[Lucille Arbogast]

Winter was fast approaching and nowhere was that more evident than with the coming of Black Friday. She was considering just staying inside and ordering gifts from online like she did last year, but somehow it just didn't feel right. There was just a completely different feeling to showing up in person and buying physical gifts for someone. Being able to walk around and browse and take guesses at what the people closest to her might like.

As she walked among the aisles her eyes settled on a Rubik's cube. What a perfect gift for Iphigenia! ...Or, well, it would be a perfect gift for all of five seconds before she would have solved it. No, maybe her own love of puzzles was driving her desire to purchase it, but as she reached out she hesitated. This day wasn't for her to splurge money on herself, she was here to get things for others. Next she stopped to look at a yoga mat. Would Stellar be into that sort of thing? She could easily imagine her doing yoga, all while smiling and laughing, but on the flipside she might also want something more exciting. She grumbled to herself as she thought about what to do. She barely didn't even notice the person trying to step past her and quickly stepped aside so they could be let through. Looking at them she bowed her head in apology. ''Sorry!'' She smiled back apologetically, but what caught her eyes next made that awkward smile turn into a serious, terrified expression.

Was that... Diego?!

Diego Ibarra

[Diego Ibarra]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","currage"]

[attr="class","currage1"]

[attr="class","curragetop"]

[attr="class","curragelyric"]

heart of steel

stand and fight live by your heart

[attr="class","currageimg"]

[attr="class","currageimg2"]

[attr="class","currageimg3"]

[attr="class","curragetag"]

written for Lucille Arbogast,

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","curragepost"]



The holidays had never been easy for Diego. When he was a kid, he didn't have a family or even a place he could call home, so the winter just meant being cold and extra hungry. Even when Luci came into the picture, it wasn't easy making sure she was fed let alone him. Usually there was enough money leftover for one present and at the time Diego always made sure she had something to open on Christmas Day.[break][break]

Was that what brought him here? Not exactly; instead, he was here to give a gift to the leader of Bansho for taking him in and helping him all these years. With a beanie, jacket, glasses and removing the skull bone he usually had he made his way through the shopping mall slowly knocking off stuff on his list of things to buy. [break][break]

He was so focused that when he bumped into Luci, he didn't even realize it was her, saying, "Sorry about that." He continued to make his way through the crowd. It was respectful to buy gifts for all your coworkers and with Shurin being easy that left the two ladies. [break][break]

His only experience with that was with Luci, but he doubted a puzzle box or something shiny would be appreciated by those two so it was about window shopping until he found something. First was a luxury store with candles as the main selling point. He would enter and look around, picking up a few and sniffing them before asking someone for help. He had to find something that Chi-Chi would like...something girly? fruity? He was really clueless.

[attr="class","curragebot"]notes and stuff here? burn the bridge before you, leave no retreat. there's only one way home. those who laugh and crowd the path and cut each other's throats will fall like melting snow.

[attr="class","curragebot3"]

PHARAOH LEAP CREATES

[googlefont=Roboto:400,700]
[googlefont=Roboto Condensed:400,700]
[googlefont=Mr Dafoe]

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[Lucille Arbogast]

Diego?!

Had he just walked right past her? Was he ignoring her on purpose or had he just been too lost in thought to notice her? He couldn't really blame him, since she had bundled up for fall with a scarf and a long coat, but that was besides the point. If anything, she was in luck. A notorious villain was just walking around like he wasn't wanted by the Heroes Association, and she now had the opportunity to get the jump on him. On the one hand, she wasn't on the job, but on the other she couldn't leave a villain free to roam around like this. Keeping her distance a little bit, she decided to tail him so she could see what kind of evil co-conspirators he would meet up with. A plan to steal all the wares in the store? Maybe he was looking to take hostages, or use the busy day as a distraction of some kind.

No... He wasn't dressed up to do anything bad was he? No villain outfit, and the skull piece missing should be the biggest indicator. This was more like a Daigo appearance, he was here in disguise. ''Does he know he looks cute in glasses and a beanie?'' She muttered to herself from behind the aisle she was peeking out from. For a moment, he looked like the old Diego. Just a man who was out looking for good deals like everyone else. She thought back to that night of undercover work with him at the company... Could she have had a normal life with Diego? One where they didn't have to fight on opposite sides? ''What are you up to...'' She furrowed her brow at Diego, causing a concerned mother to stop up and look at Lucille with concern. ''Ah! D-Don't you think it's crowded today?'' She saved it by waving her hands in front of her own face frantically and letting out a chuckle. ''Crowds freak me out, sorry if I alarmed you!''

''That's okay, I actually just wanted to look at those grills you're standing by.''

''Oh-'' Luci awkwardly shuffled out of her way.

''You see, my husband's birthday is the day before Christmas.''

Oof, that stung. How nice that she had a loving husband.

Wait...

That was it!

Diego was out here buying gifts for his uh... Villain colleagues! Or his loved ones like...

Ellie...

Luci ducked down behind the aisle and took a deep breath. ''Let him go, he's allowed to like other people...'' She sulked, before thinking to look back for Diego in case he moved so she could follow him.

Diego Ibarra

[Diego Ibarra]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","currage"]

[attr="class","currage1"]

[attr="class","curragetop"]

[attr="class","curragelyric"]

heart of steel

stand and fight live by your heart

[attr="class","currageimg"]

[attr="class","currageimg2"]

[attr="class","currageimg3"]

[attr="class","curragetag"]

written for Lucille Arbogast,

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","curragepost"]



His brow furled as he went from candle to candle having chosen to live minimalist he didn't have a single clue how to properly decorate. Not only were their different scents but different types of wax? What was the difference between essential oils and coconut wax...? He weighed the two candles between himself before a friendly store clerk approached and offered him a hand. Out of earshot of Luci he would start to explain as they walked, "I'm not good with this type of thing you see its a gift for a coworker and I'm not sure what she likes..." they would get closer to where Luci would now hear and Diego would continue with what he was saying not sounding wildly out of context "...She's about...25? Young and a lot of energy. I don't want to disappoint her." He would stop as the clerk took in what he said and then handed him a candle. "This one is very popular with our younger ladies!" He would inspect it, reading the words 'Moonlight Mist', which was ultimately nonsense to him, but nodded. As she rung it up he would pay with cash and then make his way down the mall. [break][break]

As he walked, he would look at all the store names before pausing at a clothing store catered exclusively to women. He would squint as he read some of what they had on sale but ultimately decided to keep going. Sure, Yaeko might be happy with clothing but if there was one thing he didn't want to risk it was getting her the wrong size. She helped with all of his medical issues for free on her own time and he had a lot of respect for the lengths she would go for the rest of In'ei.[break][break]

He did remember that she was interested in arts and crafts so after a few more stores he entered a crafts store. The real question was...where to even start? He was pretty hopeless.[break][break]

[attr="class","curragebot"]notes and stuff here? burn the bridge before you, leave no retreat. there's only one way home. those who laugh and crowd the path and cut each other's throats will fall like melting snow.

[attr="class","curragebot3"]

PHARAOH LEAP CREATES

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[googlefont=Mr Dafoe]

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[Lucille Arbogast]

''They're 25?!'' She whispered to herself from behind her cover. Who could be so lucky to receive a gift from Diego? Another villain? Or did he somehow lead a civilian double life and he was making newer and better friends? Maybe he had already gotten over them and had let her go years ago. That was probably it... She was the only one of the two of them still hanging on, clinging to the idea that one day they could go back to the good old days. Wait... She's 25?

SHE?

Lucille felt another knife go through her heart. He was talking about Ellie for sure! Young and energetic and probably super likable, not an old failure like herself. She pouted to herself as she looked out from her cover. A candle popular with younger ladies? She liked it, so that meant she was young too! 31 was hardly that much older than 25 anyways...

After following him for a bit longer she was able to deduce that he definitely wasn't here because he was about to commit a robbery. Not unless he was scoping out the different stores, but she somehow doubted he wanted to do that during Black Friday. Besides, she just saw him stop in front of a clothing store for women. That Ellie...

She furrowed her brow as she continued to try and stay out of sight while still tailing him. Why didn't he shop for clothes? Too fancy for his cool new villain girlfriend? She let out a small sigh. Life wasn't fair at all, why was she even still following him? If only she could call Stellar and ask her to swap with her. Luci was fine following and monitoring villains, but every moment she followed Diego it was like her heart was being ripped to pieces all over again.

She looked at him as he walked into the crafts store, confused at his behavior. Why was he just kind of... Standing there? It was like he didn't even know what he was looking for. She took a step forward. Should she confront him now or... She scanned her surroundings and decided against it. There were still too many innocent people around and with his powers he could not only get away quickly, but easily take hostages to use against her. She needed to wait for a more opportune moment.

Diego Ibarra

[Diego Ibarra]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","currage"]

[attr="class","currage1"]

[attr="class","curragetop"]

[attr="class","curragelyric"]

heart of steel

stand and fight live by your heart

[attr="class","currageimg"]

[attr="class","currageimg2"]

[attr="class","currageimg3"]

[attr="class","curragetag"]

written for Lucille Arbogast,

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","curragepost"]



Diego sighed as he walked into the store. This was proving to be an impossible challenge and he was absolutely terrible at gift giving. The only person he ever did right by was Luci but that was over a decade ago. His eyes lingered on a puzzlebox near him before he shook his head and approached the clerk. [break][break]

This time he was sure he was going to get it right. "Excuse me, looking for a crafts project." If Luci caught up, she would definitely hear this next part: "She's fairly difficult to please, but I owe her a lot, so I want something personal." The clerk would nod and gesture to an origami kit which let you make different things such as cranes and hearts. Diego would pay and add it to the pile of gifts before exiting the store.[break][break]

It was odd, but even in his disguise, he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. It was a great disguise too so it was difficult to believe someone could track him.[break][break]

[attr="class","curragebot"]notes and stuff here? burn the bridge before you, leave no retreat. there's only one way home. those who laugh and crowd the path and cut each other's throats will fall like melting snow.

[attr="class","curragebot3"]

PHARAOH LEAP CREATES

[googlefont=Roboto:400,700]
[googlefont=Roboto Condensed:400,700]
[googlefont=Mr Dafoe]

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[Lucille Arbogast]

He owes her a lot? Luci stopped up when she heard him say those words. What was she getting so jealous and worked up over? Ellie had obviously done a lot for Diego, and as much as it pained her to see that her crush had moved on, maybe she should just accept it. His feelings mattered a lot more in the end, and if she truly loved him, she should let him go be with Ellie. What had she done for Diego lately? They hadn't seen each other for years until she came to Japan, and all she had done here was either try to capture him to bring him in, or be a nuisance to him and risk both of their lives because she was such a klutz...

She wiped a tear away as she got up from behind her cover when Diego exited the next store she had followed him into. No more personal feelings anymore. From now on she wasn't Lucille, she was Phantasmagoria, and she was shadowing a dangerous villain, not Diego. ''What are you going to do next?'' She muttered under her breath as she followed him. ''Does he even realize he caught the attention of a professional hero? He could outrun me at a moment's notice and yet, there he is, just walking around like he isn't on the Heroes Association's most wanted list.'' What would her colleagues do at a time like this? Iphigenia would probably have captured Diego already, but she was far from as smart as her.

...In fact, didn't she score lower than Diego in most subjects in school?

She looked down at her phone, taking her eyes off of him for a moment. Maybe she should call for reinforcements after all...

Diego Ibarra

[Diego Ibarra]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","currage"]

[attr="class","currage1"]

[attr="class","curragetop"]

[attr="class","curragelyric"]

heart of steel

stand and fight live by your heart

[attr="class","currageimg"]

[attr="class","currageimg2"]

[attr="class","currageimg3"]

[attr="class","curragetag"]

written for Lucille Arbogast,

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","curragepost"]



All while shopping there was this nagging feeling he couldn't quite shake. He had specifically chosen this day thanks to intel from Bansho that most active duty heroes would be away from the mall as they had purposely put one of their own on patrol, one who wouldn't flag Diego as a problem if they saw him and could feign ignorance in the unavoidable case. Clearly they couldn't account for everything and that was where Luci came in.[break][break]

Now that his guard was back up he would act normally until a chance arrived and he would move, in the literal blink of the eye, to get a look at his pursuer. Of course, it was her; who else would it be? He rolled his eyes and sighed heavily through his nostrils, knowing that getting Luci involved would just be trouble regardless of the intention she had, but he did have an idea. After missing so many birthdays he owed her more than a dozen gifts but the puzzlebox would have to do for now. "Excuse me." he'd keep his voice low. "Could you also wrap up one of those puzzle boxes?" Once she did he would make a swift exit from the store, slowly picking up his walking pace.[break][break]

As he rounded a mostly empty hallway, he would kick it into gear, placing the wrapped puzzle box on the ground and then getting to a vantage point to watch what Luci did since from her perspective it was as if he disappeared. Not exactly his smartest plan but when it came to her, he just couldn't stay away.[break][break]

[attr="class","curragebot"]notes and stuff here? burn the bridge before you, leave no retreat. there's only one way home. those who laugh and crowd the path and cut each other's throats will fall like melting snow.

[attr="class","curragebot3"]

PHARAOH LEAP CREATES

[googlefont=Roboto:400,700]
[googlefont=Roboto Condensed:400,700]
[googlefont=Mr Dafoe]

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clip-path: polygon(0 0, 100% 0, 100% 100%, 0 75%);clip-path: polygon(0 0, 100% 0, 100% 100%, 0 75%);padding:65px 45px 75px 0px;height:50px;color:#ffffff;text-shadow:1px 1px 0px rgba(0,0,0,.05);text-align:right;[/newclass]
[newclass=.curragelyric]font:50px Mr Dafoe;line-height:40px;position:relative;z-index:1;[/newclass]
[newclass=.curragelyric div]font:bold 10px Roboto;line-height:10px;text-transform:uppercase;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px!important;[/newclass]
[newclass=.curragelyric div span]margin-right:23px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.currageimg]height:110px;width:110px;padding:15px;background-color:rgba(245,245,245,.35);border-radius:100%;margin:-135px 0px 10px 40px;position:relative;z-index:10;[/newclass]
[newclass=.currageimg2]border-top:dotted 5px transparent;border-right:dotted 5px #ffffff;border-left:dotted 5px #ffffff;border-bottom:dotted 5px transparent;border-radius:100%;height:130px;width:130px;margin:-15px;position:absolute;-webkit-animation: LILIKASPIN 7s linear infinite; -moz-animation: LILIKASPIN 7s linear infinite; -o-animation: LILIKASPIN 7s linear infinite; animation: LILIKASPIN 7s linear infinite;[/newclass]
[newclass=.currageimg3]height:100px;width:100px;padding:5px;background-color:#ffffff;border-radius:100%;[/newclass]
[newclass=.currageimg img]height:100px;width:100px;border-radius:100%;[/newclass]
[newclass=.curragetag]font:bold 11px Roboto;text-transform:lowercase;line-height:10px;color:#cccccc;float:left;border:solid 1px #e3e3e3;background-color:#f3f3f3;border-radius:5px;padding:14px;margin-left:40px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.curragetag a]font:bold 11px Roboto!important;line-height:10px;color:#57bcc2!important;[/newclass]
[newclass=.curragepost]padding:15px 40px 35px 40px;font:10px Verdana;[/newclass]
[newclass=.curragepost font]font:bold 11px Roboto;color:#57bcc2;[/newclass]
[newclass=.curragepost b]font:bold 11px Roboto;color:#999999;[/newclass]
[newclass=.curragepost i]font:11px Roboto;font-style:italic;[/newclass]
[newclass=.curragebot]border:solid 1px #e3e3e3;background-color:#f3f3f3;padding:19px;font:bold 11px Roboto;text-align:right;color:#bbbbbb;border-radius:5px;margin:0px 40px -30px 85px;position:relative;z-index:1;[/newclass]
[newclass=.curragebot3]background-color:#57bcc2;height:80px;background: linear-gradient(to bottom right,#65cfc8, #57bcc2);-webkit-clip-path: polygon(0 0, 100% 60%, 100% 100%, 0 100%);-moz-clip-path: polygon(0 0, 100% 60%, 100% 100%, 0 100%);clip-path: polygon(0 0, 100% 60%, 100% 100%, 0 100%);[/newclass]
[newclass=.curragee] }@keyframes LILIKASPIN { 0% { -ms-transform: rotate(0deg); -moz-transform: rotate(0deg); -webkit-transform: rotate(0deg); -o-transform: rotate(0deg); transform: rotate(0deg); } 100% { -ms-transform: rotate(360deg); -moz-transform: rotate(360deg); -webkit-transform: rotate(360deg); -o-transform: rotate(360deg); transform: rotate(360deg); }[/newclass]

[Lucille Arbogast]

She took a deep breath. Just dial someone from Maxima, they would handle it more professionally than her. As things were right now she was compromising this whole thing because she let her feelings get mixed into her work. Usually she didn't have this problem, but with the villain being Diego... She looked back up only to notice that he was on the move again. No wait... Wasn't he speeding up? She started walking after him, faster this time so she could keep pace, but it got harder and harder, especially with the crowd of people that were out here shopping just like them. ''I can't lose sight of him!'' As soon as he rounded the corner she entered into a full sprint, spitting a glob of bouncy sludge onto the floor in front of her so that she could use it as a trampoline to jump over the crowd.

As soon as she had taken her jump she made sure to dissolve the sludge too, falling down into a perfect shoulder first rolling landing before coming to a stop. ''Whew!'' She sighed, turning to look where Diego had disappeared down... Only to find that not only were there no people here... There was no Diego. ''Eh?'' She stood up and looked around, scratching the back of her head. ''Eh?'' She walked forward, noticing the wrapped gift box. ''Where did he go? He was here just a second ago...'' She squatted down to pick the box up and gave it a careful shake. Was this a bomb? No, even if he was a villain that was so unlike Diego that it couldn't be. Besides, why put a bomb down in an empty hallway like this one? She had no other choice, she needed to confirm the contents before she proceeded any further. With a careful pinch she tore the wrapping off.

''A puzzle box?'' Her eyes lit up. She loved puzzles, and she had been eyeing this one for a while now! ...But wait, why did he leave a wrapped gift here? Was it for her? Could it be that he had... She sniffled, entertaining the possibility that he had gotten her a present for a moment before wiping her tears away with her sleeve. ''I'll be confiscating this...'' She nodded to herself. ''It's... Critical evidence in the case against Manticora.'' And rather than bring it into the agency, it would be much safer back at her apartment, where she could really inspect all the intricacies of the puzzle's mechanisms in peace. Diego got away again, but that was hardly new to her. Before she turned and walked away she looked down the empty hallway and smiled. She didn't know why, but she just had a feeling-

''Thank you!'' She called out to no one in particular, before giving up her pursuit and taking her new present home.

Diego Ibarra

[Jinx]

☆ MISSION SUCCESS ☆

♫ She sees you when you're shopping, she knows when you're awake ♫
Great thread you two!

+ 7,500 EXP!!

Lucille: 35,500 // 43,000
Diego: 22,875 // 30,375

tag: Lucille Arbogast,Diego Ibarra