Yashin & Jiyu's Ultimate Adventure!

The Unguarded Keeper [24]

''You know...?'' Yashin said, skeptical and crossing her arms. 

YaoYao nodded as he replied, ''After I realised I faked my own death, I knew I had to keep the Wither Stone safe and out of the hands of my corrupt parents.''.

''Wither Stone? Do you mean Gem of Power...?'' Linette asked as her question wasn't answered and Akarui spoke up, impatient. ''So where is the gem?!'', ''I left it in the hands of an old friend.'' YaoYao smiled mischievously as Linette sighed and said, ''So who's that?'' as YaoYao simply chuckled, pointing at one of the billboards on the far row of buildings. It was an ad for a popular nightclub in Wytherspear and in the middle was a woman in provocative clothing, with her name in a neon red, 'Sircadias'. Her face looked so perfect with make-up and her hair was in an overexaggerated soft and black half up-half down style.

''Ooh, she's pretty!'' Akarui excitedly blurted out as YaoYao replied, ''I know, right? Sircadias is known to be careless, so she was the perfect candidate to keep the Wither Stone safe and sound.'' Yashin quickly sprinted off before telling them she was gonna go get their friends. After, Linette inquired, ''Where could we find her?'' as YaoYao leaned on the wall and rested his eyes, ready to speak the obvious. ''Where else would you find a nightclub with the infamous Sircadias as a staff member? At the Hunie Club, obviously. I can't get you in but if you manage to get inside, tell one of the bartenders that you're a friend of Yao's and you want to speak to Sircadias.'', ''Sounds interesting. I'm down for a break-in!'' Jiyu was heard walking up to the three, alongside Seiko, Pico and Yashin. ''Hopefully, we'll find a better way in than breaking the law...'' Pico smiled at Jiyu's carefree attitude towards morality. ''I'm sure you'll find a way,'' YaoYao said as he walked off, motioning his hands for the squad to follow him.

They strolled through the city as they finally made their way in front of the Hunie Club. It was mostly black painted bricks with colourful posters with multiple women in bathing suits. There was a lady guarding the door, likely the bouncer. 

''Look's like a guard. We should wait out here. Yashin, Linette, I think you two should go in when we find a way past the guard.'' Seiko suggested as Jiyu spoke up, with an idea. ''I think I can distract the guard. Watch and learn, my friends.'' Jiyu smirked as she walked over to the bouncer lady. She jumped as Jiyu first spoke. 

''Jumpy one, aye? No worries, opposites attract after all.'' She winked as the lady blushed a tad, stuttering her response. Staring at the two, Yashin couldn't help but be a wee bit jealous. ''Why don't we find a fancy restaurant to get to know each other in?'' Jiyu said, getting to the climax of her plan. ''B-But I'm a girl!'' she stuttered, her face resembling a tomato. ''Lucky for you, this kitty swings both ways~'' Jiyu flirtatiously giggled as the definitely-closeted-lesbian covered her eyes in embarrassment, cheeks flushed and heart pounding. While she was distracted, Jiyu eyed Yashin and Linette to the newly unguarded door. As per Jiyu's plan, they snuck inside. 

The inside was filled with metal poles and two different but equally large bars on either side and a stage at the back where some half-naked ladies and men were performing. Linette rushed over to one of the bars, asking the bartender, ''Hello, we're friends of Yao and we need to speak with Sircadias.'' which the bartender nodded and pointed to a staff-only door. Inside was a hallway with multiple doors, some with stars and in the stars were engraved with different names. Yashin noticed the door labelled 'Sircadias' and knocked on it. A deep yet feminine voice rang out from inside, ''Come in.''. 

Inside Sircadias' room looked like a dressing room, of sorts. And at the vanity sat a woman with a cropped-leather puffy-jacket and black short shorts, alongside fishnet tights and heavily applied red makeup. 

''Excuse me? Are you Sircadias? YaoYao's trusted friend?'' Yashin shyly asked as she turned to the two. She eyed them both up and said, ''A generic city girl and a preppy princess, hm? What would you two need from me, exactly?'' she finished as Yashin just noticed how she was chewing on something. Linette, however, noticed how she described them. ''Preppy princess?! You don't know anything about us, let alone our status!'' and Sircadias laughed antagonistically and replied, ''Paha, Are you kidding? You're wearing a pink dress and have the most lightly applied makeup I've ever seen.''. Linette silently growled, disliking the insult on her style choice. ''What's wrong, princess? Can't handle the truth?'' Sircadias scoffed and gave her a side-eye. ''You have no right to call me that!'' Linette snapped back, ceasing her cheeks from going a bright pink because of the nickname. 

Yashin cut into their conversation, getting to the point of their arrival. ''Miss... uh, Sircadias. We're friends of YaoYao. He said he trusted you with uh... the 'Wither Stone' so, could you maybe give it to us...?'' Yashin shrugged awkwardly as Sircadias looked down, closing her eyes and smiling. ''I see. So you're the ones trying to keep all Wither Stone's safe from Itazura. Sure. I'll give you the Wither Stone if YaoYao said it's okay. And I just so happen to have some info about someone who knows how to stop Itazura more... directly.'' Sircadias finished as the two girls asked her who that was. She sighed and continued to explain. ''There's someone who lives in a small cottage in the woods, near the mountains. He declares he's the god of death but I say he's just insane. However, he knew Itazura before she tried taking over Kwamslak. He knows things about her. And I know he knows how to stop Itazura. Maybe, if you're lucky... he'll also know why she wants to do what she's doing. He calls himself 'Nightmayor'. Good luck finding him, and I'd tell you more but I'm on in 5 so... Maybe I'll see you two later.'' She finally finished as before she went through the dressing room's door, she looked at Linette and winked, saying the words, ''See ya later, Cutie.'' as Linette's face was about to explode and Yashin giggled at the interaction, teasing her about it as they were leaving to find their friends.

They finally exited as they noticed the guard was gone and Jiyu said she 'felt sick' and went home. Linette and Yashin told the others what they had learned, as they headed back to the Inn.

Meanwhile, when everyone else was talking before they went to sleep, Linette went outside the Inn for fresh air. She looked up at the night sky, a couple of tears formed in her eyes as she closed them, letting them fall. 

''Mother... why did you lie? You said you had a change of heart... realised you were wrong. But that's not the reason why you gave the crown to Colette, was it? It was because of the death of my almost-future husband. Today made me realise that. It made me realise a lot of things... But I don't understand why you hid this from us... Mother, why?...'' She whispered to herself, hoping her mother was watching in the afterlife. She stayed outside for a few more minutes, taking in the musty yet cool breeze.

When she re-entered the Inn's guest room, she heard Akarui's boastful laughter, saying ''Whoo Hoo! That's one point for us! Friggin' finally, haha!'' and Seiko smiled and added to the hype, ''And on top of that, we have a lead on how to stop Itazura!'', to which Yashin remembered and spoke up, asking Pico, ''Hey Pico, how are your legs?'' and he scratched the back of his neck, unsure. ''As far as my medical knowledge goes, they're doing better! I can at least walk at a decently fast pace on my own now!'' as everyone laughed and were finally in a good place in this part of their journey.

But what they didn't know, was that all hell was about to break loose the very next day... 

...and unexpected things will inevitably happen.