Cyclops was right and he wishes he wasn't (cyclopswasright) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-08-29 01:18:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, oyama yuriko (lady deathstrike), scott summers (cyclops) |
I assumed that the sincerest way to show that I mean no harm was to show up here and pledge my servi
Who: Scott and Yuriko
What: Yuriko asks if she can help him
When: Wednesday
Where: Scott's place
Status: complete
Rating: PG-13
Yuriko stood on the doorstep of the house, feeling her heart in her throat. It was one of the first days she’d spent almost entirely outside her house in some time. She felt as normal as she thought she was going to feel; that meant it was time to plan for other things. She’d asked Logan who to talk to, and here she was. Hopefully this Scott Summers would be home.
He was, and he wasn’t even a little high. (which would be Lorna’s fault, and one he was grateful for). At the very least he was in a receptive and good mood, which was a rare turn of events, lately. He opened the door. Under other circumstances and if Logan hadn’t mentioned her, he probably would have been much more concerned. “Hello.”
Yuriko reflexively bobbed her head. “Hello. Thank you for allowing me to come to your home, Summers-san. My name is Oyama Yuriko. May I enter?”
“Please.” He stepped aside to let her enter, fighting the wariness he felt at her presence.
Yuriko bobbed her head again. It didn’t take a fool to sense fear and wariness. “Perhaps I ought not to have come,” she murmured, despite his invitation to enter. “I do not wish to cause trouble.” She’d just wanted to explore her options, to look into doing something with these odd powers that might just help someone.
“No, it’s all right. Would you like something to drink?” Scott closed the door behind her. “I’d be a hypocrite if I turned you away. Everyone deserves a chance.”
Yuriko still kept her eyes downward. “Just a glass of water would be fine, I thank you. And please forgive me for saying so, but I assumed that the sincerest way to show that I mean no harm was to show up here and pledge my services.”
“No need to ask forgiveness.” Scott poured her some water and brought it over. “Have a seat, I should ask for forgiveness for my behavior.”
“I understand why.” Yuriko shook her head. “I presume that you have dreamt of Deathstrike.” Not her. It wasn’t her.
“Yeah. From what I can tell my dreaming is complete, just the occasional repeat.” He took a seat across from Yuriko.
“I have not.” Yuriko looked up at him finally. “I think I have perhaps dreamed of all the powers I will receive, but the dreams are not complete. The last one I had, I dreamt of fighting Logan. In a desert.” Her voice caught, but she kept her calm. “Deathstrike crucified him and left him to rot. After this, I wished to actively ally myself with the side of good ... or at least, the side of far less evil.”
Scott regarded her, expression hard to read behind his glasses, but his jaw was tight. “There’s...more. There’ll be a lot more. Years and years more.” He could think of a few people she’d probably want to avoid.
“Of nightmares? I am sure.” Yuriko’s eyes were hard. “But when the alternative is madness, I prefer to do something to assuage my guilt. For I have it.” Even though she’d done nothing, even though she never would. “People hate me already for things I never did. If I must prove my bona-fides, so be it.” She was thinking of the spot-eyed woman, that Neena. So much hate in her.
Scott didn’t respond right away. He decided to accept the olive branch that was being extended. “What do you want to do?”
“Anything that you will have me do.” Yuriko said seriously. “I can fight, with some training. I have enhanced senses. I am hard to hurt - I have adamantium in my bones, as Logan does. I speak Japanese, as do the yakuza and other terrorist organizations.” She couldn’t name any off the top of her head, but she was fairly sure there were others with Asian cells. “I would like to believe I am very good at reading people - I was a hostess for seven years. One does not continue in such a profession for so long without being able to cater to one’s clients.”
“I wouldn’t want to put you into anything too dangerous.” Her skills could be very useful in an infiltration or information gathering mission. Or something long term.
“I am due to have my closing soon, on a club I plan to open in La Habra.” Yuriko said, crossing her legs. She felt less nervous now that she had some leverage. “It is a burlesque club called Okugata - Japanese for ‘noblewoman’. If you send people there, I may be able to be of use to you there, if you decline to use me in the proverbial field.”
“Are you sure you want to do that? It could be dangerous. You or your patrons could be hurt.” Scott wanted her to be aware of just how bad it could be.
“If you send me one target at a time, as opposed to hordes of yakuza, I do not believe it will be difficult to handle.” She knew she sounded icy, but she had to. She wanted to help so badly, and using these powers for good would help everything. “I also have security lined up.”
“I’ll try to avoid sending the huns to your gate,” Scott replied. “You’ll need the security. I can help provide video surveillance as well.”
“I was intending to do so myself - it is a burlesque club, after all - but I would appreciate any assistance you think would be necessary.” Yuriko shrugged. “For security, I do have some people with some interesting talents.”
“And I’m sure you have some interesting talents of your own.” He wondered if the scars were products of the dreams, or not. He suspected they were.
“None that I have tried. Or do you merely mean as a human being?” She saw him looking at her face, and deliberately turned away. “These came from my father in the dreams.”
“I mean all of the above,” Scott replied, nodding. “But mostly the human ones.”
“I am very good at reading people,” Yuriko repeated. “Between being a hostess and playing poker, I can usually tell what someone’s body language means. My club is a good place to do so.”
There was a momentary pause as he considered various angles and possibilities, then Scott nodded. “Okay. It’s a better way to gather intel than some of the other options we have.”
“As long as it is not over-used, I think I can help you.” Yuriko said simply. “I want to help, Summers-san. Maybe it will make my nightmares go away.”
He didn’t think anything could, but he did think it could make a lot of them easier to bear. “I won’t use it unless I really have to. You have my word.”
Yuriko smiled faintly, sipping her water. “I also realize there will be those who cannot differentiate me from Deathstrike. I will not bother attempting to change their minds. I hope for my actions to achieve that objective.”
“I hope so too. For your sake, and all of ours. We all have to work together.” And maybe live together sometimes. Worse came to worse, they’d have to trust Yuriko with their lives.
“This is so, of course.” Yuriko had to be firm, despite her nerves. “I understand feeling alarmed or even afraid of Deathstrike. But she is somewhere far away. I am not she, and I never raised a hand to anyone at all.”
“I believe you.” Scott sounded sincere. And he hoped he could convince the holdouts of the same. Yuriko seemed so earnest and sincere, and If Logan wasn’t chomping at the bit to gut her, that was probably a good sign.
“Have you any questions for me?” Yuriko asked. She felt much calmer now. This Scott wasn’t a monster.
“How did you separate yourself so well, between the waking and sleeping worlds?”
“Logan was of great help.” Yuriko said. “Also, my fiance.” She couldn’t help but brighten at the thought of Turin. “He does not have powers, but he is gifted, and he is a wonderful anchor to this place. I will not give in to Deathstrike while I have Turin.”
Scott wondered what would happen if she lost her Turin, but he didn’t say anything out loud about that. “We all need something to hold on to. Sometimes I worry it could slip away.”
“The waking world?” Yuriko asked. “Or your ‘something to hold on to’?”
“Both.”
“All I can do with the waking world is to hope.” Yuriko finished her water glass. “And I certainly cannot speak for you and your anchor, but if I lost Turin, I would still have Logan. As a friend only; our relationship has long since passed - but he has already saved me once. I trust him with my life.”
Scott smiled wryly. “Logan and I don’t get along often. Or much at all. But you can count on him for that. We have an ... acceptance for each other.”
“That is what matters.” Yuriko saw fit to tell Scott the other bit. “Honestly, the only person I wonder about is this woman Neena. Spot-eye. I have not met this woman, but I am reliably informed that Deathstrike hurt her grievously, and she hates me.” She looked down. “I do not wish for anything to be problematic.”
“She’s the one I’m worried about too. She carries a grudge for a long time. It would be best to just avoid her for now. I’ll talk to her.” Scott didn’t know if Neena would be receptive, but he’d try to get her to hear him out.”
“Could you ... maybe. Tell me what Deathstrike has done? If possible, if you know?” Yuriko was afraid to ask, but she knew she had to.
Scott looked at her, his glasses glinting again, and then he shook his head. “It’s her story to tell, not mine.”
It irritated her, but it was a fair enough thing to say. Yuriko sighed, inclining her head. “I will abide by this. Perhaps one day I will dream it.” She hoped not, but it was possible.
“The only thing I know for sure is to expect just about anything where these dreams are concerned,” Scott warned her. “They rarely end well.”
“So I have been told.” Yuriko nodded. “I know Logan’s are hard, and Turin’s are difficult as well. Mine have so far encountered patricide, pain, murder and crucifying Logan.” She managed to say so without losing her composure. “I can only imagine what will come.”
“Nothing I can say that would prepare you for what that world has in store for you, and all of us,” he said. “I can try though. At least the things I remember.”
“If he can forgive me, if I can still find someone wanting to marry me, it cannot all be bad.” Yuriko smiled sweetly.
Scott smiled back. “That’s the best way I’ve heard of thinking about the whole mess in a long, long time.”
“It may be because of my faith.” Yuriko had to think of a way of explaining without coming off as rude. “Buddhists embrace the Middle Way. Whenever things look too good with no balance, I prepare myself for the possibility of sorrow. Whenever there is unremitting sorrow, I await good things, for they will come.”
“I’m sadly always prepared for the sorrow,” he said, a little softly. “It was pretty much the common going theme.”
“Does that mean that your life has been full of joy so far?” Yuriko was mostly teasing.
“I’m not sure if it’s balanced, is the problem. Plenty of sorrow, but also some joy.” His mouth formed a grim line. “I’m going to have a child...but every time I do, something terrible happens, or I can’t give them the life I want them to have.”
“I congratulate you.” Yuriko smiled. “I have never been in that position, but it must be terrifying as well as exhilarating.” She wasn’t sure how he would react, but Yuriko was not in the habit of lying. She went on. “You manage many lives already. This will be another one. However, it would be wrong to equate the two. A defenseless child is not the same as someone like Logan, who can make his own decisions. I cannot dictate to you, of course, but logic seems to dictate to me that one must needs help the being which needs the most help.”
“A little of both,” Scott admitted, with a laugh. When he laughed, he seemed a lot less tense and worried. “You’re right, of course.”
“I often am.” Yuriko smiled. “Summers-san, it seems to be a relief that we can discuss things. I did not want that you would reject me out of hand. It would be uncomfortable.” Given that she would have tried to help anyway. It was in her nature.
“There’s one thing I’ve learned, here and there, is that any leopard can change it’s coat. It’s even more common, when you have the chance to see another way, and a choice in becoming the person you want to be, not the person circumstances force you to be.”
“Un. This is so.” Yuriko bobbed her head in agreement. “And after all, I want only to help - not to lead, not to give orders unless in my space. I agree to proving my bona fides, but only to a point.” After that, they had to take her or leave her.
“I’m learning the necessity of limited action,” he assured her.
“Something I had to learn over time.” Yuriko smiled. She would have said more, but her arm chose that moment to throb painfully. “I fear I should no longer occupy you; I am still not completely myself after acquiring this extra skeleton.” It was basically what it was, after all. “I think I will go home to rest, but am I green-lit to consider myself a reserve member of this team?” She genuinely did want to help, and she did want to prove that she would stay herself. It was the most effective way to never become Deathstrike.
“Yes. I’ll try to keep you out of anything that requires combat, at least for now. Okay?”
“Agreed.” Yuriko didn’t want to shake hands, but she knew she had to. She stuck it out, inclining her head. “It has been a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Summers-san. And I will keep you informed about the club’s opening.”
He took her hand, just long enough to be polite, but not long enough that she’d feel uncomfortable. “Thank you. I’m glad we can come to terms.”
“Likewise.” Yuriko shifted her handbag onto her shoulder. “I will be in touch.”
“Have a nice night.” Scott got up to walk her back to the door. “And drive safe.”
“I will do so. And if it is not insulting, I will add your wife to my prayers when next I visit temple. To hope for a safe delivery.” Yuriko meant it - it felt like the least she could do.
Scott looked momentarily taken aback, then he smiled the widest smile of the night. “Thanks.”
Yuriko was somewhat taken aback herself by how much that seemed to mean. She smiled right back. “You are of course welcome. こんばんは, Summers-san. Good evening.”