A Chance Meeting

It had been rather quite for the last couple of days for Leniya as far as the past couple of days went anyway. The quite suited the young woman just fine, since usually at least in her experience non quite meant something crazy was happening. The crazy didn't always mean it was happening to her directly per say, though it did often mean it was happening with her proximity.

Like if there was a invasion that came about of some kind.

Or a giant monster was rampaging.

..Or the many other crazy instances but one got the point as time went on.

Generally though, earth had its issues like everywhere else but usually you were all right. Of course some places and things were more dangerous then others, and given her condition as well as common sense she practiced was good enough. Any self defense instructor worth their salt would tell you avoidance of a potential dangerous situations before it got to the point you had to throw fist was the way to go.

Leniya didn't expect anything today and she knew the safe and not to safe areas by now. She was a bit more vigilant today since she was baby sitting little Kylie. The girl was about as talkative as ever about nothing in particular but the older woman listened intently, adding input when needed but otherwise letting the young girls have the reign's far as the conversation went.

However, something was nagging at the young woman as they went. She knew these parts of the city well enough not to get lost, but it seemed like something was..off. It shouldn't have taken this long to get where they needed to go.

And more importantly, where were the people?

It was far too quite as well.

"Get behind me." Leniya whispered to Kylie and the little girl silently complied, not sure what was going on but smart enough to pick up something was wrong.

"Well, well. It seemed the lure worked. Two vampires for the price of one.."

The voice came from a man in a strange, sleek silver armor that somewhat reminded Leniya her of a medeivali knight, if the armor was a bit more modernized so to speak. There was about four of them and each had a single sword and what appeared throwing daggers strapped to them. Leniya didn't know what group they belonged to and that gave her another problem besides the fact she had to protect Kylie and she wasn't a fighter herself.

Earth certainly was an interesting place. Kind of backwater, in a lot of ways, but at the same time there were a lot of different species intermingling with each other. Humans, of course, elves, various demons, the occasional angel... vampires. All sorts of people, if you knew what to look for.

It varied from place to place, of course, but it was more cosmopolitan than one would expect. And with that... came different cuisines.

And that is what Tora and his younger sister Rena had been sampling today. The weather was nice, they were hungry, and it was a good way to experience local cultures and sub-cultures.

...that, and it was hard for Tora to say no to Rena when she gave him that puppy-dog look. He'd have been fine simply training, but Rena... for her, this trip wasn't just to get strong, but enjoy the sights and sounds.

Nothing wrong with that, but he still hadn't gotten used to her constantly forcing him out of his comfort zone. But hey, good food, good company, nice day... he could get used to this.

"Ahhh, that pizza was great. Expensive, but great," said Rena, her tail lazily wagging back and forth. Pizza existed on Acor, but it was... interesting to taste the 'real deal' on its home planet, Earth. Though from what he knew, the real-real deal would require going to a place called Italy.

...perhaps something to keep in mind for later.

"Yes. A bit expensive, bu--"

Rena cut him off. "Hehe, not like we've got to worry about money. Not with gran bankrolling this trip."

Gran, in this case, referred to Celosia, a half-acorian that any of their kind would recognize by sight or name. She had, long ago, been one of the wives of Zhu Rousong, a mysterious half-saiyan that had settled on Acor and founded their line, as well as many other lines. He himself was quite the legend on Acor, having acted as its strongest defender for many years, alongside his wives and children.

Needless to say, it was a daunting legacy to live up to.

Regardless, once 'gran' had caught wind of Rena's desire to travel--and more specifically, her reason for travel, she had gladly offered to bankroll the trip. The woman, being almost one thousand years old, had more money than she could ever hope to spend, and did not hesitate to lavish it upon her descendants... indirect or not.

Especially when they were traveling in search of love, as his little sister was. He himself didn't entertain such fancy, but he had nonetheless been asked--more like chosen--to watch over her during this journey. He had not been especially close to Rena before--he was over a decade older--but according to gran, he was just right for the job. Older, already experienced in the way of the world, and stronger than most... although he still paled in comparison to the elder half-acorian, let alone his esteemed ancestor his thoughts had been dwelling upon just a moment before.

Much to his consternation, he and Rena were often mistaken for... lovers. It bothered him, but it was understandable... one could be forgiven for not realizing that he, a towering individual with tigrine features and Rena, a petite young woman possessing vulpine aspects, were related. Even other Acorians occasionally made that mistake.

'Hey... hey, brother, are you listening?" Rena's question shook him from his thoughts.

"Mmh, sorry... got lost in my thoughts."

"Again? Jeez. Well, I just noticed something... weird." She seemed to be studying an... alleyway? At first glance, it appeared to be nothing but that, and yet...

Focusing his senses, he just barely caught the whiffs of spellwork. He was by no means an expert practitioner of magic--ki was his forte--but he still had some ability to sense it. "Hoh, good eye... I would have missed this if you hadn't pointed it out. Any idea what's up?"

Rena leaned in close. "Huh, seems to be a... cloaking spell. Mostly. I think there's others mixed in, but the main one seems to be a spell to keep attention off this place. Weird." She reached forth and placed a hand "on" the spell.

"'kay, let's investigate." And with that, she 'messed' with the spell, allowing the two to pass through the veil. The feeling was odd, like passing through a ephemeral... stream flowing through the air.

There, they were greeted by a curious sight. Two girls, one older, the other much younger, being accosted by... some group of armored people.

Tora's eyes lingered on the older woman briefly and his heart skipped a beat. She was pretty... very pretty. Not often he took note of that, but there was something about her that...

...was distracting to him. Focus, damn it... you're a warrior, not some hormonal teenager.

Tora exchanged a look with Rena. He motioned to her, using the 'sign language' they'd developed for situations where they needed to keep quiet. Specifically, he told her to cast a barrier. She'd know who to target. He, on the other hand...

Striding forward, he planted himself firmly in the middle of the alley, flaring his ki. After a few moment, the ground, buildings, and even air were vibrating from his power. The 'knights' would know he was here now.

"You've got five seconds to explain what's going on here before I jump to conclusions. Five..." said Tora, as Rena's shield popped into existence around Leniya and Kylie.

Leniya was putting on a brave face but internally she was freaking out at the moment. The closes thing she had been in a 'serious' fight had been in school which there was nothing to lose but a bruised ego and some lumps to sleep off. Here she was facing some whack jobs in armor she had absolutely no idea what they were or capable of and she was not a fighter of any sort.

The little one was her first concern, and her first thought would of been using the shadows to escape but they seemed cut off; she could only guess they had done some research before they struck.

Just before the situation could go further down the rabbit hole, two newcomers came into view. The first was a extremely tall and muscular man, but they had tiger features while the woman seemed more like a fox. She didn't know too much about them but from what she knew the two were definitely Acorian's which was obvious.

'...Maybe they'll help..' A bit of hope sparked at this even if she tried to keep a hard clamp down on it.

These was a tense atmosphere as male Acorian started. a brief exchange was met between the apparent leader and some of the others backing away, a brief mumble of something it not being worth attracting Nobus attention(even if Leniya didn't catch everything) A silver portal appeared and they retreated quickly before it closed. Nothing was left, save what seemed to be a small vial of some kind they had left behind in their haste to leave.

Leniya's knee's buckled as she collapsed a bit as the stress and what almost just happened got to her. She hated looking weak. And she hated the tears that came from it as Kylie wrapped her tiny arms around her neck as she sat on her knee's calming down.

It should be the other way around. Leniya pushed it aside as she shakily got up, knowing she was a bit of a mess. It was awkward now but she had to say something. "Um..thank you two for coming when you did. My name is Leniya and..this is Kylie."

Rena gave Leniya a little salute, striking a pose that was at once cute and a bit ridiculous as she did so. One familiar with the 'magical girl' genre might feel a sense of familiarity.

"No problem, always glad to help! I'm Rena, and this big lunk is my older bro, Tora," she said, slapping Tora on the back. She leaned forward a bit. "Don't worry, he's big and can be real scary sometimes, but he's really a big, furry softie."

Tora sighed, shook his head, and picked up the vial, turning and examining it. This was...

...he had no idea, but someone might know something about it.

"Whatcha got there?" Rena peeked around him.

Tora shrugged. "Vial of... something. Not important right." He turned to Leniya and Kylie. "Leniya, Kylie... no injuries? Rena has a fair hand at healing magic if you need it."

"Geez, you're so stiff and businesslike," said Rena. "You need a softer touch--they just got pulled out of a dangerous situation, after all! They're not hurt--we'd be able to smell it, and you know that?"

Tora glanced at her and considered. "...I..." He paused after that single word, considered again, and then continued. "It might still be dangerous for you two to be on your own. Rena and I could escort you to somewhere safe--your home or... really anywhere you feel would work."

"That's better, but not much," said Rena, her tone slightly playful. "But yeah, if you want, we could stick with you for a bit. Believe it or not, we're pretty strong... so guys like that won't get past us, even if they bring a hundred of 'em!"

Tora wasn't so sure about that, but he kept his mouth shut, since Rena was clearly aiming to calm them down. Something he wasn't that good at... well, not with words. Rena claimed that his presence was calming and made people feel safe once they knew him, but family was supposed to say stuff like that.

"So, whaddya' say?"

The gesture was familiar to Leniya having grown up on earth, much less Japan so she didn't honestly think too much into it; especially given what happened just moments ago. Kylie on the other hand..

"Wow, you're a magic girl?" That seemed to get the little girl excited.

Leniya patted them on the back. "Let's not jump to conclusions, okay? It wouldn't be the first one you ran into if she is." Kylie had a large interest in them, though given they were something of common thing for some girls to be into and besides anime they were also a real thing it made some sense.

"If its not too much trouble, thank you." Leniya said gratefully, feeling like stressed at the moment or at least pushing it in the back of her mind. "It's not that far from here, but still a walk. My brother probably be worried. First thing though.."

Leniya pulled out a cell phone, dialing. "Yes. I would like to report a incident of a potential attack. No ma'am I witnessed it since they almost attacked me. No, they're gone and no one was injured." She answered in rapid fire. "Could I meet there then? Ok, thank you."

"That was Nobus, I told them about what happened. They're going to meet back where I live." She explained to them. "Probably going to want to examine that vial to see if they can find anything."

Rena smiled. "Well, I'm magical and a girl, so teeeechically..."

"In truth, she's just a normal mag--gaaaahhh!" Tora was interrupted by Rena roughly grabbing his tail and squeezing. The smile on her face was at once sweet and frightening.

"I... yes, yes, she is indeed a... magical girl," said Tora, sounding slightly defeated. The frightening aspect of Rena's smile faded, leaving only sweetness.

"See? Bro totally backs me up on that."

The stuff about nobus was interesting. As he understood it, they were in charge of... many things. Investigating supernatural matters, among them. Normally, he preferred to avoid those types, but in this case it was unavoidable. "Yes, anyway, let's get a mov--"

"Whoa whoa there... you're forgetting something important."

"I am? And what might that be?"

Rena walked over to the two girls, still smiling. "So which one of you wants to ride on ol' Tora's back there? He may seem gruff, but he's actually a huge softie, and the view's great."

Internally, Tora sighed, but did not object. Once his (much) younger sister put her mind to something, it was almost impossible to dissuade her. After all, that's how he'd ended up as her... escort? Travelling partner?

The two were a interesting bunch.

They were siblings and acted like it for sure. For Leniya it was far too early to say much of anything but she had noticed Rena seemed to more outgoing of the two. Not that Tora seemed anti social or anything from first impression, just more reserved. Judging by her sister's behavoir perhaps he was the voice of reason if she got some unusual ideas.

Because judging what she did with Tora, Rena was on the quirky side of things.

"I, well I think I'll be fine." Leniya assured, glad the stammer in her voice was at least gone. She just wanted to go home and take a nice hot bath and forget this craziness.

Kylie didn't seem to have such reservations and looked to her guardian who nodded a bit. "If you're careful, then its fine. They did just save our lives."

Satisfied, the young girl went behind them looking at them with curiousity. "How big are you? I bet you'd be the best basket ball player ever!"

Leave it to a child, but image of the giant Tora in a baskball jersey dunking on people amused Leniya more then she thought it would have.