[2011-03-27 11:36:33] <Haruka_Emmerich> = =
[11:37:16] <Haruka_Emmerich> Morning. SEES dormitory, Tomoe's room.
[11:38:11] <Haruka_Emmerich> The knock on the door is markedly somber. Three raps, slow. The only other sound is Haruka's phone playing something at the lowest possible volume.
[11:42:25] <Haruka_Emmerich> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUpIg9ZFsd4

[11:47:28] <@nazca> "...Enter." Comes the reply from inside the room. There is a faint smell of something burning in the air, intermingled with a subtle hint of incense.

[11:50:06] <Haruka_Emmerich> Haruka opens the door, stepping inside...and promptly flings the suitcase containing Kivaara the 4th into the wall opposite the former SEES commander.

[11:55:47] <@nazca> The loud crash of the suitcase reverberates in the entire room, but the former SEES commander only looks up from her work desk, her laptop's screen glowing in front of her. There is a small jar with a couple of lit joss sticks beside it.

[11:56:58] <Haruka_Emmerich> The opening piano of the German's track of choice fades out, her words fading over the original vocals. "...You couldn't understand. You tapped me to be a Kamen Rider. Yet, there another lies, in the very shadow of the Void we came here to destroy."

[11:56:59] <@nazca> "...I would presume you have a good reason of treating your Gear as such, Emmerich." The reply is low, yet level. "If not, I am free to remind you of the proper care of your issued transformation device."

[11:57:18] <Haruka_Emmerich> "I came here to be a lover. I came here to be a hero. I see now...I cannot do both."

[12:02:29] <@nazca> "..." Tomoe is silent at that, turning to face Haruka fully - before shaking her head as she turns back to her monitor, the soft click of the keys resuming. "...I would like to say that I can help you in that area, Emmerich, but even I cannot get my own..relevant issues in order. I can only say that I empathize."
[12:03:00] <@nazca> A pause. "...Is there something wrong between you and Arukama? Or Midorikawa?"

[12:05:47] <Haruka_Emmerich> "Far from it...and yet not." Haruka grimaces. "...the three of us. WE are wrong. We shed our blood for this city, for freedom, AND YET WE ARE WRONG." Her fist smacks against the door once more. "Your issues, they PALE in scope to what we must endure...rather, what I will not tolerate enduring anymore."

[12:11:06] <@nazca> The typing stops, and there is silence in the room as the temperature lowers inside it, just a tiny fraction of a degree. "...They pale in scope, you say? While I will not pretend to know of what currently ails you, Emmerich, please do not presume that your problems, as dire as they may seem, encompass everyone else's in severity and seeming hopelessness..."
[12:13:12] <@nazca> "...simply because they are yours." There's a small creak of the chair as Tomoe pushes her chair back, the former SEES Leader standing up in order to address the Fangire. "And am I hearing you correctly when you say that you are to abdicate your position as Kivaara?"

[12:14:56] <Haruka_Emmerich> "I abdicate nothing. My relinquishing of Kivaara is the consensus of the gods...rather, it is my course of action considering they will not allow me to use her in any proper operating capacity."

[2011-03-28 07:47:13] <@nazca> One of Tomoe's eyebrows quirk up, a slightly puzzled expression on her face. "The...gods? That's...well, you've surprised me yet again, Emmerich. Here I thought that you were staunchly against any kind of belief in the spiritual. I thought all Fangires were." She moves towards the suitcase still stuck in its place in the wall, and tugs it free.
[07:48:46] <@nazca> "But if this is your way of saying that you do not have what it takes, then consider your resignation received and tendered. After all, you do not look like someone who can be convinced otherwise." She dusts the scuffed container of paint flecks and debris.

[07:51:09] <Haruka_Emmerich> "This is not any belief at play, Tomoe. This is fact." A snort. "Every night since I finished that damnable business in 1984, I have been treated to a front-row seat to the aether that makes up this world. I do not like what I see.
[07:51:49] <Haruka_Emmerich> "...the gods favor SHOCKER, Tomoe. And SEES is lacking in the power to dissuade them."

[07:55:41] <@nazca> "Yes, 1984. I read the reports. It took me a while to straighten everything out, but it looks as though that you've gone through an ordeal. Arukama being manipulated into almost accepting a forced suitor, travelling through time in order to stop an arranged marriage from coming into fruition..."
[07:57:39] <@nazca> There's the smallest creak of leather as Tomoe absent-mindedly reaches down to adjust her glove. "I am sure such an event could have broken any other person, through the sheer impossibility and cruelty of it." She glances towards the German. "I can see why you may think our situation hopeless."

[08:01:39] <Haruka_Emmerich> "...what kind of society claims the moral right to kill a man for who he loves? To destroy him right in front of his daughter's eyes because the blood that courses through his suitor's veins isn't quite the same? And to even go so far as to harvest the remains of that little girl for breedstock, and claim the savagery holy writ?" Haruka's slowly clenching her fists now. "And now they outright demand that SEES dance to their own tune."
[08:06:04] <Haruka_Emmerich> "And now they outright demand that SEES dance to their own tune. A woman named Maya vi Inoue has claimed IXA, claiming to use it on behalf of the Fangire King - all while defiling the memory of Ingrid von Harkonnen and conspiring to wrest her selfsame soul from within Kaoru Midorikawa. I would remind you that this same royalty is comprised of those who saw Tatsuya as a champion rather than the tyrant he was, and take any opportunity to attack myself and Arukama for opposing his rule. But then it'd be the first time you were informed of such depravity, WOULD IT?" The German's voice spikes, eyes glowing cherry red.

[08:14:29] <@nazca> "...When I accepted your dossier and had you flown over here, I was assured that you would be able to handle it. With Arukama and the rest of SEES' help." Tomoe replies after a moment, her voice level, if frigid, a complete contrast to Haruka's own. "I left you to oversee the affairs that would concern Arukama, and you only needed to ask for my help."
[08:16:35] <@nazca> "And I would have expended all of the resources available to SEES. The entire armory would have been open to you to do with what you will. THI has always protected its own, and the President of Development and Pioneer is no exception. We would have died willingly for Arukama's safety."
[08:17:50] <@nazca> It's then that she steps forward to the Fangire. "What did you do, then? You have Royce steal an impounded Zeroliner, you endanger the lives of other SEES members in an unauthorized operation, you even illegally modify your own Gear in order to try to take everything upon yourself!"
[08:20:47] <@nazca> "This organization has been formed, first and foremost, to combat the void! There is a reason why there are more than a handful of us, Emmerich! And did you even THINK of asking me for help? Asking Asuka for help? Besides Royce, besides Midorikawa, besides Kamishiro?"
[08:23:08] <@nazca> There's a moment of silence, before Tomoe shakes her head. "Regardless of how twisted the Fangire Monarchy functions, did you not even consider the ramifications of removing a head of state with murder? Did you not even consider that he would have underlings eager to replace him, or how the entire court could be tainted that his disappearance is but a mere momentary setback, and the status quo, no matter how corrupt or malignant it is, would inexorably wheel onward UNLESS you replace the entire monarchy from the bottom up? Did you ever consider it?"
[08:26:14] <@nazca> She reaches up with her gloved hand and pinches her forehead. "If you had only asked for my help, you would have had the entire Rider division of SEES at your disposal to stage a coup if you so wished. Anything to help you."

[08:29:13] <Haruka_Emmerich> "If only I'd asked for your help and Asuka's help - WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU?" Tomoe's tirade had done naught to mollify Haruka. "I ASKED ABOUT FOLLOWING THE MURDER OF ROYCE ATROCITAS, AND SEES HAD NO INKLING OF YOUR WHEREABOUTS! HOW THE HELL AM I MEANT TO REQUISITION SUPPORT WHEN THE RESPONSIBLE PARTIES ARE ABSENT?"
[08:30:38] <Haruka_Emmerich> "WHAT THE HELL KIND OF TIMEFRAME DO I EVEN *HAVE* TO DO SO WHEN THIS ENTIRE TRAINWRECK HAPPENED ONLY TWENTY MINUTES AFTER THE RESCUE OF WYLL ASCHER - ONE WHO, I MIGHT ADD, WAS *REFUSED* ASYLUM BY SEES FOLLOWING THE CLEAR DELINEATION OF A THREAT THAT WOULD WARRANT IT!"
[08:32:50] <Haruka_Emmerich> "AND NOW YOU GO AND SAY THAT ALL I HAVE TO DO TO KEEP MY LOVERS FROM BEING INSULTED AT EVERY TURN FOR *WHO THEY ARE* AND *HOW THEY COPED* WITH THE HELL BROUGHT UPON THEM BY *THE VERY PARTIES DAMNING THEM*...IS TO JUST *ASK* FOR YOUR SUPPORT, WHEN IT WAS NEVER PROVEN I'D RECEIVE IT?"
[08:34:00] <Haruka_Emmerich> Haruka takes a series of deep breaths. "...although you could say that I *AM* doing so. I do not, however, have reasonable expectation that my request will be honored for the operation I intend to proceed with."

[08:37:59] <@nazca> "I remember specifically that I left Asuka with all my responsibilities, and with handing over SEES Leadership, all assets were at her disposal. You only had to ask her for help." Tomoe's eyes narrow at Haruka. "But I suppose you were far too busy giving in to the stress of the entire ordeal in order to think rationally or logically."
[08:39:50] <@nazca> At the mention of a certain Ascher, Tomoe looks away. "I was informed about him. While he certainly had quite the impact on the rest of SEES, I was of the suspicion that he was colluding with certain undesirable elements. Still, at the time, I left the decision to Asuka, and her decision stood. And if I'm to remember correctly, the delineated threat was provoked into action by him, no less. Of course, you and Lukles pulled your own unauthorized operation in order to take care of that. Something else we will need to address." She shakes her head.
[08:42:55] <@nazca> "...But very well. You're insistent that I hear you out, then do it. Tell me what this operation of yours is, and let's see if reason is actually a part of this set of demands this time."

[08:45:19] <Haruka_Emmerich> "All right..." Another slow inhale. "...the Time-Space Police Department, and one Phoenix Chronos in particular, has reason to conscript me following an unfortunate incident with his car - said incident being the catalyst behind me being forced to see the world for what it truly is."
[08:47:00] <Haruka_Emmerich> "I intend to allow said conscription to take place. The position I will gain to work with the timeline in the raw will...enable me to make sure no future good deeds go inordinately punished."

[08:49:16] <@nazca> "...So in essence, you are abandoning this timeline for another?" Tomoe folds her arms under her chest, the gloved hand tapping an index finger against her elbow. "You wish to abandon your...save file, as it is, and start over with a fresh one, because of certain decisions you have made?"

[08:53:36] <Haruka_Emmerich> "Hardly. If you must go with the video game analogy...I intend to pick at the event flags a bit. Make it so that pursuing what's RIGHT doesn't garner you UNDYING HATRED. Enable Love and Justice to be used in the same turn with a less severe penalty, if even one at all. I intend...to pull off the ultimate New Game Plus."

[08:57:11] <@nazca> Tomoe's lips curl into a small smile. "So you do intend on changing everything for your own benefit. To meddle in such a timeline in order that everything you do turns out to your favor...I have heard many similar objectives, similar impossible-sounding quests, from the mouths of individuals driven enough to undertake them."
[08:58:00] <@nazca> "...Of course, said individuals have always been...shall we say..." she gestures with her gloved hand. "...eccentric in certain psychological departments."

[08:58:32] <Haruka_Emmerich> "And I'm a bit of a nymphomaniac. Quid pro quo."

[08:59:01] <@nazca> "...What I meant to say is that they were crazy, Emmerich."

[08:59:57] <Haruka_Emmerich> "You just spent three minutes explaining why I was the same."

[09:02:44] <@nazca> "And they were summarily killed because no individual deserves to meddle with the timeline simply because they wish for it to change to their will!" Tomoe snaps. "Are you even hearing yourself speak, Emmerich? You want to be conscripted to the TSPD in order to take advantage of their responsibilities and see to a future where your justice is law?!"

[09:04:28] <Haruka_Emmerich> "Well, that and help 'em fix a few others for their trouble. You don't get what you want until you pull your weight, after all."
[09:09:38] <@nazca> "...I cannot comprehend that you are talking about vandalizing a timeline for your own benefit like you're...trying to decide what to wear for an evening rendezvous, Emmerich. While I do not object to your resignation, I do hope that the TSPD thinks twice before even making you responsible for a timeline they work very hard to keep secure."
[09:10:33] <@nazca> "Such an act is...beyond deplorable. I apologize, but while I can see that you feel strongly about how things turned out, to start over like such..." Tomoe shakes her head.

[09:15:40] <Haruka_Emmerich> "I'll admit, it sounds callous. But I intend to do it not just for my own gain. In fact, it may not even come to having to create a whole new timeline - depending on how things unfold, I could easily reinsert myself here as a TSPD adjutant, no harm moderate foul. Just...expect me to be as inordinately passionate about taking matters into my own hands." Haruka shudders slightly. Maybe Tomoe's words are finally getting to her?

[09:19:24] <@nazca> "And so we hear the heart of the matter. 'Takiing matters into my own hands'. Very well done, Emmerich. I can say that I have also erred in that regard, but there is not a moment where I do not realize that it had been my own impetuousness that had been at fault, and I am no less culpable for the consequences for it."
[09:21:18] <@nazca> Tomoe closes her eyes. "Things never need be taken up alone. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, nor should it ever be perceived as such." She opens her eyes once more, and nods towards Haruka. "Then I will reject your resignation, and allow you an extended leave of absence. You are free to come back when you've managed to see through the haze of whatever madness has inspired you to pursue a conscription with the TSPD, whenever that may be."

[09:26:46] <Haruka_Emmerich> "...very well. Thank you, Tomoe, at least for that. I will be departing in several hours, once I have informed both Yukari and Kaoru of my decision and properly hailed Officer Chronos. I'll leave the handling of my assets to SEES at large, and make sure nothing's packed too heavily."

[09:36:55] <@nazca> "...See to it that your affairs in order before you leave, and I will see to it that everything is handled." Tomoe replies after a moment as she walks back towards her desk. "You realize that this in itself is highly irregular. But I suppose I should wish you luck in your future endeavor."

[09:39:13] <Haruka_Emmerich> "Suppose I'll need it. Thank you once again...and sorry 'bout the wall." Haruka makes to depart, but turns at the last minute. "No...sorry about everything. Especially being more valuable to SEES as a monster than a Kamen Rider."
[09:39:29] <Haruka_Emmerich> With that she finally leaves the room, shutting the door gently.

[09:41:17] <@nazca> Tomoe lets out a sigh as she looks back at the door to her room, before shaking her head. The typing resumes, a bit more slowly this time.
[09:41:29] <@nazca> = =