Mmm... Roadage. Yeah. Dirt roads with a bit of pavement here and there. Mostly dirt, though. The area looks comforting at first glance. But also seems like the the most ghetto of city scum-littered places. This is definately where the poor and most average of slumerians hang out. It's also a bit cold.

A man in a brown leather coat comes into town, with a folded table and chair under one arm, and a large backpack hung behind his other shoulder. Picking the same spot he has for months, he sets these things down on the roadside, where he knows any minute now, people will be walking by that same spot.

Opening the table out, he sets the bag beside it, and pulls a rather crumpled sign out of the bag. Smoothing it out, he hangs it over the front of the table, and starts unloading a dozen or so items from the bag, seemingly at random. One looks like a large power cell, another like parts to a dryer. One even looks like a travel CD player. Most of them look like they've been through a little trouble, but might still work.

The sign reads (in rather small print for an advertisement):

PARTS FOR SALE
plus the occasional
toy or gadget
ALL GUARANTEED
to be in
FULL WORKING
CONDITION!

The last thing he takes from the bag is a small card, which he puts on the front right corner of the table. This reads:

"All prices negotiable, but nothing is free."

Those with an eye for detail may notice suspicious brown stains on the card. People who've done business with him make sure to pay, whether they know why those stains are there or not.

After setting up shop, the man unfolds the chair, sits, and waits for the day to start.

Zane passed through the set of massive doors. He spilled onto the street and looked around for a while. He walks past Ravin's stand a few times, looking either very concerned or extremely lost. He shurgs and gives up and finally notices the stand which isn't in a location that would allow one to see most of the traffic, but at least, the shop owner looked kind enough.

Zane stops and cursorily examins the few items, the slightly menacing business card, and the sign, before saying, "Um. Hello. You haven't seen a youngish kid.. I dunno maybe 11 or 12 pass by?" Zane proceeds to give a small description as best he could remember.

After seeing the man walk by several times, Ravik looks up as Zane approaches, watching him like a cat, wanting to see what he might do next. He smiles to greet the new customer and listens, but frowns when the missing kid comes up, head turned down in thought.

"All in black, with a MIDGAR shirt on? No, haven't seen anyone like that. All the kids that age I've seen today, they live right here."

He runs a finger in a circle on the table, looking up again. "Where'd you lose track of the boy?" he asks, pointing a finger back towards sector 02. "Around here, back that way in the badlands, or in what they call 'civilization' through the gate?"

Zane ponders over the items a moment, and thinks about what he'll ask next.
"Sorry ta bother you again, but you haven't seen a sorta aging man, older than me? He's got this big pointy nose, sorta lanky, moderately tall, in a flashy tux? Gaudy jewelry too? He isn't that hard to miss."

I might as well buy something if I'm gonna bother a legitimate business. He thinks as the few people walk past in ones and twos. He examines the power cell in particular, looking for more than cosmetic damage.

"Nope, haven't seen him either, though he sounds familiar. Sorry I couldn't be of much help there." That said, he follows Zane's eyes and points a finger towards the power cell. "If you're interested in that, though, I think I can help. It's almost full, so..." He gives a price, which seems a bit low for a cell that size, but not by much -- maybe about three-quarters.

The cell itself is in pretty good shape, nothing worse than a few dents here and there, although it's seen better days. As a matter of fact, it looks like something that was accidentally tossed in the trash, then fished out once it got to the dump. Looking at the other items on display, one could guess this is exactly what happened to it, although even he isn't insane enough to try to "repair" the thing.

Zane considers the offered price. A power cell is a useful item down in the slums. He'd already seen a few pieces of 'junk' that could be powered by a cell of this size. He knew he could, at least with his current funds, afford the price the makeshift merchant was putting up. It was the least he could do, even if he didn't get any vaulable information.

"Alright. Sounds good." Zane said as he was fishing out the gil for it. He placed a handful of the small coins stacked on top of a single folded bill. It matched the price proffered, and Zane might've tried to haggle if he weren't already looking for somebody.
"That should be enough." He says, looking back past the clinic for a moment, despite not really being strictly neccessary.

"Right on the dot," Ravik replies, handing over the power cell and pocketing the cash. Looking out at the people walking by, he frowns again, then reaches over to the other two items. He lifts them up to show Zane, then starts talking.

"Mind, now I have a problem. I haven't had much business today; my own fault really. This isn't the day the regulars usually come here. So..." Before the expected hard sell can come, though, he puts everything back in his bag, and starts to take down the sign.

"I'll tell you what. I'll help you find the kid, once I've got my things in order. That is, if you don't mind the company."

Zane watches the offering, preparing to refuse, considering that was half of what he had on him, and it'd be far between from the next time he picked up any cash. But the sudden packing up drew his suspicions for a moment. That was a sudden reversal. Must've seen something he didn't like in the passersby.

Zane of course wouldn't refuse an offer to help. He shakes his head.
"No, I don't mind at all. Two pairs of eyes' always better.. Too bad I don't have any leads whatsover for where the kid went. I think he stayed around here, though he could've gone into Sector 04. The kid's a bit naive and all.."

Still. the merchant was looking out for something.. he must've decided keeping someone with him might be safer than not.. odd. He hmms and asks,
"I didn't catch your name. Mine's Zane." With that, he reches out with a greeting hand.

The man's smile comes back, and he stands suddenly to takes the offered hand, and shake it. "Rivek. Pleased to meet ya." Where he was laid back before, now even his eyes even seem to shine with vigor -- or is that just a trick of the light? Either the change in pace excites him strangely, or he was really bored before. Either way, he's soon back to packing up, taking the table and chair down in moments.

Slinging the bag over one shoulder, he takes the folding shop under one arm, and gestures with his head down one street. "I just need to drop these things off someplace safe. You can come if you like, or stay here. I'll only be a minute."

Zane nodded, scratching his head slightly. "I suppose if we keep moving, there's a better chance we'll spot him."

He looked around now, looking for more detail. The Clinic across the mostly unoccupied street was indistinguishable from most of the property here. Like nost buldings in the slums, they were propped up sheet metal, presumed to be held up inside by teh same support as outside. Rusty I-beams and tether-cable. The clinic's visible emergency vehicle bay is occupied by the vehicle itself, but the emergency area was inactive. There weren't even people. The door, half-closed at this moment, is just corrugated sheet metal with a few unoiled wheeling tracks, likely not even powered.

The rest of the area around is just a clutch of ramshackle buildings along the street and a distant tavern.

Zane finishes the quick, cursory scan of the area, and finally says,
"Alright, Ravik, lead the way."

"Alright then, let's move!" With that, Ravik walks off in the direction of his contact, at a certain old house. All the while, he walks with a very even pace, more of a march than a stroll. He looks every which way, just in case the kid they're looking for, or something less welcome, should turn up in a back alley.

Zane walks up to the gate, not too quickly, like usual. But he felt a sense of urgency. He'd wasted too much time. He pulls up to the guard station and chooses the least hostile-looking guard to discuss with.

"Um.. excuse Mr. ShinRa guard? Have you seen a young teen? maybe.. 11 or 12? He was wearing a black t-shirt with "MIDGAR" written on the front. Kinda short. Wutaiian, I think. He came this way, possibly, and I was wondering if you had seen anyone of that size and dress." He was being formal.. probably not a good idea given the situation, but it was better than being rude to armed guards.

The guard stops and looks him up and down. "Say... I saw you go through earlier. Why didn't you ask sooner?"

"Well uh.. I hadn't thought if it, honestly." The guard was being nice enough. Not giving him any crap yet."

"Well, we haven't seen anyone like that. Looks like yer outta luck."

Zane winced slightly. That's not what he wanted to hear.. That means he's either back in 01, or in 02 -03 inbetween. He'd check that first though.

Kiwi ran into Sector 03 from the dangerious, monster-riddled route. Still bleeding through his Midgar shirt - which is kinda fitting and in fasion if you think about it. Looking around, Terrified to find a place where he can get an antidote and quickly.

"Shop, shop, shop, shop, shop, shop, shop!" He repeated, keeping his mind on the task at hand so he doesn't collapses in a little fetal ball of tears from what just happened back there.

He stopped by an old man and cried out, "Where can I find an item shop!?"

"Itemshop?" The old man responded, scratching his head. "Right behind you.."

Kiwi looked behind him at a big friendly building with ITEMS on a huge sign over it. He ran into it.



Meanwhile, a giant shadow loomed over the old man for a moment, groaning down towards the now terrified geezer with a voice that sounded alot like thunder. "You seen a kid with such and such description come through here?"

Out from the shop goes Gorvt, the thug. He walks down the road with a small bag of potions in one hand like a bulldozer with legs and eventually makes his way back to Sector02. On his way, he stops to bug two random guys with short brown hair, green eyes, and shirts to find his search for this one kid that Jax told him to get unsuccessful so far. He goes through the gates and is gone for now.

Kiwi, who ironically happens to be the one kid that Gorvt needed to catch (but didn't cause he doesn't know exactly Who he's supposed to get... I mean, Gor was never given a real description), comes out of the item shop too. Still hurt but feeling a little better. Having successfully gotten his antidote. He looked around confused and lost for where the evil exit to the area between sector 02 and 03 was. Not able to find it again.

The group dashes through into the well-lit area, and Zane looks around for the kid. I ought to learn his name now, at least. He doesn't see him yet and swears to himself.

"I don't see the kid, let's keep going to the clinic. It might just be faster to carry him now, wouldn't it?" Zane directs his question to Ravik. "Then again, it might not be a good idea to move him."

"Keep the stretcher. It'll keep him level." This said, Ravik keeps going, faster now that they're on actual roads, towards the clinic.

As they get closer to the place, he winces a bit at the red cross on the door. "Mind you, I've never liked these places much..."

Kiwi wandered aimlessly some more until he noticed Zane, his savior, and that other guy going through the streets. But his new savior friend wasn't on two feet like the others! He was still hurt!

"OOOO~OI" Kiwi called out, waving like a kid would to get a parents attention in a parking lot after school. In his hand was the bottle of antivenom (commonly referred to in this game as an antidote, of course). He ran towards them. And it was apparent that while his chest looked sore from the blood and cuts, he wasn't aware of it. Damn, those potions taste aweful but Bloody all they're useful!

Wasn't long before he got up to them, panting. Holding up the antidote without much of any words (cause he was breathing too heavily)

Zane looks to the kid, relieved. He saw the glittering bottle of the antidote. He pants a bit, realizing that he'd be working pretty hard at that point, and almost sets down the stretcher. They couldn't stop yet.

"Well, hey, I was just lookin' for you. Quick, let's get this guy to the clinic." He gestures with his head, as his hands are a little occupied. They bring the stretcher into the clinc's 'lobby' if it could be called that.

It was only a matter of time before a rucous started in the clinic. Soon after Kiwi shoots out of it, past Ravik, with his life on the line. He stops in the middle of the road and looks left, then right. Absolutely panicked.

What's new with Kiwi? He's shirtless, and bandaged up. Holding his Midgar shirt and ninja undershirt under arm. However his wounds turned out, they couldn't be that serious or, well, he wouldn't be running for his life from scary things like sadistic nurses and sharp, pointy things.

He starts to head back towards Sector 02. Then stops, remembing the whole fiasco with Hasbeds. So, instead, the kid does a 180 and dashes in the general direction of the Sector 04 gate (but not there yet)

Zane stops after turning the corner where he thought he'd seen the shirtless, bandaged kid run, but sees nothing. Scratching his headm, he turns and looks down another alley. Dammit.. where'd he go?

He runs down another street and looks there. After all this, he shakes his head. The kid's gonna have to wisen up sometime... He'd better not get himself killed or worse until then. he idly thinks as he shoves his hands in his pockets and makes tracks blending into the crowd on the way to sector 1. He definitely wanted to get out of Sector 03 and into a bed. He felt like it was night, at least.

Ravik watches the kid run out into the street, apparently deathly afraid of something inside. Now what could -- ah, kid, needles, right. He takes a few moments to shake off the last of his own fear, then takes a couple steps into the street.

It's about that moment that a near-ballistic Kiwi rushes by in the other direction, straight towards Sector 04, and without a piece of steel to his name; or a shirt, for that matter. Great, that kid's gonna get himself killed! Breaking into a run, he chases after the Wutai Kid, hoping to catch him before he hits the border.

Once he's close enough not to shout to Kiwi, he calls to him: "Wait there, kid! Where do you think you're going in such a hurry? 'Cause I'm sure you don't want to go through that way."

Kiwi was right at the gate, the large doors automatically creaking open for him (cause there are no guards on duty, damn guards). It was when he was a foot into Sector 04 that he looks back to Rav to hear the words.

Still banadaged, still holding his shirts. Giving the expression of a kid caught with a hand in the candy jar. Clearly, it wasn't just Needles that he was scared of. The whole monster experience still lingered in his eyes. The kid was scared stiff out of his senses and didn't know good trouble from bad trouble anymore.

Quietly, shy, he replies, "Why?" And seems a bit afraid of the man he's only seen once before.

(let's continue this in a new thread in Sector 04... cause Kiwi's techinically in it) =P

(And hey, we're back!)

Ravik wanders back into town from the gate to Sector 04, with Kiwi in tow. "Now, where was that guy's place again..." He wanders, as I said, seemingly aimlessly, looking for someplace that'll take a young kid in for the night, and won't sell him as a slave in the next town over. He knows at least one place that'll do this for him.

The trick is finding the house again. It's been a while, we can forgive him, right?

Kiwi just follows obediently behind. Like a Puppy. Holding his two messed up shirts tightly and looking around at this place and that. Luckily, his curiosity hasn't overcome his fear of Monster poisoness dogs with robotic parts yet. Unluckily, because of his ultimate and newly found fear of scorpiodogs, he's not at all trusting of this cool-looking guy that he's following. What happens if he give Kiwi over to Jaxtor? What happens if he robs Kiwi blind and kills him? What happens if Ravik were to just run off and leave Kiwi all alone in this unknown place? Worst of all, What happens if the guy brings Kiwi back to the clinic to deal with that evil, sadistic Nurse!?!?

Eitherway, the little teenager stayed close to Ravik, staying in his shadow. Yet frantically scared of what's going to happen next.

Despite all Kiwi's fears, the place they end up next is a small, nondescript shack in one of the many alleyways of the sector. Ravik knocks on the door, and is soon greeted with a pair of searching eyes through a slit two-thirds of the way up. "Yes? Oh, it's just you. What brings you to my humble abode?"

Ravik greets the man behind the door with his business smile. "Not much, I hope. I just need some place to hole up this kid for the night. Something told me you were the place to go."

"Hmm?" says the voice inside, before closing the slit and opening the door up. The man's not much to look at, just horribly unkempt black hair and a nondescript shirt and slacks outfit. He wears no shoes. It's hard to tell what the color is of anything besides his hair, though, since there's at least one coat of paint in every color under the sun all over his clothes.

The area beyond looks like a studio from every painter's nightmare -- splotches of color splashed haphazardly on every surface, while half-finished paintings lie in corners of the room, or on one of the three easels set up in the place. Two futons lie on the floor, out of reach of the mess of color by mere inches.

The colorful man looks the kid over, then laughs heartily. "Looks like the poor guy's been through the grinder. So, what does he need, just a place to sleep?"

The kid? Well, he was still behind Ravik. Even though he didn't trust Ravik, this new guy scared the crap out of him. Was just TOO colorful in Kiwi's mind. Suspiciously colorful. And thoughts like this just ruin Kiwi's cute, innocent character left and right.

Before long, our Wutaiian pint-sized 13 year old looks up to Ravik with big, pleading eyes. Still hugging his shirts as if they're his only meager means of protection. "Who is this guy?" he asks in a peep, looking over to the colorful guy a few more times before moving to hide more behind Ravik.

Rivek smiles wider, showing teeth. "Yup, exactly that. And just for this night. If it helps any, I finally found that item for you; but you'll have to wait until tomorrow. Is that alright?"

The colorful man stares in disbelief. "You found one of those, down here? Those things don't just fall from the sky y'know."

At this, Rivek chuckles. "Well, this one did, and it took some fixing up to get it spinning again." That said, he turns to the kid again. "He's an artist, of sorts. A painter, as a matter of fact. It looks like I can drop you off here, and there's a spare futon for you by the looks of things. Don't worry, he doesn't bite."

oO "item?" was Kiwi's first question. But before long he found himself in straight view of the painter guy again. Slowly, inching forwards, the kid walks up to the artist dude and looks up at him cautiously. Cause who knows, he could be some spy from shinra like... everyone else here. Which means Kiwi should be careful.

Quietly, indecisively, Kiwi just got around to saying the first thing he could think of to the guy. Albiet shyly, "... Hi..."

The colorful man waves to the kid. "Hi there! You can call me Ron if you like. What's your name?"

Ravik shifts nervously, realizing he's never let the kid know his own name. "You know, I never caught it. Reminds me, kid, my name's Ravik. Good to know you."

First eyes nodded to Ron. Ron was a friendly name, but the guy's reputation and happy demenor just screamed Shinra employee somewhere. Then vision switched back over to Ravik. now THAT was a suspicious name for a cool-looking, but scary, guy. In the end he realizes that he can't give his real name to two people that could quite possibly be 'the enemy'... So he does his best to improvise...

"My name is Kyu..i.. Kiw....." Finally he just frowns a bit and looks to the ground. Quietly, almost inaudibly, speaking out his name, "kiwi..." Definately embarressed about this. "my name's kiwi......"

Before long he just closed his eyes and took Ron's side, slipping into the place with slumped shoulders.

Ravik grins again, then gives a small bow. "Alright then, Kiwi, I'm sure you'll be comfy for the night; it's better than anything '02' can offer, certainly. I'll catch up with you two tomorrow then. See you!" With that, Ravik heads off into the streets, disappearing from sight.

Once Ravik's gone, Ron closes the door gently and shows the place to Kiwi. "Well, welcome home, I guess. This is where I eat, sleep, and work." He points to the paintings on the easels, most of them very well-done, if only half-finished, paintings of scenes in the streets outside. One, though, has the streets far at the bottom, and a massive pillar rising high into the sky, capped with a beautifully detailed rendition of the "roof" of the slums, the bottom of the Midgar plate.

"Those are what I'm working on so far. I'm hoping to finish the market sometime tomorrow. In the meantime, make yourself at home. The bathroom's that way if you need it, and you can use the futon on the right when you're tired."

If Kiwi checks the futon in question, he'll find that it's wonderfully soft, and the cover on top of it is more than warm enough for him to sleep in. Even for someone as paranoid as the Wutaian seems to be, this place must seem somewhat safe, at least for the moment.

Ravik, meanwhile, heads off to that old shack to pick up his wares again, then walks straight into Sector 04. Why is anyone's guess, but at least the kid won't know and won't ask.

Kiwi sat on the bed and watched the place over carefully. Like a puppy in a new home, he had a hard time getting to sleep. Instead up looking at everything from the saftey of his newly found futon. And when it was lights off, the kid pulled out a few random items from his pockets (that he didn't loose when his ninja shirt was ripped up). Hankercheif, throwing stars, Ah... thread spool and needle!

Oh sure, call that convenient. But Kiwi never got around to using it ever before. His father told him it was essential to becoming a ninja.. or something like that. Still, the kid never learned how to do this properly.

So he spent a good part of the next few hours sewing up his ninja shirt and Midgar shirt with a black thread. The crossing was all wrong, it didn't hold well. And he poked his fingers and thumb so many times that they were red and sore by the end of it. Even THEN, when he put the shirts back on, they were still full of holes. Not to mention those blood stains.

After all this hard work, Kiwi realized that he wasn't tired. Well, he was, the kid went through shit all day. But Hunger was really starting to get over every other fratigueing feeling he had.

To justify this, the kid snuck out of hte painter guy's home and, after searching Sector 3 over a bit for a place to eat, passed through the gates to Sector 2)