Underground fight club. Compete and earn big money, big prize, big fun!

That almost sounded too good to be true, but the more she thought about it, the more tempting the offer became. How cool would it be if she showed up at the Costume Cafe with prize money and could get the group a bunch of stuff? The girls would be so impressed with her! All she had to hope now was that they hadn't gotten the same idea, or it would ruin the surprise. Going home to tend to her swords she waited for night to fall before going to the designated fight club location.

It was down a shady alleyway, in a shady basement, full of shady people. ''Go through that curtain to sign-up.'' One burly-looking guy showed her on her way and she thanked him with a smile and a wave. The competition here sure looked fierce, but then again she wasn't the biggest fighter herself. While daydreaming she suddenly found herself being put in handcuffs and her swords confiscated. ''Oops.'' She looked down at her wrists. Yup, she was not getting out of these cuffs on her own. ''Get in the cage!'' Ordered another rough type while pointing a gun into her back. ''You got it.'' She smiled back, raising her arms as if to indicate she wasn't going to fight back, before taking a seat in the cage alongside other unfortunate, but equally desperate people. ''What a blunder.'' She laughed to herself, somehow a lot less bothered than most of the other prisoners.

Jingjing, Shirayuki Tamaya

She took her own drink, smiling. ''That's what I had hoped.'' She tipped it up too, taking a small sip. Not because she was afraid of getting drunk, or how alcohol would affect her ability to fight if she had to, but simply because she wanted to pace herself. Much like Mark, she was suspecting that this place wasn't entirely safe. Hence, why she had come armed. ''I see.'' She giggled, raising her glass. ''Would you believe me if I said you were my business? I saw a fortune teller earlier today and she told me I was fated to meet a very special person here.'' She teased again, taking another sip of her drink.

The guy with the claw arm in the back, she would hate to have to take him on, but if it came down to it... Her attention was grabbed by Sieve as he came into the room. That was the guy she needed to ask, but how was she going to get the opportunity to when Mark was right there? Should she just bite the bullet and ask anyway? It wasn't like she hadn't already made herself extremely suspicious, and technically what she was doing wasn't illegal... Yet.

''For fun?'' She smiled, mulling it over for a moment. ''Mark...'' She let out a small chuckle. ''You're asking me if there's anywhere I would like to go for fun, when I'm already in the company of someone I enjoy.'' She masked her glancing towards the back, at the claw guy as a shrug. ''I can't think of anywhere. Not for fun, strictly. Your place, perhaps?'' She reached out to hold Mark's hand and leaned in close, using it as an opportunity to whisper a question to him. ''You're armed, right?'' She made sure to keep a hand on her swords. ''Things could go bad very soon. You should run.'' She gave him a peck on the cheek before leaning away again, standing up from her seat.

''I've been looking to talk to you.'' She asked Sieve directly. ''What do you know about the Projects? What is Koi?'' They were absolute wildcard questions, but she hadn't gotten anywhere in the last few days. ''Who killed Akai the Iron Hand?''

lonewolf

Once she took her seat she looked around the bar before smiling up at the bartender. Now all she had to do was ask around and scope out the people that knew something. Then she would get her answers. Who knew, she might even be so lucky and have someone approach her. She had often been told that she was the type of person who stood out in a crowd. Whether that was because of her swords or the way she looked she wasn't sure. When she heard someone approaching she mentally prepared herself, but she wasn't ready for such a familiar voice to speak up. Her eyes lit up when she saw the face of the man she wasn't sure she would meet again. ''Mark?'' She asked in English, a little inside joke of theirs. ''<You visit bars like this too?>'' She couldn't help but smile, heck, it practically snuck up on her. Here she was ready to get serious and to look for clues, but then he showed up.

It did sort of throw a wrench in her plan. What now, should she address the fact that she was armed, or try to play it off like it was nothing? Lying and saying they were props probably wouldn't cut it either, not against an investigative type like him. ''There's something I wanted to show you.'' She pulled her handbag up in her lap took out a phone, showing it to him proudly. ''Remember how you asked for my number, but I didn't have one? Well, I went ahead and bought one of these mobile telephones that everyone carry around.'' She smiled, handing it over to him. Thankfully it was a civilian phone. She was never going to conduct any criminal business through it. ''I don't know how to add a phone number yet, but maybe you could put in yours?''

lonewolf

[attr="class","likedo"]

She chuckled when he mentioned a next time. ''<Next time? Could it be that you're asking me out, Mark?>'' She teased, returning the wink. She wouldn't mind seeing him again, so long as she could keep her criminal double life secret from him. Who knew how much someone like him could derail her plans if he found out why she had really returned to Japan.

''<Right? It's food for thought.>'' She smiled, knowing full well that this Hivemind was using their powers to do terrible things. Normally she would be opposed to them, and maybe even fight back against them, but it just so happened that they were in high standing with another criminal she was trying to reach. For the sake of her goal, she couldn't let one petty criminal get in her way.

''<What I'm doing?'' She asked cluelessly. Thankfully she didn't have any plans tonight, heck, most of her Tokyo contacts didn't even know she had made it to Japan yet. ''<There's no safer way to see the city after dark than being accompanied by a hero, right? Do you drink?>'' This way she got to spend more time with him, and also didn't have to worry about going back to the hotel and getting her swords first if things did go wrong. Win-win.

lonewolf

It was true that she had ulterior motives, but there was some genuine happiness and need for social interaction thrown in there too. Even as she was on her journey and had a specific mission she made sure to enjoy her date with Mark to the fullest. Not only was he fun to talk to, but he had a good taste in food and he was complimenting her. What's not to love about it? After she asked her question she took the time to finish her plate while he mulled it over.

She nodded at what he said. ''<What someone considers 'power' is rather telling about their character don't you think?>'' She was both interested in what he had seen because he had such an exciting job, but also probing. What was power to Mark Browning? A gun quirk? Fire quirk? Gravity quirk? Or perhaps a time quirk? Maybe his answer would surprise her and be something totally different, either way she was going to come out of it learning something. ''<With a look? How scary, usually quirks that powerful are relegated to touch.>'' To avoid being suspicious she would offer her own perspective too. Sure, she was probing and looking for information, but it didn't hurt to give up a little bit of herself too. That way, it felt like a more fair exchange. She didn't have much to hide either. If he got suspicious of her that would be a shame, but she also hadn't committed any crimes since returning to Japan. ''<In my case...>'' She put her hands together. ''<I'd say it's a hivemind quirk.>'' She obviously needed to elaborate and she was happy to do so. ''<Say someone could make a perfect clone of themself, and that clone shares every memory, emotion and thought as the original. For all intents and purposes, you cannot tell the difference between the original or the clones. Quirks like that exist too.>'' She figured she would give an exciting answer, something she had actually seen, while hiding something that was crucial to her mission. Namely, the rumor that someone had a quirk that allowed them to extract quirks from others, and that this person was somewhere in Japan.

lonewolf

''<Yeah.>'' Really neither of them were. Otherwise their conversation about this fleeting topic might have turned out differently. ''<It's a thought.>'' She mused while sipping her tea. She wasn't all too interested in talking about what-ifs. Now his answer to her question about his place of residence was much more intriguing. She had taken him for the usual city dweller. Someone who had traveled, sure, but he lived in Tokyo. He had probably lived in big cities his whole life and was comfortable that way, just like she was comfortable being a traveler herself. ''<Really?>'' She asked excitedly, though still as laidback as usual. ''<We have more in common than I thought, Mark.>'' What a fun thought. She had something in common with a hero. They were all just humans after all, weren't they?

She turned her attention back to some of her own food, preferring to eat while it was still warm. ''<Makes sense. When you're working in the same place it's much easier to live around that place too.>'' It wasn't like she was a stranger to it either. She had contacts in China and had stayed with friends and strangers all around the world while on her journey. Sure, sometimes she would have to camp in the woods, but oftentimes it was much more preferable to just talk to some friendly strangers and stay with them instead. ''<Tomorrow?>'' She chewed on his question, giving it a little bit of thought before smiling. ''<I'll figure something out. Usually I meet a friendly stranger, or I contact some of my old friends.>'' She looked away briefly to put more food on her place before teasing him with a grin. ''<Why, are you worried about little old me?>''

lonewolf