[open] you can run but you can't hide

[frombetrayal]

Who: Haru Okumura (frombetrayal) & you! ft. some closed prompts, too
What: October event catch-all as Haru attempts to track down the Shady Man and/or his associates and tries to help people out as she can.
When: Various times through October.
Where: All over the place, there is nowhere she won't look.
Warning(s): Probably some violence in the fight threads! I'll warn for anything more specific as it comes up, though.

hunting 1.0;
[The first aspect of any successful hunt? Following leads.

Of course, she doesn't have many of them, aside from what's common knowledge for everyone. But she wants to help, and so she's taken to the streets, keeping her eyes and ears peeled for any sign of trouble, or for anyone who's behaving especially suspiciously.

They can't stay in hiding forever...

Of course, with so many people also out doing the same thing, there's the distinct possibility that she might end up trailing another hunter - or that the associate might have noticed and will purposely be leading her into a trap. Call her out on her "subtle" following, or give her a heads up?

...alternatively, if she notices one of her marks glancing her way, she'll smile as disarmingly as she can.]

Oh, I guess we're headed the same way!

[Because that's a totally convincing cover.]

hunting 2.0;
[Haru is on a mission.

Right now? That mission is to try and track down some of the people behind all this. She's not particularly convinced that the people who are like them - the refugees - would have done any of this on purpose; why would they, after all? None of them have been here long enough to have any concrete motive.

If they can catch some of the natives behind it - or the mastermind, even - maybe they can do some real good here.

That's why she's currently chasing one of said tattooed associates down a street, anyway. The person she's following pushes through a crowd and ducks into an alleyway. Haru lets out a shout and puts on a burst of speed.]

Hold it right there!

[Help her out? Or maybe you bear a passing resemblance to whatever associate she's following, and now she's following you by mistake? Miiight wanna clear that up, just in case... She does have an axe strapped to her back, after all.]

helping;
[She can't chase people down forever.

For one thing, she'll get worn out; for another, there are people right in front of her who need assistance. She can only justify tracking these villains down for their sake for so long. So here she is wandering the streets in search of anyone who seems like they might need help - if you look sick, or you're struggling with getting someone you've captured back to base, or if you seem to be trying to avoid people for some unspecified reason or another (fugitives, maybe...? She'd like to hear what they have to say...), she'll speak up.]

Excuse me... [Her expression is concerned.] Can I be of some assistance to you?

wildcard;
[If neither of the above works for you, hit me with whatever and I'll roll with it! Alternatively, hit me up by pm or by pp to hungriest and we can plot out a closed prompt. Closed prompts will be posted in the comments!]

Comments

closed to jae-ha;

[frombetrayal]

[In the Metaverse, one of Haru's favored tactics had been to cast Tetrakarn and let the Shadows be the architects of their own demise.

It's a simple enough strategy - with the opponent's force turned on them, it's a simple matter to follow up with an attack of her own. It's allowed her to take down monsters more than twice her size in the past.

Of course - these enemies aren't Shadows, and so she has to adjust her strategy a bit. Rolling up with her axe out and her game face on is only going to make them suspicious when she purposefully lowers her guard - so she takes full advantage of the fact that she doesn't look particularly threatening on her own. She's hidden an axe behind some crates in an alleyway, and she's more or less corralling her target into that specific alley so she can go for her weapon once she's caught him off-guard. She has Milady cast the spell as she's on the run, but then she plays up the wide-eyed do-gooder role to the max once they arrive, looking for all intents and purposes like she's gotten in very far over her head.

As the associate she's been tracking down - a big, burly man with such big muscles that Haru would wonder about steroids if this were modern-day earth - approaches her, she puts up her hands and takes a slow step back to complete the effect.]

Wait, we can talk about this—

[He's in for a world of hurt if he actually strikes her, but that's obviously not on his mind right now.

Of course, Haru doesn't realize that it's not just her opponent she's fooling - she looks like a damsel in distress to any outsiders, too.]

[razzledazzles]

[From above, especially, all Jae-Ha can see is that a girl is in trouble. She's cornered, the man is huge, and she's giving him every sign to back off but he won't? It doesn't take him half of a second to redirect his searching path down to that alley.

Without waiting for this to get any worse, he comes down foot-first straight into the head of this burly man, sending him flying to the side and into a wall.]

I can't let you hurt a lady.

[His cool line isn't so cool knowing the reality here, but he still lands gracefully and turns to Haru. Or, he thinks it's Haru.] Are you hurt?

[frombetrayal]

[...of all the things she was expecting to happen, it sure wasn't that.

Haru's gaze snaps to the man as he goes flying, and she takes a few steps toward him, concerned, when he hits the wall. For now, he's gone still. ...but his chest is still rising and falling, which means he's breathing.

It doesn't look like he's in any condition to get up, so she'll let him be for now. Instead, she smiles gratefully at Jae-Ha as she goes to retrieve the axe she'd hidden. No need for surprises now - though if that man does wake up and get hostile, she'd much rather have it in hand.]

I'm just fine. Thank you very much for your assistance.

closed to soldier: 76;

[frombetrayal]

[The fugitives have been weighing heavily on Haru's mind.

Perhaps it's naïve of her, but she simply can't fathom why any of them would have done this knowingly. They're lucky to have been rescued by the Natha Orbiters in the first place - and even luckier to have been welcomed into Olympia as refugees. What possible motive could any of them have?

She can't deny that it looks bad, of course. To the natives especially, it must look horrendous. But she at least wants to hear them out before condemning them.

So today, her hunt is not for the Shady Man and his associates, but for the fugitives.

She doesn't know any of them personally, of course, but their wanted posters are so widespread that she'd like to think she would recognize them if she saw them, even if they were disguised. Sadly, that's not true.

Case in point: she's out gathering information, and she's stopped 76 himself to ask him a few questions - though, given that he's in disguise, she doesn't immediately recognize him.]

Excuse me, sir? Do you have a moment?

[personalwar]

[ To Haru's credit, 76 has gone to some effort to make sure that he blends in with the crowd. If it weren't for the scars on his face, he'd seem no different from any other native. That hood he's stubbornly keeping pulled up over his hair and around his face doesn't exactly help either, but it's better than running around with it down.

Plenty of the refugees are out and about trying to gather information, and the problem with looking like a native is that some of them want to talk to him. He pauses at the voice, tempted to act as if he didn't hear her and keep moving, but ultimately he knows that would be more suspicious.

He half-turns toward the girl, his cloak still mainly masking his face. She might be able to catch a glimpse of his mouth and chin, if nothing else. ]

Make it quick.

[ He's not above running, if this somehow goes south. ]

[frombetrayal]

[...hm.

Well, she can't fault him for keeping himself well-covered; that seems to be what plenty of people are doing, in the aftermath of the gas. Still, most of the others she's seen have their noses and mouths covered...

It's not proof positive of any wrongdoing, of course, so she'll keep her suspicions at bay until then. Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence... as they say.]

I was wondering if perhaps you had seen anyone moving suspiciously in this area, sir.

closed to shinjiro aragaki;

[frombetrayal]

[Honestly? Dealing with one of the Costumed Morons™ is probably the last thing Shinjiro wants right now.

But it seems the universe just won't cut him a break. The sound of rapid footsteps will reach his ears moments before one of the Shady Man's associates blows past him, very rudely shoving people out of his way. His pursuer, at least, is doing her best to sidestep the bystanders, and she's much more polite about it, too.]

—excuse me, Aragaki-kun!

[Buuuut she's not about to let her prey get away, so Haru follows after the man. By herself, apparently, because there's nobody else following on her heels.

The person she's following looks much tougher than she does, but it's fine. Probably.

If Shinjiro is worried, he really shouldn't be. Provided he doesn't just say "screw it" and go home, he'll hear a commotion a bit further up and down an alleyway, which the man had tried to duck down to lose her. It sounds - and looks - like that didn't work out particularly well for him.]

Ah? What's that? [Haru has the man splayed out in front of her, her foot on his chest and the blade of her axe to the man's throat, and though she doesn't have any intention of actually taking his life... he doesn't know that. It will be easier to get him to cooperate if he's actively fearing for his life.] I'm sorry, I can't hear you. If you're going to beg, you'll want to do it a little louder.

[ax]

[ it does feel like there is no hiding from Costumed Morons™. one good thing about it is the fact that shinji is relatively good at resigning to his fate. it only catches him a little off guard when a flash of pink and black goes past him in a blur. the only thing he could recognize was her voice and the poof of hair that peeks out under that hat. ]

Oku--

[ he doesn't get a chance to even finish saying her name, she's already disappearing into an alley somewhere. he doesn't even get a chance to really ponder over his actions, because it's dangerous times and she has proven to be reckless enough. shinji's moving before he could think, chasing after her to make sure he could at least knock some sense into the girl before some other guy gets the chance.

he doesn't expect the sight that greets him once he rounds the corner. of course, he's never underestimated her that much. he knew she could probably handle herself at least for a little while, stomping ground if she's that good. what he didn't expect to see is the sight of her, literally stepping on some guy and telling him to beg louder. ]

Uh. [ utters shinjiro lamely, suddenly unsure what to do with himself. ] That you, Okumura?

[ because it's still pretty damn unbelievable. ]

1/2

[frombetrayal]

[She doesn't expect him to actually follow her.

Her eyes widen briefly behind her mask and she turns her head toward the sound of Shinjiro's voice. A moment later, she smiles pleasantly - although her foot doesn't come off the unfortunate man, and the axe blade doesn't come away from his throat, either.]

Oh! Hello there, Aragaki-kun.

[Her tone of voice is decidedly less threatening when she's talking to someone she considers a friend. The man on the ground decides to take advantage of this, wriggling back just enough to get his neck clear of the ace blade before bucking upwards to try and knock her off-balance.]

2/2

[frombetrayal]

[It's marginally successful - Haru goes stumbling, pulling up on the handle of her axe to avoid accidentally slicing him with it. She's not here for bloodshed, after all - just to try and intimidate him into coming quietly.]

Ah-

[Her back hits the wall of the alleyway, but she's quick to recover, darting forward to try and grab at him.]

Don't let him escape, he's working with the people responsible for what happened in the market!

hunting 1.0

[jensaarai]

[Out of everything Ren could be doing, he's most in his element right now. He has his own leads that he's following, but whether they'll prove to be fruitful is something else entirely.

He's running scenarios and weighing his options as he heads down this path. Upon seeing Haru, whom he recognizes, he raises a brow.]

I suppose so. What brings you out here?

[frombetrayal]

[Oh - now that she's gotten a better look at him, she recognizes him. He's another refugee, the one she exchanged information with about the fight club - that seems like a long time ago, although logically, she knows that it wasn't.

...if that's the case, then—]

The same thing you are, I imagine. [She smiles.] Though... you said that this sort of thing [gathering information, she means] is a skill of yours, didn't you? You're probably further ahead than I am.

[jensaarai]

[Ren cants his head slightly, considering. It's difficult to say how fruitful his lead is right now, but he must not be far off if Haru is heading this way as well. Up to this point, he's only heard rumors, and those he has spoken to or otherwise truly had no information beyond that.]

It's possible- [Though he'll have an easier time extracting the information he needs once he can interrogate someone who knows something beyond rumors.] -but you know enough to be heading this way as well, so you must not be that bad at it, either.

[Playing nice and social is difficult, but for the sake of reaching his goals with this, he'll do anything.]

hunting 2.0

[webdesigned]

( help a girl out, yeah, he can do that. though perhaps it's not quite the help she's expecting, that's what she gets for not clarifying! he hears her shout for aide as he crawls along the tops of buildings and keeps an eye on the comings and goings. Spider-Man is more concerned about associates than fugitives, at least for now, so their motivations intersect toward the stranger running through the crowd.

the runner clearly isn't expecting the one-two shot of webbing that sticks him to the floor. he looks at his feet, and then around for whoever was responsible. the weirdo wearing red and blue and hanging from a nearby valance sure looks guilty.
)

The lady said hold it, weren't you listening? ( the spider says, as if this were the most obvious reason to stop someone in the world. the associate starts struggling to pull his feet free, and the masked eyes turn to Haru instead. ) Where are you trying to get this guy?

[frombetrayal]

[Oh! Well.

That's definitely unexpected (and vaguely reminiscent of some comic or other - what was it, Arachno-Boy...?), but not wholly unwelcome. The webs definitely make Haru's job easier, and she smiles in Spider-Man's direction. Today is a day of masked vigilantes uniting, although his definitely does a better job hiding his identity.]

I was thinking I would take him to Ashti for questioning. The authorities will have the resources to get to the bottom of this.

[...she hopes, anyway; she's well aware that not every adult is to be trusted, but her experience so far seems to indicate that they're trying to do the right thing here.

The caught man, on the other hand, doesn't seem to like this idea. He snarls, though caught as he is, she can't help but think he's all bark and no bite.

"You'll never take me there alive, you brats!"]

[webdesigned]

( Arachno-Boy is exactly it. you nailed it, Haru.

for Arachno-Boy's part, he does spare the angrily shouting associate a glance as he makes his threats, they just don't seem to bother him too much. the guy has to actually be able to move to escape their plans, after all, and he hasn't made much progress on breaking free yet. )

Ashti... she's the head of the guard, right? ( though he's done his fair share of vigilante-ing (there needs to be a better word for that), he hasn't actually gone about it on the straight and narrow, because of course he hasn't. he'd have to admit what he can do for that.

he drops to the ground, landing with an easiness that is pretty uncanny, and then straightening as he heads closer to both Haru and the wiggling associate in his web. )

How far away is that?

hunting 2.0

[guidetoblivion]

[Riku perks up when he hears Haru's shout, head turning from her towards the running suspect. A second later he's on the run himself, catching up to the girl with the ax after a moment.]

Is that one of them?

[There shouldn't be any need for him to specify what he means, he thinks, given that half the refugees seem to have taken to hunting after the Shady Man and his people. He shouldn't even need to ask… it's best to be sure though, because if it is, it should be easier to catch their target with two of them.]

[frombetrayal]

Yes - he has one of the marks!

[The "M" tattoo, she means; the man had been hiding in plain sight as a waiter serving tea at a restaurant, and she'd caught a glimpse of it as he rolled up his sleeve to pour. Her eyes had lingered on the mark for perhaps a fraction of a second too long, and he'd bolted.

Of course she followed him.

The man up ahead of them glances over his shoulder, and looks panicked to see that the number of pursuers has apparently multiplied.

"Stay back! You'll regret it if you don't!" he shouts.

Haru would regret it if she let him get away, so she doesn't stay back.]

[guidetoblivion]

[Riku just nods, he knows exactly what mark she means – then narrows his eyes at their target, getting a good look of him, ignoring his shouts. Backing down? Yea, no that is so not going to happen! Still, they aren't going to catch him like this, he thinks, then says.]

Let's split up. I'm going to overtake and ambush him, then we can take him down together quickly! It's too crowded here to fight for long.

[That should also minimize the chance of their suspect doing anything stupid, he thinks.]

helping (sorta)

[kissintime]

--GIVE IT BACK!

[ ermes is doing her best. she's equally mad as hell about the attack, and wants to get her hands on some that silver reward being offered. but, there's an issue. someone who promised her information for a price is ripping her off. a lead that went absolutely nowhere. and now she's hoisting him up against a wall in the residential district, while he wails and tries to get out of her strong arm hold.

all the while he's calling for help, while ermes keeps shaking him up, unaware of anyone who may be nearby enough to hear his screams. ]

[frombetrayal]

[...

Well then.

She's not expecting to hear screaming in the middle of the day - or rather, she was hoping not to. She can't help but worry that it's another attack, that someone's in trouble, and so she hurries toward the sounds of the man's pleadings.

Only to see Ermes there with him up against the wall. She gasps, and darts forward, reaching one hand out for her arm.]

What are you doing to him?!

[Great first impressions all around, right... right...?]

Let him go!

[kissintime]

[ she swishes her head over to haru, eyes in a rage, and tries to violently shove her shoulder out to get haru off her. ]

Get lost, this doesn't concern you!

[ but the victim-- ]

No - please - help, she's crazy!

closed to yusuke kitagawa;

[frombetrayal]

[To be completely honest? Yusuke's nutrition is worrying enough on a good day.

And it hasn't been a good day since he got sick - so of course when Haru comes over to check on him, it's with a container of rice porridge and some ginger to make tea with in hand. It's not the most elegant meal, to be sure, but she has hopes that it won't aggravate his stomach too terribly.

When she arrives, she knocks softly before entering, and when she speaks, her voice is gentle.]

Yusuke-kun, are you awake...?

[She doesn't want to startle him, after all.]

[tricksune]

[ As usual, food is the last thing on his mind. Maybe the reasons are different, but still. A wall-muffled reply, too alert to be sleepy, calls back out. ]

Yes—one moment!

[ It's only a second later that he's there to greet her; he pulls up a simple paper mask over his mouth as he opens the door, better suited for the actual flu than this VIOLET nonsense. Beneath it he's pale—paler than usual—harried and worn rough around the edges, but in one piece. ]

Haru. Why are you— [ It's no mystery to the Thieves that some of their numbers are sick, but he's mostly expecting everyone to be on patrol. A quick (or slow, his reflexes are out of sorts) look-over answers for him though; his glance lingers on dinner for a moment, then back to her. ] Ah, you shouldn't have... I'm likely quite contagious.

[ It's said like an apology—if anything, he should be in some kind of quarantine, not inviting his friends to get ill too. ]

[frombetrayal]

Please don't worry about that.

[Haru's smile is genuine, at least.]

I've been under the same roof as Ann-chan since she got sick, and I haven't taken ill yet. So long as we're careful, there's no reason for you to be on your own while this runs its course.

[Just let her mom you, Yusuke. Since the actual Mom Friend of the group is busy at the Institute.]

That being said, is it all right if I come inside? We really should get you sitting down again.