[carmen]

1000 yen… a ripped-in-half 1000 yen note is all that the gang threw to poor Carmen as her payment. Well, not before giving her a “punishment” for botching their latest heist. The punk’s face was bruised, one eye bloodshot and blackened shut, her lip split and slowly scabbing. There were a few more bruises and cuts across her face, but most of the other injuries were covered by her clothing, except for her right hand wrapped in gauze bandage. These injuries were courtesy of her parents, it being their punishment for what happened on top of the usual; being an embarrassment, making them look weak and pathetic, and just being herself. Her mother had always leaned towards starvation or the use of scalding or even boiling water to bring out apologies and to make their daughter agree to whatever they said, ever since she was little. This time her “mommy dearest” poured it all over her arm, with the help of “daddy dearest” holding Carmen down was enough to gain an apology. The girl was lucky the beat up the members of the gang gave her combined with what her parents did was enough of a punishment for the two monsters who birthed her. It meant no harm to her ferrets… her only friends. Still... because of this, it brought up the same lecture of her being sold off soon enough and that she'd finally be "put to use" and would "learn her place". All words for the moment, thankfully... but soon enough it would happen.

Now, in the middle of the night, Carmen left that hellhole, “mom” and “dad” passed out, as usual, and headed to at least eat and stock up with what she could get until her punishment was over and she’d be given real food again. The ripped banknote was carefully taped back together in hopes someone would take some pity on her and take it… maybe even feel enough pity to give her a freebie, hopefully. The punk’s stomach ached, hunger making it feel as if her insides were eating themselves. The only place that was both open and that the girl could afford enough food was a cheap convenience store. Walking down the street, both of her ferret girls, Zafira and Eulalie, sitting on her shoulders, the punk entered the automatic doors.

The store was empty except for her and hopefully a conscious cashier. A stale scent of cigarette smoke hit her nose, the scent being strangely calming to the girl since her stash was confiscated by her “parents” until she “got a better damn attitude”. Maybe she could ask for a smoke since she probably couldn’t afford a whole carton. Walking through the aisles, she knew she probably looked suspicious at this point. Here was a tattooed and pierced teen, covered in cuts and bruises, alone in a store in the middle of the night… She clearly looked like she truly belonged to the streets and her oh so “welcoming” gang, ready to rob the place blind… but she didn’t care as she grabbed a basket and began to grab a couple bags of shrimp chips, in her mind planning out the rations. Eulalie kept stretching her little body forward, sniffing at everything surrounding the girl. It made Carmen have to juggle looking at the prices and keeping the naughty little thing at bay, not paying attention at all to the cashier or anything else around her, letting the crazy creature bring some sort of smile to her face and to lose herself in it rather than focusing on everything else.

[yaguro]

Night shift; Usually not a soul for miles around, let alone in the store. Yaguro was currently in the middle of a cigarette; Thankfully his boss wasn’t on the clock tonight, so he could easily hide any trace of smoking on the job before he got in the next day. If any customers complained, they could bite it.

The vigilante was in his normal, slouched over position behind the register just sifting through various news articles on his phone, hardly paying attention to any single one, rather just flipping through them at random.
When the bell to the door rang, indicating a customer had walked in, Yaguro looked up, and was about to put his eyes right back on his phone, when he recognized the customer; Not a common occurrence.

A teen girl, covered in bruises; He knew he recognized the face from somewhere, and the ferrets confirmed it.
He knew this girl, stopped her gang a while back and talked with her a bit. From what he remembered, she wasn’t the criminal type, and told him that her crew would punish her for being a coward in battle.
Judging from her injuries, they weren’t kidding.
“Hey, kid!” Yaguro called out, putting his phone away for once. Just as he was thinking of greeting her like he knew her, he remembered she’d only ever seen him in a helmet; Best to not reveal his identity if he didn’t need to, but he still felt like trying to get something out of her.
“Hey, you alright? Those wounds look pretty bad.”

[carmen]

Carmen’s basket had only a few items in it, yet the punk could already feel the pure anxiety of pushing her budget. Looking at the door, the villainy she had been taught all her life entered her mind… she could run, grab more and run off with it all. She’d have food until her parents decided to feed her again, she wouldn’t keep going hungry. Her gaze remained there for a minute as her feelings fought inside. She needed this food, but she wasn’t bad… she wasn’t a thief like her parents or her gang. Would she be willing to be like that just for some chips? No... no amount of hunger or urge would push her to that, and she didn't know if it was an idiotic choice she made. 

She sighed, walking down another aisle when the clerk called to her. Here it goes. What was he going to yell at her for? Was he going to kick her out for how she looked, for her ferrets, accusing her of being a villain? She stared at the ground and waited for the insults until… he asked if she was alright. Her gaze then aimed at him, looking at the man. He was scruffy looking, and seemed to be a few years older than her. He was unassuming to look at, him clearly just here for the paycheck… So why show interest and concern for an obvious punk, a street rat?

“... I… I’m fine… I’m used to it by now. This is nothing new…” She said, turning to the register and placing the basket on the counter, removing four bags of shrimp chips. It should equal the right amount for her to have 100 or so yen left. “Do you… have any food that’s about to go bad or is bad? Anything you’re about to toss… even if you throw it away, can you put it in the back so I can grab it without your boss or anyone seeing… This is all I have.” Placing the patched up money on the counter, she rubbed her uninjured eye with her trembling burnt hand and turned her gaze away, trying to hide the humiliation of asking for food from the trash… but at this point, it had been a few days since the thin girl had anything that could be considered a meal, so she was desperate. Looking up, she saw the man smoking too. Her urge for a smoke grew even more as if the sight of it was taunting her. “Also… do you think you can give me a smoke? Just one, if you have to…” Her voice seemed quiet and defeated as Eulalie stretched her body towards the man. Strangely, Zafira followed, as well, both seeming quite intrigued by the man. She tried pulling them back, looking confused at their sudden interest, especially Zaf’s interest. “I’m sorry… I don’t know what’s coming over them… Just, do you think you can help me out?”

[yaguro]

She was far worse off than Yaguro had initially thought; Having to scrounge for food like this meant her parents weren’t exactly taking good care of her.
“Hey, its fine, I’ve got it covered. You’re probably also going to need something for those wounds to make sure they don’t get infected.”

Not even thinking, Yaguro grabbed a cigarette from his pack and handed it to Carmen, just as one of her ferrets started to sniff him. Seems like it recognized his scent, likely from when it met him before; Thankfully its owner didn’t recognize him, or things may get complicated.

Pulling out a chair from behind the counter, Yaguro set it out next to his and motioned for Carmen to come and sit with him.
“You look like you need help and I’m in the business of helping people. I can tell what happened to you was gang violence, and I have a friend that specializes in that field; He’s not a cop, but he can get shit done.” The vigilante hoped he wasn’t coming on too strong, and prayed that Carmen thought he was just intuitive, and didn’t really know what was going on. With any luck, he could use her to get to her gang, and possibly get his own guy, or girl, on the inside.
“I can get some like, jerky or something for your weasels, not exactly sure what they eat.” He offered. Ferrets weren’t a very common animal, but Yaguro recalled reading somewhere that they ate meat.

[carmen]

Nothing but relief filled the punk’s chest when the cashier said he’d cover the cost. Thank God that this money could go to other things she needed, like supplies for her girls. An obvious sigh of relief came out of the girl from this news as she looked at the man. Immediately, Carmen took the offered cigarette and lit it, taking in a deep breath and letting the sensation fill her lungs and body. She savored it since she didn’t know the next time she’d have one, the fear and tension of that thought invading her mind once more.

“Thank you… you don’t know how much that means to me… I don’t really have people treat me with… anything close to kindness.” Only one person did and… well, not only was he now counted as a prime enemy of her gang after attacking and thwarting a job carried by the kids of multiple members, but Carmen knew it would be impossible to find him again.
Cautiously, Carmen walked to the seat, sitting down and leading Zafira and Eulalie to her lap. They still seemed extremely interested in the man, Eulalie stretching as far as her micro body could to him. She tried to ignore it as she shakily removed her jacket, showing more injuries from her punishment. If he was offering to help her with her wounds, she needed to also undo her arm bandages, slowly taking the gauze off to show her badly burned arm. It stung as the cooler air of the store hit the fresh wound. “If you do have medical supplies… I really need to clean these out properly… Wasn’t allowed to take care of them after everything.” Sitting in the chair, her tired gaze was aimed at the opposite wall, drained beyond belief from the emotional and physical attacks aimed at her.

However, a confused look formed when the man spoke again. How can he tell the wounds were gang violence? They looked like any injuries that would result from abuse or assault. Was he just assuming because of how she looked? It puzzled her even more when he spoke of the friend who could “get things done”. She wracked her mind to think of someone out of law enforcement who knew how to take down gangs, the answer constantly going to a vigilante, especially with him being in the business of “helping people”. Maybe she was being paranoid, but she had to be wary of what she said unless she wanted to be attacked for technically being a gang member. Not to mention if someone attacked their base, it would be clear someone ratted them out and she would easily be identified as who did it.

“N… No. I don’t know what assumptions you’re making about me. I just got my ass kicked by people who don’t like me… and punished for being a failure as a result… that’s it. Nothing else…” This was partially the truth, but didn’t give too much detail to the man. She didn’t want anymore beatings today, and revealing you’re a gang member to someone clearly either associated with vigilantes or was one would probably lead to being interrogated for information. “However… yes, if I could have that for them…” All her instincts told her to get out of there, but she had to fight it to get these supplies and to properly take care of the injuries. Still, she made sure to keep a closer eye on the guy, deciding to see if she can get some information out of him. “What are the specifics of this “helping people out business” you say you’re a part of?” She simply asked, not taking her eyes off of the cashier. "And if this “friend” isn’t a cop, how does he get stuff done?”

[yaguro]

Looking at Carmen’s wounds just gave Yaguro more resolve on what he needed to do; If these thugs were willing to do this to one of their own, that meant they were violent. The more violent a gang was, the more they needed to get busted up.

“Hang on.” Hopping over the counter and moseying to the medicine isle, Yaguro grabbed some antibiotic ointment and bandages, before heading back and opening the bottle. He wasn’t going to pay, but knew his boss wouldn’t miss this little.


Taking a look at the girls wounds, Yaguro started to apply some ointment to the first, before opening the package of bandages.

“This ‘helping’ business, I’ll be honest what my buddy does isn’t exactly legal; But it’s the right thing. He believes everyone should be free to use their quirks when they want, that nobody will commit crimes when every citizen is a superhero just waiting to stop them.” The punk tore off a piece of bandage with an audible rip, and started to wrap it around the first of Carmen’s arm wounds, smoke from his cigarette wafting into her face.


“And he’s right. Your shitty gang friends wouldn’t even think about so much as pickpocketing if they knew everyone was free to blast them with quirks; But until then he’s the best defense average people have got.” As he finished treating the rest of Carmen’s wounds, Yaguro took his cigarette out of his mouth and put it out on the counter, before flicking it into a trash bin.

“He’s a good person, he’ll help you out; He just might need some of your help in return; I bet you probably know a lot about the underbelly of this world, and I know he’s been looking for someone to help him with that.”

Leaning over the counter, Yaguro quickly grabbed a package of beef jerky from a hanger and tossed it to the girl.

“If you’re not interested I get it, but if you’re willing to help, he can make sure what happened to you won’t happen to anyone else.”

[carmen]

The punk cringed at the cold ointment being applied to the wound, yet she still kept a close eye on the guy as he tended to them. She was on high alert now, not knowing if he was actually “helping”, or was biding his time until he could get information from her. It was nerve wracking, to say the least. Listening carefully to his words, it was all but confirmed that this friend was a vigilante… however, the words he was saying were familiar… too familiar. It was what she wanted… and what she told only one person… Was this friend the same vigilante who she encountered? Their cigarette smoke coiled around each other as he tore off the first bandage.

“W… what does this man look like? If he’s who I think he is… we might’ve met before…” She simply asked, unsure if she would get a clear answer. However, a scowl spread across the punk’s face when she called the other members of the gang her “friends”. They were the farthest thing from friends. “But listen here; the people who did this are not even close to being my friend. I hate them all… I hate each and every single one of them, including the two bastards that created me… I’m forced to be near them… to be one of those conniving little snakes hurting others for their own profit… I would kill to get away from them, to never see any of them again, so don’t EVER call them my friends!” Her tone was filled with anger, the thought of calling them her friends. “But I feel the same way this “friend” of yours feels. People shouldn’t be afraid to defend themselves… and heroes don’t deserve to be at the top… If I do know this friend… he knows how I feel about it…” 

Standing up from the chair, she lightly rubbed her bandaged arm, Zaf and Eulalie sniffing it for a second. Carmen’s body became stiff as a board when a proposition was thrown to her.

“So you’re asking me to be a rat? To let you and that vigilante know about that gang?” Leaning against the counter, she rubbed her face and thought about it. It would help greatly to clear the streets, to take those monsters she was trapped with down a notch or too… but it was far too risky. “You know, I follow alot of the same ideologies as this man, and you it seems. This is dangerous… in the gang, I’m the only one who would rat anyone out… but…” An idea bloomed in Carmen’s brain as she opened the jerky, Eulalie literally diving into the bag as Carmen put it down, Zafira following into the bag as the two girls squeaked at each other while ravenously eating their food. Turning to the man, she put her jacket on before sharing her idea. 

“The gang I’m stuck with is a small one… but it’s part of a much grander and stronger community. One of these small gangs don’t control it all; they each have their territory that they take over, and the larger the area covered, the more powerful the gang. With this, we also know about heists happening all around the city. They have one rule, which is don’t intrude on others territory without permission or a good excuse… and let’s say that one territory’s gang collapses; there would be a war as to who controls it, and it ruins the whole dynamic of everything. It’ll spread like cancer in the community, especially if multiple sections were taken down.” Tossing the man a look, she crossed her arms. “Now with the gang I’m trapped in, it may be easy to draw out the younger ones, but there needs to be alot of patience and an extreme and threatening situation to draw the actual members out to snuff them out. And I DO believe the collapse of multiple allies DOES count as an extreme and threatening situation, don’t you agree?” 

Then it clicked; Carmen had an advantage in this! She felt confidence for once in her life as she went to the drink fridge, pulling out a royal honey drink and popping it open. “Now, I can take a beating, as you can see… but one thing that I struggle with is money and food. You say my side of this bargain is protection, but I’ve had my ass beaten and abused my entire life.” A cocky smirk was across her as she went behind the counter and opened the cigarette display and took a carton. “Let’s sweeten the deal; If I become you and your friend's informant, I get the supplies I need. I get food, cigarettes, drinks, all of it. Hell, I’ll ask for a few yen with the more risky jobs. And I want to meet the guy ASAP. I’m not going to put my ass on the line without knowing who this person is… behind the shitty masks and all.” She sat on the counter, taking a drink of the soda, drunk with power… yet, she could as easily get her ass kicked out of this place and banned, but she had nothing to lose at this point.

[yaguro]

“Not sure, I’ve only ever seen him in his mask.” Yaguro answered. It was honest enough, for a dishonest answer.
While surprised by her anger, Yaguro was glad to hear that Carmen seemed to hate her gang almost as much as he did; It meant she’d be far more likely to betray them. It sounded like she had a bad deal in life already, so hopefully she wouldn’t see much change in becoming a snitch.

Listening to Carmen talk more about her gang, Yaguro nodded along as if he was paying attention; In reality he already knew a lot of the broader picture of the gang underworld.
“Yeah, I get it. Asking you to turn your back on your crew puts your life in a lot of danger; I’d say you’re striking a pretty fair bargain. I’ll get you what you need, hell if you want to pay for it yourself I can even see about getting you a job here.”
This girl definitely knew how to barter for what she wanted. It was the smart play; Ask for something in return for risking your life.
“My guy has been working the rounds on a lot of gangs; Yours is one of the most recent ones he has started to look into. If you’re serious about helping, I know he can guarantee your safety. Are you in?”
Yaguro knew that he was putting Carmen in immense danger asking her to do this; But it didn’t matter. As long as he could take more scum off the streets, nothing else mattered.

[carmen]

A mask… Not a very identifiable feature in a vigilante, but it did give Carmen a bit more confidence that it could be the man who she met before. It would be an insane coincidence if she would actually be reuniting with the same vigilante. Still, she didn’t get her hopes up too much with it. Staring at the cashier and taking another sip of the drink, she was at least happy he didn’t flip out with her sudden burst of confidence around the store. Hell, he agreed with her suggestions, as well. What made her eyes light up, though, was the offer of employment. This could change everything for her. She’d have an actual income and be able to afford food for both her and her ferret girls. She could even save up for the future and be free of the bastards she called parents and the rest of those lowlife gang members.
With how this guy described the vigilante, it sounded like he had alot of experience with the other gangs. Word got around quickly about any encounters, though it was hard for Carmen to get any of the news with how isolated she was with the gangs. Still, she heard about some crimes that ended poorly such as a recent cult hit, as well as a few small break ins and a carjacking that were thwarted. How many of these were actually stopped by this vigilante was unknown, but maybe with the punk’s help, there would be more interference in the criminal underworld.
Leaning on the table, Carmen let Zaf climb back to her post on her shoulder, Eulalie still being ravenous as ever and eating more.
“I am serious about this. If you're serious about me getting a job, the reward really outweighs the negatives of this deal. Not to mention I really want these bastards taken down a peg or two. So, simply put… I’m in.” A large smirk was across the punk’s face as she felt control over herself and her destiny for the first time ever. “Oh. The name’s Carmen.” She said, taking a final puff of her now spent cigarette before extinguishing it and tossing it, not worrying too much since she pretty much had an unlimited stash now. Her confidence was through the roof, her giving the name she chose, and finally being referred to that name instead of the one plastered on her by the monsters she had as parents.“This one on my shoulder is Zafira, and that little nugget in the bag is Eulalie.”

[yaguro]

And there it was; She was in. A large smirk came across Yaguro’s face along with her confirmation. Now he had someone on the inside; Now taking down the whole gang would be a simple matter. One less group of rough mindless trash could be taken off the streets.
“Yaguro. Trust me, you’ve definitely made the right choice. I’ll be talking with my boss as soon as possible about a job; I’m almost certain he mentioned open spots for a few of the shifts, so you’ll likely get in quick.”
Taking another look at the ferrets, Yaguro raised his eyebrows at the interested choice in names. “They’re cute in their own way; Like cats that got stretched out. Not sure if they’ll be allowed when you’re working though, but you can probably keep them in a pet carrier in the supply closet.”
Taking a look at his phone, the punk noticed the time; It was closing hours, time to shut down the store for an hour while they waited for night shift to come take over.
“I gotta close up.” Jotting his phone number down on a piece of paper, he handed it to Carmen. “I’ll text you simple locations and nothing more; That’s where you’ll meet up with our friend. He moves quickly, so just make sure to get wherever he needs you to be as quickly as you can.”
Moving to the store’s entrance and opening the door, Yaguro ushered Carmen out.
“Head home. Wait for a message.”
Giving her a reassuring smile, the vigilante couldn’t be happier. This was going to be a wonderful start…

[carmen]

Yaguro… She made sure that name stuck in her mind. Right now, that name was her ticket out of her hell, a way to freedom and her true goals of life. This felt greater than anything the punk had done in her entire life. Her dream could come to fruition at last. For the first time in probably years, an honest smile spread across Carmen’s face. Cracking her back, she reached into the hot food display, grabbing a curry bun. She was going to reap these benefits of this exchange as much as she could, and right now she was goddamn starving. This would be the first hot piece of food she’d eaten in probably weeks at this point, and the thin girl needed it.
When Yaguro spoke of shifts, she nodded.
“I can usually sneak away either during the early day or sometimes late at night. I might be called out to do… well, at this point you know… might be called onto a heist certain nights. I’ll just keep doing what I usually do and be defiant during them. Expect to see more bruises and crap since I’ll probably have to go against them even more.” The only negative to all of this… She might be used to being beaten and battered by everyone around her, but it still wasn’t fun. Still, the positives outweighed these negatives in this situation. Worry filled Carmen, however, when it was mentioned about Zafira and Eulalie. “I’ll tell them they’re therapy animals. They practically are, at this point. They wouldn’t do good locked up without me around, especially this little nugget.” She picked up the bag of jerky, Eulalie wiggling wildly inside as she put it into her bag before taking her phone from it.
Carmen took the piece of paper and typed the number into her cracked phone, making sure to put down “contact” as the name. If she had anyones name in there that her gang or her parents didn’t know, it would lead to alot of questions. This made it sound like a connection for her gang. Maybe she’d get an actually nice nod from someone if they thought she was helping the gang like this… Listening to the guy, she began walking out, standing in front of the store. When he asked her to “go home”, she scoffed.
“Yeah, hell no. I’m not going home tonight to get beaten and berated even more by my wasted parents. If you need to find me, look on an apartment rooftop. Maybe a bench or some crap if I get in trouble. I’ll keep an eye out for any message. Until then, Yaguro.” With that, she turned into an alley, looking up before shooting a portal near a fire escape and one near her feet. Jumping in, she grabbed onto it and balanced, climbing up before using another set of portals to get her the rest of the way up. Going from rooftop to rooftop, she found one with a large vent, creating a covering. Walking there and setting her bag down, she pulled out the bun and her drink, Zaf and Eulalie running into Carmen’s lap and curling up for warmth. Soon enough she wouldn’t need to sleep outside for peace… soon enough, this hell would be over. She leaned back and ate, lying on the cold hard cement of the roof and staring at the night sky, feeling more comfortable and content than she had in a long time.

[Fanthes]

[nospaces]

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✨MISSION SUCCESS!✨

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✓ They'll never see it coming! [break][break]
Yaguro - 5.000 // 10.000[break]
Carmen - 500 // 5.500

+ 5.000 EXP!

---

Tag: yaguro, carmen

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