Fantasy New Oasis: Four Heavenly Kings — The B-Sides

[Roda the Red]

CHARLIE HUGHES

CS Link

SCENE:

Get(ting) Help

TIME:

Daytime, Post Arc 3

LOCATION:

Kiki's Eatery, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Hitoshi, Kaede, Ashley, Hector, Gideon

Get(ting) Help

For a short moment, Charlie was confused by Ashley's demand. "What? oh, oh! Ahahaha, you're right, sorry" He let his weapon drop on the padded floor, proceeding to take the jacket off of him. It had been a long while since Charlie had a simple sparring partner, given how busy he had been with actual work as of late. The boy had utterly forgotten that taking off his jacket was necessary. Out in the field, jackets not only served to protect him from the elements, but it also served as his storage for weapons. By this point, jackets weren't just part of the rookie's fashion, the had become something closer to a second skin.

Gently placing his folded item of clothing on a nearby bench, he returned to his original position, leaning down to pick up his weapon once again, fingers tightly wrapping around the long, wooden shaft. "Don't let me down, Ash!" He charged forward, holding his staff in an upper stance. As he closed in the distance, he delivered a diagonal downwards strike at his opponent, aiming at his chest.

And thus started another match of Red vs Blue.


joshuadim WhiskeyMarten Lucem Coyote Hart

 

[joshuadim]

HITOSHI YAMAKAWA

CS Link

SCENE:

Searching for the Light

TIME:

The Day After Get(ting) Help

LOCATION:

Tommy's (Abandoned) Scrapyard, Outskirts of South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Hitoshi, Charlie

SEARCHING FOR THE LIGHT

At Bar Shellac...​

Jackie stared intently with a broom in hand at the corner near the bar of Bar Shellac, not moving a single muscle such that he appeared to be like a statue. His attention was solely focused on whatever was there, to the point that he didn't even notice Hitoshi coming down from upstairs. The Phoenix looked confused for a moment as he saw the bartender in his current stance before looking up at where he was looking at. He didn't see anything in particular there before sighing: "Hey, Jackie, what're you up to?"

The lizardman almost instinctively jumped up in place from being startled as he dropped the broom with a clutter. "Shit! Er, I mean, sorry. Uh, we have a bit of a problem."

"We do?" Hitoshi asked with concern.

"Yeah! I swear I saw a small mouse climb in through the wall there, there must be a small hole between the booze cabinet showcase and the wall itself."

Hitoshi looked at the corner again and to the area that the lizardman had mentioned before squinting. "I can't really see anything here, if I'm being honest."

"That bastard probably broke into the crackers and peanut stash for patrons... damnit, Anya is gonna be mad."

"I wouldn't worry too much man, those things are cheap to replace."

"But a mouse infestation is a much more difficult problem to get rid of. If you're heading out, can you pick up something for me to trap the little thing with?"

"Hm, alright sure. I'm heading out first though so I won't be back for a bit."

"I'll stay on guard, then!" Jackie then said with a salute, before picking up the broom again and returned to staring at where the mouse's likely hideout was. Hitoshi let out a soft chuckle before making for the door. Woe is the mice to men.

Later...​

Pulling up in front of Phoenix HQ with a rented pickup, the backside of which noticeably held a 12 pack of cola, a small bag of charcoal, lighter fluid, and a small cooler, Hitoshi parked the car on idle before honking the horn loudly. "Pickup for one Charlie! Anyone see some scrawny blue-haired kid?" he shouted aloud with a grin from his driver's side window and awaited for any movement.

Roda the Red

 

[simj26]

Kisara McDowell

CS Link

SCENE:

A Pledge to Tender Moments

LOCATION:

North District

PARTICIPANTS:

Jackson, Kisara

A Pledge To Tender Moments

She blinked in stunned silence, before she started laughing. It was not the evil villain's laugh, it was not the cackle she perfected, it was a genuine laugh that came from her heart, the one that hurt her stomach if she did it for too long. She doubled over, clutching at her sides, until her laugh began to devolve into coughing and wheezing.

On second thought, Jackie did not fit the bill at all. She could not see him as any more than the ideal kind of student who loved his mother. She liked him just the way he was. She would never hope for him to become her Dragon. She wanted him to be happy, she wanted all of her friends to be happy.

Still, she was glad that he would try to entertain her whims like this. She thought herself lucky.

"That look's no good on you." She wiped a tear from her eye, still smiling. There was something in his face. Doubt. What was he thinking about? She wasn't going to pry into it. She resumed her persona, chest puffed out in pride. "Are you sure about that? Be forewarned! Kisara McDowell treads a path fraught with danger and challenges! I will not tolerate anyone who gives up by my side! Especially anyone who gives up on their own dreams! I, as your great leader, need someone who is willing to pursue their own dreams alongside mine! Are you prepared, Jackson Alessi?!"

@BriiAngelic

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Brandy Baker

CS Link

SCENE:

Captives of The System

TIME:

~2004, Pre-Arc 1

LOCATION:

North District

PARTICIPANTS:

Brandy Baker & Caio Santana Coelho

Captives of The System

"Burgers and fries..." The box of cereal in Brandy's hand suddenly felt much lighter. A trifling thing. She imagined the aroma of grease and beef, that which she smelled before. Wafting from yawning, restaurant doors, or when they were feeling fancy, from her parents' sofa, inevitably staining it even deeper with grease and ketchup.

Never before had she had a taste herself, though. Not of anything fresh at least. A few fries, stale and turned to cardboard by a night spent out on the living room table, those she'd had the privilege to sample, but an entire meal to herself? Her eyes went wide at the thought.

"C-can we afford that?" She shuffled forward, and a jitter of excitement ran up her spine. "I mean- Yeah! Sure! Of course!" The jitter took, spinning up and into her eyes. Of course they could afford it! He'd said-so, right? She'd only known the boy for a short time, but she didn't take him for a liar. Or a dummy like her, either. If he thought that they had enough for a burger and fries, then they must have!

"There's um-!" Brandy practically hopped on the spot as she spoke, each small bounce in her voice taking her closer and closer to the windowsill entrance. "A-! Um! Place! A place near here! It's called, um-! Marge's! Let's go!"

In a hurry, she set her precious box of cereal on the nearest surface she could find, and then rushed to the window in a blur of silver hair. She was excited, that much was clear, but not only for the greasy treat that waited for them.

She couldn't even remember the last time she got to hang out.

@BriiAngelic​

 

[Roda the Red]

Keith Sullivan

CS Link

SCENE:

Meet and Grit

LOCATION:

The Third Eye, Central District

TIME:

Morning, July 8th, 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Peyton, Keith

Meet and Grit

Keith continued looking forward, doing his best to ignore the pestering. Unfortunately, it seemed like the filth was too stubborn to get the clear message, instead opting to indulge himself further into his disgusting antics. Well, admitedly the invitation to go and end some serpents at the library was fairly tempting, but he would never be as stupid as to trust this man. Most likely he would plan a way to ambush him, ganging up on the honest folks WAS the serpents's specialty, after all.

"Go away, you creep" He tried to keep his voice low, making his best effort to avoid atracting the attention of the other people in line. He needed to find a way to keep the worm silent, as by now, even as little as the sound of his voice felt terribly grating. He wanted to grab a random pebble and shove it down the boy's throat, keeping those vocal chords still, death by asphyxiation would be a great bonus as well!

The worm then followed up with a question that felt dangerously incriminating, Keith flinched for a moment, not ready for that boy to be so close from hitting bulls eye. He glared back, attempting to come off as more calm than he actually was. "That's none of your business" However, his response basically was treading the line between a sentence and a growl.

His anger made his blood flow go faster, causing the heat to affect them considerably more now. He sighed, using his gloved hand to fan himself as best as he could.

Slowly, the line progressed, he could do this, he just needed to carry on. Hopefully the serpent's insistence would stop soon.

Coyote Hart

 

[WhiskeyMarten]

JOZEF DAALMAN

CS Link

SCENE:

Spotting The Wingless

LOCATION:

East District

PARTICIPANTS:

Celeste, Jozef, [NPCs: Flea, Tick] | Keith, Nona-Me [NPCs: Dragons x2]

SPOTTING THE WINGLESS

“What now, ma’am?”

Jozef looked up to the most seasoned of their squad, Flea, who looked uncertain. Voices in all directions called Jozef’s attention and he realised the severity of their predicament quickly. They were cornered. Even if they could get the van going-

A thunk of man against metal, followed by the blaring of a car alarm. Tick had gotten the van door open, but Keith pounced faster than he could react, the force of the punch driving him into the van’s walls that crumpled behind him. He tasted blood and felt flecks of broken enamel against his tongue. But he was a tough guy, that’s why he was here after all. His mouth widened, and sharp fangs grew bigger, dripping with his own blood. Kicking off the van he was pinned against, he lunged against Keith's grip, aiming for the dragon’s throat.

Even if they could get the van going, he was unsure that they could plow through the Dragons in their path. “Maybe we oughta cut our losses?” Jozef hissed towards Celeste. “Doesn’t seem like they’re too pleased.” If it hadn’t jumped straight to violence, perhaps he could’ve reasoned with them. We aren’t Serpents, no way! We’re just humble delivery drivers, delivering some fine… seasonings? To the lovely people at- What the heck even was their customer’s business? They were nowhere to be seen. It didn’t matter, though Jozef considered giving it a shot anyway, his thoughts were correctly focused on the more immediate problem.

The van shook with the impact of the fighting, and Flea leaped from the van to the wall of the building opposing their client’s.

“Tick!”

Just as he couldn’t let himself be jeopardized for her sake, she couldn’t squander the time she had for his sake. The Dragons were running closer now, there was no going back to peace now. Even if they surrendered, it seemed it would only make their deaths quicker.

“Panacea. Amnesia,” she beckoned.

They just needed to get home. That old lady bailed on them anyway. They got the money, and they still have their lives. If they could create some distance they could phone HQ and maybe- What is he doing?!

Jozef’s loyalty was wasted on Serpents, and he knew it, even if he didn’t think he did. It didn’t stop him from sprinting towards Tick, drawing a knife from his pocket. When he wanted to cut his losses, his allies weren’t part of that deal. If a single life slipped out of his hands, he was a failure. So he had to try his best to get everyone home safely.

 

[WhiskeyMarten]

HECTOR MOSES

CS Link

SCENE:

Get(ting) Help

TIME:

Post Arc-3

LOCATION:

Jiro's Dojo, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Hector, Hitoshi, Ashley, Charlie, Gideon and Kaede

GET(TING) HELP

Hector waved off Gideon as he retreated to the sidelines, feeling only a little bad for brushing him off so coldly.

"Take notes or keep score or somethin', you'll get your chance soon, Gideon, nothing you can squirm out of."

The formings of a sly, almost menacing expression could be seen. It was a good opportunity, given Gideon's eagerness despite incapacitation, to threaten him with some training time. For how evil he tried to be, Hector had noticed Gideon's fear in the past around him. Fear him, sure, he's their boss as well as a friend. Just don't be a coward.

Focusing his attention back to Hitoshi, he had allowed a moment for him to become acquainted with the bō. Of course, Hitoshi had far more experience than he did, but Hector felt an odd sense of pride as his sparring partner took their first triumphant swing. It almost distracted him from the fight they were engaging in.

The metal protrusion from Hector's arm swung to meet the bō, but he felt the bamboo hit his chest. Oof. He hadn't been quick enough. It wasn't serious anyway, right? Who was watching? He batted the bō away, and lunged forward, swinging a foot. More metal shot out, a light pole aiming for Hitoshi's ankles, to try and sweep him off his feet.

 

[Beann]

JACK & SAMIRA

CS Link

SCENE:

Backroom Dealings

LOCATION:

West District, Sarizara Restaurant

PARTICIPANTS:

Ryutaro, Passeri, Camila, Elias, Welsha, Dagger, Alice

BACKROOM DEALINGS

It quickly became evident to Jack that his initial hopes were to be dashed, as there was in fact no griddle resting in the middle of the table that the Tigers had gathered around. Once the two were seated, it didn't take long for the other members who were invited to trickle in. Camila, a Tiger who proved her competency in the bank heist not too long ago had shown up with an unknown plus one. Samira offered a friendly nod in response to her greeting but otherwise remained seated as she watched the rest make their appearance. Her attention flickered between Elias and Passeri entering, to the short side conversation between Alice and Camila. A small smile formed as she stifled a chuckle. The petite, seemingly quiet lady barred her fangs and it was rather amusing to hear the tone in her voice. Good for her.

A few minutes of pleasantries passed until the host gathered the room's attention. Ryutaro wasn't the type to beat around the bush as he immediately revealed the reason why he invited them all here. Jack sipped loudly from the miso soup bowl as he did. Samira always appreciated his frankness. However, his qualities as a leader weren’t the main point of interest today, it was Markus'. How interesting. Samira herself didn't have any gripes towards the ice king, in fact, she had been one of the many members that supported his ascension to the status of King. She was curious to know if anyone at the table did though. As expected though, there was a long pause, as if everyone was waiting for someone else to go first.

Her eyes shifted to Elias as the rookie decided to take the initiative, causing Jack to roll his eyes. While listening to him, she reached for a cup with one hand and a bottle of sake with another and poured quietly — nodding every now and then to show that she was still listening. Samira gently slid the cup of sake to Jack, giving him a brief wink before turning back to look at Passeri who decided to follow up with Elias' thoughts. The cowboy took the cup, smiling at Samira, and threw it back happily, pouring himself another so that he might still be able to enjoy the evening, despite the jarring lack of onion volcano.

The Ace quirked an eyebrow at her suggestion of involving leadership but it was well hidden as she brought the bowl of miso soup up to her lips. While leadership should be sought out as a good resource for this type of problem, both she and Ryutaro had their own businesses to run. No doubt Passeri's schedule was just as packed as well. However, the role of a mediator didn’t sound like too much work.

Their Queen seemed to have agreed with both Elias and Passeri’s sentiments, stating that he would no longer operate in the shadows as he did prior. An active leadership was always better than a passive one. “I would have to agree,” she finally spoke once she made sure Ryutaro was finished speaking. She set down the bowl of soup, patting her glossy lips with the provided napkin. “As Ms. Park said, Ms. Gaspari already has experience in this field. We can task her to orchestrate a wider…’fertile field’ for our rookies. And as a form of check and balances, we can appoint other trustworthy veterans to assist.”

 

[Ramjammer]

I Would Like to See Your Permit.


Lorette LècuyerCS LINK

Scene:I Would Like to See Your Permit.

Time:December 2021, Night.

Location:Lower Central, Public Square

Participants:Lorette, Eric.


If he wasn't trying to be subtle about herding her into a trap, Lorette felt she might as well stop cooperating.

"The Station? Really?" The woman groaned as if she were minorly offended and not being backed into a corner.

"This is the kind of amateur shit I'd kill someone else over." Lorette thought bitterly. A small portion of her mind held fast to the notion that she'd been unlucky. She'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Perfectionist that she was; however, Lorette only blamed herself for her predicament.

She sighed again, this time an unmistakable sound of defeat. She'd been found out but hadn't been caught just yet.

If one thing could be said about Lorette Lècuyer, she knew where and when to drop all pretense. Her present company had proven too sharp to lie to. With her night effectively ruined, Lorette figured that the polite thing to do was to start causing problems for everyone in the vicinity.

Without even taking the time to look at just who she was grabbing onto, Lorette's hand shot out and grasped the jacket of the person passing closest to her. With the square still being reasonably busy, people moved around the area constantly; she intended to use that to her advantage.

"Hey! Wha-!" A confused and then very alarmed voice fell on deaf ears as Lorette swung her unfortunate victim around and slammed them bodily into Eric. She was sure that they'd both be fine. That was her primary thought as she turned tail and sprinted in the opposite direction.

The people she shoved out of the way while escaping were unfortunate collateral. Better for them to wind up with a few scrapes and bruises than get caught by a stray bullet. Fleeing from the Police was bad enough as it was. Getting into a shootout was absolutely off the table.

Turning a corner into a tight alleyway was an abrupt reminder that running blindly into a district she wasn't familiar with was akin to suicide. The dingy brick wall in front of Lorette seemed to mock her failures that evening. Lorette grit her teeth, knowing full well that the man was in pursuit and closing in fast.

A throbbing pain erupted at the nase of Lorette's skull, and she rapidly considered her options. The alleyway's walls were too sheer and too high for her to climb safely. Going back the way she came meant coming face to face with her pursuer, and Lorette wasn't sure if she could dodge him a second time. There was nothing to say that he wasn't armed either, and Lorette wasn't looking to get shot again.

It was infuriating that she'd be so careless as to allow herself to become prey. The thing inside of her head was in agreement. Like her, it was unhappy with the state of things and demanded that something be done. Knowing she was fighting a losing battle from two directions, Lorette was finally forced to concede defeat to one of her opponents.

"You get your way again." She muttered. And just like that, the pain in her head subsided, and the world around her became much clearer.

Before succumbing to the whims of her other half, Lorette had the presence of mind to send an emergency text message to a private number. Since she'd decided to get weird, she would need a ride home when she was finished.

The darkness made her weak, but it would act as her shield for the time being. A cold silence was all that welcomed the Beast's return. Lorette would give neither it nor her foe the satisfaction of knowing just how much unlocking the thing's cage pained her. Instead, she ground her teeth and ignored the crack of her bones breaking and reshaping themselves. She paid no heed to the agony of her skin tearing apart to give way to a scaly hide, choosing to mourn the loss of some costly clothing. Even the sensation of her internal organs rearranging themselves could not compare to the sting of losing yet another pair of leather shoes.

A sharp heightening of her senses was equally unpleasant. The people outside the alleyway were too loud. The neon lights and street lamps illuminating the cramped streets of Lower became painfully bright. Everything around her smelled much, much worse. Lorette refused to even attempt to discern individual scents. The dumpster nearby was doing an excellent job of making her physically ill.

A slight trilling noise caught her focus, and all other sounds faded to a dull hum as Lorette zeroed in on its source.

Perched just above her on an emergency escape balcony, a white and gray cat stared back at Lorette. It sat there with all four limbs tucked under its body, completely unperturbed as it just hadn't watched a woman morph into a van-sized monstrosity. It would have dropped from despondency if Lorette's mane had not already been wilted from the lack of sunlight. Cats were incredibly disrespectful for no reason at all.

Pointedly ignoring the feline's judgmental stare, Lorette sifted through the tattered remains of her outfit and found her cell phone. She sighed internally, adding yet another cost to an ever-growing bill. Turning into a monster was very inconvenient in addition to being expensive. Lorette crushed the small device in a clawed fist, letting shards of plastic and circuitry litter the ground. Plucking her wallet from the ground she opened it up to remove anything that could be used to identify her. Driver's license, Credit cards, and a few business cards were removed and gulped down. Lorette tried not to dwell too hard on how unhealthy the act was.

She wasn't sure what to do with the wad of bills left over at first. Eyeing the cat nearby, Lorette carefully slid the folded bills under its front paws, where they remained safely. Lorette hoped that the feline's silence could be bought. Her car keys, she tossed somewhere in the alley behind her. It wasn't like anyone would find the vehicle it belonged to.

With all said and done, Lorette crouched low to the ground before springing clear from the alleyway and into the square. Even without the sun's rays to strengthen her, Lorette was still powerful. But the unsuspecting people living in Lower Central didn't care much to make a distinction.

When a massive, scaled body burst from the shadows and crashed into several trashcans and knocked them over, everybody settled for screaming in terror, which was just fine with Lorette.

If anyone had witnessed Lorette dashing into the alleyway, they probably didn't bother worrying about her anymore. Because when something with a skull for a face and twin rows of fangs set in a permanent scowl showed up, the natural assumption was that people were getting eaten.

Lorette didn't want to eat anyone, of course. But nobody needed to know that. She wanted people to get the hell out of her way, so she resolved the matter by roaring at them.

While there was something almost Leonine about Lorette's appearance, the noises she made were proof of the unnatural power that she commanded.

It was a great and terrible sound. A mighty gale of wind rushing from the darkness of a deep cave, backed by a multitude of howls. A chorus that echoed from within her maw as if she'd devoured a pack of screaming beasts. It was an appropriate noise for something that looked like it ate people's pets.

Not wishing to join them, people scattered in all directions. A mass of terrified men and women screamed and shoved as they fought to escape Lorette's path while she stalked through the square. She had no interest in harming anyone. What Lorette required was chaos. It was a mess for her pursuer to navigate and subsequently clean up. Honestly, she was doing everyone a favor. Property values were going to plummet when all was said and done. If anything, what Lorette was doing was an extension of her charity work.

She knocked over several more trashcans before standing on her hind legs to claw a painted metal sign down from its place above a shop's door. It hit the ground amidst a loud clanging and a spray of sparks. Lorette paused to chew on a decorative plant outside the door of one residence but decided that she didn't much care for the taste. Spitting it out, she swatted it away with a giant paw. It forcefully struck the side of a shipping container, leaving a significant dent in the metal.

Bunching all four limbs under her body, Lorette jumped quickly atop another shopping container before scaling several more stacked nearby. Once at the top, she paused to roar again for dramatic effect. If she was going to terrorize a bunch of innocent people, then by God, she would do it right.

Lorette ignored all the screaming and shouting and instead strained her ears and listened for the sound of impending rescue.

Roda the Red

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Elias Yumin

CS Link

SCENE:

Backroom Dealings

TIME:

Post-Arc 3, June 21st 2022

LOCATION:

West District, Sarizara Restaurant

PARTICIPANTS:

Camila, Ryutaro, Samira, Jack, Elias,
Alice, Welsha, Dagger, Passeri

Backroom Dealings

“...interesting,”

Elias commented when everything was said and done, though he did not specify which of the responders he was referring to. Park countered his half-baked “solution” to debt-locked, uneducated rookies by bringing up a different problem - the exploitation of rookies by fellow Veterans, or rather, ‘fat cats’, as the idol so aptly put it, and offered a different solution. Smirking at Iori’s choice of words, his eyes flickered briefly to Alice, since she would probably have the most to say in regards to certain ‘fat cats’ exploiting those that did not know any better, but it did not linger. It wasn’t his issue to bring up, after all. If she wanted to complain about the treatment she’d received from her supposed ‘friends’ she’d do so on her own terms.

Instead, his eyes traveled to the Queen who had declared an impassioned need for change. What sort of change? The Queen hadn’t specified. Though, he claimed that a complete foundational overturn would be one of them…given the ‘right’ leadership. Empty sake cup still in hand, Elias idly inspected the porcelain while taking note which smiles were shared where.

“It’s certainly true that a business cannot operate well if its members cannot trust one another,” Elias shook his head sadly, his tone sounding aggrieved. “To think, there are actually veterans out there that exploit and squeeze the life out of hopeful young Tigers…truly appalling. I’m glad our current leadership intends to rectify this issue.”

Frankly, if it were Yumin Entertainment, and Elias found out some of his senior employees were exploiting the junior ones, they would be fired on the spot. Maybe. At the end of the day, the Entertainment business–behind the scenes at least–had always been a little dirty here and there. Small favors that added up. Benefits given to those that had the right connections. People would always be people and an inherently selfish nature was very much human.

Criminals were the perfect example of this.

Elias, for the most part, was fine with people going behind his back to rise higher in life…so long as it didn’t harm business.

“May I ask which of our Veterans you consider to be a trustworthy middleman?” Violet eyes flitted curiously between the Jack, the Ace, and the Queen, who seemed all too eager to implement Park’s plan of action. “Or middlemen? Whichever works.”

Trust was a fickle thing and corruption could happen at any time in any organization. If the CFO were honest, he was glad that the idol countered with her own idea since, if he had been questioned on the specifics of his idea, he’d have to make stuff up on the spot. Even worse, the weight of carrying out said ‘institution’ might’ve fallen on his shoulders as the one who proposed it.

Elias had better things to do with his time. The only reason he’d even brought up the issues he’d seen with the rookies was so that he wouldn’t look like someone who’d only come for a free meal. An excuse to be present so to say…though, if a new role was created in the gang to assist rookies all the better. Would they take on the role themselves? Delegate it to someone else? Create a ‘Joker’ position?

Elias’s eyes twinkled at the notion, which he hid behind a cough. “As a rookie myself, I would hate to fall prey to the wrong sort that would exploit my talents for their own purpose, so any advice my fellow experienced Tigers could give me in that regard would be a great help.”

Not really, but he’d like to hear their opinion on that matter.

“And, if it isn’t too much trouble, may I ask our Queen to expand upon what he means by path forward? What steps do you propose we take so as to not fall behind the other gangs, Mr. Dio?”

Thus far, only Passeri suggested a viable plan of action…though given what Hashimoto had suggested, it sounded like he wished to purge the gang of undesirables and hire new criminals from outside? Interesting. Very Interesting. If that were the case, the only question now would be who exactly the undesirables were and how he intended to do the purging?

Elias’s cold bowl of miso sat forgotten until it was ultimately taken away and replaced with different dishes.

@Chaos Gallant Beann Roda the Red @Peckinou AriAriAbabwa The One Eyed Bandit simj26 joshuadim

 

[Lucem]

Isaiah Spade

CS Link

SCENE:

If It Means A Lot To You

LOCATION:

Isaiah's Apartment, East District

TIME:

Post-Arc 3 (31st MAY 2022 @0200)

PARTICIPANTS:

Isaiah, Ruriko

IF IT MEANS A LOT TO YOU

Isaiah's face took a more serious turn as Ruriko began to recount the day's events. The mix of concern and relief was still there, however. Concern for the dangers she and the others faced, and relief that everyone managed to escape. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for his mission.

Placing a hand on her stilled fist, Isaiah shook his head a bit in response to Ruriko's self-deprecating remarks. "You can't blame yourself for that. If you hadn't been there, things probably would've ended up a lot worse. And you came back alive. That's what matters."

His words weren't just for the sake of boosting the Dragon's spirit. He truly believed that if not for her presence, Silva and the others could have ended up in worse shape. Ruriko was strong and dependable. Always had been. That was why he found it important to remind her of her value and keep self-targeted criticisms from making her forget it. Although, he acknowledged his own hypocrisy when it came to things like that, especially when he was reminded of the meeting.

"Unfortunately, I just manage to clean up well. The city is in much worse shape." Removing his hand from Ruriko's, he continued to speak as warmth slowly left his tone, becoming more flat and regulated.

"The negotiation itself went well, despite tensions. The Kings reached an agreement and it seemed like the war would end." Despite being so close, everything was so easily ripped away by forces outside of their control.

"But when the earthquake began, something seemed to possess them, and they fought across Central without caring about anything in their path. Meirin and I managed to follow them with a few Phoenixes, and we somehow managed to prevent them from killing each other or anyone else." It was a small victory compared to the tragedy that followed.

"Then the remaining two Kings showed up and it came to a standoff. The tremors got worse, and we evacuated before we could get caught up in the chaos. We headed back to the meeting location while trying to help as many people as we could along the way, but a lot of damage had already been done. Shen and the Phoenix King returned to order both sides to evacuate before they headed to stop Central from crumbling any further. Shen eventually came back, but there's been no sight of the South's leader."

He paused for a moment before continuing, masking the exhaustion-fueled rasp in his voice. "Until now, I've been trying to get people to safety and locate missing Dragons. That and picking out the dead so we can at least give them a proper burial. I only planned on stopping back home for a little bit before Silva dropped you off."

Had Pixel arrived a few moments earlier, before water scrubbed away all the blood and fatigue, Isaiah would have had to continue wearing a mask crafted by illusions. Despite all of his shortcomings, the one thing he was able to do well was keep things under wraps, including everything that afflicted him. That's how it had always been. It was his primary use.

He let the silence linger, giving Ruriko time to process everything. It wasn't an easy story to wake up to, but there was no point in lying. She would know the truth eventually, and she was entitled to it.

Spoiler: Tags

Beann

 

[Roda the Red]

Keith Sullivan

CS Link

SCENE:

Cheers for the New Hatch

LOCATION:

Azure Dragon HQ, East District

TIME:

Nighttime,Post-Arc 3, June 17th 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Xuexia, Keith

Cheers for the New Hatch

A quartet of tall beer pints clinked, foam lightly tripping outside of the rims. In one of the several tables layed across one of the many buildings in ADHQ, four people drank and cheered in joyous festivity. Of course, they weren't alone, as several other members of the infamous gang also sat around the room, most of them either drinking or eating from the variety of dishes neatly placed on top of the tables.

Over the last couple weeks or so, the Azure Dragons had found themselves with a relatively large flow of new members, starry-eyed rookies eager to enforce the will of the gang, all of them showing varying levels of promise, but the Dragons were known for treating the members among their ranks well, at least relatively to their local rivals. The sudden influx gave some of the veterans the idea to hold a welcome party for all the new rookies, the baby dragons freshly hatched from the egg. There may be dire times awaiting on every corner, but this was a night of fun and singing, to bond with one another in, quite frankly, a drunken stupor.

And then there was Keith, the nervous rookie awkwardly holding his own glass of beer with both hands. His gaze would shift between looking at those who accompanied him at his table, and the bubbles fizzing atop his drink. He was frankly honored to be invited to the party, he had only been in the gang for a measly five days, so knowing they were this welcoming was both relieving and heartwarming. Well, that would be the entire story if it wasn't for the fact that.

Keith absolutely despised alcohol

He had stayed right in place there, his legs growing number on the tatami as he tried his best to make idle chatter with the dragons next to him, whatever allowed him to avoid drinking that piss-yellow poison, which until now he had only managed to give tiny sips of, each time always succeeding in making his face scrunch up in disgust. Oh peer pressure, thou art the bashful's greatest bane. Hopefully, as long as nobody tried to force him into drinking much more than he already had, he might be able to come out of this party seeing it as an overall positive experience.

ATurei

 

[simj26]

Dagger

CS Link

SCENE:

Sweet Talkin' Woman

TIME:

December 22nd, 2021 | Pre Arc 3

LOCATION:

Park's Safehouse

PARTICIPANTS:

Passeri, Dagger

Sweet Talkin' Woman

She shrugged at the question that Park flung at her, half certain that it was only done so to break the pall of silence that she seemed to always have hanging over her. "You're asking the wrong person," she said, just in case she was right about her assumptions.

She never really had a way to 'relax'. When she was still capable of sleep, it was the warmth of Simone's body against her when they were together on their bed that gave her some level of 'relaxation'. She found cleaning her guns and doing mechanical work in the garage to be meditative as well. She remembered that Simone used to enjoy reading on her time off to relax, and oftentimes, while she was sprawled out on the couch, Simone would lay her head on her lap, book in hand. She, on the other hand, found books too difficult to read. Even the ones with pictures in them, or were completely made out of pictures. She couldn't get past two pages before puzzling over what she had just read or getting a headache.

She was, in the words of her father, a workaholic, and one of strange works. She had to keep her hands busy, and if she wasn't, she might as well be sleeping.

She obliged with Park's request, tuning out her conversation with her friend, and drifted over to the light switch, bringing the room to a much more comfortable darkness, one that she was more used to. Silently, in the cover of the newly made shadows, her silhouette just ever so slightly lit up by the dim screen, now filled with the visages of two men, one of whom she recognised was on the cover of the VHS, shemade her way over to her pile of discarded clothes, and ran her fingers across the belt, until her hand found purchase on the grip of her knife. She pried the holster off the belt, and slipped both it and its knife into the pocket of her new pants.

She sat herself down on the couch, on the end opposite of Park's, and leaned back. It felt odd. In her rundown hideaway, the equally dilapidated couch had just been an extra bed for her to spend sleepless nights in, or just slouched, draped over the furniture like a lazy dog when not attending to her equipment. This would mark the first time she spent any proper amount of time on actual furniture with a real person, since…that time with Weiss.

Still uncomfortable.

She fidgeted in her seat, and decided to answer Park's question, even if she thought it was a rhetorical one. "It's to keep your eyes on the screen. The darkness eliminates all distractions that may come from movements from the rest of the audience. At least, I assume so." One of the men, the one not on the box art, on the screen was now explaining how to get used to flying to another country. Something about bare feet on the rug, and curling the toes.

Spoiler: tags

The One Eyed Bandit

 

[Roda the Red]

ERIC EVENSEN

CS Link

SCENE:

What the Cat Dragged In

LOCATION:

Eric's Apartment, Central District

TIME:

Post Arc 3 || June 16th, 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Eric, Katya, Siru

What the Cat Dragged In

...HUH?

It was over, calling this situation "dire" would be a severe understatement. The Detective, the smart and cunning man who pride himself in always being one step ahead, capable of predicting what threats were to come and quickly coming up with solutions on how to fight them off, his one big area of expertise, his domain, his raison d'etre, even. It was all for nothing, for a grave danger was approaching, one he did not predict, heading to his direction at great speed, and Eric? He had no solution, he had to accept the reality.

His cousin was bringing a boy over.

Katya, his family member and flatmate, bless her heart, had made it known that for the last several months, there was a special someone she had been seeing. Apparently it had started as a friendship for a fairly long time, but the Detective knew better, a lady doesn't speak about a gentleman with sparkles in her eyes if it's merely platonic. And just like he had feared predicted, eventually they started dating. Now, in what was most likely just a coping mechanism, Eric hoped that it wasn't anything serious, he was just one guy, what were the odds?

Lulled into a fake sense of security by his dear cousin's delicious food's smell, Eric expected this to be just another comfy night...Until he got the news of the incoming visit. A stranger, coming into his apartment to have dinner. His cave, his safespace, his personal temple, defiled by an unwelcomed presence.

With little choice, the Detective subjected himself to an emergency shower, as well as picking his finest hoodie for the occassion, he still needed to at least look presentable to a degree after all. Defeated, he stepped into the kitchen, directing some crestfallen words at Katya. "Hmm, he's three minutes late, I'm afraid he might not be showing up after all"

Meanwhile, nearby, a third figure aboarded the building's elevator, smiling to himself as he waited for the doors to open. He was looking forward to this wonderful evening.

Beann

 

[Beann]

KATYA EVENSEN

SCENE:

What the Cat Dragged In

LOCATION:

Eric's Apartment, Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Eric, Katya, Siru

WHAT THE CAT DRAGGED IN

For the past few months, Katya had frequented the Eastern District more often than the rest. The reason was because she fancied a particular florist — who also happened to be a gangster. He didn't really look the part but his involvement didn't bother her! Well, it did at first considering her cousin, the one she was currently living with, was part of the police force who often worked against the gangs of New Oasis. However, her feelings for him were genuine, and surely a difference in affiliations shouldn't hinder a relationship. So, she made their relationship known to her cousin and so far it seemed he'd been taking it surprisingly well! That is until she notified Eric that she invited her boyfriend over for dinner tonight. Since the early afternoon, her cousin had been acting a little strange about the anticipated visitor. He even went as far as taking a shower and wearing one of the nice hoodies she bought him. Perhaps he was just as excited as she was for tonight!

Speaking of excitement, she had been looking forward to this evening for about a week. Katya wanted to give the impression that her only family in New Oasis was supportive of this relationship so she decided that preparing a meal specific to Siru's culture would be appropriate. Gathering all the ingredients wasn't a problem, the market in the Eastern District proved to be very useful, but putting all the ingredients together was a bit challenging. Her specialty was baking after all and she had only dabbled in dishes from back home. As such, she kept her phone positioned against the back kitchen wall near the stove for her to constantly look at the videos on how to prepare: gyoza, karaage, and yakisoba. Katya had been hard at work for a few hours, only taking a break to shower and get dressed before returning to the kitchen to check on the mochi ice cream she had set in the freezer a while back.

"Oh do not worry, Eric!" Katya waved her hand as she moved from the freezer to the stove where she had kept the prepared meals on a low setting to stay warm. "He would have messaged me if he was not coming," she nodded to herself in confidence before lifting the lid of one of the pans. "Here, come try this!" She waved him over as she fished for a fork in one of the drawers nearby. Stabbing a piece of marinated, deep-fried chicken, she turned to her cousin and held out the fork to his lips. "This is called uh…ka…raa…ge!" Katya pronounced each syllable slowly, practicing to say it smoothly with Siru present. Once her cousin had taste-tested her cooking, she was quick to wash the fork in the sink and set it out to dry.

"I am very excited for you to meet Siru, I think you two will get along nicely!" Katya grinned as she reached behind her back, undoing the bow she had tied her apron in. After taking the apron off and hanging it on a hook nearby, she clapped her hands together in a realization. "Oh! Help me set the table – before he arrives." She rushed over to the cabinets overhead, reaching for three ceramic plates. As she handed them off to Eric, a knock at the door caused her tail to shoot up in excitement. "Eric, can you please get that? I need to make sure I do not look like a heks (witch) after all this cooking!" She rushed out of the kitchen towards the bathroom to fix her hair.

Roda the Red

 

[Coyote Hart]

PEYTON XIONG

CS Link

SCENE:

The Dead and The Deathless

LOCATION:

Vandalized Lot, North District

TIME:

Post-Arc 3 || Circa June 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Peyton, Deirest

THE DEAD AND THE DEATHLESS

Peyton whimpered in pain as he felt Deirest lash out at Peyton. Each one of her uncoordinated attacks landed squarely on their target, as Peyton lacked the awareness to defend himself. He was definitely going to be bruised and battered tomorrow. The mouthful of flesh that Peyton bit into relented to his grip, tearing off of Deirest's body.

Ignoring his instincts to swallow, Peyton spat the flesh away. The intoxicating taste of blood in his mouth made such a normal task difficult. It seemed that the zombie part of his potential was getting more and more overwhelming by the day. Perhaps one day he'd become a cannibal like Yuto. The idea was not half-bad.

Peyton was suddenly thrown out of his brief moment of contemplation-- rather literally. He was lifted into the air, his legs flailing rapidly in protest as he was tossed away. Instinctively, Peyton shouted, "Whee!"

And then he crashed into the concrete with a yelp, the ephemeral moment of delight abruptly cut off. But now that he was a good distance away from the wild lady, Peyton could finally wield his rifle to its full extent.

"I don't hate you! People can fight each other without hating each other!" Peyton declared. He was only fighting Deirest to maintain the order, "I actually think you're kinda cool! So if there's someone that you want help from, I'm your guy! Although, I don't really know who you are. You're obviously an HP. We fight similarly. You definitely need new clothes and some bandages. Other than that, I dunno! I've never been that good at noticing things!"

Now that Peyton thought about it, he had no reason to help this lady. It seemed, just like his reason for engaging in a fight with her, that he was helping out because of his old Dragon habits. A good Dragon was one that helped the community after all.

Seeing as the woman was preparing to strike once more, a rather insane look glimmered in Peyton's gold eyes. He pulled the barrel of his rifle down towards his face, and a pink tongue flitted out to coat the bayonet with a layer of his paralyzing saliva. Then Peyton returned to a wary stance, reminiscent of how one would wield a spear. If she chose to lunge at Peyton, the diminutive Serpent decided he would skewer her.

The One Eyed Bandit

 

[Coyote Hart]

SEBASTIAN SE

CS Link

SCENE:

Ice Breakers

LOCATION:

New Oasis Police Department Floor 2 Break Room, Central District

TIME:

Post Arc 3 || June 25th, 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Sebastian, Chikage, Kyoden, Jean, Tatsuo, Yelena, Inigo, Eric

ICE BREAKERS

Sebastian contemplated what to put on his slip of paper, tapping the pen against the table several times before an indescribable look flitted across his face. He quickly scribbled something down and dropped his paper into the hat. And as he did, fashionably late, the trio of officers arrived.

The prosecutor hopped off of the table to approach the towering officer. He peered upwards, the muscular and vaguely scary looking newcomer looming almost half a foot taller than Sebastian. There was an evil smirk on his face as he took stock of his new coworker, although the look lacked any malicious intent in the slightest.

The Sable Serpents, eh? That was the gang that Julian chose to be a part of. Sebastian had many opinions of the chaotic group of rats. But if there was one thing that was undeniable about the Serpents it was that they knew how to have fun. Hopefully, Kyoden didn't forget that skill.

"Kokyo-san, is it? Well, aren't you just an adorable hunk," Sebastian finally said. He spun around, heading back to the pizza boxes to grab himself a slice. When he turned around once more to face Kyoden, all traces of maleficence were wiped from his expression. "The name's Sebastian. I can tell we're going to get along well. We've got a fun little icebreaker activity for you to help remember our names. And of course, there's pizza, courtesy of Eric. His cooking is shockingly just as good as the pizza chain down on 12th street."

In a way, the pizza party and icebreaker activity were like a welcome party for Kyoden.

Sebastian didn't neglect to include his bosses in the fun though. He gave Chikage a friendly wave and gestured him over, "Chikage-senpai, if you're not too busy, why don't you join us? We're putting something embarrassing that's happened during work on our slip of paper. I can't help but be curious about what you'd put~"

With a bit more feigned friendliness, Sebastian also waved over Yelena. The green haired prosecutor's opinion of Yelena was... decent. Sebastian was on Inigo's side in regard to his actions during the attack on the police station. He didn't know where Yelena got the monsters that tore apart the Phoenixes, but it was inhumane. And playing around with the Phoenixes like they were her prey... it was reprehensible. But perhaps she could fix that impression. And if only Sebastian saw the irony of his opinion.

"You too, Yelena. Don't be a stranger, there's enough pizza to go around," Sebastian said, "Someone as cool and suave as you must have some embarrassing secrets, right?"

Beann Doctor Llamabean Elenion Aura Roda the Red simj26 AriAriAbabwa

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Passeri Park

SCENE:

Sweet Talkin' Woman

TIME:

December 22nd, 2021 | Pre Arc 3

LOCATION:

Safehouse, North District

PARTICIPANTS:

Passeri, Dagger

Sweet Talkin' Woman

Passeri felt her consciousness drift. Away from the small, glowing screen, and out of the dim black of the living room. Away, it went, to tomorrow. Darkness obscured her fidgeting. How her fingers would inevitably trace their way back to her phone, or how her brow knitted as she sat and thought.

It hadn't always been that way. Somewhere in her web of thought, she recalled many nights not too different to this. Tucked away beneath an unwashed blanket with her best friend at her side, hypnotized by a VCR that she'd already watched dozens of times. All of that had slipped away when she'd started to dream. Of bigger things and brighter nights. So bright that they'd smothered out so, so much, and now here she was. Sat with a stranger. A stranger and a woman who she may well have smothered out herself.

"Geez." She lamented, responding to her thoughts as much as Dagger's words. "That's no fun, is it? Here I was hoping it was all conspriatorial."

She spoke little after that. Try as she might've to train her attention on the movie, it always drifted elsewhere. She wasn't sure if it really was just that dull, or if it were still the rain. It rang in her ears like a distant applause. More and more reminders of things that it would do her no good to think about.

Occasionally, Lisette's silent form caught her eye. Only now, with the makeup washed away, did she notice how much older she looked. Time might have moved the same for anyone, but it seemed as if it had taken her ever more dreadfully. There she was, a woman she'd called a friend, haggard and weary, while she sat on top of the world. Was that her fault? It was a thought she'd avoided for years, now rendered stark in the television's flickering light. Had she been lucky, and her unlucky? Her talented and her friend not? Or was she looking at a woman that she'd used up?

What did that make Dagger, then? Or rather, what would it make her? Dagger, Eric, Kiwi, and anyone else that she'd met since her return to this city. Now, they were strangers, but what of tomorrow? And a month after that? Would they, the unfortunate souls, be friends then? And what of the years beyond? Would this be what became of them, more spent people, smothered out by her wanton dreaming?

Her brow darkened. There was an urge in her to take Lisette aside. To apologize. For everything that she might've done.

But her phone buzzed first.

"Oh-" Her face lit up, illuminated by her phone's bright light. "-Would you look at that! Apparently there's an issue back in the studio. Something about needing to re-record some lines." A chipper hop extracted her from the couch's dastardly nostalgia.

"Sorry, girls, I gotta run!" Silently, she was thanking her lucky stars. There was nothing she needed more right now than to get away from all of... this. "If either of you need anything, though, just shoot me a call! It should be pretty light work, so it won't take me long to get back to you."

"Don't sweat it, Shortcake." Whatever guilt Passeri felt in her gut, she found no accusation to match in Lisette's eyes. Somehow, that only made it worse. "Duty calls, right? Go do your thing." The older woman lazily waved her off, and then returned her attention to the movie.

"Roger, ma'am!" Passeri chimed in return, as she made for the exit. "Oh, and Dagger! Again, I appreciate this! Really! You did great! You'll be hearing from me often, okay? You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find someone reliable in this city." She waved, just barely visible through the darkness, and then a ray of light spilled in from the hall beyond. There was a moment's pause as she pulled the door shut behind her, but her hesitation was brief. Darkness returned to the room, and soon after an elevator began a descent.

"So, uh." Lisette shifted in her chair. "Didn't wanna say anything earlier in case you just wanted to hang out, or something, but you know she said there was a laundry, right?" She eyed Dagger's heap of soaked clothing intensely enough to pierce the darkness. "Laundry as in dryer? As in won't soak my new carpet?"

She shrugged, and settled back into her seat.

"Food for thought. Warm set of clothes might wipe that grim look off your face. Both of you looked like you'd spent the last night with the Grim Reaper, you know that? Awkward as hell."

Speeding towards Central, a passenger in a luxury taxi felt her phone buzz again, and again, and again. Though she wouldn't discover it for a few hours yet, buried amongst all the hassling and calls for her presence, a fresh bud nestled.

'Good seeing you, Shortcake. Don't be a stranger this time.'

simj26​

 

[thebigfella]

Shishido Takakazu

CS Link

SCENE:

People Who Look At You At The Arcade And Say “Aren’t You A Bit Too Old For Those Games?”
Deserve To Slip And Fall Into A Cement Mixer

LOCATION:

West District

TIME:

June 18, 2022 | | Post-Arc 3

PARTCIPANTS:

Eustass, Tak

People Who Look At You At The Arcade And Say “Aren’t You A Bit Too Old For Those Games?” Deserve To Slip And Fall Into A Cement Mixer.

“You ready?”

A determined voice came from a mouth of crooked baby teeth, the shadow that hung to the top of the perspective hid their face, putting focus only on their lips as they moved.

The focus swiftly smeared over to a familiar shot, another spotlight placed on another mouth and neck as they nervously swallowed, their spit visually trailing down their throat.

“Y-Yeah,” They responded with uncertainty, clear apprehension in his voice as a small bead of sweat began to trail down the side of his face.

Finally, the perspective shifted to show the pair who were busy steeling themselves for what was ahead. Two boys, most likely only in elementary school, stared down the glass doors of a building, the more confident of the pair wore a backwards cap covering his messy brownish-red hair, a sleeveless vest and shorts, bandages decorated his arms.

The other boy was much more average looking in comparison, clean cut black hair with glasses, a simple button-up and jeans.

Both of their eyes fixated upon the large sign that sat above the doorway, the name of the establishment painted in a street graffiti style in an attempt to be hip and cool.

​

“Starkiller Arcade…” The messy-haired runt trailed off, brows furrowed as he looked down to look through the glass doors, the flashing LCD screens of various arcade cabinets faintly visible behind the branding that layered across the glass.

“This is where everyone says it is.” He continued, crossing his arms with a frown, “The unbeatable demon who sends everyone running, with not a single penny to even afford lunch at school the whole week.”

His terrifying words caused the boy next to him to visibly start shivering, his glasses shaking upon his nose as he nervously scratched the back of his neck, “Keita, d-do we really have to do this? It’s nothing more than a rumor, isn’t it?” He tried to speak some sense into his friend.

Instead of listening to him, Keita suddenly pushed his face into his, clearly agitated by the comment, the glasses-wearing kid scrunching backwards as he raised his hands defensively in response.

“What!? Do you want us to just run away like chickens!? Everyone will make fun of us if we do that!” Keita blurted out, jabbing a finger into the other boy's chest to punctuate his point. A squiggly, nervous smile came across the unnamed kid’s face as he half-heartedly nodded along, “I guess you’re right! Hahaha….”

Keita gave him a gruff glare, clearly not convinced by his response as he huffed, getting out of his face, “I don’t know what you’re scared of anyway Nathan! We’re a team, remember?” He jabbed his friend on the shoulder, giving him a grin.

Nathan’s expression softened a bit, a look of confusion on his face, “Huh?” he audibly voiced his lack of understanding of what Keita meant.

“C’mon, did you forget?” He said with a small pout, before quickly putting out a big smile, “I have all the game playing skills and everything, but…it’s your ability of analysis that makes us unstoppable!” He resounded, before giving a thumbs up, “With both of us, that beast doesn’t stand any chance!”

A smile wormed its way onto Nathan’s face, all the anxiousness left his body, confidence bubbled through him at his pal’s words, he was done being afraid, if Keita trusted him that much, he would make him proud.

“Alright!” Keita shouted, turning once again to look towards the glass doors, confidently raising a clenched fist in front of his face, as he wore a toothy grin, “Let’s go show this monster who’s boss!”

“Yeah!” Nathan rallied right next to him, raising his own arm up in cheer, and with confidence they strutted forward into the arcade, the mechanical doors opening for them with a signifying chime, before closing behind them.


….

Moments later, the doors opened again with a familiar greeting chime.

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”

With tears flowing from their eyes in giant waterfalls that sprayed in the air, the boys ran out of the arcade with their hands raised up in the air, their cries echoing down the road as they ran down the sidewalk, concerned bystanders watched the boys run by, until they disappeared over the horizon. A man in a suit, a woman with her baby in a stroller, and an old man with his walking cane, they collectively blinked before turning to look back towards the arcade where they had run out of. What had caused them to run away crying like that?

Once again the familiar chiming of the mechanical door opening followed shortly ahead of a pair of dirtied black and white shoes clicking against the pavement, wrinkled, uneven socks hung to a pair of hairy legs.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me…” A complaint came from above as the view trailed up the man’s legs to go past his camouflage shorts, past the wrinkled white t-shirt he wore and the open gray collar shirt, finally stopping at his face, the dead look in his grayish green eyes, a frown on his lips as he looked at the flimsy stack of money in his hand.

His fingers flipped through the bills, counting each one deliberately, before visibly scowling, “Only 20 dollars? The hell? Parent’s nowadays. How the hell am I gonna make any profit if they’re letting kids walk around with chump change!” he loudly complained, but nevertheless still shoved the money he had into his pocket.

It was only then, did he notice all the eyes on him, his head turned to match their gazes with his own annoyed glare, “The hell ya lookin’ at!?” He shouted at them, a twitch in his brow. They all quickly turned their heads away from him, going back to what they were doing.

The thug simply huffed in response, crossing his arms as he clicked his teeth. “Damn, it’s already getting late and all I got is a couple dollars and a bunch of quarters,” he complained, looking up and down the street. “Where are the rich kids at, this is the West District isn’t it!?”

Despite his complaining, his wishes didn’t seem like they would be granted; instead he simply groaned, rolling his head back, “Whatever. Guess It’s time to call it a day, maybe pick up some chinese on the way back” he mumbled, prepared to take his bounty home and call it a night.

Not like he was about to have any other grade school kids come and try to challenge him again, right?

Doctor Llamabean

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Sabrina Felton

CS Link

SCENE:

A Recycled Dream

LOCATION:

The Sanctuary, Dodgetown, North Distict

TIME:

Post Arc 3

PARTICIPANTS:

Lily, Sabrina

A Recycled Dream

The music stopped as Sabrina’s fingers stilled, dark eyes flashing towards the “drunken” speaker.

Whispers sounded throughout the decrepit pub, but no one stood to confront the girl that insulted the musician nor rose to defend the singer from “drunken” criticism. Pub-goers simply watched. Waited to see how the drama would unfold - what Stingray, rumored member of the Sable Serpents would do.

Sabrina, for her part, heard the words like a sudden, flimsy punch in the gut. Yes, it hurt, bringing back memories that she would rather leave dead, but she’d already grown so used to the punches, they didn’t affect her as much. Nasty hate mail. Jeers and mockery. Ever since false rumors started circling the music industry about her, such words had become a daily occurrence. Her own “father” had said something not too different before disowning her. Sabrina was annoyed. Not enraged. However, to ignore the insult would be even worse. In front of a pub full of criminals, if ‘Stingray’ didn’t respond, it would make her look weak. It would give others a license to treat her as such.

More importantly, rumors spread quickly and all the effort she’d put into getting into the Sable Serpent gang, into building a reputation as one not to be messed with, would be gone in an instant. Unlike back when she was a singer in the lights, Sabrina of the Sable Serpents had a different sort of reputation to uphold.

A less restrictive one.

Therefore, heaving a sigh, Sabrina set her instrument aside and reached into her pockets, pulling out a cig and a lighter. She lit the nicotine stick, taking a quick drag, a quick fix, to calm herself before dark eyes settled back on the laughing girl. Scrutinized her.

“Funny, is it?” Removing the cigarette from her lips, Sabrina dropped it, stepping out the light. “Good thing I don’t give a damn what Vermin like you think.”

Rising from the stool, she sauntered towards the loudmouth with purposeful strides, pub patrons parting for her like the Red Sea. It wasn’t until she stood in front of the girl, the one that knew her as Stingray, did Sabrina stop, her arms folded.

“If you’re trying to pick a fight, then step outside.” The Sanctuary had an unspoken rule regarding fights, after all. She didn’t want to piss off the pub owner. She also vaguely recognized the girl as someone from the Sable Serpent gang…though it wasn’t as if Sabrina attended enough Serpent meetings to know for certain. Not that it mattered. Serpents challenged each other (for supremacy) nearly as much as other gangs did and, in order to avoid doing things she didn’t like to do (like drug runs), Sabrina had to prove herself stronger than the rest. Strong enough to not get pushed around by other low-ranked Snakes.

Freedom was awarded to the strong.

That was really the only rule in a gang that–for the most part–professed no rules.

“Otherwise, I’d keep my trap shut about the things I have no fuckin' clue about if I were you. You’ll live longer that way.”

ATurei

 

[Roda the Red]

CHARLIE HUGHES

CS Link

SCENE:

Searching for the Light

TIME:

Afternoon, Post-Arc 3, June 18th 2022

LOCATION:

Phoenix HQ, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Hitoshi

Searching for the Light

"Client sounded very satisfied, seems like those troublemakers are not going to show up at that shop again" Said Jasmine, smiling as her hand was busy swirling the spoon on her cup of coffee, the sugar had already been dissolved for a while now, but she couldn't help this small habit of hers, the movement was oddly soothing to the broker. "Yeah, they were kind of pushovers, I think they were part of a smaller local gang" The phoenix rookie brought his can of energy drink to his lips, raspberry was his favorite. His words which would normally come from someone coming off as cocky were instead out of complete honesty. It was complete night and day how little trouble they gave him compared to his first gang fight, all the way back at the restaurant.

Jasmine reached out for the inner flap of her vest, her hand pulling out a thin kraft paper envelope, she slid it through the table and onto Charlie. "Not the best payment, but it should suffice" Charlie smiled in return, clearly not bothered by the exact amount lying within the envelope. "You already give me so much to do, Jas, I'm in no position to whine over one or two underpaid gigs" He pinched the envelop, gently dragging it inside of his jacket, safely putting it in an inner pouch. The veteran raised her eyebrow, the corner of her mouth rose as she spoke once again. "Is that so? I know you've been told this many times but you don't really act like a gangster, you know?"

At some point in the past, Charlie would've felt belittled by such a remark, further worsening his belief of 'not fitting it', but after all this time, he couldn't help but feel somewhat relieved by by her words, perhaps serving as evidence that he had yet to shed his humanity. Of course, that didn't mean that he himself believed them to be entirely true. "Hmm, I don't really think so, you'd be surprised, if you were on the field more often you would see me in a different light" His tone and expression turned into a handful of shades darker, that was, before realizing he might've just said something rude. "I-I mean! It's not like you should be in the field more, you're doing great as is! It was more of a hypothetical...Sorry" He was visibly flustered by his own comment, especially since he was never quite the best at explaining himself. The veteran, however, never changed expression from her soft smirk. "Don't worry about it" If anything, she found it to be amusing.

"Okay, I need to be going now, Aniki told me to go somewhere with him today and he should be arriving at any moment" Jasmine was puzzled for a moment, before putting the pieces together in her mind. "Oh, Hitoshi? I see, tell Mr. Rock Bottom Dragon that I said hi, okay? Haven't seen that goofball in a hot minute" Charlie nodded as he stood up from his seat, but as he was just about to take his leave "Wait a second, Charlie" He turned his neck back, slightly taken aback by Jasmine's sudden serious expression. "You've been working a bit much as of late, so take it easy for a few days, okay? I'll block you if you ask me for a job until I see it fit" For a couple seconds, the rookie didn't know how to respond, and well, it was true that all the work had started to take a toll on his body, however... "I...I'll try, thanks Jasmine" It was far easier said than done. He might be overworked, he might be pushing it a bit much, and maybe his sleeping schedule have been found itself a bit too sacrificed as of late, but work kept him focused, distracted, even, from the fear, the uncertainty, the dark thoughts and memories he oh so desperately wanted to avoid, it also made the leadership happy, which was a neat bonus, and lastly...He knew, deep inside, that he craved the thrill of the fight, and work was the perfect excuse to go and find it. The veteran relaxed, leaning back on the backrest of her chair. "You just go and have fun, okay? Take care, Charles"

He could feel a shiver going down his spine, there was something extremely ominous about the easygoing Jasmine referring to him with that name. With a silent nod, he made a hasty retreat towards the HQ's main entrance.

On the outside, a couple Phoenixes keeping guard in front of the building gave Hitoshi a long stare. They felt a little bit insulted by his sentence, what did he think HQ was, a daycare? "I dunno who that is and I don't care, ya wanna find them, go look on yer own, uncle" He lifted his chiseled forearm, a single thumb pointing behind him towards the entrance.

"Aniki!"

The (probably one-sided) tense atmosphere was cut by the rookie's approaching high-pitch voice. He leapt over the car, landing right next on the co-pilot door, as 330 pounds landing directly on the seat was more than likely a recipe for disaster. He then wasted no time on getting on the vehicle. "So! Where are we going?" He asked with renewed sparkles in his eyes.

The guarding Phoenix stared at the pair for a moment, before speaking with a shit-eating grin. "Well, there ya go, found 'er for ya, I think a 'thanks' is in order" The meathead then proceeded to triumphantly pick his nose with his pinky.

joshuadim

 

[joshuadim]

HITOSHI YAMAKAWA

CS Link

SCENE:

Get(ting) Help

TIME:

Post Arc-3; 2 1/2 weeks later

LOCATION:

The Old Dojo, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Hitoshi, Charlie, Ashley, Gideon, Hector, Kaede

GET(TING) HELP

Hitoshi had landed a blow, but Hector was quick to respond in a manner that caught Hitoshi off guard. But, much to both their surprise, he accidentally avoided Hector's sweeping strike intended to bring the elder to the floor. Instead, Hitoshi had accidentally stumbled after instinctively trying move back and gain distance between him and Hector. His left leg flung upwards as he already lost his balance, resulting in Phoenix Queen's attack only contacting the air. However, Hitoshi tumbled backwards regardless with an audible 'oh shit' as he jammed the end of his weapon into the mats below to get some balance.

Hanging in an angled planking position now, Hitoshi felt the strain on his body - due to a deteriorated core strength - as he tried to push himself back up from such an awkward position. But Hector wasn't done as he had spun about and lunged with a downwards strike with the metal jutting out of him. Hitoshi's eyes widened, realizing that he simply was too out of shape to actually get himself up the way he was currently and - instead - simply dropped to the floor like a rock. A thumb sounded as his back impact the ground, before quickly bringing his bō staff in a lateral guard. Hector's attack clashed with the bamboo with an audible thunk, leaving the two men straining as Hitoshi tried to keep his defence up.

Beads of sweat rolled down Hitoshi's forehead, signalling just how bad his endurance was after so many years of ravaging his own body. He practically seemed out of breath already, but he also retained a bit of surprise as well as some leftover strength. Using Hector's current footing against him, Hitoshi utilized a disengaging maneuver he recalled that Jiro had once used against him many times as part of grappling practice. To avoid an enemy's grasp, use their own weight against them. And so, Hitoshi swept one leg in front of Hector's right while the other went about pushing at the back of his knee.

This, in turn, forced Hector down as he lost the support of his leg and freed Hitoshi to roll away ungracefully a few meters before coming to a stop. The elder Phoenix clambered up onto his feet, panting heavily before wiping the sweat off his brow. "Whew, damn... I am so out of shape." he said in between gasps, "Give me a sec... whoo... haaa..."

WhiskeyMarten

 

[joshuadim]

HITOSHI YAMAKAWA

CS Link

SCENE:

Searching for the Light

TIME:

The Day After Get(ting) Help

LOCATION:

Tommy's (Abandoned) Scrapyard, Outskirts of South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Hitoshi, Charlie

SEARCHING FOR THE LIGHT

"Hey c'mon, help a man out here yeah?" Hitoshi said towards one of the goons out front, "I'm 40! My knees and back don't work like they used to..." It was meant as a joke, but both men seemed unamused by it as they remained stoically gruntish which made Hitoshi then roll his eyes. "C'mooon, they don't teach you about jokes around here anymore?" the veteran asked with a slight tinge of annoyance. But the mood changed when Charlie made himself known as he practically bounded out of HQ and landed with a thud next to the car. Hitoshi gave the young lad a finger salute as he entered the rented pickup: "It's a surprise, trust me." he said with a grin, before his gaze turned back to the goons.

One of them spoke up with a shit-eating grin and a ridiculous request. Now they were asking for thanks? "Aha, so you *do* have a sense of humour!" Hitoshi shouted, before quickly speeding off to leave both men in the literal dust. As beaten up as this old thing was, it still had plenty of horsepowered life in it as its engine rumbled on the main streets of the south. Carrying both Hitoshi and Charlie, they toured through the main road that led towards the highway exit. Though the traffic left them with less speed than desired, Hitoshi remained rather upbeat about the whole thing as his fingers tapped rhythmically on the wheel.

"So, what have you been up to today?" Hitoshi asked as he concentrated on the road, "Working? Since you were in HQ after all."

Roda the Red

 

[thebigfella]

Shishido Takakazu

CS Link

SCENE:

The Idol Fanclub Trials (Pre-Arc 2)

LOCATION:

Highreach, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Shishido Takakazu, Passeri Park ( The One Eyed Bandit )

The Idol Fanclub Trials

“IT’S REALLY HER!”

“NO WAYYYYY! IROI!?”

“OUTTA MY WAY, I GOTTA GET OVER THERE!”

“HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! IROI-SAMAAAAAAA!”

The enthusiastic shouts of the thinning crowd came with the small-scale stampede that moved from the misshapen line to form another deformed congregation. Hands raised in the air as feet jumped off the ground like she had the power of purification; Passeri had changed a bunch of malnourished rabid dogs into a pack of obedient puppies, stars in their eyes as they stood underneath her stage.

“IROI! SIGN MY ORIGINAL DEBUT EDITION STARGAZER TOOTHBRUSH! I EVEN HAVE THE MATCHING TOOTHPASTE!” A familiar blonde even appeared among the crowd, appearing high above the other masses to show off his pretty-colored toothbrush plastered with stars and sparkles in one hand, a toothpaste with Passeri’s face on the tube in the other.

Soon after, Camelo appeared right next to him, waving around a purple back scratcher above his head like a weapon, “FORGET THAT! SIGN MY HEARTS AND PETALS OUR☆DREAM ENTERTAINMENT BACK SCRATCHER!” Manyard shouted over Camelo; both idiots had found themselves in the expectant crowd.

While many had departed their model-oriented goals to instead grasp at the much more palpable taste of their idol’s attention, many still stood fast, their feet planted sharp on the ground. It was clear to some of the most devoted few that they had to do their best, channel all their willpower to not move, clenched fists and gritted teeth paired with bloodshot eyes and sweating faces with twitching pupils. Some directly refused to even look over, to not get tempted.

“It’s not real, it’s not real, it’s not real.” A whole group began to mutter in ominous unison, shadows covering their face as they convinced themselves that their idol wasn’t actually next to them, nothing but a figment of their imagination.

Some cheered on from within the line, while others could no longer hold their temptations and broke from the line to run toward the stage, arms flailing, and maybe even some tears and snot.

The line had dropped to a much more manageable level, with only a handful of the strongest soldiers still holding their place in the queue. Without Tak asking, the idol had decided to help him out; he should have been grateful.

But, instead, his standard expression of annoyance was on his face, once again bearing witness to the undeniable pull that Passeri had when it came to her fans, an eyebrow twitching as he scowled.

“I can’t believe these idiots are so captivated by this broad,” Tak muttered. He had no clue why she was helping him, but he couldn’t care less, a smirk coming to his face as he turned back to look at the small line he was left with.

“Whatever. Now, this will be easy; these trials ain’t nothin’ but a sham.”

Tak strolled up to the line, shoving his hands into his pockets, prepared to plow his way right through. All in his path were a couple of nobodies, fatties, pimple-covered nerds, and other people with nothing better to do.

“Comin’ through,” Tak stated. It wasn’t a warning but a declaration as his shoulder weaved its way between two bodies, forging the crack that would let the rest of him slip through right to the front of his line where his success awaited.

But as soon as he planted a foot on the ground, prepared to push himself through, he found himself unable to move; a black bar cut through the screen to show both the perspective of his struggling foot and one of his eyes shooting wide in surprise.

There he was, stuck in place, only the slight twitch of his muscles to indicate he was trying to move at all, his teeth gritted as what sounded like coarse leather rubbing against each other signified the friction that was stopping him.

“What the hell!? I can’t…move!”

“Looks like he’s experiencing it now.” The voice of the fan club captain brought the perspective to the four members, overlooking Tak’s struggle with neutral examination on their faces, their arms crossed, although Camelo and Manyard both had clear bumps on their foreheads.

“He probably thought this would be easy. Seems he isn’t aware of the technique,” the captain observed, his head tilting backward slightly.


“Grrrggh…!” Tak struggled more to push his way through, clearly putting his all into it as he shifted his weight forward like a football tackle; as he shoved forward with his feet, it seemed he was going to burst through the wall.

Until, like he had run into a barrier of elastic rubber, he bounced backward, flinging through the air!

“GYAAAHHH!” Tak screamed out in surprise just before his back landed flat against the ground, the force of the fall giving him some bounce before he skidded across the floor, leaving a trail of dust behind him as he finally came to a stop a few feet away.

His hands shakily placed themselves on the ground, pushing him upwards as he glared at the line, reaching up to wipe the corner of his lip with his arm, “W-What the hell was that?!” He blurted and tried to figure out what happened.

“It’s a legendary technique. Any true fan has had to deal with it at least once.” Hapori continued on, his eyes closing as he seemed to recount his boundless knowledge. Meanwhile, Tak was clambering back up to his feet, and when his head rose to look at the line in front of him again, he froze in place, shock clear on his expression.

Staring back at him was everyone in the line, a bright red demonic glow in their eyes as a malicious aura wafted off them like a terrible stench, shadows shrouded their eyes in darkness.

“This isn’t any normal line; this is the ultimate blockade.”

With his declaration of the technique, menacing text appeared on screen before disappearing in a flash of light, returning back to Hapori to show him slowly opening his eyes.

“This is where the trial really starts. If he can’t get past this, it’s over for him.”

Once again, the perspective returned to Tak, the brute still surprised at the menacing glares pointed directly at him. Quickly, he broke out of his stupor, a defiant grimace returning to his face as his fists clenched.

“Don’t you fuckers play with me!” Tak shouted towards them before running right into the wall once more. With all the momentum he had, he bashed his shoulder into them before quickly shifting to both hands and trying to push them out of the way, his shoes skidding off the ground as they lost their friction, shortly before he was once again sending flying through the air as the wall bounced right back into him.

“Ggh!” A pained sound came out of his face as he landed against his side, his arm scraping against the ground along with his face as he slid across the pavement again. With a snarl, he rose back to his knees, spitting on the ground, turning his head, revealing the small spots of scrapes that now decorated the side of his face.

“Damn!” he cursed before immediately rising back up to his feet, and just like before, he charged ahead, trying to force his way through with all the power he could muster, but just like earlier, he was launched backward right on his ass.

Quicker this time, he was back on his feet, “Again!” he shouted, running right into the line barrier in his way again. And so, this continued, again and again. He ran forward into the line only to be spat back out like a wad of gum.

A few minutes had passed, and the people who had gotten their stuff signed had already left Passeri’s line to join back into this one, the defenses growing stronger every second. Despite that, Tak was left kneeling on the ground, using a balled fist to support his weight as he breathed heavily, marks all over his body as if he had just finished an intense fight.

“Shit!” he swore, punching the ground. But he couldn’t do anything. He kneeled there, anticipating his next move, until something caught his eye, causing it to immediately widen as it focused in through the narrow slot of vision he had on the inside of the store through the crowd.

A lanky kid in glasses, freckles coating his face, walked up to a singular shelf holding a box much bigger than he had any right holding. His arms visibly shook as he struggled to keep it propped up with his body. Finally, he dropped it onto the ground with a sigh of relief and promptly reached his hands down to pull open the box flaps.

With a golden glow, the contents were obscured upon reveal, and as the gleam slowly died down, the treasure inside was revealed.

In all its glory were the figures, the bright wording of Lucidity Tour Iroi plastered evident on the box, and the transparent film showing the figure inside.

Tak blinked, mouth hanging open, “The figures are here already!?” He said in disbelief, his head turning to look back at the massive line that was now in his way from getting to the figure. He was out of time, and the queue had only grown longer.

“It’s over.”

Those chilling words once again returned the spotlight onto the fan club captain, Hapori, looking at Tak’s defeated kneeling position on the ground with a look of uncaring, “It looks like he couldn’t even make it past this first round. I expected more,” he remarked.


Tak understood that his time had run out, his head dipping as his messy black hair shadowed his face. His nails dug into the ground as they balled up a handful of dirt, his teeth gritted holding back any words.

“So this is it, huh? No more crab legs. No more braise lamb chops.”

The thoughts of the delicious food he ate with the group started to flood back to him, the aromas faint on his nose, the tastes ruminating on his tastebuds.

“No more blueberry mousse tarts…”

As he continued to reminisce about the food, without realizing he found himself rising up back to his feet, his shoes scraping against the ground as he stood back up.

“No more duck confit…”

Back on his feet, he rocked side to side, unsteady, as if he was ready to fall back to the ground at any second.

“It’s back to the dollar menu…”

His hollow words echoed through the air for a moment before his fists abruptly clenched, his nails digging into his skin as his veins bulged out from his arms, his head snapping upwards as his stance instantly grew stout.

With a feral look of barbarity, he looked at the line in front of him, his contracted pupils staring straight past them all to look at the goal past them.

“HRRRGRAAAAAAHHHHHHH!” With a valiant war cry, Tak ran forward again, his arms swinging along with his legs as he threw himself right into the line again, bashing against it.

“Huh, he’s really trying again?” The bald fan club member commented, tilting his head in confusion, “He couldn’t get through when there were only 14 people; how does he think he can do anything now?”

The neutral look on the others’ faces represented the same lack of faith. The captain wasn’t exempt, that was, until he noticed something, a particular thing that caused his expression to instantly lighten up.

“... He’s going to make it.”

“Huh?”

The captain’s sudden words caused the others to look at him in confusion.

“What do you mean, captain? How’s this time any different?” Camelo asked, raising a brow. He didn’t immediately get a verbal response. Instead, the captain simply smirked.

“Look at his eyes.”

On command, all the members turned their heads away from their captain, looking back at the scene playing out, leaning forward slightly, but as soon as they saw it, all their eyes lit up in unison with the same shock.

“GRRRGAAAAAHHHH!”

With that same look of madness in his eyes, Tak slammed both his hands and head into the wall of meat that blocked him from getting through, the veins in his neck bulging as he used all the human strength he could muster.

“That look…is the look of a man who truly has something to strive for!” The captain resounded, pointing a finger at Tak from the sidelines, “He’s finally ready to put everything on the line for that figure!”

While the captain’s assessment was wrong, it was close enough. Tak was putting his life on the line for something, but it wasn’t a toy.

“LOBSTER DIPPED IN BUTTER!”

Tak pushed himself forward with invigorating thought, slamming one of his feet against the ground and raising the other.

“CHICKEN COATED IN TRUFFLE CREAM!”

And his other foot landed with a quake, dust blowing away from underneath its point of impact.

This whole time, those who formed the wall acted like he was never there in the first place, but for the first time, they were forced to look behind them, sweating nervously as their mouths hung open, greeted with the maniac look of a desperate feral dog looking right back at them.

“RAMEN! TOPPED WITH MOUNTAINS OF THINLY SLICED PORK! AND FRIED LEEKS!”

He continued to push through the wall, finally making a dent as he went deeper and deeper into the mass of bodies, his hands digging through until eventually...

With a clenched jaw, he raised his head before finally raising his head up in the air to let out a mighty shout into the sky.

“WAGYU STEAK BURGERS TOPPED WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND SMOKED CHEEDDARRRRRR!”

With the force of a rocket, Tak finally busted through the barrier; bodies flew over his head and out of his way in slow motion, launching into the air out of his way as they could only watch him charge past with shock on their face.

“No way…!”

“He got past us!?”

“HOW!?”

The fan club members looked at the scene with a slight sweat drop going down each of their faces with a deadpan expression.

“...Burgers?” They all thought in unison.

“ORRAAHHHHHH!” With a blur of red surrounding him, Tak blew past everyone else in the way, sending them toppling to the ground. Nearby toys fell off the shelves as loose plastic bags flew off their racks and into the air, and posters not correctly taped down came off the walls.

The scrawny ginger kid had only gotten the chance to pull out one figure before looking up to see Tak running towards him like a randy bull, the poor guy freezing on the spot as his blood ran cold. All he could do was sit there with his mouth hanging open, the figure’s box still in his hand.

Just in time, Tak stopped on the gas, his momentum coming down to let him stop right in front of the employee, looking down at him with his same neutral frown, but considering what he had just done and the lights from above casting a shadow on his face, it had a whole different feeling to it.

“Give me that damn thing,” Tak ordered, offering an open hand for the worker to place in it; with one look at him, the employee didn’t second guess it, quickly setting the box in his hands before retracting it as if Tak would rip it off.

With the figure finally in his hands, Tak wrapped his fingers around it tightly, staring at it silently until, eventually, a smirk wormed its way onto his face. He raised the figure above his head triumphantly as the lights sparkled behind him.

“I DID IIIIIIIIIT!” He roared.

Not only a second later, a giant swarm of silhouettes appeared above him, numerous fans prepared to pounce; he only had a brief second of realization as his expression immediately dropped into despair before he was swallowed into the dogpile and resulting scrambled as he and the box of figures were submerged in a giant cloud of body parts and dust.

“GIMME THAT THING! I SAW IT FIRST”

“AS IF! I WAS IN LINE ALL DAY! THIS ONE’S MIND!”

“STOP! STOP! STOP! YOU’RE GOING TO TEAR THE PACKAGING APART!”

The chaos echoed through the door, a cloud of dust forming throughout it as more and more people ran into the store to get their hands on the figurine.

Finally, after a long pause, a familiar silhouette emerged from the dust. Stumbling into view was Tak; his hair was even more messy than before, all types of debris stuck in it. His fanclub outfit was in tatters, various parts torn off to reveal his skin; even his pants were torn open to show his underwear beneath.

He held the idol figurine underneath his shoulders, and as soon as he had gotten a safe distance, he immediately collapsed onto the ground, out of energy, the fact his eyes had not rolled back being the only sign that he was still awake.

As he rolled over to stare up at the sky, the view of Hapori staring down at him ruined his view, but at least the captain brought with him good news.

“You pass.”

Tak looked at him silently, a muteness spreading through the air for a solid moment.









“I wanna wipe my ass with this damn figure.”

​

 

[miki]

Hiachi Ito

CS Link

SCENE:

The House Always Wins

LOCATION:

West District, The White Tiger

DATE:

April 1, 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Camila, Ryutaro, Jennifer, Alice

The House Always Wins

What a troubling situation indeed. She was tongue tied; the cat got her tongue.

She blinked a couple times, trying to rip through the fabric of her delusions and return to reality. To no avail—the reality around her, as bizarre as it was, remained intact.

Fortunately for her, someone else did it for her.

She hadn’t seen it coming—of course she couldn’t, she couldn’t see—the hand raising to smack her as her head was held up by someone else.

SLAP!

She winced and froze in shock, feeling disoriented from the slap to the face. With the blood rush to the place of impact, her mind was forced to catch up with her body. The illusion around her dissolved in splotches, the saturation of colors and whimsy retreating into itself until all she could see was the neutrals of the storage room. Brown boxes, beige tiles, and a black and white-haired woman.

Said woman was clearly the perpetrator of the slap. Even though she hadn’t seen it, the ferocity with which she grasped to her collar was a good indicator. She grinned down at her, clearly taking some amusement out of her misery.

She wasn't hallucinating anymore, but her brain was working backwards. Fixating on the ghost of touch that lingered on her cheek. The slap had snapped her out of her hallucinations, but the gentle support beforehand had ripped out a part of her soul.

She needed to get back on track—regain her sense of surroundings and situation.

Who was she? She was Hiachi. Pathetic, worthless, bumbling, good-for-nothing mess of a—

What had she been doing? She had been gambling. She had been playing against the man who was in that corner, and lost. And he looked pleased, since he had won and she had lost. Where was she? She was in a Casino: White Tiger casino. Tiger property, aptly named. When had she gotten there? Somewhere between when she lost and when she had been snapped out of the hallucination.

Why?

In that moment, she could have asked any number of gods and deities why she had been put through this. She blamed fate and chance and assholes that clawed into her business even though they wouldn’t even miss one million amestriyen. And yet, she kept circling back to herself.

Damn it. Why didn’t you quit yesterday? Why did you keep going today? Why did you trust that mysterious man? Why would you trust that any of this situation would turn out well!?

Something sharp came close to her eye. She jumped back, subconsciously wary of losing her most important function. It was a devil’s tail, curling around her with the sharp tip mere millimeters away from her eye.

She spoke into her phone, digging Hiachi’s grave further with the confirmation that she had been caught to a third party. The owner of the casino.

When she hung up, she turned to Hiachi and smiled at her. Not genuine or fake, rather the jovial grin many people wear when they have to explain something to a baby.

Her pointer finger was in her face, which also caused her to instinctively lurch back. She explained, in a horrifically calm tone, what her decided fate was: being swept away and officially thrown into debt.

Debt. Oh, you idiot.

The tonal dissonance left her feeling like she was still hallucinating. She brimmed with vitality, and yet it was because she had successfully and effectively ruined her life.

Everything had changed that instant. She was now a part of a gang, the worst gang to be a part of, since she was the lowest class member of it. It was a stretch to even say that: she wasn’t here on her own volition! She was here because she had been caught like a mouse in a wooden trap, the metal bars extorting her lungs as she scrambled for scraps of money used to lead her astray.

She owed them so much money that it made her feel physically ill. One, two million amestriyen? One million divided by two was five-hundred thousand, and five-hundred thousand divided by two was two-hundred and fifty thousand, and that cleaved in half was one-hundred and twenty-five thousand, and on and on until she reached her hourly wage: ten amestriyen. So that’s two-hundred thousand hours. If she worked twenty-four hours straight, it would take her more than twenty-two years to pay it back, ESPECIALLY including interest. And even then, could she trust that she would be free after all that time? Is that even possible in this lawless wasteland?

The math was not comforting, the facts were not reassuring. They just proved one thing—She was FUCKED.

And so it was that everyone was happy: The man who had bested her in poker, the woman who successfully dragged her into debt, and the casino owner who no longer had a leech in his massive sum of money.

And what of Hiachi? Don’t fret—she’s no longer an individual. Official property of the Albino Tigers gang. Her silent resistance to her fate is still silent, after all.

Try not to lose too much sleep over it, eh?

fin.​

Spoiler

Roda the Red joshuadim