Cat On The Loose! [Mission/Zenneth]

Job:

Pink hair swayed left and right. A petite girl walked through the village, attracting stares from men due to her wearing her usual flowery red leotard that revealed a small amount of cleavage. Hana cared not one bit. They could stare all they wanted. This was what she always wore during missions, even if they didn't involve fighting. It was simply... A habit of hers, one that she had gotten far too use to.

She arrived at the client's house quite early, stopping on the way to observe the enormous beanstalk that grew in the village. When she arrived, she was greeted by an elderly woman, with grey hair tied up in a bun. She wore a plain haori, and she had a warm smile on her face. "Well hello there dear, what can I help you with?" she asked. Hana dug around in her pocket, then pulled out a folded piece of paper. "I'm Hana Suzuki, and I'm here for this. My partner should arrive soon." she informed, the woman clasping both hands together. "Ah! Thank you so much! I was worried no one would even want to help look for my dear Tora. Please come in, have a seat." Lady Chu offered, in which Hana simply shook her head. "Thank you for you're offer, but I'll wait out here for my partner. In the meantime, could you describe, or give me a photo of the cat?" Lady Shu nodded, then gave her a brief description of the cat. It had greyish fur with black stripes, and had a bright red ribbon tied around it's neck, with a small bell on it.

After memorizing the given description of the cat, Hana was left to wait outside on the porch. Maybe coming early was a bad idea after all? Eh, better safe than sorry.

Alexander was reluctant to do this mission for it was a D-rank one. He sighed for he always had a history of bad luck with the lowest ranked missions that the guild gave. So after taking one more drink of orange juice (not good doing a job drunk), he got up on his seat. And walked out the bar and towards the house that required aid. Eventually he arrived in time to see the pink haired girl from the guild step out. Good, she talked to the client already. They could hurry up and catch the cat.

Alexander smiled at Hana, “Hello again Hana. How are you this pleasant evening?” Despite not liking doing D-rank mission, he put up a friendly face towards his fellow guildmates. No reason to share the misery after all. Besides maybe her presence will counter his bad luck. He asked, “So what breed are we looking for? Persian? Tabby? Siamese?” He asked curiously as he was not there for the meeting.

"Hello again Hana. How are you on this pleasant day?"Hana looked down from the sky she had been staring away at to see Alexander standing in front of her, a smile on his face. "Hello Alexander. I'm fine, thank you for asking." she replied politely, but with a voice that was as monotonous as ever.

When asked for the specific breed of the cat, Hana thought for a while before replying. "According to the description and from what I've seen in this photo..." she produced a photo of the runaway cat from her pocket. "I'm assuming it's a Tabby. Though I should've asked Lady Chu." she continued. After giving him some time to process the information, she asked. "So, shall we go now?"

Well that was a bit of a mood killer as she talked in an emotionless monotone voice. Well geez he was trying to be positive for the whole situation, but she was making it hard. His smile faded as he took the picture from her hand looked at it, "Yeah it's a tabby all right. Actually shouldn't be too hard to find. Especially since this one has a bell attached to it. We just keep out ears peeled and we shall find this in no time." Maybe for once a D-rank job won’t be cursed and this would go extremely easy.

Alexander then handed the page back to Hana and started walking down the street keeping eyes and ears peeled. He looked through every nook and cranny out in the street, but seemed that it wasn’t anywhere near the crowded street. Not liking the silence he asked, “So tell me a bit about yourself Hana. Why did you join Sabretooth?” He was trying to be friendly and making conversation, maybe it was that she still felt shy around him. Or maybe it was something else he didn’t figure in.

"Yeah it's a tabby all right. Actually shouldn't be too hard to find. Especially since this one has a bell attached to it. We just keep out ears peeled and we shall find this in no time." Alexaner's smile faded as soon as he said that, and took the photo out of her hand for a quick look. He then returned the photo, and they soon began their search for the missing feline.

Hana casually strode down the street, trailing behind Alexander whilst keeping alert, glancing about for any signs of a red ribbon or grey fur. "So tell me a bit about yourself Hana. Why did you join Sabretooth?" Alexander broke the silence between them. Hana remained quite, unsure of whether to share or not to share. Eventually, she decided that sharing a bit of information wouldn't hurt. "I want to be strong." she said plainly, though this time there was a hit of determination in her eyes.

Hana stopped in her tracks when she heard the sound of bells jingling, but then continued walking when she found that it was on a dog. "Why do you ask?" she looked towards Alexander.

Alexander listened to the short brief answer that Hana gave him. Okay to be stronger was good enough reason, but there had to be more to it. She was hiding so much with her monotone voice, but wasn't going to press the issue. Instead he smiled again politely as he heard a jingle, but turned out to be the sound of jewels being traded for food. Back to drawing board, but he still kept the polite smile. "That's an admirable goal. Actually was a trainee for the rune knights. Circumstances happened and now I am with you guys. It's more of a sense of honor and Sabretooth fitted the criteria perfectly." He chuckled slightly as the search continued, but stopped at a bakery store for a second.

He stopped for a second and chuckled, "Oh we are so going in there when the job is done. I am buying." He realized that celebrating with alcohol was not going to be possible with a minor in tow. So he'd settle for bakery instead, surely Hana would find something in there that she would like. He paused a bit as Hana asked and turned around to her. He answered bluntly, "Well we joined around the same time and part of the same guild. I try to understand all my guildmates so that we can work as a team. Also I'd like to be friends with my fellow guildmates and not strangers." He then continued down the road, attempting to find the cat.

Hana nodded when Alexander commented on her goal being admirable. Though she felt rather curious as to what the circumstances were that had lead him to join Sabertooth, but decided not to ask about it. Hana stopped in her tracks abruptly after Alexander did, her nose picking up the smell of freshly baked food. She'd definitely head here once her mission was finished, for she loved pastries!

As if her mind had been read, Alexander had stated that they would definitely head here after completing the mission, adding in that he would be buying as well. She nodded in agreement. "As you wish." she said, before continuing her walk. No sooner had she taken a step when she spotted a fluffy grey tail disappearing down an alleyway, the sound of bells accompanying it. "Found it." She informed Alexander, then quickly headed off towards its direction, keeping her guard up as she turned down into the alleyway, running after the feline. She confirmed that it was the cat they'd been tasked to search for, as it had the exact same ribbon in the photo, and the stripes all over it certainly matched the ones in the picture as well.

Alexander at least got something out of her. So she at least liked pastry goods, it was a start to getting to know her. Still it was hard to say if she was a cold emotionless person or someone that had trouble showing her feelings. Still regardless it was up to her to decide when she wanted to open up. He continued the pace until Hana commented that they found the cat. He followed closely, making sure to stand at the entrance in case the cat wanted to escape his direction. Still this job was turning out to be easy.

Alexander spoke too soon however, as a pack of alleycats came out of nowhere and jumped the male mage. They came out of nowhere and they started biting/scratching Alexander with the viciousness that only a cat could give. Soon he was covered from head to toe with all these fur balls and laid at the alleyway bleeding. Satisfied with their work the cats dispersed from Alexander to leave him bleeding on the ground. He commented comically, “Please tell everyone I died with honor...”  Alexander was not going to die anytime soon, but was scratched head to toe. This sort of luck was why he hated D-rank mission with a passion. It never failed, things like this always happened to him.

Hana had the Tabby cornered, knowing that if it got past her, Alexander, who was right behind her, would be able to catch it. "Here kitty..." She said, both hands slowly extending out towards the cat, who in return hissed menacingly at her, swinging it's claws in the direction of her hands. She sighed. She should've brought catnip with her. But, she considered herself to be an expert when it came to handling animals.

Hana crouched down to its level calmly, and slowly began petting it. The cat at first, hissed and scratched her, but soon calmed down. She then picked it up, cradling it in her arms. Turning around, she was surprised to see a pack of cats come running towards Alexander, pouncing onto the poor man and knocking him onto the ground. They began clawing and biting viciously at him, in which Hana dimly stood by and watched. After a few minutes of scratches and bites, they eventually finished with him and ran off, with Hana and the cat continuously staring at Alexander, who, said to let the guild know that he died an honorable death. "Okay." she nodded. "Do you want to hold it?" she asked, holding the furball she had in her arms out to him.

Alexander was on the ground laying there bleeding for a few seconds, before looking up at Hana. He chuckled at Hana getting the cat with little to no problem, but also to how bad his luck was. Alexander groaned slightly as he stood up, the swordsman realizing the scratches needed to washed and taken care off. Still the first order of the job would be to bring the cat back to its owner. It looked so cute that he reached to pet it saying, "I'd love to carry it..." At that moment the cat hissed and bit his hand drawing more blood, which caused Alexander to pull back his hand quickly as he winced in pain. He sighed, "...but it appears to like you better. Lets hurry back and get paid okay?"

He put up a strong face, but secretly hated D-rank missions with a passion. They were always cursed to screw him over in new ways. He walked past the bakery again on the way over took a sniff, it would be worth it though. In a few minutes they would be back to the house, he would let her do the talking though since Hana needed to break that shyness streak of hers. It would be better if she showed some kind of emotion in the process.

When Alexander actually said that he'd love to carry the little feline, Hana was somewhat surprised. She'd thought he'd refuse her offer, since he'd already had a bad experience with the cats a few minutes ago. Just as the, the tabby hissed, and bit Alexander, in which he reacted by jerking his hand back, blood seeping out of the wound.

"...but it appears to like you better. Let's hurry back and get paid okay?"

Hana nodded in agreement. "So it seems." she said, stroking the cat to calm it down once more as he lead the way, with her walking behind him. Only then did she notice that he had gotten quite a lot of scratches, and bite marks too. There were small blood stains here and there on his clothes as well. Were they painful? She remembered trying to tame a cat once, back when she was very young and quite bad with handling animals. She had found a stray cat wandering about in the kitchen at night, and attempted to pet it when it scratched her. Back then, when her feelings were more... Understandable, she had worried Mikoto so much with her crying, when she came running to him with a bloody hand.

The minute she thought of her elder twin, she began worrying about Mikoto. Was he doing fine without her? Sure, she'd gone on countless missions and left him at home for a few days, but... She did still think about him all the time. A look of concern and frustration came across her face, emotions that were hardly ever seen by others.

Alexander just chuckled a bit, but there was no worry, no laughter, no emotions whatsoever with Hana's face. He was beginning to worry that she was a robot with no emotions or even no soul. Everything about her was in the same monotonous voice that seemed to be the same regardless of what he did. There was not even a "hey are you okay?" Instead it was always 3 words or less in conversation. There not even a change in facial expression, instead there was always this blank face. Well to give her credit Hana would be excellent at poker with a face like that, maybe bring her to one of Maricks games. This actually made Alexander chuckle a bit. He liked the guild he was in, there was a sense of comraderie.

He then noticed that her facial expression changed to that of… frustration? He didn’t think he did something that annoying. No she was thinking about something in her mind that worried her. It couldn’t have been him since she would have shown concern when the swordsman laid there bleeding. No it was something else and although he didn’t know what it was there was something he needed to do. He stopped and with a single index finger poked Hana in the forehead saying, “keep your face like that and it might stay stuck that way. Besides worrying about anything will not help you or whatever you’re fretting about. “He still had a heartwarming smile despite the minor pain, it was nothing like what he went through in the Rune Knights. There were some pains that were worse than physical after all. Sometimes friends had to be pushy.

"keep your face like that and it might stay stuck that way. Besides worrying about anything will not help you or whatever you’re fretting about." Hana snapped out of her thoughts, looking towards her partner. What face? Had she been frowning? "Oh. Okay. I'll bear that in mind." she said, her face relaxing as they arrived at the client's house.

The door flew open as soon as Lady Chu had seen Alexander, Hana and her cat, from her window, rushing out to give a hug to whoever was unfortunate enough to stand there. Hana had been walking behind Alexander, who, if was not able to step aside in time, would find himself in a bone-crushing hug. Hana would be somewhat safe from the hug, unless Lady Chu had decided to hug her as well after she did so with Alexander. Which would probably kill the poor cat, who would be squished in between the two. "Ah! Thank you so much for bringing Tora back! I was so worried!" the woman pried the cat, who was clinging onto Hana desperately for dear life, off Hana and pretty much suffocated the creature in a hug. Hana almost pitied the poor creature. After giving both Hana and Alexander their rewards, she bid them farewell and skipped away merrily into the house, shitting the door behind her. I didn't know she could skip... Hana thought to herself, before shrugging it off.

Alexander was glad this job was over, there was so many cuts that needed to be cleaned. He needed to decide what to do with the money as well. It was not like he needed the money anyways. There was a sense of accomplishment despite not doing anything. Hana did all the work after all, he was just basically there to watching her get the cat. She got the cat, but he was mauled by a gang of cats. He was dazed when he was hugged as extreme agony reverberated through the body. How could such a woman have such a vice grip? The pain was unbearable until he was released. He could finally breathe again, but the pain from the cuts lingered. It was all in his power to nod, grab the bag of coins and walk. However it was obvious on his face was that he was in extreme agony.

He was quiet for most of the way back, but let out a small painful grunt when outside of the bakery. Alexander ordered a fudge brownie pastry and some coffee before getting a table. It was a long day, but it was profitable. At least he got to know Hana a bit more, but there was one thing nagging at him. He grabbed the small bag of jewels he got from the lady and gave it to Hana, “You can have my share. Don’t need it as much as you do. You say you want to get stronger, well here is a couple hundred towards a secondary spell." This time there was no smile, but a serious determined look on his face. It meant there was no way in hell you were going to convince him otherwise. He then proceeded to eat his brownie and sipping his coffee. It was a productive day after all.

Hana, upon arriving at the bakery, was the first one to enter it, partly because she couldn't resist the smell of the freshly baked goods they had. Then she halted, remembering that he was to be the one treating. Well, she'd find another way to pay him someday. She didn't particularly like to owe others anything.

Hana had ordered a plate of cheesecake and a cup of hot chocolate, then joined Alexander at the table. She was baffled when she was given Alexander's share of the money. Didn't he want it? "You can have my share. Don’t need it as much as you do. You say you want to get stronger, well here is a couple hundred towards a secondary spell." The man had said, a rather serious look on his face. Hana wanted to refuse it. But he was right. If she accepted his money, she could very well have an extra few hundred jewels prepared for her secondary. Though she was more than likely to use it on Mikoto's medical fees. They were ridiculously high after all. "I refuse. It'll be more than a while before I would even buy my secondary. Besides, I've yet to master my primary magic." Okay, that was partially a lie. Clearly she had quite a good grasp of her magic, but she still hadn't really worked it out properly yet. Also, strangely, it didn't really feel right to take his money.

Alexander sat back and watched as Hana watched in amazement. He ate the brownie slowly and meticulously, but enjoyed the caffeine of the coffee more. He needed the energy to continue the day. Getting that cat was tiring and painful, but the small good that he did made him feel good. The jewels to him were just an extra reward. He was guilty of crimes that would forever damn his soul, so this meant that it would take a lifetime to make up for it. People died for him to get his power and there was nothing he could do to get them back.

Alexander sighed and raised an eyebrow at Hana's response. He then lightly face palmed in the face, when do people just refuse jewels? Oh wait, Sabretooth does. Alexander forgot about it, but then again was it being selfless to give jewels up like that? Maybe it was, but for once he smiled again. Unlike all the other smiles he gave, this was genuine. How could one tell? Cause his eyes glowed like orbs of pure fire and then simmered down. However there seemed to be something sinister about said fire though. He then pushed the bag back to her, "Who said you have a choice?" He then got up from the table and started to walk out the door before she could respond. He then walked out the door and said a few final words, "I hope we do another mission together soon Miss Suzuki. Good day." He then stepped out the door and lost himself in the crowd. That kid was going to be alright.

[exit]