<@Grysar> [Date: December 30, 2003. It's a windy December morning. The sky is overcast and the chill air moves in gusts.] <@Grysar> [The area around the tower is fairly empty. There's a man in coveralls attending to the landscaping and a few hardcore tourists, all easily avoided.] <@Grysar> [Start.] 06* Wataru tugs his long coat around him, and checks his phone again. Katie should be here soon.... He's standing near the entrance, trying not to look like a creeper. Long coat notwithstanding. <@Grysar> [As Wataru waits, people intermittently wander by. There's a few westerners not quite prepared for the cold talking about their morning at the fishmarket. Off in the distance stands another lad, also checking his phone, also seeming a bit stood up.] 06* Kyon leads the way into the clearing by the tower, about 10 minutes late, wearing his ash-grey leather jacket and dark jeans, along with dark grey boots with orange piping. He's also wearing a dark grey tuque and sunglasses, hands jammed in his jacket pockets. 06* Wataru glances up and narrows his eyes. Kyon is disgustingly fashionable, who needs that much fashion? He stuffs his phone into the front pocket of his Waseda hoodie, and wonders why the hell he should have been surprised that King Douche would be along for the ride. Humph. 06* Katie is walk-skipping alongside Kyon. She's wearing the same wool coat/gloves/scarf/hat that she had when Wataru first met her, with jeans and sneakers. Upon seeing Wataru notice them (well, Kyon really), she waves. 06* Wataru manages a weak smile, and waves back, timidly. 06* Kyon just stalks along beside her. 06* Katie smiles back, much less weakly. "Sorry you were waiting," she says once they're close enough that her quiet voice will carry. "Kyon wanted to come with." "So I see," Wataru smirks. <@Grysar> [The lobby is clear for now, although that won't last as the other stood up gentlemen appears to be meeting his companion. The down elevator button is visible to those with keen eye sight] 06* Kyon nods curtly. "Should get in while we can." 06* Katie walks into the lobby, then, and straight for the elevators. She stops in front of one in particular. 06* Katie , by the way, has a bag over her shoulder. She basically always has a bag over her shoulder. She waits for the guys to get close - Wataru in particular so he can see what she's doing - and presses the down button. 06* Kyon makes his way alongside her, and figures Wataru will follow along. <@Grysar> [The elevator opens immediately and is quite empty.] 06* Wataru watches. Since when is there a down button.......? 06* Katie takes a deep breath and steps into the elevator. She looks to Wataru. Coming? 06* Kyon steps in besides her, shooting her a quick look as he does. 06* Wataru won't be left out - this is what he came for, anyway. Getting into strange elevators with strange people! It promises to be a strange day. He steps inside. 06* Katie looks back at Kyon. He knows her well enough to know, immediately, that she's scared. <@Grysar> [The doors close and you have the sensation of rising even though all visible signs point to the elevator going down.] 06* Kyon moves to the back of the elevator and just waits, hands in his pockets. 06* Wataru leans against the wall, very slightly, his inner ear rebelling against the disorientation and fomenting a revolt in his stomach. 06* Wataru tries to hide his discomfort, though. 06* Katie stands there, very rigid and very still. 06* Kyon watches Katie, pushing his sunglasses on top of his hat. <@Grysar> [And the elevator slows and is still for a moment. Then the doors open. What you see before you is the lobby once more. It is quite vacant aside from the same chairs and other seating arrangements. However, instead of a clearing visible through the window, you see Tokyo, upside down.] 06* Katie doesn't move. Her breathing's a bit shallow, and her eyes are glassy and unfocused. 06* Kyon stands close to her side, half in her line of sight, hovering. 06* Wataru stares at the view, a hand on the side of the door, stomach lurching. "The fuck is this," he mutters. 06* Kyon looks over at him sidewise, and says simply, "The Tower Reversed." "How." <@Grysar> [Between the disorientation and Katie's penchant for closing herself off, Wataru doesn't get much of a read on her.] 06* Katie gasps suddenly and reaches out, half-blindly, to grab Kyon's arm. She stumbles forward and into him. 06* Kyon opens his mouth to respond to Wataru, but then starts, and looks down at Katie, worry flashing across his face. "Hey. You okay?" 06* Wataru is startled, and pulls his hands loosely to his sides, staying near the door, wary and watching. <@Grysar> [The elevator doors begin to close.] 01 N- . 06* Wataru jerks his hand out, keeping the doors open, without taking his eyes from Kyon and Katie. He doesn't know what's going on, but hell if he's getting trapped in here without an out. <@Grysar> [The sky is grey and featureless, which isn't that noticeably different than the weather outside, aside from the fact that you can see no evidence of wind. You can see various skyscrapers at eye level, although they appear upside down with flagpoles and turrets pointing towards the floor of the lobby rather than the ceilings. You can't look down from here, because you're standing by the door, which dings with annoyance.] 06* Kyon looks down at Katie, and says lowly, "Right. But, c'mon. Gotta get out." 06* Wataru is conveniently holding the door open! 06* Katie nods. She swallows, blinks, and lets go of Kyon's arm. "" And with that any fear closes off, and she walks out into the lobby. <@Grysar> [The elevator dinging switches over to a buzz. It has been programmed to maximize throughput.] 06* Wataru watches Kyon. And ignores the elevator. 06* Kyon follows her out into the lobby, staying a couple of steps behind her. 06* Katie immediately goes for one of the chairs and sits, which really translates to bouncing on it a couple of times. No one's there to tell her she can't. <@Grysar> [The buzzing continues. Elevator can't really escalate from there, it's just annoying.] 06* Wataru has this urge to cram something in between the doors so the elevator doesn't leave them stranded there.... "Should..." He looks to them. 06* Kyon throws back over his shoulder, "It's fine. Let it go." 06* Wataru hesitates one more moment, before taking a deep breath and stepping out. All right, fine. He can do this. It's two against one, and they don't know what he's capable of. He'll be fine. He's got this. <@Grysar> [The doors close behind Wataru and he can hear the elevator moving.] 06* Kyon follows Katie towards the chairs, and stands at the one next to hers, plainly waiting for Wataru to join them. <@Grysar> [However, for now, Katie's flagrant horseplay on the chairs goes unpunished.] 06* Katie is finally done bouncing. 06* Wataru follows, but doesn't sit. "What is this." His hands are in the pockets of his coat, fingers circling at his palms, nervous displacement. "I don't understand this place." 06* Wataru is clearly not as shaken as Katie, but definitely a bit stiff and green around the edges. 06* Kyon looks down at Katie. You explaining this? 06* Katie can! And she does. "It's the Tower Reversed. Just like there are tarot, there are reversed tarot." <@Grysar> [Now that Wataru is away from the doors, he can see a bit more out the windows. All signs outside are upside down and the ground there is in the same direction as the ceiling of the lobby.] 06* Katie gestures to the windows and Tokyo, upside down above them. "Out there is the World Reversed. Only Arcana can come here." She smiles, a bit ruefully. "And the reversed Arcana." "So the reversed versions of people are buildings?" He frowns. And then immediately follows with, "Can people go out there? Or just stay inside?" 01 They're not. And they can. But it's hard to do. I can't take people there. 06* Katie pulls off her gloves, shoving them in her pockets, and then removes her hat and shakes out her hair. <@Grysar> [Magical restrictions notwithstanding, the ground is more than 300 meters below and while you can look down on the city’s skyscrapers they're some distance away.] 06* Wataru takes a long, deep breath. "Okay." He runs a hand through his hair. "This is weird." "What does it ...do? Does it do anything? Mean anything? Or is it just here?" 06* Katie shrugs. 06* Kyon smirks. "Got used as a meeting place. Good to have a place others can't go." 01 Yeah, that's why we're here. I thought you might have questions. 06* Wataru rolls back on his heels a bit, as it begins to sink in. His hands stop moving. "I see," he says. "Heh." He looks down, smiling crookedly. 06* Kyon watches him for a beat, then rocks back on his heels and waits. 06* Katie tilts her head while she watches Wataru, waiting. Her right hand goes up to play with the wooden charm on her zipper. 06* Wataru looks back up to the two of them, face calmer if still closed. "This place is more questions than answers," he tells them, "but... Yeah. I appreciate the gesture," he says, and it seems very genuine. 06* Kyon nods curtly, and then gestures at the seat opposite Katie. "Go ahead and sit." "I'm sort of more comfortable standing," Wataru says, a bit sheepishly. "That all right?" 06* Kyon nods again, and unzips his jacket. There's a dark brown sweater on underneath. He's not sitting down either, then. 06* Katie has gone about removing her scarf, dropping it on her lap, and then unzipping her own jacket. She's wearing a paint-stained, faded purple t-shirt underneath, and there's a scar across her throat. "It looks like trust is a problem for you." That wasn't a question at all. 06* Wataru chuckles, once. "Ya think? Nothing personal, guys." 01 No, but it's always hard to give trust if you don't get some. Kyon, can I borrow your deck? 06* Kyon looks down at her, then tugs it out of his pocket and holds it out towards her. 06* Wataru follows it with his eyes. Decks! 06* Katie smiles and takes the deck. "Thanks." She shuffles, not expertly but not terribly, and then cuts the deck. She pulls the top card and holds it out to Wataru, showing it to him. 06* Katie is holding the Page of Swords. 06* Wataru smiles a bit. "So that's you, huh?" 01 Yeah. It's me. 06* Katie puts the card in the middle of the deck and waits for Wataru to ask what he will. 06* Kyon doesn't even look. He knows already. "Well, you already know me, right." 01 Sure. 06* Kyon blows out a breath, and takes the deck back from Katie, shuffling it expertly between his hands. 06* Wataru deliberately refrains from showing any sort of impressed reaction to his Mad Skillz. 06* Kyon stills the cards in one hand, cuts them, puts the bottom half on top, and draws the top card off. 06* Kyon quiets his expression, and shows him the card. Queen of Wands! In spite of his very best judgment, Wataru cannot hold in a SNORK at the idea of Kyon being the Queen of anything. He immediately feels bad about it though! Buuuut it's still funny. He bites his lips. Sorry, man! 06* Kyon scowls at him, and tucks the card away in the deck. <@Grysar> [Katie can hear the elevator begin moving again, everyone else will hear it not long after.] 06* Wataru clears his throat to try and conceal the unconcealable. "All right, fair's fair. So everybody's got their own special card, like this?" 01 Yes, exactly. There are people who are uprights, like us. And there are reversed. <@Grysar> [Specifically, the elevator is returning. It had already left the floor without further ceremony after the door closed.] 06* Katie then adds, like it isn't a big deal, "Someone's coming." 06* Kyon looks down at her, still scowling. "Invite anyone else?" 06* Katie just gives Kyon a flat look. 06* Wataru looks sharply towards the elevator. "I take it we're not all good guys," he says, in a low voice, taking his hands out of his pockets. 01 No. You already know better. <@Grysar> [Now that you're listening for it, everyone can notice signs that the elevator is coming.] 06* Kyon nods back, and amends it to, "Tell anyone else?" 06* Wataru nods, but adds, "Wasn't sure. Hell. I didn't even know this Arcana was a *thing*." He takes a step to the side, eyes quickly taking in the objects in the room. 06* Katie nods to Kyon's question. "Kaede." She stands, putting her scarf around her neck. <@Grysar> [The room does have some furniture and appliances including a vending machines that appear to be in operable, a water fountain on the wall by the bathrooms, and a variety of tables that a notably strong person could wield as weapons.] 06* Kyon cocks his head and looks at her. "He'd say if he was coming." <@Grysar> [The only apparent escape route is through the elevators. That said, there are hiding places.] <@Grysar> [The aforementioned bathrooms, storage closets, etc.] 06* Katie just nods again. She zips her jacket and ties the scarf around her neck. 06* Kyon shoves his deck in his pocket, and fixes his armwarmers. "Coincidence?" <@Grysar> [And the doors open and out steps a man a bit older than you. He's wearing blue shoes, white pants, a purple shirt with white cross- cufflinks, and a blue blazer over top. He's a trifle blue himself, but that's likely just the weather and a price of fashion. His reddish blond hair has an angled widow’s peak which appears to resist any more orderly haircut. That said, his general comportment is still notably normal compared to his past arrangements. He carries an easel and stand under one hand and a bag over his shoulder.] <@Grysar> [Katie's made this assessment a few times before and she has no trouble identifying a corner of the lobby where there's little risk of being pushed out a window but the same is not true for anyone approaching.] 06* Kyon blinks, and relaxes slightly. This guy. <@Grysar> [The gentleman in question has a somewhat more stable air about him than you're used to. That said, he doesn't quite seem stable all the way down and is working to hold it together. Threatening or reinforcing that attempt could both provide information in different ways.] <@Grysar> [Getting everyone's attention isn't too hard, via the usual means.] 06* Wataru looks for ways to interfere with him, would the need arise, short of dropping a vending machine on his head. 06* Katie smiles suddenly and spreads her arms. "Masaru! How have you been?" Even to Wataru, the cheerful greeting looks somewhat fake. 06* Kyon isn't about to stop scowling. <@Grysar> [Things to be on the lookout for: That easel could perhaps be used as a weapon by Masaru or a distraction against him.] <@Grysar> * Masaru steps out and looks up, surprised. "Oh my, I had not realized that the room was reserved... Oh... Kathy-san?" 01 Do you need help setting up? 06* Wataru has identified three quick distractions or ways to slow him down. Shoelaces. Bag latches. Hair looks long enough to mess with. He hopes Kyon or Katie is better armed than he is right now. But not useless. Never useless. He rubs his fingers on his palms, watching this charged interaction. <@Grysar> * Masaru walks over. "I'm a regular, but thanks." He sets them down over one of the windows, not the one he used when last seen. He gives Katie a quick appraising, trying to tell if she's looking for a hug and if he's waited too long to give one because his arms were full. 06* Kyon turns as he walks over, keeping him in sight, hands in front of him. 06* Katie doesn't look like she's ready for a hug now. In fact, she's followed him to the window. "You seem more together than last time we met. Why aren't you asking me to call you something different?" <@Grysar> * Masaru looks at Katie, smiling slightly but not quite shaken yet, "You can call me Gustave if you like. I do still like that one." He looks at her face, and then Kyon's, and then Wataru's. The last one confuses him a bit as he glances between the three of you. 06* Wataru is just watching. Watching, and trying to learn. Looks like some people aren't good guys, but aren't really bad guys, either. 06* Kyon shakes his head quickly, and smirks. "Can stick with Masaru." <@Grysar> * Gustave opens his duffel bag to take out paints. "Ah yes, Sorata-san. Thank you again for living up to your bargain. Those bottles of sake not used as flamboyant cocktails against the Reversed were well appreciated. I regret that I was unable to enjoy the entire year, given my circumstance, but I won't petition for a resumption." 06* Kyon shrugs quickly. "That's a waste of good sake. But we needed it. Could always buy more." 06* Katie tilts her head. "What circumstance?" <@Grysar> * Masaru looks to Katie. "Well, it turns out that the licensing bureaus of Japan are... Oh, but I am being far too rude." He gives Wataru a broad western style bow with sweeping arm movements to match. "Uehara Masaru, at your service." 06* Wataru quickly glances between Kyon and Katie before replying, "Saga Akio." He has a curt, but not impolite, Japanese-style bow. <@Grysar> * Masaru nods. "Ah, thank you for providing your surname Saga- san. Otherwise I might have mistaken the two of you for brothers on your mannerisms, which would have been quite embarrassing." He then looks to Katie. "How are you?" 06* Katie shrugs. "I've been better, but you know I've been worse." 06* Wataru actually is perplexed for a moment, trying to figure out what two of him, then looking at Katie and Kyon, and realizing there's pretty much no one he could have meant here besides Kyon. Wtf? We're nothing alike! 06* Kyon smirks at that, but isn't about to follow it up. He just watches the guy. <@Grysar> * Masaru nods and then gets a deadly serious expression. "Kathy-san, I believe I owe you an apology." 06* Katie hides her skepticism behind curiosity. "Yeah?" 06* Masaru nods. "Yes. For practice of psychiatry without a license while at the same time under the influence of..." He looks past her for a moment. "When was that again?" 06* Kyon changes the smirk over to an incredulous look. 06* Masaru taps the side of his chin. "It was before the apocalypse..." 06* Katie nods, then says flatly, "Late March." 01 That time of my life when I didn't know who I was. I don't even know what I told you. Why, are you saying you're sorry for taking advantage of my condition? 06* Masaru looks at Katie for a moment, tilting his head before waving his hands. "What? No. Just that you deserved the assistance of someone with actual training. I mean I still believe in the healing power of literature, but that and my adlibbing was hardly enough for you and the poor amputee and the chatty girl with delusions of grandeur. 06* Wataru cocks the quizzicalest of brows. This conversation just keeps getting weirder. 06* Masaru 's expression is fading from serious to remarkably earnest. 06* Kyon can only look more incredulous. 06* Katie stares at Masaru for a moment, "" She steps forward, her eyes furious. She looks about ready to knock the paints out of that idiot's hands. "At the time I trusted you, but I had nobody to trust. They *made* me talk to you, I remember I had to, and then- and then- You were on something? You weren't even paying any fucking attention? What were you *on*?" * Masaru backs against the window. "Late March? Cocaine." He withers "Look, I'm sorry... it was cocaine. I've got pretty big gaps around that period. I was trying to figure out my powers and my art and it didn't work so well." 06* Kyon scowls, and takes a few steps in behind Katie. "Did master understatement." 06* Wataru lets this unfold, watching still. Waiting to see if shit will hit fan any harder than it already has. 06* Katie laughs at Kyon's statement, but it's a little too loud and gets scratchy quickly. She stops abruptly, still focused on Masaru. "You think?! And now the mess you left behind is even bigger than you thought! Did you know your brother's publishing *books* about us?" 06* Masaru 's tone gets a bit more frightened. "I knew Aka was publishing, but I don't really read genre fiction." He looks like he's about to continue, but I doubt he'll get the chance. 06* Kyon frowns deeply. "You lived through it. Can't say it's fiction. Can you?" * Masaru looks at Kyon. " said it was fiction, I..." He picks his words, "listened to him on that." 06* Masaru is definitely telling the truth. There's an undercurrent of fright to his words, although he also seems like he genuinely prefers literary novels. He hasn't read the books and this conversation is removing the pleasing lie that let him avoid doing so. 01 He recognized Haruko. What did you tell him? 06* Wataru finds this guy super creepy, but also.... a little sad. Not knowing what to do with his powers, being traumatized by them to the point of falling into drugs..... 06* Masaru suddenly stands up straight, looking straight at Katie. "As little as possible. For a time, we shared everything but then..." He frowns. "For all my faults, I took confidentiality seriously. As our relationship grew strained, living in nonsense seemed safer for everyone." 06* Masaru , to Wataru's eye, seems to desperately want to make this better, to be better. But your guess is as good as his as to what he'll do next. Katie's successfully dominating him and he's tempted to bolt but isn't quite there yet. 06* Kyon scowls at the guy, but he lets Katie go, since she's on a roll. 01 He remembers. And he's looking for more information. He's already on his second book. 01 I'm pretty sure he even knows his memory might be gone, some day. 06* Katie folds her arms, making a show of thinking briefly, before she says, "You said your relationship with your brother is strained?" 06* Masaru nods. " always went his own way." He continues making eye contact with Katie. "He got no more than a prologue from me. Once I got to college, I became better at recognizing emotional manipulation in its wide range of forms." His tone goes dead even, "When he was called on it, he didn't want to play anymore. You know what I mean, yes?" 06* Katie nods. "Yeah. I know what you mean." Her eyes soften. "I'm sorry." 06* Wataru feels the situation getting less tense, and starts looking for something they can use against this guy if he gives them problems in the future. Looking for a moment of distraction, where he might be able to lift - let's see, one of those paintbrushes, perhaps... 06* Masaru nods somewhat noncommittally. "You're not the one who owes an apology. I just hope our talk was useful to you. I felt, even as an Arcana, a therapist might be of use. But for now, I suppose I have a book to read." He starts packing up his materials... [Wataru, you see a chance, but you can just telekinetically grab something. But if you do, Katie will definitely see it even though Masaru won't. What do you do?] 06* Kyon glares at him, and says lowly, "We're not done yet. Not time to pack up your paints." 06* Wataru takes that chance. Hell, he's already picked sides just by coming here. Didn't get many answers, but Katie seemed ready enough to answer a whole lot of questions. And you won't get nothing if you don't give nothing. With as much subtlety as he can manage, he levitates a small, used paintbrush out of Masaru's stuff and into his pocket, making the most of Kyon's distraction! 06* Masaru stops and looks at Kyon for a moment, putting his hands up a bit. "Right, we're all on the same side here." Katie can tell he does remember that battle with the reversed and is leery as hell right now. He also seems to be remembering more of his session with her. He'll help, but she actually has to play it honest. Otherwise she'll get more of what he knows, but that's it. 06* Kyon nods quickly. "Didn't say we weren't." 06* Masaru lowers his hands, slowly. 06* Katie sees the paintbrush leave, and when Kyon locks glares with Masaru and distracts him from her, she steals a glance at Wataru. Hm. But it's short, and she's back to focusing on Masaru. "We are. I'm sorry, I was just... really angry and upset about the whole..." She waves. "Therapy. Thing. And then the thing with your brother, I didn't know..." She sighs. 01 You're not your brother. I get it. But you're probably the best chance anyone has of doing something about him. Those books are probably dangerous. Not that everyone will think they're true, but... what about Arcana, or Reversed, who overreact? And the people he gets to talk? One of my classmates already lost his memory. 06* Katie adds, more bitterly, "Plus, I don't want someone making a profit off of our misery." 06* Kyon nods curtly, and lets his good arm loosen by his side. "Just too reckless." 06* Masaru nods. "I'll read it. And I agree Temperance is far too free with her powers and she's hardly the worst. I also fear has no powers himself, that I know." He snorts. "And is eternally disappointed that mine have yet to manifest." He shakes his head. "But, I think he has powerful friends." 06* Masaru glances at the three of them. "Andrews-san, Sorata-san, and Saga-san. I don't know where these leads, but I know recovery means more than just the courage to stay clean." He digs through his bag to find business cards and distributes them with proper ceremony. 06* Kyon takes it and bows automatically in exchange, looking at the card. 06* Masaru 's card have the usual contact information and lists his profession as "Graduate Student" and "." 06* Katie takes the card, turns it in her hands, and smiles at him. "Thanks. I... really, Masaru, I think what you're doing is great." 06* Wataru does the bowing thing, as he has been taught. 06* Masaru nods and replies ever so quietly. "And I think the same of you, Andrews-san." The others are unlikely to hear that. 06* Katie 's eyes widen slightly, and then she smiles genuinely and nods. [And so things settle down and Wataru can’t give Masaru a card back. Masaru actually does stay to work on his painting some, but Katie has a chance to talk to Wataru after they leave.] 06* Katie , once they're out of the tower and she's not freaking out over the elevator (the ride up was actually much better for her than the ride down), turns to Wataru. "A paintbrush?" 06* Kyon follows along, still scowling from before. <@Grysar> [The weather outside is less chilly as the wind has died down and in spots the sun peeks through the clouds.] 06* Katie isn't scowling. Someone has to balance out Kyon. 06* Wataru glances at her. "A connection," he shrugs. 01 Why? "Why not?" He looks at her a bit longer. 06* Kyon cocks his head a little and regards him sidewise. 06* Katie tilts her head slightly, clearly considering. "Why not," she repeats, then waves her hand. "" 06* Wataru shrugs again. He hesitates, almost about to say more, but she seems surprisingly willing to just let it go. 01 06* Wataru smiles, then. "I can do that. I wasn't meaning to keep it, actually." Just kinda happened... 06* Wataru wonders if Katie will start to think of him as a telekinetic klepto. That wouldn't be a bad thing. Distract from the facts. Build up a good story... 06* Kyon gives him a look at that one. "Then you definitely should." <@Grysar> [End!]