GOD’S JOKER

神のジョーカー

A Trigger for Dinner. ❶

Goodbye, [Wonderland]. I began walking away, and looked towards the moon, it's gaze haunting me. I see a herd of demons, "Σκότωσέ τον" My scythe of vines appeared from an x on my upper palm. "Goodbye, and Good Riddance." The feeling of love has dissolved. The wavering desert, it beacons me to say "I give in." But it will not get its way. I still miss the sensation of love, the thought of being embraced, and warmth. It's still July, but being in a desert, there's no real change in seasons, or from what I can tell. I haven't eaten in days, but I've never felt better. Thanatos tells me that I've learned how to fast properly. I've also learnt how to survive in this place…..I miss my mother, and Auro. "You seem like you need some help." I look up to see an old man, and he puts out his hand "'iya there boy, name's Ko, what's yours?" I shook his hand "Izuya Suiichiro." He looked me up and down "'aya, you want some water?" I nodded, and he handed me a canteen, "'ow 'bout you come to my house, and I'll cook you some food?" I looked at him, "Sure." He smiled, and began walking. "Follow along, young one."

A Trigger for Dinner. ❷

We kept walking for over two miles in the sand, until we reached this wooden home. "This is it." He pointed at the home. "Looks nice." He walked to the front door and opened it. "C'mon in, boy." So, as you do, I walked in. "Boy, you're awfully skinny for someone out here, usually people travelin' this desert bring bunches of food with 'em." I shook my head. "I'm the opposite, sir." He flicked me on the back of the head, "Stop bein' so formal, kiddo." I nodded my head, and he walked away. I began to study my environment. The inside of the house looks bigger than I would've thought, there's a bunch of knives and such….Before Ko came back out, I ran out the house. "Fucking hell, Izuya, you should've known better!" He stuck his head out the door frame, "Why're you running kid?" I kept running, and didn't look back. I realised why the water tasted sort of funny, it was because it was drugged. "You're not human!" He cricked his neck and stared me down, "You're right boy!" I threw my scythe at him, and he disappeared into nothingness. Don't Wait, Wash it Down and Kill the Others. I've spent almost a month and a half in this desert. It's still July, however, it feels like it's constantly night. I usually cover myself up in my cloak and sleep on a sleeping bag, but recently, I've only taken power naps. This gun….named Ágios, is the foundation of my demon hunting. I've always found myself intrigued with demons...Oni, Akuma, Yōkai, whatever they may be. But now that I do it constantly, I worry for my own mind….Am I becoming desperate? Yes….I definitely have….For some reason, Hoshi and her crew are calling me from a near dead cellphone...They say I've become more of a Nomad than a reasonable human...What's that supposed to mean? I still miss her, I haven't seen, nor heard from her in a while…..I wish I could see her again...Fading….Away….What i—s thi–s?...."Izuya, Izuya!" I wake up...but it's not [Reality] or [Dream]...? I look up, and she's sitting there…."Au...Auro?" She ran towards me, and hugged me…"Where...Where am I?" Auro started crying, and hugged me tighter "You're in my [Realm]." I paused "Your, [Realm]?!" She looked at me; and with her teary eyes, she continued talking. "You know that [Wonderland] you keep entering?" I paused "Yes?" She continued, "That's your [Dreamscape] it's also known as [Realms]." I looked at her, "I assume it's like Thanatos' Dream?" She nodded "I miss you so much Izuya." I wiped her tears and kissed her….Wait! I can kiss her in her [Realm]?! She giggled at my confused expression. "My [Realm] is known as [The Rabbit Hole] like how yours is named [Wonderland]." I kissed her again. "I love you, Auro." She smiled, and kissed my cheek. "I love you too, my dearest Izuya." I smiled. "Is this goodbye...for now?" She flicked my forehead. "No, silly, your powers have grown. You can now communicate with me normally, except no one else will hear you." I was..Shocked. "You're saying that you have no corporeal form, but you and I can still communicate?" She nodded. "Goodnight, my sweet Prince." I woke up this morning in a...bedroom? "Izuya..We excavated you from the desert. Your Demon Hunter days are over." It was Hoshi standing there, "Why?" She smiled "You exterminated a very, very high class demon...nonetheless in one swing." I smiled, "So...do I go back to the SA?" She shook her head. "No. You only served a quarter of a semester." I paused. "Then what'll I do?"She smiled "You're going to get a job."

The Louvre's Bad Case of Murder ❶

"Do what?!" She laughed "You heard me, you're going to get a job." I snickered "But I'm only 17!" She glared at me after that comment, "So what? You may be 17, but you're 190 centimetres, you have an entire 6 pack, and hell, you can kill a fucking god!" I looked at her "Ya didn't need to get so mad, Hoshi." She flicked me on the head, "Izuya, we already have it set so that you can work at a local bar." I glared at her "Yet again, I'm only 17." She slapped me, "Don't care, didn't ask." Why did this have to happen? I walked into the bar, "Hello, welcome to—" The man standing behind the bar stopped talking. "Uh, hello?" The man behind the bar walked out from behind it, "You're Izuya, correct?" I nodded. He patted me on the back, "You're a singer!" Eh? "EH?" The man laughed "You heard it right, from now on, you will be the lead singer of this bar's band!" I looked at the bartender "Come again?" He laughed, "I'm Karma, Karma Bello." He stuck his hand out, to which I shook. "Izuya, Izuya Suiichiro." Karma laughed, "You ready?" I nodded. The man called me a joker, too bad that I was already an Ace, at pulling the trigger. "We're naming the song 'God's Poor World'? Izuya, why are you this way?"I laugh, "I've always wanted to write music." Karma smiled, "Good to know." "Welcome to the Bar named Purgatory, tonight...we have a set of special guests! God's Poor Angels!" We walked on stage, the crowd staring at us, "Welcome to Purgatory, you poor, poor Souls." I looked to see Karma on the mic, he signaled for the drummer and bassist to start, he then signaled for me to start… "The World so Cooooooooold! Awaiting my demise, looking through my eyes, in order to see; the lies that I've consumed, are greater than those that the world had to, offer...A man named The Messiah (Siah) has graced me...But I don't want his grace, This world is hell and I'm just a poor man running away..this is God's Poor World! This is God's Poor World (World) (x2)"I signal Karma to start the verse, "Symphonies with no words, like a pin to a grenade, heart-break to an unhappy death day, a kiss to a killer's last cha-a-rade, given the temptation, the world's so fu-ck-ing wa-ay-sted. I met a liar who had killed his spouse, he said that he had no doubts, I walked up to him and asked him 'Why?' he said 'She wasn't needed, I had always desired to kill that fu-ckkk-ing bi-ee-tch' I gave him the nickname of 'The Un-for-givaa-ble Ma-aan.' he had smiled at me and called me a Joker, too bad that I was an Ace; at pulling the goddamn trigger! His wife's name was Gabriel, I had thought it was bizarre, he said that she saw the world in light, and heard words of colour, too bad her that her bastard husband killed her! (x2)" Karma signaled for the instrumental, and as the guitar, bass and drums blared, he had signaled for it to end. "Goodnight Purgatory!" As he said that, the crowd started applauding, and we ended "God's Poor World"on a good note.

The Louvre's Bad Case of Murder ❷

I awake in a hotel room. Excuse me? I look around, to find nothing. No response, no noises. "Hello?" Still no response. I get up out of the bed, and scuffle around trying to find my clothes. I find them, and scurry to the door that I can barely see. I grab the door handle and twist. Holy shit it's bright. "Good morning." I jump "What the fuck?" I look to see Hoshi, "Heard your first show went well." I nod, "So….do I get to train now?" She puts her hand on her chin. "Get in the car, I'll tell you later." She handed me a note. "Hurry to the car, Stallings will be waiting." I darted towards the entrance of the hotel, to see, at no surprise, Stallings standing there. "Been a while, kid." I smiled "I'm ready." He smirked "Welcome back, Death Saint."—The Saint's Academy hasn't changed a bit in 3 months, it feels weird to be in August and be here again. "Kid, to think that it was August the last time we brought you here, it's been a year." I look at Stallings and nod. "Good to see you again, Izuya Rotomine." I look up to see a boy who I vaguely remember from Yokto…..who was it? "Ah, Winmei, don't—" Another boy who looked familiar stood at the top of the stairs "I don't seem to remember either of you." They both smirked "Winmei Azaiwa." The other boy spoke "Rein Kanei." I smiled "Good to see you two here—Wait, what?" Stallings patted my shoulder "It turns out that those two saw your first transformation, and as it seems, they are Saints too." I paused "Come again?" He laughed "Winmei here is the Saint of Electricity, he's the first Saint with an unknown God as his 'Blesser'." Stallings continued "Kanei is the Saint of Atlantis, his 'Blesser' is Poseidon." I smirked "So….are they both strong?" And at that moment, I heard a voice I hadn't heard in 3 months, "Izuya Suiichiro! You bastard!" Valour Orléans jumped from the top of the stairs "Oh yeah, I forgot about Valour." He punched me "I'll have you know that as the Saint of Chains, I'm very reputable, sir!" I laughed "So...is your 'Blesser' as they're all calling it, Plato or Ereshkigal?" He smirked, "No, my 'Blesser' is Mictlāntēcutli." I smiled, "A better opponent." Valour grinned "Stallings, reserve the arena!" Stallings nodded and walked away. "Let's get this show on the road, shall we?" —"Izuya Suiichiro, step forward." I did as instructed, "Good, now step into the Magic circle." I did as instructed, again…. "You're good to go!" The man standing in front of me was a inspector of sorts. A bell rang, and we were told to step toward the center, like a duel. "IZUYA SUIICHIRO VERSUS VALOUR ORLÉANS! THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE TWO FACED SAINT, AND THE MAN OF CHAINS!" The announcer continued "Izuya Suiichiro, back from his journey through the desert, now works at a bar, and is the lead singer of a band named 'God's Poor Angels', or so I'm told, he is now 17, as his birthday is in June." I looked at the booth, and stared at the announcer. "THE BATTLE WILL BEGIN IN….THREE…..TWO…...ONE! GO!" So..yet again, I'm the battle position…"Goodbye, Wonderland."