[center][h3][b][color=ec008c]JURI HAN[/color][/b][/h3]
Level 6: 48/60 
Location: Avenger
Word Count: 1623
Points Gained:  3 +5 +3 +4 = 60 +18
New EXP Balance: Level 7: 21/70 [/center]
[b][color=ec008c][hr][/color][/b]

	Juri, it could be posited, was always in a negative mood. A nasty mood, a mischievous mood, an angry mood, a violent mood. Sometimes she was smiling, but it was rarely, if ever, a [i]good[/i] smile. The type of smile that made others want to smile like a good smile would. Whenever she stalked or stomped into a room, the temperature dropped by two degrees. 

But this negative mood was different from all the other bad moods. Juri walked up and grabbed the nearest plate, not even thinking about any rare burgers. She plopped a roll down onto the crab legs and sat down by herself. The reason why this bad mood was so different was because it was so obviously introspective. To anyone paying attention to Juri’s behavior, it was apparent how little self-reflection she did, or at least, that she presented she did. Even looking at her might trigger some rebuke. Pit, the well-meaning angel did little but start talking about where they were going next and they ended up in a fight, and not a friendly one. Juri spared a glance to Edward, her business partner, but just a quick look at his demeanor and physical appearance meant it looked like he was ‘back to normal’. It didn’t take a genius to figure out the only reason he was even tolerating her was because he fused with some evil demon. Even with ‘villains’ among them she was probably the black sheep in the Seekers. Whatever. Good. Sooner this is all over, the better. 

[b][color=ec008c]”...”[/color][/b] Now though, Juri was quiet, her eyes fixed off into some distant space as she joylessly ate crab and bread and butter. She had planted herself thoughtlessly into a corner table bench. She couldn’t speak for the others, but there was a reason her idea of a ‘break’ was more fighting. Juri was at all times fleeing from boredom, inaction, and the thoughts that came with it.

While Juri isolated herself to stew in her bitterness, a spark of joy drifted dangerously near. Not long after the Seekers arrived for their meal, the head chef made her way out of the kitchen, tired but proud as punch. On most days it was a challenge to ensure that every Lost Number was well fed, so today's feast had been something of a Herculean effort, but despite her small stature Bracket Brace had risen to the challenge. No ordinary Mimiga, the small, white-furred, rabbit-like creature was a master of the culinary arts, and now that she'd finished her work for the evening the little chef was here to enjoy the fruits of her labor. Of course, that didn't mean eating her food -she'd sampled enough during the cooking process to ensure its quality- but seeing the happiness it brought people. Good food fed the soul as much as it fed the body, and it created a community atmosphere in which people could share not just their dinners, but themselves. 

At least, that was the theory. She definitely got positive feedback from most people she asked, but it was hard to ignore the unhappiness Bracket did see. After putting it off a little to make sure that most people loved her crab and dinner rolls, she finally hopped over to Juri. When she spoke, she sounded neither timid nor intimidated, but genuinely concerned. "Hi!" the little chef piped up from beside the table. "How'd the food turn out? I hope everything's to your liking!"

Juri blinked back into reality and did a double take. Rabbit ears. Juri had to look down more than she thought to get to the face of the rabbit chef she didn’t know the name of.  [b][color=ec008c]”What?”[/color][/b] She asked, confused. Crab and rolls were being methodically eaten. She needed to eat but she wasn’t savoring the flavor. Maybe an experienced chef could tell that kind of thing? 

A frown settled onto her face when she realized what was going on.  [b][color=ec008c]”It’s fine, it’s whatever.”[/color][/b] She dismissed Bracket and her unwanted concerns with a wave of her hand. Juri’s antisocial game was off. She wasn’t above scaring a little rabbit person who had given her free food, but she didn’t have the energy to do it right now. Or maybe Pit with his frankly absurd stubbornness had poisoned the well, and she thought an underreaction might get someone to drop it. Really she should have grabbed her tray and headed off into some hidden corner of the Avenger, but even that idea slipped her mind earlier. 

Juri’s response seemed to disappoint Bracket somewhat, but she put on a polite smile. “Oh, okay.” As nice as praise would have been, Bracket could see that the food was still being eaten, and at the end of the day that was what mattered. If Juri was unhappy for other reasons, it wasn't a chef's place to pry. She perked up with a friendly smile. “Well, if there's anything I could do better, I'm all ears! Hehe.” She wiggled her own big ears to demonstrate. “Oh, and if you've got a favorite food, I could try making it sometime! Everyone needs a li’l taste of home now and again.” She prepared herself to bounce off, but lingered for just a moment in case a request came to Juri’s mind.

‘Ugh. You got to be kidding me. Where do these types of people even come from?’ The sour martial artist thought to herself. [b][color=ec008c]”Always been fond of rabbit stew.”[/color][/b] Juri said flatly. [b][color=ec008c]”I’m clearin’ off. Go hop around someone else.”[/color][/b]  She rose from her seat, grabbing the last roll on her plate and taking it with her. 

Bracket watched her go, a thoughtful look on her face. “Hmm…” she mumbled. “Stews are pretty easy. But where the heck are we gonna find some rabbits?” With the diners fully queried, the mimiga returned to the kitchen to discuss the matter with her fellow chefs.

Juri stuffed the roll into her mouth, unable to think about anything other than her problems. M. Bison. The man she swore revenge on. She needed more spirits if she wanted to trade info with the info broker. But chances were if he was going by M. Bison and the Four Kings and not Consul M or Consul B or Consul V or whatever the hell his name was, he wasn’t a Consul. And that meant he couldn’t die. Not really.

So how was she going to get her revenge?

As much as she was loathe to admit it, back on her world, her record against M. Bison was 0-2. The only one who really managed to beat him was the world's most boring homeless man. But in this world, things could be different. She could kill M. Bison. But if she did, he would just come back. Reincarnate. Maybe not tomorrow, or the day after, but eventually. And he would forget. And she would forget, too, in a decade or less. Maybe she had killed him already. Maybe he had killed her. There was no way to know. Juri didn’t give much of a shit about this existential identity crap, but if M. Bison was still walking around than her previous selves hadn’t really sealed the deal.

Her mind danced with possibilities as she wandered down the hallway. She could copy his mind into a robot like with the commander, and upload his digital copy into a virtual hell. It might not be the ‘real’ M. Bison but it would be [i]A[/i] M. Bison, trapped forever, and that might be good enough. Perhaps she could suck up to him again and somehow get him to be a Consul. Then she and the Seekers would kill him for good. But how the hell would she manage that? Consul O’s words played over in her head. What if she had become a Consul? Why didn’t she take the deal? She wasn’t sure. Spite, probably. She hated being told what to do, being manipulated. A sleazeball like that getting out of his death by tricking her was something her pride wouldn’t allow. 

Or he was closer than he thought with some of his last words to her, about ‘ennui’. That she hated this shitty world and pretty much everyone in it, and the last thing she wanted to be was stuck here forever. This world. Her world. Any world. ‘

Plus: ‘Consul J’. What a joke. Juri had run SIN for a while and it was boring as hell. Being ‘in charge’ was for egomaniacal assholes like Consul O and M. Bison. 

Of course she knew M. Bison wasn’t thinking about [i]her[/i] at all. That’s why whenever she went after him, she never even bothered to explain why. He wouldn’t care. Neither does she, really.

Juri looked down at her own hands, and noted they were see-through. Some part of her spirit here had clicked, and she ‘remembered’ how to use Stealth. A powerful function of her technological capabilities. The spirit she had absorbed and her own Feng Shui Engine. This truly snapped Juri out of her funk. Hidden from sight, she clenched her fists in excitement. Complete invisibility! It had its limits, sure, but now her mind was abuzz with the possibilities of being invisible, not revenge. Her steps were so much lighter while she was invisible, too. Juri scampered off down the hall, out of sight. 

Juri was skipping out on the memorial service, of course. She had no desire to weep around, especially for a couple of people she barely even knew. [i]Especially[/i] especially for people who weren’t even [i]dead[/i]. They had their minds wiped of ten years of meaningless memories, max. Big whoop. Instead, she would be testing the limits and strengths of her new talent around the Avenger.