Kaori, Dmitry, Meletzo: Songs Collide: Soulsmoke; B Rank: Private

Sitting atop the highest point of the mage's castle, Kaori watched the sun rise over the horizon. She was contemplating a strange dream she had been having lately, one where she's standing among a hazy land that was coated in a type of slightly green mist. She looked around and saw a trail of light leading outwards and decided to follow it. Under-informed, Kaori followed it in the dream; which is something she'd never do in the real world. As she moved along the trail illuminated by the light, Kaori saw the city turn to a densely wooded forest that became rocky terrain and continuing to a flat plain. In the middle of this plain, the white haired girl had reached out to a pillar that obstructed her path and seemed to be the final destination. Another reason she knew it was a dream, she wasn't wearing her mask.

As the warm light hit Kaori's white and red mask, filtering through the slits for eyes and warming the girl's eyelids she began wondering whether or not she was supposed to go to that strange place. 'This world is full of magic... anything can happen right?' she pondered mentally. The fact was that this mission had no guarenteed pay, for all she new the pillar in her dream could turn out to be a wooden pole with paint slapped on it. Or worse, the pillar could simply not exist at all. A slightly less horrible scenario is the one where the world itself doesn't exist, but at that point she'd be in the library which means she didn't waste any time, just learned a bunch of things she didn't intend to. The rays had consumed Kaori's body and she began standing up, deciding it might be time to get a move on.

After several hours in the library she did find a place that seemed to match the one from her dream. It was a planet called 'Kyoka' and was famed for enhancing magical talents. Such things were a bit vain to Kaori since her magic wasn't for dealing damage so much as it being for getting in close, or getting away. She didn't like going into strange places alone, especially strange places she'd never been before. She didn't know many people in the guild... she actually only knew one, which means he was the best guy she knew for the job. She didn't exactly know where to find him so instead of searching the entire castle and/or port for him, Kaori simple sat at a table near the entrance with her gear ready. If anyone else came across her while she was waiting, she would immediately call out to them saying "Hey, you there!" with that kind of tone people have when they wanna ask something. Naturally, because of the porcelain mask on her face, her voice would be a bit muffled, even after she'd say to the person "I'm heading to some place and might need a bit of help, you wanna come?"

As for Dmitry, she'd have a special way of asking him for help. Upon seeing him, Kaori would run up and gently pinch the end of his sleeve. A gentle tug to catch his attention along with her saying "Hey Mits...?" in a soft tone that carried a sense of dependency to it. If he would turn, Kaori  would release his sleeve; if not, she'd grab the sleeve with both her hands to slow him further. "I'm going some place and I'd like you to come with me." she'd say in her normal tone. Immediately after, in an embarrassed and denial filled tone she'd follow up with "It-it's not like I'm afraid to go alone! Ju-just... I'd... feel more comfortable..." The angle of her masked turned towards the floor before she said with a softer, less audible voice "With a friend."

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Dmitry had agreed to come along, yielding a very happy sound from the masked ninja. She moved forward and pressed herself against Dmitry's body, while giving him a gentle embrace. "Thank you Mitsy!" she shouted with an overjoyed tone. If he didn't force her away immediately, he wouldn't receive the full hug but still get the thank you. Out the corner of the slit in her mask she saw someone walking past who obviously had something they wanted to say but was suppressing it. "Hey! You there!" she called out to the green haired girl in tom-boyish attire. "We're heading somewhere and might need a bit of help, you wanna come?" she asked with a friendly enough tone. Kaori had no way of reading minds, she could speak directly to them, but not read them; however, she was good at reading people to an extent. She got the feeling this person was thinking about her and Mits but didn't get a misleading vibe from her.

She hadn't had a chance to answer Dmitry's question before inviting the third person along for the ride. Upon her agreeing to come along, she sat down and introduced herself. Kaori held both her hands behind her back and crossed a leg behind the other. Smiling and speaking with a tone that was much friendlier than her outfit would let off, she said "I'm Kaori, but you can call me Kay." She pointed to Dmitry and teased saying "The edge lord's Mits." She straightened her posture out and began walking over to her bike which wasn't very far from them. Kneeling down, she pressed a button on the side that caused two green canisters to pop out from both sides of the engine block. "As for where we're going, I'm not exactly sure. As far as I could tell, the place is called 'Kyoka' but I don't know how to get there." she admitted with not a single drop of shame in her voice.

The two cores she pulled were both roughly fist sized and she stuffed them inside a small satchel, along with two rectangular prisms. Kaori had a slight affinity for anything that she could use to get an edge on enemies, the fact that each of the bike's fuel cores were essentially pocket nukes made them an asset. At the same time, the two rectangular prisms were explosive charges. The belt she wore had several small pockets with clasps on it containing smoke balls, flashers, shockwave bombs, and explosion lacrima. As cheery as her demeanor was, she was a dangerous person when she wanted to be. "The book I read about the place said we gotta go through some portal with a funky name, if either of you know where to find em I'll follow." She said, ready to get this party started.

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Dmitry had stated he had no desire to ride Kaori's metal horse, calling it a death trap on wheels. Kaori cocked her head to the side, not exactly sure what he was talking about with that name but she didn't bother to question it. He recommended using the train, or walking to the portals. Kaori's eyes blinked a couple times, context had told her that the train was an alternative mode of transportation, but the name didn't ring any bells. Her right hand moved up and was bent as though she were holding a book; the left slit in her mask over her eye began to glow bright violet, and within moments a large book shot across the room coming from the library before it slammed into her hand. She held the book with one hand and began flipping through the pages, the title of the book was "Travelers' Directory and Transportation Services Index" which was exactly what she would need. A fellow had came out from the library, obviously chasing the book Kaori had just procured from him and slowed himself to a halt a couple feet from the girl, hunched over, resting his hands on his legs while panting. "Train, train, train..." Kaori muttered, muffled by her mask while flipping through the pages. "Ex... Excuse me, miss? Can I have my book back?" he asked but got no response from the masked warrior. He slowly reached his hand over and pinched the corner of the book as if he were about to take it, but his plans didn't account for Kaori being Kaori. The second his fingers touched the book, Kaori spun around while closing the book with a finger between the pages she was on. She lept into the air and slammed the spine of the book on the scholars' dome, immediately sending him to the ground so hard his head became one with the world. At the same time, his lower half was raised into the air, and his feet tapped the back of his head to put the man in the Scorpion position. "Don't interrupt me." Kaori said with a cold, apathetic voice while flipping through the pages ones more. After several more pages she came to a large, long machine one tracks; one she'd ridden before but didn't know the name. She jumped with joy and announced with an happy voice while holding the book up victoriously "I found it!"

After landing, Kaori turned her head to the strange man on the floor and blinked a couple times inquisitively. She kneeled down and poked his head saying "Hey guy, you okay?" as though she didn't just bash him over the head with a text book. His legs finally uncurled, flopping to the ground and leaving the man flat as a human rug. Kaori pinched his ear and lifted his head before gently sliding the book under it and resting the head down. "You can use this as a pillow, make sure to put it back when your done... and don't sleep on the ground, you'll get pneumonia." she said while rubbing his head, completely ignorant of the fact that she had hit him. She popped back up and said with an innocently happy tone "Let's go!" before switching to a requesting one "Umm... hey Mits can you lead the way? I have no idea where the trains are sleeping..." Her lack of knowledge of modern society soaking the request thoroughly.

While walking to the train station, Kaori had made sure to keep pace with Dmitry. However, the thought of their interaction with Maya was weighing heavily on her mind. If Maya was behind them, or in front them; Kaori would speed up or slow down to match her. She then would slide her hand into Maya's and gently hold in. "Hey Maya..." she would say to redirect the girls' attention. Her voice was friendly, gentle, and supportive. "I know you're not really used to us, and it's hard to work with people who already know each other but don't worry. If you're ever feeling week, we'll be your strength. If you're afraid, we'll be your courage; and if you stray from your path, we'll help you find your way. That's what friends do after all." Kaori would shift her hand to lock her fingers with Maya's if she hadn't already pulled away. Moving closer she whispered in her ear "And don't be afraid to poke fun at Mits, he's harmless."

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