Kamen Rider Kiva AU: "Boxed In" part 3/?
Feb. 15th, 2008 06:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
estiriseHere's "Boxed In" part 3. Part 1 is here, and part 2 is here.
Title: Boxed In (part 3/?)
Series: Kamen Rider Kiva (AU)
Author: Estirose
Rating: 13+
Disclaimer: The Watcher, Executioner, and Hotaru belong to me, the others don't.
Summary: In a world where the Fangaire are known and only a few rogues kill people, hunter cells still exist. In one of them, against the law that says that half-Fangaire are to be raised exclusively by the Fangaire, is a young man named Kurenai Wataru. However, things beyond his control bring him to the attention of the Fangaire, and they take action.
* * *
Otoya watched the Executioner as he served the sandwiches, first to himself, then to Yuri and Wataru. He hadn't been pleased by the appearance of the Executioner, though he understood that it was what happened after the Fangaire discovered that one was hiding a half- Fangaire like Wataru. That he expected; to be invited to the man's house was not.
Kivat had told him and Yuri about the Executioner, and what it meant for Wataru if the man took Wataru for an apprentice. He had less objections than Yuri to Wataru being changed to full Fangaire, but he hadn't voiced them to Yuri. He'd learned very early on not to do that. Yuri hadn't been fond of Wataru's mother Naoko from the start, and she preferred to pretend that Wataru was human except when it was convenient for him to be half-Fangaire.
Part of it was Otoya's application of his innate charm; part of it was that Yuri just didn't like the Fangaire but she preferred to make examples out of the worst ones. Otoya knew through Naoko that most Fangaire weren't that bad, even if they did drink energy from humans. And sometimes had the bizarre notion that humans were like cattle, something that he'd pretty much talked Naoko out of.
He missed Naoko; she'd been good company. But to keep Wataru safe, to keep him hidden, they'd both agreed that Otoya and the others should raise Wataru. Naoko too had believed that her peoples' extremists needed to be destroyed, and that it was the humans' rights to destroy them. Thus Wataru had been born.
Yuri had pretty much been the mother Naoko couldn't be to Wataru. It was why he'd invited her along when the Executioner had given permission to bring along someone else. That, and she'd raise hell if he'd gone without her; she apparently thought he needed a reality check a lot of the time.
It didn't hurt that Yuri was a damned good fighter and he'd prefer her at his back just in case something went wrong.
Wataru was eating the sandwich, while Yuri was trying hard not to glare balefully at hers. Wataru seemed to be okay, so Otoya started on his. He considered the "peace treaty" the Executioner had offered.
If he kept his side of the bargain, they'd still have contact with Wataru. If not, he doubted the rest of the cell would hesitate to rally behind Yuri if she decided to take the Fangaire out.
The problem, Kivat had pointed out to him later after Yuri had left, was that the Fangaire might decide to concentrate their efforts on recovering and changing Wataru since he was the Executioner's apprentice and a member of the offending cell. Fangaire could carry grudges just as well as humans.
"Obviously, most of the time, Wataru needs to be with me. And when he's around other Fangaire and Fandiri, he needs to be patterned – I know you all hate that, but it's necessary so that he doesn't get taken away."
Otoya saw the slight change of expression on Yuri's face. She wasn't keen on Wataru being the Executioner's apprentice because he would be changed, and maybe she was thinking it was better to throw Wataru to another Fangaire in the hopes that he'd be allowed to live a relatively normal life in a few years. Of course, if the Executioner felt like holding true to his promises, Wataru would have them to remind him of who he was. A little learning of deception and other skills wouldn't hurt Wataru anyway, enabling him to fight against the rogue Fangaire more effectively. And Yuri, once she got over the fact that Wataru might have to become Fangaire, might realize what an opportunity they had if they could hunt rogues legally. He'd caught the look on her face before she realized that it was a Fangaire offering the chance.
"How do we work this?" Otoya wondered. "Exchange phone numbers?"
"If you both agree not to try to 'rescue' him," the Executioner said, seemingly aware that Yuri might have a problem with him, or at least his existence, "Then I'll give you my address and phone number. You can see Wataru whenever you want, within reason."
"Wataru's tried to escape once," Yuri pointed out. "What do you expect us to do if he gets away? Turn him over to you?" Her scowl indicated that might be a hard sell.
"I would hope Wataru wouldn't run," the Executioner said, looking at Wataru. "If he went home, well, for one, that's not very tactically sound, is it? That would be the first place I'd look. If I found him, I'd take him back. But I wouldn't expect you to turn him over to me."
Yuri nodded in acknowledgement of the Executioner's point, and the fact that she would not be forced to turn Wataru over to a Fangire unless that Fangaire turned up at her doorstep. But he also noticed the undercurrent in the Executioner's words; he wasn't just making the point to Yuri, but also to Wataru, as if giving pointers on how not to get caught. It made sense what Wataru had told them earlier.
The Executioner was, in his own way, trying to help Wataru. He might not understand the frustration that Otoya and Yuri had, that Wataru was human as well as Fangaire, but he was trying to turn Wataru into a better person. Or at least a better hunter.
Otoya wondered if Wataru realized the Executioner had started training him. Maybe not. He'd talk to Wataru, see if Wataru saw what he saw. Made sure that Wataru took the opportunities that the Executioner offered.
Otoya might be fanciful sometimes, but he was more practical than Yuri thought he was. Yuri would keep Wataru human even if he was turned Fangaire, if she could get over the revulsion of him being changed.
He didn't precisely *like* the Executioner, but he could live with him 'parenting' Wataru for a few years. Especially since Wataru was old enough that it would be more like apprenticing him in a trade, one that Otoya could live with.
* * *
The Executioner finally got grudging acceptance of his proposal from the two human hunters and made sure they had the address, or at least Otoya did. He was still a bit worried about Yuri; she'd accepted the compromise far less enthusiastically than Otoya had.
Otoya was recovering from his grief just fine, it looked like. He was the type that bounced right back, and really just had trouble with the rogues. Which was fine, because the Executioner had problems with the rogues too. The Executioner was less worried about Wataru; with Otoya as a father, he probably had the right attitude. The Executioner just had to let him open up, and if things had gone well with Wataru, he just might.
He fed Wataru dinner. It wasn't fancy, the Executioner was okay with food but not a top chef. He'd used the Internet and some books to get an idea of what was good for a growing Fandiri. After all, he'd never had an apprentice before, much less a foster child. For some reason, he wasn't on Hotaru's list of top foster parents.
Now that Wataru had seen his human family, it was time to discuss things with the boy. Like why it was so important for the Executioner to have an apprentice and everything that was going on. He'd given Wataru some time to arrange his room to his liking, and as a show of trust, had also left him his violinmaking equipment. He'd have to ask Wataru about supplies to actually make violins – it would keep Wataru's eye/hand coordination sharp and he doubted Wataru would make the mistake of trying to stab him with an awl.
Of course, maybe Wataru would surprise him. Keeping on one's toes was good. And it would be a way for him to distract the Executioner long enough for Wataru to escape.
He, however, was not going to clue Wataru into that until Wataru was past his escaping stage.
He drew the boy to the living room. "Did you enjoy your visit with your family?" Yuri might not have been biologically related to Wataru, but there was no doubt in the Executioner's mind that she was a mother figure to the boy. All the more reason to become familiar with both of them.
A brief nod from Wataru, who, as the Executioner looked at him, seemed a bit dazed. Well, a lot had gone on that day, and it was probably emotionally trying. Not that he was sure, because Wataru was hard to read, and he wasn't sure if that was Wataru's nature, because he'd had to hide that he was Fandiri for so long, or because he was still wary of the Executioner.
It could be any or all of them. He'd just have to pay attention to the hints that Wataru gave off as he continued to live there.
"Good." He smiled at Wataru. "Your room in order?" A nod again. Maybe Wataru was still a bit reticent.
"That's also good. Now that I know your family's not going to kidnap you, maybe I should explain a little bit about what it means to be my apprentice." He relaxed in the chair. Doors were secured, if Wataru decided to run screaming he'd have to figure out how to unlock the door in a panic. Of course, Wataru could have studied the door for moments like that.
"Every Fangaire that has held the Executioner position has done two things. One is end the lives of those who ask their lives to be ended. This is a big ceremonial thing; if we get any of those, we have to both be rather formal." He rolled his eyes. Ceremonial getup and Wataru was going to have to not blend in. Okay, he would blend in with any other Fandiri. And he would not look out of place at the ceremony.
"The other is killing Fangaire that kill humans. Killing a human is pretty much a death sentence, unless one can prove that they did have the means to kill you, or it's accidental. Accidental usually means the human courts. Self defense... well, most Fangire don't have much luck in pleading that. The humans have to be going after you on purpose and have the means to do so, which usually means a hunter cell or someone working for a rogue Fangaire. I've gone several times before the judging council on such a charge; fortunately, as Executioner, they give me a little leeway.
"We're the ones who hunt the rogues. The council likes it if we subdue, not kill, the rogue, but that's not always possible.
Sometimes, like the rogue that you were hunting when I captured you the first time, we have to end their lives right then and there. But the judging council prefers we leave them alive for trial, for obvious reasons. And they like to see the kill. Executioners always sit on those trials because the death sentence is pretty much immediate." He gazed at Wataru, trying to gauge his reaction. "That again is pretty formal getup."
He thought about what else to say. "Because of the nature of our work, you'll be changed when you're twenty or twenty-one. You need the strength and armor a Fangaire form provides. But on the other hand, we get a lot of leeway on how we do our jobs and deal with the council. As long as we can be showy for them, they leave us alone.
Right now, I'm having to deal with them because you're a hunter and my apprentice, and *some* Fangaire don't get that you don't act like a typical Fandiri."
Wataru had wrinkled his nose at the mention of being changed.
Executioner wondered if he'd get used to things before then, or if he'd try to run if they tried to change him. Wataru had shown the ability to wait and plan, and somewhat to improvise.
"In any case, now that you're somewhat settled in, I'll teach you what you need to know. And some things so you can fake being a typical Fandiri so that *certain Fangaire* will leave you alone."
His apprentice wasn't stupid; he would learn. And maybe the threat of beginning training would spur him to try to escape one more time. Otherwise the Executioner was going to have to find creative ways to test him.
"Don't worry. You'll get it."
* * *
The next few days were as slow as the first. To the Executioner's surprise, and somewhat disappointment, Wataru did settle in and didn't try escaping. Maybe he was biding his time again. He was certainly exploring the place.
To liven things up, he slipped herbs into Wataru's breakfast, and the boy started displaying his distinctive patterning. "Always be ready for surprises," he said.
Wataru started making his own breakfast and meals after that.
The Executioner encouraged Wataru to set up a workshop, and started supplying him the materials he needed to make violins. It would keep Wataru busy, and it wouldn't hurt to sell them. Quite a few people would buy violins hand-made by a Fandiri.
After all, they had the leisure time. The Executioner was not needed every day. Or at least hopefully not every day. Which reminded him, two weeks into Wataru's training, that he needed to discuss other things with his apprentice.
It was after a visit by Yuri and Otoya. He'd promised them that as long as they didn't try to retrieve Wataru, they could visit him, and the Executioner intended to keep that promise. He felt that it was wise to show Yuri that he, a Fangaire, could keep a promise to a human.
Otoya had looked with approval at Wataru's new workspace, while Yuri had only half-successfully tried to pretend she wasn't bored by the whole thing. Judging from what she'd said to Wataru, she was trying to keep him from losing his humanity. The Executioner could have laughed. Did laugh, when they were gone, when Wataru was making dinner. Of course, Yuri also hadn't been pleased about Wataru's tale about suddenly patterning after breakfast that day.
Yuri, it seemed, had more problems about than Wataru did, though he still only did so reluctantly. The Executioner had foods that would cause a reaction faster than others, just in case Hotaru showed up wanting to check on Wataru. That was about the only time he made Wataru pattern. After all, no rogues and no requests to die meant he didn't have to deal with Council formalities.
He finally found time to sit Wataru down. It was important that Wataru understood some things he and the council hadn't discussed in Wataru's earshot.
"There are about a thousand Fangaire, give or take a hundred," Executioner said as Wataru sipped at some tea he'd made for himself. "When the numbers start dipping below about 980, Chooser starts hunting for new Fangaire among the Fandiri population. You won't see him in that capacity since you're automatically chosen, but you will meet him. He starts Fangaire lives, we end them.
"Right now, the reason I've had so much pressure to find an apprentice is because of certain things going on in the Fangaire socialsphere," Executioner said. "There's a sizeable minority who think there are too many humans out there, and that we should cull humans for the stability of the planet and for the stability of basically our food supply. It's the green movement with a dangerous twist. Most of them are just talk, no action, but the council's expecting a growing group of them to put their actions where their mouths are."
Noting Wataru's expression, he added, "Humans are there to feed from and to breed with, Wataru. That's the Fangaire attitude. Eventually you'll come to see it that way, as you grow older. You may not believe it now, especially since you remain in contact with your cell, but it's true. It may also take you longer to believe this because you're still in close contact with your parents - well, your father and Yuri." If Yuri had been Wataru's mother, they wouldn't be having this conversation. It was so easy to think of her as Wataru's mother, though.
"There's going to be a lot more dead humans, some - maybe quite a few - internationally. A lot of them - the Fangaire, that is - are going to be brought to be judged - a lot more workload for us. A lot more deadly too, because some of them aren't going to come along quietly. Especially as news rolls around that you're hunter-raised. Some of them aren't going to take that kindly." The council was definitely not going to be happy about Wataru's connection to his cell, but he hoped that it would be forgiven, since they needed their Executioner. Unless something blew up with the hunter cell, like they started hunting Fangaire randomly, he should be safe.
"But we have a job to do, and we'll do it. The council respects that. And in the meantime? We'll keep our skill sets sharp." He settled back, smiling.
"Why do Fangaire go rogue, normally?" Wataru asked. Still not up to the volume that the Executioner had heard when Wataru had greeted his father and Yuri, but still, not mumbling, quite audible.
"Sometimes they just lose their view of humans as intelligent beings and view them entirely as cattle. That's usually after a long while, and those are our most dangerous opponents." The Executioner considered the question. "Some just decide that it's fun to hunt and kill. We've tried to tame out those instincts, breed them out of the behaviours of the Fandiri, but it still happens. Some enjoy their meals' terror. Some are just plain gluttonous. Some want to die but don't for some reason want to go through formal ceremony, so they force us to kill them. Those won't be really trying to kill you, Wataru, but they will try to provoke you into killing them. Personally? I'd rather go out that way, too. Once you've been through one death ceremony, you realize that's not how you want to end your life."
He looked over at Wataru. "All of us still have the instincts, Wataru, both Fangaire and Fandire. You may not realize it, because you were trained to fight and kill anyway, but it's there. Most Fangaire and Fandiri suppress their fighting and killing instincts; we do to some extent too, but not as much as others."
Wataru nodded. At least the Executioner might get a response. Maybe in the next few weeks he'd get full paragraphs in a normal conversational tone.
"So, we'll be dealing with all kinds. We always do," the Executioner said. "It was a good question, Wataru. To some extent, you do have to understand why they kill in order to defeat them, because some are more dangerous than others."
The boy was learning. There were no hunts at the moment to show him how their minds worked; it was something Wataru would have to learn as the Executioner's apprentice.
"That rogue we leaked to your group had taken up hunting humans for fun," the Executioner said, deciding to use that one as an example. "The energy from one dead human can feed a Fangaire for one to three weeks, depending on their energy. Most of us have to feed every day or so because we actually take so little from the average human. And yet it keeps us from killing our food supply. And getting killed *by* our food supply.
"We can also use the energy to force our bodies to heal faster – something I'll teach you to do after you go through your change. When you woke up from when I grabbed you in the alley, you felt tired, didn't you?"
Wataru nodded. Back to the non-verbal, it seemed.
"That's because I drained you more than one normally does to a human. I needed you tired out so you wouldn't fight back. I used it to heal the injuries you and Kivat inflicted. Fandiri can also receive energy to stay alive in the short term, but they can't take any of their own. Good for dealing with a Fandiri on a hunger strike." He let Wataru ponder the implications of that one. If for some reason Wataru was taken from him, the knowledge that Wataru couldn't hunger strike would help him decide what tactics to use with his new foster parent.
"There's a lot you have to learn, Wataru. Shall we start with how to behave so you don't get handed off to someone else who won't let you keep in touch with your parents?" Oops. He'd goofed again. Had to remember that Yuri was not Wataru's mother. "Your father and Yuri?"
That worked better. He leaned forward, telling Wataru what he had to do to fool Hiraoka Hotaru into thinking he had adapted.
* * *
Wataru had gone through a lot in the past few weeks. From being found out to being captured, to being more or less the Executioner's apprentice. His father had, in his own way, approved of the arrangement; Yuri-san was probably making plans to get him out of there.
But if there were rogue Fangaire running about killing humans, he couldn't stand idly by. It was what his father and Yuri-san had raised him to do. He didn't want to become Fangaire, didn't want to be changed, didn't want to be backed into a corner with no choice in the matter. At least the Executioner let him see his father and Yuri-san, a radical idea considering that the Fangaire seemed to despise human hunters.
Fangaire like the one sitting on the bed next to him. Hiraoka Hotaru had examined him once before, but he'd been too traumatized to really talk to her, and it sounded like it was a good idea that he hadn't. At seventeen, he was really too old to need a guardian, especially one who took one look at his patterning and tried to force him into being something he couldn't be.
Even the Executioner's attitude seemed strange to him, the treating of humans as cattle and bedmates, anything else not important.
They'd had enough forwarning of Hiraoka-san's visit that he'd eaten the right foods, bringing the pattern out that marked him as half-Fangaire. Her questions on the first visit were simple: How was he feeling? Was he being fed? With what? Had he explained about why Wataru was taken away?
He'd answered her with nodding or shaking his head when possible, leaving anything else unanswered. Apparently she hadn't been too satisfied with that, thus the second visit. If he and the Executioner handled it correctly, he wouldn't have to see the Fangaire again, except at council events he attended formally as the Executioner's apprentice. He was good at hiding what he was; hiding his true answers, answering the way the Executioner had tutored him to do, that shouldn't be that hard. Especially when he provided the outward appearance of a standard half-Fangaire.
The Executioner had told him, when his patterns had shown that one time at breakfast, to get a good look at them and get used to them. Not because he'd be wearing them most of the time, but because other half-Fangaire were used to them, and it would seem strange if he wasn't.
He didn't have to accept them completely, but getting used to them was apparently good. He'd have to talk, but hopefully her questions would be brief. Of course, for the moment, it didn't look like it was going to be, and he didn't envy the Executioner having to deal with her when she was done with Wataru.
As soon as Hiraoka-san had come in, she'd taken something, looking handmade, out of her purse and insisted he eat it, saying that he looked too thin, ignoring his protests as she foisted it on him. He'd finally given in and eaten it, causing her to smile broadly. Now she was talking to him. "You don't have to say much at the moment, Wataru. I realize this is quite a change for you, and I know that you probably are still trying to understand what it means to be Fandiri. We're all sorry that you had to go through this, that your parents didn't understand."
Wataru wanted to reply that his parents had understood perfectly well, but he kept his mouth shut on the matter. No use provoking her, even if it was true. He did really want to say it, to challenge her assertions on the matter, and probably should, but he didn't want to be outspoken and seem like the Executioner wasn't getting through to him about the benefits of life as a half-Fangaire.
"I don't usually see Fandiri children adopted this old, with human attitudes burned in," she mused. "Most of the others are surrendered when they're one or two, maybe sometimes a bit older. You'll be spending the centuries remembering what it was like to be human." She sighed, as if that was a bad thing.
"There's nothing wrong with that," he said, and then abruptly shut up. Speaking his mind was likely to get him and the Executioner in trouble. At least this one was relatively harmless and could be expected out of him.
Hiraoka-san smiled a bit more widely, to his dismay. "Why don't you tell me how you're settling in, Wataru," she said, folding her hands.
Title: Boxed In (part 3/?)
Series: Kamen Rider Kiva (AU)
Author: Estirose
Rating: 13+
Disclaimer: The Watcher, Executioner, and Hotaru belong to me, the others don't.
Summary: In a world where the Fangaire are known and only a few rogues kill people, hunter cells still exist. In one of them, against the law that says that half-Fangaire are to be raised exclusively by the Fangaire, is a young man named Kurenai Wataru. However, things beyond his control bring him to the attention of the Fangaire, and they take action.
* * *
Otoya watched the Executioner as he served the sandwiches, first to himself, then to Yuri and Wataru. He hadn't been pleased by the appearance of the Executioner, though he understood that it was what happened after the Fangaire discovered that one was hiding a half- Fangaire like Wataru. That he expected; to be invited to the man's house was not.
Kivat had told him and Yuri about the Executioner, and what it meant for Wataru if the man took Wataru for an apprentice. He had less objections than Yuri to Wataru being changed to full Fangaire, but he hadn't voiced them to Yuri. He'd learned very early on not to do that. Yuri hadn't been fond of Wataru's mother Naoko from the start, and she preferred to pretend that Wataru was human except when it was convenient for him to be half-Fangaire.
Part of it was Otoya's application of his innate charm; part of it was that Yuri just didn't like the Fangaire but she preferred to make examples out of the worst ones. Otoya knew through Naoko that most Fangaire weren't that bad, even if they did drink energy from humans. And sometimes had the bizarre notion that humans were like cattle, something that he'd pretty much talked Naoko out of.
He missed Naoko; she'd been good company. But to keep Wataru safe, to keep him hidden, they'd both agreed that Otoya and the others should raise Wataru. Naoko too had believed that her peoples' extremists needed to be destroyed, and that it was the humans' rights to destroy them. Thus Wataru had been born.
Yuri had pretty much been the mother Naoko couldn't be to Wataru. It was why he'd invited her along when the Executioner had given permission to bring along someone else. That, and she'd raise hell if he'd gone without her; she apparently thought he needed a reality check a lot of the time.
It didn't hurt that Yuri was a damned good fighter and he'd prefer her at his back just in case something went wrong.
Wataru was eating the sandwich, while Yuri was trying hard not to glare balefully at hers. Wataru seemed to be okay, so Otoya started on his. He considered the "peace treaty" the Executioner had offered.
If he kept his side of the bargain, they'd still have contact with Wataru. If not, he doubted the rest of the cell would hesitate to rally behind Yuri if she decided to take the Fangaire out.
The problem, Kivat had pointed out to him later after Yuri had left, was that the Fangaire might decide to concentrate their efforts on recovering and changing Wataru since he was the Executioner's apprentice and a member of the offending cell. Fangaire could carry grudges just as well as humans.
"Obviously, most of the time, Wataru needs to be with me. And when he's around other Fangaire and Fandiri, he needs to be patterned – I know you all hate that, but it's necessary so that he doesn't get taken away."
Otoya saw the slight change of expression on Yuri's face. She wasn't keen on Wataru being the Executioner's apprentice because he would be changed, and maybe she was thinking it was better to throw Wataru to another Fangaire in the hopes that he'd be allowed to live a relatively normal life in a few years. Of course, if the Executioner felt like holding true to his promises, Wataru would have them to remind him of who he was. A little learning of deception and other skills wouldn't hurt Wataru anyway, enabling him to fight against the rogue Fangaire more effectively. And Yuri, once she got over the fact that Wataru might have to become Fangaire, might realize what an opportunity they had if they could hunt rogues legally. He'd caught the look on her face before she realized that it was a Fangaire offering the chance.
"How do we work this?" Otoya wondered. "Exchange phone numbers?"
"If you both agree not to try to 'rescue' him," the Executioner said, seemingly aware that Yuri might have a problem with him, or at least his existence, "Then I'll give you my address and phone number. You can see Wataru whenever you want, within reason."
"Wataru's tried to escape once," Yuri pointed out. "What do you expect us to do if he gets away? Turn him over to you?" Her scowl indicated that might be a hard sell.
"I would hope Wataru wouldn't run," the Executioner said, looking at Wataru. "If he went home, well, for one, that's not very tactically sound, is it? That would be the first place I'd look. If I found him, I'd take him back. But I wouldn't expect you to turn him over to me."
Yuri nodded in acknowledgement of the Executioner's point, and the fact that she would not be forced to turn Wataru over to a Fangire unless that Fangaire turned up at her doorstep. But he also noticed the undercurrent in the Executioner's words; he wasn't just making the point to Yuri, but also to Wataru, as if giving pointers on how not to get caught. It made sense what Wataru had told them earlier.
The Executioner was, in his own way, trying to help Wataru. He might not understand the frustration that Otoya and Yuri had, that Wataru was human as well as Fangaire, but he was trying to turn Wataru into a better person. Or at least a better hunter.
Otoya wondered if Wataru realized the Executioner had started training him. Maybe not. He'd talk to Wataru, see if Wataru saw what he saw. Made sure that Wataru took the opportunities that the Executioner offered.
Otoya might be fanciful sometimes, but he was more practical than Yuri thought he was. Yuri would keep Wataru human even if he was turned Fangaire, if she could get over the revulsion of him being changed.
He didn't precisely *like* the Executioner, but he could live with him 'parenting' Wataru for a few years. Especially since Wataru was old enough that it would be more like apprenticing him in a trade, one that Otoya could live with.
* * *
The Executioner finally got grudging acceptance of his proposal from the two human hunters and made sure they had the address, or at least Otoya did. He was still a bit worried about Yuri; she'd accepted the compromise far less enthusiastically than Otoya had.
Otoya was recovering from his grief just fine, it looked like. He was the type that bounced right back, and really just had trouble with the rogues. Which was fine, because the Executioner had problems with the rogues too. The Executioner was less worried about Wataru; with Otoya as a father, he probably had the right attitude. The Executioner just had to let him open up, and if things had gone well with Wataru, he just might.
He fed Wataru dinner. It wasn't fancy, the Executioner was okay with food but not a top chef. He'd used the Internet and some books to get an idea of what was good for a growing Fandiri. After all, he'd never had an apprentice before, much less a foster child. For some reason, he wasn't on Hotaru's list of top foster parents.
Now that Wataru had seen his human family, it was time to discuss things with the boy. Like why it was so important for the Executioner to have an apprentice and everything that was going on. He'd given Wataru some time to arrange his room to his liking, and as a show of trust, had also left him his violinmaking equipment. He'd have to ask Wataru about supplies to actually make violins – it would keep Wataru's eye/hand coordination sharp and he doubted Wataru would make the mistake of trying to stab him with an awl.
Of course, maybe Wataru would surprise him. Keeping on one's toes was good. And it would be a way for him to distract the Executioner long enough for Wataru to escape.
He, however, was not going to clue Wataru into that until Wataru was past his escaping stage.
He drew the boy to the living room. "Did you enjoy your visit with your family?" Yuri might not have been biologically related to Wataru, but there was no doubt in the Executioner's mind that she was a mother figure to the boy. All the more reason to become familiar with both of them.
A brief nod from Wataru, who, as the Executioner looked at him, seemed a bit dazed. Well, a lot had gone on that day, and it was probably emotionally trying. Not that he was sure, because Wataru was hard to read, and he wasn't sure if that was Wataru's nature, because he'd had to hide that he was Fandiri for so long, or because he was still wary of the Executioner.
It could be any or all of them. He'd just have to pay attention to the hints that Wataru gave off as he continued to live there.
"Good." He smiled at Wataru. "Your room in order?" A nod again. Maybe Wataru was still a bit reticent.
"That's also good. Now that I know your family's not going to kidnap you, maybe I should explain a little bit about what it means to be my apprentice." He relaxed in the chair. Doors were secured, if Wataru decided to run screaming he'd have to figure out how to unlock the door in a panic. Of course, Wataru could have studied the door for moments like that.
"Every Fangaire that has held the Executioner position has done two things. One is end the lives of those who ask their lives to be ended. This is a big ceremonial thing; if we get any of those, we have to both be rather formal." He rolled his eyes. Ceremonial getup and Wataru was going to have to not blend in. Okay, he would blend in with any other Fandiri. And he would not look out of place at the ceremony.
"The other is killing Fangaire that kill humans. Killing a human is pretty much a death sentence, unless one can prove that they did have the means to kill you, or it's accidental. Accidental usually means the human courts. Self defense... well, most Fangire don't have much luck in pleading that. The humans have to be going after you on purpose and have the means to do so, which usually means a hunter cell or someone working for a rogue Fangaire. I've gone several times before the judging council on such a charge; fortunately, as Executioner, they give me a little leeway.
"We're the ones who hunt the rogues. The council likes it if we subdue, not kill, the rogue, but that's not always possible.
Sometimes, like the rogue that you were hunting when I captured you the first time, we have to end their lives right then and there. But the judging council prefers we leave them alive for trial, for obvious reasons. And they like to see the kill. Executioners always sit on those trials because the death sentence is pretty much immediate." He gazed at Wataru, trying to gauge his reaction. "That again is pretty formal getup."
He thought about what else to say. "Because of the nature of our work, you'll be changed when you're twenty or twenty-one. You need the strength and armor a Fangaire form provides. But on the other hand, we get a lot of leeway on how we do our jobs and deal with the council. As long as we can be showy for them, they leave us alone.
Right now, I'm having to deal with them because you're a hunter and my apprentice, and *some* Fangaire don't get that you don't act like a typical Fandiri."
Wataru had wrinkled his nose at the mention of being changed.
Executioner wondered if he'd get used to things before then, or if he'd try to run if they tried to change him. Wataru had shown the ability to wait and plan, and somewhat to improvise.
"In any case, now that you're somewhat settled in, I'll teach you what you need to know. And some things so you can fake being a typical Fandiri so that *certain Fangaire* will leave you alone."
His apprentice wasn't stupid; he would learn. And maybe the threat of beginning training would spur him to try to escape one more time. Otherwise the Executioner was going to have to find creative ways to test him.
"Don't worry. You'll get it."
* * *
The next few days were as slow as the first. To the Executioner's surprise, and somewhat disappointment, Wataru did settle in and didn't try escaping. Maybe he was biding his time again. He was certainly exploring the place.
To liven things up, he slipped herbs into Wataru's breakfast, and the boy started displaying his distinctive patterning. "Always be ready for surprises," he said.
Wataru started making his own breakfast and meals after that.
The Executioner encouraged Wataru to set up a workshop, and started supplying him the materials he needed to make violins. It would keep Wataru busy, and it wouldn't hurt to sell them. Quite a few people would buy violins hand-made by a Fandiri.
After all, they had the leisure time. The Executioner was not needed every day. Or at least hopefully not every day. Which reminded him, two weeks into Wataru's training, that he needed to discuss other things with his apprentice.
It was after a visit by Yuri and Otoya. He'd promised them that as long as they didn't try to retrieve Wataru, they could visit him, and the Executioner intended to keep that promise. He felt that it was wise to show Yuri that he, a Fangaire, could keep a promise to a human.
Otoya had looked with approval at Wataru's new workspace, while Yuri had only half-successfully tried to pretend she wasn't bored by the whole thing. Judging from what she'd said to Wataru, she was trying to keep him from losing his humanity. The Executioner could have laughed. Did laugh, when they were gone, when Wataru was making dinner. Of course, Yuri also hadn't been pleased about Wataru's tale about suddenly patterning after breakfast that day.
Yuri, it seemed, had more problems about than Wataru did, though he still only did so reluctantly. The Executioner had foods that would cause a reaction faster than others, just in case Hotaru showed up wanting to check on Wataru. That was about the only time he made Wataru pattern. After all, no rogues and no requests to die meant he didn't have to deal with Council formalities.
He finally found time to sit Wataru down. It was important that Wataru understood some things he and the council hadn't discussed in Wataru's earshot.
"There are about a thousand Fangaire, give or take a hundred," Executioner said as Wataru sipped at some tea he'd made for himself. "When the numbers start dipping below about 980, Chooser starts hunting for new Fangaire among the Fandiri population. You won't see him in that capacity since you're automatically chosen, but you will meet him. He starts Fangaire lives, we end them.
"Right now, the reason I've had so much pressure to find an apprentice is because of certain things going on in the Fangaire socialsphere," Executioner said. "There's a sizeable minority who think there are too many humans out there, and that we should cull humans for the stability of the planet and for the stability of basically our food supply. It's the green movement with a dangerous twist. Most of them are just talk, no action, but the council's expecting a growing group of them to put their actions where their mouths are."
Noting Wataru's expression, he added, "Humans are there to feed from and to breed with, Wataru. That's the Fangaire attitude. Eventually you'll come to see it that way, as you grow older. You may not believe it now, especially since you remain in contact with your cell, but it's true. It may also take you longer to believe this because you're still in close contact with your parents - well, your father and Yuri." If Yuri had been Wataru's mother, they wouldn't be having this conversation. It was so easy to think of her as Wataru's mother, though.
"There's going to be a lot more dead humans, some - maybe quite a few - internationally. A lot of them - the Fangaire, that is - are going to be brought to be judged - a lot more workload for us. A lot more deadly too, because some of them aren't going to come along quietly. Especially as news rolls around that you're hunter-raised. Some of them aren't going to take that kindly." The council was definitely not going to be happy about Wataru's connection to his cell, but he hoped that it would be forgiven, since they needed their Executioner. Unless something blew up with the hunter cell, like they started hunting Fangaire randomly, he should be safe.
"But we have a job to do, and we'll do it. The council respects that. And in the meantime? We'll keep our skill sets sharp." He settled back, smiling.
"Why do Fangaire go rogue, normally?" Wataru asked. Still not up to the volume that the Executioner had heard when Wataru had greeted his father and Yuri, but still, not mumbling, quite audible.
"Sometimes they just lose their view of humans as intelligent beings and view them entirely as cattle. That's usually after a long while, and those are our most dangerous opponents." The Executioner considered the question. "Some just decide that it's fun to hunt and kill. We've tried to tame out those instincts, breed them out of the behaviours of the Fandiri, but it still happens. Some enjoy their meals' terror. Some are just plain gluttonous. Some want to die but don't for some reason want to go through formal ceremony, so they force us to kill them. Those won't be really trying to kill you, Wataru, but they will try to provoke you into killing them. Personally? I'd rather go out that way, too. Once you've been through one death ceremony, you realize that's not how you want to end your life."
He looked over at Wataru. "All of us still have the instincts, Wataru, both Fangaire and Fandire. You may not realize it, because you were trained to fight and kill anyway, but it's there. Most Fangaire and Fandiri suppress their fighting and killing instincts; we do to some extent too, but not as much as others."
Wataru nodded. At least the Executioner might get a response. Maybe in the next few weeks he'd get full paragraphs in a normal conversational tone.
"So, we'll be dealing with all kinds. We always do," the Executioner said. "It was a good question, Wataru. To some extent, you do have to understand why they kill in order to defeat them, because some are more dangerous than others."
The boy was learning. There were no hunts at the moment to show him how their minds worked; it was something Wataru would have to learn as the Executioner's apprentice.
"That rogue we leaked to your group had taken up hunting humans for fun," the Executioner said, deciding to use that one as an example. "The energy from one dead human can feed a Fangaire for one to three weeks, depending on their energy. Most of us have to feed every day or so because we actually take so little from the average human. And yet it keeps us from killing our food supply. And getting killed *by* our food supply.
"We can also use the energy to force our bodies to heal faster – something I'll teach you to do after you go through your change. When you woke up from when I grabbed you in the alley, you felt tired, didn't you?"
Wataru nodded. Back to the non-verbal, it seemed.
"That's because I drained you more than one normally does to a human. I needed you tired out so you wouldn't fight back. I used it to heal the injuries you and Kivat inflicted. Fandiri can also receive energy to stay alive in the short term, but they can't take any of their own. Good for dealing with a Fandiri on a hunger strike." He let Wataru ponder the implications of that one. If for some reason Wataru was taken from him, the knowledge that Wataru couldn't hunger strike would help him decide what tactics to use with his new foster parent.
"There's a lot you have to learn, Wataru. Shall we start with how to behave so you don't get handed off to someone else who won't let you keep in touch with your parents?" Oops. He'd goofed again. Had to remember that Yuri was not Wataru's mother. "Your father and Yuri?"
That worked better. He leaned forward, telling Wataru what he had to do to fool Hiraoka Hotaru into thinking he had adapted.
* * *
Wataru had gone through a lot in the past few weeks. From being found out to being captured, to being more or less the Executioner's apprentice. His father had, in his own way, approved of the arrangement; Yuri-san was probably making plans to get him out of there.
But if there were rogue Fangaire running about killing humans, he couldn't stand idly by. It was what his father and Yuri-san had raised him to do. He didn't want to become Fangaire, didn't want to be changed, didn't want to be backed into a corner with no choice in the matter. At least the Executioner let him see his father and Yuri-san, a radical idea considering that the Fangaire seemed to despise human hunters.
Fangaire like the one sitting on the bed next to him. Hiraoka Hotaru had examined him once before, but he'd been too traumatized to really talk to her, and it sounded like it was a good idea that he hadn't. At seventeen, he was really too old to need a guardian, especially one who took one look at his patterning and tried to force him into being something he couldn't be.
Even the Executioner's attitude seemed strange to him, the treating of humans as cattle and bedmates, anything else not important.
They'd had enough forwarning of Hiraoka-san's visit that he'd eaten the right foods, bringing the pattern out that marked him as half-Fangaire. Her questions on the first visit were simple: How was he feeling? Was he being fed? With what? Had he explained about why Wataru was taken away?
He'd answered her with nodding or shaking his head when possible, leaving anything else unanswered. Apparently she hadn't been too satisfied with that, thus the second visit. If he and the Executioner handled it correctly, he wouldn't have to see the Fangaire again, except at council events he attended formally as the Executioner's apprentice. He was good at hiding what he was; hiding his true answers, answering the way the Executioner had tutored him to do, that shouldn't be that hard. Especially when he provided the outward appearance of a standard half-Fangaire.
The Executioner had told him, when his patterns had shown that one time at breakfast, to get a good look at them and get used to them. Not because he'd be wearing them most of the time, but because other half-Fangaire were used to them, and it would seem strange if he wasn't.
He didn't have to accept them completely, but getting used to them was apparently good. He'd have to talk, but hopefully her questions would be brief. Of course, for the moment, it didn't look like it was going to be, and he didn't envy the Executioner having to deal with her when she was done with Wataru.
As soon as Hiraoka-san had come in, she'd taken something, looking handmade, out of her purse and insisted he eat it, saying that he looked too thin, ignoring his protests as she foisted it on him. He'd finally given in and eaten it, causing her to smile broadly. Now she was talking to him. "You don't have to say much at the moment, Wataru. I realize this is quite a change for you, and I know that you probably are still trying to understand what it means to be Fandiri. We're all sorry that you had to go through this, that your parents didn't understand."
Wataru wanted to reply that his parents had understood perfectly well, but he kept his mouth shut on the matter. No use provoking her, even if it was true. He did really want to say it, to challenge her assertions on the matter, and probably should, but he didn't want to be outspoken and seem like the Executioner wasn't getting through to him about the benefits of life as a half-Fangaire.
"I don't usually see Fandiri children adopted this old, with human attitudes burned in," she mused. "Most of the others are surrendered when they're one or two, maybe sometimes a bit older. You'll be spending the centuries remembering what it was like to be human." She sighed, as if that was a bad thing.
"There's nothing wrong with that," he said, and then abruptly shut up. Speaking his mind was likely to get him and the Executioner in trouble. At least this one was relatively harmless and could be expected out of him.
Hiraoka-san smiled a bit more widely, to his dismay. "Why don't you tell me how you're settling in, Wataru," she said, folding her hands.
