Hello there! Now that we've beaten up the Yuki Onna, it's time to move on to the next thing obviously, but what exactly is it? If I say royal flush, can you guess? I don't think there are any explicitly similar yokai, so I decided to go a bit more... special with what i do with her. What am I talking about? You'll find out eventually. Anyway, let's go!
Super hero time!
Shuujin: Play your cards right and maybe you'll have another target!
Issei: Watch out for a witch! Here she comes!
Shuujin: There's something about her that feels... odd. like she isn't of this world.
Issei: That description of er also reminds me of someone...
S + I: Break the chains! Phone up the future!
"Well, what to do with you then…" Yasaka pondered with fingers gently stroking her chin, her softly swaying tails brushing against the wall behind her. "I suppose we'll have to put you under supervision, make sure that you won't go around doing these odd things you've apparently done so far."
"No… I have to find it… it… what makes me special…" Midori muttered, hands digging into pale flesh. With a step back, Issei gave a sigh, even with Ophis gently resting her hands upon his shoulder.
"Are you going to send her somewhere safe? I don't think many people will accept her when she's in such a state." The student asked, a moment of thought before the kitsune answered.
"Of course, I'm not the kind of leader that would so easily push a person in need to the side." Yasaka commented, a light cough escaping before a delicate hand took place on the mortified Yuki-Onna's shoulder. "You will be transported to a nice home, where people will be able to show you just how special you are. You'll be safe. You'll be shown your true uniqueness."
"I'll… be special? I'll… be cared for…?" It almost felt foreign now, having been feared by all she came across. Cursed with eternal hatred, all living beings hating her existence, it was bound to make a mark and recovery from that deep dug scar would be slow, but at least there would be progress. Gently shepherded out by a passing woman, Yasaka's deep sigh was matched by the boy, though Rider was much more exuberant in her reaction.
"Ah, I have to thank you so much!" the pink haired girl exclaimed with a deep bow. "What can I do to repay you then? Do you have any machines that need repairing? I can even do things like spruce up old tech so you can get things working to the best of their kind!"
"Seeing as I really don't have any need for talents of that sort for the moment, how about I take a favour?" the blonde suggested instead. "That way, as soon as I find myself in need for your technological prowess, I can have you in reserve."
"Understood!" a small giggle followed as the technophile left the room, Yasaka turning to the trio still remaining with a proud smile.
"Now that the business is all over, I must congratulate you on your work Issei. Though my daughter was somewhat a hindrance, you still managed to get your request completed with minimal issue." The woman declared with a small clap, Issei rubbing his hair with a red face.
"Oh, it was nothing. It's all thanks to this phone that I was even able to do this much and Ophis was the one that melt-" the words froze in his mouth, Issei turning to Yasaka with a critical eye that brought out a small bout of laughter.
"Well, did you expect me not to be watching with your first request?" the Kyuubi asked with a serene smile. "I have my ways of getting my Intel even if I'm not there to watch… that is, if I wasn't there. Perhaps I was."
"…I don't think I want to get started with that." Issei sighed before the frown gave way to a smile. "So, I did well then?"
"Absolutely and you young girl, did just as brilliantly." Yasaka praised, a finger tapping Ophis' nose with a smile, though the sentiment wasn't returned by the gothic Lolita.
"Father, I am hungry. Can, we eat?" she asked with a small tug on his shoulder; there was no way he could deny those grey eyes that looked straight through him, even if they held the minimal amount of emotion they could.
"Sure. If we may?" he replied, Yasaka quickly giving a nod as Issei took the girl's hand, Kunou jumping in her seat.
"Cool, let's go out to eat!"
"Excuse me young lady, but where do you think you're going?" braking from her mad dash to the door, it was a slow turn that had the young fox facing one of the most dangerous things available in this frail world.
An upset mother.
"I think we need to have some words. Especially how you, who should have at least some control over fire after all of the training we put you to, managed to get yourself frozen! You're at least fast enough to at least dodge out of the way; what do you have to say to that Kunou? You were lucky that you weren't alone when you were dealing with that issue and that Ophis was kind enough to melt you down!"
For some odd reason, there was a sudden speed to his step as Issei made his way out of the compound as fast as humanly possible with Ophis' hand encased within his own. Things were about to get… violent.
"You know, I have to pay you back personally, so that means burgers on me!"
"Rider, you really don't have to…"
The boy had to admit that it was surprising how the pink haired girl had managed to hide from them before they were in town, considering how obscenely peppy and loud she could get at times, but with the power of technology at her side, she probably just invented some sort of sound muffling device to keep herself hidden. With a bright smile, the girl turned to the pair with an exaggerated joy, even in the mundane act of simply handing over the money to a near exasperated vendor.
"Of course I do! You helped me with my problems and thus, my offer extends to you to." The girl reasoned. "In fact, you're more entitled to getting that offer than Miss Yasaka, even if you do work for her. Anything you want, I can get it you… all of the galaxy, any part of the space within it, what do you want first?"
"Excuse me!? The entire galaxy!?" the brunette exclaimed, looking around with a burst of fear, only to find that the cashier had completely ignored them in his incredibly crucial mission to correct the stupid stray bang that drooped over blue eyes.
"I'm just kidding… probably." The wink did little to reassure Issei, but he sat down without a word. Ophis wouldn't complain with food in front of her and really, there was no chance of properly arguing back against the ball of cheerfulness that chomped down upon her burger.
"So what are you going to do from now on then? Now that you haven't got Midori following you, you can go back to whatever you were doing before." The student enquired, the meat pausing just moments away from her mouth before Rider answered.
"Well, I suppose I should get back to me research. I really shouldn't leave it alone for too long, who knows what sort of weird things could happen when I'm not around to record it?" the girl decided with a small shrug, happily continuing with her meal.
"Oh? So what sort of work do you do then?"
"I research various phenomena in various yokai and other supernatural creatures. With my various devices, I can try to see if there is an explanation as to what makes the supernatural tick as well as whatever happens to capture my eye at the time. I had originally made my way to Antarctic in order to speak with some of the local residents and see what they had on the Yuki Onna that resided nearby, but they seemed happy to just dismiss any Yuki Onna as nothing major, so I had to set out myself. It was where I found the chemicals and Midori first met me." The girl explained. "And you're going to continue work with Miss Yasaka right?"
"Well, more like properly start." The boy corrected with a small chuckle. "You were actually the first assignment I had, even if you technically didn't ask for me directly in the proper way."
"Wow, that's so cool! I never thought I would take a boy's first time so easily, without even knowing it." He had been unfortunate to have begun on his drink at that precise moment, the spray of dark soda sparkling in the light. Under normal circumstances, he might have felt bad for whoever was on the receiving end of that carbonated soda stream, but the lord wouldn't hate him for simply revelling in the sheer karma.
"You know, if you didn't like the joke, you could just tell me." Rider moaned, running a tissue through the soaked hair. "It's so sticky and cold… not at all like how they say it should be."
"Watch it, I've still got a good amount left in my cup!" Ophis looked to the empty tray. That was disappointing.
"Father, can w-" her question was interrupted by the sudden beeping that rang through the air, a small tapping noise halting it in its actions before Rider gave out a loud gasp.
"Ah, it's already happening! I'm so sorry you two, but I have to dash right now!" the girl declared, standing and running off without a word.
"We were done anyway." Issei muttered, taking the remains to the bin with a small sigh. "Come on then Ophis, let's see what's going on back at the compound. Do you think that Kunou was getting punished or not?"
"She, will not be. She, is too cute." That declaration was rather odd in the moment, but Issei couldn't really tell the true meaning of what she said sometimes. "People, don't hurt cute things. Normally."
"That's true enough."
"And that's a royal flush. I do believe that will be the last of your funds. Trust me, it was truly an honour to play with someone of your calibur."
"You little bitch! You had to have cheated! How the hell did you do that!?" He had been building that little fund over the years, just for a moment when he could finally relax and enjoy himself. Enjoying himself would be impossible now though because this little bitch had just fucking taken it all! One game and he was already empty!
"Sir, we don't allow for violence in this establishment and all games are highly monitored to prevent cheating. We do not appreciate the claims you're making about this casino." A bouncer stated, the hand upon the man's shoulder getting a small amount too tight. With a metallic claw, covering the red nail varnish, tapping against the table, the girl held up a pale hand to blood red lips, eyes of a similar crimson closed as she giggled.
"My apologies sir, but if you weren't planning on losing, then you should blame the luck that had given up on you." The woman declared, the motion that brought her to her feet letting the several tiered black skirt flare out from its carefully folded position. Brushing off the black jacket, sitting over a white peter pan-collared white shirt and white ribbon trailing down the sleeves, the woman made sure that her stockings of a similar black were correctly pulled up as she clicked the red Mary Janes together and tilted the mob cap so that it was in the correct position, ending with the butterfly adorned red tie.
"What the hell are you talking about!? If it was luck that made me lose, then you must've made my luck go against me!" the man yelled, the vein bulging forward even as the security guards on hand took his arms in a vicious grasp, the smile never fading from the woman's face.
"I'm afraid that isn't how it works sir." She replied, her tone taking a more melodious tune to it. "You can't manipulate luck that way. There are only two types of luck – good and bad, no in between and that luck is built into every human like a computer program, unchangeable. Some call it fate, but the bottom line is, luck is life,"
"And your luck appears to be of only the worst kind. Now please, come again if you have the time. I would love to see you prove me wrong."
Yasaka had been waiting for their return in the main entrance hall, a fully cowed Kunou refusing to let the tears in her eyes fall as she stood strong in front of her new friends. Raising a hand in greeting the boy gave a small bow to his boss.
"Well then, is there anything that you need me to do right now?" Issei asked, a solemn nod coming from Yasaka.
"I apologise if your break was short, but there has been news of a strange girl acting in Kyoto, one that clearly has ties to some sort of magical manipulation." She explained, drawing out a letter from the depths of her kimono. "From what I've been told through this, she'll drain them of all they have, and then fool them into making an even riskier choice."
"So there's a young girl going around and making them do stupid things?" Issei parroted, a nod coming from the blonde. "Okay then… so you want me to go investigate it?"
"If you would be so kind. I would send some of my other subordinates to do the task, but they've been recently besieged with work that has to be completed, I'm sure you understand." Yasaka commented with an apologetic smile, one waved away easily by Issei.
"This is going to be like a big holiday." The boy remarked. "Just going around the place and being detectives, finding out the right culprit and trying to find out their reasons."
"I suppose that makes sense." Yasaka agreed before she clapped her hands together, reaching once more into the fabric of her clothing before a small leaflet entered her grasp, quickly passed over to the boy as he held it to the side so that Ophis had a proper look.
Target description
It is believed that the target has been described as fancying gothic Lolita clothing, a stark contrast to the usual high end choices of the people who frequent the place she haunts. It is believed that her normal tactics are to beat her target in various casino games to drain them of their resources, then when they are weak, she makes an offer that involves everything they had, the chance to win back what they have and all of her other possessions if they win a single round. It is not certain what she does afterward, various different witness accounts contradicting each other while still managing to provide some form of evidence. Recently, she has been entered into the employment of a high end casino, somehow managing to increase the population that enters even with her negative reputation.
"So she somehow manages to keep people coming in even when they learn of how some are falling prey to her gambling skills…" Issei summarised. "That's surprising to an extent. People tend to get incredibly desperate when everything's on the line and when you're offered the combined possessions of someone that's been building up a great portfolio, it makes sense that they would go for it, even if it is built off of the remains of people like them."
"Which is why they should be stopped immediately. Now go Issei, your transport should be arriving fairly soon." The yokai leader announced, pointing to the door. With a raised eyebrow and a quick farewell to Kunou, apparently banned from accompanying them this time, Issei approached the door, a strange whirring filling the air as he laughed.
"Oh, so was that why you went running off then?"
"Well, you know how it is sometimes. You get a call and you can't afford to miss it! It's almost as if I ran away from you so I could run towards you… some people don't seem to understand that it's possible you know, that you can stand behind someone and stand in front of someone at the same time, like a line of cause and effect."
It had taken the form of a box, a giant cube that sat with pulsating patterns, even on the opened door. With arms held wide, Rider grinned.
"Well then, shall we go?"
"Yes, your luck truly isn't the best, is it? Really the worst in the world. But how about we change that?"
Had it been in any other situation, perhaps it might seem childish, innocent, as if the words held no weight. But when he was here, in the alleyway inhabited by nought but the little devil in front of him, it almost seemed like a threat. But how could he resist? There was the chance to get back that money, maybe millions more! His luck wasn't that bad, maybe it was the time for it come back! With that sort of money, he could live happily for years; his grandchildren could live happily for years!
"You know what? I'll take it. I'll take your stupid little challenge and I'll show you just how unlucky a girl like you can be!" he roared, met with a delicate giggle and a gesture towards a door, the light within blocking the true interior.
"Then please, step right this way sir. I'm sure you'll be far more at home in this comfy little abode." She declared, an unnoticed glow to her eyes that passed for a drunken mistake, perhaps a few too many glasses left empty at the table. Sure, she had refused to partake, even bought the bloody drinks herself, but sometimes luck needed a little draw, a push to make it come out when it was needed. "So please tell me, have you frequented places like this before?"
"No, but believe me, it'll be a different story this time! I don't think I could let this stain on my honour go free!" the man boisterously announced, his cheerful laughter echoing over broken brick until the navy wood slammed shut.
"Well then, I'm sure that this night will be enlightening for you sir. I'm sure we can enjoy a good game, yes?" the smile dripped venom but under a different poison's influence, he would never know, not until it was too late.
He just wasn't lucky that day.
What do you think happened to him? Would you believe me when I say he wasn't dead, but perhaps something even worse? I hope you like this new entry, at least better than apparently Starway Rider was taken. Also, about that vocaloid song naming... you haven't seen the last of it yet. Well, more like you've seen it, I just haven't revealed the name and it's not this girl. Weird.