Description: After many defeats, Mimiru comes up to the conclusion that if she wants to be able to protect others, she'll need to gain power. How? Just like her brother once did...
It's not the first time Mimiru came down this road. One of her friend stays in Justice High, so she came a few times, undercover though, due to the restrictions on visitors, to see her in her dorm. Considering the scenery around this road is full of trees and vegetation, when one comes across the paved road that leads to the Heinlein estate, it's hard not to actually take an halt to check the nearby sign that says where this road leads.
She had never really thought she'd go down this road, but here she is. She had to take off her rollerblades here and put her shoes back on. It was much easier that way. So she kept going by foot instead, having her stuff in her backbag. She's not lost -- she knows where she's going. It's the first time she came here but she knows where she's headed.
She takes her time, carefully looking around at the how things have been taken care of. Especially once she gets close enough to the manoir, seeing all the open space due to the clearings that have been made. So that's how it all looks like. Never mind the fact Mimiru probably had to jump off some barriers to get here since this is a private residence. If there isn't any signs of activity outside or any other further things that could stop her, Mimiru'd go straight for the entrance of the manoir. Take a deep breath and give a few knocks.
[OOC] Mimiru Kasagi idles a few secs.
There isn't anybody visible outside the manor at the moment. There are groundskeepers, but none of them are currently working outside and within sight of the entrance to the estate. And although there was a gate on the road, it wasn't locked, and there's only a token attempt at a fence; there's simply too much land to reasonably build a wall around it. Besides, Kain isn't too worried about security. He certainly has some, but the only people likely to run into any of it are those foolish enough to try breaking into anything on Kain's land. They'll be especially sorry if they run into the master of the estate.
Coming up and knockin on the door is relatively safe, however. Especially since Kain doesn't answer the door in person unless he's expecting some company that deserves to be greeted properly. So when Mimiru knocks, the person who opens the door a few moments later is a butlet, who eyes the girl with disdain which he doesn't even try to hide. He's not much of a fighting fan, so he doesn't recognize Mimiru at all. "...Can I help you?"
Kain has reconnected.
Considering the size of the manor and the estate, Mimiru was hardly expecting to see him in person. In fact, this is going to be the hard part! However, the direct approach seems the less likely to get her in some unwanted trouble. Mimiru waits patiently, her eyes wandering about the door, just to make sure there's not some other kind of device meant to get the attention of whoever may be inside. Thankfully, someone did hear Mimiru's knock and answers the door.
Mimiru takes a step back and she bows slightly, respectfully. She's well aware that considering her height and frame, she may look like some scout girl trying to sell cookies at the wrong place. "Yes, actually..." Mimiru says, before she straightens herself back, regaining her composure, "I'd like to talk with Kain Heinlein --" Well aware that at this point, she might just have the door closed in her face since she's hardly someone to be taken seriously, due to her age, Mimiru takes a step foward and she presses on, "I'm not just anyone! I'm pretty sure he's busy, but I think he might give me some minutes if you tell him my name! I mean, I'm not just a nobody! I've fought him once during the Sathurday Night Fights, it's important... Could you at least tell him that Mimiru Kasagi wants to talk to him?" She asks.
Kain has dropped a connection.
The expression on the butler's face doesn't change, making it difficult to tell whether or not he believes Mimiru, and whether or not he cares. "I'll see if he's available." There's no offer for the young girl to come in and wait; the butler simply closes the door, although at least he doesn't outright slam it in her face.
There's a fairly long wait, but who knows how far back in the mansion Kain is, or if he's even in the building? It is a fairly large structure, so it wouldn't be quick to find someone. Still, after some time has passed the door opens once again, revealing the butler. "Mr. Heinlein will see you. If you will follow me, he's in the study." The butler waits a moment for Mimiru to enter the house, then shuts the door behind her and sets off down the hall.
Seen from the inside, the mansion is expensively but tastefully decorated, with dark colors and fairly low-key furnishings. The only piece that really stands out is in the main hall; a massive portrait that takes up most of a wall. It's a beautiful blonde woman, who appears to be in her early twenties. To anyone who's spent any time with either Kain or Rock, there's more than a passing resemblance in her features.
Finally the butler stops at a pair of double wooden doors and knocks on them. Kain's voice comes from behind them. "Come in." The butler opens the door, revealing a relatively small room, the walls taken up by tall bookshelves filled with a variety of obscure volumes. In the back of the room is a desk set before a large window, with the seat placed facing the door. Kain is currently in that seat, with a book open in front of him, hands crossed under his chin as he looks at Mimiru. "Have a seat." He gestures with one hand toward a few comfortable looking chairs on the opposite side of the desk from him.
It was hard to read the expression on the butler's face, but at the very least, he remained polite and he did leave a bit of hope to Mimiru. He will go see him. At least that's what he said he'd do... Maybe he just didn't have the courage to tell her to go away and that by letting her wait there she'd go on her own? Nonethless, Mimiru stays there and waits -- she remains standing for a few minutes, but after a while she decides to sit down. She can understand why it's long, but as minutes pass on, she wonders if the butler just did what she thought and left her waiting there.
Thankfully, all of those questions fade away from her mind when the door opens and Mimiru quickly jerks back to her feet, both hands going behind her to sweep off her black pants for any dust or dirt that might have gotten on them. Finally, the time to know if Kain was there or not, or if he does want to see her or not has come. The answer she gets from the butler makes her smile. She has to force herself to conceal a bit her joy since she doubted on the results of that approach. So far so good though.
Mimiru makes her way into the manor, though she waits for the butler to lead the way. Her eyes do stray from the path they take to stare at the decoration. It is quite an impressive residence and is very raffined. Not that Mimiru can comprehend all of those grandiose things though.
Once they reach Kain's studies room, Mimiru's still a bit dazed with awe. Though at least, not enough to give a thank to the butler before she wanders into the room.
Mimiru takes off her backbag and sets it by the side of one of those comfortable chairs, before she takes a seat as offered. She folds her arms in her lap and she smiles, one hand lifting up to scratch the back of her head, "Ah... Thanks for letting me in.. I wasn't sure if you'd let me come in. I hope I'm not bothering you in the middle of important stuff... Hopefully, I... Think I shouldn't be too long..."
His job done for now, the butler shuts the door and heads off to do whatever else it is he has to do, leaving Kain and Mimiru alone. Kain leans back in his chair, putting his arms on the armrests as he looks at Mimiru sitting across from him. "Well now... I can guess at the general reason you're here, but perhaps you'll be able to surprise me with the specifics. And I am rather busy, but since you took the time and the initiative to come all the way out here, I'll at least hear you out."
Kain lifts his right hand up slightly, glancing at it as he flexes his fingers a few times. "I do have other things that need doing, however. So it's good that you won't need too much time." It's polite enough, but also definitely a warning. Kain does have some patience, and he's willing to reward people who take initiative, to some extent, but that doesn't mean he's going to spend a lot of his own time doing so.
At the very least, Mimiru seems to take the hint well enough. She narrows her eyes and nods -- with the butler gone, she has the privacy with Kain and it'll be just a little bit easier to actually talk with him, "Right -- I'll be brief and get straight to the points, just a couple of questions and other things," Mimiru says, waving her hand up as if to make it look like it'll take no time. "Just don't judge me until I'm done -- since I'm pretty sure you've had enough of talking about 'him'... Still..."
Mimiru bites her lips and she leans back. She tries to relax, calm down, but it's hard not to be nervous in this kind of situation, especially on limited time, "Why did you stop training my brother, Jiro? What happened...?"
Kain continues to lean back in his chair, his body language seeming to say that he's completely relaxed. Even his eyes don't show much, as he gazes blandly at Mimiru, then sighs and shakes his head for a moment. "He's never mentioned it? I suppose that's not too surprising. I gave him a test. I needed to see if he was capable of following through with the rest of the training I had to offer. He failed. Any attempts to teach him anything further would therefor have been a waste of time for both of us."
Mimiru slowly shakes her head, closing her eyes, "No. He has never mentioned it. In fact, he doesn't really tell me much, nor do I see him much. Guess I was probably one of the last who knew what was going on," Mimiru admits with a sigh. Her lips curl into a faint smile at the rest and she scratches the back of her head, "Heh... I see..." Mimiru says lowering her gaze. "Guess he just didn't have what it took to do it, eh?" Mimiru adds.
Mimiru frowns and she says, "I guess you had bad experience with him but... I wanted to know if you'd be willing to actually continue where you left off with him?" Mimiru asks, arching a brow, "Not with him, tha tis... But hum... With me..."
Kain leans forward in his chair, resting both of his arms on the top of the desk. "Considering that he hasn't even spoken to you about what the training involved, doesn't that make you hesitant to want to take it up? In truth, I don't really think you have what it takes. Just how much would you be willing to give up in order to become powerful? Because the cost is more than most people are willing to pay. Even when they at first think that they can, like your brother."
Kain lifts his arms up so that only his elbows are on the desk, and he rests his chin on the back of his hands. "Did you know that your brother is a murderer? That was part of his training that he /did/ pass. He had to kill a person. A person who deserved it, and would have gladly killed Jiro, of course, but one who was no longer in any position to do so." Kain stares directly at Mimiru's eyes as he speaks, and at no point does any trace of emotion enter his voice. "Is that something you could do?"
The more Kain's actually talking about it, the more curious Mimiru actually grows about all of this. It never really did interest her for various reasons, though she did believe that they must have done some things that aren't really considered moral. Mimiru lowers her gaze at those questions -- especially since Kain clearly states he doesn't think she's got what she'd need to do it. She remains silent for a moment and she shakes her head, "... No, no there's no doubt in my mind." Mimiru says with a nod. "The last teacher I had never took me seriously. I thought she taught me things, but in the end, aside from ideals and beliefs, I feel like I've just grown weaker just by following what she taught me. And ideals without power is useless," Mimiru says, "... Sometimes you need to make some sacrifices." She adds.
The rest does surprise Mimiru a lot more though. Her eyes widen and she stares a bit blankly, a bit in disbelief, "What...?" After that, Mimiru grows silent. Perhaps contemplating what her brother must have done or what all of this training entails. Mimiru lowers her gaze and she hums softly under her breath, probably debating it all inside of her mind, weighting it all. "What if I said I could?" Mimiru asks, lifting her eyes back up.
Kain raises an eyebrow for a moment, but otherwise shows little reaction to Mimiru's question. He watches her silently for a long moment before he responds. "Then I'd be rather suspicious that this is an attempt to lure me into some sort of trap." Although, it's pretty much impossible to fake the surprise that Kain sees in Mimiru. At least, to do so well enough to fool Kain's ability to read people. It's just a matter of setting up the reaction, and Kain can tell just how someone feels about a topic. Feelings can change, of course, but when it's impossible to fake it...
One more test, then. Besides, Kain prefers to keep his emotion reading as subtle as possible. Grant is the only other person who knows what he's capable of. "Perhaps you really did talk to Jiro about this, and you're trying to trick me in some fashion. You might even really be prepared to kill someone like Jiro did, secure in the knowledge that the person probably deserved it. Whether your intentions are honest or not... No, I'm not going to waste time attempting to groom a student again. I'll get right to the point. Could you kill someone who hasn't committed any evil acts, if that is what's required to attain power?" And he keeps his eyes locked on Mimiru, trying to use the force of his presence to keep her from looking away.
Hard to read? Though Mimiru's full of honesty, at the very least, that's what she might sound like. A bit nervous, for one, but who wouldn't be? Either she's pretty good at faking her reaction of surprise, or she didn't really have any ideas of what Jiro had been doing here. Nonethless, Mimiru doesn't protest or say a thing when Kain talks about a trap -- even if it were, she has trouble imagining how they could do anything to him, considering their poor performance in the last fight they had together.
Kain's imposing presence his enough to actually keep Mimiru half-frozen. She doesn't avert her gaze from him, she keeps her eyes focused on his. Her eyes don't even stray downward to think, "I can," Mimiru says, "But I'm not a sadist, I won't like it," Mimiru adds, "I know you gain nothing for nothing, and that without powers, ideals are useless. It's no good to keep on fighting for anything if you just can't achieve anything because you don't have the power." Mimiru heaves a sigh and she bites her lips, "I guess this might sound a bit awkward considering what you know of me, but explaining it all would just take more time than you'd be willing to give me."
Kain continues to stare at Mimiru for a few moments longer, then he suddenly straightens up, taking his arms off the desk. "You might just have what it takes. But words are just words, even if you believe in them right now. The first step to really being able to become strong is to actively cast off the shackles that this weak modern world has placed on you."
Reaching down, Kain slides open a drawer in the desk. "And sadism is not a prerequisite for power. It's a vice, and like all vices, a weak point. Hurting or killing people for the joy of it should be beneath you. But that doesn't mean you should hesitate to destroy someone when they get in your way." Reaching into the desk drawer, Kain pulls out a knife. The blade is perhaps six inches long, and the cutting edge has an intricate and wildly varying saw-tooth pattern. "Kill one of your schoolmates. The exact method doesn't matter, as long as you do it personally, and with your own two hands. At some point during or after, stab them with this knife. The wound this makes will be enough for me to confirm that you've done it." Apparently Kain has certain sources of information available to him that will allow him to find out about it. "You have one week. If you haven't done it in that amount of time, I'd suggest not coming back here again." He casually tosses the knife toward Mimiru, leaving it up to her to try and catch it. "On the way out, a member of my staff is going to search you for recording devices. I'm not a particularly paranoid man, but only a fool puts his complete trust in a person with a reason to have a grudge."
At the very least, that's something Mimiru's willing to believe in and agrees to: Words are just words. After what she has been through, she feels like all she has done has only been words, and words without meaning, even if it has its appeal.
Mimiru's reflexes are at least good enough to allow her to catch the knife with relative grace. So that she doesn't cut herself catching it. Mimiru takes a few moments to stare at the knife, staring at her reflection on the blade. "But..." Mimiru is about to actually say something but she decides against it. She doesn't want to know how stabbing into someone will be proof enough -- she doesn't plan on keeping the knife all bloody after she'll do it -- if she does it. "Right, I'll do it..." Mimiru says with a nod of her head. Her eyes finally lift back up at Kain, "I don't plan on following my brother's footsteps when it'll come to that..." Mimiru says.
It's a test, one that has to pass -- the thought does cross her mind though, what if he refuses to take her after all of this? She'll have a week to think about it and do it. Still for now, Mimiru simply stands up and she bows her head respectfully, "I've taken enough of your time for now, thank you Mister Heinlein. I'll see you again within the next week." Mimiru says.
And with that said, Mimiru puts the knife in her backbag, before she puts it on her back and makes her way out of Kain's room.
[OOC] Kain says, "And there we go. A female member of Kain's housestaff would search Mimiru on the way out, but there's no need to go into that."
[OOC] Mimiru Kasagi nods.
[OOC] Mimiru Kasagi has nothing to hide!
[OOC] Kain will be interested to see where this ends up going. "But for now, time to hop OOC and scrounge up some dinner."
Kain heads OOC.
[OOC] Mimiru Kasagi nodnods, "Thanks for the RP, cya later!"
Log created by Mimiru, and last modified on 15:44:19 10/01/2006.