Member
Shiro Kawabata
(Gonna spell check the hell out of this tomorrow morning.)
His backers surely weren’t anything to gawk at in awe, but the fact that they decided to stand beside him was enough of a sentiment to boost his confidence. Then again, it’s not like Shiro aimlessly waltzed his way in here without a Plan C, D and E. Why no B? Because B is for betas. And Shiro Kawabata was no beta. Nor was he really an alpha… maybe a sigma? Anyways, seeing the two players’ IRL counterparts was an interesting encounter in itself. The orange haired boy was part of the minority, as most Purple Crown students strove for a disparity between their actual and binary bodies. Though when the head honcho called the two by their handles, oh boy did his head perk up. Rather than chiming in, Shiro followed suit and crossed his arms while attentively retaining every word. He silently listened as the guy’s diatribe transformed into an offer, and even kept a deadpan expression when the character brought him in reaaaaaal close. The guy didn’t strike him for a negotiator, but he couldn’t help but to shake off the words that slithered their way directly into his ear, as if they didn’t require air as a medium in the first place. An uncomfortable sensation crept its way up his spine as he proceeded to extend the offer, the cherry on top being a quick pat to his chest before he briskly swaggered his way back onto the dance pad. The bunny stitched into Shiro’s eyepatch seemed almost amazed at how coordinated the hop was. He continued to listen, end-noting with the fact that the offer still stands.
To this, Shiro characteristically sported his amiable, borderline wry smile. ”Well, I couldn’t agree with you more. I mean, who opens up a fabled guild and barely moderates it? What kind of bull honkey is that? But y’know, they say if you forget history, it is doomed to repeat itself.” The boy gave a quick tap to his head before proceeding, ”But, I’m not so certain that letting history run its course is the best option. Beautiful thing about history, as shown over centuries, it can easily be rewritten should enough word get around. So, I mean, hey, no point on giving up just yet. I’ll keep the offer in mind until Asahi decides to turn it down. Anyways, enough prattling from me, I’mma grab some joe.” He nonchalantly threw his hands behind his head and swivelled around on the ball of his knee, shooting a quick glance to Asahi. ”Jiro, you’ve been at work all afternoon I imagine? Sure you have a little something built up during your shift. What better time to relieve yourself than now?” That was his way of bidding farewell. From there, the student backtracked to the cafe to find his boss with her face buried in her arms. There was nothing more incongruous than a young maiden draped in a captivating dress in the middle of a super mall. Shiro quickly surveyed his surroundings, making sure that nobody had their hunger locked on the girl. A sigh escaped his lips as he slid off the school jacket, gazing down at the student innocently “sleeping.”
”Jeez, logging on in an open place like this? She crazy or something?” Or perhaps she had faith that her loyal Sweeper would return to her side as soon as humanly possible. Shiro took the Purple Crown uniform by the shoulders and placed it over the girl who could easily be mistaken for indulging in dreams. A light smile pulled at the ends of his cheeks as he took his own seat beside her and slumped forward. With a quick glance to the upper right of his cranial chip’s display, he felt relief in the fact that he didn’t run out of time.
@Lucius Cypher@Kimiyosis@Mega Birb
Paper Moon & Strawberry Baby
”So anyways, what does this “Leviathan” chick look like? And we still need to find Drauni. He didn’t specify where in the market district he was!” Strawberry Baby’s voice had crescondoed to what was essentially a yell to trump the winds wildly colliding with them. Her fingers remained tightly wrapped to the extra set of handles on the saddle. She envied the goggles Moon just so happened to always have on him. Through watery eyes she stared at the strap cutting through his uncontrollably flowing locks of orange, ”Well, that’s a good question. She tends to be a pretty easy person to spot. Usually makes her presence fairly known…” His voice nervously trailed off as he squinted even more in an attempt to discern his boss’ location. Fluffy held fast to its course and was quickly approaching the walls of the Black City.
The place had truly fallen into disarray. He was aware that the denizens were fighting among themselves, but now the guns designated to defend the city against assailing forces were now fixated on people within its walls. The situation had most definitely been exacerbated with this addition, and would need to be remedied sooner rather than later. ”So she’s trigger happy?” The mage nonchalantly blurted out without a single shred of remorse. Moon autonomously held up his hands to prove his innocence, ”Hey, your words, not mine.”
Heated streams of bright yellow instantly whizzed past the dragon once it crossed over the boundary into the city. ”Well, glad to see that today wasn’t uneventful in the slightest. I mean, who wants an ordinary day and all of the relaxation and normalcy it entails? Pffft, preposterous, right?” The rogue sardonically complained in self-deprecation as the mount evaded oncoming fire. The players’ grips tightened as the AI dictating Fluffy's flight patterns engaged maneuvers to keep its riders alive. ”Hope you guys enjoy holding onto something and not being held onto!” A voice cried from below as the dragon banked hard to the side, moving faster than the trail of gunfire could keep up. Sky Knight had the privilege of relying on the dragon’s claws to hold him for the duration of the flight. It wasn’t their fault the guy was bad at rock-paper-scissors. Moon felt a pat on his shoulder and focused his gaze in the direction of the jutted finger.
On the rooftop of a building overlooking the market district stood a blue-haired girl, firing down on players below with a marksman rifle. He didn’t even feel the need to clarify that this individual was undeniably his boss. A shootout was panning out in the street below. Their eyes instantly gravitated over to the rudimentarily designed vehicle. He’d spotted a few of them in the guild hall, but never imagined that anybody would be so daring to apply such frail rides in combat. He presumed that their other objective was currently barricaded within the building receiving all of the fire. Leviathan’s diversion sliced the Outlaws’ attention in half, and to make matters worse, reinforcements were moving in, fast. A War Machine powered its way through the streets, effortlessly traversing the paved road with its all-terrain drive. Paper Moon and Strawberry Baby exchanged glances and nodded in silent agreement. ”Well, looks like it's go time?” Moon questioned aloud as he managed to gain a footing on the dragon’s hide despite the winds broadsiding his body. ”Only a maniac would jump off of this perfectly safe mount.” She sarcastically deprecated the idea as she too got to her feet, stretching out her arms with a faint grunt. ”Takes one to know one.” The boy replied with a crescent moon smile.
While this was all transpiring, Sky Knight powerlessly strained to pick up whatever words he could. ”Wait… They can’t be- CRAP!” The ranger cursed as two players zipped past him, their forms descending at an alarming rate. ”Are those two insane?!” His words fell upon only empty air as he traced the quickly shrinking figures. He gritted his teeth as he extended his hands, taking his comrades’ dwindling profiles into the breaks in his fingers, as if he was about to reach out and grab them. Sky Knight, as his name implied, had the ability to alter the effects of gravity on entities, dubbed Defying Gravity. Although he surely wouldn’t be able to slow them down completely, he’d be able to bleat their speed enough so they wouldn’t take any damage upon impact. Soon he came to the realization that the two players weren’t aiming for the ground.
A barrier of fire abruptly rose from the pavement out of nowhere. The driver pivoted the War Machine so abruptly to evade the obstacle that he lost any handling altogether and sent the vehicle on its side, spilling its contents pitifully onto the uninviting asphalt. The machine then proceeded to tumble belly up, with the embers still violently blazing beside the players. The four new additions barely had any time to get a bearing of their current situation before an orange-haired boy dropped onto one of their numbers. ”Hey, did you guys hear the news? Ten percent off of gun optics at Pew’s and Joe’s. Better get on that deal fast!” The Outlaw Strykers stared at disbelief as Paper Moon straightened out his stature. One broke free of his trance, drawing a knife and charging the rogue head on. His target was quick to act, briskly side-stepping the blade and followed up with a roundhouse kick to the back of the Outlaw's head. Another was about to react and dispatch the new assailant, but before the player could do so, Strawberry Baby landed on him without a moment to lose, while simultaneously slamming the rod into the remaining Outlaw’s head. Just like that, they had incapacitate four Outlaws. Well, it was almost four. The last one staved off the mage’s weak melee attack, and nearly lashed out, but his offensive was ceased by a bolt straight to his face.
For good measure, Strawberry jammed her staff into his stomach, successfully nullifying one more threat. ”Well, can’t say they didn’t get what they deserved. Though I didn’t think you were the type to spare Outlaws?” She raised an eyebrow at the boy, who return the gaze. ”TSSSSSSSS Wait what are you- UUUUUUNNN Don’t you even sa- DEEEEEE This staff’s gonna go so far up your as- REEEEEE I hate my life.” Breaking the moment, a round came flying between the two. Oh, right, there were still a few more to be taken care of. ”I got your back. C’mon, let’s save the pitiful excuse of a Ranger.” Strawberry’s words, for once, carried an honest determination. She was actually enjoying this high-paced moment, relishing the adrenaline rush. The gunner of the provisional carrier was still focused on the building Drauni sought refuge within, but as one party cropped up after another, the Outlaws soon found themselves having bit off more than they could chew.
Fluffy veered down and landed on the rooftop right after letting go of Sky Knight, kicking up dust everywhere. Before he hit the solid ground, he singled out the incoming grenade and redirected it into a few stories below. Shattered glass was promptly followed by a muffled explosion, making him automatically flinch. The ranger raced his way over to the girl bombarding the Outlaws over the edge, summoning his marksman rifle as he skidded to a halt beside her. "Leviathan, I take it? Sky Knight. Wish we could've met under different circumstances." The player slicked back his hair and rested his chin on the firearm's stock, "Moon wants us to aim for the knees. Better to wound them instead of letting them respawn and just start killing people again." He focused the optics on his two comrades, who weren't currently taking cover behind the flipped over War Machine. Shifting his line of sight down the block, he quickly spotted Drauni blind-firing around a window pane while machinegun fire peppered his building. "Alright, let's get off this rooftop. Only a matter of time until those turrets look our way." Sky Knight slung the rifle's carry sling over his shoulder and motioned for Leviathan to follow. "Alright Fluffy, we're coming!" He yelled as the dragon began to lose its patience. Bullets drilled through the stories below them, the intensity of gunfire gradually grew closer.
@Kimiyosis
