Flickering Lights [Private]

Another day, another job. It might have seemed like such a dull thing, working, but the canine Urakata felt more alive during such instances. At least in his line of work. That was one thing he and his partner could fully agree on. Their love for the hunt. Not only did it get his blood pumping but it made him feel accomplished. Like his life actually had some meaning as dark as it might sound. Sure, there were plenty of time he loathed his coworkers but the Shinkansen offered him something he didn't think he'd be able to gain outside of it. Purpose.

These thoughts had to be pushed aside, however, Takeo trailing along side his partner as they tried to track down this apparently elusive urakata. It was a simple runaway mission. The average hunter could handle it. But apparently it was big enough to require their attention. So the hunting pair were called out to the scene, investigating the area the missing urakata had last been placed to decide their next step. Luka had decided not to waste time, however, sending Takeo to check the area for any lead while she gathered whatever information she could from the search party. He was to report back immediately at any sign and with a simple nod, he headed off, determined to find the trail that the others had failed to. His reputation was on the line and he certainly didn't want some pathetic runaway to give him the slip.

Oddly enough, it was rather odd not being near her. Her presence during hunts was something he was adjusted to and partially he was dependent on her. He really hated admitting that. But the german shepherd didn't let that bother him too much, focusing on finding a matching scent to the bit of evidence he was provided with. A broken collar that had belonged to the slave. Crazy how desperate they were to escape. Made him appreciate his job that much more. But also made him curious as to what they were hoping for on the outside. His brows furrowed at the thought, Takeo releasing an irritated huff as he shoved that out of his mind as quickly as it came. More so when something else caught his attention.

Blood.

Takeo stopped in his tracks, surprised by this. Sure, the graveyard typically smelled of death but nothing so fresh. Could it have been from the urakata? He wasn't sure. Even if it wasn't he felt it was necessary to investigate, curiosity getting the best of him. The closer he got, the more scents he discovered. One in particular seemed to be growing closer. Sure enough, a figure approached, the urakata's eyes narrowing with ears flattening as he prepared for anything, only to be surprised by a very friendly ''Hi!' Innocent enough, right? Just a human girl somewhere she really shouldn't be. Of course, her presence was troubling. Rather, the bloodstained hand of hers caught him off guard. Injury? Or evidence?

The tracker silently approached, cautiously of course should she actually be any real danger. He doubted it, but you couldn't be too safe. Once he was close enough, however, he'd grabbed her wrist without consent, checking to see if his eyes and nose were indeed not deceiving him. He was never one to make such a mistake before. Once it was confirmed, he glared at her, blue eyes cold. "What are you doing out here?" he began bluntly. It wasn't safe to be out here. It also made her seem suspicious. "What's with the blood?" he pressed further, grip still around her wrist to assure himself she wouldn't try to run off. Not typically the ideal behavior for an urakata. But for a Shinkansen who was currently trying to do his job, he had to make sure no stone was left unturn. Even if it ended up fucking him over later.

Humans could be quite insulted when a slave spoke up to them in such a way. He'd take his chances, though. The place was supposed to be closed off. She shouldn't even be here. And till he got some answers, he wasn't about to let her just walk out either.

{{ don't mind his rudeness uwu hope this is alright }}

- ''You're real.''

There was something particularly off about this girl, he realized. Blood aside, there was a strange scent coming from her, one that certainly didn't seem natural. A drug of sorts? Before he could actually determine if that were the case or not, his thoughts were shattered with a simple touch, the male freezing from pure shock alone. Not only was the contact unwelcome, but her touch was surprisingly cold. If he was a man actually capable of sympathy, he might have been concerned. More than he already was about the blood, at least. But that was another matter and luckily, she seemed to catch on pretty quick that the gesture wasn't appreciated, retracting her hand as she offered an apology. Takeo tried to shrug it off for now, deciding there were much more important things to currently focus on. Such as her explanation.

- ''I was here.. helping someone I think. They were weird; they had these ears on their head kind of like you. Is that a new way of cosplaying? I don't know.''

Helpful, but just as confusing, really. It seemed like a lead. Surely this eared 'someone' was the urakata they were after. But still, that didn't explain really why she was here or why she was helping them. A sympathizer perhaps? Though the whole cosplay notion threw him off somewhat. He couldn't tell if she was being serious or just plain stupid. Sure there were people out there who dressed up like an urakata (for some strange reason) but it wasn't that hard to tell the difference between a fake and the real deal. Besides, it was rare since it was so controversial. Besides, no one wanted to be mistaken as one of his kind. He didn't seem too bothered by that thought though, quite used to being looked down on. It was just the way things worked.

- ''You're really beautiful you know. You could easily be a model or something like that. And you look so warm and fluffy I just want to hug you.''

A faint flush of red crossed over his face at these words as his ears flattened. He didn't get much compliments like that. If there were, they were usually condescending and meant to insult him. Such as her warm and fluffy comment. He was a fierce hunting dog. The top tracker of the Shinkansen. He wasn't meant to be viewed as cute or cuddly. He was supposed to intimidate you and keep you on your toes when he was around. At least that's what he believed. So such compliments, whether they were genuine or not, were simply brushed aside with a bit of annoyance, the urakata sighing as he glared down to her. "Don't change the subject." he stated flatly, willing the heat in his cheeks to go away. He groaned inwardly at the thought. Last thing he wanted was to be stuck with this obviously intoxicated girl. The sooner he got what he needed, the sooner he could drag her back to someone else to deal with.

- ''Ah.. the blood. Maybe that's real too, if you are. So that means there's blood.. I'll show you I think. We're going to help right?''

She seemed much more cooperative than he'd originally thought. He decided perhaps it was the drugs. She seemed to be talking strangely as well, debating with herself what was real and not. His luck, huh? He frowned at the thought only to feel her began to pull away, his grip still steady on her wrist. She'd meet some resistance at first, the urakata debating on his next move. He was supposed to report back the moment he found something. He felt compelled to follow this order but there was the off chance that the more time they wasted, the further this runaway could get. Besides, he doubted Luka would be too pleased with him just finding a girl instead of the target they were actually looking for. Probably get him an ear full about how useless he was. Yeah.. He decided he'd take the risk.

"Fine. We'll help." he finally spoke up, going one step further to let her go and follow after her. "Just don't try anything stupid." he warned. If she did attempt to make a run for it, it wouldn't end in her favor. He was trained to take down urakata. A human would be no problem. And while attacking humans was frowned upon, he doubted he'd get into much trouble if she were in fact a sympathizer. He really didn't need her leading him, capable of following the smell of blood on his own at this point. But he figured it would be easier to kill two birds with one stone. Keep her nearby if she did prove a vital target for this mission.

She had fallen which had barely registered much of a reaction aside from the flick of the ears and a mildly confused expression as he looked down to her. More points to her being intoxicated. Or just really clumsy. The line between the two was vague, at least as far as he was concerned. But he didn't worry too much about it, as evidenced by the lack of assistance as she was forced to pull herself up. Well, what did you expect? He was a hunting dog. Not a service one. It simply wasn't in his job description as he would say. And though she seemed slightly annoyed, she didn't seem to linger too much on it, continuing on the conversation and throwing another compliment his way, one that was more likely to be well received by the hound.

He took pride in his abilities and rarely was commended for them (which was probably a good thing), so such compliments were appreciated. But he masked any sort of appreciation, keeping that same stoic look though his eyes seemed to brighten somewhat. "If they aren't dead already." he replied simply. The blood was relatively strong and by the look of her hands, the urakata seemed to be losing a substantial amount. It was a good thing he had already decided to investigate on his own. Sure, Luka might be a bit pissed off by her partner going solo. But if it meant catching their target, he figured he could handle those consequences.

Takeo followed after her, their pace picking up to a run which fortunately for her, he managed understand her intentions weren't meant as an escape attempt. The scent strengthening was enough to confirm that and they soon arrived at the scene. Without missing a beat, he began investigating as well, crouching down in front of one of the blood splattered graves and getting to work. The blood was a bit cold, but still relatively fresh. Even with enough strength, he doubted they could have been far, though. Course, there were some urakata who had amazing willpower that even he had to praise. But he decided to hope for the best in this situation. Before he knew it, however, the girl began moving again and though he was a bit confused as to where she was going, he followed along anyway. She seemed to know where she was going, and not wanting to lose her, it was probably best to stick around.

- ''I found it.''

The german shepherd looked to her as she inspected the blood herself, somewhat caught off guard by how she was acting. Weren't human girls usually squeamish at the sight of blood? Then again, he had found her red handed so why was he so surprised? What he should be questioning was whether she was like this all the time or was it simply whatever drugs she had taken causing her to act this way? He doubted he'd be around long enough to find out anyway so shoved that thought aside, only to be further surprised when she spoke up once again.

- ''I'm pretty sure that whomever it was came this way, and headed towards the small wood patch over there. By the feeling of the blood.. I don't think they'll get there without collapsing once, I think. It's too warm still.. so it hasn't been long.''

His head was tilt to the side in that familiar dog-like manner, obviously quite taken back by her discovery. Or rather the fact that this little girl was actually the one to have made it. He couldn't deny being a bit impressed and even quite curious as to how she was managed to come to that conclusion on her own. But there was no time for questions and once he regained his composure, he nodded in agreement though didn't seem like he was going to give her any praise for her work. Not yet, anyway. She had done pretty decently, for being completely out of it, but he didn't want her getting a big head or anything. Beginners luck, right? He was convinced that was the case anyway.

"Come on then." he began, making his way towards the direction she'd pointed out and expecting her to follow. "Don't fall behind. If it isn't passed out or dead yet, it will attack." he advised, seeming quite sure about the danger there. He was much too familiar to this sort of situation. Urakata really were like animals, especially when hunted. They could be the most innocent and harmless creatures normally, but when they were cornered, they could get pretty threatening. They'd go to any means to keep their freedom, even if it meant killing themselves and others in the process. And though he could hardly give a shit about the girl herself, he didn't want any blood on his hands. He'd of course do his best to protect her from the urakata, that being part of his job at least, but he'd rather not save her ass if he didn't have to. It was much harder fighting when you had to worry about someone other than yourself as well. At least his partner could handle herself in a fight but this girl, he wasn't too sure. Frankly, he was positive at this point she'd be more of a burden than anything, but he couldn't afford to get separated from her right now. It was too dangerous for the girl to be out here on her own to begin with.