Dirty Competition

Seikatsu was watching the events occurring in Crocus, as it entered a time of power thirst, and egotistical battles between two glorified primates. Yes, that time again, that one time where men and sometimes women take millions upon millions of jewel and throw it out the window for a few months of self glorification. The time being spoken of can only be described as the Crocus District 3 Leader Elections, and they were coming to the brutal part of the competition. Watching the fools talking, boasting and bragging on their ideals and boosting their already through the roof ego's further through the roof, so high they were nearing orbital heights, Seikatsu scoffed. 'Had those mortals wanted either to be their leader they would had already made it so.' Seikatsu thought to himself. However, this time of primitive leadership did in fact provide a opportunity most fortunate for Seikatsu. Seikatsu leaned forward on his chair while resting his head on his hands thinking about how both men were men of opportunity, just as Seikatsu was. Perhaps this was the only ideal either would need to employ a certain assassin into their ranks to create a small bit of fun for himself. Seikatsu walked over to his closet, keeping the mega screen lacrima television on to overhear the debates. He pulled out a set of herbs that he knew were highly toxic, and had an almost immediate reaction to humans. He took five blow darts, and tipped them with the juices of the paralytic substances and dipped the tips in some liquid rubber so they wouldn't poke him and paralyze himself. He then took three more darts and combined several herbs and plants that are known to create an extremely high euphoric feeling when introduced to the bloodstream. He also tipped these in the rubber, not wanting to feel stoned or in love while he's trying to get some serious work done.

Lastly, Seikatsu packed a couple tubes of water, fifty feet of compressed rope, a few feet of blast cord and fuse, a lighter, and his pet Lisa of course. Seikatsu's maid had already prepared the Multi-Dimensional Matter Transporter for him, and Seikatsu picked up his emergency teleporter for when he finished, or if he got stuck in a wall again. He stepped through the Lacrima Screen and stepped onto a street in Crocus. 'So the new coordinates were more accurate... I'll be sure to pick that girl up something sweet as a reward...' Seikatsu said to himself. It wasn't long before the shadier looking candidate bumped into Seikatsu, literally, and realized that the wizard wearing a large tan, tattered cloak with the hood covering his face might actually be what he needed. Seikatsu felt a bit happy since his work of convincing one of the candidates to employ him was now cut entirely out of the picture. Seikatsu listened to Mr. Stone's 'problem' and told him he'd accept the job. Mr. Stone informed Seikatsu that there was another wizard who had taken the same job, and she'd be his partner if he would allow it. Seikatsu agreed, and waited for his new mysterious ally at a water fountain near the city's palace entrance.

Seikatsu was staring at the ground, trying to figure his place in this world of humans as he normally did while waiting for something to happen when a strange female approached him. Seikatsu figured the woman to be fairly tall as her shadow was casting over him a fair distance. Seikatsu motioned his eyes to see if he could identify anything other than the fact that she was tall. Seikatsu saw her green hair that extended down to her back and a bit further, he'd noticed her legs were thin but feminine and she had curves despite being a bit on the thin side. Seikatsu heard the woman say that Mr. Stone sent his regards, and that was enough to confirm that she was indeed his partner. Seikatsu didn't shift much until that point, preferring to remain as still as a statue so as to not scare the children fluttering about the place. He stood up, being only a few inches taller than the woman, Seikatsu found his face being pretty close to hers. Considering he didn't particularly like the girl in that sense, Seikatsu took a step back and give the girl a quick look over to see if she was dead weight or not. She was fairly lanky, and her skin showed no signs of having been in battle, her hair didn't have any faults and she had a body that wouldn't quit. In other words, Seikatsu hated that she was his partner, but decided that she might not be the kind to enter a battle, after all, he knew a man who called upon spirits to do his bidding.

Seikatsu wasn't sure if she'd seen anything of his face when he was a few inches from her, it wouldn't surprise him if she had. Now, he was far enough away that the shadow cast by the hood covered all but his mouth and chin, and showed a bit of his neck. Seikatsu bowed to the woman slightly with no expression on the little bit of his face that was visible. "I am Seikatsu." Seikatsu said calmly, the lack of emotion behind the words weren't enough to make him feel uncomfortable. Seikatsu stepped closer and placed his mouth closer to her ear, so the other couples wouldn't overhear while resting a hand on her hip so it looked convincing from the outside world. "You were followed." Seikatsu whispered to the woman, and pulled back with a smile on his face, acting as if he said something scandalous to the woman. "Catch me if you can!" Seikatsu exclaimed playfully, and began running off in hopes the woman would follow him to a place with less people pretending to be couples.

Seikatsu rolled to the side and jumped upwards into a tree, using quick foot work to push himself up the trunk and onto an overhanging branch that was covered in leaves, concealing his location. He heard as his partner had fallen, and called for his aid doing her best to play the part. 'I should probably tell her it's pointless, but it's so bad I can't let her stop now...' Seikatsu thought to himself, while holding back laughter. Seikatsu gently crept along the branch, getting himself into position to take down the two people who'd been following him and his new found ally. A male and female emerged from the bushes, the male screaming "There's one of em!" while pointing to Alleria. Seikatsu jumped out from the branch, landing on the female 'lover's' shoulders while spinning and gripping her head. He heard a very distinct, very welcomed snapping sound as the woman gained the ability to turn her head 270 degrees around, almost like an owl! Seikatsu broke the fall caused by the woman's corpse collapsing by entering a commando roll upon hitting the ground. He quickly sprung back and slammed the male in his testicles, and then gave a few quick firm taps to the man's torso, chest, and a chop to the neck. While the bewildered man was choking, Seikatsu spun around and hooked his foot on the man's ankles and pulled back causing the male lover to fall over. He then got on the man's back and pulled out his Thorn of Betrayal, placing the white blade of the black sword against lover boy's neck saying "State your business friend, and a reason for me to let you live." with a cold voice, not actually caring that he killed someone a second ago. "I-I-I-I'm sorry man, I was told to keep an eye on you guys. Look I won't tell anyone abo-" the man's plea was cut short by the spewing of the blood coming from the gash in his neck. Seikatsu quickly pulled the two bodies into the bush, and covered them with some extra leaves to ensure they looked as natural as possible. The bodies were hidden so well, you'd have to be right next to them to even see a silhouette, so Seikatsu was happy with it.

"My apologies mi' lady. I gave use away by foolishly introducing myself, had I simply acted as if we were already lovers that could have been prevented." Seikatsu said with an emotionless voice. "As I now have a partner, I'll inform you that I don't care for your name, or how you aid in this venture but I'll tell you what I shall do to contribute." Seikatsu said, the lack of emotion in his voice was quite distinct. "I was told the do-gooder has a son and daughter that are roughly around 16 and 17 respectively. I shall corrupt the daughter, and spread incriminating photographs of her, as well as trick the boy into doing a few ill deeds. I thank you for your assistance ahead of time." Seikatsu said coldly before giving a quick courteous bow and running off again, leaving Alleria to plan her own bit of amusement from this little chore.

From the point where Seikatsu split with his partner in crime, Alleria, he went to do a bit of scouting around town. First thing was that he needed to find current, up to date photos of Mr. Goodwill's children, and he had to figure a way to exploit the two of them doing something that truly screams that Mr. Goodwill is a horrible parent. Seikatsu walked into a store and began perusing through magazines and newspaper articles, looking through the different sections for one that's politically based and much to his surprise there wasn't a single one. Seikatsu went to a different location over and over, repeating his action, and by definition being insane by expecting to actually find something. It wasn't until mid day when Seikatsu overheard some women snickering while pointing to a young girl who was reading a book quietly in the shade of a tree. Seikatsu overheard the words 'Goodwill' and 'Daughter' using in their sentence and walked over to them. "Pardon me, I truly did not intend to eavesdrop on such pretty young women such as yourselves, but might I've noticed you both mentioned that other young lady over there is Mr. Goodwill's daughter. Or has my ears been tricked by your beauty?" Seikatsu said with an earnest sounding voice, causing the two old women to blush. One of the women straightened herself and realigned her clothes before addressing Seikatsu. "Well yes dearie, that girl is in face Adriana Goodwill in the flesh. It's been many a year since I'd seen the girl leave her home." the old lady said in a high pitched annoying voice. "I see..." Seikatsu said in his soft voice before walking off, hearing the decreasing volume of old women snickering in his background.

Now that he'd committed to memory the name and exact image of Mr. Goodwill's baby girl, Seikatsu decided to find out who the son was. After that, he could find a sort of way to get in close with the two of them, and maybe influence them slightly. Seikatsu had a quick shiver run down his spine at the realization that what he was doing, was exactly what a demon did, the concept alone of him being demon like was enough to make him want to stop. It was considerably easier to find the son of goodwill, looked like the kid decided to choose the rebel life and hang out with some miscellaneous gangsters and learn the trade of being cool. Seikatsu found that out when the kid was spotted going in an alleyway and a group of body guards turned him away saying they don't need no Goodwills snooping around their turf. He followed the kid and realized from his walk and tone of voice as the kid muttered to himself, he wanted to hang with the bad boys.

Seikatsu was watching as the girl who was sitting under a tree from a small distance. He was atop a very bushy tree, peeking through a minuscule gap between a pair of the leaves, so his view of her was limited to just her. The girl had looked at her wrist and began frantically putting away the other books she had strewn about the floor, and got moving with haste. Seikatsu waited a minute or two before jumping from the tree's top, landing on a forwards commando roll to break his fall. Seikatsu saw the girl was a ways ahead of her, and looked around to see if anyone was watching. Activating his Wings of The Reaper ability, Seikatsu took to the skies and flew so high no one would be able to tell that what was above them was a human. Seikatsu saw nothing but super tiny black dots riddling the floor, but he could guess from where he saw Goodman's little girl, and the direction she was heading, which of them was her. Seikatsu stayed at his height, squinting to focus on the girl, and then remembered that he was a shaman of the tribe of souls, mother nature would spy on her for him.

Seikatsu calmed himself, linking his mind and body to the world around him. His eyes closed, unable to see through the eyes of a mortal, he began feeling with the force of an immortal, the one known as the mother, the world itself became his nose, his ears, his flesh, and his tongue. Seikatsu began feeling the wind blowing through the girl's skirt, hearing as it fluttered around at the tips and swayed with her hips as she took each step. He smelled the sweet perfume she was wearing, the scent of chocolate filled his nose as he focused on that scent alone. He tasted the crumbs of bread she had spilled in her purse, a small handbag hanging from her back. Seikatsu learned a great deal from this single moment. The girl enjoyed chocolate, and her favourite form of food was carbohydrates. Seikatsu slowly flew above her, keeping an eye out for anything that would get him in with the girl. He needed to find something that would catch the frail looking girl's attention, and put him in a position of affection with the girl. Seikatsu sensed nothing in the girl's immediate vicinity that could be used to his advantage, but he continued trying to pick something up. Worst case scenario, he'll set it up himself.

At last Seikatsu's opportunity had come. He had picked up the smell of a dangerous combination. Alcohol, male sweat, and the smell of clothes that obviously needed to be washed. This meant one thing, and one thing alone; alleyway thugs who were drunk. Seikatsu flew in circles over the girl, waiting for his moment, knowing that the guys in the alley wouldn't hesitate to try and have their way with the girl. The booze would ensure that all bad idea that shouldn't be done, were seen as very good ideas that are well worth any risk. Like clock work three men approached the girl, who tried to back away but was blocked off. One man had his arm stretched to the side of her, keeping her pinned against the wall of the alley in a terrified state. Seikatsu dropped behind the men and rammed his knee into the back of one, causing him to slip a disk and fall to his knees in pain. The other man pulled a blade on Seikatsu, but was no match for the quick chop to the throat that was delivered by the soul wizard. The third man had his knife ready, but after seeing Seikatsu's eyes and felt the reaper was coming for him before his time, the man dropped the knife and ran away. Seikatsu pulled his hood, revealing eyes that he was forcing emotion to come through. "Ummm. A-are you alright miss?" Seikatsu said, his voice soft and caring. The girl came off the wall and gave Seikatsu a thank you hug, but stopped when she was about to pull away due to being caught in Seikatsu's soft, purple, glistening eyes. "I... I'm... uh... I'm sorry, w-what did you ask again?" the girl said with her face turning red. Seikatsu noticed her hands were still on his shoulders, and he took a step back forcing himself to blush. "I- I'm sorry miss, I didn't mean to keep hugging y-" "-no, no. It- It was my fault I... I... oh my... It's warm out here." the girl said interrupting Seikatsu while playing with her bangs by twirling a few strands around her finger, and avoiding eye contact. "I promise you, I'm not trying to flirt, but since it's hot should we find somewhere cool to hang out at? Perhaps somewhere with books, or even some sweets?" Seikatsu asked sheepishly, feeling disgust in having to act like a damned human. "I- I'd like that... I'm Charlotte. Charlotte Goodwill" the girl said as she hooked her arm into his, blushing all the while. "I'll follow your lead then. I'm actually new to the town, my name's Loyin." Seikatsu said, giving her a false name that he pulled out of his ass. During the short walk to the library that the girl wanted to go to, she had invited Seikatsu to come to some celebration with her and her family. She told him his attire was sub-par, but her dad would never let that get in the way of repaying someone who'd saved the life of her or her brother. Seikatsu pretended to not care for the information, and began a conversation about her and her family upon her mentioning she had a sibling. From that point, it was all smooth sailing as the girl turned out to be ridiculously sweet and caring, and loved her family. So talking about them was a pleasure for her, something Seikatsu had to bear with for the time being...

Seikatsu continued his conversation with Charlotte, she seemed to enjoy talking about her family as much as she liked talking about books. Her favourite books were philosophy, mainly ones about the human condition and how humans are by far the most savage animals. She aspired to be a philosopher herself, but lacked the attention span to come up with philosophies herself. After an hour of Seikatsu pretending to actually care for what she was saying, she asked "If you don't mind... how did you know I was in danger back there? I never saw you in the alley, and you weren't on the street..." with a sweet, yet inquisitive voice. Seikatsu smiled, his normally dull eyes now brimming with emotion. "I may not look it, but I'm a pretty badass wizard in my own respects. I was flying overhead using my magic wings and saw you were in trouble. It didn't take more than a couple seconds for me to fall and help." he said with a hint of bravado in his voice. Even this was a lie however, as Seikatsu knew he wasn't even in the top five hundred for being a decent wizard. "Oh! Really? What guild are you from?!" she asked, feeling excited to have been in the presence of a strong wizard. 'Shit. Didn't think this far ahead...' Seikatsu thought, his gaze shifting to the side. He saw a woman cleaning her plate of whatever was on it, sitting next to a fish tank and went with the idea. "Sclate Pale." he said with a joyous voice, having taken the words Plate and Scale and swapped a few letters. "We're a small time guild, but all of us are pretty good at magic. Nowhere near the saints, but we'd at least last a half a second against em!" he added, joking around. Charlotte laughed at his joke, her face turning red as she asked for her wizard-hero to take her up. Seikatsu set down his book, one he'd arbitrarily picked up to make it look like he was an avid reader and he went outside. His cloak erupted open as a pair of large, feathery black wings erupted from inside it. Kneeling down a little, he told Charlotte to get on while smiling. She nervously got on his back, wrapping her arms around Seikatsu's neck and latching on with her legs. It took a couple flaps to get off the floor due to the added weight, but after that they were getting some distance from the ground. A few more moments later, Seikatsu had picked up some speed and began soaring to the clouds. Charlotte was screaming at the top of her lungs, as it was her first time flying and she wasn't exactly being strapped up with the most reliable safety equipment.

Seikatsu took Charlotte up to the clouds, stopping his ascent when the girl was just far enough away to touch the fluffy white bundles. She reached out at them with wonder and amazement in her eyes as Charlotte had never once thought she'd touch the sky. Seikatsu rolled over, causing the girl to panic and quickly switch from reaching to the clouds, to holding onto him while releasing a quick squeak. Seikatsu gave a slight laugh as he'd successfully surprised her, and he began descending. Charlotte pointed to a rather luxurious house and told Seikatsu that's where she lived, and asked him to land there. He did as told, gently coming to a stop along the long, cobblestone walkway leading from her mailbox to the front door. "So... um... my dad's at his business party, and... I... um... W-would you like to come inside?" Charlotte said with a red face while standing pigeon toed, and holding her hands. Seikatsu stood in place, thinking about the consequences of his actions to come, but figured that he was gonna burn for 90% of his life's work as is, adding another foul deed was fine. The inside of the mansion was... amazing to say the least. There were chandeliers made of gold, and fine busts lining the entry way. Fantastic paintings adorned the main hall, and a large set of stairs that split off into two directions lay before him. Charlotte quickly grabbed Seikatsu's hand and began pulling him up the stairs. The seemingly innocent girl had a slightly... devilish look on her face as she said "Quickly, before any of the servant see you!" with a soft, worried voice. Her tone implied this was the first time she'd brought home a man who wasn't one of her little friends from school, and the man was going to be her dirty little secret. She pulled him down the halls, taking the soul wizard to what he'd assumed was the other wing of the estate, and shoved him through a door. 'Such an innocent child, but she'd got a bit of spice to her...' Seikatsu thought to himself as he 'tripped' over a rug and landed on his ass. She quickly closed the door, turning around with a surprised expression and made her way to Seikatsu. She sat over top him with his legs between her own, and gave him a gentle hug while apologizing for being so pushy. A voice was heard through the door, calling for the girl and asking who she was talking to. She got off Seikatsu and gently slipped through the door to get rid of the suspicious servant. Meanwhile, Seikatsu placed a series of camera lacrima around the room, making sure he could get 3 different angles for his little... deed.

Charlotte re-entered the room and leaned against the door. She exhaled a sigh of relief while pressing her hand to her heart to stops its pounding. "I thought she'd never leave." the innocent seeming girl said after a few moments. Seikatsu forced himself to act as though he had good intentions, asking "Are you sure we should be doing this?" with a concerned voice as he stood in the middle of the room. Charlotte quickly walked to Seikatsu, grabbing his hands and clasping them inside her own. Her eyes were glistening behind her glasses as she stared into his own. "No. But that's what makes it so exciting!" she said with a half excited, half scared voice. She then shoved Seikatsu, forcing him to the bed where she sat with her legs straddled over his pelvis. "Wh-wha!?" Seikatsu said out of surprise, this was probably the only thing he wasn't faking. The girl rested her hands on Seikatsu's chest for a second, enough time for him to see just how scared she was. Her hands were trembling, and he could feel her weakness flowing through her as she resolved herself to what was about to happen. "This... It's my first time, so be gentle please. I- I'm gonna need you to take the lead." Charlotte admitted as she let herself fall onto Seikatsu's chest, too afraid to even remove her coat.

The following morning, Seikatsu woke up feeling the blankets against his bare body. He looked in the direction a strange pressure was felt, and saw the young girl with an arm over his chest, and one leg still over his own. Seikatsu felt no remorse for what he did, the girl was far too vulnerable, had she been from his tribe she would have known this were a trick. The soul wizard converted his being into that of a soul, taking on his Ethereal Form and allowing himself to float upwards. The girl's arm and legs fell through his ghost-like body and landed on the sheets below. Seikatsu undid his conversion and placed his clothes back on as quietly as possible. He glanced back and saw the girl was still asleep, and then grabbed his video lacrima from their hiding spots. After that, he opened the window to Charlotte's room, expanded his wings and took off without looking back. He had his lewd photos of Goodwill's daughter, and now he'd have to find a way to knock down his son. Almost immediately as he began contemplating how, Seikatsu spotted the brat walking into a dark alley behind some old guy. A slight smile went on his face as the winged wizard landed on a roof and began watching. The boy grabbed the old man by the collar and began spewing some nonsense about him being sorry, about him needing to do it to get in with a certain group. Seikatsu immediately began recording as he watched the boy beat the life out of the old man. When the kid was done, he ran away as fast as possible, crying from his foul deed.

Seikatsu was able to kill two birds with one stone, having caught proof that Charlotte wasn't innocent and sweet like her father wants her to be, and also proving that her brother was about as nice as any other juvenile delinquent in any other town. He made his way over to the black market, the slums of Crocus where nothing but the worst kinds of people would be waiting. There, he met up with 'an old friend' of his and arranged to have copies of the lacrima placed all over town, allowing the citizens to know the kind of children Mr. and Mrs. Goodwill were raising. The man however, had a personal request for Seikatsu that entailed taking care of a certain problem for him. "I got a guy. A shady sortsa' guy who bin duckin' an' dodgin' me since the past week. Gave the 'lil shit a piece-a' gold he was s'pose ta bring to a buyer and bring me back the cash. Neva seen him since." the man explained to Seikatsu while giving him a small drawn picture of the man. "The drawin's a exact look-alike to him. Less he changed his hair in the pass' week." he added. "I'll take care of it. You get to work on spreading those lacrima." Seikatsu said as he turned away, walking to be rid of his 'associate`s' little problem. Seikatsu didn't have to go too far before he found his target. The little weasel was strolling through the rich side of Crocus wearing a rather elegant robe, likely bought with his profits, with a smug expression on his face. Seikatsu walked up, bumping into him on purpose. "You foul cretin, how dare you assau-" The man began speaking, but Seikatsu quickly grabbed his mouth and pulled him into the large tan cloak he wore. From there, Seikatsu kept holding the man's mouth and nose as he screamed for dear life. He looked around, a slight smile went on his face as he felt the body go limp and slip from his hands to the floor. The soul mage took the near dead man and threw him over his shoulder and began walking back to the slums. "Serves you right for walking about in a deserted street with a bounty on your hands." Seikatsu said in a low voice as he walked away. Upon arriving at his 'old friend' Seikatsu gave him the target, who the shady fellow confirmed was the right one. They shook hands on the agreement.

The next morning, there were two lacrima next to each other in very key locations around Crocus. One set was in the slums, another in the entrance to the town. There was several pairs set up in the busiest parts of town, where all the political figures would gather. There was even a pair in the voting booths that were set up a bit of time prior to the elections. The contents of the lacrima? One was a very well put together video of Mr. Goodwill's daughter and Seikatsu's special night, showing the town just how 'innocent' the girl was. The next, was a video of Mr. Goodwill's son beating the life out of a helpless old man in a deserted, dark alley without hesitation. Seikatsu decided he'd wait at the fountain for however many more days it would take for his partner to be finished. All the meanwhile he'd be eating a strange, fish shaped pastry called Taiyaki.

Seikatsu took the paper from Alleria, a new report on the beating of the old man as well as the footage of him and Charlotte. He handed the page back, not caring to know the details that he already knew. "My soul be damned to the burnpits in the netherworld... long before my deeds in this town." Seikatsu said in a soft voice. The shadows from his hood masking all but his mouth as he spoke, the same as it always did. Seikatsu took a bite of his Taiyaki, enjoying the small sweet treat as it was rare enough for him to do so. He stood up and followed his accomplice to a nearby bar where the two began taking more in depth of their assignments. Upon walking in, the bartender gave Seikatsu a sharp look, as if he had business with the soul mage. 'So where do you think well get a hold of our contractors?' his ally asked.
"Nowhere." Seikatsu said, shortly before the barkeep walked up. "What kin' I get fer ye too birdies?" the large man said with a strong, Irish accent. "I'll take the check. The lady can have whatever she wants." Seikatsu said while pulling his hood off. Upon doing so, a large, glowing mark was revealed on his cheek. The mark glowed a slight crimson color, and had black bits moving about inside it. The mark had a line that trailed off behind his jawline, and then going behind his neck and down to his back. He placed his hand on the counter, showing a demon shaped scar on his hand glowing in the same fashion. "Most likely, we'll never hear from our contractors again." Seikatsu said softly, making sure no one else overheard their conversation. The bartender walked over and placed a letter on Seikatsu's hand, covering the glowing mark. "Ehhh... our 'mutual friend' left ye's a parcel. Seal's not brooken so ye's know I din't take a peek." he said softly, sliding a pair of shot glasses with some amber liquid in them to the two wizards. "He also paid yer bill, so drink yerselves stupid." the man added with a jolly tone. Seikatsu slid the glass forward, his eyes dull, dark purple, and very much dead and empty looking. "I don't drink." he said with a blank voice. The letter was opened slowly, it read 'rednu eht ridebg ta sonom' thiehg' but wasn't even enough to phase Seikatsu, the letters were simply arranged strangely but the words were in the right places. Decoding it was simply a matter of knowing the amount of words with the same letters in each spot, in other words 'Under the bridge at moon's height' was the code. He crumpled the page up and stood, turning around. "Your payment will be under the bridge within a day's time." he said and walked out of the bar.