A little mischief goes a long way (Private: Myself, Chase and Succ)

Rhiannon Johnson, you are one naughty girl!
Rhi's conscious echoed through her head as she grabbed a gray hoodie out of her dresser and threw some essentials into a small backpack, along with a few cans of spray paint and some matches . It was midnight, and the little witch was off to cause some trouble. She snuck out silently, then catching a bus. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she knew that she would have fun there. She rode the bus for a few long hours, hopping off at a random stop. "Wooww.. It's dark outside." She said to herself as she looked at the sky with wide eyes. She set off down the nearly empty sidewalk as she hummed a little tune to herself. She finally found an abandoned warehouse. She giggled and easily broke inside of it. Taking the matches out of her bag, she collected small pieces of scrap wood and started a small fire to illuminate the empty place. She grabbed the spray paint and shook it as she began to spray it everywhere, laughing and laughing. She wasn't expecting anyone to find her at all.

Belated sighed and quietly stared up at the moonlight as she and her partner, Rin, made their way around the dimly lit streets of Death City. They'd been assigned a low caliber mission as their first assignment for the DWMA. Although the academy already knew of Belated's backstory and her fighting capabilities through her parents' legacy, they still refused to treat her as more than a beginner, which Belated didn't really mind or care about. Besides, everyone in her eyes were equals, and she was no different. Thing was, she was just kind of tired from school and whatnot, incapable of receiving the recommended amount of rest in order to accumulate a decent amount of study time to feel adequately prepared for the upcoming exams they had. That and, she still felt nervous thinking about going into any battle. Ten years of training and she still couldn't shake her nerves or fear.

"I wonder what this person even looks like?...." Belated shyly snuck a peek over at her partner, but looked back straight ahead before he could make eye contact. For some reason, she couldn't help but feel that it was her fault that they were given this mission and that Rin probably didn't want to be there. They were losing sleep over some petty criminal that found joy in vandalizing property. How ridiculous, right? Belated frowned just a little bit, thinking about the guy that was behind all of this. Probably some big mean thug that had nothing better to do than ruin other people's things. But a side of her wanted to sympathize with their target. Maybe he was just misunderstood, or was letting his feelings out through his actions. You never really know what people's motives are, or what drives them to do what they do.

"Rin?" Belated yawned cutely, her eyelid slightly drooping now. "Do you think the person we're after is really a bad guy?" She asked, sounding a bit sad. It pained her to think about her being responsible for someone's incarceration. Unfortunately, she knew if they let even the pettiest of criminals run around freely that it would lead to chaos. But still, she could hope that maybe he had a good heart on the inside.

As they were walking down what seemed to be an empty part of town, something snapped Belated out of her dreamy state. Laughter was coming from around the corner from where she and Rin currently were. "Do.... Do you think we should check it out?" Belated stammered a bit nervously, subconsciously moving closer to Rin for protection. The laughter sounded like a little girl's, but what would a little girl be doing on this side of town at this time of night? It brought chills up Belated's spine thinking about all the scenarios. A parent abandoning their child, the soul of a dead child still wandering the street, her mind was racing with explanations for the laughter. Belated suddenly clutched Rin's arm and looked straight up at him with pleading eyes. "Please, we have to check it out, Rin." She said, her eyes tearing up a little. The lack of sleep was taking its toll on the poor girl.

Rin rubbed his eyes a bit, trying to stay awake and not just stop and lay down on the ground. He had absolutely no idea how in the world he even got to, wherever they were at, whatever time of the night it was. He somewhat promised himself that if it was some dude who was doing this because he was "bored" he swore to god he was going to-

His partner interrupted his train of thought which made him look over to her, just in time for him to see her look forward again. He thought for a bit before answering with, "Somebody with a punchable face." He was really hoping for that, since he needed to work off his sleepiness in one way or another. He looked up into the sky for a bit, trying to see what the big deal was with sky watching. It was so boring and, sentimental. Was that it? Was it so "popular" because it was sentimental? Rin once again shook his head and closed his eyes as he stopped looking at the sky.

Rin opened his eyes when he heard Belated call his name. He slowly opened his eyes and looked over to her as she asked her question. Once she was done, he shrugged and simply said, "He better be to be having me out this late." Rin stretched a bit before stopping completely when he heard laughter. All he did was narrow his eyes. Rin stayed quiet when Belated asked her question, just trying to stay quiet and listen for more. "Why is some kid up and running around this late?" He mumbled. He suddenly felt Belated clutch his arm, for him to look at her as she started to plead with him. He would have rather continued looking for the criminal but, "If it makes you feel better, lets go." He said with a sigh, walking towards the laughter.

Rhi was dancing around in the clouds of paint that hung in the air as she sprayed it. "Hehe.. this is so much fun!~" She giggled cheerfully. Her clothes were completely coated with multiple layers of different color paints. She saw that her fire was going out and pouted. "Oh Phooey. I guess I just gotta make a new one then." She sighed, then getting an idea. Her eyes traveled up corner of the warehouse and she smiled when she saw a loft. She cautiously made her way up the rotting ladder with a match in her teeth. As she had predicted, there were many old boxes. She tossed a few of them back down onto the ground to play with later, and quickly lit the rest of them on fire. She climbed down. "There! Now I'll have a fire that'll never run out!" She chirped. She ripped one of the boxes she kept and took the torn off flaps, running back and forth in the dirt. "Weeeeee! I'm an Airplane!" She yelled as she ran around in her make believe world.

Belated kept a close proximity to Rin as she followed after him toward the source of laughter. Something about hearing laughter coming at this time of night was unsettling. It was reminiscent of a scene out of one of those cliche horror movies that starred some little kid as the monster, or killer, or whatever they were supposed to be.

Belated looked over her shoulder cautiously every once in a while, keeping an eye out for the criminal or anyone else that would be looking to cause unsuspecting trouble. She rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes and gave herself a small pinch on her left arm to keep herself focused. "Kids shouldn't be out here when it's this late...." Belated said worriedly. "Why would any parents let their children be out on the streets this late?" Belated asked Rin, who she always looked to for the answer to everything. "It just doesn't make sense...." She said glumly. Belated felt so fortunate to have the parents that she had and supported her in her every endeavor. Even after that night's incident their love for her didn't change.

Just as they'd reached the building from where the laughter was coming from, it suddenly stopped. "Huh?" Belated looked over at Rin with a confused look on her face. She got quiet for a moment, really straining to hear if the laughter was still out there. Everything remained silent. Was her lack of sleep messing with her to a further extent than she'd thought? "Rin...." Belated looked down at her feet, ashamed at what she was about to suggest. "I think I should go home.... Maybe I was ju-" Belated was cut off by a child's voice yelling.

I'm an airplane!

Belated jumped up out of shock. "Oh my god...." She whispered, putting a hand to her chest. Belated turned away from Rin, blushing madly like she always did. She said a prayer to Lord Death, hoping that Rin hadn't seen her. Belated didn't even know why it mattered to her so much what people thought about her, or why this feeling was even stronger with Rin. Belated bit her lip, hating herself for acting this way around Rin. There was something about being in his presence that just wouldn't let her function as a normal human being when she was with him.

Inhaling deeply, she counted to 3 in her head and turned back to him. "Well...." She said quietly, avoiding direct eye contact with her meister, "I guess we should investigate...." Belated walked past Rin and into the building the yelling had came from. She had to know what a child was doing inside an abandoned building at this time of night, presumably alone.

Rin eyes were rather narrowed when Belated asked him the question. He shrugged and said, "Maybe one of those kinds of parents that feel like the streets are as safe as ever, I assume." Rin then stopped moving and looked at Belated when he too couldn't hear laughter anymore and also remained silent. He slowly looked back ahead of him as his partner started talking to him, but he was barley listening as he wanted to try and hear anything else.

Rin suddenly heard someone jump from behind him, so he turned around to see Belated looking the other way. Assuming she was fine, he turned straight ahead once again, shaking his head. "That has to be a kid." He mumbled, seeing Belated in the corner of his eye walk past him then went ahead. Rin put his hands in his jacket pockets, and whispered to himself, "This is becoming more and more unlikely that this is going to end with me punching someone."

When Belated opened the warehouse door, Rhi dropped her box flaps. "Who's there ? " She asked fearfully. When She saw a human girl, she assumed a fighting stance. "I- I can kill you!" she squeaked, trying to sound brave like her Mommies had taught her. She took a few steps closer to Belated, mumbling "Kiru cloak." for a moment, she folded into the darkness. Her cloak then flickered out and she stamped her foot on the ground, saying a few choice words that a girl of her age really shouldn't know.

Belated opened the door to the building warily. There was no telling if there was truly a child in there or not. Somebody could just be luring them in there, but again, there was no telling. Belated morphed her right hand into a spear tip. Now that she was living in the moment, she knew that she had to be cautious about the actions she took.

"Is anyone in here?" She called out, unable to make out anything due to the darkness. Belated held her breath in anticipation. A part of her wanted to just search for the kid and see if they were alright, but a part of her restrained her from making such a foolish decision. She took a glance back at Rin and then looked forward again. "Oh?" Belated looked down and noticed the small girl. Everything about the young girl made Belated just want to go over and hug her. From the way the young girl's hair was styled, to the dirt that was caked on her clothes. A truly picturesque moment.

"Awww, Rin...." Belated opened the door completely to let Rin step in and see the girl as well. "Isn't she precious?" Belated grinned at him, her cheeks rosier than usual. Little kids were the cutest things in the world to her. Incapable of resisting the urges, Belated began to descend on the girl dramatically, her arms out wide to give her a hug. But just as Belated was about to squeeze the life out of the young girl, something made her stop in her tracks.

"What?" Belated looked down at the girl with a face of astonishment. Drawing back, she took a moment to collect her thoughts. Had the girl really just said what she said? Belated took two steps back from the girl and just stared at her, unsure of how to react to what she heard her say.

Rin rubbed his eyes for a bit and yawned, now not even caring anymore about punching someone, and more just wanted to go back home. So, when he saw who it was, he didn't, really share the same enthusiasm with his partner. Actually he looked at the girl for a few moments before turning around himself and saying simply, "Lets go, Belated." And started to walk away until he heard the words, which made him stop and only turned his head around to look back at the little girl, squinting his eyes a bit. "I, would care so much more after a little cat nap." He mumbled to himself.

(Sorry for meh post)

"I like hugs, but that isn't smart to hug a little girl who can kill you." Rhi said cheerfully. The fire in the loft was slowly overtaking the loft, and her face was illuminated by the dancing flames. She noticed this and bit her lip thoughtfully. "The fire's getting a little big." She stated, running over and checking her little back pack. She tossed it over her shoulder and quickly walked over to Belated. "Say, do you have a bit of water and something that tells time? The fire's gonna burn my playhouse down." She asked innocently. When she heard Rin, she scowled. "He's mean." She said decisively.

Belated turned her head and looked back at Rin who'd mumbled something about not caring very much about what'd just happen. There was always something disturbing about hearing children curse. But this young girl seemed especially talented in the vile art. Belated stared at Rin, looking to her meister for guidance. She always did this. A vein pulsed in her forehead, Belated was getting vexed, something that didn't happen very often. The British teen came to realize that maybe she was overtly dependent on her partner to solve her problems. Belated took a deep breath. She wanted to try something new today.

"Rin, we need to get this little girl home." Belated said with assertiveness in her voice. Her eyes went wide in embarrassment She cupped a hand over her mouth and turned away from the two to conceal her now burning cheeks. Belated took a few deep breaths before she faced her partner and the crude little girl again. She had to be the change she wanted to be here and now, no matter how dumb she looked.

Belated turned back and looked down at the girl timidly, almost a bit afraid of her.  It was silly, really. Honestly, what kind of harm could this girl really bring the two of them? "Yeah.... I've got some water right here...." Belated knelt down in front of the little girl and placed her own back pack on the ground to search for some water. Although the girl had said some nasty things that no one her age should say, Belated knew you couldn't judge anyone based on their first impression. She hoped they could be friends.

Pulling out a water bottle, Belated gave the girl a smile and asked, "What's your name?" Belated handed over the water bottle and pulled her phone out to check the time. Many things concerned her about the little girl. "12:47." Belated stood up as she read the time out loud for the girl to hear. "Who? Him?" Belated looked back at Rin and then back at the girl, "Don't mind him, he's just grumpy because he missed out on nap time." Belated teased, hoping the girl would open up to them a bit. Although Belated looked happy on the surface, there were many things concerning her, such as why the young girl was out this late, and why she was playing with fire. She bit her thumb in thought. Belated wanted to meet this girl's parents.

"Rhiannon Johnson... No wonder I'm so sleepy, then.." She said in a thoughtful tone, taking the water. Rhi quickly ran over to the loft. Climbing up the mostly rotted ladder, she doused the flames. When the last of the flame had gone out, she whimpered. "It's dark now! I don't know where the ladder is!" She whined. Then, there was a scuffling sound and a scream. Rhi had found the edge of the loft, and fell a good sixty feet onto the ground below. Then, a deadly silence.

OOC: Chase......

Rin closed his eyes for a moment, his brain telling him that was the best way to focus. Though, obviously that is not actually how you get rid of tiredness, so he started to doze off. His legs started to give out, so he shot awake again, and wondered why was he still just seeing darkness. He turned around, to where he thought Belated and the little girl were, and asked, "Belated, are you okay?" He squinted his eyes and took a step forward.

He then heard the little girl say something about not seeing the ladder. so, obviously, Rin suggested, "Then don't mo-" and stopped when he heard something hit the ground. Rin looked around, actually sort of worried, his big brother instincts sort of kicking in. "Please don't be dead." He mumbled, walking towards where he thought he heard the sound.

Belated smiled at Rhiannon's innocence. Perhaps she wasn't as tainted as Belated had originally taken her for. And besides, at this stage in life, kids were still very quick to follow what they heard or saw, Rhiannon was more than likely no exception. However, Belated's desire to speak with her parents or guardians hadn't subsided. She crossed her arms in an unpleasant manner.

Belated glanced at Rin to see what their next plan of action would be. But she did not receive what she had wanted. "Rin?" Belated waved her hand in front of Rin's face. She couldn't believe it. He'd actually fallen asleep right where he stood."Uhh...."  She stared at him for a second, unknowing of how to respond. The more she stared, the more she found herself being hypnotized by her partner. Her heart began beating and she tore her focus away from him and back to Rhiannon. Now was the perfect time for her to seize control and accomplish her goals.

"Rhiannon?" Belated looked around the empty warehouse. Now heart had picked up pace again, but for a completely different and unwelcome reason. In the few moments that she'd directed her attention away from Rhiannon, she'd winded up losing the girl. Panic immediately overtook Belated. She told herself to calm down and look around the outside of the warehouse, but she was paralyzed. Who was she kidding? She was born a follower and needed someone to tell her what to do and when to do it. She needed Rin in this moment.

To make matters worse, everything went dark. Belated's hysteria had caused her to block out Rin. Thankfully, before Belated could freak out any worse, she heard Rhiannon's voice. In contrast to the distress in Rhiannon's voice, Belated almost immediately eased up. "J-Just stay where you are!" Belated's voice squeaked, still slightly rattled from the fright she'd received a few seconds ago. She planned on using her phone to illuminate the warehouse and escort everyone out of there. Simple, really.

That was until she heard a loud thud. Once again, Belated found herself in that similar panicked state. She yanked her phone out of her back pocket, desperately in need of light to check on Rhiannon. But due to her worrying, she dropped her phone. Belated dropped to her knees and felt along the ground erratically, searching for her phone. Once it was back in her possession, she fumbled with it until she turned the flashlight on and was able to see Rin already walking toward the direction of the thud. "Rin, please!" Belated ran past him, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "We have to make sure she's okay!" She shouted, resisting as best she could to burst out in tears on the scene.

A muffled groan came from where the little girl lay. "I'm not dead. That did hurt an awful lot though." Rhi mumbled, slowly sitting up from her sprawled out position and wiping some blood off of her face. "Takes more than that to kill me." Rhiannon said softly. Her voice had lost its cheery tone to it, replaced by one of extreme grogginess.

Looking down at her left arm, Rhiannon blinked. "My arm doesn't want to listen. It's being naughty." she stated quietly. The little witch had indeed broken her arm, but of course she didn't know the proper term for it. "Maybe one of my mommies will tell my arm to behave." Blood was still trickling down the side of Rhi's face, almost as if she had gotten a deep cut on her head underneath her little hat.

"Will you tell my arm to behave?" She asked Rin suddenly in an innocent tone, her big grey eyes widening in hope. "When someone tells me to behave I sometimes do it so maybe if you tell my arm to behave then it'll listen to me." Rhi explained, now sitting cross legged on the ground.

Then, Rhiannon turned to Belated. "I'm sorry. I made you sad. I don't know why but it's gonna be okay." With a little bit of effort, Rhiannon stood up and wrapped the arm that was "behaving" around Belated as if she was giving her a hug. "It's gonna be okay." the little witch repeated quietly.

Rin lowered his eyes at Rhi. She's a kid, who broke her arm, and is not even crying in the slightest? All of that didn't sit well with Rin, but at the same time, he didn't call that out for the simple fact that he knew Belated would freak out any moment now, so he did have to act quick about some things. He knew it would look bad, or better yet, would just be a mean action to push the little girl away from Belated. So, he instead touched Belated's shoulder, calmly telling her to "Don't freak out." He then looked down at the little girl and kneeled beside her. "Let me see your arm, please." He tried to go back to the little girl, Rhiannon if he remembered right, little, conversation she had about her broken arm a bit ago. And remembered about her talking about her parents. "So, where are your mommies?" He asked her.