But When We Start Making Fires (open)

[demonrebel]

Who ⬤ Dante & You, of course!
What ⬤ General Catch-all
When ⬤ April
Where ⬤ Throughout Jigoku-cho
Content Warnings ⬤ Swearing, mentions of violence, possible nudity for future prompts

[ I'll be adding more prompts throughout the week featuring the event stuff in question. If you would like to plot with me, feel free to drop me a DM or tag me in the plotting post. I'm always more than happy to make a starter or two. So don't be shy. Also, you're welcome to make your own starters as well. ]


PLOTTING 🌹 EVENT 🌹 NSFW 🌹 WILDCARD

Comments

[littleshield]

[ At that comment about liking to be wrong, he allows an amused huff.

All the same, Felix's gaze expands outwards to observe their surroundings and whomever still happen to be lingering, looking for suspicious figures. When Dante points out his surprise regarding a certain group of demonfolk lingering around, he keys on that, observing them as well. ]

I don't know much about them, other than they're clearly trouble makers, always trying to hide evidence of whatever nonsense they're attempting to do.

[ But, hm. ]

...So, what, you think that they know something, then? Or that because they're hanging around they're not the primary instigators of this, but are still connected?

[demonrebel]

Yeah, you can say that again. [He grumbles in reference to the Kappa folks nearby.] Those little fuckers already closed off the entrance to the tunnels below hindering any further investigation citing it’s “dangerous”.

[While they’re not entirely wrong about it being dangerous but the Kappa seem hellbent on keeping everyone in the dark. However, this isn’t the first time the Kappa has done this. If his memory serves correct, it was the Kappa who prevented him from exploring the underground the last time during the Night Parade preparation. Dante remembers that vividly since he kept getting stopped whenever he tried to go beyond the barriers.]

Not only do I suspect they know something we don’t, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if they helped facilitate the entire incident.

[He whispers to Felix as he watches the Kappa priest talk among the other youkai.]

It wouldn’t be the first time a man of the cloth used some hired guns for his dirty work but why?

[Without any proper evidence or motive, this is all just mere speculation on his part. However, Dante has a feeling that he isn’t off his mark here.]

[littleshield]

Hmph, how convenient. Everything goes straight to hell and suddenly they're the ones who get to wrap things up. As if they're actually investigating anything in the first place.

[ It's far more likely they're just sitting around with their thumbs up their rear ends, which is a very uncouth way of putting it, but really.

Felix didn't exactly go down there himself, but he does recall hearing about it on the network, which was enough for him to know that things were and still are suspect where the little creatures are concerned. Not to mention when a group of the monsters tried to smuggle a gun into the damn parade. ]

... I get the feeling the creatures clearly are over their head in this nonsense, even if this does have signs of their fingers all over it. As for why, I don't know. But in the end it all eventually leads back to the same thing whenever someone goes through the trouble to create some sort of power vacuum:

A grudge, or someone else looking to take the position. Interesting they chose to do it at a public event, though, instead of privately. You'd think a quieter assassination would be far easier.

[ Then again, he doesn't know. Maybe doing it outside of an event is difficult, and offered less vulnerabilities given the literal smokescreen that had been pulled in the midst of it all. ]

[demonrebel]

[If someone trying to smuggle a gun into the parade wasn’t enough of a warning, then nothing was. It’s just a damn shame that Daitengu had to die for it. Dante doesn’t particularly have any true loyalties here but if something happened to Toraguma, the entire Shuten clan would be in absolute disarray.]

Yeah, I sorta feel the same about that. [He mentions in regards to the Kappa tribe yet again. He doesn’t think the turtle-gremlins are the real culprits here but they definitely had a role to play in all this.] I think our amphibious friends are just the scapegoats in all this. It would be too easy just to pin the crime on them.

Besides, the assailants seemed more humanoid in appearance almost like your average Tom, Dick, and Harry.

[He doesn’t recall any of the masked assassins being weirdly shaped like some of the other youkai he met. That’s a major red flag for him, especially since Lost Souls like them are pretty rare.]

Maybe the reason why these assassins were willing to risk it all was because they wanted to send a message to everyone in town.

[With all eyes on the Night Parade ceremony, that message was heard loud and clear.]

[littleshield]

[ Precisely one of the main reasons as to why Felix would like whatever is happening to reach resolution soon. Preferably on their terms as opposed to whichever ones their enemy in the shadows would like for them to be. They already have enough difficulties to deal with, what with the baggage of being a "Lost Soul" and all.

Either way, Felix is glad to see that he and Dante are in agreement over this. Though, he does wish it was simpler. ]

Exactly. Lucky for whoever is arranging this nonsense, it'll be easy for those creatures to take the fall. It's not like they wouldn't deserve having any scrutiny for their foolishness so far. All the same, it'd be better if it weren't just them, but everyone who had been involved in this plan.

Though, even if those assailants pulled off something like that well, I'm not going to bother giving them praise. But, I'll agree they did manage to send a message. [ ... ] That they're too afraid to fight except by the means of depraved cowards.

[ ...absolutely not what Dante meant, and he knows it, but he's going to drag them anyway. ]

[demonrebel]

Tell me how you really feel.

[Leave it to Felix to drag everyone to filth. Dante can't help but chuckle a little, especially since Felix is always so vocal about his displeasure with everyone and everything. It's refreshing, to be honest. Dante feels relatively the same on the matter minus a few tidbits.]

But in all seriousness, do you remember what happened moments before the assassin appeared? That sudden mist? Well, that shit was like nerve gas for me.

[He comments while glancing over at the manhole cover nearby.]

My senses are really sharp even on a bad day but when that mist settled in, I couldn't sense anything for a few seconds. Hell, I couldn't even hear the assassins approach.

Everything was completely dull and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same for guards.

[He's talking about the White Wolf guys. Those guards are supposed to be the best of the best but they were quickly subdued.]

Whoever is pulling the strings are well informed about how to disable a youkai and by extension, demons.

[Is Felix aware that Dante is half-demon? If not, now he is.]

[littleshield]

[ Felix's lips quirk up in an amused manner when Dante makes that first quip of his, before he focuses on what the man has to say. Admittedly, the nonsense with the mist being a literal smokescreen having more to it in terms of effects is not something he expected. But, it does make sense; it does help that because he has no idea what a nerve gas is that Dante can explain what it did to give him an idea of what that kind of gas would do in the first place. ]

...that explains things.

When everything happened as it did and it seemed Daitengu's skilled entourage had failed in protecting them, I'd wondered if even all that smoke really could've normally blocked them from doing what they were supposed to.

At that point, if it was the same for the guards, they were as good as standing targets themselves.

[ But he can't fault them for being unprepared for something like this. But then there's a pause when Dante all but insinuates he's a demon. He recalls when the man's eyes had flashed inhumanly back in the casino as well. Which, admittedly, he had put in the back of his mind because he had been busy and then even after he took care of business, there was that gruesome scene with the bodies... ]

You're a demon?

I guess it's not exactly surprising, given how well you fight, and what I saw in the casino. But, you look more human than the ones here.

[ Because he thinks youkai and demons are related? If Dante is grouping them like that. Anyway, he is...curious about that regardless. ]

[demonrebel]

[Judging from how the smokescreen muddled his senses, Dante is willing to bet that the same thing happened to White Wolf dudes. That makes sense, especially since the mist itself was meant to disable youkai like them. That simple fact alone rules out any of the Lost Souls from being involved. This is probably why the assassins didn't attack them at first.]

Unless one of them had the gift of foresight, none of the stood chance but you would think they would've taken more precaution.

[He assumes the White Wolf are something like the M16, the British covert intelligence service. While they mostly act like bodyguards for the big four leaders, Dante suspects they must've heard something down the pipeline about this attack but that's assuming Jigoku-cho is structured similarly as Britain.

Nevertheless, he doesn't get to dwell on this for long when Felix asks the following. He gives his friend a toothy grin, clearly amused that the other hasn't noticed until now. It would be rather difficult for anyone to know that about Dante from just looking at him. Then again, the albinism is an apart trait associated with those of Sparda's lineage.]

I look more human cause I'm only half. [Unlike many of the youkai here, he's just a half-breed. The product of the unholy union between a human and a demon. Even among other demons, he's a bit of oddity.]

That's probably the mist didn't effect me as badly as it would've.

[littleshield]

I'd have thought the same thing.

Though, I wouldn't be surprised if they thought having those guards would be enough. I doubt whatever this is tends to happen regularly, anyway.

...Something whoever planned this likely used in their favor.

[ In the future Felix doubts it will be as easy, but then again, he can't say he knows that for sure either. Hell is a place unfamiliar to him for obvious reasons, and it isn't like someone else couldn't stumble upon something else that will make assassinations just as easy as it was with the Daitengu. All the same, though, there is indeed something to be said of previous experiences that allow for proper preparations. ]

It's good it didn't.

Though, I don't think it'll be the last we see of them using that mist. It seems like it's something too useful for them not to try something with it again.

[demonrebel]

[It goes without saying that it will be awhile until the remaining three leaders feel comfortable enough to show their faces in public. The entire incident left a sour taste in everyone's mouth, including Dante's. While he has no intention of embroiling himself further within Jigoku-cho's affairs, he cannot help but feel compelled to solve this mystery. However, this is a task meant for more than one person.]

That means we need to get below ground somehow and examine that machine. [He states while staring at a nearby manhole.] However, we can't do that with everyone damn turtle getting in our way along with the Department of Enma.

[If he had it his way, Dante would've already done so. It's stupid for them not to examine the very machine that generated that mist.]

To be completely frank, I'm tired of folks trying to keep us in the dark.

[littleshield]

Oh tell me about it.

[ Felix makes no attempt to hide how the derision easily slips back into his tone when the other man brings up the fact that they're being forced to just twiddle their thumbs while whatever is happening down there. ]

I really don't know what the hell they're thinking, but it's getting us nowhere fast.

Anyway, there's nothing more I dislike than needless stupidity like this. We've still no guarantee that anything is actually being done as it should, and I'm inclined to think that it isn't.

Eventually, something is going to give. Either they will conjure up whatever is left of their brains and put their heads together to get out of the way so we can take a closer look or someone else will continue to take advantage of the situation.

[ He pauses for a second, coming back to past his annoyance about the tunnels being closed off since something new was mentioned. ]

...Wait, machine?

[demonrebel]

Hold on. [He pauses briefly once he realizes Felix doesn't know about the machine. It seems only a handful of people knew about it. That's interesting.] You don't know about the generator below ground?

[He falls silent for a few minutes before eventually spilling the beans. While Dante doesn't really know how that machine worked, he certainly knows it did judging from the outcome.]

There was a subterranean generator below this very spot where the manhole lies but no one knew what it was. I saw it for myself when Aerith and I went exploring but only for a split second before the kappa found us.

[This all happened before the Night Parade, of course. Neither of them knew that this alleged generator would play such a big roll in this incident.]

That's where the mist came from.

[littleshield]

[ Felix is unfamiliar with most of the more advanced technology here, though he's familiarizing himself with more terms as they come at him. Or wherever he can, for that matter.

But he thinks this 'subterranean generator' thing is definitely something beyond his knowledge for certain. ]

'Subterranean generator'?

I'd never heard of anything like that before.

[ Though the fact that the kappa steered them away from there says a lot, honestly. ]

Good to know. I'm not sure what something like that is supposed to do normally, but I think I can figure out easily that it wasn't supposed to spread all that mist like that. And depending on how long this nonsense goes on, we'll need to start considering if there's going to be a way around them keeping others out.

[demonrebel]

[It's at this moment that it dawns on Dante that Felix hails from a world devoid of such technology. This is something he should've noticed sooner about the guy but it's been one incident after the other. All of it just slipped his notice until now. No wonder Felix seems a little old-fashioned.]

Really? [Judging from his incredulous stare, Dante is a little surprised.] Wait a minute, are you from the medieval times or something like that?

[Hell, does Felix even know what the word "medieval" means? Probably not since Felix is from a different world entirely but that's besides the point.]

On the contrary, that's exactly what that generator was supposed to do given the outcome. Someone planted it there and it wasn't the Kappas, I guess. [That's a major assumption on his part since Dante isn't even sure if the kappas knew what the generator was.] That device most likely belonged to the assassins but I have no idea when or how they managed to fit that device down there.

[He needs to do some snooping around below before he an give an estimate.]