Remember The Name

[Nakamura Atsushi]

"Please..."

A young man crawled along the ground in a dimly lit alleyway, one of the many of New York City. He was beaten and covered in lacerations and bruises, and was clearly the new victim of one of Atsushi's cruel "games". The man tried to make his way to the street, only to be met with a foot on his back, pushing against him and into the dirt, and he was too weak to fight back.

[orange]"What's that?"[/orange] the Japanese boy placed a hand to his ear and leaned forward, as if he could not hear what the man had said. He had adorned his traditional bandana over his face, and grinned maniacally behind it. [orange]"You're going to have to speak up, I'm afraid. No one likes a timid boy."[/orange]

He lifted his foot and slammed it into the center of the man's spine, causing him to shout out - though not nearly loud enough attract attention in this bustling city - in pain. Had he not been so dehydrated, tears would be rolling down his cheeks.

"Please..." he began, licking his chapped, dry lips. "I... I have a... a family..."

[orange]"Oh? A family you say!"[/orange] Atsushi dropped and saton the man's back, pulling a needle from his pocket. [orange]"I had a family once, you know."[/orange] He began to laugh, playing with the needle and flicking the tip of it. [orange]"They weren't any fun, though."[/orange] He turned and slipped the needle into the side of the man's neck, only barely, and the man began to mutter thing about how he was sorry about this, and wished he could do that. Atsushi wasn't having any of it.

[orange]"I'll tell them you said goodbye. Of ccourse, after that, they'll be joining you!"[/orange]

He slammed the needle into the man's neck, then lifted his head by his hair and slammed it into the ground several times, just to be sure he was dead.

[orange]"They're all the same,"[/orange] he sighed, getting up and walking outof the alleyway and onto the streets of New York City. Even at night, they were surprisingly filled.

[orange]"Always so... boring."[/orange]

[Kazumi O'Connor]

OOC: Making a note that this thread takes place, in MY time line prior to the stuff currently going on with Pat.

She hated that she couldn't sleep, and even more than that, she hated nights like this. The nights when nightmares came even while she sat there awake. Oh she knew it was from the lack of sleep she forced upon herself, from the fragmentation of her mind, from the sheer stress she was under, but that didn't mean that she could do anything about it. Nope, knowing the reasons why didn't always lead to the answers, just created more of a problem.

Though, this was the first time since moving in with Patrick that she had been forced to grab her jacket, slip on her shoes and just escape the house. One, because she needed air, she needed to burn off energy and she needed to clear her head. Two, he wasn't home and she could feel that other side of herself wanting to tear free, or perhaps merge into something....bad? She couldn't be sure. It was odd, it was like she could hear the muffling sounds of speech as it reverberated off the walls of her mind, bouncing around the darker corners, the corners where her conscious thought did not dare to venture.

No, the things that lurked there were dangerous. The things that crawled within the darkness were vial and disgusting, nothing good or redeeming about them. Yet they were growing stronger as the days passed. It was nothing new to Kazumi, that was for sure. In fact, it was more like a reawakening. She had been born this way. Even as a child the darkness was there, the voice telling her to pinch that other little girl, to break that little boys toy, to bite the teacher. Oh sure, it had taken years for others to catch on, due to the fact her twin always took the blame, but it had been her. It had always been her. Aiden was the good one. Or he had been at least. Now, well now they were both bad. She could feel it. Feel him. Despite an ocean currently separating them, she could feel his darkness pouring into her own, feeding it, fueling it.

She gasped, eyes shooting open as she caught herself in the midst of a daydream of sorts, mind lost on those darker thoughts, no attention being paid to where she was. Eyes hidden beneath the hood of her jacket a dark shade of amethyst with flecks of crimson streaking through them, something similar to cracks forming in a pane of glass. Slowly her tongue traced along her lips, breathing being brought back under control as she struggled to ignore the sheer delight she felt at the idea of just, letting go.

No, that was not who she was. She was more than that. She was better than that. Right? A glance cast up at the sky, barely able to make out the moon and a sudden shiver running down her spine, one that caused her breath to catch in her throat as a single phrase echoed through her mind in a voice all too familiar.

The moon is a mysterious mistress who walks the night with demons of dread..

A grin slowly forming onto her lips as she lowered her gaze back to the path ahead of her, a glance here and there to the people that passed her by. Amazing how her eyes shot to their throats, to that vein that pulsed just beneath their flesh. A single bite....that was all it would take. Just one bite and she could kill them. She had done it before, she craved the ability to do it again.

Within her pockets, her fingers curled into fists, nails biting into the base of her palms, though not hard enough to draw blood. Unlike her mother, it was not her own blood she craved. No, that was wasteful. She wanted their's. All of it.

A shaky breath taken in, head shifting slowly from side to side as her boots carried her along the sidewalk, the world tuned out, for the most part, as she struggled to keep the demon at bay. No good would come from it coming out to play this night. None at all.

[Nakamura Atsushi]

[orange]"I should have been a little more careful. Damn it all, I've got blood on my clothes."[/orange]

The boy was complaining quite loudly, having just noticed he had not been as clean as usual in dealing with the kill. He'd been sloppy; too anxious for the kill, and that caused him to slip away from the satisfaction of hurting them. He'd forgotten that the kill was the most boring part by far. Finding them, stalking them, binding them, hurting them and what they hold dear... now those were fun.

Due to his outbursts and blood-covered clothing, he'd attracted a bit of attention. He paid no one any mind, though he did search the crowds for yet another potential target. He saw a few people of interest, and even a few men wearing his bandana, which made him cackle; his interest was spreading quickly. Among the faces, he spotted one in particular that caught his interest for a reason he couldn't quite understand. That was generally the best reason for him, however.

[orange]"Excuuuuuse me, Miss."[/orange]

Atsushi would pop up at her side, face still masked. His head would tilt to the side as he examined her. She seemed almost as off as he was, and he could tell these sort of things without needing to talk to a person. What he wanted to know was why.

[orange]"Do I know you?"[/orange]

Of course he didn't.

[Kazumi O'Connor]

If he was squawking on about getting a little bit of blood on him, well she didn't hear...or if she did, well she honestly didn't care. She had run into more than a few "killers" in her walks through the city, and if anything she found them to be a bit too whiny for her taste.

"Oh no, I got blood on me."

"That guy hit me pretty hard."

"That was harder than I thought."

The list of complaints went on and on. Every "killer" having his own little pet peeve to bitch and moan about, enough so that at this point she subconsciously drowned them out because if not, well then it would just prove to irritate her and in turn ruin her night. So no, she didn't pay any mind to some strange kid with a little blood on his clothes.

And she would have continued to do so, had said boy not popped up beside her. A mental groan given as she silently told herself that if she didn't make eye contact it would go away. People were like animals...So long as you didn't look them in the eye or give them attention they didn't hang around trying to hump your leg and get your attention.

Most of the time.....

"No." A single word sufficient enough to answer his question, Italian accent evident, though so was something else. Not so much irritation, nor was it disdain or even rudeness. It was just her, all of her, breaking through the barriers and pouring into her speech and into the way in which she kept herself. Those eyes never deviating from the path in front of her, still firmly under the belief that lack of eye contact would shorten this little.....interaction.....significantly. Though she would pull her hands free from her pocket and tug her hood down more securely over her head, concealing the eyes that now shimmered with hints of red as the demon inside her began to prowl about more anxiously.

It smelled the blood. However faint it might have been, it smelled it, and Gods how it wanted more. But she knew where to get her blood so not a second thought was given to it. Unlike her Mother, Kazumi was not so easily tempted by things like that, nor was she so easily distracted.

[Nakamura Atsushi]

[orange]"See that's what I was thinking."[/orange]

Atsushi would remain at the girl's side for no reason whatsoever, other than the fact that he saw something and he desired to know the reasoning behind it. For a split second he saw a hunger, and now he saw a feeble young woman, desperate to get away from the night life of the city; he could not deny, though, that there was something else.

Did it make her special?

Did it make him want to kill her, or spare her?

Did it make him desire her acquaintance like he desired Stein's?

Well, no, neither, and no. For now, at least.

[orange]"How very strange. Or, no, I suppose I lied by saying that already. Dear me, where are my manners?"[/orange] He was talking at this point just to hear himself talk. [orange]"Tell me something. Clearly you have the decision of whether or not to comply but do note I will find my answer regardless of your response. Why not satisfy your desire?"[/orange]

He saw it for a split second, but he still saw it, and he knew what he saw.

[Kazumi O'Connor]

She fought hard against the growl that wished to rise in her throat as the words continued to pour from his mouth. Fragments of crimson further lacing through the amethyst which was slowly being suffocated out of existence. She was in one of her "moods" and it was in this state that she was at her most irritable. Well, perhaps not her most irritable, seeing as how thoughts of how to murder him had yet to flash across her mind, but irritable none the less. More so than usual.

As he continued to speak she continued to move, tongue slowly tracing over her lips. A part of her, a part that was growing more and more silent with each footfall upon the sidewalk almost felt bad for how she was going to behave when Patrick got home, but the more dominant part, well it was thrilled with the idea.

Then came the question, the one that most would have been thrown off by, would have tried to escape from, to hide the truth from, to lie about....But not Kaz. No, instead she simply gave a soft, dark little chuckle and shook her head. "Ah, you are one of the ones that is full of himself. Love to hear yourself talk I imagine. Makes sense, considering I highly doubt that anyone else wants to listen to you."

Herself included, though she would not ignore the question. No, that answer came soon after with the same smooth and easy going nature that her previous words had been spoken, a hint of amusement in her tone, however dark it might have been. "And who is to say that it will not be satisfied? Perhaps you are a bit too presumptuous in assuming that I will deny myself. But then, conceited people are usually guilty of such things." Did she know for sure? Not really. Did she assume? Yes. She had been raised around a serial killer and a family riddled with violence, blood, murder and insanity of all shapes and forms. She did have a knack for picking up on certain things, even if she did tend to be a bit naive at times.

Besides, best case scenario, she pissed him off........Worst case, she amused him.

[Nakamura Atsushi]

[orange]"No, my dear, love is much too strong of a word. It implies that I have a great liking, or a powerful passion for something so simple as my own voice. Now, if that was where all of my passion went I wouldn't be standing here right now! And I do imagine some don't particularly enjoy listening to me, considering no sane man likes to be threatened."[/orange]

No sane man. He personally found some amusement in it. And this conversation, actually, given that the woman seemed to be asserting intelligence that was not there. Pity she was almost no different from the others.

[orange]"And there you go, continuing to use the improper vocabulary. Conceit and presumptuousness go hand in hand about as well as salt and a bowl for a dispenser. No, I believe the word you are looking for is "impudent", considering that, as well as "presumptuous" both imply an excessive boldness."[/orange] Much like he was currently displaying. [orange]"And do permit me to continue. You say I am making an assumption, and yet here you are, doing exactly as I "assumed"."[/orange]

He would take a large step in front of her and halt, tilting his head to the side.

[orange]"Now, it looks very plain to me that you are denying yourself. You may not be in, oh, an hour. You are, however, doing so now; indulging yourself in self-flattering vocabulary in an impromptu debate with a man on a much higher plane than you is surely not what you desire."[/orange]

[Kazumi O'Connor]

She laughed. It was all she could really do. This guy was rather amusing. Not only was he trying to assert his intelligence because clearly he was lacking in fineness in other areas, but because he was proving the point of what she had just said. Yet the sad thing was, he had to use so many words to do it. "Actually I was referring more to the fact that you sound like one of those annoying parrots that never shuts the fuck up, not a person's sanity on whether or not they would choose to listen to you. Something tells me you don't give people much choice in the matter, simply spew off words as though they hold any meaning at all with your audience when in reality you are likely the only one who gives a damn about anything you say."

She shrugged. She was amused, but this was really just irritating. Some guy that looked like he just jumped out of a gay Japanese porno snuff film, trying to lecture her in the middle of the night on a busy New York street, was not her ideal evening. To say the least. "Let me guess, you fancy yourself a sociopath, psychopath, something along those lines? One of those derogatory terms that doctors use to group you in with a million others just like you? Yet you think you are special I bet. Separate from the rest of the pack? Honestly if I wasn't so annoyed right now I would think it cute."

She would keep moving at the same pace she had been, rolling her eyes as he began to spew on about her grammar and other such nonsense, her mind wandering, not listening to anything he was saying, at all, just waiting til there was break for silence before she would speak up. "Oh my, whatever would I do without you to correct the flaws in my manner of speaking? I guess my life is complete now. Now go away." The irritation evident in her tone though she wouldn't show any outward signs of it. Why did she always find all the weird Halloween rejects? Seriously? What was it with guys and the need to cover their faces around her?

Though, she had to admit, at least Earth had been scary, as had Wind and Water....This guy? She had mismatched socks that were scarier than him. Yet, still he would not shut up, cutting off her path and forcing her to come to a stop as she tilted her head back to look up at him, the light slightly reflecting off her crimson gaze, though it remained mostly concealed under her hood. "Much higher is about right. Not entirely sure what you have been smoking but I think you should get your money back. Was a bad batch. As for my desire, I sate it when and where I wish, as simple as that. Control. Lovely word...Lovely concept. Possibly why I am the one currently walking the streets without blood on my clothes."

She side stepped to the right and would keep going. He could try and insult her all he wanted. It just didn't work that way. Nope, she was going to finish her walk, go home and tackle her boyfriend. He was sturdy, he could take it.

[Nakamura Atsushi]

As she would step to her right, he would step to his left. If she continued to go forward, she would end up walking into him. The pointlessly proud were always pointlessly difficult, and to compensate for the difficulty he would return it.

[orange]"If there were a million others just like me, I think I'd have found a good lot to fall under. Unfortunately, I've only met two men I can consider similar to myself, and only one of them has the capacity to claim that I am lower than I am. Why is that? I'll give you a hint, or rather, several, so you can catch on. That one person was special. Myself? No, not really, I'm just not a dullard nor an ignoramus like the common drabble. I appreciate your attempt at trying to throw your own spin on this, but I hear it helps to know what you're talking about."[/orange]

He couldn't help but laugh a little at her last little rant. It wasn't entirely accurate, but that was the common thing for the common teen; if you don't like them, they're on drugs. He didn't feel he needed to comment on that, because he hoped she could realize that it was weak herself.

[orange]"Well, one cannot control the patterns of blood spatter. Even with forensic knowledge, it never goes the way you want it to. Sure, you can control the general direction, but that's just it."[/orange]

It wasn't until now that he started to realize that he'd seen this woman before. Not in person, no, but in the School Paper, written by that idiot Michael Cypren. He knew something about her, now, and he was going to take advantage of it as best he could.

[orange]"So what's he like?"[/orange] Out of nowhere.

Atsushi would lean in unnecessarily forward, grinning behind his bandana. He doubted she would say anything, but every little detail helped.

[Kazumi O'Connor]

Oh my god! Did he ever shut the fuck up? It was like being stuck in an elevator and being forced to listen to that stupid music they played. It was all different, but in the end it all sounded the same....enough so that at some point it just became a mindless dribble of nonsense that made your ears want to bleed from its sheer annoyance.

When he moved to step in front of her, she would shoot around the opposite direction and around him. Fucker had a mouth that was faster than his feet, that was for sure. A little roll of her eyes as she just chose to ignore him. There are only two....blah blah blah. A memory of watching Charlie Brown as a child, the teacher's "voice" entering her head making her chuckle softly to herself. Yes, that was exactly what this guys sounded like, though perhaps a bit more feminine than the teacher had.

And there went her mind, lost on that topic and paying no mind as he continued to try and insult her or otherwise make her feel inferior to him. Seriously, it was just plain stupidity at this point. He spoke of being over confident and yet look who it was that was being the pompous, arrogant prick. She knew people far better than him, and she didn't even need to know what he was capable of to know that.

Then, he touched on a personal note and a grin would curl onto her lips, even as she kept moving. "Better than you." Yeah, that was about the sum of it. Patrick was far better than this prick and she didn't need anyone to prove it to her either. Though she was sure that Mr. Flappy Gums was going to have something to say about it, to tell her how wrong she was, or how she was being naive or some stupid shit like that. "Hurry up with the insults and comebacks already, I have other things I would much rather be doing with my night than listening to you try and make me feel inferior to you."

[Nakamura Atsushi]

[orange]"Well that doesn't say much."[/orange]

Atsushi shrugged, knocking a passerby off of their bike and stealing it, riding alongside the girl. Clearly the two had a strong relationship. Knowledge of that wasn't exactly helpful or detrimental, but it was certainly something.

[orange]"Now, I'm not trying to do anything. You're the one making the assumptions now, you know."[/orange] He let out another laugh before cycling just enough to be slightly ahead of her. [orange]"I would imagine him as the strong, stoic, silent type of guy until he got a moment alone with you. Then, I imagine, he would only have the goal of fulfilling his lustful desires."[/orange]

He didn't say it because he knew the School Captain, he didn't say it because he pretended to know him. The thought of it, though, was humorous.

[Kazumi O'Connor]

Ugh. It was like a nightmare that would not end. She would have been better off back in her house facing the demons that her real nightmares brought her instead of being stuck out here listening to this bullshit that just WOULD NOT STOP!

"My Gods you are possibly one of the most annoying things I have ever met in my life. Though I still believe a chihuahua has you beat. Hmm, wonder if you piss yourself when you get too excited too..." Clearly musing more to herself than to him since really she was over it at this point. Though she didn't appreciate that he kept trying to push on about information concerning Patrick. That was unsettling, not in the sense that she was scared of him trying to kill her boyfriend........Fuck him maybe, but no, she knew Pat would tear this fucker up fight wise.

"Its nice to see that you spend time daydreaming about my boyfriend. Perhaps next you will inform me as to what size dick he has? Because be damned if I haven't measured it yet." One hand pulled from her pocket, fingers snapping together as she gave a mock sigh of frustration.

Bike or no bike, she kept walking, her hand moving back into her pocket as she brushed her tongue along her lips, her little comment making her mind wander, grin curling on her lips as she debated on just what she was going to do when she got home. Now see, little fucker went and threw her mind in the gutter. Asshole.

Not that it was a particularly bad place to be all things considered. But still!

[Nakamura Atsushi]

Atsushi suddenly stopped. The girl would find that, as she was ranting, the Japanese man had drifted behind her and was no longer following. Should she look back, he would wave, though that was unlikely. He had an idea, but not one that involved him walking into trouble with two Pillars at once, while not in the place his presence seemed to have the most effect.

Three men, each adorning the same bandana as Atsushi, would walk up beside him. Once the girl was out of earshot, he would motion for them to come closer.

[orange]"Follow her. She's a Pillar, and chances are she's going home to another Pillar."[/orange] He'd just look to them and laugh, and despite this, they seemed eager to do as he said.

The girl would get to go home in peace, but there were now three men following her.

What was Atsushi's plan, here? Nothing, really.

[orange]"Those imbeciles..."[/orange]

[Kazumi O'Connor]

Oh thank the gods he stopped. Her head pounding. Though, truth be told, she knew it wasn't because of anything she had said. There were perks and then there were problems when it came to being born to a woman as paranoid as Kevala Badoer, and to dating a man as paranoid as Patrick O'Connor. One of the perks, you learned to watch out for certain things.

Turning the corner, she pulled her hand out of her pocket, fingers curled about her phone. Fidgeting with it for a minute she would eventually hold it up to her ear. "Hey baby...No, I am fine. Though I did run into a little annoyance......Mmhmm...Going to go ahead and go to my Moms', just pick me up there........I love you." Phone slid back into her pocket she kept going just as she had been this entire time.

She didn't have to explain why it was she was going to her Mothers' house, especially since it was further away from where she had told him she would be than their house was, he would figure it out. But the thing was, she would just love to see somebody try something at her parents' house. She knew damn well she was outmatched mentally by the stupid fucker who had just been bugging her....but she would love to see him try and go up against her Mother...especially on her home turf.

A little hum escaping past her lips, not paying attention, though it was that very same one that Earth had always been whistling, no matter where he was. Right now, her mind was distracted, on what, well that was anyone's guess. But regardless, she was paying little attention to what she was humming. Besides, it made no difference in the end.

Oh what tangled webs we weave....

Her attention grabbed by the familiar black SUV that was "always" close by where she was, a little chuckle as she simply shook her head and kept going. Next time the boy wanted to put a trace on somebody, best to do it on one who didn't already have one on them.

[Nakamura Atsushi]

Atsushi's men would have continued following her. One of the three had noticed the girl get on the phone, and motioned for one of the other two to stay behind a moment and inform their boss.

"Hey, the girl's on the phone for something. No idea what."

[orange]"When did she get on the phone?"[/orange]

"Uh, right after she took a turn, I think."

[orange]"... she's probably changing her plans. Keep following her, but watch yourself. The girl thinks she's clever."[/orange]

"Uh. Yeah. Okay, boss."

The guy took off after the other two, who'd remained a good distance away from Kazumi, but not enough to lose her. They did their best to remain completely unnoticed, but they were semi-retarded, and so that was difficult.

[orange]"Fifteen men on a dead man's chest. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum..."[/orange]

He did have a sort of fascination with Treasure Island, it seemed.