Noi

heartthrobbingkiller​:

Painfully aware of his breathing, his heartbeat, the itching of his recently closed flesh as the awkwardness of the situation between them expanded, Shin struggled to keep it together. Though his eyes darted frantically about the menu, the only thing his brain processed was Noi’s voice, saying such embarrassing things, the types of things that caused the heat to rise to his face. Even though he’d been at death’s door just earlier that night, and had desperately held his own skin together while searching for his partner… Even then, he didn’t know if he felt the same level of panic as he did now. Just because he didn’t really know what to do in this situation.

Finally, the 6’5”, well-muscled hitman felt a cool relief wash over him as he was rescued by the emergence of a waiter. He was able to pry away the hand he’d at some point began scratching at his cheek with, and tried to focus on the menu as Noi rattled off her order first. Of course, everything looked good. After sustaining such a grievous injury and pouring out so much blood, it was hardly surprising that he was feeling even more famished than usual, on top of having a throat as parched as the Sahara Desert.

Clearing his throat with a brusque cough as he was addressed, Shin glanced up from his menu as well. “Some water’s fine for me, as well. And me, I’ll take… that triple stack house burger, bottomless fries, and I was looking at this Double Bacon Decker on your menu as well. I think I’ll have soup on the side with that.”

Although Shin certainly felt better knowing that food was coming soon, the look on the waiter’s face was ghastly. No doubt intimidated by the pair of hitmen and their monstrous appetites. Despite this, his voice still never wavered.

“Coming right up.”

Just as quickly as he’d appeared, the waiter slipped off again, leaving Shin once more alone with Noi. Breathing out a sigh, he turned his gaze back onto her. “So, what’d you end up doing today?”

Noi’s smile never left her face, though she made the decision to stop teasing her senpai for the time being. There was plenty of time for that later, especially since he did just get brought back from near-death. At least she could say he was definitely doing better if his blush was as strong as it was given his blood loss and the recentness of it.

Noi watched after the waiter as he went off to deliver the orders to the kitchen. “Do you think he got everything? He was starting to look a little pale for a moment. I hope he’s alright,” she mused. Her partner’s question redirected her attention.

“Hmm... not much, if I’m being honest with you. Definitely nothing as exciting as you.” She tapped her fingers against the table, trying to recall if there was anything of note at all. “Oh! En called me about something. I was tempted to ignore it, but I knew he would just blow up my phone if I did.” She paused, racking her brain for a second. “Can’t remember what it was, though. I don’t think it was that important.” Then again, she didn’t think anything her cousin said was very important.

heartthrobbingkiller​:

The askance glances garnered by Shin’s torn and bloodied clothing ultimately did little to bother him. If people shuffled away from him, that just made it easier for him to carry on his own way. Not to mention, the instinct that drove them to do so, that he was dangerous, wasn’t ill-conceived. Anyways, none of it even mattered to him. What strangers thought of him, how they responded to him, had no effect on his own life, and there were so very few people whose opinions he truly cared about.

However, as undaunted as he was by the reactions of all these people, it was a different matter entirely when it came to Noi. In fact, in complete contrast to his utter nonchalance in such matters, that he struggled to comprehend his own emotions was unfitting enough to be almost laughable. Noi was not so similarly inclined, and where Shin struggled to put words to how he felt, she never had any problem doing so. The disparity was something he could never prepare for, left him with heat flooding his face and him hurriedly looking away as awkwardness overcame him.

“U-ummm…” Absentmindedly, his hand moved to scratch at his cheek as Noi’s impassioned words left him flummoxed. His heart, pounding thunderously in his chest, felt like it would explode and render Noi’s healing of moments ago worthless.

Well, how was he supposed to respond to that?

Wasn’t it an unspoken agreement between them that they were each other’s partners, that they had each other’s backs no matter what, and that they’d be bound together as such forever? Or something? Why did she have to actually put a voice to it and put him in such a rough, awkward spot like this?

The heat in his face grew more and more intense, and his chest tightened, causing him to struggle to draw in his breaths. “I-I don’t know what you’re saying so suddenly. I mean… Obviously we make a great team and there’s no one else I could trust with the job.”

On the surface, his words may have lacked the same type of heartfelt sentiment that Noi’s contained. However, it took all of Shin’s willpower to say even just that much. And, feeling very much like his heart might leap out of his chest, he quickly distracted himself with the menu, poring over it with absolutely all of his attention.

It didn’t escape notice that her genuine words for her partner made him a bit flustered, and Noi laughed a little. She loved teasing Shin, and it wasn’t incredibly hard to do so. They’d been through all sorts of things together, but where gore and murder didn’t make Shin nervous, heartfelt conversations did. The irony wasn’t lost on her, but she was sure not to bring it up too much.

Anything she could say, he already knew to begin with.

“Aww, thanks, Senpai! I feel the same way.” She knew that Shin even saying that much spoke volumes about how he felt, since he usually closed himself off to anyone else. It felt like a secret that only she knew about him. “Let’s keep up the good work, alright?”

She returned to looking at her own menu, and eventually, a waiter came by, though he seemed a bit uneasy. “Good evening. Can I get you two anything to drink?” he asked. Even though his body language showed his anxiety, his voice showed no such hesitation. Noi had to commend him for keeping it professional.

“I’ll just have some water. Thank you!” She waited a moment as he wrote on his paper before continuing, “And I think I’m ready to order. Could I have a triple stack house burger with a side of the bottomless fries? I’d also like a 12 ounce steak, medium rare.”

heartthrobbingkiller​:

One hand in his pocket as they walked to the restaurant, Shin absentmindedly kept running his hand over the exposed skin of his abdomen. Smooth. Noi’s healing ability had left nary a mark to indicate that there had even been a wound. The lingering discomfort and ache was all internal. He thought he felt parts moving around inside as he walked, but whether that was in his head or something was slightly amiss… ultimately it wouldn’t matter much, so he just continued on like nothing was amiss.

Typical of Noi, she was good at filling the silence with her inane babbling as she spoke aloud her thoughts freely. After coming back from the brink of death, there was honestly nothing Shin wanted more. Maybe it was just all the time he’d spent with her, getting accustomed to her various wiles and habits, but he found comfort in it.

“Hmmmm.” Upon reaching their destination, Shin put a hand to his chin in contemplation of Noi’s question. His appetite bordered on extreme even under ideal circumstances, so naturally, after having his life nearly slashed away and having an inordinate amount of blood spill from his body, that appetite had now ascended way past ravenous. And, well, truthfully, part of the reason he wanted it on En’s card instead of his was because he didn’t want something like funds to hold him back. Even just thinking about the possibilities he could order, combined with the enticing aroma wafting to him from the restaurant, was making his stomach rumble and his mouth water.

“Honestly, there’s a lot I’d like to get.” Like everything on the menu, though that was unrealistic even for him. “I think I wanna see about a four-patty burger if they have that as well. Or how big their steaks can get. And the bottomless fries.”

“Ohhh, I’d almost forgotten that this place advertises their fries as bottomless! We could really put that to the test!” Noi thought about it for more than one second and realized that might cause some problems since while their stomachs certainly were bottomless, the store’s supply and the workers’ patience probably were not. She’d gotten to know a few of the employees of En’s ramen shop when she worked there herself, and so she knew all too well the gripes of food service workers. “Or maybe we can just half-test it.”

She stepped into the restaurant and the host saw them to their table after balking for a moment at their builds and Shin’s ruined shirt. Once they sat down, that’s when it hit Noi. “Oh, right, I can fix your skin but not your clothes... no wonder we were getting strange looks. Well, stranger than usual.”

calmingflow​:

heartthrobbingkiller​:

As En’s orders so often required, Shin found himself wandering into a rundown, derelict section of the town, with his partner Noi for accompaniment. Already, the sun rode low in the sky, casting the horizon in its fiery orange glow and sending the lengthy shadows of dusk snaking over the ground. Dangling casually from his hand was the hammer that he favored as his primary weapon as his eyes, peering through the crudely-torn holes in the mask’s fabric, searched for any signs of their target.

However, as expected, the dilapidated, overgrown buildings offered no immediate clues, and Shin huffed a sigh. “Nothing here.”

His head turned to Noi as she complained, and they could probably at least get something to-go before they kept up the laborious searching. But, before he could so much as open his mouth to come up with a decisive answer, the loud piercing bang of a gunshot tore through the air, fracturing the silence that had fallen over the area.

And with scarcely a word, Noi shot off towards that sound.

“Noi!”

And of course Shin took off after her. There was a possibility, after all, that this disruption had ties to their job. And even if it didn’t, something was clearly happening.

Okay so this may have been a bad idea.

The man shoved the gun harder into Tanjiro’s stomach. “Answer the fucking question!”

Okay definitely a bad idea.

Earlier that day, Tanjiro had decided to explore a new area of the city in search of anyone who needed some hired help. Unfortunately, the further he got into the city the more certain he was that it was a fruitless endeavor. When the sun began to set, Tanjiro took it as a sign to head back. He had just turned around to make the trip back when he smelled it-

-and before he could lay a hand on the hilt of his sword he was grabbed and  shoved against the wall of an alley. Looking around there were 6 men, all fairly intimidating, surrounding the leader.  Tanjiro began to center his breathing and reach for his sword.

Then he felt the cold metal on his stomach. 

“Don’t think of trying anything, punk. Just hand over your wallet, and you’ll get to go home to mommy.”

Quickly, Tanjiro tried to think of a way out of this mess. He needed a way to take down the leader before he could fire the gun, but any movement he made would be too obvious. Think, Tanjiro, think-

It’s an interesting thing, dying. Tanjiro could hardly feel the pain in his stomach as he slumped to the ground. The last thing he saw as his vision darkened were the men running away from the scene. He thought that he could almost make out the figures of his mother and young siblings appearing in his view.

I’m sorry, Nezuko.

Noi was able to navigate the alleyways of the city with relative ease, having ventured down them time and time again during her jobs, and soon enough, she had found what she was looking for.

A kid, laying an an alleyway, bleeding from the stomach. The thugs that were circling his body clearly wanted his possessions, still rifling through his clothes. “Hey!” Noi shouted, pulling the attention of the men. “Do you enjoy targeting guys smaller than you? Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” She began to walk closer to the thugs, bringing her hands in front of her chest and cracking her knuckles as she did so. “Or maybe someone bigger?”

She hadn’t even gotten within range of them before the men took off, scrambling to leave the alley. “Huh.” Well, it stood to reason that people who targeted a young boy like this wouldn’t have the guts to target someone of her height and broadness.

statusbar​:

Futaba wasn’t sure how to answer exactly, so she nodded her head. It was true that the woman didn’t seem like someone easily forgettable. She couldn’t remember ever seeing anyone that tall before. She couldn’t even imagine what it was like to be that tall, always having to duck through doorways. It sounded like a pain. Well, she’d never had anything against her own height, except when she needed something from a tall shelf.

Truthfully, she did feel a bit better if the woman was planning on going to the bookstore anyway. Unless she was just saying that to put Futaba at ease? But if she thought about that, she’d just end up getting trapped in the spiral of her own thoughts. “Alright,” she conceded, “if you’re going anyway.” It’d probably help, at least. 

She blinked at the question, eyes widening slightly. Come to think of it, the woman was basically a giant shield wasn’t she? …Was that rude of her to think? She scratched her cheek, weighing the pros and cons in her mind..but there weren’t many she could think of. At least, walking behind her she wouldn’t be subjected to the worst of the crowds. 

“I’ll uh, walk behind you,” she nodded. “That sounds less…stressful.”

Noi nodded. “Alright. Let’s go!” She turned towards the direction of the bookstore and began walking, careful to slow her steps down since her normal stride would definitely leave Futaba behind. Luckily, people tended to give Noi room to pass since her stature made it a bit unreasonable to not step aside for her. 

Every so often, Noi would glance over her shoulder to make sure Futaba was keeping up with her. It didn’t take too long for them to reach the bookstore, fortunately. Noi opened the door and stepped inside, holding the door for Futaba as she looked around, surveying the people milling about.

“Well, it’s not too busy in here, so that’s good!” she commented. “Though I guess a lot of people are starting to read more on their devices, but I don’t think anything can really stack up to turning pages yourself.” She paused in her ramble to bend down a little closer to Futaba and lowered her voice a little. 

heartthrobbingkiller​:

Dull pain throbbed persistently in Shin’s gut, flaring up each time he moved to serve as an irritating, grating reminder of the damage he’d sustained. Well, it wasn’t like pain was anything new to him, and it definitely was nothing next to the searing, stabbing pain that had accompanied him up to now. Basically, it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle.

“Noi… just be careful.” Though at first he’d thought to caution her against doing anything rash with respect to this enemy, ultimately he settled on just this simple warning. Because, no matter how he looked at it, the only reason his life had been in such a precarious situation was because Noi hadn’t been there. Her healing abilities made her an extremely tenacious opponent to go up against, and she was very powerful besides. But still, should she find herself backed into a hopeless corner… Well, Shin didn’t want to think about that, so it was better if she just didn’t repeat his same mistake.

“Anyways, we’re better just thinking of this incident as a one-off. I just wish one of them could have told me what the goal was…” Unfortunately, he’d killed most of them before that kind of information could be leaked. And then the lone surviving member hadn’t said anything before maiming him and fleeing.

With a sigh, Shin straightened out his clothing. “It’ll be on En, then. I doubt he’ll even ask about something like that, and anyways he owes us at least that much if we can assume it was someone after us for our line of work.”

Noi waved a hand dismissively at her partner’s warning. He was worried for no reason, in her eyes. Nothing could take them down! Even without her, Shin was formidable and vice versa. But her boasting could only go on for so long before it became repetitive. Her senpai already knew her strength, after all, so she didn’t need to prove anything to him.

Her stomach growled loudly and she nodded. “Yeaaaah, thinking too much about it right now won’t do anything. Can’t think when I’m hungry.” Noi felt her pockets to ensure that her phone and wallet were in them before grabbing her keys from the table. “Let’s go, senpai!”

Her worry was seemingly all but gone, replaced at her enthusiasm at the idea of burgers and fries. “Oooh, what should I get with the fries this time? I think they came out with a new kind of burger with a lot of hot sauce on it... I think En tried it, but only because they put sautéed mushrooms on it, too. Oh! Maybe I’ll see if they have anything with three, no, four patties on it!”

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“Th-they say memorable first impressions are better,” Futaba responded shakily, adjusting her glasses once more. Wait, was that right? Did people really say that or was she just making it up? Still, her cheeks warmed at the compliment and she dipped her head, mumbling a quiet “thanks”. Was it really a nice name? She wasn’t sure about that, but it was the name her mother had chosen for her, so there had to at least be something to it. 

Slowly, she took the other’s hand and let her help her up. Whoa, Futaba knew she was short, but even standing at her full height, this woman still seemed so much taller than her and she was still crouched down! How in the world did someone get that tall?!

She blinked at the offer, surprised. Her glasses slid down her nose a little as she regarded the other. “A…Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to..interrupt any plans or anything.” Surely, she had other stuff she’d rather be doing than dealing with the ball of anxiety currently standing in front of her. Though she certainly wouldn’t deny the woman’s physique would probably make anyone feel ten times safer than normal.

“I…just have to pick up my order from the bookstore..” She’d done it on purpose in an effort to practice..but, well…that hadn’t worked out as well as she’d hoped.

Noi laughed at Futaba’s answer. “Maybe that’s true. Though I guess even if I didn’t scare the daylights out of you, I’m not someone easy to forget.” When Futaba was back on her feet, Noi found that her suspicions were correct about Futaba’s stature in relation to her own. So as not to intimidate her even more, Noi was slow whenever she rose back to her feet, careful not to move too quickly.

“Yeah, I’m sure! I was thinking of stopping by the bookstore today, anyway.” Noi didn’t often have a lot of leisure time, but she enjoyed spending that time either eating, hanging out with Shin, or reading. She wasn’t short on reading material, but looking around never hurt.

girlphobic​:

Shin’s arms shook as the hammer abruptly collided with the boy’s skateboard, sending tremors reverberating up the weapon’s handle as the loud, raucous CLANG! shook the air. As soon as he regained control of his arm, he drew the hammer back to his side. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. This wasn’t HOMRA’s Vanguard for nothing. Then again, if he could have been nice and given in without a fight… well, that just wouldn’t be any fun either.

And watching the boy jump onto his skateboard, wielding the long, slender staff, the sense of excitement stirred his heart into rapid thumping. His mask of course hid his face, making him appear as impassive as ever, but beneath that his mouth pulled up into a fierce grin. Holding his hammer up, he watched and prepared as HOMRA’s vanguard barrelled towards him, swinging the staff with impressive coordination with his speed. He was ready to raise the hammer to meet that blow head-on, but instead–

The dull thud as the rod instead slammed full-force into Noi’s upraised arm, followed by the distinct crack of bone as her arm bowed beneath the weight of the attack, was what rang out instead.

That his attack could do so much damage to someone as bulky and hardened as Noi was nothing to scoff at. Even still, Shin’s heart remained unwavering, fairly unconcerned about her health. What would be the point, after all, in worry about someone whose ability was healing?

Instead, he stepped out from behind his partner’s back, grasping his hammer tightly once more in one hand as he appraised their target. “You’re the only one we were sent after, but I don’t mind knocking a few more skulls loose if any of your clansmen want to step out.” Saying that, he quickly turned the hammer in his grasp and swiftly brought the sharpened, needle-like teeth of the claw at the back up towards the boy’s jaw. Like this, with the tool’s durability and his own brute strength, it could easily peel away skin or even decapitate an unwitting opponent.

Surprise laced Yata’s features as his blow was blocked not by the masked man with the hammer, but another masked person who dashed forward in time to block it. “What the hell?” Yata was easily forced back thanks to the wheels that helped propel him back. He slammed his sneaker onto the ground to halt the movement just far enough away that he could assess the situation and put a fair enough distance between them. 

This new person who had shielded the other was masked but the voice that this person had was feminine in nature. While Yata normally wasn’t good with women, he was mostly focused on the fact that they appeared one after the other. Just how many of these freaks were there? Either way the odds weren’t looking so good. When it came to taking out grunts he was no push over, but these two were pretty sizable in build, not that that mattered to Yata much but still something to take into consideration. 

Of course, Homra’s vanguard was still assured of his own strength. Homra wouldn’t lose to anyone! That was his own personal mantra and he believed it in wholeheartedly. If they wanted to dance two on one then Yata would still wager the odds were stacked against them regardless. 

“Hah!” Once more Yata’s lips curled into a smirk at the first assailant’s declaration. “I’m more than enough!” He kicked off at the ground again, heading straight for the male. He’d prefer not to deal with the woman if it could be helped. One of his many assets was his speed, that coupled with his flexibility to fight on a skateboard made it easy for him to wind through attacks to dodge and parry. 

The man made the first move, swinging something sharp at his face. He caught onto it right away, his staff spinning expertly between both of his hands, twirling it so that it would slam against the weapon a few times, knocking it just enough off course that he could avoid the attack by dodging out of the way. He spun around on his skateboard, circling the man, his staff gripped in his hand behind him as he brought his arm back, hand balled into a fiery fist, mustering all the strength and fiery aura into it as he could as he swung it upwards in the hope to connect with the man’s throat. 

Noi whistled at the red clansman’s boast. “I hope you can back that up!” Excitement was evident in her voice, but she was also just as confident in her and her partner’s abilities to win, especially against one person. He was fast and small (or at least smaller than they were), so he might’ve had a mobility advantage on them, but the two strains had survivability.

That would definitely come in handy as the vanguard uppercut with a fist shrouded in fire, and Noi didn’t have time to try and intervene as it made contact. She dashed around to where Shin had been hit, placing a hand on top of the burn and funneling her healing ability into where she made contact with Shin’s skin, attempting to heal the burn.

heartthrobbingkiller​:

More and more, as the healing energy Noi infused into the gash in his abdomen, Shin felt relief seeping in, allowing the tension in his muscles - the same tension that, no doubt, had been the main factor in keeping him as sharp as he’d been, upright and walking, and by all means alive up until this point - to spill out in a fatigued sigh. Sluggishly, prompted by his partner’s energetic suggestion, his thoughts turned over to the burger place she mentioned. Despite the close encounter he’d just had, he couldn’t help but feel a stir of hunger in his gut at the mention of food. And the fries she mentioned were definitely crave-worthy. More than that, he himself could go for a burger.

“I don’t really know what they were thinking. But damn if they didn’t come close to doing me in.” The thought that perhaps they had been aiming to take him out unawares flashed through his mind. Their line of work could leave behind the type of wounds that could fester and lead someone to seek revenge, so it wasn’t impossible. Still, even if so…

Shaking his head, Shin opted to abandon this line of thought. “Whatever it is, I’ll recognize that asshole when I see him. He won’t get to cut me up like this twice.” Setting his palms against the floor, he pushed his body upright into a sitting position. The slimy feeling of displaced intestines sliding back into place accompanied the movement, and only a dull throbbing remained in place of the pain. “Anyways, you saved me… again. So a burger is the least I could do as repayment, I suppose.”

Noi was about to chastise Shin for trying to sit up so quickly, but she knew that Shin couldn’t be kept out of commission for very long. Besides, he was stabilized enough that moving wouldn’t reopen the wound, and that would have to do for now. He could recover on his own from here, even though the pain would be a nuisance for a few days. “Well, senpai, if I’m there, he probably wouldn’t even try to attack you. He wouldn’t be able to think about it before we got him!”

She stood back up and held a hand out to her partner to help him to his feet. “Alright, then let’s go eat! It’ll help you gain your strength back!” Noi herself was also beginning to feel a little sluggish, having expended a lot of her energy patching up Shin’s abdomen, but there wasn’t a better use of her energy than helping him to begin with, in her opinion.

heartthrobbingkiller​:

Gang Wars || Shin, Noi & Yata

@healinghitman @girlphobic

“HOMRA, huh?” These words left Shin’s mouth in a whisper as the clan’s famed bar came into view. No doubt, if he and Noi were to just step inside, there was a high chance of finding the person they were sent after. Of course, if they did that, things would also get really messy really fast, because there was no telling how many other clan members were assembled within. Their orders were pretty clear that they were to target the vanguard, whose appearance they had been briefed on beforehand.

For now, Shin settled to stand in the alley flanking the bar, leaning against the far wall so that he could keep an inconspicuous eye on the door. The darkening sky as the sun sank lower and lower in the sky assisted the alley’s natural shadows in concealing him and his partner from the non-prying public’s eye.

It didn’t take long before that door opened and out stepped the youth matching the description of their target. “Hey, that looks like him. Looks like we’re up.” With a brusque nod towards Noi, Shin quickly pulled the familiar mask over his head, shaped like a human heart although he wore it backwards with holes torn into the fabric for him to see through. The mask’s main purpose was of course to conceal his identity, though there was no doubt that the sight of such a thing could evoke fear in others too.

Then, clenching the hammer tight in his fist, his eyes never leaving his target as the male departed the bar, Shin moved.

Darting out from the shadows of the alley, he swung his hammer out with as much force as the muscles in his body could exert.

“Guess it’s about time..” Yata mused as he held his wrist up, eyes scanning over the watch adorning it for the time. The bar would be opening soon so that was Yata’s cue to get lost for a bit. Sure, he could have just gone upstairs to his room but he didn’t like being cooped up there for hours. A crow needed to spread his wings. When it was time for bed he’d return and then go promptly to bed. Until then he had a few hours to kill. 

The bar master waved him off as he got to his feet, bending over to pluck his skateboard gingerly from off the ground (so as not to damage Kusanagi’s beloved floors) and then exited the building. Yata dropped the skateboard to the ground as soon as he exited through the door and it shut closed behind him. He planted one foot on the skateboard to keep it from rolling off then looked into the distance, admiring the sunset for a moment as he tried to think of his next destination. It was too late to call anyone up to hang out so tonight maybe he’d head to the skate park to catch some air. 

Yata wasn’t exactly known for his sixth sense or ability to know just when someone was landing a surprise attack on him, far too many times he’d be caught off guard or had to be rescued by someone else’s quick thinking, but this time something just felt out of place. There was a prickling sensation in his spine as the hairs on the back of his neck seemed to stand up and he managed to glance back over his shoulder just in time to see a hammer swinging right at him. 

With his foot still on his skateboard, he raised it and slammed it down on the end which forced it to jump up into the air. It would be just enough to serve as his shield and a distraction as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small rod which he configured to expand, becoming his staff and he raised it just in time to keep his skateboard from also smashing into him along with the hammer. The skateboard, having served it’s purpose clattered to the ground loudly as Yata kept his staff positioned in front of him as he eyed his attacker. 

“Hoh.. You got balls pickin’ a fight with me here.” He placed his foot on the skateboard, pushing it forward slightly and then sliding it hard backwards. It rolled fast and he jumped up and then right onto it, his staff still raised defensively. “Don’t ya know? Kusanagi-san hates it when there’s fights outside the bar.” He gave the other a hardened smirk, the bemusement lost at the sight of the other’s bizarre and if he were being totally honest, nightmarish looking mask. Though if it were just one on one, Yata could take this hammer wielding freak no problem. Though Yata was always overly self assured and overconfident in his abilities. 

“Not very smart, huh? Pickin’ a fight with Homra right in our own front yard. Well, if ya got a death wish you’re in the right place!” Fight first, ask questions later. It didn’t matter what this guy was after, but as far as Yata was concerned if it was a fight he wanted it was a fight he was getting. He kicked off on the ground, accelerating towards the masked assailant, his staff drawn up then brought it down hard, aiming straight for the other’s face.

Noi wasn’t the type to question orders. If she was ordered to go after another gang, as long as her partner was with her, it didn’t really matter. The two of them were nigh unstoppable, even if they were just a couple of strains going up against clansmen. The intel they had been given informed them that not only was HOMRA a gang, but they had a king chosen by the slates leading them.

Which meant that this particular assignment was going to be very fun indeed.

She waited patiently for Shin’s signal, and as soon as she saw her senior pull his mask onto his face, she tugged her leather mask down in kind. Noi followed him closely, not yet revealing herself until the swing of the hammer her partner wielded was blocked and the vanguard began his counterattack.

Noi dashed in, holding her arm up in front of her face to take the full brunt of the attack from the metal staff. The injury definitely hurt, and if she hadn’t been as strong as she was, it would no doubt have led to a major break in her arm, although it did fracture her bone. Ignoring the pain, she pushed back with that arm hard, shoving the target backwards just enough to give her and her senpai some space.

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“U-uh….a-ah..” Futaba sputtered, still finding it hard to spit out anything resembling a proper sentence. The woman’s tone was kind though, even as she realized she’d startled the poor girl. “N-no, u-uh….I shouldn’t…have screamed…probably..” she finally managed to say, shakily bringing her hands up to fix her glasses before regarding the woman before her. 

She was apologizing, though it made the girl feel bad. She really didn’t need to apologize, it wasn’t like she’d purposefully done anything wrong. It wasn’t her fault that Futaba was…like this. “I-I mean…I was surprised you were so tall but..I’m just…not good with people,” she continued to mumble, trying to shove down the guilt eating away at her with the woman being so nice to her. 

However, the next words surprised her. They weren’t strangers anymore because she knew her name? The orange haired girl blinked owlishly through her glasses, lips parted in shock. That…wasn’t something she’d thought about before. Well, she doubted it’d actually help her in the long run but…at least the woman didn’t seem to mean any harm. 

After a moment of silence, she finally worked up the courage to speak again. “….Futaba,” she responded. “Futaba Sakura. N-nuff…knife..” She grimaced at her blunder, before finally managing to speak properly. “N-Nice to meet you.” Really, why did dealing with other people have to be so hard? Why did speaking out loud have to be so nerve-wracking and make her get all tongue-tied?

“I’m alright,” she added, slowly bringing herself to take the other’s hand. “I was just surprised is all..”

“Futaba... that’s a nice name,” Noi said, beaming at the small girl. It took her a lot of effort to actually hear what Futaba was saying, as she was mumbling and Shizume was a very busy city, but Noi managed. It’s a good thing she had learned to be very attentive in her line of work. “It’s nice to meet you too, even if I accidentally scared you at first. Talk about first impressions, huh?”

Noi offered her hand out to Futaba to help her to her feet, but she remained crouched on the ground. Honestly, she figured she would still be eye level even if Futaba stood up completely, and it was better not to move too quickly, probably.

heartthrobbingkiller​:

Over the buzz blaring in his skull, past the dark spots blotting his dancing vision, Shin was aware of Noi’s presence. She was talking to him, moving hands over his split and bleeding abdomen, adjusting, shifting, although the area had long become numb from exposure and he could scarcely feel anything she was doing. Still, that she was here was itself a blessing, and he held no doubts that his partner would be able to drag him out of Death’s cold clutches.

“…Sorry, Noi.” His breath leaked out in an airy wheeze, accompanied by blood seeping out of the corners of his mouth. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” He just needed her healing touch, to stitch his flesh back together, mend the damaged tissue, replicate lost blood.

And, of course, as she poured her power into him doing just that, little by little, he could feel life returning to his body, making it easier to breathe, see, talk. Slowly, but noticeably over the course of his stay.

“Yeah… it was another strain… I don’t know what the… goal was or anything… but the lot of them just… jumped at me from the shadows before I knew what was… going on. That one was lucky to get away like that, honestly…” His voice trailed off. Noi was right. If he hadn’t been at such a disadvantage, there was no reason victory wouldn’t have been his. And if he ever saw that guy that did this to him again, he certainly had some ideas in mind for him.

Shin was beginning to talk more, and Noi began to smile a little. That was a very good sign indeed. She’d never not been able to make sure her partner pulled through his injuries, but he had also not been injured this seriously since that one time... Noi had needed to recover for days afterwards, but as time had gone on, she’d gotten more used to her power, able to ration it out so as not to overexert herself.

“I’ll just have you pay back my worry through steak or something. Oh! Or that burger place around the corner. I’ve been craving their fries lately,” she mused.

Attempt: Will they try anything once or will they avoid certain foods based on what ingredients may be used in it?

Noi will absolutely try anything at least once. If something has an ingredient she doesn’t like, she’ll be a little more hesitant to try it, but she’ll at least give it a shot.

Treat: Is there any kind of food they reserve for special occasions or for a reward?

Order: Are they the type to eat their favorite part of a meal first, or do they save it for the end?