Youkai Watch [Katsumi/Edwin/Alistair]

As one might expect, Edwin’s outburst just left poor Reika on edge – though the man himself would feel that whatever presence was intent upon him seemed to relent somewhat with the explanation. On the other hand, Katsumi’s explanation in their native tongue just seemed to make things even more tense – maybe it was the company, maybe it was her choice of language (Reika started blushing in the midst of her grumbling), or maybe it was just the bad situation as a whole. Alistair’s dialogue didn’t seem to make things worse, but things weren’t looking up either as Reika looked around wildly with a very worried expression on her face.

But, with such introductions, Shinobu finally made her appearance – albeit with a groan of frustration, rather than a bang.

”Unbelievable… worse than the last two. Your manners are as admirable as your comradery, it seems. Couldn’t you at least treat my pet with respect? But I suppose it’s far too late to teach any apes like yourself some dignity, isn’t it?”

The voice extended from above – definitely feminine, and definitely older than Reika; though her venom was far more palpable than her age. With nary a sound, a shadow would extend from the roof… a silhouette of a monstrosity danced around the moonlit edges of the room amongst the sparkling threads in the air; four legs, eight legs, twenty legs; dripping with venom, or rain, or something more abhorrent? And yet, with that shadow behind it all, what emerged from the darkness was a young lady… though she still seemed unreal, emerging like a ghost rather than a human. Reclining as if sitting on a chair upon a hammock of silk threads that would be invisible without the moonlight, the predator sneered at her guests down her nose.

The young lady had pitch black hair in a classical hime-cut that ran all the way down to her ankles; alongside an old Japanese high school sailor uniform – black as night as well, befitting of her compatriot’s similar look. While she was certainly glamourous, it was perhaps better to say she was very old-school; at least by Katsumi’s standards given the other girl’s experience of her homeland. But, despite her human form, Shinobu simply looked… unsettling; not quite fitting a human look. Red, sharp eyes and gangly limbs that didn’t seem to quite fit her body made her appear more like a comic character than someone real; even by the post-Masquerade world’s standards.



”I don’t care for whomever the IACSB might think they are, but… the Martial Forest Coalition? You really are hunters, aren’t you?” mused Shinobu, eyeing the three with unsettling intensity; clearly measuring up her antagonists; ”I guess it’s ‘honourable’ to warn people before you kill them by your standards, but you seem awfully lazy about this. Wandering into a spider’s web… I could have killed you all by now, you know? So long as you’re in my den, you’re at a serious disadvantage. I’d like to give you the benefit of the doubt on your intentions, but…”

Idly waving a hand, Shinobu gestured to something in amongst the ceiling’s tangled webs – a mass that stuck out amidst it all; although it would have been near-impossible to notice without her indication. ”Well, your compatriots weren’t so wise either. But, they didn’t knock either. Ah, don’t be mad, right? I can’t argue with a free meal. Ha, ha, ha!” jeered the Jorogumo spitefully, blatantly relishing the chance to be so vile. ”B-But, it’s not like that – they – it was self-defence!” blurted out Reika in turn, pleading with her eyes – while Shinobu just seemed annoyed by the interruption.

”…Whatever helps you sleep at night. Hm, but if you’re not here for a fight… what are you here for? You come barging into my home in the middle of the night and scare my dear pet halfway to death, and yet you plead that you’re friends?” mused Shinobu, seeming to eye the group with curiosity now – though that menacing atmosphere still hung alongside all the webs around the group. ”I don’t see why I shouldn’t just help myself to a three course meal here. Maybe I’ll consider letting two of you go if one of you gives up, huh? If you play a fun game to decide, I really will do it. Dinner and a show, ha ha ha! Yes, are you here to entertain me?”

As I watched the Youkai come down, given her appearance and the silk everywhere I came to conclusion that she was a Jorogumo. I didn't know much about her kind besides that they were a race of spider people who tended to blend in to human populations for their own safety, but I could tell a few things about the woman from the way she dressed and acted. She was probably a bit older than she appeared, given the haircut and outfit she was wearing screamed Showa to me. She had to be at least 11 or 12 years older than me if that uniform was authentic. Either that or she had bad taste in clothing or was trying to make herself seem like some sort of distinguished noble. This made a lot of sense given her rather pompous entrance as well.

Her tone of voice and her attitude just simply hit this point home even more given her rather anti-human mindset. I almost wanted to start a fight with this woman to knock her down a peg and show her that her confidence was stupidly misplaced, but I had a job to do and like hell I would let a bit of personal irritation with this haughty woman ruin my reputation and not get me hired by the IACSB again. They paid well and maybe next time they would be paying me to actually beat something up as a first choice instead of a last resort. It didn't help matters that she had already captured and presumably eaten two other people she considered hunters and seemed to think we were hunters because I was here. Well, that needed to be cleared up for sure.

"Look, I'm not here to do any hunting. The IACSB just hired me on to help ensure the safety of their agents. Nothing more, nothing less. Though I do wonder who sent the people you have in those cocoons over there," I said, gesturing a thumb over to the two cocoons that the spider woman had mentioned. Perhaps the church had gotten here faster than we had thought and the woman had disposed of them already. If that was the case, there was no skin off my nose. The less of those crazy zealots there were in the world, the better off the world was at least in my opinion.

When the pipsqueak responded to the spider woman, he responded in a matter that was more sensible than anything he had said for the rest of the mission, and was rather funny given how self depreciating it was. I decided to let him do the talking on this, after all I wasn't here to deal with that kind of thing. I had no power to bargain for the IACSB, I was just here to make sure that they didn't get themselves hurt and to help bring in the youkai if force became necessary. Deciding to make good on that, I kept myself alert and ready for combat as soon as it might break out, after all, the tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Upon being met with only an entertaining reaction from Edwin, Shinobu seemed a bit peeved – but, she did seem to cool off all the same; arching forward on her makeshift throne as the group gave their case. ”The IACSB’s agents, huh…? Well, don’t you think it’s a bit late to be negotiating, then?” mused the lady, gesturing to her previous prey once again with a bitter smirk; although she didn’t really seem that aggressive now. ”They didn’t really have your manners, though… I’m not a fan of people who put my toys at gun-point as soon as they come in. I guess I can give you that much credit, but you’re still breathing so you’ve already got your reward for that, right?”

Sighing slightly in exasperation, Shinobu then suddenly perked up upon hearing Edwin’s lamentations. ”Ahahaha, that’s right! Yes, this would be a pretty incredible set-up for the House of the Dead, huh? Ah, well; you should listen up then; or you’ll suffer like G did!” Shinobu sung happily, only to be met with a snicker from her compatriot - ”You couldn’t even beat the first stage on your own, Shinobu…~”

Getting a bit huffy over her own partner’s mockery, the Jorogumo focussed her attention back on the matter at hand; although she definitely seemed like she was in a better mood now – it would appear Alistair’s aura had cooled her off a bit as well. ”So the Church are involved after all, hm? The other two said as much, but with rather more blatant ulterior motives… I’m not interested in working for the IACSB or that demon, so don’t waste my time with that garbage. But… I like your guff a lot, human.”

Finally dropping to the ground, the Jorogumo still stood a good ten or so metres away; standing on the room’s stage (of course) and walking over to sit with her legs over the edge of it. ”I’m listening, so… how about a game? If you win, I’ll come along quietly; so long as you’re not keen on betraying me. But if you lose… I’ll kill one of you. Uh… I dunno… hm.” mused Shinobu, glancing around the trio before eventually settling her finger on Edwin. ”I like that one, so I’ll make him mine. How’s that sound?”

”But, I’m a fair cop, hah; so if you just leave and say there was no one in here at all… I’ll let you all go. I can handle getting around the Church with Reika. That’d be a win for us, compared to having to play nice with any suits. After all, ‘nobody needs to die unnecessarily’, right horse-boy?” added the lady; standing up again as her eyes narrowed – back to being serious, it seemed. ”It’s do or die time now, right? How exciting… I don’t get to play with others much, so I really am curious as to what you choose…”[/font

It seemed that the Jorugumo had cooled off a bit, and the reference Edwin made even made her laugh. Well it looked like he was good for something at least. Though it did seem like the IACSB wasn't totally upfront with us when they sent us on this mission, it seemed they had sent a team before us that got themselves killed by going in too aggressively. Luckily, she didn't seem to hold it against us overmuch but...I would make a note to bring this up to the person who gave me this mission and the Coalition. After all, this oculd have totally gone sideways if the youkai had held the actions of the other party against us. Just what the hell were they thinking, sending us in without this kind of information.

The loss of their comrades, at least given the Jorugumo's explanation, didn't seem to sit too badly with Edwin. Either he disliked his fellow members that much or he had spine when it counted. Either way, it did improve my opinion of him a little to see him accept the challenge for the game with the youkai and not wet himself and try to suggest taking her up on leaving when he heard he would be the one she would take if they lost it. Given the circumstances, it was a rather advantageous deal. It gave us a chance to take her peacefully with only the pipsqueak as a possible casualty, and given the situation, he probably would end up that way if we got into a confrontation either way. We were in her spider's den, so there wasn't much we could do to escape without her consent, and we would be at a severe disadvantage in a fight, especially since he could be disarmed with a bit of webbing likely.

Deciding I had no reason to interfere or butt in, I just decided to give the scrawny boy a nod to acknowledge his bravery and kept myself ready just in case things went south.

”Such bravery, such bravado! Very handsome.” remarked Shinobu with an approving nod, seeming quite pleased by Edwin’s response – his bitter tongue really was entertaining. But, before she could explain her intentions, she earned a lecture from Alistair. At first, she seemed clearly irritated – explanations and apologies hadn’t much weight in her mind; much less reassurance and clear attempts to curry her favour. But… she did eventually turn her head his way, seeming to at least pay attention to his remark regarding her little compatriot’s safety. Reika herself, on the other hand, gave a tiny wince; she of all people knew that the spider saw her sanctity as something of a soft spot. Unfortunately, not quite in the way Alistair might hope for…

”Tsk… shut your mouth, dog. I don’t answer to anyone, much less some limp-dick bureaucrats. I can take care of things myself. Only weaklings and children rely on hiding behind a system to survive.” snarled the lady; her face and shoulders crinkling with arachnid features for a moment in the midst of her outburst, with a glimpse of eight beady red eyes and thorned exoskeleton standing out in the moody darkness. While Alistair’s aura had been working alright so far, it couldn’t save him from stepping on such a sore spot – still, she didn’t seem quite hostile yet. ”I’m not so stupid to play one-man-army… but, whether I could or couldn’t? Well, that’s up to you.”

Snubbing Alistair’s open hand with a derisive huff, Shinobu would turn her attention back to her newest toy… and a willing one too, very curious. ”So, let’s play a game. It’ll be fun, I promise.” With a gentle smirk, the lady shifted back. ”While I won’t judge their results, the other two can play too. It’s very very easy, too. Sort of like… Red Light, Green Light? Sound familiar, I hope? I don’t really know American games so well, so you’ll just have to get used to my rules.”

Gently walking towards the trio, Shinobu would just pass between them - ”It’s very simple. Just don’t turn around.” stated the Mystic Kind, audibly walking a few more steps past them. But, then she simply stopped; with no more sounds of note passing from behind the three – it didn’t seem like much of a game. ”Not too tough for you children, I hope? Well, not that two of you even have to play, but… I like an audience, right?”

And with just that much, she went silent once again; leaving Reika to be the only one looking her way – and whom rather promptly turned around herself, not seeming too comfortable herself… perhaps this was a common pastime for the arachnid. A shiver would run up Edwin’s spine, though – a familiar sensation, very similar to the one he’d felt upon entering… just far, far worse. Similarly, Katsumi and Alistair would be able to feel the presence of… something, behind them – something that wasn’t there before.

But, they would be left to wait.

Not a sound.

…such fun?

…But, for those who deigned it wise to ‘lose’ the game…

THis was not good, the Centaur seemed to have hit a sore spot, which just made things worse. Luckily however, it blew over without much of an issue for a variety of reasons, so I had no reason to fight....yet. However, what the youkai was doing was very suspicious, and the fact that her companion also turned and faced the same direction as we did set off more red flags than I cared to count, especially with the presence I was feeling coming from behind me. They weren't there before, and they were dangerous, that was all I could tell.

I tensed my body and widened my stance, prepared for an attack to come from behind without turning around. If my hunch was correct, turning around would be a very bad thing to do. I did however check to see how the person for whom the challenge was being offered. To his credit, he hadn't turned around and he hadn't soiled himself yet, but other than that he looked like a terrified schoolgirl being assaulted by something out of a questionable book with a pink binding one would find in the back of a bookstore in my home country. He was barely holding on to the weapon that he refused to drop earlier and he was trembling like a newborn animal.

I sighed and made a comment at the rather frightened stick saying, "You took the challenge, now stop whimpering like a schoolgirl staring down a large foreign man in a back ally. Grow a pair or don't take up a challenge like this again." WIth that, I simply returned to being ready to strike whatever it was that was behind me if it decided to indeed touch me, steeling my resolve and readying my body to fight whatever horror the Youkai had prepared for us.

---

Abilities Used:

Name: Ki Sense
Description: From being able to control the body's Ki, the user is now sensitive to Ki signatures around them. Through such sensitivity, the Artists can now sense people's presences by this and be able differentiate one signature against each person. The term "killing intent" comes from this as usually one's Ki rises with the intent to cause harm. All Artists have at least E rank at it and sometimes do not increase it as they are busy trying to perfect their fighting techniques. This is why some of them go to the I.A.C.S.B. for experience. Extremely high levels of this ability may even lead to a blind man being able to fight better than he could actually see if he had working eyes.
Rank: E

Name: Environmental Awareness
Description: The ability of heightened keen observation of one's own environment. It is gained from being involved in dangerous situations that may cause death or drastic injury. This capacity for sensing danger relies on increasing the sensitivity of all five senses.
Rank: E