Description: What starts out as a wonderfully warm afternoon aboard the Suiryuu winds up with a chill in the air as a certain Kasugano just happens to fall from the sky. Arika and Sakura exchange somewhat heated words on what happened in Thailand, and Zach learns an important life lesson: That all a man can bring to a fight between women are popcorn and a drink.
Searching the library again was a bust. The red witch obviously wasn't about to bring the books back (so no hope of finding out if they were useful or not), and truthfully, it's not the type of place the punk rock princess enjoys hanging out in too often. Searching below deck will have to wait until the cover of darkness, since with all the people wandering around and milling about, slinking off won't go unnoticed.
Bruises from her scheduled fight with Marisol have healed completely now (but for the faintest hint of yellow along her jaw), so the diva has decided to make use of the recreational facilities while the sun blasts a warm glow onto the deck in the form of soft rays. Atop one of the deck chairs is a large, black beach blanket. Tucked under it is a purple beach-bag, left open. A water bottle and book peek out the top of it, but of the owner there is no sign.
That could be because the owner is otherwise occupied. A single figure lurks beneath the pristine surface of the pool. Clad in a black bikini, the womanly shape swims across the length before surfacing, a hand immediately slicking her blonde hair back off of her face so she doesn't look like a creature from the deep.
Zach, on the other hand, has found the library imminently satisfying. There, he found a wide variety of books on some topics that had his attention. He has a couple of bruises from his fight with Himeko, but those are covered by his clothing. He has spent the last chunk of evening curled up with a book on something called 'chi-flow.' He thought it might be useful, given his situation. He was mistaken, upon further examination of the text. What he has is nothing like chi, and what he thought /might/ be able to translate to his own power... really did not.
He decided to get some fresh air, and maybe a bite to eat which is what brought him to the deck. He spots Arika emerge from the water, and swallows quietly. She's... kinda /hot/. He doesn't say anything right this second, content to watch the Rockette do whatever it is she is going to do.
Oblivious for a moment that she's got company, Arika swims over to the pool ladder. Leaning in a little, she tries to catch her reflection in the shiny metal to ensure that she looks decent enough (ahhh vanity, the most favorite of sins!). Satisfied that she doesn't look -half- as horrendous as she must have during the near brawl in the rigging, she smiles and then takes hold of the sides of the ladder and slowly lifts herself out of the warm pool water.
And that's about the time she spots the man. Quirking a slender eyebrow up as she notices the purple hair, the smile that she wears becomes a little more sly. Interesting look to be certain, but is it enough to have her wander over and strike up a conversation?
Maybe.
First things first though. The diva slowly begins to make her way over to the deck chair where she's stored her things. It just so happens to be quite bright out here, and sunglasses are in order.
It doesn't stop her from glancing back over her shoulder though and offering a friendly finger-wave that nearly borders on flirtatious... but not quite.
Zach pushes back the brim of his cap slightly, raising an eyebrow of his own in response. The look on his face is not nearly as sly as Arika's. He smiles slightly, and returns the wave with your typical left-to-right-to left motion as he watches the young lady make her way over to the deck chair. When her eyes turn away from him, he tilts his head to the side, looking slightly confused.
In school, he was too busy studying and preparing for college. His freshmen year of college, he was more concerned with making sure he got things right in an environment that was very different from anything he had known before then.
He didn't have much of a summer break; he was too busy trying to keep himself from blowing up and taking out everything around him.
This kind of life does not prepare you to deal with women, especially women like Arika. Zach ponders for a moment, and heads for a chair /kind of/ near Arika's, and takes a seat. He pulls off his cap, setting it beside his chair before tugging off both of the shirts he is wearing to reveal a decently toned, albiet slightly bruised, upper body. The product of having a lot of energy to burn off Zach would guess; he found his power was a bit easier to control as he got into better shape. He doesn't glance at Arika, but instead cracks open the book he was carrying.
Extracting the sunglasses from the bag, she gently slips the arms of them behind her ears and lets them nestle on her nose for a moment before looking over at the man from above the edge of the frames. A bemused smile finds it's way to her lips before she presses the tip of her finger to the bridge of the glasses and slides them all the way on. Reaching into the bag beneath her again, she pulls out a simple black elastic and pulls her hair up into a hasty ponytail, causing water to drip down over her shoulders. The droplets catch the sun, causing a glistening effect.
Beneath the glasses, eyes shift over to the man again, and Arika notes the slight bruising. Settling herself back in the deck chair as though preparing to sun herself, she idly comments in a distinctively British accent, "Rough fight?"
Zach blinks once; he wasn't sure what he was expecting, but the accent was not on the list. He glances up from the book for a moment, taking in the sight for the briefest of moments before looking back at the book. It would be rude to stare.
"Sorta," Zach states in a distinctly American accent, "It was pretty slick down there a couple nights ago." Zach pauses for a moment, "Here for the fighting, or just to watch?" Zach figures he'd remember seeing someone like Arika at the opening for this crazy tournament. He looks like he's paying attention to the book, but looks can fool just about anyone.
Oh, he might remember Arika from the opening of the crazy tournament... if she'd actually been there on time. See, having a minor emergency to take care of on the day it all began and barely catching a flight back to Southtown in time was a bit of a pain, but she made it here nonetheless.
"Mm. Imagine it was. The deck wasn't the best place to be a few days ago either." A gentle shrug of her shoulders and she turns back to face the sun. "Fightin', watchin'. Wotever strikes me fancy, really." Including information gathering and rescuing someone from a cult; whether or not they -want- to be rescued.
Zach regards Arika for a moment, "Sounds like fun," he comments as he flips through his book. He doesn't know anything about any cults, or even about crazy ninja clans like the ones running this tournament. "A bit dangerous, but fun, I guess."
Zach sets the book down, and stares at the sky for a moment.
If Zach is staring up at the sky in just the right place, the sun might be blotted out momentarily by a sudden shadow. It's a ninja ship, you gotta learn to expect these things... but the figure casting the shadow is not, herself, a ninja -- but she is the ship's Chief of Security.
She's not in uniform though... that would be a bad thing when one has vaulted off the promenade deck to deliver a crushing a can-opener into the pool. That's right -- Kasugano has one leg extended, her other knee tucked close to her chest as she aims to beat her personal record for splash height, right here in the Suiryuu's pool.
The surface of the pool ripples from Kasugano's dramatic entry, before splashing right back up in a perfect *SPLORSH*, just a few degrees from vertical. There's a moment where the ejected water hangs suspeneded in midair for a moment, before it all comes raining back to the surface in a riotous shower.
Kasugano's head bobs back above the water's surface a few moments later, a look of utter, childish glee written clearly across her forehead. It lasts... just about until she looks over to Arika and Zach, and she jumps a bit in surprise. The water wasn't =supposed= to hit the deck chairs... but then again, Kasugano didn't think anyone was sitting in them, so it's =possible= someone got wet... "... Oh... hi there!"
"Danger is me middle name, mate," Arika quips with a soft laugh. Granted, her middle name is actually something much more suited to a well-bred British woman, but that's neither here nor there. "And it was smashing good fun." If one can honestly say that trying not to fall from the mast rigging is 'fun', or being tossed around by gale force winds and near drowned by the downpour was 'smashing'.
"So..." She begins to ask, voice turning much more curious until...
*SPLORSH*
Suddenly the sun that was being so kind in drying the diva with its warmth doesn't matter. She's soaked again. Sunglasses are adorned with little droplets that weave their way down to the base of the lens where they begin to pool up. Irritation is apparent on her face for the briefest of moments, before she begins to smile.
Then she hears the voice.
Bolting up out of the deck chair, she just -stares- at Sakura. "Wot the bloody -'ell- is a Shadaloo traitor like -you- doin' 'ere?"
Sadly, the Sakura interruption means that the friendly conversation with the gentleman will have to wait.
Zach blinks once, and then the water soaks him. He has a flat look on his face for a moment as he blinks the water away. Then he looks at the book; it's a not a /total/ loss, he may be able to save it. Maybe pigs will fly, too. He shakes his head as he leans forward, pulling the mane of purple hair over his shoulder in order to ring it out when Arika mentions Shadaloo. That stops him cold, and his eyes go wide as he stares at Kasugano.
Neither lady may notice the slight sudden ripple in the water around his chair that occurs despite the utter lack of wind at the moment.
What is a =traitor= doing? Unfazed by the distaste obvious in Arika's voice, she answers cheerily, "... Tryin' to break my splash record, duh! How high did I make it, did you see?" Taking a moment to brush the bangs out of her eyes, she freestyles right over to the side, grabbing the ladder and starting to pull herself up. The royal blue bikini doesn't =really= go with her headband, but then again, it's the first time she's really gone into an actual =pool= for swimming in quite some time.
Though from the reaction of the two Jinchuu combatants, she might end up back in the pool for another reason entirely. "Oh... hey, sorry about your book there. No one was here last I checked, eh-heh..."
It's only after another moment that she actually makes an acknowledgement of Arika's anger. "Hey, Fade, don't get snappy at me, I get to decide whether you stay on this boat or not." Her mouth grows into a =broooad= grin, as she laces her fingertips together and stretches her hands way over her head. "Shadaloo job's been done for months now. Terms of employment were terrible!" She glances over to Zach, relaxing and twiddling her fingers. "Easy there, pal. I'm Sakura Kasugano, head of security here on the Jinchuu... pleased t'meetcha!" She's smiling now... =quite= aware that the two fighters could easily rush her if she plays her cards poorly.
"Don't get -snappy- at you? This comin' from the bint that tried not only to kill -me- in Thailand but..." But also attempted to kill -him-. Drake. Fists clench at her sides, and Arika forces herself -not- to lose her temper. There's a time and place for -that-, and making a public spectacle of it isn't it.
"Wotever," she remarks with only the vaguest hint of snobbery as she tilts her chin upward. "They got you once, you'll be easy to work over again." The lack of trust for this girl is quite apparent, and the diva isn't going to make any grand gesture at masking it. A derisive snort can be heard as she shakes her head when she hears that Sakura is actually -involved- with the cult. "Might've known," she mutters, eyes narrowing into thin slits as she peers over at her.
Nails dig into her palm, and she takes a deep breath. Exhaling it forcefully, she turns to Zach and plasters a somewhat wary smile upon her face. "Sorry she went'n' ruined your book, mate. 'ope it wasn't anything that can't be easily replaced. I'll even take care of it for you, since you were 'ere talkin' to me, after all. Would 'ate to feel responsible for wreckin' someone else's personal belongings." Though that obviously hasn't phased Kasugano at all.
At Sakura's assertation that she is no longer with Shadaloo, and therefore no longer working for That Man, Zach closes his eyes and exhales long and slow. The rippling stops a moment later as Zach takes a moment to collect himself. He doesn't open them for another moment as he squeezes out more water. Arika might be able to empathize; it takes a long time for that much hair to dry.
When he opens his eyes, he looks tired and somewhat disinterested. As if he is trying not to get too involved in this situation, not get too worked up. He grins softly at Arika, "It's fine, really. Book belonged to the ship anyway. I wouldn't have blamed you anyway. Miss Kasugano is..." Zach pauses for a moment, recalling the newsbites leading up to and following what happened in Thailand, "She's old enough to be responsible for her own actions."
"Pff, you think those're the originals?" Kasugano snickers a bit, scratching her chin pensively for effect, "'Hmm, I'm going to put my priceless, one-of-a-kind books on a =boat=...' Seems like something a master strategist would do, right?" Folding her hands behind her back, she shrugs her shoulders and nodding along with Zach. ... Of course, if it really =were= his book, she'd be singing a different tune, but there's no reason the headstrong tomboy should actually =admit= fault. What, are you crazy?
The bikini'd Kasugano turns to Arika, having pointedly glossed over her distrustful words. "Oh, so... hmm. You seem to think you'd have done better than I would've, huh? Y'know, because intense, unabiding love for someone can't =ever= be turned against you." Kasugano taps her forehead, her lips settling between in the nice happy medium between 'smile' and 'smirk'. "I was still kinda awake in here, Arika. Hurt like hell trying to break the resistance, but y'know... I never once killed a person. Plan was to ditch you and your boytoy off somewhere isolated, like Guam." She shrugs. "I've already faced my demons, y'know, but got anything else you wanna get off your chest?"
Sliding the sunglasses up to rest on her head, Arika turns to Zach. "Too true. She is, and yet, would'ya listen to'er?" Right. Sakura admitting any fault at all? Heaven forbid! Arms cross tightly over her chest and she settles a stormy gaze upon the tomboy. "Actually, I do think I could've done better. For one, I'd never even bother givin' a git like Kirishima the time of day. For another, ain't nothin' anyone -can- use against me." Intense, unabiding love? Pfft. Right. Like she's got -that- for anyone?
Okay, so maybe she does? What of it? Not like she can openly admit it.
"Y'know, Sakura... you can keep tryin' to convince yourself that it was all gonna work out to wotever you 'ad planned, but even -I- know Shadaloo better'n that." Through this all, the diva is keeping her cool. Anger isn't so well hidden, but at least it's being kept in check, and she's not about to deck the cult security officer and get herself thrown off this ship before she finds what she's looking for.
A quick glance to Zach has her shrugging. "Well then it ain't a big loss. 'ad it been one of your own though..."
"'e ain't me boytoy," she snaps finally to Sakura before taking a step toward the girl. There's only so much anger she can bottle up.
Zach glances back and forth, a slight look of worry flickering across his face. So much for staying uninvolved. A fight now could be troublesome, to say the least. Arika would not have a leg to stand on.
"Um, ladies?" Zach interrupts as he tries to step between the two. He's staying relatively calm, despite the drastically dangerous position he is now in. However, he saves the light show in case simple rationality fails to take the edge off. "Perhaps we could all cool off a bit?"
"That's cute." Kasugano actually breaks into snickers at this point, covering her mouth with her hand. "Wow, you really =do= think you're all that." Kasugano knows she wasn't the only one to get captured by Shadaloo, but she isn't about to rattle off names. That's personal.
Open mockery, though, that's one of Sakura's favorite pastimes. And Zach's getting in the way of that! ... Wait, that's not necessarily a bad thing. "... Zach, is it?" The Ansatsuken prodigy bows to the young man, apologetically. "Sorry. Some fighters just don't know when they're outclassed, but at least you prove there's hope for the folks here."
Wait... Sakura thinks -that's- mockery? Considering her background, Arika's heard worse. Much worse. Most of it from people she's actually trusted in the past; like her father. Ignoring the very thinly veiled insult, the diva shifts her gaze back to Zach and smiles.
A real, genuine smile.
"Brilliant idea, mate."
'Outclassed' or not, the punk princess lunges forward and attempts to 'gently' (and the term is used in the very loosest of senses) elbow Sakura back into the pool. "You may think you're 'ot stuff, Kasugano, but seems to me you're just really easily manipulated into doin' wotever idiots like Shadaloo want'cha to do."
Zach nods to Sakura, "Yeah, that's me. I wouldn't say I'm cause for hope, or anything like that. I just don't see the need for-" Then Arika smiles at him.
Then she elbows Sakura with intent to send the Ansatsuken Girl into the pool. Zach frowns, and rubs a hand back through his hair with a supressed growl. He waits for Sakura's response before doing anything... drastic.
As Zach keeps talking, Kasugano just raises one finger, mouthing the words, "Just one moment, okay?" If Sakura couldn't see that coming, she should just give up her security badge right now. ... especially not since she was =baiting= Arika into action. There's more to the trash-talking tomboy than meets the eye -- she's been in a =lot= of fights, after all. Arika? ... She knows the diva would be a challenge, but she's considering herself 'off-the-clock' at the moment. This isn't work -- this is =fun!=
Besides, she wasn't actually done 'conversing' with Arika just yet. When the diva's elbow moves in, Kasugano already has her hand there. Elbow snaps neatly into her palm, and her hand closes. Her bare foot snaps at the back of Arika's knee, aiming to jacknife it. Quite obviously -- Kasugano's aiming to take Fade into the pool =with= her.
"Easily manipulated, you say?" chirps out Sakura's voice, just before her shoulders hit the water in a tumultuous splash!
Barreling into the pool, the diva has little time to respond.
Actually, she's got -no- time to respond. Had an attempt to respond been made, she would have been graced with a mouthful of water and plenty of choking on the chlorine, bromine or whatever -other- chemicals these cult-ninjas are using.
Fighting her way free of Sakura and to the surface, Arika kicks her feet out in an attempt to push the other woman under for a moment. "Why -else- would you be workin' for the Shadalosers, and now 'ere? Oh, I'm sure you'll say that the pay is great... that you wanted to cruise 'round with other fighters..." Shoulders lift in a shrug, and she wipes the bangs from her face. Floating back away from Sakura she rolls her eyes. "You're in over your 'ead again, Sakura. Mark my words... you're just -askin'- for trouble 'ere."
Zach sighs as he lets his hands hang loose at his sides. Already, he is going through the mental exercises he needs to allow a /small/ portion of his power to the surface. A wind blows softly from his feet in all directions, across the deck and sweeping the surface of the pool in a perfect circle. A faint purple glow sparkles across his lower arms, crawling up the limbs.
Sakura would almost certainly recognize it; it is likely she can feel it from the pool. Arika may or may not recognize the power of Zach's soul, she might confuse it for very beautiful chi.
"Alright, ladies. Are we quite done, now?" Zach says with a somewhat serious edge to his voice. "It's fine if you do not care much for each other, but this fight is pointless."
The Suiryuu's security chief knows when to hold her breath -- and she does so just before Arika aims to push her under. An excellent swimmer, thanks to the discipline instilled in her by Ryu, she puts up with being held underwater a bit longer than she'd planned, not getting =too= upset. Kasugano did bring it upon herself, after all!
She lets herself bob back to the surface without too much fuss, afterwards. Drawing in her breath as she breaks the surface, she slicks her hair out of her eyes and responds. "Why =else?= Hmm... lemme-- " Kasugano starts to respond, but Zach's up there makin' a fuss. "... Hey, Zach? Got a favor to ask of ya: SHUT UP." It's crass, curt, and every other kind of 'rude' in the book -- but Kasugano has a very specific goal to reach here, and if Zach doesn't plan on doing something with all that beautiful soul power of his, the security chief couldn't care less! And she makes that obvious in her motions, tossing her gaze back to Arika. "Now where were we... Oh! Right. Gotta ask ya, 'rika... if Drake and Eva were busy, where would you have been when all this Thailand stuff started going down?" She treads water, moving away from Arika, but she's in no hurry. "Singing? Bustin' up people in Neo League? Or out there in Thailand saving lives?"
Very beautiful chi? Not quite. Arika knows what the energy forming around the man's arms is. Though the color is something she's liable to comment on in a little while, she does cringe from the sense of it. Definitely not something she's willing to play around with again just yet; Douyoubi can be blamed for -that-.
"Don't be tellin' 'im to shut up, Kasugano. 'e's got as much a right to speak as anyone."
Treading water now, she doesn't take her eyes off of Sakura for a single second; again, it's a trust thing. "I would've been in the same place I was, mate. Likely would've been there a wee bit -sooner- 'ad our illustrious 'ost not seen fit to kidnap me." Pausing, she sighs. "Drake may be the leader of our little team, but 'e ain't the only one with a sense of right and wrong. Wot was 'appenin' to those people in Thailand wasn't right. They needed people to 'elp them keep and reclaim wot was rightfully theirs."
The color of the energy matches his hair, actually.
Zach frowns at Sakura. He does as she asks, and keeps his mouth shut...
...but he doesn't power down yet, either; so long as the two are simply talking and not throwing down, he is willing to wait before doing anything. The second a punch is thrown by either of them, however... then there may be trouble.
"You're right, he doesn't have to! Just figured you'd like me getting to the point faster, s'all!" Kasugano spares the young man a glance -- that much power is waaaay more than she'd like to take a direct hit from -- but with a smile, she says simply, "Thanks." She =can= be polite every once in a while.
"Right!" Kasugano, for once, agrees whole-heartedly with Arika's sense of right and wrong. "That was the answer I'd hope you'd give." She draws in a breath, letting that sink in for a moment as she treads a bit further away -- yes, she's agreeing! "So you can =totally= respect me for marching to Thailand =totally alone= to try and save those people in Thailand from the fate that they got, right?" She points to her nose. "Me. =Alone=. Thinkin' I could take on all of Shadaloo, one badguy at a time."
Bobbing up and down for another long moment, her expression takes a darker tone. "Yeah, you know what 'brainwashing' is? That's where your mind gets stuffed the trunk while someone else takes the wheel. That's where I =lost control= over my body, see." She pauses a moment, shrugging. "I'm sure you'd have done better, though... right?"
Deep blue eyes roll skyward, and the diva exhales an exasperated sigh. "Can I respect you for it? Sure. Never said I would've gone in -alone- though. Only an -idiot- would march into a warzone -on their own- thinkin' they could manage to do anything -good-." Arika floats herself over to the edge of the pool, sets her hands to it and then pushes herself up so that only her feet are dangling in the water. A glance is given to Zach again, just trying to keep an eye on what he's intending to do with that show of power but not saying much.
Mainly because she doesn't want to set him off and wind up with nightmares for a week again.
"Lost control over your body, tried to kill people who 'ad considered you a friend... and don't give me any bunk about Guam. Try as you might to say that was your intention, I was there, remember? 'ad that been your intention, you wouldn't 'ave wasted all the time in tryin' to -kill- us."
Pausing, she rubs at her temples and finally turns to Zach. "Power down, boyscout. If we wanted to be fightin' we'd be throwin' punches instead of talkin'." A dry look is given to Sakura and she adds, "'least I would be."
Zach closes his eyes, "Fair enough." He exhales long and controlled for a moment before anything happens. Like everything Zach does with his energies, it's sudden. It's pretty strange. For all of that power Zach was bleeding off, that was all he was doing; bleeding off.
The air around him stops moving. The glow, which had started to climb down his torso fades into nothing. Zach visibly relaxes after a moment, slumping slightly as he does so. He chuckles a bit breathily, "Thanks. Don't know how much longer I could have held that." He looks even more tired, if that was possible, but there is light in those green eyes of his.
That was one lapse of judgment Kasugano came to regret above all others -- without going there alone, none of the rest would have happened. Much fewer lives would have been claimed, and none would be weighing on Sakura's conscience.
She's totally won the right to be emo here, but she's waived that right, having come to grips with her mistake over the past couple months. So she can respond calmly, with obviously-forced control, "All it takes is one mistake, Arika. One." No insults, none of the snarky condescension from before -- Kasugano's dead serious.
She glances up to Zach as Arika hushes him... smiling faintly. "Thanks," she states again, not sure that she really has any more words for that right now. Treading water wasn't what she'd most wanted to do here, so she swims over to the ladder again. "Nah, I just wanted you to =listen=. An' that wasn't what I said, either, totally... I said =my= plan was to get you somewhere safe. Me, me, =me=, not the person you were fighting. All the brainwashed 'me' wanted to do was knock you guys out, accomplish the mission parabolas an' all that junk." Looping her arm about the ladder, she gestures wildly with her free hand. "Once that's done, eh..." She laughs faintly. "Won't say I had =control= or anything, but I could give suggestions."
That accomplished, she pulls herself up the ladder. Still dripping wet, she glances over her shoulder at Arika: "I'm still here, though, if you wanna take a piece of me. Totally understand you bein' ticked off at me, an' all."
Kasugano gives a brief smile, turning back to Zach. A bit more quietly, she apologizes, "Sorry you had to get in the middle of this."
Smirking, the diva doesn't bother answering the rest of it. Let the girl have her serious-emo moment. Her excuses. But that doesn't mean that Arika isn't going to be keeping a close eye on Sakura while on this delightfully wonderful cult-cruise. "All depends on 'ow involved you are in all of this. Like I said, you may be in over your 'ead." Then again, she may know full well what she's getting herself into. The punk princess doesn't care which way it is, though she's personally leaning toward the latter.
"Don't really think you understand the reasons be'ind me bein' ticked off with you, Kasugano. Maybe in time you will, but not right now." Considering how many reasons there really are, only a minute amount that Sakura could possibly guess at from what's transpired.
Hands rub over her face, and the punk princess exhales a soft sigh before leaning back on her arms and glancing at the sunglasses that have sunk to the bottom of the pool. "Zach, was it? S'pose I should be apologizin' for spoilin' your afternoon, but maybe it's for the best that'cha 'eard that."
Zach waves vaguely at Sakura, "It's not a problem, Miss Kasugano." He slowly pulls himself upright and runs a hand back through his now dry hair. "Just glad you two didn't come to blows. Best way to settle a fight, Gramps always said."
He walks over to his shirts and the ruined book. He picks the text up by a corner, wondering how he is going to explain this one when Arika speaks up, "I've been over my head for the last three years. I didn't ask for this power, I just have it." He ponders as he scoops his shirts up with a wince; the University of Oklahoma shirt is going to be a pain to replace, and the chemicals in the pool are going to ruin it. "If you're concerned about who I may be working for, you can rest assured I ain't working for her," A thumb jerks Sakura's way, "Ex-boss. Dude gives me nightmares just thinking about him." He slings both shirts over his shoulder and looks at the pair for a moment.
So Arika's still ticked off at Sakura after all that? The young prodigy doesn't really 'get' that, having naively assumed her explanation would fix everything, but shrugs her shoulders in resignation. "Hey, all I can do is say I'm sorry. Wasn't myself. Won't fix nothin, I know." She breathes a sigh, giving the moment the proper gravity it deserves.
"As for this whole Jinchuu thing, I'm about as clueless as you, honestly! They're good people, though. I think they mean well." Sakura holds her hands up in innocence, turning so she can face both Zach and Arika: "I ain't stickin' with 'em if they wanna take over a country or nothin, though!"
She glances over to Zach as he picks up his shirt. "... Hey, I'll take care of those, if you want." The Ansatsuken prodigy holds out her hands, as if to accept the drenched garments, "My bad! If we get 'em in the wash soon enough they'll be alright, I'm sure."
Still, Zach's sudden defensiveness makes her raise an eyebrow. Where did =that= come from? "... Uh... sure? I... yeah, just kick back an' enjoy yourself there, Zach..." Incredulous, she glances back to Arika. Was this a previous conversation, she wonders?
Of course Arika's still ticked off at Sakura after all that. Part of that whole 'trust' thing, and right now she trusts Sakura about as far as she can throw her. (Which, if memory serves, isn't very far at all.) "Mm."
"Good people? Mean well?" Covering a very unladylike snort with a cough, she looks between Zach and Sakura. "Good people ain't usually in the 'abit of kidnappin' others, y'know." And these people can't claim brainwashing, even if it -is- just all cult mentality. She'll leave it at that, let them draw their own conclusions.
"Don't worry 'bout the power, mate. Doubt anyone -asks- for it. Ain't like one'a those comic books where people pray to 'ave powers so that they can fit in. We make do with wot we 'ave and act as responsibly as we can with'em." His admission of -not- working with Vega gets an actual laugh from the punky girl. "Don't think 'bout 'im then, and you won't be losin' any sleep."
For the record, Zach has not kidnapped anyone. His worst misdeed would have been the day he blew up his =house= and landed a guy in the hospital for a month. Completely not his fault, in his defense. Doesn't stop him from feeling responsible for it or anything.
He doesn't seem too happy at the moment. He was happy when he was pondering flirting with the already-spoken-for punk rock girl, right before the big splash. He quietly hands the shirts to Sakura, "Take care of it, please. I need to get a change of clothes, and figure out what I am going to do about this book."
Kasugano glances over to Arika, with a cold, tacit stare her ninja employers would be proud of. ... Though she lacks the deliberate pause, here. "If you want out, just leave." It's as simple as that, really!
Accepting the clothing, she just nods back at Zach. Did he work for Shadaloo or something =also?= That'd be... uncanny, she considers. But really, his insistence about the book is a bit worrisome. "Hey, forget about it. Just give it here, I knocked it out of your hand or something." She snickers a bit, at that. "Man, you people are so uptight, really! Worry worry worry... you're on a cruise ship, for cryin' out loud. Enjoy yourselves!"
With or without that book, though, she'll most likely be taking a step backwards, bowing to the two here. Sakura =was= going to go swimming, but the air's getting to be a bit thicker than the water, she feels. "Apologies for the disturbance!" she states, bowing once more.
"'and the book over 'ere. I'll get it lookin' near new again." Pause. "At least readable in any case. 'air dryer'll work wonders for that." Just so happens that the vain little blonde has one in her room. Somewhere. Not that she's spent much time there, considering who she's supposed to be bunking with. "Take my towel to dry off with for now, you can drop by after to get the book -and- bring the towel back."
Cool blue eyes shift over in Sakura's direction and she shrugs. "That would defeat the whole purpose." Let her figure that one out. Arika doubts that Kasugano is going to dwell on it much once she leaves the scene but it's been put out there.
"Enjoy ourselves, hmm? Is that in the ninja 'andbook I wonder?" Relenting a little, she nods to Sakura and offers a small, parting wave. "It's a boat, Sakura. If I'd wanted privacy, I would've 'oled up in the library or my room." Pause. "You and me, we're gonna 'ave to 'ave a wee little chat later. No fightin', unless you start it... but I really don't think you know wot'cher involved in..."
Much as she might be ticked with Sakura still for what transpired in Thailand, she really doesn't want to see someone Drake once considered a friend to wind up making -another- mistake.
Zach did NOT AT ANY TIME work for Shadaloo. Vega scares the hell out of him on a deep, almost subconscious level. He blinks slowly as he hands the book to Arika. He nods once to Sakura, "Like I said, don't worry about it." He nods to Arika, blushing slightly at all the trouble she's putting herself through for him. He had /heard/ about Alan.
Truth of the matter is, he /had/ holed himself up in the library. He hardly knew his own bunkmate, and it didn't seem proper for him to share a room with Katelynn since they were not even really a couple. "...thanks," Zach kind of mumbles in response to Arika's offer of the towel, "Sorry for all the trouble."
Kasugano knows what Arika's getting at -- heck, =she= wouldn't turn down the offer of a tournament, no matter what! Accordingly, she laughs at Arika's warning. "There's an old saying, right? 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.'" ... Sakura isn't really sure what that means, or how it applies to this situation, but she isn't about to go out and admit that, now!
"But I hope you know what =you're= getting yourself into..." she cautions, starting to step back and away. "But sure. Later." Arika can probably imagine the 'yeah, whatever!' that would follow, with her dismissive tone being what it is.
"I'll drop these off at your room when they're dry. Toodles!" And with that... well, not quite a 'ninja vanish,' but close! Zoom!
Like Arika feels comfortable sharing a room with -Alan-? Right. "It ain't any trouble. 'sides, you looked like you could use a bite to eat or somethin'. Come on by the cabin once you've changed, the book'll be dry by then," she says with a smile, "and maybe we can go find somethin' that looks 'alf decent to eat."
"Exactly," she remarks to Sakura as she zooms off wherever it is security people go when they vanish. Truthfully though, it's not the tournament that she wouldn't turn down and it's not the tournament that she fought so hard to make it to. While the winnings -would- be nice, she's here more to find proof of cult activity... and... well... Sakura's presence as part of the crew is just making her think that she's not all that far off in her thinking.
Zach nods a bit, "I think I'd like that." Zach pauses for a moment, "I know Kasugano was calling you Fade, but I also got the feeling that you two don't care much for each other. There a name I could call you by? 'Lady' just seems awkward, and I doubt you'd care much for 'Blondie.'"
He notes Sakura's departure only slightly at the moment. He's a tad too trusting sometimes.
Arika blinks and then laughs softly. The hand not holding the book is offered out to Zach, and she smiles. "Arika. S'good enough name as any. Fade's me surname." Running her tongue slowly over her lips to moisten them, she adds, "Blondie ain't a bad compliment though. Debbie 'arry, now -there- was great singer. One'a the pioneers of American punk rock, she was."
Trying not to go off on a tangent, she reels herself in a little. "You ain't wrong 'bout us not carin' too much for one another. Bloody bint nearly killed me back in Thailand, and whether she was brainwashed or not, it's gonna take more than an 'I'm sorry' to fix -that-."
Zach shakes the hand firmly, without trying to crush Arika's hand in his grip. "Zach," he replies, "But you already knew that, I guess." He grins, "I can imagine that it would take more, actually. I've only had three people try to kill me lately, and I doubt I'm ever going to let them off the hook. I don't think they were mind controlled. I'm not sure one of them was even human." He's grinning. He MIGHT be joking. Hard to say. "I'm glad I stayed clear of Thailand, actually. I... didn't think going would have been a good idea, even for all the good I might have done."
"Watched me teammates nearly get killed on at least three occasions. Wasn't a place for anyone with a weak stomach." Or anyone with a loved one that was so close to death, it was hard to tell they were still alive. Arika can't -really- complain about that though. If she'd thought for one second that Drake was still alive, she would have spent her time worrying over what was happening to him and she never would have survived the fight with Kurow. "There were things -there- that I doubt were quite 'uman. Tried explainin' it to the girls in me band, but they just kept sayin' I was 'it too many times in the 'ead to remember properly."
Zach simply laughs at the comment about too many hits to the head. He understands, in a way. However, he is willing, for the sake of anti-angst, totally willing to change the subject. He picks up his cap, and shakes some of the water free, "So you're in a band? What's it called?" Admittedly, Zach doesn't listen to a lot of music, and his tastes run a bit eclectic. But you never know.
Gasp! Someone who hasn't heard of her?!? Were Arika a really -huge- star out of London, she'd be upset at that, but since they've only recently been on tour outside of England, it's no surprise. "Femme Fatale." An appropriate name? She thinks so, though she really doesn't fit the film noir version of a femme fatale at all. "So, tell me, Zach.... wot made you decide to 'op on board and join the tourney? Was it the money? The chance to fight so many different opponents, or the free vacation?"
Very appropriate, one might guess. Zach's answer is frank, "The money. You have no idea how hard it is to keep a job when there is a good chance you will be the direct cause of property damage. But the vacation would be a very close second. If the prize money is a good as they are claiming... there are things I had to set aside when I came into this," Zach raises a palm, and sprays bright purple sparks around. They do nothing more than make light and noise. "That I would like to pick up again. I'm tired of jumping from dead-end job to dead-end job."
No doubt the money was a deciding factor for a lot of the fighters aboard the Suiryuu. "Oh, I'd probably 'ave a better idea than most, mate. There's a reason I learned 'ow to fight, and I've done me fair share of property damage in the past." Sleazy men with grabby hands tend to make for very irate young women. Good for the image they were trying to create at the time, but Arika is -more- than happy not to be stuck doing gigs in seedy pubs for the rest of her life. "We've all set things aside to come 'ere, I'm guessin'..." Some more than others, and for the first time, the diva is starting to feel homesick. Not for London, but for Southtown, as strange as that is.
Zach glances at Arika out the corner of his eye as he lets a grin play across his face, "I'd believe it," he says in response to her capacity to break things, though he doubts she really grasps the situation Zach has found himself in. "Could be, could be." Zach looks around, feeling oddly awkward.
"Ah..." At the awkward looking around, Arika clears her throat. Time to get rid of that uneasy feeling again. "Record deals and all that. Nothin' that can't wait until I'm off this wee lil' pleasure cruise." Not precisely the -entire- truth, but she can be making calls and if she really feels she needs to get off the ship for a while, she can fly out at the next port they stop at. "I'll 'ave a CD ready for you when you swing by to grab this," she says as she holds up the still sopping book. "You can 'ear it for yourself then."
Zach nods with a grin, "I'll look forward to it, then." He shifts around, looking somewhat uncomfortable, "But if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go change my clothes now. Dry pants are generally a good thing," he chuckles.
"Usually," Arika replies with a soft laugh. "I'll see you when you stop by, then. It'll give me time to shower these chemicals out of my 'air so it don't turn a lovely shade of green." While most punk rockers wouldn't -care- about the sudden hair color change, the diva prides herself on her blonde tresses. "Just knock three times so I know it's you and not one'a me bunkmates friends." With that being said, she reaches under the soaking wet deck chair, grabs her soaking wet beach-bag and slings it over her shoulder. Sunglasses go forgotten at the bottom of the pool as she makes her way past Zach. It's not half the exit Sakura made earlier, but it's a typical Arika exit. Leave before anyone can respond.
Zach watches Arika leave with a bit of appreciation. Once she's gone, he looks around and stops when he looks at the pool. He squints for a moment, and grunts. A moment or two later, likely when Arika's out of earshot, Zach jumps in the pool for a moment. A couple of moments later, he emerges, his hair wild and all over the place.
He grins as he forces back enough to let him see; he doesn't have to worry about his hair changing color. It's stuck at that royal shade. He tucks the shades in with the towel, and heads for his own room.
Log created on 15:10:30 09/07/2007 by Arika, and last modified on 22:32:33 09/07/2007.