Divine Wind
Rokesmith

Disclaimer: Weiss Kreuz, its characters, indices etcetera belong to Takehito Koyasu, Kyoko Tsuchiya and Project Weiss. This fanfic was written for fun rather than profit and any resemblances to persons living or dead are purely coincidental.

Author's Note: This fanfic is inspired by Ian Fleming's James Bond novels. The story contains elements borrowed in various ways from various Bond novels, and the descriptive style attempts to mirror Fleming's own. The plot is original, but when I came up with it, it was rather more compact, and has since expanded since a writing style as flamboyant as Fleming's needed a flamboyant story to house it. As ever, I owe Laila a great debt for all her help and encouragement.

Chapter One: The Scenic Route

The wide, glittering carpet of the Tone River wove lazily across through the flatlands east of Tokyo towards the Pacific, patterns dancing across its surface reflecting the brilliant summer sun and flawlessly blue sky. Beside the river, matching every curve and meander, the thin grey concrete ribbon of Route 356 traced the same elegant line to the ocean.

Youji Kudou drove his Lotus Seven at sixty kilometres per hour listening to the wind in his ears, the rattle of the folded canvas roof behind him and the low grumble of the two litre Ford sidevalve engine. After the long dull slog north out of Tokyo earlier that afternoon, cruising down the long, half-empty highway was relaxing enough to let his mind drift, thinking about the natural beauty of the river on one side, the pockets of buildings he passed on the other and what waited for him at his destination and beyond. Every now and then he would have to break out of autopilot as he came up to a slower moving car, change down a gear and listen to the engine's rumble rise to a roar as he shot past.

He had just done this to overtake a packed Toyota and slowed down again when he heard a howl in the vacant lane to his left and a dark blue Mazda MX-5 with its top down slid around the Toyota and his own car and kept going without slowing down. Youji had only a moment to see the driver, and had the impression of long black hair billowing in the wind, tanned skin, eyes hidden by sunglasses and peach lips that twitched into a smile for a second before the Mazda passed.

Youji hesitated for an instant. He had somewhere to be, but there was no harm in having a little fun along the way, and there had been too much of a challenge in the look she had given him to resist. He so rarely had the chance to really stretch the Seven, and an MX-5 – based on the Seven's big sister, the Lotus Élan – would be a worthy test.

He put his foot down and the Seven responded instantly, quickly cutting the distance between the two cars. He was close enough to see a flash in the Mazda's mirror as the girl looked behind her, then the car accelerated again. He kept up both of them far gleefully exceeding the speed limit as they raced down the quiet stretch of the highway between Sakae Town and Katori City, braking violently whenever they saw a sign for a speed camera and then dropping several gears to accelerate again once they were safely past. Whenever her way was blocked, the girl would weave impatiently back and forth behind them, waiting for even the narrowest of openings and then blasting through it, leaving Youji to follow in her wake. He never tried to overtake her; she was enjoying being chased and Youji was gentleman enough to let her.

Every exit they came to, Youji expected her to indicate and swerve off, ending their game, but she never did until they were finally both forced to slow down by the dense traffic near the junction with Route 51. With the Seven's driver's seat so close to the road it was almost impossible to keep track of the Mazda, and soon it was lost amongst the traffic moving slowly through Katori. Youji kept looking, but there was no sign of the car or the girl by the time the road cleared and he could speed up again.

He drove on, feeling discontented, but instinctively knowing it was not over. With this driving him on, he kept his speed as far above the limit as he dared – Kritiker would not approve of him being caught speeding on the way to a mission – and was rewarded after he passed Omigawa when he caught sight of the blue Mazda ahead of him again. He had to work hard to catch her, really taking advantage of the Seven's legendary speed and agility to slip through gaps that no other car could manage, working the clutch and the gear stick until his arm and leg ached, but metre by metre he made up the distance between them.

He was finally behind her again as the road swung back to join the river on the edge of Choshi and suddenly understood they were heading for the same destination. This made him smile as both cars settled down into a cruise that took them along the Tone River estuary to where the Inubosaki Peninsular reached out into the deep blue Pacific.

With the end of the highway in sight, Youji looked down at the dashboard of the Seven and realised with a burst of embarrassment that the petrol gauge needle was resting against the bottom of the dial. He grinned to himself; he would have made a great impression running out of fuel on the highway chasing a girl he'd never seen before.

He pulled into a welcoming petrol station and exchanged smiles with the attendant. As she refilled the car, he got out to stretch his aching legs, then turned as the Mazda stopped behind him and Youji got his first good look at the driver. She was tall, with long, elegant limbs and, without her sunglasses, bold brown eyes that swept over him. She was wearing a simple blue sleeveless top and a knee-length white patterned skirt.

"I love driving like that, but it does burn fuel," she said.

Youji smiled. "Especially from a small tank. Thank you for making the journey so exciting."

She returned the smile. "I should be thanking you. It's good to be chased from time to time. You obviously like your cars fast."

"My women too."

The girl tilted her head back and laughed. "You are a brave man."

"Call me Youji."

"Karin. Karin Ousama."

Youji handed some money to the attendant. "That's an interesting name."

"I'm glad you like it," Karin said.

She turned away to pay for her petrol. As she did so, Youji wrote the name and address of the Keisei Hotel on one of his cards and held it out to her. She looked back at him, and at the card, then reached out and took it without a word. Then the Mazda's engine roared and she was gone. Youji gave his attendant one last smile, then got back into the Seven drove towards the ocean.

He parked the car at the Keisei Hotel, took his overnight bag off of the passenger seat and walked onto the polished brown wood of the lobby. The chill inside was artificial after the cool wind in the car, but Youji didn't let that bother him. He was escorted up to his room; white walls, ephemeral curtains and patterned sheets on the double bed. Looking out of one window, Youji could see the tall, white lighthouse which looked just like something from a British postcard because it had been designed by an architect imported Scotland. Out of the other window he looked across the wide beach and tasted the salt blowing on the breeze. He settled on the beach view, watching the people enjoying the sand and sea as he smoked a cigarette.

When he had finished, Youji walked up and down the room a few times, stretching after his long drive. Then he took a short shower and changed into a white cotton polo shirt and black trousers before taking his collapsible Polaroid instant camera out of the bag along with a sketch book and a few pencils. He walked along the beach towards the lighthouse. The afternoon was starting to cool and the tourists who had come for a day trips were starting to pack up. He paused every now and then to take a picture, sometimes of families, sometimes of crowds and sometimes of individuals.

He walked around the lighthouse, taking the occasional picture, along with several pictures facing north to the big stone walls of the docks at the mouth of the river. Then he picked his spot, looked up at the sun, at his watch, and then started to draw. He spent nearly an hour and several cigarettes sketching the lighthouse over and over again, each time with more attention to detail, taking in the two buildings at the base, the three windows rising up the tower, the railing and the crystalline window at the top.

As the sun started to set behind him, a shadow fell across him, and he looked up to see Karin silhouetted against the sunset.

"You are a man of many talents," she said, looking at the sketches.

"Everyone has to have a hobby," Youji replied.

"This wasn't one I expected from someone who worked in haulage," Karin said, reading the card he had given her again.

"I'm full of surprises," Youji said. "I'm sure you are too. Is this just a chance meeting or is it fate?"

Karin shook her head. "Neither. I decided to accept your invitation. I called at your hotel and someone there was kind enough to tell me you went this way. Did you have any plans for the evening?"

"Only hopes," Youji told her. "No certainties. I was planning to have dinner at my hotel. Would you like to join me?"

"I'd love to."

Before they left, Youji asked her to stand still, then walked back and forth in front of her for a minute, selecting the perfect angle to take a picture of her with her back to the setting sun. Then they strolled back to the hotel and into the tidy bright restaurant.

"I'll have the grilled salmon and green vegetables," Youji said.

"I think I'll have that as well," Karin agreed. "And could we have a bottle of white wine with it?"

The restaurant was busy, so the food arrived while they were still on introductory small talk about hobbies, lighthouses, holidays and Youji answered a few simple questions about his cover profession and found out Karin was a junior journalist. The white wine was cool and crisp and the grilled salmon was soft enough to melt on the tongue. The combination, they both agreed, was exceptional.

"How long will you be staying here, Youji?" Karin asked.

"Just for the night. Tomorrow I'm catching a ship."

"Me too!" Karin exclaimed. "You're sailing on the Divine Wind?" Youji nodded. "This must be fate. Does your company work with Matsumoto-san's?"

"We've performed services for him before," Youji answered. "My boss thinks it will generate more business. He thinks I'm the best person to represent us."

Karin smiled. "He made a good choice. My editor wanted a write up of the trips they take and sent me because he can afford to lose me for a couple of weeks and I'm not a well known reporter. If I do well, this assignment might be the first of many."

"I doubt anything interesting will happen on this trip," Youji said. "But you never know."

They finished the meal with green tea ice cream for Youji and mochi for Karin and then split the bill.

"Thank you for a lovely evening, Youji," Karin said. "I'm sorry to cut it short, but I have a lot to do to prepare for tomorrow. I'll see you onboard."

Youji nodded. "I'll make sure you do. Goodnight, Karin."

Karin stepped forward, stretched and gave him a slow, gentle kiss. "A taste of victory, Youji," she whispered. "Keep up the chase. Goodnight."

He watched her walk away into the night, waiting until she was lost in the dark before lighting a cigarette and turning back to his room. He had lied about a lot of things that night, he knew the cruise of the Divine Wind would be very eventful. He sat and watched the water glow white under the moon, thinking about the mission that would start aboard the ship tomorrow. What he did not let himself think about was what had happened the last time a girl had got involved in a mission.