Matryo-ress (Volume 5)

Chapter 2 - Bad Company

After getting some drinks and waiting, our patience paid off and our special guests had arrived.

Covered in purple and blue and white pom-poms was the boss's friend, a jester named Quip. But then...that child. She gave me such dread from just looking at her. I felt like I had remembered her, but I don't know where I saw her. The little girl was in gothic lolita attire and looked like she was from the 60s. Her hair was tied back into two snowy white ponytails and she was holding a teddy bear. I had the sudden urge to just...throw her out of the casino and leave her to rot for no reason.

Dom got up and greeted his daughter, he picked her up with joy and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Quip looked confused at the way Dom treated his daughter, but seemed like the realization had hit him that he is her original guardian, so I wasn't too worried. Dom guided them over to our table and Quip bounced into his chair, looking around at the scenery of the casino. The little girl walked up to the boss and tugged on his finger, he looked down and saw her standing there. He picked her up and put the girl on his lap, keeping her from touching anything laid out on the table, such as poker chips and his wine.

"Marshall, I know you've heard of my buddy Quip."

I looked at Quip, who clearly wasn't the brightest. His tongue was sticking out of his mouth, but he seemed quite happy to be here.

Quip stood up from his seat and announced, "Greetings, Marshall! I am Quip, the godly--"
Stopping him midway, the boss scolded him saying, "Sit your ass down, no need for a grand entrance. I don't want to make a scene."

Quip looked down with disappointment and sat in his chair once again. Then, I looked to the child in the boss's lap.

"Now, I know you don't know her quite well yet, but this is Ume. Please be gentle with her, she's sensitive and can have her feelings hurt easily. She was originally a doll before Dom used his stupid good-boy powers to give her life and turn her into a human."

Dom looked at the boss with frustration. Though, I was still confused at why she gave me such a pain in my chest just from looking at her. It may be because I heard a rumor that dolls separated from their original owner are cursed to give people nightmares. I don't want to be haunted by my own imagination since my nightmares tend to get graphic, so what if she decides to give me one? But it's so childish to think a rumour like that is real, so I should just forget about it. Plus, it isn't safe having her in the casino anyways, she's a child and shouldn't be in an environment like this. But...I have this urge to tear her apart to pieces, I don't know why.

I glared at Ume, suspicious of her. She looked frightened and started to cry. That easily? Wow, guess the boss wasn't lying when he said that she was sensitive.

The boss looked down at her with concern, "Hey, what happened? Are you hurt?", he then proceeded to look up at me and knew exactly what was going on.

"Marshall, I swear if you made her cry, you'll be out of here in an instant."
With a sigh, I replied, "This is a casino, a little kid shouldn't be in here."
"Then you shouldn't be either, but you've got debt to me so you're an exception."
"You barely pay me anything."
"You barely DO anything for me!"

A few statements unraveled a whole thread of insults thrown between us, the boss and I don't work together at all. Our back and forth arguing caused Ume to get overwhelmed by the aggression and she started wailing. Dom quickly got out of  his seat along with Quip and separated her from the boss, trying their best to calm her down.

I stood up from my seat and continued, aggravated by her crying, "And look, now she's crying. You told Quip not to cause a scene for simply presenting himself, which is a polite thing to do, but an annoying screaming child is nothing to you?"
Klover rolled his eyes and got out of his seat as well, "You need to shut your mouth and sit down, Marshall, I don't want my name or reputation ruined for a second time because of a reckless teenager."
"Then you certainly wouldn't want a child or even a jester to ruin your name either, so kick them out."
"Why is Ume such a problem to you?! You're overreacting!"
"She's a child and shouldn't be here! Plus, just looking at her makes me want to...tear her to shreds!"
"What?! Marshall, what's gotten into you? You're acting insane, sit the hell down."
"She needs to leave now or I'll make her leave."

Dom and Quip both looked at me with equal shock after my statement. Ume's cries continued to echo throughout the casino and we attracted the eyes of customers gambling nearby. Quip was trying his best to calm her down and so was Dom, but nothing was helping. 

Ume looked traumatized, her sobbing wouldn't stop. As each tear shed and her screaming continued, I began to drive more and more into madness and anger.

Continuing, I said, "If you don't shut her up now, you don't want to know what this gift you gave me can truly do."
"Fuck off, you need to shut up before I become nothing more than a news headline for people to laugh at."
"Good, get me in there too, King Marshall is the name and keeping things civil is my game."
"This isn't civil, kid. If you say another word, you're fired."

Being a smartass, I didn't use words, I used my fist. Only driven by instinct and madness, I clenched my black claw and using all my strength launched myself towards Ume's face.

Before I made contact with her demonic porcelain skin, I was blocked by something unfamiliar.