Fantasy House of Opportunity

[Morianrhod]

Nobu - Nobu's Room


"Arright!", he grumbled loudly, shifting his bulk around just in time to face the incoming foot.


Grumbling inaudibly from under Mitsuki’s foot, Nobu rolled out from under the blanket and sat up on the floor. He felt like shit warmed up. He cracked his neck to the side, scratching at the side with his three fingernails and shook his head like a dog.


“Phoenix you say?” Nobu said, stretching his right arm to the side, then repeating the motion to the left.


“Yeah. Phoe-nix. You reckon you can take him?” Mitsuki said.


“I kin take anyone!” Nobu grouched angrily pointing upwards at the girl, halfway through putting on his one of shinguards, before going back to tying the cloth straps. His three clunky fingers were fumbling around the straps and the cloth straps were not tying properly, and the Oni was getting gradually more visibly frustrated.


“Here, I’ll do this one for you,” Mitsuki offered, “We can’t have you tripping over your armour on the way to a fight.”


Nobu grunted as Mitsuki tightened one of his shinguards.


“Reckon you got the other one?” Mitsuki said cheerfully at Nobu as she finished tightening the guard for him.


“...Yeah.” Nobu nodded, as he tied the straps slower.


“Good.” Mitsuki said bluntly as Nobu stood up, now towering over her. “Now go get that Phoenix!” Mitsuki said loudly, darting behind him and trying to push him out the door.


“I’m going, I’m going!” Nobu said as he left Mitsuki in the room.


A few seconds later, Nobu’s porcine head peered round the door.


“Hey Mitsuki!”


“Yeah?”


“Thanks!”


----

 

[Edric Yuma]

Emi, with the help of breaking the fourth wall, now knows he has properly chastised the Tanuki. Slipping his 8-bit shades back into his butt pocket, he proudly walked out of the elevator... Only to meet Yashiki. Man, that guy was such a party pooper. His demeanor, expression... Everything about him was the essence of pooping on parties.


But hey, Hideki was here! That was enough to get Emi moving. "Alright, I'll be there in a jiffy!" He told Yashiki.


Hideki was a good spirit. He was very devoted to his job, and was simply such a natural at what he did. Besides, he always lifted the spirits' spirits around him, and was quite the frequent one at the hotel. Yet... Emi frowned. Why was Hideki checking in so late? Did it have something to do with the potential spy?


Walking over to Hideki, Emi picked up his bags. "What's up, my spirit dude? Glad to see you back!"


Then, lowering his voice, Emi asked, "Did you hear about Jinbaba's announcement?"

 

[waifu]

Ryougi

​

Ryougi wrinkled his nose as he stepped inside the bar. There she was, chatting away with that aggravating bartender. The inugami could feel his eyebrow twitch in annoyance. He didn't know why, but just her presence alone rubbed him the wrong way. Oh, how she got on his nerves! Well, practically everyone got on his nerves, but that girl did the most.


That innocent face and that gentle demeanor - ha! She couldn't fool him. There had to be something wrong with her.... something she didn't want anyone to know. A secret was waiting to be uncovered underneath that angelic facade of hers and he was going to be the one sniff it out. She wasn't the spy at least, he knew that much. Or did he?


Ryougi crossed his arms as he approached the counter, narrowing his gaze at his fellow receptionist and completely ignoring her company. "You do know you're wasting your time standing around here, right? The chicken's at the casino floor, wreaking havoc, but I don't expect you to care. I'm sure your mindless gossip is more important than our workplace being destroyed - listen you, I am not going in there alone, I might be held responsible for the mess he's making. You were the first one to run after that monster and drove him there, so take responsibility! So if you're done over here, let's go and capture the scoundrel before he gets us in to trouble, and before someone else claims my reward."


Mai turned to face him, completely taken back by his long rant. Her eyes widened as Ryougi mentioned the bird's whereabouts. ".... The casino floor?! Oh no, let's go Ryougi, we have to save the chicken!"


"Save him?! Did you not hear me earlier? The chicken is the sp- what do you think you are you doing? Unhand me at once!" Mai pulled Ryougi by his vest and ran towards the exit, apologizing to Noh several times in the process. Both of them somehow made it in time to see the chicken threatening the other yokai. Surely enough Ryougi's strong sense of smell and hearing did not lie.


"See? I told you he was the spy. He was sent here to tarnish our reputation, no doubt about it," Ryougi exclaimed pointing at the fire-breathing chicken.


"The chicken is the spy.... ?" Mai whispered to herself, watching the scene in front of her.

@Turnip

 

[Nano]

Shu


At the obvious return of Kai's irritation, Shu laughed to himself. However, this laugh was short lived. If there really was a god of mochi somewhere out there, he or she must have been feeling particularly vindictive today. He honestly didn't know how badly stabbing daifuku could offend someone, but he would have thought twice about doing so if the events that transpired could have been preventable as a result. Well, that is if there really was a god anyway, not that he doubted it since there was a kami for just about everything. Whether or not it was a result of karma at its finest, it still didn't change the fact that his previously nearly finished work was now ruined. When the waitress, Yume, had stumbled and bumped into him, he had attempted to regain his balance by gripping onto the closest ledge, which was where the plate of wagashi was. Not only did he himself fail to catch himself, but he had also ended up bringing his plate down with him, leaving him to curse his stupidity. The list of things that he disliked wasn't very extensive, but wasting ingredients was, surprisingly, included on that short list. This was especially so when it came to making wagashi as to make the anko, you had to soak azuki beans overnight for about 8-12 hours. It wasn't that he didn't have any more anko pre-made, but it still irritated him, nonetheless.


After promptly picking himself up, Shu was about to dust himself off only to be interrupted by the sight of Mago taking in a deep breath. Realizing just what was about to happen, the crane clapped his hands to his ears as to deafen the expected yell at least to a certain extend. After a few moments of silence, the kitchen was soon back to normal upon their Mago's orders. Shu sighed and pulled his hands away from his ears. Mago didn't use that type of yell very often, but the moments that he did were the times where Shu found his sharp hearing inconvenient. Sure, it was useful for detecting others as his sense of smell wasn't very good, but it certainly wasn't very useful in these instances.


Returning to his work once again, Shu bent back down to pick up the food that had been tossed onto the floor. As to avoid Mago's wrath, people were usually careful not to create a mess in the kitchen. Now that he thought about it, he no longer saw a messy kitchen very often since...


Since what?


The smile that had crept onto his face at the "memory" suddenly dropped. The void in his memories was acting up again. Just when his thoughts would naturally flow from one thought to the next, they would often come to an abrupt halt at a certain point. At first, he had simply waved it off as nothing, but he eventually realized that his thoughts always froze whenever his train of thought wandered into things of the past. Honestly, he was beginning to start to get tired of it to the point that he tried to keep himself from thinking about things too much. This was futile a majority of the time, however, as it seemed that he had a habit of becoming deep in thought. For this, he resented Jinbaba for taking away his memories, but he resented himself even more for having been somehow tricked into becoming her puppet for a purpose that he could no longer even remember. Not only did this make him feel empty, but it caused him to question his existence. He didn't even know his own rightful name, so how much of him was still the same spirit that he had been before having his memory wiped?


Shu shook his head to clear away his thoughts. There he went thinking about trivial things again. No matter how hard he thought, he wasn't going to be able to get his name, existence, or memories back through normal means. Before getting what was rightfully his back, he had to make sure to stay alive to see that day, something that was threatened by him standing around idly. With this, he concentrated on his work and nothing else. He could have sworn that he heard someone running down some hallway yelling about a chicken in the casino, though.

 

[Teh Frixz]

Maria


Rolling back up to a sitting position after being 'scared' by the soot spirits. The little creatures could barely be counted as spirits, their 'selves' weak and tiny but more often than not they made themselves useful.


She strokes them both, dirtying her hands while her grin returns. "You two promise not to do that again and help me instead?" Her voice a low whisper, leaning down to the soot puffs to insure her words were heard.


Two down and millions to go, it was still an unexpected start to Her plan. Without waiting for a yes or no from the sooties, Maria starts rummaging through the disposal piles. Anything with writing or notes on it that would pass down the chutes would end up in her hands. Something important would land in her hands soon enough.

 

[Turnip]

Hayato


Hayato found himself as still as a deer in the headlights. Or... a phoenix in the- Well, you get the point. All he could do was look around and cluck in confusion as the crowd's stares turned into gossip, and then cries of concern as Hayato stood in the dead center of the casino. One would think that a life of crime would've trained him for moments like this, but it was a little known fact that earning this much attention (and the negative kind) would make him quite... chicken. He was definitely cornered now, no doubt about it. He'd done stupid things in the past, sure, but this would be a doozy to explain to the boss... He could almost feel the knife's sleek metal aimed at his throat already, the consequence of inciting Mago's rage.


"See? I told you he was the spy. He was sent here to tarnish our reputation, no doubt about it!"


Time seemed to be moving too fast, because as soon as Hayato turned to the distinct voice in the crowd, he could see the inugami and young girl from earlier in the meeting room. His mind couldn't help but drift back to his words to the both of them when in his human form. He really didn't want to imagine the looks on their faces when they finally connected the dots.


"Well... 'might as well give it one last shot, either way I go about it I'm screwed" the basan whispered to himself. With as much power as he could muster in his tiny form, Hayato dashed with all his might, and took to the skies (or the ceiling?) with his majestic wings. Soaring above the crowd, flying high, Hayato would make his grand escape and live to tell the tale!


Or, so he thought. The minute he leaped into the air, a sudden jolt hit him in the gut. Not good... A puff of smoke surrounding him would be his downfall, as he fell from the air onto one of the patrons of the casino, a bakeneko to be precise - all while in his human form.


@waifu

 

[Dusky]

STATE OF FINANCES

ENCLOSED

​

Maria

Debt: 10,000c


Savings: 0c


Hourly Wages: 4c 7p

Mago

Debt: 500c


Savings: 0c


Hourly Wages: 12c 3p

Emi

Debt: 900c


Savings: 0c


Hourly Wages: 6c 7p

Shu

Debt: 0c


Savings: 0c


Hourly Wages: 4c 2p

Byakko

Debt: 0c


Savings: 0c


Hourly Wages: 4c 2p

Mai

Debt: 1200c


Savings: 0c


Hourly Wages: 9c 5p

Hayato

Debt: 750c


Savings: 0c


Hourly Wages: 9c 5p

Nobu

Debt: 800c


Savings: 0c


Hourly Wages: 6c 7p

HOUSE OF OPPORTUNITY


KITCHENS After a moment or two of bustle, the kitchen falls into a rhythm, though the atmosphere is very somber. Everyone seems scared to talk.


While they do begin producing dishes very quickly, the trash also fills just as quickly. It's getting over-full; somebody really ought to take it down to the disposal room soon...

DISPOSAL ROOM A few modified recipes, what appears to be a ribald poem composed on a napkin, and... hm. The sooties alight on Maria's shoulder, carrying a thin scrap of paper between them. A restaurant receipt with the words "Rocco, midnight, his turf" scribbled on the back. The receipt is from the wee hours of the morning, when the House had only just opened, and oddly enough, all charges are set to 0 coins.

NOBU'S ROOM "Any time. Now, I heard it's on the ground floor. Try the Casino?" Mitsuki waves as Nobu leaves.

CASINO Spirits have largely abandoned their slots and games, staring at the spectacle ensuing, when one long, thin, insectoid leg parts the crowd. They make room for the pit boss, Kayui, who draws closer and stares at Hayato, Ryougi, Mai, and anyone else who might have arrived with his hundreds of eyes. His proboscis, while not as long as stereotypes might suggest, is certainly menacing. He is, after all, towering over the heads of all present.


He sighs. "What th' devil's goin' on here?"


Ryougi stiffens, then bows begrudgingly, knowing this is a bug one would not want to step on.


The bakeneko, for his part, flails helplessly, hissing, with muffled demands to be got off of.

LODGINGS HALLWAY Hideki smiles serenely and starts walking, glancing at Emi. "I have not, which suggests to me I was not meant to. All the more reason to tell me, of course." The dragon, though in a human-like form now, is splendidly gorgeous, yet he never seems to condescend or talk down. A rarity indeed.


Glorious nature aside, he looks tired.

 

[waifu]

Mai

​

Ryougi had been right. The chicken she was trying to save all this time was, in fact, the suspicious man from earlier. Mai watched in awe as the bird transformed into a human. It was only then she noticed his tail feathers, did he have them before? A sigh escaped her lips as he crash-landed on someone.


Soon the scene was interrupted by an insectoid monster. Mai felt his presence to be intimidating, along with everyone else present in the scene. She noticed Ryougi's body language completely change, and decided to follow his lead. "Um, we've caught the spy.... ?" Mai answered Kayui, now uncertain about the chicken-man's identity.

@Turnip @Anomaly

 

[Teh Frixz]

Maria


It takes quite a bit to motivate the spirit of guilt and greed but every now and then enough of an emotion will peek on through.


The scrap of paper clenches tight to her chest, Maria's normally drab smile becoming one of absolute glee. Her lips curl back, a sharp hiss emenating between the serrated teeth. It felt...amazing. She reaches up to her shoulders petting both sooties and slipping the note down her shirt.


Rocco's place. At midnight no less. She didn't need sleep anyways. Putting both of the soot spirits back on the ground, she brushes off her hands on her coal black skirt before like a wraith, creeping back into the kitchen.


She'd have to finish up the rest of the shift or at the very least find a way to have someone cover for her. Not to mention the soon to be problematic issue of getting there. Someone would have access.

 

[Reinhardt]

Byakko


Various loud laughs echoed from the stage. Apparently, some of the cast, including the black cat Kinneko, saw Mina's acting rather hilarious and somehow ridiculous. "Oh, man.", Kinneko said, his paw on his stomach and the other wiping a tear from his left, closed eye. "That's really some s-es." He tried his best not to laugh once more as he looked at the snake-woman's hissing tongue and remembered her words full of s's, but he could. "Pfffttt---HAHAHAHAHAHA", he burst out into laughter, a bit teary-eyed, again.


"Ehem.", Byakko intervened. "Stick to the script." He did not mind the laughs, nor did he think of what Mina would have thought. He simply wanted them to finish practicing the skit, and if possible, do it without any other interruptions like this.


"Sorry, man.", Kinneko replied. "Can't help it. It's just too damn hilarious for me." He then, turned around trying to stop his laughter. "M-my lord.", he began to go and follow his script. He was the tactical adviser of their master, the closest friend of his. "Think it through. Gorou is your most loyal servant, he had put his life on the line for you countless times before. Would you rather listen to these uncertain words, or believe in your servant's utter loyalty?"


Byakko, who played as their master, followed through. "Hmm.", he said, slowly inching from left to right as if thinking in such an endless manner. He paused for a while, not because of his script, but because of Kinneko. The cat is still struggling to keep down his laughter, even after he pulled off that line. "Indeed.", he continued. "Gorou has been a great servant, and with that great honor is his-", he was stopped, once more but this time, with Kinneko bursting into laughter.


Byakko sighed, and spoke loudly. "Let's take break, everyone. It seems that we've all been rather off with our acting." He then, tapped the black cat on the shoulder, gesturing, come with me, and eyed Mina to do the same as well, before heading off to a distant bench, somewhere near the way to the kitchen.


Tags: @Anomaly

 

[Edric Yuma]

Emi was rather taken aback by the dragon's response. It never occurred to him that Hideki might actually not know what had happened, he had simply assumed Hideki knew. Usually the dragon was very well informed about the matters around him, which was something Emi admired. But now... Emi wasn't sure whether he was allowed to tell Hideki anymore.


Course, nothing could go wrong, right...? And besides, Emi had nothing to lose. There was no way Emi would be the one to catch the spy. And the only thing Emi used his tiny bit of spare change on anyway were useless trinkets such as his 8-bit glasses. Besides, Hideki was trustworthy. Business dudes wearing cool outfits who could actually hold a conversation with an antisocial tree spirit (even if the Business dude was dragon) usually were quite trustworthy.


Smack! Emi face planted into the wall, dropping one of the bags. "Owie!" He had forgotten to turn left.


How embarrassing! Emi quickly picked up the bag, and turned to Hideki and bowed. "Sorry for dropping your bag!"


Man, what a bummer. He had been looking forward to talking to Hideki, only to not look forward at all and run straight into a wall, dropping one of Hideki's precious bags. He had never looked inside, but they were much heavier than the average client's bags, so he assumed that they were items of great importance. That, or Hideki was just a thirsty dragon and brought tons of water along with him.


"Um, anyway," Emi continued, trying to change the subject, "Jinbaba basically said that there was a spy running amongst us. We all got our wages docked, which kind of sucks because I won't be able to purchase the latest Studio Ghibli film, or my 8-bit glasses, or my extra food...." Emi trailed off, realizing he was off-topic. "So yeah. Until we find the spy, we are gonna be even poorer than before."


"Who do you think the spy is?" Emi was curious to hear Hideki's opinion. As a dragon who seemed to know all the events around him, Hideki, might actually be able to guess who the spy was.

 

[Nano]

Shu


With speed and precision, Shu remade the previously ruined batch of wagashi and delicately arranged them on a large and clean plate. He then moved on to various other dishes that were in need of his attention. Due to having been working so fervently, Shu didn't realize that the trash had piled up to a ridiculous amount, obviously requiring someone to take the trash to the disposal room. Seeing that no one else was about to do the job or even notice the state of the trash, Shu sighed and decided to take the trash to the disposal room himself. Of course, this wasn't without asking a nearby soot spirit to keep his soup mixed well. Normally, the soot spirits weren't the most eager to do people favors when it was their break time, but Shu had a secret weapon. Konpeito. With generally kind treatment as well as a little bribery with a promise of konpeito, it wasn't too difficult to get on the good side of the sooties. Taking care to stay in the good graces of the soot spirits was a bit tedious at times, but it was well worth it. They were very useful in the kitchen, plus their subtle expressions of happiness were, admittedly, rather adorable.


On his way to the disposal room, Shu spotted a Jikininki creep out from the very place he was trying to get into. He gave her a strange look. It wasn't like he knew every single member of the staff in the kitchen on a personal level, but he did at least make sure to remember the faces of all of their members and this spirit most certainly wasn't one of them. So what was she doing in the disposal room? Spotting a soot spirit on each of her shoulders, Shu shrugged and moved on. If she was a troublemaker, it wasn't his problem as long as she didn't disturb their work. The sooties placidly staying on her shoulder was enough for him to take her as harmless, prompting him to shrug and move on. There was always the possibility that she was the spy as the disposal room was quite the suspicious place to be in, but that was a matter he could set aside for a later date. It wasn't worth making a ruckus now.


@Anomaly, @KamiKahzy, @Teh Frixz

 

[Turnip]

Hayato


At the sight of the rather intimidating bug... man, Hayato quickly picked himself up from the flailing bakeneko, who had been covering him in scratches during the whole commotion. He could feel a chill run down his spine as the thick, compound eyes glared down at him. Well, that was it. No more shortcuts, he was literally at the end of his rope now.


"W- wait a minute! I ain't no spy! Look, ya gotta believe me, I work here! Just... just ask anyone in the kitchen staff! My name's Hayato!" The basan cried and begged in a cold sweat, making for a rather pathetic sight. His eyes darted all around, but he could only find condescending stares looking back at him. Even the young receptionist, who had been warm and kind to him, now looked at him with pity.


"Pal... I ain't fallin' fer yer crap. Why dun' we just take this to Jinbaba instead, huh?" In contrast, Kayui was, quite frankly, tired of watching this. These kinds of troublemakers were commonplace at the House, trying to talk their way out of the most desperate situations. But the insectoid had seen this act one too many times before. It usually took one mention of Jinbaba for them to lose their cool and give up, though Hayato's next reaction would be a new one.


His face turned white, and after some incomprehensible babbling, Hayato fainted.

 

[Teh Frixz]

Maria


The door of the kitchen shuts quietly behind her. Reaching up she removes the soot spirits perched up upon her shoulders and gently places them down on the ground of the main hall. The corner of her mouth twitches with a little smile as the spirits jump in place silently, arms out stretched in an attempt to get picked back up.


Maria shushes them both once more before stepping out of the little foyer and into the main hall. From what she could tell there was some sort of commotion being quickly wrapped up, but the chaos worked in her favor. Kept people from noticing her gliding form slipping not back towards the bar but back towards the gardens. She needed a moment to think and plan further, someone had to have access both in and out of the building. Both hers and Rocco's.


As she passed on by nearly everyone in the casino, she cast a wandering glance back at the stacks of drink orders starting to pile up at the bar. Her stomach growled angrily in response, Marita having to stop and fish around in her pack for another scrap from her ever shrinking supply.


Stopping in the hall, she devoured the flesh quickly. She never was one for eating while walking, a habit nipped in the bud after biting off the top of her tongue a few times. Her jaws gnash, slicing the ration into bits easily pulled down into her bottomless gullet.

 

[Dusky]

STATE OF FINANCES

ENCLOSED

​

Maria

Debt: 10,000c


Savings: 0c


Hourly Wages: 4c 7p

Mago

Debt: 500c


Savings: 0c


Hourly Wages: 12c 3p

Emi

Debt: 900c


Savings: 5


Hourly Wages: 6c 7p

Shu

Debt: 0c


Savings: 0c


Hourly Wages: 4c 2p

Byakko

Debt: 0c


Savings: 0c


Hourly Wages: 4c 2p

Mai

Debt: 1200c


Savings: 0c


Hourly Wages: 9c 5p

Hayato

Debt: 750c


Savings: 0c


Hourly Wages: 9c 5p

HOUSE OF OPPORTUNITY

Night falls.

​

MAI & HAYATO Kayui makes a clicking sound that might approximate a laugh. "Can't take a joke, can 'e?" he chuckles to Ryougi and Mai. "This guy ain't yer spy," he continues, one spindly leg prodding Hayato's unconscious form experimentally. "'e ain't smart enough to be one. But if ya feel like wastin' bosslady's time wit' no damn proof, be my guest. Can't say she'd be real happy wit' ya, though. You," he waves a lackey over, "take this guy to 'is room. I reckon 'e'll be out a while."


Ryougi goes bright red and grabs Mai's arm, dragging her back to the front reception area, where impatient customers have gathered, waiting for service. The rest of shift passes quickly, and then Mai is free, the sun hanging low in the sky.


Hayato is tucked in with more kindness than one might expect from a simple grunt, and when he wakes, the setting sun paints a patch of his bedroom wall orange. Mago will be furious, but it's too late to finish the shift, so he's free for the night.

MARIA Anyone can leave the House for a jaunt, really, but Rocco's Saloon is a bit further than most people can wander, being several miles away. The only people Maria can think of who could go that far are Jinbaba's handful of managers. And perhaps those who remember their names yet...


Maria finishes her snack, and then her shift. The soot spirits have stayed with her, and are napping in her pocket now. The sky is shades of red and orange, the daytime going out in glory. In a few hours, the spirit world will begin to rise from their slumbers. The ones that don't work a day shift like Maria, anyway.


There are several hours yet until midnight.

EMI Hideki smirks. "Don't worry. The bag won't mind. Not much, in any case."


"Is that so? Why, I almost don't believe it." Any attempt to get him to explain what he means will be waved away.


"Oh, dearest Emi, my helpful friend - obviously I am the spy," he teases in response to Emi's question. "Or perhaps it's you? Or Jinbaba herself! Ah, ah... I do have my speculations, but it is wisest I keep them to myself. Oh, here's the room. Thank you. Here, a tip." He drops five coins into Emi's palm.


The rest of your shift is uneventful. As the sun slinks down, approaching the horizon, you are free for a time.

BYAKKO Mina's expression is hard to gauge. She seems unfazed by the cat's giggling, but a brief flicker of something like rage crosses her face when Byakko calls her over. The two approach, and Mina is the first to speak. "What do you have in mind, Byakko? Will you have usss hug, kissss and make up, like grade ssschoolersss?"


It's a premonition of how the conversation goes, which is not well. Kinneko does, however, manage to control himself for the rest of rehearsal, and as the day draws to a close, so too does practice. Mina looks at her props, rears back and looks at her serpentine body, and sighs. "I ssso hate thisss part," she mumbles to herself, as the scales begin to morph. Within a few seconds, there stands a woman, rather than a woman's head on a snake's body. She quickly dons a loose yukata for modesty and gathers her items together. "But handsss are sssuch ussseful thingsss," she answers herself with.


The crew is free for the night to do as they please.

SHU & MAGO Hayato doesn't return before his shift ends.


While the kitchen in general picks things up considerably that day, the rest of the staff lags behind Shu, making him stand out. When it's finally time to close up, the air is thick with a sense of accomplishment.


Everyone is free for the night. What do they do?

 

[Teh Frixz]

Maria


With the last of the drink orders delivered, the forever smiling spirit of Greed made sure to stop by a window to watch the sun begin to set.


She'd changed out of her work clothing and into a rather plain black yukata robe. Something that wouldn't attract too much attention but wouldn't make her look like the pauper she basically was.


Sitting in the Orange glow, Maria was still generally pleased at how the day had gone. Now with the added success of having gently transferred the snoring sooties into her new clothes, a new sense of purpose was mixed into her lasting hunger. Tonight she'd get to Rocco's and figure out who dropped that note.


Gently she reaches into her robes and pulls out the note, memorizing the way the writing flowed and every technical detail of the handwriting. She held it carefully, treating it like a precious artifact. A fragile little key to fixing her problems.


The note is rolled back up, her mouth perking up into a determined grin. The orange light of the sun dips lower and Maria stands up, stepping out of the closet like room she shared and into the hall.


It doesn't take long before Maria found herself staring out the entrance of her financial prison. The wrenching in her stomach felt like the time she tried eating a rock to stave off some of her hunger but without the grainy texture in her mouth.


She gapes a few seconds, mouth looking like a carp. She was afraid to step out, instead starting to look left and right before turning ninety degrees and towards the office of floor manager to plead her case.

 

[KamiKahzy]

Mago


Kitchens > Bar





It had been a long day for Mago, with more distractions and interruptions than he had to deal with in a very long time. He'd actually managed to lose his jovial mood for a good chunk of the day thanks to all the insanity being tossed on him at once. Mago didn't like to be upset over things, it never felt good and it always made others feel bad too. Anger he could handle but he tried his best to keep it in small, spicy servings. The low simmer he found himself in this afternoon wasn't his normal self, and it was eating at him that he'd allowed himself to get so surly.


So as soon as his shift was over he decided to take a trip to the one place he knew he'd get his good mood back: the bar.


Mago had changed out of his kitchen uniform and into his more casual outfit, an ocean blue yukata that openly and proudly displayed his massive belly and thick arms for all to see. Besides his geta the only other thing he wore was a golden arm band that strained to wrap all the way around his right bicep. It was a prize from the last sumo tournament he'd won in addition to the champion's purse, and Mago wore it proudly in recognition of his achievement. He made his way down the stairs, barely registering the creaks of protest coming from the wooden steps. His presence always managed to turn heads from the patrons and tonight was no different. Many spirits had filtered back to their homes or to their rooms in the hotel, so the casino floor was much less lively than it was earlier. Still, Mago tipped his head and grinned at the regulars he recognized, and they in turn smiled back before returning to their respective vices.


Mago walked up to the casino bar and made sure to smile at the scattered women sitting with their drinks. He got various reactions in return but none of them phased him. Mago was already starting to feel better in his casual clothes and being in a familiar place. He found his regular stool at the bar was left empty, and rightly so because the thing was far larger than most spirits would ever need a bar stool to be. Mago eased himself into the seat with a content sigh before making eye contact with the bartender. Or as much contact as can be had with a faceless spirit that is. "Evenin' Noh, gimme da regulah." Mago's 'regulah' was a full gourd of the House's sake, brewed in-house after Mago convinced Jinbaba to invest in a still. Noh gave him a thumbs up and brought out the gourd, holding it in both hands as he set it down in front of the chef. Mago took the gourd in one hand and toasted to Noh before popping the cork and taking a healthy swig. He finished his gulp and brought the gourd down while exhaling in satisfaction. 'Dats good stuff', he thought to himself as he licked a few stray drops from his lips. The warmth of the sake was already starting to fill his belly, and Mago's trademark smile was creeping back onto his face. He looked around the room to see who else was still hanging around, and to see what events the night might still hold for him.


@Anomaly

 

[Dusky]

HOUSE OF OPPORTUNITY


BAR A group of frogs huddle together nearby, snickering at something one of them said, poised with their feet on their chairs as they wouldn't be tall enough to pick at their appetizer if they sat normally.


There's the pretty barmaid that's just come around to let Noh off his shift, apologizing profusely for being so late. Great to look at, and great for friendly conversation, but clams up the minute anyone says anything flirtatious - which is frequent, this being a bar.


A girl sits two or three seats over from Mago, swaying precariously in her seat and holding a glass of the strongest close to her chest. She's still in her work clothes - a waitress upstairs, seems like. Something about her looks familiar. She squeaks when Mago sits down and shrinks into her chair.

OFFICE A secretary peers up at Maria, smiling and batting her eyelashes, framing bright eyes. "Can I help you?"


Really, they are bright. It's kind of hard to look at them because of the light they put out. Plus there are so many of them, interspersed across her mottled blue skin...

 

[KamiKahzy]

Mago


Casino Bar





A quick look around the room told Mago that it was that time of night when only the drunks and hard partiers were still floating around. Some of the frogs he recognized from the staff, customer service if he remembered correctly. He tipped his head to the new barmaid as she took over, lifting his gourd when she inevitably asked if he had been serviced. He took another swig as he looked around and his eyes fell on the woman sitting down the bar from him. He swallowed what he had and looked at her curiously, his head tilting and his ears flopping to the side. He felt like he saw her around, but her face was still relatively new to him...


He tried to look through his memories before the sake kicked in, thinking about where he might have seen her. Inevitably his thoughts turned to the day's events and it was right when he was remembering his breaking point that it clicked. She was the new waitress that had brought his missing staff to his attention. Mago sighed to himself and held his face in his large, meaty hand. Poor thing must be scared stiff of him, he was a right boar when she was just trying to do her job. 'Well, nuttin' for it,' he thought to himself as he heaved his bulk out of his seat and grabbed his gourd by its red cord.


He walked over to the young waitress and cleared his throat to get her attention. "Hate ta bothah ya little miss, but ah jus' wanted ta 'pologize for bein' all 'huff an puff' before." Mago bowed at the waist as he finished, waiting for the girl to say something before he rose up again.


@Anomaly

 

[Turnip]

Hayato


Dusk breaks, and the basan awakens from his slumber.


Hayato lifted his head from the pillow, still in a daze. "Ugh... what happened..." He raised his hand to rub his temples as he tried to sort out his thoughts. Let's see... There was the spy, that's right. He decided to take some time during his break to try and look for clues, but things turned awry once he met those girls, turned into a pheonix, and....


"AAAAAAAAAA-!!!!!!" Hayato screamed, finally recollecting the pain and embarrassment from a few hours before. What happened with Jinbaba?!! Was he in the most comfortable prison imaginable?!! (W- well, no. This was his room, now that he looked around.) But what about his shift at the kitchen?!! His head darted around in his panic, and his eyes rested at the clock. Yup, it was officially night time. There was no shift to head back to for the rest of the day.


"I am so dead..."


Hayato's head fell back onto the cushion with a thud, and he finally managed to calm himself down. Now, the only question was what to do for the night. There really wasn't any use trying to go back to the kitchen, he could wait until tomorrow to get killed by Mago thank you very much. There wasn't much point going to the casino either, seeing as his little incident was still pretty recent. And the bar wouldn't be good, since his head was still pounding. Well, no use in forcing himself to go anywhere for the mean time. For now, Hayato would lay himself back onto his bed and think about the misfortunes of his life...

 

[Nano]

Shu


Work was finally done for the night, and Shu was more grateful for this break than ever. With the multitude of interruptions and the missing staff--many of whom still had yet to return--the day's work had been longer and more tedious as well as very much stressful. After having placed down the last of the kitchen utensils that had to be cleaned, Shu cracked his neck as to loosen the tense muscles of his neck that had resulted from remaining in a single position for such a long period of time. Contrary to what many believed due to his seemingly haughty and carefree attitude, Shu actually was a hard worker. After all, the phrase "go hard or go home" had been pretty much pounded into his very essence as a child to the point that he still remembered and adhered to it to this day. Even if he decided to cut corners, he would probably just receive an earful from their supervisor, something that he did not wish to deal with.


Shu untied the sleeves of the kosode that he wore as well as his hair. The chefs of The House of Opportunities' kitchen were all generally required to wear the typical white and red uniforms that they had been provided upon being employed. However, Shu instead chose to wear the white kosode and hakama that he was accustomed to wearing. It had been a bit of a hassle to adamantly keep declaring his preference, but the comfort that the loose clothing provided made it worth it in the end. Besides, he didn't have to bother changing every time he got off of work since the clothing was appropriate both for casual wear as well as kitchen work due to being able to simply tie the sleeves back to keep them out of the way. If he wished to be a bit fancier that day, he could just toss the usual haori over the kosode.


Considering what he should do for the rest of the night, Shu's mind wandered towards the topic of the spy that had been addressed earlier. So far, no one had come across as particularly suspicious. This was only natural, of course, as no respectable spy would make themselves purposefully stand out, especially not on the day that the issue had been announced. The only people he could suspect at the moment were the people who had been missing from their shifts and the jikininki who had been inside of the disposal room, though even these spirits weren't likely to be the spy. Due to having so little leads, the only method he could think up of for digging out the spy was making his own self appear as a primary suspect of being said spy. The idea itself was amusing in its own way, so he didn't mind the blame that would be pinned on him, but there was still the problem of being careful not to dig himself too deep into a hole that he couldn't climb out of.


First things first, he was going to have to gather some information. What was the best way to do this? Eavesdropping, of course.

 

[Teh Frixz]

Maria


"Well..yes you can." Maria retreats back a few steps, trying to to regain a bit of herself in the darkeness. "I need permission from the manager to travel outside the casino and a ticket or something to get there."


She balls up her fists and slides back in closer, her smile widening a bit as she tries to reflect some of the light coming from the eyes.


"I've got no shift and I have a meeting I need to attend. I have permission"


This wasn't an outright lie but Maria never bothered the managers with specifics of her duties. For the most part she was a silent worker, always watching and toiling away to earn back what she owed. She hoped that this sort of silent reputation was all she needed, otherwise she'd have to take more drastic measures than asking for a ride.

 

[waifu]

Mai



​

Mai looked around to make sure no one was looking before slipping an envelope under Hatayo's door. The envelope contained a letter of apology and a few feathers. It read:

Dear Hayato,


This is Mai, I work at the reception desk. I just wanted to apologize for today. I had no idea you were one of the kitchen staff. I was wrong to accuse you of something you didn't do and I'm very ashamed of myself. I picked up some feathers that fell on the ground while we were chasing you.... I don't know if you can simply stick them back on, but please accept them anyway. It would make me feel better if you did. I've been really worried ever since you suddenly passed out like that. I'll make up for it somehow!


I'm sorry again for all the trouble. I hope you get well soon,


Mai

Mai quickly got up and ran out of the hallway before anyone noticed her. Her head started hurting again. It'd been a while since she ate or rested, so that was bound to happen. It had been a long day for her. Mai chose to return to her room and decided to sleep. She didn't have the energy to go and get something to eat, she just wanted some peace and quiet for now.

@Turnip

 

[Edric Yuma]

Emi


Hotel (Floor 3) > Office (Floor 1?)





Emi was tired. Today had been quite the worrisome day, and the atmosphere around him had veered slightly for the worse. As a Kodama, Emi preferred peaceful environments, and now that his beloved peace and quiet had been replaced with an air of suspicion, Emi felt worn out. Usually after his shift Emi would sit around and watch others talk. This time, however, conversations seemed short-lived and reserved, as if the spirits didn't want to reveal too much.


That was boring. He needed something to entertain himself for the night, and the bar wasn't exactly in his tastes. He hadn't stepped outside in quite a long time... Maybe the Floor Manager would allow him to go back out to nature for a bit? The nearest forest wasn't that far away, he could probably walk there. Stomping gently towards the elevator and riding it down, Emi smiled at the thought of nature. The smell of the trees, flowers, and blooming grass all meshed together in one extravagant display of exclusive scents...


He couldn't get his hopes up too much, however. He didn't know what mood the Floor Manager would be in, and her mood affected everything.


Stepping out of the elevator, he walked over to the office, practicing his best smile. The two black lines that were his eyebrows furrowed a bit as he concentrated, but then changed to an expression of puzzlement as he heard another voice coming from the office.


Something about a ticket? Was that spirit going somewhere else as well? CHANCE! Emi thought excitedly. Screw nature, he could go whenever he wanted to. The opportunity to start a conversation had just appeared. It was golden. They both wanted to head out... perfect conversation starter.


Excited, Emi burst into the office. "ImgoingsomewheretoowhereareyougoingIhopeitwillbefunwhataboutyou?"


Pin drop.


Oops. Wrong time to burst in. In his excitement, Emi had actually forgotten to consider that fact that the spirit might actually have been conversing with the Floor manager. Reddening, Emi scratched his head. "Uhm, sorry-"


The Kodama jumped when he saw that it was a Jikininki. With a... fanny pack? What was that smell? Flesh? Emi didn't want to know. Yet... the Jikininki also had evidence that she was carry two soot spirits, which meant she couldn't be that bad. Right?


@Anomaly @Teh Frixz

 

[Reinhardt]

Byakko


The tiring practice was over. Most of the crew went straight to their rooms, seeking their well-earned rests. Working in the theater is not as easy as it seems, after all. Kinneko hurries of to the distance, gathering his litter of diverse bakenekos with him. The black cat had big plans for tonight, especially after hearing the announcement earlier. Cats, believe it or not, are masters of stealth.


Byakko, on the other hand, headed downstairs. There, the largest windows were, with which the calm winds blow. It was his routine to take a moment and appreciate the serenity of such breezes, once his job is done.


It didn't take him a while to arrive at the lower floor, where the bar and casino was. However, a few steps away from the stairs he came down from, something caused him great, and unexpected pain. This caused him to roar so loud, that most of the house staff paused in whatever they were doing, and stared at him both in fear and confusion.


A humongous white tiger just roared, after all. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure tigers are fearsome. Especially when they're so damn big. Shere Khan made a pretty good impression on how scary tigers could be. Ask the child Mowgli if he wasn't scared at any moment that guy showed up, and he'll pretty much answer with his trousers wet.


Beneath Byakko's left front paw, blood seeped.


He had been pierced by a stray, metal nail.