[There are a lot of strange things about being in another world. For one, Moby hadn't even known other worlds existed, let alone could be traveled to. For another, this world is nothing like the one he's familiar with, and while some part of him might be mildly homesick, there's another part of him that is so, so grateful for the higher technology. It's been so long since he's seen an actual cellphone or a laptop. Sure, it isn't quite what he was used to way back when, but this is definitely a step in the right direction compared to how backwards the world he's familiar with is.
(And that's a whole other topic of discussion he'd rather not think about or get into, so as usual, Moby decides to ignore it. ☆)
He's already got his first job - an assassination assignment to kill some boy named Percy. He's tracked his target down and has the perfect shot right now... in fact, this whole thing has seemed a little too easy. But who is Moby to deny easy money? That gives him more time to fuck around doing whatever he wants instead of having to work. The last thing he wants to do is take up a job in retail, ugh.
He's cornered Percy in an alleyway, and it really isn't hard to get the jump on him. Moby's a trained assassin with years of work in the field, so one of his knives is easily pressed to the kid's throat from behind as he asks in a casual, conversational tone:]
Any final words for me~?
[Just a regular, routine job despite the change in scenery.]
[ This world, unfortunately for Moby, is a timeloop. Moby has landed himself in a rather bizarre situation, because if he sticks around, he'll realize that this world repeats a few days over and over again. For now, though, he can carry out his mission. Why Percy's his target is anyone's guess but Moby is free to hold the knife to Percy's throat.
Percy gasps, and there's clear panic in the way his breath hitches, in how his hand instinctively comes up to try to get Moby's arm off of him. He's shaking, trembling, reminded of what happened to him before and how much he does not want to go through that again–
but if it happens, it happens. That's just...life? Purgatory? It is what it is.
Well. This is off to a weird start. Considering how many people Moby has killed in this line of work, he's seen a lot of odd reactions. But this? This takes the cake. He's never seen anything like this before, and if it is truly a ploy to get him to stop... well, it's working.
He suddenly releases the kid, springing backwards and landing easily, knives sheathed and hidden in his long, loose robes again as if they'd never been out in the first place.]
Already dead, huh? That's a new one. Care to tell me about it?
[That's rude?? But also: he already tried to kill the guy, so. Whatever.]
[ Nothing personal, my guy, he just really does not feel like retelling the day of his death, but hey, at least he's not being held at knifepoint anymore. After some consideration, however, Percy realizes that he probably should say something because this guy might not believe him, and then he'll definitely be double dead after that, so. ]
I mean, I can tell you I died in a robbery incident. I had nothing to do with it, I was just collateral damage. Sorry, wish I could've told you a more exciting story.
[ That really is all there is to it, though. ]
Dunno if I can make you believe me, but that's up to you, sir.
[ If only Pierre – his stuffed bear – wasn't in his backpack right now. He could probably find a more discreet way to take him out and summon him, if it wouldn't be so obvious... ]
( the problem, logistically speaking, with towns large enough to think nothing of travelers (much less travelers with swords) is that hardship and violence, the kind that results in the dead and missing, is more rampant than in villages. pinpointing a pattern— young men of giyuu's age, missing in the middle of the night, no matter how promising the life ahead of them —requires a certain amount of care and time that ultimately results in more victims.
humans have never had the same advantages as oni.
here, a local wisteria house had provided insight in hopes of staving the flow, but at least a dozen men will never return to their families: their lives, brutally taken to feed and amuse a creature more animal than human in all but appearance. under normal circumstances, giyuu would tend the matter alone, but his orders had understandably relayed a joint mission; the oni plaguing this town has displayed a certain cunning, and oni only grow in strength for every human they eat.
following the flight of his messenger crow, giyuu arrives at a gate crested with wisteria in the early afternoon. the family that owns the home, and others like it, offers a sort a safehouse for slayers to rest and recover, free of charge. giyuu bows to the woman that greets him and follows her inside where another slayer is waiting. the sound of his footsteps is nonexistent in tabi socks.
giyuu's expression is impassive as a matter of greeting (or anything else). in a fluid motion, he removes his sword from his belt and sits at the offered table: his sword, beside the cushion he, now, occupies. the hostess bows, excusing herself to retrieve more tea and lunch. giyuu's gaze slides from the shoji door, shut closed, to the slayer before him. )
Have you begun an investigation?
( he'd like to see known attack sites himself, but if he is joining an investigation late, revisiting is a waste of their time, especially the closer night approaches. )
[ When you're used to operating alone, switching gears to allow room for teamwork feels a little strange. Percy handles part of it alone, at least, and has only just started on researching parts of the area, gathering intel from a handful of townsfolk on the recent increase in casualties. No doubt it's an oni at play here, but there's still the question of the pattern in which it decides to strike, and if there's anything more to narrow down how it selects its victims. These are things that he has yet to figure out, as his window for his investigation was a little short. Night is coming and he needs to gather his bearings.
Percy may not take a lot of things seriously, but he wouldn't have become a slayer if he didn't have any sense of responsibility. Shoving aside his personal feelings has gotten much easier ever since he started going on these missions, because the more detached he is from those who are lost, the better he can perform his duties. You can't save everyone after all, and that's a bitter truth he learned long ago, back when he lost his sister to one.
This town is special, though, because the stench of death reeks more here than it had in smaller places. Maybe he's just equating it to how it felt when his sister was among those who died to an oni all those years ago; either way, he needs a breather before night falls.
When Giyuu arrives at the wisteria house, Percy gives him a cursory glance. Ah, this guy. Percy's seen him around, always had the impression he'd rather operate alone (but what does he know?). Giyuu seems quiet, stoic, and perhaps unfeeling. What Percy projects regularly, however, is the guise of a friendly face, someone a little more unassuming. It's why he greets Giyuu with a little smile as the other slayer sits down.
Straight to the point. Cool, he can live with that. ]
Hey. I started one, yeah. Talked to a few people near a handful of attack sites to hear what they had to say. Seems like the attacks started happening rather recently and are pretty frequent, and the victims seem to be men around our age. Pretty sure the locals are under the impression a serial killer's on the loose, and they aren't wrong, but they also don't know what they're dealing with. Which is a given.
( in these modern times, few recognize the signs of oni until it is far too late. giyuu had learned that quite early and hard. )
Is your opinion the demon will attack tonight?
( if percy— giyuu remembers his name from their orders for all that he prefers little mind to others —had detected a pattern beyond men of a certain age, giyuu imagines he would have led with such information. unfortunately, that means the two have little more than enough to mount a defensive position and react as another victim is attacked, if not devoured.
giyuu mislikes it, but the fault lies with the nature of demons. here, he is willing to defer to a slayer of equal rank, who is sure to have passed final selection. )
Likely so. I don't have any solid evidence on its patterns, but from what I've gathered, some of them go missing during big, open events; others are ambushed while stepping away from family gatherings of some sort. I haven't talked to too many people, but the small number I did have a chat with all indicated that these victims weren't alone before their deaths. A bold move by the oni to do this when there're potential witnesses around, huh?
[ Given that this is quite a bustling city, there's no shortage of some kind of gathering happening somewhere. He could be completely wrong, here, given his small sample size, but it's all he's got to work with. It's better than nothing. This is getting out of hand and they need to act tonight before more people are claimed by the enemy.
Percy lets out a bitter laugh; that smile of his hasn't left his face, but he's not enthusiastic. His tone is light and not that of a guy determined to finish his job. At least his words imply he's done some research. This is probably the biggest mission he's gone on yet, after all. ]
Maybe it's worth seeing if there's some kind of event going on tonight, that could be a place of interest...or we could hang around a residential area. Dunno. What do you think, Giyuu?
( if an oni is starving, it will eat anyone— its parents, its children, siblings, lovers —and kill whoever is left to scream. as long as the killing is not more trouble than it is worth, at least. this oni is voracious, both cunning and brazen, and plainly enjoying itself. giyuu understands even more, now, why the corps sent two slayers of his and percy's rank.
they can at least ask those in the wisteria house for some insight, but...
for a moment, eyes on the table between them, giyuu is silent with his thoughts. then: ) We have several hours to prepare. If we don't narrow the list of possibilities by nightfall, we patrol separately. ( even then, they may need do so. ) How fast can your crow deliver a message?
( due to his age and rather poor memory, giyuu's crow is not particularly ideal in the heat of battle. )
no subject
(And that's a whole other topic of discussion he'd rather not think about or get into, so as usual, Moby decides to ignore it. ☆)
He's already got his first job - an assassination assignment to kill some boy named Percy. He's tracked his target down and has the perfect shot right now... in fact, this whole thing has seemed a little too easy. But who is Moby to deny easy money? That gives him more time to fuck around doing whatever he wants instead of having to work. The last thing he wants to do is take up a job in retail, ugh.
He's cornered Percy in an alleyway, and it really isn't hard to get the jump on him. Moby's a trained assassin with years of work in the field, so one of his knives is easily pressed to the kid's throat from behind as he asks in a casual, conversational tone:]
Any final words for me~?
[Just a regular, routine job despite the change in scenery.]
1/2
Percy gasps, and there's clear panic in the way his breath hitches, in how his hand instinctively comes up to try to get Moby's arm off of him. He's shaking, trembling, reminded of what happened to him before and how much he does not want to go through that again–
but if it happens, it happens. That's just...life? Purgatory? It is what it is.
So instead of begging for his life... ]
no subject
Uh, not really...I mean, you can do your thing if you want, hahaha~
[ A beat. ]
I'm already dead, anyway!
no subject
.................Huh???
Well. This is off to a weird start. Considering how many people Moby has killed in this line of work, he's seen a lot of odd reactions. But this? This takes the cake. He's never seen anything like this before, and if it is truly a ploy to get him to stop... well, it's working.
He suddenly releases the kid, springing backwards and landing easily, knives sheathed and hidden in his long, loose robes again as if they'd never been out in the first place.]
Already dead, huh? That's a new one. Care to tell me about it?
[That's rude?? But also: he already tried to kill the guy, so. Whatever.]
no subject
[ Nothing personal, my guy, he just really does not feel like retelling the day of his death, but hey, at least he's not being held at knifepoint anymore. After some consideration, however, Percy realizes that he probably should say something because this guy might not believe him, and then he'll definitely be double dead after that, so. ]
I mean, I can tell you I died in a robbery incident. I had nothing to do with it, I was just collateral damage. Sorry, wish I could've told you a more exciting story.
[ That really is all there is to it, though. ]
Dunno if I can make you believe me, but that's up to you, sir.
[ If only Pierre – his stuffed bear – wasn't in his backpack right now. He could probably find a more discreet way to take him out and summon him, if it wouldn't be so obvious... ]
no subject
humans have never had the same advantages as oni.
here, a local wisteria house had provided insight in hopes of staving the flow, but at least a dozen men will never return to their families: their lives, brutally taken to feed and amuse a creature more animal than human in all but appearance. under normal circumstances, giyuu would tend the matter alone, but his orders had understandably relayed a joint mission; the oni plaguing this town has displayed a certain cunning, and oni only grow in strength for every human they eat.
following the flight of his messenger crow, giyuu arrives at a gate crested with wisteria in the early afternoon. the family that owns the home, and others like it, offers a sort a safehouse for slayers to rest and recover, free of charge. giyuu bows to the woman that greets him and follows her inside where another slayer is waiting. the sound of his footsteps is nonexistent in tabi socks.
giyuu's expression is impassive as a matter of greeting (or anything else). in a fluid motion, he removes his sword from his belt and sits at the offered table: his sword, beside the cushion he, now, occupies. the hostess bows, excusing herself to retrieve more tea and lunch. giyuu's gaze slides from the shoji door, shut closed, to the slayer before him. )
Have you begun an investigation?
( he'd like to see known attack sites himself, but if he is joining an investigation late, revisiting is a waste of their time, especially the closer night approaches. )
no subject
Percy may not take a lot of things seriously, but he wouldn't have become a slayer if he didn't have any sense of responsibility. Shoving aside his personal feelings has gotten much easier ever since he started going on these missions, because the more detached he is from those who are lost, the better he can perform his duties. You can't save everyone after all, and that's a bitter truth he learned long ago, back when he lost his sister to one.
This town is special, though, because the stench of death reeks more here than it had in smaller places. Maybe he's just equating it to how it felt when his sister was among those who died to an oni all those years ago; either way, he needs a breather before night falls.
When Giyuu arrives at the wisteria house, Percy gives him a cursory glance. Ah, this guy. Percy's seen him around, always had the impression he'd rather operate alone (but what does he know?). Giyuu seems quiet, stoic, and perhaps unfeeling. What Percy projects regularly, however, is the guise of a friendly face, someone a little more unassuming. It's why he greets Giyuu with a little smile as the other slayer sits down.
Straight to the point. Cool, he can live with that. ]
Hey. I started one, yeah. Talked to a few people near a handful of attack sites to hear what they had to say. Seems like the attacks started happening rather recently and are pretty frequent, and the victims seem to be men around our age. Pretty sure the locals are under the impression a serial killer's on the loose, and they aren't wrong, but they also don't know what they're dealing with. Which is a given.
no subject
Is your opinion the demon will attack tonight?
( if percy— giyuu remembers his name from their orders for all that he prefers little mind to others —had detected a pattern beyond men of a certain age, giyuu imagines he would have led with such information. unfortunately, that means the two have little more than enough to mount a defensive position and react as another victim is attacked, if not devoured.
giyuu mislikes it, but the fault lies with the nature of demons. here, he is willing to defer to a slayer of equal rank, who is sure to have passed final selection. )
runs back in here!
[ Given that this is quite a bustling city, there's no shortage of some kind of gathering happening somewhere. He could be completely wrong, here, given his small sample size, but it's all he's got to work with. It's better than nothing. This is getting out of hand and they need to act tonight before more people are claimed by the enemy.
Percy lets out a bitter laugh; that smile of his hasn't left his face, but he's not enthusiastic. His tone is light and not that of a guy determined to finish his job. At least his words imply he's done some research. This is probably the biggest mission he's gone on yet, after all. ]
Maybe it's worth seeing if there's some kind of event going on tonight, that could be a place of interest...or we could hang around a residential area. Dunno. What do you think, Giyuu?
opens arms
they can at least ask those in the wisteria house for some insight, but...
for a moment, eyes on the table between them, giyuu is silent with his thoughts. then: ) We have several hours to prepare. If we don't narrow the list of possibilities by nightfall, we patrol separately. ( even then, they may need do so. ) How fast can your crow deliver a message?
( due to his age and rather poor memory, giyuu's crow is not particularly ideal in the heat of battle. )