Dragons be crazy. (Lupin/Mariko Interaction)

Lupin was minding his own business, just walking around and soaking in the culture of Little Toyko. Trying out some tempura shrimp, check out some fish in the local river and Lupin even went as far as to buy himself a shogun helmet as a little souvenir. After all the hard work he has been putting in the orphanage, Lupin felt like rewarding himself, it seemed like nothing can go wrong for him. Lupin let out his breath and smiled. "I wonder what other cool things are in Little Toyko?" Lupin was then sitting on a bench he found as he contemplated what to do next.

Triboulet then made a suggestion to Lupin. "Hey Lupin maybe you should contact one of your friends to see if they want to do karaoke with you or something like that. Having some you and me time is great but it would be much better with a friend or something." Lupin seemed to have a smile on his face. He then pulled his phone out and started to text his friends asking them if they want to do some karaoke with him. "I wonder who will answer first maybe Shouhei, maybe Mallory, anything is possible." Lupin is now just looking around the area to see the sights around him while he is seated on the bench. Can't keep bouncing forever everyone needs rest.

Little Tokyo was...something close to accurate. Though most of these things were replicas of what you might find in rural or outskirt areas. Or atleast a lot of it was. Seeing something as ethnically dedicated as this within a midwestern american city was a little strange, but she couldn't really complain all that much. To be honest, she was a bit surprised at her bitterness toward it. A reminder of home was the last thing she wanted in this place.

There were *other* things she wanted. They lurked in the back of her mind and jumped out when she didn't expect them. Others lingered on and on without giving her rest...like the one she was pursuing right now. She could pretend she didn't know exactly why she was on this side of the sidewalk, walking down it. She could pretend she wasn't nervous, but what good would any of that do? She was standing behind the boy now, silently. Still as a statue. She could snap his neck if she wanted to. Luckily, she had no reason to do that.

"Excuse me." She asked suddenly, interrupting whatever the boy was saying to himself. "When you say Shouhei, do you mean Shouhei Kagawa, by chance?" Luckily, the boy was talking out loud, and had said Shouhei's name. That saved her a little bit of awkwardness.

Lupin was a little startled by the girl asking about Shouhei. Lupin simply responded with "Oh hi didn't see there sorry, Yeah I am talking about Mr. Kawaga, why do are you a friend of his?" Lupin seemed to the happy look of curiosity on his face. Triboulet sounded a little annoyed with Lupin as he explained something to him. "Lupin you are aware of the rumors surrounding Shouhei right?" Lupin simply responded in his head. "Yeah he was a part of a biker gang wasn't he?" Triboulet made a sound implying Lupin was correct. "Yep do you know why you probably shouldn't mention him?" Lupin asked back "Why?" Triboulet sighed as he tried to explain to Lupin. "You may have just created an undercover cop who might want to arrest him, or hell maybe she is an assassin who bloody knows. You are being careless that's the point I am trying to get across." Lupin then decided to ask the girl something.

"What's your name?" Lupin can feel his gut-wrenching yeah something doesn't feel right here. "I may have made a mistake," Triboulet just simply responded with "Yeah no shit." Lupin figure that he should try to continue the conversation to hopefully find out the girl's intentions. "So what do want with him?" Triboulet just responded with "Real smooth Lupin just oh hitting in the weak spots baby." Lupin just brushed this off and was waiting for a response.

The answer was a positive one. Well, at least the boy hadn't lied to her. He seemed like an honest boy. Nice, if a bit of a mischievous look about him. Probably a good friend for Shouhei to have. For whatever reason, Mariko felt reassured by this fact. "Mariko." she replied. She gave him a courteous smile, but it didnt quite extinguish the coldness in her eyes.

"As for what I want with him..." she trailed off, clearly taking a moment to put words together in her head before saying them. "What kind of person is Shouhei? What is he like?" she finished, with a curious look.

Lupin seeming a little confused with the question answered it anyway despite Triboulet's previous warnings. She doesn't look like she will do any serious harm. "Well nice to meet you Mariko, Shouhei is a good bloke with a bad boy shell, to put it simply. I heard rumors he was a part of a gang at one point. With the way he presents himself I can see why but really once you get to know him he is a pretty cool dude." Lupin seemed to smile as he talked about his friend. Lupin figured he should probably know more about Mariko. Lupin then proceeded to ask her "So what brings you to Endymion? You look somewhat new around here?" Lupin figured this should keep her talking at least.

Triboulet made a comment to Lupin. "Lupin she really doesn't look like she is right in the head, are you sure you want to keep going she looks like she will kill you without a second thought." Lupin to note of what Triboulet said and is now just awaiting an answer for his questions.

Mariko nodded, watching the pleasantness with which Lupin talked about Shouhei. When he brought up the gang, Mariko winced a little. Little butterflies fluttering again, Little moments scattered in her mind. For a moment, she looked like she might be ill. Her face paled, and she leaned forward on the back of the bench seat. Through it, however, she responded curtly. "He...was. But not here. I knew him once, in Japan. I saw him the other day with you. I thought I'd ask..." If he was the same person she remembered? She couldn't even properly recount what it was she remembered, so that wasn't really a fair thing to say.

"I came on business, that's all." She shifted to answer his question, righting herself and looking to regain her composure. A pleasant smile crossed her features again. "I thought I might say hello to him...but I'm nervous he won't remember me." She said. The words came out easily this time, as if she was completely genuine about it. Was she? sometimes it was hard to tell. While she looked fine, the hand that gripped the back of the seat was white at the knuckles as she squeezed, trying to calm the butterflies in her mind.

Lupin seemed a bit startled by the fact this girl, Mariko saw the Shouhei and him. "She may have seen you during Shouheis awakening, you better find a way to confirm this." Well that's not going to happen, how is he supposed to weave that into a conversation. Lupin decided to keep talking as Mariko looked pretty nervous. "If you want I can text him and you two can meet up? Of course, you don't have to agree, I am just trying to be helpful."

Lupin stood up from the bench and turned his body around so he is properly facing Mariko. Lupin quickly noticed her hand turning white. Triboulet with a hint of panic in voice said to Lupin.
"Lupin I am freaking out for you, maybe you should tell Shouhei what's going on. Lupin responded with calming tone to Triboulet. "I will tell Shouhei if calm down Triboulet. I am sure there is a good solution to this problem." Lupin then with some slight hesitation in his face told Mariko what he hopes would instill some confidence into her. "If the biker gang stuff is true, I would imagine you come off as distinct compared to the people he would've likely dealt with. I hope that came out right. I am sure he will remember you." Lupin was somewhat scared he may have seriously screwed up and it might cost Shouhei his life. "Why are you nice to people now, aren't you supposed be dumping ice in sheds, why the change of heart." Triboulet said teasingly. Lupin gave himself a more relaxed demeanor. He didn't want Mariko to know that he thought she might be someone dangerous.

Mariko released the bench when the boy turned to face her, suddenly taken by how strange the situation was to the boy. If he told Shouhei about their meeting, it would get in the way of her own plans to corner him herself. She shook her head. "There is no reason to do that. I'll meet him on my own time. I'm sure he'll feel strange if he finds out I asked some stranger about him before greeting him myself." she waved her hand dismissively.

Biker gang? Yes, it was a biker gang, wasnt it...Mariko shook her head. She had learned enough about this person's relationship with Shouhei. What had she really sought to achieve with this anyway? It wasn't going to give her any answers apart from the obvious...

She decided to turn the conversation away from him. As it was, this was someone different she was talking to. She couldnt simply use him for information. Or rather, that wouldnt be proper. I dont believe I got your name...? Do you spend much time in this part of town? I'm new as you said, and I'd love it if you could recommend some sights?" she favored him with a comfortable smile that she didnt really feel. But smiles were meant for others anyway.

Lupin was now trying to do damage control. Maybe changing the subject would help the conversation go a bit smoother. "Oh sorry where are manners. My name is Lupin, nice to meet you Mariko." Lupin then did some stretching while talking about his experiences in Endymion. "Well I was planning to go to the karaoke bar in a nearby district. Do wanna go with me there? As for sights, Well I recommend going to East Eden, the as a whole is just beautiful, I am saving up some money to buy a house there. There is also backlight they have some cool shops there. Sunlake Palms have wonderful gardens, and Vista square has a movie theater and a cyber cafe."

Lupin finished off his stretches and started talking a little more. "There are a lot of cool places in Endymion its hard to recommend just a few stops." Lupin had a smile on his face, maybe this girl isn't an assassin maybe he was wrong about that. Lupin will still need to tell Shouhei later. Lupin then with a confident voice said to Mariko, "My only advice for visiting places is just to take your time and enjoy yourself don't rush it." Lupin then starts to show off his pogo stick a bit. "Do you want to see a cool trick." Lupin decided might aswell try to make her smile while he is here.

Mariko gave a small smile in response to Lupin's greeting, and listened to him list off various places in the city that were worth visiting. There really was a lot to do in this city, it seemed. But then, that was natural when the city was as boxed-in as it was. There needed to be lots of distractions from the dangerous reality that was the demons. She wondered something then, something plucking at the edges of her mind at the thought of Karaoke. "Is there any kind of...Idol presence in this city? Singers and dancers and stage performances?" She asked, tilting her head curiously, "I don't suppose I'd mind going there with you."

When he showed off his pogo stick, she looked a little bewildered, taking a step back to give him room and nodding. "Alright. I don't think I've ever seen anyone ride a pogo stick in person before." Which was, of course, a lie, as she had seen him just the other day with Shouhei.

Lupin had a smile as he answered. "There is a district called Suzie Q which has a strong idol presence if you want to be an idol that would be the place to go." Lupin seemed to be in much more comfortable mood. It almost makes Lupin forget that Mariko might be an assassin. Lupin then told Mariko in a reassuring tone. "We don't have to do this now if you don't want to its just a suggestion." Lupin said this to make sure Mariko isn't being coerced as that tends to get murky quickly if something goes wrong. Whatever at least things have calmed down overall.

Lupin after hearing what he thinks is approval starts to bounce on his pogo stick. He just did simple bounces at first but then proceeded to do a backflip with ease. As he continued to bounce he said to Mariko. "That's just a simple trick I can pull off much more crazy stuff if you want to see?" He is a pro what can go wrong?

Mariko hadn't actually been thinking about whether or not she wanted to go to the Karaoke bar with him. She'd just been being polite and following the conversation. Now that she was being asked again, she had to actually think about it. She logged the bit about the idol presence in Susie Q away for later. That might be something she'd need to inspect, after all. But...she couldn't see any reason not to go to the Karaoke bar with this person. She had no other plans at the moment. Shouhei's schedule would have him back at the apartment in a few hours and she could get eyes back on him then. "I really don't mind. I have nothing planned at the moment." she said with a small shrug, stepping back a little in order to watch him do his trick.

It was honestly pretty impressive. To flip like that and land on a single point like that...She imagined trying something similar with her tail and didn't think she had the coordination to pull it off. "That's very impressive, Lupin. I've never seen anything like that up close!" She admonished, watching with interest to see if he was going to do something else.

Lupin would perform another trick, that's right another one. This time when Lupin bounced on his pogo stick, as he was ascending he got his feet off his pogo stick and proceeded to swing the glorious pogo stick upwards and proceed to press his forehead against the handlebar. Thats right he got his pogo stick to look like a horn. He looks like a unicorn, its beautiful. Lupin then got his head off the pogo handle and jerked the stick down and quickly got his feet back on the foot pegs of the pogo stick. (Not joking that's what the foot areas of a pogo stick are called. Footpeg.)

Lupin then proceeds to get off the pogo stick and speaks with a happy tone. "I could do these tricks all day if I wanted to." Lupin was going to lead Mariko to the karaoke place, that was the plan until he started to receive a phone call. "I am sorry but I got to take this call." The call was from his brother Roi. Lupin accepted the call. "Hey Roi whats up?" Lupin was then greeted with a concerned Roi. "Hello Lupin hi, normally this is the part where I ask how have you been bro but there is something urgent that needs addressing. The convoy guys want someone to sign off on their delivery before they head out, and since the other orphans we sent to Endymion are busy at the moment, I am going to need you to sign off on the trip. You know my credit card number just use that to make sure these guys getting going into Selene. We really need those supplies Lupin, Timmy developed cold so we need all the supplies we can get." Lupin face had shown concern. He wasn't about to let little Timmy die to a common cold.

Lupin turned to Mariko and said in an apologetic tone. "I am sorry Mariko, I really hate to this but something really important has come up I need to solve effectively immediately if you want to meet at the place, I will give you the address, I will be at this at an hour at least. I am sorry." Lupin grabbed some paper in his pocket and a pen and proceeds to write the address and promptly gives it to Mariko. Then Lupin got back on his pogo stick and started to bounce away at high speeds. He needed to get this done. Lupin also feels pretty bad for ditching Mariko but orphans are a higher priority.

Lupin exits.

Mariko watched Lupin perform another trick. It was mostly amusing, and a little impressive. It made her think of some of the more unconventional dance moves she'd seen- or thought she'd see- in various rehearsals. Jumping and posing and silly little gimmicks. It was confidence, as much as skill, that captivated an audience. Lupin had both, silly as he was.

She took a step back as he received his call, feeling suddenly out of place. Who was she to claim Shouhei's friend as her own like this? To let him take her somewhere as if they hadn't just met under less than honest circumstances. She shook her head. "That's alright, Lupin. I'll meet up with you again sometime. There's no need to rush on my sake. Thank you for your time and you tricks." She gave the boy a curt smile and bow as he pogo'd away, and bit her lip in his absence. What was this gnawing feeling in her guts?