Rick Harrison Wannabe [ Missing/Stolen Jewelry | MasutaKemono | Job ]

For some reason, it was blistering hot today. People were carrying around water and fanning themselves, something Neyvahn probably should've done. Instead, he made a dumb decision to wear his armor for the job. The worn out leather pads acted like heat sinks and toasted hotter than metal. The blasted thing was so hot, he might as well be sizzling in a frying pan for crying out loud!

Neyvahn watched a couple walk by with smoothies. Maybe he should buy one... No, he doesn't need a distraction. Once the job's done and his clients get their jewelry back, he'll just get out of this hellish town... But why was he even taking this job in the first place? Sure jewelry is expensive and all, but did Neyvahn really want to waste time and energy trying to find it for them, let alone with a complete stranger? He didn't even know if his partner was someone to take serious. For all he knew, they could be another troublesome yokai like Itazura or Izayuki...

The silver-haired bakeneko shook his head, his slender grey tail slowly flicking behind him. Despite the fact that he was a yokai himself, he really didn't like them. They were always rowdy. Hopefully this partner wasn't a yokai because Neyvahn' patience was nearly gone with them... Come to think of it, why didn't he meet his partner beforehand? Without a second though, he just accepted the job. He had no prior knowledge of his partner.

Neyvahn walked over to the little bit of shade a store awning provided and sat against the wall. "I just wish that they'd get here already," Neyvahn thought.

"Why would that be?" a voice said in his mind. "Are you that excited to meet anoth-"

Neyvahn rolled his eyes. "No, I just want this job to be done with. Last thing I want is to deal with another psycho."

"..."If Kei, the voice in Neyvahn's head, had hands, he'd face-palm. "You're probably more psycho than most. You don't even remember their name, do you?"

"First off, there are plenty of examples of people crazier than me, and I do know our partner's name. I remember it off of the job sheet. It was... Uhh... Misoto."

"... Are you serious?" In Neyvahn's mind, Kei just laughed at his brother's idiocy. It was kind of funny. Even though he's been in his head long enough to predict what he'd say next, the ignorant things he says always seem to entertain him. Nonetheless, Neyvahn sat in the shade with his feline ears angled down, waiting for any individual that specifically looked like they might be his partner.

Neyvahn was getting tired of waiting, and his armor wasn't cooling down. Even though he was in the shade, the stupid set was burning him up faster than the heat itself. However, he didn't immediately get the chance to take the set off.

Out of nowhere, a white wolf took towards him. "What the-!?" Ney went to unsheathe the sword on his back but stopped short when the wolf just sat in front of him. He was weary of dogs because they would bark and growl at him every time he passed most of them, but this one seemed to do the opposite. It seemed more curious than aggressive.

"Awww, looks like you made a friend`" Kei said. Neyvahn just let his hand fall from the hilt and nodded in agreement. The dog, actually a wolf upon closer inspection, didn't seem to have an owner by it right now, so Neyvahn just stood up and tilted his head.

That's when its supposed owner came running with a couple smoothies in her hands. It was a young girl with bright blonde and pink hair... and ridiculously bright magenta eyes. Neyvahn furrowed his brow. The girl seemed to be in her teens or so... and she was pretty cute. Oh god, no. He was 23 for crying out loud! Last thing he needed was pedophilic thoughts... although he did look young enough to pass for a- NO!

Neyvahn turned and slammed his head into the wall. The bricks groaned and a few pieces broke off, although the wall generally stayed intact. However, Neyvahn moved his head away to reveal a little blood trickling down his eyebrow. The actual cut was covered by his hair, but it was still probably a little odd to see him bash his head against the brick for no reason. Nonetheless, he turned back to the girl looking up at him, his tail waving behind him.

"Hey there! Are you Neyvahn Keyvolo?"

The silver-haired bakeneko just stared back down at the girl. "...Don't tell me that she's my partner."

"She's your partner," Kei said. "By the way, it's Masuta, not Misoto."

Neyvahn wiped away the little bit of blood on his forehead and sighed, holding his hand out to shake. "Yeah, that's me. You must be Masuta."

Neyvahn looked down at the smoothies she had in her hands. They looked so good right now, but he wasn't enough of a scoundrel to snatch them from her. That was more of a weasel thing... but why did she have two?

That was when Masuta held out one of the light smoothies to him. Neyvahn just looked down at the vanilla smoothie, then at the girl, back at the smoothie, back to girl. "... Wait. You bought me a smoothie?" Neyvahn reached out and grasped the cup, still a bit surprised. She wasn't joking or anything, pulling a prank like he was used to. The cat yokai got a little giddy, smiling contently. "Wow... uh, thanks!"

Even though Masuta wasn't the kind of person he expected to take a dangerous job with, she was too nice for him to deny. Masuta had only just met him, yet she was kind enough to buy him a smoothie. Considering the kind of people he had been forced to deal with for who knows how long, she was exactly who he needed to be around to actually enjoy life. Plus she was accompanied by one of the few dogs that haven't barked at him... Well, technically it was a wolf.

Neyvahn could just hear Kei in his head humming. "Enjoying yourself, brother?"

"Don't ruin it."

As Neyvahn took a few sips of the refreshing drink, he listened to Masuta about starting the job he almost forgot about. "Oh right," he said, nodding his head. "I'm ready to go. We should probably start by talking to the street urchins around here. Maybe they've seen something."

Neyvahn sipped at the vanilla smoothie, Masuta's wolf companion showing an odd interest in his tail. Although it was kind of funny to watch, Ney was still a weary about these two. The kind and friendly act was just so perfect that it seemed fake... or maybe he just hasn't been around a relatively normal person for too long. That could have very well been it.

Swishing his tail a foot or two from the wolf, Ney listened to his partner's suggestion. She had a point about going to the middle of town. Searching the more busy parts of the city would almost guarantee some information on what they were looking for, or at least if that's where the incident happened. Their clients said that they lost some jewelry, and Neyvahn doubted they'd walk around in the shady parts of the town if they worried about their belongings that much.

Seems they were going with Masuta's idea. Neyvahn nodded his head in agreement and drank up the rest of his smoothie. Had he not been immune to the cold, the frozen beverage would probably give him a major brain-freeze. Kei would not be happy with that. Neyvahn just grinned a little bit and held the empty cup in his hands. With an objective and a tactic to get their job done, it seemed they were ready to go.

However, the silver-haired yokai stopped when his young partner pulled a rainbow lollipop from her bag and started sucking on it.. Neyvahn noted that she probably liked sweets. Then she offered him one in a cute way and Neyvahn cursed to himself again.

"Thanks, but-"

"I thought you had a sweet-tooth," Kei interrupted. To Masuta though, it'd just look like he stopped mid-sentence.

"Well, I do, but I don't want to seem weird or anything."

"Just take the lollipop, you big baby."

Although it took a little mental convincing, Neyvahn subtly nodded his head and accepted Masuta's offering. "... Uhh, thanks, Masuta." What was he doing? He was supposed to be a cold-heart mage for hire, not some sweet tooth softy. Neyvahn cleared his throat and looked down the street. "A-Anyways, we should probably head towards the center of town."