9/7/2003

04:34 PM

Logfile from Chase.

 

 

Central Park (Eastern End)

This is an incredibly huge park, very well maintained despite crowds that move through here at any hour, though it tends to be more deserted at night. Cobblestone paths run through the grassy areas, benches scattered everywhere. The park itself is divided into many sections, featuring even a restuarant at the center, a zoo, several statuary monuments, a fountain, and a floral garden.

To the south, the path slopes downward, passing beneath a bridge over which cars drive, and emerging into a wider opening, where the Zoo is locathed. Glancing further, you can see a red brick building with an intriguing clock on top. Once an hour, on te hour, the bronze statues of animals dance around the clock while an animated little tune chimes their rounds.

Sayuri is here.

Obvious exits:

Central Park (NO)   67th St. (EA)   Central Park (WE)   Zoo

 

Urumiya comes into the area from elsewhere.

 

Trusting in that is actually is a pleasant afternoon in the city, and therefore the park, this college student is electing to enjoy the outdoors in what counts for 'city' outdoors instead of perching on the fire escape back at the apartment. Of course, there are far more distractions out here, which leaves the boy to people watching instead of textbook reading. With his back against a tree, and backpack just off to the side, he watches the progress of a group of joggers with about as much enthusiasm as he shows in class -absolutely none.

 

Awww... and Sayuri's one of those joggers, though she's not in the group that Chase is watching.  In truth, she's going the other way, coming up behind the seishi in her own contrary fashion.  She doesn't give a fig about the cross looks that she's getting from the other joggers, though she does slow to a walk as she gets closer to the seishi.  Mwuahaha.  Glomping onto the boy, she covers his eyes and grins, "Guess who?"  All of this would probably be welcome if Sayu wasn't slightly sweaty or her hands weren't clammy.

 

Mitama comes into the area from elsewhere.

 

Jogging?  Ew.  That's too much work, especially with out cooled, conditioned air and ergonomically designed tracks. Darren isn't exactly lazy, or out of shape, but he is fairly finicky about the conditions of exercise.  Out and about on his own yet again, he drifts through the park while thumbing through some obsucre magazine about bladed weaponry.  Swords are cool.  It'd be easy to lose track and start bumping into people, but he's a nimble seishi, and not as oblivious as he appears.

 

Chase is being snuck up on again by Sayu. It sure is a good thing that he humors the girls in this most of the time. Dramatic surprised gasp and all, he exclaims, "Jessica? Is that you? Are you ready for our super-secret romantic tryst yet?" Seeing as his eyes are currently covered, Sayu really can't appreciate the eye-roll. Ah well. Too bad for her.

 

Too bad Sayuri doesn't have much of a sense of humor about things like that.  Removing her hands she baps the seishi on the back of the head and hrumphs crossly before she begins her stretches in order to attempt to cool down her overworked muscles.  "Guess again."  At least he didn't call her Mina, then he'd definitely be hurting.  "Pretending to study, I see," she adds with a smirk towards the textbooks only to blink.  And then blink again.  And then growl.  She sees him, her nemesis.  Nor has she forgotten what happened last time she tried to mug him.  "Just a second, there's something I need to do."  And with that, she rises and jogs towards Darren in another clump of fellow exercisers.  And when she gets close enough, she reaches for his belt loops and tuuuugs.  One good pantsing deserves another, ne?

 

Yes, swords are cool and while Malachai never leaves home without one, he at least has ways of concealing them, especially when out strolling in the park in front of his home. It's not as if he doesn't stand out anyway in his eclectic garb, but a sword might be even a bit much for New York City. He does have a certain pallor though, like someone who doesn't get outside all that much, but it does look like he enjoys it all the same as he walks slowly in a relaxed fashion through the paths. Coming up on some other park goers, he's a bit startled to see a somewhat familiar face suddenly jog by to go pants a guy with a magazine. "Picking up a new hobby, Kyoujin-san?"

 

All part of Darren's brilliant master plan to frustrate and annoy the strange girl who's apparently fascinated with injuring him!  The jeans get yanked down, almost too easily.  Maybe because they were a size larger than they should've been.  Maybe because Darren prepared, just in case, and is wearing a comfortable pair of athletic shorts underneath.  Or maybe, just maybe, because he went to the trouble of taping a message to his rump.  A single piece of paper, which reads: 'You could just ask, sweetling.'  Whatever his devious plan, he simply stops walking, closes his magazine, and glances behind him with a curious expression.  "You really /do/ need a life, don't you?"  Says the man with a note on his butt.

 

Chase has some essence of self-preservation about him. Some might argue that fact, but it is still there. So definitely no teasing with the use of Mina's name. Head bapping happens quite often, so that doesn't quite make him smirk too much. But a hand does lift to rub at his head. "Well, at least here I can pretend and still be outside." But he is happily distracted, and the book is settled away. Pushing to his feet, he looks after where Sayu goes, only to pants Darren. Darren. This definitely calls for a snicker. "Ick, I smell oni around here." But despite that, he trots right on up to Sayu, and Darren as well, to try to grab the girl by the scruff of her neck and haul her back. Of course, his words are for Darren, "Don't mind her, she's just gets a little feisty now and again. Uh..." That note gets the cursory glance, then an odd peer to Darren once again.

 

"Just a little grudge, DeCourtenay-san," Sayuri tosses cheerfully over her shoulder towards the eclectic artist as she feels the satisfying slip of clothing falling down.  "I've got things under con-"  Unfortunately for her, she turns back towards the redheaded seishi in time to see the athletic pants and the note.  And then she's growling low in her throat and reaching for the paper in hopes of shredding it.  How does he always seem to be able to predict her moves?  It's annoying as hell.  And poor Chase uses that moment to scruff her and pull her back.  "Let go, Tomi-chan," she growls in warning.  "Colins-san needs to be taught a lesson in manners."  She's going to kick his ass.  Literally.

 

And Malachai is in a fine position to be able to read the note as well, that is until Tomite charges in to haul the girl away. "Just ask?" The oni can't help but snicker quietly, tongue in cheek as he contemplates what Darren might do if someone else besides Sayuri had done the asking. One of these days, his mind might crawl out of the gutter, but then it might get lonely and it'll only go back down anyway. "Under control hmm?" he comments as he eyes Chase trying to subdue her. "Now, now. Is that anyway to treat a... lady?" Even _he_ had to pause for a second there, given the girl's growling and threats.

 

Darren tucks the magazine under his arm and goes through the inevitable process of pulling his pants up again, tightening his belt just a bit to make sure they stay put.  "Hey, Chase!" Darren smiles brightly at his fellow Genbu, then taking another look at how 'Tomi-chan' is doing his best to keep the weird girl from attacking.  "She's a friend of yours, Tomi-chan?"  Okay, it was almost rude to Sayuri the way that sounded.  And she seems to know the other guy also.  "Jeez, how many people do you stalk, sweetling?  I thought we had something special."  Yes, one of these days, she will exact her vengance and verily smite Darren with righteous fury.  Until that day, he's got no reason to stop enjoying this little game.

 

Chase curls his arms around Sayu's waist to try to drag her back a little further. He'd wave in greeting to Darren, except his hands are rather full right now pulling the girlfriend away from him. "Nope, not letting go. After all, you started it." Well, that usually is the way of things. Sayuri starting it. "Yeah, I know her, I... Wait, what did you call her? Sweetling?" And then the boy abruptly lets go, starting at Darren for one long and confused moment before fairly barking at Sayuri, "What in the hell have /you/ been up to, /sweetling/?"

 

Aurgh, does Malachai even have to add to her frustration?  Sayuri shoots the artist a wounded look, her gaze darkening.  Funny how even his help seems not to be help at all.  As the redhead greets Chase, she stops struggling in order to gape at him and then turn a wide-eyed gaze back towards her boyfriend.  "You.. he... aurgh!  Aurgh!"  It figures, it figures that her nemesis would somehow be connected to her love interest.  Oh no, he couldn't be some unrelated stranger that she could continually harass, nooooo.  That'd be too easy.  "Don't get all righteous on me, Tomi-chan," she retorts cattily.  "After all, you're the one who got drunk, played around with body paints and slept with some other girl."  She steps away and adds with a hair flip, "Anyway, Colins-san is a pretty boy.  I don't like pretty boys."

 

Of course Malachai has to add to her frustration. He's an oni, comes with the job territory. His glance back to her is bemused, though followed with a slight shake of his head. "Hmm, you seem to be a very busy girl, Kyoujin-san. Pardon me for interrupting. Though how anyone could have missed this little commotion of yours is beyond me." Still, he makes no move to leave, vaguely wishing he had a bucket of popcorn or something to enjoy the show. Gaze shifts to the two guys, giving Darren a vague nod for being so well prepared, but 'Tomi-chan' is given a raised brow. "Drunk with body paints and the wrong girl? My, you do enjoy living dangerously."

 

Darren's predicted smugness is somewhat muted by the realization that his stalker and his friend seem to actually be a couple.  He does give a subtle nod of his own towards the lingering audience (Malachai, not the gawking passers-by), but tilts his head and flicks his hair away from his face.  "She keeps saying that, though she does seem to go out of her way to find me."  Is he helping?  Probably not.  But he does lift a hand and waggle in honest denial.  "We only met a few days ago.  She tried to mug me, I threw a hot dog at her.  You know how it is."  A little simplistic, true, but honest.  The 'sweetling' came out when he realized how angry it made the girl, because even if she's taken, she's darn cute when she's raging like that.

 

Chase can do nothing more than stare at Sayuri. Stare. Watch and marvel as his eyes grow quite huge. "You did /not/ just say what I thought you said." The teenager facepalms, rolls his eyes, and then stalks away to returns to his cast-aside textbooks. He begins dumping them right back into his backpack, then shouldering that with a huff and a snort. He also takes a moment to roll his eyes at Malachai, being rather particular to do so to make sure that the other notices this, "This coming from an oni? Come on." And then comes the wince as he hears the rest of the story from Darren, gaze slowly moving to rest upon Sayuri once more, deadpan, "You tried to mug him?"

 

"A girl's got to have her hobbies, ne DeCourtenay-san."  And Sayuri's is mugging strange people in parks.  Or streets.  Or alleyways.  Basically terrorizing innocents.  Or it was until she found her antithesis.  Now it's trying (and usually failing) to beat Darren in any way possible.  "Especially pretty boys with red hair and overly smug attitudes," she adds with a low growl in her throat.  Someday, someday she'll make him rue the day that he didn't just hand over his wallet like a good boy.  As Chase stalks away, her gaze tracks after him and she shoots Darren a cross look.  "Thanks," she lays the blame solely at the other seishi's feet.  It's all his fault.  "Wait, Tomi-chan," she follows after him, shoulders slumping slightly.  "Gomen ne," she apologizes.  Seems she's still not okay with his story, though.  It rankles.  As does the fact that he used to love the other girl.  He says it's over and done with, but he won't cut ties with her.  And that hurts.  At his question, she blinks and then shrugs nonchalantly.  "Perhaps."  She doesn't like admitting failure, and whalloping Darren pretty much falls into that category.

 

Hey! What's this about smug pretty boy redheads.. Oh, she means Darren. Right. Malachai laughs quietly for a moment though he keeps an eye on Chase there. Being called an oni right out marks him as a seishi, not that Malachai needed to be told, but it did confirm his senses. "It's in my job requirements, living dangerously. I had thought though, it was your type who liked to go on living in lalaland thinking that everything's bright and shining with the world, hmm?" Well, they'll get shaken up soon enough, now that certain events have been set in motion. Any day now, any day now.

 

As Malachai eyes Chase, so does Darren eye Malachai.  Not that he's overly concerned.  Most of the oni don't seem inclined to pick big fights in the middle of parks on pleasant days.  Rather than out himself as a seishi (or confirm it for those with suspicions), he merely listens to the taunt.  And allows most of his attention to follow his self-appointed nemesis.  "My pleasure.  It's always nice to see you again," he calls as she puppy-scampers after her boyfriend.  In a lower voice he muses, "Maybe it's me who's living dangerously.  She's going to get even somehow. Ah well..."

The time is: Sun Sep  7 16:17:06 2003 CEST.

 

"Darren isn't a drug dealer," Chase replies to Sayuri. After all, isn't that what they tried to do before, mug drug dealers -only that didn't go all that well either. Maybe he is leaving her an out in noting this, possibly purposeful 'cause he really doesn't wanna dwell on the possibility of his girlfriend mugging random people. And then he peers back at Malachai, eyes distinctly narrowing. Ick. Oni. Ick. Ick. Ick. They give his senses all kinds of heebie-geebies. "Do me a favor. Just stand right there so I can shoot you. Then I'll be that much closer to that bright and shining world." Yep, he'll start rifling through his backpack now to look for it. Heck, Chase will make up for that, Darren. He is really good at picking fights with oni.

 

Sayuri doesn't want to know about Chase's Genbu related hobbies, thus she makes a general effort to ignore all sorts of seishi and oni comments.  Sheesh, is everyone in this city involved in this useless conflict?  Sticking her tongue out at Darren, she hrumphs and turns away haughtily, "At least it's good for one of us."  Oh yes indeed, Sayu has vengeful plans for the redhead.  "Drug dealer, some sausage-toting pretty boy, does it really matter, Tomi-chan," she waves off the difference negligently.  But then she remembers too late that for him, yes there is a difference.  "I wasn't going to hurt him.  Much."  And then she watches him scrounge around in his backpack, one brow raising in disbelief.  "You try to make me feel guilty and then you make to shoot some poor artist."  Okay, Malachai's not poor.  "Err, random artist in the park?"  Sheesh, and they say that *she's* violent.

 

Nutters, that's what Chase is. At first Malachai just stares at the boy rifling the bag, then the words and Sayuri's sink in. "You're going to shoot me? Out here? In broad daylight? With witnesses?" Green eyes narrow darkly as he slips a hand into the folds of his clothing, fingering the slips of ofuda papers hidden in the pockets. "You're crazy." His tone is mild though, as if not particularly bothered yet. There is a flicker though, at his throat, mostly hidden by the high collar, a glow from a black bordered red sigil. Unseen beneath the clothing, those tattoo designs of his start to move protectively over vital areas. Looking back over at the other two, he just has to ask. "Does he always do this sort of thing?"

 

"More often than I care to remember, actually," Darren answers easily enough.  True, he isn't necessarily worried about the oni population in the city, but he /is/ concerned about one of his companions winding up in jail for 5 to 20 years.  "Not a good idea, Chase.  Acting impulsively only leads to trouble."  Sayuri can vouch for that, no? "You guys want to kill each other, fine, but not out here, hmm?"  It's the modern era.  One must schedule suitable appointments for Mortal Combat.

 

Chase arches a brow at Sayuri with her explanation, as lacking as it is. "Uh-huh." Hear that? That would be the sound of contempt and disbelief, and possibly a little disappointment right now. But, on to other things, namely the prospect of filling an oni full of lead. "Artist? Really? Hah, this must be the one that Anana bonked me over the head with a pan over." Poor head. It is a wonder his brains aren't even more rattled than they already are. "Chickenshit. Already playing with his powers." He is getting that hinky feeling again. And /where/ is that lousy handgun? If Brice swiped it again, there is going to be hell to pay. He waves a negligent hand at Darren, as if dismissing the objections. "I'm not acting impulsively, just... uhm.... getting rid of a nuisance. Yeah."

 

Who's Darren calling impulsive?  Sayuri does indeed hear the contempt and disbelief in the seishi's voice and that has her stomping away from him, scowling darkly.  "Whatever," she mutters under her breath, not even making an attempt to stop the seishi from his obviously suicidal mission.  It's a bad day, looking like it's fixing to get worse.  So she might as well have an active role in that.  Stalking up to Malachai, she wraps her arms around his neck and stands up on tiptoes, pressing her lips to his in an anything but chaste kiss.  She doesn't close her eyes though, casting a sidelong glance towards the Genbu, watching him all the while she clings to the oni.  All right, perhaps she's just a tad bit impulsive.

 

Of course Malachai's playing with his powers, someone said they were going to shoot him. Chase is just lucky that he's in a good mood and hasn't already pulled those papers to summon his own brand of whoopass. "The fact that your own side tries to beat you over the head isn't some sort of clue for..mrph." Whatever else he might have said is suddenly preempted by an all together different sort of attack. My, my. Though surprised, Malachai can't miss the fact that her gaze is still directed in Chase's direction. Ah, the game is afoot. His lips pull in a slight smirk even as he palms a few papers before wrapping his arms around Sayuri. But if she wants less then chaste, then that's the sort of kiss she's going to get alright. 

 

There's a teensy bit of revenge. Darren's brain just snapped in three separate places.  Urk.  Crap, this is going to get messy, isn't it.  "Aiyah.." he groans quietly as he smoothly backpedals out of the line of fire.  "Maybe I should just leave you to handle this, Chase?"  Yes. It's not the bravest plan.  But only an idiot would get between a seishi, his girlfriend, and his enemy.  Darren's had his fun for the day as it is.

 

Chase finally finds what he is looking for in the bag, fingers closing about the handle of his handgun, and beginning to pull it from the bag. Well, that is until he lifts his gaze to see Sayuri smooching on the oni. The oni. He probably could have laughed it off would she would have done that to 'miya, probably admit that he deserved it too. But the oni is a whole 'nother story. Not giving a damn who sees, the teenager pulls the gun from the bag with brisk efficiency and aims it straight at the pair, aiming the muzzle unerringly Malachai. "Get away from him, Sayuri," he suggests, voice darkening. Don't dismiss the possibility that he will shoot right through her to get to him, he knows full well what her powers are. And he is not feeling too forgiving at the moment.

 

Sayuri wasn't really expecting Malachai to kiss her back and thus she stiffens slightly in his arms, but doesn't pull away suddenly.  Instead, she lets the kiss end naturally before leaning back and licking her lips, still looking towards Chase.  "Domo arigato, DeCourtenay-san."  As the Genbu pulls out a gun and points it towards them, her eyes narrow as she slowly releases the oni but doesn't step away from him.  She has no real love for the artist, but at the same time she's testing Chase to see if he does indeed have it in him to shoot through her to get to the man.  "Iie," is her soft reply.  "Do you have it in you to shoot me, Tomi-chan?"  Tilting her head, she adds, "You're an expert marksman.  You know that I can heal all too well.  But if you shoot me, knowing that you have the choice not to..."  She trails off, the challenge evident in her gaze.  Flickering a glance towards her nemesis, she quirks a brow.  "Running away so soon, Colins-san?"

 

Malachai lets his arms drop away after the kiss, "We're _quite_ welcome, Kyoujin-san. Anytime you wish to try again, just let me know." Oh that smile, suggestive and well yes, smug. He stays cautiously where he is though, behind Sayuri with a guarded look at Chase to gauge every slight movement. "So what shall it be? Are you so bent on shooting a stranger that you'd shoot your own girlfriend to do so? My, my, you seishi are not as honorable as you claim then." Yeah, Malachai's egging him on just a bit, maybe taking a chance on the chances of survival if he's actually shot.

 

Tokaki comes into the area from elsewhere.

 

Darren dips a gracious little bow towards Sayuri.  "Discretion being the better part of valor, I've little reason whatsoever to let myself get dragged into a personal dispute."  Now that he knows Sayuri and Tomi-chan are a couple, he might even tone down the taunting of the vengeful girl.  Maybe. "And if he doesn't put the gun down, it will make a mess that I simply don't feel inclined to clean up today.  I'm not dressed for it."  There's also the matter of the police asking questions, not to mention explaining it to Genbu no Miko.

 

Chase is quite at a crossroads here, isn't he? To shoot or not to shoot. It would be a whole hell of a lot better if Sayuri wasn't standing in the way of his shot. "Move, Sayuri," he insists, even if the tone is still quite cold. "Fuck, stranger... onisenshi." That's enough reason for him. There was also that thing with Mina he still holds a grudge over, namely being unable to help. And then his girlfriend just smooched on said oni. That's really, really, really bad.

 

Oh, Sayuri's probably not going to take Malachai up on his offer any time soon, but she doesn't let the artist know that.  Nor does she let her boyfriend in on the subtleties that swirl around in her mind.  Shrugging her shoulders at Darren instead, she can't refute that it's a personal scuffle.  Really, what Chase sees in her is a mystery at times.  And though he may go easy on her, she's got enough vitriol saved up that she's not inclined to take it easy on him in the least.  "Are you really his friend," she queries disbelievingly.  Though in truth, the same question could be asked of her.  Still, she stands firm, shaking her head.  "Shoot me and I'll never forgive you, Tomi-chan."  Hasn't she learned that her ultimatums never work.  Well... hrm... fifth time's the charm?

 

Oh yes, Malachai once shoved Mina into a painting and other such things. She brought it on herself, honestly! Who waltzes into enemy territory and tries to shove her weight around when all she can do is unlease seafood on people? Sheesh. The artist isn't about to rely on the girlfriend's ultimatums and starts to gather himself, a hand with ofuda slowly being held up. "Desist now, boy. I guarantee that if you don't, you'll start a chain of events that you'll truly regret."

 

Darren sighs quietly.  Uruki would have a cunning idea how to diffuse the situation.  Darren's cunning ideas take more time than he's got to spend.  Therefore, it's time for the obvious and unpleasant solution.  "I can't believe I'm doing this," he mutters.  His own pretty sigil flares to life upon his throat, and with a small green blur, is suddenly on the other side of Chase and grumbling quietly to himself.  The part that's hard to see is the part when he jabbed his fingers at one of those crucial nerve clusters on the side of Chase's neck.

 

"Oh, we're long past any forgiveness right now," Chase murmurs with a note of finality. He really should have just learned by now that getting involved with any girl romantically is pretty much well doomed to disaster. His aim shifts though, just a little bit to pick out an open section of the oni with unerring accuracy. Finger rests against the trigger, but doesn't press. Well, that is until he feels the pressure on the back of the neck. Dammit. Not again. Why is it that the Genbu consistently insist upon his unconsciousness. Just as his eyes roll back in his head, the gun fires, and down the boy slumps to the ground in an unconscious heap.

 

All right, so perhaps Sayuri started this all (inadvertently!) but hearing Malachai threaten her boyfriend causes her to scowl upwards at him.  She doesn't threaten quite yet, he knows one of her tricks now, but he's go no idea about the other.  She'd rather leave it that way, for all that she vaults her neutrality, can one truly be neutral with a loved one involved.  Chase's words cut her to the quick and her jaw tightens in stubbornness, but before she can retort, Darren's done that freaky whatever it is that he does and then there's a shot fired.  Heedless of the danger, she races towards the falling seishi, eyes wide with dismay.  "Tomi-chan!"  And then she scowls up at the other seishi, the green glow and kanji upon his throat finally sinking in.  "What sort of friend are you," she accuses.  It hasn't escaped her that somehow she'd escaped harm.  Nor the fact that he fired the gun in the first place.  Confusion wells up, but she thrusts it aside.  There's plenty of time for that later.

 

Though poised with ofuda in hand, Malachai is startled by the sudden appearance of Darren back at Tomite's side. He was only momentarily relieved to see the other Genbu slump unconscious, but that relief is broken but the loud bang of the gun going off anyway. There is no time to brace for impact or to try and dodge. Being taller than Sayuri, the only places Chase could have been aiming at had to be high. In this, Malachai was lucky not to have gotten shot in the head. Darren's interference and the lateness of the shot sends it low into his shoulder instead. Those protective wards he wears only covers the vital organs, thus between the two it is unlucky then that it does hit him at all. Malachai is blown back off his feet with a muffled curse, dazed by the sudden pain but... still alive.

 

 

 

9/7/2003

09:56 PM

Logfile from Chase.

 

The Berkley Apartments - 302

Sparse living at its finest, or worse. The wood flooring actually as something of a luster to it through the careful maintenance of leaser's past. Walls are a rather neutral beige with something of a wood border about a third of the way up to add some character, as sparse as it is though. There is a threadbare couch, simple table and chairs, a tiny kitchen and an even tinier bathroom. A pair of doors seem to oppose one another down the small hall to the bathroom, each one leading to a different bedroom. But it is the additions that seem to give this places its character: like the expensive stereo system just over there flanked by a couple of towers of CDs or the dreamcatcher by the window that overlooks the fire escape and the street below.

Obvious exits:

Exit

 

Ugh. It is all too often when Chase is waking up and wondering what the hell just happened to him. Such a thing tends to occur all too often, much to his dismay. But whether that is a good or bad thing has yet to be determined. He rises, makes a quick check to be sure he is fully clothed (because that is definitely something to question from time to time because that has been a factor before) and takes a moment to assess for any injuries. Finding nothing right off the bat, next comes the mental rewind, and then the growl. In a beat he is lurching right back up and going for the door.

 

Timing is everything.  And Mina seems to have it in abundance.  She raises her hand and knocks cheerfully on the door, her genki smile spreading across her features.  Why, because it's a lovely autumn evening and she's about to call on one of her favorite people.  "Chaaaase-kun," she calls teasingly from the hallway.  "Are you home?  Are you decent?"

 

Chase wrenches open the door with one quite nasty expression on his face. The door nearly bangs against the wall with the force of him opening it. And continue the boy does, nearly blundering right on into Mina with the momentum. "Dammit!" he curses, startling back a step. Nope, he isn't decent at all. Grumpy seishi.

 

Mina's eyes widen as the door flies open and she's met with a very grouchy Chase.  One that almost runs her down.  "Chase-kun," her eyes widen in startlement, it's been a while since she's seen him so upset.  In fact, the last time was when she'd told him about Lexie, thus her reaction's the same.  Try to tackle him to the ground and sit on him, because he's got that murderous gleam in his eyes.  "What happened, what's wrong."  Whatever it is, it can't be a good thing.  Not at all.

 

*Whump* And thus the tackling happens once again. Why is it always the same? Rendered unconscious. Tackled. And all by women... well, we just won't mention Darren then. Chase lets loose on a string of curses, full ready to fairly throw Mina off of him and he is already reaching to try to do so. "Get off!" he bellows, nearly screaming it he is so furious and practically beyond reasoning with.

 

Ah, but if Mina were that easy to get rid of, she'd be a fairly lousy seishi.  "Iie, I'm not letting you go Chase-kun," she shakes her head, clinging all the more firmly as he reaches around to try to throw her off.  Tightening her hold with one hand, she uses the other to grab at his wrist in an attempt to pin it to the floor.  "Either you tell me what's going on or we stay here like this all night," she counters softly, her blue-green eyes peer down at the seishi beneath her.  "And I don't think you want your neighbors or Kenny to find us like this.  Please Chase-kun, tell me what's wrong."

 

Chase is starting to get quite annoyed with being thwarted at every turn. Frustrated? You bet. His wrist snakes away from her with a twist, and he is pushing at her once more. "Get off of me, Mina, right now or I swear to the gods.... Please just... Get The Hell Off Of Me!!" Ooooh, angry much?

 

Mina lets herself be pushed off the Genbu, his words shocking her as she stares at him in surprise before being toppled off.  Scrambling up to her feet, she looks over towards Chase dully, her hurt reflected in her otherwise genki features.  "Gomen ne, Chase-kun," she apologizes softly, head lowering as she backs out the door.  "I... no."  Just like that she changes her mind and blocks his exit again.  "I don't know what's going on, but I'm not going to let you get yourself killed."

 

Chase scrambles quickly to his feet, nearly upsetting a chair in the progress. He lurches for the door, only to have any further progress stopped with Mina standing there. "Move." Ugh. Ouch. Remember saying that before to a certain girl who refused to do so, he winces for a moment only to steel his gaze once more. "You have to move, Mina." Definite entreaty in his voice now.

 

"Fine," Mina's heart softens at that entreaty and she steps aside, only to prepare to follow after the seishi.  "But wherever you're going, I'm gonna go too."  She saw him falter when he told her to move and she's not sure why, but perhaps if she's persistent enough, he'll tell her.  When he's ready.  "If you're going to go out and hunt oni-" She vaguely remembers that being on his To Do list "Then you're taking me with you."  She looks solemn as she adds, "After all, you might need back up."

 

And that is the very last thing he needs right now is someone following him. Chase stops, only to glare at Mina. Poor thing, she is going to end up receiving all of the teen's misplaced anger. "Ohhhhhhh, I'm not just going to hunt some oni. I'm going to kill one. I'm gonna pop him right between the eyes." This emphasized as he points a finger right between Mina's. "But first. No... first, I'm gonna find out who the hell gave me the damn Vulcan sleeper hold. And it sure as hell better not be who I think it is, and /then/ I'm going to kill that oni."

 

Sadly for Chase, Mina is a glutton for punishment.  "Then I'm going with you," she notes again, making a moue of concern as he taps her between the eyes.  She knows that he can do it, but she's not sure he'd be able to survive the getaway.  She looks determined as he glares at her, and she, like all good Byakko, is stubborn.  Very stubborn.  And he can try to lose her, but she's been working on her city tracking, she'd give herself a fifty-fifty chance at finding him again.  "Sleeper hold?"  She cocks her head but keeps a rather close distance between herself and the Genbu.  She doesn't try to touch him, knowing that he needs he space, but she's not letting him ditch her either.  "Fine, you've got a To Do list.  Let's go then."

 

Chase doesn't need a tag along. Nope. Not when murder and mayhem are on the itinerary. Ass kicking too. "You aren't going anywhere. You aren't following me, and you are /not/ coming with," Chase speedily points out, scowling at her. "The last fucking thing that I need is you getting in the way. Or some other goddamn foolishness that would only make things all fucked up."

 

"And how do you plan on stopping me," Mina returns quickly.  "If you're going to go after the oni, I'm going to make sure that you're not going alone.  And I won't get in the way," she adds softly.  "People forget that I am a seishi, I can handle myself in a fight Chase-kun."  If she's shocked at his language, she doesn't let it show, but someone's going to have to clue her in eventually as to why Chase has such a bee in his bonnet.

 

Chase's language tends to take a turn for the worse at times like these. Always did have something of a bad mouth, but it gets a little more noticeable from time to time. Like now. "I know full well that you are a seishi. I just don't want you with. This isn't a seishi thing. This is personal. He fucked with you. He... He... He kissed her. I'm going to kill him. And... Tah-dah! Guess what?! One less oni to deal with."

 

"He fu-"  Mina can't bring herself to quote Chase word for word, but her eyes widen as she finally realizes exactly which oni they're hunting.  It couldn't be some easy little oni, oh no, it has to be Malachai.  And that has her scared witless.  "Iie, you... you can't go after him, Chase-kun.  Not in his own territory.  He's not someone to be-"  Pause.  "He kissed who?  Anana?"  Ewww... just ewwww.  She thought that Anana would have better taste than to go around kissing Malachai.  He may look pretty, but he's not a nice man, not at all.

 

"Ohhhhhhh, yes, I can. Nobody is going to be giving me a sleeper hold or bonking me on the head with a pan this time." Chase smirks, and then shakes his head from side to side, "No! Not Anana. Sayuri. He kissed her... Or she kissed him." Well, for a moment there he was doing fine, until that image rose up in his mind again to not only correct things but rekindle his anger, and the boy's eyes flash dangerously in response.

 

"Sayuri....?"  Mina's eyes widen and she gasps audibly, and then she steps closer to the seishi.  "Oh Chase," she whispers quietly, pity suffusing her features as all sorts of scenarios flash in her mind's eye, none probably as hurtful as the true one.  "All right," she straightens her shoulders and heads down the hall.  "We'll go together.  He'll have a tougher time with two of us."  She's not going to run away from the Genbu in his time of need, and if he needs to take out his frustration on the oni, then she'll help.  Or die trying.  "It won't make things any different, but if you're going to try to take him down, then I'm coming.  We're friends, ne?"  She flashes a falsely confident smile over her shoulder before starting for the stairs.

 

Chase seems to be not listening all that closely to Mina, because the boy is dropping his head, remaining in place. "Damn. I knew I deserved something. She could have kissed Darren, and I'd have let it be. Hell, I'd have probably laughed, because I knew she'd try to get me back. But why /him/. Why an onisenshi?" Having had nothing but pain and bad experiences associated with the Yin gods and oni, is it any wonder that the teen hates them so. Nearly killed by one, gods killing off a lover, another dating the girl he was in love with, and so on, then his girlfriend goes and kisses one, purposely. "You aren't going anywhere, Mina. You'll get hurt."

 

Mina pauses at the top of the step to glance back towards the seishi, her heart breaking for him.  "She's not one of us though, is she," the Byakko reminds Chase with a soft voice, padding back towards him.  "Perhaps she didn't realize that what she was doing was the worst thing that she could have done."  But ewww... kissing Malachai of all people.  She barely suppresses a shudder.  "Anou... what do you mean that you deserved something?"  Looking around the landing, she tentatively reaches for his hand to try to lead him back into the apartment and out of the way of prying eyes and ears.  "If you're going somewhere, Chase-kun, then I'm coming too.  And if you want to go on a suicidal mission to take out an oni, I won't let you go alone."  Even if she has to camp out at his place to make sure he doesn't sneak out without her.  "You can't face him alone, remember, I've tried."  Twice.

 

"I tried to explain it to her before, so she knows what might happen, because I didn't want to keep anything from her. I wanted Sayu to understand. But that didn't go very well. And she doesn't want a part of it, and I understand that. But... she /knew/ he was one. I fucking said it outloud. I was going to kill him right there. He was the one that hurt you. He was right /there/. But then she went over and kissed him and she just wouldn't move." Chas is led back and away with Mina, still babbling on. You know how he is. When the floodgates open, prepare for a flood. "And then they were both just standing there, just waiting to see if I really would shoot through her to get to him. And..." Well, then it all went black just when that decision was about to be made. "I told her about what happened with the body paint."

 

"Does she know your past with them, though, Chase-kun?"  Mina closes the apartment door with a foot and then leads him towards the couch, drawing him down to settle next to her.  Wrapping her arms around him, she just holds him as he babbles on, making the appropriate sympathetic noises before blinking in astonishment.  "She was protecting him?  Why was she protecting him?"  That has her more concerned than anything as her mind tries to come up with all sorts of possibilities.  Most of them bad.  "Demo, you said she wants no part in things, ne?  So she hasn't taken sides?"  And at his last confession she facepalms and groans.  "Oooh Chase-kun, you didn't.  Even I haven't told Rathan."  Not that he would care.  "So she was obviously trying to get you riled up."  She patpats the other seishi, sighing.  "Seems like it worked."

 

Chase groans, leaning back into Mina. "I don't know. I think I told her some things, but I'm sure she doesn't care. If she doesn't want to be involved, I'll respect that. Heck, it might even save her." He draws in another breath, frowning ever more, "Gods, I wanted to shoot him so bad. Especially after she... But she just stood there. He was taunting me and... I was afraid he might try to hurt her. I'd shoot through her to hit him if he so much as hinted to doing anything to Sayuri. But I didn't want to hurt her too." He winces though at Mina's words, scowling. "And what? Lie to her? I'm not going to do that. You and I, we're /friends/." Definite emphasis on that last word.

 

Snuggling Chase close, Mina sighs, "Not caring might get her killed as well, though.  Look at what happened today.  She just walked right into Malachai's grasp, basically put herself at his mercy, and all because she doesn't understand.  If he really wanted to hurt you, he could have used her so easily."  Her lips thin at memories of her own before she sighs and lets the smile return to her features and her voice.  "Thank you for trying to take him out."  Mina probably would've tried the same thing, especially since he'd left his protective sanctuary and left himself wide open.  "Wish I was there."  She sighs and notes softly, "Omission isn't the same as lying."  A grey fudging, really, but it helps her sleep at night.  "And nothing happened, ne?  But it doesn't mean that we need to go around telling people about what idiots we are.  They make comments enough as it is, ne?"  She nods her head at the emphasis on the word friends, relieved that they're both on the same page regarding their relationship finally.  "Hai, you're my bestest best friend Chase-kun."

 

Chase draws in another slow breath before nodding vaguely. He remains silent though, having absolutely no clue what to do now about Sayuri, and that is something he really doesn't want to think or deal with right now. "She asked me, and I finally ended up telling her. I tried to get around it, but... so I told her what happened. It isn't like we /did/ anything. But she didn't want me to see you anymore. Either her or you. I wasn't going to choose at the time, but I think that the choice is /real/ easy now." He sighs, and droops back. "I just don't want to think about this anymore."

 

"Her or me?"  Sheesh, even Mina's not dumb enough to try to make those types of choices.  Still, she can see how torn up Chase is, thus she temporizes, "Don't be too hasty okay, Chase-kun.  Think it over some more."  She likes this girl that he's gotten involved with less and less as she hears more about her, but it's not her place to judge.  After all, he doesn't like her choice of boyfriends.  As he droops even more, Mina releases him and rises, padding into the kitchen.  All right, she promised herself that she'd never get drunk with him again, but this is a special case.  Sometimes oblivion's better than thinking too much.  "Where do you keep that peach stuff, Chase-kun?  I think we both could use a good drink."  She pops her head out the door, asking a teasing, "You don't have any more of those edible body paints, right?"  Best not to tempt fate again.

 

Chase frowns, looking quite belligerent, and mutters after Mina is gone something about not needing to think anything over. "I don't think I even have it anymore. I dunno." He pushes up from the couch though, flickering Mina a glance, and then shaking his head from side to side, "I'm not thirsty for any of that stuff. I just... I'm going to bed. Just remember to lock the door when you leave."

 

Mina pads out of the kitchen empty-handed and makes her way over to the seishi, wrapping him up in a hug again.  "She's obviously not good enough for you, Chase-kun.  You deserve better."  Pulling back, she smiles crookedly, "Then again, perhaps I'm liable to believe that no one deserves you."  As he mentions heading to bed, she raises on her tiptoes to place a soft kiss on his cheek.  "Go to bed, things'll look better in the morning.  They'll have to, ne?"  And then she heads out the door, turning the lock on the doorknob before she shuts it softly.  Poor Chase, poor, poor Chase.