"Natsumi-san brought her in two days ago," Ren said, after we'd settled in his office, leaving the sleeping woman, well, young woman - as much as she seemed to have that certain timeless something about her that Viola did, she was just as obviously still in her teens - to her rest.
"I'm thinking, she didn't snatch her off the streets because of a vague resemblance," I responded. Tsujimoto wasn't exactly known for her restraint, but doing something like that would have been extremely out of character of her.
"No, Natsumi-san says she found her on her way here, two to two and a half hours away from the Desert Port," he winced. "Well, more like almost ran her over. Exhausted, dehydrated, almost passed out."
"Not that this isn't all very interesting," Juliet-ane-san groused from beside the door. She'd declined the offer of a chair. "But who the hell is she?"
Ren gave me a look that said as much as 'what's she doing here, anyway?'. I shrugged.
"No idea," he replied after a moment. "She was never awake long enough to actually hold a coherent conversation. The only reason she isn't laid out in the Doc's office right now is that she's pretty much alright, physically."
"Only that she isn't Viola-san," I added. "Who is still in Aries, by the way."
Still, it wouldn't be a bad idea to pay a bit more attention to the Amethyst Robe of Garderobe ...
... there was an almost audible click in my mind.
"Ren."
He must have heard something in my tone, because his posture stiffened momentarily. I was peripherally aware of Juliet-ane-san watching with increased interest.
"Get me the archive double of the information packet you sent to Aries' President with Natsumi."
"What," Juliet asked as Ren stood, and left at a brisk pace while carefully trying not to outright run. "Was that all about?"
"Suspicion. Just ... suspicion," I replied slowly. "Nothing definite."
I've been told I have a nasty, nasty little mind at times. When Ren came back and handed me the printouts, I only checked one. The information package had been bundled back in the Aries office. There were also several messages that simply needed to be delivered included in that - Black's policy about opening private messages was simple. Don't.
Then again, I didn't need a note of the content to make an educated guess.
"Remember that?" I said to Ren, pointing upwards. I was recalling the aftermath of the event which made me move into the workshop. "President Chrysant sent a request to keep an extra eye on Viola-san. Just before I left I took care of delivering the messages Natsumi had been meant to bring her. There were some messages from her staff in Aries in that bundle, one of which seemed to have a mildly off-putting effect on her."
"Katz, wait a minute! You're jumping to conclusions! She'd never ..." Ren exclaimed.
"Never what?" I queried, then sighed. "I'm not saying anything, Ren. I'm just considering the possiblities. We can't actually verify anything until she's awake and aware at the earliest."
"There was something else," Ren added after a moment. "I'm not really sure if it means anything, but she was had a moment or two when she was lucid."
"You said she wasn't awake long enough to have a coherent conversation," Juliet-ane-san cut in, and Ren's head jerked towards her. I think he'd managed to forget she was there.
"It wasn't exactly coherent," he shrugged. "She kept repeating she needed to find someone, but the last part we needed to look up. She was using an old Jipang dialect."
I was suddenly assaulted by a vague sense of foreboding.
"The best translation we managed said she'd been told to look for a 'broken messenger', whoever that ..."
I blinked. Repeated the phrase in my mind.
Most Earl languages were a mix and mash of several others, with the prevalent 'common' one being a sort of English with oriental influences. Artai's 'native' dialect was a form of Chinese, Florence's mixed French and Latin in equal amounts, Cardair's originated from something between Gaelic and German, while Jipang's was a Japanese deriviate.
"Shito no Katsu?" I asked, out loud.
Ren nodded.
Oh, hell.
Quote:Pinpon. Also known as the Col.Sanders' provided contribution to the chessboard Katz is currently on.
Fujino-san?
The potential for the situation to escalate into hitherto unknown levels of FUBARness is therefore present. Oh, how very, very present.
*mad laugh*
EDIT: And yeah, I know it's Zipang. I saw Jipang somewhere, and used it in the story, and now I'm keeping it until I'm done and can correct the whole thing instead of looking for individual occurances.
-Griever
When tact is required, use brute force. When force is required, use greater force.
When the greatest force is required, use your head. Surprise is everything. - The Book of Cataclysm