[Kushiki Kioko]

I HAVE PROMISES TO KEEP

AND MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP

Sovereign Technologies was nothing if not efficient. The massive compound of buildings catering to research and development in every area of the tech world had been built close to a subway entrance. Given that most of Japan’s population relied on public transportation, it was an obvious and calculated decision. A benefit to the employees and insurance for the employers that the former would be to work regularly and on time with no transportation related excuses. Of course, anyone that worked at the mega-corporation who actually mattered in the grand scheme of things was paid enough to afford private vehicles several times over while still making use of company cars provided at no cost.

Kioko had once been among them. Complete with her own chauffeur. A boon of being daughter and granddaughter to former CEOs and poised to be the next reigning Kushiki upon that throne. Now she surged out of the subway station outside of Sovereign Technologies with the other common rabble. Nothing about the young woman herself insinuated anything so mundane as common though. She towered over any not granted height through their Quirks and carried herself with a fluid grace and haughty aura that spoke of royalty not in her bloodline. Yet she was garbed in all black and a hood cast a shroud of darkness over her features. A feat furthered by artificial lights indicative of descending night obscured in heavy sheets of torrential rain.

She disappeared into the sea of commuters and umbrellas in spite of how she had stood out upon her exit. A slouch, a soft step, and a serpentine path destined for shadows enabled her stealthy approach to her chosen vantage point in a long queue huddled between bus stop, newsstand, and food stalls that fueled the blue collar workers of Tokyo’s industrial zone. It was the same one she had been using for weeks to trail her target until his routines were subject to the mercurial maiden’s iron maiden of a memory. Any moment now and the designated exit gates for the compound would open and release her prey into the streets in a sleek black sedan with windows tinted almost as darkly as Kioko’s intentions for the evening.

Notes & Tags: Shō Matsui

[Shō Matsui]

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Light and shadow are opposite sides of the same coin [break]
“We can illuminate our paths or darken our way. It is a matter of choice.”

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Sovereign Technologies. Who hadn't heard of the megacorporation? Sho had positioned himself to blend into the crowds as much as possible, opting to wear pedestrian clothes to carry out the facade as best as possible. His objective was clear a rival corporation wanted this employee of Sovereign Technologies taken out for good. They had allegedly been involved in shady business with the black market and exploiting their connections to increase their profit—pretty standard stuff in his line of work. Sho had developed quite a large client base due to his effectiveness and the ease of killing being aided by his quirk. He only worked at night, too, which served to aid him considerably. For now, he would blend in the crowd, having bought a newspaper upon his arrival, and stood not too far from the newsstand. Occasionally he would peer out over the street, feigning confusion as if waiting for a ride. A simple cover but necessary in this case, given the scale of the building and how long it would take to find the individual in question. Just too risky of an endeavor.
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While feigning his ignorance of the world around him, he took in the area and the people moving through it. It was reasonably busy, with many commuters taking their leave for the night. Out of the corner of his, one particular figure held his attention. They were significantly taller than the rest of the crowds of people, but this wasn't too uncommon within the world of mutations. What did make the figure stand out was the way they moved. They weren't a civilian as they moved expertly and deliberately, not attracting attention to themselves as they weaved between the people. He would need to get closer to see who it was under the hood, but as long as they weren't there to interfere with his job, he wouldn't move on them. An insider had provided a full itinerary for the soon to be victim and after much deliberation this was the best opportunity he would get. All that was left to do was wait.

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Kushiki Kioko [break]
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✵

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[Kushiki Kioko]

I HAVE PROMISES TO KEEP

AND MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP

Silence accompanied the timely opening of the grand gate. Whether it was a byproduct of preeminent expertise in engineering behind its design or just the fact that the ambient noise of life outside the secure walls covered up any sound that arose from hidden gears grinding under the weight of the gate would be a question unanswered to anyone not already in the know. Kioko was well aware it was the former. Presentation was as much a feature of Sovereign Technologies’ products as performance.

Fortunately, she required no audio cue to pull her attention to the exact moment her quarry broke from cover. Her eyes had never wandered. Her focus never wavered. She couldn’t afford any mistakes. Not when her target was more than just the businessman that Ichikawa Daiki presented himself as to the public.

How many sleepless nights had Kioko spent in pursuit of truth and vengeance? Not enough as she had yet to reach her goal, but enough that the path to it had illuminated other truths and tastes over revenge. The former arose in situations like finding out Daiki being an agent of the Umbra Syndicate that her uncle had planted in the company long before the death of her mother. It was his signature on the paperwork proving the safety of the prototype her mother had participated in trials for. That combined with the knowledge of his secret identity insisted he had the next piece of the puzzle Kioko needed.

So when the car maneuvered into the street and merged with the steady stream of traffic, there was no hesitation. She stepped into the shadows between nearby buildings and her serpent fanged maw opened wide. Silver poured forth and split. Half became an intricate mask to conceal her features even more beneath the hood she wore. The other part became a platform. One that elevated her up to the rooftop. She may not have been fast on foot, but taking an aerial route meant she could move unimpeded by crowds, cars, and clouds releasing their springtime bounty — unlike those on the ground. Though she was only aware of one soul in her sights for that night.

For now.

Notes & Tags: Shō Matsui

[Shō Matsui]

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Light and shadow are opposite sides of the same coin [break]
“We can illuminate our paths or darken our way. It is a matter of choice.”

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Sho feigned more impatience taking the opportunity to look at his watch, which showed that he had about a minute, give or take, before he would need to be on the move. Melting into the shadows made his job especially easy in this circumstance. He could easily slip into that car and leave the scene before anyone could even realize what had happened, so it was less of a how and more of a when at this point. He reacted a bit slower than Kioko as he not only wasn't familiar with Sovereign Technologies as a whole but was also still acting as if he was waiting for a ride. Technically he was, but before he could get on the move he noticed the presence of Kioko had moved from the spot she was hidden in, and he could see the faintest sign of her using some unknown means to gain elevation. His facade lowered a bit as his eyes narrowed realizing that this wasn't a coincidence; if there was someone else on the same job he wasn't informed prior and wouldn't miss out on collecting the bounty.
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To the ignorance of those around he would cut across, entering the same space that Kioko did, moving quickly but not enough to raise suspicion. Once he arrived, he was briefly caught off guard by the silver trail leading up into the sky, and his brow furled knowing that this wasn't your average assassin. This person clearly had experience so there was no need to hold back. He would flip his hood up and activate his quirk so that his face was completely cloaked in shadows only showing his red eyes as he manifested his horns. Two of his shadow arms would manifest from his back with one shooting up towards the ledge of the building as it began to pull him off of the ground. Once he was far enough up he would use the other would shoot out and swing around the side pulling him rapidly forward as he elevated enough to swing around and land a few yards in front of where Kioko was heading. The sound of the rain making his drop echo loud enough to clearly bring Kioko's focus to him he would reach into his pocket and pulled out the handle of his weapon forming it into its tanto form as he took a low, defensive position meeting the eyes of the woman behind the mask "You can either give this up or get hurt. Make your choice." The car carrying Ichikawa Daiki was luckily caught in the slower-moving traffic so there would be plenty of time to catch up and finish the job once his taller adversary backed off and let him work.

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Kushiki Kioko [break]
Word count goes here

✵

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[Kushiki Kioko]

I HAVE PROMISES TO KEEP

AND MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP

Tunnel vision had its downsides when the hunter was also the hunted. Kioko had no idea she had been followed until a rather unwelcome companion joined her on the rooftop. Syndicate? The single word claimed the title of first thought though it was dismissed after a hasty once over from slitted eyes hidden beneath hood and mask. The figure’s features were equally obscured in what appeared to be a self-created shadow rather than the artificial darkness she employed beneath her covers. The only tell that answered her question was the distinct lack of the emblem all Umbra Syndicate agents wore when not in their civilian identities. The network was so large it was necessary to identify one another in the wild at a glance and, knowing her uncle, it was just as much to spread their name in the underworld.

While Kioko immediately cleared him of that singular allegiance, she was no less wary. Being directly threatened tended to have that effect on a person. Three options presented themselves. She could stand and fight — and lose. Direct conflict was far from her specialty after a year in prison had eroded much of her strength. She relied on stealth to achieve her goals and that had been stripped of her for the time being. Turning tail was the second obvious option, but there was nothing preventing this stranger from plunging the materialized blade into her back if she fled. Nor did it put her any closer to her goal and if this man wasn’t a member of the Syndicate meant to protect Daiki nor part of Sovereign Technologies’ private security, then his intentions were similar enough to her own to spoil her plans.

“I choose neither.”

Option three it was. The mercury she had already summoned to aid her ascent joined with a second deluge from her mouth and gave her flight once more in a flurry of silver. The disc she rose up on concealed her identity from the masses below and levitated her through the air and seemingly out of reach of her potential assailant even as it attempted to zip her across the air and toward the next rooftop in the direction which Daiki’s vehicle moved at crawl.

Notes & Tags: Shō Matsui

[Shō Matsui]

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“We can illuminate our paths or darken our way. It is a matter of choice.”

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In the brief time between his landing and Kioko's response Sho took the chance to take in her features. Even masked, he could tell she was female as her form wasn't fully cloaked by her long coat, and the features he could make out from under the mask, she had blemishless porcelain skin. None of this would impede his job as he didn't take mercy on women or even children if the situation called for it. Her response was venomous spoking with such confidence that it made his glowing red eyes narrow. From the usage of what he presumed was her quirk and her physicality, she didn't look like much of a close-range fighter, and her spitting in defiance to his question made that even more apparent. She was sharper than the average person as it seemed like she was analyzing him just as much as she was her. Smart enough to avoid a physical confrontation, Sho couldn't help but be a little impressed that she didn't flinch in the face of his demon-like appearance while also coming up with a plan that would avoid him entirely. Clever Woman.
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His choice of weapon hadn't been by random choice. It was an intentional feint to get her to move in a certain way. In his experience, when someone saw that he was using a shorter weapon, they would either choose to keep their distance if they were weaker in close combat or charge in if they had an aptitude for it. Kioko taking the opportunity to go overhead and outside of his range gave him an opportunity that he seldom took advantage of. The benefit of having the properties of his intangibility extend to his secondary appendages rarely came in handy. Without moving a muscle 3 shadow arms would shoot out and extend into the sky triangulating on Kioko and moving straight through her mercury without any issue. From this, they would wrap around her and rip her off of the mercury disc if possible and bring her back down so she was just a few feet away from Sho who stood up and cleared his throat. He wasn't going to bother to ask any questions that he felt Kioko would just spit back in his face so he decided on a more direct approach "One more chance. Choose a new target. I'm taking this one down myself." he would hit the switch on his weapon and it would transform to the much longer nodachi form that he would point at her throat "I don't care who hired you. You can go back to them unharmed, or I'll send you back in pieces." he was much more firm this time clearly at the end of his limited patience with this.

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Kushiki Kioko[break]
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[Kushiki Kioko]

I HAVE PROMISES TO KEEP

AND MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP

Physical performances had not been the only victim of erosion. The quick in quicksilver meant little compared to what it used to and while Kioko’s plan might have been impeccable in other situations, it faltered beneath the deep running atrophy of her old self in body, soul, and Quirk. Only her mind had been untouched — or so she liked to think.

For not the first time in her life, Kioko fell. The very force that wrenched her from her status of silver surfer also protected her from the unfortunate side effects of gravity. How odd a choice for a self-insinuated assassin to not take advantage of an opportunity to more efficiently remove a threat to their mark and the paycheck on the other side of success.

Threads of potential reasoning tangled with Kioko’s other thoughts. Knots required undoing from where they were bound to desires of freedom and self-preservation that were at odds for her need for retribution if she were to get out of her current predicament one way or another. Snake-and-silver-tongued as she were, the most obvious way was by lying now that the motive of the other had been revealed.

“No.”

That part wasn’t lying. That was her being stubborn again. She wasn’t picking a new target. “But if you think you can handle taking Ichikawa down on your own then you really don’t know who you’ll be dealing with.” That was only partly a lie. “And for the record, no one hired me, but I do need to ensure he’s dead. So you can get free backup and you can take all the credit back to whoever hired you.” There it was. Yet it flowed just as easily as the truth from her dark painted lips. She had no intention of letting Daiki die. Not yet. Not until she got the information she needed out of him.

“Deal?”

Her mercury swirled overhead. Kioko had grasped the man’s ability to phase through objects. She didn’t know if it extended to his body, so she wasn’t planning on risking an attack. What she intended to do if he disagreed, however, was fling the heavy metal into the street to cause chaos that would put Daiki on edge and alert the authorities that something was up. If Kioko wasn’t getting what she wanted, then no one was. She was petty like that.

Notes & Tags: Shō Matsui

[Shō Matsui]

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Sho had no issues with showing his hand in its entirety to someone weaker than him. He had taken a gamble to use his quirk on Kioko's material without knowing whether it was organic. Had it been organic, she would have had the advantage by staying out of his range, but luckily the metallic substance was just that. He could even respect her defiance as he had caught her as she seemed more proud of her wit, quickly spouting another word of defiance. Before Sho could respond with brutal force, she opened up finally and spoke the name of her client, which made Sho stop in his tracks. Lying or not, she did know the name of the person in the vehicle, and since they were traveling discreetly, he deduced that this meant that this wasn't a recent undertaking on her part. When she followed up that she also wanted to confirm he was dead, Sho was weighing his options now that he had her in this precarious position. He didn't believe her, heck he didn't trust anyone except for his siblings, as that's where his true loyalty had always been. Even if she had alternative plans and tried to steal the bounty, Sho could just kill her after she killed Daiki. She may not have been forthcoming with the full details of what she was up to, but she had made Sho very aware of the difference in their physical abilities. Now confident that even if this was a trick, Kioko posed no threat to him, he released her from his grasp, placing her back on the rooftop.
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"I lowered mine; now your turn." he said, pointing up to the swirling silver above him. A classic tactic he had used many times before to either steal or manipulate a target into moving a specific way. She had more experience in this than she had initially let on, and Sho considered that this situation might have turned out differently if she had gotten the jump on him. He still held the blade in her direction, waiting for her to relinquish her quirk and then they could talk. There was a fairly large traffic jam at this point, which gave them a few minutes to devise a mutually beneficial plan. "Deal. You'll need to remove the mask and hood." he would gesture with his sword "Once I know your face we can work together." if Kioko tried anything funny or even created enough of a diversion he would at least have a backup of his own. Once he knew her first there weren't many places she could hide from him. She may have been the queen of pettiness but he was the king of persistence. A match made in heaven or hell it didn't matter to him as long as the job was finished. "Give a name too." real or fake, it didn't matter. He would always find a way.

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Kushiki Kioko [break]
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[Kushiki Kioko]

I HAVE PROMISES TO KEEP

AND MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP

Kioko was an expert in malicious compliance. So when the man called her to relinquish her defenses in the form of lowering the manifestations of her Quirk, she at least did the latter though hardly the former. “Certainly,” she crooned in such an agreeable tone that the sarcasm was unmissable. He had already demonstrated that he was faster than her and that he could phase through her mercury. By calling for her to surrender control as he had temporarily, he had only further raised her guard. So Kioko lowered the mercury, but she did so by settling it on the ledge of the rooftop behind the man, putting him squarely between the liquid metal and its mistress where it remained unmoving.

She wasn’t foolish enough to be otherwise menacing in the act. Simply wary and showing him that she was neither the type to be truly submissive or to have her actions manipulated in the favor of others — especially when said other still had their sword out. Between that and the fact he called for her to reveal her rather public identity, Kioko’s already frail obedience could only be stretched so far. His following demand was beyond unreasonable in their line of work, even without her personal attachments to the company and the well known case surrounding it.

“As for your second request, absolutely not. Compromising the civilian identity of those in the underworld without a foundation of trust for it to be kept secret is tantamount to death. I will give you a name though — Meliora.”

The name was well known throughout the Villain populace. Especially those that required gear to complete their jobs. Her physical appearance and demeanor fit with the tales told to those who had yet to meet her in person. A towering monolith of shadow and silver who spoke in words of spite and sarcasm in equal measure. She could only hope that was enough to give her the in she required.

Notes & Tags: Shō Matsui

[Shō Matsui]

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With an expression masked by the shadows, he would listen to Kiokos explain why she wouldn't give her actual name. Not that he expected her to do so in the first place, it was just a way to measure whether it would benefit him to team up even with what he assumed would be a betrayal later on. If she was stupid or crazy, she would have given her actual name and revealed her identity fully, to which he likely would have just taken her out right then and there or disabled her so she couldn't interfere. She was smart enough not fully to trust him after all especially since he had yet to make his body tangible even when she agreed to their ceasefire.
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"Gyrfalcon." he would hit the button on his weapon, and the blade would melt and flow back into the hilt. Meliora was a name he was very familiar with, as it was through the connections he had made that he could procure his signature weapon. The contact had gone through this Meliora, who was known in the underworld as an excellent source of weaponry. She, in turn, would likely recognize the name Gyrfalcon as one of if not the most effective assassins in the underworld. If you wanted a job done efficiently and quickly, this was the person you'd call. No one was safe, especially with Sho's quirk allowing him to move unimpeded through even the most heavily fortified places.
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He would turn his head slightly, still keeping one eye on Kioko as he looked down at the car still moving through the traffic, and he would turn back to Kioko, placing both hands in his sweater pocket. "Having a 'partner' isn't usually how I work unless they provide a distraction. You seem to have intimate knowledge of this man and his dealings. What was your plan?" It was pretty easy to move through the streets unimpeded and enter the car from below without anyone being the wiser. Still, unfortunately, with his new "partner," that was no longer a viable option. Especially if she were as petty as he expected her to be, he would have to go with her pace...for now.

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Kushiki Kioko [break]
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[Kushiki Kioko]

I HAVE PROMISES TO KEEP

AND MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP

Relief was the anticipated reaction one expected to await them on the other side of an accord struck. Alas, that wasn’t the case for Kioko. Tension coiled ever tighter in her body upon learning the name of her barely willing partner for the evening. There was a difference in knowing that someone was an assassin or attempting to be an assassin and them actually being a well-known assassin. Well-known meant successful. The situation was no less dangerous for her in the wake of their agreement than it had been prior. Her only advantage came from the same source it always did — knowledge.

“The Aqua-Line.”

Her response was enigmatic at best. She had referred to the hybrid bridge-tunnel expressway that spanned across Tokyo Bay to connect opposite shores together. That much was common knowledge the man now known to her as Gyrfalcon would understand. It was the reasoning behind that being her answer which he was likely lacking. Imminent danger or not, Kioko couldn’t help the information and intelligence based superiority complex she possessed from rearing its head.

She walked to the edge of the building where her mercury awaited her. A wide berth was given to Sho in the process and though her eyes were pulled from him by the change of position, her gaze never left him. Only now she viewed him through the reflection of the metal under her control. If he tried anything, she’d use it to cave the side of the building and utilize gravity and her Quirk to hasten an escape with speeds beyond what she was capable of under her own power. Always having a Plan B was a lesson hammered into her head over the last two years. Sometimes literally.

“I suppose your own plan involved phasing through his car and stabbing him.”

The statement was made before Kioko stepped off the ledge. It overlooked an alley on the opposite side of the building from the one she had ascended from. The quicksilver construct undulated after her and caught her before she plummeted too far then transferred her to the next building. Shadow, structure height, and rainfall obscured her act from the general populace on the street, but not from Sho. Especially since she was calling across the gap to him now.

“I promise that would not have gone as well as you expected.”

Because as he had said, she had intimate knowledge of the man.

Either he would follow or he wouldn’t. She assumed it would be the former if only for his own goals. Her vague answers provoking the opportunity for further inquiry were simply additional motivation. Kioko continued to keep an eye on him regardless of his choice as best she could as she moved across the platforms of edifice rooftops. Her focus alternated between Gyrfalcon and Daiki in equal measure. Such was the life of someone caught between being predator and prey.

Notes & Tags: Shō Matsui

[Shō Matsui]

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Light and shadow are opposite sides of the same coin [break]
“We can illuminate our paths or darken our way. It is a matter of choice.”

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When you spent most of your life tracking and killing people for money, you picked up a few tricks. This was an acute ability to read body language better than most for Sho. Even masked and cloaked Kioko couldn't fully mask her frame, letting him pick up on the subtlety of her movements. Gyrfalcon generally struck fear in others, mainly because most had never met, let alone held a conversation with him, given the nature of his work. There was a slight change in her breathing, and her body momentarily tensed up, relaying that she had heard of him even if she didn't say anything about it. Between this and their brief exchange, her would relax his shoulders, very confident that if she did try to double-cross him, it wouldn't take much effort to lop off her head. Plus, if she was chasing someone like Daiki, her head was likely worth something to someone. Luckily for her, he was doing this job on more of an ethical basis than for profit so he wanted to minimize the bad karma he would gain from this act. His eyebrow raised as she spoke of the expressway that ran through Tokyo. "Yeah. Get on with it." he would follow her as she walked towards the edge of the building to where she was heading. He would take this time to inspect this metallic material wishing he had Lil around at this moment; given his studious nature, he could have identified this. He would take the proper precautions by keeping his distance and letting Kioko cross without following.
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His eyes would narrow as Kioko accurately deduced the nature of his quirk. Easy enough, given his display earlier, and he wasn't going to clarify his glaring weakness of organic material stopping his ability to phase. He would provide a slightly sarcastic response, "You must be an information broker." The next part of what she said did give him a reason to ask an actual question "And why is that?" he would take this opportunity to extend a shadow from his back to bridge the gap, and it would lift his frame, gently pulling him over the gap, landing with enough distance between him and Kioko to make sure she wouldn't find out his weakness if she got cocky. "I take it you have a better plan than just throwing liquid metal at him from a distance?" Kioko was smarter than him and had done her legwork to this point. He wasn't even sure how long she'd been following this man but compared to him only receiving this job a day ago, she was more suited to be the brains of the operation. What a frustrating woman.
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Kushiki Kioko [break]
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[Kushiki Kioko]

I HAVE PROMISES TO KEEP

AND MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP

Perhaps if Kioko felt kinship and loyalty toward the Villains or their collective to any degree, information broker would have been another mantle to adorn herself within the underground. But she didn’t. The dark underbelly of society could burn to the ground and she would feel nothing. Unless she lit the match to set the blaze herself. Elation would be appropriate then. Fortunately for them, her ire was laser focused on the subset of Villains under the banner of the Umbra Syndicate. Since she could not bring about a cleansing inferno just yet, she settled for not providing Villains information. The right piece of intel was infinitely more dangerous in the wrong hands than any tech she could create. Then again, Kioko felt that way about many that lived their lives in the light too. Politicians, business people, and even some Heroes were just as bad. Such was the nature of humankind.

“I would consider it more of a hobby,” she quipped quietly from where she maintained the lead with Sho’s unspoken blessing. Her distaste of working with criminal elements was something she kept under lock and key. She needed their money to fund her plans just as much as she needed to keep her head on her shoulders. Revealing her hatred for those she worked with would hinder both of those.

“I have several plans.”

Most of them involve using you now.

That part remained within the confines of Kioko’s head as she moved onward in pursuit of their target. The buildings would be coming to an abrupt stop shortly as the landscape transitioned from industrial to bridgework ahead. Time to rest her body and Quirk came only from the gridlock of traffic ensnaring the car they tracked.

“Throwing it around is a rather banal use of my skills.”

A trace of indignation at the implication coupled with muted arrogance colored her cold voice. Begrudgingly, another facet of her reasoning was admitted. “And only a touch more effective than what you would have attempted.” She stood at the ledge of another building, but gestured outward instead of stepping off as before. The waters of Tokyo Bay were darkened by night and continued precipitation.

“Unless you are fireproof and can cleave a mountain, we will need to use the elements and environment to our advantage.”

Kioko turned to face Sho fully now instead of relying on reading him through reflections. “Whoever employed you either lacked crucial information about the true nature of the target they sent you after or wanted you dead. We hunt the one known as Ifrit.” She was equally adept at reading people, and while the assassin’s face might have been covered, Kioko looked for any sign of recognition. If Meliora and Gyrfalcon were names well-known in their so-called community, Ifrit was a legend — a monstrous one. His name was attached predominantly to the Umbra Syndicate as an enforcer. One who left fiery ruins and devastation in his wake. His transformation Quirk made him a walking tank of hardened musculature cloaked in hellfire. So if Sho had heard of Ifrit, Kioko’s use of the Aqua-Line would be understandable even without further explanation. As well as her choice of waiting until a night with heavy rainfall. What she lacked in strength, she clearly made up for in strategy.

Notes & Tags: Shō Matsui

[Shō Matsui]

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Light and shadow are opposite sides of the same coin [break]
“We can illuminate our paths or darken our way. It is a matter of choice.”

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Kioko could be considered blessed because Sho needed her for the information he was missing. Hobby or otherwise, he begrudgingly admitted that even if her physical capabilities were lacking compared to him, she made it up in her wit. Not that it mattered much to him overall as he didn't do this kind of work because he enjoyed killing; he didn't consider himself a "true" villain, unlike others. He didn't have a grand plan or revel in wanton destruction like some of the other megalomaniacs, and it seemed that Kioko shared. Even if they had completely different reasons for being here, unbeknownst to both of them, they shared a lot in common, being fish out of water in this world.
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"Didn't mean to hit a nerve." he would say, keeping pace with Kioko but still keeping his distance. She may have had a cold demeanor but didn't seem great about masking anger flares. However, shortly after, it was his turn to get annoyed, having pride in his abilities even if he didn't care much about the work. "Fireproof? No. Cleaving through a mountain? Possibly." It was an exaggeration, but seeing as he had recently cut through the top of a roof to make it collapse, it may not have been all that far off. Plus, he also felt a compulsion to be petty, given how much Kioko was talking down to him.
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With them both having reached the edge of the building, he crouched and stopped to observe the car once more. Still stuck in traffic perhaps a little more severe because of the rain but Kioko would soon make all that clear. Sho was only half paying attention to what she was saying as she hadn't said anything he hadn't known until...wait Ifrit? The Ifrit? There were a handful of people in the villain world that Sho wasn't certain he could beat in a fight and given what he had heard about Ifrit in the past it was...well he could definitely use the help now. With a hearty sigh he connected the dots to Kioko's previous vague statements about the aqua-line "Elemental advantage, huh." he thought for a moment weighing the pros and cons of his next action before he straightened to his full height "I'll be frank, I don't trust you at all and if you trust me you're not as smart as you seem." his shoulders slumped as he approached her hands still in his pockets until he was just a foot away from her "We'll cooperate until this guy goes down but I don't want to miss the window and if this rain goes away we're going to have a bigger problem." he would take his hands out of his pockets showing them to Kioko that he was unarmed and before any objections he could scoop her up into his arms "I don't like this any more than you do. We'll move together and I'm faster. Plus your metal is too visible from that distance." she weighed more than he expected but he had enough tact to not vocalize this. Four shadow-cloaked arms would generate from this back "If I get us to that bridge you'll need to give us a foothold." as long as there would be no more objections he would back up to get a running start and would use the arms to lift them both off the ground and vault off the building cloaking them both in more shadows to mask their appearance. Where they landed was up to Kioko and if she didn't make a foothold he would aim for them to be positioned under the bridge suspended by his extra appendages.

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Kushiki Kioko [break]
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[Kushiki Kioko]

I HAVE PROMISES TO KEEP

AND MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP

Black lips curled at the corners ever so slightly at the admission that the infamous Gyrfalcon wasn’t fireproof. Information broker though she was not, it was still worthy of her notice and while he could have been lying, doing so as they drew closer to a battle where such a thing was to be tested would be foolish. Which in turn made his boasting on the other matter less dubious. Was it his own strength that made him feel as such or did the capability reside within his unusual weapon?

Kioko didn’t expect a partial answer to the thought to be given through a violation of her personal space as she was in the process of stating just how much she also didn’t trust him. Why else would she have had her metal playing mirror? Now it dropped its spyglass nature to come to Kioko’s aid. It encircled the pair as Sho explained why he had taken her in his actual arms. She was loathe to admit he was right, but not so prideful that she would compromise their success to dispute the fact. The line was still so razor thin that she debated it, or possibly stabbing him for his transgression, for a heart beat before rolling her eyes beneath the mask.

“Fine.”

The mercury that had been awaiting telepathic orders slithered across her arm that wasn’t pressed into Sho. It added to his weighted burden just before take off, but if he wanted a foothold when they arrived, he would deal with it. Her resources would be stretched to their max entangling with Daiki once he assumed the form of Ifrit as is. Leaving the quicksilver behind would effectively cripple their efforts before they ever began. Fortunately, the man seemed strong enough to deal with the extra cargo. Kioko could only imagine how ridiculous they looked though given she was the modern day equivalent of an amazon with her height and he was just above average at best. Thankfully they had his shadows to hide them.

Notes & Tags: Shō Matsui