The Rising Sun & The Morning Calm Ch. 21

Genzo stared at the fire mournfully, suddenly feeling drained. "I don't know if I can do that."

"You feel that way now, but I promise you that feeling will pass." Pulling some wild game off the fire, he handed it to Genzo. "For now, you must eat and regain your strength, Uehara-kun."

Taking the spit from him, he looked into the flames, anger distorting his handsome features. "I will hunt down every last one of the wretched Takeda shinobi and make them suffer tenfold for what they have done to us."

"If that provides you with a reason to live for the moment, then embrace the anger. But first things first. Food now, vengeance later." To make his point he raised his own piece of game and took a bite. Following his example, he bit into his meat and was rewarded with a smile. Though he knew nothing of this man, he felt strangely safe and at ease around him.

"Nagamori-[donno]..."

"Donno is a bit much, Uehara-kun," he laughed good-naturedly.

"[Domo arigato, gozaimasu]." He set his game down and bowed with his forehead low to the ground.

"Thank me by getting well," Noboru laughed, motioning for him to get up off the ground. "And Noboru will do just fine."

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O genki deska: are you alright (Japanese)

yorushku-na: pleased to meet you (Japanese)

doshta: what is the matter (Japanese)

sorudewa: in that case (Japanese)

donno: title for lord (Japanese)

domo arigato gozaimasu: thank you (ultra formal, Japanese)

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Linnsa awoke to the sound of Genzo speaking with someone. Not sure if Angela and Noboru had returned, she tiptoed out of her room and down to Genzo's, but she didn't see any sign of her sister or her boyfriend. As she listened to him, she realized he wasn't talking with anyone at all -- he was talking in his sleep and from the sound of his words, it was not a pleasant dream. He kept on repeating, ["Oni-san! Yurusenei! Yadda! Tasukete! Yamiro!"]

Opening the door to his room, she knelt down next to him and shook him. "Genzo, Genzo wake up. You're having a nightmare."

Suddenly sitting up, he screamed, ["Onnegai! Tasukete!"] before grabbing Linnsa in a bear hug. Not knowing what was going on or if Genzo was even aware that she was there, she waited to see what would happen. Holding her tightly to him, she felt his body wracked with heartbroken sobs as he cried like a child, clutching her desperately to him.

Concerned for him, she put her arms around him and began stroking his back soothingly. "Shhh, Genzo, it's okay. It was just a dream. It's okay now. You're alright."

He held her without saying anything. When his breathing calmed, he lay back down, but to her surprise he took her with him. When she tried to pull away, he pulled her closer and buried his head in her neck stubbornly. There was something profoundly trusting about the way held her, as if she comforted him from whatever it was that had upset him so greatly and she felt a strange peacefulness in being there with him asleep around her. Pulling the covers over them, she snuggled into his side and smiled when he pulled her tighter to him. The soft regular pattern of his breathing eased her into sleep.

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yurusenei: forgive me (Japanese)

yadda: I don't want to (Japanese)

tasukete: help me (Japanese)

yamiro: stop (Japanese)

onnegai: I beg you (Japanese)

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[What the hell is poking my back?] Linnsa wondered. She looked down to see a large arm around her waist and remembered what happened the night before. Her face flushed when she realized what exactly it was that was poking her back. Trying to put some distance between her and his erection, she inched towards the edge of the bed but was yanked back into place. It jerked against her back when she bumped it. She couldn't help giggling when Genzo scrunched up his face and made a noise of annoyance when she tried to move again. He sounded like a child unwilling to give up his teddy bear. Seeing that he was still sound asleep and wasn't trying to be fresh, she eventually was able to ignore it and went back to sleep.

Genzo awoke confused to find someone lying next to him. He nearly fell out of the bed when he realized it was Linnsa. When he also realized he was wearing nothing but his white boxer briefs and was packing some very impressive morning wood he actually did fall out of the bed with a loud crash, landing on the floor in a tangle of blankets.

"Genzo, you okay?" she called sleepily from above.

"H-hai. I am fine." That was a lie -- he wasn't fine. He was confused and practically naked -- not a good combination in any situation.

She yawned and blinked sluggishly as she peered over the edge of the bed. "How'd you sleep?"

He hurriedly arranged the blanket on the floor over his lap. "Very well...I think..."

Linnsa smiled at his discomfort. "You don't remember anything do you?"

"Ah...that is correct."

"You had a bad dream, Genzo. I heard you talking to yourself in Japanese and I think you had a night terror or something. You seemed really upset and you looked like you needed a hug, so I stayed until you calmed down." She giggled a little. "Your arm is pretty heavy though so I couldn't get back to my room. We ended up having a little slumber party."

"Oh," was his lame response. He prayed that he wasn't blushing.

"Well, I'll let you get back to sleep." She got out of bed and rubbed her eye with a sleeve-covered hand. "Wake me up when you want to go get some breakfast." Scratching her tummy absently, she shuffled out of the room with a pleasant wave, yawning.

When he heard her close her door, he got back into bed and wondered what the hell had just happened. He honestly didn't remember anything, not even having a nightmare. How could he not remember her joining him in the bed? And there was no way that she hadn't felt his pecker pressing against her. Groaning, Genzo covered his face with his hands and contemplated the possibility of dying of embarrassment. How was he going to look her in the face? On the other hand, she hadn't seemed at all discomfited by his actions and was nice enough to act like nothing was amiss. She was actually quite sweet. He grinned when he thought of how she looked as she sleepily left his room. There was something so honest and innocent about her. She had a purity about her that was almost nonexistent in the present day. Still feeling tired, he got back into bed and could smell her hair on his pillow. Putting his head in the spot where she had lain, he inhaled her clean fragrance and felt oddly comforted by it. Putting his head directly where she had slept, he fell back asleep surrounded by her scent.

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Someone was knocking on his door. "[Nani]?"

"Genzo, I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm kinda hungry," Linnsa's tiny voice pleaded through the wood.

Looking at the clock, he saw that it was almost one in the afternoon. No wonder she was hungry. Throwing on a pair of jeans, he flung open the door. "[Gomen]!" he burst out apologetically. Here he was supposed to be looking after her and he'd been allowing her to quietly starve for the last few hours. He noticed that she was staring at him somewhat peculiarly. Looking down, he'd forgotten to put on a shirt. Though Angela probably would not have batted an eyelash, Linnsa looked at him with a look that bordered between being shocked and embarrassed. "Ah, I am sorry again!" Closing the door, he threw on a t-shirt and stepped out. "I am...ah...not used to having female company. Please forgive my rude behavior." He bowed nervously.

Linnsa started giggling at how anxious he was. "It's okay, Genzo. Relax." Though she hadn't expected him to come out shirtless, even she had to admit, the view was nice. He was well muscled without an ounce of body fat in excess.

"Give me a moment to shower and I can take you anywhere you like."

"Okay." Holding up her palms, he could almost hear her thinking [Relaaaaaaaaax...].

Showering quickly, he gave Angela a call and asked if she wanted to join them for lunch. At the restaurant, Linnsa pored over the menu with a determined expression while Genzo attempted to act as nonchalant as possible given the fact that they had just spent the night together. He was about to take a sip of water when he nearly lost his grip on the glass at the sound of Angela's voice.

"And how are my sister and Ninja Boy getting along?" she asked playfully, sliding next to her sister.

"Ninja Boy?" Linnsa echoed, looking up

"Yeah, that's my pet name for him," Angela cooed as she watched the corner of his lip pull back over his teeth in annoyance. "As you can see, he loves it."

"That's really funny!" Linnsa laughed. "Ninja Boy!"

"Angela..." he growled warningly.

Ignoring him, she hugged her sister. "How are you doing? Feeling any better?"

"I'm trying not to think about it," she said honestly. "But Genzo's been great company. I hope you didn't have to twist his arm too much to take care of me."

"Nah, Genzo's a real sweetheart. Just don't tell anyone, because he has a reputation to protect." Angela grinned at him sweetly from across the table and he gave her a sarcastic smile in return that was probably as close to saying "fuck off" as he could manage. "So what do you want to do today?"

"I don't know. Want to watch some movies or go shopping?"

"Whatever you want, little sis. You call the shots."

Linnsa turned to Genzo. "Are you coming with?"

"Of course. Your safety is my foremost concern."

"Uh, okay, but I meant more for fun," she explained.

Lowering his head, he smiled. "I am honored to have been invited."

When their lunch came, Genzo used the opportunity provided by their conversation to observe the two women interact. Though they looked very different, there was definitely a similarity in their mannerisms and speech that betrayed their relationship as sisters. He was surprised to see that at times, they often communicated with only looks and giggles, as if reading each other's minds. A sudden pang of sadness cut through him as he was reminded of how he no longer had siblings. At the change in his mood, Angela looked up from her conversation. Unnerved by her perception of his melancholy, Genzo made a show of being very absorbed with eating his lunch.

Standing up with a satisfied stretch, Linnsa patted her belly contentedly and remarked, "Where's your wolfman? I thought he was going to join us." Genzo shot her an odd look at her characterization of Noboru.

"He had something come up that he said he had to deal with right away." Angela laughed before adding, "He tends to do that a lot.

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nani: what (Japanese)

gomen: sorry (Japanese)

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Noboru was in the midst of changing into his suit when his cell phone rang. From the ring tone, he knew who it was and he answered it immediately.

"Noboru-sama, I hope I didn't wake you," the familiar voice over the phone apologized.

"It's fine Ryuzo. I take it you have important information for me. Where did you wish to meet?"

"Your biotech contacts in Seoul -- are they reliable?"

An odd question all of a sudden. Often times in Korea, everything was for sale if the buyer was paying the right price. "I'm not sure. I would like to think so, but I do have to bear in mind that the economy is still bad there."

"Then I guess we must ensure that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. I will need for you to arrange for one of the labs there to help with some very intricate sequencing."

"Sequencing of what?"

"I will tell you that after I answer your previous question, donno. Can you meet me at the bar that was formerly the Red Dog?"

Ryuzo was never one for melodramatics, so his secrecy was very curious indeed. "Very well. Can you be there in thirty minutes?"

"I am already here."

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Noboru pushed open the door to the nearly empty bar that was the appointed meeting place and saw Ryuzo sitting in a booth near the back of the establishment. Sitting across the table from him, he removed his sunglasses and looked at him expectantly. "So tell me this news that requires so much security to even speak of."

"Before I tell you," he said quietly, "I must have your word that you will not react overtly to what I am about to tell you."

"You have it. Now tell me what you know."

"Noboru-donno, the analysis of the genetic material taken from the late Minamoto's tissue samples have shown an interesting change in her DNA."

"That being?"

"As you know, the virus that confers our condition rewrites DNA to some degree. Somehow, it rewrote hers to attack the body's own tissues. There are specific promoter sequences that have been rendered active that had previously been dormant."

Still not quite understanding where this was going, Noboru asked, "So what does this ultimately mean?"

"There is one more thing that I did not mention. Out of curiosity, I infected cultured cells from various carriers with the altered strain from Ms. Minamoto. What was strange was that the cells from every donor, all unrelated I might add, all reacted in the same exact manner.

"Which was?"

"Though they continued to carry antibodies to the virus, analysis of the genetic material showed no trace of the alterations seen in those who are carriers." He shook his head in disbelief. "If I had not run an assay for the antibodies, I could not have distinguished between the cells of these carriers or those who have not been infected."

Noboru had to remind himself that Ryuzo, having predicted his reaction, had warned him not to react so severely. Trying his utmost to keep his voice low and even, he managed to say, "Her variant of the virus undoes the infection?"

Ryuzo looked at his friend and replied, "It is for all intents and purposes...a cure."

"[Usso]!" His thoughts immediately ran to Angela. After everything she had gone through, after all he had made her endure, what if she would want to return to her previous life? The thought of losing her again caused him to clench his fists on the table so hard that even Ryuzo noticed the pale color of his knuckles. "No one else knows about this?"

"No. That is why I asked that further research be done abroad, to decrease the likelihood that Saburo will discover what we now know. With further analysis, we-"

"Destroy all your findings," Noboru ordered through his teeth.

"Noboru-donno, I understand the sensitive nature of this material but I do not think it advisable to do so until we have ruled out the possibility of using this antivirus as a weapon against your brother."

Shaking his head emphatically, Noboru growled, "This is too dangerous to trust others with. I will not have it turned into a weapon against ourselves."

Realizing that something else was driving Noboru's judgment, Ryuzo backed off and nodded. "May I ask one favor?"

"What is that?"

"Will you permit me to delay the destruction of the results and samples for twenty four hours. This is a great deal of information to ponder over and I think it would be best if you took some time to consider the ramifications of this finding."

Over the years, Noboru had come to rely very heavily on Ryuzo's counsel and he grudgingly relented. "I will give it one day."

"[Domo], Noboru-donno."

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usso: no way (Japanese)