1964-06-16 - Karma's Agent
Summary: A vengeance seeker turns out to be anything but.
Related: Pretty much anything with Bucky's past
Theme Song: None
akihiro bucky 


The latest news had the Winter Soldier far abroad in Australia. But here he is in the depths of a summer night, dressed in a worn canvas jacket, dress shirt, and dark pants. He's not making any real attempt to hide or sneak, just walking confidently along the sidewalk, as if he had every right to be there. Sometimes that's a better disguise than any creeping along the rooftops. His hair's still long, enough so to reach past his shoulders even tied back….and he looks weary and worn, lines graven deep on the face that otherwise still looks so young.

*

"Why hello there." Akihiro speaks up, speeding up slightly so he can match Bucky. The teen had spotted him a ways back, and had apparently been tailing him at least long enough for him to get a positive identification. At least he doesn't appear to be trying to stop him and draw any attention their way. "You're exactly who I think you are, aren't you?"

*

He tenses - Akihiro can see it - even as he tries to keep his body language casual. "Who d'you think I am?" he asks, tone deliberately mild. Of course he's armed…but he hasn't gone for any particular weapon. Reason's overriding reflex, for the moment.

*

"The man that a pregnant woman in Japan almost nineteen years ago now." Akihiro says evenly, he is casual surprisingly enough. His hands are tucked away, but he doesn't appear to have a grip on anything, at the moment at least. "I just want to know. Do you even remember her?" His jaw clenches for a moment as he thinks it all over. "Or do you have no idea what I'm talking about?"

*

For a moment, the long-haired man peers over at him, blankly. Brow furrowed, a faint grimace of puzzlement. And then….pieces fall into place. The Soldier remembers faces, instances. He hasn't killed a lot of mothers to be, let alone in such a setting….and the recognition washes over him like a tide. Horror, and then calm. Bucky stops walking, swallows hard. "Nineteen years," he mouthes, silently. And then, more heavily, "Fuck. I do know. I killed your mother, didn't I?" Then he's peering at Aki narrowly, again. "…..how're you even here?"

*

"My father's the Wolverine. We're tough bastards to put down." Akihiro nods a bit, seeming to have found was he was looking for. "I planned on killing you, originally. But I got myself kidnapped by Weapon X, so I'm sure one day I'll be having this talk with somebody else." His smile is thin as he remembers his own misdeeds.

*

"You know what…..if you're karma's agent, that's fine," There's resignation in his voice, and he squares up on Akihiro, spreading his hands wide. The left one's gloved in black leather - no use in showing off that metal hand. "This day had to happen sooner or later. I think I've met your dad. I've very definitely met your little half-sister. Weapon X - that rings a bell. What happened there?"

*

"I don't kill anymore, unless I don't have a choice." Akihiro assures Bucky, hands withdrawing from his pockets and raising in a peaceful manner. "And generally the same thing that happens when a foreign government gets their hands on a valuable asset. They filled my body with metal and sent me on assassination missions." One of those raised hands comes up to rub at the back of his neck. "Glad I got away when I did."

*

It's been a night of odd gifts. A meeting with Steve. His boss forgiving that unexplained absence. Hope for a friend's rescue, though they may have to storm Hell itself. Or a version of it, anyhow. His laugh isn't mockery, it's more astounded surprise, and his eyes have brightened from that bleak suspicion. Carefully, he draws off the left-hand glove, and extends a hand made of dimly gleaming medal. "Well, kid. Wolverine Junior. Whatever your name is. I'm James Barnes, and I can't say I'm pleased about the circumstances of our first meeting. I'm sorry about your mother." The smile fades, but the hand is still extended. "I can say….that her death happened when I was under Russian mind control. I….it was nothing I would've willed, but….I was the weapon they used. You ever change your mind about it, you've got a free shot at me. And believe you me, I know how *that* feels."

*

"I'm Akihiro." The teen introduces himself, taking the offered hand in a shake. "I'll tell you this much, I've been cut in half before, but that didn't compare anything to them injecting that molten metal into my bones." He nods a bit at the mind control comment, sighing quietly. "Yeah, I know how that is too. A shit situation all the way around."

*

He's shaking his head in amused disbelief. "You sure you're not a Russian plant? Because you sound so perfectly positioned to earn my empathy it's ….almost too much," His grip's got nothing of the pissing contest about it. "Healing factor like Dad, huh? …..and if you no longer want to kill me, what brings you here?"

*

"No, Weapon X actually had me killing Russian assets. How I found out about you in the first place." Akihiro admits, flashing a sort of grin. "And yeah, claws and nose too. To be honest, I was still thinking about beating your ass. I had to know that you didn't pull that trigger knowing what you were doing."

*

Serious again….when he smiles, he looks as if he's only got a few years on Akihiro. But when that grimness appears….so much older. "My hand to God, Akihiro, no. I….when I was the Winter Soldier, they took my memories. They took my name, my identity. And every time I returned from a mission, they'd debrief me, wipe anything I might've picked up that wasn't useful, and put me on ice. I didn't know I had a name that wasn't 'Soldat' until a couple months ago. I wasn't a hireling or a convert or a mercenary. I was their slave."

*

"That sounds pretty horrible. I made the mistake of joining thinking I could get my adamantium and run away. I got away once, but they got me again. It's been.. about a year now." Akihiro shakes his head in minor disbelief. "Wish I could at least remember what happened, but it's probably for the best I don't."

*

"At least you were still you," he says, simply. "I mean, not trying to invite you to a pity party. IT's just weird to have someone who understands some of what I've been through. It was bad….but on the other hand, I had ….mostly I was a good little drone. I had no past, no future. I did what I was told, I didn't get hurt. It's not all done, the Winter Soldier's still in there. But….I'm driving. And I have hopes they can get rid of that programming entirely."

*

"I don't think I have any programing, but I could be wrong. Why I've been streaing clear of the few people I really know around here." Akihiro shrugs slightly, seeming to at least get what tne other man is saying. "If I'm not mistaken they made a friend of mine throw her boyfriend out the window with that shit."

*

"They had me murdering people for twenty years," he says, bleakly. "It's strong stuff, if it's done right. And….I hope you don't. One minute you're walking along minding your own business, the next you find yourself in the middle of a twenty man firefight, having taken down the government of a small South American nation." Life Lessons from the Winter Soldier, boys and girls. "Anyhow - not gonna kill me, not gonna beat me up, what's next, Akihiro?"

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