Ark 21 Episode 16: A Deal with the Devil

Participates

 * Domini Fudo


 * Michelotto Romanov

Intruder in the Greenhouse
Her footsteps seemed to hasten from the house as Domini made her way in and easterly direction down an old winding stone path that connected both the Shrine of Tsukuyomi and the rest of the grounds lead towards another part of the massive garden surrounded temple sized compound with both of her arms being wrapped about her waist due to the frigid temperatures of the northern night time air. Her body and red hair still new from the waters of the shower she’d just share with Leon. Though the hour was late, and she had just made love to a man who quite possibly could be the one in which she dreamed waiting for her back in her home to embrace her and lull her to sleep with the sounds of his heart beat as she lay against his chest after such an eventful eve, the 18 year beauty knew that this trip to the clan’s greenhouse it was pivotal one for her to make as her cabinet was fresh out of Smartweed Leaves and Queen Anne’s Lace (Wild Carrot Seed) two items that she most desperately needed if she was to going to avoid any other surprises from tonight as well. After walking for quiet a bit of time Domini would come upon a massive sized building made of glass its panes were kissed by the glow of moonlight and the lights from what she could tell dimmed low as if some one were inside of it working. But for the life of her the fiery redhead couldn’t fathom who it could be other than the high elder or herself that would be about at this hour seeking out the many medicinal herbs that lay inside as those that the clan used to hunt onis with were no longer kept out in the open, all in thanks to an intruder who ran stacked the grounds 12 years earlier in order to claim the life of a man who Sayuri-sama seemed to revere rather than hate because of an ancient tie to his linage and her own. Even the angry blooms that covered the grounds currently were just remnants of the original flowers breed and if not re-cultivated soon it would die out, leaving them exposed and vulnerable to their enemies.

Another reason as to why Domini had taken up such an interest to come to their Kasaihana base, to finish her studies in botany in the hopes of either saving the last positive strain of their “Holy Grail” as it were so that the newly evolved blossom could be utilized for a better purpose, killing onis as she allows her lavender eyes to take up her surrounding with the greatest of ease arousing the gift of soul seeing into them in order to see if indeed anything other worldly was at fact at work here while slowly approaching the door with ease and placing that of her right hand upon the knob, turning it like so with ease knowing full well that the door was always kept unlocked before entering within her body and senses completely on the defensive. At first nothing seemed out of the ordinary to the young priestess who by now had completely opened up auspex of her spiritual powers in order to use it like a sonar tracking device allowing it to brush the room over in at least a 25 ft radius of the area in which she stood, the pulses of the energy she was emitting acting as pure wave lengths between her and the place. It was Domini’s hope that by doing this, that IF anyone or thing was about in here that one of the waves would in fact hit it and immediately bounce back to her and alert her so that she could take the appropriate actions. But to her dismay she found nothing causing her to sigh in irritation at herself. ~Common Domi, get a grip you don’t have all night to be chasing the boogeyman you know. Let’s just get what we came here for and go. ~ She tells herself going to close the door behind her first before heading down one of the rows that contained some of the basic types of herbal cures for more serious illness like the flu, chicken pox, etc, etc. unaware that the whole time she’d done so that she was being watched carefully from some where in the shadows by another as she came up the Queen Anne’s Lace first with ease. Quickly taking a few pods from the plant itself Domini proceeded to open one with care in her hands making sure that she shelled it properly first in order to reveal the seeds not the meat of the plant that was inside, before popping two into her mouth, chewing them down, and swallowing whilst the stranger looked on intrigued knowing full well what the true use of that plant was and it purpose. This of course made the onlookers blood boil with rage for he hated having things that he sought as his being touched by others less by those whom he detested. And to blonde hair, ocean eyed playboy that was Michelotto Romanov, Agent Hermes to those who were among his ranks in Sector Olympus Leon Ryoji much like the rest of the vermin and their offspring that dwelled in Kasaihana were the lowest of the low. “How dare he soil your beauty with his…his imperfections... the thought of your seed being touched by his…sickens me to the core…..”-he growls curling all of his fingers up into the palms of his hands before rising on of them and punching them into the nearest wall, shattering it into a thousand pieces behind the 18 year old girl causing Domini to immediately turn on the axis of her heels with the other herbs she’d had gather in hands and run back towards the main half of the green house her lavender eyes darting around all directions in order to see just what in fucks name caused one of the windows to shatter without so much as a warning a slight breeze darting past her as she ran, the cause of the incident managing to escape her own sight by using the gift of supernatural speeds in order to evade her, hence the sight breeze that she felt when she entered the room. “No matter, it’s a mistake that will be rectified soon enough….no one touches my things and lives.” Michelotto mutters underneath his breath a sinister chuckle moving over his lip as he allowed his sea colored eyes to take in one last look at the girl’s beauty unable to help himself as his tongue made its way over his lips in sicken yet seductive manner and his eyes undressing her obviously voluptuous form from the robe and what ever else she was wearing underneath imagining her laying before him in all of her nude glory (http://s3.argim.net/files/h/240x400/hyakka_ryouran_samurai_girls.jpg how Michelotto is really envisioning Domini in this mind), before slinking off further into the shadows in the directions of the door in order to prepare for the confrontation as planned by his comrades leaving Domini to wonder if indeed she should have left her blade Kagura back at the house as she walks over towards the damage window to ascertain if she could temporarily fix it or not.

Approaching it with caution she carefully as the floor was littered with several broken pieces and she was wearing just her gettas with no socks on her feet Dom carefully moves the larger pieces of glass away with the bottom of her shoe making light of where she steps before finally reaching the broken pane her eyes soon spying something that most would miss upon an initial investigation if they weren’t careful. It was blood…and not the kind that a human would have either. This in turn prompted the woman to turn around once more the aura of her power starting to illuminate itself starting at her feet before expelling itself out even further towards the other parts of her body into a radiating light blue aura that bathed her completely in glow this course was in fact being the source of all her abilities, her spiritual energy as she canvassed each isle and row within the area using the flow of her powers to cause several items such as empty pots, bottles, and such to simultaneously combust just by merely taking a brief glance at them with her eyes. Such was Domini’s hope that she would scare the intruder so much that they would either reveal themselves to her or run away in fear never to darken their doorway again. There was no such luck there as Michelotto took in delight in taunting Domini with his shadowy silhouette, as he himself stood aimlessly behind her observing her powers and forcing her to display them for him comrades so they could see if she did indeed live up to all the hype that surrounded her and infamous Takageuchi Clan. Leaving his apparition to run around wildly from left to right with little to no effort on his part avoiding what he considered subtle attacks from a woman that was making herself even more appealing to him with each passing moment as she was starting to catch on the flight path in which he was using and starting to corner him by making objects ahead of him explode. Domini could help but smirk at who ever this fucker was, true they were fast as hell but it was becoming painfully obvious to her that they weren’t too bright either or else they would have seen just what the fuck she was doing way ahead of schedule, as she was slowly but surely starting to back them into a corner where she knew a batch of angry blooms that she was personally working with were. If indeed Speedy Gonzales was a onihoruda or of its origins they’d feel their power suddenly beginning to dwindle or worst as she had not plans of letting up on the bastard at all, causing another set of pots to explode all over the place once again knowing full well her ass was gonna be in some hot ass water over the mess in the morning but with being told of something other worldly being in the greenhouse she was sure Tomasaburo-sensei would take some ligancy upon her for trying to protect everyone while their lazy asses slept and she missed being tenderly rocked to sleep by Leon.

Down to Business
A thought that caused temporary dip in her concentration causing her blow up one of the blooms in question revealing to her prey her plans giving Michelotto a chance to dart off into another direction rather than the one Domini had extended, leaving her to search around the room with her senses in order to track down her target. “Dammnit that was close!” he declares under his breath realizing that his fiery haired beauty was more dangerous than she originally let on and despite the fact the creature in which she pursued was just his shadow it still was in fact apart of himself, meaning one douse of the Oko~tsu burūmu and it was lights out for good. “One hit with that and I’ll be forced to deal with Hades for until the fights begin.” Mich couldn’t help but cringe at the thought of it especially after seeing just what the fuck Yani had become after training with the son of bitch for just a few months his attention diverting back to Domini as she began to say, “Alright you ghost hopping, road runner son of bitch, come on out before I make you.” Her right arm pulled back at a 60 degree angle holding a vile of a more concentrated, power form of the angry blooms’ poison which was more than likely once struck against the ground would act like a bomb dispersing itself into the air killing any chances of him…oh who the fuck was he kidding it would kill him period. But he was sure that the higher ups would be demanding to the see more of the young girls abilities in order to ascertain if she would be able to do the task at hand before he encountered her with their offer Domini bellowing again, “Going once! Going twice….” Allowing her arm to move forward as if she were about to throw it in the direction of his shadow while Mich contemplated the pros and cons of this situation. ~Decisions, decisions… a month with Hades for disobeying orders or instant death…hmmm…..you know what screw you Zeus this deal goes down…NOW!~ he thinks to himself placing one foot in front of the other allowing his human form to materialized from the darkness of the room in order to reveal himself fully the spit fire redhead that stood in front of him before saying, “Right behind you beautiful…” Upon hearing a masculine voice Domini tosses the vile into the air with ease turning at what appears to be superhuman speeds to Michelotto catching it with her left hand then hurtling it at him with a record breaking pitch causing him to immediately dodge as if he were in a scene from the movie, The Matrix while the bottle itself is forced the fly through the air in the direction of yet another glass window pane breaking it before shattering itself some where on the ground outside. “THREE!” she exclaims coming face to face with the figure of a man that looked about 20-21 years in age with blonde hair, eyes that almost chilled her to the bone, dressed better than most guys she’d encountered which slightly made her think he was funny around the edges that is until she saw his posture change upon his avoidance of being hit by the bottle she threw at him. It was purely masculine by all accounts.

“Not the way I’d envisioned our first meeting Domini but I guess it can’t be helped,” He’d say looking back over his shoulder casually to see if the bottle had indeed cleared the room completely before moving to stand at his full height of 6’1 lifting that of his right hand to his head running his nimble fingers through his golden tresses in attempt to throw a bit of his charm Domini’s way in order to have a bit of pleasure before discussing the business part of tonight’s transaction but alas all she did was scoff at the vagrant pretty boy, her lavender eyes rolling a bit at his self absorbency at thinking he was the gods gift to women before demanding, “Who the fuck are you? How do you know my name? And why are you sneaking around here in my family’s greenhouse?” her thoughts shifting back again to Leon, knowing that this ordeal was taking much longer than it should have and quiet possibly would make him think the worst of her which was on the contrary to say the least. She wanted to get back to him more than anything especially now that this idiot in front of her was trying to put the moves on her.

Mich was surprised to see that this gesture had no effect on her at all as with most others it drove them wild if he were dare to say it, he could see that his usual flamboyant playboy antics were starting ticking her off even more...cause in truth they were as Domini’s mind was some where else or rather on someone else at the moment. This of course pissed the blonde haired male off royally because he knew just exactly who it made her this way. ~I see…very well business it is it…~ He tells himself forcing his body to refrain from taking any actions at least for the time being against the one who had ‘stolen’ her from him in order to conducted what Zeus had intended him to do here first. “My name fair one is Michelotto Romanov, my comrades and I have been watching you and your clansmen for some time now, we are very impressed with your skills…and we wish to employ your services in order to rid ourselves of a problem that has been plaguing us for quiet some time now. You see I am apart of an organization that has ties all the way up to the highest office in the land that seeks to have not only a Kasaihana that is free for all but the world over as well….” He begins only to have Domini interrupt him. “And what does this have to do with myself and the Takageuchi Clan?” She replies back the obvious “get to the point I ain’t got all night” hinted in her tone as she spoke to the man in front of her as she folding her arms up and over her ample bosom before cocking her hip to the left some what. Mich gave a slight smirk of annoyance at her word but none the less he cleared his throat as to get to the point at hand, “Unfortunately our plan has a hit a major snag….of the supernatural kind something we have been told by our colleagues is your family’s specialty.” “Oh? And what kind of “snag” are we talking about here Mr. Romanov?” Domini’s curiosity had been peaked just slightly as she wanted to see just what in the name of hell would have a grown ass man like him sneaking around a greenhouse in the wee hours of the night only to strike up a matter of business that could have been taken up at either in the morning with Tomasaburo-sensei, the Onsen, or the Jungle Club two other establishments in which they owned. “No Mister please, just Michelotto please and that of an onihoruda kind in the form seven teenagers and of a hybrid of that we are certain. There might be more but for now those 8 we are able to confirm for you. They have destroyed various establishments we’ve created and we believe are planning to ruin an event in which our organization is planning to hold in May even quite possibly even planning to kill members of the board along side the president who will also be attendance. Oh please you have to help us.” He goes on to state Domini listening in completely to what she defined as a sob story before finally hearing the parts that really peeked her interest especially the half about them trying to assassinate the president of these United States.

Now that was a feat within itself with all the security that surrounded the man. Meaning that these kids were either strong as hell or from some very powerful lineages either way it was something she knew that those within the clan wouldn’t tolerate especially if innocent people were to get hurt as result of their actions but part of her couldn’t help but feel as if there was something a mist to what was being said. Whether it was her instincts driving her on to believe that this was a lie or something deep in her own blood Domini couldn’t be for certain all she knew is that it was the clans swore duty to protect the innocent of humanity from the wrath of onis and their kin, and by all that was within her that’s what she was going to even if it meant her dying breath. Michelotto stood silent as Domini contemplated over in her mind whether or not they would become the pawns that Sector Olympus needed in order to wreak havoc over those who would pose the greatest threat against their plans to take over the world enslaving it as a whole being sure to keep the facial stand point of a desperate man on his face in front of her as the 18 year old turned her head in his general direction in order to speak.

“If this were up to me, I would help you but it isn’t…” Domini begins her face showing her remorse on the matter. “I would have to run this matter by the Clan Elders first and from there they will decide what the proper course will be but if I know them they will most certainly take up your cause and enlist our services into your aid.” Michelotto would counter back quickly, “Oh yes but of course, please feel free to as a matter of fact I’ll give you lets say the next 24hrs as my employer is currently away on matters after such time I’ll return at a more suitable hour so that we might discuss whatever plan of action you all might have in ridding us of our problem and even discuss the sum of payment as well. In the meantime…” –lifting his right hand up into the insides of the dark blazer jacket her wore about his shoulders in order pull an manila envelope that had been folded in half from the inner pocket before extending it towards the girl in her general direction in the hopes that she would take it from him.- “Take this just in case your elders do decide in our favor, inside of this envelope is everything from the names, pictures, addresses, and even relatives of those who mean to do us harm. Although I will say this now one of them, a girl by the name of Sian Tetsu is no longer in Kasaihana any longer she vanished completely off the grid about 7 months back. But we do have it on good authority that she and another girl by the name of Suzume Yasutake, another point of interest who is also included in those files are currently carrying the children of two others in the files, one of which died recently in a highly publicized plane explosion off the coast of Greenland.” Extending her right hand towards his own domini takes the folder into her possession listening to every word that he says commenting only when speaks of one of the girls who was with child that had awol, drawing some kind of feelings regarding both girls as she didn’t like where this was going and a plane death that had happened several months ago unable to believe that one of them was the mother to the former C.E.O of Yun Corps’ child. “Do you think the pregnancy was the reason she left town? And it is your employer’s wish that we dispatch these girls and the remaining father before they are allowed to give their children life if so that might cost you extra seeing as onis and onihorudas are no different than a wild animal when it comes to protecting their young if not worst.” She warns him drawing her hand back clasping the envelope in hand. “Quite possibly. I regretfully I have to say yes, but you do understand why though. If the children were to survive it is certain that they would most certainly be raised by any surviving family members to have vengeance in their hearts and then you and I will be having this conversation all over again years later down the line.” As he began preparing to take his leave of this place as the hour was indeed getting very late and the scent from the torrid blossoms from outside was starting to overtake his senses.

Till We Meet Again
Unfortunately for Domini though she wished to argue this ideal down she knew that Michelotto’s argument was a valid one as children who did loose their families in such matters like these did tend to come back like a plague years later to haunt those who took their love ones away to begin with, but killing the mothers while they carried the innocent in which she vowed to protect…it REALLY didn’t sit right with girl at all. Perhaps she would ask the elders to seek out one within their ranks who had the stomach to really do it while she assisted in another manner because in truth the beautiful mixed blooded Asian had not the heart to kill a child. “We shall see what we can do to accommodate such a request, in the meanwhile how shall I contact you in case things do not go as your employer wishes.” The redhead would inquire of him taking note of his preparations vacant the building knowing that she too should be doing the same as it was way past the time she told Leon she’d be back re-gathering the herbs she had earlier rather quickly with envelope in hand in the hopes that she would be able to walk him out like a proper hostess. “Oh don’t worry if they don’t….because I know they will…” He told her making for door whilst her back was turn gathering the Queen Anne’s Lace and Simple Weed both plants being for pregnancy prevention of course trying hard not scowl in malice at the thought of her being in bed with Leon again as he made his way out of it. “As to finding me my dear….I’ll have to say this…on the contrary…I’ll find you….” and with that Michelotto vanishes into the night. Domini of course would hear the man say this unaware that he’d gone ahead without her that is until she turns around to face him once more only to see no one standing there and the door wide open. With everything in hand she peers out into the cold December night in order to see just where in the hell he’d gone off to so damn fast, the words he’d spoke about what could become the clans latest and biggest contract still clinging to her mind as she finally gave up her search for him and headed out from the greenhouse back to her own home.

Upon her arrival she’d find that food she’d cooked had been put up, the dishes washed, and kitchen cleaned from the nights earlier endeavors a sign to Domini that Leon had indeed stayed up to wait for her when he realized that she’d been for far too long. Another thing among many she knew she would have to explain to him in the morning if he wasn’t still up before they left to meet up with Taka as she moved to place the herbs in their prospective containers inside of the kitchen cabinets, then heading down the hall towards her room with the envelope still in hand as she didn’t wish to leave it out in the open where anyone could find it, especially Leon who she wasn’t sure was be ready to know just what her family’s business really was yet. On approaching of her bedroom door she takes a deep breathing part of herself praying and hoping that he had gone to bed already and done so in her own bed to boot while the other panicked over the latter as she places a hand on the door knob steadily turning it to the left before pushing it in, only to reveal to her lavender eyes that Leon had indeed fallen asleep and in her bed no less. This of course made Domini smile softly as she makes her way towards her dresser in order slide from the gettas she was wearing and placing the envelope she had into her top drawer which held all of her bras and panties, being careful upon closing it back up not make a sound as to not wake him, then stepping out from the jeans she was wearing, and pealing the robe she had off leaving only the night gown she wore on briefly having forgot that she’d left the house with no panties on which made her blush as she made her way over towards the bed pausing for a moment to admire the sleeping form of the samurai that lay within it once she sat down on it, her hands drawing back the covers. Slipping underneath them she allows herself to curl up close to Leon’s sleeping form his arms suddenly drawing themselves around her body in what seemed like a subconscious reaction to her as her mind of course lingering still on what had transpired in the greenhouse. Domini couldn’t still shake the feeling she got when she looked at or thought about Michelotto Romanov, it was like…like she’d just gazed up in the face of the devil himself and made a deal in which no one not even herself was save from.

This being the last thing she remembered before finally being lulled off to dreamland for the night….