Post by Kazuki Akimoto on Dec 29, 2006 4:44:44 GMT 1
The light, purring hum of the engine barely reached his ears, the radio being on and even at that surprisingly quiet for him as he listened in to local news reports...Since the massive influx of his former classmates, he had kept his ear to the ground, checking up to find out if there was anything new he would need to know about having heard a few whispers along the line regarding the new school that had taken them in...As of yet, however, nothing had made itself clear to him and he found himself resting on the issue with nothing to concern him...
In this new city, he was finding it difficult to adjust to the massive loss in respect and power he had held back in Varron, being nothing but a regular man on the east coast. It irritated him that he was so incapable of finding out what he needed to know, but all at once he knew that it would only be a matter of time until he managed to re-establish himself...Right now, he found his mind drawn to the people he had been forced to take large steps back from, Dain, Maverik, Leon, Kokaku, most of all the one person he did not want to put more of a distance between, Kira...Every single one of them were important to him at one degree or another, but the men had all begun to move on with their lives, finding their hearts and people to share them with, purposes that held them, of course there remained the issue of Leon and Kira as well, but he was not intent on giving up at such a hurdle. He was not going to deny his feelings to her, and at the next opportunity, he would have to confront her...
He would have to tell her he loved her, before it tore him apart inside. For several months he had stayed his tongue, allowing her time to recover from her attack, to get back into a routine of life, but when the school was closed and the FBI began their investigation into The Hand, he had been forced to back away, to keep out of the public light....He'd called her, as he had the others, and even arranged for her to have storage when she moved her personal effects so she would not be stuck when she arrived at her new residence.
His thoughts were broken as he pulled up in the corner of a large parking lot, killing the engine and stepping out of the vehicle before glancing over to his side, seeing the large, darkly lit sign above him. A single, large and ornate capital 'L' hung over the main entrance, the intricate design around it alluring even to his eyes, despite having been the one to draw the logo a few months ago and emailing copies of the image to Rocco to send to designers...His eyes left the sign, trailing down to his idle arms and glancing at the Legion rings he still wore, his fist clenching loosely around, the polished onyx glinting lightly in the winters sunshine before giving a faint, light smirk and taking a few steps inside, jostling the keys in his hands after unlocking the large, heavy doors, pushing them open and stepping into the dim, artificial light. Ahead of him, two familiar faces gave him light smiles, raising arms and motioning for him to join them.
Rocco and Rene, standing against the bar and skimming over a magazine together, greeted their young friend with warmth, and as Taiku gave Rocco a light smirk he spoke quietly, the familiar smoothness in his voice ringing clear through the empty building...
"You did a good job with the apartment, Roc....Everything looks great, and I appreciate the decor you set out for my room...."
"Don't mention it, Kaz...You know fine well I owed you after you agreed to give me the chance to come state-side with you...Besides, for a chance to live in San-Fran, didn't you think I'd jump through hoops for such a chance to meet men?" he rebutted, smirking quickly, raising an eyebrow and nodding at the Asian male opposite him, and was responded to with but a simple nod...
"Touche, indeed....Your keys, by the way...." he added, flicking his wrist and sending the small bundle toward him as one of Roccos hands reached out, plucking them from the air as he slung a new set toward him, Taikus other palm snapping out quickly and grabbing them sharply, a look of confusion on his face before he glanced at them...The main keyring was an 'L' similar to that above the door, and the keys themselves looked remarkably similar to that of the new building, except with a new copy of the apartment keys attached...Giving the Italian near him a light smile, he allowed his eyes to fully take in the area, the contemporary design and new layout something he would have to memorise soon before he found the small stage nearby. Raising one of his eyebrows, he wondered calmly as he saw the DJ box that sat atop it, wondering to himself if there'd be ways to remove it should he choose to bring in live entertainment...DJ's were all fair and well, but the ambience of a live band was something that couldn't be beaten. Besides....He might choose to pick up a guitar again at some point...
"The club is ready to go whenever you're happy to open, Kaz...All the licenses are approved and paid in full, stocks and supplies are set, and I took the liberty of making rough notes of your deliveries and the like for you...." She smirked as she held up a dishevelled piece of A4 paper, the scrawled numbers on it along with a few dates a lingering trace of her sarcasm about the fact he had asked her to manage this until he had arrived..."Regardless, how was your trip over, how are you feeling....You know, after everything that happened back in Varron...?"
"The journey was fine, Rene....You know I don't like planes, but it could have been worse. As for how I'm feeling, well, I'm as good as can be expected. Which isn't too bad given the circumstances, I could definitely be a lot worse...Though I can't help but still have that cloud of guilt over my head with what happened to Legion that day...."
The pair of them protested in unison, speaking over one anothers voices as they unanimously shot down his claims, Rocco gaining the vocal advantage as he spoke on..."You never once forced them to fight, not one of them. They took the risk because they believed in the same things you did, not because you made them. Besides, if you hadn't retreated when the moment came, there would be many more of them dead, more than likely. You saved a lot more lives that day than you could have, if you had stayed in there with the fire spreading as it was, god only knows what would have happened to you all....."
Giving a light sigh, he leaned back against a large pillar in the middle of the room and folded his arms over his chest, looking up to the ceiling. It was one thing he would remember about The Edge, the huge stone pillars that stood around the main floor, he had loved the feel they had given to the place, breaking up an otherwise open space and giving it character, but this new building was much more different, the main 'floor' so to speak breaking off into two separate areas, the main one they stood in and a slightly smaller, lowered one through a wide corridor over to the side...He had his suspicions, but he imagined Rocco would have made that into a lounge suite of a fashion...
"Kazuki...Is something wrong?"
"Hm...?" his head tilted down as she spoke, and he realised he had been lost in thought for at least a few minutes, and with a sigh he shrugged his shoulders..."I guess Kira's been on my mind a lot more recently...I need to tell her how I feel before it kills me, Rene...."
Her body stiffened a little, but only negligibly, at his remark...She was still slightly jealous at his choice, but knew that his mind was set on the girl...If she really could make him that happy, she had no desire to take that from him. Nodding a moment later, she shrugged her own shoulders and smiled..."Well, you should just get it done, if you ask me...Frankly I'm getting a little tired of your brooding ass around me, and I haven't seen you since we came to the city a month ago...Tell the girl, if nothing else find out if she has anything for you in her heart, and let's get moving forward...."
"Mmm, maybe so, but right now I have something else to take care of tonight, and I might not be back until late. Don't be waiting up, either of you..."
Before Rocco could even open his mouth, Taikus hand was up, halting his words and raising his eyebrows calmly..."If you even so much as think of sitting naked in the living room, I'll make you a fucking eunuch, Roc....Consider that a sole warning....."
Pouting, he slumped his head and leaned back against the bar counter, folding his arms over his chest and muttering to himself, 'Dammit, you know I love to mess with your head, besides, you looked a lot longer than you should have...."
Groaning in exasperation, he tilted his head back against the pillar, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, sighing....."If I wasn't faced by what could only be described as an accident in a piercing studio, I wouldn't have even glanced back..."
"All this coming from the man who's not long started punching holes in himself, huh....?" he retorted, gesturing to the glimmers of silver on Taikus left ear, paired with a single, similar glint on his right....In the last three months, the young man had taken a liking to the notion of piercings, having a few holes punched in the lower lobe of his left ear, a single hoop in the upper cartiledge, and a matching one at the top of the right ear. Despite Roccos....Personal jewellery, he simply raised his finger, flipping off the other man and smirked...
"If people were to see these in public, I doubt I'd face jailtime.....Unlike you and that bolt of yours...."
"With a package like mine, I'd more likely get the key to the city....."
"Your package is the last thing I want to talk about....
"Bitch...."
Sighing, he stepped away from the pillar and stuffed his palms into his pockets, walking towards the two with a wry, casual grin on his face as Rene simply laughed quietly to herself at their behaviour....Were it not for the obvious differences between the two, it would not be difficult to imagine the two as brothers. Their patter and actions to one another was so rival in terms of oneupmanship and sarcasm that it was rare for the two to have a solid, serious conversation.
"Rene, I'll call around, find someone to arrange some advertising and stuff for the place and get that arranged, shall we say next week for opening night...?"
Nodding at him, she stifled a quiet, subdued yawn and cleared her throat before speaking softly..."So, what are you going to do this week until then....? See some sights, go explore...?"
Grinning lightly, he shook his head and gave a wry, calm smirk, "Nah, I'm gonna go get the girl......"
In this new city, he was finding it difficult to adjust to the massive loss in respect and power he had held back in Varron, being nothing but a regular man on the east coast. It irritated him that he was so incapable of finding out what he needed to know, but all at once he knew that it would only be a matter of time until he managed to re-establish himself...Right now, he found his mind drawn to the people he had been forced to take large steps back from, Dain, Maverik, Leon, Kokaku, most of all the one person he did not want to put more of a distance between, Kira...Every single one of them were important to him at one degree or another, but the men had all begun to move on with their lives, finding their hearts and people to share them with, purposes that held them, of course there remained the issue of Leon and Kira as well, but he was not intent on giving up at such a hurdle. He was not going to deny his feelings to her, and at the next opportunity, he would have to confront her...
He would have to tell her he loved her, before it tore him apart inside. For several months he had stayed his tongue, allowing her time to recover from her attack, to get back into a routine of life, but when the school was closed and the FBI began their investigation into The Hand, he had been forced to back away, to keep out of the public light....He'd called her, as he had the others, and even arranged for her to have storage when she moved her personal effects so she would not be stuck when she arrived at her new residence.
His thoughts were broken as he pulled up in the corner of a large parking lot, killing the engine and stepping out of the vehicle before glancing over to his side, seeing the large, darkly lit sign above him. A single, large and ornate capital 'L' hung over the main entrance, the intricate design around it alluring even to his eyes, despite having been the one to draw the logo a few months ago and emailing copies of the image to Rocco to send to designers...His eyes left the sign, trailing down to his idle arms and glancing at the Legion rings he still wore, his fist clenching loosely around, the polished onyx glinting lightly in the winters sunshine before giving a faint, light smirk and taking a few steps inside, jostling the keys in his hands after unlocking the large, heavy doors, pushing them open and stepping into the dim, artificial light. Ahead of him, two familiar faces gave him light smiles, raising arms and motioning for him to join them.
Rocco and Rene, standing against the bar and skimming over a magazine together, greeted their young friend with warmth, and as Taiku gave Rocco a light smirk he spoke quietly, the familiar smoothness in his voice ringing clear through the empty building...
"You did a good job with the apartment, Roc....Everything looks great, and I appreciate the decor you set out for my room...."
"Don't mention it, Kaz...You know fine well I owed you after you agreed to give me the chance to come state-side with you...Besides, for a chance to live in San-Fran, didn't you think I'd jump through hoops for such a chance to meet men?" he rebutted, smirking quickly, raising an eyebrow and nodding at the Asian male opposite him, and was responded to with but a simple nod...
"Touche, indeed....Your keys, by the way...." he added, flicking his wrist and sending the small bundle toward him as one of Roccos hands reached out, plucking them from the air as he slung a new set toward him, Taikus other palm snapping out quickly and grabbing them sharply, a look of confusion on his face before he glanced at them...The main keyring was an 'L' similar to that above the door, and the keys themselves looked remarkably similar to that of the new building, except with a new copy of the apartment keys attached...Giving the Italian near him a light smile, he allowed his eyes to fully take in the area, the contemporary design and new layout something he would have to memorise soon before he found the small stage nearby. Raising one of his eyebrows, he wondered calmly as he saw the DJ box that sat atop it, wondering to himself if there'd be ways to remove it should he choose to bring in live entertainment...DJ's were all fair and well, but the ambience of a live band was something that couldn't be beaten. Besides....He might choose to pick up a guitar again at some point...
"The club is ready to go whenever you're happy to open, Kaz...All the licenses are approved and paid in full, stocks and supplies are set, and I took the liberty of making rough notes of your deliveries and the like for you...." She smirked as she held up a dishevelled piece of A4 paper, the scrawled numbers on it along with a few dates a lingering trace of her sarcasm about the fact he had asked her to manage this until he had arrived..."Regardless, how was your trip over, how are you feeling....You know, after everything that happened back in Varron...?"
"The journey was fine, Rene....You know I don't like planes, but it could have been worse. As for how I'm feeling, well, I'm as good as can be expected. Which isn't too bad given the circumstances, I could definitely be a lot worse...Though I can't help but still have that cloud of guilt over my head with what happened to Legion that day...."
The pair of them protested in unison, speaking over one anothers voices as they unanimously shot down his claims, Rocco gaining the vocal advantage as he spoke on..."You never once forced them to fight, not one of them. They took the risk because they believed in the same things you did, not because you made them. Besides, if you hadn't retreated when the moment came, there would be many more of them dead, more than likely. You saved a lot more lives that day than you could have, if you had stayed in there with the fire spreading as it was, god only knows what would have happened to you all....."
Giving a light sigh, he leaned back against a large pillar in the middle of the room and folded his arms over his chest, looking up to the ceiling. It was one thing he would remember about The Edge, the huge stone pillars that stood around the main floor, he had loved the feel they had given to the place, breaking up an otherwise open space and giving it character, but this new building was much more different, the main 'floor' so to speak breaking off into two separate areas, the main one they stood in and a slightly smaller, lowered one through a wide corridor over to the side...He had his suspicions, but he imagined Rocco would have made that into a lounge suite of a fashion...
"Kazuki...Is something wrong?"
"Hm...?" his head tilted down as she spoke, and he realised he had been lost in thought for at least a few minutes, and with a sigh he shrugged his shoulders..."I guess Kira's been on my mind a lot more recently...I need to tell her how I feel before it kills me, Rene...."
Her body stiffened a little, but only negligibly, at his remark...She was still slightly jealous at his choice, but knew that his mind was set on the girl...If she really could make him that happy, she had no desire to take that from him. Nodding a moment later, she shrugged her own shoulders and smiled..."Well, you should just get it done, if you ask me...Frankly I'm getting a little tired of your brooding ass around me, and I haven't seen you since we came to the city a month ago...Tell the girl, if nothing else find out if she has anything for you in her heart, and let's get moving forward...."
"Mmm, maybe so, but right now I have something else to take care of tonight, and I might not be back until late. Don't be waiting up, either of you..."
Before Rocco could even open his mouth, Taikus hand was up, halting his words and raising his eyebrows calmly..."If you even so much as think of sitting naked in the living room, I'll make you a fucking eunuch, Roc....Consider that a sole warning....."
Pouting, he slumped his head and leaned back against the bar counter, folding his arms over his chest and muttering to himself, 'Dammit, you know I love to mess with your head, besides, you looked a lot longer than you should have...."
Groaning in exasperation, he tilted his head back against the pillar, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, sighing....."If I wasn't faced by what could only be described as an accident in a piercing studio, I wouldn't have even glanced back..."
"All this coming from the man who's not long started punching holes in himself, huh....?" he retorted, gesturing to the glimmers of silver on Taikus left ear, paired with a single, similar glint on his right....In the last three months, the young man had taken a liking to the notion of piercings, having a few holes punched in the lower lobe of his left ear, a single hoop in the upper cartiledge, and a matching one at the top of the right ear. Despite Roccos....Personal jewellery, he simply raised his finger, flipping off the other man and smirked...
"If people were to see these in public, I doubt I'd face jailtime.....Unlike you and that bolt of yours...."
"With a package like mine, I'd more likely get the key to the city....."
"Your package is the last thing I want to talk about....
"Bitch...."
Sighing, he stepped away from the pillar and stuffed his palms into his pockets, walking towards the two with a wry, casual grin on his face as Rene simply laughed quietly to herself at their behaviour....Were it not for the obvious differences between the two, it would not be difficult to imagine the two as brothers. Their patter and actions to one another was so rival in terms of oneupmanship and sarcasm that it was rare for the two to have a solid, serious conversation.
"Rene, I'll call around, find someone to arrange some advertising and stuff for the place and get that arranged, shall we say next week for opening night...?"
Nodding at him, she stifled a quiet, subdued yawn and cleared her throat before speaking softly..."So, what are you going to do this week until then....? See some sights, go explore...?"
Grinning lightly, he shook his head and gave a wry, calm smirk, "Nah, I'm gonna go get the girl......"