The Sakura Inn (Tsubasa: Shizuyo & Shirayuki)

[Κομμα]

Hidden on the outskirts of Musehatten, among the full bloom of pink cherry blossoms, stood an Oriental-looking inn with the sign "Sakura Inn" nailed to one of its entrance pillars.

Everything seems so peaceful and quiet on the exterior, but a meeting with the owner might just change your mind. You may choose to stay overnight - but only if you dare...

[tsubasa]

Autumn.

Shirayuki busied herself around the courtyard clearing the fallen leaves and flower petals that littered all over the place, but her mind wasn't on the mundane task. She was deep in thought, thinking about her queer relationship with the inn owner, Shizuyo. She couldn't remember for how long she had been serving him, since the first time they met each other...

She paused and glanced up.

Shizuyo, as usual, was sitting on the window ledge, his violet eyes glassy, far away. She couldn't help but smiling to herself at the sight of his familiar habit. She might not know what was going on in his mind, but she knew that he had been through a lot of silent suffering.

From the time she had spent with him, her encounters with clients who needed to borrow Shizuyo's power with a price, she had seen enough to conclude that being able to constantly foresee the future but unable to interfere with the law of universe...it must be agonizing for him.

She shook her head and went back to work. She should be expecting the first customer for today, soon.

[Basil]

Warm blood washed all over her hands. The blonde model stared at her recently deceased double as she licked the blood off her fingers, moaning softly as she enjoyed the coppery tang. Deftly, the doppelganger reached down and snatched the diamond necklace off the corpse’s neck.

“I’ll be taking that, darling.”

The assassin listened for awhile as she pocketed the necklace. No one. She headed for the window. She glanced outside to make sure no one was watching as she sat on the windowsill. Her took a deep breath and listened to her heart thumped rather loudly. Adrenaline coursing through her body. Still no one. After another deep breath, and she threw herself out the window.

The wind made her eyes tear slightly. She loved how it chilled her down to the bone. As expected, the jacket was way too thin. Still it was decorative enough to be distracting. Most people would look at it rather than at her face.

As she passed the third storey, the woman started fading before dispersing. A motorcycle kicked to life as the blonde rematerialized. She zipped down the road leading towards the highway. She intended to leave town for a couple of days. In fact, there was an inn she heard about recently. It would be perfect!

She pulled up outside the gates of the inn. She had driven for a day and half to make sure no one had been following her. She had modified her appearance to be safe. Her hair had changed platinum blonde from the night before to a dirty blonde. Streaks of bubblegum pink, royal purple and crimson red seem to overpower the few strands of blonde hair she didn’t dye. Her eyes were no longer periwinkle blue, but amber red. The only thing she regretted was her height. She’d prefer being 175 cm any day, but the CCTV captured her as a tall, lanky blonde, so she had to be shorter than that to throw them off.

The blonde looked around. “Hello. Anyone there?”

[tsubasa]

Shirayuki quickly put away the broom at the voice of someone calling from the gate. She straightened her obi; the geta on her feet clattered loudly on the stone pathway as she hurried towards the entrance.

"Welcome!" She bowed politely to the first customer she was receiving for the day. She looked up and studied this person - a blonde - her brows creased ever so slightly.

She could taste blood on this woman, the fresh scent still lingering on her skin. Shirayuki's smile widened and she showed the client through the gate silently.

Shizuyo might see these people who came by the inn as customers, but she prefer to see them as his victims. For anyone who chose to make a pact with him would have to pay a very heavy compensation equal to the wish made.

There must be something that this woman desired to be able to aware of the inn's existence, she reasoned. The inn was protected by a magic barrier that only allowed certain people to enter. This person probably needed Shizuyo's power to grant a particular wish. She stole another sideways glance at the customer. Maybe this lady wasn't aware of that herself...

[Basil]

Amelia turned head turned to the direction of the footfalls. Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly beneath her tinted shades. She suppressed the urge to draw the dagger she had hidden behind her belt. The instinct to defend herself was too strong. She shrugged a little to loosen her shoulders and smiled, her posture relaxing visibly.

“Welcome!”

The owner of the voice was a girl who looked no older than sixteen, but the shapeshifter wouldn’t be surprised if the teen was much older. Her other self had adopted a ghost child after all. The catch with such spirits is that they will always appear the age they died. Her amber eyes took in the lavender tresses and sapphire eyes. The eyes appearing much bluer due to the snow white skin.

“Why hello there, do I register at the reception?” Amelia asked. Her tone sober despite the cheery words.

“I’m looking to stay here for a week at least. Might be longer depending on circumstances.”
Her eyes flickered over the courtyard. “Seems like you could use the business. Unless your customers have the habit of sleeping late.”

Quiet hotels were not new to her, but the serene silence of this place was starting to irk her. That was one of the reasons why she seldom skipped town. When she did, she’d prefer to travel to a city or town in the other worlds. However, there were reasons for her to stay closer to home this time round. Reasons that should involve a dear raven haired lad if they it wasn’t for their stupid little quarrel.

[tsubasa]

Shirayuki raised at eyebrow at the woman's question, “Why hello there, do I register at the reception?" She was even more amused when the lady continued, “I’m looking to stay here for a week at least. Might be longer depending on circumstances." Her smile broadened at the woman's last comment, “Seems like you could use the business. Unless your customers have the habit of sleeping late.”

"You do not need to register at the reception," she replied in a polite tone. "And you are free to stay here as long as you like." Then she bowed slightly. "Very few people can venture through the gate..." She paused to face the blonde. "You are here because you need this place."

She turned to lead the client further into the inn, then stopped and pulled open a door. She indicated the empty place with only a neatly laid-out futon in the middle of the tatami. "This is your room. You are free to roam around the inn grounds. Enjoy your temporarily stay here...hopefully." She backed out of the room.

Shizuyo should have seen this woman coming, she thought as she walked down the hallway towards the room that he was in when she last spotted him sitting on the window ledge. She was curious how this client would play into his hands...

[Basil]

Amelia was about to rebut, but she held her tongue as she followed the girl further into the inn. Images of cannibals and black widow spiders came to mind. Tonight she’ll definitely sleep with her guns loaded and a dagger beneath her pillow. Unlike most, she never bothered to carry holy water or a bible around. Those things seldom worked on supernatural muses.

“Stay as long as you like, and why don’t you stay for dinner. You’re the main dish,” she muttered as she turned her gaze towards the ceiling and the beams supporting it. She stared at it so intently that she seemed to be forcing herself to memorize the patterns formed by the wood grain of each individual beam. Her lips moved as she mouthed the half formed thoughts that fought for her attention.

“590… 591… and we’re here,” she said as she stepped into the room.

What exactly she was counting, she wasn’t sure. Steps, but from where? It felt like they had taken more than 591 since they entered the front door. She scanned the room absentmindedly then turned back to Shirayuki, she gave the teen a grateful smile and waved jauntily as the girl left.

“Bye now! I can’t wait till dinner… whoever you are.”

The false cheeriness in her voice made her cringe. She must be tired to be so careless. What happened to her wit? She walked over to the tatami and gave it a jaundiced look. Not exactly something to crash on. Stepping quickly over to the door and slamming it shut, Amelia rushed back to the tatami. She cracked her knuckles and grinned.

“Time for some real bedding.”

The blonde knelt down and reached out to touch the side of the tatami mat. Slowly she got to her feet as a metal frame began forming round the mat. First there was an ornate bronze canopy bed, which was replaced by a simple wood and metal cot. Finally, the shapeshifter settled on a queen sized cherry wood platform bed with a headboard. She wiped the sweat from her brow.

Amelia took out her two guns from her holster hidden beneath her jacket and a dagger from her the sheath strapped to the back of her belt, taking care to conceal them among her pillows. Removing her jacket and tossing it into the corner, she changed the shirt and pants she was wearing into a pale orange jinbei decorated with a rabbit motif. She flung herself onto the bed, avoiding the pillows. After stretching, she crawled towards the head of the bed, where she grabbed the pillow closest to the edge and hugged it. She closed her eyes and began drifting off to sleep.

[tsubasa]

Shirayuki pulled open the door as quietly as she could. "...Master?" she called softly.

The raven-haired boy who was sitting on the window ledge shifted his frame slightly, but made no other movements.

"About that lady-"

"For now just treat her as a guest. Make her feels comfortable here." He turned slowly, his purple eyes pierced into her blue ones.

"But-"

"She will know it eventually. By then she will make her choice." With that, he turned his attention back to the scenery outside once more.

Shirayuki backed out of his room. Once Shizuyo was done talking, he had done talking.

[Basil]

An amber eye peeked from under eyelid. Amelia groaned and turned onto her stomach. She tried to put her head underneath her pillow, but to no avail, sleep eluded her. She kicked stubbornly before conceding defeat. She sat up and yawned. How long had she been asleep? It was morning or mid morning when she arrived, but now moon light was flooding in through the window.

“I’m alive. No stab wounds. Not strangled.”

She checked her watch. “And it’s tomorrow.”

Her stomach growled, and she rolled her eyes. That pest always begs to be fed. It didn’t seem to understand that food makes her fat. She debated going hungry, when she realized that she hadn’t had the chance to check out the inn. Food at two in the morning sounded like the ideal excuse.

Picking up one of her guns, Amelia went to the mirror and studied her disheveled appearance. She tutted. She would scare even the most hardened ghost at this rate. She ran her fingers through her hair. The strands lengthened and turned to a pale purple. Soon she looked like someone who could have passed for the girl’s older sister. The girl who had shown her to the room. Smiling, she changed her jinbei into a light summer kimono.

Satisfied, she stepped out of her room. A bit of yellow caught her eye. She whirled around and studied the paper charm. Hers was the only door marked with a charm.

“What’s this?” She asked as she ran her finger along the smooth surface, her hunger forgotten for now.

[tsubasa]

"A charm to mark your room," Shirayuki answered as she stepped forward, giving the visitor a slight bow. "The doors along this corridor rotate and shift their positions irregularly. This is so that you can always go back to your room, no matter where it's final placing will be."

She was on her way back to her room after her usual night ritual, when she noticed the lady stepped out of her resting place, this time taking on a similar shade of lavender hair as Shirayuki herself, and changed her original clothing to a yukata. Shirayuki wasn't surprised at seeing the woman's new look or the close resemblance as herself, but merely waved her hand, and the paper charm took on a pale purple color.

"Thought I should tell you this: don't let your curiosity get the better of you." Shirayuki glanced towards the semi-dark hallway that stretched to nowhere. "Stick to the stairs. Unless you are planning to die." Her lips curled into a smile. "If you are feeling hungry, there are leftovers on the table in the hall." She gave the woman another bow before disappearing into the shadows.

[Basil]

“What’s the hurry dearie,” Amelia called out as Shirayuki disappeared.

The shapeshifter shook her head and smiled wryly. “Maybe I’d fancy a blue charm tomorrow, or a green one.”

She gave an elegant shrug before heading to what she assumed to be the dining hall. It was the only place she remembered with a table in the room. Leftovers didn’t sound too appetizing. She grimaced as the plate of dried and slightly moldy rice balls her boyfriend found in the fridge came to mind. They were on their way to becoming fossilized.

The female assassin blinked as she sat herself at the low table in the hall. There were so many tiny dishes. About twelve in total. There was a salad, a soup, at least two types of pickles, some sort of stew, a grilled fish, a dish called sashimi. The others she wasn’t too sure what they were.

“Not your typical leftovers,” she commented in an amused voice as she picked up her chopsticks.

“It would be nice to have some sake and someone join me.”

Seeing the amount of food on the table made her wonder if the girl had waited for her. It felt a little odd eating alone in the inn. She almost wished she brought some candy bars with her.

(^^; *wonders if that was what Shirayuki would serve*)

[tsubasa]

(S'alright. It's my fault that I did not make myself clear... ^^" Sorry. Anyway I'll be off for quite some time. So I apologize - again - that this thread is going on hiatus.)

Shizuyo glided soundlessly across the inn grounds towards the main hall. He gave the lady, who was eating at the only table in the middle of the huge place a brief galnce, and sat across her, pulling a Japanese tea set towards himself. He expertly made himself a steaming hot cup of ocha, turning the cup before taking a sip.

Finally he set down the vup and gave the woman a long searching look, but he still didn't speak. He could read her complex background behind her false amber eyes, but it wasn't his 'job' to tell her anything.

It's her own choice if she wanted to ask something from him. He took another sip of tea and looked out of the door, at the moonlit night beyond.