Jinichiro walked through the streets in his "incognito" form with his hands behind his head and a blank expression on his face. "Bored, bored bored..." he mumbled to himself as he eyed potential targets. It was still early in the day and nobody was out drinking yet, which meant he'd have to wait for his barroom shenanigans. Perhaps he he found a group of kids he could teach them how to properly conduct mischief; that was always fun. His train of thought was interrupted, however, as a scrawny young man bumped into him. Jin locked eyes with the stranger. [i]I used to think I was clever when I pulled this stunt 100 years ago,[/i] he thought. It was a typical pickpocket ploy. Apparently, Jin's aloof demeanor had made him look like a target. The nerve of some people! In any case, the game was on. 

A small puff of foxfire flickered in his pocket. Normally, the thief would only find a bunch of twigs and leaves, but this time he would make it seem like more. In their couple-second exchange, the thief grabbed what he thought was a pouch of money, gave a quick apology, and then disappeared -- or at least that what the thief thought he did -- into the crowd. Fortunately, the thief hadn't bathed in a couple of days, so his scent was easy to pick out. [i]Time for phase two![/i] Jin disappeared behind a store, grinning ear to ear.

When Jin returned to the streets, he was now a beautiful girl wearing an elegant kimono. He drew the attention of several men, but there was only one he was interested in. Tracking down the thief was elementary. He didn't even have a cool hideout, just some random alley where he planned to count out his loot. Now came the fun part. "Oh, this isn't the tea house I was looking for. Where could it be... Excuse me sir, is there a tea house around here?"

The thief was caught off-guard when Jin addressed him. His poor hygiene had given him scant few chances to talk to women. He wasn't about to pass this opportunity up. "Why yes there is," he said with a dumb grin. "If you like I could take you there. Tell you what, let's make it my treat." He shook the recently procured pouch in the air.

Jin blushed and gave a cute giggle, hiding his mouth with the folds of his kimono. "That... sounds like a lot of fun," he said in a shy tone. "But we don't know each other at all." The thief was about to protest, but Jin continued. "I know! We can play a little game first!"

"Um... what did you have in mind?"

"That pouch of money you have. If I can guess how much is in it, you have to spend it all on me, but if I'm wrong, you can have half for yourself. Either way it's a win for you!" Jin giggled again, waiting for him to take the bait. Of course, he could just poof into fox form whenever he wanted and scare the crap out of the guy, but screwing with his head like this was just so much more fun. "But I'll warn you, I never lose at this game, so you better not back out." 

The thief chuckled. There was no way anybody could know the exact amount in the pouch except the owner. And he was pretty sure he knew the difference between boys and girls. She could win by dumb luck, but what were the odds of that. "Alright, you're on."

Jin reach out and held up three fingers.

"Three coins? That's your guess?" 

"No, silly... three centipedes."

The thief laughed at the ridiculous answer. "Centipedes!? Well it looks like I win then because there's--" He opened the pouch and went to scoop out the coins, but then went pale. His hands had clasped three long, writhing, repulsive bugs. Then his eyes went wide with horror. "There's no way! Monster! She's a monster!" He through the pouch to the ground and ran off screaming and praying that he wasn't cursed. 

Jinichiro could not hold back his laughter, and in a burst of foxfire returned to his "true form." On the ground there was no longer a pouch, but a leaf and three sticks. Jin staggered back onto the street holding his gut from laughter. "Three coins? Is that your guess?" he mocked between gasps. He wiped a tear away from his face and regained himself, not really giving a damn that people were staring. "Today is going to be a good day!"