Post by Knowledge on Sept 20, 2012 15:19:38 GMT -5
OPENING
The hallway was dim and quiet, empty save for the one black-robed, heavy-looking man who had his feet solidly planted outside a heavy-looking door, looking very much like he was standing guard. There was something in the way he stood that seemed to indicate that he was not the type of man people were prone to bothering; a sort of ominous aura that, coupled with the almost overly straight-backed posture, made him look like a military man.
Which was, of course, exactly what he was. The the expression on the man's face was as hard as the dull concrete walls that surrounded him, and he stood silently, as if waiting for something. It wasn't long before distant footsteps could be heard coming down the hallway, and two men wearing similar robes to the heavy-looking man's rounded a corner some fifty meters down the concrete tunnel at a brisk pace. Just like the heavy-looking man, it was clear that these two men were also of the military persuasion. The one in the front was tall and muscular, with eyes as sharp as any zanpakutō and a stride that resembled a large boulder rolling down a mountain, whereas the one in the back was smaller, more graceful, less akin to a boulder and more to a feline predator.
The two newcomers reached the heavy-looking man, who gave the two a very stiff, very serious salute.
"Is this it?" asked the tall man, returning the salute in a manner that suggested that he was less interested in formalities and more interested in whatever was behind the door.
"Yes sir, this is where we're keeping him. It took five of us to find and capture him. He killed two and hospitalized one, he's currently undergoing some sort of surgery at Third. It's looking grim, sir."
"Should've brought more men," said the graceful man, his voice silky-smooth, his expression remaining neutral, "or better ones."
The heavy-looking man bristled visibly at the comment, and opened his mouth as if to say something, but the tall man interrupted him before he uttered a single syllable.
"Enough. We're here to question him. Open it up."
The heavy-looking man bit down on his anger glared at the graceful man, whose expression was still neutral. "Yes, sir." He produced a key from within the folds of his robe and turned to unlock the door behind him.
The lock opened with an audible clank and the door swung inwards, revealing a small room, brighter than the hallway, with a table in the center. Two chairs sat facing one another across the table, and one was occupied by a lithe man in a torn white dress shirt and charcoal grey suit pants. There was blood on the shirt, but it didn't seem belong to the man wearing it. The man's head was covered by a black cloth bag, his hands were restrained and resting in his lap and he remained motionless when the three men stepped inside the chamber.
"You may leave us," said the tall man, not taking his eyes off the man in the chair.
"Sir, I'm not sure—"
"You may leave us," repeated the graceful man, making it abundantly clear that this was not up for debate, "and lock the door when you leave."
The heavy-looking man flushed faintly red and bowed out of the room, closing the door as he went and mumbling a faint "Yes, sir."
The tall man and the graceful man waited for the door to shut and the lock to clank back into place before the tall man took a deep breath and began speaking.
"Former lieutenant Kyousuke Tsukimiya, of Second then Fourth Division. Went missing some months after his promotion, presumed dead. Was rumored to still be alive in some circles, though an official inquiry was never made. Whereabouts unknown, until now. Wanted for murder, desertion, theft of Gotei 6 property, conspiring against Seireitei and abduction. Any of this sound familiar?"
The man with the bag on his head remained silent and motionless.
The tall man took two big steps toward the seated figure and yanked the bag off his head. The man in the chair winced as the sudden brightness stung his eyes and then his gaze rose to meet that of the tall man. "Hello, Saotome. It's been a while. I see you're still asking questions you already know the answer to. You never did learn that the point of interrogation was to learn new things, did you?"
Saotome tossed the bag to the floor in disgust, turning away from the seated figure, who was looking around the room with interest, taking in his situation.
The graceful man had been silent up until now, but he spoke as Saotome slumped into the chair opposite the other figure. "Come now, Tsukimiya. We just want your help, that's all. We'd like to find out about what happened to the Captain. We were hoping you'd be able to shed some light on the situation."
Tsukimiya's wandering gaze halted, and then fell on the graceful man. A humorless smile spread across his lips and he leaned back with a look of smugness. "Pretty pathetic that you guys need to ask a dead man for help. Which captain did you lose? Satine? Artix? Aros? Xyliver? I can't even keep track of all the captains I've seen come and go, it's almost as if the job is cursed."
"Don't play dumb with us, Tsukimiya," spat Saotome, the irritation clear in his voice. "We're referring to our former captain, Kasumi Suzumei. You knew her, back when you were in Second. She's gone missing. We think you know what happened to her."
The smile on Kyousuke's face flickered briefly, and he looked thoughtful for a split second. "Kasumi Suzumei," he muttered quietly, his voice trailing off. "I didn't know her very well, she was assigned to a different task force back when I was in Second. I knew her mostly by reputation, and I'm almost certain she didn't know me. I kept a low profile back then, as you no doubt remember. Now that you mention it, however, I may have seen someone that fit her description not long ago."
The graceful man's expression changed for the first time upon hearing what Kyousuke had said, and he leaned forward with interest. "Tell us about it. But first, tell us why you did it. Start at the beginning. We want to know everything."
"Do I have a choice?" asked Kyousuke, raising an eyebrow.
The looks on the two men's faces indicated that no, no he didn't. His shoulders slumped, and he sighed with a defeated look on his face. He took a breath.
"It started, as so many things do, with a woman."
The hallway was dim and quiet, empty save for the one black-robed, heavy-looking man who had his feet solidly planted outside a heavy-looking door, looking very much like he was standing guard. There was something in the way he stood that seemed to indicate that he was not the type of man people were prone to bothering; a sort of ominous aura that, coupled with the almost overly straight-backed posture, made him look like a military man.
Which was, of course, exactly what he was. The the expression on the man's face was as hard as the dull concrete walls that surrounded him, and he stood silently, as if waiting for something. It wasn't long before distant footsteps could be heard coming down the hallway, and two men wearing similar robes to the heavy-looking man's rounded a corner some fifty meters down the concrete tunnel at a brisk pace. Just like the heavy-looking man, it was clear that these two men were also of the military persuasion. The one in the front was tall and muscular, with eyes as sharp as any zanpakutō and a stride that resembled a large boulder rolling down a mountain, whereas the one in the back was smaller, more graceful, less akin to a boulder and more to a feline predator.
The two newcomers reached the heavy-looking man, who gave the two a very stiff, very serious salute.
"Is this it?" asked the tall man, returning the salute in a manner that suggested that he was less interested in formalities and more interested in whatever was behind the door.
"Yes sir, this is where we're keeping him. It took five of us to find and capture him. He killed two and hospitalized one, he's currently undergoing some sort of surgery at Third. It's looking grim, sir."
"Should've brought more men," said the graceful man, his voice silky-smooth, his expression remaining neutral, "or better ones."
The heavy-looking man bristled visibly at the comment, and opened his mouth as if to say something, but the tall man interrupted him before he uttered a single syllable.
"Enough. We're here to question him. Open it up."
The heavy-looking man bit down on his anger glared at the graceful man, whose expression was still neutral. "Yes, sir." He produced a key from within the folds of his robe and turned to unlock the door behind him.
The lock opened with an audible clank and the door swung inwards, revealing a small room, brighter than the hallway, with a table in the center. Two chairs sat facing one another across the table, and one was occupied by a lithe man in a torn white dress shirt and charcoal grey suit pants. There was blood on the shirt, but it didn't seem belong to the man wearing it. The man's head was covered by a black cloth bag, his hands were restrained and resting in his lap and he remained motionless when the three men stepped inside the chamber.
"You may leave us," said the tall man, not taking his eyes off the man in the chair.
"Sir, I'm not sure—"
"You may leave us," repeated the graceful man, making it abundantly clear that this was not up for debate, "and lock the door when you leave."
The heavy-looking man flushed faintly red and bowed out of the room, closing the door as he went and mumbling a faint "Yes, sir."
The tall man and the graceful man waited for the door to shut and the lock to clank back into place before the tall man took a deep breath and began speaking.
"Former lieutenant Kyousuke Tsukimiya, of Second then Fourth Division. Went missing some months after his promotion, presumed dead. Was rumored to still be alive in some circles, though an official inquiry was never made. Whereabouts unknown, until now. Wanted for murder, desertion, theft of Gotei 6 property, conspiring against Seireitei and abduction. Any of this sound familiar?"
The man with the bag on his head remained silent and motionless.
The tall man took two big steps toward the seated figure and yanked the bag off his head. The man in the chair winced as the sudden brightness stung his eyes and then his gaze rose to meet that of the tall man. "Hello, Saotome. It's been a while. I see you're still asking questions you already know the answer to. You never did learn that the point of interrogation was to learn new things, did you?"
Saotome tossed the bag to the floor in disgust, turning away from the seated figure, who was looking around the room with interest, taking in his situation.
The graceful man had been silent up until now, but he spoke as Saotome slumped into the chair opposite the other figure. "Come now, Tsukimiya. We just want your help, that's all. We'd like to find out about what happened to the Captain. We were hoping you'd be able to shed some light on the situation."
Tsukimiya's wandering gaze halted, and then fell on the graceful man. A humorless smile spread across his lips and he leaned back with a look of smugness. "Pretty pathetic that you guys need to ask a dead man for help. Which captain did you lose? Satine? Artix? Aros? Xyliver? I can't even keep track of all the captains I've seen come and go, it's almost as if the job is cursed."
"Don't play dumb with us, Tsukimiya," spat Saotome, the irritation clear in his voice. "We're referring to our former captain, Kasumi Suzumei. You knew her, back when you were in Second. She's gone missing. We think you know what happened to her."
The smile on Kyousuke's face flickered briefly, and he looked thoughtful for a split second. "Kasumi Suzumei," he muttered quietly, his voice trailing off. "I didn't know her very well, she was assigned to a different task force back when I was in Second. I knew her mostly by reputation, and I'm almost certain she didn't know me. I kept a low profile back then, as you no doubt remember. Now that you mention it, however, I may have seen someone that fit her description not long ago."
The graceful man's expression changed for the first time upon hearing what Kyousuke had said, and he leaned forward with interest. "Tell us about it. But first, tell us why you did it. Start at the beginning. We want to know everything."
"Do I have a choice?" asked Kyousuke, raising an eyebrow.
The looks on the two men's faces indicated that no, no he didn't. His shoulders slumped, and he sighed with a defeated look on his face. He took a breath.
"It started, as so many things do, with a woman."