Path of Lava Crossover Ficbit – Cat-Tongued

~ crossovercreativechaos

Detective Akinari Uramura breathed a sigh of relief as cat-sharp ears traced the girl’s flight through the streets. Human she might be, with no scent of any hengeyokai in her blood, but that sharp curiosity was dangerous enough. “Actually, I’d prefer a moment with you, first. Given that Detective Kohanek walked out of here alive.”

For just a moment, violet glinted steel-blue. “So he did.” Lips parted slightly, as if the redhead were tasting his scent.

Which he is, Uramura thought wryly. Though if the legends are true, he probably knew I was coming half an hour before I did.

“And you are?” the rurouni went on, calm as still water.

Uramura bowed. “Uramura Akinari, recently of New York, previously of Hawaii and points east. Pads-on-Rooftops.” He raised his eyes. “And given who I asked questions of when I first mentioned this case to those in the East, and what they did not say, you are… a certain wanderer, with an interest in these murders.”

“I am.”

No counteroffer of his own deed-name. But then, there wasn’t really a need for it. Uramura knew who he faced.

Draws-the-Killing-Blade.

Though why one with that name was here, and not leaving the false killer in bits scattered across the city….

Uramura’s gaze stopped scanning the dojo and grounds, caught by the subtle kanji carved into the wood frame of the screen door. Just the right height for an adult to scent-mark them with a sweaty palm, as his nose told him an older man had until about half a year ago and a young woman still did every day. “She’s-”

“I’m what, Mister?” The instructor herself rounded the corner of the dojo, a light sweat beading her hairline. “Detective?” Kaoru amended at his flashed badge. “Your co-workers were already here last night.”

Smart enough to come from downwind, Uramura realized. “Detective Kohanek is lacking some critical facts that would have affected his interview.” Deliberately, he took off his jacket, tie, and shoes; they were new, and he hadn’t had a chance to dedicate them.

And Changed.

She gulped, but didn’t run, even when a full-grown snow leopard lashed its gray-spotted tail mere feet from her.

The rurouni, of course, didn’t so much as turn a hair. “From legends one has heard, you are Uncia.”

From legends? Draws-the-Killing-Blade knew his people as far more than that! What are you playing at, Rurouni?

11 thoughts on “Path of Lava Crossover Ficbit – Cat-Tongued”

  2. Ah, the ever-amusing “but everybody knows…” mindset! Of course Kenshin has to know everything about it, he is Draws-the-Killing-Blade!

    Heh. Reminds me of… oh, now which one of that was it… one of the Untamed fanfics on AO3, the point is brought up about “demonic cultivation” vs “the ghost path.”

    Granted, I have not touched any of the written source material myself, but the writer had it that the term “demonic cultivation” only shows up in the title and when people who know nothing about it are talking about it.

    When Wei Wuxian (and some psycho who is trying to use the same teachings in a clearly evil fashion) talk about it they always refer to it as the “ghost path” instead. Then the writer states that sort of confirmation bias is the exact problem.

    Here, we seem to be seeing something similar – Uramura has been primed to expect a knowledgeable member of his society and is instead confronted with someone who has only anecdotal teachings to go on, and it’s shaking him up something fierce…

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    2. I’d expect the wanderer does know the forms, but I suspect he does not know the situation, and is playing very close to the vest. Which should, but probably won’t, tip off the good detective that he may be about to walk into a fifty Xanatos pile up.

      Or at least that the good Draws-the-killing-blade has been around enough to be more that a touch wary of those himself. Death is a rather hard thing to undo, after all.

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      1. “It’s so fluffy I’m gonna die!”
        “You will if you don’t let go of my tail!”

        More seriously, Kenshin doesn’t the deed name ‘Draws the Killing Blade’ I suspect (drawing on the anime) he doesn’t see the deeds that earned them that name as something to be proud of anymore.

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