In the end everything collides

Sonnet had not visited this bar before, and judging by the clientele she saw here, she doubted she would be visiting it again any time soon. She'd already had to less than gently discourage the attentions of one over eager patron at the bar. He was at the other end of the bar now, nursing his red, but unbroken fingers. He would think twice before allowing his hands to wander over strange women in future. Not that re-educating him had been Sonnet's intention when she'd bent his fingers back off her ass.

She'd already paid for her drinks unfortunately, and while it would have been the work of an instant to simply take it home with her, but it wouldn't be wise to do so in such a crowded bar. That and it would burn off the buzz before she had even reached it. The side effect of her enhanced metabolism was that it took enough alcohol to fell an ox just to give her a buzz.

She glanced around the bar, if she wanted to avoid unwanted attention she'd have to find a table, somewhere to sit. But they were all taken, most of them crowded with young groups of friends or couples. Then her eye alighted upon one option, the only option.

Tucked away in the back corner was a booth with a current occupancy of one, a man who seemed to be making a deep study of the beer in front of him. Lifting the bottle of whiskey and glass from the bar, she made her way over to the table.

"This seat free?"

The question was an afterthought, she'd already slit onto the opposite bench. The guy was too focused on the drink in front of him to actually have a friend or partner in the bar. No one with friends studied alcohol with quite that intensity.

She poured amber liquid from the whiskey bottle into the glass she'd brought with her, before beginning to drink.

"Is the beer that bad? Or that good?"

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

In the end everything collides

Amora had been awfully silent after Sonnet had come clean, and the Japanese woman had found herself unable to look up from her drink. She shouldn't have felt this way really, ashamed perhaps? After all she had been ordered to do this, and while Amora's presence had been helpful, Sonnet hadn't needed her there. If she hadn't been a metahuman she would have been a liability, as it was she had just been able to care for herself. Sonnet didn't owe the woman anything.

After a moment the other woman spoke, and Sonnet started, almost surprised by the sudden break in the silence. She stayed quiet, listening, stealing the occasional glance at the other woman as she told her story. Sonnet's discovery of her abilities had been relatively peaceful, other than the sudden sense of panic she'd experienced, no one else had died, and as far as she could tell she'd never been in any danger. Other than the sudden increase her appetite had undergone and the large amount of weight she had lost in those few weeks.

Sonnet didn't know why Amora thought her story would matter to her, they were other people, individuals she had never and would never meet. Individuals she had no reason to care about. Amora's tale was both sad and gruesome, traumatic, she imagined, for someone who had lived through it. It didn't affect Sonnet. So why should she care?

Sonnet met the other woman's eyes for a brief moment, defiance steeling her gaze once more, feeling as if the other woman was judging her for her reaction to the story, seeing some weakness, some flaw. She didn't respond as the other woman stood up, her eyes simply following hers as she moved from the booth to the floor beside it. She smiled faintly at the woman's last words as she walked away.

---

"Nothing?"

"Nothing"

The exchange in Japanese was flat and emotionless, to both voices it was simply a matter of business.

"Impossible, everyone has an angle, everyone has leverage."

"Not her, she's in the kind of career where she's used to people attempting to degrade her. Even if there was an angle, what did you think I might find in a casual conversation?"

The first voice continued, strangely grey in it's tones, as though it were simply recording it's observations of an interesting species of butterfly.

"I feel that you have made a deliberately inferior effort, this is not the first time you have failed when another metahuman was involved."

An edge appeared in the tone of the second voice, wounded pride perhaps, or anger. "I'm not a PI. If you want her investigated get one of ours to do it. It's a waste of my time."

To those unfamiliar with the grey voice they would have noticed no different, but those who knew it, who had studied it's moods would have detected a sudden chill in the air, as of a splinter of ice being silently filed to a sharpened point.

"Be careful shateigashira. Do not forget your place."

There is a sound of shifting weight, and the rustle of cloth as someone bows.

"My apologies, Kumicho. I will of course obey your instructions."

The rustle of papers.

"Go, you have other things to deal with, you are right, I will task another with this assignment."

A pause of indeterminate length, and a sound as though someone has looked up, surprised to see that they are still in another's company. Then a sound like a gentle inhalation, and the papers rustle once again.

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

In the end everything collides

A people person Sonnet was not, but she was no idiot. Amora might still have an agreement with them, but she was clearly wondering why she was still here. After all, Sonnet herself had been less than welcoming when the escort had first arrived, and yet here she was in a bar with the woman, acting as though she wanted to learn more about her life. It didn't take a genius to spot the glaring flaws.

Sonnet wanted to just let the woman go, allow her to leave. Why should she care? After all, it wasn't as if they required her services anymore, and it could certainly be argued that she had more than fulfilled her side of the bargain when she'd knocked the European unconscious, fine print be damned. Still, Sonnet had expected at least a little more breathing room before she went straight to the heart of the matter, but Amora was clearly aware that she owed her nothing.

She would answer the question honestly, but something kept her from doing so immediately, she didn't quite understand it, and her mind rebelled against the unconscious desire. Even so…

She lightly fingered the scar on her neck. It looked raw and pink, almost as if it was fresh. In truth it was now nearly a year old.

"A man tried to cut my throat, we… the Yakuza like to think we are honourable, and in some ways, we are. That does not change one of the primary methods for ascension though. One of my subordinates thought he could do a better job than me."

She put her glass down, tracing a finger idly around the rim as she recounted the story.

"It was after the Event. I was still learning how my abilities worked, I'd only had them for a few weeks. No one else knew what I could do. It's probably the only reason I'm still alive. I would have liked to have seen the look on his face when I disappeared after he tried to slit my throat... He was supposed to be a friend..."

She dropped her fingers from her throat now, toying with the half-filled glass on the table. "I went home, ruined my mom's carpet, and she got me to a doctor."

It had been a shady, off the books deal, but the man had been good at his job and he'd saved her life. If he'd been any less effective she'd be dead.

"Apparently if he'd gotten the blade a millimetre deeper he would have done more than nick the carotid, and I wouldn't be talking to you now."

There was a strange tone in her voice as she continued, it had been then that things had really started to change, that Father Matthias' words had seemed to grow more relevant.

"He's dead now, I couldn't risk that he would try again, and honour dictated I defend myself. You know how it is."

She drained the rest of the glass, letting it clink gently against the table as she put it down. She'd avoided the first question. It was bad enough that she had, but her honour would not allow her to go back on her word, and nor would Amora she had no doubt. Screw Kenshin, he could have come to talk to the woman, he was better at this sort of thing anyway.

"Kenshin ordered me to. You're a metahuman, and a powerful one, that's rare, and valuable, he wanted to know if we could use you."

Perhaps they could, the woman was a Hero, her reputation may not be that important to her, but it would be important to the Program, the fledgling organisation would immediately distance itself from any scandals, certainly non-family friendly ones that might arise if information got out about what Titania did in her spare time. No doubt Kenshin would use that information, or at least threaten to.

She doubted the woman would react outwardly, she had seemed fairly controlled all evening, even under the attentions of the European. Clearly she was used to controlling her emotions.

Sonnet stared at the glass in front of her, not really sure what to say and wishing that Amora would just go. Even so, she didn't ask her to leave…

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

In the end everything collides

It was clear to Sonnet that the other woman was not entirely enamoured of this experience, perhaps it was because she wasn't drinking, perhaps this kind of bar simply wasn't her scene. Or maybe she just didn't enjoy associating herself with people like Sonnet. Sonnet couldn't blame her, but she needed to keep her here, after all, Kenshin expected her to get information about the woman. While the knowledge that she was a Hero was important, he would likely want more. And while she would never admit it to herself, she wanted Amora to stay.

"Well then let's make it more honest. I swear that any question you ask that I am able to answer I will do so honestly"

She raised her glass a little, then tilted it back, letting some of the amber liquid flow between her lips. "Obviously some things I can't or won't tell you. But if that's the case I won't lie, just tell you I can't answer."

Shrugging, she continued, "I suppose you don't have to believe that what I say is true, but I can give you my word that I won't lie, and criminal or not, I won't break that."

Sonnet didn't know whether that would be enough for Amora, but she hoped it would, inexplicably. She reminded herself that Kenshin had ordered her to take this woman and find out what she knew, and as much about her powers as possible. That was what this was for, nothing more, nothing less. Maybe if she revealed some truths about herself Amora would reveal some of her own. That was why she was here. Right?

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

In the end everything collides

"I suppose it was a good thing he attempted to kill us when you were there. The element of surprise that another meta brought only helped. I don't think he expected one, let alone two."

That the Yakuza on the East Coast possessed a meta was not particularly secret, that the metahuman was female was. It was rare enough to have females in the Yakuza, particularly in leadership roles, clearly the European had thought the chances slim that the woman at the meeting had been a metahuman. Or anything other than Kenshin's arm candy perhaps. It would not be the first time someone made that assumption, despite her efforts, and in fairness his, to the contrary.

Amora's words could have been so easily twisted, had Sonnet been so inclined. Making people feel good was exactly what hookers did so well. She sipped at the glass in her hand, although to call them sips would be stingy. "It is," she agreed.

Amora's wandering attention once more caught her eye, and she glanced up at the TV screen that had apparently distracted the escort. She froze as she recognised the eyes on the screen. Her eyes flickering back to the eyes of the woman in front of her before she regained control of herself and finished the glass set in front of her. She used the pouring of another glass to conceal her confusion.

"Well with a power like yours you could definitely go into Hero work. Not that I'm saying you should. My organisation would certainly pay an awful lot to have someone like you in their corner. Just how tough are you?"

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

In the end everything collides

The joke received a baleful glare in response. Sonnet had been hanging back, watching the area to see if anyone else would show up other than Aaron. She halfway trusted him, but not enough to show up to such a hastily arranged meeting. As a result she'd sent a time and then made sure to arrive at the location some time earlier, allowing her to watch the comings and goings of everyone around it. Nothing had seemed suspicious, and so eventually she had popped into existence inside the warehouse, which had led to the poor attempt at humour from the blue haired woman,

Sonnet didn't recognise her, but then she only just knew Aaron, the fact that he trusted her enough for something like this was strange. Although she supposed she did owe him her life, maybe he understood how seriously she would take that debt. That and the men in that video store had tried to kill her too. So she had a more immediate score to settle with them.

She examined the woman a little more closely. She had vaguely Asian features, only a very faint angle here and there, and the larger eyes betraying what seemed to be Japanese roots. Was she part of this deal? An old war friend of Aaron's? No she was too young. What then? His girlfriend? No. A victim of the group then?

She wondered why he had wanted to meet, especially if he had no real information on the group. Unless now was the time he had chosen to call in what she owed him. She narrowed her eyes at this thought, turning her gaze from the woman to the bulky Hero beside her.

"Who's your friend? And why the meet?"

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

In the end everything collides

Sonnet hadn't realised that the other woman didn't drink, or perhaps she was just someone who had a strict, no drinks on the job policy. After all, she hadn't touched alcohol while they had been with the European, though Kenshin had hardly touched alcohol either. Sonnet could have forgone, definitely, but it didn't make much difference. The two men would have been unconscious long before the booze started to have any real effect on her. It was both a benefit and a drawback of her ability. Sonnet was no scientist but she knew that to do what she did must take enormous amounts of energy. As a result anything she consumed got burned off pretty quickly, including alcohol.

Sonnet glanced over at the bar as Amora mentioned the bartender, and owner of the place. "Yeah he's pretty good, I've known him a long time. I'm never really sure how much he really knows about what I do, or whether he just doesn't care."

She glanced around at the bar. She did come here a lot, probably because most of the people didn't care who she was. She'd happened upon this bar years ago, by accident, and somehow managed to avoid offending or assaulting the clientele. Most of the people here kept to themselves, and the bouncer at the door was extremely picky, although he hadn't looked twice at Sonnet. When there was trouble Alex tended to deal with it quickly, either that or the rest of the drinking crowd dealt with it themselves.

Most places Sonnet had either learned to avoid, or the people there had learned to avoid her. She was dangerous, and didn't take lightly to having her drinking disturbed. Usually it was a solitary occupation for her, but this was the second time in two months she'd found herself bringing a newcomer to the bar. Maybe that meant something…

"So since you're on the clock do you have to laugh at all my jokes? Or can you actually be a little bit honest with me. Your bill's already paid, and I doubt it would be easy to get a refund out of you even if I wanted to."

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see