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Jadarite was finally starting to feel comfortable with going out into the field when she needed to. She'd found a few small, seedy areas that she could peruse that were filled with bars, drunkards, and the homeless population in a way that was presumably connected. In any case, it was easy enough to drain there without causing a scene, and then get back to the more pleasant parts of her job.

Except for tonight, when she felt an Order aura looming above what was her area.

There had been a time when she might have ignored it and hoped for the best, but she knew that if she wanted that promotion, she was going to need to be more proactive about these threats. Also, she didn't want the senshi getting any ideas about this region.

So she made her way to the rooftops herself, and before long she caught a glimpse of a man in white robes. She leapt over to his rooftop where she looked him over with her arms crossed and a heeled foot tapping almost impatiently.

"You shouldn't be here, senshi," she said.

Jada continued to tap her foot, her expression going even more sour at his response.

"No. I don't care where you go as long as you leave my space," she said, pausing slightly between every word for added emphasis. She tried to stand up tall with her chest puffed up against her arms the way that she'd watched her Generals stand. Her gaze was steely and unflinching.

If she channeled enough of that confidence, he would never know that the thought of a scuffle had her heart pounding in her throat.

"If you choose to stay, that choice will have consequences," she said. She summoned her stapler to her hand. It didn't look like much, but it added a painful weight to her punched.

She took a step forwards, tilting her head.

Jadarite wasn't going to give this boy the satisfaction of arguing technicalities. He'd made the decision to stand his ground, and so had she. That much was clear.

She'd seen firsthand just how nasty these senshi could be, but there was also no way that she was going to be the one to back down at this point. She'd been keeping up with her training, anyway. It would be fine.

She just narrowed her eyes and gave a sigh that was far louder than it needed to be as she closed the remaining distance between them.

Then, she thought back to her spars and drove her stapler towards the softest part of his stomach with all her might.

The sensation of the stapler hitting his body wasn't necessarily pleasant, but the surprised sound on he made and the look on his face made it all worth it. A few more of those and perhaps he'd realize his errors and leave as he should have done in the first place.

She was pulling her arm back for another strike when he called his magic.

It wasn't that she hadn't been expecting retaliation. Of course he would defend himself, that was nearly a given, especially with how he'd been talking. The problem was that the senshi magic she'd seen before had always been physical if not quite solid. There had been lightning strikes and energy blasts.

This should have been nothing, but there it was, some empty numbness deep inside her chest. Jada was the kind of person who always tried to be in control, but that fell apart every once in a while.

For example, right now. The world was just so big, so much, and she was so small and alone. Her arm faltered and fell back to her side, and she stared past the senshi blankly.

She could still see, and her gaze followed him as he walked across the roof, even though following him didn't feel worth it. She stood there with gritted teeth as the seconds stretched out, not able to shake the feeling of how alone she was, and not able to pull her mind to anything else.

Then, it went away as quickly as it had come, and Jadarite blinked hard before her scowl returned, even deeper than before. She glared at the senshi over her glasses, although she didn't make a move to close the distance between them. Not yet. There had to be some way to counter his magic, or to prepare for it. She just needed time to think about how to do that.

While she watched him, her free hand came to her hip. "Have you decided to leave, senshi?"

The answer came to her as she continued to watch him. Distance. Of course. He must not be able to cast his magic from across the roof. Unfortunately, Jada didn't have much in the way of a ranged counterattack.

Perhaps he had a point, as well. If he was so attached to this roof, he could stay here while she did her draining. That was a fine, practical, outcome, and if he followed her, she could reevaluate.

She wasn't quite ready to go without testing her theory, though. With a small, annoyed shake of her head, she threw her stapler at him to see what would happen.

Jadarite took a moment to evaluate.

It had hit. Her aim was better than she thought, and she half-smiled at that. He also hadn't retaliated, not at his current distance. His magic must have had a range, then, and any hand to hand fighting certainly did. That was information for the database.

He was stubborn, she could tell that much, but perhaps she could use that to her advantage. If he was so committed to staying on this roof, he wouldn't be interrupting her draining. If her main mission had been fighting senshi, it would have been different, but that wasn't neccesarily what she was meant to be doing tonight, and after seeing his magic, she didn't think there was any low-risk way for her to get his starseed.

"Very well. You've made your point. I hope the bruises were worth it," she said, then added, "Don't follow me," in the same cold voice.

She leapt to the next roof over, although for the moment she was headed away from her 'territory' in case he continued to disobey her for the sake of it.