Reap what you Sow (Kyouka Inai)

Reap what you Sow (Kyouka Inai)
Date of Cutscene:	18 March 2024
Location:	Obsidian Tower
Synopsis:	Kyouka Inai makes an unwise decision.
Thanks to:	Beryl
Cast of Characters:	Kyouka Inai, Beryl
Tinyplot:	The Game

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Kyouka storms out of the ramen shop where she had just been having food and beers with Fuyuko. She's pissed, pissed in a way she hasn't been in a while. Her face is set in a scowl, her grey eyes steel-hard and just as stubborn behind her sunglasses.

The sun has set by this point and the street is lit by lamps and signs as she tries to walk off her anger. How dare this 'Director Beryl' treat Fuyuko the way she had? Nevermind that she, personally, had beat the snot out of the other young woman innumerable times. That was /different/. If you asked her how it was different, she'd have a hard time putting it into words, but it was.

It's not just that incident though- that may be the spark that has set off her anger, but the slow accumulation of frustration over years has led her to this fury. The feeling of helplessness and impotency that comes with being one of the strongest now reduced to one of the least capable still in the game.

She's trying to walk off her feelings, to stuff the frustration down where it won't do any harm for another while, but she's not paying attention to where she's going. Maybe that's why she ends up on the sidewalk outside of Obsidian Tower- her feet subconsciously carrying her to the cause of so many of her woes.

She glares up at the massive building while people walk by on either side of her. If she could crush it to dust with the force of her anger, it would surely be nothing but rubble.

The fact that she can stand here and see it and yet do nothing only compounds her frustration, her knuckles white as she grips the jacket still slung over her shoulder rather than properly worn.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

The sun has set, streets brightened by lamplight and neon signage. The stars are hard to see in Tokyo, the heavy moon a distant memory compared to the vivid life that clamors on the Earth. Obsidian Tower is no different - though the many shops and stores that make up the public floors are winding down, preparing to close in just a few short hours, the upper floors are alive with business. There are those who occupy this tower at all hours of the day and night, but they are far outnumbered by those for whom the tower is only a workplace. It would surely surprise many to find that the Dark Kingdom's queen is counted among those.

And yet on this chill evening, Queen Beryl - Director Beryl, to the scurrying masses trying so desperately to please her - does indeed walk through the doors of Obsidian Tower's grand entrance, all glorious seven feet of her, nearly five feet of curly, vibrant red hair fall down her shoulders, framing her face. A crown-like tiara of black metal is placed upon her head.

"This way, Director Beryl," a skittish employee says, stepping up and offering the statuesque woman a cool drink. "Your car is waiting right this way."

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

If Kyouka hadn't been standing where she was, there's no way she would have heard it. Such is the effects of the Veil that the fact that the extra-tall, red-haired woman looks so out of place amongst the Japanese citizenry doesn't even register with her until she hears the words. 'Director Beryl'.

Instantly her eyes snap to the figure, and once attention is drawn it's impossible not to notice how out of place the woman is. So tall, clearly not Japanese, and as if that wasn't enough- she reeks. Not literally, of course, but to Kyouka's magic sense the scent of Dark Energy rolls off of her in waves, along with something else she can't identify but is equally foul. If she hadn't been so angry she probably would have been alerted by that alone.

Any other day, Kyouka would have done the smart thing and walked away. Most people she knows would have told her to walk away. The fact that the reason she's angry is that this woman manhandled Fuyuko tells her she should walk away. She doesn't walk away.

Instead, teeth gritted and anger now with a focus, she marches right up to the woman (who is nearly two full feet taller than she is), plants herself in front of her on the sidewalk, and cranes her neck up with a snarl.

"Hey, I want to lodge a complaint on behalf of a friend of mine," She spits. She hasn't even henshined, she's just so damn angry she wants to give this freak a piece of her mind. "Is it Obsidian policy to physically abuse staff members, or are you just an incredible bitch, you colossal foul-smelling failure of an imitation human?"

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

One of the shaking wastes of humanity that are her assistants approaches for one final signature, having followed Beryl down the stairs as she rode the elevator. The enormously tall woman, clad in an expensive business suit in a rich purple, scowls as she signs and starts forward, only for some upstart to dart in front of her, spewing vitriol that Beryl doesn't bother to listen to. Why bother with the buzzing of a gnat?

Instead, her hand strikes out, faster than the average eye can track. There's an audible crack, a thunderous clap of skin against skin as she slaps the bothersome creature with all the idle attention one might pay to a fly.

The trembling assistants stare at the space where the girl was, as civilians scream in shock as metal crunches under the force of impact as the body collides with a city bus.

"Where exactly is my vehicle?" Beryl demands coolly.

The stammering assistants hurriedly usher her away.