Private Finished You're Out of Your Depth

Keen

Keen

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That sounded like Caissa: bored and looking for her next challenge. His mind wandered back to the time everyone's phones went off, and she specifically had many going off.

He did winced a little as Caissa looked... beside him? There was nothing there, but she spoke with a serious passion that made him think he said something wrong.

He sunk back into his chair, all his acting of being a chill dude who's just looking for his next job but has everything under control slipping away. What was left was Konpeitō playing dress-up and not knowing exactly how to explain himself.

"I, uh," he stumbled before coughing. "None of my work gives me the drive I need. Body donation has great pay, but there's not much work I can put into it to feel proud of. The arena lets me get my voice out and perform, but," he laughed, "the pay isn't that good. There's nothing for me to climb up either." He straightened up his back and put an elbow on the table to support his head. "My dad was an information broker, so I figured I'd try that out. See if it sparks something in me. And if it doesn't? I get rid of my persona and continue living like nothing happened."
 
Kada

Kada

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"Fair enough," was all Caissa had to say at the moment, scratching her cheek thoughtfully, her normally jackass grin fading into something more contemplative.

"Well far be it from me to stop you. I like working with people I know I can trust anyway. And I'm sure you wouldn't fuck me over. We were roommates after all."

And the grin was back as she cracked her joke. "But yeah. I'll keep this as professional as I can. And if I like your work, maybe I'll have something more challenging for you in the future. I've got big plans, Takumi, like you wouldn't believe."
 
Keen

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A shiver of excitement went through Konpeitō. The way his body responded made it look like a streak of light flew above him before disappearing. "I can't tell if I should be excited or nervous for what you have in store, but I'm in deep now. Not like I can ditch you when we're this far in." He laughed, the tenseness he had before mostly faded.

He ran a hand through his hair, realized it wasn't the hair he was familiar with, then put his hand down. "Sounds like we have a plan then. And it sounds like I need to get better at this job. But, ah..." The blush on his face wasn't very obvious with how pink he was all over. "Since we know each other's secrets and all... and you know me well. I imagine you'd be able to point out how good my acting was. Or if it was too easy for you to connect Takumi to... me. I can't really ask this of... anyone, really."
 
Kada

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"You're doing fine, honestly," Caissa said with an unusual degree of sincerity. "I was only able to figure you out because of my powers: perfect memory and seeing the magic that activated when you shape-shifted. I doubt anyone else is smart enough to link it up. Most people don't go around acting like paranoid jackasses, thinking everyone might be shape shifted in disguise."
 
Keen

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A breath he hadn't realized he had been holding let out suddenly. "Thank. Fuck. Only thing I have to worry about now is keeping the form completely stable." He didn't need another Caissa taking note of every subtle color change. "Maybe... a form that's easier to hide under is necessary." Something that set him apart from his main form, was still humanoid enough to be comfortable moving in, and could be easily covered by clothing while looking some level of natural.

Or maybe he was overthinking everything again and needed to take Caissa at her word. After all, it was her magic that caught him, not normal human perception.

"Oh, right. We were here to discuss work. We should get back to that, if there's anything else that needs discussion."
 
Kada

Kada

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"I think this form is fine, honestly. It's weird, but people don't bat their eyes at weird here. I think they'd be more confused by excessive displays of normalcy, ya know? Just stick with it - you'll waste a lot of time trying to put together a perfect disguise. The mask is a good touch though. That's why I use the wig and make up and contacts. Magic can't see through mundane disguise."

Caissa ran a hand through her hair, following a visualized list of things that she needed to get done before she went back to Malakias and reported in. "I don't think I have anything else. To make it easier on you though, I just need one Black Wing. Once I have the one, I can get all the info I need out of him."
 
Keen

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Fuck was it weird hearing Caissa be so genuine and kind, yet that only encouraged him to do a better job for her. He already knew he didn't want her as an enemy, but he wanted her as a friend too. An ally he could trust, at the very least. She was a wealth of information and potential advice.

Also, he couldn't help but blush at his mask being complimented on. He put it back on.

"One Black Wing. That does make things much easier for me so thank you for that... And for the advice you gave me. That helped a lot." He moved on quickly from that. "I'll look into Nick Miller and the Del Bosques to see if anyone connected to them or their businesses will give me a path to follow. And since we now know our secret identities, dead dropping will be easier to coordinate."
 
Kada

Kada

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"Fuck yeah it will. God you have no idea how annoying it is having to keep separate pseudonyms for every single contact I make. Betty Noire is still my favorite though, being real."

Caissa grinned and leaned back in her seat, chewing over all this new information and storing it away in a way that she could manage to retrieve it nearly instantly later when she needed to.

"I do have to ask though, because it is me. Push comes to shove, what's more important to you: the money or the challenge? If push comes to shove, which would you be willing to sacrifice for the other? There's no wrong answer, but I need to know because that's going to color how our partnership goes from here."
 
Keen

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Konpeitō wanted to point out that, out of the both of them, he wasn't the one with the perfect memory. If anything, it was harder for him to keep a separate identity for everything when he also had to factor in how consistent he kept every separate form. Other than what Caissa was complaining about, Konpeitō kept his identities few for that reason.

But before his mouth opened, he was blindsided by her question. A chuckle came out of him, initially nervous before smoothing out. "The money," he answered confidently. "I want to regain my riches first and foremost. I'll go through a challenge for money, but without that encouragement, I'll do whatever is more fun or worthwhile. Also, a challenge is too vague. Money is something I can grab or see and know is there. Why do you ask?"
 
Kada

Kada

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"You're going to laugh, but it's rule forty-four," Caissa said with a slight smirk. "I will only employ bounty hunters who work for money. Those who work for the pleasure of the hunt tend to do dumb things like even the odds to give the other guy a sporting chance."

Was it weird and cliche to be quoting a thirty year old internet joke list? Probably. But was there a grain of truth in the dumb jokes? Absolutely. Caissa didn't need wild cards. She needed consistency and reliability. "If you'd said the challenge, I'd have had to adjust how I deal with you so that you get the challenge that you want without jeopardizing my operation. I've got big plans Takumi, but I don't have the benefit of immortality to wait decades or longer for each piece to fall into place. I'd prefer that, honestly, but..."

She shrugged and crossed her legs. "We can't always have a perfect hand. Now, I do trust that you won't tell anyone about what we've discussed here. Or, hell, even that we met at all. Did you have anything else you wanted to clarify with me?"
 
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