[Tokyo's 3rd Ward, Minato - Strangelove's Coffee Balcony]

Idle tapping rang out from underneath the small glass table, a somewhat short teenaged looking boy flicking his thumb rapidly back and forth across the sleek display of the smart phone in his hands. A brown cardboard cup with steam rising from it's ajar lid sitting on the top of the glass a few inches away from him. A low yawn escaped the black haired young man's wide mouth as he tilted his head over the backrest to let his glasses slide back up his nose. The squeak of a sliding glass door distracting him and making his head turn to the right, hair flopping into his mouth and making his speech slightly muffled. "There's teh man of the howr. How'd theaf firft day go?"

A stifled chuckle escaped the apron wearing young man that stood awkwardly in the doorway, a leather backpack slung around his shoulder rustling slightly as he stepped towards the empty seat opposite of the hooded man and dropped his bag down next to it. "Hey Kaito...It was uh...It was ok. I think I already screwed up royally though."

Spitting the random strands of hair out of his mouth, Kaito sat up straight and casually pushed the steaming coffee cup towards his friend, before crossing his arms and smiling. "Nah. You couldn't of messed up that bad Haru. You're being too hard on yourself again. What did you do? Drop a tray?"

Grasping the offered coffee and taking a small sip, the messy haired server shook his head. "Thanks. And no, I didn't drop a tray, I sort of...accidentally tripped my manager into the condiment table because I spilt some water on the floor." As he said this, the dark eyed young man took another sip and glanced into space, a guilty frown on his face.

Tilting his head slightly, Kaito pointed a finger. "But was he hurt that bad? It's not like you crippled the guy."

Shaking his head lightly again, Haru met his friend's brown gaze. "Well, no. He was ok. Or at least, he made it out that he was ok. Everyone was laughing at him, even the customers, and when he turned around to confront to me, I thought I was gonna get yelled at and fired on the spot, but he actually started laughing along with them. It was really confusing; he acted like he wasn't even mad at me."

A light smirk played across Kaito's pale face as he tucked his phone into his sweater's front pocket. "It sounds like you got a boss with a sense of humour." His left brow raised up as he went on. "Did he talk to you about it after or anything like that?"

Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, the server spoke quietly as his eyes drifted down to his beverage. "Uh...No. No he just told me to be more careful and left me alone for the rest of the day."

The longer haired man's hands went up in the air as he laughed. "Then c'mon, stop worrying about it! You're fine. People get that new guys mess up sometimes, so your job's safe. Chill."

The tight grip that Haru held on his cup began to soften a bit as his face turned back up to Kaito's to shoot a tiny grin. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks Kaito I...I've kinda been bored lately. I'm surprised you actually showed, usually no one comes to visit the me here because well...you know. It freaks everyone out. I've been having a hard time adjusting to living so close to their home turf myself. I see them on almost every other street. But, I guess it's better than living in any of the Quarantined Wards..."

Brushing a hand through his bangs, the spectacled teen pushed his fist into his palm. "Are you kidding? I wouldn't let a Special Class Dove stop me from coming to visit you. And if one of them tried to? They'd be in for one hell of a dance."

Haru's face had brightened up significantly since he had sat down. Taking another sip of the coffee in his hand, he stood up and gestured out to the quiet side street in front of the shop. "I wouldn't doubt it. So uh...Did you want to come see my new place? It's not that far from here, and it's actually pretty quie....."

Stretching his arms out above his head and closing his eyes, the blue hooded young man groaned. "'Quiet'? I'm surprised you even found a place like that around here. Usually they're-Huh? Haru?" Kaito's slightly blurred gaze refocused on his friend now standing unevenly across from him. The hairs on Haru's arms standing up straight as his eyes widened, and he stood stiff as a board. A look of concern washed over as he pushed his chair back and stood up to outstretch his hand. "Haru, you alright man? Talk to me. What's wrong?" Checking over his shoulder, the spectacled teen's eyes scanned the street below. Did he see something down there? A Dove maybe?

Kaito's confusion was soon answered by a choked yell crawling out of his friend's throat. Haru's arms flew to grip his chest as he stumbled around the porch, falling back over the chair he'd just stood up from and hitting the wood floor with a hard smack.

"HARU!"

Vaulting over the coffee table with unusual speed, the panicked young man got down on knees next to the fallen server. Whose eyes had started to glaze over as he stared off into space, breaths coming out ragged and weak as he continued to grip his dirty white shirt. Kaito wasted no time in batting away his friend's hands and pressing his palm to Haru's chest in attempts to compress. "No no no! Don't do this! Haru man, come on! Get up!"

The shouting and commotion from the open air porch was beginning to attract attention. The bystanders on the street below erupting into a confused panic.

"Is something going on? I heard screaming up on the balcony..."

"There was definitely shouting! Someone call an ambulance! Check on them!"

"Hold on up there! We're coming up and getting help!"

The rapid sounds of hurried footsteps crowding into the coffee shop's main floor simply faded into the white noise ringing around in Kaito's mind. Sweat pouring down his face as he grit his teeth and kept up his impromptu CPR, keeping his gaze locked with Haru's bloodshot, empty stare.

"DAMN IT HARU! COME ON! PLEASE! HARU! WAKE UP!"

---

One week later...

---

[Tokyo's 20th Ward, Nerima - Akinokirinsō Ave]

"...In other news, Shi no te is quickly losing it's hold on the 2nd Ward. Patients seeking treatment in hospital for the deadly virus are making steady recovers from the brink of death in the care of the talented nurses and doctors brought in from Kyoto, and of course, the effective use of vaccination done by many public businesses in the Ward. One hospital has also made a personal thank you to the CCG Investigators that defended the Ward while..."

A large plasma TV behind an electronic shop's glass display blared the morning news out from a set of large speakers set up on both of it's sides. A few people in the flood of foot traffic slowing down slightly to turn their heads towards the footage of two suited men with briefcases shaking the hands of a white coated woman, before simply moving on and being carried by the flow of bodies. Many of the well dressed worker's in the crowd wearing thin paper masks over their mouths and noses, with a few tissues sticking out of their pockets.

They keep saying everything's getting better....That the flu's going to be nothing but history by the end of summer....But are they really telling the truth? Ghouls are still dying by the hundreds....humans are still dying by the thousands....I wouldn't call that 'recovery' at all. Not by a long shot.

Across the street on the patio of a cafe, a blue hooded man barely even looking over the rim of the of his cardboard cup as he took a sip. Soon crumpling the empty drink cup and tossing it over his shoulder and into a nearby trash bin stacked up to overflowing with the things. His chair swaying heavily as he pushed back to put his worn sneakers up on the table and go back to staring down at the small tablet in his hands. The screen displaying an article involving the current rate of Ghoul crime, and the slow climb of incidents since the start of the virus pandemic.

I still don't know shit...No one does. And if I don't figure something out soon, someone's gonna pull another dumb stunt that'll make everything harder. I love big cities. I really do.

[Tokyo's 20th Ward, Nerima - Akinokirinsō Ave]

"You know, you picked a really shitty time to come to Tokyo kid."

The rather un-amused cab driver commented drily as he brought the cigarette to his lips, and took a quick puff. His glazed brown eyes glancing up at the rear-view mirror at his rather quiet passenger leaning his arm out of the slightly ajar window. The black haired young man with a large white duffel leaning against his thigh sighed at the comment. "I've noticed."

The cabbie with his worn baseball cap narrowed his eyes at the grey sweater wearing boy for another few moments, before leaning his arm out the window and tapping the cig a few times. "So what would compel a young guy like you to come to a flu riddled shithole at a time like this?"

Sitting back in the old leather seat, the young man's short inky black hair slightly blew in the breeze from the window as he put his knee on the passenger seats back rest. "An exchange student program at one of the collages in this Ward. I seen it advertised during a school fair, and I got interested. Japan's culture is radically different than the west's, with an even bigger focus on media. I seen it as a chance to learn a few things." Rolling his eyes slightly, he frowned. "I'd also been planning this for two years, it's not like I could have just cancelled or re-scheduled now.

The cab driver chuckled, sounding more like a frog croaking than an actual human laugh. "You got dedication, I'll give you that. Your Japanese ain't that bad either. You haven't called yourself or me an asshole yet. And you're a lucky one; 20th ward's not flu central just yet, and the place's got a history of being pretty quiet. Well, actually up until around two years ago it was quiet, but that's ancient history now."

The travelling student's jade gaze travelled to the traffic ridden street ahead of them, then to the just as crowded sidewalk. "You mean the Ghouls."

Nodding, the yellow coated man tapped the worn steering wheel with his knuckle. "Flesh eating, blood drinking demon spawn that look like just another guy, that's them. They seem to have some sort of thing for this city, cause they're even bigger pricks here than in the rest of the country. True fact. Make sure you don't get your head bit off kid. Keep your hockey stick handy so you'll be able to fight em off. Heh."

Rolling his eyes at the comedic jab at his nationality, the jade eyed young man watched as the taxi soon came to a slow halt near the sidewalk. Gripping the strap of the duffel, he quickly opened up the door and stepped out into the crowded walkway. A rap on window of the taxi made him glance behind him. The front side window rolling down slightly to the sound of the cabbie's voice. "Hey kid, I never got your name. Mine's Nachi."

Nodding promptly, the black haired student spoke up. "It's Delsin."

A thumbs up was seen from inside the window for brief moment, before it rolled back up and the taxi slowly chugged away. Turning to look left and right at the ever moving mass of people, Delsin smiled slightly and looked down at his phone, bring up a GPS map. Well, time to find the school.

^{[Ryuu Motors, Adachi Road, Tokyo's 20th Ward.]
@Shadow Daedalus}

---

It was a fair enough day outside - a high sun slowly drifting towards the western horizon with sparse clouds spread about the blue, with a warm if not slightly hot afternoon high to accompany the cicada's cries. For the two sitting just outside the back door to Ryuu Motors - the poor old thing, clad in rust and labelled "Emergency Exit - will sound alarm": the very same alarm that hasn't been working since it sustained collateral damage in the Owl suppression operation - the warm sunbeams were a little uncomfortable, granted, but a welcome change from the bland interior of the workshop. Natsuko - with her hair in a ponytail, a tanktop that showed the definition about her collarbones and the muscular albeit feminine tone of her arms, with her jumpsuit worn up to the waist before being tied off by the sleeves - sat on an upturned milk crate, leaning casually back against the wall with a smoke-trailing cigarette between the index and middle finger of her right hand. To her left, on the other side of the cheap outdoor table, was a muscular middle-age man sitting on a metal folding chair. A pair of sunken eyes sat between his salt-and-pepper short back-and-sides hair and a well-groomed mustache, surrounded all the while by relatively slightly severe wrinkles; he too had a cigarette between his fingers. A zip-lock bag with sparse bread crumbs atop and an empty container of take-out Chinese food sat on the table between them.

"So how are we going to tackle that Prius?" asks Natsuko, as she lifts her cigarette towards her mouth. Her fingers - recently cleaned, although with oil well-embedded beneath her short fingernails from the days work - puts the cigarettes between her lips, where its tip comes to glow a vague orange. The middle aged man, Yuudai, let out a vague scoff.
"The lady who drives it is too old and too far gone to be driving a stick... she needs an automatic. The boss is going to ask around and see if he can get the gears we're looking for but until then, we'll try to get the Vitz out this afternoon. God knows the old crone can't afford a new gearbox..."
"What's wrong with the Vitz?" asks back Natsuko, before she blows the held back smoke partially out of her nose and partially out of her mouth.
"Just need to finish off the service. It looks pretty good, actually." he explained, between drags on his cigarette. Natsuko let out a scoff.
"We'll have it done by two-thirty," she came back. Yuudai let out a vague, affirmative 'hmph'.

Natsuko reached into her pocket, fishing about for a moment before producing a smartphone. She pressed on the side to bring the screen to life, where she noted the time: 1:24, 6 minutes to go. She thumbed over to the messages application to type:
"i'm going to get something to eat tonight in 3rd tonight, less people with the flu. u in? there's a race going from 4th to 1st at 23:00 as well if ur down, but i'm sure as hell not going racing into 1st alone - plus PK will b in on it." After adding an irritated emoji to accent the mention of PK, she pressed up at the recipient field to select the familiar name: Ryuu Ouma. With that, she hit send.

[Ouma Residence, Nerima, Tokyo's 20th Ward]
Interactions: Natsuko Mizushima (via SMS) @vFear

---

The neighbourhood around the Ouma Residence was fairly standard for most part. While not as close knit as other neighbourhoods, you could expect a few cheery 'good-morning's as you left for work in the morning, and a few 'good afternoon's and 'how was your day?'s. Other than that, everyone just mostly kept to themselves, the working adults out for work, kids at school and the stay-at-homes doing just that, a blessing for people like the Ouma family. Having finished with lectures for the day and the shop being fully staffed for the day, Ryuu had the day to himself, so he was here, visiting his family. His father was out at work and Shu was at school, but he still wanted to drop by, if only to pass the time while his mother worked on her article at home. Placing down a fresh mug of coffee in front of her, she smiled at her son with a quiet thank you as he took his own cup to the back door.

As he sat in the open door, an electronic chime caught his attention. Taking another large mouthful of coffee, he put the cup down to his side as he pulled his smartphone from his pocket. The screen lit up at his touch as he brought up the messaging app, reading through Natsuko's text. His face contorting slightly in distaste at the final comment, he deftly typed up a quick reply.

[3rd is a bit risky, but we should be fine. I'll be there for the race as well, someone needs to watch your back out there after all :P. PK might be an issue tho. I'm not far, want me to drop by the shop? I can be there in 10.]

Tapping send, he pushed himself up from his seat and drained the last of his coffee, ignoring the slight burning in his throat as he crossed the kitchen, placing his cup into the sink before slipping back into the front room. Haruka looked up from her laptop, smiling slightly at her eldest son.

"Who was that?"

"Just a friend, asking about a meet-up later."

A teasing grin slipped onto the older woman's face and Ryuu held back a sigh. Even in her fourties, the woman looked and acted like she was still 25, especially the teasing.

"'Just a friend', huh?"

"Yes... It was Natsuko, if you must know."

The grin widened and this time he did sigh. Even if Natsuko was, as he said, just a friend, it wouldn't stop her now she had started hitting her stride. Even worse was that he was alone, so he had no-one to deflect her towards... Sighing again, Ryuu prepared for the worst.

---

Akihiko had agreed to meet at a cafe that his classmate had recommended. Luckily, it was also a coffee place that he knew ghouls went to, so he felt relief for not having to force himself to eat that disgusting human food. He learned to tolerate eating a few things to keep his tracks clean in case someone suspected, but if he could avoid it he would. Once the other guy had showed up they began to discuss the new major project that the professor assigned them. It was quite complex, but he had spent time in pretty much deciphering what was needed to be done on it. Technically, he had said no in helping this guy as he had a reputation for leeching off of others to get work done, but decided to break a deal with him. If he helped him with the project then the guy would have to buy him an special coffee maker that he had been wanting for the longest time. The great thing about attending a National University was that many rich humans attended, so adding the fact that this one was dumb in his studies Akihiko took his chances. The guy easily agreed, and so that's how they ended up in the coffee shop. However, halfway through discussing how he had figured out the project the guy had to leave, and asked if they could meet up later. Of course, Akihiko had no complaints. He could sit back, and enjoy some coffee while people-watching. Least, that was his plan until some commotion on the balcony of the shop happened, and people scrambled to figure out what was happening. Being curious about the commotion he would blend in with the crowd to see what was going on, and when the ambulance came he knew. A brief look at the guy in the stretcher holding his chest gave a clear sign of a heart attack. Another ghoul was a victim to this horrid virus.

---

@Light Lord

Looking around to see where this electronics store was Akihiko sighed. His phone had been messing up for the past few days now, so he decided to skip a class period to see what could be done about it. The original company he had the phone with was 30 minutes away by car at that. He could take public transportation, but he would have to miss all day of classes as well as miss out on work due to the company having walk ins be less important than prior appointments. It was understandable, but if he could avoid it he would. Which was why he was looking around for an electronics store that a classmate told him about. If they could help him with his phone then he would be forever grateful.

Passing by a glass display he stopped, and walked backwards to see the morning news on the TV. They were talking about the virus that is not officially linked to ghouls deaths, but has been successful in vaccinations for it. "Che." Only humans get the medical attention, and CCG protection. From us at that...ridiculous. Looking up to see what kind of store it was Akihiko realized that this was the place he was looking for, and practically slammed the door open as he walked to it. "Hey!" He said to the male behind the counter. "Can you please help me with my phone?" he walked over to the counter, and placed his phone down. "The screen keeps going black when I don't even lock it. Would you be able to fix that? I don't mind leaving it here!" The guy behind the counter was shocked for a second as Akihiko had walked in suddenly. He slowly reached for the phone, and looked at it before putting it back down. "I can take a look at it right now, but," He stood up, reached for a paper, and then sat back down while handing him the paper. "To sum it up this keeps you from sueing me if you [I]think[I] I stole, tweaked, hacked, put a virus, or did many other ridiculous things to your phone." Akihiko asked for a pen, and signed the paper. "Alright," The guy grabbed the paper. "It'll take 30 minutes to look at it, so come back in 30 minutes." Akihiko nodded, but before he left the guy called out to him. "There's a cafe across the street if you want to wait."

Of course, he decided to go to the cafe to wait. In his backpack were a few books to read, so he would just spend his time reading while waiting. On entering the cafe he grinned as he smelled the coffee aroma. He walked up to the counter with the perky cashier, and asked for a certain coffee. She smiled, he gave her the money, she gave him the change, and he took a number. His luck ended there however as he turned to see many of the tables occupied. For a second there he contemplated going back to school, and leaving his phone until later, but decided against it. Looking around he noticed someone sitting alone, so he walked over to him hoping the guy wouldn't mind having someone sit at the same table. "Hey," Akihiko cleared his throat. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

[Tokyo's 20th Ward, Nerima - Akinokirinsō Ave]

@l0ck0n
The sound of an unfamiliar voice finally seemed to break the spectacled dude out of his trance. The tablet in his lap slumping a bit as he twisted his neck around to look to the owner of said voice, and give a nod along with a casual smile. "Oh, yeah sure, go ahead. Just gimme one sec..."

Setting the tablet on the tabletop, Kaito pushed his chair back a bit to quickly tuck his legs in and put them under the table proper. His sleeve going over his hand as he wiped a bit of dirt off the table. "Sorry I kinda got dirt everywhere. My shoes have been through hell because I like walking most places. Though that might be because I always blow my bus money on random crap. I kinda suck at saving up." Sitting back in his own chair once again, he leaned back to get a look at the newcomer. "My name's Kaito by the way, what's yours?"

@Light Lord

---

As the guy set his tablet on the table Akihiko quickly glanced at what was on it, but then looked back at the man as he finished wiping the table down. Ghoul crimes...so, he at least knows about ghouls. Akihiko smiled, and took his seat across from the person. Taking a quick glance toward the person he realized the guy was actually a kid, and he assumed this kid was from middle school at best. Either he was skipping or...Yeah, just skipping class. As he took off his backpack the number he had for his order was called, so he held up a finger to the teen as he stood up to go get his coffee. He was going to buy one for his new companion as well, but decided against it.

Walking back to the table Akihiko set his coffee down. "Kaito's a neat name kid." Sitting down, he then extended his hand to hopefully shake Kaitos hand. "My name is Akihiko. Akihiko Takeshi." He said with a grin on his face.

[Tokyo's 20th Ward, Nerima - Del Real Cafe]

@l0ck0n
Stretching out his arms above his head, the shorter 'teen' inhaled through his nose. "Well Akihiko Takeshi, your name's pretty neat too."

Heh, he totally took the bait. Everyone thinks I look twelve on the first impression....and here I thought the bags under my eyes would buy me a few extra years. I think Haru was the only one to ever actually guess right....

Indeed, if one looked close enough, there would be small mounded of tired skin underneath the deceptive long haired boy's eyes. Though it would be slightly hard to tell with the bottom part of his glasses frames blocking them from view. Crossing his arms, Kaito raised his leg up to cross it over his knee and return the grin. "So, what're you doing out here in the middle of the day? Shouldn't guy's like you be in class still? You're in collage right?"

@l0ck0n@Light Lord



The bell to the café rung with a gentle chime as the new patron entered the store, he adorn a black leather jacket, embellished with two white stripes on the sleeves and red tribal artwork on the back, his white hoodie blew gently as the final breeze hit it, momentarily concealing his face before he lowered it, revealing his brown hair. Adjusting his jacket and hoodie he made for a stool near the counter and sat down, a pleasant smile on his face as one of the waitresses came over to take his order. She smelled lovely, lavender with a hint of strawberry. Her other scent engulfed his nose as he nodded with a thank you before the smile faded from his face to something more stoic as he scanned the room. Amongst the humans there were a few ghouls and he quickly picked them out.

A kid with brown hair and glasses sat with another man who had black hair. He wasn't one to introduce himself but he certainly didn't like being this far away from his ward without someone he knew within the ward he entered. Sadly he had lost his one friend within the ward to another ghoul so he was by himself. He went back and forth in his head about whether or not he should go introduce himself or let them figure out who he was before saying something, either way, he didn't realize that he spaced out while looking in their direction and quickly adverted his eyes when the realization dawned on him. With a sigh he stood and made his way over to them with his coffee, a fake smile on his face.

"Some coffee shop, huh? Never found a place who could make a good Columbian Dark Roast until this one. I'm sorry I don't mean to interrupt your conversation. Mind if I were to join you both? My name's Katsuo by the way." His voice was smooth and welcoming, despite his personality and demeanor being a bit of a contrast to that. At least at this proximity, they would know he was one of them, a fellow ghoul who was also living in the hardships of this cruel world.

[Tokyo's 20th Ward, Nerima - Akinokirinsō Ave]

@Light Lord
A red-headed female wearing casual attire and gloves made her way through the crowded walkway; a silver briefcase in her hand. Everything is so much calmer here. I wonder if any good restaurants are open... Looking around, her eyes were drawn to a cab that pulled over nearby. Out stepped a teen who appeared foreign. Why would someone vacation here of all places? And alone... he's just a kid. Well, he's probably 18 or 19, and he carries himself maturely. Still though...

Now caught up to the teen, the woman would casually slide up beside him, "You're not from around here, are you?"

[Tokyo's 20th Ward, Nerima - Akinokirinsō Ave]

@Ninian
Looking up from the glowing screen of the cellular device, the jade eyed teen glanced over to the woman that had pulled up beside him. His arm lowering to his side as he nodded. "Yeah. I'm here as an exchange student in the University of Tokyo. I'm just trying to find my way around. Do you...live in this ward?"

Delsin's gaze began to then fully take in the woman's form, attention being drawn to the case in her grip. I think I've seen that briefcase before....She's not dressed like she's heading into work or anywhere formal though....

@Light Lord@FallenTrinity

---

Akihiko was going to reply to the young man until someone else had approached their table. An older guy from what Akihiko could see, but he was quite friendly toward them. "The coffee has a different taste to it than other shops, so yes, the coffee is great so far." He gave a smile towards the guy. He was going to let him sit at the table, but remembered that it was not his table to be accepting people, so he nodded toward Kaito. "It's not my table, so if he doesn't mind then I have no complaints."

Even if he did get the impression that the guy was friendly Akihiko felt something was off about him. It made him feel a tad bit uneasy, so if Kaito were to accept then Akihiko would take a shot at trying to see what it was that gave him this strange feeling. He knew he hadn't met the guy before, so it wasn't that the guy had some beef with him or something. Whatever it was he was curious, but he wondered if Kaito had felt the same thing.

Maybe not, maybe it's just me.

[Tokyo's 20th Ward, Nerima - Del Real Cafe]

@l0ck0n@FallenTrinity
Twisting his neck to look left to the new comer, the bespectacled 'teen' looked Katsuo up and down for a moment, before waving a hand and gesturing towards an empty chair. "Sure, go nuts. We were just kinda talking about how we both ended up here today. Me, it's basically because I need caffeine or I might not function for the rest of the day. Had a few long nights recently."

Though Kaito appeared to be presenting himself in a calm, casual manor, his inner thoughts told a different tale. His brows furrowing a bit as he begins to tap his fingers on the table. Man, aren't I popular today? I'm not too worried about Akihiko, but this other guy is totally faking it. You wouldn't need to fake friendliness unless you got something to hide. I wonder what his angle is?

[Tokyo's 20th Ward, Nerima - Akinokirinsō Ave]

@Light Lord
"An exchange student? You sure picked the worst time. I hope they made you get all your shots up to date? Most colleges do. You know, the meningitis vaccine is pretty important... it's really easy to contract it in a dorm environment." Waving her hand, she stopped herself before replying to his question, "Annnyyyyway, no I don't live here. I actually have an apartment in the 1st Ward, but I figured since I'm off today, I might as well go see somewhere that's not virus-ridden."

A smile crossed her face, "Anyway, sorry, I'm Noriko. Want me to show you to Todai?"

[Tokyo's 20th Ward, Nerima - Akinokirinsō Ave]

@Ninian
The comment of the horribleness of the trips timing only made Delsin shrug as he crossed his arms. "Yeah, I know. I've been getting that a lot. It was impossible for me to reschedule this." A slightly confused expression over took his face as he looked forwards. "Though you're the first one to warn me about meningitis. Usually it's just warnings about Shi no te I hear."

Looking back over to the woman who began to smile, the inky haired teen returned the gesture. "Yeah, that'd be great. Thank you. I'm Delsin." Walking in silence for a moment or two, Delsin looked to the crowded streets ahead. Eyes clouding in thought. "So, the only things I've heard is what's on the news....Has it really been that bad here?"

@l0ck0n@Light Lord



"Thank you." He gave a slight nod as he sat down, taking a sip of his coffee as he did. He glanced over at the one with the glasses. His smile didn't waver, but he did open his eyes slightly to get a look at the guy. It was strange, he usually was the one to give someone that look of distrust. It was surreal to be on the receiving end of it. He snickered a bit before glancing up at the tv, noting that more ghouls were killed by the vaccination due to heart attacks. The news had just left a sour taste in his mouth as his charade dropped slightly if the subtle clenching of the jaw was able to be seen. Unconsciously mouthing [I]"Great...more dead"[/color]. He sighed before looking back at the other two. He stayed in silence for a moment before looking back up.

"So what do you two do when outside of the shoppe? What do ya do for a living?"

^{[Ryuu Motors, Adachi Road, Tokyo's 20th Ward.]
@Shadow Daedalus}

---

Natsuko pressed the butt of the cigarette into the ashtray underneath her thumb, barely even looking as she squashed and twisted it to and fro. Inside the workshop behind the two mechanics, tools were slowly returning to their work - no doubt, the break was coming to an end. She took her phone back in hand as the man next to her let out a bit of a grunt, no doubt starting the gradual process of psyching himself to get back to work.

Natsuko let out a quiet 'heh' at the tongue-face in Ryuu's reply - being the totally-hip internet lingo she was, she wondered exactly when doing a capital P had gone out of fashion; although the reality really is that she really had no idea what she was on about and was more-so pretending to herself to feel a bit better. She thumbed in her reply, not too unlike before:
[if you've got a better spot then ez, we can go there. the flu's made it hard...] she'd pause for a moment to mull over her choice of words before she continued: [i knock off at 4. c u then? going back into the shop now.] Natsuko pressed send before taking a moment to stop and wait, making sure it went off successfully. With that, she stood with an exaggerated groan then turned to offer a hand to the man.
"Get up, tubby." Natsuko jested, as he took it. She helped heft him up before trailing in through the door.
^{[CCG Headquarters Building, Tokyo's 1st Ward.]}

---

Tsubame let out a loud, innocent yawn as she stretched her arms out from underneath her Ouran High School Host Club bedset. It was so nice waking up naturally, especially on a work da-
...
Her eyes grew wide as the reality began to dawn on her. The lingering fatigue from the morning was gone that instant. She snatched for her phone, complete with a pink case and a little charm hanging from it depicting a shooting star. The screen came to life to reveal...
[Wednesday.] She let out a quiet "E-Eh..." as she glanced up to the time, shaking with anticipation:
[13:08]
"Eeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhh!?" she screeched, as she flew out of her bed with the approximate energy of the city power grid. She raced through to the kitchen to slam a bit of toast in the toaster before bounding on through to the bathroom. It was going to be shower by means of excessive deodorant this mornin- afternoon...

In a time frame almost worryingly short, she burst out the front door with a piece of toast almost as black as ash in her mouth, her bag haphazardously carried over her shoulder, and a note from her mother in her hand which she hadn't even read. She knew she was going to get scolded for being late. "I just can't bear it..." she thought to herself, "T-They look so scary when they're angry..."

She burst through the door in what must be the most entertaining displays of the day. During her run, one of her buns - tied messily and with almost no regard - had fallen out, while the other barely hung in there. She was panting and a little sweaty, but this didn't stop her from rocketing up to the receptionist and bowing so many times, so vigorously, that the other bun flew out mid-bow, sending the hairband flying out at near-supersonic speed.
"I'msorryi'msorryi'msorryi'msorryi'msorry!" she almost shouted. The receptionist let out a quiet sigh as he muttered something to the effect of "Again..?"
^{[Higu's, Tokyo's 20th Ward.]}

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It was hard to tell what was more shady inside the popular bar and gambling venue: the lingering cigarette smoke on the ceiling, the various suspicious men shouting and jeering about the odds and losses at the Mahjong tables, or even the odds and losses themselves - some looking far too big for them to afford. In a table towards one corner, with some relative privacy compared to the rest of the tables, an assembly of well-dressed if not suspicious men slipped mahjong chits and gambling chips about: traditional-style tattoos poking out from unbuttoned shirts and rolled sleeves were common, the odd few were missing fingers, and a reserved sign sat almost discarded on the edge of the mahjong table.

"Fuck Satuko," let out one of the men, "ditching out on the regular game like this. What's he even doing anyway?"
One of the other men let out a scoff. "Chasing after high school girls, probably..."
The only woman at the table, dressed like she was meant to be on the red carpet with a dark belt about her neck, spoke between smoking her cigarette through a dark cigarette holder. "With money he won last time, probably... How do you feel about your money being used for that sort of thing, Daiki?"
Daiki let out a vague 'hmph' as he pressed a mahjong chit forward, into position. A short, stubby glass with a wood-colored liquid plus a few ice cubes sat in his hand, and a cigar sat in an ash tray next to him. "I'll get him back for it. You know what happens when someone skips a game." A few odd chuckles and snorts came from about the table as they silently agreed on what the punishment would be. Daiki lifted his cigar to his mouth, taking a few puffs before blowing out the leftover smoke and setting it back down. He chased it with a small mouthful of whiskey.

One of the men at the table glanced out towards the rest of the bar. "Think someone'd come over and join in?"
One of the other men snorted at the suggestion. "Who wants to play mahjong with a bunch of men missing fingers? That's actually old enough to be in here, anyway."
"They'd play if Satsui tempted them over." jested the first man, glancing to the woman. One of the other men and the woman - evidently, Satsui - burst out into laughter.
"Are you joking?" chipped back the man who laughed, "She looks like she'd lure them to the edge of their boat with a song then drown them."
Satsui playfully hit the man with a gloved hand. "What are you trying to say?"

Once again, the table laughed.

[Higu's - Tokyo's 20th Ward]

@vFear
"Actually, I wouldn't mind playing a few games with you gentlemen."

Before the table of various tattooed men, a short, spindly man dressed up in red blazer approached them with a slow, care-free stride. A short glass of some sort of clear liquid idly drifting in one of his held up hands as a set of muted green brown eyes set upon the table along with a smile. "Of course, that's only if I'm welcome to. I'll admit, I haven't played Mahjong in quite a few years."

[Ouma Residence, Nerima, Tokyo's 20th Ward] -> [Black Cat Cafe, Shinagawa, Tokyo's 9th Ward]
Interactions: Natsuko Mizushima (via SMS) @vFear

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Ryuu slid the door to his family's home closed softly, shaking his head with an amused smile as his mother gave him a teasing goodbye. Pulling out his phone from his top pocket, the device flicked to life as he unlocked it to check the message he had received a few minutes prior. He quickly typed out a reply before returning the device to his pocket and pulling on his glossy black helmet as he reached his parked motorcycle.

[Meet you outside the shop at 4. Let you know about dinner plans then.]

The device secure in his pocket, Ryuu turned the ignition of his bike and pumped the kick-starter, the supercharged engine roaring to life with a pronounced growl. Slowly pulling the vehicle away from the modest neighbourhood, he cruised along the roadways until he weaved onto the motorway where he opened up the engine and the powerful vehicle tore along the asphalt. Without a specific destination and nothing to pass the time, Ryuu simply enjoyed the feeling of the air rushing past him and the roaring engine between his legs until he spotted a small cafe not far from where he was. Shrugging to himself a little, he pulled off and guided the two-wheeler down the adjoining roadways of the 9th Ward.

Parking not far away, he tucked his helmet under his arm before walking the short distance to the cafe. Reading the sign to himself, he gave a small half-smile at the cutely styled kitten-shaped plaque.

"Black Cat Cafe, huh? Seems decent..."

Stepping through the door, a small bell chiming his arrival, his gaze slowly crossed the quaint cafe. It was average size for a cafe, with maybe 20 or so tables, but it was comfortably warm and the scent of coffee was hanging in the air. The whole place was littered with black cat mofits, but it was tame enough to still be tasteful, like cat-shaped name badges and paw-prints on the cups and saucers. It was moderately busy with about half of the tables taken, but he found no difficulty in finding a free table thanks to the clean layout of the cafe. Settling into his seat, it didn't take long for a waitress to approach. With a small but charming half-smile, he gave his order.

"I'll take a large espresso, black please." The waitress nodded with a smile of her own as she jotted it down in the small notepad resting in her breast pocket before disappearing behind the counter to prepare his drink. A few minutes later, a steaming cup was set down in front of him and he looked back at the waitress with another smile. "Thank you."

With a light blush on her face, she quickly left to serve the other customers as Ryuu turned his attention back to the phone in his hand, or more specifically his 'dinner plans'. As a rule, he only hunted those undesired by society, such as serious criminals or predatory ghouls, so he was on the look out for a target that would fit the critera, and he had narrowed it down to two, one was a Yakuza group that frequented a Mahjong bar in the 20th ward, but the other... Tilting the china cup to his lips, he made up his mind. He has some 'reservations' to make in the 11th ward.

---

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[CCG Headquarters, Chiyoda, Tokyo's 1st Ward]
Interactions: Tsubume Fukui @vFear

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The only sound to be heard in the quiet office was the slightly irregular 'thwip' of turning pages as a lone figure sat behind his desk, looking over the filed reports of some of the ghouls in his area of interest. Rank 1 Investigator Arashi had the files of several possible targets suspected to have been active in and around the 20th Ward: Theater Fox; Sinister; Chaos and Ronin to name a few. Flicking through a few pages of the former-most ghoul, eyes skimming over the unconfirmed reports of possible links to an illegal racing circuit, his concentration waved for the briefest moment as an electronic chime signalled the arrival of the Rank 2 that was supposed to be his partner-in-training. Finishing the report he was reading, he sent off a quick reply acknowledging the receptionist's heads-up before pulling himself from his seat and making his way down towards the main lobby.

As he arrived, he was greeted by the sight of his new white-haired junior rapidly bowing to the bemused receptionist for what was possibly the fourth time in half as many weeks. Smoothly catching the projectile hair-band before it could impact his left cheek, he let his naturally cool expression to settle before he spoke, making his presence known to the girl as he bowed slightly in greeting.

"Tsubume Fukui, I presume? My name is Arashi Onahara. We'll be working together from now on."

[Tokyo's 20th Ward, Nerima - Del Real Cafe]

@l0ck0n@FallenTrinity
The newcomer's odd snickering and uncomfortable jaw movement made the charcoal black haired boy scroll his eyes up to the TV as well. He bit his upper lip. Looks like he's freaked out too, aren't we all. I really wish I had something concrete....I just hope I'll be able to find something tonight.

Reaching up on the table to click a button on the tablet's edge, Kaito picked up the blue cased device and brought it into his lap as he looked to Katsuo for the question. "Oh I uh, I just work at a grocery store. Goro's General Goods and Grocer. I haven't gotten a super involved job yet since I'm still in collage. I was thinking of going into prop design since I do a bit of it on the side." Tilting the tablet up into a vertical position, he propped his arms on it. "What about you guys? Oh, and I'm Kaito by the way."

[Shinagawa, Tokyo's 9th Ward]

@Shadow Daedalus
As the man would sit and idly ponder his plans for the night's meal, the sound coming from a small, flat-screened television sitting on the wall behind him would suddenly become more noticeable. A small blue and white slider at the bottom of the screen's display showing that someone, likely one of the various waiter's in the cafe, had touched the volume switch on the devices remote and turned it up significantly.

"We've also gained recent reports of violent activity. Be aware that the images shown in this report, will be graphic in nature."

The clearly dyed blonde female reporter pursed her rosy red lips as she looked down to her desk to fumble with some sort of paper, before the scene cut away to what looked to be footage from a recent crime scene. Yellow tape stretched across an extremely lengthy gap between two small apartment buildings, obscuring most of the empty lot. Men and woman dressed in black suits and hat stood by and chatted with each other in hurried whispers, while other people of importance in suits of white and grey moved to look beyond the yellow tape as the camera followed behind them.

"For the past week, this has been the daily grind for many Police and CCG Investigators that frequent the area of the 12th and 15th Wards."

The blonde's assertive and serious tone voiced over the footage as the scene switched once again, but this time to a static image. A man no younger than fifty, with balding scalp and an errie smile, lay on the concrete staring at space. His clean polo and jeans showing no rips or tears, his arms were neatly positioned straight at his sides, and his legs pointed straight down to form a perfect line. Though if one looked to the balding man's neck, it appeared to be bent at an irregular angle. The flesh bulging out and the veins beneath causing the peachy skin to bleed into a purplish color.

"A string of murders, each with victims left in a similar position. Though a broken neck is the assured cause of death for all of these victims, the method of killing, and the identity of the killer, has many members of the law perplexed."

The scene shifted once again, this time to an extremely blurred image of what looked to be a figure bathed in white. The lean figure looming over the edge of a brick walled building. A white cloak obscuring the figures face, upper body, and legs, though one of the figure's spindly arms stuck out from the cloth. A glinting oblong object in their grasp.

"This is the only image a lone photographer was able to capture of the killer before he was assaulted in the back of the head by an unknown assailant. The nickname given to this killer is 'Poltergeist', their methods always seeming to have them escaping the scene of the crime at nearly the exact moment that law enforcement appears, and as shown before, leave no mess of the body. Questions of whether the killer is human or Ghoul has been a hot topic of debate. For no visible Kagune has been confirmed by the CCG patrols on the sightings, and there has been no evidence of feedings. Though, impressive speed and dexterity has been noted on several occasions."