[color=A9A9A9][h2]Southwestern District[/h2][/color][indent] [b]“Hm…”[/b] Kenshin sipped from the small cup as well, tasting it with his tongue but not actually swallowing any. As Marina recounted her story, he refilled her cup, mulling over the details that she imparted. Well, his profession may be to weasel money out of enamored women, but that didn’t mean he was necessarily heartless. [b]“Seen him around this place called Galaxy. Live house a couple blocks north of that skater park.”[/b] A pause, pensive as the long-haired ikemen gazed into the still-full cup of sake before him. [b]“He plays as the drummer for the Quartermasters. Never figured him to be [i]that[/i] type of person though…”[/b] He flicked a strand of hair out of his eyes, before smiling at Marina. [b]“Don’t get into too much trouble though, yeah?”[/b] [/indent] [color=A9A9A9][h2]Southern District[/h2][/color][indent] [b]“Her new teacher?” [/b]Yasuo raised his brows. [b]“Wow, I can see why she’s so prickly now. Don’t worry ‘bout it too much. People ‘round here are rough, but ain’t nobody wants to get into hot water by getting labelled as a pedo or shit like that.”[/b] He patted Tamiko on the head, and the 5th Grader was suddenly caught between wanting to maintain her threatening aura and blushing at the massive amount of embarrassment her older friend was causing her. She settled for another kick to the inside of his knee that he absorbed with another ‘geh’. [b]“Anyways, it’s just one of those days for her, so, y’know. Just how it is, miss. Better for you to head off ‘fore you get hit on, neh?”[/b] [/indent] [color=A9A9A9][h2][i]Somewhere ; Sometime[/i][/h2][/color][indent] She gasped, slamming the door behind her and sliding in the bolt, before crumbling down onto the ground. Her breathing was a mess, and her chest rose up and down dramatically, even as her compressed lungs could hardly stretch out. Her ears twitched at each sound around her. Outside, bicycle wheels creaked. Outside, a dog barked. Outside, neighbors chatted. Was she safe? She had to be safe. She was never safe now. She sucked in a breath, raking fingers through her short hair as she let the suitcase drop onto the floor, no longer willing to even touch it. It rattled like a maraca. She wished it was so innocent. Shakily, she pulled herself back up, kicking the suitcase underneath a table. Reaching for the phone, she dialed in a number, waited for the person to pick up, and couldn’t help but tear up a bit. Everything was still fine. There was no change that was permanent. [b]“Ahmya, I...I got the case. So...don’t worry, ok? We can still figure it out.”[/b] [hr] The man with the beady eyes grimaced at the cacophony. A whole dozen wannabe gangbangers, and not a single one of them were real men. All just a bunch of children with their souped up toys, revving up the engines in an attempt to appear more imposing. But manhunts took up time and resources, two things that the Suzume-kai couldn’t afford in such times. So they enlisted these motorcyclists instead. He caught the glare, the curled lip of their leader, a man in his late twenties that looked more like a prospectless freeter with his stubble and his lanky form. Briefly, the yakuza enforcer imagined putting him in his place. Mashing his face against the concrete, snapping his legs like twigs, stomping his ribs into bits. But men didn’t respond to the provocations of children seriously, so he didn’t either. [b]“I need you to find this person and to bring her in.”[/b] He pulled out a photograph from his suit pocket. [b]“Rough her up as necessary. Don’t damage her head, Isokaze.”[/b] The lanky bosozoku leader snatched it out of his hands, peering closer as a wolfish grin surfaced. [b]“Just the head, eh? Everything else’s fair game?”[/b] He received a hard glare for his comments, and shrank back, ever so slightly. [b]“As [i]necessary.[/i]”[/b] The yakuza enforcer repeated, leaning in. [b]“Save that shit for the crackwhores in your nightclubs.”[/b] [hr] She sighed, rubbing her hands together to warm them up. White breath rose up, temperatures dropping as night stole the warmth away from the world. It was louder now, more people showing up to rebel against society in the government-sanctioned place where they could, but still, the face she looked for didn’t show up. [b]“He might just be running late, y’know?” [/b]Her companion leaned in. He’d already given her his coat. Bought her a hot can of soup to sip on. They’d spent an hour or two chatting about nothing, before he showed off some of his new flips. She shook her head. It was getting late. He’d been running late for half the day. And she hated nothing more than banal platitudes. The frustration had built, drop by drop by drop, and suddenly, before she think herself out of it, she hopped off. [b]“It’s fine.”[/b] She turned, and forced a smile, taking off the borrowed coat. [b]“I’m used to it.”[/b] But if he was going to disappoint her again, she wished he never called to begin with. [hr] [b]“Hey, thanks for today.” “▂▂▃▃▅▅” “Yeah, I know, I know. Well?” “▂▃▅▃▃▂▂▅▅▅▂” “Gonna be hard to get…” “▃▃▂▅▅▃▅▂▃” “Alright, I can work with that. You wanna shake?” “▅▅▅▅” “Just a joke, just a joke. Well then, I’ll get you the eye in a couple of days. You want it cleaned? Pickled? Wrapped up?” “▅▃▃” “Perfect. And once again, thank you for your good work.”[/b] ... [b]"Now then, Chihiro, where were we..."[/b] [/indent] [center][color=A9A9A9][h1]Sunday, April 9 20XX[/h1][/color][color=A9A9A9][b]Time:[/b][/color] Morning [color=A9A9A9][b]Weather:[/b][/color] Cloudy [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7_Jo4SfICk[/youtube] [color=A9A9A9]...........................................................................................................................[/color][/center]