[Day: Thursday, April 14th. Time: 3:30 p.m.] [Weather: Rainy.] [You're in Satoshi's apartment. Woo.] [Session Start] (Brett, as always, is the master of description.) * Haruko sits and awaits the story of what happened yesterday. * Satoshi sighs. "Well, the essence of it is this: we leave Tenjirou and his group alone, he leaves us alone." * Taki is slumped in one of Satoshi's chairs and listens. * Kaede taps his fingers as he looks at the screen of his laptop. It's taking a while to search, so he looks as if at least a quarter of his attention is on the conversation at hand. He leans his fingers against his temples and tap taps his skull, staring at the screen. * Katie is still curled in the easy chair. Her eyes are closed. She looks like she might be dozing off. Shika was... well, she doesn't care, basically. She's immune to Tenjirou's powers and she's his friend, so she basically is willing to let him do as he pleases, unless he comes after us again. Then she won't interfere with us, at least. * Katie says, softly and without opening her eyes, "She's a bitch." Yep. * Haruko frowns at what Satoshi said and mutters to herself "Pig." She then looks up to Satoshi and nods. "That's about the impression I got. Wh... what happens if he does come again? Then I think she'll deign to let us defend ourselves. And anyone we know. To an extent. * Kaede sighs, staring blankly. "I don't see how she can support him. But a lot of things...a lot of people...don't make sense." * Katie shudders and curls tighter. * Haruko nods. "With our luck she'd probably arrive at a moment to make us look bad. If we do fight him again, we need to make sure he can't turn it against us." * Haruko then smiles very slightly. "But I should add, good job getting her agree not to interfere in that case." * Taki starts to shake her head and say something, but winds up just nodding. Although we've probably got to have a very large burden of proof that he was the one instigating it. It will probably be on our turf. That will help. ::she thinks for a moment:: Kaede should probably tape it. We could use the backup and he's not the type to guard what he says when he doesn't think anyone that matters is listening. * Haruko glances to Kaede to see his opinion of her idea. (Kaede might not have heard you. ;p) * Taki blinks at Haruko. "I...if he's even there." * Haruko nods and frowns. "We could take other measures. We've got two recorders now. Anyways, what else happened?" * Kaede types, one key at a time, tapping the keyboard. "We don't...we don't really know the extent of her abilities, do we?" (And no, Kaede didn't hear Haruko yet ;P) Yusuke doesn't seem to bear us any malice. He seemed almost apologetic. Almost. But he's still very much on Shika's side. * Katie puts her face against her knees. * Kaede then looks up momentarily from his computer. "Taping...I could. Tenjirou doesn't know about my powers that I can think of. The thing is, would he really say anything incriminating?" * Haruko snorts. "Yusuke's a bastard too in his own way, but yes, he follows Shika from what I saw." She looks to Kaede. "I think he would. He's full of bravado when he thinks he can win." Though I'm not sure if I'd have to physically touch it for it to work.. * Haruko nods. "Huh, good to know. Still, we don't know which of us will be there, so might be best if you had one anyways." * Kaede pushes up his glasses and stops typing for a moment, folding his legs. "If he has a field up, it won't matter. It'd *have* to be me." * Haruko looks puzzled for a moment and then nods. "Ah, you mean you couldn't just have it in a pocket. Well, let me think about that. We could strap it to your arm or something. But not critical right now." * Haruko looks back to Satoshi. That's it, basically. Shika's an uncaring bitch, Yusuke's nuts but isn't out to get us, and Akemi wanted to smooth things over but it'd take a miracle at this point to do that. I want to talk to Akemi later... see what we can do... * Taki sighs and manages to slump further. * Katie says, quietly, "Natsuko's crazy." * Kaede sighs and uncrosses his legs, settling his laptop back down again and looking at it intently. "I feel so bad for involving her though..." She didn't seem to mind, Kaede. But I don't think she realized how bad things were. * Haruko looks at Katie. "Unrequited love will do that." Haruko's glance flits over to Kaede for a moment but she doesn't comment. She then looks back on Katie. "Are you going to keep trying?" * Katie sniffs from her safe spot curled, her face hidden behind her knees and hair. "Crazy. Not a victim. Went with Senshirou to 'test' us, remember? Helped with kidnapping." * Haruko frowns on that and awaits Katie's answer. "That was stupid and wrong of her. But fairly standard as far as Arcana behavior goes." Then Arcana are evil. I... Not all of them. * Taki shakes her head. "I... don't want to belive we're evil... I've met the evil you... You... aren't her, Katie." * Katie doesn't seem interested in answering. I think it's a little hard to make a dividing line of evil and good at this point... * Haruko doesn't look fazed by that. "Maybe most of us are sorta evil. My bet is they adapted Oni magic or something when they made us." She glances at Taki for a moment and then back at Katie. "There's different levels of evil though. Most Arcana are just selfish bastards that are willing to be complicit in evil when they feel they or what they care about are threatened. They can be managed." But the powers don't make you normal. I'm sure of that. And I'm not just talking about the effects of the powers themselves... * Satoshi looks at Kaede. "Mind explaining that more?" * Haruko looks like she has further questions for Katie, but for now she pauses and turns to Kaede with interest. * Taki doesn't seem at all interested in saying anything more. * Kaede glances at Satoshi. "It needs explanation? We're not normal. *They're* not normal. No matter what we try to do, we've seen or heard too much..." Any of you ever wonder how Kyon ended up as he did? As he did? Did. Is. Same thing. * Haruko shrugs. "He adapted." Is it that simple, Haruko-san? * Kaede glances at Haruko. "And how will you adapt? How will Satoshi? Do you want to go down that road? Does it really *matter* if you want to or not?" * Haruko looks to Kaede. "It does matter what I want." Her voice saddens. "It may well kill me." She closes her eyes. "Or those I'm trying to protect." She re-opens them. "But I choose how far is too far, no cards can take that from me." * Taki starts to shake her head and say something, but winds up just nodding. * Satoshi sighs. Really now... You think you can escape fate... just hide away if you don't like it.... Did she say she was going to hide? * Katie very doesn't comment. She stays curled in her little ball. * Haruko nods. Her voice is stronger. "That's how my predecessor died. It will likely be how I die. I can't control outcomes, but I can control my behavior." * Kaede shakes his head at Satoshi's comment and pushes his glasses up his face. "You just don't get it...do you? Or maybe you do, and you've just...accepted it. I don't." * Satoshi looks confused. * Haruko glances to Kaede. "I've made my choices. If you reject what we are I can quite respect that. It may mean you'll see an opportunity where I don't. What's important is that we don't lose ourselves, whatever our choices." Some of us already have... * Haruko 's gaze shifts over to Katie. "What's next for you Katie?" * Katie shrugs. Are you going to keep trying to hunt him? * Katie lets out a long sigh. No. * Haruko nods. "Why not?" Made a deal. Gonna follow it. * Satoshi closes his eyes and sighs in relief. * Taki makes an effort to sit up. "Tha... that's... I don't know if I ... frightend or relived." * Haruko nods. "And you made the deal because Shika and Yusuke are powerful enough that hunting Tenjirou is more dangerous than leaving him be for now?" * Katie shrugs. Then why? I don't- * Kaede takes a deep breath and looks back at his screen. "Don't try to rationalize it." * Haruko glances to Kaede and nods. "Doesn't have to be rational. But if it's instinctual or emotional, I'd still like to know why." * Katie is silent as they speak, then tries again: "I just want it to go away." * Haruko nods and thinks for a moment. ( "Well, why didn't you just say so?" *goes to Hawaii.* ) (... I'd buy him the ticket.) (I think we'd *all* pay for that.) * Kaede stops typing for a moment and then looks at Katie for a while without comment before speaking softly. "Me too, Katie Andrews... me too..." Do you believe in fate Katie? I mean for Arcana. As something that's a highly powerful force in our lives? * Katie shifts and looks at Haruko, resting her cheek on her knees. Her face is wet, and her eyes are red. "Depends." Well, I guess I'll give both options then. If you think the wheel of fortune drawing us to Tokyo can be overcome, you can run. I'll do our best to look after your parents and ::Haruko glances away for a moment:: I'm sure I could get any money you need ::She looks back:: There's enough highly undeserving types out there. * Taki blinks uncomprehendingly at Haruko. (Right, we just have to find which farm Ben is living on and then airmail Katie to him. Brilliant plan.) (I don't think he was a farm boy.) (Haruko wouldn't do it if he was. Sort of defeats the point of the plan) (I bet he's from somewhere around Indianapolis.) (My bad.) (Or at least a reasonably urban area. You know the midwest isn't ALL farms. Just mostly. ;P) (He can be from South Bend! Hee. Okay, enough of that.) (And I prove that I am a geek by first thinking "Ben" == Obi-Wan Kenobi. ;p) (Ha, we need him.) * Katie blinks at Haruko, too, also without much comprehension. Nowhere is perfectly safe. But there are places that are a lot safer than Tokyo. You've had it worse than any of us, if you can't handle it any more than it's better to run than lose yourself completely. If you think Arcana's fate can be in good part overcome at least. 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Kaede (2d6) and gets a natural 5 for a result of 5. 2d6+4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Kaede (2d6+4) and gets a natural 7 for a result of 11. * Katie blinks again, slowly, then says, "Won't leave you." I... she... I... even... What would we? * Haruko shakes her head. "Don't stay to protect us. I'd bet every one of us would rather have you safe than with us, even though we'd miss you dearly. If you stay, stay for yourself." I won't leave you. (Oh, the drama) 2d6+3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Kaede (2d6+3) and gets a natural 10 for a result of 13. (You have no idea what sort of crap Katie's gone through. ;P) * Haruko just looks at Katie for a few seconds before continuing. (Read the logs! If you DARE!) (Waiting to see if anyone's interjecting... ;P) (You guys should send this to a soap opera.) * Kaede shakes his head. "It's useless...we have to go back..." Go back? ( Good luck trying to get out of Tokyo :P ) ("I won't leave you!!" "Oh, Kaede!") (It would be, frankly, the smartest thing to do.) (Hey, we left once!) (Katie doesn't yell.) (Haruko's arguing it for a reason. It requires going against fate, but that may well be less risky than the alternatives.) To the World Reversed. At some point, yes. I don't see how that matters at the moment though. * Kaede rubs his head. "But we can't risk Akemi again to do it either...arrgh, this is such a chore.." * Taki shakes her head. Answers. Answers are always important. (I think you just made the right choice Kate. >.<) And we'll find the answers there? ... Winston? * Kaede nods. "That's part of it..." * Haruko nods. "But answers aren't going to purge the evil. Not quickly anyway." She looks back to Katie. "Alright, on the other side, I think some of us are." Her tone gets fairly bitter "Protected by fate. Not our wellbeing, not what we care about, just our lives. And it's doubtless temporary." * Kaede points at his computer screen. "The other thing....is this watcher." The thing at the crossroads, right? * Kaede leans back and says solemnly to himself. "Protected..." * Katie hugs herself. "Not gonna rely on 'fate'." * Taki shakes her head. "It... It's not very good protection..." * Haruko shakes her head. "You shouldn't, but you may need to account for it in your plans. I'm protected, you're protected, Tenjirou's protected. By all rights the three of us should be long dead." Her tone stays bitter. "Now ours of course will expire at some key moment, but when we make our plans we need to realize that when we run against fate, things will be much harder." * Kaede look sat Satoshi and nods. "Right." * Taki shakes her head again and slumps. * Kaede then glances at Haruko and just stares...then starts snickering. * Katie doesn't. She doesn't look like she quite gets it. ... what? * Kaede starts out softly. "Protected?" He then stares at her more forcefully. "*Protected?* You call this 'protected?'" * Haruko glances to Kaede. "Just lives. Nothing else." The fates aren't that fickle. It doesn't make any *sense*. There's nothing to be protected *for*." * Haruko looks back to Katie. "You aren't planning now anyways, so it doesn't matter. But I think being an Arcana might be like being in a river with a powerful current. Sometimes, like with that crazy rich guy, one confrontation and its over. Sometimes fate seems to have longer term purposes for one of us so it keeps us around. I don't know where the currents are going, but we need to watch them and pick our battles." * Katie shifts, uncurling, then stands and stumbles over to the kitchen. * Haruko sighs and glances to Kaede, awaiting further retort. Can I get juice, Satoshi? * Taki shifts when Katie stands, but then slumps right back down when she heads for back of the apartment. * Satoshi looks over. "Sure. Glasses are in the cabinet to your left, and there's orange and apple juice in the fridge." 'kay. * Katie enters THE FRIDGE. Er, kitchen. * Kaede just shakes his head and closes his laptop before standing up. "I'm going to go see if I can get in touch with Akemi..." * Haruko nods and speaks in a fairly resigned but not surprised tone. "Maybe that doesn't matter anyways." She lets Katie get juice without interruption * Taki looks over at Kaede, but doesn't say anything. * Haruko glances over to Satoshi. "Any thoughts to add?" * Satoshi shakes his head. * Katie doesn't return from the kitchen. * Katie must be hiding in a cupboard or something. * Haruko glances over to the kitchen. (The fridge ate her.) ( :9) * Kaede takes his stuff and heads out since no one's objecting. * Satoshi waves to Kaede as he goes. "Later, Kaede." (What's she see of the kitchen?) (She should be able to see most of it if she leans forward.) * Haruko does lean forward a bit while waving to Kaede without looking. * Katie is sitting on the counter, cup of juice in hand, and looking into the distance. By that, really, nothing. * Taki slowly turns her head to look at Satoshi. "So... we're done?" * Haruko stands up and then pauses for a moment. I guess? (Wait, I forgot to ask a very important question. What kind of juice?) (Chicken juice) (Mmm.) * Taki starts to struggle out of the chair and then changes her mind and curles in it instead. "W....would you mind if I took a nap ...before I go home?" Not at all. * Haruko walks over to Katie. "There's a good chance I won't follow you for some time, at least not until I know where you draw your lines on protecting yourself and us, maybe I never will again. But I do believe in you and I'll do what I can for you. That won't change even if when I'm not following." * Katie blinks. She turns her head a bit to look at Haruko, then blinks again. Okay. * Taki puts her head down on one of the chairs arms and yawns slightly. "Thanks... Satoshi." Rest well. * Haruko puts a hand on Katie's free hand. Hard to hug someone when they sit on a counter with juice. "Just remember that. I can't make it go away, but I'll do my best to make it not quite so bad." * Taki murmurs something and closes her eyes. * Katie sighs, then looks down at her juice. Orange juice, for the record. "It just... is." * Haruko nods. "And it is evil. And it will change us for the worse even if we change it for the better. And it may even kill us. But we don't have to lose ourselves to it." * Katie shrugs. "I don't really believe in fate." * Haruko smiles. "Maybe that's for the best. Just remember what I said, only stay if it's for you." [Session End]