thenearshore | 009 | Where Your Demons Hide

009 | Where Your Demons Hide

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~

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[Holy shit. How had this guy snuck up on him? His energy was so intense. How had he not felt him from from a mile off?

But these were distant thoughts. Far away. His eyes flick momentarily to Kisuke, then back to the spirit. When he speaks, his voice is distant, distracted]

Leave me alone. I'm busy. I'm so hungry...

I know you are, but how about we get out of here for a little while and find you something else to eat? [ Though his voice is flippant, the look in his eyes isn't. ] Food, then we'll find Yoruichi.

[ Maybe, if they could lessen Zangetsu's hunger now, being in weapon form would give him some protection. ]

But can't you see it... [his eyes stay fixed on their target, his horns pointed right at the poor spirit like a set of shiny obsidian arrows. He points to further make his point] There's food right there. We don't have to go any further than that.

[wait. Yoruichi? One of his gods. They had a bond, one that was undeniable. It's enough to break his line of sight with the food and look at Urahara] Yoruichi...sensei?

[ Urahara had been hoping that hearing Yoruichi's name would refocus Zangetsu's attention. Now to make the most of a possibly slim opportunity. ]

Yep, she's down here too. To be honest, I'm a little worried that if you start snacking on just anything it might be distracting for her and this is a bad place to get distracted. [ He should feel like an ass for trying to trade on what trust has been built between the Hollow and Kisuke's life-long best friend. And to a small degree he does. ] There's a forest close by, [ and out of the affected zone. ] let's go see what we can find?

[ Coaxing better work. Urahara hopes it works. Otherwise, this could get messy. He really doesn't know what eating one of these spirits might do Zangetsu or Yoruichi by extension. Then there's the problem of 'the Heaven's possible response. ]

[There's a twitch from Zangetsu as he physically tries to keep his attention on Urahara and not the spirit. His grinds his teeth together and growls a bit, low and quiet. Something drips to the concrete below, blue and thick; blood from his palms. His fists are clenched tightly, and his talons are biting into his skin. He may just be standing there, but he's fighting hard against the urge, against a fog of hunger. He shakes his head furiously back and forth and lets out a loud roar of frustration. The sound sends shivers down the spine of humans, and especially human souls. The woman-ghost looks toward them, visibly paler and terrified. He presses the heels of his hands into his eyes and yells, angrily, at the spirit]

What the hell are you standing around for?! RUN.

[the ghost makes a small "eep" sound and does as she's told, fleeing wholesale down the road before vanishing. Zangetsu does everything in his power to keep his eyes shut so he doesn't see her running; he knows from his animal hunting experiences that only makes things worse]

[ Urahara steps between them so that should Zangetsu look, the waving of a fan will be the first sight he sees and not the fleeing spirit. They're not out of the woods yet but at least temptation isn't so near at hand. ]

Can you make it out of town?

[ Since Zangetsu has gone to these extremes already to curb his hunger, Urahara is pretty sure that the shinki is probably aware of his own limitations. ]

If not I can always carry you~. Not very dignified but ...

[ He trails off with a shrug. ]

[a good thing, too. Because as her spirit runs, he opens an eye to look despite himself. And that sure is a fan blocking his view. Well then.

Either way, the temptation is gone, and he's left feeling exhausted again and even more spent than before. Still, his pride is going to let him be carried like some pathetic princess and he scoffs]

I can walk, I don't need your help.

[he turns with a flourish and starts making his way out of the area of effect. He makes it about ten feet before his knees buckle under him and he collapses to the road.

So much for that]

Sure you can! [ Urahara cheerfully agrees as he ambles over. ] But if something happens and you get hurt, Yoruichi will never forgive me.

[ Without any fanfare (and after tucking the actual fan away) Urahara crouches down. As if he were not dealing with being that could decide that he's dinner, Kisuke takes one of Zangetsu's arms and slings it over his shoulder. Despite his seemingly casual air, he is on the lookout just in case help turns into something more serious. ]

Besides, it's not often I do things like this.

[He hisses and tries to stand back up before Urahara gets over, but his legs remain too weak to support him. Every time he makes a bit of progress, the weakness in his legs just returns, tenfold. He wasn't going anywhere unless he was going to drag himself with his forelimbs.

He can't get away when Kisuke lifts him up, and he can't do much to help either. He locks his knees in an attempt to get them to function at least a bit, but his tail still drags limply behind him, adding a worthless extra fifteen pounds or so]

Dammit...

[ Kisuke bites back a chuckle. That face, though. Oh, that face. He won't say Zangetsu is light, but Kisuke has carried Kensei and Zangetsu sure as hell isn't that heavy. ]

Just relax. Think of it less like I'm carrying you and more like I'm doing your bidding.

[ They make it to the edge of town with the woods just beyond. Urahara isn't entirely sure what the boundary of the effects are, but they should be crossing it soon. ]

Feeling any better yet?

[lord, no. Zangetsu, like his master, is built more like a swimmer, with even, lean muscling. Kensei is built like a damn brick wall. Damn him and his rippling, bulging muscles.

He huffs. His bidding, huh? Well... that does make it a little better.

The further they get from the epicenter, the more Zangetsu can feel his strength returning to him, and he can even help with walking. By the time they get to the woods, he's walking on his own, though still leaning on Urahara]

I feel less like a bus hit me, yeah.

[he extracts himself from Kisuke and stretches, popping his back, shoulders, and neck. He removes his sword from his back and plunges it into the dirt] ... Hey, how do you do the thing? The thing where you hide your... whatsit... reiatsu? Yoruichi-sensei can do it too.

[ At the edges of town, Urahara feels better as well and a small, relieved sigh rushes out of him. He finally lets Yoyo out of his weapon form; the soulless shinki had preferred it when they were close to the park. The dark haired form blinks sleepy at Zangetsu before promptly sitting against the side of a building and closes his eyes. ]

She's better at it than I am, but I can show you the basics. [ To demonstrate Urahara lets his spiritual pressure unravel around him. It feels the air like an electric charge - a pleasant buzz instead of a full out jolt. ] Think of your spiritual pressure like water and you've got to put a dam between it and everyone else.

You've got to pull in towards you and hold it. [ Bit by bit his spiritual pressure rolls back to him, growing smaller and smaller until only tiny traces of it remain. ] It takes practice. The stronger your spiritual pressure is, the harder it is to hold back.

[Zangetsu turns his attention to Yoyo for a moment. He hadn't even realized he was with Urahara. What a completely bizarre creature. Everything had energy; everything. Even plants and flowers had a minuscule amount, contributing to the warm background noise of the world. But Yoyo, and Nami for that matter, were... weirdly empty.

He looks back at Urahara, and the release of his Reiatsu makes the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Neat.]

Water? [he frowns. His always felt more like fire to him; uncontrollable and wild. He sits down crosslegged and closes his eyes tightly in a familiar-looking scowl. The energy around him, dark and hot, continues to seethe and writhe like something alive. Sitting and concentrating like this, the pressure exerted by his power starts to wilt the poor plants near him. No, that's not right. He has to-- wait, no, not there either. Every time he feels like he's about to block off one torrent of energy, another breaks through somewhere else. He feels like the kid trying to plug the dyke with his fingers.

He runs out of fingers pretty fast.

He meditates like this for about twenty minutes before giving up. He lets his Reiatsu go, and it rushes out in all directions like a heavy, hot wind. ]

... I can't do it. There's too much. I feel like... if I tried to hold it back, it would explode.

That's because you have an incredible amount of spiritual power. [ He speaks those words with the utmost seriousness. ] I don't think you'd actually explode, but anyone around you could be in trouble.

I'd hoped that maybe you could manage it for a short time; it'd be useful in a fight. It might be possible with a modified technique. Something more suited to the amount you have, but I'll have to think on it.

[ Kisuke couldn't be sure that anyone but them in the Heavens could monitor spiritual pressure. Maybe no one else could track Zangetsu that way, but he didn't want to bet on either and the Hollow being able to hide himself in a way no one might suspect could have been useful.

Still... ]

You react quickly and while you might not be able to hide it, you've got good control.

[ Of course, for Ichigo that had always been the case; his Hollow form handling his power better than Ichigo could manage on his own. Kisuke reaches out and pats Zangetsu on shoulder.]

Ohh~? So I'm really strong, huh? [he can't help but beam a bit, glowing with self-confidence. He knew he was amazing, but it's always good to hear someone else say it. Albeit in a roundabout way.] I'd rather not hurt anyone unless I mean to. Makes for less pains in my ass. [aww a pat. Stroke his ego more, pls. He'll probably never be able to hide his reiatsu completely, or even at 50%, but that isn't going to stop him from trying]

I'll have to train more. Still... kind of irritatin'. The animals can sense it too, you know. It makes it hard to sneak up on stuff. [a grin] But... that means I get to chase. So it's not all bad. Speakin' of....

[he drops to all fours and roots around through the fallen leaves with his horns, smelling the ground. It takes him a moment, but then he seems to find something... and with a burst of Sonido he's just gone. To the eye, anyway. His reiatsu reappears about five meters away, then another five, then further still]

[ Yes, yes, Hollow-sword you're really strong. Like a nuke. Kisuke cracks a half grin. It's...kind of cute that Zangetsu enjoys an ego stroking.

And suddenly the preening pup goes into full predator mode. Hollows.

Whatever Urahara might have said no longer matters. What he does need to do is keep an eye on Zangetsu. The worry is, actually, more for the Hollow. He's trying to curb his own needs and to the endeavor, Urahara is more concerned with keeping Zangetsu out of the affected area until he's fully settled again.

Urahara trails along, keeping close, but more so keeping himself between Zangetsu and the town. There are a few ayakashi along the way - weak ones no doubt attracted by the chaos. They're easily dispatched and it gives Kisuke more time to get use to using Yoyo.

The shinki is much different than Benihime.]

((ooc: We can call this one a wrap if you like!))

((ooc: SOUNDS GOOD TO ME. He's gonna eat some hella deer and feel better))

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009 | Where Your Demons Hide

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