2/11/2003

04:11 PM

Logfile from Ichijin.

 

Royal Elizabeth-Penthouse 1

It is a penthouse, a swanky penthouse at that. Plenty of windows, wood flooring, elegant lines and a modern look. You've got your sunken living area, long and dark dining table close to the windows that overlook a balcony decorated with topiary and such. Off to some side is the way towards the bedroom, double-doors left open just enough to get a hint of a large bed and more expensive furniture. All in all, it looks like a place that could use a far better description.

Lexie and Akurei are here.

Obvious exits:

Exit

 

Reese holds her hand up and makes it talk, an unfriendly mimicry coming out of the thing's mouth. "Meeh. My oni'd flip, blah blah blah. Let's not mention that this guy is an /evil bastard/."

 

<Phone> Lexie says, "Sounds fine, sounds fine.  I'll call you then. Bye, Nick. Reese'll send in her paper and I'm glad for your professional ethic."

 

Lexie hangs up her phone.

 

Lexie sighs, shaking her head. "He's not. He's a pussified moron.  But okay."

 

Reese stands, crossing her arms and making a face. "I'm am very disappointed in you, me no miko. You're supposed to be representing us, and you know very well that the gods would have a hard time summoning another one of you. Now going off and nonchalantly making dinner dates with what could be our most dangerous and least friendly enemy. And the guard is an /afterthought/?" She taps her foot and grumbles. "You're precious goods and you expect us to protect you, but only after you fling yourself impetuously every which way." Damn, she's starting to act like one of /their/ mikos.

 

Sebastian emerges from one room or another. Maybe he was here the whole time, maybe not. Who knows? Who cares? Doesn't matter, because he is here now. "Who does Lexie have a date with?" he asks, looking from Reese to the miko and back again.

 

Lexie snorts, pouring herself some whiskey. "To the contrary.  I'm going through shittin' hell because my oni are a bunch of weak defecting bastards."  She lights up a cigarette.  "He's the one who enabled me to escape anyways.  I'm not just precious goods. I'm precious goods who can fight and shoot and believes in our cause and sometimes I think I'm the ONLY one!"

 

Reese runs up and glomps Sebastian, leather-clad and all. "Nicholas," she informs, spitting the name syllable by syllable with some amount of scorn. "Na-ka-go." The woman stalks back towards Lexie, shaking her head. "Don't even think that way. Morwen and I worked our asses off this afternoon for you, and the best you can do is pin the guilt on us, Lexie? Come on, some of us aren't that dumb. You might be able to fight and shoot, but what's that going to do against a fucker who mentally threw the equivalent of a hummer at us. The cause is gonna go to hell if you don't live for it."

 

Sebastian eyes the whiskey-drinking, smoking miko for a long moment. But, well, he glomped by a... double-take, 'leather-clad' Reese. Oh. Well... "Oh? Is that the one I knocked on his rear and then he tried to squash me." No, he won't take it personal or anything. Business. "Whyever would you want to go socialize with him, Lexie?"

 

Lexie slams the emptied glass down on the ground, shattering it.  "That's right. Go buy a couple of things.  Put yourself out." She snarls, angrily.  "I live for it. I live for it, but it doesn't mean the same thing to me that it does to you, and not.." She points at Sebastian, "To you.  I don't know what you want.  Hell, I don't even know you guys that well. Not like Minai.  You're just a bunch of random strangers who signed up with a few gods, and you'll run off the minute you get a better offer.  So help me, I bloody well don't want to see you get your asses kicked, and the way things are going now, we're in for the biggest ass whupping of our lives. We need that scroll back and I'm tired of trying to rule by fear. I can't make you guys obey me, hell, there's no reason you should.  You guys aren't even friends.  You shouldn't have to take orders from a mechanic in her late twenties who's just had one screwup in her life after another."  She grabs her windbreaker, shoving it on.  "If you've got some plans to miraculously turn this around, let me know."

 

"Uh-huh," Reese answers, rolling her eyes. "That's the one. And if I might gently remind you, Minai was the one who ran off with the other gods. You've got us, and we've got you, and that's all we've got, besides eachother. Don't you dare go flinging around that holier-than-thou attitude." The woman stalks over to the freezer and throws a plastic bag at the door, which results in a nice matrix of crystalline red blocking Lexie's exit. "We're not gonna get our asses kicked, but if we separate, we're all gonna die, job undone, with angry as hell gods. Rule by fear?" She laughs, and it's not an altogether friendly effect, between the outfit and the sentiment in the room. "You never ruled. We listen, and you can't fault the people in this room for that. Our abeyance is a big thing, but your survival is more important. I can't speak for everyone, but I just want this whole damned thing to work."

 

Sebastian's lips draw into a fine line at the shattering, watching her with a silent stare. He slowly shakes his head from side to side, drawing over to the miko, "Are you quite finished with the dramatics yet, dear?" Chin drops just the lightest to peer down at her, "No, you can't... because you are not the ruler here, Lexie. You are the figure-head though. The miko. The one needed to grant a few wishes and such forth. Don't even try to play that you need to rule by fear, or give us orders, or any of that which you seem to want to place upon your shoulders to try to dictate to the rest of us and force us to do your bidding. We aren't your minions, but you seem to think that way." He takes a breath before continuing, flickering an agreeing glance to Reese. "Clearly, we need to regroup, assess where we are now, and decide what needs to be done. Lick our wounds and move from there."

 

Lexie snorts. "Oh, yeah, two whole seishi.  I'm just doing smashingly.  Not that I didn't have to threaten Malachai to do his job. Not that I didn't have to shoot Dylan, mercy no."  She grabs her keys from the rack.  "We're already seperated if you didn't notice.  I can't fault either of you for listening, but it's not the same thing.  The seishi have a solidarity which we're only a pathetic mockery of. You want holy? I /am/ holier than you.  I'm more full of holes from four gods who can't be bothered to send me adequate personnel and have to steal seishi.. Byakko seishi! To accomplish what they need.  A population of billions in the world, and she had to pluck up two Byakko, just so they could all laugh at us and gloat on their stunning 'rescue'.  And now, now you get protective. How nice.  How charming. Now unblock the goddamn door, because I'm getting out of here.  I hate this place and I'm not living here anymore, because it hasn't done me a whit of good. You're a college student, and he's a businessman.  And that's where your lives still are.  I don't see any seishi getting their asses kicked, and I don't see us acheiving any of our objectives.  All I see if a bunch of selfish twits playing their little games and enjoying mint juleps and posh penthouses.  You lick 'em. I'm going home." 

 

Reese's barrier glitters almost mockingly. "No, I'm not taking this down until we resolve this. You're the miko of a feckless people, and you can't blame us for that. Blame the gods, then spit in their faces. You wanna back down from this? Be my guest, go off and fuck a few more seishi while you're at it, so the Yang gods can have their little giggles, sitting on their pedestal and watching their world go to hell while they're at it." She crosses her arms and growls. "Or have you forgotten that we're in the middle of a war for control of this earth? You said you would send us against them, but wouldn't attack them directly yourself. Well, now that we're outnumbered four to one, I think the time for niceties is over. You want me to quit school? Fine. You want me to find you an army? Fine. You want me to deal with your hypocritical bullshit while you wax glorious and high and mighty? That's something that I leave to the Yang gods, and I refuse to do it." The woman pulls a gun from her holster and aims carefully for Lexie's head. "You wanna dump us because we let you down? Say so, and the gods can start looking for a new miko right now."

 

Sebastian chuckles. Yes, chuckles. It isn't particularly mirthful, but it definitely has an amused note to it, if a bit dry. "You have quit." Gaze lifts and he watches Lexie. "You have actually quit. Unbelievable. Of all people, I expected you to be the last. Amazing how things work." His gaze intensifies. "A set-back... loosing an oni you couldn't even keep a reign on in the first place, and, granted, Minai, your pet. So, now you are going to run off to whatever hole you came from and pretend like none of this ever happened? You are going to cower and whine and let it simply be? She who enjoys telling at every moment how pathetic her life was until she was chosen. How much she owes to the gods, and now you are going to quit?" He shoots a glance to Reese. "No, let me, dear... After all, when I gave myself to Homasubi, I might as well give her the justice of ridding him of her in the ways he sees fit." A glow forms just over the palm of his hand. "You are always exclaiming about how down and dirty you get, lady... and when we are there, you flee. Fitting. I expected better from you." A moment, and then he continues. "Prove me wrong, Lexie."

 

Lexie takes out the colt and chambers a round without looking, staring across at Reese. "I'm not backing down. You guys seem to be pretty sure I'm just good for summoning, so who'm I to argue? You get all seven together without dying, you call me. We'll do lunch and summon."  She spins the barrel, snapping it back into place.  "A war for control of the earth.." She states, mockingly. "You can't even pass a class that has a seishi professor, yet alone.  As for screwing seishi, unlike you, I don't have an active sex life.  Sorry to dissapoint you. "  She aims in return, with a dark smile. "Wanna see who has better aim, girlie? Wanna see if Sebastian can take me down before I blow your brains out?"

 

Reese blinks at Sebastian's chi, then smirks, nodding her head approvingly. She puts the safety back on her own weapon, tucking it back into place before slowly drawing out her skinning knife. "You're not just good for summoning, but against other things, you might be helpless. Will you yell at us for not protecting you, while you run into a rain of bullets just to test our devotion?" She runs the knife across her palm in a swift movement, letting the blood drain down her fingers. Before the droplets hit the ground, Reese has them under her control, and she licks her lips, a spiderweb of wire-thin blood cells swirling before her. "We are the servants of Homasubi, and will do as he commands. You're not backing down? Prove it. Next time you see our traitors, show us that you're not afraid to shoot the enemy, instead of just blasting those who fight for you. Show us that you've got the will to survive this with us. Or you could shoot me right now, and we'll see the power of the secular over that of the celestial. I promise you, Nakago would not even have waited for you to load that pistol."

 

"Well, why don't we just save the seishi their trouble and end it all right here. I'm sure Rathan will enjoy coming in later to see the carnage." Seb remains silent though as Reese speaks, only to move around so that it is actually him between her and Lexie. Bet they wouldn't have ever figured he'd do that. "This is no way to go about summoning, Lexie. Idiotic, really. The seishi would be laughing to tears if they could see us now, and I would not blame them." A breath. "And stop this inane need to rule by fear, dear. It is ridiculous. You want us to listen to you? To actually pay attention? Acquire our respect. This is no way to go about it."

 

Lexie finally lowers the gun, with a sigh. "I would've used the desert eagle on Nakago." She murmurs.  "Fast loading clips and I always keep one in."  She holsters it, snorting.  "They already laugh themselves to tears if you haven't noticed.  I don't need to prove anything.  I'm not supposed to be the heavy artillery. That was your promise, Reese, and Minai had to save your ass in a laundromat.  You want to move into heavy action? Sure could've fooled me. "  She arches a sharp eyebrow.  "Respect.  Respect from a guy who asked for a new miko the minute he met me. Yer so rich."

 

Garanto comes home.

 

Rathan steps out of the kitchen into the main room, despite not having been in the apartment mere moments before.  With a bright smile on his face, he raises a hand to wave a greeting to any and all present... but the smile fades away rather abruptly, leaving a rather confused new oni staring in bewilderment.

 

Reese blinks at Sebastian and juts her jaw, arms crossed as she flexes her hand, letting more blood drop and feed into the stock she has already floating through the air. "Respect," she echoes, with a scowl, "and maybe just the smallest hint of survival instinct. I did say I was the artillary, and I made a mistake - no body parts can hit teleportation, and if I'm unconscious, I can't do anything. My bad: I'm not going to go all rambo and attack random people anymore. Happy now? As for the seishi laughing, we almost had all of them. We could've gotten away with everyone, until the Seiryuu hit the scene. We had to drag ourselves away from that, and you want a dinner date with them."

 

The scene so far: Sebastian stands between the miko and Reese; Lexie's gun has just been put away. There's a piece of gore blocking the door, and someone is making a ribbon of blood float menacingly in the air.

 

Lexie lights up a cigarette. "That 'dinner date' is to convince the most dangerous sei there is why we should parley for a temporary ceasefire until we get our scroll back, which we /can not/ get without the Yang seishi.  You know? Our summoning scoll which is stuck in a dimensional rift?  In the Yang temple?  I was /trying/ to help. I was /trying/ to stop any more of us from getting our ever lovin' asses kicked!"

 

Sebastian shrugs his shoulders indolently, "I was expecting someone with a bit more class and a lot less panache." Ah well. Must deal with the cards given. The raw chi glimmering above his hand slowly dissipates, but not entirely. He shakes his head slowly from side to side, flickering a glance back at the entering Rathan. Just another family squabble, yes.

 

"Did I come at a bad time?"  Because if he did, Rathan can leave as quickly and quietly as he arrived.  No skin off his back.  Attention is torn between the floating gore and the subsiding glow around Sebastian's hand.  "If you are having some sort of... discussion, I can come back later."  He's already beginning to inch backwards into the kitchen.  "Wouldn't want to interrupt anything important."

 

Reese shakes her head, sighing. "All right. So the most dangerous seishi knows we don't have access to the scroll, he knows that we're weak, and he knows that we're outnumbered. What's to keep him from giving you the coup de grace right there? We'd be all that, a bag of chips, and down a miko to boot. I'm just saying, maybe you should watch yourself, so that you don't get all gung-ho and killed, so we can all do our jobs and live happily ever after." The girl blinks at Rathan, tossing over a bright smile. "Oh, no. If anything, you should pay close attention to this... it's part of your duties, to a certain extent. You can learn about the family," she adds, easing her jaw from side to side.

 

"Truly, Rathan. Reese has a point there. Best to understand how dysfunctional we really are as a family. Never a better time than the present." Seb draws back now to stand at Reese's side, before looking towards the door. *sigh* Yet another thing he is going to have to pay the cleaning lady a little extra to ignore. And the woes continue.

 

Lexie resists the urge to wave the gun around again.  "No." She states, sarcastically, "The Suzaku and ALL of the seishi know because if you didn't notice they flung it in there before kidnapping me.  "  Looks like she could boil eggs on her forehead. "He already had the chance because  I had to get my own ass out of it.  It wouldn't take a bloody genius to so simple math, for that matter?!"  She grabs the bottle of whiskey, angrily. "Did I /mention/ that he was the watchdog when all the Suzaku passed out?  He's not going to kill me. He's a freaking shrimp in this lifetime."

 

Rathan still does not look to certain about remaining to witness this little 'family squabble,' but if both Sebastian and Reese are urging him to stay, then he knows his place is here.  "Would it be rude of me to ask what's going on?"  His voice is even softer than usual, as if he isn't certain he wants to draw any more attention his way.  "I know it has to be tiresome to keep explaining things to me, but..."  He shrugs his slender shoulders in a mixture of 'I'm clueless' and 'Please Don't Hurt Me'.

 

"Okay, fine," Reese says, closing her eyes. "So we're a little screwed. The senshi piss you off, everyone knows we're outnumbered, and we haven't got our summoning scroll. You're dodging around my point. Would it really be so bad to have a little protection, in case, god forbid, the badass of the Yang gods decides to have a change of heart?" She rubs her temples, sighing deeply. "I was merely stressing the importance of the fact that Lexie has to live in order to summon our god. It seems we are heavily outnumbered, in great danger, and ill-equipped to do anything, let alone challenge the incumbent pantheon."

 

Sebastian sighs, rolls his eyes, and simply flops into the nearest chair and Lexie goes about into her dramatics once more. Drama queen. He nods as Reese explains though, smirking now and again.

 

Lexie tosses up her hands.  "I'm not dodging any point because you don't /have/ one! You heard me. I can take along one of you guys just fine.  Old news! Nainokami's ass.."  She stalks towards the bathroom, slamming the door.  Yay Malachai's cards. She wants to go get some food and cool down.

 

Rathan scratches the side of his head.  Reese's explanation helped somewhat, but not enough.  "If the biggest problem is that we're out-numbered..."  His voice is quite hesitant as he asks, "Are we in any real rush?  I mean, it's not like the world is going anyplace without us, except further down the path of corruption.  I may not be very old, but I've seen enough to know that most people rush and scramble to accomplish their goals, and end up causing themselves more problems than they solve."  He swallows nervously.  "Reese had mentioned seven warriors of Homasubi.  Unless I just haven't met the other four yet, we seem to be a few short by my reckoning."

 

Reese grumbles whole-heartedly. "What time?" the woman yells at the bathroom door, retrieving her plastic bag and drawing all the gore back into it, her own blood wrapping around her sleevie for further use. Muttering curses, she pecks Sebastian quickly on the cheek and storms to the bedroom, ruffling Rathan's hair on the way. "Don't worry about this. She's just a character, our Lexie is." Nevermind that frustrated scream when she finally does slam the door behind her.

 

Sebastian's gaze draws over to Rathan, and he can't help but nodding. "Exactly." Precisely his point. But, as Lexie scurries to the bathroom, he is left to chuckle softly. "Unfortunately, we've been blessed with a miko with a hot head." And then Reese is storming into the other room. He winces at the slam and scream. "Women." That pretty much well explains it all there.

 

Lexie flushes, washes her hands, and stomps out.  "Why can't you be more like him?" She asks, stabbing a finger at Rathan. "he's cool."  She grabs the whiskey, and jingles her keys. "I'm going out for food. You should be glad I'm not depriciating your property values."  *whistle.* "<Here babies! Come on babies!>"  Oh, is that barking a stampede in formation?

 

Rathan can't help but grin at Sebastian's final comment.  Wisely, however, he waits until Lexie and her pack of rotts have passed out of earshot before he quietly speaks.  A tinge of red does rise in his cheeks in response to the miko's comment, though.  "I've noticed that short tempers are as common to men as to women, but I know what you mean, sir.  Some people get so caught up in an argument that they forget what it was they were arguing about in the first place."  The grin slips away, replaced once more by a puzzled frown.  "'Course, since I just got here, I don't really know what the fight was about, either.  Seems like it was about more than just numbers and danger...  Something about accompanying the miko?"

 

Sebastian smiles faintly, looking up to Rathan. "My, she likes you... are you sure you aren't a Byakko in pig's clothing?" Ouch. The leaving dogs are eyed with something of a sneer. One of these days, the whole pile it going to find itself thru a quick portal into a far off corner of the world. And praise be! when that happens. "If there is one thing to understand about Lexie, it is that the smallest thing can set her off to extremes. Granted, this time it wasn't quite so small..."

 

Lexie lights up a cigarette, only to extinguish it on one of Sebastian's more expensive pillows out of spite, before leaving.  Yepperoos. She's a character. On this game thing, y'see.  But some poor resteraunt is about to get a bunch of junkard dogs and her. Pity them.

 

Lexie walks out of the apartment.

 

Rathan has had enough of an introduction to all things seishi from Reese to understand Sebastian's casual insult.  "I am as much Homasubi as you are, sir."  His jaw clenches and his backbone straightens.  "I may have just been introduced to this whole affair, but I can assure you I seek only to brink Homasubi into this world to wash away the detritus of modern civilization."  This is a sore point with Rathan, as Reese earlie discovered.  "I've been told about the lapdogs of the Yang gods who are trying to stop Lexie...  All they seek to do is maintain their own power in this sinful world.  Do not ever imply that I am one of them."

Sebastian watches Rathan speculatively, eyes searching the young man as he speaks. Ever so slowly, a grin tickles at the corner of his lips, and then he nods his head, drawling slowly, "Duly noted, and appreciated." He continues to watch him for a long moment before continuing once more, "Have you been introduced to any of the seishi yet?"

 

A quickshake of Rathan's head indicates a negative response.  "So far I've only met you, Lexie, and Reese.  I haven't even met any of the servants of the other Yin gods, let alone any of the vile seishi."  A pause indicates a moment's thought before he adds, "At least, I don't think I've met any of them.  I don't really know how I'd tell them apart from anyone else."

Sebastian is amused. He nods and then points a finger to the side to point at... well, the wall. "Our neighbors. And I believe that there are even a few that live in the floors below us. It is full of the... vermin, I suppose." A breath. "But I believe in the old saying, keep your friends close... and your enemies closer." A sigh, "You need to be introduced to Morwen and Malachai then."

 

"Our neighbors?  Perhaps I will have to introduce myself," Rathan comments with a slight smile.  As for the two names?  "More of /our/ kind," Rathan guesses.  "I would be honored to meet them, sir.  But should there not be more of us?  Many more?"  Reese had told him there were four Yin gods.  Seven warriors for each god.  He may not have finished high school, but he wasn't stupid.  "You, Reese, and I are three.  Morwen and Malachai make five.  What of the others?"

 

Sebastian frowns for a moment and then nods. "I apologize. I'm not explaining this to you very well." He sits up in the couch, hand moving over to push his long braid of hair to his back. "There are the four Yin gods, correct? Homasubi is but one of them. You, Reese, and myself are three of the oni that are in service to him. Morwen is in service to a different one of the four, as is Malachai. Of the Yin, there is only us five, and Lexie. That is all. From what I hear... of the others, there are very, very many."

 

"Are we awaiting the arrival of the other oni?"  Rathan still stumbles slightly over the word; it had not been part of his vocabulary until very recently.  "If the others do not know who they are... if they had forgotten as I had, could they still arrive?  No matter how numerous the seishi may be, I do not doubt that we will succeed in bringing the End Time to this sad world, but should we not await the coming of our brethren?"

 

"It will be difficult. Extremely. But, while we do wait for the others to arrive as well, as each of us already has, we must do what we can to prepare for it. Our lost scroll must be regained once more. As we need to keep the seishi and their mikos from arriving to the point of summoning before us. We have /much/ to do while we wait for the others to arrive." Seb frowns for a moment before continuing. "Sitting and waiting has its time and place, but we also need to make sure, /absolute/ sure that those of Yang do not accomplish their summoning before we can. Otherwise, all will be lost, Rathan."

 

"Would it not be good for one of our number to go among them, then?  To learn of their actions so we know when and how they plan to act?"  Rathan takes a step towards the seated Sebastian.  "I do not know enough yet to be of much use in our preparations, but maybe I could serve Lexie in that fashion.  The enemy does not know of me.  I might be able to befriend some of them and learn of their plans before they interfere in ours."

 

Just as Seb was planning on keeping in anonymity until his fellow oni felt the need to repeatedly say his name before them. See what he has to work with here? Do you blame the one god taking two Byakko for herself? Never mind the dysfunction there either. "An admirable idea. Very much so. And definitely something to consider. If so, you might want to avoid the neighbors then." He sighs and draws to his feet. "I need to find us another warehouse, seeing as the other is compromised." He offers Rathan a wry grin, a bob of his head, and then he is moving away.