Description: Mizuki visits the YFCC for the first time since the war--and ends up talking to a tall, young woman who claims she just wants to help.
The Young Fighters' Community Center. Built by Rose and Alma Towazu, staffed by their friends and colleagues, sometimes by almost random strangers. The YFCC--a haven, a school, a place to just be. Unfortunately...
Due to its nature--due to the nature of Rose, of Alma, of the people who work here, it's also drawn a disproportionate amount of attention from people the would will either call 'evil' or 'revolutionary'... Mizuki Kamigawa is amongst the ruins of the YFCC. The place had been attacked more than once, of course, but during the course of the war it became a focal point--
--and it was nearly pounded to pieces, by Mike Bison, by NESTS. By evil people. Mizuki hasn't been to the site of the YFCC in weeks; she stayed away, believing she could do better works elsewhere... or maybe just unwilling to face the YFCC and what it represented, her failure to help out those she considered family. But she's here now.
The place -is- being rebuilt, work proceeding apace; Mizuki has no role in it, though, the girl wearing a casual cotton tee and jeans, sneakers, just... standing outside of it, out of the way, watching. Thinking.
YFCC was the prize catch of many a villainous organization. Most sought to destroy it, eliminating the powerful 'army' of Rose and Alma. Some sought to control it, leashing the youth inside their armies, corrupting them from within. Some... had more insidious motives in mind.
Raoghnailt, of course, had nothing but the interests of the young fighters in mind. She sat in the back of the van, the world rushing by her. The city was mostly dead to the lady, with only a few specks of auras flashing by. "Now listen here, -girl-" The raven-haired woman in black growled. "Conduct yourself sincerely and politely. Do not fight under any circumstances. Do not mention the organization. You are a mysterious woman, here to help. Do you understand?" Raoghnailt grimaced, and spoke quickly and softly.
"Yes Miss Black."
The white van holds at stoplight, across the street from the ruins of the center. The light turns green, and the vehicle pulls away. From behind it, a red-haired girl stands, tall and somewhat awkward. She is dressed in a soft pink muumuu, fairly light and close to her skin. She bears tan sandals, and upon her head is a light pink blindfold. She feels around, tapping her cane at the curb. Mizuki's figure boldly stood out, light a candle in the dark. She senses no cars approaching, no low auras that were concealed in their frames. Boldly, she steps down, crossing the street. Approaching the community, she suddenly waves her hand in the air. And with a light Scottish trill, she calls out.
"Hello! Hello? Sir? Excuse me, Sir, is this the Youth Fighting Community Center!"
The YFCCers wouldn't consider themselves an army--though, combined, they certainly would have had the power of a small one. But yes, it certainly was a prime catch; Mizuki's aware, of course, of the white van, but she doesn't have the kind of powers one would need to see inside the minds of those inside the vehicle. As it pulls away, Mizuki turns, attention drawn by the sound of the white van pulling away, and spots the tall, awkward-ish girl with the red hair, seeing her start across the street. The cane marks her as blind, and the redheaded miko's brow furrows a little--but she seems to be making it across the street just fine.
When Raoghnailt starts calling out, Mizuki heads in her direction. "It's the Young Fighters' Community Center," she says, by way of correcting just what YFCC means--and she stops in front of the tall girl.
"Can I help you? I'm afraid the YFCC isn't... really open for business right now," says the miko, trying to sound as neutral as possible. "We're still rebuilding after... the recent war."
"Oh, my goodness, I am so sorry Miss!"
aoghnailt slows down as she steps over the curb, blushing profusely as she closes in. Her cane lightly bumps Mizuki, and the woman stops short. "I thought that you were, well, I thought it was the Youth Fighting Community Center! The Young Fighters' Community Center, Aye, I will try to remember that!" The girl smiles nervously, her face still quite red. "I'm sorry for the intrusion, but you can help me!" The agent of G-Project strokes her hair with her free hand, and releases her cane. Letting it hang from a strap, she opens her arms wide, as if she was trying to embrace the entire building behind Mizuki (or perhaps Mizuki)
"I am here to help this wonderful place!"
"It's alright... an easy thing to mix up." She smiles, though a bit wistfully. "The name doesn't really matter much; I'm not sure why I felt compelled to correct you." She is bumped with the cane, but doesn't flinch away from it; she doesn't know many blind people but she's familiar with the cane and its uses.
"You're here... to help? I see.. but what sort of help?" She sounds curious--perhaps a touch wary, but isn't that natural? After all, the YFCC and Mizuki have just been through some terrible things, on a personal level, and on a public level as well.
"We are in the process of rebuilding the center--literally--as it was very nearly completely torn down... I'm not sure when we'll be back open." And Mizuki isn't sure she'll be here when it -does- officially reopen. The city itself is in shambles, which quite adeptly mirrors Mizuki's mental and emotional state. She forces a smile, though, and says, "Are you here to help with the reconstruction?"
"Well, I can quite a few things..."
Mizuki's smile is meaningless, however. Raoghnailt could sense that in the tone of her voice that she was somewhat nervous. Slowly, the woman dropped her arms, once again blushing with full strength. "I was thinking that I would help with the teaching, but that doesn't sound very helpful right now."
The lady adjusts her blindfold nervously. "But I would like to help with reconstruction! I mean, I have to help this place!" Raoghnailt stops, releasing her blindfold, and leans forward, cupping her hand. Whispering as Mizuki, she reveals the deepest of secrets. "Do you believe dreams tell secrets?"
Of course, smiling at a blind woman doesn't mean much, visually; but a true smile can be -heard-, as well, and Mizuki akes every effort to try and make it seem true... though ultimately she fails. The smile remains a visual symbol, but Mizuki can no more force herself to stop using them anymore than Raoghnailt can see them. Still, she regards the blind woman as she removs the blindfold.
"Do I believe dreams tell secrets...?" It's a question she considers seriously, but ultimately she nods. "I believe they can, yes, depending on the dream and the secret. But..." she pauses for a moment.
"What does that have to do with the YFCC...?" Her own question is... well, it's serious, too. "I can't speak for the YFCC directly, but we've historically been very accepting of people, so don't take my words as censure..."
G-Project had brainwashed Raoghnailt very carefully, and very well. If you talk to a doll, they will believe Vega is a god, and murdering innocents are just a means to an end. The same with NESTS. Southtown would rob you blind, while Rugal would just take you down. They would all attack innocents. But Raoghnailt... would never attack someone she found innocent, just someone that she found guilty based on the teachings of G-Project.
"I had a dream about this place, that there was a great deal of suffering, many good people were scarred. A... vision." Raoghnailt seems to flash slightly, a strange ethereal light causing her skin to seem paler than usual. "Where young warriors can know how to stop all the evil in the world, and protect people... but were wounded. Like a phoenix from the ashes, it would rise up again, and... and I would be the one bringing it As an Angel!"
The woman gleams, positively glowing. She reaches out to hold Mizuki's hand.
"What does the YFCC need? I will get it. I can... and will... help you in anyway I can."
Guilt based on the teachings of the G-Project is probably not something that Mizuki would be comfortable with--to say the least. Still, she listens as Rao describes her dream. Mizuki is... well, she's skeptical, but she is trying not to show it. She's heard a lot of honeyed, poisoned words over the last few weeks, mostly from the lips of NESTS...
"That's true," she says, carefully. "There was a lot of suffering here... not only here, but throughout Southtown. Many people's lives were destroyed, even if they weren't killed. Though the city itself rallied to drive the defenders out..."
Is this woman... glowing? That isn't -so- unusual... but the speech is. "An angel?" Mizuki isn't so sure she believes in angels anymore, to be honest, though again, she keeps that to herself.
"What do we -need-..?" That question gives the redhead pause, and finally, she says, "I'm... I'm not sure. I don't know what your resources are... and I'm not the person to talk to. You want to talk to Alma Towazu, I would think..."
Raoghnailt's words aren't toxic in the classic sense. She honestly believes what she is saying. The scary thing is that Raoghnailt hasn't lied so far, at least in her own mind. The meaning may be read completely different than what was true, but as far as Raoghnailt knew, she was working hard for betterment of not only children, but of honest people like Mizuki here.
"My resources... are myself! My hopes... my dreams...." The agent draws her hand back, her hair suddenly rippling as if a gust of wind shot up from beneath her. She curls back all but her index and middle finger, the glow of her body suddenly dimming. Pointing them forward, she seems to paint in the air in front of her. A silver, shimmering line boils from the underlying surface. She draws the chi to surface, a hovering shape. Meeting the other end, the outline of a heart floats in the air, the light slowly fading back into the underlying chi... of Mizuki's aura "And love."
Raoghnailt faces Mizuki, smiling warmly. Alma. She had to meet him and talk to him. "Could you help me meet this Alma? I have trouble finding people, especially strangers I've never met before." She nods her head, before giggling slightly. "I need to stop calling stranger men, though! Is Alma a man?" She suddenly bursts, a strange smirk coming over her face.
A very interested face.
Mizuki has no magical lie detector--though how much use would it be? Igniz and Diana truly believe what they say, that they intend to 'save the world'. Mizuki is just... skittish. The things that have happened to her in the war, well, naturally, they've changed her. She doesn't trust as easily as she used to.
Raoghnailt's words do draw a smile, when she denotes her resources--and demonstrates some of her power. "Yourself... I see. That is the one resource we all have, isn't it? Ourself. I'm sure there's something you can do." Her smile, however, falters when Raoghnailt asks about finding Alma.
"I... can't help you there, I'm afraid. I--used to know how to contact him. How to get in touch with him. But, I'll be honest... I haven't really seen him in... a long time. He's a busy man, in many ways, and a hard man to track down. However..." She trails off.
"If you -want- to meet him enough, he'll cross your path. He's got a sixth sense for that sort of thing." She hadn't thought about that, though... does that mean that -she- hasn't wanted to see him enough? He always did seem to have a talent for that...
Raoghnailt stands there, lips pursed sweetly. She tilts her head, twisting around it around. She was listening very carefully to what Mizuki was saying. She did sound sad. Stung would be the right word. Though at least she sounded happier thanks to Raoghnailt.
Finally, she giggles, tittering lightly. "Well, no wonder you are in trouble! Your boss is always out to lunch!" She grips her cane again, whipping it around her. Holding the tip of the cane in her other hand, she brings it across the bottom of her bottom, rocking back and forth playfully. "Well, I like a challenge, and if he wants to find me, I'll certainly find a way of helping him!"
The girl then frowns a bit. "So you can't help me at all, otherwise?"
"I can't help you find Alma, and I don't--have any controlling interest in the YFCC. I just... work here, occasionally. I'm sorry if you were expecting something more. You might try and find Frei Tsukitomi-Renard instead... but I haven't seen him in a while either." And the last time she saw him... well, she doesn't want to dwell on that right now.
The miko regards Raoghnailt. "So, unfortunately, if your goal is just to start helping the YFCC out, then I can't... really tell you what you want to hear. The only thing I can say is, I'm sure that your help will be accepted--I'd be glad to do it, but I don't feel as though I could tell you that and be confident that it would be okay."
She does sound truly sorry for having to disappoint the blind girl, and apologetic as well, but also very firm in her position. "If there's something you want to know about the YFCC, though, I can probably answer some questions."
Raoghnailt runs her fingers across her lips, resting them on the side of her face. Frei Tsukitomi-Renard? Another name of importance. Perhaps he could be found as well. Raoghnailt was instructed to help the YFCC, and report back to the safehouse. She could have just walked away. But if she was going to work at the YFCC for G-Project, she had to learn how to work!
"Well, there are a few things..." She begins, before flashing another toothy smile. "How do we help the students? Who is leading the repairs? What kind of structure is there in instruction? Would money help?" She rattles off, excited by the chance to spend more time with Mizuki.
Quite an array of questions, there! Mizuki mmms. "How do we... if you mean the YFCC as a whole? We provide classes in martial arts and self-defense for beginner-level students up to advanced-level students--we provide them a place to train safely and to practice new techniques... and we try to be here for them for other matters as well. I don't know who is handling the repairs, to be honest... I suspect Alma has someone doing so..."
"Structure.. largely depends on the teacher. Some are more freeform, some are more regimented... it's very individual here. Money isn't really a problem, though if you have a donation we might accept it in order to help pay for the repairs. Again, for that you'd want to talk to Alma..."
A glimmer sweeps over Raoghnailt. "Oh! Well, I might be able to get funds to help! Money is easy to get!" The angel singsongs. "And the structure seems to fit me well! But sadly, I think the rest of my questions can only be answered by this... Alma man."
Raoghnailt blushes a bit, before slowly lowering her head down in a bow. "Thank you very much. My last request is to have your name, so Alma knows that I have spoken with you. He will find me, after all! Even if I have to call him!"
The scottish woman, whips her cane around from her behind, and levels it beside her foot.
Money -is- pretty easy to get. Fighters are well-compensated for their fights. But... more money isn't necessarily a bad thing. "Probably... the YFCC was his idea, after all. A rather good one, but I really couldn't take credit for it at all. I hope you can track him down; I'm sure Alma will be delighted to hear of another person who wants to help out, and he's very gracious."
The redhead nods, when her name is asked--"Mizuki Kamigawa. I'll try and let someone know to tell him you're, ah, seeking him..." She was about to say 'looking for him' but that isn't strictly true, is it? Just then, her pocket beeps and she withdraws a slim cellphone, looking at it distractedly.
"My pardons... I have to go," she says, sounding hurried--and she bows. "Good luck finding Alma," she says, again, turning to go... only realizing later that she never got the young woman's name.
Log created on 17:52:46 06/27/2009 by Mizuki, and last modified on 13:26:31 06/28/2009.