<Nocturnal Harmonia>

[Bloodedge]

"And that satisfies you, but also leaves you bored out of your fucking mind because you're still a person and like the feeling of camaraderie from time to time," Yugi blabbered. It didn't matter to him if anyone joined the hypothetical booing of Makima; he'd do it alone if it became a thing of actual interest. As for the phrase Yugi let slip only to complain about immediately, Makima wondered if it was such a big deal... but his partner agreed to the phrase's stupidity. "Right? It's way too time-specific. I mean, I guess if it was started during a time period when farmers ruled the world or whatever, they probably didn't imagine pastures being industrialized... but then the phrase should've been fucking replaced by something more accurate, and our generation should've never heard it. And yes it's a big deal; I hate people making dumb decisions. Even me. Especially me!" he ranted.

The vice-chairman entered, and the tone shifted slightly. He got a strong sense of familiarity from Miko, who allegedly had been gambling for the past couple of days. He could spin the wheel, pull the lever or roll the dice at will, so long as it got her to the proverbial table. "To the table? I guess you're really not her," he said of the comparison to 'Itacchi', who surely would have said 'on' the table. It seemed Makima hadn't settled on the resemblance before that moment, but after having it addressed, the uncanny similarity was clear. "I figured it was something crazy. You wouldn't have a private meeting with a couple of nobodies. The question I have is, what makes these two somebodies? But if you're already done with the meeting, I'll just get the details later."

[Apollymi]

Makima soon hear Yugi rambling again. This time about the state of her personality. Absolute submission was something which satisfied her, but she was indeed enough of a human to prefer someone feel comfortable enough around her to be themselves. Those ringed eyes of hers settled upon the lad, "You really are such a clever boy~" Makima mused, that was a compliment of its own type. It was interesting that he realized this and immediately took advantage of it. Moreover it was interesting to know that the girl of the pairing had likely come to the same conclusion based on her averted gaze and simply wouldn't have said anything. Ah but what she was willing to comment on was that phrase the small brunette also took issue with as well. Both of them were so capable of filling the empty noise of a day with the rambunctious sounds of youthful exacerbation. Everything was annoying, stupid, or nonsensical, it was... one of those things that was relieving to hear and see after watching the pair struggle so heartily that they both seemed like they had lost that spark for a moment or two. "He really means that bit about him, he goes in on himself when he feels like he's been dumb♪!~" Miko chimed in happily. Of course she would it was lightly funny. "Well, at least you're holding everyone to the same standard," Makima mused.

Ah but eventually those musings were going to be over. A newcomer into the room required some serious attention. Those words that Miko spoke gained a reaction. She didn't know who this man knew that reminded him of her, but she did have at least one aunt and her mother or grandmother... her choice preposition seemed to set her apart from whomever he was speaking of, "Well starting at under the table might have been a bit extreme. Unless it isn't♪?~" Miko chirped with a genuine amount of cheekiness.

And even farther beyond that was the idea that he could get the story on these two individuals later. No, that wouldn't do, Makima leaned into her hands running one over her face and shaking her head no. "Oh no, they aren't going anywhere while I explain this. It's... the kind of thing that you really have to see to believe..." Makima stated earnestly before she sighed, she began gently tapping her temple with a finger as if trying to figure out the best way to start this conversation. "I am not even sure where to start though... where to start though. It's all just unbelievable at best," Makima stated. All the while Miko was watching with gentle amusement. She nudged Yugi, gesturing quietly about watching the show about to start. "Alright, how about we start with the normal things that are extraordinary about them? Yeah... that seems fine," Makima began sitting up straight to give the story starting at the more normal things. "Both of them would make more than reasonable additions to our previous line of work. He's brilliant, maybe the smartest person I've ever met and yes I realize you're in the room so that is probably jarring but I stand by it. Observational ability to piece together people, personalities, and even overarching power structures with only a few key pieces of information, and hypothesis which could be counted as observations given how accurate they seem to be. And she has the uncanny emotional maturity to go along with that overly innocent face of hers. and an ability to bend her personality and outward presentation into something the person she is talking to will like. She is also capable of withstanding an interrogation while stretching the truth to its absolute limit," Makima asserted as her initial findings about the children. It would have made them easy pick ups initially but what about in the magic sense, that was the part that would need more details. All the while a throne had been summoned and Miko fully placed to sit in it after Yugi did so she could order some chips and drinks and they could continue watching Makima try and explain them to another reasonable adult human. "Okay, that's the baseline, we can move on to the Hunter stuff now..." Makima said organizing hernext set of thoughts.

[Bloodedge]

"I'm a lot of things," Yugi asserted. He didn't have much to say beyond that, choosing silence when it became clear that Makima would not have them leave during her... explanation of their presence and importance. He chose observation over all else, taking Miko's hint and seating himself in the chair she called from Inventory. When chips and drinks were produced, he was the first one reaching into the bag for a snack. And so, the show began...

The vice-chairman caught wind of those last words Miko shared, and found yet another similarity to the woman he knew. He would have expected that one to talk about being put on a table... but under said table was also within the realm of possibilities, and officially spoken by this familiar girl. "If we're talking a blackjack table, that sounds like a day~" he quipped in response. Now then, apparently he had to see to believe. What sort of ridiculousness would Makima be sharing with him? There were already some observations worth making by the time he heard the background noise of chips crunching ─ which even came from Gojo, who slung himself over the Players' chair to reach down into the bag, also invested in watching the show. Where had that chair come from? When did they bring in snacks? Well, Mage types did occasionally have storage magic. Oh how wrong he'd be. Whatever the case, information was incoming.

Surprise Number 1: A young man sharper than the vice-chairman himself. That wasn't too ridiculous though; he'd been scheming at ridiculous levels since his preteen years. Moving on.
Surprise Number 2: A young woman who could blend herself into any social situation while holding out in intense interrogation. That, too, wasn't outside the realm of possibilities. In their previous line of work, one saw that kind of thing all the time.

Everything Makima said thus far was impressive for some younglings, but nothing worth breaking the bank over. He would have still wondered what the point of this meeting was, but... that was just the baseline: the normal extraordinary features of that pair. "No," Yugi said between a chip and a swig, already looking ahead to a series of curiosities this man had been holding since the Players' items appeared. Hiruko didn't pay it enough attention. "So what is it? For you and him to be so interested, I'd assume some kind of unreal, cheat-style magic type? Maybe the inverse of Agucchi, or another B4 type?" he asked while Yugi sighed over the top of a drink bottle. "Never been a fan of other wrinkly-brains in moments like this. They still never realize why I interject."

[Apollymi]

Soon enough those two teens were settled in to watch a show. Before the whole of it properly started, Miko got acknowledgement and knew exactly how to talk to the blonde haired man. "Hai hai♪~ Sounds like a great time to me♪~" Miko chirped, that one was definitely on the list, she'd gobble him up at any point. No matter, with another full-course meal presenting itself she'd wait for the business to be handled. Miko fully settled herself into Yugi's lap and listened to the discourse, Makima watched the pair get comfortable her lips curling just a little at the pairs antics. They even still had more observations. A no before the Vice-Chairman even spoke was a hint to Makima that whatever the man came up with would be off track. The blonde himself seemed clever enough, but perhaps the tale of the two was a little too outrageous for traditional cleverness to get him by. "Sou ka, not a bad line of thought, just not right. Go-sei, what's an Agucchi?" Miko whispered while chomping on a chip, might as well fill in the rest of the information while sharing snacks and gently wiggling in Yugi's lap.

Makima smiled in the moment. "That would have been such a good guess, under normal circumstances, but these two are nothing like Toji, aside from being their own forms of exceptional..." Makima pointed out. What was the next thing to cover. "Now then, that baseline was necessary because when I met them they were C-rank, not exceptionally strong, but with good skills yes?" Makima asked in a leading way. She leaned her hand to the side and checked her wrist watch. "I met them at roughly 3am, Hi-pyon and I'd say they are so close to S-rank that they only don't make the cut by less than one percent of necessary power," Makima stated. "And before you ask... No, this isn't simply a Second Awakening... though they've had one of those too..." she explained. "They can literally get stronger. They are leveling up with the experiences they are being given. That includes fucking each other and other people, they get stronger from killing things and fucking!" Makima asserted. "Are we okay with that, because it's the next baseline of understanding required for the rest of this tale," Makima mentioned.

[Bloodedge]

In the midst of a show both Players and Gojo were content to watch, the 'teacher' among them was asked for some information. Miko wanted to know what an 'Agucchi' was. Gojo had an easy, albeit very 'Gojo' answer. "The first Zen'in Trench Body. That girl's older brother. Burned through the family fortune on bad parlays until they went bankrupt," Gojo explained, reaching down again to wiggle his fingers and drag another chip into his hand.

At the same time, Makima was continuing to share information. The black-haired lad's interjection was indeed meant for his ears, clearly in an attempt to spare his breath for a wrong assumption. Now, he'd only be more surprised by the information that followed the rank those two were when they were met... at about 3 in the morning. "C-rank, good skills, just another Miwa," he muttered, remaining open to hearing what the difference truly was. Those two were currently the highest caliber of A-rank. He could make some connections and figure out what that meant under normal circumstances, but no, Makima claimed a Second Awakening had nothing to do with it... even though they had one of those as well. The pair could grow stronger. Combat experiences and, surprisingly, even sex between themselves and others could contribute to a steadily-growing power they possessed. He could only fathom something like that in terms of a video game or some crazy anime or manga series. "So is that the power? A pair of Hunters who just get stronger and stronger? That's both useful and dangerous, but..." Makima was far too excited as her story continued. Hunters who could become stronger were surely a dream, but... "A Skill that makes someone stronger isn't enough to warrant this kind of excitement from you, Kimacchi. Tell me the rest, but let me..."

"Have a seat first?" Yugi interjected, snapping his fingers to produce a new chair right beneath the vice-chairman's rear. "... Yeah..." the blonde replied as he finally looked to the other male directly, noting a very familiar visual in his eyes. He'd have written that off as a pair of contact lenses, but Yugi was observing the other man enough to have his Sharingan spinning. The vice-chairman thought he was onto something again. "Wait, that's a Mangekyou! Is that what it is? They use Mangekyou to learn other Hunters' Skills and become stronger from that?"

[Apollymi]

Apparently, Agucchi was a 'Zen'in Clan Trench Body'. He spent the family fortune gambling and got banished or disowned. Miko's mind began to wander. She'd met Maki and she was hot. Miko's imagination began to rearrange and dissect the visage, Maki but with super meal and no boobs swapping them out for prime pecs to go along with the musculature. "I could fund a guy's gambling habit..." Miko muttered quietly as if she was already making a decision.

Makima's explanation got about the reaction she would have expected from Hiruko. And true enough, if those first few sentences were all she had to offer, surely this pair would have ended up working closely with her in the Hunter's Association but she likely wouldn't have felt it necessary to give them such a private audience. "Yeah we just had the danger part of that conversation. They're fairly practical in ways I hadn't quite figured out before that conversation so that part isn't anything to worry about," Makima said decisively. If the pair said they wouldn't cross her, she'd rely on and continue to accelerate their growth. Soon enough that man was sitting down in a seat summoned by Yugi himself. And looking a more shocked. He knew Makima better than most, and knew she didn't excite easily so why was she still so hyperactive about this. "I'm glad you realize how legitimately excited I am~" Makima said. As for the Vice-Chairman's question, Makima looked confused, "What is that?" she looked to the pair. "Oh, that's the Air Gear version of the Sharigan, which he likely knows because he's one of those guys. You really do have a lot of them floating around," Miko asserted. "But this one is more like the Naruto one," Miko clarified.

"Oh, okay. No... that was just something he developed, naturally. Happened apparently when he increased his perception. Though it does help him or them learn skills, apparently when they are bonded well enough if one of them learns a skill the other will also learn it. Like, Black Flash which Gojo taught them incidentally. It's also impressive because they can do it on purpose apparently on a cooldown of some sort but that's just a skill they learned this morning. And they've been leveling that up as well." Makima explained. "Before that happened though, that little girl learned Mana Reversal... and it's related principles. And apparently gained the ability to use one of Gojo's more advanced techniques once a day." Makima claimed. "As apparently just a reward for making it through the encounter with Gojo," Makima asserted. "Apparently, they are leveling up based on video game like mechanics, including the ability to spread out stats and skills and change their physical forms as they develop those stats. They have a shop, a different currency to use and access to everything that System gives them or lets them earn. He can observe something and they can both learn the skill and they both have enough imagination or fantasy knowledge to make up things based on principle and the like," Makima explained more. "So, not only are they getting stronger, their bodies are adjusting with leveling and their bonding allows them to share more and more power with each other. They also have items that can't be taken from them, stolen or even looked at by normal people. Even current technology couldn't tell where they were, Kaito only managed to find them because he knew they didn't show up so he looked for dead zones instead. Alright are we clear on that? Gojo, do you have any imputs on that part as the person who was witness and privy to most of it directly?" Makima was going to give him the chance since the girl had stolen the best of his abilities.

[Bloodedge]

"Ashikaga Tokiomi couldn't fund his habit," Gojo argued. The man named Toji hadn't simply gambled away the existing fortune of a family. No, he'd gambled and lost wealth that spanned multiple generations before he was ever a glint in his father's eye. Whatever the case, Gojo helped himself to another chip before magically snatching a drink right out of Miko's hand. He'd continue watching Makima give her second-in-command the most ridiculous information dump anyone in this world had ever received, even as his mind was already racing from little things recently observed.

The blonde was silent and open-minded. He didn't have much choice otherwise, as everything he was taking in required a great deal of processing... if only to avoid trying to find logic behind it all. Makima had managed to find two people who had every reason to be members of her original assassin organization, but were so, so much more. An obvious ocular ability from a fictional series was just the start. They could both learn Skills, but that hardly seemed worth noting when they'd both picked up something notorious like Black Flash, even proving the ability to use it on command. "That cooldown's been reduced to three seconds, by the way," Yugi announced for no particular reason beyond his own satisfaction. There was still more. Gojo Satoru, for all intents and purposes, could have earned himself the title of National Hunter if his Second Awakening happened just a bit earlier. His techniques alone were mysterious and powerful enough to insert him into such conversations, yet some nameless girl had simply acquired two of them. Everything Makima said gave credence to her video game comparison ─ especially when she spoke of unique currencies, shops, and items that would have been considered account-bound in a video game scenario. The blonde was stunned silent, bar a few failed attempts to comment. As for Gojo, he did have some input. "Basically, they stack paper by the briefcase and have it wired right to a Swiss bank account. Then they swipe on everything with a credit card that gets a higher limit every day."

[Apollymi]

"Damn, I didn't know it was possible to spend money like that... he must have terrible luck♪~" Miko chanted quietly. Still, she could see herself budgeting a little spending money and becoming a sugar mama for a guy with no real funding if the dick was good enough. She'd keep that thought on the backburner for a bit later, stewing in its own box. Irrespective of that, the children's progress and outright unfair advantages against the rest of the world were quantified by mentions of things like Gojo's Mana Reversal Skill, the use of Black Flash and quick learning of such things. Three seconds was apparently the current cooldown on Black Flash, which basically meant either of them could now be considered a one person wrecking crew. And they'd not even gotten to the juiciest bits yet. No... Makima was still building up to the two most interesting things, one of which was brand new and the other of which had her entering the young woman's game of throwing her body at problems. Gojo's input may have been helpful given his word choices but she wouldn't know for now. "Oh, we also have to explain that either or both of them together could potentially lead a strike team to victory even under less than favorable conditions, like an Insect Dungeon Break. Also in more dangerous situations like a group of B-rank Hunters, taking on an A-rank Tanker and winning the fight, and killing him in the process," Makima couldn't help but be proud by proxy and beyond that excited for these two and their future.

While Miko lost her drink to Gojo, she'd simply summon another one, pleasantly opening and sipping from it, while summoning two more and dangling them in front of Makima and the Vice-Chairman while using Ruler's Hand. Such a thing caused Makima to look at the girl who winked sat it down and popped the lid, for her. "And that, whatever the hell that is," Makima said. "But we haven't even gotten to my favorite part, and there are two, and I'm not sure which one is more my favorite, so I am just going to reveal them in the order they popped up!~" Makima declared. Pausing to take a sip of one of the best soft drinks she'd ever had, once more proving the issue of this pair and then taking a deep breath. "So, first and foremost, that whole sex based power scaling of theirs, has them bonding and forming relationships with others. Through those bonds they can apparently make other hunters stronger, permanently even. And proof of that is the S-rank Healer, Takemi Tae. Who to my own knowledge had no real combat potential but is now a one person wrecking machine, equipped with skills she didn't have before, as well as an ability to permanently increase her mana reserves," Makima stated about the things she'd found out. "I don't know how crazy that will get in the future, but I have already signed myself up to be part of that, it has interesting perks," Makima clarified. "And then the last bit, they can raise people, monsters and such from the dead, as their permanent additional Shadow Soldiers, which is apparently what you get, when you're these two and you get a second awakening. Kyah~" Makima laughed again at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.

[Bloodedge]

"... Yeah, sure," Gojo said regarding Toji's luck. In truth, luck had nothing to do with it. That man was a terrible gambler who made terrible, unintelligent decisions. But, that information was no concern of Gojo's; he didn't care for the mana-broke or cash poor. Eventually, Gojo seated himself on the arm of that extravagant chair, taking the side closest to Miko after taking her drink. Upon getting another one for herself, Miko produced one for Makima... and one for the blonde male ─ both via some means of telekinesis, much to his intrigue. He'd drink eventually, but only after hearing more ludicrous things. For starters, there were the feats of that pair within the past twelve hours or so. "Alright, very strong assets. That's a resume that would get anybody into a good guild," he acknowledge initially.

Two more facts were yet to be listed. Makima had been building toward her favorite two things, not even knowing which one she preferred more. He'd known this woman for most of his conscious life. If she enjoyed something that much, it had to be capable of helping her dominate everything in sight... or more. What two things could there be? Well, for starters, they had the capacity to strengthen other people in addition to themselves. They could do so permanently. Makima even cited the growth of one Takemi Tae, a noteworthy S-rank Healer of Japan who could now dominate a battlefield with a host of new Skills. As if that wasn't eye-widening, ridiculous and unbelievable enough, she credited them with the ability to resurrect the dead as loyal summons/followers. The blonde had two fingers pressed to his temple, brows furrowed beneath those sunglasses. "Hang on... I can't imagine you lying to me, but you're sure it's not some kind of illusion being created by a couple of false-rankers?" he asked, having the most difficult time coming to terms with this information. In the meantime, Yugi was already thinking several steps ahead. Between munches, he'd been casually perusing the System Shop and Inventory, tossing a few starter items into the crafting interface to prepare a future task ─ one he'd been mulling over for quite some time now.

[Apollymi]

The tone Gojo took when explaining that 'trench body' individual, said quite a lot about how Gojo felt. It was obvious that he didn't enjoy people who were broke in either sense of the term, no matter, she was fine toe continue on her mental tirade. Eventually Gojo was sitting beside her on that arm of the chair, and Miko casually leaned into him while remaining firmly in Yugi's lap. Drinks were given to the other two and Miko maintained a look of smug satisfaction seeing Makima look at her oddly, right they'd not gotten around to explaining that part. Oh well, she'd finished explaining their usefulness in such a way that the Vice-Chairman was concluding they would be an asset to any guild who'd have them. Miko's eyes shifted to Yugi, she didn't even have to ask, she figured if guilds were a thing they'd be starting their own.

No matter Makima was pausing to sip from her can once again. "Yeah, that resume will definitely carry, but it's at least partially the reason they are both visibly E-rank according to the Association currently. Not that I see them joining anyone else for any reason," Makima said acknowledging an oddity she'd noticed about the pair even earlier. Her last choices in speech however had the Vice-Chairman's eyes widening and him trying and failing tomake sense of what they were capable of, "Yeah, I figured you'd say something like that. I wouldn't lie too you, and they couldn't fool both of us, and if they could, they probably would have already taken over the world by now~" Makima mused. "Hm, I guess those are some pretty fair assumptions. It's been developing for us over time so it isn't so surprising. Though we did die and almost die getting those abilities even we're still surprised♪~" Miko concluded. "Still, this is why they are still here. Make me a skill, make it a really good one!~" Makima said ina good humor. At the same time, Miko was watching and now pointing. "Ooh♪!~ Add that one♪~" she pointed out the rune for Royal Drain Touch which was one of the best ones she'd come across that definitely fit Makima's personality.