The Second Rumor [Gabe/Raidou] -Morning-

Gabe was slowly making his way over to the detective agency. Of course,  Gabe wanted to keep his appearances low by leaving behind the security detail. However, he was still all about his business and further prepared to continue to prep himself on negotiating with the woman. Either way, Gabe only hoped that he would be able to convince the woman on allowing them to use her services once more, probably guessing that it was going to cost him an arm and a leg this time around.

"But still, I have help now."

After walking into the detective agency, Gabe would give a small bow and take a seat.

"Detective, I request to use one of your services, if you will allow it. "

It was the same as usual worrying her pen away signing off and underlining words on paperwork after paperwork. Or scribbling notes on some details that were so dull that it threatened to put her to sleep. It's the usual day for Raidou Kuzunoha. It's little wonder, she thought, that her predecessor liked to be outside. Worrying your life away in a desk was grueling. Fortunately, that man from last time decided to pop-in again for the same reasons. "Oh, it's you again. You have another rumor for me? Alright, let's hear it."

"What kind of rumors? Well, knowing from the last encounter, I can assure you that it's a juicy rumor with some sort of factual evidence."

Adjusting himself, Lagi would fold his hands on the table as he started to explain his tale.

"So, do you know about the smile news studio? From what I heard, there seems to be a bit of a biased scenario offering government propaganda over the truth. The manager herself by the name of superbia seems to be shrouded in mystery, not even appearing in the public eye or not even among her peers. Perhaps there's something more to hide? A picture was taken of superbia at one point, that person resigned almost immediately and those close to them could reach that individual for contact. What could have been so dire that job security and even being social with loved ones can have an individual so closed off?"

Adjusting himself, Gabe would move along.

"Along with government propaganda, there also seems to be a circulation of tuning out the actual truth and facts from news reporting. For the writers that seem to cover things that smile news isn't fond of, those people end up resigning and disappearing. Either it's the threats to their well being, their families, or maybe they were fearless enough to go beyond the threats and actually act on these methods to spirit away these poor fellows. "

Hopefully, Raidou would allow this.

"Long story short, government propaganda is literally filtering out the first amendment and the abuse of power and relationship that superbia has results in harm towards those who actually have the strive and desire to do their jobs. I know there is danger in journalism, but to be afraid of the people who employed you in the first place? It's horrific, isn't it? Especially in that line of work. "

The detective listened intently to what Gabriel had to say for himself. As he articulated what he heard from the Reporter, it piqued her interest as thoughts began to race through her mind. When he was finished, it was her turn to reply. "A bold accusation, Sir. Just as worse, if not more worse than the last. Interesting... I've heard very interesting rumors in these parts of Endymion and yet they haven't been covered very extensively by the News Station. And yet we commonly see Cadets claiming victory after victory against the Psyche-Terrorists. It is a little flimsy, but it has a leg to stand on. Very well, consider it done... for a price. The same as last time, 3000 VC."

Gabe took the money from his possession and lined it up evenly in order to show that he wasn't short this time.

"Ok, 3000 VC is all here. I didn't manage to drop any of the funds this time so I guess it's a good thing that I came straight here, right?" Pushing the money over to Raidou's side, Gabe would then give her an acknowledging nod and wait for her to start counting the funds.

"With this, the transaction should be complete. However, I did have something unrelated that I wanted to talk about. " Looking around and noticing all of the stacks of paper afoot, Gabe would rub his chin.

"This workload, and the fact that you are the only one here at times. How do you manage this on your own? Do you ever hire any help to at least act as a secretary? "

Of course, this wasn't the lucky clover, Gabe wasn't expecting everyone to have the same things that he does at his disposal.

Unlike last time, he was able to cough up the dough right away. She took it and counted it up to tally, just a quick check. It was all there and so, a new job was to be had. Today, her demons would be busy in the morning. It's just another day at the Kuzunoha Detective Agency, after all. "Yes, this will do. Like last time, you will soon see the results. I hope it will be to your liking."

She expected him to start leaving like last time. But, it seems he wanted to lounge around a little longer. But hearing how she was all alone in his view caused her to chuckle. "If I couldn't handle mundane tasks like this, I wouldn't be fit for the job now, would I? But, no. I sometimes do have some kind of help, but I figured they could take a break from last night. Speaking of which, now that you're here, would you mind lending me a hand?"

That was interesting, so she did have some people helping after all. Well, it was a good sign that the detective wasn't on her own completely and had some people to rely on. At the very least, it also meant that Gabe's requests were also answered at a proper time, with the hopes that things will go on smoothly tonight. In addition to that, it seems the woman was asking Gabe for some help.

"Oh? Depends on the request of course, what do you need help with, detective?"

Gabe was curious, to say the least, this woman was a mystery for a while.

The Kuzunoha seemed glad that this relatively unknown gentleman was willing to lend her a hand. Really, this whole paperwork stuff was such an immense bore. She would rather be out there lurking around and examining interesting places for clues. Or sometimes be in the heat of battle flashing her blade through her intricate swordplay. "Excellent. Really, being a slob like me can make this such a pain... Could you try sorting through those case files on the table there? I need them alphabetized."

She pointed towards a nearby table that was between the guest seats. There was an impressive stack of manila folders with papers sticking out of them, several towers loomed on top of the small table. Having rarely any need for such seats, Raidou found it necessary to use the table that no one really bothered to use. Except during at night when she could just wind down and feast on some shoddy Chinese. Raidou went back to her notes and paperwork as usual while Gabriel would work as he was told.

"Seems like quite a bit of work. Luckily, I have my morning free..."

Loosening his tie, Gabe would shift on over to the table and begin to look over the things that Raidou had asked him to do. After pushing up his glasses, he started to sort everything from alphabetical order in order to help the woman out. Of course, working for free might be something that is questionable when it comes to just paying the woman for a service. However, there could be a chance that Gabe could build a strong relationship with her and perhaps lower the price in time. If spreading the rumors became more affordable, perhaps Gabe would have enough money in order to buy supplies for their hits.

---

This was actually taking quite a bit of time, but Gabe managed to sort through the documents that needed to be alphabetized.

"Wow, I never necessarily knew how my own secretaries feel when I kept things unorganized. I guess it's good to know how it feels to be in their shoes for a change. Then again, I used to have a manga store."

As Raidou continued on her work, she glanced back towards Gabriel if he needed any kind of help. But thankfully, it was easy work. Though it was mostly tedious that made it the most annoying. She was glad that for this time there was someone who was willing to do it for her. Work was being finished and the time was passing by pretty quickly as they focused. She sighed with a wry smile. "I guess being slobs is what we have in common. I usually have my demons do some of the work when I just lounge around watching soap operas all night... and maybe read some manga while I'm at it. So what happened to your store, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Birds of a feather. However, I bet we still prefer the company of people that we can count on, no? If there were more of me than other people around, I think it would be a bit of a difficulty for me to get around to everything. " Laughing to himself a bit, Gabe would adjust himself and place the documents to the side.

"Well, the store was called HitScrollsEntertainment, it was my own business based off of a partnership that I made with a literature country with three original manga story arcs that I made from the past five years since the great divide. I guess it was because I was young and lost my parents, I didn't really have anybody to look over the contract that I signed into, they swept the rights of my creative work from right under my feet. From the storyboards that I supplied, it's going to follow the arc that intended for most of these stories until the fifth issue, but it all goes rouge from there. Right now, it would be a long legal battle that I wouldn't be able to focus on because of other situations occurring, as well as the fact that my foster father owns the Lucky clover conglomerate and wanted me to manage the location in Endymion. It's a sad story, but I sold the store and cut my losses, the only unique store that was the single provider of my original manga, as well as others. "

Gabe then looked at her.

"So that happened, I just hope one punch frost and the others remains popular at the very least, even with my absence. "

Raidou nodded in agreement. He wasn't wrong there. People naturally wanted to put their trust on others. It was a fundamental element of human nature as a social species. Just like how she did with Gotou and him. But sometimes you have to believe in yourself. No one would be there for you forever, especially after the Eternal Divide. Sometimes you just had to trust in yourself.

"My condolences, Mister Gatsby. I'm sure it'll work out in the end. Always keep a look out in the sales. It always dictates the life of the series. " If she had to put a finger on it, Raidou could guess that he lost his parents during the Divide. Then again, she did remember this man coming in during the establishment's grand opening and asking to find them. Perhaps he finally moved on in the end. Though on the part about his manga career, it sounded surprisingly cutthroat and tough. And it's for some manga she never even heard of. Odd. "While I read some mangas, I can't say I'm too much of a connoisseur myself. What is One Punch Frost about?"

"Surprisingly, I still have some copies of the very first issues of my manga's laying around my place. Let's see, would i have one in my suitcase here?"

Rummaging through his things, Gabe was intent in finding some inkling of his lost passion inside of the suitcase, but found nothing to no avail. "ok, so i don't have a sample. However, one punch frost was about a snowman that was so strong, it could defeat all of it's opponents with one punch. The motif of it was that it's a heero for fun. It sounds really silly but.... its based off of a real hero, one punch frost really does exist, it saved my life during the divide. All of my mangas are based upon something in my life, more or less. "

"I'm sure wherever they are, they appreciate the attention you've given them." It wasn't every day that you had a demon save your life. But on the other hand, it proved that they weren't entirely the monsters the media and society liked to portray them as. Hearing this pleased her. On the other hand, she was curious about the account and would've asked for more detail. At least until her phone began to ring.

She answered it and put the receiver to her ear. The detective waited patiently and started another short conversation. "Kuzunoha Detective Agency. Yes? ...It's today? I understand, I will be there."

She hung up by putting it back in her pocket. Drat. To think there would still be more work for her in this morning. While it was a good thing to have Gabriel helping her, it didn't stop the fact she had more obligations to resolve. The woman sighed and apologetically looked at Gabriel. "I'm afraid I will have to close up shop for a while. Before I go, is there anything you want to address?"

"No, to be honest with you, I was surprised that things turned out this smooth. Before I completely botched the last incident, I thought you were a difficult person to negotiate with or maybe even talk to. That perception holds false, you are, after all, a skilled detective that needs to make a living in spite of the happenings in this city. " Getting up, Gabe would give Raidou a smile.

"You know, the thing about trusting people is based on their personality. To me, it's based on their stories and circumstances. Perhaps with my next visit, maybe you'll tell me the reason why you choose to be sleuth of all things? Though, I guess I'll just leave it to my imagination for the time being."

Moving close to the door after getting his things, Gabe would give Raidou a wave.

"I'll pay a visit some other time, thanks for the chat. "

-exit