[hr][i][h1][color=cornflowerblue]Shizuka[/color] & [color=salmon]Haruka[/color] [color=cornflowerblue]Taka[/color][color=salmon]shiro[/color].[/h1]
[sub]([@Mr Allen J] and [@FernStone])[/sub][/i]

[hr][hider=Crisis Core FFVII OST - A Flower Blooming in the Slums][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpsDpKFuGPY[/youtube][/hider][hr]
[b][code]Outside Baybridge, 09:07 AM_[/code][/b]

If there was one thing that Shizuka Takashiro hated about going on official trips, it would definitely be the [i]long ass[/i] traveling time to get back to the US from the other end of the globe. Sure, the business class seats were a tad more spacious than those in the economy class, but who the hell wouldn't feel sore being stuck in the chair for twenty-over hours of boredom? Also, he really wanted to get out of this uncomfortable suit as soon as possible - he had pulled off the black blazer and threw it over to the empty seat beside him, and his navy-colored necktie was now hanging loosely around the unbuttoned collar of his white dress shirt. All the while completely oblivious to the flustered look from a young air stewardess when she walked past him - at how his tight-fitting shirt was literally plastered to his chest. He was a little amused whenever his requests were instantaneously answered by her, making him wonder if she was really that enthusiastic about her job.

Whatever. At least he would finally be back home.

The road journey from the airport to Baybridge was as uneventuful as the flight. The taxicab driver didn't seem to be in the mood to chit-chat with him (in fact, he would narrow his eyes at his brilliant white hair through the rear-view mirror from time to time), and the radio was too loud to hold a conversation... unless a shouting match was in order.

The mention of a very familiar name from the news caught his ears: 

[indent][color=silver][i]"...and Meifeng Zhao."[/i][/color][/indent]
The reporter went on about the rogue incident that happened all over Prague and praised how the Metahuman agencies of American and Europe worked together to take down the Beast... and also earning herself a title.

The "Hero" of Prague.

Shizuka couldn't help but let out a small sigh. It had been seven long years since the Verthaven disaster and relocation of the survivors to Baybridge, a city on the northeastern end of America. Together with Meifeng and Cindy Keagan, the three of them had been recruited into RAVEN, but went on their separate ways to further pursue their area of expertise after the two years of basic training. Meifeng went on to make successful raids on various supervillain hideouts, Cindy realized her dream and became a DOVE pilot, and he was getting closer to become a pro recon sniper...

On top of being the liasion officer to get the Metahuman law enforcement groups in Asia to cooperate with DOVE and RAVEN. He did love to travel around, but all these troublesome trips weren't what he would call actual traveling. For one, he was mostly in either China or Japan; sometimes going as far down as Malaysia and Indonesia, but still Asia.

However, this wasn't the main reason for his sigh.

Occasionally he was sent to assist Meifeng in some of her raid operations, and what he saw in her was... disturbing.

He had seen her tattoos, he had heard rumors among the gossiping RAVENs - even from the equally concerned Cindy when they were catching up with each other at times. He could tell that the Devil incident had scarred the Chinese girl very deeply: the lost of her close friends, watching the friend's family being killed before her eyes, going through so much just to continue living on in this dark, twisted world.

Worse, she didn't appreciate his advice not to sink too deep into hatred. Since then he never spoke another word about her increasing brutality when dealing with criminal Metahumans - if she didn't even want to listen to her [i]best friend[/i] Cindy, then obviously she had no reason to give a shit about whatever he, an outsider, would tell her. If he had to be honest, Meifeng was becoming more and more like her own mother - maybe even worse if she still didn't want to stop and hold back her bloodthirstiness.

And eventually lost sight of the most important things before her in her life right now.

The news went on to the opening of some community event in Silver Hills. Another familiar-sounding name: Meifeng's relatives company - the Lius - who also helped in the relocation of Verthaven survivors to Baybridge.

[i]Jeez, how much have I missed when I'm only away for just a week?[/i]

The taxi pulled up before a small white cottage. He paid the sour-faced driver with exact fare (giving him a disarming smile to dare him to ask for tips) and got out of the car, which drove off in a cloud of black dust that nearly choked him. The house seemed quiet; he hadn't call his family about him being back today, hoping to give them a surp---

[i]Hang on.[/i] A smirk crept up onto his face. He ignored the bell, and walked straight through the door. He placed his belongings quietly onto the sofa; there were some faint noises coming from the kitchen area, and soon the aroma of food was tickling his nose. He moved silently towards the kitchen.

Someone was standing at the stove, with his back facing Shizuka. The back figure of a person he knew by heart. Shizuka stepped forward and covered the eyes of the familiar person. "[i]...Boo![/i]"

The person turned around slowly; he shared the same facial feature as himself - except for the hair color and glasses. Haruka Takashiro froze at the sight of his younger twin standing before him. "[i]S-Shizu? When did you come back?[/i]" He gave his brother a warm hug.

"[i]Just today morning,[/i]" Shizuka replied in their native tongue, returning the embrace. "[i]I know that Holly's at the HQ, but where's Akemi?[/i]"

"[i]She is already at the market,[/i]" Haruka said, releasing the white-haired counterpart. "[i]Welcome back.[/i]"

"[i]Yeah,[/i]" Shizuka breathed, giving his elder twin a playful punch on the shoulder. "[i]I'm back, dear brother.[/i]"

Then, the smell of burnt food made the two boys turned their attention to the bacons in the pan.

"[i]...Ah.[/i]"

... ...

The twins sat down in the living room, the breakfast filled up the small coffee table in the middle (still edible, just black around the edges).

"[i]So,[/i]" Haruka began, eyeing Shizuka's fitting suit with a raised eyebrow. "[i]The China trip must have been... tough.[/i]"

"[i]It's a nightmare.[/i]" Shizuka let out an irritated tch, tugging on his collar with a finger. "[i]As you can see, that old geezer even went as far as getting a specially tailored suit for me so that I could bring his spoiled little princess out on a 'date'.[/i]" He then rolled his eyes, and stuffed the rest of his bacon into his mouth before he pulled out his mobile and switched it on.

That made both of Haruka's eyebrows go up. "[i]And how did it go?[/i]"

Before Shizuka could reply, the phone in his hand suddenly buzzed, almost falling out of his fingers. He picked up the call. "Hel--- Oh, Holly. Yeah, I just arrived and I'm with Haru at the mo'... Huh, okay."

"[i]...What's wrong?[/i]" Haruka finally asked when Shizuka ended the phone call.

Shizuka put down his mobile before he responded to his twin's curious look. "[i]Holly says her green friends told her that... Mei's already back in town.[/i]"

"[i]I have heard about her on the news. Something about saving Prague from some Metahuman called the Beast with the European authorities...[/i]"

Shizuka downed the rest of his eggs and stood up, muttering, "[i]That's not the only thing...[/i]" He then spoke louder, rubbing the back of his neck. "[i]God damn it. Sorry bro, but I need to drop by the HQ.[/i]"

"[i]Ah, all right.[/i]" Haruka watched his silver-haired twin putting the black blazer back on. "[i]Your bike is in the garage---[/i]"

"[i]Got it.[/i]" Shizuka cut his brother off and gave him a lazy wave. "[i]I'll try to be back in time for lunch - I hope.[/i]" Couldn't they at least give him a day off after he just came back from a tiring [i]business[/i] trip?

[hr]
[b][code]DOVE/RAVEN Joint Headquarters, White Coast_[/code][/b]

This was the first time Shizuka drove to the Headquarters on his motorbike (which was normally reserved for trips unrelated to work). After he had parked his vehicle, he walked up to the front door of the building, passed the security check, and was soon on his way up.

Holly said she would meet him in the break room, but he wasn't expecting to see so many other people around. Most of them unfamiliar to him (well, he was often away to entertain those stuck-up big boys in Asia). Except for two.

He walked over and was about to call out to Cindy and Scarlet when he accidentally knocked into someone's legs. Looking down, his dark eyes fell onto a brown-haired Caucasian female. "Sorry." He frowned at her, unable to recall who she was - he had the feeling that he might have seen her somewhere before, but shrugged in the end and gave her an apologetic smile. "Do you know what's going on here?"

...He had also forgotten to change out of his stupid, expensive-looking biz suit.