Mad Dogs (Colab with Takeda Kusanagi) - Part 5 and 6
Padding almost silently through the empy warehouse, Camila made her way to the section of the large building that she and Takeda had been using to train and where now Mataki was inflincting some damage to the punching bag. Even though nowhere near the area, the steady, repetitive "thud thud thud" echoed in the empty hallways, marking the cadence of the large man's punches.
Mataki, she mused, was a lot like Takeda and herself. Takeda hid behind his "I don't care" attitude, she hid behind her sarcasm and seeming insanity and Mataki.... well Mataki was the in "In your face". he didn't sugar coated things, nor did he exagerate feelings or situations.
What were they all hiding? For a first, the dangerous, quick intellect they all had. Even if they were not magic users, she felt more understood, more among equals while around them than around her own supergroup. People at Chrysalis were nice, but they were intimidated, distrusting of people like her and Takeda. Interacting with them, she realized, caused most of the SG members headaches. Maybe because none of pack thought in linear thought. Or maybe because they didn't have time or patience to play society games, to pretend to be something they were not. Maybe because they said what they felt, despite of hurt feelings.
That's why she knew that all that had been happening between and Takeda was strong. There was no deception, no mindgames. What you see is what you get, the whole package, deadly, ready and upfront.
Sliding quietly to stand behind Mataki, she watched him for a bit. The cage fighter was built like the proverbial brickhouse, and what was scarier, was not the fact that he could move as fast as a snake, but the scent that came out of him. He smelled of ash and something unearthly, powerful and old. Camila didn't have any special scenting abilities, but she could sense the strange smell that permeated him.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
His fists hit the bodybag with enough strenght to make it shudder from top to bottom, making it swing as if it was filled merely with cotton pads, and Camila watched with a strange mix of fear and fascination. She liked Mataki, although he, unlike Takeda, hit on everything with an X-cromossome and a living pulse (although there was the chance that the pulse wasn't even mandatory, to begin with). It was amuzing how it seemed that the two were so opposite, yet, they were so similar -- where Takeda refused to get involved, Mataki refused to take any flirt seriously. And so, they were safe and protected from unwanted romance or drama.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
She sat down, and although Mataki didn't react, she knew he had noticed her present. For a while, she just sat, back pressed against the wall, watching the the subtle movements of his muscles, the powerful harmony of a strong body in motion.
Thud. Thud.
He had stopped and leaned his forehead against the bag, taking a look at her above his shoulder: "See anything you want, girl?" his voice sounded low and menacing, although from his tone it was obvious he was relaxed and wanting to tease her.
She got up, strode to him slowly, with a smile "Why, yes, dahling. I see something I want...." she breathed "... very very badly... I.... want...." She reached over as if to touch him, and suddenly snatched a small box from the back pocket of his pants: "... mints!"
With a grin , she opened the lid of the small tin box: "Hmmm, how many calories do these have?"
The large man just smirked and turned again to the bag "Just two each. But they're so strong that they burn themselves."
Cam popped one into her mouth and returned the box, then moved away to let him free room, screwing her eyes for a moment as the strength of the mint hit her. Mataki returned to his exercise, a light, thin layer of sweat making his muscles glisten. She sat quietly watching for a few moments, but obviously she couldn't keep quiet for long.
"How do you like hanging here?"
He deigned to answer after a moment: "It's not bad."
"How long have you been around?" Cam was not to give up easily.
"A while now."
"And how did you met Takeda?"
The bag stopped as he halted to eye her over his shoulder: "You ask a whole lot of questions, don't you?"
"It's a talent."
There was a chuckle, but he gave her no answer and returned again to the task at hand.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
"So. I couldn't help noticing that you smell of ash. Some new skin treatment tips you'd like to share?" Camila sounded nonchallant, but the reason for her question was actually to make him react.
THUD.
Mataki turned around and moved towards her, stomping on each step. He halted in front of her, his eyes locking with hers and he towered above her for a moment, then reached towards her. Camila flinched, but then he stood up, the glass of juice in his hand.
"You really ask too many questions." he took a long swallow of juice. "Make yourself useful, sweetcheeks, and hand me that towel."
"I'm sorry, did you just call me 'sweetcheeks'?" Cam was between horrified and offended.
"I did."
"I can't believe you just called me 'sweetcheeks'. You do realize that calling someone 'sweetcheeks' in London would get you a sound trashing?"
"Hmmm..." he seemed thoughtful for a moment "London sounds like my kind of town then. I should spend my next holidays there."
Camila rolled her eyes and sighed loudly, but couldn't help a smile as she handed him the towel: "You just keep dodging questions you don't want to answer, don't you?"
"If you say so, sweetcheeks."
"Now you're just goading me, aren't you?"
He grinned: "Maybe."
"What do you mean maybe?"
"Or maybe I just like to make you wonder." he finished his juice with a gulp and placed the glass in her hand. "Here, take care of this for me."
"... 'please'?"
He grinned "Since you ask so nicely...."
".... har har. You are such a riot."
"It's a talent."
Breakfast was quick for those who caught it that morning and the surprise of the day so far was Mataki in an apron. Mrs. Merrievetti came by to bring everyone something to eat since she found it nice to have someone to sort of cook for again only to find herself treated to biscuits and gravy. Camila had classes to get to and the dead give away that something was amiss was how quiet she was after coming down the stairs. Takeda had been gone that evening tying up loose ends with the Malta cowboys so the only person to notice that the "princess", Mataki sometimes dubbed Camila, came back to the hideaway late last night. She had been quiet then and she was trying to shake off how quiet she was now. Takeda didn't notice much because he had been licking his own wounds -- Mataki was observant when it came to things like that seeing as how when you got to where he was in life all you really did was watch people since most of them were too afraid to get near you. Takeda was normally quiet, but he was in the "don't ask" mode so it was obvious what had gotten to him the night before; someone with some bad medicine for a wild dog and the only people he knew of with that kind of versatility were the boys who rode in the Nightliners in the ghost lanes: Malta cowboys and their entourage of SWAT style homies with hardware and toys that sometimes made even Takeda a little envious. Judging from the way he came in his luck had been sour and there was likely a name to his pain. As for the princess, chances were her wounds weren't as visible as Takey's. Understatement or not, what was bothering her was something on the inside. If he remembered to he'd make it a point to ask her about it later seeing as how not only was it possibly the right thing to do but he hated hanging with folks who were killing the mood. He had made it back from a bout with the council and couldn't stop laughing at the poor soldier who was determined to roast him alive with a flamethrower. As he mentioned before, if it's name wasn't Sengoku he wasn't going to trip off it.
"I gotta go."
Camila leaned over and gave Takeda a kiss on the forehead and then hurried around the table to give Mataki one on the go. She made sure he had his mouth around a biscuit so he didn't try to turn at the last second and give her lips instead. She hurried off without so much as a mention of when she'd be back, what she was up to later, or whether or not she had something she wanted to include them all in on. Earlier she had gone with Mataki to Peregrine to meet up with Salina for a while before things wound down and they went to go hook up with that dancer from the strip club. She admired the interesting company the guys kept, but had made so much as a wisecrack or a remark since coming home last night. It was obvious something was wrong, but it was obvious she needed some time to sort things out before she was ready for anyone to ask her about it. After she left Mataki cleared the card table and motioned for Takeda to head to the office with him. Business hours were in effect and they had an appearance or two to make around the yards. Mr. Merrievetti had learned/had sort of always known that maybe one or more of the people under his employee had been selling his inventory lists to the Freakshow so they'd know what to hit and when to hit it. Since Takeda had been crashing there it was harder for them to hit the storage mounts so they most likely were trying to find a way to catch it either before or after the yard. Mr. Merrievetti told them that perhaps if he paraded them around while his people were working during the day it'd get them to think twice about what they were doing. On the side Takeda and Mataki agreed that there was a good possibility he knew exactly who it was but was reluctant to address it directly.
"You should get a load of the some of the names these jokers are sporting."
"Welcome to Paragon City -- everyone gets a license; no one gets screened."
"Yeah, but how much cheese can anyone be forced to sit through in one day?"
"Even still I told you everything you needed to know before coming up here."
"I'm not complaining. I just never get tired of wannabes talking trash."
"Losers with a higher security level. Still green, but thinks they're kung-fu is strong."
"Whatever. All I know is that this is my kind of town. You see someone doing something wrong? Walk right up to the guy and lay him straight the hell out -- POW! I mean you're playing when you said these guys will bow down and kiss your feet for taking down someone in the streets. But you were also right about feeling like a tool." Mataki cast an odd glance at his friend. "Everyone's wanting to be top dollar around these parts, but all we are is something that helps everyone get on with their lives. It was no different then, and it doesn't look like much has changed now aside from the new scenery."
"At least you won't have to worry about bounties this far north." Takeda replied.
"Yeah, but until I can step up and throw down I'm still gonna have to stay low."
"Even still, if you need a hand I'm sure some superchick will come and save you."
"Hey, not all of em are as cute as they're supposed to be. I mean, seriously, damn."
"Young and cute isn't everything. This place still takes some getting used to."
Mataki shrugged. "Speaking of which, tell me more about this group of yours."
"Later. And they're not my group. Sometimes we roll together, but that's about it."
"I see. So, you haven't found any more dogs?"
"..."
"Damn."
"It's not as bad as you think."
"Hell, it's frickin' worse than I think."
"I'm not a leader -- even if I could, I don't have the whatever to hold it."
"You ran squad before."
"I kept the people alive I knew were gonna get out alive."
"Didn't feel like dying for anyone any more?"
"..."
"Good. Glad you got that out of your system."
"Wasn't like I was suicidal or anything like that."
"Not carrying whether or not you caught a bullet made me wonder."
"What's that supposed to mean."
"Just saying it'd be nice to at least try to be the last man standing."
"Nowadays I'm the only one standing."
"Until now."
"..."
"Change the subject?"
"Please."
"Princess isn't happy."
"What did you do to her?"
"Nothing, I just -- wait, do you even know who I'm talking about?"
"No."
"Dumbass. I'm talking about Ms. Millie."
"She has a lot on her mind, same as your or me."
"Naw, this is different. I think we're gonna have to hurt a mofo."
"Oh, now we're thuggin' all the sudden?"
"Just saying that something is wrong and she might need someone to be nosey."
"Too much of that going around as it is. If she wants to talk--"
"Punkass."
"Dumbass or punkass -- I can't be both in the same damn two minutes."
"You're not gonna see what's up with her?"
"If she needs to talk to someone she knows where to find us."
"Does she know that?"
"I guess."
"Look," Mataki smiled, "you know how I'd handle this, and I know how you'd handle this. As near as I can tell the only thing getting under the radar is people messing with folks and too much of this turning the other cheek bullcrap. Being the bigger man is overrated and you know. If someone's flexing with you, smack the punk in half!"
"Do you think it'll do any good? Especially here?"
Mataki shrugged. "Throw down. When all else fails it's all we got."
"All right then -- you talk to her. If it gets you nowhere, you'll soon find out why."
"Screw that! I say we both talk to her. Newsflash, dog: she's our princess now."
Takeda gave it some thought. "Easy to feel lonely in a crowded room."
"Even easier when you can't count on people you thought you could either."
It was something to do, and more importantly something that had to be done.
"Throw down."
Mataki put his fist up and nodded. "Throw down."
Mataki, she mused, was a lot like Takeda and herself. Takeda hid behind his "I don't care" attitude, she hid behind her sarcasm and seeming insanity and Mataki.... well Mataki was the in "In your face". he didn't sugar coated things, nor did he exagerate feelings or situations.
What were they all hiding? For a first, the dangerous, quick intellect they all had. Even if they were not magic users, she felt more understood, more among equals while around them than around her own supergroup. People at Chrysalis were nice, but they were intimidated, distrusting of people like her and Takeda. Interacting with them, she realized, caused most of the SG members headaches. Maybe because none of pack thought in linear thought. Or maybe because they didn't have time or patience to play society games, to pretend to be something they were not. Maybe because they said what they felt, despite of hurt feelings.
That's why she knew that all that had been happening between and Takeda was strong. There was no deception, no mindgames. What you see is what you get, the whole package, deadly, ready and upfront.
Sliding quietly to stand behind Mataki, she watched him for a bit. The cage fighter was built like the proverbial brickhouse, and what was scarier, was not the fact that he could move as fast as a snake, but the scent that came out of him. He smelled of ash and something unearthly, powerful and old. Camila didn't have any special scenting abilities, but she could sense the strange smell that permeated him.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
His fists hit the bodybag with enough strenght to make it shudder from top to bottom, making it swing as if it was filled merely with cotton pads, and Camila watched with a strange mix of fear and fascination. She liked Mataki, although he, unlike Takeda, hit on everything with an X-cromossome and a living pulse (although there was the chance that the pulse wasn't even mandatory, to begin with). It was amuzing how it seemed that the two were so opposite, yet, they were so similar -- where Takeda refused to get involved, Mataki refused to take any flirt seriously. And so, they were safe and protected from unwanted romance or drama.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
She sat down, and although Mataki didn't react, she knew he had noticed her present. For a while, she just sat, back pressed against the wall, watching the the subtle movements of his muscles, the powerful harmony of a strong body in motion.
Thud. Thud.
He had stopped and leaned his forehead against the bag, taking a look at her above his shoulder: "See anything you want, girl?" his voice sounded low and menacing, although from his tone it was obvious he was relaxed and wanting to tease her.
She got up, strode to him slowly, with a smile "Why, yes, dahling. I see something I want...." she breathed "... very very badly... I.... want...." She reached over as if to touch him, and suddenly snatched a small box from the back pocket of his pants: "... mints!"
With a grin , she opened the lid of the small tin box: "Hmmm, how many calories do these have?"
The large man just smirked and turned again to the bag "Just two each. But they're so strong that they burn themselves."
Cam popped one into her mouth and returned the box, then moved away to let him free room, screwing her eyes for a moment as the strength of the mint hit her. Mataki returned to his exercise, a light, thin layer of sweat making his muscles glisten. She sat quietly watching for a few moments, but obviously she couldn't keep quiet for long.
"How do you like hanging here?"
He deigned to answer after a moment: "It's not bad."
"How long have you been around?" Cam was not to give up easily.
"A while now."
"And how did you met Takeda?"
The bag stopped as he halted to eye her over his shoulder: "You ask a whole lot of questions, don't you?"
"It's a talent."
There was a chuckle, but he gave her no answer and returned again to the task at hand.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
"So. I couldn't help noticing that you smell of ash. Some new skin treatment tips you'd like to share?" Camila sounded nonchallant, but the reason for her question was actually to make him react.
THUD.
Mataki turned around and moved towards her, stomping on each step. He halted in front of her, his eyes locking with hers and he towered above her for a moment, then reached towards her. Camila flinched, but then he stood up, the glass of juice in his hand.
"You really ask too many questions." he took a long swallow of juice. "Make yourself useful, sweetcheeks, and hand me that towel."
"I'm sorry, did you just call me 'sweetcheeks'?" Cam was between horrified and offended.
"I did."
"I can't believe you just called me 'sweetcheeks'. You do realize that calling someone 'sweetcheeks' in London would get you a sound trashing?"
"Hmmm..." he seemed thoughtful for a moment "London sounds like my kind of town then. I should spend my next holidays there."
Camila rolled her eyes and sighed loudly, but couldn't help a smile as she handed him the towel: "You just keep dodging questions you don't want to answer, don't you?"
"If you say so, sweetcheeks."
"Now you're just goading me, aren't you?"
He grinned: "Maybe."
"What do you mean maybe?"
"Or maybe I just like to make you wonder." he finished his juice with a gulp and placed the glass in her hand. "Here, take care of this for me."
"... 'please'?"
He grinned "Since you ask so nicely...."
".... har har. You are such a riot."
"It's a talent."
Breakfast was quick for those who caught it that morning and the surprise of the day so far was Mataki in an apron. Mrs. Merrievetti came by to bring everyone something to eat since she found it nice to have someone to sort of cook for again only to find herself treated to biscuits and gravy. Camila had classes to get to and the dead give away that something was amiss was how quiet she was after coming down the stairs. Takeda had been gone that evening tying up loose ends with the Malta cowboys so the only person to notice that the "princess", Mataki sometimes dubbed Camila, came back to the hideaway late last night. She had been quiet then and she was trying to shake off how quiet she was now. Takeda didn't notice much because he had been licking his own wounds -- Mataki was observant when it came to things like that seeing as how when you got to where he was in life all you really did was watch people since most of them were too afraid to get near you. Takeda was normally quiet, but he was in the "don't ask" mode so it was obvious what had gotten to him the night before; someone with some bad medicine for a wild dog and the only people he knew of with that kind of versatility were the boys who rode in the Nightliners in the ghost lanes: Malta cowboys and their entourage of SWAT style homies with hardware and toys that sometimes made even Takeda a little envious. Judging from the way he came in his luck had been sour and there was likely a name to his pain. As for the princess, chances were her wounds weren't as visible as Takey's. Understatement or not, what was bothering her was something on the inside. If he remembered to he'd make it a point to ask her about it later seeing as how not only was it possibly the right thing to do but he hated hanging with folks who were killing the mood. He had made it back from a bout with the council and couldn't stop laughing at the poor soldier who was determined to roast him alive with a flamethrower. As he mentioned before, if it's name wasn't Sengoku he wasn't going to trip off it.
"I gotta go."
Camila leaned over and gave Takeda a kiss on the forehead and then hurried around the table to give Mataki one on the go. She made sure he had his mouth around a biscuit so he didn't try to turn at the last second and give her lips instead. She hurried off without so much as a mention of when she'd be back, what she was up to later, or whether or not she had something she wanted to include them all in on. Earlier she had gone with Mataki to Peregrine to meet up with Salina for a while before things wound down and they went to go hook up with that dancer from the strip club. She admired the interesting company the guys kept, but had made so much as a wisecrack or a remark since coming home last night. It was obvious something was wrong, but it was obvious she needed some time to sort things out before she was ready for anyone to ask her about it. After she left Mataki cleared the card table and motioned for Takeda to head to the office with him. Business hours were in effect and they had an appearance or two to make around the yards. Mr. Merrievetti had learned/had sort of always known that maybe one or more of the people under his employee had been selling his inventory lists to the Freakshow so they'd know what to hit and when to hit it. Since Takeda had been crashing there it was harder for them to hit the storage mounts so they most likely were trying to find a way to catch it either before or after the yard. Mr. Merrievetti told them that perhaps if he paraded them around while his people were working during the day it'd get them to think twice about what they were doing. On the side Takeda and Mataki agreed that there was a good possibility he knew exactly who it was but was reluctant to address it directly.
"You should get a load of the some of the names these jokers are sporting."
"Welcome to Paragon City -- everyone gets a license; no one gets screened."
"Yeah, but how much cheese can anyone be forced to sit through in one day?"
"Even still I told you everything you needed to know before coming up here."
"I'm not complaining. I just never get tired of wannabes talking trash."
"Losers with a higher security level. Still green, but thinks they're kung-fu is strong."
"Whatever. All I know is that this is my kind of town. You see someone doing something wrong? Walk right up to the guy and lay him straight the hell out -- POW! I mean you're playing when you said these guys will bow down and kiss your feet for taking down someone in the streets. But you were also right about feeling like a tool." Mataki cast an odd glance at his friend. "Everyone's wanting to be top dollar around these parts, but all we are is something that helps everyone get on with their lives. It was no different then, and it doesn't look like much has changed now aside from the new scenery."
"At least you won't have to worry about bounties this far north." Takeda replied.
"Yeah, but until I can step up and throw down I'm still gonna have to stay low."
"Even still, if you need a hand I'm sure some superchick will come and save you."
"Hey, not all of em are as cute as they're supposed to be. I mean, seriously, damn."
"Young and cute isn't everything. This place still takes some getting used to."
Mataki shrugged. "Speaking of which, tell me more about this group of yours."
"Later. And they're not my group. Sometimes we roll together, but that's about it."
"I see. So, you haven't found any more dogs?"
"..."
"Damn."
"It's not as bad as you think."
"Hell, it's frickin' worse than I think."
"I'm not a leader -- even if I could, I don't have the whatever to hold it."
"You ran squad before."
"I kept the people alive I knew were gonna get out alive."
"Didn't feel like dying for anyone any more?"
"..."
"Good. Glad you got that out of your system."
"Wasn't like I was suicidal or anything like that."
"Not carrying whether or not you caught a bullet made me wonder."
"What's that supposed to mean."
"Just saying it'd be nice to at least try to be the last man standing."
"Nowadays I'm the only one standing."
"Until now."
"..."
"Change the subject?"
"Please."
"Princess isn't happy."
"What did you do to her?"
"Nothing, I just -- wait, do you even know who I'm talking about?"
"No."
"Dumbass. I'm talking about Ms. Millie."
"She has a lot on her mind, same as your or me."
"Naw, this is different. I think we're gonna have to hurt a mofo."
"Oh, now we're thuggin' all the sudden?"
"Just saying that something is wrong and she might need someone to be nosey."
"Too much of that going around as it is. If she wants to talk--"
"Punkass."
"Dumbass or punkass -- I can't be both in the same damn two minutes."
"You're not gonna see what's up with her?"
"If she needs to talk to someone she knows where to find us."
"Does she know that?"
"I guess."
"Look," Mataki smiled, "you know how I'd handle this, and I know how you'd handle this. As near as I can tell the only thing getting under the radar is people messing with folks and too much of this turning the other cheek bullcrap. Being the bigger man is overrated and you know. If someone's flexing with you, smack the punk in half!"
"Do you think it'll do any good? Especially here?"
Mataki shrugged. "Throw down. When all else fails it's all we got."
"All right then -- you talk to her. If it gets you nowhere, you'll soon find out why."
"Screw that! I say we both talk to her. Newsflash, dog: she's our princess now."
Takeda gave it some thought. "Easy to feel lonely in a crowded room."
"Even easier when you can't count on people you thought you could either."
It was something to do, and more importantly something that had to be done.
"Throw down."
Mataki put his fist up and nodded. "Throw down."