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Post by Yukiko Oshiro on May 11, 2012 23:21:37 GMT -5
The day was gloomy. A front of thick, dark clouds were rolling in, obscuring the already low light grey ones. The air was steadily growing heavier with the rising humidity, indicating a chance of rain. A storm was most liking going to break within thr next hour, and Yukiko was still outside. This was the sort of weather she liked best, in all honesty. Everything was still, but unsettled- as if the itself Earth was holding its breath.
The Ookami silently sat on one of the swings in the abandoned schoolyard, dragging her feet throughthe dirt and staring blankly at the sky. Her mind was blank, but overflowing with thoughts and worries at the same time.
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Post by Theo Anson on May 11, 2012 23:36:57 GMT -5
Karter looked on at Yuki sitting on the swings. Dark clouds were gathering, and he preferred to not think of that as a sign of this not being a good time to talk. After all, he was putting Theo's and his own life on the line. There was probably NEVER going to be a good time to talk about it so he might as well get it over with...
"Yuki!" He called out, making as noise as he approached instead of creeping up quietly like he would normally be inclined to. Yuki wasn't a threat to Theo, he had no reason to purposefully startle her.
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Post by Yukiko Oshiro on May 13, 2012 22:11:19 GMT -5
While Yukiko hadn't exactly been expecting Karter (or Theo, for that matter), she wasn't really startled. Her sharp green eyes jumped over to where the Tora was standing. It was odd, but somehow Yukiko always knew which of the odd pair she was dealing with. She got a significantly different vibe from each of them, so it wasn't hard to figure out that it was Karter she was about to have a conversation with. Which as notably less pleasant than the prospect of talking to his host.
"Hm?" The Ookami turned towards her companion to let him know she had heard him. However, she didn't really say anything.
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Post by Theo Anson on May 13, 2012 23:11:58 GMT -5
Karter strode up to the swings so he wouldn't have to shout to talk to the Ookami. His footfalls swifter and more confident than his meeker counterpart. He leaned up against one of the supports for the swingset before he began to talk again, arms folded over his chest. "I figured I should let you know before I actually commit to something." He started off, figuring he would just be to the point on this one. "I've been recruited to attack and kill three... rather volatile people..." He decided to phrase it that way, giving a shrug. "Just thought you should know."
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Post by Yukiko Oshiro on May 13, 2012 23:20:30 GMT -5
Recruited? To kill? What was he, some kind of assassin now? Yukiko looked at him blankly, knowing there was no point in not starting with the most pressing concern she had. "Is it risky?" the Ookami blatantly asked, running her fingers through her hair apprehensively. "Could Theo, or you," the latter was an afterthought, "end up hurt?"
Nothing else mattered until that question was answered. Theo was still thr most important thing with anything when it came to any of Karter's "activites." It was the only reason Yukiko could swallow her meekness and deal with a person like him, despite how uncomfortable it made her.
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Post by Theo Anson on May 13, 2012 23:38:22 GMT -5
Theo mulled that one over a bit. "No more risky than my altercations with Mikka." He said after a moment. "But yes, there's a good chance we'll wind up injured from it. The conditions are... different than I'm used to." He shrugged. If he was understanding the situation properly from what he had overheard a blond say over a phone to her brother, they would be fighting in the manor. A space that enclosed would put him at a disadvantage if one of the other psychos used a long enough blade or long blunt object. He could only dodge if he had room, after all.
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Post by Yukiko Oshiro on May 13, 2012 23:47:00 GMT -5
Yukiko's brow furrowed and she bit her lip, thinking carefully before she spoke. She hated how nonchalant Karter always seemed to be about this sorts of things. Admitting that she was, in a way, helping someone who had killed people was more than difficult for the Ookami. But it hardly seemed to matter to Karter at all.
"Won't it be different, though?" The Ookami spoke slowly and deliberately. "Mikka's just one person. You said there were three." That certainly changed the odds in a fight.
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Post by Theo Anson on May 14, 2012 21:43:30 GMT -5
Karter shrugged. "Definitely. I anticipate that I'll only be fighting them one-at-a-time, but plans go astray rather easily." He leveled the brunette a look. "Truthfully I'd rather not go, too much risk for too little gain." That, and he had the suspicion that Mikka would hit him over the head with her crowbar and drag him along anyway if he tried resisting. He wouldn't put much past the crazy Russian. "However..." There was always a however, he hated it. The alter ego shifted his weight to get more comfortable where he was leaning. "I've already agreed, and I doubt backing out of an agreement with the Russian she-devil is easy to do..."
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Post by Yukiko Oshiro on May 15, 2012 15:43:07 GMT -5
"If you recognize the risks, you should have never agreed to it in the first place," the Ookami shot back, showing a surprising amount of strength in her voice. Normally she couldn't talk to anyone like that, much less someone as unnerving as Karter. However, Yukiko's concern for Theo's safety was greater than that over her own well-being. She was, reasonably so, irritated with her friend's "other half" for deciding to do something dangerous when the risks were so clear.
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Post by Theo Anson on May 15, 2012 23:44:43 GMT -5
Karter bristled. Why had he expected this to go over easily? He shouldn't have bothered telling Yuki. "It was a matter of pride!" He growled at her, an action that clearly differentiated him from Theo. Theo never growled. Squeaked, perhaps, but never growled. "I couldn't just back down with Mikka there! She'd never let me live it down!" He scowled. "Besides, she brought Theo into the picture, I'm trying to act as if he and I AREN'T one person and it was the only proper way to respond." He had actually been rather frightened that if he declined on the basis of 'that could never happen to Theo' then Mikka might just take it as a challenge.
Far-fetched, really, the Russo-German woman wasn't the type to attack the innocent, but Karter didn't like the idea of her trying to track Theo down and figuring out the secret. His survival was essential for Theo's safety as far as he was concerned, Mikka couldn't find out.
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Post by Yukiko Oshiro on May 18, 2012 20:17:16 GMT -5
The fact that Karter had mentioned "pride" as a factor poked furiously at Yukiko's normally calm temperament. How could he put his pride over Theo's safety, of all things? Most of what was coming out of the Tora's mouth made zero sense to her by this point.
"That doesn't mean you go and do something even riskier." The Ookami wasn't shouting quite yet, but she was pretty damn close. "I thought we were supposed to be keeping Theo safe, not throwing his body into a war zone!" She didn't really stop to consider that arguing with Karter probably wasn't the best thing for her to do in terms of her own well-being. The stability of his temper was vastly unknown to the girl and she already had knowledge of his capability for violence.
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Post by Theo Anson on May 18, 2012 21:05:01 GMT -5
Karter shifted his weight so he was no longer leaning on the pole, stance a bit more defensive and less relaxed now that he could hear the aggression in Yuki's voice. Well, aggression for the Ookami, that was. "I've made my goddamn choice." He hissed at her. "The three I'm going up against I'll have considerable backup for. Dealing with a pissed off Mikka after I tell her I'm no longer helping is probably going to be the worse of the choices." His hands tightened into fists as he dropped his arms from their entwined position over his chest.
"So let me try explaining this to you again." He ground out. "Mikka is dangerous, and I don't know how well she's going to react to me backing out but she's going to ask for an explanation." Most of this was only occurring to him (consciously) now. "And I have a feeling like she'll bring up Theo again, if she tries to prove me wrong about him never getting kidnapped, she's GOING to find out we're one person." His eyes narrowed. "And pardon my paranoia, but she doesn't seem like a person who doesn't see omission of facts as lying and I doubt she's fond of liars." There was also the chance she'd think he had made up Theo from the start.
"If she finds out," He continued, going into rant-mode. "Then I can only guess that she's going to react badly. I can hold my own against her when we fight because she treats it like a game and I'm LUCKY. If she takes it seriously, Theo and I could both easily die."
He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "So, either you come up with some way to explain to Mikka why I shouldn't go, or I'll go and fight with her. Getting injured is better than getting killed." He was restraining himself from hitting the Ookami woman, Theo wouldn't like that. He couldn't hurt her because Theo liked her. Dammit...
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Post by Yukiko Oshiro on May 18, 2012 21:24:55 GMT -5
"If you want me to talk to her then I will." The Ookami loosely copied the Tora's stance, crossing her arms firmly over her chest. The sudden shift in mood had startled her a little, but she refused to let it show. "From what I gather Mikka isn't the type of person to go after people like me. I'm sure I can talk her out of being upset with you." The Russian girl sort of reminded Yukiko of a small child. After raising five brothers she was pretty sure she could figure out how to deal with someone like her.
She frowned, shaking some loose hair out of her eyes. "But I refuse to let you put Theo in any danger."
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Post by Theo Anson on May 18, 2012 21:45:09 GMT -5
Karter growled, grabbing Yuki by the collar of her shirt and yanking her over and up to look him in the face. "He might trust you and like you," He spat out, eyes narrowed and nearly glowing with a sort of dark fire. "But remember that my entire existence revolves around keeping him safe." The eyes narrowed to slits and his grip tightened further on her collar, so very close to her throat. If he wanted to, he could shift its position and break her neck. He knew four ways to do that with no clean-up, and six with minimal blood splatter. Dark eyes glowered into green ones, waiting for her to say something else.
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Post by Yukiko Oshiro on May 18, 2012 22:04:01 GMT -5
Yukiko swallowed nervously. Her eyes were wide with an unmasked combination of shock and fear, looking up into the Tora's dark ones. She tried to hide the sudden moment of weakness, but the task quickly became impossible. A small part of the Ookami was blaring alert signals, telling her run. But with Karter holding her in a near choke-hold, that wasn't an option.
The Ookami suppressed the urge to try to pry his hands away, worried that doing so would make him even angrier.
"I understand that," she whispered, struggling to keep her voice even. "But so does mine."
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