The “Scarlet Bitch” as Shogo had called her, was Danielle Arai (whose aliases were both “Hime” and the Scarlet Titania, not Scarlet Bitch), a konoichi living in the Aoyama district of Shibuya. She did not look Japanese at all; in fact, unless one looked at her actual lineage, it would hardly be visible. Her skin was the color of mocha, and with her long, brown hair reaching to her waist, many people would call her beautiful. Her stature, which at 5’11 would be considered universally tall for a female, did nothing to daunt her obvious “pretty” appeal, though her cheerful appearance hid a deeper, much darker nature.
She was of royal blood of the strangest kind. Her father had formerly been the king of a neighboring planet, her mother, the Queen, originally a native of Earth. Both of them were dead now- one by her own hand.
“There seems to have been a murder…”
She shifted in her seat on her couch a bit, crossing her legs.
“…in downtown Shibuya…”
A pair of chopsticks snapped in half- the wrong way. “Shoot.”
“By the footage found at the scene, it seems to be the work of the theatrical ‘phantom killer’.”
The name made her body become rigid. Dammit. Him again. She poured herself a cup of tea, deciding to give up on using chopsticks for her Chinese food before glancing down into the space leading into her basement. The thought of catching that man (for that was what she had deduced) made her Titanian blood boil in excitement. It would be a true challenge; he was obviously smarter than she was, given to the “near misses” she’d had with him, the endless sarcastic notes that all said, “Sorry, you weren’t right for this part” to counter her iconic “Dead End” notes that were given to a criminal (usually without them knowing) just before she murdered him.
Trouble was, she couldn’t find him.
There was only one thing about all of the “phantom killer” cases that were similar, and that was the camera left behind, showing the footage of his victim’s death. There were no fingerprints, no way to trace the camera (which was odd; how did he get something like that without having someone manufacture it for him?) and even his notes were computer generated. The entire thing…
She could have smashed here corner table out of rage (literally). Justice needed to be served- and fast. More people would die if the Scarlet Titania didn’t exact justice.
Speaking of which, she needed to keep them off of her tail. The cops were getting restless…and her “special connection” wasn’t exactly working for her anymore. What was their deal, anyway? She was doing her civic duty. Calling her a vigilante just because she killed a few dozen thieves and murderers wasn’t wrong, it was justice. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, an evil for an evil, and a life for a life. That was her motto. No matter what happened in that town, the sin of the citizens would always be cleansed justly.
She glanced at the piece of paper lying on the corner table she’d nearly smashed a moment before and picked it up. Masquerade Ball. Admit One. A hint of regret filled her soul. Should she use it tomorrow night?
A flair for dramatics.
“…keep the ticket.”
“Huh. I’d better get a nice cci and a mask, then.” Danielle sort of scratched her head. “It would be fun to dress up. Gotta be back by six, though…Sho’ll be waiting to have dinner with me.” She paused for a moment, considering the ticket and its significance, but she shook her head, pulling her hair out of its ponytail. Now she had to go out shopping. After grabbing her keys (and a couple of kunai), she slipped out of her front door and locked it behind her, walking to the Aoyama station to go downtown to get herself dolled up for what would be one of the most exciting nights of her life.
