Cigar Break

[Guest]

Two men sit quietly at a table outside a café, flipping through newspapers and reading books, only ocassionally looking up from them to observe the pedestrians going about their business.

”C’mon, Barra, we’ve been out here long enough,” the one man asks in Cretan.

”It’s a stakeout for a reason, you know,” Dante replies.

”Yeah, but… Why at the café across the street? You use, like, a car and a side-alley to –“

”Too cliché. People expect that.”

”But not too guys sitting outside of a café for four hours?”

”Lunch date.”

”Two guys?” Dante gives him a smug look. ”Okay, so it’s possible, but don’t you think you’re a little…”

”A little what, 241?”

”Y’know… conspicuous.”

”Oh, here we go now. You’re going to bring race into this, like usual.”

”Well, yeah. We’re in Aerugo. You’re Cretan or Amestrian or…”

”Esparian and Cretan, thank you very much. Though I’m slightly more Esparian than…”

”And then you’ve got those ears… and tail! You’re part fox or some shit like that.”

”So?”

”That doesn’t seem strange to you?”

”Not one bit.”

”But who else around here has –“

”Cosplayers.”

”Cosplayers?”

”You know, those guys that dress up like anime characters?”

”Anime?”

”Japanese ani-“

”-mation, yeah. That junk.”

”Come on, now, where’s your imagination? Or appreciation for art?”

”Don’t change the subject on me.”

” – is actually inspired by – “

”That’s it, you can do this shit on your own.” The man pushes himself out from the table, collecting his books.

”The guy skipped town two nights ago, anyway.”

”Then why the FUCk have we been sitting out here, waiting?”

”Girlfriend probably doesn’t know. Quite a looker, too. So, y’know, after you interrogate her, I come in as the caring soul and-“

”That’s it, I’m done. Call me when you find the guy.”

”Will do,” Dante says, giving the man a small wave. A few moments later, he closes his book, and pulls a cigar out from his jacket. A quick snip, two match strikes, and three good puffs… Heaven. Leaning his head back, he pulled the cigar away from his lips, letting the smoke drift out on its own.

Finally, he was on break.

[Guest]

One woman sat quietly at a table outside a café, flipping through her sketch and reading a book, intrigued by the conversation between the other two gentlemen who were siting on a nearby table.

Cosplay ! Anime ! The kitsune herself and not yet kitsune thought to herself. It seems there is an Ijin interested in cosplays and animations. And not any cosplay he chose to wear for he chose a fox ears between them all. It seems that both were investigating something or trailing someone. One of the two decided to leave out of boredom while the other who has kitsune-mimi kept his seat bringing out a cigar, the cigar brought with it a metallic object to snip, the snip called out for two flickering flames and flickering went away leaving three circles of smoke behind. The he-kitsune was enjoying his time with every breath inhaled.

It just happened that her table was just beside him so if she spoke probably he would hear her. She was about going to say something in aerugese but decided against it. Instead, she stood up where she was behind him leaned forward and puffed air from her lips into his right ear. Now, it shall be known whether his ears were real or not.

If he turned behind to see the one who pulled such an irritating prank, he would find a lady eccentric and weird smartly dressed black and white standing and then he would hear the following.

Welcome to Aerugo...the land of anime, cosplays and hardcore dungeon grinding RPGs.

[Guest]

Yipping in response to the ear pull, he nearly loses grip of his cigar, most of the ash falling off the end anyway. His ears flatten out in annoyance as he turns around, coming face-to-face with his… Well, whatever she was.

”Welcome to Aerugo...the land of anime, cosplays and hardcore dungeon grinding RPGs.”

”Er, thanks,” he says, slightly confused. Even back home he was mistaken for a foreigner… ”You shouldn’t pull people’s ears, y’know. That’s impolite.” Pausing for a moment, his tail begins to swish again, as he returns to his normal state. ”Haven’t seen you around before. Name’s Sune – and no, that’s no joke. I know a lot of people, but usually the wrong kind. And you would be?”

Taking another puff of his cigar, he exhales slowly, away from the woman. No need to be impolite. Plus, he wasn’t busy anyway. Plenty of time to kill by conversing with this lovely lady.

[Guest]

So, ingenuity is the nature of his ears. She really wanted to feel the fluffy that are his ears but she wouldn't go to such lengths due to the fact that he is a male. So, this kitsune gentleman marks 'two' of the kitsune breed after meeting with the kawaii Kit-chan. It seems that the chimarea creators twenty years ago had a fox fetish or they were following the kitsune fashion of making human-based-foxes or fox-based-humans. Doesn't matter after all, for the more kitsune, the better. Let them spread the word of fluffy.

So his name is Sune and he was not joking about. Truth to be told, The mangaka who has the habit of noticing the finest of details, uncover the hidden and observing what couldn't observed noticed a certain strange accent in his aerugese and she didn't know why he took his name seriously unless it was derived from 'tsun' which is Indeed a topic that deserve some teasing.

"Hajimemashite, Kitsune desu. Douzo yoroshiku" the native aerugese introduced herself after a light bow as Kitsune and that was derived from Hagoromo gitsune, he doesn't know that, probably will not. Or probably he will, who knows. It seems too that he will add another one to his contacts entitled as 'wrong kind'.

She didn't take a seat, she asked him this question while standing. "It seems you need some assistance that I may be able to help you with" curiosity is her usual favorite drink. They say curiosity killed the cat but she is not a cat, she is the nine-tailed hagoromo gitsune.

[Guest]

"It seems you need some assistance that I may be able to help you with"

Dante raises an eyebrow and gives a sly grin. ”Indeed, my Aerugese vixen,” he says, leaning in close to her. ” You wouldn’t happen to be free this afternoon, would you?” His tail swished, lightly brushing against her leg. Accidental? Of course not, but she didn’t have to know that. ”Maybe we can enjoy some time downtown? Dinner, a show, some talking… Us enjoying some nice, hot sake together, learning about the mysteries of life, the universe, and everything… Maybe we can swing by my apartment later on tonight, and continue the conversation there, see where it goes…” Yep. Totally charming.

”Or maybe you could help me find this Kojima fellow,” he says, smothering his cigar against the table. ”It doesn’t matter which to me, really. Either way, I’m going to have the night out on the town, hopefully with some company. So, what d’ya say?”

[Guest]

Aerugese Vixen!

Now that is a nice nickname, the aerugese vixen will ensure that the variant term of kitsune will be used in her work, her manga work that is. It has nice ring to it, but there was something more he needed to add. It was a revelation to his motivation, ulterior or innocent, it didn't really matter. Unfortunately for him, due to the following reasons.

First, she doesn't go double time meaning that she is reserved by someone else and as a lady she wouldn't make any kind of intimate relationships with others until confirming the true feelings of the lord captain commander.

Second, he was too direct with her. Quite a daring move that will not work on her because she is not the type to indulge herself in a really quick relationships where hot liquor is involved and most probably will involve pondering and contemplation in certain ways too, the ways of the flesh. Yes, she is quite the strange flower that doesn't let anyone smell her fragrance unless a long list of conditions are met, really firm and tough.

Third, she doesn't by default trust anyone especially men, she had this past experience of treachery and betrayal that forced her to leave the golden sands of Okinawa. So eventually she doesn't trust him or the lord captain commander.

Back to the situation at hand. First, she will apologize to him while resisting the urge of glomping into that idol of fluffy that is his tail "Gomen-ne, I am currently seeing someone else." She said while stepping back gaining distance from his to her leaned self "However, I can help you with the kojima guy and guide you through the city for tonight, if you wish."

OOC:

Gomen-ne: I am sorry.

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