You need it? I got it.

[Guest]

Sssss. POW! ssss POW! The sound of So-sul's morning ritual was echoing through her own place. She stood sweating from head to toe dressed in little more than a bra and boy shorts. Her hands and feet wrapped in tape to keep the damage to the minimum. She was kicking a heavy bag 650 pound hanging bag, and making it sway like a ragdoll. A gentle sigh ensued from the staircase. A woman stood rubbing her eyes, and yawning heavily. "Must you do that so early?" So-sul smiled. She began to unwrap her hands, and moved towards the woman. "If I didn't do it now, then I'd neglect to do it later. But I am sorry I woke you Kimi" She tossed the bandages aside, and touched Kimi's face gently before placing her lips on hers. As she broke away Kimi held a crude smile. "You smell like horse shit." So-sul laughed and moved up the staircase to shower.

Dropping the few garments on the floor of the bathroom, she stepped into her shower. Allowing the hot water to rush over her aching muscles, and taking her time in actually showering. "It's nearly eight now!" So-Sul paused. The morning traffic was due to come in about fifteen minutes. She washed quickly, but thoroughly. By the time she exited the shower, and was dressed Kimi was gone. Which didn't bother So-sul in the slightest. Such was the nature of their relationship, although she was one of her subordinates, it did not impede Kimiko's duties in the field. She sat down at her computer and watched the traffic come through on quad-encrypted server. She had spent several days watching her business from afar. Her hands clean despite the amount of illicit acts her organization created. She decided that it was about time to go out and eat. She dressed normally, and headed outside. Snatching her tablet off the table and linked up to the server. She exited her home, and headed out towards a restaurant. Everyone knew her name, Valkyrie, but few knew her true face. Even fewer knew her real name. She had "houses" all over the world, but they were small as they should be. The larger the house the more attention it draws, attention that she could ill afford. She began to skim through the information to see what might net her a few million.

[Shula Brighton]

{BUMP}

[NIN]

A bright sunny day! Birds chirping for crumbs at the feet of the park benches. Trees swishing in the breeze of autumn and that crisp fresh air all in abundance. The red and yellow hues swimming in the park slowed down time with each second of reaching the cold ground. Not far off, you could see the morning sun melt away the already approaching frost on the grass. watching a dragonfly buzz by, it travels past the rushing wet cars, the receding puddles in the asphalt and lands neatly on a window sill.

click..click...CRASH! BOOM!!!



Black smoke erupted from a room away. It billowed out like a stoked chimney top in deep winter. People gasped, some fell down from the sheer force and as they did so - the smell of gasoline filled the air. Inside the room, a tiny figure pulled herself from underneath what looked like melted metal and plastic. She sat up and rubbed her head. The smoke and debris had made her hair frizzed and blackened. As she moved her hand over her hair, there showed spots of her true color. White. The little girl opened her ruby red eyes and stared at what she did. " Nononononono!!!" She exclaimed. Coughing through the smoke that was now clearing up.


" The boy said that if you mix frozen nitroglycerin and gasoline together and set it up to a main coolant system that you can change your electricity booster to accept a super computer! Did I not hook it up right?" She rummaged through the blackened mess as sirens called out through the calm air. Now shattered to what was once a lazy start of a day. All that could be scavenged is the only thing that was fireproof. Her travel bag, set up with her main necessities and a set of clothing.


There was no time for crying and running from the firemen. So she did both at the same time. She ran off with tears in her eyes that she messed up. That she used all of her fun-money to build a fun computer that is now gone. That she couldn't do anything right since... since she was stupid enough to trust someone for the 5th time...


The community, orphanage, the school, the yakuza, and even naka-san! She reached outside with her backpack and most of the soot had fallen off. She took her sleeve and rubbed her face. The big globs of tears smearing the soot and eventually cleaning her rosy cheeks. She was only 7... and so much had happened to her. After crying for days when Naka one day had gone. Only her favorite mask stood lying next to a note. The note had one word. "sorry".


NIN sat on one of those park benches, in the same outfit she was when Naka had left. A large teenager hoodie that had a wierd word on it that she couldn't read yet, a pink skirt and black tights underneath. Her favorite pink shoes smudged with mud and dirt. She rolled up the sleeves so her small hands could open up her bag and pull out the only way to get rid of that boy that ruined her room! Hack into his computer and put all of his naughty pictures on his facebook page!


As she ran through his computer she stopped and found a site. It sold interesting things that she couldn't get anywhere else. Maybe she could get some of them? She used all of her tricks to get past the firewall of the computer that was online now. Though not any computer that was online. It had to be one of the administrators of it. Though it said that on the site they couldn't sell them via paypal. She would need to meet them in person because she was out of physical money.


It was hard at first but after reaching the pattern in which the code was played out she cut into it using one of her own tactics and slipped onto the main screen. "Kehehe, never trust macs." Surprise. It was an iPad. NIN set out her logo that she had acquired since she was 5. She was a rising star in the hacking world. New, mysterious and active in the news. Like every good hacker, they only know by the logo they give out. Her logo that she had just locked onto the iPad's screen was of a red X. The same on her laptop. Though that wasn't odd. A guy was selling them when her logo began to get popular. So she bought one to decorate her backpack, her toys, and her tiny pink netbook.

After that, she took out a brush and pulled the soot out of her hair and then brushed off the dirt from her jacket. Then put on some bubblegum perfume that she had for quite some time. She loved the smell of gum. After ruining a boy's life and hacking into a black marketing site, she felt much better. To meet the ipad-user, she zipped up her backpack and flipped her netbook into her hands. 3 blocks later she looked around for someone with an iPad. A lady was sitting on the outside table looking puzzled with that horrible mac machinery.

NIN skipped to the pretty-looking woman and sat in the chair across from her. "Hi. Whats your name? " She said cheerily. She wondered what the reaction would be from the lady with the mac.

[Guest]

So-sul watched as a pop-up blinked in the lower right corner of her terminal. She traced her finger down and clicked on the notice. It seemed someone triggered AIKI's Security Wall. But who was dumb enough to hack her website? Information was not stored on the public server, and was solely located in AIKI itself. She held down the power button, and then slid the tab to shutdown the device. She would wait for the time being, she should be along any moment now. But the first wasn't the person she was expecting.

"Hi. Whats your name?" So-Sul looked down at the little girl and smiled. "Oh what a darling little girl! Are you lost?" In that moment, she looked up to see Aiki walking up. Took her long enough, she was only housed like two blocks away. "Lady Valkyrie, it seems there was a system breach 944 seconds ago." She looked down at the lil girl that had just arrived. "It seems that this child is carrying the source of the anomaly. I have reason to suspect..."

"I got it, Aiki." So-Sul stated. She seriously needed to teach Aiki to not be so long winded. She still didn't understand the point of getting to the point. So-sul looked at the girl, and then pointed to the opposite chair. "Have a seat young lady, I believe you have been looking for me. What may I do for..."

"Are you Hacker X? I noticed the signature on the coding when you left the cookie trail? Could you tell me how did you find the base code for..."

"Silence, Aiki. I'm talking. As I was saying, what may I do for you miss?" So-sul's tone was light, but her face was serious. She meant no harm, but at the same time she was looking for possible spies, and police. She wasn't exactly the most popular among political figures and corporate heads. She crossed her legs, and the small panda on her head looked down at the girl and growled cutely.

[NIN]

NIN sat down and looked for a waitress. She was hungry. Suddenly another lady with a fun-looking eye popped up and tattled that she was the one that hacked into the computer! NIN couldn't hold her surprised and guilty face. The other lady tried to calm NIN and then the other interrupted and said that she was hacker X! How could she backtrack her cookie trail?! No one did that before!! NIN gripped her pink netbook with the big x on it. She was close to tears. Confusion and getting caught wasn't a good mix to calm a 7 year old. "Silence, Aiki. I'm talking. As I was saying, what may I do for you miss?" She was about to bolt, despite her determination a few minutes before. The thing that stopped her was...was the panda! It was so cute. Her tear-filled eyes were blinked away and turned to glassy adoration. " P-panda-chan~~" She rummaged through her bag as she began talking.

" I wanna have a super computer. I tried making one from this other guy but it blew up and he took all my world-cash. But!" She pulled out one by one...a panda hat... panda gloves...panda purse and even a panda pencil case. " When I was putting nudy pictures on his facebook to get him back, I found your site so I wanted to know where you were."

She looked up with a face that spoke 'you should be ashamed' and said. " Since you don't have paypal."
NIN put debit cards in each of those panda accessories and left them on the table. " I like collecting panda stuff, but sushi-pillows are more fun to have. You can have one if you want if I can get a super computer directions. Hiragana if you can. Kanji is hard."


NIN had seen this in a movie. They would put something important like a jewel in something that there was a million of and give it to the buyer. She was nervous as she said all of this quite fast and she could hardly take her eyes off of the KAWAII panda on the lady's head. Though now, she wanted to find something out. " How did you backtrack mah cookie trail? Impossible!" Like all children, she thought her way was right.

[Guest]

" P-panda-chan~~" Lao Jiu yawned and then closed his eyes. Resting atop So-Sul's head. So-sul looked at Hacker X, and she began to explain this childish endeavor to procure a super computer. She watched as she pulled out various panda accessories and made a slight chuckle to herself. Well if this wasn't the most adorable thing ever. She really began to look around now. Someone had to be setting her up. So-Sul uncrossed her legs and stood up. As soon as Hacker X finished her request, she pointed to Aiki. "Explain things to her and then run a check on her. If everything checks out we may be able to strike a deal, little hacker. I'm going to go order some food." So-Sul grabbed one of the waiters and began dictating her table order.

Aiki, however, took the lead. But as soon as she sat down, she was hit with a question. " How did you backtrack mah cookie trail? Impossible!" Aiki folded her hands in her lap, and closed her eyes briefly. "Your skills in hacking are superb. An expert counter-hacker would have a tough time trying to pick up on the trail, however, I can compute 2.53 Peta Floating-Point Operations per second. Allowing me to dissect programs, and cloak programs passing through my security net almost instantly. However, I can not act without permission."

Aiki picked up the tablet, and held it in one hand. She reached up and grabbed the back of her neck, she gave a small tug as if she was pulling a hair. She swiftly pulled out a jack in which she connected to the tablet. A light passed over her eyes, and the tablet began to open programs and download data. She then blinked and her "life" appeared. "You seek to construct a supercomputer. Such aspirations are admirable, but the process is not without price and manpower. Even I require at least three technicians on hand to maintain my main body. I am a supercomputer. My name is AIKI, which stands for Automaton Interactive Kinetic Intelligence. I'm an Android."

Images of AIKI being built flashed on the screen, showing her internal core and construction equipment. She smiled and blushed slightly. The act of blushing isn't really possible, but a simple cycling of hydraulic fluid in excess through her head to simulate the color. She then unplugged the cord and the tablet went pitch dark.
"Lady Valkyrie, does not use Paypal as money transferred through the internet can be faked. An expert hacker can create a fake account, to a real bank, and have fake money wired to a real account. This is not lucrative to an underground business. As such, runners usually meet and trade information for physical monetary payment."

"In short, Kid, no cash no information." So-sul sniped. She sat a rather large burger down before Hacker X, and then set her own chicken ceaser salad down before Aiki, who quickly got up. As So-sul sat down, and began to pour her ranch dressing on her salad, she asked one question. "So you all alone kid? I don't see many...minors out and about alone hacking high-security sites just to meet people. What's your story?"

[NIN]

NIN watched as the progress of their deal went into more of her favor. That was wonderful! She wanted so desperately to get a super computer. It would help her become much better than on the crap computers that she was lugging around. Most of her money was gone with her childish endeavors over making the computer. All she had in the end was debit cards that she would have to take out little by little in order to pay the lady Valkyrie the panda, and her computer Aiki. Why was the panda above the awesome robot-lady? Because that's how awesome pandas are. They're above state-of-the-art computers with smooshy chests.

In all seriousness, she needed a computer. She needed to get that computer. NIN's little fingers gripped all of the cards that she had spent such a long time acquiring to get such a thing. It was so close, yet so far away and the only step left is these three. Would she get there? Would she be able to spend that much money and... would she want one in the end? NIN looked up, hearing Aiki explain. Though in the back of her mind, she was thinking whether or not she could see these people tomorrow...a week later...or even a month. After this, would she remember them? After this... would they remember her...?

NIN had a burger in front of her and an image went before her eyes...Naka...

" Can I come with you to the studio?"
The studio, the place they were going to live in from by then.
Actually, The lady in black and white had her own different consoles
with their heft amount of games. But her residence was in Edo, and this
was Kyoto. So, there was bon voyage ahead of them.

Of Course, NIN. Let's finish eating first. Later on, we would pack our bags and return back to Edo by next morning.
her cherry-like lips delivered her sister the news of a journey to be
made. Indeed, they would return back where her favorite districts of
Shibuya and Ginza resided. Ah, the gigantic metropolis and it's well
organized despite being fully crowded streets. The air of seriousness in
the morning and the everlasting fun in the evening. Ah, the subways,
Tomoe always liked them. Oh, how Edo is beautiful!

Indeed. Home, sweet home.

They were at the pizza place back then. It was only a few months ago but...but... she couldn't think of Naka without having her chest hurt. So many images of Naka, so many images of her family that she thought she was going to spend the rest of her life with. After she ran off into the scary city and scrounged money from ATMs and wallets to survive...They were the Yakuza that had pulled her deeper into deciet...but they had given her more than a home. They gave her love, care and a warm place in each of their hearts to call home...

To imagine that the place in their hearts that she thought she was apart of didn't dissapear...wasn't forgotten....but it was simply never there to begin with breaks her heart.

She propped her leggs up in front of her chest and hugged them....then wailed into her knees to muffle the noise. It wasn't a fake cry she would use to worry people. It was a deep internal wail of pain that would send shivers down everyone's spine. No matter how desensitized they were to it. It was a cry of loss.

[Guest]

So-Sul stabbed her fork into her salad just as NIN assumed the fetal position. What was she...That's then she let loose a cry of pain. "Ah...uh." So-Sul looked about as people began to look over in their direction. Not good at all. "I'm...uh sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry...I was...I mean that is to say I was just trying....crap I'm no good at these things." Aiki watched NIN intently, but So-Sul quickly yanked the android back. "I don't think she needs you further in her face." Aiki bowed and stepped back further. This was like the time she broke her arm fighting the older disciples of her Clan...no it was different. The tone was sadder, and less physical. So-Sul scratched her head, unaware of what to do exactly. Lao Jiu leapt from her head, and splayed spread eagle on the table. He shook his tiny head and then yipped at NIN, hoping to stop her wailing.

"Uhm...If you are short on money...we can...uh work something out I'm sure...or if you have no place to go...maybe you would like to come home with me. I mean if you want that is...I mean it's not like I was implying I was...but that is to say..." No really what the fuck was she trying to say. So-Sul had never been in this situation before, and for the first time ever she heard a giggle out of Aiki. Great. Now the Android has a sense of humor. So-Sul flopped into her chair, and the people watching stopped looking. Apparently, a crying child was not that appealing to watch for more than a few seconds. Well at least this kid wasn't some sort of spy...well she could very well be. But Aiki knew her, therefore she couldn't be running with a very popular crowd, nor did her age suggest such a high aptitude for computing. If nothing else, she could teach Aiki how to hack, or perhaps just work as one of her information gatherers. That way she could pay off the construction of her supercomputer. "What do you want to do...wait what is your name anyway?"

[NIN]

NIN kept crying even when the panda started yipping. She continued to think about Naka. It was so hard to think of anything else. Her red eyes blurred with all of the tears and even her knees became wet with so much crying. As usual...her body became tired and exhausted after a few moments. So much emotion being let out through crying could only be maintained by a child or only so long. Her crying led to short sniffs and shivers of sore muscles. The image of Naka faded away. Back into her brain for another time. Another moment.


After staring at her legs for a while, she heard the lady across talking to her. Was she speaking to her this entire time? NIN still had tears streaming down as she looked up. What was she saying?

"What do you want to do...wait what is your name anyway?"

NIN wiped her face with her big sleeves. " I-I'm NI-no. No, I'm Hikari. Hikari of the Matsudaira clan." Giving that name was like giving out a calling card that she was born in darkness. The woman who gave her that name was also born within darkness. Within the darkness of being the potential heir of all of Aerugo. Not only politically, but also the leader of the underworld. It was the name of the head of Yakuza. Not in Edo, or Kyoto but all of Aerugo. She looked up with sad eyes but with fierce determination. " I want a super computer to find my grandpa and lead the Yakuza."

[Guest]

So-Sul watched as the girl wiped her face on her sleeves. Ew. How disgusting. "Matsudaira...Hikari" So-Sul paused as she thought on the name. Was it a real name, or a fake to throw her off. Perhaps, that was merely one of So-Sul's usual games. This child was young, and couldn't possibly know the subtlety of lying quite yet. Then again...they say children are innocent and their imagination could allow them to weave intricate lies on a whim. "A supercomputer...eh? Then tell me, Hikari...what are you willing to do in order to gain a supercomputer? Clearly you don't have the amount of money needed to even build one, let alone maintain it." Aiki moved closer, and pulled a seat up to the table. Apparently, she was tired of standing. "Do you mean to show her how then, Lady Valkyrie?" So-sul laughed lightly. She jabbed her fork into her salad and took a bite. She looked at Hikari from across the table. Then to Aiki. She swallowed her food, and wiped a bit of salad dressing from the corner of her mouth. "I won't teach her a thing if she is useless to me. Besides, building computers becomes tedious after you construct the first one. You know the details better than me Aiki, you teach her. That is...not until she can come up with a proper form of payment"

Aiki looked at So-Sul's face, and then to Hikari. Aiki was beginning to understand conversations between certain people. This was not a hostile act So-Sul was doing, she was attempting to pull Hikari into her world voluntarily. But the girl was a child, and such attempts may fall upon deaf ears. "Perhaps, she can be my tutor my lady? We know you dislike nor have the appropriate time to teach me properly, why not have this girl begin the process?" So-sul was mid-bite again, but this time she was chewing slowly. Aiki was learning faster than she thought. That was the very idea she had a few minutes prior. "A child teaching...a child. Very well. It might be good for you to interact with someone other than busy technicians and sitting in sub-basement 3 storage bay. That is...unless Hikari objects to such an arrangement."

Aiki smiled at Hikari, hoping her answer would be to graciously accept. Aiki was yearning to learn, her programming demanded it. Although, she did learn something everyday it was a slow process for a entity that can process information millions of times faster than a normal human could. "However," So-Sul continued after a bit of a pause. "Aiki you must help her with the development, and construction. That is to say finance her, without using our own money. I don't care how you do it, but make sure it isn't too sloppy. I don't need any more surprises. Lao Jiu!" The panda turned and trotted back to So-Sul, it climbed her arm, and scaled it's way back into her hair. Nestling in it's normal place.

"Do you have a place to stay, Lady Hikari? If not, I'm sure we can accommodate you with your very own house. The Mistress has various locations she rotates through, it would be little problem to remove one from her routine. Right, Mistress?" So-Sul disliked the wording of Mistress. Made her seem like a harlot instead of a Boss. So-Sul nodded her approval. Turning back to her salad, she would turn her full attention to it. Aiki was now in charge of Hikari, and in turn Hikari would be in charge of Aiki. A weird concept, but it served it's purpose.

[NIN]

NIN listened to the conversation after she said her name. They used big words and confusing dry conversationalist usage that NIN wasn't used to. What was she willing to do to build the supercomputer? She had never thought of something as simple as that. She was willing to steal, she was willing to cheat, and she was also willing to fight. Though other than that she didn't know what she could do. She didn't even realize that building a supercomputer was against a federal law. She knew that "bad guys" didn't want smart people having them, but didn't realize what an issue of national security it could have on Aerugo. In fact, for a person who was so adept in computers themselves, she was quite naive.

" I'll do anyt-" "Do you mean to show her how then, Lady Valkyrie?"

Interruption 1

They went along with whether or not she would be useful to what they needed. That she could work for them if she was smart enough to pay off the super computer. Working for an underbelly organization that has to do with gypping people off and giving them dangerous things to play with? sounded like the yakuza but with less pudding. Pudding was important to an underbelly organization. That, and table flips. Aiki stared at Hikari for a while, which confused her even more.

So instead of being a steam-punk stereotype ( being a child mechanic to big bots of awesomeness) she was going to be a robot tutor? NIN/Hikari weighed this in her mind and grinned. That would be fun. Teaching Aiki to eat pocky before it melts, showing her how to enjoy splashing, and watching rated movies and have Aiki tell her what the jokes mean. She could never get any other person to tell her why " morning wood" was funny on a candy bar.

" I don't m-"A child teaching...a child. Very well. It might be good for you to interact with someone other than busy technicians and sitting in sub-basement 3 storage bay. That is...unless Hikari objects to such an arrangement."

Interruption 2

She didn't feel that she would fit directly right into these two. Hikari would complain that people kept treating her like an adult as soon as people found out that she was smarter than most kids. Though for the first time she was angry that these two treated her like a baby. Unable to enter grown up conversation and be treated as an equal. Her cheeks were puffed up in frustration and she gripped her long sleeves. Emotion was one of the things that children went through fast. You could be giggling one time and ranting up a storm the next. No wonder the population in Aerugo has lost the production of babies. No one wanted them until they came up suddenly.

While She was wrapped up into her own mind they were talking. She was then suddenly interjected into the conversation... at last.

"Do you have a place to stay, Lady Hikari? If not, I'm sure we can accommodate you with your very own house. The Mistress has various locations she rotates through, it would be little problem to remove one from her routine. Right, Mistress?"

Oh, it was to get her in a house. Another kid thing... She took another look at her apparently useless debit cards and her backpack of ragged clothing...not this again. She put her head on her knees, looking at her uneaten burger. Was this always going to happen? Would she leave this place too? " If you have a place. Thank you."

Her input wasn't needed after all.

[Guest]

Aiki rose from her spot and bowed, before she left the two of them alone. So-Sul looked at Hikari, and sighed. "We seem to not have gotten off to a good start. For that, I apologize...however, I am unskilled in talking with children, much less understanding them. So forgive me if I do not treat you like one, but neither are you. an adult so I can not treat you as such either. So my only conclusion is to treat you as a person." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a box of Pocky. She took one out and placed it into her mouth. She sat the box on the table for Hikari to take one should she like. "I can only see so far, and from what I can tell you are either an orphan or a runaway. Both do not set well for me, especially if you are going to be under my wing. I am giving you your own place to stay, you seem to have money on those debit cards so keep them and buy what you like. I'll fund your super computer, however, the level of which I fund will depend entirely upon you."

She began to rapidly nibble on the pocky until it vanished. As she swallowed it, she grabbed another, placing it in her mouth as well. "I would like to get to know you, Hikari, not your past so much. Just you." So-Sul was thinking about how Hikari was about her age when she was sold off. Hikari was alone as well, with large aspirations to boot. Why did So-Sul wish to keep this child? Was it a sudden pang of maternal influence? Or was it something deeper?

[NIN]

She looked up in surprise. How did this woman know what she was feeling? Scratch that. How did this lady know exactly what she was feeling? It was odd and slightly familiar in all of the times she spent somewhere else. It shocked her a bit and made her want to withdraw. This lady. Aiki. Acted a lot like Naka-osan. Direct, cutting through thoughts, and the ability to solve problems in a sweep. Eyes. Eyes always hold the key. This woman's eyes looked a bit different than a moment ago. Instead of business-like face it was a Naka face. Curious, delving, and a twinge of heart aching love. Whether it was love for an action or person, she couldn't tell. Surface was the only way for a child. Once she was more dry behind the ears, she would see into things much more deeply.

In the meantime, everything seemed to be done. Most of the stress would be lightened from here on out. NIN took a fry from the plate and nibbled on it. A sign of agreement and wavering trust. One fell swoop like an arm from waka, like a hug from kean, and like a gun to the head all at once. She didn't know whether this was a good or bad decisions. She didn't know that she was immersing herself in the dirt before she had opened her eyes to what was clean. All she wanted now was to find her grandpa. To find that silhouette of that man and rise from it. To make Aerugo a great place, and to make sure that no bad things happen inside of it's borders. Find the man, learn from him, become a yakuza, rule politics, and then twist them to her will. Set. Match. Goal. "I would like to get to know you, Hikari, not your past so much. Just you."

She stopped mid fry-crunch. Get to know NIN? Her eyes shimmered a bit. Not out of sadness but of hope. Not many things were said to her, but she could be certain that she probably won't hear those words again. Cherishing them is vital, " I like building stuff and manga." the kid smiled as she finished half her fries. " Now you know me." She didn't even try to raise the burger as she scooted it to the edge of the plate and took a nom out of it. Using one of the napkins to wipe her mouth. Some of her SPF wiped off along with the mess and left a wax-like texture on the napkin. " What do you like?" NIN/Hikari was getting more comfortable.

[Guest]

So-sul watched as she finally began to eat the food she bought for her. A small change, but a meaningless one in her eyes. Everything required food at some point, however, the subtle lack of fluctuation in her Qi hinted to her becoming more comfortable. She smiled lightly as began to speak. "I like building stuff and manga." A very short list if she had ever heard one. " Now you know me." So-sul snickered slightly. As Hikari bit into her burger, she was quite adorable. Definitely a sight to behold, but she was not quite finished. "What do you like?" She smiled and placed a curious finger over her lips as she looked up toward the sky. "I would have to say...Alkahestry, Inventing, Running, and Pocky...I love Pocky." She grabbed another one out of the box and nibbled it down. "What kind of things do you like to build or what's your favorite kind of Manga?"

[Csilla Angelis]

{BUMP}

[NIN]

" What an odd kind of food to like, pocky." The white little soul thought, as her mouth and hands moved toward the potato entrapped in grease. The salt and carbs made it appealing to her underdeveloped taste buds. " Bread and frosting in stick like form." NIN smiled and nodded. " I like pocky too." Well, for children, they liked anything with chocolate. NIN would realize this later in her life if it ever gets that far along in such a brutal world.

"What kind of things do you like to build or what's your favorite kind of Manga?"

NIN's ruby red eyes sparked in excitement as she placed her body in the fetal position with an adorable smile. " Justice will prevail!" Death Note. She stretched her fist to the sky and exclaimed " Gumi gumi fist!" One Piece. She then finally (while doing all of this in a yelling voice and standing on her chair. In which people with uncontrollable passion often do.) roared " Gotta Catch em all!" with a peace sign. Pok'e'mon.

After all of that was said and done, Meisho Edo Chiisai ma in which could also be called "Hacker X" to which this whole conversation conceived the idea of her staying in the woman's care: " What's the address of the first house? I wanna get some stuff before I go. Plus, I need some parts for my board. Do you have a board?" So many questions to maneuver around.

[Guest]

Listening to the girl declare her interests in manga was a tad entertaining. She covered her mouth slightly as she chuckled to herself. So much energy, so much life. Her Qi was so pure and innocent, and yet conflicted with sorrow. So-Sul paused...was she beginning to see Qi a little differently now? Before she only saw the surface texture of Qi, but now...it seemed to show her the truth behind people's disguises. She reached forward and took another stick of pocky, as she nibbled on it she began to wonder how deep the seed had penetrated her body. She snapped back as soon as Hikari hit her with a barrage of questions. The first being the address to her condo, the second being she wanted to buy parts for a board, and whether she had a board.

So-Sul paused, and then frowned. "Board? What kind of board? A mother board? Surf Board? Skate Board? I'm afraid I'm a little...unversed in what is popular among youth these days." So-Sul was beginning to like this little one, despite her age, she was very intriguing. Perhaps, this would be the ground to her in this world. Perhaps, if the child was willing she would become her's. However, that was a bit of a stretch...she was after all a stranger.

[NIN]

NIN picked up a napkin and began drawing some blueprints with several pieces of mathematics to the measurements, amount of gas and the lot. She even used chemistry garble for what was the type of metal and the type of fuel used. " It's a power board! But I want to make it fly soon. I have the idea I just need to put it in world-speak. That, and my hands are too tiny to make the chips. " She held up the napkin with a poorly-drawn board that had large wheels on it. " It runs on Carbon Nitros that I have to refrigerate. They both have a low freezing point but it's easy to get them to boil at room temperature when mixed. So I have to cool them down until I use them." She pushed the napkin aside and began to write on the others from a handy dispenser.

Just like the napkin holder, her ideas came just like that. She wrote down a blueprint for a flying board, a solar powered board, and a surfboard with a lightweight camera on the bottom for underwater explorations. After making a small pile she looked up with a bright smile. She wondered if the woman shared her enthusiasm, and if not, shared her love to learn. " Do you have a board?" After So Sul would answer in any way, NIN's face would lose it's pinkness as something dawned on her.

She left her board.

[Csilla Angelis]

[BUMP]

[Guest]

So-sul looked over the images and smiled lightly. The girl was talented to say the least and with enough time and training, she could become a real asset to the future of the world. "I do not own any type of board, I prefer running on my own two legs." She reached out and spun the tablet she had with her toward Hikari. "If you would like, you can have this Tablet. With it, you can order all the things you need to finish making or begin making your inventions." She swiped the lock on the screen, and then glossed down to the settings menu. Clicked on the security tab, and then swiped the security reset. She entered her passcode, and then placed her thumb on the reader. She then pushed it closer to Hikari, allowing her to imput her own security into the piece of hardware. She leaned back, and then placed a few bills on the table next to the bill. She stood up and stretched. "If you would like, perhaps we could take a walk. Shop for some things you like, and then go have some fun later on tonight." So-Sul smiled heartily, even with the girls frown. She had already learned not to pry with this girl, hopefully with time she would open up to her. Perhaps, even...no it was too soon to hope for something like that.

[NIN]

Hikari watched what the buxom woman was doing as she was getting over the loss of her board. what a beautiful board it was. That explosion destroyed a good section of the level, so there was no way that a makeshift board would survive within that catastrophe. The hours she spent making that board had imprinted upon her tiny hands. The oil, the paint and the mechanisms that took such a long time to find.

Though that loss was short lived. It was like losing a favorite toy. The child would mull over it for a few days, but then find a new favorite toy to play with.

Like for instance the shiny new tablet that NIN-no....

That HIKARI had found out wasn't useless after all. It slid across the table and she firmly pressed her finger on it. Placing the most vital secret of where she came from... unknowingly.

If the woman had looked into her past, she would realize that the girl had lived in an orphanage and then quickly disappeared when a doctor realized her intelligence level. She would then find hair samples in a convenience store that had 3 people shot point blank in the face during a robbery that the police thought the yakuza was involved due to fingerprint samples on the bodies.

In an unrelated case, there was 2 policemen brutally murdered 2 blocks away near a bus stop and only one survivor who couldn't walk again due to a deep knife wound and a headshot that he miraculously survived from. His accounts was that a white haired child did this to him and the yakuza tried to cover it up.

After that, the Yakuza dissipated known areas of occupation when a person named " Kaede Soshi" had gone rogue and apprehended a yakuza turf war near the docks. In his report there were several holes in the investigation on how he found out, how he got there with such speed, and how he knew what time.

If she dug even deeper into that instance, she would find that the small section of assassins that protected Aerugo from being overthrown or taken advantage of had one of their operatives in the area trying to apprehend one of their own. They were famously known in the underworld for experimenting in both chimerea biotechnology and splicing cells to increase their offspring's intelligence. Hikari herself had white hair....

In the meantime, she placed her finger on that board and proceeded to create a new board with her new toy. Why? In order to ignore her true family, evade the orphanage, and become the head of the Yakuza. Everything would unravel soon enough.

As she stood up, her eyes locked on her new toy she began ordering different parts. " This time I'll have it more durable with chips! Less bulkiness and more power!" She thought to herself.

"If you would like, perhaps we could take a walk. Shop for some things you like, and then go have some fun later on tonight."

Hikari stuffed the tablet into her backpack after ordering the things to a P.O. box and smiled. " Okay! What kind of things?" She began to walk slowly with the woman.

"Like a robot dog that eats pencils for fuel? Or some kind of power that makes a different color than anyone has seen?" She waved her arms to describe the odd little inventions that seem could only exist in a child's imagination.

[Guest]

The imagination of children was truly peerless. Such inventions were not impossible, but merely improbable. She smiled and looked at Hikari. "If they don't have what you want, then we will just build it ourselves. I'm sure someone as brilliant as you could whip up something like that in her sleep." She paused and looked over Hikari's head, she pointed to a book store a block or so down the road. "Would you like to pick up some books or manga? Or..." She pointed to the sign several blocks in front of them. "There's an electronics shop up there, followed by a mall for clothing, then..." She pointed to her left. "That way is to where you will live...for now. I think I'll have you live with me...at least when I've earned your trust that is, Hikari-chan." The color rose in her cheeks a little. This young girl was the first turning point in So-Sul's life, a marker for change. The selfish, egotistical woman was becoming warmer. How many people did she have killed? How many people's lives had she ruined? How many business' flourished and fell under her direct guidance? More than she could account for, but it was all changing now.

[NIN]

The second time she went shopping with someone. She hoped that this person was more trustworthy than the woman that had left her. Than the woman that had showed her to control her ability to kill and to use the cuteness that she inherited. Hikari still played a few pranks that would be borderline in torture, but it was to simple underlings in the Yakuza.

Now it was time to play the shopping game again. Though instead of walking from store to store like she did last time, she wanted to run. Run into the store and act anything but like a docile child filled with politeness.

"If they don't have what you want, then we will
just build it ourselves. I'm sure someone as brilliant as you could whip
up something like that in her sleep."

She was about to bolt to the technology store until she pointed to another store.

"Would you like to pick up some books or manga? Or..."

" SHONNEN JUMP!"
Scrambling to the bookstore, she hauled her backpack on both sides of her shoulders and flew past the open door, a bell ringing above. One second later she was locked onto a weekly shonnen jump magazine, sitting on the floor with a strained look on her face. If the woman followed, she would yell to her. " This is the climax between Luffy and the Pirate King! They're talking after the great war!"

Her eyes danced across the 19 pages and then stopped. Her cheeks reddened and a grin came over her face. " mmm....gumgum fruit...."

[Guest]

" SHONNEN JUMP!"

She watched as Hikari sprinted as fast as her tiny legs would carry her towards the bookstore. It quietly struck her that this child would never become a sapling, like herself. Alchemy was this child's destiny. But she wouldn't worry about that now, for now her priority was the care of this young woman. She looked about before lifting her foot off the ground, sending a burst of Qi to the sole of her foot, and surrounding her ankle in it for support. As it made contact, she sped forward just as Hikari entered the store. She stopped with a mild skid, as she turned to enter the store she let loose another outburst. To which she could only smile. The glee and content of youth was something to be admired. Especially in such a brutal and unfeeling world.

She looked over and quietly picked a book on child care. She opened the book and began to read a few pages before " mmm....gumgum fruit...." She snapped the book closed and let the cashier ring it up. She quickly tucked it away, and then joined Hikari. "You really like that book don't you?" She picked up a copy of it, and flipped it over. It was rather cheap for a large book of cartoons. "I'll get you a subscription to it, but for now is there anything you want from here?" So-Sul straightened up. Her eye caught a parenting magazine, and resisted the urge to pick it up. This wasn't her child...With that thought in mind, she gripped the book the book

[NIN]

She looked with pure awe that she could have the book and heard the trill of the ringing. It passed the big red laser gateway and turned from in-stock product to someone's property. " I love it! It has all of the good manga and even some that are from new people! It has fighting, and always talks about hope, destiny and sweat that turns into the ocean of possibilities!" She was acting out her words to show how passionate she was, feeling that simple hand gestures never did the trick. As she turned around to do an air kick she spotted something.

"I'll get you a subscription to it, but for now is there anything you want from here?"

A long gasp came from the tiny child. A book that could help her with all her problems as an alchemist.

In an adult's view it was a cheesy book on alchemy with a handsome man's face plastered in front of it, trying to make the art look cool and flashy.

To a child who's only instructor was a light-showsman, it was a sign from above. It was hard to find stuff about alchemy, even when she was such a good hacker. All of the good stuff was in books, locked away in storage in that northern country called "Amestris".

She lurched forward to get the book, but landed on the store floor flat on her face due to her odd body posture. She bolted back up from the linoleum and lurched forward yet again to the book, this time succeeding. As soon as she was close enough, Hikari scrambled on the bookshelf. Using the rows as stepladders and the vertical dividers as handholds.

Bad luck for her, the flashy book was on the top shelf and in the middle so everyone could see it's cover. Her tiny arms could barely make it.

Wait!

Hikari pulled out one of her favorite yoyos. It had a metal string that was stained with red on it. Other than that, it was a simple cute toy. After pulling it out, she dropped to the floor and brushed her front.

The simplest way is always the best.

She took the heavy part of the yoyo and let in dangle, the looped string in her left hand. After swinging it a few times, Hikari let it fly over the flashy book. It hit the wooden frame with a "plink!". With success on her lips she pulled the string downwards and the book caught on with the yoyo.

The book fell from it's shelf into the hands of the child. The heavy book making her fall to her backside, but still maintaining a level of triumph. Well, that was before a lady from the store said:

" You could have just used the ladder."

Hikari frowned. All that trouble for nothing.

No...

Not for nothing. She got her book! Hikari turned around, wondering if the panda lady was still with her and held up the cheesy book. She read off the cover.

" Academy for Alchemy!"

[Sponsored content]