The stranger stares at Rosa for a moment. Then, he replies. "Rye. Please."
Behind him, Yui has taken to tapping the ground with her shoe again, anxious. "Well?", she says, waiting for Sora and Silva to state their orders.
Printable View
Izumi nods. "Yeah... my mum taught me to cook. I can do a pretty good dish of noodles."
"Any particular specialty?" Rex got a few cans of soda while he was at it, some odd coconut drink he'd discovered in the airport and taken a liking to. May as well have something to drink with the chili.
The stranger gives Rosa another, long stare. Who eats rye bread with jam? "Butter will do", he says. "How much?"
"Hokkien mee. And yes, I know it's chinese and not japanese, but we like them anyway."
[Venti Buon]
Rosa soon hands the man butter for the rye bread. She quotes a reasonable price for all of it, still with that smile of hers.
[Graveyard]
Carmelia simply nods her head, and follows Hasunaga...whereever it is he's taking her. Of course, she's more than a bit paranoid, so Hasunaga will doubtlessly feel her staring at his every move.
"I've never heard of 'em, so I wasn't gonna say anything." He went to check out, arms full of rather more than he'd originally intended to get. "All this talk of food is makin' me hungry, Izumi-san. Want to grab a bite somewhere?"
Izumi nods. "All right. Where do you want to go?"
[Furousha Shop]
Viatrix shrugs. "Just a few modifications to your gigai. It'll be noticeably more able than most mortals."
"And a few soul candies if you really need them."
[Houheiden Shrine]
Valeria looks upon the proceedings with... almost a smile. It was kind of amusing... Though, distractedly, she pulls out her cell-phone to look at the time.
[Some time later...]
Hasunaga respectfully made his way into the Furousha shop. He'd come here a few times way back when, but it has been some time since his last visit.
Not long after him, in would come Carmelia, assuming she isn't blocked by defenses of whatever sort.
Henry is this close - this close - to facepalming a the demonstration proceeds. Having no powers of his own, he continues to watch events while trying to keep a neutral expression.
[Some time later - Furuosha Shop]
Carmelia enters the shop with Hasunaga. She looks around, curious.
[Furousha Shop]
Viatrix is still tending the front of the store, looking to be in a good mood. She looks up to the visitors with an ecstatic... half-grin. She raises her eyebrow somewhat at the hollow, but, hey, as long as she didn't cause trouble.
"Greetings. Looking for anything?"
Heart Angel threw her wand high into the sky and joined Ken in battle with a colossal cascade of equal intensity. Time seemed to briefly stand still as they forgot about the world around them and focused solely on their exchange. The two moved about at a dizzying pace, attacking, blocking and subtly redirecting each other's blows. The spectacle was reminiscent of a scene out of an old kung fu movie or battle manga. At points one would appear to get the upper hand, but overall the two appeared evenly matched. Suddenly Ken jumped back an extraordinary distance and stared bewildered at his adversary. Her wand finished twirling and landed in her hand at the exact time his feet hit the ground. "What?! I-Impossible!! How could you so easily withstand my hundred hit sure kill technique?!" Heart Angel answered sharply, "It's true you are very powerful physically, but that isn't all there is to being strong. Your strength is a false strength. You use it to hide your weakness. True strength comes from the heart and from the love of others. You who only lusts for power and is devoid of compassion would never understand. You'll never be a match for me as long as you cling to your dark desires and refuse to let anyone into your heart!" She stood triumphantly waiting for his inevitable retort. Ken gagged. "I feel like I'm about to puke. Your sentiments are so sickeningly sugar sweet I think I just got a cavity listening to them. This is what I hate most about you humans! I'll make you regret believing in such empty words and show you true despair!"
Ken tried to lunge at Heart Angel again for another round of close quarter combat, however, this time she would have none of it. A series of shots fired from her wand sent him hopping left and right back to his starting point. For a second Ken was distracted by one of the bolts and before he could react she was already upon him. Heart Angel launched a kick straight at his head and sent him flying. "Being a virtuous warrior of justice doesn't mean I'm stupid. I play to my strengths," said the girl with a wink and a smug smile. "Did you really think I'd continue to fight you on your own terms? You say I'm misguided yet your actions are pretty naive." While she spoke Ken tumbled dramatically. Upon coming to a stop he immediately sprung to his feet taking a low stance as if entirely unharmed. The only sign of injury was a small line of blood that trickled down the side of his mouth. He quickly wiped it away with the back of his hand, clenched his teeth and pretended to spit. "Tch! To think I would be so disgraced by a fool like you. Although I hate to admit it, I've clearly underestimated you. No matter! It's better this way! If you weren't at least this tough fighting you would be a waste of time! Let's decide this by each putting our all into one final attack!"
Heart Angel smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way!" Ken took a deep breath and let out a mighty yell. Once more he came at the girl. She stood her ground and charged her wand. A split second before he could connect Heart Angel swerved to the side and blasted him. Since they were still on sacred ground the beam dissipated harmlessly once it reached his body. Nevertheless, he fell to his knees and then pretended to pass out. A few seconds later he got up. "Ta-dah!"
[Joint Ops Site]
Mayumi closes her eyes as she allows her sight to flow into the pair of Ginto flying through the town. When they arrived at the graveyard, they found absolutely nothing there, everyone else having left already. The two Ginto separated, confusing and disorienting Mayumi no end, one heading towards the cafe, and the other towards the Viatrix's shop, the two places where she had felt the presences moving from the cemetery.
As such, Viatrix may notice a small silver bead hanging in the air outside her shop, seeming to watch Hasunaga and the Hollow as they enter.
((OOC))SpoilerIt's actually fairly well hidden, but given that she's a Bount I figured she'd see it.
[Houheiden Shrine]
Exterior
Nakahiro claps gently after Ken and Ayase finish their performance, smiling widely in amusement.
"Hello, Viatrix-san. Still the great costume service I've come to expect from you." Hasunaga replied. "We need something to help this girl blend in. She's going to be helping me keep an eye on the school from now on, so it wouldn't do to have her being attacked left and right by just about anything. A gigai with Reiatsu suppression would probably do the trick, if you have one."
[Furousha Shop]
Vi raises her eyebrow further, looking between Carmelia and Hasunaga. "...Right. It's gonna be a little hard to... uh, adapt a blank Gigai with my normal means, and reiatsu suppression is no small feat, so it's gonna cost you..." She gives a sly smile.
Curse the lack of hearing in these things! Mayumi thought to herself. Thankfully, she was proficient enough in reading lips that she was able to get the gist of what was going on from Viatrix, though the only actual words she got were "Gigai" and "reiatsu suppression."
Why was Hasunaga seeking a Gigai for a Hollow? Perhaps he believed that this one was different, but she had seen people make that mistake before. Hollows were creatures born of negative emotion and given spiritual form. They weren't creatures that could really think rationally; they were only capable of destruction.
However, Hasunaga's choices were his own. If he wished to fraternize with a Hollow, then it wasn't Mayumi's place to stop him. However, if she began to act up...
It wouldn't be that hard to land an arrow at this distance.
"Well, ya don't live to be this old if you don't have a good enough piggy bank. Figures?" Hasunaga asked simply.
[Venti Buon]
Yui blinks. "That little? Come on now, there's no need to be shy. You're not pushing me to bankruptcy here." Then, the stranger hands Rosa his money and picks up his order, going to sulk in the corner table. "Fine, then! I understand if you don't have time for poor old Yui. Means I get to eat share too!" She then goes to make their order.
"Hello! Could I get two sandwiches, three donuts, three icecream cones, four cups of hot cocoa, one glass of orange juice... oh, one cup of black coffee and another of green tea as well... Ooooh! What are those green things?" It's clear this might take a while...
Mean while, the tall stranger puts his backpack next to his seat and settles to slowly chewing away his bread as he examines the odd trio. The young woman has very vibrant red hair... doesn't look like it's dyed. Green eyes... probably non-native as well. But why is she staring at me like I'm the Devil itself? The older woman and the boy are clearly Japanese, though there's... still something wrong about both. Especially the woman - maybe it's the unhealthy color of her skin? Has she seen a day of sunlight in her life?
After receiving all the assorted sweets, Yui smugly carries the tray full of various delicacies (and the two beverages for her companions...) to a nearby table and sits down. "Ah... these both look so delicious, I don't know where to start!", she wonders, holding two colourfully iced pastries on her hands. "I think I'll start with both! Itadakimasu!" She ravenously devours them, beaming in that creepy, sickly manner of hers as she munches them cheeks as full as a chipmunk. It's... well, certainly strange to see a middle-aged woman indulge in such a manner.
Meanwhile, the stranger keeps staring at the group. No, there has to be something more. The boy - he's giving of a strong aura, a bad one. This bears investigation. Outwardly, the stranger goes on just like always, green unblinking eyes staring and taking in the events of the small cafe. However, to him, the physical world fades, leaving only...
!!!
Suddenly, the stranger jumps up, finishes his bread in few hasty bites and downs what's left of his water in one gulp, picks up his backpack, and strides out of the cafe.
Yui stops stuffing herself with sweets for a moment, confused by the abrupt gesture. "Mmmmhm mhmhs mhimm?"
A small silver bead floating above a hanging light angles to watch the man leave. Mayumi considers this, confused (especially because her other eye is still seeing Viatrix's shop). What had caused him to leave so suddenly? What had he seen?
Perhaps it had been Sora. The bead swiveled around to look at the boy. Mayumi had noticed his Hollow-like reiatsu when she had first noticed him (he had never been very good at hiding it), but she had never intended the boy any harm. He was still a human first and foremost, not a Hollow. Mayumi knew neither of the women he was with, though one had very subtle reiatsu that Mayumi suspected was a Bount, but couldn't be sure. The one that was currently stuffing her face was a woman that Mayumi had seen wandering around the town, but didn't know.
Besides Sora, no one in the cafe seemed to be spiritually aware, and certainly not to the degree that would scare someone out of the cafe. But there was something, obviously. What was she missing?
[Joint Ops Site]
Hibiki raises an eyebrow. "...Care to explain?"
[Furousha Shop]
Viatrix considers for a moment. The guy ought to have a fair amount of money, but she didn't want to scare him off with too great a price. The last customers were different; she could tell when an organization sought to buy her wares, and they were usually ready and able to pay through the nose.
...You learn these kind of things in business school, and with 100 years of experience. "¥4,125,000." She smiles innocently.