Hideki Ryuga

”..You are quite morbid. Do you greet everyone this way?”

"I am realistic. And yes, to some extent, though I do not often run into those with your sharp fashion sense." Pun intended, though it might go unnoticed due to his monotone.

    “I’ll throw fairness to the wind and go directly to bears then. They’re top predators, they’re cute, they’d appeal to this city’s theme, and it would only take one to wipe your troupe out.” Berating Law’s rat plan wasn’t acceptable, he’d have to break out the heavy guns. Nobody could beat bears. “They can enjoy you as a snack when your cats fail to satisfy both them and your audience.” 

"Ah. Bears." They would do excellently at scattering his feline followers, though would one be able to catch them all? "There are two problems with your bear theory. First:" Raises a finger up. "Bears hibernate. During the cold season you would be out of business unless you intend to go against nature's course. And second:" There goes his other finger, pointing alongside the first. "Elephants. Your bears would not be able to kill them all and in the event you attempted to use your rats to scare them, my cats could easily take care of the situation." Rationally, this tactic had holes, but for the purpose of their banter he would overlook them.

    “Figures you’d stoop low enough to threaten my performers.” Cats against rodents? Drat, that would be hard to deal with. “Like I said, people cheer for the underdogs. Your cats will have nothing but instincts while mine will be trained to their full potential. That’s more than enough to crush your show.” 

"Fairness in competition is foolish. There are no lows or highs, only moves." At least, that's how his strategy always worked out. Whatever it took to win. "I am surprised you would not think to employ guard dogs." A pause. "Whatever the case, your fans will be too busy being entranced by my kitten advertisements to even realize you or your rats exist."

    “You’ve gotta admit, cats don’t have the same novelty as rats. It has to do with the rarity factor.” They’d reached the point of no raturn. “If you do that, it’ll only make my show more successful. Everyone cheers for the underdog when they’re up against an unfathomable enemy.”

"Mn.. You have a point. However, cats have a much higher popularity than rats. Have you seen all the pictures of them on the internet? They multiply by the second." There he goes, rattling off about felines. "Also, your performists are lower on the food chain. My show would eat yours for an intermission snack."

"Just because a title holds the word hope I wouldn’t call it a hopeful place. Sounds dreadfully despairing, really."

"I do not believe I ever stated the place itself was hopeful. Only that it was called something that suggested it."

     ”That’s it! I’m done talking to you! You don’t deserve my time at all. When I rule over this place, the second person I’m killing is you!”

"That is good. I would rather die than follow the rules of a child who cannot control emotions."

     ”And I don’t want to hear any sly dig about my height.” 

"I did not intend to make a 'sly dig' about your height. I think tall counters and wall cabinets might already do that enough for me."

     ”The only advantage you have is that you’re a shut-in, so you have nothing better to do! Hmph, what a lousy life!” 

"It is funny that you think so." Oh, there's another stab at him being a recluse. "What suits one does not always suit another. It is ignorant of you to so boldly declare the value of another's lifestyle, especially when your ambitions involve winning at arcade games. I would say that is a lousy goal to so adamantly persue."

     "A rival… Sorry to say, but I’ll have to do everything in my power to sabotage those plans. Not that It’s necessary. A rat whisperer can train his group to do anything, what do you have on that? Nobody normal can top me in this business. Throw in the towel." Rats were officially ruined for him. From now on, he’d only be able to think of this stupid conversation when they showed up on the streets. 

"That is assuming the rats will listen. I have a feeling rodent kind is less compliant than one might hope when creating such elaborate acts. However, instead of raising a rat circus, I think it would be wiser for me to begin one involving cats. I think I would have the upper hand, then." This has gone too far. Turn back now.

Dean started towards them, pace quickening with every step. Before he knew it he was running, uneasy and utterly freaked out, yelling periodically in rough voice— "Hey! Wait a second! Slow down!"

"I do not see the cause for such alarm but you may take a moment to catch your breath now that you have caught me. I will wait."

"…A weapon? Of what sort?"

"The stabbing sort."

"You will hate me, then." A mocking smile formed on his otherwise expressionless face. "I will be sure to drop by and beat every score you have made."

     ”Right, right. Unless they’re well-paying, I don’t want my audience to consist of necrophiliac zoophiliacs. It tends to upset the dead rats.” Rodent hauntings were serious business. “I’ll just have to start my collection from scratch. A pity, I was looking forward to training them rather than hunting them down. You sure none of yours are alive?”

"As expected." Funny how conversations work out. It was almost like they were being completely serious. "I am sure. Unless you would like to find out for yourself, I believe you will have to take my word on it. However, I assure you I am not lying with the intention of starting up my own rat circus competitor to yours."

"Something hopeful?" B turned to face the other, giving a slight head tilt. "What was that?"

"Hopes Peak. It was an academy."

"Yes, it seems so. I wonder how you will handle the moment when a hurtful lie befalls you."