[Taki and Satoshi wait in the Tower Lobby for Akemi.] * Taki looks around for seats or benches or anything of that sort. "I should have asked her how long it would take to get here." * Satoshi finds a place to sit. "Probably not more than a half hour." * Taki nods and sits on the bench they found. "Giving up old habits is harder than I thought it would be. I keep finding new reasons to do the same things." Like what? * Taki looks in Satoshi's general direction but doesn't focus on him. "Before, I would have volunteered to put the field up because it would be a way for me to help, and a way for me not to have to deal with things for a while. Now I am doing it because it needs to be done. If there was anybody else that I could think of to ask, I would. I didn't think to write powers down on my list." * Satoshi nods. "I remember Toshiki could use them. But I don't think he's the kind to do it to be helpful. Not even to save ourselves. Well he'd probably fight to save us. He'd fight for most anything. Unfortunatly, this isn't something that can be done with fists. ( Says you. ) ( Get like Kenshiro out there or something and he'll beat up the ebil. ) (He's going to punch the tower untill it lets him into the world reversed?) (Open it with shear manlyness?) No. I wouldn't put it past him to try though. Do you have his number? ( Lu Bu could do it! ) No, I don't think so. Obsessively collecting numbers was more Haruko's thing. Saki might though. * Taki digs out her phone and starts scrolling through numbers to find Saki. * Satoshi looks a little surprised by Taki's initiative. He doesn't comment though. * Taki finds it and dials. [Saki answers, "Yeah?"] * Taki speaks into the phone. "Hello, this is Taki. I need to find another person who can put up fields. Do you know any that might help us?" ["What for?"] Getting into the world reversed. * Satoshi watches and looks a bit impressed. [There's a pause, then, "Maybe."] Is that a maybe we'll have to do crazy things to get help or maybe but the person hates us, or maybe you would rather not get the person involved? If it's the first one, I want to know who it is. * Satoshi nods. That's sensible. ["I know a guy.... or more like I know a guy who knows a guy. Just not very well."] We might know one of them. ["I don't know about that. The guy I know lived in Hiroshima, way back when."] * Taki blinks. "That doesn't help. Did Toshiki ever manage to give you his phone number? Satoshi says he has a field." I'm fairly certain. There was that fight in the dark right here. [You can almost hear her rolling her eyes over the phone. "You think that guy will do it?"] * Taki shakes her head. "No, but he might want to fight Sho, and this will probably make him angrier. It is the best idea I have right now." * Satoshi nods. "It's a good thought." [Saki sighs. "Dammit. That the best you can do?"] * Taki gives Satoshi a blank look for a moment and then responds to Saki. "I could do it, but I will probably need to be awake and mobile afterwords. We are running out of time." ["Dammit."] I will search for better replacements if you don't think I'll be able to get his help. ["Look... If I contact him... IF.... then you owe me. You owe me big."] * Taki shakes her head. "No, I contact him. Not you." ["You think he'll listen to you?"] I don't know yet. Hmm.. Soleil might have had one too. * Taki gives Satoshi another blank look and then covers the phone. "Do you have her number?" * Satoshi nods and gets out his phone. "Want me to call?" Yes. * Satoshi dials Soleil. * Taki uncovers the phone. "Satoshi has remembered another person. With any luck we won't need Toshiki." [Soliel sends a text message: "Hello, I am in class right now."] * Satoshi replies. First, good news. We found Fuyuko. She's out of it but safe now. ["Oh, that is good."] Soleil's texted me back. She's in class. [Saki: "Good. I'd prefer not to deal with that guy if I can help it."] * Satoshi replies again. * Taki speaks to the phone. "I understand. Unfortunately I may have no choice." [: ] [Saki: "If it comes to that..."] I won't give him anything from you. This is why I wanted to know if you knew anybody else. [: {foreign word}, of course i can lol. when do u need?"] [Saki: "I can try to get in touch with my friend's grandson."] * Taki blinks. "Your friend is still alive?" ["Yeah."] ["I've never met his grandson, though, but I've heard he's like us."] * Taki rubs her head. "I think there was something important about the survivors, but I can't remember what it was. Could you ask them to call me?" [: ] ["Them? If you want, but they're not exactly in good shape right now."] They wern't involved with yesterday, were they? [: ] * Satoshi mutters to himself. "Glad I checked." [: ] [Saki: "Who are you talking about?"] Your friend and his grandson. Forgive me for my confusion. Why arn't they in good shape? [ "ok. c u soon."] Thx. She'll come straight from school. [Saki: "Thought you meant those guys you rescued. I can pass along my friend's number, but I don't know what he'd have to say."] I will find out. ["Alright." She gives a number. "His name's Masahiro Tonoma."] * Taki puts that number into her phone. "Do you remember which card he had?" * Satoshi relaxes a bit on the bench while Taki finishes up. ["No. He doesn't know what card his grandson has. Or even what we are, exactly. He just knows his grandson does weird things and I've been around for years."] Ah. I was confused again. I thought your friend was also one of us. ["Not him. His grandson."] That makes more sense. Thank you. ["Right."] I will talk to you later. * Taki hangs up the phone... and then just stares at it. * Taki doesn't seem to be paying any attention to Satoshi when she mutters. "That should have frightened me out of my mind." Talking to Saki? * Taki blinks and then contines. "I've been terrified of her since I first met the fake her. Meeting the real one didn't do much to change that. I could hardly think when I had to go get her. And now I can bully her over the phone." * Satoshi glances at his phone to see if Soleil replied and then replies to Taki. "Do you know why you stayed scared? Is it that those initial fights were bad enough that even looking like !Saki was too much?" She seemed like an all powerful demon. She eats people who are as powerful as I am and beat up the illusionary Shingo. For a long time I thought that they were the same person. * Satoshi nods. Even real Saki can be pretty scarily powerful. She is. * Taki shakes her head. "It is a very different world than I thought I knew." Yeah. And sometimes it seems like it keeps changing. * Taki looks at Satoshi. "One of the reasons I liked you was that you didn't change." * Satoshi nods. He doesn't really have anything to say to that. * Taki shrugs. "We've both changed now." Then she puts the phone away. [End]