Description: Having (somewhat) succeeded in recruiting Iori Yagami to his cause, Reiji takes a slightly different approach in persuading Kyo Kusanagi. It involves steak and namecalling. Brilliance! Reiji finds an unexpected addition dropped into his plans, however...
Mysterious invitations are par for the course, when you're somebody as legendarily legendary as Kyo Kusanagi.
Of course, usually mysterious invitations are from people who want to kill you, or who want you to participate in an international fighting tournament as part of an elaborate plot to kill you, or to drain your powers, or to turn you into a statue or whatever. Typically, though, these mysterious invitations are sealed with the signet of any one of a dozen underground terrorist or criminal organiations, and not...
"...This looks familiar," Kyo muses to himself as he peers at the Yata clan seal, which certainly doesn't /look/ like the emblem of a world-spanning evil organisation. There's no skulls, nor a crown, and it's not just one initial in some overwrought font. Nevertheless, the end result of centuries of mighty Kusanagi ancestors frowns and squints slightly at what should be something he should know right off the top of his head, vague recognition the only response he's getting from the depths of his memory.
Mind you, given who his father is, it's an open question as to whether this is more the result of Kyo's own laziness and lack of respect for his history, or more because Saishu is both insane and has historically attempted to take the term 'absentee parent' to new and exciting heights.
Maybe both?
So anyway, there's Kyo Kusanagi, at the steak house indicated on the mysterious invitation of mystery, about five minutes after the time listed. He's dressed pretty casually, too, because Kyo Kusanagi wears what he wants to wear, and nobody is going to gainsay him. Not successfully, anyway.
What a /jerk/.
It's not that clasy of a joint either, mind. Just your run of the mill steak house for the average income Joe. Which is not to say Joe Higashi, because of Kyo's vision does not lie to him there *is* in fact a fourth decal depicting Higashi's mug next to the symbols for 'no shirt, no shoes, no service'. Apparently even these places have to draw the line somewhere.
The scent coming from the kitchen is pretty damn nice though.
One mixed benefit of having the Kusanagi fame is never having to hunt for your guest seat. The other party is *always* expecting Kyo, *always* knowing what he looks like in advance. Still, to look at the crowd, it's hard to pick out who the Mysterious Stranger is going to be this time. The guy with the fancy suit, eyepatch, and elegantly combed 'stache sitting in the corner seems to be the most likely. Certainly not the flame-haired man wearing the black robe with a white cross emblazoned on its back - after all, he seems to be far too busy with doting on the tiny girl he's getting situated in a booster seat and helping with the kiddie menu.
Then he turns around and spots Kyo, cracks a grin, and waves him over toward the table. "Hey there! Glad you could make it on such short notice. Help yourself to a seat and I'll be right with you."
...
"No excuses. At least *one* vegetable. ...What's wrong with the corn? You liked the corn last time!"
Eyepatch does seem likely, all things considered. Never trust a guy with an eyepatch. When was the last time somebody with an eyepatch /wasn't/ a dangerous psychopath, in the fighting world?
Yeah, that's what I thought.
Kyo walks further in, since he meets he requirements of wearing a shirt and shoes, and of not being Joe Higashi, and he's definitely headed in the direction of the table of the guy who is clearly some sort of supervillain when he's distracted by somebody waving at him. What in the blazes?
Stopping, Kyo turns to look at this Reiji, who definitely doesn't seem much like a supervillain /at all/, even if he is wearing a black robe. Black robes are usually a bad sign, too. Cultists, judges, evil wizards, that sort of thing. But he seems to be implying that /he's/ responsible for the mysterious invitation of mysteriousness, and as ridiculous as this seems to the Kusanagi heir, he just /has/ to find out what the story here is, it ought to be good for a laugh.
So, Kyo redirects himself over to the table, pulling up a chair and, once seated, he rests his elbows on the tabletop and cradles his chin on his fists, as he is apparently incapable of taking anything seriously at all. "So," Kyo wonders, after a moment or two, "are /you/ the evil overlord with the secret plan who's calling me out to warn me that my charming insouciance and thrilling heroics will be in vain... Or is she, making you the uh, henchdude or whatever?"
The host-apparent is distracted from his fussing with the child by this inquery, a puzzled expression on his face as he considers how to answer. Henchdude? Why...yes, in a manner of speaking that *is* accurate. Accurate enough to run with in fact. "Ah, yes. Sorry for ignoring you there, she's very demanding at times." Turning so that his gaze rests between Kyo and the child, he lowers himself to one knee and elegantly bows. "Reiji Oogami, retainer to the Yata clan. And, ah..." Doing his damnest to avoid cracking up, he forces a concerned expression and lifts one hand to shield the side of his face closest to the child in a conspiratory manner. "...yes, I am but this one's servant for life. You see, Mistress Yata is the one who summoned you here, but as you can see she's...in a bit of a predicament. She seems to have fallen prey to an unusual age regressing curse." This sounds nothing short of absurd, but on closer examination she *does* look like a miniature Chizuru. Right down to the clothes.
Rather than make Kyo call the bluff though, Reiji stands and casually slides into a seat opposite his guest. "Yeah, I'm pulling your leg. Sort of. I *am* a retainer to the Yata clan, and indentured to this young one, but she's just my kid. Say hi to the nice man, Minori."
The girl blinks in Kyo's direction absently, then shies away and tries to burrow deeper under the tray of her seat. Apparently she's a shy one.
"Anyway. No, it works the opposite way this time. As casual as this meeting is, I'm here to warn you that the seal on Orochi is near its breaking point. Oh, and that a few of the lesser houses of the old bloodline alliances have already been assassinated. They're working their way up to you I think."
Reiji leans across the table, finger tapping on one of Kyo's menu items. "The ribeye here is pretty good if you haven't tried it. Best in town."
Throughout Reiji's convincingly delivered but ultimately facetious response to his question, Kyo regards the older man with flat expression. Particularly when he suggests that Chizuru has been cursed to become younger and... Actually, when he looks at the little girl, he /does/ see a disconcerting resemblance to Kagura. That's so weird! And for a completely irrational moment it makes him actually wonder if Reiji might actually be telling the truth. Fortunately for everyone, then, the other guy admits that he is in fact full of it.
Kyo doesn't really say 'hi' back to Minori either, though, so maybe he's shy, too. Or maybe he doesn't like kids? Or maybe he affects to not like kids, because it suits his gruff image?
Instead, the former King of Fighters turns his attention back towards Reiji, who starts talking about serious destiny things. Orochi, all the smallfry bloodlines, assassinations? Kyo looks like he wants less and less to be at this table by the word, even if they /do/ have the best ribeye in town.
"So what, is Old Lady Kagura too brittle to come and give the 'important destiny' speech on her own, now, she's gotta send the butler?" Kyo wonders, bringing the legendary Kusanagi charm to bear. "It's not like they'd be the first people to try to kill me... And believe me, they won't be the last, either."
Sighing with mock exasperation, Reiji leans back into his seat and spreads both arms outward, letting the adjacent chairs act as convenient rests for them. Really, should a guy with a daughter at his table be leaving this much chest exposed to the world as he reclines like pimp? Could be worse though...he's not Benimaru. "Pretty much. But I think you're looking at this the wrong way. If Chizuru were here, you really would be getting a lecture about destiny. And you wouldn't be eating steak that's paid for. I mean, come on. The finer fines in life, my boy." Folding up his menu and sliding it to the side, it's no surprise at all that he orders the rib eye. Chicken strips and corn for the little one.
Waiting for the server to fade back into the background, Reiji is then forced to turn his attention back to his guest and put on the Serious Face. Aww, look what you've made him go and do, Kyo. "'Course, if I'm here and Chizuru isn't, that should also tell you she's too busy to see you in person. And with how much a stickler she is for formality and observing the old customs, yadda yadda..." He shakes his head. "Really, it should tell you enough. But I get it. You have to deal with all sorts of clan related nonsense on a regular basis. I respect that. I mean, if you didn't, then I'd be having to do it for you. And boy, what a drag that'd be. It's rough enough being a single dad."
Leaning forward then, he speaks with a lowered voice that is devoid of all humor. "Think I wouldn't have picked a fight with Yagami already if this wasn't the real deal?" That's a strange joke. For one, it's clear that Reiji isn't *dead*. Unless he's some form of zombie. Then again, zombies tend to be too busy eating children to be fussing with their vegetables.
Kyo, just to be contrary, orders a New York steak, instead.
Naturally, the Kusanagi heir seems completely unrepentant that he's made the obviously laid back Oogami have to get serious, instead meeting Reiji's gaze with a level one of his own. He's never really been one to appreciate 'clan related nonsense' on those times it's bothered to rear its ugly head, but it doesn't escape his notice that this is coming up with the King of Fighters tournament just around the proverbial corner. Tournaments do seem to be a popular place for evil guys to get their megalomania on... Could this just be another case of the same?
Except with primeval godlike beings instead of some dude with a huge chin and an army of girls in stewardess outfits?
"I dunno, Old Lady Kagura finds me irresistably charming," Kyo notes, when Reiji tries to sell himself as the lesser of two evils thanks to his willingness to pay for dinner. When Reiji leans forward and gets quieter and still /more/ serious, Kyo gives him a dubious look. "Really, you picked a fight with /Yagami/? ...Are you a masochist, or something?" Really, the things Kyo Kusanagi says in front of other people's children! "But, fine, let's pretend I'm inclined to listen to what you have to say, since you've obviously got more. What's the sales pitch?"
Not just any dinner. *Steak* dinner.
Reiji leans his head back in answer, shaking it with that unique 'why me' exhasperation that is born of diplomacy with Iori and Kyo within a period less than one year. "If going a round with Yagami means there's a chance my kid doesn't have a chance to ask her kindergarten teacher what 'Orochi' means, then yeah. Check mark next to masochist." Still glancing up at the ceiling, he smirks in self-satisfaction. "But it worked. Yagami's on the books for my King of Fighters team, and he straightened out the crick in my back when he stomped on it. Anyway..."
How conveniently these topics segue. Trust that to be the moment that the steaks are delivered, but Reiji is quite experienced at carving meat and talking at the same time. It comes with a lifetime of practice. "The idea is to use the King of Fighters tournament as a pretext to keep the bloodlines moving together as a single force. Makes them harder to be assassinated, and makes it easier for us to take a few of *them* down instead." Om nom nom. Steaaaak. At least he doesn't talk with his mouth full.
"That's pretty much it. I'll be your third member. I haven't worked out who the remaining two will be...I want to try and get at least one of the older bloodlines in on this for their own safety. The old blood is more useful than rep when dealing with these sorts of creeps anyway. If they know how to use it."
When Reiji claims that he managed to recruit /Iori Yagami/ for his King of Fighters team, Kyo actually looks impressed, and he's about to ask how Oogami managed a feat like that, probably with some sort of flippant or snide remark to go with it, when the food shows up. So, a win for everyone involved.
The Kusanagi heir looks contentedly down at his free food, but of course it's not /really/ free, because it's just a bribe to get him to listen to the rest of what Reiji has to say. Still, it /is/ steak, so what's the harm in listening? Kyo doesn't actually seem to pay any attention as Reiji continues talking, instead cutting off a nice piece of seared cow meat, popping it into his mouth and chewing with a look of sublime enjoyment he normally reserves for a Quadruple Baconator or some variety of submarine sandwich, slowly raising his eyes to look across the table at Reiji.
"Oh," he says, talking around a mouthful of partially chewed steak, because he has no table manners. "Man, this is embarassing," Kyo continues, although clearly he isn't embarassed at all. "I've already started my own team. Recruited somebody and everything, since Benimaru and Daimon are off doing... I dunno what."
He finally finishes chewing, and swallows his mouthful of steak.
"I mean," Kyo adds, with an air of supreme magnanimity, "you can come along if you want, but how you gonna get Yagami to join /my/ team? Dunno if you've heard, but he kinda wants to kill me."
Ohoh. Kyo is wise to see the gaping hole of logic in Reiji's purported accomplishment. Or perhaps not a complete *idiot*, considering how close to the mark that last remark strikes. Reiji visibly...pauses!...when Yagami's interests are mentioned, fork in mouth and everything. He resumes chewing, reminding himself that the utensil is not, in fact, something that his teeth are supposed to be grinding down. "Your team, my team, I don't really care whose name is on it. Yagami will probably simmer about it, but here's my sympathy for the guy."
Reiji makes a show of slicing the *thinnest* strip of beef possible before resuming.
"As for him wanting to kill you, well, yeah. That's sorta how I got him on board. I had to appeal to his common sense in the only way possible to one of his persuasion." Steeling himself, not for fear of Kusanagi's reaction but for the sake of once again holding his face straight, he glances up to idly meet Kyo's gaze while slicing another portion of steak for himself. "I just told him that he was an idiot if he thought he was strong enough to kill you right now." Slice. "And that he was a bigger idiot if he thought he could kill you before they could." Slice. "And I *might* have said that you'd be a pansy to refuse if he accepted." Slic--*chink*. His perfectly orchestrated display is ruined by the fact that there's no more steak and he's currently sawing through the plate itself. Drat.
eiji clears his throat.
"Anyway. This...team of yours. What's the roster? And how much space is left?"
It seems like Reiji's thought everything through, and is now fully equipped with an answer for all of Kyo's potential issues. It's notable that the Kusanagi heir hasn't straight out said no, possibly in a way that shouldn't be repeated in front of impressionable children; perhaps he's already realised that forces are at work, that something greater than all of them is beginning to move? Or maybe he figures Reiji already has some compelling argument to trap him into participation, and is just waiting to hear what it is.
Aaaaand, there it is.
"Really?" Kyo says, looking mildly disappointed as he watches Reiji start carving up his plate instead of his steak. "That's the big master plan? Paint me and Yagami into corners so we have to join your little Superfriends club or else our /feelings/ will get hurt?" Sadly, Kyo has to privately admit to himself that it's a good plan, because he doesn't want to look like 'a pansy' to Iori Yagami or anybody else, and the Last of the Yagami would probably be tickled pink to think of Kyo humiliating himself so.
Clever bastard.
As for his team... "Oh, well, so far it's just me and K'," Kyo explains. Sure, K' hasn't actually formally agreed yet, but Kyo knows he will, and has no problems whatsoever making decisions for other people. "You know who that is, right? My flames, Yagami's temper, dresses like a gimp?"
It's so cute how similar they are in that respect. And Reiji is *a very wise man*, in that he does not voice this fact.
"Sometimes simple is best." It's enough to know that this line of reasoning Just Works, no matter words may be used to indicate otherwise. For his part, the retainer just smiles to himself with private satisfaction while taking a long swig of his tea. ...Before his eyes fall on his young one again and visibly cross. "You're getting ketchup all over yourself! What did I tell you the rules were if I let you dress like Chizuru?" The next minute is spent attacking the poor child with a blotted napkin corner. You'll have to exuse him.
He pauses abruptly in his mission as he processes Kyo's last sentence again. "Wait. Your flames..." Turning back to Kyo from where he stands, it's clear that his mind is quickly running through possibilities. Obviously not an immediate relative of Kyo. The inflection on 'my flames' is also clear. Which must mean... "You've got me there, I'm more of an expert on the supernatural. Someone involved in the indiscretions of those idiots in NESTS I take it?" Troublesome. On the plus side, that means another team member with possible bloodline flames. On the other, how stable or useful can they be?
As Reiji has to go and be a dad, Kyo first stares in renewed disbelief - there really is nothing to crimp your style when you're talking about fighting tournaments or ancient evils trying to annihilate mankind quite like a child - and then gets back to his own steak, because apparently he has no attention span whatsoever. But in truth, while he seems to be completely engrossed in cutting and chewing, the Kusanagi heir is actually paying close attention to everything that's going on around him: There's no way a fighter of /his/ caliber could be completely oblivious.
So he waits, with elaborate patience, for Reiji Oogami to catch up with the conversation again.
"Yeah, yeah, NESTS, those are the guys," Kyo says absently, as if he weren't exactly sure. "They stole some of my DNA and started a bunch of science projects, I guess they were trying to use me to develop some ultimate power... And who could blame them?" Kyo adds, just as modest and humble as you'd expect. "Anyway they stuck my flames and I guess some of my strength in a bunch of people. K''s like... Leftovers or something, I don't even know. The kid's pretty strong, and he wants to prove he's not just a 'copy' of me." The perpetual highschooler shrugs. "So I told him he wouldn't get a better chance than King of Fighters, and besides, those NESTS guys will probably be there. You know how secret criminal organisations are, they can't resist big tournaments. It's like... It's like /crack/ to those crazy assholes. So, figure he'll get a shot at them if he joined up."
Or so Kyo suggested to K', anyway. Reiji isn't the only manipulative one at the table.
Reiji strokes his chin absently, deep in thought. This is an odd stroke of fortune, in a way. Allies for the upcoming battles in places he hadn't even thought of. Truth be told, if this 'Kaydash' has even half the bloodline power of Kyo, his usefulness in the battle ahead will probably equal or exceed that of what he'd be able to scrounge up himself. And if he isn't working for NESTS...yeah, could do. "Yeah, no kidding. I know we of the Yata aren't a whole lot different when it comes to being drawn in, but we much rather stay out of it when we can help it, trust me." Sliding back into his chair, he rattles his ice around the glass while absently contemplating. "Hmm. Alright, I'm sold. It's going to be a pain in the ass working with Yagami, but we're going to need him close at hand. One way or another." More on that, the middle-aged schemer does not elaborate. Does he need to?
Nodding to the server, he makes with the nuances of passing his credit card along and scribbling away on a recept. "If you're on board with the plan, I'll see about getting us a fifth member. One person will probably have to sit out on most of the matches, but I don't mind leaving the fighting to folks who are focused on winning the tournament anyway." Slipping his credit card back into the wallet, he pulls out a business card and slides it across the table. Business cards are how older men exchange phone numbers you see. Totally hetero. "My number's on there. I'm not going to strong arm you into any more than I have already. Think on it...but don't take too long. Things are going to get annoying soon."
An afterthought occurs to Reiji a moment later as he's standing, extracting his daughter from the high chair. "Well. More annoying, anyway."
If anybody could say that they know the worth of Iori Yagami in a fight, well, it'd be Kyo, wouldn't it? As long as they can keep the tainted flamewielder pointed at the other team and not at, you know, /Kyo Kusanagi/, then everything should be gravy. Adding his own strength, and that of K'... They should be sitting pretty, barring running afoul of some sort of crazy supervillain dream team composed of Vega, Geese Howard, Kain R. Heinlein, Akuma and Igniz, anyway.
With a resigned sigh, Kyo throws up his hands and shakes his head. The only way he can ever bring himself to capitulate about anything is by making the alternative seem like more of a bother, it's just part of his makeup. "Sure, fine," Kyo says, picking up the business card with a dubious look before he pockets it. He doesn't have business cards, of course, and he has a disconcerting feeling Reiji knows how to reach him at the Kusanagi residence anyway. He turns to watch the other man rise and pick up his daughter. 'More annoying' is right. "Find your fifth, Oogami. Just make sure they don't suck, huh? I might be totally amazing, but I don't wanna pull /all/ the weight."
Log created on 19:24:45 10/30/2010 by Reiji, and last modified on 21:38:17 11/13/2010.