2014-04-11 - Bottled Memories? Tuxedo Mask is Wary
| Title: Bottled Memories? Tuxedo Mask is Wary | |
|---|---|
| Summary: So there's this dude sniffing around the rooftops around the neighborhood of OSA-P. Literally sniffing around. Tuxedo Mask meets Dark Amber. | |
| Who: | |
| Where: Yamanote High City | |
| OOC - IC Date: December 27, 2013 - 4/11/14 | |
That train ride was....
A thing.
And Kinzo was happy to get back. And he had something on his mind. He was not pleased that he found a certain, bad memory laden perfume bottle on a rooftop only a few days before the trip. And thus, the first night is spent among Yamanote's rooftops.
He's on top of the Fairy Drop Boutique for a minute. He glances around, places a finger to his nose, Shakes his head, then leaps to another rooftop. He repeats this procedure. He seems at least slightly relived everytime he building hops. He ends up on top of a taller building. This one is a little larger. He has to walk around a bit. He strides mostly straight. He's not trying to be particularly sneaky, but he seems to be looking for something , of some sort in the end.
He finally comes to a stop near a rather large roofmounted AC unit, and glances to it. He peeks along the grates poking out. It's almost as if he's sticking his nose in there to smell... something.
Nope. Nothing odd here. At all.
There's the slightest of 'tap-tap' sounds that echo dully through the metal shell of the roof unit, over Kinzo's current line of sight, in front of him. It sounds like two small things dropped on top of it-- or two very light feet just landed.
A half-second later, there's a caped silhouette leaving a shadow over Dark Amber. Should the King of Olfactory Investigation look up, he'll see a bright white mask on what's presumably the face of the person framed by moonlight, and white gloves, one holding something half behind one knee and the other bracing him against the edge of the HVAC.
"Can I help you?" comes the shadow's voice politely. It's kind of like 'what the hell are you doing' but in more the tone of voice one might expect a customer service representative to use.
Dark Amber hears something come up on him. It doesn't smell like a Dark Scent. So he's relaxed, for now. But that doesn't mean it couldn't be someone else threatining harm. So he sort of shoots up, to the handsomely dressed man in the tuxedo, mask and top hat. He opens his mouth. Then closes it.
"Ah---" he says politely. "I'm not...." he sighs and just shakes his head and jumps off a bit, a small further distance. "Just...trying to fix an old mistake." he says in a matter of fact tone, and one that kind reeks of a shame.
"At least...I'm not even sure if it's fixed." he states as he looks around, and crosses his arms. He closes his eyes a moment.
"My name is Dark Amber. I'm a for----" he stops himself. "I'm a Perfume Warrior." he states. "Is it curiosity that is causing you to investigate?" he asks. "or are you here for something more tonight." he asks.
He looks out over the right to cityscape a moment as he waits for an answer. If he gets one.
The top hat is, in fact, in one white-gloved hand, and as he stands, his cape ruffles in the cold breeze. "Tuxedo Kamen," he introduces himself, flipping his hat up atop his head, then lifting a cane from somewhere in his cape and using it to lean on quite jauntily. "This is my neighborhood, that's all." He has no particular response to 'I'm a Perfume Warrior', which either means he's met one before or he was also on that train and nothing else could possibly surprise him tonight.
There's also no acknowledgement of the shame. "Is whatever it is something I can help you find?" He sounds altogether too calm; though his choice in execution of movement could be considered showy, there's a certain sense of matter-of-factness about it that belies that reasonable assumption.
One step and the caped and masked young gentleman lands almost noiselessly on the rooftop proper. He looks expectant.
Dark Amber keeps his arms crossed. He keeps it frank. "Have you see any wispy, snake-like beings, that smell horrible this evening, gathering around an object...or a grate. It may have looked like a golden brown perfume bottle, filled with a black liquid." he states.
"If you have not, I'm thinking this specific area is clear." he closes his eyes.
"I've been having to retrace all my steps as of... five months ago." he says. "I've found two. But it's possible that's all there is." he says. "I know I kept a careful count. Usually." he states. "But there was sometimes the occasional person trying to stop me. Fights happened. It was envitable one or two might had fallen out during these..."
"But if there's one around. Then it'll serve as a beacon for these creatures eventually. That poses a danger. I can't let anymore innocent people get hurt on my account." he says.
He opens his eyes, finally. "The..bottles contain bad memories." he finishes. "The main reason besides just...stopping these creatures. Would be to release the memory. It belongs to someone. Even if it's bad. It needs to go back to who it came from." he nods curtly. "and be released." he says.
He looks over at the man. "Do you understand?" he asks.
Does Tuxedo Mask understand the importance of memories, be they good or bad, going back to where they belong?
Somewhere, dramatically, Irony Man falls over.
"No I haven't," he says to the first, standing motionless with his cane bracing him on one side, one foot crossed in front of the other, "and yes. In that order. So yes, I'd wager this area's clear, and yes, I understand perfectly."
He's silent a couple of seconds, regarding Dark Amber. "How do you set the memories free? In case I should happen upon a bottle like you've described?" he finally asks, tone still quite serious, but more so.
Dark Amber shakes his head. "Just open the bottle. There will be a small spark. The memory will return." he states.. make sure those creatures are dispatched, else they'll devour the memory when it's released. In that case, defeat the creature, it'll set the memory free again. But the creature may grow stronger....." he warns.
He wonders. "So this is... your territory?" he suddenly asks.
He narrows his eyes. "You're not a ...Tuner. Are you?" he asks. "I try not to purposesly...invaded a Tuner's territory unless innocent lives are in danger. So I apologize, if that is the case." he says.
Open the bottle, defeat the creature, check. Tuxedo Kamen nods once, briefly, and then blinks behind the mask. Surprise. He straightens and disappears the cane, one eyebrow up; his cape billows in the breeze, then falls back to his ankles. "Good lord, no, I'm not a Tuner. This isn't my territory, it's just my neighborhood. I don't hold with the idea of keeping people from doing good."
Moving away to look over the side of the building, the masked youth continues to speak, voice quiet but carrying just fine on the breeze. "I'm not in any sort of organization, or any special group of people. I'm allied loosely with several individuals, but that's the extent of my affiliations."
Suddenly he looks up and over at Dark Amber. There's no judgement in his voice, but that may only because it's carefully blank. "Did you bottle those memories? Do you know where they came from?"
Dark Amber looks down a moment and unfolds his arms to place down at his sides. "I did." he says. That shame more evident.
"I started having nightmares." he says. "I learned these were memories, eventually. Another time, and place. Not this world." he says. "When I...discovered my..scent. A lot more became clear. I remembered a better deal of who I was. I was a memory thief... an assassin... a tool, of an organization that called itself 'The Apothecary'." he says. He throws a hand out. "I..didn't want to be a part of that!..." he says.
"I rebelled. I thought that.. if I could..... bottle... seal away all the bad memories. I could begin to weaken them. But. This was folly. Japanese Cherry Blossom, Warm Vanilla Sugar.... Winterberry. They all reached out to me. But I didn't listen at first. And we fought." he says. "I was afraid. We were enemies in the past. "
"I know better now, thanks to them." he says. "and I can only do my best. I'm not quite the person I was in my past...but I still need to attone for everything." he nods.
He kind of strokes the back of his head. "I'm sorry. That was long winded. But..." he sighs a bit. "I'm a Perfume Warrior now---and I'm doing my best. But...they all have things they protect. Memories of Happiness... Memories of Warmth, of Creativity...." he says. "I don't even know what I protect." he says lookng down and to the side a bit. "But...I need to help." he nods. "And..if these things are the result of my carelessness, in my failed past endeavors. I need to fix it.... to not would be an insult to what all my friends have done for me."
He stops for a moment. "Tuxedo Kamen. What is it you fight for? Or do you spend all your days waiting for random rooftop strangers?" he suddenly asks with a lighter, perhaps playful tone.
Again, the eyebrows go up; this time Tuxedo Mask turns back to Dark Amber, entirely looking away from the street below. What is it he fights for?
"My memories."
Silence for a second, and then the other young man looks away. Up at the night sky, up at the moon. He takes his hat off, rolls it down off his wrist, and disappears it into his cape with a quick motion. "This beautiful planet, so dark and so bright; all the people who make it their home, with their hopes and their dreams and wishes; every good thing the future holds..."
Finally he glances to Dark Amber again, and now his face, pale in the moonlight and framed by black hair and black clothes, is wry. "And a princess. So, the usual, I suppose."
Dark Amber nods. "Memories are important. Sometimes they're fuzzy...sometimes clear as day, but they're important." he says. He looks down. He nods some at the other statements. "I didn't like attacking people. I'm glad I don't have to anymore." he says.
He turns around. "A princess? I'm familar, yes." he says with a coy smile. "But I find more often than not they're able to hold thier own without my assistance." he admits. He thinks for a moment.
"Of course, there's so many I'd not know who you're talking about admittedly." he says. He wonders. "Does she dress half as nice as you do?" he asks in that joking tone again, and it doesn't sound like an insult.
For a second, Tuxedo Kamen just eyes Dark Amber.
"Probably," he allows after a distinct pause. "She asked me for help."
Another couple of heartbeats' silence, and then he turns away. "I'll be sure to open any bottles like that if I see them. I'm sure we'll run into each other again."
He starts toward the edge of the roof, then glances back. "Good luck."
Dark Amber watches as Tuxedo Mask makes for the side of the building. He knows this bit. This is his bit too.
"Be well, Tuxedo Kamen. Thank you." he says as he turns to the other building. He sighs and just shakes his head.
Then he sort of...fuzzes out of existance.
That's kind of weird.
