The Clincher (PLOT)

[Kyukaku]

"Have you heard?"

"Uh, heard what?"

"About that senior, Tyler. As of today, he's apparently the official Captain of Hircine High."

"Oh, that Kazoo guy?"

"...Kyukaku. What are you, socially retarded? Most people know him by now. He's won a couple tournaments. Like the one that JUST happened!"

"Phh! He's probably not that tough. Maybe I'll go challenge him!"

"Colby, I'm an 100 lb girl, and I could kick your ass."

Around the table the rest of the kids threw their heads back and laughed. Word had been spreading since before first period. According to a recent poll by one of the schools newspapers, Kyukaku was seen as the most eligible student as School Captain. With Alkaiser's concession, there hadn't been any other big names publically seeking out the title.

Of course, there were those out to prove otherwise. There was more than one public display of interest by at least one other student. However, in the recent days Kyukaku had put that behemoth of a road block to the side, at least for the moment. Kyukaku had gone on to win that tournament, proving that he was indeed capable of a task such as School Captainship. For perhaps the first time in his life, Kyukaku had full confidence that he was the right person for the job.

Kyukaku's eyes remained on his sack lunch, doing his best to drown out the stares and gossip buzzing all around him. He hadn't found any conflict for the first half of his school day. While that would usually be a good thing, it made Kyu a bit nervous. When things were quiet, it usually meant something worse was coming his way. When in danger, Kyu typically felt the safest strange as it is.

Allowing his eyes to drift up for a moment, he searched the door frames. He expected at least two people to join him. A good friend who almost became an enemy, and an old enemy who might become a good friend. However, the fact that the morning had been uneventful only served to suggest the afternoon would not be. He might have tied up some loose ends, but there were still some out there. From the new Genaht guy to the average joe, there could be no telling who would take a seat by, or a swing at, Kyukaku this lunch break.

[Allen Daughtry]

As an observer, Allen Daughtry had no trouble at all to notice the spread of rumor and gossip, especially the important details and facts of an event, a person, or a group. And even better: word spreads fast, like wildfire on oil-drenched oak trees.

At the time of catching his end of the rumor-mere, Daughtry had been killing time in the school's courtyard, sitting on a cement stool with a matching table set in front of him, his laptop planted on the champagne surface with an extended battery just behind it, a wireless mouse flying around on its right side, and a pair of whole-ear headphones linked to the center of the fold, leading directly to Daughtry's ears. The beat of dance music blared from his head, techno and trance pieces reverberating through his echoic awareness, yet he clearly showed no signs of bother from the loud and pulsing music - quite the contrary, the sounds of a club seemed to calm him. He was, at the time, glancing over the news giant CNN's website, reading over the progress of the Democratic primary and its various dramas. One of the greatest places to find drama and gossip, Daughtry found, was in American politics, where ignorance, wisdom, passion, idealism and power collided into the policies of the world's "greatest nation." Allen smirked at the smug concept, but as a young American, found it difficult to argue. He did love his country, after all, even if their leader was disliked by all and its history held several mistakes and sins.

'It's the idea and potential, perhaps, for freedom and progress that makes America so inviting and beloved, at least to its own citizens. I'm no different.'

A few minutes later, Allen slipped the headphones away from his ears, satisfied with his brief rest from the school day. As he packed away his laptop into his bag, however, his shaded eyes glanced around him, and once again, he noticed the relative peace and quiet of the school. The boy found it interesting that, for a school that had gone through so much conflict in its last year, the place had nearly returned to its old order from the transfer of its "worst" cases to Paragon. That fact also helped to answer the "Varronite" question, as there were just as many Hircinians that left as Varronites, solving the old stigmas and hostility.

As Allen stood up with his back pack slung over his shoulder, he heard the excited chit-chat of three passing girls, who had the name "Kyukaku" on their tongues. From what little Allen heard as they slipped past his vicinity, the world "Captain" was paired with the man he briefly met in Nobu's revenge on Paragon. Daughtry remembered the man's moralistic manner and accepted the chance that he had been pursuing the title of Captain, though how strong of a leader he'd make was hard for the newcomer to tell. Still, being a former Pillar and having respected his own Captain back at Mugen Hall, the boy decided that, to show recognition and praise, he'd pursue Kyukaku and give him congratulations.

Though, to point out, Allen Daughtry had no intention whatsoever to seek a return to power. 'The circumstances had been different back then,' Allen spoke to himself, 'and I'd rather stay behind the scenes. I don't like being in the center of the picture, anyway.'

Returning to the school's front doors and passing through, Allen made his way through the necessary corridors to reach the school's cafeteria, passing by gossiping students alike. He saw a few fights here and there, but again, the relative peace remained the same; in all honesty, the situation felt like something he'd hoped to have in his senior year, and while he knew it wouldn't last for long, he hoped it would return a year from then, when he could enjoy it. For now, though, considering he still had two years of education in front of him, the boy would enjoy ambition for all of its worth.

It wasn't difficult to find the new Captain, considering the people that seemed to practically paint an arrow towards him with their fingers and glances. Allen was not afraid to pass up towards him, unlike most, and so he stood behind the senior Varronite with a subtle grin, his right hand holding the strap of his back pack as his opaque shades glanced down towards the new Commander-in-Chief.

"Well well, never expected you to take over the reigns, but I guess my freshness to the place is to blame for that," Allen Daughtry began, nodding to the older man, "so consider this my congratulations to you, and all that jazz. I hope the day's been as peaceful for you as it has been for me, just to make idle chatter?"

[Nobu]

School Captain, huh?

Nobuo Yamamoto sat on the bleachers overlooking Hircine High's football field, enjoying his lunch in silence and solitude, the occasional pair of students strolling past him on their way to or from the main building. Cheap, wooden chopsticks dipped into a plain white cardboard box, retrieving slivers of eel smothered in a sweet sauce the Japanese student had purchased on his way to school. That's right, purchased, not stolen. It put a dent in his limited funds, however, so he was going to savour every last bit of grilled fish.

Shoving the grilled pieces of eel into his mouth with his wooden utensils, Nobu continued to think about what he had overheard during his first period class. And his second period, and in the hallway by his locker just before lunch. Although the Japanese student had been attending Hircine High for the past year, he had only gotten the gist of the corporal punishment system, and in turn, the Captain and Pillar system. He was aware that the pillarship held some sort of authority over the student body, and was under the impression that the school captain was the undisputed strongest of the school.

Kyukaku's phone number had been obtained from one of the gossipers Nobu had been eavesdropping on. It was rather hard not to hear what was being said, given the fact that everybody was saying it. Nobu was surprised, really, at how easy it was to get Kyukaku--or should he say, Tyler's--number. Made him glad that he was practically a nobody in Hircine High. The remainder of his sweet, grilled lunch dissapeared into his mouth, and the greasy, empty, white cardboard box was placed beside him on the steel bleachers. While chewing the eel, he ran a hand through his hair while the other dug into his pocket to retrieve his mobile phone. Small, plastic ornaments that dangled from his mobile jingled as he flipped it open with his chin, scrolling down his very sparse contacts list until the name 'Kyu' was highlighted.

Being an avid text messenger in his youth, before he was shipped off into the wilderness, Nobu's thumbs flew across the keypad, typing out the message with ease and hitting 'send'. The text read:

meet me @ the bleachers please
-Nobu

His name was signed because Kyukaku probably would not recognize his number, but hopefully he would recognize his name and come out to meet him.

Closing up the phone with a snap, Nobu placed it back into his pocket, running a hand through his mahogany locks once again. Greasy cardboard and wooden sticks clattered across steel and concrete as he knocked his empty lunch down the bleachers with the toe of his sneakers, hunching over and cupping his face in his hands afterwards as he waited for either a reply from the captain, or for the captain himself to show up. He then remembered something his grandfather said to him:

"You have samurai blood in you, Nobuo. You must fight. You must strike down the strongest of warriors, for if you were to encounter a warrior that is more resolved than yourself, you will finally be awoken from your dreams."

[Kyukaku]

While most of the mouths of Hircine High were talking about Kyukaku, very few were talking to him today. As such, Kyukaku's attention snapped up to Allen, looking surprised even though he had seen the acquaintance approaching. As Allen Daughtry spoke Kyukaku began to relax, smiling as he let out a small sigh and sat back.

"Thanks... Yeah, the days been eerily quiet, actually. I mean, there's plenty of days where I'm not being punched at, but usually there's always someone saying they're going to punch you, or something. I don't know, you'd think of all days that today would be a crazy one, yeah?"

Kyukaku's attention went to his right pants pocket, causing Kyu's eyes to drop down to the leg. As he slipped his Motorola Q out of his pocket, he would listen to any reply Daughtry would have, waiting for him to finish before checking the text message for the sake of being polite. After reading it, he'd gesture for Allen to take a seat and continue their conversation if he so wished. As he would take his seat (or not), Kyukaku's thumbs would quickly type away on the built in keypad.

@ the caf...is it urgent?

Kyukaku hated to keep anyone waiting, but at the moment he couldn't just up and leave unless it was something that needed to be dealt with immediately. Not only would it have been rude to Allen, but he still expected Alkaiser as well as another. Ironic that he had to make someone else wait, because they were making him wait.

[Aryck Venn]

There was a low, nearly inaudible sigh as Aryck Venn crossed the cafeteria, tray in hand containing a cheeseburger, fries, and a garden salad. His eyes were dead-set on the back of his target's head, and his feet were following suit. Most people had seen Aryck make short work of almost all of his opponents in the last tournament. He had, once again, emerged from the shadows of Hircine, and, while not as many as there were about the new captain, the rumors were still flying.

He walked briskly, most people getting out of his way if they were even so blocking him at all. As such, it was only a matter of moments until Aryck found himself standing closely behind the newly self-proclaimed Captain of Hircine, Tyler "Kyukaku" Scott.

--FLASHBACK--

Kyu had caught up with Aryck after their finals match, jogging a bit to gain ground on the lankier fighter before he could exit the gym it was being held at.

"Hey Aryck!" He called out, still a little winded from the entire night's ordeal. Aryck merely stopped, turning his head over his shoulder to see who had flagged him down.

"Hm?"

"Good fight," Kyu said, to which Aryck only nodded his acknowledgment and/or agreement to. "I've got a little request for you, if you don't mind."

Aryck stopped, somewhat surprised at this new turn of events. He turned his body, facing the slightly older student to hear the request. "....which is...?"

"Could you meet me, tomorrow lunchtime, in the cafeteria? I've got a couple things I wanna talk to you about."

There was a long pause as Aryck mulled over the idea in his head. Finally, after almost half a minute's hesitation, Aryck, once again, simply nodded his agreement, before turning and leaving.

--END FLASHBACK--

And here, Aryck stood, behind the Captain. Allen would have seen him approach long before, but unless he warned Tyler, Kyukaku may not have heard. After all, the cafeteria was a loud place. The lanky junior spoke.

"Meeting or not, I still intend to eat."

With that, he set his tray down beside Kyukaku, taking a seat next to him. His eyes caught the bespectacled Daughtry's, and he nodded his greeting before beginning to munch casually on his hamburger. After a few bites, he turned to the senior student, raising an eyebrow in interest.

"You wished to speak to me?"

[Kyukaku]

(OOC: Short. Trying to keep this thing moving with the least amount of wait between posts, hence the breaking of post order to keep flowing naturally.)

While usually very perceptive, it seemed to be a habit of Aryck catching Kyukaku unexpected...even when he was expected. Kyukaku turned in his seat a bit, making it so he was facing both those present. As Aryck began to munch on his hamburger, Kyukaku found himself smirking, the irony that he was engaged in a conversation with the same three people that went to Paragon, be it in person or through text messaging.

"Oh, yeah." Kyukaku snapped out of his thoughts, Aryck once again gettin straight to the point.

"I think I've realized something about you, Aryck. You're all about balance. It was hard to peg you at first. Back at Varron, I had thought you were simply a sociopath when you were with Stern. Then I thought you might be some rare breed of anarchist by going against the system, but when word got out that you took down one of the Horseman from Revelation, it seemed you were about order, which would fit your demeanor more." Kyukaku paused, collecting his thoughts once more before speaking.

"After the fight, I had an epiphany. You do what needs to be done. With this school's track record last year mixed with the recent incidents at Paragon, there's danger around every corner for all the students, including us. I'm asking you to do what needs to be done, to help find the balance. I want you to be one of my Pillars, Aryck."

[Allen Daughtry]

Allen nodded in agreement with a dismissing shrug, his smile soft and casual, "Life does have a way of surprising us. Let's just hope you don't believe in jinxes."

The shaded man watched curiously as Kyukaku glanced towards his leg, and the way of his behavior suggested that a cell phone or other electrical device caught his attention. Allen's thought was confirmed as the other pulled out his cell and motioned for Daughtry to sit down. The recent transfer did so a moment later, placing his bag on the part of the bench next to him, and leaning back onto his left elbow as it planted onto the table, watching as Kyukaku wrote out a text message and made his reply. Allen would only smile and nod, however, and instead turned his eyes on a figure walking towards them - a familiar one.

'Well I'll be damned, Aryck's here too...'

Daughtry had no reason to think that Kyukaku needed a warning about the new guest, so he chose not to speak. Thus, his companion had a faint surprise a moment later, but immediately recovered and went on to explain something that clearly only the two of them understood. The boy dwarfed the slit of his eyes in interest as Kyukaku pointed out a sort of perspective on Aryck - to which Allen didn't understand completely, but agreed, considering Venn's nature. The new Captain went on to offer a title of Pillar to the man, of which Daughtry grinned at the idea.

'I don't know Kyukaku very well, but it's good to see he'd want someone neutral in his group. He's not a die hard good guy or anything, but he obviously knows to cover his bases. Good tactics.'

Allen allowed his grin to be shown at the offer, and added his own thoughts to the conversation, "I gotta admit, a Pillarship with a smart gray guy would help out in the end, nice choice Kyu. Though it's up to you Aryck. Not like I have a say in it anyways. I'm just observing."

[Nobu]

[OOC: Nice touch with the smaller text.]

A soft melody spilled out of the pocket of his cotton trousers, drawing the Nippon native's attention away from his drifting thoughts. Moments later the melody would cease, and Nobu would draw the sleek plastic piece of technology out of his pocket, flipping it open and reading the reply Kyukaku had texted him.

With a sigh he began typing in a reply, his thumbs punching buttons lightly on the dial pad, the text reading:

just show up when u can/txt me if u cant

The phone shut with a snap, and Nobu jumped down from the bleachers after putting it back in his pocket, his hand shortly joining his mobile and disappearing into his pockets. Nobu's head tilted back to look at the cclear sky, his free hand rising up to brush hair out of his face and to shade his eyes from the blinding gaze of the sun.

Once I fight the strongest warrior in this school.. I will know where I stand.

[Aryck Venn]

Aryck listened to Kyukaku as he ate, allowing the slightly older student to explain to Aryck exactly what Aryck was all about. His assumptions were about as accurate as anyone could be, Aryck supposed as he plucked a fry from his plate and popped it into his mouth. Finally, came the proposition.

Pillarship? It could be interesting. And it would give him something to do and an end to place his means.

"I could simply just be a sociopath, you know," Aryck said, sounding completely serious, as he took a few bites of his salad. This was, of course, Aryck's own brand of humor, but as he said it so seriously and honestly, it was mostly for his own benefit, and those who thought like him.

"You believe what you say to be true. You have conviction, and that is a good thing. What you require, it seems, is action."

Aryck frowned slightly as he put down his fork. He didn't much care for words, he preferred to use his actions to explain what was needed. But sometimes, even actions were not enough to convey the more complicated trains of thought.

"You have bound yourself, restricted yourself from going too far in the pursuit of your goals. Your restrictions do not extend to me, and you know that. You do not wish me to become a Pillar, you need me to. In the chance your morality fails, I will be your backup."

The corner of Aryck's mouth turned up in a small smirk. "You need me to do your dirty work? I accept."

He grabbed his burger and took a few more bites.

"Who else will we be recruiting to keep this so-called 'balance'.?"

Aryck strung Kyukaku along a bit with the mockery he placed on 'balance', just enough to keep the self-proclaimed Captain guessing. He may have been spot-on with his insights, or he may not have. Not knowing for sure just added to that balance, after all.

[Kyukaku]

(OOC: Two months. Two months!)

Though it was unlikely Aryck and Kyukaku thought in the same wave length, the School Captain had been getting used to the Junior after several encounters, even if it was just a little bit. Though it was said with a serious tone and face, Kyu couldn't help but smirk at Aryck's comment. It seemed like a joke...but Kyukaku never wrote off the possibility that Aryck was still a sociopath in his own rights.

Aryck continued, coming pretty close to guessing Kyu's motives in the matter. It was true that Kyukaku's ethics prevented him from doing many things that never stopped Darren Blayne or Lei Shen. While of course this would certainly make many things much more difficult for Kyukaku, he always believed there was a way without giving up the moral high ground. Of course, that way was almost never easy, but it was a way.

"Well, I'm not sure about that one." Kyukaku started, giving a momentary frown before flipping it upsideown.

"I'd like to avoid any sort of order where I would be in the need of 'dirty work.' I'd like my position to be a clean one. Though, I guess you're not far off even if I'm not too fond of your word choices."

At Aryck's last question Kyukaku finding himself going over some names in his mind. There was Alkaiser, but there was a very good chance Aryck was already aware of that one. That filled two of the spots, at least for the moment. There was some speculation on who the third would be but...

"I have some idea..." Kyukaku trailled off as his eyes followed, turning to look at the other student sitting next to him.

[Allen Daughtry]

Allen Daughtry continued to sit idly by Kyukaku's right side as Aryck Venn contemplated his response, and eventual acceptance, of the Pillarship title. As it were, the junior leaned the square edge of his chin against his left hand as its corresponding elbow pressed into the cafeteria table, his opaque shades covering the unfocused eyes as Daughtry both listened and observed the other man's reaction with a faint level of distraction from his own internal thoughts, as they reacted to Venn's decision.

'Quite a bit of confidence in this guy, it's almost surprising to me, considering how modest he demeanor stands; then again, that cold look on his face says otherwise. He's right though; Kyukaku is a good man, but that's his weakness; he needs someone to cover his other options, even if he doesn't like them. It's just strange to hear the fact referred to so... bluntly.'

Of course, Kyukaku reacted in a reluctant, but otherwise satisfied manner, pointing out that while he didn't like the way Aryck Venn saw the matter, and that he would rather not have him act in such a way, the man was not naive, and was happy to take the junior as his first Pillar. Of course, then Venn's other remark brought Kyukaku to change his focus onto the other two students to fill as his Pillarship, and for some reason, the Captain began to glance at Allen.

Daughtry continued to stare forward for a few moments as the man next to him watched him, but the junior could not ignore what was likely the subject at hand forever. Still, he would try his best, as he'd react as if he were ignorant, turning his face to glance back at the senior, "What? Stop staring at me like that Scott, you're freaking me out."

[Kyukaku]

Kyukaku's gaze would go ignored at first, followed up with an act of playing dumb. Kyukaku continued to hold his gaze, betraying no deeper thoughts even as Allen spoke up in such a way that would otherwise have brought a smirk to the Captain's face.

"C'mon. I know we're not the best of friends, or even much of an acquantaince, really. But if there's one thing I've learned, it is to do your homework on someone." Kyukaku paused, taking the moment to lean forward on the table, placing both elbows down as his thumbs went under his chin to rest his head.

"After seeing how you immediately jumped in on that deal over at Paragon, I've seen you can handle the situation. That of course, got me curious. You were a pillar at your old school, weren't you?"

[Allen Daughtry]

While Allen's desperate tactic fell apart before it even began, the frown on his face did not lighten as he heard the response from Hircine's Captain that he expected to catch all along. His opaque shades planted onto the strong face of Kyukaku as he reacted in a calm, controlled manner, Daughtry's cerulean gaze began to squint into an irritated glare as the inevitable discovery was tossed forward, and in response, the junior formed a scowl of momentary contempt across his face, turning his eyes away toward the distant wall.

'I knew it wouldn't be long before they'd find out that fact, and I sure as hell knew a guy like him would be smart enough to look. It's all in my public record, after all; I didn't care enough to make a false name. But still, the fact alone still pisses me off to all hell.'

Clenching his left hand into a fist and tapping his knuckles across the table, his right hand planted on his right leg, Daughtry remained quiet for several seconds before replying, his gaze still into the distance, "Different times, different circumstances, and a different captain. Just so you know Scott: I rarely make friends, and I had none in Mugen Hall - and have none here. The only reason I was a Pillar there was because the school had no one else to turn to, and that Captain - Gabriel Ember - was my roommate and probably the closest thing I came to a friend ever, so you can see that it took a lot of extremes to make me into leadership material."

Finally, turning his attention to Aryck Venn in front of him, staring down his cold eyes for a moment with a frown, before turning his attention back to Kyukaku, Allen watched him for a moment more, then nodded a decline, "And these aren't those circumstances. I'm no Pillar; it's behind me, and I don't plan to take it back up ever again. So find yourself someone else."

Knowing that Tyler Scott would likely attempt to persuade him otherwise, Allen decided it was time to take his leave. Standing upright from his seated position and stepping away, Allen now stood behind the Captain of Hircine High, looking to both men and nodding, "You're a good guy Kyukaku; I'll back you up if you need my help, but that's as far as we go. And Aryck, look after him, you're right after all; he'll need you."

Turning on his heel, Allen then gave both men a wave of his hand and turned his attention to the crowded path ahead, frown still on his face, eyes glued ahead.

'Don't react Scott, please... don't...'

[Aryck Venn]

As Aryck finished his lunch, he listened to the interplay between the two students also present. It would seem that Kyukaku was interested in recruiting the blond-headed one into his fold, as well. Aryck could tell early on, however, that Allen did not seem to want to have any of it. They had a bit of a back-and-forth, and Aryck watched almost indifferently as Allen explained the story of his pillarship back at Mugen Hall, citing why he wouldn't join Kyu's cause before giving Aryck a look from behind his sunglasses and standing up to take his leave of the two. It was a fairly clear tactic, at least to someone like Aryck who took a particular interest in such things: State your point, take an opposing stance, and leave before you are called upon it.

Any man who was making an excuse or two was apt to use it to escape a difficult decision.

As Allen turned to leave, Aryck extended his hand across to Kyukaku, motioning him to do nothing about it. To further back his point, he would speak soon after.

"Don't bother with him, Scott," he would speak coolly, his eyebrow perking up to regard the retreating Daughtry as he did so. "If he wishes not to join you, you should respect his decision. That, and he is likely to be closer to useless than he is to useful."

Was it an intended bait to drag Allen back, or was it just a cold remark from a cold individual? One of the most intriguing things about Aryck was that, many times, it could go either way.

((Short, but I don't have a whole lotta time.))

[Kyukaku]

For once, like his counterpart Aryck, Kyukaku didn't change from a neutral facial expression as Allen quite openly spoke his distaste from the offer. Aryck spoke up as Allen was about to leave, his words probably causing at least some hesitation in Allen. Aryck was quite adept when it came to reading people. In this case though, Kyukaku couldn't help but feel differently. It sure seemed like Allen didn't want to, but then again...

"I'm not asking for any favors, Daughtry." Kyukaku spoke neturally, probably sounding eerilly similiar to Aryck, and surprisingly cold for his reputation.

"We don't know eachother well, and while I don't have a problem with you, I never assumed to be good buds either. I'm not asking you to help me out as any favor...I just want you to stop lying."

Kyukaku would pause, letting what he said soak in for whatever it was worth. If nothing else, it was blunt enough to have the shock value to regain his attention in the case Kyukaku was wrong on his assumptions. If that was the case, then the following words would sound quite ridiculous.

"You thrive in this game, man. Look at what you've done since you've been here. You were what, not even a week into this school before you got involved in its politics? Say what you will, but its all out in the open. You jumped at that graffiti thing with Paragon. You dealt some with the crowd and some for those responsible, and you never did it unprofessionally. You're here aren't you? I'm sure you can come up with another reason for each of those things, but think about it. Do you really want to make excuses, or do you want to do what you came here for?"

[Allen Daughtry]

... And yet, just as Allen Daughtry thought he escaped, Aryck Venn had him trapped with a moment's hesitation, his own pride flaring in anger as his ears picked up the blunt remark from behind him. On its own, the suggestion wasn't enough to make Allen turn on his heel and stay to bark back or to reconsider the offer to sate his own wound, but there was enough time open for Scott to follow through and reel in Allen's attention even more.

His back still to the men as he stood still, his teeth gritting in frustration as he glared ahead of him, the junior absorbed the cold words of both men, each attempting to stab inward to his heart and mind with their criticisms, hoping to make Daughtry reconsider. Kyukaku talked as if Allen avoided the title because they weren't friends, but before he could counter, the Captain than extended that he was merely avoiding the "truth" of his own intentions.

Did he wish to act as a Pillar? It was true, he did stand up against the Paragonians, but was that the reason for his actions? Perhaps... maybe Kyukaku was right; perhaps Allen was looking to regain his title, to hold power again, to wield order through power. Maybe he was letting his fear and old habits cloud his thoughts; perhaps he wanted to a Pillar, his instincts merely feared the responsibility that it required.

'Perhaps...' Daughtry thought, turning on his heel to glare back at the two men, his lips pressed tightly together as he took a step forward, but remaining where he was otherwise, and noticing as a few of the tables around them took notice of their conversation.

"Don't worry Captain, I don't hand out favors so easily. My problem is the commitment. My problem lies in that I'd be serving as an authority under someone I barely know, in a school I'm new to, and with a position that part of me is reluctant to take. I'm not avoiding any kindness to you here; I'm looking out for myself. Why should I serve under you? That is the question I have."

Then pointing his right hand towards Venn with intensity, yet keeping his shaded eyes on Kyukaku, Allen continued, "And maybe he's right Scott, maybe I'm not the man you want. So why? Why are you so interested in getting me as one of your Pillars? What's your purpose? What's your goal? How could you trust me, and how could I trust either of you, in a position that demands attention and power, and in a school that seems to have a habit of bringing out the worst in people? Maybe I do what to be a Pillar again, maybe I'm just looking for the right Captain and the right school, so prove to me that you ARE that Captain and this IS that school, and you've got me!"

[Kyukaku]

Turn around. Come on, turn around...

The longer it took Allen to reply, the more Kyukaku began to think he had put all his eggs in one basket, and now that basket was smashed and there would be no eggs to be had. When he finally turned around and began making his reply, Kyu couldn't help but form a small smirk. Oh, word games. How Leon would be proud.

"I like to give everyone a chance. To people like my newest pillar here," Kyukaku paused, gesturing at Aryck, "It would probably be seen as a weakness. I'm well aware of its dangers, but I'd have it no other way. Because of my 'I give you a chance til you screw it up' system, I took interest in you, and so far I'm surprised to say you aren't too far off my first impressions. The reason I want you is simple, Daughtry: you yourself aren't sure you want it.

"I could get any number of kids to do what I want if I wave a pillar title in front of them. Those are the kind I don't want. The ones who are in it just for the title, the name, the power. I don't want someone who wants authority, I want someone who wants to do something to make this place better."

Kyukaku would turn his complete gaze from Allen, instead going between both Aryck and Allen as he gave the final part of his current spiel.

"The fact that I put so much faith in my choices for pillars is because I've worked my ass to find the right ones. Because I feel you're the right ones, you'll find I do little in terms of giving orders. I want you both because you're an adequate force on your own, not because you're a good little soldier."