Fiore,was exactly how Hikaru remembered it. As he walked through Orchidia, Hikaru could see people looking at different stands, searching for various goods. He couldn't help but crack a smile as he walked through the town. There was one thing Hikaru had wanted since he had been in Bosco. He wanted to have some Fiorian style food. Specifically a pastry that a local shop in Orchidia made. He hadn't had a genuine snack from Fiore since he had left the country. Hikaru was excited to return to the place he had once called home.

Moreover, he wanted to meet up with his sister, Lee-Ann. She herself was in the Rune Knights and was probably curious where her brother had been. However, he was pursuing a confidential mission and he was not allowed to tell her, nor anyone where he had been and what he had been doing in the other country. However, Hikaru had not reported to the council yet, other than sending a few encrypted letters that he had hoped had not been intercepted. Hikaru wasn't one to not report immediately, but currently he was following a lead in Orchidia in regards to the mission he had just been assigned to for the previous two years.

It was different to be in another place. His pink hair and light blue eyes gazed ahead as he could see the stand he was looking for. There was a relatively short line as he approached the stand. The smell of fried pastry and baked goods never ceased to smell so good, regardless of how bad it was for ones body. Hikaru was simply shocked that not many people were in line waiting, but maybe it was because it was winter. The people in line were  bundled up and it seemed as if these warm treats would be their only saving grace. Hikaru rubbed his black winter gloves together and manuevered his scarf to slightly cover his face. He had a white dress shirt on, black pants and a khaki trench coat. Hikaru watched as one by one, the line got shorter and he got closer to his pastries.

Hikaru stared ahead of the line looking to see how many individuals were left. There was only one before he got to the first spot in line. As he stood behind the man in front of him Hikaru heardA voice echoed from behind him.

It was the voice of a female, and she was asking questions about being a guild novice. Hikaru looked behind him to see who she was talking to but based on appearance no one seemed to respond to what she said, so it was safe to assume they weren't in guilds.

Hikaru's blue eyes turned towards her, figuring she was talking to him. The way she spoke was extremely elegantly. "Fine Sir". That itself was enough to make Hikaru think this women came from a decent upbringing and was possibly someone he would be interested in speaking to. She was asking questions about being a Guild Novice, but realistically he couldn't give much advice since he was a page as well. However, maybe he did know enough about the Rune Knights, since he was one of the strongest Pages around. Hikaru answered quite quickly and kindly.

"Of course ma'm! Give me one second." As Hikaru spoke to her he turned his head to see the man at the stand was darting his eyes at Hikaru. He seemed irritated. Even though Hikaru had been in line much longer, the man looked like he was trying to simply beat this rush hour and looked like he was waiting for Hikaru to have already said his order. "My apologizes, Can I have a cannoli please." Hikaru said with a smile .

The man nodded and seemed to already have one made as he gave Hikaru one. Hikaru would then pay the man, and would then stand off to the side waiting for the female to order. From the side he was in speaking distance to her since the man directly behind him had already gotten his order and left. He assumed she was a Rune knight, based on whom she was. Maybe she was a bosconian spy, who came to burn Hikaru. Since he came back from his mission he had been sort of paranoid of them finding out he's alive and coming after him.

"So what brings you to Orchidia?"

Hikaru said to her from the side of the window of the outdoor the Pastry stand.

Hikaru waited for her to reach the front of the line. Hikaru watched as she made her order, and the S added to the end of it signaled that she said it wrong. Hikaru didn't say anything figuring it was rude. He assumed maybe she had heard it wrong one time and had pronounced it every time. Hikaru couldn't count how many times he had encountered someone singing incorrect and song lyrics simply because the word sounded similar. All Hikaru could do was offer a smile as she paid waiting. Hikaru watched as she ate it whole, and it caught him off guard. However, he didn't really comment on it much and simply figured different people had different cultures. However, he savored his warm treat eating it at a simple pace. The way he was eating it allowed him to take his time and savor all the flavors that his mouth felt as he dug his teeth into the soft warm pastry. Hikaru heard the female talk about "The Rifts."

To be honest, he hadn't heard about them, however he assumed it was top secret. He got on edge however when she mentioned to go to a secluded area to talk about it. He thought it might be a bosconian who followed him and was now planning on ambushing him. Hikaru was paranoid after the mission he had just done, but since it was top secret he wasn't sure if this was just someone who was trying to befriend him. He attempted his best to seem as if he was not on edge when he spoke. He figured what would be best was to find an area that was not too populated but there were enough people around to where he could not be ambushed. Hikaru began to walk with her. Maybe he would get a feel for her personality and who she was before he found out her motive. "Let's just find a bench I suppose that's not populated." Hikaru said responding to her so they could find a place to speak.

"Also, how rude of me." Hikaru said as he extended his arm. out to her as he stopped after taking two feet. His tone when he said that sounded as if he had just forgot something extremely important. "The name is Hikaru. Hikaru Nakamura. and I guess you're an aspiring mage yourself. What's your name?" Hikaru said asking her. He had so many questions for her but he just wanted to get the basics and formalities out of the way. He was hoping she'd elaborate on him calling her an aspiring mage. Hikaru couldn't quite read this women. His main question was, was she a bosconian spy. However, no one in their right mind would answer that, so he would have to find out her identity through an indirect approach. He had spent 2 years working for the Bosconian Military. If she was a spy he'd find out one way or another.

Hikaru listened to the women speak. She said she was from a tribal region, so Hikaru was now interested in her. However she reassured him by her background story that she was indeed harmless from what he could see. Hikaru saw she said she did not want to speak out in public about the secrets of the rune Knights. Hikaru figured this was either her being loyal or her being someone who could be pose a threat. However, up to this point she really seemed to have a story that checks. Being part of a tribe could be the reason she didn't quite know how to say the word Cannoli. Moreover she said she was a scientist and was curious how she could help him.

Hikaru figured as much she asked how could she help him. Hikaru looked around one more time to clear his suspicions but everything looked normal, maybe he was just being paranoid. "You'll have to excuse me i'm just being paranoid that's all." Hikaru said as he continued to walk. However, he would need to justify his actions. He felt the answer he gave her wasn't sufficient enough and he wanted to clear any bad vibes he gave her since they met. Since she had asked Hikaru what was worrying him and how she could help he figured he woudl give her some information. However his mission was top secret so to that extent he could not tell her too much without being scolded and berated by his superiors. "I was sent on a mission. reconnaissance mission actually. I'm not sure if i've been compromised or burned so every new face I meet, I tend to vet them. However that is all I can tell you. Regardless, you wanted to speak to me about a few questions you had?"

Hikaru asked about her questions because he wanted to change the subject he didn't want to dwell on the mission because he did not want to let this women become a liability nor did he want her to be put in danger dimply by knowing what he did. Hikaru offered a smile as he waited for any questions she had.

Hikaru listened to the women who seemed to understand where he was coming from. He was very happy that she was kind about it and had not been mean. Hikaru couldn't help but like this women because some people would feel offended or even the accusation would warrant some people to fight but she wasn't. Hikaru figured she was not from around there based on the way she spoke, so properly and elegantly. It was that or she was simply a fancy women that was brought up in a wealthy enviornment where proper language was something that was highly applauded.

Hikaru listened to her ask him a question and he was curious as to what she had meant. He was curious if she had known the concepts of a spy. "Are you from around here?" Hikaru asked after she asked that. He said it in a nice tone but one that was surely questioning her. He was not aiming ot insult her but he was simply asking because extortion was something so famous.

"I wish it was as simple as using something against me. But no, what i've done. If certain people find out about it I could have a large bounty on my head from some not so nice people." Hikaru said explaing to the women He had to be honest about his situation without revealing too much information. She then had asked if he had met a demon and Hikaru raised an eye brow and he thought about it for quite some time. "I've encountered some people known for killing them, but an actual demon has never approached mr or vice versa. " Hikaru said explaining ot the female. The people he knew who were known for killing them were none other than the famous demon slayers. Their magic was so powerful it was said it could kill a demon which is how it got its name. She seemed to speak about she could find demons heree. This alarmed Hikaru he was curious about this he had never heard a thing about demons. "Where? and by who? I didn't know demons were coming here. This is not good. I'm assuming someone sent you here to stop it correct?" Hikaru said. He didn't know much about this lady but one thing was for sure. Demons were not good.

It was a simple question and to Jolyne it elicited a simple response "No I am from Deserette." She did not say it as if it were something as obvious as the sky being blue but rather that it was as meaningless as saying water was wet. Though it was only due to Jolyne's philiosophy that she thought this way, that a place of birth mattered little about a person.

A large bounty, something that did not elicit a response from Jolyne. Material goods were just as the sands, here for a moment and gone for the next. Jolyne saw the use of currency but did not see a use for having more than was needed, hording or saving was a foreign concept to her and it genuinely baffled her to why anyone would care about having more money than they could spend. It was unfortunate that these people were after Hikaru but now she felt a bit safer for the man as anyone coming after him would be distracted by mentally spending that money when they should be focused on their target.

It was slightly disappointing that the man had not encountered a demon but Jolyne had enjoyed the distraction and the conversation anyways. Sometimes life did not give you exactly what you wanted, but the journey was not useless because of that.

"Top brass sent me, I had assumed at first you were sent too. It would seem this is the reason for me bumping into you then sir" Jolyne chirped now with joy as she did a twirl. "Oh and here, if you trust me go ahead and be of eating this bean it'll heal any injuries you have when you have them up to a certain extent 'cause I'm still new. with that she held her left hand up and a green seal sparked as a green bean fell into existence. Jolyne then handed the bean over to Hikaru with a smile. "I am glad to have met you Hikaru".

Hikaru listened to the female speak about where she was from. It didn't seem like anywhere he had heard of so Hikaru believe it was best to keep conversation to a minimum. He had been in a different country in the past and it could be annoying to some extent when people press on where exactly you are from. Rather Hikaru kept his focus on Jolyne, as she continued to speak about why she was in Orchidia. This would be sure to give Hikaru some clues as to why she was here. Hikaru couldn't help but want to learn more about this. He had been out of the game for so long he hadn't heard of the new missions. He was not even sure who thought he was alive and vice versa.

Hikaru listened to Jolyne talk about how this was why she believed he was there. Hikaru had sadly been there by chance. He had been recovering and took a detour to Orchidia to visit some old friends. Jolyne was kind enough to offer Hikaru a magical healing bean. This was the true test. He was curious as to whether this would be a wise idea or not. Hikaru looked around and the area was crowded enough to where if something happened to him he could have faith that a witness would tell. Moreover, his sister was in town meaning that she would eventually find out if Hikaru was missing or not. Hikaru reached out opening his hand for the bean. With the bean in his hand he raised it as if it was a toast. "To new friendships!" Hikaru said as he swallowed the bean he looked around at himself to see the effects of the bean. Yet there was nothing until he could feel his body beginning to feel fresh. Things that felt broken, or sore began to feel brand new.

"Hmm, glad to know you weren't drugging me." Hikaru said jokingly. "I'm glad i've met you as well Jolyne, it seems like you're quite the ally to have." Hikaru saw the bear appear from thin air so immediately he was curious if this women was a support mage. "So i'm guessing you're a support type mage?" Hikaru said questioning her. He didn't know much about magic to heal others because he was mostly an offensively driven mage. However that did not mean he did not appreciate those who had the power to make their allies strong.