With a yawn and pair of arms stretched out over his head, Yatsujima Akio leaned back in his chair. It hadn't been more than a few months since he had been hired to work here at the company, but frankly speaking, it was somewhat more relaxing to him than the last few years had been at school. With that said, the stakes were a bit higher now; it was one thing to butt heads with a bunch of delinquents, who would at least stay down if you hit them enough, but having to head out and kill whatever the heck Grudges were was a different story.

It wasn't bad work, though, given what he was already used to doing. Fighting Grudges was certainly a different experience from fighting people, but the young man was certain he would grow used to that much soon enough.

Probably.

The feeling of a cold bottle against his cheek, though, caused Akio to almost spring forward towards the table on front of him. Though he was still seated, the shock was more that enough to wake him up for the moment. The reaction elicited a bit of an amused reaction from the person responsible—one Takenohara Fumi, his partner and teacher in one—but no more.

"Never gets old," the tengu remarked with a smirk, taking a sip of her drink—a bottle of green tea—and taking a seat nearby. "Stay up late?"

"More or less," he responded, rubbing his cheek as he stared at the bottle in mild irritation. "I'm sure I'll be fine once we're outside, though."

With a shrug, Fumi glanced at the door before placing her bottle of tea down.

"Well, once the boss and the ground staff arrive, we should be able to head out. I think there was supposed to be a set of new hires coming in, though, so we might be stuck here a bit longer than usual," she said, pulling out her phone to look at the time. "Doesn't help that we're a bit early, though."

"Point taken. Wish we had a training room or something to kill time, though..."

"...Okay, this is it...!"

Psyching herself up, Sanae trembled before the entrance of her new workplace, a nervous grin on her face, hands curled into tight fists. As a regular part-timer that had been to various workplaces already, she thought she had gotten used to introducing herself to new colleagues. The circumstances were slightly different this time, however. Not only was her employment a bit more permanent than usual, the job itself was inherently far more dangerous, too. Honestly, it was still hard to believe she was even asked to do this kind of job... and really, it's probably entirely due to the circumstanstial contract she entered into.

Casting a glance towards her smaller companion, Sanae briefly recalled the manner of their meeting. It had been a rushed, life-or-death affair in which Sanae had approximately three seconds to weigh her options, before a terrifying youkai- well, Curse, whatever - made a meal out of her. Really, she was thankfull to Mina for saving her life and all... but did she have to be such a difficult person, too?!

Still, best not to swell on that. For better or worse, she was a... curse... exterminator... hunter person now! And for all their grievances with each other, Mina and her were still allies, and everyone else was probably super nice and helpful and strong, too! She offered a bright smile to the vampire, projecting her most convincing air of composure to hide her rattling nerves, "R-ready to head inside? I'm sure everyone's waiting for us, ehehehe..."

Sanae had forgotten that she'd come early to ensure no one would have to wait on her arrival.

There was very little to be satisfied about in this situation.

Of course, beggars could not be choosers. Her energy had been running thin, and it had proven highly difficult to sustain herself alone when she had been so weakened. So finding someone who was willing to contract with her on the spot had been a stroke of luck. And what followed... destruction. Blood and death. Shredding apart her enemies. It was no-where near her full power, but uniting with that girl had allowed her to regain some measure of her true might. Everything had died, until only the sole human being among their enemies remained.

She was quite prepared to drink him dry.

And yet the girl she had only just contracted refused, grinding their body to a halt and wholeheartedly rejecting even the idea of killing him. Even the idea of drinking from him.

That was the kind of girl she now found herself bound to. This naive, annoying girl who refused to kill.

And of course, now there was the sun to contend with. The parasol she'd made her Master buy for her only did so much.

The tiny white-haired girl huffed to herself.

"You're the one who lead the way, you clearly don't care for my opinion," replied Mina 'Tepes', a scowl on her rounded, delicate features. "But if you must know, I'd like to get out of the sun, so we shouldn't dawdle any longer."

And now they were going to be made to work. By this organization of hunters. She had no idea what they were really like in operation, but her past certainly didn't endear her to the idea of working with such people.

Still, as loathe as she was to admit it, she didn't have much of a choice now. Mina would go where this girl went, if only to ensure she didn't get herself killed and their contract dissolved. She was reliant on her now, for ether and blood. No matter how frustrating she found that fact, she couldn't change it.

But she could make her displeasure abundantly clear as frequently as possible.

There was nothing preventing her from doing that.

@RolePlayerRoxas@PKMNB0Y

---

From time immemorial, humans made offerings to the gods. Or, perhaps more accurately…humans tried to please anything more powerful than themselves, in hopes that it would show them mercy in return. Floods, earthquakes, even a demon. Humans could and would deify just about anything, if it made their wretched little lives any easier. Some even went so far as to make offerings to the very beings that would gleefully destroy them. For instance, Kyozan-Rasetsu, the Mountain Cleaving Demon, who once terrorized all who dared enter the dark ravines of his territory…

Or this ridiculous upstart, Jidohanbaiki, also known as Ben-Di-Gu Mashin. He wasn’t sure where the first part of the name came from, but to call itself a “mashin,” a Demon God, when its shrines were so small, how arrogant! Sure, maybe there were a lot of those shrines, and maybe all those tiny coins added up, but what had this so-called god of demons done to deserve the title!?

“Hahaha, what do you think of this, MASHIN!?” He picked up the clumsy, ugly looking metal shrine and began to vigorously shake it, until the vessels containing Jidohanbaiki’s power tumbled out. “You stand no chance against the GREAT KYOZAN–-”

“Kyo-chan, put the vending machine down. People are staring.”

“Of course they are! They’re about to bear witness to a clash between a false god, and the genuine arti–-kyaaaagh!” The roundhouse kick to his upper thigh didn’t really hurt, but it charlie horse’d him just enough that he lost his balance and fell backward. The cowardly Jidohanbaiki took a potshot at his head as Kyozan dropped the imposter, launching one of those “juice” things directly between his eyes. He lay on the grass, staring up at the wide blue sky, and the dark haired figure looking down on him as she crossed her arms.

“Kyo-chan. No.”

“Very well, Aruji.” He closed his eyes and turned his face away from her as he sighed. This modern world continued to confuse him, even after so long outside of his seal...

---

The six-and-a-half foot, muscle bound giant in clothes that could’ve come out of a period piece drew many stares whether he behaved himself or not. But so too did his tiny master, and for an entirely different reason. As a breeze picked up on their stroll through town, she shook out her long dark hair and brushed it away from her pale, heart-shaped face with one delicate, smooth hand. There was no mistaking her as the archetypal school beauty, the kind that would be called an idol, or be misconstrued as an icy queen of the social hierarchy even if she happened to have some sort of communication disorder. And, for the moment, that was exactly how Aomori Mika wanted to be seen. She had even worn her school uniform–perhaps for the last time–-for that very effect.

“I’ve no clue what other kinds of people this ‘Icelit’ organization has hired,” she said to her guardian spirit as she adjusted her grip on her bag, taking its strap in both hands, “but if that Yatsujima fellow we saw at the interviews is any indication, this is a place where attitude will be expected to match ability. So please, Kyo-cha–-Kyozan.”

The Rasetsu perked up one eyebrow as he walked next to her, rippling arms crossed over his broad chest. As he looked down at the girl, he saw the way she bit her lip for only a fraction of a moment.

“Let us show them the power and prestige of the Aomori.” she said in an even, stony tone. The Rakshasa blew air through his nose as he hummed. After a moment, his fearsome eyes closed.

“Hai, Aruji.”

“Good.” And with that, she tossed her hair again–and her furrowed brows relaxed, along with her clenched jaw. She put a little bounce into her step, as her eyes glittered. Her arms swapped positions, so that she held the bag behind her hips now and walked with her chest and chin proudly forward. “Let’s go, Kyo-chan! Today’s the first day of our new lives!”

---

@RolePlayerRoxas"R-ready to head inside? I'm sure everyone's waiting for us, ehehehe..."

@VitaVitaAR"You're the one who led the way, you clearly don't care for my opinion. But if you must know, I'd like to get out of the sun, so we shouldn't dawdle any longer."

The pair before them seemed quite complimentary, in Mika’s eyes–-the human girl was so plain, she had to have something special going on, whereas the tiny, white-haired Youkai stood out so badly that whatever she tried to hide was painfully obvious. Kyozan took one whiff through his nose, and slightly inclined his head.

_{“That one is…somewhat like me.”} he growled, low to his mistress’s ear.

^{“But the Attuned is nothing like me.”} Mika whispered back, eyes still glittering. “C’mon, let’s not be the broody, hooded types in the corner!” In the space of a few steps they came close enough the other pair, and the other hires slowly trickling towards the doors of Icelit headquarters, would no doubt feel their intention to make contact.

“Good morning~!” chirped Aomori Mika, as she bowed to both Sanae and Mina with a warm, welcoming smile that didn’t show any of her teeth, but wrinkled the corners of her eyes as her cheeks flushed. “I am Aomori Mika, here for my first day as a real Contractor! I’ll be in your care!”

“Hm!” Kyozan bent his knees and dropped into a deep horse stance behind her, before taking up a dramatic Yokozuna’s pose. “This one is Kyozan-Rasetsu, Aomori Family Guardian! Ohayo degozaru!” He spoke in an old, formal dialect that sounded like it came out of a period-film–which caused his master to sigh and lightly tap his cheek with her hand, now that his face was actually close enough to reach.

“Kyo-chan, ease up a bit!” She bowed again to the other two. “Please, don’t mind him! I know he looks like a brute, but he’s not a bad fellow!”

The next one to come in through the door was at least less of a new hire than the rest over here--although, to the newcomers, what looked like a model strutting in with a disposable cup of coffee might seem entirely out of place for the environment, before they looked past the comfortable yet appealing outfit and took note of the demonic features. A task made only slightly more difficult by the succubus's excited flitting from newcomer to newcomer, looking them all up and down before turning to look at the door with a grin.

"Look how many cute ones there are, dear," the demon proudly announced, throwing an unasked-for arm around the most directly appealing of said 'cute ones'--Mika no doubt somewhat confused by the strange and definitely foreign lady getting so close to her, "Isn't this one delicious~?"

The one she was addressing had just walked through the door with an identical-looking cup and barely raised an eyebrow at her partner's antics, instead counting up the various contractors and contractees dotting up the room as she entered, finding a blank spot of wall to lean against. "Lily, step away from the girl."

As the succubus did so with a pout, the tall woman's eyes drifted over to the already-seated youth, "Yatsujima, have you heard if we're supposed to be working as one group?" She'd need to look into getting a minibus, if that was the case. Fitting nearly a dozen or more in one vehicle if they wanted or had to avoid trains for some reason? It would've helped to get a good idea of the exact number in advance.

@Zeroth@PKMNB0Y

---

"So what do you think these new hires are gonna be like?"

"Mmhm...hope they're cute?"

"Pfft, wow, and here I thought I was cute enough for you." The Nekomata leaned over as her human companion held out a crepe, feeding it to the white haired youkai. "You wound me, Nyoko. I kinda hope its someone I can have fun sparring with. No one at the Dojo can handle this these days~" He wasn't expecting much, to be honest. Not that he didn't like the other current hires or anyone that might be showing up, but most people just weren't super fun to be around these days. Grudges were fun to fight and all, but there was a certain lifelessness to them that made fighting them kind of boring sometimes.

Nyoko said nothing, attempting to swipe the crepe from Kaeru's hand, only for Kaeru to quickly move the treat elsewhere. Nyoko frowned, and for a few more attempts she attempted to grab it, only for Kaeru to quickly avoid her reaching claws.

"Nyokoooo, come ooon, you're gonna get fat if you keep eating these." The Nekomata, cared not, hands reaching and failing to reach for the crepe. Growing increasingly annoyed as she failed to reach her prize, the youkai would grab Kaeru's arm as she'd maid a feint, pulling him close and nearly knocking him off his feet. "E-eh? Nyoko wait-" Her other hand reached up, quickly swiping the crepe from his hand while her second reached around his waist...and then proceeded to spin, and send up stumbling to the ground behind her, successfully getting her prize.

"Victoryyyy~" A happy little victory jump to signify her success.

"...Nyokoooo~" A shiver went up the Nekomata's spine, her ears standing on end. "It seems...as your sensei and martial arts instructor...I need to give you much harsher lessons." Kaeru was smiling, but he was not happy in the slightest. Nyoko immediately bolted down the road. "Get back here you fat cat so I can kick your ass!"

Nyoko, of course, did not stop running. Throwing open the door to the meeting room. She made a beeline for the largest object she saw that she could hide behind. In this case, that just so happened to be Kyozan. Without so much as giving him a moment to even react, she'd run right at the other Youkai, jumping, placing a hand on his head, and then landing behind him, proceeding to crouch low to the ground behind him in order to make a small attempt at hiding herself.

Seconds later, the door was forcefully slammed open.

"Good morning everyone!~" Kaeru greeted everyone cheerfully. "Don't mind me, I'm just looking for a lazy, fat, crepes stealing cat that is shirking her daily asskic-ahem-training!"

Sometimes she regretted helping her partner set up for streaming. It clearly made the gashadokuro happy, no matter how expressionless she usually seemed, but sometimes it was a problem.

This was one of those times.

They had a job. They had work to do. And yet she'd scheduled a marathon stream, starting the previous day, that had run all the way through the night and still wasn't over when she had looked in on Higasha today. It was madness. It wasn't as if Akane was completely unfamiliar with the concept of a marathon stream, but why did she have to do it the day before they went into work? How long was she planning on going for?! Akane had things to do, and those things didn't involve sitting around waiting for her partner to stop streaming!

When she'd barged into Higasha's room she'd been attempting to shill merchandise that didn't exist.

It took literally dragging the slim, pale girl away from her PC to get her moving. The chat seemed to be enjoying the experience at least. Akane had even glimpsed a few superchats come up during the intervention.

She didn't pretend to know why.

Still, it had taken considerable effort to even make Higasha budge from her streaming schedule, and in the time it had taken to do so, they were almost certainly late.

"Of course."

The tomboyish girl sighed heavily, glancing back at the pale figure walking along behind her as they reached the doors.

"You better apologize with me, you know."

With that, she made her way inside, bowing apologetically immediately as she entered(and grabbing Higasha's head to force her to do the same).

"Sorry we're late, there was a-"

She paused for a moment. How to put this? Her partner's ridiculous behavior was the entire reason they weren't showing up to work on time.

"... scheduling conflict," she said, glancing towards Higasha again with a heavy sigh.

It wasn't just a job. It was her potential path to finding out what happened with her older sister. So screwing up like this really really wasn't ideal.

@RolePlayerRoxas@PKMNB0Y

Higasha was still not well-versed when it came to human interaction, but even someone as socially inept as she could tell that Akane was mad about something. Her landlord, partner and saviour had been quite irate while interrupting her stream, no doubt making it even more difficult to earn money from the 'merch' Higasha had decided she owned. Sure, she might have forgotten they were suppoosed to come by this office, but five minutes to end the stream with her hashtags and pleas for more donations wasn't that tall an ask, surely?

Silently, she shuffled behind Akane, already wishing she could find a comfy place to nap. It wasn't a lack of sleep finally hitting her, she just hated being forced to leave her chair for obligatory errands. Still, if akane needed her to come along, it wasn't her place to complain. Higasha wasn't quite sure what she had to apologise for, though. Earning money through hard work was something to be admired, surely?

Oh well. Higasha was forced to bow in apology alongside Akane, slowly straightening herself after a few moments. Indeed, everyone else seemed to be there already... alongside a few new faces? How many newbies were there? She regarded the unfamiliar faces curiously, her expression as blank as always, and directed her blue eyes towards Akio and Sanae.

"More specifically, this errand got in the way of important work, I apologise," Higasha was nice enough to clarify with her oblivious, tone-deaf explanation.

@VitaVitaAR@PKMNB0Y

The next few minutes were spent in relative silence, with neither of the two present in the office really doing much beyond trying to kill time before the day started proper. Of course, that silence was not meant to last—not with the dialogue that the two could barely make out past the front door. The voices were all unfamiliar, but that only really meant that the aforementioned 'new hires' had likely arrived—and their subsequent entrance into the room turned that from simple assumption into fact. Three girls and a hulking beast of a youkai would most certainly make an impact upon entering, but given that they all seemed to be wrapped up in their introductions to one another, neither Akio nor Fumi really felt like interjecting quite yet.

Not that they really needed to, though—not with the resident succubus popping up and destroying any semblance of formality that the atmosphere in the room might have implied. Following after, of course, came a more familiar face to the two—one Suzume Sato—who, as usual, skipped the pleasantries and went straight towards talking about work.

"Morning to you, too," Akio replied, straightening his back as he turned to look towards the woman addressing him. "As for the plans today... I vaguely remember the boss saying that he was probably going to split us—"

Almost as if on cue, though, another more rambunctious pair sprang through the door, one following after the other in their usual routine. There was a brief pause as Akio stared at both Kaeru and Nyoko in mild annoyance before resuming.

"...Right. As I was saying, I vaguely remember the boss wanting to split us up—something about making sure that we could see how the newbies work in the field—but I think he should be here soon enough...?"

All the while, of course, Fumi had chosen to put her drink off to the side and stared quietly at the four newbies as they hovered about. There was something a bit off about the white-haired girl—though that was strictly her intuition speaking—to say nothing of the larger youkai and the girl sticking at his side.

Ultimately, though, they were going to be coworkers, which meant that introductions were most definitely in order.

"Well... Expect this sort of chaos to be the norm," she said after walking over to the pair and giving them all a slight bow. "Takenohara Fumi; my partner over there is Yatsujima Akio. Let's do our best together, hm?"

---

---

Now much more lively with the arrival of both the nekomata and her partner, time seemed to pass by a lot faster for Akio, who only realized the time once the final pair—and the only missing pair, at that—arrived with an apology about their lateness. The young man blinked for a moment as he glanced at the clock, only to see that they were only about ten minutes late.

Given how their boss tended to arrive precisely on time, though... That was an issue in and of itself.

"Well, for what it's worth, you didn't exactly miss anything yet?" Akio said, shrugging his shoulders as he gestured towards the newcomers. "Got new people here, though."

It was at this point, though, that a call would come through to Suzume's phone—one from their boss, Takeda Eiji. Once the Attuned picked up the call, though, Eiji's voice would begin to speak at a breakneck pace.

"Sato?" he asked once he heard a response from the other end, the sounds of running and screaming quite audible in the background. "There's been a Grudge outbreak at Umeda Park, and I need people here on the double. Leaving it to you to pick the team and come over; going to help evacuation in the meantime."

The park in question was a fair distance away, but being caught there would have indeed explained Eiji's absence. The matter of clearing the problem out in a timely manner, of course, was a different story.

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@Zeroth@RolePlayerRoxas@Rune_Alchemist

---

@Raineh DazeSomeone who looked like a model strutted into the entry way, immediately drawing Kyozan's eye. At first, it was because he was a red-blooded, grown-ass man-demon, with a very antiquated sense of gender relations--but then his eyes narrowed and one of his hands flexed into a claw.

"Look how many cute ones there are, dear," the demon proudly announced, throwing an unasked-for arm around the most directly appealing of said 'cute ones'--Mika. Kyozan rose from his exaggerated sumo-stance--but his mistress, with one hand hidden behind her back, signaled him. Her other arm came up between the crook of the Succubi's elbow. "Isn't this one delicious~?"

"My, my!" Mika said, closing her eyes as she smiled. "What a looker--and I must say, you have wonderful taste!" Putting the same hand she'd used to partially block Lily's arm over her mouth, she giggled. When her eyes opened again, she tilted her head and cast them to one side as if thinking hard about something. "Hm, let's see...you're...a Western Youkai, then?" Kyozan's stare at the Succubus's backside intensified, though not for the reasons one might think. His eyes followed that lashing, spade-shaped tail.

"Lily, step away from the girl."

Mika's eyes cut sharply at the tall, willowy woman who entered the room. When Lily did as asked, despite wearing a flirty pout, the Aomori heiress nodded her head with a little wave.

"Ah, it's no problem! It's a pleasure to meet you, ah..." She paused, one finger on her chin, before she grinned and decided on the demoness's address, "Lily nee-san!" Kyozan said nothing, but instead stepped up behind his mistress--close enough that their hips touched, leaving no room for Lily--or any of the others present in the room--to get between them again.

The more serious of the two women moved into the building proper and began talking to Yatsujima, leaving the rest to finish their introductions as they followed. For the second time--the first being at her interview--Mika took in as much detail as possible. Exits, windows, placement of the furniture. Kyozan did the same with the other people around them--how muscular was their build? How much Ki did they put off? Did their movements betray the habits of martial artists?

@Rune_AlchemistAs they entered the meeting room, another door across the office space burst open. Something fast leaped towards them, and Kyozan immediately shoved Mika behind him as he braced himself for impact. His fist was drawn back--

"Halt!" hissed Mika as she held up her index and middle fingers in a one-handed Rin seal. As a result, Kyozan did nothing when the nekomata--he'd recognize that smell anywhere--bounced off of his head and landed right next to Mika, behind him. Seconds later, the door slammed open.

"Good morning everyone!~" Kaeru greeted everyone cheerfully. "Don't mind me, I'm just looking for a lazy, fat, crepes stealing cat that is shirking her daily asskic-ahem-training!" Mika covered her mouth with another giggle as Kyozan crossed his arms with a growl. In sync, the two moved a step to either side, leaving poor Nyoko completely exposed.

@PKMNB0Y"Well... Expect this sort of chaos to be the norm," said another new voice. The elder demon and his mistress turned to the approaching Tengu. She introduced herself after walking over to the pair and giving them all a slight bow. "Takenohara Fumi; my partner over there is Yatsujima Akio. Let's do our best together, hm?"

"Ah, yes!" Mika bowed, both hands folded properly in front of her skirt. "Takenohara-senpai, I remember seeing you at the interview! Please treat me well!" Meanwhile, Kyozan stroked his chin with one long-nailed thumb.

"Hmm. Small for a tengu, aren't you?" A half smirk creased his rugged jaw. "And that li'l button nose--"

"Kyo-chan! Don't be rude!" Mika stomped the rasetsu's bare foot, which elicited an audible crunch despite the complete lack of reaction from the blue tinged ogre.

@PKMNB0YThough a few more latecomers had arrived, it seemed their employer was late. It was at this point, though, that a call would come through to Suzume's phone. Mika and Kyozan both immediately sobered as they watched her answer the loud ring. The girl listened intently, but try as she might she could only hear snippets of the actual conversation. The screaming in the background, though--that needed little explanation when one considered just who Takeda Eiji was and the nature of his profession.

But Kyozan, and no doubt most of the other Youkai, had sharper-than-human ears.

"There's been a Grudge outbreak at Umeda Park, and I need people here on the double. Leaving it to you to pick the team and come over; going to help evacuation in the meantime."

"Yatsu-bozu!" boomed the mountain demon in his gravelly voice, "Where's this Umeda Park? Your liege wants us there immediately!"

"Kyozan." Mika said--all giggles and smiles gone from her voice as she threw a sharp glance at her familiar. "We wait for orders." Kyozan snorted in reply, and crossed his arms again.

"Of course~" the demon said, winking at the girl, "What was it that gave it away? The cute tail? These beautiful features? Or~ are you some sort of incredible connoisseur of the derriere? Don't worry, you'll be able to get a nice long look at these amazing cheeks--"

"Lily."

"--if we ever need to wear swimsuits." the demon finished, not skipping a beat and skipping away to finish her coffee. Obviously, her lack of formality extended to a poor separation between work and pleasure... although you couldn't really blame a foreign demon for having trouble finding opportune times to make friends. Even if it was some schoolgirl and an amazing slab of muscle... although there was approximately zero change of ever getting to include him in any fun. What a loss.

If the brash demon's inability to feign politeness and not listen in to a phone call bothered her, the woman said nothing, just nodding along to the instructions and then slipping the phone back into her pocket. "Boss told me to pick the team; I'll take the new hires with me. See how they work." Plus the beefy demon looked pretty capable in a fight... less so the tiny child, but finding out what she could really do was the point. "Come on, I have a car just outside."

Sure enough, she lead them immediately to a spotless-looking grey vehicle--a very large-seeming SUV given the location they all lived in, but as modern and legal as any other car. Like most, Suzume seemed to have little interest in maintaining an old vehicle to the standards required for inspection... or perhaps her line of work just tended to damage them to the point it was infeasible. Naturally, Lily hopped in the front passenger seat, leaving the four of them to divide themselves amongst the other six seats available. Oddly, given the left-hand drive nature of the country, Lily was on the left.

Once everyone was in, she turned to look back at them. "I don't care if you're an ancient youkai who wouldn't be scratched in a crash, use the seatbelt. Less trouble. And no eating in here."

Sure enough, there wasn't a crumb to be seen on the interior.

@Zeroth@VitaVitaAR@RolePlayerRoxas

Sanae was practically in a daze from the moment they entered the office proper. A massive, hulking creature had shown up with a pretty girl around her age, giving quite the bombastic greeting. Sanae was momentarily taken-aback by their greeting, though she swiftly recovered to return the greeting, "L-likewise! Nakahara Sanae, I'm also just starting! This here's Tepes Mina!" she couldn't help but be proud that she hadn't totally mangled how to pronounce the vampire's name.

It wasn't long before others starting filling up the office, too. Sanae wasn't quite sure how to react when a pretty, horned girl seemed to inspect her and the others closely, though her itnerests were definitely more focused on Mika and Kyozan. Probably for the best, Sanae found herself blushing for reasons she couldn't fathom.

Once everyone had evidently gathered, and Akio took the phone call, Sanae noticed a distinct change in the atmosphere - Kyozan's booming declaration was a subtle clue that something was going down, of course, and it wasn't long before it was declared she would be going along with the tall woman and her much shorter partner. Oh, she was already going out onto the field?! That was worryingly fast! She couldn't help but cast a worried glance towards Mina. Hopefully she would behave in a group setting, it'd suck for the pair to give a terrible impression to everyone else. Asking for perfect unity was a tall ask, but as long as she kept any needling to a nice minimum of zero, they could work something out.

And so, the group found themselves next to a large vehicle. Awkwardly, Sanae climbed into the centre seat of the middle row, assuming Mina would be taking a spot right next to her. She glanced between the two superiors curiously - as far as the humans went, this pretty lady seemed to be the oldest? She certainly had the air of someone in charge, Sanae quickly putting on her seatbelt at Sato's instructions, and made sure to fasten Mina's as well, almost like fussing over a child. It took longer than it probably should have for Sanae to notice that the older woman wasn't the one in the driver's seat.

@Raineh Daze@Zeroth@VitaVitaAR

Well, this was certainly amusing. A cavalcade of beasts, largely native to this land but a few notable foreigners like herself. The succubus was of particular intrigue, but the hulking demon man was certainly not uninteresting as well. Mina regarded them for a few moments, cocking her head with a small sigh as Sanae introduced her.

Still, she didn't bother to introduce herself once it was already done, preferring instead to regard those around her. The assortment of contracted people... it was a shame she couldn't get a taste of that girl with the demon man. She had a distinct impression she would have particularly delicious blood, but at the moment there was little chance of such a thing occurring. Thankfully, she did have a source of quite delicious-scented meals already.

If Sanae wasn't going to drink while they were united, then she had to bear the consequences.

The fact that they were already going to perform a job, the tall woman dispensing her order to come along without the slightest respect for Mina's status, was somewhat frustrating. But on the other hand, the pallid little girl did feel this was an opportunity to perhaps push Sanae into being less of an utter fool.

If they had to be contracted, the least she could do was that much.

The fussing over putting her seatbelt on was something Mina could most certainly do without.

"Have you forgotten so swiftly that I'm not a child?" she commented, cocking her head to one side, "Or were you just eager to lay hands on me once again? Are you perhaps lonely?"

Mina's lips curled into a smirk.

"Regardless, you'll be getting a demonstration of what I am once again soon. You so clearly need one, after all."

@RolePlayerRoxas@Raineh Daze@Zeroth

---

"...ah! Traitors!" Nyoko hissed as she was completely exposed. Giving a brief wave to Akio and Fumi, Kaeru ran over, and spent the next however long until they were ready to go having an impromptu wrestling match. Nothing serious, just a bit of sparring between the two that would eventually end up with Kaeru sitting on the ground, cross legged, while Nyoko's head was laying right in his lap, one of his fingers idly running through her hair.

For the most part, the pair kept to themselves up until the point the final two missing from their little troupe arrived. For as quick as either of them arrived, they were also one of the slowest to get moving once Kyozan's booming voice informed them of events transpiring. Nyoko rolled off of Kaeru's lap, stretching in quite a feline fashion before getting to her feet followed soon by Kaeru. As they'd reach the van, Kaeru ended up sitting next to Kyozan and Mika.

---

@Raineh Daze"Boss told me to pick the team; I'll take the new hires with me. See how they work." Kyozan looked to Mika, and she nodded. "Come on, I have a car just outside." Kyozan groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Kyo-chan, you're going to have to shrink a bit." said Mika, as she poked at his side under the rock hard obliques. The big demon groaned again...but as the group moved outside the building, he slowly began to "compress." It seemed almost like a "layer" of his body was melting away, in the form of translucent, barely visible blue flames curling off his upper body and dissipating into the air. Now closer in build to someone just under six feet tall and seemingly fifty pounds lighter, he still had to duck his head as he forced his way into the back row of the vehicle after his mistress.

"If the Youkai of this era have been accepted by humanity, why are your "modern conveniences" not appropriately sized for us!?" he growled as he took the center seat, with Mika at the window. @Rune_AlchemistThankfully the person who slipped into the other window seat beside the Rakshasa was quite small...but Kyozan looked at Kaeru sharply for a moment as the boy put on his seatbelt.

"Most modern Youkai aren't as big as mountains anymore." Mika sighed, before she too noticed the Nekomata woman's contractor. "My, my! How cute!" She clapped her hands together, but then bowed her head sheepishly. "Ah, but you're also one of our senpai, yes? I'm Aomori Mika, and this is Kyo-chan! It's a pleasure to meet you."

Kyozan merely nodded by way of introduction this time, and turned his glare now to the vehicle's windshield. The world of concrete, asphalt, and steel outside was filled with the Ether of more humans than he could've imagined existing in one place at a time, and yet the atmosphere somehow felt more "empty," than it had a thousand years ago. How had they done all of this? These "cars," the even bigger contraptions called the "trains..." Even the "office building" they now apparently served was taller than some castle towers he had seen, and yet this "company" was considered small and insignificant? It boggled the mind.

@RolePlayerRoxas@VitaVitaARAt this point, the man-demon noted the conversation between the small, white-haired Youkai and her Attuned, as they fiddled with the restraining contraption of the vehicle. His own felt entirely too snug over his chest, which he scratched absent-mindedly.

"Regardless, you'll be getting a demonstration of what I am once again soon. You so clearly need one, after all."

"I, too, hope the enemy is strong enough to show my might!" grinned the blue haired giant as he leaned forward. "I have not had many opportunities to cut loose since I was unsealed, but these Grudges have not yet impressed me!"

Curiosity naturally overtook Akio as Suzume picked up her phone, but such whims were short-lived until the large youkai nearby shouted about Umeda Park. That, coupled with with Suzume's follow-up commentary once the call had ended, told the young man everything he really needed to know about the situation. Her prompt choice in taking the two pairs of newcomers made enough sense in context, of course, but that still left him waiting around for support staff to arrive anyways.

It was only after they had left, though, that he realized that both Kaeru and Nyoko were missing—the latter likely adding herself to the team on her own volition and bringing her partner along for the ride, or so he thought—which only left a scant four people in the office. After the initial rush of energy, a drop back down to 'saner' levels, though not necessarily unwelcome, was a bit disappointing.

It was at this point that a few more familiar faces came in to replace those that had left. One, a young woman who had her hair tied back in a ponytail in a blouse and skirt; the other, a slightly older man with slight stubble on his face and a jacket over his shoulder.

"I see that Takeda isn't here," the latter—a man by the name of Nishida Saito—said, hanging up his jacket taking a seat at his desk. "And there are less people here than expected. Would you mind filling me in?"

"I can do that," Fumi replied, straightening herself in her seat, "it seems that there was an incident at Umeda Park. The boss called Sato to bring help, and she chose to bring both of the newcomer pairs to location. Both Nakanishi and Nyoko chose to follow as well."

"Hm. That so?" he asked, booting up his computer and opening a slew a programs on the monitor in front of him. "Then I'll handle supporting them. Sakamori, do we have any jobs scheduled for today?"

To that, the young woman in question—one Sakamori Ayame—nodded and checked her own documents as her computer started up.

"Mmm... It looks like the big one was the apartment complex cleanup?" she said, glancing towards the two pairs remaining before looking back at the papers in front of her. "I think we should handle that since, well... Given the records we have on hand, putting it off for as long as the owners have might lead to some bigger problems down the line."

With that, Ayame handed a piece of paper to Fumi, who quickly skimmed it over before passing it towards Akio. A bunch of Grudges nesting within an old apartment complex was nothing new, but the fact that there was a string of murders inside before the residents who still lived there decided to move out or met less-than-savory fates...

Well, that was situation lifted right out of a horror movie.

"Mmm... Yeah, we should probably go clean this place up," Akio said before handing the paper off to Akane. "The sooner, the better."

@VitaVitaAR@RolePlayerRoxas

---

Though somewhat far from the office on foot, a swift car ride towards the park before law enforcement had any time to set up any sorts of barricades meants that Suzume (and everyone with her) had easy enough access inside.

Well, as easy as it could be with all of the people attempting to swiftly leave the area by foot, at least.

Approaching the park would show what exactly it was that people were running from—black, formless creatures with vaguely humanoid shapes were slowing out from the park, striking out at whatever drew near enough. Most of the people seemed to be escaping well enough, but the danger of stampeding people was in and of itself a problem...

It was at this point that another call would quickly patch itself through to Suzume's phone, and Saito's voice on the other end—now on speaker—would speak up.

"Sato, this is Nishida. I've just sent a recon drone out to get you an aerial. Once it's in, I'll send the feed through to you; as usual, if you need anything else, let me know."

@Raineh Daze@VitaVitaAR@Zeroth@RolePlayerRoxas@Rune_Alchemist

By the time the duo arrived to Icelit HQ, two pairs of senpais and two pairs of kohais had finalized getting into Sato’s van, and were departing. Katherine parked her bike, removed her helmet, and offered Ayame her free hand. She didn’t mind escorting the fox, especially not when she knew ‘her ladyship’ might hold them up for even longer otherwise. And they were late. Karin said nothing about that, however.

“Huh, right, so it’s today the new hires are coming in.” Which meant Karin and Ayame would finally no longer be the freshest meat around. Now they’d be the senpais to someone. If only by a month and a half.

The adolescent led them both in, and stopped by their locker to store their helmets. Then, she walked to the office proper, and got Ayame settled in a chair. “Morning,” she greeted Akane and Higasha, who were apparently late too. Thankfully, even the latest arrivals were there just in time to catch Fumi explaining that “there was an incident at Umeda Park.”

Karin perched on the table while she listened. “Which apartment?” she asked with a glance towards Sakamori. But she got her answer when Akane passed her the mission papers. When done, Karin handed them to her partner. “Read,” she instructed the fox.

@Vertigo @PKMNB0Y @VitaVitaAR@RolePlayerRoxas

Fortunately, with everyone situated in the car--and more importantly, belted in--it was a pretty easy drive, although the quiet bickering between the two in the front seat about whether it was appropriate to turn on the stereo for such a short journey and around new hires could be distracting. An argument that Lily thoroughly lost, with her partner arguing that the demon's taste in music was not something to unexpectedly subject new people to without warning. Also, it was her car, and they were nearly there anyway, so that was that.

"Will do," the woman confirmed, raching over to the glove compartment and sliding a thin laptop out, driver's door propped open. "Lily, you make sure the crowd stays calm. Nakanishi, Nyoko... honestly, try not to invite yourself next time, but you know what to do; keep the grudges away from civilians."

On cue, the demon hopped out, producing a colourful handkerchief from her pocket and waving it over her head with a cheery "Yo ho~ Civilians this way~" It didn't seem like the sort of action that would have much impact, but they were dealing with a succubus here--even dilute and spread out as it was, her ability to charm others was just the sort of distraction you needed to keep people from outright panicking... well, so long as nobody gave her a power boost to turn it into a cause for one instead.

"New hires... well, I don't know what you can do," their driver admitted with a shrug. "Priority is to keep people safe first, then exterminate the Grudges. Don't get tunnel-visioned into killing them before we know if we missed someone."

@Raineh Daze@Zeroth

---

Boy it was crowded in here, huh? Well, not that Kaeru or Nyoko minded, especially when they got to meet the newcomers. They might get some flak for doing whatever it was they both wanted as usual, but neither particularly cared too much in the long term. Oh, was he being addressed now? Kaeru looked towards Mika as Nyoko laid her head on his shoulder, having managed to squeeze herself on the other side of him.

"Ah? Ehe, you're goddamn right I'm cute." Kaeru responded playfully to Mika with a cheeky grin, pointing to himself. "Kaeru, this is Nyoko." The Nekomata nodded in agreement with Kaeru, it seemed. "Nice to meet ya both. No need to be all formal with us either, Kaeru and Nyoko is fine." Another nod from Nyoko who was looking rather intently at Kyozan. "...Although I think Nyoko is still sore about you not covering for her, ahaha."

"Am not."

"You totally are."

"...maybe a little..."

It was about the time they'd finish their conversation they'd find themselves at the park, Nyoko leaping out of the van and stretching her legs, having not really cared too much for the cramped space. Kaeru would follow shortly after watching the people fleeing the scene and the succubus setting to work acting to guide the people away from the grudges. He was a little disappointed he couldn't engage completely, but at the same time, well, it was likely they wanted to see what the newcomers were capable of and gauge their abilities.

"Ehe, sorry Sato." Kaeru chuckled. "Nyoko was interested in these guys and well, we both wanted to meet 'em a bit." He'd respond with a chuckle. "Don't worry, we won't get in the way." He glanced over to Kyozan. "...try not to cut loose too much though, big guy. Nyoko, wanna get ready?" The Nekomata nodded, giving a thumbs up and running off towards the park. "Ah, just a thing - if you two see any undead it'll be fiiiine. They're not the bad guys. Toodles!" With those parting words, Kaeru took off after his partner.

There was a non-zero chance the two were probably going to attempt some sort of shenanigans with the new comers.

---

@Rune_AlchemistKaeru responded playfully to Mika with a cheeky grin as he introduced himself and his partner. Kyozan noticed the nekomata's intense stare, which her master tried to wave away with her earlier antics. Maybe that was the case--and maybe not. The Rasetsu chuckled suggestively as the cat protested.

"Maybe she's just looking for someone to scratch under her chin, eh?" A prompt *slap* from Mika's side echoed in the vehicle's limited space.

Luckily, their transport lurched to a stop in the parking lot. Suzume moved and talked like a real professional, immediately earning the Aomori heir's attention. Kyozan watched Lily as she activated her charming magic, displaying a great deal of fine-tuned control to draw the fleeing civilian's attention. Interesting, that an ability meant to make slaves and willing partners of Humans could be used this way...Was this how the Youkai of this era managed to "fit in" to Human society?

"Nakanishi, Nyoko... honestly, try not to invite yourself next time, but you know what to do; keep the grudges away from civilians." Nyoko leaped out of the van and stretched her legs, which Kyozan observed eagerly with his thumb and forefinger on his chin. Before he could appreciate the invention of "dolphin shorts," however, Mika curled up in her seat before slamming both feet into the small of the demon-man's back. He grunted as he allowed himself to be propelled out of the vehicle, and as his own feet stomped the ground like a wrestler taking position he heaved a deep breath. Blue fire once again outlined his form as his muscles swelled and joints cracked, restoring him to his full height.

"New hires... well, I don't know what you can do," their driver admitted with a shrug. "Priority is to keep people safe first, then exterminate the Grudges. Don't get tunnel-visioned into killing them before we know if we missed someone." Kaeru, too, warned them not to "cut loose" too much...before saying something about raising the dead?

"Aruji, these modern standards confuse me."

"For once I'm as lost as you are." Mika tossed her hair with a sigh as a light tension built up around her temples. "I'm hoping the Nekomata's ability doesn't require fresh corpses." She opened her schoolbag and withdrew a binder, before speaking to Suzume.

@Raineh Daze"I can create a barrier around us, so that we have a safe fallback--and a place to render first aid!" The last part she called out more loudly, so that Lily could hear her and guide any injured civilians to them if need be. Four ofuda tags, bearing graceful calligraphy, were drawn from the binder and clutched between her fingers like playing cards. As Mika closed her eyes for a moment as if in prayer, her Ether--or "Ki" as Kyozan had known it in the old days, before this strange "science,"--began to ripple across her body. An unseen breeze lifted the girl's hair, and when she opened her eyes again the power within them flashed.

"My orders, Aruji?" Kyozan stepped up alongside her, slamming his giant fist into an equally big palm.

"Make sure no Grudge escapes the park." spoke his contractor, before she tossed the tags into the air. As they circled her once, then darted off in four directions, so too did Kyozan charge towards the gentle green hills now dotted with amorphous monstrosities. A wild, maniacal grin split his features. Behind him, Mika performed a swift series of hand seals.



The four tags attached themselves to the asphalt on the lot, forming a perfect square with the team's car at its center and a sizeable space on each side--a large enough footprint for a small scale medical tent. Each one burst into a flame, with four different colors: Black, sea-green, purple, sky-blue. A dazzling scarlet flame took shape in front of Mika as well, as the centerpoint of the shape.

The first shapeless mass of hatred turned its attention away from the terrified Humans, towards a large source of spiritual energy that began to collect nearby. White, empty eyes, unstable in their shapes like the mass within a lava lamp, peered out of a wide circle made from a mire of black mud. But another large mass of power was heading directly towards it--the other Grudges, too, began to twist their hideous forms as their noxious forms salivated. When they felt killing intent, their limbs curled into blades and bludgeons.

"Kyozan No Rasetsu shall join the fray! Let me taste your blood!" roared the demon as he spread his arms.



With the completion of the renga, Mika spread her arms and a ripple of power pulsed outward from her. A shimmering barrier, colored like paper thin amethyst, shot up from the four tags and converged as a sharp-edged, solid cube over them all. As each pieces locked into place, the barrier became thicker, stronger. The eerie feeling even non-spiritually sensitive humans got from the Grudges--like a prey animal aware of the predator in the brush--was cut off immediately as if by a knife, and even sound outside the force field seemed muted. Through the translucent screens they could still see everything, as if through a TV with an improper color balance.

"Our side...can pass freely!" Mika put her hands on her knees as she panted. "But nothing else, haah, aaah, should get through!" With four tags to draw ambient Ether from the environment, a full recital, and the power she could draw from Kyozan, this barrier should prove self sustaining against any attack...unless she had greatly underestimated their opponent. But no--she clenched her fists in her skirt, and forced herself to stand up straight. This barrier was just...a precaution.

Her Guardian would not allow any of the beasts near them.

---

---

The first Grudge leaped at him much the way any human would, but rather than swinging a fist or sword it thrust forward an arm that had become a thick, deadly lance covered in barbs. Kyozan leaned to one side and the cruel weapon passed under his arm, inches from his ribs. From his great height, the overhand haymaker came down like a meteor. The creature tumbled across the ground like a ragdoll, but its brothers were undeterred. Their shapes took on new forms even as they attacked him with abandon.

A head burst open like rotten fruit to release numerous tentacles, each tipped with a pendulum-shaped blade. Kyozan's hand shot out and grabbed the tendrils like catching a nest of snakes. As the next leaped into the air, its arms and torso shrinking to produce long legs with ankles shaped like halberds, the blue ogre yanked his prisoner in front of himself. The axe kick split his body shield in half--and lined them both up perfectly.

"DOSUKOI!" The demon man's palm shot out with the force of a battering ram, and the impact rippled through both Grudges before blowing a hole through their backs. Both began to dissolve into mist, and Kyozan flexed his claws as he turned to a small group of the creatures. "Weaklings! You call yourselves demons!?" As if he were ripping the very air itself apart he swept his talons at them. "Tanban-Kugi!"

Like a whip his spiritual energy followed the lashing arm, and multiple cerulean blades materialized. They whistled through the air before tearing more of the Grudges to shreds. Before the bodies hit the ground Kyozan had leaped in among them again, crushing a foe underfoot before grabbing another and using it like a club against its brethren. After smashing it against the earth for good measure, the monstrous Guardian opened his fangs wide and took an enormous bite out of the creature's shoulder, actually severing its arm as he tore away his vile mouthful. Moments later he grimaced as black ooze ran down his chin.

"You don't even taste good! Where's the fun in this!?" In his wrath, he launched the corpse over his shoulder. It collided with Mika's barrier like a fly hitting a windshield--or a bug zapper, considering the energy that repelled what remained with a sound like crackling flame.