[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/kfPu1Nn.gif[/img][/center][hr]Yua never liked the smell of blood. 

It stank of copper and iron in the best of cases and reeked of things best left without description in the worst. There was something about the crimson ooze that made the back of her throat taste of rot—the type from a slice of pork left on the counter for too long. It brought to mind wishes of petty vengeance and people who learned regret too late to stop themselves. To think she was surrounded with it for the sake of fulfilling a request, and at the cost of finding any poor, unfortunate souls ripe for the picking too.

A soft sigh escaped from behind the thin veil blocking her visage from the world at large. 

[color=71e8f2] “What a waste…”[/color] 

With no one left to witness them and the gate now smoldering in the distance, Yua allowed her heels, at last, to touch the floor and lazily brushed a stray lock of hair over her shoulder. The regal air she’d exuded only moments before seemed to withdraw into her slight frame. In the span of only three breaths, Masashi’s weaver of the night disappeared, the character shed like a thick coat on a summer day. Disinterested eyes fell onto her contract holder—no, that was a lie. 

The devil of Edogawa was pointedly looking at where the seals marking their little partnership would be, had they been easily visible in the umbramancer’s getup. Her smile dripped a honeyed venom, though she knew it went unseen. A surreptitious glance left. Right. Nobody in sight as she spoke in her usual tone. 

[color=71e8f2] “My, my, dear shadow,” [/color] Yua cooed. Her heels clicked as she stepped over the littered viscera left behind in her wake, coming to a stop only when she was within arm’s reach of Masashi. Thin strands of spider silk dissolved into the air with each step, leaving a thin coral mist as the only hint of their prior existence. [color=71e8f2] “Coming to shine where there’s such competition… your ambition truly never fails you, does it?” [/color]

Normally, she didn’t like to cut deals with other magical heroes. Certainly, she could love them as dearly as she loved the others she protected, but there was a certain unripe quality to it all. Her dealings were better suited for a different breed. 

But Masashi had a specific wish. A petty one, to be sure, but it was unique. What started as a curiosity quickly spiraled into an infatuation. As long as she could capture that particular inferno, then going out of her way for these crowded dealings might be worth it in the end.

[color=71e8f2] “I suppose I’ll make myself scarce before your little costume disappears. After all, I wouldn’t dream of stealing your limelight.” [/color] Absently, she allowed her fingertips to brush lightly against where the contract seals remained hidden as she stepped past the Faust of their sordid little arrangement. A reminder. A tally. It was never easy to tell with her. [color=71e8f2] “Take care of my exit, won’t you, dear shadow?” [/color]