#lacedwithcharm

... Wait. Grateful? Grateful for being kidnapped, let go, and then re-kidnapped again?

“... Ugh. Well, whatever happened, it looks like things are back to normal anyways... oh, what’s this?” Continuing his search through the rubble, Rinnosuke’s eyes shift to an oddly pristine item. “A glove? That’s an odd place t—”

     As he pushes past the rubble revealing the glove in question... from where he thought was just a weird glove sticking out of the ground, is revealed to be an entire person. Someone who he, unfortunately, had the displeasure to know— and her appearance causing the man to let out a yelp of panic, before proceeding to fall backwards and onto his bottom.

“Y... you? You’re here too?!”

     With a teasing laugh, the god jovially slapped the youkai’s back.

It had been a chance meeting. Okina, however, was always one to stand out and make an impression— and to one with such keen eyes as Yukari (leaving aside the fact that she was one of the few who knew her relatively well), the acknowledgement of the god’s presence would have simply come naturally.

Of course, Okina had noticed Yukari herself. But, it was more natural for a god to be sought out than a youkai, wasn’t it not? Such was her thought process. Fast-forward, and here they were now: the two sages, seated at a rather inconspicuous ramen cart with the backdrop of a darkened summer sky behind them— one which occasionally flashed bright from nearby fireworks. Idly, she’d lift a saucer of sake to her lips.

And, pulling it away, Okina would sigh.

“... But still. This is quite a predicament, wouldn’t you say? The beautiful Noh we called Gensokyo cannot function properly without its stagehands.”

“Not that I believe we have anything to worry about.”

“ Come out with it if you will. It’ll be difficult to get back to what I was focusing on knowing my night is about to have an unsolicited guest. “ 

Ardyn hadn’t thought of this place as a haven. He hadn’t thought of it as torture, either, so when he saw the television screen with a message from NULL he was more intrigued rather than outraged or relieved. In fact, he saw it as a way to get more information.

The opportunity didn’t present itself for a couple of days. With the weather changing rapidly, he hadn’t been outside too much; however, the fog outside his home in Archimedes was almost enticing. He knew it was dangerous but he didn’t care: this was altogether too interesting.

He hadn’t expected to see anyone else outside. Immediately drawn to her, he came up to her with a small little smile on his face -- playing innocent. For now.

He liked it better when he went unbothered. Either people were too intimidated by his appearance to speak or even approach, or he stayed far enough from the crowds to have some semblance of space.

This time, it should have been the latter. Of course, fate just isn’t on his side today.

“Hah?” Gaze from beneath the hood sharp, red eyes lock onto the woman’s face with a slight curl of the lips. The fact she had appeared out of nowhere in such an obnoxious fashion was bad enough, but she had apparently decided that being a thorn in his side was on the agenda. “You’re jabbering nonsense, woman. I’m not interested.”

Yukari will be dropped!