Log cast: Stefan/Nakago, Rosuto/Tomo, Ayame/Soi
Log date: 4/14/99
Stefan opens the door without a knock, looking in.
Rosuto is tidying up, his back facing the door. He picks up fallen
flyers and brochures, setting them back on the shelf on the side wall.
Stefan lets himself in, letting the door close on its own.
The sound of the door clicking shut announces your arrival. Rosuto's
head jerks up sharply, amber eyes blinking rapidly before he registers
your presence. "....Nakago-sama!"
Stefan nods. "Tomo."
47.6F (8.7C) The clouds appear to be moving in. Currently, cloudy with
the winds picking up as it changes direction (was ESE now SSE).
Rosuto turns, a handful of paper in his hands. "Anou..." His brows
furrow, then he tilts his head towards you. "K.. Konichi wa,
Nakago-sama. For what do I hold this honour?"
Stefan says "I wanted to see if you were keeping your word."
Stefan says it quite bluntly; he really wants to see if you did.
Rosuto blinks faintly. "My word," he repeats flatly, an eyebrow arching.
Stefan asks "Did you hurt Keisuke, or seek to hurt him in any way?"
Rosuto is silent, staring at you, looking as if he had been slapped
without reason or warning. Then he straightens, shoulders rolling back,
his eyes narrowing. "I was right," he states flatly, not answering the
question. "You /don't/ trust me."
Stefan face is expressionless. "You do whatever you can to please me,
including eliminating my foes."
Stefan says "I trust you, but not when I ask you to leave one of them
alive."
There's another beat of silence, then Tomo looks away, focusing on
stacking the papers on the shelf. "Iie," he answers after a long
moment, his voice still flat. "He's alive."
Stefan nods. "Unharmed?
"Unharmed," Tomo confirms with a faint nod. His amber eyes flicker back
in your direction. "For now."
Stefan nods, walking over to you.
Tomo's eyes narrow warily, watching your approach. He doesn't say a word
though, looking back at the shelf, his face set in a not-quite
-restrained scowl.
Stefan asks "Do you wish to hurt him, Tomo?"
Another tick of silence, then Tomo's chin lifts imperceptively. "Hai,"
he states bluntly, flatly.
Stefan picks up a paper, looking at it. "I thought so. There is no need
to kill him."
The paper offers a few paragraphs on Kabuki theater, a picture of a
woman in colorful garb and facepaint towards the top. Sparing it a
brief glance, Tomo instead focuses his attention on you, amber eyes
piercing. "He is the Suzako no Miko's brother; he fraternizes with Soi;
he is an annoyance. I'd say there is more than enough reason to see him
dead."
Stefan pauses, seemingly reading the paper. "It is not rational to kill
him. It will drive Suzaku no Miko into anger, and we will have more
people devoted to be our enemies."
"But-!" Tomo cuts himself off, glaring, and looks away sharply. Almost
sulking, he mutters, "Hai, Nakago-sama."
Stefan says "It is not necessary." he repeats, as if he needs to
reassure himself also. He idly reaches into the pocket of his
trenchcoat, fingering something in it.
Tomo's eyes flick instinctively to your pocket, blinking faintly. His
gaze shifts back up to your face after a moment, a cold smirk drawing
across his face. "Necessary, no. But that's part of the fun,
Nakago-sama."
[Sigh. I lost Nakago's pose here. Something to the effect of continuing
the argument that Keisuke needn't be harmed.]
"Why not?" Tomo turns to face you, arms folding over his chest. "Why
should you care what happens to him?"
Stefan says "There are enough enemies already. Miaka is expecting us to
be her friends. We will not shatter that illusion by killing her
brother."
"Her /friends/?" He spits out the words as if they were dirty. Tomo
stares at you for a long moment, then tenses with anger, nails
threatening to break the skin of his palm as his fingers curl into
fists. "Who put /that/ into your head? Being allied with them is a
necessary evil against the Zodiac... but /friends/?!"
Stefan looks calmly at you, quickly taking his hand out of his pocket.
"I recall a saying; Keep your allies close, but your enemies closer."
Tomo licks his dry lips, caught. Then, sullenly, he mutters, "That never
made any sense. Keeping your enemies close lays the seeds for
corruption and betrayal."
Stefan says "Keeping your enemies close makes them trust you. And when
they least expect it, you strike their vital spot. Keisuke is not a
vital spot, Miaka is."
47.6F (8.7C) The clouds appear to be moving in. It is currently overcast
with the winds remaining steady as it changes direction (was SSE now
S).
Tomo eyes you for a moment, a brow rising archly. He states flatly, "As
much as the idea appeals to me, we can't kill the Suzako no Miko until
the Zodiac are no longer a problem."
Stefan says "Wait. I did not say you had to kill the Suzaku no Miko
now."
Tomo draws up short. The arched brow quirks still higher. "Really."
Stefan lets the paper in his hand fall. "At victory, the Suzaku Seishi
will be off-guard."
The paper falls, but his eyes don't follow it. Instead, Tomo looks at
you, his expression impassive for the passing of a few seconds before a
faint smile shapes itself on to his face. "I see."
Nakago looks towards you, his eyes cold.
Nakago says simply, "We will win."
There you are, Tomo thinks to himself, smiling inwardly. He tilts his
head slightly to you, his outward smile demure, not smug. "Yes," he
nods, utterly confident. "We will."
Nakago says "But in the meantime, it is necessary to act as we're
expected to."
Tomo feigns a sigh, amber eyes flickering. "Ah well."
Nakago goes "And I will..." he closes his eyes.
You feel Tomo's eyes on your face, narrowing slightly with uncertainty,
though not a trace of it makes it to his voice. "Nakago-sama?"
Stefan reopens them. They're a bit warmer.
Stefan grits his teeth. "Damn it.." He looks up. "No. Do not harm
Keisuke." Strange, isn't it?
Tomo blinks once. Twice. And strays forward, the uncertainty growing.
"Nani?" The frown reappears, brows drawn together. "Daijoubu, Nakago
-sama?"
Stefan puts his hand back into the trenchcoat pocket. "I will not allow
you to harm Keisuke. It is not necessary."
Confusion scrawls across Tomo's face. "Aa. We covered that."
Stefan looks startled for a moment. "We did?"
Ayame enters the theatre from the outside.
Ayame has arrived.
Stefan seems to be talking with Tomo. However, he looks a wee bit
confused.
"Hai..." Tomo's eyes betray a shadow of concern. He moves forward,
searching Stefan's face. The coldness, gone from Stefan's eyes, and
what replaces it, startles him, but he doesn't show it. The Seiryuu
seishi bites his lip, inquiring uneasily, "Ano, Nakago-sama... Are you
sure you're all right?"
Stefan replies curtly, "Yes, I am." He pauses, and turns his head to
Ayame.
Ayame hesitates by the door; she can't sense ki, but the excess flinging
itself around in here would raise the hair on anyone's arms. "Anoo..."
she begins quietly before her shoulders straighten. "Hello."
Stefan says "Ayame."
Tomo still looks at Stefan uneasily, but doesn't inquire further,
following his gaze towards Ayame. Abruptly, his jaw tightens, the
uncertainty erasing from his face. "Konban wa, Karaino."
Ayame dips her chin in stiff greeting. "Tomo." Her eyes find Stefan,
then. "I suppose I should've guessed you'd be here, but I'm still kind
of surprised. I came to speak with Hensou about the Genbu, as you
asked."
Stefan 's lips quirk into a hint of a smile. "I thought it would be
better if I brought the news."
Ayame laughs. "Don't you trust me? Or were you really that bored?"
Tomo's eyes flicker between Stefan and Ayame, his gaze hardening. But he
is silent, observing the conversation, not another word spoken since
his initial greeting.
Stefan nods, a slight sound in his throat. Chuckling? "I feared that you
and Rosuto wouldn't get along well."
Ayame quirks a wry smile. "What was your first clue?"
Tomo snorts faintly, offering a smile, but no reply. He just looks at
Stefan warily, eyes still partially narrowed.
Stefan says "He has agreed to come, Ayame."
Ayame nods. "I assumed he would, if you asked. When are we going?
Keisuke has the book."
Tomo murmurs absently, "Does he now..." He lifts his arms, folding them
over his chest, and shifts his weight from one foot to the other.
Ayame shrugs. "Or perhaps Tetsuya does. I can ask."
Stefan nods.
Tomo . o O ( .... ) He queries mildly, "It doesn't really matter which
one you ask, now does it, Karaino?"
Ayame laughs quietly. "If I didn't know you better, Tomo, I'd think that
that might have once been an innocent question."
Stefan narrows his eyes slightly, "This is no time for conflict among
ourselves."
Tomo gives Ayame a lazy smile barbed with dryness. "Mmm." His eyes drift
back to Stefan, the frown apparent in his eyes, even if it doesn't
reach his lips. He reclines back against a wall, shrugging. "Hai,
Nakago-sama."
Ayame turns a totally innocent smile on Stefan. "Conflict? What
conflict?"
"Ask Tomo about conflict," she adds quietly. "It's none of my doing."
"Of course not. It never is any of her doing, is it?" Tomo's voice is
far from mild, tinged with more than a little sarcasm.
Ayame arches an eyebrow, posture stiffening. "What is it that you think
I've done, Tomo?"
Stefan says "Tomo. Ayame." He says it in a fairly strong voice, a bit of
coldness to give it some edge. "We will talk of Shijintenchisho later."
Ayame says "I wasn't speaking of Shijintenchisho, Stefan. And I'm fairly
certain Tomo wasn't either."
Tomo looks at the young woman for a long moment, then looks away
pointedly, eyes lifted skywards. "Wasn't I?" he asks the ceiling,
feigning boredom.
Stefan says "We were speaking of where to get the book, until your
quarrel."
Ayame says "I asked him what he thought I'd done. I'd like an answer."
"And people in hell want ice water. So, now that we've covered that."
Tomo looks down again, raising his brows. "Would either of them even
give us the book?"
Ayame asks "Why wouldn't they?"
"I wouldn't know. That's why I asked."
Stefan stays silent, observing the conversation.
Ayame offers another shrug. "Tetsuya would do it. Keisuke would argue,
but he'd probably do it too."
Stefan opens his mouth. "Why would Keisuke argue?"
And Tomo smirks, just slightly. Heh.
Ayame says "Because he thinks it's dangerous."
Stefan asks "What is the danger he fears?"
Ayame laughs. "That's an excellent question, Stefan."
Tomo muses outloud, "Isn't it?" He tilts his head, studying the ceiling
again, plucking idly at a loose thread on his sleeve. "It still escapes
me why a Suzaku -- or at least, anyone close to them -- would be
concerned."
Ayame smiles sweetly. /Fear/ that smile. "Just because /some/ of us
refuse to heed the warnings of our gods and work together doesn't mean
we /all/ suffer from that weakness, Tomo."
Tomo shrugs blandly. "Working together and fraternizing are two very
seperate things."
Stefan says calmly, "Ayame." he looks at you, analyzing. "You have not
answered my q--" he snaps his head towards Tomo.
Soi narrows her eyes. "Is it not necessary to know one's enemies so as
to better understand them, Tomo?"
Stefan says nothing. He simply turns around, voice very cold. "I will
leave you two. Enjoy your conversation."
Soi shakes her head. "No, please remain, Stefan. I'm sure you'd like to
hear this as well as I would."
Tomo shrugs again, just as blandly. "As you say, Soi." His gaze shifts
back to Stefan, brows rising.
Stefan looks back.
Soi asks "What have I done to wrong you this time, Tomo?"
Tomo purses his lips, looking at Stefan, letting Soi's question hang
unanswered for quite a few moments. Then he looks back at her, his
smile faint, his eyes murderous. "What haven't you done, Soi?"
Soi's eyes narrow again, and the room grows noticably colder. "Answer my
question, and perhaps I will answer yours."
"Avoiding the question?" Tomo's faint smile intensifies briefly.
"Touched a nerve, did I?"
Stefan takes a deep breath, closing his eyes.
Soi shakes her head. "You're the one who's avoiding. Answer the
question."
"Why are you so eager for the answer? Do you truly not know, or are you
just unwilling to accept it on your own?"
Soi says "I truly have no idea. We must be a team, Tomo. Tell me how I
have wronged you."
"Enough." the tone of the voice is colder than before. Much colder. "I
will not tolerate this foolishness."
Soi turns serious grey eyes on Nakago. "Do you not want to hear his
answer?"
Tomo says nothing, though his lips curl faintly, devoid of humour.
Instead, rather satisfied. Out loud, he murmurs, "Perhaps there is no
answer, Soi."
Nakago opens his eyes. His eyes seemingly made of ice.
Soi spreads her hands in a show of helplessness. "Tell me what I have
done, and I will do what I can to repair it. Nakago-sama?"
Tomo still continues to favor silence, his eyes back on Nakago, amber
gaze studying him intently. Gauging his reaction.
Tomo . o O ( Come now, Nakago-sama. Don't disappoint me. Show me you
haven't fallen as far as I fear you have. )
Nakago says "Such petty matters are unnecessary." he casts a cold glance
towards Soi, then Tomo. "Keisuke and Tetsuya will give us the book
whether they like it or not. You two will stop your bickering, as we
are the only Seiryuu Seishi in this world as of now. We cannot afford a
split."
Soi continues to stand patiently. "Nakago-sama?"
Nakago says "You favor the Suzaku no Miko's brother, Soi."
Soi nods curtly. "Of course. Yuuki Keisuke is my friend."
Nakago goes "A... friend." his tone is colder, if that is possible.
Tomo smiles faintly from his place by the wall. He keeps his tongue in
check, but he can't help smiling.
Soi nods again. "A friend. Hai."
Soi tries again. "Nakago-sama?"
Nakago pauses, and replies. "He is an ally, no more. Keep your distance
from him."
Soi almost, almost sighs. But doesn't. "Nakago-sama."
Soi says "If I keep my distance, I will not maintain his trust. He holds
the Shijintenchisho."
Nakago says "He will trust you." he says that in confidence. "He will
trust you to the death."
Soi shakes her head. "Not if I push him away. I know my limits, and
his." She pauses, offering quietly, "And yours."
Tomo still plays the part of the silent observer, amber gaze shifting
between one and the other. Brows rise and fall as is appropriate, but
his expression is unchanging. Neutral. Let's see who wins this little
spat before he lets anything pass.
Nakago looks at the woman coldly. "You know nothing."
Soi laughs. "You'd like to think that. Fine, be that as it may."
Soi tries yet again. "Nakago-sama."
Nakago doesn't acknowledge. He merely looks.
Soi shoots Tomo the briefest of looks. If no one's paying attention, it
may well be missed. "I accept your proposal. I will marry you."
Nakago pauses, eyes slightly widening. He opens his mouth as if to say
something, but nothing comes out.
For the second time tonight, Tomo looks as if he has been slapped. His
eyes grow wide, his arms unfold, and he looks slowly from Soi to
Nakago, his pale face almost entirely white. . o O ( ...iie... )
Soi offers Nakago a wounded look. "Is there a problem? I thought you
/wanted/ me to say yes... that is why you asked, isn't it?"
Nakago starts towards you, and stops. "Soi, I.." he falters, even when
he's Nakago.
Soi gives Nakago her best, warmest smile. "What is it?"
Tomo tries to back away, but he's already against a wall. A hand rises
to his face, covering his mouth, the other at his side, clenching into
a fist. Long fingernails stab into his palm, piercing the pale skin,
earning rivulets of crimson. As shocked as Nakago, if not moreso, the
illusionist is silent, deathly so. Staring.
Nakago shakes his head. "Nothing." He holds her shoulders.
Soi is very good. She /doesn't/ shoot Tomo a smug, self-confident smile.
She does, however, rest her head on Nakago's shoulder. Awwh.
47.6F (8.7C) The clouds appear to be clearing. Currently, partially
cloudy with the winds remaining steady as it changes direction (was SSW
now SW).
Tomo's fist shakes. All of him shakes. Then there's a sharp /CRACK/ of
blue chi as the illusionist lets out a soft hiss between clenched
teeth. And, just like that, he's gone, the feel of displaced air left
where the illusion lingers.
[To be continued? Yes, I would think so. End log.]
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