Description: Evacuation procedures have begun. Two lines have formed, and wouldn't you know it? Arika's stuck in the slow line with Riko. Watch as they have a real conversation and no one punches a ninja (even though it's being thought about!). Suddenly Bao enters the scene! Okay, so it's only a facsimile Bao, but the outfit is very convincing... and at least it's not another M0M0 clone...
"Okay, everyone! Stay in line, wait your turn! Proceed in an orderly fashion to the exit! Do not run, do not panic!"
Riko's voice booms out of her trusty plastic megaphone, her amplified words echoing through the lower hull space of the Suiryuu. She stands along the primary intact corridor, just by a large steel ladder leading up to what's left of the main deck. Daylight shines through the hatch overhead.
Passengers and nonessential crew members fill the corridor - along with a few former Agents of Jinchuu. Now that the tournament is over, of course, they're just like everyone else. Looking to leave. And so we have this scene, just part of the great evacuation taking place throughout the sinking tournament ship Suiryuu, as the hull is systematically emptied of people.
Riko continues speaking into her loudhailer, talking over the chaotic murmur of human voices.
"Please make sure you haven't left any personal belongings behind! Any unattended baggage will be removed and destroyed."
As she talks, her eyes scan the crowd. They stop, locking on one person in particular, near the end of the line.
"If you see any suspicious articles," Riko chirps, "please contact a member of staff or call our emergency hotline."
She sketches a bow, then, with an added flourish.
"Thank you, and have a pleasant trip!"
With that, the megaphone clicks off, fading to silence with a final squeal of feedback. Then she hands it to a crewmember in a security uniform, giving him some instructions with a few brief hand gestures. Riko turns, heading down the line, her skate wheels rolling over the deck. Moving until she comes closer, closer, to the individual that caught her eye a moment before:
Arika Fade.
Making it to the hull was fairly easy, in the scheme of things. Sure, the ship is about to turn ass over tea kettle and plunk itself down on the ocean floor as it fills with water, but what does she care? The tournament is over, it looks like Seishirou is making good with his promise to evacuate people, and that's really all that matters to her.
Losing Eva is a bit of a problem though. One moment her teammate and friend was right there, the next swept up into a crowd of people trying to make their way off the Suiryuu. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she tries to peek over the crowd in hopes of catching sight of the taller girl, when she hears the amplified voice of the nutty ninja that got her involved with all of this to begin with.
Swiftly slamming a mask in front of the fatigue and irritation, she clenches her hands into fists and then glares straight -through- Riko.
"Suspicous articles? Heh..." Like that lovely bazooka she just -happens- to still be carrying? Needless to say, Arika is going home with a few really -interesting- souvenirs from this little 'vacation', including a purpley bruised broken nose.
Surprisingly enough, she stands her ground as Riko approaches. However tempted she is to just slam her fist forward into the young ninja's face, she recalls what she heard before that last match -- any additional fighting is to be done -off- the ship, in order to ensure that everyone is evacuated safely.
No fighting indeed.
Arika's encountered Riko before. All of her exchanges with the ninja have been nothing short of infurating - as if the younger girl took some kind of perverse pleasure in raising Arika's blood pressure. Maddening statements, an attitude sharp enough to cut glass.
This time, though, as Riko comes to a halt near the singer, her mein is...somewhat different. The kunoichi touches her hands together, holding them with her palms turned upwards. She makes another little bow, but not the dramatic thing she gave to the crowd - a rather more formal gesture, this time. When she looks up, she's smiling faintly. But it isn't her usual mocking grin, but instead an almost conciliatory expression.
"Fade-san," Riko murmurs, "I hope you're feeling alright?"
"..."
How, precisely, does one respond to a question like that after all that's happened?
Deep blue eyes narrow into thin slits as the punk princess regards the ninja. Easy enough for one to presume she's angry, but it's something more than that. Though she stands her ground, there is an air of wariness about her. Here she figured she'd be able to slip into the crowd and disappear before anyone noticed her and yet, she's been singled out by Riko Koganei -- little ninja and pain in her backside.
"Mm. Yeah, sure. I'm fine. Never better," Arika lies quite easily. "You know 'ow it is. Just 'ad a bit of a makeup explosion before gatherin' me things..." Because everyone -knows- the diva just trounces around with a bag of purple powder with which to decorate herself, right? The only explanation for all the bruising after all.
"Yeah," Riko replies, with the same sort of overly casual ease, "I've never figured out those powder blushes, myself. But that colour really isn't you."
Her tone's light, breezy, but her eyes are dead serious. She locks her gaze with Arika's, her own dark brown pupils meeting the singer's blue ones. Riko's own eyelids drop a fraction, her brows curving down in two dark lines.
"There should," Riko says, her voice perfectly neutral, "be first-aid people on the evacuation vessels. Talk to them. Or at least see a doctor once you get to shore."
"Wot? This? Think I should 'ave it checked? I mean, considerin' the damage I've been through, a few broken blood vessels in my face ain't nothin'..." Shrug.
A note is made though, to find the first-aid people as soon as she's aboard and to find a healer after that. Vanity will -not- allow Arika to wander around with a bruise that makes her face look like a grape. Not for any extensive length of time, anyhow.
"So, Koganei... you lookin' at kidnappin' people again as soon as you make it to shore or, are you like... goin' on vacation?"
Meanwhile, the line leading up and out of the snake's underbelly moves forward a little.
Riko falls in step besides Arika just as people shuffle towards the exit, matching the singer's place in the queue. She doesn't walk, though, simply rolls gently along the sloping deck...the wheels of her in-line skates apparently able to find purchase against the gradient despite all apparent laws of gravity.
The ninja girl gives a little shrug, tilting her head.
Softly, Riko answers, "I hear Disneyland is nice this time of year."
She arches an eyebrow at Arika.
"Actually, Seishirou-sama and I will be going home. At least for a little while. But how about you, Fade-san? Any plans for your share of the prize money?"
Man, Arika would probably -kill- for skates to ride along the gradient with. Considering just how far she's pushed her body these last few days, it's a wonder that she's mobile at all at this point. She knows though, that as soon as she gets on the escape-pod to Mars (or wherever these wacky ninjas are planning on sending them next), she'll find a safe place to crash and sleep until they reach shore.
"Disneyland, eh? Never been. 'eard it's nice. You could likely make off with a mascot or somethin'." Her voice is tired, and it's taking a lot for her to keep the fake-Cockney controlled and in place. While the words come off flat, they aren't without a little humor. The diva can just -see- Jinchuu Two: Attack of the Killer Disney Mascots.
God. She must -really- be tired.
"'ome'd be nice," she says quietly, realizing that she's likely not even -got- a home at the moment. Her father doesn't want her, Drake hasn't bothered even calling to make sure she and Eva are safe after that explosion...
"Wait... wot? Prize money?"
Blink.
"Oh yeah," Riko says, with a faint hint of her usual bemusement surfacing like a shark from the depths.
She favors Arika with a wide grin, the likes of which would put any toothed sea creature to shame - for just a moment, before her face returns to something a little more human and less overtly predatory.
Riko lifts a hand, flipping a couple stray locks of hair away from her eyes.
"There's the portion we're setting aside for second place, though I -admit- we might need to cut the total sum a bit...Seishirou-sama is fairly sure our insurance won't cover all the damage to the ship, you see. We weren't expecting Rugal."
The ninja girl pouts briefly.
"But you should still get, um, maybe three-to-five percent of the pay-per-view and licensing proceeds, and also the DVD sales. Depends on the final contract though."
Riko nods sagely.
"Not as good a cut as from your record sales, but prob'ly comparable or better in terms of actual royalties. I figure we'll do quite well in the home entertainment market."
Still stuck on the whole 'prize money' bit, the diva turns to face forward. Unexpected, is what that was. So far as she was aware, only the winner would get anything, other than bruises that is.
"Bernstein strikes me as the sort that you should -always- be expectin'," Arika states, in lieu of anything overly intelligent. Needless to say, the fact that her mind isn't functioning at full capacity right now probably isn't helping things much at all.
Shifting the bag over her shoulder so that it sticks in place more firmly, she tilts her head. "Three-to-five percent? Considerin' 'ow big fightin' 'as become lately, that ain't a bad cut, y'know?" Pausing, she smirks a little, trying to force a portion of her often-times abrasive attitude to the surface. "You make sure you toss in one'a them DVD-sets or wotever, alright?"
Considering she wasn't expecting -anything-, the fact that there's even going to be a small amount of prize money is going to help her, a lot. She's sure that whatever the amount might be, she'll toss it all into the nightclub fund and possibly get that all up and functional before long. Maybe even say goodbye to Southtown and open up a fight-club as a side activity on the club's off-days.
Oh, yes. Arika is a girl with ideas, and quite potentially profitable ones.
Riko gives Arika a speculative look, her lips twitching. She makes a tiny little sound that might be a stifled laugh - probably is, given the very obvious amusement dancing in her eyes.
"Of course," Riko answers, "we'll get that to you...mmn, though your prize money and proceeds..."
Riko purses her lips, putting on quite a deliberate show of looking thoughtful. She clapses her hands behind her back as she continues to roll uphill, skating up the slanting deck with no apparent movement of her feet or legs...the wheels spinning of their own accord.
"...well, Seishirou-sama was planning to like nail a cheque to your bathroom mirror or something, but he's very traditional-ninja that way. I guess we should like call your agent or something..."
Riko turns, suddenly looking solemn.
"I think," she says, "we owe you some courtesy, at least."
"S'long as you don't try -nailin'- the DVD to anythin'... I think we'll be fine. Don't care 'ow else you plan on gettin' stuff anywhere." Pausing, Arika lifts a very bruised arm to rub at the back of her neck. "Uhh... like, don't nail it to my cat either, though, please. Vet bills are astronomical and I'd 'ate 'avin' to explain that one, y'know?"
Eheheheh. Poor little Mina, back in the hotel with the band. Likely lonely as heck. At least she's got Sylvester with her.
"Oh, and can ya maybe ask 'im -not- to drop it off in the bathroom when I'm in the shower? I might start punchin' first and askin' questions later..." Which, considering she'd be wrapped in a shower curtain might get very, very awkward.
"As for courtesy, maybe you could, y'know... like answer a few things for me?"
"Of course, Arika-san," Riko replies, without blinking. Her face remains serious, her gaze intent.
In front of the two fighters, the evacuation line grinds to a brief halt, the queue held up in front, as some of the crew help assist an injured passenger up the ladder. Not a /badly/ wounded passenger, simply a sprained ankle... but something like that does still make climbing the rungs a bit more of an involved process.
Riko stops, as well. She turns so she can face Arika fully.
"I'm a cat person, myself," Riko volunteers.
Well. That's hardly a surprise.
"But...questions, yes, of course?"
Good thing Arika is paying attention, otherwise there might have been a bit of a human traffic accident when she comes to an abrupt stop. Deep blue eyes drift over to the injured passenger, and she tilts her head. Nope, no clue who that is but she's glad to see the crew is actually helping people.
"Mina was a bit of an accident really. Kind'a 'ard to keep pets with the lifestyle I lead... but I manage." One of those things. Mina, she can trust fully, after all. Cats will very rarely betray their owners... until the owner dies. Then the cat looks at them like food.
Arika has such morbid thoughts sometimes.
"For starters, lemme ask -why- Seishirou went through all this trouble. Wot's in it for 'im? And secondly, wot was with those weapons? I mean, you were packin' some pretty 'eavy artillery 'ere and... out in the open, that's a dangerous thing." After all, Naerose managed to get her hands on one of those bazookas, though luckily she only fired it out to sea and not at a dock.
"If Mina matters to you," Riko says, "you'll find a way."
It's a simple statement, a simple thing to say. But she says it as if there's particular significance in the words, something of great importance. The ninja girl smiles at the singer, a small and knowing smile.
Riko lifts a hand, gesturing to the ship around them. The Suiryuu is still a grand vessel, even brought to this condition, wounded and sinking beneath the waves. Riko indicates the length and breadth of the deck with a wave.
"It's fairly clear," Riko murmurs, "I think...that all of this let Seishirou-sama advance his technology. And just because the ship is sinking..."
The ninja girl snaps her fingers, a spark of chi dancing in the air with the sound.
"...doesn't mean it's gone to waste. There's also the data we've gathered, of course. But all that's secondary. We ran a tournament because we -could- run a tournament. And now that we /have/, well."
She closes her eyes, quirks her mouth into a grin, and spreads her arms.
Then she opens her eyes, peering at Arika, impishly.
"As for your other question...c'mon, all the stuff we had on this ship, and you were worried about a few little /bazookas/?"
"'ey now! Those things in the wrong 'ands..."
Shrugging, she rocks back and forth on her feet a little, waiting for the line to start moving again. As 'informed' as Arika -was-, you work with what you can handle. Her and Eva attempting to deactivate a chi-bomb? Right. That would've been laughable at best, and disastrous at worst. Dumping a few bazookas was just easier, plain and simple.
"Ahh, never said it was goin' to waste. It's uhh... just not often you'd 'ave a traditional ninja 'ostin' an event of this magnitude is all." Pause. "And wot's with those freaky constructs? I mean, from wot I 'eard, the girl they're modeled after is bad enough... why on earth would you want -more-? Sure, they'd likely defend the ship well, but are they really -necessary-?"
Then again... is -anything- really necessary?
"I suspect," Riko quips, "we have quite different ideas about what's 'necessary'. It's all in..."
Riko pauses, rubbing her face thoughtfully, "...how you define it, mn?"
She laughs, lightly, a clear and musical sound.
"The ban-kun models have a purpose. Everything does. Don't worry about it, though, we're leaving them aboard."
She taps the deck plating with one foot, the hard plastic of her skate boot ringing against the metal.
"Unless you're planning on scuba-diving around here, I don't think they'll trouble you."
Riko glances down the passageway, towards the hatch and ladder. Looks like they're starting to move again.
She turns back to Arika.
"And, well, honestly, if he had his way, Seishirou-sama'd just stay at home building his stuff all day. He's -such- an introvert. But, well, y'know, he's got things he needs to do."
Riko grins at Arika.
"Don't you have goals, Arika-san?"
There is an interloper of sorts to this conversation.
Not a Champion of the People, or even a runner-up. But definitely a Semi-Finalist who fought both of the ladies in that final match. He'd also argue that he =lost= both of those matches, despite earning a draw against the champ.
Zach has a bag slung over one shoulder, and is wearing a very different outfit from what would be considered his norm. For starters, it's orange. Secondly, it has a distinctly Chinese cut to it over-all.
The noticable difference is the large puffy orange hat, under which Zach has tucked most of his royal purple hair. The sleeves on the orange shirt are large at the cuff and rolled, revealing a simple white fabric. The pants are more of the same, rolled at the cuffs at the ankles. His sneakers, however, are still the same. He doesn't say much, and Riko undoubtedly notices him, ninja that she is.
She suspects. Arika -knows- they have different ideas about it, so all she does at that point is nod briefly.
"Err... Koganei... wot 'appens to the innocent person who ain't got a clue those things are down there, huh? I mean, it'd really suck to 'ear on the news in a month or two that someone got torn to shreds by some weird golem in the depths of the ocean..." Quirking a single eyebrow upward, she draws her lips into a thin line and stares over at Riko. Then again, did she expect less from the ninjas?
Falling silent as they begin moving once more, the diva takes a few small steps and then pulls her gaze to the front again. "... Seishirou, an introvert? Heh." Looks like she's got other ideas about -that- too, but then again, Riko -does- know him a lot better than she does.
"We -all- 'ave goals, Riko... mine're just different than everyone else's I guess."
Hard to say whether or not she notices the figure dressed in orange.
"Mmn, well," Riko answers, "good luck with yours. Hopefully the money will help, hm?"
She gives another of those grins, with a flash of white teeth - her eyes sparkling. Stretching her arms out, Riko pirouettes on the spot, rotating on a single foot, a single wheel of her skates.
"Of course," she singsongs, "there's some things money -can't- buy."
She touches down after one quick spin, her skate boots meeting the deck.
"But it certainly can't hurt," she concludes, "can it..."
She tilts her head, suddenly, to one side, looking further down the line of people moving out towards the evacuation point.
"...Glen-san? Or should that be Bao-kun?"
Zach looks toward the source of the address, revealing those bright green eyes of his. "Zach works just fine, ma'am. I don't even know this Bao you're talking about." He glances over his outfit.
"This was the only outfit I had that wasn't wrecked either by the sea water or the explosion." Zach frowns slightly. "Mind terribly if I ask you a question, Miss Koganei?
Indeed, there are quite a few things that money can't buy.
Trust.
Love.
Friendship.
These are the goals Arika actually does have, though she'd never in a million -years- admit to them.
"Watch out, Koganei... you wouldn't wanna run into someone..." Skates are becoming something the diva might just have to look into once she reaches shore. After a long nap, of course.
Glancing over at the orange clad figure now, she actually does smile -- faintly. "'ey Zach..."
"Zach it is, then," Riko says, scratching the back of her head. She runs her hand through her hair, letting raven strands fall through her fingers. She gives Arika a little mock-glare, an exaggerated look of pouty-lipped ire, before turning the same look on Zach.
"Okay, fine," Riko sniffs, "but there'd better be cake after all this."
Zach grins slightly, "I can bake a cake if we have to. But I think that might be better done on dry land." Zach reshoulders his bag slightly, and fixes Riko with a curious look. "What do you know about me? I haven't been in this whole fighting thing very long, but you guys knew where to find me."
The mock-glare is returned, only with Arika it's a little less mock and a little bit more -glare-. Not evil, just glaring. Hefting the bag up over her shoulder, she turns quickly to Zach and gives him a bit of an odd look.
A guy? Admitting to being able to... bake? So very, very weird compared to where she's come from.
"A -cake-? We should be 'avin' a flippin' -party- after all'a this... only... after I sleep..."
Then, in an odd manner for her, she falls silent so that Riko has a chance to answer Zach's question before she winds up turning this into a verbal sparring match of sorts.
Riko spends a moment looking over her shoulder, peering at the hatchway and ladder. There's another delay, as someone tries to manhandle a duffle bag up the access space to the main deck. But the line of evacuees -is- moving. And that's good enough for now. The ship's sinking, of course, but that's hardly an -urgent- matter.
Yet.
The ninja girl rolls backwards a little, following the progress of the queue. She rubs her nose.
"Space miiight be a bit tight on the evacuation vessels, but I'm sure you could find a bunk somewhere. Annnd..."
She gives Zach an odd look. He's dressed like Bao. But says he don't know who the guy is. Coincidence? Genuine cluelessness? Or some sort of test?
Riko shrugs.
Not her business.
"Zach Glen," she recites, "age twenty-one, blood type B plus. US national. Former undergraduate, University of Oklahoma. Declared missing in 2004 following mysterious explosion. Official reports inconclusive, but suggested pattern consistent with manifestation of natural abilities akin to Andou-type case study. Recorded abilities in public appearances circa 2007 appears to confirm preliminary hypothesis."
Zach blinks once or twice. Let's hear it for Ninja-Intel! He regards Riko for a moment, "Okay. Mind if I ask a couple more questions, based on what you have told me?"
Ninja-Intel? What!? They're selling computers now?
Ahem.
"I don't need that much room," Arika points out. Traveling as she does, she's used to sleeping in cramped quarters and odd locations.
Stopping to allow the line to clear up again, the diva takes a moment to scan the crowd for Eva. A frown furrows her brow as she can't seem to locate the girl, and deepens when she hears all the information they've managed to gather on Zach. Hrm. Things would be -very- awkward if anyone had that kind of intel on her.
"I ought to charge you or something," Riko retorts, shooting Zach a glare of feigned petulance. She lifts a hand, pointing her index finger at Zach, her thumb held perpendicular at a ninety-degree angle - the traditional motion of a shooting pistol. She mimes a gunshot, flicking her hand back at the wrist.
"But information /wants/ to be free."
With a grin, she winks at Arika, fluttering her lashes.
"Isn't that right, /Fade-san/?"
Zach grins slightly at Riko's response as he shifts his bag to his other shoulder, "First off, what do you mean by 'Andou-type' powers?" Zach shifts a bit, "The second question will have to wait until you answer the first one."
"Heh..."
See? There's a reason why Arika still feels wary of these ninjas. They know too much for their own good, really. The diva is exhausted, and simply nods. "Sure, wotever you say, Koganei..."
It dawns on her that Zach probably has more questions than she did, and that Eva would likely be able to think of some stumpers for Riko too, but with her brain functioning on a lower plane of thought (fire bad, tree pretty), she's mostly zoning out and just seeing if she can glean any additional information from Zach and Riko's discussion.
Oooh, sneaky sneaky Arika. Spying like that. Why, doesn't she have any shame? Riko answers Zach, but she doesn't turn to face him when she speaks. No...instead, the ninja girl lets her gaze linger on Arika, meeting the older girl's eyes with a faintly teasing smile.
"Megumi Andou, of course," Riko replies, "Seishirou-sama's notes are most extensive about her. But there's others on the same index, naturally. The ever-charming Soma Travedi, Athena Asamiya..."
Riko taps her chin with one slender finger.
"...and the little boy you're dressed as, Mister Zach. Are you -sure- that isn't for Halloween?"
%Zach frowns a bit. Megumi Andou is completely unknown to him. Soma Travedi and Athena, however, Zach has =met=. Athena cleaned his clock during a short bout of shore leave. "Interesting. I've actually met Travedi and Athena." Zach glances down at his outfit and shrugs as he continues, "I dunno. It was in my bag, and it fits. It also has the bonus of being unruined by the tournament or the water. That it looks like the outfit of some boy I've never met is pure coincidence." Zach grins, though. Gaining knowledge of his abilities is usually a good thing.
"Second question, then. What =is= it," And to clarify the pronoun, Zach summons a shimmering ball of psycho power in his hand. It rotates counter-clockwise in his palm as he stares at it for a moment, "And who would you consider to be good teachers on the subject?"
The young ninja is somewhat unnerving. Just -why- is Riko staring at her like that? Trying to be ornery, the punk princess just returns the gaze, though she keeps an eyebrow quirked upward.
"Is it 'alloween already? Bloody 'ell... 'ow long 'ave we been on this ship?" When your life is pretty much fight after fight after fight, it's easy to lose track of time. Good thing Arika has Marcy to make sure scheduled concerts were rearranged.
A thought occurs to her. "'ey... Riko? Does anyone besides -us- actually know the Suiryuu didn't explode with that blast of raw energy?"
"Oh," Riko says, to Arika, "we've gotten a few promotional clips to YouTube already, I think the world knows we haven't sunk...well.../yet/, anyway."
She frowns.
"I think the World Meteorological Organization is kinda pissed at us, tho, somethin' about that big energy spike disrupting atmospheric patterns. Pfft."
She exhales dismissively, fluttering one hand.
She angles her head at Zach, then, giving him a guileless wide-eyed look.
"Annnnd...I don't know, and I don't know?"
She grins, leaving it -just- long enough for him to react, before carrying on with an actual answer.
"'s not normal chi, not detectable or reproducible by Seishirou-sama's methodology. Sooooo you're on your own...but I'd expect like calls to like, mmn?"
Zach's reaction is fairly simple. He clenches the open hand into a fist, squelching the darkening ball of energy with a slight frown. This seems to be nothing terribly new to him. He knew that it wasn't like 'normal chi' already. He glances at Arika, looking slightly deflated as he does so.
"Thanks, I guess..." Zach doesn't sound too thankful, though.
Finally, Arika says something to Zach. "It's the same type'a energy that those Shadalosers use." Shrugging her shoulders, she lets the heavy bag she's been carrying drop a little bit and then snorts.
"Glad to know the world don't think we all died in that blast..." But it's somewhat disheartening to her to know that Drake likely -knows- she and Eva are alive and -still- hasn't seen fit to contact either one of them. Clenching her fist around the strap of the bag, she gives her head a shake. That is -so- not important right now, even if it -is- important to her.
"I'm kind'a thinking the Double-You-Emm-Ohh can just kiss my behind on that one. Atmospheric patterns ain't nearly as important as us, y'know, living..."
"I'm thinking they got a lot of scientist types who wouldn't mind kissing your...er, well, yeah," Riko replies, cheekily, her grin growing broad enough that it takes up most of her face.
She's not sure -why- Arika's so riled up, but if she's worked up like that, then it's a perfect opening for a little bit of harmless teasing. All in good fun, right?
Riko waves a hand vaguely, as she looks away, checking on the status of the evacuation - the guys further down the corridor, at the hatch, continuing to usher people through the exit. Hn. This is a particularly slow line. Good thing it's not the /only/ remaining access to the main deck, else they'd really be in trouble.
To Zach, Riko quips, "I wouldn't go joining Shadaloo for help, though. They got a really lousy dental plan."
Zach pales when the mention of Shadaloo comes up. He cannot be sure if he remembers telling anyone, but during the Thailand violence, the wanderer was trying very hard to dig a very deep hole and pull it in afterwards. Vega scares the excrement out of him.
Instead of speaking right away, he simply shakes his head at first. "Oh hell no," he says softly, still trying to find his... well whatever it is you would call it when The Nightmares is mentioned to you. Not that he has spent time with them already, but the idea gives him a day's worth of cleaning whenever it enters his dreams at night. "I-i'll figure something out. Work through it, or something," Zach all but whispers.
There's plenty of reasons for Arika to be riled up at the moment, even forgetting the fact that she can't even recall when she last actually -slept-. So, in response to Riko's good natured teasing, she says the only thing a diva in her position -should- be saying.
"Damn straight."
Hey, when you've got it, flaunt it, right? As if to prove that point, she wiggles her hips a little and spins around.
Yeah, she's probably totally losing it at this point. She's actually -fraternizing- with the enemy! One of those crazy ninja cultists! Eh. She's too tired to care.
"Uhh... yeah. Don't go joinin' Shadaloo. Just ask Kasugano 'bout that nice lil' dental plan. Oh, and the brain washing. Don't forget to ask about the brain washing. I think it's a two-for-one special or somethin'."
"The uniforms are cute, though," Riko muses, looking for a moment as if she's seriously considering it, "though..."
She gives Zach a critical look.
"I don't think those doll leotards would be very you."
She flicks her fingers towards his pale face, noting, as she does so, the change in his expression. Fear - more fear than one would expect from just casual discussion of Shadaloo. There's something there...
...but Riko does not speculate. At least, out loud. Instead, she simply says:
"Doesn't match your complexion."
Arika really isn't the type to point out to someone that they look paler than normal -- especially not with the beautiful purple bruise she's sporting on her face. "'course you'll figure somethin' out, mate. Could 'ave 'urricane 'ime talk to Dan 'ibiki 'bout it. Maybe 'e'd know someone you could train with..."
%Note the reference to The Nightmares. Note the use of capitalization there. The idea of being in Shadaloo's, and to be more precise Vega's, 'tender mercies' has been the cause of more than one psycho-kinetic tossing of his sleeping area.
Zach glances at Arika, "I-i dunno, Blondie. Maybe if I can find Ingrid again, she sounded like she knew the score..." Zach finds a spot on the floor very interesting, fixing his gaze on it. The dust at his feet, seemingly on its own, kicks into the air and swoops around.
"Mind the energy output," Riko chides.
Actually, she's fairly sure that Zach's display isn't doing anything to affect the chi flowing through what's left of the Suiryuu - the interactions between /that/ form of power, whatever its true nature, and the spiritual energies being channeled and molded through the ship's seals are virtually nonexistent, for whatever reason. But it wouldn't do for him to give the other fighters present ideas.
"We don't want," Riko admonishes, waggling a finger, "any mishaps while we evacuate the ship."
She glances over her shoulder.
"I'd better see if we can hurry things up, it'd be terrible if we missed our ride."
Lifting a hand in a pantomined salute, the girl heads down the corridor, towards the hatch and ladder at the end of the passageway.
Mishaps? Like, perhaps, someone getting the idea to slug a ninja?
Ahem.
Arika is past thinking about that, honest she is. "Heh... yeah, I kind'a don't want to sink to the bottom of the ocean, so... go give them a nudge or somethin'..." There is that other line though, and she could just as easily slip over there.
"You wanna get in touch with Ingrid? Just challenge'er in Neo League or somethin'. Best way to do it, you can get 'er number or somethin' from that, right?"
Zach blinks, and picks up on the warning sign the dust represents. He closes his eyes, inhales once, then exhales nice and slow. He repeats this once or twice before looking up at Arika, looking visibly more collected.
"Thanks. I have ways to find her if I need to, it just gets a little overwhelming some times, y'know?" Zach grins softly, seemingly less worried than he was a few moments before. "And I can work through this, I think."
"Sure you can," Aria says, keeping her eyes on wherever the little ninja dashed off to. Not that she's -worried- about getting aboard the evacuation vessels, more like she's concerned in some sick, twisted joke, the little menace is going to grab the megaphone and yell 'okay everyone, keep fighting!'.
The places her mind goes when fatigued is amusing sometimes.
"Just remember, you ain't the only person in the world that can do wot'cha do and you'll be fine. Someone'll help you..."
Zach nods once, shoving the large orange hat back a bit, "Right. I have a better idea in the short term, though. I dunno about you, but I can't wait to get =land= beneath my feet again."
Zach jerks a thumb towards the lines, "Let's get moving, Miss People's Runner-Up." Zach has a big ole grin on his face when he says that.
Log created on 15:47:57 10/31/2007 by Arika, and last modified on 10:54:04 11/01/2007.