[Smoke + Mirrors]

Round diamonds glittering on gossamer strands suspended from wall to grimy wall sealed off the small, dim alley, not that anyone else knew that. They wouldn't, of course, until they tried to take a shortcut and ended up trapped in his sticky web.

Then, he put them to sleep and tucked them in before tucking in himself.

As long as they weren't wearing too many synthetic materials, then he didn't have to strip them before wrapping them up, but too many people had nasty metallic things that changed the flavor of their soup. He always made sure to empty their pockets at the very least, but then it was usually easier just to remove their pants than to dig through their pockets to make sure he got every last coin out of there.

Unless they were particularly powerful, then their bones melted just like the rest of them and then he would dispose of the casing later.

Perched atop one of the buildings above his web, Itsy lounged and debated on whistling a bit. It didn't seem like anyone was coming down this way today, anyway.

[blackcat]

Madeline was in a hurry. Christmas time was without a doubt the bussiest time of the year for her. Not because she had to do last minute Christmas shopping or anything of the sort of course. No, it was the time when she was plagued by invitations to attend the tea party of Mrs. that or the ball of Mr. and Mrs. so and so. She just came back from one of the taylors with whom she ordered a new dress, when she decided to take a short cut. Walking into one of the many alleyways of the city, she was surprised by something which was blocking her path. She made small jump backward to prevent colliding with it.
She carefully observed the white substance, trying to make out what it could be and if she would be able to cut her way through.

[Smoke + Mirrors]

A girl was hurrying along and turned down his alley, speed-walking towards his trap with her pretty, blond hair trailing along behind her. The pang in his chest was hardly noticed as he leaned forward to watch her, waiting for her to run headfirst into his web.

Her sudden reverse was completely unexpected and he told himself that the feeling in his chest was disappointment that she hadn't gotten caught. How odd that she had noticed when very few before her had.

Waiting quietly, he watched to see what she would do now that she knew about his sticky web blocking her path. If someone tried to cut it, the instrument would get stuck unless it was an enchanted blade. Some of his victims had tried but while their blades where sharp enough to cut the thread, they still had webbing stuck to the flat side.

Those were always the most amusing ones since they still had hope.

[blackcat]

As Madeline looked at the white substance in front of her she first thought that it was a normal type of threat, but then she noticed that there seemed to be something more to it... It seemed to be drenched it some type of substance that reminded her of glue. She looked around the alleyway and found a short metal bar on the ground. She tried to strike the substance with it. As expected the bar got stuck... and it was stuck quite good she discovered as she tried to pull it loose. She was quite happy that she had not tried to cut it with her sword. That would have had a problem. She wondered who or what could have created such a thing...

[Smoke + Mirrors]

Curiously, he watched as she grabbed a random pipe and used it to test his web instead of using the sword at her hip. This one was clever and was obviously more aware than most of his prey. She was probably more sensitive to the things behind her, too, but he wondered how far that went.

Picking up a piece of gravel from the flat roof behind him, Itsy tossed it at an angle into an open trash can, disturbing the crumpled up newspapers and discarded wrappers before hitting an empty can with a hollow 'thonk'.

Her reaction to this was key, so he leaned a little further forward with hungry eyes noting her every twitch.

[blackcat]

She observed a sudden sound in the trashcan behind her. However, she did not turn around instantly, but pretended not to notice anything. Meanwhile blood was rushing through her body and she placed her hand on her sword, but in such a way that made it appear as if she was just resting it there.  Perhaps, whatever was behind her would show itself if she pretended not to notice... After a few seconds she nonchalantly turned around, quickly observing her surroundings. She then looked up to see if something could have dropped from there, which would have caused the sound. For a moment she thought she saw something reflected by the light of a lamp... Something was definitely not right. She pretended to sigh and muttered under her breath; 'Ah well, the long way it is then'.

[Smoke + Mirrors]

Leaning forward so far, Itsy might have fallen off the building if she hadn't looked up so casually even though he knew that was faked. Her look was not by chance. He moved slowly back and crouched behind the lip of the roof, peering cautiously over it to observe her still.

This one below was not prey though he wanted to eat her. No, this one behaved like a predator that had accidentally wandered into his trap. Did he want to pursue this or flee and mend his web later?

Her blond hair glinted in the dim light, a beacon in the darkness, and he ended up waiting, ignoring his instincts to flee. Such a tiny thing could probably not reach him four stories up even with that sword unless she had a grappling hook and rope with some sort of motor attached to pull her up quickly.

There was still that chance, though.

[blackcat]

She wondered if she should try to make her way over the rooftop, but as the looked at the four story building that the web was attached to she knew that she would not be able to pull that one of. She was quite a bit annoyed with herself as well as with the creator of the white substance as she had lost quite a bit of time due to it. With a sudden start she quickly started to make her way out of the alleyway, hoping that it would go without much effort.

[Smoke + Mirrors]

Disappointed but not entirely surprised that she was choosing another route, Itsy stood silently and eased his way towards the corner of the building. If he could find out where she lived, then he could avoid that part of town. He could of course try to go head to head with her, but that would mean revealing himself to someone who had a chance at surviving and that could turn ugly very fast.

Instead, he had every intention of keeping to the shadows and away from her path. The fact that she was in this area to start with, however, proved that just avoiding her base of operations might prove to be difficult.

Why was she in such a horrible part of a terrible town if she was such a pretty, delicate yet scarily aware and prepared girl?

[blackcat]

Madeline was quite surprised that it was so easy to escape from the alleyway. She knew that whatever had created that white substance could not possibly have been far. perhaps it had just been her imagination? Yet she could not help but feel like she was being watched. In an attempt to make sure she turned into another alleyway not too far removed from the other one. Whilst walking she made sure to occasionally look in a window or a small puddles on the ground to see if she could detect something. She did this as nonchalantly as possible.

[Smoke + Mirrors]

Hopping from building to building was not sneaky in the least when everything was so quiet, but Itsy used his thread to quiet his landing. It was a little awkward since he had to reach under his coat, but he managed. It wasn't surprising when she turned down another alley.

If she fought anything like the way she strode down the streets, then Itsy was in no way interested in getting on her bad side even if her hair did do that thing when she turned her head that made a shiver crawl up his spine. Her hyper-awareness made him slightly nervous in doing this, however, but then she probably already knew he was there.

That would make following her home a little more difficult, but as long as she didn't call him on it then he would continue. This was completely separated from that persisting feeling in his chest.

[blackcat]

Still the person or thing that was watching her did not come out. She was now quite sure that it was following her on the rooftops as she sometimes saw a silhouette reflected in one of the puddles. She was unable to reach it though and apparently it did not plan to attack her just yet. She decided to lure it to a place where the rooftops were lower, just to see if she could find out what she was dealing with. She took one alleyway to another. She now entered a street where the buildings were three stories high.

[Smoke + Mirrors]

The further she went, the more nervous he became. She knew and he knew she knew, but did she know that he knows that she knows?

The buildings were getting smaller, so he had to travel closer to the center of the building and not on the edge to avoid being seen. Some of the roofs were more tilted over here which made it interesting but also slightly more dangerous. He just did his best and thought of it as a test.

That was before his braid got caught on something, giving him a jerk and making him hiss in pain. Grabbing at his abused head, he turned to see what had stopped him. The sight of glistening fangs and sharp claws wrapped around his braid near the end of it startled him greatly, but the batlike wings explained why that thing was suddenly there.

He nearly screamed but cut it short into just a shout right before he swung his body down just so, losing the end of his braid but gaining his freedom. Rolling off the edge of the roof with the momentum, Itsy landed lightly in an alley while keeping an eye above him.

Nothing came into view. It hadn't followed him, but did that mean that it was still up there or was it going to come around the edge of the building any second now?

[blackcat]

Madeline was startled by a shout that could be heard above her on the rooftops. She stopped walking and tentatively stared at the rooftop... waiting for something to happen. She had no idea what. Before she knew it she saw a boy figure falling down the roof and then landing swiftly on his feet. She was quite surprised that he could survive a fall from such height, but this immediately confirmed that this was probably the person who had been following her. The boy, however, paid no attention to her but was anxiously looking at the rooftop.

Madeline sneaked up towards him, pulling her sword out of its shed. She simply cleared her throat in an attempt to attract his attention. She did keep an eye on the rooftop though, as the boy seemed to be quite frightened of whatever was up there.

[Smoke + Mirrors]

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard someone beside him and, whipping his head to the side, practically fell back against the wall in relief that it wasn't that thing, just the girl he had been following.

Then his brain realized that the scary girl who was way too smart to be that pretty had her sword towards his neck and they were now both in the same area while neither of them knew where that rabid animal was that gave him an unwanted hair cut.

It could be anywhere and the girl that he would thoroughly enjoy wrapping in his thread and gulping down was now in the danger zone. Even if she was as freakishly aware of everything there was a possibility that she would die before he got to eat her and the feeling in his chest became something sharp and dark. This was not good in any way, shape, or form.

Purple hair uncoiling against his back, Itsy ignored the pounding of his heart but kept his senses keen for the sound of something coming towards them. She was even prettier up close. He gulped.

"I think we must have gotten off on the wrong foot, but now is not the time for that," Itsy said, voice low even as he glanced back up and then behind her. With their position, she could see past him and above and he could see past her and above, which was good unless it was going to wait for them to exit the alley.

[blackcat]

The light reflected in Madeline's eyes as she walked nearer the boy. One would almost say that they had become a shade of green. As she was closing the distance between them, she pointed her sword towards his chest. 'Is that so? Well would you then at least do me the honor of disclosing to me just exactly why you were following me? And, more importantly, what are you so afraid off?' She was anxiously scanning the area to detect whatever had attacked her attacker. She did not like this situation one bit.

[Smoke + Mirrors]

Worrying his bottom lip, he wondered how he was going to explain his actions.

'Well, I just thought you were way too pretty to be real, so I was following you to find out where they sold similar models of living porcelain dolls.'

'I've heard blondes have more fun and wanted to test it out with you.'

'If I told you that I want your body, would you hold it against me?'

The more he considered it, the worse it got. No, this was not a good situation at all.

"There is something big and ugly up there," Itsy explained, voice a little strained as he pointed towards the roof. It was supposed to lighten the mood slightly, but he could easily tell that it didn't work. Scary lady was scary (and pretty) but looking at him with those evilly glinting eyes.

Had anyone ever been caught between a rock, a hard place, and a flamethrower? Because he was definitely starting to feel the heat.

[S-O-Y]

"I wonder how Madeline is doing..."

Smitigo perked up from the plush couch he was slouched in. Looking over the back of the couch towards the direction the voice came from, the blue haired boy locked eyes with the purple hued man behind a black oak desk. Velvet was laid underneath a glass top casting a sheen upon it. A small dim lamp was seated on the left hand corner of the desk. There were no papers, no books, no pens upon the desk. Just a simple cup of Earl Grey tea and a shiny spoon to match the sheen on the desk. A soft cough emitted itself from Yugure's lungs.

"Are you feeling okay Yugy?", Smitigo asked out softly with a worried expression.

His oldest brother was not a fan of tea, but lately Oraku had been force feeding it to him in this time of need Yugure was in. It seemed he was catching a cold or flu-bug that was going around the city. Their hotel being in the outskirts didn't help the germ ratio either.

"I'm fine, really Smity, I'll be okay. You stop that worrying I see in your eyes and I'll keep drinking this dreadful tea."

Yugure picked up the small white cup and brought it to his lips. The hot liquid poured towards his throat quickly, a bubble of air catching suddenly, and abruptly he was forced to cough and choke on the tea he took purchase in. A few squirts of the liquid landed onto the glass upon the desk, but the rest was tucked firmly into his cheeks to avoid further spilling. A hard gulp manged to push the tea down to its rightful place. A meek smile appeared on his face as his eyes motioned over to Smitigo once more.

"Seems I drank to quickly...", he said under his breath as he set the cup down cautiously.

Using his hand to wipe the tea off the desk, he then stood up and smoothed out his v-cut jacket and straightened up his posture before walked around the desk and over to Smitigo. He looked over his shoulder to peer out the tinted window. A frown took his lips. The weather was perfect today.

"Why dont we go for a walk Smitigo. You and I?", Yugure asked softly as he rustled some of his younger brother's hair.

Smitigo looked up at Yugure with a shocked expression. Had he just asked for Smitigo to go fetch Madeline he would have been gone within seconds, but to be asked to walk with Yugure, that was just down-right-odd. He tilted his head to the right and smiled.

"I would love to brother...", he stated warmly and stood up from the couch with a rough start and then found his footing.

Yugure smiled at Smitigo and began to proceed towards the door to his study. Opening it gently, he held the door open for Smitigo to exit through, the blue-boy did so and then Yugure followed in tow. With a shut of suction, the shadows around the two men swirled them away from the hotel, for the door that was used was magically embedded with transport crystals allowing them to access another door within the city. This was a trick that Yugure used quite frequently now that his powers were decreasing. It seemed that life's karma was catching up with the man, and since all else was failing he was running back to his family's practices. Ancient magic and some other things he still hid under his sleeves.

"So where exactly will we find this friend of yours Smity? I assume she would be in her mansion where I first saw her, but does she tend to walk the city like you take habit to?"

Smitigo shook his head in a soft giggle as Yugure probed him for information.

"She might be at home, but I highly doubt it. It seems she gets busy this time of year since she is wealthy and all. So I would assume she would be in the shopping district in Central. That's just MY guess though", the blue boy said with a shrug as he allowed the crystal magic to warp his body into another area.

A soft pop produced the two males within a dark smelly closet within a bar in the whereabouts of Neo-Tokyo. The smell of smoke and whiskey hung in the air around them as they opened up a utility closet that was rarely used to allow exit from the transportation they went through. The cockroaches escaping it proved the opinion to be correct. A distasteful look crossed over Yugure as he exited the small closet with Smitigo at his side. A few looks from the local drunks made them feel noticed, but otherwise they were still unseen to the world around them. Thats how Yugure liked it anyhow.

"Lets hurry and leave this dreadful bar, I would hate to get caught up with a idiot who would cause me to ramble...", Yugure said under his breath as he quickly walked over to the nearest exit in the bar.

Smitigo shrugged off a warm feeling he sensed from a stranger in the bar. He hated drunken fools. ESPECIALLY in this town. He shook his head in dismay as the light from the alley bled into the bar as Yugure exited before him. If his older brother was really in need of the girl, he, himself, knew that Yugure could simply call her to his side. But today seemed different. It was as though Yugure didn't want to use the darkness that surrounded him still.

He stepped out into the brisk air that wrapped around him as sung as his blue scarf was. A delightful shiver was cast upon his spine and a smile broke out on his lips. He felt at home again. Looking around himself, he noticed that they were not alone suddenly. It seemed Yugure knew exactly where he was going for Madeline was to the left of him now, and a little fellow with purple chopped hair was to the right. A sword brought the two together before him now as Yugure stood still and watched with intense concentration. The emerald eyes that were set in Madeline's skull gave off a deadly emotion. Smitigo saw a different girl now.

"I figured I would find you in this condition...", Yugure said smoothly as he stayed put where he was. The door slammed behind Smitigo for a gust of cold wind rushed past the group in the alley.

[blackcat]

Madeline heard a door open behind her and quickly turned her head in such a way that she was able to keep an eye on the boy and was able to see what was happening on the other side. As soon as she recognized the two men, she shifted her attention back to the boy. She was quite relieved that she now had backup, as she had no idea what she was up against.

With her back turned towards the two men she said: 'Good day Yugure and Smigito. How nice of you to drop by. I apologize that I am not able to give you a warm welcome; as you can see I am a little caught up in something. Also, you might want to keep an eye out, as there appears to be something lurking around here'.

She was now able to give the boy her full attention. She was not impressed with his reply. Whilst gently probing him with her sword, she said with a smirk: 'Oh my, if you are trying to avoid my questions you should try a bit harder'. She paused whilst observing the boy. 'From my point of view you were either spying on me or you were trying to kill me. Either way would be reason enough for me to kill you. So if you have a better excuse, I suggest you say so. I would be quick if I were you... It takes my sword about three seconds before it reaches your heart'. Her smirk became even wider as she slowly moved her sword towards his throat. 'Or perhaps I should cut your throat and have you bleed to death instead?'

[Smoke + Mirrors]

The shock of a door opening off to the side surprised him and drew both his and her attention, but then she refocused on him rather quickly which meant that she knew them. This was proven correct when she spoke to them without turning again. Something about the three of them together, however, sparked his memory.

"I don't mean to avoid any of your questions and I didn't mean to seem threatening either, but you were in the forest that day when that purple man stole the violin from that girl. There was a creepy red-haired male with them, too," Itsy stated as sincerely as he could, but the last sentence was more to himself as he gave a shudder. There was something beyond just 'creepy' about that redhead.

"You ran me over while I was trying to mend my coat and then you all just skipped off like some demented gazelle," he continued with a shake of his head. Now was not the time to get distracted by someone who wasn't even there.

[S-O-Y]

Yugure nodded at the update given to him by Madeline. A smile crossed his lips as she confessed of wanting a warmer welcoming as well. It wasn't very often he was apologized to in the suspense of the moment. He crossed his arms slowly and looked to the side at Smitigo. In return, Smitigo felt Yugure's gaze and looked up at his older brother.

"It seems we have met this boy before...", Smitigo said softly to his brother as the said boy began to voice his opinion on things.

Both of the men looked over to the little one and down the line where the sword was produced. It was truly a sight to see honestly, and Yugure was amused. Debating what to do next, Smitigo stayed close to his older brother just in case things got complicated. Madeline had spoke of a creature in the midst of them. A pinch of fear tugged at his heart at the sound of creature. When one didn't know what he was up against, that was when things got ugly.

"Do you feel anything unusual Yugure?"

Yugure tilted his head to look down at his brother again, taking his purple hues from the two in front of them once more.

"I don't at the moment no, but now that you mention it," Yugure looked up quickly and caught a flash of something black out of the corner of his eye, "It does seem like we are not alone. I believe Madeline was correct when she said we need to keep our eyes open."

Yugure grabbed Smitigo's arm and tugged him closer to himself.

"Stay close", he said softly into his brother's ear.

Smitigo nodded. Another conversation began to fill the air as Yugure brought him closer to his side and a flashback of trees and running bubbled back to the surface. Tilting his head at the little purple haired one, he furrowed his brow at the thought of running him over and prancing off like a gazelle the little one spoke of. He almost had to force back a chuckle. Yugure however became attuned to the memory the boy mentioned suddenly. He began to tap his left foot in patience at the growing memory that was surrounding the group. A few rocks and pebbles around Yugure's foot began to hover in zero gravity slowly.

"I do recall meeting you in the forest, but I did not see it as very important to aid you since I had no clue who you were and why you were there. Therefore I don't understand how that memory applies to this one we are currently in. I can say this tho...that red-head you speak of is kin to me and if you think he is merely creepy your are wrong. He is beyond that adjective", Yugure spoke in the direction of the small boy.

Smitigo rolled his eyes at the mentioning of Oraku. It seemed everywhere he went that asshole was involved somehow. Whether it was a surprise arrival, or a mentioning in a conversation, it seemed he could never get away from the red-headed insane-case. Even though they were all brothers through spirit, that didn't mean that blood kept him tied to his other third. Blood was different in the trio by a long shot. Only the strands of spirit tied them together.

Yugure watched Madeline closely with his one showing eye and kept a sense of alertness through his side vision. He would be ready and hopefully so would his third beside him.

[blackcat]

Madeline narrowed her eyes and seemed to be searching the boy's face as she was trying to remember if they had indeed met before. She suddenly exclaimed: 'Oh that is right! I believe another girl and I accidentally ran into you in the forest, did we not?' She tried to recall if she had ever extended an invitation to him to come and meet her again... She believed she had not, so she once again said, quite impatiently this time: 'But that still does not answer my question. Why were you following me?' She smirked, 'Don't tell me you changed your mind and wanted to have your coat fixed after all?'

[Smoke + Mirrors]

Narrowing his eyes, Itsy frowned deeply. Whatever wisp of a plan he had was being blown away by this girl and he was grudgingly impressed. Something about her attitude told him that any outright lies would be recognized and dismissed, sinking him deeper into trouble with her. Turning his head to hide the slight blush warming his cheeks, he braced himself and spoke.

"I... think you're really pretty and I was working up the courage to talk to you. From my vantage point, I didn't recognize you as the girl who ran me over that time," Itsy explained, voice wavering slightly at first. Pausing for a moment, he laughed softly in a self-depreciating way. "I'm not sure I would have come this far if I had recognized you from then. I would have recognized your beauty as a distraction from your scary self."

With his focus on trying not to get stabbed through the chest, he didn't see the dark head peeking over the edge of the roof or the dark body flash past the end of the alley. There were too many people, so it took to the skies once more and remained out of sight after that.

[S-O-Y]

Smitigo coughed roughly at the compliments the boy was sending Madeline's way. Oddly he felt a twinge of jealousy towards the little one in the group and clenched a fist. Luckily his hand that was clenched now was hidden by the end of his large scarf. Yugure felt the twinge of emotion tho as his brother beside him tensed up. He smiled softly and looked back to Madeline who was questioning the boy again. It seemed he had been following her for some reason, and ironically, Yugure wondered if that was why they had ran over him in the forest...had he been following her then too?

Staying quiet, Yugure felt a sense of unease take over him as he noticed that the boy was also taking note of the black blur that flashed about. Today was the wrong day to come meet with Madeline. He looked down at Smitigo and sighed.

"I think its time we leave. I believe she will be fine without us at her side. Today was not the right day to commence what was needed...", Yugure said into his brothers ear and Smitigo followed the notion with a nod.

"I believe if you feel safe Madeline, Smitigo and I will be leaving. Just know that we have matters to attend to concerning your secretarial position. When the star glows you will know...", and with that being said Yugure began to turn around to head back inside the bar that smelt of old men and rags.

Smitigo waited for a few more seconds after his brother opened the door to the bar. His eyes stayed on Madeline. He was worried about her. That eye color was new to him, he was sure of it, and the boy to the right of her was no exception to it either. He sighed and turned around as well to quickly follow his oldest brother. The cold was sucked from him as he entered the humid bar filled with smoke and fumes of alcohol. His hands felt clammy. The jealousy set in.

Stepping over to door within a few steps, Yugure reached for the door handle and waited to hear the door shut behind him for a second time. Nodding to signal to Smitigo that he saw him come into the bar finally, he opened the closet's door and stepped into the darkness it held. The suction had pulled the door shut behind him leaving Smitigo behind in the bar. The blue boy's eyes grew wide as he bit his lip.

That was new...

[blackcat]

Well that was one answer that Madeline had not expected. As she observed his blushing face she knew that he was telling the truth. For a few seconds she could do nothing but stare at his face. Then the smirk made place for a rather embarrassed smile. The green shimmer in her eyes diminished until it was almost gone. 'I am sorry that I have scared you twice then. But, honestly, you should not sneak up on people in such a manner. You gave me quite a fright there'. She lowered her sword a little, but did not put it away. It might still have been a lie after all.. and besides that other thing was still on the loose.

Because the boy had taken up most of her attention, she now slightly turned her head to see if she could bid Yugure and Smigito farewell, but they were already gone. She could not help but feel a little disappointed as she would have been quite happy to see her friend again. More importantly though, she hated the idea that she was now left by herself again with the boy... She could only hope that the thing that had caused the boy to fall off the roof would have left by now. But something told her that this was rather unlikely.