Re: A Day at the Tailors [Open]

[Ryuu Sato-Chiba]

Hikari wasn't exactly being forthcoming about the whereabouts of the people she spoke of... but then again, she was a little girl. Being unclear was kind of what they did a lot of the time. Ayako had taken the suit coat from him and had begun to sew the buttons on. He was looking over Hikari to see if she was calming down when the bell chimed above the door, indicating new arrivals to the shop. “There she is!” The two officers that the tailor had found earlier had finally made there way to the shop. The two men began moving forward, intent on snatching up the little girl for whatever purpose. He frowned and turned to face them. “Officers, hold.” One of them, clearly newer on the force kept walking forward, while the other stopped at the sound of command in his voice. HE had clearly recognized the man in front of him. Ryuu glanced back at Hikari and gave her a small smile. “I'll protect you from them.”

Moving away from them, he reached a hand forward, stopping the younger cop. “Hey! Move, I need to get that girl!” The older cop moved forward about to say something but Ryuu cut him off. “You'll listen to the Pīsumēkā, or you'll be suspended.” The young man paled considerably and he took a hasty step back. “Now then, why are you chasing this small child?” The younger cop still seemed slightly overwhelmed, so the older man stepped in. “Sir, we were called by the local orphanage. She had run away.” Ryuu nodded his head slightly. Hikari had failed to give that information, but that was to be expected. “And you think chasing and frightening the girl is going to help bring her back? A little kindness, please, gentlemen.”

[NIN]

The two men banged in.

“There she is!”

NIN dropped her juice and launched off of the table to get behind the woman who smacked her. She didn't want to go with the men. They would take her information and send it to the police office. Where they would find out more than her lack of parents. She couldn't hide the scared look on her face, though the man.... Ryuu? Yeah his name was Ryuu. He comforted her with a smile.

“Sir, we were called by the local orphanage. She had run away.”

NIN gripped even tighter behind the violent woman. What was her name? She couldn't remember. It started with a "Do". She could remember that.

As she held the skirts, she looked around for any sign of an escape. There was a window in the kitchen, she could reach that. There was a lightswitch to confuse them so she could run away. There was a back door, but the men and Ryuu were too close to it for that to work. She would have to throw something heavy at the table for that to work.

“And you think chasing and frightening the girl is going to help bring her back? A little kindness, please, gentlemen.”

What should she do? NIN started to mumble. " I don't want to..." She said quietly. " I don't..."

As NIN was hidden, she rummaged in her backpack, still mumbling. She had a router to her phone somewhere. If she hooked it to her phone, she would be able to hack into the water power systems. It would reveal that she was HackerX, known for downing other government systems not only in Aerugo but in Xing. If that's what it took, she didn't mind. Going back to the loud-kid place and getting in trouble again was not on her list of fun-stuff.

She clicked it into her phone as if snapping two legos together. She was ready now. If the two officers did anything that scared her, or if Ryuu let her go to that place, she would turn on the fire alarm and set off the sprinklers in the house. Since it was a business with a house connection, water and safety regulations would make the Do lady have sprinklers in the house.

" I don't want to go..."

[Doresu Ayako]

“There she is!” Ayako looked up from her sewing, the bells chiming. The two police officers from before. The tailor's initial instincts were to drop-kick them both and demand an explanation, but Ryuu's presence made her think better of it.

"I'll protect you from them.” He had said to Hikari, before he turned to deal with the two intruders. This clearly did not encourage the little girl, who had already leapt off the table and was hiding behind Ayako, holding onto her skirt with a grip that eagle's would envy. The tailor looked down to the girl.

"I don't want to go..." The girl repeated over and over. Honestly, Ayako was sympathetic. She wasn't a runaway as such, but she too was a little girl who liked to go where she shouldn't. If it wasn't for the policemen nearby, then she would probably give the girl hints on how to stay low. Still, at least she'd be going back...

... unless...

Ayako looked down to the floor. Hikari was to the left of it, but... no. No. It was simply unacceptable. The hidden cellar were Ayako kept both her booze and, more importantly, the Kunoichi Cloth outfit and accompanying Kibarashi furiko... no. No one would ever know. They couldn't know. It would be the end of the Kunoichi Cloth, and that wasn't acceptable in Ayako's eyes.

And yet, Hikari seemed so afraid of the police. Had they done something to her? Had she done something to them? Was she a criminal herself, or a victim? Ayako bit her lip, looking back to the three officers. All very engrossed in their own conversation. Not really paying much mind to the tailor who was quietly sewing buttons. So, none of them noticed when she used her foot to lever open the trap door.

"Get in," she whispered to Hikari. "Go when they've left the room. And make sure you don't tell anyone about what you see in there." She gave a quick reassuring wink to the young girl; after all, Ayako herself was a rebel at heart. She might get into trouble, particularly from Ryuu, but the tailor needed to make it up to the girl she had nearly brained. She looked around the room next, looking for something to give the police something to look at for the second needed for Hikari to get into the door unnoticed. The tailor stopped her sewing for a moment, her hand subtly grabbing a small ball of yarn, before she flicked her wrist, sending it across the room. It smacked into a shelf of rolls of fabric, the tubes unbalanced by the impact. They tumbled to the ground one after the other. Ayako's lip twitched irritably.

"This always happens," she mumbled, sounding genuinely annoyed. Nothing suspicious as she got up and walked over to the rolls, away from Hikari, giving some movement for the cops to pay attention to, even if through the corner of their eyes. Less attention on the albino, none of them seeing her descend into darkness and the trap door silently shut. So the first they heard of anything happening was when Ayako dropped the rolls once again in "shock".

"Where'd she go?" She asked, looking to the corner where the girl once was. The tailor's voice was more forceful, more emotional, as if she didn't know exactly where the girl was.

[Ryuu Sato-Chiba]

Ryuu was currently involved in a semi-heated experience with the two police officers in the shop. He didn't want to send Hikari back to the orphanage, especially as he heard her scared voice constantly repeat her wish to not go back. However, there wasn't much he could logically do in this situation. Hikari needed to go back to the orphanage, despite her true wishes. The people she had spoken of earlier could be people who had befriended her, but they clearly weren't any type of legal guardian. Ryuu's hands were metaphorically tied. As the upholder of justice he couldn't exactly break it. For the time being, he was calming down the younger officer, encouraging them both to handle a more peaceful approach to bringing Hikari back.

A crash of fabric rolls caused all three heads to turn in surprise. The tailor seemed annoyed as she rose to replace the rolls. The officers dutifully went over to assist, while Ryuu glanced back at Hikari... to see her vanish. Ryuu allowed himself a quick smile even as Ayako let us a question which had the two officers spinning to face the rest of the shop. "Where'd she go?" The younger officer cursed and Ryuu looked at him sharply. “I warned you. She probably slipped out the back. Come on, I'll help you search.” The two officers hurried out and Ryuu paused to look at Ayako. “I'm afraid I'll need to return another time to have the suit finished.” He gave Ayako a slight wink and then followed after the officers. He suspected they wouldn't find Hikari. He did fervently wish that she would find somewhere safe to go and the friends she had would attempt to take her away from the orphanage... through legal means, of course.

[EXIT THREAD]

[Jay Furor]

~BUMP~

[NIN]

NIN fomped inside of the trap door, kicking up a bit of dust. Trying to stifle her cough, she looked through the floorboards to see the situation going around. The shop lady was actually helping her. 

The little slip of a girl looked around in the dark atmosphere, her eyes not seeing, but her other senses kicking in. It was moderately used since it was clean, it looked as if it wasn't altered and was apart of the house. The material felt the same above and below. NIN felt around until her hand landed in something soft. 

Immediately she jolted back at the touch. After calming down she turned on her found that it was a cloth, slightly rumpled by her discovery. 

NIN didn't know how long it would be until she would get back up, so she leaned against the soft cloth, looking at the weave. It seemed normal, except the weights. Though NIN had seen a lot more odd things in her short span.

She had grown bored with the waiting, knowing that staying there until after hours was necessary, she began flipping through her phone. at one of her tabs, she spotted a cartoon drawing. It had the same clothing.

.... maybe this woman was a cos player?

[Doresu Ayako]

Ayako wanted to be safe. If Hikari hadn't gone already, then she'd get her out of the trapdoor in about half an hour at the least; the police would probably search the surrounding area for that time, and then expand their perimeter of search for the next half hour, which in turn gave Hikari the best chance of slipping by them. However, she couldn't risk letting Hikari walk around the shop in case one of the policemen came back. So she did what she always did when waiting for something.

She trained.

The Kunoichi Cloth couldn't practise her regular routine, seeing as her furiko were in the trapdoor with Hikari, so instead she settled for the punching bag alone. Off with the kimono and shawl, just her shorts and sports bra as she began to get into the rhythm she had cultivated before Ryuu came in. Her fists turned to bullets in their pace, striking the punching bag, each hit bringing a loud CRACK. If the air had bones she would've broken them from the sound alone. She only moved her feet in a steady rhythm as the punching bag shuddered and swung...

DIIIIIIIING!

The alarm clock. Ayako looked to it. Half an hour went fast when one trained. She stepped back from the worn-out punching bag as she rolled her neck, satisfying cracks coming from every motion. She'd probably need to buy a new bag.

She went back down to the shop, not bothering to towel off or change back into her traditional dress; after all, if Hikari could see the outfit and recognised it, there'd be no point hiding it. Ayako lifted the trapdoor with her foot, looking down to Hikari.

"That's probably long enough; the police won't be looking as close to the shop, if you're quick enough you'll slip by them all." She explained. The voice of the tailor, the high-pitched whisper, was gone, replaced with her more natural but less commonly used abrasive drawl. She then reached down into the hole, picking up the albino with one hand and not even reacting, as if the girl was a bag of rice in her hands. The tailor gave the young girl a smile, before ruffling her white hair with a sweaty palm. "And if you ever need to hide again, this shop's one of the best places to come; there's more secret spots in it than any building on Earth."

[NIN]

Light poured down and a hand lifted her out of the darkness. Again with the changing of lights! She could barely see as the lady put her down.

Rubbing her eyes in annoyance, she looked up at the woman. She didn't seem like a cosplayer, though neither did a lot of people until you see them in drag. All the same, NIN was happy that she didn't go to jail.

"That's probably long enough; the police won't be looking as close to the shop, if you're quick enough you'll slip by them all."

How did she know so much about police? Is this what a normal shop  keeper is? Well, a lot of people are wary of them. If she doesn't like police, then she's on the good side.

This is the first time her warped sense of community had caused her to overlook someone. NIN was so used to being around Yakuza, murderers, or bad cops that she overlooked one of the most revered ninjas in Japan.

"Bye cos-play-chan! Sorry I forgot your name!"

NIN nodded, but payed for a small piece of grey cloth so she could cover her head. After paying for the cloth she ran out of the house, waving goodbye.
"I think it started with a D?"

"And if you ever need to hide again, this shop's one of the best places to come; there's more secret spots in it than any building on Earth."

Is the last think she had heard from Doresu Ayako as she ran into the now raining street.

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