The day started out as it usually would. Lucille woke up at six, in the afternoon, with the blaring of her alarm clock. Her "morning" routine was very similar to that of normal people who would wake up twelve hours prior, except she didn't pour herself any bowls of cereal. She didn't really
need to eat, after all. At least not food like that. The Renfield family home back in Britain was an extravagant mansion that properly reflected their status in the world economy, but the hotel suite that Lucille had purchased in Sonomachi was bounds from that decadence. Granted it was rather high-class and largely unaffordable for the working class it was still a much more humbling place to live than she had spent the past twenty years. There was only two bedrooms and one bathroom, for example, and the kitchen was separated from the dining room only by a bar-like counter. The modern furnishings helped ease some of these drawbacks, but considering she lived alone and rarely had guests it didn't matter much.
Lucille spent her "morning" rather lazily, watching the news on the TV and solving Sudoku puzzles. She had to wait for the sun to set before she could step outside after all. This time was perfect for practicing her Japanese. At least understanding it, anyways. She had only been living in this city for less than a year and was still largely unaccustomed to the Japanese way of life. Likewise she was having difficulty with the language, largely in terms of reading it since kanji were so unlike the alphabet. Lucille could speak Japanese to a certain degree thanks to her immersion, but her European accent doesn't make it sound fluent in the least. It was much easier for her to learn English, all those decades ago, but she enjoyed the challenge anyways. Learning a new language is fun to her. Or perhaps not
fun but it gives her something to do.
The light outside had begun to dim down significantly when the silver-haired woman heard a familiar voice in her head.
"Ah, that was Aria," she mentioned aloud. She had managed to finish two of the puzzles in her Sudoku book today so there would be no regrets in putting the book away for now. After clicking off the TV and fetching her umbrella and sunglasses, Lucille was ready to leave. It wasn't exactly dark outside just yet, but the sun had set low enough to allow her to safely go outside. After putting on her rectangular shades and a scarf she stopped at the door to grab her purse from the nearby table and to press a button for some kind of intercom.
"I'm heading out," she spoke into the microphone and then let off the button. Now it was time to leave. The elevator ride to the lobby was uneventful and nobody else called for it.
Her heels clacked along the tile floor of the lobby towards the glass wall that served as the entrance and exit. She could already see her black luxury sedan pulling up to the car bay, courtesy of the hotel's valet. A young man, couldn't have been older than a teenager, stepped out of her vehicle and held the keys out for Lucille when she approached.
"Arigato," Lucille thanked him, attempting to mask her Czech accent but failing miserably. The teen valet smiled innocently before responding.
"You're welcome, Miss Renfield." Well now she had embarrassed herself because the boy knew English just fine. Most people might feel awkward about the exchange but instead Lucille stopped and started laughing. She even playfully gave the boy a pat on his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, child. Thank you." She was still laughing to herself as she threw her closed umbrella into the passenger seat and set her purse next to it. It wasn't until she got in the car and closed the door did she calm down.
That was embarrassing. He was a good sport about it.The drive to the Dangeki was uneventful. Lucille had forgotten her gun in the glovebox the other day and she moved it to her purse, but otherwise it was a boring ride with only the J-Pop playing on the radio to add atmosphere. The cafe that the local Chasers used as a base of operations was one that Lucille had to take some time to get used to. She was never too big on the "hip" fads like cosplaying that the Dangeki was eager to cater to, but she was a big fan of alcoholic drinks so she has since grown to be accepting of the strange people that frequent the place. After parking her car in front of the cafe she made sure to lock it and bring her purse inside with her. Lucille already knew that she wouldn't be the only one responding to Aria's message, but she was surprised that she was one of the first few to arrive. There weren't any normal patrons but there were a few Chasers that had already arrived. As well there was an unfamiliar girl with red eyes. But Lucille didn't focus on her too much.
"Ah, Luciel," the woman was quick to greet the other European sitting at the bar, placing both her hands on his shoulders from behind. Due to their accents it was quickly discovered that they pronounced their names almost identically, which Lucille found amusing and thus took a liking to the young boy.
"That is iced tea, no? That is a drink for noon, not the evening." She gave him a smile, inadvertently revealing her fang-like canines in the process, before releasing her grip on the young man and turning her attention to the lady behind the counter.
"House chardonnay, please." She took a seat at the counter next to Luciel and took a look around the Dangeki. Lucille had always been good at remembering people so she was curious who had arrived so far. There was Jun, a schoolboy who liked cartoons (or "anime" as he refers to it, but Lucille can't tell the difference), who was sitting at the counter as well. Then there was the Chinese boy, Rui-Ling, who was actually almost three times Lucille's own age, as well as the girl who had tattoos and wore a military vest, Katherine, but she was being anti-social and sitting by herself. The only other person she recognized here was the red-head messenger boy, Kazuki.
"Ah, I do not recognize this young lady," Lucille spoke up, leaning back so she could look behind the backs of the others to look at the dark-haired girl with red eyes.
"Would you mind telling me your name? I am Lucille Renfield, but you may call me Lucy if you wish."
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