Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Think I found our siblings." Than said back to Micha, humored by the combination of giggling and metallurgical destruction. He sighed a little afterward, deciding not to make his presence known to Eecheb and Trilla just yet, although they might discover him on their own. "Guess this means we're probably found out. Don't sweat though." Than reached over and patted Micha happily. "I'll keep you out of trouble." Turning his head toward Micha, Than smiled happily, and with a hint of mischief in his face.

Blinking, Than acknowledged Micha's tugging and turned to look at him again, or at least in his general direction. "What, don't want to say good morning to them?" he teased, patting Micha on the shoulder. At least it seemed apparent Micha wanted Than to go with him, else the boy would probably have gone off on his own. Having no real reason to disagree with a good breakfast himself, Than nodded and took Micha's hand while he walked up the stairs, shifting the shoulder bag he'd brought back with him into a more comfortable position on his shoulder.

"Nah~" Than groaned when they reached the top of the stairs. "Busted~" Standing a couple feet away from Nana, with Micha still in hand, Than smiled a little sheepishly, perhaps a plea of mercy. "Well I guess there's no way around it." Than sighed half heartedly, looking ready to make a confession. "I came back late last time and accidentally woke Micha up in the middle of the night. Since he couldn't get back to sleep and it was my fault, I decided it was only fair to let him come with me, and we ended up falling asleep and staying out all night. My bad." Than put his right hand behind his head and rubbed his hair while he explained, being more kid like than his appearance would normally make him. It only felt right to him to cover for Micha.

If the explanation didn't work, there was always plan B: the late-for-an-appointment excuse.

Naturally, Micha had to be a spoil sport and speak up for himself, in a way. Than couldn't blame him though; at the very least, the boy was actually communicating something and not just letting things happen. When Nana embraced the two of them, Than's reaction was a sound not unlike what one could expect from a teenager being awoken by an alarm clock, a low and somewhat defiant grunt from the sudden touch.

"I will." The two word response may or may not have been what Nana was hoping for. He wasn't going to argue that he could come and go as he pleased, but there was little in his tone to suggest that he was really going to make any drastic changes to his routine, more comfortable bed or not. Really, the odds were that he wasn't, save for the promise he'd made to the kids that Nana probably wasn't aware of yet, though it should be encouraging to her as well.

After a good half minute of being held by Nana, Than stepped back to his normal distance. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure Micha's hungry right now, and I don't know if the others have eaten yet. So I thought we'd just-- does anyone else hear something?" No sooner had Than asked and turned to his right than he was hit in the head by some large object. Falling back, Than landed flat on the ground with a large duffle bag on his head, immobile for the moment after letting out a yelp.

"Hah! So I finally got you. That'll teach you to blindside me!" Standing on the thick, stone guard rails to the stairs leading to the entrance was Heine. In his black student uniform, his hands on his hips and staring down at his present victim, Heine seemed rather ready for a confrontation.

"I don't know what it is with people here and talking to themselves, but it sure makes you an easy target to hit when you do." Heine scoffed lightly before jumping off the railing and down to the surface where Than was now KOed. "Well, are you alive or what?"

Not a moment after Heine finished his question, Than sat up and indignantly grabbed the duffle bag in his hand, throwing it right back at Heine. With about five meters between them, Heine had enough time to duck out of the way, with only a small yelp.

"I don't know what your deal is," Than growled back, "but I wasn't talking to myself. And who the hell are you anyway, coming out of no where and throwing a bag at my head?" By this time, Than was now back on his feet and looking right in Heine's direction.

"OH so now you don't remember me!? I have a bone to pick with you for coming and knocking me out! So don't mind me just cause I returned the favor." Heine and Than both seemed equally indignant toward the other.

"Knocking you out?" Than paused. "Wait a sec... you're the idiot who was riding the motorcycle weren't you?"

"Yes, I was the id-- Hey watch it. I don't need the added insults."

"Well then you should be thanking me instead of throwing things at me because you'd be swiss cheese if you kept riding through those lasers!"

"What in the hell is wrong with your face?" Heine lost track of his former topic, noticing how odd Than really looked, with dishoveled hair, one eye, and his obvious facial scarring.

"There's nothing wrong with my face! And why're you changing the subject? I thought you were out for revenge, not to call people funny looking."

"Well I can be curious about funny looking people can't I?"

The two were easily on a fast track to going no where in very short time.

Heine was more a captive than an intruder, as far as security was concerned. Because he was fully human, he was even less perceived as a threat. If Mastema was aware of what was happening, then he certainly wasn't overly concerned about the possible outcome.

"Why are you even still here anyway?" Thanatos tried to steer his questions back to a relevant topic.

"Because I was waiting for my chance to pay you back for knocking me off my bike dammit! My neck's still kinda stiff from that..."

"Well sorry for your pain, but be glad you've still got your neck. That oughta teach you not to go riding your bike around strange shielded places."

"Yeah about that... what is this place anyway? Some prison or place for the crazies?"

"If I said yes, would you leave any faster?"

"No, not really."

Than groaned lightly. "Not close. Anyway, you already nailed me in the head with your bag, so what more do you want?"

"Hmmmm" Heine seemed to go off in thought for a moment, as if considering the question to be a sincere one. "Nah."

"What? Why not?"

"I don't feel satisfied yet. That shot at your head hardly did anything to calm me down."

"Couldn't you have figured that out before throwing it at me..."

"That was before I figured out you were blind. Maybe if you had a chance at blocking it I would have felt it was enough."

"My being blind doesn't mean I couldn't have blocked. I was just distracted is all. If I wasn't off guard I would have gladly obliged you to some resistance."

"Oh really?"

"I was accurate enough to clotheline you off your bike wasn't I?"

Heine laughed, with a hint of defiance in his tone. "I guess that's true. Well all right then, if you're that tough why not duke it out with me for a bit; a good sparring match ought to make me feel better about all this."

"Heh... it wouldn't really be fair. I've got you pretty heavily outclassed, even if you can't tell."

"Then you've got no reason to turn me down." Heine grinned and started down the stairs toward the street, already anticipating Than's acceptance of his challenge.

Than grumbled a little to himself. "Predictable.... It's a bad idea to fight without any reason to you know..."

"Of course I know that!" Heine shouted back, still walking. "But this is a fight between guys for the sake of settling a difference. If you understand that, it's a good enough reason."

Than thought for a minute and shrugged. "....works for me." A moment later, Than was following Heine down to the street level, quite ready to put Heine in his place quickly. "But this time you can't hold it against me if you get knocked out."

Than was already aware his siblings were close by; they'd been there since he returned to the tower with Micha. Although he was probably oblivious to the fact that they'd be interested in watching because they were interested in their big brother's combative talents, he at least knew they'd be interested because, put simply, there was no reason kids wouldn't be interested in a brawl. In fact, he'd be concerned if there wasn't some degree of interest in the inherently primal nature of a fight.

"I know. But I think I owe it to him to give him a fair fight... even if he is outmatched." Than replied to Nana. The response seemed complementary; the warning wasn't that significant to him.

"You know, I can hear you when you're talking outloud." Heine didn't take too kindly to being referred to in a blunt manner.

"Did I imply I didn't want you to hear?" Than chuckled back, continuing down to the street. Given Eecheb's position, he was actually only a little out of Than's way to the streets. Removing his shoulder bag, Than set it down next to Eecheb and stopped next to the boy for a moment. "Keep an eye on my bag while I'm fighting for me, k buddy?" Than smiled down at his little brother, patted his head, and ruffled the boy's hair in Than's brotherly fashion.

"It's kinda hard for your opponent to keep track of your bag while kicking your butt." Heine responded to Than's statement, not realizing there was another person he was talking to.

"I wasn't talking to you!" Than shot back. "Of course I don't expect you to keep track of it."

"Well dangit make it clear when you're talking to me or not." Heine was already starting to feel bad about fighting a loony.

Even without a verbal acknowledgment, Than could quite well sense the boy's excitement. It was cute to see his little brother so anxious for this little, pointless brawl. He trusted Eecheb would have the sense to avoid the fighting space, and he also was just as sure that Nana wouldn't let him get that close to it anyway.

"Oi oi, are we gonna duke it out or talk to the air all day?" Heine was starting to get impatient with Than's stalling of the match. One would think Heine didn't have anything better to do with his time.

"As if anything else is going to happen if I did..." By now Than had figured out that Heine couldn't see Nana or his siblings. Prior, Than hadn't really known about the genetic camouflage the Witness angels carried, but its effect now on humans was apparent. If he remembered, he might ask someone about it later, but for some reason he doubted the kids were aware of their inherent stealth.

"Well if you're ready," Heine cracked his knuckles and took his stance, ready to move forward on the second. "Then here we go! 3! 2! 1! Go!"

Heine fell back and hit the ground with a thud just a moment after the start of the match. Than stood just to Heine's right, his arm outstretched where Heine had been standing a moment ago, and where in the blink of an eye Than had clothelined him across the chest. Than's improved speed, and Heine's unpreparedness, was apparent.

"Maybe I overdid it a little?" Than was ambiguously asking himself and Heine the question. The response from Heine a few seconds later was a series of coughs and an annoyed grumbling.

"a*****e. This is supposed to be a sparring match, not a quick draw, one-hit-kill match...."

"My mistake," Than couldn't hide all of the pride in his voice. He did just essentially win 'round one.' "Oh, and watch the mouth. Keep that language up and I'll knock your head around."

"So does that make it round 2 now?" Than decided to at least be polite about starting the next round, since Heine likely wouldn't last long in another round like this.

"No, I say we just pick up where we left off." Heine threw both of his legs up, and kicked them back down with enough force to literally throw himself back on his feet.

Than instantly dashed several feet back, in case Heine decided to strike as he was getting back on his feet. Heine followed up on this by instantly moving forward on Than and throwing an odd, open palm strike toward Than's head. Than easily managed to dodge the first strike, but was mentally taken aback by how quick, and powerful Heine's move had been. It wasn't something Than considered a human to be so immediately capable of.

Heine, however, didn't have any such reservations, already having experienced Than's speed. The strike was immediately followed by Heine spinning his body in the wider direction, jumping, and throwing a backward kick at Than's shoulder, which succeeded in knocking the latter to the side, though only slightly.

During the next few moments, both of the two exchanged similar blows back and forth. It would certainly give Nana ample time to retrieve one if not both of her other children. While this was happening, on the surface it looked like the two were exchanging blows equally, but in reality a closer inspection showed Than was taking far less 'damage;' Heine's attacks, though brutal and precise, never seemed to make Than budge as his first kick had. Than on the other hand was forcing Heine to guard and block with increasing frequency. Still, even though Than was holding his own, there was uncommon strength in Heine's strikes. His training was more extensive than the others might have realized.

Suddenly, Heine flew backwards. Than's leg stayed out from where he'd kicked Heine, even as Heine rolled slowly to his feet.

"It's only gonna get easier for me to do that." Than announced, relaxing his posture again now that there was space between him and his opponent. "Maybe you should call it quits before you get yourself hurt. I know you want to beat up on me more, but you're not gonna get much at this rate."

"True!" Heine shouted back, sounded somewhat exhausted now. "But also wrong. It just means I have to up my game!"

"If you it looks to me like you're already exhausted... so I don't think you're holding back."

"Au contraire!" Heine grinned, now getting his breath back. "I'm just been holding back my secret weapon!"

With no further explanation, Heine lifted up the bottom of the shirt for his uniform, and revealed an uncommonly large belt buckle, mostly silver with an orange/gold circular piece in the center of the octagonal frame. For a moment Heine seemed to pose like this, before remembering that Than couldn't see his 'secret weapon.' - of course, anyone not in the right vantage point could see Heine lifting his shirt as showing off anything....

"This little gizmo is going to turn this whole fight around, my blind little friend." Heine grinned to himself, grabbing the buckle and pulling it off the belt.

"You know, usually it's not a smart move to announce your 'secret weapon' in the middle of the fight...." Than responded, cynically.

"Call it being fair for how badly I'm going to pay you back." Heine smiled, assuming a rigid pose, holding the device at his side.

"CHANGE!" Heine suddenly shouted, thrusting the buckle in front of him, flipping it over, and bringing his other hand up to it. "SYSTEM ON!"

A gust of air swept out from Heine's location and Heine himself was engulfed in a bright light. Not able to see the light, Than merely held up his hand to cover his face as the light wind swept over him. It was too light to cause any damage.

As the light finally subsided, it seemed almost as if a different person were standing where Heine was. None the less, Heine stood where he had been, now covered in orange, gold, and black... a tight fitted suit that shone brilliantly even in the absence of sunlight. With his legs apart, his left hand on his hips, and his right hand coming up to sweep back his hair, Heine smirked proudly. His head was the only part of him not now covered with the suit. "Prepare to face defeat!" Heine waved his arms gracefully, using some form of martial arms, and finally assumed an attack stance towards Than. "The fiery spirit of truth, destroyer of evil! The orange knight!!"

Than just stood where he was, honestly speechless.