[OOM] A Christmas Carol.
Jan. 8th, 2015 09:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
orange_lily"Sanada Yamato, local business mogul," Soukichi says on the morning of Christmas Eve, tossing a photo of a rather miserable man in his sixties onto the table. Yugo peers at Soukichi over his coffee, then over at Yuriko, before carefully adding a lump of sugar. "Mostly deals in - ..."
"Yeah, bro, I know. Payday loans," Yugo says, picking up a chunk of natto and dunking it in his coffee. Yuriko makes a face. "He's a business associate of my family."
"... You mean he's a criminal," Yuriko said, and makes an annoyed noise, downing her coffee. "It's Christmas Eve, do we have to help him out? He's probably working for Gorgom or something."
"Not since, like, the nineties, bro."
Soukichi clears his throat loudly. "Sanada claims to have received a threat that he'll be visited by three spirits this night, which will drive him to despair so that he - ..."
"- Can give birth to a new Phantom," Yugo and Yuriko finish in chorus. They've heard the favoured line of the Phantoms before.
"Yugo'll stay and guard him. Yuriko, you and I will try to track down the Phantoms before they can get close to him, and we'll call Yugo if we hear anything."
---
Yugo recognises the six burly, tattooed men who are guarding Sanada's penthouse.
Worse, they recognise him.
"Dude! Yubro! Why didn't you tell us you were in town, bro?"
"Fucking hell, dude!"
"Bro!"
Yugo groans, but engages in the expected conversational rituals of a dutiful younger-older-brother. He does manage to prise out a promise that they won't tell his father, even if it does involve a few meaningful 'Dude's accompanied by glances at their fingers.
---
The Phantom of Christmas Past is very, very obvious, because why would a small, pale young man in white be wandering up to the penthouse of a money lender? That would make no sense.
Yugo comes up with a reason to direct his brothers away - and hopes they don't come back with a dozen more of his siblings - and moves to block the young man's passage.
The Phantom of Christmas Past stares woefully at him, and coughs delicately into a handkerchief. "Please, I just need to ... talk to ... Mister Sanada ..."
"Dude, it's, like, ten o'clock at night on Christmas Eve, you are obviously here to kill him. C'mon, bro. C'mon."
"... Ugh. Fucking Riders, I swear."
The fight that ensues is short and loud. Yugo manages to duck out of sight to transform out of his armour just as his brothers come running back to see what's going on.
---
"Hey, we've found the ... the Phantom of Christmas Present. He's about three blocks East of you," Yuriko says.
"Duuuude. Blockharsh. What's he like?" Yugo says, taking the stairs down two at a time.
"... Um. Jolly. Hang on."
His phone dings. A picture appears.
"... Dude, is he a shopping centre Santa? Did he not think to quit when he became a ravening despair monster? I respect this Phantom's work ethic, bro."
"Don't let that stop you from killing it."
"Yes, ma'am."
---
Yugo's sword separates a writhing beard of snakes from the Phantom of Christmas Present's body, sending him stumbling backwards. With a snarl, the Phantom parts his robe, releasing what Yugo can only describe as demon children to latch onto his armour.
He can practically feel Phoenix's disapproval in his head.
A wave of hellfire sets them alight, and they die while wailing about the injustices of the world as Yugo scrapes his blade across the disk on his arm, igniting it with red-gold fire.
The Phantom of Christmas Present tries to flee. Yugo swings his sword, and a bird of hellfire flows from the tip, twisting and rippling in the air before engulfing the monster.
"No refuuuuge," it wails as it burns, "no resooouuu - ..." And then it explodes. Because they always explode.
Yugo knows that his brothers are behind him before he turns around, and for that reason remains transformed. Tadashi, a brother several years older than Yugo's father but with a level of accomplishment lower than most teenagers, gawks at the golden armour like he wants to sell it.
"... Are you Spiderman?" He whispers.
Yugo is momentarily at a loss for words.
"Tadashi," one of Yugo's other brothers says sternly, "everyone knows that Spiderman wears red and blue. That's Sanagiman."
"I am pretty sure it's the Magnificent Zubat, dudes."
Yugo runs his hands over his mask slowly, only daring to look over his fingers after several minutes. One of his brothers is very, very close, and looks like he might try to touch the armour. The other four are peering at him from afar.
Something icy curls in Yugo's stomach. Where's the sixth?
"... Where's Keisuke?"
The bloodcurdling scream from the penthouse is almost on cue.
"Yeah, bro, I know. Payday loans," Yugo says, picking up a chunk of natto and dunking it in his coffee. Yuriko makes a face. "He's a business associate of my family."
"... You mean he's a criminal," Yuriko said, and makes an annoyed noise, downing her coffee. "It's Christmas Eve, do we have to help him out? He's probably working for Gorgom or something."
"Not since, like, the nineties, bro."
Soukichi clears his throat loudly. "Sanada claims to have received a threat that he'll be visited by three spirits this night, which will drive him to despair so that he - ..."
"- Can give birth to a new Phantom," Yugo and Yuriko finish in chorus. They've heard the favoured line of the Phantoms before.
"Yugo'll stay and guard him. Yuriko, you and I will try to track down the Phantoms before they can get close to him, and we'll call Yugo if we hear anything."
Yugo recognises the six burly, tattooed men who are guarding Sanada's penthouse.
Worse, they recognise him.
"Dude! Yubro! Why didn't you tell us you were in town, bro?"
"Fucking hell, dude!"
"Bro!"
Yugo groans, but engages in the expected conversational rituals of a dutiful younger-older-brother. He does manage to prise out a promise that they won't tell his father, even if it does involve a few meaningful 'Dude's accompanied by glances at their fingers.
The Phantom of Christmas Past is very, very obvious, because why would a small, pale young man in white be wandering up to the penthouse of a money lender? That would make no sense.
Yugo comes up with a reason to direct his brothers away - and hopes they don't come back with a dozen more of his siblings - and moves to block the young man's passage.
The Phantom of Christmas Past stares woefully at him, and coughs delicately into a handkerchief. "Please, I just need to ... talk to ... Mister Sanada ..."
"Dude, it's, like, ten o'clock at night on Christmas Eve, you are obviously here to kill him. C'mon, bro. C'mon."
"... Ugh. Fucking Riders, I swear."
The fight that ensues is short and loud. Yugo manages to duck out of sight to transform out of his armour just as his brothers come running back to see what's going on.
"Hey, we've found the ... the Phantom of Christmas Present. He's about three blocks East of you," Yuriko says.
"Duuuude. Blockharsh. What's he like?" Yugo says, taking the stairs down two at a time.
"... Um. Jolly. Hang on."
His phone dings. A picture appears.
"... Dude, is he a shopping centre Santa? Did he not think to quit when he became a ravening despair monster? I respect this Phantom's work ethic, bro."
"Don't let that stop you from killing it."
"Yes, ma'am."
Yugo's sword separates a writhing beard of snakes from the Phantom of Christmas Present's body, sending him stumbling backwards. With a snarl, the Phantom parts his robe, releasing what Yugo can only describe as demon children to latch onto his armour.
He can practically feel Phoenix's disapproval in his head.
A wave of hellfire sets them alight, and they die while wailing about the injustices of the world as Yugo scrapes his blade across the disk on his arm, igniting it with red-gold fire.
The Phantom of Christmas Present tries to flee. Yugo swings his sword, and a bird of hellfire flows from the tip, twisting and rippling in the air before engulfing the monster.
"No refuuuuge," it wails as it burns, "no resooouuu - ..." And then it explodes. Because they always explode.
Yugo knows that his brothers are behind him before he turns around, and for that reason remains transformed. Tadashi, a brother several years older than Yugo's father but with a level of accomplishment lower than most teenagers, gawks at the golden armour like he wants to sell it.
"... Are you Spiderman?" He whispers.
Yugo is momentarily at a loss for words.
"Tadashi," one of Yugo's other brothers says sternly, "everyone knows that Spiderman wears red and blue. That's Sanagiman."
"I am pretty sure it's the Magnificent Zubat, dudes."
Yugo runs his hands over his mask slowly, only daring to look over his fingers after several minutes. One of his brothers is very, very close, and looks like he might try to touch the armour. The other four are peering at him from afar.
Something icy curls in Yugo's stomach. Where's the sixth?
"... Where's Keisuke?"
The bloodcurdling scream from the penthouse is almost on cue.
