The Wild West

A gimmicky bar in Akihibara, it is the mental vision of a man whom had an obsession with the American 'wild west' culture. Cowboys, quaint rustic towns in the desert, cacti, buffalo, all the staples were present in the decor. The beer menu consisted of some 'traditional' American beers, but also carried a number of popular Japanese and international brand as well. The music was a lot of western themed tracks, the food being a mixture of American and American-Mexican cuisine along with a few custom plates.

It was a fairly steady bar, often attracting clientele of American blood due to the memories of the homeland that was across the ocean now under siege. It was a reminder of a part of their culture, even if it was an exaggerated one.

In a booth in the corner, Kurio sits with a mug in hand, having barely sipped at the drink inside. A few of his squad were there though: it was one of those nights that the Lieutenant felt obligated to spend some time out. He leaned back, glancing at the swill in the mug, then seeing how Corporal Sanderson was chugging his fifth so far. A large, burly man with a shaved head, he enlisted when his family was evacuated from Nevada in order to provide for his sister's children and get somewhere in a xenophobic land.

His eyes then shift to the lanky Japanese man, Sergeant Sanohara who twirled a stick around in his hand while he impatiently waited for the food to get here. Whether it was the busty waitress who wore the cowgirl attire that had his attention or his insatiable metabolism's appetite, he was twitchy.

To the right of Sanderson, a man of mixed descent was staring at his phone constantly. Corporal Caliste, a close quarters combat expert, notorious for both his womanizing and his obession with the smart phone. He would often use it (to a greater effect than Kurio ever wanted to believe) to show Japanese women 'kawaii' video clips which would get his foot in the proverbial door.

As Kurio boredly looked at the crowd, he glances at Sanderson.

"Why are we at this place again?"

"..Because it's his turn to pick the place and we all need to blow off steam." Caliste interjects since Sanderson was inebriated to the point of slow response.

"The stick is up your ass farther than normal Lieutenant, you're supposed to relax and enjoy the atmosphere!" Sanohara says with a broad grin, to which Kurio's apathetic face clashed with at a distance.

"Just thinking about the way it's been lately...something big is going to come soon." Saeki says, while Sanderson punches him in the shoulder.

"Hey! Remember, we kill...killed...a..Zodiac! Should be feeling good!" Sanderson says, to which Saeki clicked his teeth.

"Right...we were as effective as your body odor is for getting women, when was the last time you showered again?"

"This mornin' boss, you know I get all purdy for the Wild West.." he says, eyeing a few blonde women giggling at the bar.

At this, Kurio retreated back to his silence while his squad mates chatter off and on, mostly about food, alcohol, and the women who were giving them eyes (or at least so they hoped or thought) across the room.

Taika isn’t sure if it is a craving or homesickness. She hadn’t really seen Sahti outside of Finland, and she never knew how to brew the stuff. However, she found herself missing it a little. Japanese beers tasted nothing like bananas, which made them not nearly as good in her opinion.

And thus the search began for bars that sold international beers. So far, her search hadn’t found the traditional Finnish beer, but it did find a few cool new places as well as new people. Supposedly, the Wild West sold international beers. It was a longshot, but this had sort of become a kind of adventure now.

From the outside, Taika had never really seen anything quite like it. It was perhaps the tackiest bar that she ever laid her eyes on. She wasn’t sure whether she hated it or loved it. She did hope that the United States never actually resembled this kind of thing though.

She goes over to the bar, more interested in her order than the rowdy bunch of MPs, but hears the phrase ‘We killed a Zodiac’. So was this the group that ran into the Class V about a week back? Wasn’t she doing this not to think about stuff like work and covenant and teenage girls with superpowers? Still, she was curious. She makes a decision: beer first.

She waves at the bartender, “Is there a beer list? You wouldn’t happen to sell Sahti here, would you?”

Peter refrained from being seen during daylight hours. Look like a Vampire, be a redhead, and have crystalline eyes, and people seem to think you are a Youma. Buuuut, given his options, he had to live in Tokyo. Heaven forbid he get a second shot, and he miss it.

Even the very creeping hope was the deadliest of poisons to him, that he might get a second chance. He had failed once. Miserably so. So, the sun set, and Peter mentally prepared himself. He was a master of wearing masks. And like all masks, being a normal person was something he was capable of wearing. Salvation must be forcefed, he mused. And if he was to... To do what he had pondered...

Shaking his head, he set the idea to rest. First, he had to be human. He was not even that right now. Then, an Immortal. Then, a God. He failed her once. That was all that was necessary to have a man sent into the black sleep. He would not return to her, no matter the burning in his chest. Nor the feeling of icy pain that stabbed through him at that horrible word.

And, frankly, he had not gotten drunk in a very long time. Well, he still would not, if the retro-virus actually worked. But he could enjoy a pint of Rickards or four. On that note, checking on his phone. Platinum dividend day. Or, in Peter-speak “Stupid purchase day.” This being the most fun Peter ever had during his week, he treated it like a holiday. Usually, it ended up with some girl in the office having flowers appear on her desk, and someone else getting some item he had overheard them pining for.

Let's see if he can't get someone alcohol poisoning. He figured he'd have given them the gift of the morning after hangover, and one hell of a drinker's shit, so get the hat trick, win the prize. What better way to celebrate being just a tiny bit more social.

Slipping into some dive, the beginning of a fine Scottish bar crawl, he looked around with masked exasperation. The Wild West. Oh sweet Chaos, why. This was Tereph's gig, not his. Then the bastard shacked up with a Cat-Girl Youma, had his soul eaten, and Peter had to do the paperwork. Tereph really was an asshole about paperwork, in life, and in death.

Stool. Bar. Pretty girl ordering some decent sounding beer.

One victim was as good as another. “Rickard's Red, and she does not pay for Sahti at all tonight.”

"Sahti? Hold on..." the barkeep, a man whom looked like the cliche image of a western barkeep in half-formal shirt and black slacks, walks to the back. At least the man knew what the beverage was. He was clearly American, his Japanese imperfectly pronounced and the accent quite obvious.

Some English shouting would be audible with concentration, asking about the beer in question, and saying a case was in the storage in the high price bin and that they needed a key to get to it.

Several minutes would pass, and the barkeep would return with a tray of ice with several bottles of Sahti in it. Since Mr. Red decided to pay for the girl's drinks, it was promptly placed on a coaster in front of Taika, while he got the other drink for Peter, presenting it before the red haired man before going on to the terminal to enter the order so far.

Name Taika Laukkanen TAGS Fate, Peter Emile NOTES Hooray, for a bunch of gif expressions

N ow, that was a surprise. Taika thought she would just end up with American beer all night. She could possibly forgive the tacky décor because it served Finnish beer. “Thanks,” she says to the bartender. With beer in hand, Taika turns her attention to the redhead who offered to buy all her drinks. And she thought she would be able to avoid being hit on. At least, this one wasn’t as drunk as some of the others. “I’ll be nice. I’m not going home with you, and I’m kind of a heavy weight when it comes to drinking. So you can take back that offer and turn your attention to another woman,” she says before taking a sip. Yep, this was the real thing. This was her new favorite bar now. “After all, I need to interrogate some officers about information about a dead Zodiac,” she says, looking at the rowdy MP bunch. She had finished objective one: acquire Sahti. Now, for objective two: acquire any information on the celestial body themed fighting force and how Scorpio met his demise. She really should come up with some good name for that group while she was at it.

coded by amlin of gangnam style

She was one of those type of people that drew attention to herself without even trying. A baby-doll plum shirt with a gold belt accentuating her waist adorned her top half, her bottom half covered by slim black pants with simple black flats. Her hair was up tonight, in a ponytail, bouncing slightly as she made her way down the streets, she pushed her sunglasses back up her nose which seemed to eternally be slipping down. She'd had to leave Gospel at home (there'd been quite the argument over that because she was going to a bar tonight) and was regretting leaving him there, as she was so used to having the wolf by her side it was like a piece of her was missing. Isabel stretched, heading towards the Wild West Bar. It was cheesy, sure but they served decent beer. She opened the door, raising an eyebrow at the patrons inside, then heading towards a table that was more in the shadows than the rest of the place, and drummed her crimson-painted nails on the scrubbed wooden table top, purple-painted lips pursed in thought.

She'd had a rather boring day today, having had stayed inside all day due to her gaze unable to handle the sunlight. She was a creature of the night anyway, preferring the nightlife to the people of the day mostly because there were fewer people awake at this time of night, therefore she had less idiocy to deal with. Her job was pretty much graveyard anyway, and within walking distance of her apartment. A sigh escaped her as she looked around, glad her golden eyes were shielded by her sunglasses, there were a few people in here tonight and they seemed like a lively bunch, but Isabel was hardly interested in conversation, she just wanted a beer, and to people-watch at this point, too tired and too uncaring to socialize, a flash of red hair caught her attention and she glanced over at the pale man sitting at the bar. Shaking her head free of thought, she waited for the barkeep to approach her so she could order.

Gospel was probably getting bored by now and frankly Isabel was a little worried about him, taking out her phone, she looked through the images of herself and her companion. She already missed the constant wolf by her side, since she'd woken up out of a comatose-like state two years ago, Gospel had always been there, guiding her in one way or another, or just simply being there if she broke down emotionally. He, by all accounts was her rock, her support as she had no one else. A sigh escaped her lips and she shut her phone, sliding it back into her pocket and leaning her head on her hand, watching everyone with mild interest.

Bare palm on his drink, he torqued, normally Rickards required a bottle opener. His hands did the job better. Cap came off easily enough. Much better. He took a sip, not even answering before he let himself relax a bit. “If I was aiming to sleep with you, I would not be trying to ply you with a beer I do not know, Miss. I am here to enjoy myself, and drinking alone is not enjoyable, is it?” He shrugged, not really seeming to care. “I'll lay down three hundred, since I made the offer. Honour demands at least that. Happy youma hunting, little Senshi. May you find what you seek, without falling into their gaze.” He had a deeply amused quality to him. “If you find your Youma before, midnight or so, I'll be heading for better haunts. You are free to join me.” He cast his malachite gaze at the door at the perfect time. He finished the bottle, and smirked. She was a sight for sore eyes.

But not one he could afford to be distracted by. “I'll be at the booth next to the group over there.” Idly gesturing to Kurio and his off duty soldiers, he sauntered over to the empty booth next to them, and sat down, keeping his back to Isabella. She had no... How was she here... Had she crossed over? This demanded brooding over.

Name Taika Laukkanen TAGS Fate, Peter Emile, Isabel Kelly NOTES Someone said the magic words

T aika raises an eyebrow at him. This guy was strange, but he seemed to know what she was looking for. How much information should get from him by being his drinking partner? She sighs and grabs his arm to stop him. “Alright, drinking alone isn’t fun. I apologize for the misunderstanding earlier. You have my undivided attention right now.” She folds her arms, “Youma. That’s not a term I’m familiar with. Senshi though. I still prefer the term Homo caelestis but I don’t think that is really going to catch on. What do you about them? If you could tell me what organization made them or who the hell they work for? Please don’t say Kaneko industries. I don’t actually want to praise that jackass.” Honestly, if she knew the answer to the first question, she’d leave the JSDF and apply for some position with whatever group made them. They were clearly light years ahead of what they were doing. Only a week ago did she replicate the effects of some of their attacks, but that was on such a smaller scale. “So far everyone only has stories… I saw some footage, and that’s about the most concrete thing I have about them. But no one has any answers,” she says before picking her beer back up, and drinking a little.

coded by amlin of gangnam style

Back in the booth.

The bald man shouted loud enough to be overheard, but not quite 'scream' level.

"Hey Lieutenant, ain't I seen that one 'round the campus, poking and prodding at some of the other boys after that incident?" he says, referring to the fact that Taika was very likely a part of the medical examination of the numerous, wounded soldiers from the incident in Shinjuku. "She's kinda cute, maybe you can go make friends...or...friends..." he says, clearly intoxicated and running his mouth a moment too long, at which point Saeki facepalms. Sanohara and Caliste chuckle audibly.

Then a tall man in military Captain's attire walks forward, with a black wide brimmed hat, red hair, and a distinct goatee, he strides over to the booth with the MPs and slams the table with his fist.

"Boys! What's good tonigiht!" he shouts cheerfully, pulling a chair from another table and helping himself to the end. Caliste chuckles at the entrance.

"Captain Shikamaru, how good of you to join us!"

"Oh can the Captain crap, I'm here to find some fine women and cheap beer like the rest of you."

"Lacking the former and excess of the latter.." Saeki grumbles, at which point Shikamaru throws a coaster at his head causing him to flinch and blink. Kurio says nothing but conveys a 'really' expression, while the others at the table laugh carefree to the machinations of Taika and the others.

Sanohara glances and stares at the new woman who enters for a moment, with her luscious and ample curves, while the waitress takes advantage of the distraction whom was coming with his food anyway, a greasy cheeseburger and fries. The food then provides a distraction as Sanohara dives in, his eyes diverted...probably to his benefit with Peter's presence.

The Inquisitor leaned back in the booth, idly waiting for whatever wait staff this excuse of a bar had to approach so he could get a pitcher of Rickards, two Burgers, and a plate of nachos brought over. With any luck, the prospective victim would join him, and Forte would remain oblivious to him. She was not something he needed to deal with. He had left her behind when he had been banished from the realm, and he did NOT intend to be dragging up history today.

“Youma are created from the evil in human beings. Senshi are the defenders of the Cosmos, created to hold back a dark entity called Chaos.” The man shrugged. “They are not tied to any individual organization beyond their own. They come in the short skirt variety, which are hormonal and frankly bitchy teenagers, who I wish I had the power to slap some sense into.” There is a special place in hell for all you Senshi. “And the male variety, who are mouthy, and need to have their pride broken by their betters.” I will snap your miserable neck Endymion! “Both are the natural prey and predator of Youma. While I can kill both, I prefer to engage neither. I stopped paying attention to that game a long time ago. And your Zodiac, back when I played in these games, were called Chaos Agents.”

Peter chuckled. “They tended to be pushovers as well. Frankly, with intelligence, and the right enhancements, you can deal with all three in my experience.” He imagined things might work a little differently, but he did not give a rats ass. He had not been targeted yet, and it was Night. She was not watching him. This was HIS time. Metallia sit on a cactus and spin for all the Inquisitor cared. “And you have to be born a Senshi. Or Guardian Knight.” He shrugged. “Or have one of them force you to be one. Hormonal bitches they are, I would not wish it on my worst enemies... Well, actually, my Worst enemy, yes, but nothing short of him. Mostly since he was so riddled with madness that it would make their lives collectively fucking miserable.”

Taika can’t figure out if this guy was full of bullshit, crazy, or truth. The fact he seemed so resentful about it gave him a little credit. However, call the covenant pushovers easily subtracted it a way. She drinks in silence and tries to read him for a few moments. She comes up with nothing though.  Who was this guy? 

Rubbing her eyes, she speaks up, “One, they are teenagers, could you really expect much else? Two, what are you if you could take down both but engage neither? Also, that sounds more like boasting than truth even if you are as powerful as you claim. Three, we look about the same age here, and I don’t think they were ever called Chaos Agents. Is this where you tell me you are actually hundreds of years old or something? Four, does it look like they are pushovers? Look at the state of the world. Five, why so bitter about everything?”

She then rests her head in her left hand. “What I don’t get most of all is the lack of willingness to act if you are truly knowledgeable in this subject and so full of resent.”  

“Choose to engage, kiddo. I want nothing to do with this bullshit. I did my time with Youma, Senshi, Knights, and Agents. I am no longer in that world, and I am happy for it.” He leaned his head back, sighing. “Looooong time ago. Pre-Covenant.” His chuckling was quiet, before he shook his head, and snickered. “Teenagers who are soldiers in a cosmic war. You do not have the luxury of immaturity in a war like that. When you stop a man from killing himself, and force him to work for your faction, but do not purify him of the taint of Chaos... You prove your hormones are running your head, not your brain.” Peter kept his tone even, kept his scowl contained.

“I would be fourty three as of last March, miss. And they are pushovers compared to the ones that I witnessed. And I am bitter, because I left that all behind, and it has returned to haunt me.” His voice was little higher than a hiss. “And I refuse to get involved because it is -not- my war. I am not on either side anymore, and neither side is with -me-.” He had gently rested a hand on the table, and was almost white knuckle by now, the urge to torque, and snap the table high on his list of things to choke down. “As it stands, I also have something to keep out of the hands of all sides. It could alter the face of the planet, and I will not let it do so until I know it's safe for everyone else.”

Taika was going back in forth with the idea that he was delusional at this point. But even crazy people made some kind of sense. Crazy sense, but sense nonetheless. Was there any piece of actual truth in this?


“I can’t say I believe all this, but I’ll suspend my disbelief for a little while for the benefit of this conversation. Also, don’t call me kiddo. Even if you are 43, I feel like I’ve been alive long enough to grow out of that term.”


She watches his knuckles turn white against the table. Was she going to have to pepper spray this guy? Maybe they just need more alcohol and food. Well, if he broke stuff, it wasn’t her problem. He clearly had enough money to waste. She flags a server down, “Can we get more Sahti and whatever appetizer is good around here?”


Turning her attention back to her drinking partner now, she asks, “Alright. So both sides are horrible people. That was years ago from what you are saying. Are you sure they are they are the same people? Are they also impervious to the aging process? Can they all cure the corruption process? And what’s so important that you need to hide it from them?”


She leans across the table, “Actually, show me your ID. No way you are 43.”

“As you wish.” Shrugging, Peter closed one eye, and seemed to scan her with the other, watching her face, looking to see if she was worth attempting to enlighten. “I do not have a better term of endearment for you at the moment, so I am going to have to ask your name...” The server was there? “Two of your largest burgers, a pitcher of Rickards and Sahti, and the largest plate of Nachos you can produce, in addition to her food order.” Peter spoke it calmly, but clearly, before returning to analyzing Taika. His other eye opened, and soon he had removed his hand. “They will not be the same people. It does not change I refuse to participate in this war, again, when I have no stake in it. I am not an altruist. Not in this.”

Peter felt his eyes dialate. Ashley. Astra. Kasumi... Celeste. How he missed her. His dear, dependable, perfect Celeste.

“I escaped the ravage of time by taking a chance, and winning the bet. And as far as I know, only the Senshi associated with the Moon, Pluto, and Mars can cure corruption.” He resisted the urge to growl, remembering them all. “And what I am hiding... Well... It is an enhancement of sorts.” His smile seemed saccharine sweet. “I have only tested it on one person, but my own success... May not translate well to others.”

He tossed a drivers license to her, confirming his age. He had needed to make some damn good forgeries to get that legitimate one.

“Never really liked most terms of endearment, and we just met. My name is Taika,” she answers, “And yours?” She raises an eyebrow as he orders. That was a lot of food. He was going to make himself sick at that rate. “I wasn’t insisting you should be. Just most people who were resentful like that would try to take down those groups if they could do so as easily as they claimed.” She hated the Covenant, but she hated them because she was human. They were a threat to her existence. But if they weren’t, she would be hard pressed for a reason to care, admittedly.

She takes a good look at the ID. His age is as he claimed. "I'd ask you what the secret is to eternal youth, and it's clear to be that it isn't healthy living now," she jokes, "Or maybe you know the world's greatest surgeon..."

“Alright, how many are there of in the senshi group? What gives them those abilities? And you never answered what you are. If what you are claiming is true, then you probably aren’t human like the rest of us. Also, you stopped at one success? Why? Are you that scared it will end the world?”

With my alcohol arriving and food promising to be on the way, she finishes her old glass. “Is it possible for you to answer a question without leaving room for more questions?” She’s beginning to get the sense that this is a game of some sort.