Time flies when you're busy with work

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Mun! H-How could you forget what day it is? It's the Day of the Ninja!

[ And also the day the mun headcanoned for his birthday because it is said day. ]

... I guess saying the day snuck up on you is okay. That's very ninja like.


A-and... what has my life become in RP lately? I-I mean it's...

Comments

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[ Maybe a restaurant with multiple Asian food choices? Ivan swears that the aroma of the place suggest some Chinese and Thai food. Not that he knows much about those save for when he happens to hang out with Pao-Lin and her quest to eat every restaurant in Stern Bild out of business for the day at least once. ]

A-ah! Sorry!

[ Ivan scampers in after Tiger. He may have to do some dragging because Ivan is used to his life not being a good time. ]

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[Pleased, Kotetsu slings his arm back around Origami's shoulder. He waves down a waitress with the other.]

Evening Laura! I told you I have friends!

[Laughing, the waitress leads them to a booth in the back corner, the only spot left. The place is humming, packed to the walls and probably violating several fire codes.]

[The menus are black and white printouts, copied so many times they're practically illegible. There are definitely pictures of sushi, though!]

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[ ... Mr. Tiger is a regular? He has to be if he knows the waitress, and there are a lot of people in here.

Ivan takes a seat and picks up the sheet of paper. (One should be careful with keeping paper in Ivan's hands for too long. They turn into origami in the blink of an eye.) Do they not have the original to copy from anymore? Back ups of data is everyone's friend. Ivan squints at the menu trying to decipher the words and the pictures... only to find that he had been holding it upside-down. ]

Robbery - inside the restaurant or outside disturbance?

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[Well Kotetsu can't spend his entire time at the Hero Bar! When his schedule was more open, (re: Before partnering with Bunny) he actually made a habit of exploring Sternbild's hidden corners. Following rumors and his nose, he'd landed in this place. Crowded. Questionable culinary focus. Never going to make the Sternbild Blue Book.

But the food was (is) great. Also, Kotetsu found he enjoyed spending time with the people he was helping. Watching them go about their dinners and lives. Talking to the waitresses about their classes and kids and boyfriends.

Chuckling, he turns the menu right-side-up for Ivan.]

Heh, sorry, I've stopped trying to read that thing. Like I said, their sushi and rice are great, and they make an amazing curry!

[Which is also incredibly spicy. Which maybe Kotetsu should have mentioned? Oh well, shortly the food is going to be the least of their worries...]

Holiday busy. Sorry for the delay. How about inside?

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[ Oddly enough, Ivan finds himself growing a little more at ease, and it's a mystery why. The place is crowded and loud and a little shady. Yet, as he sits there, Ivan eases more into the chair in some semblance of relaxing. Maybe it's the company?Ivan does spend most of his restaurant eating alone. This is a change from the norm.

He drops the print out menu to the table. ]

Um, well then... I guess I'll have what you suggest.

No problem! Hope you had fun!

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[Kotetsu notices Ivan's shoulders start to lower. Good.

Laura stops by again, setting down water and a pot of tea onto the red-checked tablecloth. Kotetsu rattles off a long list of sushi. As she walks away, he stands up and bellows-]

And mayonnaise!

[What was that about not being embarrassed by Kotetsu's company?]

[The door opens and closes again, adding a few more bodies to the crowd. Oddly, these three do not seem to be seeking a table. Since they're all the way across the room, it's hard to see what they look like...]

Retail worker orz

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[ Ivan's eyes go wide as the list of sushi gets wider and wider. Surely that has to be expensive to get all of that! However the last request makes Ivan laugh. ]

I guess you really do eat everything with mayo. I thought you're supposed to eat sushi with soy sauce, wasabi, and ginger?

[ But his attention is grabbed momentarily by the squeak of the door opening. Ivan looks up to see the three, but he doesn't suspect them to be up to something. After all, Ivan had his own reservations about the restaurant. Maybe they are surprised at what they found themselves in. ]

Oh poor thing! *pats and hands cookie*

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And mayonnaise! Geeze it's a good thing I'm here to expand your horizons!

[Truthfully, Kotetsu's glad to splurge on somebody. He misses doing it for his family, and Bunny never lets him.]

[Since Kotetsu's back is to the entrance he doesn't notice the trio at all. Laura hurries by, dropping the condiments on the table and muttering "Not them again..."]

Hey, something wrong?

[But the waitress rushes away.]

/noms the cookie!

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[ Ivan will still insist on taking up part of the bill. ]

Mr. Tiger?

[ The air in the restaurant changes dramatically, and Ivan is at the edge of his seat, fingering something in his pockets as he keeps violet eyes on the door. He keeps more than just origami paper in his cargo pants. A ninja needs to be prepared. ]

Re: /noms the cookie!

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[Ivan can try, but it's his birthday, so Kotetsu is going to feign temporary deafness. Hey, the ears start to go when you get old!

What doesn't go is instinct. Frowning, Kotetsu turns his head slightly - not enough to give away he's paying attention to the unwelcome patrons.

Laura and a sweating man who has to be the owner make their way to the door. The conversation starts low, urgent, but one snatch rises above the rest. "-up, my friend. Where's our money?"]

Hmm.

[He palms his domino mask where Ivan can see it.]

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[ Five small metal shuriken and a number of origami shuriken are on the table, and the situation will tell him what he needs to throw and where. Maybe they can get out of this without a fight. The restaurant is too crowded. There's too big of a risk of a civilian getting injured if it escalates. ]

What should we do? Has this happened before?

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Sounds like a shakedown - there's a couple of gangs around here who would pull that.

[It appears the owner is handing over cash. This isn't HeroTV. Technically, he and Origami don't HAVE to do anything. They could just let the thugs turn around and walk away, let the police "handle" it, let the small folk go about their little lives. In the grand scheme, does it matter?

Kotetsu can see Laura's face, teeth clenched tight. That's her paycheck they're taking. Hell yes it matters. Looking over at Origami, he sees the shuriken and the frown. Good. They're doing this.

Unfortunately, the other patrons are definitely a problem. Also, while Kotetsu's got his mask, Ivan is without his armor... unless he disguises himself... Hmm...]

Hey, pretend I'm drunk and you're a server escorting me to the door. Did you get a good enough look at their uniforms?

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I did but... I didn't touch anyone. I can't shapeshift into them...

[ So that idea isn't going to work, but what else could they do. ]

Wait here.

[ Ivan makes his way to the restroom but is hardly there a second before Barnaby Brooks Jr. leaves and sits where Ivan was. ]

This might work...

Happy New Year!

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[A good idea, but that is definitely getting attention. Whispers of "Barnaby!" rumble through the restaurant, and they're growing louder. People turn to look.]

[At the change in conversation, one of the thugs glances up. He double-takes (who would expect the King of Heroes here?!), then bolts out the door. The others tear off behind him.]

Crap!

[The chase is on!]

Happy New Year to you as well!

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[ Oh.

That... wasn't exactly what Ivan was going for. ]

Let's go, Mr--Old Man!

[ Forgive Ivan. He's not the best actor, but right now he's too busy trying to make his way to the door to give chase. ]

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[Vaulting over a table, Kotetsu rockets past Laura and her boss. He can sense Bunny - no Origami right behind him. He's got to remember it's Origami, not his partner. Still, it's enough of a likeness that somehow Kotetsu forgets he could call the real Bunny.

Outside, snow drifts down in lacy sheets. He's just in time to see one of the thugs duck into an alley, and tears off after the figure.

But where are the other two?]

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[ As long as Ivan keep up with the speed Barnaby's long legs give him (and Ivan's natural behavior of photobombing), Kotetsu won't have to worry about losing Ivan in some back-alley.

The thugs however... Ivan sees the one that Kotetsu saw, but he missed the other two. He hadn't heard a jet pack, so that couldn't have been a way of escaping. Splitting up to search would probably help find the other two, but Ivan doesn't want to leave Kotetsu's side. ]

... Did we lose them?

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[As they round the corner, they spot another running figure ahead of the first. At the end of the alley is a car, engine revving.]

Oh no you don't!

[Kotetsu fires his cable, swinging up and landing on top of the car. Scrambling over, he yanks open the driver's door and pulls him - no, her - out.]

Ori-BUNNY! The other two!

(OOC: Boy I really hope none of these guys is a NEXT, that would just be SO inconvenient! ;) )

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[ Ivan lacks the same fancy gadget to help him close the distance, but he throws a shuriken at the foot of the nearest crook.

The shuriken stops mid-air and clatters to the ground. The dark alleyway is awash with a blue light.

One's a telekinetic NEXT! "The hell?" the man sputters as he kicks away the offending weapon. "Why the hell does Barnaby have one of these?"

The other man also begins to glow, and large rocks form and rise around him, a NEXT with control of earth. "It looks like we have a bottom dweller here. Change of plans, we go through Origami."

Ivan throws more of his shuriken, but none hit their targets. Damn it! This seems very familiar. ]

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[Cement and bricks begin tearing out of the street. Both men start toward Origami, combining their powers into a wall of glowing rubble.]

Shit.

[Better call this in after all. Kotetsu shifts his prisoner to a headlock and activates the communicator.]

This is Wild Tiger! We've got two rogue NEXT down here on Bronze level! They just robbed a restaurant and they're resisting -

[Suddenly, the woman begins glowing too. Waves of heat radiate out, so hot Kotetsu's forced to let go. He jumps back, shaking his hand.

She laughs. " 'Robbers?' Please. We prefer "Insurance Agents!"]

Make that three! Suits would be REALLY GREAT!

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[ Oh. That's... going to hurt. Ivan looks around frantically for some escape route, but his back is literally against a wall now.

Ivan jumps to the nearby fire escape. He barely catches Tiger hoping away from the woman. ]

They're telekinetic, earth based, and... something based NEXTs.

[ "Something? Be more specific, Origami!" comes another voice on the comm. But Ivan doesn't have time to reply as the fire escape shakes violently from the bricks it's anchored into beginning to be tugged out of the walls. ]

Uwaaaah!

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Hey! It’s me you should be worried about! What kind of operation is this, taking innocent people’s pay?!

[Tiger activates his own power, spikes of electric blue dancing across his arms and legs. His lunge comes so fast Origami's attackers drop most of the debris and lose focus on the younger Hero.]

'Insurance Agents!' HA! You threatened the restaurant, right?! You’re running some kind of... Insurance Hockey Stick - Uh -um - who cares what it’s called, it sucks!

[“Protection Racket,” Tiger.]

[Oh well. Hopefully that impassioned speech has struck fear into the criminals hearts! ...Or at least given Origami enough time to shift into a different form?]

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[ The three NEXT criminals gawk at Tiger. "'Insurance Hockey Sticks' Really?" The telekinetic laughs. "What a bunch of clowns we're up against."

"All right, we'll show them what our hockey sticks can do." Pillars of cement and asphalt rise from the ground. One of which gets cut in half and falls to the ground. "What the hell was that?!"

Despite lacking his suit, Ivan is proving himself quite armed. Don't ask where his fuuma shuriken came from. ]

Please do not count myself out yet.

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[Tiger doesn’t care where Origami was hiding that, he’s just really glad to hear the familiar whistle! He ducks as it goes screaming by again, then follows right after. Scrambling away, one thug bumps right into Kotetsu. With a crack the man crumples, unconscious.]

Clowns, huh?

[He flashes a quick grin at Origami. He’s impressed - Ivan had every reason to duck and cover, but he’s still standing in the center. Still wearing Bunny, no less, the most attention-grabbing figure possible. The kid really has grown!

More cement rips from the ground. Looks like it was the telepath Kotetsu nailed, not the Earth-type.]

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[ He doesn't have time to really think about how much he has grown or not. Ivan has to move and keep moving. With the telekinetic NEXT out of the picture, he no longer needs to worry about his shuriken being snatched out of the air. He continues throwing them, using Barnaby's height and speed to his advantage.

A piece of cement hits Ivan, but he stop until he's thrown his last shuriken. Then he goes to kick the criminal towards Kotetsu. ]

Catch!