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Silence is Steel Grey A Rurouni Kenshin FanFic by jerjonji
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Chapter Two: Survival on the Street 101The sharp rap on the door startled the dozing Okashira, his laptop sliding off his chest, and his English lit book unopened next to him. He moved fluidly to the door, scooping up his long trench coat and shoving his twin kodachis into their proper location. The man on the other side wasn’t startled by the fast moving teen, but fell in step slightly behind him. Jiya had assigned Hannya to become one of his bodyguards since Aoshi was a child, and Hannya knew the habits of the young leader inside out. He could predict every move the Okashira made, and frequently anticipated Aoshi’s requests. He had worked his entire adult life at becoming the person Aoshi could depend on, and although Aoshi wasn’t sure, there were times he could feel Hannya’s protective spirit at school. He’d told Hannya countless times that school was off-limit, but while Hannya nodded respectfully, Aoshi feared he chose to ignore the direct order regularly. The early evening rounds were a habit Aoshi had begun before he became the leader of the Oniwabanshu. After an hour or so of being home from school, Hannya would come by and they’d move out into the city streets. Aoshi contacted every operative on the street personally several times a week in an unpredictable configuration. He’d personally recruited many of the homeless knowing their invisibility to the average person made them a perfect resource for his spy network. While few of the street people knew the position of the young man who listened to them, feed them coffee and donuts, and who tucked a few critical dollars in their coat pockets when they weren’t looking, he’d won over their hearts. They felt safer with him around as if he’d take care of them, barely noticing the shadow following Aoshi. If asked, they might be able to describe the slender, self-assured teen, but when they talked about him, not even Hannya recognized the Okashira. Tonight, however, Aoshi was on a mission. He quietly asked about the shipment Kanny was expecting, but the word on the street was silent. No one heard of anything major in the works, and it nagged the corners of his mind that the street was so still. He met a few of his most trusted men and set them on the task of researching the inner workings of Kanny’s gang. He wasn’t very happy about the prospect of working for Kanny, but some of his men were seriously chaffing at the boredom lately. He leaned against the railing next to the polluted harbor and watched the boats arriving from far away places, the sun setting behind them, casting a spell of dancing colors over the rusty hulls. Hannya joined him as silent as the fog moving in over the water. “Jamie’ll be waiting for you in a bit.” Aoshi nodded at the gentle reminder, and turned to go back to the hotel. “One more stop,” he responded, recalling someone he hadn’t seen recently. Hannya nodded. “She’s on the way home. Her new corner is First and Park.” He handed Aoshi a small package and he slipped it into his pocket. It didn’t even strike Aoshi as odd that Hannya was prepared for his visit, or that he knew who he wanted to see and where she was located. Hannya did it so often that it would have been rare for him not to anticipate where the young master was heading. Aoshi knelt down next to the old woman sleeping on the hot air grate, covered in a fairly new sleeping bag. “Rani,” he said softly shaking her. The old woman opened her eyes, and smiled at the face hovering over hers. “Long time since you’se last here,” she said groggily sitting up. Aoshi handed her the brown paper package. Her eyes lit up. “Mint?” she asked. “Last time you brought them imitation Oreos. Her shaky fingers picked at the paper uselessly. Aoshi tore open a corner. She peeked inside at the wrapper. “Mint,” she said satisfied. She wrapped up the package and hid it deep inside one of her shopping bags. “I got a hankerin’ for strawberry,” she announced. Hannya handed him a lit cigarette and he placed it between the bony fingers. “Real strawberries or strawberry filled?” he asked. She laughed and it started him. It was a full rich laugh that seemed mismatched with the skin and bones in front of him. “I like you, boy. You’se all right. Now, where’s someone like me gonna’ put real strawberries?” The amusement in her voice warmed him. “Strawberry, it is,” Aoshi promised. “One of my men will bring ‘em by tomorrow. That soon enough?” Her eyes laughed at the anticipated treat. “Don’t look so serious, child. You act like the po-leece have heard about that big deal goin’ down tonight.” “Tonight?” Aoshi inquired, keeping the surprise out of his voice, the best information on the street for the price of a package of cookies, he thought. One thing about Rani, if you needed something nobody else knew, she was your gal. By the time she finished, Aoshi was late for his workout with his trainer, had a crick in his neck, and his stomach was grumbling. But he was ready for his meeting with Kanny. He flipped open his cell phone to warn Jiya that he was running late and then he and Hannya moved on to the next part of his long evening. It’s gonna’ be one of those nights, he thought, and I still have that essay to write for school.
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