Description:
The night wears on when an unexpected - one might say VERY unexpected - visitor pulls into the Kasugano household's driveway. The idea is that Sakura's parents may be in bed, or soon to be in bed, while the teenager might still be up and semi-alert. At least, that's the assumption by which phase 2 of operation free Elfa is executed. A late-model, rather nondescript black sedan pulls in alongside the house, following the drive around towards the back yard. Headlights are quickly killed, followed by the ignition, and a burly soldier-in-a-suit climbs out of the driver's side of the sedan. One might quickly assume 'attack', particularly if Sakura has had time to recognize this particular man as one of the 'R' operatives who fought in the invasion of the Suiryuu. Dispersing that assumption, at least partially, would be the obvious injuries that same soldier sustained, his movement relying heavily on the cane at his side, the awkward limp suggesting it's not at all faked.
The duo's 'cargo' is not likely to be a problem, just yet... ample tranquilizers fill Elfa, and sturdy but humane bindings hold wrists behind her back, and ankles tightly together. Rather than sneaking around, or drawing weapons, the cane-reliant Invader shuffles his way around towards the back door, his intent to rap there - very quietly - assuming he's not intercepted first.
Oh, the teenager's up, alright -- playing video games in the family room. All the better for someone to hear the tapping, as of someone gently rapping, rapping at the Kasugano door.
It's not Sakura, though. A boy's voice calls out, "Nee-chan, there's someone at the back door! I'm about to--"
"Shut =up=, Tsu-kun!" hisses a whisper from the other room, cowing the junior high brat back into a video-game-induced coma. The boy's older sister isn't being much quieter than him, having probably woken up the adults despite her attempt to keep things on the down low.
So much for a stealth operation.
The Ansatsuken disciple pulls open the curtain, peering out into the dark. Dark dark is dark, so she flips on a light switch, wincing slightly at the light. And to what to her wandering eyes should appear, but some limping guy looking like he drunk too much beer. At least, that's what it looks like at =first=, before her eyes adjust.
It only takes a moment for her to size the guy up. He's obviously =dressed= like a threat, but the cane doesn't mean much.
Unless he's faking it.
Maybe the "R" invader would be able to sense the chi building up in the young woman's aura as her jaw sets, her eyes narrowing at the stranger. She casts her eyes askance for a moment, quickly looking for any others who might've come along, and seeing none, she asks, "Isn't it a little late to be selling vacuum cleaners?"
The smart-aleck Japanese girl probably doesn't look like much of a threat herself, in a ragged t-shirt and baggy cargo pants, but it's quite likely her reputation says the opposite.
It's funny what a clear and present reminder of one's mortality can do for one's humility. Volatile enforcer of 'R' a few short weeks ago, this particular gumby is rather docile indeed. No, Sakura doesn't look physically imposing, but even if he /weren't/ aware how much of a threat Kasugano can be, well. His orders are clear, "I was sent... with a message." He informs, in a tone that tries to be more factual than ominous, and almost succeeds. He hands over a carefully folded, pristine piece of high quality paper, sealed with silvery wax. Some old-fashioned habits die hard, it seems, "And to deliver..." he nods back towards the sedan, taking several careful, cane-supported steps backwards, heading back over to the car. And the unassuming little girl in the backseat. God, this... really doesn't look good at all, does it?
.... time to see if the new boss knows what he's talking about, telling them to trust this Kasugano girl. This could get painful, really fast. Dimmed dome lights go on within the sedan, the tinted windows going down in the back on the side Sakura would be approaching from.
Kasugano hesitates for a moment, glancing down at the envelope -- if you can call something so fancy by such a trivial name. Kasugano's only gotten a wax-sealed one once before, and then she just kinda tore the thing open without thinking -- and that, in private. Lips press together in confusion, as she accepts the paper, nodding back to the man. She'd ask who'd sent him, but the wax seal should make that obvious. Geh.
"Be right back, Tsu-kun. Don't go nowhere." Not like the boy's listening. Trading her house slippers for some slip-ons, she steps outside, narrowing her eyes at the sight she sees before her. This doesn't look exactly, y'know, =reputable= -- so at this point, she tosses any illusions of decorum to heck and slips the envelope open with all due haste. Her eyes scan across the letter contained within as she walks, stopping a good ten feet from the car. Enough time and space to anticipate unwelcome surprises, really.
Frowning, she looks up with a look of desperation. "What the heck am =I= supposed to do with 'er?" she complains -- as if she expects the suit to (a) know what she's talking about, and (b) care about the predicament.
Sensing a lack of either in the first moment, she exhales sharply through narrowed lips. Geez. Resigned, she stands on her tiptoes, trying to get a better look at the girl. "... You feel up to, I dunno, =driving= somewhere?" she asks the suit. "'Cuz she can't stay =here=..."
Oh no! It's the ultimate in good business and above-ground dealings. Which is to say, not much of either. Hopefully none of the Rugal-loyalists are currently stalking Sakura to put the fear of 'R' in her for her role in Jinchuu, or this could get messy very quickly. Sometimes, shady is the way to go. Brick adjusts his black suit and tie, almost nervously pushing a pair of high-tech shades higher on his nose, despite the dim lighting. One might suspect they're not your 'standard' sunglasses, and one might be correct. Either way, he has no specific answers for Sakura, "Master Bernstein..." obviously not Rugal, in this case, which is likely a good thing, "Thought you and your contacts might be able to find your own answers. None of his contacts would be... suitable." Which is to say, safe, cooperative, or at all humane. Which are undertones the letter is sure to intimate, when Kasugano has time to process it more fully.
A second, nearly identical sedan can be heard pulling up out front, along the road, and the second gumby climbs out of the passenger side of the car, not even moving towards his partner and Sakura, instead heading off towards the proverbial exit point. The driver, the ill-fated Brick? The large, cane-bearing man pulls the keys and keyring out of his jacket, and tosses them towards Sakura, "We were instructed to make the transfer, and leave. The more our team is... exposed... the more risk there is to all of us." It's not as if the maimed elder Bernstein is no longer watching, and listening, after all, "We were told to leave the car with you. They shouldn't be able to track it back to us." Which leaves Sakura more or less to her own devices. Well, barring the mobile phone number appended to the brief letter she received. Isn't it great to get Christmas presents?
"Oh.." Brick appends, in afterthought, extracting a small plastic bag carrying a trio of miniature syringes, two blue, and one amber, "The blue will bring her out of it. The amber will put her back under. Be careful." A warning that Adelheid's already echoed, but... even with Sakura's skills, it never hurts to be safe.
So... yeah. He means Adelheid. And he trusts her, even after she could be considered to have betrayed him from a certain point of view. That's comforting! ... But being charged with a young girl the likes of which she's never met before, well, that's different. So cue the neutral "Uh-huh..." answer.
Up till now, Sakura's been handling the situation with wit and aplomb. ... But once keys are tossed her way, the corners of her mouth pull back in... well, maybe not horror. Unease would work! "... Wh- y... I don't have... but..."
Brick's able to finish while she stammers ineffectually, and just when she shuts up, a trio of bags is shoved in her hands. "... r...right." Gulp. "... I'm not on TV or anything, am I?" she asks, a bit incredulously. She's still ready to accept what's going on, but she's hardly dressed for a trip.
At the same time, she knows the import of this situation. Peering over to the girl, she takes another gulp of air. Geez.
Glancing back to the man, she nods her head. "I... I think I got a plan." And an apologetic smile follows, as she adds, "Thanks, for everything." She knows he's obviously getting paid to do this, but it... felt like the right thing to say?
At which point, she sits down on the back seat, next to the girl. The dome light's still on... and for a moment, she seems not to care, looking down at her new charge, rustling her fingers through the girl's hair. This, too, feels like the right thing to do. ... And if she can wake up the girl without syringes, all the better.
One of her friends still has a complex about syringes, after all.
It could be bad. Trying to wake up Elfa might be like doing something crazy, and the girl /could/ just turn into a raging maniac at the drop of a hat. However, Adelheid was pretty careful with what he was doing. The dosed, dozing girl just lolls her head at the slight touch to her skunk-colored hair. Half-open grey eyes try to focus on Sakura, though the dialation in them is relatively extreme. If there's anything going on in that head, it's probably not coming out very quickly, or without aid.
On the good side, Elfa's pretty relaxed right now. For what it's worth, the hazy fever dreams she's having because of the drugs involve her high-sticking half of her father's hockey team when they aren't looking, and after the pummelings she's had in the last few weeks, this is nothing more than bliss itself. "Guhh..."
For his part, Brick just nods towards Sakura, and hurries (relatively speaking, when hurrying involves cane-hobbling) off towards the second car. He climbs into the back, and the sedan roars off, their part of the job taken care of. Under cover of darkness, the not-quite-R operatives take their leave, leaving Kasugano with her rather questionable gift. Hey, at least she has a plan!
OH GEEZ A SKUNK! RUN!!!11 ... Well, she hopes there's no scent glands to worry about. All she sees is a very drugtastic captive, with her arms bent in an uncomfortable position and her legs not that much better off. ... But she doesn't know this girl. She wasn't an operative when Sakura was part of Shadaloo, her face wasn't on the roster, and she wasn't an employee. Sakura has a near-photographic memory when she sets her mind to it -- and her mind was totally set on such things when she was in Shadaloo's employ. Neural pathways like that are hard to undo.
Still, drooling isn't going to be much good right now. Kasugano wants answers, and she's not going to get them sitting in the driveway. And realistically, she doesn't want to =be= in said driveway for very long, anyway.
Kasugano reaches to her pocket. She'd never taken her cellphone out earlier, so it's still here. And just because she's scared about leaving the girl alone for even a moment, she text-messages the brother sitting not thirty feet away: 'Goin out w/frends, skool n morn. C U/mom 2morro. -saku'
Kasugano looks back down to the young girl. Sighs. What a mess! But she'd rather not let the girl =stay= drugged. Reaching into that plastic bag, she pulls one one of the blue syringes. It =was= the blue one she'd wanted, right? Frowning, she takes a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment, and then jams the syringe into the girl's shoulder. .... Just as good there as anywhere else, Sakura figures?
Wincing, she pulls the syringe out, shuts the door, then slides into the front seat. She's never driven a car before, but... it can't be that different from driving a motorcycle, right? A turn of the key brings the engine to life, and Kasugano looks back over her shoulder at the hostage. Er, guest. Kasugano wonders: will she be okay back there?
Blue. Color of water, of night - of cold. Of the haze being lifted, a wash of awareness wandering over Elfa's conciousness. It's not a slow thing either - the girl brought back into 'reality' with a shuddering groan of old pain and new. She tenses up her hands as she tests her bonds instinctively, trying to find a way to get comfortable and failing. "Ngh.. You.. help that the man sent?" Her voice is rough, heavily accented, a thick Russian inflection coloring her words.
She seems to be recovering quickly - whether that's the counteragent working over her or if it's her own remarkable coping ability, it could be hard to say. "Before you knock me out again.. my name is Elfa Bykova.. Please to not ... hitting me. Happened too much already."
Wow, that was quick. Sakura figured it'd take a little while. But at least the car's not moving. Yet. She smiles back at Elfa, nodding slowly. "Yeah. You can call me Sakura." She brushes her bangs out of her eyes -- and needs another haircut!
"And no. No hitting. You just sit tight back there, and we'll be good. I'm not gonna hurt you, I'm takin you to my friends." She pauses for a moment, then glances over at those bound wrists. "You, uh, promise you're not gonna hit =me= or run off, and we'll get along fine, okay? I don't wanna put you under again..."
She waits in the front seat, leaning back on her elbow, tentatively.
One of her many gifts, really. The girl has that phenomenal stamina that comes with being a trained fighter, though she never really asked for it or planned on it. Clearer by the moment, in fact. She blinks out the last of the fuzziness, then just nods curtly to Sakura, trying to not give /too/ much away. She, however, is not quite built to hold information back.
"I'll sit. No problems from me." Her voice has lost most of its muzzyness, the accent fading as she fully awakens. "I do not want.. that again. Where are we..? I was in a harbor, then on a ship.." Maybe if she keeps the conversation, she'll get a bit of information as well! She's not planning on trying to make a escape, but it's never a bad thing to learn more about what's going on!
Kasugano smiles warmly. Good, she's glad she doesn't have to talk to a drooling person! So right now her text message is still... kinda correct.
"Awesome! Now..." Kasugano reaches under the seat. Those guys always stash weapons here, right? Sure enough ,she finds a knife. Sakura holds it up in front of Elfa, plain to see. "Just gonna cut the ropes, don't wig out on me." Another warm smile, and the girl slides out of the front seat, and into the back again. A few sawing motions with the knife later, Elfa will be able to move her wrists freely. "We're in the middle of Southtown. I'd planned to take you to some friends of mine, not far from the harbor." She scratches her cheek, standing a fair distance away, and giving Elfa the room she needs to compose herself now that she's more or less 'free.' "Unless you got some other place you wanna visit first? Not much open this time of night though..."
Knife. Elfa sees it, and in her head, ideas and plans on how to take it and escape play through her head. Doll training at its finest, people. She forces it back and away, eyes showing just a hint of pain as she holds herself still and allows Sakura to bring it in close. The hands coming free are a great relief, and the woman takes a moment to rub at her wrists, and lean back against the back of the car's cushion.
"As long as they do not have hundreds of weapons with which to hit people, I am.. alright with this. The man said I could trust you - and I have no reason to doubt him." After all, if this were just an attempt to find out secrets she doesn't have, it's overboard. All she knows is what she's been told by the people picking her up. "Where I want to go isn't safe yet. He said that you and your friends would be able to make it... home, more so." She offers a little smile, and rubs at her cheek. The bruising that's there is still fading - but her nose is oddly unbroken, which makes her look slightly confused, phased. "Do you think you and they can help with that..?"
Kasugano folds the knife up, and slips it into her pocket. She saw the look it was given, but it didn't affect her smile much. She knows the Doll mindset, after all, which is why she was so open -- and yet controlled. She's never totally stood down, not since the initial surprise at the back door.
Speaking of which, she looks up to her parents' room. No lights on. Squinting, she seems satisfied that no one's woken up yet, and slips back into the car, shutting - and locking - both doors.
"I was captured by Shadaloo once, y'know. I can totally get what you're feeling right now." She rests her elbow on the seatback again -- but this time it's because she's putting the car into reverse. She knows the steps, it's just a matter of execution. Easy does it, out the back of the driveway.
The car rumbles to life with a sudden jolt backwards -- one which Sakura quickly arrests by letting go of the gas pedal. "... Ew, sorry about that. First time!" she apologizes. When the car rolls backwards the next time, it's veeeeerrrryy slow.
Turning the wheel appropriately, she gets the car onto the road. It takes a while. Only then, as she's shifting into drive, does she answer. "Yeah. They'll help. They helped me a =bunch=." Another warm smile follows. Turning forward afterward, she asks, "Do you remember much, y'know... about your time before Shadaloo? Anything?"
Maybe the word Shadaloo will draw a blank, Sakura considers as an afterthought. Kasugano doesn't know, yet, whether that'd be a good thing or a bad thing.
"Shadaloo.. You, too? Is that why they sent me to you?" Elfa's eyes look relieved, and that much is 'true', as far as she knows. She's grateful that someone else may have woke up in a jar of goop and been told they were a weapon and shipped off to be beat upon. Sort of glad - and then contrite, worried that someone would have gone through a similar experience. "I know only a little. I told the other man - I remember a face in a mask taking me away, and then waking up. I remember everything before that, though - did... you lose that yourself?"
Elfa's hoping the answer is 'no'. Sakura sounded like she had a famiWHOO! She half falls forwards, her hands catching the headrest behind Sakura, holding on to keep herself steady. She leans back afterwards, then chuckles. "Father never taught me to drive. 'Bah! Driving is for people who flaunt what money they have. We will take bus!'" She mimics a gruff man, accent thick - and then grins. It's a stress-breaker, and the strong girl laughs for a minute or two, then just covers her eyes with her fingers. Deep breath.
Kasugano's head bobs in the affirmative. "Yeah, probably."
And after she gets the hang of moving =forward=, she glances back at Elfa through the rear view mirror, snickering at the joke. "Yeah... my dad never really taught me to drive, but it wasn't for anythin' like that. He just didn't want me driving like a maniac." And yet... Kasugano's =anything but=, having watched her dad and mom drive enough to pick up the basics. She's good at imitating people like that, after all.
Pausing for a moment, she turns the corner, heading onto the main drag. "Huh, this isn't half bad..." Her driving could still use some work, but it's not =terrible=. "An', no. I remember almost everything. Missed a little here and there, but I wasn't with Shadaloo long enough for most of the early stuff to be destroyed." She chuckles a bit, adding, "Sounds like you remember a lot yourself, huh."
Kasugano's almost afraid to ask about her dad, though. Maybe that's the place it's not safe to go to, yet. Or maybe he's dead, and she wants to go somewhere else.
Good enough reason for a change of topic. "... So who punched you in the face, anyway? This wasn't the guy with the mask, was he? Do you remember what he looks like at all? I oughta track 'im down and punch 'im in the face for messin' up a pretty face like yours, really!"
".. You do drive like mania.. um. You drive very well for a beginner with a car." Elfa will be polite, succint - and /not/ suggest that she almost ate headboard there. Instead, she will just bring her hands away from her eyes, wiping anything that might have been in them and away to the cushion of the seat. "I must.. not have been there long, then. I do not think I'm missing anything, but.. That will wait until I'm around people I know. It is.. hard to say what you're missing when you're the only one who remembers you."
She picks up on the unsaid tension, though she's not sure why. She doesn't address it /just/ yet, instead answering the spoken question, rubbing at the bruises on her face. "I don't.. .I'm not sure. There was a woman and two men who had me bound - one of them found me early on. I don't remember a name said. I .. tried to escape, and when she hit me everything went black. I woke up with ... I thought a broken nose.' She reaches up again, and then takes a risk in distracting Sakura whilst she drives, motioning to her nose in the rear view mirror. ".. This does not /look/ broken though, da?"
... Drive like maniac? Aw jeeeeeez. Sakura thought she was doing pretty well there! "Th-thanks..." she trails off. But if she lets her get too distracted, she'll crash into something! So she focused on the road, and not being Southtown's WORST driver. It's not much longer, anyway.
"Oh. ... But it's still too dangerous for you to go back 'home', huh... Well, the person I'm taking you to will be good for getting the Shadaloo programming out, so you can focus on the good stuff. And maybe now with Vega gone, you won't have to worry so much about everything else!"
Kasugano's breath catches in her throat just after the word 'else' though -- as if she might have grossly misstated the situation, perhaps. Coughing into her balled fist, she maneuvers the car to the downtown exit, nodding attentively... and looking up into the mirror. "N-naw. Nothin that bad! If it were I woulda told you before."
At the end of the ramp, Sakura starts slowing down. It's a decent enough part of town, the sound and smells of the ocean nearby. "The, uh... Youth Center's where we're gonna chill out tonight, if that's okay with you? It's the safest place I know of..."
Elfa's lucky - Sakura was giving her more and more information, things that might be useful. "Shadaloo programming? That's what.. this is?" it's confirmation, of a sort. At least, to Elfa, it's what makes sense. "The .. I see things, ways to move that I'm not used to." She fidgets there, suddenly uncomfortable in talking about it as she looks out the window instead. Being told that while bruised, she's not broken is some small release. She'll enjoy that for what it is.
"That sounds.. fine. If you think it is safe, it will be safe enough for me, I hope." She rubs her temples, and then goes completely quiet, relatively docile. It should be a quiet rest of the trip from her. Plenty of time to think of what she should be doing next... and of what she was needed for. "... Thank you."
Log created on 19:58:46 11/29/2007 by Elfa, and last modified on 22:05:35 12/15/2007.