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    1. Cottonmouth 9 yrs ago
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"After my time away I'm afraid I'm gonna have to start from scratch. I've lost a lot of notoriety." Nemo replied. "Most well known magic organizations find my existence to be both a threat and an insult. So that's an easy one. Other than that I have to worry about assassin in-fighting. A good portion of my colleges have enough respect to keep things civil, but that's not always the case. Everybody wants to be considered the gold standard, killing me would remove me as a competitor and also significantly boost their reputation." He explained.

"Retaliation from somebody who I've done a job against isn't as much of a problem as one would think. Anybody worth their weight knows that attacking me would be like fighting the weapon used in the act. It's a guaranteed net loss from the start. What they really want is the person who hired me."

"In the era building up to the standoff between Felix, his team, and I, there were a couple of noteworthy adversaries. Karl Magnussen, a former Dutch Academia professor gone rogue. He was renown for having an exceptionally large manapool, and thus being able to pull off incredibly destructive spells successively without draining himself dry. Magnussen's radical splinter organization had been causing havoc in multiple French towns, he planned to eventually raid a underground museum which preserved powerful artifacts with the end goal of obtaining an item that he believed could amplify his magical prowess to the point where he could destroy the Academia's colleges and eventually collapse their organization." Nemo explained.

"After being tipped off with what's to come, the museum hired me both as protection, and to eliminate Magnussen and his cause. After gaining information, I began to pick off his members one by one at a distance to cripple him. Magnussen took it personally, and over the course of a couple weeks escalated it to a standoff. I sieged his base of operations, slaughtered his lackeys, and then fought the head honcho himself. His destructive capability wasn't a bluff, it rivaled mine quite well, but in the end my absorption ability gave me the upper hand, and I later consumed all that he had. I didn't even have to torch his base, as he did that himself quite well with his recklessness."

Nemo got up from his seat before continuing. "The other I can think of is Sir Charles Reginald Glastonbury III, bit of a mouthful. He was a British manhunter who operated in South Africa. Charles was a big game hunter at first, but eventually got the taste of magi blood and never went back. He was an example of what I talked about before, someone looking to gain reputation for killing me. As a game hunter it's in his nature." Nemo placed his hands in his pockets. "When I was on a trip that brought me to Swaziland, Charles ambushed me out in the wild. For eight days and nights we exchanged fire with bolt action rifles. Moving, or really crawling only when it was safe, eating and drinking only what we had on us and what could be found nearby, not a lick of sleep. When the sunrise of the ninth day came, I caught a glint of his scope and fired."

"I thought I had killed him, but by the time I reached the place where his body would be, it was gone. Turns out the bullet lodged in the scope, only blinding his right eye. After two days I tracked him down to his humble abode and we had ourselves one final duel. He cheated death once, but after getting downed by a rifle shot to the chest, he didn't get back up." Nemo finished, walking over to the door.

"All this talk has got me parched. And after seeing those Japanese blades earlier, I'm in the mood for green tea. Care to join me downstairs, Raiya?" Nemo asked, opening the door.

"I like what you did with the name and the uses of the crosses, very thematic." Nemo replied, lightly and rapidly clapping his hands together for added effect.

"Very informative, very serious-serious. Only one more base to cover though. Who are your enemies? A person like you is sure to have some people not too happy with them. I'm not saying this in a mob favor sort of way, unless you want me to do something for you. But anyone who's after you will be in turn also after me now. Guilt by association." Nemo explained. "And I like to know what I'm up against, despite how spontaneous I might seem." He added.
"Ah yes, while I was putting together my outfit, it got me thinking." Nemo started as he found someplace to sit. "I don't know all that much about your Crux gang. My work makes knowledge on things like that valuable, so I was wondering if you could tell me a bit. I've been out of the underworld scene for eleven years, so I could use a bit of catching up." Nemo explained, crossing one leg over the other. "What's new in New York? How's competition? Any good stories?" Nemo specified. "As usual, I'll tell you whatever you want in return."

Nemo stood silent, his grin soon dissipating and his arms falling down to his side as Raiya responded. After she left he left out a small sigh, not saying anything. Nemo walked over to the record player, which had been turned off not long after Raiya entered the room. He pulled out a new record from the shelf and took it out of it's sleeve. After replacing the current record he dropped the needle, playing Bobby Darin - Beyond the Sea.

Nemo stepped into the bathroom, his hair now completely dry, and ran his fingers through it it push it back, inspecting his appearance.

"I'm not insane." He softly spoke to his reflection in the mirror to break the long silence.

"I haven't gone mad." He added.

"I'm in control." Nemo repeated the mantra a couple of times, steadily growing louder in tone. Once he reached a borderline shout, he started to violently punch himself in the face with the top of his left fist. By the time Nemo was done, a steady stream of blood trickled down from his nose and mouth into the sink, spattering deep crimson red all over the white porcelain. He hung over the sink until the stream trickled out.

Nemo raised his head back up, looking at himself in the mirror. A good third of his pale face was stained with blood now. He used his tongue to lick up a decent portion of the liquid, followed by a small guttural laugh. Nemo spawned a small blue crystal orb roughly the size of a gumball. It had a faint glow to it, and anybody using manalysis would be able to tell it was filled with a significant amount of mana. Nemo then opened his mouth and popped it in like a candy, swallowing it whole down his gullet.

The action had quick results, through the mirror one could see the small cuts Nemo caused with his self-inflicted beating rapidly begin to heal. Finished with his mana supplement, Nemo started to wash the remaining blood off his face in the sink till there was no trace left of what he had done.

After relieving his stress, Nemo crashed back down on the couch, listening to the remainder of the record.




A couple minutes went by before Nemo exited the room, judging by his appearance it seemed to had diverted it to a wardrobe change. Nemo wore his usual black boots and accessories, a pair of bright pink velour sweatpants, a white tank top underneath a black button up bowling shirt. The shirt had a leopard print collar and piping around the edges, and worn with the top buttons undone. A black leather asymmetrical moto jacket worn unzipped. Unlike Raiya's the only motifs adorned on his piece was one circular white and black metal smiley face pin on his lapel, and a white X painted the back of the jacket, clearly a play on how most of the members of Raiya's crux gang had upside-down crossed painted on them. And finally, he wore his black and white polka-dot silk scarf around his neck and loosely tied together below his chest.

Nemo strolled over to Raiya's room and knocked on the door three times before opening the door. He seemed unsure of what to say at first. "I do hope my ensemble is up to par?" He noted, comically spinning around in a circle in the doorway. "You're right, these jackets are quite warm and cozy." Nemo added.

Nemo's expression went deadpan during Raiya's reply, hiding his emotions towards it. Once she was done, Nemo hesitated to reply, clearly thinking for a few moments. He slowly raised from his seat, "Do I look like someone who does what's good for him?" Nemo asked, a small smirk appearing on his face.

"Evil is a strong word, I don't think you're evil, and that's coming from me, "The White Scourge", the "Mad Dog from Nowhere." Before I was captured in the public eye I was labeled one of the most wicked forces money could buy. Nobody is free from evilness, but what I think matters is why? Why is it so? The way I see it, every action has a good and bad side to it, people often choose to only see the side they want. Even evil things can have a goodness to them, something that's too easily missed. What matters to me is why did they come to be, and what purpose do they serve?" As Nemo talked he seem to put an extra effort into making his actions seem theatrical. Speaking off towards walls as if there was an audience there. Dramatically spinning around in a circle. All the while he slowly began to step closer to Raiya till he was standing only a few feet from her.

"I've long considered myself to be a tool, a weapon. I'm meant to be cast aside once I've outlived my usefulness. Even if you betrayed me Raiya, it wouldn't be unjust until the third time you've done it." Nemo finished, outstretching both his arms towards her in an invitation to make good on that hug he suggested earlier. "Life's more interesting when it's lived within arms length." He added with a grin.
"But you still have... what were their names..." Nemo started, tapping his temple a few times while he thought. "Ah yes, Tsukihi and Akane?" He remembered after a brief pause. "Are they not your friends? At the very least close comrades." Nemo asked.

"I understand you and Felix have had a falling out, I'd feel hurt if I was you too. Fear of betrayal is common, rational even, as the damage it can do isn't limited to physical. It can leave scars in your mind, something that can take much longer to fade." He commented. "Being betrayed makes it seem like that to them you weren't worth it, that you weren't of value. Which is an especially despondent thing to be inflicted with."

"It's only human to want to feel treasured by someone else, it's a good feeling. I'd like to think I'd be a good friend, double crossing somebody I share fellowship with is a thing I think I'm incapable of dreaming up. To somebody like me having a bond with someone is invaluable, there's nothing anybody could ever offer me that I'd put above it." Nemo explained.
"Oh... well, I have lots of friends." Nemo replied, somewhat halfheartedly. "Business friends. They do favors for me, and I do favors for them." Nemo clarified.

Nemo broke eye contact with her, resting his arms on his lap and looking downwards. "I suppose that doesn't really count, does it?" He admitted. "No, I haven't ever had a friend. People were never very fond of me because of my appearance. In the beginning it was hard, but I've gotten used to it. Now I see it more like an advantage, my lack of any type of relationships makes it impossible to use against me." Nemo explained.
The enthusiasm in Nemo's face and voice seemed to have been curbed by Raiya's response.

"I suppose you're right... It's probably not a good idea." He replied, tapping his pointer fingers together. "We could try doing some bonding exercises?" Nemo suggested. "We could hug? That should probably work."

Nemo didn't seem to have much experience with what he was talking about, which wasn't much of a surprise.
"I'm sure one will turn up sooner or later, and I'll be waiting for that day." Nemo replied, holding out his hand to levitate the sword back to him. "I've got it, for the handicap I'll just have to use this. I need practice anyways." Nemo said, sounding somewhat enthusiastic about it.

"Do you think we should come up with some sort of combination spell?" Nemo asked.

"I got it as a spoil of war from one of my past jobs. It's former owner was a man with samurai heritage living in Kyoto. The sword was passed down as a family heirloom for quite some time." Nemo replied. "That's how I knew the sword's effects were real. As I got to see it's influence on him first hand." He added. "It was a worthwhile fight, and a worthwhile reward."

"I get my hands on a lot of things." Nemo said, wiggling his fingers. "If there's anything you need, all you need to do is say the word."
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