MEN! DOU! KOTE!

      Satsuki’s pace doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t falter– but she does make a considering noise at the words, displeased. Not at Sanageyama so much as the situation. She is so far away from all of them, and while that is more true for her back in their world than it had been before, in this city, it unnerves her to have them strewn so far.           “That’s a ways away from where I reside, Sanageyama. Are you certain you wish to accompany me? I would not care to inconvenience you unduly.”

“You make it sound like I’ve got something better to do, m’lady. I’d have to make the walk back to Sector Two regardless of whether or not I saw you home. It’d put my mind at ease to know you got there alright. This city’s a pain in the ass.”

      Agree though she might, she still tosses him a raised brow over her shoulder, then continues forward, clearly expecting him to fall into step behind her.          “You may accompany me, if you wish–although… I have never asked where it is you have been placed here, have I?”

He did, indeed, fall into step behind her. He’d just wanted to make sure that she wanted him following her. His pace kept with her own as she stepped forward, hands slipping into the pockets of his coat.

      Her shoulders jump a bit, a startled blink marking her momentary surprise. Almost immediately, she sets herself to impassive rights once again, peering straight ahead and not at the Deva at her side.            “Hmm,” quiet, the closest to her agreement he’ll get at the moment, before she turns and glides past him. “You’re getting bold, Sanageyama.”          Her sword taps lightly against his forearm as she passes.           “Mind that you don’t forget yourself.”

Couldn’t help the slightest smirk from tugging at one corner of his lips, a light chuckle following soon after. “Ah. I’ve never been very good at manners.” He said simply, smiling as she passed him and tapped her sword against his forearm.

      “…Aa.” Quietly, a smile tugs at her mouth, though it is faint and fleeting. Nonetheless, Satsuki’s shoulders straighten, head dipping once in a nod, accepting. “Then, as always, I will count on you, Sanageyama. I know you will give our efforts all you have.”

      “If we prove ourselves easily cowed by the power they have already demonstrated, then they win. Simple as that. These are not the first overwhelming odds we have gone against Sanageyama. They may not even be the last. If you trust in my capabilities, then understand this: I will not allow us to remain trapped here forever… but I cannot do that alone. I still… All of you still…”       She still needs their help. 

“Just friendly advice, or competition. Or maybe you need kissing lessons? Sorry, but I make it a policy to only kiss hominins.”

      “Trust me, I am more than well aware of the frequency with which this subject comes up. As far as getting out of here– I am taking steps to assure we have a bit of a head start in terms of resources soon.”        In other words: she’s working on it. Sort of. 

“I don’t really see how resources matter much in this place. What’s to stop ‘em from taking them a way from us the moment we get them? They already took everyone’s weapons and abilities away and I’m sure they’ve got eyes all over the city.

    “Were I at all so inclined, the person would be well aware. However, there are more pressing concerns, wouldn’t you say? Besides, I am hardly the one offering advice to the masses.”

“Do you need /help/?~ I’m currently 2-0.”

      “…are you going to take your own advice? Because if so, Inumuta and Iori are woefully ahead of you, Sanageyama.”

“How many dates have /you/ had lately?~”

“For the Elites - it’s just you and I. Other than that I assume you’ve run into Lady Satsuki and Iori.” Sanageyama was formidable, at least. All of the Elites were, in their own way, but until Houka could get his phone, he wouldn’t be able to draw forth information as quickly as usual in battle. one good swift kick to the face for him could take out his eyesight with his regalia, and he wasn’t Sanageyama when blinded.

Maybe he’d ask for training – (Pfff. No.)

“Matoi is here as well, and she seems to be from a timeline where we all worked together,” a sigh, he’d have to explain. Sanageyama wasn’t stupid per-say, but his brain was about as dense as konnyaku. “This city can draw us from any point in time, from any alternate history.” He already wished he was just talking to Shirou again,

“Which is a topic for another day - just think about linear time for now. So Matoi could be from before or after a certain point in time. We all could. Does that make sense?”

“Mm. Well, that’s a shame. I was hoping to have more back up when I got here. Not that I’m not glad you’re around, Inumuta.” He said simply, scratching at his cheek. He was glad to have any of the Elites here, honestly. Familiarity made him a bit more comfortable with being stuck in a place he knew nothing about. He did have his dense moments, certainly, and he wasn’t stupid...but this city, from what little he’d seen, was rather chaotic.

His eyes flicked to his companion upon hearing that Matoi was here.  “She is, is she?” He muttered, furrowing his brow and nodding lightly when he started to explain the different timeline thing. He could follow it well enough. It was a relatively simply concept though, naturally, he didn’t know how or why someone would bring somebody from earlier or later in a timeline. “That makes sense considering I also remember us all working together. You mean to tell me you don’t?”

…Oops. He had expected Sanageyama to duck or volley the fruit back to him, not for it to split and get all over him. With a grimace, Iori approached, with a look of apology on his features.

“I wanted to test your reflexes to see if they were at optimal condition–glad to see that your awareness hasn’t dulled, Sanageyama.”

Funny, Iori looked a little… older since the last time the two would have met. (And sadly, not any taller.)

“Ah… I can wash your jacket if you follow me. I thought you would cut the thing in half, really.”

“Of course my awareness hasn’t dulled. They took away my sword not my senses.” Naturally, he felt he would have been fine if they’d taken his senses away. Then again, he’d only been blind temporarily, not deaf or any of those sorts of things. But that was just getting into semantics. Sight was the most important for him.

Fingers swiped across his cheek to get some of the juices from his skin, flicking his wrist slightly and following the two. He did note the slightly aged appearance of the other but he didn’t make a comment about it. He didn’t see the point. “Maybe if I’d had a balanced weapon and not this piece of junk I would have cut it in half.” Though to most cutting anything in half with a bamboo sword might seem....impossible.

      Touching base is, for the moment, all Satsuki has planned. It’s better, in her opinion, to let the Devas do as they will with minimal interference. After all, if they cannot operate without her guidance, they will not last long here. That much she can already tell. Iori had done well enough, and Inumuta was settling into his own niche beside him, neat as can be. But nothing about Sanageyama had ever been ‘neat’, and for all that she trusts him implicitly… sometimes, even she worries.            It is what friends should do, is it not?           “I do seem to recall an invitation going… well. Not unanswered but… delayed, yes.” It’s been some time since, but few things have an expiration date, when it comes to Satsuki. 

          “Sanageyama,” she begins, after signaling the waiter for another cup, “this might seem an unusual question, but what do you remember before coming here? What was the latest event you recognize as a significant marker?”           Because first things first– she has to figure out what he remembers and what he does or does not know. 

She’s just as she always was. Calm, cool, collected. The woman that he’d grown to admire a great deal. Not so much that he didn’t treat her like a normal human being. So many people idolized her that...it was hard to remember that she was just a girl sometimes. Yes, he swore his allegiance to her but he did that out of...what was it? He wanted to say friendship. Though theirs wasn’t a typical friendship by any stretch of the imagination.

“Well, it’s not like I’ve got anything else to do with my time here.” He said simply, sighing and taking a seat across from her. One brief sweep of his leg brought it up over the other one and he leaned back in his seat.

“What do I remember? Probably the same as you. That’s kind of a silly question.” He muttered, running his fingers back through his hair slowly. Regardless of his words, he let out a quiet sigh. “What I remember, huh...? We were all getting ready to split up and go our separate ways. After those damn doppelgangers decided to show up. That line up with what you remember?”