A City of Secrets and Masks

-Nine- Venomous Voice

(a/n- just so you know, i'll be transitioning to chapters that focus on one or two groups!!! this is mainly to focus on improving the quality of certain scenes. i hope this isn't too much of a dealbreaker for yall!!!)

Wilbur was tired. He'd been up for too long, pinning photos and notecards to a board. He was pretty sure it could be likened to something a serial killer would do. He stretched back in his chair and looked at the clock. He realized that was the clock that didn't work and checked his watch instead. Eleven at night.

He thought about going and laying down, but something was keeping him up. He thought about just pacing around the apartment, but his guitar caught his eye. He sighed. "I'll do this, I guess."

It was late, everyone else was already asleep. He grabbed his guitar, put it in it's case, and slung it over his arm. He quickly jotted a note and stuck it to the fridge, just in case something happened. He doubted it would.

Wilbur walked down to the lobby and out of the apartment. The night was quieter than usual. He hummed, trying to figure out what songs to play. With it being so late, softer songs usually got more attention.

He walked to the docks and found a nice looking spot. He sat down and began strumming out a soft song he'd wrote a while back. People came and went. The song ended and another one began. About an hour passed- it was a bit funny how many people passed at such an obscene hour.

The night was shaping out to be quite normal. Wilbur didn't trust it. The last time he thought he was going to have a normal night, he met the Clingys.

Another song came and went. He watched the people walk by. Ocasionally, someone would drop some money in his guitar case and keep walking.

He was zoned out when it happened. A woman walked by and smiled at him, but looked away before Wilbur could catch most of her face. She tossed something into his case and he got a glance of it before she walked away.

It was the skull and biohazard symbol, the pink version. Wilbur stood up quickly, shutting his guitar case and picking it up. "Hey!"

She glanced back and Wilbur caught a grin on her face. He took a step towards her and she took off at a dead run.

Wilbur had been in combat before. He knew the smart thing to do would be to get reinforcements, to not follow her. She was trying to get him somewhere where she'd have the advantage.

"Oh, fuck it." He'd been looking for something, anything, about this group for so long. He started after her.

The chase wasn't too long. She led him down an alley and started climbing up a building. She again grinned down at him. He sighed and set down his guitar case before beginning to climb up himself.

Wilbur was surprised to see her still there by the time he had reached the top. He got into a fighting stance and finally got a good look at her. She had blond hair with some purple highlights and was wearing normal, civilian clothes. No other defining traits. He filed that info away, figuring it could be useful for a report later.

"Hello Wilbur." She said. Her voice was tinged with a bit of an accent. German, maybe? "I've been waiting for a chance to meet you!"

"Who are you, exactly?" He said, preparing for a fight. He noticed she had two sickles, one in her hand and the other sheathed. When had she gotten those out?

"Who am I?" She smiled again. "You mean to say you've been looking into us for so long and you don't even know my name? I'm... hmm, what should I be called..." She stopped for a second and tilted her head. "How about you call me Nihachu? Or we could just keep it simple- how about Niki?"