Takashi arrives in the (fabulously large and well-furnished) dorm-like room he shares with his familiar, Ayana, later than usual. Uncharacteristically, he announces his presence with the thunderous slam of the door - and then another loud thud as he drops his things on the floor. His hand is clenched in a fist, and it's shaking. There are small lines of negative energy writhing around his form like wispy snakes - and this is going on while he's out of henshin, a nod to how for the moment he's lost control of his emotions - and with them, his innate powers, the powers he had before he gained access to any mere device.
Ayana should be doing homework. She should, in fact, be studying for a test. Instead, the fox-girl is seated on the floor with her back to the wall, furry ears visible, cell phone in hand, texting and playing games. A stick of jerky dangles from her mouth; she chews on it absently but it seems to be there more as a just-in-case rather than out of any actual hunger.
If a slamming door doesn't get Ayana's attention, though, the sense of Takashi's emotion, shared through their bond, certainly does. In fact, she senses him before he even opens the door. Looking up from her phone, her eyes widen just a little in surprise when she finally sees him. "Ta-kun?" she asks, confused and concerned. "Are you okay?"
Takashi looks up at her. Well, it's less of a look - and far more of a glare. He doesn't say anything for a moment. Then, he speaks. "Ayana. Tell me why... you danced with Mamoru Chiba." he says. There's not a lot there in that question, but it's clear now that a lot of his anger is directed at the man who's name he just spat out, but also a lot of it seems to be directed at her. "Tell me why he's not dead. Because he should be. That man should've died in a Labrynth, and now I hear rumors about how you danced with him."
"Wh--" Ayana starts to ask, but there's really no point asking the question. She can put two and two together to get four, and she can put name to face and get, "Mamoru?" The fox-girl's ears swivel forward, as if she's studying Takashi with every ounce of her being. "I don't know who he is. I was hiding under the table playing games and he just ... invaded my hiding place. I tried to tell him to leave, but I didn't want to get into a fight over it. Why should he be dead?"
Takashi stops for a moment. He takes a breath - then another. He's slowly winding himself down. "He should be dead because I put a grief seed in his apartment." Takashi says, as easily as if he announced he had gotten dinner. "He's got a knack for getting in my way - getting between me and things I want."
"And he's just an obnoxious student, so I'm not sure how he survived. I went back to his place and I could feel and sense the residue of it. So I know it hatched."
"And I can't believe of all the girls at the dance, I hear rumors about that smug jerk dancing with MY FAMILIAR." His hand starts to shake again before he stills it.
"You didn't have anything to do with his survival, did you?" he asks, glaring at her, almost accusingly, like he's reaching for her as the answer to the failure of his plan.
Ayana's eyes widen, and her ears flatten back against her head. "No! I don't even know him! I'd never met him before the dance, and I didn't even know his name until school on Monday. I still don't really know who he is; I'm sorry I upset you, Takashi senpai. I don't understand what I've done wrong, but I did not mean to upset you."
Takashi takes a huge breath now. Some of those worries dissapate, and some of those shadow wisps go away too. He walks slowly towards her - reaches out - and scratches behind one of her ears. "I'm sorry, Ayana. It's just... it's infuriating me. HE infuriates me. There's something about the way he carries himself. About the way he looks down on me - I'm sure it's because I'm younger - that makes me so angry." he says. "And I can't do anything about it without blowing my cover, or seeming rude to an upperclassman."
"But he's gotten in my way, I was trying to talk to this girl who's possessed of a power, and he just.. in that smug jerk way, got in the way. And it wasn't in public, so I had no reasonable response." he adds, laying it all out.
"And now he's survived one of my best weapons, and to hear he was dancing with you..." he's repeating himself now, and he just makes one last sigh and finally quiets down.
Ayana leans into the scritching affectionately, putting a little weight against Takashi's hand. "I'm sorry, Takashi senpai. I didn't know," she says to him. "It sounds like he is subtly trying to undermine you. If he knew I was your familiar, even though I don't know him, maybe he targeted me to get you angry. And ... and it worked. I'm sorry, I've been used as a weapon against you. I hope that you will forgive me, but ... but I will understand if you think you need to get rid of me. Just ... just let me go back to the lawn at your school. I'll go back to chasing squirrels. If that's what you want."
Takashi blinks a bit. "Look, if he was using you, it's not your fault. He might be a normal human, but he's sneaky. Conniving. An enemy." he adds. "And you're just doing what I told you to do - being a normal girl and blending in. And you've been doing a great job."
"So as long as you keep doing your best, I'm not going to send you back. Besides... I think a fox-girl would look strange chasing squirrels. I don't think I can put you back in your regular body - you're tied to me now. Your destiny, too."
"I probably overreacted. Like I said, something about him just... drives me to extremes. Maybe he doesn't know that you're my familiar, either. Maybe the whole thing is one big coincidence... I just find that hard to believe."
Ayana considers Takashi for a long, silent moment, ears flicking back against her head in thought. Then, she makes a decision, and reaches up to gently put her arms around his neck, pulling the boy close into an embrace. "I will not be his friend, even if he helped me to make other friends," she promises Takashi. "And if I see him again, I will not be nice to him. He is mean and manipulative and hurtful to you, and I will not allow him to use me to hurt you again. I am so very sorry that I hurt you. I love you and don't ever want to hurt you. I wish there was some way I could make it better."
Takashi wraps his familiar up in the hug. "Don't let him onto you." he adds, after a moment. "You might have to pretend to be nice. But you can do to him what he's trying to do to us. You can undermine him. You are a girl, a familiar - you are also a fox. You are clever, if you tap into that part of yourself." He grins. "If you can stop eating long enough to tap into it, anyways."
Takashi looks down at her. "Well, there's a way you could obviously make it better. You could prevail where my Grief Seed experiment didn't. It's simple - You kill the boy." he adds. "Like the squirrel in the park where I found you."
"Just don't risk breaking your cover to do it, if you choose to. I'm not going to order you to do it, either. I know you have a soft heart, a gentle heart - but I also know that you're a predator too - that's how you where when I found you, you know."
"But either way - I am sorry for coming home ready to accuse you of treason. Because I was."
Ayana lets the jerky slip from her mouth and fall to her lap at the mention of 'stop eating'. She tries desperately to pretend there wasn't food in her mouth this whole time. Nope, no food here! "Kill him?" she asks, ears twitching still in concern and discomfort. "Without breaking my cover. Well, he knows Ayana Moriko, and not by name, and I was dressed up and had may hair done. Oh. I should show you the dress some time. I think I looked pretty in it. Uh. Anyways, he doesn't know your familiar. If I dress like this," she motions to her outfit--short dress and bike shorts, stockings and a leather coat. "I don't think I look anything like Ayana Moriko. She's just a lie. Your Familiar is the real me, and ... maybe I can. I will see. And if I can't kill him, maybe I can use Ayana to get close to him to figure out why he's being so mean to you. But Takashi," she gently touches his cheek with her palm, sapphire eyes locking green. "Takashi, I will never betray you. /You/ are my master. You are my creator. You are the only reason I live."
Takashi smiles. "You really are a good familiar, Ayana." he says, ruffling her. "I can always count on you. Sometimes I forget that. I get bogged down in my research - or my emotions." he admits. "I'm trying to become the best I can - for both of us - and that takes a toll. But i'm not going to slow down. Not even a little bit. I'm going to rise to the top of everything and everyone. And you can be right there with me."
"Just be careful around him. I don't know how he survived the Grief Seed. I don't know how or even if he knew to target you. But the way he enrages me... maybe there's something more to him than meets the eye. And I'd hate to have to spend as much time as I'd have to plotting out how to properly punish him for hurting YOU."
"I'm absolutly sure you were dazzling, stunning in your dress... maybe that's the reason he chose to dance with you - and it is a coincidence after all. I'm not sure how anyone would pass that up, right?"
"I was hiding under a table," Ayana reminds Takashi gently. "He couldn't have just seen me. I think he must have been looking for me. He even flattered me and acted all cute towards me. Made me feel ..." she trails off, then sighs a little, wistful almost. "He made me feel special. I think it must have been targetted. You're the only one who's ever made me feel special. I think he knew."
"We'll both keep a close eye on him. And then when the time is right, we'll cut him down at the knees - literally, if it comes to that." he adds, Ayana's comments adding fuel to his own suspicions, drving his theories to new heights. He grabs her and hugs her again. "Promise me you'll be careful. For your sake." he adds. If nothing else, this event has shown Ayana, his familiar, to still be a trustable and loyal companion - a rare value.
Ayana returns the hug, then kisses Takashi gently on the cheek before ruffling his hair. She smiles at him, fondly, then says, "I promise I will be as careful as I can be. But if someone tries to hurt you, I will not let them succeed. Even if it blows my cover."
Takashi smiles. "Well, that, I guess, sorts everything out." he adds, letting out one last breath, and with it, a lot of stress. "Do we have any food left, or do I need to order out again?" he asks.
He's glad he's making an executive salary, when it comes to feeding the two of them. He's too lazy to cook, and food doesn't stay around anyways.