Shion watched the first sliver of sunlight break out from the trees, and yawned. She hadn’t slept the entire night; seeing her cousin, her family in such a state... she doubted anyone could.
In a strange way, she blamed herself. Maybe if she hadn’t helped the movie club in their machinations to get “Masami”... maybe if she hadn’t manipulated her parents into going on this trip, none of this would have happened. She hadn’t thought it would prove so costly...
Her eyes turned back to her cousin; his changing hadn’t changed. He’d switched between people all night; in the span of six hours, she’d counted twenty-one different bodies, almost all of which she could identify. She had a feeling Masahiko was a mutant, now; however, she’d probably need to take him to a doctor to be certain.
She let out a long sigh. So much for her senior trip.
A knock at the door brought her to her senses; she adjusted the fit of her yukata, and stood up. “Who is it?” she asked, expecting Risa or Mina on the other side.
The gruff voice at the other end shocked her. “Shion, it’s me, Tatsumi. Is Masahiko in there?”
She looked down at Masahiko. He’d changed again, becoming someone Tatsumi would instantly recognize - his daughter. “Um... sort of... it’s not a good time.”
A strange momentary pause came from the other end. “The kumicho told me to expect something strange, and to tell you both that, first of all, it’s all right, and that secondly, the message I have is urgent and reflects it.”
She thought for a moment. Tatsumi was a yakuza shateigashira, or gang leader; for him to come out and say that his clan head had a message for them boggled the mind. Also, the fact that they knew - they KNEW - so quickly after it happened... this was simply impossible.
But she knew Tatsumi. She knew what he would and wouldn’t do. She opened the door.
“Come in - though you’re not going to believe it...”
Tatsumi stepped inside. Shion raised an eyebrow at his white leisure suit; did becoming a Yakuza force a person to give up all clothes sense? He looked around the room, then focused on the one sleeping beneath the covers. “K... Kaoru?”
Shion shook her head. “Wait.”
A moment later, another shift came; this time, Tatsumi smiled. “I am a handsome devil, aren’t I?” His face quickly turned serious. “So this is what the boss was talking about.”
Shion wasn’t impressed. “How did he know?”
Tatsumi smiled. “If I tell you, you must tell no one. The information could get you killed if you use it unwisely.”
Shion nodded. “My family’s used to secrets.”
Tatsumi chuckled. “Quite.” He handed her an envelope. “My kumicho, Shiro Yashida, is a mutant. Most people know him as Sunfire.”
Shion whistled. “Interesting. I can see why the information’s dangerous.” She turned the envelope over in her hands. “So why the envelope? And how did he know about Masahiko so soon?”
Tatsumi crossed his arms. “I don’t know exactly how he does it; apparently he has connections with other organizations, ones with mutant-detecting abilities.” He let out a long sigh. “Anyway, the boss has been almost obsessively busy lately over this new project. Seems a friend of his in America wants him to open a school for special Japanese youngsters.”
Shion raised an eyebrow, and cocked her head in Masahiko’s direction; Masahiko chose that moment to shift to Susumu’s form, with real hair substituting for the wig. The moment brought another thought to mind; was this how he pictured people? “Special people... Mutants.”
Tatsumi nodded. “Only the best from my boss...”
See other episodes by Nightelf
(Posted Fri, 13 Dec 2002 19:10)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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