Description: Momoko ventures out into Southtown to visi the Kyokugen Dojo on invite from Yuri Sakazaki. Unfortunately, Daniel Jack has the same idea for completely different reasons. A stand-off ensues requiring a timely intervention by Howard Rust. Just when they conflict starts to die down, Yuri Sakazaki shows up and finds Daniel, a student of Todoh-Ryuu, on the Kyokugen grounds! Can it get ANY worse? Maybe...
It's a mild day, here at the outskirts of Southtown. It is neither too hot, nor too cold, and the breeze is just enough to be comfortable. Despite being not too far from the main highway, it's rather devoid of the unnatural sound of car engines, horns honking, or other such things. In fact, the dominant sounds are coming from the nearby dojo. Kyokugen Dojo, specifically. Here the Sakazaki family train students in their way of martial arts, Kyokugen Karate.
And standing on the sidewalk not far away, staring onto the dojo grounds with more than a little curiousity in her features is a diminuitive girl wielding a paper flier for the dojo. Dressed in her usuals: with big pink bow bound up in her messy brown mane and black, curtain-like, top held secure by a belt and white frumpy capoeira pants - she really stands apart from the students on the grounds nearby. "I wonder if Yuri or Rust are here now...", she wonders quietly to herself before looking at the flier again jsut to make sure this really is the right place. She hadn't been to Southtown in forever.
"...I guess so! ... The lawn seems like it could use some work though!" Maybe the groundskeeper was sick!
Lawn could use so much more than just some work.
There was no doubt that groundskeeper was sick. However, sickness in this case was far more emotional, mental, and arguably spiritual than physical. Adon's actions brought untold suffering on this dojo, if not the whole city. Even on a mild day like this, there should be the beginning of spring, the beginning of growth. One could account for a late freeze stunning the growth, perhaps too many students training on the lawn.
But nothing could account for the sheer disaster that had unfolded.
There was no more lawn, at least, lawn in what a rational mind could conceive of as a lawn. There was grass, to be certain. But the form of the grass was like no proper lawn. The long tendrils of asymmetrical blades curls up upon the brown remains of the former lawn, before sinking beneath the soil, rising some distance away like a serpent across the dying sea. Weeds were what was consuming the lawn, well across the whole of the grounds, right to the edge of the forest... where trunks begin to become entangled by the foul plants.
And by the tree, a flash of orange hunkers low.
Daniel Jack knew he was taking a risk by investigating the Kyokugen Dojo. As a student of Todoh, he was a marked man. A rival of the dojo. And any student worth his salt would come out, and challenge him for trespassing. Hell, with Daniel's luck, he would draw the attentions of Marco himself. The detective recalls his previous encounters with the hot-blooded instructor in days past, with such important missions as stealing the Kyokugen sign. But now, he had a much more important mission.
Understanding the extent of the crab grass.
Dressed in his Orange Zoot Suit, Daniel Jack stood out like a sore thumb at the edge of the dojo grounds. The orange dot marked with a wide-brimmed hat at least had some stealth by the trees, as he leans over into a crouch, pinching the crab grass between two fingers, rubbing it. Letting a hand burn with chi energy briefly, the whole lawn seems to shudder briefly, as if a gust of wind passed over it. Daniel Jack pauses, and lets his hand lower. This was definitely the crab grass from the Todoh Dojo. Grabbing the plant with both hands, he pulls, breaking off a piece.
He could almost hear the scream.
By this time, the spritely little girl has herself wandered onto the school grounds. Only, unlike the man in the conspicuous suit who looks like a walking orange Tic-Tac, she was actually welcome here. ... Mmm, Tic-Tacs. ... She knew at least two people at this dojo, one of whom seemed interested in exposing her to the style, so her tiny, bare, feet being on the grounds would not be cause for random acts of violence.
"...Hm..."
Her energetically curious brown eyes scan the area, taking in pretty much everything there is to see, as she tries to ascertain where exactly her target(s) might be. Even as a rather tall, broad shouldered, student of the dojo with hawk-like eyes and jet black hair passes she doesn't really regard him. At least, not unless he addresses her. ... And he doesn't, opting instead to give her a questioning eye momentarily before moving on to whatever activities he had to do.
It isn't long before she spots something interesting though. And it isn't Rust, or Yuri. It's that giant Tic-Tac in tha background. He seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place why. He had the misfortune of reminding the girl of candy though, and because he did... her childishly short attention span draws her to him like a moth to a brightly burning flame, causing her to briefly drop her search for the other two.
"Hey mister!" She calls out, all too loudly, completely disregarding the sanctity of the quiet at this dojo. She literally comes running at him full bore, a thing that might could be misconstrued as aggression for those who didn't know her. If he gives her the time, however, she will run right up to him. And when she does... perhaps... both of their days will get a lot more interesting...
Sometimes, you get luck worse than you can ever imagine.
As he frisks out a small zip-lock bag from his suit, he hears the voice. 'Hey Mister.' His cover was blown. As a student of Todoh, one of the most senior and powerful, he had long thought that he could reach the legendary technique of Ryuhaku: To disappear in the background of day to day events, to fade away as some obscure background activity. Some day, Daniel swore he could perfect it. But today was not that day. Rising up from his crouch. he turns around, prepared for a whole army of Kyokugen warriors, ready to crush the interloper. Instead, Daniel's eyes go wide, his jaw slackens, and his whole forms shudders as he responds with a shout.
"-You!-"
Daniel Jack stuffs away the plastic bag into his suit jacket, frisking it away to a hidden pocket. But behind his rose-tinted glasses, he focuses fiercely upon the all-too-familiar girl. He recognized that girl. Memories flash by him. kiddly-diddly-doo. A swift kick in the bojangles. -Psycho Energy. As he looks into the eyes of the charging girl, he could see that unending sunshine that just glowed from her.
Momoko.
Instinctively, Daniel Jack crosses his arms, the grim-faced glower hardening as he brings out the stony intensity into the younger girl's being. As she comes roaring closer and closer, the unbreakable stance holds steady. Within only a few dozen yards, the stance breaks. Falling back on one leg, the detective widens his footwork, dropping into the defensive stance of Todoh-Ryuu, both hands brought forward to catch any ensuing aggression. And with it, the detective bellows back at the little girl as if she was a fierce as a lion.
"HOLD IT REAL STEADY, SCUZZY!"
"-You!-"
When Daniel Jack roars at her with all of the ferocity of a mother Tiger protecting her den - and looking the part too in no small part due to that suit - she's hits the brakes and skids feet first across the weed ridden lawn of the Kyokugen Dojo and instinctively drops into a small squat. She's like a tiny chipmunk, cowering in front of a cat, or a turtle hiding in its shell from a hawk. Peeking out from behind her knees at him, she responds only after he calls her 'scuzzy'. "Momoko is not a scuzzy!" comes the somewhat muffled reply, the girl still peering out from behind her knees with a cautious demeanor.
Then the recognition hits her, belatedly, like a hammer.
"You're that weird man who attacked me on the train!" Never mind that the fight was organized. It's all Daniel's fault naturally! Leaping from her squatting position like a suddenly unweighted spring, the excitable little teenager waves a pointed finger madly in the air at him! "You're the one I kicked in the...!"
-GONK-
"...aren't you? I'm so sorry! ... Are you here to visit people too, huh??" Almost completely numb to the one-sided tension between them, she starts to wander closer slowly... tiny feet crushing the evil weeds like the undoubtedly callous villain Daniel must see her as. After all, all that sunshine she exhudes must surely be a ruse right?
This place is not so much the Kyokugen Dojo as much as it is Ground Zero for what is probably one of the greatest ecological disasters of our time - or what will be, at the rate things are going!
To say nothing of the faint yelling of indistinct male voices. There is anger, there is outrage. Something that goes above and beyond the usual kiai or really loud sound of someone about to be laid up in a hospital for a good long while (seriously, on a bad day one could hear it from all the way out there, often followed by someone falling victim to the master's famed Triple Haohshokoken and ending up all the way out there... don't make Takuma mad).
One person leaves the dojo to the side closest to the forest, and the yelling gets a little clearer, more legible as someone walks backwards, yelling at the open door.
"The hell you, you want me to do?" This voice should be immediately familiar, given the gravelly tone and the suttering and tripping over their own words. "Spent the whole morning doing just... just that, I don't know! I, I don't know! Yeah, yeah, I'm... I'm doing just that! Fine!"
The door remains open as he largely just throws his hands up and turns around. One of his elbows is less quiet on the matter, eliciting the man to roll his shoulder mid-walk before bringing that hand to his forehead, obscuring his vision. It briefly hides the tell-tale horrible hue of that horrid hairpiece as the man walks out along the grounds. Just about anyone else that might be around has gone relatively silent. Any other Kyokugen student around is certainly giving the man a wide berth.
"Not today," he snaps out almost immediately after Daniel's shout, not immediately aware of whwere that shout is being directed given that he's got his hand over his face in palpable, seething irritation. If Momoko turned and looked, she would see Howard Rust in what is largely his true element - some equilibrium of mundane work-related drudgery with a touch of some far greater task weighing heavily on his shoulders.
It's not exactly the most inviting sight.
"Daniel, uh, could you just go today, do this, this whole sign stealing thing some other time, 's a, a really... really, really bad day," this murmuring voice comes tinged with the restrained urge to just yell out and punch/kick/swing at something very hard, "swear to God if we don't--"
Momoko's chirping becomes a little clearer to hear as he moves his hand away from his face, that kind of foolish feeling that creeps in when he realizes that maybe he wasn't the one being shouted at to stop. She's here today too, huh, he thinks to himself. He takes in a deep breath as he comes ever so closer to polite conversation range between that blob of orange that is Daniel and the young wellspring of sunshine that is Momoko with a brief grimace.
"Uh, hey, what're you... what're you doing here today, then," he says to either of them, waving a pointer finger as his voice slips towards an irritatingly low volume that he is known to let his voice slip to.
Daniel would not fall to such cuteness.
Glowering down at the meek girl, the detective's presence was fuming. Eyes blazing, his gaze locks harshly into Momoko's own eyes. Every word comes with the strength of a blow with a two by four, hammering into the smaller, more frail looking child with ruthless precision. "Now don't you start mewling daisies to me, you damn peach! Dammit, it's really starting to look keen that Vega is taking part of this. I always had a hanker that something nasty vile was under the skin, and you damn near confirm it, kid." The detective growls embittered, not breaking sight, not breaking stance. "Drop the act, brat, I've beaten my way through super-powered kids half as cute as you, so you better just save yourself to trouble of getting short with me, you dig it?" The detective pauses a moment, looking up into his own head, before focusing harshly on to Momoko.
"And you don't even look 12, dammit!"
Daniel's fighting stance is still fuming as another familiar figure forces his way through the weedy lawn, tearing through the sharp, ridged blades of the crab grass. The steely gaze drags off of Momoko, and towards the toupee lumbering towards him. Rust's soft tones does little to unwind the detective, his intensity rolling off him like smoke from a volcano. He shifts his hands briefly towards Rust's direction, before dancing them back towards Momoko's own. A Kyokugen Warrior, a Todoh-Ryuu Fighter, and a Psycho Soldier.
Showdown.
Daniel Jack's jaw shifts from slack to rigid tight, the muscles in his face flexing strong. His eyes are shifting to and fro the pair, trying to keep steady. Keep cautious. Keep assertive. "Hows it going, Rust, what's the noise on the floor? I'm just doing a little investigating. Private business. Nothing you need to get all flustered about, you dig?" The detective states bluntly, narrowing his eyes at Rust, before looking back towards Momoko... and taking a single step. "I'm gonna have to ask you a few questions though, once I'm running this kid through the washers." Focusing all his presence harshly into the little girl's meek stature, Daniel Jack's words change from blunt and heavy, to sharp and piercing with his next question.
"Who do you work for, peaches?"
Caught between very different, competing, distinct sounds the spritely little teenager's head jerks from Daniel mid-point and then toward the sound of the shouting in the distance. Then back to Dan- oh, hey, it's Rust! He looks kinda tired and.... oh look a squirrel!
...Cut to a random Japanese squirrel sprinting across the weeds briefly and pausing, mid-dart, in between Rust in the distance and Momoko. Its' whitish tail flits energetically a few times as it lifts a shelled Heartnut to its teeth and begins to gnaw furiously while rolling the nut between its claws. The very instant Rust comes within its safety radius, it darts off in the direction of the forest again...
...It's because of this that Momoko is rendered temporarily deaf to both parties. You could practically see the hearts dancing over her head as she eyes the rodent and practically ignores the explosive rant Daniel is leveling her way. While Daniel may well be a volcano, smoking and bellowing its warnings for all to hear, Momoko is ... those dumb villagers who decided it'd be a good idea to live right at its feet. Oh, it's raining fire today? I always wanted a skylight! Oh-
Ahem. Aaaannd Dnaiel's words finally catch Momoko in a sore spot.
"...And you don't even look 12, dammit!"
Now it was her turn to smoke like a volcano! Stomping her right foot down defiantly on a weed she was already damn near suffocating, she all but screams while raising her shoulders to ear level, "I AM NOT A KIDDY, DIDDLY, DO! I'M SIXTEEEEEEN!!!" Yes, you must be DEAF Daniel because she has boobs! ... Somewhere.
Rust's question momentarily draws her gaze, and she drops her shoulders again. "Momoko -doesn't- know what this orange person is doing here, but I was invited by Yuri to see the Kyokugen style!" Which she, admittedly, had little interest in. She also lapses randomly into the third person again. ... And then promptly begins wagging her finger at Daniel, while returning his baleful stare - albeit not nearly so much baleful as frustrated. "Momoko is a Psycho Soldier! Also, not peaches! You're the one who looks like peaches!" Not so tasty peaches at the moment.
"Noise on the... floor," murmurs out Rust in what is probably something worthy of a question mark but is quiet enough to be awarded a comma instead as he starts pointing down towards the infested lawn, "we're, we're standin' in it," he raises his voice sharply (by Rust standards, in any case). "And--"
Momoko's scream of protest about her age drowns out the first few words that come out of him next as he finds himself on the struggling end to get any sort of word in between the steely, determined gaze of a detective on the case and the very young... okay, sixteen is not 'very young,' but some degree of young that may or may not warrant additional descriptors... well, Momoko.
"Did you?" He replies to her enthusiastic queries, "well," he casts a glance over to Daniel as he scratches the side of his head. It's in his eyes, some form of 'well if he doesn't leave I could show you right here,' as Daniel starts spouting about asking questions and who she works for and...
"Cripes!" Rust straightens up, coughing once as he pats his chest. "'scuse me. Daniel. Daniel, Daniel," he says his name a few times in an attempt to try and speak over whatever arguments might be happening around the lot of them, "this, this is Momoko," he takes a step over to her side as he gestures to her with one of his hands open, "she's a good kid. She... she helped when Vega was all, y'know, pushing North Korea. Don't think that... that we would've succeeded without... without some of her insight." He clears his throat again. God damn these weeds and this grass and this everything. "I, I can vouch she's who she says she is."
It may be best that Momoko focuses back on the rant.
As Mr. Nutterkin, the happy single squirrel, takes his nut through the forest, the creature suddenly feels its leg being pulled hard. Dropping its nut, the creature looks down, ready to bite whatever had grabbed its leg. But all that was wrapped around was merely some crab grass. The frightened creature begins to gnaw.... and finds its head grabbed by the same grass. It's chirping screams are muffled as coils of crab grass toss around it's mouth, and quietly, it is dragged into the shadows of the forest floor.
"Sixteen? You gotta be, since ya act like a diaper-wearing baby, peaches!"
The scene of monstrous consumption is broken by Daniel's jarring response to the screaming Momoko. Another steps comes with those words, the detective's forms carrying defensive belligerence. But more words are smothered away as Rust steps in. The detective's fierce eyes cast upon Rust with lethal precision, the detective clearly deciding if this was the act of a friend, or the ruse of a foe. His fingers twitch, body tense, reflexes high strung. He listens to Rust silently, reading him wordlessly.m
And he shifts out of his defensive stance.
"Fine! If it's your word, I'll run it." He bites sharply, returning back to his arm cross stance of Todoh. "If she was one of those damnable kid assassins, you'd be dead by now anyways. They can manipulate you damn well." Daniel states without any evidence that he would know this first hand. His presence is defensive still, but whatever aggression there was has been subdued for now. His eyes told that he was not trusting Momoko fully though, as he suddenly begins to list off. "But Yuri knows her, you know her, and dammit all, she gone and knows me. I'm a faithful man, It can't be a damn coincidence, with this damnable crab grass on the damned run." The detective thunders a bit, keeping back somewhat as he focuses on Momoko intensely again.
'What in the sam blazes are you doing here anyways, brat?"
Unfortunately, due to all of the fighting, even Momoko missed the... macabre?... scene involving the squirrel and the possibly demonically possessed weeds near the forest. Daniel Jack's comment about diapers was just too darned distracting! "You...!" She started, her chipmunk-like face slowly turning red as she stopped herself from using naughty words and instead blew her cheeks out at him. Admittedly, at this point, if Rust -had- decided to demonstrate his style on Daniel, Momoko would probably help. And probably deprive him of future fatherhood on purpose this time!
...The interruption of Rust, and his familiar stammering, brought a welcome pause to the heated exchange occurring between the littlest Psycho Soldier and the orange Tic-Tac she was arguing with however. When he remarks about their brief encounters in Korea, she gives several soft nods... staying quiet throughout his addressing of Daniel Jack. And she stays quiet, until Daniel asks her a question that makes even her wonder about him.
"What have you been listening to?? I said, I came to visit the Kyokugen Dojo because I was invited by Yuri Sakazaki!" Yuri Sakazaki practically comes out as a small squeal. "And I am not a brat, I am Momoko! You're the suspicious person here! Lurking near the forest, colored like sweet candy..."
She points an accusatory finger his way. "You tryin' to pull little kids or something mister?! Maybe that's why you attacked me on the train?? How... how dirty!"
Rust, too occupied with a rival dojo fighter on the lawn in the most tense of times and Momoko's bounding enthusiasm, doesn't take note of the squirrel's horrible fate. It is entirely possible that this has become commonplace enough that the disgusting and worrying sight has somehow become less pressing than a brewing confrontation.
"Well," Howard shrugs, "sometimes it just seems like I, well, know almost everyone," even the ones who he only meets once and never sees again. It's hard not to be on edge when Daniel Jack's got those eyes shooting invisible daggers at someone. The eyes of a man who has a very clear idea of what he's after, if not a clear idea of what he wants.
It still probably says a lot that Rust himself hasn't dropped into any sort of discernible martial arts stance as he flexes out a knee to work out a kink, and also maybe to at least have one foot off all the crabgrass for a second. Stretching his knee out is as good a reason as any as Momoko repeats her reasons. Friend of Yuri, yeah, wouldn't doubt that--
He visibly grimaces as she suddenly points an accusing finger over at Daniel about some time on the train and any sort of stretch at some sort of uneasy peace that may or may not result in Daniel's polite exclusion quickly dwindling through Rust's eyes sees him ambling in between.
"Hey, hey," he's waving his hands in a futile gesture, "can we not, for, for once--"
who
Hair-Triggers.
Daniel's paranoia was what was feeding this tension. He didn't trust Momoko, with her psychic powers and mysterious presence. He knew he could trust Rust, but he didn't know if Rust was totally in the clear. Momoko's whining gets a look of disgust from the detective, but that is all that she earns for now. She was here based on invitation by Yuri. She continues to babble as Rust speaks, Daniel focusing an ear on the old man. "Well, hell, I know that feeling Rust." He responds with restraint. "Maybe you can-"
And then, the accusation of filthy thoughts.
ADaniel's fire snuffs out to the bitterest chill unto Momoko. "--Excuse me?!" Was the explosion, Daniel cutting off Rust with a shout, everything directed upon Momoko. Hands were clenching into fists, eyes were wide, lips were snarled. The accusation was rarer now a days, but it began in one of the biggest turning points in Daniel's life. Taking the unconscious, teenage girl to his apartment. Telling others it was his cousin. How the girl disappeared from the apartment without a trace. How Daniel always seemed to hang around the schools. Accusations that only earned one reaction from Daniel Jack.
Outrage.
"Of all the disgusting things some damn brat can spew, you would try and slip me the title of being a GOD DAMN PEDARAST?!" Was the hot bellows of an enraged Daniel. "You mealy-mouthed bubbly-brained -BIMBO!- You have -no- idea who the HELL I am, do you?!" Arcs of orange energy begin to dance over Daniel's form, his clothing beginning to whip and billow as the fire in his eyes reignites. "I've -saved- children just like you from bleeding to death in an alleyway; I've spent most of my life in this damned city ducking out child assassins from Shadaloo! Yes, -children-! Not this damnable teenager crap! Damnable teenagers just like you, which only earned two emotions from me. Complete and utter contempt, and quiet respect! I fought you in a damn Neo Development Match! I had such contempt for your stupid baby act. I thought you were done pissing me off right there."
"But you clearly weren't done!"
Daniel begins to swing his fists around, body tensing up as the flames grow higher. "You insipid immature little brat! You think this is damn cute? You think this is damn funny, pulling this shitty cutsie? You think it is the cutest damn thing in the world accussing me of being a goddamned =CHILD-FUCKER!?=" Daniel's intense flame reaches a peak, as the enraged detective begins to draw an arm back, hand flattened like a knife...
And then, he freezes.
The ground is not singed around Daniel Jack, but the effects are clear. By Daniel's feet, the crab grass seemed to have recoiled away, revealing the dead brown grass below it. The weed thins around around Daniel, and there is a distant sound of rustling, somewhere around the forest. But for now, nothing else is seen. The detective takes a deep breath in, eyes shut tightly. His body begins to relax. The burning chi energy wanes, the detective crossing his arms. And finally, he unleashes a long, slow exhale.
"I'm sorry, Rust."
Daniel opens his eyes, ignoring Momoko, not even looking at her. Right now, he focuses right on Rust, his voice softened, his voice calm. His face was dead serious, and despite the calm, that fire was still lingering in his eyes. "Why did Yuri invite her? Has Yuri been talking about the crab grass? What have you guys done about the crab grass Rust? This is very important." Daniel continues to avoid looking at Momoko, at least for a moment.
He can't forget his mission.
Daniel's explosive outburst does, in fact, earn quiet time from the ordinarily rambunctious teenage girl. It doesn't earn him any respect, judging by the sour look she adopts when he calls her a bimbo, but it does earn him some precious silence....
...That is until that aura of threatening chi flares up, and she hunkers down instinctively... preparing to defend herself against the paranoid, foul mouthed, busy body presently returning her insults. So sure of an attack is she, during those few tense moments, that a palpable aura of Psycho Power emanates from her tiny frame. ... But instead of a fight breaking out, he opts to turn away and simply ignore her...
...And she quiely relaxes again, with that palpable energy slowly fading before she, too, stands rigid and turns her back to him. Quietly, she crosses her arms in defiance and simply says nothing else.
Resisting the urge to simply leave, if only out of respect for Rust, she instead demonstrates her own outrage in the only non-disruptive way she knows how right now... quietly tapping her foot against the weeds and staring off into the distance at the highway.
...You could almost feel an antartic wind blow through.
It's not hard to talk over Howard Rust. It's still a feat to be able to completely drown him out, hands waving side by side almost frantically when Daniel starts to go off the deep end. He motions with his left hand downwards a few times. His elbow pops, but it is a sound completely muted by the 'GOD DAMN PEDARAST.' The ranting and raving about his own brushes with Shadaloo - met with a respectful wince - adds plenty more sympathy to the worry, if not so much acceptance.
It's when the orange energy starts forming that Howard exhales in (completely comparative) silence, brow furrowed as he straightens up... and back down to a familiar ready stance, right hand going to the makeshift hilt of Ol' Rusty stuck through that toolbelt pocket of his.
Some of the crab grass has decided to suddenly coil around one of Rust's boots (or, in a much less romanticized sense, as a result of Rust currently standing in a particularly populated patch of them). They might be looking up with their non-existent eyes to the dark purple... thing on his head, as though they were its one true savior. Save me, they might cry! (Or not, because it's crab grass... or because it is crab grass...?) Humorously, he stumbles as one of his heels slip on the mass of weeds underneath his boot, left forearm raised with fist clenched when the punches at the air and the refined chi manifestation abilities of Daniel Jack reach their impressive, rage-inspired peak. One of his knees suddenly twinge in pain as Momoko threatens to let her own power flare just a ways to his side.
It's when it softens that Howard himself, too, releases his tension. The crackling in his joints in succession, unsettling a sound as they are, are a naked tell as to his own personal tension. This exchange was moments away from an all-out slugfest.
A fate not quite yet averted, given his right hand is still on the hilt, as he stands straight up.
"Look. Look," he finally speaks up, removing his hand from the hilt as Daniel fires the questions. "I, I don't think it's strange for Yuri to have friends, or... or well, want them to hang out." He looks around when he realizes he's lost track of Momoko-- oh, there she is.
"Can we just, just... stop the name calling? For a second. Look, I," he frowns, "just got done having, well, having my ass reamed over this... this whole thing, I told 'em a landscaper I hired warned me, they're screaming at me about it, and... and the last thing," though his tone of voice is much softer than Daniel's outbursts, is probably no less intense, "last thing I need," and then suddenly jumping to some fragment of some other sentence he's been meaning to say, throwing his hands up, "'s getting nuts there, I mean, some Japanese government guys were here screaming about it. Just now. It's gotten... it's gotten that bad. Takuma hasn't been here for, for some time, and... well, we're at a loss as to what to do when he, when he gets back."
He thinks better of sharing the 'better' ideas like 'see if you can't find Mizuki Kamigawa to exorcise them all,' or 'let's put up a wall and paint a forest on it all around the grounds' or 'let's burn the entire forest.'
He faces towards the highway, and gestures with his left hand for Daniel to follow. "Y'know, this has just been... a bad day for all of us. Why don't we all just... just, just go get... lunch. 'm gonna need to pay someone a visit after."
As he steps out to the highway, he kneels down to Momoko despite that knee still killing him. "Hey. Are you okay? I know, Daniel's pretty, uh, intense. We've... we've both been through some bad turns with the same people." He takes in a deep breath and looks off to the side, raising a hand to put on her shoulder if she accepts it. "I'll... I'll pull one of the students aside for some sparring later if you'd like to watch that."
He was too harsh.
Daniel Jack doesn't show it, but underneath that glare, he ruefully bites back at his temper. It wasn't a big deal. He shouldn't have blown up at Momoko. The detective expected the kid to be in tears after that blowup, crying like a liittle girl. Instead, she does what a woman would do. Be dead silent, not saying a word. Making everything on the inside, bottled up. She wouldn't get back at Daniel now. She would wait until he is weak. When he is soft, when he is confused.
That way Daniel would bleed so much more.
Daniel Jack still avoids Momoko's gaze, embarassed at his outburst. Rust's presence really was what was keeping this exploding in an all out fight. Ultimately, a wasteful fight, as it was becoming more and more obvious. There was a peaceful way out of this. Maybe they could all be friends. There wasan offer of lunch; Daniel hadn't eaten yet. At any other time, Daniel Jack would be taking up that offer of food and company. %R
But he had a mission to complete.
"Thank you for the offer," Daniel Jack begins, rummaging in his suit jacket, "But I can't do lunch." Daniel Jack denies hamburgers. He denies a friendly chat. "You are right, Momoko. I am being suspicious. And I have a reason I am here. I'm investigating this crab grass. Now I know it's none of my business what you Kyokugen types do. And I can't tell you all the details. But there is something I gotta make clear to you." Daniel's eyes finally goes back towards Momoko, an intense stare of the utter seriousness of the matter.
"This entire city is in danger."
Daniel Jack pulls out a notepad, flipping some of the pages idly. "This strain of crab grass... it is not any ordinary weed." The detective begins, drawling a bit. "It resists every kind of poison, you can't burn it, and pulling it up does no good. No landscaper can stop it. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until it takes over every piece of dirt and earth.
"And I'm the only one that's going to stop it."
The detective pauses a bit in his notepad, before bringing out a pen from his jacket. "You said the government was on your backs. I assume they... they investigated the crab grass? How far has it spread. Has there been any casualities." The detective pauses a moment, casting a glance hearstways to the forest outside the dojo, where the carpet of crab grass had infested. He narrows his eyes into the focus, the next question coming with a soft voice, nearly a whisper. "Did they send any agents to investigate the forest...."
"Did any of them return?"
"Look. Look,"
Rust's declaration, after the tension has begun to die down, draws a slow sidelong glance from the much smaller girl. Intense focus gives way to a somewhat softened expression, her anger coming down from a high point with the sound of his voice. It's a glance he briefly seems to return when his tired eyes search for her. After that point, there's the faintest tugging of emotion inside her... as her emotional wall crumbles just a little. Emerging from somewhere in the depths of her is a feeling... the outward manifestation of which lends itself to moist eyes.
But she remains quiet, despite, and allows him to speak... idly listening to concerns and frustration... and realizing that perhaps she had brought an unnecessary burden on him today. It causes her lower lip to quiver just a tiny bit... and a quiet sniffle accompanied by a turning of the head back toward the road. Briefly, she contemplates just running toward it and away from both men...
...Then Daniel starts talking, and any sign she may have been /about/ to cry all but vanishes. Once again, he gets nothing but dead silence from her... even as he addresses her. If he could see her face now, and perhaps only Rust could, it'd be flushed red with blood and her cheeks would be puffed out again like a tiny little blowfish. Her eyes are wet, but they're narrowed so much as to be almost shut...
...then... the quiet sound of air escaping the confines her mouth comes as Daniel segues into a rant about the evil crab grass and how only he can save Southtown. Her head slowly, but surely, turns in Rust's direction... with a look in her eyes that practically says: "...Is he sane?"
Suddenly, it was a little bit harder to hold a grudge. Clearly, his cuckoo had escaped his clock. "...O-Okay..."
Rust catches a glimpse of those reddened cheeks with the faint hint of tears being held back. He thinks to reach into one of his toolbelt pockets. He's got a handkerchief or something, doesn't he, he thinks as he pulls out a blackened, grime-filled sheet of purple with white polka dots. He immediately thinks better of offering the ratty, filth-ridden thing to her when he remembers just how much that thing went through in the last forty-eight hours between a sink, his own truck, and a parade float balloon (don't ask).
His gi top is really only marginally better. Definitely not his gloves, or his... no, he's absolutely not going to offer that thing on his head! Who takes off their COMPLETELY NATURAL AND NOT AT ALL HORRIBLE hair to wipe a child's tears, really?
All this while Daniel apologizes, though there is something that suddenly gets the man to stand back up with a start and a crackle from his knee.
"What?" Is the flat single word as Daniel explains the crab grass. His jaw is briefly agape. It closes over a period of the next few words. It goes back to being open as Daniel insists he's the one who's going to stop it.
"Cas... casualties?" This is less a stutter and more difficulty in wrapping his head around the idea. "The... what the hell do you mean?" Okay, that part's definitely a stutter. "Look, weeds, yeah, this is... no, these are some bad weeds, but... casualties? Daniel. Victims?"
Like that poor squirrel from earlier.
When he looks back down to Momoko, she's giving him that same completely dumbfounded look. He's not much better as he cranes his neck back over to Daniel as he asks what could be the most important question of the hour.
"I, I don't know, Marco went with 'em inside the forest before I got into... well, all the screaming." He looks about ready to throw his hands u-- no, he just physically did throw his hands up. "Daniel, yeah, this, this crab grass is crazy everywhere, but... /deadly/? I mean, we, we live in a world with... well, a lot of things," he doesn't need to remember far back to recall King of Fighters 2011 and all the amazing and interesting things lying just out of the reach of the mundane world, "this is... killer crab grass."
Well, it's certainly killed the lawn, the ornamental garden, and just about muscled out every other hint of plant life it's gotten its reach into in such an alarmingly short amount of time, that's for sure.
"Cripes. Well, what the... what the hell do you mean, you're gonna stop it? Never knew you as some kinda... gardener."
Of course Daniel was...
Well, he was more sane than some things?
"All the screaming?" Daniel parrots back, shaking his head. "Damn. They might as well be good as dead." The crab grass had never killed before, certainly, and maybe Daniel was misunderstanding what Rust was saying. But you cannot expect anything less from something as dangerous as crab grass. The wild eyes of the detective dart around as he explains something VERY important to the world. Finally, he settles on Momoko... and approaches her, kneeling on one leg as he places a hand on her shoulder.
This was not a bad touch.
Looking into Momoko's eyes, his eyes widen even further, as his pupils grow into pinpricks. "Don't be afraid, peac- I mean, Momoko." He remembered the name thing. "The crab grass probably won't try and kill people aggressively. It only wishes to spread and grow, like all plant life." Placing the other hand on Momoko, he looks towards Rust. "And I am going to stop it... well." Daniel WAS experienced in groundskeeping for the Todoh Dojo. "That maybe something you can help me with. I need three things to defeat it, and I am trying to figure out where to start. I need three sacred treasures to save the city." Daniel finally releases Momoko, holding three fingers, looking towards Momoko.
"Do you know anything about any strange mirrors, a jewel, or a sword?"
When Daniel's hand touched her shoulder, briefly, he may have felt it tense. He may have seen the beginnings of it being drawn up. But when he starts to call her 'peaches', again, her shoulders sag... and her brows furrow with the barest hint of frustration as her lower lip begins to protrude...
Fortunately, he didn't finish that train of thought.
Momoko has heard some crazy things before... the ravings of an old man whose sanity has been suffocated by years of alcholic abuse... the beyond flighty romantic fantasies of a deluded boy eternally chasing his not-so-secret crush... and even faced the very real madness of serial killers completely lost to reality. ... But murderous, ill-intentioned, flora requiring the procurement of sacred treasures was a completely new one.
"...Uh..." is all she really gets out as response to the detective before he turns his attention to Rust again. Its when he does so that she gives Rust another curious glance, before quickly turning her eyes back to Daniel as she realizes the pause is getting a bit awkward. "...W-well... um... there's mirrors and swords everywhere in Japan... that's a little vague..." Her face goes flush. "...Momok's not... not really an antique dealer..."
Rust goes silent as Daniel mentions that they might as well be good as dead. Resignation? Confusion? Desperation? It is impossible to tell the difference between the lot of them. He faces away from the lot of them as Daniel goes to try and soothe Momoko. His right hand goes to the makeshift hilt of Ol' Rusty in brief, finger tapping against it. He looks back when Daniel mentions something he can help him with.
"Like... what three thi-- sacred what?" For almost anyone ever, the notion would be quickly dismissed and authorities would be called politely to usher someone to a mental health clinic. Yet, for a man who has had a few brushes with the truly supernatural, to witness the gutwrenching possession of a friend of his, all the way to fighting what might have been, at the time, the /very nature of flame itself/ and to say nothing of magical animated cranes...
Can one really want to dismiss the risk offhand?
"Daniel, I," the eldest among them pauses to scratch the back of his head and think about how to phrase this as poor Momoko, nonplussed and out of her element, stammers, "I, uh, I don't think you'd... you'd find any of that... here. Hey. Momoko, could you excuse us for a minute?"
He walks up to Daniel to give a firm tug to one of his shoulders, if not resisted. (It's relatively easy to resist, given it's his right hand.)
"Daniel, I've seen a... a lot of things, all right," he sucks his teeth as he recounts some of them in his head, "and, well... is this.... is this really anything more than just some kind of, y'know, crazy spreadin' weed?" Just some kind of crazy spreading weed? It's legitimately about to produce an ecological disaster by its own merits (or lack thereof) in its absolute competitiveness in what is a ludicrously short amount of time.
"C'mon, I already got, got a lot of shit on my plate today 'cause of this, and... and really, Daniel, what the hell is this?" He asks, leveling his gaze into him. Not the sharp eyes of a fiercely determined warrior or an angry truthseeker, but of an aging man who probably wants to curl up around a gigantic sub sandwich and maybe a beer or two. Or a giant sub beer with glasses full of salad toppings. Some strange culinary combination thereof.
"The hell's got you so... so worked up you c'mon up where everyone here'll beat the shit outta you and scream at, at a girl? Are things really, uh, really as good as I'm hearing over there, or..."
"But you don't mention jewels."
Daniel Jack knows that there is more power what is unsaid, than what is said. As Momoko describes how she isn't an antiques dealer, he notices what is said. That there are plenty of swords, and plenty of mirrors. But there were plenty of jewels too. Why wasn't that mentioned. Daniel Jack prepares the pen and notepad, raising them up for the note taking. "Maybe you'd like to tell me what you know about the Todoh family jewels."
And Rust saves her.
Daniel Jack lets himself get escorted away by Rust. "Whoa, hey Rust, I was trying to ask questions!" He begins, tucking away the pen and paper. As Rust asks HIM some questions, he responds a mile a second, rapidly chattering back at him. "What do you think got me worked up? This isn't small potatoes, this is a damn crisis. And the UN can't get involved; I'm pretty sure they are involved in the whole thing." Daniel Jack's pupils are pinpricks, his brow is furrowed, and a conclusion comes. Speaking with the tone of someone personally hurt, but far from angry from it, the detective softly replies.
"You're embarrassed, aren't you."
The defensive presence returns, Daniel Jack crossing his arms as he looks back into Rust's eyes with that flare of skepticism. "The Todoh-Ryuu Dojo is doing -fine- Rust. Better than Kyokugen is doing, scuzzy." The detective spits into the grass, looking around at the weedy lawn of the Dojo, putting his hands on his hips. "I should have known this. Enlisting psycho-weilding soldiers, just like Cammy I bet." The detective thrusts a thumb back towards Momoko, scoffing a bit. "Oh, I know. I'll never forget the feeling of getting your nervous system fried by psycho energy. But what else do you got to turn to? You said yourself, Takuma is missing, Marco is now missing. Between you and Yuri, you are the best the dojo has to offer."
"And that's not even close to good enough."
Daniel Jack shakes himself free of Rust's grips. "Flash forward to now. You are pissed at just how everything is falling apart. And now, at the moment of weakness, the greatest student Todoh-Ryuu has ever seen shows up, the champion of Todoh-Ryuu, comes over to save you guys. Remember when Yuri didn't even qualify for the Neo Development Project semi-finals? And how myself AND my kohei, Benkei, made it? Kyokugen is on the slide, Rust. And now, the Sakazaki family and Kyokugen reached something that it can't beat. Hell, maybe you are embarrassed because -you- can't do anything about it." Daniel Jack pauses, his emotions shooting all over the pace, the outrage bubbling to surface as he finds himself lining up the ultimatum. "... I respect you, Rust. Don't ever think otherwise. I think you are a great guy. But you are still Kyokugen. And I can see it clearly, now."
%"You just can't admit you need the Todoh-Ryuu Dojo to be your hero"
While Rust, Daniel, and Momoko have been dealing with the crabgrass problem at the Kyokugen Dojo, the self-proclaimed ambassador of Kyokugen is approaching. Of course, most know her as Yuri Sakazaki, but that's what she considers herself. Currently, she's coming back from a daily run, and she looks to have a big smile on her face as she returns. Despite the crabgrass problem, Yuri seems just as upbeat and cheerful as ever, and as she sips her sports drink, she literally prances into the area and stops to catch her breath a little before spotting what she thinks are random workers at the dojo.
"HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOO EVERYBODY!" Yuri says cheerfully. "It's so nice of you to stop by and--" Yuri pauses and stops as she recognizes Rust, and then looks at the others and does a double-take, before sweatdropping and scratching the back of her neck. "I'm sorry, Mr. Rust, I didn't know it was you." But then she smiles again. "Still, it's so good to see you again, and I appreciate you helping us out with our crabgrass problem. I'm sorry I wasn't here, but I had to do my daily run today if I want to be in top shape to test for my black belt." She then turns to face Momoko and her eyes go wide. "Oh my, MOMOKO!" She says with glee as she rushes over to her new friend. "What a pleasant surprise seeing you here! It's so totally awesome to see a friend here at the dojo!" She's grinning even more now as she turns to face Daniel. "And thank you for your..." She pauses as she hears him mention the Todoh-Ryu Dojo, and her smile turns into a scowl. "Hey, just a darn minute? You're with the Todoh-Ryuu Dojo?!" Her eyes narrow as things seem to go upside down for her. "Who do you think you are, setting foot on Kyokugen property?!"
Rust's approach gives the diminuitive girl a bit of respite from the fluster of being the focus of Daniel's... uh... enthusiasm? Especially since her negligence in mentioning jewels seems to have made Daniel even more curious, not less! As that rough, calloused, hand goes for Daniel's shoulder, her messy mane and bright pink ribbon dance subtly in time with a polite nod... more like several progressively softer nods... and she responds to his asking to be excused with a rather demure, "...Sure."
She sighs, inwardly, when the focus shifts from her. Her inner person was in turmoil right now. At least two parts guilt, one part fustration, one part confusion. At this point, though, the frustration was giving way to confusion and guilt though. She really regretted her treatment of Daniel earlier, especially seeing his mental state now and hearing his background, but at this point she wasn't expressing it too well beyond being virtually devoid of her usual sunshine. A rare thing for her.
Becoming briefly absorbed in her inner tumult... Momoko misses almost the entirety of anything they might be saying a few feet away. Her right hand snakes upwards, slowly, grasping the tail of her ribbon and stroking it thoughtfully as she stares into Daniel's backside.
...Then, she takes a few cautious steps toward him and slowly extends a smallish right hand, intending to grasp at tha orange suit and give it a small tug or two...
"Um, I'm sorry... Mi-" is she all she really gets out, her well-intentioned apology cut short by a shout from somewhere a ways away from them. It draws her eyes, curiously, and gives her a bit of pause... before a slight smile touches her lips again, and a mandatory greeting comes for the familiar girl, "Hey Yuri."
"Embarrassed?" Actually this probably almost entirely sums up Howard's recent years of life pretty well, starting with and absolutely including that... thing on his head, as Daniel segues into much more easily digested, undisputable facts of the recent financial prosperity of the Todoh-Ryuu Kobujutsu school (probably no small part thanks to Ken being amazingly generous with payouts).
When he hears Yuri loudly greet everyone involved and address him, he holds up a pointer finger as if to tell her 'wait a minute' while Daniel continues to lay on the harsh realities of the differences in success between the two. Daniel /is/ successful, the man who helped turn a struggling school around and make it prosperous. Something that grinds the gears of the Sakazaki family something fierce.
Better than the Kyokugen school.
"The hell does that have to do with--" He is cut off by Daniel as he starts to snap back, scowling at the mention of Cammy, how Takuma is MIA and probably terrorizing the entire Cosco chain again, how Marco is 'missing' for being someone who just decided to reluctantly escort Japanese officials back into the forest with all the weeds no more than maybe an hour or so ago.
How /they/ aren't good enough, him and Yuri.
To say this in the throes of a fairly embarrassing defeat against Carlos recently. His left fist visibly tenses. Teeth clench, as Daniel moves himself out of his grip.
"If you're gonna rate schools over... over profit, well." He casts a sidelong glance. There really isn't any competition, Todoh-Ryuu Kobujutsu is currently kicking the Kyokugen school's ass financially. In his mind's eye he knows damn well they're about to lose three more students from the lack of will to continue their study. Kyokugen student retention has always been its downfall.
"I'm gonna say... one thing." He starts waving his pointer finger. "You guys... you, Benkei. You all went far in a safe... environment," he nearly trips over himself verbally looking for that word. "And you know what? You know what? That's... that's really good. Yeah. That's, that's pretty good."
"This school," he gestures broadly outward to the struggling school's own dojo grounds - well kept if only because being a good carpenter seems to be a secondary skill learned by anyone who makes it long enough, "maybe, it's not making much money, but I can be... I can be proud of one thing, Daniel, and you know what that is? Y-You know what it is?" His voice strains with a restrained fury, leaning ever forward.
What could it be that makes Rust happy when he struggles day in, day out with being an errand boy, someone who has significant trouble getting anything going in organized fighting, and ultimately struggling with numerous injuries throughout the years that have been trying to creep their tolls, bills, taxes, and other hidden fees unto his battered, scarred, bone-tired body of forty-two years?
There's a sudden silence. He casts a few glances aside to the gathered, as if ready to ask them if they saw any stray words that fell out of his head that hit the ground for him to pick up.
His posture slumps immediately. His accusatory pointing arm goes limp. He looks off again into the distance, wordless as all the crab grass there seems to outright mock him. To think of nothing of the chaos of some of the others freaking out over what actually can be done to take care of that mess.
Daniel was a good guy.
This was an axiom that was constantly tested, constantly questioned, and constantly doubted. Daniel's record was not a clean slate. Staging assaults against the Ikari. Helping Shadaloo agents. Fighting Dirty. Being a combative, violent figure. Something can be said for a man who could fall in with some of the worst villains in the world, and nobody would be too shocked, too surprised. Through it all, Daniel Jack tried to be a good man who fought for good causes.
And good did not mean nice.
He was trespassing. When confronted by a young lady, he responded with threats, with aggression. He was willing to pick a fight with what was practically a stranger. And when someone he respected, someone he had a history with took him aside to try and calm him down, to even him out, Daniel Jack struck where an old man was weak. Daniel Jack could have stomped him in the knees, and it would not lay Rust any lower than what the detective could see now.
And oh, what he could see.
Momoko's tears come back to him. And now, the look of apology. His harsh eyes cast down at the small thing that was tugging his suit. Gone was the sunshine, that endured through all his previous bluster, briefly snuffed out. A brief break of the glare comes, a moment of softness, of regret. But with it, comes a redoubled stubbornness. He pulls his suit away from her grips. The arrival of Yuri gave Daniel Jack a time-table; it was only time before trouble would start. Daniel Jack looks across the lawn. There were diplomatic ways of handling this. Frankly, Daniel Jack didn't care about them anymore. He knew the damage he had done. He knew the blood he had drawn. But he did it for a purpose. He did it to make sure he could save the city from crab grass.
"Shut it, Yuri, adults are talking."
Daniel Jack looks at the tired form of Rust. It was like picking a fight with his uncle. There was no joy, no pleasure to be had bullying a man like this. Daniel Jack knew in the back of his mind what he was doing was petty, was small, was bullying. But that voice was drowned by his own drive, his own focus, his own stubborn self-assurance. He drew blood. He had to finish this. This was not just for his own sake. But for Todoh's sake. And such, with a growl, he responds to Rust's own flailing rebuttal.
"Cut the loser act, Rust, it doesn't suit you."
Daniel Jack cracks his own neck, driving his hands in his slack pockets. "You can be proud of a lot of things, Rust. Pride's one hell of a sin. It's not as fun as some of the other ones, but it is the only one that will tell you its a virtue, and sell it. I'm -proud- of my school, I won't lie. It's not about the money though; I was proud of my school when there wasn't any money, I was proud of my dojo when I was the only person in the classes. I was just some know-nothing that got his ass kicked out of Metro City when Mad Gear took over the damn city. Master Todoh beat my ass, and taught me how to properly defend myself. Todoh is my damn family now. You want to know one thing to be proud of?"
"Your family."
Daniel Jack looks out towards Yuri, muttering towards Rust. "I got a city to save. You want to help me? You tell me where I can find some kind of sacred mirror, sacred jewel, or sacred sword. Otherwise, you and your family can just stay the hell out of my way." Daniel Jack focuses harder on Yuri, bringing a hand out from his pocket. Shaking it, he raises his voice, short of a shout. "You hear me, Yuri? Your family can stay the hell out of my business! Todoh-Ryuu is going to save this city, and this dojo!"
"And Takuma can -eat it!-"
Who does Daniel Jack think he is? Who the hell does he think he is, coming onto her family's property and saying crap about her friends? AND her family?! Daniel obviously doesn't know when to shut his mouth, since he's apparently got no problem with talking more and more trash with every moment. The more he talks, the angrier Yuri becomes. She clenches her fists and stares at him, her face contorting into a very deep scowl as she begins to breathe heavily. His sarcasm and dissing is more than enough to anger Yuri, but the fact he's standing on her property? On her family's sacred property? And trying to mess around with her like this?! It looks like Daniel's crossed the line big time here. And Yuri isn't going to stand for it.
Yuri waits for Daniel to shut up before she speaks. "First of all, YOU of all people have no right to tell me to shut it!" She exclaims, pointing at him to emphasise her point. "YOU are a trespasser on the Kyokugen Dojo's property, a place that ANYONE who's with YOUR dojo has no right to be upon!" She slides her sneaker clad foot towards Daniel. "And you aren't the only one who's gonna save this city! Momoko here and I are gonna save it too! Although, I don't think you're gonna be able to save it once I'm done with you! Because NOBODY INSULTS ME OR MY FAMILY!"
By now Yuri's breathing has become faster and heavier as she glares literal daggers at Daniel. "I suggest you take back the crap you just said right now, or you're really gonna regret it!" Oddly, Yuri seems to be focusing more on being vocal as opposed to trying to kick Daniel's ass and throw him out. "You think you can just come here and pretend to be helping by getting rid of this CRAP-grass? You know damn well we don't want your type here!"
Yuri then turns to Momoko and says, "Sorry, I'm a little busy right now. We'll have to catch up later." Then she turns to Daniel. "I'm only gonna ask you once: What makes you think an enemy of Kyokugen is welcome here?!"
It's been a somewhat tense time for everyone. Between the accusations, mistrust, belligerence, hatred, pettiness, and bad memories, what was to be a reasonably productive day for almost everyone involved has nearly been a wash.
Less of a wash, more of a drowning really.
As Daniel jerks his suit cloth from her delicate grip and turns away, the smallish girl lets a small sigh escape her - a sigh mostly lost in the arguing between everyone else - and instead she just shakes her head softly. She couldn't see Rust all that well anymore, from where she was standing, but his falling silent just moments prior gives her all the confirmation she needs that he's feeling as bad - or worse - than she is at this point. She wouldn't blame him for just leaving. Or hauling off and punching Daniel.
..But then, Daniel offers what can best be described as an attempt to rectify the situation. And it does cause her lift her head a bit, and stare up at him, even if it's just his backside. He was obviously a very complicated person, someone she'd not likely be able to understand any day soon. ... No sooner does he offer some semblance of a nicety, however, and pretty soon he's off on his tangent again about his history... and his goal of saving Southtown from demonic flora. You could almost hear the girl sweatdrop.
Soon, infuriated by Daniel's rudeness, Yuri cuts in again and it almost looks like it'll become a brawl again. When Yuri casts her gaze briefly toward Momoko, the littlest Psycho Soldie waves her hands in the air and silently mouths: Don't do it! But, whether it's seen or not, Yuri immediately goes back to confronting Daniel and Momoko is forced to sigh again.
If only she had some incense or something, just to banish these anger spirits for a moment!
"Hdjghrmt," comes the completely and utterly incomprehensible groan that does not deserve the consonants that have been attached to it in written word for posterity as the older man lets a lot of the recent, sharp failures build up - a man who had somehow been instrumental to the world at large at times of great need, who by all appearances has been brought low by such a simple question to make one internally evaluate his life in yet another episode of a long-standing run of mid-life crises.
Is he even listening to Daniel, or anyone, at this point? He does struggle with a bit of hearing loss, but that's no excuse for the ferocity of Daniel's words in his move to pull him back up out of a gutter he laid in front of him (which Rust tripped on - or stepped on the grate and fell through, whatever metaphor works better).
Where Yuri steps to his aid with all the fervor and conviction of someone who truly respects and likes him for who he is and what he's done for them and others, he gives pause, though his face remains hidden from those gathered beyond the usual nervous tell of him scratching at his head... and then rubbing the top of his scalp, where that /thing/ sits.
All the talk of family. He knows where his dad sits about some of his life choices, the really old guy not being terribly kind even in recent years. Why the hell did you walk out on a job that paid you sixty thousand dollars a year, he often asks him. Exhaling loudly one more time, Howard looks behind himself.
Then he turns around.
"Okay," he says softly, but somehow it can be heard above the arguing and screaming, "y'know what, just... just go on with your search for those... whatevers," he straightens himself up best he's able, "Yuri, thanks, but... right now, I gotta... gotta get to work on figurin' out why we got this before your dad comes home."
Adon seemed to take to his new landscaping gig well enough, given he still had all that shouting bluster and condescending sneer about it, Rust thinks. Hopefully that stolen van from the shootings isn't hurting their business enough to prevent them from coming back out here, he tries to plead and reason to himself as he ambles towards his truck.
He turns his head again to see if he can find Momoko, whom escaped his view again. Did she run of-- oh, there she is. He waves a hand as one of his elbows make a popping noise. "'m gonna need to step out."
With Yuri already screaming it, he figures he might as well save his breath in demanding that Daniel get off the lawn like he had asked from when he first heard him yelling after coming out of a yelling session with some other members of the Sakazaki household.
"IF anyone asks," he raises his voice as he gets to the truck, "I'll be at, at Himaruya Landscaping." This is a half-truth - he's probably going to be at two different Subways before he ever gets there.
Who the hell does Daniel think he is?
Daniel has been many things over his life. For all the scars and weight that Rust carries with his failures, his advantage has been time. Daniel's own failures hung over him; being manipulated by Sonia to throw himself in the middle of a cult war, manipulated by Marz, his failures to protect Roland, and his own failure in self-defense at Mad Gear. Even the failure to protect his family sat in his heart. What Daniel was, by himself, was that Daniel saw himself as a hero, a fighter of good, a fighter for something better in the world.
Because all he has left are the hopes and dreams.
Rust was shaken by Daniel's words. Daniel didn't care. Momoko was writhing the sheer turmoil and drama around her. Daniel didn't care. But above all, when Yuri showed up to confront him on his brazen arrogance at her own dojo? Daniel didn't care. "Yeah, get out of here Rust. You get in trouble? Don't hesitate to call me." The detective calls after Rust, before turning to focus his attentions on Yuri. "As for you, I'll insult your family as much as I damn please!" The detective blurts, still shaking that fist. Holstering the fist, he shakes his shoulders, turning his nose into the air. "Feh! If I didn't have so much to do, I'd throw you down right here in front of your own dojo!" Daniel boasts, hands in his pockets. "But I got a city to save!" The detective turns around, noticing the girl staring at his well-formed buttocks.
He pauses for a beat.
"You! Momoko!" The detective starts up. "... You be careful. A kid like you shouldn't be getting caught up in this dangerous business." The detective growls. "Don't think I'm getting soft on you. You cross me again with that sharp tongue of yours, and Rust won't be around to protect you." Daniel Jack sniffs a bit, before looking back at Yuri.
"I'm going now, okay?"
Yuri reaches out to try to stop Mr. Rust from leaving, but it's no use. She realizes that he's leaving most likely for a good purpose, and it's no use trying to stop him. Instead, she turns her face to stare at Daniel. Her face is red, boiling with anger at this trespasser coming onto her property (well not her's technically, but in a sense,) and bringing trouble into it. Yuri continues to glare at Daniel so hard that if one were to look closely, there'd be flames burning in the back of her brown eyes. She waits until he's done talking to her before she responds with, "Oh yeah? You're probably just too scared that you're gonna get your butt whupped by a girl! And even if I can't kick your butt alone, I'd like to try to see you face off against my brother or my father. You talk the talk but I doubt you can walk the walk against Kyokugen Karate! We'll always be the best! You're just full of yourself, thinking you can come here and do whatever you want!" She grits her teeth and starts breathing a little slower, almost like she's trying to catch her breath. That is, until she hears what he has to say to Momoko, and then Yuri REALLY loses her temper!
"You try doing anything to Momoko, you as much as harm a single HAIR on her head, and you're gonna have to answer to me! And don't think I'm a softie either! You try messing with me and all Haoh Sho Ko Ken you so hard that they're gonna be sweeping you up in piece off of the sidewalk!" Yuri clenches both fists by her sides as she steps in front of Momoko, the flames really burning in her eyes as she stares up at him. "Now if you're going, I suggest you get outta here before I do it for you!"
Momoko watches, quietly, as Rust departs - probably having finally had all he can stand of the situation for today. A smallish hand is lifted to return his wave before he departs, and a small smile is offered just let him know she cares. If it softened the blow at all, it was worth spending some of what little energy she had for the moment. Pretty soon, she thought to herself, she'd need to find a way to recharge. Rarely did anything drain her as much as the events today had. And being devoid of sunshine was almost a foreign thing for this girl. "Bye, bye, Rust~!"
Daniel's retort to Yuri draws her attention again though, and his threat to floor the girl does draw some momentary tension from the littlest Psycho Soldier. If he did try, unfortunately for him, he'd have to contend with her too... as evidenced by the fact that she does, in fact, take a step toward the pair cautiously. Fortunately, that never becomes more than mere bluster and she allows her body to relax a little.
Another small sigh comes shortly though, and that ribbon is soon dancing, as her head is shaken in response to Yuri's understandable outrage. Momoko reaches out, attempting to place a hand reassuringly upon the other girl's shoulder, before return Daniel's steely gaze with a decidedly less steely one.
And she sticks her tongue out, squinting her eyes at him childishly.
"I nearly kicked your butt on the train, I can do it again mister!" Possibly the most energetic thing she has said in a while. There is little more than childish playfulness to her tone though, and no real signs of agression are in her features, so hopefully he can see she's just being nice. Nice in a 'I'm okay with you, but if your press me I'll bite' sort of way!
Wasteland.
Daniel was turning everything around him into an emotional and spiritual wasteland. He almost felt hollow now, lashing out at friends and strangers. But he had the spirit of Todoh in him. And he had to save this town. Rust leaves him. And now, Daniel would leave Yuri and Momoko. Then insults come, the boasts. Yuri and Momoko really were friends, it seemed. They deserved each other, for better or for worse. And as the parting shots land squarely into the detective's back, he turns around, and gives his own retort.
"Damn kids!"
With that last word, Daniel Jack begins to walk over the weedy crabgrass, across the lawn, and out towards the long winding road out of the Kyokugen Dojo. The detective wasn't done with the dojo, not just yet. But he was done with it for now. The man's mind was a storm of thoughts and emotions, a dangerous liquor that made fools of the best of men. Daniel wasn't close to the best, nor he knew many that were even close to being good. There was good man he had to seek out, though. An old rival. Besides, it has been too long.
It was only polite to have a chat with a Mr. Glen.
Log created on 10:53:47 05/01/2013 by Momoko, and last modified on 23:54:11 05/03/2013.