“Where have you two been, together,” Nabiki said, grinning suggestively, then frowned. “And what's that smell?”
“What smell?” Hiroshi asked, sitting next to Daisuke, who edged away from him. “And why are you here anyway? Treating these two to a meal?”
“I was just passing by when-” Nabiki began, then paused. “It's you two. You reek.”
Hiroshi sniffed at himself, wrinkling his nose at the faint scent of rotting eggs. After so long in that building, surrounded by the stench of decay, it wasn't much – but then, after the first ten minutes in there, his nose had shut down in protest.
“We had a little accident,” Hiroshi explained, then glanced at Sayuri. “There's no point trying to get clean here. Our clothes must be soaked in the stuff. We might have to burn them.”
Sayuri hesitated, then sat down next to Nabiki, who shifted uneasily.
Hiroshi repressed a smile. If the scent distracted Nabiki, it wasn't all bad.
“What kind of accident?” Nabiki asked, leaning forwards.
Behind her, Sayuri leaned over and whispered in Yuka's ear.
“Don't you normally charge for answers?” Hiroshi said, smiling.
“When they're worth something,” Nabiki said. “If it was just an accident, that's not worth anything, but-”
Laughing with delight, Yuka hugged Sayuri, almost pushed Nabiki off her seat.
“Didn't these two tell you what we were doing?” Hiroshi asked, before she could get her balance back.
“We didn't,” Daisuke said quickly. “We didn't tell her anything.”
“How could you?” Hiroshi asked, trying to sound casual. “We don't have anything to tell her.”
Daisuke blinked. “Oh, yes, of course.”
Nabiki smiled. “You're really not very good at deception, are you? I know you four all skipped school yesterday, together, and I know you were seen touring temples. You should just tell me what's going on. I might even be able to arrange help, for a reasonable price.”
Hiroshi looked at the other three, then sighed. There was no way they could allay Nabiki's suspicions now; they would have to negotiate.
“Give us a few minutes,” he said. “We'll signal.”
Nodding, Nabiki stood up and squeezed past Sayuri.
Hiroshi smiled. “Don't forget your bag. You wouldn't want to accidentally record us, would you?”
“OK,” Yuka said. “We try and convince her this isn't something she wants to get involved in, and we try to get a look at her dossiers, but we don't tell her what's really going on.”
Hiroshi nodded. They would need information on all the fiancées. Getting it from Nabiki would be safer than using the Master PC, but she was too greedy to be trusted with the full story.
“And we let Hiroshi do all the talking,” Daisuke said, “since he made himself the smart one.”
“Most of the talking,” Sayuri corrected. “If he gets carried away, I'll stop him.”
Hiroshi waved at Nabiki, who stopped examining the menu and strolled over.
“Fruitful discussion?” she asked, as she sat back down.
“What would it take for us to get unhindered access to your files?” Hiroshi asked. “And I don't mean money.”
For a moment shock flickered across Nabiki's face. “You don't think small, do you? What are you offering?”
“There is a threat to you, against which martial arts will not help. We will counter that threat.”
“A bold claim,” Nabiki said.
Smiling, Hiroshi pointed over his shoulder. “You see that building across the road, and a little to the left?”
“The one people are crossing the road to avoid?” Nabiki said. “I noticed that on my way here. You know why?”
“We do,” Hiroshi said. “Something terrible happened there. See-”
“It's on fire,” Nabiki said flatly.
Hiroshi nodded, turning round to look. He couldn't see much, looking through two sets of windows, but he could just make out orange light flickering behind the dirt-smeared glass.
“It's on fire,” Nabiki repeated, “and people are still ignoring it. That takes more than a bad reputation.”
“Magic,” Hiroshi confirmed.
“And you expected it to be on fire, didn't you,” Nabiki said. “You started it, didn't you?”
“Which should tell you how serious the situation is.”
“You started a fire in a building no one can see. Who do you expect to put it out?”
“That should wear off soon,” Hiroshi said, once the monster the Master PC user had become finally died.
“You four, temples, and magic,” Nabiki said thoughtfully. “Why not ask Cologne for help?”
“She has her own agenda.”
“Smart thinking, especially from you. This a temporary thing?”
“We hope so.”
“But it might not be. Hmm, on paper, our school has twenty-seven clubs. I'm treasurer of twenty-three of them.”
“It does?” Daisuke said, surprised.
“Kickbacks?” Hiroshi guessed. “Money raised for them gets split between you and the teachers?”
Nabiki smiled. “You four are going to join one of them. You'll be the only active members.”
“Giving us a cover story,” Hirsohi said. “What's in it for you?”
“I'm going to investigate that building,” Nabiki said. “If it looks like you had good reason for setting it on fire, we'll talk terms.”
“Good,” Hiroshi said. Hopefully, once Nabiki realised fifty people had died there, all on the same day, she'd be worried enough to offer reasonable terms, and the time it took her to investigate would give them opportunity to get better prepared.
There was a small risk Nabiki would panic, stirring up more trouble, but they'd all agreed that wasn't very likely.
“However,” Nabiki said, her voice cold as ice, “if I don't like what I find, you four are going to be very busy fund-raising for your new club. The money will just roll in.”
“To your pocket,” Sayuri said sourly.
Nabiki smiled. “That's what happens, if you cross me.”
(Posted Sat, 18 Sep 2010 19:55)
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