JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: At Midnight's Fire

[VintageBass]

Late into the evening, a lone radio sits on a table next to a picture frame of a happy mother and daughter, a lamp and some potted flowers. A hand reaches out and turns on the radio, only to emit a funky swinging beat, full of pep and energy as the instruments bring to life a colorful sensation the imagination. This energy lasts for a couple of seconds before allowing the singers to come back in and finsh up their song.

"The time we have flies flowing free as we bicker the day away dancing all the while in this
Crazy Noisy Bizarre Town

The time we have flies flowing free as we crack and share our jokes
As everybody dance in this
Crazy Noisy Bizarre Town"

The song comes to its triumph end, the jazzy swing picking up to give a few more sections of funky beats before wrapping up nicely. Now faded to silence, it doesn't last for a second as a voice perks up, chuckling lightly before setting in into his role. "And that was Crazy Noisy Bizarre Town," he states, his voice crisp and clear as it comes through the speakers. "A strange request, but we are always open to new songs to play on air. Strange seems to be our specialty here, and strange could be best to describe our town. Anyway, hopefully you all are having a good night, Rallyfield? Things are certainly looking to be exciting, what with the rumors of strange men roaming in the streets. I haven't seen these whatever beings when I'm out, but remember if you see them, report them to the authorities."

"For now, take care of yourselves Rallyfield and keep in tuned to The Boon Hours, right here on 94.9 WRMG."

The radio cuts to commercial and things slip back to normal for the suburban town of Rallyfield. Home to over 95,000, it's in a comfy spot surrounded by rolling hills and a lush pine forest opposite to these hills. A lot of the infrastructure can be dated back to the Reconstruction, although slowly it is losing that touch thanks to time eating away and the occasional natural disaster that happens from time to time. The town center, a grandiose place with a bronze statue of the town's founder "directly in the middle of town," as many like to claim, a large roundabout road and four tall buildings that make up the main political power of town. This town center also boasts the

It is also here where Rallyfield's claim to fame, the Midnight's Fire, currently resides. Opened only six years ago, the nightclub is home to a small music venue for local talent and a boxing ring where weekly matches are conducted. Other shows are performed there for people who attend, along with a extensive bar with large imports of drinks patrons can pick from. However recently the club's management has been coming under fire from rumors of shady dealings happening behind closed doors. Reports of the club's premier fighters are performing dirty tactics and the referee not calling them out, the bets being rigged, and some of the losers being used to partake in a prostitution ring, with reports being women thanks to the club offering a slot to allow women boxers to fight in the ring.

Another report details of a strange substance that is supposedly served at the Midnight's Fire, which is said to unlock a hidden talent inside people. It's yet to be determined how this substance is distributed or what effects it has, as many of the patrons tend to enter and leave without feeling any different. Only one source claims to have seen strange figures surrounding some of the residents, including the staff at the club, but no one else backs up the claim. This one report also comes from a mentally unstable man, not taking his medication at the time, so it's unclear if what he saw was real or hallucinations. Despite all of the claims, the club is still in operation and keeping to its regular routine, even with the change of head of operation only a year ago. It is one of the profitable businesses in Rallyfield and if anything bad were to happen, it will hurt the town's economy.

Whatever is going on, there is a strange call going out to a few select people. Strangers are coming together to this town, for an encounter of a lifetime. It's hard to determine what is bringing these outsiders to Rallyfield, but fate has something in store for everyone. The players are in place, the stage is set, and everyone is all ready to get the show on the road.

Let the game begin!

Hinata Arakai (Nobudi)

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

It's late, and you should be sleeping...

But something's keeping you up. It's unknown what it is, but whatever is going on, it wants you awake and it will keep you awake no matter what. You lie in your bed, your dorm room quiet to only ambient noise and your thoughts, doing... well, whatever. Something is going on, be it the strange news happening around town or perhaps something else. Actually with your gift, you should be able to detect these strange appearances around town, yet they seem to elude you. No unusual activity outside the very little activity that you tend to see at this time of night.

Actually you did catch a couple of things. First off was some woman heading off to one part of the campus and another is a man standing far off from the campus of the college. You have seen this man occasionally during the day, a foriegner judging by his skin and attire. He doesn't seem to be a dangerous individual, but the way he is watching the school is off-putting. Plus the way that he is looking up at your second pair of eyes and a coy smile on his face...

This man knows something. Normally people aren't aware of your gift and with it being far away from prying eyes, the fact he notices it and realizes its existence, it could mean trouble. Or not. There's no telling. Although from what can be seen, he is offering you to come to him...

Seems a bit dangerous to meet up with a strange man late in the evening, but what else is there to do at this time? Sleep?

Ada Hornfeld (Cliffracer)

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

So, it's late into the evening and it's practically dead out in town. Hardly anyone in their right mind is wandering out in the streets. Well there are a couple, including yourself, but they're all over the place and right now you're situated at the community college Rallyfield has. It's a decent place, offering a wide selection of courses for people to take, including medical work, fine arts and business. Right now none of this matter as you're off-campus... well, only a couple steps away, and you have your own business to attend to.

Mainly in the form of a new commission being asked for by a new woman in town. There are quite the newcomers here, and she's certainly different, that's for sure. This woman told you to meet up in an alleyway, close to the school just in case you need to get back in a hurry before the campus partol catches you. This doesn't seem safe in the slightest... like at all, but it's nothing that you haven't dealt with before. Plus you do have some defense in case something goes completely and horrifically wrong.

So let's get to business. Thankfully there is a light in the alleyway to allow you to see only a good five meters around you. Echoes of footsteps bounce off the walls, getting softer the closer. Soon a woman is standing on the edge of the light, casting some shadows on her figure, but you can make out a smile and a non-threatening vibe from her. With how she's dressed and with the lighting, it's quite unnerving seeing such a design to anyone, but this is just one of those clients that you tend to get.

She lifts an arm up and lightly salutes you. "Yo, you're that artist I heard about?" she stated. "Hopefully I'm not keeping you up late. You're up for that commish I asked of ya?"

Client

Duo Phoenix (Zender)

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Well, consider this your lucky break!

It's quite unusual that someone working from New York will be making their way down south to take part of some medium-sized town's problem, but it's not too out of place for some stories. Then again people do enjoy having some big name detective coming to their town to help solve a mystery that leaves their own police force stumped. Although that depends just how a big name you really are... anyway, there's a case here and you took it up. From what you have read and heard, a lot of these sightings sound similar to Stands. There's not really anything major dealing with them, more reports from a certain individual about strange beings standing beside people, and then residents talking about some strange paranormal activity that sound very much like Stand activity. It's pretty vague, but it's something.

Now where would be the best place for information? There's that one source that knows about the Stand, but he's currently missing and is hard to get into contact... not to mention that you didn't get any information on the dude outside he's not all right in the head. Surely if this person is insane, he shouldn't be able to see the Stands... right? But in any case, usually he will show up at the police station from time to time, going there in person instead of calling them for reasons a plenty. Then there's also the residents that have seen some sort of activity, and usually it's happening all around the commercial district, rarely in the residential area. Unfortunately most of the businesses are closed for the evening, so you'll be waiting until morning for that...

Well... actually there are some exceptions. First off you have just arrived into town with your stuff by your side, and were told that a bed and breakfast is opened late right behind you. Then there's the police and there's bound to be a couple of officers pulling the night shift and could help you out towards your right... and in the distance you can see a tall, perfectly squared building glowing in a purple and red aura. It's not the police building, but at some point you're gonna end up there. Where you stand now is at a T-section crossroad, the main road running perpendicular to you and your back facing the smaller road running back.

Wherever you end up, you're going to get some kind of information and a moment to rest, be it short or long.

Karissa Tyvinus (Reaver)

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Where you are currently at is rather hard to explain. There's not much going for the place, being rather bare outside of a chair just for you. Nothing details the walls and floor... all of it is bare...

Eh, not really, the room you're in is really detailed. It's a well-furnished place with dual-toned walls with wood paneling on the bottom and a dark purple striped wallpaper on the upper half, a lush maroon red carpet that's soft to the touch and dark oak flooring under that, and Victorian-era furniture that turn this from an office to more of a living quarters. There isn't a bed in sight... although given the place you're at, the idea of one doesn't seem all that out of place. Who comes up here is definitely none of your concerns. It's just a little tidbit.

Anyway, you are sitting across another woman, someone with power and dressed in a similar fashion as yours. There is an air of authority around her, and if the plaque outside the office reading "Assistant Director" tells you anything... well, how she has this amount of power for her position is questionable. She seems open to questions, and it's probably not going to hurt you to ask something. Right now she's sitting up on her desk, going through some papers that you brought along and has an amused smile on her face. She seems to be liking what you have.

"OK Ms Tyvinus, hopefully you're comfortable," she mentioned, looking up from the papers. "Even with it cold out, I can't seem to find myself getting any warmer. I prefer the chilly times as opposed to the heated summers... but I digressed." The woman sets aside your work and shifts back into a seat opposite of the desk before propping her legs up. "Also apologizes for the dead silences, I just want to make sure I have everything here before acquiring your services here for the club. It's strange to be acquiring work from a pharmaceutical company, especially when we're stuck with investigations with steroid and other illegal substances we're serving to our guests..."

The woman's heels click together. "But I'm sure you can assist in doing some cover up and allow us to continue on with business, correct?"

[Nobudi]

Tick. Tock.

The darkness was a familiar thing to Hinata. She had long since lost track of how many times she'd woken to cold sweat in the dark, because she felt like It was watching. But this was no such case. She'd simply been unable to sleep, even if she closed her eyes and plugged her ears. It wasn't watching her this particular evening, so her paranoia hadn't triggered very much during the day. She still had very few answers for what was going on with her, but still, she had much more information about it.

Tick. Tock.

The clock ticked by as she idly mulled over the information she had gained through years of observing It indirectly. She still had never seen It in person, but knew that It had gone through much trouble in finding her and stalking her. Much to the point where she was half convinced It wasn't human. From her earliest years in Japan, It was already watching her. No one could see it, but for some reason, she just knew that It was watching her. But even after moving over 6,000 Goddamn miles Over the largest Ocean known to man, It had tracked her down with an unnerving accuracy. It followed her even when she or her parents had not peeped a single word of their rapid departure from the country. When she left to Rallyfield College, It had continued to follow her with an almost single-mindedness.

Tick. Tock.

Even so, It had never tried to harm her. In fact, strange things would occur whenever she was in trouble. Either she hallucinated, or everyone did. It was very confusing for her. She couldn't tell if it was a friend or foe, but it had wrecked much of her life. She shied away from staring people, she had seen psychiatrists, exorcists, doctors. None of them could do anything to fix her problem. Psychiatrists had prescribed medications, Exorcists had performed sacraments, Doctors scanned her everything time and time again, all to no avail. In a way, she had given up on trying to dodge It and tried to figure It out whenever she could. That alone had proved more than anyone else so far.

Tick. Tock.

She stopped her current train of memories and closed her eyes. Focusing her concentration, she felt like she was diving. Diving. Divvvvviiiinnnnnnnngggggg....

And suddenly, she wasn't in her room anymore. At least, her eyes didn't seem to be. She way atop a tree, looking over what appeared to be the College Campus.

Starting around the time she moved into the dorms of Rallyfield College, she had made a small ,but noticeable breakthrough: She could actually see from It's perspective. It was remarkably similar to normal vision, but just that it could zoom in on command. Her, or rather, It's eyes swept across the notably empty Campus grounds and saw that it wasn't totally empty. There was a woman and a man. The woman wasn't remarkable from It's point of view, but she made sure to note how she looked and what she was wearing. Who knows, it might be someone she knew. Nope, she didn't know her. But then, something really caught her attention. It was a lone man, foreign in appearance, staring at her. She felt her throat tighten as he grinned at It, even from as far as It was from the campus and invisible to people to boot. She could feel herself gulp as he raised a hand, and beckoned to her.

Tick. Tock.

Her eyes opened for real, and without a second thought, stripped bare. She rapidly took to the closet and grabbed the nearest article of clothing. It was something between a Japanese kimono and what she thought was a stripper's dress. It was segmented into three pieces: a top, a corset and a miniskirt, held together with a pair of suspenders. She had bought it after moving into the dorms, for the reason only that it reminded her of her homeland. It was bizarre, but so was the whole damn town. At this point, she couldn't care any more. She had to discover the man's secret, and if he could help her, why not put herself at risk? It wasn't any more dangerous for her at this point, right?

Tick. Tock.

[cliffracer]

Ahhh, nighttime. Practically Ada's favorite time of the day, not to mention the one she's usually awake most during. She wouldn't joke that she was nocturnal quite yet, but it was no coincedence that she knew how to stay up really late. She was glad she didn't have to go far to meet this person for her next commission... It wasn't too weird to have to do this kind of thing offline, even if that was how she preferred it. Campus security always tried its best, but she figured out early the best ways to get past them.
Mostly just by being quick enough that she's not around for them to catch. She tried not to exploit her stand on them if she didn't have to.

At least this alleyway was SORTA lit. Pathetically lit, actually... Nice mood lighting for the meeting, though. Ada didn't feel the need for her mask, so she kept it around her neck for warmth instead. She didn't have to wait long for her client and damn was that an outfit she had on. Ada HAD to stare for a second, at least she was paying attention enough to wave back and smile. Ada respected how confident this lady seemed in her outfit, if she herself was just a bit bigger in certain places, she could have tried something like that...

Ah! Focus. Focus! "Usually up this late, it's cool. What'd you have in mind?"

[Reaver]

Karissa didn't mind the silence that permeated the room, in fact she'd preferred for this first meeting to be full of it. It gave her time to calculate and guess, to look around and get hints as to what to expect from Splendid's newest off the books client. Things like this weren't too uncommon, sometimes drugs got stuck in the animal testing phase and higher ups allowed the untested drugs to be sold and tested in populations so they could get a head-start on adjusting them for legal distribution. Basically they sold them to other shady companies so they could see the results they had on humans to save time and money on testing them within a lab setting. "There are no need for apologies, I rather you focus on thoroughness now than try to ask for a refund later because you missed something. Because we both know there won't be room for second thoughts once you sign those papers." Ignoring her inane comment about the temperature in order to address the bigger issue. Her voice was neutral, only betraying the slightest hint of a threat as Karissa attempted to make it clear that this was a deal that couldn't be backed out of once it started. Splendid took their off the books investments very seriously and didn't like to leave much room for fallout on their end if it could be helped, often taking the form of client elimination.

"Splendid can help with the cover up, there should be a paragraph on the services and limitations in Section 2.B three lines down." She elaborated on while crossing her legs before folding her hands over her knee. This '"Assistant Director" seemed competent enough, if her decoration and fashion sense were anything to go by, which they were. The powerful knew power came from many things but could only be projected through a few, style being the most important. The furniture was well-picked, letting Karissa know this woman had an eye for details. Her clothes were stylish as well, not as up-to-date as Karissa's own with the turquoise jewel embedded into the fabric and the warm feathery cape, but she got points for trying. "It also isn't required but Splendid is willing to reduce some of the fees should you provide us with a few samples of your drugs and substances. There should be a few more lines on the specifics in Section 6.F but our interest has been piqued by certain reports talking about the "side-effects" of some of them." That was the main reason Splendid had sent Karissa instead of some subordinate who knew the company's unspoken policies on these things. They had wanted someone professional and experienced to ensure the company got their hands on samples of all the substances the Midnight Fire was selling and creating.

"Anything you can tell me or give that could help us separate fact from fiction about your products would be appreciated. Then we could possibly work out some compensation." Glancing at the golden crowns on her gloves as she spoke. Of course they had also sent her because they knew and expected she'd do whatever it took to secure the samples and anything else that could be useful to the company, by force if necessary. Karissa hoped it wouldn't come to that since bodies meant more work, physically and on paper and maybe even having to use her own powers if things went sideways. "Once you sign those papers, I'll be officially contracted out to your company until either the contract terms have been met or other terms are violated. I would like to know now though what you'll have me do around here, because my time isn't cheap and I don't bartend." Making an attempt at humor with a small smirk as she looked the woman in the eyes. No one had told her what she'd actually be doing to help Midnight Fire out of their problems, and while she figured it wouldn't be anything legal, Karissa wanted to be prepared. "Openness will help both parties out in the long run, wouldn't you agree?" Slightly tilting her head to the side while her smile grew. Was this woman going to be a snake, a spider or a honeybadger when it came to dealings? The snake always avoided the direct confrontations, slithering her way through the interactions, avoiding the questions until they was ready to strike. Spiders always told her what she wanted or assumed she'd want to hear, drawing her further into the situation until she'd be in too deep to get out without doing what they wanted. Then there were the honey-badgers that were overconfident in their methods, believing themselves to hold the upper ground and flaunt it. She hated the honey-badgers the most. They lacked the grace and tact to not reveal their cards and increasing the chance of them getting counter-played. Business associates always seemed to fall into one of the three categories but maybe this one would be a whole different animal.

[Zender_Solarheart]

So this is Rallyfield. Not exactly what Duo had expected, given the stories he's heard. All the talk about "paranormal activity" and the town's famous nightclub had him imagining something more like home; tall apartment complexes, urban choked streets, buses and taxis all over the place. Not that the smaller size particularly bothers him much here, as it means less ground needing to be covered, and the various landmarks of the town will no doubt become more recognizable as he continues to pass by them. The town's quiet nature is also rather peaceful and relaxing, despite Duo's expectations; normally, when things gets too quiet in his line of work, it means danger's afoot, but that's far more common in larger cities like the Big Apple. All in all, he thinks he'll like it here...but he can't afford to get too complacent. He's here on business, after all, not vacation.

Still, if he's here to solve a case this big, he can expect to stay for quite a few days, which means he'll need somewhere to make his base of operations. Every investigator - private or otherwise - needs a place where he can study all his notes, clues, and documents in solitude, and Duo gets the feeling he'll need more than just a suitcase to store it all. Alas, it's not like he owns a house in the area, and the privatized nature of his work rules out shacking up with the authorities. Besides, the way that big, unusually square building in the distance appears to glow makes Duo's skin crawl; the less time he has to spend in that thing's shadow, the better.

Thankfully, there's a nearby bed-and-breakfast joint, providing both shelter for the night, and a decent place to set up shop at, at least until he finds somewhere better to put all his stuff together. With the layout still unfamiliar to him, Duo sticks with what he does know, and heads in that direction. If he's lucky, there might even be someone inside the joint that he can interview for information, though he's not going to bet on it; deep down, he knows that the story of this case is just beginning...

[VintageBass]

Ada

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Now you got her attention. "Right. How good are your anatomy skills?" she asked. "There's a good section of wall that I like to get a piece of myself on and I would like to make a good impression on some of the locals in the area. Mainly to get them nice and worked up over this beauty of mine." She stops for a moment, taking notice on your interests in the bigger assets your client sports. "Maybe for a little extra you can do some body art, just to get a little more attention..."

This woman has something up her sleeves... or lack there of. Either way, there's a scheme involved and you're getting paid for it. "So how familiar are you with these streets? Hopefully you can keep up with me because I want to see how well you can move!" She starts taking a few steps back into the shadows, disappearing before you can hear her footsteps bouncing off the walls. You do see a silhouette at the end of the alley, turning towards your right and then disappears off into the distance.

Looks like you got a little chase on your hands. This should be interesting... plus it'll be rather easy as the footsteps did stop, meaning she's waiting on you to keep up.

Duo

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

You make your way to the bed and breakfast with no problems, given that it's the middle of night and there's barely a soul out and about. There's probably some activity moving in the alleys, but it could be some stray cats looking for some food, nothing all that big for you. You find that there are some lights on when you got close and someone sitting at the counter, and opening the door reveals them reading a book... or was, seeing that opening the door rung a bell and startled the person behind the counter. It's a young woman, in her early 20s, and she's a rather pretty little individual. Although startled from the noise, she got herself back into her seat, putting away a rather large thick book that looks to be a medical books of sort. Is she a student of some kind?

"Oh... sorry, it's rather late and I didn't think we'll get anyone this late," she explained, now getting more comfortable at the desk. "So you just came in? Mind signing in and I can get you all set up. I'm Joseline, by the way."

Just to say, something about this girl feels... odd, but familiar. You have experienced this feeling before, as with the others who possess this strange pull. Why would this woman have this gift like the others? She doesn't look remotely dangerous in any sorts of way... in fact, she seems rather helpful. Perhaps this is fate guiding you here to meet up with a potential ally... or you just got extremely lucky and this is not at all planned out from the beginning.

Whatever mumbo jumbo is going on, just note that you do have a place to stay and the person working here is nice enough to allow you a place to work from while you're here in town.

Joseline

Karissa

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The assistant director checks through the papers again, her eyes taking in every minute bit of wording to make sure she's not screwing things up for the club in its entirely. The reduced cost in fees did get a reaction out of her, but her focus remains on what's written down, her eyes even going back up a couple times to make sure everything is good with her. She does lighten up when asked about the products, putting aside the paperwork before opening up on what she knows.

"A while back we got a strange shipment that came with our new director took charge of our operation," she explained, a heel clicking at her desk. "It's through that we saw our roster showing a spike in their performance... and a few of them bearing a strange aura around them. Normally we give them the usual supplements and a few to help keep their minds focus for their matches, but I never recall someone shooting out a third arm to sock another person after getting their vitamins in."

The woman pulls back off her desk and reaches under to open a drawer before revealing a bottle of pills. "Here's our little culprit. There are a few others sitting around, but they've gone missing. The worst thing we need is the cops breathing down our necks for this, because whatever's in here gives our fighters and other employees strange powers. Our director doesn't seem to have any useful information and they're gone whenever we're in operation hours... but they said they have eyes watching things, whoever they are. I know it's not me, but I want to prove my best..."

She stops for a moment. "Anyway, everything should be good. All we need is to get to the source of what's causing this, see if it'll be a benefit or a hindrance to our operations and eliminate any possible evidence. We do have a reputation to keep and none of us here want the place to shut down." She pauses for a moment to check things over until something pops into the director's head. "Oh, while you're here, I can throw you in to our little special group we call the Night Gallery. There's only a couple members in it, as one left on unexplained terms, but they're free to enjoy the club however they see fit. They're also people we acquired to help with our need and we do have a special prize to whoever solves this case first."

A smile crops up on the assistant director's face. "So on top of the pay you'll get from working, you're free to whatever the club has to offer with our exclusive VIP perks and a bigger reward for completing the job first." She takes a pen and signs her signature before presents the contract to you. "I just want to make sure you're comfortable here. Hopefully that should cover things, and hopefully we don't have to deal with anymore annoyances."

Hinata

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Now, before we can get anywhere in your story... there's a matter of getting out of dorms. While this doesn't seem like much of an issue, security does not mess around and surely with a school close to a popular night club not so far away that allows students to walk right in and enjoy whatever before coming back to school... there's going to be some work around to get off campus without getting caught by campus security. Really it'll end up being a minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things, but one annoyance shouldn't hold you back from possibly knowing what this one single individual knows about what's going on with you.

From your room, you hear the sound of footsteps, possibly from someone doing patrol, but they're fading away from where you are. The hallway is not that long and the person should be looping around back to check your room, but you got enough time to make a bolt for the exit, which is conveniently to your left and only three doors away from the other dorms. Also from what you can see outside, there aren't any other guards around, seeing that the woman pretty much disappeared into an alleyway and the man is still standing out in the open, possibly waiting on you. It's still weird, but who knows what's going on?

Anyway, you might want to bust a move. Who knows how long this man is going to stand around for and if someone will come to ask you why you're out wandering about.

[cliffracer]

"Character art's my specialty." Ada's grinning wide over her motivations for this little piece. No need to be subtle when standing alone in a dark alley, Ada respected that. "I'd love for a chance to do some body art, too. You had my curiosity, but now you have my attention."

Internally, Ada's just thinking about what she'll need. If this is a graffiti piece, it'll definately take a few hours to get it all together, including the time she'd need to go back for her cans. Body art, on the other hand, would definately depend... She'd heard that there's ways to seal body paint so it doesn't come off when wet, that ought to be handy for her. Fun times either way.
Ah. We're going for a run.
Ada pulls her mask over her nose and breaks in to a jog after her. She feels so cool and NOT like a nerd doing this.

[Zender_Solarheart]

Walking at night...Duo hates walking at night. Growing up in urban New York does that to a man; you hear so much about people getting jumped in the big city that you start subconsciously going on alert, never sure whether the next alleyway's going to have a mugger, pickpocket, druggie, or other hoodlum loitering within. Granted, this is a much smaller town than NYC - and as noted before, likely with a lower crime rate - but that doesn't really help prevent that habitual tightening of his senses. In his heightened state of awareness, Duo takes notice of some motion in the alleys nearby, though from what he can tell, it's probably just a small animal knocking over a thing or two. A stray cat is nothing to worry about; it's not like they can shoot bullets of compressed air, or anything.

Well, at least the local bed-and-breakfast is open, even at this hour. Walking in, Duo's attention settles on the only other person in the area: the apparent manager of the establishment, surprisingly young. Judging by that sizable book in her hand, she must be studying something rather heavy...and judging by her physical appearance, she can't be any older than 24. College student, perhaps? If so, she's likely here for some simple money to help her pay tuition and supply fees, a hypothesis reinforced by her casual, almost bored demeanor in welcoming him. Well, it's better than having to resort to prostitution or exotic dancing to pay the bills, which Duo's heard some people say is a common thing in this town.

What really piques Duo's interest, however, is something that exists beyond the usual purview of most P.I.s: the unusual pulling sensation he feels when in this Joseline's vicinity. It's a strange feeling, one he hasn't felt since...since the Neck Burner. Immediately, a part of Duo's brain is screaming "DANGER, DANGER, EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY"...but going with one's first impulse is how tragic mistakes tend to happen, and it's a reflex Duo has spent years learning to overcome. Instead, he makes careful note of how the young lady moves and walks, which seem perfectly innocent and unsuspecting; had she the intention to murder any of her customers, there'd be more excitement in her voice and/or body language, restrained or otherwise. A part of Duo wants to ask her some questions to get the investigation business underway...but it's late at night, and she's clearly too tired and unfamiliar with him to provide any worthwhile information just yet. Instead, he'll let things warm up first, become a familiar face that she can trust, and then he'll really be able to know if she knows anything.

For the present moment, though, Duo simply signs in as Joseline instructed, while taking the opportunity to introduce himself: "A pleasure to meet you, Joseline. I'm Duo." His introduction is short, but relaxed, not wanting to sound too business-like. Besides, the young woman is clearly tired herself, what with it being the middle of the night and all. Might as well keep things simple, and save conversation for another time. Perhaps then he'll be able to figure out if she really does have the abilities he suspects...

[Nobudi]

Hinata was about to rush out the door, only the sound of footsteps froze her in place. Crap. She had forgotten there was a curfew on the campus dormitories (who even enforced them nowadays?) and that was probably a patrol going around, and she needed a moment to think. She paused to check herself to see if she was... ah. She wasn't wearing underwear. Blushing furiously, she grabbed a black bra and her black lace panties. She heard the footsteps retreat for a time, probably to patrol another floor. She had no time to waste then. She grimaced and stuffed her undergarments unto her corset. She'd have time to put them on later, and the notion she was walking commando onto campus in the dead of night was firmly pushed out of her mind. Denial was such a wonderful thing that way.

She cracked her door open slowly, to ensure that her door did not creak or give her away. Once confirming she was in the clear, she pulled on her sneakers and crept to the exit door. She placed an ear to it, just in case someone was coming up the stairs and walked down them. Once she was outside, her first order of business was finding a shaded alcove and putting on her underwear. Then she could go to the strange man. He was waiting after all. What was a minute or two?