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[Completed]+ These Violent Delights have Violent Ends +
Topic Started: Jul 6 2017, 11:50 PM (470 Views)
LittlexWolfxHunter
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“I’ve done away with things like that a long time ago.”

Her words were surprisingly cold in that instant; a silent cold. There wasn’t a sense of bitterness, only a quiet sadness. Ylva didn’t know what love was. She had thought she knew what it was but it only caused her pain. It didn’t help that she found out from her pimp that the object of her affection had used her to satisfy his own carnal desires while high. Still, she managed to call his name when her “Johns” had their way with her, using it as a sort way to escape to a place where everything was fine. That she was happily with him, and he loved her in return.

Even when they said they loved her, she’d imagine it was Motto Brook saying it to her.

It was stupid; stupid and sad. And every time she did it, it reminded her how stupid and pathetic she was.

It twisted whatever she thought was “love” into something that it wasn’t, but that was unknown to the majyuu.

“…I could sense that he wasn’t human,” she said as she looked to the floor, “having no scent and no warmth…it gave it away. He certainly is a stunning conjuration; I’ve never seen anything like him before.”

The wolf woman listened to the young woman talk about how Y.T. liked to collect information, more or less. It seemed some sort of murdering spree that had been happening in York Shin City, which was something she was completely unaware of. They never had any radios or television sets on where she lived so knowing what went on outside of this life she was living was a mystery.

“They keep us away from media of any sort,” she said quietly, a bit disappointed that she couldn’t help them find answers to whoever was murdering girls. Furrowing her brow, Ylva kept note that she’d have to be more careful, especially with new girls. She had to tell them someone was killing them in the streets…

But…they were going to take her away from all that, Y.T. and Suzuri, right?

So…why did she worry? It was because she kept them safe before they were moved. Ylva acted as a sort of ‘mother hen’ to the new girls, taking care of their injuries and soothing them through difficult nights with her singing.

It was then that Suzuri guided her back into the room that Suzuri acted odd, falling to her knees. The sudden onset of aura made the wolf cower back since she had no protection what so ever. The other gathered herself, apologizing while Ylva noticed that Y.T. was nowhere.

‘He must’ve dissipated, the aura going back to Suzuri,’ she thought as she looked at how much that affected her. Was she new to Nen and how it worked? Just how much Nen was used to make Y.T. appear…? If this was how she was with Nen…

Doubt was starting to form in the bit of her stomach about letting them take her away.
As the other punched the couch, the wolf immediately pressed her back up against the wall and lowered herself into a crouching position. Her body trembled, recalling previous punishments that left unseen scars on her. It wasn’t until Suzuri went to the door to lock it and then to the kitchen that Ylva felt like nothing would happen and it was safe. She tentatively made her way to the kitchen when the young girl asked if she’d like hashbrowns. The majyuu had never had ‘hasbrowns’ before, but it was cooked food on a stove so she nodded her head. Seeing that she was asking for cooking help, the majyuu offered her services and went to prepare the potatoes and chicken. Doing these things…it reminded her of how she used to cook with her parents.

Those days are gone now.

For a moment, the majyuu disassociated, the other’s words becoming a low hum in the background and she prepared the food to be cooked. Before she knew it, Suzuri was asking her three questions and to make tea, which snapped her out of it.

“Y-Yes! I-I’ll make tea,” she said softly before washing her hands and making a pot. Listening to the questions, Ylva was a bit confused by some of them. Withdrawal? What did that mean? She only took them when her arm or tail acted up, or when the yelling got too much…or when the sex was too hard on her….or when the voices came back.

“I…take them for my arm and…and my tail; it’s codeine. I…I don’t know what a ‘withdrawal is,” she said quietly, “someone…hurt me a while ago. It left me with constant nerve pain in my arm and tail; my tail doesn’t even move anymore. Heh.” When the girl asked how her Nen was sealed, Ylva stopped doing whatever she was occupied with and sighed.

“They…used a Nen tattoo; it puts me immediately in Zetsu and…he knows when I use it. He…He’ll come after me and…and punish me…,” she said, thinking about it, hand shaking, “I…I don’t know how bad they’d harm me this time…”

Tears fell silently as the other asked about how the men had managed to catch the girl. The wolf lowered her head.

“They have eyes and ears all over the city,” she said softly, “they’re on good terms with the mobs in the area and ask for help from them when they need. I’m sure that’s how they were found and killed.”

“Various mobs are good to them because of me. Politicians and other important people in the city are good to them because of me…,” she said softly, “I-I’m…scared that they would use any method to keep me here.”

“I…I don’t want people to get in trouble for a creature like me,” her breath was airy, as if she’d break down and cry at any moment. But she stayed strong, “I’m…I’m…not worth it. Other people…are worth more. Why concern your safety over a majyuu that means nothing…?”

The offer of medical help from someone else made her tense. He sounded like someone that worked well and had good skills, but…it all sounded too good to be true.
Could this person really help heal her body?

“…If you think it’s a good idea, I will go,” she said, her voice so meek that it was hard to hear. Tiredness found itself within her body. This was all so much to process…and she was exhausted.

“May I sit somewhere? I’d…liked to sit and take these heels off, if it’s okay? I’m…not sure how long Y.T. bought me for so I don’t know how long I have here. My customers usually tell me when I arrive but…he seemed to be beating around the bush a lot.”
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Suzuri
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“Amazing.” The word crawled out of Suzuri’s dry throat. She looked at Little Wolf as if she’d grown a bunch of roses out of her nostrils. No Nen. Yet she’d seen through Y.T. like through rice paper. A grin bloomed on Suzuri’s face. “Keep up the deductions, and that detective will want to stay with you instead.”

That detective…Suzuri’s fingers brushed against the walls. She still didn’t know how to feel about him. Some days she feared his detachment, his hedonistic rush for the greatest mystery under the sun. Quickly, she explained Little Wolf about the Ripper. Then a case got solved, and she whispered to herself it wasn’t too bad. To suffer him in her mind. If it helped people. She clenched her fingers.

Today she hated him.

In the soft lights of the kitchen, Suzuri angrily scraped a blob molten cheese off the pan. The more she listened to Wolf’s story, the worse it got. Possible painkiller dependency. Chronic pain. “Withdrawal is the body’s craving for a drug, if used for a long time.” She whispered. The mob. At first she didn’t understand what the favors of politicians and mobsters had to do with this woman. Until she did. She kept her face above the steaming frying pan, unwilling to show just how much it affected her. The heat scorched her cheeks and the tears budding in the corners of her eyes. Every word was a chain around Little Wolf that faded into view, and clang on the green stone tiles of the kitchen. How exactly did Y.T. expect her to deal with this?

Suzuri was a vagabond. She visited places. Painted beautiful things. Painted touching things. Walked on.

The other’s frail words cut through her ears, to the bone, scattering in her brain like sprinkles of glass. ‘A creature like me.’ Suzuri’s lower lip trembled. For the travelling painter, loss of freedom was the worst curse. And, as she knew, sometimes the most solid bars in one’s cage are made of other people. She placed the spatula on the kitchen top, and turned to the other woman.

“Worth?” Her voice sounded a bit dull, as if her airways were clogged. “I am very sorry that you were made to think so little of yourself. It’s debilitating. Abusive.” She forced her hands not to clench. “I think you’re very strong, intelligent person, although you should have never had to gain that strength through so much suffering.” Her lungs burned with tension. “Those who say that others aren’t ‘really’ people only reveal anything about themselves. We’ll get you out of here.”

The books. The thick notebooks and sick ‘case studies’ in the Clocktower, carefully labeled and guarded by a plushie python wrapping around the shelves. It was the first time that Suzuri regretted not reading them when she had the chance. If she ever came across those who’d hurt Little Wolf so badly, she wanted to make them suffer until they didn’t consider themselves people anymore.

She caught one of her beaded braids between her fingers. Sphere, square, sphere…The code of the sea gypsies. Even if you walk a lonely trail, you are connected to others.

“I would’ve died many times, were it not for the kindness of strangers.” She spoke. “Is it only right that I pay it forward.”

The girl stepped forward, and raised her arms to the side. The image of Little Wolf cowering in a corner, afraid of her, shot into her mind. Her arms trembled. She mumbled:

“Would…would it be okay if…?”

It was the greatest irony that Suzuri’s only way to help Little Wolf escape her suffering was to contact a man who specialized in causing it.

Images flickered under her half-shut eyelids. Gray, carefully taking her little finger, and dislocating it.
Gray, dying under her hands among the constant heartbeat of the Clocktower. Gray, punching his master, the young and sardonic Koshaku of the Azure Archipelago, just before he could order Suzuri’s execution. Gray, gambling her life as he lured her to the Celestial Tower. Gray teaching her magic, just as magic was killing her.

“Oof!” Suzuri jumped from caltrop-studded memory lane back to the frying pan. There was a wisp of smoke reaching her nostrils. She shut off the blue flame of the stove. “Please. You go ahead, I’ll get the food.”

“Feel free to dig in.” She smiled, handling the woman a large plate with a fork dangling off to the side, before curling up on the couch, with her plate supported between her abdomen and knees. Suzuri didn’t wait long to listen to her own advice. She held her fork strangely, with the curved part upwards, skewering several potato cubes at a time. Munching, Suzuri remembered Little Wolf’s question.

“Lemme think…” She focused, and the answer faded into view like a memory. “Overnight. At least he had the sense.” Her lips narrowed slightly. The detective had had to pay an advance in order to secure Little Wolf’s services, but that came at the cost of most of their savings. Taking an airship was no longer an option. She mused. “The smart thing would be to be gone before morning. Excuse me.”

Soft clinks could be heard as the travelling painter dialed a number on her mobile. She didn’t have the number saved. She’d hoped she’d never have to use it again.

Nobody answered. Time and time and time again. Suzuri suspected that she would look desperate when the assassin finally checked his phone, but then, you had to be desperate to ask Gray for help. She tried not to think of the sort of work that could require all his attention in the meantime.

“What would you like me to call you?” Suzuri asked the other woman, smiling, to ease the tension a bit. “Little Wolf’s a bit long, to be honest.”

Ring. Riiing. ‘The number you have called…’

Ring. Riiing. ‘…please try again later.’

Ring. Click.

“Hello. Gray?” Silence. Suzuri’s toes forcefully curled and uncurled. She placed the nearly-empty plate n the coffee table. “I could do the small-talk thing. If you’d rather.” She strained her ears. She pushed the volume button. “Gray, are you there?”

Her heart was beating in her ears. She held one hand to her chest, pinkie inwards.

“I was curious who could be listed in the address-book as ‘Mostly Harmless’.” A woman’s voice smiled at her from the ether. Suzuri froze. The accent…was very much like the Koshaku of the Azure Archipelago. ‘Posh Japponese?’ It spoke of silks richly decorated with cranes, platform geta sandals, and long tresses caught in elaborate combs. With the volume adjustment, both sides of the conversation could easily be followed by someone nearby.

“Who- “ Memories swirling. Not hers. A figure dressed like that, talking to the receptionist on the 200th floor. Her own figure, motionless, supported in Y.T.’s arms. “You were in the Celestial Tower.” She strained her ‘memory’. “You helped us.”

A tayuu was one of the highest-ranking courtesans of Jappon. The Detective had inferred her job, if not her exact relationship to the assassin. “Could I talk to Gray?” Suzuri asked.

“Could you, I wonder.” The voice took on a tint of sadness. “I’m sure you aren’t calling to ask him for a favor.”

Suzuri paused.

“I can’t do subtle. If you’re upset with me, say it. Otherwise, I can’t understand.”

“I can understand why he’s interested in you.” The woman chuckled. Suzuri was fascinated by that soothing sound, like wind chimes in a breeze. “I like you. You helped Gray through a bad time, and I care about him.” A small silence, like a bitten lip. “But Gray’s gone. Been missing for a week. To be honest, I’m worried.”

Suzuri swallowed the uncomfortable silence. The truth was that the world might be, overall, better off without that assassin and torturer, but she wasn’t about to say it.

“Do you have any idea of where he is?” The girl asked.

“I’ve got a name.” The voice frowned. “Ravin Spikes, CEO of Antique Enterprises. See, you and that silly boy weren’t the only ones looking for Jack the Ripper.” Before Suzuri could get over the shock, the woman continued. “Ravin sometimes frequents the pleasure quarters. Sometimes, he invites the girls to his place.” The voice became glacial. “Sometimes they don’t come back. My sister, too. Given Gray’s interest in this, I suspect there’s more to it. Fragments of the Clocktower…Nevermind. I’ve said too much.” Suzuri raised her eyebrows. The flat tone made her wonder, whether she really regretted telling her…“What sort of help do you need?”

“Medical. Surgery. Nen.” Suzuri blurted out. So that bastard had been spying on her! “At least.”

“I can’t.” There was genuine regret in the woman’s voice. “Not my skills, and I’ve already been late to a client meeting. I will have to take the first flight.” A silence, like narrowed lips. “But…if it’s urgent…I’ll see what I can do.”

Clink. Energy drained out of Suzuri.

“Ravin Spikes, eh.” She whispered.

Something told her it was a very bad idea to go after the guy. Like entering a cave in which there might be a dragon, or, worse, in which a dragon had been killed.

Several minutes later, a knock shook the front door.
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LittlexWolfxHunter
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“It’s easy to tell things about people by just taking in their scent,” Ylva saif quietly while touching her nose to emphasize the point, “my nose is…quiet sensitive. People carry the smells of the day on them but…Y.T. was like a blank sheet of paper; no scent whatsoever. That was the first clue. Everything else came together the more I interacted with him.”

Suzuri then described to the majyuu what withdrawal was, but Ylva was still a bit confused. She took the pills whenever her injuries acted up but….sometimes she took them when she knew that it was going to be a rough night with a particularly rough customer.

It helped to block out the painful things they would do to her, as well as other things.

“…I think I took some of the pills to make sure I didn’t feel anything if the men were rough,” she said softly, staring down at her shoes when she talked.

Hearing Suzuri talk of Ylva’s worth, of how she viewed herself and that she didn’t deserve help, made the majyuu look up at the other, her turquoise eyes shining with unfallen tears that indicated she was touched by her words. It was nice to know that she was passing on kindness because kindness was shone to her. It…reminded her of Motto so much.

‘I think…I would’ve perished too if it weren’t for Motto’s kindness,’ she thought, hands gently gripped at her dress a little.

It was then that Ylva saw the young girl raise her arms and asked her if it was okay.
Tilting her head to the side, it looked like Suzuri was asking to hug her. Ylva hesitated but then let the other do what she wanted, even hugging the other back a little.

Suzuri then answered her question about taking her shoes off and the wolf woman did so, making sure that she left them by the front door before sitting down. Careful of her tail, the mayjuu sat down on the couch, pulling her feet up and curling up on one side of the couch. Hot plates of food were brought out for two of them and the she-wolf looked like she hadn’t had a decent meal in a very long time. Taking the fork and plate form the other, the wolf started to eat and a fast pace. The flavors were savory and made her feel warm inside.

A kind and gentle warmth.

Gently, her ears twitched as she heard Suzuri talk, mentioning that Y.T. had bought her for the night and that they needed to be gone by the morning. She then asked what Ylva would like to be called. Slience came over her as she thought about it a little bit.
“Ylva…you can call me Ylva.”

She was quiet when the other made her phone call, hurriedly finishing her meal like it would escape from her. In mere moments she was done and just huddled in the corner of the couch. If anything, she was tired from talking about all this, which made her lower her ears and yawn a bit. Dozing off didn’t take long, which gave the girl privacy with her conversation.

The sound of someone knocking on the door, however, threw the wolf majyuu in a panic.

Was it Demyan? Was he here for her?

Fear ran through her as she sat perfectly still on the couch.

“S-Suzuri? I-Is it them?” she whispered softly, body shaking as her eyes locked on her door and never moved from them. Ylva pleaded with whoever existed, that it wasn’t them; she could bear to see Suzuri taken and used like she was.
For she was physically powerless to do anything about it.
But….

She’d do everything to take any punishment thrown her way so as to spare the other.
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Suzuri
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‘How did it ever come to this,’ Suzuri asked herself.

Empty-eyed, she winced, hoping that the next blow wouldn’t come. No chance. Her temples exploded with pain, and the girl pressed her forehead against the edge of the couch. Something light touched her shoulder. She raised her head. It was Ylva’s tail.

The other girl lay in front of her, face-down on the couch, in her underwear. It was strange, but Suzuri had never thought about the subtle constraints that having a tail imposed on wearing certain kinds of lingerie. Suzuri forced her body to uncurl from the floor, and pressed her fingers against the woman’s hand.

“Nearly done with the surgery.” She whispered, in a way that wanted itself reassuring. She chuckled. “Ylva? Never thought I’d get a headache from thinking too much. How are you feeling?”

It seemed like ages ago when she’d told the woman, in a hurried hiss, about the escape route through the roof garden and about the hidden button under the tile that assembled the emergency staircase. When she’d cautiously approached the door, war fans in hand, and touched the handle.

It was unsettling that they could’ve found them so quickly. Suzuri had barely stopped talking on the phone, when the courtesan’s twin assistants walked in the room. The teenage girls completed each other’s words and wore complementing, but not identical, outfits with seasonally-appropriate patterns, which accentuated the feeling of unreality. They were cheerful, polite, and frightening in their calm. No, their mistress couldn’t donate Ylva an airship ticket. Yes, the bag contained some of Gray’s possessions, and Suzuri was free to do with them as she wished.

One of them stopped in the doorway as they left. Suzuri had to understand, though, she said, that if she failed to return them to Gray in a reasonable timeframe, the assassin might be rightfully upset. Unless he was dead, in which case, his former apprentices would hound her down and kill her in even more spectacular ways.

There’s no way to make some people happy.

Suzuri traced her fingers along the Majyuu’s arm and spine, checking out her patchwork. Under skin and sinew, she could feel flows of aura. There were pools and eddies where the chronic injury had altered the channels, and they had guided her to the places most in need of healing. Places where bone rasped against nerve. Suzuri’s fingers tapped over the tattoo right above Ylva’s tail. She sighed. A bow and a moon. Permanent Zetsu. Permanent no more.

She couldn’t heal. Even with the needle found in Gray’s cape, which pierced skin without injury, which weaved aura at microscopic levels, the complexity of a living body was staggering. All she could do was improvise a sheath, a knitted armor of her own aura hugging injured nerves and protecting them from the pressure.

Borrowed time.

A needle. A black, hooded cape. A pair of antique goggles. These were the most remarkable objects in the little travel bag that the twins had left. A dossier on the Ripper murders, with more data about her own associated activities than Suzuri would’ve ever liked to see. Clean clothes, separated from the dirty ones. Coconut-sprinkled chocolates. Suzuri wanted to eat those as petty revenge, but thought better than trusting the Master of Poisons. With that, she was supposed to break into a killer’s home, rescue another killer, and somehow stop both Ylva and herself from being killed? It seemed hopeless, until Suzuri put on the goggles, and her stomach twisted in many fractal knots.

Imagine that you’ve always been blind. That, recently, you’ve been able to crack your eyes just a bit, just enough to grasp the difference between light and darkness. Then imagine that someone clawed your eyelids open.

Would you even realize what vision is? Or would you be frightened? Overwhelmed by all the new, painful stimuli? It was what happened to Suzuri. Aura became clearer than it had ever been, not just a sensation of energy, but subtle rhythms, currents. And, the more she focused on a spot, the closer Suzuri felt to it. With the goggles, a single vein became a river.

Goggles for vision. A needle, for skill far above her own. And Y.T., in the back of her mind, crafting lucid dreams for her, settings in which five real minutes passed in a virtual hour. Borrowed time, in which Suzuri could design ways to weave different flavors of energy motes that she had never before seen. Up, down, strange, charm.

Even so, there had been mistakes. Times where her aura had not protected, but hurt.

And yet…

“It won’t be forever. Two weeks, a month, maybe.” Suzuri narrowed her lips. “The more you use your power, the more it’ll eat away at the defenses.” The girl collapsed on an armchair, and threw her head back, placing a bag of ice cubes on top of it. Brains weren’t supposed to work on borrowed time. She peeled the goggles off. “Tonight, I’m going after the person who can solve this for real.” She had previously told the woman all she knew about Ravin Spikes, and about how Gray the assassin had seemingly entered his mansion and never came out. “You could stay here. You’ll be safe until morning.”

“Or…” Suzuri mused, without moving. “There’s only a few strings left to tie. Your tattoo. I’ve crafted a bubble around it. If I close it, then you’ll disappear from their radar.” Without looking, she gestured in an approximate direction. “There’s a dressing room at the end of the room on the left. A disguise. A night train. It might be enough time for you to escape this city.” Suzuri stretched out her arm, holding a phone. “Here. Memorize my number, and, if I’m still alive, I’ll find you.”

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LittlexWolfxHunter
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Suzuri had whispered, in hushed voice, about the escape routes located in the hotel room as she approached the door with her weapons in her hands. It was unusual to see fans as weapons, but she didn’t think much of it. Anything could be used as a weapon, if one were to simply try. The wolf moved to where the button was, ready to push it so she could make her escape.

As the door opened, the escort blinked in surprise as what greeted her companion.

Two girls were the ones at the door.

They solely spoke to Suzuri, not once looking towards the majyuu. Ylva did her best to understand what they were talking about; something about returning a bag of stuff in a proper amount of time or she’d be hurt. The wolf furrowed her brow. Why would Suzuri put herself in harm’s way for someone she just met? She certainly wasn’t worthy of such actions.

She was just a majyuu; a creature that people deemed less than a human.

~~~


Lying face down on a couch was odd, even more so when she was in her undergarments. Crossing her arms, she used them as a pillow as she let Suzuri work on her body. The gentle touches to her arm and spine made the wolf flush with color. Such tender touches made her body automatically respond in a way she was trained to by her captors.

A visible burn scar that traveled from the middle of she should to the middle of her back was the most noticeable scar on her pale skin, but it was old, unlike the other scarring that occurred around or on top of the burn. As Suzuri touched the tattoo that marked her, Ylva winced a little. Since the tattoo was at the base of her tail, where one of her nerve injuries was, it was painful if anyone touched the area, especially her tail.

The surgery was quite painful and she had to bite down on a pillow as she commenced the procedure.

Would it really help and give her back her Nen? She wasn’t sure but she had to try something to get out of this town. Hoepfully….she’d manage to get away this time.

An inquiry on how she was feeling made Ylva look back over she shoulder at Suzuri.

“…I-It hurts but…I-I can manage it,” she said, voice soft and tired as she turned back to bury her face into the pillow. She stated that it wouldn’t last forever, that it would go away faster if she used her Nen. Her turquoise eyes watched as Suzuri left to rest for a moment. Hearing her say that she could stay here was nice, but she didn’t want to bring those men here and get her in trouble with them. At the mention of a disguise waiting for her in the room on the left of her, the feeling of hope started to ring true in her heart.

Maybe…

Just maybe…

This was the break she needed to leave for good!

Sitting up slowly, Ylva was then handed a phone with Suzuri’s number. Quickly, she stood up and went to get her own phone so she could have it with her, as well as memorizing it in case…something happened to her phone.

“…Thank you…for all of this,” her voice held a sadness in it as she looked to the younger girl, “you didn’t have to do anything for me but you did…I…I have to repay you back somehow. I must!”

Her eyes held a determination in them, as well as renewed warmth. This young girl, this stranger, had come into her life and wanted to get her out of this terrible situation he had been forced into.

How could someone so kind exist in a world that was so cruel?

“I-I’ll…do my best to leave this city…and never look back,” she said softly as she handed the phone back to the girl and turned to go get dressed in the adjacent room.

“And….I wish you well in you task,” she said, referring to the person she was going after tonight. Turning back to her, Ylva ran and gave her a hurried hug, before going back into the room.

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Suzuri
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Epilogue
In which our heroine doesn’t appear until the end, and gentlemen discuss the temperature at which an assassin catches fire and burns.

“What is the Clockwork?”

“It’s old.”

“A hundred-“

“Five hundred. Some pieces might be even older. A hundred years ago was merely the last time it was fully rebuilt; ergo, the time Jappon temporarily conquered the Domyn peninsula. Women captives, treated worse than cattle. Internment camps. Human experimentation. They don’t quite make war crimes like that anymore, you know? My master’s master was in charge of the captured politicals.”

“And the Clockwork?”

“Of course. I’m a torturer, as you know. The power we two share…Nen, chi, whatever you call it. It’s all life force. Everybody has it. Only a select few can use it.”

“Even fewer have the vision of seeing its potential in other people.”

“Ravin. You’ve killed a bunch of prostitutes. Don’t try to sound grand. But yes. As you’ve discovered, it is possible to use other lives as fuel.”

“What is the Clockwork?”

“It’s a ratchet. It turns life into energy. It turns pain into energy.”

“Most of the Masters of the Clocktower through the ages have been torturers.”

“Not to be crude, but have you ever seen someone pull out their own eyes if you merely hinted it would make you happy? Pain is a tremendous amount of expended energy. And yes, the Clockwork uses that too.”

“All that power, and yet you’re a no-name assassin employed to a small-time tyrant somewhere on the edge of the civilized world. Forgive me if I’m not impressed.”

“Forgiven. I’m not the fool killing vulnerable women in the name of an artifact that I am fully ignorant of.”

“The artifact by which you are currently bound?”

“Point taken. The chains were supposed to obey the Master of the Clocktower; I can only assume that time must’ve eaten away at their programming.”

“What does the Clockwork do?”

“Some fragments absorb power. Some transport power, and others use it in ways ranging from healing to hurting to crafting masterwork toast. I should know; I live among the gears. Here you have a rare fragment that does all three.”

“York Shin catacombs are quite far from Jappon.”

“These chains are not the only scattered fragment. Far from it. As I’ve said, the Clockwork is a ratchet. Feed it lives and it will give you power, but work enough with it and you’ll realize that part of said energy always gets stuck between the gears. Every war prisoner sacrificed to it. Every person I’ve tortured. The old masters realized it. The Clockwork feeds itself. Over centuries, it has gotten stronger. Now, even fragments banished as far as the Dark Continent may resonate with the rest.”

“Building up for…what?”

“Nobody knows. Perhaps granting the wielder immortality. Perhaps an explosion that will destroy every little inch of the known world. Perhaps summoning the Lich King and his Wild Hunt.”

“I’ll go for immortality.”

There was silence. Then a sound of steps, and the last person to speak continued:

“I’m glad you finally decided to talk. But you’re rather tiresome, assassin. I wonder how much power you do have. I think I’ll soak you in gasoline and set you on fire.”

“I spoke because only one of us will leave this room alive.”

There was an oily, pouring sound. A choking sound, and a coughing sound. The bound man shook his head, and viscous droplets splashed on the floor. He spoke:

“I’m not alone. Can’t you sense that terror, of someone barely breathing behind the mirror door? I think my guardian angel came after me.”


*

Suzuri didn’t like Ravin Spikes’s mansion. It was dark, and only got darker as she followed the blood splatters down to the basement. You would think that someone with enough money for guards and secret corridors would invest a bit in lighting – or cleaning utensils - but no.

As the discussion between the Ripper and the assassin went on, she watched from behind the false mirror door. By their tone alone you would have guessed them sitting at a poker table. But Gray, the assassin, was bound by chains. Beaten. Bloody. Bruises crossed his chest and arms, in various stages of ‘necrotic purple’ and ‘liver yellow’. On his sternum, was the large shadow of a bruise, that she herself had marked, long ago, when performing CPR to a point where most people would have their organs turned to jelly.

As they talked, the neon in the ceiling faded. Flickered. The blood of the woman lying dead on the conference table turned dark. A victim of Jack the Ripper. Of Ravin. A warning of what could happen to her.

Suzuri wasn’t sure how she managed to get past Ravin. All she remembered was touching the chains, and they slithered like snakes down to the ground, freeing the assassin. Somehow Ravin caught his ankle in them.

Her vision contracted to a single spot. She saw Gray, bloody, beaten, walk towards Ravin, and the air grew heavy. She saw Gray killing without touching, simply staring, and the air solidified with the intent to cause pain. Ravin’s eyes spun to the back of his head. The man died of a heart attack.

‘Yes, but how do I know?’

Then all she saw was darkness.

She felt someone getting closer. Fingertips traced the contours of her eyes. It smelled like gasoline. Her eyes were open. Why wasn’t the emergency generator kicking in? Later she wondered why all the lampposts and windows and stars outside had switched off. Then she saw the capillary veins inside his finger bones, extending for miles in all directions in a complex, sparkling tridimensional weave.

“There is always a price.” Gray said.

[/color]
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Edited by Suzuri, Sep 4 2017, 11:40 PM.
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The disguise was perfect.

An auburn wig, different clothing and glasses can certainly make someone look indistinguishable from what they really look like. She was grateful for the coat as well; it hid her tail from view. Exiting the building wasn’t the problem that concerned her. It was evading people that might be watching her. Remembering how one of the other girls was caught and killed, a friend of Ylva’s that was taken from the country of Jappon, had made her stop trying to find a way out of this life and just accept it.

She was given a second chance today.

And she was going to take it.

Acting normal, Ylva left the luxurious room and headed down to the lobby. Keeping her demeanor casual, the mayjuu didn’t expect to blend in so easily. The hope rising in her chest was reassuring her that this would go over well. The doors closed behind her and the air of the city met her face as she took a breath to cam her nerves. The train. She had to get to a train in order to leave. It was the best option; airships needed identification and other things but the same couldn’t be said for trains.

She did need enough money for a ticket, which she found in her coat pocket.

Ylva would have to walk, though, in order to reach the station. It was a simple sacrifice since her freedom was one the line. Pulling her coat around her, the wolf walked in the direction of where she was told to go by the valet. Thanking him, the wolf woman did her best to not get lost.

++++++

The sounds of the city resonated around her as she did her best to remember where she was going. Ylva had never explored the city by herself. It was strange and foreign to her. The nagging feeling of someone watching seemed to increase with each step, and it didn’t help that men on the street wanted to talk to her and comment on her body. She did her best to ignore them but it seemed like some of them were following her, as if waiting for a chance to corner her.

She had been walking for hours until the station came into sight. Eyes shining with renewed hope, Ylva started making a dash for the building, that is, until she was pulled into an alley and hit over the head with some blunt object.

Waking up wasn’t pleasant, especially when she found herself strapped to a familiar device within a room she was wall too familiar with. The Saint Andrew’s cross she was strapped to spread her legs wide and tied them securely. Fear and desperation coursed through her as she pulled at her restraints before a blind fold was placed over her and a door opened.

“So! It looked like you found someone to help you escape, puppy!”

The familiar voice sounded cheerful but Ylva knew, behind that happy voice, that anger was brewing. It was obvious because she was currently in “The Room”; a place where misbehaving girls are sent to keep them on track with his escort business and “retrained”.
“But why did you want to leave? I give you a roof over your head, a place to sleep, food, and I’m kind to you…so I JUST don’t understand why you’d want to leave me,” he said, the tone in his voice sad as he stepped closer to the she-wolf an cupped her chin harshly in his fingers.

“WELL! You’re back now, and that’s that! But! You have to be retrained and there are some very eager men wanting to discipline you today! Have fun, gentlemen, and please…don’t break her too much or enter her. I’ll be back to finish up with her later.”

Demyan laughed as he exited the room. Large hands started to touch her body as the wolf majyuu struggled, tears running down her face as they forcefully placed a gag in her mouth and went about having their way with her, but knew the limits of their “play”.

How she cursed herself for leaving Demyan and facing the consequences that followed.

If her spirit wasn’t broken, it was now….and she was afraid that she’d never escape this hell.

Never.
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I'm just here to RP

LittlexWolfxHunter Reward Table
Member Name:
LittlexWolfxHunter
Character Name:
Ylva Haugen
Standard Reward
2SP, 400,000 Jenni
Effort Bonus
Extensive 25%
Total Rewards:
2SP, 500,000 Jenni, 5 RP



Suzuri Reward Table
Member Name:
Suzuri
Character Name:
Suzuri Rinrin
Standard Reward
2SP 400,000 Jenni
Content Bonus
Exceptional 60%
Effort Bonus
Extensive 25%
Total Rewards:
3 SP, 740,000 Jenni, 7 RP



This topic is now completed.
Edited by Gon.Pro.Hunter, Sep 16 2017, 08:02 AM.
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