JE/NEWS- "Identity"
Title: Identity
Universe: JE/ NewS ( Gov AU)
Theme/Topic: N/A
Rating: G
Character/Pairing/s: Koyama, Shige
Warnings/Spoilers: Incoherence, mostly.
Word Count: 1,485
Summary: Shige has more important things to remember.
Dedication: Shige’s birthday fic! I still owe Massu. LOL
A/N: Out of practice, leave me alone. AND IT IS STILL TECHNICALLY THE ELEVENTH ON THE WEST COAST, so ha.
Disclaimer: No harm or infringement intended.
Koyama is in the middle of quizzing Shige when it happens; it’s late into the night exactly a week before Shige’s next undercover assignment is scheduled to begin. In preparation, the two agents are holed up in Shige’s apartment after hours, doing a simple exercise that every undercover agent needs to be able to perform at the drop of a hat. It’s a little memory game the agency developed for the sole purpose of maintaining believable aliases for its undercover agents; it keeps facts from crossing in their memories over the long stretch of their careers and prevents any overlap or confusion in the heat of the moment that might blow their cover and subsequently end their lives.
All it involves is a question and a name from any one of the people that they’ve become over the course of their careers, and exactly one second to answer correctly, like they might have to if questioned in the field. Like a dexterity game for a pickpocket or target practice for snipers, its sole purpose is to keep the agents at their sharpest.
Because for every person they become in this line of work, all the parts of that person they create-every one of his likes, dislikes, habits, tells, interests, hobbies, childhood memories, etc., etc., etc- has to be stored away deep in their memories, on the offhand chance that it comes up again in later work, on the offhand chance that it could save their lives, sell their con, or get them the evidence they need.
For undercover agents, preparation requires a lifetime.
“Oosugi Kenta-kun’s hometown,” Koyama rattles off first, from the list of options he has in his hand.
“Kanagawa,” Shige replies deftly.
Koyama is always impressed by the ever-growing list of things Shige has to remember from his detailed cache of character profiles. The fact that the younger agent can still do it when he’s already dead tired from running two jobs at once with a third on the way only makes it even more extraordinary.
Sometimes the explosives expert wonders how Shige has so much room in his head for all of this seemingly random information; if it were Koyama who had to remember so much, he thinks he’d have to forget a bunch of other things first, to make space for the new things.
“Sugata-kun’s favorite color,” Koyama continues.
“Sugata likes white best,” Shige answers promptly, and doesn’t even have to look up from his current case’s dossier as he does. “But some days he likes black just as much.”
“Katase-kun’s after work hobby.”
“Billiards.”
“The ramen Hasagawa Ken-kun always orders.”
“Spicy miso with extra chashu. But he doesn’t eat the soup or any leftover meat once he’s run out of noodles.”
Koyama thinks Shige is just showing off now. “Kojima-kun’s favorite kind of porn.”
“Office ladies. But they can’t be over thirty.”
The older agent whistles appreciatively, before turning just a little sly. “Lauren-san’s alcoholic drink of choice.” He grins, not expecting Shige to be able to get that one quite yet.
“White Russian, since he’s kind of a girl,” Shige answers boredly.
The bomb expert sulks. “Eh, but you just got that file today, ne.”
Shige smirks in response, because he likes winning. Honestly, winning is what anyone who chooses to become an undercover agent really lives for. “I skimmed the file during lunch today,” he admits.
Koyama shakes his head. “Work, work, work, ne. Lunch is for resting. For food.”
“I was eating while I read.”
Koyama looks unconvinced. “We should take a small break tomorrow and go to the amusement park!” he suggests after a beat, looking at his best friend hopefully. Especially considering the fact that tomorrow is going to be a very special day. And he’s already bought the tickets.
But the younger agent only ignores the comment and flips through more of the new file his superiors had put together for his next undercover persona. “Keep going.”
Undaunted by Shige’s attitude, Koyama innocently asks, “The date of Kato-san’s very important birthday,” next.
“November 23.”
A beat.
In which Koyama blinks in confusion, because that is not the answer he had expected at all. “Eh?”
“November 23,” Shige repeats, louder this time. He is still too engrossed in his case file to backtrack and think about what he’d just said.
Koyama-naturally-starts to get worried, and glances down at his list for confirmation. “I said Kato-san… not Katase-san, Shige,” he presses.
Shige doesn’t look up. “And I said November 23.”
Koyama stares.
And it is only once the taller agent stops asking him fresh questions like that when Shige finally deigns to look up from his reading, clearly impatient with the delay. “Is something wrong?”
Koyama puts the list down. “Shige, Shige I think we need to take a break, ne.”
Shige is unconvinced. “We just started.”
Koyama’s eyes are wide with concern. “Shige,” he says, “Shige, do you remember when your birthday is?”
A beat.
And then Shige scowls, insulted that Koyama would even ask that sort of idiotic question. “Of course I do. Why? What did I just say?”
Koyama averts his eyes when he answers, “November 23.”
Shige blinks. “Did I? No I didn’t.”
Koyama nods. “You did. Three times, ne.”
Shige coughs. “Well, you know what I meant. And besides, that’s not important right now, stupid. Quit fooling around and ask me the real questions.”
Koyama just continues to look at him in concern.
Shige scowls. “Stop that.”
Embarrassed, he goes back to studying his very official dossier, intent on ignoring his friend until he stops being idiotic.
Except his papers are promptly covered by a large, long-fingered hand, as Koyama tries to pull the file forcibly out from in front of his face.
Shige clamps down on it and tugs back. “What are you doing?”
Koyama refuses to let go. “As interesting as all these other characters are,” he says gently, “I think Kato Shigeaki-kun needs to spend some time remembering how to be himself, ne.”
Shige blinks. “We don’t have ti…”
He gets cut off when, on the other side of the living room, his grandfather clock suddenly chimes midnight.
Koyama stubbornly persists in trying to separate the undercover agent from his work. “Shige, what day is it?” he asks next, seemingly at random.
“Thursday. Friday now,” Shige replies deftly, and refuses to give up the work despite Koyama’s best efforts.
“Shige, what day is it?” the explosives expert repeats, starting to sound frustrated.
“Fri…” Shige begins, but trails off when a thought occurs to him. He stops.
Glances at his watch.
Sighs.
“It’s totally my birthday, isn’t it?”
Koyama reaches into his back pocket, pulling out two amusement park tickets as he nods. “It totally is your birthday.”
Shige looks a little bit helpless as he eventually unclenches his hand and reluctantly lets Koyama have the file folder. “Oh.”
Koyama holds the dossier against his chest. “Yeah.”
A moment.
“Shige’s been really stressed lately, ne,” Koyama starts after a few seconds, charitably.
“It’s not that. It’s just…priorities,” Shige counters, clearly unsure of what to say but not wanting to toss it up to something as simple as carelessness on his part. “I mean, in the field, there are more important things than being me, or remembering the parts of me that aren’t a lie.” He runs a hand through his hair before gesturing vaguely to the mission file. “The people in there don’t care when Kato Shigeaki’s birthday is, so it doesn’t matter.”
Koyama understands because he can’t do anything but as a fellow agent and a teammate; he knows that out in that big scary world, when Shige is doing his job, his life is nothing more than a carefully concocted web of lies and half truths, made up entirely of things people like to hear because it makes the work easier for him, because it keeps him alive. Who he really is doesn’t matter; what he tells people he is and what he makes them see is all that counts.
With a small smile, the explosives expert gently sets the slightly crumpled file folder off to the side. “For the next twenty-four hours,” he entreats softly, voice warm, “I’m going to quiz you only about Kato Shigeaki-san, okay? So at least for today-your birthday- just be Shige.”
Shige arches an eyebrow. “And after that?”
Koyama’s smile turns slightly sad around the edges. “After that, we can go back to doing the work.”
Shige laughs a little humorlessly. “Alright,” he allows, finally sounding as tired as he feels. “That’s fair.”
Satisfied, Koyama pads into the kitchenette and begins rummaging around in the fridge for beers.
Shige watches after him and absently wonders if the next twenty-four hours will be a quiz he’ll even be able to pass.
To be honest, it feels like a topic he hasn’t studied properly in a long, long time.
END
EDITS? So, so lame.
Universe: JE/ NewS ( Gov AU)
Theme/Topic: N/A
Rating: G
Character/Pairing/s: Koyama, Shige
Warnings/Spoilers: Incoherence, mostly.
Word Count: 1,485
Summary: Shige has more important things to remember.
Dedication: Shige’s birthday fic! I still owe Massu. LOL
A/N: Out of practice, leave me alone. AND IT IS STILL TECHNICALLY THE ELEVENTH ON THE WEST COAST, so ha.
Disclaimer: No harm or infringement intended.
Koyama is in the middle of quizzing Shige when it happens; it’s late into the night exactly a week before Shige’s next undercover assignment is scheduled to begin. In preparation, the two agents are holed up in Shige’s apartment after hours, doing a simple exercise that every undercover agent needs to be able to perform at the drop of a hat. It’s a little memory game the agency developed for the sole purpose of maintaining believable aliases for its undercover agents; it keeps facts from crossing in their memories over the long stretch of their careers and prevents any overlap or confusion in the heat of the moment that might blow their cover and subsequently end their lives.
All it involves is a question and a name from any one of the people that they’ve become over the course of their careers, and exactly one second to answer correctly, like they might have to if questioned in the field. Like a dexterity game for a pickpocket or target practice for snipers, its sole purpose is to keep the agents at their sharpest.
Because for every person they become in this line of work, all the parts of that person they create-every one of his likes, dislikes, habits, tells, interests, hobbies, childhood memories, etc., etc., etc- has to be stored away deep in their memories, on the offhand chance that it comes up again in later work, on the offhand chance that it could save their lives, sell their con, or get them the evidence they need.
For undercover agents, preparation requires a lifetime.
“Oosugi Kenta-kun’s hometown,” Koyama rattles off first, from the list of options he has in his hand.
“Kanagawa,” Shige replies deftly.
Koyama is always impressed by the ever-growing list of things Shige has to remember from his detailed cache of character profiles. The fact that the younger agent can still do it when he’s already dead tired from running two jobs at once with a third on the way only makes it even more extraordinary.
Sometimes the explosives expert wonders how Shige has so much room in his head for all of this seemingly random information; if it were Koyama who had to remember so much, he thinks he’d have to forget a bunch of other things first, to make space for the new things.
“Sugata-kun’s favorite color,” Koyama continues.
“Sugata likes white best,” Shige answers promptly, and doesn’t even have to look up from his current case’s dossier as he does. “But some days he likes black just as much.”
“Katase-kun’s after work hobby.”
“Billiards.”
“The ramen Hasagawa Ken-kun always orders.”
“Spicy miso with extra chashu. But he doesn’t eat the soup or any leftover meat once he’s run out of noodles.”
Koyama thinks Shige is just showing off now. “Kojima-kun’s favorite kind of porn.”
“Office ladies. But they can’t be over thirty.”
The older agent whistles appreciatively, before turning just a little sly. “Lauren-san’s alcoholic drink of choice.” He grins, not expecting Shige to be able to get that one quite yet.
“White Russian, since he’s kind of a girl,” Shige answers boredly.
The bomb expert sulks. “Eh, but you just got that file today, ne.”
Shige smirks in response, because he likes winning. Honestly, winning is what anyone who chooses to become an undercover agent really lives for. “I skimmed the file during lunch today,” he admits.
Koyama shakes his head. “Work, work, work, ne. Lunch is for resting. For food.”
“I was eating while I read.”
Koyama looks unconvinced. “We should take a small break tomorrow and go to the amusement park!” he suggests after a beat, looking at his best friend hopefully. Especially considering the fact that tomorrow is going to be a very special day. And he’s already bought the tickets.
But the younger agent only ignores the comment and flips through more of the new file his superiors had put together for his next undercover persona. “Keep going.”
Undaunted by Shige’s attitude, Koyama innocently asks, “The date of Kato-san’s very important birthday,” next.
“November 23.”
A beat.
In which Koyama blinks in confusion, because that is not the answer he had expected at all. “Eh?”
“November 23,” Shige repeats, louder this time. He is still too engrossed in his case file to backtrack and think about what he’d just said.
Koyama-naturally-starts to get worried, and glances down at his list for confirmation. “I said Kato-san… not Katase-san, Shige,” he presses.
Shige doesn’t look up. “And I said November 23.”
Koyama stares.
And it is only once the taller agent stops asking him fresh questions like that when Shige finally deigns to look up from his reading, clearly impatient with the delay. “Is something wrong?”
Koyama puts the list down. “Shige, Shige I think we need to take a break, ne.”
Shige is unconvinced. “We just started.”
Koyama’s eyes are wide with concern. “Shige,” he says, “Shige, do you remember when your birthday is?”
A beat.
And then Shige scowls, insulted that Koyama would even ask that sort of idiotic question. “Of course I do. Why? What did I just say?”
Koyama averts his eyes when he answers, “November 23.”
Shige blinks. “Did I? No I didn’t.”
Koyama nods. “You did. Three times, ne.”
Shige coughs. “Well, you know what I meant. And besides, that’s not important right now, stupid. Quit fooling around and ask me the real questions.”
Koyama just continues to look at him in concern.
Shige scowls. “Stop that.”
Embarrassed, he goes back to studying his very official dossier, intent on ignoring his friend until he stops being idiotic.
Except his papers are promptly covered by a large, long-fingered hand, as Koyama tries to pull the file forcibly out from in front of his face.
Shige clamps down on it and tugs back. “What are you doing?”
Koyama refuses to let go. “As interesting as all these other characters are,” he says gently, “I think Kato Shigeaki-kun needs to spend some time remembering how to be himself, ne.”
Shige blinks. “We don’t have ti…”
He gets cut off when, on the other side of the living room, his grandfather clock suddenly chimes midnight.
Koyama stubbornly persists in trying to separate the undercover agent from his work. “Shige, what day is it?” he asks next, seemingly at random.
“Thursday. Friday now,” Shige replies deftly, and refuses to give up the work despite Koyama’s best efforts.
“Shige, what day is it?” the explosives expert repeats, starting to sound frustrated.
“Fri…” Shige begins, but trails off when a thought occurs to him. He stops.
Glances at his watch.
Sighs.
“It’s totally my birthday, isn’t it?”
Koyama reaches into his back pocket, pulling out two amusement park tickets as he nods. “It totally is your birthday.”
Shige looks a little bit helpless as he eventually unclenches his hand and reluctantly lets Koyama have the file folder. “Oh.”
Koyama holds the dossier against his chest. “Yeah.”
A moment.
“Shige’s been really stressed lately, ne,” Koyama starts after a few seconds, charitably.
“It’s not that. It’s just…priorities,” Shige counters, clearly unsure of what to say but not wanting to toss it up to something as simple as carelessness on his part. “I mean, in the field, there are more important things than being me, or remembering the parts of me that aren’t a lie.” He runs a hand through his hair before gesturing vaguely to the mission file. “The people in there don’t care when Kato Shigeaki’s birthday is, so it doesn’t matter.”
Koyama understands because he can’t do anything but as a fellow agent and a teammate; he knows that out in that big scary world, when Shige is doing his job, his life is nothing more than a carefully concocted web of lies and half truths, made up entirely of things people like to hear because it makes the work easier for him, because it keeps him alive. Who he really is doesn’t matter; what he tells people he is and what he makes them see is all that counts.
With a small smile, the explosives expert gently sets the slightly crumpled file folder off to the side. “For the next twenty-four hours,” he entreats softly, voice warm, “I’m going to quiz you only about Kato Shigeaki-san, okay? So at least for today-your birthday- just be Shige.”
Shige arches an eyebrow. “And after that?”
Koyama’s smile turns slightly sad around the edges. “After that, we can go back to doing the work.”
Shige laughs a little humorlessly. “Alright,” he allows, finally sounding as tired as he feels. “That’s fair.”
Satisfied, Koyama pads into the kitchenette and begins rummaging around in the fridge for beers.
Shige watches after him and absently wonders if the next twenty-four hours will be a quiz he’ll even be able to pass.
To be honest, it feels like a topic he hasn’t studied properly in a long, long time.
END
EDITS? So, so lame.