Caged - The sentinel is crouched, subsumed in seething pain

[gardenerthief]

WHO: Kurama and anyone else who might be in / come to Yusuke's apartment
WHERE: Yusuke's 24-hr Mu hotel I MEAN APARTMENT
WHEN: About 6:00 Thursday, after the uh...event
WARNINGS: None
SUMMARY: Kurama's doing some friendly investigating
FORMAT: I likes the paragraphs but will roll with whateva

Comments

[soldieringblue]

Blue's first instinct had been to fly directly to the apartment, certainly, but intuition spoke against it. He waited in uneasy silence, fighting other impulses to take matters into his own hands. It wasn't so easy. Back on Ataraxia and that world where the only powers were Mu, it was expected of the Soldier to take the initiative. The City alone housed hundreds of powers, many well beyond his own. It was not his place to challenge the laws, given that many of those laws were upheld and supported by some of those powers.

Only until after Yusuke had at last made contact, had spoken...Several of Blue's doubts subsided. Without being able to stand before him and see the color of his thoughts and emotions, Blue could never be utterly certain of the truth, but he heard no deceit. Perhaps because of their friendship, he couldn't believe that what he had seen was at all simple.

He believed him. He promised to look after Puu. It was almost a relief, having been given a task. Without it, the anxiety and frustration still settled on his shoulders would have become too heavy a weight.

Blue had been invited a hundred times over, much of those offers graciously declined. For all he knew, Keith Anyan still resided nearby, and with Leo to look after...it was unwise. But alone, to look after a friend, that was no issue. He was greeted warmly by the great bird despite the trouble and underlying distress. Uncertain as he was, Blue had little to offer as comfort besides his presence.

He felt the notion of intent and echoes of Yusuke before Kurama even reached the building. At first, Blue's absolute focus was torn away from Puu and directed to the stranger, bristled for danger. Puu himself seemed unphased, a fact that took much of the edge out of Blue's suspicion. With a hand gently planted on Puu's beak, he stared at the door as the lock was picked.

SO THIS IS SUPER LONG but here have some YuYu shenanigans I hope they are awesome.

[gardenerthief]

On another night, Kurama might simply have turned on the light and called whoever it was out, but tonight he was coming from talking to his friend, who was in jail. Tonight he was angry, and deeply concerned. And so he stood there, still and quiet in the dark, waiting. Kurama was good at hiding his aura, but Blue was better - he could not figure out what the feeling of uneasiness was or where it was coming from. The yoko's instincts culd not be ignored though, no more than the human desire to help his friend.

So there was a lot going on in Kurama's mind, none of which he was shielding: he'd resolved to wait patiently, right here, until he either identified the source of this feeling or until it went away. Inhumanly sharp senses were trying to pick up every scent and sound in the apartment, while thousands of years of memories were being rifled through in case anything triggered a hint as to what was going on. Meanwhile, he'd reached into his hair and drawn...not a weapon, but a seed that could become one.

It was Puu who finally took matters into his own...claws. Craning his neck to look in the balcony window, he gave Kurama a confused look. "Puu?"

Kurama was not at all surprised by the sudden appearance of a large, blue, floppy-eared bird monster, and in fact held a finger up to his lips. Shush! he seemed to say. There's a stranger here! (Kurama wasn't actually sure if Puu could hear his thoughts, but the sign for SHH! was pretty universal.)

If Puu could, he wasn't telling, or he would have told him that there wasn't any stranger here, and that Kurama looked like an idiot crouching in the dark. A long-suffering "puu," and a few taps on the glass was the best he could do. Hey moron, stop being rude and come over here.

It succeeds in getting Kurama to duck and sprint across the room. He's suddenly there, one hand holding a rose whip because he does not want to die because Yusuke's ~spirit phoenix~ is the worst ninja ever; the other hand over the glass, staring at Puu like WHAT IS IT, LASSIE, DID TIMMY FALL DOWN THE WELL. And then he sees Blue.

Oh.

[soldieringblue]

Kurama's drama from the door to the window was mainly in shadow, physically, but the mental color of his emotional and thought processes were as plain as day to Blue. He watched with a cautious curiosity, greater still by the regard that Puu gave the intruder as he made his way. The intent behind the sudden move took away much of the surprise on his behalf, but he still couldn't help but start just slightly.

He stood silent, staring back at Kurama for a good, long time before turning fully to face him. His hands lifted without threat, hands hovering over his own chest.

"I'm a friend," he spoke aloud, perhaps louder than needed; he was speaking above the suspicion he felt. "Yusuke asked me to come here. Please do not fear me."

fff tenses

[gardenerthief]

Kurama regarded him with steady green eyes, and for a moment, there was no thought from him: he just observed and catalogued, and then Hiei appeared in his mind's eye. They talked a while ago about friends and allies (Hiei could be quite talkative, if you knew how to approach him), and the little demon had mentioned someone named Soldier Blue who fit this description exactly. A telepath of great power.

He stood, withdrawing the rose whip and replacing its seed in his hair. Calmly, he opened the door to the balcony and stepped outside, and then... then everything just smoothed out in his mind. It was almost meditative - stopped thinking and wondering actively and simply existed in the moment, letting thought surface as if out of water. It wasn't not a shield, not by any means, but a curtain drawn for privacy.

"You must be Soldier Blue. Hiei mentioned you as a friend. I'm Kurama."

*flips them

[soldieringblue]

Eyebrows lifted at the mention of a mutual friend. Blue blinked, silent for a moment longer as he recalled past conversations of his own with the demon. Glimpses of memory with flashes of red...It had to be the same person that stood before him at that moment. The threads connecting to Yusuke as well made it more certain; his investigation ceased with that quiet wall rising. He made no effort to see past it, having seen and felt enough. Blue's expression softened to something less wary and more welcoming with the gradual understanding.

"I am," he confirmed, his head lowering curtly. "You've been mentioned before, though I regret I haven't had a chance to meet you--until just now. It's an honor."

GDI HOW WILL I EVER LEARN THIS WAY /rolls around in the present yesssssssss

[gardenerthief]

Kurama bows back, and amusement fills his eyes as he straightens. An honor? What has Hiei been saying?

"Thank you. Any friend of Yusuke's is a friend of mine. I'm sorry for jumping at shadows, but I came to investigate and I suppose it put me in a paranoid state of mind. Yusuke was tampered with, and I would like to know why. His home seemed as good a place to start as any."

[soldieringblue]

"I understand." Blue's voice held no pretense in that regard, though his eyebrows began to knit at the mention of Yusuke's situation. "You're right to do so. I won't get in your way." He hesitated a moment, his eyes flickering away and back to Kurama within that pause. "I will assist if I can...I want to know the truth of what has happened as well."

[gardenerthief]

Kurama reaches up to stroke Puu's neck.

"It seems most likely his behavior was the result of a powerful subliminal suggestion. An impulse implanted in him some time ago that he would act on without thinking if given a particular trigger." He's quiet for a moment, as if deciding carefully on what to say next. "I have yet to mention this to anyone, but it is possible that such triggers could lie in all of us, planted by the machine that brought us here. I am hoping that is not the case. I hope, very much, that this was done to Yusuke and the others by one or more individuals who can be found, dealt with, and their work repaired." Because if it had been something the teleporter did, none of the imPorts could trust one another.

Call it contrariness, but as Kurama turned to Blue, he did just that: he put his trust in a stranger.

"I understand that you're a telepath, and a potent one. I don't know the police team well here, but if he and they allow it, would you be able to examine Yusuke and find out if someone tampered with his mind? Or do you know anyone here with the power to influence others?"

He is very carefully not accusing Blue. He is in fact consciously discarding the accusation. (For now, anyway. Until there weren't any other avenues to explore.)

[soldieringblue]

Blue's eyes followed motion to motion before drifting away along with what notions came with Kurama's theories. There was very little he could be absolutely certain of when it came to the City and the world around it, of course, but for something so elaborate to come from such a chaotic machine? He could only hope it wasn't an option.

His attentions and his eyes returned to Kurama at the mention of himself and his suggestion, mouth frowning faintly. "It's something I considered, but...Even here, I don't believe that my power would be trusted, given my ties to Yusuke himself. Most believe only what they can see or hear themselves." His head shook gently, quiet for a thoughtful moment.

"There are others," he confirmed, quieter, feeling an inward chill brought on by himself. Keith Anyan had a power now, but..."I don't know the lengths or intricacies of those powers."

[gardenerthief]

If it could grant or alter superpowers, summon and banish at will, there was little Kurama placed outside the realm of possibility for it.

"For his sake, then. If he trusts your powers, and you can help him trust himself again, we can find another way to deal with the rest of the city if that's not good enough for them."

[soldieringblue]

"That much I intend to do," Blue affirmed, nodding. "When I may be allowed to do so, if the truth of the matter isn't found out in those other ways...I will do what I can for him."

He sent his gaze towards the City, his expression softening to something more thoughtful. "I think there will be resolution with the city itself, as well. For all the mistrust and deceit undergone here, even the most fantastic circumstances seem to be given their credit to some extent. I would think whatever source is behind this could be believed and its victims forgiven in time."