[QUEST] The Hungry Caterpillar.

[Rii <3]

((Play on the book since he's so hungry for AP))

Being placed on the streets for crimes committed against her lineage was more than enough to make anyone cry. With the mafia taking advantage of her once so beautiful home and turning it into a writhing wreckage of bad blooded people, this girl leaned against the wall with her speakers and magic-infused headset. Holding it up close to her ears, she closed her eyes and heaved a sigh while people glared at her, questioning her and scoffing at her tattered, bloodstained clothes - they took no heed of the music she so desperately played with the little power she had left after many days busking.


Finally after one more day, she decided best to steal from people.
Making her way through the town with her clothes tattered, hair matted and smelling like someone thrown into the trash - the desperately starved girl snaked throughout the crowd pickpocketing people before turning to grab something from someone. A purse as it were just to get spotted. 
Of course due to her having resorted to pickpocketing for a living nowadays just to survive, the investigators had made note of posting on walls and buildings to ensure the safety of items. This woman so happened to be one of those beings who just wanted to worry about everyone. With a face of horror and menace, she screamed at the top of her lungs: "THIEF! THIS CHILD IS A THIEF!" and the girl fled, holding the bag close with her eyes wide with terror. She dashed through the alleyway with her worn tights forming holds as they ripped off the unstable ground.

[Tsundere Shinzu]

Shinzu would spring into action as the words ‘thief’ emanated into his ears. Though he had been nothing more than a passer-by, the cries for help couldn’t help but invigorate his body and unleash his inner sense of justice. “Fiend!” He yelled triumphantly at the general direction of the so called thief. Although the guild master had yet to catch a glimpse of the criminal in question, it wasn’t difficult to follow the trail of judgemental eyes that would hint at the evil-doers general location.

“This way?” Shinzu mumbled to himself as he took a sharp right to enter an alley way which by pure chance, contained the source of all this chaos and outrage. “You!” He yelled, even going as far as to point at the rather dingy-looking girl. There wasn’t much to look at. She appeared to be nothing more than a frail thing that had little experience in getting caught. The fact that she had run into the first alley she had come across was probably proof of that. “Although this question has a rather obvious answer, I am curious. Why did you steal that?” Shinzu’s face would grow solemn as his eyes glanced at the bag between the girl’s hands. She didn’t appear to be a hardened criminal. Then again, appearances are often deceiving.

Quixotic of THQ

[Rii <3]

((Play on the book since he's so hungry for AP))

Her eyes were focused on ahead as she dashed through the seemingly long alleyway with her feet curled to help boost her into a quicker speed while gripping onto the purse as she ran and her heart racing in her chest. The boxes around and waste around her were beginning to get in her way and the sound of heavy footsteps behind her told her that she was being pursued. "You!” The voice called out to confirm her thoughts and yet she dared not to look back.
The girl began to stagger, she was hungry and the vision ahead of her was becoming nothing more than a blur. She knew if she were to push herself, she'd either A) Die or starvation or Faint. With her balance wading, the girl clenched her eyes tight as she felt the ground beneath her suddenly vanish and she slammed into a bunch of empty boxes.

With her face in a box, a whole bunch fell down on top of her with a horrendous clatter and the sound of a bottle rolling along the floor behind her stated that she had trodden on it and it tipped her up. While laying there for a few seconds, the girl slowly gained consciousness and slowly sat up.
"Although this question has a rather obvious answer, I am curious. Why did you steal that?” the pursuer spoke and the girl slowly sat up on her knees, turning to face him before flying backwards away as quick as she could with ehr hands and feet and grabbed a box to hide the purse in; shoving it with the rest. 

"Why should I tell you?"
---------------------


During the encounter, elsewhere a gang of mafia were clustered in a ruin of a building with a scheme boiling up. Drunk on blood-lust, the mobster himself leaned forward with a wide maniacal smile and his eyes on his men. 

[Tsundere Shinzu]

Shinzu shut his eyes for a moment and cringed as the harsh crashing sound of the girl’s body diving into a heap of boxes echoed into the air. “That must have hurt.” He thought to himself as he opened his eyes to find the girl in question still as defiant as ever despite her predicament. “You are one tough brat.” Though the words could be taken as either a compliment or insult, in reality Shinzu meant little ill will. Most thieves her age would usually breakdown into tears or start pleading for mercy by this point.

“I suppose you have no reason to tell me. However, likewise, there is little reason not to tell me other than pointless stubbornness.” Shinzu smirked. There was an air of confidence around him, which was probably something the girl had never experienced before during her life on the unforgiving streets. “Well, I suppose if you want an incentive… If you answer my question and return the bag with an apology, I shall let you off with a written warning. I may even sweeten the pot with some lunch if you accept my proposal peacefully.” At this point, the guild master would grow cautious. Usually, this was the part where the thief would fake kindness in order to throw a sucker punch or something.

Quixotic of THQ

[Rii <3]

She sat there with a dazed expression as she glared over at her pursuer with sheer defiance. No way was she going to let him take her only chance of food. Everyone ignored her beforehand. With her stomach completely empty, the idea of using magic was a big nono if she wanted to keep her energy.
"You are one tough brat.” The man spoke and the girl just snickered.
"You're one ugly man." She retorted, turning her gaze to the side with a defiant glare. 


"I suppose you have no reason to tell me. However, likewise, there is little reason not to tell me other than pointless stubbornness.” The man spoke again and despite the urge to cry lingering in her eyes, the girl shook her head and snorted. 
Stay strong, Melodiam. The girl thought, keeping her gaze away from the man as she ensured to hide her precious booty. The aura that came off this man bugged her. She kept her eyes to the side and she refused to admit defeat.

"Well, I suppose if you want an incentive… If you answer my question and return the bag with an apology, I shall let you off with a written warning. I may even sweeten the pot with some lunch if you accept my proposal peacefully.” Lunch... Food. Now this man was talking.
"Don't blackmail someone with food like that! It's wrong you... You..." As she forced herself to steadily stand up, her eyes focused on the man with anger. "YOU POOHEAD!" Grabbing a bunch of empty boxes and bottles, she flung them at him and grabbed a smaller box before turning and running again.


Up ahead she caught sight of a turning down another alleyway which hopefully lead toward the busiest part of the marketplace. With her head whipping backwards, she refused to be caught. 

[Tsundere Shinzu]

“U-Ugly!?” Shinzu’s jaw dropped. He had been called a coward, a fool and a disgrace to Lion Heart, however, this was the first time that someone had attempted to attack his good-looks. “Heh. What would a brat know about manliness? You just have yet to reach an age where you can appreciate the unrivalled symmetry of my face.” The guild master would simply laugh off the girl’s comment before shooting her a smile. Most of the urchin’s Shinzu had met over the years were recluses that refused to partake in a conversation. Already, this made the girl seem rather unique and different to the standard street scum.

“Blackmail? I did no such thing. I simply-” Shinzu would freeze in astonishment as a vulgar comment escaped the girl’s lips. “P-Poo head!?” The list of things Shinzu had never been called before was growing shorter with each passing moment. “Listen here! I am trying to be nice!” The guild master would simply flail his limbs around wildly in a cheap attempt to knock away the incoming boxes. After defending against the onslaught of cardboard, however, the girl would disappear into a turning near the distance. “Not bad. For a brat anyway.”

Not willing to give up just yet, Shinzu would sprint into action and chase the girl down into the second alley he had spotted her running into. After that point, however, Shinzu would be at a loss what to do. “Curse it. This leads to the market…” The guild master would then skid to a stop as he escaped the dingy alley only to become surrounded by a mass of bodies. “Which way did she go…” With little else to go on, Shinzu would close his eyes and rely on his almost supernatural sense of hearing. While it was impossible for him to distinguish the little girl’s footsteps from the crowd, luckily the girl would have already been quite exhausted. The panting of her breath would more than give away her location and allow Shinzu to chase her down.

SPOILER: Click to show

Heightened Senses: Life in the arena helped hone Shinzu’s senses to the point where his gift of hearing reached a level far above his peers. Although there is nothing supernatural about his ears, Shinzu can often pick out quite a high level of detail from a simple sound, such as being able to judge distance and the direction of the source much better than a normal person. This acute level of hearing also allows Shinzu to pick out sounds that may otherwise be inaudible, such as honing in on a whisper amidst a crowd or being able to audibly recognize subtle noises such as the rustle of a nearby bush.

Quixotic of THQ

[Rii <3]

The man seemed surprised by being called ugly and Melodium felt like she had hit a nerve. It seemed like that didn't last long because the man soon spoke.
“Heh. What would a brat know about manliness? You just have yet to reach an age where you can appreciate the unrivalled symmetry of my face.” The man's voice echoed through the air and the girl stood there with the most dumbfounded and incredulous look ever.
"I don't know who you are and I don't even know what the hell you said." 


This man seemed stupid. His reactions were the weirdest and he didn't seem to get mad, no, he seemed to just brag about himself. As Melodium dashed away, legs carried her as fast as they could; her feet sore from the lack of shoes. Panting, the girl felt relief as she managed to get herself into the busy street; feeling like she could relax and wander around. 
As she opened the box to take out the thing she stole, her eyes widened as she saw that it was just an empty box. Closing it, she cleared her throat and forced a smile while wandering carefully through the streets while panting. Dodging away from people, Melodium gazed onward with her head held high. She couldn't turn back and grab the purse, but she was so hungry. As her stomach growled, she clutched onto it and held her breath.
Mama said when your stomach hurts, hold your breath and count to ten. 1... 2... as she continued walking, she counted silently before exhaling as she reached 10 and looked around.


It seemed like she had no choice. As she gazed over at a family who were throwing away their food into the bin, she scuttled on over and looked side to side before reaching in to take the food. Disgusted sounds were coming from people around her, but she was too hungry to even care. Swatting away a fly, she parted her mouth to take a big bite.



-----------


"You know, boss. Now that we destroyed this families home, ate all their food und swallowed all their alcohol what are we gonna do now?"
"What we'll do now you say? Isn't that simple you imbecile."
"Er, gee, Idunno."
"Your fools are surely worthless, why not rid of them and let's just work together." As a feminine voice butted into the conversation, the mafia draw their gaze to the raven-haired beauty who stood next to the master; all sneering and glaring.
"Ey, master. Why you bring 'ur around? She's so kaniving and her make-up gives me the willies."
"Watch what you say about Lucia. She's one of the most reliant people I have here you scum. If it wasn't for her, we'd not have this power we do now."
"And if it wasn't for your pathetic lackeys, we'd also have their runaway daughters blood on the wall too."

[Tsundere Shinzu]

Shinzu had wandered into the girl’s general vicinity, however, he had yet to lay eyes on her. Unfortunately, although the panting of her breath had led the guild master to this location, the lack of sounds to follow suggested that she had long since regained her composure. “Damn it.” Shinzu cursed to himself as he shifted from relying on his hearing to his eyesight. That girl had to be found. Not for the sake of justice or for the purse, but rather due to the strange nagging sensation that felt as if Shinzu would be failing her should she not be found.

“Hm?” Suddenly, Shinzu’s keen ears would pick up on the murmurs of disgusted individuals. “That girl just loves to spread trouble.” The guild master would follow the whispers all the way to a familiar looking girl scavenging what looked like a bin. “She’d rather eat from there than accept my kindness?” With a grumble, Shinzu would grab a slice of cake from a nearby table before sneaking up on the girl. “Surprise!” He yelled before slamming the cake into the girl’s mouth before she could even hope to take a bite out of whatever discarded food she was holding.

“Revenge for abandoning me. Also I am hurt. How can you eat that junk over my sweet kindness?” Shinzu was clearly referring to the cake as opposed to his offer. It appeared to be a quadruple-chocolate abomination laced in whipped creamed and strawberries. Not only was half of the mess all over the poor girl's face, but her taste buds would likely be tingling violently from the fact that she had probably not tasted anything this rich for quite some time. “Ready to apologize? Or are we going to have a food fight on our hands?” Shinzu grinned, clearly ignoring the yelling and grunting coming from the table he had liberated the slice of cake from.

Quixotic of THQ

[Rii <3]

"Surprise!” With her mouth wide and lips parted, she stuck out her tongue to take a bite into the recently thrown away unwanted meal when suddenly her mouth was shoved with an intoxicating, delicious, sweet, creamy, sensational, sugary, thick, puffy mixture and she stared wide eyed at the sudden change in texture; her eyes staring at the food in her hand. Screw that, what was in her mouth was better. Much better, but how it got there? She hadn't the slightest. While chewing it and a majority on her mouth, she swept around to face the man who was pursuing her earlier and suddenly she felt sick. Despite half of it now going down her gullet, she regurgitated the rest onto his feet and stared up at him. So THAT was who said surprise. 

"Revenge for abandoning me. Also I am hurt. How can you eat that junk over my sweet kindness?” Wiping her mouth and spitting out any last bit of cake that could quite possibly be poisoned, she sneered.
"I was told not to trust strangers, especially big ugly ones too who run around with candy and cakes." She retorted, looking to the side with tears in her eyes. She was too tired to run any more and defeated. With regret, she stared down at the floor and watched the mess of a cake she had treasured just stand in a thick pulp on the ground and on the man's shoes.
“Ready to apologize? Or are we going to have a food fight on our hands?” Melodium stood there for several seconds before bursting into a fit of tears with her head held backwards and snot running down her nose.


"I'm so-oo-orry!" She stood there in defeat, lifting her hands and wiping the back of her palm over her nose and eyes. "I just have nowhere to gooo! I'm so hungry and nobody here would help me! I tried to get money so I could eat but nobody gave me it and so I stole! I could never get enough so I ended up using all the things I stole to give to my parents and and and" now in hysterics, she fell to the floor and picked up the trash she had dropped. "I didn't want to eat this stuff! Really I didn't, but I couldn't help it! Why is people so mean!?"


-----------


"You know, boss. That girl is still out there?" 
"Explain you blithering idiot."
"Well, er y'see..."
"What he's trying to say is that brat is out there stealing from the streets. I saw her the other day while I was giving him an earful. She ran when she saw us, though and I was not in the mood to chase down a child. She won't last very long anyway."
"That's all well and good, but if she reports to the authorities then we'll have to pack up. Luckily there's a lot of precious stuff here we can pawn off to the black market. Only real reason we're here was so we could wait for her arrival. She's just a kid."
"Children are stupid creatures anyway."

[Tsundere Shinzu]

“Glad you enjoyed it.” Shinzu would speak prematurely. The moment the girl turned to face her saviour, the look etched onto her face would shift from pure bliss to utter disgust. “NO!” Before the guild master could even react, it was over. The girl had already destroyed his expensive shoes. “A-At least I chose not to don sandals today…” Shinzu always liked to look on the bright side of things. Even when there wasn’t actually one. “Not trusting strangers is a wise strategy. Not accepting candy even wiser. However, how can anyone distrust cake? It is the most noble of desserts.”

Due to Shinzu’s best efforts to focus on the girl in order to distract himself from the puddle of sick pooling around his shoes, he had accidentally ended up noticing the glisten of a tear building up in the girl’s eyes. “D-Do not worry! I can get these shoes replaced. And the cake was no hassle!” With his best efforts, the guild master attempted to pre-empt why the girl looked as if she was on the verge of a mental breakdown in order to avoid creating a scene. Despite his best efforts, however, such would not go as planned.

“W-Wait! I-It is okay! I was only fishing for an apology, I did not mean to bully you!” Shinzu was waving his hands around frantically in the air like a hummingbird. In fact, his hands were flapping around so fast that it almost looked as if he was ready to take flight. “I-I am sorry too!” The guild master had no idea what the girl was referring to when she mentioned how cruel people could be. Although it was likely that she meant the passer-by’s who would never help her out, at this point it was equally likely that she was upset at Shinzu for the emotional torture he had put her through. “Wait the things you stole went to your parents? Where are they now? How did you even end up in this situation?”

Quixotic of THQ

[Rii <3]

The girl stood there in complete terror and distraught, tears falling down her cheeks and her stomach clenching from the mixture of regurgitating and hunger. Her blue eyes were closed while big fat tears welled up in the corners of her eyes and fell down her cheek.
Hiccuping, she stood there in sheer desperation and it seemed like this man was taken off guard by her tears.
"W-Wait! I-It is okay! I was only fishing for an apology, I did not mean to bully you!” unable to retort or even speak, the girl stood there wailing out loud while tears streamed down her cheeks and snot trailed down her upper lip. Sniffing a rather snotty sniff despite the man's comical, panicked actions the girl still found herself in utter tears.
"I-I am sorry too!” He bellowed and she shook her head, wiping her eyes and still stood there in tears.

The man seemed utterly dumbfounded as she continued to cry like there was no tomorrow and people were beginning to crowd around them, talking to each other in hushed whispers while staring at the two. Some words were louder than others.
"What a poor girl", "Did he make her cry?", "She's only little!", "For shame!" 

As she continued to bawl hysterically and speak her reasons for doing wrong, the man seemed to freeze on the spot or rather he went quiet very briefly just before saying, "Wait the things you stole went to your parents? Where are they now? How did you even end up in this situation?” She stood there and sniffed while trying to calm herself down. It was just her in this cruel world. Looking towards the box that had dropped onto the floor, she kicked it towards him and frowned.
"They're..." She took a slow, deep breath. "Here, there, everywhere. I tried to gather every piece of them I could, really I did, but, but... I had to run from the bad people! They came one day and they smashed the place up and then they... They" She covered her eyes with her hands, hugging her knees "They did something and boom! Parents were everywhere and I was hidden and I saw it and I made a hole for them outside the city and ugug" She burst into more tears. "I'm so hungry! I give them everything I got that I call important." She pointed towards the exit of the town despite it being far away. "They're that way. They're... They're gone."

[Tsundere Shinzu]

A look of terror possessed Shinzu’s face as a crowd began to form. At this point, there was little he could do to justify the state the girl was in. “Move along! Unless you plan on actually helping as opposed to just staring and whispering amongst yourselves, your presence here is less than wanted!” The guild master would shoot the crowd a hate-filled glare before dropping onto one knee so that he wouldn’t need to slouch over so much in order to look the girl in the eyes. “Your parents are ‘everywhere’?” Shinzu wanted to probe the meaning behind the girl’s words. Was this the work of magic? Were her parents blown up in an explosion? Or was she referring to something else entirely?

“Wait… And these bad people? Who are they exactly?” Shinzu’s fists would tighten as the girl mentioned the evil-doers. “Such grave injustice occurred in this town to an innocent girl and I was not there to stop it… I truly have failed her.” The guild master would attempt to calm himself, though in doing so, would notice the red stains on the girl’s clothing. “Is she injured?” He questioned before focusing his eyes on the blood. “I-It isn’t hers!?” Shinzu’s focus would then shift back to the girl as she finished her explanation, after which point silence would fill the air for several seconds.

“Boom.” The word echoed into Shinzu’s mind. “Her parents are…” The guild master would grit his teeth, though not before using a calming smile as a façade to hide his rage. “Do not worry. I will protect you.” His grin would widen, both in an attempt to calm the girl and to hide the blood-lust welling inside of his chest. “These people who did this to you and your parents. Where are they?”

Quixotic of THQ

[Rii <3]

Completely unaware of the crowd standing around them, the girl was finding it hard to stop crying. Her head was killing from the crying and only did the crowd become obvious to her when this rather tall man addressed to the beings around her. Deciding it was best, she completely ignored them and focused her attention on the man who was recently seen like her enemy.
“Your parents are ‘everywhere’?” The man echoed and the girl just continued in a bout of tears.

“Wait… And these bad people? Who are they exactly?” Melodium froze on the spot for several seconds as she gazed at him. Her face puffed out, eyes red from the tears and still more falling. 
"Those bad people... I don't know their names! They walk around in a big group and they started breaking stuff in my house. There's a lady with them, she has black hair," she lifted her hands to her chest and pressed them against it. "And this here is as big as my head!" She looked around thoughtfully as if trying to find someone with a similar bust size.
What else could she say about them from what little knowledge she knew? "The big man is a fat person. He has a black mus... Mous... Mustask on his face!" She pointed to her upper lip and flailed her arms, almost forgetting about the fact she had been crying. "He has no hair on his head and he had an eye patch on!" With that said, she pressed her hands to her head, trying to remember any other stuff. "I don't remember anything else..."


"Do not worry. I will protect you.” The man spoke up and Melo's eyes widened as she stared at him, a blush stinging her face.
He's like a prince from a fairytale! With her hands outstretched either side of her, the girl stood there in awe. 
“These people who did this to you and your parents. Where are they?” The man asked and she thought for a minute before taking his hand with her much smaller one.
"They're... Somewhere?" She voiced, not entirely sure if they were at her home or elsewhere. Her house was in the woodland, but as she took a step forwards in thought, her purple eyes moved towards the path and she looked both sides. "I... Don't remember which way."

-----------------


"Eyy, boss. Yu know that that girl is out there still. What if she call duh cops!?"
"Well, that girl is too stupid and naive to even know what to do. She's probably dead as we speak."
"Lucia's right. Besides, she stands no chance against us. One little girl plus a bunch of police versus my Mafia? I don't think so, besides we'll be leaving by tonight."

[Tsundere Shinzu]

“A lady with black hair… So specific…” Shinzu couldn’t fault the girl. A rough estimate would only put her at about nine to twelve years old at best. That fact coupled together with the trauma she had been put through, it was no wonder that she couldn’t part with any real useful information. “W-What!?” The guild master would stutter as the girl pointed to a nearby pair of breasts. “This investigation just got interesting.” Antics aside, the description did help. Black hair, humongous air-balloon breasts and a shady group. It wasn’t much to go on, however, it certainly did narrow things down to a more manageable proportion.

“Black moustache… Bald... Fat… Eyepatch… He does not seem as interesting as the girl, however, someone like that must be easy to find.” Most of the rich people in Shirotsume saw baldness as a sign of poverty. Not real self-respecting citizen of the town would fail to don a wig, unless of course they were more of the shifty type that preferred to affiliate themselves with underground activities. “That is a lot to go by. I will find these people and make sure they never hurt anyone again.” Shinzu would shoot the girl another grin, once again, to mask the intense rage he was feeling.

“By the way, I am Shinzu. What is your name? We should probably introduce ourselves before it ends up becoming too awkward to ask for each other’s names.” Shinzu laughed a little in hopes of calming the girl down. In fact, part of him wanted to calm himself down too. His blood was boiling and his muscles were aching for a kill. However, the last thing he wanted to do was to scare the girl away. “Somewhere huh? I guess we need to go somewhere then.” The guild master would sigh a little and scratch his head. “Alright, tell me what you can. I know it will be difficult, but try to talk me through where you think they might be. I’ll follow and keep you safe.” It was a bit of a stretch to rely on a child for directions, however, at this point the duo had to start somewhere.

Quixotic of THQ

[Rii <3]

“A lady with black hair… So specific…” The man repeated what Melo said and she just nodded her head. Gesturing about the breast size, this man seemed to become a little more interested, or what seemed more interested and the girl blinked her eyes curiously at his reaction having not expected it. "This investigation just got interesting.” What was this man on about? 
"What's an inves... Investigashan?" Whatever that tricky word was. 


“Black moustache… Bald... Fat… Eyepatch… He does not seem as interesting as the girl, however, someone like that must be easy to find.” Again the girl was at a loss for words. What was this man doing repeating everything she just said? Was he like a parrot? The girl stood there feeling at a loss for hope. 
“That is a lot to go by. I will find these people and make sure they never hurt anyone again.” Those words struck her heart and she felt herself tearing up again. Her feet were hurting her, she was hungry and she felt lost in this world of cruel, inhumane punishment. Hearing those words opened a new world for her. She felt like wings had suddenly sprouted from her bag and she could fly.


"By the way, I am Shinzu. What is your name? We should probably introduce ourselves before it ends up becoming too awkward to ask for each other’s names.” Melodium stood there. Was she to tell him her name? Could she trust him? He promised to protect her and he listened to her. She could see his true emotions despite the fact he was hiding them so well, she may be young but she wasn't stupid. 
"Melodium!"
It seemed that push came to shove, however, as now the man who had introduced himself as Shinzu seemed to have decided something that even the poor child couldn't believe.
“Somewhere huh? I guess we need to go somewhere then.” Melo felt a stone drop in her stomach like she knew what he was going to say or do, "Alright, tell me what you can. I know it will be difficult, but try to talk me through where you think they might be. I’ll follow and keep you safe.” She stood there and puzzlement kicked in as she tried to remember the route.


Making her way slowly down the path, limping at the sore pain on the bottom of her small feet.
She felt tired, sick, hungry and dazed. Everything was happening too fast. Her dress was tattered, torn and ripped; her hair was greasy and clear she hadn't bathed for a while, but she kept going on strong. Sniffing the air, she stepped carefully on ahead.

Soon the roads began to grow familiar and the buildings turned into trees, the path turning into grass. The smell of burnt wood and singed stone soon wafted through the air and the burnt building stood strong in the distance. 
"I followed my nose!"