Looking for Info [Saga]

...Ed had finally hatched a plan. How he could get himself out there. How he could still have a presence, without being one of those muscle headed simians. The idea had come from meeting another villain, and their need for certain thing he himself liked: Information. Until that point, Ed had avoided gathering any unnecessary information for survival. It seemed like a waste, with his own crew now and dead buried. But that had lead him into pretty much spending all of his time hiding, and almost waiting for death. And now that he had lost all of his hiding spots, it had been even more pronounced. 

However, that meeting had given him one important piece to his puzzle. If he helped other people find what they needed, naturally he as an accomplice would learn of it too. And with that info on his hands, he could easily use it to make sure stories about how he would do things wouldn't spread. He could even sell the info, if things got desperate. And in the end, a lot of people knew a lot more about some things he did. In that he would need to rely on them to find what he himself actually wanted to know. Hell, it sounded fun too. Just prying into other peoples business and getting away with it in the name of searching for info. He couldn't have been more excited.

However, he did have one problem: How would he get started? How would get this whole circle going? If he chose the wrong target, he would be immediately smoked and put on a plate. He couldn't just go and ask some useless simpletons, with no sense of trust! Heck, he would probably stab himself in the back if he himself asked for something like this! There was of course that new big shot, but he would never stoop that low to take some lemmings bait! In the end, Ed was wracking his head about this, as rosita was seemingly just tired... 

And then it happened. Like a wishing star had fallen, a message came onto his phones screen. It was in the weird chatroom, that all of vagabonds had gotten an invite to as they had entered Japan. Ed had mostly avoided it... but seeing the words, that somebody was looking for a person like him was intriguing to make his eyes gleam... But the name, of the poster especially caught his attention. 'Painter'. One of the rare few villains Ed actually recognized from the city. He had seen a lot of her handiwork in action, and he could at least assume she was a big deal! Heck, police had been asking for her with quite clear notion on what she looked like! If he could get in good graces with someone like that, they could certainly keep a secret. Especially if the secret he got was as juicy... 

Ed croaked. And soon the frogs were looking for said lady. Small sounds of croaks flew about. And eventually he got a hit! At one of the parks, where he had parked his frogs! If only he could as easily hide as them. With that, he grabbed Rosita, put on his camouflage cloak, and proceeded to hop and run towards the park... Luckily it was close-by. However, he needed to make a fancy entrance. Show that he really knew his stuff! It was time to show off a little. With that, he pressed himself against the grass, and quietly like a snake, slithered through it. The sound he made was almost like wind in the bushes... And when he made it to the other side of the painter, He would simply stand up, like a hunchback of notre dame almost out of nowhere, with rosita hiding under the cloak... And he opened his mouth.

"Hello there, painter nina... I presume?" A cheshire cat like smile plastered across his face, he took a step forward, while rubbing his hands together. "Heard you were looking for someone, who could look for something for you!" He leaned in really close, almost enjoying the experience. "I can assure you, I am an expert at locating anything, as long as I have something to work with!" He took a step back, almost like preparing to get punched for getting too close for comfort. Had to be careful. This WAS a proper villain after all! "However, you were pretty secretive about it in the chatroom. Of course..." 

He tilted his head, with an ass-kissing smile. "So naturally, I think we will get along nicely, won't we? Since we both treasure secrecy, Did I entendido?" Noticeably, he hadn't exactly offered a hand to shake. He didn't know the girls abilities that well, despite hearing things from his frogs mouth. The creatures could be very bad at describing something accidentally lethal. not worth the risk.

Seeing her being a little shocked couldn't have made Ed feel more happy. He had not gotten any worse at being stealthy, that's for sure! Guess all that chasing Ishtar inspired thugs was all worth it in the end. Proper practice! However, he was still a little bit careful. She was very jumpy. Naturally! Anybody taken completely off-guard would be! The smile on his face got more genuine by the second, and it felt amazing! "Indeed. There is certain feeling of untrustworthiness, if you can't see who you are talking to." Afterall, if you didn't even know the face of the one who backstabbed you, what could you do about it? This way, you knew who you were talking to AND could get a first taste of what they could do. Clever indeed!

She checked her phone, and Ed immediately intercepted. "I saw your message, yes. But you must understand! Revealing even such a small thing as a nickname can be risky if you wanna keep yourself secret." That and well... most of the chats in the chatroom were VERY uninteresting. It just wasn't his style to use it either. "Like I said, in that way, we are Veeeery similar." 

Of course, the first thing the girl asked for was a price. Eds smile turned into a bit of a frown. "No need to assume I am too greedy. I do of course take money but..." He opened his hands wide, like showing off non-existant wares. "As you know, I am very good at working with info. all sorts of it. Be it information on people, places, happenings, even just creatures doing their thing..." His old biologist side was still going strong. "In that regard, you could say that uh..." He picked his teeth for a moment, what could he ask from her that would be interesting? Of course, he would already get info from her about whatever she was looking for, but could he get something else too? "You could just pay me with more things to add to the pile. Things to sell to people, or some trash on somebody else. Many Ninós would give anything to know weaknesses of others, so that could work too..." That, and it was something for him to abuse as well.

"Although of course! Me asking for any sort of price for something I do not know, that is quite rude." He and his frogs could of course do this for free. no issues there. But he had to establish some sort of fairness to the transaction. If he ruined his first proper connections relations to him from the beginning, that would make it very hard to recover. That and a big villain like the PAINTER chasing him with all the other bad people already doing it...! He couldn't help but shudder. "Let's just say I can come up with something to ask after you ask your question, if you will. Make sense, senorita?" He tipped his hat, and rubbed his hands together. He wasn't exactly the smoothest of talkers like Marcie, but he did have his smarts. "If you have any other questions, feel free to ask... Although standing in the open like this for too long might be a bit risky."

Seemed like his prize was considered extremely fair! Seemed like his target was taking it hook, line and sinker! The girl seemed agasp! Ed couldn't help but chuckle himself, as he could see the girl already proceeding to think what she was going to ask! "Oh no, don't worry! We are all friends here for now!" He scratched his back, giving in the process a little scratch to Rosita hiding in the coat. Luckily it was late. Othervise it would have been to hot for the poor thing. Of course, the girl had some extra questions, mostly about how he would use the info. "Well, I do need enough of it to work with it... but knowing it is already one part of the price, you could say." He couldn't search for something he couldn't recognize after all.

He could hear her mumblings, with how intensely he was looking at her every step. Almost creepily so, with only his pupils in his eyes moving, othervise staying still. "Niso, you say?" Another big name, this was for Niso, huh? Ed could have sworn he had met the boy before. But that was back when Vagabonds were still going. He pinched his lower lip in thought. Guess he was cooking up what he himself was going to ask. "Knows how to make things good you say...?" It was like looking at a lawyer trying to pinch everything he heard, looking for contradictions that would win him the whole case. Other than those words, he didn't really say anything though, letting his mind do the thinking.

The girl took a quite childish pose onto the bench. He nodded furiously, as the girl opened her wordly prize... Saint Marta's? Nah, he had never exactly heard of it. Didn't seem like such an important place to keep in mind. Even she herself acknowledged it. It was some sort of an orphanage. And the girl wanted to know if anybody else was from there. Eds face curled into a bit of a frown. Disappointing. That was a proper word for it. Was the girl feeling homesick? Or did she just want to meet some old pals? Well, whatever the case, atleast there was no risk involved in that... 

Besides, his payment was only coming. And that he could decide himself. He just needed to keep his client happy...! 

"That should be easy enough... Given time of course." However, Ed wasn't exactly an actor. You could hear the grumpiness in his voice. "Of course, I can do this on my own, but that will take a little bit to actually get moving. My own sources need to find said contacts and what not." However, he rubbed his hands together. "But, I could make it faster, if you have anything that would link them together... Something they have in common perhaps?! Something I remember seeing already...?" Now that would be a little bit more useful. He could easily connect members with what she would tell to her, which both meant he knew who they would be answering to... and of course. "If I would know something like that, I could tell you about them whenever I see them, for a similar price of course!" He could keep milking this cow for way longer with something like that!

He dove forward again in a bit ballsy fashion. "So, with that, I suppose we can come to a conclusion! You tell me more, and I can maybe even guarantee you an answer today! Or... you are patient, and let me work with my own things for a week or so. And then we meet again! My contacts should have your info at about that point, ready for use in your beautiful hands~!" Maybe he was being a little bit on the kiss ass side, but he wanted to make sure this girl truly was on his side in this matter! "The choice is yours." He backed off, and gave a bow, with a little bit faker looking grin.  

Ed was once again taken by surprise. A patient villain? That's rare... Honestly he was expecting her to childishly go 'I WANT IT NOOOOW!' Now that he looked at the girl more and more, she just didn't exactly feel like a stereotypical villain. There was just this scaredness, uncertain gazes, all this small sort of thinking. It was pretty much like talking to some innocent lost girl, who just wanted to find her mother again. THIS was one of the greatest villains in Tokyo!? An almost crybaby?! It didn't help matters that she had no idea what could help him out in finding those kids. His facade was slowly crumbling. "Well, everyone of us has it quite shitty. We wouldn't be in this line of work if we were doing well now, would we?!" Luckily he kept his smile on, despite the rude tone. Hopefully it was enough to make it more like a jokey jab instead of an outright insult. 

However, all this thinking made him lower his guard... as the girl proceeded to pat him on the cheek, caressing it for a moment. "RIBBIT!" Ed jumped further back, as he scratched the touched position. Had she used her quirk on him!? He wasn't feeling anything weird...! "N-no problem, really! Just a day at the job indeed!" The girl went into a little pile. As she made an offer, that Ed had pretty much been dreaming off this whole time. But with his client being a lot different than what he had expected, should he take it? Would it be worth it to help this homesick fool find fellow homesick fools, for something that might not have been useful at all? 

"Honestly, it sounds amazing! You've got this senór, hook, line and sinker!" But, she knew about Niso. She seemed to be extremely close to this man! SHE HAD TO BE IMPORTANT! Ed was convinced enough to not drop the case. "Believe me, Senorita, I will find all of your friends... whether alive or not! And I will tell about each of them..." Ed proceeded to put a hand on his lips, and winked. "However, in good faith, we shall promise to keep a secret for each other! I won't tell anyone about this... And you won't tell anyone about the way I will find your info. I hope I've made it clear?" This, was the riskiest step. The lady could use this against her. But similarly, he could betray her. And that's what the whole transaction was based on. Knives on both peoples backs. They were both at risk...



Speaking of backs, eds started to move. Rosita climbed out, hopping onto Ed's shoulder like a parrot. Ed caressed it's head... "These, are what will help you. They are the most trustworthy creatures on earth..." He grabbed her, and offered her towards Luzia... "Now observe." Ed pushed his head forward, as the pouch under his throat rumbled. "Krrrrroak, ribbit, kwakkwakkwak, krrrrrrrrickety krrrack..." Like a disturbing eldritch ritual, these disgusting sounding works jumped off of his lips. And Rosita proceeded to repeat them. The frogs at the pool quieted. And for a moment, it was just calm. "The message has been relayed, and now we wait! Those frogs will try and find your friends... as will I." He didn't mention the fact, that the frogs would also be keeping their eyes on her. although a little less. He had to make sure she wasn't snitching on him after all... 

"I value them with my life. About as much as you probably value this mission of yours. So no telling others what I am doing for you." He pulled out a piece of paper, and scribbled an address on it. A certain cafe, that he didn't know if she would recognize. "Come to this spot three days from now. That should be a plenty for me to have someone on the mind..." He placed rosita on his head, and then hid her under his hat. "With that, I'll take my leave... and I hope You will be as excited as I am about this... continued deal!" There was a murmur like a chuckle, as he would leave... And Luzia would notice the frogs were on the move. The paranoid chase for something to bring to this lady had began!

3 days, to find someone from some place which he didn't know about that much. How could Ed do such a thing in just 3 days... Of course the idea was to let his frogs roam about the place, trying to catch clues. But the first thing, was actually going to the source of these kids. Listen if they had any names to give. Since the place was just an orphanage there probably shouldn't be any sort of superb security. He could plant some frogs... let the kids and caretakers hang around them... maybe even make sure the frogs wouldn't be poisonous, so they wouldn't feel the need to get rid of them? Ugh, just the idea gave him goosebumps, little kids could EAT the poor things! But without a small risk like that, he couldn't make sure the info could be found. Well, atleast without him getting all sorts of busted...

As he got to it, the children were still outside, playing regularly... "Okay. Time for action. Try to *hurgh*... not hurt the kids." Even the frogs were a little confused at the command. With that, the first step was pretty simply done. The frogs could hang around in peace, maybe even climb to the window, and look if they could something about the caretakers... A minute later, one of the frogs was already trampled under a childs foot. "GAH!" "Eh, what is that?!" "NANNY! TOMOKO KILLED A FWOGGY!" It was really hard to stay quiet... Eds finger went into his mouth. "Krrrrrr..." He bit his nail. Just accept it, and move on. Kurt would be remembered... 

Soon enough, the frogs started giving names. Of course, most of the names were apparently for kids who were still in the place. Not exactly, the most interesting thing, but who knows, maybe Luzia would like to know them too... The more interesting things, were the things the caretakers tried to avoid talking about. One of the frogs had even gotten inside thanks to a kid carrying it in its pocket. The frog had then proceeded to slowly but surely get into the office of one of them. Of course, the frogs didn't know how to read... but any errant ramblings did... on the second day, it had gotten out, and spilled the beans. He wrote down a list of people... Nobody was really someone who picked his eye specifically... all were strangers. But now, it came down to finding one of them. The quirk info was also a bit on the awkward side... one mentioned a weird 'rose lizard'. Ed wasn't sure.

that afternoon, he spent asking his frogs if anybody had seen a red lizard walking around. Most of the frogs confused. But surprisingly one of them had something to say! A flying lizard! A dragon!? WHERE!? It was the main lead for now! Ed proceeded to rush towards the frogs position... a little fountain near a flower shop! Curious. Well, that atleast explained the roses. But what would it mean in the case of of the person at hand... Kado? He looked towards the shop. According to the frog the owners name was 'Kado Nisshoku'. It didn't match the name in the info from Saint Martas but... Ed couldn't help but shudder a little. Having the same first name was a bit too much like a coincidence!

...For the third day, he himself sneaked around the place. Mostly hiding on the roof or in-between the houses. One day, the owner of it left. A bright red haired person. And following him... Yes, that was definitely a dragon. A grin grew onto his face, as he marked the name on his paper. 'Kado Nisshoku - Found'. Now, he had all he needed. Luckily, he didn't need to talk with the person themselves. With what he knew, big summons like that could eat a house empty if they wanted to.

---

With that, he had ended up in Marcies Cafe once again. He had informed her that he would be having a guest, and that she should take her to her upper room. Ed had come there quite early himself, making sure nobody saw him. Of course it was a bit of a trust question, with luzia needing to ask the manager to take her there but... Eh, she had a knife on her back already if she pushed him under the bus. there shouldn't be anything to worry about. As Luzia would enter the room, Ed would be sitting there, with Rosita in his lap, and couple of other frogs, most notably the one from the front of the flower shop, and the one from the orphanage were next to him. And as an extra, a frog that had kept an eye on Luzia herselfs doing. He needed his reminders about what they had found in some form after all. 

"Welcome... It is glorious to see you again. Are you alright? I hope the wait wasn't, unbearable?" This kissass schtick was getting quite exhausting admittedly. But it felt quite necessary with how childish she had been uptill now. "But don't fret! I can tell you, I have found a perfect target for you!" He lifted Rosita up and caressed her. "More importantly, Are you ready to open your wordly chest as well? I cannot wait to ask my own questions, hehehe!" Like a little hag, Ed was actually pretty excited about this... especially cause it cost Kurt's life... Hopefully this was actually worth it...

Now admittedly, even though he had his frog follow luzia, for some reason said frog hadn't been saying anything interesting. Other than that the senorita had been 'fuming'. She was angry? Had he accidentally insulted her? Perhaps she had seen the frog keeping an eye on her, and had been throwing a tantrum for not being able to do anything about it? Frustrating yet somewhat understandable. But eh, if she didn't want to do this deal, she wouldn't be coming anyway! However, as soon as she entered the room... the frogs in it started screaming and hissing! And even Ed had to pinch his nose, as his obnoxiously large eyes watered the tiniest bit. "Y-You, use hallucinogenics? I see...! Very strong stuff!" It explained a lot really. No frog would like to go into a place, that was filled with that smokey poison! "Reminds me of... times with former friends of mine! Ugh..." Vivid memories of Savage licking his frogs just to get a funky feeling in his head came rushing back... disgusting! 

"CROAK!" But still, she was a high level customer! They had to follow etiquette! The frogs quieted down, as Rosita whipped the head of one of the frogs still screaming with her tongue, quieting the thing down. "Pardon... poor things are a little bit less used to this sort of stuff than I am!" At least his introduction and bringing up their deal had gone flawlessly again. Now he just needed to persuade her to open the buttons on her shirt and... wait what!? "No! NUNCAH! That is not it!" Rosita gave him a bit of a weird glare. Ed had to shake his head. Was the lady trying to seduce him or something?! Was he implying he was some dirty bum, and tried to relate!? No, no, keep calm, and keep talking! "I-It's a way of speech! Like, how would you say in japan, spill the beans! No, just, Telling what you know! That's it!" He had to keep his eyes on the goal, no matter what this lady was trying to do! Perhaps she was smarter than they smelled and looked!

"B-But like I said..." He pointed at her. "I have the info that you need... for the price that we discussed! You answer one question of mine, and I will tell you where this one person is." Stay calm and menacing! Be the savage one in this situation. "Naturally, because I am the one offering, you will give my info first, understood?" He grinned. He had given a lot of thought about this question. Something that would be hurtful towards Niso if found out, but was also simple enough that the girl didn't see it as something that would compromise him too bad, for her to lose her temper!

"Now, tell me... what sort of game pieces do you hold on the table?" Ed blinked a little... maybe he needed to specify! Othervise this girl would just be telling about Nisos checker set or something! "I mean, what are Niso and yours current preparations? Is Niso in something big currently? In a position of power to abuse? And are you in a similar position?" He lifted his hands up, and offered it towards her. "I would say that's plenty enough information for a new friend, wouldn't you agree?" It came down to this. Would she answer, or stay quiet? Or attack him at worst? It was risky. But that is why he had this frogs near him. If it came down to it, they could neutralize her. But of course, he hoped that wasn't the case.

Typical for the drinking type, the girl didn't take very kindly to being pointed out as substance using. Ed gave a bit of a ree, before pinching his lips shut. Careful now! Careful now! You are so close! Heck, her bringing up nunchucks had him blink for a second. Did she have nunchucks stached somewhere in those clothes? He gave a bit of a slap on the sides of his head... Come on now. You were being silly. If they had nunchucks, you would know about it! Honestly this almost made the whole idea of taking her clothes off seem like an actually decent idea in hindsight! would prevent surprises like that.

However, the situation calmed down a little, as the girl pursed her lips at his request... Although a brow was raised. Was she panicking? She was avoiding his gaze. Had she forgot the payment herself? Ed gave a bit of a mean glare as she started hugging her legs. Taking how long he had spent looking for things to tell her, it was borderlining an insult. However, then she opened her mouth, and started talking. And despite the awkward start of her admitting she had nothing to give, she did have something about Niso. And a quite meaty one too! Ed purred in satisfaction, or well, ribbited. Let the bag under his pouch move up and down in satisfaction as he grinned and chuckled. "You mean Hellhound?! That police chief?!" He clapped his hands together. "Ooooh, oh, oh! Niso is such a sneaky fellow indeed! Getting THAT deep into it!" It was exactly what he had wanted! Something that could be used both against Niso if it came down to it, with the target to tell about it in the info itself! And well... the lady herself would be in trouble, if the others found out she had a villain siding with her! 

However, perhaps in a brief moment of annoyance turned to pity towards the girl, who had helped him, and the excite of getting exactly what he wanted, Ed scooted closer to her in a surprising amount of trust. "And don't you worry, you little lady! You have been extremely productive!" He proceeded to go behind her, grabbing her shoulders, and trying to give her a shoulder rub, like kneading her into a happier mood. But with his muscles it was quite miserable effort. "I mean, you just got a whole new ally on your side cause you went for it! And not just that, you have in the process helped Niso perfectly! And aaaaall on your own! Think about how proud he will be to hear that!" He was truly trying to butter her up... almost like trying to make sure she would come again.

His fingers sank into vest. "And on top of that... You got a chance for yet another ally! This fellow!" He flipped the thing in front of her face. A paper with lots of information on his location, and a glorious picture of the person she had wanted to find. "The girls name... is Kado Nisshoku. A red haired beaut." At this point he rolled back in front of her, moving his hands like an excited car salesman telling about a product. "Let's just say, that you got really lucky, senorita! First effort, and I find a gem like this!" His hand moved like a snake! He was like a whole new person with how excitedly he was talking! just the deal going well had filled him with immense energy and excitement! Rosita was even a little befuddled by all of it, ribbiting herself. 

"I didn't talk with her. You know, safety reasons..." His fingers danced against each other. "But I can tell you, her quirk is quite a beaut! A dragon! Summoned just like that! I couldn't believe my eyes!" *THWAP*! Rosita slapped the poor guy on the back of the head with her tongue. Ed rolled his head for a bit, before sighing. "Oh yes... Being too loud here is risky... Have to be able to keep this place useable..." That, and he didn't want to give everything away immediately... but that he wouldn't admit out loud. He still snickered to himself however.