Standing right under the starry night sky, a hooded figure stands tall on the roof of a luxurious four-story house. His cape, with the influence of a light breeze, flows behind him smoothly.
"How nostalgic. Can't believe that I am missing these times already…sort of."
The stars and moon shine brightly, the streets remain busy as ever.
What are the odds that I just so happen to encounter some rich lady who is also charitable. Knowing my luck, somehow this will all backfire on me eventually…by I must admit that Joanne has been very reliable to me.
"Perhaps she's not so bad after all…"
"Aww gee, thanks for the compliment!"
"?!"
An unknown feminine voice surprises Vex, immediately causing him to turn around aggressively. Rather than a typical aggressor he has come to expect, the voice behind him belonged to a thin figure who is wearing a cloak not too dissimilar from his own. Wearing a big grin on her face, she pulls down her hood, revealing her long ears–ears that are a typical characteristic of rabbits.
"Lady, if someone sent you here to pick a fight with me, then I hope you reconsider how much it's worth. I don't hold back on women–especially annoying ones."
"Eeep! I was just joking, no need to be so hostile, okay?"
Feeling intense pressure from the sound of Vex cracking his knuckles, the demi-human holds her hands up as she slowly backs away.
"Maybe it's not a smart idea to 'joke' with a stranger in an isolated location in the middle of the night."
"'Stranger'? Surely you know who I am–I even remember you."
"Stop wasting my time and properly explain yourself already!"
"Jeez, you're no fun. Then perhaps this will jog your memory…"
Following through with the idea in her mind, the demi-human softly snickers to herself as she reaches for her cloak. This sudden movement caused Vex to resume his aggressive stance.
"Lady, I've already warned you. Whether this is another one of your so-called jokes or not, I couldn't care less. Either way, I'll–?!"
ZIP!
"Take a good look!"
The demi-human woman pulls down the zipper on her cloak so ecstatically, her breasts pop out by the sheer force. On her barren chest, a symbol of the Shadow Star appears prominently.
"...you're her, aren't you?"
"That's right! I'm the infamous…"
"..."
Suspended with one hand on her chest, displaying her pride, she opens one eye to peek at Vex, as if giving him a cue. Vex, growing more and more disinterested, just stares back.
"Ahem, I'm the infamous…"
"..."
"Hey, read the air. You are supposed to finish my sentence!"
"Why would I do that? I don't even know your name."
"But you seemed to recognize my identity…"
"I can tell that you are a Dark Mercenary, and given that you were eager to flash me, you must be the renown flasher bunny. Just because I've heard rumors about you, doesn't mean I know your name, or know you more than any other stranger. Your supposed familiarity with me is completely one-sided."
"Oof, you're making me shiver! Well admittedly, I don't know you very well either, but I have seen you before."
"I suppose that is likely to happen at some point, given that we share the same occupation. Though I don't bother with taking inventory of irrelevant people–I work solo."
"Ignoring your rude implication there, you really work solo, eh? Interesting..."
The "flasher bunny" nervously scratches her ear, her body language conveying a message that Vex is able to decipher clearly–an unwanted message.
"Nope. The answer is no."
"Wait! Before you reject me–"
"I already did. Bye."
"Don't wave at me! You're struggling to find work here, aren't you?"
"Tch, are you in a better situation? Do you just want to brag?"
"Not necessarily, it's just that I know–we all know–the scarcity of landing a commission for a client. Let alone a good-paying one. I suppose that the demand exceeds the supply. Fortunately for me, I managed to attract the attention of a special client who will give me secret intel later tonight–though I won't share that information with you, of course!"
"I couldn't care less; keep your secret and your cheeky buck-tooth smile. Now, are you finally done wasting your breath and my time?"
"...my partner and I are in need of a party member. I know that you will tell me to find someone else, but I didn't go out of my way to jump up this house at night just for anyone–I came for someone like you."
With every word she spoke, its weight felt gradually heavier. By the time the very last word leaves her mouth, all traces of her previous attitude were a thing of the past.
"'Someone like me'? That's a loaded statement."
"I've heard rumors about you as well–your capabilities are among the greatest of Dark Mercenaries. At the very least, you are greater than us. I'm sure that it has to do with your curse, right? We need your unique traits to accomplish a quest. I promise that we will pay you handsomely."
With her sincere plea, the flasher bunny's ears drop low as she bows her head and holds out her hand, reaching out for a handshake.
"You'll pay me 'handsomely', huh…"
After a moment of murmuring to himself and sorting his hesitant thoughts, Vex deeply exhales and reaches out to make contact with the empty hand waiting before him.
"...Vex."
"I'm Flenn. Let's meet up tomorrow night, same time. You can find the hangout for Dark Mercenaries at 'The Den'. It's a night club that has its name plastered on a giant neon sign–you can't miss it even if your eyesight were cursed. I'll introduce you to my partner and we'll go over the details then. Catch ya later, Vex!"
With a cutesy wink, Flenn springs into the night sky, jumping from building to building. Before getting too far away, she looks back at Vex's direction, holding up a peace sign.
"…that pay better be worth it."
_____________________________________________________________________
"Alright man, I had my doubts about you, but your crest doesn't lie. Go on, you may pass."
Confirming Vex's acceptable status, the bouncer, Malu, presses a hidden button behind the reception desk which activates the revolving door. Just as Vex finishes rubbing his left eye, he takes a step forward, then stops himself.
"Curious, why did I raise your suspicion in particular? I don't seem to stand out much from the others."
Does he have the ability to sense my misfortune curse? Or has he somehow obtained backhanded information about me? No one around here so have any particular suspicion of me upon the first time we meet…unless they are–
"Flenn told me to look out for you. And she's…you know."
"Got it. Can't blame you at all."
Whelp, that doesn't bode well at all. If Flenn has a good reputation for only one thing, let it be honoring her deals. At least I was just overthinking this time; now I need to find her in there.
Finally, Vex enters the revolving door into the lounging area. Just as one might expect of a nightclub, lively people are littered everywhere–some sober, some not so much. Since the attire of the Dark Mercenaries range from hooded cloaks, masks, jumpsuits, tuxedos, light armor, and even almost nothing at all, from an outsider's perspective, they might mistake the gathering to be a costume party.
"So this is where we are gathering? It just had to be inside a big, noisy club of all places…though I suppose that this VIP lounging area isn't quite as bad. I may need to stop by that bar over there before meeting up with Flenn…if I can even find her."
"YOOHOO, OVER HERE!"
"!"
The abrupt sound of a feminine voice pierces through the lounge and smacks Vex's head-on, bumping into several others along the way. The culprit is none other than a familiar bunny, who is jumping up and down as she waves from a round table booth distant from Vex. Despite being the culprit of the noise, several eyes were instead drawn to the person she aimed her yelling at.
"Is meeting a cool-headed woman too much to ask for? One day…surely."
Donning his hood, Vex walks towards Flenn at a brisk pace, doing his best to avoid as much direct eye contact with others as possible. Contrasting the demeanor of Flenn, a hare demi-human who is wearing a black button-down shirt sits with his legs-crossed, level-headed.
"Ah, you've made it! See, I told you he would come."
"Color me shocked; did you actually manage to convince a man with your words? You can be honest, man. Did she promise you something…suspicious?"
"Well, I did show him my crest. He didn't seem to mind that."
"Oh, so that's what he came for. I'm sorry for you, bro."
"Hey, you should apologize to me–I don't like what you are implying!"
"Farewell."
I'm better off working with someone at the bar while drinking.
"?!"
Reaching out to touch his shoulder, Flenn barely manages to prevent Vex from leaving in the other direction.
"Wait! Sorry that we got a little carried away there. This is Sylow, my partner and occasional friend. Sylow, as I told you before, this is Vex."
"Yo, pleasure to meet you. I have nothing but high hopes for you."
Sylow waves his hand, hoping for an informal handshake.
"As the saying goes, don't get your hopes up."
"Ha, bit of a jokester, eh? I like your deadpan style."
"Great, now that introductions are behind us, let's get down to business. To put it simply, we need assistance getting past a dragon on an island known as Alpha's Arcadia. It brutally killed our fellow companions…I can never forgive it for that!"
"...my job is to help you two with vengeance? I really don't want to disappoint you since this is such a serious matter, but I don't excel in handling large beasts that are powerful."
Fact of the matter, I more than likely would be dead if those guards didn't subdue Lily in time. Perhaps it's for the best that I train, or at least find a way to counteract…a reliable way, that is.
"It's okay! Even if you can't defeat it, we can work together to get it to move out of our way so that we can extract valuable resources from the heart of the islet. Of course, you can have a share of whatever you find valuable on the islet in addition to this payment."
Flenn reaches behind her ear and flips a thick coin onto the table. Its glamorous platinum luster flashes in Vex's eyes, forcing them to widen.
"Are these…no way…"
"Authentic platinum coins–5 of them to be exact. As soon as we successfully complete the mission, these will immediately be transferred to you directly. Questions?"
"When do we begin?"
A smile with a hint of something more that suggested spreads across Flenn's face.