Description: Yurika's pretty upset and enragingly jealous of Kurows SNF antics. Somehow he manages to calm the storm. Actually, maybe that isn't all that suprising.
After that humiliating loss on Saturday Night Fight (and that equally humiliating Kyokugen ladies' gi), Kurow Kirishima needs a little time to refocus and plan. After all, he has a lot of things on his plate, and his calculated actions to get some of them going have had wider repercussions than initially expected. Being a universally-regarded 'heel' on Saturday Night Fight is... admittedly not the worst thing, but it does have its downsides.
Some of those downsides, of course, are probably unknown to Kurow right now. Besides -- between the maps of each of the schools on his desk and the half-finished math homework, he probably hasn't had a lot of time to keep track of /all/ the angles. (Part of being a teenager, after all, is failing to notice those oh-so-important little things here and there.)
Plans, plans, and more plans. Lately it has been difficult for Yurika Kirishima to concentrate on much ever since she had seen the most.. Puzzling, and heartbreakings actions of her younger brother ever. Well, perhaps she's being a drama queen on her part, but like a dutiful woman she is going to deliver her weekly report while exhuting the most passive aggressive anger ever shown from the musician. As usual she shows up at the dormitory unnoticed and in her Justice High uniform and much to her suprise the door seemed to be left open a crack. Was she being expected?
Well either way, the door is slowly pushed open, and Yurika peeks her head inside, "Kurow? Are you decent?"
Yes, she asked that *after* looking inside.
Kurow is often puzzling and heartbreaking. It comes from sociopathy!
Caught off guard, Kurow suddenly jerks his head over toward Yurika; once he sees that it's just her, he turns back away, and says, with the disinterest that familiarity often breeds, "Yes. Come in." This prompts him to start shifting things around on his desk a little; when she reports, he often has to change /all/ his numbers and practically start back from scratch. "What did you want to talk about?" he asks, drumming his fingers on his desk a little impatiently.
Perhaps the weekend at the Kyokugen dojo wore through his decorum.
The musician steps inside, closing the door fully behind her. She doesn't mean to mess around with Kurows numbers.. Well.. At least she sort of doesn't mean to. Kind of.
Anyway once Yurika takes a few steps forward and folds her hands behind her back, she replies, "I was going to make a report about another student whom I had met within Seijyun. She didn't appear to be much at first but I saw she had an interesting skill with a rarely used weapon in the larger circuits," there's a slight pause, "But it would seem you're already quite aware of Sada Asai."
The way Yurika says that bothers Kurow just a little -- he's always been reasonably good at reading people. He knows when someone has an issue; of course, he often doesn't /care/, but that's a completely separate issue. "Yes, actually. I needed a second agent in Seijyun, and a little preliminary research told me she'd make a good fit." As usual, Kurow's delivery is at least moderately smug and self-assured.
He turns toward Yurika, actually looking at her (an improvement!) and nodding. "I suppose you're referring to the incident on world television, though. With Miss Fade."
"Miss Fade?" Yurika repeats, for a moment having completely forgotten that was the opponent Sada had even been fighting against. But that's quickly remembered, nodding her head as she gives her little smile, "Oh I see.. Well I suppose I wasn't important enough to be addressed about this first then?" the girl takes another small step forward, "I don't need help, Kurow, I can handle this on my own. You said you would give me a few weeks and it isn't even remotely close to that timeframe. But yes, I suppose this is about the Saturday Night Fight as well. But I wanted to congradulate you about that, it was very noble.. It was the first time I've seen that in quite some time.. For another woman."
With a shake of his head, Kurow says, "These things take time, Yurika -- I haven't gotten very far with her yet, anyway. I'm simply trying to be ready to move things forward when that timeframe ends if necessary. If she proves unnecessary, I can always abandon her." At the very least, /he/ thinks that's a good enough answer. Perhaps that's telling.
"As for the congratulations... well. Again, these things take time and effort. If she feels she can trust me to look out for her, she'll be more amenable when the time comes." His casual disinterest is obvious from his tone -- this may, perhaps, be reassuring, in a twisted sort of way.
Yurika's dark eyes deaden just a bit, brows slightly lowered as she considers her brothers words. In some ways it makes sense, but it doesn't quell her jealousy too much. But perhaps just enough to make her ease down for now, "I see.. Well that isn't necessary," she re-confirms, "I don't need 'insurance', Kurow, I take so long because I triple check that everything will go flawlessly. She is not part of my plan, I don't like her, and I will not hesitate to dispose of her if I feel she will get in my way." her face starts to redden at this point, the musician looking clearly annoyed, "Please reconsider your idea."
Kurow doesn't like having Yurika talk back to him. "Why are you so bothered by her? You were going to tell me about her beforehand, if what you said earlier was true." His tone becomes a little expectant, now -- he saw an opportunity and he took it, and now /Yurika/ is giving him lip? This is the closest to offended she can probably make him. As things start to get put together, though, the youth has to avoid cracking a smile. "... she's a competent musician, a competent fighter, from Seijyun, and I seem to have taken an interest in her... are you actually feeling /threatened/? By /her/?"
"I was going to tell you about her because that is my job," Yurika clarifies, refusing to see the bigger picture, "And if you're going to be on campus anyway, this is a waste of both of our time.." and then the girl is silent for a moment, taking in the last of his words.
At first she isn't sure how to react. But then the girl frowns, "I am *not*," the girl then huffs, crossing her arms, "This is supposed to be *my* mission, *my* post! How am I supposed to do anything when I can't even make proper calculations?? What about last week!" she cries, "Akira hasn't been talking to me for a week!"
"Yes, but Yurika, Yurika..." Kurow starts, finally moving toward her. "You're forgetting something. You're always so... simple about things -- there's a world of difference between a queen and a pawn, isn't there?" He doesn't get /too/ close, staying perhaps three feet from her. After a second of thought, he gets an idea. "A queen is worth more. Doubly so when it feels a little threat -- after all, just from the way you've been talking, it's clear that this is making you much more careful about your performance."
He doesn't address the question of Akira at all. Perhaps he thinks it'd send the conversation into a death spiral. "I suppose you've found me out. I thought you needed more... motivation." Is he lying? If nothing else, he's very /good/ at it -- after all, he's always been adept at false innocence, hasn't he? "You certainly sound more motivated."
And Yurika again is quiet throughout the ordeal, but when Kurow starts toward her, for a split second she's frightened, something in her mind told her she may have crossed the line and is about to pay the price..
But it isn't quite so much that, than things being brought into a perspective that, judging by her expression, she seems to buy completely. There's no hint of a smile, but the color, dark as it is, does return to her eyes, and her cheeks redden again, this time in embarassment, "O- Oh. Well I.. I um.." the girl stammers, gloved hand raised to her lips, as her gaze averts, "I.. I deeply apologize, Kurow.. I was a fool not to realize that. I understand now." Talk of Akira? It'd seem thoughts of being a Queen may have blinded her from that part of the conversation.
Kurow works with Yurika the way he'd probably work with himself if he had to. Play to her ego a little, assure her she's accepted regardless of whether or not it's the case -- and the rest is easy. "If you'd realized, it wouldn't have worked," Kurow says, starting to smile a bit. "After all, part of it required you to make that assumption." Sell the lie, Kurow. Sell it hard. You're going to need to. "Anyway -- you don't mind if I do come on campus every now and again to check up on you, or to work with Sada, do you? Remember -- if need be, she'll be /your/ resource, too, once you get a plan ready."
Yurika is doing her best to fight back a smile.. But her lip twitches on ocassion, making it difficult to hide the fact she's trying to hide it. But once Kurow does, she all but gives up on that part and nods her head, still seeming like the child who got caught stealing a cookie, though, "You're right, of course," she concedes, and her hands fold in front of her again.
To his question afterward though, she quickly shakes her head 'no', "N- No, please. You can come by any time you wish,"
Instant consent. Just add water!
"I- I suppose upon second thought she could be quite valuable, your eye has never been wrong before after all. But the only thing I ask.. Please be careful if Zaki is around. If something odd happens and she starts to grill me for questions, it will be really problematic. She doesn't seem like much, but her intuition is remarkable."
Just the response Kurow likes to hear -- dutiful, obedient. He would that she was like this /all/ the time. "I'll keep her in mind. She does seem like she has good gut feelings, which is always the most dangerous kind of decision making -- it's unpredictable." And we all know how much secretive organizations hate unpredictability! That's a given.
Now that she seems a little more favorable to him, he decides to push the earlier, more difficult question. "You were saying something about the Kazama girl again, earlier, though... she hasn't been talking to you? That's strange -- I'd expected her to come talk to you as soon as possible, considering... why do you think she's avoiding you?"
Yurika gives a nod of agreement, seeming slightly relieved again. Enough so that when Akira is brought up, she just gives a small frown, "She hasn't been avoiding me," she clarifies, "She's.. Shy when she's around me.." and the musician just finds that completely and utterly adorable. Normally it'd be something she doesn't worry about, but somehow this was different, "I'm not certain why she feels she can't tell me what's on her mind, but perhaps I'll have to give her a lighter nudge.. So I guess nothing really terrible happened then?" Nothing... Flute related, her eyes ask?
If the firmness in Kurow's tone is any indication, he's picking up well enough on the signals Yurika's sending with her eyes. "No. We fought in a Neo League match; I told her she should come talk to you about some things. That's all. I will say I still wouldn't mind having her around." The conspirator seems a little more dismissive of the idea than he has been, though; this is, perhaps, an improvement from previous situations. "Keep in mind, though -- again, if she won't come around, I expect you to be able to put everything aside and do what must be done."
".. I see." It is more dismissive than usual. He must have defeated her again, Yurika thinks. But even still, it does remind her that she needs to convince the other schoolgirl to join with the 'winning side'. Well, she'll cross that bridge when she gets there.
"There is no 'if', she will," Yurika then assures. She doesn't know how, but.. She'll do whatever she can, somehow, "Well then, I suppose I had better return to my studies and such... Um, Kurow," the girl looks slightly worried again, "Were you able to get away from Takuma?"
"I'm here, aren't I?" Kurow says, on the question of Takuma, and that seems to be that. "And... if you have nothing else, yes, getting back to your studies might be a good idea. I'm not sure what Seijyun's like in comparison to Justice, but this is usually when 'crunch time' begins, isn't it?" He looks back, briefly, to the spread of maps and homework on his desk.
"Thank you for coming tonight, Yurika. I think this was a very valuable conversation." Perhaps not for the reasons Yurika thinks it was, of course, but that's Kurow's little secret.
Yurika nods her head, "Yes, it's at that point in Seijyun as well," Yurika replies, expression more business-like. Which again fails once Kurow expresses his thanks. She's going to have a field day with her DeadJournal tonight! Well, she doesn't actually have one, but still, "I agree.. Again, thank you for your time.."
She bows to her younger brother, and then turns and makes her exit from that point. Tonight there'll be a very happy princess ninja'ing the streets of Southtown.
Bowing in turn to Yurika (though not quite as low), Kurow says, "I'll see you again soon, sister," before going back to his desk.
He allows himself a few seconds of self-congratulation.
Log created by Yurika, and last modified on 17:04:54 05/02/2007.