The Hunting Party

It wasn't often Rainer would hunt, and when he did he never asked for assistance. Though this was the first time he'd wanted to expand his pack. To become a better hunter seemed necessary at the time. He'd be able to hunt anything, and after that he'd need only to focus on the skills to take down what he hunted. That would come soon, and in great force. Neo was a tamer, with him he'd be able to track and tame the creatures he wanted in his pack much quicker. It helped to be able to talk to the future companions they'd be facing. The tavern he'd found himself in wasn't the world's worst, and it was secluded enough to fill his want for peace and quiet.

He'd told Neo and his secretary to meet him here. It was only a matter of time before they showed up, he only hoped they could come to an agreement quickly and with little to no hitches. Konrad slept at his feet as usual, the years seemed to be catching up to him. Konrad wasn't old quite yet, but he was easily at the age to where sleep was always the best option in times of rest. He was as capable as always and wouldn't believe otherwise. As Rainer's hand met the wolverine's ear the bartender brought him his drink. A cold brew, crisp, and a nice hazel color that went down smooth. As he sipped from his drink he began to admire the location a little too much, staring outside the nearby window watching the people go by. Doing what he could to forget his day to day muck.

Ah, the Tosul Tavern. Honestly considering the location, one couldn't expect it to be of 5 star quality. After all, Gehanna was a disgusting place of filth and lawlessness. One can only imagine the state the place will be in after so many days anyway, so there was hardly much point in investing a great deal towards its services. In any case, it was one of Neo's establishments, hence why Neo had asked to be met here. Rather then walking through the front door as one would expect, one of the waitresses, a pretty thing despite the rough area, well protected by the security in the place, would come out from a backroom, walking right up to Rainer and Konrad. "Um...Neo is ready to see you...if you'd follow me?" She'd say, before turning around and walking towards where she had come from. On the way a man made the attempt of grabbing her ass, however he was quickly stabbed with a fork, as she kept walking as though nothing had changed, the guards already on their way to take him...somewhere else.

The backroom lacked people. There were very few despite its size. A personal bar, 3 or so thugs playing pool at the back, and Neo sitting on a lounge with a little girl, Aiya asleep, using his lap as a pillow. He had a lit cigarette in his mouth, and an arm over the back rest, a foot up on his knee and a face far to relaxed for the environment. "Neo-sama." She'd say, getting his attention as he was simply looking at Aiya, daydreaming. Slowly, his head eyes would lift, meeting with hers first, before shifting to Rainer's. "Rainer Hokkai, Representative of his clan and member of the Blades.""Hmm?" That was his only response to the introduction. He knew the name, he had heard it back when they were at school. A year below him I believe. Ironic considering Neo was younger, even if he had matured fully already, looking like someone in his mid 20s. Age didn't matter much in this world. Its led by children anyway.

The girl seemed frail, the guards protecting her seemed nearly as such. Though Rainer wasn't the type to judge on appearance alone. One doesn't need much strength when you're only dealing with drunks and perverts all day really. Chances are they wouldn't get too rowdy. As the girl led the way Rainer made sure to bring his drink back with him, and Konrad lagged behind as he shook off the sleep from his nap. As the two made their way back Rainer immediately noted the smell of cigarettes, hell he noted it as soon as they were within five feet of the door. This caused Konrad to rethink his decision and return to his place of napping. No one would mess with the oversize wolverine, because well, it was an oversize talking wolverine.

Rainer placed his hand over his mouth and nose to appear as if he was sizing Neo up, or just thinking about the something pretty damn hard. In actuality he was guarding himself from the smell of the cigarette burning in between Neo's lips. When you're torturing yourself it is far more bearable then when someone else is holding the whip. The smoke seemed to almost choke him at every breathe and clouded his sense of smell. Pleasure. He regressed for a moment, giving him a single word to match the sound he was presented with. Hmm, was hardly a greeting, so without realizing it pleasure was all he had in return for the man of little words. Rainer moved his hand and sipped his drink slowly, the smell of the hops directly to his nose provided a temporary escape from the heavy smell of tobacco in the air.

Neo would sigh as Rainer made his entrance. He really didn't feel like moving, but then again, he rarely did. Slowly and lightly, Neo would tap his finger on Aiya's head, causing her to wake up, waiting until she was ready to move before he'd lift off the lounge, putting out his cigarette in the ash tray to his side on the way to his feet. It was both a blessing and a curse, these eyes of his. Full time X-Ray vision. Its become so natural, that automatically, when sizing other up, he'd go the full length, complete organic check over. As a result, the prominent change in the Hokkai's breathing tempo was quite noticeable. It was the exact same thing his awakened Midogaron would do in an attempt to appear unfazed by the scent of smoke. Aiya, after rubbing her eyes a fair bit, as well as positioning her little hat, would stand up also, gripping hold of Neo's arm and hiding behind it for security, burying her face to hide from the newcomer. This must have been the man who was so mean to her on the other side of that letter. Seriously, why would Neo have her handling his mail if he didn't trust her 100%.

"Do you need anything else Neo-sama~?" Her voice had changed slightly once the formalities were out of the way, talking less like an employee and more like a friend would. But her answer was soon found in his eyes, causing her to leave the room and return to work. "Beast hire?" He'd say to himself, but was soon corrected. "H...Hunting...Assistance." The girl would pop out to say, pulling a small notebook from her bag before burying her face once more. Neo would begin to walk, creating room for Rainer to follow as they'd move through a backdoor to a small fenced off area outside. Like a private outdoor seating area. There were three picnic table setups, a poker table and another lounge. It was empty save for the three men whom were talking happily, nodding to Neo as they moved inside to give him space for business.

The Lounge, it was far more comfortable then any chair could provide, hence why they were always positioned almost everywhere he went. However there were plenty of chairs for Rainer to sit on as well if he didn't want to stand, the couch claimed already by the unlikely dual. "Rainer Hokkai..." His voice was dark and empty, like the voice of a man stuck in a constant state of tired, too slow to hold a conversation for a lengthy period of time, yet still strong and too the point. "You were at Shogunate Academy." The name was ringing bells, and not just those a clan head usually tends to bring. The boy was a familiarity, though back then, before he had any intentions of being a tamer, it meant little. Not much did to be honest. Oh right the smell, yeah it was open out here, so the smell would be blown off, also considering Neo doesn't have glands, the smell would hardly stick to him either. (I just don't want his remembered scent to be tobacco, can't you smell a bit of Musk or something...).

Rainer watched Neo carefully, simply out of habit. Each inch the man moved was taken in and examined. The tapping, his eye movement as he did what looked liked sizing him up. Putting out his cigarette, it was all just force of habit. The sight of the little girl hiding behind Neo was a bit eye opening. He wasn't exactly a pleasant site to look at, with two weapons on him, and a grand total of four in all. Even though Konrad was holding onto his scythe and dragon's tooth. He still had that ordinary Katana, and the proof of his blade standing on his back. Something he really couldn't part with. Pulling his drink away from his mouth he handed the empty glass off to the woman as she walked off, making sure he wasn't responsible for it any longer. He'd then listen to the two talk back and forth, it'd seem she was a bit more on top of things then Neo was. Is this who I had the pleasure of writing? I apologize if I seemed curt in my letters, I'm not exactly the best writer. He stated as he followed behind the two without saying a word a slight thud could be heard from the bar. Konrad took notice of them moving, and figured it best to keep track of them. The giant wolverine pushed his way through the doors gently to catch up with his brother before he'd made it out the back door.

Rainer stood aside allowing Konrad to occupy whichever picnic table he felt like. A slight sigh came from Rainer just before he heard his name with a tone he couldn't quite make out, this man seemed rather hard to read vocally. That barren tone was easily identifiable at least. Though when the Academy was mentioned an eyebrow rose. Was he there? I was. Drug around a sword a little too big for me. Were you there as well? He'd heard of a few students who dropped out, but never looked into what became of them. Was this man one of them? Either way it didn't really matter, friends were nowhere to be seen back in those days. Rainer wasn't the most social then. He'd sit himself close enough to Neo to hear his whispers, but far enough to give him respectable distance.

Well, for someone who wanted something. He wasn't very encouraging or enthusiastic...With the hostility in the air and all the weapons, not the mention the fact that he just sighed. Terrible way to start a business deal, especially when we are still in the formality state of things. But no matter, etiquette in business ventures and professionalism wasn't the same here as it was in Epsilon. No large corporations and all that jazz. Almost anything that meant something was done via the control of shinobi's in this world, and the leading decision makers were themselves clan leaders. So in this land, there was little more to do then simply tolerate this as a change in culture, but even so, it was slightly upsetting to see that Neo evoked so little fear in this world. Aiya would nod at Rainer as he made his apologies, acknowledging that he was a terrible writer before she pulled a pen from the spine of her notebook and began to write things down. What exactly? I do not know myself, but when I think of it, I'll be sure to integrate it into the topic.

Slightly in the future of that, Neo had finally come to his answer for the question Rainer posed, the followup to his own question in fact. He had to think from a certain perspective on how to answer it, but soon found that simplicity was the best method for dealing with the circumstance. "Yes." And there you have it. The answer. Now, you cannot blame the poor boy for being quiet and unresponsive. he does have three (possible four) other personalities draining the life out of him every second. Its a tiring life he leads indeed. "And you?" The question was aimed at the wolverine, wondering whom he was and if he could talk. One the beast or Rainer answered that, he would continue to dive into the task at hand, as that appeared to be the more important thing to be concerned with. "Hunting Assistance...for what?" I mean, he can't just go chasing after every kelbi that runs past. Actually working himself was hardly profitable these days anyway.

More simple answers from the man, he was beginning to think this was going to take longer then he'd anticipated. Though with that Rainer began to think about his academy days, trying to narrow down he this man was exactly. Apparently they were in the academy at the same time, which meant that they may have passed each other once or twice, it didn't really matter. The past was just that, the past, and there was nothing he could do to change it. What really mattered was the present, the here and now, the deal he was there to broker. Konrad heard the question aimed at him and moaned slightly, which slowly turned into a yawn. All he really wanted to do was nap, though it would seem he would need to be involved in the affairs after all. the affairs after all. Yes, I was there. Was nothing but a pup then though, much like Rainer. A yawn would escape his mouth once more before he rested his head again, this time instead of banking on false hopes of not being disturbed, he kept himself on the precipice of dreaming. Waiting for that moment when he'd be called upon once more, he knew it would come eventually.

Rainer shook his head at the wolverine with a small smile on his face. His old friend hadn't changed much over the years, though his value for sleep seemed to heighten. His eyes shifted back over to Neos like a whip as he asked his next question, one Rainer could answer, but not so easily. Hunting assistance for a series of beasts, I plan to take them as my own. The number isn't small that's for sure, and to call it a walk in the park would be nothing short of an understatement. Sharp heated eyes met Neos' as a look of determination came across Rainer's face, the idea of hunting for new pack members was a bit off putting to him, but the challenge was gladly accepted.

Neo would listen as the wolverine spoke...or thought-spoke out its tired response. You would think that these guys would be a little less hostile and up their own when asking for help. Aiya would puff her cheeks a little bit, but her efforts in her sketch of the strange animal she'd never seen before never ceased to continue. She was even moving her head around slightly to try and get a better angle, not really bothering with stealth. Honestly, it was adorable, would be great if it was a better model though. She did pause momentarily however, shifting her pen to the other page in order to take a note on Rainer's latter comment on the real purpose of this meeting. Neo would reach up to run his hands back through his hair again, pondering how to approach this situation. It was one that he hadn’t come across yet. It wasn’t uncommon for a Hokkai to seek help with hunting new ‘members’ and he was confident that everything captured would be treated as an equal, as that was how their clan operated, so there was no problem there. His dealings with the clan was quite positive thus far actually, but he had never been offered a contract that may be this potentially exciting. Exciting…He was excited? A feeling that hasn’t coursed his blood in quite some time, a welcomed return, bringing a weak smile, almost like the reassuring smile one makes when accepting death.

His eyes, which were previously on the beast, moved back to meet Rainer, preparing for his proposition on the case. “Okay…” His voice would ring out in his hollow tone, followed almost immediately with a small, sharp sound to break the silence. *Crack* Aiya immediately turned away from her notebook, snapping her neck to look at Neo with shock. Her pencil tip had broken on the page, possibly even setting her shading a few levels darker in response to the error, but she didn’t worry about that. “If you help me hunt my beasts in return.” His dying smirk would return once more, as the images of his old dreams funnelled through his mind. If Yvette was in his mind right now, she’d be going crazy, though faint, his passion was slowly returning. “…the danger will be steep.” Infiltration Dobutsu lands, engaging on large scale battles with all assortments of creatures and guardians, and capturing moving mountains themselves. A whole new stage in the taming world, reaching heights not yet reached, submitting the most proud, most feared and most mysterious creatures of this world.