Las noches

Back in the present, Barbro slammed her fist into the wall in frustration. "Dammit! That bitch had to be cheating. No way she'd be able to play so perfectly! I'll file a complaint. Surely... ..."

Barbro slowly let her hand fall to her side as she stood in dejection. Her eyes had been on Dunja for nearly the entire game, and not once had she shown any suspicious movements or actions. Proving she had cheated would be a high hill to climb, and even then, Croatia would still win the match 3-1 if the result was reversed.

"Dunja Sabolić... I've never heard of her until now. Who the hell is she?"

As she made her way to the lobby, she noticed Iori and Mimoko dodging the machete swing from a bespectacled girl with a curly green afro.

"So you're Iori. I heard you have a habit of pissing off everyone and everyone," the girl snarled.

"And you're just as batshit crazy as the rumors suggest. But meeting you in the flesh, gotta say I'm underwhelmed."

The girl glared and turned her attention towards Mimoko, hurling her machete like a spear towards her. Mimoko cowered in terror and shut her eyes, however the blade never hit her. With annoyed sigh, Barbro stepped into the path of the blade, triggering Caissa's blessing which led to the blade shattering on impact and the girl's jaw to drop in disbelief.

"Wh- What the fuck!? My machete... The fuck did you do!?"

"Got so good at chess I got a great life insurance policy, that's what," Barbro snarled.

The girl clenched her fist in fury and prepared to deliver a roundhouse kick, however, Barbro managed to deflect the kick with ease, sending the girl tumbling away.

The girl quickly got back on her feet and pulled out a small knife, but before she could lunge forward, a hand clamped down on her shoulder.

"Come on, Urraca, no need to resort to petty violence," a beautiful bespectacled woman with long black hair smiled.

"Nah, I say let em' slug it out. More money for me," a bespectacled girl with short pink and black hair smirked.

"Fernanda, how sad. You're a nurse, yet you encourage others to hurt themselves," a bespectacled woman with a blue bob sobbed.

Urraca clicked her tongue and sheathed her knife as she stared down Iori from afar.

"Iori-chan, who is she?" Mimoko nervously whispered.

"Urraca Araña, one of the most batshit crazy girls from Mexico. She's got a brain though and was conceived through the union of an infamous cartel boss and the daughter of a yakuza boss."

"Takes one in the trade to know," Urraca snarled as she whipped out her knife once more to twiddle it around in her hand.

"Huh? It's on your wiki page. You telling me you don't know that?"

"And WHY would you even bother looking at my wiki page if you weren't also an underworld denizen?"

Mimoko raised an eyebrow as Iori shrugged her shoulders. "Yakuza pop in the news every so often. Gets a girl curious to know more about them."

Urraca scowled and hurled her knife at Iori, who didn't flinch as the knife sliced off some strands of her hair before embedding itself in the wall behind her.

"And what normal girl just stands there as a knife flies at her face?"

"Ever hear of ninja training? Shit hardened me into a bombshell kunoichi," Iori ginned as she struck a cute pose.

Iori bringing up her lineage caused Mimoko to relax a bit. Though she was still on edge due to Urraca's presence.

"Urraca, you're scaring the poor girl back there. No need to be so violent. Why not sit down and mediate," the black-haired woman smiled as she clamped her hand down on Urraca's shoulder once more, this time with some added force.

Though hard to spot, a single bead of sweat ran down Urraca's face as she calmed down.

"My apologies. Due to the environment she was raised in, she tends to act far more combative than usual. My name is Chihuahua Bibliotecario."

"Your name's Chihuahua?" Iori scowled.

"Why yes. Yes it is. Is there an issue?" Chihuahua menacingly smiled.

"Oh, looks like ya pissed her off. She may look like a quiet librarian, but out of all of us, she's the one that can fuck ya up the most! Under that dress and cardigan are Olympic caliber- NGH!?"

"Fernanda, are you skilled enough as a nurse to sew a shattered jaw back together?" Chihuahua smiled as she clamped her other hand on Fernanda's mouth and began slowly hoisting her off the ground.

Fernanda frantically shook her head, which appeared to be enough of an answer for Chihuahua to release her. Iori however was only getting more nervous.

"So this was why my danger senses were going nuts Bitch is bad news. But still, she's not making me quake like Orit did. Sure, she's clearly killed a ton of people, but the look in her eye is different. She looks more like she kills out of necessity, not desire. Orit was different, she looked as though she'd slit my throat on the spot in broad daylight. Her? She looks more like the type to want to keep a clean public profile. Guess I can get behind that. I've been trying to clean myself up too," Iori thought as she shot Chihuahua a smile.

Chihuahua not only smiled back, but did so in a friendly way. "Seems we can forge an unlikely coexistence. Tristan, hail a bus for the 7 of us. We'll be heading to the conference hall."

"So beautiful, friendship amongst the youth truly is a blessing," the blue-haired woman cried as she scurried off.

Mimoko hugged Iori tighter as Fernanda and Urraca began to encircle them.

"So we're invited? What we doing?" Iori smirked.

"Just a little trip. And once there, well what else are we to do?"

"Why am I included?" Mimoko trembled.

"Courtesy. The same goes for you, Barbro Zamenhofo."

Barbro raised an eyebrow, yet didn't appear phased in the slightest. "I'm pissed off. Want me to get pissed even further?"

"Not at all. I'm a proud pacifist, you see. I'm also a glutton for knowledge. Your nation has quite the history. A blank page until the formation of Yugoslavia, then seemingly, Paeonia. I heard there once was a kingdom of old of the same name."

"Yes, we Paeonians have a long and storied history dating back centuries."

"But it's history becomes more interesting following the kingdom's fall to Darius the Great. Or shall we jump many years ahead to the fall of Yugoslavia itself. The historical texts seem off. Esperanto originated in Poland where Zamenhof was born, yet I don't recall it ever making it big in the Balkans. So care to riddle me why your nation's culture is so engrossed in it? That is the knowledge I seek from you, and why I am insisting you accompany us as well."

"And why should I listen to some random librarian?"

Chihuahua smirked as she adjusted her glasses. "Because this librarian is asking you VERY politely, and out of nothing but kindness and the thirst for knowledge."

"Is it really? Sorry, but lately I've got reason to suspect foul play is underway."

"Dunja Sabolić? Then shall we discuss the trade agreements at the venue?"

"And I should trust you why?"

"Because Chi's the librarian, and she knows her shit," Fernanda scowled.

"And Fernanda Planchado is a woman that consider learning to sew her own mouth shut, lest she wishes to be incapable of speaking properly for the rest of her life," Chihuahua menacingly smiled, instantly putting Fernanda back in line.

"But why do I have to come along?" Mimoko nervously asked.

"Because it would calm dear Tristin Río to have such a cute girl accompanying us. If she were present, she'd remark how much you remind her of her own children."

Before Mimoko could protest further, Tristin returned with the bus.

"It's come... To the venue," Vonnie mumbled as she got on as soon as the doors opened.

"And as you can see, dear Tristan has gone to trouble of commandeering the bus for our exclusive use. Now, onward," Chihuahua smiled as she walked towards Mimoko, Iori, and Barbro, leaving the three with little choice but to head towards the bus. With a heavy sigh, Barbro gave in and hopped on the bus without any resistance. Iori and Mimoko did so as well, though that didn't mean Iori completely dropped her guard.

"Now lets see what our menacing librarian has in store for us," Iori thought.