Kamen

"Here you go."

"What's this?" Roko said as Kaguya handed him a fancy set of clothes.

"Your outfit." Kaguya chuckled as she took the clothes and measured them across Roko's body, "You aren't planning on heading into that casino dressed in your uniform right?"

"I mean, apparently this uniform costs millions of gold."

"Just because it's expensive doesn't mean it fits. You have to dress for the occasion."

"Isn't this a bit much though?" Roko said as he took the clothes from Kaguya again, "I mean, epaulets? Really?"

"We all know we're royalty or royalty adjacent in there. There's no harm in dressing a bit more grandly."

"Still, I'm pretty sure Gaurav and a couple other people have seen my face anyway. A change of clothes isn't going to help hide me."

"That's why we have this." Kaguya pulled out an ornate mask from her bag.

"I think I'd stand out more if I wear a mask." Roko frowned as he took the mask from her hands, "Like I'd practically be begging for attention."

"That's why I played a little trick." Kaguya giggled.

"Trick?"

"I found a few people that Helena had noticed in their little forest meeting and approached them, in full semi-official investigation capacity. Except I let slip that there was rumors of a special masked princess that would be taking part in their next meeting."

"You spread a rumor?" Roko raised an eyebrow, "Will that be enough?"

"Given how you crashed their last meeting and the extra precautions they're putting in place to keep us out, a little mask is really only expected. With luck, we'll have the other participants of this little club bandwagoning in on it. If not, even if it's only our little suspicious group, we've caused a mystery large enough to shroud us."

"...Few problems with that." Roko sighed, "Assuming the worst case scenario and we're the only ones in masks, that will only be effective if we don't have any other identifying factors. Including so much as our genders. If we're going this far, we mind as well go as far as we can. If we can get a cloak or some more baggy clothes, we can push the illusion enough to throw off even those in the know."

"Hmmm...I can't say that sounds particularly stylish but if you recommend it, I can probably source some cloaks or such. With proper designs we could even sell it as part of the outfit. You certainly don't make things easy though."

"On the same problem." Roko continued, "We also need to consider our pets. If we can't leave them behind, then we'll be forced to take them with us. In your case and possibly mine, it'll be easy to hide our responsibilities. But things like Mikado's turtle and Roland's sea goat will be hard to excuse. Helena's falcon can fly about outside but Momo in particular will have problems heading in there with her wolf."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about Momo, she has her own in." Kaguya giggled, "That said, you have a point. Keeping our pets on hand will prove to be a pretty cumbersome problem."

"We can't just leave them behind? Maybe with Corissa?"

"Just how much do you want to stress that poor girl out?" Kaguya smirked, "No, our pets are our responsibilities. We mustn't foist them onto other people."

"Well okay fine, I'll bring my egg with me." Roko rolled his eyes, "What about the sea goat and turtle then?"

"Hmmm...I believe that's our problem to handle." Kaguya smiled, "Just leave it to us."

"Are you sure?" Roko frowned, "I could help."

"I'd rather keep our ideas a surprise for you." Kaguya winked, "Not because we don't trust you but because it'll be fun."

"...Suit yourself." Roko sighed.

"Well then, I'll let you rest for the day." Kaguya said as she gathered the clothes up again, "Just be prepared for tomorrow."

"Wait, there's one more problem." Roko said, "How can you guarantee that we won't get stopped at the door, mask or no mask?"

"Oh? But you've already resolved that problem yourself."

"Huh?"

"You gave quite the kick to their resident betting agent." Kaguya grinned, "She's been trying to get more people to attend as discreetly as possible. Even if they wanted to stop us, she'd probably give them a kick and usher us in with a complementary wine and cheese sample."

"..."

"Something wrong?"

"...I don't know what I'm supposed to do now..." Roko muttered.

"Take a break." Kaguya giggled, "My, you are a workaholic aren't you? Try hatching that egg of yours. We're all waiting on baited breaths to see what kind of creature will accompany you."

And with that, Kaguya left.

"Welcome to the Gefion Gamble." A man in a prim suit welcomed a steady stream of customers under the night sky. There was normally no reason for the casino to be open this late but some group had rented a small space downstairs that they had to refurbish quite quickly. That was all fine and good but everybody who was coming in tonight seemed to be dressed in masks. But their preparations weren't for a masquerade ball or anything. But everyone seemed to be dressed quite fashionably, much more exquisite than anybody that normally came to their establishment. And weirdest of all was this young girl standing right beside him offering everyone that came in a cracker topped with ham.

"Welcome." Anna bowed and offered the plate to the nearby guests who each took a single cracker.

The casino employee just stared at the strange young girl next to him, more polite and professional than even he was. Anna bowed and greeted with an ever genuine seeming smile on her face until she noticed the older man staring at her.

"...Want one?" Anna offered the plate to him.

As the man took a cracker from her, Anna noticed the next group of customers coming and quickly swung around to greet them, "Welcome! Please take one and enjoy yourself."

"Thank you."

Anna looked up as she recognized the voice. The person in front of her was dressed in a large cloak with a fancy, almost militaristic uniform underneath. Their mask was designed to look like an owl but attached to it was a large mane of feather like hair to cover the head.

"Ooops." The owl masked figure reached up and seemed to tap something on the inside of their mask, "I forgot to activate the voice modulator. Excuse me."

"A voice modulation spell?" Anna raised an eyebrow, "You certainly are being quite cautious with your identity. I'd say you're the most cautious out of our guests tonight."

"You can never be too cautious." The masked figure replied.

"Perhaps so." Anna curtsied politely, "I wish you luck in your endeavors tonight."

"Thank you. Let's go."

The owl figure called back to their companions, all of whom were dressed in similar attire and wearing different masks. One was in a lion mask with wild hair flowing out of the edges. Another wore a snake mask with scale like hair. There was one with a helmet shaped like a kabuto beetle who looked like a transforming hero and the last one...had a wrestler's mask on. Anna stared at this last one, dumbfounded. The person in the wrestler's mask made a hushed shushing sound as they brought a finger to their lips, moving hastily into the casino with the others.

In the basement of the Gefion Gamble a large ring was set up with tall wooden benches set up around it like a mini stadium. The people attending were all dressed in masks of different kind though none were dressed as flashily as the person in the owl mask and their entourage. Whispers and murmurs from the other members echoed around the room.

"Is that her?"

"Is that the masked princess?"

"Who do you think it is?"

The owl masked person just sat there patiently waiting for the events to begin. In short time, Gaurav and Amathea walked into the room, no masks to be seen and stationed themselves in a stage in the back of the ring. Nyinx was cuddled comfortably in Amathea's arms and the Questing Beast stomped into the room behind Gaurav, resting in the back of the stage. Gaurav looked around, clearly displeased with the situation. The stands were relatively full with people. Though no row or column was ever fully filled, there were plenty of people sitting a comfortable distance from each other in small groups. The largest of such groups was the one that seemed to be lead by the one in the owl mask who just seemed to stare at Gaurav, waiting for him to make his move. Gaurav cleared his throat,

"Welcome!" he bellowed, "I'm happy to see so many of you tonight. I am told we have a fair number of new visitors here and I'd like to welcome any and all challengers."

Gaurav shot the owl mask and their friends a glare. The owl mask just seemed to continue to watch him behind their mask.

"I'm aware some of you might have reservations around our activities today. As a special treat tonight, instead of pitting our pets against one another, we've prepared a series of exotic captured creatures for our contestants to fight against. I hope these hand picked fights will be to your fancy. If you feel so inclined, we are always ready to take bets on any ongoing and future matches. Now, enough of me. I'll introduce our first contestant."

"For a brute, he sure knows how to speak politely." the person in the lion mask muttered.

"He's still the knight of a princess." the owl mask replied, "If he didn't have the manners he wouldn't have made it this far. I suspect the fact that he is facing down an essentially faceless audience has caused him to change his announcing style."

"Our first contestant!" Gaurav declared as a person in a wolf mask walked into the ring with a wolf with a wooden sword strapped to his side, "Some of you may know her."

The person in the wolf mask stood off to one side and gently touched her mask. Before throwing it into the air.

"Hello everyone!" Momo grinned, "I am princess Momo of the Momokami kingdom! With me is the best pupper ever, Akagami! Together we hope to show you some of the most hidden arts of the warrior country!"

"So that was her way in." the snake mask scoffed, "Why am I not surprised?"

"Well it is Momo." The lion mask and owl mask said at the same time.

"Her first opponent." Gaurav continued.

A clanking of iron and chains heralded the appearance of a snorting, snarling beast. A large scaled creature trotted its way into the ring harried by wooden spears from poor nervous staff. The creature resembled a crocodile but with no mouth. It glared about and whipped its tail back and forth with enough power to make the air whistle.

"Allow me to introduce you." Gaurav smiled, "This is a dungavenhooter. A vicious monster with no mouth that beats their prey into dust before inhaling them through their nostrils. I'm sure I don't have to explain how incredibly vicious this animal can be."

Excited whispers rose from among the crowd as the dungavenhooter turned towards Akagami and Momo.

"Hmm, this is a strange first opponent." Momo knelt down next to Akagami, "Think you can take it?"

Akagami let out one loud, confident bark.

"Attaboy." Momo grinned as she stood up and backed out of the ring, "Show em what you're made of."

The dungavenhooter slapped its tail on the group with enough force to make the ground rattle, sending a thrilling vibration towards all the onlookers. Akagami just looked at it unimpressed before it stood up on all fours and drew the wooden sword from his side, holding the weapon in bared teeth.

"Ready?" Gaurav called, "Fight!"

Akagami charged at the dungavenhooter. The crocodile swung its tail around, aiming not to sweep the animal off its feet but smash the wolf's legs to bits with its sheer power. The deft wolf simply jumped over the creature's tail, landing back in front of the dungavenhooter. The crocodile snorted and swing its tail around to try and smash Akagami again. Akagami jumped again over the creature, this time swinging his body around in a spiral to slash the dungavenhooter thrice. The crocodile made a guttural low roar but seemed otherwise unaffected by the wolf's attack.

"Hmm...It doesn't seem like we'll be able to take even one hit from that thing's tail." Momo mused, "Then we'll just have to never let it hit us."

Akagami snorted back at the creature and charged again. The dungavenhooter swung its tail around again but this time, instead of trying to sweep the wolf's legs, it raised it high to smash him into the ground. Akagami quickly jumped back, letting the tail miss his snout by inches as the tail smashed into the ground and caused the entire underground basement to shudder quite violently. Even as Akagami landed back on the ground, the shaking earth caused the wolf to stumble a bit, opening enough time for the dungavenhooter to spin forward, bringing its tail around to smash into Akagami's body. Akagami managed to jump up in time but as the tail swept underneath him, the wolf tilted his head around to swing the wooded sword against the tail. What resulted was the wolf being flung off to the side and smashing into part of the benches. People cried in surprise and excitement with some people taking their phones out to take pictures.

"Is the doggy okay?!" someone cried.

From the dust of the impact, Akagami strode out, a bit dirty but otherwise unharmed and still confident.

"It's pretty pointless to try attacking the tail huh?" Momo noted, "It's pretty strong and armored."

The dungavenhooter noticed Momo and took a step towards her. Noticing this, Akagami suddenly ran full speed at the dungavenhooter. The creature noticed him coming and spun around, trying to attack with its tail again. Akakami jumped over the length of the entire creature again, spinning his body around and tilting his body upwards as he raised a paw. Akagami landed and slammed his paw onto the top of the crocodile's missing mouth, pinning the snout to the ground. The dungavenhooter thrashed about, trying to get its head free but Akagami kept a strong paw on it. The wolf seemed to sneer as he tilted his sword down and made an upward slash, launching the dungavenhooter into the air. As the crocodile-like creature hung in mid air, Akagami lunged up, landed a strong slash into the reptile's soft underbelly. The two animals landed, Akagami on his feet and the dungavenhooter on its back, snorting and thrashing about angrily. Cheers and claps rung out from across the stands, Akagami standing there proudly as it drunk in the praise.

"Attaboy." Momo grinned.

The dungavenhooter flipped itself back onto its feet and snorted furiously at the wolf, banging its tail on the ground over and over again, causing the ground to begin shaking violently. Akagami knelt close to the ground to keep his balance but otherwise wasn't able to move. The crocodile made one last slam and charged at Akagami, jumping and spinning around to try and smash the wolf from overhead. Unable to gather the strength quick enough to jump away, Akagami instead rolled across the ground dodging out of the way but the tail smashing into the ground caused enough of an impact to throw the wolf, tumbling a bit more than it intended. As Akagami stopped rolling, the dungavenhooter landed back onto its four legs, already bringing its tail around to make a swing. With the edge of the ring behind him and still unable to find the strength to leap out of the range, Akagami pulled himself onto his feet and as quick as he could, made a short hop, narrowly dodging the tail as it swept below him. Akagami landed back onto his feet and made another hop, as quick as his first one but this time soaring over the crocodile and twisting his body to slash into the body. The attack knocked half of the dungavenhooter up, the creature straining to pull itself back down before it fell back onto its back. Akagami trotted over to the monster and laid the front half of his body on top of the crocodile's underbelly. The dungavenhooter squirmed and snorted, trying to pull itself free but unable to right itself or launch an attack at such an awkward angle. Akagami just sat there, paws on top of his foe, panting happily and wagging his tail. Recognizing that the dungavenhooter could no longer fight, the crowd burst into cheer and praise.

"The wolf wins!" Gaurav announced a tad reluctantly.

"Come here you!" Momo knelt down and held out her arms.

Akagami quickly stood up and dash over to Momo who hugged him tightly. The dungavenhooter, finally free, righted itself and snorted angrily at Momo and her wolf, charging towards the two as everyone celebrated. Before it could reach them, however, he was suddenly scooped up into the mouth of the large questing beast, chomping and biting into the small crocodile, splattering blood everywhere until it stopped struggling and the beast's giant snake head swallowed the monster whole. The whole grisly display ended everyone's victory celebration as they watched the bloody meal unfold.

"Those who made a bet on the outcome for this fight will be given their dues at the conclusion of our event. For now, let's move onto the next event." Gaurav continued to host the games, ignoring his audience's discomfort, "As the victor, you are able to proceed to the next round. I trust you are prepared?"

Momo looked at Akagami who barked confidently.

"Bring it on!" Momo smiled as she and Akagami stood up.

"Then bring in the next opponent!" Gaurav called.

The door they came in clanged open and the sound of a struggling animal could be heard coming through the hallway. Panicked casino staff shuffled in, ropes in hand as they pulled a large black horse into the room. This pitch black equine was struggling violently against its handlers, rearing up and throwing them around helplessly. In spite of its resistance, the handlers managed to get it into the ring before removing the harness and scurrying out of the ring. Momo and Akagami watched as the ominous black animal looked around, gathering an understanding of its surroundings before it turned turned to look at the young wolf. Akagami barked once and drew his wooden sword. The horse snorted and seemed to sneer as it dragged a hoof across the earth.

"Round two!" Gaurav called, "Princess Momo's Dire Wolf Vs the Gytrash! Ready? Fight!"