Mia- Ricia and Desu

[Desu Juice]

The gentle patter of rain echoes the young man's footsteps as he walked, his feet careful against the sidewalk, like a cat testing water. He was entirely inconspicuous, unremarkable, virtually invisible. It was a talent of his that he had improved to mastery.


A masked face, built with a terrible grin and ears like a cat, suddenly curved upwards to the sky.


Taka tak tak taka, the rain boomed against its surface, then dribbled down into his black hair, the slick cowlicks framing his face.


"Mon amie, glad you could come." His voice was a deep murmur, smooth like velvet; but it rung as clearly as a cymbal. The end of the sentence curled into a chilling, "Ha ha ha," and a silhouette appeared on the roof above Zachary's head.


The figure was tall, lean and firm. Its white-and-blue baseball outfit clashed against the grime of the city.


It sat perched near the houses gutter, elbows leaning against its thighs, knees belonging to long legs jutted out on either of its sides. A bat was clenched dangerously in one of its hands.


The figure's expression was masked by thick, black shadow- cast by its baseball cap.


"I just want to clean this place up, purify its filth, purify those that-"


"I believe I've heard this speech before, monsieur Batteur."


The Batter abruptly stood, sending a splatter of gutter-water to the right of Zachary. His face was ever-stoic.


The Batter's hand flexed against the wooden bat for a moment, before swinging it up and draping it over his shoulder, "I'll wait in the alley." With that, the figure dashed across the building, leaping onto another roof beside it.


"Ah, good ol' Batter." The masked man continued his journey.

 

[Ricia]

Sage did not particularly enjoy rainy days and why she lived in the city of rain was slightly beyond her. She was currently stuck where she was. She was also jobless.


Sage pressed the handle of her umbrella to her shoulder as she took a long look to either side of the street she was crossing. She shifted from one foot to the other while looking. Running her free hand over her tie, Sage took a few large steps to cross the street, trying hard not to make any splashes in the puddles that were in her path. The last thing she really wanted to to was dirty the button up shirt and her slacks. Sage looked very much like a man more than a lady, frankly Sage liked it like that.


When Sage safely made it across the street, she took a moment to look behind her before moving on with her travels home.

 

[Desu Juice]

Zachary tugged on the straps of his backpack, which at this point, looked very soggy, old, and over-stuffed. A bunch of strange objects and bottles of oddly colored liquids sat in the engorged pockets, and silhouettes of things protruded from the top of the pack- a sheathed sword was painfully obvious among the rest of the mess, its silver hilt glimmering in the faint, blinking light of the streetlights.


He trudged on for a while, mask pointed down and hands clutching backpack straps.


His shoes were now wet on the inside as well, and the feeling of damp socks was painfully uncomfortable. Zachary finally swooped down to remove the shoes, for he could no longer stand the squishy feeling. And as soon as he did so, he spotted a young man crossing the street.


His blue hair was his most noticeable feature, and he was wearing slacks, coupled with a shirt Zachary couldn't describe due to the distance between them. This person might just be interesting in something he was selling, Zachary could tell they were the proud, tough type. Maybe a sword? Hair dye? Zachary gave an audible, "Ha ha ha," and crossed the street, tailing his target.


After a few moments, Zachary broke into a jog and caught up with the young man. A devilish smile crossed his face under his mask, and a bony, pale hand broke away from his backpack strap to reach for the boy. "Excuse me, would you perhaps like to purchase something? I am Zachary, the travelling merchant. I can tell that perhaps you'd like what I'm selling."


He became aware of the fact that the man was much taller than him, in fact, the top of Zachary's head could only reach the bottom of the man's ribs.


(( I am aware of Sage's gender, but Zachary mistook her for a male. I thought it would add a bit of a childishly-adorable charisma to Zachary. ))

 

[Ricia]

((Nah its ok, I actually love when it happens haha. Sage does too. That is why she wears binding and button ups, being so flat chested already. She even goes as far as playing along with it for as long as she can. Guessing Sage's gender is one of her favorite games haha.))


Sage felt someone grab hold of the lower part of her shirt to gain her attention. When she turned to look at him he started off on a small speel about being a traveling merchant. The thing that really threw Sage off was the fact she had to look down at him. Not the strange mop of black hair that looks like he had let a dog groom him or the fact he had a strange demonic cat mask on. No... he was short. He was as tall as her nonexistent sibling, Sage being an only child.


Sage took a moment to run a hand over her tie again while she eyed the young man in front of her. After a few second of small awkward silence from the boy's sells ploy, Sage allowed her usual smile to grace her lips, "Sorry but.... how old are you?" She asked him, the only question managing to grace her mind at the moment, a graceful question it was. Though the further she looked down, the more she noticed. Such as his array of nic-nacks in his overstuffed bag and the fact he wasn't wearing shoes. Was that a sword? Was he selling antiques?

 

[Desu Juice]

(( Zachary is actually a bit older currently, like around 21, but in this Role Play I decided to make him younger.


I'm not really sure why I did it, but I think I just wanted to experiment with Zachary and try to see how he acted, and what he was like in the time after his mother's death. I never got a chance to Role Play his more quiet, less crazy, but unstable years.


At this age, when he wasn't working for the mafia, he was living with his dad.


I also realized that I forgot to color-code Zachary's dialogue earlier, *facekeyboard* ))


Zachary knew he was short, and unlike most people, he pertained no insecurities with his height. He was nimble, quick, and rather adorable. It gave him the element of surprise- a most useful element; most people would not expect a guy that's barely five feet tall to stab you through the chest.


He could already tell the young man was judging his height with his gaze, and Zachary let loose a low chuckle.


"I'm old enough, my good gentleman." A low, throaty purr. It was flirty, and Zachary knew that at that moment, he could have lost his customer. Most men would immediately ditch the silver-tongued merchant after witnessing his provoking wit, as if his appearance wasn't enough.


"Could I interest you in some wares? Oh, I have a great many things available at this moment! Though I have even more at my shop... Oh, here we have a lovely map of this very fine town! A pack of cigarettes, an elaborate lighter, a brand new camera, or maybe an apron, for one with a love for the culinary arts." He immediately swung his pack over his shoulder, rummaging through its contents and listing them off- they were still surprisingly dry. "I have a few things that might appeal to you, dear friend. Just tell me what you need." His voice mimed the worry of a concerned doctor, glancing at a list of symptoms, and trying to diagnose his patient with whatever fit best.


He looked up expectantly, temporarily shielded from the rain by the young man's umbrella. One of his hands stopped at the hilt of the sword, and yet another chuckle danced under his mask. "Can I perhaps interest you in something... a bit different?" Perhaps weaponry, tools, materials, drugs, magazines of explicit content, oh, Zachary's mind danced around these possibilities. Could this gentleman be someone he could use?

 

[Ricia]

((Experiment away!!))


Was that a suggestive statement Sage heard just now? If anything, those are the things Sage picked up quite easily. She listen to him, her pleasant smile never leaving her lips as he named off some of his merchandise. Of course his speech was definitely something to dissect. One moment he was flirting with her, and then the next he was back to business. The last statement in particular caught her off guard a bit. Now he was trying to sell her illegal things? Not that she couldn't already get her hand on such things as it was. Her last boss died and she got out of the crime ring when she could, but she was still a welcome sight.


One thing slightly alarmed her though. Did traveling merchants have shops? She thought they walked with their wares... He had a shop? Filing away the small detail in her head, she continued to listen until she was sure he was done with the ever growing list.


Sage's smile turned from a simple pleasantry to a one sided grin, "You are certainly playing a well thought out game." She told him quietly, though her voice was smooth, "There is hardly anything you can sell me now that I can't get on my own..." It was obvious she wasn't talking about the first long winded list, but his well placed after suggestion. Sage's arm moved across her stomach to hold of her elbow while she touch her face gently with her free hand, her fingers helping frame her smirk. Her umbrella was sweetly nestles up between the crook of her crossed elbow and leaning lazily on her shoulder.


Truthfully Sage was broke and couldn't really afford to buy anything, but honestly she couldn't help but want to take him up on his flirtatious offer, especially since he thought she was male. The reaction she loves and craves from most strangers. Sage came to a small conclusion that she will just buy something relatively cheap from him. Maybe he needed the money more than she did.


Really if she could afford it she proububly tell him about a few other things he could sell her. Her smirk grew a bit in the thought but then let out a low laugh, "I can buy something cheap, like the apron... just because I like the way you talk."

 

[Desu Juice]

The way I talk?


This one was interesting, Zachary gave a light hearted laugh.


With a smirk, he said, "Ah, anything for you my dear."


He held up the apron. it was a rather lovely thing, a creamy white; the bottom flourished into a bright red floral design. "That will be five dollars." After a second of thought, Zachary asked, "Do you cook? Because you're missing an ingredient." Another chuckle, "Me."

 

[Ricia]

(I lol'd.)


Sage let out a low and good humored laugh, "The most important ingredient indeed. Just have to make sure I prepare your properly." Sage's smirk grew and she most certainly had a glint in her eye. She had plenty of aprons at home, but just for the sake of the smaller man she would indulge his traveling ways. Reaching for a small swing bag on her shouldering, Sage pulled out her wallet. It was a simple brown leather one that folded into thirds. Usual standard wallet for men. Though she started to pull out the small bill for the kid ready to make the unorthodox trade.

 

[Desu Juice]

(( Oh, ho, ho, this is gonna be good. ))


A bemused chuckle bubbled forth from under the mask, Zachary's hand crossed over his sweater-clad chest. "Oh, mon amie, I do not need preparing. You do." Definitely. The young man would never see it coming.


The world quickly became irrelevant to Zachary, the rain vanished, the dark clouds grew thicker, it was only him, and the wallet. He was now in the spotlight, the role of ringleader was his, the un-existing crowd cheered, the unheard sound drowning out all others in its wake.


A mad grin spread across his face, and Zachary submerged himself in the subconscious feeling of thievery. It was all adrenaline and instinct now, stealing- it was something he could do with his eyes closed.


His backpack, his body, his bare feet, none of them made a sound as he suddenly lurched forward, bumping into the man, snatching the wallet, all in one fell swoop.


Most wouldn't even recognize their most important possession was gone until Zachary himself vanished with their usually tan little money-carriers.





Almost always with a low, throaty chuckle, "Ha ha ha."


(( That was surprisingly less awesome than I thought. I guess it's just one of those days. xD ))

 

[Ricia]

Sage was not expecting for her wallet to be snatched right out of her hand while in the midst of flirting with the crazy yet oddly short masked man. Well now that she thinks about it that way, why didn't she expect it?


Sage's first reaction was to flip her umbrella around so that the hook of her handle was at her disposal to trip him. Sadly the expanded web of plastic that protected her from the rain got in her way and the little 'traveling merchant' continued on his merry way down the street with her wallet.


This kid picked the wrong person to steal from.


As quickly as her split decision to use the umbrella, Sage collapsed it as she took two large turning steps to chase after the brat who took her wallet. She wouldn't bother screaming at him to 'stop' or threaten him with things she will do to him when she got ahold of him, instead she silently follow him, detesting every step as she continued to soak up water in her pants, shoes and shirt. She absolutely hated getting wet.

 

[Desu Juice]

Zachary's heart was pounding, the little sh*t was way too happy about stealing the wallet.


He was too caught up in the adrenaline; radiating heat pounding from his chest. It doused whatever minute fear had welled up in his periphery in hot water.


In one hand, Zachary still clutched onto his black shoes, and gleed bred in his chest from the notion of being faster than his pursuer; whom he could hear some ways off.


OW.


Someone had shattered a bottle here, the small, little, opaque flinders pricking his feet. Zachary did a funny little bounce, then skipped out of range of the glass. He did a few more startled skips, his arms comically flailing before he settled back into a sprint.


Adrenaline still pounded in his head, so the pain wasn't intense after the first, initial contact with the glass, but Zachary immediately realized he was bleeding, and he had to slow down. A crimson flash of shame crept into his cheeks, and he mentally scolded himself for removing his footwear.


Seriously, didn't all mothers warn their children to keep their shoes on? Zachary forgot, thus he scolded himself some more.


Ah, Zachary had to round the bend here. He glanced back at the young man, who was now much closer than before.


(( DUN DUN DUN.


Let's hope Zachary succeeds! (at least I'll hope, hehe, since Sage might not be so happy about what's gonna happen if he does.) ))

 

[Ricia]

(Teehee... I will let him. Just because I want to see Sage deal with the Batter.)


Sage kept a firm grip on her umbrella as she ran, the hook portion out in front of her. she was trying hard not to let the masked kid out of her sight, but he was pretty quick. She had a stroke of luck when he seem to falter in his step flailing lightly as he tried to get back in his stride. Sage took a deep breath and quickened her step to close the distance between them. Sadly he was back and running within a few second.


Sage let an annoyed breath out as she trailed him, she was definitely closer to him but not close enough. Sage was starting to think she was going to lose him. Oh but she will hunt him down. It couldn't be too hard to find a kid wearing a cat mask. Well it might if he only wore it when he did stupid stuff like this. Gritting her teeth Sage tried to push herself harder and continued to truck on. She wasn't giving up just yet...


(Felt like that was a lame response... sorry. xP)

 

[Desu Juice]

(( Haha, no, it was fine! I'm loving Sage's personality. ))


'Little further...'


His spirit had worn off, and now a pang of fear ridiculed his plan.


Instead of feeling his feet hit the ground, Zachary felt his feet hitting lava, the pieces of glass he had stepped on were lodged into his flesh, and he was bleeding profusely. Upon looking back he noticed that the young man looked very annoyed, thus Zachary gave him a taunting chuckle, which quickly evaporated when he realized that he was leaving a trail of blood behind him- was it that bad? Was he that injured? By glass? Glass? Zachary could picture the mafia slowly dying of laughter as he recalled the story to them- Hoit warning him to stay away from windows and kitchens for a year or two with a halting chuckle, Paris saying something offensive, Yeti bellowing in laughter, Jasper giggling nervously, and Batter, oh Batter, just watching.


He resisted the urge to look at his feet, instead, Zachary told himself he was fine, he promised himself that this would pay off, that Sage would be perfect. He then sprinted faster than before.


Straight into the welcoming darkness of the alley.


Old, red brick lined each side of the gloomy fissure, and a few broken windows leaked light out into the rain, illuminating laundry wires heaving with wet shirts, pants, and ties. The ground was littered with tipped-over garbage cans, their contents spilling into a sticky, wet, smelly, mess combining with damp, cardboard boxes falling apart in the rain, and filled with glass and wood. Zachary was forced to jump and evade the litter- until he reached the back of the alley, marked by a high wall.


He stopped at the barrier, hands on knees, keeled over with his back to the wall until he could breathe again.


The darkness hid him well here, in fact, barely anything was visible except the street leading to the alley- which was now obscured by a dark figure- a lean, mean, killing machine.


The Batter's lengthy, muscled limbs grew tense, especially his jawline. The Batter's eyes were covered by his baseball cap, but the fierceness of his gaze could be felt radiating from his body.


He lifted the bat, holding it in two hands.


Waiting.

 

[Ricia]

(Sorry for the ever slow response.... today has not been my day.)


Sage frowned when the boy disappeared around the corner, that could only mean he was familiar with this place and had some place he was sure he was safe back there. Whatever hidey-hole he was going to try and fit in. When Sage turned the corner she was not expecting to see a large man with a bat ready to smash the side of her face in.


She felt like everything froze at that moment, she ran through the things she could do to possibly avoid the blow, but her options were limited because she was running in a full blow sprint. The first option that came to mind was to tuck herself in a tight forward roll off behind this large man.


So that was what Sage did, and as she rolled she felt the water from the ground soak deep into her shirt. The dirt and grim stain the white. Oh she was not happy at all, and if she was furious a few moments ago... well she was not sure what came after furious, but she was definitely beyond that stage now.


When she rolled out of her small ball she stayed low to the ground, one leg spread out ready to kick her off the ground and her knee firmly planted to the wet cement to give her balance. She looked up at the man, umbrella ready in her hand and came to a mental decision, Livid. That was the way to describe how she felt now. That was the word you used after furious. Livid. Sage was livid.

 

[Desu Juice]

(( Aww :c


Don't worry, you're not the only one with those days! :3 ))


The Batter's hands were tense, and maybe it was the adrenaline of nearly hitting someone, but the lean man bared his teeth, his eyes widened visibly, and Batter, in that moment, showed more emotion than he did all day.


His bat rose immediately to smash the wet ground where the young lady had been seconds ago- she had rolled away just in time.


Immediately he rounded on her, and from where the girl was on the ground, she could probably see the furious glare darkening his blue-colored eyes, the gritting of his bared teeth, and the pinched, muscular bridge of his nose furrowing into a snarl.


Matched with the bat raised over his head, he was absolutely terrifying.


Thus the Batter brought the bat down- aiming for her head.


Meanwhile, Zachary had collected himself and was now sitting against the brick wall slowly picking glass out of his feet. It was a gruelingly painful process, but hey, it was necessary.


He could hear, and feel, the Batter fighting near by, the thwack of a baseball bat smashing against ground, a body rolling, Zachary could picture the fight in his head.


The Batter aims for the boy, swinging, but he ducks! He maneuvers out of the way, but, the Batter strikes again!


In his head, he narrated the scene with the voice of an old announcer from the 60s, echoey and dramatic.


For a moment it drowned out the pain of having to pull twenty shards of glass from the bottom of each foot.


(( I decided that Batter will know Sage's gender right away- he's more observant when it comes to girls, especially since he's had a wife for about ten-or-so years.


Despite being more observant than Batter, Zachary will continue to not know Sage's gender, given his inexperience with females. ))

 

[Ricia]

((And Thursday's I am always busy... Sorry We'll get this down~ Usually my responses are faster than this!


Also... I assumed the bat was wood... but a metal one makes more sense... but I guess I should ask before I assume. ))


Sage felt her mouth hung slightly open and her eyes go a bit wide when the man with the bat turned. He was rather frightening and it had been a while since she had fought in close combat with another person... she was currently no match for this man, and she knew this. She had to try anyway, she needed her wallet back.


When the man with the bat turned around, he raised the bat to come down right on top of Sage. She breathed out to get a hold of her nerves and her breathing before she pushed herself off the ground to side step out of the way. After she forced herself away from the bat again and the sound of it smashing against the ground, she took a swing of her own at the man.


Lifting up the umbrella, Sage bought the handle down on the mans closed fists around the bat. She hoped that it hurt enough that he would let go of the bat. Of course she also had a feeling it might just make him all the more upset at her.


((Sorry I feel like these are rather bad responses haha...))

 

[Desu Juice]

(( Actually, no, the bat is wood xD


Sorry, are my responses confusing? I tend to write too much about stuff that isn't important, should I elaborate more to make my posts easier to understand?


Seriously, it's not just you, I've confused many people before as well xD


(Though I don't know if it's the fact that people don't focus or what...?)


))


Batter was no more than an enraged beast holding a bat, there was no stopping him after he smelled battle, a frenzy would sure follow suite and further encourage him.


He immediately bounced onto his heels and launched a left swing-- missing the girl completely, and followed through with a quick right swipe, interrupted by the hooked end of an umbrella hitting the Batter's wrists.


His face remained steely, only thickly emphasizing how pathetic the attack was to the man- bluntly, it resembled the disheartening wrist-slap of an angry aunty disciplining a child that had touched something they weren't supposed to.


The Batter paused, a crease deepening between his eyes, and sent the bat diagonally at the girl again. "Arrh!" This time, he used all of his strength and speed, leaving none in reserve. He was determined to land a hit.


~~


Zachary lifted himself away from the wall, stood for a second on deeply aching feet, then leaned back against the wall quickly. It was all he could do not to groan, or gasp. He had to stay still, quiet, he had to remain undetected.


The deathly thin figure slowly made his way over to the sounds of battle, staying in the deep shadows.


He observed the fight carefully, making sure he was unnoticed, and making sure Batter did not go too far.


Zachary would not care if the young boy was badly beaten, but, he did care about the boy's survival though, and he had to make sure the Batter did not go too far.

 

[Ricia]

((Not at all. You have a very loose writing style that leaves room for a lot of interpretation, I think that is what catches people a bit off guard. As for the wooden or metal... merely for my own imagination sake. ^^))


Sage was so glad her best ability was to dodge things in such a fluent manner. The only problem with her ability is that she sucked with actually landing hits that count. Her physical strength wasn't the best, she had no lethal weapon to speak of at the moment.


Gritted her teeth Sage took a step backwards, it was more like a skipping hop. She was light on her feet and moved lightly and quickly. Sage was about to start playing dirty... because that was the only was she was actually going to be able to win in a fight like this. As soon as the swinging man came to a small pausing in this swings, Sage would rush him in a rather spaztic attempt to slide between his legs and catch the top of his pants with the hood of her umbrella. Though if this was a smart or stupid idea Sage was about to find out. In the end this will either pull his pants down or rack him rather hard.


(If this is not ok message me can I can change it )

 

[Desu Juice]

(( Ah, thanks, hehe. I do suppose you're right.


And it's absolutely fine, wow, the Batter getting his pants pulled down? That would be hilarious! xD


But the Batter is attacking rather relentlessly, and I'm no longer dictating this battle. It's just going along on its own, really. Dislodging the Batter's pants might end rather badly for Sage, hehe.


Now, Sage is welcome to land more hits, if you want. The Batter's defenses are far from impervious!


Zachary is already amazed at how well Sage is holding up, by the way xD


))


The Batter was not one to stop his pursuit. Quickly, he took a step back and suddenly leapt forward and moved in on his target, his body suddenly appearing much closer than before.


This kind of speed could be expected from the lean and agile figure though, and the girl would have probably moved away from the Batter before he could deliver a blow at close proximity. He expected this of her, and relentlessly moved closer, using his body as a sort of battering ram to dislodge whatever attack she had planned.


His idea was to threaten the target and catch her off guard, hit her once to slow her movement down, then beat her to death.


This was something he wanted, he wanted the feeling of his bat brutally coming down. Feeling supple flesh give way to his weapon of choice, warm blood splattering his body- it was something he died to live for, to feel, he loved his desire, and in that layed his sin.


But he had no idea that moving closer to her will probably end in him being suddenly pantsless.

 

[Ricia]

(I would offer for the Batter to hit her more... but the moment he lands a hit, she'll be a goner and its battle over. xD


And yes... Sage is getting creative haha. She just wants to slow him down. She'll proububly bolt for it in a little the moment the Batter starts to get more violent. She knows when shes about to die and is going to save her own skin. She doesn't have to win haha.


So sorry for the super late response.... >.< should be back to normal posting scheduled... maybe. Sorry if the post is a bit lame as well...I actually feel relatively bad for taking so long on this post. been three days so the muse is a bit gone... it'll come back as we get rolling again. Again... super sorry.)


Sage knew this was the point she should never doubt herself. The moment she did that, that was the moment she spelled her death. She had to keep going, keep attacking, think quick, move fast. Life or death was hanging in the balance at the moment. Sage knew what she needed to do. She didn't want to have to kill anyone, but she would if it meant her own life.


Hoping with everything in her body and mind, Sage hoped that the loss of his pants would A. Slow him down, and B. Possibly humiliate him enough to make him pause. This guy was pretty terrifying, she had no idea if this would even work. Though as she told herself before... don't hesitate and just do it.


When Sage hooked her umbrella across the man's pants as he came barreling at her, Sage side stepped to the right of the man and then yanked hard enough to break the button and force the zipper down, with that out of the way she pushed them down with the unbrella. Within seconds the man's pants were on the ground.


Sage then jumped back several feet, as much as the tight space would allow her to. Looking to the ground, she proceeded to search for the blood trail of the little brat's injured feet. She followed the trail with her eyes and then smirked as she saw where he went further into the ally way into the shadows. After those few seconds she turned to look back at the man who she assumed was struggling with his pants.

 

[Desu Juice]

Suddenly the girl was over and out, completely escaping his next attack. On top of that, he felt a hard yank on his trousers the moment she has passed by his narrow hips.


A loud, frantic laughing could be heard from the shadows a couple feet away, and the Batter sent a disgusted growl in its direction.


He knew who the sound belonged to.


He hated it. The sound.


So calm in tone, so silvery in practice, yet so quick- so fleeting, and as dainty as a quick-footed doe; and just as swiftly snuffed out by the Batter's angry roar.


Acting quickly, Batter, while still holding the bat, struggled to pull the trousers up over the matching underwear, both a pure, blatantly white, like lightbulbs. A color just as visible in dark, just as easily stained sanguine.


His shaking fingers quickly fastened the button, but it was already too late.


Zachary limped out from under the shadows, the cat mask grinning to an extent matching his own, well-hidden sneer. The hated visage donned by the boy was now facing Batter, and slowly, the man's eyes lowered to realize a weapon was being held to his neck, by lengthy, graceful fingers and an upturned, sweater-cloaked arm.


A long, old-looking sword. Despite being well-polished and shiny, several nicks and scratches decorated its mirror-like surface. Some of them, Batter knew, were caused by his customers.


"My, my, Batteur. It seems that some of your interests lie outside of murder.


And females. Ha ha ha.


Had I know it was this easy to get you to remove your pants, I would have exercised similar measures as your male friend over here."


Despite the sword poking his sweat-drenched neck, and Zachary's sadistic-sounding purr of a monologue, the Batter chuckled. "Male? That's a woman."


Zachary grew silent, and if the Batter could see the boy's face at the moment, it would have been considerably more pale than ever before.


"A... A what?"


The mask faced the blunette now.


(( Oh, it's not a problem at all. I'm mostly patient during these things. But I do admit I was somewhat anxious to continue, it is a pleasure to roleplay with you. :3


))

 

[Ricia]

(Hahaha. Yeah. Don't worry about it. I understand.


I was thinking perhaps we can place Lucky with you plan B with someone sneaking up on said person... and Ray... we'll throw her in some other time...)


Sage watched as the kid marched out of the shadows, making a snide remark to his buddy and putting a sword to his throat. What was the kid on her side now? There was no way. Though highly confused, Sage deiced to just roll with what ever was happening. If it meant she was going to live and possibly get her wallet back... well she'll play along.


She heard the man with the bat revile her true gender, he seem rather pleased that he was able to tell the 'I'm-a-traveling-merchant' kid that he was completely wrong and everything he had said before hand made him look like an idiot. It also made his flirting with her earlier a bit embarrassing for him too, if he was gay that is, not that it mattered to Sage.


Despite being nearly killed just seconds ago, a grin graced Sage's lips that matched the batter's as the kid turned to question her gender. When Zachery looked at Sage, her white button up was soaked through from several of her rolling maneuvers. He could see under it, which she was wearing a bandage like binding across her chest. It almost looked like she had an injury. Sage wasn't pleased about her shirt being ruined by the grim, dirt and water. She wasn't pleased about being wet either.


Sage didn't speak to confirm or deny the accusation, though she did shrug at the boy. If he took the shrug as an 'I don't know' or maybe 'it is what it is', she would not know. After all, she loved letting people just assume, Sage saw no shame.


The humor did not last long before she picked up her umbrella and pointed the hook part at the mask boy, holding it out like the extension of her arm, "Give back my wallet you brat. I am not someone you want to mess with." She said in a mater of fact way.


It was a bold thing to say being she was only armed with an umbrella and out numbered. Though she put her money down on the kid being injured and the man being slow, she would say she held just a tad bit of an advantage.

 

[Desu Juice]

Zachary's face flushed immediately at the women's shrug. Only Batter could see the tips of his ears reddening somewhat, thus he gave an inaudible chuckle at the thought of the tough little merchant being shamed so quickly.


All of the earlier flirting Zachary had performed now swarmed to the front of his thoughts, buzzing incessantly with prideful shame. Suddenly he felt like a fool, an utter idiot.


How is it, that the high-ranking mafia member did not realize that this 'boy', was actually a girl? He's normally so observant... could it be because he was distracted by the other's acceptance towards his advances? Probably.


Zachary was not straight, not heterosexual, he was homosexual, gay, and born that way. And in this town, he's only had a total of two love interests, one man- which he would never dare to admit to himself he loves (quite deeply actually), and the other was a boy working in a bakery. He killed the latter. It was hard to meet someone of his sexual orientation these days.


But despite this, he's made an exception for only one female, a couple of years ago (which he also killed).


But that was then, this is now. And the woman was now mocking him. What was a taunt to her, was a waxing death wish to Zachary.


"Sage." His eyes narrowed under his mask. The name felt new and unfamiliar to his lips.


"Should you really be calling me a brat when-"


The small frame suddenly vanished into a forward roll, the sword being taken with him and suddenly pointed at her as he gracefully landed on one knee, the other leg tense and ready to shoot him backwards and away, his free hand lightly touching the pavement. (( She can still dodge this! Ah, I hate almost godmodding, sorry ;-; ))


"I'm very, very likely to kill you with no remorse whatsoever?"


His voice was barely a whisper, though it could still be heard surprisingly well. It bordered the edge of smug supremacy, and cold indifference.


Speaking of Batter, now being free from the point of the sword, he was seriously debating whether or not to continue his assault on the girl.


Or, instead strike Zachary now that the boy's back was turned.


It was a tough decision for the man. Both of them deserve his bat.


(( I feel like Both Batter and Zachary are getting kind of out of hand, both seem to be way too powerful, so if you want, I can tell you a few of their weaknesses, so that you may exploit them and enhance Sage's fighting power against these two.


By the way, I love Sage so much. She's so cool ;3;


))

 

[Ricia]

((Nah don't fret over them. Sage had a real disadvantage right now. ^^ I have a habit of having characters with huge weaknesses. I am so self concious of my characters being over powered... that they have a tendency to be underpowered and I have to 'beef them up'. I will find a balance. We'll find some balance haha.))


How does he know her name?


That was the question that first came to her mind, but she did not have much time to ponder it as she leaning forward and jumped backwards when the mask jumped forward. As Sage stepped backwards, she moved the umbrella back in a rather weak attempt to block the incoming sword.


"Who said I couldn't kill you with no remorse? Especially to save my own skin!" She hissed in return. She hoped they would end up in a small 'weapon lock'. Not that her umbrella could really be considered a weapon, improvise mostly. Though one with a good imagination could see this becoming one of those really lame sword fighting scenes in an old medieval movie. Was she the dashing prince, saving the princess? Yes... her wallet needed saving.


Sage smirked at the kid only for a moment, "You're just throwing a temper tantrum because you embarrassed yourself? I am hardly the person to take your anger out on!" Sage said with a light chuckle, "I flirt with everyone... of course that is not the only thing I do." She said nonchalantly, even with the severity of the situation rising and the kid obviously threat to kill her.

 

[Desu Juice]

(( That's good! Yeah, I tend to try to balance out overpowered characters like Batter and Zachary with huge weaknesses- or preferably more subtle ones, depending on the character of course.


Oh God this post is so meh. ))


Her umbrella tapped against his sword, and for a moment, nothing but a shifting second, Zachary's eyes met hers.


Little, barely visible green irises with little, pinpoint pupils blatantly contrasting with his calm, even voice.


"I know that. Sage. I know everything about you."


'Except for the fact that you were a girl.' He almost added, shuddering.


His eyes disappeared as Zachary broke his stance, stepping back into a quirky stand with his hands at his sides.


In his right hand, he balanced the sword delicately between three fingers. Zachary looked suspicious, almost ready to strike again if the girl made any sudden movements relating to attacking or fleeing.


"This was simply a test. This was a recruitment exam. And I'm rather impressed with your ability."


Batter gave an audible groan.


He didn't know this was a recruitment exam. He thought it was a robbery. He thought Spade was testing him- or more so, his patience. Spade was testing how likely he is to kill anyone he faces off with in a robbery.


That's what he thought.


Batter rested the top of the bat on the ground now, leaning against it in an effort to appear indifferent.


In all honesty he was utterly furious over the fact that he was uninformed- though a nagging voice in the back of his head told him it was for the better. No matter how much Batter didn't want to admit it, he probably would have gone easy on the fresh meat if he had known.


But not knowing, not knowing meant he might have killed her. Batter wasn't even fighting to his maximum potential yet- and she was already spent and out of places to move, like an off-balance chess board and a newbie with a headache.


This brought up a new realization- she would have to be trained. And that meant that he might, still might, have a chance to kill her. For his pride.


Spade often uses Batter to test the new recruits to see if their training was complete.


And that would mean Paris would have to have a gun ready just for him.


And that in turn, would mean that he couldn't kill her anyway.


Another groan.