2/7/2003

01:13 AM

Logfile from Ichijin.

 

Abandoned Warehouse

You see nothing special.

Akusui, Akurei, Nuriko, and Chiriko are here.

Obvious exits:

Out

 

Hiroshi blinks at Reese, then at Morwen, reaching over to attempt to take hold of Nuriko's hand. "Ie, I will not cooperate with you as long as you remain uncivil. Once you are ready to talk to me as an equal, then we may negotiate. As for my making of monsters, I doubt very much that that will happen. As catches go, you ended up with a very small one in taking me as your hostage. I have no power to speak of, and am not even old enough to fight properly. I have only that which you cannot take away from me, my duty. Where? The first safe place, I believe. I was not in charge of that part, and the person who was is not with us, I'm afraid.  As it is, either the scroll was destroyed, or something extraordinary happened with it, because I no longer have it, nor do my friends." 

 

Kourin clutches Hiroshi's hand, frowning deeply at Morwen. "You are a bitch, by the way. In case you weren't ever told that or weren't sure. I much prefer the blonde who was here earlier. Ichijin you called him?" She nods this last towards Reese. "Sure he could blast the three of us easily enough, but at least he was intelligent and courteous. He seemed to understand that violent threats are not the answer to every question."

 

Speak of the devil, here comes that blonde in question after a delightful day raiding companies and firing lawyers. The noise those lawyers make when you send them packing. Delightful. Ahhhh, the joys of destruction. But, anywho, here he comes with Clark Kent disguise perched upon his nose. "Oh, do go on, pretty. You might just turn my head."

 

Reese lets her lips twitch. "Keep in mind, Kourin, that we're four gods' warriors. I doubt that all of you would be as polite as Ichijin was, and I won't tolerate anything if I find out that something went wrong with our raid." For one, the girl has lost radio contact with Lexie, and she looks worried and irritated. On the one hand, there is a chance that the miko is just being evil. On the other, she doesn't seem to be the type to do something quite that rash without being in deep shit. She falls silent, eyes cast downwards.

 

Morwen shrugs.  "Have it your way, then?  I'm sure you wouldn't want to have it any other way."  Her smile twists to something darker before she throws up her hands in disgust.  "I'm glad that you all feel like this is afternoon tea-time, and we're back in some fantasy version of some chivalric feudal era." she snorts sarcastically.  "Ah, Sebastian.  Please tell me you're not a bleeding heart liberal."  she appeals to him.  In the meantime, however, she idly twirls one finger, a small ball of water gradually enlarging to spin around on the finger.

 

Hiroshi turns to gaze at Reese.  "I can assure you that my friends are honorable people. We wouldn't do anything unless first acted upon, aside from our duty to our god and our miko. We're not that sort of people."  That said, he begins to write, looking down at the paper with concentration that might be envied by other students. Characters form, and Kourin might recognize them as the beginnings of a chart of his own stars.  "We are the warriors of our god as well, Reese, and we intend to act as such, with the honor that warriors must have. You seem to know what that means, and you should know what that means for each of us."

 

Kourin's attention is diverted by the arrival of said Ichijin, but now she has a name to go along with the other. "Sebastian, hello again. Always a pleasure," she says, favoring him with a carefully placed, coy smile. "I was just extoling our virtues to the others here. After all, you did say it was a missed chance that we couldn't be of further entertainment to each other. I was debating this fact, actually and realized that if you were to let the other two go, I would be willing to let you have me, in any sense that word might mean to you and provide you with entertainment. Oh, and I'm hard to kill, so I can promise to stick around for a while." All this is delivered in soft voice, as if she and he were the only two in the room, sharing an intimate moment.

 

Sebastian grins wryly as he moves up to them, looking askance to Morwen with a smirk. "Thank you, /Morwen/." Just keep bandying about his name like that, oni. Excellent way for him to loose his good mood. But, he continues on near to the cage to watch the seishi for a long moment. He draws fingers back through his hair to pull it away and then he murmurs, "I don't plan on killing you, dear. But I might have another use for you, and your charms." Please don't sic BobII on him, Reese. "It has come to my attention that... your friends might just have our miko. But, the thing is, I really could care less. As any of my friends here could tell you, I'm not that great of a fan of her. But, I've this funny thing about responsibility... So, I'd really like to get her back. Care to tell me where she is?"

 

"I didn't mean to imply that you were the same as some of us, Hiroshi," Reese says. "And if you say that your faction is honorable, I will believe you - I trust your integrity." Why? Because there's nothing awful exuding from the child, nothing she can soak in. Lashes flutter, and the girl shrugs her shoulders, lips pursing. "We're two sides of the same coin, and each side has its shadows. If I believed so much in all of my people, then you would be dead right now, and we--..." The seishi's eyes widen, and from her hip comes a dark, ugly flare. A symbol for death. "They have Lexie? No," Reese murmurs, pursing her lips.

 

Morwen just throws her head back and laughs at Kourin.  "Now /that/ is cooperation."  she giggles.  "If only you were older, Yoshi."  she throws him an inviting look.  "Or are you man enough already?  I wouldn't mind /that/ sort of cooperation."  She shrugs at Sebastian, unpenitently.  Reese was throwing names around already last night, it's not like his cover was going to last long.  "Either that, or she's dead.  Remember that big explosion from the vicinity of the scroll room?"  she points out, seemingly unperturbed by the information.  It's already figured into her calculations.  "The honorable warriors lose.  They're never willing to do all the things necessary for total victory."

 

Hiroshi turns to gaze at Nuriko with wide eyes.  "I will /not/ leave you, nor will I leave Michael-san. He wouldn't leave me, and I'm not going to leave you in that way, either."  The gaze turns pleading toward his fellow seishi.  "You are above such things, Kourin, and I would rather cover my hands in blood then let that happen."  Unfortunately, they were there to hear that. It's also unfortunate that his kanji- in easy view due to his clothing and shoes- begins to glow.  At the mention of Lexie's whereabouts, the boy shakes his head.  "Ie, I know nothing of this. If she is held by my friends, she is being treated well. Perhaps you may wish to negotiate for her release, we are very reasonable people. If she were in other hands, I could not say as much."  And he'll just go back to his charting, kanji still glowing, and his attention completely taken up with his writing.

 

Kourin turns to Hiroshi, putting a finger to his lips, "Hush. You know damn well I'm not above suchs things. You know what I was before we met again. It's just a body, is it not. If it means you and Michael are safe, then I have done my duty. This is /my/ choice, Hiro-kun. Remember, we talked about choices, did we not?" She turns back to Sebastian, rising to her feet, albeit a bit unsteady as she walks closer to the bars. "I never saw your miko and if he says he doesn't know, then he doesn't. He was shot twice after all."

 

Sebastian flickers a glance askance to Reese for a moment, before bobbing his head slowly. "If she was dead, we'd just look for another. But, seeing as I just want to make absolute sure about this..." Shoulders shrug slightly, and head shakes from side to side. "I believe it is long past time that we got in touch with each other, don't you think so?" He pulls a cellphone out of his pocket, and then itches a finger to Kourin with a 'come hither' movement to get her to come closer.

 

"It's getting a little too sappy and lovey-dovey for my tastes."  Morwen rolls her eyes, standing up.  "Somebody tell me when they're finished with trying to sacrifice themselves for each other.  Always makes me slightly nauseous."  She stalks out, looking huffy.  "Damn idiots..." she mutters on her way out, though it's ambiguous which group she's referring to.

 

Reese, unfortunately, shares a rather tragic trait with the Suzaku seishi - she stands, wrapping her small hand around Sebastian's wrist, her chi flaring, warming, warning. The path of the cell phone is halted for a moment, and the girl hisses something very very quietly into her fellow seishi's ear. It doesn't take a chi sense to tell what's wrong: even instinctively, the ill will and anger she exudes is potent, upset. Eyes are flicked darkly to Hiroshi. "While we can hold onto the three of you, we will. Even if one of us lets you go, I will not let you leave until I am certain that Lexie is safe."

 

"And take away my choice as to whether I go or stay. Thank you, Kourin."  Hiroshi's voice becomes soft, and he doesn't look up from his writing. Instead, one hand clenches into a fist while the other writes more hurriedly, as if he didn't actually need to read what he was writing.  "That is your choice, and I cannot argue with it."  It would be a lost cause.  "However, putting us together would be beneficial for you all. You will find that we are much calmer when we are together."  Well, they are.

 

Kourin sighs at her fellow seishi but does draw closer to Sebastian at his beckoning finger. "Look," she says to him, keeping her voice steady and soft. "Let the kid go. He's told you all he knows. The other one, Michael, doesn't even remember fully. He would be of no use to you. If they have your miko, the others will be more than willing to barter for me. You don't need to have three of us."

 

Sebastian hesitates as Reese grabs his wrist. He frowns though, leaning slightly to the side to listen to what she has to say. But he does bob his head in understanding to her, before looking away and over to Kourin again. He doesn't respond to the seishi's words though, but opens the phone up and offers it to her. "Dial me one of your suzaku friends, then give me the phone back. I don't need to threaten you if you do more than that, right?"

 

Reese crosses her arms over her chest, glowering and shaking her head. "I do nothing for you until I get insurance." Though her tone sounds dark even to her own ears. Her backpack begins to shift lightly, as she tries to stave off a little chi into the contents of the bag, mood and expression lightening as her own anger drains lightly away. She retains enough to keep an edge, but nothing like the seething, loathesome hate she maintained a few moments ago. Then again, her backpack is now doing crunches, it appears.

 

Hiroshi eyes the backpack for a moment, but quickly goes back to his writing, appearing to relax just a bit. "Hai, I understand, though you may want to remember that we three have had no contact with your miko."  He finishes writing, considering the chart before simply gazing at it. "I couldn't hurt her, even if I wanted to."  He's too small to be effective in that regard. He could talk to her about obscure sciences until her head exploded, but that's about it. 

 

"No, you don't need to threaten me. I'm sure I can guess what you would do if I did something naughty," replies Kourin, taking the phone from him and dialing a number quickly. "Ask for Trevor or Johnston, though that is Trevor's number." The phone is handed back to him then.

Sebastian grins wryly at Kourin as he watches her dial. He then draws back a step to lean on the side of the cage, and not within arm's reach of the seishi. He saw what she did with those bars, and he isn't that stupid.

 

Ichijin begins to dial his phone.

Chichiri answers his phone.

 

<Phone> Chichiri says, "Johnston Clayworth, here." he responds automatically.  "Can I help you?"

 

 

<Phone> Ichijin says, "Johnston, eh?" It is a rather cultured accent that speaks, South Affrican if we want to get technical. "I wonder which one you are... Anyway, I believe we have something to discuss, suzaku."

 

<Phone> There's a pause.  "And who, may I ask, is calling?  It helps to have a name to address you by."  Johnston responds.  "You haven't hurt any of our people, have you?"

 

<Phone> Sebastian says, "I'm known by Ichijin." Someone around here has to be careful with the names, even if it is a lost cause. "I'll do you one better, Johnston. I'll let you even talk to one of them for a moment, but only if I hear from someone. I'm sure you know who. "

 

Reese nods her head, eyes cold, expression impassive. "I know. But this is a hostage situation. If I could replace you with someone grim and evil, I would jump at the opportunity. I doubt that you would willingly let another take your place, though. So you just sit tight, while we see what we can get for our miko." Her tone is kept quiet, then she falls silent altogether, listening for Lexie's voice.

 

Hiroshi simply nods, not speaking as he concentrates on the paper in front of him, then takes the page out, ripping it into two pieces. "Hai, I understand, and you're right."  He's resigned to what might come, but he does give Kourin an apologetic look.  "I'm sorry." 

 

<Phone> Lexie's voice comes over the phone.  "Yo, don't negociate with these assholes or I'll fill you full of holes. Anything happens to me I'm sure I can count on you guys.  And get that bloody scroll, y'hear?"  The phone fumbles a little, as if the person holding it was rather surprised and had to juggle the phone a little.  "Ignore her, please.  She's somewhat distraught and incapacitated at the moment.  She's got a concussion."  Johnston explains smoothly.  Under the circumstances, he doesn't even bother glaring at Nakago.  He makes shushing gestures at Lexie, trying to indicate that someone should keep her quiet.

 

Heard rather loudly from the phone and definitely in Lexie's voice: "Yo, don't negociate with these assholes or I'll fill you full of holes. Anything happens to me I'm sure I can count on you guys.  And get that bloody scroll, y'hear?" Which, naturally, causes Seb to lean away from it for a momemnt.

 

<Phone> Ah, the sound of chuckling. Seb is definitely enjoying this. "She isn't giving all of you too rough of a time now, is she? I'd imagine that another hour or so, you'd be very willing to hand her over?" Gotta love the Yin miko.

 

The apology catches her attention and Kourin turns immediately to look at Hiroshi. "What are you sorry for?" she demands, stepping away from the bars, Sebastian, and the phone conversation. "What's going on, Hiro-kun. Tell me now..."

 

<Phone> The British voice waxes wry.  "I think we can handle things.  I can't promise I can fully restrain the more, um, violently inclined of our allies for too long, though.  In an hour, she could very well be begging to be handed over, and for you to negotiate."  Johnston sounds more concerned and worried than threatening.  "I believe it would be in both of our best interests to conduct a trade quickly and efficiently, with a minimum of fuss on either side?  Let me speak to one of our people."

 

Sebastian frowns at the phone for a moment before shrugging his shoulder, waving a hand to Nuriko once more. "Johnston want to hear from you." The phone is lifted so that she can easily speak into it if she so wishes.

 

"I expect an answer when I get back," Kourin says to Hiroshi, frowning heavily as she moves to where the phone is held out. "Hey, it's Nuriko. They've got Chiriko and Mitsukake too, but we're all okay now. Chiriko and I were shot, Mitsu was blasted," she pause, gaze flickering up to Sebastian's face, since he /was/ the one tossing the blasts about, "but he's okay now too. They healed us. Look.. I'm trying to get them to keep me and let the others go... "

 

<Phone> There is a moment of fumbling, and then comes Nuriko's voice, "Hey, it's Nuriko. They've got Chiriko and Mitsukake too, but we're all okay now. Chiriko and I were shot, Mitsu was blasted," she pause, gaze flickering up to Sebastian's face, since he /was/ the one tossing the blasts about, "but he's okay now too. They healed us. Look.. I'm trying to get them to keep me and let the others go... " But it is at this point where Sebastian speaks once more, "As delightful as the lady is, she isn't the one making the deals here. We've three of your seishi, you've just got our very dispensible miko."

 

<Phone> "Nuriko!  Thank goodness all of you are all right."  Johnston murmers, with an eye towards reassuring his fellow Seishi.  "Your miko may be disposable, but she's still in our hands, no da.  And, after all the trouble your gods went through to get her, I doubt they'll be too happy at having to go find a new one.  It took a year for them to get this one, after all, no da."  he comments.  "All we really have to do is keep her alive.  And I think your gods would frown upon your killing her to free up the miko slot.  Face it, we all go away happy if we trade captives.  Otherwise, we reach an impasse.  I won't trade your miko for just one hostage."

Heard through the phone: "Nuriko!  Thank goodness all of you are all right."

 

Reese hears the shouts and smiles wide, breathing a deep sigh of relief. It's probably best that the girl isn't in charge of the phone, and she listens, leaning gently against the man's leg. "She's angry. That's good..." the seishi murmurs upwards, then closes her eyes, focusing intensely and biting her own lip harshly. "Ichijin, honey, yell something that'll piss her off maybe?"

 

Sebastian covers a hand over the phone and looks back over to Reese, "That we are going to spend all of these seishi to get her out of there? That might just do the trick."

Hiroshi takes up his former position, leaning against the bars of their cell and shaking his head.  "Accept the apology, and we'll discuss it at another time, ne? For now, we should focus on being prisoners," is said to Nuriko.  "I'm sorry, but getting that scroll back won't be something I can tell you how to do. Either it was destroyed, or it was transported. In either case, I have no idea how to get it back."  With those words, he leans his head back against the bars and closes his eyes, listening to the conversation going on for any information he may be able to catch.

 

<Phone> Sebastian says, "And I won't trade our three, just for the miko. She isn't worth it. And the thing is, it is far more troubling to have to come up with three more seishi after they are gone. Mikos... they come and go, but seishi, they take an awful long time to be useful. We want more. That scroll... you need to find a way to get that for us. Then maybe we can talk further."

 

<Phone> "Well, if you won't trade all three, how about two, as a gesture of good faith?"  Johnston suggests.  "We need the little one in order to reclaim the scroll.  And we need the other male around--especially in case things start going wrong.  We'd have to keep your miko, of course--besides, she's not much use to you without the scroll, anyway."  He makes a little mental prayer of apology to Nuriko.  Hope she understands.  "When we get the scroll, we'll give that to you--along with your miko.  Quite probably heavily sedated, just for our ease."

 

"Don't lose your position, but get her riled up," Reese replies quietly. The bookbag nearby shakes a little, then goes entirely still, and she drinks of the presence of oniseishi, and she lets down her guard, a heavy blush rushing to her face. Her teeth grit, and the girl focuses all of her chi on her miko, forcing herself to find that edge of brilliant comfort that she gets from Lexie.

 

Sebastian frowns for a moment at what is said over the telephone before looking to Akurei, "They wish to trade for the boy and the big one for her, to possibly get that scroll. We'd get to keep the lady." But then he hesitates, watching Reese a little closer at her actions. He frowns, then goes back to the phone.

 

<Phone> A moment and then Seb is speaking once more, "I need to talk to Lexie about this again. It might be possible, but I need to here what she would have to say on the matter."

 

<Phone> Another puase.  "Ummmm.  I don't think that'll be quite possible at the moment.  She's out cold.  Got a little too rambunctious and we were forced to take...measures."  Johnston explains.  "Besides, as you heard her earlier, she's not quite exactly in a rational state of mind.  Still working off that inchoate fury of adrenaline or the like, no da."

 

Sebastian blinks again, shooting a look to Akurie, repeating exactly what he is hearing over the line, "She is out cold? Akurei?"

 

<Phone> It takes a moment once more before Sebastian is back. It really was a bad idea to tell him that. "She is out cold," he echoes, a touch of anger imbuing his voice. "Well, clearly that needs to be rectified. I'll wait while one of you slaps her around a bit to get a response. And when you finally do, I'll stop hitting the kid. You just tell me when." And then all goes silent.

 

Hiroshi keeps his eyes closed for a long moment, then stands by simply pushing against the bars behind him.  "You'll understand in a minute, Kourin."  Again, that apologetic glance is given his fellow seishi before he turns to Reese, who has been dubbed the voice of reason.  "Anou, Reese-san? You wish to get your miko back, ne? In order for my friends and I to be released, you also need the scroll. I believe I've figured out a way to accomplish this, but you will have to let my companions go in order for me to cooperate."  His shoulders slump a bit, but he doesn't look away from the oni.  "I'll speak to the others, and try to get them to give you back your miko. Do you agree?"

 

<Phone> "We'll do what we can."  Johnston responds calmly.  "But it may take a moment."

 

<Phone> Sebastian says, "Take as long as you wish. Just gives me a bit more fun with the little one. Please, feel free." Yes, there is deliberate mocking to his voice."

 

Kourin says, "You will fucking not!" seethes Kourin to /both/ Sebastian and Hiroshi. "No fucking, frigging way." So much for the pretty, sexy thing. Nuriko has strode forward. "Don't listen to him, Sebastian and if you touch him with one finger, one blast, one creepy crawly piece of shit, I will tear your head off your shoulders even if you kill me when I'm doing it. Believe me, I /am/ hard to kill. I've been torn up by a werewolf before and lived long enough to open the gates to the shrine. I won't let you stop me from taking a few of you with me. Got it? You should have just taken me up on the fucking offer when you had the chance." So much for subtle."

 

"You will fucking not!" seethes Kourin to /both/ Sebastian and Hiroshi. "No fucking, frigging way." So much for the pretty, sexy thing. Nuriko has strode forward. "Don't listen to him, Sebastian and if you touch him with one finger, one blast, one creepy crawly piece of shit, I will tear your head off your shoulders even if you kill me when I'm doing it. Believe me, I /am/ hard to kill. I've been torn up by a werewolf before and lived long enough to open the gates to the shrine. I won't let you stop me from taking a few of you with me. Got it? You should have just taken me up on the fucking offer when you had the chance." So much for subtle.

 

"Lexie is..." Reese shivers, licking her lips as she sends her talents out, hovering slightly over the many evil consciousnesses en route, thankful for the location of the warehouse. She takes it all in, searching, searching, brows furrowed. Suddenly, pieces of a picture click together, and the girl's eyes widen, bright and bold. Her pupils are pinpricks in her eyes, and she stands on her feet, murmuring something into Sebastian's ear. Shaking her head suddenly, there is a great rush of power returning, then the girl looks positively normal; even her symbol has faded beneath her shirt. Slipping onto her knees, she smiles at Chiriko. "I don't know what Lexie would say, but for her, I would give back Michael. Her orders are explicit, and we were told not to negotiate. I would rather have her back than the scroll, but we need both. I'm trying to be reasonable; I don't like hostage situations." No, she prefers more direct routes. "You understand?"

 

Akurei whispers to Seb, "Lexie is conscious. They're lying. She's west of here... and I can feel Prof Gordon, too. And parts of me are in the freezer next door..."

 

Sebastian frowns for a moment, and then hands the telephone over to Reese. He draws a step back and to the side to watch Nuriko with wry amusement. "Now, didn't I ask you to behave, lady? That language really isn't necessary, and you've a youngling present." Tongue clucks in admonishment. "Does it look as though I'm about to touch the boy? While my companions would gleefully love to do such, I'd really rather not -although don't be fooled into thinking it is beyond me either."

 

<Phone> Reese plucks the phone from Sebastian's hands impatiently, answering with a precise chirrup. "SNAFU, BigMomma. Akurei here. We've got three bogeys, a boy, a tall guy, and a girl. The take was pretty good, Momma, though the scroll was lost. The boy thinks he knows how to get it back, but we'd have to enter negotiations."

 

<Phone> Lexie: Yeah, get this.. Look, you're right. They need the kid to get the scroll.  Keep him healthy and keep Sakamumu away from him, he's underaged.  Anyways, my suggestion is to release the other two.. Once we get the scroll we can give them back the kid, after I'm released of course. I'll stay the night.. Other than taking off my shirt they haven't done too much, as most of them are pretty hosed.  Bit of a concussion, but I'll hold out for Kyofuu.  Sit on it for tonight; We'll work on it in the morning. Make sure there's no /lasting/ wounds to 'em.. Damaged goods and all that. Do you copy, base?

 

Hiroshi shakes his head, still appearing far too calm.  "Ie, Kourin, please. I know what I'm doing, and I'm not walking into something that I don't understand."  His attention goes to Sebastian, then, and he shakes his head.  "It's all or nothing. They go, or I make no attempt at finding the scroll for you. If I fail, I'm still in your hands, and the Suzaku, as much as I hate to say it, would go to great lengths to get me back.  I can do this, but I will need for you to trust me. You will, after all, be guarding the only way for me to escape."

 

<Phone> Reese pauses for a moment, then says, "Roger. Tell them that the packages will be returned unharmed, so long as you do as well. And Lexie? -- I miss ya. Akurei, out."

 

Akurei hangs up her phone.

 

Sebastian flickers a glance back to Reese, grin turning into a wry line as he listens to her. Now, that is no way to negotiate. You've really got to play with it far more. But, he waits for her, an most expectant look on his face. "Yes...?"

 

Kourin is a seishi caught in cage and now she knows it. She's pacing, up and down, up and down. It's difficult for her not to rip the bars off right this moment. Gotta trust the kid, gotta trust the kid. "Fine," she agrees at last, as if it matters. "I'll go along with this, but I mean it, if they hurt you, they're dead. At least some of them and I don't care what else happens."

Reese blinks at Hiroshi, then tilts her head to a side, holding the phone to her collarbone. "Child, I hate to do this to you. Would you let us hold the proverbial knife to your neck when we let the others go?" The seishi glances at Kourin for a moment, then continues. "I want to ensure against heroics, and you have become very precious cargo to the both of us." She glances at Sebastian with an admonishing glare, then turns back to the boy. "You said we would negotiate when I saw you on the same level. Consider that level met. Two seishi for our miko, then you for the scroll. Authentication of all exchanged items will be required, and the emissaries at each exchange will be prenegotiated and honor-bound."

 

Hiroshi simply nods to Reese.  "I agree. You'll have your authentication while I'm handing it over to you. I doubt very much that the scroll is going to enjoy being held by me any more than I am going to enjoy holding it. I would like very much for Kourin-san and Michael-san to be the ones to retrieve me, if you don't mind. I owe them quite a bit, and I wish to repay that."  So, why does he look like he's being led to the chair?  "I hold you to your word, because I have no fear for my own fate." 

 

Sebastian is admonished, which earns Reese a wry grin in return. He moves closer to her to try to take his phone back and from there tuck it into a pocket. The tall onisenshi comes around to stand behind Reese, an arm moving around to try to wrap over her shoulder and chest. "Rather honorable, that... young man. Respectable. And if you wish our word, you can have it."

Before they can lead him again, Hiroshi finds himself in a fierce Nuriko hug. He's just about to get squished when she lets him go, and backs away, hands balling into fists. "Just be okay, alright?" She looks to Sebastian and Reese, nodding curtly, "You two were fair, thank you."

 

Hiroshi returns Nuriko's hug, nodding his head but not speaking for a few minutes.  "Tell them I'm sorry, but it's the only way."  Once he's released, he backs up to offer himself as the willing hostage of the oni.  "Oneesan? Remember that I love you, ne? I won't get myself killed without a fight."  Now he's just got to figure out how to do this and not die, because Nuriko would bring him back to throttle him.

 

Reese breathes a sigh of relief, and smiles brightly. "We'll talk about ours later. When we release Kourin and Michael, I want them to be blindfolded and transported by Sebastian. Homasubi's warriors are no creatures of deception and trickery; we'll call tomorrow and think up a spot and a time, and make the exchange. Hiroshi, I want you to talk to your fellows and tell them about this deal, and stress the importance of discretion and integrity. If we get ambushed, the first thing I will do is threaten the lives of one of your fellows. You have to make this work, okay?" She clings onto Sebastian's arm and croons just a bit, having expended far too much chi today in her little panic. "For now, you're spending the night. If you need anything within reason to be comfortable, just ask."

 

Sebastian nods his head in agreement with Reese, watching the seishi with bemusement. He draws Reese back a little further against him before continuing, "We'll call again in the morning to get everything set up. But for now, you an sight tight and enjoy the ambiance of the building."

 

Hiroshi nods, still not looking entirely thrilled with things. "Hai, I think I just need to sleep, tomorrow will be a very long day."  With that, he heads back to his spot in the cell, flopping down where he had left the blanket and simply sitting there.  "I'll make it work, just don't overreact to my friends. They'll keep their end of the bargain."  Then he sits back, closing his eyes to think.