[Sonnet Matsuda]

Shortcut My childhood spat back out the monster that you see + Ollie Atchison

Business is good. Which is fortunate. Sonnet's mood is not. Her men had learned eventually to avoid her when she is in this kind of mood, and jump to complete any task she sets them. Her temper is short at the best of times, today it is worse. Her mind strays once more to this morning, and last night. She'd been stupid to think that it could have had any other possible end. At least, she thinks as she strolls down the sidewalk, things hadn't escalated. She barges past a heavyset man, he turns, face reddening and mouth opening as if to speak, when one of her men puts a hand on his shoulder. A quick flicker of his jacket shows the gun tucked into his waistband and the man closes his mouth hurriedly. Things hadn't gone any further, and they wouldn't go any further. She'd be seeing Evelyn again, the woman had a strange habit of turning up when she wasn't expected, but she'd have to make it clear then that the whole night had just been a drunken mistake. It certainly couldn't be allowed to happen again. Lost in thought, she stands back as her men go into the bodega. She's not needed, they know what to do. This has been her territory for a long time, and the people working here have learned better than to piss her off. She rarely bothers going with them in truth. Today she needs the movement and the action. Though it's probably for the best that she stays out of the shops themselves. Kenshin is already concerned about her, it would not do to give him more cause for concern. She doesn't look up until she notices that there is a commotion in the store. Frowning, she starts towards the door. Perhaps the owner of the bodega has taken issue with the money required for his protection.

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[Ollie Atchison]

Some days, Ollie supposed... just weren't good for him. The mood was all but shot thanks to various things, he'd already dealt with at least one person that had gotten on him about his appearance -- as, perhaps, denoted by a bit of a scratch on his shoulder -- and all he'd really wanted was just... a bit of quiet. A simple little corner shop that he occasionally stopped by, that he didn't often catch too many people at, at least not for this time of day.

How 'lucky', then, that he had to choose a time for a... what, shakedown? Something like that, from how it looked to him. Mob guys of some sort, maybe, that he thought he might've vaguely recognized seeing around, but it didn't really matter, did it? Not more than a few sentences into the little exchange that he barely even paid attention to beyond it sounding like some sort of 'protection' racket, all it really took was a bit of a low growl from the rather fox-like boy to quickly draw the men's alert, Ollie himself noting how at least one of them reached for the bottom of their jacket.

Also wasn't much helping for the slight, annoyed twitch of his ears that he had to catch the sudden shout from behind the counter as soon as the worker themselves saw the gun and ducked down to hide, in case anything more was going to happen... nor that a stray like him wasn't some known hero or anything silly like that, just some guy on the streets. "Yeah? Try it. Ain't a thing you're gonna be hitting," the boy dared... maybe not the best plan to get tensions running a bit higher, he mused, since it would be the sound of the bell by the door next that would have the man start to draw his gun in alert.

Sure, the stray was no hero, but at least he could ignore the shout from the other man as Ollie himself charged forward. All he had to do was swipe his claws at the arm holding the gun, almost naturally sending a bullet into the ground. Well, the shopkeeper could worry about that little detail later; in all truth, though, Ollie wasn't wholly certain what came next. Were he to be honest, he didn't usually do this sort of thing, if he could just keep out of it...

[Sonnet Matsuda]

Shortcut My childhood spat back out the monster that you see + Ollie Atchison

The gun shot brings Sonnet's gaze snapping to the combat in the centre of the store. That is the last thing they need. A good deal of the local precinct is on the payroll, but even they won't be able to turn a blind eye to a shootout right under their noses. Swearing in Japanese, Sonnet pushes open the door of the bodega. She's an easy target, momentarily framed by the sunlight pouring in through the glass front of the shop. She doesn't care, pointing a gun at her is little more than a pointless threat these days. There's a skinny figure in a hoodie struggling with one of her men. The other has drawn his own gun and has it trained on the fight, apparently waiting for a clear shot, fearful of hitting his companion. Sonnet barks out a curt order in Japanese, the increase in volume making her hoarse voice sound worse. She follows the instruction with a swift chopping motion across her neck. Reluctantly the man stashes his gun in his waistband, backing away from the combat. Sonnet takes two steps forward and grabs the shoulder of her subordinate, pulling him away from the skinny figure. A skinny figure with… fur? Definitely fur. Blue fur. Either this is some kind of sick fuck in a costume, or it's the weirdest power she's seen yet. Staring in surprise at the lanky figure that towers over her, she realises that it has to be a power, no costume could possibly look that realistic. Clipping her employee around the back of the head, she throws a thumb towards the door of the shop. Throwing her and the fox guy a dirty look, he scrambles out of the bodega. She'll see him later, and deal with him then. Right now she has… this to deal with… "You really weren't lucky were you?"

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[Ollie Atchison]

Foreign... somewhere from overseas, that language was, but there was no chance Ollie was going to try and place it. Maybe if he'd ended up staying in high school for another year or two... but it was a bit late for that, wasn't it? Ever since that 'event' that made him have to bail on everything... well, point was, he didn't understand a word, anyway.

Whoever it was, though, it appeared they were some sort of big shot, or something. Maybe not something he needed... but he wasn't the one that started things here. Probably...

Still, the fox boy's ears curiously flicked a little beneath the hood at the sudden smack to the back of the man's head, his eyes glancing after him for a moment before returning to this... whoever this woman was. Some sort of foreigner, he could only guess. "That's one way to put it. Whether ya mean dealin' with your men here, or the fur," he replied, a cool expression worn on that distinctly fox-like face for now; a fair bit better than the glare he'd been giving the men before, certainly, but still not much a fan of any of this.

"So who're you supposed to be, then? Some sorta mob boss controllin' the area, or somethin'?" he asked, with a curious little quirk of his head. Well, he wasn't judging, at least; he'd been on the streets long enough to hear about plenty such activity, especially with all the powers people tended to have nowadays, but he couldn't necessarily name names. Yet. "Ain't gonna say I really give one... but if this is what I'm gonna be expectin' to see 'round here, I wanna at least know what's goin' on. An' I'm not takin' some non-answer like some mob types like to give," he half-insisted.

Sonnet Matsuda

[Sonnet Matsuda]

Shortcut My childhood spat back out the monster that you see + Ollie Atchison

It is strange, his face definitely seems to have what approximates expressions, but Sonnet would never have expected the face of an actual fox to be able to wear any sort of vaguely human expression. No way it's a mask then, this is the guy's actual face. She winces. Her power comes with it's own drawbacks, but at least they aren't as in your face as this one quite literally is. She smiles at his aggressive response. Clearly the fight has his hackles up, if he has them that is. At least he doesn't seem liable to try and beat an answer out of her. For all her surprise at his appearance, Sonnet doesn't seem in the least bit intimidated by the tall blue fox-boy. The half-hearted way he attempts to insist on her response betrays more discomfort than he is otherwise letting on. Clearly he's new. Most people know by now that this is Yakuza territory, and she's pretty sure she'd have heard about someone like him if he wasn't too new in town. "Or something." Her voice is hoarse, and the ugly red scar at her throat works painfully as it moves over her vocal chords. The way she speaks is clipped and correct, with the almost mechanical edge that comes when someone is speaking something that was not learned as a first language. She's well dressed, the dark suit clearly from some kind of designer and the shoes she's wearing are probably worth more than the average paycheque. "You got in the way of business kid. You must know that almost never ends well…"

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[Ollie Atchison]

'Or something', she said. Well, he'd just go ahead and take that as a 'yes', for as much as he really cared to know about the specifics. At that next statement of hers, though, his ears could hardly help but flick slightly; most of all in just general annoyance. Never mind his eyes narrowing slightly in a very similar fashion... plus the display of very sharp fangs as his lips likewise curled back a little.

"That'd make ya a 'super', then, right? Ain't a 'normal' person I've seen that's gonna threaten a guy like me without somethin' in mind," Ollie huffed. What kind of power she might've had, then... well, it was impossible to say. Unlike him, the rest of them mostly looked normal, with no way of telling what they did. Among other places, he'd certainly gotten the short end of the stick there.

"So what now? Ya gonna try an' get rid of me or somethin'? Or ya gonna handle this better than your goons out there did scarin' the shopkeep an' decidin' to pull those guns of theirs out? Your play, lady," he asked, otherwise staying where he was, quite still but for the ever-alert flickering of his ears. If anyone did try anything, he very much intended to be the first to know about it.

Sonnet Matsuda

[Sonnet Matsuda]

Shortcut My childhood spat back out the monster that you see + Ollie Atchison

It is certainly unnerving, to be stood opposite an upright figure that in almost every other way seems to have more in common with an animal than a human. Sonnet wonders, not altogether idly, just how many of his behaviours actually resemble that of an animal as his lips curl back to reveal wickedly sharp fangs. Is that a threat? Or a very human smile on a face that isn't built to display it? Her face becomes thoughtful as she tilts it to one side, "I don't know, in New York there's enough anti-meta sentiment that someone would come after you eventually. Power or not." If anything, he must be perceived as an easier target. How many meta's wore their abilities on their sleeve quite like he did? Sonnet glances at the owner of the bodega, a skinny guy shifting uncomfortably behind the register. If anything, he looked more worried now that he thought there was going to be a fight in his store than he had done when it had just been two Japanese guys demanding money. That at least was something he would be accustomed to. In the distance, but growing, comes the sound of sirens and she wonders just how long the creature before her might have been able to hear them. Surely those ears come with some benefits? So the gunshot has not gone as unnoticed as she might have hoped. Daiki should never have pulled his gun, and she will have to deal with him later. She begins to turn, she could just leave the kid, but the cops will pick him up easily. Innocent he might be, but she wouldn't kindly leave an out and out meta in their care. Her chest hurts, Mathias would definitely have some wise words of compassion to say about this. "OK, I'm done posturing and dick waving. Those cops might be here for me, but they'll happy beat the crap out of you when they can't catch me." There's no arrogance in her words, simply complete confidence and self-assurance. The cops don't have a hope of detaining her. This blue furred kid on the other hand… She holds out one of her hands. "I promise I can't kill you with a touch. Not one anyway…"

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