Ah, white. The glorious, magnificent pale picturesque tone that makes your day. Truly what tone could be better?
Woah, woah, when I say it like that it could be taken out of context! Actually... the actual context might be equally as degenerate.
Currently, Cacophony and I are taking a stroll out on the town. The word stroll might be a bit of an understatement, we've been walking around for a while now. At one point we even hopped on the bus and went to Miami Beach. Unlike Miami Shores, it's more a touristy area but even as a local, I have to admit that it's quite beautiful.
The moment we got off the bus, Cacophony ran off into all sorts of stores. "Veri! Veri! This store sells a bunch of those mechanical carriages! These look way cooler than most of the ones you find on the street! Let's get one. Actually, this is rightfully my land, I should take a couple as tribute. Right? Right?!"
That's only one of the messes I've had to deal with all day. It's not like I had a choice in the matter. This morning, Cacophony basically demanded that we go out since I didn't have school. As her servant, who am I to refuse?
All of that brings us to the present. We'd just walked out of a clothing store and my wallet was notablely thinner. Despite the chilly weather, Cacophony absolutely insisted on buying a red sundress. As it turns out, she got the idea from a character she thought looked nice in a manga she skimmed through.
Damn you Substitute Shinigami Arc Rukia!
Or, that's what I would say if god hadn't opened my eyes to the utter brilliance of my purchase. It'd been quite windy since the previous day. While for the past hour it'd died down, for this single instance, it came back in full force!
As Cacophony marched ahead of me, a powerful gust of headwind lifted the edges of her dress and flung them up. Ah, white, that wonderous color. The color of Cacophony's panties.
She whirled around, catching my gaze. "Enjoying the view, Veri?" she teased, a wicked glint in her eye.
It felt like she'd just grabbed my heart from inside my chest. "N-no! I've no need to partake in such... dirty activities! And-"
The look on Cacophony's face had changed.
"Woah, if you enjoyed it that much I could show you again." as she said this, she picked up the sides of her dress.
"Don't! I mean-we're out in public and it'd be bad if others saw and stuff!"
"Sure, sure. It was merely a jest." she laughed, smoothing down her dress. "Let's keep moving. We've got more stores to conquer and more for you to teach me about this era."
That makes me wonder, am I really fit to be teaching anyone about this world? While I might be good at schoolwork, I'm mostly just a shut-in, friendless nerd. Mentioning that friendless part makes my mind wander... No, I've already thought about that for too long, focus on the topic at hand!
What I'm trying to say is, what makes someone qualified to teach others about the world? I'm not well-traveled or an expert in different cultures. Even if I'm living in this era, how much do I really know about it? I'm not even an expert on this city. Then again, I'm not sure many people are or even could be. In some corner of this city, lurking about, I'm certain there's something I'd rather not see. Still, it makes the mind wonder...
I've been having plenty of revelations about the world in just these last few days. Vampires, magic, mages. How much other weird stuff is out there? Could the Intergalactic Federation of Universal Bacterial Destruction and Decontamination actually be real?!
"Veri, stop daydreaming and hurry up!" Cacophony's voice snapped me out of my trance, forcing me to pick up my pace to catch up with her. Her powerful stride effortlessly covered tremendous ground, leaving me struggling to keep up.
Once we entered an area with a large crowd, I lost sight of her. Amidst all the shoving and pushing, my measly body got pushed and squeezed like a stress ball. People were yelling and screaming all sorts of things. By some miracle, I got shoved out of the crowd and onto the street. The pure mass of the crowd was impressive. It covered the entirety of the sidewalk and spilled out to cover one of the lanes on the street.
"Jeez! What's everyone so excited about anyway?"
Behind me, a familiar voice answered. "Haven't you heard? There's apparently a girl who can predict the future."
Turning around, I saw Jean's distinct figure standing behind me. "How are you doing, oh so great Dark King."
"Jean? This must be a super rare encounter! I didn't know you could spawn anywhere that wasn't your bench!"
Pouting, Jean puffed her cheeks up and narrowed her eyes. "If you're gonna be like that then I won't tell you after all... But for your information, I was shopping with my sister before we got separated."
"Is she stuck in the crowd? Once you get in it's super hard to get out."
"Nope, I lost her around ten minutes ago and have been wandering since."
"I thought you weren't gonna tell me anything else?"
"Ah! That's right I won't!", Jean teased with a smile on her face.
"Hmph, it's not your fault. I haven't told you about this yet, but I've got a skill that allows me to hypnotize unsuspecting maidens. You never stood a chance against me!"
"Too bad. But this girl must have a skill just as special as yours. Rumor has it she's predicted all sorts of interesting stuff—world-class artistic pieces, happy marriages, financial ruin, and more. People started posting about it online, and now tourists make a point to come and check it out."
"How about you? You got something you wanna know about?", I asked.
"Well, knowing when I'll die would be nice. I could do a whole lot of planning in advance."
"...Don't just say that like it's nothing. And even if you did die, I'd just steal your soul back from the underworld."
"I'm looking forward to it."
Cutting her way from inside the crowd, a loud voice growled out. "Veri! Where the hell did you run off to?"
I forgot. I was looking for her, wasn't I?
Lucky for me, I didn't have to move an inch, the growling nonhuman beast came to me. Without any hesitation, she grabbed me by the head and squeezed it.
"Ow, Ow, Ow! Hey, stop!"
"Huh?! Is that any way to apologize for letting me walk into a store alone? You know I don't have any money right? When I tried to walk out the owner accused me of stealing!"
"Sorry! I deeply apologize, now please let me go!"
Watching from the sidelines, Jean seemed to be pleasantly amused to see Cacophony abusing me. "A friend of yours?"
Looking over at her, Cacophony hadn't seen Jean standing there before she spoke up. Cacophony analyzed Jean's body, going over every inch of her.
"You're quite something. I didn't think Veri had what it took to befriend such a beautiful woman. It's a shame though, your body isn't in the best condition is it?"
It was rare to see Jean looked as shocked as she did in that moment. For a moment, it seemed like she had no clue how to respond and there was silence.
Damn it, Cacophony! Why'd you have to say something like that?
Defying all expectations, Jean replied with a light-hearted smile. "You're right. My heart isn't doing so well. But don't you dare count me out. I'll have you know that I'm one of this nation's best pillowfighters!"
What an... interesting reply...
"Pillow fighting? Veri, you'll have to fill me in later."
"Sure. By the way, aren't you guys going to introduce yourselves?"
"You're my servant, such trifles are your job."
I sighed, to be honest, I wasn't in the mood to do a big flashy introduction. Still, as her servant, I do have certain duties.
"Bow your head, my dear maiden! The one who stands before you is unparalleled across all seven continents. Ruler of all that the night's vivid moonlight touches, seated at the apex of heaven! Commanding both mortals and nightwalkers alike, she is the one and only Vampire Empress, Cacophony!"
With her hands on her hips, Cacophony sported a large showy grin that exposed her two fangs. She looked absolutely elated.
When I glanced at Jean, I could see the gears turning in her head as she pondered how to respond.
"I am Jean, the pristine maiden of—"
Suddenly, Cacophony cut her off, looking exasperated. "Enough with the formalities. We have things to do. You may join us if you'd like."
"I'd love to but it's about time that I go find my sister. Still, a Vampire Empress and a Dark King. Aren't you two quite the combination?"
"I quite like this woman Veri. Now that I think of it, I'll make you my second servant of the modern era. Rejoice, Jean, and remember this moment for the rest of your life!"
"I... I see?"
She did not, in fact, see. On her face was a level of confusion but she did her best not to let it show.
"Anyway, I'll be off. Don't get into too much trouble you two."
As she walked away, I waved at Jean. "Catch you later."
"Good luck, Dark King," she called out with a wink.
Soon after, Cacophony and I also took our leave to explore more stores.
In the end, I never did get a chance to see or speak with the future teller woman. Later that day, curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to browse online for any information about her. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't find a single picture of her. However, one comment stood out:
"The girl had crosses in her eyes."