An underground sandwich(The handsome man)

[Shuya Katsumoto]

OOC: For simplicity’s sake, this is before the gymnasium event, but only a few days to a week.

Winter was coming to an end but it didn’t seem that way at all. Though not a trace of snow could be found, cold winds were still sweeping the streets, leaving little opportunity for fallen leafs to linger at a certain place for long. Shuya’s new black shoes were shining brightly, even though there was hardly a trace of the sun. The man stood there, leaning against one of the big oaks that were placed in the center of the city’s park a long time before he had come to San Francisco. The park was pretty crowded, mostly grumpy people who would prefer to stay indoors but had to take out their dogs, but there were also some children just playing about. It was a quiet and peaceful day, one Shuya didn’t enjoy too often. He had hardly any knowledge on school business any more, even less about people who were supposed to attend it. School year was coming to an end and Shuya had no plans whatsoever on what to do next. Since he had joined Hircine several years ago his sworn mission had been to take down MacMillan, but now it appeared as if it would never happen. Perhaps he could get a job at the school and take MacMillan down from the inside… but the risk would only be bigger. Thinking about the school, Shuya started to wonder about several students he knew there that weren’t on his bad side… there were few, some of them graduating just like him. But there was one student he hadn’t spoken to for some time now… a student that would linger at the school for another year at least and might become a crucial ally, even if Shuya were to graduate… A student who had once been sentenced to jail but rescued by Shuya… someone who was indebted to Shuya. Someone by the name of Tyler Scott…

Shuya’s cell phone was quickly revealed as he swiftly removed it from his right pocket, flipping the front up, quickly scanning through his numbers to find the one he required. He dialed the number until a familiar voice spoke greeted him over the phone.

“Scott… It’s been a while, I’m sure you agree… I hope suddenly hearing from me doesn’t give you the impression something’s wrong… I was simply wondering if you could meet me at the local Subway restaurant, the one a short walk away from central park. I’ll be there waiting for you in about 15 minutes so if you could make it, it would be much appreciated.”

Shuya had expected the positive response he gained from Tyler and cheerfully returned his mobile phone into his pocket. Pushed against the tree with his shoulder, he started to walk into the direction of the Subway restaurant. It only took him 10 minutes to get there, so he took the liberty to find a small table for two, near the window where he could oversee all the busy people outside. When the waiter arrived Shuya asked him to return as soon as his ally had arrived as well. If things turned out well, he might still be on a good note with Tyler, making it easier to possibly work with him in the future…

[Kyukaku]

(OOC: Oh, this was for ME! :

Weekends: The only thing that got Kyukaku through the school week.

This one had been stressful enough, with the semester coming to an end. It wasn't the finals, as Kyukaku never studied as it was. No, it was the fact all semester projects would be due. For a procrastinator such as he, last minute homework tended to come back to bite him in the ass. Classes weren't the only thing stressful, however. Something big was going to happen soon, everyone could feel it. Despite this, Kyukaku was still more preoccupied by the future, and what his role would be in Hircine High's.

"Hello?" Kyukaku pulled out his phone, silencing the slipknot ringtone.

"Yep...oh hey, that it has Shuya...well, to be honest I was about to get my worried face on but since nothing's wrong...yeah sure, see you then."

Slipping his phone back in his pocket, Kyukaku walked into his kitchen, searching for the keys to his mercedes. Ah, the mercedes. The car that would forever be worth more than Kyukaku himself, yet was a simple throw away from Taiku. Rich people and throwing away money. Now if only Kyukaku could place why that always went hand in hand...

It would be just short of twenty minutes til Kyukaku would show up at the sandwich place Shuya had mentioned. He would have been here on time if he actually had known where he was going, but as usual, he didn't. After a quick glance around the room, it wouldn't take long til Kyukaku spotted the mercenary. He'd walk over, slipping into the seat across from him.

"Just because we're in public, don't think I won't make a scene. Y'know, in the case you wanted to break up. But hey, were not even dating, so what's up?"

[Shuya Katsumoto]

As soon as Kyukaku walked in, Shuya nodded towards the waiter. While the junior got seated, the waiter moved towards the two men. Shuya chuckled as Kyukaku made some small remark about them dating. He then turned towards the waiter and ordered one large sandwich supreme and a cup of coffee and waited on Kyukaku to order as well. As soon as the waiter got the orders he turned around and disappeared into the kitchen. Shuya turned back towards Kyukaku and finally responded. He would normally have reacted quite dull to the joke of Kyukaku, but since he was in a good mood, he simply returned the small remark.

“Scott… who would want to break up with such an handsome man as yourself?” He smirked at the man in front of him before he continued speaking. “Not much has been up actually, been away for some time… I can hardly say you’d understand it if I said ‘the usual’ but then again, that might be a good thing, no?” He gave Kyukaku a small wink before continuing once more. “So how’ve you been? I reckon you’ve been busy with studying a lot, haven’t you? Or are the rumors I’ve heard true and have you in fact actively been participating in tournaments? According to some students, you’ve even managed to take down Gavyns? Now I must say, that is something Scott… I’m glad to see you’ve grown so much since our last meeting.”

Shuya had carefully avoided any subjects he might wanted to discuss with Tyler later. He knew the boy and knew it would be best if both were at ease here, without any worries. They hadn’t seen each other in a while and Shuya was honestly interested in what Tyler had been doing lately. If he had indeed grown into an even stronger fighter than before, his alliance would be an efficient one if Shuya were to graduate. Subjects such as the watchers Shuya had heard about and the new groups rising, would have to wait. First, they would eat, drink and have some small talk… unless Kyukaku thought Shuya had only asked him over because he needed something… True, Shuya was usually such a man… but with Tyler Scott he had the feeling he could just relax and have some normal conversations…

[Kyukaku]

Kyukaku hadn't seen the waiter off to his side when he made the joke, and he saw the interesting impression it left on the waiter. With an awkward look upon him, Kyukaku ordered a sandwich and soft drink in return, holding back a smile as the waiter was more than happy to walk away. When he did, Shuya offered the joke back, something Kyukaku didn't exactly expect, though nevertheless didn't shock him much. The man wasn't exactly what most people would call "A" company, but Kyukaku had always gotten along with him despite the claims of others such as Leon and Kazuki.

"Not too bad I suppose. You know, Varron-esque ups and downs. To tell you the truth, I'm not one much for studying. I'm an audio learner, or so I claim." Kyukaku paused, cracking another smile before replying to the rest of Shuya's question.

"Yeah, I have. Well, not too recently I suppose. A few months back I did beat Dain and took the tournament champion, but I haven't been back yet. I hear they've been dying out in shadow of Dain's new Fighter's League. Maybe I've grown up...or maybe its these big boy pants that mislead you."

As Kyukaku finished up speaking, the waiter came back with their drinks, giving Kyu another bemused look at Kyu's lingering comment. He had always been a lucky man, stumbling upon things at the worst times and saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. It was his gift.

"But anyways," Kyukaku paused, taking a sip of his soft drink before setting it back on the table. "What's going on with you? You seem a little more chill than I remember."

[Shuya Katsumoto]

Shuya simply nodded a few times as Kyukaku responded to his questions, even gave a small smirk at Kyukaku’s untimely response as the waiter returned with their drinks. Shuya shook his head as the waiter moved back again to hopefully get their sandwiches next. Before Kyukaku could continue, Shuya responded shortly about what Kyukaku had said about Dain’s personal tournaments.

“Yeah… I’ve heard about Gavyn’s tournaments… lesser rules and money to be made, no? I’ve always liked fighting… but I prefer good reasons above fighting for money… there are enough other ways to make money, no? I guess he holds these tournaments on his own turf because he’s afraid of losing to you again, eh?”

Shuya slowly took a sip of his coffee but decided to put it back and waited a little longer for it to cool down. Turning his eyes away from Kyukaku for a second to see who else was in the little restaurant, he waited with his response. When he turned his face back to Tyler, he responded cautiously.

“Call it what you want, Scott… Perhaps I’ve found me a nice girl and have settled down, giving up on the fighting overall…” Shuya knew Tyler would understand he was just messing around a bit now, but still the idea of settling down gave him the chills. “Anyway, I can’t always be focused upon one thing… it wearies me down… Let’s just say I’m taking some time to relax now and then… now and the oncoming hour or so are an example of this.”

This wasn’t exactly true, as Shuya would eventually start talking business anyway. It was in his nature. It was how he wanted things to be. He wanted to have absolute control on everything and he knew that confiding too much in others was futile. He knew that letting something slip could kill a man… he knew that losing focus would eventually confuse and disarray someone. He never wanted that to happen to him, but after everything he had been through he knew he simply had to take some time to relax. The past months or so had been to combine relaxing and working. Now however it seemed he had wasted his opportunities on getting even with MacMillan.

“Perhaps I’ve given up on the things that usually motivated me on going on and has that turned me into just another weakling like yourself, Loire and all those others… you know who I mean. The only difference is I don’t fight for anything anymore, while all of you seem to be fighting for the sake of others. Something I’ll probably never understand…”

Without realizing it, Shuya had probably just given away vulnerable information to Kyukaku. When he realized what he was ranting on about, he quickly recovered and shook his head. He knew Kyukaku was different from people like Loire, but still, Kyukaku shouldn’t get the wrong ideas… he shouldn’t think Shuya cared about others… That would be a blunt lie… right?

“Forget what I said… just an old man mumbling nonsense… are my hairs turning grey yet? So how’s your fight for justice going? As far as I know you’ve been able to avoid jail, right?”

[Kyukaku]

Kyukaku grimaced as Shuya talked about Dain. It wasn't the first time the man across from him had talked trash about Kyu's best friends, nor did it seem it would be the last. When Shuya had finished, Kyukaku shifted in his seat a bit, leaner forward as he responded.

"You know as well as I do Dain isn't scared of much. Either way, Dain isn't even signed up in the league, he just manages the thing. If we fight again, I wouldn't be surprised if he beats me this time around, nor do I think you would be."

Kyukaku brought a small smile to his face, knowing that Shuya often times didn't believe half of the stuff that comes out of his mouth. He began to wonder how much the line of truth and lies blurred for Shuya. The guy was always mysterious, even if he seemed to genuinely like Kyu. He hadn't known Shuya to have many if any other friends, which also had Kyukaku wondering just what Shuya's angle would be this time.

Like Kyukaku had expected, Shuya went back to insulting his friends, this time going back to Leon. It was even less of a surprise, as Shuya seemed to dislike Leon more than anyone else Kyukaku knew of. It was funny, Shuya and Leon weren't as different as the two saw eachother. Either one of them could have easily turned out to be like the other, given the right circumstances. On the other hand, maybe they did know this and it was the reason they held eachother in such low regard.

"There's nothing weak about fighting for others, Shuya. Any man can fight for himself; its fighting for those who can't that show a man's true colors. But...I think you already know that."

Kyukaku paused, allowing that to soak in before he answered Shuya's other question, though blatantly showing less interest in the answer.

"Oh you know, self-righteous and the like. I've successfully haven't been framed for anything for a year now!"

[Shuya Katsumoto]

“I know Gavyn’s might not be scared of much, but let me tell you something. There was a time where I thought he was worthy enough to fight… nowadays however his attitude and behavior has led him so astray, I would see it as a waste of my time to fight him. I’d rather fight you, if you weren’t so girly of course…”

Shuya awaited Tyler’s response before he would continue about the other things Tyler had said, about him and Leon not being weak and what not. He even chuckled as Tyler used the words ‘Man’s true colors’. He was going to give his opinion about that matter. Shuya usually didn’t care too much about what others thought, he knew in his mind that he was right anyway. But when it came to motivation for fighting, he usually got angry with people who said stuff like ‘fighting for others makes you a man’ and what not. Though he had only found Kyukaku’s remark funny, he did want to make, once more, clear what he thought about it.

“You may not call it weak, Scott, but that’s simply because I think we get a kick out of different things. I set a goal for myself which I want to reach. A difficult and challenging goal, something that would help me. This is a difficult task… you on the other hand seem to think you’re doing right as long as someone else is cheering for you or gains their goals. You know what that leads to? Weaklings… People will start to rely on people like you to do their jobs and won’t develop themselves. They haven’t learned how to deal with problems because people like you solved it for them. Well that might sound great for you, but those people are the ones that end up dead for not being able to protect themselves. If they had gotten their beatings, perhaps they would’ve learned about how not to talk to some people… or perhaps they would’ve started training themselves. Apart from that I hate wannebe’s who follow people like you around, just because you saved them…”

Shuya’s coffee had finally cooled down enough for him to slowly drink it, so he finished his cup in one time before turning towards the waiter that had returned and brought the two men their sandwiches. While Kyukaku started eating something of his sandwich, Shuya finally pushed the matter beyond small talk and towards business… school business, of course.

“So, how much are you involving yourself in the current situation at school, Scott? With the watchers and all… I’ve heard some things about everything, but the situation seems to be under control by the principal… I’m afraid I might not even get to finish all my business I have left at the school… and I’ll be graduating soon. So what about you, have you been picking sides? Actively getting involved with rebelling or instead, fighting off rebels? I’m sure such a colored man like yourself has lots of weaklings to protect in these times, no?”

[Kyukaku]

"Yeah, well...I'm twice the girl you'll ever be!"

Rather than continue down the road to conflict, and simply because he couldn't come up with anything good quick enough, Kyukaku blurted out the best thing he could, pointing his right index finger at Shuya. Kyu nodded, pleased that he won that word exchange. He sat back in his seat as Shuya continued talking, beginning to eat his sandwich.

"Well, it's not like I enjoy it. I mean, it's not like I dislike helping people, its just that it isn't my idea of fun. I'm not the guy who gets off on playing superhero. As for the wannabes, no need to worry there. The last person I tried to save took offense. I'm not always so well liked, you know."

Kyukaku narrowed his eyes for a moment, showing his dislike for Shuya's constant use of the word "weakling." When Shuya finished speaking once more, Kyukaku would sit back again before replying.

"Not everyone's a fighter, Shuya. Not every person is meant to thow a punch, and most of them don't deserve to take one. But yeah, its not exactly a walk in the park right now. I was under the radar for a while, but Genaht got themselves noticed by the Watchers, right in front of a nice crowd. I was just trying to keep most people safe, but I guess that pissed off the Watchers. I'm not exactly waging war, but that hasn't seemed to keep the war from being waged on me."

[Shuya Katsumoto]

Shuya sighed as he slowly shook his head. Tyler’s remark showed how foolish the boy could be at times, so Shuya decided to drop it at that, pleased that he had won that word exchange. When people started to blurt out random stuff, it was obvious they knew the other person was right… they were simply too proud natured to admit it. Shuya had to say that was a good quality if Tyler’s… but his performance needed some changes. As Kyukaku stated he didn’t get off on playing superhero, Shuya almost choked himself in his sandwich. Although the laugh had been intentional, the choking hadn’t. After coughing up his sandwich, he took in the rest Kyukaku added to it.

“Are you certain you’re not that kind of guy, Scott? I mean, you risked getting into jail for doing something good… hell you even got into the jail for doing so… I’d say that’s a short step from heroism… But hey, I’m just glad you’re not wearing your cape right now! Anyway, it does sound like you’ve learned something valuable, even though you might not see it that way. Who did you try to save and why did he take offense?”

Shuya took a large bite as he waited for Kyukaku to respond and after that, he finally responded to Kyukaku’s version of what was going down. He nodded as Kyukaku finished before replying.

“Yeah… Gilsin is a fascinating individual… just like you. It wouldn’t surprise me if Gilsin had planned his mischief to be noticed by the watcher. The man has, like me, a cruel sense of humor from time to time. Still, if what you say is true about the watchers, opposition to MacMillan have a strong political ace here. As far as I understood, the watchers are supposed to keep the peace and take down any who opposes them without questioning. This however is opposite to fight those who try to do the same thing as they are… And you foolish boy… I thought you had learned your lesson a while ago… as long as there is war around you, it will be waged on you… there’s no hiding from it. Unless of course you’re able to move like the shadows… So… what do you think will be the outcome of all this? It sounds to me like MacMillan has everything under control, though he might’ve picked better men for the job of watcher…”