MAYBE NOTHING ELSE IS REAL ♦ job

"You really have nothing better to do, do you?" Seika asked as she crossed her arms and stared at the tanuki girl with disapproval. The hybrid yokai was in human form, for once, with cyan hair and eyes, and a rather modern and tomboyish outfit including jeans with a few tears, a black shirt, and a green, fashionable cargo jacket. To top it off, she wore a gray scarf with a single, thin, black stripe running through the middle from end to end. She preferred her smaller, true form which was like a small, fluffy, white-furred 'mew' that could levitate. For once, however, she was okay with hanging about with her tanuki yokai friend in her human shape.

Not only that, but Izayuki appeared to be a pure human for once, instead of showing off her silver ears and tail in her human body. The pink-haired girl was at the checkout of a bakery, with red velvet cookies with white chocolate chips on the counter and ready to be purchased, and after that, quickly eaten and enjoyed. Her means of payment, however, was with basic leaves she had picked up from who knows where. The cashier would fail to recognize this, however, as she skillfully disguised the leaves as paper jewels- just enough to pay for the cookies, and get some change too! Win-win!

The act was juvenile, but for a tanuki, it was a no-brainer, being both a prank and just a casual act to make things easier on her, and slow down the idea of spending to the point of being broke. These were red velvet cookies, after all- the baker could always make more. Losing out on a bit of a sale would not do too much harm, hopefully. Seika gave a sigh of further disapprobation, knowing exactly what her partner was doing. Turning to the cyan-haired girl, Izayuki put her finger to her lips, which were curved in a sly grin. The cashier noticed, gazed suspiciously at the jewels for a few seconds, before shrugging and finally accepting the bakedanuki's illusion as reality. Taking her bag of cookies, Izayuki gleefully strolled out of the bakery and out into the streets of Lavantir Port City, the local town that Black Rose seemed to govern. Honestly, she knew little about the territory and politics of her guild, but whatever. Kakuma and the other aces could deal with that stuff. Just because she was the Ace of Stigma did not mean she had to really focus and pay that much attention to details, right?

Walking with Seika to an open dock, the two yokai sat on the edge, legs hanging off to feel the sea spray, as Izayuki opened the brown paper lunch sack to reach her cookies. She shared a few with her comrade, who she refused to see as a 'pet', and wolfed down most of them herself. Her former teammate, Jin Okura, had introduced her to the heaven that was red velvet cake, and now that she learned that the delicacy could be in cookie form too... damn, this really was heaven on earth! "You really know how to set a good example," Seika said sarcastically, with little emotion on her face. Izayuki only shrugged nonchalantly as she continued downing the vermillion-colored snack. She seemed as if she were about to reply, but for once being unable to come up with a good answer to justify herself, kept silent for a few moments before chiming back with her own sarcasm. "I do, don't I?"

Seika honestly had trouble knowing if she should be amused with the tanuki, or ashamed of her partner. Izayuki was supposed to be a rolemodel of how a yokai could fit into human society, but honestly, the quality of her teaching only fair... just barely; not good or great. "We ought to be getting back, y'know? You did promise you'd finish up that paperwork before the evening," the cyan-haired, slightly younger teen said, attempting to be the more responsible one of the nonhuman duo. Izayuki only flopped her upper body down onto the brown, wooden planks of the dock. "Ugh... I don't wanna!"

Izayuki gave a sigh and closed her eyes briefly as Seika began to stand up and eventually loomed over the pink-haired girl, cyan eyes glaring. She obviously did not want to watch her partner get another scolding from Elyx, Irina, or someone else... it was beyond embarrassing, especially with Izayuki as the one responsible for the hybrid yokai. "Fine, fine, I'm coming. Chill~" the tanuki girl said, hauling herself up to a sitting position again before using her hands to help her spring to her feet. "Let's go~!"

As the two began walking, however, the atmosphere of the scene would begin to shift... since when had a heavy fog settled in over Lavantir? The skies and space were fresh and clear just seconds before...
Both yokai stopped in their tracks, glaring around warily and keeping their senses sharp. What kind of joke was this? Or was it a joke? They were unable to sense anything in the thick mist, yet one thing was for certain once they regained their bearings; the feeling of gravity, the aura, magic presence, and literally everything screamed it out... they were not in Earthland anymore.

Swearing under her breath, Seika was the first to recognize the change in atmosphere. They were no longer on the docks, and the sound of the ocean had ceased, the air now being filled with the sound of a strange, eerie quiet... until a certain voice fractured the silence with three simple words. These words fed the mind and answered the main question that was buzzing around inside of all of their brains. They were in Nazo.
Nazo...? But where, or what, was Nazo? Quite obviously, it was a different world altogether, or some strange plain that proved to be quite the mystery to the two young yokai. The fog began to clear slightly enough for faces to be seen through the white haze, yet the ground and majority of the scene remained in the mists. The face of a rather serious and slightly-scary man could be seen, along with a stranger girl with red-tinted hair. As the fog continued to reveal who else was among them, a familiar presence soon came into view- Kateri! The blue-hued hair, long pigtails, and cyan eyes proved that it really was the gun-user and ice mage that she had met once before, a long while ago.

Instantly perking up, Izayuki moved quickly towards the unique trio, her pink eyes fixed on Niyol's daughter, and a broad smile on her face. "Kateri~!" she greeted in her usual chipper and perky manner, despite being in a rather grim and unknown setting. Seika, standing many meters behind, facepalmed slightly as the tanuki went over to greet her old acquaintance. "Iza... don't we have other things to worry about? And who the hell are these people?"

Izayuki failed to respond right away, but turned her head back towards the cyan-haired yokai for a few second with a grin to reply, before moving her attention back to the others. "Just someone I met on a job," she briefly explained before turning her attention back to the trio. She had not officially met the man before, has she? She could not recall... as for the other girl, she was a total stranger to the tanuki. Well, better late than never to get acquainted with someone. "Hiya~! My nam-"

Her voice trailed off as the fog suddenly cleared in the blink of an eye, revealing bright gray skies above, with further mists beyond the direct vicinity... yet all around them there were spider webs. The webs were made of a silvery-colored silk, and while the ground upon which they stood did not seem sticky... she had her suspicions. Finally, as if on cue, six spiders appeared. These were not the adorable tiny garden spiders one would expect to find in a backyard... three of them were about the size of a large wolf, while the other three were roughly as tall as a full grown human male. All eight eyes of these beasts stared at the five they were about to ensnare... five more spirited away, five more to be their prey.

Monster Dice Rolls:

Izayuki gladly accepted the hug, returning it eagerly and truly happy to see the other ice mage again. It was weird- despite their element, naturally stereotyped and seen as cold, reserved people, both Kateri and Izayuki threw away that box magic-minded society put them into. They were warm, cheerful, and bubbly individuals, and not cold at heart, despite their magic reflecting the chills of winter. Their reunion was quickly interrupted, however, as six spiders decided to materialize.

The spider web that they appeared to be standing on was visible as the smoke cleared. Surely the web would not go on for much longer, and they could escape. The two yokai had questions, after all, and wanted answers. There was no more time for talk, however, as the three spiders rushed for Kateri and her two other companions. The other three spiders were smaller, but attacked the cyan-haired yokai and the pink-haired bakedanuki who were standing fairly close to one another. The first one was at least four feet in height, and had very long legs, naturally.

"Tsuchigumo," Seika murmured, narrowing her cyan eyes at the two slightly smaller spiders that were targeting her. "It's a type of spider that is also a Youkai," she continued. Her specialty was mimicry- she could use the element of any nearby magic-user at will. She could identify and sense that one of the stranger trio used ice, like Iza, while another used fire. As for the man, she failed to really identify his primary element. It was all a blur to her senses, but naturally, curiosity killed the cat, and Seika was part Bakeneko. It made sense. She formed cold energy while mimicking Izayuki's element around her hands, but quickly put her palms in front of her and attempted to switch the element and materialize whatever the strange man's magic element was in the form of a fairly basic action.

Boom! Whatever manifested before her was the last thing she had expected. She felt a surge of a rather dark energy and aura, and an exhilarating power, yet as she continued to try to replicate it... that would be her undoing. Her attempt at materializing the element ended in an explosion that blew her many meters backward with a loud cry. Izayuki gave a surprised yelp and teleported away using her Cheshire Cat spell, more by instinct and just in the nick of time. After all, the spirits of Wonderland could not afford that she die, thus the use of their power could sometimes be unconscious and automatic.

The explosion was a huge blast of aura that Izayuki could only identify as some form of soul magic or other. Very complex, and obviously at least one of Kateri's companions or the spiders had to be the original user, or else Seika could not have done such a feat- exploding the vicinity and taking the remaining spiders with it. "Seika!" the pink-haired girl shouted, rushing over towards the fallen hybrid yokai, who had reverted back to her small, fluffy, white-furred, mew-like form from the damage. Crouching down, Izayuki gave a sigh of relief as Seika opened a cyan eye and groaned. "Remind me not to do that again," she mumbled sarcastically, heaving herself up to her paws and gingerly climbing into Izayuki's arms to be carried. "Right. Remind me not to forget," the Bakedanuki jokingly replied, beginning to move towards the others, them obviously having witnessed the chaos, most likely.

The explosion had shaken the small yokai up quite a bit. She had managed to do away with the Tsuchigumo, but at the cost of injuring herself and possibly those around her, her comrades. Having reverted back to her true yokai form, a small, alabaster-furred, fluffy creature of ambiguous species, the mew-like Seika curled up in Izayuki’s arms. Why was she so dizzy? Something simply felt terribly off, and she could not quite place her paw on the subject at all.

“Seika… what at these orbs floating around you?”

Orbs? What orbs? The small mammal was unable to see anything out of the ordinary, besides the misty world of Nazo and the surrounding vicinity of the spider web. Seconds later, she noticed the strange man with the mysterious, deadly magic, and Izayuki’s friend, Kateri, were moving towards them again. Niyol was explaining to her not to work with the deceased, unless she wished to join them… his icy voice put her on edge, more than usual. What ever did he mean? She was not working with the dead, only trying to manifest his magic, which she would not be trying again anytime soon. When Kateri spoke up, however, Seika’s cyan eyes widened. Her soul torn out? Or some of it, at least… did that explain the ‘off’ feeling she had?

Niyol suddenly put his hand up near her, which caused her to shrink back a bit out of instinct, further into Izayuki’s arms. She hated being in such a weak and pathetic state, especially in front of others. The strange man’s next words startled Seika, however, and caused her to freeze. Those orbs floating near his hand… were those what Izayuki was talking about? Why could the Bakedanuki see them, but she was unable to? Curious.

Despite the temptation to move, Seika held still while the orbs were directed back into the small yokai through a unique whirlwind of sorts. She was unable to feel anything except… ah, that was it. She felt ‘whole’ again. As if something before that instant had been missing, and a final piece of the puzzle of her existence had just been placed again. The purple circle and light to envelop the two yokai triggered a light gasp from Izayuki, who was taken by surprise. She barely understood what had happened, but at least comprehended her fluffy companion’s fixed soul and the fact that the purple light had somehow healed them. Pink eyes locking on Kateri as she spoke, the Bakedanuki listened intently and nodded as the blue-haired mage finished. “I see,” Izayuki replied with a small, light, awkward laugh and grin.

It was a good idea to move on, but before they knew it, the scenery had changed once again- what kind of illusion were the five of them trapped inside? Whose illusion was it, was another question. Feeling a canine-like growl rising from the back of her throat, Izayuki gazed around warily, holding Seika close, as they appeared to no longer be in a world of spiderwebs, but a giant, crisp, pale forest. There was a light mist floating about, and the main color palette of the vicinity was obviously white. Was this the real ‘world’ of Nazo, or just another illusion? Really, it was hard to tell. Sniffing the air and keeping her silver-furred ears alert, Izayuki scanned the surrounding. She could not sense anything just yet, until she managed to detect a rather obvious scent- it was canine in nature like hers, but did not belong to a raccoon dog. A fox, perhaps? It was hard to tell.

The misty forest was already putting Izayuki on edge. The scene had changed from the spider web of the tsuchigumo to the surreal trees and atmosphere all around them. One thing remained constant however, and that would be the white fog filling the space. Even the sky appeared to be white or gray, and covered by either unseen canopies of alien leafs, or simply gloomy weather. There were other presences around. The keen yokai could feel them, but tried not to let the unfamiliarity of the world spook her too much.

Niyol was nearby... right? Izayuki paused in her tracks, gently coaxing Seika to sit on her shoulder instead of in her arms. Hopefully the tiny mew-like yokai was stable enough to do that now. She breathed in the air, smelling it with her enhanced slayer and canine senses, but could no longer find the familiar scents of Niyol, Hana, and Kateri. Where had the trio gone? They had been right with her and Seika not seconds ago...

Had they been able to somehow teleport back home? Having seen Niyol's power, she would not doubt it at all. He seemed perfectly capable of handling things on his own, but surely Kateri would not allow him to leave the Black Rose duo behind? Even that seemed a bit cold for the death god. Was this something to do with the mysterious world of Nazo? And why had she seen yokai like Tsuchigumo here? Seika had been able to identify them, but even despite Izayuki's love of geography books and maps, Nazo was a complete mystery. Was there even a definite way to make their way home? Did anyone else inhabit this place?

Suddenly feeling alone, Izayuki tried to thwart her overwhelming feelings on the fact of what was going on. It was not natural, but she had dealt with worse, surely, and they could make it out of this? Thankfully, she was not entirely alone, with Seika right by her. Hopefully, the smaller yokai would not decide to wander off on her own... or worse, mysteriously vanish just like the other trio. "I can smell your anxiety. What's up?" the small, alabaster-furred yokai on her shoulder asked. Most animals were capable of 'smelling' or noticing fear, worry, sadness, and any other negative vibes or emotions. Seika was extremely keen, and the Bakedanuki had let her guard down.

Instantly pulling the guard and mask back up, the tanuki girl tried to force a small smile. "Oh, it's nothing. Just thinking~" she said in her typical nonchalant and perky manner. Seika only gave a sigh, lashing her long and slender tail as she realized she was most likely not going to get through to Izayuki. At least not now. "That's dangerous," she commented on the fact of the Bakedanuki's 'thinking'. A blunt joke, but hopefully at least a little something to lighten the mood.

Izayuki was about to reply, but was suddenly distracted as she heard a huge thud in the trees from above. What was it this time? More spiders, or something else? A scent suddenly washed its way to them, and the tanuki and smalll hybrid could suddenly smell the familiar scent of feline. Was it a Bakeneko or Nekomata, perhaps? Seika narrowed her cyan eyes up at the tree, and was almost startled as a sword suddenly was stuck inside the ground. What was the big idea here?

"Neyvahn?" Izayuki said in surprise, glancing at the Bakeneko as he leaped from the tree. Now it made sense why the scent and aura had been so familiar. Still, what was he doing here? He asked why he was not surprised, and faced her in irritation. Wait, did he think she had dragged him here? It was definitely overestimation, though not shocking considering everything else she had somehow accidentally done to him. "So you were whisked here too, hm?" the Bakedanuki asked, crossing her arms and not showing much expression on her face. "In case you're wondering, no, I did not drag you here. This place is the world of Nazo... and I have no clue why we are here, or how we got here."

Izayuki only replied to Neyvahn with a small huff at his sarcasm. Her mind was not focused on countering with her own wit and satirical comments. Instead, she moved her concern to the world around them. Naturally, she was somewhat anxious, but she would never show that in front of the others; especially not in front of the Bakeneko in front of her.
Seika, however, chuckled lightly and leaped from Izayuki's shoulder over to Neyvahn's. She had never met the young feline yokai before, but had seen him around, at least. He seemed to be some kind of favorite of Iza's, seeing as she did enjoy spending time with him, even if it meant there was plenty of teasing and taunting. But then again, what could she expect from the Bakedanuki? She fed on reactions and resistance, and found the entire thing to be a game of great fun. It was not quite the white-furred mononoke's cup of tea, but it was still amusing to think about.

It had been almost a year since the Bakedanuki and that one flame demon slayer had discovered her haunting the Beanstalk Village. She had been one odd malevolent yokai, but had found that her power and abilities were pretty much useless against the ice god slayer and fire demon slayer. Not only that, but the tanuki yokai had been able to understand her, and coax her out of her strange yokai instinctual rage. She had felt threatened, but the Black Rose Ace of Stigma somehow saved her from the angry villagers and herself. While she had been indignant at first, the hybrid yokai had gotten to know the Bakedanuki, and though Izayuki could be an idiot at times, Seika had grown to tolerate it. In fact, she likely knew more about Black Rose's guildmaster than anyone, including Iza's own fiance, Elyx. After all, who had it been to keep the angry wind god slayer from killing the tanuki when she was going berserk both from her yokai bloodline and madness-based soul magic?

The hybrid yokai was about to introduce herself to Neyvahn, but stopped as she managed to notice the nearby presences. Her alabaster-colored fur began spiking and bristling as she scented the two foxes approach. Even the tanuki and the cat seemed to have noticed them as well, and all three sets of eyes were narrowed and focused on the two canine figures not sixty feet or less away. Seika remained sitting on the silver-haired Bakeneko's shoulder, her cyan eyes narrowed at the two foxes.

In the meantime, Izayuki stepped forward slightly, with assertiveness, but with no threat in her strides or demeanor. She lifted up a hand in a wave and attempted to speak with her fellow canine yokai. "Hello there~" the Black Rose Guild Master attempted to say with a slight formal bow. She was no good at formalities, but seeing as they were in a strange land and world, it would be a bad idea to remain too casual. "My friends and I seem to be lost. Might you two have any idea where we are in Nazo, and how we could get back to Earthland?"

She could only hope that the kitsune had enough intelligence to know about other worlds, like Earthland, and would actually assist them. For all she knew, they could be hostile creatures, but usually a fox would know better than to attack something that did not look like prey. The only one of them who might relatively appear to be prey would be Seika, but the hybrid was far too fierce to ever stand for that notion. Thus, Izayuki awaited their responses, and truly wished that they could get some answers from the other canines.

The sudden notion of Neyvahn attacking her was the last thing the Bakedanuki expected. She noticed the female kitsune move forward while wearing a rather dangerous smirk on her lips, while the male stood safely behind with a dangerous glare. Her focus was fixed on the two foxes until the sound of the Bakeneko's sword unsheathing hooked onto her attention. She managed to dodge his unpatterned swings, leaping away as fast as she could. Even Seika had leaped off of his shoulder and was levitated above the aggressive feline by a few meters, watching curiously, but for some reason not too surprised.

"Neyvahn! Stop, it's me!" Izayuki called in futilely, despite somehow knowing that suck words meant nothing in situations like the one they were in. Nevertheless, she would waste her breath anyways. The tanuki girl and the alabaster-furred mew-like hybrid would glance over at the kitsunes, but could not see them any longer. Where had they gone? Turning her pink-haired head and gaze back towards Neyvahn, Izayuki blinked in shock as she no longer saw the silver-haired Bakeneko, but a strikingly and hauntingly familiar form instead. Longer, silkier silver hair, and two yellow cat-like eyes. Nevertheless, it was obviously no longer Neyvahn as the one attacking. Seika was gone as well. "Jin...?" the Bakedanuki asked in a hopefully voice, taking a step forward, before realizing that his face appeared to be twisted in anger as he raced to attack her with an unsheathed sword. "How dare you forget about me...."

His voice trailed off, laced with venom. The last she recalled of her first friend in Black Rose was that he went missing, and returned shortly after with the announcement that his wife, a dryad named Fira, had been killed. Even Kaya, his tiny white saber tooth tiger companion, had seemed shaken up. Shortly after that encounter, though, the former Black Rose Ace of Morning Dew had vanished once again, and nobody had seen him or Kaya since. Naturally, she worried, but her efforts at searching had been in vain. It pained her to even consider the options that he had been captured or killed... but she had not forgotten... had she?

Izayuki quickly summoned Kuraokami, her unique katana of pale ice, into her hands to block and deflect his blade. "I haven't forgotten! I... I..." the Bakedanuki stumbled, trying to think of any reasoning or excuse. But what if it was true? Had she really forgotten about her dear friend and first teammate? Had he really been here on Nazo this entire time, trapped, and nobody had known? Did he know he had been 'forgotten'? What a painful fate that must have been... or still is.

The Bakedanuki suddenly fell backwards from becoming lost in her thoughts. Jin had never attacked her before, so she had no way of estimating or remembering his power from back then. His blade attack was not stronger, but as she thought more about her friend, the more into a rare despair she had fallen. How could she have forgotten of the one who had helped save her from her endless wandering long ago?

"Are you really that daft?" the familiar voice asked, idly watching from within her mind. Izayuki would have recognized the voice anywhere, and quickly tried to use her Swiftstep to teleport away from any harm that 'Jin' could have caused. Why was Alice speaking now? The Daemonic spirit who now had claim to her soul rarely spoke, but somehow her thoughts had managed to penetrate through the fog of unknown illusion, despite nothing else managing. "Need I say anymore? Look again, and tell me that's your friend."

Izayuki blinked. Her pink eyes focused on Jin Okura, but as she thought about it, regaining her footing and backing away from any attacks, the less he appeared to be so. Jin never wore such an angry scowl on his face. He was always a calm and pleasant individual who had a relaxed and easygoing nature about him. Jin was the sort who could make anyone feel comfortable, and would invite them to sit and talk while offering them a big slice of red velvet cake.... the cake. It was no wonder that the Bakedanuki loved the rich dessert so much. Only Jin could have managed to do that, serving fresh cake with white chocolate or cream cheese icing that only he and Magna could have cooked up together. If she ran into her former Kvasir teammate again, he would not be attacking her- he would be holding both his arms open, ready for a hug, with Kaya sitting atop his head or shoulder with bright chibi eyes, chanting their lost friend's name in an adorable manner. He would not be attacking the yokai he had saved.

Just that knowledge alone was making Jin's shape begin to break and fizz out. The form was no longer an angry Jin Okura, but a raging Neyvahn Keyvolo. Now everything made sense; just as something was trying to trick her, it was also trying to fool him. But amidst such thick of a rage, how was she supposed to expect him to stop? Exerting her Freezing Aura to its finest capacity, she would attempt to freeze her guildmate in place, seeing as he was in range. The last thing she wanted to do was to hurt him. Even Seika was gone, obviously trapped in some illusion or carried off. The white-furred yokai was not one run away to find her own safety while leaving her companions. "Listen, you foxes," the Bakedanuki began, attempting to keep her own anger out of her voice. She aimed the tip of her pale white katana of ice, Kuroakami, towards them in a threatening manner. How dare they use Jin's appearance on her guildmate to deceive her...
"Break your spell over my comrades right now, or else I'll show you no mercy. This is your only warning," she said in a solemn and deadly tone, her pink eyes narrowed and glaring at the two kitsunes, her characteristic smile replaced with straight, pursed lips.