6/11/2003
12:27
AM
Logfile
from Sebastian.
Midnight
Delirium
The steady bass of techno and trance
drums steadily, blotting out all rational thought. Near the entrance, several sets of small tables and chairs lie
about for patrons who prefer to socialize, while a staircase leads down to the
main dancing area. At the the front of
the room, the DJs spin their mixes; this section of the club is always
packed. People flow with the rhythm pounding
in their heads, their limbs, their chests.
Lights in darkened colors flash intermittantly across the already dim
area, adding to the chaos. A bar
extends along the eastern wall, its counter and shelves outlined with blue
lights and its seats always full. In
the far western corner, a string of white lights leads the way into another
room where more hip-hop and rap have been added to the mix. Most here throw themselves into the music,
and hard: in the morning, it'll all be gone.
You see
Age of Aquarius Magazine **Free Issue** here.
Obvious
exits:
Out
Ichijin
Long
and svelte, fair and lean, almost everything about him gives to the hint of
slim length. As aquiline features attend the almost aristocratic line of
cheekbones and the rebellious tilt of his nose, his mouth is a generous
addition above a rather strong jaw. Cracked moonlight and shadow have their way
with his eyes, dappling irises of malachite with indolent abandon. Brooding
rebellion: an ever wayward forelock frequently seems to manage to escape the
loose plait his long ash-blonde hair is often bound within, falling negligently
over his brow while the rest of his hair descends down to mid-back.
White-pale,
the button down shirt that he wears is just that, left mostly unbuttoned,
except for a couple in about the middle to not leave too much visible. Silken
in weave, the sleeves are short as the hemline brushes just shy of his hips.
Contrast stitched leather pants fit vaguely to the long line of his legs,
flaring gently at the ankles where he wears a pair of simple, casual shoes that
still denote a hint of high fashion.
Ichijin
appears to be 25 years, 6 months, and 8 days old.
He is
awake and looks alert.
Sebastian
is settled at the very same table that he was at before when he first met the
new Akurei. It could be chance, or some money settled into the right palms that
got him this place. Lounging back in the corner of the booth, one arm is draped
over the back as the other holds a glass filled with some liquid or another
that isn't too neon-blazing. Sip and wait. Sip and wait.
Nikki
was leery of getting calls while at her host family's home, but since she
figures that she's not likely to stay there for too much longer, she took the
call just this once. Good thing too as it leads her back into contact with of
all people, Sebastian, she shows up at the meeting place just a little late.
She's dressed trendy-casual as usual when not in school, looking a little older
than she really is, which is a good thing since she doesn't have Rathan to lead
her in here this time. Heading for the table, she stops just a few feet away
with a wary glance at Ichijin. "Monsieur Bastian."
Seitaro
is not far behind Nikki, entering the club and casting his gaze about until he
spots the other two. The fact that it's the same table does not go unnoticed,
but does go uncommented upon. It's really a minor thing at this point. Coming
up alongside Nikki, he smiles pleasantly down at her, inclining his head,
"Nikki-sama, it's good to see you again. And Davis-san as well. I was
surprised to receive your phone call, but pleased nonetheless. Things were...
awkward when last we met."
Sebastian's
gaze lifts as he is first approached by Nikki. No sighs or anything of the
sort, he simply slips up from the seat at her presence. "Nice to see you
again, Nikki. I doubted you would have too much trouble finding yourself into
this establishment again. Resourceful child that you are." He watches her
for a moment before waving a hand to the table, "Sit. Can I get you
something?" It is the next voice that causes him to hesitate and turn about
to face the other man.
"Surprised?
How so?" Another gesture to the table, "Take a seat."
Nikki
looks up at Seitaro and beams a smile at him for a second before scooting over
to the table and taking a seat, primly crossing one knee over the other.
"No, it was not difficult getting in. I am surprised to see you again
though." she says with just a hint of ire for the man running off and
hanging up on her, etc. Still, she's learned quite a great deal since then
though. "A little soda for me, thanks." She'll avoid the wine this
time.
Seitaro
sits down beside Nikki, carefully watching Sebastian. "Last I heard, you
were not longer in town. I hadn't expect you to come seeking me out. I was
certain I would have to relocate you again for another conversation. Though in
your absence Nikki-sama, Rathan-kun and I were able to spend a little time
together and get things sorted out."
Sebastian
wasn't really planning on feeding the fire-starter alcoholic beverages anyway.
Her request for soda earns the girl a nod as he takes the arm of a waitress to
make the order. His grin turns wry though, flickering a glance at the pair of
them for a moment. He waits until they are seated to do so as well. "It
really wasn't my intention to surprise either one of you -although to think
that I wouldn't have contacted you again..." There is a hint of reproach
in his voice. Taking a sip from his drink, he continues, "Get things
sorted out?"
Nikki
nods slowly in agreement with Seitaro. "Yes, a few things worked out,
like... this business of being a miko." she says quietly, folding her arms
on the tabletop, her schoolgirl demeanor being replaced with a more serious
look. "I've been studying up on some of those eastern philosophies and
other related subjects. Just to know a little more of what I'm getting involved
with here." And she hasn't run away screaming, isn't that nice? "It
did seem like you were running off or something last time, Monsieur Bastian, or
should I be calling you..." She tries to recall the various star charts and
such she had to leaf through. "Ichijin?"
"It's
not that I thought you wouldn't have contacted either of us again,
Sebastian-san, but I suspected that Nikki-sama and I might have to seek you out
sooner rather than later, as we didn't know when you'd be returning to the
city," replies Seitaro, nodding back to what Nikki also says. "I know
there was some question of Nikki-sama being our miko, however, I can assure you
that she was indeed chosen by Homasubi-sama. She bears his chi mark upon her.
There is no question. As for other things being sorted out, I have since been
informed of the situation with the former Akurei. I apologize for my abrupt
manner in introducing myself before, but I had no idea of the implications of
my arrival."
Sebastian
turns his gaze back over and towards Nikki, nodding slowly. "If you want
some more information, I'm more than able to supply you with more, if
necessary, Nikki. In public, Sebastian... or Bastian is preferred. Elsewhere,
however you wish." He sits back a little in the seat, glancing to the
other man, seemingly studying him once again, "A poor reaction on my part,
but that is over with now. Homasubi saw fit to make you Akurei, and far be it
for me to even question that.... or now Nikki being our miko."
Nikki
does look a little less certain of herself for a moment, not that it would stop
the stubborn child for long. "Ah yes, that..." She turns steely blue
eyes on Sebastian and asks softly, "So the woman I saw was the previous
Akurei then?" She says the name very quietly, barely audible over the
noise of the club. "Who or what was responsible for that? I mean... as
miko, I feel that a certain measure should be taken about things like that. I
mean..it's like I lost one of you even before I began, not a good thing. Is
there something that can be done, or is this something that should be left
alone?"
Seitaro
isn't able to answer Nikki's questions considering he only knows the very
basics. Settling into silence, he watches the other two with interest, wanting
to hear more about his predecessor. It is a subject his thoughts of turn to
more than once, ever since he did discover that he was not the first oni to
bear the name of Akurei. His one conclusion is that she must have been quite
effective for Homasubi to want to replace her so quickly.
Sebastian
blinks for a moment, hesitation obvious as he slowly sets the drink back down.
He looks back to Nikki, watches her, and then finally replies softly,
"Yes, that was her." And then the coldness seeps into his voice,
"My half-sister was. She made herself off as one of Sungnochas, inserted
herself in our life, and then killed her. Apparently Aubrey, the one who did
it, was the representative of another... entity. Not Yin or Yang." He
licks his lips before continuing, "My skepticism as to your timely
presence was in reaction to that occurrence, Nikki. Simply believing you to be
my miko so quickly after what had happened was impossible." And still,
there is a but a hint of hard caution to his eyes as he looks to her. His gaze
slides over to the silent Seitaro for the moment.
Nikki
purses her lips, straightening up in her seat as a waitress comes by with her
soda. Waiting till she's gone, the miko manages to keep off her frown till
then. "Another entity? I didn't know... there's so much more to
learn." she groans, but at least the girl is putting effort into it, not
just blindly stumbling into things. Or hitting people on the head with lamps,
etc. "I guess the timing was bad, though in my defense /you/ were the one
who decided to bring me home right then." she says with just a hint of
typical adolescent defensiveness. Hmm, she's been so busy studying, she hadn't
even set anything on fire in a while. Nikki'll have to do something about that
soon.
Seitaro
reaches out to lightly touch Nikki's arm. "Nikki-sama, you can hardly
fault Sebastian-san for his reaction to a difficult situation. It's not as if
things have not since been set to rights in regards to you and who you are, ne?
That is all that matters." The man turns his gaze back to Sebastian,
expression carefully neutral. "Nikki-sama is going to move in with
Rathan-kun soon. As soon as arrangements with her host family can be made.
Speaking of which Nikki-sama, if you wish for those people to be removed from
the picture, I would prefer if you left that to me. I can arrange for a tidy
accident that would keep any suspicion from falling upon you. That would be
best."
Sebastian
nods his head in admission to the girl. "Whatever Rathan hasn't told you,
I can fill in if need be. Yes, quite a bit has happened and there is always
more to learn. Nearly every day." As Seitaro speaks, the man listens
silently for a moment, considering his words before nodding slightly.
"Having her away from those others would certainly be best... and with
Rathan... good."
Nikki
nods back at Seitaro and turns to look back at Sebastian apologetically.
"You're right..it's been a troublesome time." She sighs with slight
disappointment though as she glances back between the two oni. "Awh, he
gets to have all the fun? How boring. I suppose though, that for once I'll have
to consider what is expedient over my own wants, hmm?" That annoying
daughter of the hostfamily just has to go though, the pimple-faced spoiled
brat.
Seitaro
chuckles quietly, "Not to worry, Nikki-sama, I'm sure we can devise other
means of entertainment for you soon. Now then, if you'll two excuse me I have
other business of my own to attend to and this way you can both discuss those
things that our miko has yet to know. I hope you and I will get a chance to
talk more in the near future, Sebastian-san. Rathan-kun speaks very highly of
you."
Sebastian
arches a glance at Nikki, smirking faintly, "Hopefully things will change
though. As for fun... we'll see." Being purposefully mysterious or not, he
still leaves that statement as is. As Seitaro moves to leave, the man moves to
stand as well, nodding to him, "I will get into contact with you again.
Hopefully soon. I am sure that we have much to discuss. Thank you for
coming."
Akurei
goes home.
Nikki
waves as Seitaro leaves, leaving the miko once again alone with Sebastian, but
at least the girl doesn't appear as upset over that anymore. "Fun,
Sebastian? Have you any ideas? I know now that Homasubi-sama is the Lord of
Destruction and that is undoubtedly the reason he choose me." Ichijin did
find her torching a building all on her own, just for entertainment. "I am
wondering if there is something that we should be doing?"
Sebastian
looks after Seitaro for another moment, watching the man with no obvious sign
of discomfort. It is Nikki's voice that drags him out of his thoughts and back
to her, "Because you tend to enjoy a good fire -or the creation of such
and the torture of the victims of it?" Rhetorical question, because he
considers. "There are plenty of ideas, Nikki. It is often implementing
them to the best of our ability that is often the problem. Once upon a time, I
could count the number of oni in this city upon the fingers of one hand."
Said fingers are tapped upon the table. "We were terribly restrained in
what we could accomplish. And there were failures... incompetency with some of
the other onisenshi, and our miko at the time. That and the sheer numbers. They
had to many, we had so few." Another breath. "You ask what we should be
doing? I have asked that myself, and others have asked the same thing. Things
have been actually rather quiet in the last few months -despite Reese's death
and Aubrey's betrayal. Although I hear rumor that the collapsing of that bridge
recently has the prints of another onisenshi behind it."
Nikki
did manage to sneak out long enough to try and survey the damage at the bridge
for herself. "I saw the damage, it was a good job there." Not that
she could get all that close, but there were observation posts up at the top of
Fort Tryam Park by Washington Heights where she could get a pretty decent view.
It was magnificent..if you like destruction, death, carnage, and tragedy. Which
meant she was having a field day. "I like fire, is that wrong?" she
says with stunning innocence on her face, smiling ever so sweetly. Pure facade
though, she's about as sweet and innocent as a crocodile. "Failures? I
hadn't heard much about that. Then again, Seitaro-kun wouldn't have been around
to know and Rathan hasn't had the opportunity to explain to me yet. I suppose
he will once I move over to his place." She steeples her fingers as she
stares over them at Sebastian. "Is it just the three..four of us then? I
was doing reading like I said, a total of seven warriors should belong to me. I
suppose the others are not around yet or we don't know about them?"
Sebastian
takes another sip from his drink before responding, "I find absolutely
nothing whatsoever wrong with fire." How could he? "I have actually
found that I have something of an affinity to it. I'm fond of fire, that
is." Very fond. Extremely fond. "Rathan should be able to tell you
quite a few things, I'm sure. I will also be sure to fill you in on things as
well. It is good that you are moving in with him though." In more ways than
one, that is. "When that has happened, I can supply you with an allowance
of sorts to see to your needs. You won't want for anything. As for the
Homasubi. Yes. Myself, Garanto, Akurei, and now yourself. No, there are no
others that I know of, but I have no doubt that they will eventually find their
way to this city, we all seem to."
Nikki
smiles again, sipping her soda. "Glad to hear that you do. Seitaro-kun and
Rathan said they'd help me move my stuff. Silly men, all I have is a suitcase
of clothes and the books Seitaro loaned me." She was just a poor exchange
student after all. "Rathan just has a big mattress on the floor or that
was the impression he gave me. Don't suppose we could scrounge up a bed or
something? Though I suppose I could share that mattress with him." she
says slyly, looking up at her oni through her heavy lashes. "Oooh, an
allowance too? That would be quite useful."
Sebastian
smirks just the faintest, "I have seen the place he is living in now. It
isn't anything greater then simply a hole in the wall. I'd be far happier in
setting you both up in a place near to where I am, but if the man actually
makes an effort to be around that apartment, it will please me all the more.
Through my allowance to you, hopefully you can make some improvements to the
place." At mention of the mattress, his grin simply turns wry, "If
you don't mind the seishi that might find her way into it as well, by all
means... do so. Who am I to deny you the attempt?"
Nikki
sighs softly at that. "Yes, Mina-san. I've met her already. I had no
intentions of letting Rathan's pet seishi know who I was, but Seitaro kept
'sama-ing' me and I'm sure that look on her face meant that she guessed why I
might be important. I'm sure though, that it was the /only/ intelligent thought
she managed that whole night." Nicolette shrugs at the thought of a hole
in the wall. "I am well used to..less than stellar accommodations,
Sebastian. I'll make do, it won't be the first time I've had to and it's a
small price to pay for gaining a little freedom to go about on my own."
Well, 'cept for the watching eyes of her oni.
Sebastian
really /wants/ the watching eyes of the oni on her. He would have shoved her
into his own penthouse to keep an eye on her. Only.. well... it is nothing but
cinders now. "It is best to try to make nice with the Yang for all intents
and purposes, at least for the time being. Show them what a delightful young
woman you are, as I'm sure was obvious from the start." Sarcasm.
"That's all I ask for now, Nikki." And he nods his head again,
"You will be provided for, and enough so that your accommodations will
improve if you see fit."
Nikki
is probably going to be slippery as an eel when it comes to being put in one
place when she thinks she's in no danger. When there is clear trouble, she's a
good girl, but there's always been a drawback with using young girls as mikos.
Between being willful and strong minded, they've all got that insane element
where they run off into danger. "Make nice with them? You mean set them up
for a fall right, not actually..making /peach/ with them or anything
rihgt?" Oh that look of distaste is a bit immature, but she's still rather
new to all this yet. "Thank you for your generosity Monsieur Bastian. I
suppose though, I should get going soon. It's a little tedious, but my host
family expects me to be home at a decent hour." Then she sneaks back out
on her own most of the time, when they think she's asleep.
Sebastian
actually chuckles just the faintest at Nikki's words, "Just try to behave
yourself around them? I understand a desire now and again to want to light one
on fire. I could even direct you to a couple that you might want to center your
own fiery talents upon, but please try to make note that you /are/ a miko now.
The gods have already killed off one, and if you were to die doing your little
play... we would have to get ourselves another, and I think you might be a
little bit more agreeable to me then the last one I had to deal with."
Nope. No love lost between a certain Yin no miko and himself. He nods to her
once more, "It isn't so much generosity, as seeing that your need are seen
to. I'm sure we will see each other again soon. Have a good evening."