Ryker/Juicy: Ryker Starts!

[DtJ Glyphmoney]

DO NOT POST IN THIS THREAD UNLESS YOUR NAME IS IN THE TITLE!

Okay! All of these threads have the same OP so don't worry about reading over the other ones. This is a very straightforward concept, you just take turns writing a story. There are a few rules I'd like to set in order to make this as effective as possible.

1. NO OUTSIDE COMMUNICATION. This is a BIG rule. I want to see every little bit of the story's development in this thread. And no, talking about it on AIM and posting a log is not okay.
2. There is no out of context. Everything you put in here becomes part of the story you're telling. That means if you break down and get mad at your partner and cuss him out, one of the two of you will have to find a way to justify that happening.
3. Don't be a ****. Don't go out of your way to ruin other people's stories. In the same fashion, don't be 100% dedicated to only getting what you want done too.
4. Don't write a novel each post. This rule was something I had a hard time with since I am trying to make this as free range as possible. Just don't overwhelm your partner with more story than they can handle is what I'm getting at.

Knowing myself, I've forgotten some rule again. Refrain from posting in this thread until you're planning to start the story.

 

[#HBC | Ryker]

Thinking back to it, I may not have chosen the wisest path. It was actually incredibly stupid, but it was certainly exciting. Liberating in a way. Almost every team's most athletic player was a Striker or the Interceptor, but here I was, playing the Damsel and thinking about how anyone in this room could be the one designed to end our run with a tap to my wrist. Knowing that there was no one I could trust aside from my own Interceptor sitting behind me left me on a permanent high. I was constantly matching up the physical capabilities of other students against my own to see how they could possibly accost me.

A heat emanating from the watch hidden under my sleeve pulled me from my analysis yet again. All four of us had such a watch and such a trigger meant that a member of one of the other teams was near, within a scant thirty yards. A Damsel's watch would alert them to the presence of another Damsel. My watch had given me such a read every school day for the past couple of weeks. Originally, I'd called my strikers in, but we never isolated the source. My Interceptor never picked up any opposing Strikers and my Strikers confirmed that whoever this opposing Damsel was, there was no Interceptor nearby.

It would appear that I wasn't the only one who thought going to university as normal would be the safest way to hide, but without an Interceptor? I had to admire the balls on this guy. Willing to risk it all on his own merit. There had to be a way to flush him out. The community college was small and there were several instances in the day where he had to be within a thirty yard bubble. That was when I decided that I had to form a plan.

 

[Juushichi]

But exactly "what was my part in this?", it was a vexing question that plagued me horribly through my first few class periods and before I knew it, my day was almost half over. Even now He was behind me, ever vigilant. I definitely had to give up to my Damsel. It probably took some sort of esper to be able to tell that we were as on edge as we were. Playing this game meant that you had to have something of a steel will and a poker face that rivaled any professional gambler truly worth their salt. Especially for someone with a straightforward role like mine.

I wouldn't exactly say that my mind was running a "mile-a-minute" or any other ridiculous metaphor like that, but let's just say that the salad I was picking at wasn't the thing that engaged most of my attention. The cafe there at the "uni" (as loosely as you could call it such) certainly wasn't the largest and as decent as the food tended to be, wasn't what could be referred to as 'booming" either. There were just enough people that you could distinguish all of their faces as they came and went with at least an active effort.

The warmth on my wrist told me that our target --- the opposing Damsel was here. Casually as I could, I turned to Him.

"So... what was that you were trying tell me about the comedian last night?"

Though my head was in his general direction as general convention dicated, my eyes clearly weren't on him. Past him I saw a few people move here and there. Another guy, one of our classmates actually, sat down at a table in the distance. A girl passed at his back and ventured back into the cafe proper to buy something. I have to admit that I almost jumped when I saw her brush against him. He didn't seem to mind it as much though, and simply answered my question with an equally inane answer to the question I had just asked him.

It wasn't before long that he suddenly rose to his feet. Quickly, I rose with him. Following his line of sight lead to the same girl that had brushed past him minutes ago, sitting by herself at a table towards the back. He led the way there with a purpose, but I hadn't the foggiest of what he planned.

When he reached the girl, who I honestly hadn't recognized, he skipped all conventional formalities and spoke:

 

[#HBC | Ryker]

"Alright, took me just about as long as I was willing to wait in order to find you. Hiding the watch around your ankle was a pretty neat trick. It's hard to see it under the sock."

The girl didn't even acknowledge that Myron had spoken. She sat there and chewed her food quietly as if we hadn't simply walked up and called her out as the Damsel.

"Now, you're cornered and your interceptor isn't around. We can end this the easy way, or we can make a giant scene. This all hinges on your next move."

Myron was had locked eyes with her now, but the girl remained totally unaffected by the implied threat of two would-be Strikers standing in front of her. The stare down lasted for a solid two minutes of silence during which my eyes darted back and forth across the room combing it for would be threats. Myron was setting us up as if we were Strikers, but we had no ability to take them out of the game, but she shouldn't know that. She should only know that the opposing Damsel was somewhere in the vicinity, not precisely who it was.

My thought process was shattered along with the silence as the girl giggled.

"Erika," she said plainly.

It took me a moment to catch on to the introduction and before comprehension dawned, I had already caught myself mutter "What?"

"It's my name. I like to exchange introductions with those I outplay."

That was when I felt it, my watch warmed on my wrist. The trigger alerting me to the presence of enemy strikers moving within the range.

"We're hot," I said as the gravity of the situation sank in.

This is where Myron always shined though, and true to form, he smiled before replying,

"The name's Myron. It's a pleasure. Now, if you'll excuse me, I find myself intrigued. We've got a little time before your Strikers show up and I have to put my skills on display, can you tell me what gave away my game and why you've waited until now to spring your trap? It kills me to admit it, but I admire your courage in not staying with your Interceptor."