Returning Step

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"It's definitely a good feeling to be back." Jason looked around the guild haven as he breathed in deep. "Seven years is too long to be away from this place."

"This....this...this is the Guild Haven!" Nozomi seemed positively excited. "You told us so much about it when we were kids!"

"You mean I will." Jason corrected her. It seems they'd have to adjust the tense of words with this whole past/future thing.

"Can we get some food? I haven't eaten since later this afternoon." Time travel tense trouble; one of the biggest faults of time travel. Seika's stomach rumbled like the beats of time, echoing loudly.

"There'll be food when we get to the Akatsuki building." Jason informed her, and they made their way towards probably the largest building in the area. As they got close, Jason looked at him, a feeling of familiarity washing over him as he opened the doors. He was quickly greeted with an uproar, not only from the people who were there purely for the bar — he had left Seireitou and Raian in charge, he'd expected some turnout — but from his guild members, all of whom had gotten to the building before he did.

Hanako glanced around, surprised. "...It's bigger than I expected." She held herself back from saying a rather inappropriate joke as she immediately looked at the bar. "...Why isn't there a barmaid?"

Even so, it all seemed too quiet... There was no enthusiastic shouting or fighting in the guild. Despite everyone being there, it was still...hollow. Empty, if one will. Suddenly, a loud cry of, "OHMYGOSH--" a series of unintelligible noises could be heard; booming throughout the hallways of the Akatsuki Guild as a certain hyperactive squirrel girl appeared right out of nowhere, tackling Jason to the ground. "I'm surprised you took so long we're like family we're supposed to stick together but we never disbanded we just took a seven year vacatiooooooooooon..." Interestingly, Iris had an eyepatch on her left eye.

"What the...!?" Jason was caught by surprise as the hyperactive girl who tackled him straight to the polished wood floor. However, this kind of greeting made him flash a bit of a smile — much to the muttering of those in attendance. "It's great to see you again, Iri-...Iris, what happened to your eye, are you alright?" He sounded both concerned and perplexed. Considering it was Iris, who knows?

Momoko came right the hell out of nowhere; grabbing Iris, demanding to know the reason that she had her eyepatch. "...Huh. The hell? How'd you get that?"

"Shenanigans~"

"....." It took Momoko to register such a stupid response. "...Oh, okay."

"Momoko, that doesn't constitute an answer, don't just accept that." Jason barked, picking Iris up so he could stand up before setting her on the ground. "Seriously, you have my attention now, I can't say hello to anyone else until you tell me just what happened,"

Iris's ears perked up. "Oh, no...I lost my eye in a fight. It's no biggie! I can handle just fine without it!" She seemed so oddly cheerful about such a thing.

"Y-you what?" Jason was a tad surprised at this. "How can you be so calm about losing an eye, when did this even happen!?"

Iris kept up her smile. "It happened four years ago. A squirrel had gouged my eye out when we took from the same tree, and even though it took my eye...I won it's nuts. So it was worth it!"

"I-I'm just going to buy that...." Jason sighed in exasperation. "We'll have Wendy or Chelia try and get your eye together, alright Iris?"

Iris grinned maliciously as she took the eyepatch off. "Hihihihihihihihihi! I'm just joking~!" She certainly had a way with putting on a convincing act.

Jason sighed as he walked further into his guild, heading over to where the bar was. "Oh, Seireitou. I take it watching the guild went easy?"

Standing behind the bar was a thin, stringy man with dark black hair that seemed messy. He wore a simple outfit, that of a long-sleeved, collared shirt with suspenders and dark pants. He was polishing a glass and gave Jason a look that seemed to be far removed from where they were. "It was easy I suppose. Not what I'd like to spend my time doing, obviously, but, favours are favours."

Momoko instinctively tagged after Jason, stomping her foot on the ground and asking, "We don't have time to waste. Even with our new powers, a lot has happened in the past seven years. As much as we've gotten stronger, our enemies have gotten stronger as well."

"I'm very well aware of that." Jason waved this off. "However, they will not strike us within a day of making it back here if they have not struck in the past seven years. The Guild is finally reactivated; give everyone a day to relax, Momoko. We'll be business as usually tomorrow. Do you really think I've lost sight of the goal of Akatsuki?"

"I do." A cold, female voice sounding from the side of the bar. A girl dressed in a tight leather outfit with a very large blade on her back, sheathed by cloth, glaring at Jason. The blue hair signified this was Mary Jane. "I don't remember you being so lackadaisical, Jason. We've spent seven years biding our time and gaining power, meanwhile, who knows what has been happening to Onē-chan! You're losing your edge, Master." The last word was spoken derisively. Mary had become quite....cold in the past seven years.

Iris was shocked by the change in personality, personally stopping herself from slapping Mary. "You know that Viv would not like any form of rudeness towards fellow guild members. Calm yourself, will you?" Ironically, she herself sounded rather icy.

"I will not remain calm until I have Onē-chan safe with me again." Mary snapped, her golden eyes piercing as she glared at Iris. Normally these two had been on such good terms before — well, Iris could make the denizens of Hell itself be her best friends if she tried — but Mary didn't seem to be in the mood to befriend anyway.

Jason groaned, and Nozomi seemed to be a bit put off by this. Hephaestus had described the Akatsuki guild as full of friendly people — the place where he began to open up, even a little — but the way it was now....this blue-haired woman was awful.

Jason suddenly felt something very soft collide with the back of his head and neck, as two long, pale white arms reached around his neck and an unfamiliar voice breathed into his ear. "Hello, sweetie."

Jason actually jumped, the arms, as if by reflex, released him, and he turned to see a girl who appeared to be in her late teens, early adulthood. He immediately noticed the woman's large breasts (these were obviously what collided with his head and back), but it was the long blue hair that caught his attention next. "W-Wendy?!" He was a bit stunned.

Wendy grinned, her new face brimming with a confidence Jason wouldn't have seen seven years ago. "Hey Jason. It's been awhile, but you don't look that much different." She walked over to him, kissing him full on the mouth, which elicited the expected reactions from the onlookers. "Seven years apart was definitely too long."

Iris was surprised by such a bold act coming from Wendy of all people. "...Wait, when did everyone change so much!? This is tooooooooooooooooo much of a change!!!" She was freaking out by now- everyone had been changed so drastically and Iris herself was pretty much the same as she always was.

"Iris, you're fine as you are, you brighten this place up." Jason sent that remark to reassure the girl. Wendy shot him a look, curious. "You're so...odd now. Jason would never pay anyone a compliment like that." She poked his forehead. "Are you some imposter? Did Jason die? ATTENTION EVERYONE, JASON'S BEEN KILLED, THIS IS A F-!" Jason placed a hand over her mouth. "Come off it, I've just learned to relax."

Momoko sighed. "...So, everyone's said their hellos and stuff? Cause besides Vivian, everyone's here. Well, everyone that matters..." She cackled evilly; however, Momoko was interrupted by...

"Hyaa!" She was kicked straight in the head as Chelia Blendy made her dynamic entry. "YOU FORGET ME!?"

Momoko picked herself up. "...Ehh! I forgot that you existed..."