[Day: Friday, April 8th. Time: 5:20 p.m.] [Weather: Rainy.] [You're still at Satoshi's! Kaede and Katie are about to leave. Not together.] [Session Start!] * Haruko eyes the situation one more time and then takes in a breath. * Taki is still sitting at Satoshi's table and looking up at Katie and Kaede as they argue with a worried look on her face. * Katie glances at Kaede, then takes in the rest of the room. She walks over and picks up her shoes, putting them on. * Kaede heads to get his shoes too then eyes Katie. * Taki stands up. "K...Katie?" * Haruko takes a step towards the door, puts a hand on the handle, and then says rather quietly to herself. "I'm a self centered coward." She then turns to face Katie and the rain suddenly stops outside. She looks to Taki for a moment. * Kaede gets up suddenly and goes for the door. He looks a moment at Haruko. "What are you doing?" * Katie slips on her first shoe. "What, Taki?" * Haruko stops by the door and glances to Kaede. "Waiting for Taki to speak, then... you'll see." I... I'm... I don't want you to do this... aloneImean... If...if we can't stop you... I... I'm coming too. * Satoshi stands up and moves closer to the others, but is silent for the moment. * Katie puts on her second shoe. "Are you sure?" * Kaede turns around back towards the shoe rack and puts his arm across the hallway, half-looking at Katie and Taki. "No." * Taki shakes her head. "No... I'm... terrafied that's what I am... but I... I will." * Haruko keeps standing in the doorway for a moment. She lets things play out for now. * Katie just looks at Kaede. "Now what?" * Kaede puts his hands across the way. "I'm not letting you out of this apartment." He then glances at Taki. "And Taki, if you let her out of here, I will hunt you down. Personally. Don't think I won't." Really? Why not? * Taki swallows and nods slightly. * Haruko gets a bemused smile and waits with some obvious trepidation for Kaede's next comment. * Kaede looks at Katie. "Because I can't let you murder. I can't let you make this drawn out plan...you've probably even thought of the way you're going to do it. So I can't let you kill indiscriminately unless he's a direct threat to you." He is a direct threat. * Kaede seems a lot calmer now. He looks up at Katie. "Is he in this room right now?" No. * Kaede closes his eyes slightly. "Now listen. We don't have to kill him just yet. But I can't let you go out of here with blood in your mind. You'll have to go through me for that." * Kaede opens them back up and looks at Katie hard. * Katie doesn't seem to care. "I can wait. You can't watch me forever." I can try. * Haruko looks to Kaede. "She isn't going to accept that." She then looks to Katie. "It shouldn't be by your hand. Even if the some of the group is willing to do it, it shouldn't be you that finishes him." * Katie looks at Haruko. "Why not?" * Taki falls silent, but still stands. * Kaede glances at Haruko. "Hush." He looks at Katie again. "Now, what we can't do is kill him. But what he deserves is some of his own medicine." * Haruko looks to Kaede. "She isn't going to listen to that. What you said before, about murder being easy, do you mean that?" ( You're planning to seduce him and rape him? o.O ) And if he attacks us in the meantime, then it isn't premed--Haruko. Will you let HER tell me what she will and won't listen to? So we're going to kidnap him from his home, black him out for twenty hours while we abuse him, and let him awaken, handcuffed to a pipe in the basement while we wait for someone to pick him up and pay cash. * Taki blinks and opens her mouth... and then decides that Kaede couldn't possibly have just said what she thinks he just said. Yes, pretty much. * Haruko folds her arms. She shows no sign of being influenced by Kaede's comment. "Am I wrong, are you buying this Katie?" * Katie rolls her eyes. "I'd rather kill him." ... And... this isn't going to leave him wanting to kill us...How? * Haruko looks to Katie. "Right. So, did you mean it when you said that killing him would be easy?" I'm sure you would. And what would that solve exactly? * Katie nods at Haruko. "If he's alone, it should be. Kaede? It would solve the problem. He wouldn't be here anymore." You don't think teaching him a lesson is worth it? We could just as easily get Taki to teleport him on the other side of the world. Same solution. More humane. Now I doubt she has that range, but still... Taki can't vanish to the other side of the world. And he'd have to want to go. * Taki shakes her head. "He... he'd just keep doing the same things there." * Kaede looks at Taki. "So you're willing to kill too? Have you ever killed before?" * Taki shakes her head quickly. * Kaede turns to Satoshi. "Satoshi. How did you feel when you thought you "accidentally" killed that biker? * Haruko looks to Kaede. "I tried this. They didn't accept it." She then looks back to Katie. "And a month ago, would you have said killing was easy? Assuming there wasn't any combat obstacles in the way?" * Satoshi looks at Kaede. "Horrible. Like I'd just closed a chapter on my life that there'd never be any going back to." * Katie looks at Haruko. "The act of killing someone is easy. You don't need powers to do it. People do it every day. They get away with it every day." And that was in self defense... You need willpower, Katie. I have that. You shouldn't have that. We're fucking KIDS. ( You need ice cream, then. ) (I need ice cream. ;_;) * Haruko looks at Katie. "Yes, the physical act is easy. But would have said it was easy, for you, to kill people a month ago?" * Kaede sighs and throws down his hands. "We're fucking kids in an adults game. This isn't fair at all." Nobody would have asked. And we're kids in a kids' game. You so sure about that? This is about the war, isn't it? * Katie snorts. "No." All this infeuding...it's past lives, it's propaganda...it's all...mush. Yours isn't. I'm saying the big picture. At least it's supposed to be. * Taki looks at Kaede. "If...if there was some other way to stop him... one that wouldn't leave him hunting us... I want that," she shakes her head, "but it doesn't exist." The big picture is bullshit. Yes it is. But it's still there. * Haruko looks to Kaede. "Katie is going to kill Tenjirou because she feels threatened. None of what you're saying makes a difference. Work out how you feel about this give me a few minutes to talk about her." I don't care about the big picture, Kaede. I don't really care about it at all. I just want to survive, and to do that, we kill Tenjirou. It's not justice, and it's not fair. I don't care. We do. But not like this. I'm not going to wait for him to strike first. Not again. * Kaede rolls his eyes. "God, this sounds just like Hamlet." ( It sounds like Hamlet, but it's actually Macbeth ) * Haruko looks to Katie. "If part of the group is going to do it, you have to let someone else finish him because you can't let yourself become our murderer. You're already thinking of yourself as that, aren't you?" * Kaede glares at Haruko. "And what will *that* matter?" * Haruko doesn't answer Kaede. She waits on Katie's answer. * Katie shakes her head, and she says, almost gently, "Maybe because I am one, Haruko." * Satoshi *stares* at Haruko. "Who are you going to make do that?" You're trading 6 of one for half dozen of the other? Why would you want someone else to be a murderer but not her? If that's your logic, then I'd *rather* she do it. There, you see? And you aren't a murderer, Katie Andrews. But you're becoming one. * Katie chuckles. "Yeah. Sure." Because every time Katie kills someone, it gets easier for her to do it. Killing isn't hard because it's physically difficult, killing is hard because we should have mental blocks. ::She looks at Katie:: You did! And you still do, but that's the part of yourself that's so terrified you don't listen to it now. So we disperse our killing out amongst ourselves so each of us gets an equal burden. Brilliant deduction, Sherlock Haruko. * Haruko ignores Kaede and watches Katie. * Taki nods slightly. * Kaede then looks evenly at Katie. * Katie closes her eyes, then opens them. "You can't make anyone do something that they don't want to." ( Tenjirou does! ) (Damn it Brett I was about to mention that IC!) Does that apply to us killing or to you not killing? Both. So if one of us becomes a threat? * Taki shakes her head, "Te...Tenjirou does can." * Katie shrugs. "Then we might reach a block, because I want us to survive." * Haruko looks the others over. "She's right. We can't stop her, Taki's going to go with her. So the choice is, do those of us not willing to kill deal with him another way, or do we face the fact that Katie's going to kill him?" (See, this is all going to become a moot point when it's revealed that Tenjirou died of his injuries from that last fight, thus making Satoshi the one who technically killed him. ;p) ( ... What is it with me and the people I have crushes on turning into killers?) * Kaede closes his eyes. "Do you understand the difference between murdering and killing, Katie?" Of course I know the difference. So why do we have to do one over the other? Because one's safer. No, it's not. * Haruko looks increasingly angry. "Darn it Kaede, she's not an idiot. She's thought this through, and unless you have a better way of incapacitating people she isn't going to buy it anymore than when you were talking about Sumire." Oh, and I am? * Kaede then glances at Haruko. Today, Kaede? You are. * Taki takes a deep breath and nods. "He ... he will do it again... if we wait until it's one of us... even more people are going to get hurt." * Kaede sighs and shakes his head at Katie. "Very well. So what would you have me do? Let my best friend lose herself and me just idly stand by?" * Katie blinks as her phone rings. She picks it up and checks caller ID, then hits receive and puts it to her ear. "" Or are you already lost, Katie Andrews? * Taki blinks at the phone and waits. * Haruko looks to Kaede. "She's farther gone than you think, but not beyond saving. You're just raising arguments she doesn't care about." Well, someone's got to raise something rather than suggest another one of us kill Tenjirou in cold blood. * Kaede looks evenly at Haruko. * Katie narrows her eyes, and her voice seems to drop a few degrees. "" Say hello to Kyon for me? (Wow... Kaede cares?) * Taki boggles at Katie and then relaxes when Kaede speaks. * Haruko looks to Kaede. "I'm not willing to do it. But neither of us can really stop her. So either we incapacitate him ourselves, or we keep her from finishing killing off the part of her that resists." (That or he's just being snarky.) * Katie nods to Kaede. "" Kyon says hi, Kaede. And I'm going to go pretend I can't hear you talking about me, so. * Katie turns and walks off, heading to Satoshi's parent's bedroom again and closing the door. (With my shoes on, because I'm MEAN.) * Kaede then glances at Haruko. "That's just great. But what you really need to be willing to do is stop her." * Taki sits back down, hard. * Kaede waves to Katie as she leaves, then looks at Taki. "So you're willing to do this too? I misjudged you." (Dammit, you could at least use the other room. ;p) (I mean, sure, you're planning murder and all, but you could at least *ask* before walking in there. ;p) (TOO BAD.) Yeah, like you've been stopping her? She doesn't care about bringing the group along, we're backup, she's made that quite clear. She's also far more clever than the rest of us put together. So either we fix the problem ourselves or we accept the fact that she's going to do it and we deal with that. Anything else is denying reality. * Taki looks up at Kaede, "... I... can't stop her... and I don't want her to be alone." She's not going to be alone. Have you ever seen a funeral with an 8 year old? * Taki stares at Kaede and then speaks quietly. "I... was the eight year old Kaede." Kaede, I think what you're trying to do is right, but it probably won't work. We need to make our choice where we stand if we can't change her mind. There's a million reasons this is wrong, but that doesn't mean it won't happen. Of course it won't work. But it's stalled quite nicely, hasn't it? But when she walks out that door, every time she walks out the door and is alone, or takes Taki along, she can make her attempt. Stalling doesn't cut it. * Taki gives another small nod. * Kaede snorts. "You speak as if Taki isn't her own person. Give her *some* credit" * Kaede then looks at Taki. What we really need to know is how exactly Tenjirou got Katie in the first place. * Taki nods. "...Need to know when too." * Haruko looks to Kaede. "Now that's not stalling. The trouble is he got me in the same way I think. And I was in the middle of the school at the time." * Kaede closes his eyes. "But I'm willing to kill him just for turning Katie into...this." Yes, but... * Kaede thinks about that. "How susceptible is Katie to that kind of thing? I don't remember her fawning over him when we got there..." * Haruko nods. "But I'd encountered him three times before I actually fell for him. I'd been able to resist until then. But you found a way to break it, if you've got some insight..." * Taki nods again. * Kaede shakes his head. "It's just like any other power. It doesn't make any sense. It just works." I just...felt it...somehow. * Kaede looks at the door. "For once, I'm glad Katie can hear every word we say." * Taki shakes her head. "She uhm... probably can... she's heard people fighting on the roof, remember?" I just said she could. Weren't you listening? * Haruko nods. "Alright then. We can strand him somewhere. Katie won't likely accept that, but we can do it without her. If we find a way to neutralize his powers Katie might accept that. But we're out of stall time. ::she looks to Taki:: If we find another way will you listen to our proposal?" * Taki blinks. "Oh... sorry, I misunderstood." (*Taki thaps her player. "Pay more attention!") * Haruko watches Taki for her answer. (Hey, I could have followed up with "How much are you paying him [attention] already?) * Taki looks at Haruko. "I... I don't that that'll be enough to stop him. If you can stop him without killing him. Yes, please." Oh, I don't think we need to stop him without killing him. * Taki adds in a quieter voice. "I just want him stopped and for Katie to not have to..." We just need to stop him without murdering him. * Kaede sighs and rubs his head. "How old were you when you lost your mother, Taki?" * Taki looks down. "... Nearly eight..." * Haruko lets Taki and Kaede talk a bit. * Kaede nods. "Can you imagine how a funeral would feel like for his brother then?" Whether he cares or not...he's got to grow up not as broken as we became. * Haruko actually stays silent for this. She seems far more impressed than by Kaede's earlier arguments. * Taki shivers. "Y..yes I can... I don't want to, but I can... But if we don't do it... somebody else might... he's going to take somebody's girlfriend... or sister... but... Katie can't wait for that." * Taki suddenly shudders. I know. Or do you think I'd forgotten what he did to my sister when we first met him? Or to Remi, or to Katie, or to, well, anyone... * Haruko nods. "Okay. First can we all agree that we can't let Katie be directly responsible for this. Her soft side is still there, she's afraid to listen to it, and she'll keep suppressing it, keep distancing herself from us, if she becomes our designated murderer." Remember how I said to compare this to Hamlet? * Taki blinks at Kaede. "... Is... isn't it still murder if we set him up?" This is exactly like the chapel scene...I can't let him die being the innocent one in this conflict... * Haruko looks confused. "I remember parts of it, and quotes." * Haruko nods. It's murder if we have that mentality.... That's why I'm not carrying that mentality. Whatever happens, happens. And if he dies as a result... * Haruko looks oddly at Kaede. "That's completely insane. But you have a point. That's why I don't want it to be Katie even if it's defensive again. It doesn't make a difference in the big picture, but it'll matter to her." And I still say, Haruko, that assigning someone else to it still carries that same mentality as Katie. * Kaede then smirks slightly at Haruko. "I never claimed to be completely sane, Haruko-san. Which reminds me..." * Haruko shakes nods. "The trouble is. The rest of us all off, have serious problems, and the like. Katie's insane. It makes a difference." * Kaede digs into his kaban and pulls out a small note. "Did you write this?" * Haruko nods. * Taki looks at the note. * Kaede tosses the note to her and hmmphs. "You shouldn't waste so much paper to write such a short message. I've never known you to have a lack of words before. What gives?" * Haruko lets it bounce off than tries to catch it and fails. "I thought any more words would get in the way." * Kaede snorts and looks slightly away, folding his arms. He looks relaxed though. * Taki drums her fingers on the table and looks at the shoes by the door... and then she blinks. "Uhm... Satoshi? I've got a silly question." * Haruko smiles slightly. "And I have gone from somewhat regretting ticking of Saori to deeply regretting annoying her. I shouldn't have let the fact that she's a punk that doesn't respect elders or customers effect my tactics in dealing with her." Huh? Uhm... does the room she went into have a window? I just remembered that Haruko said her wind was strong enough to hold back Chariot... Oh hell. Yeah, but it's sealed. * Haruko looks relieved. * Kaede rolls his eyes. "You're too paranoid. She doesn't know where Tenjirou is right now anyways." None of us do, for that matter. Yeah, but remember that she's the clever one. If we underestimate her we've already lost her. (Kaede's room has a window! Rei went in through it!) * Taki lets out a sigh. 'Tha... that's go... I... don't think that'll stop her from looking... we've uhm...got a whole list." No, what got us started on this in the first place was us discussing where we should look for him and how to go about it. Right. And I have more of the means of finding that out right now. The other clues were Saori's. * Haruko then sighs and says loudly. "Katie. I will be getting a reading on alternatives to killing Tenjirou. Please ask Kyon to do one and leave a message for me, that way we don't have to risk Saori figuring it out. * Taki pulls out a sheet of notebook paper and scribbles on it in a few different places. * Haruko glances over to see if that's the teleport record sheet. [It is!] * Haruko nods approvingly. "Kaede, you have reason to think that Katie makes the distinction now between self-defense and murder? I can believe the distinction, but what we really need to figure out is how to feasibly handle this to hurt her as little as possible." She frowns. "And even if we find a good compromise, you might be better off without me." No. I know she doesn't. Because she still thinks Yushiro's murder. Even I know that's self-defense. * Haruko nods at Satoshi's comment. "It was self-defense. She also wanted him dead, but even so she had legitimate reason by any standard then. The thing is, beyond deciding where each of us draws the line, we need to focus on what distinctions Katie makes." Well obviously. * Haruko seems less focused now, and the rain outside resumes its natural course. * Haruko nods. "That's why I focused on her doing the killing. Katie thinks she can protect the rest of us. That she can kill to make sure we survive while protecting us from the consequences. But that will destroy her." But that's stupid. It's like...it's like... It's not about whether it's stupid, it's about whether she thinks that way. * Kaede frowns suddenly. * Taki nods. "It....It's hard to... protect somebody from themselves." Yeah. Right. Which room did you say she was in again? * Satoshi points to the bedroom that is not his. * Kaede nods and finishes slipping on his shoes before heading out of the apartment. * Haruko steps aside. "See you tomorrow?" * Kaede shakes his head. "You'll see me sooner than that. I'm just going outside." * Taki blinks. "...I don't... think she's gone since I looked... I hope she hasn't." * Haruko chuckles for a moment and nods. She then looks over to Satoshi. "I won't pressure you on this or try to influence your opinion. But I think you should figure out for yourself where you draw your line. Take your time, but I think it's better you decide when you aren't angry." * Satoshi sighs. "Yes." * Haruko nods and smiles slightly. She then looks to Taki. "So, do you think I'm right on Katie or do you have a different idea of how she's thinking about this?" * Taki shakes her head. "...Uhm... I think she sees Yushiro... as something she had to do... and that Tenjirou is the same." * Haruko nods. "I do know that. The question is what it is doing to her. You see how this isolates her, right? I think that's part of why you're not wiling to let her do things alone." * Taki nods back. "I... yeah it is." * Haruko sighs. "I don't agree with how you feel on Tenjirou Taki, but I'm also grateful someone will be there. Just, if I fail, make sure she understands you're an equal partner in this and not a sidekick." * Satoshi sighs. * Taki looks down and then at Haruko. "I will." * Haruko smiles at Taki's comment. "I know, but it's reassuring to hear it." She looks to Satoshi. "It isn't wrong to stand by your principles." Yeah, but "I feel this is wrong" doesn't make all that good of an argument just by itself. * Taki then looks at Satoshi. "I... I'm sorry... I... our plan from this morning is... I hope it still happens but if things are like this... I think you're doing a better thing than I am... but I ... couldn't leave either of you alone if.... Uhm no I.... I'm sorry... I don't even need to say that, you wouldn't." * Taki shakes her head and then reaches for her juice. * Satoshi walks over and puts his arms around her, leaning his cheek on the top of her head. "I'll still care for you no matter what. I still care about Katie. That's what makes this so hard, seeing you like this..." * Haruko smiles slightly and then slips out to go check on Kaede. "I'll be right back." * Taki puts her glass back down and leans into Satoshi. "Thankyou... thankyou both of you." * Haruko steps nods and steps outside. * Haruko does open the door first. (*RDM watches Taki's mind try to exist in both Pinkfuzzy Satoshi is holding me mode, and in terrified of/for Katie mode at the same time and melt.) (Thirty minutes after Haruko leaves Satoshi and Taki alone later Katie walks out. You know I heard you that whole time.) ( You want to join in?) (Still had a spine? :P) * Satoshi lets go. "And there's just... there's nothing I can do, is there? Kaede and Haruko are better at arguing these things, and Katie's just totally determined." ( You could turn her brain to jelly! ) (I don't think I'm high-level enough. ;p) (Sure, she could stand up to people until !Katie. Remember that this is the person who punched !Saki. :P) (And besides, we're trying to kill Tenjirou for, uh, similar reasons. ;p) * Taki tries to keep leaning into Satoshi. "I'm sorry Satoshi... I'm not any good at it either... this is the only thing I can think of to do. The only one." (I need to draw up floorplans for the apartment and a layout of the building, apparently. ;p) (Heh, I've got a rough idea of how Taki's is, but I haven't exactly studies the building codes for Japanese apartment buildings. ^^;) I know you want to stand by her. I'm... happy you can, but... I know you have every right to want to kill Tenjirou. He didn't do that to me, but he did it to you, and I was there and I was angry... but I still don't know if I could bring myself to do it. * Satoshi chuckles humorlessly. "Although I certainly did a number on him that time. Last time we saw him, too." * Taki gives a small nod. "I... I don't want to find out if I can or not, but I'm going to unless Kaede and Haruko ... or Kyon come up with a miracle... or Katie sneaks out and finds him before I do or somebody else does it first. Thank you... thank you staying with me." * Satoshi sighs. "I'd... I'm half-tempted to go in your place, just so you wouldn't have to, but I don't think that would work out for either of us. Would it?" You... you don't want to go more than I do... but having somebody else there... one his power doesn't work on... * Taki shakes her head. "I'm not going to ask you to come." * Satoshi nods. "I... would have to think about it. A lot." * Taki swallows. "I... made up my mind ... a long time ago. I want to help Katie and I want to stop him... I can't begin to describe how it felt to not be in love with him any more." Not to be? (Haruko leaves a note by the door saying "Checking that Kaede's alright. Call me if there's trouble.") * Taki picks up her juice and takes a sip before she replies. "For... for a few minutes he... he was everything to me. The most important person in the world... the center of my existance... and then... suddenly there was nothing there." (In other news near critfials on soul rolls suck.) (Heh.) And since then? Since then... I've had you ... and Katie... It isn't the same... and for that I'm thankful... but ... but I still want to hurt him for doing that... to me, and kill him... for all the others. [Session End]