[𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲]

Nirvana remained as elusive as it was exclusive. As victims to mass hypnosis, the party never happened. It may have been rescheduled but my peers and I were excluded from any invitations. Or so I thought. It was lunch when Watanabe Sakura corralled us once more.

“I’m not interested in another nap.” What happened wasn’t the club’s fault, but it was an easy enough scapegoat. I’d leverage whatever possible to avoid joining them.

“I don’t care what you’re interested in. You aren’t ruining this for me.” Watanabe was as persistent as ever. “That goes for all of you.”

Night comes and we’re on the way to Nirvana. Sigh. If unwarranted socialization weren’t annoying enough, our group draws the ire of a few criminals. They brandished a firearm and we raised our hands in unison. We were all hero students or hero adjacent, this was nothing new to us. But I doubt most of these would have become professionals. Not in combat, anyway.

“Give us all your shit.” They held out a duffle bag for us to dump our person’s and wallets into. “Or else.”

---

Elias

[Elias]

The Bird of Hermes is    my name                       Eat  My   WINGS   TO   KEEP   ME   TAME 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲

Had the message not been conveyed clearly enough after the Skull Rider debacle? Shinjuku was both pleasure and purgatory in equal measure. The thrills were endless for those willing to pay the right price. But affluence drew undesirables like flies to shit. Forget the honey. Not here, though. Not around the Nirvana.
 
The Wish-Maker’s writing was on the wall for all of the underworld to see. Go about your business, legal or otherwise, but you leave Nirvana and the surrounding neighborhood in peace. Crime WAS his business, but he didn’t want it scaring away his patrons and the smokescreen they provided. The Hibernacula lived on NIrvana's dime, daring and success. He wouldn't have those efforts come undone at the hands of a few nameless ne'er-do-wells. 

"Now that’s not very gentlemanly of you, sir," Elias nearly purred, the head of his cane set atop the firearm's barrel. 

He was moseying on back from conducting some rather personal business when he happened upon the scene. A few thugs held up a few familiar faces, though he couldn't quite place from where. Fortunately, despite the personal nature of said business, two of his trained and armed security guards were with him. 

"Well, maybe you can do the gentlemanly thing and help a neighbor out," the thug said, turning on Elias. 

The lead thug eyed the Wish-Maker, unamused and undeterred. All he saw was a new and extremely well-dressed mark that had offered himself up. They hadn't recognized him, didn't know the sheep for the lion he was. 

"Leave now, and we'll make nothing more of this misunderstanding. Continue and... well, if my associates here don't break you entirely," he waved a hand to the two men at his sides, "the hospital bills will."

Most of the Nirvana security were well trained, though not quite the best. Couldn't hire on your own small military without raising some questions. A handful of the guards, though, were those that also worked the HIbernacula, and they may as well have been a private military force. These two were of the latter variety. And then, of course, there was Elias, whose red threads were racing down his back and along his legs, crawling across the ground and ready to swoop up and redirect any weapons pointed the man's way. The Wish-Maker always stacked the deck.  

OWL

[𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲]

You can tell whether a man’s confidence came from his weapon or his character by the way he carried himself. There was a clumsiness to his movements and a relaxed grip. He waved around the firearm while shooting the breeze with his comrades. There was an inability to assess the situation around him and the people he held hostage. All of us could take him out but none of us were willing to risk injury of another. A wallet was pennies when weighed against the soul.

Elias stepped in. Who better than a bar owner to deal with a man drunk off power? The rest of the men are armed, some dragging pipes along the ground while others hid blades in their waistband, calves, sleeves, etc. There was one gun.

The guards by his side approached and he was eager to squeeze the trigger. But before he could shoot them down he’d have to aim at one. Before he could aim, he’d have to choose who to target. And before he could choose who to target, I’d be behind him, locking his arm in place.

The rest of the criminals sprung into action, but between the guards and UAU students, they’d be quickly apprehended. The man flinches as I apply pressure and the gun falls from his hand. I catch it, release the magazine, pull the slide, and empty the chamber.

“Sorry to bring trouble to your neighborhood.” A slight bow. It’s weird but cultural or whatever. None of this was our fault but I’d rather stay in his good graces, considering the establishment we’re headed to.

---

Elias

[Elias]

The Bird of Hermes is    my name                       Eat  My   WINGS   TO   KEEP   ME   TAME 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲

It all happened so fast. They were thoughts and words usually indicative of fear; but Elias was at home in the mess splayed out before him. It came with both territories he claimed dominion over, club owner and criminal kingpin. As always, the situation was quite under control. More so than even he anticipated.

Hero students. Definitely hero students judging by their ability to leap into action while keeping a cool head. By the time Elias’s men apprehended two of the thugs, the students had four grounded, and one had the head honcho's arm locked before swiftly disarming him. It was when this particular student bowed that recollection reeled the boy's name in from memory. His little friend, too. 

"No apologies necessary, Rahul," Elias offered the boy before looking his classmates over, "ah, Ms. Watanabe, I hope our mannerless visitant here hasn't put you off." 

"If I recall correctly, I offered your first round of libations on the house," he said to the group collectively before turning his attention back to the thugs. "Though I do suppose it may have to wait until after the authorities arrive. I'll assure them of your acting only my defense." 

"As for you," he eyed the disarmed band leader, "I suggest you keep still and not cause any more problems."   

It was time to dial the authorities. There was a perverse irony to Elias calling in the police, but for one to succeed in this business, one must deal with all the cards at play. Hopefully, these belligerents would do as they were told and keep quiet. 

OWL

[𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲]

A firearm didn’t intoxicate him. It was an easy mistake given the variables. But what I didn’t account for, or couldn’t have accounted for in such a short amount of time, was the possibility of a triggered quirk. We’re used to the standard classification: emitter, transformation, mutation… we’ve built social circles and castes based on these designations. But much like the human body, quirks were nuanced and under researched. We’ve spent a better part of a century exploring every facet available to us. Even then, we weren’t prepared for the variety gifted to us. Or the march of evolution, each step a war drum.

Watanabe couldn’t reply. The man brought dreams to life. From his mind came a psychic entity, a warbling echo — a living night terror. The man becomes nothing more than a head as his body transforms into a vessel for a monster littered with tendrils that seem to phase in and out of existence, shifting like one dream to another.

A single swipe knocked the students to sleep, myself included. Shit…

I try to conjure a bunny, but my body falls asleep before a thought could travel between the synapses of my brain.

---

Elias

[Elias]

The Bird of Hermes is    my name                       Eat  My   WINGS   TO   KEEP   ME   TAME 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲

Perhaps Elias cried victory a little too soon. Cornered animals fought the hardest, and this animal was quite literally a thing of nightmares. It would swing tooth, claw, and tendril. No one was to be spared. 

It was a Lovecraftian horror warping in and out of existence, but when a very tangible tendril swung Elias's way, the crimson skein below the gathering's feet exploded upward to meet it. The students had dropped, a single touch whispering death or defeat of some sort. 

"Tsk tsk tsk," Elias sucked his teeth, "didn't anyone ever teach you about consent? No touching!" He snarled those final few words. The threads tightened, and a single tendril exploded into blood and viscera. 

 

"Shoot the damn thing!" He commanded his men. 

The two guards drew their firearms and squeezed the triggers. A few threads weaved around the beast and dragged the students away. Lives in his hands. How odd it was to play the savior, but they were pieces in a far larger game now. Investments. Potentially valuable investments. Elias just needed to keep them alive and survive, of course.  

OWL

[𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲]

I awoke. Somehow.

I vaguely recalled the sight of a man melting into an eldritch horror as he fell unconscious, but I’d be hard-pressed to recall the details of what the entity looked like. As my surroundings came into focus, I recognized the walls by the pamphlets Watanabe had handed us. Speaking of, I sit up and find my classmates on the ground next to me — unconscious, yet safe.

A small distance away was the owner. If he was already awake, then it was likely he never fell unconscious… his men must have dealt with the creature when we were struck down. The weak point was obvious. The head.

“Thanks for saving our lives,” It wasn’t much of a thanks but what else could you say when your life was saved? I’ve never found a satisfying arrangement of words that properly convey my gratitude. “But I still have one more favor to ask.” Might as well try. “I was interested in bartending, if there are any positions available.”

---

Elias

[Elias]

The Bird of Hermes is    my name                       Eat  My   WINGS   TO   KEEP   ME   TAME 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲

It was a messy affair to be certain. Elias wasn't as physically capable as those who came to his defense or even the students lying aground just a few meters away. He had been spared by fate, a fate that saw the others assailed before himself. The rest, however, was entirely his doing. 

Bullets blazed through the beast. Deep violet ichor spat into the air when a few shots landed, but more often than not, the bullets phased right through the monster. One massive tendril wrapped around Soetsu's leg. He fell unconscious immediately, and it didn't end there. The tendril swung the man around like a ragdoll and smashed him into the ground. Something crunched. 

Elias's threads wrapped around the beastie, falling straight through it as it became temporarily intangible, then ensnared it again. Every attempt was made to keep it immobile until, finally, Takeru landed the kill shot. A bullet through its very human brain. 

With that, the monster slumped onto the ground, dead. The mythical beast was made man as its tether to the realm of nightmares faded. They would have much explaining to do, but first, a wish. Elias had Takeru wish for everyone's health. Soetsu's wounds came undone, his bones healed, and he awoke shortly after. Just a few moments later, one of the students followed suit. 

"Think nothing of it, young hero. I'm sure you would have done the same," Elias asserted. "Now, do check on your classmates. I'm sure the police will require the licenses of my associates and an explanation for their reports."

Elias turned to flashing red and blue lights, which grew brighter with every passing moment. Technically, they were defending themselves, and his people were all legally able to carry. Not the easiest feat in Japan, but they managed. 

Then Rahul inquired about potential work. Elias paused. Pros and cons galore, and yet there was so little time to think it over. A UA student could offer so much potential insight into the goings of hero society. What's more, his presence offered all the more cover for the club's other dealings-if the boy didn't find what lay below the NIrvana himself. 

"Hm, an interesting request. I never thought we would employ a student of the renowned UAU. Come by Monday night. We'll give it a test run. I warn you, we only hire the best, but maybe you can shadow some of our bartenders, help out a bit, and if all goes well, we'll see about giving you a full position."  

OWL

[𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲]

Rabbits spawned from my hands as they soft, fluffy fur comforted my fallen comrades. They’d gently awaken to lovabl pets, eager to accept any pats and scritches. We all knew how to handle ourselves around authorities, making it easier to wake them than to organize the information while they were unconscious. Fortunately, Watanabe was the last to join us in the land of the conscious. Making my acceptance of his invitation a secret I’d hold until she eventually uncovered it with her obsessive, overbearing nature.

“I’m a quick learner. Shadowing’s for the best.” I knew my strengths. And I knew the ways in which you navigate the club to maximize both the profit of the business and yourself. Plus, as used to them as I were, my eyes were an easy topic of conversation. They were unnaturally blue, like my mother’s.

“I’ll deal with them.” I tilt my head toward my peers. “You’ve got enough on your plate. I'll see you Monday.”

---

Elias

[Jinx]

☆ MISSION SUCCESS ☆

Thought they had an alley-oop but it turned into an alley-oops!
Great thread you two!

+ 7,500 EXP!!

Rahul: 15,250 // 22,750
Elias: 1,500 // 9,000 

tag: 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲,Elias