Chapter 2: Team
“ʙᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴏ ғɪɢʜᴛ ғᴏʀ sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀɴ ʟɪᴠᴇ ғᴏʀ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ”
~ɢᴇᴏʀɢᴇ. ᴘᴀᴛᴛᴏɴ
Location: 4-22-14 Taishido, Aoda Building 2F, Setagaya
Area: Barpond
Miyasaki Ayase waited a few seconds before she tapped the rough oak of the bar counter. She whistled to get the huge breasted bar maid’s attention while the music blasted behind her, bleeding her eardrums with the choice of music. Leaning forward on her bar stool, she placed her hand on her cheek. Why did the agency have to pick such an annoying place to meet the team they assigned her to.
Dramatically turning around from a customer, the barmaid flipped her orange waves and grinned. Her bubblegum lip gloss shimmering in the dim lights “If you would give me a sec, I will be right with you.” she raised her glitter nails. turning back to the dark-skinned man with a purple Mohawk, he wore a multicolored shirt that read “fuck you” in bright bold letters.
The pub’s light flickered as the foreign bodies mingled to Timber by Kesha on the dance floor. The crowd jumped up and down like toddler’s on a bounce house. Some individuals stood to the side talking to their company while taking shots of the special liquor advertised on the bamboo serving tray.
The bar pond was at 4-22-14 Taishido, Aoda Building 2F, Setagaya outside the neighborhood of Segenjaya. The building made of wood and cut plaster. The tawny color of the decor blending in with the brown liquors on the shelves of the back wall. There was a maroon drape pulled taut to display all the varieties of Bourbon, Brandy, Crown Royal and ect.
Miyasaki Ayase herself felt at home with the choices of poison displayed in front of her. Her phone dinged in her pocket. notifying her of a message, thumbing in her passcode, and she pulled down her notification bar .
Unknown number: The briefing, start’s in a few minutes. This is Maggie Devalue you can call me Mag for short.
Brows furrowed, she narrowed her eye’s. She wondered who this Maggie person was.Miyasaki Ayase had no friends. Most people were afraid of her “weird.” She mumbled to herself as she fixed herself up in her seat.
Miyasaki was more of a nonchalant person.she never showed emotion. Hardly laughed. She was the ultimate three C’s meaning cool, calm and collected. She took things in stride, never extra.She did just enough. Never anything dramatic. Over the past years of whisper’s of her birthplace and her ability to out best anyone with the will to face her one on one, she learned to adapt to her surroundings being shunned throughout the organization; she became the black cat living in the shadows. Lethal and silent.
A flash of curious moss green orbs popped in her head. The average of people feared her but Sage, her annoying partner. He was a completely different story. He was a loser with a goofy smile and for her that loosened her shoulder’s from their stiffness.
She admitted to herself that when she was around him she betrayed the rule she pledged to herself, never to let anyone in, never show a hint of weakness. It was her allegiance to herself; it was the number two things never to do. One slip up and she would be slaughtered. The ones closest to you were always the ones scheming behind your back. He was the reason she asked to join a different team. She couldn’t risk it. She was getting too chummy with him. Laughter was not her, it was the evil of the world, the root of it all. The start to the finish.
She was Miyasaki Ayase from the clan of Mubishi.Her clan known as assassins who reeked of death. She wasn’t saki, whose heart fluttered and pranced. She killed, she took lives; she sliced criminals open with shears. Blood tainted her. Sage was a hidden part in her mind she preferred to keep undiscovered, stored in a box and thrown in the sea's bottom.
The click clack of the barmaid’s stilettos saved her from a reply to the unknown number. “Sorry , about that I had to get him settled. He’s one of our regulars and we didn’t have what he usually came in here for , so I had to offer him something new. “ The barmaid reached to her apron and slipped out a little black book with a gold circle on the cover of it ,out of her pocket. Flipping a page she sweetly looked back at Saki , pen steadied in hand. Grinning, she asked, “what will you be having? If you want, I can recommend our Bloody Mary, Moscow Mule and Mint Julep- '' She began.
Distantly Saki stared at her, wondering to herself how long it would take for her to grab the pen and stab it through her golden complexion to watch the crimson spurt from out of the severed artery, not interested at the words that ran out her curved mouth.
“Winter Spiced.” She exhaled. Stuffing her phone back in her skinny jeans. She crossed her arms, smirking. Juggling whether or not to order an adequate drink she was certain the briefing would be boring and probably make her fall asleep but then again going in the meeting drunk off her ass wouldn't be better.
“Winter spiced”, code for meeting. A meeting always meant someone on the poll was going to be dead in the next couple of hours. The news would bustle about it, meanwhile Saki would already be on the next flight to the agency. Why name she didn’t know. The text on her phone this morning only told her to repeat it. It was crazy how the organization chose what they said as if they were god not that she believed in that nonsense.
The bartender’s smile faded at the words spoken, replaced with a faint line that showed the wrinkles in her age. Her rounded cheeks blossomed with pink, removing her hands from her thick hips she stood ram-rod straight “Y-Yes straight this way.” she stuttered.
The barmaid moved in a robotic way, her legs weighing down like lead as she walked to the back of the pub. She led the way through the lively people on the dance floor. Her hip swayed as she went, She hugged herself as if she was cold from the humid air around them.
Saki knew that the barmaid was scared , knew her lips were pinched together. she could feel the tension as they walked out the pub into an alley on the side of the street. Her orange hair masking her face as she peeked Saki's direction for the second time that night as they walked through the back alley. The silver star’s twinkling in the inky sky above them.
She clicked her tongue out of boredom , her carmel orb’s taking in the soft glow of the lantern lights, in the booth’s inches away from them individuals sat at the counter tops stuffing their faces with the local cuisine, steamed plates of unaju. Skinned salmon with cubed rice. The tourist opted for a plate of jasmine rice with bay leaves on top.The booths lined down the street making it a narrow path to walk through .
The barmaid glanced back no doubt hoping she lost Saki in the small space, her shoulder unwinding as her pace slowed.
Saki caught her stare tilting her head to the side, she held up her gloved fingers pretending they were a gun “Pow. “she mouthed as a sinister chuckle left her lips As if it were a ghastly entity, the chuckle bounced off the walls between them. Whispering in the barmaid’s ear. Caressing her bare skin.
For the remainder of the walk the barmaid held her head down.Saki shrugged. She was used to it. She knew they wondered how someone who appeared so fragile , so innocent could be so damn monstrous and the usual bullshit.
The briefing room wasn’t anything special in a creepy sort of a way, there was no polished floor, just crates and a long table that had a light hanging on for dear life above it. The mold on the walls crawled up to the ceiling in streaks. Leather stools seated around it. A vending machine that had dust particles falling off it faced the door she walked in from.
“O.M.G. your, I mean you freaking made it. I was debating texting you again, “she looked down at her phone excitedly then shot her purple orb’s back to angela. “You know because you were running a few minutes late and what not but then I was like oh my god. She probably got stuck with the pissy women with the big titts,” she said, emphasizing her chest. “You could tell she’s not our biggest fan.” she scrunched her glittered nose up.
Maggie Dessalegne was stunning; she was much darker with her luscious melanin skin. Her skin wasn’t the basic brown or black, her color resembled the passionate mixtures of violet. Horizontal and vertical lines traced down her skinny neck, a gold star adoring both of her puffy cheeks.She was the mundane reflection of the constellation. Her hair a dark shade of brown.
Saki looked behind her. Maybe someone came in because there was no way that this lady could have been openly talking to her.
“Miyasaki.“Maggie repeated. “This might be new to you having someone initiate a conversation or random people just coming up talking to you, “She pointed to herself. “But hey, I think you're a cool chick.”
Wait. What? Was she insane? Maggie looked like she could be in a beauty pageant. Why was she talking to her?
“Lost your words?” She bit the top of her lip. “Maybe I am talking too much, Sophie said I have that habit.” She said as an afterthought.
“You are,’’ Saki dead panned, she mentally collected herself.Don't falter she repeated in her head.
Maggie grabbed Saki hand’s , squeezing them tight as a fist, she beamed in her face. “You, just don’t know how much of a fan I am of yours, like you’re hot and wild,” she cheerfully squealed, “Omg, you’re the MC in anime. “ MC being the main character. Sometimes Maggie just could not help her anime obsession.
“Oh,” Saki said awkwardly, that’s what this was about some fan frenzy . There were always rumors about what she did, the way she did it. Saki didn’t know what to say at first she barely even had time to breathe. This girl could seriously talk, as she opened her mouth to answer. Another woman ran up. This time not to her but the chatterbox.
A short woman with honey waves and amber highlights. Sophena Bellendon appeared to be nineteen. Everything about her diminutive, her tan face rounded in the right places, pale lips drawn in a unique bow, her finely arched auburn brows sat at the top of her ocean like eye’s. She was radiant, almost as if she was glowing. She was the porcelain doll Saki saw on the wired tv the agency had given her when she was a little girl.
The skin beneath her forehead pinched. She pried her friend’s fingers off of Saki’s. “Maggie, please don’t enact your fan craze emotions right now.” she whispered softly as she grabbed Maggie’s shoulder and walked away in a burst of nervousness.
halfway to the table with Maggie arms gripped in her hands Sophie turned around to her to mouth the words “Sorry.” She overheard Sophie whisper to Maggie.“You really couldn’t have waited for later on to do that? “Maggie answered with a leer and wink towards Saki.
Mentally Shaking the weird introduction off, Saki continued on her way to take a seat she paused before she sat down. Maggie beamed her way like a love struck fool. Saki visibly scowled. She pulled her hoodie over her head.
“Sophie, how many times have I told you that your friend is a bit of a crazy bitch,” A tall figure stood in the shadows of the corner of the room. Jack Adino looked to be about 6’2 with his big hands crossed around his broad chest. He had a blue bandana wrapped around his forehead with a skull shaded on his arm. He was built more of a WWE fighter than an actual human. He yawned. “And, now we can begin.” his trousers sagged on his hip, his shirt revealing his lean chest.
Sophie twisted in her seat. Her face becoming heated.Sophie folded the collar to her dress down. “Jack, Maggie is not crazy. She is just impatient and obviously has a tremendous interest in Mrs. Ayase there is no shame in what she did.”
Jack calmly walked towards the table where everyone now sat. “Impatient is the new insane,” he grinned, cracking his knuckles. Jack was not a man of keeping his thoughts to himself. If he had something to say he said it no matter how that person felt about it he was the bully with beauty.
“And who are you to judge anyway, jack.” Sophie was annoyed with Jack. he always had something to say about Maggie,always butting in on their business.
“Not judging sweet cheeks,” He dropped in his seat at the table. “Just stating.”
“Well , how about you keep your opinions to yourself and mind’s your’s.” Sophie said Cooley.
“Yeah, Jack, ‘’ Maggie added as she twirled her mousy locks around her dark finger. She gave a smart look and stuck out her tongue “not my fault you suck.”
“Your entire life sucks, kid hush this is a grown adult business. “Jack said as he motioned with his fingers on his lips, telling Maggie to be quiet.
“Mind you, I am in my pre-adult year’s.” Maggie pointedly said as she stabbed a finger in his direction. “Don’t you ever tire of being a Jackass. “
“Well,” he said with a pause, a smirk played on his lips. “That is my name.”
Sophie furiously kicked a smooth leg over her thigh with a slit dress the task should have been complicated but Sophie did it elegantly. “No need to be it.”
“Sophie, darling, sometimes I just can't help myself, It really just pains me to be such an uncivil man,” Jack said confidently. He was playing with them. His sly smile hidden from their view.
“Sophie, you can’t argue with an idiot,” Maggie growled at jack. “He’s just an idiot who is begging to get put in his place,” Her feline wanted to come out and play.
“Oh please Maggie, I didn’t ask to be in your kindergarten class. To hear you bitch all day. “
“See, now you’ve done it,” Maggie jumped out of her chair, placing her chipped nails on the table. “Jack, you asshole just shut up.” Maggie glared at him, pulling her hair in a ponytail. She never took her eye off jacks. her orb’s lit with irritation.
Sophie tried to get Maggie quieted down. “Just ignore him, mag, no need for your combat skills on him. He’s just mad that He is not the main attention anymore.” she said the last words with venom. The meaning behind the line was clear in the room.
Jack pulled a hurt face. Before laughing, “You two have been here longer than me. At least I have a rank. “he said, eyeing them both.
Maggie halfway Scrambled across the table. Sophie pulled on her legs to get her off. “Hell no, he is going down today.” Maggie said in clenched teeth as she tried to reach him.
Sophie looked at Jack, her brows narrowed over her crystal blues, then let go of Maggie’s leg. “beat his arse for the both of us since he just won’t stop blabbering his mouth.” she glared at him sitting back in her seat.
Sophie turned towards Angie. “I’m really sorry about earlier. She didn’t mean no harm. Just keen to meet you, “she smiled from ear to ear, her matte lipstick revealing perfect teeth. She reached out her hands for Saki to shake.
“I’m Sophena, a seer and those two over there are in our group, “Jack Adino is a black magic user,” she said rolling her eyes. “You will get used to his narcissistic traits in a few days. Maggie is my sis, well not by blood but close enough. She is our feline shifter. “
Saki’s brows knit together in confusion.” feline shifter?” she said awkwardly.She had been hold up in the agency for too long she hadnt known the shifters had expanded.The only ones she witnessed took shelter in the scorching continent of Africa.
Sophie paused her writing. “You don’t know what those are?” She asked with her orbs going over her head.
“Yes.” Saki gave a light chuckle.” of course I have never seen one though not local."
Sophie pursed her lips. “Feline shifter is a category. Maggie is in the Cat category.All together there are thirty-seven.The rest of that I don’t know, Maggies the first shifter I’ve ever met.I do know they tend to migrate alot around winter.”
She pointed to Maggie and Jack, entangled with one another.” Believe it or not, this is the usual for them," Sophie spoke with a mature tone. Her voice vibrant “you are Miyasaki Ayase right? “she searched her features, diamond earrings twinkling as she focused.
“The one and only.” There was no emotion behind Saki's words.She declined the handshake. She stared at Sophie’s soft hands, as if they were going to fall off with just a single touch from them.
Sophie blushed, hid her hands under her thighs, brushing off the contact she looked around before going into another topic.
“I don’t know what anyone told you, but the mission for tomorrow is easy, it’s not complicated now there’ve been some noisy lies running about the amount of agent’s who have died. She shook her head. “The primary reason we lost a bunch of people was, because someone tracked them.”
Other than the adult drama, this stroked Saki’s interest. Followed? It wasn’t something the organization hadn’t dealt with efficiently before. But more of a who?, Who was keeping tabs on the organization without them knowing? Who had the power to get ahead of them?
At that, she turned towards Sophie. “What do you mean tracking? “
Sophie stopped tapping her heels on the floor. “I mean tracking. The clean-up crew who found the bodies said they had been drained of all their blood and found a chip inside of the deceased wrist,” she pulled her honey curls to the side of her neck.
“I mean it’s crazy, at first they thought it was the Ghouls but the details were different, their heads were ripped off their bodies, “ scooting her chair closer towards Saki, she cupped her mouth and secretly whispered “all six of them.”
Sophie blushed, hid her hands under her thighs, brushing off the contact she looked around before going into another topic.
“I don’t know what anyone told you, but the mission for tomorrow is easy, it’s not complicated now there’ve been some noisy lies running about the amount of agent’s who have died. She shook her head. “The primary reason we lost a bunch of people was, because someone tracked them.”
Other than the adult drama, this stroked Saki’s interest. Followed? It wasn’t something the organization hadn’t dealt with efficiently before. But more of a who?, Who was keeping tabs on the organization without them knowing? Who had the power to get ahead of them?
At that, she turned towards Sophie. “What do you mean tracking? “
Sophie stopped tapping her heels on the floor. “I mean tracking. The clean-up crew who found the bodies said they had been drained of all their blood and found a chip inside of the deceased wrist,” she pulled her honey curls to the side of her neck.
“I mean it’s crazy, at first they thought it was the Ghouls but the details were different, their heads were ripped off their bodies, “ scooting her chair closer towards Saki, she cupped her mouth and secretly whispered “all six of them.”
Ghouls were banned from entering into the eccentric city of Tokyo. The war of the first born assured that. It was a reminder of why the organization was put in place; it was a reminder of why they fought so hard for this. Why the blood spilled on the street’s. Why the kids were afraid of the dark, why their bodies trembled at a certain word. It represented loss that woke them up at night in their bed soaked in sweat. The war of the ghouls and the humans. The war that ran the creatures of the night away that made them take shelter in the ruins. It was a mistake in their history. The war over the kids that went missing in Chicago .
It all started on a rainy evening when a mom walked with her little girl to the ice cream parlor. One minute her little girl was there, the next minute they could not find her, not even the wolves on the police force could track her scent down. A few weeks later it would be another kid missing, then another. It would keep going until three hundred and sixty-five kids went missing from their homes, their schools, or their vacations with their family. A few months later, the wolves would find all of those little bodies sealed in a cave in the western parts of Europe. The next few weeks the seer’s of the court would rule the vampires not guilty.
The seers had the power to look into the future, this time they could not. The person responsible blocked their connection. That wasn’t enough for the citizens of Tokyo, they needed a creature to fault.
The people would get angry, they would start leeching and setting the vampires on fire. Staking and hanging them from their feet, they burned shops to the ground; it was a rebellion against the law. They would drain vampires of their life force like all the missing kids hung and drained.
To keep the order in place Bounty Hunters would be born with a silver crescent on their necks they would be in charge of killing any vampire on site. The vampires would be banned for a crime they did not commit. Half of their coven burned in the embers of the sun. The city of Tokyo would smell of torched bodies covered in a charcoal cloud of smoke. Ashes of their loved ones would drift in the air, the putrid scent of death stained in the citizens’ noses.
“No, it couldn’t be vampires, they are not that stupid to enter the cities borders.” shaking her head. she stretched her arms out, the flight took longer than she thought. There was not enough time for her to strip off her clothes and get some shut eye at the local hotel. “What the hell is happening here?” she thought inwardly. She had to get to the bottom of it.
“I said the same, but what other creatures could it be?” Sophie asked, she scribbled something in her notebook. Looking up every now and then to watch Maggie and Jack go at it like they were the only two in the room. Sophie jabbed a manicured thumb towards them. “Fighting is the new way of showing strengthening their bond to one another. We stick together but man do we fight like heck.”
Saki shrugged it off. Searching for the lead of the group, as the bickering continued in the room. She was about to scroll through her phone’s news feed. When the sound of throat clearing silenced the room.
Maggie loosened her grip on Jack’s shirt ,while he released his fist from her collared shirt. They both scurried back to their seats like kids at a playground. They were so vicious with one another. Cats and Dogs would be an understatement with those two.
Maggie opted to walk around the table instead of crawling over it this time. She found Sophie and Saki in conversation."Oh yeah" she clapped her hands, her lavender eyes widened as she faced the front.
Saki didn’t know how Maggie changed her mood so quickly.
Sophie eye’s eyes curiously sought the sound.
Saki placed her feet on the table. Not really caring, just content that the screeching from Maggie and Jack stopped.
Her hazel eyes caught the front of the room. A man with wide shoulders had his attention centered on a stack of clipped papers on the table, his forehead creased in concentration. He clicked his pen as he searched through the papers. Dressed in black from head to toe. He Wore a cut away lapel coat, and a black turtleneck to straight legged jeans. Julio Sinclair was the lead commander on the team. He sat back in his chair, his being the only chair in the room rubbing his smooth chin, clearing his throat, he spoke. His raucous voice demanded the attention of his team.
“Everyone’s, here I presume.” He ran a hand through his truffles “Miyasaki Ayase, thank you for joining our team.” He scanned her with his gold orbs. “having you here is of great significance.”
♘♢♥♞
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone