The Guardian - A My Inner Demons AU Fanfic

Chapter Twenty-Three - Scatter!

"We have a winner!"

Ava grinned as the carny handed her an absolutely adorable cheeseburger cat. For some reason, it looked to be a higher-quality toy than many of the prizes available from the other games, but she figured it was because this particular carny was someone she knew was following her dad's campaign.

"Hmph. Beginner's Luck," Asch scoffed, looking at her cockily. "Watch this!" He blinked in surprise as the ball he threw drifted just past the left side of the bottle. "I'm. Not. Through. Yet," he growled through gritted teeth, glaring as he threw the other four balls.

All four shots missed, bringing out a small chuckle from Emerald. "Man, that's rough. No wonder you never actually throw those fireballs you summon. You'd probably set the whole apartment building on fire."

"This game is cursed with a bad omen!" he shouted at her, turning away in frustrated embarrassment.

"Stand aside and watch this." Leif swaggered up to the pitching line, handing the carny his ticket.

Oddly enough, the former assassin also missed every one of his shots... just slightly to the right of the bottle.

"Are we sure Rhys is the only one who needs glasses?" The veteran grinned again.

"This is stupid! Why use a tiny ball for this?!"

"Now Leif," Rhys cut in. "It's all about strategy. You need to - "

Before he could finish his sentence, Leif turned and grabbed Noi by the shoulders and chucked the smallest Daemos bodily into the bottle...

... and through the back of the game.

As Leif laughed in victory and the carny began moaning about his stand, Emerald rushed forward and whispered in Ava's ear. "Go check on Noi: I'll try to smoth things over with the attendant."

Leif struck a victory pose. "How's that for strategy?!"

"... it was rather effective," Rhys admitted quietly.

Pierce nodded. "Good thinking, Leif."

"I'm so angry I didn't think of that sooner..." Asch growled out.

"Guys, shut it!" Emerald hissed angrily as she approached the carny, but he didn't seem interested in talking to her just yet.

"Why did you do that?!" he demanded of Leif.

"Because your game was broken." He grinned wickedly. "You know, you should really consider using humans instead of tiny balls to throw at the bottles."

"I'm so sorry about that," Emerald interrupted, drawing the man's attention away from the former assassin.

He ignored her, instead looking over her shoulder to glare at Ava who had just come out from behind the hole in the stand with Noi. "Ava, you should really consider the people you hang around with!"

"Hey!" The veteran waved her hand in front of his face. "I'm the one talking to you right now. Leave her out of this. Did it ever occur to you that these are my friends and Ava's only really here because of me?" She took a breath, trying to rein in her temper. "These guys are friends of mine from overseas, and they have some... odd habits I'm trying to help them break."

"Don't smart-mouth me, Missy. You know this could look bad on Ava's father."

"Why should it? Just because she happens to be nearby? I don't understand why everyone in this stupid city makes such a big deal out of how Ava acts when she's not the one running for any kind of political position." Emerald felt herself getting angry. "It's not right that she has to completely rearrange how she lives her life in order to make it 'convenient' for others to live theirs!"