Bú-Tik

[Deamon]

((Kimiko Kao continued from This Be The Verse))

She was sitting staring at her prize. It was a Nodachi and a Tantō. Kimiko was convinced the terrorists were mocking her. They probably thought it was funny to give her a symbol of Japan. Land of the samurai and their code of Bushido. Kimiko's lips curled into a grimace. She knew better and Taiwan knew better. Musha and Tapani were the proof. The Japanese were just as bad as the Chinese the world just didn't know it. Six hundred and sixty four dead in the first Musha incident then another five hundred killed and beheaded at the second. Afterwards the Japanese had attempted to fix the issue by forcing Japanese culture on the Taiwanese people from a younger age. Kimiko knew all of this because her parents had and grandparents had told her.

Now she had been given a weapon synonymous with the Japanese and despite hating herself for it she was going to take it. There was no other option. She had left the spear behind and needed a replacement. It would also have been stupid not to take two weapons that were both useful. Carefully reaching out, as if she expected the sword to turn and lash out at her, Kimiko picked the Nodachi up and removed it from it's sheath. It gleamed as the sun caught the steel. If she was capable of being unbiased it looked beautiful, but she knew what it was for and what it did. The sheath slammed back over the blade.

They had also given her food and drink. A warm vegan pizza and some lemonade. Kimiko had already eaten two slices without thought or question due to a hunger she didn't know she possessed but had quickly gone off it as her mind thought back to what had happened. Unlike Cristo, Kimiko was preparing herself for the news. Bradley's death was a likely outcome in her mind, she couldn't confirm anything but she would find out along with everyone else come the next morning. She opened her bag up and withdrew the first aid kit. After opening it she located the blanket that was inside, withdrawing it she laid it out flat on the helipad and placed the remaining slices of pizza on it before wrapping them up in a bundle which was then carefully put back into the pack along with the first aid kit. The bottle of lemonade joined it.

For a while Kimiko sat on the helipad, alone with her thoughts. She briefly tried meditation but her mind was too restless, after a few stretches and some Baguazhang she tried again, to no avail. She held her triangle charm tight but nothing helped her settle and focus her mind. Rubbing her eyes Kimiko replaced the charm around her neck and stood up. She couldn't stay on the helipad, staying still was slowly going to drive her insane.

She tucked the tanto into her pocket, replacing the shard of glass which was placed in her bag, and hung the nodachi over her shoulder. Everything felt so wrong, Taoism promoted pacifism and she had been rewarded for killing someone with another instrument of death. Worse still it was from one of her peoples oppressors, and she had still taken it. Kimiko wondered what her parents would think and quickly came to the conclusion she didn't want to know.

((Kimiko Kao continued in Robber Barons))