Match of the Millennium

Description: After Tairyu's run in with Upsilon, who else but Moondyne Mouse to track him down and torment him?

[MOONDYNE]
The search for Tairyu's missing sister had taken him on some weird turns--to the occult shop of what turned out to be a genuine sorceress, searching arcades, getting lost in the streets, and finally an encounter with what appeared to be some kind of cyborg! Things can't possibly get more weird for our anti-hero, could they...?

Spoilers: They are about to get much more weird.

The Sound Beach strip was likely not a strange environment for a yakuza--given all the shady deals that have likely gone down here. Maybe Tairyu is here on business, or maybe he's just taking a load off, or waiting to run into a client, or maybe an informant. However, if he was able to do /that/ to Upsilon, then it should be no surprise that he'd gotten the attention of NESTS in general. And while the 'examination' of Upsilon might have been a bit of a SNAFU, at least on Upsilon's end--it would appear he's about to get some unexpected company...

The room was fairly small, there was a small dresser, a bed, nightstand, a TV advancent to it--one of those older, hulking models that seemed to find the hotel room it's natural habitat--and on the other side of the room, a sliding glass door leading to a veranda.

[TAIRYU]
The reason Tairyu is here, really, is ultimately working much too late into the day. The Syndicate figures that held the strings of Aizawa-gumi had sent him all across the city on different jobs, finally ending with a raid on an unaffiliated black market weapons shipment at the docks.

And by the end of it, even he didn't have the motivation and energy left to make the trip back homewards. So money was brought to the cheap hotel - or as cheap as hotels go near Sound Beach anyhow - to get a key to a room. Not that he immediately retreated to the room, rather taking advantage, first, of the outdoor bar attached to the hotel before going upstairs.

And all but flopping into the bed, with his jacket tossed carelessly onto the bed, laying there on his back with an arm pressed over his face with a groan muffling into it. What a bloody day.

[MOONDYNE]
Unbeknownst to Tairyu, he has a special friend ascending the wall of the hotel, peeking in on him from the hotel's veranda--none other than Moondyne Mouse. Which, for some people, is probably the exact opposite of what they want to see--at least if they have any idea who NESTS is!

She's silent, keeping out of sight for the moment, however--her constant absorption of people's memory and personality data has given her quite a sense of humor, which Tairyu is about to find out--as she raises her hands and makes some obscure gestures--particularly toward...

The TV set winks on, if it had been off at all--the volume low at the moment, but it seems like Tai has laid down on the clicker--as it's switching between channels every so often.

From gameshow, talkshow, whatever celebrity-driven trivia spew that happened to be on--suddenly getting to... a lawyer advertisement?

"Feeling sick? Had an accident lately? Lost love one? I'll fix all your problems, just call 1-800-WE'LL-SUE!" the woman on the screen, above the super-imposed marquee, looks like a very smartly dressed female attorney--she's in a black suit with charcoal striping--even wearing a black fedora and sunglasses along with it. She looks kind of sleazy, though... an acquired taste sort. But she's also really pale, like her skin is milk white.

"Even you, Tairyu-san!" the image then skips to another channel. Wait, what the fuck?

[TAIRYU]
Ugh. Just his luck that the tv would start spewing it's obnoxious noises at him while he just doesn't have the energy to *deal*.

He rolls over on the bed on his side and groans quietly while the commercial is rolling through the screen, and his hand blindly feels about for the remote. He just wants that thing off. But he can't the remote. Where the hell is--

Wait. What?

His arm slides away from his face and his eyes turn to the tv screen. but no, the channel's already changed so he can't get a proper look at the woman on screen again. In a slow motion, he brings himself up to sitting over the bed, with the heel of one palm grinding itself against one brow. "...Didn't think I drank that much..."

Well, sod it. He can't find the remote anymore, so he elects to stand up all the way from the bed, and walk over to the tv itself, and reach for the power switch on the side...

[MOONDYNE]
As Tairyu got up, the channel switched again--as if his moving had jostled the remote or pressed down on the buttons to switch the station.

"Ohh, yeah, just give me a call tonight..." the easy-listening music with saxophone would instantly inform they were not watching the weather channel, especially with how this one started up. No, it's something other than the weather.

Close up shot of a very red and shiny vinyl high heeled shoe, set against the foot of a bed, while the superimposed lettering reading 'CALL NOW -- 1900-RED-HOTT' in glowing pink text. It's a goddamn 90s late-night phone sex line.

The camera travels up the woman's leg, who is seemingly woefully pale--past what looks like red lace bra and panties, finally to an equally white face with red lipstick, light blue hair and... wide conical mouse ears? Uhhhh.

"Especially you, Tai, mmm~" a uniformly white hand is pressed to her lips, blowing a kiss towards the viewer.

Meanwhile, of course, Moondyne is just out of sight, with a hand clasped over her mouth, having a real hard time suppressing her giggling.

[TAIRYU]
Tairyu doesn't give any initial mind to... this particular brand of commercial. Even if it does feel like it's found it's way to the completely wrong decade. He spends plenty time in the red light districts, so seeing things like that isn't anything new for him.

His finger does, however, pause over the power switch, when he hears himself addressed more directly. And only then does he give an actual, proper look at the image on the screen. Staring blankly at it in silence for several seconds.

"... This definitely isn't the whiskey." His finger leaves the power button entirely, and is instead guided to jabbing it's tip against the screen right where the pale, mouse-eared woman's face is. "Just what kinda joke is this, huh?"

[MOONDYNE]
"Aww, that was too funny," Moondyne finally breaks her silence after the sliding door to the 'veranda' slides open, revealing herself as she decloaks, in full armor, no less.

"So I hear you took down my cyberntically augmented friend the other day," Moondyne invites herself in, closing the sliding door behind her--not without making sure her long tail, which is tipped with some kind of cylindrical pod--is safely clear.

"Kind of a jerk, isn't he? ooh, the air conditioner is on in here," she reaches up and flips her visor up, shaking that pale blue hair out--the face, hair and ears are a pretty good tipoff that it was the same figure he kept seeing in the commercials. She also seems extremely casual about all this. The only thing she seemed to take seriously so far was fucking with him.

[TAIRYU]
Wait. That's the same voice as on the tv, but it's coming from--

Tairyu spins himself over to facing the sliding glass door. And the armored woman there. Even before she speaks the words that suggest her relation to the man who fought him in the mall the other day, he's already turned himself instinctively to a readied fighting stance, with one fist raised up parallel to his chin and one lowered at his waist, aimed downwards.

"So, what, are you here for payback?" Tairyu asks in a low growl, while his green eyes narrow in their intense stare towards Moondyne herself. "Or another 'examination' or whatever bullshit reason he had to start throwing energy bolts around in a crowded place?"

[MOONDYNE]
The first one has to realize when dealing with Moondyne Mouse is that she's obviously not a human wearing a suit, or cosplay--she looks way too realistic. Plus the size thing--she's very short, only about 5-foot nothing. And yes, there is that feminine, melodic voice--which is strangely French-accented, though it sounds like she can suppress it, when being more direct. And... there's the mouse thing. Yeah, she seems like an anthropomorphic mouse, not quite like a certain heavily copyrighted and shall remain nameless mouse with white gloves that we all know--no, she seems to blend human and mouse seemlessly, with more humanoid facial features and anatomy.

"Ooh, getting excited now, are we? No, not really," she shakes her head, giving a little wry smile that exposes the tips of her white, ivory buck teeth.

"As for examination, what kind, exactly?" she grins again, showing off quite a bit more teeth.

"You need to be careful when you ask those kinds of questions, mon cher," she batted her eyelashes at him. "But no, I don't want to hurt you, if that's what you mean."

[TAIRYU]
"...Excited?" Tairyu's eyes blink slowl at the mouse girl at that. "...Lady, don't get the wrong idea. I don't make a habit of taking kindly to people breaking into a place I was trying to sleep in."

An exasperated grunt, deep in his throat, but he does allow his stance to relax some at the very least, both fists lowering down.

"Then what *are* you here for, exactly? The impression your friends left on me didn't exactly paint you and yours as friendly neighbourhood regulars."

[MOONDYNE]
"I wanted to see beat him up, if you could, then it's clear you got some kinda strength," Moondyne nods, crossing her arms. "Yeah, we're not," the mouse woman doesn't even try to be subtle about it or utilize any guile. "Even I'm still trying to wrap my head around /why/ he decided he wanted to feast on your combat data, or whatever, maybe he likes you," Moondyne grinned, with a little shrug. She attempted to look around the room a little, just sort of exploring it, before her eyes fell on the remote--which, was likely glued onto the nightstand in some fashion. This was so it couldn't get lost, or you know, someone couldn't steal it.

"How did you like the gag with the TV, by the way? I programmed all those visuals myself," she grinned again, her tail flicking up behind her as she raised an hand to point at herself.

[TAIRYU]
"...You just... wanted to see the person who won against your friend," mutters Tairyu, in complete bemusement. "And he really didn't seem entirely excited about the whole thing when he started out, either. And not like he was alone, for that mater."

Of course, when she asks for his opinion on the tv gag, his brow twitches visibly. "... Why?" He asks in counter of her, after a moment. "Seems like a lot of effort to go to for a prank."

[MOONDYNE]
"Ehhh," she made her best impression of a 'wrong' buzzer noise. "That would be using the term a little loosely, tall dark and sideburns," she waggled a finger. "I already thought I made my thoughts clear on the matter," she grows bored of exploring the hotel room, especially after seeing the tiny bathroom. "Man, couldn't even fit /me/ in there, heh--and he's usually like that, no sense of humor," Moondyne turned back to the man.

"I mean, at least /I/ would have an excuse, he's the cyborg, I've never even /been/ human," she laughs at that, like it's a pretty normal thing to day. It's likely not to most people.

"Because it was funny, or at least, *I* found it pretty amusing, I guess you didn't?" Moondyne looked back at the man, as if he didn't enjoy her joke. She didn't seem legit offended by it, but maybe a bit shined on.

"Or maybe you'd prefer 'her' again?" she snapped her fingers, and her entire form seemed distort and warp, like the image on a VHS tape when you stop and turn it back on. All of a sudden, he'd be facing down the same image he saw in the sleazy late night commercial--red heels, and red lace bra and panties. She even struck a cheesecake-style pose, one arm behind head, the hand laid against her hip.

[TAIRYU]
"Alright, colleague, whatever," Tairyu's voice rumbles with just a hint of frustration in it, and his hand has even been brought up now to rub it's palm over his temple and one eye while fingers scratch at his scalp. "None of this is still really explaining why you came all the way here to fuck with me."

The instant her form changes to assume the clothes of the woman that showed up in the saucy commercial earlier... Tairyu grabs one of the towels set on a chair besides the tv and tosses it unceremoniously at her, letting it unfurl in the air and descend towards her to drape over her head if she doesn't stop it. "Didn't I just say not to get the wrong idea, lady?"

[MOONDYNE]
Moondyne blinks, but stays as still as a statue as the towel drapes over her, looking pretty silly with it hanging off her and covering most of her torso like that. She is pretty short, after all--the towel might as well be a beach towel to her.

"You uh," she says muffled behind the towel, before reaching up to snatch it off, "You weren't listening again, I was curious who beat him up! Gosh," she tossed the towel onto the bed--while the penthouse pet disguise disappeared in a shower of multi-colored pixel particles, which soon faded as well--leaving her back in her armor.

"Is it because I'm synthetic...? Are you robophobic?" she cringes, looking at last actually concerned, and worried. "You know how much I get that?!"

[TAIRYU]
"I was listening," Tairyu insists, arms folding up together over hs chest. "Just ain't explaining what the hell drove you to come intruding into a room with the person who could just as well consider you an enemy after that show at the mall."

W-...wait. Why does she suddenly seem upset. She *is* upset! Tairyu blinks rapidly at her, and his stoic expression breaks. "Eh? Ah--!" Arms unfold and he holds out his hands in a vague protestive gesture. "No! I don't care about any of that! L-look, I didn't mean to offend you, honest!"

[MOONDYNE]
Moondyne seems like she's seething for a moment, in a mixture of anger and despair, before she finally starts to try and calm down, it's... actually kind of a new emotion for her. Something more complex than just pathos or rage. She is surprised herself--almost surprised it's taken her this long to have this kind of epiphany. She also suddenly felt pretty guilty, which was evident on her features.

"Aww man, did I make it weird?" she raised a brow a little, looking worried. As he spoke, she started to relax more, as if she was a school child that got scolded, kicking her foot out lightly against the carpet.

"I heard about this person who could take down Upsilon and I wanted to see them," it almost seems like she's new to some of these emotions, and her chicanery and gags earlier were kind of playful mimicking, somehow--but her reaction seems genuine, right now.

[TAIRYU]
Tairyu watches Moondyne closely while she's internally working through all of that-- and for that matter, he looks genuinely concerned through all of it, too.

"...I think we both did, a little bit," he allows in answer to her question, with a little sigh let out as his own hands lowered down again.

"...But that's really all there is to it, then? You just wanted to see for yourself who happened to be there?"

[MOONDYNE]
"Sadness, anger, a bit of guilt and self-loathing... huh," Moondyne is almost giving a food review of this new emotion Tairyu has inspired in her, and what is perhaps a promising sign is she's not lashing out or getting childish over it. She is just a bit pouty still, though.

"Yeeess? That's what I said, is there some human nuance I'm missing here?" she asks a little cattily, giving a roll of her eyes.

"Besides, it's good to have intel on things like this, his ass is going to be in the shop for a little," she makes a thin smile, throwing her hands up a little.

"Gosh, are all you Yakuza types this paranoid? sheesh..."

[TAIRYU]
"I..." Tairyu lets out in an uncertain little sound, and there's visible concern on his features still. "...I'm sorry," he eventually comes up with, perhaps genuinely regretful over unintentionally causing this mix of emotions in her.

But back to the original subject they go, and he's rubbing idly at the side of his neck. "...There is a little bit, yeah. Mostly that us humanfolk usually don't just go invading peoples' rooms through windows or balconies."

And over her latter words, he narrows his eyes again. "...So, what, it's a recon mission, then? Is this the part where you're gonig to tell me your folks are preparing for another go with me?"

[MOONDYNE]
"From what I've seen women find that pretty romantic--hrm, I guess men are different," Moondyne put a hand to her chin, sounding clinical about it. "At least some might like that I figure, I guess you weren't even a little bit amused by it?" she relented, raising a hand as it to stop him.

"...It's fine, I accept your apology," she walks past him, closer to the sliding glass door she came in through.

"No, I'm just going to say I looked into it, I report what I want," she shakes her head more seriously this time.

"I don't really care what happened between you two anyway, I'm not in the mood to try and scan or examine you or anything like that."

[TAIRYU]
"Uh... I don't think most women I know would appreciate that much either," Tairyu points out. "I don't think women in general would usuall yappreciate that, either, unless... you know, they already knew the guy and were comfortable with them. Otherwise it just feels... You know."

His arms fold p together over his chest while she turns for the sliding door, head tilting slightly over to one side. "...Alright, fair enough. So... what *did* you get out of this, then?"

[MOONDYNE]
"Like I said," Moondyne turned her head back toward him, grinning and waggling a finger. "I've peered into a few of their heads a time or two, you pick up things," her hands find the sliding door handle, about ready to push it aside and head out.

"I came to satisfy my curiosity, and I wound up getting a bit more, au revoir mon petit~" Moondyne let the accent thicken before she began to cloak, the door would seem to open on it's own--then close behind her. And bam, gone.

Log created on 15:05:32 06/16/2020 by Moondyne, and last modified on 19:54:12 06/17/2020.