Surprise, surprise

[edge_of_honor]

Characters: Miles Edgeworth and Hisoka Kurosaki
Content: Two old comrades touch base and inform the other about what's been going on in their corner of Reial
Setting: Upper deck of the Convoy; later on, Edgeworth's quarters
Time: After Hisoka and Souji land, before the drinking begins
Warnings: Possible mentions of traumatic events

Comments

[son_of_the_lake]

Hisoka appeared on the deck a few minutes later. His heart was thumping, in a resurgence of the fear he had felt in Antrim when he had met the phantom-Edgeworth and then lost him in the mist...and again, but worse, when he had tried to contact the real Edgeworth and had gotten the stranger who had usurped Edgeworth's journal. But he had no doubts about the man who was waiting on the upper deck.

He saw the restless, trenchcoat-clad figure of his former commanding officer from a distance, and walked quickly towards him. His face was stern but his eyes were shining.

[edge_of_honor]

There he was. It had been some time since he had seen Kurosaki face to face, but he could still recognize him in an instant. Edgeworth breathed a sigh of relief and walked forward to greet him.

"Hello, Kurosaki."

[son_of_the_lake]

"Commander Edgeworth!" said Hisoka, advancing to meet him. His warm green eyes flicked over the officer, still worried, but he contained that, now that it was clear that the worst disaster had not occurred. "Are you all right? I talked to that imposter who has control of your journal."

Edgeworth's balance was subtley different. What was that about?

[edge_of_honor]

Edgeworth's stomach churned with fear and disgust as soon as Hisoka mentioned the impostor. It wasn't enough that he took his face and his position. No, he also had to talk to everybody he had known before the transfer-

He stopped that train of thought as soon as he could. There was some hope, after all. For instance, Hisoka had known it was an impostor. At least he wasn't taken in by his deceits, whatever they may have been. He stepped closer and, at this point, it would be easy for anyone to see the changes between November and now. Edgeworth, however, made no effort to bring attention to them.

"I'm as fine as can be expected," he said stiffly. His eyes narrowed in concern, and he quickly asked, "But what about you and Souji?"

Those scrapes and bruises had him especially concerned, though he knew they were far from the worst injuries one could stuffer from a mission.

[son_of_the_lake]

Hisoka's vivid imagination was feeding him images as quickly as Edgeworth's words struck his ears. He thought he knew the place, too. The airship docking facilites were in the lower part of the city, nearest the river. Several bridges spanned the Nihl, but the one nearest the docks was the largest, and the oldest. It was a stone bridge with a waist-high parapet. Hisoka, as a child, had sat on those stone walls and watched the foot and cart traffic crossing the bridge, or turned around and dangled his feet off the edge, watching the light sparkle off the deep green water. Also, he was in the habit of diving off and cleaving the river with hardly a splash

Smart move

[edge_of_honor]

Memories of the experience lurked and tugged at the edge of his mind. He sighed, and did his best to recount the experience.

"Bullets were useless against him," he began, his voice shaky.

It was late at night, and his gun lay abandoned on the bridge, empty and useless while Bradley loomed only a few steps ahead of him. Running was useless and a fight was hopeless. However, Edgeworth couldn't just give up. The cold autumn air bit against his skin as he drew his saber and awaited Bradley's strike.

"And he was faster than anyone I had ever seen-"

Moonlight shone against Bradley's sword as he charged forward. He was on him in an instant; Edgeworth barely had time to dodge his blows. One, two, three; they came at him faster than he could parry. One of his strikes sank into his flesh, and with a cry, Edgeworth's grip slacked as he stumbled backward. Another blow was all it took for him to lose it completely, and his blade clattered against the bridge as he hell towards the edge.His voice grew firmer the more he spoke, but he

heh

[son_of_the_lake]

Hisoka let Edgeworth's emotions wash through him. He did not resist the shivers that brought the images along...and the thoughts. The harsh black sky and the pale terrible moon watched expressionlessly while the pursuing figure ran him down (Edgeworth, not Hisoka) and there was the lightening flash of pain and the fingers dropping the sword and stumbling, reeling. Stone struck his hip and knee hard and he was tumbling over the brink, the black water whirling below. Hands grasping the hard, rough edge, hanging on for life. The shadowy face looming over, and suddenly a hammer blow and agony and the sight of his own left hand, its fingers strangely relaxed, delicately relinquishing its hold, tumbling past his eyes, and he following it downwards into the choking darkness of the icy water.

Hisoka's green eyes filled with a pulsing light as Edgeworth (the one in the room) grasped at his empty sleeve. But Hisoka sat quietly, and silently offered his strength to the man who struggled his way through the tale of these traumatic events.

Re: heh

[edge_of_honor]

Edgeworth didn't notice the eyes in Hisoka's eyes just yet. Still focused on the ground, he continued, "His sword came down, and-"

He let go of his arm and shook his head.

"I don't think I have to tell you what happened next. One thing does concern me, though: to carve straight through flesh and bone so easily is an incredible feat. It would take both an extraordinary weapon and an extraordinary amount of strength to do such a thing."

Edgeworth looked up and said, "That means that Bradley is no-"

He stopped mid-sentence, taken aback by the glow in Hisoka's eyes. Was it a trick of the light? Or was it something else entirely? He stared for a moment, entranced by the light, before he blinked and shook his head.

"...it means that Bradley is no ordinary admiral," he finished, his head tilted, with an edge of curiosity in his tone.

[son_of_the_lake]

Hisoka found a great deal to do after Edgeworth left. He explored as much of the ship as he could, partly because his experience in the family business had left him with an abiding interest in ship design, and partly because he had promised Kaoru a description when he returned to Serenity. At some time during that afternoon, he went up to the Convoy's upper deck and took a long look at what was left of the Hegua Lake Basin. Then he got drunk with IchigoMuch later, he ended up back at Edgeworths's door. He'd remembered that the Commander still wanted to know how Hisoka's investigation of Muraki had turned out, and he couldn't be sure they'd have time to talk about it the next day. He pushed the door open gently and found himself sinking onto the bunk, wafted there by the spring winds, as it were...and a little help from a lot of sake. Good thing, to have a place to land! The rectangle of the neatly-made up bed was a most wonderful landing strip

[edge_of_honor]

Hisoka wasn't the only one who had imbibed that evening. After his reconciliation with Souji, Edgeworth had shared a drink with the boy. Or two. Or maybe more than that. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't enough to hinder the trip back to his quarters. All he needed to do was sleep it off and he'd be right as rain.

However, when he stumbled into his room and towards his cot, he realized one problem: somebody was all ready there. He jerked back with a stifled yelp and panic nearly overtook him. Just who in their right mind would-

"Feel free to make yourself comfortable here" echoed a voice from the corner of his memory. He glanced over the figure in the darkness, and it certainly resembled Kurosaki. Damn it, when he said he could make himself comfortable, he didn't mean this comfortable! Edgeworth gritted his teeth and prodded the younger man's shoulder. Hopefully he wasn't a heavy sleeper.

[son_of_the_lake]

"Hmm," said Hisoka, lazily. He opened his eyes.

He had slept deeply, and - despite the alchohol - refreshingly. He had been dreaming about the lake, and he could see Edgeworth's face very well because his pupils were dilated like a cat's, or rather, a merman's. "Hello, sir," he said, as though there were nothing strange about this situation.

[edge_of_honor]

Ah, good, he was waking up. Edgeworth opened his mouth to speak but hesitated once Hisoka opened his eyes. He couldn't help but notice how the light glinted against them and how his pupils slitted in the darkness. It was so strange...

Edgeworth closed his mouth and shook his head. He needed to focus.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his words slightly slurred.

[edge_of_honor]

The talk on Amicus (or rather, Amicus night) didn't exactly go as expected. However, Edgeworth had little time to think about it. While others helped with the rescue effort, he and those left on the ship worked to get everything in order for any refugees and survivors that could be found. Besides, there was little he could do about it. Hisoka was out there with the rescue team; his time was invaluable now. Even if it wasn't, though, Edgeworth respected him enough to give him his space.

However, now the rescue was over, and time was plentiful now. Hisoka would return to his own ship soon enough, and after that, he may not have another chance to see him again. After all, Hisoka said it himself: their time was short.

And so, Edgeworth wandered through the ship in search of his former subordinate.

[son_of_the_lake]

Hisoka was just escorting the two children he had rescued the day before back to their cabin. He had found them on an unstable hillside, a nine-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl, clutching each other for comfort and waiting for somebody to find them. Even with a rope, it had taken Hisoka an hour to work his way down to them, clinging to the broken limbs of trees and bushes. Luckily the kids, though terrified, were strong and agile, and he was able to bring them back up the tortuous, meandering path to safety without trouble

[edge_of_honor]

That was Hisoka all right, but he didn't recognize the children, and as far as he knew the Convoy didn't have any cabin boys or girls quite that young. He blinked in confusion, when it hit him: these were survivors from the explosion.

"I'll wait," he said, his voice serious in contrast to Hisoka's good cheer.

[son_of_the_lake]

Hisoka and the kids vanished down the passageway. And as promised, Hisoka was back alone in five minutes. "They've barely slept in two days," he explained. "They're probably down for the count, now."

He paused. "How are you, Commander Edgeworth? Do you want tea, or lunch? There's practically nobody left in there, but I'm sure they're still serving."