Status: ~possibly in the process of being published~
Visual Kei
Involvment
Seheon whirled to face Ray, blood pooling too close to his shoes. He took a step away from it, but it followed quickly enough. “What the hell was that? Did you forget everything Oni taught you?” Ray flicked a piece of brain off his sleeve with a half-hearted shrug. “You’re damn lucky he wasn’t here to see that finesse bullshit.”
Like usual, Ray said nothing, but his demeanor was haughty. Seheon glared at him for a moment before turning away. Talking to him was to talk to oneself. He turned back to stare at the body. Unlike all the things he’d killed before, it was human. A child, in fact. He hated being a terminator; there was just too much killing involved, but it wasn’t his job to go killing people, just the preternatural that stepped out of line. A shiver played along his spine as he stared at the corpse. This type of killing was different. It felt . . . wrong. He shook his head, just thankful that he only rarely had to take a human life.
“Done fawning?” Seheon looked away from the kid’s body and up to Ray’s face. The young Swede looked bored, levelly staring at his partner. Before Seheon could respond, he walked off. Ray’s long, platinum blonde mane swayed around his waist as he walked away, the type of hair that was more common in Japan and Korea than Sweden. The both of them knew that. The Korean’s glare found the back of his head, where the short layers of blonde were spiked crazily— a style that was popular with their mark.
“You know, you’re lucky to be assigned to a case here,” Seheon said, coming up quietly behind the younger terminator. “I’m sure you don’t get much excitement back home.”
Ray ran a careless hand through his hair. “Do you ever shut up, Kim?”
“Don’t call me that, gaijin,” he snapped, his hands falling easily at his sides even though he briefly entertained the thought of all the things he could do with the gun at his hip. “You’re a long way from Sweden and it would be a shame if you were to have been hit in the crossfire of this little insurgence.”
Ray just smiled, his hard blue eyes meeting the other’s with a silent challenge.
“Get back to Oni,” the Korean said harshly, stepping out into the street. “I’ve got some things to wrap up, so don’t wait for me.” One hand slipped into one of the pockets on his leather jacket, his fingers brushing the photograph tucked inside. “I trust I won’t find you . . . conveniently placed, hm?”
“Run your errands,” Ray said, tossing a wry smile back as he disappeared into an adjoining dark alley, “like a good boy.” When at last his bright hair was invisible, he called back, “Kim.”
Seheon glowered after him, but said nothing. It was pointless anyway. When he was sure that his partner had left, he pulled the photo from his pocket. Damn, the mark sure was a looker. He wondered what her connection with the others was, and felt more than a little distaste at her choice of friends. Tucking it away, he made his way toward the darkened apartment building.
***********************************************************************************************
When he arrived at the apartment that she’d been spotted at, he didn’t even try the door. If she were being safeguarded there, the door would, of course, be locked and to attempt to open the locked door would bring unwelcome attention. He examined the doorframe, annoyed that it was reinforced and could not kick it in. There weren’t any traps, though. He took a quick glance around to make sure that no one was around before he pulled out a small kit and began to work on the lock. If her “friends” were inside, they wouldn’t be able to hear it at first, and that gave him a small window of time to prepare after he opened the door.
Moments later, the lock clicked free and he tucked the instruments away in his jacket. With a gloved hand, he eased the door open and slipped into the dim apartment. The only light in the dwelling came from the pale moon ascending the sky. He strained his ears, but could hear nothing. It worried him.
Taking soft, cautious steps across the room, he found a bedroom. Careful not to lean into the doorframe in case it squeaked, he looked through the crack in the door and saw it empty. He checked each room, finding each to be empty. Where could they have gone at this hour? Seheon glanced around the room he was standing in. It had to be the vampire’s room. It was colder and drier than the others, which was a favorable climate for such a creature. The words on the walls in different languages were very typical of his race, as were the stacks and stacks of CDs of classical music. He felt uncomfortable being in the room, as if someone were watching him in it, but he had checked it earlier, and there were few places one could hide without being heard.
Now, he had to make a choice. He could find out where they were or he could wait for them here. If he hunted them, it was more likely that the area was just as unfamiliar to them as it was to him and it would therefore be easier to take the girl from them. But on the other hand, it would be hard to find them and he might end up having to come back here anyway. He could also hide and wait for them. He would still have surprise on his side and it would be assured that he would confront them, but it would be more dangerous. Why did Oni have to put this task on me?
On the nightstand next to the vampire’s bed, he saw a flicker of color. Stepping close to take a better look, he realized that it was a Japanese character on a small golden chain. Turning it over cautiously with one of the lock picks, he dropped it into his other hand. After remaining a moment longer, he slipped out of the building and jumped down onto the ground easily from several stories up. He darted into an alleyway with the rain thumping on his back.
Like usual, Ray said nothing, but his demeanor was haughty. Seheon glared at him for a moment before turning away. Talking to him was to talk to oneself. He turned back to stare at the body. Unlike all the things he’d killed before, it was human. A child, in fact. He hated being a terminator; there was just too much killing involved, but it wasn’t his job to go killing people, just the preternatural that stepped out of line. A shiver played along his spine as he stared at the corpse. This type of killing was different. It felt . . . wrong. He shook his head, just thankful that he only rarely had to take a human life.
“Done fawning?” Seheon looked away from the kid’s body and up to Ray’s face. The young Swede looked bored, levelly staring at his partner. Before Seheon could respond, he walked off. Ray’s long, platinum blonde mane swayed around his waist as he walked away, the type of hair that was more common in Japan and Korea than Sweden. The both of them knew that. The Korean’s glare found the back of his head, where the short layers of blonde were spiked crazily— a style that was popular with their mark.
“You know, you’re lucky to be assigned to a case here,” Seheon said, coming up quietly behind the younger terminator. “I’m sure you don’t get much excitement back home.”
Ray ran a careless hand through his hair. “Do you ever shut up, Kim?”
“Don’t call me that, gaijin,” he snapped, his hands falling easily at his sides even though he briefly entertained the thought of all the things he could do with the gun at his hip. “You’re a long way from Sweden and it would be a shame if you were to have been hit in the crossfire of this little insurgence.”
Ray just smiled, his hard blue eyes meeting the other’s with a silent challenge.
“Get back to Oni,” the Korean said harshly, stepping out into the street. “I’ve got some things to wrap up, so don’t wait for me.” One hand slipped into one of the pockets on his leather jacket, his fingers brushing the photograph tucked inside. “I trust I won’t find you . . . conveniently placed, hm?”
“Run your errands,” Ray said, tossing a wry smile back as he disappeared into an adjoining dark alley, “like a good boy.” When at last his bright hair was invisible, he called back, “Kim.”
Seheon glowered after him, but said nothing. It was pointless anyway. When he was sure that his partner had left, he pulled the photo from his pocket. Damn, the mark sure was a looker. He wondered what her connection with the others was, and felt more than a little distaste at her choice of friends. Tucking it away, he made his way toward the darkened apartment building.
***********************************************************************************************
When he arrived at the apartment that she’d been spotted at, he didn’t even try the door. If she were being safeguarded there, the door would, of course, be locked and to attempt to open the locked door would bring unwelcome attention. He examined the doorframe, annoyed that it was reinforced and could not kick it in. There weren’t any traps, though. He took a quick glance around to make sure that no one was around before he pulled out a small kit and began to work on the lock. If her “friends” were inside, they wouldn’t be able to hear it at first, and that gave him a small window of time to prepare after he opened the door.
Moments later, the lock clicked free and he tucked the instruments away in his jacket. With a gloved hand, he eased the door open and slipped into the dim apartment. The only light in the dwelling came from the pale moon ascending the sky. He strained his ears, but could hear nothing. It worried him.
Taking soft, cautious steps across the room, he found a bedroom. Careful not to lean into the doorframe in case it squeaked, he looked through the crack in the door and saw it empty. He checked each room, finding each to be empty. Where could they have gone at this hour? Seheon glanced around the room he was standing in. It had to be the vampire’s room. It was colder and drier than the others, which was a favorable climate for such a creature. The words on the walls in different languages were very typical of his race, as were the stacks and stacks of CDs of classical music. He felt uncomfortable being in the room, as if someone were watching him in it, but he had checked it earlier, and there were few places one could hide without being heard.
Now, he had to make a choice. He could find out where they were or he could wait for them here. If he hunted them, it was more likely that the area was just as unfamiliar to them as it was to him and it would therefore be easier to take the girl from them. But on the other hand, it would be hard to find them and he might end up having to come back here anyway. He could also hide and wait for them. He would still have surprise on his side and it would be assured that he would confront them, but it would be more dangerous. Why did Oni have to put this task on me?
On the nightstand next to the vampire’s bed, he saw a flicker of color. Stepping close to take a better look, he realized that it was a Japanese character on a small golden chain. Turning it over cautiously with one of the lock picks, he dropped it into his other hand. After remaining a moment longer, he slipped out of the building and jumped down onto the ground easily from several stories up. He darted into an alleyway with the rain thumping on his back.