Gang Members Have Lives Too

[Kaykay]

"Y'know, that's why nobody talks to you I bet. I went out of my way to pass you a coffee and I have to pry just to get you to tell me something I already know."

The coffee wasn't much of a hassle, actually, given she appeared pretty much right in front of him. If he'd had to really go out of his way he wouldn't have even bothered. But she really did tell him mostly things he knew. Sure, he didn't care too much for the gang's affairs outside of coffee-making, but being in the gang even he'd eventually managed to gather that much.

What he didn't know was she gathered information through trading. He figured she'd be more sneaky and underhanded about it, like beating someone up and extracting info from them, or eavesdropping on conversations. Of course, there was the possibility she just researched using books and the Internet, but when he thought of "gang informant" that last option seemed less likely. To him, at least.

Though in the end, he didn't really care how she did it. It was surprisingly straight forward, though.

"C'mon, I may like coffee a bit but I ain't that oblivious. I'm a drinker, not a moron. 'Sides, even if I was that oblivious, I wouldn't regret a moment of it. Would you prefer to have knowledge of all this gang stuff, or enjoy a nice hot cup of coffee? ...Or some cold canned coffee that still tastes alright. Either way, I'd take the coffee. Wouldn't you?"

He reached into his bag to pull out another can before pausing, shaking his head, and withdrawing his hand. Wouldn't prove his point much if he downed another can. He knew he didn't exactly give off a great impression to people unfamiliar with him. Or even people who were familiar with him sometimes. No need to make that any worse.

"Well, anyway, I know about the Kimura stuff, but you're the information gal. You prolly know more than me, huh? Learn anything interesting? Or you just gonna sit there and poke fun at me?"

@Verite ​

 

[Verite]

Ayaka simply gave Kuro an annoyed look in response to his comment about how nobody seemed to particularly enjoy talking to her. Well, that was just fine with her and all... but for him to think he could just be so blunt about it, hmph. Her mind was fixated on that one comment as the blonde continued to speak.

I really ought to splash some hot coffee in your face...

And to think she was in a relatively decent mood earlier as well.

Guess that what happens. It can't be helped.

"That's... fine. I don't need anyone anyway. By the end of it all, I'm sure I'll be out of your hair soon enough... Or not. Who knows?" Ayaka simply sighed, leaning back in the bench before looking up at the evening sky. It really was getting darker much quicker. Guess it was just that time of the year, huh? How annoying.

Even with someone as apathetic as Kuro, at least, as Ayaka perceived him, she didn't dare state her true intentions of being in the gang.

"To choose a cup of coffee or to know all I need to know about the underworld. The former does sound nice, admittedly, if it meant that in exchange, I lived a life oblivious to the... thug life, or whatever those kids call it these days," She spoke, adjusting her glasses briefly, "But this is all I know. So I guess I'll have to refuse that cup for now. Without this life of being in a gang, living off extortion and whatnot, I have nothing."

It wasn't like the Tanaka Gang was her first gang, that much could be assumed by those who fancied themselves observant of Ayaka's mannerisms to the operations they had, but she hardly talked about her past in any meaningful way.

Clearing her throat, however, the girl would get back on track.

"No... I didn't find out anything of much worth. Some relatively useless info that I paid for with equally useless info. Or do you think it wasn't okay for me to say that this place is where the gang gets most of our coffee?"

@Kaykay​

 

[MiNaGi]

[bg=#000000]After dinner, it was getting rather late, and Luca had discarded the dress in favor of some comfortable shorts and a t-shirt. He was sitting on the couch, wrapped into Cas' arms, when he let out an audible yawn, looking quite much like he was going to just fall directly asleep right then and there. But he persisted even as Cas chuckled and lifted his chin, inquiring if they should go to sleep. On one hand, he really should just go the hell to sleep already, but on the other hand, he also really just wanted to stay like this with Cas forever. He snuggled closer to his boyfriend, feeling the warmth of his body as he slowly started to doze off. He was woken with a start when he felt his center of gravity shifting.

Cas had lifted him into the air, carrying him bridal style. His face blazed with embarrassment as he hugged Cas' neck so that he wouldn't fall. He wished that he had some kind of smart or rude comment to make up for this embarrassment, but his mind came out empty and he just stared at Cas like he was going to melt from embarrassment.

"T-that's cheating! Y-you can't just-!" Cas shut him up with a gentle kiss to the lips, and he fell silent, unable to even voice his embarrassment. He cuddled against Cas' neck as he was brought to the bathroom, knowing that he was going to wake up tomorrow feeling the exact same warmth. At the thought of that, he instantly calmed down in Cas' arms, pulling at his clothes as they walked to the bedroom. He was trying to hold back his yawns, even though he knew he would probably fall right asleep the second they got to the bed.

"Cas hurry up and put on your pj's already, I can't sleep without you as my additional pillow..." He muttered, the tiredness already taking him over. When he was put down, he almost fell asleep except for the fact that he didn't have the much-needed human pillow that was Cas. When Cas came back, he seemed to linger in the doorway, eyes observing Luca, before slowly moving over to the bed, crawling in with him. Luca immediately latched onto his boyfriend, snuggling into his chest as they hugged each other. It was nice once in a while to just get to sleep like this without having to worry about anything in the world.

He wished this would go on forever, but tomorrow came yet another day that they had to face, and begrudgingly, Luca knew this fact. Regardless, he was going to enjoy these sweet, tender moments while he still could, hoping that Cas was enjoying it as well.[/bg]

[bg=#000000][/bg]

 

[Nano]

:¨·.·¨:
`·..Telsa Monroe
August 24th - Night time
"Yeah.." Telsa nodded her head in response to her sister, and seemed to blink a couple of times to process what Azalea was doing, just looking out the window, but still didn't question it. Instead, obeying her sister, she got straight to pulling out a cute little pink and white notebook from her backpack, a lead pencil, and began to write out some papers for school. She could use her laptop, but it ran out of batteries, and she heard that using your electronics while they are plugged kills it off. The laptop was actually on the other side of the room, charging by her bed along with her phone. After finishing up her homework, she grabbed some extra clothing to take a quick shower, into her pajamas she goes, and hopped right into bed for another morning. Today was a long day...

:¨·.·¨:
`·. Suishou Purei Konuka ♥
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬x▬▬▬
August 24th - Evening - @XxDreamingxX
Now, the group of three seemed to be talking to each other for a while, and she was almost curious as to what exactly they were talking about in the first place. Not to mention that she just found out that there were some sort of force in the city. Talk about a threat. Before she could think too deeply into the topic, her phone gave off a slight buzz, and the blonde picked up the phone again. "Lesse here.." A smile tugged at the corner of her lips again, as she read the text. As expected, it was as smooth as ever.

'Well, it is my job to make you happy, is it not? As a knight, it is my job to serve my princess properly. Besides, you are too amazing to not remind you about it. You remind me of the stars that shine brightly at the beach around 8:30.'

Charming. She couldn't tell if he were just flattering her like he usually did with other girls, or if he did genuinely mean it. Well, he was per say, open to people, and no harm in that. It took her a little bit, until she found the invitation in that. Purei looked up at the time, and almost freaked out when she saw it. "Holy.. This late already?" Well, if that were the case, they could always go together, since he was just across the street-- Nope, never mind, not across the street anymore. More like there was the image of Natsumi and Mari having the little ice cream date, which she personally thought was both cute and a coincidence at how similar those two resembled each other. She couldn't help but to just smile a little nervously, before taking off to the beach. Lucky for her, she could walk, and it wouldn't be too far.

Fast forwarding a couple minutes, she finally made it to the beach, and right on time. She was still wearing the same clothing she had on from the date at the movies (Which, for the record, she hated. But it was nice to spend time with her friend.) but at the same time, didn't look like she was trying to run. Even though it was still pretty warm, the evening breeze was still a bit chilly, and she didn't think to bring a sweater. Genius Suishou, just genius.

While she was quote on quote complimenting herself, her eyes spotted Vince, sitting on a grass patch with his jacket down on the ground. She quickly approached him, and spoke up to at least announce her arrival. "I'm here, don't worry." Purei towered over him, but only because he was sitting and she was standing behind him. She flashed him a bright smile, before sitting next to him. "So, calling me over here by the beach? How romantic of you." There wasn't any sarcasm, she really did mean it, and gave him props for that. The two were similar, only thing was that they were both opposite genders, and Purei didn't often use her words to charm people sadly. Her job would be so much easier then. Okay, maybe she was just a little jealous of Vince, who was able to charm almost anyone (Save the gang females) with just a mere sentence, but she didn't hold any ill feelings towards him. If anything, she thought of him as a good friend, but she didn't really hang out with the gang members far too often because of her job among them.

Though, times like these were nice.

 

[Kitsune]

[bg=pink]

"Satisfied your highness?"

Mari hummed as she licked her lips for any remains of the scoop that she just finished. A dopey smile graced her features as she made a mental note to get the flavor that Vince had next time she came, which would most likely be tomorrow. She happened to be a regular customer at the ice cream parlor. To the point that everyone knew her and was on a first name basis with her. "More than satisfied," she responded to Vince's words, amusement twinkling in her eyes as she continued to indulge in her own cup of ice cream. A silence had fell upon the two friends, but was soon interrupted by an all-too-familiar voice.

[/bg]​

[bg=pink]

"Ahaha! It really is Mariii~ On a little date, are you? Ahh it's so good to see your cute face again, Mari-chaan! Look at you, did you get even cuter?"​

Mari blinked as she looked up to where the voice originated from, spoon in her mouth, seeing how she was in mid-scoop. Her eyes widened slightly and she was smiling around her spoon before she knew it. It was none other than Natsumi, a fellow gang member and another good friend of the brunette's. She was going to greet her when Vince beat her to it, causing her to turn and face him. At his words, and the look in his eyes, Mari decided to dispel the situation. She knew how much Vince was head-over-heels for Suishou. Even if he wasn't, she still knew how upset he got when people assumed things of him.

"It's okay, Vince. Everyone knows," she reassured. "I'm sure that Nacchan was just kidding," she explained. Her suspicion was confirmed as she heard the older girl giggle at Vince's reaction. Honestly, she needs to be more specific when she's joking. And Vince needs to lighten up a bit, she thought as she returned to her ice cream, which was close to being gone. The sight made her frown and slow down her eating. A surprised squeal escaped her lips as she was tackled by Natsumi, followed by a good-natured rolling of her eyes. She only listened to the words that Natsumi told Vince, eyes flickering between the two. It would seem that the model was determined to get Vince and Suishou together. Finally, after some time and another text (no doubt from Suishou), Vince agreed with Natsumi's advice, sliding his ice cream towards her as a thanks.

"It has been an honor serving you M'lady. However, I have feelings to tend to, so I must be going."​

"Thank you for your service, Knight Monroe. It was a pleasure having you, but your actual princess is summoning you, so I won't stop you from departing," she stated as her farewell, watching Vince bow before them. As he disappeared out of the shop, she returned her attention to Natsumi. "Well, Nacchan, I guess it's just us. And your hair is cute, too! I really like the color of it," she complimented with a grin. It was at the moment that she glanced outside and realized how dark it was. Gah! It's so late! My parents are probably—Oh, wait. Right, they went out on vacation for a while. Phew. I should still get going, though, she thought as she finished her ice cream. "Ah, it's pretty late, Natsu. I should be heading home," she stated as she got to her feet, smoothing out her outfit. "Would you like to stay the night? We do have a lot to catch up on, after all." Mari Anne went to throw away her empty cup before returning to the blunette, standing beside her.

[/bg]
@MiNaGi @XxDreamingxX

 

[Kaykay]

"Yeah, yeah, say what you want. If it makes you feel better, or whatever."

After skimping out on doing, well, anything all day, at least he could claim he'd done one productive thing. Besides buying coffee, anyway. Like insult the information gatherer and hear what she'd gathered. It was all in "good fun" but it seemed he'd struck a nerve.

Ah well.

"...Is that so? It ain't my business, but you ain't an old biddy already, are you? Could probably learn a new trick or two."

Another coffee can came flying at Ayaka, whether she'd finished the other one or not.

"There's some energy to get you started, or somethin'. And...nothing, huh? Guess I could do your job too, then. Maybe better if the information is all coffee related."

It was supposed to be a joke, but the delivery was a bit deadpan. He'd have to work on that sometime.

Looking around, Kuro realized it was getting pretty dark. Almost as dark as his coffee. It'd probably be good to get going soon.

@Verite​

 

[VengefulPeanut]

[fieldbox="Morning Routine, pink, solid"]

​

AND

|Morning|Headquarters - Tatsu's Room|25th August|

OST

A dawn's chorus of bird song and clattering from the floor below rang aloud, it was clear it was time for Tatsu to wake up. He'd need to check in with Alex soon to run over the details of the documents he was to take back to the police... and there was something else too. Rubbing his eyes with his lower palms, he groaned in frustration as the thought eluded him. What was it!? More importantly... why had he being sleeping on the floor? His eyes slowly drew up to the bed, widening with shock as the sight of a girl's leg hanging out of the side of the covers was clear to see.

"Wuaaah!" he screamed in shock, darting back into a sitting position by the nearby wall. Despite all of his runs, that was probably the fastest he had ever moved in his life. Subtle, dainty breaths could be heard from beneath the covers as he edged slightly closer. Who was this girl? At least she seemed clothed, indicated by fact that she had a pink, fluffy sock on the foot that protruded from the bed. Dear god, let her be clothed! The covers ruffled slightly as a tired groan rang out from beneath them. The girl was waking up. "Hello...? What are you doing in my room?" Tatsu asked, banking on her being awake. Suddenly, the covers flung forward with a snap and a bedraggled squiggle of blonde hair came into sight. "EVEYLN!?" Tatsu gasped, his eyes shooting open wide once more. The girl seemed dazed as she sat up, groaning curiously as she analysed her surroundings.

"Hmm? Oh, Tatsu... what are you doing here?" she asked distantly, completely oblivious to the situation, it seemed. "You shouldn't sneak into girl's rooms, you know."

"Me? You're the one in my bed!" he responded defensively.

"Your bed?" she asked before looking down to her feet which wiggled beyond the bottom of the covers. "Hmm... Natsume said I should stay, so I picked the first available room." She paused a moment, clearly pondering something. "I remember now. You came in last night and fell straight to sleep right next to me. You didn't even say hello. Rude." A flabbergasted look crossed Tatsu's face as Evelyn continued.

"You didn't think to tell me that you were there?"

"No... I didn't want to wake you," she answered. "You fell straight to sleep."

"So why was I on the floor?"

"Because... I pushed you out of bed. It seemed like the only happy medium to appease both parties." Her answer was as dry as her demeanour, causing Tatsu to sigh. He knew better than to question the girl. Still, the shock of the situation was a bit much in the morning. "I have to say, I am surprised," she commented, causing Tatsu to raise a brow at her. "I didn't think your body would be so muscular." Wait... one... minute...

"I DON'T HAVE A SHIRT ON!" Tatsu declared in horror, his whole face blushing. Whatever was left of the cool and controlled Tatsu had simply flittered away. Who knew all it took to melt the ice king would be an embarrassing situation involving a female. Dashing to the wardrobe, he threw a shirt over his body, the embarrassment fading somewhat as Evelyn slid out of the bed and patted him brusquely and patronizingly on the head.

"You really need to stop pointing out the obvious..." she prosed before leaving the room. What the hell was all that about? Taking a moment to recompose himself, Tatsu breathed deeply, scanning the room for anymore sudden surprises. As he checked the top of his bedside cupboard, he noticed a small slip of paper and a pair of keys laying atop his phone.

"I remember now," he spoke to himself. "Yuiko..." Snatching his phone from the counter, he typed the number into his contacts, swiftly throwing up the messaging app as he took a seat on the edge of the bed.

Text Message

As always, he'd left the message ambiguous - no real name, no location details, nothing. Of course, one bit of ambiguity went without saying: 'the coffee shop'. He didn't even need to say which one as far as he was concerned. After all, the shop near the school was incredibly popular among the students to the point it might as well have been the only one in the city. Once the message was sent off, he swiped his phone shut and made his way to prepare for the day. First order of business: breakfast. Evelyn was occupying the bathroom showering so he didn't really have much of a choice, anyway. "Think I'll do a fry-up..." he mumbled to himself idly as he headed downstairs. "Yeah..."


@Chibbycookie
​

[/fieldbox]

 

[XxDreamingxX]

[BG=white]
[fieldbox=Azalea, royalblue, solid]

Time passed and Azalea found herself finishing up her homework with ease. Smiling to herself with pride, Azalea closed her books and neatly put everything where it belongs before setting it in her bag. Standing up from her chair, Azalea stretched in unison to her yawning. She was tired after a it had been a long day. Picking up the files and her bag, Azalea walked into her room and shut the door behind her. She hid the files perfectly and threw her bag in the corner of her room. She undressed from her day clothes and switched into her pajamas for the night. Once that was good, she set her alarm to wake her up at 6:00 am and climbed into bed. After staring at the ceiling for a while, Azalea winded up passing out and entered a world of dream she'd forget about the moment she awoke.
[/fieldbox]

» Location «
Kirigawa Apartments - Apt. 36

» Apparel «
[spoili]
HEAD - n/a
TORSO - T-Shirt Cats Pajamas
ARMS/HANDS - n/a
LEGS - n/a
FEET - n/a
ACCESSORIES - n/a
[/spoili]

» Interactions «
@Nano - Telsa
[/BG]





[BG=white]
[fieldbox=Vince, purple, solid]

Upon hearing the familiar cute voice of Suishou just as she leaned over him, a wide smile fell across his features. He watched her as she took a seat beside him, and felt her presence comforting just as much as it was nerve-wracking. He called her out to confess but never had he done such a thing. Looking at the cups on the ground, Vince remembered he had bough them hot cocoa. Grabbing one, he held it out for Suishou. "For the lady." He said, watching as she took it in her hands. Now that he really paid attention, Vince noticed that she wasn't exactly wearing the warmest clothing. Turning to his jacket, he grabbed it and blocked the flowers from view with his body. It wasn't time yet. Just a little longer. Gently, he placed his jacketr over her shoulders so she'd stay warm and smiled at her. "If you were to catch a cold, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself until I personally brought you back to health. Please take it and stay warm, my princess." He said, his voice as smooth and comforting like usual. Taking his drink in hand, Vince took a few sips and looked up at the starry sky. It was beautiful. "Beautiful, isn't it? However, not a single star out there is bright enough to match the beauty of the shining sun beside me." Vince set his drink down and reached over. Standing up, he presented Suishou with the white and orange tinted roses. "Unique flowers for the most unique of a girl." Vince told her, his expression gentle and his smile sweet. Getting down on one knee, he held them up for her to take with ease instead of reaching.
[/fieldbox]

» Location «
South End Beach

» Apparel «
[spoili]
HEAD - Black Snap Back
TORSO - Dark Blue Denim Shirt & Black Varsity Jacket
ARMS/HANDS - n/a
LEGS - Dark Blue Jeans
FEET - Skytop Skate Shoes
ACCESSORIES - Men's Compass Pendent
[/spoili]

» Interactions «
@Nano - Suishou
[/BG]






[BG=white]
[fieldbox=Leon, green, solid]

Hearing Remi tell him what he should add to make his drink better, he laughed. "I'll have to remember that." He said, taking the drink back and having another sip without even bothering to wipe it off. He really didn't care that her mouth had just been on it, though it did make him blush a little. After a short while, Leon felt his body being suddenly jerked into the darkness of an alley. His back was pressed against the wall, and Remi had told him to stay quiet. He looked down at her in confusion, but didn't speak. In the silence, his attention was brought to what Remi was shoving against him. Glancing down, he quickly looked away, blushing excessively. He didn't mind it, but it wasn't something he was particularly use too. As a group of people passed by them, Leon understood why Remi hid and heard her sigh. He listened as she spoke, but soon found himself being dragged by Remi. However, he didn't mind. His eyes landed on their interlocked hands and he smiled cutely. He really did love this wackadoodle. Chuckling to himself, Leon allowed himself to be dragged by her, and even found himself enjoying it. After a while and lots of comforting silence, they reached herhouse, and Remi released his hand. "Yeah, I'll be there." He replied, a kind smile of his face. Leon put a hand under her hair and held it up as she leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead. Backing up, he removed her hand and handed her his drink. With a big smile, Leon turned and ran off. "See ya there, Mad Prism!" He yelled behind him, though he didn't look back. He just kept running.
[/fieldbox]

» Location «
Walking the Streets

» Apparel «
[spoili]
HEAD - n/a
TORSO - Camisetas Hombre Fitness T-Shirt & Men's Jacket
ARMS/HANDS - n/a
LEGS - Men's Jeans
FEET - Nike Janoski Shoes
ACCESSORIES - Silver Dragon Claw Earring [left ear]
[/spoili]

» Interactions «
@ScarletNova - Remi
[/BG]​

 

[The Wanderer]

[Headquarters: August 25th: Morning.] Ryder was still asleep in the chair he had occupied the past night, and he would've stayed asleep. Had it not been for someone yelling. Though, he wasn't paying attention as to who it was, seeing as he was shaking off the effects of waking up from a good night's sleep. Looking around and seeing it was perhaps six or perhaps even later than that at the moment. Getting up, he stretched out his limbs, eliciting a few cracks from his bones, the unbroken ones...After that, he made a few steps towards the kitchen, before stopping and looking at his casted arm. It'd only get in the way of cooking breakfast if he would do it with one arm, so it was for the best that he did earlier now. He gingerly peeled away the cast, bit by bit until his arm was bare. Clenching his fist, which in turn sent a slight jolt of pain up his arm. Evident by his groans, but alas, it was useable...He'd just have to lay off any heavy lifting or hitting til tomorrow. Dumping the remains of the cast into the trash bin, he went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He looked in the cabinets to see if there were enough ingredients to make omelets as planned. Only to be disappointed. Sure, he could make regular old omelets, but he wanted to do something different....But, hey....He was sure anyone at the HQ would like scrambled eggs. [Several minutes later.] He was holding the handle of the frying pan, which was filled with a moderate amount of eggs. While using a spatula to turn them and keep them from burning.

He had to admit....He was honestly expecting to having to try this several times before succeeding. Not that he was a bad cook, he just had a bad sense of time when first waking up. The evidence being several burnt pancakes in the past. On a side note, he needed to change into some new clothes. Since being shirtless and some bandages with a ruined leather jacket and a motorcycle helmet isn't exactly morning clothes.

After a few minutes, eggs were done. Scrambled, of coarse. He put a few pieces of scrambled eggs onto a small plate, and grabbed a fork, and after sprinkling pepper onto his eggs. He went into the garage. Taking off the motorcycle helmet, he ate in silence. After finishing his breakfast, he went to the locker in the corner. Opening it and grabbing a black leather jacket with a hood a bit tighter than his currently ruined jacket, but it'd do. And a gray long sleeved shirt and dark gray jeans. Taking a few more minutes to take off his current outfit and switching it out for the newly selected clothing. Now wearing some fresh clothes, he put his motorcycle helmet on. And went back into the living room, deciding to do what every person does in the morning. Watch Old Scooby Doo cartoons.

 

[Verite]

"Very funny," Ayaka grumbled, before being once again caught off-guard by Kuro's super special coffee-throw attack. She would attempt to catch it, but alas, she was too slow, and only ended up accidentally smacking the can into her own face, causing her to recoil back in surprise with a brief "Kya!" as her glasses would almost come off.

"Would you... please stop doing that..."

The sad part was it probably wouldn't have even hurt as much if she didn't try (and fail) to catch it.

With a sigh, after readjusting her glasses and picking up the can, putting it in her bag for later use, Ayaka would pause for a brief moment, staring into her bag as though looking for something, and then giving something of a small, frustrated sigh, as though she didn't find whatever was in it. Seemingly ignoring his last comment about doing her job, and the possibly implied jab at her so-called skills, she stood up suddenly, holding her bag close to her.

"An... old biddy? What's that supposed to mean?" She inquired, before putting a hand on her hip, "Well, in any case... We should get going. We can keep talking as we walk until it's... time to part, I guess."

Ayaka seemed a little hesitant to "part," given her brief pause, despite the fact that she didn't seem to enjoy Kuro's presence. But then, who really knew about her?

@Kaykay​

 

[Chibbycookie]

Yuiko Tetsumura


Morning Tetsumura Residence August 25th

Yuiko woke up to the sound of her alarm, an annoying mockingbird call she had recorded from her hometown. It used to always sing in the morning and wake her up, so she felt it would be the best option for an alarm. She still couldn't get what happened last night out of her mind. It was so weird, but yet so interesting. Something still intrigued her to no end about the people she spoke with. Why were they at that house? Why wasn't it abandoned like she thought? Where were the adults?

Well, her parents often weren't home either, so it could just be something like that. She stretched and got up, ready to start her day. "Mom, dad, I'm gonna take a shower!" She yelled. No answer. Of course. It was nice for it to be so peaceful in the house though. She quickly took her shower and then blow dried her long white hair, which took quite a long time. She put her hair up into twintails tied with bows, and put on one of her favorite outfits. She didn't know what she had planned for the day, but she didn't want to be cooped up in the house. She checked her phone and saw that she had a message.

She didn't know how to react or even really respond to the message. She hadn't text many people her age, the only people she ever really text was her parents and sometimes a few other relatives or family friends. She didn't want to make a bad impression, although she probably made a pretty bad one the night before. She was also relieved that he had her keys, because her other option to find her keys was to look around everywhere she went yesterday, and that would have taken all day. She was a tad embarrassed though that a guy had her keys, as she had some embarrassingly childish keychains. She typed out her message, erasing and retyping it a few times to try to avoid saying anything embarrassing.

Text Message

"There, its done" she said aloud to herself, awaiting his response.



@VengefulPeanut

 

[Kaykay]

Huh. Second throw wasn't on point, apparently. Was his aim off, or something? He knew these coffee cans better than the back of his hand, so there was no way he'd thrown that wrong of all things. She was probably just unprepared for it. Though if she'd just sat there and waited for it to come to her, it probably would've gone a little better.

Kuro just shrugged his shoulders with a mumbled "sorry" at her request.

He stood around waiting for her to find, uh, whatever was in her bag, only for her to sigh and give up. What the hell was that? Was she looking for something to throw back at him? Could she even throw something properly with those bookworm-y arms of hers? Now he was a bit curious.

Only for her to ask him a question.

"Huh? The coffee maniac knows something the info broker doesn't?" A smirk crossed the blonde's face as he spoke. "Heh, guess everybody knows something, huh? I guess 'old' biddy is kind of redundant, but it's like some annoying, naggin' grandma, y'know?"

He seemed to take a little pride in that, though it was possible he'd misinterpreted the question, somehow. In any case, it seemed she'd read his mind. Bit dark to stay stationary and chat, unless he planned to skip school and most of his day again.

"Guess so," Kuro nodded, beckoning her over with a finger as he began to walk off. Even if they didn't seem to get along well, neither seemed to have, or take, many chances to really speak with people so he figured he might as well try to talk to a fellow gang member at least.

...

But what about? Aside from whatever would come once he explained "biddy," anyway.

"Have I ever passed you actual coffee? Not this canned makeshift?"

It was a start.

@Verite



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[Verite]

"Don't get too ahead of yourself," Ayaka grunted in response to the notion that such a mere coffee maker knew something (even if it was something trivial) that the information gatherer didn't, "And for your information, I am not an annoying grandmother! Jeez, you really are a jerk. How you got accepted into the gang will always be beyond my comprehension..." The girl would continue to mumble. What a pain this all was. She was gonna get gray hairs real soon if this kept up.

"No, and I would prefer you don't. I would appreciate it if you kept my face intact and not burnt to oblivion from those bitter drinks you always have a strange fondness for," she said curtly.

Well, that was a little blunt. And it didn't seem to leave that much room for further conversation besides their usual shtick of... what could one even call their strange attempts at conversation? Exchanging jabs at each other? Because it always felt like Kuro was the one giving more jabs than anything...

When the two of them would reach an intersection, Ayaka would suddenly stop in her tracks, and instead of walking, would once again dig through her bag, as though she continued to look for whatever she was digging through for earlier, though once again, it was to no avail, as her struggles seemed to be in vain. And then before long, the brunette spoke again.

"... H-Hey... You don't happen to... live alone, do you?"

Now where did that come from?

@Kaykay​

 

[Kaykay]

"Oi, oi! Shouldn't you take your own advice, huh? I said you're not an old biddy, didn't I? Don't get ahead of yourself!"

That wasn't quite what that saying meant, but that was okay. It got the message across, probably. She seemed to insult his coffee habits again, but this time he ignored it. He'd only throw hot coffee in her face if she did something horrible, like waste real coffee or something. Which she didn't seem to be the type to do. Not in his face at least.

But what else did he have to converse about it? He knew jack-all about the gang's affairs aside from the big stuff, and anything he was willing to share at the moment was mostly coffee-related. Maybe he would respond to that with another jab of his own after all.

Or not.

He paused as she dug around in her bag. Again. If she didn't find it the first time, how was she going to manage to find it the second time? It wouldn't just appear inside her bag cause they walked a little bit. Well, whatever it was, it seemed important if she could be bothered to search for it twice.

And a strange question that seemed to come out of nowhere. He looked left and right at the intersection, but didn't notice anything special about it. Why here? Oh well, he wouldn't figure it out on his own in all likelihood.

"Huh? Well, yeah, I do. What's up?"

@Verite​

 

[Verite]

"That's good... Hmm..." Ayaka simply mumbled upon hearing Kuro's answer, seemingly nodding to herself. She didn't answer the boy's inquiry for a moment, pacing back and forth a little, as though thinking about something pensively, as though considering a difficult decision. Well, here goes nothing, she thought.

This was certainly more than "nothing."

The girl could feel it in her chest. Her heart was beating, beating hard. The thing she was about to ask from Kuro was probably nothing for other girls, but of course, Ayaka wasn't like other girls. But that fact had been mentioned many times before already...

"It seems that I've... lost my housekey. My guardian won't be back home until at least tomorrow because of some... ah, business, and I'd rather not sleep at that meet-up house, so..." Ayaka began to say, twiddling around her fingers a little as she would barely be able to bring herself to utter out the next few words.

Wait for it.

"M-May I... come with you? Just for one night..."

Doki doki, her heart went as the words came out. She regretted asking immediately, but there was no going back now.

@Kaykay​

 

[Kaykay]

Kuro just scratched his head idly as Ayaka fidgeted around. That's good, huh? Well, if she said so. Living alone had its benefits, sure, but he couldn't claim he never missed having someone around. It got boring having coffee alone. That was part of the reason he joined the gang in the first place.

His train of thought was going a little off course. Thinking about that wouldn't answer his thoughts on what she wanted, or what she was looking for. Though come to think of it, wouldn't she be answering that soon enough? Geez, she was just taking so long that he had time to get distracted. Just speak your mind, woman!

And do that she did, answering both of his questions. She was probably looking for that house key, which she'd managed to lose somehow. A bit clumsy for an information broker, but if her coffee catching skills were anything to go by it wasn't much of a surprise. But all she wanted to ask was whether she could stay over? Heh, how simple.

"Yeah, sure."

He blinked a few times before fully realizing what she'd said.

Wait, what? He couldn't just have a girl at his house, could he? That'd be a little...weird. He shook his head rapidly suddenly. No, no, it was only weird if he thought it was weird. If some random refugee needed shelter or something, he'd let them in regardless of gender, right? And it wasn't even a complete stranger, so it was fine, wasn't it?

Kuro cleared his throat and relaxed, slouching over a little as he leaned back on his heels.

"That house ain't no place to sleep, honestly. You should prolly take a bit more care in placin' your house keys, though. If I were like you, we'd both have nowhere to sleep!"

Turning briskly, he pulled his keys out of his pocket and twirled them around his finger.

"But, can't be helped, huh? Feel free to stick around as long as ya feel like. Bit of an empty place with just me in there, anyway. Kinda feels like I'm wastin' the room."

After trying to look a little "cool" or "casual" or something, he just stuffed the keys back in his pocket and slowly began walking towards his place. Still, he had to consciously keep his breaths steady. He hadn't had anyone over in a while.

@Verite​

 

[Nano]

:¨·.·¨:
`·. Suishou Purei Konuka ♥
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬x▬▬▬
August 24th - Evening - @XxDreamingxX

His face appeared to have brightened up just as she seated herself. The little view was nice, and again, props to Vince. "Well, you look happy." She pointed out, trying her best NOT to look like she felt as though she were gonna freeze on the spot. She quietly sighed into the palm of her hands, hopefully warming herself up a little, but just then, Vince reached over to pick up two cups of a drink, and offered one to her. Suishou blinked a few times, before taking one from his hands and letting it's warmth spread across the palms of her hands. "Aw, thank you. Just what I needed!" She opened the small little flap at the top, and blew into it gently. Okay, maybe it was just a little bit too hot right now, and she wasn't going to burn herself with it. Speaking of burning.. She giggled a little bit, just at the thought of seeing Zuri maybe burning herself. She was probably the only person other than Cas who would burn their tongues from hot cocoa. As she was blowing on the hot drink, she felt her shoulders becoming a little heavier, but her back and arms were a little warmer. It felt nice, to be honest. Nice and warm in the jacket. Suishou looked at one of the sides of the jacket, gently gripping onto it to pull it closer to her body. "A prince on a white horse, aren't you?" She replied, accepting the jacket. "But really now, thank you."

Now that the drink was more cooled, she took a sip and looked up at the sky as well. It really did look nice, not a cloud in the sky. Vince delivered another smooth line to her, and she couldn't help but to try to hide a laugh, making it sound like a giggle. "Flattered, you really know your way with words." She commented, keeping her eyes up on the sky. Though, the sight of him reaching over to grab the flowers prompted her to look over to him. When he presented the flowers to her, she was almost speechless for a second there, and that's saying a lot, since it was hard to catch Suishou speechless. At least, it wasn't far too noticeable. It took a little moment, but she eventually reached out to grab them, and held them securely in her arms. "Speaking of white horse.. These are more like white roses. They are beautiful, and I probably already said this like 3 times already, but thank you, again." Suishou smiled as well, but not her usual smirk or a fake smile that she forced on herself around people outside the gang. It was a genuine smile, soft on her face, and more natural looking. "I like this date much more than the one I was at earlier today. By a long shot."

 

[Verite]

"Look, I don't need any condescending comments from you! You really are a pain, but... Well... Thanks," she uttered, her last word barely above an audible murmur, as though Ayaka were embarrassed of even having to think Kuro, though even she had to admit that she owed him at least that much for his troubles.

After all, it wasn't like she herself was the easiest person to hang out with.

Even Ayaka had to admit that about herself. It wasn't like she was oblivious about a lot of things. She knew that she could be quite a bit to handle for most people, and Ayaka had made sure to keep this up. It wasn't exactly an "act," as that implied that she was pretending to be something she was not, but she made sure to maintain that sort of icy, yet volatile personality as best as she could. That way, people would think twice about approaching her for anything dumb, though if Avery and Haru had been getting close, maybe that just meant she needed to work faster before she'd... actually end up being friends with them. Ech.

With that being said, she would walk behind Kuro with her head down, the girl continuing to clutch her bag tightly as she looked down. Hmph. If he said yes, then it wasn't any trouble, right? And even if it was, that was his own problem for accepting in the first place!

But... Hmm. Tch! Maybe he was only saying that because he was expecting something from her in return! Like... something other than money! Kuro always did give Ayaka bad vibes. Well, then again, most boys did. Maybe that didn't narrow down anything at all. But if there was a way to confirm that kind of hypothesis, a question had to be asked, like...

"So... Living by yourself... What's it like, exactly?" She asked with a curious tone, raising her head a bit, "I'd imagine it gets lonely, but do you even get lonely?"

@Kaykay​

 

[VengefulPeanut]

[fieldbox="Morning Routine, blue, solid"]

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|Morning|Headquarters - Kitchen|25th August|

It was a pretty standard morning for Tatsu. Considering everything that was happening, it was a refreshing element of normality. As he sat at the table, eating his breakfast, the dull vibration of his phone signalled a response to his message. "So, she thinks they are safe with me..." he mumbled idly to himself with a slight chuckle, "Ah, if only she knew what I did for a living." Bashing away at the touch screen, he hammered in his response, agreeing to meet at the given time.

Breakfast was largely uneventful, most people were doing their own thing so, grabbing his coat and scarf, he set off in the direction of the coffee shop. Walking out onto the pavement, he looked across the skyline of the city as the morning sun was rising to its peak in the sky. It was a beautiful day, no doubt. Perfect for a morning run. Flicking his phone out, he pressed play on one of his saved playlists, a symphony of well-arranged strings fading into audio through his earphones. "Iku..." he said simply before darting off down the road. It was a route he took frequently and was a nice warm up to the more advanced parkour runs he would do. Vaulting over fences, running across rooftops, it was pretty trivial by now for him. Without the obstacles of the city to hinder him, Tatsu made good time to the coffee shop, arriving 10 minutes early. As such, he ordered a tea and found a table, placing Yuiko's keys on the table and awaiting her arrival.


@Chibbycookie
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[/fieldbox]

 

[Kaykay]

There was a small pause in Kuro's gait as he heard Ayaka's half-hearted thanks. He'd expected the complaining and retort, but he didn't expect a thanks, even if it was pretty quiet. Well, that was probably what one should say if someone were to let you stay in their house. It was only polite.

Still, had he even cleaned up? It wasn't like anyone else lived there, and he didn't really mind the mess himself. Ayaka kind of seemed like the kind who'd berate him about it, though. Tch, how annoying. Maybe he should've just shooed her off after all. Though those thoughts disappeared as she threw a few questions his way.

"Huh? Kinda like living not alone, I guess, but more work? And, what, you think I can't get lonely or something?" he asked as he turned his head back a little bit to face her. Kept walking though, Hopefully he was paying attention to where he was walking. "Well anyway, it's nice to not have anyone breathing down my neck, I guess, but it gets kinda boring by myself. I miss the old man sometimes, and-"

And her, too.

Suddenly snapping his gaze back forward, he continued, "-the extra free time just gets spent making coffee. Ain't too bad overall though."

Arriving at his place, he stuck the key in to unlock the door, turning the handle and walking in. Fortunately, the entrance was fairly clean. Most of the mess was in the kitchen and his own room. Aside from those two places there was a living room, a storage room, and a bathroom. Not the biggest place, but plenty for two.

Assuming Ayaka followed him in, he took a few steps further before turning around. His grip on his grocery bag tightened a bit as he swallowed down the lump in his throat. If anyone had heard something about what he wanted to ask, it was probably her. And since she was here anyway, in the privacy of his own house, might as well ask, right?

"Hey, uh...can I ask ya something?"

Uh oh.

@Verite

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