bunnyfic 45
akjahkjweh DONE DONE DONE DONE DONE?! *SPAZZFLAIL* ;;
again, hovering over kanji gives you a translation. :Db
74-M, M15.
( 45: heart, mind, and soul )
The first thing Miyata noticed behind his eyelids when he slipped his netgear set on (ah, so familar~♪ and yet, like a lot of things in the past twenty-four hours, completely different) was that there was no splash page when he logged on. No giant [ WELCOME TO GOVNET ], just a brief, beautiful shimmer, and he was in.
He stopped and logged off, blinking. Then logged on and back off two more times just because he could, pausing again in the construct behind the loading screen. "...amazing," he said.
"What is?"
Miyata looked up. "You hacked my construct, Tama-chan? ♥"
"No," Tamamori lied, and Miyata grinned. There'd be no other way Tamamori could be in Miyata's loading gap, after all. The only reason Miyata knew how to pause within it in the first place was because Tamamori had shown him the route to his blueroom that one time, ages ago. "Tcht," Tamamori said, and looked somewhere nor-north-east. "You were taking too long to get there."
"Ah, well," Miyata grinned. "There was no sign on the door, so I was just looking at it."
"...that's because it's their intranet, dummy." Tamamori made a face. "How suicidal do you think it would be for you to go online proper?"
"Yes, but still," Miyata looked around. "Even every other intranet I've been on has either been registered with GOVENET, or based off of the same framework, so it was basically the same..."
"You used to work for the Government, so obviously some features of things would have been more likely," Tamamori said, clinical-style.
Still, Miyata imagined he could hear a pleased note at the use of past tense, and smiled. "I guess so."
"And how did I know I'd find you here?" another voice said.
"...Yokoo-san?" Miyata glanced around, recognizing that huffy tone but seeing no-one. "Eh?"
Following Tamamori's line of sight, he squinted. And found a rat.
It scampered-no, no, briskly walked all businesslike-through the whiteness toward them.
"For the love of Old Local!" Yokoo's voice continued from the avatar, and Miyata could almost imagine the little creature's eyebrows drawn in annoyance. "Page me if there's any trouble with M15's access, I says. And then, okay, Taisuke tells me, but there shouldn't be. And so okay, I says, that's fine; having no problems is a perfectly acceptable state of affairs."
Miyata watched in fascination as the rat just kept stomping toward them in a straight line, managing to appear much bigger than its floor-belly height.
"I have barely three bites in my mouth," Yokoo went on, "and what happens? Taisuke calls! M15's disappeared, he says! He logged on but didn't, he says! Where are they, Watta? Do you think something happened? Can you find them? Well, no, I don't, and of course I can!"
He stalked huffily right through where Tamamori and Miyata stood watching, marching down his straight course with efficient, indignant steps, tail flicking about and silver-grey coat rippling. "It's not rocket science, finding idiots! In fact, I do it to earn my keep! I just wish I didn't have to spend my lunch break at it, too!"
"...we're sorry?" Miyata called after Yokoo, continuing on his outward trajectory.
"Just stop getting lost in places that don't exist," Yokoo snapped without turning around, and then walked clean through the far white wall and disappeared.
"Ahh~ how funny," Miyata chuckled. "I guess this means we should probably go to where Takizawa is now..." But then he blinked. And laughed upon realizing that Tamamori was already gone.
*
As he was admitted into Takizawa's present scenario and took a look around, Miyata couldn't help but notice the way the quiet space seemed to allow his thoughts free reign to wander.
It was a traditional garden after the deliberate, meditative style first cultivated in the local world long before the First Collapse, and not seen (like so many things) since the Second. Small trees and manicured shrubs framed a tranquil pond; rocks, some moss-covered, some not, and a stone lantern were artistically strewn, more set naturally horizontal than vertical across a wide, wide expanse of carefully trimmed lawn.
Its simple beauty looked almost like a still image so calm was its aura, and slowly, carefully, Miyata lowered himself to bended knee, unwilling to disturb the peace. He'd seen flatscreen pictures of gardens like this before-his father had shown them to him way back. They were for thinking in, he had said, and Miyata had nodded at the time (and then asked naïvely if your head wasn't for thinking in, either. His father had laughed).
It all felt strangely full-circle. Or maybe a little more~ 375°?
Having lost his father to the Government all those years ago, the knowledge of the Old Local language and culture for what it was, that his father had imparted was the only thing that had allowed Miyata to live. And living had allowed him to meet Tamamori, and now... he'd gained another family after a fashion.
Life was all about balance like that, Miyata was quite sure: all the odds evened out in the end, and sad weights had light, happy things on the other ends of their see-saws. Without 'nothing', one could not have 'something', and getting life's worst was sometimes okay because the balance would be settled eventually, and something really good would come along...
Tamamori looked really gorgeous.
Blinking out of his thoughts, Miyata came to the realisation that they were both dressed to suit the theme. The hastily-constructed formal attire he'd applied to his avatar had been replaced by code a lot more elegant and fitting-the scenario probably had one of those preconditions attached to entry, he supposed, the way everybody at work had automatically logged on into a Government uniform. Ah, and it was a uniform here again...
A white kimono tucked neatly into his striped hakama, and that was fine, but it was the distinctive, mountain-striped 浅葱色羽織 of the ancient Shinsengumi law enforcers that made Miyata's stomach sink a little. Quietly, steadily, he removed the pair of swords-刀 and 脇差 his brain supplied unnecessarily-slung at his waist, and placed them horizontally as far as he could reach in front of him, respectfully, with both hands.
He had no right (or desire at all) to be armed in a place like this.
A little to Miyata's right, Tamamori knelt calmly in seiza as well, his long legs tucked neatly, properly, beneath him, and Miyata couldn't help but stare. The early afternoon sun set off the fiery threads in Tamamori's deep, gold-yellow furisode, bringing its silken pattern of soaring birds to life and flattering his skin with light tones. The scenario's midday warmth dusted his cheeks rose, and his hair was pinned neatly up at the back, his nape bare...
'So, do you come here often~?' Miyata almost wanted to whisper. 'Because if you don't, we totally should. ♥'
As if sensing the punful intention, Tamamori cast a sideways glare Miyata's way under his lashes that very plainly said, 'No.'
Miyata grinned happily at the ordinary occurrence. Ah~ it was okay, he wasn't really going to say anything that silly. Or anything at all, really: speaking didn't feel the done thing in a place like this, and they weren't alone anyhow.
At the water's edge, some paces away, a third figure that could really only be Takizawa Hideaki stood with his back to them, looking strong and imposing, for all the world like authority incarnate with his black hakama and crested haori over large, layered shoulders and kimono sleeves.
"Tono, at your leisure," said a half-familiar voice said from nowhere again, and Miyata blinked, glancing around in search of another rat or something. He didn't think it sounded like Takizawa had spoken...
Unable to sight another probable avatar and with no clues from Tamamori, Miyata gave an inward shrug and let himself relax. The Zen of the garden told him the mystery's answer would present itself in time, and even if it didn't, well~ that was alright, wasn't it?
A few more moments of silence held within the scenario before Takizawa turned to face them. Without hesitation, Miyata placed his hands on the ground, fingertips toward each other, almost touching, and lowered his forehead to the space between them. "失礼いたします," he said formally. Old Local seemed appropriate...
"M15," Takizawa said, his voice carrying in a way that made the hairs on the back of Miyata's neck stand on end. "Our infamous Government agent."
"Ex-Government," Tamamori said under his breath, though quietly enough that Takizawa probably didn't hear. It made Miyata smile.
"Ah~ that would be me..." Miyata said, unfolding himself carefully.
"No other," Takizawa agreed. "Rarely have we such trouble bringing in a charge." He spared a pointed glance Tamamori's way, here. "Much less one with such outrageous conditions attached to his contract."
Tamamori lowered his head in embarrassment and said nothing.
Well~ he couldn't have known the exact amount of trouble he'd cause Takizawa's group by declining to stay the first time, Miyata thought. And yet it was the surety that, even if Tamamori had known, his choices would have been no different that kept Miyata's smile unfaltering.
...mostly anyway.
"My best skater is out of commission," Takizawa continued sternly, counting the points off on his fingers as he turned back to Miyata. "There is a damaged Mass Public Transport with your name on it, and two squads of security guards injured or worse. You are a fugitive being harbored under my roof, which will bring the wrath of the Government down upon all our heads should you ever be found; furthermore, rectifying this problem is not the same simple matter of legal registration that it was for Tamamori or any of the others."
"-'was'?" Tamamori interrupted. He flushed when he realised he'd spoken, but didn't apologise.
"Iida-kun?" Takizawa said, and ah~ Miyata thought he'd recognised that invisi-voice.
"Your paperwork was completed the last time you stayed with us, and subsequently archived," Iida told Tamamori. "It merely needed to be updated before being sent this morning."
Tamamori's fists tightened a little where they rested atop his thighs, but he refrained from saying anything more. Takizawa gave a dry chuckle. "You're not staying without Miyata, we know. I hope you didn't think I gave Kitayama license to ruin his knees again for nothing."
"It's... not that-" Tamamori looked up then, surprise evident on his face. "Is Kitayama-kun alright?" Miyata felt something like relief flood his veins as well, at the sudden change in atmosphere. Takizawa's tone was warm now; strange, maybe, but fitting~
"As with anything concerning that one, I'm sure his remedy will present itself in the realm of the unconscious," Takizawa said, and seated himself cross-legged before them.
A less formal sitting style than seiza, Miyata noted, and also allowed his hands and posture to relax a little. "We're sorry for causing any trouble," he said, and bowed again. "本当に申し訳ございません."
Tamamori glanced aside. "If there's... things, I can help with, now..."
Takizawa nodded. "You'll earn your keep well enough when Watchtower have you trained, Tamamori-kun, don't worry," he said, and turned back to Miyata. "The question is, how will you, M15? We don't usually shelter your kind." Though his tone remained casual, it was deceptively so, with a distant aspect that Miyata tried to pretend didn't make him uncomfortable.
Aware also of Takizawa's pointed switch back to his official Government designation, Miyata kept his eyes on the ground. "You mean ex-agents, Sir?"
"Yes," Takizawa said. "You'll understand how they're rather a bit of trouble... Iida-kun?"
"Harboring a fugitive is a criminal offence under the law," Iida reported. His tone turned wryly amused: "We have doubts that anybody is going to be looking very hard for you, but even if nothing more than a token gridsearch is launched, your contact sequence has already been flagged from the base code and removing your deathmark is unfortunately not going to be possible."
"So... I can't go online," Miyata deduced.
"Correct," Iida said, and Miyata nodded, okay with that prospect. Those who weren't online were as good as dead to society, but he had no problem appearing that way to his former employers.
"But... not even with a scrambler?" Tamamori asked.
"It would be risky," Iida said. "The scrambler still uses the original contact sequence as input, and there's no guarantee its randomiser code will remain uncompromised forever. Even if our firewall will deny any searchers traceability to Miyata's exact physical location, his continued existence will be tricky to explain given we were supposed to have silenced him for digging too far into Takizawa-dono's affairs."
"That makes sense," Miyata agreed. But Tamamori didn't seem willing to give up quite yet.
"...I think, but... it's possible to change a contact sequence entirely, isn't it?" he persisted, chewing his lip cutely. "Create a new identity signature from the base code up, and switch over to it? I've heard rumours..."
"It is possible," Iida agreed. "And congratulations: you've just figured out your own first assignment here."
"What?" Tamamori baulked. "But I don't... know that kind of code."
"Won't this give you ample motivation to learn it, then?" Takizawa said teasingly, and Tamamori made a little noise of despair, his cheeks flushing. "Watchtower will help you along if you get too stuck," Takizawa added, by all appearances thoroughly amused by the prospect.
It was a tall order, Miyata knew, despite being unaware of the exact details. No matter how good a hacker Tamamori was, creating an entire contact sequence wasn't just adjusting a scenario anymore, it was closer to getting to the core of the system itself. If Tamamori could learn how to do that...
It would be really cool. ♥
Miyata found himself still grinning. Well, it wasn't really as if Tamamori needed any more cool points in his books at all, but still. "ね~" Miyata said in a stage whisper. "玉ちゃんがんばってね? いつまでも待ってるよ~"
"バカ," Tamamori hissed back. "バカバカバカバカ. それじゃ、いつまでも待ちなさい!"
"Maa~ maybe I will," Miyata chuckled. "きっと大丈夫, you know? You were really the only one I needed to see online anyway. And now you're here, so..."
"Please stop that," Tamamori muttered, pressing the backs of his hands to his heating cheeks, against Miyata's happy laughter. "Please."
"Ah..." Takizawa said, flippantly sage. "Well, I can certainly see the problem Nikaido-kun would have with these two."
"They're far much too much like him," Iida said agreeably, and Tamamori muttered something under his breath-presumably at the mention of Nikaido again, if not the reputation that he and Miyata already seemed to have around the House.
It was amusing, Miyata thought, but then again not such a bad thing. He smiled. "Well~ apart from knowing Old Local, I was never very useful to the Government as an agent," he said to Takizawa. "It's probably going to be the same here, but 取りあえず if you have need of a live-in tutor..."
"Oh!" Iida chuckled. "Please start with Nikaido. He's learned nothing but expletives in a native context, in Wataru's hands."
The offer seemed to please Takizawa, too, and he nodded. "It would also be good if you could somehow manage to wean Senga-kun off of calling me ボス・タッキー," he said.
"がんばってね、みやっち," Tamamori snorted softly.
Miyata rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "あぁ~ がんばりたいと思います..."
"As will be expected of you," Takizawa smiled. "On another note, are you aware of the meaning behind your uniform, Miyata-kun?"
"Oh, this?" Miyata tugged a little on his sleeves and tried to remember. "Yes..." He did know it, though hadn't had need of that information in a while. Tamamori's eyes plainly said he thought there was nothing remarkable about the uniform except its strikingly ugly shade of bright blue. "It... was worn by the Shinsengumi, the law enforcers of this approximate area many ages ago," Miyata said at last. "Their reputation... wasn't the best."
"Initially, perhaps," Takizawa allowed. "But tell me what 'Shinsengumi' means."
"新... 選... 組," Miyata said, sifting further through the tomes of relative uselessness that had been stored in his brain since childhood, and traced the characters on the grass in front of him. "A name that meant... the New Chosen Ones."
"Correct," Takizawa said. "They were an elite fighting force: sharp, competent, loyal and resourceful. My expectations are no less of anyone under my House, and that goes equally for the both of you."
"Understood," Tamamori said.
"I... eh?" Miyata blinked as his brain tried to process what Takizawa had effectively just said. The uniform Miyata had been given upon entering the scenario hadn't, in fact, been the deliberate mark of stigma from his previous job that he'd assumed. Instead, it... was a visual affirmation of his new place as a legitimate member of Takizawa's House...?
Miyata wasn't the deeply emotional type, not really, but the thought of it made his throat feel strangely thick. He and Tamamori were really going to have to visit this scenario much more often in the future.
"...no rules of 腹切り to go with the, um. Membership?" he managed.
"I should hope you're past the stage of feeling the need to take your own life," Takizawa said dryly, and Miyata gave an awkward chuckle.
'What did I already tell you about that?' Tamamori glared silently over, and Miyata couldn't help his stupid smile at everything then-absolutely everything up 'til that moment-and hid his face, bowing again.
"どうもありがとうございました," he said past his heart.
"どういたしまして," Takizawa said, and smiled. "Welcome to the fold. Tamamori Yuuta. Miyata Toshiya."
終わり。
Thank you for following our journey!
"So, is this it do you think?" Miyata asked quietly, later that night. They were still in Kitayama's room with no lock on the door, and all manner of visitors had already dropped by-repeatedly, in cases-and Tamamori was flatly refusing anything more than casual snuggles, but Miyata was quite sure he'd never been so happy in his life. "Is this it?" he asked. "We get a happy ending? The princess and his knight in shining armor and everything..."
He didn't know if Tamamori was awake, and for a while in the silence, it seemed like like he probably wasn't.
But then he stirred, grumbling softly without opening his eyes, "What's even ending, Toshiya. Seriously."
And Miyata felt like he sprained a cheek he grinned so hard so fast.
"Yuuta, Yuuta~"
"What."
"I love you. ♥"
"You're also an idiot. Let me sleep. Please."
"Mm~"