Post-apocalyptic setting

[miltia]

Your character's world has ended and purgatory awaits them, a wasteland full of ruined buildings. The surrounding desert constantly wears down the buildings with a neverending wind. There aren't any monsters to worry about, no zombies or demons, but your characters are haunted by the ghosts of people they once knew and there's only one escape from

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[alcohol_abuse]

Now, he'd done it. Yuugi had been friendly; she'd even offered to share her precious and quickly dwindling sake with him. Normally she'd be all for giving this guy a go, seeing if he remotely compared to that red-white, but she was still prioritizing alcohol acquisition over getting into a fight.

Her free hand came up to catch the ball shot straight at her, the crack of whatever it was made out of meeting thick skin resounding through the building, as she stepped back just enough for the ball now heading straight down at her from above to pass before her. It was close enough that she could feel it brush the front of her shirt, grazing her chest barely. He was good, but lacked shrine maiden's homing danmaku.

"Hey, you're pretty good," the oni called to him, that ball having stung her palm a bit. She squeezed her hand once and then opened it, white dust from the ball she'd caught drifting to the floor. "A good fight's almost as good as sake, you know. Did you want to fight or help my find some sake? We can always do both and drink after we fight."

[poolcuemurder]

He landed on the ground behind her and took a swing at her back with his cue, but soon found himself ceasing the attack to stare blankly at the woman. Was she still asking for...? What?

What?

At this point, he didn't care if he had gotten in a single hit on her or not. He brought a hand to his face, pushing a bit of hair behind his ear to properly rub at his temples. Hello there, migraine. Long time, no see. He really hadn't missed you and wished that you continued not to write.

Never in his life had he met someone so determined to find alcohol, and he had met some strangely demanding and single-minded individuals (Chipp Zanuff came to mind. Was he still alive?). "There is no sake here. Please, just leave."

[alcohol_abuse]

Yuugi had turned toward the attack, her shoulders dropping a little as if she might have been contemplating a return strike. She was somewhat worried she'd put him through the wall and then bring the whole building down on them and the potential sake. She stopped and he stopped, though for different reasons.

"Are you sure? Did you check everywhere? I know this kasha that likes to hide hers in the most unlikely places," the oni replied, relaxing her stance (though still having to duck a little) and holding up the red sake cup she still had in her hand. "I'm almost out." That last sentence was said with an forlornness that contradicted her earlier attitude.

[poolcuemurder]

"I think I would know if there was any." Unlike his lacking knowledge of just what a "kasha" was supposed to be, unless she was referring to someone she knew as a type of porridge. Considering her actions, he wouldn't put it past her. "I'm sorry for your troubles, but I'm afraid I cannot help you."

...this was ridiculous. She was an enemy and he should be dragging her out by her hair if he had to. Master Zato would not be pleased by this (or wasn't, from the look on his face. Venom could not see his eyes, but his mouth was in a firm, straight line, as though he were upset. He didn't mean to disappoint him or make him upset, he really didn't, he didn't, but...).

He cleared his throat and adjusted his stance, resting the cue to his side in some sort of apology for attacking her like that. "Have I made myself clear this time? There is nothing for you here."

[alcohol_abuse]

The look on Yuugi's face conveyed that she didn't think the man had been as thorough in his search of the building as he implied, but she decided not to say anything. At least he realized that, as enjoyable as a fight would have been, he would have lost and the oni found that most people were sore losers.

"Yeah, yeah," she replied. "Let me check that pile over there and I'll concede that there is no sake here."

Without waiting for the man to agree or not, the oni crossed the room to where she'd pointed and started picking through it. "Hey... you ain't listening to the ghosts are you? Nasty little buggers, you know. Ain't got much to do but bother us living folk until we get tired and go join them."

[poolcuemurder]

Oh, finally. Did it really have to take that long for her to-

Nnn...

"...No." It wasn't a lie. They never actually spoke to him, just watched, stared with their empty, judgmental eyes, no matter how much he spoke to them. The people he had assassinated, Volf, Tsuyoshi, Master Zato... None of them ever said a single word, so he technically was not listening to them.

Technically, he was telling the truth. His voice still hesitated, though, as if it was still a lie. Millia always had called him out for being a horrible liar.

"Do you see them too?" he asked, changing the subject.

[alcohol_abuse]

Yuugi snorted at the denial, then chuckled to herself as she moved more rubble. She was getting the feeling that this man was human. She idly wondered what he'd taste like.

"Yeah, but I think they bother anyone up here," she replied. "The ones I see are different than the ones you do, but I'm an oni so they're a little more careful with me." She knew where ghosts came from. Plus, they knew if they bothered her enough, she'd just head back to the Underworld.

[poolcuemurder]

Was she laughing at him? Him, an assassin? Not only an assassin, but the Leader of the Assassin's Guild?! (Not that it mattered any more, but the point was still there. Venom was not someone to cross in any circumstance if someone didn't feel the need be to beaten within an inch of their life.) Demon or not, she had worn out her already limited welcome and he wasn't fearful of her. His grip grew tighter on his cue as he watched her, anger clouding his vision.

Maybe the ghosts avoided her, but he wasn't dead yet.

"I told you there was nothing. You have seen to that yourself. Leave here, now."

[alcohol_abuse]

"You're such an impatient man - you must be human," Yuugi replied, still sifting through then rubble. "Are you so sure you want to be left alone in here with your ghosts?"

She glanced up and winked at him. "I'm far more pleasant company than most of that lot."

[poolcuemurder]

Oh, the "human" retort. How original. Venom had had enough of that from Slayer, those Gears, that damned parasite, and essentially everything else that decided to underestimate him. It was silly and incredibly dim-witted to assume so much on so little. He only scoffed at that.

Besides, he never claimed he was going to stay here forever--just for now. No matter where he went, the ghosts followed, but as long as Master Zato stayed with him...

He shot another billiard ball off in her direction, his annoyance palpable. "You're really not my type."

[alcohol_abuse]

The oni hadn't meant it to be a slight when she'd called the man a human; it was just a statement of fact. Yuugi had a healthy respect for humans thanks to that shrine maiden and that witch. It was just that humans were so impatient, but she supposed having such a short lifespan would make someone want to hurry everything up.

Catching the ball in her hand, again with that sting (it was really kind of nice that humans could be that strong), Yuugi tossed it back with an underhand throw to the man. She then took on a mock hurt expression. "What? Is it my horn?"

She ran her fingers along the length of the red horn, then paused, the broken chain dangling from one of her manacles before her face. 'Or are you just not into chains?" A teasing grin accompanied the question.

[poolcuemurder]

He caught the ball with a frown, then rolled it along the top of his fingers as she prattled on about what in the world could make him dislike her.

Really, despite the horn, chains, unnatural height, and loathsome attitude, she was an attractive... demon, he supposed, or at least she would be to someone else. He just... Hmph. Not that it mattered, anymore. His heart had long since died with Master Zato and there was no reviving it.

After all, when your first and only attempt at loving someone involved painful devotion, dedicating every single part of your life to that one person for your entire life, doing everything they asked of you, no matter what, and they still let your feelings go unrequited so they could be together with some prehensile-haired witch who eventually decided she had a conscious despite being an assassin for years and had to both betray Master Zato and murder him and it left you not only in an irreversible spiral of self-loathing, hatred and the occasional suicidal wish, but also a broken, empty shell of a man with no direction after your compass was gone except for having the pitiful notion that if you clung to the memory of the man you so desperately loved despite the fact that he never loved you, it would give you some sort of meaning to your life... well, it tended to destroy any desire to try again.

...Wow. That subtext had rapidly become just text.

He shook his head once again, clearing his thoughts. After a moment, he pointed his cue at the woman in a clearly threatening manner. "If I said yes, would you go?"

[alcohol_abuse]

The problem with humans, as far as Yuugi could tell, was that they were so focused on burning fast and bright that they never take the time to enjoy the low flames, the embers of life. They wanted to make the most out of their lives, when something tragic happens, they pretty much snuff their own flames out. It was kind of sad.

"Probably not," Yuugi replied, taking a very small sip of her sake, "since you wouldn't mean it." Not that she'd leave if he did mean it. She gestured at the man's weapon with her cup. "That's an odd shaped staff you use."

[poolcuemurder]

At the mention of his cue, the assassin took a minute to procure a bit of chalk from his pocket and lightly ground it against the cue's tip, then brought it to his lips to blow off the excess. Everything situated, he twirled the cue at his side once again. Did she really not know what it was?

"It's a billiards cue, not a staff," he corrected. "And you will be feeling how much it can injure if you continue to test my patience."

[alcohol_abuse]

Billiards cue. Yuugi had never heard of that before, but combined with the chalk and the weird balls the man used, it seemed more like tools for a game than an effective weapon. Sure, he could hit the balls pretty hard with it, but would such a flimsy-looking staff really even do any harm to an oni? She was curious to see.

She grinned broadly and gave a jovial laugh. She spread her feet a little taking on a more stable stance and beckoned with her free hand. "Now that sounds fun! Let's go a couple rounds, see if you gave me a challenge, and then watch the sun set with a drink!"

It was the perfect way to spend the rest of the day; almost like a date if there was such a thing as oni dating humans and then not eating them at the end of it. Well, the other oni; Yuugi found most humans to be a bit on the stringy side.

[poolcuemurder]

Heh. Fine, then. He'd show her exactly why he was the leader of the Assassin's Guild, then shove her stubborn self out of the building and into the sandstorm outside. It would take her in more kindly than he would, in any case.

It had been a while since he'd had a psychical altercation, as well, considering the current situation. Why not let off a little steam? From the smile on Master Zato's face, he agreed.

Venom rushed toward her, cue brandished, before striking the makeshift staff into the ground, using the momentum and force of the cue to propel himself into the air. In an instant, the air around him became electrified with magic, and he let off a rapid-fire series of billiard balls down at the demon with a shout of rage.

"RED HAIL!"