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KAIFENG, HENAN PROVINCE, XIN HAN CHINESE EMPIRE
23:47 LOCAL TIME, JANUARY 19, 1787 COMMON CALENDER
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It was generally quiet in Kaifeng’s inner districts at dusk. There was the same sort of tension in the air as anywhere else but because – or perhaps, in spite of – of the population density and the size of the local garrison, there tended to be little activity. The Chinese tended not to provoke the “Stone Faces” and in return they generally weren’t hassled unless they were somewhere they weren’t supposed to be; each side was weary of the other but had come to a sort of unspoken understanding over the course of the past several months. It made things much easier for Section 01; counter-terrorism was difficult when you were under fire, and tended to become a much more active profession in such instances. Kuchiki Rukia was probably better suited to the job here, at least, but Kurosaki Ichigo was still point man. He had a feeling it was because she outranked him, but then again, she was fairly petite – not a good choice to go in first, unless it was an infiltration job, maybe.
“Tsh,” he murmured, “Don’t see why we gotta walk around in the middle of the night like this.”
Rukia glanced sideways at him before rolling her eyes “Because,
baka, if we went rolling around in armored car it’d be fairly obvious we were active, wouldn’t it?”
Ichigo let out a
hmph and put his hands behind his head, stretching “I still say it’s stupid.”
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[font=”courier new”]
PERSONNEL FILE [SECRET]
Name: 黒崎 一護 (Kurosaki Ichigo)
Rank: Shoui (First Lieutenant)
Service: 内閣 情報 調査室 (Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office [Section 01])
Serial Number: 471-58-2871
Gender: Male
D.O.B.: 1762.06.15
Place of Birth: Nakano Ward, Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japanese Empire
Blood Type: A Negative
Height: 1.741 Meters
Weight: 61.13 Kilograms
Religious Preference: Shinbutso Shinto
Current Assignment: [TOP SECRET]
Notes: Son of
Rōjū / Councillor Kurosaki Isshin (Retired). Educational background includes Bachelor’s Degree from Kyoto University in Economic Theory, attained 1782.05.31. Operative since 1782.07.29, assignment history includes
[TOP SECRET][/font]
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[font=”courier new”]
PERSONNEL FILE [SECRET]
Name: 朽木 ルキア (Kuchiki Rukia)
Rank: Chuui (Second Lieutenant)
Service: 内閣 情報 調査室 (Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office [Section 01])
Serial Number: 901-18-8056
Gender: Female
D.O.B.: 1764.01.14
Place of Birth: Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japanese Empire
Blood Type: AB Positive
Height: 1.446 Meters
Weight: 32.97 Kilograms
Religious Preference: Shinbutso Shinto
Current Assignment: [TOP SECRET]
Notes: Sister of
Naicho Operative Kuchiki Byakuya (
[RECORDS DELETED]). Educational background includes Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy, attained 1781.05.29. Operative since 1781.11.13, assignment history includes
[TOP SECRET][/font]
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They were assigned as counter-terrorism specialists to assist in quelling any potential guerilla activity, and were known as the “Odd Couple” by the Imperial Army units in the city. It was a not-unfitting description; Ichigo was taller than average and had the unique curiosity of having orange-red hair. It wasn’t unheard of, and was strangely common on Hirado Island in Nagasaki Prefecture, but it was fairly uncommon in Tokyo. Rukia had never really asked him about it but did occasionally call him “Strawberry” as a tease on it and his name when he was being annoying. She, on the other hand, was somewhat short, even by Japanese standards, and was notable for having light skin, raven-black hair, and dark blue eyes. And she was his superior, by a few months. She had never really disclosed much about her background in return – at least if she did, it was never brought up. The differences created an odd dynamic, and their incessant bickering no doubt left the units they were there to support with rather strange opinions. It did not, however, diminish their capabilities at fulfilling their jobs, and that was what mattered.
Tonight, as every night, they were walking through the streets of Kaifeng on foot patrol. Ichigo tended to object to it because it made them perfect targets, and he wasn’t that inclined to walk several miles a night, but Rukia always justified it by stating their job was to reveal insurgent elements, and if somebody took a potshot at them, they’d be doing their job. That and she happened to like walking. It did in fact serve a purpose though, as it was very useful for surveying the general mood of the place. Their appearance and behavior was disarming, and unlike the “Stone Face” Imperial Army units they were not always the focus of glares and muttered curses, though they certainly couldn’t be said to be popular either. It was enough though, that it made it easier for them to get around, and it concealed their true purpose and capabilities.
Tonight though, it was not just aimless walking. They’d gotten word that there was some sort of arms repository in the warehouse district near Lord Bao’s Lake. And so they made their way there in the dead of night, clad in black
kimono and
hakama. Their sashes were white, indicating Section 01. The clothes seemed antiquated and out of place, given the task and location, but they were designed specifically for that role; though indicative of purpose, they were also, by their strangeness, rather confusing. That, and their loose construction hid the thigh-mounted
katana scabbard well, as well as the various holsters and pockets concealed into the uniform. They didn’t look armed, but such could not be farther from the truth. Eventually they arrived at their intended destination. The place looked abandoned, but they had to check it out anyway. They quickly scouted the perimeter for entrances; going in the front door was risky, but given its state, seemed not to pose immediate danger. They made their way inside, keeping their hands free to continue the illusion, and advancing in fluid leap-frog movements between positions. As they made their way deeper inside, noises became obvious; human voices. They’d both had training in Mandarin before the assignment, and could make some of it out.
“We have roughly twenty rifles now, enough ammunition to fight for a day at most,” said one.
“What about heavier ordinance and explosives,” inquired another.
“It’s difficult smuggling them around with so many Stone Faces around…”
The pair glanced at one another and exchanged a knowing look – it was time to start – and crept closer to the source of the sound, coming upon a half-open door leading into a larger storage room. It was fairly dark inside, excepting a few covered candles and the light of the full moon streaming in through a few scattered skylights. Rukia took up point and peered into the room from a distance, concealing her body in the shadow provided by the door, before holding up three fingers. Ichigo silently nodded and tapped her right shoulder before proceeding in that direction down a side corridor. She waited silently for some moments until she then heard what sounded like a cricket chirp, before leaning forward and “falling” through the door. She fell in a heap before quickly picking herself up and brushing herself off, feigning ignorance “My, my…”
As she looked up she was greeted by the sound of three pistol hammers cocking and the sight of three antiquated revolvers being pointed her way. The men were all gruff looking, and were somewhere between apprehensive and angry.
“Who the hell are you,” asked one sternly.
She immediately threw her hands up and played the clueless girl “H-Hey, no need to point guns, I was just looking for a place to sleep for the night, the damn Japanese forced me out of my home.”
Her Chinese was terrible, and her style of dress was a dead giveaway. The men exchanged glances before all three leveled their guns square at her head. “You’re an awful liar,” said the one on the right.
“We should kill her before she tells the Stone Faces we’re here,” said the one in the center.
“D-Don’t be so rash,” pleaded Rukia, but the others nodded and they started to advance. Before they could take a single step there was a swish of air and a flash of white and crimson followed by the clatter of metal on stone. The men all blinked in unison, before seeing that the previously unarmed and clueless girl had two pistols trained on them, the likes of which they’d never seen before; they didn’t have cylinder blocks. It was only a second or two after this that they all noticed the razor-thin edge of cold steel that was pressed to all their throats. Ichigo held the
katana steady and had a cool and impassive expression on his face, the threat of decapitation obvious to all three men. “You may as well put those down,” intoned Rukia, adding “they won’t do you much good.”
One of the men happened to chance a glance down; the barrel of his revolver had been sliced clean off, as had those of his cohorts. All three dropped the worthless chunks of metal. “Call Regional HQ,” said Ichigo, “I’ve got them.”
Rukia slid a pistol back into a concealed holster and withdrew a strange looking oblong box, cradling it to her side and winding its small crank with her free hand, the other still pointing a pistol at the would-be guerilla fighters. She rapidly hammered out a morse-code message on its small keys, before slipping it back inside the
hakama and taking out the other pistol once more, simply smiling “Looks like we’ve got time to get to know each other; maybe you can teach me some Chinese.”
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It had taken the unit awhile to get there and requisition the weapons and prisoners. As soon as they’d shown up and taken over the situation Rukia and Ichigo made their way out the back and began taking a circuitous route through the warehouse district opposite the way they came; it helped if they couldn’t be easily linked to crackdowns.
As they walked Ichigo exhaled and commented “I still don’t see why we have to walk.”
Rukia shook her head a little before looking down “
Baka.”
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OOC: It's sorta silly. But eh. I'm going to keep writing until one of you goons mans up and posts something decently long of your own! And even then I'll keep going. So stop embarassing yourselves and start typing!
Help put the story back in this Never Ending Story!
Or die.
