[indent][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/CY84i9T.png[/img]
[hider=Mood Music][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQBNH3UFEC0[/youtube][/hider][/center][right][h1][color=7B81B3]Kenshiro[/color][/h1][/right][right][sub][hr][color=7B81B3]Mentions: [color=ffffff]Auri Auclair, Odessa Maxwell[/color] |[/color] [color=7B81B3]Direct Dialogue: [color=#98FB98]T[/color][color=#AEDC92]h[/color][color=#C4BD8C]e[/color] [color=#F08080]T[/color][color=#EA7C95]r[/color][color=#E578AB]i[/color][color=#DF74C0]o[/color]/[color=ffffff]In Collaboration with [@NoriWasHere],[/color] [color=6B8E23]Luca Olivera/[@FernStone][/color][color=ffffff]Emily G. Reed/[@Punished GN][/color] |[/color] [color=7B81B3]Location:[/color] Festival Airspace/Grounds, Cracker Island Historic District [/sub][/right][hr]
[/indent]Ken had said goodbye for now to Auri and her friend Odessa, a large bundle of packed supplies that Auri was trusting him to deliver as safely and easily as possible. He was good at that, as Purple Lux made the moving of objects the simplest kind of task. He wasn't even some fancy portal jumper, rather relying on what he knew best: The Leaping Frog technique. He left his haul of flowers behind, intending to come back for them very soon, as he had plans. For now, he removed the weight of the bundle and tucked the line with one hand under it, then took off in a loud pop that sounded like a firework mortar had exploded at ground level. However there was no light, and absolutely no sign of the supersonic ball hurling through the air on a mortar arch over the city. 
Auri hadn't given him the key, rather agreeing to utilize his ability to swap. He knew where she kept his stash of bark in the store, and as he touched down into the near desolate area of the city, where all the businesses were closed and the kids had better neighborhoods to get candy from, he peeked into the window to see if it was there.

It was, and he smiled. Ken's hands flicked together, and in a huff of purple smoke, he had a small bag of bark to summon more of his scouts, while the bundle of supplies, tables, chairs and myriad of other things she'd brought sat precariously on the counter for her to unpack the next day... Or, it would if he couldn't manipulate the still weightless bundle from outside. No, Ken wasn't quite so ignorant that he'd just leave things for her like that. He wanted her to be happy and calm when she worked, and as such he spent a few extra minutes manipulating the bundle, moving things and organizing them on the floor and countertop so that she'd be able to easily identify and store everything in its proper place. 
An elderly woman walked by, asking what he was doing staring at the closed flower shop, but when he turned to her and started to blast Japanese at her, she very quickly scrambled away in confusion. It always worked.

Once everything was wrapped up neatly, he made for the island once more to enact his plan of remembrance for their comrades. One last jump across town got him back to the island, and from there he found that Auri had moved on. He didn't waste time then, and scooped the massive bundle of various beautiful flowers, negating its weight and his own. A small hop sent him on an upward trajectory that didn't stop until he formed a barrier of air to catch himself on. The flowers nearly escaped him as well, but he'd never intended to keep them whole. As such, he formed a massive phantom grasp around the bushel of multicolored flower petals, severing the stems before he mulched them into organic confetti.
Able to stabilize himself out, he began to calmly walk thirty or forty feet over the heads of Festival goers, slowly but surely raining flower petal confetti down to brighten the nights of those in attendance. All the while, in his mind he listed out the names of the dead and those who had recently been claimed. Each handful was an offering in their name.

But eventually he heard his name. Someone had bothered to look up, but they knew his name? Who could it be? He stared down at the spot, craning his neck until his face welled with surprise. Luca, out and about on the town! It was a beautiful thing to see, such a wonderfully sweet and gentle person so constantly wracked with pain actually getting out and enjoying their time. Ken found himself happy that Luca hadn't been one of the selected victims. But, he wasn't alone! Ken built a great deal of energy up in a ball with the remaining petals, blasting the entire thing open to send a great explosion of confetti across the sky to rain down on the island. As he did, his figure descended from the sky in a slow fall.

His eyes caught Emily G. Reed scuttling in a toga across the causeway, looking like she always did; up to no good. But he'd address that after. First, Luca and, to Ken's surprise, The Trio! 

[color=7B81B3]"You know, I come back to the Shimmer, and somehow every time something surprises me. Luca and the dynamic Trio!?"[/color]
While unable to touch Luca directly, Ken always gave the courtesy of a phantom hug for Luca as he bowed to greet the group.
[color=7B81B3]"How are you Jasper, my friend!?"[/color] he asked, also exchanging real hugs between Jasper, Lila and Lynn. His Batman makeup was black around his eyes like a raccoon, and he had a warm smile on his face. [color=7B81B3]"I have been told that Kikyo has missed you! No doubt you've kept up with your Gold magic, no? Have you moved on from our dear friends?"[/color] he asked with that odd sincerity that he had always been in possession of. Ken didn't ever mince words or avoid hard questions. He waited for a moment before his head turned between them all. A tear fell from his eye.
[color=7B81B3]"Oh, fuck it! Come here!"[/color]

His arms lashed out, a telekinetic burst bringing the four of them tight together for him to hug. While he separated Luca from the others with a small barrier of air, his arm definitely wrapped around Luca and rubbed his shoulder and back until Ken could feel the burning pain starting to eat at his arm.
[color=7B81B3]"I'm so happy to see you all. When I got home and filled in, I was gripped with pain... But this monster won't have any more of us: I've come home again."[/color]

[color=98FB98]”Fuck man it’s so good to see you,”[/color] Jasper spoke as he embraced his friend back, [color=98FB98]”and Kikyo remembers me?  Awww she was always the sentimental type.  I’ll be sure to let her know how much I’ve missed her when I get to see her next!  I’ve been really good, really really good.  I’ve got a few new tricks to show you with my gold magic,”[/color] Jasper winked with a smile before the smile fell slightly.  [color=98FB98]”I don’t know if I’ve learned how to move on yet, I’ll always carry a piece of them in my heart you know?”[/color]

[color=DA70D6]“Ken, we've missed you?”[/color] Lila said with a grin as wide as her face, [color=DA70D6]“with you back all my fear is suddenly gone.”[/color]

[color=F08080]“You being here changes things,”[/color] Lynn said with a grin and then a sigh, [color=F08080]“excuse me while I-”[/color] Lynn’s voice cut out as her eyes glazed over and she departed for the possible future.

Ken’s brow furrowed at Lynn as she seemed almost frustrated at his arrival. He frowned slightly, but didn’t shy away.
[color=7B81B3]"Well, I hadn’t intended to harm your night, dear Lynn! I’ve missed you, it’s been such a long time!”[/color] he called after her, a frown on his face. But he turned to look at the others. 

[color=7B81B3]"Well, at least I have you all. Have you seen Emily G. Reed!? Is she still wearing the soot from the smoke bomb I dropped on her earlier!?”[/color]

Jasper and Lila looked at each other and chucked.  [color=F08080]“No, no I haven’t seen her since I covered her face in bird shit earlier.  You dropped a smoke bomb on her?  I wish I could have seen that, the cunt is being extra shitty tonight.  Fucker dead named me in front of the whole festival.”[/color]

[color=98FB98]”Apparently,”[/color] Jasper shifted his focus over to Lynn before back to Ken, “Emily is not done being shitty.  Sounds like she stole the chalice from Sully.”

[color=DA70D6]“Lynn saw it in the possible future, she’s over there somewhere,”[/color] Lila paused as she pointed in the general direction of where Lynn said it would be.

Ken’s eyes went wide. His hand trembled, and he grabbed the mask for his costume. While he’d come from a place out of time where Lila’s (and consequently Luca’s) situation was foreign to him, he’d been very quick on the uptake. He’d always had a great deal of love in his heart for these people whom he fought alongside, and never once had he questioned Lila’s judgment. She was who she was, and he loved her just as much as he’d ever loved the boy named Michael. There was no disconnect for him.

So, hearing this, and the possibility that such a widely known and important artifact such as Sully’s [i]Beer Chalice[/i] had been stolen, Ken was in no laughing mood. He put the mask on like it was a superpower, and took a deep breath.

 [color=7B81B3]"This won’t stand. We’ll not have her insult us [i]and[/i] rob us on the same night! While we mourn and attempt to find comfort and solace in our misplaced friendships! Emily G. Reed spits on the honor of the Sycamore Tree Coven! I will handle this myself, I do not fear that… That [i]cunt![/i]”[/color] 

[color=98FB98]”Fuck yeah,”[/color] Jasper paused as he raised a fist up for a bump, [color=98FB98]” when you’re done come join us.  We’re doing an after party at Lucas’s.”[/color]

[color=DA70D6]“We’ll celebrate your victory with a few drinks,”[/color] Lila finished as she put her weight on her hip as she smiled.

[color=F08080]“Changes things in a good way holy shit,”[/color] Lynn laughed as she returned to the present, [color=F08080]“you be safe now, okay?”[/color] 

Ken grinned, nodding. One coin left, he figured he would need a weapon of some kind at some point. Knowing 8th Street, Vashti Nour was going to unstick herself from a fucking wall and try and rip his head off. He wasn't well equipped, despite having a full enough loadout on his belt. The bark wasn't going to help much, unless he wanted to roll the dice and flood the festival with Toughs. It wasn't something he wanted to risk, not going in alone. Trained in the focus and application of Lux in very specific quantities, everything was a game of numbers to Kenshiro. He'd not eaten, he'd not slept since his arrival, and he'd been sobbing his heart out for the better part of the day.

But he was [i]pissed.[/i] That would be enough, he figured, to refuse to die. Sully was somewhere, and he would have his chalice back. Ken remembered where he'd seen Emily, and made a heavy step high up into the air before spotting the bright white toga hiding away nearby. He unceremoniously dropped in front of her, just like his hero Batman would've done, and rose up slowly to stare at her. 
[color=7B81B3]"Emily G. Reed... A woman so vile she can only be referred to by her whole name."[/color] he intoned deeply, his hands slowly rising to crack his knuckles. [color=7B81B3]"I only get my news from my cryptic dreams, the source I trust most. A fellow cryptic dreamer says you've got something of [i]ours[/i]. And I think the owner would want it back now, you-"[/color] 
Ken had a bad habit of getting into the emotion of a situation and defaulting to his native tongue. As such, what came after was a jumbled mess of Japanese so old in its dialect that a modern day native speaker would even have a hard time understanding him. What it amounted to was a long winded curse, calling her bloodline and lineage a disgrace, and insinuating that she wouldn't be fit to lick the underside of a particularly low-bellied bottom feeding river fish. 

[color=7B81B3]"- so hand the [i]fucking[/i] cup to me and I won't test the atmospheric pressure difference between low orbit and the bottom of the ocean with your [i]fucking lungs[/i]! And no, this won't be like last time where someone will tell me to stop! Because this time I [i]know[/i] you have what's ours!"[/color][hr]
[indent][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/uILb8Vg.jpeg[/img]
[hider=Mood Music][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMcpF8uLpD4[/youtube][/hider][/center][right][h1][color=#F5DE69]T[/color][color=#F4DB67]h[/color][color=#F3D965]e[/color] [color=#F1D561]T[/color][color=#F0D35F]e[/color][color=#EFD15D]m[/color][color=#EECF5C]p[/color][color=#EDCD5A]l[/color][color=#ECCB58]e[/color] [color=#EAC754]o[/color][color=#E9C452]f[/color] [color=#E7C04F]C[/color][color=#E6BE4D]h[/color][color=#E5BC4B]a[/color][color=#E4BA49]r[/color][color=#E3B847]m[/color][color=#E2B645]i[/color][color=#E1B443]n[/color][color=#E0B242]g[/color] [color=#DEAE3E]a[/color][color=#DDAB3C]n[/color][color=#DCA93A]d[/color] [color=#DAA537]G[/color][color=#D9A335]r[/color][color=#D8A133]a[/color][color=#D79F31]c[/color][color=#D69D2F]e[/color][color=#D59B2D]f[/color][color=#D4992B]u[/color][color=#D3972A]l[/color] [color=#D19226]I[/color][color=#D09024]n[/color][color=#CF8E22]d[/color][color=#CE8C20]i[/color][color=#CD8A1E]v[/color][color=#CC881D]i[/color][color=#CB861B]d[/color][color=#CA8419]u[/color][color=#C98217]a[/color][color=#C88015]l[/color][color=#C77E13]s[/color][/h1][/right][right][sub][hr][color=C67C12]Members: [color=f0cd8d]Elise[/color] and [color=ed145b]Mia[/color] Richoux, [color=54678a]Andrade Salamente[/color], [color=de3b1b]Furio Natale[/color][/color] [color=C67C12]| Direct Dialogue: [color=bcbcbc]Tsukino Luna/[@Estylwen][/color][/color]  [color=C67C12]| Location:[/color] Festival Grounds, Cracker Island Historic District [/sub][/right][hr]
[/indent] The bear didn't take its eyes off the girl, but that didn't stop her from getting her own look. From Luna's position, it would've been easy to see that Andrade Salamente was far too busy grilling to be handling a knife of any kind. Whether it was hidden away somewhere or not was a different question, as plenty of Chefs liked to bring their own knives whenever they were going to be in a kitchen. It wouldn't be a stretch to say the object of Luna's desire was [i]probably[/i] there, but it was just a matter of seeing him use it to confirm.

Mia was too tired to think about much, but she remembered what she was supposed to be doing for dear Lynette. Mother had asked her to make sure the prayer cards got handed out to people. Whether or not they took them didn't matter; Lynette knew any Temple member would, since her words were written on paper. Not all of them knew what that meant, but Lynette's little poem-prayer would be her entryway into anyone who decided to keep it around. It's how they knew who to send solicitors to, who was most likely to accept the Temple in some way.
They were spy cards washed with pure White Lux. Even now, there was a chance that Lynette was spying from the very stack of cards Mia was supposed to be handing out. The girl tensed up, and it caused the bear in Elise's hands to move its head ever so slightly to focus on the little sister. Elise had been scoping Mia out since she'd gotten into St. Portwell, the family hobby of constantly insuring that Mia wasn't high, or in some various state of coming down from a high. It'd been almost a year, but the suspicion never waned.

But it also noticed the shift in the customer's head toward Andrade. It wasn't alarming, as plenty of people were interested in the master chef. Currently he was plating Luna's meal into a small plastic to-go container, which separated one side from the other so the salad wouldn't get soggy because of the steam from the kebab. It was clearly lamb, the gamey smell of the meat wafting along with the spices as Andrade passed it up to Mia.
[color=54678a]"Order up for-"[/color] Andrade paused as he turned to see the customer, Luna, and her outfit. [color=54678a]"Haha, creepy bunny. Enjoy!"[/color] he called. It was a bit of PR, making sure he was just as involved with the customer. [i]But still no knife.[/i]
[color=ed145b]"It's from an anime, Uncle Dre!"[/color] Mia laughed backward, finally taking Luna's money and gathering the change, a plastic utensil set, and a prayer card for her to take.
[color=ed145b]"May Charm and Grace guide you, Touka! With love from our Temple to you!"[/color] a catchphrase she was meant to say after [i]any[/i] transaction. Something she'd said at least two hundred times that evening. She rarely felt the need for the spike these days, but it did cross her mind. Her body relaxed at the very thought.

Elise and her bear stared creepily, however, eyes never leaving Luna's frame as she waited for the slightest hesitation at taking the card. [color=f0cd8d][i]She's got to take it. Mia folded it inside the change, right? Did she give enough money?[/i][/color]
[color=f0cd8d]"Oh, and your drink, Sister! Absentmind here forgot to ask what you wanted..."[/color]
The sleuth had inserted herself into the equation, eyes now more closely examining the girl at the counter.