A Dimir Operation. Why do I keep meeting girls in this mall?

Thu Oct 08, 2015 12:44 pm

Artist: Hanstone - Song: Eternal (Mabinogi login theme, piano ver.) - Word Count: 558

James meandered the halls of the Karakura Central Mall, the orange glow of the setting sun gently falling in through the modern styled windows. Today, however, he was not with Carine. Today, he was on a mission. There was a target in the general area, a demon allied with Shadow Fall who was supposedly kidnapping women from malls. Although he had inferiors who could easily complete this mission, it was rather boring sitting around doing nothing but paperwork all the time. For this reason, James subjected himself to the utter foolishness of the masses. He was in character. All he had to do was locate the target, through any means, and eliminate him. Smiling faintly, he made absolutely certain that to anyone looking, he would appear as though waiting for someone. In the meantime, he critically scanned the area around him, slowly seating himself at the edge of the central fountain. In the upper level, a suspicious figure was being listed as a demon, although when he looked back toward it, it was gone. James stood.

Walking quickly up the nearby escalator, he kept his eyes locked on the area the target left. He was focused, his purple contacts hiding the eyes of a killer. I found you... James thought to himself, putting his hands in his pockets. Suddenly, as if to remind him to pay attention to where he was walking, he quite forcibly bumped into someone. A female. James immediately began in a cool, unforced tone "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I saw my friend there, and I was trying to meet him! I didn't even see you, I'm so sorry!". One look at the girl said she was a Shinigami. The second one this week... And roughly the same power level as the last one. James scoffed internally at his bad luck in bumping into Shinigami inside malls. On the one hand, she might be an ally, but on the other, she might be a defect. A liability. James continued to hold his façade. He would need to get going soon, if he was to intercept the target. "Tell you what, I've gotta run and catch my friend now, so if I see you again, I'll take you anywhere in the store and buy you a gift. Sound fair?" James made the same offer to her as he did with Sayuri. Of course, hopefully this time he would escape without the endless banter of that one. With that, James swiftly made his way toward where the demon signature came from. Scanning once more, it was nowhere to be found. His wristpad wasn't detecting it. Shit! He lost him.
Just like that, his last lead was gone. But at least he knew the target was in this mall. All he had to do now was wait for him to pick up some unlucky female, and release his spiritual energy even for a second. Of the current people in the area, only that Shinigami girl seemed like a valid target, so rather than actively try to protect her, James decided he would use her as bait. Provided her spiritual energy was still present, James would detect her, and begin to shadow her. If her spiritual energy were hidden, he would simply go back to the place he initially found her, and look around for her at a distance.

Thu Oct 08, 2015 2:18 pm

Lycoris
The Blood Shinigami

Artist: Thomas Bergersen - Song: Aura - Word Count: 1047

Then, he saw her. Turning around, she immediately could be seen standing outside of a lingerie store, throwing James off. If he didn't know any better, she might have actually looked like she was in place. But such was not the case. This girl having not even responded to him save simple nods seemed nary the type to stand idly outside of bustling centers full of women, or even people in general. Especially not one as... frilly as that. James snapped into his critical thinking mode. She was looking around with he very same eyes as he was. Standing on the railing on a floor above her, he looked down quite calmly at her eyes. They were relaxed, though her face said worry, her eyes said search. Could she be looking for him? If so why do it outside of a lingerie store? Suddenly it hit him. She's trying to be bait. And doing a damn good job of it too. If she were here on official business, she would have recognized him as a superior immediately... Instead, he bumped into her, spilled rice all over the mall floor and-- wait... It was also equally likely that she bumped into him. It wouldn't be hard for someone at her level to detect him, likewise the demon from earlier probably detected him in the same way... It was unlikely that he would show up here, in all honesty, unless he was stupid like all the other demons James has thus far encountered. Controlling his spiritual pressure, lowering it until it reached passable civilian level, James walked down the escalator towards the girl. She had interfered in his tailing. Intentionally. But it was almost as though she was warning him to check his approach. The girl had skills. Time to pay her a visit.

Of course, it would be foolish to approach her in a manner that would alert her, so James simply completely engulfed his presence in the crowd, and attempted to place two hands over her eyes. His intent was non-lethal of course. He merely wished to surprise her, while simultaneously sending the potential real her the message that he understood why she ran into him. Next, he would begin questioning her. Naturally, he couldn't just barge up to her and declassify his mission simply by asking her what she was doing there, although sometimes that worked best, it was for honest folk. Assuming that his theory is correct, she would not be honest folk. And in the case that his theory about her was incorrect, he doubly so would not want to involve her unnecessarily. Well, beyond the role of bait, which she already had. James chuckled to himself. Then, he would attempt to lean his chest onto her back. "Guess who?" He would say, attempting to dust her off as he let her go, stepping clear into view. "It doesn't look like my buddy's gonna show, he called me just now. Apparently he forgot we were even supposed to be here today. Must have just seen an illusion! Well, what's a pretty girl like yourself doing standing out in front of a lingerie store? Y'know when I offered you anything in the store, I honestly didn't see you as the type to do... that!" James forced himself to think about a loooong night with Carine, giving the illusion of a blush he required for this situation. He would have to apologize to her later, an apology which he was almost certain she'd eat every word of. "D-do you really want m-me to go in t-th-there... with you?" James stuttered nervously for effect. Of course, the real answer he was looking for was why she was standing outside of this place, and not that dummy question bullshit. He honestly didn't care if she wanted him to go into that god awful store. Carine literally forced him to visit it once weekly anyway. It was, to his misfortune, her favorite store. I hate humans, I hate Sueki, I hate Shinigami... And for some reason, they all just won't leave me alone. James shifted his face to a cocky expression, smiling widely down at the girl-- almost creepily. "Or do you want me to go in there and help you try them on?" From his tone, it was obvious he was joking, although he made sure to give her an elbow nudge to let it sink in. Then, he looked away and through the same method, simulated a blush so as not to break character. Pausing a moment, he turned back to the girl. It was likely, assuming she noticed him tailing that demon from before, and also assuming she bumped into him to intercept him, that she would have realized James' bluff. It was now only seeing if she could call him on it, or whether she would play along. Bait should do as bait does, and hang limply on the hook. This hook's name was James.

It was abundantly clear to James that in order to catch this demon, he would need to appear as though he left the area. So rather than tail the girl, which would prove a liability for him in the long run if she decided at a whim to just run ahead and intervene, he decided he would keep her veeeeery close. And if she knew she was playing the part of bait from the signals he sent, she would take every opportune moment to be separate from him, and accessible to him at the same time. Although, on the surface, James would leave no room for error. "Tell you what, I think you're cute." said James, feeling Carine's fist against his cheek preemptively. "How about instead of just one thing from the store, we go explore the whole Mall? I'll buy you anything you like!" Of course, to James, money was not an issue... but if this flaccid and mundane ex-human filth were to take advantage of his kindness, he might just wait a moment or two when she inevitably gets stolen away by the target. It would be unfortunate if that were to happen, as even with her current power level, it was unlikely that she would be able to fight him head on without sustaining at least moderate injury.

Sat Oct 10, 2015 10:43 pm

Lycoris
The Blood Shinigami

Artist: Hanstone - Song: Eternal (Mabinogi Login Theme, Halloween ver.) - Word Count: 889

Although her tone said truth, and her breathing remained calm and collected, a tiny slip in her facial expressions lead James to believe she was lying to him. Affirming his suspicions. To be able to control one's body to such an extent was commendable, but required refining. In order to lie perfectly, James found, one must first be telling the truth. This girl could perfectly simulate the body when telling the truth, but if she even thought to herself for one moment "That was a lie" it would relay to James in her microexpressions. Alas, nice try, filth. She even had a phone to prove herself. It didn't appear she had as much ease at lying as James had. A short nervous breath told him that the real her was not comfortable in social situations. James, of course, would use this opportunity to make sure he was as sociable as he could possibly be. He wanted her to feel this one. For making the mistake of underestimating his ability. James had ensured that he had ambiguity on his side, save for the initial moment when his spiritual pressure was being released. Even so, that would only tell the trained Shinigami one thing. That he was powerful. This, of course, he could use to his advantage. Behind the scenes nudging her with the fear that he could indeed be the one out to get her. But James has only secondary interest in his little worm. He was out to catch the big fish.

She wouldn't mind, huh? James couldn't help but laugh internally at this. She knew she was terrified of him. She made too many mistakes for this not to be clear. And the fact that she accepted, even with knowing that James didn't give a damn about her well-being goes to show the power of money and brute strength. Although, James was far too smart to show her either. For now, he would play the part he had set out for himself.

"Honestly, I don't fancy myself too much of a ladies man..." James said, inwardly feeling somewhat ashamed at the verity of his words. Carine was hardly a lady, given how vulgar and wrathful she could be. "Funny business just isn't part of my vocabulary!" He said, feigning eagerness. He was quite serious, in fact. "Funny business" would not be tolerated... If they were to find this demon, he would need to take her to areas that were isolated, and somehow manage to get her spiritual pressure to flare. It was unlikely that the demon itself left, but rather that it was hiding nearby. In the case that that doll is important to her, in the interest of building rapport, as well as ensuring combat effectiveness in the case that it was offensively important, James decided it would be best to replace the rice he spilled. "Hey, you called me rice boy earlier! I just noticed! No one gets away with that!" He said, stopping dead in his tracks, and reaching to put a hand on her shoulder. "But now that I remember," He would start, attempting to make eye contact with her so as to increase her social uncomfortability. "Let's go and buy you some rice!" He finished. Your fault for playing the reluctant flirt, you incompetent fool.. James thought to himself, all the while maintaining perfect external composure.

He would then reach to grab one of her hands, while simultaneously charging a lamp post behind her with his mana. She likely wouldn't notice this being done, as it was out of her view, but he did make sure she could at least sense it happening behind her, so that she knew that not taking his hand meant being skewered by a sharpened and superheated lamp post. Of course, he couldn't kill her as she was his bait, and he expected her to know this, but he also expected her to understand that he was much more powerful than the illusion she might currently have. He, in short, wanted her to know he was lying too, and that not following cues meant death. Even if in this particular case, he didn't feel she was worth the effort. Fear would make her much easier to control than active confrontation.

Just having the looming threat of death was enough, James believed, to make sure she didn't try any "funny business".

Provided all went according to plan, James would quickly retrieve his mana, and begin running towards a store that sold Asian foods and spices, girl in hand. Once within the store, he would look around, feigning awe at the many different kinds of spices he had no doubt all either seen before with Carine, or tasted a long while ago with Naia Rosewood. "There's so many! You go see if they have rice here, when you're done, meet me in the food court! I could use some lunch! How bout you?" Of course, what James was really saying was that they needed to get the rice, then situate themselves in a place that would be easily accessible for that demon to locate her in. James of course, would be tracking her the whole time, in the case that the demon showed up during the time she was away from him. With that, he handed her the money to buy the rice. In fact, he handed her enough money to buy all the rice in the store... Walking away, and giving her a little wink that he would leave to her interpretation, he walked straight for the food court. It was time to set the bait on the hook.

Mon Oct 12, 2015 8:57 pm

Lycoris
The Blood Shinigami

Artist: Yaroslav Mjelsky - Song: A Man of His Word - Word Count: 903

As the fetid corpse's refuse dropped her phone, James couldn't help but think that she was trying something funny. She obviously had two phones, as he saw from her earlier stint, so his eyes went to her eyes, rather than her hands or the phone itself. He could see no murderous intent, only what appeared to be curiosity. She was testing him. Well played... James thought to himself as he reached out to catch the phone midway through it's fall, displaying his combat reflexes to her as well. But I think you misunderstood something about me. He finished, all the while his eyes locked on hers, never moving. It was a nice trick, but rather than leave himself open and vulnerable, James didn't lock onto hands or moving objects. A skilled people reader such as himself would follow her eyes. If her eyes spelled danger, his reflexes would save him. From this, alone, James inferred that perhaps she was giving up the act.

Although it would make her more difficult to control, James didn't mind if she finally admitted defeat and caved in. It would make what they had to do even easier if he could only tell her why they were following this demon. Although to declassify the mission meant potential failure. He still had no way of knowing that he wasn't indeed the bait, and that a even stronger demon were hunting him, using this girl.

"Whoa! You almost dropped this!" He said.

Sentient garbage.. he scoffed mentally.

"Good thing I caught it when I did!" He said, almost genuinely laughing at her attempt. She was very good, but in his job, he had to be the best.

As she clutched his arm into her breasts, he looked down at her small figure with a smile that, to onlookers would be none to out of place. But to the girl, of course, she knew what it meant. "Nice try," he whispered as he was now in close enough range to her ear to keep others out of earshot. "But I could bend you over on this fountain right now and not bat an eyelash. This isn't some type of anime. I won't be deterred so easily." Finally, he dropped the illusion himself. "And by the way, public displays of affection only draw attention initially. After a short moment, nobody wants to even look." He said, wiggling his fingers at the end of her skirt. "To think you left yourself wide open for that..." He continued, tracing a gloved finger up and down an inconspicuous part of her thigh. Carine was definitely going to kill him. Slowly, if the torture ever stopped..

Honestly, she was no threat if she couldn't even think about the long-term effects of her actions. James grew tired of dancing around, as by now, it was more a hinderance than a help.

Waiting in the food court for the Shinigami to arrive, James sipped some tea he had bought during the wait. Honestly, the girl was taking a tad long, but she remained relatively in the same place, as his engrams scanned. No doubt she was using up all of his money, that greedy selfish sack of false flesh... He genuinely didn't care beyond the sentiment that she might be thinking he needed that money or something. He didn't. After a long and arduous hour, she finally arrived.

"Glad to see you bought the whole store. Have fun on your shopping trip?" He asked, donning his more appropriately serious face. James didn't mind the money she wasted. What he did mind, however, was the time. Taking an hour in a rice store was clearly intentional. "Actually I don't care. Just sit here, look pretty enough to be a target, and don't talk unless I ask you to." James said coldly, looking the shinigami up and down before gesturing impatiently that she take a seat. "Now then, I believe real introductions are in order," He started, reaching a hand out boldly across the table toward her. The same he stroked her thigh with. "My name is James William Caldwell. Despite my somewhat harsh attitude, I work with the Vanguard. I can't actively tell you what I just drafted you into, but I'm going to assume you're not so stupid as to be unable to infer that." It was obvious, and she was smart. That was that.

"So we've just got to wait. In the meantime, I've got to say, I commend your technique, but when you've been in the game for as long as I have, you learn very quickly what works and what doesn't. You could use some better detection methods. For instance, look into microexpressions. They're the one thing a person cannot hide, unless they're drugged or otherwise resilient." To be frank, James didn't care who she was or what she would do with the knowledge. He wasn't paid to keep track of Shinigami. That was the Gotei's job. Unless they were with the Vanguard. "And the phones were pretty sly, but once your face told me 'lie', I knew that all the evidence to the contrary was false. That's just how it is in my line of work. And no worries, I won't kill you necessarily... but if you hinder me, you're dead. You screw up on your end? You're dead. Simple as that. So just don't mess up." With that, James would lean back in his chair and sip his tea.

Tue Oct 13, 2015 12:21 am

A Dimir Operation. Why do I keep meeting girls in this mall? Sengoku.Taiga.600.1929154_zpskxew3rjm

A Dimir Operation. Why do I keep meeting girls in this mall? Illiussharppost_zpss64cjlcw

Illius wandered about the area, prowling for his next date. His kind of romance was of a different sort. All the women he dated ended up dying. But this would not deter him. He still would enjoy every second with this next girl. He was getting desperate.

Illius, was at some point human. After his younger sister was sacrificed to a greater demon, Illius slaughtered the cult responsible, save for the leader, a man known only as Feldspar, who escaped. The Demon which they had summoned took pity on him, and made a deal with Illius to grant him power unlike any other. Despite what you may be thinking, he actually had little choice. There was no way he could oppose a greater demon at that time. Illius' body was transformed into that of a demon. Except, because of how the contract worked, Illius had to find women with spiritual energy that was strong enough to withstand the ritual, and continue to sacrifice them within three months of each other to gain the immense regenerative ability he now had.

As it stood, he was capable of regenerating entire limbs in incredibly short amounts of time. Illius was essentially unkillable. He was particularly skilled in close combat as such, because nothing felt more invigorating to him that seeing the look of fear in his opponent's eyes from close up. He waited for the day he could find that sleazy bastard that tortured he and his beloved younger sister for days, taunting them with hope, filling them with despair... only to slaughter his beloved younger sister in front of his very eyes... Even now, he still felt her blood spattering against his cheeks every time he closed his eyes. He was not proud of what he had become. He was in fact certain that he had at least at some point killed someone else's little sister, or wife, or mother... It didn't matter anymore... He had to adapt... so he'd begun looking for single sacrifices, and taking them on dates. Giving these women at least some time to enjoy themselves before ultimately having to kill them. He wanted to know who they were... burn all of their faces into his memory and never forget who they were, what they liked, how they felt about the world... because at heart, he was no monster... Just a young child who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. His life had been consumed by the concept of revenge, but by now, he wanted nothing more than to thank the very man who had tortured him. He'd taught him how precious life was... He had never killed anyone, save to sacrifice them, and he didn't intend to become a heartless, senseless murderer just yet.

It was for this reason that he appeared in the Karakura Central Mall, swords hiding within their hilts, making them look like an aesthetic design on his outfit. He didn't intend to arise suspicions. Earlier in the day, he had sensed a girl here that fit the classifications, and would easily enough be overpowered, but as he had sensed a far stronger power level with hers, he decided to back off, going to stalk his usual prowling grounds. He was running out of time. If he didn't find a girl within the month, his eternal youth would fade from him quickly. Although it had only been a few years since making the contract, He had been unable to find a girl for this three month cycle. It was looking like he might just have to senselessly kill someone... Illius furrowed his brow at the thought. But if he didn't refresh his contract soon, he would most certainly lose his power, and revert to being a powerless human...

So he returned, standing over top of the railing and looking down at the pair below. "Nyaah~ You're so naughty~" He heard the girl say from afar. It became abundantly clear that she wasn't single... but Illius was very desperate. The man she was with looked a little bit too old to be with her, so perhaps he could use that to his advantage.

Watching her from afar in the rice shop, he instantly fell in love with her aesthetique. She was gorgeous, and roughly looked to be the same age as him. Though, in this day and age, looks could be very deceiving. The fact that he'd left her alone in the store, Illius took to mean that he didn't care enough to treat her right. When she went to the food court, Illius would boldly walk over to the pair and sit between them. The food court was full enough, so he figured he would use that as an excuse to get close. "Hey, sorry for just plopping down here between you guys... I hope I'm not interrupting you or anything! Are you two on a date? Or is this lovely lady single?" He said, looking Lycoris straight in the eyes. Her eyes were just as beautiful up close as from afar. Perhaps even more so. "Cause if you don't want her, I'll take her!" He said, only half joking. In truth, he wasn't sure if he could bring himself to continue like this... It pained him to meet so many beautiful people... only to have to betray them in such a way... Some of them willingly offered themselves, having fallen head-over-heels in love with him, but they were very few and far between. In fact, he could count how many actually did this on one hand. And tell you their names, a description of their face, and what their favorite foods were...

Illius sighed as he slumped into a chair, his body language telling the astute observer two things: That he really wanted to get close to Lycoris, and that he was in deep emotional turmoil beneath this light façade.

Fri Dec 18, 2015 3:48 am

Lycoris
The Blood Shinigami

A Dimir Operation. Why do I keep meeting girls in this mall?

A Dimir Operation. Why do I keep meeting girls in this mall?

Re: A Dimir Operation. Why do I keep meeting girls in this mall?

Re: A Dimir Operation. Why do I keep meeting girls in this mall?

Re: A Dimir Operation. Why do I keep meeting girls in this mall?

Re: A Dimir Operation. Why do I keep meeting girls in this mall?

Re: A Dimir Operation. Why do I keep meeting girls in this mall?