Lunch Break [JTT]

[Akira Hinosai]

Luca had never ridden a mechanical bull, but he was familiar enough with the general strategy of it. Don't get thrown off. For most people, it would be a struggle to keep hold of some stupid mechanical bull at a county fair, but Luca was not most people. He was holding on dutifully, and despite some definite turbulence,  Luca was able to score a few good hits. Not particularly deep, not particularly many, but with his release, he could more than make up for that. "Ha! Is that...all you've got?" Luca said between grunts. As if to answer him, the hollow grew two more heads, making Luca immediately regret asking.

Suddenly, Luca's attempts to ride the hollow were far more difficult. "Back! Stay back!" Luca shouted with his spear aimed at the snake head. In truth, that was the one that scared him most. If it was anything like the animal it resembled, Luca would be well advised to keep his distance. Plunging his spear in the Pigeon wasn't an option now, he'd need it to keep the other two heads away. The situation wasn't ideal, but he could manage until Irina got done saving people or whatever. He was the distraction, the first line of defense. He wasn't about to run away now. Up and down. Up and down. Up and down. Occasionally Luca would have to threaten or whack any head that got too close. So long as he was carving one of the heads up, and threatening the others, the hollow wasn't going to be able to eat anyone.

Luca felt Irina's release before he ever saw it. "That's my cue to get out of here!" Luca said in the off chance any of the heads was smart enough to understand him. There was always a certain thrill in taunting one's opponents, doubly so if they were about to die horribly. Luca let the momentum of the violently bucking pigeon neck launch him downwards, catching himself on an air platform before he hit the ground. Irina was running for the snake head, leaving the injured game to Luca. The bird was covered in blood and burns. Somewhat overkill, but it got the job done. Luca had a lethal option just waiting to be used. He flashed a crooked smile as he pointed the tip of his spear at the pigeon head and fired a bright green line of baleful energy piercing its mask right between the eyes.

Luca, proud of himself, twirled his spear around before blowing the smoking tip as if it were a revolver. Assuming Irina's fight with the cobra was going well, Luca would leave that to her. There was a perfectly fine member of the hollow chimera to kill. weighing his options, setting some kind of trap wasn't likely to work when Irina was already likely keeping it relatively stationary. That left Luca with the direct approach. Besides, trap-setting with his release wasn't likely to impress her. With some bringer light he was flying through the air, ready to run a monkey head through with his spear.

[Irina Davayte]

As Luca launched himself towards the Baboon head, the creature almost smirked as it opened its mouth. If Luca couldn't change course mid-Flash Step, he'd land himself right into the Hollow's mouth. Irina winced. Must have been a last-ditch effort on the primate's part. She doubted it would be able to crush Luca in there, but she could only imagine that the inside of the creature's mouth must be disgusting. He'd have to keep his wits about him to get out of there. Irina left him to that, figuring she'd better not let her attention drift too far from the Cobra.

Unfortunately, just as she had that thought, Irina felt her left sleeve become soaked, followed by a burning sensation that traveled down her arm. The Snake head had shot her with what appeared to be a bala, and she supposed her jacket was probably toast. She would have to take care of this creature quickly so she could take care of herself. Irina charged at the head with her sword, using Bringer Light to try to ensure that it couldn't do any further damage to her. Slicing behind its eyes neatly, Irina nearly decapitated the creature, and the snake head flopped lifelessly.

"Hey, how's it going?" Irina yelled in Luca's direction, peeling off her jacket, carefully keeping the poison from burning the rest of her. The Hollow had fallen over, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the lion tail twitch before relaxing.

[Akira Hinosai]

CHOMP! For a brief moment, Luca wasn't sure what had happened. One second he was charging, the next, he was pinned, unable to move. The Monkey's teeth were hardly sharp, but it was able to clamp with considerable force. A million emotions washed over Luca. Embarrassment and anger at being bested in front of Irina, disgust at the hollow's noxious breath, and an immense desire to flay the beast alive for its refusal to die. "Dont worry, I've got a plan!" said Luca who did not have a plan. His arms were pinned to his side, and his fullbring was uselessly pointing out of the hollow's maw, like some kind of toothpick.

Luca tried to think as the hollow gritted its teeth, insistent on having one last meal before it died. Luca was strong enough to endure the ordeal, but that didn't mean it was pleasant. Despite the pain, Luca tried to think of a way out. Ok, ok, what tricks usually work when bad things happen... WAIT A SECOND, I'VE GOT IT!!!! Luca deactivated his fullbring. His weapon reduced from a mighty spear to a simple brass lighter. Luca had pulled this trick so many times, he could do it while blindfolded, and each time, it filled him with great joy. Luca ignited the lighter, and with soul command enlarged the flame, sending it spewing forth out of the hollow's jaws and into its stupid ugly face.

As the beast screamed, Luca knew he'd won. Luca rolled out of the hollow's jaws and caught himself on an air platform. Standing eye to eye with the monster, Luca reactivated his fullbring and plunged his spear right between the hollow's eyes. It slumped over, lifeless. The battle was won. Luca looked down at Irina, who had shouted up at him for a status report. "Target's been neutralized! See! I told you I was great!" Luca smirked before jumping down to Irina. "That was kinda fun, except for the part where I almost got eaten." Luca's clothes were torn and he was bloodied and bruised. "So...I killed two heads, you killed one...Does that make me the winner?" Luca flashed a devious smile, adrenaline still flowing through his veins. Sure, they hadn't made a contest of it, but he had preformed really well, and he was going to bask in that. "So, what now, Irina?"

[Irina Davayte]

"Uh huh, I think that means you won," Irina said absently, taking a look at her arm, which felt like it was being burned from the deltoid to the elbow. Angry-looking, red welts had sprung up, and she had no idea how to treat that. She used Soul Command to pull the remaining poison from the surface of her skin, but the burning sensation persisted. "Have you ever seen anything like this?" she asked, gesturing to the back of her arm. "It's definitely burning, and I'm feeling a little dizzy, but I have no idea what to do with it." Unfortunately, Irina had absolutely no healing expertise, and figured the odds were good that Luca was better.

[Akira Hinosai]

"See! I told you I was good!" Luca's smile faded when he realized Irina was actually hurt and his celebration was kind of inappropriate. "Right...I'm better at causing wounds than fixing them, but I can take a look." Luca's knowledge base didn't allow him to discern anything about the wounds other than that they were burns, probably caused by hollow poison. "Wait! If there's one thing I remember from chemistry class, it's that you wash chemical burns out with water! Just give me one second!"

Luca looked around. None of the onlookers had water bottles that Luca could see, and Luca felt breaking another fire hydrant might be overkill. Luca walked at a brisk pace, hoping to find some ready access to water. Just a few buildings past the library Luca saw a vending machine out front of...some sort of business. A few good kicks and soul command later, and he was carrying as many watter bottles as he could reliably carry, each ice cold. Luca ran back to Irina with a dumb grin on his face. "Ok, let's see if rinsing the area helps. Fair warning, this is going to sting." with that, Luca would begin poring the contents of a bottle onto the affected area. A few bottles later Luca would stop. "Ok, I don't know if that helped. Think we're gonna have to get you to a normal hospital or does Uzaki have one hidden somewhere? Wait, am I gonna have to carry you?" Luca realized quickly that his reluctance to carry her might have been insulting. "Not that you're, like, heavy or anything...you know, just uh...Ah forget it..."

[Irina Davayte]

Due to Luca looking so proud of himself for acquiring water to rinse her burn, Irina didn't complain about the legality of his method, and instead made a mental note to anonymously pay for the damages later. Or really, that should come out of the Hollow Response Team budget at UE, she figured. But who was in charge of that department since Luke left? No one, as far as she knew. She'd have to bug Kazura about that expense directly, and while she was at it, it seemed to her that it was time to ask for a promotion. Not that she was all that into the idea of being responsible for other employees. It probably had more to do with her admittedly awkward social skills than anything else, but Irina just didn't love the idea of having to organize other people. That, she decided, would be Future Irina's problem, as she refocused on her injury.

Fortunately, being rinsed with water seemed to do the trick: she still had an ugly-looking burn, but as it started to scab over with yucky, yellow crust over each welt, Irina no longer felt woozy or as if her arm was actively on fire. She felt, with a moderate level of confidence, that she could safely cover it, take an Ibuprofen when she got home, and ignore it. Irina let Luca finish proposing plans before she quickly interjected "I'm good," in response to the last bit. She was definitely the type of person who would be mortified by being carried anywhere.

"I think this thing will probably resolve on its own. Anyway, I'm fairly certain the hospital staff think I'm running some kind of meth lab, with all the mysterious injuries and lame cover stories I've showed up with. We do have a Nurse Practitioner over at UE. You just have to be discreet, because she doesn't officially know anything about the spiritual stuff. She's not dumb, though- she knows something weird goes on around there. And in a pinch, Kazura's good with emergency stuff; he can take care of you. Just don't tell him I said that." They had a running joke of sorts about him not being a real doctor, and Irina was not about to let that one go.

"What do you think about heading back to work? I'd rather avoid giving a witness statement if we can." She remembered the elderly gentleman she'd snatched from the Hollow and then left on the roof. "Ah, one thing first, though." She made her way behind the building, where it seemed that no one was watching, and sprung up to the roof as before. "Ready to get down?" Irina asked brightly, thinking that her only option with this guy right now would be to completely gaslight him, trying to make him think that he hadn't really seen anything that he knew he had, and figuring that at least she should do that nicely. Without waiting for a reply, Irina grabbed him as gently as possible, and jumped back down, softening the ground with Soul Command as they landed.

"Young lady, this doesn't even make sense. Are you a witch? How did you just get all the way up there and back?" "Hmm? Up where?" Irina asked, feeling guilty. He turned to Luca. "Ah, and the flying young man. I bet you have no explanation for this either? You know, my grandchildren say I'm crazy, but really, I think it's all of you young people!" The man's eyes welled up with tears.

[Akira Hinosai]

"Witches? Flying? You sound unhinged. Keep that up and you'll end up in a nursing home!" Luca smiled, but he was sure not to downplay the threat too much. Completely disregarding the old man, Luca tried to shift the conversation back to Irina as they walked away. "Wait, you're telling me Kaz is a backalley doctor? Ha! Bet that'd be fun. Sitting on the operating table, hoping your boss deems you a great enough asset to save!" That sounded less morbid in my head. He had some reservations about his boss. Namely that he didn't trust the guy at all. Though Luca wasn't going to reveal that to a sort-of-almost-friend.

"But...yeah...work" Luca flashed Irina the finger guns and his winning smile in hopes that would endear him to her. "So is data analysis as boring as it sounds? No offense. Is there anything else that needs doing? Like...stuff that gets me promoted fast?" He figured the walk back, and what little time they may have together would be better spent discussing company stuff than his own personal problems. UE wasn't some sort of family to be a part of. It was a job, same as any other. It just so happened to let him kill stuff for fun and profit and the company was mildly better than whatever horror-show was going on at Xcution. The money and recognition higher ranks provided were always enticing, especially when he stumbled his way into being friends with Irina. Her word carried weight, and suddenly advancement didn't seem so distant a dream.

[Irina Davayte]

Feeling guilty, Irina left the old man behind. "What? No, I'm not suggesting you allow anyone without a medical license to perform surgery on you. Mr. Uzaki included." Leaning towards taking things more literally than people necessarily intended, Irina was not into this particular flavor of dramatic joking. She sighed, thinking to herself that Luca must either be harboring some kind of trauma, or very immature, to be joking about deciding who gets to live and die. But it was almost time to get back to her spreadsheets, and that would be much less socially taxing.

Boring? This guy must be analyzing data the wrong way, Irina thought, allowing just a bit of snark into her mind. Aloud, though, she responded more formally, sidestepping the "boring" comment and focusing on the second part of what he said, which was probably what he was actually more interested in. "I mean, you could apply to become a Senior Employee, but that wouldn't change what you do day-to-day. You could and should be officially on the emergency response team, but I don't know what's going on with the structure of that department these days since the manager left; I'll ask Mr. Uzaki about it and get back with you."

Future Irina, whom this problem belonged to, was going to have to handle this sooner than she'd thought. Department budget, calling for repairs necessitated by fighting Hollows, keeping track of employees...yeah, someone was going to need to take care of that. What was even going on since Luke left? Who was keeping track of the filing cabinet? Was she sure there were even records of all of the Hollow attacks they'd responded to? Nope. She hoped her engineering career, which was only just starting, wouldn't fall by the wayside as she focused on these things. She contemplated this silently, and if Luca didn't have much else to say, her brain would take over and bring them back to the gym on Autopilot.

[Akira Hinosai]

Luca's attention was grabbed. Promotion? Luca's mood snapped from ambiently unhappy to almost childlike joy. "Oh, what? Luke's gone? His position's open? That's terrible! If only there was some one who was great at responding to emergencies...Like someone who you just saw respond to an emergency!" This was exciting and definitely not how Luca imagined his workout session ending. Definitely a welcome surprise though. "Come on, think about it! Like, you said it yourself, my schedule wouldn't change, so even if there's boring paperwork that means I'll have secretaries and stuff to do all that for me!" Luca nudged Irina with his elbow as if to say "Can I? Can I?"

"See, you just talk to Kaz because he trusts you or whatever, and then he'd have to give it to me! I'd have a sick ass office, lots of money, AND a way bigger say in what happens with the company! Oh, and saving people. That too. That would happen like so much." Luca's mind raced with the many possibilities. Sure, he wasn't exactly full of team spirit for UE, but promotions were promotions. Power was power, and he wasn't passing it up wherever he found it.  Some UE manager type was the kind of title an important person had. It was the kind of thing that would force people to acknowledge him. He was so enamored with the idea he didn't notice if Irina wasn't buying what he was selling unless she flat out told him.

[Irina Davayte]

"What? No, I meant you can probably officially be on the Emergency Response team, not in charge of it. Being a Manager requires you to first be a Senior Employee." Irina cocked an eyebrow at the exuberant Luca. I mean, you gotta climb the corporate ladder and whatever, she thought, but didn't say aloud. "I was thinking that maybe we could get that department up and running again if I head it up. Then you could apply for a promotion as a senior employee there." It seemed to her like someone needed to at least vaguely keep an eye on what Luca was up to. And she didn't know anyone besides herself who was available for that task. So. Here they were.

"...And nobody is getting a secretary," she added. "If we had anyone extra who was spiritually aware running around, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be using them as secretaries." Irina hesitated, wheels turning. "...We might be able to swing an office though." She'd been thinking it'd be helpful to have a larger workspace for a while. She wouldn't mind sharing as long as she had her own space.

[Akira Hinosai]

Luca was brought back to reality as suddenly as he departed it. Maybe some part of him knew it was a pipe dream, but the new developments meant he was moving up...kind of.  Irina at least implied they'd be working together. If she was asking that, then it only made sense to assume she enjoyed his presence well enough and respected his abilities. Oh, and a sweet ass office I can sleep in! Luca had proven himself and didn't look like a jackass. All in all, still a pretty solid victory. Though if he and Irina were going to be working together, that meant Luca would have a boss who was a lot closer than Kaz ever was.

Suddenly Luca grew far more dubious about the prospect. It was only logical to assume she'd try to pry into Luca's business. Ha! I dare her to try! I cover my tracks well. All things considered, Luca figured she'd give up after like a week. Then he could continue as he was: doing assault, battery, petty theft, and of course, property damage. It was all for the greater good of course, but he didn't expect a straight arrow like Irina to understand. He'd also have to work under a girl. Not that Luca had a problem with that, but it might make people talk. Well, if they did, Luca would beat the shit out of them. "Ah, fuck it, let's do it. I've always wanted a cool office! Besides, you'll need my help to get the Emergency Response team back up and running!" Luca didn't figure a slight promotion and possible office was a bad asking price for his help. "You wanna go bug Kaz about this...like right now? I mean, I'm sure this is more important than data analysis." It was only reasonable to ask that. Otherwise she might forget and if Luca went by himself, he was sure to be rebuked.

[Irina Davayte]

"Yeah, I think that's a good plan, I will need help with it." She was going to have to do this thing where she had to be encouraging to keep Luca from acting crazy a lot, she thought. She decided to ignore the bit about the relative lack of importance of data analysis. "I don't think we need to go bug anyone right now," she said, attempting to sound patient. "But I'll text you later and let you know what he says? In the meantime, you can out in your application for promoting to a senior employee. We can sort out the department you're working in later. What's your number?" She could only assume Luca wouldn't bug her and had as little interest in her activities outside of work as she did about his.

[Akira Hinosai]

It wasn't often a girl asked for Luca's number. It was less often that he had an inclination to give it. Irina was a special case, being that she was spiritually aware. She was cold, by the books, and WAY too interested in numbers, but they were sort-of-almost-friends soon to be sort-of-almost-partners. Luca'd like to see what all the new hires thought of that. I'm going all the way to the top, baby! If she had her own designs, Luca didn't care. He wasn't easily manipulated. "We should do this again sometime." Luca flashed a smile. "Buuuuuuut, I guess that was the idea, roping me into a department with you! Be seeing you, Irina!" Luca could sense that the conversation was nearing it's end and he'd rather go out on top than stay and ruin his hard earned victory. Luca sprinted, rather conspicuously at his full speed back to his apartment. He had a promotion request to fill, lives to save, asses to kick, and of course, an office to plan the interior of.

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

+350 TTP to Irina
+350 TP to Luca

Next time, please note which kind you're training for, Luca.