Open ♔ Bonjour, espoir; bonsoir, etoile sans rival eclore

[priforprince]

Who: Hibiki Shikyoin priforprince and you!
What: Hibiki’s canon update takes effect.
When: July 3, 2016
Where: Apollo’s temple; a Near Shore shopping district; a Near Shore casino
Summary: After some encouraging evidence that her master plan is working, Hibiki hits the town to replenish her funds.

[ I. Late Afternoon - Charisma Millennium Kingdom ]



[ Not choosing to speak of whatever might have happened during a certain courtesy call, Hibiki’d retired to her sitting room for some tea and relaxation. She’d meant to only rest her eyes, but she slips instead into a deep sleep.

And into that sleep, many dreams come. Enough to feel real.

Enough that she sees…them…again.

Hibiki wakes with a start and the smashing of china; not only does she drop the teacup she’d had dangling precariously from her fingertips, drizzling tea onto the carpet, but her elbow bumps the whole tea set that’d been resting on the end table next to the sofa. She doesn’t hear the crashes, though to any of her shinki (or visitors) who might be in the area, it must have sounded like something calamitous just happened. She’s staring at her hands. Imagining what they’d looked like with a ticket in them, as the Heavenly Stage fell.

No, not imagining. She’d gone back. She’d gone back. She’d performed yesterday, and she’d gone back. ]

…It’s working.

[ Anyone who comes to check up on her will see a very disturbing sight: Shikyoin Hibiki, seated thronelike on her sofa, surrounded by the graveyard of an entire china tea set, cups, saucers, pot, and all,

and laughing. ]

[ II. Early Evening - Who’s Drawn First ]



[ Hibiki is feeling particularly energized by this reward for her genius! But she also didn’t spend ten years of her life believing the world was nothing but lies and falsehoods for nothing. She won’t act upon the sensation of having gone home until she’s proven to herself that she wasn’t just dreaming. That everything she sensed was real. She went home. She lost in the finals of the Divine Idol Grand Prix, yes, but that’s a minor detail. There will be another, someday, in PriParis.

And she, in all the splendor of Apollo, will be there for it.

This shopping district lottery looks like an excellent place to test her hypothesis. “Step right up, young man,” says the wizened old lady behind the table. “Turn the crank to draw your lot.” ]

Hmph! [ Hibiki takes hold of the handle. ] I’ll tell you now. The number on the ball I’ll draw -

[ She flashes the woman a smile: the god Apollo, prophesizing. ] Will be one!

[ “Good for you, good for you,” says the woman. “It’s good to have faith in yoursel—“

But then she gasps as Hibiki, focusing carefully, turns the crank. Pours all her concentration into the motion. And out into the waiting tray clatters

a small golden ball marked with the number 1.

Cheers just erupted from watchers and hangers-on at this table over here. Maybe come take a look? ]

[ III. Late Night - There Can Be Only Ones ]



One.

[ Hibiki smirks confidently over an enormous pile of casino chips, seated at the roulette table. Sweating nervously - this is making them look bad - the croupier starts up the roulette and tosses in the ball.

Which lands in the black 1. Right where Hibiki’s chips had been placed.

Security is beginning to gather behind where Hibiki’s seated, waiting for someone to push her chips towards her - because why should she do that herself. If she’s aware of this, she doesn’t care. She’s taken care of having run out of checks in her checkbook, too! What a useful skill she’s cultivated!

What a large number of people speaking into walkie-talkies are holding a hushed conference behind her. ]

Comments

2

[rainbowmaster]

[The noise has definitely drawn Johan's attention enough that he looks over and curiosity is quick to get the better of him.

So, he walks over, mostly curious to see what earned so much noise.]

What's going on over here?

[priforprince]

[ Once the people in the crowd notice Johan (which will take some doing), they make room for him, a few of the older folks apologizing with "sorry, sonny, didn't see you there."

"That fine young man just won himself the grand prize!" a housewife enthuses, pointing at the sign hanging above the table. "An all-expenses, private trip to a hot spring!"

Every salaryman in the crowd groans in envy. Hibiki, meanwhile, is being presented with all the accoutrements accompanying her prize: the ticket packet, yes, but also a tea bowl with the hot spring's name stamped on it, a free yukata, a pair of sandals, a flotation ring in case you'll taking any children with you, a six-pack of strawberry milk... ]

That's very generous, now cease with the - [ Aaaaand a free year's worth of toilet paper. ]

MY HOUSEHOLD DOESN'T USE THAT!

[ How dreamy, sighs a high school girl, off to karaoke. A handsome guy who doesn't go. ]

[rainbowmaster]

[Johan looks somewhat bemused as he listens to the people.

Sure, he's seen some pretty....exuberant people in his life, some of them usually loud. While he's a bit in awe of the prize the other gets, he can't help but take notice of one thing, Ruby mewling at him from his shoulder in a transparent form.

He could practically feel a bead of sweat drip down.]

Ah--miss? [Johan calls out to Hibiki, ignoring the stares he received from the people around them.

Miss? some of them whisper, stunned.]

[priforprince]

Hm?

[ Hibiki turns. The lady behind the counter continues stacking her toilet paper up in a veritable castle wall stunning inconvenience barricade.

...She doesn't recognize this person. And she did indeed answer to "miss".

Dun dun dunnn. ] Did you address me?

[ This is not a question from a person who is used to being accosted for no reason. ]

[rainbowmaster]

[Johan smiles.]

I did. [Aaaaah, how does he do this again?

Her personality seems strong.] Do you usually attract this much people?

[priforprince]

[ Before or after becoming irritatingly invisible unless she puts some effort into it?

...No matter. Hibiki barely spares the group a glance, though that's enough to have the high school girl squealing and clutching at her phone, caught in the act of texting all her friends about the Totally Awesome Guy (?) At The Shopping District Right Now. ] It's a natural course of events, is it not? Like moths to flame, people are drawn to the brilliant. The exceptional. The--

[ Another pack of toilet paper is added to Hibiki's winnings. ] I SAID I DIDN'T NEED THAT!

[rainbowmaster]

[Johan definitely can feel that bead of sweat dripping more, and even Ruby tilts her head to the side.]

If you don't need it, is it alright if I do?

[After all, it's not good to put those things into waste, right?]

[priforprince]

[ Hibiki turns away, slipping the hot spring tickets into her jacket pocket. ] Do as you wish.

[ Ah, here, young man--er---youngster. If the woman running the lottery stand starts putting all this in plastic bags, will that make it easier to carry....? She'd hate for this person to not get their prize after how proud they were to earn it.

Hibiki pauses, torn between Princely obligation and an equally Princely desire to Not Carry Her Own Stuff. Her eyes track to Johan.

They narrow. ]

2

[very_goodman]

Aw, man... just another tissue pack. I got so many of these things at home.

[Barry kicks at the ground, lamenting taking home yet another booby prize from the lottery. But it seems like someone's having more luck over there. He turns to look before heading home.]

What the-! Aw, come on! Like she ain't rich enough already!

[priforprince]

[ That particular voice carries somewhat. Hibiki manages to suppress about half of the smirk she'd really like to unfurl right about now, in the interests of being a sporting winner.

Half of this smirk is still quite a lot of smirk. ]

I've found it's a question of focus, actually.

[ Here, she'll even turn the smirk into a smile. She can smile at Barry Goodman. Hibiki performed, and it took her home - however briefly. Hibiki is invincible, and Barry Goodman is nothing.

She may have to consider moving another pawn on her office's chessboard. ]

Perhaps your mind and instincts simply aren't honed enough.

[very_goodman]

[Ah, geez, she heard him.]

What's that gotta do with any of it? It's all luck, ain't it?

[priforprince]

Hm.

[ Yes, she just voiced the rest of her smirk.

That smug.

....As what looks like a small wall of toilet paper rolls is being constructed behind her. The grand prize apparently came with a lot of bonuses and she hasn't noticed that yet. ]

[very_goodman]

Hm? What's that all about?

[He's talking about the smirk, but also about the Great Wall of Charmin.]

[priforprince]

[ Ah, haven't you heard? The lady stacking the toilet paper smiles sweetly. It's a special promotion. They couldn't decide whether to make a year's worth of toilet paper or hot spring tickets the grand prize, so the lucky winner gets both... ]

What?! [ Hibiki seems almost affronted. Certainly taken aback by the amount of rolls being stacked. ] That's unnecessary. Remove it!

[ "Oh, but you earned it, young man....don't be shy..."

And on goes another pile of rolls. ]

[very_goodman]

[Barry laughs as he watches the wall being built higher and higher. It's kind of funny seeing Hibiki all flustered like this.]

Need some help there?

[priforprince]

I don't need any of this!

[ Except the hot spring tickets. Those she will pocket with no apparent consciousness of how she's contradicting herself.

Meanwhile, the toilet paper just keeps coming. ]

san

[pathofheaven]

[ Tendou doesn't gamble much, but hanging out in casinos can be amusing. Besides, as a god, he gets to watch way too many people praying for some nonsense or other, and that is always fun. ]

One, how droll. [ He appears behind Hibiki, having somehow squeezed his way past security without any trouble. ]

Games of luck reveal nothing about one's capacity, but I suppose I can indulge once in a while.

[ And a handful of chips fall into the 3. ]

i'm going to set up that terrible joke some more i'm sorry

[priforprince]

[ Hibiki's gaze flicks over without the rest of her bothering to move. Right. This person was here, wasn't he. And tended to be critical of her for no reason.

Well, she can't say she minds. His inaccurate assessments have no bearing on her life. ] Given up on the number one, then?

[ Said in English. So it also sounds like "won."

Here's a larger pile of chips on the 1. Red, this time. ]

[pathofheaven]

[ It's not Tendou's fault Hibiki gives the sun a bad name. As long as they share a pantheon and a domain, he's going to make sure she's not embarrassing him.

Which is never gonna happen, clearly. ]

Hardly. That I'm number one isn't in question, but if I had to choose, it's far more important to be shining like the sun.

[ He points slowly upwards, because of course he does. Sure, being the best is important, but that's not at all in doubt. What matters is having everyone else partake of that light.

And sun sounds like san. ]

[priforprince]

[ --!!!!

that

was a clever piece of wordplay

that hadn't occurred to hibiki

...ultimately meaningless, of course, in the face of her overwhelming advantage here, but. She's no longer smiling.

Instead, she turns her full attention to staring at that ball, as the croupier tosses it into the wheel. Focusing only on the ball. Willing it to fall where she wishes. Focus. Focus.

Hibiki's eyes narrow. Will her training triumph?! ]

[pathofheaven]

[ The ball bounces slowly, rolling into...

The 3. ]

Naturally.

[ Ignore the "Clock Over" echoing in the background. It's nothing, nothing at all. ]

1/2

[priforprince]

[ .... ]

2/2

[priforprince]

[ ....well, eighty-six-percent accuracy is, by its very nature, not infallible. And surely, if she also trained to increase her sensitivity to the number 3....

Hibiki manages a smile, of sorts, because she is an Actor and therefore can do Anything. All the chips on the table are swept towards Tendou, but fortunately, she hadn't bet all her winnings. ] Beginner's luck is a...formidable thing.

[pathofheaven]

The word "luck" doesn't apply to me.

[ His smirk grows wider, as he gathers up his winnings. ]

Grandma said this: "As long as I wish for it, fate will always be on my side."

[ The circumstances were simply in place for him to make his own luck. Which is, perhaps, a kind of luck in itself. ]

But I wouldn't recommend these games. In the end, the house always wins.

[priforprince]

So it would seem.

[ Hibiki begins scooping her own chips up as well. She's lost her taste for this game, of late. The security here also seems to have grown suspicious. Perhaps she's overstayed her welcome.

There are a million different reasons she could give for choosing to return to her temple right now and absolutely zero of them have to do with Tendou Souji!

Perhaps he should increase his sensitivity to that. ] In any case, playing's grown stale.