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Karia nodded along with what Sam was saying, giving Harina a victorious look when Sam flicked her. He was having a wonderful time, Ocean not included.
"I can understand that, but…" Ocean sighed. "Never mind. You can deal with whatever aftermath this causes. And don't mention my name." He gave both Karia and Sam a warning glare but didn't seem inclined to leave just yet.
"Fine by me. I'll be able to handle it myself, anyway." Sam hummed, resting his chin on top of Harina's head with a hum.
"And I'll make sure not to." Sam winked at Ocean, humming some. "Especially if anyone else around town goes missing, either." Sam was having quite a lot of fun, messing with Harina and Ocean alike, even if Harina was too mad to say anything and Ocean wasn't reacting too viscerally.
"You're going to get– oh, gods, Karia. Don't tell me–" Ocean glanced between Sam and Karia, his eyes widening.
"Adrian!" Karia sang, spreading his arms wide in the air. "We're going to get Adrian. It's already decided." Ocean's purple eyes darkened and he launched himself at Karia. Karia gasped and disappeared, appearing on the couch next to Sam. Ocean crashed onto the ground with a growl.
"Karia Waylin!" Ocean yelled, looking up at Karia with a murderous expression on his face.
Sam watched the two, eyebrow quirking up.
"Karia, might I ask why this news upset him so much?" He asked calmly, looking over. He hummed some, head tilting some. He found these interactions quite… Amusing, frankly. He wouldn't mind staying, seeing as he doubted the two would be okay with him taking them.
"Well, Oci is personally invested in what goes on between the more… influential people around here, being one himself." Karia glanced over at Ocean. "You know this is good for you. I'm getting rid of all those annoying pests you're always complaining about!" Ocean got to his feet and stalked towards Karia.
"You realize you're going to start a war, right?"
"Meh." Karia shrugged. "I know you can make it out alive, so who cares? Everyone's been tiptoeing around each other for ages– it's time to do something."
Sam rested his head on Harina's again, chuckling some.
"Well, this wouldn't be the first war I've started," the man mused. "Besides, if I play my cards right I can ensure neither of you gets associated with me, or you could both have plausible deniability when it comes to knowing what I'm doing. Even if it means doing something to someone you are allied with or are important to you as well." Sam shrugged once, shifting to sit fully on the couch for his back's sake.
"Well, I would be easy. A different face, and it's over. Oci, you can solve the problem by never coming over here again," Karia suggested brightly, not moving even as Ocean's eyes flashed dangerously.
"Yeah, that's not happening." Ocean shook his head, then glared at Sam. "And we're not doing that. We're not doing any of this!"
"Why not? Don't you want this?" Karia reached out to poke Ocean's chest, but the man caught his wrist before he could.
Sam tilted his head some.
"Besides, as I've said, I hold no affiliation to either of you, not for me to care enough whether you want me to do this or not. Right now, it's simply a question of if you're going to put yourself on my target list or not." Sam wasn't bluffing. He'd have his fun, one way or another, and while he'd prefer leaving Karia alone, he had no qualms taking Ocean.
"I'd suggest staying out of the way of my fun."
"I'd do as he said," Karia whispered loudly. "Now get out of my house." He gave Ocean a big smile and pulled his wrist out of the man's grasp. Ocean sighed loudly and stared at the ceiling.
"Why did I ever trust you with anything?"
"Because I'm good." Karia shrugged. Ocean shook his head and turned toward the door.
"Don't come near me until this is over."
"The same to you!" Karia waved at Ocean, who left the apartment without saying another word.
Sam chuckled some as the man left.
"Well, that was interesting, to say the least." The man looked over at Karia, humming some.
"Tell me, just how many people are you planning on leading me to? And anyone in particular that'll be an actual challenge? It's fun and all to toy with people like I did with Harina, but real fights are what keep me sharp after all." Sam sat Harina down on the couch, turning to face Karia with his legs folded loosely beneath himself and at his side.
"Yeah. He always is." Karia sighed, shaking his head slightly. Oci was a wonderful man, but he didn't always appreciate Karia's attitude towards life. "Well, there's Adrian. And then there's Mycah. And there's a bunch of other people, but they're not important enough. I think Adrian is dangerous for the number of followers and general power– I guess he's decent at defending himself, though– and Mycah is dangerous for their own power." Karia ticked the people off on his fingers.
"I see, I see. Well then, that'll just make it more fun!" The man clapped his hands together, grinning.
"This will be good, indeed…" Sam hummed, smirking some. "We'll still do Adrian next, then. Then this Mycah person. We can deal with the piddly people like Harina afterward." Sam just seemed to have a lot of fun rubbing it in Harina's face how horrible she'd been at fighting, didn't he? If anything, he was just looking to get her to snap at them, show she could do more than just growl like a little lost puppy.
"I like the way you think." Karia nodded approvingly. "I agree. Adrian comes next." He glanced at Harina and snorted. "Yeah, piddly people."
"How dare you!" Harina yelled suddenly. "Just wait until my people find out what you did! You'll be dead!"
"If you're people fight like you do, I wouldn't even bother." Sam sighed some, knocking the back of Harina's head with his foot.
"I love an easy take and all, but it's boring as hell. Besides, it's not like anyone will ever find you." The man chuckled, looking up at Karia.
"I'm gonna gag her real quick, then we can leave as planned, hm?"
Harina seemed to be shocked into silence. Or maybe she was so angry she couldn't speak.
"Your people don't even know who took you." Karia sighed.
"You– you people–" Harina spluttered.
"Please do that. I can't take her whining anymore." Karia gave Sam a grateful look. "Yeah."
"Plus, if anyone did ever found out who took you, it's not like any of them will ever be able to pose a real threat to me." Sam nodded to Karia.
"Of course. Besides, I'd much rather leave her here then take her literally anywhere else at the moment, and we don't need her screaming while we're gone." Sam stood, grabbing Harina and turning to go into his room. He set her on the bed, rummaging through his bag for something to gag her with.
"Yeah, good point." Karia nodded, laying out on the couch while Sam went into his room. He was practically exploding with anticipation about their undertakings. Destroying the rest of Oci's competition would be really fun, and Ocean would eventually see the good in it. How fortunate that he had run into Sam!
Sam finally found an old pair of socks, turning to Harina. He stuffed one in her mouth, using the other one to secure it around her mouth just in case she tried to spit it out. Once he was sure it was secure, Sam made his way back out of his room, grinning.
"Ready to go," he said, looking quite happy with himself.
"Wonderful!" Karia sprang to his feet and headed towards the door. Most likely, the pair wouldn't be able to actually see Adrian unless they were very lucky, but Karia could show Sam around the general area. And where Adrian would probably be. Before heading out of the apartment, Karia shifted into another one of his disguises. Now it was safe to open the door and show his face.
Sam put his hands in his pockets, following Karia out. He was quite glad to be scouting out the area the next fight would most likely be happening in.
"So, just how long do you think it'll be until we actually end up running into this man?" Sam asked, head tilted.
"Hmm." Karia frowned, heading down the stairs. "It depends. Normally, we wouldn't be able to spot him unless we went into his headquarters, but you never know! He might show up right in front of us!" He laughed, though the chance of that happening was very low.
"Who knows indeed!" Sam laughed, looking around once as they continued down the stairs to the street.
"If he does, you know I'm not going to miss my chance. I'm not gonna do the cat and mouse game like with Harina, there's not really gonna be much of an excuse."
"Alright. I'll make sure to get out of your way, then." Karia grinned. "And I'll be there if you need a quick getaway." He spun in a quick circle and laughed. They were going into a sort of dangerous area, but he didn't care. He had Sam, and he had himself, and nothing else mattered.
"Perfect." Sam tilted his head back, smiling at Karia.
"We make a good team, you know," he noted. "Quick jobs and quick getaways. I like you." Now, it took a lot, a lot for Sam to say he liked someone, so this was impressive indeed.
"You know, we really do." Karia nodded, glancing over at Sam with a bright smile. "Heh, I like you too!" Karia didn't really know how impressive Sam's approval was, but he had a feeling. It made him very happy. Even if Oci kicked him out, Karia still had Sam. But Ocean wouldn't kick him out if Karia and Sam succeeded. So now he had two awesome friends! Though at the moment, Sam was number one.
Sam smirked some, content for now as they walked to the spot of their next target.
"I'm glad to hear it. Most people hate me, for understandable reasons." Sam chuckled dryly. "It never really bothered me, of course. So long as I can still beat them, I don't give a damn." Sam was a… protective friend. Now that he admitted he was Karia's, it would be highly suggested not to hurt the man in any way. If Ocean did anything to Karia, well… it wouldn't end well, at all.
"Understandable reasons?" Karia frowned, then shrugged. "For normal people, I guess. You're awesome to me, though, so I can't see it." He smiled at Sam, still quite delighted at what Sam had said. Most people thought he was a little too flippant to be a good friend, and he might be, but that was usually because those people were stupid. "Oh, Adrian's place is just a few blocks this way." Karia skipped a few steps. "We're almost there!"
"Yes, for normal people." Sam smiled a bit when Karia said he was awesome, a good ego boost.
"You're pretty amazing yourself, you know." Sam chuckled some as he returned the compliment.
"And that's perfect! Let's hope to whatever gods will listen to people like us that he's there."
"Thanks!" Karia sang, spinning around in another small circle. Sue him, he was feeling very spin-y at that moment. "Oh, yeah. Then we won't have to come back here and make him suspicious." He nodded, serious for once. Karia never had to worry about people recognizing him, but Sam did.
"Yes, that would be very appreciated. I don't really feel in the mood for an all out war on me, thank you very much. I'd rather not be chased out or brutally attacked by any mobs any time soon, no sir." Sam looked to Karia as the man spun, watching him with a hint of playfulness in his tone.
"Don't make yourself dizzy, yeah? You still gotta point out the target if he's there."