No.775
>Date: March 30th 2017,
>Location: Sanctuary City, MRD Precinct
>Time: 8 PM
>Darkness covers the city like a blanket, with only the city lights illuminating anything. Despite this, the MRD Precinct is as busy as it is any other time of day.
>Various officers come and go, with the occasional criminal or civilian coming in and out of the main building. Inside, things are even more busy as the precinct's staff work hard to keep things moving as quick and smoothly as possible.
>Outside, a young man with brown hair covered nearly from head to toe in obscuring clothes squats behind a dumpster, having managed to get his way into one of the precinct's few security blind spots.
>He appears to be silently working himself up, taking a small ear-piece and putting it on. Afterwards he puts on a ski mask with a pair of sunglasses to hide his identity.
{"Let's do this."}
>The man steps out from behind the dumpster and begins quickly walking towards the building. The moment he steps into view an officer runs in front of him, and places their hand out to stop him.
"Stop right ther-"
>The officer suddenly gasps, and then drops to the floor. Almost like a spreading plague, more and more people begin to fall over as well, having been put to sleep.
>Now having free reign inside the station, the man begins to head towards the back of the building.
No.776
>>775"Hey. Who the hell're you?"
>Surprised, the man nearly jumps. He suddenly swings around, taking notice of a tall armored figure - Omnius, standing there.
>Slung over Omnius's shoulder is a bald man in a black suit with light blue skin. {"The fuck!? Why isn't he asleep!?"}
>The man narrows his eyes behind his sunglasses, focusing on Omnius. Instead of falling to the ground, Omnius simply remains standing.
>He takes the man off his shoulder and drops him to the ground, not giving any real regard to his safety. "Oh. You can get into people's brains and put them to sleep. Stop that, will you? It kind of itches."
>Stunned, the man takes a step back. He looks around, trying to find some way to escape or gain control of the situation. "W-What the hell are you doing here? I thought you vigilantes avoided stations."
"There weren't any officers near-by when I got into a scrap with this guy so I figured I'd drop him by the front door. But once I got here I saw everyone passed out and decided to come in."
{"Shit! What am I going to do!?"}
>Glancing to the side, the man suddenly notices a gun from the corner of his eye. In one quick motion he twists around and lunges for it, trying to pull it from the belt of an officer - only to find himself unable to move his arm any further."Yeah… no."
>Now beginning to panic, the man shouts: "H-Hey! Whatever you're doing stop that! Let go of me!"
No.777
>>776"Not until you tell me what you're doing here."
>The man is suddenly twisted around and pulled closer to Omnius, now suspended in the air. "N-Nothing!"
>Annoyed by the response, Omnius flicks the man on his forehead."Ow!"
"Just tell me so I don't have to look in your head. I've had to wade through enough weird fantasies already today."
"O-Okay! Okay! Fine! Alright! You're freaking me out!"
"Good."
"I was just coming in to get someone out of their temporary holding cell! That's it! In and out!"
>Omnius raises his eyebrow beneath his helmet. "Right… and why were you doing this?"
>The thief hesitates for a moment, before explaining further."Because I was hired to! The guy is some kind of… political activist or something! That's all I know!?"
"Well who hired you?"
"C-Come on man… I got a reputation to keep. I can't jus-"
"Who. Hired. You?"
>The man lets out a sigh, and grumbles something, before answering. "I was hired by this… lady? Or guy? Neitherrrr…? Both? I-I'm not really sure. Anyway, it's this little skinny person, all they said was their name was Blink."
"Just Blink? And they didn't tell you anything else?"
"All I know is they work for someone else, and said they'd pay me if I got this guy out for them. That's it, alright?"
"Yeah, okay fine."
>Omnius lets go of the man, causing him to safely land on his feet. The man lets out a sigh of relief."Thank you-"
>Without warning he lets out a groan, falling to the floor and going to sleep.
>Omnius then turns around and leaves the precinct, flying away. No.778
>>777>Somewhere across the city.
>Blink sits in a cheap apartment, the walls not covered with any wallpaper, leaving them grey and lifeless besides on section taken up by a pink, blue, purple, blank, and white striped flag that has been taped to the wall. Besides the lack of wallpaper, the apartment has very little furniture, with the "bed" being a blanket laid out on a couch, and the only other seating being a cheap rickety desk chair, which Blink is occupying, sitting next to a batter old desk, a single patch of undusted wood incidacting that a laptop would usually occupy it.
>Spinning around in the chair, Blink eats out a cup of cup ramen, finishing it in one final big gulp before checking their phone."No message yet, this what you get when hire cheap help. . ."
>Flicking over to another message, they write.[Ate ur ramen, sry, left $5 to buy more]
>With another yawn, Blink spins the chair again, folding their legs this time."Could really use that sleep guy to help with jet lag. . . Assuming he's not too much trouble or anything."
No.779
>>778>About a minute later there's a knocking on the door, only for it to suddenly be blown open, the door flying off it's hinges and slamming into a wall and breaking in half.
>Omnius steps inside the apartment, taking immediate notice of Blink. "Found you."
>He takes a step closer, casually eyeing the room while he does so.{"Ugly apartment."}
>He focuses his eyes back on Blink."You're the one who hired that guy who puts people to sleep."
No.780
>>779>Blink jumps out of shock at the door flying in, going from sitting to standing - nearly falling over in the process."Hoooooly crap! What the hell dude! This isn't my place! $5 ain't gonna cover that door!"
>The adrenaline wears out for the skinny teleporter and they realise what Orion said."I. . . uh. . . mean. . . I'm gonna go now."
>Blink disappears and reappears outside of the window, standing on the fire escape, where they stick their tongue out at him before jumping down to run away. No.784
>>783>Not slowing, Blink shouts back:"Jesus Christ, stop chasing me scary armour guy."
>Blink jumps in the air to avoid a fire hydrant, and disappears as Orion's hand connects with their leg, causing him to disappear as well.
>Somewhere over the Atlantic
>Blink breathes a quick sigh of relief before noticing where they are, the fact that they're falling down to the water, and the fact that Omnius is attached to them."What the hell man, let go!"
>Blink tries to kick Omnius with their other leg, teleporting again. . .
>Somewhere over the Sahara.
>Blink reappears in the Sahara Desert, thudding to the ground with Omnius still attached."Get off me! I don't want to participate in your weird sex thing!"
No.785
>>784"What the fuck? This isn't a weird sex thing! Stop teleporting!"
>The pair suddenly stop in place, only to be lifted in the air. Now suspended a few feet off the ground, Omnius turns Blink to face him."I'm here because I caught that guy at the precinct! He said he worked for you, and that you worked for someone else. So I want to know who your boss is and why they're trying to break people out."
No.786
>>785>Blink tries to struggle out of Orion's telekinetic grip, teleporting again only for Orion to still be the same difference from them."Yeah. . . sure. . . doing a real
good job convincing me that this isn't some s and m play here. . ."
>They keep on struggling, not teleporting anymore."And now you want to know who my boss is? Sure, I work for the IRS, the guy owed taxes."
No.788
>>787"What the fuck man, who even starts with that?!"
>Blink tries to show their disbelief with their hands, but ends up just struggling even more."Isn't there meant to be a good cop or something in this scenario? 'We'll give you unlimited chocolate ice cream if you cooperate'?"
>The lack of scare quotes from Blink make it harder to differentiate what they're saying and what they're "quoting"."Oh, and don't even
try to get in my head, I've got some of those 'science-onic' wards put in there so you'll never get in!"
No.789
>>788>Omnius sighs."Why are you so obsessed with the sex thing?"
>Omnius attempts to peek into their mind, only to be blocked by the wards. "Oh wow. You weren't lying about the wards. Bet I can still get in though."
>Omnius focuses more, trying to probe his way in Blink's mind by either getting around or just getting rid of the wards. "You know these things usually work better for the person who can build them up. Sucks that you can't."
>He continues to focus. After another minute or so he says: "Got it! Now le-"
>The moment Omnius discovers the identity of Blink's boss he stops in his tracks. "Oh."
No.790
>>789>Blink freezes as Omnius starts narrating his progress."Get out of my head. . . T-there's things in there that I don't want people to know. . ."
>Once he stops, they start pestering him."H-happy now? If you are,
get out! You got what you wanted!"
No.791
>>790"I'm already out."
>Omnius turns away silently, his mind racing as he processes the new information. After taking a minute to think about it, he looks at Blink again."Take me to Madeleine."
No.792
>>791"God I feel sick. . ."
>Blink slows their breathing down, trying to calm themselves down."Sure, I'll take you to her, so you can do what? Read her mind and make her relieve her childhood or something? And then do that to me?"
No.793
>>792"What? No! I just need to talk to her, about why you guys are doing this!"
>He mumbles something to himself. "Anyway can you just do me a favor and take me already? I already know the way. You'll be saving me the trip. And… er… I dunno. I'll pay you or something I guess. Whatever."
"Just get me there."
No.794
>>793"Urrgghh. . ."
>Blink sounds like they're in pain at agreeing to take Omnius."Just give me a minute, ok? I don't like people rooting around into my secrets, it makes me remember them."
No.795
>>794>Omnius huffs."Fine. But I didn't really have to look that hard to find what I wanted when I was in. Didn't see anything embarrassing."
"Take your time, I guess."
>Omnius crosses his legs, taking a sitting position and waiting. No.796
>>795>Blink does a dry heave and then one final sigh to calm themselves down."Ok. . . that should. . . that should be enough. . . (I'm asking for a session once this is done. . .). All ready then? Shouldn't waste time, right?"
>Blink teleports, transporting Omnius to their destination as well.
>Somewhere in the British Countryside
>The sand of the Sahara Desert is replaced with the dusty interior of a mansion, the sudden appearance of the pair kicking up dust in the dark and scattering sand particles into the area.
>Brushing themselves off, Blink calls out."Errr. . . boss?! I'm back, and I brought someone!"
>Blink awkwardly looks in Omnius's general direction, not really able to see him due to the light."She could be asleep, y'know? It's real late here so. . ."
>Blink sighs."You're not gonna wait even I use that, I guess. . ."
>The lights turn on in the room, revealing the decaying and faded surroundings, and the presence of a blonde woman at the top of the stairs holding an antique gun of some kind and pointing it at Omnius."Blink
never calls me boss, and I wasn't expecting them back so early, so I'm going to very kindly ask you to step away from them before I'm forced to use this lovely old elephant gun to make you."
No.798
>>797"Very reasonable. . ."
>The woman keeps the gun trained on Omnius."Now, who are you and what do you want?"
>Blink puts their hand up."He ruined my brilliant plan and wants to talk to you about it, he knows who you are Maddie. . . sorry, he broke the science-onic wards."
>Madeleine's expression shifts slightly to one of concern."That's. . . oh. . . it's not your fault Blink, I should've made them stronger, we'll. . ."
>Madeleine sighs."We'll talk about it properly later, you're probably tired, right? You don't need to worry about me."
"But-"
>Madeleine looks at Blink for a second, smiling at them."No buts, get yourself some rest and we'll talk through it later, you're not to blame at all, ok?"
". . .ok."
>Blink disappears and Madeleine snaps her attention back to Omnius."Now, I'll ask again, who are you?"
No.799
>>798>Feeling kind of awkward now, Omnius watches as Blink goes."Yeah…"
>He looks to Madeleine and starts stepping closer, stopping some distance away."For the record I didn't mean to upset them. I tried to avoid anything personal."
>He goes silent, and then presses a button on his suit's belt - causing it to disappear.
>Orion stands there with an awkward expression, waiting for Madeleine to recognize him. No.800
>>799>Madeleine lowers the guns lightly."
Orion?"
>Lowering the gun all the way, she brings a hand to her head as if she has a headache."This isn't some kind of trick, is it? Some kind of illusion. . ?"
>Madeleine pauses for a moment as if she's listening for something."Nothing? How is there nothing? Even the most disciplined people have. . ."
>Madeleine coughs and looks down at Orion from her position at the top of the stairs."I suspect you have questions?"
No.801
>>800"Er… yeah… it's me. We never mentioned to each other that we were telepaths, did we?"
>Orion hesitates for a moment, and begins putting his foot on the first step. "Well."
>He goes silent, blinking. "Right. Why are you hiring people to commit crimes? I didn't… get any vibes from you online like that, I guess?"
No.802
>>801"Orion, we met through an anime forum, I don't exactly go around advertising my. . . I guess it counts as a 'day job' in places like that."
>Madeleine carefully puts the gun down somewhere where it won't fall over."Besides, half of the users on that site would find my views. . . unsavoury, anime fans aren't exactly fans of egalitarianism usually."
>Indicating for Orion to follow her, Madeleine starts walking down the hall and stops in front of a door, opening it to reveal a small sitting room with a large bay window, which she flicks the light on for."Please, take a seat."
>Madeleine walks around a coffee table in the middle of the room and sits down herself."That is to say, the road to equality is a difficult one, whcih requires breaking the rules sometimes."
No.803
>>802>Having followed Madeleine into the room, he sits opposite to her."Right, sure. But you were having someone broken out of jail. A political activist maybe, but come on. They had to be in there for more than just… protesting or something, right?"
>Omnius looks around the room. "Er… nice house by the way."
No.804
>>803"Orion, they cut the transmission lines on a set of MRD vehicles. It was
illegal, yes, but no one got hurt."
>Madeleine's expression darkens for a moment."Christ, did you think I was breaking out a murderer or something? Like I'm. . . I'm part of the Meta-Human Alliance or the Gene Elimination Front or something?"
"What I do, it's. . . it's not like that, ok?"
>Madeleine shifts her attention away and looks around the room."Thank you. Personally I think it's a horrible place, the last decaying reminder of a man that sacrificed his humanity for scientific progress."
No.805
>>804"No- No I-"
>Orion sighs. He rubs his temples. "No Madeleine. I didn't… I didn't think it was like that. I just… needed to be sure."
>Orion begins to lean back in his seat, trying to make himself feel less tense."And I get that. I have similar feelings towards my…"
>He pauses to gather his thoughts on the right word."Donor…"
No.806
>>805>Madeleine tries to contain a laugh and fails."I'm sorry, I just thought. . . it's a small world, huh? Guess the memes about posters on the boards having daddy issues aren't so far off then?"
>Madeleine sighs."I wasn't. . . I wasn't trying to keep this from you, before you think I was just lying to you. It's. . ."
>Madeleine sighs and rubs her eyes with the thumb and forefinger of her right hand."I have to make sure that people
want to be involved before I introduce them to that side of me, that they know the risks of it, and I have to do it in a way that makes sure that they're not just thinking that because
I want them to think that. . ."
No.807
>>806>Orion smiles."It's fine, I understand. I don't exactly go around advertising my problems either."
>His expression turns more serious, as he begins to think. "Do you… have problems with keeping out of people's heads? Because if you do, I mean… maybe I could help with that."
No.809
>>807"What of your mother though? I noticed you used a singular form for. . ."
>Madeleine puts her hand up to indicate Orion doesn't need to stop."Sorry, that was my father speaking, you spend enough years having these things drilled into your head and you default to them at time. . ."
>Madeleine sighs."And you don't need to worry about me like that, I'm perfectly happy here, in my decaying mansion in the middle of the countryside - there's people who would kill to swap places with me."
"Besides, we're still really just two people who only know each other online."
No.814
>>809"My mother… isn't around anymore. That's all I'm really comfortable with saying right now."
>Orion glances away for a few moments while he waits for Madeleine to finish talking. Once she has, he turns his eyes back towards her."Yeah, sure. But… I don't know. I kind of feel bad for upsetting your friend the way I did. So I can at least do something to make up for it. Besides, we're still on good terms, right? Most people would kill to meet someone the talk to online in person."
No.816
>>814"You shouldn't try to repay me for Blink, if you want to make things up to them, I would ask them what they want."
>Madeleine smiles."And yes, we're still on good terms, even with your terrible taste in anime."
No.818
>>816"Not as terrible as your tastes are."
>He returns her smile with one of his own. "Well, I gotta say. I didn't expect to ever run into you in person, but I'm glad I have. You're… er… easier for me to talk to than most other people."
>Orion shifts in his seat, trying to make himself more comfortable to try and shake off the awkwardness."And yeah. I can talk to your friend later to see if I can do anything to help them."
No.820
>>818"Ah, sorry, I can be a little too easy to talk to, my father wanted me to take over his practice, it left with me with a rather. . . unique set of skill when it comes to getting people to talk about themselves."
>Madeleine coughs."I try to avoid it, but it bleeds through sometimes, so all I can do is say sorry for any awkwardness there."
"And likewise, at most I expected to see you at some form of online meetup."
No.821
>>820"Ehh. I dunno if I'd ever want to meet some of those other guys in person. Conventions are fine and all, but a meetup? I don't know. Sounds kind of strange. Besides, you're the one I talk to the most anyway."
"And I mean, between you and me. I doubt any of them are as interesting or good looking as you."
>Orion gives a smile, before suddenly taking notice of what he said and turning his head away to pretend something else caught his attention.{"Oh shit I let it slip."} No.823
>>821"Oh?"
>Madeleine raises an eyebrow."I take it you're not a fan of guys in that way then."
>Madeleine sighs."That's a shame, you're not too bad looking yourself, and there's several among them that you'd look great alongside."
"I guess my dirty fujoshi fantasies will have to remain just that."
No.826
>>824>Madeleine bursts out laughing."Oh god no! You like
Maki-chan, I'd be betraying my loyalty to Tomuro if I did that."
>Madeleine gives Orion a smirk back."And we both know I can't do that. . ."
No.827
>>826>Orion leans forward, narrowing his eyes in a playful manner."
Really? Are you sure? you can't do it? I'd make it worth your while."
>After a few moments he suddenly leans back in his seat, and says: "Tomuro is alright, I guess. Not as good as Maki-chan. But I guess we can't all have the right opinion."
No.828
>>827"Well, what if I turn it on its head?"
>Madeleine leans forward as well, also narrowing her eyes, an evil grin on her face."Ten million pounds, all you need to do is refute Maki-chan."
No.829
>>828>Orion waves his hand dismissively "Nah. I don't need your money. Besides, Maki-chan is far better than Tomuro. I mean yeah, maybe the animation isn't quite as good. But the story and characters? Way better."
>Orion turns his head away, glancing at Madeleine from the corner of his eyes."Also, offering me ten million pounds? Really? Are Tomuro fans
that desperate to get people to like their show? Pfft."
No.830
>>829>Madeleine leans back."Of course not. Besides, you started it with trying to get me to say you have better tastes."
>Madeleine shrugs."Looks like Maki-chan fans have to resort to sex appeal to get people to like the show, makes sense really, that's all the show is about. . ."
No.831
>>830>Orion huffs."Whatever. That's just fan service to draw in the casuals. Once you actually start paying attention you'll realize there's way more to it than that."
>He looks away. "But I guess it looks like neither of us are going to change our minds on this."
No.832
>>831"Is that so? So of course you didn't buy the exclusive swimsuit Maki figurine that came out last month? I mean, if it's just there to draw in casuals and you only care about the deeper stuff, it wouldn't interest you, right?"
>Madeleine yawns."But yeah, we're not going to budge on this, even though I'm
obviously right."
No.833
>>832>Orion narrows his eyes at Madeleine. "You mean I'm the one who's obviously right. And I only bought that figurine because of the rarity. I don't care about the swimsuit part. Unlike you, who I bet has tons of those Tomuro swimsuit figures."
>Orion crosses his arms. "Anyway, since neither of us are budging I guess that fantasy thing is out the window. That's fine. We only just met in person. And you'd probably make it weird anyway."
No.834
>>833"I've got none, actually."
>Madeleine folds her arms."And it does look like it's out of the window. I guess it's not like you'd get my fantasies if you can't understand the deep intellectual themes of Tomuro."
>Madeleine sighs."It's nice, though, being able to talk to someone in person without hearing their thoughts as well."
No.835
>>834"Yeah…"
>Orion uncrosses his arms. "I can block people out usually… every once in a while though, someone will be a little too… loud, I guess is the word. Usually when they're thinking of something really strange."
>Orion makes a disgusted expression for a moment, before appearing more neutral again."What about you? You have trouble with it, right? Is that why you're all the way out here? I mean, besides just having inherited the place apparently."
No.836
>>835"I can't shut them out."
>Madeleine sighs."Not at close distances, anyway, it sounds like they're constantly whispering in my ear. When I was a child, it was anyone within a mile, now it's within a few meters, at least."
>Madeline smiles sadly, as if lost in a memory."But yes, I isolate myself because I don't want to hear that constantly. Blink is good at keeping at the right distance to avoid it, and my other friend has. . . ways around it."
No.837
>>836"Sounds shitty…"
>Orion is now looking at the table between them."I mean, I'm not the most sociable person. But not being able to just go somewhere without getting a bunch of other people's thoughts in your head sounds like torture."
>He looks back at Madeleine. "At least you have those two, then. And… I dunno. If you want I can… come by in person from now on. Instead of just leaving things online."
No.838
>>837"Sure you can afford to come over here? America won't burn down without its fearless hero?"
>Madeleine laughs at her own joke."That would be nice though, like I said, this has been nice - you having frisked one of my oldest friends notwithstanding."
No.839
>>838>Orion chuckles. "Hah. Things'll be fine. To be honest, I'm not really sure I'm that much of a help anyway."
>At the mention of his previous actions, Orion looks mildly upset. "Yeah… I still need to apologize to your friend for that…"
No.840
>>839"I'm sure you're an important part of things Orion. . ."
>Madeleine smiles."Oh, and if you want to apolgise to Blink, they like chocolates, and sweet things in general."
No.842
>>841"Oh, not particularly, I have a more bitter taste."
>Madeleine gives Orion a wry smile."For a bit of a bitter person, I suppose."
No.844
>>843 "Suck up."
>Madeleine gives Orion a wink."Glad to see you have better taste in food than anime, but I guess that's just the palate of those who have bad memories of their parents."
No.845
>>844"Yeah. Well. At least you don't have to deal with any shit from any parents anymore."
>Orion sighs. "I recently found out I'm not that lucky. But maybe soon I will be. Maybe…"
No.846
>>845"I may not be as lucky as you think. . ."
>Madeleine looks out the window for a second, to the darkness outside."After all, my mother
could still be out there, all I know about her really is that her last name was 'Cox' and that she likely looked like me - it's not like she stuck around to raise me."
"Still, I hope your issues with your father find themselves soon resolved."
No.847
>>846"Yeah. Hopefully."
>Orion goes silent. After about a minute passes, he tries to lighten the mood again."Oh, I just remembered. Since you're a telepath, can you do this too?"
>A pillow on a near-by chair begins to raise in the air, spinning around as it floats near the pair. No.849
>>848>Surprised, Orion almost jerks back as he furrows his brow."What!? You can't? That's so… er…"
>He tries to find the words to avoid offending Madeleine. While he does this the pillow goes back to it's former place."Er… different. I mean, I know it happens. But from the handful of people I've met that have telepathy, they can do that too. Huh…"
>He coughs. "T-There's nothing wrong with that anyway. You're still cool."
No.850
>>849>Madeleine raises an eyebrow."Oh? So people who only have telepathy aren't usually cool?"
>She gives Orion an evil grin."Couldn't resist, you looked like you were desperately trying to avoid becoming some kind of bigot, it was almost cute.
Almost."
No.851
>>850"
Almost? Uh-huh. Almost."
>Orion lets out a shrug."Guess I just can't meet your high and might British standards, huh? I don't drink tea with my pinky raised or anything. So how could I possibly meet your standards?"
>Orion tilts his head back. "It's so sad."
No.853
>>851>Madeleine gives a small cough and starts speaking in a very formal and stilted accent."One must simply abide by the correct etiquette, Orion."
>Madeleine stands up and walks behind Orion, putting her hands on his shoulders."Back
straight, shoulders
up. We simply must correct this mess of hair - and we use the correct language when referring our elders."
>Taking her hands off his shoulders, she walks around the room in a slow and methodical manner, each step seeming calculated."With proper posture and persistence, even the most unruly child can be made into a polite participant in polite society. . ."
>Stopping, Madeleine looks over her shoulder at Orion, dropping the accent."I could go on all day if you want, Mr American, if it makes you happy."
No.855
>>853"Oh, please do. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't ask you to show me how to hmm… exist, in the correct way."
>Orion stands up from his seat, with his hands in his pockets he takes several deliberate yet purposefully stiff steps towards Madeleine in almost a mocking manner."Sorry, did I get that wrong? Maybe I should try harder to correct myself."
>Orion coughs into his fist, clearing his throat. Afterwards he suddenly shifts in posture, standing much straighter and rigid than is the norm. He begins speaking to Madeleine, brandishing his own exaggerated yet oddly authentic sounding accent."Apologies for my prior behavior, madam."
>He moves around Madeleine to face her from the front. "If you would be so kind to allow me, it would be lovely if you allowed me to make it up to you."
>Orion suddenly bows in one fluid motion, and then takes Madeleine's hand - giving it a quick kiss before releasing it.
>Looking up at her he smiles, and continues to speak in the accent."Why, I dare say any man would be remiss to not offer compensation for any lady as lovely as you are. So please. Show me how to be a proper gentleman, that way I can take you out to tea some time like a proper man."
No.883
>>855"Well now, that is remarkably uncanny. . . If I didn't know any better, I would say you were educated in etiquette."
>Madeleine takes her hand back."But given that it's not perfect, I would venture that you were trained in acting instead. Which is interesting, given your day job. Oh, and. . ."
>Madeleine thinks for a moment."Well the easiest would be you admitting that Tomuro is better, but given that's apparently off the table, I'll take dinner at some point."
>Madeleine then adds:"Oh, somewhere quiet."
No.884
>>883"Oh jolly good! Jolly-"
>Orion suddenly breaks the accent entirely while doing both a cough and a laugh."Okay. Okay I can't do it anymore. It sounds too ridiculous."
>Now back to his usual posture and way of speaking he takes a moment to think before saying:"Well how about… tomorrow then? Today is Thursday."
>He stops for a second before correcting himself."Oh, right. Time zones. Today is Friday here isn't it? So I guess I mean later today? What time is it anyway?"
No.885
>>884"Roughly 2am, by my reckoning, which means. . ."
>Madeleine yawns."I'm quite sleepy. . . and I'd rather it be actually tomorrow, so Saturday, after all, there was an incident at my house last night and I need some time to recover. . ."
No.886
>>885>Orion shrugs. "Fine by me."
>He takes a moment to look around, before looking back at Madeleine. "Well I guess I should get out of your hair now. Too bad I can't teleport like your friend. Guess I'm taking the long way home."
No.887
>>886>Madeleine shrugs."I would call Blink, but they're
very grouchy when they're woken up, so I wouldn't ask them for a trip back."
>Madeleine taps the side of her face to think."And I'm pretty certain I no longer have a private jet, from what I remember I sold that among other assets when my father died due to the wastefulness of it."
"But it sounds like you have it sorted, anyway."
No.888
>>887"Yeah, basically. Don't need a plane."
>Orion for a moment wonders if he should do something physical before leaving, like giving a hug. He decides against this and then starts to take a step back."Okay. I'll message you sometime later then. See you later Maddie."
>Just before he's reached the door he stops and turns to look at her one final time and says: "Oh and your taste in anime still sucks. Don't think I'm changing my mind on that just because you were willing to have dinner with me."
>Orion smiles at her one last time before leaving.
>Just like that he's gone, having taken off into the sky like a rocket after leaving the building.[The End]