Ghost Monk

Their clothes dancing in the gusts of wind, the trio sedately watched an insane blonde, holding an MK-47, hanging out of the open door to a helicopter which was attempting to land in the Shrine’s courtyard without killing said lunatic. Mika’s eyes narrowed at the antics and she immediately hissed to her husband, “You can’t possibly be serious about me getting into that thing, with HIM!?”
Tohma turned to face his wife, a warmer version of his mask-like smile gracing his features, and tilted his head just enough to show his amusement. “You told me to come up with a solution of getting back to Tokyo that wouldn’t involve taking eight hours of the day to accomplish.”
Feeling her eye tick, again the genetics showing, the sole female Uesugi growled, “When I said that, I didn’t mean THAT!” A perfectly manicured finger pointed to K, who’d by this point hopped out of the helicopter while it was still ten feet off of the ground and heading their way.
“Well, put it this way, what choice do we have?” Tatsuha countered, shouldering his backpack and immediately starting to head for the free ride. He felt himself jerk backwards and nearly choked from the strap before pulling it away from his neck. “Hey, you could’ve strangled me!”
“Wouldn’t you be so lucky. You’re not getting off that easy.” Mika countered, continuing to hold onto the strap and tightening her grip before Tatsuha could squirm away. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“I would think that would be obvious. Let’s see.” Tatsuha glanced down at himself, patting around his possessions with his free hand, the other still making sure fratricide remained only a fleeting possibility. “I’m dressed, have a backpack full of supplies, and am heading for the helicopter. Tokyo!”
If her mood could get any worse, there would’ve been either flames or ice engulfing Tatsuha at the moment. Apparently she was still miffed about his entire attitude the previous day, starting with his answering the phone and ending when he took Shuichi’s side against her. “Oh no you’re not, you’re -- ”
“HALLO! Good morning!” K shouted in English, while standing right next to them. He planted a heavy hand on Tatsuha’s shoulder and beamed at the married pair while his gun was pointed upwards at the ceiling. One never aimed a gun at a Seguchi unless they were sure they wouldn’t miss and that said victim would never get up again. “Tokyo Express ready to go. So…. LET’S GO!” Yanking Tatsuha out of Mika’s grasp, he turned and frog-marched him back towards the helicopter. “Time’s a-wasting, folks!” he called over his shoulder as he not-so-gently ‘helped’ the kid into the chopper.
Mika stared wide-eyed at the man who had single-handedly stalled her goal of keeping her brother where he wouldn’t get into trouble. Then she turned to glare at Tohma over her shoulder as she followed behind K and Tatsuha. “WHY do you keep him employed?!”
Tohma’s smile widened as he followed after the three of them, ignoring the weird feeling he was getting at his back from the Shrine. Maybe Uesugi-san was doing weird prayers for him again, it wouldn’t surprise him. Climbing into the main compartment, he answered with, “He’s good at his job, and he amuses me.”
“Come, Seguchi-sama! Seat yourself down here, so that we can get you all safely back to Tokyo in one piece.” K shouted to Mika in the usual way he dealt with Bad Luck when they were dragging their asses. Fists planted on his hips, he quipped, “Well, we hope, anyway! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“I’ll give you some amusement.” Mika grumbled under her breath as she climbed into the helicopter last, her words loaded with the impression that the only one who’d be amused by whatever she devised would be herself. A moment, maybe two, passed before her shout was heard throughout the Shrine’s lands, “TATSUHA, GET YOUR FUCKING ASS OUT OF THAT PILOT’S SEAT BEFORE I SHOW YOU WHAT CHUTELESS SKYDIVING IS LIKE!”

When they reached Tokyo just over an hour later, Mika was the first one out of the helicopter, nearly recreating K’s earlier scene and hopping out before it had satisfactorily landed safely. Ignoring the calls behind her and placing the dealing of them on her mental back-burner, she bolted for the roof’s door and down the stairs, heading for her office so that she could begin the arduous process of tracking down a man who’d made an art form of ‘Hide’n Seek’.
“Tell me again why you married her?” Tatsuha asked his brother-in-law as he headed for the door with both Tohma and K beside him. He’d had enough of living with her to last a lifetime, he couldn’t imagine having to do it willingly.
Tohma’s smile was back, this time with a partial chuckle. “Now if I told you that, I would have to have you killed.”
Not liking the look in Tohma’s eyes as he’d said it, Tatsuha shivered as he took a peek to his other side at K. The tall American merely laughed his ass off, simultaneously patting the youngster’s head and the gun he hadn’t yet let go of. Daring close his eyes for a moment, his last thought before entering the world of the inner workings of N-G was, ‘Maybe I was better off staying at home with dad and the ghosts I can’t see than enter the demons’ lair willingly.’
The only thing keeping him going forward, well ok, two things, was his promise to Eiri to show up the next day and K’s firm grip which hadn’t released him. He hoped he survived until the next day, since he’d never spent an entire day with Tohma and his sister before and didn’t know exactly what to expect. Hopefully, K would find something else to occupy his time.
One could hope.

~~~
Facing the large plate glass windows, Tohma simultaneously watched the bustling city below him and the man behind him using the convenient reflections that the window made. K sat happily polishing one of his ‘babies’ while waiting for his boss to finish his ‘reflecting’ as he called it. Having already interrogated Tatsuha, bribing him with backstage passes to both Nittle Grasper and Bad Luck concerts as well as a bit of blackmail regarding keeping information confidential, Tohma knew exactly what had transpired at the Shrine before his arrival.
For all of their fierce protection of each other, it was all too easy to manipulate the Uesugi children into ratting each other of their secrets.
Eiri’s unusual behavior warranted close attention, in case it was necessary to hospitalize him again. Though it hadn’t been a pleasant experience the first time around, and he would regret it if it had to happen again, it had to remain a viable option.
The bit of news that bothered him most, however, was that Kitazawa had been mentioned. Not once, but several times. This, he would have to tackle carefully. Without turning, he called, “K.”
K immediately looked up at Tohma, grinning wolfishly. Now the fun could begin. “Yes, Chief! What do you want done this time? Bombs, Heavy artillery? Weapons of mass destruction?” He sighed dreamily as he momentarily imagined himself riding a tank and laughing maniacally as it decimated half of Tokyo.
“It’s extremely important that my dear brother-in-law not find out, so not this time.” Ignoring the visible wilting of the natural blonde, the N-G president continued, “Tell me…. Shindou-san had spent the night prior to Eiri-san’s birthday at Nakano-san’s, did he not?”
Raising his eyes skyward, K holstered his gun in a show of complete seriousness, then finally nodded. “That’s right. Why? What’s Yuki-san done THIS time?” He continuously worried that Eiri’s behavior would have an adverse affect on Shuichi’s career, which it HAD done in the past. With the singer’s growing maturity, it’d been happening less frequently, though, but still needed close monitoring.
A coy smile on his lips, Tohma crossed his arms and asked, almost innocently, “Do you still have those cameras set up?” It was a reference to the knowledge that K’s constant surveillance on his charge (and said charge’s disturbance), included taping of N-G’s and Yuki’s house.
“Of course! I always set them up as soon as a new lease is signed, before they move in. It’s standard procedure.”
“Good. I want all of the tapes for all rooms for the night Shindou-san was at Nakano-san’s, as Eiri-san’s birthday arrived.” Tohma unfolded his arms and sat at his desk, beginning to rifle through some of the piled papers on the surface. “bring them here to me within an hour.”
Why would he want tapes of a night when Yuki-san was alone? Unless…. He wasn’t…. Hmm… Knowing that the discussion was over for the moment, K rose and saluted his boss. “As you command! I will hijack the security detail and torture them until they have divulged the requested information!” Without bothering to check for Tohma’s reaction, he disappeared out of the secret exit so that no-one would realize he’d left the President’s office.
In this new N-G building, which he’d had a firm hand in designing, he’d procured a spiderweb network of hidden passageways and nooks that he used to get places quickly. It also helped him sneak up on people to catch them doing nefarious (or at least in his mind) dealings. Only Ryuichi knew them almost as well as he did, which was sort of scary in itself.
Fortunately, the flaky popstar-turned-actor didn’t know of the many hidden caches of ‘emergency materials’. He didn’t even want to know what would happen then. Kumagorou could set off a bomb or something by accident. K shuddered at the thought as he opened the door to the hallway that would lead to the security room.
Watching K leave, Tohma smiled to himself as he attempted to get as much work done as he possibly could before Mika stormed in on him. He knew she would, since she wouldn’t have much luck in tracking down Eiri. The man had had a clear head-start and time to have holed up somewhere, with or without Shindou-san. A petite frown marring his brow at the image THAT raised, the president of N-G Records debated a long vacation.

TBC