Fantasy New Oasis: Four Heavenly Kings — The B-Sides

[miki]

Melody Tucker

CS Link

SCENE:

INWRITCILVIODV

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1 | 2020

LOCATION:

Central District | Grubtopia

PARTICIPANTS:

Melody, Tak, Cassidy (NPC)

If Nutrition Was Really Important They'd Call It Life Value Instead of Daily Value

Melody’s new self-titled disciples watched, mouths agape and eyes unblinking, as Tak casually licked off a layer of their new god’s head.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOINGGG!?” He screamed, falling to his knees as he clutched the sides of his head.

“STOP THAT!! STOOOOP!!!! YOU’VE DOOMED US ALL!!” Rhythmic stomping matched her screeching tone. “CEASE THIS MADNESS NOOWWWWW!!!” The woman crouched down with her hands close to her feet, like a cat. She hunched her back, unsure if she wanted to shield herself from whatever fallout was imminent or pounce on the perceived assaulter.

The four-year-old girl fell backwards when the man turned to address her suddenly. Cassidy was shocked someone yelled at her out of nowhere, but didn't seem too too bothered by it. She clapped her hands with a blank face, attempting to show her agreement.

Ultimately, the crowd was split between joy, confusion, concern, and (mostly) exhaustion. So it was up to Melody to decide what this all meant.

And at that moment, to her chagrin, she kind of panicked.

The sensation was similar to the prodding she felt when new birds flocked to her head. It was great for hunting, but really, really bad if she wanted to go outside. It wasn’t like the sharp pecking, but she still felt it. Within a system of invisible capillaries, she felt the danger of her head being bitten away.

“Gah!” Melody’s head whipped around, eye darting around for the culprit. In her frenzied movements, she lurched backwards—in the direction of Tak in the process. Her lack of control over her balance made her slide towards being horizontal.

In one fell swoop, Melody’s upper back consumed Tak’s upper body.

“Oh, no!” Melody stood straight up again, lifting him up with her tall stature. She reached for her back, trying to pull him out like she had with Cassidy, but her arms didn’t reach that far. She still tried, extending herself into spinning circles.

Try as she might, she couldn’t reach him herself.

From the floor, Cassidy giggled as she watched him get swallowed into Melody, just as she had been. She kicked her light-up sneakers around and pointed at the spectacle, her high pitched laugh bouncing off of the ceiling.

No one said anything, but the security guards whimpered the beginnings of shrieks as they reached to hold each other a little tighter.

Spoiler

thebigfella

 

[miki]

Hiachi Ito

CS Link

SCENE:

Taking A Break

LOCATION:

West District | Camila’s Apartment

DATE:

June 28, 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Camila

Taking A Break

Hiachi didn’t even acknowledge Camila’s response. The second she heard ‘no’, she snatched the bowl off the table. She ripped the spoon out of the rice before carefully angling the spoon to scoop up a large chunk of rice and stew—so much that it was about one quarter of her bowl. The chunk let off light steam, peppered with the aroma of the meats and veggies. She dug out her sustenance before shoveling the whole thing in her mouth.

Her expression was entirely deadpan until the flavors hit her tongue. The pepper, paprika, cayenne, and rosemary were most prominent. They were all such bold flavors, and still managed to work together in harmony. The potato, carrot, and beef she had swallowed all melted down and burst with their own unique reactions to the flavor. The red broth burned on the back of her throat, slick with oil and meaty bouillon. Hiachi’s cheeks were full and puffed out as she chewed down the meal, before she quickly swallowed.

A fist covered her mouth as she processed what she just experienced.

Hiachi’s shaky finger pointed towards Camila. “And you… you made this? You’re not hiding a private chef in there?” Even though she asked, Hiachi lifted herself up from her seat and tried to peek into the kitchen. It was hard to believe that her boss liked to do anything that involved actual… Well, work.

As cruel as it sounded, Hiachi only knew Camila as a coaster in life. Yes, she did her missions, but a lot of her work seemed to be outsourcing to others. She couldn’t imagine that she would willingly cook. It seemed so… human. So unlike the machine she formed around her perception of Camila.

That wasn’t fair, as she quickly learned. Hiachi would have felt more guilty if every word that came out of Camila’s mouth wasn’t punctuated by cruel irony. She’d be a lot more relaxed if she wasn’t in the Tigers. She nagged like her mom, but was the source of pretty much all of her problems.

It made her exactly like her mom, actually.

Amidst all her bubbling angst, the flavors of the stew broke down the ill perception. Her twisting hatred had been nullified. Hiachi licked her teeth, the truth finally setting in.

…Camila went out of her way to do this for her?

“You…” Hiachi started the sentence before cursing herself out in her mind. She knew damn well she had no idea what she wanted to say yet. The silence dragged on as Hiachi scooped another spoonful into her mouth. “You’re… strange.”

Hiachi really wanted to punch herself in the mouth. Her eye twitched before she managed a cough, and an attempt at a rephrase.

“You’re different, I mean. I think…” She squinted before biting down on another spoonful. There was all but a small corner of stew and rice left. Even so, Hiachi reached for her glass of water and guzzled it down her throat before reaching for it.

The meal was so hot that it ran her body temperature up. The cooling within the apartment helped, but her jacket still clung to her burning arms.

Spoiler

Roda the Red

 

[joshuadim]

RYUTARO HASHIMOTO

CS Link

SCENE:

Blood Pact

LOCATION:

West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Ryutaro, Robin

Blood Pact

"Ryutaro Hashimoto." the real estate mogul introduced himself, "I've been following your work in recent months. The details certainly intrigued me, as usually those in position of power are often untouchable to the wrath of those below." He spared a glance to the corpse of Palvarotti, before returning his attention back to the woman. "But of course, those who have that kind of power tend to often abuse it for their own ends. Greedy, spiteful, lustful little cretin Luca was. Though I only knew him in passing... only once at a party about 4 years ago I believe... said he wanted to get into real estate. Did get into real estate. And now he's a thorn in my side that no longer will bother me through happy coincidence."

"Sir, police are about 10 minutes out according to chatter. Whatever you're doing, better make it fast." Cal then chimed in into Ryu's earpiece. He took a mental note of his timeframe but otherwise ignored his CTO and focused his attention towards the woman still.

"I take it you control blood?" Ryu then commented as he clasped his hands together in comfort. "Seeing how you formed weapons of whatever design you please, you have a unique grasp on it as well. Though it seems limited mostly to outside the body. You have to get up close and personal to really use someone's fluids against them in their own body, as you did with our mutual friend here."

A moment of silence then passed, allowing for the ambience of air conditioning to fill in the auditory void as Ryu continued to study the woman's reactions. He tilted his head, before continuing: "I think you lie to yourself when you said you did it for someone else." he then said, testing the waters. "Your reasons for killing are more... personal, no?"

Infab

 

[thebigfella]

Shishido Takakazu

CS Link

SCENE:

If Nutrition Was Really Important They'd Call It Life Value Instead of Daily Value

LOCATION:

Central District, Grubtopia

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1 || 2020

PARTCIPANTS:

Tak, Melody miki

If Nutrition Was Really Important They'd Call It Life Value Instead of Daily Value

Tak's greedy mouth barely ceased, only stopping for moments to swallow, breathe, or shout in surprise at Melody's flavor. He had been in the mood for strawberry jam, but to have an unlimited buffet of it had made him realize how hungry he was. The feeling of his enamel and gums being attacked by sugary sweetness.

At some point, he had gotten too greedy. Soon, a haze of ruby-red tinted light covered his vision. Sounds became dulled and muffled as the world was overcome with a haze of ripples and jiggle, small separations built upon layers.

He went to open his mouth in question of what was going on, his eyes darting around. But his mouth could not move; nothing could move besides his eyes. As if his whole body had been engulfed in sweet-smelling gel, his body could barely so much as twitch against thick, rubbery resistance.

No air found him, and his complaints about being stuck and questions of what was going on came out underneath the layer of jam. Despite the situation, he didn't seem too disturbed; his legs didn't flail or kick; on the contrary, he patiently tapped a foot, trying to figure out his next move with his limited air supply.

Then, an idea came to mind just from a simple comparison.

"Isn't this kinda like gum?"

And with that thought, he took action: With the last bit of oxygen in his lungs, he exhaled, squeezing his lungs like tubes of toothpaste as he pushed out all he could. From his mouth, a balloon began to grow, bulging within the back of Melody's head like a massive tumor, larger as the jam grew more and more taunt until…

Pop.

Eyes shielded, as if someone had stepped into a pile of grapes, splatters of jam hit people in the face like wet slaps, scattering across their clothes and covering their glasses. It oozed down collars and drizzled onto the floor as people started in stunned silence.

Like someone had taken a shotgun slug point blank right into the back of Melody's nonexistent skull, it had been entirely gaped open, ripples traveling down similar to a torn-out spinal column as Tak squelched out from what was left of the jam woman's body, shedding it like a snake as he swallowed what was left in his mouth.

His hair was matted with a thick layer of jam-like gel that had yet to be rubbed into the scalp, and clumps stuck together. Splotches of red soaked into his shirt and clung to bits of his skin.

"Damn, that was close," Tak sighed in relief, escaping his near suffocation with a rub of the back of his neck; like a dog who had been shocked getting too close to an electric fence, he quickly learned his lesson, looking at Melody over his shoulder with an apologetic frown, "Sorry, I got a bit too carried away. You alright?"

He looked upon Melody's Visage, half of it torn asunder from his forceful freeing, plainly as if he hadn't caused it while everyone else stared in horror. Very quickly ,the aisle had turned into a crime scene.


Someone was going to have to clean this up.

 

[Infab]

Robin Krantz

CS Link

SCENE:

Blood Pact

LOCATION:

Palvarotti Villa, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Robin, Ryutaro

Blood Pact

Ryutaro Hashimoto, of Hashimoto Real Estate. Real estate extraordinaire. Has a taste for the finer things in life.

I've apparently done him a favor, getting rid of a rival. Wonderful news.

"Elizabeth Robin Krantz, though I simply use the name Robin." she responded, motioning a hand to her chest and tilting her head towards him in a bowing manner. "If you're feeling more dramatic, the news likes to call me the 'Ripper'."

She listened attentively as he spoke afterwards, commenting on her abilities. He had pretty much nailed them on the head. There were no witnesses to the past crimes, and no footage, so he must have been following her over the course of the evening. She had been simply a spectre of violent, grisly death up till now.

A slight smile began to stretch across her face, the corners of her mouth curving upwards just a hint as the moment of silence settled in. She wondered if he had procured evidence of all she had done here. He likely had. Otherwise, he wouldn't still be here unless he meant to try and contain her until the police arrived, or intended to offer her something in exchange for staying quiet. Smart businessmen always had back-up plans as well, so it was likely he had already sent the evidence to someone else in the event she attacked him. Perhaps one of his associates, or to another member of the Tigers.

Why did she have to be so sloppy tonight? Of all nights?

Was it the urges?

When he spoke again, her smile faded. "...They were. Once." she responded, her red eyes drifting down to the floor. "...Revenge. Perhaps, to even prevent someone else from becoming like me."

She straightened up, lifting her head and looking back to Ryu. "...All the men that made me what I am are dead, their corrupted hearts carved from their wretched bodies. My... 'excuse' no longer applies. I continue on, killing more and more. I've even expanded beyond businessmen, over the past few months. I'm sure you've seen those other articles in the papers and online."

"...I think I just make up new excuses now. Some justifiable reason to kill people, like with Mr. Palvarotti, or even ridiculous reasons for people like Wanda Mitchell. She was the post master who was found dead on 23rd Street here in the West District. Ripped her stomach out an hour after she told me that I didn't know what a good burger was while at Lil' Bruno's Burger Joint."

"...I just like killing people, honestly. I love the blood. The excuses... are now simply something I tell myself so I don't devolve into some lunatic. I won't bore you with other details. I may be some sort of psychopathic murderer, but I try to be a tactful one. Mostly."

She then paused, looking down to the floor again. "...I hope that was an acceptable explanation, Mr. Hashimoto." she then said, the smile reappearing on her face.

joshuadim

 

[Jexon Whells]

Lloyd Sorvocah

CS Link

TIME:

Pre- Outbreak: 2022, July 1st

SCENE:

Agonizing Bonechill

LOCATION:

Littleleaf, East District

PARTICIPANTS:

Jackson BriiAngelic , Yona CasualTea , Lloyd (Me)

Agonizing Bonechill

While Lloyd was charging at the enemy again, it was evident that he was ready. But before a counter-attack could be launched on Lloyd, he got hit in the arm by an ice blade, which cuts and lacerates, and leaves behind ice fragments. If that was not enough, Yona took some of what little energy she had left to expand the ice shards into the arm, causing a painful chill to the bone.

This left the enemy wide open for Lloyd, and he swings with his clawed hand at the enemy to finish him off. His head is slashed to pieces from the claws, ande the remains splatter on the floor and wall, leaving a headless corpse to thud lifelessly on the floor. Lloyd stands still, breathing heavily, staring at the corpse, like a predator standing over its prey. Hunger besets him from the sudden and unplanned excertion, since transforming to this extend was unplanned. Ever so slightly, he begins to drool as he keeps his gaze focused on the corpse.

Internal termoil takes place, but Lloyd ends up returning to his original self. He takes a few moments to catch his breath, and then looks angrily at Yona.
Pointing a finger straight at her he shouts, "Never fucking pull that shit again! I told you to stay behind! There is a reason I take point on missions like this, especially when I have a Rookie with me!"
He wipes the sweat off his forehead and steps closer to Yona as he continues speaking, "I do not know where you come from, and when it comes to this, I do not care. Do NOT ever charge into unknown territory, and do NOT waste all your energy like that again. Stay in formation, work and communicate with your team. For goodness sake, you could have gotten seriously hurt, and I'll be damned if I let that happen to any Dragon. Definitely when it's on my watch!"[/justify]

 

[angel doe]

jericho s. madden

CS Link

SCENE:

a daughter's eulogy

LOCATION:

south district

TIME:

2021 | post hurricane

PARTICIPANTS:

red, jericho

a daughter's eulogy

Jericho smiled as Red hugged the bear, glad it could comfort the girl. When she spoke her voice came out much deeper than before and although it did startle him, his smile never faltered as he replied, "It don't matter how grown you are, sometimes ya need to hug a teddy bear." Rico shrugged, before adding in a softer tone, “You're welcome."

When Red's stomach interrupted them again, Jericho couldn't stop the laugh that escaped him, “Damn, yer hungry- Don't worry, I gotchu." His smile widened as he hopped to his feet, grabbing his phone and calling a local pizza place. He put in an order for delivery and hung up a couple of minutes later, turning to her and giving her two thumbs up, “The food should be here in a bit. I probably shoulda asked what ya like, but because I didn't I sort of... ordered a bit of everything?"

Jericho offered her a sheepish smile and another shrug, sitting beside her on the couch, “By the way, if you wanna change out of yer muddy clothes feel free to raid my closet. I got plenty of sweatshirts and pajama pants you can wear. Just til we can get the ones you're wearing washed, that is." It was an innocent offer, and the way he gestured towards his room while also getting comfortable on the couch indicated he didn't seem to mind her going through his closet to find something suitable.

“There's a bathroom over there if ya wanna get washed up, I'll let you know when the pies get here." Jericho gave her another thumbs up and turned the TV on, keeping the volume low enough so they could still talk to each other if they wanted to. He just liked the background noise.

Spoiler

miki

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Passeri Park | collab w/ miki

Collab Post

SCENE:

WYTTTTLBYUFTIFOYIACP

LOCATION:

Passeri's Penthouse, West District

DATE:

June 19th, 2022 || Post-Arc 3

PARTICIPANTS:

Passeri, Hiachi

When You Take The Time to Look Back, You’ll Usually Forget That In Front of You Is a Cheese Platter

Buzz, buzz.

A hum of plastic on glass. Amongst a sea of anonymous-looking, undecorated cell phones, a single one rang.

On any other night, it might have gone unanswered. The deep night was not that realm of a woman like Passeri Park. The early bird catches the worm, that was an adage she’d always held tight, but tonight was not any other night. The malaise that had taken Hiachi and Takakazu’s evening was, as it seemed, mutual, and the pair of rookie Tigers had caught her during one of the rare nights where she’d see the clock strike twelve.

The phone rang for a few moments more, each buzz longer than the last, until-

“Hiachi?” A tired, confused voice spoke, and the long wait ended. “What are you doing calling this late? No, sorry-” Bedsprings creaked, just barely audible as Passeri took a seat. “What do you need?”

The phone hummed with the drone of silence. It stretched on one, two, too many seconds. Like it was a mistake.

A closer listen revealed that it wasn’t just quiet—there was breathing, her breathing, heaving between intervals. The urgency and her voice swung out of sync, as two unmet pendulums in the background of mystery. It seemed it would stay that way, until her sharp breath cut the static and collided the two.

“I …I need help.” Her voice came out strained, hollow and pale; a string instrument without mucilage; her voice without moisture, bloated with shaking breaths. Hiachi swallowed the lump in her throat, forcing it to stop its horrible symphony. “I need medical help. There… I’m with two people who are hurt badly. My—one of them can’t walk. I’m too far to get direct help. I’m not in Tiger territory.”

She recited it all out of order. Still, it was an attempt at clarity.

There was a short pause, and then another phone was in Passeri’s hand. A few quick, efficient swipes later, a text message was sent out into the night. She didn’t know Knight well, but given the constant, laggard shuffle in his step, she gathered that he was hardly one to be in bed at a reasonable hour. A timer started to run in her mind. One minute. That was how long she’d wait. Passeri was well familiar with the low, strained notes of panic in one’s voice. She doubted Hiachi had more than minutes to spare.

“Right. Medical attention. I’ve contacted someone. You said you’re not in Tiger territory- Where are you? Which District? Can you give me any landmarks? An address?”

“East District. I’m at…” Her voice trailed off for a moment. “Ul.. ja… Uljama Works. Abandoned factory. We’re close to the road.”

The sound of Hiachi sucking on her teeth permeated through the phone. “How quick can they get to me? Who are you sending—what do I look out for?” It was like every question she could think of spilled out through her broken filter.

“Tch. Knight. You might’ve met him at the ball last month, but he’s nowhere near you- Hold on.” Passeri set the phone aside, and switched it to speaker. Even with that supercar of Knight’s, Passeri doubted anybody’s ability to be across the city in minutes, and if Hiachi’s patients were in as poor of a condition as her panic made it sound like…

In a snap decision, Passeri scooped another phone from her bedside table and made a call. The ringtone was short, and the following conversation curt enough to match.

“I need you to pick someone up.”

“Uljama Works, in the East. It’s abandoned. Look out for a girl, black hair, just a bit taller than me and two more. Injured.”

“Now.”

“I’m sending you her number and the destination.”

And then the long, tinny beep of a discarded call made its way from one phone to the next.

“Hiachi, are you still there?” She spoke out loud, electing to leave the phone on speaker. “Knight’s in the West, so I’m going to send you to a doctor to stabilize the people with you until he can be there. They’re underground, so they won’t be able to work any miracles, but it’ll have to do until Knight can get to you.”

More silence. The sound wasn’t laced with hesitation as it had been—rather, racing breaths, smaller, trying to jog memory.

“There’s—” She choked. “—There’s bodies in the factory. One… dead, others unconscious. They’re Tigers, but they attacked first. What do I do about them?”

She paused again, considering something. An important risk. With a clearing of the throat, she continued. “It’s… my dad is hurt. They know his face now. I can’t have him in danger. I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do. Fuck…” Hiachi cut her own rambling off. “No. Sorry. We can talk later. Can the doctor bring us somewhere else?”

“Your-?” Hell’s teeth. Her father? And she’d been fighting other Tigers? What in the world had Hiachi gotten herself into? “No, you’re right. Don’t worry about the bodies, I can have someone clean up the dead and take care of the unconscious. The doctor won’t be able to do much for you other than his work, but I’ll have the driver sit on standby for when you’re ready, they’re used to this kind of thing. Do you have somewhere you need to get them?”

“Just… anywhere but here.” Hiachi finally breathed. “...Don’t tell my brother. I’ll let you know when they get here.” She paused for the final time before finally being able to speak with assurance. “...Thank you.”

“Right. Of course. It’s fine.” A matter of course, really. Passeri had no more interest in airing out Hiachi’s dirty laundry than her own, especially when given the fact that in this case they’d more or less be one and the same. “And you can thank me once things have been straightened out. Speaking of… Do you have anywhere to stay once everyone’s patched up? You aren’t planning on making the trek back tonight, are you?”

Even as she started to relax, the wet, haggard breath that Hiachi breathed into the phone painted a picture of exhaustion, physical and emotional both. She was going to need rest once the adrenaline wore off, not to speak of the risk posed by sauntering around in the dead of the New Oasis night.

“I have… Safehouses around the city. East included. If you and your father need somewhere to hunker down for the night, I can give you an address.” Passeri sighed. She was getting tense herself. What a night to get a call like this.

“And then if you need any help in the morning… Give me another call. I’ll be busy for a bit, but afterwards…” Her voice hung for a moment. “...I think I’ll appreciate a distraction.”

“That would be great.” Hiachi was beginning to actually sound relieved. “All of it. An address would be nice. And I’ll let you know.” Her voice halted from beyond the speaker. She had questions, but wouldn’t ask them. Passeri’s personal life had no place in the conversation.

“Bye.”

“Hang tight, Hiachi. I’ll send the addresses over. The car will be there in ten, just explain to them what you need done.” Passeri breathed a sigh of shared relief. “Talk to you in the morning.”

The disconnect tone chimed.

Hiachi was back to the outskirts of the abandoned factory. Returned to the abyss, senses stinging with the blood. Blood that wasn’t hers. She couldn’t face either of them, not yet.

She stood for a moment as the light square shone in her eyes, and faded into darkness. She was forced to look at her blood-drenched face in the glass reflection. The cracks in the protective glass over the screen shattered over her face. Fragmenting her.

The phone was quickly shoved into her jacket pocket. She paced two steps sideways, in all directions, spinning her around like her mess of a mind.

The darkness was closing in. In scribbles, around her vision like a vignette. It clawed at her shoulders until she shuddered it off.

She dug her last cigarette out of her pocket. The single stick was drawn out between her ring and middle finger, so she could dig through her pocket and pinch out her tried and true lighter.

The cigarette fell between her lips. This time, after a couple hard clicks, the flame of her lighter sprung to life. She brought the flame to the end, eyes watching the end of the cigarette brighten with embers and darken with burns. She inhaled, and a puff of smoke left her mouth in a wide cloud.

She drew back her thumb and let the flame extinguish. Hiachi stood, hands in her pockets, eyes glancing between the horizon, Tak, and her father. The smoke billowed in a single, long strand before quickly dissipating into nothing.

thebigfella Lucem​

 

[joshuadim]

HITOSHI YAMAKAWA

CS Link

SCENE:

LYRICAL MISERY

TIME:

Pre-Arc 3; Nov 11, 2021

LOCATION:

THE SERENITY - BAR AND EATERY, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Hitoshi, Hiachi

LYRICAL MISERY

​

And sing they did, tearing up the karaoke stage as a dynamic duo that was furthered along by exorbitant amounts of alcohol. The drinks kept flowing and so too did the lyrics at the demands of the The Serenity's crowd. None dared take the stage while both Hiachi and Hitoshi were here, as it was their domain. Their kingdom to drown the sorrows of the world with tunes and dance moves, without pity or fear of what others thought of them.

Tonight, they weren't the failures that they were. Gone was the weight of the past upon them; on this night, they were on top of the world and telling it to fuck off with its bullshit!

There was but the minor concern that they were both ordering drinks way out of budget, with money that they didn't have, but that didn't matter. The golden liquor lights of the Serenity drowned away the world into a deluge of colours as the duo continued their rampage. The hours flew by until it was already 1 in the morning, but somehow neither Hitoshi nor Hiachi were fazed by their circadian rhythms. Instead, they were just as vigorous as they had started - plowing through playlists like they were nothing. A ravenous hunger of karaoke appetites that the two placed upon the machine. No longer were they creatures of flesh, but life-forms of blood-alcohol and music.

Such was their rampant celebrations that neither noticed that bouncers rolled up to them in the middle of yet another song, communicating non-verbally that their time was up. The song came to a standstill, much to the disappointment of the club, as the air now took on an air of tension. "Huh, wha-?" Hitoshi managed to jumble out, stumbling in place as he struggled to coordinate himself properly. "Who're the party poopers..." He was slurring his words heavily, almost unintelligibly, and looked genuinely confused as to why they were stopped.1

"Boss says time's up, you gotta get down from there and leave the bar. You and your friend are too much of a ruckus." one of the four bouncers spoke, crossing his arms in annoyance. "Now get down and get out."

Hitoshi stared blankly with microphone in hand, his brain short-circuiting on any sort of direct response. Booze stains on his shirt and face gave him more the appearance of a hobo rather than a gangster, compounded by the awfully scraggly, poorly permed hair. Hiachi wasn't much better either on that front from the partying, and the duo made a portrait what one would consider to be poster-children for needing rehab.

Hitoshi then turned to Hiachi and snickered: "...that guy is bald... hah..."

miki