The White Devil Part One: Blood Ties By: Yuugata Sui Heike Detsune Sui walked up the main street in order to get a small present for Zan as a token of her gratitude, since he was the one who brought her to the doctor which saved her brother's life. As she was about to walk into a cake shop, a loud bang echoed throughout the neighborhood. "Huh?" Sui blurted out. Everyone in the area turned towards the direction of the loud bang. A large group of officers were hurrying down the street. Sui stood in front of one and stopped him. "What's happening?" She asked in a worried voice, "What was that sound before?" The man pushed her slightly away, and started to hurry off. Before he disappeared around the corner, he turned and called to Sui. "Shirarete Nukeru is dead" Sui gasped, shaken by the shocking news. With haste, she ran back to the Kamiya Dojo. She didn't know what she should say to the others, but being round there always helped her calm her nerves. When she arrived, Sui noticed a stranger there. It was a woman, a beautiful one in fact. She stopped in her tracks and stood there, not wanting to speak as she felt intimidated by this woman. "Hmm... why is a girl like you worried about one of the top politicians of Shinjuku? It could be that... impossible! Tell me, has Nukeru been sending you letters?" the woman asked in a very imperial manner, yet it had a peculiar warmness to it. "Why do you ask?" Sui replied defensively. Was this the person responsible for his death? She was confused. The letters, however, were all she had left of Nukeru, and she was not going to give them up easily. Sui looked around, and realised that they were alone in this street. "If you ask about the letters, then you must know why Nukeru is now dead!" Sui was suddenly consumed with blind rage. "Tell me, NOW!" Immediate action was taken. Sui unveiled her weapon and lunged. The lady evaded the attack and took out a jeweled dagger. "Using that tooth pick against Karashi-san must be a joke!" Sui shouted, still blinded by her own rage. "Bigger isn't always better." the lady replied as she sliced Sui's right arm. Sui looked at the puny gash with a confused look and ignored it. When she tried to attack again, however, she realized that she couldn't move her arm anymore. The lady then rather gently blew a powder to her face. Sui sneezed, and felt dizzy, happy, sad, crazy, funny, angry, seductive, conservative, and sleepy. And she collapsed. When she woke up again, Sui looked around, rubbing her forehead. "W-where am I?" She asked herself. "Why, I see that you've waken up." a voice behind her said softly. "You! You are the one who-" Sui stopped herself and tried to remember what happened. "You!" Sui said, not knowing what to say as she was moving her arm, hoping that it is alright. The lady decided to greet her. "Welcome to my humble abode, Yuugata Sui. Those letters were extremely helpful. And to get something out into the open, no, I did not have anything to do with Nukeru's death." "Why should I believe you?" "I'm not going to answer that. Seek the truth for yourself and decide which path to choose." Sui sat back and looked at her. Her attitude was strange as compared to many she had met in the past. The lady could have killed her during the time she had blacked out but she didn't. Sui sighed. She could see that she was in no position to accuse this lady of being the murderer of Nukeru. This wasn't the sort of thing to be prejudice about and besides, Sui had no proof whatsoever which linked Nukeru's death to the lady. But, she thought, whoever killed Nukeru will not get by me alive... "...well," Sui said as she moved to the side of the bed and hung her legs over the side, "What is your reason for inquiring me about Nukeru, Miss... ah..." "It's Detsune. I'm from the Heike zaibatsu. You can call me Detsune." "Well Detsune-san, why are you asking about Nukeru?" "It's because he was entrusted with the government's official archives, and he absolutely could not keep secrets. For him to satisfy the need to tell someone, he encrypted all the top- secret government files in letters that he sent to god-knows who until now." "I didn't receive that many letters." "He wasn't finished yet. He knew it would take a long time, so the juiciest files were encrypted first. Oh, and you'd better have some breakfast." "Sure." and they both exited the room. Sui sat herself at the table, and Detsune on the opposite side. The aroma of traditional Japanese cuisine drifted about the room, creating a rather comfortable and relaxing atmosphere. "Itadakimasu!" She said before she dove into the breakfast of udon, yakitori and various others. While in the middle of picking up some fried chicken with her chop sticks, Sui paused, then stopped and put everything she had in her hands onto the table. "Is something troubling you?" Asked Detsune "How come you know so much about the government?" Sui pondered while resting her head on her palms. Her bright eyes then fell onto Destune's elegant facade. Sui's voice instantly changed into a child-like curious tone, "Are you... some kind of secret spy???" Detsune laughed. "As a matter of fact, I do work for the government, but I'm a courtier to the emperor, which isn't saying much, and an official of the Ministry of Interior. My work, however, brings me a lot of enemies, and Nukeru's files are an asset which can someday save my life." she said in a humorous tone. Sui's eyes brightened in adoration and amazement. Living in the country for most of her life hadn't given her much of a chance to see anything or anyone with such status in society. She sighed quietly to herself. "You lead such an interesting life...," She began, then her expression turned from dreamy to sad. Sui had almost forgotten about what had happened earlier this morning and she felt a little guilty for not thinking about it more intimately. Nukeru was indeed a close friend even though he did have a couple of scruples in his personality. "Um... Detsune-San... do you know how I could see Nukeru...?" "No, but all I can say is that I know who killed him." "Who?" Sui's voice was flat. Detsune was about to answer when two smoke bombs crashed through. *MY WINDOWS! HOW DARE THEY WRECK MY WINDOWS!... huh? This is sakura sleeping smoke. Good thing I'm immune.* "Sui, I think..." But Sui was not there. * * * A muffled sound could be heard from around the corner and sounds of shuffling echoed down the hallway. Sui's eyes slowly closed as the smell of sakura sleeping smoke entered her mouth and nose. She fell asleep before the masked man could even drag her out of the grand manor. The man pulled the unconcious girl out into the large group of other masked men nearby. He dropped Sui onto the ground and allowed her to lie there until he could think of a plan. The man knew about Destune's deadly bodyguards and was determined to keep her occupied until he safely got back to home grounds with the sleeping girl. He was sure that Destune would ruin his plans for complete control of Japan forever. "What shall we do, Sir?" Asked one of the other masked men. "....Sir Williams?" Sir Stephen Williams pulled off his mask to reveal his fair skin, black her and deep purple eyes. He looked down at Sui, then wrapped her up like sushi with a cloth he had taken from Destune's mansion. "You, come with me and the rest of you..." Stephen said as he picked up Sui and put her onto his back, "Stay here and don't let anyone follow us!" Without another word, Stephen and his right hand man ran off deep into the forest, hoping to never be found until they got back to kill the girl. * * * [End Part 1/Blood Ties]