4/29/2003

03:39 PM

Logfile from Chase.

 

120 E. Houston Brownstone-#4

There have been some additions to the once barren room.  There's a new mattress up against the far wall with new bedding.  An oriental rug covers the scratch marks that Toroki's left on the wooden floor, and there are dishes and a new mini-fridge in the kitchenette area.  There's an old vintage trunk at the foot of the bed that holds spare bedding and Mina's clothing.  Underneath the window that faces south is a pile of borrowed library and textbooks as well as a couple of notebooks and stray papers arranged in a slightly chaotic fashion.  The door to the bathroom faces the window on the north wall, usually firmly closed.

Amefuri is here.

Obvious exits:

Out

 

*Thumpabumpbump-thump-thump* Guess who is knocking? Chase! Of course. After pounding upon the door, he leans a shoulder up against the side, arms crossing over his chest as he waits for her to answer.

 

Rising from her prone position on the floor, Mina's brow furrows as she makes her way to the door.  Opening it, her expression clears and she greets the Genbu seishi easily, "Chase!  Come in, come in," she invites, stepping aside so that Benito can get a good glimpse of the other teenager.  Her apartment's a mess, but that's more her doing than the dog's.

 

Chase pushes off of the wall, greeting Mina with his ever-present crooked smile. "Hey." He sweeps in through the doorway, peering at the apartment before his gaze drops down to the canine. "Hey! Benito." Dropping down to a knee, he opens his arms out to the rather large rott. He lets the dog give him a few slobbery kisses to his face as he draws him arms about him. "Gah..." Wincing, he peers up at Mina, "Damn, he didn't do all of this, did he?"

 

Hrm, it would be so easy to blame the dog.  Sighing, Mina shakes her head and notes wryly, "Nope, this is my doing.  Between my new job and preparing for finals, I haven't had much time to clean up."  In fact, there's a chemistry text on her floor with just a tiny bit of dog drool on the corner.  Doesn't matter, though, as it's not her text.  She borrowed it from the library.  Closing her door softly, she leans against it and crosses her arms as she considers the Genbu.  "Anou Chase, I've been thinking about what you said..."

 

Chase reaches around to rub about the dog's ears, scruffing up his hair as he continues to suffer the licking. "Your parents raised a slob. New job? You didn't tell me that before. What're you doing?" He releases Benito, delving a hand into a pocket to produce a treat of some sort for the animal (usually he carries candy in there incase he happens upon Anana). Still down on one knee though, he glances over to Mina, waiting and looking thoughtful. "Hrm?"

 

"A slob?  Surely it's not that bad, Chase," Mina frowns, looking about the room.  Okay, true it's not sparkling clean, but she did just vacuum yesterday.  Grinning down at the dog, she just shakes her head.  "Don't feed him chocolate," she warns, just in case that's all the other teenager has in his pocket.  "And yes," she uncrosses her arms and makes her way over to the Genbu.  "I've decided that you're a hypocrite, Chase-kun," she taps the other teenager playfully on the nose with each word, lightening her words, but there's a seriousness that echoes up from the depth of her blue-green irises.

 

Chase rips open the packet, dumping the treats on the floor. Guess Mina is going to have to vacuum again. Immediately, Benito leaves off licking him and goes about inhaling the treats with great gusto. Chase's eyes cross momentarily as his nose is tapped by her finger, but then he is finding his way to focus back upon Mina. "How do you figure?"

 

"Chase!"  Mina wails as her clean floor is promptly dirtied.  "You're so vacuuming after he's finished, turtle-boy."  Only he might be mad at her, so yeah, she's probably going to be doing that chore again tonight.  Slumping down on her bed and leaning against the wall, she stretches her legs out and sighs.  "Because for all your talk about duty and where my priorities lie, you did exactly the same thing.  Well, so you were smart enough not to fall in love, but..."  Shrugging, she looks over towards the other seishi.  "You got seduced by the excitement that Lexie provided, ne?"

 

Chase watches her for a moment, and then sighs, "I know I did. I did a lot of things that I'm not exactly the most proud of. But I don't think you understand, Mina... yeah, she seduced me just as I seduced her. I'm a sucker for a fun time, and if it is dangerous and'll probably get me into trouble -that is all the better. But -and I mean this Mina, I'm paying for it in spades now. You have nothing if you don't have their trust."

 

Mina studies the Genbu curiously, "Anou... how are you paying for it, Chase-kun?  Are they not talking to you, too?"  Worry shimmers easily in her light gaze as she blinks towards the other seishi.  "And I've already lost their trust.  And once it's gone, there's no easy way to get it back.  I... I was trying to prove myself when I went to Malachai's gallery that first time."  Looking away at the slip, she bites her lip, hoping that the other teenager doesn't pick up on her slip.  "Would you... would you still be with her, if you could, Chase?  Or would you have bowed to the other seishi's wishes and ended things with her?"

 

"I'm going to get it back, or die trying. Of course, death for failure is assured as well, but..." Chase shrugs his shoulders, finally rising to stand once more. "You can get it back. Get rid of him, and prove yourself -and not by doing foolish-assed stunts like screwing around with that oni artist. You have to get him off of his home turf if you want to mess with him." He frowns over to Mina, and then nods his head, "Why the hell did you think I tried to keep it so secret? Because I knew I'd be in a lot of trouble and... I figured, they wouldn't understand." He smirks, and sighs, "I'm no prophet. I can't see the future, nor can I divine the 'could have beens'. But, eventually, we would have separated ways. But it would have been fun while it lasted."

 

"Death for failure," Mina repeats, stunned.  "Chase-kun, you... I..."  She just blinks over at the Genbu.  All right, she's had it easy from the other Byakko.  "You think it would be that easy, just give him up and prove myself?  I'm... I'm trying to keep my head low here, trying to prove that I can be a seishi and still follow where my heart leads."  Shaking her head, she frowns at the other seishi's words regarding a certain artist, looking just a bit embarrassed.  "Hai, I know that."  Now.  Took a couple of times to have it sink in, though.  Pulling her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her ankles, she wonders softly, "And would you have left her if you'd love her, Chase-kun?  Would you have been willing to give her up so easily?"

 

Chase mutters something under his breath, and then moves over to make himself at home by sitting on the edge of her bed. "No, I can tell that you don't think it'll be easy. He's obviously got you wrapped around his little finger, and I'll bet anything that it has more to do then just getting you into a bed. He's an oni. They're manipulative bastards and if your Dylan and Minai aren't proof enough of that, I don't know what is. Mina... first time I met Lexie I was on a hunting spree, trying to find Dylan so I could freeze whatever heart he had at the time solid for hurting Anana. Didn't care much about the woman at the time. Second time I met her, she shot at me with a gun. First time I met Reese, she knew I was a seishi, but didn't tell me she was an oni. And then she took me to the Pussycat and nearly took me home afterwards." He sighs. "The thing is, I didn't love her. I cared a lot about Lexie. But I didn't love her at the time, not like you mean, so I really can't say what I'd do. I love Ash though, and I gave her up, for Brice."

 

"I... he..."  Shaking her head and sighing, Mina can only look over at Chase, biting her lower lip nervously as she ponders his words.  At least she's listening.  "But Dylan and Minai... that wasn't the oni, that was their gods."  And here is where she makes the seperation.  "I'm going to do all I can to ensure that we bind the Yin gods, make sure that they can't hurt others the way that they've hurt Lex."  It's her new plan for salvation.  "But I don't see the oni as the true enemies, yes, we may have to fight them, but..."  She pauses and then reaches out a foot to tap Chase's back slightly, "They're people too, ne?  They're human, with human emotions.  They can hurt, can love, and can bleed just like we can."  Looking down at the mussed blankets below her, she notes softly, "If he wants to leave me for Rai- for another woman, I won't stop him.  I'll let him go if it comes to that, Chase."

 

Chase's nose twitches and he reaches up to rub it with the back of his hand. "Sure, it was their gods. The very same gods that picked him to be an oni, right? The same gods that drug Lexie up from where she was, made her a miko, and then killed her. These are the gods that made me believe that the man that I lived with was a Genbu. The gods that pulled that same crap on you, the Suzaku, and more than likely the Seiryuu if they don't watch it. They are some fucked up gods, with messed up oni. I wouldn't trust your Rathan as far as I could throw him, and if you've got him playing in your bed, then that is /way/ too close." Hrm. Maybe Chase is like some born-again seishi or something (even if that is rather redundant). He sighs, flopping back on the bed and maneuvering his arms to fold behind his head. "You even said that he doesn't love you. You can do better and you know it. Rai... Rainey? Your miko who wasn't your miko -that the Yin screwed with too?"

 

Slouching down, Mina frowns as she considers the seishi's words.  "Demo Chase-kun, can't you see that it's the gods that are the manipulative ones?  Hai, hai, there are oni that aren't very nice, but the same could be said for some of the seishi, ne?"  She's still stunned that Nakago killed his own seishi when they were no longer useful.  "But Lex, John, Rainey... they're not innocent by any means, but they... they didn't deserve to be used so callously.  That's what gets me upset, is that they're just tools and if they're no longer useful, they're easily tossed to the side by those gods that they trusted."  Placing her chin on her knees, she blinks softly.  "Perhaps, Chase-kun, but when he's with me, I know that he's not out doing something else, something that works against us summoning."  Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer?  "Hai, Rainey.  She's... she's the only person that he's ever loved, Chase-kun.  And now that she's not the miko, there's... there's nothing to keep them apart if they want to be together again.  I... I just want him to be happy," she adds with a sad sigh.

 

Chase turns slightly onto his side, propping up his head with his arm as he looks over to Mina, "Well, yeah. They manipulate, and they pick these people for a reason. And I hear tell that an oni or two might actually have been picked because of their links to the past as well -links that purposely oppose other people. Now, if that isn't fucked up, I don't know what is. So, they manipulate, and you're being manipulated to." He groans and sighs and generally doesn't look all that happy. "Look, can you honestly say that you are happy right now. That you are happy with your oni and your life and that everything is just so absolutely worth boinking that guy. It's worth it to see everyone pissed at you while you play your messed up game of West Side Story, but you reason that it is because he isn't messing around doing oni things? That speaks a lot of a lack of trust now, doesn't it?"

 

"I'm happy when I'm with him, Chase," Mina counters softly.  "And perhaps, yeah, it speaks for a lack of trust, but only because I know how dedicated he is to his god.  I know that he'd kill me if he was ordered to, just as I know that I'd kill him if it came down to choosing the world or him.  We both know where we lie with each other."  Blinking over at the Genbu, she has to quirk her lips up wryly.  "Messed up game of West Side Story, Chase-kun?  I didn't know you liked those sorts of movies."  Turning serious again, she sighs softly, "I tried giving him up once.  It didn't work.  I'm not strong enough to just walk away from people I care about, Chase.  I can't stand to hurt them.  So here I am, in limbo."

 

Chase will roll his eyes now, smirking over at her. "Hell, I was happy when I was with Lexie too. We had a blast. And then I would slink home afterwards hoping to hell that nobody would find out, and promptly be miserable once more because that little thing in the back of my head that a lot of people claim I lack was nagging at me. You know, my conscience." In another breath though he is pushing up once more and onto his knees peering at her. "Oh damn, don't try to sound like some kind of martyr or something now. But the thing is, you're hurting the other Byakko now, aren't you? You are sitting here, telling me you would rather be with an oni that you say doesn't love you but you think makes you happy, and instead walking away from them. I don't understand that logic at all. I think you are just being a stubborn brat now."

 

Mina pokes at the Genbu with a toe again, "You have a conscience?"  She blinks in mock disbelief, offering a muted grin in his direction before sobering.  "I know, Chase... I.. damn it, I don't want to hurt anyone.  I don't want to hurt him, I don't want to hurt the Byakko, I don't want to give him up, and..."  Looking away, and placing a cheek against her knees, she lets the tears creep out silently.  It takes her a moment before she can compose herself, wiping furiously at her eyes with the butt of her hand and straightening up again, "Hai, I'm being a stubborn brat, I'm behaving like a spoilt child... this I know, Chase.  I just... I... I make such a muddle of things."

 

Chase sighs as he watches her. "No, but I can tell you're doing a fine job hurting yourself now. And because you did allow things to happen as they did, it is inevitable that you're going to get even more hurt." Clearly, Chase really doesn't care all that much about what happens to the oni. But, ack, tearing female! He looks awfully uncomfortable for a moment, frowning, and then finally moving around to try to take a spot next to her, offering a companionable arm about her shoulders. "You aren't spoiled, just stubborn. Now all you want to do is to cling to this guy, that you simply refuse to notice anything else."

 

Mina leans into Chase, accepting his comfort gratefully.  Shaking her head as she looks up towards the other seishi, tears still balancing delicately on her fringed lashes, she notes on a sigh, "I'm not that smart, Chase.  I... I didn't allow anything like this to happen, I made it happen.  I... I was the one who seduced him in the first place.  I was the one who fell in love so easily, so quickly, and I... I can't change things, because I'm not really willing to, Chase.  Not in my heart.  That's why I couldn't end it before, because even though I knew it's what I needed to do, it's not what I wanted to do."  Closing her eyes, she just pauses for a moment, trying to will herself out of her self-pity.  Because feeling sorry for oneself never solved anything.  "I do notice other things, Chase.  I may not be entirely rational where he's concerned, but... I'm not entirely blind to what's happening around me."

 

Chase rocks his head back, leaning it against the wall as he looks over to where Benito might possibly be worrying a hole in a shoe. Apparently the dog has finished with the snacks and has gone on to more delicious fare? He doesn't quite notice though, instead muttering, "Even I didn't try that with Lexie. It just happened. And so now you are so hell bent to want to keep him now... You're messed up, Mina." No matter his words, there is a soft tone to his voice. His gaze drops back down to her, head tilting to the side as he frowns at her eyes. Dammit. That is totally unfair. "Well, if I can't talk sense into you... maybe I'll have to try another way to make you pay attention." And so what does the Genbu do? He dips his head down in a slow movement and actually tries to take her lips with his for a kiss. Not the forehead or the cheek or anywhere else. The lips.

 

"I know, Chase," Mina admits softly.  All right, despite her declarations to the opposite, Benito chewing on her boot is definitely not noticed.  "I.. we... I made the choice, and I told him that I could deal with it.  I've made my bed, and now I have to lie in it."  She shrugs one shoulder lightly, her small chin taking on a stubborn tilt.  As Chase places his lips against hers, Mina's eyes widen in surprise, her whole body stiffening under the contact.  Pushing at him, she tries to deny the warmth that builds within her.  As she breaks away from his soft touch, she blinks up at Chase, the shock still evident in her flushed cheeks, her wide-eyed gaze, and her slightly parted lips, her trembling fingers going to touch them in a disbelieving fashion.  "I... Chase-kun?"

 

As Mina pulls away, Chase does as well, but only enough to focus upon her eyes all the more easier. "I'm not going to apologize for that. I meant to do it." A hand squeezes her shoulder, fingers leaving an imprint on the fabric of her shirt with the slight pressure. "And I'm not going to be like the others an simply watch as you throw your life away, being miserable in this happiness you seem you think that you  have. Just... No, I don't think that you've been paying attention at all."

 

Mina's hand goes to touch Chase's cheek, her fingers touching the smooth angles softly before she drops her hand, folding it against the other in her lap.  "I... arigato Chase-kun."  Unable to keep looking into his intense sea-green eyes for very long, she flushes brighter and drops her gaze to his chin, licking her lips nervously.  She's so confused and she doesn't know what to make of his words, of his actions.  "I... I'm... I need to think, please, Chase.  I... I just need some time to think."

 

Chase continues to watch her, placing his hand briefly over her's as it touches his cheek before she stops once again. He draws in a breath and then in the next he is sliding off of her bed and putting feet to the floor once more. Fingers snap, and he reaches over to collar Benito and then fasten a leash to him as well -even if it is pretty much well a lesson in futility with this dog. "Thank you for taking care of Benito. I appreciate it." He finally lifts his gaze to her once more, "Something might happen in the next week or so. Either way it goes, and if you actually try to get a hold of me and can't, Brice'll know what's going on. Okay?"

 

"You don't need to thank me for that, Chase," Mina smiles softly down at the dog, hoping he'll behave for the Genbu, but she's not placing any money on it.  Look what he did to her boot.  "Anou... what do you mean something might happen?"  Slipping forward and sliding off her bed as well, she rises awkwardly before making her way over to the seishi, studying him closely.  "What aren't you telling me?"

 

Chase reaches down to rub his fingers along the head of the dog, curling his other hand about the leash to keep a firm grip. Between he and Kenny, it'll be awfully interesting. "My penance," Chase mutters. He finally looks up at her, offering her the crooked grin once again, "And it is a hell of a lot better than the alternative. I'm in no mood to get reborn again. I've just got used to this body." He flickers her a glance though, "I'm sure I'll talk to you later though." And with that, he starts for the door.

 

Darn the Genbu and his vague references.  "Anou, Chase, are you still living in John's old apartment?"  Because Mina needs the address.  Someone there's going to get enrolled in the Orlando Bloom fan club, and it's not going to be Benito.  Following him to the door and kneeling to give Benito a hug goodbye, she peeks up at the other seishi as she adds, "You know, so I can come by sometime and see Benny-boy here."  Although the dog's probably happy that he's heading to a house that has no problem with red meat.  "Oh," she gasps and runs to the bathroom, bringing out a rubber ducky chew toy and a half-empty bag of organic dog food.  Handing them to Chase, she beams brightly, "Don't forget these.  And erm... walk him twice a day, unless you want accidents."

 

"When I'm not sleeping on Brice's couch, I am," Chase answers, watching her with a rather odd grin, probably it could be interpreted as fond. He takes the offerings, placing them in the crook of his arm as he continues to look after Mina with amusement. "I'll try to remember that." Of course, now Benito will start tugging on the leash, dragging Chase further out the door and away. "Mina... I..." Alas, whatever he was going to say is going to be abruptly cut off as the dog gains his head and bolts towards the stairs, yanking Chase away with a yelp, and a dropped chew-toy. And the pair are gone.

  ___