Someone else might have judged the way he lived, but she was used to camping out in the woods, or staying at dingy hotels. To her, his apartment was just as homely as any other place. ''Do you not have a first aid kit?'' She asked as she looked around the apartment without actually going through the suitcase or any drawers. ''They got you pretty bad.'' She accepted the bottle, but couldn't help but keep worrying about his eye and his lip.

''A quirk that can see the past, and you're looking for your brother...'' She said thoughtfully, ruminating on the details. ''Well, nice to meet you, Mark.'' She smiled up at him. ''I'm Kokoro, but some people have started calling me Buzzard. I'm a traveler who has seen a lot of the world, knows how to fight with swords, and who is searching for a quirk that can control time itself.'' An impossible dream, but it was one she knew she had to chase. Horrible mistakes of fate had been committed in the past and she was hellbent on correcting them. ''I grew up here in Japan. My mom and dad owned an inn up in the mountains. I was never really interested in the world until one day a smiling traveler stopped by.'' She smiled, but it soon faded as she opened her bottle and took a long sip.

''Because of me, that traveler died. I was just a kid, but...'' She let out a sigh. ''You said your brother is a douche canoe? I've never had any siblings.'' She didn't mind finally sharing her mysterious origins for once, especially not over alcohol, but she was trying to deflect from her own past for a moment.

lonewolf

She was thankful they were choosing the less violent option. ''Got it, hold on tight.'' She sheathed her sword and began lifting him upwards with her jumps, chaining jump after jump together until they made it on top of a small building with a flat roof. Small enough that she could scale it with another person, but tall enough that they probably wouldn't get caught. Once they made it up she was out of breath and panting for air as if she had run a marathon. It really was that much harder to maneuver through the air with another person.

''I suppose I owe you an explanation.'' She smiled apologetically up at him. ''I'm what you would classify as a vigilante, Mark.'' She let that revelation, unsurprising as it was, hang in the air for a moment. ''I didn't just come back to Tokyo for fun, my journey took me back here. I'm looking for a certain quirk.'' She gently moved a strand of hair behind her ear with her hand. ''I have no excuse. I lied to you from the beginning, but the time we spent together, that wasn't a lie.'' She unbuckled the strap she used to carry her sword and sheathes and tossed it aside, leaving her defenseless. ''I'm a criminal. If you think it's best to arrest me I won't resist.'' She put out her wrists. ''If there's anything else you would like to know I'll tell you, it's the least I can do. I'll be fully honest this time.'' She smirked, glancing down at the street for a moment. ''Besides, we have a lot of time to kill.''

lonewolf

If she was stronger she could have ended all this in the blink of an eye. If she was stronger Mark wouldn't have gotten hurt. She had taken a risk attacking Sieve, but she had immediately regretted roping Mark into all this. The second she saw him walk in she should have dropped her mission and played the role of the clueless civilian.

She tried to yank her blade back, but once the hot net had covered it she knew it was only going to be a matter of time before the metal melted away. ''Don't you think killing us would create more trouble?'' She smirked, feeling confident in her gamble. ''You hardly know either of us, you don't know what kind of connections I could have. Who would come looking if I disappeared in a place like this.'' She was ready to let go of the trapped blade and start fighting with one, but before she could Mark got ahead of her. Letting go of the sword that had been netted she allowed him to take her hand and followed him towards the door and hopefully out into the night. ''Duck.'' She whispered to Mark, before double jumping and using his body as leverage to push off of to kick away a couple of thugs that got just a tad too close to them. Taking his hand again, she smiled up at him apologetically. ''Too sober for a brawl? I should have waited. ~''

lonewolf

She could only trust that Mark could hold his own as she advanced on Sieve, but when the bat guy got in her way she ducked under his bat and redirected her strike to him, attempting to smack him in the face with the dull side of her blade. As much as she wanted to go back and help Mark, she also knew she couldn't leave Sieve unattended, especially given whatever power he was using. She hadn't figured out exactly what it was yet, but whatever it was she couldn't let it get near Mark. The smell of ozone was enough to make her hesitate and reevaluate her approach.

She hadn't wanted to use her power this soon, but...

Hopefully Mark could forgive her for all of this.

Forming clouds under her feet, Kokoro took off, leaping high into the air, hopefully avoiding Sieve's ozone nightmare, before redirecting her trajectory by double jumping from midair, zooming and descending down onto Sieve as she tried to close the gap. If she got within striking distance of him she would similarly try to hit him with the blunt side of her swords. ''If you've got some more dating advice I'm all ears. I haven't dated anyone for quite a while you see, so I'm pretty rusty.'' Despite their situation she still talked like her and Sieve were old friends.

However, there was a serious tone shift to her voice with what she said next. ''If you let him go, I'll surrender.''

lonewolf

She took note of Sieve removing his gloves, was that related to his quirk? She could only assume so if she wanted to remain cautious. ''You think? That would be pretty funny, if after everything that's happened I died in a place like this.'' She let out a hearty chuckle, still completely unphased by the situation she had gotten herself and Mark into. ''My boyfriend?'' She looked over her shoulder at Mark, before looking back at Sieve. ''If only I was so lucky! Do you think I have a shot after all? ~'' She mused to herself.

She glanced up at the roof, being mindful of how much room she would have to maneuver around. Once Mark set everything into motion she dashed straight for Sieve, hoping to dodge and weave around his lackeys to get a swing in on him, while still keeping a respectable distance in case he had a touch-based quirk. If she had been smarter, she would have tried to move the fight outside so her quirk application wouldn't have been so limited. Then again, things were different this time. For one, Mark had her back, and usually no one did. It was pretty presumptuous of her to assume he would help her, but she knew that the hero types were reliable in the end. That's the one thing she could always trust in a hero to be, especially someone like him who she had gotten to know.

Weirdly, as scary and dangerous as the situation was, all she could think about was how she could make it up to him later.

lonewolf

She felt bad for dragging Mark into her mess, but she really hadn't expected him to show up here tonight. She knew this place was shady, but she didn't know that the heroes already had their eyes on it. In any case, she acted rashly and asked the questions she was hoping to get answers for. Wherever this led after the fact, if her and Mark made it out of here she would have some explaining to do. Hopefully not down by the police station.

Unfortunately it seemed like she had taken a risk for nothing, as Sieve effectively told her to buzz off. She could understand not knowing about Koi, or the Projects, but Akai? Either this guy genuinely didn't know, or he was hiding something. He had to be, right? She wanted to look over her shoulder at Mark. What did he think? What should she do next? She had no qualms about starting a brawl if it was just her, but she wasn't going to take a life in front of him. She couldn't do that to him or herself. ''My apologies, I didn't take you for an amateur.'' She said it with a smirk like she was catching up with a friend. ''Akai the Iron Hand, he was murdered two years ago.'' She kept walking towards Sieve, showing that she was not backing down. ''He was an information broker.'' She drew her swords slowly, wielding both at the same time. She could always hit this guy or any of his underlings with the back of her swords so they wouldn't get cut up. ''And my friend.'' She looked over her shoulder at Mark, wanting to apologize, but she refrained from saying anything to avoid blowing his cover.

''I came here looking for answers. I'm not leaving.''

lonewolf

''That'll make it easier for us to stay in touch, right?'' Not only was it worthy investment because it made her civilian persona less suspicious, but it was worth it because Mark was someone she could trust. Sure, she would have to be careful not to give away who she really was, but in the meantime why not enjoy herself a bit? How often did she get to make friends, like real friends and not temporary allies that could turn on her if bribed at the wrong time. She was impressed with how quick he was able to add his number. Heck, she was watching but she could hardly keep up! Was it a requirement for heroes to be so good at IT?

''I figured. You're too handsome to be hanging around a place like this.'' She teased, happily accepting her phone back and putting it away again. ''Well...'' Oh dear, here he was asking about her. He had every right to be suspicious, she would probably be suspicious of him too if their roles were reversed. ''Usually you would be right, but I have some business in here.'' Unlike Mark she was so relaxed that she didn't bother to keep an eye on their surroundings at all. ''I'm a traveler after all, and a journey has many stops, this is just another one of them.'' She tried to reassure him, reaching out to rest her hand on top of his. ''Do you think I'm here because I have bad intentions?''

If you do, then you should run away now. This is not a path you can walk with me.

lonewolf