[Graded] Yutaka'n To Me!?

[ThatGuy]

"You want to double your money, friend? If you can keep your eye on the Queen, I’ll match what you put in."

The man Yutaka addressed rolled his eyes and spit on the ground nearby, clearly not wanting to play. With a sigh, Yutaka moved on to the next person and continued to look for any takers. He had been coasting off of the money he made on a previous con all week, but he was starting to run out again. If he wasn’t able to make money tonight, he’d have to start considering sleeping on the street for a while. So he set up a table in a run-down bar close to the brothel he was staying at. It was the only place he could think of that wouldn’t throw him out for his shenanigans. Luckily, a drunk couple approached his table and threw down a few coins. The boyfriend gave a cocky smirk before speaking.

"I know this trick, ya drunk. You’re not going to pull a fast one on me. When I catch you cheating, I expect to be paid out."

"If you know it’s a con, then why would you play? Eh, it doesn't matter anyway. I’m not gonna cheat ya. Look, nothing up my sleeves." Yutaka rolled up the sleeves on his kimono to show that he did, in fact, have nothing hidden. With that, he laid out three cards face up. "Keep your eye on the Queen."

With that, he flipped the cards back over and began moving them around haphazardly. Normally, he’d have to pay a shill for a con like this to work, but people were surprisingly confident in their ability to win games rigged against them. Yutaka did as he promised and didn’t do anything to trick the man. They kept their eyes on the cards, and when Yutaka was finished mixing them up, they picked the correct card.

"Ah damn, you’ve got a good eye. You want to try again?"

"Throwing a couple rounds isn’t going anywhere, you bum. I told you I knew this trick!"

"You’re a lot smarter than you look! Bet you won’t manage it this round, though, double or nothing."

"Come on, Kaito. If you just do what we were talking about earlier, then we can make enough to last the rest of the night!"

Eager to impress his girlfriend, and spurred on by the prospect of prolonging their date, the man threw more coins in. Once again, Yutaka showed that there was nothing up his sleeve, then proceeded to mix the cards up again. This time, going much faster than before. In one smooth motion, he used his bloodline ability to create a card from his wrist and subtly swapped it out for the Queen. He was a pro when it came to palming cards, so he was confident that even though the man knew the trick, the boyfriend wouldn’t be able to catch him in the act. Sure enough, he picked the wrong card.

"You cheated!"

"Eh? How the hell would I have cheated if you already knew the trick!? You just lost the card, that's all."

"Bullshit. Go again."

After a few more rounds and a lot of yelling, Yutaka managed to make some money off the couple. While they came close to a fight, it managed not to escalate into violence. No one seemed to want to get banned from this place. Counting his coins, Yutaka sighed as he realized he still didn’t have enough for a night at the brothel. He could get a warm bath there, which he sorely needed. So he reluctantly returned to asking the patrons if they wanted to play.

"Anyone looking to double their money?"

[Amy]

Misaki leaned back in her chair, watching the people around her with what could barely be considered interest. She had arrived in town at dawn after walking all night and unwilling to part with her money for less than half a night’s sleep she had opted to sleep in a back alleyway. And with that decision her less than half a night’s sleep became zero parts sleep when some drunk asshole stumbled down the same alleyway and started pissing right by her head. Barely making it out of the splash zone had woken her up enough to be angry and once she was angry sleep was never going to happen. The town had already started its morning bustle anyways so she figured she might as well join in, taking a break from her investigation as the thought of speaking with a single human being made her want to vomit.

It was always the same, every time. Ever since she had started taking on any traveling job she could. No one ever knew anything about slave traders. Did she believe them? Absolutely not, but if she started breaking bones to get her answers people would stop hiring her. So she had to smile and grit her teeth when they said “No” with that dumb little smirk on their faces. Politely request that if they remember anything they let her know, all with the understanding that they somehow hired her for a bodyguard but also only saw her as a little girl. Which was absolutely insane to her. How can you think of someone as a small dumb child but still trust you with your life? Dumb old men was the only answer she had come up with. Though, to be fair, she had stopped looking for more answers when she got to that one. Why waste effort when you already have such a great conclusion?

So instead of asking anymore humans any more questions she just explored the seventh shitty town she had been in that month which unsurprisingly held the same shitty people with their same shitty attitudes and the same shitty criminals with their shitty morals. Knowing herself well enough to know that she was also having a shitty attitude she kept to herself as much as possible, ignoring the ache in her legs and in her heart. It had been over a decade since her sister disappeared and she was no closer to finding out what had happened to her. She had always known, even as a child, that it was probably a hopeless endeavor but how was she just supposed to let her sister be forgotten? That beautiful, light, kind soul was just gone and no one but her cared. Rubbing the sea snake charm of her necklace between her fingers, Misaki wandered around town, the same train of thought on her mind the entire time.

She did have one clue. One single clue that she had picked up three years ago by accident. The two men she was leading from one town to the next were whispering in their tent at what was probably a much louder volume than they intended. The conversation didn’t make sense at the time as they were talking about her and verifying with each other that they hadn’t seen a brand on her in the shape of a lotus. That was it. But it felt like something to finally hold onto, something that finally made the last eight years of her life mean something. The smallest sliver of hope that she could latch onto. It had never amounted to anything but she still checked every inch of skin, on every person she could, praying each time that a lotus brand would appear before her.

And somehow, in this shitty town on a random night that meant absolutely nothing, some god somewhere smiled down on her. Because sitting at a table with a deck of cards, calling out to the street was a man who she swore had a brand. She didn’t know if it was a lotus. She didn’t even know if it was a brand. But it was close enough that she needed to check it out closer. Her heart beating just a little faster, she loosened her joints and let a little bit of a loopy grin show up on her face. Stumbling just enough to seem tipsy she answered his call.

"I'll take you up on that offer. Let's see who's faster, eh?"

[ThatGuy]

Yutaka let out a smirk as the seemingly drunken girl approached him. An easy mark from the looks of it. Maybe he would be able to get that bath afterall. As the girl placed her money on the table, Yutaka matched the amount. It was enough to get him a night's stay at some low-end place at least. But he figured he could squeeze a bit more out of them.

"Alright little lady, the game is simple enough. Just keep your eye on this little lady." Yutaka revealed the Queen. "If you can guess where she is after I mix them all up, then you win." Much like before, he rolled his sleeves up and raised his hands in a gesture of innocence. "Nothing up my sleeves. No funny business here."

Again, he purposely went easy on the first round. So long as she wasn't too drunk, it'd be a simple task to keep track. As Yutaka shifted the cards about, he became painfully aware of how sober he was. It wasn't that he couldn't do this grift while drunk, but people tended to avoid him when he reeked of alcohol. Which was pretty much his default state at this point. When he finished rearranging the cards, he looked at the girl. As expected, she picked the correct card.

"Good eye! You want to try again? Or are ya too scared to risk it?" When the girl accepted, he once again rolled up his sleeves. "Nothing up my sleeves. I'm not gonna cheat ya."

He then proceeded to cheat. Swapping the Queen for a card created from his palm had become second nature at this point. It was as automatic as breathing to the con artist. He picked up the pace and moved the cards around at a surprising speed. When he finished, he gave the girl a warm smile. All three choices were wrong. Even if she had somehow managed to catch him cheating, he was ready to grab the money and run. When she chose one of the three cards, he let out a chuckle before flipping over the card.

"Ah damn. Well, maybe next time. Assuming you have the coin to go again that is."

He wasn't hopeful that the girl would try another round. She didn't seem particularly wealthy, plus you had to be pretty down on your luck to drink at this bar. Yutaka would much rather buy himself a bottle and drink on the streets. At least the streets didn't reek of mold… most of the time at least. Awaiting the girl's answer, Yutaka subtly swapped the Queen back. Just in case she did want to test her luck.

[Amy]

Keeping her thoughts off of her face was easy for Misaki after years of listening to people talk around her while they were working. She had learned very quickly that is she showed that she was listening, even if it was a subtle raising of her eyebrows or her mouth opening into a small “o” people would shut up. And since her whole business was finding information that wasn’t something that could continue so she spent weeks training her face to remain neutral, or in whatever expression she wanted, regardless of what was going through her head. In this case, she was wondering how people continued to fall for this scam all while making sure she looked like she was truly enjoying herself.

“Sure hope luck is on my side tonight!” She said, her voice pitched a little high and squealing. He of course made it impossible to lose the first round, moving his hands at a snail's pace, his eyes basically never leaving the queen. This was the purpose though. You had to build up the confidence of the one being scammed so they would put more money on the table. Who doesn’t like to win? But then, using whatever trick he had up his sleeve, the scammer would suddenly turn the tables and even if the scammed knew he was being played he wouldn’t know how. Misaki didn’t fault the man for his living - she herself had escorted many criminals around so they could safely perform their nefarious deeds. It wasn’t his fault if people were dumb enough to fall for his scam.

“Hell yeah I’m gonna go again! Why stop when lady luck is on my side?” She offered the man a cheeky wink as she spoke, stacking a few more coins on the table. It’s not that she was any sort of wealthy that she was willing to keep playing. But this was her first possible clue and she would give everything she had if it meant following through on it.

It was a wonder that anyone who wasn’t black out drunk didn’t realize how much the game changed after you were hooked. Suddenly his hands were moving three times as fast, his movements were smooth, and his eyes weren’t even glancing at the cards. Misaki wondered if there even was a queen on the table anymore. If he managed to take the card off the table entirely she would actually be impressed. When the cards stilled at the table, she smiled at the man, a little bit of her mask slipping away on purpose. Just enough to make him a little uneasy when she tapped her finger on one of the cards at random.

“Can’t give up that easily.” She said tossing a few more coins on the table, leaning back slightly. Probably a lot more relaxed than most people who had started to lose. “You must make a lot of money out here, huh? A good lookin’ big guy like you probably attracts everyone. Women who want to fuck you and men who want to prove they’re better than you in some way?” She leaned forward again as she spoke, leaning her elbows against the table. This was a good front to meet people if he was indeed working for the group she was looking for.

She tapped her finger on the table again.

“Gonna throw down the cards or what?”

[ThatGuy]

Yutaka let out a laugh as the girl flirted with him. She wasn’t entirely wrong. The girls at the brothels loved him, and he’d dealt with the damaged pride of more than his fair share of men. But ultimately, people tended to steer clear of the drunk, probably because he was known for conning people. With a big smile, he responded to the drunken girl.

"Aye. You keep that coin coming, and you’ll have my heart in no time."

Punctuating his statement with a wink, he once again rolled up his sleeves. After showing that he wasn’t hiding anything, he began moving the cards once again. If his mark was truly attracted to him, then that’d make it even easier to keep her distracted. So he did his best to maintain eye contact, giving her his best smile should she look at him. When he finished, he once again let the girl choose her card. The game was obviously rigged, however, and he happily took her money when she guessed wrong.

"It’s just not your day, is it? Tell ya what, if you want to go another round, I’ll pay for your drinks tonight! Ah, hell, just for you, I’ll buy ya one for free."

With that, he flagged down the bartender, much to their annoyance, and ordered a bottle for the lady. The bottle didn’t cost much when compared to how much he had won already, plus the investment would be worth it. Yutaka thought it was safe to assume that he had his mark hooked at this point. Maybe they didn’t have much more money, but at the very least he could try and get her a bit friendlier. Who knows? Drunk people were sometimes more amicable. After being tossed the bottle, Yutaka poured the girl and himself a drink, pushing one cup towards her.

"Whaddya say? "You're not scared of a little fun, are ya?" When she threw the coins down, he continued. "See, I knew I liked you, where ya from? What brings you here?"

He figured he’d distract his mark with a little conversation as he once again rolled up his sleeves to show he wasn’t hiding anything. He wasn’t paying attention to her answer, however. This grift was turning out far better than he expected. He didn’t know if it was the alcohol, but this girl seemed really eager to play. Maybe it was his looks, maybe she wasn’t that bright, but at the end of the day, it didn’t matter. Yutaka’s mind wandered as he mixed the cards, happily daydreaming about the night ahead of him. When she once again picked the wrong card, he faked a look of concern. 

"It’s just not your day, little lady. I couldn’t possibly take any more money from ya! Ah, hell, I hope you have a place to stay tonight. Or at least enough money to afford one!"

It wasn’t always the smartest idea to cut and run after taking money from someone. Sometimes it was smarter to sit and have a drink with them and talk for a while. Yutaka would just have to work his charms, and with luck, he’d leave on good terms with the girl. It was always a good idea to make friends, especially with an attractive woman who has a lot of money. It wasn’t often, but he’d managed to play a few girls' hearts for a paycheck in the past. Regardless, though, it was best not to cause a scene on his way out.

[Amy]

This time, when he flipped his sleeves she had her eyes glued to the correct wrist. And now, there was no doubt left in her mind. There was a brand, in the shape of a lotus, on the underside of his wrist. She still didn’t know what it meant, it could be nothing other than a coincidence. It could be that the information she had overheard was bad or incorrect. But it was something she could sink her teeth into and she wasn’t going to give up until she got what she wanted. So she would continue to play this silly game and lose all her money if needed. This was a small price to pay. He seemed to be acceptable to her flirting, whether he was actually interested or just continuing his own con didn’t matter. It kept him talking and as a reward she offered him another smile.

“Lady luck is a fickle bitch, isn’t she? I’ve never let that stop me though,” Misaki said, her voice starting with girlish frustration and dropping to a tone of dead seriousness. “I’ll take you up on the game and the drink though.”

She needed a plan. A real plan because when she came over here it was on a thread of hope. But now the thread was sitting in her hand and she needed to close her hand around it. Nerves had started to settle in the pit of her stomach, the stakes were so much higher than the few coin she continued to toss on the table. If she fucked this up she would never forgive herself. The obvious answer was money. If she kept playing his game and lost enough coin to him, he should be willing to give up a piece of information. And if he didn’t want to, she would break his bones until he did.

“I’m from a small village on the shore,” she answered him after throwing down again. “I’ve been traveling around for a while now looking for some information but you know how it is. No one ever wants to give you what you want easily.”

Tapping a random card to secure the sure loss, she realized that he assumed he had wrung all he could from her and was trying to end the game. That part was fine with her as he had taken over half her coin. But now he was going to give her something in return. She shook her head, a rueful look on her face as she pushed herself up from her chair. But before the man in front of her could finish gathering his things she snapped her arm out and latched her hand around one of his wrists. Her eyes no longer looked cloudy with booze and there was nothing amused on her face anymore

“I think I’ve paid you well enough tonight for you to give me the information I want. Where’d you get the lotus brand on your wrist?” She flipped his wrist over, pinning his hand to the table, her thumb pressed between his tendons right below the brand. Despite the aggressiveness of her actions she kept them smooth so that no one around them would be any the wiser to what was going on at the table.

[ThatGuy]

When the girl suddenly grabbed his wrist, Yutaka let out an annoyed groan. Of course she had to be a hunter. He knew the moment that she asked about the lotus brand that she must have been sent by the Yakuza. He supposed it was naive to think they’d leave him alone. But still, to send a cute, wealthy girl like this? Well, they certainly knew his weak points, that's for sure. Now that he thought about it, however, it was strange that she specifically asked where he got the brand. Surely they’d know. But he supposed they wouldn’t make a hired hand privy to that information.

"You’re breakin’ my heart! And here I thought we really had something going…"

She squeezed his arm a bit tighter, making him grit his teeth and grunt in pain. Whoever this woman was, she was strong. As strong as him, if he had to guess. She clearly wasn’t playing around, though, so Yutaka changed his approach.

"Okay, okay, okay, ease up, little lady! You don’t want to make a scene, do you? Look, I don’t want any trouble, okay? I've got a girl waiting on me at home, and she’d be devastated if you damaged my good hand!"

It wasn’t entirely a lie. At this point, the brothel was practically his home, and there was a girl waiting. It was just for a paycheck. It wasn’t long before he realized that this approach wasn’t going to work either. This was quite an ugly situation that Yutaka found himself in. He didn’t want to try and brute-force his way out, but what choice did he really have? For all he knew, this woman could actually be from the ring that sold him all those years ago. Either way, he absolutely did not want to get involved.

"Alright! I don’t know their name. Bastards never deigned to tell me. But what I can tell ya is"

Yutaka suddenly vaulted over the table and moved to grab the girl’s waist, wrenching her hand off his wrist in the process, not giving her time to register that he was making a move. After getting a hold of her shorts, he hooked his free arm under hers and twisted with all his might, throwing her into the table they’d just finished playing cards on. He was devastated. Not so much by the girl’s sudden betrayal as by the fact that he had just broken the bottle he’d just bought. What a waste of good booze!

"Tell them fuckers I’m not goin’ back!"

With that, Yutaka grabbed the money and took off in a sprint, jumping straight through a nearby window. His large frame absolutely destroyed the wooden shutters on his way out. The man almost felt bad about the damage he’d caused in the bar. But there was no way in hell he was letting someone take his hard-earned freedom. So with the energy of a man possessed, Yutaka ran down the nearest alley and hoped the girl wouldn’t be able to catch up.

Jutsu UsedShow

Shitatenage
D-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
The practitioner hooks under the opponent's arm and grabs their Mawashi then turns sideways in order to throw their opponent. Ideally into a nearby object.

[Amy]

Despite feeling like she was absolutely ready no matter which way he reacted, Misaki was surprised by his reaction. She had mostly expected him to get threatening back, warning her that she should mind her own business before she got hurt or something equally cliche. Next would have been him feigning innocence, pretending he had been born with it or some similar type of nonsense. His actual reaction though was something else entirely. He seemed almost…panicked. Not afraid of her but…wary. Wary and in a real hurry to get away from her. This feeling she was getting from him only caused her grip to tighten but a moment later it didn’t matter.

Because absolutely nowhere in her plans did she expect such a large man to vault across the table, lift her, and throw her back down. The weak, rotten table easily collapsed beneath her, the undrunken booze toppling and soaking into her clothes. She laid there for a moment, a calmness falling over her body like a warm cloak. “Not going back,” he said. He must have defected from the group and was on the run. Probably thought she was here to hunt him. While that had not been the case when she first saw him, only wanting to ask him a few questions, she certainly planned on hunting him now. Pushing herself up and onto her feet she bounced up and down a couple of times while she looked for his fleeing form. Despite his tall form she could not see him but she could see the damage he left behind, the owners of the bar already standing around and shouting. A small smile on her face, she dove through the same window and took off after the form in the distance.

He was not a slow man and he may be possessed with a desire to escape but Misaki did not believe for one second that that would lead him to outpace her. Not her, who had been searching fruitlessly for so many years. Not her, who had finally found a starting point. Not her, who felt possessed by a demon entity. She felt no pain as she ran, she looked at nothing and no one as she sped by. Several people and carts lay in her wake but they were nothing to her. The only desire, the only feeling in her body was to catch him. Slowly but surely she was gaining on him. Misaki didn’t waste time, effort, or energy calling out threats to him. They would be delivered when she eventually caught up to him.

[ThatGuy]

Yutaka looked behind him for just a moment as he ran down the alley. He could see the girl in the distance, and she was picking up speed. Fast. The only thing he could think of at the moment was knocking things over on his way. First, he used his strength to flip over a nearby cart, blocking the alleyway. It cost him some time, but he had hoped it would force the girl to alter her route. After running a bit further, he looked back just in time to see the girl vault over the cart like it was nothing. Good to know that was a complete waste of time. When he reached the end of the alley, he got another idea. With luck, this girl had a bit of a conscience. So he quickly grabbed a poor, unsuspecting woman up and lifted her in the air.

"Really sorry about this, ma’am. You were just the closest thing to throw! Brace yourself."

In truth, he didn’t feel very bad at all as he threw the woman down the alley at full strength, directly at his pursuer. He wasn’t one to hurt a woman, but when it came to his freedom, he’d do just about anything. Plus, there was no way she wouldn’t catch that woman, right? It wasn’t long before he was proven wrong in the most spectacular manner. Without so much as batting an eye, the girl jumped over the woman and kicked off her mid-air to gain some more momentum. Yutaka panicked and hopped a nearby fence, his heart racing as he heard the footsteps behind him. He quickly cut a corner and was completely blindsided and knocked to the ground. The girl had looped around the other way and tackled him full force as he turned around the corner. After catching his breath, he yelled out to her.

"GET THE FUCK OFFA ME! YOU HEARTLESS BASTARDS JUST CAN’T LEAVE ME BE, CAN YA?"

Yutaka did his best to wriggle out of her grip, but the girl had him completely pinned. It was a rather pathetic sight, given the size difference. But she was way stronger than she looked. Gritting his teeth, Yutaka saved his energy. He’d have to wait for another chance to escape. There was no way he was going back in. Even if it meant he had to beg, bite, or bribe.

[Amy]

It was clear that he had never been chased by anyone with as much determination as Misaki had. If he had, he would stop wasting time pushing things down in an attempt to deter her. Her feet barely touched the ground, springing back up as soon as they landed. She used her surroundings, including the things thrown into her path to propel herself forward. There was no thought in her head other than catch him. His large form was getting larger, his concern about slowing her down having the opposite effect. A slight smirk drifted across her face when he threw an actual human back at her, probably thinking that she would catch the person and set them down gently, losing him in the process.

What a silly man.

Misaki took the opportunity to leap high in the air, higher than the woman, and come down right in front of her. The woman’s rib cage made a wonderful springboard and with one magnificent leap the distance between the two of them was cut nearly in half. If he dared to look back again after witnessing that stunt he would see a wide smile on her face, eyes just a little bit too bright. She was truly enjoying herself. When he cut around a corner, Misaki didn’t bother following because there was a much shorter route. Leaping onto the building he cut around she ran across the roof top and dropped down just in time to cut him off and catch him by surprise.

Despite being so large, Misaki had a lot of experience and with surprise on her side it was a relatively easy feat to pin him to the ground, his arm with the brand wretched behind his back where she was sitting, her knee digging into the opposite shoulder to keep him from using it well. The hold was good but it wouldn’t hold for long, his muscles flexing beneath her. Weak was not a word she would use to describe this man. Which meant she had a limited amount of time to convince him that she wasn’t the “heartless bastards” he was running away from.

“Do you always run away from pretty girls who ask you personal questions and let you win? I like a nice workout but this isn’t usually what I have in mind.” She dug her knee into his shoulder a little harder when he relaxed a little, just in case he was trying to trick her into relaxing her own hold. “Listen, all I want to know is where you got the brand and why. I have a personal interest in the matter and once I’m sure you’ve told me everything I want to know we can go our own separate and merry ways. You can go back to scamming people and you’ll never see me again.”

It seemed that he had almost been in the clear when he rounded the corner. They were on the outskirts of the lively part of town, nothing but darkness opposite of where they came from. Even if there had been people there, they likely wouldn’t have cared what was going on. If he started throwing his weight around she was going to have to hurt him, on the off chance that he got away it would at least slow him down. She didn’t really enjoy hurting people before she knew if they had done anything to deserve it so she gave him one pity warning.

“If you try to run again with my information I’ll break your wrist and keep the brand for myself.”

[ThatGuy]

"Normally I'm the one doing the chasin', but you're moving way too fast! I bought you one drink, and you're already all over me. You must be real lone- Ow ow"

He was cut off as the girl dug her knee deeper into his back. She was a feisty one, that was for sure. But from the sounds of it, she had nothing to do with him or the Yakuza. Yutaka figured he might as well give the girl some answers. Though he was still looking for an opportunity to bolt.

"Alright! Alright. Fine. It's the mark of a certain trafficking ring. I'd stay far away from them if I was you though. Not only are their 'products' way out of your pay range, they might well take you and put ya up for auction. You're strong but these people have the kinda money and muscle that makes people disappear."

Memories flashed in Yutaka's mind. His time with the organization was hazy. He purposely tried to avoid those memories, usually he could drink them away. But the girl was bringing it all back to him, and he was stone cold sober. The only thing he could remember with clarity was the branding iron sizzling his skin. The horrible pain that never seemed to go away. The fear and confusion as he was thrown into a cell with other crying slaves. Trying to shake the thoughts from his head, he spoke again. 

"What the hell does a girl like you want with them anyways? Tryna buy a boyfriend?"

His heart started beating faster, unable to escape the memories. Yutaka reminded himself that he was free now. That no one owned him. But being restrained by the girl reminded him of those days. They had pinned him down in a similar manner when they branded him. He knew that one couldn't escape their past, but that wouldn't stop him from trying. Trying to keep the fear out of his voice, he spoke once again. 

"Look, you already proved I can't outrun ya. Just gimme the decency of being able to sit up. What am I realistically gonna do?"

This wasn't merely a ploy to create a chance to escape. Ultimately, Yutaka just wanted to calm the panic attack he could feel coming. He didn't like the feeling of someone having power over him again. Unfortunately, that was the exact position he found himself in. But he hoped he could find a soft spot in his interrogator's heart. Though, given what happened to the woman he threw earlier, he wasn't hopeful. 

[Amy]

About ready to follow through on her threats, the man finally stopped spouting nonsense and started talking about what she was interested in. Except even then, he still managed to be infuriating. Her face flushed more than it did while chasing him and her hands started shaking. The very fucking audacity to suggest that she had any intent on purchasing another human!? But he didn’t let his kindness stick around for very long, quickly switching to threats. Misaki spent all of her time thinking about how to save her sister and absolutely none of it thinking about what she might have gone through.


The word auction tumbled through her brain, finding nowhere to stick. She had seen auctions before, but for animals. For livestock. One by one, heads stomping, heads swaying every which direction they were led onto a stage where they were forced to stand. While people stared at them, talked about them like they weren’t there, and called out how much they thought they were worth. If watching it happen to animals was slightly uncomfortable, the thought of her sister standing on a stage like that made bile rise in her throat. The questions that she always avoided threatened to spill in as the man continued to talk beneath her, wondering what she could want with such an evil group. What she wanted was to kill every single one of them but only after they had suffered the same way she had suffered all these years. And when she found out all of the ways her beautiful, gentle, kind sister suffered.

She would make sure they experienced all of that too.

Unsheathing her tanto, Misaki stabbed it into the ground directly in front of the man’s eyes, so close it would be touching his skin, though no blood fell. Her grip on his arm was weakened now but it didn’t matter, her time being able to hold him down was almost up anyways. Most of her body relaxed as she leaned down across his arm and his back, until she was eye to eye with him, the small blade the only thing separating them. And though a pleasant smile lit her face, her eyes were lit with an entirely different emotion.

“What I want, what I’m going to do is kill you and every other coward you work with. Because you do know that that’s the kind of person who steals children from their homes, right? Cowards. Disgusting, filthy, more worthless than the mud between my toes, cowards.”

Misaki pushed off of him, standing up and releasing him, her blade going with her.

“Get up, then. You want some of the decency that was never shown to my sister? Fine, then. Get up.” Her harsh words dragged her smile down into a sneer. “You want to threaten to take me in too, sell me? All that money and muscle, huh? Well, let’s see what you’ve got then.”

[ThatGuy]

Yutaka tried to keep his breath steady as the girl stabbed the ground next to him. He couldn't let his freedom end here. When she leaned in close, he felt his heart skip a beat. With this much fire in her, in other circumstances, she might have been the girl of his dreams. But unfortunately she had to be a crazy bitch hell bent on killing him.

When she threatened him, his face contorted in confusion. How dare she think he was one of those monsters. She really was stupid, wasn't she? When she got up, Yutaka wasted no time turning around and sitting up. Did she just say something about a sister? No wonder she was so determined to track these people down.

"For starters, I AM NOT one of those monsters. I was one of those kids taken. This brand? It's how they mark their merchandise."

Still sitting down, making it clear he didn't want to fight, he pulled out the small wooden gourd he kept his emergency sake in. It was cracked from the fall, but the alcohol was salvageable. With a sigh, he made a new one from his forearm.

"Ain't got no money, why else would I be doin' three card monte in some rundown bar? Got a little muscle, but not enough to want to take you on. I wasn't threatening you, it was a warning. I'm serious."

After pouring the remaining sake into his new container, he tossed his old one aside. Yutaka drank down the remaining contents and stashed the new bottle away. If they were going to talk about that organization more, he couldn't be sober.

"Look, I can sympathize with your anger. I really can. But if you value your life, your freedom, it'd be best for ya to stop here. I know it's your sister, and I know you're strong, but think about how many families they've destroyed. You think all of them really stood by? You're not the first to fight back, and you won't be the last. Even if you did find your sister, are you sure you can handle what's happened to her? I lucked out. I was sold to some Yakuza who thought they could use my ability to make weapons. It could have been so much worse."

Yutaka tried to smother the memories that were threatening to resurface. Them separating the men and women into two different holding cells. He saw and even received a few beatings while he was there. But the screams from down the hall were what haunted him. He’d never know what was happening, and he didn’t want to. They were sick bastards. The people at the auction house too. They carelessly bid on people like they were nothing but a new toy to play with. Some wanted sex slaves, some wanted a person to express their violent urges on, some wanted a person to work to death, and some were looking for a unique ability. Yutaka was lucky to fall into that final category. His time with the Yakuza was terrible, but his heart broke thinking about the others. Or at least it would if he didn’t drown himself in alcohol every chance he could get.

[Amy]

There was no way of knowing whether he was lying or not and that fact did nothing to ease Misaki’s out of control emotions. There was nothing to compare against, nothing that she could use to accuse him of lying. But she wanted him to be lying because she didn’t want to stop fighting because unless she hurt him she would not feel better. The fear and anger coursing through her veins forced reason to the back of her brain. Deep breaths caused her chest to rise and fall rapidly as she fought to remain in control because as much as she needed him to be lying, if he wasn’t and she hurt him, it would just be one more thing she could never forgive herself for.

Her weapon lifted, pointing at him, just so subtly shaking. But she did not step closer.

“I’ve heard of people like you before, able to create things from nothing.” Chewing the inside of her cheek, Misaki stared down at the man in front of her. Foot tapping rhythmically on the ground. It wasn’t the first time she had to make a quick decision about someone else. How much she would trust them, how much she would share with them. She didn’t really think the man was lying but no one ever thought she was lying either. Maybe he was just as good at lying as she was. Doubtful, but Misaki had been surprised once or twice before in her lifetime.

“You think I value my life more than I want revenge? Do you think that I don’t know what a trafficked woman goes through? That I don’t feel it in my veins, in my bones, in my very soul what she suffered? Who knows how many disgusting men laid their hands on her. Hurt her. Stripped away the joy and light that made her who she was. I hope that she has found peace by now but since I have no way of knowing that I will not, cannot, stop looking for her.”

Misaki took a deep breath, her eyes darkening as she stepped closer, squatting on her heels so they were eye level once again.

“All those people before? They weren’t me. Good people can’t do the things that I’m willing to do to destroy their entire operation. But they are damn good at hiding and you’re the first person I’ve ever found with any connection to them. I need your help. I need you to tell me everything you remember so that I can get closer.”

Her head cocked to the side slightly, the right side of her mouth pulling up in a grin.

“And if you’re helpful enough, I’ll take any names or descriptions you can give me and I’ll make sure your name is the last thing they hear before I bleed them dry.”

[ThatGuy]

Despite his best efforts, Yutaka was starting to feel bad for the girl. She must have really loved her sister. That just made it all the more heartbreaking that he had to be the one to try to convince her to give it up. She was confident, that was for sure, but surely even she had to realize she wasn’t some unstoppable force of nature, right? Even if she could track these people down, doesn’t she realize that everything will have been for nothing if she dies? Whatever fate her sister was suffering wouldn’t change. With a heavy sigh, he responded to the girl.

"Look, lady, I want nothing more than to see those bastards taken down. Believe me. But to my knowledge, I’m the only person with this brand to ever escape captivity. I don’t want to get all tied up in this shit. Even if I did, I don’t exactly remember much! I’ve been drinking for so long, since I was six, actually. Funny thing about alcohol, it makes forgetting real easy. But…" Yutaka let out another sigh. "If ya let me keep the money and my life, I’ll see what I can do."

He had originally planned on telling the girl to give up, saying that it was pointless. But for some reason, he found himself offering help. Did he really sympathize with her that much? He must be going soft. It had nothing to do with him! And yet, with the look in her eyes as she mentioned taking revenge, Yutaka couldn’t help but want to join her. He was no soldier like her, but he agreed that playing nice was never going to work with these people. It was stupid. Would likely get them both killed. But for some reason, he couldn’t help but believe in the girl. 

"But it should probably wait until tomorrow. I’m sure the missus is worried sick right now. I’ll take ya to my place. That way, you know where to find me in the morning. I’ll see if anything jogs my memory."

With that, he stood back up and wiped the dirt off of his kimono. He’d need to find someone he could pay to wash it. That or just find a river somewhere, but he’d rather not risk damaging the fabric. It was his only pair of clothes, after all. With a smile, he extended his hand towards the girl, offering a handshake.

"How about it? Deal?"

[Amy]

She could tell he didn’t believe in her but that was fine because she had never accomplished anything in her life just because someone else believed in her. As a child even, it had become clear that people did not see her as someone who needed to be coddled or have her hand held. There was something in her DNA that made people think she was independent. That she was confident and didn’t need anyone other than herself to rely on and instead, everyone took to relying on her. Not for anything necessarily, but they relied on her to be fine. They believed that fear didn’t live within her heart and hesitation didn’t make her hand stall when she wanted to reach out. They just believed she didn’t want to and no matter how hard she looked at people, no one ever saw the needy child that lived within her heart.

So, she became what they thought she was. Misaki stopped asking for help and stopped looking for advice and she stopped needing anyone except herself. She let her sister, her parents, and their neighbors rely on her for whatever they needed. And somehow, she always found a way to come through for them. She dug her heels in and worked hard and worked through obstacles until she could get the results that everyone wanted. To them, she was resourceful but she had just become sneaky. It didn’t matter how much she had to bend the truth or flat out lie, she would accomplish what she set out to do.

So, no. Misaki didn’t care if this stranger believed in her or thought she was a crazy woman who was going to die during her first encounter with the group. It didn’t matter at all because Misaki’s belief in herself was all she needed.

“I couldn’t care less about your money or your life,” she said. Finally rising from her squatting position, she holstered her weapon. That night or tomorrow made no difference to her after years of searching for information. She just had to make sure he didn’t try to run again. Next time, she wouldn’t be so nice when she caught him.

Misaki took his hand in hers, giving him one solid shake before holding their hands still.

“Deal, but if you try to escape tonight you won’t make it very far. And next time I’ll start breaking your bones instead of playing nice.”

Throwing a dazzling smile his way, she removed her hand from his and swept it back towards the town, indicating it was time for him to lead the way.

[ThatGuy]

"Oh? You're gonna watch me all night? I’ve never had a stalker before! Everyone is gonna be so jealous."

Laughing at his joke, Yutaka led the way down the street. Their destination wasn’t very far from where he got tackled. How convenient. As they walked, the man decided to keep his mind occupied. The echoes of his childhood fear still gripped his chest. He shook his head slightly as the memories started to flash in his mind again.

"Just so ya know, I’m normally a much better con. Was just feelin’ lazy today, and people are stupid enough to let me get away with it. Er… Not you. You’re just a generous soul, is all!"

He looked over and gave her a cheeky smile before continuing to look forward, not paying full attention to her reaction. Yutaka didn’t really take her for the conversational type. At least not while he didn’t have anything to give her. As they turned another corner, he realized something. Neither of them knew each other’s names.

"I’m Yutaka by the way. If we’re gonna work together, we should probably know each other's names. What’s yours?"

Yutaka thought about the name she gave him. It certainly didn’t sound familiar. Misaki. On second thought, however, maybe he shouldn’t have asked for it. Because now he could see himself feeling guilty for leading her to her death. But what was he to do? The girl was certainly not going to take no for an answer. After walking for a bit longer, the man stopped suddenly.

"Well, this is me. I may not have given ya anything of value yet, but at least ya can take pride in the fact that you made a girl’s night! Anyways, catch ya tomorrow mornin’."

With that, Yutaka tossed the coin pouch in his hand and made his way up the stairs to the building. It would be obvious that the place was a brothel, and a pretty decent one at that. A middle-aged woman sat by the door, smoking from a pipe. She gave a smile to the man, before noticing Misaki and waving at her.

"Well if it isn’t my favorite customer. It's kind of rude to just leave your date at the door like that, though!"

"Aw come on, don’t be like that, we’re practically family! Oh, and she’s not my date. I have a stalker now. Don’t go turnin’ green with envy now, though. I ain't goin' anywhere!"

He gave the woman a warm hug before tossing the coin pouch onto the small table next to her, nearly knocking over her ashtray. Then, without a care in the world, he sauntered into the brothel. As he opened the door, he called out.

"Hooooooney~! Draw the bath, you won’t believe the day I’ve had."