[attr="class","dangertxt"]
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Something was wrong, he could feel it. [break][break]
A few weeks ago at the bar, Akiyama Ren overheard a co-worker's concerns about her spouse’s safety. The way she told it was that at her husband’s job, there was a rumor going around that someone or something was out to get the company. Apparently, a lot of places around the area had been hit or something like that? The woman didn’t know a lot about the specifics, and Ren was even worse at putting them together. Luckily, he didn’t need the details. The moment he heard about it, he told his good friend, the neighboring knight Hagane, to look into it. Unfortunately, he sucked at being a detective. [break][break]
The Human Forge had been here four different times for four uneventful stake-outs. Trying to find related cases didn’t lead to much, as far as he was concerned. There were a couple of headlines that caught his eye, pertaining to a certain company, but he couldn’t follow up on those. Police Officers aren’t too keen on sharing their findings with crazy kids in medieval armor, especially for cases involving high-profile tech conglomerates. He’d spent a whole month trying to get to the bottom of this, and he had nothing to show for it. [break][break]
On the many bike rides back home, he’d thought about letting this whole thing go. Of chalking it up to it being a baseless rumor and going on his way. Nothing had gone down. there was nothing to prove, no villain to fight, and more leads to follow. He wanted to say that he’d done all he could, but that didn’t sit right with him. He couldn’t imagine facing his co-worker and telling her that, even from behind his visor. At the very least, he could make sure the man got back home for the holidays. [break][break]
First, he needed to make a call. [break][break]
“Listen, I’m really sorry, mom, I know it's the third time this month.” The boy’s voice softly echoed throughout an empty alleyway, a woman could be heard, faintly coming from the speaker.
“But I’m gonna be home a little late for the festival.” He nodded away in response, with a look of guilt taking over his features. He seemed to be busy, given how he was holding the device in place by smushing it between his cheek and his shoulder.
“Mhm... yeah... I know. I'm sorry.”[break][break]
“Yeah, I know you switched shifts and-... Mhm… ” The young man paused to hide a grunt, both hands gripping a steel cable with all their might and his body standing at a perfect ninety-degree angle from a concrete wall.
“Listen, I’ll be back as soon as I can, so you and dad can go ahead and we'll meet me there, okay. I’m really sorry about this.” The lifeline wrapped itself around him, giving just enough safety for him to take a breath and put one foot forward, then the other, pulling himself towards the top in the process- One step at a time, he’d will himself up the building wall, confidently making his headway, until one question froze him in his tracks.
“O-Oh, my wish?!? Yeah, I-I have it ready, I’ll have it on me when I get there.” [break][break]
“Look, I gotta’ go. Don’t wait up… Love you, too… Bye” Once he was done justifying his repeated absences and late arrivals to his family, Ren would push his body over the ledge, stepping onto the roof. One that overlooked Sovereign’s Supplier. He should’ve been spending the night at the neighborhood’s festival, enjoying the food, and wishing upon a star for a year of good luck with his family. Yet here he was, lying to his mom, skulking around rooftops at night, breaking and entering, alone, with no food, and not even the first inklings of a wish in his mind.
"What am I gonna' do about this?"[break][break]
It wasn’t an aversion to the festivities, by any means. If anything, he had kind of been looking forward to this one. See, for the last couple of years, it seems, Ren had developed a fondness for the Hoshimatsuri Star Festival. The food was nice, although it could stand to be a little cheaper; the stalls were good fun to browse through, with some cool little finds here and there; but something about the folklore behind it, it just, you know; it really spoke to him.[break][break]
Its just that there's this story of this really sheltered, super-talented and divine princess falling for a simple, nice humble farm boy. And though the princess’ family separates them, that’s not enough to keep them down. On the seventh day of the seventh month, they travel from two opposite ends of the Milky Way, until they finally meeting above the night sky. I mean, could you imagine that? Two people who love each other so much that they’re willing to go through every obstacle the world throws at them, and even though the going gets tough, and some years, they can't see each other, they keep trying and they make it work. What a novel idea, Ren thought. Wouldn’t that be nice? [break][break]
Putting those thoughts behind him, his head leaned over to look between the two rooftops. Surely, he would’ve seen the massive quicksilver serpent excising a window from its frame, if not for the massive building standing between Villain and Vigilante. Had he been watching from any other angle, he would’ve witnessed it all unfold. Maybe he could’ve even stopped it. Luckily for Kioko, he just so happened to be on the opposite end of from where she was making her entrance. [break][break]
While Kioko ascended through the second-story window, Ren was watching the opposite side of the building, completely unaware that the robbery he’d come to stop was already happening.
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Tsubame Kaiji is a 44 year-old wayward soul. He’s about six foot, though with the way his back lurches, he doesn’t really look it. He works the graveyard shift somewhere you wouldn’t know the name of. They sell supplies to tech companies, apparently they got a few big clients, like these guys who make stuff for Heroes. He doesn’t really care much for that nor does he pay attention to the pessimistic rumors that someone or something is coming to get the company.[break][break]
During his free time, or well, when he
had free time, he liked to do some carpentry on the side. Mainly, he stuck to building these tiny
little houses and hanging them up on his window. Maybe pack ‘em in with some peanuts, seeds or breadcrumbs in case some little critters pop in. But he hasn’t done that in a while, that being said, maybe he can start his next project after this shift.[break][break]
He dropped out of college, was between jobs for a while, and it was a bit touch-and-go there for a couple of years, but he’s starting to turn it around. He got this stable gig that pays on time, for once; he met this really funny woman at the bar one night, and they’ve been going steady ever since; and he’s even got somethin special planned for next month. Overall, he’s doing good… for now.
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While a certain viper was making her slick and subtle infiltration, Kaiji was busy sweeping his way through the floor above hers. Pondering the adult questions in life like, “do I have enough for rent this month?”, “My back hurts, should I go see a Doctor?”, and most importantly, “how long until my shift is over?” But none of these were loud enough to drown out the sound of stiletto heels tapping away with metronomic precision. Did someone come to pick up something they left? He asked himself, before moving closer, reaching the nearest set of stairs while none the wiser about any other pieces moving about in the shadows.
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