Description: Protesters are about to beat up a politician leaving the prefectural government building. Zach Glen isn't about to let that happen. What, you mean violence ISN'T the answer? Preposterous!
The scene: Osaka's Prefectural Government Sakishima Building. That's a mouthful, but the mass of people protesting outside just calls it by its former name, "Cosmo Tower." Most look... hungry. Starving. Japan's second most-populous city has more than its fair share of homeless and vagrants, but the recent influx of folks from the ash-choked eastern reaches of Japan has just meant more and more competition for basic necessities. And from the looks of it... they've had just about enough.
Signs held up by the protesters are not that uncommon: "END CORRUPTION NOW" "DISPLACED WORKERS NEED FOOD TOO" "POLITICIANS EAT, VOTERS STARVE?! LET'S TURN THIS AROUND" Class warfare at its finest!
There are a few people enjoying the nice evening off to the side. A small couple walking their dog take extra care to be faaaaar on the other side of the street from the protest. A 19-year-old woman playing on her phone by a street lamp. A pair of older gentlemen playing Shogi against one another. And a group of kids running by. None of them seems particularly disturbed by the protests -- hard to gauge the concern level of the politicians inside on this eve.
Zach Glen couldn't tell where the path started. He'd be hard-pressed to tell you where the pass even /was/ these days. With the natural disasters and chaos tearing across the globe, and people scared and confused, the psion's 'gut instincts' are screaming at him to escape regardless of where he went. That makes 'escape' pretty much impossible, if it was his intention at all. After the handful of students at the Quon Chen Institute to safety, Zach arranged transport to Japan.
Ayame had given him /some/ clue as to what was going on, and while he didn't learn much, he figured that if anything was going to go down, Japan would figure into it somehow. The volcano had rested for four hundred years, and the odds of that coinciding with the storms hitting Metro were astronomical. It was as good a place to start as any.
The psion was wearing a nice coat over his shoulders, making sure to conceal not only the wakazashi at his hip but also the fact that his left hand was missing. Nice pants, decent shoes, and a hat to somewhat hide his features completed the outfit. Zach was /also/ giving the protests a wide berth; you don't need to be psychic to know that people actively pushing class warfare were trouble.
It's probably a good thing Zach is avoiding the crowd. But not everyone has the -choice- to avoid the mob, particularly the people who -work- in the building.
And such is the fate of a member of the House of Councillors who happens to need to get out of the building. Right now. He's got two armed security guards with him, and for a moment it seems like he might get out scot-free.
Until someone in the mob happens to catch a glimpse of the politician, and points a finger. Calling out his name.
And the entire mob converges on the politican. The two guards unholster their guns -- which stays the mob for just one second, until one brave soul staggers forward, deciding to press his luck. The armed guards work for the citizens, and they just want to talk, right? The angry mob completely surrounds the politican, shouting over any protests he might have, and generally ruining his chance of getting home to his family or whatever he might've been planning.
The couple walking their dog quickly realize a better place to do so. The older gentlemen playing Shogi agree to call their match a draw, and skedaddle. And the group of kids even smarts up and gets out of Dodge.
That would just leave the girl playing on her phone, completely oblivious to the mass violence that's about to start.
Or is she. Sparing a brief look up to the mob, she squints slightly, trying to resolve exactly what is going on.
And one of the armed guards discharges his sidearm.
The mob converges in a bloody, frothy, punching rage upon the two guards, now powerless against the solid wall of civilian meat impressing down upon them. The politician tries to run -- but he's not going -anywhere-.
The girl looks back to her phone, plonking away to the sounds of Candy Crush.
COMBATSYS: Protesters have started a fight here on the right meter side.
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|-------\-------\0 Protesters
COMBATSYS: Honoka has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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|-------\-------\0 Protesters
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|======-\-------\0 Honoka
COMBATSYS: Zach has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Protesters
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|======-\-------\0 Honoka
Zach's eyes snap up at the sounds of guns at the ready. He's fought in a war, and been shot at a few times other than that. You don't mistake those sounds for anything else. He bites down a curse, glancing around for a moment before trotting over to the girl. Waving his good hand in her field of vision to get her attention, Zach gives a firm order in a tone of voice. "Call the police," he says quickly, "And then get out of here."
He takes another second to assess the situation without seeing whether or not the young lady is doing as asked. The guards are getting the crap kicked out of them. Nothing to do for it, then. He heads towards the mob, looking to see if anyone was actually shot. They'd be his first priority.
Call the police. "... Uh..." The young woman blinks at the straightforward request. "Sure, I'll get right on that."
"Sweeeeeet." It's not the young woman, it's the game she hasn't stopped playing yet.
One man -was- shot in the leg, but it doesn't seem to have stopped him or slowed him down much -- just enraged him into a state where he doesn't even notice what's going on. He's just =whaling= on the guard who shot him, driving him back further and further with one wild haymaker after another. The guard admittedly doesn't =want= to shoot back, considering he's probably already at risk of losing his job for the first trigger release, but he's barely able to keep an adequate defense, raising his arms feebly.
The second guard isn't doing much better -- the mob isn't -quite- as rude to him, but they are pushing him back a ways with wild, intentionally short punches designed to intimidate rather than outright hurt. Same for the politican -- their cries of unfairness drown out any of the politician's pleas for mercy or anything rational, of course.
The young woman had, though, risen from her bench. Zach seems to have aroused her interest. "So you plan to just let the mob win here? Majority rule?" She chuckles softly, but if Zach looks back at her, she's still just playing her game. She could get hurt!
"Police said they were too busy."
Zach frowns a bit at the young lady. Her reactions to this are just... odd. "True enough these days," he mutters before looking tiredly at the crowd. "They're scared. And angry," he says. He sounds... weary. There are definitely larger fish to fry, but this...? Dozens of people against just three? One of whom clearly has no training in self-defense, let alone anything approaching a martial art? Just ain't right. Noone else seems interested in helping, if the young lady is being truthful, and his are the hands... ...is the hand that is here.
"No," he finally says as he starts to walk towards the crowd, shrugging his right arm free of the coat. The sword stays in its sheath; this is not the time or place for such a thing. The right hand is wrapped, like a boxer's hand might be. Perhaps he's not everything he seems to be either. He stops for a moment to look over his shoulder at the young woman. "Seriously," he says. "This is propably going to get worse before it gets better. "Find a place to lay low for a bit."
With that, Zach starts to push his way through the crowd. He slips, steps, and weaves, dodging while clearly not intending to strike back until he can get himself between the guards and the crowd.
Lay low. Charming. "Okay," answers the young woman, continuing to go about her seriously involving game of Candy Crush. Or so it seems...
The crowd doesn't seem particularly concerned that someone is shoving through their masses. Numbering thirty at best, they can't be expected to realize when someone is with them or -- well, if not -against- them, then at least not -with- them. Even if he is bobbing and weaving, it's kind of necessary considering how rabid the crowd's fervor is.
The man who was shot now has the triggerhappy guard cornered -- and he's showing -no- signs of relenting. Punch after punch lands solidly into the guard's lightly-armored chest -- more of a percussive expression of their anger than an intent to actually hurt -- at first. But when he sees the guard just... not fighting back? That actually makes him -angrier-. He reels his hand back to pop the guy right in the mouth...
And that's when Zach appears in front.
A moment of indecision flashes in the attacker's eyes. Who is this kid? And why is he--
Rational thought would usually give a few seconds' leeway for Zach to make his case. The light pink spark that appears in the guy's eyes just now? That's not rational thought. And neither is the fist that comes flying at Zach.
And neither are the shouts, "HE'S ONE OF THEM!" Well how did they come to -that- conclusion?
"Divine!" Girl still hasn't left. She's still playing her game. But she's got a wide, -wicked- smile on her face now.
COMBATSYS: Honoka assists Protesters.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Protesters
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|======-\-------\0 Honoka
COMBATSYS: Zach blocks Protesters' Strong Punch.
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Zach 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Protesters
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|======-\-------\0 Honoka
That glint, plus the fact that he hadn't said anything yet, gave him plenty of information. Now that he knew to look for something, it didn't take him long to cast his senses wide. The fist comes in, and Zach lifts his right arm to parry the punch. The punch stung, but he's taken worse. "Outside control," he mutters. "Right then."
He cannot nail down the source of the influence just yet, but he is fairly certain that he can drive it out of this man. This would be only one guy, but perhaps he'll start feeling that gunshot wound in his leg, allowing the psion to move onto the next one. He's taken on a company of armed soldiers before, but he would be the last to say he did it through sheer strength of arms. Never mind the fact that the last time he tried this stunt he had both hands.
Zach opens his right hand, and it starts to glow with golden energy. Streaks of green race and flitter through the aura as Zach simply reaches for the man's forehead, buttressing the man's willpower with his own formidable will. It should help the man drive out the influence of whoever is really pushing this crowd.
Zach looking around for an outside influence is a very smart thing to do. The young woman plonking around on her cellphone certainly seems amused by Zach's actions -- she's =pretty= sure none of the protesters knows how to make a golden glow with streaks of green.
To Zach's credit, the trick worked -- he =had= been shot, and he sure is angry about it, but to attack Zach completely out of the blue like that? "Ahhh--- sorry man, I.... I guess I don't know what came over me..." He backs away and holds his hands up -- clearly, he feels at odds with Mr Glen and his unusual healing powers.
Okay, the little lady isn't so amused about this -- her smile starts to fade.
The crowd starts to encircle Zach, but they are giving him a wide enough berth so as not to completely put themselves into harm's way. The guards and the politician are herded together with Zach -- but the crowd seems to be a bit less angry now.
"Move aside, little man." Someone speaks up, and he gestures to the crowd to clear a path. "Our fight's not with you. You're not the one who can -fix- this mess. You're not the one keeping our families from getting fed. =You're= not the one who gets to go home and sleep in a nice warm bed with a hot meal, with a wife and two and a half kids."
The young lady's hands aren't moving at all. The game activity has ceased for the moment.
COMBATSYS: Honoka takes no action.
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Zach 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Protesters
> //////////////////////////////]
|======-\-------\0 Honoka
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully aids Protesters with Lay On Hands.
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Zach 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Protesters
> //////////////////////////////]
|======-\-------\0 Honoka
COMBATSYS: Protesters take no action.
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Zach 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Protesters
> //////////////////////////////]
|======-\-------\0 Honoka
Zach pulls himself out of his stance, pulling the hand away from the man. "Come here for a moment," he says quietly, leading him to sit down near the politician and guards. "Let me take a look at your leg. This will hurt, but I can help." He probes the wound as gently as he can, knowing and regretting the fact that it will hurt like dickens. He seems to ignore the 'spokesman' for a moment, continuing to search for the source of the influence.
"Through and through," he says queitly. "Thank god for that at least." Zach reaches behind his back, pulling out a simple first aid kit. He stares at it for a moment. "But you're going to have to help me help you." He pulls his left arm free, propping the kit on his stump while using his right hand to open it up. He pulls out some disinfectant, handing it to the man, "You need to wipe this stuff on where it hurts. Both sides." He waits for the man to do so before looking at the spokesman.
"Let me help this guy first, then we can talk if you want," he says calmly, confidently. "I understand what you're going through. This isn't the way to fix this."
COMBATSYS: Zach takes no action.
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Zach 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Protesters
> //////////////////////////////]
|======-\-------\0 Honoka
One member of the crowd does as Zach asks. They were incited to violence just moments before, but the voice of reason seems to be getting through to them.
"There's not going to be much getting through to these guys," calls out the contrasting voice of the young woman off to the side. "They've been waiting here for, oh, two hours or so. Couldn't shut 'em up about how they were gonna beat the crap out of the first councillor they saw." The little lady chuckles. "And now you're over there playing doctor on the guy's leg and they're so grateful for something else to watch that they've forgotten about their stomachs, about their families, about the =crimes= that these politicians do to fatten their own pockets."
The protesters don't seem terribly happy about the young woman's statements, but just the same, they take two steps further back from Zach, giving him more room to work.
"I... can I speak?" asks the politician. "I... we can -get- more food and supplies, but they can't just pop up out of nowhere. We've =implored= the local companies to help with the assistance efforts, and some =have=, but companies are still able to do whatever they--"
"Shut up! No one can -make- a company do something?! That's bull, they're all lapping up federal and prefectural funding like it's goin' out of style, and you know it! Cut their funding until the crisis is over, and at best you make them wise up and help out, and at worst, hey, more funding!" Spokesperson seems to know his stuff...
"Yes, but... I mean, it doesn't work that way... that takes time, you need support now and the companies are the--"
"But that's =your= job, =we= hired you!"
"Y-yes, but... I'm sorry, young man, you ... did you say you had a way to fix this?"
The young woman sighs irritably. Maybe the game is just getting really tough on her.
COMBATSYS: Honoka takes no action.
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Zach 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Protesters
> //////////////////////////////]
|======-\-------\0 Honoka
COMBATSYS: Protesters take no action.
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Zach 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Protesters
> //////////////////////////////]
|======-\-------\0 Honoka
Zach carefully attempts to wrap the wound, but that's tricky with just one hand. He briefly explains what he is trying to do, in order to get the man to help out. With the bandage dressed (better not to take chances) Zach places his right hand over the wound, sending a faint green light into it to help the body close the wound on its own. He heaves a sigh, "You /should/ be able to walk on it now, but I wouldn't try dancing or anything like that for at least a week." He gives a short nod as he stands up straight, offering the wounded man a hand up.
Then he turns to the guards. "Put those guns away. Now. They don't help anything," he says in a tone of voice that suggests that he had better be obeyed before turning to the spokesman with a slight frown. The guy knows his stuff, alright, but still...
"This," Zach asks, circling his index finger to indicate the whole situation, "Is not going to solve anything." He points to the politician and the guards, "Beating them up is just going to get you a night or three in a jail cell. Will you be able to help people when you're locked up?" He throws a quick glance at the young woman. She's the polar opposite of helpful right now. He turns to look at the politician, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully. "Who are you guys going through for support and aid?" Zach shoves his hand in the coat pocket to start fishing for something.
The young woman looks up to Zach, an incredulous look in her eyes. He's... actually changing their minds, preventing more violence, and she's ... upset? Frustrated, the little lady starts to walk away, muttering some invectives to herself.
Zach's assistant is totally willing and able to help -- he doesn't know much about first aid but he can follow directions. The wounded man takes Zach's offer of help, standing on his injured leg unsteadily, and offers a grateful smile.
The guards' eyes go wide, but with Zach here, they realize it's just common freaking sense to listen to the guy with glowing hands! Both guns get holstered.
The spokesman for the unruly mob seems a bit defensive whenever Zach takes that tone with him. You know the tone, the one that means that you think you know something, that maybe you've been book-smarted or something? ... Yeah. But while the spokesman can listen to words, he's stood out here for too long to just turn tail and run away. "Y-yes. That's why we stand here and =picket=. Politicians never listen to us. We just wanted to show we mean business."
The politician feels it necessary to speak up: "We -are- listening. We just can't =do= what you ask..."
And then Zach asks his question. The politician answers: "... Mishima Industries won't return calls... Kanzuki won't return calls... every local business we've tried just... doesn't have the resources to even pick up the phone right now. It's not that we're trying to hurt anyone, or keep supplies, we just don't =have= enough..."
The young woman has turned to walk all the way down the street. Even her phone game can't hold her interest now, she's shoved the phone back into her pocket.
Zach pulls out a tool that can fix just about anything, a small and flat piece of plastic and glass. He starts prodding at it with his thumb, "Then I'll just have to go global," he says with a bit of a grin. "Hello, Janine. It's Zach. Hey. I'm in Osaka right now, and they're getting all kinds of people getting away from... yeah. Ask Ken if he'd send... yeah. Put it on my tab? Thanks."
With that he ends the call, and turns to the politician. "Head back into your office. In about fifteen minutes you'll get a call from the Masters Foundation. Tell him /everything/ you need. Be up front and honest about it."
"I would take it as a courtesy, though," Zach says for the benefit of the crowd, "If everything went to the people who need food and shelter." He'd find out anyway if that didn't happen. This isn't the kind of Zach was going to leave to chance if he could help it. That said, he turns to the spokesman.
"This is going to take some time, though. I can't imagine that the Tokyo branch is anything but swamped, and I /think/ the nearest facility they have besides that is..." Zach stops to think, "...Okinawa? Or Kyoto. I'm not sure about that." He smiles tiredly. "It will be more of a help if you return to your families. It's hard to be without food, or a roof over your head," Something in Zach's voice suggests that perhaps he's been there. "But it's easier if you have people who you care about, and care about you around." He looks around.
Where'd she... /There/. "If you'll excuse me, I have something to take care of." He pockets the phone, pulling out a card to offer to the spokesman. He holds it out with his good hand, prepared to hold it with both hands when he catches himself. He shrugs the coat back over his left shoulder to hide the limb. "If there is any issue, or if you just want to talk to someone, please do not hesitate to call me."
Zach waits just long enough for the spokesman to accept the card before bowing and saying thank you. Zach is off like a shot after the young lady as soon as he is out of sight of the protestors.
The politician =and= the crowd's unofficial spokesperson both fixate upon Zach's phone with wide-eyed amazement. The spokesperson is the first to speak -- "I-- I don't know what to say! I mean, I do -- thanks! -- but I mean, to think that..."
The politician, well, it's his -job- to know what to say, even if the mob doesn't seem to think so. He holds up a hand to the crowd, smiling. "You're very kind, young man. I hadn't even considered the Masters Foundation, but... in one phone call you've managed more than we have in three sessions. This city, and possibly even all of Japan, thanks you." He bows formally, as if to an esteemed colleague rather than some guy who just sweeped in to end what could have turned into a beatdown of epic proportions.
The spokesperson nods, "=We= thank you. All of us. We'll play nice. I ... I don't think we could have done this without you, kid." It's pretty much required that fifty-something guys call the twenty-somethings 'kid', after all. And he accepts the card, though he is a bit nonplussed at the confusing body language from Zach. Shouldn't one -always- hand over a business card with two hands? .... Oh. The spokesperson looks a bit guilty after that unspoken thought.
Bowing all around, the placated crowd doesn't seem like they're about to engage in any more fisticuffs now, that's for sure.
The girl, on the other hand... Well, she walks fast, but she's not in any great -rush- to leave. The phone may no longer be in her hand, but she has to do -something- with her hands. And that something is flicking a bright red yo-yo about.
At the sound of heavy, rushed footfalls behind her, the girl just shakes her head slowly, not making any particularly sudden motions -- just keeps on walking, straight into the parking garage down the street. Humming a soft tune to herself.
COMBATSYS: Honoka recenters herself.
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Zach 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Protesters
> ///////////////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Honoka
Zach does not take the kid comments personally. He's short, and young looking... at least until you look at Zach's eyes. He takes off after the young woman, channelling Soul Power through his limbs to get a little extra speed. He sees her turn to enter a parking garage."Hey," Zach calls once the pair had entered the parking garage. "Excuse me, Miss," he says. "I'd like to ask you a question or two."
COMBATSYS: Protesters have left the fight here.
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Zach 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Honoka
There are sounds of motion in the parking garage. No, not cars, but people walking about. A particularly acute person might be able to tell that the sounds are getting louder.
"You're certainly welcome to ask, but I have to warn you..." She smiles faintly, never lessening her walking pace, nor the pace of her yo-yo as she keeps walking it along its path. "My family tends to not appreciate weird guys following me into darkened places... alone."
Zach snorts indelicately. "I can imagine," he says sarcastically, channelling a little Ayame for a moment. "Nah. It's a simple question, though I'm sure the answer's not." Zach keeps walking after her.
"Why did you do that back there," is the question. Why. Not how. Zach's got that somewhat nailed down. There's something in the voice when Zach asks the question. He was firm, but not forceful when addressing the crowd. Here though, is the sound of something that will brook no nonsense.
"Why did I do what? Play on my phone while you defused a hostile situation all by your lonesome?" She shrugs mildly. "I was bored, it was entertaining to watch them attack a guy who didn't really deserve it. You pulled the Gandhi act, it stopped being funny." My, she is full of doubletalk.
Zach steps up his pace slightly to stand front of the young woman, feet planted firmly. "Do not," he says as he lets down his mental walls, "Play dumb with me, young lady." Soul Power washes off the young man like a thin golden fog, something /felt/ by the minds of those sensitive enough to perceive it as easily as one can see it with their eyes. "You ramped that crowd up, pushed them into action. It's entirely possible I wouldn't have had to step in and stop it if you hadn't done that. Your actions pushed that crowd to violence. I want to know why."
Yo-yo flicks out. Yo-yo returns. The young woman sees the golden energy rise up on the young man, and does not seem particularly alarmed about this. "I'm answering your own question, and you're being deliberately vague. Now, perhaps, less so, but still." She shrugs her shoulders in response. "I won't say I didn't give them a nudge here and there. It's what they wanted."
And then, to forestall the inevitable rejoinder, she raises a finger. "At. The. Time. How was I to know that a guardian angel would come walking by with the solution to -all- their problems, right there in one -awfully- convenient deus ex machina?"
Yo-yo flicks out. Yo-yo returns. "Do all you blonde Americans hang out in, like, a secret club or something? I guess it takes a threat of violence for you to part with your money, like 'oh no, the savages are fighting again we must stop this...' Sanctimonious garbage. If you really wanted to help, why -haven't- you?"
"In the short term," Zach says evenly, "I wasn't here to help then. It was..." Zach's left arm twitches slightly, "Difficult to get out of Metro City. I am here, helping, now." He shrugs his shoulders loose. "I don't know about any club. I had students to look after before I could do anything else."
Zach scratches his head a bit. "And I lived in SouthTown for years. Still have a house there, maybe." He shakes that thought loose. "Anyway, your whole 'I just gave them what they want' rationale is weak. At best. They wanted food. Shelter. To know why they weren't getting those things. I'm fairly certain that they didn't want to hurt anyone. Or kill anyone." He sighs.
"You deliberately 'nudged' those people into that. From the sound of it, I'd think you were out to cause trouble where you could." Zach tilts his head to one side, trying to get a read on the girl. "Why?"
Honoka expected this. You can't go getting a personal hotline to the discretionary spending account of Masters Foundation without being at least somewhat of a globetrotter, after all. "Oh, here we go..." the young woman sighs, but she knows better than to break eye contact with a guy with an aura flaring as brightly as his.
Yo-yo flicks out. Yo-yo returns. "Weak, you say. It's weak to change approaches when the one you've been trying doesn't work." She nods quietly, with a slight wrinkling of her lower lip. "What's the definition of 'insanity' again?"
Yo-yo. A beat passes. "I gave them a nudge because they need to stand up for their rights. Name a bloodless revolution. Just one! Name change that was ever enacted on a nationwide basis that =didn't= involve people getting the crap beat out of them."
Yo-yo. Another beat. "And don't even try to throw Gandhi back in my face, the only reason that worked was =because= of violence."
Yo-yo. "Are you going to let me go or do I need to get out my rape whistle?"
Pro fighter, globetrotter. One might resemble the other. Zach's stance is a ready one, a wary one. He keeps his eyes on her. He's not really had a fight since his injury, but he's talked his way out of a couple. "There were a few after the fall of the Soviet Union," he answers. "In fact, Russia had one around that time."
Zach's aura dies down as Zach heaves a tired sigh. "Look," he finally says, "I can appreciate why you'd want changes made. There's a lot wrong with how things are. But I need you to believe me when I say that now is not the time to be stirring things up. The storms, the disasters? None of them are happening naturally. Something, or someone's stirring them up. There's no telling what will happen if it's not stopped."
Honoka closes her eyes, heaving a heavy sigh. She should have known he would have an answer. He could be making it up for all she knows, but it's a moot point. "Fine, you got me."
She does seem to relax at least a little bit at the lessening of Zach's aura. She listens carefully to the young man, idly noting that he's shorter than her, and yet probably older. How does that work? ... Anyway. ... "Yes. I suppose you're right..." She raises a finger. "But... the someONE is a man with obsidian skin. Turned into rock. Dropped rocks on us. Sakura and I fought him, it was a pain." She stabs that finger at Zach, offering him a small smirk. "Go talk with her! I'm sure she'd be able to help you find him. I expect her chances with you are a -lot- better than her chances with me were. You're the type who's gonna save the world, I'm just over here..."
With a sober shrug, she velcroes the yo-yo back to her wrist. "Guess I'm just a troublemaker." Another time, she raises that finger. "*Reformed* troublemaker." With a quiet smile, she dips her chin, and starts to walk up the ramp.
A small, beat-up K-car awaits her further ahead in the parking garage, its lights on, and two people in the driver and front passenger seat. They look like they're ready to go.
Genetics are a solid bitch, that's how. "Kasugano? We've met," he says with a nod. "Hey," he says, reaching out with his hand as if to ask her to stop for a moment. "You..." Zach frowns a little bit, concerning his words carefully. "You have some capability. A serious capacity to do something good for a lot of people. It's more than a lot of people have. I would invite you to try and help people without causing protests to turn into riots."
With that, Zach lowers the hand, and resets his coat, walking out of the parking garage. If Honoka was thinking to take a shot at Zach, now's likely the best chance she has.
Honoka stops at Zach's unspoken request, nodding her head slowly. As for capability? "I'm... glad you think so." Either she doesn't agree, or she's just falling into the traditional Japanese tendency for understatement.
At the suggestion that she shouldn't cause riots... she gives a remorseful, defeated sigh. "Thank you for talking with me. I'll see you around."
Honoka's sneakers make the faintest sounds as she walks up to the K-car, sliding into the back seat. Some words are mumbled, to which Honoka coos, "No need."
As the door slams shut, she repeats, "No need," a faint smile returning to her lips.
The car waits until Zach has left the garage before departing. Honoka even passes the young man a little wave as the car drives past.
COMBATSYS: Zach has left the fight here.
> ///////////////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Honoka
COMBATSYS: Honoka has ended the fight here.
Log created on 19:43:03 09/14/2014 by Honoka, and last modified on 08:20:43 09/15/2014.