Sometimes, the most difficult part of a plan was getting the timing right.

For Painite, it was often the most vexing part, though her patience had multiplied the longer she was at it, the more experience she got, and the more she learned that it was a necessity. Sitting and waiting might have seemed like a waste of time, but it generally wasn’t. Even in hiding, there were things to learn, things to think through, and it was often a good time to consider parts of a plan she hadn’t let herself think through too thoroughly before that. Most of the time, she found herself putting off the really particular details of a plot, an escape plan, a back up method, things like that, until she was in this phase.

It gave her something to do, and kept her eyes on the ball, her mind in the game. It might have seemed like she wasn’t actually paying attention to the goal at hand, waiting for the right moment to spring her trap, but ultimately it helped her more than it hindered. It was her own personal strategy, and it worked for her. That was really the only important part. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to explain it to anyone, if ever that situation arose, but that really didn’t matter. Of course, by pondering how useful it was to think about the aspects of the plan she missed while waiting for the perfect moment to strike, she was now, in fact, completely distracted from that very task.

Stay on the ball, Painite reminded herself.

She looked around the rooftop. It was a good place, three stories up. Or was it four? She couldn’t tell, really, but the height wasn’t important. This was the top of the library, and she had learned a few things about the space in her stalking of the librarian. Like he could not open this door from the outside without a key, and it was likely the same on the inside. The door was always locked, and thus could not be used as an escape path if a moment of panic arose. Jumping off the roof and into either of the alleys, or onto the neighboring, lower buildings, would have to suffice. It was an unlikely event, as she did not intend for her game to be played on the roof itself, but it was a note she made in the back of her mind regardless.

She had the items she would need for the plot with her, in a protective plastic bag. The clothes were folded nicely, to keep anything from creasing or staying bent in some bad way. She certainly didn’t want to look ridiculous. Or rather, more ridiculous than she was sure she would look anyway, prancing about in the costume she had spent so many hours working on. She was going to make damn sure, at least, that there were no unintended weird things going on at the very least. Rips were unacceptable, and she had brought a kit for patching accidents up. She doubted she would have time to, or need to, but it was good to be prepared.

Sometimes she spent too much time preparing for the unlikely, and not enough time planning for the inevitable.

She brought rope and handcuffs, which she stored behind a strange… rooftop structure that every roof she ever jumped on seemed to have, but she had no idea what they were for. Hiding things behind, she supposed. She hid a few extra accessories and supplies, then sighed, looking down over the street. It was dark, quiet, and there was only one light inside the library. She checked her watch, knowing he would be coming out soon, if he didn’t have an excess of work this evening. He didn’t and he locked up as he always did. She was even beginning to learn the hand motions he made, which door he came out of, which one he locked first, which one he pulled to check if everything was secure. He did not look up, he never did, walking away with his cane helping him along.

She watched him go, then followed after him stealthily. Silent, focused, she leapt from roof top to roof top, using her powered up form to aid in her stalking. He would never know she was there, so long as she was careful and did nothing to give herself away. She stopped when he suddenly seemed to want to prove her wrong, turning his head and glancing up at her. She ducked down under the lip of the roof she was on, hidden from view. She waited for a few minutes, just to be sure, then looked up to see him half way down the street again. She followed him, noting he did not stray from his routine walk.

He reached his apartment building with an entirely uneventful walk behind him, getting into the building and vanishing inside. Painite said. Not tonight, she had concluded much earlier. Too many cars on the street, occupied or not. Too many risks. She had followed him out of habit and just because she was being extra careful, taking any last note she could, trying to see any change she could. Everything was as she had learned already. A simple, boring guy, really.

And there was another reason to follow. The ‘just in case’ factor. Just in case something strange happened. Just in case a youma presented her chance for her. Just in case another Negaverse agent messed things up. Just in case a Senshi showed up on the scene. One could never tell, particularly in Destiny City, and Painite would not take the risk of assuming that it wouldn’t happen. However unlikely.

This place didn’t deal in normal numbers. It didn’t believe in predictable statistics. She knew that well, at least. She was part of that ‘problem’.

Waiting for a half hour more, though her target didn’t emerge from the apartment again, as he hadn’t every time she watched him, Painite got up from her perch on the roof and darted back toward the library. She made sure everything was still hidden, and it was, so she made her way home. She powered down half way there, walking the rest of the day like any other civilian. Though, it was late at night, and a woman like her probably shouldn’t have been walking alone. Small, weak looking. Good thing she lived a nice part of town. Better than the librarian did, at any rate.

She got to her door, unlocked it, and slipped inside, locking it behind her. Tomorrow she would go about her day, as normal, and resume her waiting by nightfall. Everything was in place now, and she was sure she had thought out all her necessary precautions and escape paths. This one wasn’t like the normal plans, as it didn’t rely on a set location or a physical trap. But she had prepared mentally to make it work, and would continue to fortify her plan as the nights went on.

How ever long she had to wait, she would.