Fic: A meeting by water
Sep. 9th, 2012 02:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
issenlloTitle: A meeting by water
Series: Highlander/Kyou Kara Maoh crossover
Summary: After four or five thousand years (who's counting), you're bound to run into some people again.
Disclaimer: The characters here are not my creations, though I have placed them in situations they would not normally find themselves.
Author's notes: Highlander gave us people in long coats wielding swords with beheading and lightning strikes (or so it seems like), and KKM is a Japanese anime series wherein a boy gets sucked into another world and becomes king of the demons and vanquishes, ah, non-demonic evil. This means that some characters speak Japanese (as well as the language of that other world) and some speak English. Luckily, the English-speaking characters (who are from Highlander) know Japanese! I've tried to indicate where the linguistic clashes are, but in the absence of such indications please assume they are speaking whichever language makes the most sense in the situation, even though this fic is rendered entirely in English except for a few Japanese exclamatory sounds, which are in italics.
Other comments: Written for "Transportation problem" of my![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
cottoncandy_bingo card.
***
Methos, though he was currently known by another name, glided behind a tree, avoiding the pools of rainwater at his feet, and tightened a sword grip made slippery by blood and mud. There was a ravine with a river behind him, its waters now made deeper by the earlier storm. Just the weather for a Quickening, Methos thought. Decisively, he ground the heel of his boot on a wet twig.
The sodden twang was followed by a hush of undergrowth, as though someone had twisted around.
Methos's lips thinned in what might have been a smile.
His hopeful executioner was approaching now. "There's no point hiding from me, Adam." He ran, too fast to arrest a skid through a muddy puddle, and Methos stepped out from behind his tree and, two-handed, swung his sword.
The body dropped where it was but the head flew into the ravine.
***
Methos was still recovering from the Quickening, wondering where Duncan was (surely he had seen the Quickening) when the water in the river began glowing a soft, pale blue. He regained enough composure to pick up his sword and cleaned it, his nostrils flaring at the stink of blood still clinging to it, before sheathing it and hiding it in his coat again. The headless body was ignored. Slowly, he crept towards the light, curious but careful. Experience had told him that glowing lights did not usually portend well, but morbid curiosity made him want to stay to see what it was.
The blue glow winked out. There was the sound of water splashing, then incongruously, someone exclaimed in Japanese, "T-this isn't our bathroom!"
Male, young, dumbstruck, Methos catalogued.
There was more splashing, the sounds of at least two persons trying to stand up in knee-high water, then: "Maa, Shibuya, I think you've brought us elsewhere this time," another voice said, also in Japanese but one that sounded much calmer than the first man's splutter.
"But I -" His companion sounded confused. "I thought I had it down by now. Don't tell Wolfram. Maybe we're just off by a bit. We're in Japan, right?"
"Judging by the looks of this place, I don't think so."
A long pause followed. "Hey, Murata, are we on earth, at least?"
That made Methos raise his eyebrows for a moment.
"Can't you use your-"
The word that followed definitely made Methos's eyebrows go up again, and for longer this time. He was certain of his understanding of Japanese, and the one named Murata had just said 'maryoku'. Demon power.
"I need to know where we are first," the first one named Shibuya said. "We might still be in Shin Makoku, for all you know."
Shin Makoku. New demon country? This was truly strange, and to Methos the truly strange was a novelty that was hard to come by these days. He debated whether to show himself and find out who 'Murata' and 'Shibuya' were, or to simply retreat for safety's sake. The mention of demonic power was more than enough to make him wary.
"Adam!" came Duncan's shout, and Methos felt something in his chest loosen at this evidence of his friend's well-being, while simultaneously feeling the urge to cover his face with a hand. Those feelings were not alien ones whenever he was faced with Duncan, however, so Methos only stepped forward and called, "MacLeod." He noted the one named Murata whispering to his companion, and more splashing sounds, though they were softer and squishier, as though two people were climbing up to the ravine's bank.
Duncan came into sight, a hand on his on the hilt of his sword.
At least he isn't waving it about this time, Methos thought - unfairly he knew, since Duncan was more capable of being discreet. He just doesn't do so very often, Methos thought.
"You're all right," Duncan said, his voice low. "Is Royce -"
"Yes," Methos drew a finger in front of his neck, the barest flick.
"So you took his head," Duncan said, unhappy, though his shoulders relaxed and he made his own sword disappear inside his coat.
Methos sighed inwardly. "He wanted to take my head first," he reminded Duncan, "and we should get going. His murderous little shit of an accomplice won't be far behind."
Alarm was beginning to appear on Duncan's face. "I thought I lost him-"
Methos shrugged in the most irritating way he knew. "By the way, we have visitors from Shin Makoku," he said, switching to Japanese. He walked towards the river, secure in the knowledge that Duncan would follow.
"'Shin Makoku'?" Duncan echoed behind him, automatically switching languages. "But what is-"
Methos stood at the edge of the ravine. It was late afternoon, and the trees overhead had cast shadows on the two who were climbing up to dry ground. Both looked up when Methos approached, and Methos managed not to blink in surprise. They were younger than he though: teenage boys - didn't look older than sixteen, in fact - and both were wearing the black, long-sleeved school uniform associated with the better private schools in Japan. They were of similar height, and one was pushing his glasses up his nose while the other was blinking large brown eyes at them.
"I thought I heard someone up there," the one with glasses said when he saw them, his voice identifying him as Murata.
Methos said to them in Japanese, "Do you need any help?"
"Oh!" His companion beamed in relief at them, and behind him, Methos could feel Duncan's start of surprise at the amount of innocent goodwill projected in that smile. "You speak Japanese! Maybe we're in Japan after all, Murata." This was to his companion, though Methos's ear caught it.
"Japan?" Duncan echoed.
"Hello! My name is Shibuya Yuri and this is my friend Murata Ken," Shibuya introduced himself and his friend cheerfully with a bow. "The two of us-" His expression went rueful and he rubbed a hand at the back of his head, a gesture of embarrassment so quintessentially Japanese that Methos, for a second, believed that he had been transported to Japan somehow. "W-we got lost?" he said, and gave a weak chuckle.
"I saw the two of you appear from the river," Methos said.
"What?" Duncan said behind him.
Shibuya waved both hands in denial, though his smile had frozen. "Erm. That is to say, we -"
Duncan asked, "Are you human?"
Or are you Immortals, Methos heard the unspoken rejoinder, although there was nothing about the two teenagers that indicated they were. With the two in close proximity, it would have been easy to sense their Quickening if that were so.
At the question, Shibuya immediately glanced at Murata, as though for advice, and Murata stared up at them for a moment. It was Murata who answered, "Not exactly."
At least Duncan waited until he had helped them up the side of the ravine to introduce himself. "I'm Duncan MacLeod," he said in Japanese to the two, managing to twist the syllables of his name into the sounds of the language, which sounded strange and was probably what stopped Duncan from continuing with "of the Clan MacLeod" tag.
But when Duncan turned to Methos and said, "This is-" it was Murata who interrupted with, "Benjamin Stanton?" in English.
Methos could not help feeling shocked, though he was certain little of it showed on his face. Benjamin Stanton was a schoolteacher in rural New York more than two hundred years ago, one of Methos's more innocuous - and boring - aliases. He must have spent about fifteen years in that quiet little town, keeping his head down.
"He knows you?" Duncan said, at the same time Shibuya said in Japanese, "Eh, Murata, you used to know him?"
"I don't know any Benjamin Stanton," Methos said. "My name is Adam Pierson."
He expected a denial, but Murata merely adjusted his glasses, allowing the lenses to catch the last of the afternoon's light. It obscured his eyes, yet Methos had the unsettling feeling that the teenager had seen through him. "I see," was all he said. "I must have made a mistake. My apologies, Mr Pierson." He made a small bow.
His friend stared at him in surprise. "But Murata -"
"Shibuya," Murata said, the barest hint of a warning in his voice. "It's all right. Besides," he said, an enigmatic smile starting to widen on his face, "don't you think we have a lot more explaining to do?"
Shibuya looked from him to Methos, then relaxed, taking the advice, and nodded. He had clearly decided to drop the topic just like that. Really, the kid had a face like a mirror, reflecting everything about what he was thinking with no discernible lapse. Then the import of Murata's words hit him, and his expression grew awkward again. "Ano..." he began, and started whispering in rapid Japanese to Murata.
Murata replied with something that sounded not quite like Japanese, however, which made the hair on Methos's neck stand up. He was certain he knew of most of the languages on earth - and had spoken dozens of them in his life - but he did not know this one. And Shibuya had accepted that Murata knew him from before - that was a past form of "know" in Japanese - not as a recent acquaintance, which would have been logical given Murata's age (Murata's seeming age, Methos reminded himself), as a person Murata knew a very long time ago. As much as two hundred years?
"Methos!" An outraged voice roared through the woods. "You're a dead man!"
Clearly the murderous little shit had neglected to read the Overlord List, because announcing one's presence to your potential homicide victim well in advance was just the best way to make sure of one's kill. Methos narrowed his eyes, meeting Duncan's gaze for a second: What to do about the two teenagers?
Shibuya had given a start at the shout. Methos noticed that Murata had remained unmoved, though his eyes were serious as he studied the direction where the roar had come from. Then Murata raised his head towards Methos, the expression on his face somehow more knowing than Methos could have anticipated. As though he was aware of what Methos and Duncan really was.
Methos's suspicion was confirmed when Murata asked him, in Japanese, "Can you deal with him?"
"I can take care of him," Duncan said, "you two should hide. You too, Adam."
"But-" Shibuya said.
"He's right, Shibuya," Murata said. "This isn't our fight."
"-we can help!"
"Let's go, Shibuya." He grabbed Shibuya's hand. "How's your maryoku?"
"We can't just leave-" Shibuya began, then he seemed to catch something in Murata's voice. "I'll try again." He stretched a hand in a waving motion.
Murata's solemn gaze loosened into one of amusement at that. "Are you sure, Shibuya?" he teased. "We might find ourselves at Bob's next instead."
Shibuya seemed to have no notion that he was being teased. He only nodded. "I can do it."
Murata nodded then, and turned to Methos. "Farewell, Benjamin," he said, then an impish look came into his eyes. "I always thought you should have taught fencing rather than Latin."
Before Methos could respond to that, Murata had dragged Shibuya back towards the ravine. A loud splash indicated that they were both in the water and for a moment, the river glowed blue. Then the two teenagers were gone.
/end
Series: Highlander/Kyou Kara Maoh crossover
Summary: After four or five thousand years (who's counting), you're bound to run into some people again.
Disclaimer: The characters here are not my creations, though I have placed them in situations they would not normally find themselves.
Author's notes: Highlander gave us people in long coats wielding swords with beheading and lightning strikes (or so it seems like), and KKM is a Japanese anime series wherein a boy gets sucked into another world and becomes king of the demons and vanquishes, ah, non-demonic evil. This means that some characters speak Japanese (as well as the language of that other world) and some speak English. Luckily, the English-speaking characters (who are from Highlander) know Japanese! I've tried to indicate where the linguistic clashes are, but in the absence of such indications please assume they are speaking whichever language makes the most sense in the situation, even though this fic is rendered entirely in English except for a few Japanese exclamatory sounds, which are in italics.
Other comments: Written for "Transportation problem" of my
cottoncandy_bingo card.***
Methos, though he was currently known by another name, glided behind a tree, avoiding the pools of rainwater at his feet, and tightened a sword grip made slippery by blood and mud. There was a ravine with a river behind him, its waters now made deeper by the earlier storm. Just the weather for a Quickening, Methos thought. Decisively, he ground the heel of his boot on a wet twig.
The sodden twang was followed by a hush of undergrowth, as though someone had twisted around.
Methos's lips thinned in what might have been a smile.
His hopeful executioner was approaching now. "There's no point hiding from me, Adam." He ran, too fast to arrest a skid through a muddy puddle, and Methos stepped out from behind his tree and, two-handed, swung his sword.
The body dropped where it was but the head flew into the ravine.
***
Methos was still recovering from the Quickening, wondering where Duncan was (surely he had seen the Quickening) when the water in the river began glowing a soft, pale blue. He regained enough composure to pick up his sword and cleaned it, his nostrils flaring at the stink of blood still clinging to it, before sheathing it and hiding it in his coat again. The headless body was ignored. Slowly, he crept towards the light, curious but careful. Experience had told him that glowing lights did not usually portend well, but morbid curiosity made him want to stay to see what it was.
The blue glow winked out. There was the sound of water splashing, then incongruously, someone exclaimed in Japanese, "T-this isn't our bathroom!"
Male, young, dumbstruck, Methos catalogued.
There was more splashing, the sounds of at least two persons trying to stand up in knee-high water, then: "Maa, Shibuya, I think you've brought us elsewhere this time," another voice said, also in Japanese but one that sounded much calmer than the first man's splutter.
"But I -" His companion sounded confused. "I thought I had it down by now. Don't tell Wolfram. Maybe we're just off by a bit. We're in Japan, right?"
"Judging by the looks of this place, I don't think so."
A long pause followed. "Hey, Murata, are we on earth, at least?"
That made Methos raise his eyebrows for a moment.
"Can't you use your-"
The word that followed definitely made Methos's eyebrows go up again, and for longer this time. He was certain of his understanding of Japanese, and the one named Murata had just said 'maryoku'. Demon power.
"I need to know where we are first," the first one named Shibuya said. "We might still be in Shin Makoku, for all you know."
Shin Makoku. New demon country? This was truly strange, and to Methos the truly strange was a novelty that was hard to come by these days. He debated whether to show himself and find out who 'Murata' and 'Shibuya' were, or to simply retreat for safety's sake. The mention of demonic power was more than enough to make him wary.
"Adam!" came Duncan's shout, and Methos felt something in his chest loosen at this evidence of his friend's well-being, while simultaneously feeling the urge to cover his face with a hand. Those feelings were not alien ones whenever he was faced with Duncan, however, so Methos only stepped forward and called, "MacLeod." He noted the one named Murata whispering to his companion, and more splashing sounds, though they were softer and squishier, as though two people were climbing up to the ravine's bank.
Duncan came into sight, a hand on his on the hilt of his sword.
At least he isn't waving it about this time, Methos thought - unfairly he knew, since Duncan was more capable of being discreet. He just doesn't do so very often, Methos thought.
"You're all right," Duncan said, his voice low. "Is Royce -"
"Yes," Methos drew a finger in front of his neck, the barest flick.
"So you took his head," Duncan said, unhappy, though his shoulders relaxed and he made his own sword disappear inside his coat.
Methos sighed inwardly. "He wanted to take my head first," he reminded Duncan, "and we should get going. His murderous little shit of an accomplice won't be far behind."
Alarm was beginning to appear on Duncan's face. "I thought I lost him-"
Methos shrugged in the most irritating way he knew. "By the way, we have visitors from Shin Makoku," he said, switching to Japanese. He walked towards the river, secure in the knowledge that Duncan would follow.
"'Shin Makoku'?" Duncan echoed behind him, automatically switching languages. "But what is-"
Methos stood at the edge of the ravine. It was late afternoon, and the trees overhead had cast shadows on the two who were climbing up to dry ground. Both looked up when Methos approached, and Methos managed not to blink in surprise. They were younger than he though: teenage boys - didn't look older than sixteen, in fact - and both were wearing the black, long-sleeved school uniform associated with the better private schools in Japan. They were of similar height, and one was pushing his glasses up his nose while the other was blinking large brown eyes at them.
"I thought I heard someone up there," the one with glasses said when he saw them, his voice identifying him as Murata.
Methos said to them in Japanese, "Do you need any help?"
"Oh!" His companion beamed in relief at them, and behind him, Methos could feel Duncan's start of surprise at the amount of innocent goodwill projected in that smile. "You speak Japanese! Maybe we're in Japan after all, Murata." This was to his companion, though Methos's ear caught it.
"Japan?" Duncan echoed.
"Hello! My name is Shibuya Yuri and this is my friend Murata Ken," Shibuya introduced himself and his friend cheerfully with a bow. "The two of us-" His expression went rueful and he rubbed a hand at the back of his head, a gesture of embarrassment so quintessentially Japanese that Methos, for a second, believed that he had been transported to Japan somehow. "W-we got lost?" he said, and gave a weak chuckle.
"I saw the two of you appear from the river," Methos said.
"What?" Duncan said behind him.
Shibuya waved both hands in denial, though his smile had frozen. "Erm. That is to say, we -"
Duncan asked, "Are you human?"
Or are you Immortals, Methos heard the unspoken rejoinder, although there was nothing about the two teenagers that indicated they were. With the two in close proximity, it would have been easy to sense their Quickening if that were so.
At the question, Shibuya immediately glanced at Murata, as though for advice, and Murata stared up at them for a moment. It was Murata who answered, "Not exactly."
At least Duncan waited until he had helped them up the side of the ravine to introduce himself. "I'm Duncan MacLeod," he said in Japanese to the two, managing to twist the syllables of his name into the sounds of the language, which sounded strange and was probably what stopped Duncan from continuing with "of the Clan MacLeod" tag.
But when Duncan turned to Methos and said, "This is-" it was Murata who interrupted with, "Benjamin Stanton?" in English.
Methos could not help feeling shocked, though he was certain little of it showed on his face. Benjamin Stanton was a schoolteacher in rural New York more than two hundred years ago, one of Methos's more innocuous - and boring - aliases. He must have spent about fifteen years in that quiet little town, keeping his head down.
"He knows you?" Duncan said, at the same time Shibuya said in Japanese, "Eh, Murata, you used to know him?"
"I don't know any Benjamin Stanton," Methos said. "My name is Adam Pierson."
He expected a denial, but Murata merely adjusted his glasses, allowing the lenses to catch the last of the afternoon's light. It obscured his eyes, yet Methos had the unsettling feeling that the teenager had seen through him. "I see," was all he said. "I must have made a mistake. My apologies, Mr Pierson." He made a small bow.
His friend stared at him in surprise. "But Murata -"
"Shibuya," Murata said, the barest hint of a warning in his voice. "It's all right. Besides," he said, an enigmatic smile starting to widen on his face, "don't you think we have a lot more explaining to do?"
Shibuya looked from him to Methos, then relaxed, taking the advice, and nodded. He had clearly decided to drop the topic just like that. Really, the kid had a face like a mirror, reflecting everything about what he was thinking with no discernible lapse. Then the import of Murata's words hit him, and his expression grew awkward again. "Ano..." he began, and started whispering in rapid Japanese to Murata.
Murata replied with something that sounded not quite like Japanese, however, which made the hair on Methos's neck stand up. He was certain he knew of most of the languages on earth - and had spoken dozens of them in his life - but he did not know this one. And Shibuya had accepted that Murata knew him from before - that was a past form of "know" in Japanese - not as a recent acquaintance, which would have been logical given Murata's age (Murata's seeming age, Methos reminded himself), as a person Murata knew a very long time ago. As much as two hundred years?
"Methos!" An outraged voice roared through the woods. "You're a dead man!"
Clearly the murderous little shit had neglected to read the Overlord List, because announcing one's presence to your potential homicide victim well in advance was just the best way to make sure of one's kill. Methos narrowed his eyes, meeting Duncan's gaze for a second: What to do about the two teenagers?
Shibuya had given a start at the shout. Methos noticed that Murata had remained unmoved, though his eyes were serious as he studied the direction where the roar had come from. Then Murata raised his head towards Methos, the expression on his face somehow more knowing than Methos could have anticipated. As though he was aware of what Methos and Duncan really was.
Methos's suspicion was confirmed when Murata asked him, in Japanese, "Can you deal with him?"
"I can take care of him," Duncan said, "you two should hide. You too, Adam."
"But-" Shibuya said.
"He's right, Shibuya," Murata said. "This isn't our fight."
"-we can help!"
"Let's go, Shibuya." He grabbed Shibuya's hand. "How's your maryoku?"
"We can't just leave-" Shibuya began, then he seemed to catch something in Murata's voice. "I'll try again." He stretched a hand in a waving motion.
Murata's solemn gaze loosened into one of amusement at that. "Are you sure, Shibuya?" he teased. "We might find ourselves at Bob's next instead."
Shibuya seemed to have no notion that he was being teased. He only nodded. "I can do it."
Murata nodded then, and turned to Methos. "Farewell, Benjamin," he said, then an impish look came into his eyes. "I always thought you should have taught fencing rather than Latin."
Before Methos could respond to that, Murata had dragged Shibuya back towards the ravine. A loud splash indicated that they were both in the water and for a moment, the river glowed blue. Then the two teenagers were gone.
/end
no subject
Date: 2012-09-09 05:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-09-10 02:48 am (UTC)Methos is often portrayed in fic as a polyglot and a sneaky bastard - and a very good survivor.
I thought having him and Murata meet would be really interesting.
no subject
Date: 2012-09-10 04:31 am (UTC)