<Nocturnal Harmonia>

[Apollymi]

Makima was lightly amused, the lad was well in the know, and connected well enough to have a pretty sound understanding of a certain individual's personality. He claimed she was playing hard to get, but for that to be the case, the young woman had already figured him out and was likely toying with him on purpose. That's how she saw that one anyway, "I doubt she was playing at that part, but perhaps she's calmed down as she's gotten older~" Makima said. It'd been a while since she last spoke to that one, perhaps she would. Ah, but it'd wait for just a bit, at least until the lad was done servicing her. And she'd just barely eek out another orgasm before sending him on this way, and leaving him with another 49 percent Intimacy to sit on. "Ooh~ Good boy. Run along now, can't keep a Dungeon Break waiting too long~" Makima said, though she sounded relatively calm, she was practically beaming, if one was capable reading her moods.

"Yay! I get to see this one... I wanted to see the other one but I couldn't have tagged along," Miko murmured mostly to herself. "Toru-pyon you can drop them off and 'keep watch'. I can't have monsters eating the zoo animals at Ueno," Makima mentioned. She wouldn't have the pair completely separated from their new mentor, but she would have them acting on their own. Miko looked a bit surprised, as it seemed gates could literally pop up anywhere but there had to be a bit more rhyme and reason to it. No matter they'd be heading out and Miko would be wondering exactly what work they'd be left to do in keeping this field from invading a zoo.

[Bloodedge]

The woman they spoke of would possibly be hearing from both Yugi and Makima eventually, for different and similar reasons. He'd have to find himself a train at some point. It would be foolish to try contacting her via phone. Even if the System phones weren't accessible, he couldn't risk what could be done to any normal device, or any nationwide probes. The lengths his father could go to were ridiculous. Whatever the case, Yugi was wrapping things up with Makima soon enough. Yet another buff came his way from her acknowledgement, so he'd take a moment to check overall. "Status," he said after rising. There were a few more stat points to allocate, and one very interesting threshold teetered upon. "Oh? 49%. You almost have Inventory access," he said casually while distributing points.

Gojo Satoru, the designated mentor of the Players, was tasked with... dropping them off at the latest Dungeon Break. One who knew him well enough could tell in his lax expression that he intended to do that literally. He'd already been through a C-rank Gate today; a B-rank Dungeon Break was far too boring. Getting close to that field wasn't a plan for the white-haired male. "I'll pluck out my extra eyes and drop them in their pockets. That'll work, right?" he joked, extending a hand to each teen. Those hands would be dragging the pair toward Satoru, who would once again carry them with no physical contact ─ into the air this time. "You heard the lady! Go join the new team and make sure a giant mantis doesn't confuse a tiger for its made. You know what they do with those?!" And with that, Satoru would be 'flying' out of the association headquarters. To the skies and across the city they'd go, until the trio floated high above a growing swarm of spiders the size of cats, ants the size of wolves, and a dozen or so centipedes that could rival small trains. "Oh. Never mind. No mantises here, nothing to worry about! Now where's that dead guy?"

[Apollymi]

The woman they were speaking of would definitely hear from both of them, but that wasn't a matter that needed any direct discussion. Both Yugi and Miko had similar thoughts about the potential risks of contacting people closer to the Prime Minister's radar. No matter what care was to be taken. At the same time, Yugi was checking his stats and Miko remembered her own because of his words. "Right Status..." Miko murmured looking at her own stats and thinking about them in an odd way. No matter what Makima was one who had reached 49 percent as well. "Oh, Inventory Access..." Makima said. there must have been some sort of limitation, she supposed she'd be questioning that further when they got back, she had a reasonable amount of faith they'd be alright regardless of what they faced.

Still there was the matter of their upcoming placement and Miko being dragged towards Gojo who was picking them up to literally drop them off. Miko managed to look a little pouty. "This has to be what kittens feel like," she decided that being carried around in such a way wasn't bad though. It definitely was starting to grow on her as a feeling. Right up until they got where they were going. "I feel like mantises would know martial arts and I don't want that..." Miko confirmed her own feelings. "I don't think I want to see one getting busy with a tiger..." she said her brain trying to imagine it and then abandonging it because the idea was too much. Soon enough the scene itself was upon them and full of something else. "Eww, this would be the dungeon a guy like that allowed to break, something full of things that make my skin crawl. I can hear all those fucking legs moving," she said cringing as she always did when she heard sounds like that. As for their dead guy. "I'd assume near something not so dangerous..." Miko said listening for the man even from their current height.

[Bloodedge]

While Miko thought Satoru's method of transporting them wasn't so bad, Yugi detested it. Something about being picked up and carried by another man was demeaning inherently. He didn't complain, however, choosing instead to log that away for later... when he was the more powerful one. For now, the primary concern was the field-type Dungeon waiting below them. There were tree obvious forms of insects, none of which were appreciated by the teens. It had to be terrible for one who could hear the way Miko did ─ dealing with the creepy crawlies in massive form was even making Yugi's skin crawl just slightly. "You know... those would be pretty cool if I didn't have to entertain the idea of being touched by them," he observed.

As for the former strike team leader's location, there was a reason he wasn't already seen or heard. He and another ragtag group of Hunters were on the field's outskirts, looking inward. Satoru seemed to already be looking in the right direction. In fact, the trio would suddenly find themselves floating over that very group. "Alright! The Hunters Association doesn't want anybody but their special favorite guilds taking out the bigger Dungeons like this! The leaders of my guild are in on it too. They gave me the worst group to take this challenge, but if you follow my orders, I know we can all take it on together! Who's with me?!" he asked of the others. In that moment, Satoru called out from above. "These guys are!" he said while dropping the teens into the group. "Gift from the association! They'll carry your sorry ass! Give 'em hell, my sweet, succulent pupils!"

[Apollymi]

It became obvious that there was a gendered difference in the appreciation of Gojo's movement style of choice. Miko didn't mind being transported, though she would have preferred a method which put her in more physical contact with the man. The three types of insects made a weird sort of ecosystem and would definitely be problematic if left to their own devices. and where Yugi thought they might have been cool aside from having to touch them potentially, Miko couldn't agree, "Iia, I definitely made one of those makeshift flamethrowers and almost set the house on fire trying to kill one of those thousand legged demons, when I was being a bit manic. I got a very stern talking to about how even accidental arson is still arson," Miko admitted. She definitely wasn't one who found creatures with multiple legs cool. It wasn't even fear it was simply a matter of how strange she found the noises they made.

No matter what they were moved into position to help with the Dungeon Break. Miko heard the words of their 'benefactor' and knew them to be lies based solely upon what he'd heard the man saying directly to Makima earlier. "Ugh, it's going to be one of those. You can do the brain thing, I'll follow your lead," Miko spoke on her general plan to Yugi as she'd been doing most things in the previous outing. This man had all the vibes of an early game turncoat mini-boss. No matter, it was worth it to keep track of his lies and pay attention to this new group to see how was falling for it. He'd talked up his own group to Makima, not even taking her advice to bring another other more advanced Hunters, and now he was claiming his group had been trash. That wasn't going to go over well if anyone used their brain even a little bit. "Eeep♪~" Miko chirped as she dropped. She'd not expected to be volunteered by Gojo but it wasn't too bad a thing to have happen having it mentioned that they were a gift from the association was a good thing for rooting out problems but very bad considering the apparent 'social suicide' that came with their current ranking.

[Bloodedge]

Before they were dropped into an unwanted party, Miko shared part of a story with Yugi... about her past dealing with centipedes and the like. It was the type of thing one expected to hear only as a joke ─ things like 'burn it with fire' touted as the only true answer to insects. Regarding the lecture she got about arson, he could only wonder how old she was at the time. "I... don't think you'll go under for arson because you burned your own house down," he commented. Yugi's eyes were shifting about, already establishing a path through the field of giant insects. Such was the case until Satoru moved them.

Once moved, they would have to deal with... a very bad liar who benefitted from speaking to those who knew none of the important information. Without tarrying about, Miko shifted the lead to Yugi. He sighed, but he also preferred that as an idea. "Sure, I'll be the leader of pretending to follow some annoying dickhead's orders," he said. Just then, they were dropped. Satoru left the pair to land on their feet, but he had no intention of descending with them. Other Hunters among this group thought otherwise, though. "Oi! Isn't that Hunter Gojo?" one bowman said to others nearby. "Did they send him and his pupils? I didn't know he had pupils!" said another. At the same time, the leader was looking at the younger pair. "You two again? Is this one of Kaichou's plans? You don't seem like much; what rank even are you?

[Apollymi]

Miko was an extreme person, she realized this to some extent. She took certain things like 'burn it with fire' quite literally when it came to her own desire to destroy bugs that disturbed her peace. Of course, in sharing the story with Yugi she figured it was just one of those things, he'd understand knowing that he knew her parents. As for her age at the time of the 'incident', it was in her more recent past technically about about 6 months before she met Yugi. "I mean probably not, but it would have been hell replacing that piano," Miko asserted. No matter, they were being dropped into a party and it was not going to be a pleasant experience.

Beyond that Yugi claimed that he'd be in charge of pretending to be in the charge of a dickhead. Miko nodded, she didn't know when an official switch would take place or how long it would be before the situation became villainous but she figured on the fly thinking was best left to the one with less extreme reactions. In this moment the people on the floor seemed to wonder about Gojo's presence but Miko knew he wasn't going to involve himself. No, this would be a 'struggler's battle' that was the only thing that made sense to Miko. What didn't make sense was after those people spoke, this 'leader' immediately tried to sow discord. He brought up Makima, tried to claim these kids were part of some plan of hers and also immediately questioned their usefulness. For a man who'd had his whole party wiped he was full of audacity, 'Really, 35 seconds into our first Dungeon Break and we're already being checked by a Silver Saint. The same one who didn't follow the Mommy's directions in the first place, stupid...' Miko mentally mused. She looked to Yugi, having let him take the lead she'd only spill the beans after he did.

[Bloodedge]

While the team leader was busy grilling two teens he'd encountered only once before, others were freely discussing Gojo Satoru as if their savior had arrived. "Well he's the one who said it! Obviously he does, but that's not important! The association sent an S-rank to help!" one of the men spoke while Satoru himself scoffed overhead. "You wish I'd waste my time helping a bunch of brokies like you~" he teased.

As expected, Yugi and Miko were asked about their rank by the man who thought himself in charge. He'd already sacrificed an entire strike team. Yugi figured telling their official rank would lead to them being on the list of future sacrifices ─ especially with an alleged connection to the Hunters Association. 'No loose ties' seemed to be the way this man operated, at least in his own mind. No matter. This was too grand an opportunity to waste, so Yugi spoke with full confidence just as others were hoping Satoru's 'pupils' would be worth even a fraction of the man himself. "It's actually our first day on the job. I was evaluated uhh... what was it? E-rank?" was Yugi's response. In that singular moment, there was silence broken only by the sound of insect hordes as the leader and many others fell to disbelief. Surely the association wasn't spitting in their faces by sending even one E-rank to the field-type Dungeon, right?

[Apollymi]

For her part in this Miko took note of the extra voices. The others on this Dungeon Break were obviously disenfranchised or problematic. There was no way a normal person heard the words spoken by the dickhead and just accepted them as the truth without a little bit of doubt. That being said, politicians did get by on simply seeming charismatic so perhaps that was it? No matter what, the one who thought Gojo had come to help was sorely mistaken, even so, Miko couldn't help but giggle at the term 'brokies' which she found just as amusing as him taking her for 'walkies' earlier. Oddly enough she thought he'd fit right in with her group of girlfriends with his oddities.

Ah but beyond that point they were playing a game one which Yugi was in charge of the game board for, as such Miko waited for the perfect timing. Yugi answered the dickhead's question with the information that it was only his first day and that he was ranked E. He said it with almost a question mark like he couldn't quite remember. "Hai, it's E-rank. Remember it's mine too♪~" Miko chirped with a happy smile on her face like she was so childishly proud of herself. The silence created by the disbelief of the others was filled by her little chirping and the noises caused by those insects that were still making her skin crawl just by existing in such close proximity. If it was up to her, they'd be burning or something by now, but this wasn't her dance to lead. So she'd just do her part on hardcore support, even if it was just as comic relief currently. Still her brain was active and so where her senses. Maybe this group was fine with being still targets to insects but she didn't like that as an idea.

[Bloodedge]

The vocal silence was long-lasting. There was confusion, disbelief, anger and everything between among those who heard two E-ranks were assigned to the group. The leader didn't even know what to say for some time ─ long enough that Yugi thought to comment. "Out of words now?" he asked. Finally, the leader managed something, anger-inspired though it was. "Listen here you little shit! Obviously you two don't know how this works. The association sent you here to die; E-ranks are barely stronger than humans. You're here in a B-rank Dungeon Break because you were considered disposable... but don't you worry," he said. The longer he spoke, the more his attention seemed to shift inadvertently toward Miko: the one he'd rather be having a conversation with among those two. "Sato Kenta, A-rank! I'll make sure you two make it out and have a good guild to sign up for after all this bullshit is dealt with. What do ya' say?"

The man called Kenta stood with an outstretched hand while Yugi considered the rubbish he was spewing. All the others were still attentive. If nothing else, Kenta wasn't too bad at keeping his agenda moving forward... but Yugi felt that was the only thing he did well. No matter. "How generous. Well, I think survival is pretty important. We'll do what we can to avoid slowing everyone else down then~" Yugi stated, at which point Kenta nodded. "Good. With the numbers we've got here, we'll split into three teams. Another A-rank Tanker is here to go with him. I guess I'll take the girl on my team and... you, the D-rank over there! You can go third team," he ordered. "Every team focus down one of the centipedes! We don't want to get caught by one of the biggest threats out there. Once those are dealt with, we'll reconvene here to carve a path toward the boss! Clear?"

[Apollymi]

Yugi's character didn't change much from one interaction to another. He was a fairly abrasive individual regardless of the situation at hand. When the whole group was stunned into silence, he simply pointed out the lack of words. Miko supposed, if nothing else, the group definitely felt some odd sense of hopelessness knowing that there were E-ranks being sent to help. She supposed the difference between E-ranks and others was vast enough that they probably seemed like canon fodder. This was likely especially true given how few people seemed to have developed extra sensory techniques. Still, it was their first day, and the dickhead decided to educate them on their place in the world. 'Bronze Saint Status confirmed,' Miko thought about the fact that he claimed they were obviously sent here to die. That likely would have been true for any other E-ranks but that didn't matter presently. 'Oh the appeal is for me,' Miko thought as she noted the shifting of that man's posture towards her the more he spoke. 'Sou ka, he wants to save the damsel, or pilfer the bunny?' she mentally went over that information. Still Miko couldn't fault anyone for believing in him, she figured she'd not heard him talking to Makima earlier, and didn't know he'd already sacrificed an entire strike team, she might have believed he had her best interest at heart.

"Agreed, survival is quite important," Miko said her hands up in surrender at one extended knowing she wasn't going to shake it, but also being the kind of odd polite that she managed to be, "Sumimasen! I have OCD. But I'll do my best, Sato-san," she offered the same awkward smile she'd offered Yugi's father a couple of days ago when she'd not shaken his hand either. And the movement to have her hands up int he air, made that short sweater dress shift around her hips drawing attention to her thighs. She avoided lying about it being nice to meet him and retained a formal distance at the same time. With it, they could move on to... the apparent plan. Centipedes first made her skin crawl, so did the idea of splitting into multiple groups. Miko looked to Yugi wondering what he'd have to say... she wasn't taking any unnecessary points here, but... she could hear the creatures and those ones didn't seem like things that would be taken easily.

[Bloodedge]

Neither of the teens accepted Kenta's outstretched hand, but that didn't matter. Others had seen him make the offer, and he didn't care to make unnecessary contact with some pitiful E-ranks anyway. "Then it's settled. You, with me. You, group two," Kenta stated to Miko, then Yugi. He'd then immediately look to a few other Hunters in the assembly, pointing them out for his own group. "You guys'll be good with me. Let's go," he said. Among the group Kenta called over was a tall male in a black suit, medium-length black hair worn in a topknot. He carried a katana on his back and a lit cigarette in his mouth as he stepped toward Team 1, seeming relatively disinterested in working with Kenta. While Kenta was distracted hand-selecting his own group, Yugi moved toward the next assembly and whispered ─ knowing Miko would be able to hear him. "Should be fine, mostly. Be careful around the centipede; it'll be the first time he tries sacrificing you. Don't trust him to set up his own hero moment successfully," he warned.

While Yugi made his way over to the second team, or rather the 'first rejects of Kenta' as he'd call them, Kenta himself was making the first move into the field. "Behind me, inline! Fighters take anything too close, highest-ranked fighter to the rear, healers in the middle! Go, go, go!" he yelled in an authoritative tone. A red glow encased his body as he charged forward, axe in one hand and shield in another. It seemed Kenta was a Tanker class, effective at reinforcing himself while also drawing the attention of monsters in a small radius ─ one just a little too small to affect anyone coming from the rear of his group with its current size. "Huh. That's dumb. Should've taken a max of five for that formation," Yugi mused to no one in particular while watching that team move out. "Can't help noticing nobody was put in charge of the other groups either. Who the fuck am I supposed to follow in this stupid quest?!"

[Apollymi]

Miko met no resistance about not wanting to shake hands, but her small size and general observations of the man who offered his hand in question said he likely only did it because he was supposed to, it wasn't much, just a hint of the callousness she already knew he possessed. Miko was apparently being put on the team with the man known as 'Sato-san'. She nodded her understanding, while Yugi went off to his assignment. Still, those whispered words of Yugi's weren't lost on her. She could hear him talking even as others were being sorted and discarded. His advice was sound, 'That sounds about right...' Miko said a little smirk coming to her face and wink as he walked by. Her body was turning to look at the others chosen for this first team and the first one she noticed was the one with the lit cigarette and a katana strapped to his back. He had a very no nonsense look about him, 'He's probably more reliable and the obvious sort of damage dealer,' Miko decided.

Meanwhile, once the groups were worked out a certain green haired girl in glasses found herself being put into the second group. Interestingly enough, the boy who was added was the E-ranked one, but that wasn't the issue. Her eyes narrowed as she carried a naginata over her shoulders twisting her back as if stretching. 'He obviously only cares about his own team. The other two are pretty rag-tag.' she thought. Still she looked at that E-ranked teen and thought that she wasn't the type to judge by mana alone, his physical conditioning said plenty about him, and the idea that Gojo Satoru would somehow take pupils meant that there was something else going on here. "If you need someone to follow you can follow me, I'm Maki. I hate agenda pushers and I don't intend to die out here... that being said, you think his plan doesn't work for his people. What kind of organization do you have in mind?" she asked purely curious. She wasn't the type of person to assume people wouldn't be useful because they didn't fit into a specific box, life or death situations required flexibility and technique.

At the same time, Miko was falling in line, between that Tanker and the fighter in her group, turned around to face the back but moving pretty steadily. The reliable man behind her would be one she spoke to, "Nii-san, I hear them coming but all the attention won't be up front," Miko mentioned as she held one finger up to her lips before a quiet snap created that Veil she liked to use so frequently. "Don't be reckless and let me know if you need me." Miko offered quietly. Having a pretty good idea of the spread of the monsters around them. Still, she wouldn't leave the man behind her to anything back.

[Bloodedge]

One team was established, leading the other two to fend for themselves. For someone with an obvious agenda, Kenta wasn't doing very well for keeping faith from those he left behind. While he was considering that, Yugi was spoken to directly by a young woman left to the second team. She was one he could follow, apparently. He stopped to look in her direction, finding multiple things of note right away. She was an attractive one for the more masculine, straightforward sort of gal, for starters. Beyond that, her weapon of choice and physical build implied a reliance on technique above all else. Her mana didn't say much... but Yugi knew his didn't either. "Sou ka. Well, lucky you; you don't get to die out here. You're brain isn't smooth enough for that," he commented with no further detail. This woman had asked him for the organization he'd choose as opposed to Kenta's idiotic decision. How she accepted his response would truly prove her ability to survive. "You're a skill fighter? Easy. If the team only has one Tanker, put that one at the rear. Keep the team small for mobility and easy coverage. I'd put you in front so you have a clear path to sweep through anything without holding back. I'd fall in right behind you, with literally anyone at either side of my rear and the Tank falling in right behind them. It's a basic mow-'em-down strategy where the Tank covers any attacks from the rear and, if they have aggro pull, it would function as a temporary stun to anything rushing the front ─ long enough for you to cleave through them. No healer needed, but if a healer is onboard, they'd take my place in the theoretical lineup."

At the same time, Miko was also finding someone worth latching onto for the duration of this raid. The smoking katana-wielder found his place in line right behind her, only to be addressed within moments of formation. For an E-rank, she had a decent mind for combat. He, too, understood the attention wouldn't be focused at the front of the line. "I can tell. He's an A-rank Tanker, but his defense is stronger than his taunt. You'll be fine in front of me," he said. This man didn't expect to have need of the brunette for any reason, but... he suddenly got the strange feeling of a protective spell. That definitely didn't come from the fighter behind him, and the one he knew to be a healer wasn't casting anything or even looking his way. Was there a False Ranker here? That would make sense of Gojo Satoru's involvement, though it would also be a little too obvious. Well, he'd find out more details as time passed. "You got good senses? Keep an ear open for anything breaking through behind."

[Apollymi]

The girl who introduced herself as Maki was now looking at a well-built lad look her over. Such a thing happened more often than she cared about, but she wasn't the type to care about such things. No, so long as she wasn't underestimated she'd have no problems with this lad. And lo, his first words were aggressive but technically words of praise as well. If she didn't already have a kind of annoying older brother she might have found his speech too abrasive, but she wasn't that type of girl. "It's not luck. I wasn't planning to die here regardless, I worked too hard to die to bugs... even human ones," she said with a bit of snark. Ah but it seemed that look wasn't for perversion sake, he earned her respect by acknowledging her skill and then coming up with a plan that she didn't find terrible. Actually that kind of formation was the kind her brother often ran with his group as well for similar reasons. "That's pretty smart. I'll take point... but I'll have to leave you to tell us where we're going... I figure you got that under control. Everyone else fall in like he said," Maki claimed that naginata came off her shoulder and she spun it around her body as if finishing the stretches. she took a runner's pose and stood with the blade out front, ready to push forward when she knew the direction to go in.

At the same time, Miko was already making her one friend of the day. The man leading this group with his life full of ulterior motives wasn't to be trusted. But the man behind her gave her good vibes. Anyone smoking a cigarette and dressed as he was, wasn't planning on doing anything but his job and getting home. This man had advice and understanding, all things Miko was willing to absorb as she moved in front of him with apparent grace. The one known as Sato, didn't have a strong taunt, but did have high defense, she'd be safe. "I appreciate it, Nii-san♪~" she offered gently making her trust in him known. As for his request to keep an ear open for things going on behind him, she could do that with ease. "Hai♪~" she softly chirped, it would be easy for her to keep track of that, and even hear any whispered conversations if need be. She wouldn't be abandoning this one, as he was most likely to be useful in the thick of things. Besides, she wasn't sure why this man made the choices he did for his team, if the others were already on his side, it could be bad to be sandwiched between two sources of ill-intent. A tough middle was what she planned to be with this man.