A Chance Encounter (Simca)

Spoiler:

What to do with all this free time. It was a question that plagued his mind a lot lately. After arriving in Steel he'd been quite busy. First situating himself in his suite in the luxurious Royal Hotel. Then scoping out the city for a general feel on where the important players where located. His first visit had been the town hall, gathering some fresh intel on the mayor and the people closest to him. Be it work, or private. Then, the central district, where the buildings reached further into the sky. Some of the big leaguers had secrets he could exploit or possessed things he could use. If anything, it was good to separate the ones with use from the useless ones. Lastly, he had gathered information on the groups on the other side of the law before starting introductions. All in all, he had constructed an extensive source of information over the past days.

Now, the time to put things in motion was rapidly approaching. Perhaps a personal appearance would be necessary sooner, rather than later. That would mean nights like this would be in short supply. Regardless of what the future had in store, Krious still didn't know what to do with himself in the present. This evening he had decided on a walk in the nicer part of town. You know, the one not ruled by graffiti and if you got mugged, they'd at least be polite about it. Thankfully, this dimly lit street was mostly deserted. Most shops had closed and only the infrequent bar or café showed signs of life, bleeding light and sound into the street. He passed an occasional passerby, most of them dressed in the same manner of stylish but blandly colored overcoat that he wore himself. All of them in a hurry to get home or wherever their destination took them tonight.

Krious casually strolled down the street with coffee in hand, black, no sugar, staring blankly where he was going but paying little attention to it. It bothered him somewhat that the lovely barista at his establishment of choice already knew his, compared to other variations on the menu, simple order by heart. His mug always marked with the initial 'K' and handed over with a practiced smile. In retrospect it might not have been the best idea to single out a shop like that, but the brew was worth it. Occasionally he took a sip of the brown liquid, enjoying the warm and bitter taste on this slightly chilly evening. If anyone were to ever ask him what he enjoyed most, sipping coffee while wandering aimlessly during nightfall and enjoying some semblance of quiet in this noisy city would surely top the list.

Background Music

Simca bounded across the rooftops in the cover of the all-encompassing darkness of Downtown Steel at midnight. She had just finished a run-down of the Slums, which for once were decidedly quiet: only three places where she needed to actively intervene. The Swallow flipped before quietly landing at the edge of the fire escape of a building next to an open street.

Pausing for a moment, Simca got up out of her crouched position, placing her hands on the railing of the fire escape. Jade eyes as sharp as a swallow scanned through the darkness which to her was as clear as daylight, a sigh escaping her lips as she took in the urban beauty of it all.

Steel was her City, after all. Despite all its grit and crime, it was home, and she loved it.

Emerald orbs found a single man in black walking alone down the street with what looked like a steaming hot cup in his hand, likely coffee, or perhaps some blend of tea. Simca frowned; something about him felt oddly familiar. Something... ethereally, surreally, truly amicable.

She heard a voice in the back of her head; like a well-known tune in the wrong key. "Krious!" she gasped, before clasping her hands over her mouth. She had said the word out aloud, just loud enough that the man in black, who was passing right beneath her, could possibly have heard...

Yet, what did it mean? Why did she that? Who, or what, was Krious? She knew that she should know, but she didn't...

... A well-known tune in the wrong key...

Who..?

Krious stopped dead in his tracks and tilted his head towards the sound just enough to catch a glimpse with his implant. He could count the number of people who knew him by his code-name on one hand but there was no denying he heard someone say it out loud. Street lights messed with his ability to see in the dark but the implant confirmed there was something there. Something wasn't good enough.

Quickly he focused back on the street before him and took a few more steps whilst subtly slipping the wrist focus he carried in his pocket onto his right wrist. Two steps later he disappeared from sight with a soft thud, leaving his coffee for the pavement and not caring if anyone else saw him or not. The first jump carried him upwards to a building a few feet down the street, a second followed right behind the origin of the sound, keeping a few meters of distance between them just to be safe.

Barely a breath had passed as an identical thud announced his arrival and he quickly took in what was in front of him. The figure suggested a young female with a lithe build and unmistakable hair. His implant instantly gathered a very basic profile, suggesting the name 'Swallow' along with it. A known fighter of crime and she had uttered his name. The wrist focus ignited into a weapon. Its dark blueish outline illuminating the otherwise black energy blade against the growing night.

"This is the part where you explain how you know that name." His voice was stern and his eyes piercing, but his stance would betray his reluctance about the situation to a trained eye.

'It's him...' she could feel her heart thumping against her chest as she took a step backwards on the fire escape, her back touching the brick wall behind her and sealing off her escape at least in that direction.

He suddenly disappeared, the way she knew he would. He showed up right in front of her on top of the fire escape, again as she knew he would. She had no idea why. She had never met this man before, why did she feel then such an intimate connection?

"I-I-It's you..."

"This is the part where you explain how you know that name."

There it was. Something unfamiliar about him, for once. The sheer animosity in his tone, she could tell she wasn't familiar with that. It snapped Swallow out of her dazed reverie, and she immediately settled into an Eight Trigrams battle stance.

"S-S-Stay back..." she muttered, her voice quivering as she spoke and not coming out except in a harsh whisper.

She was paralyzed, she had no idea what to do...

Her body language  was a jumbled mess just like his own mind trying to make sense of this situation. She knew him, yet she acted like she'd never seen him before. Krious debated his options, his own agitation not helping in the least, but decided that getting rid of her this instant would not answer any of his questions. Not that he was sure he could after witnissing her fall into a practised stance.

It was more difficult to decide whether to excalate the situation or not. Trapped prey was often the most dangerous and while her whimper didn't sound the part, the information floating in his field of view definately told him she would prove to be dangerous. Krious took a measured step forward, his cold gaze never leaving her eyes even for an instant. Another step followed hoping to up the pressure. The distance between them now nearing an arm's length.

"Answer the question." he bit down on his teeth on the last bit, showing his growing impatience

"Answer the question."

Simca gasped when he practically scowled at her, teeth bared, as he said so. For some reason, some unknown part of her knew that this man - a man she knew somehow, a man who was for some unfathomable reason a constant presence in her dreams - would never talk to her like this. The fact that he was doing so, rent her heart asunder, and the worst part about it was she was clueless as to why and how of it all!

"I-I-I don't know!" she shouted suddenly, both hands grasping her head which threatened to split due to the intensity of pressure.

Then, she flipped.

A single, graceful, acrobatic maneuver. Leaping into the air, she rolled into a full three-sixty degree aerial turn, her airy bones lighter than a normal human's enabling her to move with unparalleled fluidity - up and over Krious' head, aiming to land on the grill of the fire escape which was now behind Krious. From thence, she intended to jump onto the midnight air beneath her and bound away.

She had to get away from this scary man... after searching for him for so long.

... And that thought alone shredded her heart into a million pieces, tears beginning to well up in her eyes... and she Didn't. Know. Why.

Yes, run little lamb.

A smirk replaced his agitation for a fraction of a second as the almost inhumane gymnast took off into the air and leaped over him in the most fluid motion he had ever witnessed. She was losing herself at the sight of him and this began to lessen his earlier displeasure substantially. He might've been laying it on a a bit thick, but it intrigued him as to why she reacted as such and that was enough to indulge in this cat and mouse play. Run away, or not, it would not matter in the end.

Krious disengaged his energy blade, the leftover energy now gathering in the palm of his right hand. Then spun around after his opponent as her body passed over him, dropping to one knee in the process and threw out his palm towards the general direction her momentum carried her. The energy followed, blasting a short range wave of force outward after his birdlike prey, propelling her forward instead of leaving her in full control of her movements.

He continued by pushing himself off the ground, speedily following in the wake of the blast. Ready to either pin down the featherweight girl where she crashed or pursue her further into the night.

"GAH!"

Said featherweight girl would exclaim as she felt the energy slam against her entire being. Her light weight was a byproduct not just her powers, but also her hollow bones, and if there was one thing the Swallow was not, it was durable.

"Ugh!" she yelled she slammed onto the concrete below before tumbling across it due to the momentum of the energy blast. Fresh red blood dripped down her lips and her entire body roared in pain - she wondered if one or more of her hollow bones had actually been broken as a result of taking the blast or the impact.

"Ugh... *cough*... *hack*!" she choked out more blood as, in her prone position, she tried to push herself back up on just her left arm, her right one refusing to move. She had been to careless, she had allowed herself to get hit!

Tears escaped her eyes, sliding down her cheeks. She didn't know why he was crying; it was not because of the excruciating pain she felt. Just seeing that man - the monster that had hurt her - Krious, his name is Krious -- why do I know his name? Why does it hurt so much?! she shouted at herself inside her own mind, not finding within her the strength to speak. Despite her condition, she was not referring to her physical pain. There was something far more powerful at work here.

Through tearful eyes, her right arm and both legs refusing budge, she pushed her torso and head up using her left one, and looked up at her dark-clad assailant with tears streaking down her cheeks.

"K-K-K-Krious..."

Krious leapt down after his prey as she dropped down from the blast. For a single heartbeat he felt something akin to remorse when looking at the broken and confused figure before him. The feeling quickly dissipated. He circled around her, as she kept struggling like a bird with a broken wing, until he reached her front and towered over of her. It may have been late in the evening, but this would attract attention he didn't need.

Their gaze locked as she stuttered out his name once more. Dropping to one knee Krious placed his palm on her left cheek, gazed deep into her emerald eyes and wiped away the tears with his thumb. Hmm... Tears? He really didn't know what to make of this situation anymore. There was something here, something he couldn't explain just yet, but this approach wasn't helping either of them.

"Stop fighting this." He wasn't even sure if he meant fighting him or the battle that obviously raged in her mind. Breaking their eye contact Krious stood back up, carefully rolled her on her back and forced her up into a seated position. He kept an arm tightly around her shoulders and locked eyes once more to make sure his next words were understood. "You're coming with me. Cooperate and I'll treat you fairly, but I will find out what is hidden in your mind. Do you understand?"

Not waiting on an answer he unceremoniously picked her light frame off the ground into a firefighter carry. He then scanned the skyline for a way back up and away from prying eyes. Darkforce enveloped the two of them, giving a slight feeling of vertigo to the uninitiated, which was more annoying than unpleasant. A second later they found themselves back on the roof where it all started, waiting for his energy level to recharge.

Simca's eyes widened as the strange man placed his hand on her cheek. She wanted to run, scream and get away as fast as she could - yet, his touch seemed so familiar, and it seemed to satiate, to a degree, the bottomless void in her heart.

Her lips trembled as she let him carry her.

"N-No... let go..."

"Stop fighting this."

At that point, she just gave up. She didn't want to, but the intense pain in her body didn't afford her much of a choice. Her mind and her heart were pulling her in opposite directions, yet her body allowed for neither to have their way. Darkforce enveloped them, and Simca basked in the familiar sensation - as if she had hitchhiked along with Krious before - before they arrived at the roof.

The vertigo did nothing to put ease her onto it, but she had begun to recover just enough to find some movement in her arms. They ached, but she could act now. The pinkette glared up at Krious, finally rising out of the onslaught of feelings and memories, deciding to act at the first chance she got.

She just didn't know what her action would end up being...