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Post by Asai Yuuto on Aug 23, 2006 20:54:15 GMT -5
The skin beneath his scar jumped, and for a moment he made no other sound besides the rise and fall of his breath. With calm, smooth movements, Yuuto retrieved a few coins from his leather pouch. He left the money on the table, so intent on vacating that he didn't attempt to hide his deliberate over-payment from Orie's eyes.
He rose, seized Orie's arm with firm fingers, and lifted the young man to his feet with ease. When his bodyguards across the tavern made as if to follow, Yuuto waved them away with a flick of his wrist and hard, frigid eyes.
Yuuto bodily dragged Orie alongside and away from the tavern onlookers. His grip was solid, unbreakable- quick strides carrying them toward the fields.
"Answer me fully or explain what you meant, but do not approach my question with another of your own," he said finally, not looking at the boy as he spoke in low, clipped tones.
When there seemed to be no one within earshot, he swung Orie's frame around before him. Yuuto's height towered above, and he squeezed both palms against the archer's shoulders before bending his head to a more equal level.
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Post by Orie Hidehira on Aug 23, 2006 21:09:55 GMT -5
There were plenty of thoughts running through Orie's head at that moment. Most were panicked, half-finished and considerably less coherent variations of Well, shit. He could still feel the slight pain the deathgrip had left in his arm, but that was the least of his worries, as he found himself cornered into a wall while his mind struggled to catch up with the unexpected turn of events.
"I'm...sorry?" he muttered first, blinking at the general's face. It was a late response to Asai's quiet command, and the first thing he succeeded in fully registering. It took a few moments to gather the rest of his wits, and he figured that those precious seconds no doubt only made the general's disposition worse. He finally swallowed, braced himself and tried, "...I'm going to assume that you did not know I was told to assasinate the prince."
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Post by Asai Yuuto on Aug 23, 2006 21:42:46 GMT -5
Yuuto's thumbs swiped across Orie's collarbone, pressing in a manner that was more coaxing than menacing. Still, his palms remained atop narrow shoulders.
"Orie-kun," he began, his voice hushed, throat tight. "The Mikado, did he make it to China? Is he alive?"
He gave the boy an involuntary shake. The hope of Akihito's survival that Yuuto had been harboring was coiling inside his chest, ready to wither and die at any second.
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Post by Orie Hidehira on Aug 23, 2006 21:52:03 GMT -5
Orie relaxed slightly when he saw he wasn't going to be speared through the middle, but he still tense enough that his fingers were twitching with the effort to keep perfectly still. "He..." he began, only to be cut off at the touch near the base of his neck. He couldn't stop himself before he shot Asai an unimpressed look, but quickly corrected it by looking down. What did the man think he was dealing with - a domesticated animal?
"I don't know," he answered, when the shake brought him back to the issue at hand, "I saw him run to the docks in the town I chased him to and didn't find him after that. I assume he snuck on to a ship bound for China." He shrugged his shoulders a bit, trying to ease the grip there. It was beginning to hurt - his shoulderblades were pressing into the wall with little mercy.
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Post by Asai Yuuto on Aug 23, 2006 22:28:06 GMT -5
Maybe he's still...
Something loosened inside of Yuuto, and his stomach stopped dangerously churning sake. After a slow exhalation, he released Orie's shoulders and straightened to his full height.
Resting his palm atop the swords tucked at his waist, Yuuto glanced left, then right- fully gaging their privacy.
"I gave no such command," he said mostly to himself, back-tracking through the conversation once he knew Orie hadn't been responsible for Akihito's "death." His free hand rose to scratch over the sharp scar, a horrible habit he seemed unable to break.
"I don't know if you remember me from your childhood, and perhaps Sensei didn't tell you much when you had grown, but Koyada-sama is my cherished master."
Yuuto chuckled, morbidly amused. "It's counter-productive to kill the man you live and die for."
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Post by Orie Hidehira on Aug 23, 2006 22:33:17 GMT -5
Orie didn't move from where he stood, but as soon as he was released, he slumped over slightly, reaching up to rub at the junction of neck and shoulders. Standing up against the wall had also been torture for his spine, since his quiver at the back of his waist had bent his body at an awkward, uncomfortable angle.
"I remember you," Orie responded shortly. "But as a child, I didn't make it a habit to ask visiting men who they lived or died for. Usually that's private and not something you sh-..." He cut himself off as soon as he realized what he was saying. His discomfort had made him forget his manners, apparently. "Ah...I apologize for my rudeness, Asai-sama," he amended, blushing at his mistake. "And for trying to kill Koyada-sama."
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Post by Asai Yuuto on Aug 23, 2006 22:52:42 GMT -5
The warmth infusing into the boy's face prodded Yuuto's sense of humor, and he thought it possible Orie had misunderstood the depth of his relationship with the young emperor. Nevertheless, Yuuto nodded, more willing to accept this apology than the ones Orie had previously offered out of politeness.
"Yes, you tried to assassinate the Mikado, but I'm more interested in the man that wanted you to try. Tell me everything you know."
Then, just in case Orie had any second thoughts, Yuuto let the fingers resting atop his katana curve around the hilt. He knew Orie would understand; this was an order, not a suggestion.
It was time to find where Orie Hidehira's loyalty laid.
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Post by Orie Hidehira on Aug 23, 2006 23:06:47 GMT -5
Orie was, at least in this regard, not stupid enough to choose a traitor's side which, judging by the purposeful movement of Asai's hand to the handle of his sword, would most likely lead to his immediate elimination. His eyes moved from the man's fingers to his face and he straightened. The general still bested him by more than a few inches, but he wasn't about to let himself be intimidated. Grandfather had taught him to always take things in stride.
Well, unless you were insulting his archery.
"Watanabe Hiroto-san gave the order, Asai-sama." He kept his eyes fixed on the general's as he spoke, and was careful not to let them waver. It might give the false impression of nervousness or fear, and might lead to the conclusion that he was lying. "He told me that you were not available but had left that command to be filled."
The man he had met had seemed to be amiable. He was calm, soft-spoken and smiled throughout the exchange, but appearances were deceiving. Come to think of it, he had instructed Orie to report immediately after killing the prince, and directly to the general, stressing the exact order of things. Orie frowned at the memory. Bastard, don't you think for a moment that I'll take your fall for you.
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Post by Asai Yuuto on Aug 26, 2006 21:02:22 GMT -5
"Watanabe-san..." he mimed, syllables slow with thought.
It would be plausible, if Yuuto actually considered it, that Watanabe would be the type to attempt such an underhanded tactic. The man was getting on in years, and his clan had been slowly thinning through the generations. With their daimyo long since passed, Watanabe-san had often expressed his utter distaste at the trials he encountered as a ronin.
Yuuto knew, after only one sitting of shado, that Watanabe was hiding more than his smile behind the tea steam. His instincts on matters such as these were rarely mistaken, but Yuuto had hoped, rather vainly, that he would be proved wrong.
But Orie was probably easy enough to lure; he hadn't yet spent enough years from under Kazuya's thumb.
Still, if he is Sensei's treasured pupil, the boy isn't a simpleton...
"And are you prone to following every odd demand you receive from old, seasoned samurai, without question? Simply because they say it is Asai-sama's wish?"
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Post by Orie Hidehira on Aug 27, 2006 11:05:21 GMT -5
"I am not so foolish," Orie responded shortly. The tone of his voice didn't change, but his eyes flared for a second at the condescending implication, partly because it held some truth in it.
He was hardly at any standing to be able to choose whom he listened to - he was only an ambassador from his grandfather, a representative and nothing more, but despite that he didn't believe in a man with just words and a kind expression. He had been sent to follow orders, though, not to trust or judge people, so if he was given a command, was it that wrong to follow it?
"He had your seal," he explained. "When he gave me the details, it was there. I thought it might be fake, but I compared it to the ones at the end of your letters to grandfather and they were exactly the same."
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Post by Asai Yuuto on Aug 27, 2006 14:28:15 GMT -5
Tilting his head back, Yuuto laughed- the oddest reaction. Smiling, he removed his hand from his katana hilt to give Orie a friendly pat across the bicep.
"Clever man, isn't he? We really must reward him for such ingenuity."
The words were amiable enough, but Yuuto's sharp grin belied their meaning. Somehow, he thought Orie would respond well to the opportunity Yuuto had presented; the boy's pride had been stung.
Yuuto, himself, felt a little expectation at the prospect. If someone should be made to pay for Akihito's disappearance, Watanabe was a sound candidate. Perhaps, with a little strategic foresight, Watanabe could even be used to expel some of the Shogun's suspicions over rebellions.
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Post by Orie Hidehira on Aug 27, 2006 19:28:17 GMT -5
"We? I'm going?" Orie repeated, a little taken aback. He thought about this for a moment before choosing a better question - "I am allowed to?"
It might've not been his fault, but even if he had been used, it was his arrow that had almost embedded itself inside the prince's chest. To forgive so easily - Orie didn't know if this was clear-sightedness or just stupidity. He should be thankful, though, he supposed. If he had been in the other man's position, Orie would've taken his anger out on himself, even if it was misdirected.
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Post by Asai Yuuto on Aug 27, 2006 19:43:06 GMT -5
"You would prefer I dealt with the matter myself?" Yuuto's lips pulled into a moue, the expression hardly looking innocent on his sharp, mature face.
"I assumed Orie-kun would eagerly demonstrate the skills Sensei so highly praised." Here Yuuto's mouth slanted, white, even teeth peeking from behind his smirk.
"It's hardly wise for me to trust my body in hands I haven't found capable."
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Post by Orie Hidehira on Aug 27, 2006 19:52:13 GMT -5
The line of Orie's mouth flattened and then quivered with the obvious restraint required not to say exactly what he had in response to something like that. Based on their conversation thus far, Asai Yuuto was obviously not a man who threw out words without knowing their weight. Unless he was that oblivious, there was no way the older man didn't realize the...other meanings that could be construed from his sentences.
"I would think that, judging based on both experience and age, Asai-sama is fully capable of taking care of himself," he commented off-handedly. "But if that is not so, I, of course, have no qualms against tracking down the man who gave me a false order."
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Post by Asai Yuuto on Aug 27, 2006 20:14:40 GMT -5
Yuuto stared flatly, his expression completely void of anything discernible. Then, as if Orie's indirect insult had truly pleased him, Yuuto began to laugh- a real laugh this time.
"I like you, Orie-kun," he said as his chuckling trailed off- eyes fond.
"For a master of the archery traditions, you still parry quite well." Yuuto's brows lifted upward. "And I am delighted at your complete inability to properly kiss my ass."
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