[Common Region] Kikka

[Apollymi]

A few days after the events which led to a major set of arrests in in the town of Kikka, a green haired girl with no defining facial characteristics stood waiting near the main square. She was waiting for a white haired lad who was supposed to be meeting her here as her partner for the duration of her next mission. She had previously been a bit miffed that Leonis wasn't to accompany her on this mission, but lived with the idea that it might be fun regardless, since if she was completely sketched out or attacked, she was allowed to start and finish a fight. As this was the sort of thing the girl was looking for anyways, her normally passive face remained but in her eyes, her slit pupils tightened with anticipation. She wore nothing that would have defined her as a Magic Knight, content to wear her ripped jeans with their snake motif, an equally ripped t-shirt and even with a belt on the zipper on her pants was quite low. She tossed around her green locks while she waited passing the time looking like the average loitering teen and garnering similar kinds of stares because of it.

[Bloodedge]

Hikage was to be in wait for some time, but eventually, her partner for this mission would arrive outside the black market. The silver-haired young man named Asher appeared wearing black pants with a hooded jacket that, aside from a deep crimson lining and a long scarf-like attachment of that same color, matched said pants. The shirt underneath his jacket was of a thin white variety, and the shoes he wore for this endeavor were a shade of red to match the accents of his jacket. He was shockingly more well-dressed overall than he had been during the entrance exam to become a Magic Knight, but he felt this didn't matter so long as he didn't look like the royal he recently discovered himself to be. It didn't take long at all for him to recognize the green-haired girl he was meant to meet, and when he did, he stepped out ahead of her to meet that slit gaze of hers with his own deep purple eyes. "Ohayou gozaimasu!" he said with a smile. "Hikage, right? I'm Asher; yoroshiku!"

[Apollymi]

"Yo." Hikage said, her voice was apathetic at best, but she still looked simply as if she was meeting friend. Still, the girl's strange habits would come to light almost immediately as this lad approached meeting her gaze gave her a bit of pause. Most people wouldn't have done this, many said staring at her was like looking an animal in the face, because there didn't seem to be anything going on in her head while she looked at things. In the same way that animals considered prey, she considered people, but this lad gave her hope that he'd be alright. Even so the girl still sniffed the air while staring a hole straight through him. It was as if she intended to look until she felt something. Strangely, from this lad, she felt as if she'd stepped out into the world at high noon after being deep underground. It was as if he shined with feeling, but it wasn't at all negative. His feeling wasn't the warmth and vibration of one like Leonis, or the simple lacking of Heero Yuy, nor was it the bristling animal sensation she got from Artem, this lad seemed to be extraordinary and by her own approximation this feeling was enough. A few seconds after she simply nodded. "You're bright, but not as warm as Leo. You... don't give me tingles but you don't feel like anything bad I guess..." she mumbled this sentence loud enough for him to hear in the manner that was her general assessment of people. If it hadn't been for the fact that she was actually a person, one might have expected an even more ridiculously animal-like greeting. "I understand now..." she mumbled, remembering that this particular lad had been chosen by every single Captain and had chosen to go to the Silver Eagles with the woman who looked a bit like him if she was remembering the situation correctly. Whatever the case, she was excited by the prospect of this mission, so she pointed towards what looked like a sheer wall face and spoke a few more words. "It's there, we can go now... if you want," she said. In her time spent with Leonis she'd been trying to work on first meetings and not attacking people, but she still wasn't entirely sure what she should be saying in conversation with people not Leonis.

[Bloodedge]

Following his introduction, Asher continued smiling in the face of his to-be companion. The result of their meeting was something very unorthodox. Before introducing herself, Hikage sniffed the air between them and drew some strange conclusion about the energy he presented. Asher seemed confused by this, but it didn't seem like she had anything negative to say, so he couldn't question any more than the basics of what had just happened. "I'm... bright, not warm, and not tingly? Haha! That's strange, and I don't know what it means, but I kinda like it! Let's do our best, ne?" With that said, Asher backed away from the girl. The entrance to the black market was pointed out, though it was nothing more than a wall. At this point, it was a given that there was some magic afoot to hide the true alley behind said wall, so he took measured steps forward until he was phasing through it and entering the black market itself. Upon entry, he was surprised to see exactly how full of people this place was, considering how many were apparently against its existence overall. "Ano... there are a lot of people here. Any ideas for an approach?"

[Apollymi]

"Hm, I guess that was weird too..." the girl mumbled once more, still this lad didn't react negatively to what she'd said, so she knew that they'd be alright. He even went so far as to suggest they both try their best, she could do nothing but nod to this sentiment. "Hai." she managed, before she followed Asher towards the wall she'd pointed to. He did the same thing she would have done and took measured steps until he stepped through and when he did, she was right beside him to his right. There were a lot of people in this place, more than she tended to like even moving about, making purchases, even random vendors shouting at passersby to try and get their attention. A shrug would come from Hikage when she was asked how they should approach this, "I was just going to walk around until someone gave me bad vibes. I met another merchant and he was sketchy so I have a pretty good idea of what kind of feeling is off enough..." she said, the girl had very simple motivations, but she wasn't completely opposed to working with someone if she needed to. "But, if you have a better idea, we could do that too..."

[Bloodedge]

"Too? Are a lot of things weird around you?" Asher wondered aloud. Regardless, he didn't much mind his first impression of this girl. She even came forth with an actual idea as to how she intended to approach the black market they were now standing in. Before Asher could respond to her idea, some random individual walked by in a rush, bumping into him and momentarily throwing off his balance from the left side. This took his attention for a moment, but he was soon enough returning said attention to Hikage. "Sou ka... you look into people to such an extent, huh? I think that's a reasonable plan. I wonder what sort of people we're looking for this time, though. The theft ring is said to have been taken out at its head, so... what other sort of illegal activity could we be looking at?" he wondered aloud as he began to move forward.

[Apollymi]

"People always say I am weird. I didn't really care what they think, but Leo says it too, but not like it's bad. So... I'm keeping track of it now," the girl said about her own weirdness. The fact that she shared this information with an almost perfect stranger was likely weird as well, but that was simply how she was. The person rushing past Asher bumped into the lad, and caused him to stumble a bit, seeing this Hikage conjured a single steel blade and threw it at this person's feet intending to cause them to trip before walking by and picking it up while glaring at them without saying a word. She then continued walking, with Asher choosing to answer his questions. "Hai, I do that," she said as for the other illegal activities they should be looking for she shrugged. "In my experience bad people are either, stealing things, stealing people, making evil shit, or killing people... so those are probably the kinds of things to watch out for," she said thinking about it objectively though without sugar coating it at all. "Theft is already covered so evil items, killing people or stealing people are probably the other things on the list," she said with a nod and a completely apathetic look on her face. She seemed to be completely detached but she'd simply lived a rather complicated life.

[Bloodedge]

The man who bumped into Asher was accosted by the efforts of the green-haired lass, though he found this entirely unnecessary. Still, she seemed adept enough when it came to intimidation for the purpose of vengeance. "... Arigatou," he said, deciding after a small amount of hesitation that it was a gesture he at least appreciated at face value. "Whoever Leo is, he's right. You're really weird, but I like you. Weird is just another word for different," he said in the most chipper of tones. As they progressed down the alley, Hikage listed the types of bad people she had encountered in her life, and removed thieves from the list to leave the remainder for what they should seek. "Hmm. We are in the black market, though. That list is probably most of the people here, to some extent. I'll trust your judgement on anyone you think is stranger than the others, though."

[Apollymi]

Hikage succeeded in intimidating that particularly pushy individual and much to her surprise, Asher thanked her for the effort. As she took up pace beside him she looked at him strangely and her left brow rose, only for the girl to shake her head from left to right. "Iie, it was a reflex," she said and it was true. Shows of weakness were very bad where she was from and as such she was content to show none regardless of where she was. Beyond this it was stated by Asher that he liked the girl, and that her weirdness was another term for different and he apparently had no problem with her. She felt strangely about this but nodded. "Arigatou..." she managed as she tossed the knife around in her hand as a vendor queued in on them saying a sentence which would have been normal to most. "That knife is a bit ordinary. Take a look at my stock... maybe you'll find something you like better?" he offered. This man seemed strangely friendly considering he was obviously watching a girl toss around a knife rather casually. Hikage's head turned to the side and she looked to Asher. "He spoke to me... that is also weird. Probably a good place to start," the girl murmured, as she began walking towards this particular individual glaring all the way.

[Bloodedge]

"Iia," Asher replied. As far as he was concerned, anyone willing to openly be themselves without also being some horrid individual was deserving of respect, and Hikage seemed to be such a person. Moments into their travels, one of the many merchants along the path addressed Hikage by taking note of her knife. He claimed he could offer her something superior to what she wielded, and she seemed to think the mere notion of him speaking to her was a bit off. Asher couldn't form a direct link between these things, but he did already state his intention to trust the girl's judgement, so he followed suit.

[Apollymi]

It seemed that true to his word, Asher was willing to trust Hikage's judgement while they rooted out the next bit of sketchy behavior. This particular vender was a rather plain looking man with scruffy blonde hair and blue eyes. He didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary, of average height and musculature. Of course, none of this matter to Hikage because as soon as she was within this man's space her eyes shifted and her entire countenance changed. 'That doesn't feel right...' she thought. Normally if an individual had bad intentions or would be annoying to her, it'd be obvious almost immediately. This particular male seemed hollow to her. Not like her Captain's emptiness as there was magic there, but it didn't seem as deep as she was used to feeling people. It was almost as if he wasn't actually a person. "Come on, how about this dagger? It comes complete with a paralytic magic on the blade. It will completely immobilize an opponent for up to three minutes. Or... the magic can be upgraded for a small fee?" he pitched. This strange man even held out the blade for balance testing to Hikage. Her gaze never shifted from this man, in fact, everything about her face oozed intimidation but nothing about this man seemed to acknowledge this. Even as Hikage caught the knife she'd been tossing around and stabbed it into the stand for the seconds that she picked up this apparent 'better blade'. "Ano, I don't know if I need to paralyze anything..." she murmured, as if starting a conversation with Asher. The blonde man before her seemed to think this some kind of different situation. "Come on, tell the lady she can never be too safe..." he offered to Asher, his voice hollow, his eyes almost empty.

[Bloodedge]

When they reached the merchant, Hikage began an exchange with the blonde male. This consisted of a marked attempt to sell her an enchanted dagger meant to paralyze its victims. As they conversed, even Asher managed to pick up something of a strange aura coming from - or rather, hardly present in - this man. As for the sketchiness of the male, he honed in on something very specific spoken in the attempt to persuade Hikage into the purchase. When Hikage spoke as if reaching out to him, Asher took an additional step forward to take a place at her side, only to be immediately accosted by the merchant, as if the man wished Asher to help sell the item to his companion. He decided to play the role of a potential consumer, if only to prod the man for more information. "I never had use for anything like that in Hage Village, and things got pretty rough out there from time to time. But... isn't everything here a resale? How would you be able to enhance the magic if we wanted to pay you extra for it?"

[Apollymi]

The merchant seemed to take Hikage's hesitation as interest and began to try and pull Asher into helping him with the sale. This of course, made the blonde man talk more which gave Hikage's eyes more time to study the man and gave her a chance to get a better feel for him, and figure out exactly what was wrong about him. The blonde male for his part, managed to wave off the assertion that everything here was resale, but given the information that the lad was from the Forsaken Region he could assume the same of the lass and thus catered the sales pitch for them. "Yes things get tough out there in the middle of nowhere but that is why a lady should be able to protect herself with a little extra oomph. Besides, my merchandise isn't resale, it's all made by a reputable person who happens to think magic items in the hands of everyone is a good thing. Even if you need something a little stronger than say a simple paralyzing spell," he mentioned casually. He wasn't outright talking about anything illegal, and the fact that he refused to mention what stronger than paralysis meant was indicative of knowledge that his words could be taken at face value. All the while there was nothing but supreme aggression coming from Hikage and this man still didn't flinch. "Sou ka... can you put your hand right there fingers spread wide?" she asked of the blonde man who surprisingly enough placed his right hand on top of the counter area with his fingers spread wide. 'No one exists with this little fear... let's find out how much of a not person this is...' she thought to herself, she'd subsequently begin moving this paralyzing knife back and forth between this man's fingers at increasing speeds, stabbing between them with an amount of accuracy which would likely seem to strange to most. All while watching the blonde man smile blandly. "You think this is strange too right? This lack of fear is strange... it's hollow," she mentioned, this entire scenario only made sense if the being trying to sell this dagger wasn't a living being in the same way as everyone else. As such she continued to move this knife between the blonde man's fingers waiting for a fear response and receiving none. "That's a good way to test that dagger, it has good balance right?" the man asked, as if he had no fear of loosing a finger or two when breaking Hikage's concentration. Not that he did... no the girl's fingers continued moving as she thought of what to say next, this time aimed specifically at Asher. "Look around for something suspicious..." she mentioned as she paused mid one of her knife pull ups and aimed to stab it into this creations hand. There was no pain response from it, it continued to only smile in the face of this pair of teens. And it would be left to Asher to notice, a purple haired woman with sunglasses pushing them up onto her face in the window of a small casino across from them and then moving away from the window having been watching the entire time this was going on.

[Bloodedge]

In the merchant's assertion that none of his wares were resales, Asher couldn't help noticing one very important thing. This man, this rather shady merchant, hadn't answered his question at all. Asher looked toward him with slightly-widened eyes as his own thoughts progressed. 'Even so... how would he upgrade them if someone else made them? Whoever he works for must be nearby, but why wouldn't they be selling these tools themselves if it's not resale?' he wondered. Beyond all these things was the apparent emptiness of this man, magically and emotionally. Hikage went about putting this to the test while Asher looked around the alley to seek his own questions' answers.

'Argh! Too many people!' he thought. There were far too many shady and underhanded people looking out for their own benefit here; he couldn't pick a single one from the crowd. One person in particular though, took Asher's attention simply because of a gleam across her glasses which occurred as she righted them on her face. Asher's quick eyes pinpointed this woman who'd been looking directly at them through a window across the street, and as he watched her walk away, he quickly looked back to the fearless, painless merchant. 'This magic...' It was the same sensation, albeit significantly smaller in the husk standing before them. If that wasn't enough, Hikage had already confirmed this man to be some sort of magical construct, or something else of the sort.

"Woman, long purple hair, circle-frame gold glasses with red lenses, and gold eyes. She's about 5'7, headed west from the other side of that window," he recited, taking a moment to nod toward the aforementioned window. "If her pace doesn't change, we can cut her off at an opening in the casino's crowd, in that same room... but we have to move at my pace in about four seconds."

[Apollymi]

Hikage didn't bother anymore with the puppet after stabbing it's hand into the counter top. Instead she pulled her own knife up and turned around to find Asher speaking of a woman he'd picked out of the crowd. Surprisingly, while she acted in a way most would have considered brutish and animal-like, he'd done what she asked and looked for a person who was more suspicious than all others. Besides that, he showed the ability to find similar kinds of mana, finding the one who was mostly likely to be connected to the stall they were now at. His words about her gave Hikage all the information she'd need to identify her and as such her height, what she was wearing, what she looked like and even where she was at this exact moment. He mentioned the ability to cut her off, and Hikage's eyes went wide, there was a mention of moving at his speed to make it though. If Hikage recalled correctly this lad used light type magic and as such this would likely be a bit disorienting. Even so, she was content to allow this to happen. "Hai, do it then..." she said, placing a great deal of faith in the lad's abilities, but he'd already shown he deserved such. Hikage took the initiative to extend her unoccupied hand to the boy, assuming she wouldn't be left behind in this to await this transport.

Meanwhile, the purple haired woman turned her back and began moving through the crowd in the casino. 'Damn it. Even good customers usually take longer to figure out something like that. And those two, are way stronger than most of the people who want stuff from me,' she said, when she pushed the glasses up onto her face she'd seen the amount of mana contained within the bodies of both these individuals and knew she'd require help to get rid of them if they gave chase. She had an entire arsenal of people at her disposal within one of the back rooms of this casino she needed only to reach them, as the crowd opened up a bit, she was about to take a left hand turn down a long corridor away from the commotion which would allow her to drum up her own supporters perhaps.