"Haaaaah?!" Retsu eloquently retorted to Jack's insult. The nerve. Of course there were underground markets like that. Hells, there were perfectly legal ways to get groceries delivered wherever the hells you wanted without ever having to show your face. That wasn't the point. Retsu refused to hide away and live like some kind of rat. She'd keep living the way she wanted no matter how many times she got into trouble because of it. The more she did and the more she got away with it the less likely it was anyone else would dare try to force their ways on her. She'd make the entire world submit eventually. One corpse at a time. Speaking of which, the smug prick mouthing off in front of her without a care. 

"Kent make an omelette without crackin' a few eggs," she shrugged with a relaxed smile while gesturing towards the surrounding area. The taunting, casual swagger and attempt to make her think he didn't fear her in the slightest all pointed to one thing. The winged hero was so full of shit. She knew his type. They blabbered and blabbered to make you think they were all that but the moment the chips were down it turned out they had nothing to back up all the talk. Fortunately she'd worked out a pretty effective strategy for dealing with them by now.

"Naht that you'd know. 'Ave ya ever even gotten a single thing done in y'r entire life? Cause from 'ere it just looks lahk y'r all-" Mid-sentence she aimed her pistol at him and opened fire. "-bark 'nd no bite."

With some luck that'd be enough to take him out of the fight. Her face scrunched. She just had to have that thought didn't she?

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Tags: Jack Orion

Sudden silence. Retsu almost let out a laugh. Yeah, everyone in an entire park just spontaneously deciding to shut up for a moment, how likely was that? She knew it'd been too good to be true. A place where everyone just could be? Her teeth grit. If it'd been that easy then...

Temper drained. Her anger left her giving her clarity not unlike suddenly being dunked into an ice bath. As if the metaphorical burning rage had been turned physical her left eye seemed have been to lit up, a burning sensation running through it that had her uncharacteristically rip her eyepatch off to figure out what was going on. A streak of fire left the eye and ignited her suddenly much longer hair. It should have terrified her. It should have made her rush to put it out.

Instead, it felt natural.



It felt natural to the point that anger blossomed within her once more before being subconsciously expelled through her left eye. The fire in her hair flared up. By all means it should have burned her, created a stifling heat on her back and set off her natural instinct to put the fire out before she got injured or killed. Yet none of that happened. She could feel a connection to the flame. Raising an arm she ran her fingers through some of the burning locks. They remained unharmed and not just that, she felt like there was more she could do with it.

It would have to wait.

Like a great many of her other concerns she put it aside for later to focus on the matter at hand. Making sure to keep an eye on the two remaining people next to her she listened to Aka Ao's intercom broadcast. His words left a bitter taste in her mouth as the map popped into her hands. They told her nothing she didn't already know.

The continuation sent another smoldering pang of anger through her. Follow the rules or you'll fail? Hah! When had that ever worked? Oh, she'd pretend to be following them that was for sure. In the meantime Retsu would be doing her damnedest to find every advantage she could get. This fooker that thought he could command her like some kind of tool would get what's coming to him in time. Her fists began to clench until another spark escaped her left eye. She let out a long breath.

Panicky people died, calm people lived.

The corners of her lips twitched. She'd see how long the prick could maintain his composure once she got going. Oh, she'd be having fun alright.

Holding up the map to take a proper look at it she took a moment to memorize the most important looking details and differences from the normal amusement park map after which she promptly shoved it into one of the pockets of her cargo pants. Which reminded her of another detail she didn't like. While she had her grenade harness, knife and pistol hidden under her jacket and a few more grenades scattered throughout various pockets -she'd be caught death trusting an advertisement over ensuring her own safety- she was still not quite as heavily armed as usual. There was only so much you could hide on your person without it being obvious after all and she'd intended to make it through the day without her safety measures being spotted just in case the park's ad wasn't full of shit.

"Roite then," Retsu said to the two people near her. They seemed vaguely familiar in the same way one often sort of recognized people they saw in a dream but she couldn't place why that was. She shelved the thought in favor of more important matters, pretty sure that if she'd actually met someone that short she'd have remembered. "Nah point standin' around, aye? Let's get a move on. Fooker said each a' us 'ad ta pass three a' the things. Ah'm willin' ta bet none a' us are getting outta 'ere till all a' us did so."

In Retsu's experience anyone that prepared something as elaborate as this had a tendency for hiding a second interpretation in their words just so they could be smug about it later when people thought they'd won. She'd done the same once or twice.  Turning towards the path she started the walk over there. Time's a-wastin'. They could talk on the way over. 

By the time they got there her eyes were twitching and she'd discovered irritation wasn't instantly channeled away like anger was. They hadn't exactly faced an active threat on the way over but that didn't make the journey any less nerve wracking. Tapping her foot while Aka Ao did the next part of his speech she leaned forward to properly read the ride's instructions. Standing and thinking was unlikely to solve anything so the moment she finished reading -and listening- Retsu confidently stepped into one of the bubbles, only barely sparing a moment to address her newfound allies with a motivating speech.

"If either a' ya try ta fook me over ah'll make sure y'r corpses'll be finishing the challenges."

---

TL;DR: 
Upon entering the dream Retsu quickly discovers her newfound quirk and how it's activated (but not its applications). Internally swearing vengeance against Aka Ao she tells Rin and Jack that they'll likely all need to work together before she sets off towards the Amusement Park area. Once there she gives a motivational speech before stepping into one of the bubbles.

New Quirk: Blazing Hair
Changed Appli: Dream World Retsu

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Tags: Aysu, Arataki Noa, Jack Orion
 

Retsu's face flushed at his completely unexpected comment -in anger, of course- and she nearly choked on her food. "Lahk ah said, issues." She added in a tone that was more flabbergasted than it was angry. Unfortunately for Chirp Retsu had a similar idea on the concept of backing down.

"Ain't been pushed that far yet, huh?" She muttered offhandedly with a gleam in her eye, just loud enough for him to hear but quiet enough for it to be clear he wasn't expected to answer. His next words gave her an idea. She wondered how he'd react if his hands were tied; If he was forced into a situation where all choices he had to make were bad but not making one would be even worse. As she finished off her skewer she put the thought aside to hear his question. Cold anger was the result.

"Mister detective decided the best place ta hide 'is secrets was around a bunch a' people whose jobs are ta figure those out?" Retsu asked rhetorically with a mocking sneer on her face. "Wazz that called again? Refuge in audacity? Tsk, tsk tsk. That shite only works until people got some tahm ta think." She added with a sardonic shake of her head. The dude had so many issues he may as well be a weekly magazine and was clearly so dumb it couldn't be anything other than a gossip rag.

Her anger smoldered even more at his next questions, bubbling under the surface and demanding release. She refused to oblige it. Punching him in the face would be satisfactory for sure but it wouldn't be nearly enough. No, she'd make sure he got what was coming to him eventually but not yet. For now she'd make sure she got everything she wanted out of this and then some. The sooner the better. He was getting on her nerves more and more by the second. Which reminded her.

"Da fook is taking so long?!" She shouted at the chef.

"Y-your order is underway, ma'am."

Clicking her tongue she hugged before looking back at Chirp and answering.

"Funny you ask," she snickered. "It was a private detective. Prick was asking far too many questions 'bout the gang ah was runnin' with at the tahm for 'is own good. Fer all 'is curiosity 'e lacked the paranoia ta think the letter given ta 'im bah a twelve-year old tellin' 'im it 'ad an anonymous tip would 'ave anthrax in it instead."

It was a lie of course. Sure, that was something that had happened but she'd been fourteen at the time and it hadn't been her first kill. 

"As fer mah parents? They'd think whatever ah'd fookin' want 'em too," she spat. Her tone had grown so cold that had it had physical form she wouldn't have needed ice cubes in her beer to keep it chilled and so bitter it'd have doubled the taste. There were layers to her last reply that she hadn't intended to let out nor was interested in thinking about.

"So, how's bein' a criminal feel?" Retsu taunted back. "And d'ya intend ta make any proper use of y'r new status other than givin' a fookin' sob story when anyone asks?"

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Tags: CHIRP ♪♪

Retsu took a brief glance at her 'toys' before fixing Rui with an unamused look. Clicking her tongue she looked away. What would Mummy know? With a quirk that was akin to winning the lottery was it any wonder she thoughts so little of those who didn't have one? Retsu didn't care about her opinion on the matter. Restrictions breed innovation and hers have led her to create her own strength one day of sweat, blood and tears at a time. By now her climb to the top has brought her so high that when she looks back she can't even see where she started anymore. She wasn't jealous in the slightest. Not at all. Nor was there any reason she looked away when Rui continued speaking.

Pocketing her phone she decided to ignore what she saw as Rui's next unintentional insult before her lips twitched at the comparison. It was an apt metaphor for the lethality she'd seen the little demon display recently. She herself had racked up quite the count as a hired gun too. A gun. A tool used by another without being in control of its own fate. Retsu's mood soured. Was that how Rui saw herself? For some reason that didn't sit right with her. Maybe she ought to pay extra next time she needed healing.

"Plan A it is then," Retsu agreed while throwing a pack of breaching strips and a piece of C4 at Rui. She highly doubted some jumped-up security company had anywhere near as much experience using chaos to their advantage as they did. Nevertheless she prepared herself for the worst. The fact that this is the version of the plan that would keep both herself and Rui away from Elias and that his means of participation would make it impossible for them to determine he wasn't double-crossing them until it was too late didn't slip her mind. She'd be keeping one eye open, that was for sure.

---

Rubber tore across asphalt to the tune of a roaring engine as Retsu maintained a steady speed, her brand new motorcycle carrying both herself and Rui down the highway.

"Oy, Ruister. The code ta set off the C4 ah gave ya instantly is one two three four," Retsu shouted over her shoulder, raising her voice to be heard through her helmet and over the wind roaring by them. She was lying of course. The correct code would allow the user to set a timer long enough for them to take cover but explaining that the booby trapped activation would serve Rui's purposes better would have taken far too long. Not to mention needlessly add confusion into the mix. "Pack a' breachin' strips works the same!"

It seemed she'd finished giving the reminder just in time as an opportunity finally arrived. A car arriving from an access road crossed lanes, providing a brief blind spot to one of the two frontmost escort vehicles. Retsu hadn't survived until now by passing up on opportunities like that. The second she was out of its line of sight she lobbed a sticky grenade over the top of their cover to land on the hood of said escort vehicle. While it was still in flight she made another throw, this time with a piece of C4 aimed right at the vehicle that still had eyes on them. Screeching tires let her know they'd reacted far faster than she'd expected them too. Retsu clicked her tongue. Competence like that would make this a very troublesome fight.

A press of her remote detonator sent the vehicle skidding, thrown off course by the blast but not quite out of the fight yet. It'd have to be enough.

"Brace y'rself!"

Hitting the brakes to slow them down just as the vehicle they were using for cover began to swerve out of the control of its panicked driver Retsu firmly pressed her legs into both sides of the motorcycle to steady herself. Both of her hands reached into a deep pocket of her cargo pants each. From within she withdrew one of her 'firecracker' pattern explosives, a set of grenades connected by a thin steel wire tied to their pins. Her arms came up and spread wide like a conductor at the climax of their performance, unspooling the wires and drawing the firecrackers in their wake. At the apex of their ascent the wires almost seemed like an extension of her arms, metal catching the light to give the impression a massive set of wings, like an angel descending onto the battlefield.

A Valkyrie.

"Fly!" Retsu shouted back at Rui as they drew close to the main vehicle, her grenades coming loose one by one with metallic clinks and scattering over a wide area to add a cacophony of chaos to the scene. The Rubicon had been crossed. It was now do or die.

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Tags: Elias | Rui Matsui

[attr="class","likedo"]

Retsu didn't even pay attention to Rui falling over, utterly used to the horned devil's shenanigans and more importantly her speed of recovery. Seeing Antoine decide to coincidentally book it when she tried to hand the same safety hazard that just took her out to him did cause her lips to twitch upwards though.

"A cake that explodes? Hah, we ain't in some kinda a spy movie," Retsu snorted while browsing baking classes on her phone, not at all interested in the idea. Anyone that said otherwise was liable to get to do the first taste test. She stopped herself from sneering when she saw the end results of the arena competition. The final tally couldn't be confirmed until she checked with the bookies but Retsu had the distinct feeling she wouldn't be breaking even. With a glare at the display screen her scrolling through adverts intensified. 

Picking up a skewer with malicious intent she bit down on it and practically tore part of the meat free. She zoned out of the conversation as everyone else began to eat as well, her gaze occasionally strayed to both the screens now displaying highlight reels from the arena as well as the plinths still holding a variety of items. Her mind continued to churn, ideas being considered, discarded or filed away for later. This place was a gold mine for inspiration -and filled with people that could make things happen- and Bakiri Retsu was intending to make full use of it. 

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Tags: Ghouligan Rui Matsui Elias facade