Night Out [Open]

It was a funny sight to Desdemona, and one she couldn’t quite get over. This nightclub was a popular one, and an expensive one. However, underneath all the gaudy lights and loud music this place reminded her of a daycare center for children, and many of the club’s patrons were indeed children with their mental capacity. This was a place all the rich kids could meet up at and pretend they were as dazzling as they felt, without them getting into any kind of trouble that their parents could not bail them out from. Hell, most of the younger crowd in here couldn’t even legally drink. If this were a club in the more down to earth spots in Shibuya Des did not doubt that there would be a few broken noses tonight.

Despite that, among these children was someone who commanded respect. The girl had announced herself as Rosaria Alanis, and her mere disapproval was enough to get a troublemaker dragged out of the club as he blubbered an apology. While the scene seemed to shock a lot of the spectators Des had to turn away to hide a mischievous grin spreading across her lips. The night had gotten a lot more interesting.

She was glad to have bought a holosuit before leaving the digital world. It allowed her to blend in with the humans perfectly, and the hologram’s outfit could be changed as needed. Tonight she wore a tight sleeveless black dress ending at her knees, and a pair of black short heels. Her black hair was tied back in a braided ponytail, with her hair tie sporting two small round cat bells. Covering her hands were her black gloves, with large red pentagrams sewn onto the backs of the hands.

Desdemona approached Rosaria’s couch from the front walking calmly with a friendly smile on her face. She stopped in front of Rosaria, and politely bowed her head in a greeting.

“Hello Miss Alanis; can I say that what you did for that girl was a very kind thing,” she said smoothly as her golden eyes nearly glowed in the club’s blinking lights. “Sadly, not a lot of people here would have done the same thing. My name is Desdemona, or Des for short. Would you mind if I joined you? You are a breath of fresh air in this place.”

For a moment Desdemona wore a slightly surprised expression, even tilting her head to the side a little at the redhead’s first question. Her surprise gave way to amusement as she softly chuckled and shook her head.

“Harsh? Not at all. That boy got what he deserved, and that girl you saved does not have to deal with him anymore. You were very kind to the girl for doing that, that is what I meant.”

She smiled gratefully at Rosaria’s invitation, and nodded politely again, this time in thanks. Des sat down on the couch, crossing one leg over the other and resting her hands on her raised knee. She looked a lot more relaxed now that she was in a comfortable posture on a soft seat. Glancing back to the human Desdemona hummed to herself softly for a moment, as if debating on what she should tell Rosaria.

“I’m new to Shibuya,” she admitted with some faked hesitation. “I do not know a lot of people here, or anyone, really. I was told this was a good place to meet people, so I came here.” Her expression brightened up a bit with the next confession. “Between you and me? I thought this was going to be a wasted night, but that was before you walked in. It’s a relief to know that there are still good, decent people like you here in this city.”

Desdemona stopped to look up at the stranger joining them. She could have sworn that she had already seen this guy hanging onto another girl earlier, so it surprised her a little that he was so confident in sitting next to her. Even putting his arm around her and leaning in close! Despite all that, Des remained calm and composed, and put on a charming smile.

“Such a strong name, ‘Houou.’ Of course, the pleasure is all mine. My name is Desdemona.” Slowly and softly, she trailed a fingertip up the front of Houou’s throat, sliding it gently under his chin. She looked as if she might humor Rosaria’s brother with a kiss, but that was far from the truth. She did not soften her voice, wanting Rosaria to hear what she was saying to Houou.

“You must be very proud to have a sister like Rosaria. Strong. Brave. Beautiful. You must lose a lot of dates to her? Girls do love roses, after all.”

With that said Des smiled innocently before moving her finger out from under Houou’s chin, and gently booping him on the nose with her fingertip.

Rosaria was certainly a step above the rest of the club’s clientele, that much Des was sure of. The Alanis heir had no obligation to explain the petty politics of aristocrats here, and had even given Desdemona a warning about being cautious here. The disguised digimon would have loved to continue their chat without Houou’s interruption, but maybe that was a blessing in disguise. She glanced over towards Rosaria after Houou’s comment about roses and saw the other girl blush. A very desirable reaction for Des.

She looked back to Houou when asked what kind of a flower she was, but did not have time to answer. Des simply smiled politely and waved goodbye at Houou as he left. It seemed that Rosaria’s brother was not in the mood for games, which was a little disappointing. Des would have liked to show off a little more, but at least she and Rosaria were alone now.

“Oh no, nothing to apologize for, Rosaria,” replied Des as she smiled back at the human. “If anything, I am sorry if I was being too bold. I didn't intend to cause trouble for your brother, or you, for that matter. However, I don’t think dear Houou will feel lonely for long.” Her smile widened a little as she giggled softly. She was familiar with people like Rosaria’s brother. They were like addicts, unable to satisfy their urges. She did not doubt that Houou would find another girl to soothe his hurt pride.

Another stranger approached them, but this person had good news. VIP access was not something expensive clubs like this gave out on a whim. And if the main lounge was for the ‘commoners’ of the rich, she could only imagine how fancy the private rooms must be. The man also mentioned the club’s change in ownership, which Des thought was strange. This was a very successful business. She hoped it fell into good hands. Des followed Rosaria’s gaze to Houou, and raised a hand to politely cover her mouth as she giggled again.

“I would love to, Rosaria! It looks like your brother can handle things out here without our supervision.”

This was an unexpected turn of events. While Desdemona had come here for mischief and fun, she did not expect to be given the VIP treatment. Rosaria’s family must have been very important for her to receive this offer from the club. Des would have to find out more about the Alanis family later. She could get very comfortable here in the human world with their help.

As they were led to another room Des squinted at the dust particles floating in the air. It was unusual to see in a club where appearances were all that mattered. What would people do if it got in their drinks? Looking around, she saw that there were other young humans in the room as well. None of them looked alarmed, so Desdemona ignored the dust for now. She did not notice their escort hanging back away from the dust, but she did watch him as he left.

“Stardust, huh?” repeated Des as she looked back to Rosaria. “That’s a pretty name for it, but they are using far too much. It’s getting everywhere.” She tilted her head curiously when Rosaria spoke about her concerns with drugs. Honestly, this is exactly the kind of place Des expected people to put drugs in drinks, but she did not anticipate what was going on here. When Rosaria almost fell Des reached out to grab her, making sure she did not collapse. “H-Hey! Take it easy, now,” she said while looking worried.

What Rosaria said about not having anything to drink that made Des pause. If they were being drugged, and it was not in the drinks, then where was it? She looked around at the other people in the room. They had empty expressions on their faces, like their minds were somewhere else. Everyone in this room was drugged. Was the drug in the air?

“This isn't good,” Des warned Rosaria. “We should leave. Now. Sorry about this.” Des stood side to side with Rosaria, with one arm around the human’s waist to support her. “I don’t feel strange myself, but do you think whatever it is, it’s in the air? Is it the stardust?” She looked up at the dust in the air. Whatever the drug was, did it affect her differently because she was not human? Des did not know for certain. Best to get out of the room first, though.

When the doors opened the fatman from before came back. In front of him was someone new, a young man with blonde hair. Still holding onto Rosaria the disguised digimon watched in annoyance as the young man toyed with one of the drugged kids.

“So that is how they want to play?” Des asked herself quietly. She could play this game very well, but she would have to be careful to keep Rosaria safe. A smile appeared on her face when the man asked why she was okay, but that smile quickly turned into a scowl when another digimon appeared and blew her cover. She did not expect to see another digimon in a place like this.

“Well that was rude of you,” she said towards the tapirmon, glaring at it. Des looked to the young man as he tried to make a deal with her. Des looked unimpressed with him, but before she could answer him Rosaria spoke up. Des was surprised the human knew what a digimon was. “Yes, I am… That’s probably why I am not affected by whatever is going on here. You are taking this situation surprisingly well, Rosaria,” she commented with a small smile. Des looked back to the blonde man to answer him, her smile growing into an evil grin.

“You are right that I want a lot of things in this world, but you are a child who needs to be taught a lesson. You need Rosaria because she is rich, and you are not. Why should I work for you? I have a deal to offer you, instead. Rosaria and everyone else leaves unharmed, and you sign ownership of this club to the Alanis family. Ask on your knees, and maybe she will let you continue to work here. If you do not agree, I will burn this club down, and tell people what you have been doing to these kids. I am sure their powerful parents would love to talk to you after that. What do you say?”

Des was not scared of the tapirmon or this blonde man. There was a serious look in her eyes, like she was daring him to make her mad.

Three is better than two? What did he mean by that? Desdemona didn’t have to wait to find her answer. She did not see the second digimon, but she heard them call out their attack. Her eyes widened in surprise having been caught off guard. Before she could do anything Rosaria was already out of her arms and moving, saying something about a shield. Smoke quickly appeared around them, blocking Des from seeing as she turned around to investigate.

...did she smell roses?

Surprise turned into relief at hearing Rosaria’s voice. As the smoke cleared she could see that Rosaria looked different now. She even had the digital signature of a digimon now, making her words true. Des knew what Rosaria was before she told the other humans, but this was her first time seeing a spirit user in action. She was a little awestruck, both at Rosaria’s secret, and how pretty Rosaria’s digimon form was. When asked what they should do, Des shook her head with a soft chuckle.

“I think I should get dressed for this dance,” she said with a smile. Des turned her holosuit off as she digivolved, her skin glowing in white light as her body grew. After the light faded, she stood as a witchmon next to Rosaria. Her smile widened into a grin as she bowed her head respectfully to the girl.

“You can count on me, Rosaria. As for that child, how badly should we hurt him?” Des’ blue eyes glowed beneath the brim of her witch hat as she stared at the blonde man with a grin. "This is your world, Rosaria. I will play by your rules."