Mutants & Masterminds: The Indigo Children - [Prologue] Isaac & Tomoko

[jameson (ST)]

Continues from [Prologue] Isaac Ward and [Prologue] Kitsune

Raucous padded along beside Isaac, his toenails clicking on the pavement as they made their way down an alley and peered down into the loading space between two warehouses. Parked one behind the other was a luxury car and a limousine, neither of which had any good reason to be in a neighborhood like this. Despite the limited lighting Isaac could make out four men in suits standing by the cars, although they appeared to be waiting for something. One of the warehouses had a light on inside, the windows glowed from within though detail could not be made out because of the frosted glass.

Kitsune climbed down the wall inch by inch towards the window. As she moved to peer around the window casement and inside the mortar inside the brickwork shifted sending tiny fragments of cement to the ground. It wasn't loud but her father's bodyguard, or who she assumed was her father's bodyguard, whipped his head around at the noise. "Did you hear that?" he asked the chauffeur in Japanese. The bland man shook his head in a negative reply. "Did you hear that?" he repeated in accented English to the other two men.

"Hear what?" the thick man who looked like he was prone to bludgeoning things asked. The other shook his head.

"Perhaps it was nothing," the deadly man looked around but didn't see anything of note. He returned to silence but his head was moving and he appeared to be on a more conscious state of alert now.

Click to reveal..

Notice checks

(09:07:13) ChatBot: (jameson) rolls 4d20 and gets 2,3,7,19.

nabbed

[z-Isaac Ward]

Isaac pulled back a little, to give him room to lean down close to a hole chewed in the concrete and whisper, "Hey. Hey, you down there."

What? the unseen respondent asked.

"Want some food?" Isaac asked. It was sorta a stupid question, but one had to lay out the rewards of cooperation early to keep the attention of this particular animal.

There was a considerable pause. Yes, came a suspicious response.

"I'll give you some," Isaac said, reaching into a pocket and pulling out a doggie treat. Raucous whined and Isaac shushed him.

I hear a dog!

"He's not going to hurt you," Isaac replied. "He's with me."

There was a longer pause. Isaac blew gently on the food, sending the scent of it down the hole. A black nose emerged from the hole, slowly followed by a rodent head. Beady black eyes watched the food, the rat's yellow incisors working earnestly, as if already chewing the food. Isaac let the rat take the food and disappear down the hole. He waited then asked, "Would you like more?"

Yes! The rat was more interested this time and it's head poked out of the hole.

"Then first I need a favor. Anyone who wants food needs to swarm that building," he pointed to the warehouse in question, "and scare the humans inside. Don't hurt them. Just scare them. Got it?"

[SalmonMax]

Tomoe froze where she was, watching the men at the cars for a long moment. Fortunately she didn't have to move her head to refocus her vision on the window. Once she was satisfied she was safe, she craned her head just a little higher...and realized she couldn't see through the frosted glass.

Shimata! she cursed inwardly, and looked back at the men standing outside. At least one was on guard now, and he kept looking over at the warehouse. But she had to get to the actual door now to see inside, and that was a bit farther away...

Would a distraction help? she wondered...or would it simply put all of them on their guard?

She hesitated, working out her next step.

[jameson (ST)]

Hanging upside down on the wall, Tomoe tried to figure out what to do next. The door was likely as much a dead end. The only light seemed to be coming from around the edges and mostly from under the bottom, but maybe if the gap was large enough she could see. Of course she'd need to pretty much be in front of the door to do so, which had its own dangers. Kitsune was pondering a distraction when one came to her.

"Yes." The rat scurried away and Isaac trusted that the promise of food would override the flight mechanism of the rodents. He settled in to wait, but he hardly needed to, within moments dozens, then hundreds, of rats started to swarm toward the warehouse.

"Holy shit," the burly bodyguard cursed as he saw the swarm coming toward them. He was echoed by similar comments from the other three men, in both English and Japanese.

Inside the building there was a shout, followed quickly by another and after a moment the steel door of the warehouse slammed open as two men dashed out into the evening from within, stepping carefully to avoid the massed rodents.

The door, a standard steel security type, almost hit Tomoe where she was hidden. She managed to avoid the door but then her attention was taken as a few rats started to climb up the bricks, and her. She let out a squeal of disgust and moved away quickly but the noise was loud enough to be heard over the cussing and the sounds of hundreds of tiny scurrying rats.

"Who's dat?" the thick man looked around, his hand already inside his coat. The sharp looking Japanese man was likewise at sudden attention, one hand disappeared into his coat the other grabbing one of the two men from inside the warehouse and helping him towards the car. Tomoko recognized her father immediately, even despite the situation.

At the end of the alley Isaac observed the chaos with satisfaction. The swarm was well into the thousands of rats now and they poured into the warehouse and throughout the alley as a pair of men exited the building and quickly moved toward their cars.

[z-Isaac Ward]

Isaac, watching from a distance, grinned at the success of his move. Hopefully, the thugs would pick another spot next time they decided to have a secret meeting. Raucous whined softly and was gently shushed; Isaac knew it was hard for the dog to watch the furry little bundles of meat run around and not try to chase them. "We're gonna need some more dog food," Isaac whispered, starting to draw back to the stash of food he'd left. He'd give them what he had and return with more. They'd done a hell of a good job.

[SalmonMax]

Tomoe cursed wildly to herself as she forced herself to freeze again, despite the ever-closer rats scaling the wall under her. It wasn't that she was particularly squeamish...but this was a freaking ocean of live rats! It was disgusting! And it was only seconds away from reaching her!

There wasn't a whole lot of time to work out a detailed plan. Tomoe craned her head to identify a safe landing zone that wasn't too close to the cars, then discharged the telekinetic energy suffasing her legs with a sudden push up and off, launching her into the air on a long ballistic arc over the rats. As she went she quickly looked over towards the cars and left her 'calling card.' There was a sharp canine yip, and a bright orange fox trotted out into view from the cars. It sat on its haunches and stared at the men with luminous green-yellow eyes, three tails lashing to and fro behind it.

Tomoe couldn't put more into the illusion than that...distracted as she was by trying to land as quietly as she could by flexing her knees to take up as much impact as possible.

(Stealth skill is +10, roll of 13 for total of Stealth check 23)

(14:19:30) (SalmonMax): Stealth +10

(14:19:37) ChatBot: (SalmonMax) rolls 1d20 and gets 13.

[jameson (ST)]

"What the hell is that?" the thick guard asked nobody at all even as he all but shoved his employer into the fancy car. The other man was older, perhaps in his seventies, and dressed impeccably in a suit that likely cost more than Isaac scraped together in a year's worth of employment.

"Whatever, it's somebody's damn dog, run the fucking thing over." The car's door slammed shut and then opened a moment later before a rat was tossed out of the car. The guard shrugged and got into the front before the car started to roll out, the horn blaring as the driver tried to dissuade the fox from standing before the car.

Isaac glanced over his shoulder and saw the impossible creature as it sat before the car. While it wasn't usual to see a fox in the city Isaac had seen them before, that this one appeared to be a mutant or somesuch was no issue given that it was about to be run down by the exiting cars. The swarms of rats likewise would suffer some casualties as the cars moved away.

Tomoe landed quietly as she could a few rats squeaking in protest as she landed before the scurried away from or onto the invisible girl. The rats were ankle deep throughout and piled in some places as high as her knees. Her skin crawled but she fought it down as she moved closer to her father's car. The driver of the Mercedes appeared to have seen the apparition but was apparently determined to run the animal over rather than be held in place by common empathy.

Her father and his bodyguard where involved in heated argument in Japanese meanwhile over the meaning of the three tailed fox in conjunction with the sudden swarm of rats at this meeting. They argued over the portents and how each should be interpreted while trying to get into the limousine while not allowing the rats to get in as well.

OOC: I've no clue what seeing a kitsune means so I'll put that on Max to flesh out the argument

[z-Isaac Ward]

Isaac's good mood shifted suddenly. He didn't know where the fox had come from, but he couldn't stand by and let it be hit. "Get out of here!" he ordered the rats as he burst into motion. "Get away from the cars!"

Isaac wasn't a sprinter, but he was a big man. He appeared at the end of the alley, rushing forward, his eyes on the fox. The drivers might not think about crushing a few rats or running down a fox, but a man was going to make a sizable dent in their car. Still, Isaac knew that they were very capable of shooting at him and getting him out of the way anyway. One way or another, this was going to suck.

Click to reveal..

One round of running done.

[SalmonMax]

Despite the rats rampaging around her, Tomoe felt she'd been largely successful in her ploy. She was getting clear of the rodents, the fox was distracting her father's men, and even though she'd been interrupted before she could find out what was going on, she at least knew something was going on.

And then some gaijin guy was rushing around the corner and straight for the cars! Was he insane? What was he thinking?!

She needed more cover. The fox in the road stood up onto its hind legs, blossoming into the image of a beautiful woman in a bright red, windswept kimono with a fox's face. It spread its arms, so its oversized sleeves would make it harder to see the charging boy and what Tomoe planned to do.

Even as the illusion changed, she gathered herself and leapt again, this time landing just ahead of the baka boy. She shifted her power from legs to arms, and reached out to grab his lapel and arrest his motion if she could, shimmering into visibility at the same moment.

From Isaac's point of view, a sleek, shapely girl in a black bodysuit and white stylized fox mask appeared from nowhere as she grabbed at his collar. All this happened just heartbeats after the bizarre transformation of the fox into a fox-woman.

"Get out of here," she told him tersely, her voice somewhat muffled by her mask. "Run!"

(OOC - the only 'significance' of seeing a three-tailed fox would be that someone superstitious would think that the fox is almost certainly behind the rat swarm, and is a potentially dangerous spirit. Someone more practical would not believe kitsune were real, and thus react similarly to any skeptic suddenly confronted by something supernatural that they didn't believe in)

[jameson (ST)]

The first car screeched to a halt before hitting the fox-turned-woman and Tomoe's father's car failed to stop in time to avoid a collision. There was a crash of metal on metal, luckily not as bad as it could have been given their speeds, but bad enough. The rats continued to scatter now, diving into sewers, wholes in walls of neighboring buildings and otherwise disappearing from sight. Shortly the alley was empty save the two cars, the illusion of a woman in a kimono, and Tomoko grabbing Isaac and impelling him to flee. At the end of the alley Raucous was torn between bounding to Isaac's assistance and waiting as he'd been told.

[z-Isaac Ward]

Isaac slammed to a halt, gawking at the sudden change. Where had the defenseless fox gone? And who was this woman?

Something grabbed at Isaac's neck, snagging the collar of his shirt. There was no hesitation from the feral man; he spun and lashed out at what grabbed him. It was only after he was in motion that he saw the slim form or the mask. It was only after he'd started his attack that he understood her words and knew that she'd been trying to help him, not hurt him.

That didn't stop his massive fist from coming at her like a force of primal nature.

Click to reveal..

Will save to stop his instinctive reaction: 10

1d20=9

Reflex to pull his punch: 7, Failure

1d20=5

Attack roll: 16 to hit

1d20=10

Damage DC is the attack hits: 18

I'm sorry Max. I let the dice decide

[SalmonMax]

Things were happening too fast, and trying to keep up with it all was taxing Tomoe to the limit. The noise of the car crash distracted her attention long enough for her to completely miss the fact that the guy she was trying to save had just started to punch her!

"Oto!" she gasped, suddenly realizing that her father might actually be hurt in that, and that hadn't been what she wanted! She'd just wanted to distract them long enough to...

And then Isaac's punch landed solidly in her gut...enough to bend a man over double, or knock someone down. If there was a god of luck though, he was smiling on Tomoe that moment, because Isaac's fist met one of the padded 'plates' sewn into the abdomen of her bodysuit. Meant to help cushion the impact of a bullet hit, the shock absorbant also did a fine job cushioning the punch. For Isaac, it was a bit like punching someone with a hardcover book hidden in their shirt.

Tomoe rocked back on her heels, startled. Though her head never moved, her attentions swiveled to regard her attacker incredulously. Behind her, the fox-woman vanished completely...her attention was split too many ways to keep that going too.

"You," she sputtered. "I was trying to HELP...baka!" Rather than trade punches with this guy, who she could tell was very strong, Tomoe released him and jumped back a step. For a moment Isaac could see -through- her, the warehouse and harborside showing through the outline of her body as if she was a ghost. Then she was gone altogether...though it wasn't too hard to hear hurried footsteps towards the two cars.

(Toughness save: 1d20+5 = 18+5 = 23...lucked out!)

(Tomoe lets go of Isaac, turns invisible, and tries to get her dad's car so she can see if he needs help!)

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2555619/

[z-Isaac Ward]

The full impact of the fox-woman's words hit him like a hammer. "Wait! I'm sorry!" he shouted as the woman's body faded into outlines and then nothing. "I thought you were... attacking me." The last two words were stated at a normal volume, since she'd disappeared. He was more finishing the sentence than protesting anymore.

He knew she was one of them, one of the Indigo Children. And he'd just hit her. "Fuck!" he snarled, wondering why he always had to be like this. Though she had grabbed him; he'd just reacted in what felt like a completely natural way.

A sudden shout at the cars made him turn. They had spotted him and he was looking at two guns, both pointed at him. "Fuck!" he shouted though it sounded more like a roar. His instinct was to run and so he did, but not away. That would open up his back to the attackers; instead, he dashed forward, leaping onto the hood of the car and over the roof. Without hesitation, he hopped onto the next car, intending to use it as cover.

A bullet whizzed past his shoulder, but before he could get too cocky, something slammed into his back, knocking him forward. With a roar of outrage, he stumbled off the roof of the second car. As he rolled over the trunk, he snatched at the only grip, the bent antenna. It had survived a child's weight, but Isaac's was too much and it snapped off. He twisted as he tumbled off the back of the trunk, landing in a crouch on his feet. He didn't really have time to consider how fuckin' cool that was, because he was still in very hot water. He could feel the blood trickling down his back, but the tickle and the slowly-spreading pain only pissed him off.

It was rather like the way a wounded bear responded to being shot - you only made him mad.

Click to reveal..

Decided to let the dice decide Isaac's fate.

Isaac's Dex+Athletics check to keep his balance on the car hoods: 1d20=17,2 = 19 vs. DC 15

Both Gunmen's attacks + 4 (used gang leader template): 16 HIT, 14 MISS

1d20=12, 1d20=10

Damage +3, Toughness DC of 18

Isaac's toughness save: 17, failed by one, Bruised and Injured (Lethal damage)

1d20=10

Isaac's Reflex save to avoid falling on his face, DC 15: 16, Success

1d20=14

[SalmonMax]

Tomoe's head spun as she heard the gunshot, the scuffle of feet on metal and the confusing maze of other noises. She stayed focused on one thing as she ran for the cars. Was her father all right?

She managed to get a peek in the window...and there was her oto-san, looking pissed as hell but blessedly uninjured. Before Tomoe could do anything else, the car flexed on its suspension as something slammed into its roof, then bounded off. Tomoe had a brief impression of that big guy leaping off the roof and landing in a crouch behind her dad's car. Bullets followed him, and Tomoe's alarm increased.

Every second this went on, her father was in more danger. Not to mention the chances a stray shot might hit her!

She hurried away from the cars, to the side, getting herself out of the immediate conflict, then concentrated on the area near the gaijin man. An image of herself, in costume faded in near Isaac, identically to how she'd faded out before, but in reverse.

"We've got to get out of here," the Tomoe-illusion said breathlessly, telekinesis impelling the air to move much as vocal cords would be if she'd actually been there. "Once the surprise wears off, these men won't be missing. I can cover our retreat."

[z-Isaac Ward]

There was something not-human in the gray gaze that settled on her illusion, something primal and enraged. But a second after she was done speaking, that look faded and was replaced by reason. "Right," he whispered, shifting slightly. There was no compliant that she was a woman and that he could cover their retreat; no insistence or arguing with her plan. This was the plan, and he didn't get all macho and try to alter it to make himself the leader. He just accepted and then did it.

He shifted again, dropping the antenna he'd ripped loose and getting into a sprinter's crouch. "Ready," he said, and he went tense, waiting for her to start.

Click to reveal..

Isaac's Wits Check to respond to Tomoe's wise suggestion vs DC 15: 17, Success

1d20=16

[SalmonMax]

Tomoe blinked, not really expecting the strange American boy to just go along with it so easily. Then adrenalin rushed through her; a feeling of triumph. It was so good just to be listened to!

Her illusion double nodded at Isaac and said, "Go. I'll catch up!" and exploded into a thick cloud of smoke that billowed out, giving Isaac a corridor that he could flee down where the shooters couldn't see him.

Tomoe herself concentrated on empowering her legs, and fled the scene on a long arc, keeping off to one side, but trying to keep Isaac in sight so she could manufacture more cover or distractions for him if it became necessary. Once he settled down, and the chase...if any...stopped, then she could join him again and Tomoe could see how he was related to all this.

[z-Isaac Ward]

Isaac broke into a run at the sight of the smoke, his thick legs pumping hard as he took advantage of the distraction. He heard goons behind him, shouting about the smoke. A few useless shots rang out.

At the corner of the building, he shot to his right and put something more substantial between him and the shooters than a cloud of smoke. He ducked behind a dumpster and crouched against the wall, panting slightly. Stretching upward, he peered warily over the bin, looking for his strange helper. In a moment, he'd go looking for Raucous; for now, the dog was safer where he was waiting.

[SalmonMax]

Tomoe kept pace with Isaac, still invisible, but stopped when he ducked around behind the building. She wanted to see what the cars did. In this case, however, pursuit was not on the agenda. The guards got back inside their vehicles, satisfied that they'd driven off the 'attackers,' and the two cars wasted no time vacating the area before more madness could ensue.

Tomoe hurried back around to see Isaac...though she created another illusion of herself to do so. Never knew when that right hand of his was going to start swinging, after all.

To Isaac's eye, the girl in the sleek suit and mask faded back into view walking towards him at an unhurried pace.

"It's okay, we gave 'em the slip," she explained. "What were you doing, hanging around here like that?"

[z-Isaac Ward]

Isaac had heard the cars race away, but her words relaxed him more. He stood up, his back burning. Pulling out a dog whistle, he gave it a brief blow to call Raucous to him. That done, he took a better look at the woman walking toward him.

The mask and bodysuit hide anything useful from him, though. He couldn't see anything other than the sly fox's face and the uniform black of her body. Oddly disappointed by that, he merely said, "This is my territory." He didn't mind the bums who camped here; they were just trying to survive. But criminals had a bad habit of drawing attention to locations they used. He didn't want attention.

"Your territory?" she repeated.

"I live here," he elaborated, wondering why that seemed to surprise her. Everyone lived somewhere.

The thudding of paws announced Raucous' arrival; the big dog bolted around the corner and practically slid into Isaac's legs. Isaac grinned, and it changed his face completely. Gone was the slightly surly perpetual frown, replaced by a beaming smile and pure happiness. "Hey, you okay?" he asked, kneeling to run his hands over his friend, looking for wounds.

Yes! I stayed back, like you said! Raucous was all too happy to report his obedience.

"Good boy," Isaac said, slipping him a treat. He rubbed his ears once more before standing back up and looking at the girl. "This is my friend, Raucous." He glanced down. "Where's your manners?"

The dog stuck out a paw to Tomoe, mumbling to Isaac, Sorry. Forgot. It escaped Isaac's notice that while he was chiding his dog for his lack of human ediquette, he was also failing to introduce himself or offer a hand.

[SalmonMax]

He seems safe enough now, Tomoe decided, and stepped into her illusion of herself just before letting both it and her invisibility vanish. Her image seemed to 'jump' a little bit, like a bad edit in a movie, but when she squatted down to offer her fingers for the dog to sniff, they were solid.

"Hey there, Raucous," she cooed. "How are you? Who's that big guy you're with, huh? Who's scolding you for manners when he hasn't even told me his own name yet?"

She looked up at Isaac and petted Raucous a bit before offering Isaac her hand, to...sniff, or lick, or shake or...well...she was curious to see what he'd do. "Call me Kitsune. Were those rats yours?"

[z-Isaac Ward]

Raucous went nearly crazy with the attention. His whole back end began to gyrate, his thickly furred tail lashing through the air like a fuzzy cudgel. Isaac watched, pleased that the girl liked dogs. He wondered if she liked all animals.

Her indirect prompt turned his smile sheepish. "Isaac," he murmured, realizing that he'd screwed up again. It wasn't unusual for him to mess something social up. He spent most of his time with people he already knew, and animals weren't as rigid about knowing names and identities. A quick sniff was usually enough to start, and Isaac sometimes wondered why humans had to complicate it more.

When she offered her hand, he took it, engulfing her smaller extremity in his massive paw. He gave her a bone-crushing, masculinity-testing shake; in Isaac's world, that was the kind of greeting he got. Oddly, he didn't seem to be testing her, just shaking her hand hard.

The shake faltered into nothing as she gave him her name. He blinked at her, barely hearing her last question. "The rats? Uh, no, they're not mine. They're friends who agreed to help me. Did you say Kitsune? From the Network? The Indigo one? I'm MadDog. I mean, that's the login I use there."

What was wrong with him? He never talked this much. He hated talking. But he didn't mind talking to her. Maybe it was because she was like him; she was an Indigo.

[SalmonMax]

"That's me," she replied brightly. Her brain chewed on what 'MadDog' had said. For one, she knew his real name and face...which made her goofily smug. And she knew where he lived! What did he know about her? Nada. Point: Tomoe. The glow was only dulled slightly by the fact that she couldn't gloat over it to his face. She didn't want to put him off like that.

She flexed her fingers after his shake...a warning maybe, about knowing too much? Beh. Like he could catch her if she wanted to get away. He'd still be cornered behind a car with bullets spanging all around him if it hadn't been for her.

"So...you live out here, huh? I guess it's not so bad if the rats are your friends." She looked around, taking care to move her head too so he could tell what she was doing. "Which one's yours? Can I see inside it?"

[z-Isaac Ward]

Isaac nodded. "Sure," he said, getting oddly excited about the idea of showing her his home. He hoped she'd like it. He wasn't considering why he felt that; had he stopped and put any thought into it, he would have realized that his mind was making subconscious connections between her animal motif and his own outlook and mindset. In part, it was good he didn't realize this; he would have been setting himself up for disappointment when he realized that Tomoe wasn't anything like him. For now, he continued in blissful ignorance, containing his eagerness; he had things to do. "Though I have a promise to keep first," he told her. Without waiting for her to acknowledge him or say anything, he headed back to where he'd left his food.

Opening the plastic bag, he deposited his dinner on the concrete. Stuffing the bag in his back pocket, he reached up to grasp the bag and stopped, stiffening in pain. A low growl rumbled in his throat; then he shifted his grip and put most of the weight on his other shoulder. In that position, he was able to lower the bag to the ground. He ripped open that bag, scattering food on the pavement. "Come and get it," he said, straightening. As rats began to swarm toward the food, he caught Raucous by the collar and said, "I think I need more food. Come on."

Click to reveal..

I don't know if Tomoe could actually see the gunshot wound. To a sighted person, it probably isn't that visible due to it being a small hole in his black shirt. They might see the glimmer of blood, too. I leave it up to Max and/or Jim if she spots his wound when he turns his back to her.

[SalmonMax]

Well there's something we have in common, Tomoe thought wryly to herself as the rats swarmed eagerly around the food, some of them biting and fighting as they squeezed in as close as they could get. We both passed some time feeding a bunch of smelly, filthy mammals tonight.

She fell into step behind him and to his right though, curious to see what he'd do next. "Could you have made those rats attack those guys?" Tomoe asks. "Or could you have brought all the cats in the city and made them attack? Or...I don't know, seagulls or something? Are there animals you can't control?"

[z-Isaac Ward]

"I don't control them," Isaac said sharply, then stopped. "I mean, I can. But I don't like to do it." He scowled at a warehouse wall as they walked, as if the wall had somehow offended him. "It's wrong to force them to react against their natures."

He stopped and looked back at the swarming mass, now just a writhing shadow on the ground. "I asked them to do me a favor," he explained. "In return, they acted in their nature - taking a small personal risk for the chance at some food. Making them is like giving a person from the Stone Age a gun and making them shoot someone. They can't understand what they're doing and it'd just be terrifying. It's wrong."

Turning, he began to walk again. "As far as talking to them, I haven't met an animal I couldn't converse with yet. It's not always a good conversation; even though animals like me, they still have their own needs and desires."

[SalmonMax]

"What about bugs?" Tomoe pressed curiously. "And spiders and scorpions. Centipedes. Can you talk to them?" She paused and added, "You should work at a zoo. You'd be great there. Or at a vetrinarian!"

Which led inevitably to, "What DO you do for a living?"

[z-Isaac Ward]

"I fight," Isaac said, his tone steady. He understood that some people looked down on what he did, but he didn't care. He found himself caring a little right now, with her. He darted a quick look at her mask before looking away.

"That's not generally a profession," Kitsune said. She didn't sound like she was laughing at him, though she could be behind her mask.

"It is in prize fighting. I'm pretty good at fighting," Isaac said, no trace of boast in his tone. He didn't mention the thuggery he did for the Shreveson Family. It wasn't shame that kept him silent; it was prudence. They wouldn't want this strange woman knowing about their activities, and Isaac was loyal to them or at least to their money.

"And no, it doesn't work on bugs," Isaac went on, going back to her other questions. "I wouldn't mind working at a zoo, or for a vet, but they all require at least a GED." Again, there was no shame; he seemed to be recounting facts rather than personal failings.

He glanced at her again, covertly. "What do you do?" he asked, feeling weird. Having never felt shy before, he wasn't able to put a word to the odd sensation.

[SalmonMax]

"I don't really have a job," Tomoe answered thoughtfully as she mulled over his answers. He'd said prizefighting, but a professional boxer or UFC-type fighter made a lot of money. She didn't think they generally lived in old warehouses.

"I go to school. University. I'm a student."

She gave Isaac a sly look...of course, the smirking kitsune mask made every look of hers rather sly.

"It's a little dishonest, isn't it? An Indigo against normal people in a fight for money?" She didn't sound disapproving at all...in fact, the idea of it was kind of titillating to her. "You must win all the time."

Impulsively, Tomoe reached over to feel Isaac's bicep through his shirt sleeve.

[z-Isaac Ward]

Isaac shrugged at her words, only to jump when she touched him. It wasn't the same kind of reaction he'd had earlier, but it confirmed that he was not the most relaxed person. His own words echoed her thoughts as he said, "Not used to that."

"People touching you?" Kitsune asked, giving him a squeeze. He was thick with muscle but he didn't try to flex as she assessed his prowess.

"Most people touching me are trying to hurt me," he pointed out easily. "You learn to react first, think second." Though he hadn't learned that in the ring. That lesson had come from the foster care system.

"Anyway, I don't think that its unfair. These are my gifts," he said. "I'm not that smart, but other people are. Is it unfair that they were able to breeze through stuff in class that left me stumped? I have this. They have their own gifts. Besides," he smirked ruefully, "you'd be surprised how many times a more experienced fighter has kicked my ass. Fighting isn't all about brawn. It's also knowing how to fight."

He smiled at her suddenly. "I don't talk to people this much. You're easy to talk to." Like everything else about him, his statement had no hidden meanings; it was simply his truth.

[SalmonMax]

A rosy red tinge flowered on Tomoe's cheeks, though her mask hid it from view. "I was just thinking that about you," she replied. "Maybe it's because we're both Indigos. I mean, I can't really talk about stuff like this with my mother or..." Father!

She broke stride for a second, abruptly realizing that her father might very well be driving home after his little escapade. And if he did that, there was at least a chance he'd want to check in on his pretty little blind daughter where she was resting quietly. Or so he thought.

"Isaac," she said with real regret in her voice, "I have to go. My parents don't know I'm out, and I got carried away, and...I have to go. For now. We can talk online though, and I'll come visit again if that's all right. And...I can give you my cell number." Tomoe paused then added shyly, "If you want."

[z-Isaac Ward]

Isaac felt his shoulders sink a little. It wasn't often that he was with someone who didn't piss him off or want something from him. It never happened, really, or hadn't since his mother had died. "Alright," he said, looking disappointed. "I can give you mine, too. I would like you to come visit," he added earnestly.

A twinge in his back reminded him that he was going to ask for her help with that, but she had to go. So he said nothing as she found some paper for them to trade numbers. He could get Twist to get the bullet out when he got home. That was the plan anyway. The reality remained to be seen.

He read his number to her and wrote down hers. "Bye, Kitsune. It was good to meet you," he said when there was nothing left to do to delay her departure.

[SalmonMax]

"Bye," Tomoe answered...then again, on impulse, went on her toes to press her mask against his cheek in a weird porcelain smooch. It was brief, maybe even sisterly by some standards, but since they hadn't even been on a date or anything, it was still daring enough to make Tomoe positively dizzy. She never even noticed the bloodstain on the back of his shoulder...

Suddenly full of energy from the adrenalin, Tomoe then wheeled around and leapt like human-sized cat...easily landing on the roof of a warehouse a good fifteen feet away. Another bound carried her to the roof of a neighboring building. Then she turned and waved...and vanished without a trace.

Once she'd cleared the warehouses and could get on straight highway again, Tomoe hit the pavement running, her speed bolstered by panic and telekinetic power that flooded her legs. Long, bounding strides that ate up the concrete, though she had to be careful since cars couldn't see her.

On getting home she saw a terrifying sight. Her father's car in the driveway! She didn't pause to check how warm it was, she went straight around the back of the house and ran right up the wall to the second story. Her window was cracked open and screenless, just to facilitate these night-time excursions. As she wrenched her window open she heard knocking on her bedroom door.

"Tomoe, are you asleep?" Her father's voice.

Tomoe froze where she was, halfway through the window. The door started opening.

-----

It had been a hard, trying night for Ishimura-san. The debacle that his meeting with the street level lieutenants had become was an embarrassment to him, and cost him sorely-needed face. Driven out by rats. Rats! And both his bodyguard and driver swore they'd seen bizarre things...a three tailed fox. A woman who appeared and vanished out of nowhere. All he knew was that it had felt like some cheap farcical comedy...cars starting, hitting each other, stopping. Guns firing apparently at random. It did not speak of a powerful and capable leader.

He hoped it wasn't a sign of things to come. He was not a superstitious man, but the chaos that had reigned this night...had he believed in such things, it would definitely fit what he'd expect of a capricious fox-spirit. Such thoughts led to sake though...and to Tomoe.

Thinking of his daughter caused a complex knot of fear and shame and love to twist in his chest. Fear for her well-being...she was so vulnerable. The world was hard and cold, and even the most delicate, beautiful creatures were crushed without a thought. Unless they had someone to protect them. And yet, with that came shame...her vulnerability came from her blindness, and that had been a genetic condition. Somewhere in her strands of DNA, an affliction that had been dormant in either him or his wife had found purchase, and stolen from his daughter her most precious sense. Knowledge of that was why he'd never tried to conceive again. The idea of having a son who was so flawed was more than his battered pride could bear. But yet, even so, there was love in him too...Tomoe was precious to him; a jewel beyond any other. Because she was beautiful and strong, even with her flaw. Because she was his only child. Because she was his daughter.

He knocked. When there was no answer, his heart clenched. What if it had been a diversion? What if they'd known he'd stop on the way home to compose himself and talk to his men? His wife would be gone for another hour or so yet, and the housekeeper was asleep. Had they come for Tomoe?

He knocked again. "Tomoe, are you asleep?" Though he knew she hated being walked in on, he was opening the door before he'd even finished calling this time. A dread vision had painted itself on the canvas of his mind. Tomoe, lying in her bed as blood soaked into the sheet and mattress all around her in a dark puddle. Or the bed simply being empty, with the sheet and blanket strewn around the room and books spilled off the shelves, with the window gaping wide like a mouth frozen in mid-laugh. It was impossible, he knew...there was no way anyone could have connected him to the yakuza yet...but on this night of all nights, he could imagine it as clearly as if it were right before him.

As he saw her bedroom, his throat caught. The window was wide open. The bed seemed empty...no wait. There was a conspicuous bulge in the sheets. Tomoe's body wasn't large, but it didn't sink so far as to be invisible. Banishing that strange instant when he thought there'd been a shadow in the window, and the bed neatly made and empty, Tomoe's father padded into the room to close the window.

Tomoe muttered sleepily, "Oto-san?" She shifted and her head, hair mussed beyond all recognition, popped out to blink blearily at him.

"Hai, Tomoe-chan," he replied, with uncharacteristic warmth. Not given to emotional displays, it was all he could do not to rush to give her a hug. That would have embarrassed them both though, and kami knew he'd had more than his share of that tonight. He switched to English, a gently pointed gesture, as he wanted her to improve, and said, "Your window's open."

Her dark eyes blinked behind her bangs and she said, "Leave it open, please? It gets hot in here."

Tomoe's father hesitated, regarding the window. "You don't even have a screen," he complained.

"I don't?" Tomoe seemed honestly confused. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize. I'll have Kon put one in tomorrow morning. It's just, with no lights in here, I don't get bugs anyway." She smiled.

He didn't echo it. It wasn't mosquitoes getting in that he was worried about. He did pull his hand away from the window though.

"Good night, Tomoe-chan," he grumbled, and stalked from her room.

"Good night, oto-san," whispered Tomoe from the window, where she still invisibly crouched. His hand had been mere inches from her face when he'd withdrawn. It was almost a minute before she trusted herself to move; to get undressed and in bed, and finally to sleep.

[z-Isaac Ward]

She was standing close to him, so Isaac didn’t have a terribly bad reaction when she leaned into him. He had no idea what she was doing, so the brush of porcelain against his face was a surprise. He blinked at her as she backed away, unsure what to do or say. Before he could think of anything, she was gone, bounding away from him. He watched her go, giving her a last wave before she disappeared. He was smiling a little as he looked down at the paper in his hand.

He programmed in her number, opting to put a single ‘K’ for her name instead of something more informative. A surprising number of the names in his contacts were initials or shorthand or longer names. With that, he had nothing else to distract him from his next task.

Kitsune wasn’t put from his mind, but she wasn’t there and he didn’t dwell on her as some young men would have done. His present, the immediate moment was occupied with walking back to the store and picking up another bag of cat food. He carried that out to where the rats were, then duplicated the process again to leave a third bag. Each time, he tore it open and stepped back to avoid the stream of rats.

His final trip to the store was to secure a fourth bag of cat food and his dinner. The clerk, long used to the weirder inhabitants of New York, didn’t blink or comment at Isaac’s stream of visits. That done, Isaac headed toward home, looking forward to a cold beer, a hot meal and surgery from a bird. Maybe that last one wasn’t so much ‘looking forward to’ as dreading. But going to an emergency room with a bullet in your back was a way to get some awkward questions asked. Going there after a bird had ripped up your back was something different. The questions remained awkward, but it was a completely different kind of awkward. So the plan for the rest of Isaac's evening was: get something to eat, have Twist get the bullet out, go to the hospital to be stitched up and have a cold beer before heading to bed.

Or at least, that was Isaac’s plan. However, plans have a way of suddenly changing.

Continued in Jordan & Issac & Ross