Description: Ayame is not usually a good source to turn to for help with solving a problem. But maybe if it's just the right person who asks, and the request is just perfectly in line with her own goals, there's always the chance that she'll budge just this once!
In spite her success in public fighting arenas, the infamous weapons maven lives a reclusive lifestyle of extremely modest means. Actually tracking her down would be something of a challenge, made even moreso because she just recently vacated her harbor-side dive after it was invaded by a certain serial killer. The girl lives a strangely simple life. Packing up and moving across to the opposite side of Metro was little trouble. Anyone seeking her might have come across the abandoned apartment situated over a warehouse at first attempt, since she had been operating out of there for at least half a year so far.
The nice thing about the slums for someone who doesn't like to be found is that property ownership is only a barely understood concept and some lots have been abandoned for years. As long as one has enough strength to carve out their own corner in them, it's possible to live for free with no record of any transaction having taken place. The bad thing about the slums for anyone who's trying to track down where someone lurks is pretty much exactly that.
There isn't much to go on to find Ayame but there is a contact email address she used for coordinating with the NDP. IP backtraces on it would be somewhat inconclusive, but they would be enough to lead one to the right neck of the woods - the outskirts of the most neglected area of Metro city, right on the border of where things go from being 'run down' to 'flat out inhospitable to human life.'
It might take some searching from there to come across one of the only buildings in the area with an antenna on its roof. The building is a smallish thing settled alongside two large warehouses that seem to still be used given the truck traffic in and out of them... But the fact that they are visited only after dark suggests that whatever business is being conducted out of them is far from legitimate. That's probably a good way of describing the whole neighborhood, really - far from legitimate.
The three-story building Ayame has settled in after her recent move is mostly vacant. The ground floor and second floor are empty except for a few vagabonds squatting some of the rooms. The stairway leading up from the second floor to the third, however, is completely blocked off, stuffed full of debris that seem thoroughly wedged in there. The only way up from the inside would be to scramble up the empty elevator shaft adjacent to the stairs. Of course, one could always opt to visit by way of the roof instead. Only, the surface of the roof has been made rather uninviting due to a thick layer of caltrops and several coils of barbed wire stretched across it, so moving around up there is probably not the best idea either.
The interior of the third floor is a lot more civilized than the exterior around it. Working lights being an example of 'more civilized', likely powered by a cable stretching across from the warehouses next door. The floor is mostly open with support beams instead of walls. It might have been some kind of office in the past with smuged wooden floors and missing carpets. A kitchen is off in one corner, an area set aside for what seems to be mostly 'living space' against another wall, and one corner dedicated to what looks to be best defined as 'making stuff'. Benches, tables, contraptions for mounting and bracing works in progress. Wires, half-assembled computers, exposed circuit boards with soldered wires running off from them into other small devices...
And of course there's the occupant herself. Ayame is slouched in a couch, hands folded behind her head, eyes gazing idly at a a large monitor that appears to be displaying four channel broadcasts at once. The latest fights out of Sunshine City; a news report on some kind of kidnapping conspiracy report also out of Sunshine; another news article on one Aoi Himezaki, some crazy girl from Japan stirring up gang warfare in the the city; and a fourth corner scrolling various statistics about a number of top end, famous fighters from around the world.
Other than the rather inconvenient means of entry, there doesn't seem to be any security setup on the floor. Maybe she just hasn't gotten to it yet.
From across the street, on a rooftop, a pair of softly-glowing violet eyes take in this intricate setup of defenses.....
(Very impressive...) is Munins only mental response to what she sees.
It has been several days of first locating, then attempting to ghost Ayame that has led to the current moment. The lass definately isn't easy to find, and Munin can't help but wonder if her arrival isn't somehow covertly expected by the staff fighter. She doesn't THINK she was spotted, but one never knows.....
Unfortunately, she doesn't see her target within the structure. Exploring the first two floors found nothing of use, though likely unnerved some of the occupants a bit. The blockade of the third floor, however, and now seeing the state of the roof seems to Munin a good indicator of where to look. Since she saw Ayame go into this building, however, and foundthe basement clear, as well as the upper floors, this leads her to two conclusions: she is on the third floor, or has a location in the building with a hidden entrance.
However, she doesn't feel it really 'polite' to sneak in through a window, particularly when they have gone to such lengths to keep people out, and even moreso when it is someone she may ask for assistance.
What would be the best way to get someone out.... ? Fire alarm? Nnaahh. Too much fallout. Actual fire? No. Curiosity? THAT may work!
A short time later, having repositioned herself on one of the warehouse roofs right next to the hazard zone, takes out her tin whistle, and begins to play various melodys and songs she knows, at a volume that she hopes can get through the floor she is more or less right above. She hopes this may prompt whomever is within to investigate.
After all, how often does one hear such an instrument played in this neck of the woods?
That it's possible to see into the windows at all is only a scene of how recently Ayame moved into her new location. Syphoning power off of the neighboring crime-owned warehouses, setting up an antenna for internet access, throwing piles of abandoned junk into the stairwell to clog it off... those were easy enough to do. Deciding that she didn't want people lingering around on the roof, she made that similiarly uninviting. But she'll keep working at it, eventually blocking off the windows, adding a security grid... The girl lived a reclusive, paranoid life, and the longer she stayed at any one location, the more like a fortress it would begin to resemble, especially with the financial means to afford it.
But not all hours can be spent tinkering. Sometimes a girl just has to relax. Which seems to be her choice for now, legs crossed at the ankles, leaning back, lazily watching the various broadcasts, eyes flicking across the monitor to quickly take in information at a glance, jotting news events, observing fight behaviors, and noting fighter statistics all at the same time. Never know when she'll have to face one of those fighters down the line - always pays to know what they can do ahead of time...
But it doesn't take her long to get bored. Springing out of the couch to her feet, she stretches her arms and glances over toward her makeshift workshop. Pressing a button on a remote mutes the audio from the different streams as Ayame moves back over to the haphazardly arrayed security system in progress. It's only then that she pauses, head canting to the side, a sound reaching her ears. Turning around, Ayame picks up her remote again, toggling the mute button off then back on again, as if to confirm that the distant, soft music isn't coming from her sound system.
Curiosity will certainly get her to investigate. She pauses near the elevator shaft - the only 'convenient' way in and out of her safe house - to equip shoes. And then she's done. It takes a while for her to end up on the roof of the warehouse. The sound of the flute carries easily on the air, making it hard to narrow down its exact point of origin via simple echolocation.
With as long and flat as the warehouse surface is, it's hard to approach anyone by surprise. Which makes it a good place to call Ayame to. Eventually she scrambles onto its surface a good twenty yards away, eyes narrowing on the source of the roof-top serenade. Without much in the way of visible wariness or reluctance, she approaches Munin then, giving her a bit of a weird look. "Hey." she pauses, hand at her hip. "Not really the soundtrack I would've picked for this setting, but it sounds all right, I guess."
As Ayame speaks, Munin can't help but smirk inwardly. Worked like a charm! She plays a resolving note to end her tune without hurting someones internal rythm, and lowers the instrument, smiling evenly "Sadly, with my martial training lately i've had little time to learn new pieces".
She stands, avoiding the sharp bits that may be on the ground "Apologies for interrupting you if you were busy, but i couldn't find a door to knock on". With a sheepish smirk she puts her whistle away in her jacket "How have you been? I saw your match with Zach. Was very impressive".
With regards to her comment about learning new songs, she doesn't get much more out of Ayame than a quiet stare. It's hard to say what she's thinking as she looks evenly at the girl. Safe to say, given how she lives, and the trouble she goes through to be unapproachable, she isn't used to visitors. Or people seeking her out at all, really. She breaths in then exhales. She doesn't look annoyed, at least, so that's a good sign!
At the apology, she blinks a little, then glances around, waving her right hand in a gestures at the area at large, "This isn't exactly a hub of constant activity. I don't think anyone you'd find around here would constitute 'busy' unless you came during the hours that they move around the crap they store in these warehouses." She taps her foot once to indicate the one below them.
Ayame lifts her hand to brush some of her hair back over her ear, continuing to watch Munin. There's the question about how she's been that gets no answer. And the remarks about her match wtih Zach which also doesn't provoke much of a response beyond a single blink. Ayame is quit for enough seconds that it might drag on into becoming an awkward silence before she finally speaks. "What are you doing here?" Her tone is direct but not aggressive. If she's about to attack Munin for drawing her out into the open, it would be hard to tell given her present reserved demeanor. But it would also be easy to tell that there isn't a deep well of patience to be found in this girl either. "I don't do autographs."
Straight and to the point. THAT is something Munin is much more comfortable with.
As has been shown, she is terrible at small talk.
She nods "Autographs aren't my thing either". She looks around, eyeing the other rooftops, windows, making sure no one is listening, and then keeps her voice low when she speaks.
"I was curious..... how, at least in principle, you are able to make your staff work. I've never seen something non-organic channel chi like that, or akin to it". She actually looks a bit downcast "I normally would never ask someone about such a thing. Trade secrets and such....".
She looks up rather sternly, eyes flashing with their unusual glow for a moment as she forces away her discomfort "I want to commission you to make something like that for me.... and maybe show me enough to keep such objects maintained should damage occur at some point. I don't have a LOT of money, but i have other skills that may be useful in trade".
She cuts herself off there, obviously still uneasy, but not saying whatever else is on her mind.....
The girl seems to become a bit less on edge when Munin makes it clear she isn't here to fawn over her combat prowess. While her fighting appearances, bad attitude, and aura of mystery have garnered her some fan following in the world at large, it is more inspite her efforts than anything she does to encourage them. Fame does not seem to be her ambition...
Munin brings up the subject of Ayame's staff, the girl's signature weapon. It's come long way since its original incarnation, when it was largely a byproduct of conventional engineering with some adjustments to best facilitate chi channeling. Now it's quite a bit more, as she is able to demonstrate in her matches. "Nn," the girl replies when Munin first broaches the matter and it seems like the prospects of getting anything out of her are slim.
Her often antagonistic persona in her on-camera matches isn't exactly a fabrication for the audience, afterall. The girl is prickly, unfriendly, and for most people, utterly unapproachable. That Munin's got her attention this far means that she's at least approaching things as best as could be hoped for. Ayame shifts her stance, folding her arms in front of her, exhaling again, as if somewhat put out by this intrusion into her life.
But when Munin's attitude shifts, the young woman becoming a lot more determined in getting to her point, Ayame arcs an eyebrow. She hears out the offer. It wouldn't be in exchange for money... but maybe a favor owed? It's hard to say what kind of currency that equates to and given Ayame's completely neutral expression, she doesn't seem to be instantly taking the bait.
"Hm..." she replies, at least not dissmissing Munin instantly or turning her back to slip off. "Do you even need something like that?" she asks after a long moment. "It seemed you had no trouble channeling chi already. Why would you want a weapon designed for it?" Indeed, Munin's shadowy aura seemed to be drawn naturally when Ayame faced her in the arena, thus the question.
Munin nods "I can, but it's very ineffecient. Rather than being focused, it's simply due to sheer volume. In addition.... " she recalls her run-ins with Freeman, Vega, and others "... if i'm ever disarmed, i'm mostly screwed. I want to start training and using something less weapon-focused. Without one as a focus, however, channeling chi with precision is difficult.... " she stops a moment to think of a comparison scenario "....like trying to fill a cup by pulling out a cork instead of turning a valve". She sighs, shaking her head "I had an idea for some kinda of hand-wear, like gloves or something, after seeing your staff in action".
The strawberry-blonde is quiet as Munin speaks. It's clear by her expression that she's judging the young woman, but it is hard to get what she might be looking for, because she doesn't seem to react much, simply maintaining her cross-armed stance, brown eyes never leaving the other fighter for an instant. She doesn't talk about herself. She has no interests in sharing her own secrets, her weaknesses, her strengths.
Munin has a keen eye for identifying the importance of her staff from their fight, however. The intricately designed weapon was clearly some kind of focus for the girl, a means of augmenting use of chi that seemed otherwise non-existant. The runes on its surface had reacted to her touch and energy seemed to flow easily over its polished surface. It's certainly a question as to how much chi Ayame could manipulate without her signature weapon in her grasp.
"I see." Ayame replies somewhere along the line. It seems the young woman has no problem drawing chi from the world around her, but actually aiming it properly? Or getting that shadowy energy to do what she wants in a fight is a challenge? "I'm surprised," she replies. "Few can manage the kind of illusions you pulled on me. That seemed to demonstrate a remarkable amount of precision for someone who says that it's hard to focus." There's a suspicious edge to her voice now, as if she's not sure what to make of Munin's explanation.
She mentions the idea of gloves that could maybe help her with chi focusing and the girl unfolds her right arm just to lift it up and resting her finger at her chin. "From what I saw, you already manage an abundant amount of chi. And your illusions were convincingly precise in the heat of battle..." She exhales softly. "I don't know if I can make anything that would help you..." Her voice fades out, as if she's somewhat made up her mind but not entirely.
She hesitates a moment, eyes blinking as she thinks back over her own experiences. When the strange, old man had asked her what was worthy to strive for, she had mentioned she enjoyed her craftmanship - her engineering of weapons to advance the science of chi and conventional devices. Yet here was a challenge set before her. To make something for someone /else/ for a change... Oro had said she shouldn't keep wasting her years, taking life for granted.
Ayame narrows her eyes, giving Munin another look. "It seems to me that you weren't able to swarm me with your illusions until you had no other choice. If it was easy for you to do, you would have done it sooner, I'm sure." She to the side then, finger tapping at her chin. "Maybe I can think of something."
For her part, Munin isn't really worried about revealing some of her more vulnerable details. After all, some of them are easy to estimate. Unarmed, she's in trouble. Not too hard to figure out on your own. Knowing that she can only more or less use little to no chi, or huge amounts, with no middle ground while lacking a focus does nothing to uncover how some of her attacks work, nor give the reflexes to do so.
That's all more or less easily figured out by anyone with half a brain, in Munins opinion.
That Ayame is judging is also expected. That's human nature for all but the most unusual person. She stopped caring about peoples judgements long ago, even started expecting the worst just in case. Just being here asking for this is difficult in some ways.
"A single uncontrolled echo takes little to do, but are obviously misdirections. My concern, as is the nature of martial arts, is control of what i do when causing damage to an opponent. A good way to put it is i want to upgrade my training wheels to actual wheels, instead of a bunch of rocks with a lid holding them together".
Munin pauses to think for a few seconds, eyes pulsing with light again. She seems unaware of this feature even now.... "In martial arts, as you know, a lack of control of ones ability is usually a liability in the long run. A squirt gun, or a tidal wave, with nothing in between is a disaster waiting to happen, either to me, or to someone else".
She nods, clearly still tense for all her attempts to hide the fact.
"Nn, right." Ayame has turned back toward Munin when the young woman begins to speak, elaborating on the issue she's trying to solve in terms of having to go all out or not being able to fight effectively at all. Her hand moves from her chin to scratch at her cheek absently, eyes staying settled on Munin.
"That's a different role than my weapons serve, but... not an unfamiliar concept for me. I might be able to make something that works. The main challenge will be getting it compact enough to be worn on your hands."
Her stance shifts, hand dropping from her cheek to rest at her hip again. "I'm not sure what I would get out of this. I've had to fight you once before, and maybe I will again someday. Helping you could just be working against myself!" Her voice raised briefly for emphasis before she calms back down. "But... you mentioned skills. What sorts of things would I be able to expect from you in exchange afterward? What are you good at?"
She pauses for a moment, as if considering something further. "And what color of gloves do you want."
Munin nods, a little chipper "Elbow-length gloves would give you more room to work with. Heck, maybe even an undershirt of some kind now that i think about it. Whatever you as the 'artist' would find the easiest to use".
The raise in tone, and the statement of fact are both expected and acknowledged "I know. That's one of the reasons i was a bit hesitant to ask, though it could be of great use to you, too. The timelines of the future are full of such possibilities". Her tone does take a serious tone as she says "I do assure you my intent is less to 'gain an edge', and more to ensure i can use what i can do with a wider margin of error for future safety. Attacks and techniques come and go, but they mean nothing if they can't be aimed properly, or worse kill someone unintentionally".
At mention of skills, she stops a moment to ponder "Information gathering, observation, tracking down people, places, things. As you know, i can fight. Some skill in stealth. A lot of knowledge of history, i've studied tactics of different kinds when i can like 'The Art of War', and i know a few other languages".
"As for color, just simple grey or brown would be fine".
Ayame is quiet as Munin answers her comments and questions. "Hah," the girl replies dismissively when Munin acknowledges her concern about her own invention being utilized against herself. "Like I was actually worried about something like that! Let's just say... I wouldn't recommend it.." There is a hint of threat in her voice, but she doesn't dwell on it for long.
"All of those skills..." she lifts her hand to rub at her chin again, "Are in fact useful to me, especially when it comes to information gathering. I have contacts that will pay a lot of money for the right bit of intel, so that's as good as cash to me. If you come across anything juicy, let me know. If I hear about something I don't have time to look into myself, I'll let /you/ know."
The girl takes a step back then, turning to the side. "I'll contact you when I have something ready for you to try. Until then, just email me if you need anything, yeah? That's a bit more convenient than trying to lure me out by way of flute."
Munin nods "I'll do that. I just felt it was better to speak in person about this, and email leaves a copy somewhere someone can see, in the event you wanted things under wraps for whatever reason". She stands "You've got a deal. I'll keep my ears open for anything of interest, and...."
She gives a small smile, half-turned to depart, eyes flashing once more "... thanks for your help".
Ayame doesn't stop Munin from departing, nor does she offer any verbal goodbye. Turning away herself, she slips down off the warehouse, working her way back to the building where she's established her latest safehouse. All along the way, she puzzles to herself. Why did she decide to do this? Her track record of helping people out of sense of aulturism amounts to all of zero over the course of her life. So why make a change now?
The difficult girl keeps trying to convince herself that it was a logistical choice but the excuse rings hollow. If she was really doing this because it could benefit her, she would have demanded some kind of favor up front. Yet she's letting Munin off without any kind of down payment beyond simply her word that she'll pay the girl back for her help. Ayame rolls her eyes as she climbs up the interior of the elevator shaft that leads to where she's living for now. Has she gone soft somehow?
Or maybe that encounter with the mysterious ancient in the streets of Sunshine City inspired something else in her... a desire to expand upon her craft and see if she could push herself even further. This request of Munin's may have just been extremely fortunately timed... had she found Ayame a week before, the girl might have proven to be absoultely stubborn in her refusal to help. But now? Some things have changed, perhaps.
Back in her home, she wanders over to the haphazardly arranged work bench and starts clearing it by pushing stuff onto the floor. From the pouch dangling from her belt she draws the collaped form of her staff, placing it on the bench. A finger traces over the etched runes and one by one the glyphs begin to glow. Time to get to work!
Log created on 13:01:51 07/07/2012 by Ayame, and last modified on 20:50:47 07/07/2012.