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Source of Strength; [Closed]
Topic Started: Feb 18 2014, 08:43 PM (315 Views)
Dante
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WHERE THE FUCK IS MARIO
Despite her decision to hang up her vigilante days, that didn't mean she wasn't prone to simply hanging out on rooftops, leaping around, making the backstreets her playground once again. With wind magic most impossible jumps were made possible and at her level there were few things in this world the Snakegirl couldn't reach.

Stopping off on the ground for a moment she stretched her arms and legs. She had promised to not do this anymore. This path through the streets, her old patrol route... maybe it was just to reminisce a little. Yeah. To the old times when the only power she needed was her own two hands. Maybe that was too far, that was also the worst times. She had saved people, but she had also turned to murder and ever so quickly.

The Yakuza were scum, so she killed them without remorse, hoping one day she would find the man who killed her family. Did she ever find him? No. The ending was never written. But the Ayane from the present didn't need that ending. She was content to let the story continue without incident. There didn't need to be an ending after all.

She looked at her hands for a moment until her eyes caught her tattoo. How long had it been since she first got the thing? Years? It was faded, but not enough to break the details. A snake the coiled around her arm and finished at her hand, below the glove. She smiled to herself. A symbol of strength, to protect herself while she slept.

Her symbol.
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
Noburu had gone home, or to the ruins, or to... somewhere. All June Hollyfield knew was that he wasn't there. She was alone, and the greatest danger left to her in the backstreets of Nagashima these days was that one of the delinquents roaming around would recognize her as not being one of them. The most dangerous thing in the backstreets wasn't a danger to her at all; she wasn't a magic person.

So June couldn't help Noburu and she didn't have to worry about being murdered by the people she was worried might murder Noburu. How fantastic for her.

"...Somethin' the matter?" asked the cashier, snapping June out of her thoughts. "Y'look a bit out of it." June gave the green-haired girl a look. Her yellow eyes darted down and she shrugged, muttered, "Y'don't gotta say if ya don't wanna..." and finished ringing up the cheap late-night bento June had bought herself. Once that was done, June took her food and soda and walked back to the shop entrance, stepping out into the night with a bag over her shoulder and a scowl on her face. She looked left, and right, and then just started walking in a random direction. She would catch hell for this later at home, but eh, she didn't care. She didn't want to be cooped up in her room right now.

Not when all she had to think about was him. Her first crush, old flame, dead in an ash jar somewhere. Not that the two of them had been close at all. It had mostly just been an experiment--they'd both been curious and they'd sated that curiousity together and in retrospect, it was gross and awkward for both of them, but... dead. Just having that dropped on her head like that, out of nowhere...

Kenshin Nakadachi and his sister were a reminder of a simpler time, really. Things had been better back then. And then her asshole father had been fired from his job and word had slipped out about why and the whole family had been the subject of bad rumors and they'd had to pick up and leave just to have a shot at another source of livelihood.

It hadn't turned out well at all.

June's eyes darted around, and she brought her hand to her face, warming it with her breath. She needed to buy new gloves. She kept meaning to, but even with Noburu's pay for doing shit the police should have been doing themselves, money was tight. Her mother had assumed it was more money from stuff she was better off not knowing the details about. Sometimes it was stuff she had to keep from Noburu. There were only so many times a month she could borrow money from her boyfriend without hope of paying it back before she felt bad about it.

"...Huh."

Well, there was five second's worth of distraction, and June was grateful for any distracting she could get at this point. About three blocks from the corner store, where she'd hoped she might settle on a bench and eat, June spied a green-haired woman. Well, green hair always caught her eye--it wasn't uncommon to see people dying it that color back here, and June couldn't help comparing it to her own. That woman pulled it off a bit more naturally. Sometimes June couldn't help regretting the mohawk, but it was a bit late to undo it now and she wasn't really sure how to manage it during the awkward regrowth period. She just kept doing it up the same way and trying not to get angry when people gave her looks over it.

Trying. Trying poorly.

Then she saw the tattoo, and slowed down, squinting a bit, trying to make out the details as she passed. Was it a Yakuza tattoo, or was this woman a fellow tattoo enthusiast who couldn't give a single fuck what everyone thought about body art? June thought it was probably the latter. If Yakuza were going to go around on someone else's turf they'd probably sent people who hadn't painted great big old "fuck me" signs on their arms.
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Dante
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WHERE THE FUCK IS MARIO
Of course, Ayane had been alone in her own thoughts, but old habits die hard. As soon as the footsteps, the presence of another person made themselves known, she turned her head to see who it was. A mohawk, interesting choice of hairstyle. She didn't come off aggressively. She had already told him it was over, there was no more patrolling the backstreets.

"Yo." She looked at her arm and smiled. "Was it this? This usually gets most people's attention. I got it done when I was younger. Its a symbol of strength." She moved a little closer, but obviously not too close, just in case. "What about you? I tend to get a new one whenever I make a new vow. Kinda silly right? I just... feel like I'd forget if I didn't."
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
June had been intending to walk on by, but it looked like she'd been noticed. There was a moment of reflexive irritation--she usually did get noticed, because of her hair--but there wasn't any disgust or anything in this woman's greeting. That was refreshing. Maybe she was used to talking with "unsavory" kids... but then that possibility brought trouble of its own.

The girl took the opportunity to stop and look at the tattoo a bit more carefully anyway. She couldn't help it--whoever had done that one for her was good, and June was always up for picking up tips.

"...Nah, ain't silly at all," she said in an impassive voice, affecting a look of nonchalance. A symbol of strength, huh? Most would call that an adolescent flight of fancy, but fuck 'em all in the assholes with powerdrills, as far as June was concerned they could think what they wanted as long as they kept their fat mouths shut about it. She then found herself saying: "I've made my own sort of vow that way, actually." She paused. Should she say it? Fuck, maybe she should--it wasn't like she'd ever see this woman again anyway. So she grinned and said, "Wasn't on my body, though. Hard to draw one on yourself unless you've got some extra Hindu arms handy. So where'd you get that one done?"
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Dante
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WHERE THE FUCK IS MARIO
Ayane nodded slowly. So she had made her own vow... on someone else? Seemed a bit weird, but maybe if they loved the other person enough, there was a good reason to. "Heh, so you're a tattoo artist yourself? Awesome. I usually go to a guy I know in the backstreets. He gave me this a few years ago and..."

She turned around and raised the back of her shirt without a single bit of hesitation. "This one's newer though. Felt like I needed a new symbol to escape the old me." A pause. "I used to... protect these streets, serpent symbol etc. There was a cult about me once, I thought that was kinda weird. Then it got kinda large and weird people showed up."

A small sigh, as she released her shirt. "Seems like anything I do comes with this opposite horrible condition."
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
June blinked at the tattoo on the woman's back. It seemed to be made up of a bunch of words at first glance. ...No, not words. Names...

That's a LOT of boyfriends... AND girlfriends! June thought wildly, eyes flitting across the tattoo's design. ...Am I just standing next to the world's most glorious pansexual or something? She didn't know what the green-haired woman was saying about escaping the old her, but when protecting these streets and serpent symbol hit her ears, and her eardrums transferred the words into her brain, and her brain deciphered their meaning and made a connection...

June found herself more interested in staring at the woman's face instead of her back. Her face was blank, and her mouth was slightly open. And then--

"...Y-you're... Serpentina?" she asked. The bag slung over her shoulder almost slipped off the side, but she managed to collect herself before it swung off. Serpentina. The vigilante. Once, Serpentina had saved her from muggers while she was making her way home after a nighttime... job. That hadn't been that long ago... June had run away without looking back. It was only later that she'd found out who must have intervened.
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Dante
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WHERE THE FUCK IS MARIO
Ayane smiled widely. "The one and only. Of course I stopped dyeing my hair cuz it was a pain in the ass and I don't mind how it looks, but I'm still the same girl I was before, still got the gloves, still got the spear and I can still crawl up a lamppost unassisted!" She tilted her head somewhat. "That's the first time someone's remembered me in a while though!"

She stretched, her joints popping before turning attention back to the conversation. "So, where did you hear of me? I mean, all those names on my back, they've got a lot of words about me but I dunno if you ran into any of em. Serpentina, those days.. that was before this vow. Long story but I dunno, I guess I kinda wanted to show off my tattoos, I'm really proud of them.

Scratching her chin she smiled. "Maybe I'll get one if I pass the vet exam."
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
"You saved me once," June heard herself say, with a surprising amount of calmness. She felt like her mind was still playing catch-up with her physical brain--Serpentina? That Serpentina? The Serpentina? Couldn't be. Could it? "I don't know if I would've died without your help, but I probably would've gone hungry..."

The mohawk-girl then narrowed her eyes as if suspicious, and stepped up closer, leaning in to examine the woman's face. "...For serious? Really?" she muttered. And then she drew back sharply, her face taking on a very-uncommon red tint as she realized what she was doing. "Aaaah--s-sorry, I just... really... um--"

June felt herself possessed of a weird, sudden urge to beg this woman for her autograph. It was swiftly suppressed. She backed away and stood almost unnaturally straight.

"...I just... really respect you, that's all," she said in a strained voice, and a slightly high one. Suddenly it was a lot easier to look at the sidewalk than at the woman who claimed to be Serpentina. "...S-so... um... thanks."
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Dante
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WHERE THE FUCK IS MARIO
Ayane smiled. When she had been working the streets, hurting those who would try to hurt others, she hadn't expected thank yous, presents or anything else. Just the satisfaction that Ayane Hitomi could do some good in the world was enough for her. After all the horrible things she had done and caused with constant murder of the yakuza, one win was enough.

"I'm glad to have been there then!" As she stepped in closer, Ayane did nothing, remaining motionless until she drew herself away. Tilting her head she was confused. What was she looking for? The serpentine green eyes? "You're welcome! You say you respect me? Well that means a lot to me. My name is Ayane Hitomi by the way."

She gave a bow. "Pleased to meetcha! You seem really interesting and if I saved your life at some point, then I'm glad you survived."
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
I seem interesting? That was a weird thing to say. It also wasn't something she heard that often. Really, the only people who took interest in her ever, at any time, were her boyfriend, and... guys who wanted to get into her pants. Some guys just really liked foreign girls. Sometimes she had to take advantage of that.

Not that she ever let them get that far. Just far enough that she could take what she needed and run...

"...My name's June Hollyfield," the girl said, dipping her head in an awkward semi-bow that only looked all the more out-of-place as a mannerism with the spiked mohawk. The Caucasian girl never had quite gotten used to Japanese customs... even now, all these years after arriving here, she still stumbled over basic things that the locals took for granted as expected of everyone. "I'm a little surprised, to be honest. I heard rumors you'd left the city after--um--"

June almost broke off, unsure if the subject was something she should bring up. But she decided, to hell with it, Noburu had kept her and Shouta out of that mess, she had no stake in it besides staying out of the way until it all exploded. Besides, it might be interesting to hear Serpentina's side of that story.

"--after that mess with Samurakami's bunch. But I guess you can't believe everything you hear on the streets, huh..."

The girl rubbed at the back of her head, and glanced at her bag. "I'm glad I survived, too. Uh--question. On a certain message board, uh--there's a user named 'SerpentinaInfinity' that I've seen around a few times. Is that really you? Or is it like... a fake or a fan, or something."
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