abhoth | ( HUNTERS

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( HUNTERS - WEEK 4 )

For this week, there will be no sudden loss of control for those who have signed their souls away for the greater good. As long as they're in the Curio Shop by 6:05 PM on Monday, nothing out of the ordinary will happen. All they must do is knock on the shop's door, carefully as if to not draw attention towards themselves, and the door will creak open by itself much like the previous week.

As per usual, inside this strange room they'll find Craftly seated at a round table. Shelves of antiques line the walls and the smell of peppermint tea wafts through the air. A thin tendril slips across the table from Craftly's sleeve, hooking around his cup of tea. As smug as ever, he smiles to the group.

"Come in, Hunters. It's time for us to begin".

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[he lifts a hand to wipe some blood from his chin, flicking the droplets onto the table]

We need to ask them more about what they know. Information about-- [mother, the word they're not allowed to say here] -- and why, exactly, they were trying to target Craftly.

We need to be careful about how we do it, though. If we aren't, he'd likely tell the Soldier who all three of us are. Then we'd be done for.

He may already know. They both... may already know.

[She casts an uneasy glance at the bowl, wrinkles her nose at the acrid smell of burnt flesh still permeating the air.]

We should go together, right...? We still... outnumber them. There's some safety in that.

Let's look at it logically. There's three of us and two of them. Let's say both of them try to kill us all on the same night. Yukina, at least, will survive it, even if Kaito and I do not. [ he looks at yukina. ] If you play your cards right during the trial, even if the evidence paints you as a murderer, you can probably still get everyone to execute the surviving Prophets instead.

[ it would just take a lot of convincing, but at that point it will be basically confirmed that the prophets know their identities, so there wouldn't be much point in yukina acting in secret. ]

. . . [ah. that's right. Yukina's ability]

That's true. And while there's safety in numbers, Yukina's ability will keep her safe even if her identity is revealed to the Prophets.

So. . . if we only send one person, then Yukina should go.

[he looks after at her next, as though silently asking her if she'd be okay with this plan]

Jay and I could stay somewhere nearby, in the shadows, just in case.

...I'd feel better going with both of you, but if you think it's for the best for only one of us to go, I'll do it.

I was given this ability for a reason, after all.

We won't let you do it alone if you are truly uncomfortable with it, Yukina.

[ minimizing the damage makes sense from a tactical stand point. but it wouldn't feel right sending her out there by herself, even if they're nearby, if it unsettles her. ]

[nods firmly in agreement!]

Yeah. We wouldn't. We promised to have each other's backs from the moment we entered the curio shop.

I don't want you to hafta carry the burden of the danger alone.

I don't want to put the two of you in danger, either.

[...but their reassurance that they won't make her face this alone brings a smile to her face, despite the pain in her ear.]

I'll... be brave. But I'll be even braver if you're with me.

Thank you, both of you.

[ he smiles back. it's small, but it's there. ]

Moving on, I think we should definitely go with you to meet with Light and Kaiba. We'll need some kind of safety net if things go as badly as we fear they might from this point forward.

[also smiles]

Yeah. And we know they're safe, so they're the perfect safety net.

I think we should try to get Girge voted as the culprit at the trial this weekend, too. It'd make things a lot easier.

[because Kaito wouldn't have to stare him down, gun leveled, bullet loaded, and pull the trigger. it's selfish, and he feels like a coward for suggesting things, but voting people to die through execution was tough]

[he's not sure he's ready to kill someone directly yet]

Because then, we'd only have one more Prophet to worry about.

I agree.

So... we have a plan.

[They have a plan. They'll follow it through, and - it'll be fine. She has to believe that it will be fine.]

I'll bring Light-san and Kaiba-san to see you later tonight. And we'll all go together to talk to Girge-san. Just in case we're not successful in having him executed... I'll ask Light-san to pick him. If there is the kind of delay that he was describing, it should put him into place to be taken care of more easily if we have to.

[Kaito might even be able to avoid having to face him head-on, in that case.]

If it'll tilt victory in our favor, we should try it, especially since they currently have the advantage.

[ they know that they're in here, so. ]

Yukina, Kaito. [ he glances over to where craftly is sitting. ] You too, Craftly. From this point forward, our chances of all of us making it to the end of this game alive are slim. So... out of all the people I could have made a blood pact with, I'm very content with how it turned out.

[his eyes slip shut, but his smile doesn't fade, even though it takes a sort of lopsided tilt.]

. . . I feel the same.

Let's do our best, from here on out.

...yes. No matter what happens next...

[Yukina smiles at all three of them - Kaito, Jay, and Craftly - before lacing her fingers together and resting them in her lap.]

If it had to be like this... then I'm grateful I faced this with you.

[ this is embarrassingly sappy. ]

Is there anything else we should discuss?

[they're nakama now of course it's sappy]

Do either of you know how to play CLUE? 'Cause we're getting through a round before we leave here, no ifs, ands or buts.

Craftly's joining us.

...I've never played before... but you'll teach us, right?

It'll be enjoyable beating you at it.

[ lmao ]

Ha! Yeah, right. I'm an expert at this game.

[starts disassembling the box and handing out the pieces]

There's no way three beginners are gonna beat an expert.

We'll see about that.

[Maybe beginner's luck will be in her favor! ...she goes for the blue piece, because of course she does.]

If nothing else, we'll provide you with a challenge, Kaito-san.

No, Yukina, you have to stay confident in your ability to completely crush him. It'll make him attempt to show off more, which will make it more satisfying to beat him.

[ jay it's a game ]