"God for you is
where you sweep away all the mysteries of the world, all the
challenges to our intelligence. You simply turn your mind off and say
God did it."
- Carl Sagan (1934-1996), Contact
Chapter One
"Rajura, where are you going?" Kayura poked her head out the door. Her blue eyes were narrowed in on the white haired man who was trying to sneakily open the door. Obviously he'd been trying to leave, but where to and to do what was what concerned the girl. He might not have been evil anymore but that didn't mean he wasn't a merciless prankster and to be observed carefully.
Dais' shoulders tensed as he realized he'd be caught and then he relaxed, doing a half turn to say casually, "I'm going out for a while. No need to worry, Kay." He opened the door the rest of the way and prepared to step out.
The Lady Ancient cocked a brow and halted him by asking, "What exactly are you going out to do, then?"
'Why does she have to ask so many questions?' he wondered irritably. "You know how you've been talking about the magic levels on the mortal plane being so out of whack lately? I'm going down to check it out." That wasn't entirely true but it would work well enough for her. After all, she had told them that, a day or two after the staff had given them all an obnoxious early morning wake up call, when she had finally figured out what she thought had caused it.
"Oh, why wouldn't you just say so?" she rolled her eyes and turned to leave. "Stupid spider."
Dais twitched and held back a comment. Oddly enough, he did not want to have an encounter with Kayura's staff, which the girl had proven herself adept at using to clock Warlords around the head with. This being the case, he settled for getting the hell out of there while she wasn't looking. The simple truth to his departure was boredom. He needed new targets.
Outside the palace, he took a look at his traditional Japanese robes and considered how out of place they would look in the mortal realm. With a shrug, he used his illusionary powers to mask them and to any normal eyes, he was wearing average mortal clothing. However, that was entirely up to opinion. He thought they looked rather dashing on him, but oh, if only his eyes could have seen. Pleased with himself he teleported out.
Kayura had been very much preoccupied with the changes in the magic levels on the mortal realm. It seemed to him and Cale that every time they saw her lately, the Lady Ancient was deep in thought, a frown on her face. She'd also gotten unreasonably snappy, causing Cale to make the comment that she was finally hitting puberty. The other warlords could only stare as Kayura, nearby, didn't even seem to hear. They were grateful when after a few days of such peculiar behavior she finally sat them down and informed them of what was going on.
"The powers that fuel your armors and the armors of the five Ronins had begun to fluctuate dangerously within the past two months," she said. "It's always done it and I never really paid much attention but I guess it's been steadily getting worse because the staff," she indicated to the thing leaning in a nearby corner, "Started chiming out of no where. It didn't enact any spells, which is why I think it was more like a warning."
"A wake up call in more than one way," grumbled Sekhmet, who failed to see the humor in the irony.
"What does this mean?" Cale had asked, lounging back in his chair with his arms behind his head. "What would cause something like that?"
She gave a shrug. "I don't know, that's what worries me. I'm afraid, though, that if they waver too badly… the armors will cease to operate as their fuel evaporates."
"Which means we can't do anything if something comes up," Sekhmet surmised.
Kayura gave a nod, effectively communicating that what was going through their heads at that moment was the same thing in hers. They were sitting ducks. If some prick decided to pull a new stunt, they were helpless to stop him. None of them liked this thought and Cale looked slightly less comfortable as he pulled his arms down and crossed them in front of him, glowering at the floor.
"I doubt they'll stop working entirely," Kayura said. "We should be able to still do minor things, but it wouldn't be enough."
"So we're useless but we're still special," Dais noted dryly.
"Oh, you've always been special," Sekhmet commented, obviously meaning it in a very rude manner. A look from the woman served to quiet them down without anything further, though Dais' eye twitched subtly. He wasn't as up to par on modern slang as Sekhmet, but he got the idea that it was an insult.
That had been a week ago, approximately. It was hard for the warlord to keep track of time, but then he rarely bothered to try. It didn't matter to him if he was late or early and it didn't matter to anyone else much either since things tended to be slow in the Nether Realm. Painfully slow, in fact.
Now, though, he realized that he would have to. Being in modern day Japan meant time was vital. He walked down the crowded streets of Tokyo, not minding the odd looks he got. He was used to them, his white hair was rather unusual on its own but his eye patch only served to worsen the effect he had on people. It suited him though, because being able to bemuse people just by being seen was right up his alley.
Now, since he knew he was going to be here for a relatively long time, he had to set about finding employment and someplace to stay. He avidly disliked mornings and hated getting up and operating in the morning even more, so a night shift was the obvious choice. However, just where he could work a night shift he had yet to find out. He glanced around speculatively as he walked, taking in the signs that advertised various attractions and stores, wondering which ones would be open at night.
Inevitably, he walked towards the less polished end of the city during his tour. Inspiration struck as he laid eyes on a sign that advertised the bar and late night entertainment. Below it was an advertisement for the western music the band played but he barely noticed it. Already, the gears had begun to turn in his head and he walked in, wondering how one applied for a job.
Obviously the question would arise as to how a man, legally dead and alive where he should never have been, went about legally procuring employment and residence in said country. That was easily answered however. Kayura had gone to great pains to locate fake and yet very trustworthy documents for them, allowing them to get their identification, passports, driver's licenses and so on and so forth.
That didn't mean it was necessarily a good idea to put one of the warlords behind the wheel of a car, though. In fact, doing so would mean the inevitable demise of said automobile, a much banged up warlord, and casualties for whatever unfortunate passengers he happened to have with him. This being the case, Kayura had wisely taken their drivers licenses and replaced them with plain old ID cards, saying quite flatly that if they ever dared to get in a car and in front of the wheel, she would ham string them.
In the course of the next twenty minutes he was submitted to a brief interview with the bar tender, a man named Daisuke. By all appearances, the man really didn't care who Dais was or where he came from. If he could mix drinks and get them out in time then that was all that mattered. He was told that if he wanted the job, to come back that evening and work for a night. If all went smoothly, it was his. With an inclination of his head, Dais said that he would be there and then turned and walked out.
Daisuke watched the man leave the building, his eyebrows quirked together. There was something about that man. He couldn't put his finger on what it was but he was definitely different. His appearance was a bit odd, that was obvious, but it also had something to do with the way he spoke. Shrugging it off, he went back to polishing glasses. He had more important things to do than sit around and contemplate strangers.
Outside, Dais was again meandering down the street. He didn't have a particular destination in mind and he was taking his time and observing the atmosphere as he walked. He knew he would need to locate a place to live relatively soon but more important matters were to be taken care of first. Annoying mortals was fun to an extent but while he was down here, he may as well pause to check out the magic imbalances, something simple humans wouldn't have known existed if it blew up on their faces.
"Find anything?"
Dais didn't even turn his head at the voice; somehow he wasn't surprised that one of the other warlords had followed him down here. "Not yet, Cale."
Cale stood up from where he had been leaning against a building. "Well, I've got nothing better to do. I'll go with you." At least Cale had the sense to buy actual modern clothing, than walking around wearing his robes. Though with the man's odd fashion sense, he looked more like something out of a Jrock band.
Dais shrugged in response, as it really didn't matter to him. Cale fell into step beside him as he walked, looking around speculatively. The two men together probably more resembled something that had gotten separated from the circus than anything else, with the warlord's wild hair and the scar on his eye. He seemed to understand this and wasn't surprised when a little kid, probably about four, was staring at them with wide eyes. Her mother was reprimanding her for staring but she didn't notice or care. Cale was reminded of a bug. Throwing the girl a look that served to send her hiding behind her mom's legs, he continued on calmly.
Dais was hardly oblivious to this but he knew Cale well enough to know that the warlord did not pass up an opportunity to freak someone out. He didn't care what the other one did, just so long as he didn't impede Dais' own entertainment. They walked down the street without words being passed between them except for idle comments. Neither one were much for conversations.
Their quiet walk was interrupted as Dais paused between two skyscrapers. He wasn't sure what made him stop but something here just seemed off. Cale finally paused a few strides ahead as he realized that the other was no longer moving. "What is it?" he asked, glancing up to see what might have caught his attention.
It was a few moments before Dais responded. "I'm not sure," he said. "It feels like its worse here."
Cale turned and walked over to him. "You're right," he said as he stood beside him, able to tell that the normal strength he possessed had faded. Somehow it wasn't surprising that Dais was the one to pick up on it first. He was every bit as sensitive as the Ronin of Halo and sometimes Cale got the eerie feeling he was more sensitive than that even.
Dais was quiet for a few more moments and experimentally stepped backwards. The effects almost immediately lessened and upon moving forward again felt his strength sapped away. The two warlords looked at each other with confused expressions. Why was this section of street, that was barely three feet wide, the area where it was the most strongly affected?
Cale turned and stepped off the sidewalk, making his way across the street in a straight line. He followed it to the other side and sent Dais a nod. It stretched across the road, which was easily four lanes, plus the wide sidewalk. The warlord of illusion glanced between the two buildings, random companies and their businesses, and wondered why it was located here.
"Sir, is something wrong?"
Dais turned to the side to see a man from the building in question leaning out the door and looking at him oddly. He shook his head, "No, we're fine." Giving a wave to Cale, he motioned him to keep walking. It was time to relocate and think this over.
A few blocks down, they met up again outside a restaurant. Their lunch was spent in the farthest corner where they had the least chance of being overheard. Their conversation wouldn't have made much sense to an ordinary person either way, though. Cale was in the mean time displaying just how wolfish he could be when it came to the steak he'd ordered. Dais ate at a more reasonable pace, knowing he'd be laughing at Cale later when he had the hiccups.
"So what exactly could be causing something like this to occur?" Cale mused between bites. "I've heard of sinkholes before but not like this."
Dais was quiet for a moment before he said, "I would say that it is a spell doing it, sucking away the power to fuel something else, but spells wouldn't affect certain areas more than others, especially not in the way we witnessed."
"So we're at a dead end," Cale said, leaning back and pushing his empty plate back to take a swig of his drink.
"I wonder why it is that Japan in particular and Tokyo in specific are being targeted, though," Dais mused quietly. "Though she did mention that the imbalance supposedly stretches worldwide."
"I don't know. I'll lay it on Kayura and see what she says," Cale said, straightening up as the waiter came with their bill.
"You do that, I'm going to find an apartment." Dais paid his part of their bill and stood up, waving good bye to the other warlord as he walked out. Hands jammed into his pockets, he walked down the sidewalk, still mulling things over in his mind.
Cale in turn simply went into the bathroom and teleported out. He didn't feel like going and finding a secluded alley in this crowded city and the toilets worked just as well, considering they were empty. Kayura made a fuss about them using the abilities in public places but today she wasn't with him then so he didn't have to obey her. At least, that was his logic on the subject.
'Time to go clock in,' he thought as he allowed the shadows to absorb him. A few seconds later, there was absolutely no trace of him or any abnormal activity to be found.
------------
Adastreia sighed as she dumped her books onto her bed and flopped down to begin her homework. She had an essay to write that was due in two days and it was huge, so as usual she didn't have time for anything else. She'd been up since early this morning going to classes and had crashed late the night before after getting off work. She had the late shift at the local bar which sucked in combination to early classes. But somewhere between playing in the band and playing waitress to a bunch of old stinky Japanese men, she managed to earn enough yen to scrape her way through college. She had never been so grateful that she'd earned that scholarship.
Her jade eyes glanced over the directions wearily and she immediately knew that before she could even begin to work on it, she needed caffeine. Her mind simply would not work any more without it. In the kitchen, she rummaged around until she managed to find tea leaves to brew said beverage. Cursing, she made a note that she needed to set aside money for groceries. That was easier said than done, though.
An older woman walked out about this time, her attractive middle aged Asian face very different from Adastreia's obviously foreign appearance. Even though the younger woman had dyed her hair black she still stuck out like a sore thumb. She just wasn't built like the Japanese women.
"Hey mom," she said quietly as she blew on her hot tea to get it to be a drinkable temperature.
"Hey Addy," she said, flashing the girl a smile as she set her purse down on the counter top. Her skirts swished softly she moved around, preparing herself a snack before she left for work. "How was school?"
"Boring," Addy admitted, now sipping at the mug's contents, swinging her legs idly off the edge of the island in the kitchen that she was currently perched on.
Her mother, Natsuki, glanced back and gave a disparaging sigh. "How many times do I have to tell you not to sit on the counter? You're worse than a ten year old."
Addy didn't bother to get up at this comment. "I'm a ten year old that got bigger and meaner is why."
A few moments of quiet passed between them as her mother digested this. "Addy, you mustn't hold a grudge," she said, turning sad eyes to her daughter, knowing what the mood was about.
"How can I not?" she asked bitterly. "The traitorous, back stabbing, worthless abandoning scum…"
"Addy," Natsuki said sharply. "Don't talk about your father that way."
Addy glared at the floor in response. "He is not my father. My real parents only put me into an orphanage because they couldn't feed me and wanted me to have a better life. That jerk left us high and dry for no other reason than that he was bored. How can you defend that?"
Natsuki sighed. "Yes, you have a point." She was unwilling to let go of the years they'd been together and taken care of each other, unwilling to admit that the man she'd cared for had suddenly lost interest.
Addy sighed and swallowed the last of her tea. "I'm sorry mom. I didn't mean to yell. I'm going to finish my homework," she said, hopping down and padding out of the kitchen.
"Good luck," she said, as she watched her daughter leave, sadness in her dark eyes.
A loud knock on the door brought Natsuki from her worried thoughts and she walked over to open it. A smile broke over her perpetually worried face as she saw the young woman on the other side. "Hello Vicky," she said, moving aside to allow the girl in.
Victoria had long chestnut hair and gleaming cerulean eyes, her height was well above average for Japan as she stood five feet seven inches tall without shoes. She, much like Adastreia, was a foreigner. She bent down and gave the woman a hug, saying brightly, "Hey miss Naoko. Where's Addy?"
"In her room with her homework," Natsuki replied, returning the hug and stepping back. "If you're going in there, do you think you could help her? She's upset again."
Vicky rolled her eyes at this. "I didn't come to see Addy, I came to repair the loo," she said dramatically, causing the older woman to snort in amusement. "Of course I'll help her."
Natsuki picked up her purse from the counter and said, "Well, I have to get going, my shift starts in fifteen minutes. Have fun you two."
"We will. See you later," Vicky waved her friend's mom out the door. Once she had left, the blue eyed girl had a lidded look. "That woman gets on my last nerve," she said aloud, before walking out of the kitchen. She knew Natsuki meant well but sometimes she could be the most smothering parent in existence.
Adastreia was fully focused on her essay, her pen moving across the paper as she wrote. She had her earphones in and was listening to her music full blast, laying on her stomach with her legs in the air, idly kicking back and forth as she worked on her paper. Vicky snickered as she saw her friend's back to her and did what she did best. Sneaking up behind her unsuspecting target, Vicky launched herself into the air and landed on top of her.
"Ah!" Addy gave a startled gasp as she was flattened. She didn't need to look back or hear her speak to know who it was. "Vicky," she said in exasperation. "Nee-san, what are you up to?" They weren't blood related by any means, Addy and Vicky just considered each other close enough to be family. Being two foreignors in a country that was highly nationalistic, it was bound to happen.
"Giving my favorite imouto a cheerful reminder not to be such an emo," Vicky said brightly, then giving her 'little sister' a noogie.
"Ow!" whined Addy, trying to wiggle free. "Get off me you big lummox." Forcing herself upright, she sent her friend toppling off to the side where she could be subjected to Addy's reprimanding look. It might have been a lot more threatening if the girl hadn't been smiling.
"You're no fun," Vicky said, poking her.
"Oh yeah? Well take this!" Addy lunged over and began tickling her sister. She knew she had her here because Vicky was the most ticklish person in existence while nothing of the sort even began to affect Adastreia. Vicky gave shrieks of laughter as she tried to get free, shouting for her to quit. Only when she deemed that she'd been sufficiently repaid did Addy sit back and let her friend breathe. She just smirked and waved at her as Vicky glowered up indignantly.
After she'd calmed down, Vicky turned to the abandoned college homework. "What are you working on?"
"Essays," Addy made a face. "I have a ton of work to do."
Vicky leaned back and clapped her hands. "Chop chop, let's get this done," she said imperiously, smirking at the look she got from Addy.
"Bite me," she stuck her tongue out at her.
"Eh, I don't feel like bending over that far."
---------------
Dais wasn't sure why they wanted to test him this way. All they would have had to do was have him mix up a few drinks to make sure that he could do it, but no, they wanted a free night's work out of him before they hired him. He really didn't have any doubts about being hired for the job, if they didn't pick him though it wouldn't bother him much. He was sure there were a number of other bars in the city.
Now as the sun was beginning to set he walked into the bar, nodding in response to Daisuke's greeting. The next half hour was spent being told how things worked around the bar and how to operate the drink mixers. Dais listened patiently and then demonstrated how well he took directions as he prepared a daiquiri for a waiting customer without any problems. Daisuke gave him the thumbs up and left him to his own devices.
Dais had spent his day apartment hunting. It had been interesting to say the least. The variety of landlords and their reaction to him had been distraction all in itself. Some of them had told him to get lost, taking him as a hoodlum who would use the apartment as a flophouse for his fellows. He may not have been a hoodlum but the flophouse part probably wasn't so far off. Not when Sekhmet, Cale, and Kayura showed up anyway, which he expected to happen sooner or later. It didn't matter what name he called himself by or where he went, they always showed up, like a dysfunctional, psychotic family.
His eyes were pulled away from the drink he was mixing as he felt someone walk in. It wasn't just anyone though, something about the aura he felt coming off the girl made him pause to watch her walk across the floor. It wasn't normal, that was for certain but he couldn't put his finger down on it. Even if it hadn't been for the weird vibes coming off her, she still would have merited a second look. Her hair was black as pitch except at the roots were it was growing out as red as fire, her eyes were luminescent jade green and she moved with a feline grace. It wasn't so much that her body was attractive, it was just how she carried herself that drew his gaze, with her head held high.
Tearing his eyes away from her, he went and handed the drink to the patron, giving a smile and then glanced back around. He didn't see her again so he kept working, systematically passing out drinks as people and carrying on conversation as it was initiated. In the first half hour he'd already been asked about his eye patch five times, which had to be a new record. His response was brief as always.
"It's blind."
"So why do you wear an eye patch?" the man asked curiously.
"It freaked people out," he said with a shrug, moving on as the next person called him.
Addy carried her guitar out onto the stage and began setting up the amp, systematically going through her routine of establishing things for the evening. Vicky's drums were already set up, as was the keyboard for Miniko and Tsukina should be here soon too.
"You should get here sooner and you wouldn't run the chance of guys seeing down your shirt like that," said a teasing voice from beside her.
Addy looked up and gave the cute Asian girl a wan smile. Her shirt wasn't revealing anything, she wasn't one to dress like that. "Can't be helped, Miniko, schoolwork held me captive until the last minute."
"Aw, is it eating you alive again?" Miniko sighed. "I keep telling you to call me when you need help."
Addy waved her off. "It's not hard, it's just slow." She finished adjusting the dials on her amp and stood up, conducting a brief test. Nodding in her approval, she glanced around. "Now where are Vicky and Tsukina, I wonder?"
"Knowing those two," Miniko gave a long sigh and the girls shared a look. They didn't even need to say it. They were scoping the bar for hot men.
"You ever get the feeling…"
"That we're going to have white hair long before our time? Every day," Miniko gave a firm nod.
Addy glanced around and caught sight of the guy behind the counter, serving drinks. She blinked. "Looks like Daisuke finally found someone to fill the slot."
"That's a bloody miracle," Miniko turned to look for herself.
"He looks like he's a circus escapee," Addy commented, a snicker escaping. He definitely wasn't the typical Japanese man.
"Or some kind of whacko pirate wannabe," Miniko had her nose scrunched up. "What the hell is with his hair?"
Addy opened her mouth and then shut it, opening it again and then closing it just as swiftly. Finally she just blurted it out, "He must know Vicky and Tsukina."
This promptly sent her quiet and calm friend into hysterics. Laughing with Miniko, they got off the stage and went to clock in for the night and locate their friends. "That was a good one," Miniko was still chuckling.
"Every now and then I get lucky," Addy said in amusement as they came around to the bar to get into the back.
Dais glanced over just in time to see the girl he'd noticed before walk by. He'd seen her setting things up on stage and had assessed just as quickly that she worked here. A very small smile tugged at the corners of his lips at this. Good, it meant he could watch her more easily.
Addy in turn barely spared the man a glance on her way through. He was weird enough just by appearances and she didn't care to find out how quirky his personality might be. Then again Adastreia was an antisocial girl. The only reason she had the friends that she did was because of Vicky, who had forcefully dragged her out. Vicky had latched onto her the day they had met and that had been the official death of Adastreia's life on the sidelines.
"There you two are!" Vicky exclaimed as Miniko and Addy walked into the back.
"We were looking for you too," Miniko said and asked just to humor them, "So how many hot guys did you count tonight?"
Vicky groaned, "We're so low it isn't even funny. The nicest looking one is the one behind the counter, Dais, the new bartender."
"And I suppose you've already chatted him up?" Addy said in amusement as she clocked in and turned back to the others.
"I talked to him, yes," Vicky admitted. "But he's not my type. Oh well, at least he's eye candy."
Tsukina wrinkled her nose a bit, "I don't know, he's kind of… weird."
"Like a circus escapee?" Miniko offered.
She paused and then nodded, though it didn't fully cover what she felt. "Yeah, sort of."
"Come on, you," Vicky grabbed Addy's hand and towed her out, "Go say hello and introduce yourself."
"What?" Addy blinked in shock as she was shoved out by her sister. "Why?"
"You don't get out enough," was her simple response, giving her one last push and a look that meant she was not to be ignored.
Addy rolled her eyes in response to this and steeled herself for this. She was terrible at introductions and even worse when it involved a man. All she had to do, she reminded herself, was imagine him with a big red clown nose. Oddly enough she didn't find it very hard.
Tapping on his shoulder, she caught his attention. "Hello," she said, giving a slight bow in good Japanese fashion, "I'm Adastreia."
Dais had a small crooked smile on his face as he bowed back and then proceeded to take her hand. She blinked in shock as he lifted it up to kiss it instead of shaking it. Who did that any more? "Hello Adastreia," he said as he released her hand. "My name is Dais." He paused to add, "You smell nice."
Addy's eyebrows had officially made it to her hairline at this and she wondered what kind of drugs this guy did in his off time. "Oh-kay," she said, turning and beating it out of there. He blinked at this reaction. It was meant to be a compliment, as she did smell pleasant, something that reminded him of fruit. "Nice to know they're getting their employees out of the Creepy Bin," she muttered as she walked away. "And they wonder why I'm antisocial."
Dais' lip curled up into a grin at hearing this and he returned to his task. Ten minutes later, the members of the band, Adastreia, Victoria, Tsukina, and Miniko were climbing onto the stage. He'd been told the name of it was Gaijin, the Japanese word for foreigner, because that was the one thing the rag tag band members all had in common. He watched discreetly as they each went to their instrument, Victoria seating herself behind the drums and twirling her drumsticks in her hands, Addy slinging the guitar strap over her shoulder, Miniko taking her place behind her keyboard and Tsukina lifting up a violin.
He was pleasantly surprised when they started playing. They had nice rhythm and seemed to fit together well. Addy may not have been the best guitarist he'd heard but she had a melodic voice. 'Yes,' Dais thought to himself as he absently watched them play. 'I think this will be an interesting stay after all.'
