Description: Vega has begun to seek out users of Psycho Power, for what end only his troubled mind can know - at least, until he spills the beans about it to the person he's looming over and trying to sway to his side.
Sweat is still drying on Shurui's brow as she exits the greyish campus of Gedo High, despite the chill in the fall air. Gedo High's proven to be a fair match in improving the girl's skills in combat far more than her scant year in junior high. Socializing is easier too; with many having a backgrounds similar to hers, the only risk Shurui ever faces is anyone attempting to line up all the dots and find, beyond a certain point, that Shurui Chiang only seemed to exist for about three to four years. And that name, Shurui Chiang? That's something only half as old, a legacy given to her by her adoptive father in place of the far more simple 'Hoodie'.
Shurui's breath becomes visible in the cooling air as the sun sets; puckering her lips she blows into the air and watches a small cloud fall away from her mouth.
Maybe K' will be home tonight. Maybe he'll have found Whip. Maybe it'll turn out just to be some simple misunderstanding or some bit of neglect on Whip's part pertaining to her telling him that she was off on some recon mission for Ikari in Cuba. Someplace warm. Shurui shifts her hands into her hoodie. If it gets any colder, she'll have to start wearing something heavier than this.
Fall leaves rustling behind her, she walks home.
Sun setting - darkness rising.
As sure as the chill of fall brings winter's storms, the day passes towards night - it's an inexorable thing that has happened yesterday, is happening now, and will happen tomorrow. Time stops for no one, save perhaps a student within the safe confines of school walls, ever lost in the day-to-day humdrum of training, studyng, and fighting. Vega knows the passage of time better than most - after all, he's been through the furthest ravages of it, seen a bitter end and returned anew, with new goals and new decisions to be made.
These decisions were leading up to a culmination, a finale that he could see dimly with his psychic power - one that was still not set in stone. With that knowledge, he merely had to search for likely pawns, to find the pieces that would push 'what will be' into the shape that he'd chosen. He'd begun this within his own organization, but it certainly would not be enough - even a psi-blind teller could posit that with a degree of certainty. After all, it had never been before. No - this time, Vega would need more than before, something unique and special. Thus, he searches, days into weeks, for those pieces and clues he might be able to use.
Those whispers and the careful study of fighters in the world have led him back to Gedo - the school he'd once demanded a challenge from, given by Daigo and his sister both - an impressive display that saved the children their further wrath. It also proved to him that the students from there were worth studying - and as time had gone on, he'd made his final decision on the one, the /only/ one to approach. Thus, footsteps fall in place behind the girl walking through the air - footsteps that were not there a moment before. Like a ghost materializing in the world, taking human aspect, Vega walks behind Shurui. Like a spirit, he haunts her steps - saying nothing, instead just watching with blank white eyes.
It doesn't take long for Shurui to notice her new stalker. K''s (and perhaps Whip's) constant state of paranoia has definitely rubbed off on her. One, two steps and Shurui is looking behind her like any normal concerned schoolgirl would, dark eyes masked behind those rose lens. Doesn't help that she hears him too. She doesn't need that sensitive hearing to notice that.
A figure. A tall one. That's what her eyes make out. Cape. Imposing. Her glasses mask out most of the color, sacrificing that for clearer terms of depth. Halloween costume? But isn't Halloween a bit later on? And there's that initial irritating buzz of something -off- in the air, an aspect her sixth sense gleefully picks up on like a pair of ears pick up on a dripping facuet in the middle of the night.
"..." Maybe if she ignores him, he'll go away. Don't even *bother* to take off your glasses, don't give the crazy tall man another chance to see your face. Keep walking.
She walks faster. There's a night club coming up. Lots of people. Lots of auras. She just needs to make it there, and get lost in the crowd. Don't look back.
Escape? Hardly likely!
This is going to be an /honor/, a /privlege/! How could one try to turn and pretend that such a thing no longer exists and simply walk away, to hide and lose themselves in the thrum of the lesser mortals..? This will not do - not do at all. With a predator's grin, Vega simply watches her speed up - able to guess at least some of what may be going through her mind. He can't /read/ minds - but it doesn't take Rose to know that he offputs the most psi-blind characters in the world just by being near them - what more would it do to an active?
He vanishes.
His footsteps stop, that 'presence' fades. A ghost again, at least for a moment. Long enough that one might think it a trick of the light and sounds of the street, nothing more. Were she to look back, the red-dressed Dctator of Shadaloo would be nowhere to be seen. That moment lingers on, and hangs for a few more precious seconds. And then he reappears, fading in through an inky black haze of psychopower. Standing meters in front of her, between her and safety. Again, the predator's smile - a shark's grimace stretching thin lips. His voice is dark with the crush of gravel in his throat, the voice not just physical, but simply placed within her brain.
"I've been looking for you - you're difficult to find alone."
The presence vanishes. Shurui stops, and, against all reason, looks back to see. And indeed, he's gone. A ghost? .... No, ghosts don't exist. At least, not in this situation. She hesitates, then takes her eyeglasses off. "...." Where did he go? .... Why, there. In front of her. Shurui swivels back to face Vega as he comes into being, her eyes no longer shielded by the rose-colored lens from before.
She can see his aura now.
And so, the very same girl who faced Kain without blanching (much), who faced Adelheid, who faced K', who faced Gen and had the 'balls' to ask a job from him... She shakes and backs away. .... And here lies the difference- she knew the consequences. Set matches, chatting with a creepy Chinese man, sparring with someone she *knew* outranked her- she all knew these things couldn't hurt her more than she allowed for. She was in control, for the most part. Here? Well.
What does Vega's presence do to someone whose psi 'sight' is so well-developed? ... Easy. He scares the shit out of them. Or, at least, Shurui. Hearing his voice in her mind, she claps her hands over her ears and shakes it in a kneejerk response, as if by doing so she could physically shake out those simple words. Her senses coming to, she stops, straightens, and swallows.
"... I.... see," Shurui says, trying to swallow her fear back down, an action that proves to be in vain. Why, why is she so scared? Igniz never gained such a response from her. "... Just who are you and what do you want from me?" Her voice is quiet, measured, a rational part of her mind quickly attempting to fight back that primitive need to flee like a bat out of hell.
Fear is natural. To be cherished - it means you're still sane, Shurui.
He takes all the time in the world to address her again - Vega knows that the ball is quite literally in his court, now - he has the advantage, so to speak - and he stretches that out for all it is worth. It's a piercing gaze that his blank white eyes offer, furrowed brow as he ponders just how much to answer, and how best to explain the gift he plans on bringing to her. He can sense that fear roiling off of her, and it brings a dark thrill to him. After all, his power is that of fear, of anger and hate - dark emotions, all. Those make him strong, and the flow of this one is quite a tasty tidbit indeed.
Arms fold over his chest after a time, and he addresses her in his deep voice, allowing the parlor trick of speaking to her mind at the same time to fade - no reason to overwhelm the poor girl with his majesty - at least, not yet. "My name is Vega. Doubtless you've heard it before - most have, through Howard's games or other such. As to what I want from you, girl - perhaps you could tell me." His grin narrows, eyes focusing as his voice returns to that mental touch, a hissing whisper that accuses and challenges at the same time. ".. You have a power that should answer the question quite nicely."
Shurui doesn't dare to move. Not just yet. Can't exhaust herself with a man who managed to TELEPORT past her senses. Convince him to move on, and go. That will be her plan. Don't make it messy, don't call anyone. Go someplace safe. If K' isn't at the apartment, go back to the dorms.
Finally, the man introduces himself. Vega? That name sounds familiar. Shurui desperately wracks her brain for information. A name she might have seen in the news? A fighter? "... I don't want to get involved with you. You smell like trouble. I've got enough on my plate as is," Shurui explains, her voice wavering between cold steel and the whimper of a young child. "B... besides, what do I have that you don't already? There's something to be said for being self-sufficient. *You're* the one who's speaking in people's heads and teleporting around, not me."
..... But what if this is an illusion? Is this a physical body her mundane sight is picking up on, or is it a trick? What an easy way to manipulate a person! Yes, she'll stick with that. Fool herself to give her the neccessary wits to think up a plan. He's an illusion. Psychics could do that, right? Maybe she can't, but no one can do everything.
Maybe her lie will turn out to be the truth. "... Are you following me on this? I don't even know why you're coming to me."
"Heh. I'm coming to you, dear girl - because I believe you have a talent that should be cultivated - grown, as it were. You're still a stripling with your skill - but with time and training, it could be more. A powerful tool, at your command." He almost says 'his' command, and it's probably more than easy to pick up the undertone. Yes, yes, this is a dictator speaking, one used to ordering and not cajoling. However, this requires a lighter, softer touch than he normally offers.. this requires guile and tact. Something that he has, though in woefully short supply.
"Any fighter in this world is 'trouble', girl. Any person who stands head and shoulders above others is singled out, for good and bad. We each find our roles that have been told to us, we are put into our place, and play out what fate dictates. I .. refuse to do that. As such - I've come to find you." See, that's the crux of the matter. Again and again, Vega has railed against the fate he sees before him - to be cast against the mighty and thrown aside. He's tired of it - sick of it - and frankly, it's starting to wear dangerously thin. "I'm coming to you, because pulling others from the same fate will give me /my/ choices - and in the end, we both benefit. Admit it - control isn't easy, is it? I saw the way you recoiled when you saw me. Failure to master your emotions will keep you weak, girl. Failure to accept the truth of what /is/ and what can be will keep you in that peg forever. I offer more."
If only Vega had come to her earlier, say, a few years, before she ever met Muda Chiang, the man who gave her a name. A far more naive and directionless girl would have picked up on his offer. But this Shurui fails to look on such speech without that pervading sense of paranoia. She knows what too much power can bring; she's seen some examples among Igniz's fine crew.
Always look a gift horse in the mouth. It could sport enemies lurking inside. She looks away. "That's not the kind of trouble that worries me anymore." A half-truth. It's more to do with her priorities. "I don't let that sort of trouble control me." Control? Control of her emotions? Shurui glances back at Vega, tilting her head.
It's not like she can refuse to find logic in his words; it *is* there. "... I gain control in my own way. What works for you doesn't mean it'll work for me. In fact, I'll say I don't want it to work for me, because the way your aura.... seems.... I don't want that. You scare me, but wouldn't it be worse it I wasn't? If I completely overlooked all the warning signs and made decisions without weighing my options? To be that *dumb* in the sort of position I'm in? Isn't that just another form of weakness, right there?"
"... And, weighing the info I've gotten so far, I'm gonna have to say I refuse." Shurui's lips thin. "I'll do things my own way. Wouldn't accepting your offer just place me in another box? Doesn't sound like I'm fighting against my fate that way, does it?" Her expression and poise grow more confident as she begins to weave logic, the unknown becoming known. "Besides, how can you tell what I'm capable of, besides throwing mind energy around and seeing people in pretty colors? I *know* there's other people who can do the same."
Sadly, Vega has only recently started to truly rail at fate and 'destiny' - a few years ago, confronted with Shurui, his offer would have been simple. Life as a Shadaloo minion, Doll - or death. There's very little wiggle room in 'Old Vega's mind, a product of that self-same fatalism that drove him to destruction and rebirth. He's already cast himself outside of what fate declared for him - or so he thought. Now, cast again in the same light, he grows tired, angered and sullen, like the last burnings of a red dwarf before collapsing into itself, forming an epicenter, an event horizon of psychic death. Eventually, that day will come - each time he pushes at fate and fails to make it move - that day draws closer. Today, it's taken another step.
It's visible, how much restraint he places in his words, bitten off at each syllable, said through slowly clenching teeth. It's painfully obvious that he's angered, enraged even by these words, this simple logic that pokes holes in what he thought was the perfect pitch. Again, he's been denied. He could simply crush the life from her, destroy her - but then, would he be playing to fate's hand /again/? In doing so, would he lose a chance further along to make things change? He forces that anger down, seething like a cauldron set to boil a brew of potent evil, uncaring of the waves of rage and mismia of anger that obviously billows from him - and answers her. "Your options will grow fewer with time, mark these words, girl. In the end, you'll find yourself at the same dead end that I do - and you'll curse it with your last breath. I /know/. I've seen what comes after, and your refusal simply solidifies that path all the more. It's a trench, now - soon, a pit with no way out." He says this with conviction - but is it the conviction of a delusional man.. or the conviction of one of the most powrful psychics in the world? Such is hard to tell - truth be told, even for him. How can he tell what she will do? That's easy. "I've existed longer than you, girl - I've met the weakest in the world, to the strongest. I believe your potential is greater than those. /This/ is what you will be capable of." And with that, Vega moves. Directly in front of her with no more than a blink of an eye, his hands close to either side of her head, face to face but not touching. No, no, he's just fully uncovering what 'spirit' he still has - showing, demanding that she look and see what power she is trying to turn away from and ignore. Is she /really/ going to anger that power, by turning it down? Is any answer really safe to the insanity of the Shadaloo Dictator himself?
He's getting angry. But weighing this with the further trouble of getting involved with him? Maybe he'll turn away. But his words make her mouth run before her brain can catch up. "... There's no such thing as fate. Only consequences. You're assuming your future's this huge mantle that something *else* placed on you on purpose. Life gives you shit, yeah, but it's never on *purpose*."
..... See, that's why fear's useful. Keeps your mouth from running.
But fear never keeps dictators from doing just what Vega does now. His full aura unmasked and directly in front of her, it overloads Shurui's every sense until there's nothing but screaming static. Her eyes hurt. Her brain hurts. Her muscles hurt. Her *soul* hurts. Even if she closed her eyes, that sense would pick up on it, sans the useless technicolor vision.
There, in that spot, where rational thought leaves her and desperation reigns, a door opens. A door that only opened before when she was drunk, momentairely connecting to Alma's mind as he comforted her. There, relaxed, dumb, sick, and happy, her mind simply reacted, extending affection where her mouth was failing her. In the end, all Alma felt was a brief moment of hangover and nothing else. Shurui's not powerful, perhaps, as a Psycho power user. She can't and doesn't overpower her opponents with pure energy, and, if she does? It's only due to strategy and/or pure luck. No, where Shurui's power excels is in its adaptability.
Unfortunately, it means it sometimes only comes to her when she's at her worst, rather than when it'd be nice to have that little boon. It seeks to survive, and nothing more. And so, overpowered by a presence of a larger aura, there's only one thing Shurui can do. Only one way she can answer, in the special way that Vega no doubt wouldn't neccessarily mind, even if it is with rejection.
She screams. Vocally, physically, and mentally. Everything in her mind turns itself to the objective of 'push away'. Push away. Get away. Move back. Go away.
When a gnat screams at an elephant, it may not overpower the elephant, but it's definitely *noticed*.
Adaptability. Of course he wants to train her - or better yet, to learn to steal that touch from her. He can't just 'take' it.. without training, without skill, an unconcious, seldome usable ability would be worthless to him as the tool he seeks to leverage into something more. Her skill under his tutelage, eventually to wrest it bodily from her? /That/ is the true prize here.
One that is evidently shut tight against him.
As she reacts, he does take notice - a slight flinch at the mental touch. He's unused to people making /him/ react, unused to people forcing their will on his own, one of the mightiest in the world. That she's able to do even that little proves to him in an instant that he needs to have her - and the action seals the proof that he won't have her. Ever. It's a vexing thing - but one he will accept with grace and poise. Somewhere inside him, the smooth diplomat, the velvet glove over the iron fist still lives. With it, he tries to soothe some of the damage of his words and aura - acting aloof, pulling back in a schizoid display of magnimanity. "You'll believe that - and in the end, you'll see it for what it is, girl. A lie. Go back to your life." He pulls his hands away, and turns smoothly, cape flowing behind him. "Enjoy the illusion you give yourself - and when reality comes calling, it will have my name on its breath." He's seen that face of reality, and his symbol sygnfies it. The winged death's head - Death itself, or so it should be. Any further discourse she wishes to have with him will be with the back of his cape - or even further, the empty night. After all, screams are what wake dreamers from nightmares, aren't they? This nightmare has grown tired, disgusted, and disillusioned. For now.
Only for now.
That touch, that *push* withdraws, reacting like a hand that had just brushed hot metal. She freezes as Vega pulls away, scared, shaking, speechless, unable to offer even as little as an 'ay' or 'nay' to Vega's smooth words. A tinge of hurt, embarrassing and child-like, comes to Shurui's heart as Vega rejects her in kind. That child self inside her- it never shows an inkling of common sense, does it? All it wants is acceptance, warmth. The adult side of her mentally wraps it inside her, knowing that, with that aura, he couldn't give those things.
This man seems to have pushed aside his humanity completely. All there is is power. Whatever she gained from him would never equal what she would lose upfront or later.
After his presence disappears into the night, Shurui's mental paralysis breaks, replaced by a tired and worn mind and soul. She drops to her knees, clutching her head as the reality of the situation comes down hard. "...." W.... what did she do there? Did she just *push* him away? Granted, it wasn't enough to overpower him; in fact, it was -far- from that. But the shock lies in the fact that she *did* it, and he reacted. He *reacted*. She can't lie to herself and say it was her imagination.
She did it on impulse. And now that that door has been officially opened, just how easily could it happen again? And again? She should feel happy, empowered. However, instead, Vega's aura stamped into her memory, for the first time in a very long while, Shurui is afraid of something completely different. There's Vega, of course, of his aura, but most of all...
She's scared of herself.
Log created on 21:14:17 10/15/2008 by Vega, and last modified on 00:56:10 10/17/2008.