Instigating In Kivotos (Blue Archive X Baku)

[Popocatepetl Connoisseur]

Thursday.

"Hah…no new uploads?..." Sora sighs as she scrolls on her phone.

She's currently working part time as the Cashier of Angel 24…which is completely barren of people sans her.

This might be because the store is in a horrible location, might be, might be.

Though that may be a blessing for the 13-year-old Sora, she gets paid and doesn't have to engage with any rude customers? Brilliant, she may just secure that bread without too much work.

*May* just secure that bag.

The door chime rings, sending Sora into a panic to put away her phone and appear professional, she quickly straightens her hair out and stands a little taller on the stool she uses to not be dwarfed by the countertop.

"Damn, that's an eighthead." A distinctly male voice mutters.

Sora perks up at the (seemingly) familiar voice, I mean, who else in this city is male and comes to this store?

She sees…not Sensei. That's definitely not Sensei, but it's also not a dog, it's still an animal though. At least that's what Sora thinks.

It's a humanoid wearing a long brown jacket with a feathered mask covering their entire head, or maybe that's just their head? She doesn't know.

"Angel 24? Fuck type of name is that? What y'all got in this bitch?" He says.

Sora takes some time to formulate a response.

"Could you…do you have to speak like that?...uh, we're called Angel 24 because we're open 24/7…" The man doesn't speak, Sora starts to blush out of embarrassment. "We're a general convenience store?"

The man takes a few seconds to speak again.

"General Convenience? So this is just Walmart? Lemme peep.." He walks off after saying that.

Sora watches him walk into the back of the store, idly noticing the strange shoewear he has. Yeezy? She's never heard of that brand.

She patiently waits as she hears him rustle around in the back, mentally preparing herself in case he has a problem, after a minute the man walks back to the counter empty-handed. Sora mentally sighs.

"I need a carton of milk…with no lactose." The man says.

"Milk…uh…I'm pretty sure milk can't not have lactose sir." Sora shakily replies.

"Tch, they really just hire anybody to work here."

"Sir, I'm sorry if-"

"If y'all don't get me a carton of milk…with no LACTOSE-"

The man's voice raises at that word. It's loud enough to make Sora flinch from the noise.

"I'm not going to pay for it, Understand?"

"I.-.I can see if we have some in the back?" Sora points a finger at the back of the store, she just really doesn't want to be here.

"Hurry it up then, I parked in the handicapped spot. You take too long and you cost me a band? Some skrill?... we really gonna have a little situation"

Sora takes the cue and immediately goes over to the back of the store and to the dairy isle, she scans the dairy products available and finds only standard milk cartons.

She panics and scans again before finding a…bag? Bag of milk? It's lactose free though-

A mental facepalm follows, she said to that mans face that lactose free milk doesn't exist…

She takes it and hurries back to the counter. The man is still there waiting. She hops onto the stool and plops the milk bag onto the counter.

"This is all we h-"

"The fuck is this? A bag? I asked fo- do you think I'm from the 6?"

"The six? Sir, this is still lactose free."

"Are you dense? I don't care if it's free. Give me milk…That's Not BAGGED UP."

Sora covers her ears from the cacophony. Once the ringing dissipates, she stops and raises her hands up in a placating manner.

"If you need anything else then I'm sure we might have it?" She dons a shaky smile as she says that.

"Fuckass anime character, y'all service industry employees ain't shit." The man takes a moment to think before continuing. "If this is really Walmart th-"

"We're not..Walmart? This is Angel 2-."

"Buddy, What type of store is this? You don't got no milk, no shoes no nothing. Y'all must be storing drugs."

"We do have medic- Drugs?! We're not selling anything like that! We're a convenience store!"

"I ain't gettin' nooo type of convenience from this store, I'm really 'boutta file a complaint."

"Why?!"

"Cause y'all don't got what I want?"

"You…can't file a complaint for that? I mean, I can order some but it'll take a while to get here, please don't file a complaint I need this job. This is the only place that'll hire me!"

"You gotta go back to ABC…preschool,"

"I'm thirteen!"

"123 Sesame Street?"

"Is...you made that address up!"

"Go get yourself a real job somewhere else, if you gonna fuck shit up this bad."

The man sighs.

"Man fuck it, I don't even need cereal. I'm going to go hit up the nearest Walmart." The man walks out of the store, but not before saying. "I'll say the same thing, milk wit no lactose? That joke will hit."
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Out in the parking lot.

Baku exits Angel 21 after running out of things to bullshit with.

He walks to his parked car and finds…

"What, a ticket? I was in there for like 2 minutes."

Right on the windshield of his Nissan GTR.

"15,000…what is that? ¥? Where the hell am I that they've got some shit like this? This is America, this parking ticket is straight bogus."

He tears the ticket off and looks on the back for how to pay it.

"Issued by an officer of the…Community Safety Bureau? That ain't no damn police force I've heard of."

He takes out his Iphone 8 and searches up where the nearest police station is.

"Valkyrie Police Academy? The fuck? A scho- these bitches are just making up reasons to steal some bread off me."

If there's anything Baku isn't taking lying down, it's somebody trying to fuck with him.

"That interrogator ain't here this time, I'm going to fuck up the whole police station if they don't rescind this damn ticket."

 

[Jjwizzle566]

What the fuck? You just posting BA fics? Not that I'm complaining this was pretty funny, calling Sora an eighthead is out of pocket, its a 6 at most.

 

[Popocatepetl Connoisseur]

"...fuck…"

Bootleg cereal, Veggie Dodecahedrons, that's what's in the bowl. Bread is scarce these days, you don't understand the struggle meal.

"Man…why the hell have I forsaken myself!?"

Sickly sweet lactose-free bag of milk. Baku hasn't seen some nonsense like this in the great state of Texas, land of the free, land of normal storage containers for milk. Not this hooligandary. Not this doohickey-laden bowl, it would put anyone in calamity.

"...shoulda just gotten some Mcdonald's…"

Baku is in his 'apartment', five more spoonfuls of misery away from being in true despair, checking and saving accounts both in unspeakable depths. He's sat at his plastic dining table eating a bowl of cereal.

"This city is full of bullshit, literally can't go do anything without people blasting off." He mutters to himself.

He hasn't been shot at yet, people get a weird feeling when looking at him, enough so that most reasonable people know to leave him alone.


He's been free from getting checked on his bullshitting so fa-

His apartment complex shakes, rattling the dishes that he's thrown in the sink, throwing up various clouds of sand that managed to find their way through the cracks of his 'apartment.'

"That ain't convincing me to wash them bitches."

The apartment he's in doesn't actually have a window so he can't see what causing that, only feel it, deep deep poverty makes any mf struggle.

Baku waits for a moment to see if the shaking comes back…

…

It doesn't. So he gets another spoonful of that decrepit cereal and brings it to his mout-

The shaking comes back. The sound of a shell being fired pierces the relative silence of Baku's apartment.

The spoon falls into the bowl, splashing the milk, Baku immediately gets up from his seat and goes into his 'bedroom.'

Of course, since this place makes an NYC apartment look quaint, there's only two rooms in this place. So his 'bedroom' is also the living room. Baku reaches into a nearby unpacked cardboard box.

"Come on, I ain't listen to this one in a minute."

He extracts his JBL speaker from it and walks back to the kitchen table. He places it on the table and whips out his Iphone X.

'Runaway' by Ye starts to play.

…

…

"...man…" He stares at his bowl of cereal.

"I gotta find some way to get bread, got me SICK, can't believe I ended up like that green bitch…" He sighs. "Can't print these shoes off anymore, Ye don't even exist here, these busta's don't know art when they see it."

He did try to pawn off some of them hoes. Yeezy isn't valued here, nobody to scam like that, he got finagled.

…

Soft piano notes ring throughout the apartment. He's rather content with th-

Another shell being fired breaks that brief reverie. A car alarm goes off.

"Ugh…" He groans. "Every day, it's some new shit."

He sits at the table for a few more seconds, contemplating, before eventually reaching below the table and lacing up his Yeezy's.

"Psh, now I gotta get ready to handle whoever's making that racket."

He exits his apartment and locks the door, hastily making his way down the gray life-less stairwell. Another shell is fired whilst he's doing so, this time he can feel the reverb in his bones.

"Ahahaha! Take that!" A female voice can be heard even from inside the stairwell.

Baku shakes his head as he makes his way down the stairway.

Opening the door to the outside, he sees the same desert wasteland that's always there, also the tank in the middle of the decrepit street.

"What are y'all piped up out here about?! Shut that shit!" He shouts out.

There's a girl on top of the tank who immediately turns to the voice that was chatting that bull.

"Who the he- oh, HAH." The laugh sounds forced. "No halo? You should've stayed at home."

"Halos?" He snorts. "Them little glowy RGB rings ain't do nayfin, I ain't following that trend, you can catch me laced up with my goddamn YEEZY instead."

The girl atop the tank covers their ears as she stomps once on the tank's hood, the tank spins it's barrel around to face Baku's direction.

"Oh brother…" He groans.

"How do you even shout that loud? Never mind, Miyu! Get closer to him!" She shouts loud enough for the girl inside to hear.

The tank promptly rolls forward and comes to a stop a few meters away from Baku, barrel aiming towards his body.

"Look, if y'all get yo giggles committing domestic terrorism that's tops wit me, just keep that noise down and it's all good." He says.

"And who the fuck are you? No halo, no gun, no nothing. We don't gotta take shit from you, how's about you keep that noise down huh?"

"You must've driven here DUI, you talking drunk."

"Eh…those beer bottles tasted like shit anyways, don't know ho- nah, who am I kidding, get it moving or you're about to blast off."

"You don't want to make that mistake."

"'YoU DoNt WaNt To MaKe ThAt MiStAkE' I don't care. Matter of fact? Miyu." The girl stomps on the hood of the tank.

"Tch. Alright then." Baku rolls his shoulders and clears his throat.

"Shoot his as-"

"YEET"

There's no tank left. No girl atop the tank, it's all gone. Banished.

"That was self-defense or whatever Ace Phoenix was talking about in that court. Not my problem, I ain't getting locked up again for that shit." Baku shakes his head before looking around the barren street.

There's just sand, some dilapidated cars, more sand, another person off in the distance walking towards him, some more sand, and no signs of those two trifling goofballs who threatened him.

"I swear, y'all bitches never learn."

That person walking towards him? Or more like running Baku guesses, they're hitting feet.

"I ain't got Dash on speed dial, thats…." He squints. "Pink hair? More of them little glowy RGB rings? Fuck that, another laggard wit a gun and a Vlone complex? Count me out."

Baku opts to turn around and walk back to his 'apartment'. In actuality, he's walking back to an abandoned 3 story motel that already smelled like rank boof even before the sandstorms came and rendered almost every room inhospitable, even the room Baku is living in has sand in it.

Baku is walking back towards that and has his hand on the door handle before-

"Sir, are you okay?"

"Oh my god." He takes his hand off the door, groaning.

"I've been dealing with the Helmet Gan-"

"What do you want?"

"...well I came over here to check if you were okay, I heard tank shells being fired, actually do you know where that tank went?"

"Tank?..." He finally turns around to look at who he's talking to.

Comically long pink hair, one of them halos, different colored eyes, school uniform, and a shotgun with a shield. Also, she's short but, to be fair, literally everyone here is shorter than him. The NBA has no scouts out here, the Lakers do not need a center, Baku can't shoot a ball for shit that's why he ain't there and nobody else in this damn city is going to make up that difference. Basketball is extinct.

"Fuckass anime character." He mutters under his breath.

"...I've never seen you around here, who ar-"

"That's nunya business, aight? Come outta my life a little, we don't need this much dialogue between us."

The pink-haired girl sighs before looking down the street.

"So you're alright then? And you don't know where that tank went?" She asks.

"Yes to both. A tank? I ain't even seen that in my life, I don't got a scratch on me, so if you're done talking that bull Imma hit the sack."

Baku turns around and yanks the door open before quickly making his way up the stairs. The girl lingers for a moment, staring at the open door, before shaking her head and continuing with her patrol.

Baku mutters to himself whilst ascending the stairs.

"...man…I knew this damn Abydos was a shithole, I probably ran up on a whole side story, Imma just stay at home for a bit. Deuteragonist ain't the role for me."

 

[Popocatepetl Connoisseur]

"What would you like today?"

"Yeah lemme get uh…." The menu is in letters he can't read. "Shibi…Sai..kay..? What is that? Tf type of place is this?"

"I make ramen, you eat it, it's simple. Read the sign."

"Tch. This ain't no ramen place, where's the hand-waving cat? Where's the statue of that fat guy?"

"Sir, are you here to order food? Yes or no?"

"Yes,"

"Then what type of ramen do you want?"

"What's the cheapest thing y'all got on the menu? My bank account went on the run.., it has me chasing shadows."

"The Regular Shiba Seki Ramen Bowl costs 580 Yen, it's my signature dish, does that sound fine to you?"

"Signature dish? That shit better be exquisite…I'll bite."

Master Shiba walks away from Baku to make his ramen bowl. Baku sits in a nearby booth meant for four, thinking to himself.

It's the end of his first week in Kivotos so he figured he ought to celebrate not getting packed up in this hellhole of a city. Ever since that encounter outside his apartment, he's been holed up in there, trying to avoid conflict.

He isn't exactly at his best. His Yeezy's aren't pristine and he feels like shit constantly.

No income, no bitches, no movement. The last thing he needs is the police getting on him for anything more than an unpaid ticket.
Baku sighs before looking around.

From where he's seated he can still see his car parked out front, that's good, can't risk that getting robbed. His career would be finito if it did.

There's nobody else in the restaurant right now, he saw a waiter but she left to go to the bathroom so he went to order from the owner, now he's just waiting here for food he can't actually pay for.

…he might hit the dine and dash…or go wash dishes? He's not sure right now.

"Here's your order sir, the bowl's hot, so be careful." A…female voice says?

A bowl is placed in front of him, Baku doesn't even bother looking at it, instead looking over the waiter.

They're…not dressed like a loon, well they have cat ears and are a fuckass anime character, but that's par for the course by now.

He prepares to look down at his bowl by closing his eyes…

Taking a deep breath…

And mentally readying himself for the bull.

He opens his eyes and sees a…bowl of ramen?...

He looks around his table for a fork and sees only chopsticks beside his bowl.

"Chopsticks? You thought I was Japanese?...Git me a fork."

"You don't kno…ah..okay!" The cat girl runs off and returns with a fork in a timely manner.

"Here." She sets it near his bowl.

Baku begins to pick at the noodles, twirling them around the fork prongs.

"No…there's gotta be something…"

"Do you need anything else sir?"

"I gotta contemplate on this shit, give me a sec, you stay here."

The cat girl scans the restaurant for a second, noticing no other customers, then deciding to acquiesce to Baku.

He finally decides to bring the fork to his mouth and bite.

"..."

"Is there a problem sir?"

"...it's all good." He mutters.

He quickly eats another mouthful before noticing the waiter is still there.

"Scram."

She does so and leaves Baku to his lonesome.

He continues to eat in rather peaceful silence, for once, he's received no bullshit from food service. He's too tired and hungry to go around bullshitting and he hasn't been interrupted yet?

Sacrilege. Heresy.

"Mm. I ain't even gonna lie, this shit is delectable" The restaurant shakes from the volume.

"The ramen isn't good enough for you to be shouting like that! Keep your volume down." The owner shouts.

"Ight then damn."

Baku continues eating the ramen…peacefully…this doesn't feel ri-

The door chime rings out, yet another female voice shouts out:

"Hello! Table for five! ☆"

Baku doesn't even bother to look up, just opting to look down at his bowl and continue eating. Continue taking in the smell and the taste.

He knows what's coming, but he'd really ho-

"We figured this was the only place you might work, so we just came by." An oddly familiar voice says that,

He hears five sets of footsteps and…

In his peripherals, he sees them sitting at the table to the right of him. Sure, they're not literally sitting to look at him, but it matters little to Baku.

He already knows, deep deep down, there's no end to the hooligandry.

They're chatting up a storm next to him, enough that it's hard to focus on the food in front of him, enough that it even miffs the waiter.

"Would you all shut up already and place an order?!" The waiter from before shouts that.

He eats another mouthful of ramen while keeping his head low.

"Get back here!" That oddly familiar voice yells that out.

Baku sighs and finally looks up. He sees an adult man running to the door before being caught by that very same pink haired girl he met before.

"Bruh, it can't be that hard to clam the fuck up while eating, just eat you damn hinderances." He mutters that to himself while shaking his head.

He tries to ignore the noise, he really does, but when even the waiter joins in to yap it's really testing his patience.

It's the first bit of joy he's found here that doesn't involve bullshitting with other people, he'd very much like to enjoy it.

"You can't force Sensei to pay!" He mentally tunes out the rest.

It's enough, well more than enough, can't focus on eating this actually good food when these trifling, despicable, deplorable, diabolical… little fuckin' dimwits can't keep they's traps shut for two damn seconds.

Thus, Baku reaches down below the table and laces up his Yeezy's, clears his throat, and sighs once before finally turning to face the group of 5 sitting at the table to the right of him.

"Yo." That gets their attention real quick. "Can y'all pipe..the fuck down? I'm over here, trynna get a bite in, and y'all talking tripe. That's flagrant."

The bowls and silverware in the restaurant narrowly avoid falling from their shelves, dust sprinkles down from the ceiling, every bit of conversation from that table is silenced immediately.
He stares them down.

An adult guy, same cat girl waitress from before, that…pink haired girl from before, then there's this black hair girl with glasses, girl with…wolf ears? And a pale blond girl.

"Sir. If they're-" The waiter is interrupted mid way.

"They?" The pink haired girl can't help but notice the word choice.

"Ugh. If we're being too loud than you could move to a farther away table?"

"Nah I gotta keep tabs on my car, mfs in these parts are nefarious, I ain't getting licked up like that."

"Trust me, nobody's going to rob your car around 'these parts.'" The pink one rebukes.

"Bruh. How do you kno- manner of fact nah." He takes a deep breath. "The only thing I've gotten in this city is bullshit. Everybody's got a gun, people driving around in tanks, these police ain't do shit to keep the peace. I've handled more than they have in one day than the entire week I've been here. So I ain't movin' and y'all gotta clam it up, or we really gonna have a little situation."

"I thought you never saw a tank in your life? Remember me?" The others all look at the pink one in confusion, Baku…

"Yes, I remember you, you're the laggard harassing me outside my crib." He sighs.

"Laggard?" She questions.

"Look, we don't need to drag this out, clam it up and I'll eat then leave. God knows I've had enough hooligandry for one week,

"Nn. Yo-"

"DId you hear…a word I said?"

Somebody else tries to talk to him but he just dismissively waves off the attempt. He doesn't actually want the fight, not only is a 6v1 unfavorable odds, but collecting charges that aren't self defence would land him an extended stay in the pen again.

He continues to eat his ramen until the bowl is empty, the conversation to the side of him is at a quiet enough volume that it doesn't bother him.

"Fuck…I gotta got my racks up on the real…." He mumbles that.

It's the one thing he's been attempting to avoid this entire time.

Being a useful member of society.

"Ight that's enough, let's see if I can finagle this busta." He mentally prepares himself.

He can't spew that nonsense on command.

He gets up from his dining table, ignoring anything and everything from the table next to him, walking over to the bar top Master Shiba is idly standing by. He reaches into his pocket for his wallet and pulls out 400 Yen, he smoothly slides it on the table to Master Shiba who looks at the amount for a second before looking up at Baku with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll keep it real witch you, that's all I got, I can get you back later once I got bread to my name."

"...I can see you have a car out there…"

"Yea. I don't pay insurance, no maintenance, no nayfin. I don't got bread for that. I'm trynna survive."

"And your clothes? Especially the shoes."

"Psh. My YEEZY is an exception."

"..." Master Shiba takes a moment to think, also to recover from the noise. "400 Yen? You'll 'get me back' for 180 later then? Heh." He chuckles. "Given how much you enjoyed the ramen, I'll expect to see you back later, just stay true to that promise."

"Yeah, that's right. Shit was exquisite I ain't even gon lie. See ya."

Baku nods to himself before walking out of the ramen store.

He avoided making a scene and got good food for lower than normal price? That's a dub in his books.

 

[Popocatepetl Connoisseur]

"Yeah I'm boutta be UP, This'll get me out the mud fo sho." Baku smiles to himself as he says that.

Yeezys didn't work the first time. People don't fuck with Ye here, or more like they don't even know him, so Baku just stood around like a goofy for an hour trynna sell shoes nobody wants.

He can't just throw all those counterfeit Yeezy's away, so,,,

"These painted YEEZYS boutta sell like sliced bread or some shit. Whatever lil' bullshit terminology to say these thangs'll get me my bread back."

He painted the Jordan logo in various pinks and purples on the shoes. He's got a lil cardboard box full of them on the ground next to him. He's stood in the mouth of an alleyway that leads out on a busy sidewalk that's not in Abydos since nobody lives there.

He just drove to a place that looked busy enough and parked. There's some graffiti on walls and a lot more people dressed in non-school uniforms, that's a good and bad sign to him.

Good that people are willing to get fitted the fuck out.

Bad that someone's probably gonna try to rob him or sumthin'.

"Aight it's 'bout time to start." He clears his throat. "Yo."

The volume catches the attention of multiple girls that just so happened to be walking by.

"Catch these shits I got here. Come peep." He reaches into the box and pulls out a black shoe painted with a purple Jordan logo. "This came straight from the tap, y'all know Jor- no you don't nevermind. Look, these ones is exclusive."

Most of the girls walk away but one decides to stick around.

"Yeah, you know what's up, look I'm offering a discount on these bustas, how does 7000 Yen sound?"

"7000 Yen? Psh." She snorts. "Let me see these things."

The girl is dressed a bit differently than the background characters he's been seeing. They got some stylized sneakers but still have the same school uniform he's seen a lot of girls wear around these parts.

He hands her the shoe and she turns it around in her hands, getting a look at it's every part.

"I got multiple sizes case you're worried 'bout that."

"Eh…what're these called?"

"They called YEEZY and they're selling like sliced bread r-"

"It's hotcakes dimwit."

"Quit grammar checking loser. It's true with whatever lil fuckin' metaphor you want."

"Alright…uh…you wanted 700- actually why are these so light?"

"They contain the dreams and hopes of the hood, now are you going to buy them or nah?"

"Tch, yeah sure I'll buy, uh… I only got like 6500 Yen on me…" She looks off to the side as she's saying that.

"6500? Bruh, you don't got 500 more Yen on your person?"

"Don't make fun of me for being broke, you're selling shoes on the streets, I don't want to hear that."

"It's called being a street artist, I'm just trynna get a feel for the city, so I took my bizness out here."

"...so you gonn-"

"You either gotta give that extra five hunnid, or get it movin'."

"Alright damn." She pulls out 7000 Yen from her wallet and gives it to Baku who hands her a pair of shoes.

"Yeah I'm the one doing the finagling, not you, if you want more than you can come 'round here tomorrow. I'mma be pushing these things for a few days, you know the deal."

She walks away quickly after that, cradling the pair of shoes in her arms.

"I'm coming up off this shit. Movie Tickets could never…"

Baku smiles to himself after making the sale, rubbing his hands together, he counts the bread in his hand.

Satisfied, he reaches down beside the box and uncaps a bottle of water, drinking it to get his voice to be clear again.

Shouting at the volume he does requires a clear throat.

He looks at the passerby's for any potential buyers.

Hm… some more plain looking girls, the occasional walking dog or robot, a girl with a red bob cut and twin tails?...

"These fits cannot be comfy, they's gait is excruciating." He mutters, trying to not draw her attention.

She walks past and Baku continues to scan the crowd.

It's mostly robots and…this one girl who looks 'bout right.

She's got white hair with black bangs and red eyes. A hoodie with the words 'Born to Kill' and a red plaid skirt. The most important part is that she's got some basic ass black sneakers.

"Yea she's got it on. This'll be trivial." Baku clears his throat. "Yo." The girl perks up at his loud voice, along with some bystanders. "Nah not any of you, git it movin' peons." They do so and the black and white hair girl points to herself. "Yea you. I got a limited-time offer for you, some real fucking shoes. Come peep."

The girl looks down for a second before shrugging and walking over.

Baku reaches into the box and pulls out his last pair of black Yeezy's painted with a purple Jordan logo, he knows drip, he knows what she needs.

"These ones is fresh off the press, clean as hell, ready for the prance and dance. All you gotta do to get these joints is pay me… a couple of racks."

"A couple of racks?...for…" She chuckles. "These?"

"Watch that tone 'round these dogs, they got a bite to em'." Baku chuckles. "You wanna level up that fit? I can see you're kitted the fuck ou-" She raises an eyebrow. "Quit with the investigating stare Ace Phoenix, you ain't deducing nayfin' only thing you figuring out is the price on these joints."

"Which is?..."

"Shit…I'll take 7000 Yen for them,, trust, these'll get you some play fo sho. Whatever way you swing, you'll be movin' like Duke."

"Don't you talk strangely…" She says that more to herself than him. "Hm. Hand me one of them." Baku does so and she looks the shoe over for a few seconds, raising it up and down multiple times, before returning it to Baku and snorting. "7000 Yen? Right…so how many of these have you sold so far?"

"That's nunya…" Baku pauses and waits…

"I'm not saying it."

"Buddy, you stressed and probing for nayfin, must've gotten here DUI, you talking drunk."

"Alcohol isn't what I…you didn't answer the question."

"I've made 'round 70000 Yen off these joints. I'm Up."

"You've sold 10 pairs of these?"

"That's just the type of pull I got, despite the circumstances, I still got game."

"Yet you have almost a boxful of them right next to you…"

"You talking hogwash right now."

"70000 Yen and you're using a cardboard box to store your product in?"

"Yeah it's my first day, the fucks with the expose?"

"..." The girl sighs. "I know these shoes are fake."

"That's a possibility."

"They're too light. Put a counterweight or some…loo-"

"How's 'bout you scram outta here now? I don't got time to listen to malarkey, I gotta get this product movin'."

"No, it's just…" She looks off to the side for a moment. "You could put up a sign, list your prices and shoe sizes available, that would probably get you more customers."

"..."

They stare at eachother for a few seconds.

"You don't catch the signs? Get it movin'. Skedaddle."

"Don't mind me then, I need to get around you and in that alleyway." She begins to walk past Baku's 'shop' in into the alleyway.

"What, you on Sly Cooper timing? There ain't nayfin in those dumpster that'll get your close-"

"It's none of your business."

"Ight then, get yo lil-'"

"Quit talking." She's off into the alleyway before Baku can get the rebuttal in.

Baku looks at her retreating form before shaking his head.

"1/10 ain't bad odds, I don't even got to work for this bread, unless some more people like her show up I should be good."

 

[Popocatepetl Connoisseur]

"I got sand up here, sand over there, some sand on top. This ain't Dune, Next thing I know a fuckin' Alaskan Bullworm boutta pull up on me, tha's not the type of problems I need, I gotta get outta here."

Baku is storming 'round his 'apartment', glaring at the state of things, specifically the sand that's all up on in his things.

"JBL speaker fucked? Rank ass bed dusted?..." He takes a deep breath. "My bootleg 3d printer ruined?"

It is. It's got sand in places that there should never be.

If this was a week ago, he'd be finished, absolutely cooked. Luckily…

"100,000…200,000…245,000? Oh yeah. I'm stacked up on all this BREAD." He reaches into a nearby cardboard box and pulls out the fat stacks.

He goes to his dining table and does a money spread on it, smiling widely as he does.

"Yea ye, I'M UP. I'm fresh from the gulag, done wit the slog, out of the prolog..ue? Damn." He shakes his head, but still has the widest smile. "I mighta folded."

He picks up the money spread and fans himself with it a couple of times, before cleanly folding all of it into one stack, then smacking the fat stack against his hand a couple of times.

"Tch tch tch." He clicks his tongue. "It's 'bout time to move up in the world. I'm stacked up, I got the cheese to obtain an actual crib. Hopefully, it's somewhere that ain't in this bitch ass, fuck ass, rank ass desert."

He gathers his money and shoves it into his wallet then walking out of his apartment and locking the door.

He quickly walks down the stairs and out onto the street. There's a whole lot of nothing 'round these parts. Just a faint wind and a certain conglomeration of plants and dust tumbles by…

"Oh nah is that…" A tumbleweed blows by… "EASTWOOD?!" It comes to a stop before him. "Sheet, I don't got a six shooter on me, I'm not the one. My bad OG, I'll get it goin'." Baku holds his hands up and the tumbleweed blows past him only after he does that.

He gets it going by getting in his car, putting the key in the ignition and starting the car…starting the car…star- it's stalling.

"What the hell?" He turns the key a couple of times, the ignition sounds like it's about to start, but it keeps conking out. "This jont can't be beleaguered, I just fucking stole it." He tries it multiple times but it doesn't start, so he goes outside and pops open the hood. "They got a whole tomb in this bitch, King Tut boutta pull up on m-" Baku coughs from the dust clouds that comes up.

There's sand everywhere in that engine. Baku steps away from his vehicle and lets the dust cloud rise up and off into the air.

"Nahhhh. My whip got totalled by a force of nature, that's heretical." He shakes his head before closing the hood. He takes a deep breath before concentrating ha-

Baku perks up immediately to scan the area around him…and sees…the same sight always outside his apartment.

He felt like he was being watched, but he didn't know from where or by who.

"Ugh. Stalking's a new one." He mutters to himself.

He gives the area around him another check but finds nothing.

"Yo if you over scheming and fiending on my downfall, you could come out and do that shit rn. Square up." He shouts out into the wind…nothing responds.

"Psh. I gotta solve the car issue, then I can worry 'bout whatever lil' premonition I got there."

The premonition isn't a surprise for him, anime type shit is something he's familiar with, it's more 'bout the fact that he's managed to keep it a relative secret all this time he's been in Kivotos.

That type of power only gets the worst type of people's attention. So he does one last scan around the area before walking back to 'his' car and rolling up his sleeves.

"Yeah it's 'bout time to whip out the episodic power." He declares before concentrating and taking a deep breath. "BET."

90%

Baku's body takes a faint purple sheen while a violet aura surrounds his body.

The YEET ability is only part of his power as a Psychic, not an Esper, there's a difference. Trust.

"Time to handle this." He holds his hands out in front of him and over the engine that's currently filled with sand.

He imagines what the engine looks like. All of it's parts, wires, lil fuckin' tidbits and gizmos included. He considers all of that before lifting.

All of the sand is lifted from the engine before it's subsequently thrown off to the side, revealing a normal-looking engine.

The purple sheen and violet aura dissipate immediately afterward.

"Tha's…prolly good." He closes his car's hood before hopping in and shoving the key into the ignition, this time it starts up easily.

Baku nods to himself before driving off down the street at a slow speed.

He drives for only a second before fiddling with his car's radio.

"There's gotta be some good music here. These bitches had god knows how long to make some real tunes. Lemme peep." He tunes the radio to a random frequency.

It's just classical music. Piano, violin, the whole shebang.

"Beethoven? Fuck outta here.' He changes it to another random station.

It's some of the…worst…'rap'... this ain't rap. This is hip-hop.

"Y'all are not Ye, you will never be him, put some respect on his name. Ac-" Baku holds himself back by taking a deep breath. "Nah…I gotta do something 'bout that. After I get that new apartment, these bitches aren't ready for my heat, I'll spit straight fire trust that."

He opts to just turn off the radio after that…'rap' was playing. It's clear to Baku rap is pretty experimental here, ain't nowhere near the level he's used to.

The road he's driving on is empty of cars, people, basically everything. It's the reason he can fuck around with the radio without worrying about crashing.

Of course Baku doesn't even make it 2 blocks down the road before something happens. Baku squints…

"...bruh…" He sees something further ahead, blocking the road.

It's another car parked diagonally to take up his side of the road. Baku turns the wheel to swerve out of the way until he sees something on the ground that makes him hit the brakes. It's a body with a couple of puddles of red liquid around them.

Baku comes to a stop before them.

"Tch. These serial killers gotta get they bodies out of the damn road. That positive K/D ratio ain't getting you closer to god."

Baku shakes his head before taking a note of the surroundings. There are a couple of dilapidated buildings around him but the main priority is the car blocking the road and the girl. The car doesn't look as ruined as the rest of this city and the girl is sprawled out in a puddle of 'blood' but there isn't any of it on them.

Baku already knows whats up, but running over a body, alive or not, would fuck up the wheels on his jont. So he opts to exit his vehicle while leaving it running, then he walks over to the 'body' and says:

"Quit playin' bruh, Get yo lil' stupid ass and yo fake blood off the road, you fucking up the asphalt."

The girl doesn't move and Baku groans before stepping closer to the body, noticing the smell of ketchup around her, he rolls his eyes and stays outside of the puddle but close enough to lightly kick the girl's arm.

"This gotta be the number 1 worst robbery attempt in Ame- Kivotos. What'chu boutta do now huh? You gonna murk me from there?"

"Nah, we're going to, if you don't give up that car." A voice from his right replies.

Baku slowly tilts his head up and to the right, noticing a trio of girls slowly walking out of the ruined buildings wiith their guns trained on him.

"It's not just them." Another voice says, this time from his left.

Baku clicks his tongue before looking off to his left. It's only one girl this time, she has a shotgun and it's aimed at him.

"'Number 1 worst robbery attempt in Kivotos.' Fuck up hater, it worked pretty well don't you think?" The girl on the floor says that.

She's still laying in the puddle but has a smug grin on her face.

"Y'all got yo lines out? How much time it take to come up with them suckas?" Baku doesn't look very pressed, just idly tapping his foot against the ground. "Damned imbeciles, if you gonna rob someone, then hurry up and do it. Don't start yapping."

"Cornhead, just look at your situation real quick." The girl on the floor gets up into a sitting position before pointing to her left and right. "Why are you chatting when we got your ass surrounded. Cough up the keys to that car and save yourself a hospital trip."

"Aight. That's enough. Now I gotta come up with an alibi for this shit, don't testify against me if you survive this." Baku takes a deep breath. "BET"

90%

The very same purple sheen and violet aura envelops Baku's body. He proceeds to stand there, hands in his pockets, definitely not aura farming.

"Wha…?" The girl on the ground looks baffled.

The surrounding girls all have various looks of confusion on their face before they remember they all have guns. It gives them a feeling of reassurance against the unknown.

"Mag dump rn, I'm boutta handle that shit." A white bubble envelopes Baku, shielding him.

A tense moment between everybody there passes. Then, the sound of a shotgun being fired rings out, Baku expects it to hit his psychic shield. Instead, one of the girls on the right is knocked on her ass by the same shotgun blast.

"Agh!" She yelps out.

Baku immediately turns to look at whatever's happening to his right. That pink-haired girl is rushing down the trio, unloading her shotgun on the trio while blocking any of their shots with her shield…?

"...wow…ain't that a…hm…" He takes a moment to remember. "Deaus?... machine? Uh…axe? Fuck, nevermind, I musta ate my lucky charms toda-" He's interrupted by the sound of shots hitting his shield, he looks behind him and spots the lone girl on his left. "Fuck nah buddy, it's about time for you to GO."

She racks another round in her shotgun but doesn't get another shot in before Baku's shield drops and he thrusts his palm out at her. She's promptly enveloped by a violet aura.

"Woa-" She isn't allowed another syllable before she's telekinetically lifted and tossed 'bout a street block away.

"Yeah, that's fresh off the witchcraft and wizardry handbook, I'm educated."

Baku turns around to see what's going on behind since the cacophony of gunshots and shouting died down.

There's the pink-haired girl, reloading her shotgun after having taken care of the trio, they're all in various states of crumpled on the ground, haloes gone.

"Damn, she on Wick timing." He snorts after he's done lipping off.

She turns to face him after his distinct voice rings out. When she begins walking towards him, Baku takes some time to think.

"Huh. You know, I could get involved with these shenanigans but…" He considers the pros and cons.

Pros?...hm…you know, that's a good question.

Cons: He gets involved with people who shoot first, ask questions later. This isn't exactly going to get him any sort of peace any time soon. This is just another opportunity for people to discover his powers and to try to get something out of him. One person knowing isn't a big deal, murder is a lot easier to get away with in that regard, but multiple? There's also the fact that he hasn't met anybody he's fucked with in the slightest. The-

Nah, real simple, nuff of that yap.

It ain't gon stop people from fucking with him.

"I think. I'm not getting involved with this shit. Imma nip this plot point in the bud." He walks over to the girl on the ground, who's in shock from seeing all of her friends getting dismantled in literally a couple of seconds. "Distract her a little" He nudges the girl on the ground while pointing to the pink haired girl. "Act a nuisance, get to nagging her. Hindrance." He saunters over to his car and gets in, locking the doors the instant he does so.

He immediately puts the key in the ignition and tries to turn the car on. In the rearview mirror, he can see the pink-haired girl looking over the girl on the ground. Baku pulls out his phone and whips out the Spotify playlist.

Muffled voices are quickly drowned out by his phone blaring 'Runaway' by Kanye West at max volume, he skips to the part where lyrics are sung. Of course that gets the pink-haired girls attention who immediately begins walking over to the drivers side of the car.

"Yeah this songs got me right." Baku begins to loudly sing the song. " ♬I always find, yea, I always find something wrong♩"

The pink-haired girl makes it to the driver's side window and knocks on it. Baku just continues to try to start the car up, it stalls out a few times, so he just continues to look forward at the road while ignoring the knocking at the window.

In his peripherals, he can see her knocking more incessantly on it but Baku continues to try to start up the car while making exaggerated hand gestures to emphasize his singing.

"♬Let's have a toast for the douchebags. Let's have a toast for the assholes. ♩" He loudly sings.

"Sir, you're going to have to answer fo-" Baku skips forward on the song.

"♬I don't know what it is with females, but I'm not too good at that shit. ♩" He really gets into the groove, making exaggerated head bops, he feels that lyric.

Finally, the car starts up and the instant it does Baku slams the accelerator pedal.

Baku can't resist the temptation of rolling down his window as he drives off, music blaring out from the window as he cheekily gets out one last lyric.

"♬I'm so gifted at finding what I don't like the most. So I think it'd time for you to get the fuuck ♩" He draws out the last note, making up the lyrics as he goes. "♬Out my business, runaway. ♩"

The girl says something, he can't hear it, and even if he could he doesn't care. He rolls down his window and sees the girl bringing up her shotgun at his car before seemingly thinking better of it and folding.

Once Baku is far enough away, he turns off the song, still in a good mood.

"...yeah I'm boutta be free from this bull. Just wait."

 

[Popocatepetl Connoisseur]

Takanashi Hoshino runs through the mental checklist one more time.

Name? No idea.

Appearance? A humanoid male (Something is up with their voice but it is the voice of a man, even if it's deafeningly loud at times.) in a long black jacket with a grey shirt. They're dressed in grey jeans with a pair of shoes labeled with the Yeezy brand.

She's looked up that brand, it doesn't exist, so it must be his own product…which…says something. Maybe.

Place of Residence? A ruined 3 story motel that is on a higher rung than 'homeless' but not by much.

NO HALO. That's a statement, not a question, which baffles her because…

Powers. Yeah, that's…a thing.

No halo, they're not a student either, so…

She sighs while lounging on the sofa she's sitting on. She hangs her head back and runs a hand through her hair, considering some very interesting theories, before leaning forward and steepling her hands above her lap, foot idly tapping against the ground.

She closes her eyes and thinks.

He has powers. She runs through the ones she knows for sure.

Voice Amplification. The volume required to shake the whole ramen restaurant is beyond anybody without assistance of some sort. Though it may be mildly deafening, it hasn't caused any real damage, it's just absurdly loud enough to catch everybody's attention. This one isn't of concern, the real one is:

Telekinesis. Violet aura surrounding him. ' BET' heralds the change.

Enhanced bullets is about the extent of 'powers' she's seen. Of course, there's the enhanced movement or strength but it's all rather…grounded? Is that the right term?

She can enhance her bullets and…well…that's about it?

This guy can telekinetically lift all the sand out of his engine without touching the engine itself, leaving the car undamaged from his effort atleast, it was already in a bad enough condition before so she'd imagine that attempting to lift the sand out would wreck the engine but he had the precision to not do that?

She saw him do this when she was stal…no…

It's not like Hoshino was stalking him or something, really, it's called a stakeout and she really didn't have much better things to do with her time.

Her time after she was done with her school day that involved very little learning and a whole lot of criminal activity that is definitely justified and not at all concerning to Shiroko's ambitions.

After robbing that bank and walking home for the day, Hoshino took some time to think back to what she said to Hifu-Faust.

'That's how this school ended up in this mess: by ignoring all the 'what if's'

It might've sparked a little proactivity in her, the yap about really depressing things, it's the truth but…

She figured she may as well see what's the deal with this unknown that moved into Abydos with seemingly no intention to interact with anyone or anything beyond the bare necessities. She knows where he lives after all so it wasn't a big detour to simply check out if there's anything blatant about him or his house.

Luckily unluckily she found him doing exactly that. Hiding in a nearby building to avoid detection, she spotted him using his telekinesis in such a lazy manner that it kinda reminds her…

Hoh, what a useful power actually, telekinesis? Imagine, not even having to get up to get a pencil or reload her shotgun, just a mental command and it's all done! Then she cou-

Hoshino shakes her head.

Uh. Back to it.

Does she actually think this guy has anything to do with the downfall of her school or anything similarly grand? No. Obviously not, this guy couldn't scheme like that if he wanted, her intuition tells her this.

All she wanted to do was verify whether nor not he was simply going to laze about and do nothing or try to start something up in this desert. What that 'thing' is? She wasn't sure.

She hit the jackpot trenches though, and confirmed her suspicions from the first time she met him.

He dealt with that tank she was following, he wasn't lying when he said he 'handled more than the police did in a day than they could in a week', and that he really didn't need her help when he got ambushed by that group of Sukeban.

She couldn't just let a civilian get robbed even if she was tailing them so she rushed to help. In her peripherals, she saw that lone girl with the shotgun get flung in some direction, once she dealt with the trio she immediately walked over to ask the guy some questions but he got in his car and tried to start it up. She walked over to the window to ask the 'very simple' question of 'What are your intentions here?' but he simply waved her off in the most disrespectful manner she could fathom that doesn't involve violence. Playing music while driving off and ignoring her every word?

She thought about shooting his wheels out at that moment.

Unnecessary antagonisation isn't really what was needed in the moment, besides, it's not like she needed answers at that very moment.

Now though? She can't let someone like this simply roam out and about without knowing what they're doing here. It'd be…quite irresponsible of her.

…this is definitely not stalking…

"Heh. Yeah…" Hoshino chuckles to herself.

It's for the greater good though. All she's gotta do is go to his front door and knock politely, ask him the simple question, and if he doesn't say anything outrageous then she moves on with her day.

If he does…well…Telekinesis sure is a new one but she's not one to simply surrender when the odds aren't favorable.

She's sure she'll figure something out. Of all of this, she means.

 

[Popocatepetl Connoisseur]

Baku stares at a blank piece of paper…

…

A whole lotta nayfin comes up…

…

…

It ain't easy to conceptualize something from nothing…

…

" Fuck. Ye woulda already got a song written down by now, I…damn. " He shakes his head,

He's in his soon to be old 'apartment', sitting at the dining table while staring at a blank piece of paper on it. Attempting to think of something to rap about.

It really had him pressed when that abomination of a rap song came on over the radio, motivated enough to give it a shot himself, but…

It's kinda hard. Just a little.

" Psh. That bitch Lil Broomstick could do it, I got this, just gotta… " He taps his foot against the floor. " Hm. So…I don't like trifling bitches, I hate anime, and… I don't got a job? " His eyebrows scrunch and he snaps his fingers repeatedly. " I'm not going to be rapping the broke chronicles. The streets ain't gon fuck with that, instead…I should….rap about how I stand ten toes down? Rap about… " He thinks about what has pissed him off recently. " The shootouts that happen outside of my home, those worthless cretins that don't have anything better to do other than squabble, and that pink-haired girl. "

Three times in the same week is a bit much. She ain't a friend, probably won't ever be, just someone with a shotty that somehow keeps ending up in his business.

" Alright, that's a start, now I just gotta find or make a beat and I can get shit poppin. " He smiles to himself. " Finally. It's the whole title and shit, I gotta live up to it. " He declares.

Rubbing his hands together he-

The doorbell rings…well, more like it makes a cacophony of broken instruments and noises, but it's definitely a doorbell.

" These bitches have got to get they fingers of my damn doorbell." He sighs before getting up from his seat and walking to the entrance door.

The hallway is littered with various cardboard boxes full of the things he's acquired over these past 2 weeks in Kivotos. Bootleg 3d printer, box full of phony Yeezy's, JBL speaker and a bunch of other knick knacks.

It's his last day living here after all. Tomorrow, he'll move to that new apartment he found. It's not literally in the city, more so in the outskirts, just so he can avoid the outright warfare of the main city but still remain close enough that shopping runs don't take hours.

Finally, Baku makes his way to his front door and looks in the peephole.

"Oh Nah…. " He says in pure disbelief. " The damn Baba Yaga pulled up to my crib. " He takes a good look at the person at his door. " Armed to the motherfuckin' teeth, the fuck she pulling up here for? " He takes a good look at himself first.

Yeezy's laced up. Yeezy season three jacket on. Throat cleared.

" Came all this way to scrap, shoulda just minded ya bizz, the huzz boutta find out what I got in my repertoire. It's called self-defence."

The doorbell rings again.

" Quit it with that shit, I'll come out there in a sec, you walked up on me, least you can do is wait your motherfuckin' turn. "

He decides to fling open the door and sees that pink-haired girl who is strapped to the teeth.

Tactical vest on, pistol strapped to it, multiple magazines also, a shield and a shotty. She doesn't have anything that's robust or precise on her, nothing for desert either, nary a piece of 'cutlery' on her person.

She'll never be Baba Yaga at this rate. She has to step her game up.

She doesn't look friendly, the narrowed eyes would give that away even if you didn't see the guns on her.

"How are you doing today?" She still greets him though.

" I had a great day today and I was thinkin' that nothing could ruin it, then yo ass rolled up on my crib. What do you want?"

"Tsk…" She winces in slight pain. "Could you not shout that loud? I'm right here you know…" She says.

" You ain't do your due diligence before you pulled up then, tha's my forte. " She winces again. " You want me to pipe down? Do whatever you're here to do and then you can leave. "

"Ugh." She sighs, running a hand through her hair idly. "Look, you're a new face in a place where people are only leaving, I would be curious even if you didn't show off that 'power' of yours. Now that you have though, I'll keep this quick, I'm sure we've both got things to do."

She clears her throat.

"What are your intentions here?"

Baku scoffs.

" Side characters these days, can't just wait a couple of chapters. "

"What?"

" Nayfin. " He refused to elaborate on that. " Look, will you and your lil' colourful, violent, motherfuckin' education havin' ass bitches leave me alone from now on if I tell?"

The pink-haired girl looks rather offended for a reason Baku can't fathom.

"Some mouth you've got there." She shakes her head and scowls. "I can't do much about the gangsters that roam around here but, if you don't want anything to do with us, then I can just tell their 'education having selves' to leave this street alone. It would probably be the best for both of us in hindsight."

Before fibbing through his teeth, Baku takes a moment to consider the offer.

"Aight then, I'll keep it a hunnid witch you, I'm here to get my racks up on the real. I'm here for that bread , and now that I got it? I'm gonna skedaddle from this faux-hood and into an neighborhood that has some self respect. You prolly neva gon see me again. "

She stares at him for a few seconds.

…

…

"That's it?"

" Yea, that's all I got, quit probing for more lines cretin. I ain't using my best material on your ass. Now how's about you stop worrying 'bout what I'm out here doin' and get back to school. " He says this next part mockingly. " It would probably be the best for both of us. "

The girl is visibly frustrated, she almost decides to lip off again, but thinks better of it, holding herself back at the last second. She takes a deep breath.

"Okay then. Everything seems alright so I'm just going to…" She very slowly walks away from the door. "Leave now." She begins to walk down the stairs, almost inaudibly muttering: "Why are you so mad all the time? Almost…"

Baku sees the line being fed to him, and takes the opportunity, it's almost a layup.

"I'm mad? You came up here armed to the teeth, you expect me to be pleasant? Hospitable? Tf you thought this was B? I ai-"

"What is your deal? Seriously, I know you're not just here for 'bread' or whatever that is, first you call us bitches." She says that last part with vitriol "Then you ignore me after I decided to help you with those gangsters. I'll ask politely without insulting you, what's your deal?"

"You must've gotten here DUI, you drunk, got me sick. " Baku starts gesturing with his hands. " Look, I ain't here to play games with any of you dry ass bitche- "

The girl racks her shotgun, glaring at Baku.

" A shotty? Put that shit away, you ain't gettin nothing off that, let me continue my sentence without some puny ass interruptions. Here's what we're about to do. " He points at the girl. " You . Better get to skedaddling.you damn dawdler ."

"Dawdler?

" Yeah you came up here expecting me to spill the beans and you ain't gettin that scoop, now you can either get down or get going. Your choice. Make it quick though I got limited words, we gonna approach it if you take too long. "

"Limited words?..." She shakes her head and takes a deep breath. "I almost just… No. You're bad for my self-restraint. I'm going to leave before I do something regrettable." She pointedly doesn't spare a glance at him as she walks down the rest of the stairs, mumbling to herself. "You're just asking for it, seriously, how have you made it this far with an attitude like that…?"

The urge to retort wells up in Baku, it's natural after all, all these years in Texas breeds a knack for instigating and retorts. Wits and aggression. Fights and incarceration. But, just this once, he thinks before he blurts.

What does he really have to gain by lipping off? Really?

'Literally nothing but making opps of an entire school probably, bare minimum her friend group of 5.' He thinks.

So he bites his tongue and doesn't say anything more.

He, pointedly, slams the door shut. It's more of a gesture to himself that the conversation is over than a gesture to the pink-haired girl.

" ... " No words escape his throat, no comment, no nothing.

He silently walks back to his kitchen table, sits in the chair, and looks down at the paper. He blinks once, like a camera's shutter, before cradling his head.

He sighs…

…

…

"This bitch ain't gonna write itself. Back to the grind."

 

[Jjwizzle566]

While I can understand Baku being annoyed at a schoolgirl looking ready to fight a small army (I'm assuming its Battle!Hoshino) knocking on his door, it's even more annoying just trying to have a civil conversation with someone constantly cursing you out.

 

[Popocatepetl Connoisseur]

While I can understand Baku being annoyed at a schoolgirl looking ready to fight a small army (I'm assuming its Battle!Hoshino) knocking on his door, it's even more annoying just trying to have a civil conversation with someone constantly cursing you out.

Click to shrink...

True.
If Baku ever understands that, maybe he won't have people wanting to squabble with him. That's the real character development that won't ever happen. He's stubborn.

 

[Popocatepetl Connoisseur]

All four of the feathers aren't able to stand straight anymore, it's been 'round 2 weeks so it's understandable, they've grown too long.

" Shit. " Baku mutters as he checks himself out in the mirror.

He wears the same clothes every day. Yeezy Season 2 jacket on, Yeezys on, both somehow don't ever smell bad. His 'hair' though? His feathers? Those get dirty, those grow out, and they can't stay like this.

Baku brushes one of the feathers out of his face, they're long and ragged enough to get into his eyes.

He shakes his head and walks out into the hallway, a real hallway, not a glorified student dorm like his last 'apartment' was.

Baku is in his brand new apartment that is currently empty right now because he's too lazy to unpack his things from the cardboard boxes they're in on the first day.

His apartment is located in this nice little strip of actual modern city near Trinity and not desert wasteland. It's close enough to the main city that it's convenient to go for groceries without having to go through gang violence and other tomfoolery.

The actual apartment has one living room, kitchen, and two other side rooms. Not bad for a single guy.

One of those rooms is his personal room, the other is a 'studio' consisting of a plastic stand-up table and a JBL speaker and two decrepit mattresses stood up against the walls as sound dampeners.

We all start somewhere.

" Aight, I gotta get a cut, lemme peep what they got in this fuck fuck city."

He whips out his IPhone X as he gets his keys. He searches up 'Hair cutting places near me' and gets a couple of results only a few miles away.

The location of this apartment was very important to him. Close enough to the city that it doesn't take hours like it did before to get to places he needs to go. Also…

Baku takes a moment to listen outside, a bird chirps.

" Finally, some actual ambiance, on some minecraft timing. Not GTA. " No gunshots in the background. A marked difference.

He chuckles as he walks to his apartment door and walks out of his apartment and out into the street.

It's rather barren, what a gem of a find, there's nobody here to trifle 'bout.

Sure, there's some robot people and dog people, but they're no bother. The robot landlord said that there's rarely any violence around these parts, there's honestly just not there much of value to fight over, it'd be the perfect spot to settle disputes with no collateral and sometimes it is but, yet again, that's rare.

" I hope it stays this way. " He says as he walks to his car and enters.

It starts up roughly again, conking out for a few seconds, before booting up. Baku silently drives to the nearest barber shop, ignoring some of the religious iconography on the way, he's Baku.

He does his own thing.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



The doorbell chimes. A threat to society walks in and stands in the doorway.

" Yo. " Baku shouts.

It gets the attention of the people in the barber shop, a rather quaint location with only 2 barber chairs, there's only around 4 people here.

One of the barbers, a brown haired girl with a confident demeanor, rather plain looking though. She's currently cutting the hair of another plain looking blond haired girl.

There's this other navy blue-haired girl who is definitely someone important, that, Baku can assess due to the standard 'Everyone who's anyone' test that he usually does for people in this city.

He's perfected it in his stay in Kivotos, it's simple.

Can they be described as 'plain'? This girl has navy-blue hair with a hat on and a black crop top. She's also decked out in a lab coat and black leggings.

Okay, that fails quite literally the first check, but it can be extended for one more just to be sure.

Is their halo anything that isn't a white circle or otherwise unremarkable shape? This girl's halo is two overlapping crosses with a ring under both, so, yeah. Two tests failed.

The Assault Rifle that is occupying the only seat next to her seals it, no regard for public seating? That ain't 'plain' that's a 'personality trait' which means she must be someone.

What does Baku do with any of this information? Seal it for later. Useful to know if he can trifle with them without them fighting back.

Said girl only looks Baku over for a second before going back to doing something on her phone, silently waiting for the brown-haired barber to be done as she has an appointment with her and not the 4th person in this room.

"Hm?" Said the 4th person in this barbershop.

They're at the other barber chair sorting their tools out, she's another plain looking black-haired girl, this time looking rather nervous with the way she's pointing at herself shakily, silently asking Baku if he was calling out to her.

" Yeah you, I need a cut, you available? "

The girl looks at him for a second before glancing at the other barber in this room who stops their work for a second to give her a nod of approval.

"Y-yes I am, come sit down here." She pats the barber chair next to her as she gets her tools ready, looking Baku 'hair' over, eyes gradually widening as she does.

Baku walks into the store proper, glancing at the navy-haired girl as he does, he doesn't notice anything that he didn't at his first scan except for a rather ominous feeling.

The same feeling he got when he was at his car, something that only him being a Psychic would allow him to pick up on, a dangersense? Baku isn't sure what it is but it's only activated when he was face to face with the interrogator and any time Movie Tickets is near him. He reckons it's a danger-sense but…

This rando can't press him, he's sure of it.

He shakes the feeling off and walks to his barber, sitting in the chair quickly.

"Sir, don't you want to take your jac-"

" This is Yeezy Season 2, it's an exclusive, and it's staying on. " She winces at the volume.

"O-okay, sorry for asking." She gets started by covering his body with a sheet to prevent hair from getting in his clothes. "I…" Her voice falters for a second. "W-what would you like me to do?" She asks.

She isn't sure where to start, they're literally just feathers, 4 of them on his head. She's trained for hair and for the odd wing grooming or trim, not whatever this is.

" Bang my shit straight. " He points to his feather and says nothing more.

She processes that for a second…

…

"What?"

" Bang my shit straight, it's simple, don't cut it too much 'cause I can't go out with some puny feathers. "

"..." She looks over the four feathers that are curling into Baku's face. "Uh…"

Baku groans and looks at any nearby posters on the wall, the ones with the haircut styles on them, they all have normal hair styles. Nothing that resembles anything close to what he has on his head.

" Damn, this gotta be racist or something. " He shakes his head and reaches into his pocket for his IPhone X. " Gimme a sec, I'll pull up a pic, I thought y'all had this handled. I'mma just go to Supercuts next time it ain't worth the gas for this place. " His barber winces but lets him pull out his phone.

Problem is, he has almost no selfies of himself, he mostly snaps videos or pictures of other people. Very rarely of himself, and even then, it's from odd angles that don't show off his iconic look.

" Shit, I might need more than a sec. " He brainstorms potential solutions before coming upon one that makes him grimace.

He goes to Youtube and searches 'King's Bread' the only rap video he's ever done. He rapped on a beat with Lil Broomstick and Bank Bill, it was a music video, and it's from a couple of years back. He has his iconic look at the time so…this is all he's got.

" I don't got a picture of myself so I'll find a time in this where I'm still enough. I was hopping and schmovin' when I was spittin' so I got be analytical. "


"...sure?" She's not sure how to respond to that, as long as she doesn't have to guess and play games with somebody's hair, she could lose her recently acquired job over that.

Baku presses play on the rap song.

♩Miss me with that bone shit.♩ Lil Broomstick's voice rings out in the barber shop before he skips to his part in the video, everybody in the shop perks up at the sudden music that blared out over the relatively silent atmosphere.

♩I got the IPhone 4 you is phoneless. (phoneless.) Pirate blackin' out, pirate blackin' out, I got some movie tickets for the weekend. ♩ Baku's voice rings out in the barber shop now.

He's trying find a part in the music video where he's still but past Baku was moving way too much for a rap song of this caliber, trynna spice up the music video, he was making himself look a fool but he only notices this years in the future.

" Fuck, why did I think that was tops? " Current Baku shakes his head.

The other barber and her client are looking on in bafflement at the scene unfolding, Baku's barber is silently staring at the music video, baffled as to what's unfolding in it. The navy-haired girl has a contemplative look on her face as she stares at Baku.

♩ I bought the IPhone 8 and then I freaked it. (freaked it) I haven't changed the settings, should I keep it? (should I keep it?) I just quit my job it ain't no secret. (Yuh.) ♩

That last bar gets a far more pitiful look from both the other barber and her client.

"Wha-? Heh." His barber just chuckles.

The navy-haired girl nods to herself, as if affirming a point she's thinking of.

" Them bars was crisp, quit bullshitting. " He says, which doesn't change anybody's viewpoint on his rap.

He still hasn't found a clear shot, so it must go on.

♩ La di da di da, lemme get that su-. ♩ He finally pauses as he finds a dramatic still shot of his face as he raps…that part of the song.

Before showing the still shot to his barber, he looks at the reactions of the others carefully, Lil Broomstick and Bank Bill thought that that final part was ass so he's just gauging what people of another city think.

The other barber and her client just look baffled, not even amused, just genuinely confused as to what he was going for. His barber though…

"Psh." She barely holds in the laugh.

The navy-haired girl was silently head bopping to the song until he paused it, Baku notices that, but chooses to save it for later.

" There, get the giggles out and get to work. " He begrudgingly mutters as he shows the still shot of himself to his barber.

It's how his feathers should look, straight and rather short, she gets to work using the example.

It's only a couple of minutes before he looks like his prime self again, feathers stood straight and trimmed.

His barber takes the sheet off and Baku stands up from his seat, checking himself out in the mirror.

" Oh ye, I'm up , you got me right. " He nods at his barber who looks pleased with herself, regardless of the effort trimming 4 feathers actually takes.

He flashes a thumbs up at her before taking a look around the store.

The navy-haired girl is currently sat in the barber seat next to his, they've only just gotten started as she doesn't have the sheet on her and she's in the process of taking off her hat and placing it on the ground.

" Yo. " He says.

"Hm?" She turns to look at him.

" I saw that you was fuckin' wit my bars, they was heat, I understand completely. "

"Well…" She takes a moment to think. "It's certainly mixed well and the background track is decent but whoever did the mixing was clearly a level higher than your ability t-"

" Nah, them bars was ¢ash, you don't kno-

"Pirate blacking out? What does that even mean?"

" ... " Baku stops himself from insulting her and attempts to take on the argument.

…

He needs a second to think

…

…

The navy-haired girl raises an eyebrow, her barber looks rather annoyed at the scene unfolding in front of her…

…

…

"Damn, I mighta folded." He clicks his tongue before coming to a sudden realization. "If I wasn't on a come-up, I've been cooking some heat in my house lately. Gonna release a single soon, the bars back then mighta been egregious, but I guarantee these new ones'll have you awestruck. Trust."

"If you can get that DJ back on it, then I'd say you have potential, what's your name?"

"Baku but I'll be going by BK-INC, tha's Baku Incorparated. I ain't ready just yet but I'll drop soon eno-"

"Sir." The nearest barber interrupts him. Baku looks over and she points to his actual barber who has been awkwardly standing there the entire time. "You have to pay."

" Tha's valid. " He admits before walking back over to his barber. " How much for this cut? "

"1500 Yen."

" You fuckin' around, fifteen hunnid? It was four feathers dawg. "

"That's the least we can charge on any service here, I-I'm already offering you a discount, I can't really go any lower." She shakily replies.

" Psh. Y'all service employees be playin' too much, but aight. " He forks over the cash.



—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Baku exits the store with a little extra pep in his step, feelin' like his prime self again, he's on his come up.

He walks over to his parked car out on the curb next to a parking meter.

" Yea yea, I'm… " He trails off…

As he sees…

Another ticket on his front window.

" ... "

" ...y'all testing ya limits, cutting it close ." He growls out.

Baku looks around the street and spots two police officers walking further down the street who are inspecting parking meters to see if they can hand out tickets.

He looks at his own and it's 1 minute before his 30 minute time limit.

" Nah, fuck that, y'all are lazy mf's and you make it my problem? "

Baku takes a deep breath before doing anything more.

He's done this before, fucking with the police, last time…

" I obliterated those bitches, yet…Man, I'm stronger now, it should go better if it comes to a scrap. " He mutters.

He nods to himself before speedwalking to where those two officers are, they're in the process of writing a ticket for another parked car.

" Take that ticket off my windshield, I just got that shit cleaned wit the coating and everything. The damn stickiness of the ticket gon fuck it up. "

They both perk up at the voice and turn slowly to face him, they clearly didn't hear him very well, that's probably for the best.

One of them, the one writing the actual ticket, is a rather short girl with both navy blue and light hair strands of hair. She wears a baggy overcoat and large red sneakers.

The other, her partner who was carefully inspecting how the ticket was written, is an average height girl with white hip length hair. She wears a standard police uniform.

"Hm…" The white-haired girl looks over at him with squinted eyes, humming while doing so, she doesn't find whatever it is she's looking for so she promptly adopts a far more friendly look. "Greetings citizen! I didn't hear what you said so could you repeat that?" She looks a bit nervous at being confronted from out of nowhere but she handles it well.

Her partner on the other hand couldn't look less interested, giving him a rather dead-pan look, like she'd rather be anywhere else.

"I said can y'all get that damn ticket off my windshield." He points behind him to his car. "I still got a minute left of parking,Iif y'all wanna snatch some bread off me you gon have to do it yaself, I ain't acquiescing to some bogus ticket."

The white haired girl winces before replying.

"You've still got a minute left?..." She looks apprehensive as she glances at her partner, who suddenly looks far more interested in the conversation. "Fubuki, did you check the timer properly before writing the ticket?"

The now-named Fubuki visibly sweats, awkwardly looking off to the side, she takes some time to formulate a reply. "Uh…pretty sure I did Kirino, unless the…um…sun? Yeah, unless a bright glare caused me to misread it, I'l-we should go check to make sure though… haha…" She walks quickly to the parking meter, leaving the other two still standing there.

" ...what's with the clown shoes? I swore I heard them dawgs squeak as you walked."

Fubuki pauses walking for a moment before resuming, shaking her head as she does.

Soon enough, Fubuki makes it to Baku's parking spot and looks at the parking meter.

"Oh, wow, that's crazy. Huh." She has her hands on her hips while shaking her head. "Phew, the sun's real bright you know? They should really plant a tree under these meters, which would make it easier to tell, whoops." She graciously, and carefully, takes the ticket off Baku's front window.

Kirino looks rather displeased with the situation but refrains from making themselves look worse in front of a civilian.

"Ugh. My apologies sir, you won't have to pay that ticket, it was an honest mistake."

" Tch. They really just hire anyone to be a cop 'round these parts. " He walks past the both of them and to his car. " Test yo buddies BAC, she must be given' Tyrian a run for his money, she drunk ."

Kirino doesn't have the energy to rebuke that and neither does Fubuki, both looking rather ashamed.

Baku, while in his car, spots the both of them slinking off down the street.

" ...I still got that ticket from a week back don't I? Shit. I gotta handle that before I become a felon. "