的場静司 | Matoba Seiji (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
worldbent) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
jigokulogs2022-04-18 06:17 pm
worldbent) wrote in jigokulogs2022-04-18 06:17 pm
OPEN ➸ Two ⦿ Circles
Who ⬤ Matoba Seiji and you! with mixed OTA/limited prompts
What ⬤ The first attack of the Matoba curse, selling charms, and various business™
When ⬤ Between the 2nd and 3rd weeks of April, roughly (more than a week after Night Parade, before the Daitengu's funeral, basically)
Where ⬤ Sutoku territory
Content Warnings ⬤ Violence/blood likely from first prompt, will warn for anything specific in tag headers!
A1 ➸ FIRST STRIKE - limited to the first 3 tag-ins, new CR for now please!
[(OOC; Before tagging in to these prompts, please read through this information and feel free to ask questions there or via PM! I will be NPCing the attacker for these threads.)]
[Despite the Daitengu's untimely demise and the uncertainty surrounding the Alliance, Sutoku territory was back to business as usual for the most part by the week after the Night Parade. The streets are bustling with shoppers and workers like nothing untoward had even occurred, and although everyone remains suspicious behind closed doors, few seem to be on much of a high alert.]
[...Which is likely why none of the youkai around you blink an eye at the stumbling, muttering Kawatengu pushing past people on the sidewalk and menacingly growling. He's probably just had too much to drink- that's the most likely excuse, right? Even though it's the middle of the afternoon, but in big cities like this you learn to keep to yourself and not worry much about weirdos on the street around you.]
[Except that if you look at him closely, his right eye is blotted out as if possessed by something, and if you have any supernatural senses at all you can just barely feel something awful and malicious emanating from him. Too late, it becomes obvious that he's not just shambling about randomly- he has a target, and the black-haired man walking a few paces in front of you both seems to have no idea what's coming when the Tengu lunges forward with a nasty hiss--]
RiGHt...EYe......
A2 ➸ What the hell was THAT - OTA!
[After the sudden scuffle that erupts in the middle of the street, something black and hideous like a huge mass of sludge erupted out from the mouth of a Tengu and lashed itself away through the street, scrambling up the side of a brick building and slithering off to parts unknown. Whatever that thing was, it just attacked a man on the street in broad daylight, and to the spiritually sensitive had an oppressively awful, malicious aura that may be unlike anything you've felt. Youkai are left knocked back on the sidewalk in the wake of its escape, and some were sent scrambling to get away.]
[The man who was attacked, however, seems more calm than anyone. He ignores the panic of the youkai around him, and even the Tengu that's now left knocked out cold on the sidewalk. Instead, he seems to take notice your stare first and simply smiles- wiping away whatever blood was drawn from him in the scuffle with little concern.]
I do apologize for the commotion. It's probably not used to big cities like this.
--
B1 ➸ Souvenir Shop - OTA!
[With great power came great... opportunities. Or so he'd been told by the Tengu Elders upon being granted back both his spiritual senses, and his ability to create protective charms. Opportunities, in this case, meant a job offer to help mass-produce the tacky little souvenir good-luck charms sold at the gates of the Tengu Temple for any desperate enough for luck that they would even buy a trinket for their troubles.]
[Well, far be it for Matoba to judge a good scam. It was excellent business and a good dog and pony show for the weak and Sightless, both in the human realm and this one.]
[Since the Night Parade had just gone by and no-doubt plenty of festival goers had drawn bad to terrible luck in the Hadaka, there was plenty of business, which meant that Matoba had plenty to do as he sat manning a stall, carefully inking charms on strips of paper to go in the bright little pouches lining the counter. When he notices his new customer, he glances up, and flashes you a bright and cheerful smile.]
In need of a bit of luck?
B2 ➸ Protection Racket - Open to Sutoku Alliance and those with Spiritual Senses
[If he recognizes you as an ally, or if you're the spiritually sensitive sort, he might notice that you're unlikely to be tricked by these useless little trinkets- but that just meant that he had an opportunity to do a little... under the table business. His eye will then sharpen on you, and he gestures you away from the pouches.]
Not those ones. I have something else for you.
--
[ooc; questions/plotting/etc! Hit me up via PM or![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
kitsoru!]
What ⬤ The first attack of the Matoba curse, selling charms, and various business™
When ⬤ Between the 2nd and 3rd weeks of April, roughly (more than a week after Night Parade, before the Daitengu's funeral, basically)
Where ⬤ Sutoku territory
Content Warnings ⬤ Violence/blood likely from first prompt, will warn for anything specific in tag headers!
A1 ➸ FIRST STRIKE - limited to the first 3 tag-ins, new CR for now please!
[(OOC; Before tagging in to these prompts, please read through this information and feel free to ask questions there or via PM! I will be NPCing the attacker for these threads.)]
[Despite the Daitengu's untimely demise and the uncertainty surrounding the Alliance, Sutoku territory was back to business as usual for the most part by the week after the Night Parade. The streets are bustling with shoppers and workers like nothing untoward had even occurred, and although everyone remains suspicious behind closed doors, few seem to be on much of a high alert.]
[...Which is likely why none of the youkai around you blink an eye at the stumbling, muttering Kawatengu pushing past people on the sidewalk and menacingly growling. He's probably just had too much to drink- that's the most likely excuse, right? Even though it's the middle of the afternoon, but in big cities like this you learn to keep to yourself and not worry much about weirdos on the street around you.]
[Except that if you look at him closely, his right eye is blotted out as if possessed by something, and if you have any supernatural senses at all you can just barely feel something awful and malicious emanating from him. Too late, it becomes obvious that he's not just shambling about randomly- he has a target, and the black-haired man walking a few paces in front of you both seems to have no idea what's coming when the Tengu lunges forward with a nasty hiss--]
RiGHt...EYe......
A2 ➸ What the hell was THAT - OTA!
[After the sudden scuffle that erupts in the middle of the street, something black and hideous like a huge mass of sludge erupted out from the mouth of a Tengu and lashed itself away through the street, scrambling up the side of a brick building and slithering off to parts unknown. Whatever that thing was, it just attacked a man on the street in broad daylight, and to the spiritually sensitive had an oppressively awful, malicious aura that may be unlike anything you've felt. Youkai are left knocked back on the sidewalk in the wake of its escape, and some were sent scrambling to get away.]
[The man who was attacked, however, seems more calm than anyone. He ignores the panic of the youkai around him, and even the Tengu that's now left knocked out cold on the sidewalk. Instead, he seems to take notice your stare first and simply smiles- wiping away whatever blood was drawn from him in the scuffle with little concern.]
I do apologize for the commotion. It's probably not used to big cities like this.
--
B1 ➸ Souvenir Shop - OTA!
[With great power came great... opportunities. Or so he'd been told by the Tengu Elders upon being granted back both his spiritual senses, and his ability to create protective charms. Opportunities, in this case, meant a job offer to help mass-produce the tacky little souvenir good-luck charms sold at the gates of the Tengu Temple for any desperate enough for luck that they would even buy a trinket for their troubles.]
[Well, far be it for Matoba to judge a good scam. It was excellent business and a good dog and pony show for the weak and Sightless, both in the human realm and this one.]
[Since the Night Parade had just gone by and no-doubt plenty of festival goers had drawn bad to terrible luck in the Hadaka, there was plenty of business, which meant that Matoba had plenty to do as he sat manning a stall, carefully inking charms on strips of paper to go in the bright little pouches lining the counter. When he notices his new customer, he glances up, and flashes you a bright and cheerful smile.]
In need of a bit of luck?
B2 ➸ Protection Racket - Open to Sutoku Alliance and those with Spiritual Senses
[If he recognizes you as an ally, or if you're the spiritually sensitive sort, he might notice that you're unlikely to be tricked by these useless little trinkets- but that just meant that he had an opportunity to do a little... under the table business. His eye will then sharpen on you, and he gestures you away from the pouches.]
Not those ones. I have something else for you.
--
[ooc; questions/plotting/etc! Hit me up via PM or
no subject
I can. On a good day, I'd have felt it before it struck.
[There's a twinge of pain behind his left eye as, instinctively, he tries to piece together his senses for the shadowy creature, but with his powers so dampened, it fails. And then everything is happening very quickly: the kawatengu vomiting up that strange, viscous blackness, Matoba suddenly slamming into him. Kamui grunts, stumbling as he's shoved aside; he recovers his footing quickly, though, looking between Matoba and the undulating shape in confusion.]
What does it want?
[Carefully, he lines the creature up in his gun's crosshairs...]
no subject
Don't bother. Normal weapons won't do a thing.
[Whatever it is, it swings its 'head' around to look them both down the sights of Kamui's gun. Where the right eye should have been was a hole, gaping like a wound, and somehow deeper than anything so black should be possible to appear; the area around it glistened with its shifting, amorphous texture, and its one good eye on the left stares at them both with quiet intensity.]
[Matoba stares back at it, hand still outstretched in front of Kamui, and raises his voice to carry.] You lost.
[The creature convulses angrily at the accusation, or whatever it was- and for a moment it seems as if it was reeling itself up to attack again- but instead it slithers and darts its black body up the wall it had smashed into, snaking upward and leaving behind a trail of malicious aura in its wake. Its voice can be heard, fading, muttering into the distance.]
rIGHt EYe..... RIght..... eYE.....
....Well, that pretty much answers it, [Matoba says after a moment, and smiles a smile towards Kamui much more cheerful than has any right.]
no subject
This man's familiar with whatever it was. How on earth can he be so at ease-- even just apparently at ease...? His cheerful nature's not nearly as unnerving as the black creature, but it's still bizarre.
Where does he even start with this?]
A youkai after your eye? [Right eye, then. Not left. Kamui frowns, glancing after where the creature had departed. It doesn't appear that it's coming back: not that he would know what to do if it'd tried.]
Does that thing pursue you... often? It left as soon as it 'lost'. [Whatever that means.]
no subject
[Luckily, it ends up crawling away without further provocation, and none of the other ayakashi around them have been affected. If he wasn't careful, that thing could bring disaster with the amount of malignant energy it carried, alone.]
[Able to relax now that the monster had been warded off, Matoba's rigidness relaxes back into composure, and he turns to glance back at Kamui, who was lowering his gun.] ...That's correct, [He can finally have a look at his helpful samaritan, his visible eye catching on the glinting one of Kamui's own. Oh?] Every month, in fact. Although I must say, it's rather late this time. Perhaps it had some difficulty in crossing the river of the dead.
Thank you for the assistance, by the way. [He bows his head politely.] I'm not used to countering it in these... large crowds. It's difficult to sense one thing from another when they are everywhere.
no subject
[Which raises some unsettling questions around his own abilities, and his own eye, as well. There are, and will always be, men after his own powers, as well: if whatever was pursuing Matoba was able to make it into hell, how much more easily would it be for someone like Kosuke Kurumizawa-- able to transcend the barriers between worlds?
But with his powers and senses dulled, it's impossible to feel him here. He could barely feel that odd creature. He'll fray all his nerves if he worries too much with no way to resolve those anxieties, so he sets the thoughts aside.]
You're welcome. [a beat--] You still have your senses? I could barely feel that thing even when we were right beside it. [No matter how clearly malevolent it was. Normally, it'd have set him off right away...]
I'm Kamui, by the way. Maybe we should move?
no subject
[For a moment, Matoba smiles, making a face that almost suggests he might say, 'should we?', but he turns to stroll towards the side of a nearby building instead, leaving chaos (and an unconscious tengu) in their wake. The crowds that had been gawking around them uneasily watch until Matoba turns his smile on them- at which point most of them begin to scatter, one or two checking on the tengu laid out on the sidewalk.]
...I am Matoba, an exorcist by trade. That monster is a curse which has pursued my clan for a very long time. But really, it isn't much to worry about. [Not much for anyone but him, anyway.] I'm sure that tengu will wake up, eventually.
no subject
[In spite of himself, Matoba's words instill a bit of hope in Kamui. Maybe he'll be back to normal-- or something resembling normal-- soon, as well. If the Underworld, and the powers who control it, deem it permissible, at any rate.
A few of the stray youkai chatter and whisper in Kamui's direction, too, as they leave, with one finally getting out her phone to call... someone, for the sake of the tengu on the ground. That's enough for him, so he continues along behind Matoba, seemingly satisfied even if he hasn't himself stopped for the tengu.]
If they're capable of sealing your curse, then the concern lies more with what else the Underworld is capable of beyond that. Maybe they could break it. Or manipulate it.
[To control you is the unspoken sentiment. They are, after all, both under the strict terms of their clan contracts.]
no subject
[Power never came without a cost, right? Whether it was a cost you were paying, or someone else... The Matoba's inheritance might have been the most effective 'passing the buck' ever committed.]
[A soft hum escapes Matoba as he considers Kamui's thought, something he has considered in passing but hadn't given more thought to beyond it.] I don't know that I would wish it to be broken. It is quite convenient for us. [That part is at least mostly not a lie; even though his contract was to gain a power that he had wagered could rival the curse- something that could replace it. If it was at all possible...] You see, because we are the focus of its hatred, our spiritual power has grown to what it is. It's.... convenient for us, not to have exorcised it all these generations.
[He pauses to glance back to Kamui with a smile.] You see? Useful things might be troublesome, but the cost-effectiveness works out. We Matoba are businessmen. It would be silly not to have considered that, all these centuries.