[Miyabigaoka] Meido no Hitsuji

[Apollymi]

http://i1053.photobucket.com/albums/s474/benihime469/RPU/Air%20Gear/Meido_no_Hitsuji_1_zpsvwfoqmnw.jpg

A maid cafe situated in the lower portion of a nice brickwork building located between the perpetual construction zone and the residential district Miyabigaoka. It employs young men and young women who wear uniforms to serve and play hosts to their guests. It is run by a man named Waka who is both tall and impeccably dressed. At this establishment the maids and butlers are required to address their patrons with the utmost respect. Their only job is to make sure that their guests have the most pleasant experience possible.

[Bloodedge]

Early one Thursday afternoon, the Sky King by the name of Takeuchi Shoichi encroached upon the maid cafe. He had surprisingly never visited this place before, but on this day, he had business here. Of course, that wouldn't stop him from relaxing after stopping by. He couldn't even be sure whether the person he sought here would actually be found, after all, but that hardly mattered, as he stilled pushed open the door and stepped inside to see what awaited him within.

[Apollymi]

Shoichi was stepping into the Maid Cafe for the first time, but the workers there would greet him as if he were a constant fixture around this place. Such was their job as they workers in this establishment. A group of maids dressed in varying degrees of a similar black and white french maid uniform all stood before the door. The ones who weren't working with customers would utter a greeting which was common in their line of work. "Okaerinasaimase, goshujinsama!~" there were many voices among these, and two of them were ones the young Sky King might recognize. One belonged to a rather scantily clad red haired maid with a skull shaped bow holding back the bangs of her styled red ponytail. Her modified maid outfit was a short skirt open midriff and thigh high black tights. The other belonged to a pink haired girl whose hair was up in a high bun with bangs and the light waves hanging loosely down below. This girl, had an entirely different appeal and seemed to be rather innocent and soft voiced. She was Nishimura Mikasa, the Thunder Queen of his generation. Unlike her co-worker, her maid uniform was modest and covered everything but fitted to the appeal that was the sweet look of her personality.

[Bloodedge]

"Ohayou gozaimasu!" Shoichi said in response to the group of maids who greeted him. The two recognizable voices caught his ear, and though he was here for the red-haired woman, he was far too astounded by the presence of the other to not comment on it. "Eh? Mikasa? You have a job?" he asked, taking a brief pause before posing an even more imperative query. "... You have a maid outfit!?"

[Apollymi]

The pink haired girl looked directly at the Sky King and went white in the face. Completely pale as if she'd seen a ghost, it was completely and utterly shocking to her that he was here. After all she figured this place was one of the safest for not unnecessarily running into her peers. Right after the thought of that though the girl's face blushed intensely and she bowed immediately her large eyes pleading. "Sho-nii, I ah. Of course, I have a job, that shouldn't be surprising, I'm 19 years old and I live alone. I have to pay my rent. " and that was all she had to say about that. This would immediately caused her red haired senior to look at the blushing girl with a big grin on her face. But Mikasa would go on to explain about the outfit. "And the costume comes with the job..." she said. That pleading look returned to her eyes as she spoke again. "Please, please don't tell the others about this. I'd die." she said small tears coming to the corners of her eyes. She'd been really good about not crying about every little thing since they revisited their Tower, but the stress of this job seemed to bring back a few of her more childish tenancies.

"Mika-chan you know this guy?" were the words which came from the red haired young woman known as Akemi. Mikasa looked at the woman and nodded. "Hai, Senpai. Sho-nii is an old friend of mine. We... grew up together." she said knowing that explaining the life of gravity children to people who didn't know or understand it would be remarkable. Still a smile came to the woman's face as she also bowed, after all she was still on the clock. "Ah no worries then, but remember we're still on the clock. " she offered the small bit of advice to the girl as her eyes flicked over to the manager who was strolling through. Mikasa took the hint and bowed as well and they spoke in unison. "Who would you like to serve you, goshujinsama?"

[Bloodedge]

"Ah, sou ka. Y'know, you could always just get a room at my place," Shoichi asserted, only remembering then that the house he lived in was now his by deed. "Oh, right. The house is mine now. No rent. So, y'know... if rent is stressin' ya' out and all..." As for the lass begging him not to tell the others about this job of hers, he merely nodded, only to then have his attention dragged toward the redhead he'd come to see. "Yare yare. I gotta choose between maids? That just ain't fair~" he said, though he then looked toward Mikasa. "Gomen. I gotta go with Kagami-san on this one. Next time, though."

[Apollymi]

"Nani? Really? That'd be awesome!" over all the girl seemed really relieved. She knew before that several of the other gravity children had been living with the Sky King, and it seemed like good fun and a way to rehash their old lives together and stay in contact. She'd only not taken this option before, because well, the rent at his house was even higher than it was for her one bedroom. She might really have to consider moving if this was the case. Moving right along, though it came time for the Sky King to choose his maid, and it seemed he was going with her Senpai in this moment. A gentle bow came from the pink haired young woman as Shoichi apologized for choosing someone else instead. "Hai, it's fine, arigatou gozaimasu... Sho-nii." she said seeming to be more relaxed into her job. Once she stood up, Kagami Akemi would turn to the Sky King and smile. "Hai, this way, goshujinsama~" just like that she was leading him off to a table in which she'd serve him for the remainder of her shift, which was roughly forty-five minutes, as she'd earlier gotten the girl Mikasa to cover the rest since she wasn't presently in school because of some freakish weather that had happened there a couple of months prior

Once at the table the red haired young woman would motion for the young man to take a seat. "How can I serve you today?" she asked, seeming to be really into the maid character thing. Mostly she was quite fond of the job, partly she never knew when her manager was going to sneak up on her, and this job had the sort of flexible hours she needed to do the other things she liked so much.

[Bloodedge]

"Hai hai~♪" he said when urged to follow Akemi toward where he would be seated. Upon his arrival, he slid into the booth around the table she had led him to. "Cozy little job ya' got here. How long's it been now?" he asked. With a single glance at the menu, the Sky King knew exactly what he wished to order, and so, he closed it mere seconds after it was opened. "Two Maid Parfaits. One for you. You guys can do that here, right?"

[Apollymi]

"I've been working this job since before we first met." Akemi explained of her current situation. Which was the truth, this was one of several jobs she'd been juggling around the time she'd met the Sky King. This was her longest standing job, holding it for about a year, but she'd only recently cut her ties with her other jobs and settled into taking more shifts here. "But, I've only recently begun working this job on a regular enough basis to be considered a model employee." she said calmly as he looked over the menu only to close it shortly after and make an order which she could fully acknowledge. She took the menu but to his question she had only this to say. "As a member of the staff here, we aren't supposed to fraternize with customers more than the handbook allows." she said only to have her manager stalk by giving her the most severe expression with just his eyes. A small smile came to her face. "But if you wish to be nice and dine with your servant, you can. It will only cost you a nominal extra fee, goshujinsama~" she chimed waiting for his answer. This was a business and thus all about making money, the girls were encouraged to please their guests, but only when they understood that this was a service and nothing more. Stalking the girls, or trying to date them on the clock was strictly prohibited and their manager would make the customers who tried to do these things pay in a way much more severe than the out of pocket fees they paid for the girls to spend time with them. "Thank you for your kindness, goshujinsama~" she'd say regardless of how he chose to answer her question. Then she'd bow and head off to the kitchen to the approving nod of the manager as he went of to watch Mikasa's progress with a table which seemed to be in love with her cuteness. She got nothing but an approving nod from the man as she cutely served the guests she was now dealing with apparently the pink haired girl's friendliness made her really good at this job, and her crying only earned her more tips as it added to her cuteness in the eyes of the customers who helped her out.

Akemi would return a few moments later with the parfait(s) that were needed to work to the Sky King's request.

[Bloodedge]

"Handbook, huh?" he questioned, though he did not expect an answer at all. In fact, the young man left no opportunity for one as he immediately followed with his response to the subject of dining with servants. "Blah blah fees. I'm the fuckin' Sky King; I don't care about any fees." With that said, and with the redhead's leave of the table, Shoichi awaited the arrival of his order and conversation partner of choice for the afternoon. As he did, he eyed the wandering manager with curiosity, finding something to be a bit strange about the man's behavior. Whatever the case, it was something Shoichi shrugged off when Akemi returned to the table. As he slid his own parfait closer to himself, he gestured with his free hand to the space beside him in the booth. "So, you still racing?"

[Apollymi]

Upon her return Akemi was greeted by the gesture to join him at the table, which she did, with a quick nod of her head, lest her manager give her another disparaging look. Moving right along she slid her own parfait closer to herself and began mixing it up a bit. These desserts were made by each maid on an individual level. So each one was different based on the tastes of the maid that created them. Given Akemi's own tastes, hers included kiwi and chocolate along with the creme and yogurt which were the standard pieces of it. To the question of if she still raced a smile came to the girl's face. "Of course I do. It's part of the reason I trimmed down to a single job. I can make most of the extra cash I need in the parts war." she said moving right along she'd begin eating her food. "Itadakimasu~" she chimed in a friendly manner a large smile on her face because her job required her to appear to be friendly at all times. "Is there a reason I wouldn't be racing?" she asked. It seemed like a strange question coming from the Sky King.

[Bloodedge]

"Kiwi? That's interesting." Without much hesitation, Shoichi began mixing his parfait until he was certain there was proper harmonization between the flavors within it. As he did this, he learned that Akemi was indeed still racing. This was one positive note toward his cause. "There's never a reason for anyone to avoid racing. Just needed to check... And, y'know, shoot you an offer to join my new team."

[Apollymi]

"Hai~ it was the one I liked best when I first started working here. It's a bit of an acquired taste though." she said knowing that her fruit choice was strange to most. Moving right along it seemed as if the Sky King had no problem with the information that she was still racing and the news came with an offer to join his new team. This brought nothing but confusion to the Gem Queen's face. "Eh? You have a new team? You're the Sky King what do you possibly get out of starting a new team? A second Sky Regalia?" she asked. Such a thing was truly unheard of. She also didn't actually answer his question about joining his team. This was purposeful.

[Bloodedge]

"Sugoi, sugoi," he said casually while taking the first bite of the parfait. He seemed to enjoy the flavor, much like he did with any and every confection he'd ever had. As for the offer to join his team, Shoichi expected everything from questions to resistance. This was, of course, part of the reason he chose to seek Akemi for his team; she didn't immediately understand why he'd be joining. "There are gonna be some strong guys in this one; way stronger than the ones last time. I'm not gonna lie... the biggest reason I want to participate is because I don't wanna miss out on the fun. There are other reasons, though. That boyfriend of yours is a Gravity Child like me, so you might know... but whether you do or don't, the Gravity Children for this Parts War are kids, and we gotta build 'em up so they don't get wiped out the same way some of my friends did years ago."

[Apollymi]

"Hai, glad you like it." she said as the Sky King finally tasted the dessert he'd ordered. She didn't really know this young man, so she didn't know he simply enjoyed sweets, but she was about to know something more about him. As she sat with the Sky King and ate her parfait she was given an odd set of reasons for his future participation. Along with this information was the mention that the most of the participants in this parts war were children whom like her former love interest Atlas were gravity children. This would of course mean they had their own regalia. She was aware of this information, because the members of her team were planning a bunch of random heists of several of these children. "Uh, no. First off, I have my own team and we have our own reasons for participation. Most of which has nothing to do with protecting anyone just the opposite for the most part. We aren't in it for fun. We're trying to win. And none of that other stuff concerns me." she said. Soon enough she'd finish her own parfait and stand at the side of the table with the forced work smile on her face. She was quite stunned that the Sky King seemed to have such noble reasons for wanting to participate but she wasn't the noble sort. If one needed to know why she and her group were gathered, they needed only to know the name of her team. "Sorry, Shoichi. Good luck finding members for your team." she said standing and giving a bow. It would be then that her eyes shifted to the clock and she knew her day was coming to an end. She looked over and made eye contact with the free standing Mikasa who simply nodded her understanding. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I have to cut out a bit early. I have some stuff I need to do today. Hope to see you again, goshujinsama~" she added as her manager walked by and gave her a simple nod to acknowledge that he understood the agreement that had already been reached. He'd stand at the side and wait to receive payment from Shoichi as Akemi left to change and head off for whatever afternoon activity she had planned.

[Bloodedge]

Akemi's reasons for denying him seemed to be that her current team worked in opposition to his ideals. He wondered if this had anything to do with how his second meeting with this woman had ended, but as he looked at her with his ocular ability activating, he saw something nigh unmistakable. "... Sou ka. Alright. If ya' don't wanna join up, I'll just keep buggin' ya'. See ya' tomorrow," he said with a wink as the redhead left his company. With the arrival of the manager, Shoichi slid an ample amount of yen across the table; enough to cover the bill, the extra fee, and a tip. "You can have the rest if you want," he spoke to the man as he, himself, left the table.

[Apollymi]

The words of the Sky King reached the young Gem Queen without much fuss. Still she didn't seem to be much into what he had to say. She could only hope he wasn't serious about bugging her the next day just to try and recruit her. Such a thing could cause her a legitimate number of problems and he wouldn't even know. Soon enough the young woman was slipping out the backdoor in her street clothes and ATs. Headed for the Abenobashi Shopping Arcade, she had presents to buy.

Meanwhile, the manager would take the payment in the place of the young woman and leave with it and the rest of the dessert. It wasn't his personal responsibility to see the gentleman out and a most devious smile came over his face as he was likely going back to his office to consume the rest of the dessert one of the hidden bonuses of working at this place. "Thank you for your patronage, hope to see you again." this man said without any fuss. After Shoichi left the table and the manager disappeared into the back he'd feel the gentle poke of the pink haired girl at his right. "Sho-nii, are you leaving?" she asked, more than free to slip out for a few minutes now that the manager had his dessert, which she knew from experience.

[Bloodedge]

Following a nod of acknowledgement to the manager, Shoichi began to move again. However, he took pause when he felt a poke to his right, and looked in that direction to see and hear Mikasa addressing him. "I was planning on it, but..." he said as he turned his body to face the young woman head-on. "It's not like I have shit to do or anything. What's up?"

[Apollymi]

"Um, were you serious when you said I could have a room at your house?" she asked feeling it was necessary to explain. Mikasa was planning on paying her rent on this day, in addition to doing a few other things. If this was going to be the case, then she could skip out and gather a couple of friends to help her move out instead, since her rental contract was monthly. "I am supposed to pay my rent today, but... if you're serious I can get some friends together and help me switch instead." she said with wide eyes. She was a rather odd girl, but she sort of missed living with her childhood friends, she enjoyed their company.

[Bloodedge]

"Eh?" he uttered. Shoichi seemed confused that Mikasa would even ask him such a question, as if he were the type to ever joke about such things. Of course, he was the type for such random joking statements, but that was neither here nor there. "Well, yeah. It's a huge ass house, and it's just the three of us now. It's not like we're hard up on space or anything. If ya' want, I can even help with the move."

[Apollymi]

"Thank goodness~" said the girl who seemed to smile pretty widely after the fact. She still had a couple of hours left on the shift she was covering for Akemi but that wasn't really a big deal to her. Now that she had a new place she could do some other things instead and focus on school a bit more. "Um, are you sure you want to help with the move. Isn't there a Black Order meeting this afternoon? And I don't get off for a couple of hours covering the shift for Senpai. It could be a while..." she said. Having knowledge of the Black Order's meeting schedule while technically having never been part of it, she'd been warned of this meeting as something of an open call from Shizuka who'd been rather gently trying to recruit her for a while. But the pink haired girl couldn't seem to wrap her head around why anyone would want her around after she'd failed her last team so drastically.

[Bloodedge]

"Eto... yeah, there is a meeting. But! That ain't important! I mean... it's pretty important, but so's helping out." As Shoichi spoke, he held a hand to his chin in deep thought. He was really burning both ends against the middle here, wanting to help Mikasa with the move, and wanting to attend the meeting to find his team members. "I got it! If your friends take care of the packing, I'll bring the transportation! Sound good?"

[Apollymi]

Hearing Shoichi out made the pink haired girl quite happy. She'd forgotten how much the Sky King was always willing to help and how energetic and enthusiastic he always was regardless of the situation. "Well, yes helping is nice and all but you are giving me a free place to stay already. Don't stress yourself about it." the girl stated, only to have the Sky King apparently come up with a better solution. It seemed that he would help with the back end of the move if she and her friends took care of the fore part. She thought about this and decided it was possible, with a quick message to a couple of her favorites. "Hai, we can do that. Thanks again, Sho-nii!~"

[Bloodedge]

"Hai hai! Always willing to lend a hand," Shoichi said with his usual grin. With that, he turned on his heel and began moving toward the exit of the building. "Two hours, yeah? See ya' then." Shoichi wasted no more time before taking his leave of the cafe. Whether Mikasa knew it or not, though, he was sure not to wander far at all. Whenever she left the building, he would be standing across the street with a pocky stick in his mouth.

[Apollymi]

"Hai!~" the girl said as the Sky King left. She assumed he'd run off to do other things, and after two hours and fifteen minutes had passed, Mikasa was exiting the Maid Cafe in her street clothes. These presently included random purple and black clothing articles and two different colored tights one plain black and one with purple butterflies. She'd dressed for work so she wasn't wearing her ATs and instead she was just wearing a plain pair of white flat bottomed boots. Soon enough after removing her face from her phone, she saw the Sky King across the street with a pocky stick in his mouth. This was rather strange she expected to have to call him, but no matter she didn't live that far away. "Sho-nii, my friends are all done with the packing~" she mentioned before explaining where she currently lived. "My old apartment is in the residential district a little building right next to the big grove of Sakura trees. You know the one?" she asked. It was only a few blocks from where they were presently standing.

[Bloodedge]

Frankly, Shoichi had forgotten exactly how long he'd been waiting outside. He had occupied himself with mobile games for quite some time in a chair in front of the cafe, but he now stood against a street pole with his eyes on the sky. When Mikasa called his name, he came to realize she had officially left work, and sporting a new ensemble to boot. "Sugoi! I like the new digs. Goin' on a date tonight or something?" he asked. When she went on to tell where her current abode was, he swirled his right hand around in the air overhead, bringing into existence a wind corridor which climbed into the sky and curved in the direction of the residential area. "Hai. It's not far from my place, then. Same neighborhood Tink's house was in." With his wind tunnel complete, Shoichi turned toward Mikasa with an outstretched hand and a smile. The wind swirled around his body, forcing the billowing of his hair and clothes, though he seemed to avoid being dragged into its current by his own control. If Mikasa accepted his hand though, the pair of them would be carried by these winds toward the residential area of which she spoke.

[Apollymi]

Shoichi complimented the Thunder Queen's outfit and she simply smiled shaking her head from left to right while waving it off. "Thanks Sho-nii, but it's nothing like that. When I went and had my hair style changed my stylist recommended an overhaul. I had nothing else to do so I kind of went with it. I'm glad other people like it too~" she beamed seemingly very happy with her recent clothing upgrades. "Usagi-chan lived near there? Eto... I should go out more... I never see anyone outside of school." she mentioned looking up to notice the billowing wind tunnel and beyond this the breeze seeming to come directly from the Sky King himself. Mikasa's eyes widened at the sight. It was something very different but since the young man was smiling and had an extended hand she took it. Not because she trusted him implicitly or because it looked like fun, but simply because he was a reliable friend, which was more than she could say for herself.

[Bloodedge]

"Huh. That's weird, but whatever. It definitely suits you more." The moment his hand was taken, Shoichi began to fly. This route would take them no time at all between here and the residential district, but in the meantime, Shoichi addressed the given words of the Thunder Queen. "Yare yare. Don't be such a shut-in. We gotta get you out and about. Wanna hang tomorrow?"

[Apollymi]

"Weird?" she questioned the word. She had no idea what about a stylist offering wardrobe advice could even be counted as weird. Moving right along, she looked around as they moved through the wind tunnel and took in the Sky King's words about being a bit of a shut in. This was rather true, but she often couldn't bring herself to just go out and do things. At the mention of the potential of the two of them hanging out she simply nodded. "That'd be pretty cool. I have a shift to work tomorrow. But before or after that would be pretty awesome~" she stated. She really needed to get out more so she'd start there and see what could happen. After all, she missed hanging out with the people of her own generation, and if she did this perhaps she'd get a bit better about how she interacted with everyone in general.

[Bloodedge]

For the second day in a row, the white-haired Sky King of the second generation made footfall before the business known as Meido no Hitsuji. He had both formed and completed his team on the previous day, and they had even risen in rank during their first official Parts War. For all intents and purposes, the team he named White Spell was quite solid, but he still had a certain set of goals in mind outside of the team itself. As such, he entered the cafe once more, assuming the young woman he sought could once again be found working in the early afternoon.

[Apollymi]

At the Meido no Hitsuji, a group of young women dressed in various degrees of maid wear seemed to be lined up and waiting. And peppered in among this group today were a few gentlemen as well, not that this would likely matter to the Sky King. In fact, there were still two recognizable faces in the establishment. Though one figured she wasn't being looked for as she now lived in the same house as the Sky King and if he needed to see her he could at any point during his day. Besides that little fact she was busying herself with a table of young men who seemed to like her company playing rock, paper, scissors. The other a rather busty tanned redhead seemed to be stunned that he'd appeared twice in a twenty four hour time period. She would have commented on this, if protocol didn't demand a very specific greeting from all the free maids present. "Okaerinasaimase, goshujinsama!~" she chimed, all while her overprotective slightly sinister manager lurked in the background, seemingly satisfied they had a new regular customer.

[Bloodedge]

Shoichi had all but forgotten the rather interesting method of customer-greeting this facility had, but upon receiving it, he rubbed the back of his head and grinned. "Tadaima," he said, stepping forward to be directly inline with the redhead he sought. He was quite sure she knew he had come for her again, as per his statement of the previous day, but it was unlikely that all the others would assume such a thing. "You get first draft again. Go figure~"

[Apollymi]

The redhead was indeed aware that he had come to see her. She wondered if he would simply give up this whole random idea he had about her riding for his team, after all it was nothing she was interested in. But, she was at work, so she put on her best smile and escorted him to his seat while all the others left seemed to go back to their jobs while they waited for the next customer to enter. "You know, if you keep coming here like that... they will eventually assume you're stalking me... and make me look busy whenever ya' get here.~" she mentioned ever so casually. Once they reached the booth she intended to have him seated at she handed him a menu and smiled at him. "So, how can I serve you today, goshujinsama?" she asked, wanting to skip the recruitment speech entirely but somehow having the feeling that this simply wasn't possible.

[Bloodedge]

Without much of a wait at all, Shoichi was brought to a table by the red-haired maid/waitress. He took a seat, but held out his hand to reject the menu when it was offered. "Three Maid Parfaits. One for the boss this time," he said. On his previous visit, the manager had been very observant of the interaction he was having with this woman, and it was his intention to avoid making trouble for anyone if at all possible. With what he'd learned from the extra time he spent here with Mikasa, he thought to perhaps provide a small distraction for the manager this time around. "And nobody's gonna think I'm stalking you. If they did, I'm pretty sure they'd think you were fine with it, since you didn't have me taken out for harassment."

[Apollymi]

"Three?!" the woman said seemingly surprised. But she supposed she could see why such a thing was necessary, even so, it would mean a bit of dedication from the young woman herself so she simply bowed while taking the menu away. "Well, that is partially true, but... paying customers unless they are proven dangerous are still paying customers. They would try and busy you with someone else while getting you to spend your money, before they turned you away completely~" she said. And with that she headed off. Soon enough she'd be seen behind the bar crafting three of her maid special parfaits. It took her a few minutes but once she was done she took one over to her manager behind the bar, telling him that it was from the young man she was with presently. A small smirk came to the manager's face before he disappeared back to his office to have his dessert which he secretly loved in peace.

Soon after, Akemi was back at the table giving Shoichi his dessert with a long spoon and taking a seat across from him and stirring hers with an identical spoon. "So, you came back. Am I to assume you are still singing the same song?" she asked of him seeming more than ready to get this conversation over with.

[Bloodedge]

Akemi's initial shock at his request was about what Shoichi expected, but he was certain she would see his reasoning. And indeed, that seemed to be the case. The Sky King waited around for the couple of minutes it took Akemi to return with two of the parfaits, and when his was placed in front of him, he immediately began stirring it. "Itadakimasu~" he said prior to taking the first bite. This Gem Queen was eager to get down to business, apparently. This was obviously due to a distaste for the subject at hand, but Shoichi was sure he would change that eventually. "Yep. Well, besides the sweet tooth. I dig this parfait about as much as I dig the idea of you being in White Spell. So... What's keepin' ya' from joining up?"

[Apollymi]

An eye roll from this red haired woman was likely expected. Though she was busy enjoying her mini-break and the snack she got for free as well. When the Sky King named his team, her brows drew together. "That team that was just named yesterday and ranked up immediately taking out that A-ranked team the Orient Express that was you?" she said. Akemi knew a lot about this situation, but that was only because of how she'd spent the previous evening, in the presence of her two younger brothers. Moving right along, she had to further explain herself so she took her first bite and used the time to gather her thoughts. "Look, like I said, I have my own team. I run my own team... I can't abandon ship just 'cause someone asks me to. Besides, I told ya' I'm not interested in what you stand for... I am not gonna be on a team that doesn't intend to win. There is no profit in that." she mentioned. If one hadn't already figured it out, the Gem Queen before them was a bit about the money, besides that her whole team was built around the parts trade, she had no intention of going in, if she couldn't reap parts or make a profit off of what was taken.

Meanwhile in his office, the dapper man known as Waka had closed the door behind him and sat rather properly at his desk. His legs crossed at the ankle as he pulled himself forward in his swivel chair as he stared upon the delight that was the Maid Parfait. Each one of these was made especially by a particular maid of the cafe to her own or his own specific tastes. Each showed the personality of its creator, and above all things this was what the man Waka enjoyed above all things. He took a singular deep breath as he began to stir the dessert, taking in the delicate bouquet across his palate. Once he was satisfied he would pull the spoon up from the dish and relish in a single bite. When he did the'd leave the spoon backwards in his mouth as a single moan of happiness escaped his mouth. "Mmmmm~"

[Bloodedge]

"Yep, that's us. I had to improvise a bit since you didn't join yesterday, but I ran into a couple of girls who joined up when I left here. They're pretty fun to hang out with," he said as his spoon casually drifted around within his parfait. There was a certain amount of distaste he was receiving from this woman about his offer to have her join White Spell, and it mostly seemed to be related to the lack of profit. Shoichi found this interesting. Perhaps there was more reason she could be made to see in this moment, so he spoke more as he stared into his dessert with the Over-Cross Twinkle Eye of a Brain Charger. "Yare yare. I don't like being like this. There's more profit than you would get by not joining. White Spell. Chimera. Vongola. Black Hand. We're all participating in this war. Any one of us could destroy you and your team as a warm-up. What's worse is, we would, because a team like yours is exactly what we're here to stop this time. I like you... and I think you could be good... but if we have to be enemies in a Parts War, I'll crush you without a second thought, and you'll never even think about joining the Parts War again."

[Apollymi]

"Good. I'm glad you filled out your team, it's always nice to have fun people around." the woman said, and this was a completely genuine statement. She was happy he'd been able to make his team work without her, and figured because of this, he would continue to make this happen. Regardless, it seemed that a change would be happening in the Sky King, that she'd never rightly witnessed before. And with it occurring right in front of her she saw the change in his eye which was something completely other than what she'd witnessed from anyone else. Moreover his attitude and everything about the way he spoke to her changed in light of this and it was completely baffling. "What?! I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before... what kind of weird shit..." she mentioned while she tried to pull herself together and seemed to be failing at.

She'd completely stopped eating just to stare at the Sky King in front of her, as he apparently made the point that the Parts War could be profitable to her on his side. Beyond that, he seemed to be under the assumption that his small team and the others which were apparently also run by members of the Black Order seemed to want to completely do away with a team like hers for the simple reason of its existence. "Sorry, I had to get myself together. But really? So, you and your friends don't like what my team does, so it's just on you to wipe us out... that's a bit fucked up. No way around it. I don't have to agree with anything you say, but it's a bit fascist to try to shove your agenda on to everyone else. Eliminating teams 'cause you have the power to... you're taking advantage... and in that case have no moral ground to stand on. We operate now within the normal rules of the parts war. No more no less. We don't have to be nice or good to make our way... and that's our right, yeah? Not just one road to the sky or the kind of bullshit dreams you guys feed your masses. I'm not on board with such a dream... no other way around it." she finished up and then went back to eating. It was almost absurd to her that anyone would bother stopping any other group from doing anything so long as they didn't have to cross paths. And as far as she was concerned what she wanted wouldn't put her into anything with anyone from the Black Order at all. And while this entire conversation happened, the manager would be eating his parfait, enjoying every single bit of it.

[Bloodedge]

"So that's the route you're going to take, huh?" Shoichi questioned when the woman's speech came to an end. "A bunch of people battling for the Sky Regalia is fine, but joining up to stop people who want the Sky Regalia because it's the Sky Regalia, is immoral? What would someone like that do once they had it? Infinite power over all technology... You could own the world if you wanted. Take over nuclear arms across the globe, shut down anyone with the power to stop you... no. At that point, no one but another Sky King even has the power to stop you. But a real Sky King doesn't want that power. I'm not feeding dreams to you or anyone else, but there is only one road to the Sky... up. Only someone who realizes that can bond with the Trophaeum, but that doesn't stop everyone else from getting the power to take that chance away by trying to drag the sky down to them. You probably don't even know what it's like to go that far. To have people around you dying over the craze for power that the Parts War breeds." In the midst of his speech, Shoichi stopped stirring the parfait before him. Whatever personality had taken hold of his body was doing so in an incredible way, and yet there seemed to be traces of the young man's own ideals remaining deep within. Or perhaps, these were simply great similarities. "So many people born in the outside world want the power. But then, there's us... we have the power, and we're just stuck holding onto it for life. Maybe that is fascist, but... being the Sky King is almost like being a god. What would a greedy god be like?"

[Apollymi]

"Yeah... that's it. I'm not interested." she said seeming to wonder why he was so hung up on this. In the mind of the young woman sitting at the table, he'd already done his part. He'd won his parts war, he'd become Sky King, he had phenomenal cosmic power. Trying to keep that to himself, or worse hand it over to a bunch of kids who didn't know what to do with it, seemed irresponsible at best. "People will always want things they don't have, and scoff at what they do when the next thing is better. That is nature... " she mentioned, it would be obvious by this statement that she didn't understand the nature of her own greed. The inability to properly appreciate what was hers, because she was so busy trying to get what belonged to everyone else. Such an attitude would indeed create the greedy god the man had mentioned but, she couldn't possibly know that. "Craze for power? No, my whole team is in it for the money. If I couldn't use it, I'd sell it... to the highest bidder and that is honest. And please don't act like giving that much power to a child is a better idea... it's really not. A temper-tantrum that shuts down a city with only someone like you to stop it... a fabulous idea." she said. She had no idea what she'd be like as basically a god, she didn't even really think she wanted that sort of thing... but the cash such a piece of technology could potentially bring in, was a bit too good to pass up. Before this point, her whole team was designed, to win parts, or steal them from people who had them, and this guy was sitting in front of her talking like the ones who had the best gear didn't even want it. "I assume a greedy god would be rich... take over everything and sell it back at a profit. That seems like a reasonable enough thing to do... nothing too drastic just set yourself up to be happy. Doesn't even seem all that bad to me." the young woman said. "And by all means if you or any of your friends find the weight of your gear to be too much for you, feel free to hand it over... the rest of us actually want it." she said seeming to not get why anyone wouldn't want the kind of gear they had to work with.

That was not to say that she didn't understand about things belonging to people. After all, she presently had a regalia all her own, so she fully understood what it was like to have something specially crafted for you that worked. But... the idea that everyone shouldn't reach for the things they wanted, simply because they actually wanted them or they belonged to someone else... seemed a bit backwards. If you're willing to bet what you have, you have to be willing to lose it. People died all the time over nothing, at least in this case, they'd be dying for something they wanted and that seemed like a much better idea. As this conversation progressed and seemed to get even more in depth the man known as Waka seemed to be finally be finishing up his dessert. He was on the last bite and balancing it on his spoon in the privacy of his office for a few seconds before allowing the spoon to travel the remaining distance to his mouth. "Mmm~ Simply delightful. I should make sure the others get customers who also treat me~" the chimed to himself, taking a few more seconds of happy loneliness before he'd get back up and return to his job.

[Bloodedge]

"Money, power... it's all the same. What do you do when you sell the power for money, but then the guy who now has the power decides to make your money useless? And... I know it sounds crazy, giving the power to a kid, but we've been two out of two in the green, and these aren't just the average kids... or the average situation, deeper in the Parts War. That probably doesn't make any sense." Shoichi could do nothing but disagree with this woman's logic, and the idea of the Gravity Children handing over their Regalia was nothing short of absurd. Of course, he didn't expect the average human to understand why, but he felt there was a great, great deal more that this one in particular was not quite comprehending. So, he was left with one choice; one he would make obvious as he removed himself from the table. "Y'know, I've got nothing against people like you... but it's people like you who just don't understand what's really on the line here. So... I'll show you. The next time we meet, one of us is going to leave as the Sky King. I'll show you what the Gram Scale Tournament is really about, and if you come out on top, then you'll get everything you wanted out of this. I'll find you tomorrow, we'll have the only true Parts War, and we'll settle our differences that way. Because... at the end of the day, I don't think you want what you think you do."

[Apollymi]

Shoichi tried explaining, about how apparently twice now the Sky Regalia had been handed over to kids, and it'd turned out okay, but Akemi was a realist and it wasn't like there could be bad people among these children, if one happened to be strong enough it seemed like a bad idea to hand over something powerful. And even if the kids weren't average it didn't seem to make much of a difference, if it did... this group wouldn't feel the need to interfere the way they were. "You're right, that makes no sense at all." she said simply her dessert was done. But now she got to watch as the Sky King stood and removed himself from the table. He further stated that he didn't have a problem with her as person but that people like her didn't understand what was at stake. Stakes in this were simple, it was gear and the person who won it, obviously gets to push whatever philosophical ideals they had down the throats of everyone. That was simple, the winners did write history after all. What he said thereafter made her brows draw together just a little. "Is that a challenge?" she questioned seeming to become a bit giddy as she processed what was being said. "That sounds like a challenge... moreover it sounds like a challenge that you plan to bet the Sky Regalia on." she said even more excited than she had been previously. She could skip the whole parts war, win this guy's gear, and move on with her major plans... it seemed like a true prize. Even so, she couldn't help but feel a bit disheartened thereafter... something about what the Sky King said... made her feel strangely. 'He doesn't think I want what I do? The hell kind of shit is that to say... way to bring down the mood.' she thought as she sat at the table.

But her momentary lapse in thinking time was completely interrupted by her boss finally exiting his office. It seemed Shoichi's dessert tactic had bought them enough time to converse but when he came out, he eyed the entire establishment and began making his rounds. "Whatever you say, see ya' tomorrow..." she said offering a bow before disappearing out of ear shot and heading to the back for a break so she could further mull over what the Sky King said previously while Waka made his way over to Shoichi. "We thank you for your kind patronage. We do hope you'll come back and see us again." the man said seemingly pleased as he awaited his payment.

[Bloodedge]

"Yeah... it's a challenge. Special A-Class Parts War; winner is Sky King. You can even have it integrated into your own Regalia, and use it to win this tournament, if you use the loophole that you didn't win the last one. I'll even explain how it's unlocked." With that said, his interaction here for today was done. He walked away from the table, dropping the tip on it as he did. "Ja ne." A few steps later, he encountered the manager of this facility. Though still in his Brain Charger state, he grinned at the man, speaking in a way that Roze, whom he was the known Brain Charger of, likely wouldn't. "Iie. My thanks go to you. This is a fine establishment; kudos," he said while handing over the yen for payment, as well as a sizable bonus for the man himself. "Arigatou gozaimasu. Ja," he said to the man before properly taking his leave, giving a few parting words to the newest resident of his house en route. "Dehamata, Mika-chan~"

[Apollymi]

The redhead woman heard everything Shoichi had to say, though she was skeptical he'd actually go through with it, as Gravity Children all seemed to be very attached to their own regalia, she couldn't pass up the opportunity. One thing she didn't know, was the specification on a special A-class parts war. As far as she knew, A-class was as far as this went... that would have to be something she looked into. Regardless she was done with this, so much so that she almost didn't bother going back for the tip... almost. Her greed was a bit too necessary for her to leave it, so she doubled back for it, before disappearing. Waka was a bit stunned by Shoichi's words, but accepted the payment and gratuity given to him with grace. "Arigatou Gozaimasu." Waka said as Shoichi left. He wished all of their clients were as polite as this one.

Moving right along, in the time he'd been talking Mikasa had switched clients and looked up from her table at the statement that he'd see her a later. The girl smiled in his direction. "Hai!~" she mentioned before going back to her work. She had a hour or two before her shift ended and she was slated to meet up with the Sky King to hang out, though she had no idea what that would entail, she did need some time outside of work, school and hiding in her room.