Old Ties (Trizen)

[Gabriel Seran]

The past was such a harmful thing to look back upon, a dangerous void that made men weak, made them long for a time that could never be back again. Time had lost better men than Gabriel Seran but it was this time that he had to look back upon if he was to gain any front upon those he needed to succeed against. He needed closure, he needed peace. And was such a time to try for something like that, of course there was no other time. Whereas the Militia was sure to be regrouping after their crumpling organization Gabriel had to be busy building his own, restoring old ties calling upon some favors. This one in particular called for old allegiances from the correctional facility an old member belonging to his own personal squadron. He still had the numbers, they were singed in the ruble of the overtaking but Gabriel had kept them he had a subconscious feeling something like this would happen he only wished he’d reattached some old ties a bit more firmly, though now was his opportunity. His generals would be the first to gain his trust and reap the benefits of such a conglomerate.

“Trizen…” Gabriel waited on his phone, “I need to speak with you…any chance you can drop by the second floor biology lab?”

He nodded as he flipped off the phone; the room he inhabited sat across from the library where his transgressions caused the school to have to replace a pained window. Gabriel sat with a smirk on his face overlooking the school this night, the doors following their way up to the room had all had their handles broken, their locks picked. He’d prepared the stage.

[Trizen Takano]

School was over for the most part and Trizen was quietly studying in the library. He liked how silent the world became when he was involved with books, music scores or other such research. It was an interesting feel on knowing there were other people who were serious about learning and about their education -- aside from the constant fighting he saw in the halls. The school was beginning to seem familiar as much as it was new, though thankfully his locker wasn't smashed in by any rogue Varsity Captain.



He got odd looks from everyone, including the librarian who pointed at the sign with the cell phones. Trizen sunk in his shoulders and quickly pulled out his phone. He was still trying to get used to his new Nokia.

'Gabriel?' He thought to himself on reading the caller's ID. He saved the number from back when they broke into the facility a while back. Back in 259. What did Gabriel want after walking out on the Militia the way he had...?

“Trizen…” Gabriel waited on his phone, “I need to speak with you…any chance you can drop by the second floor biology lab?”

"Sure," Trizen replied, "I'll be there in a moment." He heard the phone cut off and he turned his off as well. He packed up his books and took his bag as he promptly left the library. Trizen was quite familiar with the biology labs since he was often asking questions to the science teachers. As for now, he wasn't sure why Gabriel wanted to meet there, but he'd bite.

With his bag over his shoulder, Trizen looked around to see if the door was closed. It wasn't. In fact, there were no handles.

"Gabriel?" The boy saw the the older high schooler a ways into the room, the poorly lit room, almost as though he was trying to set a scene. Trizen was about to say his name again, but figured it not. He stood close to the door and waited for Gabriel to answer.

[Gabriel Seran]

"Gabriel?"
The sound came from behind him. Emerald eyes still faced out the window as his hand caressed the growing tumor of pain that was throbbing at his head. Yes, this would prove to be an interesting scene. Alone in the dark, things could get a bit dicey. He recalled his actions at the militia meeting, and how he’d made his escape. It wasn’t out of spite but out of self determination, he had to prove to the others that fear had no control over him just as it shouldn’t have any yield over them. Blaze was the other issue, if the Reapers didn’t cause dissention amongst the militia then David certainly would. He nodded sorrowfully and turned on the seat to face Trizen.

“Good evening,” he started off respectfully addressing him as an equal and nothing less, “penny for your thoughts on the matter at hand?”

Gabriel was attentive, he’d left before Trizen had the opportunity to speak earlier and he wanted nothing more than to hear his comrade’s views and even try and show him more of what he had to offer. Though he needed support, he would not go so far as to bully Trizen into aiding him, he would not become like The Reapers or even Blaze for that matter. But the fact still remained Gabriel needed him…

[Trizen Takano]

'Thoughts on the matter?' Trizen questioned himself in a quick sort of manner. He thought it odd that someone of Gabriel's notoriety and mindset would bother asking a novice with greenhorns his thoughts on the meeting. Simply because of this, Trizen was skeptical.

Walking a little further into the room, the raven-haired freshman stepped over discarded tools and other meaningless things until he stood some distance in front of Gabriel. Trizen was straight faced and hoped the edge on the pokered expression wouldn't reveal what he was actually thinking right away. As much as the two of them were on a squad together, Trizen would say just as easily he didn't know the man. He knew as much about Gabriel as much as he knew about Mr. Rogers' piano player -- next to nothing other than the pair of them were very good at what they did.

"I don't see why it matters. Certainly it would not change the reason why you called me; you left before you heard what the verdict was. I should be asking you if you even care," the boy shot back at the seated seventeen year old. "I doubt you're interested in what I have to say; I believe it's you who believes I should be interested in what you what you're going to tell me."

[Gabriel Seran]

The poker face worked for him, Gabriel felt his nerves twinge at how it made his next response seem rather cold.

"I don't see why it matters. Certainly it would not change the reason why you called me; you left before you heard what the verdict was. I should be asking you if you even care," the boy shot back at the seated seventeen year old. "I doubt you're interested in what I have to say; I believe it's you who believes I should be interested in what you what you're going to tell me."

Granted Trizen was right, Gabriel had no right to be pressuring him into revealing his thoughts, if his ideals were true to his word he wouldn’t have to be afraid of revealing his intentions in fact this was how he wanted things down the road. Loyalty and trust was a two street lane and he couldn’t hope to get anywhere if his leaders didn’t share the same trust with him.
Gabriel nodded slightly acknowledging his point, this boy was a far more thoughtful thinker than either Gabriel or Rem it humored Gabriel.

“Alright then, I need you and others of the militia I can trust.” Need being the strongest word in the group, for without any one to follow who could change the way things were? “I need you to help me, to trust me when things get rough around here. I can’t tell you everything because I’m not quite sure what will happen, not yet, but when it does we’ll need each other’s help.” He stopped for a moment, voice was soft not the harsh violent call he’d summoned up in the early meeting. Gabriel had the single goal in mind and that was to defeat everyone who opposed the original goal of the militia, and establish a school void of the pillars and any affiliating gangs that could be used as an army.

“For one though, we’re going to need to train, and be more organized than the Reapers or the original militia.”

[Trizen Takano]

Gabriel wasn't stupid. Trizen knew the moment he forced the poker face that he showed how nervous he really was, if not for the constant fidgeting of his fists. After reading Mister Seran's quiet nod as a sort of acknowledgement, the Takano boy listened carefully to what Gabriel was saying. He kind of narrowed his eyes a bit as he was thinking things through. Trust? A simple word can hold so many implications.

"So, you don't trust the Militia or future events, yet you need me to trust you at face value?" Trizen asked him, "My apologizes for seeming so doubting, Mister Seran, but I can't trust you at face value. You want to train me for things you won't know would happen? Come on. What are you really wanting to use me for? From the sounds of it, you want me to have both feet in land and sea."

Trizen understood it was for a new group, but the boy also understood that everything came with a price tag. Getting stronger was surely a goal Trizen wanted, but it wasn't the only thing. As much as he wanted to trust Gabriel, the walk out left a large imprint in Trizen's mind as to why they called Gabriel Seran the strategist. This was simply a game, and Gabriel knew all the rules.

[Gabriel Seran]

"So, you don't trust the Militia or future events, yet you need me to trust you at face value?" Trizen asked him, "My apologizes for seeming so doubting, Mister Seran, but I can't trust you at face value. You want to train me for things you won't know would happen? Come on. What are you really wanting to use me for? From the sounds of it, you want me to have both feet in land and sea."

Damn, the kid was smart, and for the record very persistent. It wasn’t that Gabriel had underestimated him he simply wanted to hold a grand amount of cards in his hand. Yes indeed to an extent everything was much like a game, it was all planned to an extent as problems and obstacles were to get in the way. He was prepared for that much.
Gabriel lowered his head a bit disappointed, he hadn’t left Militia in such a fashion to disrespect ones members or show them ill will, he did it to protest the tyranny Blaze had absolved upon his arrival, forcing its members into a forced labor rather than of their own free spirit.

“Do you believe in a God Trizen?” Gabriel started off as his gaze drifted for a moment before focusing intently on him, “Sometimes there is a little faith that needs to be given, believe me I will tell you in time but for now things are…difficult.” His dreary eyes faded thinking about the future that he saw, one in which the Dragons where going to war with the free liberated students. It was a bloody road for sure and things were to be rough but through it all there was the light of the people’s hopes the former members of the militia had to live up to, even Rem, David Blaze, Emily, they all had a stake in this freedom; for now they may be enemies but when the time came Gabriel would assist in their work to unite the school.

[Trizen Takano]

Difficult was certainly a word that could have been used, though Trizen preferred Ambiguous. There were no answers as far no anything was concerned. The only one Takano could have answered straight up was that he did believe in God, if not a god. He saw Gabriel spacing out for a moment, which clearly meant there was more than what was happening or going to happen. Trizen was a firm believer in both intention and intension. A smirk crept as he thought of how meaningless it was to think of both words, but they did mean separate things: First being aim, the second being the result.

"I don't want to speak as though I know you, Mister Seran, but I just don't want to be mixed up in the wrong circles. However, knowing your affiliation with Militia and the respect you've earned as a result, I don't want to be completely ignorant to what you have in mind. I can't shake the feeling that you're trying to ready us for something, like perhaps you were trying to warn us about... something." Trizen couldn't find the words to say other than those. He figured if Gabriel called him of all people, he was either desperate to recruit or find someone who would be able to a sort of double-agent. But...

"I don't know what you have in mind, but even God made his plans clear with mankind. What you're saying is pretty vague, but what you're not saying gives way to numerous results, one of which I believe would end in the Militia not being strong enough to stop what's coming. If that is the case, I can tell you straight that I will continue to stand with Militia. But if it means that somehow I can help them by helping you, I want to know what and why before agreeing to anything."

Trizen knew he was nowhere near strong enough to take on any serious member of Militia or any other gang, though he also knew that training would be something he needed. He was still a freshman and in this school, a mind wasn't the only thing that could go to waste. The boy knew he had to be physically strong enough to protect the ones he cared for. Would this be an opportunity for it?

[Gabriel Seran]

Gabriel watched as he replied truthfully and straight forward, he wanted to reply though was patient on knowing the full extent of his “friend’s” thoughts, he didn’t want to have to lie, he wanted to be able to say, it was going to be all right though things weren’t on the straight and narrow, things were rough. His loyalty above all was what Gabriel most respected, though he wasn’t the strongest member he had courage and above all else respect and loyalty for the other members which is what Gabriel needed most, Trust.

"I don't know what you have in mind, but even God made his plans clear with mankind. What you're saying is pretty vague, but what you're not saying gives way to numerous results, one of which I believe would end in the Militia not being strong enough to stop what's coming. If that is the case, I can tell you straight that I will continue to stand with Militia. But if it means that somehow I can help them by helping you, I want to know what and why before agreeing to anything."

Gabriel nodded as he paced to the other end of the room still in the dark, till he came under a ceiling light revealing his tired face. Now he knew what Unfettered’s burden was, why he was always so tattered up whenever he went about. The stress put behind this force of people, not slaves, people who had the given right to deny you. It destroyed your body though your mind grew more deserving.

“I cannot say what will happen, only enough so that we weren’t ready when the Reapers appeared at 259 and we still aren’t ready now, but what we can do is become better. Do you remember the last orders given out after the incident at the correctional facility?” Gabriel paused for a moment, “It was for us to train, and grow into warriors, though no one was willing to do that they saw no threat even now they do not see it, the Reapers are here and they’re in our faces the threat is here and I’m trying to make them see.” He finished a bit out of breath as his enthusiasm tired.

[Trizen Takano]

Trizen kept his face straight and looked away for a moment. Hearing what he had, he knew there was little room for another answer. He reasoned with his mind and gave it deep amount of thought throughout the entire conversation with him. Takano figured it would have something to do with the Dragons or Reapers; this was a fight school.

The freshman was about to speak again, but decided not. He smirked at himself as he found he was just about to try and convince Gabriel to rejoin Militia. Though based on Gabriel's reasonings, he never left. Trizen moreso thought of him as an extension or a branch of Militia... sort of. It made sense in his mind.

With the weather being what it was, along with the time of night, Trizen found it kinda of ironic how these important conversations typically took place after-school. But then he realized he let his mind wander. He had to respond to Gabriel first before anything else came to mind. Here it was.

"Help me, help you, help them. Right?" He broke it down as such. "If you train me, know that if you somehow break this trust I have with you, I won't hesitate to do what's right. Whatever that might be should the situation come. Understand?" As much as that was as vague as the laws of the Geneva Convention, the young boy made it clear he wanted no trouble or deceit. Strength was something Trizen wanted to protect the ones he cared for. Militia was a group that protected and he wanted to be apart of it and keep that going. With Gabriel's help, Trizen would be able to achieve those goals -- he hoped.

[Gabriel Seran]

"Help me, help you, help them. Right?" Trizen replied straightforward.
Gabriel’s mood lightened up as he let out a smile. “Yea just like that…”
"If you train me, know that if you somehow break this trust I have with you, I won't hesitate to do what's right. Whatever that might be should the situation come. Understand?"

Gabriel eturned a slight nod, he knew there was something he liked about Trizen, he’d make a fine leader someday, far more honorable and greater than anyone coming out of this school would ever be. His sense of honor was incredible…but would the events here change him, only time could tell, down the road things would test each of us to the extent of our limits.
“So what do you say we get started…Friend” He said with a grand grin and a great hope inside of him as he moved into a fighting position.

[Trizen Takano]

'Now?' Trizen thought as he hesitantly put his books and bag down. His mind replayed the nods and the various meanings behind them. He didn't verbally answer which left Trizen to suspect a lot of everything, but for the while, he had to focus on the bout that was about to take place -- no pun intended.

Gabriel's grin was quite large and Trizen knew that experience was on his side. It wasn't often that Trizen fought, but when he did, it was typically to defend himself. Nothing would change here. Trizen stood his ground and opened in his Tai Chi stance. He always felt it natural to open with it, especially when he wasn't warmed up. His father always thought it was a bad way to start a fight, but Yukimura Takano wasn't quite here.

With a nod, Trizen was ready. Nervous. Fearful. Excited. And ready.

[Gabriel Seran]

Gabriel sized up his stance in an instant looking his friend up and down looking for potential weaknesses and strengths. His aim would be there, at the knees bring Trizen to his knees then beat it into him till he began to develop strength where his weakness once was. He didn’t intend to sound harsh but it was the same things the dragons were doing becoming stronger through physically beating their own members till their weaknesses became strengths.

“I’m sorry for this…” He muttered low enough so that no one would be able to hear.
Gabriel crossed the plane quickly as he delivered a downward thrust of his arm into Trizen’s face meeting it with an uppercut from the other arm dropping his hips so his center of balance was low and ready to recoil in an instant. There would be no leniency here not for now, if they were to train they needed to play as rough as the Dragons…

[Trizen Takano]

'!!!'

The full words couldn't even come to mind when he first saw Gabriel headed straight towards him. Seran was fast, and it would be clear that Trizen would really have to literally keep on edge to feel his movements. Instincts would be his weapon of choice as he hoped for some kind of pre-cognition or deja vu to kick in. Whether or not it would actually happen would be revealed throughout the fight.

Here it came the first punch. Trizen already knew that if speed was the foremost attribute in his attack, then he figured strength or intricate attack patterns would come second. 'Wait... but wouldn't the second one vary based on experi--crap!' Trizen felt his upper body lean back slightly, almost as though he was a bowl of jello. It was a very smooth lean back as he dodged the first fist, but on assuming original posture, he took a good amount of the second blow and was quite literally thrown off his feet. In handsome retaliation, Trizen's legs sprang up, while in mid-air, and launched forward towards Gabriel's chest. Being that they were in close proximity, he hoped the makeshift donkey would spring a bit of distance between himself and Gabriel. If so, Trizen would have achieved his goal while landing hard on his back.

[Gabriel Seran]

Charging forward was the only way he could press the threat across, he needed Trizen to develop fast, and become a great asset to his new regime, they’d become stronger even if it required some brutish means. At the end of it all the order could reprimand them for the crimes committed prior to the new rule.

Gabriel’s strike lead forward and true, stinging forward. Gabriel was impressed at Trizen’s ability to preview the attack and was unafraid to sacrifice his body for the betterment of his own survival. Good, the second fist hit, and Trizen rolled with it, kicking Gabriel into the chest where his feet would be met by the arm plates he’d received prior to the correctional facility. He was knocked back a few steps but not toppled. Gabriel approached the now lying Trizen and used his left arm to pin him whilst his right fist was to pummel his body into the ground.