jigokulogs | ( closed ) 006

(Reference. )

(Everything is chaos again with the kidnapping and another assassination attempt. With everyone scrambling to understand what happened and find answers, there's only so much they can do in the night before parties hit their respective walls.

Hizen makes his way back to Shuten territory. His yukata is scuffed, his hands are scraped and scratched from a few rough encounters with Enma officers that had gotten in his way when he'd only had one thing on his mind. After the adrenaline high had worn off, the exhaustion hit. He needed to go back home. He needed to drink and he needed to sleep.

His phone goes off with people checking on him and he replies with a few quick reactions. Among all of the messages though, there's an off-thought that occurs to him. He goes through his contacts and texts both Kazuma and Skylark,)

I'm getting drinks.

(Does he even ask if they're okay? No. If they reply, they're alive. If they don't then... it's none of his business for now. Anyway, after swinging by the convenience store to buy some beverages of choice, he'll head home, kick off his geta, and call out,)

... Home.

[ When he sees the message, Skylark almost texts back to ask if Hizen is okay. Tonight there's been a kidnapping, an assassination attempt, and a whole lot of waiting around before everyone was finally let go. He ended up going straight back instead of hanging around any longer.

He's not sure if Hizen buying drinks is a sign that things are okay or if they're distinctly not okay, but if he's well enough to go the store then that means he'll find out in-person soon enough.

When Hizen comes back, Skylark is in the middle of melting on the couch, though he picks himself up when he hears him. ]

Ah, welcome back.

(He is home and he tosses a fluffy cheesecake right at Skylark. If it hits him in the face then it hits him in the face. )

Asogi ain't back?

(At least Skylark is here.......)

Eh?

[ He doesn't get to react in time to catch it, so it hits him in the face. For shame, Skylark, what if one day it's not something as harmless as a cheesecake? ]

Not yet.

(A glance outside the window. It's just dark night and city lights... He wonders if Kazuma was grabbed for questioning. Or if he decided to do something stupid like people in this city are prone to do,)

When'd you get here? Get back oaky?

About...half an hour or so ago, I think. [ That's just a guess, he honestly hadn't been keeping track of the time. ] I didn't have any other misadventures, so...

[ It does make him wonder what happened to Hizen and Kazuma, to be even later than him. ]

(Just going to head over to the kitchen area for a sec. There's clinking of cans and bottles because he's moving things around and adding more things in. When he comes back, he has a drink in hand. He pops it open and drinks,)

Good. Can't enjoy anything in this city without something fucking up...

(HE'S NEVER TRUSTING ANOTHER CELEBRATION OR FESTIVAL OR ANYTHING EVER AGAIN.)

Ate you saying this isn't the first time a celebration's been ruined by exciting drama?

[ "Exciting drama" he says, when he means "fucking up". ]

Watched the chicken get shot once.

(At their very first festival, even. Remember when all they had to worry about was the Daitengu assassination... those were the times, man.)

[ Opens his mouth.

Closes it, because honestly what the fuck can he say to that?

Then opens it again. ]

Is it just an Alliance thing that people try to publicly assassinate their figures?

(CLOSES HIS EYES AND DRINKS HIS CHUHAI.......)

Maybe they shouldn't try getting themselves killed in the first place!

I'm pretty sure they're not really trying to get themselves killed, but...

[ That seems to be the side-effect of whatever it is they've been doing. ]

If he wasn't trying then he would've quit when I told him to!

(He sure is talking about someone in particular. Fuck Sakamoto Ryouma. That absolute headache of a human being. That legacy menace.)

Told him if he kept sticking his fingers in everyone's business he'd get on someone's nerves and look at what happened!

[ Oh. Skylark can guess who Hizen to referring to. ]

I'm not sure if anyone can stop him from sticking his finger's in everyone's business.

He's always been a stubborn brat.

(He says like Ryouma is a child. AN ACTUAL CHILD.)

[ He raises his eyebrows for a moment. He knows Hizen is a spirit and therefore probably pretty old, but...

...He did notice that Ryouma kind of talks like how Hizen does on occasion. At the time he thought it was maybe a coincidence, but now... ]

You know Mr. Ryouma?

Unfortunately.

(TRULY UNFORTUNATE.)

What kind of unfortunate are we talking about here?

...

(Oh, no, this sure is stumbling close into personal history and he pauses,)

Used to be my job to keep him out of trouble.

(Used to.)

[ "Used to"... so he was right that there's some kind of history there. After pausing for a moment, he decides he may as well ask directly. ]

Are you some kind of guardian spirit?

(Snapping, perhaps a little too quickly,)

Hell no.

(Guardian spirits are good. They protect people and keep them safe. They bring good luck and keep their wards out of trouble, meanwhile--)

I'm just a killer's sword. Ain't nothing fancy or special like that.

[ "A killer's sword".

...Oh. So that's what he is.

Surely destiny or fate or whatever else there is up there finds this funny, for him meet another one not too long after his last encounter. Idly, he wonders if this means Norimune is a sword too, given that comment about them being colleagues. ]

I see. Probabky would have never guessed if you hadn't told me.

(He shrugs,)

Guess ya don't know me then.

(It's true, he might present nicer here in hell than he does back at the citadel but he knows how he is. Anyway, they'll hear some footsteps outside and it looks like Kazuma is probably coming back around now--)

[ Skylark gives Hizen a Look, but if he wanted to say anything to that, he doesn't because the other roommate is coming back and he's going to greet him— ]

[Kazuma ends up arriving not long after Hizen, having taken a bit of a scenic route back to the apartment as the madness of his day finally catches up to him. He feels both drained and electrified with nerves by the time he makes it back.

Part of him feels the need to decompress, to take Hizen up on his implied offer and maybe actually socialize with his roommates for once. Part of him is just exhausted and wants to sleep for the next week.

He doesn't even announce himself as he enters the doorway, instead eyeing whoever's lingering by the entrance wearily. He can feel a bruise forming on his face, and he can already tell it's going to be obvious. The least they can do is be polite enough not to ask about it and leave him alone.]

I'm going to bed.

[ Maybe he shouldn't have said "exciting drama" earlier, he seems to have cursed this night. When Kazuma arrives and he sees that he's apparently had an exciting night, the first thing Skylark wants to do is tell him to sit the hell down because he needs immediate treatment.

He manages to resist outright saying that, and instead says: ]

I'll go get some ice.

[Kazuma immediately closes his eyes and lets out a low, irritated groan, because this is exactly what he did not want to happen. There's no un-punching his face, and the last thing Kazuma wants to do right now is dwell further on his own stupid fucking decisions.]

Don't bother. It looks worse than it is.

[He already knows there's no way Lark will listen to him.]

And you'll feel worse in the morning.

(He isn't really trying to help. He's just grumpy, sorry. Don't mind the cuts and scrapes on his own knuckles as he takes another drink.)

What he said.

[ There is no un-punching Kazuma's face but at least they could maybe make it a slightly less unpleasant experience in the morning. Skylark's not even gonna ask how he got it. ]

And you— [ He turns to Hizen. ] —should get some bandages.

I'll heal.

(He really will. Don't worry. These are all minor?? The physical injuries will heal but he will remember this night forever and hold it against CERTAIN PARTIES until he dies mad.)

You can bandage them up while you heal.

[ Sir weren't you the one who did first aid to him when he got attacked by birds, ]

[Arguing about not applying first aid is almost as dumb as insisting on it when it's not necessary, so Kazuma just rolls his eyes and concedes.]

I'll be fine with just ice.

[And that could easily have been it, but if he's apparently not going to sleep yet after all he might as well steal Hizen's drinks. He grabs the nearest one off the counter without looking at it, leaning against the nearest wall as he opens it and takes a drink before letting out a slow breath, closing his eyes.

Long fucking night.]

[ Skylark ducks into the kitchen after Kazuma. He doesn't say anything about him getting a drink, because...honestly, at this point, a drink is probably earned if nothing else. He gets some ice out of the freezer in the fridge, then looks for a plastic bag to put them in and grabs a cloth from the counter to wrap the bag. He hands it over to Kazuma.]

Here.

Thanks.

[To his credit, he does actually start applying it rather than continue to be difficult. He eyes Skylark from his position across the room.]

Why are you still up? [It's not like he's injured, as far as Kazuma knows.]

Well... [ He rubs the back of his head. There's no reason to be dishonest, but he does realise his answer probably sounds lame. ] It just didn't seem right to go to bed when I wasn't sure what happened to you two.

[ Since. Well, Hizen had some kind of reason to decide tonight's the night for an alcohol run. ]

(The reason is sometimes you watch one of your former masters almost get assassinated after you've spent a lot of your old job making sure he lives or dies from assassination.)

Told ya this isn't the first time things've gone south. (He isn't going to sit down but he will lean against a doorway or something with his arms crossed and a drink in hand,) Probably gonna be busy now with this Iron Bear business...

[Kazuma looks up sharply from his drink. This is the most interesting thing either of them has said all night.]

I heard them mention that, too. Do you know anything about it?

[Info dump him, Hizen!!]

Ya mean about the past festivals or this Iron Bear guy?

(Crossing his arms because now he's really thinking. He's rubbing his brain cells together to get something out of them,)

Don't know much about "Iron Bear." Heard the name before but it's old. Real old. Just like Toraguma and Tamamo-no-Mae and a bunch of other guys here, it kinda feels like.... hearin' a name from an old story. If it's what I think... the boss and him go way back, all the way to when Shuten-Doji was still running around but all that was way before my time.

(Frowning because despite being a spirit and having a natural affinity for this type of folklore, Hizen is definitely one of the younger and more modern spirits. He isn't like the Heian swords who were around back in the days when they could earn names killing demons and monsters. Maybe if Onimaru or Higekiri were around, they would know more. Or hell, even one of the old geezers that spend too much time thinking about literature and time. )

Dunno what's gonna happen... Thought they were all on the same side before but...

(Hm.)

Dunno what they mean by "we know who ya are" either... What a pain.

[ Skylark listens to Hizen, and it's times like this where it really sinks in that he has no familiarity at all with any of the folklore that's prevalent here. "Iron Bear" sounds like a name you'd hear back home, and that's about where it ends for him.

(So Hizen is old as far as mortals are concerned, but not that old, huh...) ]

If they have a history, it's probably referring to something that happened back then... I wonder if Mr. Norimune would know. [ Or maybe even 1000 years wasn't far back enough? ]

Maybe? Some of the old guys are oni slashers... talking to them's a real pain in the ass, though.

(Like, he literally hates having to get any sort of specific information from most of them.)

Ugh. Guess we'll have to see what we can find out if we wanna be ready for whatever's coming next.

[Kazuma is skipping right over the "people who are ancient swords" thing, because it is too bizarre for him to spend brainpower trying to process it properly. Some people are just semi-immortal swords. It's how things are here.

And more importantly...]

So none of this is common knowledge? Or at least not recent enough history that most people would be aware of it.

[He might, if he had his memory, but he doesn't. So.]

Then I wonder why this is happening now. What happened when things previously "went south"?

Wouldn't call it common knowledge for everyone but wouldn't really call it much of a secret either if y'know what I mean.

(Maybe not everyone knows about it for one reason or another-- their age, their interests, the lands they're from and so on, but he feels like there are things that can still be spoken about freely enough to at least grasp some basics.)

There was a big festival when I got here. The kappa tribe made it a pain in the ass to get things done... they were messing with things underground. Kept it real secret 'til the night of the festival. When the big bird gave their speech there was an explosion from underground.

(He sort of waves one hand in the air, opening his palm to show something going off,)

A bunch of guys in modern armor and stuff came out. Shot the big bird dead and a bunch of other people. (INCLUDING HIZEN WHO GOT SHOT FOR A PLOT CLUE,) They had special weapons... bullets made from some special metal. They used the same metal to make the dagger last time things went to shit.

(The dagger the group used when they seized the Kaigo no Bou. )

The soldiers were working for the haniwa. (And here is where Hizen starts to get frustrated the more he talks because just remembering everything reminds him of how complicated and messy this whole thing is,) First the chicken, then the big guy... maybe it's the boss's turn now... I dunno.

[ ...Skylark was right, he shouldn't have said "exciting drama". Then again, in a city like this maybe he should have expected this nonsense? This does seem like somewhat more niche knowledge however, so it's not surprising that the Iron Bear name didn't ring a bell for Kazuma either. ]

Uh, is the last time things went to shit where all the...blood...came from?

[ The blood he saw almost damn well everywhere had to clean off arcade machines and the baths, ]

And...at the very least, it'd be weird to just put all down to just a coincidence.

(Opens his mouth

and closes his mouth)

(Holding his face in his hands oh no.)

Y'all came after...

(He sounds so tired. Is this really going to be their first time things get crazy? He hadn't even thought about that,)

Yeah... yeah. (Ugh,) A bunch of figures started showing up. Haniwa shaped. Had a lot of real bad energy. (That Hizen got the real heebie jeebies from considering his own nature as a spirit.) And there was some black market shit going on... also had a bunch of clay from the same place. The wastelands outside the city. (And he sort of waves his hand in the air a bit to show he means away) There was some of that special metal too. "Hihi'irokane."

Anyway, the big guy had his people collect 'em all in his fancy building and they just... went off at once. All of that bad energy spread over the city, started raining blood, people started seeing things... (His voice starts to trail. It was a difficult time for everyone, including him. He doesn't really want to dwell on personal parts,) The haniwa are related to the Haniyasu you guys've probably heard about. They're gods-- real old gods-- and they seem to got something against the city and the big guy but...

(Quietly, mumbling,)

Don't think everyone's telling everything they know and we know even less.

We're probably gonna start getting some answers but things're gonna go sideways again. Ya saw what happened tonight.

[There's a lot of what Hizen said that's interesting, but...]

The wastelands?

[That's where the kidnappers ran off to, where Kazuma and Jon hadn't been able to follow them. Kazuma clenches a fist in impotent frustration.]

That place seems to come up a lot for nothing being out there.

If ya ask me, it'd be weird if nothing was out there.

(He hasn't really thought much about it. He dislikes troublesome work if he can help it but Kazuma is right, it's come up quite a bit since he's been here.)

Can't imagine this city just being in the middle of nowhere. Places don't usually work like that...

(There has to be more out there.......)

[ Hm? Seems like Kazuma had already tried to do some investigation of his own. ]

To be fair, I'm not sure how many people were expecting a city in Hell, either. [ Which is to say, does Hell even follow the usual rules of how places work? ] The Haniyasu don't seem to be worshipped here, and even old gods will disappear eventually without prayer, so...it stands to reason that they're probably getting worship from somewhere. [ Out in the wastelands? ]

(What is this attitude being thrown back at him. Is this... a personal attack? Mumbling into his drink,)

Don't tell me what to do.

( closed ) 006

( august event ) text → action

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