[attr="class","likedo"]

[attr="class","likedo"]

[attr="class","likedo"]

[attr="class","likedo"]

As time moved on traditions once upheld were slowly being lost. Some slower than others. In fact, a few of them needed a bit of help to be forgotten. The Hayashida-gumi had a long history dating back nearly a century and a half filled with success stories followed by far less successful stories and finally stories of them just barely hanging on. That was where the problem laid. Though their fame was long lost and their power but a shadow of what it once was they'd always just barely managed to stop their fade into irrelevance through opportunism and claiming whichever scraps the bigger fish had dropped. 

The issue with that was that Bakuretsu could now be considered one of those bigger fish. Her takedown of the Akimichi family should have given her near complete control of their operations yet transfers of power took time to complete in full and before her conquest was complete tragedy had struck. The commotion at the bay had led every other hero and their grandma over the course of the past few months and made it a fools errand to show up in person. For all that Bakuretsu had personal power subtlety wasn't her thing and the longer she was away the more her influence dropped. Something the Hayashida-gumi had been more that willing to make us of, their sly ways letting them expand right under the noses of the law. Retsu had enough of them. Their downfall was long overdue and with the activity down by the beach finally dying down it was time to make them realize that too. The hard way.

"Roite then," Bakuretsu said while putting on her earpiece. "Ah'll be waitin' fer y'r signal. Remember, we only need their boss alive. Rest a' 'em are done fer one way or another, nah need ta 'old back so long as the job gets done. Remember. Ah need ta have a chat with Hayashida Terumi 'fore he kicks the bucket. Make sure 'e doesn't get away."

She was sitting in the back of a van a street away from the Hayashida-gumi's headquarters in preparation of their attack. Located near the very border of the Ota prefecture close to the Tama river the compound had a rather large footprint, its traditional make causing it to have been built outwards instead of upwards. Within a rectangular outer wall sat a large courtyard with a pond that had several bridges and islands across it. Several buildings connected with roofed corridors in the traditional Japanese style that had already been outdated a century ago made up the rest of their base. A small army could fit inside and with the meeting of their leadership being ongoing it could be said that there was in fact one inside as more than fifty of their subordinates were spread throughout the buildings and courtyard alike. Some patrolling, others chatting by the waterside and yet more awaiting the catering or showing personnel to their places.

With people sourced from several branches of their organization present there were a fair few that didn't recognize each other. To Retsu's exasperation they'd also made use of the downfall of the Akimichi to recruit adding several new faces to their group. It would certainly make infiltration easier for Forevermore but it still annoyed her. Those could have been her subordinates had it not been for the sudden mutated sea life attacks. It was amazing what interesting new ways the world always seemed to find to get in her way but she digressed, there was work to be done. Checking over the equipment she'd brought she offered a final nod to Forevermore before she refocused on the preparations for her part of the mission.

"We're all set. Go whenever y'r rdy."

---

Tag: Yoshiee Ishikawa

[attr="class","likedo"]

The hair on the back of Retsu's neck had raised long before Olivia had spoke up, her senses letting her know something was wrong even if she couldn't quite place what. Experience had taught her to trust instincts like that and Retsu wasn't about to start ignoring them now. Putting the part she was working on down she picked up another, slotting it neatly into a different project to finish an impromptu grenade. Impromptu because it didn't quite have the safeties built in nor the pin. A good hit would be enough to set this experimental concussive grenade off, something as detrimental as it could be beneficial. Retsu was confident she'd be faster than whatever sneak had gotten into her workshop. She kept the safety hazard close at hand -quite literally- when Olivia dropped down and began speaking.

"Is that so?" Retsu asked rhethorically while narrowing her eyes at the intruder. She highly doubted Elias would've instructed her to drop in from above, much less without calling ahead. Not unless he wanted her dead. Retsu only narrowly stopped herself from clicking her tongue. If he was foisting his dirty work off on her for plausible deniability without any pay they'd be having words. "Well, y'r better at foindin' the roite person than ya were at foindin' the door. Who the fook are ya and what d'ya want?"

---

Tag: Olivia Liang

"Fookin' quirkers," Retsu grumbled under her breath as she pressed the button to call an elevator just a bit harder than was needed. Waiting for it to arrive she pressed another button inside to send it to the ground floor and stepped back out before the doors could close. Taking the elevator when one was in a position like hers was quite frankly the dumbest possible move she could make. An enclosed space with a single exit and a neat sign on the outside tracking its progress. Using it to go down may as well be suicide if anyone's laying in wait. No, Retsu simply used it as a distraction while taking the stairs. With any potential enemies focused on it she'd have a smooth trip to her destination, one that would be decidedly less final than the alternative. 

"Ah'll pass," she replied in an even tone through the comms. The elevator had just been demoted -or perhaps promoted- to the second dumbest possible move, wedged firmly in between a trust fall with a villain and putting foreign technology like an earpiece anywhere near her head. No, the one Retsu was using was her own self made design that had been linked to their comms. Retsu was intimately familiar with how small the container for explosives -or hells, poisons or neural agents- could be and wasn't gonna risk putting whatever Elias and co provided anywhere near her head. 

Catching part of the conversation as she and Elias approached the targets Retsu refrained from commenting. It certainly explained why he wanted the group gone but it was none of her business. If he wanted the rat back alive it would be but clearly collateral wasn't gonna be a concern. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised, after all, why else would she be the one they hired? Where Bakuretsu passed naught but ash remained. The corner of her lip curled up for the briefest moment before she pushed it back down as twin cracks announced their opening move. The cracks were far quieter than the opening shots she was used to yet the air that escaped their sources was far heavier than the expulsion of gasses from her guns.

It wouldn't stay that silent for long. Setting a claymore down by the door Retsu took out a pack of breaching strips and made a neat little rectangle on the wall to secure them a way in. The timer was set for ten seconds as she stepped back and turned to Elias.

"How many ways in 'r out does dis place 'ave?"

---

Tag: Elias

As of late there was a stillness to Retsu that hadn't been there before. On the surface it seemed to make her less volatile but nothing could be further from the truth. Hers was the stillness of storm clouds gathering overhead. One that you did not need to see to feel its presence, for the way it robbed the color of all it passed over was more than enough to tell it was there. It was the kind of stillness that was a warning. A warning that at any moment all hell could break loose. The kind that people throughout the ages had observed as a sign to run for cover until it was over.

"Got it." 

Her reply arrived like the first drop of rain falling from darkening clouds. A final reminder of what was about to happen and a sign that it was already too late to hide from the coming storm. 

Unlike the last time they'd been about to commence an operation Bakuretsu did not bother to check her gear. She knew exactly what she had. With a twitch of her left wrist she could have the tips of her fingers graze over the course hilt of Temper. With every inhale Retsu was keenly aware of the presence of her pistol holster by her side. The grenades she carried on her harness had enough weight to raise her center of gravity the slightest bit, enough that she needed to adjust her stride for it. 

So too was she fully aware of what she didn't have. Her rifle had been cut from her arsenal this time around. It limited her range, sure, but that just forced her to get closer to the enemy. The proximity would make it that much less likely that she'd leave anything whole. There would be no survivors. Not when the deluge known as Bakiri Retsu fell upon them. 

Turning on her heel she marched towards their goal without another look back at the warehouse. She'd looked over the edge and seen what laid there. There was no point in dwelling on it. What truly mattered laid inside anyway. It was impossible to see any of that by looking down upon them from on high. Elias didn't seem like he wanted to elaborate either. She'd have to find out the hard way. A fascimile of a smirk crept its way up her lips. That approach suited her just fine.

"Let's go. Shit ain't gonna break itself."

---

Tag: Elias

Retsu wasn’t sure how to reply to Aika Ao’s words. The whole message was foreign to her and so was the unsettling feeling that came with it. As the tokens began to float in front of her she settled upon a nod and a hum, making no eye contact as her gaze was upon the horizon, eyes glossing over. For one rare minute, a minute she’d been keeping an eye out for this entire time in case it'd be the one where Aika Ao pulled off whatever he was planning, Retsu lowered her guard without her even realizing it as she lost herself deep in thought.

A place where they could have fun. Was that what was different about her then? Here she was able to have fun just like others did? She didn’t like the thought of what that said about her. If that felt this different, this off compared to what she was used to, what could that mean? The thought weighed heavy on her.

As if she were withdrawing her hand from a fire before it could get burned she turned her train of thought towards the three trials she'd completed.

The first trial she was no stranger to. When it came down to it the only person she could count on was herself. It had always been that way and would always be that way. Several familiar faces flashed through her mind, lingering for just a second before she pushed them away. With a shake of her head she refocused on what mattered. Making sure she caught on to whichever way Aika Ao was about to try to screw them over. Her caution was only halfhearted, the majority of her attention still lingering on the past.

That she'd breezed through the second trial was no surprise either. Retsu had never let anyone else’s opinion decide her actions. She always blazed her own trail forward in whichever way would get her the best result, their judgement be damned. Good enough? No. She was better. Better than what all of them thought of her and soon enough she’d show them. She'd show them all.

A snort left her at the thought of the third trial. Trust others? What a riot. She didn’t trust anyone here further than she could throw them. The only thing you could trust in was that everyone was gonna be a self-serving sack of shit. It was exactly why she'd made all of those threats. Either they did what would benefit her because it would benefit them too or they’d do it because the only alternative they could get was a bullet through the head. Nothing more, nothing less. Growing up in the lawless backstreets of Tokyo she’d seen exactly what happened to fools who trusted without being able to verify. Hells. She’d buried several herself. Retsu didn’t need their help. She’d be fine by herself no matter what the world might throw her way. They’d all see that in time.

Even so Aika Ao’s smarmy speech agitated something deep inside her chest. If she didn’t know better she’d almost believe he was genuine. For some reason she was even having a hard time convincing herself he wasn’t. That couldn’t be right.

Something felt wrong. Retsu did not know what it was and she’d been ignoring it this whole time but the closer she got to leaving the more she felt it. There was almost a reluctance to leave this place, ridiculous as the thought was. Retsu's fists clenched. That had to be related to his quirk. She couldn't imagine -refused to imagine- that it could come from herself. There was no way that was true. Absolutely no way. Their bodies and powers had been changed so he likely had a way to affect their minds too. The thought angered her so much another plume of fire left her eye and ignited her hair while she reached for her weapons. A snap ended her efforts before they could begin. 

She awoke the same way she'd just fallen asleep.

Her eyelids snapped open and she shot upright startling every waking person around her. With adrenaline coursing through her veins she took in the scene in an instant. Somehow the chaos combined with the fact that she wasn't wearing her eyepatch and had longer hair had caused her to go unrecognized amongst the mass of unconscious civilians. She couldn't count on that lasting for long. Ignoring the surprised exclamations and caretakers swarming to one of the few people that had woken up by themselves since the Unity Festival had ended she grabbed her stuff and left, her burning hair flaring up in warning to any who'd dare interrupt her. 

Half-formed thoughts and ideas she didn't even want to consider risked burning a hole through her head long before the quirk she somehow still possessed even outside of the Dream could. She pushed them away with action. There was much to do and she had no idea how long she'd been out. Time worked differently in dreams, for all she knew she could've laid here for hours, days or even weeks. It didn't matter. So long as she kept moving she didn't have to focus on thinking. So, as always, Retsu kept going without looking back. There was no other option. Not for her.

---

TL;DR:
-Peace out, suckers! o/

Tags: Aysu,Arataki Noa,Jack Orion