Part Two
“Thirteen hours on a plane . . .” Hokuto moaned as they finally touched down. “That was horrible . . . I can only imagine how my hair looks.”
Seimei gave her a brief glance. “Your hair looks fine. Stop worrying.”
“Easy for you to say, you’re a guy . . .” Hokuto glared at him.
“I think that’s the man we’re supposed to meet,” Omi said. He was keeping a sharp eye out in all directions, and saw a small Japanese man standing about twenty feet away.
Hokuto fished a photograph out of her purse and nodded. “That’s him all right!” She waved cheerfully to the man, then walked over, towing Seimei behind her, the rest following under their own steam. “Ohayo goziamashita,” she said with a small bow. She surreptitiously checked the paper. “Hayashi-san?”
“Yes, yes, of course,” the man said, smiling genially at all of them. “Hayashi Kento, Japanese ambassador.” He bowed back. “You must be . . .” His voice trailed off as he attempted to determine which twin was which.
“Sakurazuka Hokuto,” she introduced herself. “This is my brother, Sumeragi Seimei.”
The man blinked at the oddity of identical twins with different last names, but let it go.
“This is Takamura Omi, our bodyguard,” Hokuto continued.
“Oh, you must be Takamura Suoh’s son,” the man said, brightening at the fact that the twins had come well-prepared.
“And this is Arisugawa Ame,” Hokuto finished. “She came along ‘cause, um, she could.”
Hayashi blinked. “Well. It’s very nice to meet you all. If you don’t mind me rushing you, could we go straight to meet the other members of the Council after a quick stop at the hotel? I know you’re probably tired, but the situation is very urgent.”
Hokuto nudged her brother and muttered, “And he doesn’t want us going before the UN in what we’re wearing . . .”
Seimei surveyed their clothing: battered tanktops and jeans. Then Omi: sweatshirt and jeans. The world could be ending and Omi would still be wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. Ame was similarly dressed.
“That would be fine,” Seimei said, realizing that no one else was answering. “We understand the gravity of the problem.”
Hayashi gave a quick sigh of relief and guided them to the car that was waiting. “I had your luggage picked up already, but you might want to check and make sure it’s all there,” he said.
The four of them poked through the suitcases and agreed that they had everything, then got into the car.
“Ooh, the Hilton,” Hokuto said. “I’m impressed . . .”
“You’re going to steal all the towels, aren’t you,” Seimei said.
“Only if they’re monogrammed,” she said. “Let’s go change.”
Seimei looked at her and smirked. “What are we going to wear?”
Her eyes glittered. “Oh, I had a few ideas . . .”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I should’ve let them go in what they were wearing, Hayashi reflected glumly. Well, Ame was fine; she had changed into a casual but still nice-looking dress. Omi had changed into a different sweatshirt and jeans. The twins were wearing black catsuits and matching red jackets, with combat boots.
“This way,” he said, guiding them through the building. They were all looking around, somewhat boggled at their surroundings.
He pushed open the door. The rest of the Council members were already there. “May I have everybody’s attention, please,” Hayashi called. The members settled down into their chairs. “May I present the solution to our problem.”
Ame bowed. Omi was checking out the exits. Seimei smirked. Hokuto bounced.
Hayashi looked between the twins and prayed he didn’t screw it up. At least their clothes were tight; he had the minimal difference of chest size to help. “Sakurazuka Hokuto.”
She bowed, then waved cheerfully. She looked like she was about to speak until a sharp elbow in her side from Seimei’s direction shut her up.
“Sumeragi Seimei.”
Seimei merely bowed.
“Takamura Omi.”
Omi bowed, but he didn’t lower his eyes for an instant.
“And Arisugawa Ame.”
She bowed again.
“Mr. Hayashi,” someone important-looking said, “what is this, who are they, and why are they the solution to our problem?”
“They’re going to find the murderer.”
“They’re a bunch of kids,” someone said disdainfully.
“Hey! I resent that!” Hokuto said. “I am fifteen years old, and so is my brother. Ame-chan is fourteen and Omi-kun is seventeen! We are not children!”
“Hokuto,” Seimei said calmly, “shut up.”
“We don’t need them,” someone said.
Seimei looked at Hokuto, then shrugged. “Fine, then. We’ll be going. I’ll send your family a sympathy card when you get murdered.” He turned to go, tugging Hokuto with him.
“Man, I thought I was mean,” Hokuto said. “For a second there, I thought you were Father.”
“Wait, wait!” Hayashi said.
Seimei turned around. “You’ve changed your mind?”
“My mind was firmly made up from the beginning,” Hayashi said. He turned back to his Council members. “We’ve agreed that there must be some sort of magic at work here.”
“Some of us agreed,” a council member spoke up.
“The police certainly can’t find anything,” someone else said.
“If anyone has a better idea, I’m willing to hear it,” Hayashi said. “But as it stands now, these ‘children’ are our only chance.”
“Maybe we should get the details on the situation?” Seimei asked. Hokuto opened her mouth. Seimei shot her an ‘I’m-the-better-diplomat-now-be-quiet’ look. She glared back but said nothing.
“Yes, yes, of course,” Hayashi said, thanking God that Seimei was the spokesperson.
“This isn’t something for children to get involved in,” someone else called out.
Seimei looked at him. “No, but I’m sure shoving my hand through a man’s chest wasn’t something for a child to be involved in either, but I did that when I was thirteen, Hokuto at twelve. So does anyone have any further objections?”
Hayashi winced.
“Mr. Hayashi, would you care to explain this latest remark?”
“No,” Hayashi said.
“It’s quite simple,” Seimei said. “I was making a point, which you, quite obviously, didn’t get.” He looked at Hayashi. “Are you done wasting our time?”
Hayashi was looking at him with new respect. “Your father taught you well.”
“Which one?” Seimei asked.
“Ah, Sakurazuka Seishirou, of course,” Hayashi said. “He has the same way of making a point.”
“Thank you, Hayashi-san,” Seimei said. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Have a seat and let us explain what’s going on,” Hayashi said.
The four of them sat down. Omi sat back from the table in case he needed to get up quickly.
It took Hayashi about ten minutes to explain what Seishirou had explained in two. Hokuto leaned over. “Nice man, but kinda wordy,” she mumbled to her brother.
“Who’s talking?” Seimei murmured back, gaining a truly dirty look.
She kicked him under the table.
Omi and Ame rolled their eyes.
“How have the people been killed?” Seimei asked, deciding it was high time they got to work.
“We don’t really know,” Hayashi said. “Rather messily. Their hearts are torn out. And missing.”
Seimei and Hokuto exchanged an uneasy glance.
“How many have been killed so far?” Hokuto asked, all business now that she had something serious to focus on.
“Five,” Hayashi answered. “And the letters from the terrorists are becoming more threatening every time.”
“No signs of breaking and entering?” Seimei asked.
“None. They can be locked in, with any number of bodyguards, and somehow the assassins always get in. Nobody ever hears or sees anything.”
Hokuto looked at Seimei with a frown and said in a low voice, “That sounds very much like Father.”
“Yeah, but Father doesn’t care about this stuff. And no one else should be able to do this. Except us.”
“Someone can,” Hokuto said.
“Obviously.” Seimei turned back to the Council. “Has anyone ever been in the room with someone while it happened?”
“Yes, once,” Hayashi said. “They were killed as well.”
“Just peachy,” Hokuto said.
“You were the one who was excited about this,” Seimei said.
Hokuto glared at him.
“Can we go to any scenes of the crime, so to speak?” Seimei asked.
“Of course,” Hayashi said. “The most recent was the night before last. We’ve kept everything intact for you.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
“Whoever did this knew what he was doing,” Seimei said, poking around the room.
“Or she,” Hokuto pointed out.
“Hm,” Seimei agreed. The carpet was bloodstained; the body had been removed. As far as he could tell, nothing else had been moved. He fished in his pockets for some ofada.
“Whatcha doin’?” Hokuto asked.
“Personal postcognition,” Seimei said, putting the ofada on the floor, in the middle of the blood.
“Yuck. That always makes you sick!”
“I don’t see any better options, do you?”
“No.” Hokuto pouted.
“What are you doing?” Hayashi asked.
“I’m going to cast a spell that will enable me to see through this man’s eyes for about the last five minutes of his life,” Seimei asked.
Hayashi’s eyes widened. “You can do that?”
“Unfortunately, yes. May I have some water?”
Ame got him a cup from the bathroom. Seimei poured it on the ofada, then knelt on the floor. Omi settled himself behind the omnyouji, ready to catch him when he crumbled, which he always did after this particular spell. Seimei put his hands together, closed his eyes, and began to chant softly.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
He was walking around in the house, getting ready for bed, as on any normal day. He had to admit he was slightly nervous, given what had been going on lately. But the doors and windows were locked, and he had his two most trusted bodyguards outside the door.
He finished changing and made sure his alarm clock was set for the next morning. Then he -
heard a small noise behind him.
Before he could turn -
He felt something slamming through his back and out his chest. He couldn’t even scream. He looked down and attempted to see through his pain-dimming, blurry vision. He could almost make out a hand, then -
blackness.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Seimei let out a gasp and slumped backwards into Omi’s arms. He spent a few seconds shuddering and breathing harshly.
“You okay?” Hokuto knelt in front of him.
Seimei made a choking noise.
“It looks like he can’t breathe,” Ame observed quietly.
“He’s stuck in the vision, I think,” Hokuto said. She reached out and shook Seimei roughly. “Seimei! Wake up, Sei-chan! It’s not really you!”
Seimei doubled over in Omi’s arms, still gasping for breath, one hand clutching his chest.
“Damn it!” Hokuto grabbed her brother by the chin, tilting his head up, and slapped him hard across the face.
Seimei drew in a shuddering breath. His eyes cracked open. “Hokuto-chan?” he whispered hoarsely.
“Hai, it’s me,” she said. “Daijoubu ka?”
“My chest hurts . . .” he said faintly. “I’m gonna throw up, I think . . .”
Omi picked him up wordlessly and brought him into the bathroom, where he was promptly, violently ill. Then he huddled, shivering, in Omi’s arms.
“Well, that sucked,” Hokuto said. “Are you okay, Sei-chan?”
He nodded, then shook his head. “I . . . I don’t know. That was . . . not good.”
“You’ve certainly never gotten stuck before,” Hokuto said. “What happened?”
Seimei looked down at his hand. “I am never killing anyone the way Father does again. That’s just . . . horrible.”
“Why did you get stuck?” Hokuto asked.
“I don’t know. Usually I get free when they do, but this time . . .” Seimei frowned and put two and two together. “I don’t think their souls are moving on.”
“Again pointing to the same way Father used to do it,” Hokuto said. “This is truly weird. Is there another Sakurazukamori running around that we didn’t know about?”
“No,” Seimei said. He put his hands on the edge of the bathtub and pushed himself into a standing position, with Omi’s help. “Let’s go. Do you need to see the body?”
“We should,” Hokuto said.
“Well, count me out,” Seimei said. “I’ve done my part for today.”
“Don’t worry about it, Sei-chan,” Hokuto said, giving her brother a sympathetic hug. The three of them walked out of the bathroom to wear Ame and Hayashi were waiting.
“Are you all right, Seimei-san?” Hayashi asked, sounding panicked.
Seimei forced a smile. “Hai, daijoubu,” he said. He looked pretty limp and sort of pale, but not too bad otherwise. “It just wasn’t a pretty sight, that’s all.”
“Do you know what happened?”
“Apparently someone walked up behind him and put a fist through his heart,” Seimei said, a little shakily.
“You’re not supposed to do it from behind,” Hokuto said, frowning. “Not only does it make you a dishonorable bastard, but it’s harder. You have to go through the spine.”
Seimei shrugged. “I saw what I saw. I don’t even know for sure it was a fist; by the time he looked down his vision had blurred too much. It could have been a weapon of some sort.”
Hayashi sighed. “But you’re all right?”
“Yes, I’m all right, just a little shaken,” Seimei said. “Don’t worry, I know you wouldn’t want to have to deal with my parents if I got hurt. I promise not to die on you.”
Hokuto was poking around the room. “Is there anything here we can use to trace it?”
Seimei shook his head. “No, we don’t know what things were like beforehand.”
Hokuto eyed him. “Ne, should we set up some wards for Hayashi-san? I mean, he brought us in, he has to be pretty high on the hit list.”
Hayashi paled.
“Hai, we can put them around his house,” Seimei answered. He looked at Hayashi. “Can you bring us to the morgue, to see the body?”
“Of course,” Hayashi said. They went back out to the car and drove down to the hospital.
“I’m gonna wait in the car,” Seimei announced, closing his eyes.
Omi hesitated, looking between the two twins.
“Go with her,” Seimei told him. “I’ll be okay here. Ame, how about you stay with me and if anyone looks at us funny, you can fry them?”
“Sure,” Ame said, her eyes lighting up at the thought of blowing something up.
“All right,” Omi said. He, Hokuto, and Hayashi got out of the car and headed into the hospital. Hayashi guided them to the morgue and got permission to go in.
“It’s this one here,” Hayashi said, then stood back. Omi stood far enough away so he couldn’t see, but could still keep an eye on Hokuto.
Hokuto looked down at the body. “Yeah, I’d have to say it’s a man, or a woman as the case may be. Though how on earth they got the magic to be doing this is beyond me.” She drew the sheet back up over the body. “What time is it?”
“It’s almost ten,” Omi told her.
“Ah, let’s get Hayashi safely home.” She smiled sweetly at the ambassador. “And Seimei can set up some wards so you’ll be safe.”
“Arigatou,” he said. They headed back out to the car.
“What’s the verdict?” Seimei asked, eyes half-closed.
“It looks just like we thought it would,” Hokuto said.
“Weird,” Seimei said.
They drove back to Hayashi’s house in silence. Seimei set up a pentacle of ofada around his house and set up the wards.
“Now just stay inside these,” Seimei instructed, completely wilting with exhaustion. “We’ll come get you in the morning.”
“Thank you very much,” Hayashi said. “We’re depending on you.”
“Great,” Seimei muttered. Omi helped him back into the car.
“So this is what it’s like to have a job,” Hokuto said as the chauffeur drove them back to the hotel. “Man, the real world bites.”
“You were the one who was happy,” Omi reminded her. Seimei had already fallen asleep, head drooping onto his sister’s shoulder.
“Yeah, but anyone can make a mistake . . .” Hokuto said.
“Quiet,” Ame said. “You’ll keep Seimei awake.”
“Uhh . . .?” Seimei asked.
“Nothing. Sleep.” Hokuto smoothed his hair. By the time they reached the hotel, he was sound asleep. Omi carried him up to the hotel room. They left the door adjoining the two bedrooms open.
“Good night everyone!” Hokuto yawned.
“Oyasumi,” Ame said. “Don’t forget, tomorrow’s another big day.”
“Ame, don’t make me hit you.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++