4/15/2003
12:45
AM
Logfile
from Chase.
Mina
dials Chase's number, worried that she hasn't heard from the Genbu yet. And well, it's his fault that she's so
distracted that she can't study. The
way that he left things... "Please pick up, please pick up," she
chants softly as she hears his phone ring once, twice...
Tomite
will be eventually picking up, and it'll be at least five rings before he does
so. "Yeah?" Chase replies, moderately distracted, the sounds of
walking footsteps sounding rather hollow. "Who's this?"
"Chase-kun?" Sheesh, took him long enough, Mina was about
to hang up and try John's apartment, and then after that, Lexie's. "I.. I hadn't heard back from you." He's still got that terse greeting and she
worries her lower lip. "I.. did
you find Lexie?"
Tomite
seems to hesitate at the sound of the voice at the other end. "Oh. Mina.
Damn, girl. You are as bad as a mother. Are you going to try to impose a curfew
on me next." He sighs though, and there is the sound of a honking horn in
the distance. "No. I haven't. I tried all the usual places, short of
actually asking an oni. I thought... I might try Reese, but I can't get a hold
of her. I don't know."
There's
a shiver that runs up and down Mina's spine as her mind flashes to Rathan's
early morning visit a couple days ago.
"I... now you've got me worried about her, Chase-kun. I'll.. I'll try Rath later and see if he
knows how to get in contact with her."
And perhaps he can ease this sense of foreboding that suddenly
hits. "I'm sure she's all right,
perhaps just tied up." Please let
that be all it is. "Anou, do you
have time to talk or shall I try you later?" As bad as a mother? Oh
no, turtle-boy, she's worse. She's been
known to try to call the oni to see how they're doing.
Tomite
smirks, loudly. Unfortunately, Mina probably can't hear that facial expression,
except maybe in the tone of his voice. "Yeah, try your boy. He wasn't
there when I popped over to their place, but you never know." The
footsteps seem to stall in their echoing. "Talk about what?"
It's a
good thing that Mina indeed can't see over the phone, nor catch a clue of that
facial expression over the phone. She's
always wanted an excuse to see just how far her powers extend, if she can
summon over a distance just by visualizing someone. "Hai," she confirms innocently, instead. Leaning back against the wall and tapping
her bare feet against her mattress, she sighs and pauses, trying to approach
the subject gently, delicately. But
hey, who is she fooling. Giving up, she
asks bluntly, "About what you said before.. about Genbu fighting Genbu...
but if you.. if it's too soon, I understand."
Tomite
is sighing, and that is definitely audible. "Mina... that... it just isn't
something to talk about over the phone. You know? Well, maybe when I tell you,
you'll understand, but until then... I'm sorry." As he speaks, his voice
gradually looses some of its 'oomf' drawing into something of a reluctant hush.
Amefuri
nods her head and then remembers that the Genbu's not telepathic. He can't see her actions. "Hai, Chase-kun. I'll... perhaps we should meet then? Where are you, I'll come join
you." Mina's already rising from
her lounging position and searching for her coat.
Tomite's
sigh is audible once again, "I'm... I don't know where the hell I'm at
right now. Let me check." Yes, the Genbu is actually lost for about the
first moment in time. The sound of more footsteps and then a grunt, "Oh, I
know where. I'm not all that far from the southern end of Central park, but if
you want, I could come over there?"
Amefuri
looks about her spare studio and then nods her head. "Hai, that works for me Chase. It's apartment four at 120 E. Houston Street, do you know the
way? It's the same building that
Anana's living in," she adds, just in case that helps clear things up
more. The good thing about not having
any possessions is that there's very little cleaning that needs to be done for
guests.
Tomite
responds with a grunt, "Yeah, I've been in that area before. I'm sure I
can find it. Number four then? I'll be there in half an hour or so, depending
on traffic. Thanks, Mina. For letting me come over. I'll see you then."
And then he hangs up the phone.... Predictably, a little over half an hour
later, there is a knock on her door, and Chase is standing without. He's
looking a little ragged about the edges, mostly as though he hasn't gotten any
sleep recently.
120 E.
Houston Brownstone-#4
The
mess that was left after Hurricane Toroki has been cleaned up, though Mina
can't do much about the grooves left on both walls and floor - another gift
from the ticked off avatar. There's a
sparseness about the room, now: a pile of borrowed text books leaning
haphazardly in one corner, a few items of thrift store clothing folded neatly
in another. In the middle of the room
is a thermarest and a few worn blankets scattered on top of it. There's a sense of abandonment in the place,
as if the owner can't really bring herself to spend much time here anymore.
Amefuri
is here.
Obvious
exits:
Out
Amefuri
is expecting the knock, thus bounces up quickly from her studying to answer the
door. "Chase-kun," she greets
softly, startling at the ragged look of the Genbu seishi. "Come in," she gestures to invite
him in, nibbling on her lower lip worriedly.
"I'd offer you something to drink, but I.. I'm sadly lacking in
amenities." Gesturing towards her
'bed' she kneels on the floor beside it and once again gives him the once
over. "I... you really aren't
doing well, are you?" She reaches
over a hand to squeeze his gently.
"I... please tell me what's bothering you. Let me help."
Tomite
offers her something of a wan grin, shaking his head from side to side.
"Ahhh, that's alright. I don't need anything. I just had some coffee a few
hours ago. It should hopefully keep me going awhile more. Thanks for the offer
though." He completely bypasses the bed though, and instead collapses to
the floor near her, using the mattress as something to brace his back up
against. "Oh, don't look at me like that. I don't look quite as though I'm
something the cat dragged in, right?" At the squeeze of his hand, he
frowns, looking down at her hand as well. "Oh, Mina. I should have known.
I should have felt it... but I didn't, and Namame figured it out."
Amefuri
gives Chase a rueful look. "I've
seen you looking better, cowboy," she teases, trying to help take some of
those cares off of his shoulders.
They're both too young in many ways to be burdened by the
responsibilities of being a seishi.
"And considering the cat's around these places, you could indeed be
something that Toroki's found outside."
Her small smile's brief though and she blinks at the Genbu. "Figured what out, Chase? What is it that you... missed?"
Chase
smirks at her commentary about his current appearance, but keeps his mouth shut
on that account. Nope, it is more than enough that he'll simply smirk at her to
translate his lack of enthusiasm on that statement. He sighs, and then is
looking back over to her. His grip upon her hand intensifies for a moment, to
make sure she doesn't try to leave. "Mina. John wasn't Inami. John
wasn't... he wasn't our Inami. He was some kind of construct, by the Yin
apparently, to take the place of Inami and make as though he was one of us. John
wasn't real. He was a fake." He watches her steadily, the confusion in his
own eyes.
Chase
smirks at her commentary about his current appearance, but keeps his mouth shut
on that account. Nope, it is more than enough that he'll simply smirk at her to
translate his lack of enthusiasm on that statement. He sighs, and then is
looking back over to her. His grip upon her hand intensifies for a moment, to
make sure she doesn't try to leave. "Mina. John wasn't Inami. John
wasn't... he wasn't our Inami. He was some kind of construct, by the Yin
apparently, to take the place of Inami and make as though he was one of us.
John wasn't real. He was a fake." He watches her steadily, the confusion
in his own eyes.
Mina's
instinct is to jerk her hand back in reaction to Chase's words, but his grip
keeps it firmly in his. "Not...
" She shakes her head and pulls
out her phone before she remembers that the silly man doesn't have one. "It doesn't matter to me if he's not
Inami, Chase-kun," she offers a sad smile. "I'll drop by his place later and make sure he's okay. Because he wasn't my friend just because he
was a Genbu shichiseishi. He's a nice
man, even if his memories aren't his own.
Perhaps.. perhaps 'Suki can do for him what he did for
Rainey." She squeezes the other
teenager's hand again and offers a sympathetic smile. "I am sorry that you're missing a seishi, though. That means that we're not as close to
summoning again as we thought we'd be."
Chase
watches her for a long moment, wincing at her words. The teenager lifts his
other hand up, moving as if to press it to her lips to try to still her
talking. "Wait. Mina. Wait. It isn't like that..." He frowns for a
long moment, and then is ducking his head down, allowing the thick fringe of
his dark hair to overshadow his eyes. "You can't do that, because the man
is... dead." He is frowning even deeper. "And this... insect-thing
used him. It took all of our energy to make it feel like he was one of us.
Mina... he felt just like the others, and I know all of them to my very soul,
inside and out. I feel them. And that thing made him like one of us, and I
trusted in that feel, trusted in him and... damn." He chances a look
through the fringe of his forelock, watching her curiously.
Mina's
words are checked by Chase's fingers against her lips. She widens her eyes and stares at the Genbu
seishi, confused at why he's stopping her concerned flow. Cocking her head to the side, she just waits
that long moment for clarification.
"Dead...?" She repeats
the word, stunned as she jerks back slightly.
Her own free hand goes to cover her mouth now and she blinks furiously,
trying to come to terms with what the other teenager's telling her. "John is... insect thing?" She shakes her head in denial, tears
escaping as she stares uncomprehendingly towards Tomite. "But.. I don't understand." Her other hand clutches convulsively and she
shudders with each breath. "And
this thing killed him? Oh god, I'm
sorry Chase. I'm so sorry for your
loss." She leans over and just
hugs the Genbu, offering him her comfort, her support.
Chase
watches her as she stutters through one statement and then the other, opening
his mouth to say something only to fall silent once again. He continues to look
like a landed fish, time and again until he sees the tears. Oh. And then she is
hugging him, which briefly causes the boy to stiffen, and then finally ease the
tension from his shoulders. His arms draw around her as well, without volition,
to hug her back. "I had just gotten back, and needed a walk. And I could
feel them. So I came... and I saw Namame shove that sword through Inami. I
swear... Mina. I can't sleep for fear seeing that again." He is still
hesitant to say how much that scared him to the core, just seeing that vision
run over and over in his head. "I know it wasn't him, and if it was Inami,
I'd have felt it... It's just. I don't. I suppose I saw for once what it was
like seeing another of your people die. I was the first one last time, and it was just... it was..." He
sighs, unable to put the words together.
Mina
squeezes the other seishi tight, because watching a friend die is hard enough,
watching one die at the hands of another friend must be infinitely worse. "Gomen, Chase-kun, gomen," she
repeats softly, just holding onto him.
"You don't have to be brave you know. You.. I don't think I could handle it as well as you're
doing..." In fact, she'd probably
be a basketcase. "Because even if
John wasn't Inami, he was still a good man, a good friend." And that has her weeping softly. "I.. I'm sorry you had to see something
like that. I can't even begin to
imagine..." Shaking her head and
wiping away her tears, because they change nothing, she takes one shuddering
breath after another. "I.. I
understand why you want to find Lexie, now.
Do you.. do you think she knows about these things.. these chi
ticks?"
4/15/2003
04:40
PM
Logfile
from Chase.
**A
couple of poses were lost here...**
Mina
shivers slightly at the thought that any human could be capable of throwing the
seishi into such turmoil so easily.
"Which three, Chase? Well,
besides Reese." She remembers that
Tomite went up against that oni a few months ago. "I.. I've had run ins with a few of them as well, and... I
don't find them to be bad people, Chase-kun.
They've made bad choices, but.."
She shakes her head softly, not able to look at the Genbu for fear of
what he'd say, what his expression would reveal. "Hai, I doubt that Genbu would be so uncaring as to play
with everyone's emotions thusly."
Blink. "Saa.. Winterkiss...
I remember hearing them on the radio.
Trevor McConnell, isn't it?
He..." She shrugs her shoulders.
"As things stand, its very likely that there's someone mingled in
with the Seiryuu who isn't who he or she pretends to be."
Chase
gives her a wry grin, "Woman by the name of Adrie. I think she was jealous
of my being with Lexie at the time. It... was unpleasant, to say the least. And
there was another, one who dealt with fire. Other than a business getting burnt
to the ground, at least that time I wasn't in the brunt of the attack."
Nope, but when ice melts, it sure does help to douse things. He is shrugging
his shoulders though, "Then I suggest that the Seiryuu keep a close eye
upon their people."
"But
keeping a close eye on each other, spreading doubt and worry among their ranks,
that's just as bad isn't it, Chase?"
Mina grimaces slightly. "No
matter what happens, the Yin have succeeded in creating dissent amongst our
ranks." And heaven knows that the
Byakko don't need much help... Mina's doing a good job of that herself. "Adrie," she repeats the name
softly. "I don't know her, never
heard of her. I... I'm glad that you
got out of that situation intact, though." She peers at the other seishi from underneath her lashes, wondering,
"Just... just how long has this been going on with Lexie, anyway?"
Chase
isn't at all about to say what Adrie did to him. Nope. Rather embarrassing. As
if getting his ass kicked by Reese wasn't bad enough. "She... uh... she is
really good at cursing. That Adrie woman. And I don't mean a few swear
words." He slumps back even further against the side of the bed, drawing a
leg up to rest his forearm upon a knee, echoing, "Spreading doubt and
worry? Yeah, they succeeded in that. Needless to say, I'm going to be paying a
hell of a lot more attention on the little things, and stop trying to ignoring
that buzz I get whenever chi users are around." He frowns slightly,
"Uhm... a couple of days after she kidnapped me, or whatever you want to
call it."
Mina
has a feeling that Chase is holding back, but as curious as she is, she lets it
go. She has her own embarrassing tales
regarding certain oni. Oh wait, but he
knows those. "Cursing? As in hexes and such, Chase-kun?" She settles down beside him, leaning up
against her bed as well and spreading out her legs. She may be half-Japanese, but she doesn't practice that kneeling
position enough, and her legs were beginning to go numb. Grimacing as the feeling rushes back into
her limbs, she blinks over at the Genbu.
"You can.. you can sense chi?" Mina's always wanted to be able to do that. Walking around the world blind is hazardous
at times. Grinning over at him, she
wonders, "Does everyone's chi feel the same, or can you.. can you tell the
difference between the seishi?"
She looks towards her socked feet, wiggling her toes slightly as she
notes softly, "I.. I talked to Kai-san the other night. He.. he knows about you and Lexie."
Chase
clears his throat again, "Yeah, hexes and such. I told Anana about this
stuff. She... uhm... seems to be capable of doing something to a person's
biology? I suppose. Make you sick or something like that." He glances
away, not at all inclined to mention exactly what the woman did to him. His
smile goes faint, "Yeah, which is why... I can't understand why I didn't
figure out about John, and how that thing managed to get past me so easily.
Their gods would /definitely/ had a hand in that. Yeah, the Genbu... have a
different feel, a more familiar one. Then the others. You're different too. If
I'm around you enough, I can tell the different in the individual people. Oni
chi gives me the creeps. Back in the bookworld, it wasn't that big of a deal,
but around here... I swear, I'm always feeling buzzed." Too many magic users.
He blinks for a moment, glancing over to her, "How'd he find out? I think
Namame knew too."
"Travis
told him," Mina notes softly.
"I'm... I'm not sure when he found out, but..." She trails off, a flush rising in her
cheeks. "He's hurt,
Chase-kun. I... I think he loves Lexie
more than he lets on, more than he's willing to admit." She turns to look worriedly over at the
Genbu as she asks softly, "Anou, have they... has anyone talked to you
about..." She stammers slightly,
not sure how to put the Byakkos' reactions into words. "Well, have the other Genbu talked to
you about your relationship?"
Chase
blinks slowly, looking back over at Mina for a moment. "Lexie told me that
she and Kai were involved at one point. That she knew nothing could come of it.
But... that I helped her. That I was actually good for..." He is frowning
abruptly, glancing away. "No, nobody has said anything to me. Either they
are avoiding me or... they don't care, or it is just Travis that knows
something." He shrugs his shoulders, sighing as well. "I don't know
how he could have found out. But if he does know, and if they ask further, I'm
not going to lie about it. I'll omit mentioning it, but I won't lie."
"I..."
Mina's words get stuck in her throat and she turns away to stare at the
wall. "I'm sorry, Chase-kun. I.. I'd hoped that Lexie and Kai would end
up together again. I still do,"
she adds with a selfish shake of her head.
"Because I.. I know how much she means to him." And that's why she could no longer go on
seeing him any longer. Blinking over at
Chase again, she notes softly, "I never suggested that you should
lie. I.. I just hope that things don't
go too badly for you." Drawing up
her knees to her chest, she wraps her arms about her legs as she studies the
Genbu. "If you need a friend after
you talk to them all, you... you have my number."
Chase
shoots Mina a frown, and a heavy one at that. "Its like the entire world
wants to make sure I end up on my own," he mutters, a touch of anger in
his voice. "If it isn't one thing, its the other. Look, Mina. I /know/ why
they didn't get together. She told me. And I'm not dumb. But... whatever."
He is getting awfully tired of having to explain things, buck opinion, and then
ending up being the loser after all is said and done. "Just once..."
The rest drops into mutters, and he is shaking his head from side to side.
"Forget it. Just, forget it." He grumbles something else, and then
looks as though he is moving to stand.
A hand
reaches out to grab at Chase's wrist, to stop his upward movement. "Gomen Chase-kun," she sighs
softly. "I'd... I'd... you'd said
that you didn't love her, that she was just a friend." She dips her chin in the small indentation
created by her drawn-in legs.
"I... I didn't mean to say anything to hurt you. I'm.. I'm always terrible with
words." Closing her eyes, she
heaves another sigh. "I can't
judge, can't throw stones when I have my own glass house to protect. I.. please just forget what I'd said. I don't know what I mean, or if there's even
a chance for them anymore. It sounded..
it sounded like he's given up on her.
So if she finds happiness instead with you, who am I to say
anything?"
Chase
hesitates as his wrist is grabbed, and he turns his head to frown at Mina even
more. "A close friend, who needs someone around so that she doesn't have
to play the bitch. Someone who actually understands her, and isn't going to
make demands. She is fun. She is an adrenaline rush that just can't be beat.
I'm addicted to the woman, and I know it. And for once, for /once/ I can
finally have a chance to be with someone and enjoy it. It's enough having to
sit back and watch as everyone else has their... relationship, and I've got to
keep my mouth shut. But then you go and say that really she should be with
someone else. The hell with that." He wrestles his wrist loose, finally
standing.
Looking
upwards contritely, Mina watches the Genbu worriedly. "Gomen Chase-kun, you deserve a chance at happiness,
too. I know that. Remember how you said you're worried about
me? Well I'm worried about you too,
because I know how much she cares about Kai-san." A light pink colors her cheeks again as she
looks away, hating to be hypocritical.
"But I know that you can love more than one person. Hell, I find myself in love with two men and
no matter what I try to do, I can't help but love both of them." She adds softly, "I know about being
addicted to someone, about being willing to disappoint your friends just to be
with that one person. You're right,
please be happy with your choice then."
Chase
glares down at her, his dark brows coming together with his frown. "And
once upon a time, I was completely and utterly in love with my miko, but
nothing came of that either. And nothing will ever come of it because Brice has
already staked his claim, and I will never, ever do anything to try to question
that. But... you know what, whatever. Then Lex and I can be miserable together
and love others from afar and be worried over. Pathetic, right? Just...
whatever."
"Damnit,
don't be so stubborn, you big gollump," Mina frowns, rising herself. "I don't want you to be miserable. Hell, I'm probably the only person on the
seishi side who doesn't mind that your boinking the Yin no miko. And don't try pulling that unrequited love
crap with me, I know all about it. Yes,
I feel sorry for you. I feel sorry for
Lexie. And for Kai. I wish there was a way for all three of you
to find true happiness, to be with those that you love and not have to worry
about the future, about rivals for someone's heart, about whether things are
going to end any minute..." She
balls her hands into fists as she tears up again, this time in
frustration. "You think that
you're the only who has it bad, Chase?
That you're the only one who's finding that love hurts?" She sighs, letting her hurt go as she shakes
her head sadly. "Gomen Chase-kun,
you didn't deserve that. I... I'm
projecting and it's not fair." She
pauses and bites her lower lip as she reaches out for the other teenager. "I meant what I said, about hoping that
you and Lexie can be happy together.
Don't.. don't let anyone talk you out of staying with her if that's what
you truly want. You deserve to be happy
too."
"
Chase
shakes his head slowly from side to side, "I don't need anyone feeling
sorry for me, Mina. And I don't want it." He frowns across to her once
more, smirking, "I shouldn't have even said anything. You know... when you
said to me the other day, mentioning that love thing with my miko, and how
Brice told you. You know what I did that night? I went over to aniki's place
and yelled at him, about everything and anything. For telling you that stuff.
For things." His voice drops and he mutters, "Whatever happens with
Lex, happens. We're having fun now. She seems to need me, and it is all
good." If only he could get in touch with her again. "Having someone
in love with me probably isn't in the cards dealt to me. And I'll... be
comfortable with that. So, I'll just have fun with what I've got, and leave it
at that." At her tears, he sighs, moving over to try to brush his fingers
over her cheeks and dash them away. "I know you are in a bad spot too,
okay? Lets just leave this alone now, alright?"
"Hai,"
Mina agrees sadly, looking up at the Genbu from beneath her dark lashes. "We won't discuss things anymore,
but..." She reaches out and places one of her hands over his as his
fingers brush away her tears.
"Don't sell yourself so short, Chase-kun. You deserve to be loved for who you are. For your kindness, for your genki spirit,
for your ability to be a good friend.. not to mention killer snowball fight
tactics," she adds with a wink.
"You're fun to be with, don't ever think that just because you
haven't found love yet, you never could."
Nodding her head, she offers him a wry grin. "I'm in the same boat with Rathan, but unlike you, I was
foolish enough to fall in love. At
least.. at least you're wise enough to protect yourself from that."
Chase
shakes his head from side to side, "It doesn't matter. Live fast and die
young. Happened last time, more than likely will happen again. That doesn't
bother me at all. Lex fits well in that. We're... comfortable." He draws
back a step, rolling his eyes. "I think this is more than enough emotional
bleeding for me today. I've got to look over John's again, see if Lex can
actually be found this time. Are /you/ going to be okay now?"
"Live
fast and die young," Mina repeats slowly before growling at Chase. "Don't you dare die young this time,
Chase-kun. Or I'll follow you from one life
to another, making sure you're truly miserable." She flashes the Genbu a wicked grin, but there's a seriousness in
her gaze that lets him know that no matter how light she seems about it, if she
can, she'll make his next lives hell. ;>
Blinking again, she nods her head, "Hai.. I'm.. I'm fine, now. I... Please let me know if you find Lexie,
and I'll... I'll do a little asking around as well." She pauses again and then looks up, adding
hesitantly, "T-take care of yourself, okay?"
Chase
chuckles faintly, a true grin finally lighting up his features for the first
time in a few days. "No, that's Hikitsu's job, and you'll have to fight
him for that honor." And he rolls his eyes at her last words, but doesn't
comment. He instead takes a long step forward, helps himself to a quick smooch
on her cheek, and then is already moving out the door.