As for Koishi... Fuuka.
oh god that voice
THAT VOICE
UPDATING TO GET THIS IMAGE OUT OF MY HEAD-----
This was always the hard part. Koishi now had to convince Sakuya that she lived in a magical world of talking animals and murderous fishmen. It was only at times like this she appreciated just how ridiculous everything for the last few weeks had been.
Sakuya listened in as she led the pair to the outskirts of town. She jumped between confusion and surprise as the story wore on, and at one point grabbed at Sango?s back to feel at this fin of hers. The dolphin squealed so loudly that Koishi couldn?t resist giggling to herself about it.
When she?d managed to get everything across - at least, without going into the parts they were supposed to keep secret until Nitori came around - Koishi wrapped up her synopsis. Sakuya didn?t respond right off the bat, putting her hand on her chin in a thoughtful gesture.
?Well. I?ll be honest with you, and say that if you had told me this story yesterday I?d have dismissed you as a liar. Or a maniac. Perhaps a little of both, actually, because no liar worth their salt would try to sell a tale THAT ridiculous.?
There was an almost lecturing tone to Sakuya?s voice. She was speaking from her own experience with lying, Koishi assumed.
?That said,? Sakuya continued with a sigh, ?I?ve seen your handiwork first hand, and I?m relatively sure it?s the only thing that stopped me from getting a bullet between the eyes. I?m tempted to buy into your story...almost.?
The last word came out tensely, as Sakuya took a step further away from the pair. She glared back at Koishi, looking thoroughly unimpressed.
?You had one parlour trick in the clinic, and your friend has a ?fin? that may well be plastic. All well and good, but what?s to stop me from thinking this is some cunning double-bluff Morichika set up for me? Do you have any other proof for me??
Koishi frowned in response to Sakuya?s words. At her side, Sango let out a long sigh.
Should?ve figured this one would be a little suspicious of us...The dolphin slumped her shoulders. She?d figured that she would be proof enough for Sakuya, but nothing short of outright conclusive proof was going to work here.
Koishi pondered for a moment, lifting her glasses upwards slightly. She?d never had a chance to see Sakuya?s magical form before, and maybe it would be enough to give her an idea.
Instantly, the thought struck her, and she grinned a little.
?Hey, Izayoi-san. What colour?s your hair??
Sakuya seemed almost offended by that, her nose scrunching up like Koishi had just insulted her. She responded matter-of-factly, looking more and more convinced that Koishi really was insane.
?What sort of question is that? Blonde, obviously.?
Koishi caught sight of Sango?s eyes widening at that answer. Of course the idea wouldn?t have come to her - she?d never used the glasses, so she had no idea what Sakuya thought she looked like.
?How sure are you about that??
Sakuya went from confused to cross in the space of about a second. She grabbed at one of the plaids at the side of her face, yanking it forward.
?Alright, you?ve crossed the line here. Thankful as I am, this has all been too convenient, and your story was hard enough to believe without you spouting nonsense like this. If this shade isn?t blonde, I don?t know what i-?
For an instant during the last sentence, Koishi saw Sakuya?s eyes move from her to the plaid of her own hair she?d held up.
Then Sakuya?s words died in her throat, and suddenly her attention was transfixed on her own appearance.
?That...that?s not blonde. That?s...silver.?
Sure enough, Sakuya was seeing her hair the way it really was now. All this discussion had opened her mind enough that even if she was still suspicious, she was aware enough that some fragments of the other world were seeping through. Fragments such as her own hair colour - what she?d seen as blonde, youkai like Sango had always seen as a flawless silver.
For a few seconds, Sakuya was silent. She tugged at the hair to check if it was real, and winced accordingly. She undid the ribbon, ensuring it behaved like hair was supposed to. Once again, it complied, in defiance to every logical thought process that Sakuya could produce.
From the amount of time she spent examining it, Koishi was concerned even THIS wasn?t going to be enough to prove the point to Sakuya. She had nothing to worry about, though - Sakuya could have been as suspicious as she wanted about other people, but now that she?d seen this sort of change in herself her skepticism couldn?t maintain itself. Her words were reluctant, resigned.
?...Fine. I?m out of explanations. You win. I?ll buy into your magical girl story.?
With that, whatever doubt Sakuya had left fell to the wayside. She was quickly aware of something growing out from Koishi?s sides - tendrils, purple ones, coming together to form some sort of sealed orb around her chest. It looked like an eyelid, almost, but whatever it was it was nothing natural. Sakuya?s eyes fell onto it with both amazement and a hint of fear.
?I...think that eye thing of yours would have done a much better job at convincing me.?
Koishi needed a moment to realise what Sakuya was referring to. So few people around her could see this third eye of hers that sometimes she herself forgot it existed. Only the awkward feeling of rubbing it against her bedcovers at night served as a reminder.
?Well, there?s another story behind that one...?
Sakuya shrugged, looking back to the streets. They were on the outskirts of town now, but from the look on Sakuya?s face there was still a long way to go.
?We?ve got time. You may as well get started.?
-----
Now she didn?t have to worry about Sakuya thinking she was crazy, Koishi told her own story. She kept it short and impersonal, more for her own sake than for Sakuya?s. Talking about the past still wasn?t something she was comfortable with.
?Oh, on that note...we should probably tell you about your power as well.?
Sakuya?s face warped.
?You?re telling me I have one of these powers as well? Here I was thinking all I could do was change my hair colour at will.?
Sango laughed at that, perhaps a little too hard. Koishi gave her an awkward glare for it.
...What? I thought it was funny.Paying the dolphin no mind, Koishi pressed onwards.
?...Anyway, you?ve got a thing you do, right? When you?re gambling, and you really need a card to come up.?
Sakuya was slightly stunned by Koishi?s deduction. She jerked her head back, her expression incredulous.
?I thought you said you couldn?t read minds. Yes, I do a visualisation of sorts when the tables get tense. Nothing major, just imagining myself placing the card I need on...top of the...deck.?
By the end of the sentence her words trailed off as she mentally filled in the blanks. She nodded for a moment, actually looking more relieved than surprised.
?So it wasn?t just luck after all. Good! I was afraid I?d hit a downturn sooner or later.?
Sakuya?s eyes lit up, and she once again wore a pensive look. She started muttering to herself, getting more and more interested in her own ideas with every word.
?Yes, that?s interesting! I should definitely be able to find a way to use it for roulette, and that?s where the real money will be. Yes, that?ll work wonderfully...?
Koishi?s eyes widened at that. Sakuya had just barely escaped death after cheating one casino out of a fortune, and now she was looking to do it again? That wasn?t bravery, that was just plain madness.
Geez...is something wrong in that girl?s head?Sango didn?t put her thoughts into words, but the message she sent across to Koishi was blunt enough to make a point. An awkward silence rose between the three for a while, though Sakuya seemed too absorbed in her own thoughts to really notice it. Finally, out of sheer need to understand what was happening inside the girl?s skull, Koishi blurted out a question she?d wanted to know the answer to for a while.
?Uh...Izayoi-san. Where exactly are you taking us??
That was enough to distract Sakuya from her plans for the future. She looked backwards again, her words making it sound like what followed was the most obvious thing in the world.
?Home, of course. I have a shift to get to - last night was my day off, so I need to compensate.?
Koishi blinked a few times at that, her brain not quite parsing the sentence properly. She saw Sango gripping her temples as a headache caught on.
?...Wait. You work a shift...at home? At night??
Sakuya nodded, seemingly unaware of how strange she sounded.
?Of course. That?s what a maid does, isn?t it??
Koishi needed a moment to recover from the initial shock. She could make out a slight whimpering from Sango - the word ?maid? reminded her too much of her outfit back at the casino. By the time she?d recovered, their destination was coming up fast on the horizon.
?So what, are you a cleaner? Because maid isn?t really a word I hear a lot outside of costume cafes. It always gives me this idea of an old Western mansion and the frilly aprons and head dresses.?
There was a pause as Koishi and Sango both waited for clarification from Sakuya. Surely she wasn?t THAT sort of maid. They existed only in fiction, didn?t they? Cleaners, maybe; employees, without a doubt. Maids? Way too far.
Rather than allay their fears, Sakuya shrugged.
?Well, it?s all of that. I work for a Western family, and they figured that even in foreign lands they should bring a little slice of home. Is that a problem??
?N-No, not at all. It?s just...?
Sakuya stared at Koishi for a moment, not quite understanding what the issue was. Seeing that Koishi wasn?t going to finish that sentence, she turned around and continued leading them on. Sure enough, a large Western-style mansion began to appear in the distance.
...So. The Sirens so far are me, a health-nut brawler, and now the sneakiest maid I?ve ever seen.Sango didn?t even pass any thoughts across to Koishi in response to that. She just looked across to her and nodded, very slowly.
...Yukari has a pretty awful sense of humour, if you ask me.-----
Tewi couldn?t sleep.
Of course she couldn?t. How could she be expected to sleep after a night like that? Rinnosuke had let her off without any physical punishment, but the words he?d left her were painful enough.
?There, there, darling. It?s okay. Uncle Kourin is here for you.?She owed him everything she had - this home, her riches, and more or less every moment she?d been outside of the orphanage. When everyone who cared about her was gone, he was there to stand in and act like a father.
But still, how genuine was it? How much did he actually care for her, and how much was she simply being used? Was she just a tool for him to exploit? A handy accessory, a pretty face?
Tewi lay on her bed, staring emptily at the ceiling. The thought hung in the forefront of her mind for a few minutes, and there was no answer she could decide on that didn?t feel slightly wrong to her. One option was honest, but the other wasn?t painful for her to consider.
As usual, she chose the latter and decided to rewrite the facts a little in her head. Even if she was just a playtoy, she thought, it wouldn?t matter if she told herself that Rinnosuke cared for her. It was one of those big self-help things going around, wasn?t it? The world is what you make it, or something like that.
Tewi liked that idea. It was comforting. So what if it wasn?t true?
That left her with only one problem. On the bedstand besides her, there was a tiny slip of paper with an address written on it. It was etched in Rinnosuke?s memorable handwriting - artistic to the point of barely being legible.
The address was Izayoi?s. The woman who?d played her for a fool last night. Rinnosuke hadn?t told her anything in particular when he handed her the card - just that it was ?something she might like to know?.
That was obviously a euphemism for ?feel free to get your payback if you feel like it?.
This time, there was no happy choice to distract herself with. Either she had to live with the shame of being beaten, or she had to dirty her hands. She?d never killed anyone before - all she?d done was cheat gamblers out of their money. Murder was...could she even do that? She?d been given a gun some time ago, but it was a rickety model, and she?d never fired it.
Yet on the other hand, she?d already let down Rinnosuke more than enough today. He would want something back from her, even if he hadn?t said as much. He hadn?t given her a blatant order to track down Izayoi and kill her, but he?d suggested it. From a person in his occupation, the implications were stronger than any outright demand.
If she could, she?d have disregarded the idea. Rinnosuke wouldn?t expect something like this from her! He loved her, right? She may as well forget it and wash all her worries away with a big bowl of strawberry ice cream.
The knowledge that she?d probably be beaten senseless if she disappointed him - like the dealer she?d been forced to watch - made denying the issue much harder.
Maybe Tewi would have lay there in bed forever, never making that decision, if there hadn?t been an unexpected knock on her apartment door at that precise moment.
?Mmh??
Suddenly forced to focus, Tewi became aware of just how tired she was. Her body heaved itself upright, stumbling out of the bedroom. She ignored her dressing gown slipping down one shoulder. It was probably a door-to-door salesman running an evening shift, someone she could slam the door on with impunity. She could do with the stress relief after what she?d been through.
Even opening the door was hard for her when she felt this tired, but Tewi struggled against it nonetheless. When at last she won the gargantuan battle against the handle, she found herself being looked down on by a much taller woman, one who she didn?t recognise. She dressed well, at least - a tightly-clad black suit, the sort a businesswoman would wear on the verge of making a big sale.
She?d never seen a salesman this well dressed, but that didn?t really change the fact she was no-one Tewi wanted to see right now.
?Good evening, Miss Inaba! I?m with-?
?Whatever you?re selling, I don?t want it.?
Tewi made to shut the door, but she wasn?t quite quick enough. The woman on the other side jammed her foot in, and pushed her way in with almost impossible force. There was some ridiculous muscle behind that suit, Tewi thought to herself with shock.
?Now, let?s not be so quick to judge. I think you?ll find we have a mutual friend in Mr. Morichika, correct??
Tewi let out a loud gulp. She should have figured Rinnosuke would send someone to check on her. Best not to give her any other reasons to get angry, she decided, so she stepped aside to let the woman in. Ignorant of Tewi?s rather obvious fears, the visitor offered her a grateful nod as she closed the door behind her.
?Many thanks. Now, I?m to understand you have an issue with a Miss Izayoi, correct? One you?d like resolved permanently, so to speak.?
Straight to the point, and all with that pretty smile on her face. It was a little disturbing, to be frank, how these gangster folks could talk so lightly about death. Tewi was a good liar, perhaps, but that was one case where she couldn?t quite hide her feelings on the matter. She twiddled her thumbs, stepping backwards as she found herself slowly retracing her steps into the bedroom.
?...I never said I wanted to do that. How would I even pull it off, anyway? I?m a fast-talker, not a gunslinger.?
The suited woman followed her, just close enough to feel uncomfortable. Tewi picked up her pace a little, but her uninvited guest matched her with ease. Before she knew it the pair were in the bedroom again, with Tewi?s back to her own bed.
?I expected you to say that. See, that?s where I come in. I?m here to give you a little...help in terms of dealing with Miss Izayoi.?
Even after Tewi had stopped, the gangster kept approaching. This was far too close now. Tewi fell backwards over her bed, trying to roll over to the other side, but all that did was leave her at a dead end. The woman in the suit walked around, still grinning. That grin was twisted, broken, wrong - Tewi knew from her own experience that was the smile of a woman who couldn?t be trusted.
?R-Really, I?ll be fine! Maybe. I need to think it over a little-?
The woman grabbed Tewi by the shoulders, leaning down so they were face to face. Their lips were only inches apart now, and the woman whispered just loud enough to terrify her.
?Who said I was giving you a choice??
Then their lips crossed, and Tewi felt something being forced down her throat. No, not down, up - past her nose, and into her brain, but that couldn?t be-
The suited woman grinned, seeing Tewi go limp in her arms. The coil had been planted, and within a matter of seconds the gambler was conscious again. Only a darker pair of eyes showed that anything was wrong with her.
As if to correct that, a murderous smile ran across her face.
?...If I tell myself I didn?t kill her, does it really matter if I did??
Tewi?s guest smirked, handing her a golden key.
?That?s the spirit, Miss Inaba.?
So easy to manipulate. Just like the rest of these filthy humans.
