Mission # 90: The Great Domino Effect! [Blackitten/Shinku]

[Shinku]

"He's late..."
Had he known that the Bat Boy would dilly-dally so much, Kyou would just have followed the mother and her little child - and probably be out of the cursed haunted house by now.
It was strange that now that he decided to not run away, his chaser was not turning up to take him captive - if that's even what Pluto had in mind.
The black-haired boy had attacked him out of the blue without so much a word as to why and Kyou could only speculate. The older sibling liked to fight and had been taken up with the training lessons that strange panda had taught him on Dojo Island, so maybe Pluto considered this a sort of training and now that Kyou wasn't playing along anymore he just got bored and gone home? Unlikely...
Maybe he was just trying to mentally wear him down. If so, it was kinda of working for Kyou was starting to have second thoughts about his decision to surrender.
What if Pluto just wanted him dead?
They were certainly not friends and while they hadn't been enemies exactly, there had always been an unspoken hostility between them. No one had really trusted the other much. Did Pluto need any other reason for killing someone? Kyou didn't knew him well enough to say.

Someone finally stepped into the room, but surprisingly the person entered from the back, rather than the open door frame Kyou had been watching. The messy-haired man turned around in time to see three marines entering the room with their weapons ready.

"I .. yield?"


Captain Hanif Amir had not run blindly through the halls and room but had advanced carefully and at a steady pace to make sure he didn't miss anything in those overly stuffed rooms. Before entering he had asked the manager to light the maintenance lights and turn off the apparatuses and the sound effects, so whatever moved or made a sound now, had to be a living thing.

Not all unexpectedly, they found the staff person that the woman with the small child had described to him earlier in the second room before the exit (if only Kyou had known!), though finding the man sitting on a stuffed shark was a rather odd sight. But Captain Hanif had dealt with much odder situations.
He studied the man - young man - who had just surrendered to him without being requested to and came to the conclusion that there was no need for a violent arrest. Instead he had questions, and he wanted them answered.

"Are you one of the staff?" Hanif wanted to know. The teenager in front of him looked like a very convincingly beaten up corpse, but this place was also frequented by very young visitors- there should be a limit on how realistic things look!

"Yes... err.. no."

Hanif scowled at that answer, but it was yet too early to get unpleasant. Maybe the boy had a reason for his answer. First he needed to find out more before he could make a judgement.

"Are you or are you not the one who told the Lady with child to leave this place?!" Captain Hanif put his authority into his voice and the boy reacted almost automatically, as if something in his bones was used to taking commands.

"Aye! That was me, sir!"

It was a small change, but Hanif had trained young marines before and he didn't miss that the young lad was now sitting straight (well, almost) with his green eyes looking directly at him rather than at his knees. The boy had also added a Sir. Interesting...

"Why? And why are you stealing glances over your shoulder while I'm talking with you."

That made the boy wince. Drops of water drizzled over the floor as the boy stood up hesitantly. It was hard to notice under the thick layer of paint and cobwebs but the hair was definitely a dark shade of pink, as was reported to be hair of the offender who had apparently attacked a Noble and stolen a golden picture frame from another. But pink hair was not a conclusive evidence of guilt. If anything it made the boy a suspect, though he seemed too short to be the culprit if one was to believe the World Noble who had insisted that the attacker had been almost seven feet tall (a testimony no one had contradicted to the Noble's face, though the present marines had reported a much smaller man).
They had at least managed to recover the picture frame.

"Because I was randomly attacked by someone and I suspect he might turn up to attack me again, sir."
"Are you eager for a fight?" Hanif had to ask, though the boy didn't look eager at all. Some of the blood wasn't fake but real, he could smell it. "If not, why didn't you run away when you had the chance?"
"I didn't want to get the civilians involved, sir."
"Civilians... Are you a marine, boy?"
Ahh... now the lad was chewing his bottom lip and didn't met his eyes anymore. He clearly hadn't meant to say it like that, but it slipped...
"No sir. Why would you think that, sir?"
"If you're really hunted by someone, shouldn't he have turned up by now?"
Rather than answering the lad's question he asked one of his own, but Hanif decided that he would check the marine's database for recruits that fitted the boy's description. If the boy was a deserter...
Well, if he was, he had at least a little bit of Marine left in him if he had considered the civilians.
"I don't know. I-" But Hanif held up a hand for his Den Den was ringing.

The marine Captain turned away to talk and Kyou shifted his glance from the three marines to the door and back. Why wasn't Pluto coming? If the Bat Boy didn't turn up anytime soon, he'd look like a complete liar!
Kyou broke out in cold sweat when the Captain put away the little baby Den and turned to face him. That pensive look on the man's face... it couln't mean anything good.

"My subordinate informs me that they have met another young man, who incidentally tells us a story not unlike your own, though maybe with the minor difference that you are the aggressor and that you were the one who put the World Noble through some discomfort this morning."
"..."
"Nothing to say to that?"
"Well.. sir... I'm not someone who picks fights and looks for trouble- much the opposite. I believe someone is trying to frame me."
"In that case, I'm sure we can solve the issue. Both you and the other young man will have to come for further interrogation. We shall find out the true."

Kyou nodded. The true was that he had indeed gotten in trouble with the World Noble, though it hadn't been his fault. But he was feeling way too tired to run away, which in any case would just make him look even more suspicious and who knows.. maybe that marine guy could really help him out somehow? The man seemed sincere, and if nothing else, at least he would be save from Pluto.

"Is that a real sword or one of the props?" The marine wanted to know from him.
"It's a bokken."
"Made of metal?" The Captain wanted to know, for the training sword had a metallic sheen to it.
"Made of wood with a metallic component." Kyou explained.
"You'll have to hand it over to my subordinate." The marine Captain insisted, which made Kyou wince again. The sword had been a present from Otto and the pink-haired boy didn't like to give it away.
"You'll get it back once things are solved. And I will let you stay without handcuffs for now because you surrendered yourself and I will believe that you will not give me any problems. I don't like it when people I place trust in betray it. It's one of the things that make me really angry and when I'm angry I can be very unpleasant. Do you understand?"

Kyou nodded and handed over his sword to the ensign, resigning to his fate - and whatever that had in store for him.

[BlacKitten]

Not a single trickle of blood, sweat, or even dust had stained him. From an outside glance, it would be hard to believe that he was engaged in any sort of battle recently. To top it all off, the girl to his flank only made him seem less of a threat. He didn’t plan any of this, but for circumstances to align this nicely, he was rather lucky.

“Excuse me, but would you two have the spare time to come with us?” The marine soldier asked after finishing speaking into his Den Den Mushi.

“Eh!?” Chitanda gave a perplexed look while pointing a finger at herself, “I have to come too? I’m not quite well informed on what’s going on.”

“Yeah, I don’t see how she’d be able to know much about the case you’re on, considering she has been lost in here for so long,” Pluto backed her up. It’d be best to use her as a shield in this conversation. He could definitely sense her annoyance from the second part of his sentence.

“In that case, what if you it’s just you that comes along?” The soldier’s tone directed at the boy in the vest.

“Then I’d be in trouble by two different people that I’ve kept waiting,” he stated. Gesturing his finger at one of them at his side, he added, “She is one of them. At the same time, it’d be best that I check on my little sister who is probably concerned about my long absence. Otherwise, she’ll never let me go off on my own. Furthermore, you’ve already confirmed that earlier this morning, the incident had indeed occurred. During that time, virtually every nearby civilian had bowed in silence. The young man I described to you was the only one that stood out and caused a commotion that I’m sure many other people have witnessed. In addition, right after that incident, plenty of marine soldiers had begun pursuing that young man who ran away from the scene. With your Den Den Mushi, contacting those soldiers ought to provide more credible confirmation. In other words, I’m not the only witness you can speak to. There are many others –including your own colleagues- who were present when it happened.”

Pluto manipulated what he already knows to his own advantage. It wasn’t like he was anyone special here. As long as they communicate with the soldiers who chased after Mari Sue, they would gain information that is more trustworthy and reliable for coming from the mouths of several people at once as well as from the mouths of their own comrades. It’d be faster and more efficient for both parties this way.

“I see. That is certainly true,” the lowly ranked grunt concurred with the offered suggestion. There was no point in looking around and asking strangers when there were viable witnesses within their own forces to ask.

“Well then, I’ll be on my way,” after giving these folks food for thought, this seemed like the appropriate time to leave. As he strode down the corridor, his new acquaintance followed.

Cupping her hand on the edge of her mouth, she whispered into his ear, “Was all that true? You have a sister?”

“AHHH!” Lurching away, he was startled by the sudden closeness of this girl. After regaining his composure and straightening himself up, he nodded, “Yeah! I didn’t lie at all. I have a little sister who should still be at this carnival right now.” Even though he didn’t like, the intentions of his wording back there were very real. He used truth as a means to defend himself. If those soldiers planned to talk to him, then he’d just offer them an even better plan that didn’t involve him.

Even though he used his little sister as an excuse earlier, what he said was sadly a very good point that should be considered right about now. It was rare to be separated from Rebecca for this long. If he doesn’t return to check up on her soon, things wouldn’t end favorably for him.

“What did you mean about keeping waiting?” Chitanda wanted to reassure herself if this meant what she thought it does.

“The entire point of following me all this time was so I would lead you out of this building, right? Well, I plan on leaving this place,” he stated it simply.

“Really!? Thank you so much!”

I need to make sure to take a path that doesn’t pass any more marines or Mari Sue. For the marines to be here in the first place, only a civilian would have called for them. It’s unlikely that they came here all on their own without having a lead first.

[Shinku]

"What do you mean you let them go?! I told you to bring the boy for questioning... And no! Don't give me that cr*p about "a good soldier thinks for himself and adapts the orders to fit the circumstances", because a good soldier should be thinking and you CLEARLY DIDN'T!! You were led by the nose, it's as simple as that. I don't care if we have other witnesses about the incident with the Noble, I know we have them. What we are investigating here is about FIGHTING IN THE HAUNTED HOUSE, so it doesn't matter how well his description of the other suspect fits with what we're looking for. Quite the contrary... if he can give such a good description, that means he has WATCHED the whole incident, rather than having bowed like everyone else. He might be very well be involved in some sort and I will find out how!
Next time when I tell you that I want to speak with a witness, you WILL bring that witness to me. And NOW... Go and get that boy as well as the girl you said was accompanying him.
DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

The marine Captain gently put the baby Den Den away into his pocket, though he would have loved to slam or hit something.
What a blunder! That wasn't what he expected of one of his subordinates, normally they wouldn't do mistakes like that! Captain Hanif was furious.
But he tried not to forget the fact that Ensign Gilroy's mother was very sick and the man was spending a lot of time tending to the old lady. No wonder the man looked overworked, he probably hadn't seen much sleep lately and it was hard to make good decisions when one lacked sleep. Which didn't excuse his mistake at all, but at least it made it humanly understandable.
And Mack... Mack was clever but also so timid, he wouldn't have dared to openly disagree with Gilroy. The man was probably still working up his courage to point out the error to his senior.
With a big sigh Captain Hanif comforted himself with the thought that they at least still had the other suspect captive. This would be a long day...

Kyou meanwhile was enjoying captivity.
They had brought him to the haunted house's office for the interrogation, the manager had generously offered to put his own working room at their disposal and had then withdrawn to examine the damage to his property.
None of the marines had tried to cuff him, just as the Captain had promised him and they had been nice enough to give him some spare clothes - again a courtesy of the manager, who had insisted that Kyou'd change after taking a quick shower in the staff accommodations (probably to prevent him from ruining the chair's cushions and the carpet).
Hungrily he ate the cookies he found on a plate on the manager's desk and then went on to tackle the fruit basket which he suspected was there as a sort of decoration and as decoration only. They were real fruits though, so whatever!
Despite the delay, caused by Kyou taking a shower, Hanif Amir as the Captain had introduced himself, was still not back to continue their talk.
Whatever he was doing, it must be important, for he had left Kyou in the company of Lieutenant Wickaninnish who was guarding the door and Master Chief Petty Officer Austin who was guarding the single window of the room.

There was a knock on the door. Not thinking it strange, Lieutenant Wickaninnish opened the door and was surprised to see - no one. Having listened more closely, Kyou had noticed that the sound was coming from the lower part of the door and therefore had his eyes on the ground when the door opened. Something inside him groaned as he saw the little white furball entering the room and sneaking around the marine's legs with a wire in its mouth.

"No, don't..." Kyou started, but it was already too late. The marine had gotten entangled in the wire around his legs and was starting to stumble. The pinkhead jumped up from his chair and tried to reach the man before he fell to the floor and maybe broke his neck, which would be bad for Kyou in any case, but the marine interpreted his dash as an escape attempt. Despite having lost his balance, the burly Lieutenant Wickaninnish managed to stay standing and grabbed Kyou by the collar of his pale-orange staff shirt and hurled him over to his partner, while trying to steady himself against the door frame. The man was glad that Captain Hanil wasn't around, for quite a number of swearwords had escaped his mouth and the Captain was quite known for not tolerating any cursing.
In his eagerness to keep Kyou away from the door, the man had underestimated his own strength and had thrown the captive a tad too forceful.
Kyou and Chief Petty Officer Austin were knocked out of the window and while the first didn't have a chance to grab the windowsill, the later managed to not only grab on the ledge but also caught Kyou's arm and kept him in a firm grip.
At least for a moment- then a furball appeared and sharp teeth bored into his finger.
The man let out a cry of pain and dropped Kyou, who landed on top of a Bon Chari. The driver cussed surprised, but didn't stop pedaling. He was apparently late already.

Jumping up and down on Kyou's stomach was Bruce, who was loudly showing his enjoyment about the successful escape and who undoubtedly waited for his praise.
"Well done Bruce... really... well done." Kyou said, though he was close to tears. He hadn't meant to escape! It was the last thing he had wanted to do for the marine Captain had been abundantly clear on what one could expect of him if they tried to run away. And now... without even trying... Kyou had done just that. It was frustrating... why didn't that ever work when he actually tried to get away?!



"Spread the description of all three suspects to the others. I want every marine on this archipelago to know how they look." Captain Hanif ordered his subordinates.
He hadn't thought that the boy would try to flee and he hated being wrong, but there was no changing that now. The boy had had his chance to settle things peacefully, now he would find out what it meant so make Hanif Amir angry.

[BlacKitten]

Sitting on top of the haunted mansion’s rooftop, Maru was starting to lose his patience. Where was everyone? The interior design of the building was too tedious to keep track of, so he decided to stay up here and wait for anyone of this playmates to come out. Once they get in, they would come eventually, right? A while ago, he noticed marine presence stepping into inside. Something wild and crazy must be happening, and the thought that he couldn’t get to see it left him only to imagine what could have occurred.

All of sudden, a ruckus seemed to be occurring as he treaded closer towards the edge. Gaping at the scene, the panda tried to hold back his urge to chuckle and snicker as two dangling off the window’s ledge, only for a miniature albino panda to intervene, leading to Mari Sue to fall off and land into a strange hovering bubble bike with an odd dish-like propelling system in the back.

The quick-witted paramecia-user quickly drew a very small elliptical shape with a quick circular motion of his index finger against the surface of the roof, “Conjure!” Combined with his imagination, he manifested the insignificant little pebble object before chucking it at the Bon Chari, aiming for the propulsion system. What he just summoned was nothing more than a little magnet that was now stuck on the moving hovering craft.

---

Panting, Chitanda pressed her palms against her quadriceps as she catches her breath, “Jeez…, why were you in such a rush?” They made it outside but were now hiding somewhat against the exterior side wall of the building that just left.

“Shh!” Pluto hushed her as he dared to enter his bat-form once again. With all things considered, this was still his best form as far as disguises were concerned. Crawling close by against the wall, he wanted to know what those marines are up to. His cup-shaped ears honed in towards the soldiers he had just avoided, listening in to their communication. Through his eavesdropping, it seemed their superior, who could be heard loud and clear on the receiving end of the Den Den Mushi, was quite a troublesome guy.

“Um…,” the girl hinted of wanting to say something only to be shushed at again.
The spying little bat readjusted his ears to locate that loud, angry voice elsewhere within the building.

Chitanda shifted glances between the little critter on the ground and the bipedal panda casually sitting on the rooftop above. S-should I tell him that the panda is looking down at us right now?

Maru merely gave a shrug at the girl as if even he didn’t know what to do anymore.

With all things considered, this is quite an interesting twist. So, Mari Sue, Chitanda, and I are all under suspect. Among the three of us, I should be the hardest person to gain info from. No, the marines aren’t much of a threat to me as of now.

“Pluto,” The girl squatted to get closer to the bat. “I just thought I should tell you that the panda is above us right now.”

Immediately shapeshifting into his human form, he stood and gazed up with eyes of disbelief. It was true. Nonchalantly sitting on the edge of the roof, the panda had been watching from above.

“Hiya!” Maru waved with a paw as if they were good friends.

“So now you decide to show yourself,” the violet-eyed youth spoke without the slightest clue why the black and white fur-ball would show himself now of all times. What was that devious-minded creature thinking right now?

“I’m here to make a deal with ya, so here me out!” His paw pointed dramatically at the adolescent down below, “I like fighting! But! If we were to fight seriously, I don’t think I can win. However, I’ve noticed that you haven’t been pursuing me much at all. The Pluto I know wouldn’t be so slow to find me. How am I supposed to play hide-and-seek with you if you don’t try to seek me?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Pluto gave an irritated glance for being seen as a playmate.

“What I’m talking about is the fact that you’ve been cheating on me! You’ve been playing with someone else instead of me, haven’t you!?”

“Did you really have to phrase it like that?”

“So! I’ve decided to be a spectator!” Maru then gave a thumb up, approving himself of such an important role.

“What…?”

“You see… I’m willing to tell you the general location of your prey. But in exchange, you cannot harm me.”

“You know where you-know-who is?”

“Of course! I’m a panda after all!” Scratching his cheek with a paw, he corrected himself, “Well, maybe… if I’m lucky.” Changing the subject, he pointed at the girl, "By the way, who is she?"

[Shinku]

The vehicle hadn't gone far away from the haunted house yet when it suddenly bucked. The rider couldn't turn the pedals anymore as something seemed to have stuck in the propulsion system and blocked the rotation.They lost control of the still moving vehicle which started to move in a zigzag over the full wide of the street, only barely missing the present pedestrians before hitting a lamppost.
Kyou was thrown from the Bon Chari and landed in a food stand selling curry in many different variations. His fresh orange shirt now stained with browns and yellows it was hard to believe that he had just showered a moment ago.
In his try to get out of the frying pan Kyou burned his hands on the hot iron edge of the big wok but he hardly noticed because the sauce was starting to soak through his trousers and if there was something he didn't want to have in his pants it was spicy curry... and weasels... or now that he really started to think about it, scorpions... those could be nasty.
The slightly chubby woman owning the food stand started to scream but at least she seemed to scream at the world in general rather than at Kyou directly, which he considered a plus. She had a strong soprano and a voice that would have made every last opera diva go green with envy.

The man who had involuntary helped in Kyou's escape was shouting as well, but he was doing so at an equally loud merchant who sold Bon Cheris. The result of the yelled negotiations was a swap in vehicles, leaving the merchant with a slightly bend vehicle and a few notes of beri while the other man was now in the possession of a double-seater. He waved at Kyou who had a foreboding.

"What are you doing?! I'm already late and you're holding me up even further, so you better make up by pedalling as if our life depends on it!"

Not wanting to get caught up in whatever the man was running away from, Kyou wanted to refuse, but his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a white and blue uniform coming closer to his location.
Right... the marines...
Even if he got back now to explain the situation to them, he doubted that they would be as nice as they had been before. After all, why should they believe him?
Pushing his second thoughts aside he jumped on the back seat and started to be useful, while the other man steered them through the turmoil.

They arrived in grove twenty-nine only a few minutes later. It was right next to the amusement park and so they didn't have far to go. Yet it looked like a complete different world. The streets were different... darker... and the people didn't flock together like in other places. They either moved in groups or kept to themselves. It was the lawless zone where the marines rarely showed presence if they did at all...
That was good for Kyou and but it could als turn to be just as bad or worse. Those people here had no reason to be friendly to him, though they might find ample reason to be mean if they decided that they didn't like his face and unfortunately, Kyou had a habit of accidentally glaring at people. He'd better be careful about that...

Keeping his head down he pedaled on until the man stopped in front of a house. Lots of people were already present and waiting. In a matter of seconds they had them surrounded. Instinctively the pink-haired boy reached for his sword, only to remember that all of his possessions were in the hands of the marines. The only thing left to him was Bruce the haggis and that one might be more trouble than he was worth.
Turned out he didn't need the weapon.
Amazed, Kyou watched as everyone congratulated the proud "new father" to his lovely baby girl, giving him handshakes and pushing him inside to see his daughter. Some of them gave Kyou a pat on the back (and then wiped their sticky hands on their trousers) before ushering him in as well.

Inside there was more screaming, this time from the baby which seemed appropriate and Kyou could hear the new mum complaining loudly about her husbands tardiness, though she was smiling widely while she did so.
There was food to be had and Kyou helped himself to some of it. No one seemed to notice how strange it was for him to be here so he exploited the chance for more food, even though it was mostly things on sticks and hardly sating.
Not wanting to overstay his welcome he looked around for Bruce and to his horror, found him sitting on the baby's belly. The child was in the arms of a... grandmother? and was gurgling and babbling happily, little hands reaching for the white furball.
Kyou went over, hoping to catch Bruce before the baby could grab him, but the old lady misinterpreted his intention. To his horror she smiled at him widely, showing a row of rotting yellow teeth, and put the baby into his arms. Not knowing what to do with the bundle of joy the boy froze on the spot, fearing what would happen if he let the fragile life drop.
"Come on... you've held babies before...It's not that hard." he tried to comfort himself.
Luckily he was relieved by other members of the family who wanted to hold the baby as well.
Before anyone could corner him with babies again Kyou fled.

[BlacKitten]

After they relocated to a separate rooftop to continue their operation, the non-panda individuals stood by while waiting for confirmation. Lying flat on his stomach, Maru peeked through his little portable telescope with one eye. There had heard some notable loud screaming in the proximity, but they still waited patiently for the black-and-white bear to do his job.

Digressing off the matter at hand, Pluto turned towards Chitanda, “Since you’re outside now, you’re free to do whatever you want.” Having served his purpose of leading her out of the Haunted Mansion, he’d expected her to have gone off on her own with whatever business she had on this island.

“Oh, but I’m already doing that,” she replied with a sweet smile.

“Huh? What do you mean by that?” Those words only made him all the more nervous.

“Hmm…, how should I put it,” looking up at the sky, she pondered for a moment. “I guess I’m going to be a spectator too like this panda here,” she stated followed by a short giggle.

Jerking his head up, Maru glared straight at the boy, “You could learn a thing or two from this person, Pluto!”

“Enough about that; have you spotted anything important yet?”

“Yes! I’ve looking at all the delicious food down there,” he remarked with a high-spirited tone only to change his answer the moment he sensed bloodlust oozing from the young man behind him. “J-just kidding! I meant to say that I saw you-know-who going that way,” his paw pointed in the direction of where that pink-head traveled. It appeared that the magnet he installed had managed to slow the target down a bit.

Violet-hued eyes glanced at the general direction, “How far away did he travel?”

“Far enough for him to head towards the other grove!”

Other grove? Judging by the sunlight right now, the direction Maru pointed towards is east. Of the three possible routes to leave this particular grove, he must be heading towards grove twenty-nine. Both east and south would have leaded him towards the lawless zone. Is that his plan? Marines would have a harder time finding him if he hides over there. Clever, not bad at all, he’s pretty skilled at hiding. It seemed he had all of this figured out.

“Heh…, it seems… I don’t have to hold back as much over there,” he muttered out sinisterly.

“Don’t end this too quickly. I want to be entertained,” said the whimsical panda.

“Maru…, could you go to grove 29 ahead of me? There’s something I must do first. I’ll meet you there.”

“Mmm…, in that case, could you stand still for a moment?” the panda stood up before walking behind the boy. With his index finger, the panda drew a small circle with the black ink camouflaging with the black vest. No one would really notice this unless they looked at it very closely. “There! You may go now!”

“What did you do?” Pluto only felt a stroking motion on his back.

“I casted a magical spell on you with my mystical panda powers,” he answered almost seriously.

---

Later…

Rebecca’s ears perked up at the sound of wings flapping. Having been exposed to it so frequently in her life, she could distinguish between this one from any other birds. “Pluto!?” Her eyes enlarged at the sight of a bat morphing into its human form before her.

“I don’t have much time,” he stated right of the bat. “But, I thought I’ll check up on you,” his words soon trailed as he glanced at the ponytailed young man beside her. “Dan!” He recalled the name that belonged to the person who was with him during the infiltration of a castle long ago.

“When will you come back?” The girl asked in a sadden tone.

“Hard to say, the situation has gotten more complicated. The target had left to grove 29, a lawless zone,” the boy informed her.

[Shinku]

"Oh! Hello Pluto! Long time no see. Me and your sister were enjoying the park together and we were just about to grab some food, do you want to join us?" Dan greeted the purple eyed boy. As always the boy seemed a bit stiff and reserved, but Dan didn't fail to notice that Pluto had openly told them that he was here to check on his sister. Considering his personality, that was a big improvement and it warmed the short man's heart so see it.
"Rebby told me about your bounty hunting, but maybe you can find some time for a meal anyway? Meals are important for your health and strength after all."
It was probably pointless, but at least he had to offer... and thinking about offer...
"I have two baby Den Dens... if you like you can have one. So you can call Miss Rebecca in case you're running really late."
That was probably not what the girl wanted, Dan was sure that she prefered if her brother was back earlier rather than late, but it would still be better to know at least.

"Come to think about it... the restaurant I wanted to visit was in grove 29 as well..." he added, saying it almost to himself.



Grove 29 ... grove 29... why did he get the feeling that this should ring a bell somehow?
Bruce sleeping on his shoulder he wandered through the streets trying to remember something that might or might not be of importance. The haggis twitched in his sleep and turned on his back without waking up, it was likely tired from all the excitement.
Kyou was still trying to figure it out when he practically ran into the answer to his question.

Bright pink letters over the door informed him that the restaurant in front of him was named Chez Cathrine and while the windows were far too dirty to look inside, a small board at the entrance had the basic menu listed together with the prices, which looked reasonable. Unfortunately Kyou was completely broke. The marines had hold of all of his possessions for he had been forced to not only leave his sword, but also his bag with all his stuff behind.
Mind you... save for Letty, there hadn't been much of value in it anyway... only... his diary was in there as well. Darn!
Just why had he even started to write that cursed thing?!

No money didn't automatically mean no food and little things on sticks could only get you that far before you felt hungry again, so without thinking twice - but not without checking his back - he entered the restaurant.
And arrived into the midst of an argument.

The restaurant was packed with people, despite the poor exterior of the building. Excluding the staff and a few people who looked like they didn't belong to any side and who wanted to keep out of the talk and eat their food in silence, there were two easily distinguishable groups facing each other.
The people on one side were without any doubt pirates. They had a ruffian look to them and wore clothes you'd usually expected to see on their kind, though for some strange reason the clothes seemed to shine, as if they were brand new. There was an abundance of bandanas, eye-patches and piercings but somehow it seemed slightly forced. In addition to that, the pirate style had been combined with something Kyou would have called "Victorian vampire" if he had known the concept of it. The only thing not quite fitting into the picture were the stuffed animals they were carrying next to their swords and guns.

They were facing a much larger group wearing different kinds of suits, though mostly preferring the business style.

"No no no no no! This is absolutely unacceptable! If you're pirates you should make the effort to look so! You can't just go around wearing..." the man at the front seemed to search for the right word while pointing with a finger at them, "these abominations!"
"If you want to wear suits, change your profession and become businessmen. Otherwise you have no right to wear that sort of clothing."

"Shut up!"
"Who cares what we're wearing."
"Go and mind your own business."
Came the cries from the other side, some including even more obscene language.

"Yare yare... Looks like those guys won't listen to reason." a woman commented from where she was sitting. She was sounding rather bored and, Kyou's eyes nearly fell out, she was wearing a very short, black skirt made of patent leather and an equally tight leather jacket that didn't cover her bellybutton. Her blonde hair and the glasses stood in contrast to her dark clothing. If he had to put a tag on her, Kyou would have gone with "evil secretary".


"A table for one darling?" someone asked him and Kyou who had been watching the scene transfixed, slowly started to unfreeze.

"No.. not exactly."

Half an eye on the fighting the other eye on the landlady? Innkeeper? The okama who was looking like he owned the restaurant and tried to think how to best explain himself.

"I'm slightly short on money, so I wondered if I might work for the food?"

It didn't seem the best place, now that he was inside and could see the trouble brewing, but he was too hungry to look for something else.
The okama in the green kimono gave him a look over and Kyou wondered if those cat ears on top of the brown bob cut were real.

"Oh! That would be lovely, dear. We really could need another waitress right now... we're run over with guests!"

"He'll need a proper dress if he is to serve here. You can't work as a waitress if you haven't got a proper uniform!" The pirate Captain butted in. He and his crew had made short work of the pirates in suits and was now throwing them out in a high arc.
The tall pirate had yellow eyes and long black hair, tied back with a white ribbon. His way of dressing was even fancier than that of his crew and there was a glint in his eyes as he scanned Kyou from head to toe, eyes focusing on the curry stains and the messy hair.

"I wonder if it's too late to back down again, without getting in trouble with this guy." Kyou thought miserably, eyeing the 3 foot 5 inches long pair of scissors strapped to the man's back.


A few minutes later, Kyou had washed for the second time today and was suitable dressed to greet the newly arriving customers. He even had a wig.
"Wel- welcome to Chez Cathrine... I'm Marisu, your waitress for tonight." he stuttered and hoped that his ears weren't as read as they felt like.

[BlacKitten]

Holding out his hand, Pluto nodded quietly before accepting one of Dan’s Baby Den Den Mushi, “That would be a big help. Thank you.” He had no experience whatsoever in using one of these before, and he found the palm-sized snail to be rather unsightly. It had nothing to do with this particular snail; it was just that all snails as a species appeared rather gross as creatures. They were legless, slimy organisms with eyeballs sticking out of them like antennas. At least they were docile in nature and didn’t crawl around on their own, making them more like an item instead of a living being.

“Don’t worry about me…, I think I’ve lost my appetite looking at this,” he gave a slightly disgusted look at the snail resting on his palm. As long as he had this with him, hunger wouldn’t be a problem for a long time. The boy slid the communication device into the side pocket of his vest.

Rebecca waved her hand in goodbye as her brother shapeshifted into his bat form before ascending into the sky.

---

Meanwhile, at Grove 29 – Lawless Zone…

As always, when it comes to spying on others, there was always the tendency to observe from high places. The rooftops had basically become his domain as he had spent more time up here than at ground level throughout the day. He continued relying on his telescope, spying around the entrance to where Mari Sue had recently stepped through. His nose could already pick up the lingering scent of food, making him awfully annoyed that he was standing all the way here while the person he’s keeping an eye out for was probably stuffing his face with food.

There was other thing that kept his mind occupied while he waited for the main player to arrive. That thing was this stranger next to him, a girl with long black hair and orange-hued eyes who goes by the name of Chitanda Eru. Just… who was this person? Had it been any ordinary human being, she wouldn’t be standing here at this moment. Maru had tried to arrive here as fast as he could, and this human had managed to keep up with him without breaking a sweat. The way she moved indicated that she was trained in a physical sense. That delicate and kind expression only made it all the more deceiving. He had yet to see this girl in combat, but if she’s connected to Pluto in some way, shape, or form, then that was all the reason he needed to be wary of this person.

He’s here!

Maru continued to look through his telescope as if completely ignorant of the bat far out into the distance. At a certain distance, the girl was able to notice the tiny creature in the sky before hearing any beat of a wing.

Descending, Pluto took upon his human form before dropping several meters onto the same rooftop as them. From a bird’s eye view, noticing them was quite easy when they were the only ones who would stay on such rarely used hiding spots. Tracing the direction of the panda’s telescope, his violet eyes took a gander at the restaurant known as Chez Cathrine. The dirty, smudged windows made the outlook seem mediocre at best, and the choice of location was suspicious considering this was a lawless zone where criminals are likely to roam about.

“Is there where he’s hiding at?” He asked with a dutiful tone.

“We saw him go in there,” Chitanda specified.

“It’s possible he might have escaped through a backdoor, but since this a restaurant, he probably just wants food,” Maru added, reasoning that food was a reason that prioritizes itself above any other possible reasons.

This girl is still here? Whatever…, I need to consider my next move.

[Shinku]

"The outside might not look very welcoming and the people running this inn might be a bit strange, but I promise you that the food here is the best! And they have so many different kinds of food, there's bound to be something for all sorts of tastes. I'm sure they have something to your liking as well. Their food is so good they could easily sell it at a high-end location if only people weren't so prejudiced against their kind."

Only a few minutes after Pluto's arrival, Dan and Rebby reached the restaurant as well. It wasn't very far from the amusement park and they had managed to hitch a ride.

"The place here might be a bit rough and people sure love to brawl a lot, but I kind of like it. It reminds me a bit of my hometown, you know. The people here might look a bit uncut on the outside, but on the inside, most of them are actually nice kids full of dreams they want to reach out for."

A bell chimed as they opened the door and a very muscular guy in a waitress uniform greeted them.
"A table for two?" He asked, while balancing a tray with a tower of filled wine glasses in his hand as if it were nothing.
"Yes please."
The man led them to a table at the left side and handed them the menu. Hungrily Dan started to study it at once, but Rebecca tugged on his kimono sleeve.
"What is it?"
"Could I have the Den Den Mushi for a moment?" she asked, eyes watching the room.
"Eh? But it's kinda early to call your brother. We just parted and he- OH!"
He had followed her gaze while talking and spotted what she had been looking at. The "waitress" was of a smaller build than the one who had served them and while the hair was longer than in the bounty picture, it was funnily enough still the same color, or maybe a shade lighter. The face with the furrowed brows and the pale green eyes was unmistakable. Only now it dawned to Dan that the person on the bounty poster was the same guy he had run into earlier today.
How funny. Wasn't it a small world?
He handed the baby Den to Rebecca and picked up the menu again, while the girl called her brother.


"Is that a rifle on your back?!"
Confused Dan looked up at the black-haired man who had... challenged? him.
Strictly speaking his rifle was hung over the chair, but considering that the pirate probably wanted to know if the rifle was his, the answer was of course yes.
Despite the polite answer, the pirate seemed too tremble with anger and Dan could see the trouble starting, even though he wasn't sure what the problem was.
"You can not walk around with rifles if you're wearing a HAKAMA!" the man reproached him.
"Either you put away the guns and wear a proper sword, or you change your clothing!"
Now that was a rude demand... Though Dan was surprised that the man knew the word "hakama" since the clothing wasn't very well-known in those part of the seas.

"I'm sorry to say, but those guns are important to me. I would not part with them for any reason. As for my clothing-"
But he didn't get to point out that they were the traditional garments from his mother's place, because the rude man just grabbed his collar and started to pull at his clothes.
"Oi! What do you think-"
"Morcant dear! Please, you can't just undress our guests in the middle of the dinning room." the landlady came to his help. Or not...
"We have a dressing room, just over there."
Too surprised to defend himself, Dan was dragged away.

"Are you sure that is all right... err... Ma'am?" Kyou wanted to know from his boss. It wasn't as if he really cared about the poor guy who had been abducted, but while he was working here, he prefered that there would be as little problems as possible.
"Oh sure, don't worry about that. Morcant might be a pirate, but he wouldn't do anything hurtful. All he wants is for people to look good. Also, he's the one who designed the uniform you're wearing now. Isn't it lovely."
"Very..." Kyou answered dryly.
"Still... I really don't want to be a meddler, but don't you think that might scare off some of the guests?"
"It's fine, it's fine. Some might go, but others will come in their stead. You see, there are a lot of people who might fancy a makeover. So I really hope Morcant stays a little longer. He might attract us some faithful regulars."

A door opened and a very pleased looking Morcant strode out of the dressing room, followed by a slightly bashful Dan Delion. His kimono and the hakama were gone. Instead he was wearing leather chaps over normal working trousers and an ecru shirt with breast pockets, a dark brown-red bandanna was tied around his neck and a white hat with a wide and slightly curved brim sat on his head. Because of the hat, Dan had to tie his hair into a low ponytail. His gun slung to his side and the rifle at his back Dan had to admit that the clothes had style. Not his style, but still...
If he was honest, the young man was secretly impressed by the pirate. Not only had the guy paid attention to details, he had also practically sewed most of the clothing on the spot, using either cloth he had with him or in one case made use of the leathery seat cover. Being good at sewing himself, he still had to admit that maybe there was still something Dan could learn from the guy.

Dan wasn't pleased however, when he noticed the pirate approaching little Rebby. It was one thing for the man to change his clothing, but if he dared to touch Rebecca... that wasn't something he could allow.
However it seemed that his worry was unnecessary.

"You would look really good in a frilly skirt, but the clothes you are wearing are very fitting as well. Yes, very lovely. I like it. That's a cute style you have there girl. Hmm... Something is missing though..." The guy started rummaging in his pockets and took out a white ribbon.
"Just what you need to round off the picture!" he told her as he carefully tied it to her hair.
Though for some reason he still didn't seem completely satisfied. The man tapped his chin with his forefinger, then pulled two stuffed animals out of his other bag; a bunny and a puppy.
"Which one do you like better?"

[BlacKitten]

“Purupurupurupuru…,” the dull, monotonous gibberish muttered out without warning.

“Hmm?” Pluto slipped his hand into the side pocket of his vest as the eyes of the other two roof-dwellers gave a curious glance towards him. Picking up the receiver, he answered, “Let me guess…, you’re going to tell me that you see the target in the restaurant.”

“…Y-yes! How’d you know?” A young feminine tone spoke in astonishment.

“I saw you and Dan stepping inside. What’s the target doing inside?” The brother pressed for some minor information.

“He’s wearing a waitress’ uniform. It looks like he’s working here as part of his job.”

As he proceeded to picture that frowny person in a waitress’ attire, Pluto almost made himself want to hurl, “I’ll pretend I didn’t imagine that…” That was a rather unpleasant image.

“Imagine what?”

“Nothing… I didn’t think the restaurant that Dan suggested would be here of all places. Call me if things look bad for you,” he instructed her out of concern. This was a lawless zone where criminals gather.

“Sure… eh?” there was a long silence pause. There were some faint words in the background, but they weren’t all that audible.

“Are you… still there?” He raised an eyebrow by the sudden cut off of her words.

“Yes! Someone just gave me a ribbon. Ah! Hold on a second… I’d prefer to the rabbit,” Rebecca replied.

“You’re eating rabbit meat?” He never would’ve imagined that his little sister would attempt to eat a cute animal such as a rabbit.

“Huh? Ah, no! A person gave me a stuffed bunny!”

“… Uh… alright then!” It would seem his little sister was getting a lot of free stuff at the moment. “I guess I’ll meet you inside,” there wasn’t much point in waiting out here anyways.

“Alright!” Rebecca’s tone sounded eager in anticipating his imminent arrival.

The conversation ended.

---

Through the front entrance, Pluto stepped inside with his eyes gazing side to side, scanning his surroundings. Crowded places were not to his liking, and a restaurant packed with costumers was no exception. More people meant more individuals to keep track of, and often times, the sheer numbers were more than what he could handle. Any single one of them could pose to be hostile, especially in this region of the island. Hostility wasn’t something he was against; he was used to it. He grew up with it. It was precisely because of how adapted he was to such a setting that he had the habits of watching out for himself. It was merely a norm for him to do so.

Many eyes glanced towards his direction, but their attention easily shifted towards the bipedal panda that stepped in right before the raven-haired boy.

“You’re coming inside as well?” Pluto gave the panda a sidelong glance.

“Of course! There’s food in here!” Maru stated the obvious. His head jerked around the room, but by the time he pinpointed what appeared to be a long lost cousin of Mari Sue, his paw pointed at the wig-wearing, crossdressing waitress, followed by a unrestrained laughter, “HA-HA-HA-HA! What happened to you!?” Clearly, this walking bear found the fact of that frowny kid cosplaying as a waitress to be utterly hilarious.

This place was quite a circus that even the panda seemed like he fitted in. Everyone around him appeared to be rather weird or quirky in their own respective ways, and crossdressing waitresses were no exception. The silent Pluto strode towards the table where his little sister was at. There was something rather odd about the scene. Not only was Rebecca wearing a ribbon in her hair with a stuffed rabbit sitting on her lap, but even Dan had a complete change in his attire. What was going on here?

From behind, Chitanda followed from behind, not wanting to attract too much attention. Being surrounded by so many strange people gave her an anxious looks, but her curiosity grew when spotting what was probably the little sister than the boy mentioned before. They resembled each other in a way, but on the other hand, they were completely different in the aura they released. While the brother had a mysterious, introverted, unreadable vibe, that little girl seemed to have a very open-hearted, cheerful, extroverted vibe. How could two people be related and have such polar opposite personalities? It was almost as if these two had a completely different upbringing.

Not only was Maru’s entrance unexpected, Rebecca also didn’t expect there to be a third unknown girl to enter inside. At first, she thought it was a stranger, but the way she walked close behind her brother made it as if they knew each other. This made her very suspicious.

[Shinku]

"You could ask Morcant for a makeover once your shift is over. I'm sure he'd love to dress you up nicely. He always looks out for a good and interesting dress up doll and you probably present a nice challenge for his abilities." The restaurant's owner Cathrine told him, pinching his cheek with one hand like an aunt at a family meeting.
"I don't know..."
"It's not like he ever asks for money you know. Since you're broke, that might be your best chance of getting clothes for free."
New clothes would be nice, but Kyou wasn't sure if he was so excited about the idea of having a pirate dress him up. He had watched the man and most of the victims, while being nicely dressed, also looked kinda battered, as if they had their spirit broken. And who knew what sort of style the man would choose to slap on him. Considering how wacky that person was, Kyou might be less conspicuously with the curry drenched trousers.

"Oiii... Marisu.. over here!" someone called and Kyou shuffled obediently to the table where they had called for him.

"... and don't forget the soy sauce and the- hey! Are you listening to me?"
"Soy sauce and the." Kyou repeated absent-mindedly. His attention had been kinda diverted by the new guests. People he knew all too well.
Trying to act as if nothing happened, Kyou turned to the kitchen to pass on the order, but it was too late already. The laughter was unmistakable, at least the panda had spotted him.
"..."

His first impulse was to flee into the kitchen and out through the backdoor, but he shoved the instinct back and took a moment to consider his situation. Twice had he run away from the Bat Boy and both times the annoying boy had found him again somehow. Despite the saying that "Third time is a charm." Kyou wasn't really up for a third try. Not with the promised dinner still waiting for him.

So instead of running away, he turned around again and approached the group. By the time he got to the door however, it wasn't a group anymore. Pluto and his accessory had gone to join the dress up victim and his company - who was, now that Kyou gave her a closer look, Pluto's sister.
Ah... Maybe that was how they found him...

Suddenly unsure he stopped where he was.
Should he approach Maru or should he go to speak with Pluto as he had planned to do?
Now that his sister was around it was probably his best chance to talk to the Bat Boy without immediately getting a violent reaction in return.
But still... ugg... the thought of talking to the unpleasant boy made his stomach ache.
Maybe he should sound out Maru first?

"Oh! Finally someone who knows how to fit his image."
As if things hadn't been bad enough, the pirate Morcant O'Donnell had set his sight on the panda.
"Black and white fur - simple but stylish. Can't go wrong with those colors. Nicely arranged as well. That are some lovely pads of fat you have there. Very appropriate for a man who loves food."
From another man this might have sounded like an insult, from Morcant it was a sincere compliment.
"But still... clothing is all very important, but you've got to pay attention to the details and accessories can't just be neglected. Where's your bamboo stick? A panda got to have a bamboo stick with him."
It was a slight slackness and yet it still irked the pirate, until the panda did something and Morcant found that he had been disappointed over nothing.
"Let me invite you to some food friend." he told the panda with a bright smile on his face. "You!" he waved at Kyou who had unwisely not moved away. "Go and get us some food!"
With a last glance at Pluto, Kyou shuffled away.
At least no one had attacked him yet and maybe he would get the chance to talk to Pluto, once he served the food.

[BlacKitten]

By now, his target must have noticed him already, probably not even expecting to be discovered so quickly. Much of his anticipation leaned towards the prediction of Mari Sue running away at the moment his eyes lay sight on him, but that theory didn’t seem to be the case yet. Perhaps it was due to a slimmer of hope that Pluto hadn’t made an offensive move so far and that things would turn out for the better.

“Pluto!” Rebecca slid off her seat, leaving behind the stuffed rabbit before wrapping her arms around her older brother in a taut hug. While pressing her face against his vest, her head poked out from the side to peek at the peculiar girl behind him. The foreign figure had her orange-hued eyes gazing curiously back at her. They exchanged glances, each intriguingly observing the other.

“Who's she?” The sister gazed up at the boy with narrow eyes of suspicion.

“Uh…,” his eyes switched back and forth between the two of them.

Lowering herself to meet Rebecca on eye-level, the foreigner introduced herself in a gentle, soft-spoken tone, “My name is Chitanda Ara. You must be the little sister that he spoke about.”

Gaping, the youth was shocked to have heard of her brother to have been speaking to this attractive girl. It was the end of the world! The antisocial Pluto had a conversation with a complete stranger. “P-Pluto… explain…, what happened?” she muttered in disbelief.

“Uh…,” he remained speechless. His face was devoid of any emotion, completely unenthusiastic about this topic. “Explain what? She answered your question, didn’t she?”

“How did you two meet? And why is she here with you?” This time around, it was Rebecca who wanted all the information.

“Oh, essentially, she was lost. Then she got unlost. Then we followed a panda. And now we’re here,” he wrapped up his adventures, explaining all of the important points in sophisticated details like a professional storyteller.

While everything from his mouth appeared to be the truth, Rebecca couldn’t help but feel that there were a lot of details missing in between the gaps. Wait, hold on a second... none of her questions were answered!  “If you won’t tell the details, I’ll just ask Maru!”

“I see. Well, good luck with that,” he felt indifferent if she extracted information from the panda who was mostly missing in action during the haunted house incident.

Hmm… no reaction, huh? In that case…

“Chitanda! What were you and my brother doing in the past hour?” Her interrogation shifted towards the equally suspicious suspect.

“Eh!? Um…,” avoiding eye contact, she tried to recollect what happened, “I used him as a shield against scary skulls. I got lost in a maze. I asked a bat to navigate me out. We followed the panda. And now we’re here.”

She’s just as bad as telling stories as him!

---

Meanwhile, Maru crossed his arms and nodded in approval of this man’s taste in fashion. Of course, it should be obvious to anyone who gazed at him, but it wasn’t often that someone vocalized it into words. His black and white fur was indeed a majestic coat that made him stand out despite its simplistic pattern. The pads were merely a thick layer of fluff; he was essentially a walking stuffed panda bear. However, it seemed this man had a small critic. Ah! Of course! Without his bamboo stick, he must have been seen as quite out of place. From his cape which stored a few of his sketches, he manifested his bamboo spear which was a present to him from a desert island of South Blue, “Ah-ha! But I do indeed have a bamboo stick! It’s right here!” He held his six foot long stick with a green leaf-shaped tip at one end. Holding it by the center of the shaft, the spearman let his weapon stand beside him as if it were a walking stick.

It must have been his handsomeness of a panda to have allowed this man to treat him to some food, even calling him as a friend. Well, making friends sure was easy around these parts of the island. Immediately, Morcant ordered the pink-haired boy with a slight appearance deficit to go and get them some food. “What might your name, my good sir?” asked the talking panda.

[Shinku]

Serving the food and then go and have a talk with Pluto was easier said than done.
No sooner had he brought the food to the table with the two chumming up guys and it was already gone and he was sent to get more.

"No need to call me "good sir", we're friends after all and I'm certainly not "Good" buuahahahaha... bring me some spaghetti next and a helping of pickles and don't forget the Panda's order boy... where was I? Ah right! I'm the great Morcant O'Donnell, the one and only. You see, I'm a fashion designer and a-"

But Kyou didn't get to hear what else the man was, for he was too busy running back into the kitchen to get their next meal. Somehow they had managed to place an order with another waiter while he had been in the kitchen to get their first course and now that he came to ask for the spaghetti, the cook only nodded and pushed a plate of cooked escargot in herb butter, a plate with roasted chicken and one with curry into Kyou's not really waiting hands.
Resigned the pink-haired boy turned around and hurried out of the kitchen before the cook could drive him out with her wooden spoon.

".. those guys will all regret the day they have opposed me once I've taken over the world and they'll have to dance to my tunes..."
"Are you quite sure you want to discuss that so openly Captain? Who knows who might be listening... Also, I'm taking a salad with chicken and a steak - medium done." The evil secretary interrupted from the table next to them. She was still sounding more bored than concerned.
".. Ah! Bring a steak for me too, or make that three steaks if you're already at it. And a cheesecake. OH! And another fruit basket."

Kyou took the empty plates and hurried back into the kitchen, heedfully dodging the banana peel someone had carelessly thrown to the floor.
"As if I would be clumsy enough to slip on that. SeriouslyyyyyyyyHUHHHHH!"
Just as he as thinking about how he had avoided a too obvious disaster, his feet suddenly lost their grip on the ground and started to slip forward. With a bit of a time lag, Kyou's body followed and he slid over the slippery floor before completely losing his balance and falling on his backside. The plates were luckily all made of metal so none of them broke as they, following one of the oldest laws of humor which in cases as these overwrites the laws of nature, landed on Kyou's head with a "thud thud clonk".

"Oh! I'm so sorry Marisu. Are you all right? Someone spilt their cola, so I had to mop the floor. It's a bit slippery now so you have to be careful."
One of the other waitresses - "Prunella" - was standing with a mop in one hand, the other hand covering the mouth as if to hide either embarrassment or laughter.
"Just give me the plates dear, I'll take over for you. Take a little break, you look pale."

Grateful for the offer, Kyou handed the plates he had picked up to the Okama and after a moment of collecting himself and giving himself a mental shove... and then a mental kick in the ahem backside, he went over to Pluto.

"Why are you hunting me?" he asked rather directly, though he was holding the serving tray in front of him like a shield.
"You know, it's been quite a long time ago since we had our ... differences... why bring them up now? And if it's not about back then, then what's this about?" Kyou wanted to know.




Meanwhile

Captain Hanif had gotten comfortable in the haunted house's office and was reading through the incoming reports. There were quite a few of them for his subordinates had worked fast and diligently and other groups which were either assigned to the World Noble incident or to the thievery had forwarded their information to him as well. Not all reports agreed with each other however and Captain Hanif had three different piles of paper in front of him as he was sorting them according to their likeliness.

From what he had gathered so far there had been another fight, before the trouble in the haunted mansion had started. Nearly all eyewitness spoke of a monster with leathery wings but some recognised the black-haired boy as the one who had turned into that monster before assaulting one of the park's mascots. A handful of witnesses remembered the mascot launching an attack on the monster before being blown away, but the majority had perceived the winged guy as the assailant.

The Captain tapped his finger against the table. If only there was a way to find out if the man in the mascot costume had pink hair...
It was concerning that a Devil Fruit user was attacking people and Hanif Amir would have given a lot to know if the boy acted randomly of if his other suspect with the pink hair was the only target.
For a moment he considered the possibility that the black-haired boy was a bounty hunter... it wouldn't have been the first time that one of those made trouble for him, but that was unlikely. A quick search through the active posters had shown that none of the three suspects had a bounty on their head. So whatever the reason, it was likely a personal one, maybe revenge?
Or was the boy, having seen the incident with the noble, moving on assumptions... but no... someone who had come so far on the GL couldn't possibly be so sloppy, right? According to Mack, the boy had made a collected and thoughtful impression. Not the type that acted on guts alone...

The pink-haired one was almost certainly the one responsible for the incident with the Noble. With that many witnesses agreeing on it, there wasn't any doubt left. The golden frame that had been recovered from the fleeing pinkhead had also been identified as the stolen good from last night's robbery, so far so good.
If only any of it would make sense!
If the boy was really the thief, he had managed to steal the picture frame without being seen, so why was he walking around with it in broad daylight?!
So much foolishness was frustrating. One could almost lose one's trust in the human's ability of logical thought.

"Purupurupurupuru...." his Den Den Mushi began to ring and sitting back in his chair the Captain picked it up.
"Yes...?" he asked wearily.
"It's me, Honya. I've searched the HQ's archives for you and I think I have found something."
"You got something on the pink boy?!"
Suddenly eager and full of new energy he leaned forward and grabbed a pencil.
"Well... Maybe... I can't say for sure. Want to see it anyway?"
"Maybe? What do you mean maybe? Sure, send it over."

[BlacKitten]

This was quite a sight. Who would have thought this crossdressing male waitress would be desperate enough to actually speak almost out of character. It was so uncharacteristic of him that whether he’s even the same person had been questioned.

For a moment, Pluto calmly ignored him and asked his little sister to show him the bounty poster, and from there, Rebecca unrolled the tube of sand-colored paper to reveal the main cause of today’s hunt, facing it towards the main target with both hands. In big, large letters was the word ‘WANTED’ at the very top. Below that title was a picture of the prime target’s gloomy, unsightly face. Below that was where the ‘DEAD OR ALIVE’ was written along with the target’s name down below. A small bounty of 13,000,000 beri followed afterwards before ending with further text along with the ‘MARINE’ brand at the lower right corner.

“This is what it’s all about,” the boy stated it casually. This had nothing to do with their ‘differences’ long ago. “I don’t know what you did to earn it. You’ve always been running, haven’t you? Ever since we first met, you’ve always kept on running away, both literally and figuratively. I wonder… what have you been running away from all this time, figuratively speaking. Maybe, this bounty was due to your past. Maybe, this bounty was due to what you did this morning. Who knows… we never really did get to know each other,” Pluto spoke with an unreadable face, a visage of someone who revealed no emotion or feelings. It was hard for anyone to tell what he was thinking or feeling. None of this really mattered to him.

Hmm? Where is his sword? Can he even put up a fight without his weapon? Is that metal tray his new weapon now?

Rebecca rolled the poster back up, keeping it in her possession along with Maru’s bounty poster that was obtained prior to coming to this island. Keeping the posters hidden was important if they didn't want another bounty hunter targeting the same exact prey. 

“Now then,” his tone seemed almost optimistic in the slightly raised pitch, “do you want a head start in running away? Surely, you didn’t think I’d come here just to have a meal, did you? It was merely pure coincidence that these people that I know showed up.” His eyes shifted towards Dan for a brief moment, “I didn’t know that the restaurant that he spoke of would be here of all places.” He wanted to make it clear that all these people wasn’t going to slow him down in his pursuit. They were just here for the food.

“However, without that wooden sword of yours, you are unable to whip up any gust. Unless you plan to fend off against me with that metal tray you’re holding, I’d advise you to reconsider your position right now. Without your weapon, your only options are to either gain distance from me or attack me up close. But, at close-quarters, I’d have a definite advantage,” he explained the foolishness of standing so close to him when the bounty hunter had an incentive to capture the target before him.

His eyes sharpened, “So… what will you do? Will you run? Or will you attack?” Pluto was offering him the choice. This was the lawless zone; nothing restrained him from acting even more violently than before.

[Shinku]

Kyou's jaw dropped. He closed his gaping mouth shut but it just opened again without him being able to do anything against it. That situation just had him so completely baffled that it showed up in his face which rarely showed more than this trademark frown.
His mind felt blank though he could hear his thought chatter at full speed, but somehow they didn't quite manage to reach him.
Instead of showing any hints of wanting to run away or reacting to what the Bat Boy said to him, Kyou stood there dumbfounded and tried not to faint or buckle, his legs were feeling rather weak all of a sudden. A weakness that had nothing to do with all the countless cuts and bruises on his maltreated body. His heart was beating painfully fast in his chest and despite the rushing blood, his face seemed to pale even further.

"What? But how?"

Slowly his brain managed to catch up with the escaping mind and pushed some awareness into him. The first thing it pointed out were the word that Pluto had said and the danger they announced. His ears had picked them up without him really listening and while their meaning had completely escaped him at first, for his mind had stared in horror at the poster that shouldn't be, his grey matter had made sure that they didn't go completely ignored.

"That can't be my bounty poster... there has to be some mistake..." he mumbled.

A second awareness waved a hand and then slapped him into the face to get his attention.
There had been something wrong with the bounty poster, more wrong than even it's existence, and the realization pushed away even the thoughts of immediate danger.

"This isn't about what happened this morning, they don't print or even issue a bounty that fast." he explained, making no attempt to either flee or attack.

Despite almost certain knowledge that the bounty couldn't be real, Kyou was feeling sick just thinking about it. To have a bounty would be like... it was... like that time all over again...
But it wasn't real.. couldn't be real because...

"That name makes no sense. I usually use Kyou. I only used the name Marisu once before today, back on Dojo Island. You were there too, so you should know that I haven't done anything that would get me a bounty."

They both had gotten into a fight with the locals, but Dojo Island had no affiliation with the WG and it had been an official match, him and Pluto against two pupils of the Dojo, nothing that would get them an official warrant in any case. Kyou stopped staring into space and focused on Pluto.

"You can bring me to the Marines, but I doubt you see any money from them. That bounty poster has to be fake if it bears the name Mari Sue... honestly... the Marines wouldn't have used that name, they're better at gathering information than that. The only ones who would put that name on it would be people who have been on Dojo Island with us."

For a moment the picture of an orange haired man who was usually smiling like a fox came to his mind and Kyou wondered if Inari had set him up for fun. The man had been there and it would not be the first time that the sly merchant was toying with him. But no, Inari would have used the name Kyoukichi, not Marisu or Mari Sue, and while he could be a complete troll at times, he usually just did things he could profit from. This didn't seem to be the case here... here, someone was just messing around with no reason, or none that Kyou could make out.

"Look... I don't have any intention to fight here and I'm tired of running. If you want to turn me in, then do so. Best do so now, then I can at least have a laugh at you for going through all the trouble of catching me amounting to nothing because they haven't made a real bounty poster for me yet."

It was unlikely that he would really laugh, but his feet hurt. They hurt from a dozen little cuts that hadn't gotten a proper chance to heal, so his mood was dark and feeling bitter his word were meant to sting.
With a face that had regained its composure he still looked into Pluto's violet eyes.

"If you have nothing else to say, I'm going back to work."



The machine attached to the Den Den began to chatter and produced a few papers. The files about a young Marine recruit that Honya had found for him. The name on the file wasn't Kyou but Hanif hadn't expected that the boy had given him his real name. The important thing was that the files contained a photo.
The person on it was still half a boy, one with messy pink hair and pale green eyes that weren't looking at the camera. The face was not showing any harshness yet and there was no frown, only an embarrassed smile that looked rather forced on... but it was the same person, Hanif would have bet his lucky rifle on it.

Right hand tapping the pencil against the table he turned the page and started reading through the file and the more he read the more he became intrigued with the boy's past.
The boy, he had been sixteen when he'd been recruited which meant that he was- Hanif quickly checked the dates - nineteen now, had indeed been a Marine. His guts had been right about that.
But the boy wasn't a deserter like he had thought... he was something far worse than that - a traitor.

The file had been blackened out in large bits, meaning that the information was top-secret and not to be seen by just anyone, but it contained enough to get the big picture.
Whatever their mission had been, the pinkhead had sold his friends, leading to a complete failure of the operation and to the deaths of most team members. Only one had survived the betrayal and had been able to testify against the traitor.
Hanif furrowed his brow.
No wonder Honya-chan had been hesitant to sent him the material. According to the file, the treasonous recruit had been convicted and hanged for his crime - on the very next day.
That was unusual, but there was even a newspaper cutting documenting the execution, so it was hard to doubt that it had taken place. The local media hadn't known any details about the why of course, the authorities must have made sure of that, but that hadn't stopped them from printing all sorts of speculations - and a picture of a pink-haired man hanging on the gallows.
And yet...
If this was really the same person, then he, Hanif Amir, was chasing a man who had been dead for years. Or at least one who had been considered dead.
A smile spread on his face until it was big and menacing.