ZZZ: Dawn of The Black Sun

"Nyaaa... That was a trip and half!" a certain cat thiren yawned, stepping into Random Play Video Store. "I deserve at least four mackerels for that," she walked through the display room and knocked on the staff room. "Oi Belle! I'm here for my worker compensation nyaa~"

A Bangboo opened the door from inside, revealing Belle playing with her phone on the sofa. "Oh hey, you're here early," she looked up and waved her hand. "Where's Anby and Billy?"

"They're still delivering the investigation data to your contact nya~" Nekomiya sat down next to Belle. "What was her name again, Ray?"

"Yeah, Ray, she's a researcher from HIA," Belle replied. "Anyway, now that you're here, I got a mission for you Nekomiya,"

Nekomiya narrowed her eyes and huffed. "What about my worker compensation nyaa!?"

Belle blinked a little. "Oh right, your compensation," she pointed at a mini fridge nearby. "I got you some canned tuna,"

"Canned Tuna?" Nekomiya walked up to the fridge, taking out a cold can of tuna. "Nyaaa... This is..." she cracked it open, sniffed it for a bit, before giving it a lick. "Acceptable..." she grabbed 5 more cans of tuna and start munching on them.

Soon, three empty cans of tuna lay discarded and Nekomiya lay on the sofa with a satisfied look on her face. She glanced at Belle for a second before rolling her eyes. "Okay, okay, rest done~ Now what could my cruel and ruthless boss have for little old me, hmm? Gee, I hope you're not gonna ask me to burn down an orphanage nyaa~"

Belle waved her hand. "What? No! That's terrible," she folded her arms. "Geez, have some trust for me will you, I'm not that needlessly cruel..."

The cat thiren squinted her eyes. "Oh really? Then tell me, what do you want me to do?"

"I need you to help Nicole save those hostages without raising suspicions from the Public Security! You know, in Ballet Twins? She's LARPing as a villain right now,"

Nekomiya's eyes widen, lips parting in shock. "You're... you're going to save them!?" she gasped. "Could it be there's something good left in you nyaa?!"

Belle winced a little. "Can't... you sound a little less surprised whenever I do something good?" she asked. "And besides, I talked Razor about it and he doesn't mind," she replied calmly.

The cat thiren paused, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Wait... If Razor agrees with just letting go of the hostage, then... why not just do it? Let them go now? Isn't there a Public Security Officer trapped in there right now?"

Belle grinned. "That's where you come in! You see, there's this awesome group of people called the Victoria Housekeeping waiting just outside their base. I'm planning to get on their good side by telling them about the whole hostage situation," she began.

"Mhmm, I expected too much nyaa~" Nekomiya commented with a lazy yawn. "So you gonna play hero, hmm?"

"No, we're going to let them be the hero!" Belle grinned. "It's like Belobog and Vision all over again," she folded her arms. "Not only that, but by letting Victoria Housekeeping safe the hostage, they can also gain a good reputation with Public Security. Therefore once we get them to our side, we can have them somewhat influence Public Security, get it?!"

Nekomiya rolled her eyes, lazily listening to Belle as she goes on with her messed up plan once again. It's her fault, really, she expects too much from Belle. But hey, at the very least, she's not really planning to intentionally kill anyone. If she played this right, she can probably get through the mission without anyone dead, right?

"Yea, yea, I get it, you just want to get another innocent people dancing on your palm, nya?" Nekomiya licked her lips. "Frankly, I'm used to this, then, what do you want me to do, hmm?" she tilted her head. "If I were them, I think it's too good to be true for a member of the Cunning Hares to suddenly backstab Razor just like that..."

Belle nodded in agreement. "That's true, that's true, but hear me out..." she lowered her voice with a sneaky grin. "What if, you pretend to be trying to betray us? Just... I dunno, act like you're still bothered over the fact that the Cunning Hares killed Silver and Grace?"

"I don't need to act nya, I'm still bothered about it, it's fucking messed up Belle, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Nekomiya deadpanned.

"Yeah! Just like that! That's the spirit!"

Nekomiya rolled her eyes and leaned on to the sofa. "Hmmmm..." she looked up. "So, I go there, tell the Victoria Housekeeping that I'm switching sides, that I had enough of you guys toying with the lives of the innocent, and that I need their help to stop you guys."

"Exactly! Ah, but be sure to throw Nicole's name instead of Phaethon's name," Belle added. "The narrative is that Nicole is the bad guy here," she grinned. "So, are we all good now?"

"I don't nyoow~" Nekomiya leaned closer to Belle. "Have you tried befriending them like a normal person? You know, invite them to hang out, watch movies... Instead of this... elaborate scheme to play hero."

Belle rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, geez, no more killing and dubious work, I promise," she said with the look of a kid who promise not to steal anymore cookies. "Just... do your best, mkay? They're nice people, really~"

Nekomiya huffed a little. "Fine! But there better be an all you can eat mackerel after this nyaa~"

[LINE BREAK]

Ceramic tiles rippled like water as the cat thiren stepped into the building. Priceless statues shifted and flows as if alive, changing their pose and shape with every tick of the frame. Blackened spire decorated the building, singing songs of what once was.

Nekomiya stopped right in the middle of the room, coming face to face with a wolf thiren. According to Belle, this person is the leader of the Victoria Housekeeping. If she can get to his side, the rest is as good as hers.

"Oh, hello there," Nekomiya began. "You must be sir Lycaon from Victoria Housekeeping," she lowered her body a bit. "Pleased to meet you,"

The wolf thiren nodded, giving her a short bow. "The pleasure is mine," he stood up once again before stepping aside. "Welcome to The Ballet Twins Towers," he gestured at Nekomiya to step in. "We have finished maintenance; you may enter the building freely."

The cat thiren blinked a little. This is the last thing she expected the wolf thiren to say. "Wait, really?" she walked deeper in, walking past Von Lycaon. "I thought this place is private property?"

"You are correct, the Ballet Twins Tower is a private property and uninvited visitors are discouraged from entering the premise," Lycaon continued. "However, the Victoria Housekeeping was only tasked to fix and clean up parts of the building. Since our job is finished, this property is no longer of our responsibility."

Nekomiya blinked owlishly. "Umm... you see... there's this little situation upstairs?"

"If you are referring to the hostage situation and the stalemate between Public Security and the Mountain Lion Gang. Then I'm afraid to inform you that the Victoria Housekeeping will not be involved in such matters," Lycaon spoke, almost coldly. "We have done all we could to assist Public Security in saving the hostages, that's all you need to know."

Something tells Nekomiya that the Wolf Thiren here knows more than Belle think. "I see..." she looked down. "Are you..." she glanced around. "The only one here?"

The Wolf Thiren nodded once again. "Indeed, the rest of the Victoria Housekeeping has left the premise," he stepped closer towards Nekomiya, straightening his tie. "As for the reason I stay around, is so I can send a message to your master, Nekomiya..."

"Umm..."

Nekomiya gulped a little as the wolf thiren stepped closer, a murderous glint in his eyes. "Tell the Black Sun that I have given the Flee on Sight and Kill in Contact order on every member of the Victoria Housekeeping should they ever came in contact with you or the Cunning Hares..."

Nekomiya nodded meekly. "Understood..."

Lycaon nodded and straightened his suit. "This would be the first and last time I attempt a communication with you. I'm afraid that our next encounter shall end in bloodbath," he stepped forward, walking past Nekomiya and stepping out of the building. "Farewell Nekomiya, may we never meet again,"

There was a moment of silence as Nekomiya processed what just happened. She put a finger on her earpiece. "Mission Failed nya..." she muttered.

"Yeah, you don't have to tell me," Belle replied from the other side. "This is... really not what I expected..."

Cue the awkward silence as the cat thiren simply stood there in the middle of the lobby. All alone, with ethereals watching in silence and a little confusion with what little humanity they have left. The kitty licked hand absentmindedly, ears twitching as she waited for Belle's response, wondering if even she can salvage this.

"Let's... scrape that plan..." Belle said finally. "Fall back, meet me at the school, we're picking Koleda up..." she sighed a little, sounding defeated for once. "I... yeah, I..." the sound of a can opening came from the receiver. "I'm sending Razor a metric fuckton of Anti-Corruption Serum for the hostage, I need time to think this through..."

Well then, Nekomiya had to give it to Mr. Lycaon, wolf man actually ruined Belle's plan by politely telling her to fuck off.