Hayato watched, leaning over the roof ledge, as the man left the flower shop. He was a short, thickly built, balding man who looked to be in his 40's though Hayato know him to be at least a decade younger. He looked worried, his face was pale with a slight frown and troubled eyes. His looks cut quite a contrast with the flowers, they had long, slender stems and leaves, and were full of vibrant color, bursting with healthy life. He turned his head back and forth, giving the street a once over before continuing on his way. Hayato rose to his feet and began to follow the man, moving from rooftop to rooftop.
'Lucky guy.' Hayato thought, and on the heels of that, 'Idiot.' He had gone to the embassy looking for another assignment and he'd been the only one on site who'd been available for this mission. He took the assignment readily enough, yen was yen after all.
“Every Tuesday he disappears for several hours and he won't tell me where he's going! I need you to follow him without being spotted and tell me where he goes, who he meets, and what they do!”
“Absolutely mam, by this evening you'll have the information you desire.”
As Hayato moved through the village following the man, he failed to notice that the neighborhood was slowly edging into the bad part of town, and when it went from bad to worse, he still had yet to notice, so intent was he upon his quarry. Finally, the man stopped at the door of a miserable little hovel that was one among many, knocked once, and let himself in with a key. 'So, now we'll see', he thought. He began to quietly make his way down the side of the building facing away from the hovel when the drain pipe that had been supporting him broke away from the wall. He mad a wild grab for the fire escape bellow him as he fell past it, and missed by a hair. He landed in a jumbled heap on a refuse piled at the back of a building. He lay there groaning for a moment, checking to see if anything was cut, broken, or pierced, but he had been lucky it seemed, he was mostly okay. 'Though,' he thought wryly, 'I'll bet I'm gonna have some lovely bruises come morning.' Just as he was beginning to raise himself off the trash pile, he spotted the feet of a stranger standing much too close to him. Instinctively he rolled in the other direction only to feel a blow land in his side. His breath exploded out with a grunt of pain and he fell off the pile onto the ally floor. He heard a deep chuckle come from one of his assailants, and when he looked up, he saw that he was cornered by two big men that reeked of booze.
“Look'it wha we got here! A lost youngster!” the man slurred to his accomplice. “Maybe we should help him find his mommy.” Struggling to get his breath, Hayato began to focus on the drunk when he heard a soft scuff behind him. He started to turn toward the noise when a fist crashed into the side of his head, just behind his ear. Panic raced through him as he considered his situation, he finally realized that he was in one of the worst neighborhoods this town had to offer, he was injured, and he was being attacked by at least two grown men who were drunk and likely wouldn't care to leave a living witness to their crime. While he had been considering the situation, the talker advanced another step and hit Hayato across the face. As his head spun sickeningly, one thought pierced his consciousness, 'They're gonna kill me!'. As that thought ripped through him, a fierce defiance surged to the fore of his mind 'LIKE HELL!', his defiance burned through his mind and settled behind his eyes, and as he turned to look back at his attacker he was struck by the change that had occurred to his vision. He could still see the man, but he could also see so much more, the man's features were still visible but he could also see a cloud of energies swirling within him. He felt a feral smile spread across his face and saw the man recoil from him in pure shock.
“What the hell?!” the talkative drunk blurted, stepping back. Hayato's eyes flicked down and he saw a board on the ground right in front of him, within easy reach. Grabbing the board as he rose, he spun and slammed the board into the face of the man behind, him who hadn't been quick enough to either dodge or block. The man went down in a crumpled heap. Hayato could tell by the way the clouds of energy within the man had faltered and begun a lazy swirl that he'd hit unconsciousness before he'd hit the ground. He spun back to the talker, only to see he had taken flight. Hayato took a step to follow but winced, he'd been hurt worse than he realized, he closed his eyes to gather his wits and when he opened them again his vision had returned to normal. After getting his breath, he looked in a window to check his reflection, he looked pretty bad, but again, nothing looked or felt broken. Wiping the blood from his nose and mouth, he turned from the window and moved silently across to the hovel. Crouching low, so they couldn't see him through the windows, he crouched underneath a window and listened.
“Is there anything you need? Do you need any food? Is your rent payed up?” Hayato could hear the sounds of cleaning - scrubbing, sweeping, the sound of dishes clinking as they were washed dried and replace on the shelf.
“No dear, I don't need anything, and this nice young man payed my rent for me last week. Wasn't that nice of him dear?”
“Yes mother, that was me, don't you remember?”
“Was it really? Such a sweet boy, I think you two would get along. If you see him, tell him thank you for me would you?”
“Of course.”
Hayato thought about what he'd heard and learned as he'd listened. The man was visiting his mother, and taking care of her, presumably because she could not take care of herself. He also thought that she might not be “all there” or “not playing with a full deck” from what he'd heard of their conversation.
'Well, mission complete I suppose, at least I can lay the clients fears to rest'. Satisfied that he'd completed his task, he crept away from the hovel to report back to his client. 'And then, I can check the records at the academy to see what happened to my eyes, my parents too for that matter.'
[WC: 1201]
Profile
-Earlier that Morning-
“I think my husband is having an affair” the woman told Hayato. She was a vision of beauty, and seemed genuinely heartbroken over this perceived betrayal which indicated a deep love of her husband. 'Lucky guy.' Hayato thought, and on the heels of that, 'Idiot.' He had gone to the embassy looking for another assignment and he'd been the only one on site who'd been available for this mission. He took the assignment readily enough, yen was yen after all.
“Every Tuesday he disappears for several hours and he won't tell me where he's going! I need you to follow him without being spotted and tell me where he goes, who he meets, and what they do!”
“Absolutely mam, by this evening you'll have the information you desire.”
-
As Hayato moved through the village following the man, he failed to notice that the neighborhood was slowly edging into the bad part of town, and when it went from bad to worse, he still had yet to notice, so intent was he upon his quarry. Finally, the man stopped at the door of a miserable little hovel that was one among many, knocked once, and let himself in with a key. 'So, now we'll see', he thought. He began to quietly make his way down the side of the building facing away from the hovel when the drain pipe that had been supporting him broke away from the wall. He mad a wild grab for the fire escape bellow him as he fell past it, and missed by a hair. He landed in a jumbled heap on a refuse piled at the back of a building. He lay there groaning for a moment, checking to see if anything was cut, broken, or pierced, but he had been lucky it seemed, he was mostly okay. 'Though,' he thought wryly, 'I'll bet I'm gonna have some lovely bruises come morning.' Just as he was beginning to raise himself off the trash pile, he spotted the feet of a stranger standing much too close to him. Instinctively he rolled in the other direction only to feel a blow land in his side. His breath exploded out with a grunt of pain and he fell off the pile onto the ally floor. He heard a deep chuckle come from one of his assailants, and when he looked up, he saw that he was cornered by two big men that reeked of booze.
“Look'it wha we got here! A lost youngster!” the man slurred to his accomplice. “Maybe we should help him find his mommy.” Struggling to get his breath, Hayato began to focus on the drunk when he heard a soft scuff behind him. He started to turn toward the noise when a fist crashed into the side of his head, just behind his ear. Panic raced through him as he considered his situation, he finally realized that he was in one of the worst neighborhoods this town had to offer, he was injured, and he was being attacked by at least two grown men who were drunk and likely wouldn't care to leave a living witness to their crime. While he had been considering the situation, the talker advanced another step and hit Hayato across the face. As his head spun sickeningly, one thought pierced his consciousness, 'They're gonna kill me!'. As that thought ripped through him, a fierce defiance surged to the fore of his mind 'LIKE HELL!', his defiance burned through his mind and settled behind his eyes, and as he turned to look back at his attacker he was struck by the change that had occurred to his vision. He could still see the man, but he could also see so much more, the man's features were still visible but he could also see a cloud of energies swirling within him. He felt a feral smile spread across his face and saw the man recoil from him in pure shock.
“What the hell?!” the talkative drunk blurted, stepping back. Hayato's eyes flicked down and he saw a board on the ground right in front of him, within easy reach. Grabbing the board as he rose, he spun and slammed the board into the face of the man behind, him who hadn't been quick enough to either dodge or block. The man went down in a crumpled heap. Hayato could tell by the way the clouds of energy within the man had faltered and begun a lazy swirl that he'd hit unconsciousness before he'd hit the ground. He spun back to the talker, only to see he had taken flight. Hayato took a step to follow but winced, he'd been hurt worse than he realized, he closed his eyes to gather his wits and when he opened them again his vision had returned to normal. After getting his breath, he looked in a window to check his reflection, he looked pretty bad, but again, nothing looked or felt broken. Wiping the blood from his nose and mouth, he turned from the window and moved silently across to the hovel. Crouching low, so they couldn't see him through the windows, he crouched underneath a window and listened.
“Is there anything you need? Do you need any food? Is your rent payed up?” Hayato could hear the sounds of cleaning - scrubbing, sweeping, the sound of dishes clinking as they were washed dried and replace on the shelf.
“No dear, I don't need anything, and this nice young man payed my rent for me last week. Wasn't that nice of him dear?”
“Yes mother, that was me, don't you remember?”
“Was it really? Such a sweet boy, I think you two would get along. If you see him, tell him thank you for me would you?”
“Of course.”
Hayato thought about what he'd heard and learned as he'd listened. The man was visiting his mother, and taking care of her, presumably because she could not take care of herself. He also thought that she might not be “all there” or “not playing with a full deck” from what he'd heard of their conversation.
'Well, mission complete I suppose, at least I can lay the clients fears to rest'. Satisfied that he'd completed his task, he crept away from the hovel to report back to his client. 'And then, I can check the records at the academy to see what happened to my eyes, my parents too for that matter.'
[WC: 1201]
Profile