Saddleback Club and Resort! (Kate/Open)

[Trizen Takano]

Here they were. Probably one of the worst pastimes Trizen had ever imagined himself doing. It looked stupid, smelled stupid and probably was stupid. Trizen was at a resort or amusement park. Well, at least that's what his parents told him. The boy had been to so many these days, it was a wonder his father never wrote music anymore.

"Ah Maestro Takano," One of the ushers came to greet the family of four, firstly by shaking the rather tall, beef jock of a man standing beside Trizen. His father. "So glad you could make opening day here. As a proud shareholder, I'm certain you've come to enjoy all the wonders with your family, no?"

"Not so, Urshtine," said Trizen's father. He made it a point to know all the names of his employees, "Being the majority shareholder, I already know all the ins and outs of this place. I'm here for paperwork while my wife and boys will enjoy the day. Business is business."

Urshtine walked the family inside the rather large and stush looking gateway to be greeted by a long, black stretch limousine. The usher skipped his way to the back door and opened it for the family to enter. "You'll be taken to your first destination, family, while Maestro Yukimura Takano, you'll accompany me to meet with the other investors."

With a nod, the father of the family took off with Urshtine up a path that led to the hotel resort. That was his way of saying goodbye, though the family was used to it. More Trizen than any of the others.

In that way, Trizen, his step-mother and step-brother went into the limo. "Where would you like to go Mrs. Takano?" The driver asked the woman.

"Please, call me Hiyami, Sir. No need for formalities in that regard." Trizen sighed a deep one. He knew she was just putting on a show. Sky, the step-brother, loved it on the other hand. He loved the fact that he was known in PHS 42 as one of the richer kids, though thankfully for Trizen never came to boast about his relations to his step-brother. "Let's go horseback riding everyone!"

Trizen's heart sank. He didn't know how to ride a horse and he was sure he was going to hate it. With that said, the limo left Entrance A and drove off to the Equestrian's valley.

"Wonderful."

[Kate]

This place was new, and truth be told Kate had bought a few shares to see if it would go anywhere or not. Now she was here to check it out, to see if she wanted to buy out some other people. Where was she though? HORSE BACK RIDING. Just like any other typical sort of girl, she loved horses. The blonde smirked just slightly and wandered down that way of course!

The female had arrived there, dressed in jeans for the day. Dark wash jeans, some slip on flats (for once, high heels and horse back riding was not something you mixed!), and a simple t-shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a braid and she had quickly been given a dapple mare.

She was saddling the horse, and getting everything together when a car pulled up. Considering the fact that they dressed a little more comfortable in this area, she could be mistaken for a worker. But the person who did that was in for a world of hurt. The blonde lifted an eyebrow at the car, but continued to fix the straps so her feet would fit in them.

[Trizen Takano]

When the car pulled up, the mother and step-brother were dressed proper and stush. The mother was dressed to the nine and looked like her everyday gucci attire, while the brother was dressed as though he was on the cover of some sort of magazine. He was dressed to impressed and figured the media would love to see him with nature and animals.

"C'mon Trizen! Time to get out the car!" The mother said as the door to the limo was still open. The boy didn't move and in the meanwhile, the mother approached a young blonde who was in the middle of saddling a horse.

"Hm, worker! Yes, you blonde darling. My son and I will go on ahead with our horses seeing as how we have experience with this sort of thing already. My husband has already called ahead so our horses are saddled and ready to go. But... my other son doesn't quite know how to do any of this. He's new." The last bit she said in a whisper. Looking in her black, leather purse, and pulled out an extra couple of bills. The older Japanese woman put the bills on the saddle of Kate's horse and smiled. There was at least a grand there. "On his return, you'll get the other half. He'll be out soon! Keep him out of trouble, dearie!

The mother and older son left around the corner to do their assorted works. And it wasn't too long after that that one could hear the photographers and press swamping them with questions and such. Trizen, on the other hand, got out of the stretch after the media left the limo alone to pursue the stars of the family -- besides his father. Getting out, he saw the blonde woman and sighed as he slowly walked towards her.

"So... you're the babysitter?" He said in a flat tone and put his hands in his dark jeans pockets. "Just to let you know, I'm a terrible keep and you don't have to watch me."

[Kate]

Wooo, they treated her like she worked here. Ha. At first a bit of rage popped up inside her, and then she just grinned at the third person, the son she was suppose to baby sit. There was a grand on her saddle. Well, that was chunk change anyways, so she held it back to the boy.

"I'm not a babysitter of any sort. Your mom needs to have a doctor remove the stick that's up her ass, and realize not all share holders have to be old or dressed nicely."

Insulting his mother from the get go. The real workers in the area had saddled up a horse for the boy and brought him over. That one was a deeper brown than Kate's mare. She didn't know names, and didn't need to know names.

"If you can keep up I might keep you from breaking your neck though."

The girl pulled herself into the saddle with ease and began a slow walk in the area to warm the horse up a bit. She looked rather at ease on the back of the horse, waiting on this silly rich boy to get saddled.

[Trizen Takano]

Trizen chuckled at the woman's response, but nervously. Was she really a disgruntled worker? Perhaps so. Seems like she's probably been there for too long. Either that or Hiyami mistook a random stranger for a worker. Again.

The boy received the money, shrugged and put it in his left pocket. He could always use a grand. It certainly wasn't something anyone could just throw around. Either this woman had too much pride to take it, or she herself---

'Wait... she did say shareholder, right? She's part-owner?'

The workers there brought him over to his horse. He clearly had no idea what to do, though a bunch of them were saying different things to him. He figured it wouldn't be extremely complicated, but somehow that's how it turned out. He was beginning to feel overwhelmed. Then one of the workers slapped the bottom of the horse and the animal took off.

"WAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

He could feel everything around him. The horse was going blazing speeds! ... Of a light and barely noticeable jog. This horse seemed to like playing with Trizen who clearly did not have a thing for animals. It skipped a bit as though it tripped on a stone and made sure to keep a bumpy ride as it mesured it pace beside Kate's own mare.

"Ugh..." Trizen felt queasy. "So... breaking my neck? I might --hick-- get sick riding this horse..."

Like clockwork the horse bumped the ride a bit.

Giving it a bit of time, Trizen attempted to sit up straight and looked to the woman who was riding to his right. "By the way, my name is Trizen Takano. I didn't want to assume anything with the whole name knowing or anything like that..." He didn't like being a celebrity. It wasn't his thing. Besides, cameras always made him feel like he was on a reality TV show.

"What's your name? .. If you don't mind me asking." She looked young, probably close to where he was. But he didn't want to assume anything. Though shareholders had to be able to sign for their own things... right? How would she do it without parental consent? Ok, perhaps she did have parental consent. Oh whatever. He was guessing as it was. He mind as well just hear it from her.

Thank goodness the day was lovely.

[Kate]

Yup boyo, that's right share holder. As in person who owns part of this big fucking place. As for parental consent? Kate was all on her own. No mommy or daddy to hold her hand. No one but herself, and it felt GOOD to be like that. No one to blame but herself for fucking up. Not that fucking up wasn't easy to fix with her oodles of cash. And if his family ran in the big circles, than her name would trigger something quickly. The McHallins owned a shit load of places, and had bought a bunch recently. Though there was only one McHallin left; Kate.

"My name is Kate McHallin. Relax your body, let your hips rock with it. You'll bounce less, good exercise for the ladies in your life and all that."

Yeah, she was a bit crude, but at least she was sort of trying to help, and not trying to beat the shit out of him like she did with most people. Nope, she was riding a horse. It did wonders for her attitude problems.

[Trizen Takano]

"My name is Kate McHallin. Relax your body, let your hips rock with it. You'll bounce less, good exercise for the ladies in your life and all that."

"Gah!" The boy gasped. He blushed on hearing her say that. The young lady herself was quite gorgeous, but certainly much older than he. But... she was right about something. He did recognize the name. Kate... McHallin. Oh yes, he knew the name well. Her father was one of Mr. McHallin's good friends. Or business partners from back then. The McHallins loved Yukimura's music and were one of the forerunners in sponsoring the Takano Symphony Orchestra. It was a one-time thing when Yukimura's tour landed in L.A.

"You! I remember you!" Trizen said as he continued to try and take her advice on horseback riding. He found a groove soon and attempted to relax but the idea of grinding on a woman scared him. He never had a girlfriend and he was never one for the clubs. It seemed to fast for him. He was a very nervous kid in that regard as much as it was wishful thinking.

"You're that girl! The one back at that concert YEARS ago! You were that dancer!" The horse was startled a bit and still tried to make the ride bumpy, but the more the horse realized he was getting the hang of it, the more the horse relaxed itself. Trizen wasn't that bad a rider -- well, when he got distracted by some other thought. "You were the one that pranked me!"

Trizen had to be around nine years old, perhaps ten. The details were sketchy, but the Takano family had visited this man, McHallin, the day before the concert. He was sent to play with a young blonde girl: Kate.

[Kate]

Truth be told, Kate was a mere two years older than the guy she was relaxing with at the moment. It wasn't that much older, but there was an age difference. And apparently an experience difference. She grinned just slightly at him blushing, wondering if she had stumbled upon another virgin. The last she had stumbled upon? Well, she had "fixed" that for him. But she had been single, and he had been one of those rough around the edges nice guys. Those were fun.

The odd thing was, it seemed that they had met before. One eyebrow lifted, and she looked over at him. Kate looked completely at ease in the saddle. He said something about a performance, concert and stuff. And...wait... yes, it was coming back to her.

"... Oh. OH. Yes, I did pull many pranks on my father's business partners'... children."

He was probably one of many. They had sent plenty to play with her over the ages, but Kate was a little different than most rich kids. She had been allowed to roam where she pleased, and do what she pleased instead of following orders and becoming a perfect little child. In a way, she was more relaxed than most of them. Less proper for sure.

"I do believe I remember what you're saying though. That was back before my father and step-mother died... or rather before she went into a coma and he dissappeared."

My, didn't that sound sketchy? Well, details were details, and the truth was the truth. She wasn't beating around the bush exactly, just with holding some information. Like her father's ties to the mafia.

[Trizen Takano]

The boy was still slightly uncomfortable with the saddle, in all honesty. He felt even more embarrassed when he felt Kate's smirk and knew he had told her that he was indeed a virgin. Hell, the boy hadn't even had a girlfriend. He was fifteen and hadn't had his first kiss -- or that's how he knew it. But likely more than visible, she could probably see that he had his choice crushes in the past. And he knew Kate was one of them. But why here of all places did they have to meet? Particularly like this? He was so embarrassed.

"Your mother passed away?" The boy asked almost in disbelieve. He vaguely remembered her. She was a sweet lady. "I'm... sorry to hear that..."

The truth was that Trizen's father and Kate's father were commercially involved in the building of one L.A.'s largest concert halls. Yukimura, at the time, was scheduled to play with the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra. He was the guest and maestro. There were other things beneath that surface, but Trizen didn't know about it... but Kate might have... no, she couldn't possibly.

The saddle still buckling and making his... "structure" rather uncomfortable, Trizen figured it would be a good time to tell a bit of the story (ooc - I'm leaving pockets for you too, I wonder what we'll come up with, lol).

"I remember stepping into this house. Nice wooden floors, fireplace, you know, the works. It was boring though. I was seven year old at the time.... I think. My Dad towered above me, and my Mom was beside my Dad. They were talking to his older guy and his wife. But then I saw this pre-- uh.. little blonde girl," he finally had the courage to look at her, "To be honest, I can't remember how your hair was or what you wore, but I remember your face. And that smile you wore."

It was on her face now, but the smirk she wore seconds earlier brought back the vague memory. She wore that when the pair of them were playing hide and seek around the house. She told him to hide and after a few hours, Trizen realized she clearly wasn't looking for him. That smirk.

[Kate]

Kate remembered her childhood home very well. Wood floors, gated lawn, the sprinklers in the summer... She chuckled just slightly, almost lost in her memories. All the good ones there, when she was young... much younger than she was at the moment. Years and years ago and all that jazz.

"Both of my mothers, the first before we met, and the second many years later are dead. So is my father, for a good few months now."

It hadn't even been a year since her father had passed away, but Kate didn't care what the hell had happened to him. She just didn't give two shits about him. Her step-mother had died after her father, but since she had been in a coma for so long... It was like she had died long before she really had.

"Yeah, I really didn't take too kindly to being forced to play with younger children. I found that they cried a little too easily, and therefor weren't as much fun. I had probably wandered off to do my own thing."

She had probably been starting kick boxing around that time. Had wanted to try that out more than some snotty nosed younger kid (though he hadn't been) hanging around her. She chuckled just slightly before teasing him.

"You still gullible? Or have you learned?"

[Trizen Takano]

((Sorry for the late reply, Kate ^^; ))

"Gullible?!" Trizen said in his typically nerdy and almost cracked voice, "I am NOT gullible! And you know what? I have learned! I'm a much better fighter than I was back then. I didn't even like fighting! I was just doing it because my Dad--"

The young one stopped himself on thinking of his father. He was a cruel man and the thought their father being friends scared him. What did they have in common besides money? Well, whatever the reason he frowned and looked back to the young lady, "You might have tricked me that one time, but when I found you, I was so upset! Though you made sure to fix that..."

If memory served him, one kick to the face caused a bloody nose. It was an accident however and Trizen knew that. When the parents came to see what happened, Trizen covered for her. He said was playing with the weights and accidently hurt himself. Like clockwork, the boy was sent upstairs and told to sit by himself. Everything after that was foggy; though they were sitting beside each other when Trizen's father was playing in the concert that same night. It was a media field day with the McHallin and Takano children sitting beside each other. One could have said it was an episode of Rugrats the way those kids interacted with each other.

[Kate]

She laughed out loud, lifting a hand and brushing hair out of her emerald eyes. The good ole days, when things had been simple and you knew what to do with boys. Punch them. Or kick them, or otherwise make their lives hell. Why? Because later on in life, that's all they did to you.

"Boys aren't supposed to cry after all. Had to save you from yourself someway."

Her eyes were twinkling with humor. The girl was just teasing him after all. Boy, had her father told her never to cry? Of course! And Kate had just kicked him in the shin saying it was okay for girls to cry. The girl smirked just a touch.

As far as them sitting together, of course the media had a field day with it. Two children of two very rich families. Even the stupidest sorts of people could come to a billion different ideas from a picture like that. The families were friends. They were in dirty business together. Arranged marriage, etc. It was all in one photo, and thus a picture says a million words.

[Trizen Takano]

As the two were riding comfortably in their conversation, far away from the pair of them were a couple of photographers. They were taking long shots of both Kate and Trizen talking. It was almost romantic the way the pair of them were laughing and having what seemed to be a good time. It was as though the pair of them were getting to know each other or... picking up where they left off.

"Is the flash off?"

"Yeah-yeah, let's do this. It'll be easy money like the boss said."

The pair of photographers were taking their fill of pictures from their distance. Though in all honest truth, the pictures weren't even that bad. The pair of students (unknown to the pair of them in all honesty) had a good photogenic sense. And over all the terrain they've been passing through, it was easy to come up with a couple of good photos.

"Alright, I think I have a good one." The first guy showed his friend the picture from his camera.

"Hey! Yeah, I got this one when they were going through that trail thing." The second buddy popped through his photos to show another one.

"Ahahaha! Sweet! The press is gonna have a field day with this one!" The photographer said as he took one more shot, this time he turned on the flash seeing as how the sun was going down and he needed light for his winning shot.

The pair of them were poking at their cameras now. As much as they were idiots, today's technology allowed them to send the photos off via internet. They were smiling now that they had sense in their thousand dollar photos. Now they just had to escape before they were caught. If they were caught.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Whatever," Trizen said with a bit of an embarrassed look on his face, though something caught his ear. He knew it was a bit of a windy day and they were by the waters of the resort, but something didn't sound right about a second ago.

"Hey Kate... did you hear something? Like a click or a snap?" Trizen's ears were very good, though he didn't see the flash. Kate might have, she always did seem on top of everything.

[Kate]

She heard the noise when he did. The blonde suddenly sat straight up in the saddle, standing slightly on her feet in the stirrups. If there was one thing she didn't like, it was people taking pictures of her without permission. What he felt like, Kate really didn't care or ask. However, that meant Kate needed to handle her problem.

The blonde turned the horse sharply after sitting back down in the saddle by using her feet and the reins. She was going after the sound, and going after it with a vengeance. The blonde was grinning the whole way too.

The horse soon came upon the scene of two men and some expensive cameras. Time to take the bad guys down!!! The blonde looked at them calmly, with a tight cold smile.

"You're going to hand those cameras over along with all other film and equipment, or you're going to get hurt and sued. Which will it be boys?"

Oh the choices they had.

[Trizen Takano]

((Sorry for replying so late..))

The two grown men looked as though they were going to cry. It was pathetic really. They both held out their cameras, but if any one thing was certain, they knew they were going to be in a world of hurt. Either from Kate or the ones who sent them. They quivered in the fear as they held their cameras and kicked over the other assorted equipment. But then.

One of the two, the skinnier one, pushed his small pudgy friend towards the demon blonde and her horse and opted to run away. Now Trizen had been watching from some time now, though he knew what this meant. Kate was aggressive and if he didn't help, they would be the ones whose faces ended up on milk cartons. The boy rushed for his horse to start running, which it did quite nicely. The skinnier one wasn't a fast runner, so it wasn't much of a hassle to truck 'em down. The photographer was running so terribly and Trizen was right behind him. Now came the fun part.

When close enough, the boy leaped off his horse, and tackled the running photographer on shoving his face head first into the grass. The horse stopped a little while afterwards while Trizen pulled the skinny photographer's face from the ground.

"Who sent you?"

"Ju-Just no one. Well uh.. ish. We were just suppose to get some pictures! W-We were promised money!"

Trizen slowly got off the man's back, and one could feel the photographer's relief on him doing so, but he was too frightened to move. Then suddenly, Trizen's right hand slammed down against the back of the man's head, causing him to eat more dirt and turf. "I need a name."

From the distance Kate was standing, she probably couldn't hear too much. Though when the photographer said the name, it was a very familiar one. One that was familiar to the pair of them he was certain. It was one who had been trying to extort their families for years back on some bad deals and trades with their fathers. The only problem was that Kate and Trizen weren't small children anymore They'd fight back.

((Haha, definitely more of a side-story, if you wish, but incase you think it would be something worth chasing, it might be cool to see what we come up with. We could end this thread here.))