RPG: The Six Wizards

[salemboy]

Damien went back to his room. "Jeez," he said out loud as he went through his cabinet in search of a pain killer. He had to make sure that it wouldn't mess with the bone regrowth, or some pretty messed up stuff would happen to Ouki. He'd seen it happen to other people, and it wasn't pretty. He kept looking, and then he found something. Not that strong of a pain-killer, but good enough. Muggles used it all the time.

Damien grabbed a container of Tylenol, and walked back to the bathroom. This time, he knocked, and said through the door, "Hey, Ouki, I got your pain killer. Where do you want me to set it?"

[Ms. Elsewhere]

Ouki had finished her bath. She was wearing a robe and was towel drying her hair. As much as she loved soaking in the bath, she didn't like to be vulnerable for too long, just in case. The pain in her mouth was a little subdued thanks to the warm water, but she still wanted some relief- she needed to keep her head clear. She opened the door when she heard Damien knock. "Arigato, dearest!" she tried to take the container out of Damien's hand, but he pulled it back.
"You can only have two every four hours, Ouki." he said solemly. "It's dangerous mixing potions and muggle drugs. This one should be mild enough." He cracked open the plastic container and shuffled out two little white pills. Ouki looked at them.
"What about some water? " she asked. Damien paused. She laughed, and turned around. She took her wand out of her robe pocket and pointed it at the sink. "Aquius!" She called. The tap sent a thin string of water flying over to Ouki. Ouki formed her hand as if she was holding a cup. Then the water formed into a small goblet, sitting between Ouki's slender fingers. She took the two little pills, dropped them into her mouth, and drank the water until the whole goblet disappeared.
"Mmmm... "she said, licking her lips. "They taste nice. That's the first time I've ever had muggle pain killers before." She passed by Damien, walking across to her room. She pulled open some drawers and pulled out some fresh clothes; A pair of jeans, and a pretty white top. She got dressed fast and came out into the main area again. Damien was sitting on a chair.
"You would have been impressed Damien." Ouki said, flicking her hair around with her hands to spread it out so it would dry faster. "I wish you could have seen it. It was some of my finest work. I managed to do that curse I've been working on, where you use the water in the person's body and send it into their lungs, drowning them from the inside? I was just so angry, and glad for the excuse to try it out." Ouki sat down opposite Damien, a far away look in her eyes. "He was struggling to breathe, he was begging for his life, pleading silently as the water strangled him, crushed him. And everyone just stood around, oblivious. Oh, except when he vomited all over their shoes!" She laughed at this. "It's a brilliant weapon, water. So many ways to use it for torture. So many ways to use it for fear. I nearly drowned when I was a child, did you know that? That's why I know what to do, what it feels like. How else can you trully know what kind of pain you're inflicting, unless you've felt it once too?" Her eyes focused back and she looked at Damien. He returned her glance with amusement in his eyes.

[salemboy]

So she used it finally. Damien had seen her try it once or twice before, but never quite succeeded. "Well," Damien laughed. "I'm glad I'm not on your bad side." Then an idea came to him. "Hey, Ouki, I've heard about this new muggle torture method called Waterboarding. I looked into it, and it's quite fascinating. I was wondering if the next time I find a victim for a torture session, if you want to do the honors?" Muggles thought of the most ingenious torture methods.

"Oh," he added, noticing her white shirt. "Aren't you afraid that Inu will go a bit wild and stain your shirt with blood tonight?"

[Ms. Elsewhere]

"Mmmm...trust you to be the expert on torture techniques. I swear you've read every book on the topic! Really Damien. You would have been brilliant in the special services." Ouki leaned back, looking down at her shirt. She played with the strings across the front. "Too bad we're considered such bad apples. The ministry and the muggle police haven't caught me in the act, yet. But they know. They are always watching. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if any of us have actually been 'charged' with anything. I'd hate to stand before the council. Bunch of biased hot heads." She pulled the strings on her shirt so the bow holding the front closed came undone. She looked up at Damien and smiled. "Do you think my red one would be more............ blood repellent?" She chuckled as Damien shifted uncomfortably. "Okay, I'll take that as a yes!" She got up and pushed her chair in. She skipped off to her room and pulled a deep red shirt our of her drawer. It was her usual get up; a polo shirt with a nice collar. Her white shirt was meant to impress, but, she thought, Damien was really thick in the head. She sighed, looking into the mirror. Her hair had dried, so she decided to put some makeup on. She liked her eyes painted dark because it complemented her otherwise washed away complexion. Her light hair called for a well painted face. Without it, she was hardly confronting. She really did have quite a baby face. She finished up with some red lipstick before standing in front of the mirror for one last assessment.
"No time for daydreams, Ouki." she said to herself. She flashed her wicked grin and was pleased. Already her new teeth were starting to form in the gums. Inu had knocked out one of her front teeth and another two teeth to the left on the top. She laughed. "How unattractive!" she scoffed. She wondered to herself; what would it take to drag Damien out of his constant mindset to command the pain of others? She frowned. He didn't even know it, but he was causing her pain, in a way. "Ha." Ouki brushed off the thought with one last flick of her hair. Ouki cared very much for Damien, but if friendship was all she could have, then she would take it, for now. She walked back out of her room and groaned.
"Ohhh....I'm so hungry! Where is Buta? He should be here with ten bags of McDonald's meals by now! Plus who's going to organise the rations? We can't have a road trip without munchies!" Ouki was very skinny, but ate like an athlete. It was her metabolism - she was constantly burning energy, and had to eat all the time. She skulked over to the kitchen.

[salemboy]

Damien laughed as he followed Ouki into the kitchen. "I guess you can't kill on an empty stomach." He walked over to the oven, turned it on, and said, "Hey, Ouki, just sit down, I'll make you up some Ramen." He began filling a pot with water as she sat down.

Damien whistled as he set the water on the stove. "Give it a few minutes, and it'll boil." Ramen tasted really good. It was a good filler, although it lacked any nutrients. Once the water started boiling, he'd throw in the noodles, and a few spices. "Hey, Ouki, I just realized something," he said as he sat down next to her at the table.

[Ms. Elsewhere]

"Oh?" Ouki queried. She turned her head rested her face in one hand. "What's that?"


************************************************

Chi Inu stalked along the streets. He checked the time on a nearby street clock. He growled. Twenty more minutes until the hour was up. He had almost started to believe he was loosing his touch, when he stopped dead before a building. He had caught Neko's scent; and it was mixed with blood. His sensitive ears picked out something he had not expected. Neko was screaming, somewhere inside this place.

Inu turned and faced the building. It looked innocent enough. Just like the others along side of it. He took out his wand and walked up the stairs, cautiously. Anywhere where there was someone who could catch and torture Neko was a place to be wary of. Then he saw the symbol. He brought his wand down and scoffed. "Witch hunters." he spat. He pointed his wand at the door and muttered "Alohamora." The door opened with a gentle 'click'. He was so angry he would have blasted the door off it's hinges, but he didn't. He knew he needed the element of surprise. One wrong move and Neko would be dead. She was still human after all, in spite of her talents. And that, he thought to himself, would be an unforgiveable waste.

Inu made his way down the passage. He padded softly along the tatami mats and came to a sliding door which lead to a staircase leading down. He looked back along the passage; there were two other doors along it, but he was convinced this was the one he was after. He descended.

He compared the set up to medieval England, and appropriately so. It was literally a torture chamber, with tools and bars and roaring fires with bubbling liquids. He inched around the wall, watching for movement. Then he heard her again. He flinched, surprised again. He put his head back and took a deep breath. She was very much alive still. But there was so much blood. He could hear her heart racing.

Inu peered around the corner and saw two men sitting at a table, and a beyond them was a wooden door. Inu scanned the room, and when he was sure no one else but the two and himself were there, he concealed his wand and then stepped out and approached them.

"Gentlemen!" he called. The men stood up, alarmed.
"Who are you?" one said. "What are you doing in here?" Inu smiled. The were only here to harm the magical ones. They didn't know what he could do to them.
Inu wasted no time. "Crucio!" he hissed, and the man who had spoken to him fell to the ground in agony. His friend stared at his friend, and then he started to pull something from under his arm. He revealed a gun, which he pointed at Inu.
"Stop it!" he yelled. "Stop it or I'll shoot you!"
Inu smiled at the man. He pulled his wand out from his sleeve and pointed it at the man. "If you say so." he said politely, and then said "Avada Kedavra!". The man went completely limp and exhaled one last sickening breath before laying there perfectly still with his eyes staring.
"What..... hey..." the man who held the gun called over to his friend. He looked from Inu to him and back, the hand holding the gun shook violently. He crouched down as Inu watched him, smiling cruely. He checked his friends pulse, and then pushed his eyes shut with one sweep of his hand, all the while keeping an eye on Inu. Inu let him maintain the illusion of control. The man stood up, put both hands on the gun, and fired straight at Inu's chest. Inu stepped back, clutching at his chest. He stumbled theatrically, and then he looked up and laughed. The man fired again and again, until all the shots were gone. Inu took each bullet, and then he walked slowly over to the man, who had collapsed to the ground, dropping the gun.
"I.....I... Impossible." he stuttered.
"Not impossible. " Inu said as he lifted the man up by his shoulders. "Just Inu." and he ripped the man's head off and sent it rolling across the floor. The blood sprayed up into the air from the man's neck, and the body fell to the floor and convulsed even as Inu went for the door. He could hear them all now, stirring inside. They had heard the shot.

Inu pushed the door open and was pleased with what he saw; a ritual table was set up in the middle of the room. This meant only one thing. They would not kill Neko without completing the ritual. They would try to kill him first. He stood up to his full height, flexing his chest. Bullet shells clanged to the stone floor. The men around Neko started to assemble, ready to attack him. One other woman was in the room, and she stayed beside Neko, reading from a black little book as she eyes Inu fearfully.

[salemboy]

"Yeah," he said, leaning back. He cracked knuckles. "I just realized that I don't know any of the group's hobbies. I mean, I know we all like to kill in the most brutal ways possible, but I don't know anybody's hobbies." He heard the water starting boil, so he got up, and threw in hard noodles, and a few spices. Then, once the noodles were soft, he turned off the stove, and poured the Ramen into two bowls, and set them on the table, one in front of Ouki, another in front of his seat.

Then he grabbed two pairs of hashi (chopsticks), and set them down next to the bowls. Then he sat down in front of his bowl, and smelled the Ramen. "Itadakimasu," he said, smiling.

[Itadakimasu is very similar to Dig in, but doesn't have a literal translation to english.]

[Ms. Elsewhere]

Ouki leaned over the bowl and breathed in the steam. She picked up her chopsticks, picked up a bunch of the noodles and starting slurping. She spoke to Damien between chews.
"What do you mean? Like do we like to dabble in origami?" she swallowed her mouthful and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Actually..... I really like music. Not just listening to it, but playing it. I used to play all the time, and all sorts of instruments." Ouki absently tapped her chopsticks on the table as her thoughts took her elsewhere. "My favourite one was the Shakuhachi. I still have one. I used to play it a lot. For meditation. Believe it or not, I used to have an even worse temper than I do now. I also wasnt' very happy. The music helped that." Ouki took another big mouthful of noodles. She swallowed them down almost whole. "What have we got to drink?" she asked.

[salemboy]

Damien laughed. "You only get as angry as the rest of us. That's nothing to be ashamed of." He got up to look for something to drink. As he searched, he looked back and said, "You need to teach me to play the Shakuhachi sometime. If memory serves, it's the oldest Japanese instrument. Ah, there's something good." He reached into the fridge and pulled out a Fanta Grape. He set it down in front of Ouki, took the seat next to her, and jokingly stated, "Although I was never musically inclined."

[Ms. Elsewhere]

Ouki picked up her bowl and drained the rest of the hot water. She didn't realise how hungry she had been. She put down her bowl, then picked up her can of drink and cracked it. She took a sip, and then looked over at Damien's hands. She took one of them. "May I?" she asked. Damien nodded, looking a little confused. She turned his hand over and stroked it right to the tips of his fingers. She turned his hand over and placed it gently back onto the table.
"You're hands are the tools of your trade, Damien. You have to be skilled to do what you do. Music would be easy for you. But would you be all technique, or would you let yourself feel?" she lifted her eyes to his.

[salemboy]

Damien remembered a short story he wrote for High School. The story had been about a Samurai's travels, and at one scene, he played the Shakuhachi with an old man. In the scene, they hadn't followed a set song, they just played, long, beautiful notes, listening to them resounding through the mountains. So, Damien said, "Whenever I imagine the Shakuhachi, or any Oriental instrument for that matter, I don't think of them playing songs, I think of them playing slow, harmonious tunes, not really have set notes. So I guess my answer would be the latter, I'd like to let myself feel, explore, learn." He thought for a moment, then said, "It's the same with my tree climbing. Going the same route, and not taking any risks, not trying anything new... is boring." He smiled. "What about yourself?"

[Ms. Elsewhere]

Ouki looked away. "I love your answer." she said simply. "And... I think I let myself feel too much." She stood up, taking her drink with her. She set her drink on the counter and then lifted herself up to sit on the bench. "Sometimes I want to get away. To explore, to see new things. But I don't want to be alone. I love being here. With people who understand me. " She paused, taking a drink. "You climb trees? That's awesome! Hahah.. I can't imagine.. getting out and doing something like that. It reminds me of when I was young, going to the woods with my parents..." she stopped mid sentence, and then cleared her throat. "Tell me more?"

[salemboy]

She stopped mid-sentence. Damien recognised that as a sign of a secret. Still, he didn't want to pry. She would tell him in her own time. So he got and sat next to her on the bench. "I like tree climbin because," he paused momentarily, thinking about how he would put it. "When I'm in a tree, at the very top, I'm so high up that I feel like I can see the world, and that I can do anything. It makes the trouble of getting up there more than worth it. I love that feeling, as the branches sway beneath my feet, and the wind blows past me. I feel at bliss. Often, I don't ever want to come down. I'll have to show you what it's like one day. I'll help you climb my favorite tree." For once, this statement wasn't some poets writing that he copied. No, for once, he said something almost poetic. Whenever he did, he knew he was speaking the truth.

[Ms. Elsewhere]

Ouki turned to look at Damien and smiled. "I'd like that." She said softly, and patted his hand. She left her hand on his for a long moment. Damien looked down at their hands, and when he looked back at her again, she leaned forward and pressed her lips on his. She closed her eyes, feeling her heart beat increase. He wasn't pulling away, and this made her even more happy. The kiss broke away naturally, and she opened her eyes to look at him. His eyes had closed too. He opened them, and looked at Ouki, a look of surprise on his face. She gave him a half grin and shrugged, then hopped off the bench.
"I've got to go. I need some supplies from the shops. Do you need anything?" She scooped up her bag, opened the door and looked back at Damien. He hadn't moved, nor did he speak. Ouki chuckled.
"Right.. well..."she said, swinging her arms. "I'll see you later then." she practically skipped out of the room.
When she walked out of the hideout, she spun on the spot in an almost triumphant little dance.
"I've always wanted to do that!" she muttered, brushing her fingers across her lips. And headed down the street.

[salemboy]

The scene played over and over in Damien's head like a little cartoon. One moment, he was smiling at her, happy to be in the companionship of a good friend. Then, they were kissing. Damien had always thought of Ouki as a friend, and he thought she felt the same. Too stunned to even think about it, he just sat there absent-mindedly listening to the birds chirp outside.