[KBP] Trailer Trash

[oneblackcat]

Two days later, his head still hadn’t cleared.

The motions were the same. Go to school, work the trailer, mediate squabbles (okay, he’d never quite resorted to ending one by hosing them down before, but he wasn’t really sorry, either), spend evenings doing homework or catching up on the news. It was inside that was different. Conflicted.

What else could you call it, when someone took a child with nowhere else to go, and set them on a path to murder? But on the other hand, was that such a horrible thing when it was for something that gave purpose to an existence that otherwise wouldn’t have it? Didn’t the city need someone to do that kind of work? And wasn’t it only right, only fair, to give such a grim and terminal occupation to someone whose life was otherwise already over anyway? Surely that was better than taking away someone with other things to live for, like family or romance or indispensable talent.

With that in mind, how could he leave, even to a position fighting crime in more legal ways? There were plenty of people to do that! If he left, someone else would be brought into his place, and how could he know they would care as much as he did about taking care of Aya, Ken, and Youji? How would he know they cared as much as he did about doing something about the innocent deaths?

But were those things he cared about because of who he was, or things he cared about because he’d been taught to by someone else who chose this path for him? What if—

PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Omi shrieked and cringed as a blast of cold water sprayed him for what must have been six solid seconds, leaving him quite thoroughly drenched.

"You're getting lines around your mouth. None of the girls will want you anymore."

“Youji-kun...!”

Ken, who looked entirely too satisfied with this stunt, stepped over with a grin and playfully flicked his forehead. “Serves ya right, Omi. He who sprays first...”

“You were arguing!”

“I don’t see how that factors into rules of payback. Looks like the score is even now.”

Omi moaned and wrung out his shirt tail. He wanted a towel.

Comments

[oneblackcat]

Omi didn't quite connect the dots from foreigner-with-apparent-knowledge-of-travel-patterns to Batman, especially since the explanation sounded reasonable to him. Maybe he'd been in town a few weeks already; you never really knew with these rich businessmen types.

He softened further hearing the charitable explanation. He sounded like a selfless and thoughtful man. Omi liked that, and offered a sad smile. "I see... That's very sad for the family, and kind of you to want to help. Typically, lilies and yellow chrysanthemums are used in funerals. However, if your intention is to help cover costs, koden is usually the favored method. It's a monetary gift enclosed in an envelope and presented on entering the funeral hall. 2,000 yen is the standard for those who don't know the deceased well.

"You could also send a hanawa for condolences. That's a large wreath used in funerals. We can put one of those together and deliver it for you."

[decentdad]

"Two thousand yen is what, twenty dollars?" He frowned. "Maybe we do things wrong, but that doesn't sound like it would offset much. This man's death was very sudden, I think. It sounded like they didn't have anything saved."

He was slightly surprised by Omi's quick empathy, but it seemed sincere and that was good. He was wondered absently if Omi was curious as to the manner of death, and hadn't yet decided on how much he dared allude to it.

"But maybe, also, trying to offset too much would be bullheaded." He smiled self-deprecatingly. "Watashi wa hen na gaijin desu." I am a strange foreigner.

[oneblackcat]

"No, not at all!" Omi said quickly. "It doesn't make you strange-- I think it's very nice for you to want to. Of course, you're free to give more if that's what you like..."

And Omi trailed off there, because it was impolite to say anything else. He hoped the reluctance in his tone for the last line would convey the true point, however, that while the man technically could, it wasn't advisable. For someone who didn't have any close tie to the deceased, a large amount of money would likely make the family deeply uncomfortable and embarrassed. It called attention to their financial situation, effectively communicating the sender thought them incapable of handling their duty on their own. That would bring more shame than relief and gratitude. It was probably meant well, but for the sake of allowing the family to save face, it seemed like a bad idea to overshoot.

[decentdad]

"I see," said Bruce. "You have a good head on your shoulders, you're giving this a lot of thought."

And he didn't have to; he wasn't a florist. The killing-for-hire probably brought in much better money, yet here he was... invested in this little transaction. Trying to make things easier on the customer, trying to give the customer a good experience, and patiently explaining things to a rich, pompous idiot with no idea of even the number of customs he was trampling over.

It spoke well for him. It gave Bruce confidence that there was a real Omi, buried below the assassin, that just needed a little spot in the sunlight to come out on his own.

"I'd like to commission the hanawa, then, to be delivered shortly before the service itself. Would it be improper to include a koden with it?"

[oneblackcat]

"Ahh, not really! I'm pretty clumsy..." Omi answered. It was a bit of a leap to contradict good sense with clumsiness, but it didn't necessarily have to be physical, and the real point was to deflect the compliment lest he seem full of himself. It would have been rather bold to signal agreement, even if Omi liked to think it was true he was offering sensible advice.

"In any case, the hanawa is an excellent choice. It should be fine to stop by and leave a koden as well." Assuming a modest amount was used as suggested, but that much should be understood. While it was a subtle word choice, Omi got the impression from the man's reply that he'd successfully grasped the need to keep the koden donation low. He wasn't totally out of water with standard communication patterns, if his own self-deprecating manner and ability to translate indirect speech was any indication.

"Do you have the name of the deceased?" He could look up the date, time and location of the service from that, and it seemed more likely this man would know the name of the person than the details of the service.

[decentdad]

"Kanazawa Yuuichiro," he answered. "I have the obituary here somewhere... tragic accident, not a lot of detail."

But Omi should recognize the date of death.

"If it's possible to pay immediately, I'd like to, but if the price adjusts depending on the labor involved and it needs to be billed at a later date, that's fine."

[oneblackcat]

Omi froze, and Ken stopped to turn a wary look on the man.

Kanazawa Yuuichiro. Omi recognized the name: their most recent target. The one he'd been captured for. Captured by...oh, shit.

Comprehension dawned on Omi, and with it a flood of nervousness and discomfort. He looked again into that foreigner's face, and it was impossible to match it to the one that had worn a cowl earlier, but the voice... Yes. That voice was the same. It was him.

Batman.

"Mr. Wayne," he says in address. His way of communicating, without necessarily tipping off his friends, that he knew exactly who he was talking to now.

"Of course... we can arrange for an immediate charge at a flat rate." And his pitch jumps. "My, it really is an honor and surprise for you to come to our little shop!" And he's laughing now: false, uncomfortable laughter to the perfect pitch of a customer service worker who's just been put in a supremely awkward position, and that he fully intends to dismiss to Ken and Youji as horror from realizing what a rich guy he's serving up while drenched in water and hosting a thoroughly unprofessional-looking shop.

[decentdad]

Bruce inclines his head. He wonders what, exactly, brought the pieces together. Dick's memories must be a little under the surface, because Dick would recognize him instantly.

"Much obliged," he said easily. "Now that you've found me out, I suppose I should tell you. Kanazawa-san's wife is an employee of one of my local subsidiaries, I met her and her children during a tour of it the other day. My own parents died very suddenly when I was young, and I wanted her to know that the Wayne Enterprises family is here to support her in any capacity she needs, whether it's grief leave or college scholarships when the children are older."

Idly, he wondered if he'd be able to see Omi's true reaction beneath the polite professionalism he was trapped into displaying.

[oneblackcat]

This conversation just got 10,000 times more uncomfortable.

Later, Omi will reconsider the political entanglements of Bruce Wayne to this mission and see the motivations behind the ambush and capture in a different light. In the moment, however, the part that grabs his attention is the mention of wife and children in the first place. Targets aren't supposed to have those.

Or rather, Omi's not used to hearing about their existence, and it's shocking, jarring, disturbing, horrific when he's forced to consider it. And with how terrible Omi is at masking most of his emotions, the effect is plainly evident for any to see.

"Children...?"

Ken wrinkles his eyebrows and turns more to face Omi, taking a step towards him.

"Hey, you okay, Omi? Your face seems pale."

"I-it's nothing...! I'm fine."

He's not fine.

[decentdad]

That's honestly a little more damage than Bruce wanted to do. It's probably time for him to leave.

"It's tragic for them," he said, by way of closing, "but I think they'll make it somehow."

He bowed.

"I'll go ahead and ring you up," Youji said all of a sudden, and steered Bruce back toward the register. "Let Omi get started on the pretty work."