I1DT: Interview With A Dragon

by **John Hino** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 3:20 pm

John, sporting an expensive suit, cut into the line outside The Nest with the confidence of someone who knows they'll be let in. He compensated those he inconvenienced, but it's amazing how many people just plain get out of your way when you look like Godzilla.

by **Narrator** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 4:12 pm

All of them do, in fact. Though any money held out is snatched up in the blink of an eye. The people in line are all fairly well dressed, at least as far as clubs go. When John gets to the entrance a bulky asian-looking man puts up a hand while he eyes John. If he recognizes him the dark sunglasses he's wearing hide it well. "Name?" he says while there#s disgruntled mumbling behind John. Apparently throwing cash around and looking like a dragon makes people move but it doesn't exactly win any hearts.

by **John Hino** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 7:03 pm

"John Hino," he answered.

by **Narrator** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 7:16 pm

"Well would you look at that. Your name's actually on the list. Go ahead." she says, removing the velvet rope and letting him into the club. As John steps inside he pulls out a radio and quietly talks into it. Inside the club a small waiting area has a coat check on the left and a desk to pay the cover charge at. It doesn't take long until a Chinese woman wearing an extremely short, strapless dress approaches him.

"Mister Hino? This way please." she says, attaching herself to his arm and steering him past the counter and away from the main entrance into the club towards a smaller door on the other side of the counter labelled VIP.

by **John Hino** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 7:24 pm

He stopped.

"Miss Kumo must think me a fool. Tell her that if she wants to talk, she meets with me in the open or not all."

by **Narrator** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 7:27 pm

The woman suddenly looks incredibly nervous.

"I w-was told to escort you to VIP tables... You see dance floor."

by **John Hino** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 7:43 pm

"Hmph... Very well. But if I don't like what I see I'm turning around."

by **Narrator** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 8:15 pm

She nods and leads him through the VIP door. It seems she was telling the truth, because the door just leads into the same main floor, except that they are somewhat separated from the less important guests by being two or three feet higher and a low wall with a gold railing that encircles the VIP area and it's couches and tables. She leads him to an otherwise empty one and sits down with him. It's only a matter of seconds before they are being served champagne out of a bottle that looks stupidly expensive.

by **John Hino** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 8:26 pm

Judging that Kumo wouldn't go through all that work just to poison him, John took the gesture at face value. His sip was almost comically genteel for an individual his size.

"I see she spares no expense for expected guests," he said, voice tinged with restrained anger.

by **Narrator** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 8:52 pm

The woman looks even more nervous, somewhat feeling like she's stuck between a rock and a hard place. "N-not sure the drinks are on the house..." she manages.

by **John Hino** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 9:55 am

He chuckled despite himself. "Looks like she might get some of my money after all."

by **Yui Kumo** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 10:14 am

John can't see the door to Yui's office from where he's sitting, but he can spot her when she comes down the stairs. She's smiling and occasionally stops to exchange a few words with other patrons in the VIP area, though she keeps glancing over in John's direction, at which point her smile widens and shows just a bit too many teeth to still be considered friendly. It takes her about ten minutes but then she finally reaches John's table and sits down across from him.

"John, what a pleasure. I was wondering if you were ever going to pay us a visit." she says, her tone icy and not at all fitting the words.

by **John Hino** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 10:33 am

"I thought I should scope out my competition, as it were," he said, playing the game with his own veiled hostility.

by **Yui Kumo** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 10:52 am

"Oh, you're looking at breaking into the club scene now?" she decides to play along. Crossing her legs she leans back in the seat and eyes John, eyes wandering over him as if she was sizing him up.

by **John Hino** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 11:06 am

"Indeed. I have acquired a rather historic club. It's really quite magical. Admittedly it has a little... infestation problem... but that will be hammered out soon enough."

by **Yui Kumo** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 11:23 am

"Is that so. Well, the best of luck with that. I hear once something has taken root for a while it can be quite resilient. Gets into the foundation and just grows back in after a while."

by **John Hino** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 11:31 am

"Yeah. You have to get the queen or they just come back."

by **Yui Kumo** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 11:57 am

"You know, I will admit that I do enjoy a couple of things you people accomplished." she says, her voice dropping down to a hiss. "Back in the day someone would have stormed in and made a scene. Now you've invented things like lawyers and publicity. If I were to scream right now, these people would turn their eyes on you in a heartbeat. They wouldn't help because they are cowards but they would watch with their phones and that's all that matters. You went and dug out a weapon but in the meantime I built myself an carapace it can't crack. Go ahead, take a swing at me, see how fast your own kind will turn on what they perceive as an aberration, a monster. Funny, back home it wouldn't work nearly as well. They would have seen your face as that of a benevolent force, but here they write stories about heroes who slay the dragons." she grins, her lips growing thin as they stretch over her gleaming teeth.

by **John Hino** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 2:24 pm

"If it's a battle of lawyers then you don't stand any better a chance than if you assaulted the University itself. You aren't facing mere samurai this time. You'll never get what you want, because compared to things the X-Men have faced even under my short membership... the Bone Empress herself is just an uppity bug."

by **Yui Kumo** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 2:58 pm

"Bug!? How dare you." she hisses. "Go ahead, see what happens if you try to squash me with your little stick. I'll make you look like a dangerous monster until they chase you out of this country like they chased you out of the US. I know you'd risk yourself to fight me, because that's the kind of idiot you are, but can you afford to make your friends pay the price for trying?"

by **John Hino** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 3:12 pm

"This 'idiot' has already outsmarted you once," he smirked, "Or is that twice?"

by **Yui Kumo** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 3:17 pm

"You got lucky!" she raises her voice some, which turns a couple heads for a moment before the guests go back to their own conversations. The music is loud enough that it's only in the immediate vicinity but Yui does notice it and bares her teeth as she forces herself to quiet down some. "Compared to me you are nothing! All you manage to do is delay the inevitable. Sooner or later I will add the bones of the last of the Hino family to my collection."

by **John Hino** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 3:41 pm

John hid it well, but he felt a chill.

They already...

Then he stifled an odd chuckle.

"Don't tell me you're Hakkotsukisai."

by **Yui Kumo** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 3:55 pm

"She surrendered her body to me as a vessel." she says, leaving John the chance to draw a wrong conclusion about the extent to which she has been summoned. After all, there's nothing to be gained by admitting that she requires more sacrifices to be brought fully into this world.

by **John Hino** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 6:57 pm

"You say I am nothing compared to you, yet you've done nothing but skulk about letting others do all the work. So either you've withered like your hosts mediocre talent, or you aren't all here yet. Either way you can be stopped. And if you harm anyone I care about, I won't stop until one way or another I tear my way into Yomi and finish what Daisuke Yamakaze started."

by **Yui Kumo** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 7:22 pm

"Strong words from a small man who is used to being bigger than those around him." she sneers.

by **John Hino** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 7:49 pm

"I imagine you said much the same thing to Daisuke before he sent you limping back into the dark."

by **Yui Kumo** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 8:09 pm

"Yet here I am and he is long dead."

by **John Hino** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 8:26 pm

"If one mutant... or whatever his mysterious strength was... and a few samurai can wound your true body, imagine what my superhuman version of the Hundred Hunters can accomplish."

by **Yui Kumo** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 8:38 pm

"Then where are your Hundred Hunters? Where is your fabled stolen weapon? No, instead you come crawling to my house on all fours."

by **John Hino** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 8:49 pm

He sneered at that as he stood.

"I came merely to offer you a chance to get out of this in one piece, demon. Leave this woman be and go home where you belong, or you will regret it," he said with cold and unwavering certainty.

by **Yui Kumo** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 9:11 pm

"This woman asked me, begged me, invoked me to come to her! Her fellow believers serve me hoping for the same blessing." she laughs harshly.

by **John Hino** » Wed Apr 15, 2015 9:43 am

"Blessings are for gods to give. You are no goddess, no matter what the broken people who follow you say."

by **Yui Kumo** » Wed Apr 15, 2015 10:01 am

"Then pray tell, little dragon-man, what's the difference between gods and demons?"

by **John Hino** » Wed Apr 15, 2015 10:05 am

"Gods serve a purpose. Demons... are parasites."

by **Yui Kumo** » Wed Apr 15, 2015 10:18 am

"You know nothing!" she abruptly stands up. "This conversation is over. Leave my domain and be thankful that I let you!" she spits out, staring at John with wild eyes.

by **John Hino** » Wed Apr 15, 2015 10:33 am

He adjusted his tie and walked out, pausing to say, "Send me a bill for the glass of champagne if you wish. It's the only price you'll get."

by **Yui Kumo** » Wed Apr 15, 2015 11:17 am

"How gracious of you to pay your bills." she rolls her eyes.

by **John Hino** » Wed Apr 15, 2015 11:24 am

Once outside of the club, John took out his cell phone and checked to see if his phone pairing program caught any big fish.

by **Narrator** » Wed Apr 15, 2015 11:39 am

It picked up dozens of cellphones inside the club. At a glance it's impossible to tell if any of them aren't from guests.

Who is online