#umeboshii

He felt disgusting. Like an absolute failure for letting Umeko shoulder all of the blame for this event when everything was clearly his fault. He should’ve been more cautious. He should’ve screened the security company more closely. He shouldn’t have taken their laid back attitude at face value. He should’ve protected everyone. But hindsight is 20/20. 

He was fumbling with the remote, trying to turn it off again after a nurse had carelessly left it on. How many times was he going to have to turn that damn thing off? 

“For godsakes how do I turn this thing off permanently?!” he raged, fumbling at it with his remaining hand. Everything was easier with two hands, he noted. He heard footsteps coming towards the room before it opened and he saw Umeko at the door.

“Oh...Miss Kogu..” he only used the name when he was being playful or very serious. It was unfortunate that this was the latter.

Numerous casualties, even more wounded, and a missing idol in training. 

The chaos that was the gala had shook Alteon to its core and with the chaos came the work that Genji had originally signed up for. He was not a herbal shopkeeper... He was a ninja, an assassin, he was part of the secret police. 

As the public police did their job, he had to do his own. One of his orders had been to check up on the head of the idol division...Umeko Kugo. It should be something simple, but if she needed something of him or if someone tried to harm her...well, his night would probably get even longer....

“ Good evening.” 

He stated as he walked into the young woman’s office. 

“I am sorry to disturb you ms.Kugo, I am Genji,” 

@umeboshii

Rico has had tough days while in SICOM. Running multiple Ops. back to back, long standby orders for an Op. that would never happen, etcetera. But the last 24 hours have been taxing to say the least. It had started with a retaliatory raid on a local small time gang that decided to mug and hospitalize an Adamas employee. Normally it would be handled by the local police. But when a gang has known ties to the syndicate, well, a message needs to be sent and it up to the secret police to deliver it.

Now, usually this wasn’t an issue. Usually, he gets to go home and decompress with a neat Southern Comfort before going to bed. Usually, he has Carmencita to console him through his night terror. Usually, he had a flask full of alcohol to get him through the day. This time though he didn’t get to go home. Carmencita was away on an Op. for SICOM and couldn’t talk him down from the night terror he experienced when he napped back in the empty barracks, and no alcohol to get him through today.

Despite these obstacles, Rico still had his day job to do. So here he is, on his lunch break, in the company cafeteria, and feeling at his wit’s end. As his luck would have it the cafeteria was filled to the brim, much to Rico’s annoyance. He quickly scanned the room to find the least occupied table.

His search rewarded him with a particular desolate table with a single occupant. A Japanese woman who looked to be about Rico’s age. Rico shrugged, “Better than fighting for elbow space,” he though as he made his way to the table.

As he carried his company deli sandwich to the table he started to recognize the Japanese woman. The woman in question was Umiko Kugo, the head geneticist of Adamas. Even in his haggard condition he had the for sight to ask permission to sit with the one of the big four of the Adamas.

      “… and you are positive there is no way for me to PERSUADE your decision?                                                        ----   Not even a compromise?”

            There’s a BITTER TASTE on the tip of his tongue which flicks words coated in salt in her direction. He has spoken to his manager, who sent him to the branch director, who then sent him to some INCOMPETENT HACK who happened to be the directors assistant---  and now finally; the head of the Idol Division herself. 

                                              && now he sits there; irritable, pissy,