[2011-03-19 22:43:53] <@Haruka_Emmerich> = =
[22:44:31] <@Haruka_Emmerich> Thursday morning, the Scarlet Devil Mansion, living room.
[22:46:06] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Residents of Osaka are being advised to remain calm following late-coming reports last night of an unidentified henshin weaponry break-in at Tachibana Heavy Industries' global headquarters-" *click*
[22:46:53] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "THI and D&P stocks both down 1500 yen a share apiece in before-hours trading - Can All-Riders stop their race to the bot-" *click*
[22:47:16] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Moe Moe Kyuu-" *click*
[22:48:45] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "...ugh, why'd I even bother..." Haruka stirs from her position lazing about on the couch, not having bothered to throw on anything more complex than a T-shirt and a pair of panties. Not like she was planning to GO anywhere today.

[22:50:10] <Axel_Wildfire> And then... there's a knock at the front door. Not just any knock; it's to the tune of the chorus from JAM Project's "Heats".

[22:51:52] <@Haruka_Emmerich> The familiar refrain elicits a groan from the Fangire as she stumbles off the sofa, much of her usual finesse and energy drained in the trudge to the door. "Who'zit?"

[22:56:04] <Axel_Wildfire> "Who else turns up at your front door with that song?" Wyll's voice is slightly muffled through the wood, but still easily audible.

[22:57:26] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Y'know you're kinda Tokyo's Most Wanted right now, right?" She slowly unlatches the deadbolt and lets him in.

[22:59:26] <Axel_Wildfire> He's wearing a white button-up shirt and pants, looking oddly relaxed; the blue coolbag is still slung over his shoulder. "More importantly, you know it's a sunny day out and you have a fucking pool? Why are you inside?"

[23:02:41] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "...do I LOOK like I wanna face the day right now?" A grumble. "...you've got until four. After that, Kaoru, Royce, and Haru are still on the payroll, and I ain't making promises."

[23:03:33] <Axel_Wildfire> Wyll lifts the coolbag somewhat by it's strap. "Seeing as you sorta quit, I thought I'd drop by and have a beer with you to celebrate your retirement."

[23:08:37] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Rub it in, why don'tcha?" She starts shuffling toward the patio. "Look where your big ploy to get Kenoko's balls to drop has dragged things: Akebara's halfway to catatonic thanks to beasting out for the first time since her pit fight days, I'm halfway to neurotic thanks to realizing just how badly I've been half-assing things for DECADES, and we're still not even sure Becca's doing the traitor thing properly enough to put out an arrest warrant."

[23:13:12] <Axel_Wildfire> "Oh, good, you have realized. I thought I was going to have to explain that. As for the rest, I'm pretty sure *you* forced Ake into that, not me, and judging by the text I got back this morning..." Wyll mimics Ake's voice as he falls into step. "'Let me just extricate myself from Haruka and I'll be on my way' - I'd say there's no hard feelings, *hmm*?" He weights the sound with amusement.

[23:16:09] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Uggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh...you KNOW how I get when I'm depressed." A rear screen door slides open, and Haruka promptly plants herself on a deck chair, squinting to keep the sun out of her eyes. "...though I guess there's something good to be said about realizing I haven't been a proper Kamen Rider since day one."

[23:20:17] <Axel_Wildfire> "And I know that if she was that bad about it you'd still be all depressed and probably wouldn't have moved from your bed today." Wyll lapses into the chair beside her, dropping the coolbag between them and unzipping it - he retrieves two dark glass bottles, offers one to Haruka. "Red Hill Brewery scotch ale. It's dark and rich and smooth and it smells like chocolate. Been saving it for something halfway to special."

[23:23:39] <@Haruka_Emmerich> A wince as she thumbs off the bottle cap before taking a long, hard chug. "...so yeah. The silver lining, the one bullet we managed to dodge: I am not JUNKER. For all I've been comparing myself to Tomoe by dint of magnitude of fuckups...I seem to at least have had the sense to not wholly embody the organization."
[23:24:52] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "I'm off the docket, Yukari's looking to vacay, Aelita's in charge...and we don't have squads going haywire twenty different ways. The city's not burning. This is...kinda nice."

[23:29:07] <Axel_Wildfire> "You'd need to appoint Ake leader before you made a Tomoe-tier fuckup. With Aelita in charge things are in good hands." Wyll is a much more measured drinker and he takes a little sip as he thinks. "... you were always a Rider, Haruka. *Except*." he raises a finger. "Except lately. Except since it became your *job*. When you're playing nine-to-five hero, it's pretty easy to forget what you're...
[23:29:08] <Axel_Wildfire> ...meant to be doing, and to start cutting corners and doing things that you probably shouldn't do, but are good for your *job*. That said, you and yours were also complacent with it, which is why I couldn't just come out and say it - you can't talk someone out of complacency; you have to shake 'em up."

[23:32:48] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Dumbass." Another sip. "...I told Ake this last night: the nine-to-five has nothing to do with it. I'm not a Rider not because of that encroaching complacency, but because all the important shit I've done with my life, all the big things I've done for the people and city I love...Rider Gear was either secondary to my own intellect and powers, or just plain nonexistent."
[23:33:38] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "It's not a matter of me coming BACK to being a Rider, because I never WAS one...but I do need to find myself before I decide whether it's the path I wanna take."

[23:34:01] <Axel_Wildfire> Wyll laughs. "You think having a belt makes you a Rider?"

[23:34:58] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "I think having a belt and getting to fucking USE IT to fight for what I believe in makes me a Rider. Fucking everything conspired against that second part."

[23:45:14] <Axel_Wildfire> "Let me tell a story that was told one time to me, by people who had had it told to them." He leans back and takes another sip. "Now this is going back to Showa era, but basically this one batkaijin disguised himself as a priest and was turning the neighbourhood kids into monsters. Fun stuff. Well, no Riders in sight, and so this one guy who's a cop - he was friends with them, apparently,...
[23:45:16] <Axel_Wildfire> ...but anyway - he gets his biking leathers, spraypaints a fucking jolly roger on his helmet." Wyll clashes his fist against his palm. "Shotgun carts in brass knuckles, for a Rider Punch." He taps his heel against the ground. "Tazers in his boots, for a Rider Kick. So he crashes into the kaijin den on his fucking bike, and gives a damn good accounting of himself - he pretty much clears it out before the leader nails him - and then Rider-1, late as ever, turns up. Know what he said?"

[23:46:26] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "He said 'RIDER JUMP!' and finished the fucking job. Because someone had to."

[23:47:00] <Axel_Wildfire> "Wrong."

[23:49:50] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Still, this is the part where Takeshi Motherfuckin' Hongo declares him a Rider for going this apeshit. But Showa's an age before Riders were anything more than a bunch of cyborg bros in bug suits picking off armies of hell. It's not that simple today."

[23:50:34] <Axel_Wildfire> Wyll rolls his eyes. "You're wrong if you think that's the case. It's only changed because THI made it so."

[23:51:53] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Still, it's YOU lecturing me on conduct and not, say, Kotaro Minami."

[23:54:21] <Axel_Wildfire> "That doesn't make me wrong." he replies softly.

[23:57:02] <@Haruka_Emmerich> 'nother chug. "You ARE wrong 'bout THI being what distorted the image of a Kamen Rider. You're such a history buff, why not remind me exactly when the first Dark Riders cropped up?"

[23:58:22] <Axel_Wildfire> "Rider-1, obviously. He simply broke free of the programming. You are aware there's a reason why I call the 'SHOCKER Riders' 'Hoppers', not Riders, right?"

[2011-03-20 00:01:00] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Because they leave the same disgusting taste in your mouth as Chiyoko Kuzunoha going down as a hero when all she did with SEES was fuck with 'em or fuck 'em, right?"

[00:01:56] <Axel_Wildfire> "That, and because they weren't *Riders*; they were Hoppers. Rider-1 was a Hopper, but he was also a Rider." Wyll breaks off to polish off a healthy gulp of his beer. "... you see?"

[00:06:45] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Ugh, I can see where this is going already. This is gonna be about how Tsukasa Kadoya was an incarnation of Great Leader, but also a Rider. How Dex Stewart was a freaky TV sitcom bug alien, but also a Rider. How Wataru Kurenai was an insufferable hikkomori, but also a Rider...I dunno. I don't think the world's still quite ready to accept a combination of Love Freak and Kamen Rider." Haruka drains the last of her bottle and reaches into the bag for a second.

[00:08:24] <Axel_Wildfire> "Says who?" he returns calmly. "You know how to do the right thing, Haruka, and you've finally realised that you're letting a stupid job supercede that. Get out there and do it when you think you can."

[00:09:53] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "...I guess I should be thankful I get to wait until I'm good and ready this time."

[00:11:07] <Axel_Wildfire> "Pretty much." Wyll swirls the bottom third of his glass around. "I'm glad you caught on instead of me having to beat it into you."

[00:14:37] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "...so what the heck are YOU gonna do?" A glance at Wyll between sips. "Still gonna piss around as Tenpai, crusade against the rest of us you can't be arsed to booze it up with?"

[00:16:45] <Axel_Wildfire> Wyll grins. "I'm gonna keep doing my thing until you guys beat me. Get the kids some experience that isn't gonna kill 'em."

[00:23:35] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "...y'know, you could do that under a lot better pretense than the deal you've got going now. You keep foisting off Riders to get them sanctioned with us, what's keeping you from going with the flow?"

[00:26:55] <Axel_Wildfire> He blinks. "I'm no Rider."

[00:30:00] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "You're only saying that for the flimsy criteria I tried to give you. Hell, by that measure, you're more of a Rider than me. You believe your contemporaries need a shot of justice in the arm, you put together proper henshin tech, and you fought for that belief."

[00:35:36] <Axel_Wildfire> "No, I'm not." Wyll polishes off the last of his beer, almost moodily. "A Rider is a good person, remember. That automatically excludes me."

[00:38:54] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "We're having this conversation instead of you breaking down the door as Tenpai and carrying someone off over your shoulder. I think that makes you a good person. Maybe Tendou-tier, but good enough." Haruka's chugging seems far more relaxed now.

[00:39:49] <Axel_Wildfire> He smiles, far more softly than usual. "Thanks. That means a lot coming from you."

[00:42:50] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "It'd mean a hell of a lot more out of a certain someone, but good luck getting it out of HER in your position." It's then that something about the amount of alcohol in her system tips off Haruka to Wyll's improbable-for-a-human-his-age youth. "Speaking of which...is it just me, or do you look even younger than when we did the Time Warp again for her centennial?"

[00:44:02] <Axel_Wildfire> Wyll grins. "You heard the expression 'love makes you crazy'?"

[00:44:49] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Live it every day."

[00:53:47] <Axel_Wildfire> "How about 'a man should live forever or die trying'?"

[00:55:01] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Don't tell me. You got yourself Orphed by a rogue first-gen."

[01:00:00] <Axel_Wildfire> "Nope, guess again."

[01:01:36] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Sure as hell can't have gotten yourself Fangire Married, or you'd be knocking back Tau right now."

[01:02:18] <Axel_Wildfire> "Try again, and I'll give you a hint: I'm better than your entire R&D department put together." Wyll stretches out.

[01:03:53] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "...at what?" And then Haruka realizes exactly what. "...you couldn't have. Not with your resources..."

[01:05:23] <Axel_Wildfire> His smile turns a little smug, but he doesn't speak, waiting for her to talk it out herself.

[01:07:26] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "...how the shit, Ascher. You built a Trial Undead. In the back of a bar. With a box of scraps."

[01:08:32] <Axel_Wildfire> "Lose the 'Trial'."

[01:09:05] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "...you DO realize what that'd mean if Kaoru ever found out, right?"

[01:09:48] <Axel_Wildfire> Wyll shrugs. "I've taken better safety measures than she has. For one thing, my little Undead is a Human-class; for another, she loves people and seems to hate fighting. Now if only I could get her to keep her nose out of everyone else's Rider Gear."

[01:11:31] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Regardless. Wouldn't a proper one require you to, y'know, actually possess one of the Blade belts? Which, last I checked, you don't."

[01:13:39] <Axel_Wildfire> "Theoretically. I cut a few corners, in a good way, so I'm in no danger of turning into a roach or whatever." another shrug. "Toyed with the genetic makeup like a kitten with a ball of yarn. Had to dick around with my own, as well, but it seems to have worked out just fine. ... which is kinda lucky, since it was more likely to go wrong and cause me to turn into a puddle of goo, but whatever."

[01:15:23] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "...and you just spent twenty minutes lecturing me on how I ought to take a step back and NOT cut corners regarding Rider work. Now you're telling me you're cutting corners on creating life wholesale? What the FUCK?" THIS appears to be getting the old fire back in Haruka, the woman rising from her deck chair - poised to break her empty bottle off against the wall.

[01:18:30] <Axel_Wildfire> "I said 'in a good way', and it was more like five." Wyll polishes off his bottle and starts reaching for a second. "Do you really want *me* going around with a Blade knockoff?"

[01:20:00] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Fuck no. Tenpai's bad enough. Still...why the hell do you NEED an UNDEAD?"

[01:21:05] <Axel_Wildfire> "Immortality, naturally. Any other way of going about it had too low a success rate, and I don't trust my luck."

[01:23:39] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Look, I could probably push 300 myself - Yukari too, and theoretically anyone getting Tau in the right ratios - but I think you're overdoing it here, son. Unless you're that eager to stick around to keep a certain other nigh-immortal company..."

[01:24:01] <Axel_Wildfire> "Now you're getting the picture..."

[01:25:31] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "...get a TARDIS, you two. Of course, I only recommend that because Liners have too much red ink surrounding them."

[01:29:04] <Axel_Wildfire> Wyll laughs. "I'll consider it. Then again, you don't want me to get in a mood and try and go back and change things, do you? Cause you know what I'm like."
[01:29:14] <Axel_Wildfire> "Ooh, I could be Den-O..."

[01:30:23] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Don't. I'll make damned sure you can't do shit between 1900 and 2100 if I have to. Even if it means cashing in that booty call with Oscar Mike."

[01:31:11] <Axel_Wildfire> "Couldn't put you through *that*." he's still laughing quietly.

[01:36:10] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Still gonna make sure Aelita knows you've up and done something this stupid for her sake." Haruka sets down her bottle and reaches for a fresh one. "Hey, worked out the last time one of us did it, right?"

[01:41:59] <Axel_Wildfire> "Seems like it." Wyll is apparently more of a pussy than Haruka, since he has to open up his beer by covering his hand with his sleeve. "I'm just surprised it all *worked*."

[01:44:21] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "I'm surprised I'm the first one to bitch, as opposed to some total stranger who magically hates everything you stand for and is also Better Than You..." She makes quickly to drink that memory back down, quaffing a good third of the bottle in one go.

[01:47:52] <Axel_Wildfire> He reaches up and pats her side gently. "Hey, come on, that was a while ago. No-dwelling-zone."

[01:50:16] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Oi...ah, hell, 'bout high time we actually enforced that in this house."

[01:52:13] <Axel_Wildfire> "It *is* Aelita's most marvelous invention, don't you think?" Wyll drops her a cheerful wink. "It might help."

[01:53:27] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "I'll pass the word around when the others get home. Might defeat Yukari's purposes - and mine - but eh."

[01:58:04] <Axel_Wildfire> "Well, anyway... if you're taking a bit of time off, I wonder if you might do me a favour." he settles back, gazing out at the pool.

[01:59:41] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "If it's more Gear trinkets, forget it. Barred from JUNKER assets. And even if I weren't, like hell I'm loaning you anything that could push Tenpai into the Kamenritter range."

[02:00:18] <Axel_Wildfire> "Absolutely not, and I'd try and build it myself if it was, cause that's actually pretty fun." Wyll grins. "Did you like Vincent's Gear when you finally got your hands on it, by the way?"

[02:00:44] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Aelita's seen more of it than I have, ask her."

[02:01:08] <Axel_Wildfire> "I would if I thought she wouldn't take me down and do unspeakable things to me."
[02:01:16] <Axel_Wildfire> It's hard to tell if he's joking...

[02:01:57] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "I thought you WANTED her to do that." It's not too hard to tell in Haruka's case she is.

[02:07:03] <Axel_Wildfire> Wyll laughs. "Maybe when I'm done pretending to be evil and crazy. Well, actually, the 'pretending to be crazy' part is pretty much up in the air at the moment. Anyway, I was wondering if you might indulge Leksi for a bit?" he leans back in his chair. "Let's be honest, I'm not gonna win Father of the Year anytime soon, and having the naive kid hanging off your arm might do you some good. It's surprising how kids have that effect."

[02:08:27] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Again. Barred from JUNKER assets. That means I can't exactly wheel her to Royce's lab and back." A wistful sigh. "...holy crap, I should NOT be missing the job this quickly."

[02:08:46] <Axel_Wildfire> "By 'indulge' I meant 'look after'."

[02:09:33] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "THAT I can do. That is, if I don't get chewed out for looking after Ake as-is."

[02:10:04] <Axel_Wildfire> Wyll blinks. "Sounds more like Ake's lookin' after *you*."

[02:11:51] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "What can I say? Scarred hearts stick together better." And that's a third bottle down. "...shame it doesn't seem to have stuck with Becca."

[02:14:01] <Axel_Wildfire> He sighs. "That's my fault."

[02:15:14] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Take it she saw through the plan, huh?"

[02:16:37] <Axel_Wildfire> "What plan?"

[02:18:30] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "The one where your token villainy is just a ploy to make JUNKER do what it ought to be doing."

[02:20:22] <Axel_Wildfire> "No, I had to explain that..." he rests his cheek on his fist, looking moody. "What would you say to me paying D&P's LA Branch, more specifically it's Riotrooper division, a visit?"

[02:21:57] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "I'd say touch base with Aelita ASAP; that was one of my more pressing matters before I stepped down, and I expect she'll be looking to bust some heads there before All-Riders."

[02:22:39] <Axel_Wildfire> "Ehh. I guess that's a start, though I'd prefer to just go over and flatten them for being douchebags."

[02:23:33] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "You imply that wasn't my original intent for getting their shit together."

[02:28:22] <Axel_Wildfire> "Oh. Well yeah, I can do that. Gives me a good excuse to test run Xtreme, too." Wyll smiles and gulps at his beer. "Look, don't worry about Ake, she can handle herself okay. If she's taken a shine to you, so much the better - actually, that reminds me, why would you get in trouble for, well, I don't want to know the specifics of what you and Ake get up to... unless you're going back into the business...?"

[02:30:38] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "I dunno, maybe 'cause I've been canoodling with the adoptive daughter I thought I'd have via my niece's endeavors instead of my own?" A grumble. "The business doesn't have anything to do with me, y'know, stealing Haru's lover by accident."

[02:32:15] <Axel_Wildfire> "Wait what." Wyll blinks. "She and your - oh my." he laughs into his hand. "That's hilarious! I mean, not the situation, but you remember I joked about marrying you that one time?"

[02:33:41] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Yeah. Guess there aren't rules against marrying Fangires after all." Haruka breaks into a giggling fit.

[02:34:22] <Axel_Wildfire> "No, I mean, even Alex teased me about the FangLemon thing..."

[02:37:03] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Oi."

[02:37:12] <Axel_Wildfire> "What?"

[02:39:02] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Just still in shock 'bout Alex taking notice, is all."

[02:39:40] <Axel_Wildfire> "We did kind of fall asleep on top of each other..."

[02:43:15] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "Heh." Haruka yawns. "Half a mind to invite you in for a round, see if history repeats itself..."

[02:44:08] <Axel_Wildfire> Wyll grins. "Sounds like fun. I heard Ake couldn't live up to my standards?"

[02:47:02] <@Haruka_Emmerich> "The Prime Minister of Gambling has no diplomatic immunity in my house." The lady pulls the screen door back open, ushering Wyll in with a slightly slack arm - guess the drink's really starting to take effect now.

[02:50:16] <Axel_Wildfire> He lets her, still laughing. "Alright, alright, let's set *another* record just to be dicks to the retro-gaming community."
[02:51:49] <@Haruka_Emmerich> = =