[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

347

@scrap

Sonnet helped herself to a portion of the bruschetta once it was delivered by the waiter, although she did so without the starving gusto displayed by Scrap. Sonnet could possibly have downed the bread with much the same alacrity and satisfaction, but she had a lot of food coming to satisfy the deep hunger that her power had awakened in the pit of her stomach. Bread would offer little salve to that, but she tore off a chunk of the salted, buttered staple nonetheless.

It was good, freshly baked clearly, not that she would have expected anything less at a restaurant so expensive. The girl was understandably curious about Sonnet's plans for her. After all, it had only been a few minutes ago that Sonnet had seriously been considering simply blowing her brains out. As the girl had no doubt worked out, people like Sonnet rarely spared someone like her without something they wanted.

Still, Sonnet didn't want the girl involved in her Yakuza business, not directly. Already her standing was in doubt, several failings and some bad luck had led to her current position, with her authority in question. Bringing in a rescue from the streets would only increase doubts in her capabilities, and she didn't intend to rock the foundations of her power by doing so. Still, she wanted to keep an eye on the tearaway, if only to make sure that the girl didn't report Sonnet's apparent mercy to anyone else.

"Yes, you do owe me."

It made sense that she keep the girl on the payroll, it might do to have someone outside of her usual territory. Sonnet rarely worried about where she was, after all, it was the work of a thought to be out of trouble. She rarely paid attention to other gangs outside of ensuring they kept to their own business and their own territories, but it couldn't hurt to have someone who moved among the groups of unattached street kids in her pocket.

"You don't have a gang do you?"

It was closer to a statement than a question.

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄

[Deleted]

Scrap managed to wait a whole five seconds before snagging another piece of bread. She ate her second slice more slowly than the first, partly because the first had eased the hollowness in her stomach, but mostly out of fear that she would choke on it if the woman across from her dropped anymore surprising revelations. Despite having been the first one to admit that she owed Sonnet, it felt almost ominous when the older woman repeated it back to her. The girl was starting to think that accepting the food was a mistake, since it would put her further into this woman's debt, but honestly, was there a deeper debt than owing someone your life? Saving someone and not killing someone were two different things, but Scrap would argue that she did start that confrontation.

The foreigner's statement posed as a question earned her a slow head shake as she chewed and swallow the bite in her mouth. "No, ma'am." There was a small pause before she added more. "Girls get a raw deal in gangs unless they got some serious ass-whoopin' skills. I have my talents, but I'm only decent in a fight and I have no fam to back me up." Hmm, that last bit she probably shouldn't have admitted, but she had a feeling Sonnet would have found out anyway. In honesty, girls had shit luck on the streets, period. It was one of the reasons she worked to keep her gender at least questionable. Most of her childhood she spent dressing and acting like a boy. She still did, but maturity and age were making it harder for her to maintain that disguise.

Her knowledge about women in gangs was another reason she had ample respect for Sonnet's ability. Not only was her display in her alley impressive, but to be as well-off as she was, she had to be a serious badass. This situation would likely be much different if Sonnet were a man, but being a woman didn't keep her from being a creep. Death threats or not, there were some jobs Scrap would not let herself be roped into. She just had to cross her fingers that this would be a temporary arrangement. What she didn't point out was that if Sonnet was trying to be a better person, she really shouldn't ask for anything in return. It sort of defeated the point, but she kept that wisely to herself.

Sonnet Matsuda

[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

416

@scrap

Sonnet understood exactly what Scrap meant. Street gangs were rarely, if ever, welcome places for women. Those that were 'members' tended to be exploited. The Yamaguchi-Gumi were far above the level of a common street gang, but they too had a male dominated power structure. That Sonnet was a member at all was unusual, that she was a Lieutenant was almost unheard of, especially considering her lack of attachment. If it hadn't been for the past influence of her father she would no doubt have been removed from the group in one way or another, likely none of them pleasant.

As it was someone had tried to replace her, and in that same attempt she had earned her abilities at the same time as the vicious scar across her throat. It had been the day that she'd suddenly become more valuable to Kenshin. She was a powerful metahuman now. Teleporters were rare, and Sonnet was a strong one. It didn't make her secure though, she still had to perform to be anything other than a tool, and things hadn't been going well for her.

That the girl had survived relatively intact was in itself impressive, Sonnet had lived under the shadowy hand of her father's power for most of her life, the honour code of the Yakuza protecting her for at least a while after his death. This girl hadn't had that protection, so she clearly was no fool, even if she had been stupid enough to attempt to rob a Yakuza Lieutenant.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to deal."

She shrugged, picking at the bread, glancing up as the waiter began to approach from the kitchen with the first of what would be a number of trays. "You're old enough, but I have dealers, and I don't need another one to find territory for. What I need right now is someone without territory. You don't have a gang, you don't have family. There's no way you have territory, which means you can move in and out of other people's."

The waiter, finally arriving under the weight of a loaded tray, began to lay food on the table. It was an impressive feast, including a pizza, a plate of pasta and a steak before he turned about and headed back to the kitchen for more food, including two bowls of fries.

"You get me information. In return I don't kill you, I feed you once a week, and my men won't bother you."

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄

[Deleted]

Scrap didn't realize until Sonnet had already taken it off the table that she had been hoping this favor didn't include drug trafficking. A little breath of relief escaped her before she could stop it, then gave a little half laugh. "That might be for the best anyway. I don't have any experience." And she meant that in more than one way. It was every individual's right to decide if they wanted to poison their body--and poisoning was exactly what they were doing--but she had never wanted to contribute to the problem. Even when things had been at their lowest in her life, she'd never even been tempted to deal or partake. It was an unfortunate condition that plagued most of the homeless community. Maybe it was the reason some were homeless? She wasn't sure and had never asked, since she avoided the addicts.

She nodded quietly in confirmation at the woman's conclusion that she floated between territories as she munched on another bread stick. There were very few places in the city that Scrap didn't pass through. If she didn't have some sort of arrangement with the reigning powers in that area, then she had one with lower dogs that were willing to risk the wrath for a price, or she knew how to move unknown. The teen had little interest in disrupting their business, but she had to eat too. She tried not to be in direct competition, but most still didn't take kindly to her earning any money without them getting a cut, no matter how she got it.

Blue-green eyes widen to an almost comical size when the trays laden with food were delivered. It was a good thing this was a table for four or there was no way it would all fit. The waif flashed an only slightly bashful smile to the waiter when he set down her plate and waited until he was done and gone before picking a shrimp from her pasta with her fingers and popping into her mouth. "That sounds reasonable. What sort of information?" The idea of a meal once a week--especially one like this--was a nice bonus. 

Luckily, knowledge was something she was good at getting. Both on purpose and on accident. Was she looking for anything useful that Scrap came across or was she wanting the teenager to go find certain information? Someone like Sonnet was likely interested in some extremely dangerous people. The free meal was great, but wouldn't do much good if she was too dead to eat it.

Sonnet Matsuda

[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

398

@scrap

Sonnet began to eat, slicing apart the steak with deft and sure strokes. The meat was lean and rare, only steak that cost fifty dollars could be that undercooked. It was accompanied with thick cut fries and salad. There were another two bowls of fries in the middle of the table, and she pushed one of them towards the teen sat opposite her before taking a fry from the remaining bowl and dipping it in salsa before eating it.

She watched as the waif started eating. It was likely the girl had never eaten food this good. People like her certainly weren't welcome in places like this. People like Sonnet were rarely welcome in places like this, but her expensive taste in fashion meant that people didn't look too closely, didn't question the significance of the tattoos.

The Event had destabilised everything, from the top of society to the bottom, and the criminal underworld hadn't escaped it. People waking up with metahuman powers hadn't just led to villains trying to rob banks. Gangs that had been little more than inconveniences had suddenly found themselves with super powered muscle, turning into credible threats overnight. Two major players in New York's underworld had been deposed by wannabe crime bosses with metahuman abilities or cronies. When things like that happened people suffered. Cop's on the take started working for other people, new gangs started posturing, blood was spilled.

None of it was good for business. Kenshin had done his best to maintain peace, but the Yamaguchi-Gumi had been unfortunate in its portion of the metahuman pie. Sonnet was a potent Traveller, but she was only one woman, and her ability did not make her a solution to every problem. What they needed, was to know more about the new gangs, their members, their avenues of income, the cops they had on the payroll. The lieutenant was under no illusions as to how much information Scrap could really provide, but she had no ties, and that made her valuable, in a way.

"The new gangs, the Ravagers, the Eyes, everyone else. Whatever you can find out, especially about their muscle."

She'd already finished the steak, and pulled a bowl of still steaming pasta over to herself. "And don't bring me information I could find out from anyone else. You want to stay on my good side? Make sure you make yourself useful."

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄

[Deleted]

Scrap was impressed with the speed Sonnet was managing to eat without it looking like she was scarfing the food down. Her precision with the steak knife had the waif rightfully cautious. The teen did not possess such talents and was not apologetic about it. Where she was from, food wasn't yours until it was in your stomach and even then some people were spiteful enough they wouldn't let you keep it. If they can't have it and all that. She happily snagged three fries from the offered bowl and popped them into her mouth.

She could confirm the teleporter's suspicions that this was the fanciest food she had ever eaten. Her pallet was anything but refined and while delicious, she didn't compare it with the 'lesser' sustenance she normally managed to get her hands on. There was garbage food and not from the garbage food. Seafood was one of those things that really wasn't safe to eat after it had been tossed and cheap places didn't offer it.

The homeless teen was not intricately aware of the goings on inside the gangs. She picked up information here and there, mostly stuff that helped her stay alive, but even she had seen the shift when metahumans starting emerging. It wasn't that much different than when a new drug or more dangerous weapon would hit the market, really. Keep your head down while the dogs bit and clawed for positions of power. A meta's abilities were typically no scarier to her than a bomb or a semi-automatic gun in the wrong hands. It changed very little for the drifter. Until she turned into one. Now she was that weapon the gangs were hard-pressed to control or end so someone else wouldn't have her.

And now this woman wanted her poking her nose into their business. Why couldn't her ability by something like turning into living shadow, super hearing, or invisibility? Wouldn't need healing if she didn't get caught. She swallowed the mouthful slowly as she thought over Sonnet's orders. She managed not to wince at the mention of The Ravagers. She already knew things about that gang others didn't, but she would save it for now and use it later for part of their exchange. Scrap could tell Sonnet that she's a meta and what she could do. Healers were not very common and would undoubtedly be useful for a gang. She's hold onto that for now. "I'll do my best, but not knowing your other sources there may be some overlap. I won't throw common shit at you, though."

She took a long drink from her coke as she considered her next words. "Are you just wanting to watch your fam's backs or are you looking to expand?" Mostly she was just curious, but the answer would have an affect on her life and on how she approached her intel gathering.

Sonnet Matsuda

[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

366

@scrap

The girl was rapidly proving that she wasn't stupid. Hopefully she also wouldn't be stupid enough to try and double cross Sonnet, not many people were. "Don't worry, I'll allow for some overlap."

It wasn't as if she was going to reveal who was on her payroll to the girl. She might be trusting her to spy for her, but she certainly didn't trust her enough to start sharing delicate and valuable information like that. For all she knew the girl might just march straight off to the highest bidder with whatever she found out.

The next question was different however. What she planned to do was valuable information, it would let the gangs know whether to prepare for an attack or to go on the offense. It might make a difference in how the girl went about her business though. She might be more or less enthusiastic about her task. She might get more useful information based on what she thought Sonnet might be planning to do. Sonnet didn't know this girl, she didn't trust her.

"What I'm doing is of no concern of yours right now. Bring me some legitimate, valuable information and I'll consider giving you more direction."

The pasta was delicious, al dente, with seafood and a tomato based sauce. She daintily, if a little swiftly, worked her way through the bowl, packing away half of it with almost contemptuous ease. The way she ate was strange, she was clearly enjoying the food, but it disappeared into her gullet with a speed that suggested she'd not eaten in several days, yet without any of the mess that one might typically associate with such an experience.

"Consider it an audition, the better you do, the more benefits you get."

The waiter returned to clear the empty steak plate and the now empty bowl of fries. He asked if there was anything else they wanted. Sonnet nodded, "The dessert menu."

She was still eating, but a little more time to choose wouldn't hurt. Once the waiter was gone she turned back to her dinner companion.

"Who knows, if you're good enough your life might become a lot more comfortable than it is right now."

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄