Stolen Memories [Career] (Cas) [Fin]

Someone walking into the café catches Ravenna's eye. This woman appears to be in her early to mid twenties, and has short blonde hair. She seems to have confidence in spades. Ravenna likes her sense of style. After speaking with the bartender, the woman sits down across from Ravenna. She puts her elbows up on the table and rests her chin on her hand. Ravenna responds with a nervous smile, trying not to look too happy. Someone has finally come seeking her help? It was difficult to contain her excitement. The woman asks Ravenna if she's the person to talk with to find lost and stolen items.

"Yes, I am. My name is Ravenna. I'm happy to have some interest. I can recover lost or stolen items, for the right price. Never pay more with Nevermore Recovery Service! What is it I can help you with?"

Ravenna could tell that there is something on the woman's mind. She must have lost an item very important to her. This is just the kind of business Ravenna is hoping to drum up. A job where she can put her skills to good use. Ravenna does her best to stay focused on acting professionally. She couldn't get into the details of how she would procure the items, as that would mean revealing that she is a Spirit User. Casually mentioning that you can turn into a bird has a weird effect on people. As handy as it can be.

So, her first client is a doctor? Classy. The woman introduces herself as Dr. Cross, or Cas. A waiter walks over and Cas orders a drink. Once the waiter is far enough away, Cas gets into the details of the missing item. She wants Ravenna to find, a book of fairytales? Alright, that sounds easy enough. Maybe she has more than enough reason to be sentimental about the book. Cas looks a little embarrassed talking about it, but Ravenna didn't mind. There are things Ravenna has that mean so much to her.

"A leather bound book, dark blue, gold leafing. Alright. This sounds like it's right up my alley."

Cas goes on to explain that there are a group of thugs known as the Yokai who have taken an interest in her. The reality of the situation sinks in on Ravenna. This wasn't like finding a lost keychain. Hearing about the Yokai made Ravenna a little nervous, but she knows she can rely on her skills as a Spirit User to handle things. Cas tells Ravenna that she will pay half up front, and the rest upon successfully returning the book to her. She reaches into her bomber jacket and sets an envelope down on the table.

Ravenna subtly looks around to see if anyone is looking. She slowly reaches towards the envelop, taking a peak at the money inside. As a college student on a set budget, it seems like a lot of money to Ravenna. She has decided to take the case. Ravenna nods at Cas, then carefully picks up the envelop and places it in her jacket pocket.

"You can count on me. I'll get you your book back. Anything else I should know? I'll start tracking down these Yokai thugs right away. What do they look like?"

Cas provides information on the Yokai. Oni masks and chains on their left arms. What's interesting is that their masks limit their vision. This could be crucial. Cas is very friendly in negotiating. If Ravenna does drop the job, she needs to give half the upfront pay back. It sounds like a dangerous task, but Ravenna is not as meek as she appears. While she feels some anxiety about the risk involved, Raye is looking forward to completing the job. When Cas takes a drink, Ravenna finishes off the rest of her soda.

"Thugs wearing oni masks and chains, the sketchy areas of Greater Shibuya, and failure means I give back half of the first half. Sounds like we have a deal. I don't intend to let you down, Cas. I'll give you my phone number, and you can text me where to meet you."

Ravenna takes out a business card with her number on it and hands it to Cas.

"It was nice to meet you. I'll get your book back real soon."

Ravenna gets up from the table, and does a small bow to Cas. As she is walking towards the exit, she looks over at the bartender, who gives her a thumbs up. It was a nonverbal way of telling her good job on getting a client, and he will add the drinks to her tab. Ravenna smiles and nods at the bartender before leaving the café. Once outside, Ravenna starts walking down the street, looking for a place she can Spirit Evolve to Psycrowmon for a little undercover work.

A few blocks down the street from the café, Ravenna turns down a dark alley. She checks if the coast is clear, then takes cover behind a dumpster. Taking out her D-tector, she spirit evolves to Psycrowmon. In this form, she would appear to be an average bird. However, this form did have its side effects. She was tempted to eat some leftover food sitting in the dumpster, but she has other priorities at the moment.

Ravenna takes off into the sky, flying to Greater Shibuya. She went from the high class neighborhoods of Northern Shibuya to the decaying structures in the rougher district. Psycrowmon flies around for a while, checking out the area. She comes across three thugs near the backstreets that match Cas' description. Ravenna swoops down for a landing to take a closer look. She perches on a window ledge above the trio, waiting to hear some information that could be useful. They probably wouldn't pay her any mind, believing her to be just a bird.

Ravenna listens in as the Yokai thugs talk amongst themselves while half-assing their patrol. The woman of the group mentions a doctor, and something she did to one of the Yokai thugs. Is she referring to the same woman who came to Ravenna seeking aid? Ravenna hops along the ledge, pretending to be foraging for food. The tall thug, the leader, refers to someone as the thief. The thug claims that the thief is still useful, even though he has allegedly cracked. The three of them didn't seem to care for the thief too much, but the leader did play devil's advocate, putting the short thug in his place.

The trio of thugs makes their way towards a large concrete office building that looks like it had been abandoned. An ideal place for the Yokai to congregate. The short bandit goes on to mention that the thief is skilled enough to break into her house and steal a book, and that he's practically locked himself in his room reading it. This had to be the person she is looking for. Ravenna is a little creeped out that one of the Yokai is stalking Dr. Cross. Ravenna is trying to piece together how events unfolded based on bits and pieces of this conversation. Something had happened between the doctor and the thief that left the thief with a scar not just on his face, but his mind.

Having apparently finished their patrol, the trio is about to head inside the office building. Ravenna swoops down, landing on the ground behind the thugs. She is careful to stay out of their limited line of vision. Even if they did see her, maybe they would not pay her any mind. Talk about a wolf in sheep's clothing. Raye is able to remain out of sight and out of mind, until it is time for her to make her move.

Ravenna has a few options for how she can attempt to enter the base. She could try going through the front door, but one of the guards notices her, and will probably shoo her away. Unless she distracts the guards, she's probably not going to get in. However, if she does look for another way in, she would lose track of the trio, and there might be other difficulties locating the room where the thief has been reading Cas' book.

Given the state of the office building, she could slip in through a crack in the window, but then she would have to find a way out. Ravenna casually waddles further away from the entrance, then takes off into the air, scoping the building. She flies up and checks the rooftop for an entrance. There's a door with a chain and padlock keeping it locked tight. This might be her best option, as if she can make it back to the top after retrieving the book, she will be able to flee with the book in hand, or maybe in beak.

Psycrowmon lands on the rooftop next to the door, and reverts back to her Human self. After taking a moment to stretch her shoulders, having gotten a little sore from flying, Ravenna reaches into a pocket on the inside of her jacket and takes out a small black bag containing some basic lock picking tools. She unzips the bag and rifles through, taking out a hairpin and a small slim screwdriver. Ravenna sticks the hairpin in the lock, attempting to raise the pins up to the shear line in order to unlock it. When she can determine how far the pins must be raised, she fiddles with the hairpin, bending it so it will raise the pins to the correct spot. Using the screwdriver, she keeps the pins at the shear line while trying to determine the positioning of the rest of the pins. With any luck, Ravenna will get past this lock and continue on inside.