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[Twinwolf]

Yuki
"I ain't a shrink, that's Freida's-"
"I'm retired now."
"-job. Me? I'm work with SpecProv. And Shef. Who gets paid for this."

"Ooooh, you know Shef? ...I should bug him about how he gets paid, I really need the money, heh. So who are you two and why are you figuring people out and why does she have a cigar? That's really unhealthy, although I guess there could be some psychological issues or something or maybe just daddy issues, is your dad a smoker? He really shouldn't do it around someone so young, that's how you get lung cancer and second-hand smoking and freudian reasons for it."

[Empiricist]

Yuki
"Yes, I happen to be his handler. Rosario's the name. And that, would make you Yuki Tatsumaki. If you wanna talk about payments, I'm all ears, it ain't my forte but I could always help you out with it."
"Just something to pass the time. Such vices matter little to a Godslayer. Heroes rarely die of illness and lifestyle disease, ja? As for Freud, his theories are used no longer. Good riddance."

[Strider03]

As the couple exited the room, off to search for a park or something, Shef shook his head. How obvious could they be? He was a little irritated about the way in which they had so transparently tried to get away. Either they didn't care about appearances--that sort of public affection could cause annoyance in the group--or they had little idea of discretion--far more problematic.

His eyes drifted across the walls, following the contours of shadows, when a small thought popped into his head. He wasn't at all certain, but he thought Minato had only met Faith when she awakened? He could be wrong of course, but he was fairly confident in his analysis: "Young people move quick these days. . . Liable to cause problems. Friction between friends, and misaligned priorities. Not that he cared.

It was at this point that Shef realized that he had been staring at a wall for the past three minutes cynically ruminating over the small bit of happiness that these kids could experience. He stood up, and went over to the door through which Noriko had passed. He wasn't sure what he'd do--meet this Kouta, take his leave, or something else entirely--the future would tell that. So, he knocked, four times in quick succession, and then twice slower, a small pattern from his past.

[Twinwolf]

"Yes, I happen to be his handler. Rosario's the name. And that, would make you Yuki Tatsumaki. If you wanna talk about payments, I'm all ears, it ain't my forte but I could always help you out with it."
"Just something to pass the time. Such vices matter little to a Godslayer. Heroes rarely die of illness and lifestyle disease, ja? As for Freud, his theories are used no longer. Good riddance."

"Ooooh, how'd you know my name? Did Shef tell you already? Or are you just some kinda super-spy (I think Shef may be one. Or thinks he is, he acts like one of those sometimes, or sometimes just one of those hard-boiled types you know?). Buuuut yes, how do you get paid for this? I was gonna do it anyway, the pay is just making it even cooler!
...Oh yeah, one of them did mention supernatural durability during one of those explanations. I guess that means you're not gonna get sick from smoking. Proooobably still shouldn't do drugs though, just a suggestion, not being in total control of yourself sucks."

[Chevaleresse]

Shef would hear the sound of a conversation stopping and then light footsteps approaching from behind the door. It opened to reveal Noriko (apparently having quickly changed into a casual outfit featuring a rather basic white hoodie and jeans), a room filled with rather-dilapidated looking furniture (including an old television set with a game console hooked up to it) and a few dividers set up, and a small, green-haired boy peering out from the back somewhat nervously. "Oh, hey, Shef. What did you need?"

[Empiricist]

Yuki
"I'll be fine."
"Enn told me, gotta keep tabs on Shef and all that. The pay you can get by lodging a claim with SpecProv, there's all this proof of activity stuff to make sure that you aren't defrauding the government, but it should be easy for you since the AI can vouch for you. The pay's okay, nothing special. Gets higher if you're doing it full-time, but not too many people freelance full-time, you start to quickly miss mundanity and the simple things. Well, most people anyway."

[Strider03]

"Minato and Faith left anyway." Shef stated, "Since you mentioned leaving to let them stay earlier. Thought you might want to know that your living room is free now. And, uh, I'll get out of here if you need me to." He gestured out a little awkwardly into the silent room beyond, and then put his hands into his pockets. After this brief explanation of purpose, the man peered past Noriko, into the room. After a quick visual sweep of the room, he focused on the child. "Kouta, you said his name was? Mind introducing me?"

[Chevaleresse]

"Um, sure." She waved at the kid, and he somewhat hesitantly came closer to the door. "Kouta, this is Shef. He's one of the people who helped us get here, and he's also part of the demon hunting team."

"Hi." His voice was somewhat higher pitched than what one might expect out of a thirteen-year-old boy - but then, he was small for his age anyway, so it wasn't all that jarring. "Th-thank you for helping us out."

[Strider03]

"No problem." He wasn't about to mention that his "help" was primarily vested in self-interest. He turned back to Noriko, and stared for a moment, then looked back at Kouta. "Brother and sister?" He asked based on the absence of a striking resemblance, rather than the presence of one. "You two live here on your own then? Winter and Enn haven't told me much." He shrugged. It wasn't a big deal, but there were certain subjects that he felt the AIs left him too much in the dark about.

[Chevaleresse]

"Yes- well, no, not actually, but we may as well be. I've been taking care of him for a long time. We could see the same things, if you know what I mean." The topic was clearly one Noriko still wasn't quite fond of. "And yeah, we moved in here after the first day. It's rent-free so I have more time for school. And Aramitama hunting. Still getting used to that. . ."

[Twinwolf]

"Ooooh, I'll need to talk to the AIs later then! Thanks for the help! I'm kinda curious though, is there any particular reason you two are sitting around here? Are you... she leans in, and continues in a conspiratorial whisper, "Staking out an aramitama? We did that earlier today, it was awesome."

[Empiricist]

Yuki
"I'm just making sure there's no more mononoke marauding here."
"I was just in the neighbourhood and ran into Freida here."

[Strider03]

"Demon hunting? Hmm. Can't really say when you'll get used to it. But, they say one can adjust to anything in time. You should be fine, I think." Rent free. . . so she was paying for an apartment before, taking care of Kouta. Shef frowned a bit, leaning against the doorway.

"So, you made a living in the Maid Cafe then? I guess they pay well for that type of thing. . ." he trailed off, then redirected what he was saying to a new theme. "You're not eighteen, right? I can tell ages pretty well. How'd you get away with renting a place prior to this, and taking care of Kouta?" It didn't make sense for her to be his guardian, and both of them could see things that others couldn't. Seemed like a sure way to be placed in an orphanage or a mental institute. But this was apparently not the case, as the girl's statement seemed to imply that she was in the habit of paying rent.

[Chevaleresse]

"Most people can't tell. Especially if you tell them you work at a maid cafe first." She fixed Shef with a firm look. "And yeah, I know that's technically illegal, but let me tell you, it's better than the situation we were in before." Not that you have much to say about illegal activities being wrong. The man seemed reliable enough, but there was still something about him that was suspicious.

Kouta, for his part, seemed to be slowly sliding back in the direction of the television and associated game console.

[Strider03]

Shef stared back. "Mhm. Legal, illegal. . . circumstances always seem to have a way of becoming extenuating. I was simply curious. Glad to hear things are better off; that's what matters. The age thing's just a habit I've had to pick up." It was fairly obvious that Noriko hadn't addressed taking care of Kouta. Legal guardianship would definitely need officially documented age, not to mention a host of other information and background stuff. More likely she had just kept the child hidden in some way. Personally, Shef thought that keeping the child hidden made more sense than trying to get him into school--too many questions and documents--, at least before she moved to the safehouse. With Winter and Enn's assistance, those problems would probably be lessened.

"Did he go to school? And will he now?"