[Rail IC] Academy City

[Callos_DeTerran]

Walter


Walter, upon seeing the judgement band, seems to calm down a bit. She would probably understand where he's coming from, with his akward authority that he wasn't sure he had yet. "I'm assigned to the office for District 10, and my partner is sick. I'm completely green, so he said to just get familiar with the areas around the north side, since we'd be patrolling around there a lot and it would be helpful not to get lost." He takes a cloth out of his pocket, and starts wiping off his harmonica. [COLOR="rgb(0, 100, 0)"]"I'm a bit nervous without anyone else around, so I decided to play this to calm down. I hit an off note, so I decided to... correct it with my power. And then I bumped into you, and well... I make funny sounds when I use it while distracted."[/COLOR]

Sakurako

Sakurako listens to Walter's seemingly distressed explanation for how he had bumped into her with a seemingly infinite patience that was expected of older students (at least in Japan, where Sakurako was from), but by the end of it she has a smile on her face.

In just a moment or two she's pulled out her headset and opened it up to display the plastic screen that acted as a computer monitor, holding it up so that the new guy could see it.

"If you are new, then you definitely want to get one of these as soon as you can. It's invaluable for finding your way around the city in a hurry and has helped me get to a disturbance fast enough to make a difference more then a few times." She suggests helpfully before folding it back up and slipping it back into one of her concealed pockets. Afterwords her head tilts to the side as she appraises the foreign boy silently.

"Hmm...it's bad luck for one's partner to be sick during their training period...Well. If you believe in that sort of thing anyway." Sakurako muses aloud before a faint flush comes to her own cheeks, "Ah, my apologies as well! I should have been paying closer attention to where I was going too!"

[Rhydeble]

Jirou blinked. In his time playing Mahjong he'd seen many a subtle ploy set in motion. He'd had the privilege of playing against masters whose schemes were both intricate and powerful, and whose calculations took place in a realm that the common player would never reach.

This wasn't one of those times.

"Kami, this is pathetic. He'd be more subtle if he was holding up cardboard signs written in pig latin. Does he seriously think that I don't know what he's saying?"

Still, that didn't change the value of the strategy itself. For whatever reason, Cale had apparently decided to start playing it safe. Normally this would have spelled the end of Jirou's plan, but not this time. It so happened that fate had dealt him an extra trump card for this match; An ancient and fearsome weapon which could incite even the most rational of men to abandon their senses and leap straight into the jaws of death: Namely, the presence of a pretty girl who they're trying to impress.

"A duel? Please. Like you'd even bother to show up. Since the moment this match started all you've done is run and hide. You stay lurking in the shadows until everyone's looking the other way, then snipe some points for your stack. But whenever anyone turns back or fights you on even ground, you bolt. Do you have any idea how that makes you look to the rest of us?

I know, I know; You're just trying to win the game, no matter what it takes. Well, I just hope you weren't hoping to impress anyone while you did it. Take it from me, man: Nobody here's gonna respect a player who can't stand their ground when it counts."

Jirou put special emphasis on the 'Nobody', accompanied by a subtle but unambiguous glance at Jane. This accomplished, he simply sat quietly and waited for Cale's hormones to do the rest. If a direct challenge to the man's machismo in front of his lady didn't incite him into a reckless dealing, nothing would.

"Are you being serious? Is this honestly what you are saying? You, the person that wanted to play Mahjong, are calling me on the fact that I'm playing mindgames?"
Was this man a fool, or was he just trying to steal Jane away from Cale...

Not to mean that Cale wouldn't be able to keep Jirou from winning in a straight up combat duel, the nice thing about Cale's power was that not only it was rare, but it was incredibly hard to geuss what exactly it was. The problem was that Cale wasn't very good at combat, because he preferred just to walk away.

"Are you saying that your technique is honorable then? You aren't even trying to score points, you just want to keep on playing. and the only way for you to win is to rely on the refuse of others."

"And for honour, there in no honour in war and mahjong, there is only ruthlessness."

Cale discarded his 1-pin, he would be dealer next round, so it was time to heighten the stakes.

[Lillith]

<Uhm... guys?> Jane said softly. <Why are you fighting? I thought we were going to solve the robot mystery. Now you two are fighting and... and... well... don't?> She looked kind of awkward, even though Jane wanted the fighting to stop she had no clue how. <And I mean both of you. It's just a game, we should try to be friends.> Dammit, why didn't she have the guts to tell them to shut up, stop fighting and act more mature?

[Mina Kobold]

Indeterminable breakfast place, Saturday

In the place where breakfast is served and consumed by countless denizens of Academy City is a girl with long hair.

Tsubasa might be surprised that the previously empty seat next to her is suddenly occupied by an equally long haired boy.

"Hi! Can I sit here?"

He say as he begins eating some of an elaborate breakfast that equally wasn't there a second ago.

[horngeek]

Tsubasa looks at the boy. "Well, it isn't taken..."

She is a bit taken aback.

[Mina Kobold]

Katsu

"Hurrah!"

-A piece of bread on his plate seems to disappear as he continues speaking

"Are you from Tokidawa? Or maybe Onizuka?"

[horngeek]

"I'm from Tokidawa.

What's your name?"

[Mina Kobold]

"Katsu, I'm from Azabu!"

Now that he is in the middle of conversation, Katsu stops making his food disappear and only eats it at a slightly high-speed pace now.

"Did you see the fighting robots at Tokidawa too?"

[Anyr]

Jirou's expression softened for a moment, but not in response to Jane's plea. Up until now he'd just assumed that Cale was a skulking, opportunistic snake who just happened to have an amazing Esper ability...and he still did. But, even with that, at least the man understood what Mahjong was all about. Jirou had had his fill of opponents who constantly spouted gibberish about 'gentlemen's agreements' and 'friendly give and take'. It was a comfort to find that he was facing someone who knew better.

"You know what? You're absolutely right. Well, almost. Ron! Riichi Pin-Fu San-Shoku-Doujun Dora 1, Dealer Mangan, 12000 points."


He didn't need to elaborate; The tiles would speak for themselves. Actually, he'd have rather enjoyed explaining his plan in great detail, but Cale was a good enough player to figure it out on his own. With his great task accomplished, Jirou finally turned his attention back to Jane, who seemed to be in distress for some reason.

"Sorry Jane, what did you say? I must've zoned out for a bit there. Don't worry, it won't happen again. You've got my full attention."

Well, maybe not completely full. It was true that Jirou was now in the lead by a very significant margin, and that there wasn't much chance of an upset in the last round...But then, that's exactly what Cale had likely been thinking the round before. Jirou wasn't about to make the same mistake.

[Rhydeble]

After Jirou's strong combination, the tension at the table seemed to loosen up a bit. Cale, stopped unconsciesly pulling air towards the table, and started focusing on the game... Jirou was still dealing, but if Cale had a little luck, his current hand might be enough to defeat Jirou's with a reasonable amount of points, and then the last round would begin... The round of vengeance.

Cale never lost, not from his mothers overprotectiveness, not from his fathers "tutors", and certainly not from a guy like this....
In many ways, his opponents sheer skill reminded him of his childhood, whether he wanted it or not. Cale's face started to lose its smugness, and started to give of an air of hopelessness... The same that had always lured his many teachers, both wanted and unwanted, into carelessness, after all, who could lose from this insignificant little brat.

"...twelve thousand points... I might as well give up, but I geuss you want to savour your win huh.... just my luck... (a combination of muttered swearing in a dozen different european langauges)"

[Lillith]

Completely ignored again, Jane wasn't surprised. Her parents didn't really fight often, but both them, the scientists, the doctors... and probably the British government now that she thought about it... were always arguing in front of or about her. What kind of subjects she should take at school, how her grades weren't high enough, why she was hearing voices, if she was an ESPer or not, what to do with her, how much money it would make if they'd send her to Academy City. Always had she tried to stop the fighting and never had it succeeded.

Of course as far as Jane knew, this fight wasn't about her, but even she now knew that something was up between Cale and Jirou and it wasn't in a positive sense. Someday she'd get the guts to stand up and make the fighting stop. Right now though, she was getting kind of sick of this Mahjong game, it was fun at the start but now with all the fighting she just didn't feel comfortable. Chasing robots sounded more interesting than sitting here and seeing Kenan and Kel bicker.

<So...> Jane said in a neutral voice, though the expert would hear a hint of annoyance. <When does this Mahjong game end?>

Spoiler

Show

OOC: I'm not annoyed or anything, I find it fun. Just playing that Jane is.

[horngeek]

Tsubasa nods. "I was one of the ones fighting them."

[Mina Kobold]

Katsu throws his arms in the air exitedly

"Me too! How did yours go? Did it shoot nails at you? Or fire?"

[Rhydeble]

"Don't worry Jane... 2 rounds maximum..." Cale said, trying not to sound self-assured. he had trained long on this hopeless little sad kid facade, and wasn't going to show Jirou how self-assured he was...

"Now I geuss you'll have to start the round again Jirou... or are you going make this go on by wasting the time of your turns..."

[Anyr]

"Nah, I think this has already gone on long enough. Don't you?"

Jirou dealt the first tile with a smug, self-satisfied smile on his face. Now that the natural order had been restored (with him firmly on top), he was free to enjoy himself once more. Well, aside from the fact that his hand for this game was complete trash; This was probably his last game as the dealer.

But that was fine; Even his closest rival was 17,000 points behind him at this point. Not only that, but said closest rival was currently sitting in a dejected slump while mulling over the sorry details of his defeat. So while Jirou wouldn't completely relax until the last tile fell, he felt secure enough in turning most of his attention to more trivial things. Things like...Oh yes, the robots! Time to get back to business.

"[So, Jane, there's one thing we haven't talked about: What are you actually planning on doing once we find these robot guys? You gonna turn them over to the cops, or were you looking for something more...personal?]"

[Lillith]

Jane was still a bit grumpy. It had slowly come to her awareness, albeit veeery slowly, why these two were perhaps fighting. Territorial disputes probably. Guys... they were so immature. Social actions weren't her strongest point sadly. She was more the book knowledge type.

"[So, Jane, there's one thing we haven't talked about: What are you actually planning on doing once we find these robot guys? You gonna turn them over to the cops, or were you looking for something more...personal?]"

Oh look, the primary subject had crossed once again. <Well...> Jane munched over the details in her head. <I guess it would probably the best if we'd call the cops on them. We're just kids after all so it would be kind of stupid to try and take them on. If it was a real attack I mean and not some freakish accident. At most we could spy on them and get information before we call the cops.> Jane wondered if Jirou had even noticed that she'd respond whether he was talking in English, Japanese or any other language for that matter. Then again, he didn't seem to notice that she had never played Mahjong so maybe not. <Besides I doubt I could fight them, maybe if I'd have my bow with me but I don't really like fighting.>

[InyutheBeatIs]

[Mori Hajime - Workshop]

Hajime had just finished the final details on the table. In a day or so, the couple who commisioned this will arrive for it, and give Hajime his payment for the job.

He decided to take a short break before doing anything major. He sits down on a chair, a simple wooden chair unique in that it is covered in a live grape vine. With a simple use of his powers and a few minutes, the grape vine bears fruit, in the form of a bundle of quite fresh and delicious looking grapes.

Hajime simply looks at the table as he watches the coats of oil and stain take their course, occasionally putting a grape or two in his mouth and chewing silently. He was in some old clothes meant for this sort of thing, the shirt and jeans spattered with paint, oil, and sealant. This was one of those only times where Hajime even bothers to keep back his hair, obviously sure to keep it from being discolored.

So, Hajime sits, and watches, content for the moment.

[Anyr]

Oh look, the primary subject had crossed once again. <Well...> Jane munched over the details in her head. <I guess it would probably the best if we'd call the cops on them. We're just kids after all so it would be kind of stupid to try and take them on. If it was a real attack I mean and not some freakish accident. At most we could spy on them and get information before we call the cops.> Jane wondered if Jirou had even noticed that she'd respond whether he was talking in English, Japanese or any other language for that matter. Then again, he didn't seem to notice that she had never played Mahjong so maybe not. <Besides I doubt I could fight them, maybe if I'd have my bow with me but I don't really like fighting.>

Jirou raised an eyebrow. For the proactive leader of a special robot-hunting group, Jane really seemed to lack confidence. Maybe it was because her powers (whatever they were) weren't suited to direct attacks, but that was no excuse. And as for the comments about their age, those were just bizarre.

"[Just kids? Let me clue you in on something: Half the problems in this city are solved by kids. You ever see those Judgement guys patrolling the streets and handling trouble? They're all students, same as you and me. The only difference between them and us is a fancy armband. So don't go selling yourself short just because you're still in school; Chances are the guys who built the robots are too.]"

[Lillith]

Jirou raised an eyebrow. For the proactive leader of a special robot-hunting group, Jane really seemed to lack confidence. Maybe it was because her powers (whatever they were) weren't suited to direct attacks, but that was no excuse. And as for the comments about their age, those were just bizarre.

"[Just kids? Let me clue you in on something: Half the problems in this city are solved by kids. You ever see those Judgement guys patrolling the streets and handling trouble? They're all students, same as you and me. The only difference between them and us is a fancy armband. So don't go selling yourself short just because you're still in school; Chances are the guys who built the robots are too.]"

<Orz, this city freaks me out sometimes.> Jane sighed. <Seriously, kids running around everywhere, fighting crime, solving problems, it's like living in a big comic book story. I doubt I'll ever get used to that.>

She looked at both guys. <Not to be mean but neither of you seem like people who'd choose to fight first and ask questions later. Neither am I for that matter. If they'd send a robot after me I'm done.>

[Anyr]

<Orz, this city freaks me out sometimes.> Jane sighed. <Seriously, kids running around everywhere, fighting crime, solving problems, it's like living in a big comic book story. I doubt I'll ever get used to that.>

Jirou listened intently, fascinated by this new perspective. It was quite entertaining to see Academy City through a foreigner's eyes, especially one so newly arrived. He'd always known that the rest of the world did things rather differently, but if Jane was anything to go by he didn't know the half of it.

"[No offense, but it sounds like your old home was pretty boring. Don't they let kids do anything there?]"

She looked at both guys. <Not to be mean but neither of you seem like people who'd choose to fight first and ask questions later. Neither am I for that matter. If they'd send a robot after me I'm done.>

If Jirou had been surprised by Jane's viewpoint before, it was nothing compared to now. Thinking of Academy City as a comic book world was one thing; Seeing he and Cale as people who didn't like to fight was quite another. Harada Rin had been the same, although in her case it was because she was a goddess in human form. This girl was probably just a really bad judge of character. Still, it was nice to be given the benefit of the doubt for once.

"Er, yeah, obviously we don't want trouble if we can avoid it. Still, it may come looking for us anyway if we start poking around in other people's business. You ready for that?"

[Lillith]

"[No offense, but it sounds like your old home was pretty boring. Don't they let kids do anything there?]"


"Er, yeah, obviously we don't want trouble if we can avoid it. Still, it may come looking for us anyway if we start poking around in other people's business. You ready for that?"

<Eh... I guess so... I'm not much of a fighter. I can't phantom how I could do anything. I mean, I can use a bow and arrow but that's not going to be of any use.> Jane had never thought about using her powers in a fight. The only thing she could think of was use it for cheating for tests and telling if people were lying. <Where I come from kids go to school. They might go to some clubs, hang out with each other, party a bit. Maybe get grounded for doing something they're not allowed to. But that's it. And as far as I know off Academy City is the only place where children fight crime. That's grown up stuff. It's like everybody here is a superhero one way or the other. Or at least has a superpower.>

[Rhydeble]

"<Well, that's one of the reasons academy city is rather safe, nearly every single inhabitant is a police officer in disguise... They kind of need to be, because almost every single weird thing in the world happens here.

The fighting... well, its different against those robots, but most of the time you can just show off a part of you power and make people run away in fear, its not like its actually dangerous.

still, don't go in the skill-out areas, those guys are scary....>"

Cale looked at the tile-stack that he had been building up while Jirou and Jane had been talking.

"oh, and I beleive I won this round"

[Anyr]

Jirou's eyes snapped over to his right, far too late. The sense of deja vu in this situation was so strong that he almost expected Cale's winning hand to be the same as well. Thankfully it wasn't quite that bad, but as dealer he would still end up paying the lion's share of it.

"Again! He did it to me again! How the-That trick worked before because I was off my guard, but I was watching for it this time...Wasn't I? I could have sworn I was watching..."

But that wasn't true. Oh yes, he'd kept half an eye on the proceedings while he was talking to Jane; Took a few glances at the table now and again and checked for the obvious warning signs. But as far as real observation was concerned, he might as well have not been there at all. Somehow this malingering parasite had managed to fade into the background for a second time, even after baring his fangs.

Without a word Jirou slid his share of the payment towards Cale. While the lead was still his, it wasn't nearly as formidable after that hit. And with his opponent taking the dealership, Jirou found himself facing the unthinkable: Actually having to defend his position in the last round. Here they were, approaching the end of the game, and there was a possibility that someone else might have a chance of winning! Unforgivable. Absolutely unforgivable...

[Lillith]

Jane looked at the tiles Cale had just moved. <Wow Cale you're on a roll aren't you?> She said smiling. It hadn't been her intention to win from the start. If anything she would be happy if she didn't up last, but with her score that was unavoidable. Then again this was the first time she played so what else was to be expected. Cale and Jirou however... now that Jane was starting to pay attention to the two instead of retreating in her own mind she noticed Jirou's facial expression changing as soon as Cale made his move. Somehow Jane felt like those two were trying to win no matter what... guys...

[Rhydeble]

"<Yeah, I geuss I am>" Cale replied to Jane, trying to keep his focus on the game, which was hard with Jane talking to him.

The last round had just started, and the score difference between Cale and Jirou was now miniscule, it was going to be a really tight race.

[Anyr]

Jirou gave a grunt of disappointment at the exchange between his two fellow players. While he didn't share Cale's fascination with Jane, he also didn't like having his skills insulted.

"[What, no 'wow' for the guy who's already in first place? I guess people really do like an underdog...]"

With that he began his assault. Normally in a situation like this, he would have simply gone for pure speed. Being in the lead, any win at all in the last game (no matter how small) would be enough to secure the match. This time, though, his starting hand was too heavy for that to work. So instead, he'd go the opposite route; If he couldn't speed himself up, he'd slow everyone else down.

Being in a close race for the finish, all the players would naturally be very wary of dealing into each other's hands. If Jirou could simply exploit that fear, then the game would be his. Thus, for the first few turns of the game he would abandon his own advancement and busy himself with the creation of an imaginary threat. His draws and discards would be strong-handed and filled with promise, hinting at a hand that was progressing at a disturbingly rapid pace. The reality was far from that, but nobody but him could see his actual hand. All they had to go on were clues and warning signs, and all of those said the same thing:

"Tread carefully."

[Lillith]

"[What, no 'wow' for the guy who's already in first place? I guess people really do like an underdog...]"[/COLOR]"

<Oh sorry Jirou I didn't mean it like that. You're a good player too. Faaaar better the me at least.> And there was the tension again. Great. When was this game over?

[Rhydeble]

"Aww c'mon Jane, you're not that bad.
And with a little luck, you can win some points in the last round,"

[Anyr]

Jirou sent a sharp glance to Cale.

"Don't do that. Seriously, don't do that. You want her to get better at this? Then start being honest with her."

His focus then switched to Jane, although this time his eyes never left the table.

"[Don't listen to that guy; He doesn't know what he's talking about. The truth is that yes, you are that bad. And no, a 'little luck' won't be enough to change that. Sound harsh? Like his version better? That's fine, but it won't help you learn.

If you wanna be good at this game, you gotta get rid of excuses like that early. 'I'm on a losing streak'. 'My draws were all trash', 'The other players were too good'. Once you start thinking that way, there's no coming back. When you lose, don't spend your time sulking or getting told it wasn't your fault; 'cause most of the time it was your fault. Pick yourself up, work out what you did wrong and keep moving forward...

...At least, that's what I've always thought.]"

Jirou finished awkwardly, suddenly conscious of how long that speech had been. He hadn't meant to ramble on that long, but this was a subject that was close to his heart. Luckily he'd kept his attention on the game this time, or he might have suffered a very ironic defeat.

[Lillith]

Jane looked at her tiles and fell silent. She knew she was bad and wasn't surprised for Jirou pointing it out... but, she seriously doubted she'd be good at this game. She barely knew what she was doing. Why was she so bad at everything she did?