Description: Funny how NESTS, for all that it's done, can still bring completely disparate people together, giving an orphan a new, if dysfunctional family. Equally funny: how a cold, self-sufficient assassin can find himself actually giving a shit about other human beings. Human beings like his sister, who has been missing and unresponsive for a day now.
Living in an apartment has its advantages. The rooftop, for instance. That's perfect for air-drying sheets and clothing. Dryers cost money, and wind is free. Of course, things that would fly in that tiny Chinatown apartment might not work here. Besides, she wasn't sure she'd risk seeing Whip or K''s reaction. ..... Not that she'd have no limits. She'd *definitely* not want to see where K' stands on the boxer or briefs debate.
Or who knows what else.
And really, it's hard to look at K' any other way when she sees him stumbling in the mornings like a drunk cat. Her third eye details it where her physical sight would fail, leaving no room for error. In essence: it's going to be really hard to be scared of K' anymore. Whip? Yes. Shurui hasn't seen that soldier side of her at its fullest, but K'? .... She doubts she can view him with the same fear-laced concern as she did in her last match with him.
And speaking of matches, that's why she's up here. There was a note on the fridge, written in the girl's horrid hand-writing, done in a gradual slant across the notepad:
'K- hea rd ab out you r fi re g oing out . Meet me me on the r oof; i want to se e i f I can he lp.'
.... See, with keyboards, Shurui knows where the letters are. With a magnifier or enlarged text, she can handle the aspect of typos. With handwriting? ...... she needs to take time to peer at the letter and see if she's lining up right. In this case? Fuck it, K' can read.
Were K' the type to care about maintaining an image when it came to Shurui, he might have mourned the death of his ability to really scare or intimidate her. But in the end, it's to be expected: such disenchantment is an inevitable result of coming to live with someone. Ever since the half-blind girl somehow became a fixture of his life, she's come to see some aspects of the young man that no one else ever does.
He still does his own laundry, though.
He hadn't really wanted a reminder of what had happened to him when he came home, but there it was. Penciled right on the fridge once he'd finally puzzled past the terrible handwriting and the spaces between the letters. Running a fingertip along the edge of the note, K' ruminates on it for a few moments; and then his hand shifts, shuts about the paper, and plucks it off. Crumpling it in the palm of his hand, he discards it in the trash with a flick of his wrist, on his way to the window.
Whip's setup makes it easy to get up to the roof with a simple scaling of cables and wires. And so, when K' appears, it's not from the roof access-- as one might expect from a normal person-- but from the edge of the roof. One moment there's nothing but the deepening twilight and the first peeking glints of stars... and the next, K' has vaulted up over the railing, landing in a light crouch: as if this were the most normal way in which to get to rooftops. Straightening up, he surveys Shurui coolly, rolling a shoulder casually to settle his jacket back on from where it's gone a little askew.
"How do you think you're gonna help?" he greets shortly. As always, he's brutally straight to the point... and seemingly ignorant of things like common courtesy.
Of course, it's not as if Shurui simply went to the rooftop and waited for K' there; after all, who knows if K''d decide to even come up? She wouldn't put it past him. K' is his own person.
And it's his loss for not experiencing one of the last cool late summer nights before fall fully transitioned in. When the sun was higher in the sky, the book became Shurui's main reason for being up here while she waited for K' to get home. It'd still be a while before he even came, of course, but reading on the rooftop was a practice Shurui hasn't done since her days with Muda and their small apartment. Once her eyes began to strain and the plastic magnifier in her hand began to tremble, she marked her place in the paperback and set it down, leaning her head against the side of roof access doorway as the sky became ablaze with color.
The quiet sound of wind isn't enough to obscure K''s movements; while Shurui suspects it's coming from him, the hackles on the back of her neck spring up, alert. Then, eventually, in her mind's eye there's a familiar aura vaulting up onto the rooftop, soothing that paranoid voice in the back of her head.
Sure, K' is dangerous. He's also short, as usual. Shurui's answer, fortunately for K', is just as quick. "I can see your energy, right?" She stands up. "I can't fix things, of course, but maybe I can give you more information. Plus..." She hesitates. "I want to spar you. I've wanted to for a while, but the timing was wrong." She walks towards him, not quite putting up a ready posture, but instead offering her reasoning. "I'll tell you if I see anything afterwards." It's not about her being cocky, of course. Fire or no, K' is not someone to take lightly in combat. "Also... I figure the only way to get stronger is to fight people I know have more experience than me. You got me?"
K' surveys Shurui a few moments in silence as she replies. Wind moves the fine strands of his hair as a breeze starts up, but that's pretty much the only thing about him that stirs as the girl approaches him. Still as if wrought from a single sheet of steel, his gaze simply slants downwards slightly as she draws near, a considering look flickering under his lashes.
K' goes from stillness to movement without a single hitch or break, lifting his head and pacing off with the sudden smoothness of a listening cat who's abruptly decided to get up and move. He circles off across the roof, looking out over the city, and the emerging stars pinprick light off his hair.
"You'll tell me what you see." He reviews the idea aloud, his back turned, a hand hooked idly into a belt loop of his jeans. "...Fine. Could help." A shoulder lifts in a shrug thereafter, and he slants Shurui a look askance. The first hints of that nasty smirk Whip hates so much start to pull at the corner of his mouth, his eyes sharpening with amusement. "Think you'll last long enough to get a good look if I go all out, or you want me to slow down?"
This could, with some imagination, be construed as K''s attempt at a bit of 'gentle teasing.' And the fact that this is his idea of mild, friendly taunting is probably pretty good evidence of why K' should never be permitted around sensitive people. Loads of feelings would be hurt before all was said and done.
Turning back to face her, K' cracks his neck and loosens his stance. His hands stay hooked at his belt, relaxed for the time being. It's about all the preparation he ever goes through for the start of a match. "Well, whatever the case. If you want to practice... we'll practice. Might be able to tell -you- some things before we're done." A slight tilt of his head serves for a little 'come at me' gesture.
COMBATSYS: Shurui has started a fight here.
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Shurui 0/-------/-------|
Shurui's gaze follows K' as he paces around like a cat, but she doesn't follow him beyond her initial steps towards his original position. Eventually, her eyes look towards goes up to the darkening sky, closing as she hears K''s ribbing.
She snorts. No, definitely no hurt feelings here.
"Heh. You think NESTS'd give me the same choice?" She folds her arms, tilting her head as she regards the smirk hidden in K''s 'light' quip. A smirk threatens to show up on her own mouth as she adds, "I know my limit. If I think you need to stop, I'll say so. You better stop then, or you're going to have to have the pleasure of dragging my ass downstairs because I can't move." Unless you wanna leave me up here and piss off the resident cook?"
It's an empty threat, of course. She wouldn't care what he chose to do; it's a nice night. The cooling air'll feel good to spar in, even if it's against an opponent who dwarfs her. But why is that so bad, when she's not fighting for her life? She can just fight. No running away, no people to worry about.
Hopefully, she won't get so into it that she'll forget to say when. She begins to pace around him, her poise more cautious than the casual gait with which she greeted him. It's then, however, that the girl realizes something. "..... Just do me one favor." Her lips thin. "....... Don't let me get too close to the edge, okay?"
And, just like that, whether he answers or not, Shurui rushes in, testing K''s speed with a quick strike of her hand, like a blunt knife aimed towards the ribs.
COMBATSYS: K' has joined the fight here.
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K' 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Shurui
COMBATSYS: Shurui successfully hits K' with Quick Punch.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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K' 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Shurui
"No. They wouldn't." Yellow eyes narrow slightly, watching as she starts a cautious pace around him. "So I hope you've been keeping sharp..."
Much of the rest of what she says goes unanswered. If she wants him to stop, he'll stop. Not even for the sake of realism is he going to attack her until she can't even move or get up. It's not even because he's afraid to put her off, either. It simply serves no purpose for him to do such a thing, and he isn't one to waste effort if he doesn't have to.
He starts a idle sort of defense against Shurui as she rushes in, a hand threatening to unhook and lift to stop her. The girl's clearly gotten noticeably faster since the last time he's seen her fight, however, and for once... the young man is just a little too slow. Surprise sharpens the force of the attack, K' sliding one heel back to forestall any stumbling, and though it's still little more than a tap compared to some other things he's weathered, it's certainly more than he'd strictly expected. So she -hasn't- been idle.
It's only then that K' answers her requested favor. His hand snaps forward while she's still close in, trying to shut in her shirtfront, and with a brief, casual, "Sure..." he attempts to seize the girl, lift her, and pitch her straight back towards the center of the roof.
COMBATSYS: Shurui endures K''s Quick Throw.
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K' 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Shurui
Has she kept sharp? ".... Why do you think I'm fighting you?" That smirk blooms across her mouth finally, before falling. ".... aside from trying to watch your aura, of course." Yeah.
The proof of her words comes at him in that first strike. The Shurui that faces him might be noticably different from the one that faced him months ago. Despite them being on better terms than last time due to the events that happened between then and now, it's clear- she's going to hit him with all she's got. .... Even if that still doesn't amount to much. It's not as if K''s been idle either, or that his experience still doesn't trump Shurui's.
Sure, he says. Now, she's flying through the air into the safety of the concrete center of the roof. Oh. Oh. OH, *SNAP*. K' douche indeed. However, just before she lands back painfully first against the roof, Shurui's arm flies open, releasing a small barrage of psycho power'ed bolts, barely registering ghostlu grey underneath the light of the stars.
"-OOF-!" She hits the pavement. .... And, well, once the world stops spinning, gets right back up. ..... wait, would her using her powers be unfair? ....
COMBATSYS: K' dodges Shurui's Riot Act.
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K' 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Shurui
A sound of amusement escapes him as Shurui retorts sarcasm for sarcasm. Leaning back slightly, he just shrugs eloquently in answer, head tilting as he continues to watch her in that lazy way he has. He's watching how she's changed since the last time he saw her fight.
Mildly surprised when she makes no effort to avoid his attack, K' doesn't quite let his guard drop. His hand retracts slowly, his stance tensing, and he's rewarded for his vigilance in that he's prepared when Shurui attempts to catch him before she even hits the rooftop. His arm drops back to his side, and with a sudden twist of his chi he blurs in conventional sight. His aura moves faster than should be possible, seeming to phase straight through Shurui's attack from how quickly it slips forward.
Nah. It's not unfair for her to use her psi, because K' himself still has his chi on which to rely.
His aura, stirred by that use of energy, tries to jumpstart itself in the usual way it would to bleed out the holy fire. It rises in him, but slowly-- and then, its slow progress slows even further, almost as if some external factor were pressing it back down. The impression of weight only grows the slower the flames respond. K''s expression twitches briefly with frustration; ahaking it off with a growl, he uneasily abandons his efforts, and the moment he gives up that weight on his aura seems to increase.
Irritated, he puts the fire from his mind for the moment. Closing abruptly with Shurui, his hands lift: one of them hovering loose and open, moments away from the girl, before it shuts and drills forward, packing a considerable amount of force into a mere few centimeters of space.
COMBATSYS: K' successfully hits Shurui with One Inch.
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K' 0/-------/-----==|=======\=------\1 Shurui
Sure, it was surprising, but the attack wasn't fast enough, even with that advantage. He's fast. Faster than her sight can follow, to the point that, bright chi or no, it fails to show up against her sight.
The girl has barely enough time to get up in order to get that view of K''s struggling chi, shifting inside him like a tiger pacing in a tight cage. His movements respond to it, in turn, in that poise of slight frustration amid was was calm and controlled fury.
And, when K' comes in for his next attack, Shurui gets a painful close-up."... Kcht!" Spit flies from Shurui's mouth as the fist hits home, sending her flying back against the ground. Ow. Still, like before, she gets up, determined to further test herself and the fire boiling inside K' just a little longer.
She'll just use her psycho power once more- if she can hit him, she can see how it reacts against the invasion of her own energy, and how different the response is to what she remembers seeing before. Dashing in, she almost seems to copy K''s own move, attempting to plant one innocent seeming fist into her taller opponent's abdomen...
COMBATSYS: Shurui successfully hits K' with Subtle Knife.
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K' 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Shurui
From that innocent beginning, grey psycho power courses through K''s body and out his back, starting from the very knuckles of Shurui's hand. After a moment, the connection is stopped with a punch from her left hand, allowing K' to brace back.
Speed has always been one of K''s advantages, though the big secret concerning it is that his swiftness is not, in actuality, natural. Some people are just naturally fast, light and agile, flitting around battlefields with rapid ease. K'? He isn't really fast. He merely forces himself, for short periods of time, to be virtually ephemeral.
The secret of it should be clear to Shurui, because it's twists and deft manipulations of chi that allow him to skate around her attack, and that easy manipulation shows up clearly in her sight. But when the girl gets back up and comes doggedly right back for him, he opts to deal with it in a more mundane fashion... and that seems to be his undoing. He hasn't adjusted to her improvement quite yet, and he reaches to spurn her about half a second too slow.
One backstep taken to brace him through the brunt of the piercing energy, that heel subsequently sliding back even further when she strikes again to cut off the stream of force. With a quiet grunt, he weathers it about as well as he's always weathered energy... but internally, it's a slightly different story. An aura that once would have parted cleanly and then flowed back into place-- orderly and under control-- reacts erratically.
It rages within him, clearly out of control, but never quite breaching his skin. Something keeps it repressed, the same sort of crushing pressure that pushed it back down even when he tried to bring it out willfully. It padlocks around his flames, keeping them in, seeming to intensify in response to any show of nervousness or doubt from the young man-- and it carries a strong taste of fear.
It flickers again, as if trying to escape; it gets nowhere. Shutting his eyes hard, K' growls an annoyed breath out, and then abruptly lunges forwards with sudden force, cutting a sharp aerial kick at the girl hard enough to send her flying sidewise: but of course, never off the roof.
COMBATSYS: K' successfully hits Shurui with Minutes Spike.
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K' 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Shurui
K''s prowess as a fighter does not seem to be harmed much by the absence of his fire, but, as Shurui keeps seeing, it isn't helping him either. Instead of being subject to the whims of his emotion and will, now weighs on him like a proverbial albatross around his neck. Within time, possibly it could prove to more than just a nuisance.
Even a mighty dam must have a place where it can find a small release. Concern flicks over Shurui's features as she pulls back, sighting K''s inner struggle, but, as he continues on, she doesn't stop him just yet. No, this is as much for her sake as it is his.
Shurui attempts to dodge K''s foot, but his speed trumps hers, his foot hitting against Shurui's body with a hard *thwack*. Of course, just as he aimed for, Shurui's projectory course never nears the edge of the roof, even as momentum slides her across the cool concrete. Again, she gets up, but noticably more weakened as blood drips from her nose. It itches. She rubs at the slow minute stream and ends up smearing, not seeming to care about it much beyond that.
Shurui's body hurts, but her mind's too wrapped up in this puzzle and adrenaline to quite care, just yet. She has to see that again.
Flinging an arm aside from her vantage point, a single bolt of psycho power shoots out towards K', wisp trails bleeding into the night air as it sails.
COMBATSYS: Shurui successfully hits K' with Quartz Shard.
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K' 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Shurui
K''s actual strength is not diminished in the least by the absence of the flames, no. The fact his fire's gone only means two things: one, that he's lost access to one way in which he can attack; and two, that he's weighted down by the fact it's still burning inside him... infecting him with its roiling presence and the doubt that his inability to control it seeds.
But ultimately, the only thing stopping him from controlling his flames is the same thing that's always stopped him: psychological fears, doubts, and hesitations. Mechanical control was never a problem save for the first few months, when his body was still adjusting to the powerful flames coursing through its veins. It's unfortunate, really, the scientists took that slow adjustment as a sign of a genetic defect and fashioned him the easy on/off switch that was the glove. He would never have become so reliant on that crutch if he had been allowed a little more time to grow into the flames...
Some of that can be seen in the way his aura is clamped tightly, like a white-knuckled grip that's afraid to let go. It would take an insightful reading to garner the whole truth from the mere movement of auras, however. And K' isn't really holding -still- for careful inspection, either; pushing off against his successful strike, landing in a backwards skid, he straightens back up and immediately falls into a back-and-forth pace, watching her, something predatory about his yellow eyes now he's really gotten into the fight mood. It might be the blood trailing down her face that triggers it.
Tensing as she lifts an arm, expecting her to pull herself up and continue her close-quarters style, he's taken by surprise instead when she demonstrates a move he hasn't seen before. It glances sharply against his shoulder before he can get out of the way, sending another ripple through his aura. Hissing out a breath, he throws himself forward into what looks like a repeat of his earlier lunging kick-- but in the last few moments he ducks low instead, hitting the ground in front of Shurui and cutting a sharp sweep at her ankles.
COMBATSYS: K' successfully hits Shurui with Narrow Spike.
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K' 1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Shurui
And therein lies the rub. Shurui's slowness to manifest anything, as well has her status as a 'mutt' of sorts, allowed her to get away without a crutch. Her power then adapted with her, even if its power was dimmed by her lack of knowledge and the doubt of the scope of her abilities. Then again, Shurui's power is fiercely defensive, though it's unclear whether that was a part of the way her genes came out or a reactionary evolution in those first shakey days on her own. It would take something drastic to make her powers go out of that tight control, something that would keep her from hiding within herself and stashing away bad memories.
K''s momentum falls against Shurui like a brick wall, forcing a high-pitched cry of pain from the girl's lips as she lands against the concrete once more. She coughs and heaves before, oddly, stumbling back up.
The idea of stopping just doesn't come to her. Something inside her doesn't want to let go of the moment. Where K' feels predatory, Shurui feels like that rancher on the last kick of a vicious bull, determined to hold on for one final second before thrown away to the mercy of sharp hooves. It's an instinct rarely indulged; if K' was truly an enemy of hers and not just her opponent, she would have found a way to flee or somehow gain an outside advantage before allowing herself to come to this state.
She wants to see how far she can go before she breaks. To finds out just what keeps that fire caged. There's only one thing to do: with her last ounce of strength, she'll..... no, she can't break it free, but she doesn't want to stop. One more attack. Then, she'll stop.
Going in for one last move, she lurches towards K', moving in close in an attempt to press one knuckle against the young man's ribcage. If the first one hits, the second hand follows in the same pose, turning over and over like a fast-moving wheel before she slows, attempting to move backwards to avoid simply falling upon him.
It doesn't take too much energy to talk, after all.
COMBATSYS: Shurui can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
K' 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: K' blocks Shurui's Iron Lung.
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K' 1/------=/=======|
Using his own momentum to slide past the girl, K' spins smoothly back up to a stand, turning on a heel to face her again as she pulls herself back to her feet. Narrow-eyed and watchful, he gauges her as she comes back in for one last attack. His stance opens, bracing visibly, K' rooting immovably as she tries to lance one hand in towards his chest.
Her attack meets his right hand instead of his chest, Shurui's knuckles impacting his palm. His fingers twitch infinitesimally-- K' still isn't used to being able to -feel- things with his right hand-- before his hand abruptly closes around hers. His grasp holds her up from simply stumbling and falling against him, bracing her upright... but it also prevents her from pulling away. There's nothing crushing or uncomfortable about it, though; K''s hands possess the same sort of well-tuned, exact precision that lets wolves hold eggs and crush bone with the same set of jaws.
"You got faster," he comments, off-handedly. "Hit a couple times. That's fine." His amber eyes narrow, lidding in a deceptively-sleepy sort of way. "But you should hit harder. Against me, it's pointless to try to save strength and hold back. Cause I'm not gonna let up and wait." He lets her go then, his hand slipping away... but he doesn't step away quite yet, in case she can't quite stand on her own just yet.
His hand drifts back to his side. It flexes idly, cracking its own knuckles one by one in an absent-minded habit. "...see anything?" he finally asks, as his other hand drops to hook moodily back into a pocket.
When her momentum is slowed by K''s right hand, she almost expects to fall against him, or, if she succeeds, away from him. However, K''s hand proves to surprise her in that he doesn't allow for either to happen. Not that Shurui's opinion of K' is that low, of course; it's usually just easier to assume in favor of the former NESTS assassin's need for distance.
"..." Slowly, Shurui recovers from the initial shock, nodding in full understanding to his words. "... Right." That support taken again, she opts to slowly lower herself in a sitting position, rubbing a sleeve against her clotting nose. "Nh," she begins ineffectively, before lowering her sleeve. "Yeah. I saw things, but I'm not sure if they're stuff you don't already know."
The night air feels nice against Shurui's raw nerves. She awkwardly positions the palms of her hands behind her to prop her up, winces, and opts to simply sit up in that cross-legged position. "It's weighing you down. I guess you can think of it like a dam- You got it locked away, but if it doesn't get some sort of small release now and then, it might get worse. It *wanted* to come out when I attacked you, which made it even harder on you. My energy attacks made it even worse."
She thinks on it. "Usually, when I do that attack- the one where hit your body right in the stomach and do that..... power thing... your aura should recover. Like water. Something goes through it and it simply flows back. In yours, it..." Her eyebrows furrow. "... No, I'm saying that wrong. It *is* you. A part of you. But something in your body or your mind is keeping it back. I can't say what it is, though."
There's silence as she further ponders the implications, rewinding and playing parts of their fight in her head over and over. "I think the only thing that'll solve this problem is you solving whatever it is inside yourself that's keeping it that way. It could be physical, and it could be mental." Her face falls. "I can't see beyond that, though. For all I seem to have control over my own self, I can't always make sense of what I see and feel. But... yeah." She shrugs. "Like I said, nothing you don't already know, probably."
K''s need for distance can be better framed if one simply understands that his instinct is to regard all attempts to touch him as potential attacks. Raised solely to kill or else be killed, his instinct when someone reaches out at him is to defend before he can be hurt. It's only in recent years that he's discovered that people sometimes reach out for pleasant reasons, also. That not all touches are malevolent.
And moreover, when he's the one instigating the touch, it usually doesn't bother him. And so he quietly-- if a bit dispassionately-- braces the girl upright without complaint or particular rancor, letting her go eventually so she can sit and get her breath back. Retreating a few steps, he muses quietly as she explains what it was she saw. For a time, he doesn't say anything.
Eventually, he lowers himself to sit on the rooftop as well, slinging an arm across an upraised knee and pulling out a cigarette. A smoke always did help him think. Placing the cigarette in his lips, he automatically shifts his hand to light it-- and then he remembers, and frowns deeply. With a sigh, he fishes for the lighter he's been forced to carry instead. Anyone unaware of his pyrokinetics would baffle at how clumsy his hand is with the little object, given how much he seems to smoke.
"...It's more than I knew," he eventually replies, his words coming laced with the first few wisps of smoke. He's quiet a moment as he takes the first few drags, letting the smoke catch in the wind and trail away. "...But not by much. Trying to use it is like hitting a roadblock. And I don't know what the block is. ...That's all I know."
"If your problem lies in the mind, then it'll be difficult," Shurui replies. "Even if you find out what that roadblock is, it's not as easy as smashing it away, I bet. You were trying to solve a problem, and something clicked. It just didn't... click all the way. Or it overclicked." Turning her head as she hears him shuffle for a cigarette, she watches casually.
The concrete feels cool. Shurui pulls her knees up and carefully lays her back against in, wincing at first then relaxing as painful heat is numbed. The night sky is now in her view, infinite deep black-blue against the approaching lights of the city around them. "... How does it feel, you being able to feel things with your right hand?" Shurui asks, curiosity hidden within her voice. "I mean, that's something you didn't have before, right?" ... What would it be like, to regain a part of your sense? Shurui hasn't been beyond wondering what it'd be like to see clearly. Would it be like that, or would it be more like having one eye forceably closed, then, suddenly, being allowed to open it?
"... I'll do what I can to help, and Whip'll do the same, most likely." She lets out a sigh. "I hate leaving things to see if something'll come up, but, in the meantime, I'll see if I can gather any info." .... Would Kula...? She furrows her brow. It could be possible. But how to meet her without risking their safety and her position? Would someone more skilled in psychic power, like Alma or Rose, help?
She shuts her eyes against the blurry sky and grunts, attempting to push herself off the concrete. ".... /One of these days/, I *will* beat you. Somehow."
For a long time, all K' does is smoke quietly, leaning casually back against the concrete barrier that rings the rooftop. He hears and understands her theorizing as to what happened in his mind to get him this far, but for the time being he simply doesn't have a reply to give. And so, there isn't a need for him to speak. She's described it aptly enough already, anyway. It -does- feel like something clicked in him, but only ever made it halfway before giving up.
Her more personal question, however, finally draws more direct attention. A sleepy yellow eye turns to her, resting on her contemplatively as K' takes his sweet time musing over it. The smoke veiling his expression has largely thinned by the time he responds. "I didn't have it before. No." He shifts restlessly, lazing against the wall with a visible grey sigh. "It's novel. Being able to use both hands. To use the right one for something other than blunt trauma." A smoky chuckle emanates humorlessly from his corner.
He's quiet again a few moments, sinking into that particular silence of his that nonetheless isn't uncomfortable or awkward. Presently, he adds slowly, "You don't really realize what you missed out on until you get it. And when you get it..." He shrugs. "I just couldn't put that thing on again."
There's something almost wistful about him in those few instants... but once Shurui says she'll see if she can gather any info, that attitude evaporates. K''s protective paranoia gets triggered instantly, the boy straightening a little as his eyes narrow on her. "Be careful where you go to get it," he warns in a deep, smoke-roughened growl, his usual tone of voice coming back harshly to usurp the pensive mood.
And that tone persists as she tries to stand up. His gaze fixes even more harshly on her. "Don't try to get up," he dismisses her attempts. He's even bastard enough to laugh when she insists she -will- beat him someday, though the sound is more good-humored (as much as K' can be good-humored) than denigrating. "Sure," is all he replies, in that patronizing, humoring, older-brother tone universally loathed by younger siblings, as he settles back in his lounge and smirks at her over his cigarette.
Shurui listens to K' speak, quietly musing over his words. She remembers how he gripped her hand. There was little doubt his lack of glove has softened his ability to inflict pain, but, unlike the time when he tried to open a water bottle and opened up twisting the very top off, to his frustration. "I like it better too. There's a lot more to you than what that glove represents. When you figure out how to get your fire back, with your hand being free like that... you won't 'just' be the guy with fire. You'll be whatever you chose to be." She closes her eyes. "... I guess I'm not really making sense, am I? It's easier to talk than it is to *do* anything."
"..." The growl in K''s voice surprises Shurui, causing her head to attempt to tilt in K''s direction with little success. ... The paranoia is nothing new, being a running theme among anyone touched by NESTS's machinations that refuses to play along. ..... Not only if she beginning to know K' well, it seems the deal is the same *vice versa*.
It was a real bad idea to lie down, now that her back's aligned to that hard surface. And, after hearing further commands for her to stay where she is, combined with K''s patronizing laugh and answer, a frustrated twitch develops along her right her eyebrow. .... Perhaps, a rewarding sight, to see those quips get to Shurui in a satisfying way.
Not that Shurui's self-esteem is hurt, of course. "... Nnnh. You're horrible." Not 'you're a jerk/douche/idiot/other cuss word', but something softer. Her ego is hurt, but there's nothing inside her that itches to be mad at the moody K'. After all, he just is.
Shurui's words meet nothing but silence. He makes no reply, but it's clear he's thought on this subject. To be more than the mere experiment the glove has marked and constrained him to be... to be something else, something of his own choice, a real human like everyone else born to a mother and father. Once he reached that point, the fire could be a gift rather than a burden. Something he could use to further his own life and his own desires, rather than the sole thing defining his existence.
"What I really wanted," he finally admits, very quietly, his voice almost lost in the noise of the city, "was to be left alone. To be a person like other people."
That said, his jaw winds shut on further talk of that topic. What he has stated is all he has to say aloud. It's all he needs to say to both reply her, and to make his own stance clear.
That pensive, thoughtful mood doesn't last long. No show of personality that's not his particular brand of prickly, vicious defensiveness ever lasts long. He's spent such a long time protecting himself through standoffishness that now, it's not easy for him to open up. It may never be easy for him. Shurui's competitive, challenging words are far more familiar-- far easier for him to react to-- and as such his usual attitude is swift to come back in reply to them. His quick switch back to his customary assholishness tastes distinctly of relief.
It -is- vaguely satisfying to watch his little barbs-- harmlessly intended as they are-- prick home. Her response draws a comfortable smirk out of him, as he lifts his cigarette to his lips. Somebody pissed off at him. Yeah, this is way more familiar; this is how things ought to be. He knows how to deal with this kind of situation. "You expect any different?" he asks, casually streaming a breath of smoke into the cool night air. "Was a joke, anyway."
Shurui's eyes half-lid at K''s words, a gazed expression falling across her face as the silence follows it. At first, she says nothing. Then, "We all want that." Those dark eyes follow close as wisps of gray hair fly over her face. "I think you'll find it. You're halfway there, by finding your sister. That's... something many of us can't even hope for, but you and Whip accomplished it."
True, Shurui helped, but if neither K' or Whip followed through, her contribution would have counted towards nothing. "I like Whip. Even if I wish she'd use some common sense sometimes." So says the person lying sprawled on a hard rooftop because she challenged a genetically altered NESTS ex-assassin.
.... And he's an asshole on top of it. "True." Shurui rolls her eyes. "I was expecting you to be thrilled at the idea of getting rid of me. After all," she begins in a mockingly wistful voice, "if I could beat you, you don't have to worry about some fellow experiment or whatever the hell I am falling into NESTS's hands and how this will make things even more annoying." No, she's not offended. But Shurui's not going to miss a possible chance to have the last word either.
One second passes, and she entertains the idea of getting up. "... Ngh. I better get up. Get something on the stove. Unless you want leftovers." She pauses. "..... Unless you ate those too." God, he eats more than *she* does!
A derisive sort of grunt kicks out of K''s throat at Shurui's assessment of Whip, the sound halfway between a laugh and a snort of disgust. 'Halfway there,' is he? "She's gonna put me right back at square one if I'm not careful," he gravels with distinct irritation, his narrowed eyes gleaming dimly in the dusk, like a wolf's. "She wasn't home when I got in. Knowing her she's gotten herself into some kinda trouble again."
Pretty soon, K' is going to find out-- to his considerable grief-- he was right.
For the moment, however, he remains blissfully oblivious. He won't start to get really suspicious until much later into the night. He's content to simply smirk at poor Shurui as she tries to think about getting up. Pushing up to a stand, he meanders over to where the girl's flopped over, peering down at her with a look of mild curiosity. "Need me to carry you down? We'll go over the edge, through the window." His smirk widens, white teeth baring. "Or you just gonna slog down the stairs?"
Somehow, he manages to make even an offer of help sound like something to get offended over.
Her last accusatory sentence, however, finally pokes a bit of a hole in his arrogant demeanor. His gaze skates aside briefly, his shoulder lifting in an evasive and defensive shrug. "What? Something wrong with me doing that?"
COMBATSYS: K' has ended the fight here.
"...?" Shurui makes a choked worried sound at K''s words, instantly paranoid. Come to think of it, shouldn't she have come home by now? Shurui hadn't seen her either. "... I thought you knew where she was. Maybe... something to do with that Ikari group?" No, surely it can't be something bad. She hopes so, anyway, for all their sakes.
"Eating?" Shurui's grumpy demeanor vanishes at K''s defensive tone, causing her face to fall as she mumbles, "No, not really..." So much for acting. ".... I kind of like cooking for more than one person again. .... I feel useful."
Time to change the subject! "Nnh." Shurui squints her eyes shut. "Well, as long as you're offering." Surely he'll use the stairs. After all, does he really want to risk himself carrying her ass do-
..... Wait. This is K'. Oh shit.
..... At least she's not afraid of heights. ..... Right?
K' shrugs, outwardly calm-- even though internally, he's already starting to feel the gnaw of concern. "She does that. Disappears a couple days without telling me. Comes back and says she was somewhere in South America for some Ikari thing." His unimpressed tone of voice makes it manifestly clear what he thinks of her irresponsible tendencies to run off without so much as a by-your-leave. "Tried to train her to leave a fucking note, but it's not sinking in."
If she's not back tonight, he's going to have to go look for her. Again.
Seeing the sudden worry that infects Shurui's expression, however, makes K' shut his mouth on any further speculation. There's no use in getting the girl worried; if there's trouble, he'll handle it himself. Swallowing the rest of his concerns, he simply shrugs the topic off: swapping gears abruptly to answer her mumbles with an irritable, "Don't have to do shit for other people to be useful."
Sure, he's still trying to come to terms with that concept himself. But it's always easier to tell other people things than to accept them in yourself.
He's a little surprised when she accepts his offer. Then again, he should have known that Shurui wasn't like him: that she wasn't somebody so inflamed with pride and furious independence that an offer of help would send her into a rage. He shrugs a little, walking back towards her... and then his neutral expression cuts into a grin. Part of that offer might have been made in jest... but not ALL of it was a joke.
Instants later, Shurui's going to find herself picked easily off the ground, an arm pincering shut about her waist. "Think you should hold onto me," K''s amused voice informs her from some point above her head. It's the only warning given before the young man simply vaults over the edge of the roof and starts a breakneck slide down the wall, following the lines of twisted cable strung by his sister. Landing with an unnatural balance on the windowsill, he's through the open window in the next instant.
The entire journey takes, at most, about five seconds. Looks like somebody contracted a little bit of playfulness from his sister.
"... Shit. Even I leave notes up if I know I'm gonna be someplace for a while. For both you guys." Horrible things, those notes. Things like 'I'm at pra ctice at gedo, will be ba ck at6' that usually are better scrapped since, really, the girl hasn't had bad enough luck to get into any more trouble since the YFCC attack. And that, well. It wasn't like she was in the way. "... I can't let myself be captured. And I don't want you and Whip getting hurt because I was being stupid, either. Or anyone else, for that matter." But she'll have to still put her foot down, most likely. She can't run away forever.
It's probably a good thing, for once, that K' decides to be a prick. Shurui's shocked out of her melancholy as she's lifted up and held close to K', though not for an embrace. Oh, faaaarrr from it. She doesn't get much time to latch onto K''s body before they sprint clean off the side of the building, now partly subject to the laws of gravity.
Shurui muffles a scream into K''s jacket as they slide down, holding onto him for dear life just as it all stops, just as suddenly as it began. The screaming's stopped as K' perches there, but something else has replaced it.
Laughter. Not mocking, or rude, but the sort that comes from an unexpected rush.
It's, of course, coming from Shurui herself. But as soon as she realizes it, she shuts up, embarrassed. That...... was fun? Why is she laughing? For a moment, Shurui looks shocked at the sharply stopped sound as the heady rush disappears. "....." The three year old in her screams at her to tell him to do it again.
She doesn't indulge it.
Nonetheless, it seems K' being a prick has backfired on him a little. Grinning to himself when Shurui muffles off a scream right into his side, he slips lithely through the window, drops Shurui off... and has his smirk surprised right off his face when he realizes she's actually laughing. A somewhat puzzled look flashing briefly across his face, he studies her intently... and then, he shrugs it off. Adrenaline rush, probably.
Walking on past her as if nothing had just happened, he flops onto the couch like a cat. "Go get some rest or something," he suggests, watching her embarrassment in an interested sort of way. "No pressing need for you to be up right after a spar like that."
He doesn't say the real reason he's shooing the girl off. Mostly because he doesn't want Shurui to think and worry about it-- or worse, to try to do something about it. But he intends to sit up waiting for Whip. And, should she not return... he intends to go look for her.
Log created on 12:05:45 09/24/2008 by K', and last modified on 13:40:02 10/08/2008.