Welcome to Gaia! ::

((It wasn't just a magazine--it was an actual book that somebody had published.))

"Well, here's the short answer..." Gatz said, smiling cattily as he brought his face close to the ninja's. The entity slowly opened his eyes, a dangerous glint reflected in their depths he stared at Rio. At this distance the faint smell of ozone wafted up from the dark-colored "skin" of chi the being wore to keep his chaotic power in check, marking him as distintly inhuman. For those who had witnessed knew the breadth of destruction Gatz could cause, it was an unpleasant reminder of what might happen if he stopped constantly holding himself in check.

"... It's personal," he said firmly, before backing away again. He turned around and look back at the computer one the table, a mischievious grin on his face. "And you have to respect someone's personal business, Rio. For example, I could check the computer's log, and see exactly what you were up to--seeing as I very much you came all the way down here for anything 'fun'. But I respect your right to some form of private life... as long as you respect mine as well."

Gatz tipped a nod to his friend. "I think it's a fine arrangement, don't you?"

Gatz simply smiled at the ninja, waving off the threat.

"Oh, poor Rio. That wasn't meant to be intimidation," he said, a hint of mirth in his voice. "If I wanted to feel threatened and fo cower in a corner somewhere, I simply would've drop my pants." The entity cocked his head to the side, as if something had just occurred to him.

"Hmm... actually, I suppose that's still an option." Humming slightly to himself Gatz glanced down, reaching low as if to undo the button on his pants.

"Actually I was going for the 'mine's so much bigger you curl up in shame and lose the will to live' reaction," Gatz said with a shrug, removing his fingers from his zipper. "But once again, Rio you've decided to jump to a conclusion that doesn't fit with the established facts."

"Like the fact that since my clothing is part of my projection..."--he struck a manly pose before making his announcement--"... I'm always naked!"

"I'd be very careful when asking Bleu about that, mind you," Gatz warned with a slight smirk. His hands briefly outlined a female silhouette, so as to remind the ninja of the blonde's usual preference. "Knowing her you'll probably get more of an emasculation than you bargained for, and then I might really start to show an interest in you."

((He also said "start to" show interest. As in "I'm not very interested in you right now." And could we please have something more originality than to go with gay jokes, Rio? It's probably more demeaning to you than it is to me.))

((He also said really start an interest, implying that he has one now, but fine, no more))

Rioushu watched Gatz as he moved up the ladder and thought on what to do next. There was no point pursuing Roan anymore, any thoughts of joining her had vanished when Morrigan returned, and there was no point in following any of the others, none of them had anything interesting to do anymore. "Ah well, something will come up I'm sure."

And in the silence... Came an object from the sky, at first unnoticeable in light of the setting sun. It flashed briefly, a reflection off of it as it fell with an audible clank of a sound. It was a mask... A completely white mask that, as it landed, gave a brief sort of tumble before stopping. It landed but a few short feet from the man, from Quint, before stopping on its back. Facing up, the mask appeared completely blank, save for a finely etched in design. It was an outline, that of a rose, the bloomed flower starting at the top of the mask and coming down as a stem with leaves to the bottom.