[lonewolf]

The transition to Japan was not the easiest thing in the world for Mark. While he was no stranger to the nomadic lifestyle, it always felt so much easier to bounce around from place to place out in the Midwest of the US. Throw your life into a car, put it in drive, pull up to the next small town and do your next good deed. Rinse and repeat for the next case. Sure, he had rolled into some of the bigger towns in his travels, but at the same time it felt weird living in the heart of the Rising Sun. 

Anyways, looking at his arsenal it was fairly sparse. Which was incredibly inconvenient. Sure, he could have a few items on campus as teaching tools, but he missed being able to have a rifle or shotgun in his car. To top it off the two pistols he had on his person felt awkward to use; one because he had to carry a lot of nonlethal ammunition (more than he was used to carrying) and the other because it felt more like an antique. It got the job done. 

Deciding to diversify, he decided to do a little snooping around. He wanted to find a support manufacturer to boost the types of rounds he had, and while he wasn't opposed to finding someone shady he also needed someone on the up and up. Someone reliable. And one location screamed that it was not the right choice, but it was just too bizarre to him to not pass up. At the very least he could scope it out. And so he opened up the door to the shop, already a little weirded out by some of the occult paraphernalia present. A few dream catchers, some charms, dimly lit, and a lot of candles. Like, a lot. Reminded him of the psychic his father visited on the regular and dragged him and his brother to every Thursday night. He began to make his way to the counter, shoving his hands in his pockets. "No spook thing is gonna come out and get me, is it?"  he called out, eyes darting towards a creepy looking doll on a shelf.

Tabitha Yamamura

[Tabitha Yamamura]

On the outside of this multipurpose shop and home would be a black neon sign that flicked, spelling the word ‘open, with a sign above reading ‘Occult Detective Agency’ and in smaller letters, ‘Yamamura Item Manufactory." The shop would almost be fully enveloped in darkness; the shades would pull close, leaving light little to no chance to gain entry inside. Instead of natural light from the sun, the store would be filled with dozens of small lit candles, and the light that glowed off from the embers would be enough to keep the shop dimly lit while preserving the ambiance. The store would seem to be haphazardly filled with numerous bizarre items, from dream catchers to rabbit feet, bottles marked as the eyes of newts, kanima venom, and even a few taxidermy animals of varying sizes. Within the cluttered mess that littered the store would sit Tabitha, who had found herself enthralled by her latest item, a book written in Latin depicting horrid creations along with detailed drawings of their dissection. Where some would find themselves too disgusted to continue, she would happily turn page after page, quickly making her way through the book—so much so that she didn’t hear the small bell she had attached above her door to alert her of potential customers. She wouldn’t hear the bell on the door or the shuffling of his feet as he continued to make his way through the store, but she would hear the sound of the spirits that seemed to constantly float nearby. ‘Caution' she would head in a faint raspy voice, but it wasn’t enough to pull her eyes from the page, and she wouldn’t do so until she heard the word danger; or so she thought. His voice wasn’t particularly loud, but its boom was enough to give her a bit of a startle. She let out a bit of a squeak and a slight jump before standing up. Tabitha would try her best to fix her hair, but it wouldn’t work, just like always. Her voice was an unusual mix of monotone and tired, as she would lightly bow her head. In the sudden shock of a customer that had entered unnoticed, Tabitha’s book would open, and this page would be impartially covered with a diagram as well as pertinent information on a creature known as a Wendigo. "N-No, of course not. I’m Tabitha Yamamura; welcome to my shop. Is there anything specific you’re looking for?" Her eyes took a moment to fully examine the newcomer to her shop. He stood above her at around six feet. His hair, from what she could see from her lower position, matched his eyes. Most importantly, around him danced a few wisps, an odd thing to see following someone other than herself. So much so that her focus wouldn’t be on him directly but on the wisp. lonewolf

[lonewolf]

He didn't see Tabitha, at least not at first, and once she made her face known he'd turn. His eyes wandered down briefly, but instead of staying on a typical focus of his they'd go down to the book, raising an eyebrow. "Ah, yes, the original people eater. Never believed the stories myself," he says, beginning to approach the counter. He'd pull from his hip his hero license, flashing it to her briefly before putting it away. "I'm here on official business. I need to know how well you can work a gun."

The lady in question did seem pretty out of it. Maybe not processing his words entirely? She seemed distracted by something, so maybe it was best he show her. He reached into his jacket and pulling free the Carry from it's holster he'd take out the magazine and lock the slide back, ensuring there was no round in the chamber. "This baby is nine plus one and specially modified to fire all kinds of weird and wacky rounds." He'd set both on the counter, leaning on it and looking at her. "I need to know if you're capable of manufacturing some specialty bullets for me."

Tabitha Yamamura

[Tabitha Yamamura]

nowIt was a rare occurrence that Tabitha met with anyone who could probably identify any monsters she had knowledge of, even with vivid images. It was even rarer for them to be able to identify the creature correctly from a moment's glance at an upside-down book. His comment would suggest that he also had some knowledge of the occult. Perhaps Tabitha had found a kindred spirit. She would find herself torn between making eye contact with Mark and the wisp of smoke that danced above his head, even as he announced his visit wasn’t for recreation but business and flashed his hero's license. With a quick glance, she could tell it was either genuine or an extremely well-manufactured fake, but with her attention split, she wouldn’t have much time to come to her final decision. "A species of monsters was created by one lonely and lost hunter who simply got too hungry." She would comment back, lingering a bit as her separated focus was beginning to become one-sided again, with the wisps quickly taking her full attention. It would seem that the customer had also noticed Tabitha’s attention and decided to simply make his request known. As he reached into his coat, the wisp that spun above his own head would whisper the word: 'caution' again, and although it was still a raspy whisper, it would sound slightly louder and much sterner than before. It wasn’t until she heard his weapon release the magazine and the slide lock that she focused all of her attention on him. Admittedly, she had been slightly startled by, again, a quickly recurring theme. She would later let out another startled squeak and lean away before she turned her focus on the weapon. It seemed to be well maintained from a quick inspection; she could see nothing that would necessarily impede her ability to create the specific bullets he would ask for. Taking a slight pause to inspect the magazine as well, she would finally turn her full attention back to the customer. ​ "If you give me a list of what you would like the rounds to do in enough time, I can make them." She was fairly confident in her skills, although the yield of the rounds might vary depending on how much time she had to perfect the manufacturing technique of the items she created. lonewolf

[lonewolf]

This lady was definitely strange. Space cadet strange. It was like she was half there, or something was distracting her. He'd try to follow her gaze, only to see the dimly lit room and weird stuff hanging up on the walls and ceiling. Didn't help she seemed to be really into monsters that didn't exist. "Right, well, the government didn't like the thought of me running around with a sawed off, so I can't blast people with rock salt anymore." He'd reached into his pocket, pulling out a strange looking bullet that had a blue pill shaped top instead of a normal round. "Looks're deceiving, this baby's chambered in three-eighty with a specialized barrel to keep together the weird and wacky things that come out of it. Most I have right now are little glass balls that when broken deliver a shock, paint rounds to really get someone's attention or mark a target, and special little explody ones that create a smokescreen. I want to be able to take a more shotgun approach, and instead of using these ratshot rounds I want rock salt- are you okay?"

He'd stop in the middle of his explanation in order to regard her, tilting his head. "I mean, do I have something on my face? I know it's a well built face, but if there's something about it that's distracting I can always put a mask on or something."

Tabitha Yamamura

[Tabitha Yamamura]

She would take a short pause before closing her occult book, pushing it off to the side to make space for something else. Reaching under the counter, I would remove a book of similar appearance, leather-bound with a metal plate and the word ‘cogitatum’ impressed on it, Latin for design. Opening the book, if he could glance quickly enough, he would see a myriad of designs ranging from simple gadgets to more high-spec and fully detailed items. She would flip her way through her book until she found an empty page and begin to jot down a few notes pertaining to the rounds he had wanted to build for him. His comment about shotguns wouldn’t go unnoticed, as she would also jot down ‘government-legal sawed-off design?’ in the margins, another idea to keep her busy after she had finished creating his rounds. "Rock salt, shotgun." She would mutter under her breath as her scribbling would come to a stop before looking up as he once again reached into his jacket, pulling out a strange-colored round. As he explained the round and the others he had in his arsenal, Tabitha would begin to scribble notes again, taking note of the rounds he already had as well as a few new ideas written in the margins, to include pepper spray rounds, flame suppressants, and a round designed to create a high-pitched and almost deafening sound, which she would denote as a whistle round. Her next step was to take the round for him, inspecting it for a moment before handing it back, as she would begin to scribble the casing of the round as well as the overall shape of the top portion, also keeping note of the color so it would be easier for him to track which rounds were what. "Rock salt round, yes." Tabitha would nod her head at his question at the end of his explanation. This was definitely something she could do, and with the template she had just drawn out and the information she had written down, it would make the process much easier. She would just need to collect a few things. It wasn’t until her scribbling stopped that she fully understood the meaning of his question, as in a small fit of embarrassment she would blush lightly and shake her head, trying to dispel any notions of something strange. "No, no, no. You have a very attractive fac—I-I mean, it isn’t you. My quirk allows me to see spirits. I don’t normally see too many people being followed by them, but you have a few. It’s just a bit strange." It was almost comical for Tabitha to be the one to call anything strange, but to her, this was an odd occurrence. lonewolf

[lonewolf]

He had to give her credit, at the very least she was attentive and took notes. He wished more students did that during his lectures...granted, those were few and far between, and people took them about as seriously as a Lone Wolf lecture. He couldn't blame them.

He let out a small snort at the slip, though. That one was on her. Though he had to admit it was pretty adorable. The mention of spirits made him pause, looking up then left and right, scanning for anything out of the ordinary. Well, there was a lot here out of the ordinary, but for an occult shop that was pretty normal. "Spirits. Riiiight. They're not trying to persuade you to kill me or giving you the numbers to my apartment or telling you my favorite color is yellow, right?" It was a bad joke, and he didn't exactly take her seriously. Then again, he didn't take too many people who believed in the supernatural seriously. He did want to make her feel at ease, hence the humor.

Tabitha Yamamura

[Tabitha Yamamura]

Believe it or not, people struggling to keep Tabitha’s attention was a bit of a common occurrence when she found something that she considered to be more interesting or even strange by her own standards happening elsewhere. Her note-taking was a skill she picked up and often used to remind her of things she might have forgotten, but it ended up serving her well in her new blossoming job as an occult detective as well as her side job as a manufacturer of quirk items. As the man would let out a snort, her blush would deepen as she looked back down at her book. She had hoped he would simply move past her comment, but it would seem that she wouldn’t be so lucky. She was desperately looking for a way to change the conversation when he brought up the perfect way to do so. She would look up a bit, attempting to hide her blushing, as she waited for him to finish what she assumed was playfully mocking her before she would speak. "I could show you if you want." A simple response. Most people to whom she tried to explain her quirk never believed her, but by binding a spirit to someone, she could not only hex or charm someone, but it would also allow them to both see and hear the spirits just as she could, if only for a short time. She would make a believer out of him. lonewolf

[lonewolf]

Seeing was indeed believing, and despite the inherent creepiness of the shop and her he couldn't help but be a little curious. He was not the superstitious type, and he wasn't very religious. Sure, he thought there was a God, but if there was he was content to let the rest of them do their own thing. He didn't think there was such a thing such as spirits, but he could drop the professionalism for just a moment.

Offering a shrug, he'd give her a small smile before resting a hand on the counter. "Well, if you think you can bring any to this plane, sure. Do we need one of those board things or whatever? The Waluigi thing?" He didn't know quite how to say it in Japanese, but maybe she'd know. It wasn't his business to know these things. "Also, what would I owe you for the whole work thing while I'm thinking on it? Do you do it by order, by the bullet...?"

Tabitha Yamamura

[Tabitha Yamamura]

Tabitha wasn’t quite sure if her claims had actually peaked his interest or if he simply wished she would humor him long enough to assure him his items would be crafted; either way, she would be happy to show him. Pushing her sketchbook filled with designs off to the side just a bit but leaving it open in case he wished to make any last-minute design choices, she would make her way up. Using her chair as a small ladder, she would kneel on the table, her balance definitely in question as she would occasionally wobble while reaching over Mark’s head, taking a few random swipes at the air above him before wearing a proud smile and pulling her hand down, inspecting what would look like an empty hand to Mark, but to her, she held one of the clouded wisps that floated over his head. "That type of ammunition I typically do in batches. I could give you a batch of two hundred to start. If you decide you like them and want more, I could make a bigger batch of any type of ammunition. Nine thousand-one hundred yen even." She would say this as she continued to expect the wisps before she would shift from the kneeling position to sitting on the table, carefully getting off of it in front of him. She had learned from her time climbing things as a child that she wasn’t exactly cat-like in terms of balance, but she had always managed to make due. Although, by her own standards, she was due for a clumsy moment. Taking a small pause, her eyes would focus on the wisp as the violet spiral patterns would become more prominent, almost glowing. Looking up, she would reach out, pressing the wisp against his chest, forcefully binding it to him and, in doing so, giving him a charm. This charm would increase his awareness of the world around him, allowing him to see things within the shop that he previously couldn't, as well as hear things just outside the walls of the shop. Along with charm would also come the ability to both see and hear the wisp that floated nearby. Upon doing this, the first set of words he would hear would be the wisp that floated about Tabitha repeating the word ‘caution’ in its low, raspy tone in response to Tabitha’s table-climbing antics. This was typically where people tended to panic, something that I personally never understood, but she hoped that Mark would be able to control himself as she pointed to the wisp above her. "See?" lonewolf

[lonewolf]

...Yeah. Girl is off her rocker. Mark watched as Tabi got up on the counter, clearly struggling a little as she reached for some invisible force. And unfortunately, despite his insistence for professionalism, his eyes couldn't help but wander down to her legs. Mighty fine, if he might say so himself. Though the pricing caught an eyebrow. "Hey, that's not bad for three-eighties. Paid a lot more for that back in the States. I think. Math ain't my strong suit." Which, to be fair, almost all subjects were not his strong suit.

Returning his eyes to an appropriate level once she got into a sitting position, he'd watch her with muted interest before she pressed her hands against his chest. Right away the room seemed a little brighter, and...wait a minute, he couldn't hear things from the street before. Though none of this was compared to the sudden rasping and the weird purple mist that was hanging around Tabi. Taking a step back, his hand would go into his coat but pausing seeing nothing was happening. "The hell is that thing?" he finally asks, looking at her.

Tabitha Yamamura

[Tabitha Yamamura]

While on the table, she was far too focused on her fleeting scene of balance and attempting to grab the spirit to notice him watching her. Her prices were rather fair, due in part to the system behind pro athletes purchasing equipment from local manufacturers. On top of helping the pro heroes, who in turn helped the community, some inventors were given an assortment of benefits, such as tax rates, discounts on material bulk purchases, and free advertisements if the hero was well-known or seen in public equipped with one of your inventions. All of these things typically made manufacturers who were confident in their builds give a fair discount to heroes whenever they could, and although she was fairly new in terms of her shop, Tabitha was very confident. In response, she would give a small nod. After the binding, he would be able to perceive more of the world around him, but more importantly, he would be able to hear and see the spirits, something that would presumably startle him. As his head would go into his coat, the wispy, once low-toned voice would raise as it spoke the wonder word 'danger' in response to his action. Almost instinctively, Tabitha would let out a squeak, quickly ducking for cover, accidentally bumping into the desk again, causing it to rattle just enough to knock a small cup off the table and bounce off of her head before rolling next to the leg of her desk. "Ouch, it’s a spirit! They won’t hurt you." She responded by beginning to run her head with one hand as she picked up the cup with the other. Inspecting the cup to make sure it hadn’t been broken during its fall, she would slowly stand up, still rubbing her head, as she set the cup back on the table, taking a moment to readjust its position a few times before turning her attention back to her customer. "They try to warn me of dangers, but they aren’t always right." After a few moments, she would stop rubbing her head and turn her attention back to her sketch book. Hopefully her clumsy moment got her ready to scribble a few more details in the margins, but as she spoke, her mind would finally process something he had said just moments before. “All I’ll need is name and contact information so I can reach you whe- you're from the states too? lonewolf

[lonewolf]

Mark just stared at the spirit for a long while, hand resting on the other weapon before slowly coming off of it, holding up a hand to indicate that there was no danger. "Right. Sorry, just not everyday a crazy hot chick does something to me and I start seeing Casper the friendly ghost. You alright over there?" Mark didn't mean to startle her, but things happened. At the very least he didn't shoot first and ask questions later.

He'd look over at her, nodding. He was about to give her all the information he needed when she paused herself, tilting his head. <"Just a guy from Smallville, Kansas. No one important,"> he says, switching from his Japanese to English. <"In the middle of an ongoing case, and it's brought me here. Figure while I try to continue that I attempt to do some actual work in the process."> He clears his throat, looking down at her ledger. <"Legal name is Mark Browning, hero name is Lone Wolf. You can contact me at xxx-xxx-xxxx.">

Tabitha Yamamura

[Tabitha Yamamura]

With his hand slowly but surely moving away from another weapon tucked into his coat, the wisp would gradually stop its screeching and return to its former state, hovering harmlessly and quietly over Tabitha’s head. With his following apology, he would also give a compliment; although she was certain that he meant ‘crazy’ and ‘hot chick’ as two separate descriptors, she would take them all as one in her own mind, which would be enough to get a fairly feint blush to show up on her face. It wouldn’t be noticeable at a quick glance, but in response, she would quickly change her pricing, scribbling down nine thousand yen instead of the original price she had given him, a small discount. Turning her attention back to Mark and nodding her head, she would respond. "Yes, I’m fine. I think." She would stop rubbing her head, letting her other arm fall back at her side. As she would be ready to take down his information, her question would be met with a response, but not in the language she had grown used to hearing but in English. He was indeed from the United States, a more rural area if she had to guess, but she wasn’t exactly an expert on the geography of the US. His reasons for coming to Japan were work-related, a common theme among most pro heroes who came here. She would do her best to nod in response to show that she was in fact listening, even though she still held onto her pencil, glancing up from her pages occasionally to look at him. As he would give his information, her scribbling would start again as she would mutter to herself as she wrote, repeating the information given. "Mark Browning. Alias Lone Wolf. Number-" Her muttering would slowly fade off before she would set her writing utensil down again, turning her attention back to Mark. Tabitha would respond to Mark in English, something she hadn’t done in quite some time to anyone other than distant family members who were still living in the states and would occasionally call her to see how she was doing. "I’ve been to Kansas; there are so many paranormal hotspots there." lonewolf

[lonewolf]

He'd nod, glancing at her and taking note that she was more than capable of keeping up with him in the conversation despite pulling a fast one on her. What's more she could even communicate back, with a cute little accent no less! She was strange, but he had to admit that she was interesting, too. As she finished taking down his information and made mention of Kansas he realized that he might get caught in a lie. Granted, the lie wasn't that bad; he was from Oklahoma, but the fact that his joke went over her was amusing. Either way, he shrugged. "<I wouldn't know. I moved around a lot. Dad was Nobody, and was just me and my brother fending for ourselves.>"

He'd point at the gun, raising an eyebrow. <"I can take this with me again, right? I don't mind leaving the ratshot behind as like a guide or something. But uh, this is one of only two pieces I have that can fire nonlethal, and the other one I'm forced to keep on the campus at all times. People might get unsettled if they see the old arm of the Marine Corps out in public...not that anyone around might know what that looks like.>"

Tabitha Yamamura