You Can See (Hitman AU) - Hina/Maru - Part 2/?
More Hitman AU! :D I am having waaaay too much fun writing this. XD
When Maru is sent on an assignment, he's given a few pieces of information and he's meant to put them together on his own. If he's told too much, he can implicate the men who he works for if he's in a bind. Luckily, he hasn't been in a bind. Yet. But that can change so quickly.
Tonight, he's given a picture and a name, and that's all. After spending most of the afternoon gathering all of his personal information (contact, place of residence, the route he takes to get home), he waits outside of Kyoto station, standing at the sidewalk under the pretense of waiting for a cab.
The man in the picture comes down the steps, and he's easy to spot, it looks almost like the photo was taken just that day. He has the same glasses, the same haircut, the same black jacket. Maru watches him until he turns the corner.
He spends most of the next day on a park bench, just watching the clouds drift across the sky. He carries small notebooks in his bag, and he writes lists on them. Lists of everything he needs to know to track the guy down, but hidden in other lists. The man's phone number hides in an address book under a different name, and the time his train will arrive is marked on a planner as a date in an entirely different town. He tries to keep everything organized (in his own way), but this time seems harder than the last. It's been a week since he came back from Vegas, and this is his first assignment since then.
He glosses over in his mind exactly what he's about to do. He's done it before, he can do it again. Work is work. Tomorrow is Friday, the best day to pull this off, because no one will notice the man has gone missing on a Friday night. People go lots of places on Friday nights.
Maru watches the wind blow through the trees, listens to the sound of the moving branches. He writes down another list. Spring, Summer, Fall. That's when he'll finish paying his debt. When he'll be free.
---
Shingo steps off the plane, jetlagged and disoriented. He takes a bus from the airport to the nearest station, but then he walks home after that, with his bags over his shoulders, because the best way to deal with this feeling of wanting to fall over and pass out is to walk it off.
Or so he thinks. It seems to work. It's midmorning, but never too early to drink, he muses. But, he passes several bars and doesn't make it into any of them. Maybe he just needs some air. Some time.
It takes him an hour to get to his apartment, and by then his shoulders are aching. He avoids lying down, already feeling his eyes start to close, and flips on the TV, anything loud and showing sports of any kind will do.
He pulls an energy drink out of the refrigerator. The apartment smells a little dusty, even though he was only gone a couple of weeks. He lights a candle, sits on the sofa and puts his feet up. Then his phone goes off.
"You're back?"
"Yeah," Shingo says. "Just got back, how did you do that?!"
"You think I send you guys off without your itinerary?"
"Ah," Shingo says. "S'pose not."
"I need you at Kyoto station tonight," says the man on the other end of the line. "To greet someone, I have a visitor."
"Yeah, okay," Shingo says, finishing his energy drink in two gulps. Then he wanders back to the fridge, in search of another.
"You'll know who he is," the man says. "And you know who to call if you have any problems."
"I know."
The phone cuts out, Shingo sighs and tosses it on the end of the sofa. He doesn't even have a pressed suit, they're all in his luggage. But, there isn't anything he can do. He'll have to buy one.
He puts on his best watch, deciding he'll buy the suit to match. Nice, leather shoes with jeans and light sweater. He chugs the second energy drink and, not even having been home for ten minutes, he leaves again. This time he takes the car.
---
On Friday morning, Maru packs a bag with everything he needs. Notebooks, phone, cash, a book (Daily Meditations), and a knife. He walks around until lunchtime, then stops off in a conbini, eating his lunch of instant noodles on the benches just outside. He flips through is book, already marked to the day.
Wind in the cave:
Movement in stillness.
Power in silence.
He holds his place in the book with his thumb, watching the steady movement of the busy street. He ignores his phone, which goes off a couple of times. Old friends from school. Right before a job, he only ever answers it for his boss.
It's late before he even knows it. He wanders in and out of shops until the sun fades out of the sky, and when he looks at his watch, he's got twenty minutes to get to the station.
He already destroyed the photo of the man he needs to find, but the memory of his face is clear in Maru's mind. He breathes deeply, a couple of times, and approaches the station. Standing in the same place as a couple of nights ago, he pretends, again, to wait for a cab.
The man from the photograph still looks the same in motion as he did in the picture. He's someone who blends in, no one would ever notice he was there unless he made himself announced. Maru watches the man in his peripheral vision, waiting for him to turn the corner, like he did the two nights before, but this time, he doesn't.
Maru panics, closes his fist and feels a hint of sweat on his palms. The man keeps walking straight right up to a sleek, black BMW. And when Maru looks even closer, the driver is familiar.
Too familiar.
That guy from Vegas who knows his way around a poker game. It's Shingo. The man from the photograph stays on a course straight for his car.
It's too late to leave unnoticed, Shingo sees him, and they can't take their eyes off of each other, for the longest time.
Dammit, Maru thinks. Fumbling for his phone. Shingo looks like he's mouthing words on the other side of the windshield. Then, the man finally gets into his car.
Power in silence. Maybe. He can't hear Shingo, can't speak to him, they're too far away. Maru watches his target leave in the backseat of the BMW, Shingo pointedly not looking at Maru as he drives away.
Maru's heart throbs somewhere in his throat, then he remembers. Shingo's business card back in his apartment. Too much traffic for a cab to get him anywhere, so he just pulls his bag, tight around his shoulders, and runs.
When Maru is sent on an assignment, he's given a few pieces of information and he's meant to put them together on his own. If he's told too much, he can implicate the men who he works for if he's in a bind. Luckily, he hasn't been in a bind. Yet. But that can change so quickly.
Tonight, he's given a picture and a name, and that's all. After spending most of the afternoon gathering all of his personal information (contact, place of residence, the route he takes to get home), he waits outside of Kyoto station, standing at the sidewalk under the pretense of waiting for a cab.
The man in the picture comes down the steps, and he's easy to spot, it looks almost like the photo was taken just that day. He has the same glasses, the same haircut, the same black jacket. Maru watches him until he turns the corner.
He spends most of the next day on a park bench, just watching the clouds drift across the sky. He carries small notebooks in his bag, and he writes lists on them. Lists of everything he needs to know to track the guy down, but hidden in other lists. The man's phone number hides in an address book under a different name, and the time his train will arrive is marked on a planner as a date in an entirely different town. He tries to keep everything organized (in his own way), but this time seems harder than the last. It's been a week since he came back from Vegas, and this is his first assignment since then.
He glosses over in his mind exactly what he's about to do. He's done it before, he can do it again. Work is work. Tomorrow is Friday, the best day to pull this off, because no one will notice the man has gone missing on a Friday night. People go lots of places on Friday nights.
Maru watches the wind blow through the trees, listens to the sound of the moving branches. He writes down another list. Spring, Summer, Fall. That's when he'll finish paying his debt. When he'll be free.
---
Shingo steps off the plane, jetlagged and disoriented. He takes a bus from the airport to the nearest station, but then he walks home after that, with his bags over his shoulders, because the best way to deal with this feeling of wanting to fall over and pass out is to walk it off.
Or so he thinks. It seems to work. It's midmorning, but never too early to drink, he muses. But, he passes several bars and doesn't make it into any of them. Maybe he just needs some air. Some time.
It takes him an hour to get to his apartment, and by then his shoulders are aching. He avoids lying down, already feeling his eyes start to close, and flips on the TV, anything loud and showing sports of any kind will do.
He pulls an energy drink out of the refrigerator. The apartment smells a little dusty, even though he was only gone a couple of weeks. He lights a candle, sits on the sofa and puts his feet up. Then his phone goes off.
"You're back?"
"Yeah," Shingo says. "Just got back, how did you do that?!"
"You think I send you guys off without your itinerary?"
"Ah," Shingo says. "S'pose not."
"I need you at Kyoto station tonight," says the man on the other end of the line. "To greet someone, I have a visitor."
"Yeah, okay," Shingo says, finishing his energy drink in two gulps. Then he wanders back to the fridge, in search of another.
"You'll know who he is," the man says. "And you know who to call if you have any problems."
"I know."
The phone cuts out, Shingo sighs and tosses it on the end of the sofa. He doesn't even have a pressed suit, they're all in his luggage. But, there isn't anything he can do. He'll have to buy one.
He puts on his best watch, deciding he'll buy the suit to match. Nice, leather shoes with jeans and light sweater. He chugs the second energy drink and, not even having been home for ten minutes, he leaves again. This time he takes the car.
---
On Friday morning, Maru packs a bag with everything he needs. Notebooks, phone, cash, a book (Daily Meditations), and a knife. He walks around until lunchtime, then stops off in a conbini, eating his lunch of instant noodles on the benches just outside. He flips through is book, already marked to the day.
Wind in the cave:
Movement in stillness.
Power in silence.
He holds his place in the book with his thumb, watching the steady movement of the busy street. He ignores his phone, which goes off a couple of times. Old friends from school. Right before a job, he only ever answers it for his boss.
It's late before he even knows it. He wanders in and out of shops until the sun fades out of the sky, and when he looks at his watch, he's got twenty minutes to get to the station.
He already destroyed the photo of the man he needs to find, but the memory of his face is clear in Maru's mind. He breathes deeply, a couple of times, and approaches the station. Standing in the same place as a couple of nights ago, he pretends, again, to wait for a cab.
The man from the photograph still looks the same in motion as he did in the picture. He's someone who blends in, no one would ever notice he was there unless he made himself announced. Maru watches the man in his peripheral vision, waiting for him to turn the corner, like he did the two nights before, but this time, he doesn't.
Maru panics, closes his fist and feels a hint of sweat on his palms. The man keeps walking straight right up to a sleek, black BMW. And when Maru looks even closer, the driver is familiar.
Too familiar.
That guy from Vegas who knows his way around a poker game. It's Shingo. The man from the photograph stays on a course straight for his car.
It's too late to leave unnoticed, Shingo sees him, and they can't take their eyes off of each other, for the longest time.
Dammit, Maru thinks. Fumbling for his phone. Shingo looks like he's mouthing words on the other side of the windshield. Then, the man finally gets into his car.
Power in silence. Maybe. He can't hear Shingo, can't speak to him, they're too far away. Maru watches his target leave in the backseat of the BMW, Shingo pointedly not looking at Maru as he drives away.
Maru's heart throbs somewhere in his throat, then he remembers. Shingo's business card back in his apartment. Too much traffic for a cab to get him anywhere, so he just pulls his bag, tight around his shoulders, and runs.