Scene #5962: War Preparation-2

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Touta Konoe	Since the developments that transpired at the Horizon Apartment Complex, there was a bit of concern from certain individuals about Touta's well being. Why was his well being in jeopardy, well apparently by throwing his hat into the ring against Gwyn to protect Reiji's dad, he had acquired the wrath of a certain white-haired Queen of the Concord who now vowed death to his immortal life... With that concern it was suggested that he take this time to lay as to allow Priscilla to cool her head. Unfortunately, what Touta hadn't realized when he agreed to that was that he was going to be detained at one of the nearby Paladin facilities. This in and of itself wouldn't have been a major issue usually for the young man. It was definitely one way to keep Priscilla from getting to him, however... It was also a way to keep Touta from leaving which had slowly begun to wear on the young man, and the longer he had been held the easier it was to tell he was pretty discontent with his stay. At what point did one who was being watched for safety become a prisoner anyway? He'd never say that but he's feeling pretty detained right now even if it was for his own benefit. At the time he could be found in a room provided by the Paladins...Playing around? It was hard to tell cause while his face seemed serious all he was doing was twirling a hula-hoop around his waist.
Reiji Arisu	Can you really blame them for holding him for so long? Priscilla is known to hold grudges, and until they can be sure that nothing is going to appear out of thin air to decapitate him, it's a bit touch and go as far as a solid release date goes. Normally, Reiji wouldn't be too concerned. Immortals are immortals. The catch is, of course, that Priscilla /doesn't particularly care/ about immortality, as far as the exorcist has seen. And so Touta remains here, bored, and with nothing to do except hula and play some old video games. Soon though, there's a knock on the door. "May I come in?" It's a familiar voice. Reiji's, by the sound of it.
Touta Konoe	"Come in!" By the time that Reiji enters into the room it probably seems strange. On one hand he's got the hula-hoop spinning and at the same time...He's doing sword swings. The video games don't look like they've even been touched since they were brought in. One thing's for certain though, and that it's Touta seems pretty focused or at least as focused as one can be given his circumstances. The moment that Reiji enters the room though he gets Touta's full attention, his blade going to a halt, but the hula-hoop still spinning around his waist. "Reiji, hey what's up? Quick question, but you wouldn't know how much longer they plan to keep me here would ya? I go missing for too long from work and my boss'll be ripping my head off..." As sarcastic as that sounds its actually kind of hard to tell whether he's being literal or not in that one regard.
Reiji Arisu	That's... Uh. Hula-hoops? Reiji stares at the display with a look on his face that can only be approximated as 'completely befuddled.' And he's just going to keep right on hula-ing, isn't he? What the heck, kids these days. Do they not like video games anymore? Is hula back in style? Does he really want his surrogate kiddos learning weirdo habits from their babysitter? Not important. "Sorry," Reiji answers with a shrug. "Your guess is as good as mine. I'd wager at least a few days, less if you can help me put together a plan that gets you back to somewhere safer. Priscilla's not going to forget what you did so quickly, but neither will I. I'll do what I can to get you out of here sooner if that's what you like." The exorcist shakes his head and moves to rest himself into one of the chairs nearby. "So? How are you taking it so far. This war, I mean. Your grandfather is the Ruler, isn't he?"
Touta Konoe	Touta doesn't seem to pick up on Reiji's confusion. At least not enough to clarify it in some way. Instead, Touta seems to be back to taking up his blade. Without a doubt this was probably weird to be watching. Why was a kid swinging a sword while trying to simulatenously twirl a metal hoop around his waist. Not to say he's not good at it, it looks like he's clearly comfortable moving around while keeping the hoop in position, it's just...It's strange. It's definitely strange to watch this. Though the Multiverse is a strange place in general. "Nnnngh. I definitely wanna be out and about. Got things to do. Still, I guess I know why she's the queen of the Concord now. I don't know what that stuff she was spewing from her mouth was at all but it was pretty nasty. Guess I see why she's the head honcho at the Concord." The moment Reiji brings up Ruler his demeanor turns a bit soured. "Naw, my gramps is stil alive back in my world apparently. This guy is my grandfather's dad. He's also a complete smart ass...I met up with him earlier but he wasn't having anything to do with me for the most part. Pfft, I'd rather try talking to Priscilla again over that guy. Anyway, what about you? Did you get to speak with your dad yet? It'd be a real shame if I got Priscilla grinding her teeth over me for nothing ya know."
Reiji Arisu	Just a little bit weird, yeah. But Touta's some kind of weird immortal, and for all Reiji knows, he needs to keep swinging his sword and hula-hooping simultaneously to maintain that immortality. It's only about as strange as some of the stuff the Chinese ones did to never die ever. "It's a long story," Reiji says of the nasty stuff. "Suffice it to say that it's possibly some of the most lethal stuff you'll find in the Multiverse. I'd bet good money that it'd even be capable of ending an immortal permanently." He cants his head thoughtfully, then continues, "Think of it as concentrated anti-life. It'd be best if you could figure out a way to remain well out of range of her powers the next time." But then, the conversation turns towards servants. Specifically, to mutual father (or great grandfather) figures. "Oh, that so? Good to know. Well, you know what they say about meeting your heroes, right?" The exorcist breathes a long, tired sigh, his shoulders seeming to sag with fatigue. "As for dad... I haven't yet. I'm... still not sure how to feel about that whole situation yet. When they're ready to interrogate them, I plan to be there, but... It's a complicated."
Touta Konoe	While his immortality doesn't work in that way, Touta could definitely vouch that there are a few immortals with crazy requirements for their immortality. Though that might be a story for another time. "Meet your heroes..." Touta stays silent for a moment as that remark is made. "Trust me, after seeing that guy there's no way I can see him as a hero. I heard he saved the world or something but the way he acts could have fooled me. I bet he won't even take his job seriously when push comes to shove. He'll just go find another restaurant to stuff his face at." There's a bit of discontent talking about Ruler in Touta's tone. Apparently the man had not left that much of a great impression on his great-grandson. Those feelings get stowed away the moment that Reiji starts sagging. Apparently Touta wasn't the only one with parental issues. "What's so complicated? He's your dad right? If you have something to tell him you should just say it, shouldn't ya? That's what I'd do if I was able to see mine. I bet even Priscilla's trying to take advantage of this! Speaking of her though..." Touta stops swinging his blade for a moment trying to recall what had happened to him. "Is that Anti-life magic or something? It felt really weird compared to what I've seen." "It was definitely not any form of magic I'm familiar with. Touta, you should assume that if you get caught by it again you won't be able to use magic can-" "I know! I know! It's fine though, I've already got a plan for the next time. If Priscilla comes a sneaking, we'll make sure she's the one catching the surprise this time! She might be the Queen of the Concord but if she thinks I'm so easy to take down she's got another thing coming! Before Reiji has to question it, yes Touta was had cut off his sword mid-sentence, and yes that black katana he's been holding was clearly talking. And yes, it does sound like he has the intention to go up against Priscilla again... This kid is weird.
Reiji Arisu	It's actually not as weird as some of what Reiji has seen. Tsukumogami are relatively common back home, after all. It isn't too beyond the pale to run into someone talking to their sword or their parasol or their banjo. It's just the way of things when you've spent your whole life dealing with spirits. "I'd listen to your sword," Reiji says after the pair are done. "I can't even really classify it as magic. The Lifehunt is insidious like that; it's... More of a force of nature than anything else. Or rather, a force that's abhorrent to nature. Something outside of it and forbidden to it. Like I said, it's complicated." But, the topic about his father-- That's something even more complicated. "I... don't know," Reiji says at last. "Xiaomu thinks he is, but I don't remember my dad ever being that... Joyful. Ever since I can remember, he was always on the job. Like me, I guess. There's a disconnect there, you know? He might be my father, but if he's not the man I remember, then..." But isn't that sort of... Wasting his opportunity? Something doesn't quite add up. There's a note of guilt there-- a powerful one.
Touta Konoe	It's finally at this point that Touta actually stops spinning the hula-hoop around his waist. "Trust me, after being on the receiving end of that Life Hunt stuff I don't plan to get hit by it so easily. Though if I could, I'd rather talk up Priscilla. I know she hates my guts right now but when I met her the first time she seemed pretty nice. Plus I got a few buddies in the Concord and I'd feel bad if I put anyone in an awkward position cause I pissed off their boss." As Reiji starts talking about his feelings concerning his dad though, Touta feels like he should give some sort of pep talk of his own. That said, Touta can't relate in regards to the guilt or fathers...But he can realte to one thing. "Ya know, one of my buddies back in my world told me this quote that I really like. 'Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.' It sorta talks about not wasting the chances you've got, and considering how big of a chance this is you should make sure you don't waste it, ya know? You don't want to ask those big 'what if' questions right?"
Reiji Arisu	"Like I said, give her a little bit to calm down. She might carry a grudge, but that anger was unreasonable of her," Reiji cautions, looking a little less confused as Touta finally stops spinning his hoop. "It's not like that Gwyn is necessarily HER Gwyn, and even if he is, he isn't acting as Lord of Anor Londo anymore. Though I can certainly understand her attachment and how that might cloud her judgment." After all, it's not like Priscilla isn't guilty of the same crime. But then... On to more personal matters. Reiji's brow furrows slightly as his expression grows tense. "Hah, I suppose that's true. But that's the tragedy of human life. It's short and full of mistakes that we spend the rest of it wishing to amend." He looks up, conflict and guilt obvious in the shadows of his eyes. "I can only hope that it turns out as well as you think. I don't want to imagine what might I might be forced to do to put an end to this war."
Touta Konoe	A heavy pat on the back is given to the furrowed brow man. There's a smile on Touta's face with a little less tension than he had before as he tries to reassure this worry-wart. "Relax Reiji. You should at least know by now if worst comes to worst, you know I've got your back!" That was definitely true. Without even really being asked this kid had stepped in against Saber, knowing that he was related to Priscilla, knowing he was getting in the middle of things, just to make sure that Reiji could have a proper conversation with his own father. "Besides, if we do need to put an end to this war I got just the thing to do it. I'll probably be breaking a few rules if I use it. But hey, not like we'd be caring much about rules if we're trying to end it quick, right?" Perhaps it was arrogant to say all of that, especially with a target on his head now, but the young man did feel that one way or another should the worst come to occur that he could help in some shape or form. It was funny considering how little he had staked on this whole war. Ruler was a Servant acting as a mediator who couldn't even get a wish so there was no point supporting him, he himself wasn't a Master so he couldn't claim a wish, and he wasn't even part of a faction trying to keep control over the thing. It was probably a bigger question if he was a being a good samaritan, or just a vigilante at this point...
Reiji Arisu	Huh. This is an odd sensation, being comforted by someone who looks barely over the age of fourteen or so. Reiji breathes a long sigh and reflexively reaches for something in his coat-pocket, only to remember that he's actually indoors right now. Smoking ordinances, they're kind of a pain sometimes. "I appreciate it," he says after a minute. "Really, I can't thank you enough for taking a risk like that on my behalf." He really needs to do something about people taking on risks on his behalf. It's kind of a bad habit. "I think the first step is to figure out just what is going on with this war," Reiji says, straightening. "Regardless of anything else, my feelings included, I'm going to need to talk to my father and his master and see what they know about why all this is happening. Holy Grail Wars are a known quantity, but never on a scale like this. For the Holy Grail to reach across realms like this would require some very special circumstances. In the worst case, disabling it might be... extremely dangerous." Super powerful wish granting engines always seem to have a catch to them, after all. Even an inoccuous wish might end in... Disaster. "Anyway, you said you worked for someone, right? Could we contact them and see about arranging a secure transport or something? That might get you the clearance you need to leave early."
Touta Konoe	"Sure, though uh, let's keep the whole 'I'm being targeted by the Concord's boss' a secret. Last thing I want is for everyone back home to get worried. But yeah, it shouldn't be that hard." There's a bit of a panic on his face if only for a moment. Clearly he would prefer not to let Priscilla know about his friends if he could avoid it. "Besides, if Priscilla does decide to chase after me, wouldn't want to drag anyone else into it..." He stays silents for a few more moments being somewhat quieter than he has been so far. "Oh right, for the war, I mean...I guess I could try bothering Ruler again, but he's such a slouch. Seriously, you could probably bribe that guy with a few drinks and some food or something. That's what that Mitsu girl ended up doing anyway. Definitely keep your eyes on her, she nearly blew up a street corner just cause I pissed her off." He wasn't even kidding. Granted there were a few other circumstances to that whole ordeal but he thinks he summarizes it well enough. "Oh, Reiji, I know we had an agreement but considering what's going on...You mind if we try to have one of those sparring sessions sooner than later? I gotta feeling I'mma need to be in shape more than I thought."
Reiji Arisu	"I might try tracking him down, then. Though one would think that anybody who could be so easily swayed with a few beers and a bowl of ramen is probably not the most reliable source." After all, nobody ever said that Ruler had to be /truthful/ about anything. It's possible he has an ulterior motive as well-- but that will have to come later. Right now, Reiji has an entirely different servant to worry about. He rises after a moment, pushing back up onto his feet and off the chair. "I'm going to go see about speeding the wheels a bit and getting you out early. Just let me know when you want to have that spar and we'll work something out. Shouldn't be too hard to find a decent place anymore. Thanks again, though. I mean it." And with that, Reiji cants his head in farewell and heads back for the door. He's got... Things to think about. Maybe too much to think about.