"Hold up, mages?" Lainey asked. This dude just shows up out of nowhere, and tells them about mages being a thing? How long was this kind of thing around for?

"Um, yes." Shin responded, slightly confused. "Do you have any sort of power?"

"Not to my knowledge, no." She mumbled.

"Hm, interesting." Shin sighed to himself. "Are you all from the same community, or how do you all know each other?"

"Oh, we work under the same guy." Sapphire chimed in.

"Really? As in, mercenary work?" Shin asked.

"Something to that extent, yeah." Ulrich replied. He wasn't exactly in the mood to give away their mission, but he had to admit to himself, being in a small world of magic users like him and Sapphire would be pretty cool.

"Ah, interesting. What brings you to Japan?" Shin asked with slight enthusiasm. "Maybe I could help?"

"Uh, we're looking for something." Dominic replied. "It's like…a gem, or something."

"I see. Well, my younger sister also happens to be a type of mercenary, so maybe she can help."

"Sounds good." Dominic replied, slightly fast. Lainey gave him a confused glare, and he looked away, grabbing a bowl of noodles, hoping they were his order, they were, so that was nice. And his were really good.

"Great to know. I'll send her a text to let her know you're coming."

Ayana sat across from the big building she was meant to go to, eating a chicken sandwich she got from the deli behind her. Right in front of her was the Hinata building, where she had to go to retrieve some kind of artefact. A white gemstone. Apparently, it was stolen, but she didn't really pay attention to the details. That was Shin's thing. She approached the standard looking grey block, making sure to hide her face from any cameras, until she was inside the building, where a man in a suit lay, out in the open.

"Hey, I'd like to meet the Hinatas. This where they are?" She asked.

"Yes?" The man responded. "You here about the job?"

"Yeah." Ayana responded, trying to droop her face in an attempt to seem more innocent. "I heard I could make some easy money if I came here, so could you lead me to that?"

The man's head was moving slightly, but she could tell that behind his sunglasses, his eyes were moving a lot more. He nodded after a few seconds and led her to an elevator. It was about half a minute, and Ayana glanced back every couple of minutes to make sure his hands stayed behind his back.

The door opened, and Ayana was shown into the interior. A nice-looking building, where the flooring was a deep red carpet, brown wooden walls, and a long table, like something one would see in a corporate office. As she stepped in, there stood a man in a suit, his tattoos peering over his clothes, his slightly aged face looking her directly in the eyes.

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"She's here for the job, sir." The man who let her in was the first to speak, keeping as formal a tone as usual.

"Ah, I see. How old is she?" The man asked, definitely sounding more excited.

"Nineteen." Ayana replied, trying to sound as innocent as possible. "My friends from college said you guys paid well."

"Well, that depends on your service." The boss chuckled. "But you look good, so we should be able to get you a client in a few hours."

Ayana did her best to fake a smile. "Wow, really? But, uh, mind if I go to the bathroom first? I just got some makeup to apply."

She was escorted by the man to the bathroom, where she stopped him, only saying "Lady things." As she entered the room.

The clean looking bathroom was empty, which was convenient for her. She went into a stall, locked the door, and checked her leather shoulder bag. In it was usual stuff someone her age would have. Her phone, her purse, some assorted makeup, mouthwash, that kind of thing. She felt around her bag for a few seconds, and found the zipper, the same brown as the rest of the bag. And once she opened it, was the real contents of the bag.

Her dagger, and the blood she needed.

Five vials of animal blood, lined up for her convenience. Now, what would be best? Lizard blood was out, this place was pretty cold. Going in knives out was probably not the best idea for an organised crime group, so wolf blood was also a bad idea. Cat blood seemed like the best choice, at least for now. She drank it, trying to get past the rusty taste, taking a swig of mouthwash.

She walked out of the room, back to the office.

"Well, you'll be pleased to know that your first client will be here in about 20 minutes."

Ayana sauntered up to the boss in the suit. She gave a thumbs up, and took the white gemstone from the table, without so much as batting an eye. The boss grabbed her hand, but she just took a knife out of her bag, quick as possible, and stabbed his hand. He let go of her hand, and Ayana took it and ran. She heard a gunshot behind her, but she managed to dodge it. She ran through the hallways, passing several men in suits and women in tight clothing. She found an open window and jumped straight through it, just about to land on her feet, but slipping, falling on her back. She got up and checked her surroundings, and didn't see anything that would cause her to fall. She moved on, slightly confused. She jumped onto the thin concrete wall, white gem in hand, and crawled on it until she could jump onto a street without anyone noticing.

She pulled out her phone and inside was a message from Shin. Apparently four people wound up in Tokyo, and at least two of them were mages. This was certainly news. From her perspective, pretty good news. She could go back to meet them, but that job was surprisingly quick, so to hell with it, she was gonna get some soda and gummy bees. She went back into the convenience store and checked her purse to make sure she had the money.

And that was when she heard the yelling.

Two teenagers with knives were at the front of the till, demanding money. Damn, she thought. This place must really be going to shit. Under normal circumstances, she'd leave. Couple other places sold what she wanted. But she was fifty yen short, so if she helped out, she could probably get them for free. About two minutes left until the cat blood wears off, so what the hell?

She approached the two teenagers in hoodies. She grabbed one by the shoulder, pulling him back. The other teenager thrust his damaged knife, but she dodged and tossed him into the other guy. She kicked one of them in the stomach, causing him to fall onto the other. And when they were down, she ran around to the next aisle, and toppled a magazine rack on top of them.

The younger looking woman at the till looked at her with relief. "Thank you." She mumbled through gasps for dear life.

"Eh, no problem." Ayana replied. "So in return for saving your store, I can just take these, right?"

She took the train back to the few small houses on the hilltop outside Tokyo. Her house, his house, and those old couples she barely talked to. She drank the last of her soda, and tossed it in the trash, alongside her gummy bees. Guess it was time for her to meet these new mages.