tsukune

Sekirei ~Pure Sanctuary~

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Hikari Mino, No.49 Nagisa & No.77 Orinami.

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Hikari bowed his head respectfully. He noticed the frown she had on her face when he turned back around and could only speculate as to why she was upset. It wasn't his time to question it, though. "What of those two?" he asked softly, glancing back towards Shohei, a darker look entering his eyes briefly as he remembered his anger. That wasn't important, though. What was important was protecting Nagisa, even if that meant running away. "They might try to follow us."

Meanwhile, Orinami was already down on one knee as she gave Nagisa a quick (and disdainful) look at her injury. A small part of her wished that she should have let this useless piece of trash die under that ridiculous scythe, but her personal feeling shouldn't get in the way of the grand show. She arched an eyebrow at Hikari's question, and followed the boy's gaze - the redhead Ashikabi had already gone to his fallen Sekirei's side, where he picked her up in a bridal carry, giving the trio a hard glare before disappearing into the darkness.

"I guess that's your answer," Orinami said and shrugged, standing up. "Now's your turn and do the same for her." Clapping her hands together, she raised her voice and spoke with a melodic tune, making a shooing gesture at the three cops still gaping at them not too far away, "Time to go home, boys!" Then she muttered out of the corner of her mouth at Hikari, "Let's go to your house - reinforcements are already on their way." She pointed a finger into the air... and a distant siren could be heard.

Hikari instantly flushed at the thought. Carry her? That was a bit much for a woman he barely knew, natural nervousness aside. How was he supposed to calm himself with that thought in mind?

Luckily, the faint sirens forced his hand promptly. One arm slipped around Nagisa's shoulders, being careful to avoid the wound Sae had caused. His other arm scooped up beneath her legs, lifting her up with him. He was surprisingly strong for the thin frame he possessed. His face was still beet red, though, thoroughly embarrassed for the action.

"Right. My house then," Hikari agreed, gesturing down the street. He quickly began to lead the girl there, thoroughly hoping they might be safe there.

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It didn't take long to reach the apartment complex. It was the same one that the initial conflict had occurred. He carried Nagisa carefully, being very mindful of where his hands were. With the initial danger passed, he was becoming more aware of his current position and the embarrassment that it caused him. So, he tried to keep his hands tame rather than letting them brush against anything that might not be seen as proper.

As they ascended the stairs and reached one of the few doors down the hallway, he paused, realizing it was a little hard to get the key in his current position. "Ah... sorry, my key is in my pocket," he said with a small sheepish smile to Nagisa. "Do you mind if I put you down to grab it really quick?"

Before Nagisa could open her mouth, Orinami had beat her to it. "Oh, for the love of God," the gothic jester exclaimed as she stuck both her hands into Hikari's side pockets (with her chest pressed against his back), then pulled out the keys unceremoniously from one of them. "I'll do it. Now tell me which one is for the lock." Earning herself a scornful look from the injured Nagisa.

Hikari's face heated up again at the close contact, having not expected that from the other Sekirei. However, through stuttering words, he was able to instruct her on which key went to which lock. Not that it was too hard, he only had one lock. What did he have worth stealing?

Upon entering, they would find that his room was rather organized. A small living area with books stacked on some of the chairs and the sofa. There was a very modest cooking area attached to the living room, but anything further was blocked off by closed doors. "Sorry it isn't that clean, I wasn't really expecting company today..." he explained, glancing around. "I think I have some medical supplies in the bathroom. Orinami-san, could you please clear off the couch so I can lay Nagisa-san down?"

Orinami was about to tell him to drop that useless bitch onto the cold floor to save them all the stupid trouble, but in the end she swallowed down her snarky words and did as told. "...You might want to put her face down." Then she winked at him. "I won't stop you from watching me stripping this doll naked, though."

Hikari's face went beet red at the comment, glancing away from Orinami to try and prevent her the satisfaction of bothering him. He didn't respond verbally, though, doing as instructed. He laid her down carefully, face first on the couch as to not disturb the gash in her back too much. "Are you... comfortable?" he asked softly, wanting to make sure this was alright before he left her to Orinami's care.

Nagisa's lips were trembling - the pain of the wound was numbing her senses, and it was the feeling of touch with her Ashikabi that kept her Core going, preventing her from losing her conscious. She gave Hikari a weak nod, then Orinami started tearing down the injured Sekirei's stealth suit, causing Nagisa to grit her teeth to stop herself from screaming. Despite the severity of the situation, Hikari had to look away, a slight tinge growing in his cheeks once more. He stood up to give Orinami more room, walking away to the other side of the room. He kept his back turned, not wanting to peep on Nagisa in her state of undress unless he was needed.

The bloody gash on Nagisa's back wasn't a nice sight; thankfully it wasn't too deep to reach her backbone, but she did lose quite a lot of blood. Orinami let out a sigh. "I'll take back what I said about you being an useless Sekirei - I'm amazed at your willpower to stay awake even with such an injury." Her lips curled into a smirk. "...And I hope you continue to keep those eyes of yours wide open as I operate on you." Nagisa could only respond her with a seething look.

"Enough," Hikari said with a bit more force than he was used to, glancing back at the two girls. He seemed to realize this and glanced away again to hide his surprise. "Just help her. Please. There's no need for these comments." His voice had gotten softer again, just wanting Orinami to help Nagisa through this, despite her mannerisms.

Orinami - even Nagisa - were surprised at Hikari's unexpected outburst, and that was enough for the jester Sekirei to stop taunting Nagisa. "...Fine." She scowled at Hikari, unhappy that she had to be shouted at by someone lower than her. "I'll make it quick so that your girlfriend won't have to suffer under me much longer."

---

The "operation" was successful, though Orinami had to (not so) kindly remind Hikari that Nagisa would have to stay down for at least a week to recover fully.

"Thank you," Hikari said to Orinami after Nagisa had been patched up, thankful the girl would be okay. He wasn't really sure what else to say, but he knew there were other issues they had to iron out. "S-So, who are you anyway? You didn't really... introduce yourself." It was hard for him to get out, but he managed to.

"'Who am I', you ask?" Orinami glared at him. This brat sure got the nerve to ask her, after he had totally spoiled her grand entrance just now! She took in a few deep breaths to force down the rising frustration inside her, then she did an exaggerated bow at Hikari, reciting in a melodic voice, "No.77 Orinami - behold, the cutest Sekirei among all!" She switched to a colder tone before continuing, "Be grateful to have me at your service, boy."

Hikari's eyes widened at the cold tone, a complete swap from his earlier outburst. "N-Nice to meet you, O-Orinami-san..." he mumbled weakly.

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Yuki Kaguya, No.11 Houkatori, & No. 88 Yajuu.

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While Houkatori was still in the bathroom, Yuki decided to give herself a tour around her new home. She felt unnerved at how everything was in order, specially renovated to accommodate them.

It was as if the organization had planned for all this since the very beginning. She shuddered at the thought of how their every move was within the organization's calculations.

The kitchen was brand new, loaded with all the kitchenware one would ever need for basic home-cooking. She did make the right decision to get Yajuu to buy some groceries - the fridge was completely empty.

As she pulled out a pot and some utensils onto the kitchen counter, she felt around the walls of the cabinets and the underside of the drawers. So far she didn't find any bugs in the bedrooms, but she wasn't going to be complacent. She frowned when she still didn't find any. Those creeps think that Yajuu is sufficient to keep my trap tightly shut, huh? She slammed down a bowl onto the counter at the thought of it, so loud that the sharp sound echoed throughout the house.

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It was a while before Yajuu returned, carrying three bags over each of his arms. She would be alerted to his return from a sharp kick to the door, unable to reach the handle on his own in his current situation. However, once she let him in, he smiled happily. "I got us enough to last us a few days, at least," he said cheerfully, once again ignoring the awkwardness of the current predicament. "Where would you like me to put them down?"

Houka couldn't help but frown as she rejoined Yuki. Having dressed back into her clothes, a towel still wrapped around her damp hair, she was greeted with the sight of the blond returning from his trip. It was too short. Sure, she was hungry, but this guy was a nuisance.

"Give me the potatoes, carrots, and the curry; use the rice cooker behind me to do the rice," Yuki ordered them in a rush, not looking at either of the Sekirei as she put the pot filled with water onto the stove, and turned on the gas. "Then the rest go into the fridg---" She stopped, turning to look at them, hoping that they would at least know some basic kitchen rules...

Yajuu had a bag held out to her, presumably with the ingredients she had requested. Other than that, though, the two were staring at her blankly. "I've... never cooked before," the blond admitted.

"I was served food at the facility..." Houka added.

Yuki slapped her forehead. That could only mean one thing.

"I'll get the dinner done. Go and find something to entertain yourselves... and for God's sake, be good kids," she finally said, plucking the bag out of Yajuu's hands before she started pushing them out of the kitchen.

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Shohei Tanaka, & No.94 Sae.

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It was the umpteenth time Shohei sighed. After he had dragged Sae back to their apartment, the twin-tailed Sekirei had been sulking in a corner of his bedroom, polishing her scythe with such ferocity that one could only wonder if the blade would break under her insane strength. He reclined back into his chair and stretched, facing away from the his desktop. Still no leads about this 'Sekirei' thing... nothing that could lead him to uncover Sae's past.

Tonight was indeed a bad night for the pair. Not only did they fail to eliminate the weak gun-girl Sekirei, now those two got a weird clown-bitch to join their side. Sae said that she could also feel the presence of two more Sekirei - further away from them, but definitely hiding somewhere in this city. The odds against him and Sae were stacking up... Not good at all.

The boy felt conflicted - he still didn't know how he should see Sae. She looked human, but her physical capabilities were definitely inhuman; she talked about a Core inside of her that had reacted to him, calling him her Ashikabi when they were mere strangers.

Shohei could still clearly remember how he had met Sae for the first time...

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SOMEWHERE IN FUKUOKA-SHI
DECEMBER 25, 2022

It was supposed to be just a boring-as-fuck Christmas night like the past decade of his life: all alone, in this cold weather, snorting at the stupidity around him. People of the current era so consumed by materialism that they were only willing to put their bullshits aside on specific days where they could try to buy happiness with money... and gain better profits.

It was also the perfect time where Shohei could swipe off some goodies for himself, under the chaos of the blur of these dumb shoppers.

...Or so he had thought.

His back was pressed against the wall of an alley - with a dead end. Two cops were closing in on him, blinding him with their flashlights. He swung the switchblade in one hand before him wildly in a futile attempt to keep the policemen from coming near him, while the other tightened its grip onto the package he had shoplifted from a nearby department store. His senses felt disorientated - he thought he heard one of the men laughing at him...

"Get away from him."

The red in Shohei's tightly-shut eyes was suddenly thrown into darkness; he opened his eyes to see the cops shining the light behind them, bathing a young girl with long green hair in twintails... with a huge silver scythe on her back.

"What the---" Before the policemen could react, the girl raised the scythe and slammed the blade onto the ground, the shockwave threw the cops and Shohei off their feet, causing them to all fall on their asses on the dirt floor. The policemen looked up into the girl's hard glare and scooted off on all fours, the fear overwhelmed their fragile sense of justice. The girl ignored them and began to walk towards Shohei, who was slowly getting up to his feet, rubbing his sore back with irritation.

"What the hell was that for?" He glowered at the girl. "So now they send a crazy bitch to kill me for stealing a couple of bikinis?"

The words that came out of the girl's mouth was enough to shock Shohei into shutting his trap for a good one minute.

"I am Sekirei No.94 Sae - and I'm here to serve my Ashikabi: to serve you."

"What... did you just call me?"

The girl who introduced herself as Sae ignored his question. "You will be my vessel to participate in the Second Sekirei Project."

Baybridge™: Era of the Old/New Gods™ [COMPLETED]

@FernStone Hey, no pressure - in fact, I'm all for a 200-day delay just to annoy the hell outta @Mr Allen J. \( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)/
_{Besides, we are doing Inception-level badassery, lol.}

Also, decided to just add Haru's solo part after Jen's.

Baybridge™: Era of the Old/New Gods™ [COMPLETED]

Jokes aside, I'm waiting for @FernStone to finish our collab before it really becomes a 200-day delay, and @Estylwen's a-ok to get our collab started.

Baybridge™: Era of the Old/New Gods™ [COMPLETED]

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Lihua Zhao, Shizuka Takashiro, Reed Taylor, & Jennifer Caspin.

_{(with @Mr Allen J and @Zombiedude101)}

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Armored Core OST - Someone is Always Moving on the Surface

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Starrybanks, White Coast_

"This way," Reed said as he rounded the corner on their way out of the bar, "Jen can't have gotten far."

Lihua patiently followed behind Reed, swaying her hips with every step, with Shizuka bringing up the rear of the trio. She didn't think Jennifer could have gotten far, but what she did think was her aggressor could have gotten plenty of time to have their way with Jennifer again. However, should Jennifer be in danger, she has the full might of the Zhao matriarch at her side, and few could contend with it... then it came to her.

"...How about we call Jennifer?" Lihua asked. "It's more sane than mindlessly searching around for her."

"Good idea," Shizuka agreed, shrugging. At this rate it would take them forever to find that aggravating girl. "...I don't have her number, though." Why would he have her contact details? They weren't even...

'Friends'.

She might be friends with Haruka, but that didn't mean he would automatically become dandy with her just like his elder twin; he was well aware that she didn't like him as much as he wanted to avoid her. He couldn't help feeling paranoid about her comeback - even if she didn't mean anyone harm, her presence, her very existence, spelled nothing but impending doom to him and his brother. He didn't hate her - he genuinely thought he could try to give her a chance, given their experience back in Verthaven - but now he's so done with her emo bullshit.

"I don't have her number either... I could get it from Meifeng, but..." Lihua followed her statement with a shrug.

Reed dug a hand into his pocket and fished out his phone, speaking up, "I've got it." After finding her in his contacts, he started to call her.

"Oh, Mr. Takashiro, there was something I wanted to discuss with you," Lihua said, walking over towards Shizuka with a calm, casual look on her face. She looked at him. "I have to personally say that both you and Jennifer were at fault here. You for escalating the situation, and Jennifer for hiding useful information from us," she bluntly said, without a care that Shizuka could take it the wrong way.

"You still seem to have difficulties dealing with people, yes?" Lihua asked. "While I can say that you have the best interests at heart, you needed to take other people and their issues into consideration... See from their perspective, yes. Jennifer might be frightened, or could have been intimidated into keeping silence."

Shizuka let out a sigh. To think that he would get a lecture from Lihua of all people... considering the kind of things she had done in the past to be able to stand here today, he thought sarcastically. Still, he listened to her quietly, and he knew that she was right.

"...I shouldn't be so rough to her," he began. "I guess I'm feeling tired to deal with her... emotional issues. How is this fair, that she expects me to try to understand her, but she refused to be honest with us... with herself?" he sighed again, and looked to one side.

"The girl is confused, simple as that," Lihua said as she reached into her purse and pulled out a flask... filled with a vodka combination of vodka and iced tea, that she managed to put together from the various drinks in the Liu household. She drank some of the alcohol, before wiping her mouth off with her sleeve. "Inside her head must be a million different thoughts, weighed back by the past, while attempting to push on into the future when she doesn't have the strength to..."

Lihua shrugged.

"She likely believes that she's doing everyone else a favor by keeping herself closed off to the rest of the world," Lihua said. "That she doesn't want to become a burden for the rest of the world by making us worry about her... but, keeps herself closed up until we absolutely can't ignore the problem anymore." She took another sip.

"...If she doesn't stop now, we'll only repeat what happened in Verthaven."

"Yeah..." Shizuka put his hands into his pockets, agreeing with Lihua. "She's doing the complete opposite: the more she keeps to herself and thinks that she's trying to stay out of our way, it only makes everything unnecessarily complicated... She thinks she's trying to protect her friends, but she's unknowingly hurting them more."

"'No man is an island', after all," Lihua agreed, quoting a line that she heard before. "Every human being is connected to the world in ways that they don't acknowledge..."

There was more that she had to say, however. She didn't just think that Jennifer was wrong here...

"But, at the same time, take a moment, and think," Lihua started off, and took another sip... she should go back in the bar and get a refill. "...We have already gotten across that you were far too inconsiderate in regards to Jennifer, but have you ever thought about learning something from her?" she asked.

Shizuka looked at Lihua curiously. "You mean...?"

"You can learn more from the people you detest than the people you are on good terms with, find out things about yourself that you didn't quite know before," Lihua was quick to voice that piece of philosophy. "Even the likes of Luis... just ask yourself this one question, and this one question alone..."

Lihua turned the cap back onto her flask, and faced away from Shizuka as she looked at the street. Then she dropped the big question on Shizuka...

"...What would you do if you were put in Jennifer's situation seven years ago?" she finished the statement with a sharp glare, paying close attention to everything about Shizuka. Every moment, even the most subtle, were logged in that head of hers.

"...I'll admit that I'd still prioritize my own family above all else," he replied, recalling the time when he chose to save his twin instead of Jennifer in the end. "That I'll do whatever it takes to save my family, even if it means I've to sacrifice my friends or comrades... or even myself. To be honest, I never really blamed her for what she did, because I knew I'd do the same." He let out a sarcastic laugh. "Ironic, isn't it? I can't bring myself to hate her even though Haru almost died because of her." Not just once... but on the few occasions when they crossed paths with each other.

"Our cultures value family above all else," Lihua was quick to say, very softly. Then she abruptly raised a finger in the air. "In the end, there will be no friends, no allies... only family... Ha, that was one thing I noticed about America..." Lihua trailed off with a coy smile on her face. "While it isn't as pronounced as our own, you can tell that many people hold the same sentiment."

Lihua laughed a little bit, non-sarcastically.

"Jennifer most likely wasn't intending on throwing all of us 'under the bus', as they say," Lihua started off. "She was forced into a desperate situation, and she was hoping that she could get an easy out to this situation... when there was none."

Shizuka looked straight into Lihua's eyes. "I know that: to save someone, I'll have to sacrifice another. I can't save both." Then he relaxed, and shrugged. "I guess I'm sacrificing my... 'friendship' with her to stop her from repeating the same mistake. She's right - back then everything was out of her control, out of everyone's control. But now it's different. If I have to play the bad guy to wake her up, then so be it." He could afford that role, since they were probably never going to be friends at this rate.

"And, truthfully," Lihua was quick to agree with him. "You just have to be rough with her, if that's the only way she'll improve. Because Ms. Caspin has spent her entire life coddled, and she can barely function when faced with adversity... but, in a way, I do feel sorry for her."

And that was honestly spoken as it could be.

"She grew up with no friends, and lived a life of, well, nothing - then when she develops superpowers, she finally gets the companionship that she has desperately desired... only to have it all dashed away by a madman."

Though, there was something inherently amusing about all of this.

"...It's almost like a bad joke, yes?" Lihua rhetorically asked, smiling. "She's like the universe's plaything."

"We all are," he murmured, quietly to himself. Then he spoke louder, "I know nothing much about Jennifer - I'm the last person she'd ever want to talk to anyway - but if we have met under better circumstances, I could've tried to be friends with her. We wouldn't have become like this." And he truly meant that.

"But, you can say that about a lot of people," Lihua was quick to reply. "And just because you are like this, doesn't mean it has to be," Lihua said. "Plaything analogy aside, there isn't an invisible force forcing you two to be against each other... but, at the same time, not everyone is meant to be a friend; you can just agree that, while you don't hate each other, your differences stop you from being friends." Lihua was probably overloading him with philosophy at this point. She just had to giggle like a schoolgirl for a second. She only lived for fifty years, but it felt like she had two-hundred years of experience.

"Aaaaah, this is all so complicated," Lihua mused out loud. "Experiences like this are why I prefer to be on my lonesome."

Shizuka merely gave her an amused look. "Haru said that you've changed... and you've certainly changed, even though sometimes I still feel that same prideful vibe from you... just more subtle."

Lihua laughed, covering her mouth. "I'd say that I became less arrogant, and condescending..." She gave him a playful look. "...But, with so many things to be proud of, my pride is still as strong as ever."

Meanwhile...

After the second time had failed, Reed made one last attempt to dial Jen. While Jennifer didn't answer her phone, the sharp scream that pierced through the air was more of a clue to the trio.

Before the others could get a word in, Reed bolted in the direction of the scream.

"Wait---" Lihua called out, sticking her hand out, before she resigned and started chasing after Reed... fast as she could in heels. Which was basically a slow jog that even an eighty year old could outpace. "I'm not as fast as I used to be..." she muttered.

Shizuka raised an eyebrow at her. "...Maybe you should just forget about those heels." He could offer to carry her if he felt gracious enough, but no way he would do that with how huge she was compared to him. He decided to stay with Lihua instead of leaving her behind and following after Reed - it would be better for Jennifer to see Reed first, and Shizuka's presence might make that cranky girl throw another fit at him.

"...And run barefoot? On this dirty sidewalk? No thank you," Lihua quickly retorted.

Shizuka could only facepalm. Maybe he should take back his words - this woman is as vain as ever.

---

Scurrying off into an alleyway, Jennifer was trying to piece together what happened.

Shizuka - the others - just didn't understand. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? She's just as confused as he was, but she had to compose herself. She was literally diving into emptiness here, letting her anger to guide her to bad places... she was just about ready to try to kill Shizuka over a misunderstanding... there was no way she could take him on unless she could catch him off guard. Okay, just calm down Jennifer... it's all going to be okay. She tried to mentally reassure herself as she took in deep breaths over and over again. She was going to apologize to them... but, she she didn't know what to tell them because of what happened to her hand. She had already lost it.

"...Hey, broad," a man said as he walked up to her menacingly, producing a switch-blade. "Drop your clothes and get up against the wall." He pointed the knife at her, and she couldn't tell if he was being serious or not.

Even if she wasn't superpowered, all she had to do was run off.

"What are you deaf?" the man asked as he got closer, grabbing onto Jennifer by the neck and pushing her up against the wall. "...You and I are about to have a lot of---"

His statement was cut short when a bone spire came out of Jennifer's hand and pierced him through the thigh. He looked down, and what he saw was best compared to a horror movie.

He let out a loud scream.

---

It was Reed who was the first to witness the would-be thug clutching at his bloody thigh with one hand and frantically jabbing a blade at Jen with the other.

A cop's instincts kicked in from this point and without another word, Reed practically grappled with the man until he was able to twist his wrist, forcing him to drop the blade. Jennifer was quick to raise an eyebrow when Reed stepped into the mix... and she was quick to retract the blade, making it even worse as it oozed crimson.

"Reed!" Jennifer loudly said, feeling guilt that she almost killed this man. "I-I am so sorry! He... tried to... he tried to force himself on me and..."

"You f-f-fucking cunt, get of-off of me!" the man spat, cutting her off as Reed forced him to the ground. "Help! Help, I'm dying cos' of this freak!" He started to scream, until Reed planted his knee against his back and pressed down hard, eliciting more agonized groans.

"Don't tempt me to use force," The ex-cop's voice was a low growl and one could tell it was only the fact he had those instincts that kept him from delivering a beating of his own, instead resorting to planting his face against the hard ground. "There's some cable ties in my pocket," He began. "Left coat pocket. Pass them to me."

Jennifer reached into his pocket and pulled out what Reed had asked for and passed them to him, to which he began to bind the man's hands together behind his back.

At this point, Lihua had ran up to the scene... and immediately bent over and began panting heavily. Just a simple run like that was so straining that she had to take a break from a run as simple as that. Her weight wasn't helping. After collecting herself, she stood straight up, and looked directly at the scene and just had to raise an eyebrow. Reed was pinning a man to the ground, who had suffered an injury, while Jennifer was looking doe-eyed... what the hell happened here? She just had to gaze at Shizuka for a second.

Shizuka wasn't as tired - he pretty much got here at walking speed next to Lihua. He caught Lihua glancing at him; he merely sighed and shrugged to her before he said to Reed, "Better get that guy to a hospital or whatever to get his thigh treated, and let BPD handle the rest about him."

"Mr. Taylor, can you handle him?" Lihua asked as she walked up to Jennifer.

Having sufficiently restrained Jen's would-be attacker, Reed shifted backwards a little and bluntly planted a few fingers against where the girl's spike had pierced his thigh, then concentrated. "You're lucky I don't leave you to bleed out." Perhaps for just a second, he felt a semblance of his ability's original owner channeling through him as a part of him considered it, before he eventually shook the thought off.

Shizuka then turned his attention to Jennifer and waited silently. Half expecting an explanation from her, while the other half to avoid flipping another wrong switch in that emo girl's unstable mind.

"Shizuka... guys..." Jennifer said, as she grabbed onto her other arm. "I'm... sorry. I shouldn't of reacted like I did... I was just confused and scared, but if I just came clean from the beginning we could have avoided all this..."

Shizuka was a little surprised at how quickly the girl had apologized. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "...I'm sorry too - I shouldn't be so harsh with you." He stared straight into Jennifer's eyes. "Also... you are not alone in this world." Then he kept his mouth shut and looked away.

"I... accept your apology," Jennifer said, nodding her head.

At least she acknowledged it... Lihua thought to herself as she faced Jennifer. "I understand where you are coming from, but you have to acknowledge something..."

Jennifer looked up at the Zhao matriarch, and patiently awaited her response.

"While the death of your family was a tragedy that has saddened even me..." Lihua start off, reaching into her purse again and pulling out her flask. Gently turning the top as she spoke. "...You have to understand that, regardless of your tragedies, the world doesn't owe you anything." She just bluntly said as she drank some from her flask, when she wiped the rest of the alcohol off with her sleeve, she followed up, "Not an apology, no help, no happiness, nothing..."

Jennifer clenched her fists as she considered Lihua's words.

"That is up to you to find for yourself," Lihua said. "We are merely helping you out of kindness, but you also have to understand that, each of us, are being pushed to our... figurative limits. While we want to help you, you are making that difficult by being so secretive over things that could really help us... Prevention is better than the cure, after all."

"I..." Jennifer said as she looked down in shame, before she kept her mouth shut.

"You also have to understand that the world isn't going to stop what it's doing over your personal problems... This... Founding Family, yes?" Lihua looked at Shizuka for confirming, receiving a curt nod from him. "They are drowning the world in blood... The Black Hound... with every person he kills, they grow stronger. And I'm just going to be frank here: the threat they pose to the world is more important than your self-loathing..." She spoke each word with a stern honesty, and didn't care if Jennifer would take it the wrong way.

She drunk some of her alcohol, before she realized it was close to the bottom, and shrugged.

"So, you have to stop acting like you and your problems are the center of the universe," Lihua said. "And realize that no one has to help you."

Letting out a sharp exhale, Jennifer listened to every word that Lihua had to say. It was never her intention to act self-important - but, maybe she was getting blinded by her own lies. Honestly... she just wanted to live. "...You're right," Jennifer was quick to answer. "I have been acting selfish lately, really selfish. Even if I didn't mean to. I forgot that... there's other people - and they have problems, too!"

"Good..." Lihua said, screwing the cap back on, and put the flask back into her purse. "Now, I'll say one last thing," Lihua said, pointing her finger in Jennifer's face. "...From here on in, there will be no more secrets."

Jennifer sighed. "Okay... I keep saying that I have nothing to hide," Jennifer said. "But, it's about time I start acting that way."

She nodded her head.

"I was just confused... I just kept my mouth shut because... I didn't want anyone to worry about me. I didn't want to be a nuisance, but, I guess I just wasn't helping, right?" Jennifer shrugged as she looked off to the side. "I need to stop feeling sorry for myself, I... yeah, I'm going to stop myself here because I'm feeling sorry for myself again." She just frankly shrugged. "I spent so many years doing... well, nothing... and now I feel like it's time for me to do something..." She stared at her hand which was regenerating slowly. "...Because now I have all the time in the world."

"There is something you can do for us now," Shizuka finally spoke up again, when he felt that the whole philosophy lecture had pretty much come to an end between the two women. "You can start by telling us what happened to you, which made you lost that hand."

"I need you to believe me here," Jennifer said as she stared at Shizuka. "I was telling the truth back in the bar... I was walking here, then I woke up in an alleyway with my hand missing... and my head's been hurting like hell lately..." She said, truthfully as she could because she honestly had no idea what had happened. Maybe there was someone (or something) after her.

Shizuka considered what Jennifer had said - it sounded like the assaulter did more than just cutting off her hand. She kept mentioning that she had a headache - both when Meifeng asked about her hand in the bar just now, and here. Did they do something with her brain too? He thought about using his power on her to check for any physical injuries to her head just to be sure, but he held back, not wanting to repeat the same drama as the bar incident.

...This is so awkward and troublesome. Giving shits about how other people feel greatly hindered his decision-making, making it harder to get the more important things done... but it wouldn't do him much good if he provoked her again.

Jennifer stared off towards the side, towards Reed...

...And saw him stemming the flow off blood from her would-be attacker's wound with his ability. Jennifer could see Reed at full concentration as the blood seemed to flow back into the wound, clotting in mere moments.

Suddenly, Jennifer froze up as she stared at Reed. That looked... nah, it couldn't be. Could it? Jennifer was quite frankly shell-shocked as that ability made her regress mentally. Standing there doing nothing but stare. "...R-Reed..." she trailed off, her anger rising, before she shook it off. It couldn't be. She was just overreacting. "Um... I'll tell everyone everything... let's go back to the bar!" she said, full of passion and determination.

...But, Lihua was quick to deflate it by saying, "...Let's not. They were ready to kick us out."

"Oh?" Jennifer, who missed most of Cindy's antics, merely raised an eyebrow. "So, how about we just walk?" Then the mention of Cindy reminded her. "Oh, what about Cindy and Meifeng?"

"Cindy's drunk off her ass right now..." Lihua looked back at the bar and just laughed a little. "...I wish I could be there to see Cindy's reaction to showing the entire bar her rear." She laughed. "I suggest that we just walk... it's not like our enemies will send their army of loyal ninjas..." She wished that she could get a refill on her alcohol, but unfortunately no.

"Yeah..." Reed began, somewhat tired of the evening's events. "Look, you three go and I'll catch up once I've called in a cruiser from BPD."

---

---

Haruka Takashiro, and...

---

Fate/stay night OST - Corrupted Pedigree

---

Greencrest Heights, White Coast_

Instead of going back to his aunt in Little Seapond after being discharged from the DOVE/RAVEN Headquarters' hospital wing, Haruka chose to stay at his twin's and Holly's shared apartment in Greencrest for awhile. The gun wounds had healed up nicely, but he was told to avoid doing strenuous physical work for another couple of days to avoid tearing open those holes again.

The shared house of his RAVEN siblings (Holly was like an older sister to him even if they weren't related by blood) was relatively clean and tidy, though there was a thin layer of dust collecting that suggested the two of them hadn't been around for days.

Which made him even unhappier towards his brother.

He could tell that Shizuka was trying to hide it from him, that the insane plan at the mall got him suspended from RAVEN for a month. He had expected that his pragmatic counterpart wouldn't be bothered much with something like that, cheering at getting a break off work (which he had been complaining about it for months), and would come to annoy Haruka with all his grand holiday plans. He wondered what his twin was doing now.

He turned on the TV - the news about the hostage incident was still a hot topic even after a week. He couldn't bear to look at all the hate posts on the various social media sites... and he didn't even want to face his college 'friends'. All those things only serve to add more oil to the fire - making him even more infuriated.

He, of all people, knew exactly how it felt like to be powerless.

Before he even got this air manipulation ability... He was constantly jealous of Shizuka, he knew he was weak and useless in a physical fight, he knew that he couldn't protect the ones he cherished and needed them to protect him instead...

He had both desired for, and feared, power.

The contradiction had always raged within him even till now - he didn't want to go back to being his powerless old self, yet he knew what his twin said was right: to save one person, he would have to hurt the others. He knew it all along, especially during the arena matches when he was still in the academy. In order to end the violent matches, he had to defeat every single one of his opponents... in cold blood.

Haruka could see where Shizuka was coming from with unsympathetic logic, but he still felt that his twin could have at least a pinch of regret for those unfortunate ones who had perished in the chaos to get away from the Black Hound.

...No, Shizuka did nothing wrong - it was just like he had said to one of Haruka's 'friends': DOVE and RAVEN were trying so hard to save the hostages, but what did they get? The public flamed them, and Shizuka ended up being the scapegoat for these ungrateful morons---

He tightened his grip on the beer can, almost crushing it in his hand. The thought of losing his 'good side' scared him. He took a sip of beer to calm himself down (Holly had kept some in the fridge; Shizuka would never drink alcohol). How long could he keep up with this 'nice guy' facade?

How long could he keep the angry beast caged deep inside of him?

He might not be as apt as Shizuka in a physical fight, but even his twin had admitted that Haruka would be formidable in a battle of tactics if he ever got serious, and that he understood people better than his brother. His air power might not be as destructive as the other elemental types, but his control over his ability was fast and precise; even with sheer willpower, he was still more accurate than most others. Nobody knew the full extent of his power except for his mentor Lihua, and his own brother.

If there was one thing that made him exactly the same as Shizuka...

He would do whatever it takes to protect his twin, even if he would have to get blood on his hands. No mercy, no moral bullshits. Especially since he had a superpower in his arsenal along with all the knowledge and information he had gained over the years---

What the heck am I thinking?

He turned off the TV and dumped the remaining beer in the can back into the fridge, then headed for the door. Maybe taking a walk would help to expel the dark thoughts out of his clouded mind.

---

God Eater 2: Rage Burst OST - Losing Ground

---

The walk did help - he usually felt better outdoors, for the air indoors were stale and suffocating. He suddenly stopped before a cafe; Thanks-A-Latte. Wasn't this the place where he had met Jennifer a week ago? He thought about their conversation, and wondered if he should ask her to tell him the rest of her story.

He entered the shop, and a quick look at the counter hit him with a subtle disappointment. He walked up to one of the staff, and he was told that Jennifer was off from work today. As he was about to turn and leave the cafe, a woman brisked in through the door. Not just Haruka, but the eyes of almost every single person in the cafe were hopelessly sucked towards this lady.

She was a rather tall woman, made even taller with the stylish black heels. Diamond-studded golden belt tightened around her slim waist, which made her curvy figure show through even with the bright-red trenchcoat over a very dark green turtleneck. She wore heavy makeup with blood-colored lipstick, her eyes covered by a pair of sunglasses framed using jade, and a black derby sitting at an angle on her head.

"Can anyone speak Chinese here?" the lady said loudly, her sharp voice echoed throughout the silent store. No one responded or moved, and merely continued to gape at her.

"...I do," Haruka decided to turn back and walked towards the lady, offering his help. "I can help you to order your drink... Miss."

The lady looked down at Haruka, adjusting her sunglasses with a hand covered in leather gloves. "What a gentleman, to call me a 'Miss'! Let me offer you a drink for your good manners."

"It's okay, I'll just---"

Haruka started to protest, but the lady cut him off. "I insist."

Haruka could feel an aura of authority emitting from her, similar to the kind of feeling he got from a stern Lihua. "Um... okay." He gestured for the lady to go first, but she simply grabbed his arm and marched towards the counter in a few huge strides (well, she was taller than him).

"I'll have hot caffe mocha with whipped cream and chocolate syrup, largest size," she said, not looking at the signboards but at Haruka's face. "What would you like, my dear?"

Haruka faced the barista at the cashier and recited her order in English, then he added, "For me, I'll just have a small cup of hot green tea."

"Well, what did you order?" the lady pressed him.

"...Green tea," he replied truthfully. "I... prefer tea over coffee." It was a lie - he just didn't feel like having coffee at the moment.

"Oh," the lady sighed, disappointed. "No matter - I can get your number later so that I can treat you to a proper coffee the next time!"

Haruka could only gave her a weak smile - he felt that she would shush him again if he had rejected.

The lady frowned at the takeaway cups when their drinks came. However, she giggled, nudging Haruka's arm playfully. "You don't have to be so shy with me." Then she grabbed his arm and dragged him to one of the empty tables. "I have something that will greatly interest you - concerning someone very important to you. Are you sure you want to leave without listening to my story?"

Haruka sat down opposite of the lady, narrowing his eyes at the dangerous smile on her pastel-like face. He took a sip of his tea, but merely stared at the lady and kept quiet, waiting for her to continue.

The lady giggled again, and returned Haruka's glare with a smug look, pleased that she got his full attention. "You're even cuter when you're angry---"

Haruka cut her off coldly, "What is it about 'someone very important to me' that you want to talk about?"

The lady's smile broadened. "Very well. But first, we should start being frank with each other, you and I." She drank a bit of her coffee. "I'm here to look for your brother, Takashiro Shizuka - he has something extremely important in his possession that belonged me... to us. I heard that he's currently debarred from RAVEN for the time being... and he had paid the price for being too clever for his own good."

"...I wonder how I can help you, then? As you would probably have known, Shizuka hasn't contacted me ever since I got discharged," Haruka said in his usual polite tone, but it didn't quite reach the steely look in his eyes.

The lady laughed. "Wonderful... Perfect... The two of you are truly the children of that woman. She wasn't so useless, after all." She reached out a hand and caressed Haruka's face. "To think that the two of you have grown so much, and developed different sets of powers... when you both shared the same energy source."

Haruka locked his gaze with her. She knew about Asami? And what did she mean by her last line - about sharing the 'same energy source'?

She leaned in closer. "And the two of you are more than ready to return back to us, to your true parents - to Polaris."

Haruka flinched at the unexpected heat he felt on his cheek, from the lady's hand still on his face. Then the lady pulled back her hand slowly.

"Oh, how impolite of me not to introduce myself... I am Xing Huo, the Spirit of Fire in Polaris."

Baybridge™: Era of the Old/New Gods™ [COMPLETED]

I'm doing fine, moved into uni on friday so spending too much of my time in forced socialisation xD

@FernStone

I feel you.
_{Wait, I just understood it as you being kinky with your sex toys, not people.}

Also I came up with a genius idea involving Cindy.

I gotta do it.

@Mr Allen J

All your genius ideas come from me. \( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)/

The best rp moments in your life.

The gayest ending ever for an epically convoluted RP on this site with @Mr Allen J and @Zombiedude101. \( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)/

...Also, I quite enjoyed the fight scene of a sniper rifle versus a 2-meter scythe with @RyuHll (until the craziest cutest girl in the RP decided to crash the party).

Baybridge™: Era of the Old/New Gods™ [COMPLETED]

Cindy Keagan: A hero you can depend upon.

@Mr Allen J

I'm sure Cindy is entitled to it.

@Zombiedude101

If Lihua is like the #ProudMum of the Vert survivors, then Cindy is the Big Sista.

_{...And Shizuka is everyone's baby brother who gives them all a bloody headache to look after, heh.}

Baybridge™: Era of the Old/New Gods™ [COMPLETED]

---

---

Meifeng & Lihua Zhao, Cindy Keagan, Shizuka Takashiro, Reed Taylor, & Jennifer Caspin.

_{(with @Mr Allen J and @Zombiedude101)}

---

Starrybanks, White Coast_

A TV in the corner of the bar showed an interview of a man that was quite well known in the Metahuman world. Infamous, actually. Nolan Ulrich: the head of the Savior Foundation, and possessed seemingly limitless wealth. Wearing a suit in a comfortable chair as he talked to some skinny-TV personality who owned the talk show - the Evening Real - known as Piper Brownlee.

"...I know you probably got thousands of things you want to talk about today," Piper asked with a smile of teeth so white that they couldn't be real. "But, what are your thoughts on what happened in Baybridge a week ago? Crazy, isn't it?"

"It is certainly insane, yes," Nolan casually said with a shrug, and tilting his head slightly. "But, we must go to the root of the problem; people like the so called 'Black Hound'---" He finger quoted, "---receive abilities, and suddenly, a normal human being is transformed into a deranged terrorist. All because he had a taste of power for the first time in his life. What doesn't help the issue is Agents in the RAVEN organization suffering from a similar toxic mindset. For a so called 'humane alternative'---" Nolan finger quoted again, "---to NEST, they have so far demonstrated very little - well - consideration. They made foolish decision because the energy within them made them feel powerful. That they could do no harm, and---"

---

MACINTOSH PLUS - リサフランク420 / 現代のコンピュー (Piano Cover)

---

The TV scene suddenly shattered into pieces and rained down upon the ground with sparks, and caused quite a scene.

"...What a loada' bullshit," Cindy slurred, as her face blushed red, and she took a sip of her bourbon whiskey. The woman was wearing a red, polka-dot, dress, with tall wedge heels. Cindy was drunk. And sitting next to her was Meifeng Zhao, who was dressed less flashy with a leather jacket, a white T-shirt, and black denim jeans. Cindy continued her (partially) drunken rant, "We save the fuckin' day, again, and everyone treats us like we just dropped a fuckin' nuke on the mall instead of fuckin' save the day - and while I feel shitty as everyone else here that five people died on my watch, what do these dickheads think we could have done? Sing a song and magically pull everyone out the mall unharmed? Fuckin' sing Let It Go - because these assholes need to let it go."

Cindy slammed her drink on the table.

"News flash, if we gave the Hound what he wanted, they'd still be in our shit - like, don't they remember who we are?" Cindy's eyes shot open like she was surprised as she raised her arms up into the air. "We're the fuckin' Verthaven survivas' - we basically saved the world. Know what would have happened if we weren't there? The Devil, an', ah, Luis, and, ah, whoever the fuck else, would have ended the world with their stupid bullshit. And do we get any recognition for savin' the fuckin' world? No. Not one damn thing. Greatest story never told, everyone!"

"...You know they're gonna be pissed about the TV, Cindy," Meifeng said with a smile as she leaned in.

"I don't give a fuck, they turned the TV on just to put us on blast..." Cindy rolled her eyes up into her head.

Just as a break from all the insanity, and vitriol being leveled at RAVEN, Meifeng suggested that they spend their Friday night in bars. Just gathering the old crew together and having some fun. Meifeng chose the Bull Tavern in Starrybanks - it was one of the many coastline bars: pretty large, and had an old rustic feel to it because it was styled after Western Saloons. Only to get tourists. But, the group was in a corner.

"Come now, Cindy, you're drunk," Meifeng playfully said.

"Bitch, I only had two sips, I sure as hell ain't drunk," Cindy said... before she hiccuped. "You shoulda seen me at like sixteen years old I was drinkin' a whole damn keg."

"That's amazing." Meifeng sarcastically said.

"Also shoved it in mah---"

"And that's too much information---"

"---That nobody wants to know," Shizuka added after Meifeng from across the table, looking between Cindy's reddening face and her whiskey with disgust. He took a sip of his own drink (non-alcoholic) before he spoke again, "Too bad that I won't be around to save your asses this time - I'm going to enjoy this break to the fullest extent... before I've to go back and deal with more work stupidity." Or if he had to put it even more bluntly: clean up everyone's mess, as usual.

"Well, you wanna' know why I was so quick to take the blame?" Cindy loudly said to Shizuka, facing him. "Because, I didn't wan' be the one that deals with this shitstorm. Like, I was hoping they'd suspend me instead. But, noooo, everyone needs a fuckin' scapegoat. Now I gotta deal with everyone bitchin', moanin', cryin'... whinin'..." Cindy trailed as she thought about it. Shizuka could only roll his eyes at her - this was the reason why he never liked to hang out at a bar with Cindy. Especially when she was this hopelessly drunk.

"Slow down on the drink, Cindy..." Reed grunted as he made his presence known. "I can hear you from across the damn room." As he approached, one could see that his stump had finally reformed into a hand, though he'd chosen to wear a glove over it and could be seen flexing it every couple of seconds, for reasons only known to him. He took a seat beside the others. "Sorry I'm late."

"Eh, I don't care," Cindy said to Reed, shrugging. "I came here to drink a stressful ass week away, and God damn I'm gonna do it."

"...I honestly think I should take her gun away." Meifeng shrugged.

"Yo, Reed," Shizuka greeted him cheerily, then the grin was quickly replaced with a solemn look. "...How's Quentin?" He might be as hard-headed as ever, but he wasn't that heartless not to feel some guilt for almost sending Reed's brother to a certain death with his insane idea.

"He's... doing better." Reed said, in a somewhat subdued tone. "Just got back from visiting him, actually. You should've heard him the day other when he heard about your uh... suspension. He looked ready to tear out his IV line."

"I'm sorry about his injury too," Shizuka murmured as he stirred his drink with the straw absentmindedly, the guilt inside him growing after hearing Quentin's reaction about his suspension. "Even if it's indirect, I was the one who sent him to deal with the Hound." And almost got him killed for that.

"What? Shizu, that's bullshit and we both know it. I know my brother better than anyone, he would've gone after the bastard either way." Reed allayed Shizuka's guilty sentiment.

"Eeeeyyyyyyyyy, don't sweat it guys," Cindy loudly said. "We make mistakes. We get hurt. But - what's that stupid phrase again? Whatevs doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger! So Quentin's black ass is going to be doing blackflips after he gets betta'!" She started drinking more bourbon that made Meifeng laugh a little.

"Yeah," Reed said, with a slight chuckle. "Something like that. Though I had to talk him out of trying to come with me."

"It's great to hear that Quentin is doing alright," Meifeng said as she took a small sip of her cinnamon whiskey, and smiled. "I wish Jade could have helped him, but she damn near killed herself on the night of the hostage situation trying to heal everyone, so she's too taking a break."

"Everyone's takin' a breaak these days," Cindy said raising her glass in the air and swinging it. "Is it because they don't want to touch all this stupid bullshit with a twelve foot stick? I understand, I understand... I get tired of worrying about all these stupid ass kids, and keepin' their stupid assess from killing themselves from doing stupid shit."

Cindy ranted, and not too many people were listening.

"If I have to give one more horny bastard a 'safe sex' speech, I'm going to tear my fuckin' braids out - because we all know we need them to keep makin' babies so we can have some god damn job security," Cindy said, and that was the point where Meifeng couldn't hold it in any longer and broke out into laughter. "What? I'm serious."

She raised a hand in the air. "But, ya' know, how are all these kids gettin' laid?" Cindy started off. "It's been yeeeeeeears since I got any dick."

Meifeng was caught so off guard by that statement that she spit all of her whiskey out, forcing an annoyed Shizuka to veer off to one side on reflex to dodge the alcohol. Reed, on the other hand, had to wipe a couple droplets of spittle off his gloved hand.

"What?" Cindy said. "My ass is like... huuuuuuuuuuuge. And for some reason, I can't get a single boyfriend to just bend me over my desk---"

"Okay, okay, okay, Cindy," Meifeng said in surprise waving her hands around. "You need to dial it down."

"Hey, you think I can bag that guy right there," Cindy pointed at a rather muscular Caucasian male at the bar counter. "Like, just lift up my dress and show him my ass - like I'm wearing one of those really tiny thongs. The ones where you don't just see part of my ass, but all of it. The whole da---"

"Alright, c'mon," Reed cut her off with a slightly reddened face. "I think you need to slow down on the whiskey." Shizuka just facepalmed; he was wishing that he hadn't come, and he was pretty close to phase into the floor beneath him just to get away from Cindy.

"Okay," Meifeng said, raising a finger into the air. "Who the hell wears a thong that shows 'your whole ass' when you're wearing a dress. A fuckin' dress. You didn't come here drunk Cindy!"

This time, Shizuka had to do a double facepalm. The way how the usual roles were reversed between the two girls made the already absurd scene even more ridiculous.

"Wait, hold on, both of you - just relax, alright?" Reed thumped his good hand against the table. "We're on edge. All of us. Let's just tone things down, alright?"

Cindy's eyes sharply went between each of her "friends" before the woman grabbed the whole bottle and started downing the whole bottle of bourbon at speeds that made Meifeng think she had a vacuum hidden inside of her.

"Stop her!" Meifeng shouted as she reached for the bottle - but Cindy stopped her with her hand. She was desperately trying to wrestle the bottle out of Cindy's hand.

Shizuka contemplated about helping Meifeng to snatch the bottle away from Cindy (it would be a total piece of cake for him, anyway), but he chose not to and merely watched the two struggling with one another - just like the tourists closest to them in the bar, pretending that he wasn't associated with the girls at all. He actually found the scene... amusing, but he didn't want to admit that.

"...Meifeng Zhao, decorated member of RAVEN and the 'hero' of Prague. Cindy Keagan, rather well renown DOVE that has been one of the many faces of the organization." Lihua made her rather unexpected entrance wearing a navy-blue dress, and holding her purse tightly in her hand while she stopped at the table. Giving the girls a sharp stare when they stopped wrestling for control over the bottle. "...Yet, you two are acting like a pair of drunken children right now."

"Oh... Miss Zhao..." Cindy tried to become prim and proper as she put the bottle of bourbon down. "Whazz..." she drunkly said. "Hee...llo."

"Great to see you made it, Mom," Meifeng said with a smile on her face. "Seems you missed the brunt of Cindy's drunken rambling." She laughed.

"Well, I would have preferred a laugh or two," Lihua calmly said as she sat down next to Meifeng.

"So, how's the 'Liu estate' treating you?" Meifeng asked.

"Jiao-Long is rarely there, and his daughters don't really bother me - probably because I've been staying out of their way," Lihua said, in a rather bitter tone. "Lijuan on the other hand is having a great time being showered with the affections of all her cousins." She snickered a little bit. "But, there's something off about the Liu manor... I just feel something wrong about the place the Liu family is hiding from me..."

"Maybe you're just paranoid, huh?" Meifeng asked with a raised eyebrow.

"There's a quote I refer to in regards to paranoia..." Lihua trailed off. "'You're only paranoid when you're wrong.'"

Meifeng just looked at her for a moment.

"So, how have you all been doing?" Lihua asked. "This has been a busy week, yes?"

Shizuka looked from Lihua to the drunk Cindy, then back to Lihua. "...I guess that's your answer." He shrugged. He was a little bit concerned about what Lihua had said with regards to the Liu family... whether it might be related to the phone call he had received last week, but maybe he was also being paranoid. Well, he could save the questions for later.

Lihua shrugged. "...I assume her week has been the hardest, yes?"

"Ya' damn straight!" Cindy loudly chimed in... before letting out an unladylike hiccup. "And guess who'ssss been keeping all hell from boiling over?" She pointed both thumbs at herself. "This sexy thing right here! Me!"

"...So hard that she's apparently forgot how to drink responsibly," Lihua snarked, before she looked at the... destroyed... TV. She was hoping to find a subject, but she came up with something. "...I heard the MIP was moving into Baybridge following all the chaos to help quell the Hound's."

"The MIP?" Meifeng asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Metahuman International Party," Lihua explained.

"Oh riiiiight, them," Meifeng said. "There's supposed to have a debate tomorrow with some Saviors... here in Baybridge." She shrugged.

"Whaaaaaaaaaa' abuncha dumbasses!" Cindy loudly said. "Who in their right mind would hava' conference thing when... when... the Hound is goin' 'round with his gun and killing people? In the very city he's fuckin' with, too! That shit is just beggin' for disaster!"

While Cindy was drunk as shit right now, she had a point that neither of the Zhaos could disagree with.

"Didya' know? I gotta be there as the DOVE re-pre-sentative," Cindy said. "So I get a front row seat to watch ta' Hound fuckin' that Nina' bitch through a portal!" She said as she raised her virtually empty bottle.

"Yes, Cindy." Meifeng laughed. "Well, I'd love to kick the Hound's ass as much as the next person, but I put in for a day off so I can attend the best party of the year!" Meifeng laughed.

"Haaa... will there be booze?" Cindy asked.

"It's my little cousin's birthday party."

"That don't mean shit," Cindy said. "I bet there's going to all manner of the really expensive shit there - and some really rich dudes, too! Which one do you think would make the best baby daddy?"

"...You're going to be hung over for a week straight," Lihua said as she raised her eyebrow. "And what kind of DOVE are you? Imagine if someone came in here that recognized you and saw you right now..."

"I'm the DOVE that needs a break!"

"At least nobody would be dumb enough to arrest her even in this state." Shizuka shook his head. "But honestly, those morons are doing exactly what the FF and their pet dog wanted - holding a stupid conference to argue over stupid things."

"While I do agree with the MIP's goals..." Lihua trailed off, as she realized she didn't even have a drink yet. "...I just don't agree with their methods. Truthfully, talking can only get you so far..." She followed it with a small bout of laughter. "Like racism, sexism, homophobia... There will always be people that hate Metahumans unconditionally, and that will never change with mere 'understanding'..." Lihua finger quoted.

Shizuka gave Lihua a curt nod, agreeing with her. "Rather than wasting time on something that will never be settled..." He took another swing of his drink. "Anyway, how's the investigation on the Hound and FF so far? Even if I'm suspended from RAVEN for now, it's not like this shitstorm is going to end in just one month." In fact, there was another assassination in UK not long ago - the sniper wore almost the same armor as the Hound, but Shizuka was certain that it was someone else, not the Hound himself. Still, that assassin had a similar aura as the Black Hound.

"Dunno where that asshole is, and I couldn't care any less right now!" Cindy drunkenly slurred. "Also, this has been on mah' mind for ages now: is he actually black under all that armor? Like black black?" She pointed at the back of her hand.

Meifeng facepalmed. "Ever since the mall, he hasn't appeared anywhere," she said. "Either he's taking a lot of time to recover, or he's just lulling us into a false sense of security. But," Meifeng raised her finger. "We found out one of the Hound's employers... Ezekiel Anagnos, heard of him?"

"He owns some huge biotech company or something, based somewhere in Europe..." Shizuka trailed off and frowned. "Can't remember the name - Anagnos-whatever. So he's with the FF?"

"More than just that - he's one of the people leading the bitch," Meifeng said... according to what Cindy had told her. "They call themselves the Blessed Three - a name reserved for the shittiest rap groups... we have no idea where he is."

"They suffered as much loss as us during the mall incident," Shizuka mused out loud, flexing the fingers of his right hand - the hand that had sent most of the Intimidation Unit in the mall to hell. "Plus the destroyed base and the freak lightning not far from us right after we freed the hostages... They aren't so 'blessed' after all, huh."

Meifeng put her arms behind her head, and grinned. "But, look at it like this: we're slowly unraveling the mystery behind the Family. Eventually, we'll get to the bottom of this."

Lihua just had to say something. "Hate to chime into your conversation..." Lihua said. "...But, 'eventually' doesn't cut it when this 'Family' could be planning something world changing."

"You know what I mean," Meifeng said, before she slammed a fist into her open palm. "We just gotta find them, and kick their ass. Simple as that."

Which made Lihua shake her head even harder.

Shizuka shared the same sentiment as Lihua at Meifeng's optimism. "I hate to disappoint you and deflate your confidence also, Mei, but FF isn't the only thing we'll be worrying about. Now that FF has the West under their control, they're going to expand to the East. Have you guys ever heard of a cult who call themselves 'Polaris'? Or Beidou Qixing," he added in Mandarin for Lihua's sake.

Polaris... That name was vaguely familiar. In her time with the Hei Long... Heh, it was funny. This was decades away, and she still remembered it all like yesterday - in fact, almost like it was a few minutes ago. Every death. Every vivid detail... was all safely stored in her beautiful mind. When she was fighting in the Chinese Civil War (less of fighting, and more of... deniable operations) she heard the name Polaris thrown around a few times, but never bothered to question it. Then she saw their depravity of close... and distanced herself from them as possible, realizing that they had immense power in the Chinese government.

"Beidou Qixing," Lihua repeated after Shizuka, speaking fluent Chinese. "During my... travels, I have most definitely encountered them... they are certainly a devious lot that will cause a tragedy, if they are not stopped now."

She turned towards Meifeng. "...They have so much power in the Chinese government that it's... frightening," Lihua started off, dramatically looking out the window. "After seeing how powerful they have become, and how their influence have corrupted the Chinese people..." She sharply gazed at Shizuka. "I have vowed to never step foot in China again..."

The dark truth was that Polaris wanted to perform a "ritual" of some sort on Meifeng as a child... and Lihua couldn't have that.

"Holly had been helping me to look into them while I was busy, and for the past few days I was able to do more research on them." Shizuka glanced from Lihua to Meifeng. "We believe that they're working with FF." He snorted. "The bad guys are smart enough to join forces to change the world for the worse, while everyone else is too busy fighting over anti-Meta nonsense to save this damned world from them."

Meifeng leaned back in her chair and sighed. More stupid bullshit to deal with. "While part of me wants to go... 'Oh let's let them solve their own problems!', it's only a matter of time until this 'Polaris' moves over to the States and becomes our problem."

"Actually," Shizuka had switched to Mandarin - whatever he was going to say next were only for the ears of the Zhao women. "The Chinese government already knows that Jiang's hiding in Baybridge - including you two. They probably even have spies stationed in this city to watch our every move." That was what unnerved Shizuka - from his phone conversation with Yang Wei, the Chinese agency seemed to know way too much about whatever's going on in Baybridge... The man sounded oddly confident, as if he already had Shizuka and his friends trapped between a rock and a hard place.

Meifeng almost dropped her glass... Aw damn it. She really wished that Shizuka had just told her... because what Shizuka just did was flare up Lihua's paranoia.

"They... damn it," Meifeng groaned in irritation. "We'll have to find a way to throw them off - I'll find a way. Don't you worry." Meifeng tried to reassure Lihua. "I wanted to ask Jiang a few questions about a special someone, but now it's becoming crystal clear that I gotta take care of him..." Meifeng said, before letting out a sharp sigh.

However, in all of this, Lihua was oddly calm. Her expression didn't change even slightly. "...Do not worry, Meifeng," Lihua said. "...Because I will kill Jiang myself."

"I'm not sure if killing him is an option you can risk - they want him to be handed over to them alive, or else... this will get even more fucked up." Shizuka raked a hand through his hair with muted frustration. This was the worst possible development - with Polaris joining forces with the Founding Family, they had an extremely powerful government backing them up, and vice versa. They couldn't afford to act rashly and make the situation even more complicated than it already was. "I've wanted to stay out of your family business as much as possible, but now I can't do that anymore - this has become my problem too."

Meifeng clapped her hands. "Then we'll just render the bastard brain-dead. It's a win-win for all of us."

Lihua facepalmed. Sometimes that child could get blinded by her own idealism.

"...If truly necessary, and I mean truly," Lihua spoke in Chinese, in a somber tone. "...I will surrender myself to the Chinese authorities."

Meifeng grabbed both sides of her head. "But, Mom, they'll kill you!"

"...If that's what it takes to keep you and Lijaun safe..." Lihua looked around for some alcohol, and snatched the whiskey Meifeng was drinking and downed it. "...Then that is a price I am more than ready to pay."

"I'll do whatever I can without having you to resort to that," Shizuka said in a firm voice, looking straight into Lihua's eyes. "...Lijuan still needs you." He blurted that out before he could stop himself - even if he had never thought of Lihua in a kind way, he felt that Lijuan didn't deserve to bear the weight of her mother's death, depriving herself of her mother's love for the rest of her childhood.

...Just like him and his twin.

"Lijuan..." Lihua trailed off... the boy had a point, yes. A very good point. But, she was ready to die for Lijaun and Meifeng. She accepted that fact a long time ago.

"Eh, I always get lost when you all speak Japanese, or Korean, or whatever the fuck ya'll speak," Cindy said as she took one more sip of her bourbon before it was all out. "Like ya'll all sound and look the same anyway."

That earned her a sharp stare from Reed, who'd opted to keep quiet during the obviously personal conversation between the Zhaos.

Meifeng's eyebrows furrowed harder than they ever have before. "...Cindy, I am going to whoop your ass so hard right now."

On the other hand, Lihua had a more subdued reaction, as she merely rolled her eyes and brushed the comment off.

Shizuka merely shrugged, not as bothered by Cindy's drunken bullshits as Meifeng. "Well, everyone's the same under the skin - just flesh and bone humans. But you might want to shut up for a bit." He glanced at the tourists around them, who were staring at the group.

"No, you shut up," Cindy said.

"...I'm about to just clock her with my elbow," Meifeng groaned.

"Do it," Shizuka said, glaring at Cindy. He was running out of patience with Cindy's bitchmouth, drunk or not.

"Please don't," Lihua said. "I hate to make this scene even bigger."

"And I'm not in the mood for hauling people back home to sober up," Reed added.

"Um..." a voice said, and caused all of them to look to see Jennifer Caspin. Awkwardly standing with her hands in her pocket (where she fully intended on keeping them until her damn hand grew back). She noticed how... tense the situation looked. Especially with Cindy intoxicated. "...Hi."

"Jen!" Meifeng loudly said. "You made it! Have a seat."

Jennifer sat right next to Reed, and kept her hands in her pocket.

"How have you been?" Meifeng asked.

Jennifer kept her lips sealed about the strange occurrence in the alleyway. She managed to fake a smile - she perfected her fake smiles in order to blend in - as she said, "Just peachy. It just took me a little while to get here because the bus was late."

"We need to get you a ride," Meifeng said. "A moped, a car, anything, because you know about the maniacs out there." She shrugged.

"...Yeah," Jennifer awkwardly said, more focused on keeping her missing hand hidden.

"So, you're staying for the long run, huh?" Reed asked, raising an eyebrow. There was something a little strange in how she'd just came in like that, all quiet, but he brushed it off.

She found it hard to believe that Reed was asking that - because she suddenly went doe-eyed. "...I'm never leaving you guys again." Jennifer started off. "I don't care what happens... I am here to stay, by your sides. Until it's all over." Judging by the smile it earned from him, the comment had earned his approval.

"Ayyye, that's my Jen," Meifeng said with a smile. "...I would wrap my arm around you... if you weren't all the way over there." With every word, her ego deflated.

"...Sorry," Jennifer said. "But, I don't want her throwing up on me."

"Understandable," Meifeng said. "So, why don't you get a drink?"

She wondered how long she could get away with her left hand being missing; but, at the same time, if she didn't get a drink they would get suspicious. "I don't really know drinks that well.... and I don't want what she's drinking." She pointed at Cindy.

"Don't worry, Jenny," Meifeng said as she got up. "Let me buy you a draank." She quoted that stupid song by T-Pain as she slid off.

"...I guess I will get something for myself," Lihua said as she followed.

"So, uh, Shizuka," Jennifer turned her attention onto him... she had the feeling that he didn't care for her that much. "How's, uh, Haruka doing?"

"He's fine," was Shizuka's curt reply. "As long as he doesn't fly out on impulse to ride off his boredom, he should be able to fully heal from those gun wounds in no time." Then his brows furrowed, struggling to try to be a bit nicer to her (even if he wouldn't bother to get along with her, she was still his idiot brother's friend). "...You feeling cold or something?" he finally asked, staring at her hands firmly in her pockets.

Sometimes Jennifer was amazed by people who couldn't heal from horrible injuries in a day. She was hoping that he was okay, since he too was in the hostage situation. Jennifer was wondering what the hell the Hound's interest was in her... Then, her head started hurting again. She tried to play it off, but now he was asking about her hand. Um. The last thing she wanted to do was tell everyone here that her hand was missing. "Yeah, I was holding onto a signpost while waiting for the bus and it got really cold... I hope I didn't get frostbite." That was the only thing she could bullshit off the top of her head.

"Riiiiiight..." Shizuka obviously didn't believe a word she said, a little pissed that she was treating him like a fool with such a brainless excuse. "...Show me your hands."

"Wha---" Jennifer said, put off by his aggressive approach. "...Back off." She returned the aggression, giving him a narrow glare as she was tempted to create a bone spear.

"Show me your hands," Shizuka merely repeated and returned her glare, his tone going colder with each word.

"Easy..." Reed warned him, sensing the brewing tensions.

Well, since he asked... Jennifer lifted up her sole hand, and flipped Shizuka off. She did get the reaction she was expecting from him - Shizuka lost his cool (he was already near breaking point after listening to Cindy's bitching the whole day) and walked up to her, seemingly ready to give her a piece of his mind; instead he grabbed her other arm and phased the hidden hand out of her pocket... only to see a stub.

"Shizuka!" Jennifer shouted. "You ass!"

"...Huh?" At this (very convenient) moment, Meifeng had returned with cinnamon whiskey to share with Jen (while Lihua had delegated to cold, hard, vodka). "...Jen, where the hell is your hand?"

She was quick to snatch her hand away, and try to hide it in a desperate attempt... but, alas, it was too late.

"Jen, answer my question," Meifeng said, as she sat down.

Forced into a corner, Jennifer looked from the left to the right and spoke honestly, "I... I-I... don't know!" She said.

"How do you 'don't know?'" Meifeng raised an eyebrow. "Hands don't just fuckin' fall off, Jenny."

"Please believe me! I was walking here, and everything went black... and when I woke up, I was face-down in an alley and my God damn hand was missing, and my head hurt, and..." Jennifer's heart rate was racing as her anger at Shizuka was rising. She faced him, and snarled at him, "...And how dare you? Putting your God damn hands on me like I'm a criminal!"

"The last time you lied to us - and I mean all of us here," Shizuka's tone remained controlled and icy. "You almost got everyone killed."

"...I almost killed everyone?!" Jennifer loudly said, repeating what Shizuka said with ice-cold venom. "That situation was out of my control, and you know it you ass." she hissed, before she realized that she was unintentionally activating her ability. Causing a bone spear to slowly protrude out of her hand. It didn't pierce, but she knew that she was getting violently angry.

She closed her eyes. "...I have to go." Jennifer said, before she quickly turned tail and ran out the building fast as she could.

That just left Meifeng and the others...

"...Shizuka!" Meifeng hissed at him. "Just what?!" She nearly dropped the alcohol, and slammed her hands on the table. "What the fuck is your problem?!" Meifeng asked. "You know she's been through a lot of shit, we all have, but that doesn't give you the right to do that on a suspicion."

Lihua just shook her head and stayed out of it. That Takashiro boy... he had a point with Jennifer, but his methods were far too... unemotional. Just the same as seven years ago, he's regressing all the progress he made with his friends.

Shizuka gritted his teeth - he felt too drained to deal with more stupidity from these girls (them and all their emo nonsense). "Look, I snapped because she gave me the finger, but if you truly want to help her, then do something to stop her from repeating the same bullshit as seven years ago."

He let out a frustrated sigh and continued, "You're right - her hand won't fall off just like that. She was assaulted on her way here, so it must've been cut off at that moment. And from the way she had reacted to me just now, it's obvious that she wouldn't just let her attacker cut her hand off so easily without putting up a fight." He closed his eyes. "This isn't some random mugging. Someone is clearly after her." ...But why? Who would want Jennifer's hand so badly to do this?

"But---" Meifeng tried to pronounce.

"Meifeng," Lihua chimed in, and stepped to Meifeng's side. "I understand your anger, but you cannot make such an... emotional decision now."

This night was not going well - with Cindy getting drunk off her ass, news that the government was tracking her, and now Jennifer's injury. Oh! I wonder what tomorrow holds. Maybe the Chinese invades America just to kill me... Lihua mused.

"He has the best interests at heart... but, I must say that he could have handled this better." Lihua just had to say. "But, we cannot argue when Jennifer could be in more danger," Lihua started off. "We don't know what happened, but her attacker could still be on the prowl..."

That was the perk of being Lihua Zhao - whenever she started speaking, everyone listened.

"I suggest that when we find her, you give her an apology, Takashiro."

Shizuka scowled, but he nodded without another word and drained his glass. He knew that he was at fault, that he shouldn't be so harsh to an emotionally unstable girl like Jennifer (she was even more troublesome than most girls he knew), but he felt that it was the only way he could slap her out of her edgy shit.

Meifeng was still a little pissed that Shizuka did that, but like Lihua said, Jen could be in more danger. Her concern for Jen outweighed her anger at Shizuka. Nodding her head, Meifeng silently agreed.

But, she realized something was wrong. Very wrong.

"...Where's Cindy?"

The look of horror on Reed's face told it all as he glanced across the room in search of her.

"...Heeeeeeey, sexy!" Cindy said as she plopped her behind down on the table occupied by a man and obviously his date. She lifted up her dress enough to show that - indeed - she was wearing a black lacy thong in between her plump rear. "Saw you sittin' here all alone and figured you could use some company." She then winked. "...Like whatcha' see, hot-stuff?"

"Ma'am, you are making me very uncomfortable."

"What? Not an asssssss-man?" Cindy said, hands drifted up towards her dress, before she exposed her black bra, slowly revealing an uncomfortably lot about her. "Well, I ain't got much titty, but---"

"Cindy!" Meifeng shouted as she snatched Cindy and pulled her away.

"That's enough drink," Reed said, facepalming as Meifeng pulled her away from the target of her unwanted advances. "Can you get her back home safe? I'm gonna see if I can find Jen before anything happens to her."

"Yeah, yeah," Meifeng said dismissively as she carried Cindy off towards her car. "Just go find Jennifer, for me."

"I will join you," Lihua said a she finished her drink in a hurry to catch up with Reed. "I am personally curious about Jennifer... and I have nothing better to do tonight."

"Wait, Shizu!" Cindy shouted out to her tempered friend who was standing up. "I gotta ask, is your dick small like em' stereotype? I'm asking because it could be huuuuuge, like a black dude with a small one. Just ask Reed!"

The latter of the two chose not to dignify Cindy's drunken ramblings with an answer, whilst Shizuka was well past the point to care about whatever Cindy was rambling (though he still slammed his empty glass onto the table and glowered at his drunk colleague). "...I'll go with Lihua and Reed," those words came out more forcefully than intended. "I... still owe Jen an apology; we also need to ask her more questions about her hand."

Lihua just shook her head.

"...It's best we find Jennifer before someone else does."

Baybridge™: Era of the Old/New Gods™ [COMPLETED]

I like how I'm building a giant mystery that gets even more convoluted by the second.

Not even going into who the Family are (Which I'm gradually revealing piece by piece), we don't know...

...What are they doing with the kidnapped people?

...What did Julia do to Jennifer?

...Who is the Hound?

...What does the yellow Metahuman energy do?

...What is their grand plan?

...What happened to Malik's friend?

...What/Who is Zenith?

...What is ZODIAC?

And much more.

And I say I'm building the mystery because no one else is fucking doing anything.

@Mr Allen J

Stop complaining you scrub. This is your fucking job since you hate to spoil us before all your gay revelations. \( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)/

Baybridge™: Era of the Old/New Gods™ [COMPLETED]

<Snipped quote by tsukune>

It might have something to do with not believing in worship. Holding someone or something in reverence? Sure. But worship... yikes.

@Spoopy Scary

Jokes aside...

I wasn't kidding when I said my class *worship* those games. ( ︶︿︶)╭∩╮<(screw 'em, yo.)