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estiriseHere's "Start Again" part 2. It's part of the "Boxed In" universe.
I also made revisions to part 1, especially towards the end. If you'd like to read it (or reread it), it's here.
Start Again
by Estirose
c 2006
part 2
"What would you do if someone shows abilities like that?" Wataru asked, thinking about how Megumi's father was terrifying, how Megumi-san needed not to come to their attention. Maybe some of those lost Wolfen bloodlines were in other hunter groups, but he'd hardly tell the Executioner that.
"If they showed signs of power, or could even transform?" the Executioner asked. "We'd breed them, get the Wolfen back into existance. We know a little of their history and transformations; we could induce full Wolfen traits in the second generation if we could get our hands on a first. Or maybe even in the first generation. There are other Fangaire that handle that; it's not really my area of expertise."
Megumi-san had been good at sensing when she was being watched, always. She had the talent for it, something that he'd never associated with Wolfen blood, but which made so much sense. Maybe her father had power too. It wasn't like the two of them would be cooperative with the Fangaire.
"We occasionally breed our own children, Wataru," the Executioner continued. "I would have bred you had I had time before you were changed. We'd do the same for humans or anything else if it was needed."
"Bred... me?" Wataru asked, not sure he wanted to know why. The fact that the Executioner could so casually think of making him father a child on somebody was chilling; it spoke so much of the Fangaire's mindset.
"Well, chances were that a child of yours could still use the Kiva armor," the Executioner pointed out. "The Council doesn't pay much attention to the children of the Fandiri. If you fathered a child now, maybe on Megumi, the child would be Fandiri... And I think that Hotaru - Hiraoka-san - wouldn't take kindly to you leaving it with humans to raise. And being my apprentice, you can't raise it yourself. Our job's too dangerous."
"Oh." So, the Executioner had wanted to give the Kiva armor back to his father and the others. Yuri-san would be glad to hear that. But the reference to Megumi-san bothered him. If she was part-Wolfen, he probably couldn't have children with her.
"As I'm pretty sure you know, there are ways for humans to use the Kiva armor," the Executioner said. "It depends on whether the potential wielder has objections to having Fangaire blood in their system." He looked over. "How many of those in your current cell would be willing to do that?"
"Father might," Wataru said. "I don't know if Yuri-san would and I don't know if Megumi-san would." If Megumi-san was part Wolfen, it was probably not a good idea to mix her Wolfen blood with his Fangaire blood. Shima-san was too important, though he was a better choice than Megumi-san, and Kondo-san? He wasn't sure, the man was too new. If one took Megumi-san's boyfriend's cell into account, that was another handful of people that might be available. "Maybe a few others."
"That cell is very small," the Executioner said. "Are you thinking of other, associated cells?"
Wataru nodded. "There are others we trust."
"Wataru," the Executioner said, "The only way we're going to be able to use the others is if you get the two cells to merge together. Then you can claim them all as helpers and we don't have to worry about the Council and the Watcher going ballistic over hunters having access to the Kiva armor."
"Oh." He hadn't considered that.
"But there'll be time to do that, once I'm sure that you can go among humans and not feed from them more than you're supposed to. And I have to go to your father's house and explain about out little eco-problem to him and Yuri. Unless you trust yourself with your appetite now?"
Wataru shook his head. "I'm not sure, but I know you'll stop me. Or Yuri-san or Father will." Yuri tended to be armed. His father would be if he was warned.
The Executioner nodded. "After a few more times where I can see you feeding. Until then, let's keep to phone conversations where I don't have to worry about you draining either of them."
"But you promised Yuri-san...."
"And I will tell her what's going on, I promised her." The Executioner looked over at Wataru. "I will hold my promise to my fellow hunter."
Wataru just nodded.
* * *
Wataru, the Executioner observed, often showed what he was feeling clearly on his face. He was still very human-like and he didn't seem convinced that breeding was a good idea.
And whenever the Executioner mentioned Aso Megumi, Wataru's expression changed. He hadn't acted like that before the conversation about the Wolfen. The Watcher had long supposed that some of their missing Wolfen lines were probably part of hunter cells, especially the more radical ones, and the Executioner had to wonder if those members had been partially, if accidentally, awakened. If they'd been partly awakened, then they could possibly be fully awakened. There were those among the Fangaire who would love to awaken a Wolfen pup into full Wolfen existance. And he had to look at the possibility that Megumi was such a pup, showing signs of that long-ago ancestry.
But it wasn't something to be done immediately. After all, her mother didn't fully trust the Executioner, and she still had to get used to the fact that Wataru was Fangaire. His change should at least bring it home to both of them that Wataru was not human, had never been human.
Just as Megumi, if she was of Wolfen blood, would not be human after her awakening. He wondered how her mother would react to two of their cell being changed to what she no doubt considered not human, including her daughter.
Maybe he should leave the intriguing possibility of Aso Megumi's bloodline until after things became less pressing. He still needed the cell's cooperation; there was plenty of time to point interested Fangaire in Megumi's direction for testing. An awakened Wolfen would be an asset, but not something to worry about at the moment.
"While you get adjusted to your new self," the Executioner said, breaking off that topic, "there's a fair amount of research we can do. We need to spot where mysterious deaths are occuring." Of course, probably not all the eco-killers were killing by drain; if they were smart, then they'd try another method to get rid of the 'excess humans' instead of using obvious Fangaire drain. "Once we figure out where, we might be able to figure out who. And if we make enough of an example, the rest of them might figure that it's not worth the risk to kill humans."
"Do you think it'll work?"
"Never had much experience with it," the Executioner said, "But a few executions would seem to do the trick for most of them, I think. Most of us like our lives too much to lose them. Of course, what I'm worried about is martyrs." Martyrs would be *bad*, he knew he wouldn't have to tell Wataru that.
Wataru nodded, as if absorbing that information. He'd probably contemplate it, put all the pieces together. It wasn't like he didn't have plenty of time. Fangaire *could* sleep, just like they *could* eat, some of them did go to bed every night for a year or two after the change, but he intended to keep Wataru up. Not only would he be able to brainstorm with Wataru, but Wataru would see the benefits of becoming Fangaire. Given Wataru's upbringing, he probably didn't see that there were benefits, therefore he'd struggled during his change.
Aso Yuri might have taught Wataru to hunt, but she also was probably responsible for some of Wataru's problems. Still, Wataru was who he was because of Aso Yuri, and the Executioner had to respect that. Besides, she might soften in time. And Megumi, even if she wasn't part-Wolfen, would be a good one to bring in closer as well.
It would be great if Megumi was of Wolfen ancestry; she'd have a Fangaire near her that she had grown up with, and maybe, hopefully, loved.
After a while, they arrived home. A few of Wataru's belongings were in the back, from when he'd given them, along with Wataru, over to Hotaru. "Grab your things and settle back in," he said, "I'll start going over news reports on strange deaths." Thank goodness for the Watcher's suggestions; he not only owned a computer, but had a service that sent him those kinds of 'clippings'. "You're welcome to join me when you're done."
With that, he left Wataru to go upstairs while he turned on his computer. As expected, the service had come up with a few clippings and stories that it had deemed worth his while. He scanned them, not finding any obvious killings-by-Fangaire. Of course, as he'd told Wataru, some of them were going to try non-obvious things, and he could easily imagine Fangaire killing by human methods instead of draining, if they were so deranged. He hoped that if they had to kill, they'd do it the obvious way, being taught to be gentle with the humans they shared the planet with.
Mass killings, mass disappearances, would be something to watch for too. If the humans shattered after drain, and the Fangaire in question took time to shatter those forms and take away the clothes, then people might not know it was a Fangaire drain. And some Fangaire, he knew, would seek to make their victims' last few hours as pleasant as possible before killing them. In many countries, people in teeming metropolitan areas were sure to be missed, but not as much as in a small village, where they'd notice a stranger.
If the Fangaire in question was smart, they'd stick to densely-populated areas. Urban ones. First-world countries. They'd pick up the MOs of human killers, with the added need to get rid of the clothes. If they left Japan, chances were the human police wouldn't know what to make of the remnants of a Fangaire draining.
Wataru came down as he mused about the best methods to kill humans and how to discern them from humans killing each other. "Have a seat, Wataru," he said. "I'm just going through some of these clippings. Our prey are likely to be subtle; it might take us a while to find them and stop them."
"Here, or overseas?" Wataru asked, wide-eyed. Wataru had likely never been outside Tokyo, much less outside Japan. Some hunter-born tended to be very sheltered because their parents had 'protected' them a bit too much. Of course, some regular Fandiri had that problem too.
"Could be either," the Executioner said. "I'll get you a computer in your room and teach you how to sign into the clipping system so that you can start looking for patterns too. After all, you don't have to waste any more time in sleep like you used to. Unless you want to, of course."
Wataru nodded, reaching for a printout that the Executioner had made. The Executioner himself realized that Wataru had slept quite a bit after his change as his system remolded itself from Fandiri to Fangaire. He was probably wide awake, and his feeding had helped.
"Tomorrow, I'll call your father, and I'll break the news to him. And Yuri, of course." He hoped the two would react as expected, Otoya more-or-less accepting and Yuri annoyed but reasonable. She might not believe him, of course, until she saw Wataru again.
I also made revisions to part 1, especially towards the end. If you'd like to read it (or reread it), it's here.
Start Again
by Estirose
c 2006
part 2
"What would you do if someone shows abilities like that?" Wataru asked, thinking about how Megumi's father was terrifying, how Megumi-san needed not to come to their attention. Maybe some of those lost Wolfen bloodlines were in other hunter groups, but he'd hardly tell the Executioner that.
"If they showed signs of power, or could even transform?" the Executioner asked. "We'd breed them, get the Wolfen back into existance. We know a little of their history and transformations; we could induce full Wolfen traits in the second generation if we could get our hands on a first. Or maybe even in the first generation. There are other Fangaire that handle that; it's not really my area of expertise."
Megumi-san had been good at sensing when she was being watched, always. She had the talent for it, something that he'd never associated with Wolfen blood, but which made so much sense. Maybe her father had power too. It wasn't like the two of them would be cooperative with the Fangaire.
"We occasionally breed our own children, Wataru," the Executioner continued. "I would have bred you had I had time before you were changed. We'd do the same for humans or anything else if it was needed."
"Bred... me?" Wataru asked, not sure he wanted to know why. The fact that the Executioner could so casually think of making him father a child on somebody was chilling; it spoke so much of the Fangaire's mindset.
"Well, chances were that a child of yours could still use the Kiva armor," the Executioner pointed out. "The Council doesn't pay much attention to the children of the Fandiri. If you fathered a child now, maybe on Megumi, the child would be Fandiri... And I think that Hotaru - Hiraoka-san - wouldn't take kindly to you leaving it with humans to raise. And being my apprentice, you can't raise it yourself. Our job's too dangerous."
"Oh." So, the Executioner had wanted to give the Kiva armor back to his father and the others. Yuri-san would be glad to hear that. But the reference to Megumi-san bothered him. If she was part-Wolfen, he probably couldn't have children with her.
"As I'm pretty sure you know, there are ways for humans to use the Kiva armor," the Executioner said. "It depends on whether the potential wielder has objections to having Fangaire blood in their system." He looked over. "How many of those in your current cell would be willing to do that?"
"Father might," Wataru said. "I don't know if Yuri-san would and I don't know if Megumi-san would." If Megumi-san was part Wolfen, it was probably not a good idea to mix her Wolfen blood with his Fangaire blood. Shima-san was too important, though he was a better choice than Megumi-san, and Kondo-san? He wasn't sure, the man was too new. If one took Megumi-san's boyfriend's cell into account, that was another handful of people that might be available. "Maybe a few others."
"That cell is very small," the Executioner said. "Are you thinking of other, associated cells?"
Wataru nodded. "There are others we trust."
"Wataru," the Executioner said, "The only way we're going to be able to use the others is if you get the two cells to merge together. Then you can claim them all as helpers and we don't have to worry about the Council and the Watcher going ballistic over hunters having access to the Kiva armor."
"Oh." He hadn't considered that.
"But there'll be time to do that, once I'm sure that you can go among humans and not feed from them more than you're supposed to. And I have to go to your father's house and explain about out little eco-problem to him and Yuri. Unless you trust yourself with your appetite now?"
Wataru shook his head. "I'm not sure, but I know you'll stop me. Or Yuri-san or Father will." Yuri tended to be armed. His father would be if he was warned.
The Executioner nodded. "After a few more times where I can see you feeding. Until then, let's keep to phone conversations where I don't have to worry about you draining either of them."
"But you promised Yuri-san...."
"And I will tell her what's going on, I promised her." The Executioner looked over at Wataru. "I will hold my promise to my fellow hunter."
Wataru just nodded.
* * *
Wataru, the Executioner observed, often showed what he was feeling clearly on his face. He was still very human-like and he didn't seem convinced that breeding was a good idea.
And whenever the Executioner mentioned Aso Megumi, Wataru's expression changed. He hadn't acted like that before the conversation about the Wolfen. The Watcher had long supposed that some of their missing Wolfen lines were probably part of hunter cells, especially the more radical ones, and the Executioner had to wonder if those members had been partially, if accidentally, awakened. If they'd been partly awakened, then they could possibly be fully awakened. There were those among the Fangaire who would love to awaken a Wolfen pup into full Wolfen existance. And he had to look at the possibility that Megumi was such a pup, showing signs of that long-ago ancestry.
But it wasn't something to be done immediately. After all, her mother didn't fully trust the Executioner, and she still had to get used to the fact that Wataru was Fangaire. His change should at least bring it home to both of them that Wataru was not human, had never been human.
Just as Megumi, if she was of Wolfen blood, would not be human after her awakening. He wondered how her mother would react to two of their cell being changed to what she no doubt considered not human, including her daughter.
Maybe he should leave the intriguing possibility of Aso Megumi's bloodline until after things became less pressing. He still needed the cell's cooperation; there was plenty of time to point interested Fangaire in Megumi's direction for testing. An awakened Wolfen would be an asset, but not something to worry about at the moment.
"While you get adjusted to your new self," the Executioner said, breaking off that topic, "there's a fair amount of research we can do. We need to spot where mysterious deaths are occuring." Of course, probably not all the eco-killers were killing by drain; if they were smart, then they'd try another method to get rid of the 'excess humans' instead of using obvious Fangaire drain. "Once we figure out where, we might be able to figure out who. And if we make enough of an example, the rest of them might figure that it's not worth the risk to kill humans."
"Do you think it'll work?"
"Never had much experience with it," the Executioner said, "But a few executions would seem to do the trick for most of them, I think. Most of us like our lives too much to lose them. Of course, what I'm worried about is martyrs." Martyrs would be *bad*, he knew he wouldn't have to tell Wataru that.
Wataru nodded, as if absorbing that information. He'd probably contemplate it, put all the pieces together. It wasn't like he didn't have plenty of time. Fangaire *could* sleep, just like they *could* eat, some of them did go to bed every night for a year or two after the change, but he intended to keep Wataru up. Not only would he be able to brainstorm with Wataru, but Wataru would see the benefits of becoming Fangaire. Given Wataru's upbringing, he probably didn't see that there were benefits, therefore he'd struggled during his change.
Aso Yuri might have taught Wataru to hunt, but she also was probably responsible for some of Wataru's problems. Still, Wataru was who he was because of Aso Yuri, and the Executioner had to respect that. Besides, she might soften in time. And Megumi, even if she wasn't part-Wolfen, would be a good one to bring in closer as well.
It would be great if Megumi was of Wolfen ancestry; she'd have a Fangaire near her that she had grown up with, and maybe, hopefully, loved.
After a while, they arrived home. A few of Wataru's belongings were in the back, from when he'd given them, along with Wataru, over to Hotaru. "Grab your things and settle back in," he said, "I'll start going over news reports on strange deaths." Thank goodness for the Watcher's suggestions; he not only owned a computer, but had a service that sent him those kinds of 'clippings'. "You're welcome to join me when you're done."
With that, he left Wataru to go upstairs while he turned on his computer. As expected, the service had come up with a few clippings and stories that it had deemed worth his while. He scanned them, not finding any obvious killings-by-Fangaire. Of course, as he'd told Wataru, some of them were going to try non-obvious things, and he could easily imagine Fangaire killing by human methods instead of draining, if they were so deranged. He hoped that if they had to kill, they'd do it the obvious way, being taught to be gentle with the humans they shared the planet with.
Mass killings, mass disappearances, would be something to watch for too. If the humans shattered after drain, and the Fangaire in question took time to shatter those forms and take away the clothes, then people might not know it was a Fangaire drain. And some Fangaire, he knew, would seek to make their victims' last few hours as pleasant as possible before killing them. In many countries, people in teeming metropolitan areas were sure to be missed, but not as much as in a small village, where they'd notice a stranger.
If the Fangaire in question was smart, they'd stick to densely-populated areas. Urban ones. First-world countries. They'd pick up the MOs of human killers, with the added need to get rid of the clothes. If they left Japan, chances were the human police wouldn't know what to make of the remnants of a Fangaire draining.
Wataru came down as he mused about the best methods to kill humans and how to discern them from humans killing each other. "Have a seat, Wataru," he said. "I'm just going through some of these clippings. Our prey are likely to be subtle; it might take us a while to find them and stop them."
"Here, or overseas?" Wataru asked, wide-eyed. Wataru had likely never been outside Tokyo, much less outside Japan. Some hunter-born tended to be very sheltered because their parents had 'protected' them a bit too much. Of course, some regular Fandiri had that problem too.
"Could be either," the Executioner said. "I'll get you a computer in your room and teach you how to sign into the clipping system so that you can start looking for patterns too. After all, you don't have to waste any more time in sleep like you used to. Unless you want to, of course."
Wataru nodded, reaching for a printout that the Executioner had made. The Executioner himself realized that Wataru had slept quite a bit after his change as his system remolded itself from Fandiri to Fangaire. He was probably wide awake, and his feeding had helped.
"Tomorrow, I'll call your father, and I'll break the news to him. And Yuri, of course." He hoped the two would react as expected, Otoya more-or-less accepting and Yuri annoyed but reasonable. She might not believe him, of course, until she saw Wataru again.
