RoflsMazoy

Akasha Agency

Oh man I just realized I really ain't used to responding promptly for RPs anymore. Gimme a tick and I'll get some responding done about now

Akasha Agency

Alright we have officially begun! Sorry for the very long wait after all. Couple of things I want to add before you get to posting;

1. You can skip the prelude if you would like, it's just a little establishment of background plot threads. The important part is the post First Night, and is most immediately relevant to you.

2. This does reveal NPCs history to you. Your characters should have differing kinds of relationships with each NPC depending on how long they've been with the particular Shokuden, but you can kinda just lob anything at me as long as it's within reason. I can always roll with it, you can pretty much do anything up to being an old friend of either of the NPCs as long as it makes sense.

3. You can still continue to submit characters at any point. If they come in after many posts IC we just have them come in wherever it is in the current time.

Now, just a couple things for general posting stuff which I didn't have time to mention up until now. These are more like "it'd be great if you could do them" rather than anything set in stone, and also some details which I can't find a better way to advise on at this current time.

-In your first posts, we're treating it as introductory but it'd be great if you could end the post or slip somewhere in there a statement of intention. Just like, organically, what would your character like to do tonight? Who would they like to be teamed up with if they're going on a mission? This'll just make it easier for me to pick pairs/assign cool missions to specific pairs/groups.

-Detail time; so Specialists can do missions at Rank 3 and beyond. Up till then, they do have to do the program aspect which'll be run by Gotou within the Shokuden while everyone else is running a mission. I think I'll only be doing it if we actually have more than one specialist participating though...

that's about it at any rate, hope to see your posts soon!

Akasha Agency

Akasha Agency - First Night

Japan, May 4th, 2020, 9.30 PM.

At exactly 9.30 PM down to the second, the Sentouji Shokuden opens its doors for the evening.

"Welcome!" "Welcome!"

Two voices cry in unison as the ever familiar glass doors swing open. Sentouji's Shokuden is located almost in the centre of the South side of the city. People pass by its unassuming façade every day. But at night, no one can mistake it. The old bar with its mundane exterior, gives way to shining metal, polished wood, and colourful glass.

The twin hosts of the Shokuden. Their faces would be familiar for those with a history with the specific Shokuden, and the Agency as a whole. Amari[余吏] Sakura[桜]. Holding the valued rank of Dispatcher within the Agency, she is in charge of all mission and personnel assignments for the Sentouji South area. She is gifted in the Arts, especially in the practice of Uranai(Divination).

A young lady with a heart of thorns. Although she often clashes with certain Agents, as well as other Dispatchers from Sentouji's North side on the rare occasion that their jurisdictions overlap, she was always held in check by her grandfather Amari[余吏] Garou[餓狼].

Overseer for the Sentouji South area, who manages the Shokuden's physical operation and the condition/utilization of the space it is in. Due to declining health, he has decided to relinquish the role and is succeeded by Amitsu[上密] Gotou[五島], also known as "'Five-Finger[五指] Gotou[五島]". A young Specialist who was reportedly close to the old Overseer (and by extension his granddaughter), and presumably this is why he was given the position.

He is known to be kind and caring, but the details of his past are not known to many, even those who frequent the Shokuden and have worked with him side-by-side beforehand. He has not done this with many people, but even before the current time, he has been seen often in his training from the old Overseer to assume his position. A group of three, although one was inexperienced, and one beginning to have visibly declining physical capabilities, had been the usual sight at the Shokuden for the last six months.

Now it was just the two of them.

Many familiar faces would be met tonight, as well as a few new ones. Whatever challenges were ahead, Sentouji City's Southern hosts would be ready for them, and so would the Agents they would lead.

"Welcome, Agents, welcome! So wonderful to see you!" Amari Sakura exclaims. "We have quite the selection of missions for you tonight!"

"And before that, we have quite a variety of drinks as well," Amitsu Gotou adds. "Ah, but no alcohol to minors, of course. And we won't let
you drink too much."

"It's a long night ahead after all!" "It's a long night ahead after all!"
They say at the same time.

The Akasha Agency was open.

Akasha Agency

Akasha Agency - Prelude

Japan, May 4th, 2020, 9.30 AM.

"…The pattern has remained stable throughout the past 3 months. We believe we are due for another surge at some point this year or next year," A bespectacled young man said. "But we are sure that it will be well within our capabilities. As usual."

Fukuda(福田) Sora(空). A young(relatively) member of the Akasha Agency's main branch. Though the main branch does keep a large amount of their strongest combatants on hand, enough to defend Tokyo in case of invasion, a large amount of the branch's personnel was devoted purely to administrative duties. One such person was Fukuda Sora.

In the darkened room, before a small conference table, at which sat five other figures, the young man delivered his report. Unlike him the one speaking, they were visibly much older. A few attendants stood at attention around the room, but not many. These were some of the most powerful men and women in the country. A special panel of the Minister of Defence, Minister for the Environment, Minister of Occultism, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, and the Prime Minister himself.

This was a 6-monthly briefing on the state of the Akasha Scourge. Carried out within the central headquarters of the Agency itself. Begun in the outbreak's earliest stages, it had continued throughout the years, unbroken save for times of national emergency. Before the Agency would deliver their report in front of parliament and the public as a whole, they would deliver it here behind closed doors.

"The specific numbers are enclosed in those folders," The young man said, indicating the manila folders the aides held.

The folders held copies of the report they would be formally giving. The Ministers would be free to make redactions as they saw fit before the report saw the light of day. In a time when the goal of the Agency had been to counter panic at all costs, this was something which had seen heavy applications, but it would be truly rare now if any of the Ministers decided to raise the black marker.

"And that makes the conclusion of our report. Thank you for being very patient with us, Ministers(大臣)." Fukuda said, doing a short bow.

He remained keenly aware of their gazes as he raised his head and met the ministers' eyes which were all on him. Because now came the dreaded call.

"Do you have any questions for us now, Ministers(大臣)?"

Fukuda watched carefully for anything out of the norm. Any indication of displeasure or distaste.

"Where is Musazishi Zoroya?" They said.

There it was. Fukuda kept a thin smile.

Of course it was the same question. It was always worded in a way that could not be misinterpreted. And that strange, strange name. They were of course, asking about the Akasha Agency's founder.

"…I'm very sorry to say," Fukuda answered carefully. "He has not made his return as of yet. We will endeavour to inform you as soon as we have word that he has been sighted. Please rest assured, we can operate at full capacity even in his absence."

He was an eccentric by all accounts. Many suspected he was a foreigner, and the strange name certainly added to the rumours. But the thing about Musazishi Zoroya was that no one had seen the founder in many years. Fukuda Sora had never even seen a glimpse of him, save for the few pictures there were of the man himself.

This was the exact same answer he had given the six or so times he had conducted this meeting. The response he'd honed and trained to deliver under these… circumstances. A misstep could end his career, or even the whole Agency if it was dire enough. He had to give the answer purposefully, with confidence.

The deadly silence continued.

"…Very well." They replied. Fukuda was flooded with relief.

It was over. In polite unison, they rose from their chairs and allowed Fukuda to vacate the room. They said their goodbyes, and the curtains were closed on that short, chaotic chapter of his life.

---

Fukuda stepped outside and sighed loosened his tie. As always, it felt like he aged a good 6 months every time he had that meeting. By all accounts, it had gone swimmingly so he really shouldn't complain, but the way his muscles tensed left always left his back sore afterwards.

As he stretched his arms, he heard the faint flick of a lighter, and caught the distinctive smell of cigarette smoke in the air as a figure rounded the corner.

"Akemi-san!" Fukuda called out.

The sight was usually a surprise to many who toured the Agency headquarters for the first time. Kurosawa(黒触) Akemi(明美). She stood almost 6 feet tall, and was always clad in a stark grey suit. She was a Yokai. A Kitsune to be precise. She was one of the most powerful members of the agency. Both in standing, and combat prowess.

She was a Kitsune with 7 tails. The highest among the Kitsune who remained as Operatives of the Agency. Reason being, Kitsune with even more tails were close to being their own Divinities. They were almost too powerful to really have to deal with such mundane matters, even when it was to do with the Scourge. Even to the Agency, who often dealt with the Spirit World, it was rare to see one a Kitsune with so many tails.

She looked him up and down as if reaffirming who he was.

"Ah, Fukuda." The senior kitsune said.

She looked up as he approached, a lit cigarette hanging out of her mouth. Her face had the tell-tale creases of weariness from overwork. But there was an untouchable aura of youth. She was older than Fukuda. Older than the Agency, even.

"How did the meeting go?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

"As well as it ever has," Fukuda replied, bowing his head. "A few small hiccups, but I think the Ministers were still alright with me."

"That's a relief," The kitsune smiled. "You're the one they like the most, it'd be difficult to replace you if they decided to act odd all of a sudden."

She took a drag of her cigarette and look out over the blue morning sky. That's right, if she was here this was her smoke break. It would be good of Fukuda to let her enjoy the moment in peace. She worked the hardest out of almost anyone in the Agency. Part of that was her position, part of that was her nature, or at least he guessed so.

When the Kami made contact with the human world to deliver their ultimatum, long before he was even born, they had decided to send some of their servants to remain in the human world as a permanent point of contact between the Human World and the Spirit World.

She was one of them.

A servant of Amaterasu. She had been given the task of keeping watch over the Akasha Agency, and by extension almost all official operations of Yokai in the human world. Not only that, but she was a highly skilled Arts practitioner, and was second to none with the sword. And even though she looked stern, she was remarkably kind. She insisted on being called by her first name whenever possible, even by the new staff.

"Ah, Akemi-san!" Fukuda suddenly piped up. "I didn't notice, you've formed another tail! Congratulations!"

He didn't know much about Kitsune, but he knew for all Kitsune, growing another tail was quite a feat. Kitsune used their tails to store power. Once they had accumulated enough power over their long life, it formed into a new tail to join their others. It wasn't as easy as he was making it sound, he was sure. It was quite a long and arduous process still.

"Hmm? Oh. I suppose I did." She said, looking back at her own tails as if she was counting them for herself.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Yes, she was an 8-tailed Kitsune now. But she still seemed the same as ever.

"Are you going to celebrate Akemi-san?" Fukuda asked excitedly.

"…Mmm, I suppose we won't have as much work in the upcoming season so now would be an opportune time," She replied.

"…" Fukuda was mystified. It wasn't his place to just assume what he felt was wrong, but…

"…You seem distracted Kurosawa-san," He said hesitantly. "Is something on your mind?"

She seemed to stop to think for more than a few a moments before she replied.

"I suppose there is something on my mind," She finally sighed.

She rubbed the back of her neck and massaged the bridge of her nose. As if she was letting out something that had been weighing on her for some time, but the burden wouldn't be lifted yet. Not for some time, it seemed.

"…You wouldn't have known, but shortly before I joined the Agency was the time when I gained my 7th Tail," She said after a while.

"Really?" Fukuda said. He was certainly surprised.

Akemi-san had grown used to human perception of time after a while, but he remembered her talking about her time serving as one of the many kitsune under Lady Amaterasu as if it had, in essence made up a majority of her life. At least for a large amount of the time she had spent serving her, she had 6 tails and not 7.

But crucially, as the gears worked inside his head, he realized…

"That means you gained a new tail within the last 50 years…?" Fukuda said as he did the calculations in his head.

"That's right." Akemi replied. "Forming a tail within 50 years is normal for your earliest tails. The first, second, third, could all probably be obtained within 50 years, although every Kitsune is different. But the energy required increases exponentially every time. 50 years for your eighth tail? That's certainly unheard of."

She paused to take a drag of her cigarette.

"…It's just a little odd." She said after a time. "How long have you been in the Agency, Fukuda? 3 years? 4 years? You started as an intern and now you're already giving reports to the Prime Minister."

"Those in the Agency see their talents grow and flourish at a blistering rate. Is it just the environment, or is it something else?" She let the question hang in the air.

Fukuda was speechless. Of course, she was right. Fukuda was young, by almost anyone's standards. He was only 26 years old. He had risen fast in the Agency, to a position where no one could replace him, and his only direct peers were almost a decade older than him. While it had its share of challenges, he was privileged. That's all he knew.

"…I'm afraid I don't have an answer Kurosawa-san," Fukuda said sheepishly.

He had to admit that he really had no idea what it could be. Though he was at such a high position, he hadn't had time to stop and look at the base of the mountain, so to speak. He couldn't say everything that went on in the organization. And by the way Akemi had confided in him led him to believe that even she wasn't sure of the root cause.

He lifted his head to see Akemi looking over him with a tired smile.

"That's quite alright Fukuda, treat it just as the musings of a tired old fox," She said.

She looked up towards the sky once again.

"Some mysteries just aren't meant to be solved yet. I'm sure the answer will present itself with time."

---

Once the break was over, the two headed back inside to discuss the details of a personnel shift with some particular significance to Fukuda on the way back to their stations.

"You're asking about Sentouji?" Akemi asked.

"Yes, it's my home town so I'm a little worried about it," Fukuda sheepishly admitted. "I heard they were replacing the person who runs the Shokuden because he's retired now. I know it's been a problem area before, but it had been going well for some time from what my relatives in the area told me."

"Ah, you're concerned about his replacement?" Akemi said.

"Yes, I've heard he's quite young," Fukuda said. "I met the dispatcher for Sentouji coincidentally, once upon a time. I've heard it hasn't become any easier to deal with her since then…"

Akemi gave him a look which had become very familiar over the course of his time in the Agency. The look of 'oh, what an adorable human problem', which she did every so often. It was hard to see it coming because while many things in the way Yokai and humans perceived things was different, there were areas of similarity and between these areas was when that look occured.

He supposed she'd had prior experience with someone difficult like that, which prompted the look.

"I don't think you'll have to worry much," The Kitsune said. "The replacement was trained directly by the previous head for a time, and besides, he's highly qualified for the position."

"You might know him as 'Five-Finger Gotou'."

Fukuda had in fact heard of him him. He had made waves in the Agency for rising through the ranks extremely quickly as a Specialist. In less than a year, he had already been running solo missions, and now he was even running a Shokuden?

"He's even younger than you are, although I don't imagine you'd envy his position much if you know our Dispatcher in the region as well as you say you do." Akemi said with a light-hearted laugh.

"I think I'd have to agree, Akemi-san…" Fukuda said.

Fukuda wasn't sure where the future was going.

He hadn't been here for the fight against the Scourge in its prime, but the scars could be felt even by a civilian like him in this day and age. At any moment he knew that it could return one day in its full force and utterly overwhelm the Agency. But being here, it felt like being next to possibility itself.

He couldn't see anything but a bright future on the horizon.

Akasha Agency

Alright, illness is pretty much over, I'm determined to finish the post today. Also @AtomicNut I forgot you PM'ed me your character sheet, (approved btw). Feel free to put her in the character tab

Akasha Agency

I seem to have caught the flu so that post is gonna be a little while longer .-. Can't really think super well right now

Akasha Agency

Dropping a post to say that the post is well on its way. I think I'll have it done by next Friday, and I really ought to so I'll definitely be trying to make that happen. Once it's finished we'll be starting, so make sure you get anything else you need to add/change about your character done before that.

Also feel free to DM me about anything you want to really do with your start (if there is anything) in case you need to ask about any details of anything and whatnot. Still plenty of time to change stuff around.

Akasha Agency

@Cu Chulainn
:( Understandable

Royal Rumble!

Ok all, I want to say that's the concluding post for the Ball, from now on we'll be preparing to launch the next arc. You can still continue stuff here, but as soon as we're done with preparations we'll start the next arc immediately. I'll be consulting with @KillamriX88 and @Gentlemanvaultboy for the specific logistics on this one, but the arcs are more or less set in stone. Hopefully details will come pretty soon, but it may take a little bit.

Royal Rumble!

Guiding Light and Dreaded Venture, Part 2

---

The child of light looks at the scattered stars in the night sky,
and wonders; "How can I turn them into constellations?"

--

Alto walked the length of the balcony, watching the going-ons below. A million thoughts drifted through his mind. A million possibilities, anxieties, worries. What the hell was he really doing here, when there was more work to be done? His whole life had been obligations on top of obligations. But now he could see something he truly wished to do, and he wasn't sure if it would even make a difference.

The Zodiac Council. He didn't know whether to call it bold, or just laughable. What would it really achieve? He had no idea. It would be easy to implement it. He just had to reach out and sign the documents willing it into existence. But if he did such a thing, if he did implement it and it failed to win the hearts and minds of his students, then it would be better never to have tried it in the first place.

Such was the nature of faith. If he failed the trust that he would build up with such an initiative, would he ever be able to earn it again?

He paused in his advance and turned to fully take in the view of the ballroom below. He didn't let the lights and sounds distract him from the scenery down below. He knew in that crowd, he would recognize them. The people from that day. The ones he'd passed by on the stands, faces stricken with terror as he made his way towards the battle in front of him.

Always… always, that was where he had been going. Simply the next battle, and the next one after that. Vanquishing all of the obstacles in his path. But how could one hope to vanquish the darkness of the night sky?

He relaxed his grip on the railing as he returned to his journey forward. That's right… forward was the only way to go now. If he wanted to unite the stars, he first had to reach them. Even if he didn't know the way and he had to head into the darkness to find it, he was the Child of Light.

He would find it, no matter what it takes.

---

The child of darkness looked at the same stars and saw only the broken ones.
And all she thought was; "How can I make them whole?"

--

"Well, I do have to say that I didn't think you had it in you." King said, smiling his usual smile to a certain pair of figures.

They were twins it seemed. Blonde hair, blue eyes. One looked older than him just by her countenance. The way she walked, the way she stood, the way she composed herself in front of someone who was ostensibly a stranger. The other one was about what you would expect, hiding behind her 'older' sister.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said after a time.

King wasn't buying it. Whatever 'it' was. At least he was being a bit subtle about it.

"Even if you don't drop the act, I'm going to keep talking and pretend like you know what I'm talking about." King said. "It doesn't really matter to me, either way."

The older sister let out a sigh, as her hair color changed to pure midnight black, and her face seemed to ripple and take on different features entirely. Or perhaps just their normal features. Behind her the younger sister did the same thing.

"Speak your words, King." Clara Deimos Erdrigan said. "They better be worth the time. Enough at least, for a night of peace to be interrupted so."

"I'd honestly prefer if you weren't listening in on this too, Ria," King called over his shoulder.

"Ah… shit." Ria cursed to herself.

She had been watching the exchange from behind a potted plant. She had gotten curious and decided she wanted to know who it was, that King of all people was pressed to find them. And find them why? And who would it be but Clara fucking Deimos Erdrigan?

It was, honestly, so pretentious to use a middle name in normal conversation. She had to add 'fucking' in the middle to avoid gagging. Not even her family did it most of the time, but she hated it when they did. She'd never even met Clara face to face, and she thought she would hate her too.

But as Ria sheepishly stepped out from behind her hiding place, she was surprised that Clara looked… normal up close. Just a normal dress (or dresses, in this case). Not too made up, because she was likely relying on whatever magic she had used to disguise herself for that. She was pinching the bridge of her nose, shoulders slumped forward as her next breath surged up into her chest and was let out as another sigh.

"…Ariel, how did she get past the sentries?" She said with a pained expression.

"I-, I-, I'm not sure…" Her little sister stammered out. "Um, they should still be up, h-how did you…"

"I saw them." Ria replied curtly. "I calculated their trajectories and blind spots. It was easy to slip past once I knew."

She kept her reply short and sweet. It would be bad to let Erdrigan know more than was necessary.

…Not that there was much to know, but if she didn't keep it controlled she might let something slip.

…Not that there was anything to let slip.

Clara levelled her gaze with Ria's uncovered eye. Once the wariness went away, there was a quiet determination that she could see. Her Divine Eye was the one that was out right now, and she saw that Clara's eyes were unwavering. There was always those people who were so proud of keeping eye contact with you. Never mind that it bordered on creepy (well, not just bordered, let's be real here). But even for them, her Divine Eye could see all of their little tremors.

It was a rarity to see someone's eyes be completely still, like hers. To be so clear and focused, like hers. No matter who it was, the eyes never lied. Eyes were their own little beasts, after all. It was possible to control them by giving them something to feed on. So she wondered, maybe not for the first time, but she was curious what determination it was that fed her.

King's determination was so sporadic, so batshit that she was starting to believe he really was an alien. This was… a change, she supposed she would put it. Getting treated as an equal for once, was… nice.

"You're quite the formidable person. It's nice to meet you Ria Koehler." She said.

--

"Welp, that went pretty well." King said, sitting down next to Ria on the stairs.

Ria didn't say a word back to him. Not for any one particular reason. She couldn't be around while they had their little talk, so she'd trudged back out to the stairs to stew on it. It's not like she really had to know in the first place.

"I'm guessing you want to know what happened over there. Well, it's not anything too complicated." King said. "She just wants to kill her dad, that's all. Need to take care of something along the way, but that's the end goal."

…She felt like she was on a sitcom for a second. What was she supposed to say to that? Was that meant to be funny? It was impossible to tell with King's expression. She could barely remember a time where he didn't smile. Even in sombre moments, she supposed.

"…Are you serious?" She asked him flatly.

"Yeah, pretty serious." He said.

He took off his crown and rubbed the back of his head. Before getting up to stretch his shoulders and letting out a yawn. Ria had never seen him do that before. It was such an odd thing to say, but she'd really never seen him do any of that before. As he finished yawning, he sat back down twirling the crown on his finger.

"There's a lot to that part." He said. "Not really my place to explain. Not anybody's place to explain but hers."

So he was being tactful for once. They spent a few more moments in uneasy silence. Well once-a-fucking-gain, it was only uneasy for her. King was smiling and whistling without a care in the world.

"Is this going to involve the rest of the Vigilantes?" She sighed. It was the only question she could ask.

"Well it's going to be all that… above board so to speak, so that's probably a 'no' for most of us." King said. "Are you interested?"

And he still wasn't telling her about what it was they were doing.

"No. I'm not some adrenaline junkie who needs a fix every time they show up in public." Ria said, getting up onto her feet. "I'm not like you. I'm not sticking my neck out for no reason."

"Yeah, that's a fair point. I'm not expecting you to, either." King said with a hearty laugh. "I already have an upfront payment ready for you, if you want to hear it."

"…?" Ria looked at King, puzzled, as he pulled out his phone and showed her the screen.

"Check it out, I got Clara's phone number!" King said.
_{"I got Clara's phone number!"
"Check it out, I got Clara's phone number!"}

That last line King said reverberated around in her head for what felt like minutes. She felt her soul leave her body, but her body wasn't having it and yanked her back to reality, whereupon she immediately released a massive spit-take, before running up to King and grabbing him by the collar.

"WHY THE FUCK WOULD I WANT HER NUMBER?!?!" She said as she started to shake him violently.

King couldn't do anything but laugh, and laugh.

"I don't know, why would you want it?!" King was still laughing, even more uproariously than before.

"I DON'T want it!" Ria shouted.

She would've choked King right then and there if the other-partygoers hadn't started to hear them. She was the type to say she didn't really care about attracting attention, which was mostly true. But the wrong kind of attention. It didn't matter what the people watching her saw, but if word got back to her family in a way that wasn't the right way… it would be HELL for her.

So she put him down and dusted him off, before putting her arms square on his shoulders, looking him in his sunglasses and saying.

"Let's take this somewhere else…" She said with a cold, deathly smile. "Shall we?"

--

"I can't believe you, King." Ria huffed as she paced back and forth. "You have to be out of your fucking mind, this has got to be the stupidest fucking thing you've ever done."

"Ha, the stupidest? Really?" King replied coolly. "Didn't we decide to try to fight a guy who could rip open dimensions a month ago?"

"…Alright, second most." Ria conceded.

"Is it even the fourth? I've done a lot of stupid shit." King laughed to himself. "Why're you so hung up on it this time? What's different about Clara?"

That's right, why was she so hung up about it? It was really, really stupid, but she never usually let this kind of stuff get to her. If it was that easy for her to crack, she would've strangled King years ago. But she didn't. She was here, now. All she had to do was calm down, and-

"Oh hey, she just texted me," King said.

"…What?!" Ria said.

In the short moment of clarity she'd just had, she'd reasoned through a few things and she assumed first and foremost that King had gotten Clara's number to help further their work arrangement more than anything else. Was it… not for that?

"It just says: "…are you doing alright down there? We heard the commotion from all the way up here."" King relayed.

Ria creaked, creaked her head upwards, and sure enough, there they were. Clara and her sister Ariel, peering down through a window at them. A look of genuine concern on their faces. She felt her face contorting, but more and more was the warmth rushing to her cheeks. She hid her face in her hands and breathed, but there were so many thoughts rushing through her mind that she couldn't make sense of them all.

All she was compeltely aware of was King laughing the hardest he'd laughed all night.

…But she felt good. If she thought about it in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't like her everyday life with her family. It wasn't like school, or most days with King. It was like anything not to do with school, and most other days with the Vigilantes. It was just… good. She felt good.

"You know originally I did call it a payment as a joke," King said with an impish smile. "She told me to give it to you anyway. It wasn't all about work. Although it was mostly going to be about work. But still!"

"If you wanna cover for yourself, tell it to her," King said as he jumped to his feet, while motioning over his shoulder at where Clara surely was.

Ria kept her face covered because she was sure Clara was still watching from above.

_{"…You set me up."} Ria finally managed to squeak out.

"Did I?!" King smirked.
--
The party would go on, long into the night.
The little stars, continuing their journey,
towards one another, away from one another.
Soon a new chapter will begin.
But for some, tonight remains sweet.