maskeddarkness | Trial of Trials : Act 2

There's something uneasy that can be felt in the city, and seemingly no end to the rumors springing up in the wake of the downtown explosion that leveled BOARD's headquarters. Stories of an odd sickness where the afflicted suddenly winds up anemic, their blood levels dangerously low, despite feeling fine that morning have already taken root, others of strange animals seen roaming at night, and horrible screams and gunshots in one of the parking garages....

The space where the ill-fated headquarters lays silent, an empty patch of dirt and gravel that seemed to attract those drawn to stories and rumors. Police have already had to shoo away opportunists with metal detectors, hoping to find something interesting in the impressively quickly cleared wreckage, and others have reported something that just feels... wrong, when they walk by the site. The ghosts of those who hadn't made it out of the collapse? Or something else? Noone can really put a finger on it to explain.

And meanwhile, under the cover of shadows, things unknown to those who still walk in the light continue to move. Whispers of the rogue mage and a treasure trove of information, of upsets in the vampire hierarchy, and sworn revenge on the mages who had used one of their own for their gain.

And deep in a hidden lab, BOARD's remains and allies continue to work, twisting all they can get their hands on to create the perfect weapon; made of the very things they wish to cleanse from the world. The loss of the incapacitated vampire elder was only a small one, with how much they had already extracted and drawn from it. And if the rumors of their knowledge being in the hands of their enemies were true? They would just have to speed up their projected timeline. Or simply slow down that of the world. After all, they were mages. Reality bended to their will, not that of those who opposed them....

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Hajime didn't even want to dignify that question with a proper response that did not involve smashing this thing's head in, but after all the raging, he finally fell to the bottom of that containment cell, right back in his human form.

Hayami blinked once, lowering his shades. "Now that isintresting..." he reflected, moving closer to observe. With a small, absent-minded gesture, the cell vanished, dropping Hajime roughly to the ground.

Hajime grunted as he hit the ground, but still he tried to pull himself to his feet. He was going to kill this bastard, whatever it was...

"And still, you try. Very admirable," the man returned with a small golf clap. "But I am afraid you're in far over your head, my friend. If you wish to keep your sham of a life, you may find it in your best interest to stay where you are."

"I don't listen to the likes of you." Nope, going to try one more charge, if he could just land one punch...

"So be it."

There was another wrenching of time and again, Hajime had a fist slamming into his core before an elbow met the back of his neck.

That was more than Hajime's last reserves of strength could take. He went down, and he didn't get up again.

At least he was still breathing, he had that much going for him.

"HEY!"

With that angry exclamation, a man in a battered BOARD jacket comes bursting into the alleyway. He had heard the sound of a fight, and felt things of the sort that only mages ought to be doing.... and when the first thing he set eyes on was someone dealing a nasty blow to someone else and putting him down, the first thing he could think to do was give a sharp, distracting protest.

"...eeeh?!" The next thing he did was look at the man doing the attacking and just about double-take. "Tachibana-san?!"

The man blinked once before giving a very pleased, if somewhat creepy smile. "Kenzaki," he greeted in return. "The lost son finally returns, long after the search party has moved on."

And with that, he turns to walk away.

Hajime continues to lie there in all his unconscious wind elemental glory after having managed to get the crap beaten out of him. Ouch.

That smile is not a good smile. And not something that belonged on his sempai's face, at all. The confused look on Kenzaki's face is taking on a hint of horror. Was this what he'd been trying to protect him from, by breaking him free and telling him to run...?

"Tachibana-san, wait!" He surges forward, almost trips over the injured man, and then stops himself short. No, no, he'll find him again later. Right now, he needs to help this guy. This... very green... guy.

Who could very well be innocent of any wrong-doing, however inhuman looking as he is. With a determined huff he kneels, sets a hand upon Hajime's shoulder, and focuses himself. Healing is just a matter of setting things back to the order that they ought to be in... although the order that they ought to be in for a green guy that's incredibly hot to the touch is something that he's not entirely sure about. He's going to need a moment to consider...

Hajime starts to stir at Kenzaki's touch. Abruptly, his eyes snap open. Reflex kicks in and he starts to try to scramble away--and the wind picks up with a roar before dying down and Hajime's attempt at scrambling falls flat as he goes down again.

Kenzaki's reflexes kick in at the same time, and he springs back, still crouching low. Up goes an arm to shield his eyes from anything the wind might be picking up, and it remains up, defensively. Though he may be more than willing to give non-humans a chance, they're still dangerous. Caution is in order.

"Hey..." He's not going to move forward. He's just going to make his presence known, and try to look about as benign as possible. "Hey, easy, I'm here to help..."

"Who are you?" Hajime demands. He's still trying to pick himself up again, but it's obvious his energy reserves are wiped out. He's not going to be going anywhere very fast right now.

At least the wind doesn't kick up again.

"Kazuma Kenzaki." Which he thinks doesn't betray much information at all. No one knows about him, surely. But it's an answer to the question and, hopefully, an overture to calmer interactions. Slowly, he starts to rise to his feet. "And you?"

The name doesn't ring a bell. "Hajime Aikawa." There is notably a lack of anything to do with his Court or his position there. He's still wary, still trying to pick himself up.

Neither name may mean much to the other, but that doesn't matter. It's an introduction, and that's good. Kenzaki takes a tentative step forward. "You look like you took quite a beating, Aikawa-san. Do you need a hand?"

"You should see the other guy. I'm fine." He tries to get up again and falls back down. "I'm just...going to sit here for a moment." Yes, yes, totally planned sitting, not at all an admission that he's that worn out.

"I don't know, the other guy looked pretty..." Partway through the sentence, he realizes that it's not at all what Hajime here is probably willing to tolerate. He's already getting the idea that he's proud, and that he bit off more than he could chew. "Who was he, anyway?" He asks it as he makes his approach, hoping it'll keep Hajime distracted enough that he can do some good.

Hajime's scowl deepens at Kenzaki's obvious (and justified) doubt that the "other guy" had been roughed up at all. He's quietly trying to assess the other man; he has no idea how much of that--or what--Kenzaki might have seen. What he might know. "Someone who's pretending to be someone he's not."

Can't even say that wasn't a person, that was a thing. Frustrating.

"No kidding..." Tell him something he doesn't know, Hajime. "How'd you end up in a fight with him, anyway?" He takes another careful step forward... then another.

"I wanted him to stop doing what he's doing." Hajime decides leaving it vague is best. "He declined." Asshole. The not-Tachibana will pay for that...

But at least he's not reacting too aggressively towards Kenzaki's approach. There's a certain sort of wariness, but he stands his ground, and he doesn't try to attack the other man.

Trial of Trials : Act 2

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