[Tabitha Yamamura]

From Mark’s perspective, the wisps would slowly but surely begin to fade, as would his hearing returning to just the confines of the shop. Her binding had begun to break. His joke had clearly gone unnoticed by Tabitha, as she hadn’t realized the reference, but instead of pushing the joke further, Mark would simply continue with the conversation, answering her and responding to her comment. Mark seemed to live a bit of a nomadic life, which she could honestly relate to. Her family often traveled, and it could easily be blamed for the source of her social awkwardness, although her claims of seeing ghosts and the occult knowledge she often talked about didn’t do her any favors. But she was interested to hear that Mark had a sibling. It was one of the many things she found interesting—to have someone you could talk to and relay on—but once her quirk emerged, she often found herself viewing the wisp as family, but there was always the desire to have someone or something more tangible. "Is your brother older?" Tabitha found herself asking more personal questions than usual for her job—questions she just felt as if she had to know the answer to. However, Mark would quickly reign in her curiosity as he pointed to his weapon, asking if she would need to hold onto it. Shaking her head in response, she would answer. "You can take it as a weapon; I’ll hold onto the rat shot." She would reach out, taking just the rat shot and moving it off to the side, before she seemed to perk up at his next comment. His other weapon, which was left on campus grounds, raised her interest. "How old is it?" lonewolf

[lonewolf]

He paused a little. This was becoming less of a professional conversation, and more of a casual one. At least, it was starting to take that turn. He wasn't sure how to take that, but time would tell. "<He's younger,>" he says, taking on a more somber tone. "<If it's alright with you, I don't want to discuss him too much. Unless you've heard anything about his whereabouts, in which case I'm all ears.>" And maybe that would be all that. He hoped.

As the world went more to normal Mark would begin to reach for the Carry, glancing up and around for the spirits. They were lacking from his vision, but that didn't mean that they weren't there anymore. Creepy. "<Thanks,>" he says, returning it to it's holster. <"The rifle itself is maybe...fifty years old? It's a replica of an old world war design, something the Marines used during their campaign across the Pacific. Not as sexy as some other designs, but I've been shooting it for years. Don't get to use it outside of classes these days, but at the same time it's also hard to work around Japanese laws regarding guns.>"

Tabitha Yamamura

[Tabitha Yamamura]

Her line of increasing personal questions had finally seemed to reach its peak with the question about his brother, which Mark would answer before asking for the subject to be left alone. Tabitha knew that she had overstepped her boundaries a bit and would simply nod in response to his request. From his response, Mark’s brother had gone missing, and a missing person's case was something she never really had too much experience with, but it would be interesting to tackle—another mental note she would hold onto for a later date. Of course, she would begin her search in Japan, as she believed a foreigner would be much easier to find here than anywhere else. Tabitha would watch as he seemingly paused in his reach for his weapon, almost as if expecting to hear the shrill voice of the wisps that floated over his head again. Although he wouldn’t hear it, she would as it would shout again, but with his slow reach, it gave her just enough time to cover her ears as it shouted, ‘Caution!’ Once in a loud yet raspy tone. She would wait a few seconds and look up before removing her hands from her ears and returning her attention to Mark. As Mark would begin to describe his weapon, she would turn to a blank page and begin to scribble down information. Tabitha herself had never really used any weapons before but found a bit of a challenge in trying to find unique ways to work through the system, especially if it assisted a pro hero. Her utensil would quickly make its way across the pages, jotting down mostly information instead of her typical concept stretch. "I’ll look into a possible workaround to solve that issue as well as the weapon you mentioned at the start of our conversation. But that will be after the ammunition is finished. Is there anything else you need?" lonewolf

[lonewolf]

She seemed to be hellbent to get as much work out of him as possible. He couldn't exactly blame her, she didn't seem to be swimming in work. Then again, he was being a little too judgmental. Besides, she seemed pretty eager to get started. Mark only knew the basics when it came to making ammunition, but there were people smarter than him that could make things like this. Besides, as a stranger in a strange land he didn't want to overstep his bounds. He stretched the rules enough as is.

Her final question did get him thinking. They were moving out of the professional sphere, and she did try to make some level of small talk. It couldn't hurt to drop the persona that didn't fit him well in the first place. <"Know anyplace for a guy like me to find a hot date?"> He was joking, but it'd be worth the reaction. At least, so he thought.

Tabitha Yamamura

[Tabitha Yamamura]

With her shop fairly recently opening up, Tabitha was very ready to get started. She had done small jobs before, but they were mostly repairs on older equipment. This would be crafting something a bit different, something she could easily put her name on in order to gain some kind of influence in the manufacturing industry. As her other business would only manage to sell small trinkets, handmade, of course, and the occasional window shopper that she would convert to an occult believer, it wasn’t fast enough for her liking. Her question left more of an opening than she had intended. As he asked, she haphazardly began to scribble down the question, her face buried in her notebook. She would manage to get halfway through writing it down before she actually realized what he had actually asked. She would get another slight red hue as she continued to look down at her notebook, which would remain for the most part hidden as long as she kept her gaze down at her books. Although her thoughts were certainly unprofessional, she couldn’t help but respond to his question. "I suppose it would depend on what you find attractive. There are a few beaches and piers." lonewolf

[lonewolf]

He nodded, though he wasn't expecting such a straightforward answer. Then again, his brand of humor was something that not many people could latch onto, and was normally taken at face value. That was fine, he could work with that. He couldn't help but look over to see what exactly she was scribbling down, only to find she was trying to get his questions verbatim. The last one got a grin out of him. "So what you're telling me is you hang out at the beaches and piers often?" Unprofessional? Absolutely. But he was committed to the gear switch now, he just had to find the right tempo to not make things weird. "You do have my number now, unless you're the type to not mix business with pleasure."

After a moment he would direct a thumb at the door, figuring that if he stayed any longer he might end up breaking something. "Though if you want I can go ahead and leave, come back in, what, a week? Two? Check in on progress and all that? Maybe two, since there might be a few tools you gotta put on order." A pause as he thought for a moment or two. "Unless you want a few tips how to clean and prep casings. Stuff like that was more lax at home than here, and I know the basics at least." And now he was straddling the line.

Tabitha Yamamura

[Tabitha Yamamura]

Mark’s response was a bit unexpected, as she would quickly look up for her notebook. Her blush noticeably deepened as she shook her head as she would respond as in a slightly low voice. "I prefer more indoor or late-night outings." Her eyes would momentarily shift over to the notebook where she had written down the information, taking a moment to weigh her options. Tabitha hadn’t been in business for long, but she seemed to really enjoy the limited time she had spent with Mark, along with the fact that he didn’t react quite as terribly as others did when she showed them the spirits. His occult knowledge, although he didn’t believe in it, was well enough, either that or he read Latin, which both options were good. And to top it off, he was quite handsome. Turning her attention back to Mark, she would respond again, resting her hand on the book. "I’ll save your number for personal usage if you want me to." As he gave her the option of returning in two weeks, she would mentally take stock of what she should have available currently to fulfill the order request. With what she had, she would only be able to partially finish the request, but with a bit of scurrying, she would be able to finish it within a week or so. She was poised to answer but was met with the option of him spending more time with her, an interesting option under the guise of learning how to prepare and clean the ammunition casing. In her mind, she would find it more effective to have him help while creating them in case he had any last-minute suggestions. "I could always use a few tips." lonewolf

[lonewolf]

The way this girl acted, Mark could have sworn she was the quiet shy type. Was that a blush? Looked like a blush. Strange as she was, she was definitely cute. But was this a good idea to be flirting with her and getting her all hot and bothered? Probably not. Wouldn't be the first time he's made a bad decision like this, though.

The desire to have a few tips had him nod his head, tapping the counter a few times before nodding. "I'll be sure to swing by in a few days then to offer up what I know. Couldn't help to be overprepared." Truth of it was, not many people in Japan knew about firearms, and as much as he stressed gun safety making ammunition was just as dangerous. There were a few times in his childhood where him and his brother hand singed their eyebrows doing stupid stuff with black powder and other explosive materials, so passing that information on would be a godsend for her. At least when it came to loading up the cartridge. Everything else was going to be on her to figure out.

Tabitha Yamamura