nobody's gonna break it up (Open)

[swordofhisou]

Who Tenshi and YOU!
What General July Shenanigans, Substories and Plot-stuff
When July!
Where All around
Content Warnings CW Stardust/Magic Drug induced Rough Sex (Ibaraki thread), mild injuries, nudity, might be some weapon play

1) Time-Consumption (Sub-Story)
Tenshi was staring down at this really pretty watch that she'd picked up out of a dumpster. No, she wasn't dumpster diving. Don't judge her! Look, she was just tossing something and saw it in there. Never you mind the unlucky snot who was still in the dumpster. They were still breathing. Probably. Hopefully. It wasn't her fault and it wasn't her problem either.

She wiped the grime off of it and stared for a minute. "Damn. This looks valuable. What the hell was this doing in there?" She frowned.

(OOC: Only request - its disappearance does not lead to permanent/fatal harm to either character. Plenty of other hilarious awfulness before she inevitably loses it.)

2) Cursed Corners
The cackling was getting on her nerves. She raised her hand up and shook her fist at the lipstick wearing hag on the roof. "Get down here you witch! What do you think you're doing?" Of course, her shrieking had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that there was a blue haired punk with a crowbar that she was currently fending off with her bokken, just barely. It was a hallucination. She knew it was a hallucination, but that did not change the fact that she really didn't like this girl.

"I'd like to see you handle a kappa!" That got a few laughs from the onlookers.

3) Mr Libido (Sub-Story)
She groaned. "I thought I was supposed to have gotten a promotion," she muttered as she finished a slice of peach before pocketing the pit in a small bag out of respect. She wiped her hands and looked over at the nearest contracted agent, regardless of their faction and folded her arms. "Whaaaatever. So we have to go deal with a pervert. Like it or not, that's the job. You in, I assume?"

She reached for her sword, paused and left it there, going over to grab a wooden bokken and prop it up on her shoulder. "No killing. He's just a damned pervert. Let's just hope he's not a masochist if we have to beat the snot out of him."

4) It's In the Stars... (Plot-Related)
Finding stardust was the order of the day, and so she had a bag out and was rifling along the river beds and the less likely to be poured over, hunting for the little crystals. She let out a crooning sound of delight when she found one, grabbing it and blinking as she felt a sort of warm sensation when she picked it up, staring at it for a moment. "That's funny."

Oh, did she hear someone? She turned her head to regard whoever had just happened by, popping the crystal into her bag and checking to see if she knew them from the faction. Better safe than sorry. She intended to get these back to them, not just hand them over to someone else... "Here to help?" she said, eyebrow raised but a smile on her face.

5) It's In the Stars.... Fight Club Flavored (Plot-Related)
Tenshi had moderate success with getting the stardust crystals, perhaps more because she was just sort of obsessed with finding them in her spare time. She wanted to impress her masters enough that they gave her some more leeway, or perhaps something actually useful to her. So, she was trying to put in an effort. The side effect, however, was that she was carrying enough of a supply that there was beginning to be an effect, and perhaps not an entirely positive one.

Having closed her satchel and properly secured it, her eyes were starting to dilate and she felt her hand twitching at the side, running over the wooden sword at her side. She caught sight of someone who looked promising and pointed at them. "Hey, you! Yeah, you!" she shouted, grinning with a look on her face that could only be described as lightly ecstatic. "You look good for a fight, whattaya say?" Seriously, someone needed to remind her that she wasn't in Shuten. "Come on. Off the streets. Don't want those Emma guys getting uppity." Yeah, she would have said that even if they were in Emma.

(OOC: Tenshi, in canon, gets the biggest kick out of having adventures and getting into fights, proving herself, so ... yep. She's feeling the urge for a tussle in good fun. Again, no permanent harm. She has the sense to break out the wooden sword for this after all.)

Wildcard)
Anything is possible, as always. If you want adult content material, there's opportunities within the "Stardust" prompt, but please run it by me first.

Comments

First Rule of Fight Club: We Don't Talk about Fight Club (Closed to Ibaraki)

[swordofhisou]

Tenshi was seated on a rock out of the main town. This was a pretty trashy part of Jigokucho, well away from where anyone doing anything legitimate should have been. Those shark punks had been sighted here in the past at the river side, but what this place offered was privacy. Nobody was going to give her hell.

She had a giddy look and a little cloth package in one hand. She'd given almost all of her stardust up, but oh she'd picked up something about them in the process and in the baggy were two little crystals. One arm propped up on her knee, she waited for the person she'd contacted, gripping the pouch. Her other hand ran over the hilt of her sword with itchy fingers.

God she was impatient.

[bananaoni]

Ibaraki made her way over to the proposed meeting site. Nomming freely on her treat, pack of treats in one clawed hand. Popping the confections into her mouth freely and without a care in the world. It was this girl again. The one that kept on challenging her left and right.

Geez, she's kind of uppity for a celestial, isn't she? Then again, most did tend to be kind of like that.

Whatever, it was fine. "Oi! Are you prepared to face the might of an oni?"

CW for magic crystal drug thing and bad life choices

[swordofhisou]

She hopped up and got off of the rock she'd been standing on, waving over at the oni in an amiable and pleasant sort of way considering what was happening. Stepping over and coming in good and close, she took a piece of stardust out of the pouch before tossing it over to Ibaraki. "Hey, freebie. Catch." And, as she said it, she took the other out, putting it in her mouth and swallowing with a wink. "I'm plenty ready to kick your butt this time. Gotta get a little payback for that wet t-shirt contest drinking contest don't I? But try that. It felt really good, like it was taking the edge off earlier."

That... that was not what it was doing, Tenshi, but of course she was dumb enough that she'd already swallowed hers, so yep. this was going to be a thing. "Please tell me you're ready to face the full power of the heavens!"

[bananaoni]

Eh... this woman is weird as all heck. Challenging Ibaraki like she was, and now tossing that bit of stardust towards her, which the oni catches and squints at. A freebie? What is it? Candy? She glances at Tenshi as she swallows one, hm....

"As if I need such a thing!"

That would take her having to loosen up, which she obviously doesn't need to do! But- Ibaraki, not one to be outdone, tentatively does the same. Swallowing the stardust and wrinkling her nose. Yeah, not candy at all.

"More ready than you are to face the might of an oni."

[swordofhisou]

She blinked momentarily while the other was talking, one hand resting at the hilt of her sword as the other slipped the empty pouch back onto her belt. Oh... oh, she felt something. It was kind of hitting her in a wave, like the first onrush of adrenaline starting to kick in and with it a sort of heady sensation in the top of her skull. There was a tiny swim and she grinned more widely.

"Pffft, you don't need it of course. Neither do I, but oh this'll be fun. Before we start. Only rule." She started to draw and stopped one inch out. "I'm not here to kill you. You're not here to kill me. Fair?"

It came out the rest of the way, looking like a chinese jian-style sword. She spun it once easily in her hand and brought it down, the blade sinking a little way into the ground with a crack while she held onto the hilt, her grin widening. One hand reached out, waiting for the Oni's agreement.

[bananaoni]

It takes a bit for the stuff to actually hit Ibaraki herself. When it does it starts off rather slow with a growing elevation of... something. Hm... well whatever! Ibaraki took her usual pose of standing on one foot while resting her club on the ground.

"Eh? Oh- mm, fine. It would be far more savory to keep you alive anyway!"

Especially after that embarrassing interaction over the network! It would be far more fun and delightful to keep Tenshi alive so she can live with her defeat! Fufu... yes, Ibaraki is both courteous and cruel! And ah- there it is, that rising heat inside her belly and a full on rush. "Come then! I shall put you in your place!"

What looked to be a few sparks of fire flitted off the ends of her hair. But that was probably just a trick of the light, right?

[swordofhisou]

It was hitting now. And the moment she saw those little motes of fire on the edge of Ibaraki's hair, her eyes lit up and she flashed her a toothy, pearly white grin. Nope, she didn't think those were tricks of the light, but she'd expected power. This was normal. "Savory, eh? I'll have you know I'm a spicy dish!" She took the invitation, starting to run forward, both hands going to the hilt of her sword.

What changed, however, was that she didn't yank the edge out of the rock. She angled it and twisted, causing the flat to grip and the rock to groan. There was a faint odor of peaches in the air for a moment and then the stone shattered. Water rushed into the gap as a large chunk of rock yanked off on the tip of the blade, turning it almost into a makeshift hammer.

She was rushing up, bringing the sword up in a forward arc, that hunk of asphalt whipping up and going right for Ibaraki's face. "Good! No matter how many times you come, I won't lose!"

[bananaoni]

Ah- here she comes. And, what the heck was that!? Forget the scent of peaches that made her mouth water. She quickly backpeddals out of the way, a few sparks left in her wake as the ends of her hair began to curl up and change into that of brilliant fire. Showing her nature as a being of fire. The smell of soot filled the air while steam was left in place of where her feet had been.

She's hot in more ways than one!

"Hah! As if your little rock tricks will win the day for you!" She grinned, a euphoric rush pulsing inside of her, nostrils flaring and cheeks flushing as her heart began to pound harder and faster. What was this feeling!?

[swordofhisou]

"My strength isn't a trick!" she declared loudly, her eyes a fierce, blazing pair. There weren't motes of power showing as she moved, but she was definitely faster and stronger than anyone her size had any business being. She could see the trails of fire from where the oni moved. It was like watching Mokou from a distance when the immortal got pissed off. The charnel smell in the air was oh so familiar in its own way.

On the one hand, any sense that she should maybe reconsider this was gone. Her pupils were dilated and her pulse was rushing. This was what she needed. The first motes of flame felt like she was dodging between danmaku all over again. Only, it felt better than fighting Suika somehow, and she wanted more. When her makeshift hammer missed, she brought the thing right back down, sweeping it and adding force to pick up momentum. There was a crack, a quick groan and a few sparks went off as the asphalt came whipping off of the sword, a projectile aimed right for the being of fire just before Tenshi hopped to the side, keeping her blade level and pressing the attack.

One thing about Tenshi. She definitely wasn't the retreating type. "That's it! Show me what you've got, oni! You think you're hot stuff? I'm going to knock you into that creek and cool you off!"

4

[perfectdistance]

Nero raises his hand up in a half wave, the type where he's just acknowledging somebody's said something to him. He's only a very recent arrival to Tamamo himself, so he can understand the hesitance.

"Yeah. Not real sure what we're lookin' for." Go collect stardust isn't an especially helpful set of instructions when he doesn't even know what it looks like. "You seen any yet?"

[swordofhisou]

It took her a moment. She hadn't really met Nero yet, but someone, somewhere seemed to think she'd needed a promotion (god help them), which meant that she might have gotten enough of a description to relax a bit. "You're with Tamamo right?" Folded arms and she looked far less defensive at first. It wasn't that she disliked any of the factions, even Shuten, but she knew that she was 'supposed' to be their rival, so this seemed a good spot to be cautious.

"We're looking for these things," she said, reaching into the pouch and pulling out what looked like rock candy stars. She felt that warm sensation again and blinked before putting it back into the pouch. "The bosses want them, so I'm guessing they're valuable. Haven't really figured out the why of it yet. Name's Tenshi by the way."

[perfectdistance]

"Yeah. Newly arrived." With very little clue of what he's supposed to be doing, but here he is. At this point, better to go along with the missions and things that they want assistance with. Especially if there are other people who actually know what they're doing and he can learn from.

He takes a good long look at the candy looking stars, and thinks about all the times people gathered up star sugar to let him cook something nice. "It's sugar?"

"Nero. Nice to meet ya."

[swordofhisou]

"Not candy. Something called stardust." She relaxed fully as she zipped the pouch up, ready to take him at his word with a quick, curt nod before gesturing around the river banks nearby. "Apparently it falls this time of year at night? I think they use it for magic or something. I can feel it has some sort of property." Well, it was much closer to a drug the way they used it, but she at least understood it was something to be treated carefully.

"We can look together. More hands make light work, and we're rooting around for needles in a haystack. What they got you working in over there? I'm still bouncing these days mostly."

[perfectdistance]

Star dust, star sugar, how far apart are they really? He'll walk a little before kneeling down and looking closely for anything that matches what she's already got. "Wouldn't be too surprised if there's some kinda ritual attached."

"Whatever anybody else doesn't want to deal with for now. Odds and ends, part time stuff. Know anybody who pays well?" Have to spend money to make money, and it's not as though he could take out an entire loan this early. Even if he wanted a small restaurant, it'll take a while to get the money.

[swordofhisou]

"Maaaan, I'm still remembering how to figure out money. It's kind of a pain remembering to do things like saving when you haven't been doing it for ... uh, probably a century or two. I lost track at some point." she snorted and then laughed a little too loudly while she started to work along the water's edge, pushing rocks aside and checking just under the water. As long as the isonade weren't reappearing, they were all good.

"I'm a pretty damned good fighter, so having me work for Musashi in security made sense. Most folks won't hire me for ... other things." She didn't quite put it as a Tamamo thing, but she was bouncing at the brothels. "You'll get assigned something soon enough, and stuff like this'll pay."

[perfectdistance]

"Damn, it'd be nice to not have to worry about it for that long." He's lifetimes away from when money wasn't a problem for him. Money's always been an object, no matter where he's lived.

He lifts up one of the rocks to see if there's anything that might be hidden there. That's an interesting piece of rock, but he's not sure if it's exactly the same as what Tenshi has.

"I'm not much of a fighter." A lie, but not exactly. Without his magic, he doesn't have nearly as much fight utility as he's used to. If it really came down to it, he could probably punch somebody. "How long did it take for ya?"

[swordofhisou]

"Heaven's boring as you can believe. I don't recommend it. No, you don't have to worry about money, but all there is to eat are peaches and everyone's meditating or attending Amaterasu's court all the time. Earth and Hell are much more lively." A firm shake of her head. Nope, she didn't care about money as much as adventure, definitely, and her sense of adventure wasn't always safe or responsible.

Thankfully, the pieces they were looking for were pretty distinct, so when he found one that looked like part of one of the crystals, she motioned towards it and held her bag out. "That should be one, yeah." She smirked. "They put me up as a bouncer almost immediately. Something something, bad attitude with the customers. But don't worry. We've got enough muscle around here at the very least. We're fine as long as the Shuten punks don't make too much trouble, and we've got tricks. I can go toe to toe with any of them for one."

A definite exaggeration, that.

three.

[rainswords]

[ What does a promotion even entitle anyone to within hell? Was it all the same across different factions, did every member receive the same benefits? He does suppose he would have to ask, but today is not the day. There is a task at hand and it seems he has a partner to work with. He is grateful when he sees a familiar face. Familiarity can facilitate cooperation. Although he can already tell the long-lived girl is irritated with the job thrust upon them.

Ah. Yes. He is aware of the type of individual they have to handle and admittedly this isn't the usual type of person he comes in contact with. He can only put on a polite smile as she uses a clearly defined word to describe the man causing a disturbance. ]

I am here. So yes, I will provide any assistance I can.

[ Xingqiu watches as Tenshi reconsiders her weapon of choice. Perhaps he should have come armed but it is a little too easy to forget to arm himself. ] I fully comprehend what the end goal is... [ But that is — okay. And he is going to pray this turns out to be a simple job to get through. ]

[swordofhisou]

[She propped her wooden sword on her shoulder and nodded over at him. this was the kind of work she really technically didn't need backup for, but it made things easier. Xingqiu was much more likely to be able to talk this weirdo out of his behavior. He could serve as the carrot and she the stick in this equation.]

If we can get him off our collective property, then everyone wins. Except Shuten. But, heh, fuck'm. I think I heard someone say he was down the block that way. Probably near one of you guys' bars. Do we try this civilly first?

[rainswords]

[ Polite laughter follows but he fully comprehends her sentiment regarding the Shuten Clan, from what he has witnessed the faction leaders' rivalries bleed to their members. Some, not all, but enough. Although at least in Tenshi's case to some extent he comprehends her pragmatic approach. ]

It would only be proper if we attempt to persuade the gentleman before other means are considered.

[ Xingqiu is aware that he is being generous in the manner by which he refers to a man who runs about town in only minimal wear; he also knows that if he fails in his attempt to persuade through words there may be a more violent approach taken. Hopefully, this is a man that can be reasoned with.

Hopefully... but this is a man running around the city in underwear, he has to remind himself. ]

Very well, let's go.

[ The bar down the block. Now just what — wait that place it's that themed izakaya bar and he was sure tonight was maid night. ]

[swordofhisou]

[Yeah, it was exactly that place, and that was exactly why there was probably going to be some weirdo pervert dancing around in what was almost his birthday suit in front of it. She'd call the Enma but that was a loss of face. As they started off and turned the first corner, she could see the bar in the distance. There were a few too many people over there.

Groaning, she shook her head.]

Bet you two zeni he's already there. God but I hope he's not secretly a powerful youkai testing the lot of us.

[rainswords]

[ There is no time to question the currency mentioned.

It is likely their target is up ahead but truthfully he isn't completely certain how prepared he is for this, well, he doesn't feel as well equipped as Tenshi. Perhaps he really has to reconsider his lack of investing in armament. Oh! That's a benefit of gaining rank within the Sutoku Alliance. ]

Would a — never mind. I think I can imagine it.

[ Of course, something powerful could grow bored and on a whim choose to act in the most ridiculous fashion without fear of repercussion. ]

Let's get closer. I'll try talking to him. How about it?

[swordofhisou]

Yeah... you're better at talking it out. I'll run crowd interference. If you need me to get more forceful, I'll be the stick to your carrot.

[And as soon as she said it, she was taking up point, muscling through the small crowd of nervous patrons. Grunting, she ushered at them, shooing them towards the alleyway as the man... yeah, he was out there dancing away like an idiot or a pervert... or both. She grunted and jerked with her head to Xingqiu while trying to whisper to folks that there was a back entrance. Hopefully he wouldn't notice.]

[rainswords]

[ A few seconds.

That's about how much time he was afforded to mentally prepare himself to approach the spectacle. Within hell, Xingqiu opted to avoid perverse oddities that attempted to interact with him. He kept everything at a comfortable distance. Solicitations, odd confrontations, those were all avoided. And while he is aware of the type of workers found (he knows about them strippers!!!) again there is always that comfortable distance.

Now he is the one that will make the approach.

The moment Tenshi clears the crowd and directs them away, it is his turn to play his role. He falters a second, because how can he not when there is a man in white brief undulating his hips in some dance, and of course Xingqiu focuses on the fact that the man is wearing matching white socks and sneakers.

...because why?

Seems like kind of an odd choice given his lack of much to wear. Still, he knows what he must due and the distance is closed. ]

Good evening sir, I apologize for interrupting but unfortunately we do have to request that leave the area as your presence is causing a disturbance.

[ Which is true! Otherwise, they wouldn't be here.

If Xingqiu's words have any effect it is to momentarily gain the man's attention, not that it puts a stop to his dancing. At this point and in such close proximity, Xingqiu is getting second-hand embarrassment but he is committed to the job. The man after appraising him speaks.

Ah!

You! I can tell immediately!

What Xingqiu has no idea, which is why he glances back towards Tenshi confused.

F-cup cookies will do wonders. ]

Sir, if you would please listen. We need you to leave the area, the patrons here are asking us to inform you that drastic measures may be taken to remove you.

[swordofhisou]

[She sidled back over towards them. the crowd was thinning and she was interposed in a way, in case he tried something like attempting to follow after people who'd disappeared. no, the old perv was dealing with them now. Resting her wooden sword on her shoulder, she couldn't help but roll her eyes.]

Don't act like we're on your level, ya perv. Look, you want those jollies of yours? I hear they have folks with what you're looking for over in Shuten turf.

[Her fingers tightened on the hilt of her weapon but she didn't actually bring it to bear. For the moment they could try to talk, but as he seemed to be trying to dance for them, this was causing her face to flush. This guy was the furthest thing from her type imaginable.

Especially when he started talking about how peaches were fine too. Do not hit...do not hit... do not hit..]