Bibles and Bribes

Tsubaki wasn’t a particularly religious person, so she didn’t often find herself visiting the Church of Sulfur. However, it was a very well known place, so it was good for conducting business meetings. As she was waiting for the other party to show up, however, she caught the sight of something… interesting. 

The head nun themself stealing from the donation box. It was quick, and Tsubaki might have missed it had she not been paying attention. But Tsubaki was pretty much always aware of her surroundings. 

Mercy cast a quick glance in her direction and, upon realizing that Tsubaki had seen her actions, quickly made their way over to her. “You saw.” They stated.

“I did.” Tsubaki confirmed as she leaned back against the wall. “What are you going to do about it?”

Mercy leaned in close and placed a finger under Tsubaki’s chin, using the other to stroke her cheek. “What would you like me to do about it?”

Tsubaki slowly raised her hand to grab Mercy’s arm, pulling their hand away from her face. Getting the hint, Mercy retracted their other hand. Clearly the promise of sexual favors or acts wasn’t going to work on Tsubaki. But that was fine, they would find whatever did work. “Would you prefer that I buy your silence?”

A slow smile crept onto Tsubaki’s lips. “Now you’re speaking my language.” Tsubaki used one hand to gesture to her horns that were in the greed shape. “These horns aren’t just for show, as I’m sure you’re well aware.” They did share the same horn shape, after all. Tsubaki wasn’t about to judge Mercy for stealing from the donation box, but she did at least want a slice of that pie. 

Mercy’s lips thinned at this. They much preferred to bribe people in other ways rather than sharing part of their ill gotten gains, but sometimes there was just no avoiding it. “I’ll give you twenty five percent.” They offered.

Tsubaki shook her head. “Fifty percent. At this point we’re co-conspirators. I want an equal share or else neither of us get anything.” She was no stranger to haggling and clearly had no qualms doing so. Tsubaki was always on the lookout for the best deal, and the price had to be high enough to be worth her time. 

“Hmph.” Mercy crossed their arms. “You drive a hard bargain.” But the answer was clear. They would get in trouble if they were caught, along with losing all the carats they stole. They didn’t like it, but they knew they had no choice but to agree. “Fine.” They pulled a bag filled with carats from a pouch and made a show of counting half of them out. Someone as shrewd as Tsubaki wouldn’t just believe that they were giving her the right amount without being shown. 

Tsubaki watched them carefully to make sure they weren’t slipping any carats into their sleeves or otherwise pulling any sleight of hand tricks. When she was satisfied that she was given half and the count was correct, Tsubaki slipped the carats into a bag of her own. “Pleasure doing business with you.”