Clad up in a long black trench coat that matched the base color of her long and wavy hair, Kanashima spun in front of a body sized mirror at Cipher's request and direction. The flared bottom end of the coat was naturally larger than her, rising upwards in the air at each motion. Dangling from all around her torso, large amounts of straps, belts, and other fabric addendums decorated the reinforced piece of cloth. Molle webbing was slapped on around the ribcage area, despite how much her partner rejected the idea.
"You're ruining the elegance of a long coat!"
"This is supposed to be a piece of clothing far more suited for military applications."
"It can still look good!"
"Well I'm sorry, Elegance wasn't the first thing on my mind."
It looks pretty good to me?
The pants were another spectacle to behold, never before did a pair sit comfortably on her waist while also providing tremendous amounts of mobility. It was truly tailored to her size, making good use of each measurement by hugging each contour of her rather frail legs without managing to dip below her ankles like many of her brother's previous clothes. The pair of trousers were actually made to match her long coat too, even if the tech straps didn't hang off the thigh. The material was thinner and only a single layer compared to the jacket's three, but Ray assured her it was still plenty durable. These pockets were also much deeper than her old pair, comfortably housing the small amount of belongings she took away from her now incinerated apartment.
"At least the pants are… decent. I'll give you that."
"Won't you shut it? If you're that unhappy with the outfit, come back after you get Mirren."
"Okay, okay, geez old man."
Tapping her feet against the carpeted flooring of the tailor's studio, the pair of sturdy boots she was given next wrapped around her abnormally wide feet without squeezing the toes together. In combination with the real merino wool socks she was given, the varied interior sole worked well enough to support her high arches. The application of a lighter weight metal alloy plate resting at the top of the combat boots helped reassure her of the effectiveness, a small smile came across her face as she felt the structure hold true to her taps. They would make things like walking feel incredibly heavier, but even so, it had to work well.
"Everything fits well, sir. Thank you."
"At least one of you appreciates expedited work."
"Hey, I appreciate fast results, if they're good."
Shooing the duo away, the tailor reached over to another one of his workstations, grabbing a pair of black leather gloves. The pair was reminiscent of Kailao's during their lovely police run, metal lining and plates around the knuckles, just a couple sizes smaller. Ray tossed the coverings in the direction of Kanashima, hitting her square in the chest before dropping to the ground. An iota of disappointment flickered in his brown eyes around the same time a purple spark flaked off the garments on the ground.
"Put those on too, and good luck."
"Gloves?"
"Nah, they're socks. Stick 'em right over your boots."
Must be some kind of new thing.
Staying close to the ground after scooping them up with her right hand, she opened one of the sized gloves up, about to push her foot through. She would have continued with the rather stupid attempt at wearing them if Cipher didn't interrupt, his visage holding a few notes of embarrassment colored in with a disappointed feeling.
"That was a joke, Kanashima. Lemme help."
With the combined hand power of one and a half people, the velcro strap wrapped tight around her tiny wrists, covering both of her hands. Flexing the fingers on her hands, she looked at her counterpart's own gloves. Unlike her own leather, it was a thin fabric and sat halfways up her forearm.
"Leather for Miss Combat."
"Right."
I still don't get it.
Saying their thanks and farewells to the helpful Wild Eyes' tailor, the duo stood shoulder to shoulder in the front room once again. Taking the time to pat down his own periwinkle coat, Cipher smoothed over the wrinkles before raising his arms above his head. With a stretch and an exhale, his thin lips curled upward as he looked down at his purple eyed partner.
"Serafin wants us to remove the Nihilty presence from the store. The manager has been a good Wild Eyes ally for quite some time, and is a good connection."
"This sounds like another mission."
"Think of it as an… extra monetary venture."
"A job?"
"It's been added to the entire thing of 'assist Mirren,' so we best get going. You'll be extra compensated."
That's not what I was worried about… I just said one mission.
Taking her silence as a confirmation, the taller cafe employee patted her right shoulder. In his other hand, a red flare appeared in his palm. The traces of energy flickered in his hand, transforming into a series of lines and forming a frame of an object. Kanashima had a hard time identifying what exactly Cipher was forming from his storage until the armament itself filled out the electron skeleton. If that was what she thought it was, things were actually shaping up to be rather serious.
"Have you ever used a gun before?"
Sitting pretty in the white opera glove, the pistol grip to a rather long and menacing looking rifle glinted in the final strings of red light before fully absorbing the electric structure. On top of the long gun sat a rather large sight, the glass portion with the frame almost forming a lowercase 'a' shape where the eye was supposed to sit. His index finger stretched beyond the trigger guard and rested on the flared magazine well, housing a rather large magazine that extended to about the same length at the grip. The barrel extended out of the shroud for a decent bit longer, but unlike his handgun, this one had a different attachment at the end of it.
"Never."
"Figured as much. We'll get you some training on that, but for now, you're stuck with your knife."
"Hardly know how to use a knife too."
"Seems good enough to me. You really just don't hesitate to kill either, I've heard from Serafin."
Yikes, I guess that is how it seems, huh? It's just the most logical option but, it's awful really. Taking another person's life? Morgan would never.
"Yeah."
Averting her gaze to the crimson floor, she shifted in place uncomfortably. If it wasn't for the last property in her rather short virus menu, she'd probably be feeling sick all over again right about now. The clarity offered in these situations really was pulling some weight, she could actually logically think during these situations. Shaking her head alongside a deep breath gave Cipher the wrong idea, the left hand moving to her other shoulder for a side hug.
"Hey, that's a good thing! Do you know how many don't make it because they hesitate?"
No, and I wish I didn't know.
"Most people! Even some people that tried to join our trope in the past. To live here, you gotta have at least a little bit of conviction. At first I wasn't sure if you had any, but now that I've seen you in action, I can tell."
Conviction? Hardly. I'm just trying not to die myself.
"It's only one mission. How much conviction can come from that?"
"It's true. Not very convicted. But even if you aren't with us in the end, evading this gang with a target on your back's gotta take some balls."
The more she talked with her mission partner, the more she realized that he was right. There was an underlying will to prevail inside of her that she was always willing to play towards, the clarity in her mind only helped her find it within her, not give it to her. If she was going to keep on resisting the call of the Nihility, it was definitely a good thing she didn't hesitate.
"Look, whether you join us or not is up to you. But having somebody like you would certainly be nice."
Ah, there's the sweet talk again… it might actually be working.
The cast of the rebel group she's met has been nice, relatively so. Kailao and Ray were a bit abrasive, but ultimately helped her out tremendously. Serafin had already saved her and housed her twice, and Cipher had been there both times, and additionally right next to her now. Even Haze was nice enough to spend their precious shift break chatting with her. This was more kindness than any corporation or organization had shown her before.
After the passing of her elder brother, Kanashima had accepted she wouldn't be able to make it very far in life, the most she could do for him was become some sort of second coming to him. Everybody always liked him more anyway. This most recent complement wasn't a trait Morgan had, it was her one, and it was appreciated. For the first time in several years, a brighter future didn't look so far away now.
"It's great that what I said is having such a profound impact on you, but we gotta get going. Come on, summon your knife."
"Right."
Holding out her right arm, a familiar weight drew the top of her fist down to the ground. The blade glinted in the warm artificial light of the waiting room, seeming to have lost all of the coatings of blood almost unnaturally. Moving the saxe knife and letting it spin around in her leather gloves, she was all smiles at the sublime craftsmanship. It truly was a helpful piece of work, even if she didn't understand what the material had to do with her class of Intrinsic ability.
"Sorry I can't give you any weapons. Everything in my storage weapon wise is a gun."
"It's fine, let's complete our objective."
"There's that nice conviction we look for."