009 | Where Your Demons Hide

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Emergency demon fighting
When: Late May 5-Early May 6
Where: Just outside of Tokyo
Summary: The demon from the school has reared its ugly head again and needs to be taken down.



On the evening of May 5, the Heavens suddenly receive an influx of prayers from people in and around a certain town just outside of Tokyo. There seem to be a lot of people in the area that have suddenly stopped responding normally (or at all). The situation continues to spread as the night goes on until not only is the whole town suffering from this malady, but the neighboring towns are starting to become affected as well.

With so many gods and shinki on hand - including new ones that have just appeared - the Heavens have issued a request for any available gods and shinki to go investigate what might be happening down on the Near Shore. New gods and shinki will be given the low-down on what's happening, but not much more than that.

The situation will continue to expand until just a little before dawn, when the demon finally has enough power to revive.



Drained Humans

Many humans in the affected areas are walking around despondently. Oftentimes, they are just walking into things or getting hit by things. There have been a few car-related incidents as well. Anyone who was present for the high school incident will recognize these symptoms as something that was happening to people in the school. The glazed looks, the spiritless responses and reactions. So this should be fairly familiar to some.

No One's Safe

Unfortunately, being in the town will start to wear on anyone who is there. Gods and shinki alike will find themselves growing more despondent the longer they spend in the town. All of their energy will be slowly sapped from their bodies, and shinki in particular will feel almost like their existence is draining away.

Hellish Circle

There is a large park in the center of the town. Drawn all around this park is a magic circle, large enough to encompass the whole park. There are candles around the edges of the circle, and in the center there is a cup filled with blood covered by a mask with a swirling eye pattern on it. Stepping into this circle will not only make you extremely tired and suddenly drained, but it will also bring bat-like ayakashi bearing down on you.

The Demon

The Demon itself rears its ugly head just a little before dawn, springing out from the center of the magic circle and looking right pleased with itself. It stands about 5'8" tall, so it is largely unimposing, but there is an aura about it that makes it undeniable that it is powerful. The demon will gladly fight anyone who comes at it, though most he will just shove out of the way without a second thought.



In Summary:

• Help the drained people
• Try not to get drained yourself
• Be careful about being corrupted
• Fight the demon
• Have fun~

Comments

[herbalsupplements]

[And Now: Kuwabara!]

[It's wrong. Kuwabara was alive when they got to the final cavern, bound and gagged but unharmed, but the visions in his head are of Gourmet's mouth stretching wider than any human's should, an irresistible force dragging Kuwabara to his doom, confusion and horror and despair.

Kurama can't fix that, at least not as far as he knows right now, but he can stop it from happening again. He gives Kuwabara a good, strong name and goes to find him immediately, determined not to let him walk blindly into whatever this new problem is. Fortunately it takes almost no time: Kuwabara's energy is as familiar and bountiful as it was last time Kurama saw him. Kurama maneuvers himself carefully and teleports over to appear behind Kuwabara the moment he spots him, energy tamped down to keep from ruining the surprise.]

Hello, Kuwabara.


[No One's Safe 1]

[Kurama keeps his eyes peeled for anyone suffering the effects of the energy draining, not just humans. When he comes across someone with the scent of the Far Shore lingering on them looking tired or even a little spaced out, he steps close enough to offer immediate assistance if necessary.]

Do you need a break?

[Sorry if you were legitimately spacing out over here, but this is neither the time nor the place for it.]


[No One's Safe 2]

[Welp, looks like Kurama's the one who goofed this time. He's starting to lag noticeably, but he keeps walking: one more person, then he'll pop out to somewhere safe to recover his energy. Just one more--maybe he should rest for a minute. That looks like a nice, stable object to lean against...]


[Hellish Circle - 1 thread only!]

[Kurama has a lot of energy, so he should have a higher than average chance of enduring whatever weirdness is bound to happen to someone stepping into the magic circle, right? Right.

Except now there are multiple ayakashi headed right his way and he feels like he's been fighting all night. He's fully prepared to do something to protect himself, but he's being slow enough about it that there's plenty of time for some kind soul to intervene.

The things we do for science.]


[Wildcard]

[Let's do something else, from maximum serious to ragging on tonight's shoes. I'll match style if you prefer prose, too.]

[ivegotasword]

[When he arrived here, they told him he was going to be working with the god Xochipilli. That was a cool sounding name and all, but he had no idea how to spell it, and more importantly, he didn't have a clue what the guy looked like. They said he was Aztec, right? Was that the guys in the hula skirts?]

[Instead, it was just a soft-spoken pretty boy in fancy clothes calling his name, smelling like roses and feeling like... ]

[Well, honestly, kinda like he knew him. It made his heart hurt and gave him this weird, tingly, uneasy feeling at the base of his skull. Should he let on that he knew? He definitely was not supposed to know, so it was probably a good idea to not think about the calm, cool, collected aura Kurama radiated, and how familiar it felt.]

[Taking half a step back, he put his hands in his pockets and looked away, feigning indifference the best he could]

So, you're my new boss, huh?

[herbalsupplements]

[Kurama knows Kuwabara too well to be fooled, but even the act hurts a little. It's not like he's... stealing Kuwabara's sandwiches out of nowhere or something.

There's no time for being upset, though. There may be people in danger out here, which means Kuwabara needs to hit the ground running, and there's no one better equipped to prepare him for that than Kurama. He steels himself, folds his arms in front of him, and answers.]

I am. Xochipilli is my official name, but you can call me Kurama. Starting today you'll be helping me answer prayers and fight corrupted spirits called ayakashi in exchange for food, clothes, and a roof over your head. If any of this isn't agreeable either now or in the future, you're welcome to request separate living arrangements or that we part ways entirely and I'll do my best to respect your wishes. Do you understand so far?

[Kurama is reasonably confident that the answer will be affirmative, but Kuwabara can be just as big an idiot as Yusuke sometimes so it's best not to assume.]

[ivegotasword]

[...Yeah, acting cool was the wrong thing to do. But ugh, he doesn't know what to do with himself or this situation. He can't think too much about this stuff, even if he hadn't been told not to, it gives him a bad feeling and he knows he can trust his bad feelings.]

[He drops his shoulders, nodding along as Kurama talks] Yeah, they said something like that when I got here.

[He gives Kurama a small smirk, lifting his hand with a thumbs up] You can rely on me boss, I may be the worst thug around, but I don't ever leave any job unfinished.

no one's safe 2

[skyleopardess]

[It's been a busy night, but there's no reason for Yoruichi to be as tired as she is. Shinigami have incredible stamina, especially captain-class like her. But whatever is affecting the humans is apparently affecting her as well--which isn't good news for any of the people she's come to save.

She gives herself a shake to clear her head, finally recognizing the energy signature brushing over her senses. The redhead leaning against the wall up ahead is Kurama, and he looks worse off that she does.

Quickly, she goes towards him, briefly flaring her spiritual energy in warning before she reaches his side. Even now, she'd just as soon not startle anyone as strong as Kurama.]

Yo. Taking a break?

[Her tone is light, but her expression is serious. This area isn't safe; she needs to get him somewhere more secure to rest.]

[herbalsupplements]

[A spike of familiar energy catches Kurama's attention and clears his head--less than he'd like, but enough for him to realize he might be more worn out than he should be. When he looks over and sees the seriousness on Yoruichi's face, he knows he is.

It would be so easy to just stay there and close his eyes, but easy is boring, so with considerable effort he pushes off the wall to resume standing under his own power.]

I think I need to get out of here. Soon.

[It's no "help me," but he's never been very good at those.]

[skyleopardess]

[It may not be 'help me', but Yoruichi will take this needless arguments that there's nothing wrong with him.]

Come on then, let's find you somewhere safer than this. I'll watch your back so you can rest a while. [She pauses] Can you move on your own?

[She's still got enough strength to carry him out of here at flash-step speeds, but she figures asking is more polite than just tossing him over her shoulder and taking off.]

No one's safe 1

[sonofson]

[Goten has been trying his hardest to get people to safety. He had started to feel the effects but tried his best to ignore them. He started out zipping and flying around, but by now he's really dragging.

Just a small break.

He's sitting down now, leaning on a building looking off into the distance--until someone speaks to him. He lazily lifts his head to look up at the red-haired god]

A little.... It's almost endless.

[herbalsupplements]

[Oh dear. He knows that voice, and even though Goten is a completely different boy from Amanuma--younger, clearly, and quite a bit more powerful--Kurama still can't ignore the sudden, overwhelming surge of guilt. This time the stakes aren't so dire, though, so Kurama leans down and offers a hand to help the boy up.]

It's alright, I need to rest, too. Would you like to go get something to eat? I have a follower working not far from here.

[sonofson]

[Goten blinks at the offered hand and slowly takes it before pushing himself up to his feet. His stomach grumbles lowly as if to answer Kurama's question for him. Goten blinks and pats it, looking up at him]

Would that be okay? I don't wanna leave and someone else get hurt...

[If he leaves to go eat or rest, then someone might walk into traffic or something worse. The people are moving so mindlessly but now even Goten is having trouble keeping up. Something is zapping his energy and its making his body feel heavier and heavier.]

no one's safe 1

[galactically]

[Ever since a certain incident from last night, Sheryl isn't quite at her best — more like she's at 50% positive energy as opposed to her usual 100%. Still, whatever happened to her takes backseat to dragging random passers-by into the sidewalk. She has to focus, even if her body feels like lead.

By the time Kurama approaches her, Sheryl is bracing herself against the bench after she just finished releasing two children. She puffs out a vexed sigh, blowing a random strand of pink hair off her face.]

Is there no end to this...? Geez...!

[herbalsupplements]

[Sheryl is looking unusually ragged tonight, which is worrying enough; that she hasn't even acknowledged Kurama's question suggests he might have to do something about it. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he tries again.]

Sheryl, let's get out of the way for a bit. You're wearing yourself out.

[This is a collect call from Captain Hypocrite, would you like to accept the charges?]

[galactically]

[There's some tension as Kurama places a hand on her shoulder until she actually cranes her head to look at him. She sighs in relief, willing herself to relax.]

Why don't we both take a break, then?

[She'd smile at him fully if she wasn't feeling or looking like a hot mess right now, but the corners of her lips tug at the slightest bit. Since a bench is right in front of her, she might as well sit on it.]

no one's safe 1

[onerous]

[Yuri's not much in a fight. Though she's been learning a few things, it doesn't help when her when her shinki is a bird and therefore unfit to be actually wield in a fight.

SO she's largely on her own, trying to avoid the actual fighting in favor of getting the humans out of harm's way. But for someone who already goes through life with a rather apathetic look about her, like she's somewhere between collapsing and moving on, she can't be surprised that others might mistake it for actual energy drain.

Which, yes, is part of it, otherwise she wouldn't be leaning against the building as heavily as she was. But Kurama's sudden appearance and comment makes her jerk in surprise and she gives him a mildly sour look.]

...That's just my face. [Why is life like this.] I thought you were supposed to be charming.

[herbalsupplements]

I'm afraid it was all a rehearsed act, and my personality is just as bad as the rest of me. [He's glad to see she has enough energy to be vaguely indignant, at least, but that leaning is still cause for concern with the way things have been going tonight. He'll have to give her more things to react to, see if that clears it up any.]

How's your coffee plant doing so far?

[onerous]

I'd believe that.

[There's no flinch or anything, though her ears turn red and slowly spreads over her face at the mention of the coffee plant-- or rather, the memory the comment brings up.]

It-- It's fine. [She clears her throat and tries to stand up a little straighter, shaking her head to clear it.] It hasn't died yet, at least. [She feels exhausted and it's irritating, especially since there's still so much to do.]

...Sorry, I just need a minute... [Ugghh.]

No one's safe 2

[shockshot]

Hey, this isn't the time!

[Kurama wasn't the only one who had been running around, but the fact that he was leaning against the lamp post-that wasn't good. Masaki, small as she was, came up to give him a small shake on the arm.]

Don't fall asleep here. You'll be hurt.

[herbalsupplements]

[What a good lamp post this--why is someone touching him? Kurama looks over to see who it is, too tired to resist giving Masaki a withering glare for disturbing him.]

I'm not falling asleep, I'm resting my eyes.

[That is 100000% bullshit, he's totally about to fall asleep.]

[shockshot]

[It was like disturbing a cat-a red headed cat, even. And he felt...weird. Weird enough that she couldn't dismiss him as one of the humans that were wandering about in a daze.

But that was something she'd ask later, when he wasn't glaring at her. She only beamed at him, clearly not withered.]

I'm sure you are. It'd be a bit more believable if you were standing up straight.

Hellish Circle

[solar_avatar]

[ To be quite honest, Trance had been drawn to the park but also had been too scared to go near the place. Especially when this red headed guy goes into the circle and those creatures showed up. So what do you do when you see something scary? You hide, which the blonde woman did very promptly, behind a tree.

Yet the redhead was slow to act, and Trance instinctively knew how it could turn out. Could sort of see it play out before another second had passed. If she ran to help- not fast enough, slower than the person could act themselves. She knew of no ways to show up instantly and had no weapons. A heads up wasn't enough because it would distract the person from what they already were aware of. Help was needed from outside the circle, because going in would cause more of those monsters to show up. If she could get the closest, they would have to focus on...

She called out before actually doing anything, acting on instinct.]

Go for the one on your left!

[ The closer one might be a bit too close to comfort, but could be a better outcome. Honestly, Trance wasn't even completely sure she was fast enough. They needed to be gotten from a distance, and she felt the heat in her hands.

With one hand outstretched, a ball of what looked to be light shot out and towards the bat ayakashi that was closest ready to swoop into Kurama's person. ]

[herbalsupplements]

[Say what you will about Kurama, but when an unknown voice draws his attention to a given direction, he's going to pay attention. Even drained of a good portion of his energy, it's the matter of mere fractions of a second for Kurama to pull an inexplicable rose from his hair, mutate it with his energy into a thorned green bullwhip, and use it to lash out at the ayakashi to his left. As a normal attack, it's not enough to actually kill it, but that thing won't be bothering anyone for the next few moments.

And then light shoots past his other shoulder and he's dodging to the side, just in time to avoid the rest swooping through the air where he was just standing. Damn.]

[solar_avatar]

[ It... It actually worked. She couldn't quite tell what would've happened from that, compared to the other options, but it was definitely the most favorable. Out of relief, Trance broke into an unsure smile, before looking down at her hand. It was still warm from the plasma, not that she knew what it was exactly. Just that it worked and knocked the one she had hit very far back.

Probably not the best time to revel in her surprised success, as there were still plenty of bat-like ayakashi in the area. She... honestly wanted to hide behind the tree again, but there were still so many that could move.

Maybe if she did that again, the person will come out of the circle and be safe? Unlike before, she was a little too in the moment to look at what she could do, how they could turn out. So she frantically held out her hand again to go for some of the creatures that were swooping back upwards to the redhead.

But nothing came out. Emotionally, there was suddenly a small pit in her stomach. ]

Sorry!

[ If he got hurt- She had to have the same focus as before. While it wouldn't be the closest one, managing a blast out of her hand knocked into one of the ones behind those- The force barreling it into the couple creatures that were flying next to it. ]

No one's safe 1

[disciplineking]

[He wasn't actually spacing out; he was concentrating on thinking, but the instant Hibari heard a voice, he swung out a tonfa at the head of the offending person. If Kurama wasn't quick enough, he'd get a blow to whatever part of him was level with Hibari's shoulder.]

[herbalsupplements]

[Kurama's speed is all in his hands and eyes, so while he could at least try to dodge the attack properly under normal circumstances, here he just raises a hand to catch the tonfa before it his him in his chest.

It stings like hell, but there's no way he's letting that show on his face when this asshole's attacking him for being vigilant.]

I was only checking, there's no need to get hostile.

[Oh Kurama, little do you know...]

[disciplineking]

[There was every need to get hostile, and Hibari feeling tired was one of those reasons. He yawned and backed away from the guy to get a better look at him.]

I don't like crowding. Leave me alone or I'll bite you to death.

[Another yawn and another tonfa swipe.]