Description: The perils of Sunshine claim another victim, but this one finds his way to the Ryu Zui Ken dojo, where Lynn Baker and Asuka Kazama stand primed to investigate the mysteries surrounding the recent tournament. A participant himself, Frei Tsukitomi-Renard comes bearing shocking tidings that could change the nature of their investigation, and bodes ill for both Lynn, and the very city.
So plots and plans were made. Arrangements to march down to the financial sector of Inner Sunshine and confront Mr. Johann Gallo for various transgressions and questionable decisions were already laid down. With all that decided and with back up from a certain Osakan, it seemed like everything was in order for a great confrontation...
You know, that is if there weren't classes to be taught and bills to be paid. "Just remember, flow through each movements, don't be so rigid. Learning the form comes first, then doing it with speed," she reminds her students before they run off in their gis. Sighing and wiping her brow, the young instructor quickly found a place for her to sit down. She honestly felt like a little league coach more than a martial arts instructor sometimes, the way she had to herd kids around like cats.
Just another day at the Ryu Zui Ken dojo, it seems.
This has been a busy past few days.
For starters, Frei made it to the semi-finals of the Trial of the Dragon tournament, and that took up some of his time. He had a good showing against an old acquaintance, the NESTS refugee K', but the Beast of Flame ultimately took the upper hand and moved on to the finals. In a way, it was actually a relief to the YFCC instructor, who hadn't expected to proceed particularly far in the tournament, and who had come to Sunshine City mostly to sate his growing sense of curious anxiety about the 'presence' he felt here long ago. Of course, his conversation with K' proved his more pressing fears true: it wasn't just him who could sense it, now. That feeling of something hungry, some pursuing presence, was bugging multiple people... and instead of being contained to the Ruined Temple, it was now city-wide.
Perhaps unfortunately for him, word that someone had met with the former 'guardian' of that temple appeared to have trickled up to whoever's in charge, by now. How does Frei know this? Because every step out of Inner Sunshine -- including his trip to fight K' outside a dive bar -- is dogged by the persistent and somewhat more mundane feeling that he was being followed. That soon turned into occasional accostment by a ganger or two, probable hirelings of whoever is behind the scenes on this tournament. A trained and experienced fighter, Frei was able to hold off these occasional attacks... and then they got smart and started sending more than 2 people at ago.
This might be why the door to the dojo opens like it would on any other weekend, but the person who walks through it is hardly the typical student. His clothes are torn and cut, revealing bloody gashes underneath, and a lot of blood running down the left side of his face from the forehead on down. You know, the way someone might look if four guys with knives jumped him in an alley. Which they did.
Stepping through the door and letting it shut after him, Frei stares into the middle distance, before saying in a loud voice, "Shop!"
With arrangements made and a place to sleep secured, a pleasant meal and a good night's sleep has prepared Asuka Kazama for a day of affirmative action! Not content merely with the Herculean task of hunting down and destroying the man she's hunted these past few months, she now has a second goal to fulfil; and considers it just as important, because her word is her bond. That's the way of a Kazama.
Thus, it's with both food and fire in her belly that Asuka finds herself impatiently wandering the grounds of Lynn's dojo. Unable to focus on the meditations she often runs through during mornings at home, she's fruitlessly tarried in the gardens before moving back around to the practice yard, tugging at her gloves and stretching out her arms behind her head as she sights the class in progress. Leaving her hands behind her head, she finds a point from which to observe just at the fringe of her newfound ally's view, ceasing her restless, sashaying stride to linger for several minutes until the class seems to be dismissed.
This elicits a small stampede, and Asuka gives away her location with a dismayed 'ack!' as she's forced to lunge this way and that to avoid the small, eager horde of munchkins. Puffing out her cheeks once they're gone, the Osakan pauses for breath and then approaches Lynn with arms swinging at her sides - at least until they're clapped to her hips with a forceful smack, and she directs a teasing grin down at the tired instructor.
"Hey, c'mon, it's first thing in the morning, and you're already givin' up on me? Anyone'd think-- uh...?"
Hazel eyes roll aside, tracking the sound of that surprising shout, the tomboy's lips pursing as she tries to figure out what that even /means/. Less confusing is the bloody apparition that greets her, and it takes all of a second and a half for Asuka to reach a bold decision, glancing back at Lynn as she raises one hand and jabs a finger toward the battered form of Frei Tsukitomi-Renard.
"Change of plan. Let's help that guy."
Lynn frowns as Asuka comes over to her side once the class is let out. "Giving up on what?" she asks curiously, standing up as she's confronted by her newest ally and tenant. "What's wrong with getting a little breather after trying to herd cats long enough to teach them tai chi?" Wiping her brow again, she glances over to their newest arrival...and frowns.
"God," she says, frowning at the state of the man walking through the dojo doors. "Asuka, you get him laid down or something, I'll get the first aid kit!" she quickly tries to delegate, rushing to the door and glancing outside to see if anyone else is approaching. Seeing no one just yet, she closes the door again and secures it.
"Sifu? What's wrong?" one of the more polite students, already changed out of his gi, asks, prompting Lynn to try and shush him and coax him back to the changing rooms. "Nothing, just stay inside for now until your parents come to pick you up, alright?" She says soothingly. Once he's sent back, she's finally free enough to rush for that first aid kit.
Oh, hey. People. That actually makes Frei's expression brighten though he's got that one eye shut and is kind of holding his head with one hand to make sure his face doesn't fall off, so this might be difficult to interpret other than the faint smiling curl of his lips. At least he seems in a good mood when he does, in fact, say: "Oh, hey. People." He stumbles forward a little bit -- he can clearly walk, though an ankle is probably sprained or twisted, or there's some other injury under those jeans. What Frei really wants is somewhere to sit down and he doesn't quite find it, but there is a pillar for him to put his weight on and reset for a second or two while Asuka and Lynn make their appearance.
Asuka's a new face, one that registers for a moment as "helpful lady" before Lynn comes running, and Frei's green-eyed gaze locks on to her. He doesn't know who she is, but given what the old man tolf him, there's a good chance that the something... special... he feels about her like a whispering presence in the room MIGHT mean he's in the right place and the pain he's in right now was worth it.
"I really hope this is the Ryu Zyu Ken doho," Frei says guardedly, before adding, "And if it isn't, I really hope those weren't your friends with the switchblades out there."
Unfazed by most practical things, Asuka has taken stock of Frei's injuries without raising any more alarm than that pointing finger and her casually-inflected words to the dojo mistress. But she can see he's hurting bad enough to be worth the assistance that's immediately offered, and as Lynn rushes inside, the Osakan effortlessly hefts those big, clumpy boots she's wearing to break into a bouncy jog toward the monk. It doesn't seemingly occur to her how well this adjective is chosen; she's all business anyway, halting a few feet from him with quick efficiency when he challenges for confirmation on their locale.
It's what follows that sends her gaze lancing to the shutting gate, a frown creasing her brow and one hand closing to a fist beside her. Her knuckles crack as she closes it tight, drawing a deep breath through her nose then looking back to Frei with a brusque shake of the head.
"I don't have friends like that," she states confidently, eyeing the weapon furnishing /his/ form with an arched brow, "But seems to me you're pretty well-armed yourself." Again she extends a pointing finger, this time singling out the bound hilt of Frei's sword. "Your hand goes anywhere near that thing, and I'll break it, y'hear?" Despite the inherent aggression, she actually smiles as she starts forward again, pace reasonably brisk but posture screaming readiness - a readiness she naturally won't need, as she makes it to the monk's side and moves to assist him with a strong arm and shoulder. She's a tough cookie, and can take his weight.
"I'm Asuka, by the way... and yeah. You're in the right place. Let's get you inside."
Presuming he allows her to, she'll carry him up the steps into the dojo proper. Since she's not as nosy as some uncharitable people seem to think (though admittedly still pretty nosy), Asuka doesn't know her way around the interior-- and directs her step - and their injured visitor - toward the only place she knows that has a ready mattress. The room she's just now spent the night in, sheets neatly turned down and pillow plumped following her breakfast. Scandalously, it'll be the first time she's had a man in her bed.
Even if it's not, you know, actually hers.
Thankfully,, it doesn't take long for Lynn to find the first aid kit. ALways at the ready, considering injuries are always a fact of martial arts training. Not to mention plenty of cloth and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide for clean up. She's obviously well stocked for these sorts of things...which shouldn't be too surprising considering what kind of people other than students tend to come by around here.
Finding their newest arrival in the same guest room that Asuka is staying in, Lynn doesn't waist time trying to unpack the first aid kit. "Get his shirt off," she hastily instructs Asuka, dabbing a wet cloth first across what's gashes are already open and uncovered to try and do some preliminary cleaning of wounds. "Geez, what happened?" she asks, frowning at his injured state."
So now Frei's in bed (sort of) with two girls attempting to get his shirt off. There's an irony here, sadly lost on an uncaring universe.
The comment about the sword -- the *wooden* sword -- Frei is wearing causes the one good eyebrow he's got at the moment to go up, but then he can't help but break into the faintest of grins, even if it evaporates into an immediate grimace as he puts weight on a leg he'd rather not have right that second. "So your name is Asuka, and -- oof -- you're just a little bit aggro. Must be Osakan." This would probably sound less nuts if Frei had the time to mention that he is Osakan born and raised himself and thus has met plenty of lesser Asuka Kazamas in his time as comparison cases. Ideally this will not end in more than a token amount of violence.
Once they get to Asuka's guest room, though, he fends off attempts to do more than let him sit on the edge of the bed, throwing out two palm-out hands in a placating gesture, especially once Lynn arrives and demands his shirt come off. "Whoa, whoa... it's -- ow -- not as bad as it looks. A few of these cuts are just... enthusiastic, that's all." Of course, he doesn't object to a little first aid on the visible gashes, anyway. Fighters are fast healers, but even by fighter standards, Frei recovers relatively quickly. Still, time is required in either case. It's Lynn who is his focus now. "To answer your question, I got jumped by four guys with knives. And I'm really hoping -- ow -- you're Lynn Baker, Lee Song's granddaughter."
Oddly, it doesn't sound the slightest bit crazy, if a touch surprising from first impressions. Asuka's accent is stereotypical of her home region, thick Osaka-ben truncating her words and giving it a relaxed air frequently falling just short of outright rude. Those familiar tend to recognize it without trouble, and those who aren't... well, mostly get offended at how forthright and short she appears to be. It probably doesn't help that oftentimes she actually /is/, which to someone like Frei would just make it all the more obvious. Regardless, they make it inside and matters turn all businesslike again, to the relief of nobody, it seems.
"Uh. Right."
There's practicality, and then there's being commanded to undress a grown male. Asuka would be quick to obey in spite of the faint pinkening of her cheeks, moving somewhat more rapidly than is advisable or comfortable in order to disguise it beneath a busybody veneer, but as she moves in to follow her hostess' orders she finds herself warded off by the injured redhead. A hand lifts to scratch at the back of her head, glancing between he and Lynn with a little helpless shrug. At least the blush can be allowed to fade, as she settles hazel eyes upon the monk, a brow arching once more at the answer to Lynn's only slightly overdue query.
Unable to keep her nose out or her mouth shut, Asuka is immediate to answer.
"You're one suspicious guy, you know that? This city's a mess for sure, but I've not seen many people walking around as cut up as you are; and you seem to know a lot about people you've never met." She's not bothering to keep the confrontation from her tone at all, hands back on her hips and chin lifted so she can properly look down on the poor monk. "Before she tells you what her name is and who her great-grandmother twice-removed babysat for, maybe you'd better start at the top and tell us who /you/ are, mister."
Despite the rather questionable order, Lynn doesn't seem to have the same compunctions Asuka does...perhaps because she's more worried about Frei's injuries than his manner of undress. Perhaps in this regard she's a little more mature than Asuka...but then again, considering the violence literally surrounding Sunshine City, it shouldn't be any wonder either. "Just lay still, alright. I don't care if you're a fighter or not, beaten up like that..." she rather fiercely insists, cleaning up the cuts best she can with damp cloth before she moves on to disinfect with hydrogen peroxide, gauze and bandages ready for dressing.
"Yes, this is the Ryu Zui Ken Dojo, and..." She's cut off before she can respond by Asuka's abrupt confrontationalism. The expression on her face when the name Lee Song is brought up tells the story, but for the most part, she's just a little more than dumbfounded by Asuka's accusatory tone toward Frei. Still....she has a bit of a point.
"Yes, please, tell us what happened," she says, working to disinfect the knife cuts. Four guys with knives? This deep in Inner Sunshine?
It is pretty obvious Frei dislikes being fawned over; he seems weirded out at being taken care of even in a first aid kinda way. Thankfully, there's the debutante social graces of Asuka Kazama to give him something to be distracted by; her speech about how suspicious he is gets a slightly confused look from Frei, whose face has been all over town and TV considering he's fighting in a city-wide charity tournament, but still, she might have somewhat of a point. "If you want to see 'cut up', spend some time in the outer city," Frei says carefully, slipping somewhat unintentionally into Rebuking Teacher Mode before heaving a sigh at Lynn's not-quite answer. "Don't feel too bad for me. I mean, there were FOUR of them."
MEANWHILE, ELSEWHERE:
Four knife-wielding thugs are lying face-down in the middle of an alley, the brick walls of which look like a Final Fantasy black mage went to town on them: scorch marks, a spiderweb of frost, and one thug is lying in a crater in the ground. EMTs -- called by someone -- are looking at the scene in considerable surprise.
BACK AT THE DOJO:
"My name is Frei. I work at the Young Fighter's Community Center in Southtown, and... well. There's a reason I'm looking for Lee Song's granddaughters, but it's going to sound a little crazy." He pulls his hand away from his face for the first time, and looks down at the crust of dried blood on his palm for a second, before back at Lynn and Asuka. "This city's in danger from a... a dangerous being that Lee Song was helping to keep in check, before it had him killed."
"I guess that's fair," murmurs Asuka, glowering only somewhat petulantly as she's rebuked by Great Teacher Tsukitomi, reaching up to again ruffle her short brown hair. Her teenage posturing is tempered by a small smile, however, at least illustrating she's aware of her own temper - if not entirely able to control it. And she did certainly have a point! Frei has another, with his comment to Lynn, though it elicits just a short, playfully confident laugh from the Osakan, who tosses her head as hand returns to hip, "Only four?"
Not being privy to narrative cutaways happening outside her own mind, she's left to simply regard the monk with a level, measuring gaze as he wanders that way alone. Brash as she is, the news that he's taken down four people armed only with a wooden sword speaks of reasonable prowess; she's had a few run-ins herself on the outer fringes, and bears a couple of fading bruises that still itch a little even after a full day's recovery. There's thankfully no more time for bravado before he... wait, that sword is made of /wood/?
As Frei explains his identity and purpose at last, Asuka is flushing again, posture shifting with embarassment as one arm folds across her midriff and the other cups to a cheek. Her expression intensifies as she attempts to look as involved as possible in an attempt to hide her realization. It's fortunate that we has to say is actually pretty interesting, and her wide-eyed stare ends up sliding to Lynn.
"You... didn't mention any of that. This got somethin' to do with all the killings?"
Fussing is common, and something Lynn seems skilled enough to work around, cleaning off Frei's wounds and making sure to bandage them up properly. While Asuka seems more impressed with him being able to take on four thugs like he claimed with only this amount of damage, the young dojo master seems more concerned. "I know all about Outer Sunshine. More than I want to know," she says with more than a little frustration.
Once she's done dressing Frei's wounds, she stands up, making sure to wipe her hands down before doing anything else. "Then yes, you've come to the right place. I'm Lynn Baker, Lee Song's only granddaughter and heir to the dojo he left behind upon his death."
Just how casually Frei throws Lee Song's name around isn't so concerning, as he was a public figure in the city at the very least, if not famous like a politician. But what he says after makes Lynn's face blanche. "....what do you mean?" she asks with obvious worry in her voice. She hisses back to Asuka when the other girl sidles back over to her. "The secrets of Ryu Zui Ken are meant to be closely guarded....and grandfather was never very specific in the threats to its secrets..." She hastily turns back to Frei, hands on her hips as she looks down at him. "What dangerous being are you talking about? Does it have a name?"
It's the look on Lynn's face that suddenly makes Frei flinch, not able to say anything for the moment. Instead he takes a washcloth and starts to wipe the blood off the left side of his face; once he's cleaned off some of it, at least, he blinks his other eye open, then trains his green-eyed gaze on Lynn. Finding out what was going on, warning the right people, making sure something happened -- he put all of those ahead of the feelings of this young girl who's lost so much. "...I'm sorry for bringing all this up without easing you into it," he says quietly, breathing out.
There's a pause, and then Frei leans back a bit on the bed, spreading his hands behind him and looking at the ceiling. "This is such a long and involved story. I don't even know if I can tell you the condensed version anymore, but I'll try." Taking another slow breath, Frei heaves his body forward and moves his arms the same way, now placing them palm-down on his knees and alternating his glance between Lynn and Asuka, and staring at some distant point at random, as if searching through his memories for something.
"A long time ago, I had an 'official' fight in the ruined temple outside of town. You probably know it, right?" he asks, turning to Lynn before continuing. "I felt... something there. A hungry presence. It interfered with the flow of chi, twisting it. But things were... hectic, then. I didn't have time to investigate. When I heard of the Trial of the Dragon tournament, I joined in... but it was mostly an excuse to come here."
Now Frei closes his eyes, not looking at anything but the movie playing out in his mind's eye. "I went back to that temple and met an old man. He thought I was there to unleash some beast sealed there a long time ago, a beast he called the 'Black Dragon'."
Well, there's your name, Lynn. And once he delivers it, Frei opens his eyes, training them on Lynn with laser intensity. "He told me that a 'man who lives in shadows' killed your grandfather and set the Black Dragon free, and that now it threatens the whole city." Frei swallows, then brings a hand to his forehead. "He's right. I can feel it all over Sunshine. Something out there in the dark, hungry, waiting..."
Blunt as she can be, Asuka Kazama is familiar with loss; she's lived her entire life alongside a father bereft of his beloved wife, and almost lost the old man herself a few short months ago. It's faintly disquieting, but a background concern in the face of what's occurring across Sunshine City, and her acquaintance with Lynn thus far has assured her the older girl will feel the same way, ultimately. This dojo has been assaulted as hers had, but the focus has to be on rebuilding and defending what you have... not bemoaning its loss.
More concerning is the connection that might exist at that point. Lynn's admission of familiarity when questioned on the possibility that their shared Dojo Buster may have been searching for something, scrolls, something esoteric and strange... it seems to slot in so comfortably here, with the revelation that a force behind the plague on this city may be targetting, too, the secrets of Ryu Zui Ken. By now, Asuka's frowning deeply, one arm folding across the other and both tightening as she listens to the story unfold.
Fluctuations in chi energy, ancient temples, and sinister beasts of myth; not things the Osakan typically concerns herself with. Despite her traditional upbringing and the deep-rooted legacy of her own martial style, she's focused her ambitions upon more contemporary things-- controlling street violence, preventing the spreading of conflict and, most recently, even finding her attention turning toward those who would wage war. But these two threads now seem intertwined, and the quiet, focused intensity of this injured man from Southtown speaks to her heart; assures her that this path, then, must be the right one to follow.
"Well," she states with a decisive sigh, rolling her shoulders and allowing her arms to fall away from her midriff, flexing out her wrists beside her. "I don't care how dark, how hungry or how long this 'thing' has waited. If there's a big bad about to rampage across this city, it's up to people like us to stop it, right?" A crooked grin pulling at her lips, Asuka glances toward Lynn, hoping to buoy her shaken spirit with an expression of her own. The plucky Osakan brings fist and palm together in a sudden rush of motion, the resultant slapping thump carrying a great deal more weight than it should. Even without reading her aura, Frei should have no trouble noting there's power beneath the tomboy's veneer.
"So, this 'Black Dragon'..." Turning back to the monk, she cants her head to one side, shifting one hand back to her hip as the other gestures questioningly in the air. "It's connected to that old temple somehow, obviously, but there's a tournament called that too? Call me stupid, but that doesn't seem like a coincidence. And if there's a connection, we might not be dealing with a heap of different problems. You were talkin' about chi, which all comes from the same place, right? Everything's connected and intertwined; all of us, the trees and bushes outside, this room, and the floor beneath our feet." To punctuate that, she stamps a foot.
"Seems to me, that makes it easier /and/ harder. Something that feeds on chi could be /anywhere/."
Slapping at Frei's hand as he tries to clean off his head, cleaning and dressing it herself, Lynn keeps her eyes trained down on the redhead, eyes burning into him with all attention now. After all, this concerns her grandfather's legacy and her school's legacy. "The flow of chi..." she repeats, frowning deeper and deeper....
And then when the words 'Black Dragon' pass over his lips, all the blood drains from the girl's face. "....Black....Dragon? You're sure you heard him right? The /BLACK/ Dragon?!" she asks, voice growing more desperate by the word, with special emphasis on the word 'Black'. Apparently, the 'Dragon' part isn't news, but the 'Black' part is.
She hastily turns back to Asuka as she trise to dismiss it offhand. "N-no...this isn't just 'chi'," she insists. "This is....this is going to the very heart of Ryu Zui Ken...." A hard lump is swallowed, still looking as pale as a ghost. She reaches out, grabbing Frei by the shoulder, no longer concerned about dressing his wounds. "Everything! Tell me everything that man told you!!"
"It's no coincid--" Frei is trying to answer Asuka, when Lynn's hand grips down on his shoulder, hard, making him wince. That place is still kind of tender, lady. Don't grip there. He hates himself for it, but the redhead pulls away from Lynn when she does that, a purely physical reaction. The look on his face says that he instantly regrets it, trying to give Lynn a wan smile of reassurance, but the entire situation changed tone with alarming rapidity. "It's not a coincidence," he finishes, glancing at Asuka. "You usually can't enter a major fighting tournament without tripping over somebody's evil plot, the last few years."
He pauses, letting that go, before looking back at Lynn. She wants answers, and he only has so many to give her, but he feels like this is owed her, at the very least. "He didn't say much, not even his name. He claimed to be a 'caretaker' who watched over the temple that was used to seal the Black Dragon. Apparently they're... he said they were beings formed from the Earth. He probably meant chi, which flows through everything, like Asuka said." He pauses, here, trying to decide if he wants to get REALLY metaphysical with these two or not. Even this 'dragons' story sounds crazy; how does he explain the REST of his run-ins? 'Oh, and once totem animal gods helped me get my chi back, and I exorcised a demon summoned through chi once'. Nooooo, let's not go this road.
"But it was probably a metaphor, like a lot of the things he said," Frei finishes, trying to give Lynn another reassuring smile. "He said your grandfather, Lee Song, was a 'guardian' and that the dragon had been sealed centuries ago. There are other dragons, and they may be able to fight it off. I think you're one of them, Lynn, but there are more... at least two, possibly more."
"The heart of your style, huh?" Echoes Asuka quietly, almost under her breath, to the older girl. By the second, she's feeling how deep this could potentially run; and that Lei Wulong's latest lead has provided her more than merely a shot at vengeance. It would all be ridiculous, if it didn't make some kind of twisted sense to her. Dots are being connected, even if the hand drawing the lines isn't one she can readily identify. Her attention shifts back to Frei, meeting the monk's gaze and delivering an interested lift of her brow. Last time she went to a tournament, all she got was an insane blonde bimbo following her around...
But hell, if this gives her some way of explaining Lili Rochefort, she'll go with it.
"We're all formed from the Earth," the Osakan points out 'helpfully' once Frei is finished spilling what answers he can provide to her bereaved ally, though the ring of sarcasm in her tone and her tight little smile conceal some ring of good sense in her words. She expands on this with a loose shrug. "Sometimes, a spade is just a spade, y'know? People like to talk in riddles when all they're doin' is speaking straight. I guess I consider myself a 'guardian' back home-- doesn't mean I'm tied to mystical heebie-jeebies, just means I'm a strong person who does what she has to." But despite her own pragmatism, she's drawn back to Lynn.
"Still..." The other girl is so pale, and shaken, that even the brash brunette is unable to entirely pass this off as something she can simply punch in the face until it goes away. A frown crosses her brow once more as she stares solemnly at her hostess, pausing a moment before drawing breath and turning back to Frei. "You seem like a smart guy, and you can obviously handle yourself. What would you have done if you hadn't found Lynn?"
Despite the dismissiveness of the 'dragons' each of them show, Lynn continues to show a decidedly haunted look in her eyes. "No....no....no, not a metaphor. MOt a metaphor," she says, hands atop her head. "God...Grandfather....." She shakes her head again. "No...no, grandfather never told me of the 'Black Dragon', but before he died, he told me of a dark presence in this city before. I thought he was being metaphorical as usual, talking about the state of the city, but....the 'Black Dragon'...."
She falls back into the dresser in the guest room, only a hasty catch helping her save the model Thunderbird left atop of it. "Wah!" Sighing as she replaces it, she falls back again. "I....I can't tell you too much about it all, without revealing the deepest secrets of Ryu Zui Ken, and I don't think my grandfather was even able to tell me everything before he died. But...the Dragons are no metaphor. They aren't 'just' chi....they're living aspects. They're...representations of certain aspects of chi....Ryu Zui Ken used to be called 'Dragon Taming' back in China for a good reason. But...."
Lynn pushes back off the dresser, pacing. "Grandfather never told me of any Black Dragon before. Never directly. And it had to have been for a good reason. He...he entrusted me with the White Dragon, and he still never told me."
"Find the others," Frei says, answering Asuka's question but looking sidelong at Lynn when he says it. What WOULD he have done? He'd have tried to save lives, just like he has in every other instance like this in the past. That's about all he can do. "The old man said there are at least two more, and that your grandfather entrusted them to former students. I can't imagine the number of people who are former students of Ryu Zui Ken that might be the holders of an ancient power is terribly long." That much is true. These people tend to stand out, in Frei's experience. They develop bizarre personality quirks and things just sort of 'happen' to them, if the Kusanagi bloodline and people related to it are any indicator.
There's a pause, and then Frei glances up at the ceiling, rubbing his arms a bit, trying to think. "I originally thought the Black Dragon might be Freeman," Frei says guardedly, looking back at Lynn. "He is a man who lives in shadows, after all, and you only have to meet Freeman once to get a grasp on the sort of person he is. Plus, there's the way he reacted to..." Here, the YFCC instructor stops. He was about to say 'to Kyo Kusanagi', but some part of it made those words get choked back. If the Kusanagis want to reveal their secrets to people, that's their business, not Frei's. "But he hasn't been heard from since he attacked you, so now I'm not so sure..."
Sighing, Frei gets up off the bed, then immediately seems to regret it, standing here with a muzzy expression on his face before sitting bcak down. "Lynn, if your grandfather really entrusted the White Dragon to you--" Frei starts, carefully keeping out that the old woman called it the 'least' of the dragons "--then that means he believed in you totally. But what you do now is up to you. I... to be honest, if he didn't teach you or another student how, there might not BE a way to seal the Black Dragon up again. That information may have died with your grandfather."
Not so much dismissive as sceptical, Asuka likewise continues to note Lynn's reaction. She has her pegged as something of a dramatic soul, prone to emotional displays almost a mirror of her own; less fiery, but equally potent on the opposite end of that spiritual scale. But for a strong individual to pale and weaken at the knees, over the mere mention of a name, it can't help but trouble anybody with half a brain.
Frei's already gone further than she gets a chance to, though, and further mention of the serial killer described by the older girl - and referenced in that newspaper article - gets a stern glower from the Osakan. Everything's so wound together, but it's not entirely displeasure that changes her expression there; a part of her is itching to get her hands on a man like him. But if it's not Freeman, could it be...? She looks back to Lynn, folding her arms beneath her chest and tapping a foot against the hardwood floor.
Having played Angel's advocate for the realist's side of the argument, she decides to embrace the esoteric.
"Do you reckon That Guy," the capital letters are enunicated quite clearly, courtesy of the bitterness Asuka herself feels toward the man who left her dojo a ruin and her father a physical wreck, "Might've been after these secrets of yours? If I was after a way to capture easy power, and I heard about these 'dragons', I'd be lookin' for a way to get myself signed up as soon as possible. Chi represents the elements, right? So white must be..." Asuka reaches up for a moment, tapping a finger to her pursed lips, "Either metal, or harmony?" It's quite a revelation, if true, and she's suddenly looking at Lynn quite differently. "That makes you important. If someone was looking for these people, you'd be in the middle of it all. Maybe literally."
Literally figuratively. She's not exactly a scholar. A brief sidelong glance goes to Frei, as she echoes his earlier answer.
"What about the others? And how many more are sealed away? You have anything around that might help?" It's a short barrage of questions, though in the end they all mean the same thing. Puffing out her cheeks thoughtfully, Asuka adds, "This could be a real wild goose chase otherwise."
A frown comes over Lynn's face as Frei recounts his meeting with the old man, someone who oddly has a lot of inside knowledge about these things. "There are two more....one I trust to the utmost. The other is....estranged from us. But he's not a bad person, I assure you," she insists. "I'd rather not say who they are, because...I really don't know where they are, and I don't want them put into any more trouble."
She shakes her head at the mention of Freeman. "His chi is...like death. But it's not the same. Even if this is the first time I've heard of the Black Dragon, I...I couldn't feel a dragon in him. I could only feel death," she whispers, a shiver coursing through her body.
She turns back to Asuka, shaking her head again. "N-no....I couldn't feel anything similar with him either. And the way he described the dojo, he was going purely off its reputation rather than any kind of secrets no one else would've known. She tries to steady herself as she stops pacing. "There....I used to think there were only 4, but with the Black Dragon, that's 5. I only know where three are though..."
Unfortuantely, the conversation has moved into the territory where Frei knew it must, but secretly didn't want it to: supposition about what to do next. Lord knows, Frei has no idea what the answer is. You've got Asuka following lines of wild speculation, and Lynn desperately attempting to remember things, each dredging up of the past probably just as painful as each little movement of his body is to Frei, right now. If he were really up to his reputation, he'd have an answer. He'd be teaching people what they could be doing, not sitting here feeling frustrated, not knowing what to do or how to do it. As Asuka and Lynn converse, he simply looks into the palms of his hands and reflects, with great annoyance, on how much he *doesn't* know.
He actually kind of sits like that for a little TOO long before he processes that Asuka asuka-ed him a direct question. Snapping out of it, he shakes his head sadly. "All I know is that the current holder of the Black Dragon is the person who killed Lee Song, and that he's an expert at hiding himself. If you can find the man responsible for Lynn's grandfather's death, you'll have your man. As for there being more..."
A pause, a shrug, a sigh, and Frei's mood is clearly getting worse the more he's forced to admit he doesn't know the details of the situation, or even be able to guess at them. "He didn't say, but I doubt it. Whoever the old man was, he implied the Black Dragon is one of a kind. And chi *sometimes* reflects the elements," Frei says to Asuka, now on firmer ground, "but it doesn't have to be. In China, the five elements are more than just symbols; they're a way of understanding how the universe is put together. It would make sense for there to be five dragons -- especially if Ryu Zui Ken is a Chinese style -- but the dragons COULD stand for anything."
The only person not frustrated by this situation appears to be the Osakan, whose curiosity only begins to hint at the excited urge developing within her breast. She continues to glance back and forth between the injured monk and Lynn, alternately thoughtful and piquant - the pattern not even shifting at dark whispers of the serial killer's fearsome power. There's not too many things that actually scare Asuka, and there are social situations that bother her far more than talk of 'death chi' and doom-laden prophecies.
"So," she concludes once the other two have said their piece, even waiting through Frei's lingering pause without any kind of input. For all she's a bit of a loudmouth, she has her limits, and knows when it's best to absorb as much information as possible before speaking... or at least, believes she does. "Basically, we've got at least two people to find - if they even exist - and absolutely nothing to go on save that a bad thing might be happening, and Lynn's definitely involved somehow. Sound about right?" An arched brow leads into a smirk, and Asuka lowers her arms as she rolls out a big, loose shrug.
"No matter what, we're still looking for a killer. There've been murders surrounding the tournament, and Johann Gallo could be in danger..." Or something else, she privately adds, the grim drawing of her mouth suggesting the thought they're likely all sharing. She knows next to nothing about the man, but putting the few, jagged pieces of this puzzle together? It's as uncertain as anything else, but it's not hard to draw conclusions. "So we need to confront him. But you need to rest," she waves a hand toward Frei, not quite dismissive but awful close, then points a finger on the other hand at Lynn, "And you could be the key to this whole thing. So why don't you work on contacting the other two 'Dragons' while /I/ go talk to Mr. Gallo."
Despite the honorific, she doesn't exactly sound respectful, and given she starts cracking her knuckles...
"How's that for a plan?"
This could be a terrible idea.
Things get thicker and thicker, and it threatens to get only even more overwhelming for Lynn as she tries to make sense of everything. It seemed crazy, especially considering how much she never even really knew about the circumstances of her grandfather's death. "One of a kind....and we don't know anything about it," she grumbles, trying not to give into the temptation to pace. She even mutters the five elements by name, by their Chinese recitation.
For all of Asuka's enthusiasm, Lynn just finds a pit of nervousness growing in her stomach. But she did have a good point. "You should rest," she insists to Frei, trying to get him to lie back down. She then turns back to Asuka. "I know who two of the holders are, but I don't know where they are. I don't know if I could even contact them if I wanted to," she insists, frowning. "If I did, I would've called them weeks ago...."
And Asuka's posture as she insists on visiting Mr. Gallo just makes Lynn even more worried. "No, no, you're not going alone. This was supposed to be my meeting anyway. And...." She doesn't verbalize it, but it's obvious just how concerned she is about Asuka instigating something above their heads.
"I..."
They're mostly concerned about his injuries, but some part of Frei really hears, 'you should stay out of the way for now.' It kills him to hear it, but practically speaking, he can't argue with the logic. Still, it dredges up old feelings, ones he thought he'd dealt with a long time ago and which apparently had only been pushed beneath the surface. Just what is his *purpose*? Was it just to deliver information to these two, and let them handle it? For a terrible second he's back in Southtown, standing behind Jiro and Alma, without his powers, utterly useless in the battle that followed.
"If you have the space, I'd like to stay here for a while," he says to Lynn, glancing at her sidelong. "If your grandfather had any books or documents or anything, maybe. Something to help understand what we need to do next. I have... ah, I have some experience dealing with supernatural chi beings. Let's just leave it at that, alright?" Even if the stories didn't sound crazy -- and they do -- he doesn't feel like reliving that particular horror again, thanks. Not right now.
"But you shouldn't go anywhere alone. If the other dragons are the only way to deal with the Black Dragon, you can't risk being hurt, or... or worse."
"And what?"
Asuka's smiling, but there's an obvious challenge in her tone nonetheless, as her chin lifts and she meets Lynn's stare with a confidence that would be reasurring under the circumstance of an actual fight. Given the nature of this conversation it likely has the entirely opposite effect, though the Osakan appears to attempt assurance anyway, laughing as she waves a hand in the air over her shoulder. "Relax, I'm not gonna try to punch my way into his office. The spirit of Kazama style is to stop conflict! I'm just... ready for the worst, that's all, and if there's creeps like this Freeman guy around, Frei's right."
Glancing at the monk, she bobs her head in brusque recognition of this fact. Despite her confrontational attitude earlier in the morning, he's proven himself to talk a lot of sense and be willing to help in ways she wouldn't have expected. This thing's been blown wide open, thanks to him.
"I'm the most disposable person here," she rejoins, turning back to Lynn as she adjusts her gloves, "And I can look after myself. Always have. If you absolutely gotta come with me, fine, but we /stick/ together no matter what, okay? The kids here need you, and Sunshine City probably needs you even more. Last thing I want is to turn up and then be to blame for takin' my eyes off you for a couple minutes." She flashes a broad grin at that, running a hand back through her hair, which flops back mostly into shape, clearly well-styled in spite of her otherwise tomboyish tendencies. "One way or another, we need to trust each other in this."
Looks like the Dojo is just getting more and more temporary residents, isn't it? While Frei is given a skeptical look at his requests, she furrows her brow, contemplating the idea for a little more.... "Alright...but I'll have to move you to the other guest room since Asuka's already taken this one," she insists. And she'll need to change those sheets too for good measure.
She gives a firm look toward Asuka. "Right," she says, trying to assauge both their concerns about her trying to go out alone or be crazy about looking for the dragons. After all, she's not the one contemplating marching out alone to confront Johann Gallo right now. "Just try not to start something without necessity, alright?" Obviously, she's still just a little worried about how quickly the Osakan girl would be to escalate things if they did run into some roadblocks on the way to that meeting.
A rather wistful look crosses her eyes as she furrows her brows a little more, walking off to help get the second guest room ready for Frei. "Billy, Jimmy...where are you two, of all times..." She whispers, perhaps just barely audible as she starts out.
Log created on 15:15:37 07/07/2012 by Asuka, and last modified on 10:10:55 07/08/2012.