A different stage. (Pink Trigger, Favors -1)

Beatrice released the pole she'd been holding, then walked to the silver briefcase. She took the last of Battler's earnings, swinging the lanyard loop casually on one finger as she ignored his protests and walked over to a different stage...

She took a seat on the edge of the bed at the side of the room, then gave a come-hither smile as she pulled the ornamental pin from her hair and let her long, wavy blonde hair fall down her back, tossing it for good measure. "On this card is more than a thousand dollars. How much more, I will not say... But will you leave me without coming to claim it? I want you to join me and claim what is yours... Ushiromiya Battler." She teased him further, pushing the card into her cleavage beneath her somewhat transparent white shirt and reclining on the bed.

Well, Battler was a man. I don't know whether his intention was to tell her off and take what was his when he started marching, but when he finally got there... His shoes left his feet mid-walk, his tie left his jacket as he pulled it free, and his shoulders left his coat as he unfastened it and let it fall to the floor. Now in his red undershirt and white dress pants, the young man pulled his black tie free and left it bedside as he climbed onto the bed, which was truthfully pretty small for two people, looming over the witch.

As though it was a trap, she snared him with her painted nails and whirled over him so she was on top, casting her shadow on him and giving him a toothy grin. It didn't last long, however, and soon fell to a resting smile. "For once, finally... You are my prisoner, Battler." She sat on his lap, just off of his groin, and showed she meant business by removing the hidden catch on her frilled skirt and laying it gently aside. Finally flushing a bit herself, she began unbuttoning her shirt.

For his part, the young man couldn't seem to decide where to look. His eyes had been resting on her provocative panties, then her mysterious tattoo, then the belly button of her narrow waist... Ultimately, though, his decision was made clear as the shirt came off, revealing the bra he and I had been glimpsing earlier and the fullness of her breasts. He didn't have any smart banter to trade, now.

Beatrice tossed the lanyard aside dismissively, as though to indicate how little that money had ever mattered. Tentatively, the witch brought her body down, carefully lifting her hips so that she wouldn't be lying on his growing boner, then cast her golden hair as a curtain alongside his own face as she loomed just over him. "Battler. I am going to tell you some facts now. Please understand that what I tell you now holds the highest authority of truth a witch can grant."

"... Go ahead." Battler responded seriously after a gulp, taken up in her suddenly mature gravity.

"The first... As I told you before, Ushiromiya Battler, you and I are enemies. Opponents. As your opponent, I intend to defeat you. You may think me a friendly foe..." Beatrice trailed off, running one of her slender fingers along her enemy's cheek... "However, never forget that we are foes."

"Heh. Ihihi... I c-can't wait to be your friend, then!" Battler answered stupidly, as casually as he could, although Beatrice didn't laugh in response to this wisecrack.

"The second... I hate you, Ushiromiya Battler. You are not like the other members of this family: you are more despised than any of them. You cannot imagine the depths of my hatred for you, Ushiromiya Battler..." Demonstrating her hatred, with frantic energy, Beatrice pulled the man's collar open and licked the sweat from his shoulder blades, then traced upward with her tongue and turned it into a kiss at his neck, before making that a tender bite. It wasn't a practiced move of seduction: she looked hungry for him. She withdrew her mouth once more.

Battler only gave her a stunned look in response. It was impossible to guess how he was processing this. His lips twitched as if expecting a kiss, but Beatrice only continued speaking.

"The third... My hatred will drive me to kill, Battler. Some may join me in the Golden Land, but the others... I may kill your grandfather, Kinzo. I may slaughter every servant who loyally serves him. I may **** your uncles, your aunts, your father and mother... your beloved younger sister, if she were here. And, most importantly of all, I may kill you." The witch propped her body up, and I could see the cold resolve in her eyes. "I am a riddle for you to solve, Ushiromiya Battler. Solving my riddle is the only way for you to save your family and yourself. That is the type of game we are playing. However, if you win... You stand to gain everything. The money will be yours. The headship will be your right to claim. And... of course... I will be yours. You can have my love, or my ****, if you wish for it. Solve my riddle. Answer my hatred. Explain my mysteries, if you can... But do it quickly."

...

I... could hardly imagine writing this. Beatrice was Battler's mortal enemy. That was my understanding. However... I'd written what sounded like a pretty mysterious riddle regarding how they were related to each-other... Sure, the scene of this young, half-naked and blushing blonde straddling a handsome young man was like something from my writing, but this strange pillow-talk... I had no idea what the answer to this riddle was.

Did Battler know? ... Wait, how could he?

I didn't know, and I had studied the mysteries of this island from outside perspective most of my adult life! I loved the characters in this story more than anyone, and of course I'd tried to solve this witch's riddle myself! How could Ushiromiya Battler know?!

This is just wasting time anyway, isn't it? The important thing was if Beatrice was a witch! The Pink Trigger should let me drive this story where it needs to go. Callously interrupting this heavy scene, I shouted out to Battler.

Is Beatrice a witch?! Will you accept that?!