[Day: Thursday, February 27th. Time: 3:20 p.m.] [Weather: Sunny and chilly.] [Earlier today you had lots of fun with an illusionary rat! Then you went to the Tower Reversed to ask Kyon questions. That's where you are now.] [Session Start] * Taki watches Haruko as she opens the doors. * Katie sits and whittles away. * Haruko lies down on her stomach while holding the door open and sticks her head outside. * Satoshi leans back in a chair and watched Katie whittle. * Kaede eyes Kyon steadily, waiting for answer, leaning forward a bit in his chair. So...when was it, Kyon? * Kyon turns back to the window, and smirks. "No one's encountered Judgment." He jams a hand in his pocket. "At least, that's come back to say so." * Kaede frowns a little. "Hmm.." * Kaede sits back in his chair and adjusts his glasses a bit. "Why do you think I WANT to ask you questions in the first place, Kyon?" * Haruko flips over to lie on her back and stare up at the Tokyo. * Kyon shrugs. "Because I can tell what's going on around me. And you are my ally. And I should explain more." You say this is a war..you say it's been going on a long time...what's this war really ABOUT? * Taki watches Haruko for a bit and then looks at Tokyo through her window. * Satoshi continues to watch Katie, but listens very intently to Kyon and Kaede. * Haruko giggles softly, amused by the way her hair is falling up to the exposed sky. It's about the Band. And Judgment. And Sho. And Reiji, and me. It's about a lot. War isn't simple. * Haruko bends her head up to look at Kyon. "Perhaps you should just start to tell us about it then. I don't think I could pick the right questions." * Satoshi shakes his head. "No, it isn't." * Katie turns the wood in her hand, blows off some shavings, and starts on a different section. * Kaede frowns and looks up. "What about Sho and Reiji? I thought they were generally on the same side...well, not really, but you seem to both take to them in certain ways.." * Kyon cocks his head, and looks at Kaede sidewise. "Take to them?" * Haruko lets her head fall back and just listens while watching the city. Sho doesn't seem to be on your side..but you're not against him either, are you? * Kyon nods curtly. "He's on my side enough. For now." And so is Reiji..wouldn't that mean they're both on the same side..? * Kaede tilts his head. "It's a missing puzzle piece you're not filling in." * Kyon rolls his eyes, and nods quickly. "Was that even in question? They're both on the same side." He nods off at Haruko. "Maybe you should just let me." * Haruko smiles. Not that it's easy to see what with her head sticking out the door. * Taki sighs, "Start at the begining, continue untill the end, and then stop... Exept none of us know the begining and we haven't gotten to the end yet..." * Kaede takes a deep breath. "Don't be so condescending. It's easy to be smug when you have more answers that you're not letting on." And I've never thought of you as someone who takes the easy way out, Kyon * Kaede folds his arms and settles into his chair, closing his eyes. * Kyon smirks a bit more solidly, and looks out the window again. "The beginning? Got to Tokyo, and I already had an idea about who I was. Didn't know exactly where to start looking, though. Not much general information around." Who told you? * Kyon looks out at his bike, upside down. "Told me what?" Who I was? Got that on my own. * Kaede looks curiously at that. "How? The powers just showed out of the blue?" Something like fire I suppose is a little more obvious than, say, mine... ...Do you remember your previous life? * Kyon frowns slightly. "Could say that. They showed up, and I knew. Hard not to know." We should keep experimenting with those powers when Kyon's done. And even so...did you know you were Arcana? Did you know you were linked to a card..? * Kyon shakes his head quickly. "No previous life. And I knew I was something. I read occult books, looked around for it, but nothing matched up." * Katie keeps intently whittling. * Kaede nods and lets Kyon explain, thinking. * Taki looks out her window. [Taki sees the sky if she looks down, or the ground if she looks up.] * Kyon draws his hand up across the window pane. "There's a spiritual and magic shop near Shunyo. Went there a few times. Proprietor knew a lot about history of magic, myths, stories. * Taki looks up and twists around trying to see the top of the tower. Asked her a lot of questions. She was happy, finding someone who took that much of an interest. Is she still around? But she didn't know anything about this. Didn't work. * Kyon shrugs disinterestedly. "Don't know. Haven't gone there in a long time." Mmm... * Kyon smirks, and pulls his hand out of his pocket with the tarot deck in them. "These are hers, though." Ordinary tarot, ordinary practioner, extraordinary lives * Kyon barks a laugh. "Don't know how ordinary she was, but she wasn't helpful." That's too bad. Would've been nice to have somebody who might be able to fill us in on some history. So who DID finally help? One day, after going there, stopped down on the way back. Hungry. Went to the Pao Pao Cafe. * Kaede leans back and ahs. Now we're getting somewhere. * Katie glances up at Kyon and keeps carving. * Taki gives up on the top of the tower and focuses on Kyon. * Kyon smirks bemusedly. "Can't say much for the service. Almost seemed like the waitress was trying to keep me waiting there for as long as she could." * Haruko chuckles. "That's always annoying." Who knows? Maybe she was. * Kyon nods tersely. "I know. She was. She was waiting for her brother to show up. For me." Ahh. Kyoko and Reiji? * Kyon smirks. "Yeah. He'd told her that someone would be coming in that day, someone different. And she should keep them there till he could show up. Found that out later." So..he knew you were coming...a reading? * Kyon nods tersely. "Didn't know that when he got there, but yeah. He showed up after an hour, and sat at my table. Kyoko came over then, too." He smirks. "Very timidly, for her." * Haruko quietly talks to herself. "Wonder if any of those creepy slow waiters new I was an Arcana?" * Kaede sighs deeply and looks solidly at Kyon. "Just...how much is determined by those readings? How absolute are they...? * Kyon shrugs quickly. "Never known one to be wrong, if you get the interpretation right." * Kaede shakes his head quickly. "That can't be right..." But what if readings seem to contradict each other? It's just a wrong interpretation? * Haruko giggles. "Yeah, that's quite a caveat. Interpretation is everything." There's at least 5 things every card can stand for, and even more for each position they can have, so it shouldn't be too hard to find an way for them to match reality. * Kyon smirks. "It's all in the skill of the reader. The cards aren't wrong." * Kaede mutters harshly low under his breath. "Cards can't know anything..they can't control anything..." * Haruko yawns. "Let's hold the discussion of fate until after Kyon's told his story." * Kyon looks at the sky outside. "In this case, he got it right. And he explained the Arcana to me. Made sense enough, after what I'd read." He smirks. "He was surprised I had any hold of my powers at all." I assume at this point we know everything he told you. * Katie flicks an eye up to look at Kyon's smirking face, then goes back to silently carving. She's being awfully quiet. Most people don't get a hold on their powers until after they find out they're Arcana? * Kaede watches Katie carve. * Kyon shrugs. "Getting your powers to show can take work. So yeah, if you don't know what to work on, you don't." * Taki sighs, "And sometimes you just need them...and there they are..." * Taki leans against the cold window glass. * Haruko leans up and looks at Kyon. "So, are there any tricks to figuring out powers we don't know about?" Yeah, are there? I don't want to be surprised again... if I can help it. * Kyon regards Taki sidewise, and nods quickly. "Sometimes they get pressed out. And for the beginning info, you know the background he told me." As for techniques... getting new ones to show is hard. Honing ones you have already, that I know about. * Taki nods. So how do you hone ones you already have? Just practice using them? * Haruko shakes her head. "I don't know, I keep trying to move metal with my mind or teach motorcycles tricks and it hasn't worked yet." * Kaede waves at Satoshi and closes his eyes. "What did Reiji tell you exactly?" * Kyon shrugs at Satoshi. "I can show you how I worked on mine later. It's easier to show." That'd be really helpful. Thanks. So what happened next? * Kyon jams his hands in his pockets. "First, I was Arcana. So were he and Kyoko, and other people he knew. And others he didn't know yet. Picked out the cards for Kyoko, then him, then me." * Kaede sighs a little. "Mind skipping ahead a bit, Kyon? When does Sho fit into all this?" Aww... Let him tell it Kaede. We've waited a while, we can wait a little more. * Kaede looks at Haruko and narrows his eyes. "Tell what?" * Kyon rolls his eyes. "Want to go back to asking your own questions again? That'll take longer." The story of his life? The secret of the Arcana? If we let him talk we may find out. * Haruko shrugs and grins, "I dunno. That's why we should let him tell it." Fine Kyon...tell us what you think is important then...sheesh. * Katie speaks, though she doesn't look up, "Just keep going, Kyon." * Kaede blinks and looks over at Satoshi, keeping a steady eye on him. * Kyon shrugs. "Basically got what I told you, and he wanted me to join him. So did Kyoko. Pretty persuasive about it. And I didn't know any other people. So we joined up. Nearly 2 and a half years back now." * Satoshi blinks back at Kaede, and keeps listening to Kyon. * Haruko rests her weight on an elbow and grins. "Kaede, if you're bored we can experiment with your powers while we listen." * Kaede turns slowly towards Haruko. "Why would you think I'm bored...?" * Kaede 's keeping one eye oddly on Satoshi still. [The elevator doors open with a *ding!* and out walks Sho!] * Haruko shrugs. "Anxious or impatient then, I find its easier to be patient when there's something to distract-" * Taki lets out a small groan and stands up. * Satoshi turns towards the elevator. "Oh, no," he says quietly. * Sho peers around at everyone, a smug grin on his face. * Kyon turns more fully, now just resting against the sill. "Haven't seen you around in a while." * Kaede settles back into his chair, seeming somewhat exhausted/limp/hard to tell * Katie doesn't stop her whittling, which has taken on a much more delicate turn. * Haruko shifts her gaze to Sho but doesn't get up. I've been busy. So have you, according to the news. * Kyon smirks. "Didn't know you were following the news. Or keeping tabs on me." * Satoshi watches Sho, but doesn't say anything. * Sho smirks back. "I keep tabs on everything." So, involved in quite a battle, huh? Impressive. * Kaede watches Katie whittle from his lounging in the chair. It's very relaxing..I think. * Haruko watches Sho intently. Four deaths, too. * Kyon shrugs disinterestedly. "I punched a guy a few times. That's impressive for you? And we both know that's not what killed them." I know. It was the drug overdoses. * Katie smooths off some of the shavings and starts working on the rough edges, her knife flashing in the sunlight. You didn't get to them in time. * Satoshi says nothing and clutches the arms of his chair. Not too hard, yet. * Haruko abruptly sits up. "What could we have done? Is there a cure?" * Sho blinks. "A cure? Oh, you misunderstood me. I meant you didn't kill them before the drug did." * Katie frowns slightly at that, but still doesn't look up. What's the point of that? * Taki quitly walks over to Haruko and sits back down, "I'd rather have it that they didn't die at all." * Haruko scowls. * Sho peers at Kaede. "... The point?" * Satoshi clutches the arms of the chair tighter. He should probably start paying attention to that. Why would us killing them or the drug killing them be any different? Nothing, really. * Katie flicks her eyes up to Satoshi, then back down at her work. "" she says quietly in English. * Sho chuckles. "Something to put on your resume, I suppose." * Kyon shrugs. "Killing them before the drug did? Killing people out in the open with a yard full of witnesses doesn't make for good prospects on a resume. Then, that's what I meant...what's the point? That would depend on who you applied to. * Satoshi blinks and loosens his grip. It wouldn't be good to lose control now. * Kaede settles more upright in his chair, but quiets down and doesn't look like he wants to say much more. * Haruko stands up. "Pardon me but I'm not sure, have we met?" I don't remember. It's not really important, anyhow. * Haruko shrugs and leans on a wall next to the doors. * Kyon smirks. "Not important? Not like you to pass up an attempt at recruitment. Must be something big going down." You could say that. * Kyon rocks back and forth on his heels. "Going to share, then? What have you been doing?" The Emperor is returning soon. * Taki blinks. * Katie blinks at that. Now she looks up. * Sho smirks. "I knew that would get your attention." * Satoshi just stares at Sho. * Kaede watches Katie's reaction. He doesn't blink, he doesn't turn, doesn't move. * Kyon cocks his head. "Emperor. Anyone I know?" * Haruko smiles and speaks softly. "Returning, so not the Emperor.. Good." * Sho shrugs. "Maybe. He hasn't shown up yet." Unless he has. It's not important to me, but I figured you might want to work on your combat abilities. Perhaps you'll win his favor. Uhm...maybe you could tell us what he looks like, or maybe his name? That way we could know if we have met him. * Kyon smirks. "You know me. I'm always working. And why do we need his favor?" It's better than being his enemy, no? * Kaede isn't saying anything, no he isn't. * Kyon nods quickly. "And why should we be anything but neutral to him? You met him before?" No. Call it a hunch. So, are you willing to share any more information about this hunch? Who says I have any more? I just figured you'd want to be aware. With scenes like Tuesday's, I'm sure you'll catch his attention one way or another. * Haruko smiles slightly. "Well thank you then." Like we caught yours? * Satoshi mutters. "It's not like we were *trying* to catch anyone's attention." So...you don't know who the Emmperor is, why he's coming, but you have a hunch that he is...Thank you for warning us...I think. You wouldn't happen to have any hunches about who was behind that attack? * Kaede replies in a drone, monotone voice then goes back to his not-talking behavior. * Sho smirks as he steps back in the elevator. "You're Arcana. You'll catch attention no matter what." * Sho says, "None at all." Then the doors close. * Satoshi waits until the door closes. "Well, that was fun. The Emperor?" * Kaede lets out a deep breath after the doors close. "His brother was right. He IS more likeable..if only very slightly." * Katie watches Sho go. "Fun, yeah." She shifts, now sitting sideways on the chair, one leg sprawled across the armrest. She rubs at the carving with her thumb, then gets back to it. * Taki flops out, "Why can't he ever come with good news? Like "I'm moving to China and you'll never see me again." or "Congrats, you all got 100%s on your midterms?" Guess the Emperor may not be not Zein after all. * Katie snickers at Kaede's statement. * Satoshi blinks at Haruko. "You thought Zein was the Emperor?" I suspected it too. * Taki looks at the ceiling, "He does want to know about our combat abilities." Okay, what did I miss, then? * Haruko nods. "There was a reading or two that had judgment and the Emperor as adversaries." * Kyon shrugs quickly. "Good news from Sho is like, I'll be fighting with you tomorrow instead of against you." * Katie ignores the shavings that consistently land on her shirt. "And me, and Taki, and Satoshi. Yes." Oh. That reading. * Haruko grins darkly for a moment. "And Kyon's mention of good news reminds me. Uh... Cover your ears for a second Satoshi." * Taki blinks. Huh? Um... okay. * Satoshi covers his ears and looks away from Haruko. * Haruko looks at Katie. "Once you've got that wind thing down, if it comes to a fight here, you may be pretty unstoppable." * Kaede blinks oddly at Haruko and leans his head forward a little. Haruko....no. * Taki shivers a bit, "How are we going to get a fight here? And not say in the real tower..or the elevators?" * Haruko shrugs. "Sho would be an example. Regardless, it's far better as a bluff, although you'd have to be careful when demonstrating." * Katie looks up at Haruko. "Unstoppable, huh." * Haruko grins a bit darker. "Since your enemies already think your a murderer, you don't have to hurt anyone to show them they need to back off." It's kinda ironic, but whatever works. Unless the other person could fly...Let's just forget this whole train of thouht. Uh... what are you guys talking about? You don't want to know Satoshi, trust me. * Satoshi keeps his ears covered, but looks briefly at Haruko. That thought already came to me, yeah. They also want to kill me before I can make the lie, in most cases. * Kaede stares harder at Haruko. "No." * Katie turns her attention back to her carving. You don't change people by proving you're what they think. * Taki nods, "I don't think this would help at all." * Kyon leans back into the windowsill, and looks out again with a quiet, cool expression. * Haruko shrugs. "If its an emergency, she has a compelling threat available, which might be enough to let everyone get out of here alive. That's the real goal after all." I already knew that. * Katie pauses for a moment, then adds, "And leaving Satoshi out of the talk doesn't help things." ..why ARE you leaving Satoshi out of this? I don't think he really wants to think about people falling from great heights. And you think we do? * Kaede shakes his head and walks over to Satoshi, tugging on his arms to take them down. * Haruko frowns. "You can deal. Whatever... Go on Kyon." * Taki nods again, "If it happens, it happens, Let's not plan it out." So we're done now? ::walks over to Satoshi:: * Satoshi lowers his arms. "You guys done with whatever?" Yes...I'll tell you about it later...if you don't already know about it. Why would I know about it? It's a private thing, isn't it? * Kaede chuckles and shakes his head at Satoshi. "I was trying to be patient..really..." * Haruko shakes her head. "No, just trust me." * Kaede swivels around and goes back towards his seat. * Satoshi blinks at Kaede. "Um... okay." * Katie eyes Haruko for a moment. "It isn't." She takes a moment to change her grip on the knife and starts using the tip for her carving. * Taki shakes her head and sits down next to Satoshi. "Don't worry about it." * Haruko sighs and slips down the side of the wall, slouching when she hits the ground. Go on Kyon. * Satoshi frowns briefly, then shrugs. "Whatever. So, where were we?" * Kyon doesn't turn back. "I worked with Reiji for a while. And Kyoko. Met people. Like Sho. He came in about a year ago." Reiji found him, somehow. Brought him into the fold. At the time, we had a different problem, a different unknown we were working against. Reiji never checked his card? * Taki blinks, "Somehow I can't see him joining a group...trying to form one...but not joining." * Kaede blinks and pushes his glasses up a bit. What was the unknown? * Haruko folds her arms and leans closer to the wall. * Kyon shakes his head quickly, still looking out the window. "Sho wasn't like most of the other people. He definitely knew who he was and what he was. So he didn't need his card pulled. And he takes allies when he thinks he might need them. Like now, with Judgment." Ohh. So he's been at this for quite some time, then? * Kaede rubs his chin and looks blankly at the other wall, thinking. "But..it seems weird all the same. I would think you'd pull cards as a sort of introduction before you start working with someone..." Sho knows what both of you are, right? * Kyon turns his gaze over to his bike again. "Yeah. Don't know how long, though." He smirks. "Sometimes, you just have to take their word for it. Yeah, he knows who we are." I wouldn't take Sho's word for anything if it was posted up on a billboard with flashing lights. * Satoshi laughs. * Haruko sedately plays with her hair. * Katie snickers. I wouldn't belive him if he was telling me there was a bilboard, but that's beside the point. But go ahead, Kyon...what's the unknown? * Kyon snorts. "Trustworthy or not, he has power. You take the risk, sometimes." ...you don't take risks with power. That's just..stupid. * Kyon runs a hand through his hair. "There was something new around. It was breaking people, and we didn't know why. Someone I worked with, Yuuhai Fukamachi, it got him. Couldn't even tell us why, just that there were two people, and they said there were more. Breaking? Like... destroying their minds or something? That's... He was broken. Beaten down badly, burnt on his hands. He wasn't coherent at the time we found him. * Katie sets the knife down and digs into her satchel, pulling out a small strip of sandpaper. She gets to work with that. * Haruko shudders. * Kaede strongly emits an aura of ellipsis. ... * Kyon turns to Kaede with a cool look. "If you can get someone powerful against something like that, you do. It can be worth the risk." (Oooh! I wanna learn how to do that! ^_~) How could someone do a thing like that to another person..? It's...not ::shakes her head again:: ( Heh heh ) (Hone your powers, Satoshi. =P) I...suppose you're right... It's just wrong. But so are a lot of things. (Hey, Brett? How much CP for an aura of ellipsis? ^_~) So.. what happened? You beat them? ( 22 ) * Kaede sighs deeply. "You shouldn't need to call on unreliable power. But since when has the world listened to what "should" happen..?" (So You'll be able to affored them around part 200, not to shabby :P) ( Somewhat offset by the fact that it raises your gender of choice magnet defect through the roof. If FF can be trusted." ( Which it can't :P ) (Okay, gotta save up my points, then. And my Girl Magnet is automatically countered by my Physically Unappealing. ;p) * Kaede looks at his hands and shakes his head, irritated. * Kyon looks back out the window. "We searched for a long time. Readings, footwork, information wherever we could get it. Didn't turn up much for a month." (I think your Physically Unappealing isn't working... ::pulls off Satoshi's scar mask to reveal a bishi::) * Katie nods, puts the sandpaper aside, and picks up her knife again. (It's so true. Everyone loves you, Satoshi. I'm waiting for Sho to drop his guard and hit on you.) (Ack, my secret has been revealed!) (*cracks up*) ...Then what happened? * Kyon shrugs. "Me and Reiji, we ran two spreads counter to each other. Mine was eighteen cards, his was 24. Lots of detail. Just scouring it, hoping to find something." * Haruko puts her right hand on the floor, palm down. "Uh huh?" We followed up our leads, and a couple of them went through. Found out where they were, their numbers. Seven of them. Followed the group once myself, trying to find a time they were apart. They the band? Seven, huh? Is there some sort of significance to that number? * Kyon smirks. "Yeah. The Band. Not that we knew that before then. They were new, and powerful, and seemingly merciless." So is this when the war started? * Kyon shrugs quickly. "Could say that. These were the roots." They were...but, but...Half of them seem to be nice.... * Haruko nods. "Wish Sumire would email me." He said 'seemingly'. * Kyon shrugs. "I don't know who did the violent stuff. Just knew that's who it was. I tracked them well enough, found a time they were split up, and we went in after them. To try talking." So..the Band knows you...no wonder you didn't want to see them. * Taki sits and waits to find out what happened. * Kyon blows out a breath against the window. "Reiji, Kyoko, Sho, Matthias, some other people... we split the tasks up according to who could handle what. I drew Tenjirou and Senshirou." * Katie snorts at Tenjirou's name. Senshirou... we haven't met him yet, have we? * Taki checks the list that Katie gave her, "Doesn't look like it." * Haruko shakes her head, and continues to play with her hair with her other hand. * Kaede looks at the wall, his face remarkably not registering any reaction to Tenjirou. * Kaede changes gaze to the window..pretty window. * Satoshi does *not* look out the window. Scary window. The sky's not supposed to be there. Supposedly Senshirou is creepy. Although it'd be difficult to be more creepy than Tenjirou. * Kyon snorts. "Don't think you have. And Tenjirou and Senshirou are creepy in different ways." What's he like? Anything we should know? What's creepy about Senshirou, and I'm sorry for dragging you off topic agian. He was... soft voice, quiet, unassuming, but he fought hard. Something about how it felt around him. Wouldn't surprise me if he was their torturer. They, they have a torturer? Torturer? * Satoshi looks profoundly disturbed. * Katie doesn't look up. "Someone had to break people." * Kyon looks back out the window. "Seemed capable of it, anyway." He runs a hand through his hair. "Someone among them had to break people. They did it." He smirks, and looks sidewise at Katie. * Taki shakes her head, "The more I learn about the band...the less sence they make." * Katie doesn't look back, working intently at her carving, her knife flashing in the light. It's taken a very definite, smooth shape by now. * Kaede doesn't turn his head towards Kyon either, his eyes somewhat glossed over. "What is the Band after anyhow? Besides taking out Judgement." * Kyon shrugs disinterestedly. "Don't know. They never did say. Just wanted them to stop what they were doing. Get through to them enough that they'd change their ways some." Did it work? ...They seem to have stopped. * Kaede speaks evenly, but only appears half-listening. "You can't really change people without understanding their motives either.." Everything will just come back to what it was. * Kyon smirks. "Worked well enough. We got them off-guard. It wasn't that hard to beat my two." * Haruko pushes herself up a bit using the hand she'd placed on the ground. She slowly sets about standing up. * Taki looks up at Kyon, "How did you keep Tenjirou from..." * Kaede speaks evenly. "He's not a girl." * Kyon barks out a laugh. "Do I look like a girl to you?" No, but if he was desperate enough... So you beat them, and then what? Obviously they're still together. Then all the more reason to keep him caged. Yeah, have they stopped the attacks? * Kyon shrugs. "But he kept managing to get in Senshirou's way during the fight, which made it easier for me." * Kaede 's still looking at the window...his fingers are gripping the armrest tightly though, knuckles almost white. * Kyon shrugs. "They toned back after that. They know we're still here, and still powerful enough if they start again." * Haruko stands up and opens her eyes. "Well done then." Mmm. But the war's still going. And now there's a new player...Judgement. * Kyon nods curtly. "Yeah. And we all have problems with that." Do we ever. And so the truce falls apart. We might be able to put it back together, but only after figuring out who Judgement is and what they want, but that's the entire problem. A faceless, seemingly random enemy, who has a lot of power supposedly... So, can we do some of those giant tarot spreads. Figure stuff out? * Kaede frowns. "...but why does Judgement prey on who it does..?" [Session End]