Honey, I'm Home! - Osa

[Deleted]

A buzzing drone zoomed into the lobby, barely skimming over the heads of a couple of loitering students and sending them shrieking.  A soft chuckle followed the spooked girls as they ran.  Jackson barely looked up from his smartphone as he strolled into the familiar lobby.  He looked a bit like a poor college student in ragged jeans and a cheap t-shirt but the worn dark brown leather jacket over the t-shirt was fine quality though it had seen a few years of wear.  A backpack that looked about ready to fall apart hung from his shoulders, a few wires sticking out of gaps in the fabric.  

Behind him trailed a large, hard cased trunk.  It followed seemingly on it's own, but as he strolled to the center of the lobby it rammed into a chair.  It stopped, backed up, then ran into it again.  Jackson sighed and carefully landed the drone in front of him.  Then he turned to the trunk still trying to run itself into the furniture.  It had managed to nudge one of the chairs out of the way and was now stuck on a side table.

"Come on, what are you?  A Roomba?"  He sighed and crouched down like he was trying to coax a recalcitrant dog.  He cooed almost gently to it, crooking his fingers.  "C'mere you stupid thing."  

The trunk backed up and this time managed to pivot it's wheels and roll over to him with a low whirr.  He patted it gently on the top, then flipped his phone around and tapped back to the texting screen.  Characteristically, he didn't bother to let the Headmaster know he was coming.  He had just showed up, a bit late but good enough.  In some ways it was like coming home- he'd spent so much time in the networks, so much time with his hands in the wires.  He could practically feel it humming in the air and it was good.  

"Honey, I'm home!" He yelled to follow up his text, in case the Headmaster was nearby or listening/watching.  He liked to announce himself properly and this was as good as anything.  He crouched to pick up the drone, checking it over to make sure it was still in good shape even it hadn't been through anything untoward.  It was just happy.  His fingers were itching to get his set up together and get back into work, even though his vacation over the summer to pursue his own projects had been anything but lazy.  

OSAMU HEBI KATŌ

[OSAMU HEBI KATŌ]

He had been pacing his office for hours. There was a trail on the rug that showed his progress, arcing around his desk and towards the door. His eyes were downcast, his arms tucked behind him, a frown on his face as he continued the repetitive motions. A cabinet was open to the left of the his desk, tv monitors and a large keyboard were displayed in what usually disguised itself as a locked Armour. The monitors were static at the moment, he didn't know what was wrong with them. All he knew was that his assistant was late and if Osamu was anything, it was punctual.

Osa stopped walking and stared out the double windows behind his desk. His view was of the gardens, he preferred that over anything else, and while there were a few students ambling about among the bushes he only had eyes for the path that started into the woods. He didn't know what it was about Desdemona that intrigued him so much. It was a grove of trees and walking paths. But something about it tickled his fancy and he had plans to explore it more thoroughly this year. If he ever had the chance to leave the school. Which would be made easier if his damn assistant would get here!

Bzzzt! Osa's attention was taken from it's current query as his phone vibrated against the oak desk. He turned from the windows and walked the couple of feet to peer at the screen. All he saw was the word Jackson and a rush of relief swept through him. Finally. Osa didn't know why he bothered with the younger man. Aside from his Gift Jackson wasn't worth any of Osa's time, but the techie offered him something that no one else could. A way to spy on his students without getting caught. And Jackson had never said a word to anyone. Which suited Osa even better, if Jackson did open his mouth then the headmaster would be forced to take precautionary measures. And Osa was sure his own master wouldn't like that one bit.

Picking up his phone he tucked it into his pocket and closed the cabinet up again, locking it with a scan of his finger and then exited his office. As he stepped out he locked his office for safe keeping and headed towards the banner of the balcony that looked over the lobby.

Honey, I'm home!

Jackson's voice carried through the large opening of the school and Osa visibly winced with irritation. Damn it. With his hands still tucked behind his back Osamu slowly walked towards the stairs and descended without looking at anything but Jackson. He wasn't sure if his irritation was visible, but he tried to appear as calm as always.

"Afternoon, Mr. Scott." He approached his assistant, his eyes flicking to the suitcase and drone. "I trust you have a legitimate reason for being so late. Hopefully everything is fine." Osamu wasn't one for pleasantries, but he needed to keep up the facade of him being a decent human being when he was around others.

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Perhaps to most the irritation wouldn't be visible, but Jackson had made a hobby of studying people and he had been working with Osamu for enough time that he could see things in the man's body language and expression that most wouldn't. It was a subtle tightening around the eyes that turned his look from cool to disapproving. It just made Jackson's grin widen. Oh yes, this would be a good year. Flexing his shoulders the tech junkie tucked the drone under one arm and settled back on his heels, giving the other man a good once over. Nope, didn't appear to have changed a bit. Stick still jammed so far up his ass that if he opened his mouth Jackson fancied he could see it poking through the back of his throat.

"I was sight seeing in Russia and got detained over a miscommunication." His grin turned devilish. How much or how little of that statement was true was entirely up to interpretation. He could just have brazenly claimed to spend the whole summer on a beach surrounded by gorgeous naked servants and it would have held the same weight of confidence. Well, except for the fact that he was as pale as always. He didn't exactly avoid or even dislike the sun. It was just that he had better things to do than spend time in it.

"So what's broken now? I'm assuming me being a day or two late wouldn't bother you so much if everything was fine." Unlike Osamu, Jackson seemed quite content to dispense with anything but the most basic pleasantries and get to business. But then, he relied on boyish charm and his rogueish wit to make himself likable. A far cry from the cool, business-like Osamu. "I'm assuming my room is the same? I can haul my shit over there and then come see to whatever's going on."

The words were almost meaningless, but he was trying to push buttons, just a bit. Mostly be seeing if he could delay fixing whatever problems surely cropped up in his absence. He had noticed that his flexible idea of puncuality didn't always sit will with his boss and while he was careful to make sure that every project he worked on was delivered as on time as he could manage, he did like trying to see if he could get a rise out of Osamu. It was one of the things that made the job worthwhile. Otherwise he'd have gone back to working for himself even though this gave him additional benefits, like the ability to watch people unnoticed. He found the studies of human nature... interesting.

He also assumed that his room was exactly as left, because he'd made some modifications to the door lock and windows. It was his space and the room was thoroughly customized and set up to his needs. All it lacked were a few key components that he carried with him and within an hour or two he'd be back up and running. Not that he needed any of the things in his room for work- those were all just for fun, though he did sometimes tap into the schools network from their to watch.

OSAMU HEBI KATŌ

[OSAMU HEBI KATŌ]

Osamu was not a very expressive man. His face rarely moved from it's slight frown, and when it did it was to smile. Smiles were only needed for certain situations, and even then it was forced and insincere. However, Jackson brought out the parts of Osa that made him want to express more than just his emotions. If he could roll his eyes he would have, as it was his irritation clung to him like a cheap cologne. He felt a heat on the top of his head and figured that his usually black hair was probably starting to turn a bright red and Osa had to close his eyes for a moment to calm himself.

"Russia? Strange place to vacation." Osamu let his hands swing to his side, one tucking itself neatly into his pocket, his fingers wrapping around his keys. "I was hoping you could tell me what's wrong, Mr. Scott. As you know I'm not as technically inclined as you are." One eyebrow rose into an arc as Osa tilted his head towards a door to his left.

Turning, he pulled his keys out of his pocket and walked towards the door, expecting Jackson to follow behind him. He unlocked the door that led out of the lobby and into the secret room that Osa had given Jackson the first time he'd been at the school.

"Remember to close the door." He spoke quietly, descending the stairs leading to Jackson's room without turning the light on. Osa liked the dark, and he liked the heat. He usually kept his office a few degrees warmer than the rest of the school, it tended to help when students were in trouble. The heat made them sweat with nerves and made them more likely to tell the truth.

At the bottom of the stairs he turned to the left and stared at the door that stood in front of him. He noticed almost immediately that there was no longer a keyhole for his key. "What did you do to the door?" He glared at Jackson before letting out an exasperated sigh and stepping back. "Never mind. Just open it and fix my monitors. All I'm getting is static."

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Jackson followed him, rolling his eyes once Osamu's back was turned. When they reached the top of the stairs and he kicked the door closed behind him, he sighed and turned to heft the trunk handle. The motorized wheels spun for a moment until the gentle touch of his gift stilled the simple device that allowed it to follow him. Even with his time gone he didn't need the light any more than Osamu. He made his way down the stairs before he set down the trunk with a grunt. He smirked when the Headmaster indicated the door.

"I made it more secure." He brushed past Osamu and ran his fingers in a slow caress along the door jam. There was no obvious way to open the door besides sheer force, but he closed his eyes for a moment and felt the circuits just beneath his fingertips. He had almost no range with his gift but with his fingertips only just above it he triggered the simple circuit. With an almost unheard click, he pushed the door open.

"Voila." He bowed low with a magician's flourish, but kept his body in the door frame. He made a point to enter the room ahead of Osamu- this was his domain, no matter who had funded it. And he was quite pleased that it had worked. He hauled the trunk in after him and headed immediate to the large desk set up sprawling with monitors. He left the trunk in the middle of the room and lowered his backpack down next to the desk. Tossing a few extra t-shirts and socks out of the top and onto the floor, he unburied a few components carefully packaged in a foam lined hard case.

He crawled under the desk with a flashlight between his teeth and there was a muffled, toneless hum as he moved panels, wired parts back up, and then began to flip switches and push buttons. With a low hum and the whir of fans, the system booted up. He crawled back out and tossed the flashlight onto the desk as his monitors started to come to life. "Did you check that they were plugged in all the way? I'll run a diagnostic to see if it's a problem in the system but static sounds like interference with the information reaching the monitors. That could be anything from where the information is coming in all the way to your end where the information feeds out.

"Shouldn't take long." Already he was dropping into work mode, the jokes dying as he focused. He logged in, revealing black screens with plain white text. He typed a few commands, hit enter, and then looked away from the monitors to go back to the trunk. He unlocked the locks and flipped the lid back. Inside were all sorts of bits and pieces of hardware, a few spiral bound notebooks, all padded by what looked like the rest of his clothes. "Go check the wires running into the back of your monitors. Give 'em a little push to make sure they're seated all the way into the ports."

OSAMU HEBI KATŌ

[OSAMU HEBI KATŌ]

Osa's tongue clicked against his teeth in a hushed, tsk, once Jackson had opened the door. He had never liked it down here much. Aside from the massive array of monitors that showed him what he wanted to see, he wasn't very impressed with Jackson's things. Osa followed after him, only taking two steps into the room before stopping. He watched Jackson move, finding this part of his assistant to be more manageable than the lighthearted jokester he tended to be.

Osa's head cocked to the side as a scowl ran across his features, Jackson's socks and shirts thrown across the floor annoyed him to no end. Lack of discipline. Osa had been raised in a General's home. There was no room for messy floors and dirty tables. Everything had a specific place, and things didn't need to be lying around haphazardly. In his mind he imagined showing Jackson what real discipline was, but thought better of it. As much as he was annoyed by Jackson, he needed him.

"What do I pay you for?" Osa growled when Jackson told him to go upstairs. He wasn't in charge so he could be told what to do. His face was still locked in a disapproving scowl, no end in sight. "Mr. Scott, I think you should remember who's in charge here. I won't be going upstairs just yet. I need a few things from you first." Osa pulled a folded sheet of paper from his pocket.

It was a list, small, but it was exactly what Osa needed Jackson to complete before the school was completely swarmed with bodies. "I need additional cameras installed in these areas," he stepped forwards to set the piece of paper on Jackson's desk. Careful not to get too close to anything in particular. Osa turned and started pacing the room, his hands clasped behind his back once more.

"I will also need you to set up that machine of yours. The one that lets me review the security footage. We had a break in over the summer and I need to see who it was." That was a lie, but Osa didn't tell Jackson everything. "Also, is the email... What did you call it, bot? still working? I intend to turn on the electromagnetic grid over the weekend so the students can't use their cellular phones. They get in the way of learning." He smiled lightly to himself.

Osa stopped pacing to glance over at Jackson again. His face back to the same, slightly frowned, demeanor it always had.

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Jackson's eyes narrowed slightly and he shot Osamu a look that was cold, calculating, and suddenly without real expression. He picked the bit of paper up from the desk and glanced over it. Nothing on the list would be a problem.

"I need to check on the grid and make sure it's still in good shape but it should be ready to turn on. I've been back for all of ten minutes, you'll have to give me time to check the systems. I don't just know." He didn't look at Osa again, but kicked the discarded clothing into a corner and began to start pulling things from the trunk and setting up his work space. The one empty table quickly became scattered with things he was working on, and the drone he'd flown in earlier.

"I would like you to remember what you pay me for." He said very quietly. "You pay me to do my job. Making sure your monitors are plugged in is a simple thing you can do to make sure in the future, it's not a problem you can fix. It makes my job more efficient so I can do the thing that you can't do." There was a subtle emphasis on the last few words but his voice had gone quite flat, almost monotone.

He still kept his eyes down as he shoved the trunk under the work bench and then slipped into his leather chair. He checked the progress of the diagnostic, and then began to open other programs, more plain text scrolling across black windows. To his mind, he was done with Osa until he had something to tell him about the requests that had been made.

OSAMU HEBI KATŌ

[OSAMU HEBI KATŌ]

Osamu felt a red hot flare of anger course through him. His eyelids lowered into a soft glare as he stared at the back of Jackson's head. A twitch started in his finger, and before Osa could stop himself, he was changing his appearance. It wasn't the first time this had happened without his approval. He could usually control when and what he changed in to. It's what helped him coerce students into following him into the basements. But when he felt certain emotions so forcefully he couldn't always control himself.

He looked down, his clothes didn't seem to notice any kind of change, but he felt slimmer. His skin was paler, white, compared to the bronze he usually carried. Without saying anything he moved over to the mirror. He stared at his reflection, his hair had gone red, his features had softened and if he could describe himself in one word he appeared... Kinder. Osa didn't like it one bit. He felt strange standing there looking in the mirror and not recognizing who he was staring at.

Usually when he changed himself he picked the appearance of other students and teachers. Now, he wasn't sure who this was. Or if he was anybody. The red hair was a mess on his head, and instinctively Osa tried to flatten it out with his hands. He couldn't necessarily go back upstairs looking like this, he wasn't even sure if his fingerprints would get him through his office's door. But Jackson's bitching didn't go unnoticed and Osa felt another flare of anger wash over him, causing his somewhat manageable hair to grow longer and more unruly.

"Mr. Scott, I realize it's been a few months since we've had the pleasure of each other's company." His voice had fallen a few octaves, Osa wasn't pleased. "So I shall let you get settled in before we have another discussion about who is in charge here." He turned away from the mirror to stare at Jackson once more. His hands returned to their usual spot behind his back.

"In the mean time, do you have a hooded jacket, or sweater, that I could borrow?" He thought for a moment, "Please." Otherwise Jackson would be stuck with him until his features went back to normal.

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Jackson wasn't angry. By the time Osamu had responded, he was dropping into his work. His mind was dragged along the pathways of data, his fingers ghosting over the keys. He caressed them almost gently, the soft touch keyboard needed only a light touch to understand him. It was the please that caught his attention and with some effort he pulled his mind away from his computer. It took a long moment, too long most likely for Osamu but this time he wasn't deliberately ignoring him. The grid check finished.

"Grid's good." His voice had gone soft, distracted. He glanced back over his shoulder to see what Osamu's problem was. Briefly his hazel eyes scanned him up and down. Then he glanced towards the trunk, then back to Osamu.

"No." Then he settled back to his computer. "No one will know who you are anyway." It didn't seem like he was actually trying to be aggressive anymore, simply distracted. He turned back to his computer and let his fingers caress the edges of the keyboard. The smooth, familiar contours felt good to his touch and despite his verbal sparring his as glad to be back. But Osamu didn't pay him enough to bend the knee though- he was good at his job and knew it. "In twenty minutes or so I'll be up to look at your monitors."

This time he pushed himself away from the desk, almost reluctantly. He stood up and shrugged out of his leather jacket, walking over to a hook by the door to hang it up. Whether or not he was lying about owning something with a hood was a moot point. Even if he had it, he wouldn't have lent it to the man. Partly because he was possessive and partly because they were in a dominance game and Jackson didn't feel like making the least concession. He might have been the employee, but he was proud. And he knew he had an out- he could always leave.

And while he didn't know everything that Osamu did, but he had an inkling that it was more than the Headmaster claimed.

OSAMU HEBI KATŌ

[OSAMU HEBI KATŌ]

There were some things that Osamu didn’t like in the world. People who had gifts were very high on that list. He had always felt hatred towards himself for his own gift, and it ignited the hatred he had for others. It was unnatural, against the religious ideals he was taught by his mother growing up. Maybe if his life had gone in a different direction he wouldn’t feel as he did, but losing everyone he loved had made him cold against the rest of the world. His current thoughts were teetering on the edge of murder. Jackson had always been a thorn in his side, but he had a gift that Osamu needed to complete what he had set out to do a few years ago. But if he had the choice, Osa would take Jackson and throw him to the wolves. Perhaps when he perfected his experiment he would use Jackson as his first.

But that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. And so long as he was in need of Jackson’s gifts, Osa was stuck with him. Osa’s head fell back and rolled across his shoulders, a technique he always used when he needed to calm himself. It wasn’t working this time, and Jackson wasn’t relenting. He could just take something of his and use it to cover his head, but then he’d have to explain himself when he couldn’t get into his office. And he had worked far too hard to keep his own gift a secret. In fact, Jackson was probably the only one who even knew about it.

Osa turned to the mirror again and stared at himself for a moment, with a silent sigh he turned towards the door and made his way over to it. “I’ll see you in a few minutes, Mr. Scott.” He turned the knob and stepped through the door, knowing that once it closed he wouldn’t be able to bother him anymore.

“Perhaps will talk about your role here at Masquerade, and how you could become… More helpful.” The door closed and Osa was alone in the dark hallway. He had never been fond of the dark. He waited for his eyes to adjust before climbing the stairs to the lobby. He cracked the door at the top open and peered out into the room, thankfully, it was mostly empty. He stepped out, straightening the jacket of his suit and making a beeline for the stairs leading up to his office. He noticed a few people sitting and chatting, but none of them seemed to realize he was there. It suited Osamu just fine and he made it to his office without coming in contact with anyone.

Unlocking his door, he poured himself inside and rested against the oak, feeling anxious and worried. After a moment he stepped towards his cabinet and opened it back up. The TV screens were still static, and much to Osa’s annoyance Jackson had been right to have him check the wires. The TV’s bloomed to life with color as soon as he fixed them. An image of the lobby popped up on one screen, another of the teacher’s dorms below it. He sighed with relief as he stared at the screens. Each one focused on a different area of the school, and each one changing every few minutes to a new spot.

Hello again. I’ve missed you.

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