Year Two

The person operating the stand folds his newspaper over to see her.

Clerk: "I'd rather you didn't. The library's two blocks from here."

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Azuma stirs, the alarm clock buzzing having been set for eleven. He climbs out of bed to shut it off and get ready to pick Mimiru and probably Taiyo up.

"The library doesn't often have current magazines. Besides, how else will I know if I'm interested in buying something?"

*Cameron shrugs, finds one his size, and takes it up to the counter*
---
*Eve waits for the bell to ring*

"Kids crave structure and routine..." Jin mumbled quietly to herself, also waiting eagerly for the end of the school day. "What a load of crap..."

Grimm left the park and began heading back to the church, disposing of litter where he saw it on the pathway.

Clerk: "Take a risk. Or do what most people do and contribute to impending demise of the magazine and news paper industry and read it online or watch the news. Half of the garbage you'll read in any of these magazines is on any other talk show or news broadcast."

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The bell rings and classes let out for lunch.

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The clerk accepts his money as if he were any other customer. Lately there's been a lot of people coming in and purchasing from his store. Whether they're weirdo survivalists or potentially vigilante wannabes, money is money.

T"Fine, in that case, I'll do that."

*Thiera leaves, heading back to her dorm.*
============================
*As it is probably about time for her lunch break, Ven heads out to find a burger place.*

*Cameron smiles, and exits the store, holding his purchase. He looks around for some place to get a snack*
---
*Eve grabs her bag, and darts out of the classroom, heading for the place she met Jin yesterday*

Jin left her class and skipped happily to their meeting place.

Grimm arrived back at the church and let himself in through the front doors.

*Eve stares at the ground as she walks*

Jin? Can you hear me?

Because Jin would have to initiate her telepathy, she did not hear. However, when she saw Eve approaching she gave an enthusiastic wave and called out, "Hey, Eve!"

*Eve waves back*

<Hey, how was class?>

I guess she couldn't hear me.

"Bo~oring," Jin sighed, sitting down and taking out her lunch. "And yours?"

<Fine, as usual.>

*Eve takes out her lunch, and pulls out an apple, biting into it*

And so Thiera goes to her dorm to continue the destruction of printed media.

===================================

The burger place she had went to earlier in the week is still closed, the damage being repaired among other things.

===================================

Taiyo: "Hi, Mimi!"

How does she find me so easily?

Mimiru: "Hi, Taiyo."

The two move through the crowd, Taiyo hanging on to Mimiru's hand until they get to the main entrance where the area is less crowded. Through the glass doors, they can see Azuma waiting outside.

===================================

Inside the church, is a middle aged man sitting in one of the pews, head bowed.

*Cameron heads for the nearest fastfood place*
---
*Eve stares up into the sky*

<Hear the news earlier?>

"Yeah," Jin nodded after gulping down some of a sandwich. She took a big drink of water. "Crazy stuff. How can the police not be catching these guys?"

Grimm considered the man as he made his way to the front of the church. He looked up at the stained glass window above them.

*She obviously wasn't going to that one anyway.*
===============================
*Thiera checks the news, like a boss.*

<Your guess is as good as mine.>

*Eve takes a drink of juice*

<It's crazy out there though. Just crazy.>

There's nothing she hasn't already heard before this morning. Just some updates that there'll be rain this evening.

===================================

The only other one nearby is three blocks past the other one, isn't as good and is presently quite busy.

Mimiru: "This is horrible. Why didn't we just go to the place by the pet store?"

Taiyo: "We could have played with kittens afterwards."

Taiyo begins sniffing the air, the other two not knowing what she's doing, stare in confusion then she squeezes through the crowd until...

Taiyo: "Hi, Ven!"

===================================

The man did not look up as Grimm made his way down the aisle.

*As it's looking like she might not get lunch, Ven is a sad puppy as she turns to Taiyo.*

"...Hey, Taiyo."
================================
*As she can't really do anything here, Thiera heads down to the cafeteria to see if she can catch Aroma eating lunch.*

Outside the cafeteria she sees a small group of people standing about, talking.

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Taiyo: "What's wrong?"

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???: "Gentleman, today is the day you begin to carve out your place in this city's history and the day the Black Mask brings it to its knees. Your dealers have been assigned areas in the city and given samples of the drug to distribute as standard procedure goes."

Jackson: "Samples? These are playing card boxes full of this stuff. That's outrageous."

???: "Indeed it may seem that way, but once a clientel begins to build we will all see large profits. What is being given out is hardly costing us money. And what will be making will give you enough money to rival that of the Russians and Yakuza's own fortunes."

*Cameron grabs a snack from the nearest fast food place, then started for home*

"I think I'll have to go somewhere else, if I want time to eat lunch. Do you know anywhere that's close by, open, & cheap?"
===================================
*Because she's not an eavesdropper, she heads past them.*

???: "This stuff is fucking crazy, holmes. Ain't nothing like anything you've had before."

Student: "All right, man. Hit me up."

A playing card box is passed to the student.

Student: "Damn, this is a sample?"

???: "Word up. Enjoy, homie."

===================================

Taiyo: "Well, we were talking about a little place by the pet store."

???: "Hey, eyes slideways!"

Azuma & Mimiru push through the crowd until they meet up with Taiyo and Ven.

Azuma: "Howdy."

*Cameron continues walking, eating a sandwich*