Stephanie King's Story

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_It is 12:30 in the afternoon on a Monday. The fifth floor of the building is bustling with energy as per usual, though they have yet to receive any customers. Mondays are usually slow, anyways—they have no choice but to wait for some excitement to really happen. The inhabitants of said office may be doing whatever it is they do while waiting. Unbeknownst to them, it would not be long until they received a job from downstairs, the messengers a bandaged brunet and his pale-haired, nervous sidekick at his side. Their visitors make their way up the stairs, the taller's hand gliding up the railway as though he were an elegant man (which he is not), and the younger's eyes flitting back and forth, from the stairs to his mentor. It isn't until the two of them reach the door of the fifth floor's office that the pale-haired teen looks down and scuffs his shoe against the floor, then looking up at his companion sheepishly.

_❝Dazai-san... isn't this our job?❞

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speech: #ff7de3 || thoughts: #ff0062
♫

Featuring:
Osamu Dazai, Nakajima Atsushi
**

Nothing gets someone more invigorated in the morning than Mary Shelley's tea. The teen's tea is made with, first and foremost, all her heart and soul, so one would bet there'd be love in it. She makes a cup for each of her coworkers. For Victor, there is a calming chamomille, as he must be high-strung (as he is often). For Stephanie, she makes Earl Grey, because it's her favorite (she does know that coffee is rumored to help nurse hangovers, so she assumes a caffeinated tea would be a good alternative). For Jacob and Wilhelm, she prepares a spiced black tea (with extra sugar for Jacob, of course!). Erena gets an English Breakfast Tea (and a bit of banana nut bread she had made the night before), and Mako receives matcha green tea. Last but certainly not least, the Odd Jobs Yokohama president receives a natural, ryokucha green tea. By the time the girl is finished with all her tea-making, she has so many tea pots in front of her, she begins to regret it, as she'll have to clean all of this up. Mary sighs and slumps against the table, starting to doze off a bit.

After all this, to think she had forgotten to make some for herself.

There's a knock, then, and the blonde raises her head and eyes toward the door. She looks behind her at her coworkers before he bounces up, smiling brightly. ❝Oh! I'll get that, then. I suppose it could be a customer. Be at your best!❞ She skips merrily to the door and straightens out the skirt of her dress, that's pastel pink and light brown in color with designs on the very tip of the skirt, before she opens the door. She bows respectfully as she greets their customer.

❝Irasshaimase! Welcome to Odd Jobs Yokohama, where any and all jobs can be—❞ For the first time, she gets a good look at their company—a tall, messy-haired brunet with bandages wrapped tightly around his wrists and neck, and next to him, a shorter male with asymmetric hair and a belt that rather looks like a tail. She straightens up, eyes widening slightly. ❝Ah, it's Dazai-san from downstairs. I... was not expecting it to be you, Dazai-san.❞

The anxiety she surely feels around those affiliated with the Armed Detective Agency is apparent, as they could turn on them at any moment. She steps aside to let him in, and Dazai reaches out to pat her head.

❝Ah, Mary-chan—right? You're looking as lovely as ever! Sort of like a doll. If you ever feel like taking up my offer for tea on the first floor—or commiting lover's suicide with yours truly—my offer hasn't expired.❞ With that comment, he brushes past her and further into the room, coat tail swishing behind him. His protege, Atsushi, ducks his head in apology for his mentor's... odd behavior.

Uwaa... lover's suicide, huh? Dazai-san is always saying weird things...

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speech: #9100ff || thoughts: #cc00ff
♫

Featuring:
Osamu Dazai, Nakajima Atsushi
**

Shuuji, as he watches the potential disaster unfold, takes a sip of his green tea. He waits for Dazai to saunter over to the desk he's at before he inquires anything, nodding a greeting to both him and Atsushi. His voice is soft, as usual. ❝It's a lovely day, isn't it, Dazai-kun? Well, I suppose you didn't come to discuss the weather, huh? You must have a job for us.❞ The leader sets down his cup of tea and folds his hands in front of him, soft gaze trained on Dazai. Despite this man's feeble appearance, he leaves quite an impression on everyone in the room when he speaks. ❝Oh, right. I'd also like to ask that, in the future, please try not to flirt with my employees so much. You might break that one, I'm afraid.❞ He gestures with his head over to Mary, who seems red-faced and wide-eyed at the door.

Dazai laughs and procures a folder from his coat, setting it on the table. ❝I'm a lover of all women, Shuuji-san, and the search for my ideal suicide mate never ceases.❞ He taps the folder on Shuuji's desk, a smile on his face. ❝You might want to read what's in here, but the gist of it, is that The Guild and a few other organizations is searching for a girl who's locked herself up in her house. She's an ability user, as you might have already guessed. She has a very, very useful ability, and we'd like to keep watch on her.❞ He points with his index finger, his thumb extended, and gives Shuuji a wink. ❝That's where you all come in! You could keep her here, and she'd even get work out of it. What do you say?❞

Shuuji scoffs and slides the folder closer to him, opening it and checking the contents. Emily Dickinson, huh? Another foreigner... He looks back up to Dazai, then to Atsushi (who still looks nervous), and back to Dazai. ❝Let me guess. The second she opened the door and saw your face, she slammed it shut. This is your job, isn't it, you lazy bastard?❞

Dazai laughs a congenial laugh and steps away from the desk, then turns in a flourish and starts to walk toward the door again. Atsushi ducks his head apologetically to Shuuji, looking as if he'd burst into tears at any moment. For someone like Atsushi, ditching a job must be horifically awkward. Atsushi, being given a second chance at the Armed Detective Agency, just happened to be mentored by the laziest member of the entire staff. Shuuji can't help but feel sorry for the boy, and he pities him a bit when he speaks up. ❝I...It was our job, Terayama-san. I apologize for passing it off to you, but... Dazai-san said...❞

Shuuji sits back in his chair and looks away from Atsushi, dismissing him with a wave an a small 'eh' noise. Atsushi, thankful for the (apparent) forgiveness, turns and trots after Dazai. When Dazai says his goodbyes to the staff (and especially Mary and Stephanie), the door closes. There's silence for a moment before Shuuji takes a look around.

❝So? Which one of you wants to take this? Or should we all go? It could get dangerous if she's another ability user being hunted by more ability users, and there's strength in numbers. What do you say, Victor-kun?❞

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It was another new day in Yokohama - the port city of Japan. And another new week of hopefully more fun and excitement for their gang - the Odd Jobs Yokohama. There's no telling what could possibly happen, with endless conflicts going on between organizations happening almost every instance around the city.

Victor sat at his own working desk, with his back leaned against the chair and his two legs crossed and casually let them rest against the desk, quietly keep himself going by reading the newspaper he'd just bought on his way to the office. Usually, Shuuji, him and Mako would be the firsts of them to arrive, since Shuuji is their boss and he held the key to the office's room, Victor and Mako would tag along since, well, they shared Victor's apartment. He doesn't has any problem with them though. Shuuji is cool though he's a bit aloof at times, and Mako is a rather annoying kid at first since he kept teasing him, earning him a few knocks on the head from Victor, but it doesn't bother him much as of now.

Other members soon arrive after, which included Mary - the cheerful girl, Stephanie - another person who enjoys pissing him off, but for understandable reasons, the Grimm brothers - who are the polar opposites with each other and Erena - the self-proclaimed goddess. All in all, the whole lot of them made up a rather unlikely gang. Although they seem to get a sense of excitement out of getting on his nerves many times, Victor had to admitted that they are some of the most wonderful people he had ever come across, and is glad that he could work alongside them.

Mary, as usual, was making a specific type of tea for each and everyone of them. Her collection of tea sets never seized to amaze Victor though. When she gave him a cup of chamomile tea, he gave her a 'merci' and took a sip from it. It was thoughtful of her to prepare a soothing cup of tea for him. Then soon after, there was a knock on the door. Mary fixed her dress and went to opened it to greet their first customer of the week, who was, unexpectedly, Osamu Dazai and his goon, Nakajima Atsushi from the Agency below them.

Let out an annoyed 'tch', Victor raised the newspaper above his head so that it covered the sight of Dazai away from him. Just looking at that guy is enough to pissed him to no end. He could never forgot last time when Dazai paid a visit to his bar, ordering five bottles of liquor which are all 90% alcoholic or above, apparently having read something about drinking a lot of high-alcoholic liquor may be enough to kill himself or something in that stupid 'Ways to Suicide' book of his.

And what happened next? He got dead drunk after drinking up every drop of those bottles, stood up on the table he was sitting at, began to sprout nonsense about seeing 'utopia' and wriggled like a slanderous stripper. There's no need to tell on how pissed Victor was seeing that scene. Thankfully, before he kicked the idiot out, the pony-tailed four-eyed Kunikida guy showed up and broke Dazai's neck for him. Fortunately, he had paid the bill and apologized for the trouble his colleague posed before strolling off, or else Victor might have very well made the whole Agency's office a ruin by now, whether they would tell them out or not.

Of course, the Armed Detective Agency had been active long before them, and thus most of their members have a lot of experience that their gang need a long time to follow up. And Victor only shows the least respect for them because of that sole reason only. Almost abandoning their own employee just because he can cause trouble for them later on? Just the sound of it is disgraceful enough. Such thought is unthinkable here in Odd Jobs Yokohama, where everyone will get your back no matter what happen. Sometimes I think they're just a bunch of sissies with superpowers thinking they're on top of the world.

After Shuuji had consulted with Dazai, apparently there's another job for them to do. It's a search for a foreign girl with supernatural ability who had locked herself up after they come and meet her, unsurprisingly. Atsushi then bowed to Shuuji in an apologetic manner, almost looking as if he would burst into tear any moment. Well, not every member of the Agency is nauseating, and Atsushi was amongst those few whom Victor can sympathize with.

When both of them had left, Shuuji started to speak up and asked if anyone wanted to go, and he asked Victor. "Hmm? Me?" He then lowered the newspaper down and looked at his boss, then shrugged, "Sure, why not? It's better than sitting around and doing nothing, I suppose. I think it's better if we go in a group, and let one of us who is the least intimidating-looking person to talk with this girl, while the rest watch from behind in case anything happens. And if we recruit her, we'll almost have enough foreign ability users to match up with the Guild, don't you think?" It was simply the current state of their office, though Victor doesn't know if he's count or not since he's only a half.

It was only a few minutes past noon and the Grimm brothers had just finished their shift in the local library. Wilhelm waved his goodbyes to the two who had taken over from them as they left, though Jacob just walked out with his face practically buried in his new book. Once clear of the doors, the darker haired brother straightened his glasses before clasping his hands behind his head, humming an out of tune lullaby as the two walked toward their next destination - the Odd Jobs Yokohama office.

Wilhelm's cheery attitude drew a couple of looks to be sure, though it was Jacob who drew the most stares since he was reading his book without faltering in his stride, and was holding the book upside down. It was nothing new, the white-haired brother often read his books in that manner.

When they entered the office at roughly quarter past noon however, Jacob was no longer reading his book and was instead fixing his a dull stare on his younger brother who seemed to be rambling on. "...I'm not saying that you have to try it, but surely it wouldn't hurt to do so just the once? I mean, it would be rather odd for you to be the only one of us not doing so, you know?" Wilhelm paused for a moment to wave at the others and give his usually happy greeting before turning his attention back to Jacob. "I mean seriously, is a single glass of wine really going to hurt?"

"You know my thoughts on the matter, Wilhelm." He ran his fingers through his hair, the digits getting caught on the white locks for a moment. Jacob took a seat in a corner of the room, leaving his brother standing until Wilhelm dragged a chair over to sit in himself.

"Just because I know them doesn't mean I agree, just try some of mine or something, you might find you like it." Jacob scoffed but otherwise didn't respond to his younger brother, instead opening up his book and starting to read it again. Wilhelm rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair. "Yeah yeah, ignore me why don't you..."

The black haired male then took the time to see who was actually in the office. Shuuji and Victor were at their respective desks and Mary seemed to be bustling around doing something. Perhaps Wilhelm would have offered to help her, but a scant few moments later the teen was handing the brothers a cup of tea each.

Wilhelm's response "Ahh, thank you Miss Mary." sounded extravagant compared to Jacob's blunt "Thanks." The white haired brother didn't even look up from his book as he accepted the cup, though Wilhelm was certainly all smiles as he happily took a sip of the tea.

A moment later, Jacob's cup was shoved under Wilhelm's nose and blinking a couple of times the younger swapped it for his, realising why it had been done as soon as he took a sip. It was sweet, sweeter than Jacob would have liked. 'I guess she accidentally mixed us up, it tends to happen I suppose.'

The next few minutes passed in peace for the two brothers, the only sounds they made between them being the occasional turn of a page, shuffling as they moved or the faint clink as they placed the teacups down after finishing with them. Deciding he was bored, Wilhelm turned to observe everyone else when Dazai and Atsushi entered the room.

Two pairs of purple eyes trailed after the two as they headed over to Shuuji, one over the top of a book and the other from behind a pair of glasses. The brothers watched the exchange, although they were on the other side of the office from the small group and so couldn't hear the entirety of the conversation. Still it appeared Dazai was giving the group a job of some sort.

After the two left, Jacob frowned a little in thought, the expression becoming more apparent as he lowered his book to listen to Shuuji and then Victor. In contrast, Wilhelm had a hand stuck up in the air, lazily waving it about. "I wouldn't mind going, and if there's ability users my ability may come in useful."

At this, Jacob sighed a little at his brother's proclamation. 'If he's going then...' "President, if you think it necessary then I don't mind tagging along either." He didn't really want to go, but someone had to keep Wilhelm in line in case his lack of focus got him distracted by something. 'Thinking of getting distracted...'

Wilhelm had moved from his chair and was stood in front of Mary who still seemed to be flustered from Dazai's earlier flirting. "Miss Mary, are you feeling well?" The man was smiling gently, though being careful to try and not make her feel more flustered than she already was. 'Dazai-san seems to leave a lot of people out of sorts.'

|| talking:#800000 || Outfit ||

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Monday afternoon, and Stephanie was as happy as always about finding herself in the office - her absolute favorite place in the world (more than Victors bar ofc). Though her joy did not show in her face, Stephanie was the master in hiding her emotions. Outside the window, the view of high rise buildings, electric lines and birds passing by where blessed with the warmth and bright light from a sunny sky. The port city Yokohama was slowly awakening after 2 days of resting and another week of work was ahead of them. Mondays where normally quite slow and boring at the office, but still - work was work and Stephanie loved it. She was currently sitting behind her desk and writing this neverending report about a previous job they'd done last week, pushing the keys slowly with only her two index fingers. "tap tap tap tap" almost hilariously slow. Finishing the report in this speed would take forever! Even so, Stephanie had kept insisted in doing it - mainly because she wanted to be of some use for her fellow co-workers.

As usual, she had arrived early to work this morning and almost managing to time the entrance of Shuuji, Victor and Mako. Leaving Erena in the apartment since she did not want to interrupt her roommate's beauty-sleep. First thing Stephanie did when meeting the 3 boys was making sure to apologize sincerely for her behavior at the bar last night, mainly to Victor. Having a vague memory of getting a blurry vision and confusing the young waiter Mako with Erena - calling him Goddess and asking what happened to "her/his" boobs. It had ended with her collapsing in one of the corner-sofas, mumbling in her sleep about how Jacob should join her for a drink some time.

This was nothing out of the ordinary for Stephanie- and then the morning after, she would be her usual robotic self. Almost pretending like the previous night did not happen. Sometimes, she was even first to arrive at work, sitting in the hallway - on the floor- waiting for the door to get unlocked by their shachou. That was the standard rutuine. The office, and the bar.. It was not like she had other things to do, Stephanies life where mainly consisting by being a member of Odd Jobs Yokohama- her work was pretty much all she was, and the colleges her only friends.

Just when finishing her report, Mary arrived with a cup of Earl Grey - just so happen to be Stephs favorite. Stephanie welcomed the cup, holding it steady in her two hands, and looked at Mary the "petit little doll" with big sparkly eyes. Almost like a child on christmas, treating the tea like it was this precious present made of gold. "Thank you... Mary" her quiet voice said. Even if she sounded like she was emotionless, so was not the case, and Stephanie was very grateful. She was still a bit unaccustomed/tense about calling people by their first names tho.. Marys was getting easier, probably because she was so kind and easy to be around. But some of the others where nearly impossible - like with Shachou... oh i mean Shuuji!

Stephanie took a sip of her precious earl gray and swinged her legs back and forth under the table. For a change, she was not wearing all black. Maybe she had gotten a bit affected by Marys attempts of getting Stephanie to dress more... "cheerful and kawaii". Today she was wearing a blue overall dress on top of a a black long-sleaved top and black over knee socks. Sure, it was no huge progress (still not close to a cute lolita dress, and still mainly black) but baby steps where even so taking her forward. Her peaceful sipping of the tea got interrupted by a knock on the door. Stephanie was calm as a corpse: placing her steaming cup on the table, removing her pink hair from her blood red eyes and then resting her gaze on the door to see who the guest(s) might be. One tall brown haired man in this long beige coat and bandages, and then this white haired boy with eyes as intensive as his ability (being almost tiger-like). Both where familiar faces - Dazai and Atsushi.

Stephanie bit her lower lip hard (almost feeling a slight taste of blood in her mouth) and continued swinging her legs as she watched the two "guests/employers" and listening in on their conversation with Shuuji. Dazai had always had this magnetizing effect on poor Stephanie. Despite his peculiar look and weird / "sick" suggestions of couple suicide, Stephanie could not help but to take his words dead serious - and getting dragged in to the conversations herself. Often ending up encouraging his suicide attempts (by mistake) and talking about how the human body works and interesting ways to die. Mainly the effects the different methods had on the body. Stephanie was obsessed with human anatomy (especially blood!) and Dazai with suicide... so ofc they had a lot to talk about.

The mission / job got reveled and the 2 guests took their leave for the door. Dazai fist stopped by Mary to say goodbye, and then Stephanie herself. "Oh Steph, my rare black rose. Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest in his shade (quoting shakespear).. But if you do want to try, feel welcome to join me in my next suicide attempt. We'll make it a couple suicide..." Soft cheesy words spoken while grabbing and placing a kiss on Stephanies pale hand. Like Dazai already forgotten about Shuuji's "warning". And Steph really was a dense one, not understanding that the man was flirting with her and still trying to persuade her into double suicide - like always. Instead she just blinked a few times. Needing half of a second to come up with her answer. "Thank you... for the offer... I do think suicide would work if i was blindfolded.." silent monotonic voice and dead serious expression.

The two guests dissapeared and the moment the door closed, the members of odd jobs Yokohama began to "sign up for the mission". First Victor, then the brothers. And ofc Stephanie wanted in! So she stood up from her chair and raised her hand. "Sha...Shuuji-sama! Please let me assist on this mission! I can get her immobilized if she is trying to escape.. And if there's other ability users there.. and someone gets injured... please let me help!" Her voice was determined and she folded her hands like she was praying, and bowed deep- making her pink long hair fall over to hide her face.

#9B9BFF

Erena awoke to alcohol and roses. As she asked Mako to deliver a bottle from the bar because she wouldn't be able to attend the drinking party that occurred yesterday. She felt refreshed at the moment, so she decided to actually leave for the agency. It was easily in walking distance, but a goddess couldn't merely walk to work in the sweltering heat and sully her beautiful feet. So she called a limo instead. In mere minutes, she was paying an expensive price for a few blocks.

The city of Yokohama was bustling with energy, chatter and traffic lights reverberated off the streets. The birds were singing while playful banter of children going to school made the melody of this beautiful metropolis. All of which, can be safely observed within the cool air of the limousine. Goddesses where always supposed to watch from afar anyways. A goddess couldn't be reduced to a mere pedestrian. Mondays were always like this, but Erena wouldn't know. She doesn't even know the date.

It didn't take long for Erena to reach the agency. Of course, she wasn't the wealthiest, as she asked the limousine company to bill the Odd Jobs Yokohama. She was told by her comrades that doing this couldn't mean well for their reserve funds, but what's wrong with giving an offering to a goddess such as herself? It only seems fitting.

Erena entered the door with the almost vigor, she did sleep for a whole day. "Your Goddess has made an entrance!" Erena gloriously announced. Surely she will receive the utmost praise and offerings galore. She could already see her co-worker's faces brimming with excitement. She was delusional, of course, but she does see the world she created differently. It seemed her statement that was seeping with vitality was greeted by silence. She sighed, and took her seat.

Mary handed Erena her cup of tea and the banana bread. "A tribute? You have earned yourself a blessing. Thank you very much." She was a bit hungry, having missed a day of life to sleep. She ate the banana bread right when she got it. It was a fine offering indeed.

It seems it became quiet after that. A few coughs and sipping of tea failed to drown out the silence. She finished her cup of tea in mere seconds, but after, Erena was controlled by boredom as always. She seemed to be the only person that was walking around, fiddling with the different things in the office. Talking into the fan, walking on the table, rolling on the floor and looking into Jacob's book. She then walked back and forth waiting for something to happen.

Her prayers were answered as a knock was heard from the door. Like a puppy awaiting their owner, she was at the door faster than it opened. Mary answered the door to see Dazai and Atsushi from downstairs.

It seems Dazai had a mission to give them. It was work, so this fell to deaf ears. She only heard that they were recruiting some girl, so she though little of it. It could easily be done by one person.

Erena loved to play the unpopular opinion, but she actually does enjoy Dazai. Maybe because she was never pestered by his suicide attempts, but he did seem like someone who knew how to give a goddess such as her respect. Steph seemed stern, Mary was flustered and Victor seemed to hate the whole agency all together. Erena admires Dazai. His obsession with suicide means only one thing. He wants to visit heaven faster! It's a noble cause really. He also seemed smart and was quite chatty. He really was an interesting man to talk to. Atsushi was lucky to have such an amazing partner.

When the president was taking volunteers, it seemed almost everyone wanted to go. Like Erena said, this job could easily be taken by a singular person, and even if there were other ability users to worry about. Victor would most likely make quick work of any opposition. But it seemed that others wanted to tag along. First the brothers, than her loyal follower Steph followed. Soon it would be Mary and than Mako. Then she would be holed up in the Odd Jobs Yokohama with the president. Not particularly a bad thing, but they don't hit it off like the other folks.. As this didn't seem like work anymore, Erena had no problem volunteering. "Why don't we just all go? We can have a little field trip! Mako? Mary? The goddess is calling you."

speech: #ff7de3 || thoughts: #ff0062
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Featuring:
N/A.
**

Mary, having been standing nervously by the door the whole time, starts when Dazai addresses her once again on his way out. She gives him a bow as he leaves, then quickly shuts the door and turns away from it. The heat radiating from her cheeks must mean she's blushing something awful. How could Dazai just do something like that—shamelessly flirt with her while offering whatever suicide idealization he had to her? It's left her all nervous, to boot—she didn't necessarily decline, so would he be waiting for her to die with him over some tea? Would he, grief-stricken by being stood up, end his life by himself? Wilhelm startles her out of her reverie (albeit unknowingly) and, for a moment, it seems she's forgotten how to speak. The poor girl's mouth hangs open and all that spills out is a gentle 'ah!' of surprise before she regains herself, giving a smile.

❝I do appreciate your concern, Mister Wilhelm! However, yes, I'm fine—rather, I will be. Mary Shelley is swayed by no man!❞ She reaches up to pat his cheek, laughing gently, the sound as pleasing as bells.

It seems everyone is embarking on the outing to meet this Emily Dickinson, and Mary wouldn't like to stay back all alone. She's done it plenty of times before, to be sure, but this required a new member, and lots of danger. Something rises within Mary, and she starts to feel excited. Her smile grows wide. A job directly from the Detective Agency! A job that was meant for Dazai-san. Which means it'll be dangerous and exciting. We may be way in over our heads, but...

Mary straightens herself out, closing an eye in a wink and pressing her index and middle finger to her forehead in a theatrical motion in response to Erena's request. ❝Well certainly, Erena! Who am I to refuse a Goddess?❞ She giggles and hops up and down, clapping her hands together. ❝That just leaves Mako, then. I do believe he would love to come, though. I reason Shuu-sama is right—there is strength in numbers, and if we are to possibly go up against the Guild, we could use all the help we can get!❞

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speech: #9100ff || thoughts: #cc00ff
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Featuring:
N/A.
**

Shuuji nods in response to all of the feedback he receives. Everyone seems to want to go, and who is the president to refuse? He looks to Wilhelm, shaking his head slightly. ❝You know, just 'Shuuji' or something is fine. No need to be formal with me, you know that.❞

After a moment, he stands, tucking his other hand in the sleeve of his yukata. ❝Then that makes eight of us, since I'll be going too. Switch the sign on the door—we'll be back after the job's done, and I'll treat everyone to some food on the first floor.❞ He pauses for a moment to look down at the folder Dazai had presented him with. Would he be needing to bring that? It couldn't hurt. He reaches out towards the folder and, when it's in his hands, he tucks it into his sleeve as well. Mako hasn't exactly answered yet, but there isn't a doubt in Shuuji's mind that he'll want to come too. He walks past his coworkers towards the door, expecting them to follow.

Mary catches his sleeve.

She needn't speak—he knows what she wants to say, and for a moment, his lip curls. He would never lash out at her for being reasonably worried, but that fact could never stop him from random, fleeting bouts of anger that cause is face or fingers to twitch. He glances to her, voice even quieter than usual. ❝Don't worry about me, Mary-chan. I should be more worried about you, considering your lack of combat ability without your golems. You need me, too. You need me to know who's a threat and who isn't.❞ He shakes his head and opens the door when Mary lets go of his sleeve, stepping aside to let her step out. ❝I won't wither away in that chair, either. ❞

He looks over to Erena then and takes a moment before he speaks, looking as though he's racking his brain to remember something. ❝It's a Monday. That's your strongest day, right? If we'll be facing off against the Guild today, we'll definitely need you to use it.❞

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When Mako had turned up in the morning with the others with a faint grin on his face, he had nearly forgotten (or well, stuffed it under layers of Mario Kart to the point where he could pretend it didn't exist) about the incident until Stephanie came up to apologise to him and he remembered.

That... had been really embarrassing.

Things had gone normal at first that night - she came to the bar, Mako served her the drink Victor made, they'd all made some small chat - but then Stephanie got stone cold drunk and ended up mistaking him for Erena, calling him 'Goddess'. Mako had laughed it off at first, but then she started mentioning boobs (which he did not have in abundance, thank God). She hadn't exactly tried to see if his 'breasts' were invisible, but Mako made sure to keep his guard up and ready to dodge when he caught Stephanie staring thoughtfully at his chest a few times, the red in her cheeks getting more pronounced each time he served her, asking her 'Goddess' about breasts and hair louder and louder until half the bar was staring at them as if they were watching a comedy. Mako had responded professionally, smile and all, but he still felt a large stab of relief when Stephanie ended up passing out.

Eh, it had been funny at least. Embarrassing as all get out, but funny, and she'd been drunk anyway. Nothing to worry about... for now, anyway.

"It's cool, it's cool," Mako had replied, a smile forming easily on his face. "Don't worry about it!" He grinned at her, friendly and welcoming as they entered the office. "Just try not to mistake me for Erena again - wait until I get a pink wig and silicone next time, haha!" he said jokingly, adding a small chuckle at the end.

And with that he went straight to his chair, pulled out a battered blue psp and started to play Tekken 6.

When Mary had placed the tea in front of Mako, he gave nothing more than a faint mumbled "Thanks," too focused on landing a special on the opponent to do much else. He did look up once when he heard the door open in case it was a customer, but when he saw that it was just Dazai he scowled and looked back down at the game again, intent on ignoring him.

The game music played softly as Mako focused on defeating the boss, head leaning down towards the small screen as he smashed buttons rapidly. left left right up-

Dazai was not a man Mako liked. He was funny and oddly capable, yeah, with a similar skill set as Mako, but he was also really obsessed with suicide - as seen with the attempt to die via alcohol poisoning. Idiot ended up getting drunk as a skunk instead on one of the really expensive alcohols. Mako had been so prepared to start running the moment Victor blew a gasket that he completely missed the long-haired blonde man until the man grabbed Dazai in a neckhold just before Victor did so himself.

While Victor was angry about the waste of alcohol, Mako had been more angry about how casually the man treated his life, as if it didn't matter. Suicide was never an answer - all it did was make people sad. But as time went by, Mako slowly grew less angry and more uneasy about Dazai, until finally Mako decided to just ignore the man altogether and stay as far as possible away from him as he could get.

If Mako never saw Dazai and his messed up viewpoint again, he would be a happy man.

left right up right- c'mon nearly there-

Victory music played softly over the speakers, barely loud enough for Mako to hear. "YOU WIN!"

"Yes!" Mako did a small fist pump of victory into the air, keeping his voice to whisper-level so as not to disrupt the rest of the room. Beating the boss never gets old, even if it was only a midboss. Grinning, Mako looked up, and he was just in time to see Atsushi standing around uncomfortably as Shuuji and Dazai chatted about something.

Mako grinned at Atsushi. Atsushi was nice! He was a new addition to the Armed Detective Agency below and a bit (very) unsure of himself, but he was a nice kid. Which was why it was a good thing Kunikida was there to take car of him - Dazai might be a lazy bastard, but his partner Kunikida wasn't. Grinning, Mako gave a wave at him.

Atsushi noticed and gave a small, worried smile back, but his attention changed as Shuuji and Dazai finished their chat and set off. Bowing, Atsushi followed Dazai, and Mako sat back and sipped at his tea (mm, Matcha green tea!) as he listened to Shuuji talk about their new case - girl locked in house, guild was coming after her, stuff like that. Coolio.

Mako's brain whirled with thought as he sipped at his tea, listening to the others. His ability might be helpful, in case she was hostile. And if she wasn't it'd help stave off some guild members if they came before she was escorted to safety. He probably wouldn't be helpful if they were stronger than him, but he could still serve as support if needed.

Right then. He wouldn't be a burden if he went with them. Mako finished his tea just as Shuuji called for them to set out, setting the cup on the table as he hastily gathered his belongings - namely, his bag, hoodie and the psp lying on the table. Slipping the psp into his pocket and slipping on the dark blue hoodie, Mako slung his bag over his shoulder and stood up, ready for the walk to... wherever it was.

"Woo, a new job!" Mako stretched theatrically, noticing out of the corner of his eye Shuuji and Mary were talking. After she let go of his sleeve, Mako followed her out, taking a few seconds to flip the sign to 'close' before catching up to Mary and giving her a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry," he whispered to her, shooting Mary a brief, friendly smile. "Boss's pretty strong on his own. And if he's not, I can always offer to let him use Light." Grinning, he slipped his hands in his pockets as Shuuji called for Erena behind them.

#9B9BFF

It seemed that everyone was on board. "All thanks to the goddess' influence!" She thought. But, of course, she was the only person that thought that. It came to a surprise that the president wanted to attend as well. Erena has seen what he could do with a blade, but they would be fighting the guild. They would be fighting ability users who utilize their ability for combat in specific. But somehow, Erena knew he would manage, or even more than that.

"Aye Aye, President~." Shuuji is one of the only people that she drops her pride around. He saved strays such as herself. She was forever in his debt.

But, apparently it was a Monday. Even if it was her strongest day, she thought little of it. The thought of encountering the guild never crossed her mind. The retrieval of one girl hardly seemed sufficient to warrant the guild's attention. Though, surprises do come once in a while, such as the president drawing his blade.

Erena only thought of going so she wouldn't be stuck in lifeless and dull office. She didn't know her power at the time, so she only went to have fun, not help. Similar to how a student adores field trips to avoid the constant routine that is a school day. Most days were slow, mostly because most jobs would filter into the armed detective agency. A job would find it's way into the Odd Jobs once in a while, but most of their jobs were hand-me-downs from downstairs.

Erena wanted to see if she really had the right day. She placed her hand out and a glowing halo appeared above her head. A bright light engulfed the room, blinding everyone inside who wasn't prepared. Frankly, Erena testing out her power was a formality, so usually most of the members could see it coming and plan ahead. After the display was finished, Erena happily apologized. "Ah, super sorry~ I hope everyone enjoyed the little light show. ♪" She was at least, a bit happy that she is in her strongest state at the moment.

Speech - #6e008a
Thoughts - #d47fff
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Past the rows of Japanese maple and tangled vines, secluding an area just beyond the stone wall of Yokohama's bustling center, a house is visible just where the sun peeks through the greenery. Birds flutter at its concrete foundation and alight with a rustle of their small wings on the tips of the shingles, which are caked with moss and have seen better days in their past. Anyone would think the house itself is abandoned, of course. No such place had been inhabited, as it's out of the way of any neighborhoods, and was seen as more of a shrine or a place to take shelter from the rain on a blustery day if you were unfortunate enough to get caught in the downpour. On this day, and for exactly a month before, the humble, ramshackle abode was being used as a house, despite all the precautions its inhabitant had taken against using it as such. For she'd catch a terrible cold in the winter, and heating supplies are getting expensive, the closest neighbors she has warned her. And such a slight thing as herself would find that to be unsavory.

Emily insisted, however, because she was going into hiding.

She was a foreigner who didn't ask for much, only a place that she could stay out of sight from...Whom, exactly? She wouldn't say, but she assured the few who kept the place tidy enough that it wasn't of any suspicious legal matters that they had to worry about. She was in luck, then; out of sight this was. No more suspicious than a den for a doormouse, but--if one was to look into the keyhole for a moment, movement would be apparent.

Bare feet skirting the wooden floor, the silhouette of a young woman drifts in a semicircle as she shifts her weight back into her chair, flexing her arms and giving a yawn. She wears a long, white nightgown, which suggests that she's been asleep-- she hasn't. Emily Dickinson had been sitting at that desk for what seemed like an eternity.

An eternity here doesn't seem too bad, Emily ponders as she carefully wields her fountain pen, dipping it into the inkpot with the ease of one who is very experienced with penmanship. Her handwriting, however, is simplistic cursive, nothing out of the ordinary. Only a couple lines are needed in the poem, just an absent jargon of her current nervous thoughts. She can't get too comfortable here, she assures herself, as the Guild may be still on her tail, or worse-- those who find interest in abilities around the district have already heard of her arrival by word of mouth from Fitzgerald or Steinbeck or even the Agency, whoever they might be in contrast to the Americans. Emily doesn't know. She does, unfortunately, realize that she may be hunted if she steps out of the small home. So she has made up her mind to hide here for some time before she must evacuate to somewhere new.

How unfortunate... Emily rubs her eyes, groaning suddenly when she realizes that it happened to be the palm she was resting on an inkblot. Staring at her hands miserably with a rather soot-stained face, she rises again to wash. As she does so, a strange gust travels around her body; like an invisible force, the chair gently moves aside, stacks upon stacks of papers setting themselves in a neater position and the pen rattling to the corner of the desk. She is followed by this breeze wherever she goes. Even the water through the faucet ripples differently when it touches her hands.

Just as she pauses to dry her hands off with a towel, she hears a knock at the door.
Emily's mouth goes dry, the air flowing around her with a noticeable intensity compared to before. After a moment, there's a knock again, and the voices of two men are apparent on the outside as she cautiously, shakily moves towards the door. Emily grabs a broom leaning against the hearth and lays low, her breath quickening.

Standing outside of the door to the cottage are two members of the Port Mafia. The executive of the two-person group, running a hand through his red hair momentarily before placing a derby hat back on his head, taps his foot and frowns at the unresponsive silence.
"There's no use continuing this if we don't know who's inside...We might have to take other measures if this takes much longer, even though the boss told us not to scare her into submission. It doesn't mean we're hurting her or anything, but nothing's to be done if we're stuck out here...It looks like it's gonna rain, too. I just got my coat dry-cleaned." He mutters, blue eyes shifting irritably to the frail-looking boy who is crouched by the door calmly.
"Try talking to her." The boy says in a dry tone. "It seems that our silence also reads as suspicious behavior."
The shorter member of the team gives him a scrutinizing look. "And...reveal our intentions? No, no, wait, hold that thought. Maybe I can come up with something." He waves him off to stand aside, and the pale figure simply shrugs and stands back, watching him patiently. His red-haired counterpart clears his throat, rests a hand on his chest and raises his voice with the utmost care, as if he hadn't been standing there for an awkward 5 minutes of quiet stalling and knocking upon arrival. "Excuse me. Is this the residency of Ms. Dickinson? I believe the previous caretakers of this building have requested a complimentary cleaning service. Have we gotten your address right? ❤︎"
More of that deathly silence.
Chuuya Nakahara shakes his head at Akutagawa after his attempt failed and smiles cordially. He then puts a hand in his pocket and rests the sole of his shoe on the door, readying himself for something fairly...invasive. Akutagawa, from where he stands at the bushes, gives him a blank, wide-eyed stare before assuming the position of someone who is pretending he doesn't know the one who kicks back and slams the door open in a rush with only an abrupt "Entering~" sort of voice, losing all manner of gentlemanly charm in two seconds flat. The mafia waits for no one, apparently.
Chuuya's heavy gravitational impact on the door is met with a hardwood broomstick whistling by his head, which he just barely catches with two hands. Emily presses back with unexpected strength, as she was waiting for the exact moment to hopefully knock him out. The wood cracks slightly and she utters a tiny shriek.
"Oi, oi...Excuse me...that's no way to treat your...friendly cleanup services on Monday morning..." Chuuya lets out with a forced grin through grit teeth, obviously unamused (and kind of embarrassed at this point.) Emily, whose pose has not shifted at all, grips the broom even tighter, her own ability pushing back on Chuuya's with rivaling strength. Akutagawa is still standing by the bushes. He closes his eyes and coughs gingerly; if he was commanded to strike at her, he would, but those weren't his orders.
"Listen, lady--" Chuuya manages, gaining traction and momentarily winning the battle of strength by awkwardly shouldering her weight. "We're just here to talk. Could you at least-- NYARGH-- give us a minute to explain, or are you gonna-- do this the hard way?!" With that, the broom breaks, giving Emily enough time to slam the door with as much force as she can muster about two inches away from Chuuya's face. And that was that.
It can't be helped. They were ordered by the leader of the Mafia to assess the situation, not to break into her home. Partially his fault, but it's not like he could politely reveal their intentions to eventually take her back to their base, but it seems she's not coming out. Besides, it's entirely possible that...someone else has already had a go at contacting the powerful new ability user, and also failed, making her even more wary than usual. With a huff, he motions to Akutagawa to retreat with him, flexing his hands and ridding himself of the sprains she gave him at his wrists.
At least they know that much. She's not to be taken lightly...

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thoughts: #ff0062
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The little light show startles Mary, who shields her eyes, but Shuuji barely flinches. He does give a small smile and a shake of his head, gesturing his had toward the door. ❝Come on, everyone. The sooner we get this done with, the better. If we wait too long, who knows who might try to get their hands on her?❞ With that, the president steps out of the door and waits for everyone else to step out. Once everyone has cleared out of the office, Shuuji locks the door and pulls the folder out of his sleeve. He beckons Mary over, who bounds towards him energetically. ❝You should hang onto this, Mary-chan. You're always handling files, anyways.❞ He pats her head before tucking his hand into his sleeve and walking ahead.

Mary, smiling, takes the folder and trots after him. ❝Hurry, hurry, everyone! We've no time to waste! Kocchi, kocchi!❞

--

After a bit of walking for a bit in the direction they were sent, and Mary just about talking Stephanie's ear off about what kind of clothes she'd like Stephanie and Erena to try, the eight find themselves in a rather rural and foresty area of Yokohama. Mary, who had just been describing what she deems to be the cutest dress from a boutique called Mary Magdalene, stops short and makes a small surprised noise. Her blue eyes widen, posture straightening. What a quaint little house shrouded by greens! It does seem a bit dirty, but it has its own little charm.

❝Wooow! What a place! Isn't it pretty, Stephanie-chan? Erena-chan?❞ She points excitedly at the house, smiling. ❝Let's go save our girl!❞ She takes Stephanie and Erena's arms and starts to trot off, but Shuuji holds an arm out in fornt of her, and the poor girl runs into it. Shuuji also extends the other arm, in case any of the men on his other side had tried to charge off, as well.

❝Don't just go charging off like that. I'm sensing... some strong Ability Presence here. Two really powerful abilities, but it's not one I've sensed before, so it can't be any of the Agency members...❞ He frowns, lowering his arms after saying this bit. He surveys around the house until his eyes rest on the porch, where an angry, short redheaded man seems to be gesturing to something—likely, someone—in the bushes. His eyes follow where he seems to be gesturing, and there's a sudden intake of breath from Shuuji.

That hair and face... he's from the wanted posters in town. Could the Port Mafia really be after her, as well? Shuuji looks to his left, then his right. ❝We've got some dangerous company here, and at least one of them is Mafia. If we're going to approach head on, Victor-kun, Erena-chan, and Mary-chan should be on the offensive. The rest of you—Stephanie-chan, Wilhelm-kun, Jacob-kun, and Mako-kun—should be on the defensive.❞ He pauses then, tapping his finger to his chin. Having so many people on defensive could be bad if they really are Mafia. He nods, then, and continues. ❝On second thought, whichever one of you is better at combat can alternate between the two, but... well, you can imagine.❞

He won't admit it outright, but he definitely will require some protection.

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Mako had been strolling close to the back of the group. He'd been humming the tune of a psp game. For those who played videogames regularly, they'd recognised the song Persona 4: Pursuing my true self. For those who didn't know the song but had the misfortune of hearing Mako mangling the song like a budgerigar with dementia and a sorethroat, it was somewhat jazzy, kind of catchy - at least when the lyrics and notes were correct.

Was he being a noise polluting asshole? Yup. Was it funny to do so? Also yes!

Still, by the time they had reached the house Mako had more or less gotten what he remembered of the tune down. The words, not so much. "Loving zombies in the woods -" he paused when he heard Mary call the others forward. "Oh hey, we're here?" Grinning, Mako hurried forwards, curious to see where the new client lived. "Seems a pretty good-"

He got interrupted by an arm to the face. Or, to be more specific, he was about to take a step forward when a yukata-cladded arm shifted directly in front of him a few inches away from his nose. Mako was a short man; Shuuji had nearly a head in height off of him. Mako looked up at him in surprise. "What's up?"

❝Don't just go charging off like that. I'm sensing... some strong Ability Presence here. Two really powerful abilities, but it's not one I've sensed before, so it can't be any of the Agency members...❞ Shuuji frowned.

Mako waited patiently as Shuuji searched for the source of the Ability, slipping his hands into his pockets. But although Mako was still grinning, looking relaxed as if he were a student on holiday, his eyes were sharp and anyone who knew him would have notice the tenseness to his shoulders.

Inside his pockets Mako's hands were curled around wires, ready to pull them out at a moments notice.

Fortunately there was no surprise attack. Unfortunately there were enemies. When Shuuji informed them that a member of the Port Mafia was there, Mako looked normal, although the grin slid off his face to be replaced with a serious, thoughtful look. But anyone who knew what to look for would have noticed that for a moment, Mako had stiffened, blue eyes widening almost imperceptibly at the information before narrowing with renewed focus, as if his mind were racing with multiple thoughts.

Mako did not have a good experience with the Port Mafia. And he still had a grudge for when they had decided to make him Dazai V.02 once they had figured out what he could do, which was yet another reason why he hated Dazai. He wasn't a replacement, for crud's sake! But even he knew that facing them without a plan was risky. Thoughtfully, he drummed his fingers against his hip from inside his pockets, uncaring if it made it look as if his pocket had something alive in it. Thank goodness I played all those mission games. What action should we take?

Alright. First, objective. They had two goals - first was distracting the Port Mafia, the second was getting the person they were here to meet out of the house and into safety. The Port Mafia members - especially the ones with Abilities like their's - were like cockroaches when it came to stomping them out, but stalling was doable. And they had numbers on their side, which Mako always thought was a plus.

Second, Plan. How do we get the person out while distracting the Port Mafia?

Shuuji's plan was reasonable, if a bit too cautious. While Victor, Erena and Mary could be considered the hard hitters of the group - at least while Mary had control over her dolls and Erena was on the right day and wait, wasn't Stephanie a hard hitter too? - the rest of them could more than take care of themselves. No, the problem would be...

"We're gonna need two teams." Mako muttered to the others after a few seconds consideration, keeping his voice low. Almost as an afterthought he forced a smile onto his face like a mask, faint but hiding any excessive emotion Mako felt about the Port Mafia. His pocket stopped jiggling like a live ferret was inside it and he withdrew his hand, which were holding thin silvery wires tightly within their fingers. "One for extraction and one for distraction - Group A distracts the enemy while Group B gets the target to safety." Mako explained, momentarily reverting back to gaming terms to explain the plan he had come up with.

"We've got 8 people so we can go in a group of 4, but we probably need to decide quickly before they noticed we're here. Hmm..." Mako looked around for inspiration. "left for Team Distraction, right for Team Extraction? Everyone ok with that? Speak up if you're not." Mako said, grin widening a smidgen as he made his decision. Then he cocked an eyebrow at Stephanie. "Steph, any ideas?"

He had no idea what would happen next, but one thing Mako could be sure about was this - Wilhelm and Mako were definitely going to be on different teams. They're skillsets were similar - Wil could direct other people's Abilities to himself like a lightning rod, while Mako could nullify them like an insulator. Different but useful in both ways. While they could work together pretty well - it was amazing how much easier it was to nullify a telekinetic when everything he had tried to throw at Mako ended up directed somewhere else - Mako was pretty sure that this time around it would benefit them more if they worked separately instead of together. Who knew if the target wouldn't be hostile and decide to attack them, after all?

The only problem was which team to choose...

Erena was quite eager to do her part in the mission. If she did enough today, surely no one would mind if she was absent from the next 6 days of work.

She heard that their target in particular was a girl. The office already had enough feminine charm with Mary, but it seemed that the guys of the office slightly outweighed the girls, so this new addition would be much appreciated. Also, Erena wouldn't mind if she was cute too.

Erena followed closely behind the group as Mary and Shujii gestured everyone to follow them outside. It seems everyone gravitated towards the people they enjoy speaking with, Erena joining the conversation of Steph and Mary. It was more-so, Mary speaking, Steph listening and Erena wandering. Erena seemed to be more interested in the surroundings than any conversation topic that could come up. Due to her speed, she was able to focus on any object that peaked her interest without forcing the group to wait for her to be done with her tedious mannerisms. Various commodities, roses gardens and a cute puppy, Erena didn't seem to be working, but instead enjoying a nice stroll. It looked quite odd to various bystanders to see a woman seemingly teleporting from item to item, somehow keeping pace with the group. It's a relief she wore real clothing for once or she would've aroused more perplexity.

Even if the scenery changed, Erena didn't notice. Instead of seeing new sights, she only saw new things that caught her attention. Erena clearly didn't heed Steph's warning about gaining an infection, as she was touching these new plants that a goddess who spends most of her time inside couldn't dream of. Steph advising the group wasn't out of the ordinary, but Erena would prefer a bit more passion in her follower's speech, but it couldn't be helped.

It seemed the group stopped to find that the Port Mafia was already a step ahead of them. Some red head and stick boy were in full view. They were part of the opposition, but Erena didn't care enough to know their names. Erena still saw this whole thing as some sort of game. They outnumbered them by quite a large amount and Erena couldn't perceive the danger these two could pose, even if Shujii warned them.

After their walk came to a close, the group started planning. Erena sighed. She hated when they did this stuff. She liked talking, but she couldn't contribute anything to this conversation. Erena usually took a back seat and waited to ask Steph what she was to do. The moss on the side of the building or the flower growing out of the crack was a lot more interesting than whatever plan they were thinking of. It seemed her loyal follower was stating the plan, so Erena lent an ear. She only heard little snip-bits, but she got the basic idea, or at least her skewed understanding of what she thought was. She was to hang out with Victor, Mako and Steph. It sounded easy enough.

Steph seemed to be preparing the group with half-hearted gestures, Erena could only smile as Steph nodded towards her direction. Erena let out a yawn, holding her hand in front of her mouth. She hoped that they would finish this quickly, the banana beard from the morning was too meager of a breakfast.

Wilhelm had smiled brightly as Mary reassured him that she was fine and at the same time Jacob rolled his eyes a little at being told yet again about being so formal in addressing Shuuji. Still, shortly after that it had been decided that they are all going on the job. It seemed a bit overkill sending everyone, but if people were after this girl they had been asked to find then it was probably for the best.

~*~*~*~

The brothers trailed behind the group slightly, although they were no less watchful for that. Jacob was the more observant of the two, he always had been and his vision wasn't hindered with glasses like his brother's was, as such he was calming walking along, gaze flicking back and forth as he tried to spot any potential threats to the group. While he would prioritise Wilhelm's safety - as much as he could with the way his brother sometimes acted - the white haired male would still protect everyone else, or at least let them know if they were trapped in some sort of illusion or being lied to. Still, his observations meant that he stopped a couple of metres behind Shuuji while Wilhelm nearly walked into the other man.

Shuuji's comment about ability users being nearby saw both of them snap to attention and Jacob was quick to spot the people that the President had noticed, Wilhelm not far behind after his brother yanked on his arm and nodded in the direction of the angry red-head.

The pair listened to the plans suggested by both Shuuji and Mako, though Wilhelm looked to Jacob since the white haired brother would know which plan would be best to follow. Jacob carefully listened to Stephanie's suggestion too. 'While Wilhelm's ability is more suited for combat than mine, if we do have to fight then we work better together than apart so...'

The white haired man nodded a little and Wilhelm grinned at his brother's response. "Alright, so Jacob and I on Team Extraction? Got it." He pushed his glasses up a little before closing his eyes and breathing deeply. If they ended up going in to a fight then he wanted a clear head or something. If he died then he was sure Jacob would bring him back to life just to kill him again.

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Victor still sat where he was and listened to whatever chattering the other members got to say after Shuuji's question. Stephanie had apologized for the little commotion she caused the other day because she was dead drunk and mistaken Mako for Erena, calling him "goddess" and such. Actually, that scene was pretty hilarious to watch and it was quite a while since Victor actually had a good laugh, so he just shrugged it off and told Stephanie to know her limit first before she grab any bottle of liquor. Unless his friends did something as idiotic like what Dazai did, which he knows they never would, there's pretty much no reason for him to get mad at them.

Everyone planned out things a little bit more and when Shuuji asked Erena if today - which is Monday, was the day when her power was the strongest. Of course, as a self-proclaimed goddess, she was as confident as usual. Victor was quick to put on his sunglasses the moment he saw her raised her arm. As expected, everyone else who wasn't prepared was blinded temporarily by her light show. Victor smirked, "Well, you better save that energy for later. I'm pretty sure there will be those waiting to be showered with your might and grace, la déesse." Victor said playfully and stood up from whence he sat when Shuuji announced that it was time for them to leave. And as most of the time, they are all going.

They set off, finally. Victor was quite looking forward to it because there could be some necks waiting for him to break. If the Mafia decided to send the Black Lizard or some of their goons then this mission is going to be way too easy. However, if this girl with supernatural ability is attracting quite some attention like this, then some of the front tier might be sent instead. And it's not something to laugh at if that was the case. Whatever it is, they have to be prepared for anything when they made it there.

As they walked through the forest, Victor was walking at the front alongside Shuuji, while keeping the conversation going with his roommate. Everyone else seemed to hold a rather formal distance with him, since he was their boss. But formality is not something that exists in Victor's dictionary, of course. He's also the oldest one of them too. So don't be surprised when if he doesn't use any honorifics even if he had just met someone for the first time.

Most of the topics Victor was talking were that his business is getting more and more successful everyday and perhaps he should think of expanding it. He's also working on a new cocktail recipe and most of his customers seemed to enjoy his usual trick show when he made their drink. Mako once asked him to teach him those tricks, but of course, until Victor can absolutely ensure that the boy won't break any more glasses, which will probably took an eternity, just the thought of him touching his precious alcohol is dreadful enough.

Shuuji suddenly called for a halt as they approached closer to the forest's house. As expected, they weren't alone and at least one of them is a member of the Mafia. Hearing that, Victor tried to make out whoever they were, but he didn't manage to see their faces clearly since the lot of them still stood in a distance away from the house. However, Victor was almost certain that he knows who's the red-headed guy wearing the fedora was. But to confirm, he still need to approach them.

It was suggested that they should divided into an offensive team and defensive team. There's no doubt that Victor would be sorted into the offensive side, while he would prefer to stay behind and guard those with weaker vitality more. Mako and Stephanie had already got a good strategy, so there's no need for him to have any further comment and just went along with it. "Okay, that's settled then, I'll help the two ladies here distract them while the rest of you try to retrieve the girl. Affirmative." Victor said as they cautiously approached the house, "I think I know who these bad boys are. I just need to have a closer look at them and I'll be certain. Just be careful, they might not be as easy as those Black Lizard goons." He commented. This is where the information he got from his drinking partners, ranging from police to shady guys of all kinds from almost all over Yokohama come into use.