So you think you can mess with idols? ★ Job/Solo

Job Form:

“…honestly, Aoi, why did you have to go and choose a guild located in a place like this?” Glaring up at the forbidding fortress upon the tall and intimidating and honestly really unappealing right now mountain, Aoba shot the irritated remark off his shoulder at the girl standing beside him.

“Well, I mean, if you look at it from this particular angle…” Aoi murmured thoughtfully, winking playfully at her brother before tilting her head to the side, “It really looks kinda pretty. Maybe I could borrow a camera from set and we could take some aesthetic pictures for social media?” Of course, they couldn’t. Never could they reveal this side of their lives to the legions of adoring fans throughout the nation. The very fact that this part of their lives even existed – it was a threat to their careers. Draped in warm and nondescript cloaks, the twins stood at the base of Mt. Hakobe, staring up at the gloomy hall of their guild. There never seemed to be many people there – one or two at the most, and it had become alarmingly clear to them that Basilisk Fang was nowhere near as strong as the rumors had detailed it to be. The serpent had laid dormant for far too long.

However, despite its downfalls, the basic function the fortress had as a guild still existed, funneling jobs and tasks for hire in and out of the system and providing a means of income for anyone who needed them. While Aoi and Aoba already possessed a stable, highly successful job at the young ages of sixteen, spreading their potential in the magical world would only improve their chances of survival in their unique dietary situation. “Well, what’s the use in waiting around? We’ve got a mountain to climb, brother of mine!”

It took half an hour to get to the top. Although both siblings were extremely fit, the climb had been arduous and very much not enjoyable – not a task suitable to your average citizen. Heavy breaths emanated from their mouths, opaque clouds hovering before their faces. Had they been exhaling the poison of a cigarette, the effect would not have been too different. “I had hoped that there was some other means of getting up here for guild members, but I suppose this really is the only route, huh?” Aoba reached forward to pull open the door, gesturing for his sister to enter before him. The job board was sparse – assassinations, raids, smugglings…typical dark guild fare. Sifting through the lower classed ones, the ones they could actually manage, he would eventually select a decent-looking one.

“We’re to deposit a defanged cobra in a Rune Knight’s bed. He’s been investigating the guild too closely for our liking, it seems.” He looked up across the board at Aoi, who wore a displeased expression on her face. “No killing? No replenishment?” Her expression gave Aoba pause, realizing that what she had said was true. No deaths would mean that the job would not supply them with the magical supply they needed to exercise Akano’s powers. It would not give them anything to gain besides money, something of which they had plenty already.

“You know what, let’s just get it over with.” And that was that.

The two set down in Peace Village after a short train ride, leaving the station and slipping the hoods of their cloaks over their heads. Although their faces had already been rearranged, it was far safer to go the extra mile. They spoke only through the links of Akano’s threads, passing thoughts through their heads as they arranged the plan of action. It was simple enough with their tools at hand, and they would stop at the entrance of the village. Aoi reached up to her earring, the one with the silent golden bell attached with a black thread, and gently tugged it loose. A wisp of black smoke slipped free, and the wispy form of a young girl appeared before them. “Ehehe, keepers, you’ve finally summoned me!” Her voice echoed eerily within their minds, their range of control over her entity being only a tiny part. This spirit was their most unpredictable one – dangerous, but incredibly useful.

“What would you have me do today?”

The job was explained, and Suzuno’s face visibly fell at the prospect of being unable to kill. “Well, if that’s what the keepers wish…” She took the paper, bells hovering silently from her sash, and moved into the village. Silent and invisible to all unless she harmed them, the ghostly spirit was the best choice. Only a few minutes later, she had returned in triumph, flashing hands empty of the sleeping cobra. The mission had been completed. Summoning Suzuno back into the bell, Aoi would clip it to her ear and leave, Aoba following along. Now, to find someone to actually kill…

WC:810