Clouds, like great billows of smoke, masked the benevolent face of the moon, turning the starless night sky into an endless, uninterrupted dome of black. Under the immense velvet canvas the city seemed to twinkle brighter. Fragile glass and cold steel reflected the soft, electrical glow of street lamps and neon signs, but without the watchful gaze and reassuring smile of the moon, Tokyo had a feeling of vulnerability that was nearly tangible in the air. Oh! But wasn't the air delicious that night! Warm and balmy... the kind of atmosphere that caresses the skin and seduces the mind to think dark, mysterious thoughts that are as vague and fleeting as shadows and spirits.
A thick fog slowly crept off the bay and into the city. It flowed through the streets and alleys, the arteries and veins of Tokyo's concrete and steel body.
The city was no longer a twilight fairyland. In the mist and darkness the metropolis was transformed. It no longer belonged in a child's storybook. Tokyo's muted lights and deep shadows weren't fit for the same pages as princesses and white magic, they were meant to be in a tale whispered in the night. This was the setting of a tale of murder, mystery, and strange happenings that can only seem possible in the deadliest, darkest hours of night.
jing-a-ling-a-ling~
The little, brass bell above the doorway of the Sugar Rush Sweets Shop, merrily announced the arrival of a customer.
A young woman in a trim business suit strutted past the displays and bins of decadent chocolates and brightly colored gummies.
Click-clack-click-clack~
The sound of expensive Prada heels on pink tile kept time to an old love song.
“Moonlight becomes you~”
The shop was permeated with the woman’s perfume: a scent of style and power. She continued to pass the pastry counter that displayed luscious cakes, cookies, and other goodies along the right side of the shop. The woman went to the 50’s style soda fountain and nonchalantly perched herself on a chrome swivel stool, primly crossing her legs and smoothing her tailored skirt.
The soda fountain was the crown jewel of the Sugar Rush. The counter stretched from the back wall, curved with the back corner, and ended at the midway point of the left wall. The counter top was a slick black, flecked with pink, and outlined in chrome. The swivel stools looked like chrome mushrooms with black leather tops and the fountain and appliances shone against the black painted wall, whereas the rest of the store was painted cream. Green and pink neon lights that decorated the store made the chrome reflect soft, multicolored light.
The young woman drummed manicured nails and grinned with Este Lauder lips. A crash and clatter came from the door in the far right corner. A small cake pan slowly rolled out the door in an attempt to escape the noise and chaos of the backroom, making a dull ringing noise with each rotation of its getaway. A pretty girl with dark hair and a thick lace of eyelashes followed the fugitive pan when she noticed the figure sitting at the counter.
“We’re not open ye—Oh..." the girl lifted her head and the pan as she realized who her “customer” was. “Nicolette…..I didn’t hear you come in...”
Nicolette lifted her cat-frame sunglasses to reveal cat eyes, light green and slightly slanted.
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t play your Bing Crosby CDs so loudly.”
“Hey, leave Bing out of this,” the dark haired girl turned to the backroom door and called for the other two shopkeepers, “Leigh.. Marie..”
A girl with scarlet tipped hair and gray eyes emerged from the backroom shortly followed by a slightly taller girl.
“Thanks for leaving us, Rebecca. I’m sure the backroom will clean itself up.”
Rebecca stuck out her tongue in response. “Well, we have company..”
Nicolette intervened before Marie got another word in, “That’s enough!... Now, let’s get down to business.” She paused making sure she had captured everyone’s attention. Her stern face melted into a Cheshire Cat grin, “I’ll have the usual…”
The trio let out a collective sigh before Leigh jumped over the counter to prepare a chocolate milkshake.
“I’m assuming something besides a chocolate craving brought you all the way down here,” began Leigh as she pulled her long, brown hair into a high ponytail. Ice cream, syrup, and cream where piled in a glass. “There must be a—“
“Please let there be a mission….. This place is so boring…” chimed in Marie.
“I love it here…” Rebecca exclaimed as she rearranged a tray of cannolies. “But a girl needs to see a little action every now and then….”
Nicolette reached into her leather bag.
“How true.”
She places a piece of stationary paper, creased and folded into a tiny triangle, in the counter top. With a delicate flick of the wrist, the paper triangle skidded towards the three young women. Three pairs of eyes watched its path. Three pairs of hands reached out for the note.
Marie got there first.
GIEST-
Spirits in the darkness: Apparition, Phantom, Illusion. The children of Tokyo need you tonight....
The familiar prelude to a mission: a glowing TV screen, a silouhette against bright light, Manx’s scarlet hair, and Persia’s deep voice. All followed the time-honored tradition.
“Hunters of the night...”
...A series of deaths has been plaguing teenagers anywhere from age 13 to 19. Different kids with different backgrounds, but with a common cause of death: Tigerlily. This is an experimental drug created for one purpose only—chemical warfare.
Tokyo’s youths are being turned into test subjects so a single group can profit...
Pictures of deceased teenagers flashed across the screen.
Ken murmured under his breath, “This is terrible..."
Omi stood as the others remained seated, “Persia… Who would do this?”
The figure on the screen shifted, its glasses reflecting the harsh light, “The group dispensing the Tigerlily drug is called..."
“Krähen...” Growled Farfarello as he tugged on his straightjacket. His face was impassive, but his golden eye took on a menacing gleam.
“Those bastards screwed us over!” Schuldig threw the financial report he was holding. The room was filled with fluttering, white paper. “Who the hell do they think they are?!”
Crawford calmly slid his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
“Hunters of the night, deny these dark beasts their tomorrows!”
Krähen has eluded the authorities for too long. Now, you must become the judges and the executioners. Make your justice swift and fade back into the mist from which all ghosts emerge.
Nagi rose his head and spoke, “What shall we do Crawford?”
He already knew the answer.
“We have lost quite a bit of money in this venture,” Crawford snatched a floating paper out of the air. His eyebrows rose slightly as he read the numbers, but his voice never faltered. It remained cold and calculating.
“Quite a bit of money, indeed. Let us pay our business partners a visit.”
Schuldig smirked, vengeance was sweet, almost as sweet as the honey of a victim’s mind.
Crawford headed out the door with long, confident strides. Nagi followed in his shadow.
And as his restraints loosened, Farfarello felt the old bloodlust stir deep inside his heart, course through his body, and shake the remnants of his shattered soul.
The basement grew darker as the screen dimmed. Deep shadows devoured the remaining light.
Azure eyes darted and crimson lips parted, “Can I count on all of you?”
The assassins sitting in the darkness made their replies.
A breathless “I’m in”.
A nod.
A shrug.
A hand reaching for its katana.
Nicolette had left. The notepaper was crushed in Marie’s fist.
“Let’s go.”
A phantom, an apparition, and an illusion walked out into the night. Soon the three ghosts vanished into the mists and shadows.