Description: Aiding in the evacuation efforts around Southtown in the wake of the sudden and inexplicable eruption of Mt. Fuji, Alma senses a strange presence in the forests northwest of the city. In the midst of the ashes, the past returns in a new guise: that of a young woman wielding a weapon that is not so different, it seems, from Alma himself.
The miasma spreads, blotting out the sun.
Ashes rain through the forest, portents of impending calamity, and in the far distance flashes of light and fire can be seen from mighty Mt. Fuji, still spewing lava in fits and spurts and sending streams down its slopes. There is little danger of loss of human life, at least, as the evacuations have been well-planned and well-executed, but the devastation to the surrounding infrastructure has already been immense. Nature suffers as well. The trees are blanketed in grey soot, hampering visibility.
Although the city is presumed safe, it is possible that the lava flow will reach this forest, which could potentially cause wildfires to further spread. Alma Towazu, the head of the Young Fighter's Community Center, is here with some of his allies and other municipal workers to comb the forest and ensure before any destruction arrives that no one is left to languish here. It is possible that in the confusion someone remains lost and has not yet been able to return to the city proper, with orientation so difficult beneath these shrouded skies.
The Phoenix of Southtown has at least removed his tailored blazer for this work, though he still wears a dress shirt and tailored slacks. He endures without a mask against the ashes, revealing his burn-scarred but finely-sculpted face, the psychic reaching out with his mind as well as his gaze. He stands alone, having separated from the others. He thought he had sensed a psychic signature nearby, someone potentially lost amidst the grey.
But where could they be?
No sun, the resonating tremours of an eruption, and her sensei not having been present awhile. All things that Jira herself is nervous about, but her partner was definately looking out for her. Even as she watches the gray slowly cover the trees and ground, a hand rests on the petals of her firearm and tenderly rubs over them with her fingers.
If a source of psychic energy were there, the girl's would be completely eclipsed by the bottomless emanations from her gun, an old and foreboding presence to say the least. She's been moving slowly between the trees, eyes mostly at the sky and herself without any kind of face covering.
"Do you have anything to do with this?" she murmurs to nobody in particular, still handling the cylinder of her gun almost reverantly. "What are we even doing out here? I don't think it's an appropriate time for target practice in this weather."
Given the aura he has sensed, Alma is not expecting the sight of a young woman as she emerges from the trees. He stops still, blinking, lips parting in surprise. Quickly, with the ease of one who has encountered many unexpected phenomena over the years, he processes the relation between what he sees and his second sight tells him. There are two auras here, one faint from her, and one exceedingly potent from--
"Miss," he calls. "Are you alright? An evacuation has been called for this area. It's too dangerous to be out here alone."
His eyes are warm and his expression calm despite the hot ash dancing through the air. Unrevealed on his features is his furiously working mind. His kindness is sincere, but his reservations are best hidden. That weapon she has-- he has not encountered an object like that in a very long time.
"My name is Alma Towazu. I am the head of the community center nearby. We are functioning as a safe house for evacuees. Would you come with me?"
He extends his hand, palm open, and smiles.
He must get to the bottom of this.
The two seem withdrawn even as she walks through the trees, some sort of internal debate- rather rudely interrupted. Jira turns about slowly to the call and smiles, giving a nod as to the questin about her status.
"We saw the ashes and went out to look a bit closer, you don't see it raining like this very often. Mental snapshots. And I'm never really alone, not with him around." she replies in a warm tone, stepping over to the newcomer. Seeingg his hand coming out she disarmingly pulls the loaded round from her weapon and pockets it, no longer loaded... the damn bullet was the size of a 6oz cola can. Then she accepts his hand in her right and maintains her smile.
"Well, if you think it's for the best, Towazu-san, lead on." and with that poises herself to follow hand-in-hand.
It wasn't that rude of an interruption. He called her 'Miss'!
"I see," Alma says gently, still smiling. "I too take mental snapshots, as you call them, to sketch afterwards. I understand the inclination." It seems she needs no further persuading, so he simply empathizes. As he is able to sense the aura emanating from the large weapon she wields, her speaking of it as though it were a person does not unsettle him as it might another. He can guess that, if this artifact possesses a spirit, she may be -- or think herself to be -- in communication with it somehow. This confirms what his aura sight suggested: she is a psychic, if an untested one.
His responsibility is all the greater, then.
"It would be my pleasure," he replies. It is a little unusual that she wants to hold hands, but Alma has never been one to shy away from a touch, and it makes it easier to get a sense of her emotions, besides. An untested psychic with an innocent personality. She is all the more likely to fall under the influence of a mightier mind, if that has not already happened, or if that weapon does not somehow control her already. "I will lead you to the others."
They begin to walk through the ash, their feet sinking slightly into what grey already counts the ground.
"May I ask your name, Miss...?"
Jira keeps a rather even step behind him, trotting lightly on the ash. Her glimmering eyes turn to gaze at him before she replies with, "Oh, you sketch? That sounds nice." giving his hand a warm, kind grip.
"Is it a far walk?" she asks, then answers his question. "I am Kasagi Jira. You can keep to Jira though, Towazu-san." accenting the whole introduction with a smile aimed at him. Her left hand rests oveer the cylinder of her gun almost protectively, but it really seems she's using it as leverage to balance on the hidden roots she steps over under the ash.
It would be a pleasant walk through the forest, hand in hand with a young woman, if it weren't for the ash raining down upon them and the stifling heat of the air.
Still, it is a pleasure to encounter another psychic, always, though unless she is more duplicitous than she seems, she does not appear to have detected that he is a psychic as well. Empathy is not the same as mind-reading, even when it reaches the heights that allow telepathy, but Alma believes that her innocent smile is sincere.
It is the gun he's worried about.
But those worries are momentarily forgotten as his composure cracks for the first time, his eyes widening and his pace missing a beat as he looks again at Jira, his eyebrows raised. "Kasagi Jir... a?" he repeats, choosing an odd syllable to drag out. "Pardon me, it's just that... I had a close friend with a name very similar to yours."
What has been with the last couple weeks? Why does the past at all once rise up unbidden? Strange phenomena wrack the world, strange fights in strange dreams. And now a woman with a name like--
"But he is gone now," Alma adds softly.
If there is a message in all this, it remains unclear.
"Still," he adds, attempting to inject a lighter tone, "the Kasagi family did have a habit of producing fighters. His sister Mimiru was quite talented as well, though I have not seen her for years."
For Jira, the entire walk was pleasant- the ash and heat didn't seem to bother her much, for whatever reason. She gives out a hum. "I heard about cousin Jiro, a couple years ago. But I didn't get many details- or any that stuck. I found it weird our names were so similar yet we'd never met. I'm not sure about the fighter genetics, neither of my parents were particularly inclined, and I'd still be in normal life if my partner hadn't shown up and.. well, I suppose he'll just inform you later. He said he's interested in meeting a fully fledged psychic, but I think he's just excited at seeing a helpful and spiffy man." she replies, directly teasing her partner. She suddenly pulls her hand back from the gun following a loud click and chuckles. "I got him ruffled up I think."
Alma's grip tightens on Jira's hand.
"Cousin?"
This time, he does stop in his tracks.
"You're Jiro's... cousin?"
He hadn't known that Yoko had any siblings, but she did not speak often about their private life. It was only through Jiro that he learned Kasagi was her maiden name, and that even during her marriage with Jiro's father she had kept it. But his mind is a whirl. He had thought his relation with the Kasagi family done with. Of course he thinks fondly of Mimiru from time to time, but she left the country some time ago, and they've long since fallen out of touch.
What does this mean?
He hesitates for a moment, and then smiles warmly, eyes softening.
"Then it is truly a pleasure to meet you, Jira."
Perhaps there is no deeper meaning. But what of it? Even if there is no magic to the name 'Kasagi' that gives him an instant bond with a stranger who possesses it, there is delight to be found in this serendipitous encounter. This unusual events must have unsettled him more than he realized. There is no need to be shaken, only to be grateful.
"Any member of the Kasagi family is a friend of mine," he says, continuing the walk should she like to. "Your cousin was the best friend I've ever had, and I still regret his loss. But I cherish the memory of the time we spent together."
The click of the gun redirects his gaze. One might think this would be far more likely to shake him than the mention of her relation to Jiro, but this time he stays calm as usual. He was prepared for the gun to-- well, potentially do all manner of things.
"Spiffy?" he repeats, as though tasting a word new to him. "So your-- partner here," he then says, pausing only briefly, "is able to detect my abilities, and has informed you of them? Were you not yourself aware?" His questioning is gentle but firm. "How long have you two known each other, then?"
He would prefer she tell him now rather than later, so long as they must hike through the ash. Though he intends on making good on sheltering her regardless, he hopes to ascertain as much as possible in advance to what extent her 'partner' is a threat to his other charges at the center.
Her step freezes with Alma's, and her brow is raised curiously to him. Then she chuckles at his reply. "I think I should be thanking you for finding me to begin with, I didn't think the forest would've turned dangerous anytime soon." she informs, then nods.
"Yeah, he warned me before you called my name. We've been together for about two months now, in total. My own abilities haven't developed, he said something bout prioritizing my condition before working on my own techique. So until then, I borrow his energy and work on controlling it. But the things he knows how to do with it, I'm not sure I could grasp that level of complexity with some techniques." she murmurs. "I think it'd be better to just let you two talk one on one, I'm getting a little tired between working and hiking." maintaining the steady, slow walk onwards.
"And yes, spiffy, you're not the most unattractive guy on the streets for sure."
"Prioritizing your condition..."
Alma look down at the young woman's body, in a purely honest effort at evaluation which it does not occur to him might seem a little inappropriate. Though he's learned much since his early years, he can still get a little carried away when interested in someone else's spirit and forget common-- social mores. His typical courtesy is mostly an effort to make up for the inevitable misunderstandings.
"I see," he concludes, looking up and meeting her gaze again once he is satisfied. "Yes, it's important not to strain oneself when first coming to terms with Psycho Power. Overreaching can have dangerous consequences. It sounds like your partner has a good head on h-- er, is quite sensible." He blinks as she mentions she is tired and then smiles apologetically. "Ah, of course. It is difficult with all the ash. Um... shall I..." He is capable of telepathy within a limited range, thanks to Rose's training, but he has never communicated with a weapon before. "Do I need to touch it, or...?" At least he's not looking at her body as he says that.
Her final comment makes his smile broaden a little. "Once upon a time, I was very used to hearing that," he says, lightly but honestly. "But not so much after the burns. Thank you, Jira. You are quite lovely yourself." Again, it would sound as innocent a compliment as he meant it to be if he hadn't just been checking out her-- physical condition.
She nods at his statement, and in her current state of dress she comes off as rather androgynous, save her face and hair type, most decidedly feminine.
"Thank you for the compliment, it's rare to hear it while in my normal clothes." and a decidedly honest and happy smile radiates out. She does break the hand contact, though. "No, I'll just take a rest and let you two talk, it's easier for everyone." she states and gives a small bow in parting.
The gun then disperses, sending out rapidly deteriorating psycho energy into the air. The glow from her eyes changes, from pink to a dark, flat red. Then, suddenly white energy flushes from her form. Her body bulks up considerably, even making her a few centimetres taller with the increased mass and energy output. A slow inhale, and measured exhale follow the prominent physical changes, and the smile fades into an amused yet neutral face.
"No need for touching, I have learned a few tricks in my time. I don't expect her to really shine into any, not enough time." they state, Jira's tone is still present- but a second voice comes out simultaneously, deeper and more masculine. "Shall we continue the walk? I am certain you have many questions of us, the girl and I."
The gesture of farewell confuses Alma momentarily, though instinctively he offers a small bow to match hers. But when he sees the glow in her eyes, he understands at once what has occurred. The change in her physique is somewhat surprising but not unprecedented. He nods once, his eyes thoughtful and expression now inscrutible.
Possession.
"I see," he says, and indeed he does, for the most part. "Yes, of course." And with that, completely deadpan, Alma reaches out his hand, clearly offering to hold Jira's hand again.
Apparently he doesn't see why her being possessed should make any difference.
Whether or not his hand is accepted (he did say 'no need for touching,' after all), Alma will proceed on the walk and begin his inquiries. "I would like to know your identity and your objective in this world, sir, if you have one," he says. "Is there a specific reason you have partnered with this young woman? Does not her lack of training pose a danger?" He is not explicit about it, but it is pretty clear that Alma is concerned that Jira might be being used, for all that her relationship with her partner appears friendly. "And-- why was it you wanted to meet a fully-fledged psychic, as she put it?"
There is no hesitance in the hand holding, the grip is exactly as it was before save the new tinge of outflowing energy being exuded from every pore. Turning back again to take the side-by-side lead of Alma, the two set off in walking.
"I am Akabara, and I exist solely for the purpose of battle. Inventing, cataloging, and perfecting techniques based around the use of the human element. You might understand, how an unbalanced individual might fall out of a neutral path when exposed to power and sharing a soul. Each of my hosts are shielded from the event of death, and are added forever into my being, a form of immortality as was the tradition I was created under. Although, I am now presuming it to have been accidental." they reply, and continue. "Her personality and lack of training was why I chose her as my vessel, however, I believe that her own abilities will express as yours do mister Towazu, which is why so much is poured out of her body. An unintended, yet useful side effect. The only danger her lack of training expresses is that I am limited in how much energy I can feed to her body at a time." with that they smile, warmly.
"As for wanting to meeting one as yourself, it is rare to find one with such developed powers that could be used in battle. I look forward to witnessing and exchanging techniques."
Alma listens intently, hand-in-hand with the psychic weapon.
"The human element..."
It is not a phrase Alma has heard before, but he intuitively understands what Akabara means. After all, what has driven the Phoenix of Southtown more than anything is a passion for contact with the souls of others, for the endless wonders they offer and the proof they give of human interconnectedness. In a way, he too derives his power from that, and has grown tremendously from his intimate encounters with each individual spirit he's faced.
"Perhaps you and I are not so different," he remarks, slightly amused by this.
There was a time when he thought his endeavor a holy one, but he no longer thinks such grandiosity is necessary. To reach out and touch the hearts of others may not be his sacred duty, but it is still a good thing to do, he believes, at least in the way that he does it.
"So through her you will have the opportunity to observe much, and as she grows so too shall you," he murmurs. "I see why you have chosen to invest in her, and I am glad you are taking care not to exceed her limits." Such behavior is prudent for a warrior, but Alma already has the sense that Akabara is honest in his care for Jira. This weapon does not seem a danger. But still--
"I would be honored to display my skills before you, and hope that they would be interest," he says, "but I feel that I must first know--"
He looks Jira, or Akabara, or both, directly in the eyes.
"For what reason do you fight?"
He would be assenting, in effect, to empower one who exists purely for battle. One who exists purely for battle is a weapon, and a weapon is a tool, neither good nor evil, existing to be used. If Akabara has no scruples other than his affection for Jira, Alma is obliged not to behave recklessly before him.
They quietly listen and stay linked at the side of Alma, giving a thoughtful shrug at the mention towards lack of difference. Then they comment on the thoughtful murmuring.
"It is easier to test, learn, and develop new techniques and experiences with a proper form built with such capacity in its design." and then they turn their eyes back to Alma. "I fight that I might find a suitable equal in combat, with which I can wage endless, single combat upon and as a result infinitely expand my capacity and reach. In exchange for helping me with my goals, I offer my hosts that kind of immortality, and my knowledge and power to obtain what they may want to should it be sufficient." they reply.
Power for the sake of power. Fighting for the sake of fighting. Achieving an optimal situation into continuing to perpetuate growth, to expand forever, infinitely, not to attain to any goal or to remain at any peak but simply to continue onward, forever.
"How very..."
Eventually, Alma smiles.
"...human."
If Akabara sought to reside at the pinnacle of ultimate strength alone, that would be one matter. But to coexist with an eternal rival-- is that not the dream of any true fighter? Is that not the dream that for Alma has become impossible?
Does some part of his heart still, he wonders, yearn for that?
"If that is a life that Jira has chosen to share with you," and it seems that she has, "then I would be glad to assist you both in your efforts." The ash drifts down around them as they trudge forward, Alma unerring in his sense of direction though the landmarks about them are completely obscured. "I cannot say who this equal you seek shall be, but perhaps I will be able to help you progress for a time, particularly if Jira requires instruction in the use of her psychic powers."
He is no Rose, that is for sure, but if she taught him, perhaps it is not too soon for him to attempt to impart what he has learned to one still in the beginnings of her training.
They give a nonchalant acceptance towards the being noted as Human. Though, Akabara is literally -made- of the Human Element.
"I think it'd be fun to watch her training. By the way, how much longer -is- this walk?" they ask, keeping the pace and looking around at the sky. "This reminds me of Pompei." they murmur.
In the distance, figures appear, shadowed by the ash above, moving about and searching behind trees. Several of them turn as Alma raises an arm in greeting. "Seems as though we're finished in this area," he says quietly to Akabara. "If you will pardon my saying so, perhaps it would be prudent to withdraw from Jira while we are amongst others. The dual voices may cause confusion." Admittedly, he has no idea whether they walk around with dual voices all the time, but the less explaining he has to do the better.
Though Akabara's last comment, Alma hesitates briefly before smiling.
"And perhaps you can tell me about Pompeii next time."
It seems the both of them will have some study opportunities in store.
They give a nod to Alma and breathe out, expelling a cloud of rapidly decaying, white psycho energy. The woman's body 'deflates' to her normal, natural state and she clears her throat.
"I really hope my sensei won't mind.. I'll have to give him a letter or something." she murmurs, only her usual voice coming out. Her gun manifests again, various colours come into play as the expelled energy is drawn back and maintained into that solid shape to hang at her left hip as it should be. With that she quiets up a bit, smiles, and walks on hand-in-hand with a family friend.
Log created on 19:45:21 08/17/2014 by Alma, and last modified on 02:55:38 08/18/2014.