Super Hero RPG

[The Kingpin]

"BOO!" came Gaara's voice as he seemed to appear out of thin air, the head floating practically on Ira's shoulder...

[Hopeflower]

The amber-eyed demon jumped badly, letting out a snarl that was half-anger, half-fear. Yoruichi turned, startled, just in time to see Ira's fire jump to her palms and lick up her forearms. "Ira!" she called warningly. A moment later Ira took a breath and seemingly got the flames under control, as they slowly receded back to her hands and out of sight.

[The Kingpin]

"And still, you're too jumpy.....Ira, is it?" said the head as it floated away from her, the sand collecting, forming a body, a dark, blood red trenchcoat being formed, what looked like one-sleeved bulletproof vest forming over it, soon showing itself to be dark grey, the back of it having a thick looking reinforced leather strap which floated outwards as the excess sand formed a gourd on the man's back, the man crossing his arms as he looked at them. "You'll need to learn to fix that" said Gaara, his face now blank and almost bored looking, eyes having an almost disinterested, hald open look to them as the last of the sand formed on the gourd, the remains causing the trenchcoat to flutter slightly, revealing the back to be slit all the way up to hip height, most likely to make it easier to move despite it being closed...

[Hopeflower]

"Did I not just say...I have to be?" Ira growled, clenching her fists. A familiar pain was pressing at her shoulders. With a growl, she turned away. "Yoruichi," she hissed. "Forget the fire for now. I need a minute to calm down...I don't want to end up hurting you." She moved into the kitchen with barely a sound, leaving Yoruichi to figure out what the hell had just happened.

[The Kingpin]

"It's been a while, Yoru..." said Gaara, having long since decided to use that as a nickname, Yoruichi being a bit long and not as interesting in his opinion. "I take it you're taking lessons in Demonology?" he added...

[Hopeflower]

Yoruichi blinked in surprise at the nickname before cracking a smile. "Yeah. Trying to anyway." She rolled her shoulders, easing some of the tension that had built up in them before cracking her neck.

[The Kingpin]

"Seems your teacher needs some lessons herself" said Gaara with a faint smirk, as he began to walk around the house calmly, randomly sitting casually on the back of a couch as he moved...

[Hopeflower]

"She knows more than I do," Yoruichi sighed, leaning against a wall. "So...it's a start." She shrugged.

Ira gripped the edges of the kitchen sink tightly, her head hanging over it as though she though she was going to be sick. Her bangs hid her eyes from view. Get a grip, she told herself firmly. Or you'll end up setting your only home on fire. With a sigh, she turned on the faucet and just stood listening to it, trying to calm down.

[The Kingpin]

"Thought i'd repay her for the couple of scares she gave you earlier" he commented with a faint smirk. "I think i did good" he added...

[Hopeflower]

Yoruichi grinned. "You didn't have to do that," she commented. "But I agree - you must've scared her pretty badly," she added, glancing towards the kitchen. Ira had yet to come back out. What was she doing in there?

After a minute, Ira reached out and slowly turned off the flow of water. She let out a long sigh and rubbed at her eyes. "It's over and done," she muttered under her breath. "They're not coming back. But damn it...they just won't leave me alone..." Images were flickering behind her eyelids. Faces. Bodies. People she'd killed. People she'd nearly killed. Some of which...she'd known.

[The Kingpin]

"Sometimes a good scare reminds us all of how much alike we all are....how mortal we all are. that keeps others from inflating their egos too much" he said with a chuckle. "But at the same time, it can be a weakness to be exploited. that's the difference between predator and prey.....the predator ambushes....the prey is startled, hesitates, panics, and then falls" he explained. "That's a lesson Ira needs to learn. there's a difference between being jumpy, and alert. prey are jumpy. they'll panic the moment something suddenly changes, because their minds can't adapt fast enough. a predator is alert. they'll turn and counter whatever tries to startle it"...

[Hopeflower]

Yoruichi hummed softly, not really sure if she agreed or not. She turned her head when she saw a flicker of white at the corner of her vision. She was in time to catch a glimpse of Ira's face. Yoruichi blinked, somewhat surprised. The amber-eyed teen looked shaken...and almost haunted. Ira's gaze was dark, shadowed, and seemed not to be fixed on anything in particular. Yoruichi wondered if she really saw anything she was looking at. Then the other demon was gone, heading up the stairs. The red-eyed teen glanced back at Gaara, puzzled. Had Ira really been that scared...or was something else bothering her?

[The Kingpin]

Gaara raised an eyebrow. had he really scared her that badly? "You think she's ok?" he asked...

[Hopeflower]

"No idea," Yoruichi murmured, expecting to hear a series of thuds any second now. Ira looked like she was so out of it, a fall down the stairs would be likely. She frowned after Ira, thinking. I've seen that look before. After I killed my father, after Raito was killed. Something's definitely bothering her.

Ira sat heavily on the top stair and sprawled out so her back was against the wall and her legs stretched the length of the stair. She closed her eyes, and immediately regretted it. The images were still there... Leave me alone, she thought, grimacing as though pained.

[The Kingpin]

Gaara stared at where Ira went, actually being somewhat conscerned. he couldn't possibly have been THAT frightning, could he? or perhaps he'd brought some kind of memory to mind...he'd seen enough strange things in his lifetime that nothing would surprise him as to what happened to the girl...

[Hopeflower]

Yoruichi started for the stairs, halting at the bottom when she saw Ira at the top. "Ira?" she called. She almost didn't expect a reaction. But Ira slowly turned her head and fixed Yoruichi with a blank stare. "I said forget training," she muttered, just loud enough for Yoruichi to hear. "I might burn you." Yoruichi sighed. "...What's bothering you?" she asked. Ira stared at her for about half a minute before she said softly, "They won't leave me alone." Yoruichi blinked, confused. "Their faces," Ira went on. "They won't go away."

[The Kingpin]

Gaara stood and walked closer towards Yoruichi, wanting to know firsthand if Ira was ok. he heard her say something, but it was so quiet he couldn't make it out. it didn't sound like intentional whispering, but more like a weak, fearful will...

[Hopeflower]

"Whose faces?" Yoruichi asked. She had the sinking suspicion that she knew where this was going.

Ira let her head hang forward, before she looked back at Yoruichi with a grin and the start of a soft laugh. "I saw who they really were, in those last few seconds before the light left their eyes," she hissed, her smile widening. Her amber eyes glittered. "I saw how cowardly they really were...how afraid they were to die." She let out a harsh bark of laughter. Yoruichi found it hard not to flinch away. "But you know what?" Ira went on. "They weren't innocent...no matter how their friends and family knew them...they were far from untainted. I killed a man...who had the blood of children on his hands. I killed a woman who murdered her own son." She hung her head again. The laugh was hollow this time.

[The Kingpin]

"And yet you are discomforted by the memory of their faces? i sense regret....or at the very least, that you were unprepared to kill....forced into the action by things outside of your own control" said Gaara. he knew the experience well. the only difference was he never regretted killing. he never had to think back. his goal was too solid to let him see anything to make him hesitate in taking the lives he took...

[Hopeflower]

Ira's eyes flashed. "You see a lot for someone who's barely met me," she said. She nodded sharply. "Some organization or somesuch," she went on, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "I was sent out, told a bit about who I was to kill, and if I was successful, I got a hot meal and a pat on the back. If not...well." Her lips skinned back from her teeth in a savage grimace. "I'll let you imagine what happened then."