Description: The Yata Priestess Chizuru intervenes in the blood-feuding flame-wielders lives once again, this time with a special request for both of them: Join the resistance in Thailand! Shingo takes notes.
Though the residence of the Kusanagi clan has stood here for more than a millennium, the gleaming tiles of the building's pagoda-style rooftops make the household look like it has gone untouched by any of the ravages of time. The only indication of the real age of this mansion and the grounds it lies upon is the path one must use to reach it: A dilapidated, decaying stone stairway, nearly half a mile long, that shoots half-way up the mountain in a completely straight line, making it seem even longer.
The trudge up these stairs is often an irritating one for those who aren't naturally given to calm and patient behavior, and that's why Kyo Kusanagi often dreads going back home every night. He hates marching up the stairs, as he's currently doing. It's not as though the Kusanagi's don't have money, so how about installing a cable car, or tram system?
Kyo indulges upon these wild ideas, finding them welcome relief from the worries of World Warrior and some disturbing rumors he's heard about some of his Taiyo High classmates. He takes a small break while he daydreams, peering up at the unending line of stairs still before him and heaving sigh, "I guess it can't be helped."
Chizuru was not looking forward to those stairs. She is in very good shape, but there are only so many steps she wants to take in one go; she may be patient, but patience has its limits and she dislikes unnecessary tedium. That, and she is saving all of her patience and goodwill for the actual conversation she's going to have, with both the people who need to be spoken to.
Chizuru is making pretty good time up those stairs, though, especially for someone who dislikes them. Her goal is to find Kyo and speak to him; time is short before she'll have to move on, so if he's not home, she'll simply have to skip him and phone or something of the sort. Kyo, looking down, would probably have an easier time spotting Chizuru than her, looking up, wo uld find Kyo.
Kyo rests for a moment, then shoves his hands in his pockets and continues his march up the stairs. After a few minutes he notices that there is a second set of footsteps echoing off the rocky stairs, coming from behind him. He glances over his shoulder and spots Chizuru, though he pays her no mind, simply looking back up the stairs and soldiering upwards without any sort of acknowledgment given to the woman... until about a minute later, when he says (still walking and without looking back at her) "If you're looking for my father he's on one of his safaris, priestess."
Chizuru does not slow down until she has just about caught up with Kyo. Good, he's here; that means she doesn't have to go looking (which she doesn't really have time for) or skip him (which her inner voice is telling her not to do).
Only when she's close enough to speak without calling loudly does she slow down to match Kyo's pace, maintaining her distance a few steps down. "I am not," she says. "Actually, it was you I was hoping to speak to; I was only hoping that you were here, and not elsewhere."
Kyo does turn or even slow down to have a conversation with Chizuru. It's obvious he's not entirely thrilled to see her; why would he be? Every time he gets involved with Chizuru, weird things start happening, and he doesn't expect this time will be any different. "Oh yeah? Hope it's not some more fairy tales and stuff about my destiny..." he grumbles sardonically.
If footsteps echo satisfyingly in this setting, then there is no avoiding the sound of a high powered engine screeching up the stairs. A rider in black makes his way up the stairs on an expensive sport motorcycle; a dangerous endeavour considering what the bike is supposed to be used for.
The motorcyclist revs the engine, speeding up as he takes the stairs even faster while nearing Chizuru, blowing past her and then Kyo with no regard for either's safety. Only when he is several yards from the Kusanagi heir does he stop the bike, turning it to the side and balancing himself on the stairs with an outstretched leg.
The man reaches up to remove his helmet, revealing a distinctive red hairdo. "What's the matter, Kusanagi? Are you ignoring the blood feud again?"
Kyo stops dead in his tracks about ten seconds before Iori rockets past them on his motorcycle, his keen fighter's senses telling him that something is off... and it's only reaffirmed seconds later when the roar of the bike's engine starts to echo off the side of the mountain.
"LOOK OUT!" Kyo yells while deftly jumping backwards. He lands next to Chizuru and makes sure she's out of the way of the rampaging vehicle, not really considering the fact that she's entirely capable to avoiding such things herself.
Chizuru does not answer immediately, because she has sharp ears; she catches Iori coming. The fact that the motorcycle is rather loud doesn't hurt matters there. Instead she steps about as far to the side as she can manage without slipping right off the stairs, giving Iori more clearance to barrel up the stone steps with his usual disregard for everyone's safety.
"Thank you," she says, once she can straighten again and step back toward the middle, "but I'm fine." She seems to be. The biggest effect it had on her was to mess up her hair. Chizuru glances over the motorcycle for a moment - hers is better, she thinks - and then adds, "Kind of you to join us, Yagami. Enjoying your ride?"
Shingo has arrived.
With Chizuru safe, Kyo's hand whips to the side, crimson flame igniting from his palm and immediately spreading over his entire hand. The look on his face can only be described as pissed-off; definitely not as welcoming as Chizuru is.
"Yagami." Kyo says flatly, the flames spiralling off his hand reflecting in his narrowed eyes, "...you've got a lot of nerve."
Iori tilts his head up, staring down his nose at Kyo and Chizuru huddling together. For a moment he is a smug statue, and then he tucks his helmet underneath his arm and steps off his bike, leaving it precariously balanced on the steps. Chizuru is likely right in judging her vehicle superior; Iori does not care about motorcycles so much as he cares about where they can take him.
"Come on, Kusanagi," Iori's eyes narrow as he raises his arms, purple flames gathering in his hands. His expression is likely not meant to be threatening as it is a suppressed grimace. "You want to finish it right here? Shut up and listen to the woman before we mess up your mom's front yard."
"I would appreciate it," Chizuru says, firmly, "if you could both put away the flames and listen for just one moment." She does not expect it to last any longer than she's here, if she can even get them to listen at all; generally, diplomacy is a lost art with those two, but she still has to try.
She waits, expectantly, for them to do just that - or for her to need to actually break something up, one of the two.
For Chizuru to ask two men on the tail-end of a 1800-year-old family blood feud to just stop for a moment and listen to each other is fairly ridiculous. You can't stop Kyo and Iori from fighting anymore than you can stop the wind from blowing or the tides from crashing; it's just one of those inevitable things.
So despite the priestess' impassioned plea, there's a few tense moments of standoff between the two rivals, each waiting for the other to make a move with the hand wreathed in flame, like gunslingers waiting for each other to draw.
A stiff breeze blows some grass between Kyo and Iori.
"Tch, whatever..." Kyo says, closing his hand into a fist, the flames there squirting out between his knuckles before extinguishing with a *kssss*
Iori's stony face holds resolute for a moment longer. Then, with a shadow of a smirk, he clenches his hands together as well, extinguishing the Orochi-tainted fires. Though he does not say it, this is likely a nod to Chizuru to continue.
Speaking of inevitable things...
As if on cue, a lone figure almost suddenly appears at the very bottom of the Kusanagi household steps. Way, way, way at the bottom. The figure itself seems to be looking up at the trio, with some sort of incredibly cheery expression on his face, as his hands cup around his mouth (the figure clearly being male), and a somewhat distant and familiar voice calls out.
"Kusanagi-san!"
For you see, Shingo Yabuki following Kyo Kusanagi around, even if at a few metres distance, is also one of those inevitable things that happen in life. Dressed in his normal attire...which he seems to always be wearing even down to the Kusanagi style gloves, Shingo begins running up the steps as he's done a few thousand times before - and he does so with seemingly great ease and glee. In all the world, Shingo may very well be the only person who enjoys the large number of steps that lead up to the household proper.
His ascent up the stairs slows however once he Iori is a tad more in view - the glee only diminishing slightly as he moves towards the trio, being silent so as to be polite and not interrupt their discourse.
Chizuru wasn't asking them to put their feud away forever. She doesn't think she can do that.
Yet.
Chizuru smiles, even though she does not expect it to last as soon as she turns her back. "Thank you." She takes a step along the step she was standing on, then another; it would be pacing if she had more room. "I suppose you're both wondering why I wanted to speak to you, especially in each other's presence. It isn't something you enjoy, and I know that. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. How much do - "
She pauses, looks behind her at Shingo, and considers. Shingo will follow Kyo to Thailand anyway, if he goes; it's probably best if he's somewhere where people can keep an eye on him. "Yabuki," she says, politely if not formally. "Were you looking for him?"
Kyo looks a little crestfallen as soon as he hears that ear-splitting cry of Shingo's. He swears it raises his hackles more than even Yagami screaming "DIE KYOOOOOOO!" Talk about bad timing. He knew he should have never gotten involved with Chizuru, now look what's happened. She's just a magnet for trouble.
"Shingo..." Kyo says slowly, taking a half-step turn towards his so-called student while simultaneously keeping one eye on Yagami, "You're early..." he says, then under his breath, "...again."
Iori looks supremely satisfied, likely because of Kyo's discomfort. However, he's not planning on sticking around any longer than he has to -- the temptation is just too great -- so he remains silent so as to encourage Chizuru to get a move on with her speech.
Shingo nods respectfully to Chizuru, and bows heavily to Kyo, and is about to actually respond to both (ignoring Iori as best as possible), before the youth realizes that he's just run up a large number of stairs, and is quite out of breath. Doubling over, taking deep breaths, Shingo raises a hand with a single finger upwards, wordlessly asking for a moment before continuing. Having caught the wind back into his sails, he does a little hop on the balls of his feet, and with his normal big goofy grin nods yet again, looking between Chizuru and Kyo for ease of conversation.
"Actually, I was looking for Kusanagi-san...but he's right. I'm a tad early like usual. Was expecting a lesson today...but by the looks of things, that isn't going to be happening." Suddenly realizing what he's said, Shingo slinks down a little and sighs. All that running up the stairs, just to interrupt something important, and unintentionally. "Either way," Shingo bows deeply towards Chizuru and to Kyo, "--I humbly offer you both apologies for interrupting whatever it was you were talking about. Please carry on. If you'd like, I can go, and Kusanagi-san, can come back later for the lesson...or...?"
"Please stay," Chizuru says, after a moment's thought. Somehow she doesn't think she can manipulate Kyo with Shingo, but she can dream.
Chizuru stops pacing. She moves to the side so Shingo can get in on the conversation. "Since I doubt that this peace will last long, I will be brief, much more brief than I ordinarily would. I am going to Thailand tonight. I'm sure you've heard of the problems there." Only after she says this does she realize that Kyo may, in fact, not even read the news (she wagers Iori does). "In Thailand, there is a serious threat: Vega. He has an unusual power, as you might know - especially those of you who have fought him." She looks straight at Iori there.
A brief hesitation as she considers how to put this. Then: "I would appreciate it if you two would accompany me. I know that you, Kusanagi, don't appreciate me talking to you about your destiny, so I will say this right now; this is not it. However, I think it would be valuable experience."
Kyo holds a finger up towards Shingo while keeping his eyes on Chizuru and Iori, "Calm down Shingo." He murmurs. With Shingo quieted for the moment, he listens to Chizuru make her request, "Vega... Vega..." he says obviously racking his brain for all the evil warlords he's had to fight in his life. "Tch, the dude with the weird hat and that power like Athena uses?" Kyo rolls his eyes, "I can only speak for myself..." he shoots Iori a pointed glance, "-but I've already beat that guy up by myself before. You're telling me he's so dangerous that ALL of us have to go over there?"
Kyo smirks, obviously not aware of the gravity of the situation that is being faced by those over in Thailand. "Don't you think that's a little overkill, Chizuru? Besides, what has it got do to with us? I'm no soldier, and laughing boy over here..." another nod towards his rival, "...is a bit of a loose cannon, if you haven't heard."
"You might get to kill someone, eh Kyo?" Iori says in a low voice that borders on growl. With his red eyes and slightly pointed teeth, it is very hard not to assume such. It doesn't help that he's displaying just the traits Kyo noted so aptly moments before
The Orochi-tainted fighter puts a hand to his forehead, fingers weaving through his red hair. "What else do you have to do? Graduate? Worry about that chump Mr. Big? Don't make me laugh."
"I--" Shingo stops himself and considers many of the things he could possibly say in response to Shingo. Or to Iori. Or to Chizuru for that matter. Only thing is, depending on what he says, he could end up saying the wrong thing...and well...as per usual in these delicate situations, poor Yabuki has to tread on eggshells. So...he opts for the safest route.
"I heard there was quite the trouble in Thailand. I'm only slightly surprised you don't recall me telling you about this a few days ago Kyo. I mean, I went on and on and on about it..." Shingo shrugs and pulls his notebook out from his inner jacket. Flips through it to his notes from a few days earlier, and nods to himself finding the particular entry, flipping the notebook around and showing it to Kyo. "See? Right there. I noted that I was telling you about the situation in Thailand, and you ended up nodding, and muttering something about having already beaten that guy Vega anyways, so what's the big deal."
Nodding, Shingo smiles to himself as he puts the notebook away. "Either way, all three of you going to Thailand would certainly put the fear into anyone with any sort of brain...don't think anyone could stand up to Kyo, let alone...dare I say...well, I dare not say. It'd make me feel dirty."
Chizuru says, somewhat more sharply, "It is not overkill. He has troops. I was ambushed while visiting a friend of mine. If he had sent more than he did it is likely that I would have been defeated. From what I hear, there are also vehicles that even people like us would have trouble with. Perhaps you can defeat Vega on your own, but not if you can never get near him, or if he has assistance."
More calmly, Chizuru continues, "If you don't want to come, don't. If the suffering in Thailand isn't enough to move you - and I doubted it would - understand that he will send assassins to kill you or your family just because you are strong enough to challenge him. I apologize for bringing you into this," she adds to Shingo, "but it is likely you were just by being around Kusanagi."
Kyo peers at Iori while the red-haired fighter goads them, then purses his lips as Chizuru gives him a dressing down. After the priestess' speech he takes a few moments to glance between all the fighter assembled here. As much as he chides Chizuru for telling him about destiny and fate, he can't help but admit that the way he's constantly pulled towards Chizuru and Iori, either by his own doing or seemingly by mysterious forces, is more than mere coincidence.
Kyo Kusanagi exhales, his head dipping down a little, brown locks of hair falling down in front of his face as he lets out a little chuckle. Then, looking back at Chizuru with his trademark, infuriatingly cocky smirk plastered across his lips, he says, "So you're saying that they've got a lot of badasses down there huh?" He tilts his head, "Well... sounds like fun. Besides, if I let you go down there alone with this maniac there's no telling what'll happen."
He pauses, then looks over at Shingo, "You're coming too, Shingo." After all, somebody's got to carry all the luggage!
"Vega's been getting too cocky," Iori spits, transfering his helmet from one arm to the other. "And it looks like he's reaching towards Southtown next. Hell if I care if the Thai government can't control its own country, but that jackass is begging to be shut up in the most forceful way possible."
The redhead starts to put his helmet back on, but pauses to give Kyo a final withering look. "And think about it, Kyo. For a little while you won't have to worry about me killing you." With that, Iori replaces his headgear, revs his bike, and takes it rushing down the stairs.
There are some things and some people you can't argue with. For Shingo, this would include authority figures, fighters better than him, oh and definitely Kyo. So, it's not so much Chizuru commenting that Shingo would be targetted that gets to him, it's not Iori's attitude, no, it's Kyo TELLING Shingo that he's coming along. Not a question. Not a request. Not even a demand. A full out order.
And Shingo can't say no. He can however blink a bit, letting the statement settle in, since Kyo has never really told him to do much of anything. Nay...Kyo inviting Shingo along is big. Really big. "I...Yes, Kusanagi-san! I shall accompany you all, and in doing so, will learn everything I can, and shall do my best to do you proud with my teachings! This is what I, Shingo Yabuki, your greatest student, swears!" Okay fine, so he is disregarding Chizuru's warning...but hell, how often does Kyo actually TELL Shingo to come along for anything? With a smile wider and bigger than before, Shingo begins nodding solemnly to himself, and whips out his notebook in a deft manuever, quickly jotting down notes about the events that have just transpired, and doing his best to not think about the fact that he'll be going to Thailand.
Kusanagi watches his life-long rival speed back down the stairs, tearing the old stone stairs up even more, and thus making Kyo's daily pilgrimage even more arduous from now on. Still, he just shakes his head and cracks half a smirk, "That guy will never change." It's not apparent if he's talking to himself or Chizuru, there.
When he next speaks, it's definitely to the priestess, "...So what time does our plane leave?"
And then there were three more. Chizuru doubts they work together even as well as Haggar and Fio do, but...well, what choice does she have? They need to learn. This will make them learn if anything does.
Letting out a breath as Iori rushes off - without punching anyone; she's so proud - she replies to Kyo, "I think he will." She does not specify how, or even really who; she could mean Shingo, after all.
"I have access to a plane, but I'm not sure I can bring all of you on it," Chizuru says. It isn't HER plane. She doesn't own one. "We may need to find alternative transportation. I would recommend as soon as possible."
"Yeah... yeah, you're probably right. If what you're saying is true, getting into the country by any means is going to be a problem." Kyo mutters, then motions to his student, "I don't think we're going to be able to use Shingo's frequent flier miles on this one."
Except for the inevitable paratrooper assault, of course, but that's a given.
"Please excuse me. I will talk to him as soon as possible. And thank you for listening," Chizuru says, as she turns to head back down the stairs.
Chizuru takes her leave rather abruptly, Kyo can only assume that she'll keep in touch with them regarding their departure. Then again, when it comes to the mysterious, mystical priestess Chizuru Kagura, nothing seems to be assured. He shakes his head a little bit and starts heading up the stairs once more. "How bothersome... come on Shingo."
Even though it appeared that he was excited to have some new challenges in Thailand, now Kyo is musing on how irritating it's going to be to have to co-exist with Iori, not to mention all the other freaks and weirdos he's sure to encounter theres. "Never get involved with people like that, Shingo, it's way more trouble than it's worth."
Log created on 17:20:28 06/17/2007 by Kyo, and last modified on 22:28:42 06/18/2007.