On The Warpath (Open)

[Maverik]

Maverik was not going to stand for the current situation any longer... He had been sitting back, refusing to get involved, but no more. Something had to be done, and it couldn't wait any longer. He had done his research and called in several favours... All signs pointed towards one thing... Kvist... He knew that if he were to confront him now would do little to help him, and so he decided to take a different approach. He would bring Kvist to him. He headed down town, with one objective in mind. He was after Hand members... They would talk, or they would bleed... Either way, the end result would be the same.

The first name on the list was David. A new recruit to the gang, but if nothing else he could provide some more names to work with. He wanted to start at the bottom and work his way up the chain... With Dean temporarily out of commission, he wouldn't have to worry about him, though Tank and Trent could very well try to impede his search. He was ready for such a confrontation however. He wore a very old red vest, that to anyone who knew the old him, meant that he was far from unarmed.

Tin House. The last warehouse still in the now converted club area. It was an under-age night club that didn't serve alcohol... And David's favourite hang out. He was a show off. The kind of kid who liked to pretend he had money by wearing a fake Rolex and expensive looking shades. He spend most of his free time at the club acting like some sort of Mafia lord. Maverik stepped into the club casually. It was fairly empty as it was a Wednesday afternoon, and most kids were still hanging out at the mall or doing their homework. David was easy to pick out as he strutted about in his flamboyant blue suit, the top three buttons of his undershirt undone as if he were some irresistible sex machine.

Maverik didn't react to the boys moronic nature. He simply walked in as casually as any other patron. As he passed a pool table, he nonchalantly picked up a pool cue and continued his calm walk towards David. The boy was trying to chat up some girl rather unsuccessfully. This was something he hated about kids like him... They thought that once they were in a gang, they would be top dog wherever they went. "Come on babe! You know you want a piece of this!" He told the now disgusted girl with some sort of hip swivel he thought made him look manly. "Hey any girl would love to have a taste of-" His voice cut out.

The pool cue's large end had been swung hard and had slammed into the back of the boys knees, bringing him to the ground, shocked at the sudden pain he now felt in his legs. Words escaped him to describe it. No one had ever hit him properly before... Especially when he hadn't been expecting it. "I want names..." Came Maverik's voice, spoken in a dark ominous tone. The girl freaked out and ran from the scene, and the bartender simply looked the other way... He owed Maverik a few favours. Just like allot of people in San Francisco.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" The kid managed to blurt out as he rolled over and looked Maverik in his cold eyes. Maverik swung again, this time slamming the make shift bat into the kids arm.

"Names of the higher ranking Hand members..." He added, taking no notice of the yelp of pain from the kid.

"Dude! I don't know any names! I'm just a new guy!" He pleaded. Maverik spun the cue and stabbed it hard and fast into the kids shoulder. Red liquid started to stain the cloths, as even a blunt point can punch a hole with enough force.

"Don't lie... I know you've been playing kiss ass ever since you joined... Now make like a canary and sing kid..." He said menecingly, twisting the cue slowly making him cry out in pain and grab feebly at the end of the stick. "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into siding with Kvist..." He added, his words laced with an almost palpable amount of malice.

"Ok ok! I'll talk!" He whimpered, realising that this wouldn't end unless he did what Maverik wanted. "The top guys... They're names are James and Tom... They're Kvist's best guys... Now let me go!" He begged as he tried to remove the cue from his arm.

"Liar... I know who his best men are..." Maverik said through gritted teeth. He pulled the cue free, only to spin it again and slam it across the kid's mouth, throwing blood and a few teeth across the floor. "Get out your phone and make a call... Call whoever you answer to, and tell them that they have problems that aren't going to go away any time soon..." The boy wimpered as tears welled in his eyes. Maverik jammed the big end if the cue into his gut forcing him to spit more of the blood in his mouth onto the floor beside him. "Make the call damn it!" He yelled, growing angry.

The boy pulled a cell phone from his pocket and dialled a number. He held it to his ear a moment before Maverik snatched the phone up. He waited until he heard the sound of a phone being answered and an unfamiliar voice responded with a simple 'hello'. It was another student, most likely in Kvist's gang. "You listen here and you listen good... Kvist made a fatal mistake... And I'm coming for him... You tell him that... And you get your ass out of that gang as fast as you can if you don't want to be caught in the aftermath... Like your friend David here..." He then tossed the phone to the boy who mumbled something incomprehensible as his mouth had swollen from the injuries.

Maverik dropped the bloodied cue on the ground and walked away from the boy. All doors had been sealed, and all cameras turned off. The place had no windows either... No one but the people present would have seen what happened... Though for those that had, Maverik gave them a message. "This is what happens to you when you work for Kvist! Remember that!" He shouted, before walking towards the door which became electronically unlocked, allowing anyone to exit again. Maverik stepped out of the building, and saw someone standing there...

[kenshin]

"So you've decided to take action now sir..."


Said a familiar tone. But this tone was dimmed differently. It sounded Stern, indifferent, and stoic. So outside of this establishment stood Raphael, one of the devoted members of the watchmen. After going through training in the dojo, and practicing different forms of medidtation, hes doned a completely new outlook on things. He no longer to simply rush things, instead he'd prefer things to run there course and interfere when necessary. His look changed as well. The look on his faced symbolized nothing but a deep determination to get things done, and rather quickly then messy. With a deep sigh, and a wave of his hair, He spoke Respectfully to his sensei


"I guess you can say you've choosen the perfect time to go forth sir..."

[tank]

(ooc:its so good to be back)

ic: I sat in the back of the Tin house. Hood up. Strange seeing how i was inside and the lights where low around me. My frame filling the corner seat that i occupied. I was dressed in usual attire, black boots, cargo pants and a blue and white hoodie. I didn't look any different to anyone in this place. That was the whole idea, i was keeping a low profile. Things in my life had gotten out of hand. My modeling career was on the rocks. Kvist had not gotten in touch and i doubted wither i was actually in the hand any more, and most of all. Rugby weren't played in America.
I looked up from my vantage point. The slow easy baseline running through me in this simple yet energetic place. The people where fun if not a little young, most hot headed coming to prove a point. Adolescence at its finest when looked upon with experienced eyes.

I was watching a boy. Someone new to the hand actually. I was in contact with a few members and i was still a high ranking member in the gang. Most likely behind dean or Trent but who knew? Who cared anyway. David. A new boy, someone who joined the hand for all the wrong reasons. He didn't have a clue what he had gotten himself into. He could flash his scar, say he knew kvist, hung with dean and myself but that was all crap. New boys like him were just lackeys in a master plan. One even i did not know, one i didn't want to know to be honest. I downed my diet coke and belched rather loudly. I didn't have company so i didn't care out the rude out burst, i wouldn't anyway come to think out it.

I watched with my blue eyes as David carried on with his antics, typical kid! why i didn't run and rip his head of myself i didn't know but the rules of the hand said not to. I let out a laugh, i was still living by the hands rules, the rules in which had defined my life in Varron and here, dam my life in America, or even in general. I had always just been an animal with out purpose before. Now i had one, it was not the best but it was still a purpose non the less. World domination. I would laugh again. Who was i kidding, me rule the world? i might have been there when the Edge burned down, and kicked a few heads in but other than that what had i honestly achieved? Nothing.

So i continued to watch. I stared at David, studied him tried to be him for a moment. To feel that invulnerable feeling you get when you are of his age. It didn't work, i knew that, that feeling would never come true. No one was invincible, no one.
My eyes closed for a moment as i rubbed my temples. I should make myself known. Put him in his place but it seemed that someone would indeed do that for me. Someone that i had heard and seen before, thanks to Kvist. Oh the great Maverik. School dean. Watchmen captain. Someone i should be wary of. What a Joke.

The little show he put on was well, UN-needed. Really, a snooker cue to his head? why may i ask? he is under age and a major wimp, If i had a ten year old brother, he would kick Davids ass. But none the less it was a good show. A very good show indeed and i did enjoy watching it. The blood, pain, misery everything bad was just.... enjoyable. Yet I did feel a burn in my chest when i knew what was really happening. When i got past the familiar feelings of joy i felt the emotion that i treasured most. Anger.
Anger that a fellow member of the Hand was being beat down in such an easy fashion. That he gave up so easily and the fact that Maverik was going to get away with it. What the hell!. That was just about it. The Hand was well, what i needed. It was the sick demented Family that showed me my purpose, The reason in which i was here. To be a big brother to all the little maniac fuck ups around here.

I stood up and followed suit. I followed Maverik outside. I was a few minutes behind him, His threat still lingering in my mind.

"This is what happens to you when you work for Kvist! Remember that!"

Those words going over and over in my mind.
Time to show him what happened when you fuck with the Hand. Sometimes the things that you want, ain't all the best thing to be fucking around with. He wanted high ranking members, he claimed he knew them. Well he better know me.

The doors opened and i saw what i was after. Him.
Yet i saw other things to. Ralph for a start. That was no surprise. I wondered if he would remember me? Of course.
Another male was present. Watchmen i guessed. Wouldn't matter. Maverik had a high ranking member, i guessed he would jump at the chance to rip my face off. especially with what i had to say.

"Watchmen, wait" I would say. My deep British accent still ring through. Such an alien sound in this American place. My hood still covered my face, the shadow created would cover my face keeping it from view for now.

"Beating on a small boy is no way to get Kvists attention. Antics like that will get you no where. The Hand is more complex than you think, the road I'm guessing you are taking is not the right path, its a long, troublesome one that will end up in pain, misery and bloodshed. For you watchmen. If you want to talk I'm right here. I know the things that you want to know, maybe more, maybe less who knows. Just for one moment think about what the heck you are doing. Brash actions will end up being nasty. Me and you both know it. Maverik."

After my words. I would stand. My 6ft 5 frame standing tall. All 275 pounds of Heavily defined muscle poised and ready for what was to come.

[Kazuki Akimoto]

Dean had been the first to suffer, and suffer he did. It had been a very long time since Taiku had gone out of his way to harm someone as much as that, but the fact of the matter still stood that there were a couple of stragglers for the Hand still lingering around. Of course, the lower class members were not the ones to concern himself with. For the most part, they were all mouth and no balls to back it up, but just like Dean, a few of them had enough sadism in them to garner Kvists favour as his top fighters.

Taiku remembered one of them in particular, a remarkably large British man who had taken part in the first attack at the doors of the club. Tank, he believed the guy was called by the others. As such he wasn't too certain on where to find him, but a gentleman of that size and build was easier to find when people were aware of the fact. Turned out to be a club, one that was designed for the younger kids of the school who wanted somewhere to go and play the gangster act with no parents around to deal with them. He had no interest in going near the place before now, and as such it was a particularly long while before he eventually found it, taking the wrong turns several times. In time, however, he pulled up outside and walked through the entrance with a palm of a few bills to the 'doorman'.

Doorman, right...The kid was barely Taikus age himself, at least two-hundred and fifty pounds, and not of muscle....He looked like he'd take a few hits, sure, but it was probably safe to say he'd been hired to look the intimidating presence...To the side, a couple of young men who he thought he recognised would be passed by without a second glance.

Stepping inside, it would appear someone had beaten him to the punch...A very familiar someone at that, and he immediately realised why he recognised the people he'd seen outside.

Maverik was laying into a young man, demanding answers to questions and whatnot before he eventually addressed the rest of the spectators in very unsubtle fashion...Whilst he was not about to condemn his friends methods, he had a few choice words about his subtlety. Whilst it was very obvious that the intimidation factor present was the issue he was going for, there were going to be at least a few who would want to go a little more gung-ho about the entire thing, maybe try and take him on...

Or, of course, in true Hand style, go after someone close to him...

Regardless, as the entire event finished up, his eyes left Maverik and looked back over his friends shoulder to someone else that rose up and began to approach. By which time, however, he had already stepped back outside the building and waited with calm intent on Maverik reappearing. His palms, loosely curled in his pockets, drummed against the inner lining of the fabric before he gave a cursory nod to the Watchmens leader and began to pace a little away from the small group as they spoke. Their business was not his, but he kept his eyes on the appearance of the large male as well.

His height and build were the immediate give-away, even with the hood up. The accent that followed, simply the assurance to Taiku that it was, in fact, Tank....

'Well, when in Rome and all...'

The return approach was much more subtle as the large Brit began to speak, his little ramble receiving close attention from the Asian male approaching from a flank not for his words, but for the fact that it would keep his attention at bay. From his pocket, gloved hands emerged, the faintest glimmer of brushed carbon in his hands as he neared the group and spoke.

"Nah, the Hand isn't complex. It's just a bunch of little boys whose mothers didn't hug them enough...Wouldn't you agree, Mav?"

Whether any response had been given by the others, he simply interjected for the sake of it and stood near the large man, using his bulk to shield the image of the older male standing in front of him, discreetly making it very clear he was armed to him. If Tank had even an iota of intelligence, he would know full well that Taiku wouldn't hesitate to shoot him at a moments notice.

"Brash actions, you mean like burning down my club...That's certainly something that could get nasty, as you so put it."

ooc: Considering Taiku IS hunting down 'Hand' members...Well, I couldn't resist it. For the record, I'm not trying to commandeer the thread, I just figure that before Tank gets pwnt here, I should find out what I can from him. If you'd rather me remove the post, I'm quite content to do so and whatnot.

[Maverik]

Maverik heard the familiar voices of Raphael and Kai. Two Watchmen members he had noticed subtly when he had first arrived at the building. Neither questioned his methods, and quite to the contrary, simply asked when everything would be ready to move forward and advance on The Hand itself. "We've tried peaceful methods for long enough... Kvist cannot be dealt with in such a manner, and so if that's what it takes, we'll fight him head on..." He told the two Watchmen in a rather official tone. He noted the difference in Raphael, and wondered just whether or not he would be able to handle what was to come. He certainly seemed more prepared, but looks aren't everything. "Kokaku would be here too, but he's been unreachable as of late..." He said with a slight frown. His brother had completely vanished recently... He had no idea where he had gone as he made no attempt to contact anyone it seemed.

When Tank's voice broke the short silence between Maverik and his men, he did not act surprised. He didn't even act as though it had been unexpected. He turned to face the large man and looked him square in the eyes as his words faded into the air. He saw Kazuki of course... But Tank wouldn't know this until he felt the barrel of a gun pressed into his back. "It's about time you showed yourself Tank... I figured you were just going to sit and watch..." He said coldly. Maverik had, in fact known well beforehand that Tank would be at the club. It was, in fact, the whole purpose of the trip. He would either bring word back to Kvist, or he would face Maverik, and he would have any information he held extracted from him. "We're well beyond 'brash actions' Tank... Assaulting Kira... The attack on The Edge... And now he's both threatened and harmed my pregnant girlfriend..." Maverik's eyes darkened and his teeth clenched. "Well beyond..." He repeated coldly.

Maverik's face rose and he locked eyes with Tank. "You want to talk? Then talk." He said simply. "Where is Kvist operating out of? How many men are following him? And what, if anything, is he planning?" Three key questions that Maverik doubted Tank knew the answers to. He had been gone a long time, and his sudden appearance was what made Maverik decide to chose him to send his message through. "I know all about you Tank. I know that without the Hand you're little more than a wandering brawler who's got nothing better to do than rip people limb from limb... So why would you even offer the possibility of helping us destroy the very thing that gives your life purpose?" He asked, adding a far more personal question to the mix. If he was to trust anything Tank told him freely, then he would need proof that he was indeed trustworthy.

[tank]

(OK I just got back, don't screw me up to bad, and its short i just got back from work and im tired)

Now this was a fatal turn. Just as i was about to get to business, all British style, someone, whom i did not know for now had put a rather cold blunt object pressed against my frame. Seemed that i had indeed pushed my luck to far? Well not entirely. A wicked smile would cross my face. Being in Situations like this was euphoric for me. The thrill, uncertainty the drama. All where present , seemed this quiet night would turn out greatly after all. Even if i did wind up dead. At least i had been noticed.

A voice was heard. With those words The hidden figure behind me came to light in my mind and my smile grew. I slowly lifted my hand. Slowly away from me. The hand on the opposite side to Taiku. I slowly almost at snails pace removed the hood, then slowly at the same pace placed my hand back where it was.

"Your club was a shit hole to begin with. A little intensive décor did it a little good, Taiku. As for you Maverik, the attack on your pregnant girlfriend had nothing to do with me, but i wish it had you little Mug" British grit coming through As i spoke.

I would not be stopped from talking at this moment in time. No one could over power my voice here. The could hit me yea, but that would not accomplish anything, especially with what i had to say.

"Kvist operates out of his warehouse in the docks. But you should know that seriously! If you didn't your a hell of a long way off finding him. As for his followers they grow by the day. He is very persuasive Kvist, I don't know the exact number but anything from 80 to 120. Maybe more. As for what is he planning? Your asking the wrong Brit. The only person who knows what Kvist thinks and plans is him. There are your answers Maverik. Besides your wasting time with me, your loving Kira may be hanging again Taiku, after being violated in every way you can imagine or maybe MAVERIK your un-born baby has been ripped from its mothers womb and as we speak her corpse is being ridden by Kvist himself."

I would burst into laughter after this part. My days where coming to an end i knew it, especially with that speech, yet i had a sparkle in my icy blue eyes.

I'm coming for ya...........mom

[Dante Williams]

OOC:

Okay, I really hope I'm not intruding on anything...

And sorry for the short post XD

And Tank, I'll just be assuming that you attacked Rebecca... though I don't really know the outcome, considering it never was finished.

IC:

Dante had heard throughout the Watchmen that Maverik was torturing a Hand member. And Dante wanted to stop him. He knew that they were getting nowhere currently, but Dante felt that they needed to wait until they were completely desperate to actually go to the extent of torturing someone.

The whole ordeal was happening at some warehouse apparently? He peeked through the door, only to find that a large group of people. One of them the people he expected: Maverik. Two others were Raphael and Kai, two fellow Watchmen. Also there he found a very bloody teen, someone Dante vaguely recognised as Taiku, and.... Tank??!

Dante's fist clenched... Tank: The man who had fought him earlier in Varron. Nice enough guy, Dante had guessed back then, but very scary. But then he did something that infuriated Dante: He assaulted Rebecca.

Dante stepped into the room quietly, it looked like Maverik and Taiku were going to hurt Tank. If so, Dante would help without hesitation. If not, then Dante would follow Tank once this thing ended and hurt him and bad as Dante could possibly hurt anyone...

I'm going to kill him...

[kenshin]

Tank. Probably the biggest SOB he has ever encountered. Just the sight of this behemoth made his blood boil. This man endangered the life of his friends and family. HE stayed silent as the others appeared and said what they needed to say. He listened closely as Tank described the hands whereabouts and how the recruits get in. He regained his stoic composure and walked towards Tank and stopped halfway. "I honestly hope your telling the Truth Behemoth....Because when all of this shit with the hand is done....Il be sure to personally put an end to your wickedness..." He said, without changing the still, Stoic expression on his face while he talked.

He saw from the corner of his eye another Watchmen make the scene. He gave him a look that signaled "Don't Even Try". Not out of spite, but out of protection.

[tank]

(yea posting order is out the window, but i needed to get this post in, oh and no offense to anyone. I like all of you, but tank don't)

After my cocky response it seemed that the other guys here wanted to take a pop at me. To tell the truth there was no need what so ever, it was obvious i would wind up in hospital or the morgue after this. Both possibilities appealed to me in fact. I had not had the pleasure of either in my life time, so in short i was looking forward to it. But before that of course. I would indeed react to Ralph and the other guy. The student in the background who had just arrived had not said a word so he would not get a second glance from me at this point. For starters Ralph. Quick and simple for him. I would not be wasting much breath on this idiot.

"Ralph shut your mouth before i remove it nonse. Do not ever threaten me, when we, and everyone else here knows you would never be able to back them up. Got it?"

With that i would turn to the other student. His German accent ringing through. Germans and British. Not a good combination now was it? That i would use to my favor before Taiku or Maverick decided to react and rip my head off. If indeed they could do just that.

My icy cold blue eyes locked on to his as i replied to his questions this time.

"As for you, you bloody German. We kicked your arses in World war two, and another out burst from you, and I'll end up doing the same, you Ponce. What i said is the truth. I don't need to justify myself to you, or anyone else. If you don't believe me then your as stupid as you look. Now take your Nazi self away from me. Before i get more patriotic on your arse."

With that, i ended what i had to say. I would not say anything else on the matter to anyone. I would wait to see my fate. Wither it was me to be released or for me to die, I would simply wait. An icy calm washed over me in this brief period of time. It saddened me. I enjoyed the adrenaline, the anger the lust for pain, the calm feeling of acceptance was not what i wanted or enjoyed so, i decided to change that and burst out in the British national anthem. My eyes wide open looking up at the sky. My arms would raise aloft not caring if they made Taiku pull the trigger, My mouth would open and my voice would bellow out the words of My glorious Nation.

God save our gracious Queen!
Long live our noble Queen!
God save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God save the Queen.

These would most likely be the last words to ever come out of the blue eyed British giant that was Patrick O Connor.
Tank.

[Maverik]

ooc: I warn you all now. This post has some VERY graphic and disturbing mental images contained within. You have been warned, read on at your own discretion.

ic:
Tank’s answers were clear, though they said little he didn’t already know. However, his next words were what would end him. The image of the ever outspoken girl Kira dangling helplessly, broken and beaten flashed through his mind, and so too did the violent view of his beloved and their child, both dead with wounds too inhuman to describe. Maverik’s eyes darkened, as though he had retreated to the back of his mind while Tank found himself too busy addressing others to notice. Somewhere in the man’s head, a lone figure looked up. A dark room burst forth with light, exposing a barren wasteland, a sandstorm raging a cyclone around the two figures. Maverik stood before a stone chair, with chains covering it across every angle. And there, in the seat of that chair was a long locked away, and so thought forgotten part of Maverik.

Though he looked identical in shape and form, he possessed no eyes of any human nature. Simply black orbs that seemed to drain the very light from their surroundings. Maverik’s scars too were missing from the figures naked body. A pure figure, as though he had never fought or been struck. And when he grinned, through black lips, his white teeth were sharp as knives. This was Maverik’s mental embodiment of Dead Eye… “So finally you need it…” A darker, deeper version of Maverik’s voice said, savoring the taste of victory. “Just beating him, and living by your philosophies is not enough… You need that skill… The forbidden technique that you locked away in the darkest depths of your psyche… The depths to which only I hold the key…” Maverik said nothing, simply staring into the face of everything he hated about himself. “Of course… In return I want something…” He grinned, his dark lips twisting sickly. “I want to meet our child… I want to look it in the eyes and let it see what dwells within its father…” Maverik said nothing. “Then it is done… And I shall hold you to that debt till it is paid…” And with a burst of escalating laughter, so filled with malice that Maverik could hardly stand it, he left that place, his mind now unlocked, and it’s secrets flooding him.

Maverik was pulled full force back into the real world, the lingering laughter of Dead Eye still ringing in his ears. Tank finished whatever conversation had been going on, and opened his mouth, starting to sing the English anthem ‘God Save The Queen’. But as the third line left his lips, Maverik’s hand had formed itself into a knife shape, which he thrust deep into the top of Tank’s stomach, using the entry force to jam his fingers up and under the man’s ribs, pulling the skin and muscle with them. In one swift movement, before any action could be made to stop him, Maverik ripped his arm back with so much force that it was torn from its socket. But as he dislocated his own arm, he had performed the technique that should never again have seen the light of day. The dark act of breaking his opponent’s entire ribcage outwards by pulling back with immense force, holding it in just the right way…

His ribs would piece the skin in some places, leaving a rather grotesque sight… But what was truly horrible… Was what would be done within him. His organs would have no wall to keep them in place, and they would fall and twist and tangle amongst each other, and he would die in the most agonizing way. This was the same move he killed his adopted brother with so very long ago… “Kvist will die… The Hand will fall… And anyone who tries to stop me will be cut down where they stand…” His words were filled with a hatred so pure that it thickened the air about him. The only man to ever see him like this was Kazuki, and he would know that this meant that the darkest of times would come before everything could be set right again. Though Maverik didn’t move. He just stood where he was, motionless, his eyes watching as Tank’s life left him, second by second…

[Dante Williams]

OOC:



Wow...

IC:

Dante was snarling at Tank. He WAS going to kill him... Then he spotted Raphael trying to hold him back with a look. Dante walked behind Raph and whispered, "Don't try to stop me..."

Dante was just going to wait until Tank was done answering questions until he was going to attack. C'mon... Dante thought, Hurry up...

Then, Tank started singing England's national anthem. Now! Dante thought as he stepped forward, I'll kill him!!! That message repeating over and over in his mind until it happened...

Maverik stuck his hand inside of Tank and actually PULLED OUT HIS RIBCAGE!!! Dante whole body shivered, and his knees collapsed under him. He knew he was being weak. Why aren't I happy? Dante thought, I was just going to kill him anyway. Why is it so bad if Maverik-Sensei does it? Am I just slightly upset that I didn't get the kill?

No. Dante answered himself as a tear rolled down his eyes as he saw Tank's guts spill out and churn. I didn't really want him to die. I never wanted anyone to die...

Dante knew it always. He could NEVER actually bring himself to kill anything. Especially so horribly. What happened to Maverik to make him act like that? Dante thought somberly, then rememberd, Shit... Tank is still alive barely...

"Ca-Can someone just kill him quickly??!" Dante cried out as he could only think of the pain Tank must be feeling...

[tank]

(ooc:yea... i just DIED... in style might i add maverik just got karma)

The words of my Nation. The glorious words. The pride of a whole Nation ringing loud and proud. For all these Americans to hear. Yea until i felt an intense pain. No wait. An immensely intense pain something no one in this earth would want anyone to feel ever. This was pain. This was what i had been searching for all my life. Yet when my ribcage broke, and i fell to my knees. My Strong legs keeping my body upright on my knees. Something else crept into my mind as i tried to finish the song. My organs where all over the place crashing against one another. The pain of each turn unbearable, My ribs had broken skin and blood and other fluids where oozing from my chest. Blood erupted from my mouth like a fountain. Covering my beautiful white teeth.

As the blood, bone and god knows what else covered my clothing my eye sight began to fade. Yet the pain did not. I could not move in any way to comfort myself, i just had to sit there in immense pain. Pain i could not describe. Ever. As i slowly died. I was not filled with regret or remorse. But happiness. Happiness that i had been stopped. Stopped for good.

Some how unknown to me. My head lifted. It lifted to To look at Where i thought Maverik to be. My eyes glazed over. Unseeing already dead. And some broken words leaped my lips before i fell dead. To the ground. In a crumpled and unholy position.

"G...d sa.....e...T......he........Que......Quee......N.....Fucker"


That was all.

R.I.P The British Behemoth Known only as Tank.

[Kazuki Akimoto]

ooc: Since someone wanted him killed QUICKLY, I'll see to that. Also note, I WILL shoot anyone who is stupid enough to make the wrong decision against me right now, just bear in mind that I've no intention of doing anyone else harm

ic:

Unlike the others, Taiku offered no words of anger toward Tank, nor did he react to the threats made to him. In his eyes, they were no longer worth anyone making. Kira was safer now than ever, Tong Xian and Maveriks unborn child would never fall to harm again, and Tank simply spoke malicious threats for his own ends, attempting to salvage what little 'pride' he could at being a Hand member.

As he begun to chant a national anthem, the English one, he believed, he could only raise an eyebrow as the barrel of the gun rested against the small of his large targets back. Yet, his eyes unlike the gun, were targeted somewhere much more important. Something only he out of the others here would recognise. The shift and spike in demeanour of the slightly younger male who stood before Tank had been a curiosity at first, Taiku initially brushing it aside as base anger at the words, but something didn't quite gel.

Even he would have been powerless to react, considering the target of Maverik, no...Dead Eyes wrath was directly obstructing his path, and as a familiar attack was landed, Taiku could only freeze and watch with dismay at the mess that Tank had been left in, his eyes closing a brief moment as a sigh escaped his lips.

The barrel of the gun raised just a little bit before a single shot echoed out, the bullet finding its target in the back of Tanks head...A mercy shot, more than anything. He certainly had his own vicious streak within him, but the fact remained that as it was, Tank was now nothing more than meat.

'You were a lousy bastard, but even I couldn't have done this...'

Striking him as particularly valid that this was the first time he had ended a life in a long time, he gave but a moments solemn gaze at the body in front of him...This wasn't how he wanted it to happen, he didn't want to do it this way. He couldn't lie, he would have shown little mercy, but he wouldn't have killed him.

Not like this...

And then, something almost unthinkable happened. The gun was raised further, the barrel pointed directly towards Dead Eye with an unfeeling look in Taikus eyes as he stared directly at the shell of his friend, his Watchmen likely incredulous to the action they were witnessing. Whilst they had perhaps snippets of knowledge that the two had fought once upon a time, they would likely know little about Dead Eye and the surrounding issues held with some of the much older veterans of the school, namely, Varron.

"I will assume this is a temporary visit...."

As it stood, the only people who would likely understand fully would be Maverik and Taiku, the stand-off between the two brief in reality, but for Taiku it would last an age in his mind...It had been a long time since he had been in this position, willing to bring threats upon one of his closest friends, but he would rather take the chance than let everything come tumbling down...

"But then, you know I'm content at killing him to get rid of you, don't you? Unless you forgot what happened on the rooftop...."

Whereas Taiku was more than aware of just how insanely fast Maverik was, and the fact that Dead Eye seemed to enhance that in whatever aspect, the fact of the matter stood that Dead Eye couldn't dodge bullets. The distance between the two, considering both would have likely taken a step back, putting them at least a pace or two away each when Tank had been felled, would give the fundamental advantage to Taiku, that is, if he were capable of actually firing the shot...

[kenshin]

OOC:
-_-......
Rest in Piece you behemoth....

IC:

Raphael stood silent. His eyes showed signs of horror, But his face remained the same. A question brewed into his mind. Is this what he wanted to teach us? Is this the secret martial arts he wanted us to learn?! He decided to keep himself silent in all of this. He looked to his side to see poor Dante in shock by all this. He began walking in his direction, kneeling and placing a hand on his back. "All of us have pasts that are hard to be rid of." he said silently to him. Looking at Taiku and Maveriks area, he prayed to himself silently. Maverik.... God help if Xian ever even saw this.... he thought painfully, looking fully to his teacher.

[Dain Gavyns]

Dain, apparently, was the only one around these days not hunting down and slaughtering members of the rogue faction known as the Hand of Fate. However, he'd had his ear to the grapevine since he'd come to his senses as of late, knowing that information was the most powerful tool he could deal with as of now. Apparently, Taiku was on a one-man rampage, and Dain simply felt that not only was running around toting guns and dismembering people simply not his style, but also running side-by-side with Taiku might only end up with Dain simply getting in the way.

Unknown to Taiku, then, he had been scouring various information sources, attempting to check police files, hospital records, and even asking around near school grounds about suspicious rumors. The Hand were apparently keeping things much tighter this time around, and Dain could only be pointed in the direction of some hot-shot wannabe, one of the few kids who openly claimed allegiance to the masked madman.

The Tin House, apparently, was a place where this particular hot-shot wannabe gathered with other hot-shot wannabes. All in all, an unimportant name, an unimportant place, but enough of a lead for Dain to head out. He'd intended on simply sitting down with the kid, maybe talking to him a bit, trying to glean what little he knew out of him, while at the same establishing how much the lower-end members of the group knew about Dain himself.

Upon arriving, however, Dain, completely unarmed for such a situation as this, and dressed only in a pair of black denim jeans and a red and black striped button down shirt, topped off by a black and red ball cap, pulled backwards over his head.

Good Lord in Heaven above...

Dain wasn't the most religious man in the world, but watching a man's innards spill from his front after his ripcage had been ripped in two by a man's bare hands, especially when those hands belonged to a rather level-headed friend of yours, one had to at least wonder.

In short, Dain was seeing his early high-school life flashing before his eyes once again.

This time, however, instead of a pressing need to take the fall for his doomed friend, Dain found within himself a welling of rage.

This, this torture was far from the battle Dain had envisioned when he first decided himself to bring the fight to the Hand of Fate. They would suffer, they would pay, and likely, when it was all said and done, they would die, but... not like this. Dain's eyes narrowed as Tank's, the Hand's resident bruiser, slowly became devoid of life. What part of this was any better than what the Hand themselves did on a daily basis? From as far as Dain knew, this was worse.

"MAVERIK!!!" Dain's cry came out loudly and furiously, cutting the silent air just before Tank uttered his final words, and Taiku, in typical fashion of him as of late, blew his brains out. Taiku held a gun to Maverik, then, apparently ready to blow him away as well. This turned Dain's eyes from narrow slits of rage to widened orbs of dismay.

"TAIKU!" He yelled with the same sense of urgency. By this point, everyone inside the bar had quieted, most staring at the spectacle before them. Dain's breath began to quicken, here were two people he considered friends, people he had trusted, and maybe, just a little bit, admired, acting like animals at the slaughter. His lips tightened into a sneer before he spoke again, his words laced with contempt.

"Is that what we do now? Is this how we do business? Last time I checked, we were the good guys, god dammit! You," he cried, pointing emphatically at Maverik. "Aren't you leading the Watchmen? Isn't your whole point to keep peace, both on the inside AND the outside? Is THIS," his finger panned to Tank's lifeless, grotesque body, "your idea of fucking PEACE?"

Dain stepped up, standing between his employer and his friend, though off to the side, forming an oblong triangle between them.

"Look at yourselves! You're fucking animals! Is this how we want to end things here? Is this how we're going to live with ourselves?"

Dain stood there, glaring at both of them, disgust still apparent in his eyes.

"And YOU GUYS!" he cried, pointing out towards the three Watchmen also in attendance. "Will you just stand by and watch your supposed 'master' act in such a way? Is this not completely counter-productive to the tenets of your group?"

"This is... disgusting." Dain concluded, keeping his eye on as many of the variable as possible.

[kenshin]

ooc: sorry if this disarrays posting order, but something needs to be said....

IC:

"Who DOESN'T think this is disgusting Gavyns?" He said, cool and calm, but still alittle jumpy in his voice after seeing the spectacle. Few people knew that everything has a price, And Peace was just another price tag on life. Waving the hair out of his still and stoic eyes, he turned his head slowly to the enraged graduate. "Everything in life has a price. Love, Power, Wealth. And Even peace...." He began slowly, his voice being calm, but later beginning to rise. "If peace is what one wants, then someone has to pay a price! Take a stray animal for example. The wild thing comes into your house every night to raid through cabinets looking for a little midnight snack..." His hand formed a fist and held it out. "Night after Night the vermin comes in and snacks on your food. You catch it one day and think, 'aw its just a poor little thing. Maybe if i give it a little snack, it will leave us alone'. So you give it food and let it go away. BUT! With every act comes a price." He said it highly, as if it was the Key word.

"Another night, the Vermin sneaks back in and pesters you for another hand out. So you Unwillingly give it another treat out of peace and love." He said, his tone to the point of irritation and sternness. "When you are good and peaceful, People will always take advantage of you! That is why you need to take responsibility for your own actions! to actually Preserve a peaceful life!" He said. after that sentence, his whole body turned in Dains Direction. His hands folded and behind his back like an adviser for someone. "I would of caught the vermin, and have it euthanized immediately, to stop it from breaking in! Now, Do you have Any clue as to what this behemoth has done?! God rest his soul...." He said the prayer sympathetically. Tank was an evil little, or big fucker, But he was still human. "He assaulted A watchmen's loved one, He nearly destroyed Xians Unborn child!" He took a step toward Dain, and stopped. "Now the question i have for you Dain....is what would you do....If Tank had his hands on Her?. By her he Ment Ran Ling Xiao. He still knew she was a puppet to Kvists mad games.

[Maverik]

Dante’s voice was lost on Maverik as he cried for a swifter death. The Englishman mouthed his final words to Maverik, and a bullet lodged itself in the man’s brain, ending him completely. He slumped back from his knees and lay lifeless on his back. There was a silence around everyone, when slowly, Kazuki raised his aim at Maverik, and locked his eyes on his target. He spoke of Dead Eye, reminding that in order to be rid of the monster; he wouldn’t hesitate to kill Maverik.

Dain appeared out of nowhere and started shouting. He condemned Maverik's actions and questioned his position. He turned to the Watchmen and asked of their blind following of Maverik's leadership. His voice piqued with rage at the scene before him, but Maverik did not look away from Tank's corpse, even now probably cold to the touch. Raphael began to justify Maverik's actions... He told Dain that there was a price for peace, and it had to be paid.

"Raphael is right..." A far more somber voice spoke out. "There is a price for peace..." He added, still not looking up from the empty eyes of Tank's body. "And that price is the souls of those who fight for it..." He said quietly. Finally, he looked up and faced Dain, tears still falling freely down his cheeks, though his face was stern. He firmly grasped his arm and jammed it back into place, barely wincing at the pain it caused. He then slowly held up the back of his hand and exposed the dying yang symbol to Dain's eyes. "There is a reason we wear the symbol of balance... And there is a reason that every Watchman's ring faces the dark side towards himself..." He did not lower his arm, though the pain was great. Nor did the tears begin to slow...

"We give good, and we take bad... And in the end, it is likely to destroy us... But that is the choice we make... Unlike in children's shows, the villains won't just sit in jail until they have another chance for antics... They kill... Maim... And whenever they have the chance... They strike out at those we care for..." His body began to shake slightly, as though everything were welling up within the man... "I do not enjoy killing... And I never wish anyone to feel what Tank has felt... But when everything is stripped bare from a man... He is merely an animal..." He paused and looked downwards, his hair covering his eyes. "And I am an animal who has been trained to kill..." He added quietly. Then, slowly his arm fell to his side, swinging freely, controlled only by gravity. Maverik's eyes closed under his fringe, wating for whatever was to come from those around him, be it abuse or nothing at all.

[Kazuki Akimoto]

His hand shook as the gun was trained on his closest friend, the hammer cocked as his breathing rose...Sharp, sudden breaths that robbed whatever semblance of control he thought he could have had in the situation. It was Dains appearance, however, that brought the entire moment to a standstill, his head turning with his own pained expression on his face as he looked toward his former business partner...

Almost without notice, his finger left the trigger as he brought the gun back down...Releasing a catch, the magazine fell out and into his other hand before being slipped into his pocket. The moment after, his hand clasped the top of the pistol and jerked back sharply, releasing the last bullet from the gun before it found its place back in his pocket with the magazine.

'This isn't right....'

His hearing basically tuned out as he turned toward Dain, his face slightly obscured by the light from the street-lamps behind him, and with good measure. He was visibly shaken from the actions, and he gave no mind to anything as he took a few steps away from the others, not even turning back to look at Maverik or the other watchmen. When he eventually took a moment to say anything, his voice was ragged and angry.

"This....isn't how it should have happened....A price for peace? Is that what this is....!?"

His finger jabbed pointedly at Tanks remains as he spat the words almost furiously at the Watchmen...He had never planned on killing Tank, the gun simply to ensure that his intended conversation didn't erupt into anything more. Yet, whilst Maverik had so savagely destroyed him, it had been Taiku who had found himself showing the last ounces of mercy to the Hand member...

"You're right, an animal who was trained to kill...The scary thing, Maverik, is if that beast of yours is spurred on so sharply by words, how can I be sure you would not be a bigger danger to us than Kvist himself? I didn't lie, I would rather risk my neck to kill you, for your womans and childs sake, than to have that filth exist again...."

Only now did he glance back, over his shoulder, with a glare toward a person he was, at the moment, almost ashamed to call his rival...This was not what he wanted...By all means, he was intent that Kvist would find a fate of his own that would prevent him being a threat to anyone, but there was no point in going to the extremes that had been used. Looking away again, he passed Dain with the briefest of looks to him...

"Which of us are the real monsters...? Am I so wrong for sparing him from suffering more than he should have...? Look at him, dead or not, it was a far more humane thing to save him the agony."

A pause, a sigh from his lips, and he spoke again as he walked away, slipping from the sight with little attention.

"I don't even know if I can bring myself to do it...I've been so focused on getting Kvist out of the equation that I never even thought if, when it was all said and done, I could actually be able to kill him..."

[Shuya Katsumoto]

* Click * * Click * * Click *

The sounds of Shuya’s camera taking one picture after another softly in the far backs of the other side of the street was all that echoed through the small alleyway he was in. His face showed once more, no emotions at all as he took one shot after another of Maverik entering a building that supposedly held up some Kvist follower. Behind him stood a small and tender build young man, one of the few people who had fought against the rest of the school on his own in the past… just like Shuya. In Shuya he saw himself, more matured and more powerful. He envied Shuya… that had been the sole reason why he had agreed on lending a hand at finding out where the big honchos hung out. He had been tailing the leader of the watchmen for some time now and had immediately informed Shuya when Maverik’s behavior had become slightly different from normal, ending them both up here. Shuya wouldn’t have come and taken a camera with him if it wasn’t for the other information he had received… Taiku would be coming here too, it seemed…

And yes, shortly after, yet another great Varron warrior entered the scene as the shaded figure known as Taiku Akimoto entered the building as well. A second burst of clicks was heard as Shuya remained motionless in the back alley. The time both males were inside together was short as Maverik was already about to leave the building again. Outside there waited three people Shuya did not know personally… all he knew was that supposedly they were part of Maverik’s little Watchmen group… A soft voice spoke behind him; ”So… are we moving in that building and take some shots on what happened in there as well?” Vincent’s voice was calm but Shuya felt he was somehow afraid of the disgust they would encounter inside. Before too long however, a larger figurehead of the Hand of Fate appeared, walking out the door and loudly speaking to the Watchmen in front of him. “No Vincent… I think this might turn out into something good as well… we wait… besides, we don’t want them spotting us now do we?” Shuya gave the boy behind him a small nod and the two of them moved slightly back, yet his vision on the spectacle was still perfect.

However, the event that took place would even disgust Shuya and although he continuously kept making pictures of the whole event, his face was filled with disgust as Tank’s ribs were pulled out, his vital organs dropping down his body one by one before Taiku finally finished the violence by shooting one through the big man’s head. Tank had been murdered in a brutal way not even Kvist could’ve thought of… and all of this was done by a man Shuya had thought of as a calm respected fighter… someone who in the past might’ve had his temper problems but was overall best suited for school Dean… but what he had seen and locked on pictures forever just now, was purely disgusting. Shuya’s intentions had been to collect enough pictures to increase tension between both sides, perhaps create more trouble amongst the own parties as well… this however was evidence he could use for much higher purposes if he wished to do so… This could be used as evidence to have Maverik get removed from his position as Dean… lose all credibility he had as leader of the Watchmen, scattering their followers if Shuya and his team would make a move… These pictures would lead to more questioning about Taiku… and of course, these pictures might lead to Kvist either chickening out and leaving this country for good… or force him to finally make a move…

Shuya wasn’t entirely sure what he would use the pictures for, all he knew was that the world had failed him once more. Shuya wasn’t exactly a man who stood for good nor bad. The only thing he tried to stand for was himself… There were few people who Shuya could truly respect… due to their actions, their behavior or their huge dedication to a select cause, even if that cause wasn’t the one Shuya strived for. However, it seemed he had chosen the wrong people to respect once more as the respect he had held for Maverik was now ebbing away and Taiku’s was evenly at an edge. Shuya knew the man had suffered due to the hand, but behavior like this wasn’t something he’d approve… Slaughtering people without giving them an honest chance to fight back… But… wasn’t that exactly… hadn’t he too in the past… were these people in fact more similar to him then any of the others? Was Shuya truly one of a kind or had he found the pact of animals that behaved in the same way as him? Thinking about how he had murdered his own family, his head slowly dropped down, his tension rising slightly. It was at that time that Vincent gave him a rough push, indicating something was going down. Slowly Shuya’s head rose again as his grieving eyes were now locked upon the newcomer:

“Dain Gavyns…”

His senses immediately calmed down again as he snapped back to reality, forcing his memories of the past to be locked inside the back of his head forever again and hopefully, never to come forth again. “I had actually expected Loire to show up and break the murdering love couple up…” he whispered towards Vincent, not letting his young follower know anything about how he truly felt about all of this. In fact, at the current moment, Shuya was glad that Gavyns had appeared to the scene. The man had been mostly busy lately, not showing much of him… a spectacle like this… one even Gavyns could not ignore, might lead him back to the battlefield. The most interesting aspect being that there was no right side to choose for the man… A few more clicks came from his camera as he had zoomed in on the aggressive and yet also sad face Gavyns showed, now taking his pictures as well. What he would do with all this was a question even he himself could not answer at the time, but he knew he would get as much of it on camera as he could…

The outcome of Gavyn’s words were not clear at all… Maverik’s body language telling Shuya he thought what he did was right, the Watchmen apparently backing up his leader but Taiku… Taiku actually questioning his own methods, a sight Shuya had never expected to see from the man. Where all this would lead, Shuya did not know, but he knew he had to make a few more steps backwards and hide himself in the shadows more, making sure he would not get noticed by any of them. He slowly handed the camera to his follower behind him as he whispered to him: “Get the hell out of here with that thing… drop it off at the counter of the hotel I’m staying in… you did a good job today Vincent and for that, you shall be rewarded…” The kid smirked slightly as he shook his head before running off. Shuya moved himself back into sight of all people on the streets, in front of the hideout building. He wanted to see how this ended… he would enter the building after everyone left and take a picture or two with his cell phone’s camera… never the quality nor quantity of a normal camera, but Shuya doubted he’d need more then what he already had… plus he doubted what he would encounter inside would be more horrible then what he had seen out here…

[Dain Gavyns]

Dain's eyes remained cold, and yet, still sad, listening to first Raphael, then Maverik, and finally Taiku, all say their piece. While the words of all three registered clearly in Dain's mind, it was still no justification in his mind for what had just transpired.

No matter how you tried to spin it, no matter what kind of jive you began to speak about 'prices for peace' and 'fighting fire with fire', at the end of the day, there was still a bloody, ripped-apart mess of a man, at the hands of someone who promoted tranquility.

Maverik began his weepy act, and Dain simply didn't buy it. He might have been truly repentent, but the affronted young man would have nothing of it. It seemed very little could effect him, at least this time around. He affirmed Raphael's words, speaking of a price for peace, and the darkness in every man, and continued on with a list of hypothetical, metaphysical mumbo-jumbo that almost made him sound like a poor, sad, repentent soul on paper...

Except, again, for the fact that a young man with his chest ripped to shreds was still laying face-first on the ground in front of him.

Finally, Taiku, lowering his weapon, seems to feel the brunt of the aftermath the worst. Doubting his own morals, his own intentions, seemingly everything about him up to this point, he begins to exit the club, walking right by Dain as he does so. Dain allowed him to leave, not moving to stop or get the final word in, at least, not for him.

Finally, it was his turn to say something, and speak he did.

"Postulate all you like, Watchmen. Twist it all around, spin your words and make it all seem like you're just the sinning saints in this equation, doing the only thing you can to stop some vicious evil lurking behind it all."

Dain sneered again, shaking his head at the chaos before him.

"You say there's a price for peace, both of you. But... I gotta ask you this: Is THAT," Dain said pointedly, his finger jabbing towards Tank's lifeless, mangled body one more time, "the price? Is it?"

Not bothering to receive an answer, Dain turned around and left the club himself, allowing Maverik and his Watchmen to consider what exactly it was they had done.

Leaving the club, Dain began his own trip out, having to cross the street on his way back to his vehicle. It was here he ran right into Shuya. Dain had had very little experience with this character, but what it had been, was far from civil.

"Shuya." Dain said the cold in his voice yet to fade. "What manner of subterfuge and masterminding brings you conveniently out this way today?"