An Early Afternoon - Open

[Kite Aomori]

Kite sat atop the largest castle tower where he looked out on the horizon of the city. It was the early afternoon and Kite was in uniform, but nothing was going on that day. It was a day that bored Kite. No missions for him, he finished his daily training, and he had no one to make conversation with. Kite hat been sitting there for at least half an hour, just staring down at the city watching the small dots that were people, live their lives.

Kite would sometimes go down to the city, in his casual clothes as to not draw attention, and he would watch the people close up. Never had Kite lived a normal life, except for the years that he could not recall. Every once in a while, Kite noticed a family, usually a child and parents, and would begin to feel sick. He didn’t know why, and he didn’t really care. The past was the past to him. He would always be curious, but he dealt with it and he lived his life. Kite stood up and headed for the stairs.

Kite walked downwards in the tower, towards the bottom door, where two guards opened it for him. Kite thanked them and continued on through the hall. He continued walking until he came to a right turn. He took this turn and passed two large doors. He continued down a left hallway where he entered the main hall. He walked to the far side where he entered another door.

Finally arriving at his bedroom door, Kite touched the handle, turned it, and began to open the door. He was then interrupted.

[Lien Cato]

"Hey Kite!"

Lien was walking towards him, smiling, which was not something common to see. The girl was wearing the Hierarchy uniform too and had some paper envelopes on her hand. She was holding out one of those envelopes for him, with something written on it, presumably his name.

"Here... Aldrion told me to distribute this things..."

She shrugged and walked the last steps between them. Lien stood there with her hand put, waiting for him to take his envelope.

"I guess... it's a new mission, perhaps?"

Aldrion was one of the many who took care of the chosen ones and sometimes he took the liberty to give each member of the Hierarchy an individual mission to be completed by the end of the day. They were sometimes very harsh, but also were the kind of missions Lien enjoyed.

"Care to open it first?... then I'll open mine, what do you say?"

But the envelope thing was no the freaky thing of the situation, but that Lien was actually smiling and not being agressive towards one of her Hierarchy fellows... at least not to one who wasn't either Chazz or Vergil

[Chazz Lorenzo]

"Awwww.... lookit the two lovebirds! Come right off a happy meeting in Kite's room, eh?"

Having just exited the large door behind the two, there stood Chazz Lorenzo, a wide grin on his face betraying the fact that the words were meant as a joke. Chuckling to himself, Chazz stepped into the hallway, walking up beside his fellow Hierarchy members, standing off to Lien's left and resting his forearm on her shoulder in a casual way.

"Of course, I don't know why you'd waste your time on this guy, when you can have the Chazz."

He gave a small wink to Kite, though no doubt the motion was unnecessary. Everyone knew Chazz to be the most immature of the Lucian Hierarchy, despite the fact he was tied for being the oldest along with Vergil. It was simply more fun that way, instead of being so serious all the time, and truth be told, the girls loved it.

Or at least, that's how Chazz saw it.

"What's that?"

Chazz's eyes dropped to the envelope in Lien's hand, his left index finger thrusting in its direction as he asked his question.

"A mission? Did we finally get a mission!? Where's mine!?"

Finally, there would be no more training exercises, or small tournaments between fighters Chazz had beaten time and time again. Maybe this time, they'd be doing it for real.

[Vergil Midway]

Standing alone in his room, Vergil couldn't stop thinking about the events that were almost certain to unfold soon. It had only been a few weeks since he had had his little taalk with Chazz, but he was a patient young man. The day seemed like every other day inthe castle, let alone in the city of Trance. Vergil often wished that he was born during the time of the war so that his abilities would actually come of use, not just training and meaningless missions to protect caravans. But for the time being he knew that peace would reign in the lands of Terra.

Finally losing interest in staring out his window, Vergil opened his door and entered the main hall. All was not so dull in this room for it seemed that Kite, Lien, and Chazz were all in a discussion about some sort of mission. Vergil slowly closed the door behind him and walked up behind Chazz with his normal stern face. "Must you always flirt with every girl that you see Chazz? It does annoy some people if you haven't noticed already." He said letting out a sigh and shaking him head. Vergil seemed to be the only one that was not in his hierarchy uniform, but his teal blue trench coat was something that he would often wear around the castle when not needed. He also kept his weapons at his side like he always did, sword on his right hip and pistols concealed behind his trench coat.

He then looked down at the letters that Lien had brought for what seemed to be all of them. Vergil couldn't see any of the names because Lien's hand was holding them tightly together, but if they were mission summons there would no doubt be one there for himself. Chazz seemed even more excited to here about the missions then Lien, but something was strange. 'Why is Lien acting so happy? Even to me and Chazz she is sometimes angered. Perhaps she has already opened her letter and seene what's inside.' Vergil then walked to the right side Kite and stopped. "A mission would be somewhat interesting, if I actually get on thats worth the time. Maybe this time I'll get lucky for once." He then waited for his letter, if there was one at all.

[Kite Aomori]

Kite grasped the latter and removed it from Liens hand, thanking her. Before he had time to read it however, Chazz broke out from behind them. He immediately started hitting on Lien, which Kite didn’t pay much attention to, and trying to make Kite look bad in front of her. Chazz thought it as a joke and Kite didn’t mind. He merely smirked and looked as Vergil showed up. Vergil figured that he had a letter as well, but that was for Lien to tell. Kite finally tore the top of the envelop to se the letter inside.

Kite skimmed through the letter, yet the expression on his face remained the same. According to the letter, Kite was to survey the deeper regions of the Lich Forest. Lich forest was where the dragoon town he lived in for most of his life was, but with the coordinates given on the letter, it was much deeper than that. Kite was also to be partnered up with four other hierarchy members. It wasn’t surprising who it was.

“How convenient,” he murmured to himself as he lifted his eyes from his paper, folding it and putting it in his pocket. “I am guessing that each of you both have a letter. If I am correct, than I also assume it will give the same details mine gave.”

“Basically, we are to survey the lich forest for possible signs of a group of rebels who have been known to cause trouble for the Lucian Empire in the past. They are supposedly not to be taken lightly and...” Kite took out the paper again. “...it is thought of as a good Idea to go prepared. Lastly, it is stated that we leave tomorrow, and are hoped to be back the next day. If we run into trouble with the group, we are to protect ourselves with force. Lastly, Vergil will be leading the group strategically along with myself who will be guiding us through the forest, as I am most accustomed to it. we leave tomorrow morning, very early.”

[Lien Cato]

Lien waited for Kite to take his letter and was about to say something when Chazz appeared. She bowed her head and tried again to say somehting to Kite when Chazz began hitting on her. She just rolled her eyes and the shook her head. Even though she should be used to it by now, she couldn't help thinking he should take things a little bit more seriously

"Hi Chazz..."

She then proceed to look over the letters she was still holding for the one with Chazz's name on it. After some seconds, she finally found it and gave it to him.

"There you go..."

And just after she gave Chazz his letter, she then held out the one for Vergil, who had just arrived.

"And here's yours, Vergil..."

She actually smiled to him when she gave him his envelope. Something was going on with the girl, but it was obvious she was not going to tell them.

Lien was about to open her letter when Kite's words stopped her from doing so. She listened carefully. 'Going to the Lich Forest to look for rebels??... Oh boy... how nice...'. It was obvious she was not very pleased, so she began to read her letter. It said exactly the same. She sighed and looked up, the smiled completely vanished from her face.

"So this means we are going in as group?"

Lien took her time to look into all the 3 boys' faces. Teaming up with 3 other guys... What happened to all the other Hierarchy girls? Perhaps they were supposed to into someother mission... and after all, if she thought well about it, it wasn't bad at all. Being in the same group with 3 of the strongest member of the Hierarchy?. She just sighed and waited for an answer

[Chazz Lorenzo]

"What? That's it?"

Chazz gave a small pout as he whined, taking the envelope from Lien despite the fact he already knew what it said. A group of rebels was hardly worth getting out of bed over, heck, any one of the Hierarchy members could deal with it on their own. Sending four was like going after an ant with a hammer. Sighing, he folded the unopened envelope and stuffed it in his pocket.

"Uh... you know... I don't feel that good."

Chazz's gloved hands went to his stomach, as if he were nauseous. Truth be told, Chazz hadn't been sick a day in his life, though this wasn't the first time he'd faked being sick. However, this mission sounded too easy, not even worth his time, and while Chazz couldn't "officially" decline a mission from the Emperor, he could certainly be relieved from duty due to sickness.Might as well stay around here and train. After all, if things go as they should, there'll be a lot of battles in the future.

"You guys go on without me. I'll stay here and try to get better."

[Vergil Midway]

After Kite had opened the letter Vergil knew that they weren't exactly individual letters at all. Kite read on saying that their mission was to head to the Lich Forest and take out a hostile band of rebels. Vergil was to be the leader as usual while Kite would lead them since he seemed to know the forest the best. When Kite was finished Vergil took the letter from Lien and stuffed it in his trench coat pocket. Lien's facial expression had now changed as she noticed that her mission was in fact the same as Kite's and she went back to her normal ways which made Vergil feel a little better inside. Seeing Lein happy seemed like a bad omen, and so it was always good when she was herself.

Vergil was about to say something when he was interupted by Chazz complaining about the mission. He probably thought that it wasn't worth his time, and that soon seemed clear to Vergil. Chazz quickly clutched his gut trying to look sick which worked on a few people, but since Vergil had known him all of his life he knew he was faking. 'Why does he even try that when I am around? Does he thing I'd fall for a stupid stunt like this? He's never actually even been sick before, but if he wants to skip out on the mssion that much then I guess we can leave him behind.' Vergil unsheathed his blade and checked it over making sure that ut was ready for the mission that he would be going on tomorrow.

He then put the sword back in the sheath and looked over at Chazz. "Well I guess that we'll have to go on the mission without Chazz, but I can't believe he would miss a mission just because of a little stomach cramp. That isn't the Chazz I know, but if its that bad you can stay behind and stay in your bed the whole time. I'll have some nurses keep an eye on you while we're out. I hope that's fine with you, my friend." He finished with a small and quick smirk, which was rare to see from Vergil. He knew that Chazz didn't want to be percieved as weak and so his words would most likely coax him into joining them on the mission. He then looked back at Kite and awaited any other important information, if there was any.

[Kite Aomori]

Kite finished reading the letter and watched as each acted on their own accord after hearing the news. Lien was obviously displeased with the news and Kite could see the problem. He was the only female on the team at the moment and that didn’t even seem right to Kite. It was good to see her as her usual self however. It was an odd occurrence having her so happy and Kite wondered why she acted so “happy.”

Chazz decided to pull routine Kite wouldn’t have expected someone, even Chazz, to pull for a mission. Kite stared at Chazz, contemplating what to say to him. For one, he was a good person so Kite didn’t want to be rude to him, but he was also being extremely immature. Kite didn’t care for Chazz’s attitude also. Vergil had already taken the time to get Chazz to go mentally and there was a good chance it was going to work. Kite however wanted to make sure Chazz understood what he was doing, and possibly help Vergil in his efforts. Kite was calm and dull when he spoke.

“I think all this royalty is getting to you Chazz. If you can’t take the time to do a single mission because it doesn’t interest you, then I have to say you don’t seem like a proper candidate to go with us. Though I want you there, Chazz. I know you can help us even when you act like that.” Kite leaned his left shoulder on his door.

“With the coordinates given, we are going to have to travel through the Dragoon Town hidden in the forest. When we are there, I do not suggest talking to the inhabitants. They don’t take too kindly to humans. Therefore, we will not be staying long. We are going to have to head for the elders tent and then straight out the other end of the town. I have nothing else to say, and if nobody else does then I am going into my room. Bye.”

Kite smiled at them and turned the knob on his door, opening it. He waited a couple more seconds just to see if anyone had anything else to say.

[Lien Cato]

Lien sighed and rolled her eyes again, displeased with Chazz's attitude. He indeed was such a child.

"Anyway... I guess we'll try hard not to miss you then..."

She was being sarcastic, as usual. She indeed was her normal self again. The girl then only talked only to Kite and Vergil.

"We'll see each other in the outer limits of Trance then..."

Lien was about to say goodbye from the boys, but something told her to read the letter again, line by line. She took the paper out and read it... There HAD to be something tricky on it... and then, she finally found it. In the last line, was the tricky situation...

"Ah... sorry... but has anyone noticed what it says in the last line?"

She looked up to the boys, even to Chazz who was not supposed not to go with them...

"No weapons? No magic? NO TALKING? and of course... no telepathy???...it almost said no violence... Any ideas?"

She was now really expecting an answer from the most experienced members. The 3 of them had to had some idea of what to do.

[Chazz Lorenzo]

"...Uh....I....ah...."

Chazz scrambled for an answer, not knowing completely what to say, and failing miserably to come up with something. If there were nurses looking after him, then he wouldn't be doing any training at all, unless you counted hitting on the nurses as training. Of course, he'd still be the strongest member in the Hierarchy, at least in his mind, but having Vergil disappointed in him wasn't something that Chazz found particularly pleasant. Kite's words, of course, only compounded the issue, as Chazz loved his country, loved the Empire. He even loved the Emperor as a father.

I'll do it then. For you.

"Alright, alright. I'll-"

Even as Chazz began to agree to come along, he was interrupted by Lien's sudden announcement. If there was absolutely no weapons, magic, or even talking, then this mission was going to be downright difficult. While Chazz had little doubt Vergil and he could more or less figure out what the other was going to do in a given situation, he didn't have that same sort of bond with the other Hierarchy members.

"I guess... we can come up with hand-signs or something? Like the sort the Grand Army uses? Though, I'll admit, I'm a bit rusty with just hand-to-hand combat."

[Vergil Midway]

Vergil stood without any movements as he listened to his fellow hierarchy members say a few things to Chazz, trying to get him to come with them on their mission. Kite had continued on with what Vergil had started while Lien plainly told Chazz that they would try to miss him. Then Kite went into more detail on where they would have to go during their mission. It just so happened that they were to head through the Village of the Dragoon, and Kite had warned the rest of the members to keep to themselves while there because the local's weren't too found of humans. After they had met with the Village Elder they would continue deeper into the woods to find the group of rebels. Then what Lien had to say made things even more interesting.

She said that they were not to bring any weapons or use any magic while on their mission. This made Vergil a bit uneasy, though he didn't show it at all. 'Why would the Emperor order us to go on an important mission with no weapons, and to refrain from using magic as well? Something just doesn't quite add up. Is this a test of our teamwork and strength without our weapons and magic, or is he trying to weed out the weak member from the strong? No matter what happens I must make sure that all of us come back safely otherwise I may end up like Loki.' Vergil was quickly brought back into the real world with the words of Chazz. It seemed that all of their efforts had paid off in convincing him to join them in the mission.

Chazz mentioned something about hand signs, but Vergil just waved that off. Turing to Kite before he entered his room, Vergil didn't have much to say but it needed to be said. "Kite, I want you to be ready for anything tomorrow. These rebels that the Emperor is speaking of... nevermind. Get a good nights rest, will you." Then he turned to Chazz and Lien to consult them on more about the missions rules. "Glad to here that you'll be with us Chazz. It wouldn't be the same without you by my side anyway. Now, about the rule that we must not bring our weapons and no magic either. I will check everyone personally before we leave so don't try to conceal any daggers of other small weapons. This mission is most likely of high importance so we must abide by the rules that the Emperor set for us."

[Kite Aomori]

“I will see you tomorrow then...”

With that, Kite entered his room and closed the door. Kite walked slowly to his bed and collapsed on it. He landed on his stomach but after a few minuets turned on his back to face the ceiling. He stared at it for a good few minutes before he lifted himself off of his bed and over to his drawer.

Kite removed his uniform garments and put on his casual clothes. Onto his body he added a beige T and blue jeans. He walked over to his desk and sat down on the chair in front of it. Kite knew that he would have to think about the mission tomorrow, but still wasn’t sure how they could communicate properly without talking. Not only that but they couldn’t use magic or weapons. Most of Kite’s attacks were based on his weapons and without it he wouldn’t be as good as he usually would.

Kite opened his drawer to take out some files. Just because they were fighters didn’t mean that they didn’t have any other responsibilities. He signed a couple papers and landed on his bed once more. He closed his eyes and felt the pain of his scar. It wasn’t a physical pain. It was more of an emotional one. Not knowing where it came from but knowing that it must have been awful was hard for Kite. But his mind drifted, the next day was going to be a long one and he wasn’t sure how it would turn out. he would try his best though...

[Lien Cato]

Lien sighed deeply. It was going to be a hard day next day. No talking, no nothing... how were they supposed to know what the other was about to do? They would definetely have to learn how to sinchronize with each other and to read each other movements to know when to attack and what kind of attack was going to be performed... Learn how to sinchronize with the the other 3, eldest members og the group, with a lot more of experience and knowledge on those kinds of things.

"Oh boy..."

Now Lien seemed worried. She looked at each of the boys, one by one and just before Kite went inside his room. She would have to make more than a double effort to go along. And then, she grinned. That was what she liked, the things that were everything but easy.

"Nice... well... then I guess I'll see you boys in the morning... and don't worry Vergil. I don't have any intention to bring anything with me... but my clothes, obviously"

She winked at them and blew a kiss. She was, in all the meaning of the word, weird. She could change moods so quickly that it even was strange to her.

Lien walked away slowly, thinking how she was going to learn to almost be one with them in no time. A hard thing to do... She just loved it.

[Chazz Lorenzo]

OOC: I'm cursed with shortness for some reason.

IC:

"Gah, fine. Whatever."

It didn't much matter what Vergil said he'd be doing, since Chazz had no intention of following through with the "no weapons" rule. After all, he himself was the most dangerous weapon on Terra, he was breaking the rules just by going! Smirking at the thought, Chazz nodded to Kite as he left, then turned his head to see Lien leaving.

"You don't have to bring your clothes, you know. I'm sure I could find a way to keep you warm."

Snickering to himself, Chazz gave a small wave as Lien left, leaving himself and Vergil alone in the hallway. Chazz's happy face suddenly took on a serious look, his mind bringing up memories of their meeting in the woods.

"...So... Vergie. When are we doing it? After this mission?"

The young Lorenzo noble folded his arms in front of him, clearly somewhat unhappy with the idea, but willing to go through with it. After all, it was for the good of the country, and the country always came first.

[Vergil Midway]

Kite left for his room mostly because there wasn't much else to say. Then Lien seemed to be acting a little weird once again. She made a statement that she would only wear here clothes and Vergil just shook his head because he knew that Chazz was use that sentence and push it, which he did. He told her that she didn't need to wear her clothes because he could find a way to warm her. It was now just Vergil and Chazz in the room, and Chazz's expression had changed to a serious one for once. He asked Vergil when they were doing 'it' and Vergil pulled Chazz away from the doors and brought him to his room. He shut the door behind them and then leaned against it. He let out a slight sigh of annoyance, but it couldn't be helped.

Before saying anything he shrouded them both in a black shield that would shield their words from anyone around. "I know that you dislike the thought of taking this mission, but you know we have to act regularly if we don't want to be suspected of anything. As for talking about our plan, you have to find a good time and place to bring that up. In the castle is definately not a place for this conversation. The Emperor has eyes and ears almost everywhere and we can't even trust the other hierarchy. Now the time for our plan to come into play isn't far off, but I don't know if I have a worthy person to frame. I heard that there will be a peace keeping tournament in the South Umberlands sometime soon, and that may be a good time to find more choices. We will go on this mission and finish it like planned, and then discuss this further when we are along" And with that he let the shroud fade away and waited for Chazz to reply to his little talk.