[hr][h1][i][color=plum]Trevor Obott[/color], [color=springgreen]Cindy Keagan[/color], [color=salmon]Haruka[/color] & [color=cornflowerblue]Shizuka[/color] [color=fa8072]T[/color][color=e78381]a[/color][color=d58591]k[/color][color=c288a0]a[/color][color=af8bb0]s[/color][color=9c8dbf]h[/color][color=8a90ce]i[/color][color=7792de]r[/color][color=6495ed]o[/color].[/i][/h1]
[hider=Delphic - Doubt (Build Remix)][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWzvTQkxq54[/youtube][/hider][hr][i]Written in collaboration with [b][@tsukune].[/b][/i][hr]


"... So that's the China Chef." Trevor said as he pointed at the Restaurant... with the sign right above it saying the name. They passed it right by before Trevor pointed at [i]another[/i] restaurant. "[i]That[/i] is the China [i]Village[/i]." He chuckled a little bit. He's been doing this with them the last five minutes. He knew that what he was telling them was unhelpful as it gets, but he thought it was funny as hell. He threw his hands behind his head as he walked - thank God the scarf covered his face. And he continued.

Shizuka stuffed his hands into his pockets - where he curled them up and held them rigidly against his thighs to prevent himself from bursting out with laughter. He was amazed that Haruka could kept a perfect straight face while still listening to Trevor's animated guide politely.

He couldn't take it anymore. "[i]I have to say this: for once there's actually a guy who is dumber than you that exists in this world.[/i]"

"[i]Asshole.[/i]" His older twin glowered at him. "[i]But seriously why are we still using Japanese? It's even dumber for me to keep repeating myself to you---[/i]"

"[i]I'm not done yet.[/i]" He tapped on Trevor's arm to get his attention before he spoke, "[i]Ask him to tell us something else other than reciting shop names. What about themselves?[/i]"

"...My brother is asking you to tell us more about yourself," he translated - somewhat unwillingly - to the Obott siblings.

"Oh me?" Trevor said, scratching the back of his neck as he stopped to turn around to face them. He was about to tell them all about himself, but they had a little chit-chat, and Trevor didn't want to interrupt that one.

"[i]And also tell him that he's a perverted dumbass. I pity his poor sister.[/i]"

"[i]Shi-zu-ka,[/i]" Haruka said through gritted teeth. "[i]Don't push it.[/i]"

"Take your time, boys." Trevor threw his hands up as they had their little conversation.

"Forget that." He threw a dirty look at his brat brother. "Please go on."

Trevor shrugged with his eyes closed. "Alright then, lemme begin...." He said, putting his hands on his chin, and gave them a look. "I'm Trevor Obott. Started Texas, went to Black Fall, then settled here in Verthaven when the big sis joined NEST." Trevor peered over at Scarlet, who was unsure of whether or not she should let Trevor tell them things like this. "Hobbies include... hunting, archery, and listening to music." He pointed double finger-guns at them. "And lemme tell you, partner, I'm one of the best shots with a bow and arrow."

[i]NEST? Some kind of gang or syndicate here?[/i] Shizuka studied the brother-sister pair. He had a nagging suspicion at how carefully Trevor covered his lower face with a scarf - definitely not something like bad breath. Something more. He continued to stare at them while Haruka did the talking. "Shizu and I were from Japan - pretty obvious, I think - and we've been traveling around the world with our parents before coming here."

"Neat, how was that like?" Trevor asked.

Haruka thought for a moment before he replied slowly, "It's not as fun as you'd think. Our parents were busy, so we're always on our own. We kept getting relocated every few years - sometimes even months - it's hard to make friends." In the end, all he had left was his little brother - a handful to deal with at times especially with his sarcastic streak, but otherwise generally dependable. Maybe a bit too much that their roles were getting reversed.

Okay, this was getting a little heavy. Heavy moments like this were not Trevor's specialty - but he could always lend a hand. A little bit of kind words. "Heeeey, hey now. It might be a little shitty, but let me ask you, did you try to make every new place, new experience, [i]memorable?[/i] Like you had as much fun as you could while it lasted?" He raised his hands up into the air, smiling widely. 

"Him? No way. He's like a magnet for bullies." Before the elder Takashiro could answer, Shizuka responded instead - in accentless English. "How many times did I have to save his ass and kick [i]more[/i] asses?"

Trevor rolled his eyes up into his head. "... That's your first problem, Shiza - ku?" Trevor stumbled on their names, before going screw it, and going on with his point. "You obviously worry a little too much about that stuff, and worry too little about having fun." He slapped his hands on his chest. "Just look at me; [i]I[/i] look like a gigantic homosexual, the flami-est [i]gay[/i] you've ever seen. I get my ass kicked [i]all the time! Sometimes[/i] by my own friends!"

Shizuka shook his head and jerked a thumb at his brother. "My first problem is that I'm weak against a crybaby idiot like him. And it's [i]Shi-zu-ka[/i], dork."

"Liar. You're secretly happy that I bring you fresh punchballs for your illegal judo practice."

"That's just an added bonus because you're hopeless. Anyway," he snickered at Trevor. "You actually enjoy getting beaten up?" A sharp pain in his side from the elbow of his older brother was the cue for him to stop mocking their [i]nice[/i] guide.

"No, no, I don't." Trevor put his hands up. "It hurts like hell - but I [i]accepted[/i] the asswhoopings. They're just another step to success, partner!"

While the twins were bickering Trevor looked over to Scarlet, before looking at the twins. "But do I let [i]that[/i] stop me? No, of course not! And neither should you! The people round here ain't [i]that[/i] bad. Ya' just need to take a risk. Venture out your little comfort zones."  He reached around his head, and undid his scarf. Holding his scarf in his hand, he gave the twins a reassuring smile. That pesky scarf always gets in te way. "Trust me. You won't regret it."

Haruka returned a grateful smile to Trevor. "Thank you, you've been very kind. Not like someone." He scowled at Shizuka, who stuck out a tongue at them.

"Hehe... I know, I know." Trevor kept that smile on his face. "Now, tell me: do you want to make your time in Verthaven the times of your [i]lives[/i]?"

"I don't kn---" Haruka began, but Shizuka beat him first. "Hell yes. I mean, America definitely has much more to offer than Japan - say, dangerous thrills. You obviously do have something in mind." He crossed his arms and looked at Trevor expectantly.

Trevor stood there for a moment, putting his hand on his chin. Thinking [i]hard as he possibly could.[/i] The question was [i]what they could do in this city[/i]. "... Yeeeah I got no idea. Sorry partners."  Trevor thought about it for a moment. "... Buuuuut, I think I know someone who does. Now, if you'd excuse me...."

Trevor quickly pulled out his cellphone, and typed out a text to the crew.

[u]yo, anybdy got plans? got 2 verthaven newcomers tat ned 2 be shown 'round[/u]

Sent to Meifeng and Cindy, since they're the two that have the plans. Most of the time. Fortunately, Cindy was the first to .

[u]now aint u popular obott. come by da candy club wit yo friends[/u]

Trevor fist pumped. 

[u]thx[/u]

Trevor turned around, and faced the twins with a smile on his face. "Now, now, we're in luck. One of the friends said we can hang out by her place. She's real cool...." Trevor trailed off. "Her hangout's over in Knightdale Ro-" He quickly cut himself off when he remembered that they have literally no idea what that part of Verthaven even is. So he simply pointed to where he thinks north is. "Just north of here, friends."

"What are we waiting for then? Let's get movin'." Shizuka raised a hand to slap their new buddy's back. He gave Scarlet a sideways glance. "Your sister isn't coming with us, is she? Plus she needs to go collect that cool bike of hers."

"You're right." Scarlet nodded her head. She fully acknowledged that Trevor made plans without her. Not that she felt particularly left out - she just wanted to get him away from Lucy before they tear apart her beach house (She was sure NEST was [i]not[/i] going to buy her a new one). She turned around, and started walking, looking over her shoulder to say, "I'm going to stick around here to get something to eat. You three have fun." Scarlet walked off.

"Bye." Trevor waved goodbye to his sister. Now that she was gone, now he could sin! He turned around back to the twins. "This is great. I didn't need to take ya'll to dinner, and I'm taking you places!" He said, snickering. He started walking, talking, "Now, we gon' have to take a bus. We can't all pile on Scarlet's bike..."

[hr]

Naturally, the trio had to take a bus to Knightdale Rows. The bus was as busy as ever, full of many people that wanted to head to one place to another. Fortunately, they managed to score a row of seats. Trevor sat on one end, so that the twins could sit next to each other (He'd really hate to get in between them).

"So, what kind of awesome friends do you have that you're willing to let them whip your sorry ass?" Shizuka, who sat next to Trevor (because Haruka purposely left it for him and chose to take the next one), began once they settled down on the bus.

His brother flashed him a disapproving look. "Geez Shizu, watch your language."

"This is fucking 'Merica. Who cares."

"Yeah, land of the [i]fucking[/i] free." Trevor supported Shizuka with a wry smile on his face. He crossed one leg over the other, and put his hand on the back of the seat (There wasn't enough room to put his own hand up in the seats). Now, he knew that he'd get to this part soon. They're asking about his amazing squad... he was curious as to how long he could play along without telling them that he, and all his friends, are Metahuman. Trevor didn't know how Metahumans are regarded up there in Japan, but a lot of people freak out knowing that you can shoot fire. Trevor peered over to them, and shot them a worried look. Hey, Trevor's power was easily the weakest in Verthaven. Other than his ability to emit drugs, he was virtually human in every regard. Well, except for the part where he's immune to contamination - but that's a whole 'nother discussion.

Oh. Trevor's getting off track. He's got to describe the crew. The problem was where to [i]start[/i]. "Well, I can start with my good old pal from school [i]Meifeng.[/i]" Trevor was hesitant to use terms like 'The Academy' because of the aforementioned concerns. "You might like her, she's [i]asian[/i]-" How racist he sounded innocently went over his head. "- She's real tall, like taller than me. She likes to have fun, and she's so exciting." He paused for a moment to point at Shizuka, "She'll totally make fun of your hair the second she sees you, so be prepared for that, partner."

Shizuka rolled his eyes. "She can humor me with the nastiest of insults. I like to be entertained."

"You could just dye it black though," Haruka said. Some of the commuters were pointing at his brother's perculiar hair color, and the way their eyes were focused on the trio made him nervous at the unwanted attention.

"Nah, too troublesome. I'm not a vain bitch or whatever. I'm proud of my hair - white and pure like angels from Heaven!"

Haruka could only pinch the bridge of his nose and sigh in defeat.

"Oh, yeah. The friend we're going to meet is Cindy. She's a black chick that wears glasses. Again, she's nice, but God damn she has a temper sometimes. She can be a real [i]pane[/i] to deal with sometimes." Trevor started snickering again, realizing the implications of what she just said. "But chill. She lets us hang out at her place." He thought about who to talk about next. There were just so many faces he had to show. "Uhhh.... Yeah, there's Lucille. She's this femmy lesbo that was friends with my sis. She has this huge rack and that's pretty much it. All you need to know about her." He gestured to his chest like he was grabbing boobs of his own! "She stays in my house. Without paying or helping at all."

"[i]He IS a shameless pervert through and through, alright,[/i]" Shizuka muttered under his breath. And earned another sharp poke from his brother.

"Finally, there's Jen. Meifeng's best friend, or something. She's pretty hot, she got that nerd aesthetic going on. You can't miss her when you see her, she's got blonde hair, blue eyes, and a big... heh." Trevor thought that he was talking too many again. "But, you won't really hear too much about 'er. She's reeeeeeeal quiet."

After listening to Trevor's description of his friends - which was mostly about their assets - Shizuka simply raised his eyebrows, amusement shining in his dark eyes. "Y'know, you sound just like those good-for-nothing male leads in those harem anime that are so bloody popular back in our home country. You might want to consider selling your autobiography there, and maybe you could become a stinking rich guy. As for me, sadly my hands are already full just to babysit this kid here." He titled his head sideways at Haruka.

"Heeeeeey, it's the girly looks." Trevor said. "Girls just can't resist it. But I haven't made my moves yet." [i]On the account of getting my ass kicked.[/i]

"What a waste. You could put that girly face of yours to good use and sneak into their bathrooms or something. Shouldn't be too hard to pull off a convincing crossdress."

"Well... I could totally pull it off." Trevor said, shrugging. "But there's just one [i]big[/i] thing in the way. Hahahahahaha!" he started laughing.

The elder twin facepalmed and groaned. [i]This isn't Japan![/i] He decided to change the topic. "Are we reaching yet?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're almost there, keep your pants on." Trevor looked out the window, he started seeing familar streets. "Or don't. That'd be nice." He started laughing. 

Actually, they [i]are[/i] almost there. Trevor didn't notice that the bus was coming up on the stop, and no one stop button yet. "Oh, shit." Trevor said as he jumped up to his feet and pressed the button. The bus came to a stop, and the doors open. Trevor and the boys stood up and walked to the door - however, Trevor stopped at the door, and put his hand out  "After you." He cordially said.

They stepped off the bus, and, lead by Trevor, made the short walk over to the Candy Club. Before they knew it, they were standing before it's red, parasol styled, sign. "We're here!" Trevor said.

Rather than a mere clubhouse, the whole place seemed more like a carnival: booths lined up along the sides of the walkway, with red decorations around to boost the festive appeal; tables scattered across the grass patch, facing a decent stage that would turn up the party heat with booming performances and acts. The site appeared to only operate at night - it's deserted for now.

Shizuka, who was faster than the other two, arrived at the entrance to the club first. He stretched out his left hand to push the door, but was alarmed when his fingers slipped through the glass. [i]Shit.[/i] He clenched and relaxed his fist, trying again, but his hand still passed through the pane easily. [i]Not now, dammit![/i]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, partner." Trevor said, missing the accidental use of power. Only thing Trevor saw was this kid being dangerously impatient. "Gettin' a little ahead of yourself, aren't you? Door's probably locked!" He started laughing.

He jumped when someone put a hand on his shoulder. It was Haruka. "What's the matter?" His questioning eyes quickly became serious when he understood his brother's troubled expression. He switched to Japanese to keep Trevor out of their 'secret' conversation. "[i]Don't tell me...[/i]"

"[i]I dunno - I wasn't even thinking of going 'ghost', but my left hand seems to be stuck in phased mode now.[/i]"

"[i]This is bad.[/i]" A quick look at Trevor to make sure he didn't catch the unforseen hiccup, Haruka pulled his brother away from the door, gesturing at Trevor. "The owner of this place doesn't know who we are. Don't be so impatient and let our friend do the talking." He gave the muffler teen an apologetic smile. Shizuka, meanwhile, hid his slightly translucent left hand behind his back and grinned at Trevor sheepishly.

It could have been a possibility that these two were talking shit about him in their native language, but the idea went right over his head. He just shrugged. "Aw shucks, glad ya'll think I'm a friend." He flashed them a disarming smile, then stepped over to the front door. "Now let me show you a little thing I call..." He put his fist to the door. "... Knocking." Though, he could have texted Cindy. He started knocking on the glass door.

A few moments later, Cindy walked up to the door, and unlocked it. She opened the door, and gave the two newcomers a funny look. Again, she was wondering where this little weirdo gets them. Two Asian kids - Cindy couldn't tell [i]where[/i] from Asia - that didn't look super manly. The one with the grey hair looks weird - because what kind of guy dyes their hair? Especially a color that makes him look like an old man. Well, best to see who they are. "Heeey, hey, I'm [i]Cindy.[/i]" Cindy started off, having a smile on her face. "Come on in." 

"Heeeeeeey, Cindy!" Trevor introduced himself again. "Y'know, this is the second time that ."

Cindy turned around and walked in a little bit - and the boys followed in behind her. "Welcome to the Candy club." Cindy announced, overacting a bit. She laughed, before she turned around and faced them. Putting her hands on her hips. "Alright, now, we should get introduced.... You two are?"

The girl who came to greet them was very brown - certainly not black as Trevor claimed - and aside from her average (but uniquely pronounced) facial appearance, she did have most of the curves in the right places (save for the chest, which was a slight pity). "I'm Haruka, and this is my brother, Shizuka," the older twin replied. "Haru and Shizu are fine, if you find our names too difficult to remember."

"... I'll call you H, and you S." Cindy said, laughing. Because these names are too complicated for her. "But it's great to meet ya'll! Trevor said you two are new to Verthaven?"

He shrugged at being demoted to be called by their initials. "Well, yeah. Just move in." Shizuka wasn't paying much attention to the conversation - he was doing his usual 'thing' again: surveying his surroundings with cautious eyes.

"... And please tell me you didn't let this [i]idiot[/i] show you around?" Cindy said, throwing a thumb to Trevor.

"Eeeeeeeeeey." Trevor said.

"Actually we did," Shizuka said, seemingly satisfied that there was nothing particularly suspicious about the club. "And it was a BIG mistake."

"It was partly your fault too, idiot brother," Haruka shot at him sourly.

"Well," Cindy shrugged. "Can't say I'm surprised. Heh." She laughed a little bit. She then shrugged. "Welcome to Verthaven. I'm hoping ya'll enjoy your stay."

Shizuka cast a smug look at Trevor. "We will, as long as that guy doesn't try to force me to go hunting for swimsuit girls along the beaches. I mean, there are a lot of beaches here."

"If you want to bag a girl, the [i]last[/i] person you want to go to for help is Trevor." Cindy added. 

The younger brother widen his eyes in mock surprise. "Really? Even though he has already bagged a friggin' harem? Or he lied to us just to show off?"

Haruka frowned at him. "Stop teasing Trevor. He didn't say that at all, you knew it."

"... Harem?" Cindy raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what bullshit Obott fed ya'll - but he's just our [i]friend[/i]." She shrugged. "It's Meifeng that got us all together." She elaborated, before she remembered a fact, "Oh yeah... you probably didn't meet [i]her[/i], right?"

Both brothers shook their head.

"... This happens a lot." Trevor said to the twins. "Everyone talks shit about me!"

"I'm sorry about Shizu," Haruka lowered his head at the Caucasian boy. "And you," he hissed at the pouting Shizuka. "Apologize." Instead of expecting a comeback, Haruka turned around and stared at his brother with concern.

"...[i]My right hand,[/i]" was all the younger Takashiro need to say.

"Heh, well. It's good partners." Trevor said. "I got that Obott thick skin!"

Cindy shrugged. "Well, what do ya'll want to do?"

Trevor immediately perked up. "We should wait for the others?"

"Got an idea, Obott?"

"... Yeah."