[IC] Black Bullet : Altered Time

[infinitumxx]

Hitoshi was conscious. He had been conscious since he was thrown into this room which held even more PMCs. With his eyes closed, he listened to the voices that came from each person, then mapped out a rough layout of the room. 'Just some plain old room, perfectly square, door right behind me, and around... twelve guards. Should I 'wake up' now?'

Just then, the door slid open with a hiss and Hitoshi was glad he hadn't made a hasty decision. “Just let him come up, it's not like I have to say no to him. And even if I did, Father would have probably told him to take down anyone in his way to get up. So I would say it's best they just let him do what he wants.” 'A pair... No, three people just came in. One female voice... I guess that has to be the head, judging from the fact that all the PMCs so far are all male. Some chauvinist this lady is. Alright, rise and shine.'

"Ugh..." Hitoshi groaned. He clutched at his head and sat up for a moment. Pretending to look around to get his bearings, he visually memorized the position of every single guard there were. He was unarmed, but in the worst case scenario, these jokes wouldn't be able to catch him. He then caught sight of the woman who was speaking (into her phone, Hitoshi realised), and the Promoter-Initiator pair which he spotted at the entrance just now. "Oh, hey there, Miss. You're the head of this company, I'd assume? Kinda young, wouldn't you say? And inexperienced too, judging from the fact that my hands are completely untied? Say, what would you do right now if I had been a infected guy who would turn into a Gastraea right before your very eyes and eat you whole? Hmm? Ah, I know. You'd rely on those two, right?" Hitoshi motioned to the Promoter-Initiator pair.

Hitoshi put on his best antagonistic behavior. He knew people revealed their true colors best when provoked. It was a tactic he had used countless times to varying effect, but usually it worked. He wanted to find out if this person put her pride before anything else.

[Little_ninja]

As Hitoshi started to grown, he looked around. The motions were scanning everyone's positions, Yuki could tell. He had combat experience of sorts. Yuki became sad, she didn't get the chance to glue the cat ears and tail on him. Suddenly, he spoke rudely to Kiri.
"Oh, hey there, Miss. You're the head of this company, I'd assume? Kinda young, wouldn't you say? And inexperienced too, judging from the fact that my hands are completely untied? Say, what would you do right now if I had been a infected guy who would turn into a Gastraea right before your very eyes and eat you whole? Hmm? Ah, I know. You'd rely on those two, right?"
From the voice, Yuki identified it really was Masanori Hitoshi, Midori's adoptive father. Yuki sighed. Before Kiri could say anything in reply to Hitoshi, Yuki used Hitoshi's actions against him, provocation.
"You have become quite rude Masanori-san." Yuki looked down on Hitoshi, wondering if he remembered her, which it seemed he didn't. Not much of a surprise to Yuki though, they had only met a few times and they were with Midori around.
"I guess you don't remember me at all. Do you? I wonder what Midori would think, if she saw you wondering around into different buildings at random."
She knew the mention of Midori would most likely enrage him.

She was her best friend when they were in school together. Yuki wanted to know the details of Midori's death, but it would seem now would not be a good time. She wanted Hitoshi to show some respect to Kiri. He wasn't like this before. She knew he was a better person than this, but it seemed his had changed since they last met, or at least he seemed like he just didn't care as much any more. Yuki could feel Marius going into Kiri's room. Well, it seemed he would have to wait for us to come back into the room.
She sighed again. "Masanori-san, Why did you come in here anyway?" She asked calmly.

[solamelike]

"Oh, hey there, Miss. You're the head of this company, I'd assume? Kinda young, wouldn't you say? And inexperienced too, judging from the fact that my hands are completely untied? Say, what would you do right now if I had been a infected guy who would turn into a Gastraea right before your very eyes and eat you whole? Hmm? Ah, I know. You'd rely on those two, right?"

Flint raised his Desert Eagle, he held it tightly in his left hand and his finger rested gently on the trigger. "I think we shouldn't take any chances" Flint said threateningly.
Yuki butted in.
"You have become quite rude Masanori-san.....I guess you don't remember me at all. Do you? I wonder what Midori would think, if she saw you wondering around into different buildings at random.""
Flint was confused on what relationship the two where in. Who was this Midori? The name seemed vaguely familiar. Maybe Yuki had mentioned her in the past?
Flint kept his gun raised to the hostile man. Ready for any sudden movements.
"Masanori-san, Why did you come in here anyway?" Yuki asked calmly.

[DarkRecon]

As Marius walked in, he then saw...no one.

"...nother room then", Marius thought as he backed out of the room.

"Oh Marius", a nearby guard said with a salute. "Sorry but it seems Miss Kiri is in the next room over there. She's getting to know the new recruits."

"So there's some new faces to this job...well ok then", Marius responds with a nod as he heads towards the nearby room.

What he walks into is what looks like a heated argument of sorts...with one man pointing a Desert Eagle pistol at another.

"...Hello Miss Kiri...I would ask what is happening here that there's a man with his weapon drawn in your office but...I'd just assumed 'business as usual'...", Marius says as he walks into the room.

[Aoi]

Kiri sighed at the taunt while her Promoter and initiator did most of the talking to the man who was...rude to say the least in her mind. He came here obviously to see her, as she was more then sure there wasn't anyone else here for him to see. Be it she owned the building. But it still stood that she didn't know Yuki had known him either. And from the reaction of Flint he wasn't really aware of this. She merely stepped and leaned on her left leg lightly.

“Well, to answer your rather rude statement. Even if you were one, my promoter and Initator here are quite competent” She boasted, though it wasn't something she did all the time, it was good to rub their egos from time to time. As a business owner, the moral of your company was one of the most important things. “I myself may not look it, but i'm pretty trained. Though we could argue that normal combat isn't really effective against a full scale active gastrea. If you were still in that form, I could possibly take you down if need be. Your mind would have been slowly degenerating, and you would be in a state of confusion...killing you would have been...easier...but less fun.” She stated, almost in an inhuman robotic like way. She knew too much in combat to just let someone state that, but she wasn't suppose to engage anyone...it was her promoters job to make sure she never had to fight, just like it was the job of all the PMC's for the same reason. Her father was more then annoying that way. With the entrance of Marius though she didn't move her gaze much as he stated his rather obvious scan over the situation.

“Ahh, welcome Marius. We are merely having a conversation with one of Yuki's friends father. Atleast i'm assuming that is the person. Feel free to take a seat and wait before you give me whatever task my father has decided to lay upon you needlessly.” She stated, not annoyed at Marius, but annoyed more at her fathers endless protection of her. She was aware she was reckless possibly at times, she knew taking in all those Cursed children was like taking in ticking bombs...but she couldn't leave them. Why? Just so they get murdered? Or beaten? To starve....no. No one needed to go threw that...no one..

[Gargoyle]

In the excitement of meeting her new partner, Nozomi had forgoten that she was not some young girl who was being adopted, but an initiator, expected to protect all of the mainland. The reality was unfortunately much less fairy tail-esque then she had hoped, but still, it was something. Nozomi walked past both Hizumi and the man standing behind him, eager to escape the small room she had been waiting in since now. Finally free, Nozomi closed her eyes but maintained her smile as she took a deep breath in. She noted that the air from outside the room tasted much less stale than it did from within. Nozomi let out her breath and turned towards the two. "Alright, let's go then."

Nozomi began to walk at a surprisingly quick pace towards the elevator at the end of the hall, wanting to get this 'formality' out of the way. Out in the cold for all my life, and we have to go meet my new employer before I'm even settled in. Wonderful. Despite her internal complaining, she was actually excited to begin working. She was so used to making due with bent iron bars to keep attackers away, but now she could finally test out a real weapon. When she finally reached the elevator, Nozomi considered sheathing her sword from the cane, wondering if her partner had noticed the small line circling where white cane's curve began, but decided against it. There will be plenty of time for that soon enough. Nozomi pushed the button and entered when it did.

Nozomi hadn't realized how quickly she had moved, and the door to the elevator began to close. She instinctively held out her cane to stop it, but the pain in her leg caused her to stumble back and drop her cane. Nozomi managed to catch herself on a protruding railing, but at least her cane stood between the elevator door and the wall, forcing it to remain open. Nozomi's face reddened as she watched the others approach her. Great. Now he probably thinks I'm completely incompetent.

[solamelike]

Flint heard someone else enter the room.
"...Hello Miss Kiri...I would ask what is happening here that there's a man with his weapon drawn in your office but...I'd just assumed 'business as usual'..." The man said.
Flint didn't turn to see but it assumed it would be Marius, As his boss began to talk, Flint placed his handgun back in its holster
."with us all here we could probably punch the guy to death" Flint thought as he looked to his initiator, seeing how she felt of the situation.
Flint hoped the recruits would come soon so that they could leave, talking wasn't really Flints best skill and he would rather get the job over and done with.

[infinitumxx]

The Promoter was the first to respond, raising his Desert Eagle and pointing it at Hitoshi. Hitoshi took note of the act, but ignored the threat. He doubted the lady would allow blood to be spilled so easily in a building that she owned, no less. It wouldn't reflect well on her competence.

"You have become quite rude Masanori-san," the Initiator spoke. "Guess you don't remember me at all. Do you? I wonder what Midori would think, if she saw you wondering around into different buildings at random."

Hitoshi's eyes widened for a split second, then he regained his impassive face. This girl is Midori's friend? I wouldn't know that, after all. I haven't been what people would call a good father. I never did realise I knew so little about her before her passing.

"Why did you come in here anyway?" she continued.

Before Hitoshi could reply, the leader of the company spoke up. Hitoshi listened intently, trying to discern any hints of her personality from her words. It seemed that she cared little for his life, and that she was a pretty capable combatant or just simply a bad liar. Hitoshi struck out the latter possibility, however, judging from her stance and her lack of openings. This woman wouldn't let outside forces influence her decisions, and that was what Hitoshi was looking for: someone who would resist the 'Promoters must be paired with Initiators' dogma.

Just then, a man, presumably another bodyguard, walked in, and Hitoshi felt a chill. This man was very visibly dangerous, but the lady simply brushed him off like he was a simple bother. Maybe she just didn't like the extent of protection she was receiving.

After a few moments of thinking, Hitoshi concluded that this was a good chance as ever. This was his chance to get back into the Promoter business, if and only if his terms were accepted. But first-

Hitoshi broke out into a smile. "I apologize for my unwelcome behavior, Miss. That was just a test of sorts. It's a bad habit. More importantly, this is what I came to ask: do you hire Promoters who prefer to work without the assistance of an Initiator?"

He then turned to Kiri and said, "I'll need to speak with you too, after this."

[DarkRecon]

Marius didn't take his seat though despite Kiri's request to do so. While he noted the Promoter Initiator pair, with the Promoter holding that Desert Eagle still, he then took note of the man on the office table in front of Kiri.

Then he heard the request he made.

"...suspicious...a Promoter who refuses to work with an Initiator? Tell me, who are you again, what IISO division do you work for and why did it seem like you tried to FORCE your way in here? People don't wind up on office desks around this place unless they caused some sort of trouble."

Marius then put one hand on his Varanium Katana but didn't draw it just yet.

[Little_ninja]

Kiri's small praise about Flint and Yuki was nice and made Yuki happy, however, she didn't let it show at all, due to the situation. Seeing Masanori's eyes widened, although only for a split second, Yuki knew she had affected him, but he was well composed afterwards, she wasn't sure if the others had noticed it, but she sure enough did. Marius had entered the room and Kiri briefly explained the situation. Flint had stopped pointing his desert eagle. He thought as Yuki did, Masanori wouldn't be able to take them all on, but she was still alert of him. Masanori started to speak, about not wanting to be paired up with an initiator, a solo promoter.

Promoter, without an initiator? Yuki's thoughts pieced some things together. Yuki thought she saw Midori have red eyes once, but it was only for a quick moment, she thought she was just seeing things. Things made some more sense, as to why there were several other young girls other than those from class at Midori's funeral. Yuki closed her eyes, figuring out that Midori was probably either killed on the job or turned into a gastrea during the job. The question she had wanted to ask Masanori was answered by him making that request.

Marius had his hand on his Varanium katana, asking about the man. Yuki answered some of the questions, "Marius, this man is Masanori Hitoshi. He once was paired with an initiator, a girl he had adopted named Midori. She was my best friend at school. A while ago, she had her funeral. I assume she died on the job, and this man doesn't want that to happen to another." Yuki wanted to cry, but she stayed strong. She didn't want to cry over Midori again. She had to stay strong for now. Yuki calmed herself down, pulling out the cat ears, tail and super glue. Yuki turned to Kiri with some teary puppy dog eyes. This was to indicate that she had an urge to stick these on Masanori. Midori did talk about her father, and how she wanted to see Yuki play a trick on him. By the way, this superglue will stick to skin for over a week before it comes off. So, he would be like this for a while. It was personally made by her father. Nothing would weaken it, only time. Flint and Kiri had seen this in action on one of the other members of the building that Yuki got along with.

[solamelike]

Flint was slightly confused, "no initiator... he would be tore apart...." Flint thought as Marius seemed to be just as sceptical.
Flint looked to Yuki as she began to talk
"Marius, this man is Masanori Hitoshi. He once was paired with an initiator, a girl he had adopted named Midori. She was my best friend at school"

So that was how she knew him... Flint received the information and thought about it, running it over in his head.
He still wasn't sure abut this man, he could be horribly unstable after all, losing someone was always hard on the brain.
If anything happened to Yuki .... well... Flint preferred to not think about that.
Flint silently listened, breathing calmly.
That was until he saw Yuki take out some cat ears and tail. Flints face stared at her intently, a disapproval face solidly in place. He began to shake his head lightly, hoping she wouldn't, it was more than useless though so Flint just hoped she would not be so silly, not at a time like this.... but that was what Yuki was known for.

[DarkRecon]

Marius listened to the Initiator's story on the man and from the sound of it, this Masanori Hitoshi was indeed an IISO member but what bothered him was his history with his own Initiator. He even spied the Initiator in the room take out what looked liked cat ears and some glue of sorts and perhaps saw that they were indeed friends.

"...Mr. Hitoshi...let me ask you this. I would question your mental stability after such a horrible loss but if you plan to go solo, do you at least have custom weaponry or any weapon tailored-made to fight Gastra creatures? Because if you just tried to come in here with no credentals and just the clothes on your back, I suggest you look for work elsewhere and try to put your life back together before going back to IISO work", Marius asks.

Marius still had his hand on the hilt of his Varanium Katana but didn't draw it from his sheath. He did feel sorry for Hitoshi but it seemed that, to Marius anyway, that he was just a desperate man looking for a way back into the IISO job.

[infinitumxx]

It seemed that most, if not all, of the people present in that room labelled him as mentally unstable or any synonym thereof. Hitoshi did not blame them; an unstable colleague in this line of business would prove disadvantageous in a tight situation when facing a Gastraea. Hitoshi assured, "I may have suffered from my loss, but that does not make me in any way a weaker man. If I had my armaments with me right now, I would gladly have a melee with you, Mr. Bodyguard." Hitoshi gestured to Marius. He had confidence in his years of battle experience that he would not lose. Swordfighting wasn't something he just picked up, after all. "But I would prefer if such violent acts be restricted onto the battlefield, don't you think?"

Hitoshi noticed the cat ears and tail, and assumed that the Initiator wanted to put them on herself. "Well, alright. Things have gotten a little tense here, so let's lighten the mood, shall we?" Saying that, he plucked the ears out of the Initiator's hand and pasted it firmly on her head. He took the tail for himself and stuck it on his pants. "I appreciate it, girl," Hitoshi said with a smile.

[Aoi]

Kiri listened calmly to the advise and other forms of information that was being distributed around the room. Though her main focus wasn't the factor of him loosing an initiator. No, it was that he was willing to put himself before a possible Gastrea case without an Initiator. Of course, there were people who allowed these things, but she really wasn't one to jump throwing someone to their death. It would mean that based on the percentage she would have to put in a squad with him. Of course this was still based on her current understanding of his skills. Even his own test was a show of some negative experience to her. She looked down to Yuki who seemed to be sad about not being able to cause another victim to become distraught from her pranks. But it seemed he was all game.

“See the man will still play in your game~.” She stated to Yuki with a smile on her face. She knew it wasn't really going to do anything in Yuki's seeming drive to have fun. But at least they wouldn't be wasted for now. She changed her gaze to a more serious one as she brought her sight up to the man. Adjusting her suit lightly with a pat here and a tug on her tie. Then a silent sigh.

“The only issue I have with hiring a man who lost a girl. Is that if he doesn't want one, I would need proof he can handle himself. I have no issues with putting you out in a one man team on less aggressive missions. But, you have to understand, that even as a business perspective, loosing my assets, is a pain. Promoters don't drop out of the sky like birds. I would need to make sure you can handle yourself alone. Let alone with a team in more aggressive missions. You pay, and housing would be payed for among other things. These are all if you get approval. Sadly, i'm not the one you need the approval of. My company as it is, is quite busy. We may think this pause of peace is something out of the ordinary, but it's far from it. It seems, you are blessed with that luck...and the luck that Marius wasn't the one who found you.” She walks closer placing her hand gently on Yuki's head. “I really...can't say I understand the pain of loosing...that. But I can say that you will probably need to go threw a judgement test. Flint here, was actually going to meet up with another promoter initiator pair.” She paused for a moment, her thoughts running rampant as a twisted almost smirk appeared on her face. “And since I value his and Yuki's opinion on the promoters. You will join them. The case isn't that large....from my understanding, but hey no one will complain.” She stated calmly, though she laughed inside.

She wasn't going to stop anyone from doing anything, just merely seeing where this would go.

---

Hizumi watched the young lady walk out with dignity of some sort, while the men seemed to be more pleased that she was leaving. He often wondered why so many people would treat some others with disgust. However, he couldn't bother with them anyways. There was much more needed to do. He with the rest of the group, followed behind her as the cane walking Nozomi moved herself quickly across the floor to the elevator, though she did hold her best to keep her own elegance it seemed. He kept on his smile, though to say anything less or more, the young girl before him seemed to hold herself in high regard. Which, in the end wasn't such a bad thing. With pride however, always came the pain of losing. He took a quick glance to the men who seemed to be watching her move quickly, though they were glad she was leaving they truly weren't the most comfortable of people. The sort of people that made him want to just tear off their heads merely because they were just blinking the wrong way. It wasn't their fault to be born with such annoying faces to him.

He looked back however, after hearing something, and noticed she had fallen. The men kept their pace while he increased his slightly as he came up from behind her, and moved to help her to her feet.

“We'll be leaving soon enough, Nozomi.” he said kindly and softly. No need for him to say anything more as he stood up to look at the men, waiting for his Initiator to fully get in the elevator before he would press the button to close the doors before the men could even come in. There was no need for them to be with them. She belonged to him now, and whatever their disgust was of her, didn't matter to him. It was more then anything just because she was a cursed child. He still would keep his smile...for now. When they would get to Ms. Matoi, that would change quite quickly....no more needs for a fake smile.

[Little_ninja]

Yuki was no longer feeling hostile or anything like that, this caused her to become off-guard, giving Hitoshi the chance to put the ears on her head. Seeing him put the tail on himself, she looked to her other hand. Confirming she had the special super-glue. Luckily for both of them, it was only pasted on their clothes (her hat). But she was still sad. Not too much from not getting a victim, but for two other reasons. She could not do her prank for Midori, and this ruined her hat for the next week. Luckily it wasn't her favorite hat, or she would be ready to puncture Hitoshi's hands and feet into the floor with her javelins at light speed. Hitoshi's pants were gonna have a cat tail attached for a week, but she didn't feel like telling him. She will just swap her hat, when she gets the chance.

“See the man will still play in your game~.” Kiri stated to Yuki with a smile on her face. Yuki looked up at her, and smiled softly back. She was a little caught up in some of her memories of Midori still, it seemed, while this whole thing happened. Kiri started to pat Yuki, while telling Hitoshi about how things would work.
“And since I value his and Yuki's opinion on the promoters. You will join them. The case isn't that large....from my understanding, but hey no one will complain.” Kiri stated calmly.
Yuki sighed inside. She was excited before about the new recruits, however, with Hitoshi in the mix now, Flint was probably going to be in a worse mood than before, leading to more trouble for Yuki.

Yuki's phone started to vibrate. It was her dad. She could tell without even looking at it. She started to walk out the room and pulled out her phone.
"I'll be back later" She turned around to look at Kiri and Flint, indicating to the phone.
They knew how much her father's called her, even when in the middle of work. It seems the ringing won't stop unless she picks up at least once.

"Hello dad. Yes, I'm fine ...." was all that could be heard from her in the room while she stepped out to the elevator. Yuki decided to go down and rush home to get another hat while she was at it.
"I sent a message already, I work coming up and will be home late. No, everything is fine, seems we have new recruits. Oh, remember Masanori-san? Well, he barged into the building. Anyway, everything is okay. I am gonna come home for a second to grab something I forgot."
This was what could be heard by some of the people on the ground floor, before she vanished, leaving a gust behind her.

Rushing home, she paused. Her dad was right there, wanting to hug her. She couldn't resist, so she hugged him.
This could take a while, but, oh well. She thought. They would probably message her if they arrived while she was gone.

[DarkRecon]

Marius then decided to settle down since it seemed Kiri had made up her mind to trust Mr. Hitoshi.

"As you say Miss Kiri. Just make sure about him all the same."

Marius then took a seat finally in one of the fancy chairs set in front of Kiri's desk in this room it seemed. Unslinging "Last Gamble" from his back and placing it next to his chair, he then watches the girl, Yuki he believed her name was called, say she was stepping out.

When Yuki had left, Marius asks, "Miss Kiri. Is this the Promoter and Initiator duo you told me about the last time I was working a job here? You seemed to be well aquainted with them."

[solamelike]

"Great more babysitting" Was all Flint could think as he audibly sighed.
Flint noticed his initiator leave.
"Ill be in the lobby.." Flint said as he turned on his heel to leave. "Ill bring the newbies up wen they get here." he left ,just hearing Marius ask Kiri a question about something or other.
Flint slowly walked to the elevator, pressing the button to go down and when he got to the last floor he stepped out, walked to a guard.
"I will be sitting over there, if the new recruits come ill take them up" Flint said to him as he nodded.
Flint then went to one of the comfy seats and sat down, cursing when he had forgotten his gun case was still in Kiris room.

[infinitumxx]

"Very well, Ms. Kiri, if that's correct," Hitoshi bowed. "I will not disappoint, if my years of experience mean anything. I'll just need my weapons back, and I'll be on my way." Retrieving his Varanium sword and shield, Hitoshi followed Flint down to the lobby. He saw Flint sit down on a sofa grumpily, and Hitoshi said, "Don't worry, I can hold my own in a fight, believe me. At the very least, I am not foolish enough to take on situations where I will be killed easily. I do value my life, you know." He leaned on the wall beside Flint, observing the younger man with interest. Hitoshi tugged on the tail he had pasted on himself, but as expected, it was glued to his pants. 'Ah well, at least it doesn't look bad,' Hitoshi thought.

"Say," Hitoshi spoke up after a bit of silence. "What is Yuki to you? A companion in combat? A weapon or shield? Of what importance is she to you?" he asked Flint.

[solamelike]

"Don't worry, I can hold my own in a fight, believe me. At the very least, I am not foolish enough to take on situations where I will be killed easily. I do value my life, you know."
The man that had followed Flint down to the lobby said, tugging on the fake tail that he had placed on himself.
Flint kept quite, he had nothing to say to the man and hoped to get the whole charade over and done with as soon as possible. That way he could begin going on missions alone with just Yuki once again. Just how he liked it.

"Say," Hitoshi spoke up after a bit of silence. "What is Yuki to you? A companion in combat? A weapon or shield? Of what importance is she to you?" he asked Flint.
"Well when we paired up, her parents offered me a room to rent at there home. I took up the offer and have been living there ever since... She is a business partner but she sometimes sees me as an older brother." Flint looked to the older man. Despite his age he seemed capable, still in his prime.
"But I know the dangers of becoming too emotionally attached to an initiator.." Flint said softly. It wasn't a good idea, and despite Flint knowing this he did care for his initiator.
Maybe one day this would be his downfall

[Gargoyle]

Nozomi turned a brilliant shade of red as Hizumi helped her up, hiding her face so he wouldn't see. "Thank you." She responded. Honestly, not five minutes have passed since I met him and already I made a fool of myself. Though she thought this, she could not detect a note of irritation in his voice. Without turning around to check his facial expression, Nozomi hopped over to her cane with her good leg with surprisingly skillful balance. She pushed the door open before lifting the cane and propping herself up on it. She stood between the door and the wall of the elevator until one of the men accompanying them held it open for her. Nozomi entered the elevator completely, fixed her now slightly messy hair, and waited patiently while the others walk inside. Though she avoided making eye contact with any of the corporation workers, she allowed herself to flash a smile towards Hizumi.

After everyone was fully within the elevator, Nozomi watched as the other man with them pressed one of the buttons, presumably to the ground floor but Nozomi couldn't see past him. She braced herself slightly as the elevator moved the group of them downward to make sure she would not lose her balance and fall again. Cheerful elevator music played as the group stood in silence for about a minute before the door opened to the lobby of the building. Nozomi waited for the others to move forward, and followed close behind as they walked up to an unfamiliar woman, who first smiled at Hizumi, and then at her.

"Hello." The woman said, greeting Nozomi as she lowered herself to the young girls eye level. She glanced at the Nozomi's cane for only a second, but Nozomi noticed regardless, and felt insecure about her leg. "I take it that you're Hizumi's new partner then?" Nozomi was glad that she didn't bring up her injury, and gratefully nodded in response. She wasn't getting the same vibe from the woman and Hizumi as that she got from most other people in the city. "Well, you can call me Ms. Matoi. I'm Hizumi's agent." Nozomi's puzzled face, an indication of her ignorance on the topic of professions caused her to amend herself. "I'm Hizumi's friend. Nice to meet you." The woman extended her arm out to the girl. Nozomi saw this occurrence before when she watched others in the building, and shook the woman's hand with her own, proud that she knew the proper reaction.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Ms. Matoi." Nozomi told her. She found the woman to be quite pretty, and silently hoped to herself that she could grow up to be as appealing as her. She glanced at Hizumi, and then back to the woman again, wondering if they had a romantic relationship. A smile displayed itself on her face as she thought of the two of them out together while Hizumi was dressed as he was. To be frank, Nozomi didn't understand why he wore such make up and found it ridiculous. She would never say so though, not wanting to be criticized on her ignorance of the cities culture. Other normal people probably found it attractive.