Urgent business (Kyukaku, plot thread)

[Kyukaku]

"Urgg..."

Kyukaku over away from the wall, hanging his head over his shoulder lazily to look at the nightstand, where his phone began to go off. It didn't occur to him to answer the phone thanks to the medicines he was on. After all, Kyu had to rely on a seperate kind of Pain Killer than his former roomate.

The stand against the Watcher's hadn't gone too well to say the least. Adam was hospitalized and was staying home with Mya to nurse his injuries. Zeniro's fate was a mystery to Kyu, as he was knocked unconcious before he saw the beastial maori subdued. Unlike Adam, and likely Zeniro, Kyu had only received a level two punishment. He wasn't told why that was, Leon said something about how it was likely to avoid another symbol figure like Tiao Lei Shen, but Kyu thought it had to be something more simple. A quota or something.

Once the metal-core of Kyu's current ringtone from the band Atreyu died down, his mind seemed to unhaze itself a bit. He picked up the phone, calling voicemail and dialing 1-1-1-1. The voicemail passwords were stupid in Kyu's eyes, as they prevented what, someone from stealing their phone to listen to the calls they didn't get? He listened to the message, doing his best to put the pieces together.

Kai...wait, that weird kid that crouched on his desk and drank soy milk in class that one time?

While it wasn't the right person, it was the the first one his mind came up with thanks to it being the more recent run in. Still, his confused mind pondered a bit longer before drifting back to sleep, where he would remember it again in the morning.

***

Kyukaku took the seat in front of Kai, giving himself a mental slap on the forehead. Seeing the burn scars upon his face it was much easier to put two and two together. They had met back in Varron, Shuya had caused Kyukaku to second guess his every motive and intention that very scene...something that was all straigthened out now.

"Hey there. You said something was important. Is everything alright?"

Kyu would drift off, his tongue pressing against his lower lip inside his mouth. His lip was still busted from a few days ago, as was the bruise that peeked out underneat his bangs towards the right side of his head. Those were just his visible injuries, and compared to how his ribs felt, Kyu considered them nothing. Kyukaku gave a slight shake to his head, refocusing his attention as he looked back to Kai for an answer, offering a polite smile.

[Kyukaku]

"Ha, I'm plenty thankful for that."

Kyukaku joked, only getting a slight rise out of Marcus but no one else present. Unlike Kai, Kyukaku had no doubt that Tiao was still alive, and even though he'd only talked to the pillar once it hadn't been a very friendly meeting. Though, Kyukaku had gained more respect for the pillar after what had happened.

The conversation soon took a turn that Kyu certainly hadn't expected. His smile faded as his brow furrowed, obviously confused at where Kai was coming from. He listened quietely however as Kai continued, not responding until Kai was finished. However, as Kai's speech reached its end, Kyukaku found himself angered, narrowing his eyes at the student in front of him as he spoke.

"Yeah, I was there. It was a friend of mine that was thrown over that roof." Kyu said in a tone drastically different than his former lighthearted one. It angered him to be compared to Kvist more than Kai probably knew.

"I hardly think I'm responsible for such an uprising, but if I am...good. I stand by what I think is right, and I have no regrets about that. If people are inspired by actions, then I'd like to think I'm succeeding in being a good person. Say what you want about the Watchers, but order isn't just when its tyrannical. So you want to know if I'd rather this be like Varron hm? ...Yeah. I would. At least there when someone was getting beaten to the ground, they weren't pretending to be the good guys."

[Kyukaku]

Kyukaku sat back in his chair. He hadn't noticed how worked up he had began to become. Kyu took a deep breath, calming himself down as Kai continued talking. Once the other student had finished speaking, Kyukaku would take yet another deep breath, though this time to insure he'd have enough air in his lungs for his reply.

"There's no denying that. With the Watcher's in Varron it would of been a few tick tocks of the clock and Kvist would have been done. There's no denying their effectiveness." Kyu paused, quickly starting back up before he could be interrupted. "Though nothing says what is effective is what is just. The Japanese internment camps of World War II was an effective way of cutting off any possible Japanese spies. The slave trade was great for upping the efficiency and effectiveness of farming plantations and other manual labor. Hell, Stalin's prisons in Siberia were also an effective way of insuring Russia stay a Communist state. What's quick doesn't mean what's the right thing to do."

Kyukaku paused again, allowing his mind to catch up to his mouth as well as allow Kai and his company time to soak in.

"And that's no hole. That's exactly what I'm saying. Freedom is all that man has, and to surrender that liberty is to surrender your whole being. Freedom doesn't mean a lack of any structure, but it certainly doesn't include having your liberties stripped away simply because other's know what's best for you. People have a right to choose their paths on their own, Kai.

You think the fact you tell me what they're doing is what they're supposed to be doing is going to change my mind? They're supposed to be beating down pillars for doing what they are supposed to be? Or are you are talking about hospitalizing a teenage girl for setting of some fireworks on school ground? Tell me Kai, because I certainly don't know." Kyukaku took one final pause, looking both at the men in Kai's company before setting his gaze back upon Kai himself.

"Shuya wouldn't have killed that student, no matter what he says. Even if that would have been the case, there would have been someone to lift their finger. I was there, and I would have. I'd lift my finger to save someone, I'd lift my fist. You're wrong. The students still fear for their safety, possibly in a worse form than ever now that the very thing that's supposed to protect them, is targetting them. Just as I've always done my best to protect those in Varron, I'll do so here. Whether that's from Kvist, Shuya, the Watchers...or even you, Kai."

[Kyukaku]

"Well, if were taking everything we hear as truth than sure, maybe the Watcher's had nothing to do with Tiao's beating, despite the fact they were the ones that brought him in. MacMillan is the Watchers. That's what it is, no matter who says otherwise. It's also been said I'm a rapist, and we both know that not to be true." Kyukaku emphasized, leaning in a bit to give Kai a better look of his gaze.

"You know, I could counter you all day. If you really need an explanation on how it isn't right for a teenage girl to get beat down, no matter the reasoning, then there's something genuinely wrong. If you want more discussion on politics, I'll grab Leon. This is more his cup of tea. Me however, I'm done talking. We may both be smart men, but were both certainly not good men."

Kyukaku sat back as he finished, pushing the water bottle to the side with the back of his hand. It was a movement that both affirmed the fact he wanted nothing from Kai, and showed it in a way without using anymore words at the moment. Quickly however, Kyukaku's mood went from agitated to somewhat in disbelief. Once Kai was finished, Kyu gave off a sort of laugh, sounding more like a snicker before he spoke back up.

"That's what I'm going to do huh?" Kyukaku smirked, amused and angry at the same time. Kai really was off his nut to think that Kyukaku would react with obediance to a threat like that. His eyes drifted back towards the water bottle. His left hand grabbed it, bringing his right over to unscrew the top. He held it in front of his face a moment as if to drink before mocking that he changed his mind with a shrug. Kyu stood up sharply, knocking the chair back with a thud that gained the student's attention around him. With a wide backwards motion of the shoulder, Kyu chucked the water bottle over his head behind him, sending it to the wall several feet behind them where it smacked into a bulletin board, splashing water all over several copies of the Keystone Predator.

"Woops. Guess I don't feel like playing boy scout today."

[Kyukaku]

(OOC: I wrote a response for this last night and it got deleted. Forgive me if this one seems crappier for I'm discouraged because of it.)

"Uh, takes one to know one buddy!"

Kyukaku mentally slapped himself in the head. It was a regular terrible quality quip that would make Dain proud. Still, it didn't seem right to let Kai have the last word, even if it was in a language Kyu didn't understand.

Both of the large men that came with Kai had stood up quickly when Kyu had, likely anticipating an attack. Kyu eyed them both in case they decided to proceed against him, only turning his attention back to Kai as he spoke up again. After the line was spoken, any hint of humor in Kyu's face faded once again. Before the bell would ring Kyu would reply, his voice contrastingly cold to moments before.

"If I met your expectation Kai, I would be dissapointed with myself."

The bell rang, and students began to file out. The good majority in their area gave looks to both of the men, obviously aware of the situation that unveiled before them. Some looked nervous of conflict, while others smiled sheepishly as they walked by. The Watchers were already changing patrols, though part of Kyu wished they were still around to just further his point of non-compliance.

Kyukaku's eyes narrowed as Kai's threat became ever clearer. At the mention of Audrey, Kyukaku felt a sting in his spine. Last time someone used Audrey to get to him was Trent, who almost killed the sweet girl. As retribution, Kyukaku went after the killer, getting himself buried alive only to rise up and finish Trent one final time. Yeah, there was no body recovered, but that was likely Kvist's doing. So why then did the whole ordeal still shake him up so?

He closed his eyes and shook his head to bury the thoughts, seeing Kai already moving out with the rest of the students. He moved back to the table, gather the few books he ever carried on him. Kyukaku had never been anything but devoted to his girlfriend, and never even felt the urge to cheat. Audrey was a smart girl, much smarter than he was, and Kyu was sure that she would see through any ploy Kai might use. Still, it would probably be best if he got a hold of her first.