Destined Enemies?

“Hey, you,” Jackal gestured for Tsubaki to join her in the alleyway she usually liked to hang out at. Tsubaki didn’t come by here much, and in fact they had only ever met once before, but there was something about her that Jackal needed to check, if nothing more than for her own sake.

Tsubaki was a bit surprised that Jackal even deigned to speak to her, considering she had to change her entire appearance in order to speak to her last time. Still, she was curious what the woman wanted, so stepped inside the alley to join her. “What is it?”

“There was something that bugged me about you when we first met.” Jackal was blunt, “Still bugs me about you, actually. I didn’t know what it was back then, but now that I’ve had time to think, I have a hunch about what it is.”

“You’re being awfully cryptic for someone who just claimed that she doesn’t like me… care to enlighten me?” Tsubaki crossed her arms. This wasn’t what she expected at all when the prickly woman beckoned her here.

“You were raised by Gremory, weren’t you?” Jackal’s tone was accusatory now as she narrowed her eyes at her. Jackal, like many other envy types, had awful memories from her time there. But Tsubaki was different. Tsubaki was a greed type, not an envy type, so if she were indeed raised by Gremory like Jackal thought, she was undoubtedly one of her golden children.

Tsubaki stared at Jackal for several long moments, now understanding what this was about. The thick silence between them seemed to drag on for hours when Tsubaki finally decided to break it. “Yes, just like you.”

Jackal lunged at her instantly, grabbing the front of Tsubaki’s dress in a threatening manner. “You are nothing like me!” She hissed, “I didn’t get special treatment from her like you did! Don’t you dare compare us!” Her fingers balled into a fist at her side, and she was about to punch the other woman before the sound of metal distracted her. Glancing down, she noticed Tsubaki preparing to draw the sword at her side. As much as she wanted to punch her, she didn’t fancy getting cut for it. Instead, Jackal released her and pushed her away in disgust. “I knew it. You have some of the same stuck-up aura around you that she did. Must have been nice being one of the favorites, wasn’t it?” She jeered.

Instead of engaging in her taunting, Tsubaki merely said. “It wasn’t your fault that she raised you.”

Taken aback, Jackal crossed her arms. “Well, yeah, usually that happens when there’s too many for Murmur to care for so of course it wasn’t my fault. What’s your point?”

“My point is, that it wasn’t my fault either. I didn’t choose to be taken by her,” Tsubaki was silent for a few moments to let her words sink in. “I understand that your treatment was worse than mine, but that doesn’t mean we need to be enemies.”

“Tch, whatever. Just get out of here.” Jackal turned away and listened to Tsubaki’s fading footsteps as she left. Was Tsubaki right? Could they be anything but enemies…?