[Weather: Sunny, and hot, hot, hot. You'd think it was summer.] [Kyon and Kyoko have checked into the Longxing hotel. The flight over was smooth, but when they arrived it was already late, so they spent the night. Now, it's the next morning. Time to track down a missing brother.] [Session (Mini? I dunno) Start!] * Kyon sits outside, finishing up breakfast and reading a Chinese newspaper, seeing if there's anything potentially relevant or just interesting in general. * Kyoko is nearby Kyon. She's dressed in a skirt and a short-sleeved pink short, and has a sun-hat. She looks kind of pale, as she has for some time, and trembles every so often. But all things considered, she seems a slight better than she had been back at the apartment. ( The only solution is to combine into Kyonko! ) [The newspaper doesn't seem to say much of anything revelant; nothing about missing insane Japanese high school students.] (Thank you. Now you have me thinking of the Arcana Sentai Team.) * Kyon folds up the newspaper, and looks up at her. He's wearing a light grey t- shirt, a pair of dark blue whiskered jeans, and a dark blue baseball cap. "Should probably eat." ( Pentacles! Wands! Swords! Cups! ... uh, Misc! By your powers combined, I am Captain Arcana! ) (Misc is a Major Arcana!) * Kyoko nods slowly. "Alright." * Kyon looks down at his bag next to him, then reaches down, rummages through it, and pulls out his cards. "Get whatever you want. Going to be a long day." * Kyoko nods, going over to a nearby stand. She looks like she has trouble deciding on what to order, though, as though she has little appetite. * Kyon watches her briefly, then shrugs quickly to himself, and shuffles a few times. * Kyon shuffles once more with finality, takes a deep breath, blinks a few times slowly, then lays the first card out in front of him. [The Eight of Cups!] * Kyon looks at it almost impatiently, then breathes softly in and out a few times before laying out the next card diagonally up and to the right of the first. [Kyon's next card is the Ace of Swords.] * Kyon cocks his head and looks at that for a few seconds. He glances up to make sure that Kyoko hasn't run off or killed anyone, then does his rhythmic breathing again before laying the next card to the right of the first and below the second. * Kyoko hasn't. She appears to be ordering a raisin bagel and some coffee. [Kyon's next card is the Star.] * Kyon looks pensive briefly, then puts the next card below the third. [The fourth card is the Page of Pentacles.] * Kyon thinks about that for a second, then flips the last card and puts it to the right of the third. [The Sun.] * Kyon sits back and looks over the spread, eyes narrowed. * Kyoko comes back about then. She looks down at the spread and trembles a bit. * Kyon looks up at her. "Get what you want?" * Kyoko sits down. "I guess. You?" * Kyon gestures curtly over the spread. "Close enough." * Kyoko nods. She forces herself to take a bite of the bagel. * Kyon reaches out with one hand and taps the Page. "Young, wise, organized, down to earth. Step 1." * Kyoko nods. * Kyon surveys the cards one more time, as if committing them to memory, and then looks up at Kyoko. "Going to eat that if we get moving, or should I wait?" * Kyoko shakes her head and stands up. * Kyon scoops up the cards, reaches down, jams them in his bag, and then stands up smoothly. He picks up the bag, and looks at her sidewise. "Don't get lost." He then walks out into the crowd, heading for the nearest university. * Kyoko follows. She stumbles a bit once, but manages not to spill anything. (She's doing a good job, then!) [The nearest university is Mingzhen U. It spans about 6 blocks, featuring a nice campus with architecture remniscient of ancient China.] ( Actually, more like 8 blocks @_@ ) * Kyon looks around appreciatively, then looks around to see if there's a campus map or such that would show where the faculty buildings are. [There happens to be one! Complete with a "You are here" dot!] * Kyoko coughs a few times. * Kyon glances at her quickly, then looks at the path to the buildings and heads off! While making sure Kyoko is sticking along, of course. * Kyoko does! [Kyon arrives at the main building, Ming Zhao hall.] * Kyon heads to the reception desk and looks for the person there! [There is one. A Chinese woman in her early fourties.] * Kyon looks down at her, and bows. "Excuse me. Could you direct me to the international student advisor's office?" The woman looks up, somewhat surprised. "International...? Sure. One second. She disappears behind a cubicle wall and conducts dark rituals, or maybe looks in some files, and returns with a small card bearing the guy's name, location, number, and all the good stuff. "Here you are."] * Kyon takes it, and bows again. "Thank you very much." He looks at the card to see where he should go, then. [Room 322!] * Kyon looks around the halls to find the stairs, and, assuming they're not really hidden, heads on up, making sure Kyoko's still in tow. * Kyoko is! She follows along, trembling a bit. * Kyon checks the advisor's name as he heads on up. [Chenghao! (Why should I come up with another name? :P)] (Good question! In that case, though, the name should have been Katie Takeuchi.) ( watch it, or I'll just name the rest of the Chinese people Sum Gai. ) (Heh. Just joking. ^_^) (...) * Kyon hopefully arrives at the office, and knocks on the door (assuming it's closed). [It is. But there's some shuffling around, and it's opened by Mr. Chenghao. He's a pudgy, short man in his late 40s, with a thick mustache and a balding head. He looks Kyon and Kyoko over before asking. ">Yes? Can I help you?<"] * Kyon bows quickly, and asks in Chinese, ">Are you the exchange student advisor?<" ">Yes, that's me.<" * Kyoko shudders a bit. * Kyon bows again. ">I'm Sorata. I'm looking into attending here as an exchange student. Do you have some time for me to ask questions about your school?<" * Kyon looks back at Kyoko briefly, then looks back to the professor. He brightens a bit. ">Oh, certainly.<" He holds the door open. ">Come right in.<" * Kyon heads in, and gestures curtly for Kyoko to follow. ">Thanks.<" He looks for a likely place to sit. [Conveniently, there's two chairs in front of his desk. Chenghao gestures for you to take them before moving around and taking his own behind the desk. ">So, Mr. Sorata, what can I help you with?<"] * Kyon sits down, places his bag next to him, and leans back a bit, jamming one hand into his jeans pocket. ">Well, I'd like to further my study of Chinese and Chinese culture, and I've heard that the program here is quite good. That you have a lot of young and talented professors who are very enthusiastic about teaching.<" ( >"Where'd you hear that? All our professors suck."<) (">Including me. I'm terrible.<") [He nods. ">I see. Yes, we do have some rather dedicated professors. What specifically are you interested in?<"] * Kyon leans forward, looking eagerly at the teacher. ">Many different things. Business, science, literature... a jack of all trades, you could say.<" [">I see, I see... Well, we offer an extensive course in the ancient works. Doctor Lao Zhen and Professor Yin Chao would be the ones to talk to about the business and science aspects.<"] * Kyoko gives Kyon a questioning look. * Kyon nods quickly. ">Is it safe to assume that they're all older professors, then?<" [He nods. ">Both are well accomplished in their fields, I assure you.<"] [Says the guy again :P] * Kyon looks back at Kyoko for a second, and then turns back to Mr. Chenghao. ">I certainly believe you, and I would be honored to study with them. But I also find that it helps to find a younger professor to bond with, as well. Have you any likely candidates that I could work with there, as well?<" [He considers. "Ching Yin has only been with us for two years, and Shen Lai four. They're both around thirty.<"] * Kyon nods quickly again. ">Thank you. I don't want to take up too much of your time, so let me ask. If there's anything you think someone should know about studying abroad at your school, what would it be?<" [He chuckles. ">Learn Chinese?<" He laughs a bit, but then stops. ">But in all seriousness, we offer some of the highest quality education in Beijing.<"] * Kyon leans back again, and nods curtly. ">That's why I'm interested. All right. If you could give me some brochures, I'd be grateful, and I'll get out of your way. Oh, and if you could tell me where I could the professors you mentioned, as well, so I could introduce myself.<" [He nods and fetches some brochures. He also dictates the locations of the professors, writing the information down on scrap paper. He's so helpful.] * Kyon takes them, stands up, and bows gratefully. ">Thanks for your time. I appreciate it.<" [He nods. ">I'll be looking forward to seeing you again.<" He holds out his hand for a handshake.] * Kyon shakes it firmly. ">Right. Thanks again.<" He picks up his bag, turns smartly, and heads out into the hallway, again making sure Kyoko is coming along. * Kyoko follows. Once they get far enough away, she asks, "Kyon, wh-" it's broken by a coughing fit. * Kyoko finishes onces she stops coughing: "What are you doing here?" * Kyon turns around and looks down at her. "Finding people who are young, wise, and disciplined. Good a place to start as any." Why? First part of solution was the Page of Pentacles. We know Reiji's here. Cards say that's the way to go. Don't have any better leads, so we go with what we have. I guess... Are you sure, though? * Kyon shrugs quickly. "Could be reading it wrong. But it's what I have. Got a better idea?" * Kyoko shivers a bit. She sighs. "Not really...But... If the Arcana are mostly Japanese, do you really think we'll find someone here?" Cards aren't always people. Sometimes, they're just the traits. Got Chinese Arcana, too. Ever meet chicken boy? * Kyoko shakes her head. (Jin's Japanese. He wears Chinese clothes. ^_^) * Kyon shrugs quickly. "All that matters is that he's here somewhere, and we'll find him." * Kyoko nods. "Okay." * Kyon brushes off his hands a few times quickly, and looks around. "Still have Reiji's picture, right?" * Kyoko nods. She fishes through her bag and holds it up. * Kyon nods quickly, and consults his info to see where this Ching Yin guy might be. [Dengshao hall.] * Kyon checks his map, then turns to Kyoko, gestures for her to follow, and heads off that way. * Kyoko follows. [Mini/Session... thing. End!]