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jigokulogs2022-05-19 03:56 pm
jigokumods) wrote in jigokulogs2022-05-19 03:56 pm
Entry tags:
- !event,
- !mod: event related,
- !mod: substory related,
- akatsuki no yona: soo won,
- azur lane: enterprise (cv-6),
- bloodborne: anna (oc),
- darkstalkers: bulleta,
- demon slayer: kochou shinobu,
- devil may cry: dante,
- fate: billy the kid,
- fate: ibaraki-douji,
- fate: miyamoto musashi,
- fate: okada izo,
- fate: shuten-douji,
- final fantasy: aerith gainsborough,
- final fantasy: azem,
- final fantasy: cloud strife,
- fire emblem: felix hugo fraldarius,
- genshin impact: xingqiu,
- hashihime: minato suizenji,
- hashihime: tama mizumori,
- iron widow: gao yizhi,
- jujutsu kaisen: fushiguro megumi,
- legend of drizzt: kimmuriel oblodra,
- mahoutsukai no yakusoku: cain knightley,
- my hero academia: fumikage tokoyami,
- my hero academia: midoriya izuku,
- no more heroes: kamui uehara,
- original: sheliak saarela,
- promare: lio fotia,
- tales of: rokurou rangetsu,
- touken ranbu: hizen tadahiro,
- yakuza: majima goro
May 2022 Mini Event
MAIN NAVIGATION
As the Haniwa continue to pop up in the city and the turf war rages on, life goes on in the city.
1. SHUTEN CLAN
Remember the Isonade? Yeah, those guys. The surly shark-dudes who were no doubt involved in some black market smuggling along the banks of the Sanzu. They were too tough to fight off in order to figure out what they were up to, last time.
Well, Toraguma has caught wind of them now. Despite the ongoing turf war, he’s not about to lose out on an opportunity here! He wants his Shuten Clan operatives to scour the river looking for these guys. They will be a lot harder to find without the rabbits’ help, though. If you find them, you are to “inform them” that the Shuten Clan will be taking over their operation. If they have problems with that, well… you know what to do.
Don’t forget that they’re quite strong and that they aren’t too keen on giving up the information on their supply line without a fight. You’ll need to use teamwork to get what you need out of them.
Should you manage your way to their warehouse, you’ll find a fresh shipment of their products: specialized herbs, mineral-rich clay, and rarefied ore. None of these products can be found in the city naturally. The Isonade won’t dare name their primary buyer but they will let slip that all of this is being smuggled into the city from the outer Wastelands.
The Shuten Clan will demand their cut out of this operation, but you may get the impression that this is only one small piece of a much larger shadow creeping over the city…
Art by Alejandro Gonzalez Agudelo
2. SUTOKU ALLIANCE
The death and subsequent “rebirth” of the Daitengu has caused a considerable amount of chaos. Many of the subsidiary tribes have struggled under the weight of uncertainty during this debacle. The Daitengu has decided that an apology tour is owed. It’s good for the sake of the Alliance, after all.
Oh, but they’re not going to be doing it themselves. You, the Sutoku Lost Souls, will be fully responsible for it. ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა
Sutoku Souls are tasked with going to various businesses and tribe centers with an offering of gifts and deference to any and every group within the Alliance who will agree to meet with you. The gifts have been provided by the Daitengu, and are mainly snacks and coupons. Which will not be enough to please everyone. Some clans will demand more and some, in their rage, will try to take their anger out on you. You are an (lowly) ambassador right now, better to turn the other cheek.
This all boils down to be less of an apology tour and more of a bribe tour. What the Daitengu has provided won’t cover everything and you’re going to have to go out of pocket to truly placate the other clans. If you don’t have enough cash on hand, you may be asked to do various unpaid tasks and labors: washing dishes, scrubbing floors, cleaning windows, taking out the trash, serving kids’ birthday parties; any amount of the lowest work you can imagine.
It’s rough! But somebody’s gotta do it
3. DEPARTMENT OF THE ENMA
The chaos of the Night Parade has caused a resurgence of unaffiliated gangs popping up around Jigokucho. They can usually be found identifying themselves through the use of basic colors and mascots. They are made up almost entirely of violent youths with uncertain futures, who are lashing out at an uncaring world. The antics of the Daitengu, the accusations against the Enma, and the squabbling between Shuten and Tamamo is not inspiring their confidence nor loyalty.
In addition to this problem, the retrieval of the Haniwa is going poorly. Most residents are too uncomfortable to even touch the statues and their appearances don’t seem to be slowing down. There are too many for the Department to collect.
With an abundance of cursed objects in town, the petty gangs have decided this is an ample resource for them. They are using the Haniwa to harass the general public and against one another. They have weaponized the excess Haniwa and are using them as “curse bombs”, hurling them at both each other and the residents they want to intimidate. It’s getting nasty.
It’s the Department’s job to keep the Haniwa figures from falling into the wrong hands and to keep some semblance of order. The official orders from the Office of the Enma are directing all hands to converge against the youth gangs. Use any force necessary and retrieve those figurines.
4. TAMAMO CLAN
How inconvenient! In addition to the complications of the turf war, an extremely important time of the year has arrived for the Tamamo Clan.
It is time for the yearly visit of one of the clan’s greatest benefactors: the Tennin. These Celestial Immortals descend from the Heavenly Realms to spend time (and incredible amounts of money) in Hell’s Playground, Jigokucho. Hell simply offers the sort of delights you just can’t get in Heaven. Due to Tenkohime’s connections with them, the Celestials have had her host them for several years in a row now. She emphasizes how incredibly important it is to keep them happy.
The Celestials want entertainment and delights of every variety. It’s up to the Tamamo Clan’s Lost Souls to entertain them. Your entertainments can take many forms: keeping the Celestials company, putting on a performance, showing off your cooking and skills, tea ceremonies, and other exhibitions. Should you choose the carnal and kinky route for entertainments, know that you won’t be laying down with any Celestials themselves. Oh, no no no, they’re Heavenly, after all! This is still performance, so you may need a partner to help you out.
Keep in mind that the legends are true! The Celestials are deeply deeply fond of peaches. Both literal and metaphorical. 🍑
The Celestials love to chat and gossip, so keeping them entertained is also an excellent way to hear some interesting information. Tamamo artisans will likely learn that many Celestials openly trade with Tenkohime. In fact, the aphrodisiac goods that the Tamamos so famously deal in come, in large part, from the Celestials. Tamamo isn’t the only clan they do business with either. They also have connections within the Sutoku Alliance and are the land owners of several Alliance properties. They are considered one of the primary sources of capital in the real estate market.
Why would the Celestials want properties in a world they literally can’t live in? Doesn’t that just reek of capitalism.
5. TURF WAR (ALL FACTIONS)
The turf war between the Shuten and Tamamo clans is at a simmer right now. Which doesn’t mean that it’s over – not even close. Minor magical traps, similar to those found in the sewer, have been found in Shuten territory. Frustrated Shuten enforcers have been taking out their anger on anyone that so much as looks at them funny. Bars in both districts are regularly getting smashed up. Knife fights are breaking out in the streets. Cars known to belong to members of both clans turn up with slashed tires. There’s even rumors of hits being taken out on higher ranking members.
Watch your step if you’re out and about in either territory. Faction affiliation doesn’t matter when tensions are running high. What’s more, rumors are flying all over about which of the two warring clans is going to be the one to escalate the violence further.
Will tensions boil over at any moment? At what point does the Department of the Enma have to step in? Why haven’t they already?
It’s all getting too much to handle…
6. CURSED OBJECTS (ALL FACTIONS)
The presence of the Haniwa is having increasingly frightening effects. There are whispers about blood coming out of the walls and the floors in apartments, about black ooze pouring from faucets and coming up from storm drains. There are even whispers of terrible household hauntings.
These aren’t just rumors though. Bars are having to close early due to the presence of wailing ghosts inhabiting the toilet or blood pouring from the taps. People run screaming out of alleyways pursued by ghostly hands.
These curses and hauntings seem to be fairly localized; kept to one building or one block at a time. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason as to when these accursed sightings will take effect.
Be careful out there! Who knows what could happen with so much terrible energy running rampant.
Welcome to the mini event!
- If you have any questions about event content, please ask them here!
- FOR THE PURPOSES OF REWARDS, since all of these prompts tie into the main plot in some way, we will count all qualified threads in this post as 2 point threads!
- If you have questions about the game itself, please check out the premise, FAQ, and rules pages.
no subject
as the swordswoman hands over the makeshift bag to the tanuki, the fluttering vision of her unfastening her black suit jacket and tossing it to the wind outside of that club crosses her mind. next comes the scowl, she imagines. the fracturing of that pleasant demeanor into gritted teeth and a pointed blade.
intent is electricity dancing over her skin, delighting her into a broad, helpless smile. a delicate, decorated palm slides over shuten's tickled cheek. ]
My! We've only been chatting for a little bit and you already want some alone time with me ... How greedy of you.
[ her eyes flutter to a narrow half-mast. seeing her fangs, the tanuki is motivated enough to quickly scoop up the bag and do as he's told, shivering tail disappearing past the doorway. ]
And there they go. I hope this means you'll be paying me some other way.
no subject
[Shinobu tilts her head at that, lifting one hand to delicately touch her chin in thought.] I'm not sure what kind of compensation you're looking for. After all... you were taking these haniwa and placing them in that poor tanuki's apartment. Ah, but before I get ahead of myself...
Why were you collecting them to begin with?
[Her gaze is heavy, considering as she stares the woman down with quiet skepticism.] You certainly don't seem to be affiliated with any of the local groups here using them as weapons.
Did you find them interesting...?
[Did she send the tanuki away for just questions like this? For some small talk?]
no subject
[ questions, questions. and within them, a slew of accusations shuten knows is brewing under the surface like a potion crafted by the swordswoman herself.
tricky and possessing a pinpoint accuracy, the innocent-sounding inquiries aren't as comforting as they should be from this woman, when shuten has already found herself under her burning magnifying glass.
shuten's gaze falls, as do the fingers upon her face as she hums, exaggerated and thoughtful. ]
Mmmm ... shouldn't you take me someplace a little more private before interrogating me so harshly? Then again, I suppose you've already shown you don't mind pinning me down where everyone can hear...
no subject
As I mentioned earlier... we're both showing our true selves now, aren't we?
I have a lot more tact than that. [With another tilt of her head Shinobu eyes the oni carefully.] And I know by now that you're certainly someone who others would see as... a threat.
Do you understand, Miss? [Her eyes lid as the words drift forward, heavy like smoke and just as foreboding.]
You're a danger to these people.
no subject
this verbal needling, when they had such a disastrously explosive first meeting, is a farce as silly as the master-maid act they first engaged in. despite being at a terrible disadvantage, despite how their last scuffle ended, shuten thinks it'd be easier to have this come to blows.
this has little to do with the haniwa, after all, or the tanuki she supposedly (did) victimize — this girl is after her.
she pouts, palm cradling her frowning cheek. ]
Come now, why not just draw your sword and get this over with if you've got it out for me so badly, dear? You know tanuki are shifty little things, too. For all you know, he could be waiting to nab your cash, or worse...
[ the curtain of her kimono drags across the floor as she steps to the side, beginning a slow, calculated circle around the woman. her low gaze traces the thickness of those lashes, the shape of her eyes. ]
But you're not concerned with tanuki, are you, honey?
[ step by step, she peers at her through her shifting angle. ]
So where's that "true self" you were talking about?
no subject
It's only a hunch, really. She chuckles dryly and without humor.] Aha, I suppose you've got a point...
[Shinobu doesn't reach for her sword yet. Instead she brings a hand to her chest, her smile just slightly more subdued than before.] Right before you... is my true self. I really don't intend to keep anything from you, Miss.
[Her true self... come and gone. Revived and reborn again.
Into hell.]
Ah, but I suppose even the most disciplined warrior has their biases. After all... you're the perfect example of what oni really are.
[And finally she takes a step forward, away from the apartments and closer to the oni.] Am I wrong?
no subject
something in her, something rare, nags at shuten to be the one to strike the match, to pay back this woman for the burn of the last time. so she winds, and winds.
"you're the perfect example of what oni really are."
ahah. that gets her to smile.
like a slinking cat, shuten drifts to the woman's side, and slides right up against her shoulder, bare front pressing against her uniformed arm. ]
Oh my. [ she breathes behind those gradient bangs. ] There you go flattering me again. I'd love to answer your questions, but ... it seems you already know a thing or two about oni.
[ fingertips brush the fracturing lines of those wings. ]
You're not just any kind of mystic slayer ... are you?
no subject
[Is her simple answer, her half-moon eyes resting on the oni for a brief and still second. For a moment everything around them grows still- similar to shift in air pressure before a storm breaks through the horizon. She smiles almost helplessly at the intensity of it all.] Although I was hoping to remain a mystery to you a little bit longer.
What a shame.
[Steel against wood shatters the silence in a high-pitched hiss, her arm moving with the sound as she pulls her sword from its scabbard. It swings out in an arc towards the oni, her expression frozen in a pleasant portrait of expectant delight. If the oni dodges she'll pull back as well, her feet skidding just a bit away from where they stood.
Her haori billows behind her.] But could it be, Miss... that you suspected I was a demon slayer from the start?
no subject
shuten wears the face of a human when the demon slayer attacks, despite the swift way she twists her body to dodge that sword, shock pulling her expression into a frown. ]
Ugh, touchy! I always underestimate how quickly you want to whip that out...
[ she hops weightlessly onto the balcony railing, knees bent and peering down at the woman like a wooden carving of a dragon under the gables. ]
It'd be such a hassle to fight you now, though. I guess I'll just have to ...
[ her sharp eyes dart to the roof ]
... start from scratch.
[ and her feet follow. she jumps, wind caught under kimono like it were giving her help, and she takes off in a series of leaps. ]
no subject
[Her eyes catch the tail end of that kimono and widen slightly when the woman takes off over the roof of the complex. She curses again, her gaze darting from the front entrance to the roof, her priorities (for once!) split in two. To run after such petty bait would be beneath her... she came here for the haniwa, after all. But if she allowed that oni to keep collecting them it would only cause troubles for everyone else, wouldn't it?
... Start from scratch?
She cannot wait.
She leaps onto the roof after her, sending the tanuki a small thought of apology. Once she's done here she'll take the haniwa back to headquarters... that was the plan.]
no subject
she's fast, but not servant fast, perhaps not even oni fast, and the speedy demon slayer might just catch up to her yet as long as she continues on her straightforward path.
but she doesn't.
things are never straightforward with oni, after all.
shuten disappears.
at the crossroads of four apartment roofs, she dives below. the ends of her kimono are barely swallowed in the complex of balconies and railings underneath before she reemerges. suspended in the air and facing the woman giving chase, shuten cradles something in her arms.
small, earthen, and brittle. ]
Another one for you, sweetie.
[ with blinding force, she throws it — the hollowed out eyes of the haniwa quickly closing in on the girl as shuten takes off again. ]
1/2 oops
Her eyes briefly widen as she slows her gait and before she can think to peer below the oni reemerges, kimono rising around her like painted wings. Her breath takes, chest turning cold as a familiar shape appears in the oni's hands—
—and is suddenly being hurled towards her.] —!!!
[Fragile, wizened clay flies at her with a speed that'll either destroy it upon impact or send it flying until it eventually reaches the ground and smashes into pieces. She's yet to actually see one shatter and given the numerous warnings headquarters issues she doubts she ever will.
That won't be happening today.] Ugh!
[She catches the haniwa, but moves with its still continuing momentum and lands flat on her back against the multiple tiles of the roof. With a grunt she glances down at the statue in her arms- safe, thankfully.]
Are all oni where you're from as rude as you, Miss? [Shinobu scowls breathlessly, slowly rising...]
no subject
Shinobu- haniwa in hand- falls through a promptly collapsing space in the roof, the foundation caving in slowly into a gaping hole below. Her arms continue to cushion the statue even as she lands in the middle of what seems to be a bedroom- debris and plaster falling around her like so much snowfall.] Ah...!
[As the dust slowly settles and her eyes adjust to the darkness she peers up from where she fell, her gaze eventually falling on the walls-
-and realizing the... scene she's unwillingly fallen into.
Bloodied marks, dilapidated walls and an ominous aura so thick she feels choked by it.
Dammit, She thinks. Here too?]
no subject
—she glances back, prepared to pout her way through another retort to that, when the demon slayer, yards away now, falls through the roof. ]
Oh!
[ the gods must be paying her back for suffering poison a third time, she thinks. she should take that payment in full, not slow her pace, and continue on with her plan.
she should.
but she's an oni, and an oni will always want ... a little more.
too indulgent for her own good, shuten stops — and leaps to the edge of that newly created hole of crashing tiles and snapping wood. wisely, she keeps some distance as she calls down below. ]
Oh my! What awful luck for you. Looks like you've handled one too many of those little clay figures ... haven't you?
[ fangs glimmer like the chiming sound of her voice in the setting sun. it dips below the horizon line, and the streetlights around them struggle to flicker on as the cursed shadows deepen. ]
Too bad. I'll be going on ahead. See you around.
[ and with another flap of her kimono, she does. ]
no subject
Heaving a silent sigh she slowly rises to her feet.
I won't be chasing you again, Miss.
Instead she forces herself to shift focus, her attention now drawn to the darkened walls mossed over with blood and some other kind of... black excrement. Her nose scrunches as another unsettling wave of cursed energy bears down against her. Whispers and quiet whistles of wind through the thin cracks in the walls brush past her ear, never close enough to startle but always somehow there. Haniwa in tow she turns and walks towards the only door leading out of the room.
Leaving through the hole in the roof was never an option. If the cursed energy had stagnated the room this much then chances were more statues were hiding about. In a way she had already accepted the task that she had- quite literally- fallen into.
At least like this she didn't need to worry about an oni taking a bite out of her.] Good afternoon... anyone.
Is anyone home? [As she opens the door to the next room a line of small shadows greet her, circled in the middle of yet another empty yet greying and abandoned room. Sheets stained with something dark and questionable sit piled in one corner of the room, while in the middle... a circle of about four haniwa sit together.
Her brow knits.
Someone else is collecting them...?
"Ah... ah! Did you make this mess?!"]
!!
[Shinobu turns with a hand already on her sword handle.
Before her a startlingly human-like woman stands at the threshold- donned in a dirty apron, sweater and slippers. She wrings her long inky strands of hair between her hands, deftly pulling at her tips until they tear and come loose. Shinobu takes in the dark bun releasing more of her hair across her shoulders, like a dark mass of shadow hovering behind her. She realizes then that the woman's fingers are dripping with blood- repeatedly cut against the small spikes lining the ends of her hair.
The hari onna gnashes her teeth anxiously. "G-Geh... you did make this mess. And now you're trying to take my treasures! L-Leave it to the rotten Enma to step on the rest of us... like insignificant fleas..."
As her agitation rises, so do her long tresses and the barbed spikes curled at the ends of them. Blood continues to drip- from her fingers, from the walls...
Shinobu's eyes lid ever so slowly.]
Miss... perhaps we should take you to a doctor. These haniwa—
[The hari onna chokes in indignation- reddening eyes welting with moisture.
"They're mine!!"]
1/2
as the woman navigates the abandonment and the rot, shuten is somewhere on the rooftops, then somewhere in the alleyways, leaping and ducking and rounding until she refinds what she's looking for.
yes, it'll do nicely.
it will do nicely.
it's a few minutes, nary one or two, later when shuten returns to the site. wooden beams still splinter, a last shattered tile crumbles through. the only thing to announce her is the falling of crushed plaster through the torn gap. she hears two voices — the woman's, placatingly sweet as usual, and another, distinctly high-pitched and clawing. a youkai, a victim of the haniwa, or both.
what a right mess it seems the swordswoman's found herself in. ]
2/2
shuten peers through the collapsed roof, red horns tipped as she smiles. ]
Oh, you're still here.
[ one hand stays suspiciously out of view. ]
Wouldn't you know it, dear, it looks like you don't have to worry about paying me back anymore.
[ she stands on that last phrase as if to say "see?" it rises with her, scraping and clinking along the tanned ceramic tiles of the roof until she holds it both-handed over the gap: that familiar white cloth, heavy with haniwa.
fangs flash. the sun disappears in shadow.
and she pulls out the fabric from underneath the earthenware, emptying from it a magnitude of half a dozen curses to explode in the apartment below. ]
no subject
But here she is nonetheless, her hands raised before her as the youkai continues to grind her molars too loudly and without care for her own health. At this point she wonders if it would be best to simply leave, to regroup and try and keep her head low so she can come back for the haniwa another day. At this point in time she was simply out of her element... and heaven forbid if she decided to show up again—
Oh, you're still here.
The female youkai jolts with the sound of the new voice, while she promptly drops her hands at her sides and fists them tightly. Perfect, just what she needed.] Ah, what terrible timing...
[Is what she begins to sigh, trailing off when her eyes fall upon the white bag in the oni's hands. All at once her eyes widen, her limbs growing stiff as the hold on that load slowly begins to loosen from the oni's grip. Her lips part, shock keeps her rooted to the spot despite the very obvious threat in front of her.
Oh, no.
She won't make it in time— even at her swiftest, even with all her skills, she can't stop them all from shattering—]
You—!! [Is what she snarls, disbelief and rage flickering across her expression before something flashes before her.
"Noooooo!!"
The bag falls and unveils several haniwa, only feet away from the floor before. Shinobu watches in a stupor as the youkai's long black tresses spring into action— swiping at every statue, securely wrapping around it like a python coiling around its prey. Some fall into her thick locks as she zips and zags about, until she catches the very last one in her arms—
—and promptly drops to the floor in great, heaving sobs. She cradles the haniwa in her arms like a lost child, large tears leaking out of the corner of her eyes.
"How could you...!" She hiccups, gathering the statues close with her hair. "My children... my precious treasures! You nearly broke them!"
A few short minutes ago the youkai was eminiating a very deadly aura, not unlike the oni she encountered in her time that were all too ready to make a meal out of her. A few short minutes ago she was certain the woman would attack, tear her limb from limb for trespassing on her property. Shinobu was fully prepared to defend herself then.
Now... now a pang of pity pulls at her heart.
She steps close and quiet, staring at the sobbing youkai as she huddles close to herself. A sigh escapes her again before she looks up sharply— her pitying expression shifting into something darker, angerier.]
Are you pleased with yourself, Miss...? [Her pink lips pull down.] Honestly... you have no manners, do you?
[A startled gasp brings her out of her ire. Shinobu glances down and sees that the youkai is also staring up at the roof, her watery eyes frightened as she stares at the newcomer above.
"Oni... it would be an oni..." She whispers, her voice small and weak.
Her brow furrows.]
i lied of course
the sobbing from the youkai, the glare from the demon slayer that follows, it's all far too much. it nearly makes her laugh. she was prepared to unleash half a dozen minor catastrophes unto the demon slayer (and youkai) below with untold consequences ... is she supposed to feel bad for the weeping spirit who ruined her fun? an oni like her?
she scoffs. ]
Oh, what a bother. I'm starting to get pretty annoyed ... Why can't you all just sit down and let me take it out on you?
[ then, without warning, she drops.
shuten jumps, grabs hold of a splintered support beam, and releases, descending into the apartment with the speed of her swing and gravity combined ... and aimed straight for the hari-onna, still crumpled on the floor with precious clay in her arms.
it all happens in an instant.
there's a choking, a gasp wedged in one's throat, a blinding flurry of hair and apron, the beginnings of a shriek, and then, a crack.
—two cracks.
shuten's heel makes audible contact between the other youkai's shoulders, the center of her spine, but not before the hari-onna employs the foresight (or the obsessive instinct) to shield the brittle brown figures with her shining black tresses before she collapses. as shuten flips away, foot kicking down on the youkai's neck as leverage in a last act of pent-up cruelty, that lanky, unconscious body crashes to the tatami, narrowly avoiding the haniwa cradled by her hair.
all but one.
the second crack, the crunch and clink of fragile earthenware, comes before a deafening stillness descends in the room.
the longest half-second in the world.
shuten is barely touching down on the tatami on the other side of the room when, from the hollow space between shattered pieces of clay, an explosion of shadow fires out in all directions. a groan rattles the apartment from the ground upward, sounding distant, as though it originates from an entirely different realm and yet all around them, as though it were housed in these wooden walls. the shadows lash out like the hari-onna had come to, writhing and blindly searching for anything, for anyone,
for the one who shattered its vessel.
it finds her.
in the same manner that her shining black tresses cradled the haniwa in an all-consuming darkness, so too do the shadows swaddle the hari-onna in itself, the whispering of a thousand pained voices whipping around the room as it blankets her. the curse, like straining blackwater, sinks into the youkai — her mouth, her eyes. the collective cacophony of hushed, manic voices and reverberating groaning create earthquake tremors as their volume climbs; a sound enough to madden neighbors the next block over. it builds and builds as the shadows disappear into their victim, draining into her empty expression until it runs out, until the blackness of her eyes and mouth resemble the haniwa that she loved so very much.
the shadows end.
then, silence. perhaps louder than the one five seconds prior.
shuten breathes for the first time since those scant few seconds begun, malice coming off the echo of her voice in waves. ]
... That's better.
HORRIBLE
Except in this case, everything has become nothing short of a nightmare.
Breath escapes her as the oni touches down on the youkai's back and the sickening sounds of clay (and bones) breaking are enough to make her stomach lurch in shock. As the gravity in the room intensifies she feels a terrible weight shifting all around her, as though they had become submerged in a smoke of which there was no escape.
Shadows dance and flit across her vision. Her hair whips about as the hari-onna succumbs, engulfed by the darkness until both her eyes and mouths are nothing but pitch black shapes. She lies motionless as the residual curse scatters about like blackened mice at their feet, scurrying up the walls and into the smallest cracks in the foundation, undoubtedly off to curse more poor souls.
... 'That's better.'
Her hand moves.
Shinobu moves.
Steel cuts through wind, whistles sharp and deafening for a split second as she lurches away from the wall and towards Shuten with the end of that poisonous stinger aimed towards her chest. Shinobu seethes as she makes for her mark, her rich angered voice resonating throughout the greying walls.] Enough out of you!!
This was between us!
[If only she hadn't run into her again, if only she hadn't followed her to this place— if only she had stuck to the job. Now someone had suffered for it, now more would suffer for it... all because of her mistakes.
She had to rectify it herself.]
no subject
it wasn't hard to predict.
neither is the hissing and shouting, sweet like midnight passion and just as searing on her skin. veering left, she hears the singing of that stinger as it narrowly misses her ear, stopping somewhere behind her. like reflex, she truly can't help the way she smiles then. ]
Fu, fufufu! Good! That's the expression I wanted to see!
[ then, darker, in a hush not unlike the cursed voice that were just flying about the room: ]
You do know how to cooperate when it counts, don't you?
[ shuten jumps back, snapping the fragile bamboo frame of the sliding door with the round, lithe corner of her shoulder as she leaps out. the one advantage she truly has in a close quarters brawl with a speedy, poison-bearer like this one — is the fact that she's a demon: in her strength, and in her cruelty, unbeholden to the human burden of minimizing damages and casualties.
there's nothing to save anyway, she might say, as her heels skid through a red and sticky pool of something soaked through the floor of the hallway. with the sliding door between her and the demon slayer as a brief barrier, shuten winds up — and launches through it feet first, sending it crashing down with the force of her kick towards (her last known) direction of the woman. ]
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Fickle, deceitful and cruel— they only thrived in the darkest crevices created by the currents of this world. The youkai had been erratic yes, had probably the intention to frighten Shinobu out of her house and continue hoarding the haniwa... but she even so, she didn't deserve that fate. As far as Shinobu was concerned the hari-onna was just as much as a victim as anyone else that had suffered at the hands of their kind.
And she was a demon slayer, at her very core.
Her mouth flattens into a rosy line as she watches the bulk of the sliding door hurl towards her, the weight of it already reaching her in a gust that threatens to teeter her back down the hallway.
She moves and her arm is a blur.
Dance of the Dragonfly!
Six diagonal strikes alight like struck matches before the oni, effectively cutting the sliding door into several splintered pieces. She bursts through them, her arm bringing the sleeve of her wing-patterned haori in front to block the wreckage from her eyes. Almost as soon as she fixes her gaze on the oni again she breathes and goes for another swift thrusting strike. In the midst of all this her voice rises above the din— gentle and calling.]
How laughable.
To think I'd ever cooperate with an oni!
[Much less a nameless one! She thrusts forward— her feet lift off the ground and the tip of that stinger flies forward once more— this time aimed for the green bauble adorned on the oni's brow.]
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if this were the ancient capital, if this were a central townhouse, if this were a thousand years ago — the whole neighborhood would be up in flames to assuage her brief temper.
with the demon slayer exploding through these walls to meet her, shuten finds she can forgive the difference in scale. ]
Fufu! Rage is surprisingly elegant on that pretty face of yours. And with those wings, it looks like you're flying ...
[ as the door breaks opens like a punctured balloon, shuten angles her trajectory underneath the soles of those hovering sandals, that poised stinger cutting the air between her horns as she ducks — and slides under her. as she turns, ready to flip up behind the woman, shuten grasps at the fluttering hem of that butterfly haori. ]
You really stand out.
[ with a handful of her tail, shuten pulls downward, aiming to send its wearer crashing to the floor below. ]
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This oni doesn't look angry.
She isn't seething with rage, isn't even slightly put off by the fact that Shinobu has already once tried to run through her with her sword. There were brief flashes before, in the midst of that heated club, that could have been mistaken for sarcasm and irritation— but anger? Hatred? Genuine contempt?
It wasn't there.
When she disappears from sight Shinobu thinks for a fleeting second that she's attempting to escape and prepares to skid to a stop with her heel against the floor. She feels her breath taken— almost literally— when a firm grip takes hold of her haori.
Fiery indignation consumes her, blinds her completely and utterly to the trajectory her body is currently hurtling towards. How dare she— Comes the seething thought, roiling hot like water on scalding volcanic rocks, steaming between her teeth. How dare she touch my haori—!!
The world turns over and brittle wood meets her back as she crashes— shoulders first and then her feet.] —Ugh!!
[Immediately she rises to her feet, her face surprisingly resilient—
—until her balance suddenly tips. Shinobu drops to one knee with a grimace, pain resonating throughout her core.] ...
[Delicately she raises a hand to touch nape of her neck. When she pulls away her fingertips are wet with blood.] Hah.
Hah... I stand out?
Out of the two of us you're definitely flashier than me, Miss.
[Her eyes dart to the oni's feet, where the same red color stains her skin.]
... Why did you do that? To that youkai?
[Tell me so I can become angry again.]
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and the woman pulls her attention to her once again before long, the vivid color of crimson on those pale fingers like a lure for her violence-prone senses.
shuten tips her head, the apathetic angle of her lithe shoulders playing at carelessness. still, she steps no closer.
her voice drops to a winding hum, brushing along the shoji panels still standing. ]
Don't pretend like you don't know. You felt the same way ... didn't you?
[ this is meant to distract her, she figures, but shuten obliges the question, the conversation by clasping her hands behind her back anyway. ]
... She got between us.
[ fangs peek to bring the sharp and dangerous reality to the cute sway of her sleek dark hair. ]
We were in the middle of something ... and she decided to get involved. She should know better — that's what you get when you nose your way into an oni's business.
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