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Project I.D.I.A. |
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Past Fire Original Draft (July 2005) (VERY OUTDATED AND INCOMPLETE. Re-planning and Rewriting)
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Ibe's History ---------------- Prologue-Childhood (7) Ch1-13 Ch2-16 Ch3-18 ---------------- Prologue Flames. Hot white flames. Everywhere. They burned the poor child's skin through the heavy wet blanket he hid under. Where were his parents? He couldn't see anything, anyone, except the raging flames. All he could do was sit and wait, hoping to live. A mere fifteen minutes later, though to him it was an eternity, the flames died away and a hand lifted the blanket up. The kind, weathered face of the child's next-door neighbor appeared, blurry and wavering. "Ibetsu. Are you ok?" The child barely recognizing his name nodded and sat up slowly, looking around for his family. He didn't see them, but he did see five piles of charred bones before the neighbor had a chance to cover his eyes. "M-m-mir? Gin?" He stood up shakily running towards the bones, tripping and falling face flat two feet from them. "You guys... why are you-" His hand closed around a small watch, an old fashioned one on a chain. He stood up, clutching the watch, looking down at his families charred remains before turning and running. ---------------- Chapter 1 A lanky youth, tall for his age (which was about 13), with a rather thin and underfed appearance, leaned against the brick wall of the alley, sharp purple and ice blue eyes darting from person to person. His eyes finally came to rest on a dark, rather greasy looking guy that reminded him of a rat. He grinned and stood up, stretching his arms, a small purple flash of light appearing for a mere second above his head. The Rat guy quickly maneuvered through the crowd, stopping in front of the youth, eyes darting nervously. "You the Blind messenger... err Ibets-" The youth, Ibetsu, silenced him with a glare. "Yes. Now do you have the package?" The rat guy nodded and handed Ibetsu a large envelope that looked like it had seen better days, and could've easily held anything from paper to drugs to a weapon. Ibetsu pocketed the package and began walking away, southeast down a narrow alley. On the ground where he had been standing was a small worn leather wallet, which the rat guy snatched up and ran off with. ~*~*~*~*~ Ibetsu pushed open a large rusted metal door to an abandoned industrial building, walking forward through a labyrinth of dusty piles of broken furniture and crates, sending spiders and rats scurrying for cover. After about half an hour of wandering through the building, he stopped at the end of a hallway, three very ornate doors in front of him. He kicked one open not bothering to knock. He was expected anyway. Inside was a room, the decor red and black, people lounging around on overstuffed couches. The noise subsided a bit as he entered and a few people greeted him before returning to their own activities. Ibetsu continued walking towards the center of the room, where a blonde haired older man sat, several scantily clad females sitting around him. Ibetsu stopped a few feet away and saluted the man. "Hello Mr.Sorim. I've successfully retrieved the package you requested." Sorim looked up nonchalantly, eyeing Ibetsu. "No need to be so formal, Ibetsu." Ibetsu visibly relaxed, handing Sorim the envelope. "There you go sir." Sorim nodded and waved Ibetsu away, opening the envelope and taking out a stack of paper which he began reading immediately. Ibetsu moved off towards the far corner, grinning to himself. He was making some progress through the ranks of the gang who had taken him in recently. Now to just rest before his next assignment. He sat down and took out a cigarette, lighting it, blowing the smoke towards the ceiling. ---------------- Chapter 2 Ibetsu sat in the same tiny cell that had been his home for several months. Ever since that assignment had gotten messed up. Damn trigger happy bastard. It’s all his fault. Had he not shot the damn guard the alarm wouldn't have gone off. It was such a simple assassination mission too. "Bastard..." A sharp metallic clang against the bars of his cell, silenced him, making him retreat back into his mind for to try and find comfort. There was none to find. That one stupid kid had gotten almost fifty of his comrades caught. Most were already dead, tortured or just flat out killed. He was next. His interrogation was today. He had no clue what to do. 'Should I just tell them what they ask? But that'd betray everyone. But who's left who matters?' He sat contemplating for hours until several guards came to take him to the interrogation and torture chamber. ~*~*~*~*~ As Ibe was chained to the chair he was expected to sit in during this session of questioning, he looked around at the people in the room. There were several nobody guards at each door, the master interrogator, her assistant, and... Who was this? A new face. Haven't seen him around before. The guy was quite tall, handsome, black hair with golden tips, and soft blue eyes. Ibe strained his eye to make out the name on the tag. 'N. a. go. Nago... yaka. Last name probably.' His attention was brought back to the task at hand. He had to deal with these assholes. The best way was to act insane. Ibetsu's eyes took on a deranged look, his whole appearance dramatically changing from the calm, collected youth, to an insane prisoner. The M.I. wasn't impressed and moved forward to begin with an introduction, and the basic questions. "Hello there.. Ibetsu is it?" "Like you care." "Now now.. Trying to be civil here. I am Nyril the master interrogator, this is my assistant Nij, and we have a special guest here today. Mr. Inji Nagoyaka who is here to observe our procedure for getting information. Now then would you like to intro-" "Shut the hell up you crazy bitch. Stop treating me like a fucking kid. I'm 16 years old." Nyril's eyebrow shot up angrily. Inji looked like he was stifling laughter. "Well now. You want to skip the nice chitchat? Fine. I'm not going to be nice. Now. Who’s the leader of the gang you were part of?" "What the hell are you talking about? Gang? Leader? I don't know." Nyril's lip twitched. "I'm not playing around. Who is your leader." "What leader?" Nyril raised her hand, shooting a bolt of electricity into Ibe's stomach. "Fine. What were you doing at the governor's estate 5 months ago?" "I don't know." "Listen you little bastard. I'm not in the mood for games. Now what were you doing?" "I don't know." Nyril's lip curled into a snarl, as she picked up a syringe of icky looking blue crap, walking forward and casually injecting it into Ibe's arm. "Now you should be a little more compliant. What were you doing." "Listen you goddamn twisted mother fucki-" Ibe's profane rant was cut short by Nyril digging two-inch long nails into his shoulder. "Fine. What were your mission's objectives." "I don't know." Nyril was fed up. She moved over to a table, covered with sharp objects, picking up a thick black dagger, moving back to stand near Ibe, she tugged on his right wing slightly. "Answer me." "I told you I don't fucking know." Nyril plunged the dagger right through the membrane of Ibe's wing, pushing the dagger upward so it sliced over part of the frame, shattering one of the bones. Ibe growled, biting his lip so hard he drew blood, trying not to give her the satisfaction of hearing him scream. "Now. What was your mission?" "I... don't... know..." Nyril drew her hand back about to slash his wing again, until Inji caught her wrist. The man had a cold look on his face. "You know such methods are forbidden. You keep it up and I'll have to report it." Several minutes of cold glaring and silence passed before Nyril waved for the barely conscious Ibe to be taken back to his cell. ~*~*~*~*~*~ Two weeks since his first interrogation had passed, each day started with a cold meal that starving rats would turn their nose away from, followed by torture and interrogation for hours. Ibe was battered and beaten to the point where only a shadow of his former strength and spirit lingered. And Inji hadn't returned to keep Nyril from using crueler methods of torture. His wings were almost in shreds, fresh cuts covered his body, and his vision was getting worse in his good eye. Nyril had started to blind him with led lights and such, threatening to make him completely blind. He was so close to just giving up, but after he had come so far, would it matter? He curled up on his bed, trying to close his weary eyes, but failing. He didn't want to see the blood or ash or fire. There was a rattle at his cell door and a vaguely familiar voice rang out, "Ibetsu? You there?" Ibe wearily got to his feet moving to see what guard or staff member had come to annoy him now. He was shocked to see Inji and several guys in military outfits standing at his cell door. He just stared in shock, not saying anything. Inji almost flinched at the sight of all the wounds Ibe had accumulated. "Damn. Guess that bitch really didn't care about going by what the laws say. It doesn't matter now. Come on. You and your remaining friends are being released." Ibe stood there not believing what he had heard. "Released? Why? Hey.. What’s the catch?" Inji raised an eyebrow at Ibe's less than happy reaction. "No catch. You're being released because of this facility's inhumane policies. Now come on." The door opened and Ibe fell in step behind Inji, walking for a few steps before he collapsed. ~*~*~*~*~*~ Ibe's eyes flickered open and immediately squinted shut. Damn sunlight. Wait. There’s no sunlight in the cell... what the hell. Ibe sat up sharply, regretting it after waves of pain shot through his body. He looked down, surprised to see himself covered in bandages; craning his neck around to look at his wings he noticed splints and stitches. 'What the hell....' "Oh. Good to see you're up. I was beginning to worry. You've been asleep for days." Ibe jumped, wildly looking about until he noticed Inji standing in the doorway to the room, holding a tray of food. "Ummm... I.. errr.. Where am I? And how did I get here?" Inji walked over, setting the tray on the bedside table, sitting down in a folding chair that had been set up next to the bed. "You are at my house. We carried you here after you collapsed at that prison. I had the doctor come by to take care of your injuries. He said you should make a full recovery soon. He was surprised you were still alive after all that though." Ibe stared at him. Why the hell did this guy give a damn? Why? For gods sake explain! "Why?" Inji looked up at Ibe, looking a little confused. "Why? Oh you mean why did I help you? I dunno. You just kind of remind me of someone who died when he was about your age. Anyway, go ahead and eat that. You need to eat plenty if you want to regain your strength. Give me a call if you need anything." Inji stood up, exiting the room with amazing grace, leaving a shocked and confused Ibe. 'Whoa that was weird... How'd he know that I'd wake up? Or did he make the food for the hell of it? Wait! Am I blushing!? What the hell and...' Ibe lifted up the blankets, staring for a minute. "Errrr......" He dropped the blankets and turned wolfing down the food, to get his mind off the blushing and stuff. 'Weird...' ~*~*~*~*~*~ Ibe sat propped up by pillows, reading through a new magazine he had borrowed from Inji. 'That’s a cool looking shirt... The flames design is awesome... and those boots would go great with it... but.. this shirt is so much nicer.. plain red.... hmmm..' He had been at Inji's for a few weeks, his condition slowly getting better despite the doctor's 'You'll be better in no time!'s. He spent his days flipping through books and magazines, and in the evenings after work, Inji would stop by to chat for a while. Ibe was really starting to enjoy, even cherish the time he got to spend with Inji, not that he would admit it to anyone, even himself. He sighed and tossed the magazine aside, turning to look at the outside world through the large window. He wanted to be out there, in the sun, running, living. Not trapped here. 'Why not? You're strong enough to walk. But the doctor said... and Inji said.. Well what do they honestly know about you?' Ibe swung his legs over the edge of his bed, letting his feet get used to the floor, before he pushed himself up so he could stand. After several attempts to support his body with weak muscles, Ibe stood shakily next to his bed. 'Yes! See! What do they know?' He took several weak steps towards the window, before he sank to his knees in pain. 'Dammit... I'm not weak.' He forced himself back onto his feet, moving towards the window, nearly falling many times, but he managed to stay standing. His hand touched the window, moving it so the screen and glass pane were both open, leaning against it, exhausted after that short walk. And there he stayed, watching the outside world go by, smelling the wind and feeling the sun's warmth. That’s what he needed. He was too weak to try to even crawl back to bed anyway. Inji walked in several hours later to see Ibe leaning against the window, barely moving. "Shit! That kid better not have killed himself." He rushed forward and kneeled next to Ibe, checking his pulse. "Thank god." Ibe's eye opened and he looked away quickly. "Sorry..." Inji shook his head, picking up the weak Ibe, carrying him back to bed. "You need your rest. Don't try anything like that again.. please." Ibe nodded, and after Inji left, fell into a deep dreamless sleep. ~*~*~*~*~*~ Inji sat in his study, going through old records of old trials and cases, most related to gang activity. 'Damn that kid gives me so much damn trouble.' It had been 13 days since Ibe had collapsed at the window, and everyday since he had been doing the same thing, collapsing every time. 'It can't be healthy..." He refocused his attention on the case he had been reading about, until a loud thud at his door made him jump up and turn to see... Ibe!? Ibe stood there in the doorway, looking like he was about to pass out. "See... I can walk..." Inji moved forward just in time to catch Ibe as he fell. "Dammit.. kid... Be careful..." Ibe looked up at Inji's worried face, and looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry..." He looked back up and was surprised by a kiss on the cheek from Inji. "Please. Stop with this. Don't try and push yourself anymore." Ibe nodded, blushing fiercely. "I... ok..." ~*~*~*~*~*~ Ibe sat in bed, restlessly flipping through the same magazine he had been trying to read for the past hour. Inji sat in the chair next to the bed, watching the minutes slowly tick by on the clock. Where the hell was that damned doctor? Ibe wanted to know if he was done spending day after day in bed staring off into space. A little under a half hour later, the doctor returned. "Well Mr.Inji. I have thoroughly assessed Mr.Ibe's condition and I do believe I have come to a conclusion as to weather or not-" "Hey. If you have something to say. Say it and stop with this long winded bullshit." Ibe's ears were flattened back in annoyance, eyes cold. The doctor coughed and muttered something about 'rude youngsters these days' before he cleared his throat to give them the news. "Well Mr.Ibe has recovered enough that I would say he can do normal intensity activity. Nothing to strenuous though..." Ibe jumped up, almost hitting his head against the ceiling. "YES!" Inji looked up at the celebrating Ibe. "So Ibe.. where are you going to go?" Ibe stopped, looking at his friend, a confused look passing over his face. "Go? Err.. well I dunno.. maybe my old gang will accept me back, but I did screw up that mission horribly..." Ibe sat down, looking at his hands, obviously trying to think of where he could go besides the gang that could very well hate him. Inji's voice broke his concentration though. "You can stay here. If you want." Ibe looked up in surprise at his grinning friend. "I can?" "Sure.. why not? I've grown used to having someone to talk to anyway and-" Inji was cut off as Ibe stood up and gave him a gentle hug, smiling softly. "Thank you..." ---------------- Chapter 3 Ibe sat up, yawning, blinking sleep away. It had been almost two years since he had come to live with Inji. Eighteen now, Ibe had changed a lot from the rough gang member he had been a few years ago. His hair was longer, he no longer even tried to act like a tough guy. He accepted everything with a smile. He looked around the room he shared with Inji, the thought of Inji causing a smile to appear on his face. In the past two years a bond and some may even say love formed between them, and they spent everyday like it was their last, and so the years had passed by slowly, though they ceased to care. Ibe moved towards the dresser, grabbing his usual red shirt and blue jeans of the day, glancing up at the clock. 'Damn.. I slept in late. I probably missed breakfast.. ah well its almost lunch time.' Ibe walked down the hall towards the main hall, pulling his hair back in a loose ponytail. 'Bleh.. why didn't Inji wake me up?' He saw Inji and prepared to sneak up on him, but stopped in mid step, seeing several other guys talking to Inji. 'What the...' They were familiar. All of them. 'WAIT." They were members of the gang he had once been a part of. What were they doing here? Ibe snuck forward, getting as close as he could without being seen, ears focused towards them so he could hear. And what he heard was disturbing. Only one of the gang members were talking, a big pissed off looking guy with a very sloppy haircut. "Nagoyaka. We've been patient and waited for two years, and you say he still hasn't gotten his memory back? Bullshit." Inji spoke next, a cold look in his eye, his body language showing he was extremely annoyed. "I told you and Sorim that Ibe's memory was gone and it would be unhealthy for him to go back while his memory is still gone. The stress and shock could kill him." Ibe was confused. 'Memory loss? What? Since when?' "We don't care. It doesn't matter if he can remember who we are. If he can still get jobs done that’s all that matters." In a flash Inji drew a handgun that he had apparently had strapped to his back, pointing it right between the gang member's eyes. "I want you all out of here. Now. Or I will have no problem killing you." All the members tensed up ready to run or fight. The leader of the group however smirked. "We hired you for a reason, Nagoyaka. You have twenty-four hours. Then we'll be back for the messenger." With that the gang members left, Inji standing there glaring at them until they were out the door and gone. He sighed and replaced the gun, and turned walking towards the hallway Ibe had been watching from. Ibe stood up suddenly staring at Inji. "What. The. HELL!?" Inji jumped. "Ibe. Errr.. shit." "What the hell was that about Inji? What were those people doing here? And what memory loss?" "You heard all that... I guess I'd better explain." Ibe nodded, glaring angrily. Inji sighed and sat down on the nearest chair. "Well. Once I was part of a gang like you. Sorim and me were partners in the gang. We specialized in intelligence gathering. After that gang got caught, killed, and scattered, Sorim started his own gang, the one you were in. But I moved on to work as a legitimate investigator for the state. I still kept in contact with Sorim though. A few years ago, shortly after the attempted assassination of the governor the state gave me orders to investigate the interrogation methods at the prison you were at. Shortly after that Sorim contacted me and told me of how your group was stuck there and hired me to get you all out of there using any means possible. The time I was scheduled to observe the interrogations just happened to be at the same time as the beginning of your interrogation. After that I worked to get the facility shut down and your group released. After about two months we got permission to remove your group while the facility was thoroughly investigated by a federal level team. After you collapsed and I brought you here, Sorim started asking for me to bring you back to the gang. I told him you had suffered memory loss and it would take time for your memories to resurface. It was a lie. But one he believed." "But why? Why did you lie? Why did you care?" "You reminded me of someone. A person who got involved with gangs, and now regrets it. I didn't want the same thing to happen to you. Recently Sorim has become very insistent about your release to him. He got involved in a gang war and now he is desperate for more people. He can't win and he knows it. He’s been sending his last remaining specialized strike team to retrieve members who have resigned or left. His team will be here in 18 hours. That’s what they said. That'd mean 3am tomorrow. I doubt any security measures that I have installed will even slow them down. You have to go." Ibe realized Inji had tears in his eyes, and then was shocked to realize tears were forming in his own eyes. "I'm not going. I'm not abandoning the one I care about." Inji stood up, pulling Ibe into a tight embrace. "They'll take you or kill you." Ibe buried his face into Inji's chest. "I don't care." The two turned and walked back towards their room, still holding onto each other. ~*~*~*~*~*~ Ibe's eyes |