[i]“Everybody is a winner.”[/i]

Pressed in the corner of the great hall in an attempt to make herself as unnoticeable as possible, Naoko could only inwardly groan at that singular line that passed out from the Voice of Change’s mouth. Wasn’t that just unreasonable? Everyone is a winner? Hell no, out of all the people here, she was probably the only Einherjar that got caught up in this bloody mess by accident. Stroking her ring nervously, she turned from one individual to the next, and died a little more on the inside. Uwah, all these highly individualized people. Pink-haired aristocrats swishing glasses of wine. Shameless dudes dressed up in ninja garb. A whole array of weirdos stalking about, eating free food and drinking free wine.

Ah, this suckssssss.

No doubt they were all doing things like scouting out the competition or putting up insidious magical trackers or whatever else they did. That guy with the weird eyes especially creeped her out and she instinctively shied away behind a tower of sparkling champagne as his gaze swept the room. A few others, after receiving the ring, went after the Voice of Change, no doubt interested in getting even more goodies, but Naoko? She stayed put, made sure that her train pass was still in her pockets, and poured herself a tall glass of liquor. The clear liquid had a sharp smell, and she took a large gulp without hesitation.

It burned the insides of her mouth and throat, spirits sledgehammering all the troublesome thoughts and worries out of her head. Leaning against the curtains, Naoko’s red eyes traced up at the twinkling chandeliers. How pretty. Ephemeral. Transient.

Like cut flowers, wilting once the vase dries out.

And like a girl stood up on her date for prom night, Naoko let out a long sigh.

[b]“Ah, this suckssssssssss.”[/b]