---

█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
██
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█


Mina had been awake for hours by the time the alarm on her cell phone started ringing at the usual 5:00 AM. She figured only Sen would be awake this early, most of the other members preferred to sleep in late when the Bureau didn't have a case to tend to. For now, Mina was perched in the highest branches of a fir tree, watching the sun rise above the horizon. She didn't always get up so early, in fact, she also enjoyed sleeping in late. However, she'd found herself unable to go back to sleep after waking up in a cold sweat at three in the morning. Having nightmares really sucked.

Reaching into her pocket Mina pulled out her phone and swiped the alarm off, checking to see if she'd received any text messages from Weifeng or any of her teammates. There were none. Another reason why Mina was sitting in a tree at five in the morning was because she and Feng met there in the forest on an almost daily basis, and today was no different. They didn't really have a specific time they met up and usually one would end up waiting for the other. Mina simply figured that it would make sense to spend some time in her favorite place while waiting for her favorite person.

Mina came to the end of the book she was reading - Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' - and slapped the book shut, tucking it into her sweater pocket and gingerly making her way down to the forest floor. Twigs snapped beneath her feet and a squirrel ran for cover, the sun slowly starting to peek through the tops of the trees and changing the pathway from the gloomy darkness to a subtle yellow glow. Mina leaned against the tree and waited.

---

┌"Swear 'I don't believe in god' to god."」
Character Theme: Flight Instinct|Last Note
Current Theme: No Title|Giga-P feat. Reol
<Dialogue Color: #89CFF0 | Thought Color: #6F00FF>
Time||7:30 AM (Proceeding any posts before this time)

---

---

The arc of the basketball already seemed to be set in stone, its course permanently fixed by the laws of motion and gravity. But its trajectory, as solid as it had appeared to be, deviated ever so slightly. But how was that possible? There wasn’t even the lightest grace of wind, and nothing sure as hell hit it. Yet the orange tinted sphere still found its way into the hoop. ”And that’s that.” Yukio stated in admiration as he patted his hands together. The ball anticlamaticly landed on asphalt and bounced its way back towards the person who tossed it in the first place. ”Well, you know what they say kids. If you love something, throw it away. If it loves you back… Throw it away again.” A sudden tug at his vest drew his attention from the orb, down at his side was a young boy with the look of clean defeat draped across his face.

”That’s no fair, Onii-chan! I saw that ball, it was nowhere near the net!” The kid wailed and yanked at the his clothing profusely, writhing in his utter demise. The slight signs of a smirk parted at the ends of Yu’s lips, he gave an ambivalent shrug at the child’s complaints. ”C’est la vie, kiddo.” His french was pisspoor as well. ”No way! Onii-chan isn’t athletic in the slightest!”’ Yu was about to let out an “Oi” when he felt something tug on his other side. This time it was a girl of equivalent age to the boy with tears welling in his eyes. ”He’s right, you know. Onii-chan’s even skinnier than Onee-chan. And prettier too! Don’t tell her I said that though.”

Yu merely furrowed his brow and scowled at the duo, ”I don’t think you kids know what the word ‘compliment’ means. Wait a second, weren’t there three of yo- OOPH” The high schooler let out a thin line of our as the person in question suddenly ran headfirst into his stomach.

Both the basketball and Yu hit the black surface at the same time, except only one felt a light pinch of pain. It was obviously the former. Yu, on the other hand, felt like he was just hit by a freight train. He managed to reinstate circulation through his lungs and looked at the kid with his head burrowed into Yukio’s stomach. He was the youngest, yet the tallest of the trio. ”You know, I’ve never hit a kid before…” The threat must’ve gone in through one ear and straight out the other, as the boy only gave him a giddy smile of carelessness. He narrowed his eyes at the kid and himself and the child up. ”Hey Onii-chan, don’t you have to go to school soon? Say hi to Onee-chan for us!”

He ran a hand through one of his pig tails and sighed. Yu obviously wasn’t their sibling in any form whatsoever, but was known as the ‘Neighborhood Big Brother’ because of how much free time he had on his hands and the kids he helped out. It was also a play on words, given his lackluster height. The three kids before him of approximately the same age, who he referred to as the Tezuka Trio, constantly followed him around regardless of what he said. They were the siblings of his classmate who he was somewhat acquainted with, but a part of the reason he withstood these three is because he was begged by that very person. He accepted the girl’s request in his usual contradicting tsundere manner, but now the three kids before him have become more than just a task. They were permanently attached to him. Their ceaseless shadowing reminded him of a certain fellow a couple years his senior, who he hadn’t contacted for a while.

Yukio clicked his tongue and slung his courier bag over his shoulder, ”Sure. You lot have to get ready for school as well. I don’t want to listen to your mother whine again. That woman’s a damn psychopath with a ladle in hand.” He passively hissed at the trio before promptly turning on his heel and proceeding out of the playground. The high schooler paused and glanced back over his shoulder at the children, ”Oh, and, uh… stay safe. Or some reassuring bullshit like that.”

He continued on his way down the generic roads of the district. It was just another mundane day, hopefully without anything notable or plot twisting. Yukio was just fine living the same way day in and day out. He didn’t want to brandish the curse- power lurking inside of him. He just wanted this ordinary life.

But it’s not like everybody gets what they want, right?

Vital signs are fair. Brain activity remains constant. Electrogenesis?

Marin took the scalpel's handle and tapped on the strange organ before glancing the electrometer. Though primitive, she decided that it would be a solid measure for the currently unstable man and hooking up the two cables wouldn't cause any permanent damage (well more than he'd already sustained). It read at fairly low levels in the beginning (hovering far below the baseline), but following her tap it jumped to record highs. It's voltage spiked; however, the amperes remained low.

Further observation is required, preferably in salt water.

Gesturing for the other surgeons to follow her lead in stitching her patient closed. They'd brought another eel for her to cure as he'd been badly injured (albeit by her own hand). Normally she'd leave it to the other surgeons but seeing as the bureau wanted her to do less talking and more cell donating she had no choice. She'd glean as much knowledge as possible. Plus, the feeling of the butterfly needle into her arm was riveting.

"He will need five hundred "cc"s of saline solution after the blood transfusion but will otherwise make a full recovery," she replied to the woman in front of her, "of course you could always draw more. Between cleaning bed pans and swapping catheters I'm sure you learned that during your five years of playing doctor."

"I was volunteering in Guatemala, Ms. Liulfr," she replied, jerking the needle out.

"Oh? So you weren't paid to pretend?" she asked innocently.

She smirked as the tiny hole scabbed over and headed to the door as the others wheeled the patient away. Marin removed the lab coat and tossed it one of the "used coats" bins before yawning. The logical thing would have been to sleep, but seeing as the bureau's schedule overruled her own, having a circadian rhythm proved useless. She might as well ask for vacation time. As a medic, neither were possible and if it was, it meant something was wrong. Granted, no one in the bureau had gotten clients for the past few months, but it could have easily meant someone was being sneaky or that there was a rival bureau.

It was an interesting thought, but they would be no match for the original six.

Marin neared the kitchen and idly wondered if Ibuki Sen would be there as she had a tendency to wake early and sleep late (if at all).

---

---

---

---

---

The skatepark was almost empty, except for a few skaters who had decided to get an early start in the day. Even then, they were hanging around chatting, eating breakfast or admiring the tag art on the wall, and only one skater, a boy dressed in jeans and a red-trimmed hoodie over a long sleeved white shirt was going at it on the ramp, looking like he'd been at it for a while now.

"Hahaha!" Zeke spun his skateboard in mid-air with a large grin on his face. He gripped the board's handle with one hand as he came to the height of the jump, his other hand reaching up to the black and orange helmet strapped to his head like he was trying to steady a hat. For a moment, he felt time pause as he hung in the air, then it came unstuck and he fell back down to the ramp with his feet back on the skateboard, the grin remaining on his face as he zoomed down the ramp and slowed to a halt.

The few people watching the ramp gave a few congratulatory claps, and Zeke gave them a wide, satisfied smile and a peace sign. He didn't really know them, but hey, they'd exchanged a few greetings before! That had to count for something.

Man, skating was the best thing he'd ever tried. Zeke had met more people than he'd ever thought he would - one of them had given him a free drink; he'd given them some food in exchange and had spent the rest of his time there exchanging cooking tips with a boy and girl who'd turn out to be culinary students from university. That had been pretty fun. And there was that time he'd been trying to get the hang of an Ollie back when he'd been new to the whole thing and some highschool students had taken it upon themselves to teach him how it was done and some other tricks and man, they had been seriously cool. That had been part of the reason he'd stuck to skateboarding, really - they had been so nice! Zeke hadn't wanted to let their teachings go to waste. That and fun, of course.

Ok, so maybe there had been some unfun times too, but that was mitigated by the good ones and besides, the park was reasonably safe! The skaters there knew each other from sight (and mostly only through that), and if anything happened they tend to see if there was anything they could do to help, like offer a handkerchief or something. Or beat people up if they need to, although only the strong ones did that. And there were rarely any fights over who was using the bowl or ramp or pipe so yup, it was pretty cool all around! There was a reason why Zeke stuck to the place, after all.

Too bad he had to leave, though. He needed to get breakfast. Grinning and waving a goodbye (some waved back before turning back to doing whatever they had been doing), Zeke pushed off the ground and rolled across the curb with well practiced ease, pulling out his wallet to check how much he had. Mmmm, more than enough if he wanted to eat Mcdonalds, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to yet.

Well, whatever. It wasn't like he needed to eat yet, right? He had all the time he needed to decide, at least until it was time for lunch. Or brunch, haha. He placed his wallet back into his pocket and rested his hands in his shirt-pockets, manoeuvring his way around the people around with ease. Maybe somewhere which allowed skateboards though, Zeke didn't want anyone to steal his cool-looking board. The black and white lightning and skull design against a flame background was kinda new (beginning of the year new!) and he really, really didn't want to save up for a new board so soon. It costed a lot of money, seriously.

Ah! Spying someone with familiar blue hair, Zeke sped up. "Hey, Yukio! Over here!" He called, giving a wave as he approached the other teen. "What's up? How's life - wait, did you grow taller? I think I grew two cm, wanna go get something to eat?" he chattered friendlily, coming to a stop in front of Yukio.

- - - - -
x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x- - - - -
x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Truthfully, Rye would have rather spent the wee hours of the morning making breakfast for the team. But by the time he'd tumbled down the stairs, Sen had already taken control of the kitchen and quite frankly, the enforcer wasn't a fan of sharing spaces. Too much touching the same thing; his retrocognition may not be the best, but he still hated what he felt was a breach in privacy.

Instead, he'd quietly showed himself out and took the chance to go for an early morning run. The quiet town was only about to awaken, quiet with only the occasional sound of talking or the shuffling of feet to fill the air. He waved in greeting to the like-minded citizens outside with him. It was a stark difference from before, when they actively avoided his presence in the town. And to be fair, Ryland couldn't blame them. First and foremost, he was a foreigner, and even amongst those of the same origin he tended to make uneasy. It was only through his repeated greetings that they slowly started warming up to him. He still needed to learn more Japanese however; there were still times when he couldn't understand most of the newspaper due to all the Kanji.

It was a little before six by the time arrived at the townhouse. He'd done the rest of his workout in some empty park, enjoying the echo of children's laughter as he'd gone through his daily motions. Honestly, with breakfast taken care of, there wasn't much for him to do so he'd been free to take his time going back. The Bureau hadn't had a client in a while and to be frank, he wasn't too bothered by their lack of activity. He enjoyed peaceful days; he hadn't had many of them growing up after all.

Upon opening, the front door to the living room Rye spotted a familiar figure head towards the kitchen and he followed after. "Morning you three." Along with Sen, Sho and Marin had started to idle in the small space. He did feel a sliver of irritation that someone had taken over what he considered one of his safezones, but it wasn't enough to show on his face. "Thanks for taking care of breakfast, Sen. I'll take care of lunch and dinner. I'll just go shower for now." The tall figure gave them a brief nod, and then headed back upstairs, quickly turning on the light to the shared bathroom on his way back to his room to get his towel and a change of clothes. Looks like they were in for another regular day.

• • • • • • • • • • • •

---

█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
██
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█


Mina jumped at the shout and on instinct her hand gripped the handle of her katana, the sword halfway out of its shield before she saw Weifeng's familiar smile in front of her. Mina slid Gaman back into its sheath and sighed loudly. "Feng, you shouldn't do that, I could actually hurt you one of these times." Mina flashed a friendly smile to make her words less aggravated, though she was serious about the fact her instincts could hurt Feng if her mind didn't recognize the girl fast enough. It hadn't happened yet, but it was still a possibility, and one that she really didn't want.

Resuming her laid-back position against the tree, Mina released her hold on Gaman and crossed her arms over her chest. "Anyways, good morning. I'll admit its nice to see you. We haven't had a client for way too long and its starting to get boring around here without anything to do." It wasn't even an exaggeration. While a couple of the team members didn't mind the nearby city, most of them were home-bodies, rarely having the motivation to leave their little circle of houses unless there was a client involved. Mina was a home-body herself and didn't like venturing into publicity unless she had to. Unfortunately, that made for a significantly smaller list of things to do when you're bored at home.

But right now, Feng was there, so the idea of being bored hardly crossed Mina's mind. "So, what do you want to do today anyways? Its not even 6 AM yet so Sen and I are probably the only ones awake, not that it really matters much." Most of their mornings together were spent chatting, and Mina didn't really want that to change, but she figured it wouldn't hurt if she and Feng found another activity to help the time pass.

---

---

---

---

---

Oh? It seemed as though something interesting was about to happen. Marin, in her deliberate ignorance of the others in the room grabbed a packet of instant coffee and a mug before pouring the remainder of the kettle's water into her designated mug. It was a plain, old thing, being white with a picture of a happy face on its front and a hole in the handle to hold a stirring spoon. She wasn't all that picky regarding design so she just went with the most functional of the Bureau's kitchen supply. Swirling the spoon a few times, Marin tapped the spoon against the rim of the cup a few times before slipping it back in its hole and taking a long sip. She loved the taste of cheap coffee almost as much as teasing others.

Sho entered soon after her, ignoring Marin in favor of greeting their resident mentifry (or "Mentifairy" as the white-haired woman enjoyed calling her) and Rena followed in order to greet everyone.

"Oh it has been nothing but bright skies and late nights!" she exclaimed as she set her cup on the counter, "can't you tell by Sen's lack of sleep and Rye's obvious annoyance?"

She shot a glance toward Ryland, noting his desire to take over lunch and dinner before turning her attention to Sen who avoided the orange-head's advances and headed into another room. She was never one for physical affection so that put her at odds with the moderator. It was half the reason that she enjoyed the moderator's presence, even if her power was rather dangerous.

"So tell me then Ryland, what were your plans for today?" she asked, "I've been thinking of experimenting with some new...recipes but it seems that a new mission's come into existence."

---

---

---

█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
██
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█
█ Mina didn't even try to reject Feng's puppy face, already aware she wouldn't be able to. "Sure. If you want to try it that bad I'd feel horrible saying no." Mina said with a smile, making sure her pockets were zipped shut so nothing would fall out in midair. "You just have to promise not to drop me to my death. If that happened I'm pretty sure the team would never let you into the Bureau." That and I wouldn't even be there to introduce you... Rolling up her sleeves and quickly tying her hair up, Mina tried not to be too awkward as she wrapped her arms tightly around Weifeng's neck. Right now, it's a good thing I don't have a fear of heights.

"I promise I won't drop you. You can trust me, right?" Feng flashed her million dollar smile full of warmth and security. She stood surprisingly pround and tall as Mina walked over and wrapped her arms around Feng's neck. "Now, it's going to feel kinda weird... It's going to feel like air is pushing at you from every side, keeping you up. Which is, really, what's happening and how I fly. It's gonna be difficult for me to keep my balance, so if we spin around a few times, don't worry. I'll tell you if I think we're gonna crash." That joke may have been slightly inapproriate, but Feng's sense of humor was... unique. She was surprised that Mina could even put up with her sometimes. "Alrighty.." Feng wrapped her arms around Mina, putting her hands on the small of the girl's back. "Up up and away!" The two rose upwards ever so slightly, but they began to pick up speed. The two zoomed by the top of the fir tree, rising and rising until they were multiple hundreds of feet in the air. Feng stopped so they were just levitating. She looked at her green haired friend, a smirk on her face. "How you doing, sweetcheeks?"

Nodding to show she understood, Mina took a deep breath and flinched slightly at the feeling of the air, observing as they started floating up off the ground. As the two picked up sp eed, Mina began to understand why Feng loved flying so much. "This is cooler than anything my powers can do." Watching the trees pass so quickly was almost theraputic for Mina, though any other person probably would've felt the need to vomit, and the gentle warmth of both Feng's body and the air surrounding them was comforting. "We should do this more often!" As they came to a stop, Mina moved her head from the crook of Feng's neck so she could see the girl's face. She let out a laigh at Feng's words. "Well, I've never heard you call me Sweet Cheeks before. And I'm great, actually, this is way more fun than I thought it would be."

"Aww cmon, don't be so hard on yourself. Your powers are sweet in their own ways. And I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself." The two dropped a few feet as Feng let herself lie back with Mina resting on top of her. Grinning, she jokingly kicked her legs, as if she was swimming lazily on her back. "Hmm... Hey, would you mind if I tried something?" She asked, trying to stop herself from revealing her mischevious smile.

Knowing Feng, Mina was suspicious about what the girl wanted to try out, though she couldn't help but be curious about it. Mina carefully rested her chin on Weifeng's collarbone and smiled lightly. Sure, go ahead~" Mina ignored the voice in the back of her head that kept saying Feng couldn't be trusted, neglecting to believe what her mind told her.

Feng jolted forwards, setting the two of them into an upright position once more. "Alright! This is going to be awesome. Just... Don't freak out, ok? I promise I won't drop you." Taking a deep breath, Feng reached around behind her, grabbing Mina's wrists. She pulled them from her neck, unwrapping Mina's arms. She placed her hand flat on Mina's upper stomach and pushed her away slowly. The gap between them increased, until they were a few feet apart. Both of them were floating midair, Feng's facial expression tense with consentration. Her hands flexed, spreading her fingers and clenching them into fists, as she let out a deep breath that was fallowed with a rather nervous laugh. "It... worked. I've tried it with objects but never another person..." A wide, happy grin spread across her face. "Hell yeah!" Feng pumped her first upwards, doing a couple of 360s in the air. She quickly flew towards Mina, who was still floating in place. Giggling, she spun around the girl before flipping backwards and flying under her, stopping only when they were at eye level once more.

A slight wave of panic washed over Mina as Feng pushed her slowly away, but it faded just as quickly as it had surfaced. Mina was impressed at how Feng was able to completely levitate another person, taking note of how much concentration it must take, her suspicions confirmed by the focused look on Feng's face. Soon enough, Mina wasn't even holding onto Feng anymore, completely suspended in the air. Mina smiled as Feng laughed nervously. "You've never done this with another person before? That's really impressive..." Mina couldn't help but smile at her friend's excitement and even let out a laugh as Feng twirled and flew around her. It was times like these when Mina truly appreciated having Feng as a part of her family, whether the girl was officially in the Bureau or not.

When Feng saw Mina smile, she felt her heart flutter. Mina said what she did was impressive! Feng grinned and did a small twirl of joy in place, but when she turned around, Mina was... gone. Her stomach dropped. Feng looked down and saw Mina plumeting downwards. "Mina!" Feng screamed as she arched upwards before diving downward. She kept her arms pinned to her sides as she dropped like a stone. The sounds of the wind whistled in her ears as she darted past her green haired... friend, curved upwards, and flew towards her. Once she reached Mina, she wrapped her arms around her middle tightly, her face pressed into her chest. Her breathing was coming out in heavy pants; it was almost as if she was more rattled than Mina. "Fuck, Mina.. I'm s-sorry..." She lowered Mina down so that they were eye level, but Feng never once loosened her grip. Her hands were practically clutching the girl's hips.

As Mina fell, she forced herself not to panic, trying hard to think of a solution. She knew Feng would catch her but needed to be ready f she didn't. Turning in midair, Mina faced the forest below and spread her body out as far as she could in an attempt to slow her descent. Above her, Feng's voice could be heard, yelling her name. Surely enough, Feng was underneath her in a matter of seconds. Mina breathed a sigh oif relief as her friend hugged her tight, their descent slowing until they were hovering in midair again. It was then that Mina noticed Feng was completely panicked. "Its okay. I'm okay. Its going to take more than a heavy fall to get rid of me, you know." Mina smiled as wide as she could in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Besides, you caught me, didn't you? You'd never let me fall~"

Feng let out an anxious, shaky laugh. She did her best to stop from digging her fingers into the flesh on Mina's hip. Her knuckles were white. "Yeah, I caught you. I sure as hell am glad I did. Who else would be able to put up with me?" Feng cast her a tender smile. The two swayed in the air a bit, almost as if Feng was rocking them back and forth gently. "So. Would you like me to set you down, or would you rather we fly around a little bit more? But this time, I swear I won't let you go."

A bright smile crossed Mina's face and she was grateful that Feng's smile had returned. "Putting up with you is no easy task, but to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way." Mina wrapped her arms tightly around Feng and laughed. "If you swear never to let me go, then I swear to always stay by your side. I don't think either of us would have much fun on our own." Now that she thought about, Mina couldn't bear the idea of being without Feng. "And I guess we can keep flying for now, its not like I have anywhere to be." As if on cue, Mina's cell phone vibrated. Carefully digging it out of her pocket, she found text messages from a teammate talking about a girl whose brother had apparently been kidnapped. Mina typed a reply and turned back to Feng. "Apparently I was wrong..."

Mina's words make Feng's stomach flitter, like it was full of butterflies. "Alright, awesome! There's this cute little pond near-" Feng's words were cut off by the buzzing in Mina's pocket. Feng couldn't help but scowl. She sighed softly, looking down for a moment. "Duty calls, eh? I'll give you a ride back then." Feng hugged Mina to her chest and darted off. In a few minutes, the small town where the Bureau took residence came into view. They dropped altitude slowly until their feet hit solid ground. "I believe this your stop, buttercup." Feng lingered in the hug for a moment before letting go, rather reluctantly.

Mina could tell Feng was disappointed. "Hey Feng, why don't you just come with me? I'm sure Sho wouldn't mind if you came on a missions with us, I mean, its not like you don't anyways. Besides, it'd be comforting to know that you're with me instead of somewhere else, sulking." Mina smirked and held out her hand. "If you come with me then neither of us will have to worry about the other, so whaddaya say?"

Feng bit her bottom lip. She wanted to go in with Mina, but she had already been pressing her luck by appearing during missions. However, this could be her chance to work more closesly with the Bureau. She could just imaging being able to work with Mina every day... Well, it's not like she doesn't see her a lot, but regardless, it was better than how they were now. Feng took Mina's hand with a smile on her face. "Alright, that sounds like a great idea. Lead the way."

With Feng following behind her, Mina made her way into the townhouse where the members resided, noting that most of the team was gathered in the dining room. "So, I hear we have a case? Or was it a prank?"