"Rather nasty day." A high-school aged girl wearing a simple red uniform walks by Dahlia, umbrella out and open to avoid the rain. The girl carries herself with dignity, standing straight as she walks by.

*Not bothered by the rain, a young girl yawns before sitting down under a tree. She gives a lazy glances over to Dahlia before seemingly muttering to herself.* ???: That one No... ???: Oh c'mon. She looks like such an easy- No. ???: Sheesh. You ain't fun no more. * Briar lazily looks out at the rain.* ???: Dis weather is terrible. I like rainy weather. It makes it so much easier to... * Briar yawns. Her eyes close as she seems to fall asleep.* ???: Ugh. There are better places to nap, my girl.

The rain was making her stressed and worried. As much as the few interesting people caught her eye, she couldnt bring herself to approach them. So she finds somewhere to hide and take shelter.

* As Briar continued her nap, the shadows around her would shift as a small black imp would appear sitting on her shoulder.* Mare: Ah. Feels good to stretch. * The imp would watch as Dahlia runs in the rain, trying desperately to find shelter.* Mare: Why do you humans care so much about a little water? It's amusin watchin ya squirm from such a small thing. * He would frown slightly before raising his arm and closing one eye.* Mare: I could kill ya with a thought. How boring. * The imp sighs, leaning his back against Briar's head.* Mare: Man, what a joke. Such a dreary day.

The other girl passes by Dahlia, hardly seeming to notice the other girl, at least until she breathes out a sigh and extends her umbrella over the younger girl. "You ought to at least get out of the rain. Otherwise you'll catch a cold."

She nods toward nanaka, letting her know that... “thats exactly why im running. Thats I need somewhere to take shelter. Thanks for the umbrella tough. Much appreciated.”

“You really ought to be more attentive.” Nanaka adjusts her glasses before she continues “Let’s slow down a bit, there’s no need to be in a rush. I can walk you home if need be.”

A man in a formal suit wanders through the rain, his black umbrella drawn and at the ready. He holds a strange looking phone in his hands, on his lapel is a distinct pin of a skull with a lighting bolt through it. Engraved onto that pin is "A.I.M.S", which means nothing right now. "Damn, as if this day couldn't get worse..."

A young, high school aged girl, saunters past the commotion. She has an intimidating aura to her, and there’s a subtle frown plastered on her face. She’s wearing a worn out uniform for a school you can’t remember and carries a heavy looking backpack, with a baseball bat hanging out of the pocket loosely, fully decorated with miscellaneous stickers.

Having examined his 'phone' well enough he sighs and pockets it, clearly disappointed. He turns to the high school girl, a slight tint of annoyance on his face. "Oi, do you have signal on your RisePhone? I haven't been able to get anything at all today, and something's off."

She turns toward the formally dressed man “It’s raining. Signals hard to get in the rain.” Going against herself, she pulls out her phone, which has multiple keychains hanging off of it “Yeah, I’ve got it. What’s it to you though?” Her long, wavy, hazel hair flutters in the wind, and her dull, green eyes seem bored and tired. She blinks, waiting for the mans response

He inspects the phone, a peculiar look about him. "That's no RisePhone, looks like pre-Zea tech. Of course that'd work..." He displays his phone, which looks similar to a regular smart phone, aside from the bizarre hinge on it, and several metallic engravings. "That might just confirm my suspicion though..."

Although shes normally very open, she wasnt too keen on admitting her homelessness, especially if something crazy is going on...

She gives the man a questioning look “What are you talking about? Suspicion?” She shakes her head and jams her phone back into her pocket forcefully “What a waste of time...” She begins to walk away, but stops short when the pin on the mans suit catches her eye “What’s that about? You cosplaying?”

Oh. Dear. Me. *A bird flies through the rain. It lands near Dahlia, somehow dry. The rain seems to fall around it, creating a small dry spot where it lands.* What's the matter, little girl? Did you forget to pay rent? Ah ha ha ha.

He presses some buttons on his phone, and a projection of an official looking identification flashes in front of it. "Cosplay? I'm a government agent, Isamu Fuwa of the Artificial Intelligence Military Service. Do they not teach you kids this stuff anymore?" The I.D. has basic info, but chief among them is his rank as Commander next to his name.

“Not right now...” things have gone so awry, she doesnt even know whats going on, nor does she want to talk about it.

Nanaka briefly looks over Dahlia, before breathing out a sigh. The older girl continues walking once more, expecting Dahlia to keep up with them "I suppose it can't be helped. Come on then, you can explain your situation at my home."

She continues walking with nanaka. “Thank you very much.” She then continues to follow her so she can explain.

Kyoko approaches Nanaka from around the corner, brandishing her spear in one hand and a burger in the other. As she takes a bite of the burger she simultaneously begins to talk as she chews. "What if we fought to the death in the middle of the rain for like no reason right now."

“Ugh... as if thing couldnt get worse already, they certainly have now...” she then starts to sulk, trying to avoid the fight. She values her life you know!

* The bird starts circling Dahlia.* Are you ignoring me? Aren't you supposed to be a "perfect house wife"? Don't either of you understand the concept of responsibility? Silly girls.

Nanaka leads Dahlia on for a while, only for their stroll to be interrupted by another, rude girl. Nanaka looks back to Kyoko, having met them once before. The girl simply casts Kyoko a dismissive glance "I'm more than satisfied leaving you to your territory, now move on. There's no need to threaten me." Nanaka keeps moving, soon her house, a large Japanese-style lodging that's easily large enough for five or six people, comes into view.

Her eyes light up, but she quickly calms herself down. Though, the transition is noticeable. “Government, huh?” She pauses briefly, considering this. “We might have learned about it, but I don’t pay attention in class anyway so I wouldn’t have retained any information.” She flashes the man a cold glare. “And, just so you know, I’m a third year. I may not look like it, but I’m not some kid. If you have to, call me Winn. I don’t care about formalities. It’s your choice. Though, I don’t assume I’ll see you again.” She smirks. “Fuwa-san.”

Now the birdies just twisting her words! This is getting annoying to her, to the point she wrote an angry letter saying ‘im not in the mood, leave me alone and ill leave you alone.’ Folded it into a paper airplane and threw it at her before looking in awe at nanakas house. “Whoa...”

Hmmph. How rude. This is why I never play with plebians. * The bird flies away in a huff*

Finally some peace and quiet to see some good sights and explain clearly. And one content flower girl basking in it.

Not being swayed by the disrespectful glare, he places his RisePhone back in his jacket. This motion revealed a holster at his hip, not intentionally, but it was something someone might take notice of. "Fine, 'Winn'. Trust me, you probably don't want to run into me again, especially not on duty. For your safety, if that happens, you should probably run to safety."

“Is that a threat? In that case, I might just follow you around more.” She glances at the holster, but she doesn’t seem surprised. “What do you feds do on duty anyway? Shoot up bad guys, track the grid, dissolve gangs and their cohorts?” She flashes one of her rare smiles, but conceals it quickly. “I’m a lot more capable than you might think, Fuwa-San. I can hold my own pretty well. So in the case I do run into you again, don’t expect me to run with my tail between my legs.”

He scoffs loudly. "Do the words 'Military Service' not even give you a hint as to what I might do? It's my job to make sure humanity doesn't get pushed to extinction by threats like A.I." He reaches into his pocket once more, visibly satisfied with what he found. "Whatever... Use that kind of enthusiasm and join up when you get out of school, until then, leave the pros to risk their lives in peace. Or don't, having you around would only make me rearrange my targets anyhow, but at least try and keep a safe distance away, knowing your type it's not gonna happen, but don't say you weren't warned."

“I risk my life everyday as well, you know.” She pauses. “Maybe not in the same way, but it all means the same thing. I don’t plan on joining your service, anywho. If you want to keep A.I threats away, then go back in time and stop the assholes from making them in the first place. Considering you can’t do that, stop acting like a hero.” A sad mood overcasts her face, but as usual her emotions don’t last long. “Everyone should stop focusing on helping everyone else. We all have our own share of problems to deal with. If everyone fought for themselves, it would be fine. But people like you are so keen on getting into everyone’s business, so all of our problems are shared, which is one big problem in and of itself.” Without saying another word, she spins around hastily and continues down the sidewalk. She doesn’t notice that she’s getting soaked. Or, that the barcode on her neck is slightly visible from underneath her parted hair

"Nice isn't it? Back in my grandfather's time the place would be filled with his students carrying out their duties as well as preparing for the next competition. Afraid that I'm the only one left now." Nanaka looks wistfully at her house before unlocking the building and gesturing for Dahlia to head inside first "Remember to leave your shoes near the door. Its a common tradition."

Fuwa's eyes wander with this last interjection. He spots the barcode, but mentions nothing of it. "Tch, kids these days... Don't know how wrong they are..."

The door behind her clicks shut and she scans over her small studio apartment. The place is practically empty, aside from an old tea tansu and some thrifted furniture. The kitchen sink is filled with assorted dishes, all dirty, and the refrigerator was empty other than half a gallon of milk, which was probably spoiled by now. “I’m home.” At the sound of these words, a small orange cat scampers through the room and joins her by the front door, the bell collar around its neck ringing with each bound. “How was your day, Milord?” She’s well aware that he’s unable to answer her. After giving him a few pats on the head, she proceeds to walk across the studio and take a seat on the faded purple beanbag she’s had for many years. “Adults these days... no idea how wrong they are. They think just ‘cause they came first they can gripe and moan about the crap they’ve caused. I don’t need any crappy advise from some crappy fed.” She begins to start another sentence, when her phone buzzes to life. She takes it out and glances at the screen quizzically. I’ll be stopping by some time tomorrow, Winn. I’ll see you then.

Kyoko stands in the middle of the rain and looks up, just now noticing it's raining. "Oh no." Freaking out as she realizes her burger started getting soggy, she quickly shoved the whole thing in her mouth. She then realized she was alone, lost and probably should've asked for directions instead of being uncharacteristic comedic relief. "Well, surely there has to be an abadoned house somewhere near here I can stay the night." She looks around for any run-down buildings in the area

“Of course.” She nods before entering and leaves her shoes as instructed. She then explains about how a friend of hers used to build a shrine she remembered fondly from memory to reside in momentarily before it was eventually taken down and she had to search for somewhere to reside to nanaka.

“And thats the whole rundown. It was also why i was running in the rain. Sorry if i worried ya for a bit...” she meekly giggles as she waits patiently.

sorry it took so long, College has been killing me "I see." Nanaka would begin making some tea, both for her and her guest as she listens to Dahlia's story. Her eyes betray nothing as the calm, older girl listens attentively before nodding at the end of Dahlia's story "Tragic, a story that I've heard all too many times. Seems this town has little use for history anymore." Nanaka would pour herself a cup of tea, offering one to Dahlia as well before sitting down "well, as I've said before without any of the apprentices around I have plenty of room. You can stay with me for a while, if you'd like."

“Thank you. Id love to take your offer.” She then took a sip of her tea before setting on the table. “Ah... nice and calming...”

Winn’s eyes widen and she feels her face burn up across her cheeks and nose “Crap.” Why did he keep insisting on checking up on me? He knows I’m fine, so why...? Because he thinks he can play with me and blame it on his concern?” Just as she begins to close her phone, she receives another message. What can I do to make you happy with me? I’ll do anything. She chooses not to respond, as nothing she could say would change anything.

Having done what he had considered to be enough surveying, he went to a building he thought would be of use. Much to his expectations, and disappointment, he found it empty. A husk that once was filled with men and women in professional and military garb. At least there was a van outside, though it lacked the embellishments he had once been used to. "Damn... looks like my shots are limited... Stuck using that, huh?" He placed a briefcase in the back, checking if his key still worked. One turn... the engine was struggling. Second turn... it was starting to catch. Third turn... back to phase one. On the fourth turn the engine roared to life. Many lights flashing on the dashboard, he drove off to god knows where.

She brings herself to get up and hobble to the kitchen, already half asleep. Opening the fridge, she’s not surprised to see that it was empty, as usual. And the milk was most definitely spoiled. She stared blankly into the void of the empty refrigerator and let out a short exasperated sigh. “I don’t have any money. I don’t have any food. Damn, what do I have? Dignity? Maybe not.” She flirts with idea of getting a job, but comes to her usual conclusion. With no ID or any sort of identification or insurance, there was no where she could go. Besides, work was a bore, anyway. “Maybe Gin can lend me money.” She sighs, giving in to her weaknesses and begins to type: I just need money. He responds much too quickly for her liking. Done and done, sweetheart. But you know I’ll need something in return. Just cooperate with me. That’s all I ask, Winnock. Don’t use that name

Nanaka nods to Dahlia, giving the younger girl a smile before taking a sip of her own tea "I'm glad to hear it. Of course, you'll be expected to help maintain the place and attend school, but I like to think I'm a reasonable host."

“Ill do my best.” She then nods to her before sipping some more tea. Shes glad to help out, especially since nanaka helped her.