Kita-Ku, Saturday, 7pm

"Heya!" Nikolette said as Taylor greeted her at the base of the stairs. She had a bright smile on her face and nodded along with Taylor. "Thanks for invitin' me!" She said, glancing around the room at all the faces that were really only familiar because of bio's she'd read. "Yeah, nothing big really." She said, hoping Taylor didn't make a big deal out of it.

She smiled when the gift was open though, and Johnny looked on after greeting her as well. "I figured that even if you had some, you can never have enough. Never know when you'll need a spanner or a screwdriver or a hammer. I always like to make sure there's in arm's reach. And, no. I didn't have an issue getting here." She said nervously.

"Cool, man, Maybe I can actually try and get under the hood like a real grease monkey and junk." Johnny said, playing it off. he'd have a hand in tinkering with the car Taylor got him, but all the mechanic stuff would definitely be taken to a trustworthy mechanic. Nikolette's eyes lit up at the mention. Her head was already filling up with thoughts of what kind of car and what was under the hood. Her heart beat a little faster and she was about to indulge the silver haired Higurashi when she heard Cassie from behind, nearly startling her.

"Cassie, heya!" Nikolette said, smiling warmly at the redhead. "I'm... I'm good! How are ya?" She asked, tilting her head. "Excited ta get back into the swing of things? I know I'm excited for what's coming forward."

"I'm good." Cassie blinked. "Um..." She looked at Taylor, then Nikolette, then the floor, and then she walked off to the theater seats.

Taylor watched her go and then shrugged at Nikolette. "Between you and me, man? Bear is Little Miss Sunshine and everything, but when the Elliot family pride and her record are on the line, she's the worst loser." She laughed, quietly. "It's really not a problem in the gym, so much. I can't do shit against her on the ground, and if we do real sparring she kinda knows where she stands, ya know? I wouldn't worry about it."

Taylor lifted her water bottle to take a drink, and then realized it was empty. She glanced at Nikolette, and then looked away and shifted uncomfortably. She obviously had something else to say, but tried to play it off like she was just watching Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans argue.

"Hey," she said finally. "So, like, uh..." She tried again. "So hey, I just wanted to tell you, like, while I got you here and stuff, that like... In Friction and stuff... I got your back, ya know? I mean like, Kelly and... other people." She didn't need to get into specifics. "But also, like, don't worry about Morgan, okay? She's..." She drifted off for a moment while she struggled to find a word that seemed at all accurate. "We're trying. I got your back, but I've got hers first. So like... I don't think you're gonna go after her or whatever, though, so it's cool. Just... ya know, wanted to say, that's all."

Nikolette blinked back at Cassie's response. She lowered her head and wondered until Taylor spoke up. She turned and looked at her, nodding a bit but not really understanding.

While Taylor shifted, Morrigan swooped down the stairs and passed Nikolette an open beer and a new glass for Taylor. She exchanged it quick enough and scurried back up the stairs, stopping at the top when she heard Taylor begin to speak.

Nikolette smiled at Taylor's words. she was timid and it was kind of cute but Nikolette also knew she was serious. She extended out a hand. "Well, I sure HOPE I ain't done nothin to get mugged or anythin on a regular basis. I don't really expect ta NEED back up, but I appreciate it. Same goes for me. Sometimes the Friction girls get a little hot under the collar and want ta mob someone for... whatever reason. I'm in the league ta have some fun and take care of business. I ain't really interested in anythin extracurricular, if ya get my drift." She said. "So, I guess it's nice to know not everyone's lookin ta be a scoundrel." Nikolette shrugged. "I don't really care about that girl. I just didn't like bein tazed for no reason. I mean, I don't really like what she does, but if you wanna hold onto her leash, by all means. As long as she doesn't come after me..." Nikolette paused. "Well... I don't like any of it either but, if you say she's..." Nikolette paused, her face frowning a bit. "If you wanna look after her, I'm sure there's plenty of stuff fer me ta keep my eye on otherwise." She added with a bit of finality to the discussion.

Nikolette glanced around the room, finally catching sight of the movie in earnest and the set up. "Wow, this is a pretty sweet set up. As far as consumer electronics go, it's pretty top of the line." Nikolette said, wanting to inspect the equipment. Instead she resigned herself to a seat near Taylor as she took big drink from her beer can.

Taylor smiled, despite the direction of the conversation. Nikolette and Morrigan being under the same roof was a victory in itself. If the whole night went by without a brawl, Taylor would consider the whole thing a massive success.

She followed Nikolette back to the seats and began to sit between her and Akashi, but paused to grab Cassie from where the stood off to the side. She wedged the little redhead between herself and the sumo and put her arm around her while Bruce Willis made dick jokes with a sock puppet.


"Thank you soo much!" Jess said as she handed the cabbie a little fold of bills. She pranced her way up the driveway, arms out and moving her hips to music that she still heard in her head. This was her second party of the evening, and she was still dressed for something a bit more glamorous than what was inside. She wore a short, white leather jacket over a navy-and-white striped designer v-neck t-shirt and a heavy necklace that hung to the middle of her chest, with skin tight orange jeans and a chrome studded white belt and blingy sandals.

She sashayed her way up to the front door with a small handbag hanging from the crook of her elbow. She pulled out a mirror to check her short green hair and makeup, and when she was sure everything was just right she circled her finger once around the doorbell and pushed the button.

Morrigan heard the door bell ring and hopped up from her spot on the couch in the front room. She opened the door and looked over Jess. She raised an eyebrow at the girl's fancy dress and tilted her head.

"What the heck?" She said, looking over Jess. The girl had way too many colors but Morrigan wasn't going to judge too much. She pulled up her phone and thumbed through it, looking over the guest list. She didn't really recognize this girl so she used the process of elimination.

"Jess, I presume?" She said and stepped aside. letting the girl come in. "Everyone else is downstairs. Do you want a drink?"

Jess pantomimed a little curtsy. "And you must be Morrigan," she said warmly, and booped Morrigan's nose with her finger. "Ohmigod, it's so good to meet you! Oh, I love you already, I'd love a drink!"

She strode past Morrigan into the house (without taking off her shoes), and walked into the kitchen with her loose, dreamy, swagger. "Your accent is just adorable! Scottish, right?" She found herself a beer, and grabbed a second one for Morrigan that she pushed against the Irish girl's chest with a wink. The murmuring of Morrigan's movie carried over from the next room, and Jess happily went into the living room to investigate.

"Whatcha watchin'?" She smiled at the dark, creepy, graphic movie. "Ohhh, scary. Are you all by yourself up here? Aww, maybe it's too scary." She laughed, a lilting, feminine giggle, and then sidled up to Morrigan and put an arm around her waist.

"Okay, girl, time to join the party!"

Morrigan was not really a fan of the effervescent green haired girl when she first saw her. Getting a full sample of her was almost too much. She recoiled as her nose was touched and scowled when Jess strode off like she owned the place. She clenched one of her fists as Jess continued with her grating questions.

"I'm Irish." She corrected tersely as Jess whirled around and shoved a beer into her chest. Well, it WAS what she needed to take the edge off as she cracked open her beer and took a big drink, following after Jess until she was suddenly assaulted. with an arm around her.

"Susperia" She said, pulling away from Jess and looking at her. "Take your shoes off if you're going to be prancing around. Haven't you been in Japan long enough to figure that much out, at least?" Morrigan just stared at Jess. "I'm letting people in. Everyone else is downstairs. I'm sure they're really looking forward to seeing you. Besides, I won't be alone once my lover shows up." She added, trying to give Jess a hint that she needed to get lost.

"Oh, my bad." Jess laughed, and slipped off her sandals and carried them back to the door. "But I got it. I've leave you two to it, you just let me know if you need help with him."

Jess went downstairs and greeted everyone and hugged Taylor. Upon meeting Cassie, she hugged her too, and then she found her way back to a table with food, next to which was a vaguely familiar gorgeous blonde guy she could've sworn she had met before.

"Hey, sailor," she said with a flirty smile for Shinobu. She leaned her elbows on the table, and bent one knee to cock her hips to the side. Her butt looked amazing in her new jeans. She put some fruit bits on a small plate and took a drink of her beer. "I'm new in town, you want to show me the ropes? Who is everybody down here?"

Shinobu had been left to his own devices when Ro dragged Johnny off. He'd been watching the movie from a spot near some of the food and couldn't help but be amused by it. Unlike everyone else, he had trouble watching movies without just seeing everything behind the scenes. He still appreciated them, but in a different light, perhaps.

Something else he appreciated also came down the stairs and turned her lovely full attention to him. her name was Jess, or Haruki, he wasn't too sure. All he knew was he had a really good night with her shortly after he joined the league. He didn't think he would get to see her again, unfortunately but it seemed as if he was quite a lucky man. "Ahhh, Jess-san, or Haruki, if I please." He said, bowing his head to her. "It's nice to see you again."

He was a little said that she didn't seem to remember him, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. He pointed out the people he knew to her, though she seemed to know more than him. Akashi and Ro he pointed out. He didn't know the other girl but Cassie had called her Nikolette so he just figured that would work. Junko had been called by various names so he paused when he got to her and just shrugged.

As he was finishing up, he felt his phone buzz. He pulled it out and scanned it and frowned. "Darn." He said, frowning. He then looked at Jess and smiled. "Too bad you just got here. My agent just called. There's a soiree in Tokyo and I think we could show everyone up on the dance floor again." He said, winking to Jess. He then looked out at the others and glanced out at the movie. He liked this atmosphere much better than the movie parties. They were great, of course, but rarely did he get to be in such an inviting atmosphere. He quickly thumbed a reply and slipped his phone back into his pocket.


"No one's going to miss me if I show up fashionably late." He said to Jess. I can rub elbows with those people any day of the week. how often is Johnny-kun going to be getting a new home?!" Shinobu chuckled and took a sip from his drink, sliding over so he was closer to Jess. She was good company for sure.

"Just Jess today," she said, and ate a grape. She knew she'd met him before, but couldn't for the life of her remember his name. Had she slept with him?

She raised her eyebrows and checked Shinobu out from the corner of her eye when he dismissed the phone call. It looked like somebody was trying to play his cards right.

"Oh, yeah, I know. Taylor rocks. She's so totally fierce, I love it. And that man of hers..." She pantomimed a shiver. "He really knows how to treat a lady. It's so hard to find, ya know? So many boys around, and so little men..." She coyly turned her head away with a hint of a smirk.