[sub][@Yankee][@banjoanjo][@Psyker Landshark][@Vega7285][/sub]
Ultimately, Valeriya did deign to come along after all, leaving the Japanese restaurant without having actually eaten her lunch, which made it at least somewhat awkward, when the ladies who invited her to come didn’t actually go in the same direction as her. Jeanne, speaking of her desire for a proper bath and bed after a night spent tied up beside a charcoal wreckage, had left with Ryuuko, and Nazca, citing the need to develop her nighttime photographs, had come along, leaving the Russian Technologist with just Bang, as Inti had already left ahead of the rest.

Curious coincidences, that...well, if Hana hadn't decided to come along as the third wheel.

Following the trail of smoke that continued to rise at a steady consistency, the trio came across what had actually caused the smoke signal to begin with: six small spider-droids stacked atop each other, sequentially burning each other down through some sort of Formulized charcoal. It must have been going on for a while now, and passers-by hardly cared for the curious little tower. Even in a world of steam and fog, gears and lightning, there was still a place for the furnace, after all, and the miniature furnaces themselves seemed content to smoulder and burn away. The trio continued, eventually meeting up with Inti at the place Jeanne’s instructions lead them to.

It was a common intersection, if not for the yellow-and-black tape that cordoned off an area twenty-six meters away. A man dressed in black with a half-dome helmet on his head and the monochrome rendition of the island’s crest pinned to his breast pocket stood in front of the cordon. His hands were placed behind his back, and the section that was cordoned looked…just the same as any other section of the street. Whatever hubbub that this may have generated looked to have died down around the morning; compared to Jeanne’s rampage, this was much less attention-grabbing. A shattered streetlamp, a couple holes in adjacent walls, and a policeman that looked just a little bit bored, standing guard at an incident that received little to no attention.

Certainly, it was the scene of a shooting. Certainly, there was no blood shed on either end of the barrel.

So, what was there to investigate?
[sub][@Click This][@Medili][/sub]
The walk back to the apartments that both Jeanne and Nazca stayed in was uneventful, largely due to the triangle of general disdain that had formed: Ryuuko’s disdain towards Nazca’s restaurant choices, Nazca’s annoyance regarding having any involvement with Jeanne, and Jeanne’s general disinterest in speaking to plebians. Whispers and stolen gazes trailed the Frenchwoman as she strode through the streets, but none bothered to accost her for her actions, in part due to the presence of the chimeric Egoist. Protection, it appeared, went both ways. Reputation, though, was a one-way road, and by association alone, the three misfits’ standings began to meld into one another.

After all, an Abya Yalan immigrant, a Japanese expatriate, and an unrestrained witch of a Polymath had plenty of intersections to draw rumours and gossip from.

The consequences of association would take time germinate though, and the three made their way to the three-story Incan-style apartments that Jeanne resided in. A few students were already enjoying the gorgeously turquoise waters of the swimming pool, while the smell of cooked meats wafted down from the balconies. An Occidental student had taken full advantage of the spacious patio to enjoy the nubile beauties below while grilling himself some lunch. Someone else, unseen, went up and down the scales of a piano, their efforts leaking out through the windows. It looked as if for some Polymaths, the first day of Bermuda wasn’t spent studying, investigating, or even giving a shit at all about the debacle at the Inner Circle, but rather simply relaxing and enjoying a life free from government overseers or parent pressures. The vertigo of freedom could consume the limited time of one’s life, but perhaps a day or two wouldn’t hurt.

Jeanne’s eyes, as she glanced towards those vacuous buffoons wiling away their time to indulge in transient pleasures, spoke of a different mindset.

[b]“Well,”[/b] she spoke once they entered the living room of her suite, [b]“It’s reasonable for us to part ways now. May your endeavors in photography be useful, Miss Whitehall. And Ryuuko, though I understand this goes against our friend Mr. Robespierre’s edicts, I am accustomed to bathing alone. Do you mind?”[/b]

The Frenchwoman didn’t wait for an answer. She entered her bathroom without hesitation but without haste, and the shuffling of disrobed clothing sounded, followed soon after by the rushing of water. If Ryuuko deigned it appropriate though, a mere door was no deterrent to any Egoist.
[sub][@Izurich][@Kumbaris][/sub]
Sukoro tilted his head to the side, then shook it.

[b]“There is a misunderstanding, Miss Konigsmahne. My Starsteel Formulization does not disappear. Its function is to obscure and impede, rather than to lock away. If you would like to [i]reset[/i] the pattern, however, that can be achieved handily by break and reconnecting the electrical loop.”[/b] The Japanese Technologist smiled. [b]“This otherwise sounds agreeable, however. I will have a small chest delivered to your residence by this evening, and I wish you the best with regards to the competition.”[/b]

And with that, the young man turned his attention away from the two ladies, tearing down his study and starting anew. It was clear, anyhow, that their conversations had delved to topics unrelated to himself personally.