“Mr. Aobe,” Kasumi spoke softly as she entered the office, her eyes hardened with anger as she gazed at the scrawny man at the other side of the desk.
“L-Lady Tendo!” Kenji stammered, rising from his seat and bowing deeply. The man was a decade older than Kasumi, but didn't carry himself nearly as well. His suit was pristine, but seemed a size too large, shuffling around his frame as he nervously trembled beneath the younger woman's gaze. “I... I wanted to go over the arrangements for you and your half-sister.”
“My cell phone has very robust multimedia and Internet options,” Kasumi pointed out, her voice never rising in volume, but gaining a hardened edge. “There's no reason you should have sent that buffoon to drag me out in front of Nabiki. You of all people should know how important discretion is to me.”
Kenji wilted even more under the hardening gaze of his boss. “I'm... I'm sorry, Lady Tendo! I didn't know you were occupied...”
Kasumi shook her head. “Incompetent,” she spat in a hushed tone before walking closer to the desk, barely able to contain her amusement as Kenji backed away. However, now was not the time to tease this imbecile. “We'll go over the arrangements for Nabiki and myself later, when you have them finalized. In the meantime, I'd like to know what the idea was in holding a recruiting event at the school my half-sisters attend.” She narrowed her gaze, her hands starting to ball into fists as she spoke, keeping her voice to a low growl. “I made it very clear to the Organizers that Nerima Ward was to be off limits as a condition of my funding. This included the school.”
“I...” Kenji was having trouble speaking, not able to find the words. “This wasn't my... My decision...”
“Then whose was it!?” Kasumi was seething now. “The Organizers answer to us, not the other way around!”
“O-Okinawa!” Kenji spat out, his mind shaken by fear. “Th-the Okinawa Organizers came here... W-we didn't know until after the recruiting had started... We tried to st-”
“Enough!” Kasumi roared, her calm finally broken. “I tire of your excuses! Right now, I want Akane Tendo and Ranko Saotome stricken from the contestant roster as soon as possible! Get in touch with Number 16 in Jerusalem. Those two are to be detained and brought right back here!” Kasumi took a deep breath. She was losing form, and that just wouldn't be acceptable. She finished her rant in a softer, more formal tone. “If those two make it to Gaza, I'll have your head on a platter.” With that, she turned around and left. She didn't need to hear anything this swine had to say: he had his job to do, and she had hers.
What bothered Kasumi the most wasn't Kenji's incompetence, however. She could usually compensate for that with minimal risk to her secrecy. What troubled her was that she understand why those two had signed up. Ranko's reasoning was easy enough to guess at, she supposed; trying to prove herself to her useless father, trying to show off her mastery of the Art. Akane, however... Why would she of all people join a contest like this? Certainly, Akane was a capable fighter, if not remarkable, but her tendency toward violence started and ended at the need to defend herself form male advances. She certainly didn't have the sort of obsession with the Art that the Saotome girl did. Still trying to piece together her half-sister's motive, she made her way back to the elevator, pulling out her cell phone as she did.
I wonder, Kasumi thought absently. If I'd gone my mother's path as a contestant instead of becoming a Sponsor, could I have avoided this? Could I have protected them better?
See other episodes by The Master Chief
(Posted Sat, 02 May 2009 06:31)
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