"Bitch!" The curse echoed through the air halting all conversation in the house. "Fucking slut! You think you run shit now? Do you think you're better than me? Well come on and prove it!"

To Marin at least, it seemed inevitable that she'd have to fight Daki Shabana at some point. Moving in next door might as well have been a declaration of war– because the Shabanas certainly interpreted it as such. After all, the demon siblings-as the neighborhood endlessly referred to them- were rude, vulgar, and hostile to everyone they encountered and they also happened to be her next-door neighbors.

Marin had wondered why the realtor was so eager to get the paperwork started when she agreed to move in a month ago. The house was this wonderfully quaint, powdered-blue, 2-story bungalow. The realtor's assertiveness was of no importance at the time, she needed a home and the house was an absolute steal in price and the perfect distance from work and her friends' homes. But she could tell something was off. The realtor wasn't just pushy she was fidgety too, having a hard time keeping a straight face as her eyes and her answers dodged frequently whenever Marin asked deeper questions about the cul-de-sac.

The consequences of her injudicious decision weren't revealed to her until after moving in and talking with more neighbors. Apparently, her next-door neighbors' infamy preceded them because like floodgates the rumor mill immediately took flight:

"they're criminals"

"the sister is a lady of the night"

"the brother is a barbarian and a brute" and of course the strangest criticism "Those damn demon siblings take shits in my front yard and steal my garden gnomes!"

Uhm… ok….?

She felt compelled to tell Hotaru Haganezuka her honest opinion that perhaps it was his own dog taking those shits in his front yard and burying his garden gnomes and not actual human beings. But the man hated the Shabanas with a passion, especially the older brother, and would hear none of Marin's excuses– no matter how rational.

Although brash, Hotaru held no ill-will towards her, the Haganezuka family hailed from a long line of weapons forgers and even though they sat as head of the Homeowners Association today, Tecchin, Hotaru's father, kept mountains of logs, memoirs and records dating back hundreds of years of their family's swords and other craftsmanship which Marin found absolutely incredible as a massive otaku. In fact she got the impression he was crushing on her a bit since she was one of very, very few people who genuinely enjoyed his long-winded harangues about blacksmithing and ancient and medieval weaponry. Now Hotaru invites her to his home every chance he gets to talk swords. To this day Marin wishes she had paid more attention to that little familial detail because it could've saved her the unsavory conflict with Daki she'd get herself embroiled in a month later.

But getting back to the Shabanas – in summary, they were straight assholes according to the neighborhood. In fact, the most fair and unbiased opinion came from a couple who–coincidentally- the siblings never took issue with. They lived in a large modern home, by the main road where the cul-de-sac connected perpendicular.

"They're very protective of each other and despite what others say about them they keep to themselves unless provoked otherwise. They are rather nocturnal so you may hear a few noise complaints from time to time, domestic tasks in particular seem to be a hot-button issue" The wife Amane says, she has 5 children of her own and is an absolute saint. She worked as a school director and is basically the de facto neighborhood mom, all the parents send their kids over to babysit, have lunch, or just shoot the breeze with her. She was on a morning stroll with her husband and their kids when she offered Marin some much-needed clarity.

"Why's that?"

Amane pauses, despite the sibling's reputation she still wanted to be considerate but her husband responded, "simply put Ms. Kitagawa, nobody taught them." He admitted with a wry chuckle. If Amane was the de facto mother then her husband Kagaya, was definitely the neighborhood dad. He held a lot of esteem with the other neighbors and was ubiquitously known for his kindness and other-worldly charisma. Marin has yet to find a single person who couldn't be put at ease with Kagaya's soothing words so when he answered Marin took it to heart. "My wife has offered to teach them how to cook, clean and do basic domiciliary tasks but they declined, saying something about pity being the worst insult. Worse than the ire of the community. So we stopped offering, however they do ask for favors from time to time though they always disguise it".

"What kinds of favors?" She asked now intrigued. "Favors of a more personal nature" he replies simply. Kagaya definitely gave off vibes that he came from money or atleast rubbed shoulders with the right people. She couldn't place why she thought this, but the way he casually stated how even the demon siblings came to him for help seemed a good indicator of his soft power.

"And the brother rides a cool motorcycle" their only son Kiriya chimes in followed by a gesture like he was driving an invisible car.

"And his sister is really pretty– just like you Marin!" their eldest daughter Hinaki says, offering her flowers she picked up along their walk, making Marin smile in gratitude accepting the child's kind gift.

"But they're pretty mean and scary sometimes, Mr Haganezuka hates the brother. And one time a group of men came by their house and threatened to stab–"

"-That is quite enough!" their mother scolds mid-story worried it would scare Marin- quite the contrary though she very much wanted to hear the rest of it. "As my lovely family stated, They've had hard lives so they're suspicious by nature. But if you don't force the moment with them, they bother no one." the father finishes.

"What're their names?"

The paperwork was tedious, the move-in even moreso, but true to what the Ubuyashiki's said Daki and Gyutaro never bothered her, she would see them (always at night) coming and going but it was always too dark for her to get a good look. But once she saw Daki's silhouette hopping on her brother's bike and swore she'd seen her before, but let it go after being unable to place it. In fact, it wasn't until she needed to go to the HOA subdivision building to talk to Tecchin about their lawn care policy that she was able to figure it out.

"Kensei if you're gonna whine like this then you're free to go back. The others did most of the heavy lifting anyways. Besides I don't need you to come, I can do this on my own."

"I'm literally a 5th wheel, Mar! Jim's a jealous asshole who won't even let me talk to Nowa and Shiki and Akira won't stop giggling the entire time. It's uncomfortable being the only single person there!" Kensei whined regretting volunteering to help with her move-in. "Where's Daia? No offense but I'd trade Nowa and Jim for Daia and Sunny in a heartbeat."

"Shut it kensei! Jim may be an ass, but Nowa is my best friend don't pit her against Daia like that. Besides I saw you. You barely worked! You were lounging around eating all my food!" She poked him in his chest with enough force to make him wince clutching his chest in mock-pain as they continued inside the building.

"Well maybe if you invited Daia and Rune I wouldn't feel the need to avoid the disgusting lovebirds sucking face in your house! Come on Mar, you couldn't bring not one single cute girl to–"

"–HOW DARE YOU!" came a fierce shrill female voice at the front desk. "WHERE'S TECCHIN I DEMAND TO SPEAK WITH HIM! OTHERWISE I'LL HAVE MY BROTHER DEAL WITH YOU, UGGO!"

"YOU AND YOUR INSUFFERABLE PIECE OF SHIT BROTHER CAN EAT MY ASSHOLE! I'M NOT SCARED OF YOU OR HIM, WITCH!" Hotaru shouted in kind. Seems they walked right into the lion's den. Daki looked like she was one 'no' away from bursting into violent angry sobs as the hopelessness of arguing with Haganezuka got to her. Apparently, they were arguing over the lawn fees the HOA slapped Daki with, she adamantly stated she would not be paying them because it was 'just stupid grass' as she put it. Hotaru countered that he didn't give a flying fuck and that he was tired of her getting her way all the time. The argument clearly had gone on for some time as evident by the lack of people in the lobby and the few people that did enter quickly exited back out the door.

'So," Marin whispered to Kensei, "Should we do something?

"We absolutely should not get involved." he waves dismissively, but takes one look at Daki and immediately rescinds his earlier declaration, "but I will because I'm a simp for pretty girls" he shrugs not even the slightest bit ashamed at his admission. He sallies forth into the bloodbath asking what the issue was which went predictably as you'd expect. Both parties turned to him and like sharks in a frenzy immediately pouncing on a new pawn they thought they could manipulate to their side. Both gave everything they had advocating their innocence and pointing the finger at the others' alleged wrongdoing. Kensei got so overwhelmed he was begging Marin to jump in and do something but before she could Hotaru dragged him into the back room to show his 'evidence' of Daki's alleged wrongdoing.

"Asshole! My brother will beat your ass!" she screamed As the office door closed with a slam and the 2 girls were now left alone in the lobby.

Awkward.

"So…" Marin tried breaking the silence. "What the fuck are you wearing?" Came the rather harsh and completely unexpected reply from Daki. "Oh, it's cosplay! Do you know Kitana from mortal Kombat?" She asked excitedly but was met with a vexed expression. So she elaborated, " uh, well she's a warrior princess, this is an older outfit from MKX. My friends and I do this thing where I host themed parties at my place and… uhm… we... eh?"

Daki visibly checked out mid-conversation to instead open her compact mirror. She was checking her face running her pinky finger gently under her eyes. Marin felt disheartened really, like what she had to say was not at all interesting, so she took the hint and finished her rant summarizing "It's for the gram".

Her eyes glanced up from her mirror briefly her eyebrows knit ever so slightly, "you… post?" Marin felt reinvigorated by the question, "Yup sure do!"

"How many?" she gave a blank stare, " how many…what?" she asked. How many Cosplays? Posts?

Daki crunched her mirror shut with her hand "fucking followers, genius!" She yells condescendingly as if her question were so obvious.

"Oh! hm… well, I restarted my old account after a long hiatus but I'd say.. about 13000?" Daki hmphed visibly relaxing as she opens her mirror again "Seems you still have a long way to go then" She says with a smug smirk – that is until Marin told her how many followers she used to have…

She almost dropped her mirror to the floor along with her jaw, ""T-two million!? You had 2 million followers!? You?! When?! How!?"

Marin pressed a finger to her lip "Two million five hundred thousand actually, this was back before my boyfriend passed away so… almost 3 years ago now..?" Daki looked like she wanted to puke either that or spit at Marin's feet. Had Marin known it'd be a big deal she never would've placated her with that thoughtless remark.

"Look Daki my success was a group effort–"

"-And how do you know my name!? God! Why is everyone such a gossip whore around here!?" She throws her arms up dramatically. Then took 3 deep breaths, the kind a performer does to cure jitters before going up on stage. Marin thought she was calming herself down because of the conversation but no… she pulls her phone out and makes a call, the phone must have gone to voice mail because she let out what was easily the most melodramatic performance Marin had ever seen– to her brother. She almost thought Daki had bipolar disorder by how quickly she flipped the switch; the hysteria, the infantile wailing, and of course the false accusations she made against Hotaru before shouting "Get down here now, and help me, brother!" She hung up her phone with the most put-upon sigh ever as if this behavior was completely normal. She pulled her mirror back out and wiped her fake tears away, and just like that she was back to normal.

"Well?" She asked her eyebrow raised glancing passed the mirror at Marin. But she had no idea how to respond or what Daki wanted her to say. Now really aggravated, Daki shut her mirror for good this time, folded her arms and put all her weight on one leg glaring openly.

"Continue!" Marin almost mistook her words for interest if not for the bratty way she ordered her to keep going followed by the condescending shooing of her hand. Like a queen telling her jester to entertain her. The mix of condescension and cruelty in her tone not only had Marin second-guessing Daki's innocence in her battle of wills against Hotaru but also her intentions with that voicemail she left on her brother's phone making it sound like it was life or death. She was certainly an actress worthy of an Oscar because bullying was the only way to describe the unrepentant way she lied.

"Well… like I said this outfit is actually from MKX so it's dated, and it's not my best work," that was an understatement. The outfit was pretty pathetic in Marin's eyes if she was honest. Without Gojo around to tailor her outfits she was left doing it by herself and while her handiwork has improved it was nothing like what he could do. The items looked more cobbled together than deliberate. Her black thigh-high boots and blue harem pants tucked underneath were decent but the outfit was a mess from the waist up. She bought a black bra but was at a complete loss on how to make Kitana's armor or her blue top drape over like it did in the game. So she bought a blue T-shirt and sort of hacked at it, sewing it together like a kindergartner's school project.

"We figured we'd do a Mortal Kombat combat tournament since the new game came out. Mortal Kombat is a fighting game–"

"I know what it is, I'm not fucking retarded." she says curtly, "The outfit is an absolute wreck but I will admit you're definitely not …an ugly neighbor." she spat the compliment with a wrinkling of her nose not even bothering to cover her jealousy, in fact it wasn't a compliment at all really.

"So who is the guy you're with so willing to fall on the sword for a problem he knows nothing about?" Marin couldn't help but feel she was walking in a trap with that question but thankfully, Kensei broke out from Hotaru's office looking like a resuscitated drowned victim. He was gasping for air in melodramatically, mirroring Daki's earlier performance. "Let's get out of hereeee!" He all but growled under his breath shoving a copy of the policy in Marin's hand and making a beeline for the door.

"Wait, Kensei hang on!" She chastises before turning to Hotaru and thanking him with a sweet smile and a clasping of his hands. Immediately the older man calm down, completely tongue-tied.

"Uh, M-Ms kitagawa!" he stutters. "Yes Hotaru?" his words were partially muffled by the KN95 face mask he wore for some inexplicable reason (seriously, he looked healthy enough).

"...if you n-need a-anything, call me, and I mean anything at all." He choked after a long moment, his voice about 3 octaves too high considering all the huffing and puffing from before.

"Will do, thank you." she let go of his hands and met up with Kensei, "Oh, daki," she turned to the young woman who was visibly irate, "if you wanna join us feel free to knock. " She said a friendly smile on her face, but Daki ignored her completely and directed her attention to Kensei, " hey handsome!" she cooed sweetly, "If you ever find yourself tired with this weeb shit and need someone to ease your boredom let me know. Buh-bye." Jesus… that was maybe her 3rd personality change in one encounter... just what is she?!

As the door closed behind them with a jingle, Marin seriously worried about leaving the 2 of them alone absent any proper resolution. "Nah, fuck that. I ain't dealing with that guy anymore, Mar. Besides, he already called your neighbor down the street. You know, the blind guy who talks like he's Jesus?" She snorted at Kensei's childish yet fairly accurate description of Mr. Ubuyashiki but quickly switched it for contempt when he went on a shameless rant about Daki.

"Did you see her? Maaan, she was smoking hot! And totally into me!" He boasted thumb to his chest as they walked down the stairs to her car. "Kensei she was playing you. She probably thought I was your girlfriend and was trying to get under my skin" she grimaced, "Someone sounds jealous." He poked at her playfully.

"No, I'm not, she was jealous!" Marin pointed her index to the door but Kensei waved his hand.

"Whatever, if her offer is valid, I'm going for it." She grimaced again at his shamelessness. "Oh relax, I'm kidding. But seriously, why didn't you tell me you lived next to Warabihime, Marin?" She blinked, " Warabihime…?" Kensei shoved his phone in her face scrolling through an endless wall of professional photos from several of Daki's online accounts.

"O. M. G! Right of course! That's where I'd seen her from! I subscribed Several years back when she debuted with her slippery girls cosplay! That's so crazy I absolutely adored her earlier stuff how'd I forget! That's why Daki looked so familiar!"

Hm.. she has a little over 700k followers-oh shit, so that's why she got mad about my follower count. Marin handed the phone back to Kensei, "So she is single right?!"

"stop being a creep. She has a brother remember? And if what the neighbors say about him is even remotely true, he'll peel your skin off if he hears you."

"Oh please, there is absolutely no way I'd be so stupid as to slip up around him–"

"Hm?"Marin blinked after seeing something hit Kensei in the neck. What the hell? Is that a… cigarette? Marin watched in mild amusement as it fell into Kensei's shirt and he danced like a monkey trying to get it out. Eventually, it fell to the ground exploding in a mini starburst of embers. When he instinctively turned to yell at whoever flicked a lit cigarette at him he was met with a particularly intense pair of eyes that quickly shut his goofy ass down.

To this day Marin has a hard time putting into words what it was about Gyutaro she found so…different. He was the kind of person you simply don't forget. Perhaps it was because he traipsed a very fine line between slender and bony; she'd even describe him as wiry which defied the traditional notion of intimidating in her mind. The fact neither of them noticed his presence until he made himself known reminded her of a crocodile perched just beneath the water's edge mere inches away from their prey undetected. He was parked emphatically NOT where bikes are supposed to be parked, and until he stood up, swinging a leg off slowly, she never would've guessed how tall he was either, towering over Kensei as he took steps closer sizing him up and down with his eyes. Everyone told her he was a brute yet aside from flicking his cigarette to let Kensei know he was there he did nothing more. Just sort of let the gesture speak for itself, a proverbial 'clearing of the throat'.

But above all, it was his expression that surprised her most.

He was frowning deeply, not in anger, more crestfallen– glum– fatigued. Like somebody who'd been working tirelessly for days and was frustrated he had to do this much more by showing up to the subdivision building. Even as he walked past them listless; hands in his pockets; hair disheveled, up the stairs to the building, what she saw wasn't the eyes of a wanton savage, as the neighborhood endlessly purported, what she saw was the face of a young man aged by exhaustion who dutifully rushed down because he was duped by his sister's lie that it was an emergency. How to put it …he was a walking contradiction; he was young but possessed an old spirit, his presence was strong but his body was weak, he was antagonistic but his actions were remarkably poised and minimal… and he was supposed to be cruel yet here he was dragging himself out of–wherever he came from- out of devotion to his sister.

One thing was for certain though, she and Kensei got wildly different first impressions of him. Kensei practically pissed himself while Marin found herself morbidly fascinated.

She heard later through the grapevine that Kagaya somehow brokered an agreement between the parties. How the fuck he managed that is anyone's guess. But the greatest surprise came in her mailbox when she was flipping through her letters and found one with no return address but the words 'new neighbor' written on the front in glittery purple gel pen and impeccable handwriting. It was the standard greeting card one could find at any dollar store but when she opened it reading passed the generic printed text underneath there was a comment also written in gel pen that said:

"Welcome to the neighborhood."


End of Chapter 1. If there are grammatical errors please let me know so I can correct them. I have an extremely unorthodox way of writing stories, I don't add punctuation until I'm about to post because it's easier to make corrections.