Ryuzo Kato's page

Ryuzo Kato wrote:

"Really? I did not know that. It all makes sense now..." he smiles back.

"How are you feeling now that we've talked with him?"

"The things that come up during girl talk," she joked. "We commiserate sometimes on our terrible childhoods. And I am feeling marginally better. At least one thing is set up. But I would have to be crazy not to be extremely nervous about this whole plan."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Really? I did not know that. It all makes sense now..." he smiles back.
"How are you feeling now that we've talked with him?"

When Krays is out of earshot, Ryuzo says..
"Nice guy, but he can be a bit...creepy. I often wonder how he and Ephebe ended up together..."

His face betrays the slightest concern, but Nala can tell he has already considered this as well.

"No, it's not related to that."

"Krays, we need to ask a favor of you. Nala, is in a bit of a conundrum, and without getting into too much detail, it seems the only way to remedy this would require your services...afterwards."

He smiles an assuring smile.
"Let's go, then. He's usually at the lake by now."
He'll lead her out to the lake, and he looks into the water.
"Hmm. I don't see him..."
The water ripples slightly, as Krays surfaces like a croc, and heads over to Ryuzo...

He smiles.
"It's to be expected to be nervous about death, I suppose. Do you want to go see him together?"

Ryuzo enjoys a pleasant lunch with Nala, keeping the mood as carefree and light as possible. Then after a bit...
"Ok, well, I suppose I should go talk to Krays and make sure he's on board with this idea. That is, if you're sure about this."

Ryuzo Kato wrote:

Nala Zamarosok wrote:

"I find I like that idea," she said, smiling back, and then pulling her hand away. "Are you going to be offended if I spend the rest of lunch as a polar bear? Talking about the past makes it harder not to focus on, and I find being a bear helps. Nobody messes with a polar bear if they can help it," she said with a small laugh.

"Hah, not at all." He takes his mole form. He looks over and sees the foxes at play with Serrin.

::Look, Genosuke-sama and his family are playing as well. Glad to see them happy.::

Nala shifted to polar bear form, which had the added benefit of making the sashimi left in her lunchbox much, much better. She looked over at the foxes playing on the lawn. ::Yes. The resilience of sentient beings is always something of a miracle,:: she said thoughtfully.

::Something to remember, Miss Sentient Being:: he says, followed by a chortle squeak.

"I find I like that idea," she said, smiling back, and then pulling her hand away. "Are you going to be offended if I spend the rest of lunch as a polar bear? Talking about the past makes it harder not to focus on, and I find being a bear helps. Nobody messes with a polar bear if they can help it," she said with a small laugh.

"Hah, not at all." He takes his mole form. He looks over and sees the foxes at play with Serrin.

"Yes, I want to do it all at once. In case there are any complications. I would feel safer that way. So yes, we have to wait for Phaezeriel. And no, I don't believe that there is anything that my mother can do to prevent my being resurrected. Especially not with Krays there. Patrons do so love to pull rank when it comes to a contest," she said, with a slightly better attempt at a smile.

"You help me be brave, you know. It's just a little bit easier having someone else on my side."

He smiles warmly at her.

"There's no one else I would ever consider as consort, love," she said, trying to smile, but it came out as a sickening grimace and he could feel her whole body tense as she spoke. "Technically in the absence of a winter princess, the queen's consort can and usually does serve temporarily as the winter knight. So that job would be yours until such time as we had a child and she was of age. Because there is no way I would ever do to a child what my mother did to me," she said with a shudder. "Sorry. There's not a lot of good ways to talk about this without dealing with all the trauma at the same time."

"Ahh, yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to make light of it. Just know that I would follow you to the depths of Hell if I had to."

"The death part can be done at any time, but I still need Phaezeriel to deal with the memories afterwards. There isn't anyone else capable of doing the psychic surgery necessary. Well, maybe Miss Jones, but she's been acting a bit off lately, and I feel more comfortable letting Phaezeriel do it. I'd rather get the whole thing out of the way sooner rather than later, but with Phaeze in a cocoon," she shrugged. "It has to wait a while longer I guess."

"So you want to do it all at once, then.? We're going to wait for Phaezeriel?"

"I'm scared," she said softly. "All the time. I try and hide it as much as I can, but it's always there. I'm so very tired of being afraid."

He gives her hand a tight squeeze.

She nodded. "Yeah. It's possible that she'll move on to someone else while I'm temporarily dead. Or she may not. I won't know until afterwards when I wake up. With....there have been incidents. Not just the one with the kitsune girl. I had another patient. A boy. He's possessed or bonded with or something, some kind of Other. The borders are too thin. Anyhow, it took several hours to defrost the exam room. I kind of panicked. My winter powers are getting stronger and I worry about what that means. I worry I might have to take my mother's place. If the worst happens. It's possible that Luck may leave me to that fate. Or help me thwart it. You just never know what you're going to get with her."

"Your mother. Ugh. At least I know you'd do a better job, even if it's not the best thing, like ever, to consider. Would you have an opening for non-rapey, were mole as a winter knight, or even better a winter consort?" he asks with a wink. "Look, if I said I was cool with the death route, I'd be lying. It scares me too, so you're not alone there. I wish we could rely on Phaez and not have to go that route at all...but, it is what it is. Let me know when you're ready, and I'll get Krays up to speed."

Her expression softened and she reached out and took his hand. "I didn't know what love even was before I met you. I do love you, truly. I just have no idea what I'm doing and not much in the way of examples to follow. When you tell me how you feel about me...I'm overwhelmed. It's a good kind of overwhelmed, but I don't even know what to do with these feelings that are just too big. I just...I need you to know that what you want is important to me. You're important to me."

"And on that note, I almost forgot to tell you, Fortunata gave her blessing on the 'medical procedure' to fix my memories. No promises that things between her and I would continue as is, but she's not the sort...

He squeezes her had back, and smiles.

She gave him an exasperated look. "Because I want to know. Because I love you, and I want to make sure I'm not accidentally ignoring what's important to you. I know I have a lot of issues, and sometimes I can get a little distracted by that. Maybe a tad self-absorbed. So I'm asking. Because I want to make sure I'm not just assuming I know what you want."

"Gomen. I did not mean to irritate you. It just seemed like a question full of other questions, so I wanted to understand where you were coming from before answering based on a false assumption on my part."

Nala nodded and picked up her bento box again. "Ryuzo, are you happy here? I mean, I know you stay here for my sake, but aside from that, if you were choosing where you wanted to be and what you wanted to do, would you still choose to stay here?" she asked before shoving a large piece of sashimi in her mouth as she waited for an answer to a question she was pretty sure she should have asked months ago.

He stops mid bite, shoots her a quizzical look, then finishes his bite.

"Yeah, I guess we have settled here. It was just for a little while at first, but...I like the sense of purpose that comes from working as a Healer. It's so the opposite of anything I ever expected to do, but it works. Even if it doesn't leave a lot of room for sleep."
"I don't know if Asch's sensei knows or not. But I would guess probably. They probably had regular check-ins. But no, I'm not sure. But we should tell any of the others who knew them, like Ephebe and Krays and Fei and Vai what we found out. Finding out the way we did was a nasty surprise. I wouldn't want that to happen to them."
"Then I will potentially consider getting some sleep....and by potentially consider I mean totally crash the minute this potion wears off."

"Alright. Let's finish up breakfast, then see if we can find the others."

She walked back to Ryuzo. "Asch, Amada, Enre, Jim Rivets, and that weird Yrrin guy who was almost never here. They got taken out by one of the Champions of Time. Apparently there are two at the moment. Champions of Time. And Time. And spending too much time, heh, away from this planet makes us into giant targets and we shouldn't make a habit of venturing out there. We need to let the others know this as well. Having Champions venture forth willy-nilly to their deaths is wreaking havoc on her betting pool," she said dryly, well aware that Deception was still listening in. "So much for rest days."

"That's...downright depressing. Like Time wasn't baka enough already. I dunno how how any of it's champions can stand it. Amada too? Enre was more than a competant warrior, his shoes will be tough to fill, and Jim, was always so pleasant.

Nala gives him a look. "Ryuzo, look at that girl over there. Really look. At her aura. The only way she can have that aura is if Asch is dead."

He furrows his brow and looks again.

"...which wouldn't happen if you checked in once and a while..."
A lilting female voice says, seemingly out of one of Ryuzo's clones.
"I bet your Nala checks in more often with Luck..."

A low rumble issues from Ryuzo's throat...
"Now, now. Do not be petulant. Several champions have fallen, not just Darkness. You can expect a new host of fresh faces in the near future, I'm sure."
"Which ones?!" he asks, and gets no reply...his clone shakes his head, and shrugs.

He sighs.
"Maybe you'll have better luck?" he says not intending the pun.

She started to eat her breakfast, wondering when sushi for breakfast had stopped seeming odd, and pretty sure the answer was when her medical job had made normal hours something she only vaguely remembered. She looked up when Serrin waved and frowned a little bit. "Do you know that kid? I don't think I remember her as being one of my patients, but there's been so many..." her voice trailed off as recognition of the aura at least kicked in. "Ryuzo, did I miss some bad news while I was in work mode?" she asked, her voice a bit strained.

"No, well, I don't know if she was or not. I think most of the bad stuff came through the infirmary. I heard one of the DelSol girls was kidnapped by her parents and the Sunwakes rescued her. Fei came back from somewhere with a bunch of refugees that had been experimented on. One of my clones was mildly interested in some demon scavenger hunt event involving an invalid girl, but I'm not sure how that ended. Then there was the event with Jessa. And Phaez and Ginni. I'm not aware of anything else."

Pops in next to Nala, with a couple bento boxes of sushi and sashimi, with some fish for Vasya.
"Here we go. Oh, nice spot." He hands Nala her meal, and Vasya hers, then sits next to Nala.
"So, rest is the order of the day today, right?"

Ryuzo Kato wrote:

::Sounds good!::
He takes his human form, and tussles Vasya's fur as Nala holds her.
"Do you want me to go get something for us and meet you outside, or do you think Vasya will be ok in the cafeteria for a bit?"

"I think outside would be safer. I don't trust her not to romp on the tables," Nala said dryly.

"Ok. I'll go grab us something and meet you in the gardens."

Ryuzo Kato wrote:

A skittering laugh-squeak is followed by:
::Yes, well, I think you did. I brought some food for you to the infirmary. Whether you ate it or not, I'm not sure. I left shortly thereafter to get out of your hair, because you were busy with injured firebirds and various demon transformations. How are they, by the way?::

"They're all doing fine now. Except Phaezeriel is still in a cocoon. His readings are all good, he's still healthy. But who knows what long-term effects this is going to have." She paused to catch Vasya as the fox launched herself at her, eager to go for food and exercise. "I vaguely remember having a bite of dinner, but then there was a fight between a kid who came in for an allergic reaction and a kid who came in with a broken nose. No idea what was behind all that and I still don't care. But I don't know what happened to my food after that. I think one of the nurses probably ate it. So I guess breakfast is the first...

::Sounds good!::

Ryuzo Kato wrote:

When she gets back to her room, she'll hear playful growling and yipping. She'll find Ryuzo in mole form playing with her fox, being careful with his claws, hiding under a rug and jutting out, trying to take a stick from her, and her trying to root him out from under the rug. When you walk in, he waves, and squeaks a hello.

::Hi! Vasya was getting a little restless, so I thought I'd keep her occupied till breakfast.::

She stood in the doorway and smiled. "And here I was just thinking that Vasya wasn't getting enough exercise. Someone called in the cavalry to help deal with the staff shortage in the infirmary, and I've been put on leave for the weekend. I was accused of extreme overwork," she continued with a laugh. "But I had an energy drink this morning, so I've got a couple of hours at least before I pass out from exhaustion again. I had forgotten about breakfast...Right. Food is necessary. Er....did I eat dinner last night? I can't remember."

A skittering laugh-squeak is followed by:

Zeppler M.D., Spellware Surgeon wrote:

Nala Zamarosok wrote:

"I am very happy to meet you. Before we lost so much of our staff during the attacks, I was in charge of pediatrics, strictly ages 12 and under, with occasional consults in the main area for certain difficult cases. I was not expecting to end up as senior management. But we had to keep the place running, and I do have the background for it, in an awful sort of way. Phaezeriel is much better at it though. He has the temperament for dealing with people. So it's definitely been a blow having him out of commission even for a short time. You and your team are definitely a welcome addition, of however long you can stay. Thank you."

"Don't sell yourself short - you've done a helluva job keeping things running here, and that is no small feat. Props for that," Zeppler says with all sincerity, clearly impressed with her work.

"Anywhoo...I'll only be groundside for a little while myself, but these guys should be here with you for the foreseeable future. I've also got a team that's taken over the clinic in Kuros (which is where I should be for most of my 'vacay' here), so nobody has to spread themselves out too thin anymore the next time the crap hits the fan. I've already verified that we've got hardened, encrypted communications working between the two sites, so if you need anything we're just a click away." :)

"And that's why I'm going to hang out here for the weekend while you don't work," the good doctor says with a chuckle as his datapad starts converting her speech into...

"I think that should cover it. Please send me a message if Phaezeriel comes out of his cocoon. Just so I know that he's okay."

She took a deep breath. "And I'll just....not be here....that probably shouldn't feel so weird. I leave it in your capable hands Dr. Zeppler," she said, with an uncertain smile.
She headed back to her office to hang up her coat. The potion was still in her...

When she gets back to her room, she'll hear playful growling and yipping. She'll find Ryuzo in mole form playing with her fox, being careful with his claws, hiding under a rug and jutting out, trying to take a stick from her, and her trying to root him out from under the rug. When you walk in, he waves, and squeaks a hello.

Cuddles with Nala as long as she'll permit it...

He nods, making a playful sqeak-grunt, and changes his fur back, nuzzling into her hair.

He laughs "I'll look into being a polar mole..." with that, he shifts into his mole form and gives cuddles.

"Phaezeriel. He'd need to supervise of course. To make sure that the whole thing actually works. I can talk to him in the morning. I'm on duty again of course. No such things as days off for Healers," she said with a shrug. "So I should see him at the infirmary. But I can send him a message just to be sure. He gets called away for emergencies fairly often. If there's one thing that this school needs more of, it's psychic healers."

"Alright. I'll ask Krays, then. He is proficient in raising ex-champions." he says teasing a bit.

Nala's expression softened. "When you say it I can almost believe that it really is possible." She reached out a hand and gently touched his face, only for a moment before she pulled it back, keeping both hands wrapped firmly around her teacup. She was shaking again. "I love you. I didn't used to think I was capable of love, but turns out I was wrong." She took a deep breath as the enormity of her decision weighed on her. "I'm going to do it," she blurted out. "I'm going to die. And not in the creepy suicide pact kind of way that came out sounding like," she added, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. "In a supervised medical setting with plans in place to bring me back right away."

"I love you too, and you deserve to be happy. Who do we need to talk to about this? Besides Krays, that is."

Nala takes her cup of tea and cradles it in her hands, letting the warmth of it soothe her. She sighed.

"As far as the Winter Court is concerned, I don't have any real information. All I have right now is guesses. Guesses made through a lens of fear and pain. Which brings me back to the other problem. These memories are holding me back. In every aspect of my life. They make me a less effective healer because I have a difficult time interacting with older patients. They certainly make things challenging between us. Not that you have ever been anything other than patient and understanding. But I'd like to be able to show affection without having a panic attack," she added wryly. "And they are coloring my judgment in regards to how I should deal with the threat posed by the Others. I'm more afraid and therefore more cautious, which makes me a less than ideal Champion, at least by Luck's standards. Luck isn't a big fan of playing it safe. I mean, I know that the things that happened to me will always be a part of who I am, including the horrific things. I just...I need to not have them be front and center all the time. Living through them once was enough. I don't want that to be the only thing in my life that defines me. I'm more than just a victim."
She stopped to take a sip of her tea before continuing. "I'm terrified at the thought of dying. Even knowing I will come back. The uncertainty... And Phaezeriel did present other options. But I also know that dismantling the connections one by one...it could take years. I'm not sure I'm willing to wait years when I know that there's a quicker option. I don't know. I'm so tired of being afraid," she added sadly.

Ryuzo gets a determined look on his face. "I will help you with whatever you decide. If you want to wait it out and try Phaeze's method, or if you wish to die to be free of this, I will support your decision any way that I can. I will be by your side at every step." He moves as close to her as he can with out upsetting her, and looks her in the eye. "We will beat this." he says simply.

"I sent the boy to the Headmaster. If anyone will know how to help him, or at least who to send him to...and yes, I hope that this one can be reasoned with. The idea of this kid getting destroyed because his parents were stupid doesn't sit well with me. And from what I saw in his memories, they didn't know what they were doing. They just decided that hey, let's put this mysterious thing we found into our kid....I swear, if I ever meet these people I am going to slap the both of them. For starters."

"It's sad how some people's woes are caused by mere ignorance..."

"And no, I don't think my mother has made a replacement. I think that she's still using the mindless clone of me that the headmaster gave her. I think the clone might be sick too. I think that the power of Winter is trying to find me. But I don't have proof of course. It's just a feeling. And dreams. So many dreams. All ice and snow. But not how I remember it from my childhood. Beautiful. Peaceful."

"We may have fooled Ma...your mother, but perhaps not the fey magic that runs through you. Maybe it's calling to you to aid the Winter Court?"

"There's more. As if all of that wasn't enough. I had an appointment with Phaezeriel today. About my memory problem." She was twisting her hands nervously now. "He was able to examine the structure of the magic the memories are encased in. It seems that the magic is tied directly into my life energy. He presented me with some different options to try and undo it. He can try to unravel the magic itself, which is no simple task. This is ancient fey magic after all. Or he can try cutting its connection to its source bit by bit. But the quickest, most likely to succeed option would be to kill me. Temporarily. Obviously. I would probably have to be dead for a matter of minutes to cut off the magic from my life force completely. But my deal with Luck ends when I die, and there's no guarantee that Luck would be willing to reinstate it. And with the power of Winter trying to find me....it's pretty high risk. I told him that I wanted time to consider and to talk things over with you before I decided on what to do."

He stops what he's doing and looks long at Nala before responding. He finishes up the tea and brigns it over, sitting with her on the cushioned floor mat.

"Yes," she agreed gratefully. She sighs as she sits down, her breath forming ice crystals in the air. "My last patient of the day....his idiot parents had actually bound an Other into him when he was a child. Needless to say, I very nearly froze the poor boy to death. It was....a very strange Other. Intelligent. Not that they aren't often cunning and calculating. But this one was capable of thoughts and ideas like self-preservation. Possibly things it has picked up from its host. I don't know. But it's a lot of blows in one week. First to find out that the barrier has failed, and now to find that there is an Other in the school...the barrier must have failed a long time ago. And my ice powers are...well, they're growing. I...I suspect my mother may be sick. Part of me is happy about that. The rest of me is concerned about what will happen without her taking an active role in leading the Winter Court now that they need to attend to their duties again."

He begins to make them tea, never seems to be a quick process for Ryuzo. He listens while he works.

"The Others are a serious threat, to everyone. I wonder why someone would put one in their child. Perhaps if this one can be reasoned with...?"
"Has your mother made a replacement for you? Can you tell?"

"Yes, of course." He steps back and lets her in. "Would you like some tea to warm you up?"

Nala is almost to Ryuzo's dojo when she spots him just leaving. He can see that she is tense, if for no other reason than she is leaving snowy footprint behind her as she walks. Also she appears to be shaking slightly.

She first sees him smiling, as if seeing her is the best thing to happen to him all day...then quickly fades to concern. He steps forward to assist her but stops short of contact.

Having kept himself out of the recent Champion kerfuffle, Ryuzo spends his time prepping for classes and spending time with or helping out Nala however he can...

*smiles*

Mole, not cat. Ask Nala.

It'd be a shame if he were dead.

A small, wizened looking black creature with altogether too many teeth pops out of the air and grabs a pen out of Nala's pocket.

"Mistress needs," the aschen said with a grin. It started to lunge towards Ryuzo's pocket and then stopped as it thought better of it. "Please?" it said hopefully.

Gives the creature a look, then sighs. He goes over to his desk and retrieves a shinto rosary. "I'd better get this back, devil."

Smiles and watches Nala gather herself and mentor the girl.

Moves an appropriate distance, and retakes his human form, the look on his face showing no hint of anything out of the ordinary. He goes into a drawer in his desk and gets a wand out, and prestidigitates the room dry, easily deceiving the wand to work for him.

Fairly consistent.

Nala kneels on the floor and hugs him, burying her face against his soft fur. It always amazed her just how soft it was. Softer than velvet. She tried to focus her mind, to shut out all thoughts that weren't here and now. The snow started to slow as she calmed down, eventually stopping. The classroom was still full of ice and drifts of snow, and frost covered the windows, but at least it was progress.

He ceases to use telepathy, and just gives reassuring meeps now and then, burrowing into her hair, nuzzling her neck.

::Of course:: he smiles, shifting into a mole. He waddles over to her and starts to climb up, unless she sits. ::Hugs can be the best medicine sometimes...::

::Logically, I know you're right. But it's not that easy. Not when the things she did to me are always fresh in my mind. Keeping as much distance between me and anything resembling her is what keeps me sane...ish. But no matter what I do that distance keeps getting smaller. I can't run from what I am. I know that. But I'm afraid. Afraid that if I embrace it I'll end up just like her.::

The snow swirled through the classroom, falling harder now.

He looks cross for a second...then lets out a held breath.

::I know you're afraid. Fear tries to hold you back at every step. But look how you fight it every day! It's hold is less and less. You will be free of it, eventually, and I think that day is sooner than you realize.::

::But for now...I don't think you need the cold anymore...::

::I don't want them! I don't want anything that reminds me of her...anything that makes me more like her...I thought when I stopped being the Winter Princess....but it just won't go away. And now.....now I actually have need of it, which is worse.::

Gods he wanted to hold her so badly...

::I did not either freeze her or take over her mind,:: she replied tartly. ::But this cold is not so easily boxed up and put away.......I apologize. I seem to have turned your classroom into a freezer.:: Her emotions are still running high. And it doesn't take a genius to figure out that her lack of control of her Winter powers and her rejection of them are related.

<Chuckles> "I miss the snows back home, you've done me a favor." he says out loud.

::I wanted to freeze her. Surround her in a solid block of ice. Seal her away so she can't let any of them through because she will not understand....I may not be the Winter Princess anymore, but there is still more of Winter left in me than I wanted to see....:: she said, her mental voice near hysterical. Meanwhile the room had become so cold that tiny snowflakes drifted through the air.

::We are who we are, Nala. We can't choose what came before us, but we can choose how we act. Winter can not govern you anymore, but it is indeed part of who you are. You've learned to control the bear side of you, this will be no different.