Match of the Millennium

Description: Tairyu comes to seek Echo's help in discerning his MYSTERIOUS CHI RELATED PROBLEM.

[TAIRYU]
It may have been a hot minute since Tairyu paid a visit to a certain occult shop down over in Chinatown. The particular district is, more than likely, the turf of a different organization from the Yakuza that Tairyu runs these days, so he likely has to be... careful about where and how he moves about.
Now, though, when the bell at the front door of the shop rings, it's with the entrance of the friendly(?) neighbourhood Yakuza ducking in. At least he's coming in alone rather than with an entourage of goons or, heavem forbid, his sister. He's keeping his left hand stuck inside his pocket -- and his expression is slightly strained, for some reason or another.

[ECHO]
The signage outside the shop that Tairyu seeks is still there, it's even buzzes a little as it blinks on and off a bit every so often. Thankfully though, none of the punks from the gangs in this territory linger around here. No doubt they'd been around to bother people for protection money before--but they didn't anymore. Big wonder why.

"Is that a Katashi I smell?~" there comes a female voice from the curtain and stairs that lead up to the living room, followed by the chittering of a bat--though it sounded like many small ones for a moment, before the curtain was hit by a gust of wind--blown up and revealing the owner of the shop near the top of the stairs.

She was wearing one of her usual black dressed and blood red high heels, hands on her hips.

"Well well well, what do we have here--you didn't bring little sister this time, I see, must mean you mean business," she trained her eyes on him, beginning to descend the stairs slowly with thudding of her high heeled shoes.

[TAIRYU]
Evidently the Yakuza is perfectly used to the sounds of bats and strange gusts of wind within the shop. And various other bizarre Echo-related things. At some point you just kind of... start to roll with it all.

"I hate to say that you are right, but it is what it is, I suppose," Tairyu rumbles up towards the stairs, albeit slowly stepping up forward to meet Echo halfway there. "As things stand though, I need some help with... an arcane matter, I guess you should call it. You were the first person I thought of who might be able to help. You up for some diagnostics?"

[ECHO]
"I was getting so close to teaching her a 'Rush of Fear' spell, too," Echo hmphs a little bit, apparently having Miku around rubbed off on her, Echo had apparently grown to like it more than she had let on. But that was for another time.

"Arcane, is it? Well that depends... I can assist you with free consultation," Echo grinned a little, her ivory fangs showing over her ruby red lips as she came closer. She likely wasn't even using any sort of magical disguise when she was alone with him in the shop, so there was nothing he needed to strain to see through. That was likely what that gust of wind was just earlier. Her releasing any sort of illusion around herself.

"What is it? you beat an informant far too much before he could divulge his secrets?--and now you need me to interrogate his unwilling corpse?" she snerked.

[TAIRYU]
"...A what spell." Tairyu's eyes narrow at the bat-lady. "Am I going to have to start keeping track of the literature Miku is getting into now? I don't want to end up with a miniature zombie apocalypse because she got inspired by you or something."

He shakes his head, before lifting his brows at the woman's question. "... The fact that you assume that from me first is a little concerning, you know. But no. It's actually... me I need you to look at."

His left hand is now drawn up from his pocket -- and immediately, she can see a fresh burn spread over the knuckles of his hand. "I had a little... incident."

[ECHO]
"It's a good thing for a girl her age to have! Way better than those pissing cans of mace they give ladies, or even something like Ray of Enfeeblement," Echo folded her arms a little, giving him a 'really' sort of look. "Zombies? Please, girls don't move onto 'Animate Dead' until they're at least of age, no telling what shenanigans they could get up to--ANYWAY," she changes the subject swiftly. She fans herself a little with her hand and one of her wings as he continues to speak, tilting her head.

"Well, what did you do to it?" she asked, raising a brow as she peered at his hand, confused. "Did you try to punch a grill again?" she took a step or two closer, hunching over as she narrowed her eyes.

[TAIRYU]
"You must realize you're not exactly making me feel any better about the potential of occult hobbies on Miku's part, right?"

The Yakuza lets out a vaguely exasperated sigh with that -- but at least Echo seems willing to let it go for now, so Tairyu's just as eager to change the subject, too. Heaven forbid they start talking about the potential of lessons regarding BOYS Miku might have taken from her.

"... What do you mean *again*? When have I ever punched a grill?" Eyes squint at her all over again, while he holds the hand up for easier eyeing-over. "But no. A burst of energy manifested over my arm while I was in the middle of a fight earlier. I wouldn't be concerned, normally, but... That doesn't exactly happen without my own conscious intention, usually. And it certainly doesn't usually burn me or make me feel like my nerves are tearing themselves apart normally, either."

He scowls at his hand, before looking over to the necromancer herself. "... I'm concerned that there might be chi inside me going haywire."

[ECHO]
"I just assume to try to punch random objects in street fights, you know, like using bicycles for weapons," Echo shrugs, rearing back up a bit, using her wing to fan herself again, like she had been before. "Perhaps you manifested some fire related chi and didn't know how to channel or focus it," she took his hand with her far more diminutive, white furred, red nailed one, scrutinizing it. "This doesn't look very burned, maybe a little more medium rare," she grinned a little. "So you're hurt, then? it feels bad? maybe you'd like to accompany for a drink," she looked back to his face.

"Describe more to me what this situation was," she turned, beginning to mount and ascend the stairs, moving back to her 'parlor' done over in red carpeting and oak, with the large round table she kept there, and also the cabinet of drinks.

[TAIRYU]
"Hey now, a bicycle makes for a perfectly decent weapon in a pinch," Tairyu protests with a huff. "But doesn't mean I *punch* them! ... Ahem."

He turns his hand over once, before she takes hold of it, fingers flexing outwards slightly. "I've channeled chi for that before. This was... different. Uncontrolled. It wasn't even the same color as what I normally handle."

When she turns for the stairs, he's quick to stpe after her. Head tilted slightly over to one side while considering her from behind. "It's not crippling or anything. But it did... hurt. I was just throwing a punch at someone, wasn't going to channel chi or anything-- and flames just suddenly burst out when my fist hit them."

[ECHO]
She pours herself a glass of red wine, before offering him the same, in a wide round glass, setting hers down on the table.

"It could have been some power of chi manipulation you have not gained an understanding of yet, or it could have been this person's natural defenses, if I knew more about them I might be able to give more information," Echo took her own glass of red wine and decided to sit down on the loveseat on the far side of the room, crossing her legs slowly, leaning back and letting her wings fan out just a bit, relaxing.

"Guess being around me was a positive influence after all, you're becoming something of a wizard perhaps, ready to join me in the occult?" she grins, clearly teasing him.

[TAIRYU]
"...I'm not sure how I am channeling my fighting spirit or however people want to look at it is... quite the same as sorcery." Tairyu delays a bit, but he does eventually take the glass of wine she'd poured for him. Wine's not really his kind of drink, but it's rude to refuse when offered, anyway.

"I'm positive my opponent had nothing to do with it," he assures then, over her speculations. "But... honestly? The main thing I'm concerned about is that it didn't really feel like *my* chi." His nose wrinkles at that particular thought, before he lowers down to sitting besides her, wine in hand and all. "If that makes sense?"

[ECHO]
"Oh don't worry, we can get you some fine robes, maybe a pointy hat," Echo is teasing him, by the look on her face, for sure, dangling the red high heel from her raised foot in that folded legs position, grinning at him, swirling the red liquid around in her goblet glass.

"Didn't like yours, well that was why I thought it might have been an effect of your opponent, but if you're certain it was yours... hmm," Echo repositions herself as he sits down, folding in that wing so he has room to sit back, and won't sit back on hers."It could be some form of chi you've managed to unlock, she reaches over and idly drags a red pointed nail across the shoulder of his shirt, as if tugging his collar down.

"I'm not sure if there is anything *I* can do about it immediately, sounds like you're going through some growing pains with your powers," she peers up at him.

[TAIRYU]
"Absolutely not," Tairyu grunts at the teasing, eyes narrowing pointedly at the woman. "Besides. Do you really think I could look good in something like that? I'd look like an idiot."

He finally takes a small sip of the wine. At least he doesn't seem to mind the taste itself, even if it isn't his first choice of drink on the alcoholic front. "I mean, I would have thought I already went through those. Like I said, I'm no stranger to using Chi." His head tips slightly to the opposite side while she's toying with the collar of his shirt, letting out a low grunt when he inevitably feels a nail along his skin. "I guess I'm mostly concerned there's something wrong with my body. Or... soul, or whatever else works that stuff. And I end up exploding because of haywire Chi."

[ECHO]
"Humans /think/ wizards dress up that way," she shrugs a little, swirling the lesser amount of wine in her glass. "Maybe it's the chic here, I don't know--though any of the real magic-users I've run into so far just look like regular people," she sipped at it again.

"So you'd like me to employ some kind of divination or scrying to find out what's wrong with your energy levels? Never seemed to have problem with those before," she smirked, sticking her tongue out just a little as she patted his knee, before flipping her shoe back up and straightened her foot down into it again, standing up again, sighing.

"Alright then, let me break out the seeing glass and find something that bleeds," she paused, "Preferably not you, of course, haha..." she walked off into the hall connecting the parlor with the rest if the upstairs flat.

Log created on 19:29:27 02/05/2021 by Echo, and last modified on 23:38:29 02/05/2021.