Drip drip...
Drip drip...

A girl fell to her knees in a dark cemetery at midnight, where barely anybody was awake and sober. She was panting heavily and was glancing wildly behind her left shoulder almost every time her heart beat.

"Kono aitsu! Muko itte-yo!" She screamed loudly, "F*** OFF, YOU CREEP!"
"Who do you think you are?" said the robotic-like skeleton.

She scuttled away from the monster on her fours as dirt covered her hands and clothes.

"Get away from me!- GET LOST!" She screamed and burst into tears as blood trickled down her scraped body.
"Yumiko-kohai... You have turned me into an Akuma, and for that, you shall pay with your life!" demanded the contraption.

That statement hit a nerve, and the emergency panic button. But now wasn't the right time to grieve.

"Gomen-nasai!- Gomen-nasai, Hiroshi-kun!" she begged, "Hiroshi-kun... I only wanted to revive you."

Creaks and oil leaks came from the monster that was known as 'Hiroshi' as he struggled to retain himself from killing the girl. The plump man known as The Millennium Earl, silently chuckled and witnessed the scene from a high tombstone which loomed over the two. His eyes behind his spectacles sparkled as his enormous grin trembled with excitement. The sadistic being did not want to afford missing this bloody moment.

"Kill her now, Hiroshi-kun. Kill her now, and then skin her!" The Earl chanted and a maniacal laugh followed after his demand. He raised his fist up in the air, cheering him on like a sports fanatic… If you count hunting humans a sport.

"I... I'm sorry, Yumiko…" The trapped soul wept and raised its razor arms above the girl. She stiffened and stayed in her place, watching the moment of the beginning of the horrific strike of the phantom...

Yumiko slowly opened her eyes as the moonlight flashed her with brightness. It was the only thing glowing in the dark night sky. The Black Order sent her to Southern Italy to search for the Ghost of Mateel and had retrieved two more exorcists to make up the team.

"Where are they?" She asked herself as she looked up in the star-less night sky. In a matter of minutes, the clouds plugged up the view of the moon and yet, a small breeze would always pass her. Yumiko stared at the window outside of the train, silently waiting for the two other exorcists to arrive in the caboose. Hearing a few clicks from the door and latch, she turned her attention to the entrance and smiled.

"Kon~ichiwa~!" She greeted, "How are you, Kanda-san?"

Just like anyone would expect, nothing but a stiff grumble came out of his mouth. He walked over the seat across from Yumiko and quietly sat down. He was as moody as ever. The female exorcist looked at the white-haired newcomer and tipped her top hat.

"I have concluded that you are Allen Walker-san, am I correct?— The newbie with the anti-akuma weapon?" She asked, directing her eyes at his marked arm, then up to his face and smiled as if his arm was a regular one.

The boy hesitated and nodded, "Yes, I'm Allen Walker... Please to meet you, umm..."
He paused and shifted his eyes to Kanda, signaling him for help.

"I'm Daitou, Yumiko-san." She said, slightly bowing down and taking her hat off.

Allen looked at her and smiled, "Please to meet you, Daitou-san."
"Call me by my first name if you may, Allen-san," said the girl.
"Pause the 'san', and I will call you by your given name," laughed Allen.

Yumiko blinked and closed her eyes, tipping her hat even more, and smirked, "You've got a deal, Allen sa- I mean, Allen. I see your anti-akuma weapon is quite handy!"
Allen chuckled and was about to take a seat next to Kanda.

"Not so fast, bean sprout," Kanda barked sharply, "Don't get too close to me, newbie."

The other exorcist saw the shock in Allen's eyes and then said, "Would you like to see a magic trick?"

The boy scooted far away from Kanda and sat practically at the edge of his seat, then nodded. Yumiko smirked and pulled out her cards and removed her hat.

She placed the hat on Allen and said, "You look quite handsome like that, Allen-kun.", then shuffled her cards. After 12 seconds of shiff-shaff and shuffling, she stopped and handed Allen the pack.

"Look through them, Allen-kun." She grinned, "Then set take the hat off and put the cards in it."

Kanda eyed them suspiciously and slightly leaned over to look at the cards in Allen's hands.
'Ace, King, Queen, Joker- Hearts, Clover, Club, Diamond... Regular, ordinary cards... What's she planning?' Kanda thought.

The boy with the anti-akuma weapon then swept the cards into the hat, and looked at Yumiko. She glanced at Kanda, knowing that he was trying to disguise his interest of her game.

"What now?" He asked curiously.

She smirked deviously. "Shake the hat but don't look inside of it, or a deadly akuma will pop out of it!" She teased. Allen did as he was told, and looked back at Yumiko.

'I can't wait to see the look on their faces,' she thought proudly.

"Take them out and set them on the platform table, but make sure they're facing down!- and don't look!" He quickly placed the cards down and waited for the next direction. Kanda raised a brow and crossed his arms, quite interested he was.

"Now flip the first one over, and then the next," ordered the girl. Allen reached out for the card, and flipped it over.

"Joker," He muttered.

"Flip the next one?"

Fwip

"... Ace..." Allen blinked.

"Now for the next..."

Fwip

"Another.. Ace?" Allen's voice slowly diminished in confusion and flipped all the rest, revealing that all the rest of the cards were only ace and joker. Kanda stared at the scene in surprise, then bit his lip.

'What trick did she pull this time...?' growled Kanda. Once Allen revealed all the cards, he looked at Yumiko, waiting for a response of some sort while Kanda sat, still staring at the cards.

Yumiko smirked and reached for her hat, placed it on her head, and said, "Well? What do you think?"

"How'd you do that?" Allen blurted and jumped out of his seat. The girl tipped her hat again, and said smugly-

"Magicians never reveal their secrets!"