Tuesday, August 26, 2008
 | Youji's Shadow by Nix Winter Disclaimer: I do not own Weiss Kruez, which is the story where Youji Kudou originated My website: www.nixwinter.com Youji ran a finger slowly around the rim of the shot glass. It wasn't a club this time, wasn't a place he'd normally go to play. This was a bar. His drink wasn't sweet, just watered down rum. He looked his part in black slacks, a white shirt with rolled up sleeves with a blue tie, and a pistol holstered at the small of his back. Bleach blond fringes hung down by his cheeks with the rest of his hair in a pony tail at the back of his neck. Of all the things he might be, for the last month, he'd been a gangster on loan from another city, infiltrating the local hoods. It wasn't as if Weiss were interested in the local workings of Yakuza. Weiss cared about predators that couldn't be stopped by normal means. Weiss cared about a killer that targeted Yakuza and their families, leaving some of them drained of blood, some of them walking zombies. If Youji could have defeated death all together, he would have, but baring that, he really didn't want the dead walking around panhandling and spreading disease. He missed Aya though. Aya's red hair across a pale hotel pillow, those violet eyes opening up just a little to watch back at Youji. When they'd become lovers, that's when things had changed for Weiss. The change wasn't so terribly drastic at first, but over time, the team had taken few and fewer low survival missions, more information gathering, more mystery solving. Omi was in law school. Ken was furiously growing 'herbs' in the back of the shop, and a few more in the briefing room. Youji didn't know what they were, but Ken had more money than he'd had before. Hobbies could be good for a person. Youji's hobby was being near Aya. He liked solving mysteries though too. He liked catching killers. Killers were good at catching killers. His cell phone vibrated and he pulled it from his pocket. Opening the new text message, a sense of confusion washed over him. It seemed do desperate. "Where are you? Mission scrubbed. Get out of the bar!" The time stamp on the message was nine pm. The clock over the bar said it was only 8pm. The phone said it was 11pm. Youji licked his lips, finding them suddenly dry. Aya. It was as if he could hear Aya screaming at him. He knew Aya was banging on the door of the bar, though he was the only one hearing him, seeing his shadow on the glass. The bar door opened, letting in a laughing woman and man, that crossed right through Aya's shadow. Youji slipped off the barstool, finding his legs shaking and unstable. He wasn't drunk. He was too careful for that. The bar tender smiled. Youji didn't remember him being one of those freaks that file their teeth down, and do it so well. Youji took a step back from the bar, ran into a waitress who gave him a slight shove back towards the bar. The bartender grabbed another bottle and shot glass. The rum was thick, swirling dark as blood, thicker than rum should ever be. "You didn't think you'd be leaving now, did you? Mr. Hunter man?" |
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