View source for Logs: Explosive Encounter

<center><b>Inaba - Commercial District - IC Time: January 10th, 2010. 5:00 PM.</b></center>





(((Thora Kobayashi poses.)))<br>
January 10th, 2010. School has resumed, but by this time in the afternoon, it's already out.

This is good. Because there is SNOW ON THE GROUND and clearly something must be done with this snow on the ground. Preferably, it should be balled up and flung at other human beings but surely such behavior would never happen in the middle of the semi-deserted commercial district. Some shops that have not been squashed by Junes keep themselves open despite the weather. One such shop is the famous Daidara metalworks, the hot interior of the store being quite inviting to those seeking to warm themselves up.

The door to the store swings open and a tall, infamous figure steps out. Thora Kobayashi, the Oni of Osaka, peers up at the sky and half-smiles as a snowflake lazily drifts down. In spite of the colder temperature, her coat remains oddly unbuttoned.



(((Reki Kurusu poses.)))<br>
A young boy comes rushing up the snow covered street. He's wearing what appears to be workman's clothes, a blue shirt with a name tag that reads 'Kurusu,' and heavy workman's boots. 

His objective seems to be a bus in the distance... Unfortunately, the cold renders the street somewhat treacherous, and he loses his footing, coincidentally losing his footing and slamming into the ground before sliding directly at Thora at high momentum.. 

The bus, as if representing the fundamental platonic ideal of the world waiting for no man and laughing at his tragedy, pulls away.



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
Once again, far from home.

Footprints made in fresh snow. Breath becoming visible from underneath a bundle of warmth, a lone figure walks. Where they go is unknown in this weather. Surely they do not plan on being in it for very long? Well, one could ask the person themselves.

Yoh Yamagatani strides along, pulling his scarf closer, his face buried in yet another local map. Getting use to the areas around St. Hermelin was proving to be quite a trek. The quaint town was quite pleasing; quiet and peaceful being among the things he enjoyed.

As the teenager walked, something seem to peck at him. Last night... was that meeting just a dream? Couldn't be. The presented meal was too good and enjoyable. And that man's voice rang out so clear. What was his name? ....Kandori? Something along those lines. The subject matter discussed still made no sense, some of it becoming fuzzy made it that much harder to comprehend. 'Oh well, didn't concern me anyway,' He thought to himself as he trotted in the snow.

Yoh stopped and shivered. He wasn't a fan of the cold. AT ALL. A cup of cocoa was an image repeating itself in his mind at the moment. He began to peer up over the map to try and find one of the small Mom-and-Pop family stores that would possibly serve something nice and hot.



(((Shou Hamada poses.)))<br>
Coat buttoned all the way to the collar to keep the cold-weather out, a smart looking high school student emerges from Inaba's local bookstore holding (Imagine!) a book. His breath mists up the air as he takes a second look around the street. 

Unfortunately for Shou he can barely get three steps out of store and on his way home before tragedy strikes so readily, turning to see a young familiar looking boy sliding towards a foreign-looking mountain of person like a hockey puck. Or a penguin, if you imagine it right. Shou just stops in his tracks to watch.



(((Thora Kobayashi poses.)))<br>
With her shift over, it was time for Thora to go back "home", her home these days being that accursed KNOWS castle on the outskirt of town. Everyone was aware of this now, Thora occasionally being pointed at as one of the youth program's successes as far as behavior improvement went. If anything, it definitely had improved her grades as of the last exam. 

Lost in her thoughts, she doesn't notice the approaching young man as he barrels down the street. It's a shame too because then maybe she would have been able to get out of the way. 

When Reki hits Thora, it feels like running into a solid wall made out of meat. Steady and hard, at first it doesn't seem like she's going to give against the sudden collision but before either of them really know it, they're both on the ground with Thora sprawled on her side and Reki on top. Thora stares forward for a moment, her line of sight giving her a great view of across the street. Suddenly, those eyes shift to glare at Reki from the corners of her eyes. 

A noise comes from Thora not unlike a volcano erupting. If Reki has any sense of resonance at all, he will suddenly detect an explosion of aggression from beneath him.



(((Reki Kurusu poses.)))<br>
Reki Kurusu grimaces slightly after the impact. He feels like he hit a pole...but then the pole starts growling at him. He leaps up to his feet, blinking as he notices its another human being and turns abruptly red. 

The strange prickling sense in the back of his mind does give him pause, but danger or not...manners are manners. 

He bows, repeatedly, very deeply, "Please forgive my clumsiness. Please. I apologize most extravagantly that due to my incompetence you have been brought to this state. How may I ever make it up to you." He actually looks at the human mountain he ran into, and adds, "Madame."



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
THUD.

Yoh looks up to see an explosion of people and snow. "Holy crap!" he shouts as he begins to hurry over to the collision. At this point he nearly slips on a spot of partly melted snow in front of a shop, finally catching his balance after flapping about for a moment. Deciding not to rush quite as fast, he walks at a rather fast pace towards them. Seeing them move, Yoh is slightly relived. Despite that looking.... rather cool and humorous, surely it hurt, and they may need assistance.

As he closes in, he says rather loudly, "Hey! Are you folks okay?"



(((Shou Hamada poses.)))<br>
Shou, honestly, only has to hear that first sentence to know who it is. What was his name? Rex? Lucky? He sighs and adjusts his glasses with a thumb and starts crunching through the snow towards the hapless boy and large foreign girl, sporting a slight grimace. He can only hope this doesn't take too long and he get home in good time. His compulsive need to over-study won't satisfy itself.



(((Thora Kobayashi poses.)))<br>
'Growling' is an excellent word to describe the noise Thora is making! A large calloused hand pushes against the snow-covered sidewalk, shoving the giant of a girl to her knees. Her legs take her the rest of the way so she can rear up to her full height, which is certainly taller than any of the boys gathered here tonight. There is definitely some foreign blood in her. 
 
Golden yellow eyes bear down on Reki as he fumbles his way through an apology. During his pause, her nose scrunches up so she can sneer at him for a few seconds. Even after that, she's silent, letting him stand there and squirm beneath her gaze. 
 
Her few moments of power tripping past, she finally speaks. "What's your name." Her shoulders move now, arms lifting, but fortunately not into any kind of violent movement. It appears she's taking off her long blue coat.



(((Reki Kurusu poses.)))<br>
Reki Kurusu doesn't tremble, which is perhaps disturbing in its own right. He remains his bow, "Reki Kurusu, Middle School Student. Please do not hold my failure against Sakimoto Auto Repair."



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
Approaching the scene, Yoh sees the two finally getting up. It must have not been too terrible of a collision. Stopping a few feet away, he assesses the damage, then begins to speak. "Hey guys, y--"

At that point, he catches the piercing glare of Thora.

Now, Yoh gets into scuffles with punks and fighters all the time, whether being for training, boredom, or stopping bad behavior. Not once has he backed down from doing anything from anything anyone has done or said. Him freezing (pun intended) Gives a feel for just how intense that stare seemed!

Even though he was standing <i>right there</i>, Yoh determined it may be best to wait a moment before doing anything. That was a first.



(((Shou Hamada poses.)))<br>
Stopping just short of the pair, Shou sighs dispassionately and lifts a hand in a mild greeting. "Hey Kurusu-san." He does the same to Thora, just raising a hand and bowing his hand and summoning a forced smile (withered by her expression, no doubt), before noticing the new kid, who he'd seen flail on the ice for his life. 

The guy already asked "Are you alright?" and didn't get an answer, so Shou supposed he's not going to get one. Why'd he stop so suddenly, though? Was she that intimidating? ...Well, yes, she was, but it's not like he was thinking about actually -fighting- her, right? ...Right?



(((Thora Kobayashi poses.)))<br>
"Stand up." Thora barks immediately after his introduction. For a brief second, she glances around, if only to take stock of how many witnesses there are in the area. She spots Yoh, who is coming over to actually check on the two of them and Shou who is pretty much doing the same. The brief possibility of engaging all three in Burly Brawl style to dispel her anger over this situation is entertained and discarded. 
 
Even without her coat, in the snow she doesn't seem at all bothered by the temperature. Her hand fishes through one of her coat pockets and pulls out an odd-looking smartphone. Those who are astute and very in tune with the cell phone market might realize that it's not exactly a model found, well, anywhere. 
 
Annoyed, Thora tosses her coat at Reki. It's a very large coat. It's also a very wet and somewhat muddy coat too now. "Get this dry cleaned." 
 
Now she slowly turns to meet Yoh's stare with a measured and deliberate motion that suggests she has a lot of practice in intimidating people. She doesn't say anything, she just stares, and for Thora that was more than enough.



(((Reki Kurusu poses.)))<br>
Reki Kurusu looks at the coat, and the mud as he stands up and its well, thrown at him. He looks down at it, and then up at her, "...that will take some time, madame. Precisely where can I make delivery of the item after its taken care of?" He looks back at the coat, "As I made it dirty. I will pay for it."



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
For one that sees so many fights, it is rare to see someone disheartened by just a look.

Yoh gathers his courage before finally speaking to Thora. After all, he didn't do anything wrong.... right? "I was just coming to see if you two were all right. You both took quite the spill," He says, trying to sound kind and innocent. And weak. Unusual for someone with such a courageous and commandeering personality. For once, Yoh did not want to be on the business end of a fist.

...Especially one that large.



(((Shou Hamada poses.)))<br>
Unfortunately... Shou isn't quite as aware of what danger there may or may not be as Yoh seems to be. Wiping the frost off of his glasses, he grits his teeth for a moment, not looking forward to this.

The student, in his clean little Yasogami uniform, walks up next to Reki and tries not to lose his nerve. "Excuse me..." He looks Thora up and down even though she is still very likely trying to murder them with her eyes. No, he is sweating a little bit now. God those eyes. "I understand how you feel, but Kurusu-san has it pretty hard as is..." He tries to ply a sob story with what little he knows. "He works multiple part time jobs as is..." Shou wants to say more, but realizes, as he starts to swallow a lump, that he's probably saying this to the wrong person.



(((Thora Kobayashi poses.)))<br>
"Of course you will." Thora says, a tad annoyed as if he fully didn't understand the implications of this exchange. He knocked her down so it was clearly his responsibility to get her coat cleaned, of course he had to pay for it. "You can take it to the KNOWS castle on the outskirts of town. You know, that large mall. You can't miss it." 

She lifts her head to look down her nose at him. "Find a guard and tell them that it's a delivery for Thora Kobayashi. It'll get back to me." In retrospect, maybe she should have told him to just leave it at the shop instead since it'd be easier but...Thora's in no mood to make things easy for people. 
 
At the edge of her perception, something was bothering her. The smell of metal was strong here but it definitely wasn't the smell of Daidara's. She gives each of the boys here an appraising look, lingering on Reki for a few seconds longer. 

"We're fine." Thora announces to Yoh. "At least I am despite breaking Kurusu's fall." Uh oh, Shou steps up to bat over this whole 'paying for dry cleaning' issue. "..." 

Congratulations, Shou, you have the Oni's full attention now. "...and?"



(((Reki Kurusu poses.)))<br>
Reki Kurusu hrms and nods, "I will aim to do that as soon as possible. It should be returned to you within the week. My apologies again for interfering with you in such a way. You are not injured correct? Do you need help in moving to a doctor or hospital?" As Shou steps up, he raises a hand waving it dismissively, "...I am in the wrong here, it is only appropriate that I pay for it."



(((Shirou Sekigawa poses.)))<br>
Across the distance, Thora might catch a wiff of water and stone, carried by something dark and deep. It's quite the familiar smell. He's on his bike, grinding through some of the piled up snow and mud. First full day back to school. It was nice, but at the same time... 

Well, that's why he's down here right now, looking to distract himself a bit... as he feels the pull of a few resonances. He's heading closer, but can't see too much just yet.



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
Oh boy. Thora is talking to him.

"Well, that is good to hear! Would hate seeing someone getting hurt, after all." He feels a bit more relieved, as disdain is not held toward him. At least for now. Upon being closer to the group, and most of the fiasco is over, he can't help but recognize one of the participants from an earlier day. What was his name? He didn't want to sound like an idiot.

"Uh..." He spits out, pointing to Reki. He then starts snapping his fingers, trying to think. When did that help people to think anyway? "You! You're...." Finally he remembers. "Kurusu-san! Right! I saw you a few days ago!"



(((Shou Hamada poses.)))<br>
Little ponytail swishing back and forth as Shou struggles to stay afloat. Can he convince Thora to leave Reki be? Unlikely. 'I'll pay for it!' he thinks. Gods alive he's only known Reki half an hour total and he knows he has a better chance of winning against Thora in a wrestling match than passing that one by.

Shou just sighs, again. He looks Thora in the eyes for a second, looks away, then looks back at her nose. If public speaking class has taught him anything it's that it'll still seem like he's looking her in the eyes. 

Shou promptly gets the mental image of a lion. 'Oh god what if she thinks that means I'm challenging her territory.'

Shou looks away. "Shouldn't that dirt be frozen, and come right off? It'd...be a shame if Kurusu-san paid for something that could be just wiped off."



(((Thora Kobayashi poses.)))<br>
Hey, something smells <i>familiar</i>. Shirou was nearby? 

Part of her hopes he doesn't stumble across this since he'd usually get a little weird whenever she was around other guys. Maybe especially so with how formal Reki was being. "I'm fine." she tells him, resting a hand on her hip. Beneath that coat was...well, Thora's school uniform for Yasogami High, skirt and all. Since it's colder out she has opted for some stockings on her legs too. 

An eye is turned in Shou as he continues to press the dry cleaning issue and annoyance finally starts to shine through in Thora's visage. His insistence on eye contact definitely is taken as a challenge and an ominous step is taken in Shou's direction. "Do you want to try?"



(((Reki Kurusu poses.)))<br>
Reki Kurusu blinks and steps to the side, interposing himself between Shou and Thora. He bows again, "We thank you for your clemency and wisdom in this, Kobayashi-sama. Please accept my apologies regarding this, and all other events. If you have need to vent your anger regarding an issue, allow it to be against me who originated this entire exchange."



(((Shirou Sekigawa poses.)))<br>
Yup, he can feel Thora's resonance... but there's another or two? It was... hard to tell at this distance. But he's biking in closer, giving Thora a lazy wave as he gets closer. 

He blinks a bit as he spots... Reki getting between Thora and someone else. That was... yeah. It'd be comical if it didn't mean that /something/ was going down. Great. And there's another guy there, just trying to get into her grill just a bit as well. 

"Graaahh..."



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
Why was Kurusu-san here? What are the odds of seeing someone you met two days ago, in a different city area? Apparently not as large as people think.

Seems odd to meet in such a fiasco, but things happen. "Hey Kurusu-san! Is everything okay?" he says in a friendly tone, finally remembering the boys name earlier. As it seems tension is still a little on the high side, he takes a step back. Maybe they will cool off (pun intended, again) and something won't break out. Out of feeling a little useless, he looks over at Shou, giving him one of those 'So, what now?' looks. Maybe he will have an answer to this. He seems smart.



(((Shou Hamada poses.)))<br>
Shou takes a deep breath and shakes his head, looking solidly away now, back at the new kid -- Yoh. He's shaking in his shoes, honestly, but he manages to keep a straight face, a straight posture somehow. "N-No, I don't." He turns his gaze forward to look at Reki now, sporting a half grimace. "Look, I'm sorry if I bugged you. I just wanted to help this guy. I didn't...mean anything." 

Shou just turns his head to look at the guy on the bike, noticing the wave. Friends of hers? -Reinforcements-? He hopes not.



(((Thora Kobayashi poses.)))<br>
This was not looking good for Shou, that's for certain. Reki bravely puts himself in the line of fire, neatly sealing the space between her and her prey. Unfortunately, this does end up putting Reki uncomfortably close to Thora. While Thora herself didn't mind physical contact at all, Reki might. 

At least she isn't being violent. "I don't need to vent any anger. Just like you-" She peers over Reki at Shou, "-don't need to go riding to his rescue when he's takin' responsibility." 

Finally, Thora turns away, relieving all the other boys the intensity of her eyes. Inwardly, she grins a little 'Kobayashi-sama', she could get used to hearing that. Too bad it was only a once-off thing. "Shirou." Thora calls over to her fellow first year. "It's nice to see you."



(((Reki Kurusu poses.)))<br>
Reki Kurusu seems a little relieved, before glancing back at Shou, "The situation is resolved, do not endanger yourself on my account please.." He glances over at Yoh as well and nods, "Yes, all things are in hand." He then looks over, following Thora's gaze and blinking, "Sekigawa-sempai?"



(((Shirou Sekigawa poses.)))<br>
Shirou nods to... Reki and Thora, smirking just a bit. "Thora, Kurusu-kohai... um..." He blinks at Shou and Yoh. "Guys I don't know. Sup." He asks rather tiredly, not really bothering to ask /why/ everyone looks like they're about to punch each other. 

Thora wanting to punch someone was like the sunrise. Always there, and reassuring in a vague way.



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
Yoh hears a bike come to a halt nearby, and turns to find himself greeted by Shirou. "Why hello there." The boy politely bows. "I am Yoh Yamagatani, and this..." He turns back around, and rubs the back of his neck, unsure of what to say right away. "...appears to be a small disaster." He glances over Shou, Reki and Thora warily.

Tension seemed to be everywhere. He hated the cold, and this made it worse. If a fight did indeed break out, hopefully he wouldn't get involved, contrary to his nature. The cold would hamper his already rather slow reflexes. Hopefully this will be resolved peacefully. He looked back to Reki and nodded. He seemed to be handling himself well, despite occurrences.



(((Shou Hamada poses.)))<br>
Shou just gives a sulking, quiet, "Sorry," to Reki in response. He lifts a hand in greeting to the newer-still-guy, and takes a few steps away back from Kurusu-kun. He feels like a pretty big idiot, and it kind of shows in his somewhat stern facial expression. He just hefts his book in one hand now that the attention is off of him, watching the scene. At least book will love me.



(((Thora Kobayashi poses.)))<br>
Gradually that tension and frustration seems to drain away from Thora's features, no doubt a great reassurance to the likes of Shou and Yoh. At least Reki's begging has got him in the clear. Danger wasn't over quite yet though. 

Could that ever be the case around Thora? 

She looks from Shirou to Reki, then sidesteps away from the other boys so she could look at everyone at once, "You guys know each other?"



(((Reki Kurusu poses.)))<br>
Reki Kurusu nods, "I am quite well acquainted with Sekigawa-sempai actually but..." He looks at his watch, a glimmer of absolute fear washing over him, something even Thora couldn't inspire... The man the other night implied otherwise, but implication and the willingness to test it are... 

"I...I need to be going. Please forgive me! I apologize!" He takes off at a full bolt.



(((Shirou Sekigawa poses.)))<br>
Shirou facepalms a bit as Reki bolts. "Yeah, he's... <i>really</i> wound up. 's kinda sad." He murmurs, smiling at Thora; for the sake of her image he doesn't try anything else tonight. 

"You hungry?" He asks, eyes settling on the other guys, but not mentioning anything else. Shou and Yoh get nods at least.



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
There went Reki again. What scares that boy so? Yoh would definitely have to ask about it next they met.

He waves to the boy as he takes off, and turns back to the scene. Now that one of the causes left, what would happen here? Thankfully it seems like everything is cooling down (yes, another one.) and conflict seems dispersed. "Well, that was odd. He did that two days ago." He said, tilting his head slightly, looking at the pile of snow gathered at the collision point.



(((Shou Hamada poses.)))<br>
Shou is entirely out of people he's formerly met at this point (Though there was only the one in the first place), and heavy with defeat he lifts an arm to the male strangers. "Take it easy," he issues a brief goodbye and starts walking the other way, crunching away at the snow as he heads off in the direction of the gas station.



(((Thora Kobayashi poses.)))<br>
Deep down inside, Thora gets the feeling that she's crushed somebody's spirit today. This is good since it satisfies her soul-crushing quota for the month. Silently, she watches Reki rush off then Shou trudge away. A mental note is made to figure out what class that kid was in later. 
 
"Food? When have I ever turned that down, Shirou?" Thora grins, but it's soon to disappear. "So where'd the two of you meet? You obviously know each other."



(((Shirou Sekigawa poses.)))<br>
Shirou shurugs a little more. "Ran into him literally out in Okina once, and then a few more times. He's a good kid, but <i>really</i> wound up." He waves a hand just a bit. 

"I'll fill ya in during dinner. My treat?" He smiles, leaning a bit on his bike handles.



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
'Well, that wraps up that problem it seems.' Yoh ponders to himself. He smiles and nods to the two folks left. "Well, since everything is okay now, I should be on my way as well. It is getting late." The boy bows to both folks left. "You both have a good night!"

And with that, Yoh began walking away. Yet another strange meeting of faces. Honestly, some of the weirdest stuff happens on this side of town, but Yoh doesn't mind.

...that much.



(((Thora Kobayashi poses.)))<br>
"Hrrrm..." Thora watches Yoh closely as he heads off. She's...pretty sure that she's never seen him around town before. That's suspicious. Very suspicious. 

The moment Yoh's back is turned, she scoots closer to Shirou. "Sure~ You know I can't turn down an offer that sweet, Shirou." If she were a cat, she'd be purring and nuzzling her fellow first-year right now. "Funny about that running into thing. That's how he met me." And now Thora is coatless, oh no!



(((Shirou Sekigawa poses.)))<br>
"Poor thing" Ahh, how quickly she changes her tune. It was cute, in an odd way. If she were a cat, he'd likely be scritching her ears. Or pointing out a mouse to her. He's in one of those odd moods. 

"Yeah, take it easy on the runt." he murmers quietly. "I think he's on the short list for shadow-possession..." He didn't get a good feel for his resonance tonight after all. But the rest of the conversation will have to wait for off-screen, as Shirou leads Thora off to a nice dinner at Aiya, likely.
[[Category: Logs]]