Problems after Problems (Private with Rick)

[Carmine Valentina]

It was just another evening for Carmine as she lounged around in her office, slurping on a strawberry milkshake as she read one of her favourite mangas, her hands still coated in blood after a 'disciplinary measure' with one of her subordinates. Nearby on her desk, her scorpion nibbles on a half-eaten human finger, the remnants of said disciplinary measure.

She glimpsed at the bloodstained manga page corners and, with a grumble, tossed it onto the desk next to her. As she wiped her hands on a nearby napkin, she glanced at Scorpy on the desk and chuckled to herself, petting its back gently before returning to reading. It was silent in her office, the only sound being the occasional slurp of her milkshake and the faint rustling of pages as she immersed herself in her manga. The scene was oddly peaceful, a mirror opposite to Carmine's personality, but something she rarely enjoys. Nothing could disrupt her tranquillity at that moment, right?

RIGHT?

"Hey boss, we... maybe have a problem," a voice whimpers from behind the door, causing Carmine to jump slightly in her seat. She quickly composed herself, hiding her manga in a nearby drawer before yelling,

"Enter!"

Two low-level goons enter the office cautiously; their faces pale with fear and nerves. Carmine narrows her eyes toward them, gesturing for them to speak. The taller one pushed the shorter one forward, who stammered out, "We, uh, we might have accidentally, maybe, possibly kidnapped the wrong person for that job you gave us."

The air grew thicker, almost suffocating, as Carmine stood to her full height, walking over to the trembling goons. In a swift move, she punched the shorter one in the gut, causing him to double over in pain, before grabbing his hand and crushing it, breaking and fracturing bones with a sickening crunch. She turned her head to glare at the taller one, who was now visibly sweating and trembling.

"How do you two shit-stains manage to mess up a simple task like kidnapping!? Seriously, it's not rocket science."

The taller goon tried to stammer out an apology, but Carmine cut him off with a dismissive wave of her hand. "You're both fucking useless. I'll have to take care of this myself," she muttered under her breath. "And put Scorpy back in his terrarium."

And with that, she left her office and stormed down the narrow corridor towards the holding cell where their captive was being held. The goons looked at each other in fear, knowing they were in deep trouble after Carmine was finished taking matters into her own hands.

[Richard Hamelin]

*Inside the cell was a young man, pretty good lucking, dressed with a long green coat, who's long blonde hair were tied in a long braid. Surprisingly enough, he didn't seemed to be hurt at all, whereas many of the grunts she encountered on her way there sported cuts, bruises, bumps, and broken noses.
Outside of the cell laid a long, silvery transverse flute, while the young man seemed to be... Angry, rather than anxious.
An insignia on his chest caught her eyes.
Those... Fools had managed to kidnap a Hunter-in-training !*

[Carmine Valentina]

Around the cell, many of the henchmen are nursing wounds, minor and major (mostly minor), sustained from whatever fight just took place. Some are applying bandages, while others are limping away, trying to hide any signs of pain. Among the chaos, a few are laughing off their injuries, displaying a bravado that disguises any vulnerability.

"Well," one said with a groan, "at least we managed to capture the brat."

"Yeah, no shit," another mumbled. "But it wasn't worth all this trouble. That little shitstain put up a hell of a fight."

"Wait… is the target supposed to fight back that hard?"

"...Where's Anthony and Ash?"

Panic began to set in as they realized that two of their own were missing, who knows where,possibly injured or worse. But they didn't have much time to panic before the sound of boots filled the hallway before them, as Carmine, with all of her anger, stepped into view.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU ALL!?" she bellowed, as she walked past each of her henchmen and inspected the scene before her. She could see the fear in their eyes as they stammered out explanations, but she had no patience for their incompetence.

"Don't tell me any excuses. The other two have already told me about the shit you did. Now leave… NOW! And if they're hurt, may whoever is above help you because I won't." Carmine warned , her voice dripping with venom. As her henchmen scrambled to obey her commands and flee the room, Carmine turned her attention to the figure in the cell.

She kneeled down, quickly assessing their injuries, which were really just a couple of scratches, before giving a sharp nod of approval. "Looks like you held your own pretty well," she muttered to herself. Rising to her feet, she took a deep breath and made a mental note to deal with each of her incompetent henchmen in due time. She looked at a nearby table, which was littered with various vials, a scroll and a flute.

"Which huntsman plays a flute?" She pondered aloud, her mind already racing with possibilities. With a shrug, she charged the flute with volatile energy, placing it right near the scroll. She crossed her arms and kick away at a nearby rock.

"I swear, an army of lobotomized frogs would do better than my men."

[Richard Hamelin]

*Those idiots really just laid down his stuff just in front of his cell. Rick was sure that they would lay down their guard soon enough, and....
Well, here was the boss, he guessed. Perhaps a good opportunity to negotiate...
And... Wow !
He mentally slapped himself. Certainly not the time to find someone pretty, especially the one who kidnapped him.
Well, not exactly, but... Alright, whatever.
He watched her approach his cell, assessing him. He took care to display his Hunter badge, curious to see how she'd react.
Not the way he hoped... Seemed like she wasn't as scared of Beacon as he would've hoped.
He nodded upon hearing the praise, but did nothing much else.
Seems like she wasn't too knowledgeable about his family, otherwise the flute and the vials would've been an instant give-away.
He made a displeased expression when she touched his weapon, though. Fighting back the urge to yell at her, and instead staring with his golden eyes.
As she kicked a rock and muttered, he hoped she was growing disinterested with him.
All he needed was a few minutes alone...*

[Carmine Valentina]

As Carmine grumbled to herself, she stopped in her tracks as she noticed the vials of what she thought were cinders on the ground. Bending down and picking them up to inspect them, she ultimately grew disinterested as she charged it with Minezone and placed it again near the other vials. She liked doing this, having the possessions of her victims in arms reach, ready to be taken by them at any moment, just to have the item explode, severely injuring them or worse. It was a sick game she enjoyed playing, knowing that those who wronged her would never truly escape her wrath. A sinister smile played on Carmine's lips, relishing in the power she held over those who dared to cross her.

She took out her scroll and checked the time. 1 minute. 1 minute is all the time left for the 'bombs' to explode. Walking towards the door, she stopped, and leaned by the frame, watching the kid with a mixture of amusement and cruel satisfaction. She waited for the inevitable chaos to unfold.

[Richard Hamelin]

*She was.... Out ? Alright, then... Perhaps it was time to escape.
Without knowing what she had done to his stuff, Rick started to.... Sing ?
Very low, yes, more like a hum, but still loud enough to be heard.
The vials shook as the plug popped... And something came out of it. It looked like a... Tentacle ? But most importantly, it was black with white tips, a colour pattern that everyone in the world had learned to fear.
From Rick's point of view, this was a difficult and tiring task. The Grimm cinders, which used to obey so easily and react so quickly, seemed heavy, awkward, difficult to manoeuver without his flute to direct his Semblance.
Still, the tentacle made it's way inside of the locket, starting to pick the lock.... And then exploded.
The young man covered his face as the strength of the explosion pushed him backwards until he slammed in the wall.
His weapon had also exploded, but thankfully it was sturdy enough to resist. The scroll nearby though...
He stumbled back on his legs as the lock, having been destroyed by the explosion, couldn't hold the door closed.*

[Carmine Valentina]

Carmine was, to say the least, impressed. Digusted by whatever that 'thing' was trying to pick the lock from the cell, but impressed by the fact that it was able to do so with such skill and precision, though it was in a heavy, awkward manner. She was also impressed, seeing the boy inside the cell who seemed to be working with the 'thing' in a coordinated effort. She could swear she had seen this type of 'thing' before.

"Is that…Grimm!? This boy can control…those things!?" Carmine whispered to herself, her voice filled with disbelief and awe. She had only encountered the creatures before in training with her father, but never with a human controlling them. She's not even sure if someone could do that. As she watched in silent amazement, the vial the creature came from exploded in a shower of sparks, causing Carmine to take a step back, silently thanking whoever controlled fate that the creature was dead, destroyed, and every trace of it gone.

As the smoke cleared, Carmine could see the boy coming out of the cell, a little dazed but otherwise unharmed. She walked near the now destroyed, looking at him with a mixture of respect and a bit of a morbid glee, unsure of what he was capable of, but wanting to see more of his powers in action.

"Well, that was certainly unexpected," she remarked with a sneer, already anticipating the trouble and chaos he could bring to the Cleaner. "Though I'm sorry about your dear precious scroll,. Accidents do...happen, from time to time." She gave a soft, sinister chuckle

[Richard Hamelin]

*Having taken some damage from the blast and the collision, Rick tried to carefully open the door, while the smoke created by the Grimm cinders was dissipating. But as he was trying to come back to himself, a voice rose out of the hallway.
The young, blonde man pounced, grabbed his flute and started to play. Immediately, the smoke coalesced into a giant arm that was linked to the ground, punched the opposite wall, and opened a way for him to flee through.
But, he couldn't stop himself from turning towards the beautiful vilainess that had captured him, and blew her a kiss.*
"See you again, I hope..."
*Then began to play again, as the fist had turned back into cinders as soon as he had stopped playing.*

[Carmine Valentina]

A gust of wind blasted Carmine in the face as she stopped in herself, trying to comprehend what had just happened. The boy, no, a threat to her father's empire, her empire, had just escaped in her backyard. She clenched her fists, feeling a surge of anger and shame rising through her system as she tried contemplating her next move. Sure, capturing the boy would be the ideal outcome, but she couldn't ignore the possibility that he may slip away again, leaving her reputation tarnished and her authority questioned. With a breath of determination, Carmine quickly picked up one of the rock debris scattered on the ground charged it with Minezone and hurled it at the boy. She detonated it midair, and the debris exploded into multiple pieces, all going in different directions, hitting the boy in various places on his body, and some of the debris hitting the fist. Within a hot minute, Carmine had already reached the boy and grabbed his hand, specifically the one holding the flute, and squeezed it.

"Listen, I don't know who you are, or even care to find out, but thanks to the dumbasses I call my underlings, you're here… I can't let you go and risk The Cleaner's operations to be destroyed by investigating police and huntsmen by your tattletailing, so until I can find a perfect solution to benefit both of us. You're. Staying. Put." Carmine snarled, just wishing to break his hand right then and there. Or kill him. Whatever works the best.

[Richard Hamelin]

"I think it's a bit too late for that, lady... Perhaps your friends didn't told you, but they got me because they attacked someone in broad daylight. I had to surrender because they took people hostage, but that was quite the commotion. Police is already coming, you'd be smart to start packing up.
Also....."

*The flute shifted into something that looked like a gun, shooting her straight in the face. As she stumbled back, he started to play again, and the cinders created a giant fist, punching her hard enough to send her flying.
Rick resumed his escape, the fist turning into something that looked like wings, sending him upwards, on the roofs.*

[Carmine Valentina]

As Carmine stumbled back, she managed to react just quick enough to block the fist with her bat, sliding across the concrete floor with a screech. The impact reverberated through her arms, sending a jolt of pain up to her shoulders. Aderlenine flows through her body as Carmine freezes, the anger already inside her now bubbling up to the surface, like a kettle just waiting to explode. Sure, the police would be easy to bribe or manipulate; after all, the law was easy to bend to her will. But the mere fact that her goons kidnapped him in broad daylight was a bold move that she couldn't let slide.


"YOU…" She growled, her eyes narrowing as she glared at the boy, thinking about any way of 'permanently' removing him from the equation. Fighting him would be the best option, but she needed to learn how he fights in order to defeat him effectively. Carmine quickly got up, pressing the alarm button on the wall, encasing the room in a red glow as a loud siren blared throughout the building. She then started to follow the boy, until her scroll started to buzz—a call from her father. She grumbled under her breath, answering the scroll.

"Father, I'm in the middle of something important right now," she said, her frustration evident in her voice. "Can this wait!?"

"Why, you can't spend more time with your old man?"

"No, I can not spend time with my 'old man', because I AM DEALING WITH AN ESCAPE KIDNAPEE."

"I thought we discussed the kidnapping after that, the whole 'date' incident."

"That was 3 years ago, and I was drunk, and I remember you saying, 'Hey, if you want to date someone, just do it the old-fashioned way, by kidnapping them.'"

"I was—" Her father couldn't stop himself from laughing at the memory. "—I was joking, sweetheart. You know I would never condone kidnapping for such purposes. Anyway, kiddo, good luck on your kidnapee, and I love you."

"Fuck off...I love you too." Carmine muttered, hanging up as she started to climb an escape ladder to the roof of the building.