456 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
300000000 Years
Male
"Abaddon"
Bandit-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Nick Cross on Oct 26, 2018 19:04:32 GMT -4
A minute ago Nick had been roaring in triumph, full of almost child-like glee as he had revelled in being reinvigorated by his own power.
Now, he was the complete polar opposite, icy cold dread filling him and freezing him to the spot. How could everything have gone wrong so fast? He wanted to howl and scream in frustration.
It did not help at all one bit that in his post-transformation state his head was beginning to pound like a drum, rendering his thoughts hazy and difficult to string together, and his body was trembling from how weak it suddenly felt. His tiredness returned to him in a crushing wave he could not escape drowning in.
“...you’re Nick Cross.”
And there it was: the recognition he had feared and tried so hard to avoid. He turned his head to face her, grimacing, his eyes noticeably full of regret and rapidly growing panic.
“Indeed,” he said. “The one and only.”
The tension around him could have been cut with a knife. He knew what would happen now: she would call the police and he would have to run like hell with his head banging and his muscles weak. He began to back up, willing his body to summon every last ember of strength it had to ignite him into fleeing, and -
“What?”
He was completely blindsided and left staring and blinking like a complete simpleton as she told him to put his wig on again and hurry to the back already.
“You must think I’m royally stupid to fall for that,” he hissed, baring his teeth. “I know you’re not strong enough to fight me, so of course you’ll try and trick me instead!”
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MADE BY VEL OF GS AND ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2018 19:20:02 GMT -4
砕けたガラス、砂のような ❝ 10:13pm
"If I wanted to get you arrested, I would have called the cops ten minutes ago," Nemuri's voice tightened, returning her attention to Nick Cross. Yeah, of course he wasn't going to understand why a normal person wouldn't try to get a wanted man to the police as quickly as possible. Nemuri barely understood it herself right now...no, no, that was a lie. She understood why she was doing what she was doing but the logic was fucked up. A real "us vs. them" mentality like what started this in the first place.
Still.
She drew in a breath through her teeth and tried to make sense of it in words. "You just saved me and my customers--most of whom are people who don't have proper homes because of cunts like these. If you hadn't been here the best I had was pepper spray. How well do you think that would have gone for me? Huh?"
"Yeah, I know you from the news. I know you're a criminal or...something, at the very least, against the law. I know I should call the cops. But I'm not going to turn in someone who protected me and my own."
Her hands were clenched into fists again, folded over her arms which were pressed tight against her chest.
"...or, well...our own." Her lips twitched into a sad smile, and her eyes averted again, this time downward. "There's not enough of us to not protect each other. Not when shit like this keeps happening."MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GS |
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456 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
300000000 Years
Male
"Abaddon"
Bandit-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Nick Cross on Oct 26, 2018 19:40:27 GMT -4
Nick remained as tense as ever, eyes narrowed. Did she have a point? His head hurt too much for him to easily tell.
She must mean it when she says she cares about Quirkers, at least, or she wouldn’t run her business the way she does. And you know you’re too weak to run right now. The police will find you before you make it back to Nari’s house...
As she made a comment about recognising him from the news, Rin’s pained, tearful face flashed into his mind for just a second, but that second was all it took to make him visibly wince and feel nausea stir within him.
You don’t know the half of it. And it’s better that way.
He was in no state to truly consider things. With a bitter, frustrated growl, He swept up the wig and tiredly fumbled it back on before he slowly and wearily sloped back towards the cafe.
“Alright, alright,” he groaned. “I’m going to the back. Christ, I just want to sleep already.”
Alarm bells clattered in his mind and voices howled that this was a blatantly obvious mistake and he was going to wake up in a prison cell, but the ache in his body was becoming too much to bear.
If she’s being honest, well, she could be a useful ally, at least one other more rational voice said, but it was hard to listen to it over all the panicking others.
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MADE BY VEL OF GS AND ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2018 20:05:50 GMT -4
砕けたガラス、砂のような ❝ 10:15pm
Well he didn't rip her arms off, so maybe he'd listened. Or maybe using his Quirk and the adrenaline crash had exhausted him past the point of caring. Either way Nemuri chalked it up as a victory as he moved past her back into the cafe, and she went after him. The first thing she did was grab her cellphone from a shelf under the bar, and dialed the cops.
"Hello? My name is Osagawara Nemuri, and there's been an attack at my cafe!" She paused. "The Black Sand Cafe and Inn, in the X district." Pause. "Six men. They were drunk, and...and shouting anti-Quirker things at me and my customers. And then..."
Her eyes flickered to Nick, then straight once more.
"...a person in all black swung in from outside. They attacked them a-and they're all unconscious now." Pause. "No, I didn't. I was hiding behind the counter-top." Another pause. "I...I don't know, but none of them are dead." Pause. "...thank you. Yes, there are other witnesses. Please come quickly. I don't want them to wake up and try to hurt us."
She hung up and placed the phone in her apron pocket, then knocked on the door just behind the bar.
"...hey, it's safe. They've been knocked out."
The door clicked as the lock inside was turned, and the few customers from before the fighting broke out stepped out slowly. A walrus-like man came out and began asking Nemuri if she was alright, to which she tried to smile and nod. A few said they had to leave and, without another word, were gone into the night. One or two that had been near Nick when he'd flown out of his seat noticed him and just eyed him for a bit.
As the conversation, and explanations, quieted, Nemuri separated from those remaining and waved Nick towards the door to the back. "Here," she mumbled, taking a key from off a series of small hooks against the wall inside the back room. It had the number "4" on a red tag tied to the back. She handed it to Nick. "Go up the stairs there and go into that room, and lock it. I have a spare I'll put up. I'll be up when cops are gone...til then, hey, there's a kettle for tea and a bed, so I'm sure you'll think of something to do."
The inside of the back room was surprisingly small, the only things scattered about being a table with a vase of flowers in it, the hooks and keys, and a staircase leading up. It still matched the cafe but without any windows the only light was a lamp next to the vase. The upstairs rooms--the "Inn" proper--was similarly scarcely decorated save a few more tables with lamps. The windows were all hidden behind thick black curtains and locked tight from the inside.
It was a good hiding place, if only for the privacy.MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GS |
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456 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
300000000 Years
Male
"Abaddon"
Bandit-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Nick Cross on Oct 27, 2018 11:00:21 GMT -4
Nick watched Nemuri carefully as she made her call to the police. Would she betray him now? He narrowed his eyes as she glanced to him, bracing himself - but much to his surprise, she kept to her word and blamed the fight on an anonymous person in all-black.
Even so, he did not relax.
He stood silent as she gave her customers and staff the all-clear to re-emerge. He caught the uncomfortable looks some of the patrons were giving him. He did his best not to look back at them. He had nothing to say. If they did not appreciate the fact he had saved them, that was their problem. If they were stronger they would have defended themselves and not needed him.
Would any of them sell him out to the police, however? The thought hit him and he grimaced, suddenly wishing he or Nemuri had stopped the customers who had hastily departed from the cafe. Even if they did not know his real identity, they did know he had basically just committed assault and battery…
Nemuri caught his attention by waving to him, momentarily distracting him from these thoughts. He took the key she gave him and nodded slowly.
“Alright,” he said.
Hiding was probably his only option now, as cowardly as it was, and knowing how cowardly it was certainly burned at him. He made his way up to the room, locked the door as instructed and threw himself down on the bed, groaning wearily into the pillow.
That was how he remained until he finally heard a knock at his door.
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MADE BY VEL OF GS AND ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2018 11:50:16 GMT -4
砕けたガラス、砂のような ❝ 10:57pm
It took longer than Nemuri had expected for everything to be sorted downstairs. When the police arrived they rounded up the men and readied to bring them to the station until they came to, and then began asking the witnesses--Nemuri included--what happened. She didn't hear all of their accounts but when all was said, the police didn't tell her that her statement contradicted the others. So at the very least, maybe somebody had mentioned the stranger with red hair who turned into a figure shrouded in black, but nothing more than that.
When the police asked her about the people in the rooms upstairs, she told them about her Quirk, and how if they weren't awake now then they had slept through it all. Regardless they had her check every room that had its key off the hooks...excluding room 4, as she had placed the extra key in its place.
The shop was closed early that night, and the patrons were offered an escort if they didn't feel safe walking home. Some took it, but the majority asked for rooms instead. And then...everything calmed down.
Nemuri stood at the end of the hallway upstairs, having already closed up the cafe proper. Thinking.
She'd just lied to the police to cover a criminal.
A vigilante, her brain tried to reason with itself, A vigilante who protected you, who you promised safety.
Still a criminal who you lied to the cops to hide.
The gang is going to kill me for this.
With the stabbing pain of indecision digging into her temples Nemuri took off the apron tied around her and threw it into a tactless pile in the corner. Later. She would think about this later. Hate herself for it or commend herself later. Right now, she wasn't going to go back on her word, and this guy asked for sleep.
She went down to room 4, knocked at the door, and, remembering Nick's prior line about arms being ripped off, spoke softly, "Hey. Nemuri here. Cops are gone. Are you ready for me to come in?"
MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GS |
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456 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
300000000 Years
Male
"Abaddon"
Bandit-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Nick Cross on Oct 27, 2018 12:58:56 GMT -4
Nick had thought of little as he had lain there waiting for Nemuri to return. His head was in agony as though it had been run over several times by a steamroller and all he could see were the faces of those damn Quirkless scum…
...and Rin, of course, but he always saw her face in his thoughts, particularly in moments such as this when he was so low.
His movement was slow and heavy as he shuffled from his bed and made for the window, as though he were wading through thick treacle. He peeked out of it as tentatively as he dared. He saw no sign of any police cars.
Thus, he headed towards the door. He hesitated, hand hovering over the handle. Even though he had checked to see if the police were still present, he still wondered: was he about to open the door and get demolished by angry police? Quite possibly.
Nothing else you can do. You’ll just have to fight your way out if the police are there...
Finally, he opened the door to be greeted not by the authorities, but by Nemuri. Alone.
“Hi,” he said, almost monotone. “I…” He hesitated again. “Thanks for that.” He was honestly so shocked that she had protected him there was little he could say, even if a part of him knew he probably should have said more. He sighed. “Is it time for the sleep sand now?”
God, did he ever hope it was.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2018 14:29:36 GMT -4
砕けたガラス、砂のような ❝ 10:58pm
Nemuri's smile came back just a bit from the look of complete surprise on Nick's face. Hahah. He had really expected her to betray him, huh, even after all the trouble she'd gone through convincing him she wouldn't. Maybe he was just used to dealing with untrustworthy people. Fitting a criminal, her brain chimed, and she smothered that thought before it grew.
"Yep yep. Let's get you settled in, shall we?" She moseyed into the room past Nick so he could close the door. The inns of the room were all very similar. One bedroom, a modestly sized bathroom and shower to the left of the the door (or right on the other side fof they hall), with enough room for a queen-sized bed and a clothing cabinet, with only a pair of lamps on a pair of bedside tables lighting the room. Everything was oak and dark colors, including the bed with its white sheets, red blanket, and a black comforter rolled at the foot of it. It was one of the goth-y-er rooms in the inn. But. She figured Nick didn't care.
Once inside she pointed to the clothing cabinet. "There are pajamas in there, if you want to change into them. One-time use, so, don't worry about wearing clothes other people wore. My dad sends them to us for half-price, and they're good quality."
"Or you can just lay down and we'll get at it?"
She paused, then snorted into her hand.
"See, this is why I can't advertise this on paper."MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GS |
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456 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
300000000 Years
Male
"Abaddon"
Bandit-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Nick Cross on Nov 1, 2018 17:56:11 GMT -4
Nick had to say, he was impressed. This woman really was true to her word. He had not thought such honest people existed in the world. Most people he imagined would jump at the chance to turn in a wanted criminal and collect the reward.
He wondered if he may have to make repeat trips to this cafe, not only for the sleep sand service but also to get to know its owner more. Perhaps she would prove a useful ally for his cause.
He closed the door behind her, his mind scrambling to figure out ways to explain to her why exactly he was wanted in a way that did not make any mention of that particular incident, how to tell her what his cause was and why she should support it and -
All those thoughts promptly came to a screeching halt at her exact wording about him getting onto the bed. A light blush crept onto his cheeks as he dumbly stared.
‘Get at it’? She couldn’t possibly mean…
No, of course she did not mean it like that, a million voices then snapped. He resisted the urge to slap himself for his own single-minded foolishness. He cleared his throat.
“Erm, yes,” he said, struggling to look at her straight from how oh so very awkward he suddenly felt. “Indeed. Let’s get this over with.”
He walked over to the bed and sat down upon it. “Okay, I’m ready when you are.”
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2018 21:17:04 GMT -4
砕けたガラス、砂のような ❝ 11pm
"Yikes, I know my pitch is shit, but try to sound a little more enthusiastic," Nemuri teased Nick ever so lightly as he sat down on the bed. Suddenly his demeanor was a little stiffer (hah) than it had been before. She remembered that--unlike what he had said before--he was still a teenager. Hell, a high school student at that. Being in an inn by himself with essentially a stranger was already weird for grown-ups, let alone teenagers. Explained his caginess.
He still sat down and said he was ready, and so she had no reason not to do so herself. Nemuri held her right hand in front of her palm-up and traced a slow, small circle around the middle of it with her left pointer finger. One circle, two circle, three...and then the weirdest feeling began to come from her hand. Like the feeling of thread being unraveled from her skin or like tiny little bugs digging out from her veins. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but it wasn't bad enough that it deterred her. One more circle and she separated her skin from itself, and there in the center of her palm was a tiny pile of black sand. Asides from that, nothing had changed about her.
Nemuri took a pinch full of the sand between her thumb and pointer finger, lifted it up just an inch above the rest, and then let it fall back into the pile. "Lay down and close your eyes," she spoke on a calm, slow breath, her focus holding to keep the sand from returning to her skin, "And I'll place the sand on them. After that, you'll fall asleep in an instant."
She met his eyes and smiled, waiting for him to do as she said. She took another pinch of black sand and this time extended her arm out to above his face, and with careful, practiced motions, sprinkled it upon his eyelids, like sugar snowed upon a freshly baked sweet. It would feel like nothing at all, simply absorbing into his skin the moment the sand met it.
And then...
"Try not to skip out come morning, kid."
...black.
MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GS |
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456 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
300000000 Years
Male
"Abaddon"
Bandit-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Nick Cross on Nov 4, 2018 14:41:11 GMT -4
Nick did as he was instructed, lying down flat out across the bed. If she had noticed his confusion and embarrassment at her exact wording about ‘getting at it’, she had not shown it to him. He dearly hoped she had not noticed. He had had enough embarrassment for one lifetime…
He took a series of deep, steady breaths to calm himself with limited success.
Seriously, what am I doing? a particularly annoying voice in his mind continued to whine. This is shady as hell. She’s going to steal my organs I just know it.
But she protected me, another voice pointed out. She didn’t have to. She really does seem to care about her fellow Quirkers…
Regardless of the war raging in his head, he stayed put. He sat up a little to watch her use her Quirk, wide eyes mesmirised by the circular motions she made and the pile of black sand that formed. He lay back again when she told him to.
Well, here goes nothing, he thought with a sigh as he slowly closed his eyes.
Just one night without torment was all he asked for. One night without the horrific, twisted visions, the voices screaming how terrible and worthless he was, or the sound of her voice sobbing how much she hated him. Just. One. Night.
He braced himself to feel the sand sprinkle upon him, but he felt nothing. He heard Nemuri’s voice say something but it sounded as though it were coming from a mile away. Whatever he wanted to say disappeared as a switch was flicked in his mind and all the voices were abruptly silenced.
There were no screams. No visions. No sobs. There was only black.
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MADE BY VEL OF GS AND ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2018 9:18:57 GMT -4
Nemuri 53 exp
Nik 44 exp
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