Esbilon
Seven Thousand Club
Esbilon: The first sign that this would be a special day came a lunch. A new ramen place had opened up, and being in a hurry, she got a cardboard bowl wrapped in old newspaper and a plastic spoon and hurried on to her next class.
When she sat down on her bench, she noticed something peculiar. The newspaper wasn't just old, it was *very* old.
For some unfathomable reason, this ramen guy had saved a newspaper from March 1990!
Yuu: Tilting her head at this curious bit, Yuu decides to scan the newspaper to wait for the ramen to cool a little.
Esbilon: She was about to throw it in the trash when her eyes fell upon the headline: "Largest Art Theft in History!"
Two guys had dressed up as policemen and entered an art museum in America, where they had stolen 14 masterpieces. The entire value of the heist was estimated at a staggering 500 million dollars.
Yuu: She blinks and frowns more than a little bit, on one hand; the thieves had just pulled off a classic shinobi trick, but on the other..."Fourteen pieces?" Her soft whispered voice was full of stunned disbelief. What the hell was the security up to!
Esbilon: Security was, it appears, tricked and then duct taped-up in the basement
Yuu: "..." Yuu blinked at that bit, unsure of how to react other than complete and utter embarrassment for the Security.
Esbilon: The newspaper does not tell anything about their fates after the actual police arrived; some seven hours after the robbery began.
Yuu: Yup. Complete and utter embarrassment. Yuu kept on reading, trying to see if there was any more information on the Art Thieves.
Esbilon: Nothing else was known at the time at least, but that was days after the robbery. More might have been discovered in the meantime. Hell, it might all have been solved by now.
Yuu: Yuu frowned a little and stood up as she looked at her watch, usually she would have been done with lunch and on her way to the study hall by now, but this time...
…wait, lunch. She sat down just as fast and started wolfing down her ramen. Two hours in the school's library should be enough to get her some more information on the theft and investigation.
Esbilon: The ramen is *insanely* good
It is, quite likely, the best damn ramen she has ever tasted.
Most campus food is mediocre, bland or over spiced, but this is perfect.
Yuu: As she finished, with a quick 'thank you for the meal' and a sigh about how there was no time to really enjoy her food, she hurries to the library to read up more on the theft.
Esbilon: The Internet is, as is often the case, a wonderful resource full of just the right information.
Sadly, it is just as full of junk, conspiracy theories and repetition.
In the end, however, she finds out what she wanted to know.
The art has not been returned; a reward of 5 million dollars is offered for its return; the police think it may have been sold in Philadelphia in the early 2000s. In short, they're completely stumped
Yuu: Sighing a little at the unsatisfactory end, she looks at her watch, time to finish her self-study session at the study hall.
Esbilon: The remainder of the afternoon passes with little noteworthy happening. Lectures are lectures, cliques are cliques and in the end, Yuu makes her way home.
The way home is the same as it always is, the traffic is as it always is, the people are who they always are, but something is... different.
Yuu does not notice it immediately, but once she does, it is inescapable. She is seeing things.
When walking past a line of trees, her eyes immediately see potential hidden foes him them, or places she could herself hide.
When walking past bushes, she sees the path one must take through them in order to not rustle them and make noise.
When looking at the people, she can see in their stance who is strong, who is weak, who is pretending, who is aggressive and who is protective.
She feels in her very soul that what she sees is true, but can it be? And how can it be?
Yuu: Yuu desperately tries to keep her head down and her eyes straight, the bombardment of information she was suddenly getting matched what her father told her about how the old masters saw the world, but she was still in training! She picked up the pace, she needed to get home.
Esbilon: She hurries home, and manages to keep the information under control. It manifests itself in new ways, smells, sounds, feelings against her skin. All of it carries information, and all of it can be used to effectuate the death of her enemies.
The house, mixed though her feelings are about it, is a welcome sight. The wall rises high, though not much higher than her neighbour’s', and the door is closed as it should be.
Something is wrong.
The gate is closed *now*, but it was opened earlier, and not by Yuu's father.
There are tire tracks on the ground outside, someone parked there, and then drove off in a hurry.
Yuu: Yuu's eyes widen before she quickly suppressed all panic she had, just like she was trained, she slowly moved to the gate and opened as quietly as she could before she slipped in and closed it just as quietly.
Esbilon: Inside there are signs of struggle.
A group of people came, and a group of people went. On their way out, they were moving irregularly, as if they were carrying someone who did not wish to be carried.
The door to the house hangs open; they did not bother closing it.
Yuu: She carefully looks around for anything else out of place before she moves again.
Esbilon: There are a lot of things out of place
Yuu's father was a skilled fighter, and the group that came for him, less so.
But they were many, and he was one, so despite broken furniture, vases and pictures, he must have been defeated.
The thing that springs most clearly to the eyes is a piece of paper that was not there before.
It is made from cut outs of coloured magazines, and reads: "We have your father. If you want him back, leave a suitcase containing 30 million Yen outside your fence gate midnight tomorrow night."
Yuu: Her eyes widen considerably at that, and her fingers go slack, dropping the note, "...father?" Her small voice seemed to squeak a little. Feeling something hot coming down her face, she walked to the kitchen and splashed her face a few times in the sink, as her father taught her; it was shameful to show any signs of weakness. "Thirty million yen...they must know I can't get that money..." her muttering gave her something to focus on, other than the stinging in her eyes.
Esbilon: A closer examination reveals more signs of struggle, though not many. The fighting was largely contained in the living room.
It appears that her father was reading the newspaper when they arrived.
Wait.
That is not his regular paper. That is, for some strange reason, the same paper that her ramen was wrapped in. Though this is today's issue.
It has fallen open on an article about a new mansion some rich business man has built outside Kyoto.
Her eyes glance past the paper, and at the end, they widen.
Yuu: She began to feel something strange, her father was a fixture in her life, he was always there, but if...
Esbilon: It appears that rumour has it that this man, Yamada Shiro, owns Rembrandt's "The Storm on the Sea of Galilee," one of the paintings stolen in the very robbery Yuu read about at lunch!
Yuu: She approaches it and picks it up; looking at what could be a clue.
Esbilon: There are several pictures of the house, and descriptions of some of the security measures he has taken to secure his privacy. Countless tiny, hidden cameras, automated security drones, direct connection to the police station, lasers around the perimeter of both the grounds and the house itself. And, he assures, several that he does not wish to reveal to the public.
It does say he is an art collector, but no mention is made of any stolen paintings.
On the page opposite the article about Yamada-Sama, there is a small notice describing the art theft, and saying that the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum is offering a partial reward of 300.000 dollars for information leading to the return of any one of the pieces, there is also a phone number to a Kyoto-based law firm that will handle any claims for the reward.
There is no mention of kidnappings, or desperate people begging for martial arts instructors (though there are regular advertisements both offering and seeking). Nothing that offers a clue to who might have taken her father.
There is, however, today's list of currency values. 1 dollar is apparently worth 102.82 Yen.
30846000 Yen! Enough to buy her father's safety, and then some.
Yuu: Her heart sank when she read about his connections to the police, how she supposed to report it if he was connected with them somehow?
Looking at her phone again, she dials the number; getting started on the money now will be good, right?
Esbilon: "Kawaguchi, Tachibana and Yukimura, attorneys of law, how may I help you?" A pleasant young woman's voice answers.
Yuu: "Umm," her voice was a little smaller now, unused to speaking to others. "I read about the art thefts and I want to know, if you have someone calling in about a tip, how do you verify it?"
Esbilon: "In most cases, we will pass it on to the police. Under special circumstances, it may be handed over to a private investigator instead of or in supplement to," she replies.
Yuu: She nods, forgetting that the other couldn't see her, "Well, there's a rumour that Yamada Shiro-san might own one of the stolen paintings...it's a rumour so it doesn't need the police right?" She stumbles over her words, more than just a little nervous at would happen next.
Esbilon: "I'm sorry miss, but we do not pursue unsubstantiated rumours. There must be evidence supporting the information."
Yuu: She could feel the burning in her eyes again, this time her voice was cracking, "I...I see, I'll get the evidence...Thank you." Dropping the phone and running to the kitchen sink again; she splashed her face a couple more times as she tried to get her mind working. She needed to think like a shinobi...her eyes widened that thing that happened to her earlier!
She walked back to the paper, looking for the address and a way to get into the mansion without breaking and entering.
Esbilon: There is not a specific address, but there is a neighbourhood mentioned and the mansion is sufficiently characteristic that she does not believe it would be possible to miss it.
As for getting in without breaking and entering. Well, it mentions that he has several servants, including a cook, cleaners, and a butler, everything a man with too much money needs. It does not mention how he hires them, or who they are, but that might be an option.
He apparently hosts very exclusive art shows once in a while, either from his own collection, or to promote some upcoming young artist, so if one were a guest or an artist he appreciated, that would be an option.
Yuu: Frowning a little at the information as she quickly walked to her room to change, changing out her clothes and into new casual clothing with sunglasses to hide her red eyes, she stuffed the newspaper into her small backpack and ran out of the house to the mansion. Hopefully, she can find her way in as a temporary worker...
Esbilon: It is too far to run, but navigating there by public transportation is not too difficult. It takes her an hour to get there, and she has time to calm herself.
The street is long and there are beautiful houses on either side, most of them with large, almost park-like gardens surrounding lavish houses.
She finds the house of Yamada-Sama after a few minutes of walking. It is placed on a hill (probably artificial), and surrounded by a tall fence of steel bars, bent into the shape of vines and flowers and topped with sharp points. This metallic vegetation is covered by thick growths of roses, making it impossible to see through without giving new leverage for anyone attempting to climb it. The gate is reinforced with a heavy bar and a rather obvious pit trap, and has a clearly visible intercom system.
Yuu: Taking a deep breath, she presses the intercom button, "Umm, excuse me?"
Esbilon: A pleasant looking middle aged man appears on the small screen in front of Yuu.
"Yes, can I help you, miss?"
Yuu: "Umm, my...my family has fallen into some hard times and I was wondering if I could find some work here...just long enough for my father to get back on his feet..." she chews her lip at the last bit.
Esbilon: "I'm sorry miss; we do all our hiring through an agency. I sympathize with your plight, but I cannot help you."
Yuu: She looks at the old man, trying to figure out if he was joking or not, but as her eyes burned again and the feelings she never had the words for threatened to overwhelm her, she nods, "The...the agency, what...what is it called? Please I...I need this."
Esbilon: He hesitates for a moment, and then tells Yuu the name of the agency.
"I'm sorry miss, that's the best I can do. I hope they can aid you, though it will not be with us as we have no open positions."
Yuu: Just nodding forlornly, Yuu turns away, "Thank you..." And walks away.
After a stop at a nearby public restroom to compose herself, Yuu heads to the Agency, she needed this to work. Her father had to come back. He just had to.
When she sat down on her bench, she noticed something peculiar. The newspaper wasn't just old, it was *very* old.
For some unfathomable reason, this ramen guy had saved a newspaper from March 1990!
Yuu: Tilting her head at this curious bit, Yuu decides to scan the newspaper to wait for the ramen to cool a little.
Esbilon: She was about to throw it in the trash when her eyes fell upon the headline: "Largest Art Theft in History!"
Two guys had dressed up as policemen and entered an art museum in America, where they had stolen 14 masterpieces. The entire value of the heist was estimated at a staggering 500 million dollars.
Yuu: She blinks and frowns more than a little bit, on one hand; the thieves had just pulled off a classic shinobi trick, but on the other..."Fourteen pieces?" Her soft whispered voice was full of stunned disbelief. What the hell was the security up to!
Esbilon: Security was, it appears, tricked and then duct taped-up in the basement
Yuu: "..." Yuu blinked at that bit, unsure of how to react other than complete and utter embarrassment for the Security.
Esbilon: The newspaper does not tell anything about their fates after the actual police arrived; some seven hours after the robbery began.
Yuu: Yup. Complete and utter embarrassment. Yuu kept on reading, trying to see if there was any more information on the Art Thieves.
Esbilon: Nothing else was known at the time at least, but that was days after the robbery. More might have been discovered in the meantime. Hell, it might all have been solved by now.
Yuu: Yuu frowned a little and stood up as she looked at her watch, usually she would have been done with lunch and on her way to the study hall by now, but this time...
…wait, lunch. She sat down just as fast and started wolfing down her ramen. Two hours in the school's library should be enough to get her some more information on the theft and investigation.
Esbilon: The ramen is *insanely* good
It is, quite likely, the best damn ramen she has ever tasted.
Most campus food is mediocre, bland or over spiced, but this is perfect.
Yuu: As she finished, with a quick 'thank you for the meal' and a sigh about how there was no time to really enjoy her food, she hurries to the library to read up more on the theft.
Esbilon: The Internet is, as is often the case, a wonderful resource full of just the right information.
Sadly, it is just as full of junk, conspiracy theories and repetition.
In the end, however, she finds out what she wanted to know.
The art has not been returned; a reward of 5 million dollars is offered for its return; the police think it may have been sold in Philadelphia in the early 2000s. In short, they're completely stumped
Yuu: Sighing a little at the unsatisfactory end, she looks at her watch, time to finish her self-study session at the study hall.
Esbilon: The remainder of the afternoon passes with little noteworthy happening. Lectures are lectures, cliques are cliques and in the end, Yuu makes her way home.
The way home is the same as it always is, the traffic is as it always is, the people are who they always are, but something is... different.
Yuu does not notice it immediately, but once she does, it is inescapable. She is seeing things.
When walking past a line of trees, her eyes immediately see potential hidden foes him them, or places she could herself hide.
When walking past bushes, she sees the path one must take through them in order to not rustle them and make noise.
When looking at the people, she can see in their stance who is strong, who is weak, who is pretending, who is aggressive and who is protective.
She feels in her very soul that what she sees is true, but can it be? And how can it be?
Yuu: Yuu desperately tries to keep her head down and her eyes straight, the bombardment of information she was suddenly getting matched what her father told her about how the old masters saw the world, but she was still in training! She picked up the pace, she needed to get home.
Esbilon: She hurries home, and manages to keep the information under control. It manifests itself in new ways, smells, sounds, feelings against her skin. All of it carries information, and all of it can be used to effectuate the death of her enemies.
The house, mixed though her feelings are about it, is a welcome sight. The wall rises high, though not much higher than her neighbour’s', and the door is closed as it should be.
Something is wrong.
The gate is closed *now*, but it was opened earlier, and not by Yuu's father.
There are tire tracks on the ground outside, someone parked there, and then drove off in a hurry.
Yuu: Yuu's eyes widen before she quickly suppressed all panic she had, just like she was trained, she slowly moved to the gate and opened as quietly as she could before she slipped in and closed it just as quietly.
Esbilon: Inside there are signs of struggle.
A group of people came, and a group of people went. On their way out, they were moving irregularly, as if they were carrying someone who did not wish to be carried.
The door to the house hangs open; they did not bother closing it.
Yuu: She carefully looks around for anything else out of place before she moves again.
Esbilon: There are a lot of things out of place
Yuu's father was a skilled fighter, and the group that came for him, less so.
But they were many, and he was one, so despite broken furniture, vases and pictures, he must have been defeated.
The thing that springs most clearly to the eyes is a piece of paper that was not there before.
It is made from cut outs of coloured magazines, and reads: "We have your father. If you want him back, leave a suitcase containing 30 million Yen outside your fence gate midnight tomorrow night."
Yuu: Her eyes widen considerably at that, and her fingers go slack, dropping the note, "...father?" Her small voice seemed to squeak a little. Feeling something hot coming down her face, she walked to the kitchen and splashed her face a few times in the sink, as her father taught her; it was shameful to show any signs of weakness. "Thirty million yen...they must know I can't get that money..." her muttering gave her something to focus on, other than the stinging in her eyes.
Esbilon: A closer examination reveals more signs of struggle, though not many. The fighting was largely contained in the living room.
It appears that her father was reading the newspaper when they arrived.
Wait.
That is not his regular paper. That is, for some strange reason, the same paper that her ramen was wrapped in. Though this is today's issue.
It has fallen open on an article about a new mansion some rich business man has built outside Kyoto.
Her eyes glance past the paper, and at the end, they widen.
Yuu: She began to feel something strange, her father was a fixture in her life, he was always there, but if...
Esbilon: It appears that rumour has it that this man, Yamada Shiro, owns Rembrandt's "The Storm on the Sea of Galilee," one of the paintings stolen in the very robbery Yuu read about at lunch!
Yuu: She approaches it and picks it up; looking at what could be a clue.
Esbilon: There are several pictures of the house, and descriptions of some of the security measures he has taken to secure his privacy. Countless tiny, hidden cameras, automated security drones, direct connection to the police station, lasers around the perimeter of both the grounds and the house itself. And, he assures, several that he does not wish to reveal to the public.
It does say he is an art collector, but no mention is made of any stolen paintings.
On the page opposite the article about Yamada-Sama, there is a small notice describing the art theft, and saying that the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum is offering a partial reward of 300.000 dollars for information leading to the return of any one of the pieces, there is also a phone number to a Kyoto-based law firm that will handle any claims for the reward.
There is no mention of kidnappings, or desperate people begging for martial arts instructors (though there are regular advertisements both offering and seeking). Nothing that offers a clue to who might have taken her father.
There is, however, today's list of currency values. 1 dollar is apparently worth 102.82 Yen.
30846000 Yen! Enough to buy her father's safety, and then some.
Yuu: Her heart sank when she read about his connections to the police, how she supposed to report it if he was connected with them somehow?
Looking at her phone again, she dials the number; getting started on the money now will be good, right?
Esbilon: "Kawaguchi, Tachibana and Yukimura, attorneys of law, how may I help you?" A pleasant young woman's voice answers.
Yuu: "Umm," her voice was a little smaller now, unused to speaking to others. "I read about the art thefts and I want to know, if you have someone calling in about a tip, how do you verify it?"
Esbilon: "In most cases, we will pass it on to the police. Under special circumstances, it may be handed over to a private investigator instead of or in supplement to," she replies.
Yuu: She nods, forgetting that the other couldn't see her, "Well, there's a rumour that Yamada Shiro-san might own one of the stolen paintings...it's a rumour so it doesn't need the police right?" She stumbles over her words, more than just a little nervous at would happen next.
Esbilon: "I'm sorry miss, but we do not pursue unsubstantiated rumours. There must be evidence supporting the information."
Yuu: She could feel the burning in her eyes again, this time her voice was cracking, "I...I see, I'll get the evidence...Thank you." Dropping the phone and running to the kitchen sink again; she splashed her face a couple more times as she tried to get her mind working. She needed to think like a shinobi...her eyes widened that thing that happened to her earlier!
She walked back to the paper, looking for the address and a way to get into the mansion without breaking and entering.
Esbilon: There is not a specific address, but there is a neighbourhood mentioned and the mansion is sufficiently characteristic that she does not believe it would be possible to miss it.
As for getting in without breaking and entering. Well, it mentions that he has several servants, including a cook, cleaners, and a butler, everything a man with too much money needs. It does not mention how he hires them, or who they are, but that might be an option.
He apparently hosts very exclusive art shows once in a while, either from his own collection, or to promote some upcoming young artist, so if one were a guest or an artist he appreciated, that would be an option.
Yuu: Frowning a little at the information as she quickly walked to her room to change, changing out her clothes and into new casual clothing with sunglasses to hide her red eyes, she stuffed the newspaper into her small backpack and ran out of the house to the mansion. Hopefully, she can find her way in as a temporary worker...
Esbilon: It is too far to run, but navigating there by public transportation is not too difficult. It takes her an hour to get there, and she has time to calm herself.
The street is long and there are beautiful houses on either side, most of them with large, almost park-like gardens surrounding lavish houses.
She finds the house of Yamada-Sama after a few minutes of walking. It is placed on a hill (probably artificial), and surrounded by a tall fence of steel bars, bent into the shape of vines and flowers and topped with sharp points. This metallic vegetation is covered by thick growths of roses, making it impossible to see through without giving new leverage for anyone attempting to climb it. The gate is reinforced with a heavy bar and a rather obvious pit trap, and has a clearly visible intercom system.
Yuu: Taking a deep breath, she presses the intercom button, "Umm, excuse me?"
Esbilon: A pleasant looking middle aged man appears on the small screen in front of Yuu.
"Yes, can I help you, miss?"
Yuu: "Umm, my...my family has fallen into some hard times and I was wondering if I could find some work here...just long enough for my father to get back on his feet..." she chews her lip at the last bit.
Esbilon: "I'm sorry miss; we do all our hiring through an agency. I sympathize with your plight, but I cannot help you."
Yuu: She looks at the old man, trying to figure out if he was joking or not, but as her eyes burned again and the feelings she never had the words for threatened to overwhelm her, she nods, "The...the agency, what...what is it called? Please I...I need this."
Esbilon: He hesitates for a moment, and then tells Yuu the name of the agency.
"I'm sorry miss, that's the best I can do. I hope they can aid you, though it will not be with us as we have no open positions."
Yuu: Just nodding forlornly, Yuu turns away, "Thank you..." And walks away.
After a stop at a nearby public restroom to compose herself, Yuu heads to the Agency, she needed this to work. Her father had to come back. He just had to.
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