Description: After pulling her way out of the garbage disposal, Eva comes in search of her teammate to ensure she's not about to be ambushed again. The information about Eva's predicament just further cement the fact that something isn't all that right aboard the Suiryuu in Arika's mind.
It's nighttime, and by now, the idea that this tournament is more than just a tournament has set in with many fighters that have been able to get aboard. The ones who avoided directly sparring are no exceptions to this. having been surprised, knocked out, and thrown into the dump like so much refuse, possibly to die if their abilities weren't enough to finish a fight quickly. Eva was one of these unlucky few who were included in this particular venture, so, well....
Let's just say she's a little paranoid. And stinky. Knocking on Arika's door, her voice hopefully familiar enough to entice the other to let her in, Eva looks worse for wear. Sludge of untold origins coat her body and clothing, mixed with the blood and spit of a hard battle. ".... Arika..." Eva's blue eyes plead with the Brit. ".... Could I... maybe use your shower? I'd go to my bunk, but... I really need someone to watch my back right now. I just fought my way out of the garage disposal. All of us were nearly smashed to death by the machines in there." No 'hay how are you let's go kick some ass', but, with the scared look on Eva's face, it's safe to say that she came here out of a desperate need to recoup via a shower and a restful nap.
Nighttime, and the perfect hour to sneak back out to the library for another rendezvous with a secret room.
Tonight's Mission: Take complete inventory of the arsenal found within.
Unlike the night Arika tried her hand and breaking and entering, tonight finds her dressed in something light and airy. Reminiscent of the Hawaiian islands, she's decked out in a deep blue off-the-shoulder halter top and a full length skirt decorated with large white flowers. When she opens the door, deep blue eyes blink a few times and she wrinkles her nose at her teammate. "Eva, wot in the name of God's creations 'appened to you?"
Peeking out into the hallway as she hears the answer to her question, she ushers the other girl into her cabin and nods. "Fine by me. I was just 'bout to 'ead out to the library... but that can wait a wee bit." The room is neatly organized with the punk princess' things set on the top bunk. "The blighter I'm stuck roomin' with ain't 'ere, so you don't need to worry 'bout that much at'all...." Though at this moment, she's got half a mind to toss Alan's things out into the hall and go bring Eva's stuff back here so that she can have someone she trusts a little bit in the room with her.
"... When I had that talk with you... I knew I had to get on no matter what. I made a deal with my opponent... the others in there did the same. I... I didn't see my opponent, however..." Now that the adrenaline rush is over and Eva finds her body and nerves worn thin, the victorious girl who yelled at a ceiling to stop coming down is now a shaking mess, desperate to find someplace to heal where she doesn't feel like she needs to watch her back.
Coming in when Arika allows her to, Eva lets out a sigh as the door is tightly closed. "I'm worried he- the opponent I made a deal with, that is- may be in danger, but... I can't search for him right now. I know you mentioned a few things about this ship's cult, and..." She shakes her head. "Someone ambushed me, Arika. I was exploring the ship, and someone came up behind me and stuck a rag to my nose. Then they threw me into the garbage disposal with two others. One of them was Sada- that girl I fought with when we first met. Remember her? We were ordered to fight each other, and... the ceiling began to fall. If one of us didn't win in time..." Her hands shake. "... I won, somehow. But... But..."
Taking a deep breath in order to calm herself down, Eva lightly slaps her cheeks. "... I need to take a shower. I-I'm sorry to come to you like this; I would have come earlier."
"Mm."
Arika takes all the information in stride -- or so it seems. The tough punk princess exterior doesn't flinch at all, giving her a somewhat cool and calculating look. Lips press together firmly; so firm in fact that they squish down into a thin white line. Without a word, she moves over to the closet and pulls out a large, plush towel and hands it to Eva. Extending her arm, she points toward the bathroom and tries to usher the other girl into it so that she can get the hot water running and try to calm down with a soothing shower.
But she lets Eva move on her own, and finally begins to respond. "Aranha? Ran into 'im a few times since I've been aboard. 'e told me wot was up with you, but couldn't find 'ide nor 'air of you when I went lookin'." A frown begins to crease her brow, and she exhales a sharp sigh. "'e's seemed fine to me, 'e 'as." Not half as worse for wear as Eva looks.
"Ambushed you? Much as I 'ate to do it, I can try and find Sakura and see if we can access the security tapes. Know she'll likely just try to pass it off as it bein' one'a those 'ninja tactics' things, but throwin' someone into the trash just ain't right..."
It seems Eva doesn't need that much prodding to get into the shower; when Arika is out of sight but not out of earshot, she undresses and steps into the shower, drawing the curtain and turning on the blessedly hot water. The bar of soap will probably be no more than a pale sliver when Eva is done with it, as well as any shampoo. .... If there is such thing as complimentary shampoo bottles on ninja occult ships.
Eva's voice echoes in the small bathroom as she replies to Arika, already sounding more relaxed. "That's good. I was worried." Listening to Arika, Eva nearly drops her bar of soap. ".... Sakura's here? Was she selected as well?" And why would Sakura be able to access the security tapes? "I don't know about her personality. If her ability to overlook things for a sense of what she feels is the greater good was truly a part of her personality and not something Shadaloo did to her, she may excuse it all due to the fact that we didn't fight. In fact, it could be argued that we cheated, by avoiding a fight." She's quiet for a moment. "... I don't see it as cheating, however. The battle suited Aranha more than it did me, and the only way I could win was deny him the ability to get on by doing everything in my power to sabotage his path into the boat. .... Even if it worked, it would just deny us both the ability to get aboard. That... just isn't fair, to me. He has as much a right to be on this boat as I do."
The sound of water and steam is all that's heard for a while, before Eva speaks again. ".... Am I the stupid one, to be acting this way, Arika?"
Complimentary shampoo? Probably not, but Arika -does- have a well stocked shower. She may be dealing with the confined rooms and lack of toiletries, but she's not about to let that stop her from looking her best. (Sometimes vanity isn't really a bad thing).
"Sakura," the diva states with a sigh, "is Chief of Security or some nonsense. Looks like she got out of things in Thailand only to embroil 'erself with this mess." Past things may be staying in the past, but that doesn't mean that she's not still holding a small bit of a grudge. "It ain't cheatin' when the rules plainly stated to get on the ship by any means. It's why I'm 'ere at all, y'know." This, of course, causes another crease to form on her brow as she calls through the door, "I lost me fight against Vyle. When it was all over, I clung to the roof of the bus and used semantics as me key. Driver said last one -on- the bus would get access to the ship, so I stayed -on- it as long as possible." Shrugging, she leans against the chest and then finally sits upon it.
"You're anythin' but stupid, Eva. Look, this likely ain't the right time... but did you 'appen to get that note I slipped under your door?"
Ah, the joys of nice shampoo! ".... Ah, Arika, you don't mind if I use some of this shampoo, right? If I was just having a little, I wouldn't bother, but.... well, you understand." Eva was in a dump. 'Rinse, lather, and repeat' is a credo that is meant for Eva right now.
"..." Though Arika can't see it, Eva frowns heavily. "... Well, she seems rather stubborn, but, I suppose, to actually convince a man like Ryu to deal with her as well as to do so well as a teenage girl in the fighting ring, you must be strong-willed. However, here, it may be preventing her from seeing the forest for the trees." She's silent, for a while, trying to find a way to tactfully broach her next few words to Arika. "... Just because she's back to her old self, whatever that may be, does not mean she's free from making horrible mistakes. And, perhaps, refuse to see them as mistakes. Even I was skeptical when you told me this was a cult, Arika, even if I kept it in my mind for consideration. .... Please don't fault me for being sympathetic to her. However, sympathy will not mean I will side with her. I am your ally, and now that I see this ship for what it is, my cause will be to make sure this tournament, whatever it is for, does not accomplish any darker goals it may have, whatever they may be. Tournaments are one thing, but something is seriously wrong here. I... I just don't know what."
On the topic of Arika's method of getting aboard, Eva smiles. "Thank goodness. I would not know what I would do if I went through all of this only to realize you were not on this ship after all." A note? Eva blinks. "... No, I didn't. What was on it?"
"Don't mind in the least. I packed two bottles with me." Arika is, after all, a rather vain diva. Toiletries and cosmetics were a -must- when throwing together a bag to bring with her. She got away without those necessities in Thailand, but on a ship where there could potentially be fans? Right. Like she's going to go without her designer shampoo!
Fingers tap against the edge of the chest as she listens to Eva. A part of her wants to say that she believes it. That Sakura could just be this foolish young woman who wants to make her own decisions and to Hell with the consequences. The other part of her though, the part that's still holding the grudge... it's preventing her from piping up. "I don't fault you, Eva. Everyone needs to see things for themselves, y'know? People make mistakes, and they can apologize for'em. Don't mean that they've changed. Actions speak louder than words, so we'll see wot comes 'bout from all'a this." At the admittance that something is wrong aboard the Suiryuu, the diva actually -laughs-.
That's right. She laughs. It starts as a soft little snicker, but in just a moments time she's having trouble keeping herself upright, and her sides are beginning to hurt.
"Truer words were never spoken, mate. Something -is- seriously wrong. I..." Er, now... how to explain this without admitting to potential petty larceny? "... found a 'idden room and a full on arsenal of weaponry. Don't know what they're intendin' to do with it. -Do- know that I've spoken to Drake and 'e thinks we need to get the weapons off the ship at all costs. Was 'bout to 'ead down that way and take inventory when you came to the door."
"Oh, good. ..... Thank goodness I no longer have long hair..." Applying another amount of shampoo to her hair, Eva adds, ".... Before I decided to fight... I had long hair. I was very keen on keeping it well-maintained. When I decided to fight, I cut it off. Now... well, I wonder how I even handled such a luxury back then."
As well as Sakura goes... "What happens will happen, in regards to Sakura. If I must fight her again, I will. If we can convince of of anything, it will work in our favor immensely." Hearing the diva laugh, Eva frowns worriedly from behind the shower curtain, but does not comment immediately.
That is, until it came to the subject of those weapons. "What in the world are they planning..." The stall is silent as Eva's eyes worriedly stare in front of her. "How will we manage to get the weapons out? And where would we put them? Are we referring to large-scale weapons, or hand-held ones? Modern or old?" If it's a bunch of katanas, well, that may just be the nin clan being rather interested in Japanese culture. Or they want to have some weapons to fight with. A little scary, but not entirely something to get up in arms about. And yet, even if it's katanas, with all the cultish mischief going on, even those must be held suspect.
"Long 'air is a wee bit of a pain, but If I cut mine all off they'd be writin' somethin' in the tabloids 'bout it." Arika gets her laughter under control and regains an air of seriousness now. They can deal with Sakura when the time comes, but the diva is fairly certain the Chief of Security -can't- know the size of that arsenal... otherwise it would be much more heavily guarded, right?
"No clue on wot they're plannin', if anythin' at all. Who knows? Could just be a scare tactic for anyone that stumbled onto their 'idden dojo." Standing up, the punk princess moves to her closet and pulls out an oversized shirt and a pair of shorts, setting them on the chest. Pants would be too short for the taller girl. "Drake said 'e'd try to call in some connections to get them off the ship... or... well..." Shoulders slump slightly, as she thinks of all the innocent people still aboard. "... he thinks we should try'n sink the Suiryuu."
"Correct, but... like I said, it will depend on what weapons are being stored. Did you get a chance to look at them...? I mean, it would be one thing if it was just a pile of hand-held weapons, but it's another thing entirely if these weapons are... well..." Eva trails off, her train of thought interrupted by Arika's next suggestion.
"Sink the Suiryuu....?" Eva is silent for a long while. Part of her is horrified, but another part of her, so new and yet somewhat familiar revels in the idea of it. Yes, punishment. Suiryuu needs to be punished. Suiryuu needs.... wait. Wait. "I... I don't know about the latter one. I mean, there's so many on this ship. We could be blamed for terrorism." It's that thought, the thought of people dying wrongly, of teammates being accused, that sets that rare part of her down temporarily. "Let them hang themselves. If these weapons are dangerous, and we get them to the public to see... it will be the same as blowing this ship up, but without any possible deaths."
"Not a very good look at'em, no. Didn't want to see too interested in'em, considerin' who my company was." Arika furrows her brow and begins to pace back and forth across the small cabin. "We'll both go and check it out when you're ready. Don't worry 'bout 'urryin'. Best to do this when there ain't many others 'round in the library." Yes, yes... that's it. They can go together, and then the diva isn't going to have to worry about having to explain herself to Sakura or anyone else that might poke their head into the library. One can keep watch while the other slips into the dojo and takes stock.
"I ain't really for sinkin' the ship. Sure, there are some seriously twisted people aboard, but wot 'appens to the innocent folk? I'm all for makin' sure the weapons are removed, but I'd like to do it without costin' other people their lives."
< Gasp. >
This is coming from the girl that cares more about her own life than that of anyone else? Quite possibly, her dealings with Shadaloo have given her a slightly different outlook. Sure, she's still all for self-survival, but if she can avoid killing people to ensure it, that would be better.
".... It's fine. I think I feel better now that I've taken a shower, and I'll sleep better if I know what these weapons are. My imagination will distort things otherwise." To Eva? It's better knowing than worrying about it. She needs to increase her chances of getting a restful night's sleep any way she can.
"... I didn't think you would be." Indeed, Eva's not surprised! Arika may be a little.... 'selfish' when it comes to her own life, but, from what Eva's been able to witness, the young woman is only that way when she's backed into a corner. Here, while they are being hounded and watched, their lives are not directly threatened. Besides, she's in the Shooting Stars! That trumps incessant extreme self-perservation. "... We have no right to call such judgement on others."
A few minutes later, with a squeak, the water is turned off, and Eva gingerly reaches for the towel, and hides again behind the curtain, toweling herself off. "... Thank you for the change of clothes, by the way... I'm afraid I used up your bar of soap, however." At least she won't stink up the place!
Eva may not be surprised, but Arika certainly is! To go from not trusting anyone to allowing a little trust into your life. From caring only about yourself to at least thinking of others... it's a very big step.
The lending of clothing is waved off. "It'll be enough to get you to your room for your things." Pausing she shakes her head and paces toward the cabin door. "We'll through wot'cha were wearin' 'ere into the trash or incinerator or somethin'. Don't want you to 'ave to wear that again." Arms cross over her chest again and she just stares at the door. "We'll 'ead there to get your things and let'cha change, but I suggest we 'ead directly to the library after that. Find out wot we need to know and then you can bunk in 'ere tonight. Don't know if Alan is intendin' on comin' in any time soon but if 'e does, I don't mind takin' the floor. Much as I 'ate the way the ship moves, I don't think you should be in your room on your own."
"Fair enough." Eva saddens at the thought of having to incinerate or throw away her clothing. After all, it *is* her uniform. Even if she's had to replace many shirts due to wear and tear, it still saddens her when she has to replace a main part of her school outfit. "Pacific's rather understanding about these things..." Wearing the uniform during fights promotes the school, after all!
"All I know is that I am bunking with someone named Dan." Now, where has Eva heard that name...? "I am not sure if he is trustworthy or not. After tonight, I can perhaps visit with him and see what sort of person he is. If he seems to not be dangerous, then I'll feel better about bunking with him." Oh, if only Eva knew what she was in for!
Coming out dressed in the clothing Arika gave her, Eva.... smiles awkwardly. "...... the shorts are a little tight.... But... they'll do until we get to my room. Thank you, once again. Shall we go do this, then?"
Log created on 21:50:13 09/13/2007 by Arika, and last modified on 16:24:38 09/15/2007.