Description: The Sin Eater's work is not yet done in Southtown. Having recently brushed close to the supernatural, Benimaru attracts the attention of Nightwolf, who can smell the scent of a Darkstalker upon him. A battle of puns and blatant innuendo is then unleashed which results in an uneasy (deadly)alliance.
Sometimes it's nice to just get away. Even a man as extroverted (and self-centered) as Benimaru needs alone time. Mainly because otherwise he'd lose his hearing from all the girls screaming his name~.
(...Not really. But Beni's kind of a narcissistic ass.)
Anyway. At this particular moment what he's actually doing with his 'alone time' is training! He's on one of the tall buildings, practicing his katas! Generally he does this other places-- like in a dojo, where it's WARM, not on a roof like an idiot. But he's hoping someone will catch him on film doing this!
On the bright side, the exertion is keeping him warm. So he doesn't have to worry about his usual attire consisting of a cropped t-shirt. So he's in full attire, leopard-print cropped shirt, black jeans, boots.
And it's not just katas. His hair's standing up like it does when he fights, because he's using his electric moves at points. Kneekick to roundhouse to a backflick kick with a lightning strike at the end. A lunging roundhouse kick to a backflip kick to a literal summoning of electricity from the sky. Backflip kick to an aerial 'drill'-style kick to an electrically charged fist.
Yup. All for the cameras. Or whoever's watching. All the electricity up there is going to get SOMEONE's attention.
And someone does indeed notice.
Though more than likely not the kind of attention that Benimaru sought.
It would appear that a certain Demon Hunter's business in Southtown is not yet complete, for dead eyes saw lighting gather around a building from the distance. It is a sign that the spirits are gathering for something, though the scent does not match the nature of this chi. It smells heavily synthetics, of expensive cologne, of civilization.. but more importantly, there is a taint there, of darkness. Something does not add up here and it is the responsibility of the Sin Eater to investigate.
From the storm gathering overhead, a figure approaches from the side towards the young model practicing his forms. It is a shadowy wolf that somehow managed to get on the rooftop with Benimaru. A strange audience indeed. The wolf wanders over to the sidelines, avoiding most of the lighting but also keeping his eyes and ears trained on the young man dancing through the storm he's creating, as if he were circling prey. Once the wolf has made a full circle, the wolf sits and stares, waiting patiently for Benimaru to finish his kata. Even the wolves are polite in Japan, apparently.
Yet why he chooses to tease 'person he shouldn't trifle with' is anybody's guess.
Benimaru's brutal combo against his imaginary opponent ends with a quite literal storm! Well, a mini-one, as the blond man arches back, seemingly impossibly far for staying on his feet, arms out, balancing on his toes as if he were just about ready to rise up off the ground. But he doesn't QUITE levitate. Not quite, but almost. He straightens, slowly, and then brings his hands up to his hair, sweeping the fingers through and flicking them out to his sides. As he flicks the fingers out, a spark of static pops from his hands.
Then, just like that, the storm abates. He lets go of his charge, and his hair begins to calm itself and settle around his shoulders again. And when it does, he's facing Nightwolf. Who is literally a wolf. Benimaru pauses. Blinks. "...How did you get up here?" He isn't too worried. Because there aren't any wolves in Japan. This is a Malamute or a Husky with a particularly wolf-like pattern and color. Has to be.
Nope, that is a wolf staring back at you, Benimaru.
But not for too long.
When the blond haired action star begins to question the origins of his wolfish audience. The wolf rises to four legs.. and then on his hind legs.. as energy swirls around it and envelopes the creature completely. In just a mere moment, the green energy disperses to reveal a man instead of the wolf that was once there. Dark skinned and dressed in the attire of a warrior of the Americas, the shaman gazes his blank dead eyes at the long haired man and keeps quite for a moment.
Until he stretches his arms out and calls upon the thunder himself. The clouds darken over him and a powerful lighting bolt shoots down from the sky, hitting him square on the chest with a flash! It doesn't look like it hurt him any, the electricity merely swirls around him and makes those blank eyes of his glow even more.
Nightwolf recognizes a gaudy man when he sees on. It's not unlike how a Royal Turkey splays its feathers to show they are a big deal. In the same way, Nightwolf figures he has to make a big display of himself to get this man's attention, and what better way to do that than upstage him with his own lighting trick?
Holy crap, that is not a wolf. It's a werewolf. Or, 'skinwalker' actually, Benimaru realizes, as it seems to be a Native American. They called them 'skinwalkers', right? A skinwalker who apparently also can call lightning! For a moment, there's a wide-eyed, surprised look, and Beni just sort of stares. The combination of out-of-place factors is kind of shocking.
No pun intended.
Surprisingly, the rare Blond Japanese Turkey doesn't seem in the slightest upset or angry at being 'upstaged'. Truth be told, the changing from a wolf into a human was enough to get his attention. The lightning just reinforces that this wolf-man isn't like everyone else.
Heck, just being Native American does that! The wolf-changing and the lightning... that's a combination that just gives off the air of a warrior. Not just because of warpaint or attire. It's his whole countenance. This man possesses that indefinable something that announces very loudly that he is not one to be trifled with.
Yet it's anybody's guess why, out of the many options open to him for opening the conversation between himself and this skinwalker, the option 'tease the wolf-man' seems like the best one.
"Well, well," Benimaru drawls. "Have you come to eat me up, Mr. Wolf? Or is this a show of dominance?"
"Neither." If Benimaru needed further proof that the man before him means business he doesn't even hesitate when Benimaru responds in such crudely forward fashion that implies a lot of things. Where other people might have arched an eyebrow, snicker or even pause, Nightwolf simply weathers the innuendos and continues on. "My name is Nightwolf.. and I am here to ask you some questions, Benimaru Nikaido. I hope that you do not mind." This guy is definitely American, since he addresses Benimaru using his first name before his surname in an Occidental fashion.
Tucking his thumbs in his belt, he begins to approach the blond man in a manner that implies no threat. If he meant to try and hurt the other Benimaru, he might have his hands balled into fists, but instead he's just leisurely approaching him as if he were an old acquaintance of him.
"My apologies for the entrance, I merely concluded that some flashiness would attract your attention." His eyebrows widen slightly. Could he..? No.. did he just make a pun!!?
"Ah, so you've heard of me." Benimaru doesn't seem surprised. He IS pretty well-known on the shootfighting circuit. To say nothing of his modeling job. Reading the lack of threat in Nightwolf's posture, he too remains relaxed as the shaman approaches. The way he's referred to, to overall flatness to his words, no trace of an accent-- he can definitely tell Nightwolf is American. Even if the shape of his face and his skin color was any indication. Benimaru doesn't judge for skin tone. But it IS telling. Japanese just aren't that dark.
Oh, he doesn't miss the pun! "'Shocking', isn't it?" he puns right back. Then he smirks. "Though the wolf trick was enough to get my attention, to be sure. Not just the 'changing from wolf to man', but there aren't too many wolves in Japan, ne?" They're actually extinct (legally anyway, but there are always rumors). "So what did you need?" Altruism? "If you want an autograph, you'll have to wait for the signing tomorrow morning."
...Nope. Spoke too soon.
"You are quite famous." Nightwolf agrees, even a man of the wilds like himself has heard passing mention of the acclaimed fighter and model Benimaru. He seems to be announced in some tag line or advertisement whenever Nightwolf's job takes him to a city.. which is actually quite often.
"Well, I have been told you have an electrifying personality." Aggh! The puns! What's even more distressing is that Nightwolf's expression doesn't change as he continues the pun war. He is completely serious as if he had no idea that he was doing word play. The shaman continues on with business and gets close enough to get a good look at the blond fighter, blank dead eyes making it difficult where the skinwalker was looking. "No autographs for me today." Which seems to imply he'll get one at some point. "Your display got my attention and for a fleeting instance I thought I sensed something... a miss."
"You carry some kind of taint, one that your cologne cannot hide." Then Nightwolf does quite the odd thing and leans forward a bit to sniff the air. "But it does not come from you.. it was planted there."
"It is of the outmost importance you answer me this, Benimaru. Have you met anyone lately that was... odd?"
He glances to the side, which can be seen despite his lack of pupils. The shaman decides to clear that up a bit knowing of Benimaru's tendencies.
"Besides me, that is." Doesn't hurt to cover your bases.
Oooh, shots fired! Benimaru recognizes it, the subtle undertone with the pun. "If you think that's 'electrifying', wait until you see what happens when I get serious~." He strikes an elegant pose, shifting his weight to one leg and letting his hips tilt in a distinctly feminine way, and benging one leg at the knee just a little. Raising a hand next to his face, he adds, "I can really 'socket' to my opponents."
...That one was painfully bad. Then again... Subtle? Benimaru? NEVAH!
Though the mention of something amiss gets a more serious look. "Taint? Are you sure? I always use protection." Want to beat your head against a wall yet, Nightwolf? Or slap Benimaru? It's quite a normal feeling. As for having met anyone weird, "A few odd people, actually. All women~. I must have such a magnetic personality." Augh there goes the bad puns again.
.......
"I'm going to have to zap you down." Ooh boy, here it comes. "And let you know that was terrible."
Even the stoic Nightwolf could not possible contain his composure and let Benimaru get away with such a travesty. He was morally obligated to stop him. Nightwolf could have /never/ forgiven himself had he walked away that day without telling Benimaru of his grievous mistake.
Because it was just that bad.
True to form however, Nightwolf just soldiers on, weathering the hurricane of bad puns and the gaudy personality that is Benimaru in an attempt to get some actual information. "Think clearly now, you didn't necessarily have to bed any of them." As before, Nightwolf just slaps that pun out of the way and muscles his way through. "Surely you must recall one having a particular exotic characteristic that attracted you. Sharp canines, unearthly pale skin, outlandish eye coloration perhaps."
Benimaru laughs. "No publicity is bad publicity, man," he points out. And it's true, even if this guy decided to bumrush him and kick his ass, there would be talk about it. And either way, as long as he survived, he could say he fought a werewolf and lived to tell the tale! Think what THAT would do for his reputation!
Tilting his head. "Hmm... --oh! I remember someone like that. I was heading to Barcelona for a photo shoot and my agent put me on a plane going to Romania. During that layover I met a very pretty lady in a nightclub there. She was really pale, and had yellow eyes." He waves a hand. "Of course, I didn't think anything of it at the time; I'm not exactly the most normal guy out there, ne?
"Anyway, we talked for a bit, I told her I was stuck there for a bit. She offered me the guest room at her house to stay at, but I had a hotel room already." A sigh. "Ah, what might have been. Perhaps I should have taken her up on the offer. She was a really sweet woman."
Placing a palm against his cheek, he half-purrs, "I wonder if she would have 'taken good care of her guest'..."
"So they say." Nightwolf whispers though audibly enough for Benimaru to hear too. It's clear he has no intentions of attacking the man.. yet. Unless Benimaru unleashes a pun so horrendously bad that Nightwolf has no choice but to consider it a monstrous creature, Benimaru will be safe for the time being. Which of course means that there is a very real possibility of Nightwolf actually attacking him. The shaman does feel like smacking him upside the head, but full on charging him? Not yet... not just yet.
Particularly because he /finally/ starts making some progress. It doesn't look like Nightwolf is in any pain by just talking with the model, but that may be because he is a man of great patience. Others might compare it to the equivalent of ripping their own nails off.
"Hmm.." The skinwalker muses in thought. "A yellow eyed woman in Romania." Could it be so obvious? The shaman actually scoffs a bit when Benimaru sighs of what could have been and continues. "She might have.. but not in the way that you might think. Did she by any chance gave you her name?"
Perhaps the need to attack isn't strong enough yet... but it might be soon. And not for the offense of egregious pun use. The thing is, why Nightwolf would want her name is beyond him. She was a polite woman who didn't seem to have the slightest idea of any of the social cues that men use to attract women. He had to begin the conversation with her; in fact he had to peace twice to even get her attention. She wasn't dressed like a loose woman, and didn't seem to really even WANT company.
Of course... she changed her mind when she met Benimaru. At least, in HIS mind, anyway.
It'd be so easy. Just give Nightwolf her name, Nightwolf would leave. But then again... the question is, why does he want her name in the first place? He doesn't exactly look like the type to be looking for a date. And he seems to be looking for a very specific kind of thing. He mentioned a 'taint'. And when something is 'tainted', it's bad, right? So... he can't be looking for Marida for anything good. Which makes his decision for him.
He shifts his weight again, hooking a thumb on his belt and putting his weight on the other leg. "Ah... see... there's a problem with that. I only met her once, and my memory for names is OH so bad~," he starts. "Besides, what do you want her name for? She didn't hurt me, I don't see why I should go telling someone else personal details about her."
'Protect Girls' is in effect here, full force it seems.
Benimaru's initial resistance is expected. It would be folly of Nightwolf to think that someone would readily give someone's name to a complete stranger, particularly when said stranger demonstrated shape shifting powers and lighting control. There is just something that is awfully suspicious about that kind of stuff.
Due to the lack of a better term; Nightwolf knows that Benimaru is playing hard to get (the puns just won't stop will they?). The shaman does not blame him for going suddenly into the defensive, in fact, he admires him for trying to defend a woman from him. However, Nightwolf's reasons for seeking this out are noble despite appearances and he continues explaining.
"I am a Sin Eater, a Demon Hunter. It is my duty to seek out those things that lurk in the darkness and would prey on humanity." He glances at Benimaru's face to see any reaction. This might have been part of the reason why he demonstrated his wolf shape shifting and other skills. To give leverage to his story. "This woman you spoke to, if it is indeed her scent I smell upon you, it would indicate that she is a revenant of the the dark, a Strigoi, better known as a Vampire."
Cue thunder clap.
"I must hunt her down before she hurts the innocent, and for that I will need a name."
Benimaru's reaction to being told Nightwold is a 'Sin Eater'. Believe it or not, Benimaru is not secular enough in his beliefs to NOT believe in the spiritual side of things. After all, when a man develops the ability to manipulate electricity, one gets the feeling that it was fated to happen. So he doesn't think Nightwolf is crazy for thinking she's a vampire. Even if he himself doesn't believe it.
That thunderclap gets awide-eyed blink. And then his head tilts and his eyes lid, in a '...really dude?' look. "Let's say for a minute I actually believe you," Benimaru begins. "Even so, let me explain something. She was covered up specifically to NOT draw attention to herself. /I/ approached HER first. In fact I had to speak up twice. And she seemed sad about something. I was just happy that she smiled during the conversation.
"Now... I consider myself a really good judge of people," he continues. "I've only rarely been wrong. She didn't seem to ME to be the--" Here he raises his hands into clawed shapes, in a mock-threatening 'raaaar i am monster' pose. "--'I vill prrrei ahn yoor sveet sveet blahd' type." It was a really bad impression, but that was the point.
Lowering his hands and crossing his arms over his chest, he notes, "How can I know you aren't going to just go and murder her? Even if she IS a vampire--" Raising a hand up, index finger pointed upwards, "Which, mind you, the jury's still out on, as far as I'm concerned--" He recrosses his arms. "I'm not going to point you at somebody, supernatural creature or not-- FEMALE or not-- when I don't know if I'm just adding another name to your 'list of people to murder for arbitrary reasons'."
Benimaru's actually serious here. The foppish tone has left his voice, and the way he stands now is less 'elegant prettyboy' and more 'standing his ground'. His feet are shoulder width apart and his weight is balanced evenly over both legs.
The thing is, Nightwolf is a pretty good judge of character too, and he knew that Benimaru would say something like that.
"You doubt my intentions." It's a statement, the shaman does not question Benimaru's reaction since for him it is only natural that the blond man would have inhibitions about the questions he's being asked. "This is expected. I am stranger to you and you do not yet know of my purpose." Not surprisingly, Nightwolf is maintaining perfectly composed when Benimaru goes into total White Knight mode on him. He's used to people freaking out on him like that by now.
"There is no doubt that you have a knack for getting yourself in trouble, I can see that much in you." As stated before, Nighty is good at judging people, and Benimaru is the type that has a target printed all over his face. "Because it is likely that you will run into the forces of darkness again, I offer you this to prove myself to your eyes." Nightwolf reaches for his headband and plucks out one of his eagle feathers, offering it to the blond Japanese man.
"Take this with you. When you inevitably run into a Darkstalker that you cannot handle, whisper my name into the feather and I shall come to your aid."
"May this be enough to earn your trust."
'White Knight' is definitely the last thing most people who knew Benimaru would call him. He'd be the one who'd save the girl and then expect her to kiss him. Or more, who knows? But just as quickly as the serious attitude came, it's gone. "Oh COURSE I doubt them," he replies dramatically. his posture shifts, and he lets one leg go lax, bent at the knee in that effeminate way that he has. "Who WOULDN'T doubt the intentions of a man who just walks up to you as a wolf, changes into a man, and then says 'Tell me who that hot little number was that you were with earlier'~?"
Then suddenly... feather. Benimaru blinks at it. "Oh, er... thank you." He accepts the feather, though he seems a little confused, and looks at it as though he's not sure it's going to bite him or not. "...Say, it's not going to let you do something like teleport into my room while I'm sleeping, is it?"
"Only if you somehow whisper my name while you are sleeping." Nightwolf gives Benimaru an odd look. Kind of like 'don't even try it' before moving away.
As he's about to turn around, he pauses briefly and quickly spins around to stare at the blonde man again, having thought of something terrible. "I warn you, do /not/ summon me unless it is important. I am placing a lot of trust in you giving you that feather... do not make me regret my decision." Seriously, if Benimaru gets drunk in one party and calls upon Nightwolf to impress his friends, the Apache is totally going to scalp him. All that hair of his will make a good trophy anyway.
His warning given, Nightwolf turns around again. "Good bye for now, Benimaru Nikaido. I expect to hear from you soon."
At the mention of whispering names, Benimaru raises his index finger into the air, opens his mouth and takes a breath, as if he's about to say something. Pauses. Closes his mouth, lowers the finger, shakes his head. "Nope. Too easy." He does, however, note with a smirk, "Sorry Mr. Wolf. I'm no Snow White or Little Red Riding Hood. And I don't swing that way." Even if he makes people think he does, with how feminine some of his mannerisms are.
As Nightwolf turns to go, Benimaru nods. "Thanks. I'll make sure and let you know if any vampires try to suck out all my blood, or any demons try to eat my soul." The statement is delivered flatly. Why? "More seriously. Why would anybody want MY soul? I'm WAY too young-- and beautiful-- to die." And yes, he is indeed doing that effeminate hand-to-face pose as he says the last.
Log created on 17:27:36 11/20/2014 by Nightwolf, and last modified on 00:00:45 11/21/2014.