gesture, but the two men in the back booth stood as he did, and the three of them walked out into the rain.
"Fifty thousand just to talk?" Paul said quietly, when the door had closed behind them. "That sounds like bad news."
Hevn ran a finger over the rim of her mug. "It's easy money."
"No one pays that much for nothing, Hevn."
She licked a drop of coffee off her finger. "Our boys always deliver, Paul. What's to worry about?"
"Well good luck finding them, Hevn-san!" Natsumi bounced by, carrying a tray to clear off the now empty table at the back.
"Eh?" Hevn sat up and turned to stare at the girl. "What do you mean 'good luck'?"
Paul smirked at her from behind his paper. "The guys haven't been by here in more than a week, Hevn."
"How am I supposed to find them by tomorrow!" Hevn glared at the proprietor, trying to remember if the Get Backers had an apartment this month or if they were living out of the Subaru again.
"You could just leave a big bowl of ramen outside," Paul suggested dryly. "One of them will probably turn up for the free meal eventually."
She gaped at him temporarily then snapped her mouth shut with a force of will. "Thanks a lot, Paul."
From the back of the café, Natsumi suddenly cheered. "They left a huge tip!"
