When Lance arrives to work he might recognize a familiar face outside the construction site that he was supposed to work that day. The raven haired woman stands paces around the site, impatience rising as she waits for the boy to show up. The black beanie seems to have been ditched, or perhaps lost, revealing her hair is fairly curly. However, the silver piercings, long brown coat, and red scarf are just the same as last time.


Each time she breathes out in exasperation for having to wait around so long, the cold air freezes her breath into small clouds. She plays around with an envelope in her hands, moving it from the left to the right and back again.


In the back of her mind, she realizes that this kind of thing isn’t her strong suit.  Recruitment was the job of other people usually.  However, if it didn’t work out well, she could always hand the kid over to someone else. It wouldn’t be a great loss…


As he approaches, he might feel a slight pressure and something akin to itching in his mind as a presence keeps checking in.

As Lance sees the woman a strong aggressive intent immediately starts leaking off him in waves. He didn't realize she would know who he was, but he supposed it did not really matter, she was here now and that could only mean one thing.

"So are you here for a round two?" He asks rotating his shoulders as he begins to walk forwards slowly. "I suppose I was not very satisfied with the outcome of our last meeting either." He admits licking his lips slightly as his tension and adrenaline begin to rise.

Taurus smiles a little. “Don’t you think I could have figured out a better way to kill you other than having to destroy a portion of Shinjuku? Besides, you shouldn’t pick fights where you work. You’re broke enough as is.”

Tossing him the envelope, she says, “There’s about $500 in there. You can call in sick, and we can talk. Or we can get in the news. Your choice.”

She doesn’t make any movement closer to him, crossing her arms in front of her. “Honestly, I kind of thought you might have tried to run after what happened Sunday though, so thanks for saving me the effort of chasing you down.”

"You certainly seem to know a lot about me considering the fact we've only met once." Lance replies as he catches the envelope and checks to see if there really was money inside. To his surprise there was...in fact there was about a weeks worth of wage inside...maybe he could get another coat. He puts the money in his pocket and takes out his phone. "Hey boss, something's come up and I'm not going to be able to make it in today...no...I'll be okay...No I'm not in trouble...Well I won't turn down an offer of free food...alright see you tomorrow then." Lance shuts his phone and looks up at the woman.

"Alright now..." He starts to consider what Taurus said. If they got in a fight here he might end up hurting the other workers. To be honest his boss was probably the only reason Lance scrapped by since he often brought Lance left overs and he owed the boss to much to risk hurting him is a tussel that didn't need to happen.

"I suppose I can talk." He says as he starts to walk down the street, since he had money he could afford a new coat and even if it wasn't really the right time Lance really did need one.

"So...what do you want to talk about? I assume you didn't come here just to comment on my poverty." he asks as he walks down the street towards the coat shop. He had seen the coat he wanted there earlier...in fact it was even on sale for some kinda valentines day thing. Not really his thing but hey cheaper was cheaper.

Taurus points to her own forehead where she placed the tattoo on him, “The mark is a little more than just a two-way radio.”

She waits around as he makes his phone call, more relaxed now. “Good to know you’re easily bribable, kid,” Taurus jokes as he hangs up the phone. She stuffs her hands in her coat pockets and follows him as her red scarf trails behind her.

“You don’t really seem like the rest of the group. In fact, you don’t even meet with them as far as I have seen. So was it just coincidence that you showed up with super-powered teens or are you their pet or something? And if it was just coincidence, what exactly are you and why were you so damn determined to try to rip out my throat?”

She eyes the coat shop that they were going to. She groans a little, “Are we really going shopping now? Valentine’s day shopping even…” The idea of sitting in a shop waiting for the kid to pick something out seemed terrible.

"Fahh~ dang it Oni," Lance replies as she indicates the mark. "Well I suppose it doesn't matter much." he says with a sigh, the pleasant weight of cash helping to improve his mood somewhat. "So what does the mark do then?" He asks curiously as he walks into the shop and heads straight towards the coat rack.

As the brown haired boy smiles slightly as he selects a forest green coat parka. He had missed the one that had gotten burned to ashes during his awakening, he didn't regret the loss persay, but lacking a winter coat in the climate he lived in was quite a hardship. He walks over to the counter and looks over his shoulder at the Zodiac. "I suppose it's true that I'm not very similar to the rest of the others, pretending to be heroes...After all I'm not really a hero, I'm just a monster that hunts monsters. I'm probably connected to the rest of the group somehow, but to be honest I don't even know most of their names." He admits, there wasn't much of a point in hiding it.

As he finishes paying he puts the coat on and walks outside again. "As for why I wanted to kill you? Well you smell like youma..." He replies simply, in an honest tone. "I mean why do you all cause trouble for normal people, it seems kinda pointless to justify myself, or for you to justify yourself. Reasons are just the excuses that are given after the fighting is over." He explains as he looks around the street.

"Is there somewhere you want to go?"

“Oni?” she repeats somewhat confused. This wasn’t a name that she recognized or meant anything to her.

“The mark… On my end, I use it mostly as a means to monitor, locate, and communicate. I believe, on your end, you can communicate back. To be honest, it’s entirely possible that there is more to it than that,” she says, shrugging at the last part of the statement. “That would probably require more psychic finesse than either of us possess.” She is sure some of the other zodiac could do wilder things with the mark, but this fit her purposes well enough.

She listens carefully as he talks and buys his coat. Mostly, she is thankful that he doesn’t take forever to find something he likes. She seems to consider what he says for a while, before replying, “A monster who hunts monsters, eh? So the youma are the only monsters? Because let’s be honest here, I’ve met youma who have done less messed up things than some humans. But I haven’t heard about a red demon eating criminals in the night, so I take it you don’t see it the same way.”

“Smell like youma? I wasn’t even aware that I had any sort of special smell. But I can’t imagine that one is a particularly nice scent,” she muses.

She shakes her head about justification being meaningless. “I feel the reasons why people do what they do are just as important as the actions they take. Actually, justifications may speak more about one’s self than their behaviors. You’ve chosen to risk your life for something, so there must be a damn good reason for that. You don’t seem the type to be looking to save the world or seeking redemption…”

She looks around briefly when asked where she wants to go, but ends up saying, “No. I kind of hate Tokyo. So where we head is up to you.”

"Yeah, Oni...I guess you wouldn't know. I'm talking about the beast I turn into. Oni's the red one that you fought." He replies, he didn't really care if they knew about Soma and Oni, besides this Taurus person didn't seem like to type to blab and if she could monitor him anyways no point in hiding stuff. As Taurus follows him Lance walks down an alley and a finds a couple of rougher types shaking down an office woman of money.

Without a word he walks over and with surprising speed grabs both of their heads and slams them into the nearby building wall then without a word leaves the woman and the crumpled forms. "You might be right there are people who are bad too, but that's for the authorities to sort out, and as I said before I'm no super hero. I'm not acting out of some sense of justice, I'm good at fighting and the youma are here to fight so I fight. I don't really need a lecture in morals or philosophy. If I'm wrong then who the hell cares? Things like right and wrong only matter for whoever's left standing and I doubt I'll survive to the final battle." He says with a slightly bitter tone.

When she mentions the smell he smirks. "Youma don't particularly smell bad persay just different. Visually it'd be like running into neon purple in the middle of a forest. They taste awful though." he admits as he starts heading towards a restaurant.

"So why are you doing all of this then huh? The youma have shown up and are causing a lot of trouble, so it makes sense for people to want to fight back, but what's the sudden and deep reason that is going to twist my heart and make me regret my actions that you all have?"

Taurus sighs, “That sounds like a cheap way to not take responsibility for your actions. I fought you. There is no distinction between the you then and the you now. Even if you don’t fully have your head in that state, there is no use trying to make it a distinct entity. Accept it.”

Taurus doesn’t follow him as he walks away from the two men. “I don’t mean to lecture you. I was mostly just curious.” She walks past the woman, breathing the words “weak little girl” under her breath before standing in front of the pair of muggers. She squats down, only to lift up one of them off the ground. She grabs his head in a choke and turns him around to face the woman and Lance. “And there’s nothing wrong with your reasons to fight. It simply is. I’m not passing judgment.”

As the man goes blue in the face, she continues to talk nonchalantly, “I guess I could understand individual mundane humans not putting up much of a fight. Youma are more interesting and more varied in that respect. But then what I don’t understand is why you wouldn’t go after the super-powered teens. I mean, they’ve shown themselves to be a worthy challenge. Or try your hand against a battalion by yourself. Again, another thing that would test your strength. You have another reason for being on the side you’re on.”

It isn’t long before the man loses consciousness, but there is still some life left in him. “Would it bother you if he died?”

"Say what you like, but if you can get inside my head you can talk to him. Besides I doubt you'd find Soma very appealing." he says as he walks over and grabs her wrist. "Yes it would bother me a bit so let them go. I have a hard time accepting you or the youma playing the victim here when you're the aggressor, and even if you weren't why should I side with you?" he asks with a piercing expression.

"The plain and short of it is, I'm not on anyone's side. I fight youma, band of super friends is individually not particularly challenging and further more not compelling. You are the ones invading the city in which I live. Leave Tokyo alone and you don't need to deal with me." He says as he releases her arm and looks at the collapsed bodies and the woman then begins to walk on.

"What do you want from me anyways? If you don't want to go another round I don't see much of a reason in talking with me as opposed to one of the others. Maybe you can come to an agreement with someone who gives a shit."

When Lance grabs her wrist, Taurus lets go of the unconscious man. He hits the pavement hard, but will probably be ok. “Has anyone told you how strange it is to refer to yourself in the third person? And no, I can’t get into your head like that. Even I find that terribly invasive.”

She stares down at the unconscious man for a while. “You know, there is really no difference between him and the other youma though. I don’t understand why people would care about the life of one and not the other.”

She starts to walk back in the direction that Lance was headed in. “And I don’t mean to play victim. But you keep saying you don’t care when you clearly do. If you just wanted to fight, you wouldn’t really be more than a rapid animal, would you? I just wanted a real answer. And now I have one.”

“I would leave if I could. Actually, quite a few of us would stop hanging around Tokyo if there weren’t the super-powered teens. Their presence here has forced us to have more of a presence here. I don’t really have much of an option.”

Stopping in front of the window of the place, she looks over the menu for a few moments. “I don’t really want an agreement, and I am the last person they would send to negotiate one. But I came here because we have an open spot for someone who wants to take it. However, I’m pretty sure you were already aware we had a recent opening. More than that, you would be useful to have around. I was about to say if you only wanted to fight, we would be willing to offer compensation.”

After making some kind of decision, she walks inside, “Ok. I’ve asked more than enough questions, so it’s only fair for me to answer yours if you have any. Also, order what you want. I’ll pay.”

Lance smirks as she mentioned how entering his mind would be invasive and nods. As he grabs her hand and stares at her. "There's very little difference between him and the youma maybe, but I don't care to kill him, and besides in a war only one side can win." He says though when she mentions that the zodiac is here due to the senshi his brow wrinkles.

"Why would us being here make you want to stay? If anything we raise the risk, and you don't seem too excited about fighting us." He asks in a slightly confused tone. "Though if you are ever looking for a good brawl I'm always open for one." He tells her with a smile that was just a little too wide and held an edge of danger. Though despite this it wasn't oppressive this time it seemed more like an invitation to something exciting.

But when she brings up the empty spot among the zodiacs Lance considers her offer seriously for a good minute or two, but he thinks about his conversation with Kail before and the conclusion he gave him was the same as the one he would give her. "No, I don't think I'll accept. I appreciate the offer, but my power is my own and I will decide what to do with it. If I join your group I'll need to listen to someone." He says after all in this world which had beaten him down and that had taken so much from him he still had one thing that was important 'choice.' And he would not give that away cheaply.

He walks into the shop and calls. "I'll have a burger."

Taurus sighs when he asks why they are here because of the senshi. She felt the answer was fairly obvious. “Like you said, only one side can win and your existence is counter to ours. Your ability to destroy one of our own is noteworthy and makes you all a threat equal of some respect. This has never happened before. As a result, some of us come over here to try to find a way to deal with problem. It’s not that I am unexcited. I just hate this country and don’t like victory being so close just to have it taken away from me.” Those Spector units were a pain. She could have killed at least a few of them if not all of them if only she had a little more time.

She laughs at his offer a little, “A rematch? I’m fairly sure I’d win again. I’ll keep that in mind though. Besides, I’d rather not cause a scene again. At least, not today.”

The idea of joining them was by no means any easy decision, and she understands his pause. She isn’t even surprised when he declines. Instead, Taurus nods a little, “Yes, your power is your own. However, there will be sometime where you will have to make an allegiance to either group. I don’t think it is possible to remain a neutral party in this. It’s the fact that you have that power that will force you to make some kind of decision in the future since no one will let you just be. You will either listen to someone on that side or ours. I suppose, you have time to make that decision though.”

She can’t decide whether he is joking about ordering a burger in her presence or not. However, it’s not like she wasn’t about to order the same thing, “Bacon cheese burger with a vanilla milkshake. Extra fries.”

Sitting down somewhere to wait for the food, she asks, “I do have another question actually. Why do you fight to preserve this world as it is? Even if you guys won, would be this kind of world that you would wish to live in? I don’t see it getting any better if we died or all left or something.”

"Eliminating a threat just means looking for a challenge. A victory that isn't gained by the skin of your teeth isn't satisfying." Lance replies his beastial smile remaining. Though his intensity cools as they sit down at the food place. "You know you're certainly confident for someone who was missing her jugular when the fight got interupted." Lance points out as he drowns some of the water. "Though if I lose that's just what happens I fully expect to die at the end of this, and there are worse fates that being struck down by such a lovely lady."

When she mentions the idea that his power would force him to chose eventually. "I wouldn't say I'm neutral, more like my own party. I actually almost laid a beat down on the Mars Knight recently." He admits with a grin. "My will is my own, if one group or another decides to try and force me to an end I don't want then I will rebel."

As the food arrives he picks it up and take a big bite which he seems to enjoy. "I don't fight to preserve or to try and change the world. As far as I'm concerned the world is gonna carry on as it does, and even if you guys win the world'll just get a new set of problems. I fight for myself, my enjoyment, my pride, and besides no matter which side I pick I doubt I'll make it to see what the 'new world' is like."

“I’m not being overconfident. You were the one who got thrown off the boat,” Taurus points out. She stretches out her neck a little, “Besides, no lasting marks. It’s hardly an injury if either of us heals fully from it in a matter of moments.”

She lifts an eyebrow at the words ‘lovely lady’. Those words weren’t normally put in the same sentence as her. “Should I taken the momentarily missing chunk out of my throat as a sweet caress? You’ve got strange tastes. But I’m flattered. I might regret breaking your arms the next time around.”

She shakes her head at the mention of the Mars Knight, “I’m not sure which one is which. I’m going to guess that was the one with the fire powers. Not that it matters much. They all seem like they’ve got a messiah complexes. So you really should have done him and everyone else a favor and at least taken his ego down a notch.”

When the food arrives, she seems a little more interested in what is on her plate than Lance’s words, but she is still listening. After a small awkward pause, she says, “I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Remove everything from the roots and try again. If the next time it doesn’t work out, do it all over again.”