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.