Chapter 22: Run Before You Walk (Part 9)

"How the hell do you even know The Red? Let alone feel comfortable enough approaching her out of the blue like this?"

"Just an fyi, but I would suggest not bringing up those primary colors in her presence. Just because she's not actively trying to kill her sister anymore doesn't mean they're on the best of terms."

Well, that was the current state of affairs Cayman was assuming were in effect, since he wasn't in any real hurry to waltz up to the woman and ask if she hated her sister's guts or not. Just because she was a bit more chill while working at Garan no Dou than her younger self didn't mean she was any more likely to take his bullshit if he pushed too hard.

Souren Araya and Cornelius Alba could attest to that fact.

"Besides, she's nowhere near as bad as rumors and such make her out to be. I just randomly stumbled across her place the other day and we managed to get along just fine."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Granted I had to pay for said help but the deal worked out perfectly okay with no hard feelings or double-crossing involved."

The man shook his head and took a drag from the cigarette dangling from scarred lips.

"You must be as crazy as she is then. No sensible Magus enters into a deal or contract with Touko Aozaki lightly."

"I'll take that badge of insanity and wear it proudly."

+5 REP with Kairi Sisigou [5/100]

"Sweet, being on good terms with an Enforcer isn't something I'm going to complain about."

Mai frowned, briefly remarking, "I am only slightly familiar with the puppet maker. Is she really that dangerous?"

"And that, young lady, is why I labeled you as a baby Taimanin. Some people you just know about if you're in this line of business."

Bright pink eyes narrowed in annoyance as the pale-haired Taimanin no doubt prepared a rebuttal before Natsume stepped in, calmly stating, "Touko Aozaki is a Magus that is on tenuous terms with the Magus Association and largely operates under her own power and influence. She is quite the wily and powerful woman who has encountered Apostle Ancestor level foes and walked away intact. Considering that she is not even forty years of age yet her record is quite impressive."

"...Ah."

The reserved but meaningful response from the lovely girl preceded her giving Cayman an inquisitive look, asking, "We're going to her to find our target. Is she also an information broker?"

"Information broker might be a bit of an overblown comparison but in her travels she's met and learned a great many things. Not to mention she runs a business that thrives on all sorts of weird cases and jobs being brought before them so I think we're in good hands."

Kairi nodded, grumbling, "She doesn't wait for information to find her, she goes and finds it."

"Lady Luck does favor those that aggressively court her."

Mai slowly nodded, asking, "Then she is the one who aided you in finding Hoestia?"

"She was one of the resources we had to make use of, yeah. Although I have to say, your two comrades really did not want to visit Aozaki when I realized who she was."

He playfully nudged the young woman as she quickly averted her gaze, obviously shy at the friendly gesture.

"Guess that makes you a damn sight braver than they are, huh?"

Natsume giggled at the interplay, teasingly remarking, "You will have to be gentle with Mai, Cayman. She is quite reserved and shy around strangers."

The older woman's response earned a predictable scowl from the younger, the Surveyor simply waving a hand as he replied, "Well that's perfect then, it means she has the brains to match her beauty."

He made a point to stare directly into the blinking Taimanin's eyes, smirking as he stated, "The quietest voices denote the loudest minds."

+10 REP with Mai Nanase [10/100]

The notification and rather adorable blush that coated Mai's pale skin was merely the cherry on top as she averted her gaze with a sharp twist of her neck, Cayman fighting back the urge to chuckle.

Practically everyone liked compliments but it was always more effective on those that weren't expecting or used to them.

"Slick."

Kairi's bored and mildly sarcastic observation put somewhat of a damper on the whole situation but before they could further banter they came within visible distance of the dumpy building Garan no Dou called home, Cayman leading the way as he said, "Let me do the introductions, if you would."

"If you want to handle the entirety of the negotiations while we stay quiet the whole time go right ahead."

The Enforcer's dry comment had the gamer smirking in amusement while Natsume graciously motioned with her hand for him to lead the way, the male walking through the front door and leading the way towards Touko's office-

-whereupon he lazily pushed the door open, loudly proclaiming, "Honey, I'm home!"

The reactions were just as varied as he'd hoped for, Kairi going stock still as his mind raced to catch up with what Cayman had just said, Natsume blinking several times in quick succession while Mai offered him an expression that suggested she had no idea what he'd just done.

"Sorry, Lugh isn't here right now, you'll just have to try again some other time."

It was only Touko herself who took his antics in stride, barely so much as glancing his way as she reclined in a chair, perusing a magazine showcasing various market deals and bargains.

"Also if you're not bringing money this time we don't have much to discuss, I'm still busy doling out parts from that Dark Beast you brought me last time, I don't have room to deal with another corpse."

Motioning for his three companions to come in Cayman stated, "Well we'll just see about that, I bet I can change your mind."

"I've heard that one before."

Finally deigning to close her magazine and stare at the assembled group directly the Magus raised an eyebrow, casually stating, "You seem to bring in a varied bunch every time you come here."

"Comes with the territory of being a Surveyor. Now about that deal I was talking about…"

"No money, no deal-"

He unleashed a theatrical wave of his hand, one of the corpses he'd pilfered from Hoestia's lair manifesting and crashing onto the floor with a dull thud.

And while she was nothing if not a consummate professional and possessed nerves of steel Touko was, at the end of the day, a Magus and he didn't miss the way her eye muscles jumped and twitched, as if fighting back the urge to examine the thing from head to toe.

It was one of the big bastards Yukikaze and Jinglei had at first been struggling with, mostly intact aside from a powerful blow to the chest that was fairly squishy and a missing eye socket from where a bullet had merrily lodged itself into the creature's brain. More importantly, it was no doubt an entirely unique specimen thanks to Hoestia's intrinsic mastery over subjects related to biochemistry, alchemy and other big brain subjects.

"Huh. Don't think I've seen anything like that before…"

Kairi's reserved tone was matched by Touko, the woman slipping on her glasses and instantly turning cool as a cucumber as she approached the body, commenting, "Neither have I. This is one of Hoestia's creations, isn't it? In decent condition, too. Little to no decomposition. Shame about the brain and organs around the site of blunt trauma but its reproductive capabilities seem perfectly fine. That could be a prime source of the being's genetic code…"

Belatedly realizing that yes, the frankenstein creature had genitalia - of course it did, everything in this weird three way universe had genitalia and the possibility of using it - Cayman saw Mai and Natsume give the body perplexed expressions before he decided he'd made his point, sucking the thing back into his inventory while Touko just gave him a flat look.

"Want to hear about the deal now?"

"You know what that thing is potentially worth, right?"

"Oh fuck yeah. A possible fusion of Taimanin, Exorcist, Daemon and who knows what else? That's worth a fortune."

He smirked.

"So. Deal?"

Touko continued to neutrally stare at him, idly asking, "What, exactly, do you need my assistance for?"

"Nomad is meeting with an unknown and unrecognized group within the city limits not far from here. Ordinarily not a big deal - christ only knows there's a lot of up and comers all the time - but the fact that we're having to come to you in the first place is fairly indicative, isn't it?"

She slowly nodded, musing, "Notorious and influential enough that they can attract the remnants of Nomad but also staying off the radar of both the Clock Tower, Gosha Village and who I'm assuming your criminal contacts were?"

Natsume didn't even bother trying to deflect the accusation, only smiling as she replied, "That's correct."

Touko yet again fell silent, staring at Cayman as the man returned the stare, lips peeling into a playful grin as he said, "I'll toss in an extra set of testicles if you say yes."

It was brief but there might have been the slightest hints of a smile on the Magi's face before it was replaced with a sardonic drawl of, "Well don't you know just how to charm a lady?"

"You're not fooling anyone, I saw you hone in on those smooth criminals as soon as you saw them."

+5 REP with Touko Aozaki [10/100]

This time the smirk was more visible as she removed her glasses, responding, "Fair point. You have another deal, Lute. You'll have to make do with me, though. Lugh went back to his current master and the other two are out on a different assignment."

Briefly wondering if he would have to worry about Garden of Sinners plotlines coming to bite him Cayman decided his tiny porcelain plate was already struggling under the weight of a small mountain and kicked that possibility aside, nodding as Touko continued with, "In the interest of fairness I feel compelled to point out that I'm not some manner of miracle worker or anything like that, if we can't find any clues or leads that may lead us on the right path I'm unlikely to conjure any from thin air."

"Oh I wouldn't worry, I'm sure you and your Demon Cat will be able to provide wonderful scouting and reconnaissance."

While he got a raised eyebrow from the woman at his admitted knowledge of her magecraft repertoire she let it slide, simply stating, "Give me a minute to grab my things and then we can leave."

"Knew I shouldn't have taken this damn job…"

Kairi's mutter was quiet enough that Touko couldn't hear it but they did, Natsume playfully nudging the rougher man with her shoulder as he just seemed resigned to his fate, Mai softly murmuring, "She seems…different than what I expected."

He patted the Taimanin on the shoulder - the girl yet again stiffening at the friendly gesture - before stating, "Word of advice, Mai. The dangerously crazy ones are always the most down to earth and easygoing sorts."

"When you said it was close by I didn't think you were talking about Nakano levels of close."

"Lucky us that language is a very liberal thing and that someone forgot to ask for specifics."

He took it as a victory of sorts that Touko let the matter drop, all of them piled into a rental sedan as Kairi drove them to their destination, Natsume riding shotgun while he was squeezed between Mai and Touko in the backseat, making sure to keep his hands to himself in a manner that would probably become mildly uncomfortable if he had to hold it for more than a few hours.

Mai's luscious thighs meant he only had so much leg room to work with on the left and as much as he may banter with Touko he wasn't ready to try invading her personal space, so room on the right was also at a premium.

"Ah well. I can think of worse ways to get a sore back."

"You're still alive and well so I assume the Hoestia operation went off without a hitch? You never dropped by and said how it went."

"Wasn't aware you expected a follow up, that's so sweet of you. I bet it totally wasn't on the off chance you might get the first shot at whatever leftovers were left behind once we were done. I'm giving them to you as payment now anyway, it would have been a total waste of your time. But the op went perfectly with no lasting injuries because I'm obviously amazing."

"Debatable."

Kairi sighed, lamenting, "A shame, too. As a Necromancer all those bodies left behind would have been a great bunch of catalysts to work with."

"Hey if you're asking I'm offering, how much are you willing to pay?"

He smirked at the way Natsume gave him a raised eyebrow through the rear-view mirror, Mai frowning pointedly at his side as the older woman mused, "You must have great trust in us, to so openly speak of using various Sanctuary resources for your own personal gain."

"More like I have faith that, as people often involved in some pretty shady shit, you understand that this is just how business is sometimes done. Besides, I'm a Surveyor. If you can't trust me to know best how to use the resources and things I'm given then who can you trust?"

"Implying trust because of your job is weak evidence."

Mai's blunt words had Cayman smirking, stating, "And you're absolutely right. Which is why after spending all this time working with me you should have a pleasant and completely unbiased view of how I operate."

Hypnotic pink eyes bored into his emerald own, Cayman smirking at how she simply replied, "We've known you for a few hours. At most."

"All the time in the world."

She quickly broke the stare - no doubt crumbling due to her shyness - before grumbling, "It really isn't…" as he smiled at her adorableness.

"Let me just say that I greatly appreciate your candor."

"So who's the complete and total newbie?"

Touko's abrupt interruption had Cayman holding back a roll of his eyes, knowing that Mai wasn't going to take that lying down and especially not after Kairi had the exact same question.

"I've gone on missions before."

"I don't doubt it. Let me guess, all search and destroy types?"

The brief hesitation at being so quickly found out was clear to see, Touko languidly continuing with, "Look, little lady, you're about to head into a job that relies on you being able to talk to people, play it cool and even demean yourself if it becomes necessary. Going around blowing up monsters too busy imagining you naked and tied up in chains is a different kind of job entirely."

She gave a pointed gaze at Cayman.

"If you're serious about investigating someone, you don't boldly tell them to their face that you don't trust them."

Mai bristled, obviously defensive about her assumed defincincies before Cayman decided to cut in, stating, "Alright, no need to go disrupting the team dynamic before we even begin. And while you're not wrong about Mai maybe not being super spy material-"

He ignored the brief expression of hurt in the pale-haired girl before continuing.

"-there's a reason we work in teams. And being blunt and taciturn isn't always a detriment. You meet all kinds in this line of work and not everyone reacts well to our suave and cultured mannerisms of speech."

Kairi snorted in amusement, the action helping to dispel some of the accumulated tension.

"If we need someone who can cut right into the heart of the matter and keep a target off guard with their stunning beauty then we have her to fall back on."

He laced his hands behind his head and let his left eye drift close, the right orb focused on Touko as she calmly met his gaze, pointedly ignoring the way his elbow came dangerously close to bumping her head.

"Besides, if this assignment goes sideways then having someone who knows how to cause mayhem will be handy. And trust me, there's always room for sideways happenings."

To his surprise Touko didn't push the matter or fire off a rebuttal he knew she was absolutely capable of forming, merely shrugging and letting the matter drop.

…He got the distinct impression she hadn't had any real qualms with Mai's skillset, the Taimanin was just a convenient excuse so she could test how he handled a dispute within the team, how he acted in a leadership position.

+5 REP with Mai Nanase [15/100]

He didn't need to glance the Taimanin's way to know how she was responding, the soft shuffling of her weight answer enough.

"Kids…"

Kairi's mutter was just icing on the top.

"So we all know our roles?"

Touko sent the rugged Enforcer an unamused look that quickly caused him to avert his gaze, the female Magus dryly asking, "Is there anything particularly difficult or hard to understand about it?"

"...Just checking."

Natsume interjected herself into conversation as she linked her arm through Kairi's, dumbly batting her eyelashes as she simpered, "Please don't bully my bodyguard, he only means well!"

The obvious act of a shallow rich woman and her imposing bodyguard was made all the more apparent by the Enforcer's resigned air as she pressed her sinful body against his, his attitude suggesting whatever base pleasure he got from such a beautiful woman intimately touching him was outweighed by the tedium of indulging her whim and whiles.

Cayman got the impression the disguise held together so well because it was based on reality.

"Well if no one has any complaints then let's get to work, these mooks aren't going to investigate themselves."

All he got was a collection of odd stares.

"...Mooks?"

"Yeah, did you just walk out of a prohibition era movie or something?"

"Oh fuck off, muttonhead."

Both Magi rolled their eyes while Mai just gave him a perplexed look, the gamer not prepared to tell them that his previous life's work left him with an appreciation for the classics. He had to have an appreciation, his boss had kneecapped the last dude that shit talked the Untouchables and he liked normal locomotion very much, thank you.

"Very well, everyone keep in contact and we'll reconvene in eight hours."

Their grouping was simple. Natsume and Kairi would wander around the commercial districts and see what they could find under the guise of a simple rich woman and her hired servant. He and Touko would go through the markets and such while Mai would keep to the rooftops, making use of her origami papers to both scout and observe, as she could give them simple instructions and orders as well as glean a general understanding of what they were experiencing through her powers.

All in all it was the best setup they currently had, considering they were more or less operating in the dark with regards to where their quarry may have been hiding.

Without further ado they split up and began their work, Touko waiting until they were out of earshot of their companions before asking, "So do you actually have a way of finding out anything worthwhile or are we just going to wander around aimlessly?"

"I was honestly interested in hearing any plans or schemes you had cooked up. Oh, and time to go for a walk, Cerb."

A brief flash of light accompanied his summon manifesting and eagerly accepting a good boy head rub, Touko's eyes briefly flicking the dog's way before she went back to staring at him with a dull expression.

"You go first. I'm sure the high and mighty Surveyor will have a means of discovering things quite easily."

He held her gaze, neither backing down before he shrugged and pulled out one of the coins he'd pilfered from a previous target's corpse.

"I flip, you call? Whoever loses has to share first."

"Deal."

Ignoring how Cerb whined and pawed at her boots for attention as she focused on the disc of metal Cayman flicked it into the air, adding plenty of spin as the Magus immediately said, "Tails," before the coin solidly smacked into his palm.

"Well shit."

It was one hundred percent tails, the Surveyor pocketing the coin before explaining, "In my previous line of work before I was a part of Sanctuary I worked as an accountant for a mafia."

"Yeah, you didn't exactly make that subtle."

At his raised eyebrow she added, "You seemed far too comfortable working and talking about criminal dealings to not have come from them, never mind being confident enough to offer those kinds of dealings in front of professionals like Sisigou and Amadare."

"I could have just been spewing bullshit."

"Maybe. But I doubt it, you're a bit too competent to have bluffed your way to where you are now."

Cayman debated whether to tell the woman she was pretty far from at least half of the truth but elected just to shrug, continuing with, "Well from my experience working in that kind of business this is what I bet will give us the greatest chance of success."

He whistled as Cerb gave up on pawing at Touko's leg for a scratch behind the ears and instead trotted after him as he led the way out of the garage, the Magus following in his footsteps.

"Ordinarily we would have a basic idea of who, what, when, where, why…a basis that we could start our investigation off with. We don't have that. So instead, we're going to go after the one thing all criminals and ordinary people alike need on a consistent basis…food."

Touko showed the slightest hints of interest as he concluded, "You, me and Cerb here are going to go around trying out all the various restaurants and little bits and pieces of culinary attractions that are lying about in a bid to see if we come across any unsavory types."

The gamer stroked his chin, musing, "All things considered it's a pretty shit plan - we're relying on luck and hoping we run into someone obvious - but the best part of traipsing through restaurants or fast food joints is that we can ask the wait staff if they've seen anyone strange or acting off. High class deals might have their employees trained to mind their own business and not blab to strangers but I'd bet my balls that's not the case here."

Touko idly placed her hands into her coat's sleeves as she walked astride him, idly commenting, "Assuming wait staff likely getting paid a middling amount per hour bother to remember anything longer than an hour after its happened. Or even talk to us in the first place, since they doubtlessly have more pressing things to do."

"Congrats, you just discovered the shit part of the plan. But trust me, if you ever worked in the service industry then you know all it takes is one 'interesting' client to make your day memorable. All we need to do is think of various gang-related symbols or such they might be running - or just ask if they've seen any criminal types - and hope for the best."

He turned to face the Magus, asking, "That's my scheme. Honestly hoping you have a better one."

She offered a disinterested shrug, replying, "I was just going to go around, hypnotize scruffy looking people and see what they had to say."

"Hmm. My plan is shit, but yours is a special flavor of shit."

"You paid for my help, not a miracle."

"Well I think it's fair to say there's a difference between something on the level of True Magic and basic competency. Am I being swindled, Aozaki?"

She snorted, dismissively stating, "You seem familiar with my skillset. If you can't find a good way to make use of my talents that's your fault, not mine."

Chuckling at the swift retort Cayman posed, "Well then how about accompanying me on what will likely be a bunch of lunch dates, one after the other?"

The slightest hints of a teasing smile played across her lips.

"Did you go to all this trouble just to engineer a scenario in which I essentially have little choice but to spend time with you?"

"Well what else can a poor, shy boy do when he's too embarrassed to ask the older girl out but hedge his bets?"

She gave him a sidelong glance.

"I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you're not calling me old."

"I'd honestly be offended if you started thinking of me as stupid at this point. You've had prior opportunity aplenty to form that opinion."

+5 REP with Touko Aozaki [15/100]

"Sybaritic Initiate? Hi, Cayman here. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. Being able to make friends with someone like Touko this quickly is the greatest perk ever."

This time the amused smirk was more evident, Cerb happily leading them towards a small chinese restaurant that the gamer decided was going to be a test run of his little strategy as a stoic-faced woman stared him and Touko down, a few other patrons causing a pleasant murmur of background conversation while there were no outwardly obvious people that screamed 'bad guy this way'.

"You looking or buying?"

"Buying. One order of veggie spring rolls, please. You wouldn't have happened to see anybody kinda rough looking or with tattoos come through here recently, have you? Buddy of mine thinks he may have gotten something stolen by a guy or gal who looks like that."

The woman gave him a flat look even as she rang up the purchase.

"Dozens. Help any?"

"Nope. Thanks anyway."

He let the predictable failure wash over him without purchase, leading the way towards a table in the back that allowed him a chance to get a closer look at any of the patrons, finding only what he expected in that there was nothing that caught the eye.

"How's the plan working?"

He waved off Touko's deliberately smug words, replying, "I'd be amazed if we'd struck gold right off the bat, no need for snarking."

The Magus shrugged and plucked one of the rolls alongside a packet of sauce, remarking, "So how long do you think it will take, what with this hunt and peck method?"

"About as long as your method, except this way we won't potentially alert anyone to what we're doing."

"Wonderful. Good thing they don't have a no pets policy."

Feeding aforementioned pet a roll that he practically inhaled without a single crumb spilt the gamer joked, "Probably thought he was part of the menu. Look at it this way, now we have all day to get acquainted with each other."

Her eyes contained only dry wit.

"Imagine my excitement."