Post by Miyamoto Kenji on Apr 8, 2015 23:06:23 GMT -5
(( Fun Fact: The thread title translates effectively into life-protecting vampire. I thought it was appropriate. ))
Since awakening, Kenji had been contemplating something he'd read online the night before. Amidst the many problems with this degenerated hovel of a city, he'd read tell about girls disappearing around one of the apartment complexes relatively close to where he lived. Fairly young girls, some students of #552, others vagrants and homeless people, and even more were would-be criminals themselves. The only connection was their age range: 15 to 18 years old. In other words, a series of incidents where most likely no victim knew one another, but were lost in the same general area.
Today was a Sunday, a day off, so Kenji had all the time in the world. He could've spent the day training, or perhaps brushing up on topics of interest or those recently studied in school... Well, he could hardly call it a school with how things were, but the point still stood. Regardless, there was no need to get involved with these incidents, right? Kenji should've stayed well away from it.
Well, this was Miyamoto Kenji, a man of moral fiber in a place where honor was hardly a word people seemed to know how to pronounce, let alone define. That just wasn't how he operated.
After breakfast, Kenji diligently delved deep into the dregs of the internet, perusing local news stations and message boards. Even if the apartment complex in question was nearby, that neither gave him a concrete clue of where to begin nor was proof that said complex housed the culprit or his victims. Evidence had to be collected, trails dug up, anything credible would be of use, and anything questionable would be scrutinized for truth and falsehoods. By the time noon was rolling around, Kenji had managed to find enough details to piece together the most likely scenario: the culprit would either arrange to meet girls near the apartment complex for something or other, or would wait for a girl to pass by and jump them before they could get away. Regardless, he would subdue them and bring them into one of the suites while there was no one walking the halls or sidewalk. From there, well, it wasn't exactly hard to figure what happened. Undesirable things. Kenji unconsciously wondered if he let them go free with blackmail, or killed them and disposed of their bodies. Those were typically the two end results of ploys like this.
Following a break for lunch, Kenji quickly resumed his work for another two hours, using what intel he'd gathered to look for whatever specifics he could dig up. He met with moderate success, mostly due to stumbling onto what he was looking for. His best source, a news article interviewing a representative of the local precinct, claimed that two men were most likely involved, and outlined the probable scenario: one man would make contact, whether planned in advance or on the spot with a passerby, in the evening with a girl in the aformentioned age range, and from there one of two things would happen: either him would convince the girl to accompany him to their hideaway elsewhere, or if he couldn't, hold her up long enough until his companion could safely get behind her and either knock her out with a blunt object or with chloroform, then escort her off the premesis to a hideaway elsewhere, likely nearby, since there was never evidence of a vehicle involved in this incident.
Compiling all of his evidence, Kenji took one last dive, intent on narrowing down which complex. With as many details as he'd picked up, the final hunt took him no more than an hour of focused research. Named for an TV show, the Brady Suites was due a mile north by northeast of his location. A number of girls of high school age, that being the exact range that the kidnapper or kidnappers operated within, shacked up in this particular complex. It made the most sense, given everything Kenji had put together up until now. Evening would be here after seven, so there was yet time to kill, and he'd spent the better part of the daylight plowing through articles and message board posts.
Thus would a few hours pass mostly uneventfully as Kenji played games on his computer while streaming tunes on his console and TV for background noise, until six o'clock rolled around. The light was just starting to fade as the sun closed in on the horizon. By this point in time, Kenji had cleaned himself up and dressed in clothing that was darker than his norm, but still looked rather sharp. He slung his false guitar case over his shoulder, then locked up and headed out.
----------------------------
Kenji arrived outside of the complex just as the clock hit seven, the night well underway as the street lights and car headlights took over the sun's work. He'd made sure to expedite his travel with a train ride, preferring it to a subway venture where he might have to deal with underground hoods. Not that that was anything new, of course, but the sooner he'd made it over, the better, right? He began patrolling the outside of the complex under the simple guise of a window shopper, pretending to look through the local shops' windows to avert suspicion, but making sure to watch for anyone shady or who was talking to a young girl.
He didn't have to wait long.
Ten minutes into his plainclothes patrol, Kenji noticed an English girl still in her schoolclothes who was probably his age, give or take a year, walking up to a man in his twenties, wearing slacks and a double-breasted coat. As they started to talk, Kenji figured that this one was a pre-planned meeting, if all of his information was correct. Continuing his routine of faux browsing, he covertly observed the pair until they began to walk together toward the complex's main gate. He gave pursuit from a safe distance and managed to follow them inside. Kenji found that getting into the complex was a simple affair, just by passing himself off as someone interested in renting an apartment off when the gate guard asked what his business was. Step one was complete.
Next, the easterner tailed the both of them further into the complex, to one of the buildings toward the center. It was a three-story, but the English girl and the culprit went to one of the bottom level suites, in a corner much like Kenji's own abode. He pulled out his phone and pretended to text somebody as they paused by the door, whereupon the man knocked, had the door opened, and went inside with his target. Kenji stepped around a corner and leaned against the wall, making his phone routine real by texting his sisters and parents that he was doing alright so far, killing ten minutes this way until he heard the door open again. As the sound registered with his ears, he shut his phone off to prevent having it give him away or distract him later on, and peered around. The decently-dressed twentysomething was facing the door as it closed, digging around in his coat. With step two complete, Kenji knew how to approach step three.
Shoving a hand in his pocket and letting the other hang a bit loosely, Kenji made himself look more casual and relaxed than he actually was, and strolled over to the man. Losing what little Japanese fleck to his accent, he asked, "Hey, buddy, you got any cigarettes?"
Though startled at first, he turned around to face Kenji and, seeing his lack of a threatening appearance, replied, "Yeah, yeah, I'm tryin' to get mine. Need a light?"
"Sure, thanks." The easterner waited a few more seconds until his target started to withdraw his hand, then moved fast, as if he had no time to lose. The hand in his pocket came out as the one at his side snapped up, still open, and he palm-heeled the man's throat, stepping into the strike. He offered a choked gurgle in response, unable to make a more significant noise and thus unable to alert whoever was inside the suite. Kenji quickly followed up by plowing into his solar plexus with a one-inch punch, then another from his dominant hand, and finished by pulling him into a headlock, dragging him away from the door while he was utterly stunned, and slammed his head into the pavement to efficiently knock him out, and more than likely breaking his nose in the process. Kenji remained totally still and silent for a long few moments, waiting for any footsteps coming from a suite or a door starting to unlock... But none came. Either no one had heard the struggle, or anyone who might've was gone.
Step three had been finished, and on a personal note, he was rather proud of how it had gone.
Little time remained until whoever was in the culprits' suite did as they pleased with the girl. Kenji dragged the man back near the door in question, and propped him up against the wall on the floor, head down, so that if anyone passed by during the next sequence, it would appear as if he was sleeping. Next, he pulled his fake guitar case off of his back and set it down next to the man, flipping the catch and drawing his sword, just in case he needed it. Then, for good measure, he tipped the case in the unconscious suit's direction to make it appear to be his, at least for the time being. With this, he could go about the final step with, hopefully, no interruption.
Kenji planted himself against the side of the door as quietly as he could, and reached for the handle, slowly turning it. Hearing nothing change from within, he cracked the door and peered inside. Within the dark confines of the suite, illuminated only by a lamp near the door, he observed a rather well-kept living room, TV and couch and all, and at the center of it, another twenty-something in far more casual clothes than his companion seemed to be just finishing putting down the English student with a rag, most likely chloroform, not even bothering to look behind him. In the man's defense, the light from Kenji's intrusion didn't quite reach the 'intimate' pair, stopping a foot behind them.
Silencing his breath, Kenji let himself in and gently closed the door as the man stood up, seemingly observing his handiwork. With sword in hand, he took a few quiet steps toward the man, then lunged in to kick him in the ribs. At the last second, he whipped around, hearing Kenji lunge, but unable to do anything but react with a shocked expression before he took the boot to his side. Relentless in his intent, the easterner stomped down with his kicking leg and advanced with a straight punch. This time his foe was able to properly react, deflecting his fist and throwing a right hook that caught Kenji in the chest. A solid strike, but not strong enough to cause any hindrance. As he made to follow through with a left hook, Kenji had the good sense to step out of the way and ram his knee into his opponent's stomach. With the wind all but ripped from his sails, the kidnapper stumbled back and fell flat on his back, but scrambled to get back up, reaching back behind his TV stand and drawing out a machete. This man was, if nothing else, prepared for the worst case scenario.
Kenji allowed his foe to rise to his feet, then met his overhead swing with a timely uppercut from his katana, pushing it up and forcing him to overextend. Since the man had used lethal force, Kenji could now justify doing the same, thus he took the man's vulnerable stance as an opportunity to swing and cut down along his chest and stomach, then spun and slashed a second opening in his stomach, before finishing by turning his katana around and ramming it into his head to soundly rob him of consciousness. The criminal's body folded, and he went down, bleeding, out cold, but definitely alive. His machete landed with a pang next to his head.
With the brief fight over, Kenji took a few moments to breathe out his adrenaline, and rubbed his punched chest. Were he stronger and faster, he might've avoided it altogether, but as things stood, the blunt soreness would disappate soon anyway. Taking a breath and collecting himself, he swiped a tissue from the nearby coffee table, cleaning the blood from his sword as he took stock of the situation. Both culprits were unconscious, and so was their victim. The three of them should all be out for some time, and if he called the police now with the tip, they were sure to react promptly. But if he hung around, he might get taken in for assault, and with not only the western judicial system and the fact that he was a 552 student at play, he couldn't be sure of getting out of it without some trouble.
And then he spotted a pair of gloves on the same table, just barely catching their black leather in the dark. He knew what to do.
Kenji finished cleaning his katana off and wodded up the tissue before pocketing it, then swiped both gloves without touching the table and pulled them on. They were practically his size, they fit so well, and they seemed to be spotless. He might actually have to keep them after running them in the wash a couple of times, purely to get rid of any of the kidnapper's fingerprints. Pulling them on tight, he kept his sword in one hand once more as he used his free hand to search the man's pockets. He produced a cellphone in short order, then dialed 911 and put it on speaker so he could avoid his face touching it. After a few moments with the operator, he got the nearest precinct's number and gave them an anonymous tip that the kidnappers of the young girls were in the aformentioned suite, and that he thought he heard loud noises coming from there just a moment ago, and if the police could hurry up...
After that, he shoved the man's phone back in his pocket, then grabbed the collar of his shirt and dragged him to the door, taking a moment to peer outside and verify that no one else was around still before pulling him out. The next part took a bit of work, but Kenji managed to situate the kidnapper and his companion together, just next to their suite door, as well as return his sword to his fake case. Once he closed the door, Kenji evacuated the bottom floor and swiftly fled up to the third floor and watched from the shadows of the landing above. Sure enough, police sirens could be heard nearby, and Kenji took the opportunity to flee to the other side of the building and go down the stairs that the cops wouldn't be coming through before casually making his way off the premesis.
Kenji knew in his mind that he'd never receive the credit for what he did, nor would he know everything that had went on in the apartment, for he chose to keep the sick details a mystery to himself, but in his heart, he felt that he'd done the right thing. Chuckling to himself, the young man known as a vampire all but disappeared from the complex, making his way away through the dark of night.
Since awakening, Kenji had been contemplating something he'd read online the night before. Amidst the many problems with this degenerated hovel of a city, he'd read tell about girls disappearing around one of the apartment complexes relatively close to where he lived. Fairly young girls, some students of #552, others vagrants and homeless people, and even more were would-be criminals themselves. The only connection was their age range: 15 to 18 years old. In other words, a series of incidents where most likely no victim knew one another, but were lost in the same general area.
Today was a Sunday, a day off, so Kenji had all the time in the world. He could've spent the day training, or perhaps brushing up on topics of interest or those recently studied in school... Well, he could hardly call it a school with how things were, but the point still stood. Regardless, there was no need to get involved with these incidents, right? Kenji should've stayed well away from it.
Well, this was Miyamoto Kenji, a man of moral fiber in a place where honor was hardly a word people seemed to know how to pronounce, let alone define. That just wasn't how he operated.
After breakfast, Kenji diligently delved deep into the dregs of the internet, perusing local news stations and message boards. Even if the apartment complex in question was nearby, that neither gave him a concrete clue of where to begin nor was proof that said complex housed the culprit or his victims. Evidence had to be collected, trails dug up, anything credible would be of use, and anything questionable would be scrutinized for truth and falsehoods. By the time noon was rolling around, Kenji had managed to find enough details to piece together the most likely scenario: the culprit would either arrange to meet girls near the apartment complex for something or other, or would wait for a girl to pass by and jump them before they could get away. Regardless, he would subdue them and bring them into one of the suites while there was no one walking the halls or sidewalk. From there, well, it wasn't exactly hard to figure what happened. Undesirable things. Kenji unconsciously wondered if he let them go free with blackmail, or killed them and disposed of their bodies. Those were typically the two end results of ploys like this.
Following a break for lunch, Kenji quickly resumed his work for another two hours, using what intel he'd gathered to look for whatever specifics he could dig up. He met with moderate success, mostly due to stumbling onto what he was looking for. His best source, a news article interviewing a representative of the local precinct, claimed that two men were most likely involved, and outlined the probable scenario: one man would make contact, whether planned in advance or on the spot with a passerby, in the evening with a girl in the aformentioned age range, and from there one of two things would happen: either him would convince the girl to accompany him to their hideaway elsewhere, or if he couldn't, hold her up long enough until his companion could safely get behind her and either knock her out with a blunt object or with chloroform, then escort her off the premesis to a hideaway elsewhere, likely nearby, since there was never evidence of a vehicle involved in this incident.
Compiling all of his evidence, Kenji took one last dive, intent on narrowing down which complex. With as many details as he'd picked up, the final hunt took him no more than an hour of focused research. Named for an TV show, the Brady Suites was due a mile north by northeast of his location. A number of girls of high school age, that being the exact range that the kidnapper or kidnappers operated within, shacked up in this particular complex. It made the most sense, given everything Kenji had put together up until now. Evening would be here after seven, so there was yet time to kill, and he'd spent the better part of the daylight plowing through articles and message board posts.
Thus would a few hours pass mostly uneventfully as Kenji played games on his computer while streaming tunes on his console and TV for background noise, until six o'clock rolled around. The light was just starting to fade as the sun closed in on the horizon. By this point in time, Kenji had cleaned himself up and dressed in clothing that was darker than his norm, but still looked rather sharp. He slung his false guitar case over his shoulder, then locked up and headed out.
----------------------------
Kenji arrived outside of the complex just as the clock hit seven, the night well underway as the street lights and car headlights took over the sun's work. He'd made sure to expedite his travel with a train ride, preferring it to a subway venture where he might have to deal with underground hoods. Not that that was anything new, of course, but the sooner he'd made it over, the better, right? He began patrolling the outside of the complex under the simple guise of a window shopper, pretending to look through the local shops' windows to avert suspicion, but making sure to watch for anyone shady or who was talking to a young girl.
He didn't have to wait long.
Ten minutes into his plainclothes patrol, Kenji noticed an English girl still in her schoolclothes who was probably his age, give or take a year, walking up to a man in his twenties, wearing slacks and a double-breasted coat. As they started to talk, Kenji figured that this one was a pre-planned meeting, if all of his information was correct. Continuing his routine of faux browsing, he covertly observed the pair until they began to walk together toward the complex's main gate. He gave pursuit from a safe distance and managed to follow them inside. Kenji found that getting into the complex was a simple affair, just by passing himself off as someone interested in renting an apartment off when the gate guard asked what his business was. Step one was complete.
Next, the easterner tailed the both of them further into the complex, to one of the buildings toward the center. It was a three-story, but the English girl and the culprit went to one of the bottom level suites, in a corner much like Kenji's own abode. He pulled out his phone and pretended to text somebody as they paused by the door, whereupon the man knocked, had the door opened, and went inside with his target. Kenji stepped around a corner and leaned against the wall, making his phone routine real by texting his sisters and parents that he was doing alright so far, killing ten minutes this way until he heard the door open again. As the sound registered with his ears, he shut his phone off to prevent having it give him away or distract him later on, and peered around. The decently-dressed twentysomething was facing the door as it closed, digging around in his coat. With step two complete, Kenji knew how to approach step three.
Shoving a hand in his pocket and letting the other hang a bit loosely, Kenji made himself look more casual and relaxed than he actually was, and strolled over to the man. Losing what little Japanese fleck to his accent, he asked, "Hey, buddy, you got any cigarettes?"
Though startled at first, he turned around to face Kenji and, seeing his lack of a threatening appearance, replied, "Yeah, yeah, I'm tryin' to get mine. Need a light?"
"Sure, thanks." The easterner waited a few more seconds until his target started to withdraw his hand, then moved fast, as if he had no time to lose. The hand in his pocket came out as the one at his side snapped up, still open, and he palm-heeled the man's throat, stepping into the strike. He offered a choked gurgle in response, unable to make a more significant noise and thus unable to alert whoever was inside the suite. Kenji quickly followed up by plowing into his solar plexus with a one-inch punch, then another from his dominant hand, and finished by pulling him into a headlock, dragging him away from the door while he was utterly stunned, and slammed his head into the pavement to efficiently knock him out, and more than likely breaking his nose in the process. Kenji remained totally still and silent for a long few moments, waiting for any footsteps coming from a suite or a door starting to unlock... But none came. Either no one had heard the struggle, or anyone who might've was gone.
Step three had been finished, and on a personal note, he was rather proud of how it had gone.
Little time remained until whoever was in the culprits' suite did as they pleased with the girl. Kenji dragged the man back near the door in question, and propped him up against the wall on the floor, head down, so that if anyone passed by during the next sequence, it would appear as if he was sleeping. Next, he pulled his fake guitar case off of his back and set it down next to the man, flipping the catch and drawing his sword, just in case he needed it. Then, for good measure, he tipped the case in the unconscious suit's direction to make it appear to be his, at least for the time being. With this, he could go about the final step with, hopefully, no interruption.
Kenji planted himself against the side of the door as quietly as he could, and reached for the handle, slowly turning it. Hearing nothing change from within, he cracked the door and peered inside. Within the dark confines of the suite, illuminated only by a lamp near the door, he observed a rather well-kept living room, TV and couch and all, and at the center of it, another twenty-something in far more casual clothes than his companion seemed to be just finishing putting down the English student with a rag, most likely chloroform, not even bothering to look behind him. In the man's defense, the light from Kenji's intrusion didn't quite reach the 'intimate' pair, stopping a foot behind them.
Silencing his breath, Kenji let himself in and gently closed the door as the man stood up, seemingly observing his handiwork. With sword in hand, he took a few quiet steps toward the man, then lunged in to kick him in the ribs. At the last second, he whipped around, hearing Kenji lunge, but unable to do anything but react with a shocked expression before he took the boot to his side. Relentless in his intent, the easterner stomped down with his kicking leg and advanced with a straight punch. This time his foe was able to properly react, deflecting his fist and throwing a right hook that caught Kenji in the chest. A solid strike, but not strong enough to cause any hindrance. As he made to follow through with a left hook, Kenji had the good sense to step out of the way and ram his knee into his opponent's stomach. With the wind all but ripped from his sails, the kidnapper stumbled back and fell flat on his back, but scrambled to get back up, reaching back behind his TV stand and drawing out a machete. This man was, if nothing else, prepared for the worst case scenario.
Kenji allowed his foe to rise to his feet, then met his overhead swing with a timely uppercut from his katana, pushing it up and forcing him to overextend. Since the man had used lethal force, Kenji could now justify doing the same, thus he took the man's vulnerable stance as an opportunity to swing and cut down along his chest and stomach, then spun and slashed a second opening in his stomach, before finishing by turning his katana around and ramming it into his head to soundly rob him of consciousness. The criminal's body folded, and he went down, bleeding, out cold, but definitely alive. His machete landed with a pang next to his head.
With the brief fight over, Kenji took a few moments to breathe out his adrenaline, and rubbed his punched chest. Were he stronger and faster, he might've avoided it altogether, but as things stood, the blunt soreness would disappate soon anyway. Taking a breath and collecting himself, he swiped a tissue from the nearby coffee table, cleaning the blood from his sword as he took stock of the situation. Both culprits were unconscious, and so was their victim. The three of them should all be out for some time, and if he called the police now with the tip, they were sure to react promptly. But if he hung around, he might get taken in for assault, and with not only the western judicial system and the fact that he was a 552 student at play, he couldn't be sure of getting out of it without some trouble.
And then he spotted a pair of gloves on the same table, just barely catching their black leather in the dark. He knew what to do.
Kenji finished cleaning his katana off and wodded up the tissue before pocketing it, then swiped both gloves without touching the table and pulled them on. They were practically his size, they fit so well, and they seemed to be spotless. He might actually have to keep them after running them in the wash a couple of times, purely to get rid of any of the kidnapper's fingerprints. Pulling them on tight, he kept his sword in one hand once more as he used his free hand to search the man's pockets. He produced a cellphone in short order, then dialed 911 and put it on speaker so he could avoid his face touching it. After a few moments with the operator, he got the nearest precinct's number and gave them an anonymous tip that the kidnappers of the young girls were in the aformentioned suite, and that he thought he heard loud noises coming from there just a moment ago, and if the police could hurry up...
After that, he shoved the man's phone back in his pocket, then grabbed the collar of his shirt and dragged him to the door, taking a moment to peer outside and verify that no one else was around still before pulling him out. The next part took a bit of work, but Kenji managed to situate the kidnapper and his companion together, just next to their suite door, as well as return his sword to his fake case. Once he closed the door, Kenji evacuated the bottom floor and swiftly fled up to the third floor and watched from the shadows of the landing above. Sure enough, police sirens could be heard nearby, and Kenji took the opportunity to flee to the other side of the building and go down the stairs that the cops wouldn't be coming through before casually making his way off the premesis.
Kenji knew in his mind that he'd never receive the credit for what he did, nor would he know everything that had went on in the apartment, for he chose to keep the sick details a mystery to himself, but in his heart, he felt that he'd done the right thing. Chuckling to himself, the young man known as a vampire all but disappeared from the complex, making his way away through the dark of night.
