Sungar, the South-Eastern Coast, the city of Miyatama.

Here resides Kijo Akuba, a college dropout and ne'er-do-well Nekai. She sits at a table in a small sake den, tucked between two abandoned, boarded-up buildings. Her body is thin and wiry, black fur short, and her fangs long. She fits right in, here in the "Mizu Shobai" district of the city – dark alleys, shady shops, bribed guards, and storefronts that barely manage to operate in a legal gray area. Yakuza gangs vie for control of this district, as the various sake dens, gambling halls, and brothels are essentially urban gold mines.

Various folk share stories and drinks, and the quiet mumble of conversation is occasionally broken by raucous laughter. The yakuza don't harm civilians, so even with the territory wars, nobody truly feels threatened. Kijo spots one yakuza in the corner – a Nekai shaved head-to-toe, their sinewy body covered in intricate tattoos to replace their fur. They just lean against the wall, watching, giving the occasional nod to people who enter. Dice clatter atop Kijo's table. A handful of friends are here, playing a friendly low-stakes game of Cho-Han Bakuchi.

There's Mouse, a huge muscular Draconian who occasionally mumbles "Cho" or "Han", but says little else. He’s a dragonfolk, scales dark gray in color, and he stands out among the mostly-Nekai citizens of the city. Occasionally, between quiet "Cho"s and "Han"s, he reaches a big hand up to scratch his snout with a taloned hand.

Then there's Juniper, a Kitsui Nightingale wearing a beautiful kimono and an even more beautiful smile – and also wearing about a dozen knives hidden on her person, all as sharp as her sultry gaze. The Kitsui are the foxfolk of Sungar, her fiery orange fur complimenting the red silks of her kimono, which is intentionally styled to be revealing. The Nightingales are a loose collection of ‘guilds’ formed by street workers and prostitutes across Sungar, banding together to provide mutual protection as they work one of the world’s oldest – and most dangerous – trades. Tired of being targets of violent crime and having their problems overlooked by the courts of law across Sungar, they now are trained as much in martial arts as they are in marital arts. She has every reason to carry those knives, as well as every legal document necessary to conceal them on her person without being arrested.

Then, next to her are the twins Tsuki and Yuki – two Nekai, white-furred, and identical in literally every aspect... except that whenever one bets "Cho", the other bets "Han". Loud and brash and crude, it’s no wonder that Kijo befriended them quickly. Their sass-offs and intense arguments provide excellent training for Kijo’s attitude, as well as endless entertainment for the rest of the gang.

And then finally, Scar, a pitch-black Nekai with (surprise) scars all over his body, and a story for each one. The stories seem to change every time, but nobody ever seems to mind. He grins as he picks up the dice cup, shaking it. The others all shout their bets as the dice rattle eagerly.

Now, Kijo takes a sip of green tea, letting the steam swirl around them. While their journey has been full of new beginnings and harsh endings, it is here that it truly begins. Here and now, as the warm matcha tickles her throat as she listens to the dice clatter once more upon the table. And always, a journey begins with a little bit of luck: Kijo bets "Cho '', and the dice come up even. There's no money in play for this round, but the feeling of success is reward enough.

Kijo smirks. "Jya, how about another round? I have a feeling this next one's gonna bring good fortune. Come on, who's in?" She says, cracking a sly grin and placing a few coins of meager value on the table.

Scar laughs. "If you want to put your cash on the line, be my guest. Even if it is just a pittance." He slides a handful of coins onto the table as well. "Anyone else want in on this?"

Mouse shakes his head. He looks embarrassed. If his face was flesh instead of scales, he'd probably be blushing right now. "Mm... I have no money to bet," he says in a low, rumbling voice.

Juniper puts a hand on his arm. "Did you spend it on steamed manju buns again?" Mouse nods sheepishly. Juniper smiles. "It's okay. I'll lend you some money tomorrow so you can buy more. We all have our vices." Her voice is deep and smooth, setting the hairs on the back of one's neck on end and a shiver down the spines of those with weaker minds.

Tsuki and Yuki both slide five coins onto the table. "Cho," Tsuki says. "Han," Yuki says at the same time.

Scar shrugs "Alright, let the dice fall where they may." He begins shaking the dice cup. "Cho or Han, Kijo?"

"Mmn, gonna be Han for me this time." She casually replies, while secretly casting a spell under the table. A keen mind with a keener eye would suspect her a cheater, but Kijo's a cut above ‘that kinda dumbass shit,’ as she’d put it. She puts all her focus into creating a phantom image hiding inside the cup right when Scar puts it down. Literally a phantom, one that's gonna spring up and spook the crap out of everyone! "This is gonna be so funny," she thinks to herself.

Right when Scar lifts the cup, the image suddenly bursts out like a genie coming out of the lamp. A gaunt, twisted figure with "good fortune" written on its forehead, lifeless yet vicious, much like the ones Kijo makes using her necromancy, but this one's obviously fake. Fake as it may be, it's still enough to make everyone flinch.

Kijo bursts out laughing and banging her fist on the table. "NYAHAHAHA! Gotcha!"

Everyone jumps. Scar almost flings the cup into the air. Mouse makes an "eep!" noise befitting of his name. Juniper's tale poofs out in surprise. Tsuki and Yuki's hackles immediately raise, and their tails collectively stick straight up in the air.

As Kijo laughs at her joke, they all breathe a sigh of relief. "Screw you," Tsuki and Yuki say in unison. Juniper giggles, and Mouse lets out a little "heh". Scar can't help but chuckle.

"You got us, Kiki," Scar says, giving Kijo an affectionate nickname. He brushes the disgusting little figure aside and looks at the dice. A four and a three. "Han!" Scar takes two from the pile of coins – the house always gets a tip. Yuki takes half, and the other half of the coins are left for Kijo.

"Nyeheheh... Shoulda seen the looks on your stupid-ass faces. 'Specially the twins! You two look so pale, almost like you've seen a ghost!" She chuckles a bit, swiping up the coins and jingling them in her hand for a second before stowing them away in her coin purse.

Mouse speaks up properly for once. "Speaking of ghosts... where's Joker? Didn't they say they were going to join us?"

Scar nods. "Mhm. Shoulda been here an hour ago. The hell's taking so long?"

Joker was another friend of the group. He was, as his nickname implied, a fun-loving individual. He had come to Miyatama during a smuggling deal and liked the city enough to settle down. He stopped smuggling years ago, trying to clean up his life and turn over a new leaf, and was saving up to buy his own sake den. He never missed a chance to hang out with his friends... so the fact that he's this late to the party is somewhat disconcerting.

Kijo rolls her eyes "What, is he stuck in a business meeting or something? Pffsh." The tone with which she says "business" implies nothing but disdain for the concept. She shrugs and shakes her head, eyes closed. "He's so dead set on playing by society's rules these days, it doesn't surprise me that he'd get caught up in it." She sips down most of the rest of her tea, not acting too concerned. "What, do you guys think something bad happened to him or somethin'?"

"We don't know." Tsuki and Yuki say in unison. "Besides," Yuki continues, "he's always taken time out of his life to take care of us."

"Always," Tsuki adds. "And he said he'd have this week free of any meetings or dealings. Wanted to spend time with us." The twins both nod.

Juniper puts a hand on Kijo's shoulder. "His apartment isn't that far from here. How about we both go and check on him, hm?"

"Ehh, he's probably fine. Buuuuuuut… I've got nothing better to do, so why the hell not." She stands up, and stretches a bit, and secures her knapsack and gear. She never goes anywhere without all her worldly possessions with her. Can't just go around without her weapons, books, and scrolls, now can she? "Iidesuyo! Let's get a move on."

The two duck out of the building, pushing aside the little cloth that covers the doorway. Despite the reputation of the district, it still looks beautiful. Even the boarded-up, vacant buildings have a strange beauty to them: vines wrap up and down the shattered windows, and small flowering buds peek out from cracks in the wood and stone.

Lights and lanterns are strung up between the buildings, illuminating not just the street, but the various peddlers and pedestrians as well. Taxi carts zoom by, propelled by bikes or just very determined runners. The peddlers live up to their namesake, hawking baubles, shinies, knick-knacks, street food, and snake oil (both literal and figurative). The alleys are dark, and various shadowy figures make deals and mumble among themselves. A handful of orphaned children run down the street holding sparklers, laughing and giggling as the little pyrotechnics send harmless sparks everywhere. This is the City of Lights for a reason, for even in the dead of night, there is always bustling activity.

There is beauty here. A raw, chaotic beauty that only flawed but well-meaning people could make.

Juniper links arms with Kijo. It is purely a platonic gesture, but also a defensive one. A lone Nightingale is easily harassed and catcalled (pun partially intended, if Nekai are involved), but together, they are less likely to be harassed. It is a short walk to the waterfront where Joker lives, but it is always best to be cautious.

Kijo walks confidently, glaring harshly at anyone who'd even so much as look at Juniper funny. She had a reputation around these parts. A reputation for being exceptionally cunning, not taking shit from anybody, and viciously menacing anyone who'd dare go after her or anyone she cares about.

"Joker better not have gotten himself into any shit. That bastard." She points her thumb towards herself. "I'm the one who gets into trouble around here!" Though she couldn't admit it, it was clear that Kijo was happy for Joker and his new life, and she didn't want whoever may be hassling him to get in the way of that.

Juniper giggles. "Yes, you have quite the reputation to uphold."

As the two of them walk, Kijo spots a group of people walking briskly in the other direction. Normally, one would pay little mind to those who walk on streets (after all, that's what streets are for), but these people are all wearing uniforms. Uniforms of Mahō University, where Kijo fled from. They don't notice Kijo, but seem to be making a beeline for the sake den.

And then, ahead of Kijo, the street narrows. Several drunkards block the path, and this path is really the only way to get to Joker's house – unless Kijo wishes to brave the unlit, winding alleyways.

Kijo stops in her tracks and turns to Juniper, speaking in a half-whisper. "Kuso... Juni, did you see who just walked past us? It's those Mahō bastards. Looks like they may have just come from Jokers' place, and they're headed towards the sake den! Looks like we might have to crush a few skulls before we check on ol' Jokes." She starts following the Mahō University chumps, observing, trying to find out what they're up to, and putting together a plan of action in her mind.

One question keeps running through Kijo's head: what's about to happen here? The uniformed men seem to be searching deliberately for someone or something. They haven't noticed Kijo. Or perhaps they did see her, but they didn't realize she was the target. Or is she not the target at all? Perhaps they were only given a name to go on, or the description they were given was vague. The streets are well-lit but there are enough shadows to hide one's facial features if necessary.

She comes to a decision: Kijo isn't in immediate danger from these men, they don't realize she's behind them and following, and they're going right for the sake den.

"I've got a plan. Stick to the shadows, be ready to strike if you think you'll be safe doing so." Kijo separates from Juniper, slows in her pursuit, and makes various repetitive arcane gestures, standing right in the middle of the road. She weaves into existence two gnarled creatures of twisting flesh and viscera, each like a tense, walking balloon filled with wet meat and sharp bones. She continues to make more and more, each time silently commanding the fleshlings to walk a safe distance ahead of her, and close behind the Mahō group. They'll eventually notice the stench, or that the rest of the people on the path are steering clear of what's behind the group, but by that time, it will be too late, and she'll be able to threaten the Mahō bastards into doing whatever she wants.

At the first sign that they might turn around and realize what situation they're in, she shouts at them. "Hey, Mahō assholes! Don't move a muscle unless you wanna be blown to smithereens!"

All of them stop and turn around. Five of them, stern-faced, their crisp uniforms totally out of place in the chaotic streets of the district. They look down at the group of fleshlings with mild disgust, and then look at Kijo with intense disgust.

"Do you have a reason to be harassing us with macabre parlor tricks?" one asks. "Stand down, or we'll be forced to take you in for hindering our investigation, as well as for illegal performances of necromancy."

Another one of the group pulls out a badge. "We're here under the authority of Shogun Yamato, and have been granted the tools, resources, permissions, and immunities required to hunt down a known criminal in the area."

Ah, Shogun Yamato. He was the one in charge of the Yamato province, where the Mahō University is located. Kijo's family lived there, and her parents' affluence meant that they were fairly close to the Shogun. This complicates things a bit.

"We're looking for Hikaru Nekomura," A third says.

Hikaru? That was Kijo's old name, before she went into hiding and changed it. This… complicates things a lot.

"They are wanted on account of arson, resisting arrest, assault, smuggling, illegal use of magics." The man continues. "They are also the primary suspect for the murders of Kasumi Cho, a previous student of Mahō University, and of their parents, Ayumi and Takashi Nekomura."

Wait. Murder? Her parents?

"We are under orders to take her in, dead or alive. The Shogun has no preference." The man says, narrowing his eyes.

Kijo took a deep breath. So… her folks were dead too, huh? She didn't particularly care for their well-being, but this was news to her. It also meant that not only was she framed for crimes she didn't commit (and a few she definitely did commit), but this meant that someone had also found out that she was lying low in this part of town, possibly linking her new identity to her old one. Her cover was blown. "Well, whoever it is you're looking for, LOOK FOR THEM IN HELL!"

She gestures forward, and in an instant, and about a dozen fleshling minions leap forward and explode, sending bone shrapnel everywhere. In the ensuing chaos, she immediately ducks into a dark alleyway, slipping out of sight.

Kijo stumbles into the alley, with Juniper close behind. "By Tam, Kijo, was that really necessary?" Juniper says, trying not to trip over her sandals in the dark. She looks over her shoulder at the result of the blast. Four of the five men are dead, lying in pools of blood – their own, and the blood of the fleshlings. Shards of bone stick out of them at odd angles. The fifth man is still alive, struggling to get up onto his knees. He, too, is caked with blood. Several bystanders were also splattered with gristle and various body fluids, and some were injured as well.

This was probably not going to help her case in a court of law.

"Dammit... now I might be implicated in this as well..." Juniper mumbles. "All we had to do was go to Joker's house. We didn't need to kill anyone..."

As the two run blindly through the alleys, the shouting grows quieter. Safety seems to be close at hand... until Kijo runs directly into someone.

It's one of the drunkards she had spotted earlier. There are quite a few of them, all milling about in a circle. "Oi! Watch where you're going!" slurs the man that Kijo had run into. He grabs her by the wrist and pulls her in close. Kijo can smell the cheap sake on his breath. The others begin to crowd around him. "Apolo... Ap.... belch ... Apologize for hitting me!"

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

She bares her sharp teeth in a fierce grimace and draws her wakizashi with her other hand, holding it up to the drunkard's wrist without hesitation. "Piss off, gutter scum! Now let go of me before I take off that hand of yours!"

They look surprised, but then smirk. It's a gross smirk. "Ah... feisty... I like them feisty..."

Another one of the drunkards stumbles up. "And lookie here! A Nightingale, too! Too bad she's a Kitsui, but I ain't... urp... gonna look a gift horse in the mouth..."

Kijo and Juniper are surrounded now. Juniper has gotten out of tough scrapes before, but not with this many opponents. Kijo swings her blade toward his wrist without hesitation, but slips up when he jostles her and ends up just smacking the handle against her own wrist. "Aah! Kuso, that really smarts..."

He laughs. "Can't even use a blade right! Maybe I should show you how to use one." He draws a small blade of his own, drunken fingers fumbling on the hilt.

She struggles, wakizashi in hand, not managing to free herself from the bastard's grip, nor hit him with her blade. The drunk lashes out, slicing across Kijo's cheek. It isn't a deep cut, but it stings like crazy. "All you had to do was apologize, you crazy bitch!" The drunk laughs again.

Juniper steps in, forcibly removing the man's hand from Kijo's wrist. "How dare you treat her like that! You have no right!"

The drunkard stumbles a bit, and the others look a bit shocked for a moment. The one that had attacked Kijo steps forward, a suave look on his face. Or at least, an attempt at a suave look. It is not very convincing. "Heh... maybe we can work things out... we... we..." – he hiccups – “... have some fun with you, and we let you go. No hard feelings. How about that, eh?"

Kijo, now that her hands are free, launches a bolt of swirling necromantic energy from her fingertips at the drunken assailant who had grabbed her. "Stay away from her, you bastard!"

She draws the magic from beyond the Veil, channeling the raw energies of death through her body out from her fingertips. Unfortunately, the energy pulses right past her throbbing wrist, making her flinch. The darts of necrotic energy go off-course, slicing the back of the man's hand. He drops his blade in surprise, watching as the magic does its work: the fur along the slice curls up and crumbles away, the skin blackens and sloughs off, and the flesh lets out a pus-like discharge before turning leathery and taut. It was hardly a good hit, and the affected area wasn't large at all, but it was enough to make the man grip his hand and scream in horror.

As he lets out a yelp, Juniper pulls out one of her hairpins and jams it directly through the man's throat. It is long enough to go out the other side of his neck, right through the spinal cord. She covers his mouth with one hand to muffle the sharp scream, and gently lowers him to the ground as he convulses and shivers. His body goes incredibly tense for a few moments, then completely limp.

"... And nothing of value was lost..." Juniper says under her breath. She stands, wipes off what little blood was left behind on her hairpin, and puts the pin back in her hair. The other drunkards stand in stunned silence for a moment. But perhaps a moment is all Kijo needs…

Kijo takes this opportunity to run away. She quickly steps over the corpse, grabs Juniper by the hand, and books it out of there. "Damned drunks..." She twists and turns through various shady alleys to make sure they don't follow. Once she's reasonably sure they're not being followed, she stops in the back alley behind Joker's apartment, and pulls Juniper aside to talk to her.

"Thanks for saving me back there, but I think I might have bigger problems coming for me than a few drunks." Kijo brings a finger to her cheek and winces, feeling the cut. "According to those Mahō Academy goons, Shogun Yamato's minions are after me, and they're not gonna stop. So it's not safe for you to be near me anymore, any of you, Mouse, Scar, Tsuki, Yuki... Especially not Joker and that new leaf he's turned over as of late. Assuming they haven't already hurt him because of me... Come on, let's go check on him. But after that, I'm thinkin' I don't have much time before the Shogunate notices that the guys they sent after me got exploded, sooooo… I really gotta skip town. It's for the best."

Juniper sighs. "Understandable. If you like, I could go back and tell the others to at least move to a different sake den. I won't tell them how you feel about all of this, I figure you would like to do that yourself." She looks up at Kijo. There is sadness and understanding in her eyes.

"Let's see how Joker's doing first, since we're here already." She walks around to the door while she talks. "Unless you'd rather leave that to me and go warn the others?"

"Whichever you prefer."

She shakes her head. "We don't have time for indecisiveness, come on in..." She enters the building, quickly making her way to Joker's door and knocking on it.

No answer.

She prods at the door, testing if it is locked or barred in any way. It is not. With but a touch, it slides open.

It is a single room. Unlit. All the furnishings are gone. And there, in the middle of the room, is a corpse. It is splayed out, and completely devoid of skin. Blood pools around them.

"Fuck!" She hesitates a bit, but steps closer, and kneels next to the corpse's head. "I... I can't save him, but hopefully I'm not too late to find out a few things." She digs out a spell scroll from her belt pouch, unfurls it, and lays it across her lap, holding the middle of it between her palms. Soon enough, a wave of shimmering necromantic energy flows over the corpse and its mouth falls open. Three questions are now hers to ask, and three answers are demanded of the corpse.

The jaw shakes slightly, and the two eyeballs, still frozen in horror, slowly shift to look at Kijo. The chest does not rise nor fall, but a rasping, breathing noise emanates from the ghastly remains.

"What happened to you?"

"... I d o n o t k n o w...." The body hardly moves at all as its answer comes out in a creaky breath. "... t h i n g s w e n t d a r k ..... a n d t h e n ....." their voice hesitates, and the answer trails off. It seems they don't know what happened to them after they (presumably) lost consciousness.

She turns to Juniper to comment. She just stands there, looking horrified. Any grief Kijo might be feeling was overtaken by her analytical need to find out what the hell happened. "Hmm, looks like whatever they did, he didn't see it coming. So they probably flayed his skin after he was already dead. That means the whole skinning thing was less torture, and more scare tactic." She takes a good look up and down the body. "You know... This might not actually be him. It's not really his M.O., but there's a chance that he grabbed all his shit, faked his death, and fled... A sliver of a chance... Tiny sliver... Well, let's see..." She clears her throat and addresses the corpse. "Who were you?"

The corpse looks Kijo dead in the eyes. It lets out a deathly chuckle. "C a n ‘ t r e c o g n i z e m e...? I t ‘ s J o k e r, b a b e... i n t h e f l e s h..."

She can't help but snicker. A real wise guy even to the bitter end, and then some. It's a bittersweet moment, knowing this is him, but it's the last she's ever going to hear from him. Well, second-to-last. She briefly closes her eyes, shakes her head, and wipes a single tear from her eye, quietly uttering the word "baka" but it's unclear whether she's referring to Joker, or herself, for quite probably getting him into this mess. "Alright Jokes, I think I've pieced it together, so I just got one more question, since you got offed so suddenly... D'ya have any last words to say to me and the gang?"

The ghoulish face seems to sigh. His eyes turn to Juniper, who has been silent this whole time. Her hands are covering her mouth, and she is shaking in fear and horror. The shock of seeing Joker's body like this has frozen her completely.

"Y e a h .... o n e l a s t t h i n g..." Joker's corpse begins to say. Then, there's a thudding of footsteps, and someone bursts into the doorway. They stand there in shock, looking in at the scene.

The person in the doorway?

It's Joker.

Kijo immediately stands to her feet. "BAKA YAROU!" She shouts, and then she walks right up to him, staring him in the eyes.

There is a blur of movement that Kijo is only just barely able to dodge, but they trip and fall backward in the process. Lying there on the ground, they can see Joker holding a knife. It is already dripping with blood. Luckily for Kijo, the blood on the knife isn't hers. But as Joker begins to slowly advance, she gets the impression that it soon might.

"You knucklehead!" She kicks at his legs from her position on the floor in an ineffective attempt to trip him. "Quit fucking around with that knife, we gotta get out of here!"

Kijo's kick is simply a flail, and Joker catches her in the leg with the knife.

Juniper yanks Joker away. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Joker doesn't answer. There's no light in his eyes, and his movements are rigid and jerky. He simply struggles with Juniper, trying to get out of her grasp.

Kijo rolls onto her feet. The sting of standing on her wounded leg is painful enough to make her wince, and it's pretty bad timing to get knifed in the leg when you're on the run. She draws her wakizashi to defend herself with, and prepares to cast a spell with the other hand. "Tch, and here I was thinking you'd been resurrected. I knew it was too optimistic to be true! Eat shit!" She launches a batch of necrotic darts at this facsimile of her friend.

The bolts of death slam into Joker's chest, and sizzle their way through his clothes. The damage is much more pronounced here than on the drunkard from a few minutes ago: they stumble backward and catch themselves on the doorway, and skin curls off and crumbles away. It's now that she can see the flesh underneath, and it's definitely not normal flesh. Kijo's seen the effects of her necromancy on the flesh of living Humans. This Joker here, if he even is Joker, is clearly neither living nor actually Human. The way the flesh sizzles... the fact that the skin doesn't look fully attached to the muscle itself…

This isn't Joker. It's an Amanojaku – a flesh-stealing demon.

The illusion magic surrounding them immediately flickers away, and Kijo can see this "Joker" for what he truly is: a malevolent demon wearing the skin of Joker. With the magic gone, Kijo now sees a twisted figure with Joker's skin hastily stitched over its body, the edges jagged from where the demon had carved the flesh off of the real Joker. It wears Joker's face like a perverse masque, the flesh stretched in unholy ways over the demon's true face, giving them a look of a perpetual wail of pain.

These demons are rarely seen outside of the Great Forest, and typically only prey on small villages near the edge of the deep thickets and tangled woods where they hide. There's no way this demon could have made it this far on its own. Someone must have brought this Amanojaku here on purpose. Why it targeted Joker, Kijo doesn't know.

The moment Kijo sees through the illusion, Juniper is able to see through it as well. She immediately recoils in horror, and retches in the corner. She's seen horrible things, but nothing as grotesque as this.

"Begone, demon! You skin-stealing wretch!" She begins making arcane gestures with one hand, and aims her sword right at it with the other, angrily piercing and thrusting towards it. She thrusts not with brute force, but with combat strategy in mind, attempting to push it back out the door into the apartment hall.

The Amanojaku, unlike Kijo, is not one for strategy right now. It throws the knife at Kijo and flees, leaving a trail of blood and patches of skin as it does so. The knife catches Kijo in the side, stopping her from properly striking the demon.

She stares down the hall and watches it flee. After a moment, it's gone. She cautiously cancels the spell she was about to cast, and takes a moment to breathe. Looking down, she sees the thrown knife, and goes to pull it out – oh gods, that made the bleeding worse. She grunts and holds her hand over the wound. She's been roughed up in the past, but today's been a rougher day than most. She'd have to see a healer, but with the Shogunate after her, she doesn't really have the time... But she pushes that thought to the back of her mind for the moment and breaks the silence of the room. "Juni... you okay?"

Juniper is on her knees, sobbing quietly.

She walks over and pulls Juniper to her feet with her clean hand, her other hand held over her knife wound. "Come on. There'll be time to cry about all this later, but for now... we gotta get out of here." She glances back at Joker's flayed corpse for a brief moment before leaving the building with Juniper in tow.

They make the trip back to the sake den through the dark back alleys, and in relative silence, but when they are almost there, just out back behind the building, Kijo suddenly stops. "Juniper... I need you to do something, can you promise me you'll do it?"

Juniper nods, choking back a sob. "What is it?"

She pulls Juniper in close and gives her a firm hug. "I need you to tell them... that I... Look, I need you to tell them that I'm dead, Juni. That I died. That the demon who stole Joker's skin killed me too..." She pauses for a moment. "Because I'm not coming back, Juni. I'm taking the first boat out of Miyatama and never coming back. Just tell them... that I didn't make it."

Juniper accepts the hug, at the expense of getting blood all over her clothes. "But... I... we..." she stammers.

"Please... just promise that you'll do this for me..."

"What if they ask for a body?"

"Tell them you saw me die, and ran. Tell them you don't know what the amanojaku, that demon, did with my body. They may search for the corpse, but I doubt you'd want to steal and flay a corpse yourself to cover for me. It's easier if you just let that search come up empty-handed. Rule number one of lying, don't pretend like you've got all the answers. So that's what you'll tell them... You ran, and you don't know where my body is." She places her hands on Juniper's shoulders and looks her straight in the eyes. "You promise?"

Juniper nods. She takes out one of her hairpins, which has a large ornament on the end. To Kijo's surprise, Juniper opens the ornament, revealing a hidden compartment. Inside is a signet ring with an odd symbol on it.

"Joker... he gave this to me a long time ago. I don't know what it is but... he told me if anything ever happened, this would help me. I'm... not sure how it would help, but..." She places the ring in Kijo's hands. "Take it. Maybe it's a good luck charm. Maybe it'll just help you remember. I don't know. I ..."

Kijo nods, and clasps the ring tightly in her hand. "I will treasure it always. Now go." She turns away from Juniper, and after a moment, starts briskly walking away, going towards the docks, in hopes that some sailor would see her wounds and take pity on her. If that doesn't work out, she'll stow away if she has to.

On a dim backroad halfway to the docks, Kijo pulls a dingy old hooded robe from her pack, and drapes it over herself. She also casts a simple illusion to turn her fur from black to brown. It's not exactly a disguise, anyone who scrutinizes her closely would see right through it in an instant, but the guards the Shogunate has stationed by the docks may not be on high alert looking for black cats like her yet. If a guard glances at Kijo in a crowd like this, they're unlikely to report having seen someone matching her physical description.

The docks are much like the rest of the district – alive, regardless of the time of day. Despite being the dead of night, ships are still being loaded and unloaded. There are a handful of shogunate troops and Mahō lackeys, but none of them seem to notice Kijo.

Only one of the docked ships is not of Nekai make. A massive Lupii stands at the end of the gangplank, being harassed by two Shogunate troops. He brushes them off, and Kijo can hear the Lupii say "Shove off! For the last time, they're not on my ship!" to the troops. The troops grumble and walk away.

With the troops gone... perhaps this is Kijo's ticket out.

She takes this opportunity to walk up to the mountainous Lupii, allowing her very real leg wound to manifest a slightly exaggerated limp in her step. Keeping her hood bowed low, she speaks to them in Aifysh, the language of trade, so fluently it's almost as though it's her first language. "Excuse me, sir, could you possibly spare some room on your ship for a poor wounded mage?"

The Lupii looks down at the wounded wretch in front of him. "With all these troops about looking for vagrants and criminals, I'm sure you'd understand that I'm wary of anyone pulling a hood over their head and dyeing their fur with simple magics." He raises a brow and crosses his arms.

There's a ring on his hand. It has the same symbol as Joker's ring.

This might be her chance. She was holding the ring in her hands the whole way here, but now, under her cloak, she slips it onto her finger. "I understand, it may seem strange, but I am actually hiding from those same criminals... Oh, hmm, wait a moment... Excuse me, may I take a closer look at your ring, sir?" She says, as she reaches out to him, the ring quite obviously displayed upon her hand.

The big Lupii takes one look at Kijo's ring and points a thumb over his shoulder. "Cut the act and get on board," he says in an unimpressed voice.

She smiles at him, and walks aboard. What significance did this ring really hold? She didn't know, but wasn't about to pass up an opportunity. Perhaps she'd soon find out, but lest she be thrown out, she would keep her mouth shut for now. Maybe she'd reinvent her whole identity and join this ship's crew, maybe not. The only thing that was sure to her as she gazed out over the open sea, was that she wasn't looking back, only forward to a new life.

A minute or two pass, then a handful of Lupii come aboard, carrying various supplies. The big Lupii at the gangplank then begins barking orders, and the ship immediately sets sail. It seems this was a nighttime stop that Kijo barely got onto.

As the ship begins to leave, the large Lupii saunters over to Kijo. He looks her right in the eyes. There is a tiredness in his eyes – not of sleepiness, but of weariness. As though hundreds of things weigh heavily upon his shoulders, and he is unable to do anything about it.

"How did he die?" is all the Lupii asks.

She hesitates, ceasing to answer for a few seconds. "You knew him, didn't you..." She looks down at the ring on her finger, and after a pause, she dispels her disguise and pulls down her hood. A drop of red blood from the cut on her cheek reflects the moonlight. "Joker..." She sighs. "Amanojaku... Heard of it? A demon that flays its victims and wears their skin as a disguise. Brutal fuckin' bastards... I think Shogun Yamato sicced one on him. Probably had some beef with him that I didn’t know about."

Lucius lets out a sigh. "I don't think it was the Shogunate. Perhaps it was, but... I won't make accusations until I have proof." He pinches the bridge of his snout, silent for a moment. Then, finally, he extends a massive hand out. "Lucius Miretalon. I'm guessing you're Kijo. Joker always spoke highly about you."

A bit surprised, she takes his hand and gives it a firm shake. "My reputation precedes me, I see. Kijo Akuba, pleased to meet you."

Lucius pulls his hand away, bringing some of Kijo’s blood with it. He looks at it with very mild disgust. "... This ship is headed to New Trensidale. I suppose once we get there, I can figure out what to do with you. I don’t want a friend of Joker’s to get caught in the crossfire."

Kijo shrugs. "New Trensidale... Alright. Further west than I've ever been before. Sounds great. What business do you have in New Trensidale, Miretalon-san?"

"Delivering some goods. Meeting some friends." There is a finality in his voice that implies he will not say anything more specific.

"Good enough for me." She says, staring out at the city of Miyatama disappearing on the horizon. A new chapter of Kijo's life was about to begin.

"Go get a bunk below deck. I’ll have a crew member look at your wounds as soon as possible. Try not to bleed on anything you shouldn’t."

"Sure thing, cap'n. I think I need some shuteye anyway." And just like that, she heads off to claim a bunk.

A single drop of blood falls onto the deck, soaking into the wood and mingling with the slight dampness of saltwater.

And just like that, the group has left their mark on not just the Maelstrom, but on the pages of their stories. The ink is still wet. And once the ink runs out, the story will be written in blood.

But in the end, the blood and ink will mingle until they become indiscernible from one another. The pen and sword will become one.

Not even I can tell the difference.

And I am the one writing the story.

And just like that, the true story begins.