Dark Side of the Moon

Vanguard

Vanguard stared for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head. "Good grief, to think you would make me into a vulgar burger flipping boy. You are more cruel than I thought."

With spatula in hand, he proceeded to work on the minced meat with expert hands before setting them on the hot pan. If this was meant to be some attack at his warrior's pride, he was quite sorry to disappoint them. Sadly for them, he didn't have any.

"With such an obsession over mere patties, I might just have to wonder why you both aren't thrice as thick." He muttered sarcastically while he flipped them.

Engetsu

The demon couldn't help but smile at the holy man's words. His aura was quite beautiful, as was what he spoke of.

"Humans are stronger than you think; they make their own freedom. Still, if you have a solution that will not cause needless bloodshed, I will be happy to help you in any way I can." He said calmly before bowing in respect once more.

"My name is Engetsu. I am pleased to meet you."

Engetsu

The demon's ears perked when he suddenly heard the man addressing him. He turned around and internally sighed in relief. For a second, he thought the loansharks came back for him; but it seemed it was just a monk. Phew!

He bowed respectfully, but his face was only a bit puzzled.

"Forgive me, but uh, what situation are you talking about?"

Vanguard

Vanguard blinked in surprise, then managed to somehow sigh deeper than the first time.

"Alright, very well. It's not something I wanted to burden you with, but I suppose you're not going to make this easy for me." He said with a bitter half smile. Suddenly, his face turned dead serious. No, it was more than that. Something in his appearance changed, something small, something fundamental.

 He copped his silver mane and slid his ebony hand across its glimmering shine, like night traveling across the stars. Was this nothing more than a superficial, perhaps even vain movement? Or perhaps there was some hidden meaning behind that action.

It would be wise to remember that the man who stood before her was not some commoner, but a warrior.

That did little to change the gravity of his voice.

"Well, I suppose it would be useless to hide it any longer. My original vessel was destroyed, and the core that sheltered my soul is no more. I guess if I had been a second too late, your hypothesis would have been correct: I would not be able to stand before you. Though I managed to find shelter in this imitation of a human vessel, but it's nothing more than a different prison."

For a second, his eyes narrowed and his frown deepened as he spoke. For the first time, there was a shred of genuine hostility in his voice, not directed at Sakura herself more than the bitterness of his situation. He had found a body, only to lose it, and he had been decaying ever since. He had managed to have Clover craft this shell using his blueprints, but something like this would pale before the magic of the Gods.

"The more I remain in this decadent shell, the more my spirit writhes and crumbles. Simply put, if you are so blind you cannot tell, my soul is rotting. It is not continuous, as long as I consciously resist it, the degradation is nothing more than superficial. Eventually, perhaps in a few years, I will become nothing more than a beast without intelligence. I do not want that, and I require a laboratory so I may research a manner to prevent that."

Vanguard

The warrior sighed and chuckled bitterly before raising his hands in abandon.

"It seems you have got me all figured out. Yes, I was planning to kidnap all the residents in my secret lab, have them vivisected, turn them into loyal mindless automatons and run insidious experiments using the building as a cover in order to design a weapon that could destroy all creation as we know it. And as it turns out, a little girl is standing right in the way." He answered sarcastically.

"Was that what you wanted to hear?"

Costin

Costin smiled and gave Jasey a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"You know, I was honestly surprised. I didn't think someone would ask me out like that, much less a murderer as cute as you." She played with her hair a bit, then leaned on the girl. Cold dainty fingers traced down her lovely curves while she smiled. "It was pretty bold of you, I don't dislike it. Though we do have a problem now..."

Lorry

"Mhm, as a matter of fact, I was. Well, you can certainly hold yourself in a fight, I'll give you that, but we're not going to go for that play I'm afraid. I'd rather not have things get... messy. Still, that doesn't rule out the option of a more fiery approach."

The skeleton's fist connected with the puppet.

"Say, why do you want to do this? What could a fellow like you gain from siding with a poor crook like me?"

Vanguard

"Well, how to put it. It's quite embarrassing..." He sliced the potatoes perfectly and laid them on a bowl filled with cold water to clean them. "A calamity was unleashed on my prior home, it was destroyed in the collateral of a battle while I was absent. I need to find a shelter where I may rest, so I thought I could ask you for that help. If it's money you need, I have it with me."

He turned to face her and knelt, lowering himself before the lady of the house.

"Will you please aid me? It would mean a lot."