"Nah, nothing like 'hero work'," Aito's eyebrows were raised, slightly smiling at Vatalla, "but, hey, don't count me out of the 'suave international spy crew' until you've seen me in a snazzy suit." He pointed a finger upward as Vatalla talked about the pay. "Yeah, I guess that's a pretty good point. If you're not being paid, there's no reason for anyone to complain." He knew who she was talking about, but had kept himself as close to a 'neutral party' as possible in that conflict. A laugh, light as she offered a wink. He offered his own, in return. "Don't worry. I hate letting anyone down. I'll make sure the excitement keeps rolling in, for you, though." Aito shrugged his shoulders, leaving it at that; immediately back to business. "Yeah, maybe, Cannon keeps saying that it's just an investigation. I have a weird feeling about all of this."
His eye drifted from her, watching George as he made his exit. "For sure, Jojo; the crate will stay where it is, promise. Just meet up with me after classes are over," then his eye narrowed, watching her wipe up part of the trail she'd left, "and an ego fits a guy like me about as well a dress suits a girl like you." Then a soft smile. A crash, forcing his smile to falter. Bet that hurt. Damn. It was fine, though, George was tough; Aito knew that well enough.
It was about that time that two knocks rang out, a boy walking in; his expression stoic. Aito watched his eyes, for a moment. Then he turned his attention to the flyer. His heart dropped. "Aw, man, I thought we got all of those things," the situation was one that had been engineered by Cannon; the removal of the posters intended to also remove the overflow of potential candidates for their club, "looks like you lucked out. We missed one." He smiled warmly, pointing to the table. "Take a seat. What's your name?" While this was outside the bounds of his authority, Aito was still interested. The boy was slight, but held an air that Aito approved of. "Usually this kind of thing is handled by Cannon. Uh, she's our 'president' or whatever. I'm Aito Mitsui, third chair. Since she's absent, decisions are supposed be handled by the next link in the chain. As you can see, I'm the only one here. Vatalla doesn't count, she's not an official member." He left off the 'yet' part of that statement; knowing that it could be lead to a volatile conversation.
Then came two more, as he was about to speak, the door opening without a knock. He smiled, slightly, though there was tension in it. His eye moved from the first boy to the second, then to the girl. The second boy started to speak, but faltered. Aito immediately saw the dynamic between them, just before the girl stepped forward to confirm his conjecture. He listened, fully, instead of interjection. "No problem Red, Yoshi." He glanced to Vatalla, exasperation barely hidden; then back to those who had quickly gathered."The Monster Hunter Club hunts Monsters. Ranks are determined by our as-of-now absent leader. Cannon. Man, I'm getting tired of saying her name." A small laugh, his arms crossing over his chest. "Most of the club is absent. I'm the only member here, so I'll be handling your interviews." His eye drifted to a clock on the wall. Ten minutes can be an eternity. Then he looked to the first boy. "Sorry for the interruption, man. I'll handle your interview in a sec."
He took his feet from the table and let the chair return to its normal position. Aito stood, arms still crossed; moving around the table to stand at Cannon's spot, looking out over the potential he thought he saw. Vatalla spoke up, drawing his attention to her. "Seriously. I just came here because I had to. She's right, though, detention blows. Try to avoid it, if you can-" The bell rang, his eye squinting as though he'd been struck. "Ouch. Well, I guess if that's the case you guys can go ahead and come with us. We can handle interviews on the way." He pointed to the first boy, "You're up first, since you were here first. I might be able to keep you guys out of trouble, if we run into any staff members on the third floor." He didn't have much sway, but Aito could usually talk his way out of those situations.
"Nah, I won't send them back. If they've got the guts and grit, who am I to turn them down?" A tap on his shoulder followed the words, a more relaxed smile fixed on his face. "For sure, Valla. Let's do our best, yeah?" His voice had been lowered, but when his eye fell back on the three rookies; Aito would speak with more volume. He considered them for a moment, the sound of Vatalla's scribbling filling the silence. Sorry, Valla, I was hoping we would get to hang; at least a little. Really, Aito was stalling. Gears turned in his mind, driving him to commit to a decision that most others in the club would disapprove of.
Without announcement, he moved around the room; tapping Vatalla's right shoulder as he passed by, hoping the old trick would work. Aito Mitsui was all smiles, now. Toward the door, leaning against it; still facing them.
"Let's get going. You guys can tell me about yourselves on the way. I want Class information, mostly. This is a club based around the idea of fighting Monsters. Sometimes Monsters are stronger than us. I want to know how you work, so don't skimp on the details."
The stairway to the third floor wasn't far away, but he didn't plan to ask any questions until they were beyond it. Instead, he would speak of himself. Pristine hallways greeted them, fluorescent lights and rows of lockers; windows into class and club rooms.
"In case you didn't catch it, my name's Aito Mitsui. I'm a 'Displacer', custom Class. I'm a combat medic, essentially. I heal and protect my Allies...and I can take a hit, or two. I don't use a weapon, because I've never had need for one," his back was turned to them, his eye on the stairway, "My Tablet Power creates explosive clone items. It's, uh, kind of dangerous." Aito felt odd, summarizing himself so simply; but he had an idea. "Vatalla is a freelance hunter, and a pretty good one. You want to tell them about your Class?" He wouldn't press about her, if she declined. Still, he gave her a smile as they reached the stairway.
