1963-08-19 - A Fox in the Clubhouse
Summary: Eito busts some skulls, Nova drops in, they talk.
Related: none
Theme Song: None
eito nova 


Micky Konstanstinovich is bad fucking news, no really. Go grab a dictionary and flip to the entry for "Bad Fucking News" and there is a picture of the guy. An Albanian who's kept New York's soviet bloc ex-patriot population under thumb, the kind of guy who generates rumors of espionage just to sow fear from the population at large. Anything to keep the people isolated, keep them afraid and untrusting. Anything so he can be the lesser of two evils, but that opinion might change if you ever got a look at what the guy does for fun behind closed doors. He isn't into girls, he isn't into boys either. He's the sort of guy who gets off on cruelty, no matter the target. Tonight it was just some random pickup, and hell. Had the poor girl gotten past sixteen, she might've become something of a beauty. Now theres, pieces of her cooling in the basement of the brownstone.

This is a suicide run for the kind of cape who's even clued in on this level, theres six men packing hardware just sitting around in the backyard around the grill. These aren't push overs either, and theres enough cheap booze here to ensure they aren't liable to need much motivation. Micky steps out from the cellar door with a roll of his shoulders, lifting a blood soaked hand up to bring a cigarette to his lips and get it lit with a little rumble. Enough that the boys turn and raise their glasses, nevermind his blood stained dress shirt. He just gives a nod in their direction, thats the kind of crew we're talking about here.

Eito is not into the "Damsels in Distress" business, hell you could say for the most part he doesn't even want to be in the hero business at all. Yet that girl or whats left of her, well she was somone's daughter. When a father sends out that kind of prayer, it gets attention. It takes a few divine rubber stamps and it passes through some channels, before it circles around to Eito. So here he is, watching and waiting. Standing just beyond the glow of that grill, waiting for just the right time. Yet he was never really made to be subtle, his uniform was not designed to be stealthy.

It's only a matter of time until Micky steps foreward with a wince, peering into the darkness of his backyard. Giving his eyes time to adjust, trying to mutely puzzle out that glowing shape in the darkness. The shape of that moonlight mask, it's features carved in a distinct and entirely appropriate frown. "You think yourselves strong, carrying on like men of honor."That mask twists to face the crowd directly as every single man in the yard stands up, primarily in confusion thusfar. "I am beyond all strength, for I bring the judgement of heaven. You shall fall." Right there ladies and gentlemen, is when shit got fucking real.

*

As fate would have it, Nova is in the neighbourhood. He doesn't go out on 'patrol' every night, but tonight saw him with other obligations, and an itch to fly. His path takes him well overhead, with stops to rest and take stock of the surrounding area on rooftops. He tries to remain unseen, but the blue glow of his armour, and the streak of light when he accelerates to higher speeds isn't impossible to see with the naked eye. He settles down on a rooftop a few buildings over, and the sensors in his helmet give him a quick account of the surrounding area; population, motion, ambient energy levels. Quite a gathering down there, and an interesting energy signature. Nova's optics focus in on the backyard in which Eito has been waiting, spotting not only the Kitsune, but the men surrounding him. "Never a dull moment, huh," he murmurs to himself, before jetting up into the air, toward the yard, ready to drop in on the group at a moments notice, should Eito find himself in some kind of trouble.

*

They don't even react at first, and can you fucking blame them? The entire affair is totally out of left field, and then with a curse finally things get going. The one out in front reaches down for the pistol at his side, and yaknow if this had been somone else? He just about gets halfway down to the grip of that pistol, and thats as far as he'll ever get. Theres a flash of steel, and well suddenly Eito is just way closer than he should be.

That sword swings free with an audible whoosh of displaced air, and a neat little ribbon of contrail following the tip of that blade. The blow comes like a bolt of lightning, cleaving neatly through the meat of his shoulder and tracing down through his ribcage before severing that wrist and finally exiting just above the opposite hip. His buddies are stumbling back, guns are coming out but it's just not fast enough. The messenger ducks under the bloodspray as he launches foreward in a blinding sprint. The next sweep of that sword comes just as fast as the first, smashing into a man's head just above the ear and exploding out the opposite side of his head in a shower of gore.
Our favorite fox has dashed right into the very center of the madness by now though, just as guns are coming out. He takes a leap, twisting mid air to get things lined up just exactly so. Then comes a flash of light, an explosion of cherry blossoms just as the gunfire begins. Unfortunately in the ruckus, well lets be fair they're all excited. A two legged fox in armor just cut two dudes to ribbons, that can be sort've exciting right? Shots ring out, resulting in one thug shooting his fellow in the head as he himself takes one to the gut. Without pause the fox erupts from a shadow entirely too small to have ever actually hidden him, sweeping his blade in low and fast to take a guy's leg out just above the knee before finishing him with a swift sweep of the blade across his throat before he's able to hit the ground. There had been seven men in the yard when this began, and now four are dead with another gutshot and slumping to the ground.

*

As soon as the shooting starts, Nova is on his way to the ground. By the time he gets there, though, Eito has already dispatched four of the seven. Maybe he doesn't need a hand after all? Nonetheless, Nova lands out of range of samurai fox, but near enough to the fighting that should there be bullets flying, he could potentially be in their way; fortunately, his armour is easily able to deflect projectiles of such caliber. He sets back to his feet, lifting up into the air just a few feet off the ground, and lifts his right hand toward one of the armed men, releasing a blast of kinetic force at the man, easily enough to knock the man off his feet, if his target doesn't dodge quickly enough. The others are tracked by his helmet's sensors, the internal computer furiously calculating the trajectories in incoming bullets, motion of targets, as well as keeping tabs on Kitsune in all of the activity. Nova isn't as inclined to kill as, apparently, Eito, but then he's not an agent of the divine, as Eito has described himself. The Fox must hold himself to different laws and morals. Nova also lacks much in the way of context here, besides a bunch of men with guns who obviously have no qualms about murder themselves. "Doesn't anyone believe in not shooting the messenger, any more?"

*

Mail-foxes make for awesome distractions apparently, because Nova's target is easily hit dead center and sent flying to the ground with a grunt. Eito even bothers to spare a glance, before he continues without delay. Mr Gutshot is finally cut down in another flash of steel, and a staccato clack-clack-clack as that sword unzips his ribcage. Then he's off again, sprinting towards the remaining two bodyguards and Micky himself. Theres another shot, and immediately afterwards the telltale -CRACK- of the round being intercepted with a swipe of the sword. Not that it doesn't have an impact, because by the time Eito closes the distance and finally brings that sword hurtling down from above? It cleaves that poor guy's skull, before the blade cracks and breaks in half.

There isn't a moment's pause, not a moment of confusion to be had from the Divine messenger. He half turns and throws that sword at the remaining guard, which connects just above the guy's collar bone and burries itself to the hilt. That leaves just Micky, and well he tries to run before Eito takes a flying leap over the man and comes down infront of him with a growl. Blocking his only exit. One hand reaches across to rest on his Wakizashi, and well from there? A moment, maybe two before Eito can close the distance and bury the hilt of that short sword through Micky's heart. "You have been deemed, unworthy of living."And with that out comes the sword, and down goes Micky in a pile.

Thats when, things start to get quiet. Save for a panting messanger at least. He gives his Wakizashi a well practiced little flick before neatly resheathing the blade. "Thankyou, Nova. You did not need to involve yourself in this business."

*

"Well, I was in the neighbourhood," Nova replies, taking a glance around at the bloodied bodies littering the floor. It would make him sick to his stomach, if the Nova Force wasn't fortifying his body. "If I ask what was going on here that you needed to kill all of these men, am I going to get an answer that makes any kind of sense to me?" He doesn't sound angry about it, it's just an honest question; Nova doesn't pretend to understand everything about the Kitsune, but definitely gives him the benefit of the doubt.

*

"The wronged sought reciprocity, they sought divine judgement upon the wicked."Is all Eito offers immediately, before glancing over his shoulder. "Go ahead, take a look in the basement. Witness what was happening here, and understand why heaven sought to deliver these men for judgement."That said, he steps away to begin picking up handguns. "I do not question the will of heaven, because it is not my place to do so."And a pause as he glances towards the basement. "Also I find, I generally don't have cause to second guess."

*

Nova gives a nod. That's about the kind of answer he was expecting to hear, to be honest. "So basically, orders are orders," he says. "Alright." He does, in fact, step away to check out the basement, and is gone for a few moments. The dismembered corpse is now indelibly etched into his brain, thank you for that. Again, were it not for the fact that his armour does a good job of regulating his system to prevent nausea, there would be copious amounts of vomit to clean up, in addition to bodies and parts. When he returns, he looks like he just saw exactly what he just saw. "If she's dead, how did she ask for this? Final wish before her death, or something?"

*

"No. Her father, prayed."Eito responds simply for a moment, peering after Nova finally and well it's hard to read whats going on behind that mask of his. "Now she is an Onryo, a vengeful spirit. There is no happy ending for her, there is nothing which can be done. Her soul will have to be destroyed when it manifests and seeks vengence upon the living." Finally turning away to relieve Micky of his tie pin, before half turning to offer it back towards the armored man. "Do not turn away from evil, turn towards it. It is important to remember, darkness is not the opposite of light my friend. Darkness is the absence of light."

*

"I see," Nova says simply. In truth, being thrust into this whole world of magic, gods and their agents, has been a lot for him to take in. He doesn't know how he should react, really. He doesn't like the idea of killing people, even people who themselves take no issue with it, but on the other hand, maybe some people deserve it? It's not as black and white for him as it is for others. "No, I couldn't," he says, putting his hand up to refuse the offer of the pin. Not quite up for taking things off of freshly minted corpses just yet. Still too new a concept. "Gunshots tend to attract the police," he says after a moment. "We shouldn't stay long."

*

"Gunshots attract police."Eito echoes softly, before falling silent for a moment. Ears swiveling behind that mask as he calmly surveys the carnage. "Sometimes I wonder, how is it this came down to be my responsibility. I was the son of a flower arranger, I did not survive. Yet here I am, and I am tasked with walking amongst the rot. Sometimes this feels as though it is a punishment for something I did in my previous life, what could I have ever done to warrant such a responsibility I cannot turn away from?"And a sigh, as he pauses to adjust the sling on that SMG thrown over his shoulder. Then off he goes, slowly walking back towards the shadows. "There are days.."

*

"Previous life?" Nova asks, curiously, following Eito as he walks back toward the darkened part of the yard. "I thought you were born a Kitsune? You know, from your mother?" It almost sounds like he's saying he was human once, a revelation with puzzles Nova considerably. That's what he gets for pretending to think that he understands much of anything.

*

"I was born human Nova, we all are."Eito doesn't so much as glance back but he does swivel an ear back for a moment. "My mother was murdered whilst pregnant with me, I did not survive the night. I was never born, I was cut free only to perish all the same. I am not alone in this, we are all made in this manner. Children killed before their time by evil men, the Empress prayed for Inari to save me. So she did, in her way. We are reborn as Kitsune, but our souls are strictly human. I have two mothers, Inari is the second."A huff and a glance aside. "Still I'd have died an old man before you were born, and we would never have met so there is that."

*

"Oh," Nova says simply. "And as a Kitsune, you'll live.. what, forever?" That's an awfully long time. Nova is one of those who thinks it'd be a terrible curse to live forever, to never see what happens at the end. He's not a religious man by any means, but figures there has to be something at the end. A big reveal. Who'd want to miss that? "What about your father?" He asks after a moments pause.

*

"None of us have survived beyond thirteen hundred years, but theoretically yes. I am no tougher than any other mortal Nova, You don't need silver to slay me."Theres a little shrug there, before Eito pauses to vault the back fence in that yard and down the alleyway he goes. "He died trying to defend my mother and the Empress, but well. He was a flower arranger, and my mother was a handmaiden essentially. I was raised, by Shrine Maidens and Kitsune. Most Kitsune are women, no reason why it just sort of happened that way. We can't have children ourselves, so I had many "Big sisters" who were all too happy to treat me as their own. The system works well, nobody skips on training the young in that system."

*

Nova nods again, following Eito has he hops the fence. Nova simply floats over it. Because he can do that. "I'm sorry about your parents," he says quietly. He's not really sure why, or if it's something Eito feels any kind of emotion for; he never knew them, they were dead before he was born in the only way that really matters. Maybe because it makes Sam sad on his behalf. At least he got to know his own father before he died, even if he didn't like what he knew of the man. "Any of you ever quit? Run away from it all, hide out on some other.. place?"

*

"No."Comes the simple reply to that query. "We do take vacations and so fourth, like after I fought the Chinese army in Tibet? I spent like a year being a lazy good for nothing at a temple in Japan, spent another just kind of wandering around the US. I needed it in the worst way, if I hadn't had two gods rooting for me I don't think I would have survived that madness. Quitting though, no. We're not built like that, we are selected for this work because it's just in our nature. Even if we wanted to, well it'd end very badly. We get cut off from Mom, and well it's like having your oxygen cut off."

*

It might have been similar for Sam's father, to be cut off. He already feels a bond with the helmet, and the power it gives him, and the good it allows him to do, so he could understand, at least a little bit, of what his father suffered. Nova continues to float along, listening as Eito explains his life and nature, doing his best to understand what the Kitsune imparts. "Two gods?" He asks. "How many do you have up there?" Sam envisions kind of a greek Pantheon, because that's as far as his education on the subject of world religions goes. "Most people here believe in just the one, and that's hard enough," he half-mutters.

*

"Oh I was working the Buddhist Court back then, so I had Mom and the Buddha pulling for me. In Shinto, oh we got a bunch of gods. Seventeen in the central court, twenty three in the middle court and a few hundred in the outer courts. Mom and High Goddess Amaterasu are the big two though, back in the day when Amaterasu took more interest in wordly affairs we used to have her boys backing us up actually. These big flaming dog-lion guys, we carried messages and they watched our back."Eito glances back with a shrug. "When Amaterasu turned her gaze from affairs, no new ones were born and eventually they were lost to time. This was about a thousand or two years ago, for reference. Since then, we've had to be part time soldiers too. Tsukuyomi felt like we got a pretty raw deal, but yaknow he's not big enough to like do much about it. So he gave us all masks, like the one I'm wearing? Made from pure moonlight, which is cool but I don't know. Feel like white masks on white foxes, is a little redundant right?"

*

"I suppose. Still, it's the thought that counts, right?" Is it the thought that counts when you're talking about a deity? You'd think thoughts would count for a little more with them. "That's a lot to keep track of. Not sure I'd be able to keep it straight," Nova says with a soft chuckle. "I should be getting back to the Hall," says after another moment, with a bit of a sigh. Staying out /too/ late won't look good, particularly if he makes a habit of it. Dorm rules are kind of strict. "Sorry I wasn't more help to you back there.. but I guess you didn't so much need it," he says after a moment. "If you do though, you know where to find me," he says, letting himself float upward a bit more. He gives a deep nod of his head to Eito, and a bit of a wave, before shooting straight up into the air, blue streak and all.

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