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TIME: 11:00 AM
DATE: August 21st
SEASON: Summer - Holidays in effect

Sweating bullets like mad, Ramika Jamison leaned in close to the glowing monitor. 50m. She was almost there.

"Stay on target..." she heard a voice in her ear remind her.

"She's too close, she's got to loosen up!"

"Stay on target!"

Ramika grit her teeth. She needed to focus. Slowly, she lowered her ironsights, her distant target momentarily going dark.

"Ram, you've switched off your targeting reticule, what's wrong?"

"Nothing!" she almost yelled. "I'm alright!"

The target came back into focus. Without the targeting reticule, her aim was shaking everywhere, she wasn't sure if she could hit. No, she couldn't hit. Not like this. But she needed to.

"I've got you now!" her opponent said, mocking her.

Carefully waiting for the right moment, Ramika held her breath until her aim swung unpredictably to the left, right over her target. This was her nanosecond once-in-a-lifetime chance. She pulled the trigger. A burst of red-hot gunfire escaped from the barrel of her weapon and hit her target dead-on with superhuman accuracy. Its health destroyed, her pixelated enemy exploded on-screen.

"Yes, I did it!" she yelled. All the other girls that had been crowded around her cheered and nearly tackled her trying to congratulate her.

"Oh my god that was so amazing!"

"Going on Youtube, for sure!"

"You're the queen of Gunslinger Stratos!"

"Did you use the Force or something?"

Ramika laughed. "Come on, it wasn't that big a deal."

Yes, these were her friends. The averages, the nobodies, the otaku. Nobody would think it if it wasn't for her eccentric Southern-Bell way of dressing, but she was one of them. The blonde, half-foreign beauty was an otaku, of guns and old Western movies specifically. And without a clique or a gang or any club that she cared to belong to, this is how she spent her time with her friends when she was on vacation. Like many a Japanese teenager, they went to the arcade.

"Come on, Ram, one more game!"

"Come on guys, I mean, I really shouldn't," she said sheepishly. "My monthly allowance is almost gone, and I feel bad hogging the machhine-"

"Excuses excuses!" Megumi yelled. "Come on, fight me young Skywalker!"

Ramika sighed, smiling. "Alright..."

Yes, these were her friends. She was an ordinary Japanese schoolgirl, a beauty, and an otaku to boot. But then... why did she never feel like she was any of these things? She was a foreigner. An outsider, both figuratively and literally. She didn't look like Megumi or Yuriko, and she didn't act like the other beauties at her school. So then... where did she fit in?

Ramika pushed the coin into the slot. Was this all just an illusion? She didn't want it to be. She had ditched the preppy chicks because they wanted her to be something she wasn't, but was this really any different? She'd seen the adoring, borderline crazed way some of her friends looked at her. A beautiful, smart girl who also liked action movies, Westerns and first person shooters, and she was half-foreigner to boot. She was like an anomaly in their world. Something to be worshipped in front of an altar. She was grateful for their praise, but she couldn't help but feel such a friendship was just as hollow in its own ways.

She walked home by herself after finishing that final game with Megumi, looking up at the sky. Would there ever be someone she could be with and feel like she belonged? People she could truly call friends, or comrades?

TIME: 10:30 AM
DATE: August 18th
SEASON: Summer - Holidays in effect

Yosuke wiped the sweat from his brow as he continued down the street. It was so damn hot today. Sure, it was august, but man it must've been like 40 Celsius! He pulled down his Hunter Green scarf a little, and took a large swig from the drink he brought from home. It was, surprisingly, still cool, and very refreshing. With a sigh of relief and joy, he drank it all down. Yosuke noticed a simple bench near his path.

"Ah, what the hell, I'll take a little break." Yosuke said to himself with a shrug. He sat down and placed his bag on the seat beside him. He was walking kinda fast, his friend probably wouldn't reach the arcade until a little later anyways. He wiped some more sweat from his brow, and tugged at his scarf. He wondered why he bothered putting that thing on if it was so hot. He guessed he just loved it so much or something. He unwrapped it, letting both sides simply hang off the front of his body. He took another sip of his drink, and resumed walking.

11:00
Yosuke reached the arcade without much trouble. He breathed in the slight stench of DDR Game sweat, before realizing how weird arcade stank was, and wrapping his scarf around his head once again. Still, funky smells didn't change the fact that he was glad to be here. It was air conditioned, and super fun to just mess around a little. Unfortunately, his friend wasn't here yet, so he'd have to entertain himself a little until Yukari got here. He cursed himself for leaving home so early, before taking out his phone and texting her to see how much longer he'd have to wait, playfully calling her a dolt in the process.

While he waited for her response, he looked around the arcade a little. it was pretty packed today; It was vacation after all. He played a little rhythm game, right next to the crowded Gunslinger Stratos machine. His eyes wandered over to the girls playing the cabinet in between beats. The girl on the right, the one dressed oddly, was doing fantastic. Her aim was impeccable, she never missed a shot! In fact he was so enamored with her skill, he hadn't realized one to many notes got passed him, and he lost. "Damn..." Yosuke mumbled, taking out another 100 yen coin. He decided not to waste his birthday money this time, and actually focus on the game.

"Hey, YoYo!"

Yosuke just about jumped out of his skin as he heard a familiar voice call out to him. He quickly recovered from his startled state, and lightly punched the young girl he had turned to meet in the arm. "Stop scaring me like that, asshole!" He commanded with a grin. Before walking over to the Road Destroyer 2 cabinet with his friend, he spared a look back at the Gunfighter Stratos booth. That sharp shooter girl from before was gone. "When did she leave?" Yosuke mumbled, before getting dragged off into another section of the arcade, completely forgetting about his wasted money on that damn rhythm game.

Tommy was feeling rather excitable today; the combination of a summer coupled with his approaching birthday had made him rather giddy. Tommy had been given some money and kicked out of the house for the day, since all he was doing was getting underfoot and being a general nuisance.

When he felt the heat for once stepping outside Tommy decided he would by a cold drink from the convenience store. As he rounded the corner at breakneck speed Tommy saw a weird tall man exit the store. He must be a part of the Rocky Horror Picture Show my sister likes so much.

Entering the store Tommy asked the man behind the counter how much for a lemon soft drink. He was a bit disappointed when he was told they were all sold out. Seeing his disappointment the man leaned in and whispered to Tommy about an import store a block away that tends to be stocked with all kinds of drinks. Thanking the man Tommy raced off to the import store.
Arriving rather quickly Tommy entered and was about to ask the young lady behind the counter for a lemon soft drink when he saw a purple can with two cartoon toucans on it. Curious about the drink he asked and paid for a can, opened it immediately and had a sip. It was extremely sweet and the bubbles seemed extra bubbly. Tommy had to ask.

“Excuse me, Miss? What flavour is this?”
“Passionfruit,” the lady replied.
“Ah! Passionfruit ... what’s passionfruit?”
“A fruit that tastes like that drink.”
“I see... that makes sense. May I please have another one for later?”
“Sure thing, sweety.”

Tommy blushed a little at being called sweety, hastily handing over the money Tommy thanked the lady, took the plastic bag with the other drink in it and exited. I entered with a fistful of dollars and left with a pocketful of coins... what now? I’m not supposed to go home until 3 at the earliest...
Sipping his new discovery as he walked Tommy heard the familiar noise of an arcade. I can play that old Pinball machine! As long as I don’t let the ball drop I can play all day! With a plan for the next while Tommy finished off his first passion fruit drink and entered the arcade.

Making his way past a clutter of older kids whooping at the pretty girl doing good at the shooting game, Tommy didn’t really like all the electronic arcade games, they all felt floaty to him, pinball on the other hand had weight. Tommy wound his way through to a comparatively quiet corner with an old pinball machine with Cue Ball Wizard on the side.
“Hello old friend! Let’s play together for a while,” was the first thing he said once he made it to the machine.
Smiling, Tommy noticed that he still had the high score on the game. This didn't really surprise him, not because he had a massively high score, but because no one seemed to realise this arcade even had a pinball machine. Putting his plastic bag on the ground and fishing out the correct amount of coins and started a new game

“Stop talkin’ and start chalkin’!” signaled the start of his game and with a pull of the handle, he was off.

TIME: 11:16 AM
DATE: August 18th
SEASON: Summer - Holidays in effect

The apartment was mostly just cozy in that there wasn't an abundance of space. That alone was fine, because Xander certainly hadn't an abundance of items to put in places. He wasn't even going to need the bookshelf, what with the Digital Age taking up all the information one might ever need, as long as you knew where to look. Strictly speaking, the only important things Xander brought along was the computer and a few changes of clothes; anything else, he could buy locally.

"I just don't get you, man. I mean, with a guy like you, I'd figure you wouldn't let yourself be so... simple." The phone was set to speaker, and the person on the other side was in no hesitation to dispense his opinions.

"What are you even worried about? What I have gets me by perfectly," Xander replied, a rare occurrence reserved for when he was starting to get annoyed with the topic of conversation.

"You deserve better, though. I'm talking about you, here."

"So am I."

"Really? So you think beating people up for money is gonna fulfill your life's wishes?"

"See, the thing is, you're right. You really don't get me."

With a punch of his finger, Xander ended the call. Yes, it was true that in recent times, he had taken to competing in fighting rings to earn himself a bit of side money outside of an actual job. It wasn't even questionably legal stuff, just comparable to a rookie boxing league. Yes, it had gambling behind it, but really, what sport didn't have that to any degree? Ultimately, though, the whole point of coming here was for Xander to get involved in something different. Surely, this city would have any number of opportunities for Xander to find.

Also, power drinks. If most every day was as hot as this, he was going to have to stock up on some of those. Maybe there was a big-name store around that sold them in bulk. With the time approaching noon, it probably wasn't the best time to go out, due to the crowds, but Xander didn't care enough about that. He doubted someone built like a muscle car was at any real risk of harm, even on a day like this.

Cliche cowboy western music and catchphrases squaked at Tommy as he racked up the points. The annoying cue ball gimmick always managed to get in the way of a perfect shot, but Tommy persevered. Well he did until he heard a voice behind him.

"-my" Tommy ignored it, he'd just hit the double multiplier.

"-ommy you nee-"
YEEEHAW! MULTIBALL... AWAY!" the William Tell overture started screeching out of the old speakers and all of a sudden Tommy was juggling three balls at once.

"TOMMY!"
"WHAT, DEAN?!" the distraction caused him to lose a ball,
"You can't have drinks in here, you have to leave."
"It's not open, can you wait a minute? No one comes back here besides me anyway."
"No, Tommy. You have to leave. My supervisor is here today, go hang out with your friends or something." Tommy almost lost his second ball. Mentally screaming in frustration Tommy gave up.

"Fine, Dean... takeover for me." and with that Tommy scooped up his bag and raced under the tall guy's arms as he leaned over to do just that.

Now what? I like Dean, don't want him to lose his job since he seems to be the only one trying to keep that machine here. Stepping out once again into the summer heat Tommy grabbed his comparatively cool can and rested it against his cheek. Can't go home yet. Barely managed to waste fifteen minutes! Dropping his can back into his bag Tommy turned in the direction of his house and walked right into some guy dressed all in yellow for some reason.

"Watch it girly!"
"Why don't you watch it! Besides I'm not a girl!"
"Well you're wearing an awful lot of heel for a guy!"
"Well... well you're dressed in a lot of yellow for someone who, whooooo... ugh! You look like a banana! So get lost and go back to whatever planet you came from!"
"Oooh! The little girl has some fight in her! C'mon then! Take a swing!" The weird banana-man spread his arms wide, giving Tommy a free shot.
"Y'know what's great about being so short when you're so tall? I don't have to go far to do this!" Without any more warning Tommy sparta kicked the banana-man in the groin, making sure he felt the full force of Tommy's 'girly' heels. And without another word Tommy ran off away from the banana-man as fast as he could, shoving his way through the small crowd that had gathered.

"I'm taking my free shot and running! I hope to never see you again!"
"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE B-!" whatever vulgar thing the banana-man was yelling was cut off by a car horn as Tommy ran across the road just as the lights changed red.

Slowing down Tommy looked back and saw the banana-man still chasing him. A yell in shock and Tommy stumbled a bit before taking off like a bat out of hell, running surprisingly well since his shoes did have a fair bit of heel on them. Weaving through the foot traffic Tommy could almost feel the man breathing down his neck. Rounding a corner and almost falling down Tommy launched into a mad dance to keep his footing. Taking another left down an alleyway Tommy ran through a maze of backstreets before bursting back out into the light of the main street next to the arcade. A few people seemed genuinely shocked that Tommy had done a loop to come back where he started.

Breathing heavily Tommy looked around hoping to see a friend in the crowd, or at least not that yellow fool. Tommy saw a face he recognised and without a thought ran up to them. Hands on knees, plastic bag still in hand and gasping for breath, Tommy wheezed out,

"Please!... Help! That lunatic dressed in yellow is still after me!" looking up Tommy saw that it was that shooter girl from before Bugger! She barely passes for an acquaintance!

Yosuke smiled when he and Yukari reached his favorite Racing/Fighting game, Road Destroyer 2. As stupid as that dumb song that played out of it when no one was playing, it was still one of his favorite games to play at the arcade, and he owned the original Road Destroyer at home. He eagerly slammed two coins into the machine, and his friend did the same, as the screen transitioned to a Racer/Vehicle selection.

"PICK YO RACAH!" The box yelled in probably broken English. Yosuke quickly moved the joystick over to his main, Platinum. It was pretty good all around, with the exception of it's range; it had no attacks that reached farther than a few feet. Still, when you were fast, and could take a hit or two, it wasn't much of an issue to get close to your enemy. Yukari picked her favorite character. Coyote. It was pretty good, laying traps and the such for the next lap. Less useful on the last lap though, and it's acceleration wasn't the best. It was a car for more experienced, smart players. Yosuke fully admitted he wasn't there yet.

The race was a little intense. It always was. Yosuke was always caught off guard by one of Coyote's traps, Yukari knew just where to place them. Yosuke almost lost, but he pulled through when, it a surprisingly foolish accident, Yukari had placed two of her traps on a thin road. She was forced just close enough to allow Yosuke to get one hit off on her, and snag the win at the last moments. She finished just a second behind him, swearing all the way.

"Heh. You almost had me that time. Sucks I'm still better than you though." Yosuke joked, turning to her with a grin on his face. "Bah! You got lucky!" She said, smiling as well. "I'll get you next time, YoYo, next time." She growled with a voice reminiscent of a cartoon villain, fist balled and shaking. They both laughed lightly, before Yukari's stomach growled lightly. "Wanna grab something to eat? Frankly I'm hungry too." Yosuke suggested. Yukari shrugged and replied "Sure!"

As soon as the both of them exited the arcade, they heard someone pleading for help. A small boy in very odd, but still a little stylish, clothing. He was asking- oh! There was that shooter girl! Yosuke silently wondered why she was outside. Had the boy somehow alerted her? And what the hell was with her western get-up? Was he the only person who just wore there school uniform over the holidays? Yosuke was about to suggest helping them, but Yukari reacted faster, walking up to them. Yosuke followed, asking, "Who's 'after you'? Is he trying to hurt you?" He looked out of breath, probably from being chased. He wondered how the young boy got into this mess. Ah well, didn't matter. What mattered now, was helping him.

"Hmm?" Ramika vocalized, not quite grasping the situation. Lunatic dressed in yellow? What was he talking about? Was this some sort of comedy routine? If so, it wasn't very funny, faking being in trouble like that. She'd fallen for that one more than once with some of the bullies and delinquents from her school trying to lure her into a trap by telling her someone was in trouble and that she needed to go save them. She hadn't been hurt yet, but her dad was starting to worry about her with how often it seemed like she jumped into trouble.

She looked down at the kid from her considerable height (for a Japanese schoolgirl, at least). He did look pretty distressed, though. And he was a tiny thing. Really girly and feminine, unlike the tomboyish Ramika. He looked like the type to get picked on. Wait, was he a foreigner? He looked like one, and he wasn't even half like Ramika. It was possible that he was just visiting or had only been living here for a short time, so he didn't know anything about the criminal element or who to avoid. That means... was he being chased by the mob? She'd heard rumors of a legendary color gang in Tokyo called the Yellow Scarves. Was that what he meant by a lunatic dressed in yellow? Oh no! What would happen if they caught him? Would he be beaten? Tortured? Killed? Worse?!

"Who's 'after you'? Is he trying to hurt you?"

But it was too late. Ramika's mind was racing with the possibilities. She had to help him now! Before it was too late! That's why when she saw a guy wearing yellow running towards them from the alleyway across the street, she immediately launched into a flying kick and rammed the soles of her cowboy boots right into his nose, kicking him with her spurs. The guy went flying, blood trailing out of his nose, and Ramika turned to Tommy, almost in a panic.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt at all? Is that the guy who was chasing you?"

Goichi stalked down the street with his hands in his pockets, eyes downcast. His jacket fluttered around him in the oppressive breeze, it was too damn hot to keep the thing buttoned up but not quite hot enough to abandon his wardrobe for practicality's sake. He was wandering around Izayoi aimlessly. It was too early to go out drinking and keep anything resembling his self respect but it wasn't as if he had any other ideas. Who would have thought that a 22 year old Egyptology major would find himself unemployed and shiftless in the middle of Japan? If he had more foresight he may have picked a different career path, one that may have given him a future or at least something to do during the day. Instead he kept on trudging along down the road. Maybe he'd head down to the local book store. The new volume of the Kamen Rider: Prism manga had just came out. That would at least keep him busy for the day.

His idle thoughts were crushed when a young lad sprinted past him calling out for help, an odd fellow in yellow desperately trying to keep pace. It took him a moment to wrap his brain around what was happening. Another to react. He threw his ruminations from his mind and narrowed his focus on the fleeing boy. He wasn't just going to let some jerk dressed like a lemon do... whatever it was he planned to do to him, so instead he kicked his massive frame into high gear and started sprinting after the pair.

The yellow man had quite the lead on Goichi and at one point he nearly lost him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the yellow man run down an alleyway and followed suit. He ducked his head low putting all of his energy into a sprint and clenched his fists, ready to deliver a devastating Haymaker to the lemon guy's face.
"This is what you get for picking on the little guy you motherfu-"

He brought his fist up and began to swing only to find that the lemon man wasn't standing where he thought he was. Instead he was on his back and on top of him was a girl, a girl whose face was rapidly approaching his huge fist. He immediately dug his heels into the ground trying desperately trying to stop himself. He succeeded...sort of...the momentum of his body causing him to tumble forward and skid to a rest at the girl's feet in a heap of sequins and leather.

"I-I c-came to help" he groaned.

"Who's 'after you'? Is he trying to hurt you?"

They must have still been inside the arcade while it happened taking a deep breath Tommy started to answer “The guy tha-“

BAM! The shooter girl launched herself over his shoulder when he heard a thud of a body hitting the pavement, Tommy turned on the spot and saw the yellow man crumpled to the ground.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt at all? Is that the guy who was chasing you?" the girl looked panicked and genuinely concerned for him. Her utter concern over Tommy made him blush for the second time that day. It also made him feel that he probably should omit the part where he was at fault. Then a large man tumbled to the girl’s feet saying that he was there to help.


“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. He’s definitely the one chasing me, banana looking jerk.” mumbling under his breath "Call me a girl? Crazy person!" looking down at the man on the ground Tommy appreciated the man's sentiment, if not the result.

“Thank you and sorry for your... trouble?” turning his attention back to his savior “Thanks again, but it’s probably best to not be here when he wakes up.” After a small awkward silence he realised he was probably being rude.

“Oh! I’m Tommy, I uhhh don’t have much to thank you with. I have a can of this passionfruit drink, I’d be careful though it’s all shook up from my running,” handing the can to the shooter girl, Tommy leaned down and tried to help his attempted savior up.
Tommy soon realised that he wasn’t able to budge him in the slightest. Hearing the yellow man moaning Tommy shot to his feet and looked like a deer caught in headlights.

“Can we please continue this conversation somewhere not here?”

A lot of stuff happened really fast.

As soon as Yosuke asked Tommy about the situation, that Shooter girl bolted at someone in yellow, the presumed attacker. With a quick jump, she kicked the guy in the face! Yosuke was one who always tried to be at least decently quick to act, but this was why he second guessed himself. That could have been a completely different person than who the boy was talking about! And she just wrecked his day without a second thought! This lapse in judgement indeed did incur some consequence, at least for another person, who fell down because the target he was aiming for had just been knocked down. There it was again, more wierdly dressed people. This guy looked western too, but a much older western. Something around... 19th century? Unimportant.

The girl sounded very scared, betraying the fact that she had just dropped that dude without any trouble. He assumed her main concern was that she had hit the wrong person, considering that came up in her rapid fire questioning. Somehow, that was the right person it seemed. He thanked the both of them for their troubles and suggested they leave, before giving his soda too the girl. Sweet. He made the attempt to lift up the other guy, but he didn't budge. Probably because Tommy wasn't muscle-y, but Military Man was very, very muscle-y.

Then it was revealed the bananaman wasn't quite knocked out yet. Tommy, once again suggested leaving. Yosuke couldn't have agreed more. "Yeah, let's get outta here." Yosuke said, hopefully grabbing everyone's attention. "Me an' YoYo were gonna grab some food anyways. Let's split." Yukari said, grabbing the hand of Tommy and trying to dragging him in the direction of her favorite place to chow down: Chau's Cafe. It was a nice place, some not overpriced food that tasted decently. Plus they almost always had outdoor seating. But that was enough about that, Yukari called him his stupid nickname in front of these cool new people! "My name's actually Yosuke, by the way. Only dumb, silly people who wanna get punched say 'YoYo'." He explained, adding some proverbial venom to 'YoYo' to show his disdain for the joke. "You guys, follow if you don't want that douche charging after you." Yosuke offered to the two not being dragged along by his friend, slipping into an alley behind the arcade.

Frank tapped the steering wheel of their rental car in annoyance, the full blast of the air conditioner barely holding steady in its war with the heat outside, ever attempting to push its way into the car. He was annoyed at this hot ass city. He was annoyed by the glare of the buildings. He was annoyed at the guy sitting in the back seat who had insisted that this city was, quote, "a unique treasure to be experienced by those all over the world." He was annoyed that he had to hold his tongue around this person. He was full to bursting with complaints, every one of them valid, but he couldn't air them before this man because he'd somehow feel guilty about it later. So Frank sat there and stewed, anger building and building, just waiting for something to uncap it.

Then what looked like a teenage girl ran in front of the car. He slammed his food down on the breaks, sounding the horn as the kid disappeared into the crowed with some yellow bastard hot on her heels!

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING YOU STUPID LITTLE SH-" He exploded, yelling through the closed window. He wasn't allowed to finish his thought, however. He felt an arm reach around from the back seat, a finger press silently to his lips, and a voice modify his thought into a gentle "Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

He glanced over into the face of James Maury, mere inches from his own, a look of peace plastered across it. "Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." He repeated, before smiling. "Pull over, please?"

"There's, uhhh, there's nowhere too Mr. Maury." Frank, a little bit embarrassed.

James quirked up at this, looking around as though for the first time. "So there isn't." He said, spying the dearth of public parking. "I suppose things are very different in Japan, aren't they? In America you'd be able to pull into any random lot in front of a store. But here you just walk places. Very nice exorcize."

"Suppose you'll just have to circle around then, if you'd be so kind." James said suddenly before pulling away and bounding out the back door. He would have argued, but already people were lined up and honking behind him. With a exaggerated groan, he pulled away down the street.

-----

James progressed after the pair as something between a jog and a run, hands planted firmly in his pockets as he bounded after them. This sort of confrontational situation, he thought, could be averted easily with the addition of a cool head. Cooler heads, after all. always prevailed. Besides which, he was curious. He had been watching their interactions out the window as he'd daydreamed, fascinated by the exchange of body language until one had kicked the other in the unmentionables and run off. He wanted to know what harsh words had lead to this situation. Where these people friends, or strangers? Was this a planned meeting, or the wild machinations of fate?

He followed their backs around corners at his own pace, just catching glimpses of them until finally reaching the front of the arcade again. Just in time to behold sudden violence. The yellow man went flying back and collapsed in a heap. While everyone was concerned over the young man he decided to check on the groaning ruffian as he came to his senses and listen to the conversation going on over there. So, this man on the ground had been the aggressor.

"I think not yet, young man." He called over to the little group. "If there's conversation to be had, this ruffian is a part of it. At the very least he owes you an apology for his rude behavior." He looks down at the still addled man, shaking his head and clicking his tongue. "Leaving things like this only means there will be hard feeling in the future. Lingering resentment can lead to terrible things."

Ramika breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god. I was afraid I might've shot the deputy because I was too quick on the draw again. I mean I was just so worried when I heard you say someone was chasing you and I couldn't stop thinking about it so I just..."

Ramika sighed again, this time sounded dejected. "Jumped the gun again. Dad is going to be so mad at me." She popped the top on the passionfruit juice, holding it away from her face in case it sprayed. "By the way, why was that guy chasing you again?"

"Can we please continue this conversation somewhere not here?" Tommy said.

"Yeah, let's get outta here."

Ramika looked down at the guy she'd dropkicked and heard him groaning and starting to get up.

"Yeah, good idea. They're usually not too happy when they wake up like this," she said as if speaking from experience. Completely ignoring the older gentleman kneeling next to the prone street punk, Ramika grabbed Tommy's wrist and pulled him in the direction of Yukari and YoYo.

TIME: 11:51 AM
DATE: August 18th
SEASON: Summer - Holidays in effect

"They really weren't kidding..." The unofficial boxer quietly lamented to himself regarding the sweltering heat of Japan's summers.

It shouldn't have been anything new, but weather was more of a force learned to bear rather than resist entirely. The heat was hot as hell, and that wasn't about to change anytime soon this remaining decade. The only real regret was that the heat was going to cling to Xander's dark clothes, but he wasn't going to bother over his fashion sense too much for the sake of a hot day.

Traffic of all kinds was crowded, as the usual experience was in a city of this magnitude. Xander himself didn't fare much trouble with the footpaths, in part thanks to his powerful movement through crowds. A solid, 6-foot build easily got that kind of effect, even if it was at the ire of some less patient citizens. Overall, Xander would reach his destination about as fast as he expected. That is to say, of course, Xander also accounted for a small detour at his own behest.

Well, just a brief stop for water at a convenience store on the way. He barely stayed for a minute, having a single bottle rung up right quick before setting on his way again. The air-conditioning and the cold beverage did well to rejuvenate the tough man in this scorching day.

As he left the store, Xander's eyes wandered to the sight of a particularly dressed young man finishing a flavored drink, his displaying a mix of sweet relief and a twinge of loss. What kept Xander's attention was the particular dressing, looking more like a hardcore punk gothic rather than a schoolboy as his other garments would suggest.

Xander quickly made to avert his own staring eyes in order to avoid eye contact, unconsciously letting out a disdainful, sneering tisk. Some people...

"I think not yet, young man.If there's conversation to be had, this ruffian is a part of it. At the very least he owes you an apology for his rude behavior."

An older man was checking on the banana-man and wanted to make him and Tommy to make some kind of amends. Tommy did feel a bit nervous, partly out of fear that the banana-man would retaliate violently if he stayed, but Tommy honestly didn't feel like he was in the wrong.

"No thanks, sir. I don't wanna be around that guy for any longer than I have to and besides, he's going to be fuming once he's properly awake."

Tommy's hands were all of a sudden grabbed by his savior and the friend of the 'YoYo', almost falling over in the process only Tommy scrambling to keep pace stopped him. The friend of 'YoYo' seemed to be leading him off somewhere else. It was an odd feeling being grabbed like this, he hadn't been dragged along like this since his parents took the family to the zoo when he was six. Tommy briefly considered resisting since it made him feel like even more of a child, but since he did owe them a lot Tommy swallowed his pride.

It took a moment before Tommy realised something important about grabbing some food.

"Where we headed? I've only got enough change for about maybe three more pinball games."

Whilst the residents of Izayoi went on with their daily tasks, none were aware of some of the events which were currently transpiring. Specifically in the tallest sector of the city, the massive Clocktower known as Chromatus Tower. Outside its shining brilliance remained peace, with a hint of tranquility... Inside the tower however, quite the opposite... Its insides were quiet, as a man slowly began ascending a massive spiral staircase of chrome toward the top of the square tower, his footsteps were small, slow and steady, taking his time, perhaps savouring the moment, a smile laid upon his caucasian face, as his crystal blue eyes surveyed his surroundings, the more bizarre thing however, was that as he walked up the stairs, nobody stopped him, no guards, nothing, in fact, no guard had moved from their spot the moment he waltzed into the entrance to the tower, as if entirely locked in place. Their eyes darted around them, fully aware of their predicament, but unable to shout, unable to call for help, unable to resist.

"Do you think this time will be different, Mr. Wright?" spoke a voice above the man, his breathe cold and venomous, gleefully whispering each word with arrogance and pride.

"Perhaps not. I have no faith in acquiring the tools I need to bring it out this time. It's best not to be so optimistic, it can let you down..." Mr. Wright returned, looking up to view the crevices of the towers shadows, where he had heard the voice, but he did not stop moving, continuing to ascend the stairs to his destination, chuckling somewhat.

"They can all see me, but it won't matter once we're done here. Take care of them for me, once the task is completed, won't you?" Wright explained, pointing to the individual guards, tourists and otherwise, children, old couples, families all dotting the staircase, unable to move even the slightest bit.

The entity in the shadows could hardly hold back his laughter, his voice depraved of humanity, none other than a sick twisted bastard...

"Well, i'd never give up a chance for food, you know~ So i'll obey no problem, Wright... However... A Question: should you... recruit. What happens then?"

"You simply leave that in my capable hands..." Wright responded. "Then all you must do is wait for the worms~ This is where I'll leave the trail, where i'll leave the things they'll need..."

"Heh... You know, for one of them, you're certainly different from the others... Innocent people being killed off too? Not very good are you?"

As Wright passed by one of the couples on his way up the staircase, he unsheathed a kitchen knife from his bright pink turtleneck and quickly lodged it into the cranium of a male boy, no older than fifteen with little to no worry, and removed it. No blood spilled, but the hole was clearly visible. Wright inspected the hole silently before rummaging his fist into the open cranium of the boy, and without much effort, extracted the brain of the child, however it didn't pump, as if it were lifeless.

"Living, dead, apples and oranges as they say... Living are roadblocks, the dead don't disturb my goals... A few dead bystanders won't make me lose a wink of sleep... on the contrary... I'm hoping they squeal..."

With that, Wright dropped the brain, causing it to simply float in midair, leaving the brain extracted child to die, as the boys eyes slowly lost their spark, all in front of his lover, from their eyes having been locked. He was dead, and there was no changing that.

Soon enough, Wright approached the top and climbed the ladder leading to the outside, it didn't take much time for him to finally be out in the fresh open air, alone, the entity he was with staying contently in the tower. Wright stared off toward the whole of Izayoi city with a smile, his body resting against the heavy clocktower bell, with the sun blazing down upon the cities entirety.

"Without effort this could all be removed. Without effort i'll cleanse this farce of a peaceful timeline..."

Brandishing an arrow, made of unknown gold materials from his pocket, he stared longingly into its delightful craftsmanship.

"Dark Moon grasped you from another time... Here you will aid a new timeline... And its eventful end. I just need to wait... a few more moments... Just a few... more... minutes..."



After finishing his melon ramune, Gibson, now refreshed to tackle the heat of the day, walked out of the store, brushing his dreadlocks back whilst he moved, despite the suns heat, his makeup and gothic attire didn't at all crease or drip, which was both surprising and relieving, that would have been a pain to re-do!

His travels took him to where the current events were taking place with the others, surprised at the events unfolded, with the banana man being kicked about and everyone gathering around, Gibson thought this might be a good time to introduce himself to some strangers! Approaching the group, Gibson smiled and called out, his voice cheerful and outgoing, a total juxtaposed outcome, given his rather gothic look.

"Hey! What was going on there guys? Sorry if i'm butting in or anything! Names Gibson! Gibson Ves Hawkin! Nice to meetcha! None of you are hurt right? I've a few more ramune if anyones thirsty! Might take some of the pain away! Hahah!"

Disappointing, but understandable. "C'est la vie." He said, tipping his hat to the young man and his friends retreating backs. "I wish you a lovely afternoon, then." He called, before his attention was pulled away toward a new face on the street. A man in black with a friendly disposition. He smiled back at the newcomer.

"Good day to you, master Ves Hawkin. James Maury, at your service. One injury, I'm sad to say." He said, reaching into the inside pocket of his garish coat and whipping out a band-aide. He held the band-aid aloft in his hand, sticking straight up to the sky. "If you have something cold could I at all bother you to lend it to me for a moment? Incidentally, would you be at all interested in learning how to set a broken nose?"

Yosuke took a quick glace back as someone called out to a "young man", presumably Tommy, though he was also a possible suspect. Yosuke gave the man a once over, as he tried to get the group to say. Another foreigner, and his outfit was odd. Definitely an actor or something, no one normal would wear something like that in public lest it be a fashion statement? Than again, with all the oddly dressed people, Yosuke was starting to think he was the only normal dude here. The Shooter girl completely ignored the strange slightly old dude, opting to follow the little group Yosuke started. Tommy actually replied, but still shot the man down, like a normal person. Yosuke honestly had no idea why this flighty old man was meddling, but it didn't really matter, as Yosuke was about to leave.

"Where we headed? I've only got enough change for about maybe three more pinball games." Tommy asked. Yosuke let a small grunt leave his mouth as he thought this over. It was Yukari's idea to take these people to lunch, so...

"Yukari, you got any cash on you?" Yosuke suggested, turning to his friend. Instead of responding to him though, Yukari simply stared at the old man. "Yukari, are yo-" Yosuke was cut off, as Yukari suddenly exploded, letting go of Tommy's hand and staring at Yosuke with stars in her eyes. "That's THE James Maury! American children TV show star!" She whisper-shouted to him. Yosuke, taken aback, simply scratched his head. Why the hell was she keeping up with that kinda stuff? With a sigh, he took out his wallet and opened it up. He had enough money for him and about two more people, provided they didn't order anything too expensive.

"Ugh. Looks like she's not coming. I'll pay for you, Tommy." Yosuke said, a faux sadness in his eyes, pointed at his friend. "Wait, wait, I'm coming! I've already got his autograph like five times already." She exclaimed, rushing back up to the group. "As long as you're paying for Tommy, that is." She said with a grin.

Before Yosuke had a chance to punch her in the arm though, another man showed up, again looking like an emo circus. Yosuke prejudged him as a sad dope, but he was super cheerful, and offered them some ramune. Yosuke smiled a little, before replying "Thanks, but I'm good." Yosuke than turned leave, his rag-tag group hopefully following. "Oh! Uh, Shooter girl, you have enough for a meal?" Yosuke inquired, looking at her, but refusing to stop walking forward. He really hoped he didn't have to pay for two people's meals. His birthday money would be nearly gone...

Ramika took out her coin purse. It was one of her favorite possessions, a genuine antique from the Old West. The ancient-looking relic was oblong and made from tanned leather and dull, unattractive metal. It was nothing pretty to look at, but she'd paid a fortune for it on eBay using months worth of saved up money from her part-time job. The dedication of otaku could be scary sometimes...

Ramika gently applied some force to the metal lips of the purse. It opened with a click and a squeal like a rusty clam, yielding the 100 yen pearls within.

"Uhhhh... I think so?" Ramika said, rummaging through the purse. "By the way, my name's not 'shooter girl'. My name's Ramika. Ramika Jamison. My friends call me Ram Jam for short. It's nice to meet you... Yoyo?"

Truth be told, she'd already forgotten his real name.

Goichi rubbed his temples and sat up, getting his face off the sweltering ground. He glanced around him trying to regain his bearings. The Lemon guy was starting to stir again so he scooted away towards the others who by and large seemed to have ignored him. He couldn't exactly blame them, this entire situation just screamed out absurd from all angles. Also most of these people looked like they were still in high school, he'd be totally out of place among them. Maybe it would be better if he just left quietly...

"Hey! What was going on there guys? Sorry if i'm butting in or anything! Names Gibson! Gibson Ves Hawkin! Nice to meetcha! None of you are hurt right? I've a few more ramune if anyones thirsty! Might take some of the pain away! Hahah!"

His trepidation was immediately worn away by the taste of dirt and bits of asphalt that were still lingering in his mouth from when he ate the ground just moments before. The offer of a fine beverage immediately lifted Goichi's spirits, and he decided to give this group of wackadoodles and fellow fashion pioneers a chance.

"Why thank you sir," Goichi said reaching out for one of the drinks, "Name's Goichi. Goichi Goethe. Professional unemployed and defender of justice, or at least an attempted one." he chuckled wryly scratching the back of his head.

He glanced at the cheery fellow with the tall hat and stroked his beard deeply in contemplation. He also spared a quick peak at the younger group, but decided it better to get to know the strangers who were closer to his age. "Hey pops, do I know you from somewhere?" he inquired, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he had just moments ago spoken his name. Must have been the fall he reckoned. Scrambled up his thoughts something fierce. "You sure look awful familiar, I just can't pin down where I've seen you before"