The War of Four: The Hunter and the Hunted

New Recruits! Tryouts and Prestige
"Nnnnngh...mmmm...wh-what?" Hyōryū moaned aloud as she wearily opened her eyes as light began flooding the room from the window across her bed. It had been nearly three weeks since the earth shattering and quite surprising moment that caused her body and mind to go into shock as the recorded "Plinian Eruption" shocked the spiritual and living worlds to its very core. Y ūrei Ok ōku's war with the fanatical Red Sun Cult, the Ahijados, had all but a big sham to create the necessary blood needed for the Eruption that occured. However, as a chance of fate, one lone Lieutenant of the Soul Reapers gathered there had managed to dissuade the Hankami from their plans and officially gave them the chance to set things right. After the confirmed defeat of the accounted Hankami responsible for the Eruption, the world receded to its former state. But its scars were not forgotten upon the populace as a whole...

Regardless, Hyōryū had done the best of the V-14's femme half of the group in taking it in stride. After drinking herself to sleep for a week, she eventually adapted and had only lingering moments when she'd remember her body plastered to a organic nightmarish building that had been the result of the Eruption's temporary affects. Still, after it all went down, she and Anton had a serious victory "celebration" back at her apartment.

Speaking of which... Hyōryū looked around to spot her Russian nationality boyfriend, expecting him to be lying next to her under the covers or somewhere nearby.

He had disappeared from the bed.

But the sound of running water could be heard within her bathroom. Sometime or other, he had gotten out of bed in order to get himself prepared for the day. It was natural for him, being an early bird and always sleeping for the minimum limit, even after last night's activities. He just didn't know the meaning of the word "exhaustion".

"Antooooon!" Hyōryū moaned out to him, rolling off the bed with a thump, growling slightly before getting up and walking bare skinned, disregarding the fact her bed hair laid flowed with slight frizzed hairs here and there. Also the fact she was in the nude did not bother her in the least, as she-or rather they-have gotten accustomed to their fully exposed anatomies.

Opening the cracked door to the shower, she walked in with a frizzed blank look as she walked right into the shower, grabbing a hold of him with her arms from behind, a pouty look accompanied her face as she rested her cheek against his back, "You didn't bother to say good morning, meanie..."

"Oh, damn it, I knew she would do that."

Anton's eyes widened when he felt the woman suddenly take ahold on him, involuntarily leaning forward a little. However, his expression immediately turned to a frown and a slightly exasperated look. "I was going to do that when you woke up, you know..." He drawled, cocking a slight eyebrow. "...and when I got properly dressed." He rolled his eyes. "Don't act so melodramatic, it's so unlike you."

"Not...when I get woken up...in the morning," Hyōryū countered, groaning afterwards before leaning up and planting a kiss on the back of his neck, whispering to him, "you hurry up. I want to have some time with you before Shad ō wakes up and decides to interrupt. Again!"

SLAP!

Hyōryū lightly slapped Anton's hind quarters as she left the shower, grabbing one of the towels hanging on the rack, wrapping her body over her shoulders so her own body wouldn't be too obscured. As she shasayed her hips and legs out of the room, she turned her head briefly, her wet locks waving almost majestically across the bright lit air, biting her lip as she winked at him before disappearing out of the bathroom to get dressed herself.

"Pffft...."

Anton shook his head sagely at her antics. It was always direct and blunt when it came to the likes of her. By now, he had gotten used to how she acted when it came to him and her. It was a good thing he was raised to be a light-hearted and easy-going man, otherwise he would've never coped with it. He also had to roll his eyes again at the mention of "spending some time with him". If he knew she was going to tell him that, why did he even bother to get in the shower?

But as he continued to focus on the shower, his ears picked up a light knocking from the door leading into the woman's room. Was that Shadō? Or had Angelika and Oliver come early?

A faint clicking sound could be heard even over the drops of water in Anton's shower, as Hyōryū, clad in only a t-shirt and shorts, with her hair laid over her shoulders faintly wet as she moved towards the knocking on the door, aiming it at the object of annoyance.

"Oliver, you even think of interrupting his shower, I'll shoot your balls off where you stand. Capiche?" Hyōryū said briskly and to the point as she defended her boyfriend like a panther her young. Surprising side of herself in her own mind that she had become incredibly more protective of those she cared about since...the Eruption. Now, with life being as brief as Hyōryū as ever seeing it, her ideas and instincts changed ever so slightly in her character. Her antics, however, have not, unforunately for the rest of V-14.

"Do you seriously think Oliver would bother to knock?"

Interestingly enough, it wasn't the American-accented blonde that spoke, but rather the lax, German accent that only belonged to Angelika. "As soon as you are dressed, meet us downstairs. We have some things to discuss." With that being said, footsteps could be heard going back downstairs, effectively ending any counter Hyōryū would've had to her.

"He has, believe it or not," Hyōryū unapologetically retracted her gun and "holstered" it onto a open part of her shorts, knocking on the door connecting the bathroom, "hurry up, lover boy! You heard the boss."

"Yes, dear..."

With that sarcastic statement, Anton pushed the door open and stepped out. He was clad in his own common attire; a blue T-shirt with brown pants and black tennishoes. He had his hands shoved within his pockets, his head tilted slightly to the side. "Did she say what she wanted?" He questioned, cocking a slight eyebrow and frowning.

Wrapping a arm around his waist, she playfully nuzzled his arm as she walked with him down the hall and the stairs, halfheartedly shrugging, "Don't know...she said we have stuff to talk about. I think it might have something to do with what happened several weeks ago. We all kinda...didn't really resolve to change anything after it was over, so maybe she's got a game plan."

"Right..."

Anton spoke nothing further of it, allowing himself to walk with Hyōryū with his arm wrapped around her shoulders. He was pretty sure Oliver was going to tease him for what had developed between him and the woman. But, at this particular moment in time, he could not bring himself to care. The blonde would just have to cope with whatever attitude he had towards it.

As for Angelika, though...

When they had reached the downstairs level, Anton could immediately see the cross-legged-sitting figure of Angelika in one of the chairs. Oliver was messing around with a PSP he had brought with him, eyes concentrated on whatever game he was playing.

Hyōryū spotted Oliver, briefly twitching at the sight of him before saying, "Playstations are shit," before turning her smirk towards Angelika, "what's up boss?"

"I know." Oliver grumbled, his teeth gritted slightly as he turned the PSP this way and that. "I asked for an XBox, but the sons of bitches gave me this instead and said I couldn't get a refund... or return it for that matter! The only thing that kept me from smashing their faces in was the fact that they gave me this better-than-average racing game."

Anton put his free hand into his pocket, looking with a slightly interested eye towards Oliver. "What's it called?"

"Need for Spe--"

That was when Oliver looked up to look at Anton - and stopped at the sight of him and Hyōryū holding each other. His look changed from concentrating to completely shocked, his mouth formed into a small "o" shape.

A slightly amused smile crossed Angelika's face as she held up a cup of tea. "Looks like you lose the bet, Holmes." She said, not hiding her smugness. "Blink a few times, pinch yourself, and make sure to leave the money at my desk in an hour."

"Wait a minute, you?!" Oliver's shock was becoming more and more apparent. He pointed a finger at Hyōryū and then at Anton, continuing to speak. "With Laz-E-Boy over here?! You've got to be kidding!!"