[IC] Echoes of a Moonless Night

[Vertigo]

𝒜𝓎𝒶𝓂𝑒

__________________________________________________

earlier

In her relatively short time dwelling among modern humans, Ayame had found many things she liked - and twice as many she didn't. Alarm clocks were at the top of that list, so she had explicitly forbidden any from being placed within her chambers.

She had also forbidden anyone from waking her before noon, but as it turned out, humans were stubborn and rude when untrained.

“You’re not still sleeping, right?!" came the incessant voice of Karin. Her partner. Her travel companion. Her unruly servant who ought to know better than try to motivate her with empty threats.

Honestly.

"Not in this ruckus!" Ayame huffed in answer. With an exaggerated roll of her eyes and a click of her tongue, she slid off the bed with grace unfitting for her surroundings. Though she'd tried to alter the décor to her liking, the guest room remained small and simple; two things she could hardly stand.

Ayame hadn't known what sort of dwelling she expected her new companion to occupy when they'd first entered their contract, but a simple house in a simpler yet neighbourhood - if it could be called that - had not been it. During their travels, she'd seen buildings so tall they threatened to scratch at the stars. If anything, she should have lived atop one of those.

All in due time, she hoped. After all the work she'd done - or made Karin do - of late, they'd no doubt earn their own place soon enough.

Breakfast went as it usually did. Ayame enjoyed the food if not the company, eating slow and eating a lot, especially for someone her size. The family's youngest had even commented on her eating habits once.

Only once.

Much to everyone's surprise - not least Ayame's own - she didn't completely loathe bike rides. Yes, she hated what it did to her hair with or without a helmet, and finding a comfortable sitting position with a kimono as elaborate as hers was an unnecessary struggle every single time, but... she did also enjoy the speed. It was new. Exciting. Exhilarating, even, though she'd never say it out loud. She had a feeling Karin might know, though. Next time, she'd need to complain extra hard to throw her off.

Ayame followed her partner inside without a sign of hurry, pleased to see a group pass them by on their way. She couldn't imagine anything more horrendous than a trip in a packed van. And with any luck, the group that left took the only job of the day, and all that was left for her was to lounge around the HQ.

... No such luck, she realized as Karin handed her papers to read. Papers. To read! When she had Karin for that very purpose! A frown threatened to overtake the kitsune's features, but she willed back a smile - hidden partly by an elaborate fan she always kept at hand.

"Oh, but you know I'm such a slow reader. Why, if I start now, it might take hours to finish! The whole day, perhaps. That'd be so inefficient - and you do so hate inefficiency, I've noticed." She flapped her fan and batted her eyelashes. "Now, luckily you already read the whole thing, so it should take you no time at all to give me a summary. A short one, preferably."

She handed the papers back and made an ushering gesture with her hand, tone suggesting she was bestowing a great honour of some sort upon her poor human partner. "You may start. I'll lend an ear, for now."

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Akio and Fumi

Icelit Office — Morning

The summary of what was written was fairly straightforward, and all things considered, neither Akio nor Fumi had any reason to want to delay. The growing resentment and grief that would result from such a location would only serve to fester, and given how long those malignant feelings would have been piling on top of one another...

There was no way to really describe it than a bomb whose fuse was rapidly reaching it's end.

"The location itself isn't too far away, though it is a bit far from the current hotspot," the tengu noted, pointing at the building's location on the map relative to Umeda Park. "Not going to be able to provide support to the other team if they need it, I think, but given how many people went... They should be fine. Probably."

"Cleaning ten floors out is going to take us ages anyways," Akio remarked, standing up from his seat. "It'd be weird if we were able to finish early, especially if that place is as messed up as the brief said it was."

Ultimately, though, there was little room for discussion about the urgency of the matter, which meant that both of the Attuned were more that ready to head out the door and walk to location.

---

Despite the rather gruesome description of the circumstances surrounding it, the building that the group had arrived at looked rather modern, with nary a trace of all the circumstances surrounding it to be seen. Maybe that was the point, or so Akio thought; if the crimes and deaths were swept under the rug, then the people living here would have little reason to move out.

"...Maybe we should ask someone to look into the owner after this one's done..." Akio muttered to himself as he stepped into the lobby of the building. With all the lights out, the pristine lobby seemed far more unsettling than it should have—even with the light filtering in through the windows.

@SilverPaw@Vertigo

---

---

Umeda Park

While the rampant chaos continued to plague the streets, the unbound destructive prowess that Kyozan put forward did indeed stem the flow of Grudges to some extent—at least in the direction that Lily was guiding the fleeing civilans towards. The power of a succubus' charm—and a practiced one at that—meant that those fleeing were not left wholly without their senses. Standing by to ogle the seductress would have been the opposite of helpful in this situation, after all.

But as the chaotic street brawl-style slaughter continued, the Grudges showed no signs of stopping. The question as to what exactly was causing this overflow remained answerless, however—or, well, answerless until a set of beeps coming from the now-open laptop signaled a visual.

The footage from the drone, now being streamed directly to the laptop, showed an unusually large black mass near the center of the park itself. It seemed to be pulsating, writhing about every few seconds before spitting out another new bloblike entity to leave the area.

"It seems like that's the source," Nishida's voice remarked as the video zoomed in towards the apparent cause of the chaos. "I'd hazard a guess that taking this out might stop them from spreading, but no promises."

@Raineh Daze@Zeroth@Rune_Alchemist

[Rune_Alchemist]

Nyoko and Kaeru

@Raineh Daze@Zeroth

---

"Jeez, someone's overly excited." Kaeru giggled, watching Kyozan rip and tear like some sort of bloodthirsty demon...which well, was pretty much exactly what he was, wasn't he? Might as well help them out a bit. They could handle this without much trouble, and there was a pretty good chance the grudges here weren't anything special. They ultimately decided not to go too far into the park just yet, just far enough ahead of the other two to slow the stem of grudges a bit further on while Mika and Kyozan cleaned up the ones nearest to the parks exit.

"Alright, Nyoko. Start time?"

A brief nod form the Nekomata, and Nyoko started her usual dance. A slow, methodical dance to open with. Step to the left, step to the right, raise a hand, draw a sigil in the air as mystical fire slowly danced around her as she too danced. A step backwards, a slow spin and raise her hands and an elegant hop. Spectral hands rose from the ground, grabbing the nearby grudges from below and slowing movements as they tried to pass making them far easier targets for Kyozan.

Amidst the chaos, Kyozan would find a pair of spectral, skeletal hands briefly, just ever so briefly, grab his ankles while he was moving. A totally innocent cat was finishing her first dance as the grudges would briefly be slowed and held to make them easier targets.

[Raineh Daze]

Sato and Sato

The stream of civilians gradually slowed to just a trickle, and then stopped entirely--the park could only be so full at this time of day, and now everyone had been directed together, it seemed that the evacuation step was finished. Or, at least, any evacuation that didn't require going in to rescue someone.

The central visuals got the driver's attention, and she quickly doffed her jacket, calling out to the others (although it seemed that the bloodthirsty one might have gotten too into it), "There's some sort of nest spawning them in the centre. Aomori, you keep an eye on the laptop for any changes."

Suzume had clearly decided that she was going to join in the clearing up, giving Lily a tap on the shoulder as she followed into the somewhat slowed stream. Of course, even with the crowd control and Kyozan's impressive clear-up attempts, there were still a few to get through to catch up properly... not that they presented a problem in low numbers. A strong left hook, with all the strength of the Contracted behind it, followed up by even one of Lily's modest fireballs could clear these up no problem.

Eyes still scanning for anyone trapped in the mess, Suzume was now close enough to Kyozan to check, "You know what we're looking for?"

[Zeroth]

Mika

Please Don't Break, Please Don't Break

---

“Eh? Wa-wait, I’m not–!” Left with the laptop, Mika had not expected to find herself so quickly face to face with one of her great nemeses–technology. She could manage the basics, of course, but being from an old fashioned family out in the countryside and having a…somewhat different…upbringing from many of her peers, she had never quite caught on to all the latest media trends. She looked from side to side as if expecting someone to take the burden off of her…but with Kaeru, Nyoko, and both Satos gone, it seemed like she had no other options. She approached the device with all the caution of one whose home only contains plastic plants when asked by a friend to care for their prized azaleas.

Okay. Okay, she could do this. She didn’t have to touch any buttons, did she? The screen didn’t look that bad. The large image was clearly a map of the park. That other window in the corner seemed to be displaying several…charts? Wavelengths? Some kind of data being measured? Could spiritual energy be analyzed by non-magical means? It certainly seemed to be peaking in regards to the large mass at the park’s center. Mika furrowed her brows and leaned closer.

This wasn’t like the torii gateway of a sacred site, was it? Or a demon’s personal domain, where their powers could alter the surroundings inside their lairs? Was this a passage that the Grudges were coming through, or some kind of giant “mother” Grudge that was spawning the others? Either way, it had to be destroyed–research could come later.

“Kyo-chan, destroy it!” she ordered, holding one hand in the rin seal to direct her thoughts through their link. His answer was immediate,

Don’t gotta tell me twice!

---

Kyozan

I'm Gonna Break It

---

He slashed and bludgeoned his way through the enemy, roaring with centuries of pent up fury. But the Raskhasa pulled back in surprise for an instant as ghostly hands lunged from the earth to grapple with the Grudge’s limbs. Though the amorphous beings tried to escape by shifting in a variety of ways, the grasping hands waved like grass in the field wherever they went. Kyozan lunged with his claws outstretched–

“Ha! If you pathetic wretches can’t even escape spirits of that level, I should’ve just–!”

And immediately tripped to slam face first into the dirt, his huge frame completely stretched out flat. He could almost hear a certain feline femme’s purring laughter as the ghostly hands released his legs. His own throat let out a rumbling growl–but when he lifted his face up, he had a wry smile and licked his lips.

“I shall play with you later.” He muttered. While he climbed back to his feet, the other Contracted pair joined the battle. That tall human woman packed a surprising stiff punch, and her demon followed it up with flames that blew apart the rest of the Grudge’s head. As Kyozan resumed carving his swathe of destruction, Suzume asked him if he knew what they were looking for–and not a moment later, he received a message from Mika. The image flashed in his head, and he leaped up to the top of a nearby swingset. As the metal creaked under his bulk, he peered over the dark throng and saw the larger, pulsating mass from whence they came.

“Don’t gotta tell me twice!” He looked down at the crowd again–given how much space he’d cleared, the cat’s restraints, and the fiery female pair, he didn’t think they’d have any trouble with the remaining Grudges. And all the mewling human peasants had been evacuated. So now he could really cut loose!

Kyozan leaped as high as he could, straight up–and then, as if kicking off the air, he flickered away like a black-and-blue flame through the sky. As he lost speed his form reappeared some distance over the crowd, but now he fell at an angle towards that disgusting hive.

“Behold my wrath!” he said, followed by a maniacal, howling laughter. He raised one clenched fist, and an enormous ball of azure fire blossomed over his shoulder. As he fell, accelerated once more by gravity, the mass of spiritual power took the form of an enormous fist. “Rokusho-Ken!”

The disembodied limb, easily bigger than Kyozan himself, hurtled down at the black mass with incredible force…

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Umeda Park

With the Grudges that had been spilling out of the park (mostly) dealt with on their side and the bystanders promptly evacuated, the streets in front of the park were left far emptier. There were, of course, a few splatters of blood and the occasional injured (or deceased) lying upon the ground the further in they went, but for the most part the number of casualties did not seem particularly high.

If anything, that was the best that anyone could have hoped for in an unplanned outbreak like this. More problematic, though, might have been the absence of the group's boss in the wake of their initial cleanup; it was possible that he was elsewhere in the area—on the other side of the park, perhaps—but so long as he remained missing, there was nothing to be done beyond having faith in him to actually stay alive.

With that said, there was still a considerable number of Grudges between the entrance to the park and the blob that had been marked, which made the choice to dive straight towards the black mass rather risky in and of itself. Though Kyozan's attack had met it's mark, the mass seemed to deform under the pressure and spread itself out below instead of taking the hit outright. The inky darkness seemed to bleed onto the ground before a writhing mass of limbs stretched out from below to try and drag the rakshasa in, all the while beginning to reform off to the side.

@Raineh Daze@Rune_Alchemist@Zeroth

[SilverPaw]

Karin craned her head at Ayame once the youkai started complaining to get out of doing some actual work. If at first her look was unimpressed, she soon grew amused. “I hate inefficiency? Damn, you should be telling Sakura-sensei all about how organized I am…” she snorted, shaking her head. Not that she’d be visiting her former high school any time soon, but the comment struck her as too funny not to comment.

“And, do you seriously think I don’t know how much you can read for fun? Now stop being a lazy fox, and get to it,” she huffed. Thus, Karin did not provide a summary...but Fumi and Akio did. “She’d have figured it out,” Karin said with a roll of her eyes, but wasn’t too put off either. It did, in fact, get them on the way sooner, and she was kind of itching for some action, just a bit.

On the way out, Karin took her blunt-edged sword out of her workroom locker. Soon, she and Ayame, and Akio and Fumi were at the apartment building. It was eerily quiet, and at first glance, both the outside of the building and the interior seemed normal.

“I don’t like this,” Karin muttered, nervous tension running through her body. Was this designed to try and lull them into a false sense of security? Either they relaxed, and got jumped, or didn’t, and wasted energy being extra vigilant all the time, after which they’d be attacked the moment they lost focus or were too tired to keep it up. Exhaling slowly, the adolescent brought herself to a state somewhere in the middle; neither entirely casual, nor too keyed up.

@Vertigo@PKMNB0Y

[VitaVitaAR]

"Woooow, this place feels like death! It's super creepy, right?"

The cheery voice emanating from the blade sheathed at her side offered little encouragement.

It wasn't as if she didn't feel it, too. Her only immediate response to the spirit's irritating comments was a heavy sigh.

So this was the apartment they were supposed to clean up.

It didn't take someone with finely-tuned skills to feel it, even a simple awareness of the spiritual nature of a location would let you figure out just why this place was apparently filled up with grudges.

Just what prompted so much violence here? The murders were seemingly unconnected from the details they were given, and yet they'd all occurred under such strange circumstances in a single apartment complex.

Maybe it was just her own experiences influencing her opinions. But even if she hadn't learned about the murders, she'd have been able to feel just how dense this place was with negative spiritual presences.

But someone just moving in probably wouldn't feel a thing. Or maybe they'd feel something was off, but not enough to turn them away from moving in.

"It's not like I need you to tell me that, anyone with even cursory knowledge of spiritual presences should be able to pick up on this," Akira complained to the spirit within Hanamaru as she glanced around the pristine-seeming lobby, running her fingers lightly through her hair as she spoke, "I think you're right, Yatsujima-san. The building isn't the only thing that needs investigation."

"Oho~? You think the owner's shady huh? Why don't we just track him down afterwards and-"

"Please shut up."

At least that seemed to put a stop to the spirit's blathering for the moment, though she could practically hear her pouting. Whose idea even was it to bind the spirit of some obnoxious yokai to this sword? Who thought that was a good idea? Back when Hanamaru was forged, it had to be when it wasn't uncommon for yokai to be enemies of humanity.

It certainly felt like this spirit was among that number sometimes. But who would think that was a good idea?

Perhaps the spirit really was an ally of humanity. That didn't make her any less obnoxious.

One hand resting lightly on Hanamaru's hilt, Akira took a step forward, ahead of the others now.

"Let's go," she began, "The faster we clear them out, the less time they'll have to fester."

@PKMNB0Y@SilverPaw@Vertigo

[Rune_Alchemist]

Nyoko and Kaeru

@Raineh Daze@Zeroth@PKMNB0Y

---

Kaeru stifled a laughter as Kyozan plowed face first into the dirt. He really should be focused more on the matter at hand, but playing with the newcomers was always part of the fun of the jobs in and of itself. Still, they did indeed have a job to do. He'd put an arm around Nyoko's shoulders, rubbing her head with a grin.

"Alright, that's enough playing don't antagonize him too much." She'd respond with a purr, glancing towards the annoyed Rakasha who seemed to at least take the little prank a bit better then some had. Kaeru was right, after all, they did indeed have a job to do. The pair would move towards the black mass, now that most of the grudges had been dealt with and the area mostly secured and that left them to do their cleanup job.

They were both mildly worried about their boss, but there was little to be done until this had been resolved.

"Mhm Kaeru?"

"Oooooi! Big guy with the big strong muscles bigger than his brain!" Kaeru waved Kyozan over. "We can handle the little guys if you want to try and clean up that big blob thing." Truthfully, both of their skills were much better suited for taking care of large numbers of grudges rather than something huge like that. The pair would immediately set into action, with Kaeru engaging the Grudges with his martial arts and while Nyoko began another dance, focusing on once more hampering their movements for Kyozan to deal with the big blob and Kaeru to take out more Grudges.

[Raineh Daze]

Sato and Sato

The duo regrouped as Kyozan backed off from his attack. This was... hm, he seemed to be doing well? But now Kaeru had come in to clean up the small fries, with the Nekomata's usual ability to restrict the enemy reducing them to little more than sitting ducks, providing assistance against the source of this conflict was the better option. Something that would require a little more firepower than a strength-enhanced punch could provide.

If they could ever get that permit through... Suzume thought, spinning around and grasping her partner's wrist.

"Oh my~? Is now really the time and place?" the demon asked, exaggeratedly batting her eyelashes and grinning at the eye-roll she got in response.

"Can't think of a better one," she said, pulling Lily in closer. And then, in complete defiance of the fact they were surrounded by hostile grudges, or that they had a job to do, the two kissed. Not just a quick chaste kiss, either; it was passionate, the two getting intimately close... and then even closer and closer in the tight embrace, until it crossed the boundaries of physical possibility and the two were visibly merging, leaving what seemed to be only Suzume standing there--her bleached white, eyes an icy blue, and now sporting a very sharp pair of horns.

Because Resonance with a sex demon would of course involve public displays. At least it only went that far.

The freshly-combined Sato was... alluring. The enthrallment so carefully wielded earlier now had an almost physical force to it, demanding attention and obeisance, even of friends or allies, for a few brief seconds before it was forcibly quashed, her nearly autonomous ability consciously suppressed. But it would get Kyozan's attention, and she could use that.

"Get behind it, stop it from constantly running," she stated, Suzume obviously taking the lead in directing them--and then advancing towards the blob. She was pretty fast, but it was obvious that mobility wasn't her strong point at all, and it made sense to direct the diving demon to circle around.

As for why she expected the reforming blob to flee backwards, that was made clear when her foot came slamming down to the ground in a kick against... absolutely nothing. Not only did the ground of the park crack under the force, but a brief, high-roaring wave of fire fanned out in front of her. If it couldn't dodge left, and couldn't dodge right, it would be forced to retreat backwards into his grasp, right? Being amorphous didn't make you fireproof.

If it barbecued a few minor grudges on the way, so much the better.

[Zeroth]

Kyozan

Between a Fire and a Hard Demon...Wait no not like that--

---

“Hrm. So it’s one of those types that just squish when you try to flatten them…” Kyozan grumbled as he fell. Then the blob sent several tendrils careening towards him, and he snarled. The first one to lunge at him was sliced to pieces with one sweep of his claws, and he went into a spin through the air. The next tried to wrap around his waist, but was met with his iron grip then bitten in two–this time, he spat out the foul tasting substance. A third seemed less like an octopus tentacle and more like a mass of human hands growing more hands on the end of its fingers. This one Kyozan kicked away with a blow strong enough to burst it like a balloon–but he had no more leverage in the air, and the tendrils were all around him now. One wrapped his ankle and pulled him back through all the twists and turns it had made, only in reverse, before slamming him into the earth near the reformed hive. The others lashed to him–his wrists, his knee, and one managed to get around his torso like a shoulder strap. But still the Rakshasha’s sheer muscle kept him upright as he roared his defiance.

A surge of spiritual energy seemed to distract literally every being in the park for an instant. Kyozan stopped wrestling at the same time the giant grudge-mother stopped trying to strangle him, and he looked at the rather voluptuous “new” ally that had appeared. This was the Resonance technique that had replaced the old school of Familiar Contracts? Was it always so…tantric, in nature? Not that he minded that idea, necessarily…

Sato-squared told him to keep the giant blob from running away, and he started to ask what was going to make it run, if it hadn’t already fled from the mere sight of himself? But when the fused woman released her flames, he saw through the strategy to cut off its movement.

And sure enough, when the writhing creature tried to get away from those encroaching flames…it would find itself anchored to the spot by a tall demon, pulling on its tendrils with every muscle in his huge body as taut as piano wire. Veins and sinew bulged beneath Kyozan’s skin as he cackled.

“What’s the matter, coward?! Got yourself caught when you tried so hard to catch me!?” He let out a warcry, and twisted with all his might. His feet cracked craters as he sank into the earth under all the weight, but he dragged the Grudge Hive right back into the heart of the flames. Kyozan closed his eyes and concentrated…

---

Mika

Prep Phase

---

”It only deforms against blunt attacks! Can you cut it from a distance?!”

Mika opened her eyes as she nodded. Her partner would feel her affirmation even if they couldn’t see each other. Still watching the laptop screen for any changes, she flipped open her bag and drew out a standard sized notebook and a calligraphy pen. As she gathered energy, the notebook floated open in front of her and its pages began to flutter as if turned by the breeze.

“Keep fighting, Kyo-chan! Something that can travel over that distance will take me a bit!” She whipped her pen across the pages, the pink tip of her tongue poking out as she concentrated. Whenever she completed a sigil, she placed her hand on the paper sheet. It separated itself from the booklet, and began to orbit around her. One sheet at a time, she began to build something that seemed like…a paper airplane? But it was more like paper-mache than a single folded sheet from a notebook. Its shape, too, began to resemble something like a stealth bomber–a continuous straight edge in a V shape over its nose and wings…

“Kamigetsu-Ou!” She recited, pen and hands still working in tandem. “Great Sparrow Sword…”

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Akio and Fumi

Empty(?) Apartment Complex

For the most part, the duo of Attuned were fairly silent as the others made their quips about the state of the building. With one hand over his sword, though, Akio continued to lead the way forward through the lobby. When nothing seemed particularly inclined to attempt to leap out at them, though, the young man let out a stifled sigh.

"...There's a reason I don't play horror games..." he sighed before walking towards the nearby staff room and pulling on the handle of the door. "...Locked."

There was a pause, though as the sight of something black seeping through the cracks in the door caused him to immediately take a step back and draw his sword.

"Guess whatever's here figured out what we're here to do," Akio remarked as the viscous liquid seeping through seemed to spread around to cover more of the door. A quick glance towards the entrance and windows showed that more of the same was beginning to appear there, too, which meant that whatever was causing this was well aware of their presence now and didn't want them to leave.

Not that they were planning to, though.

"Fun. All the better for us if it's not going to try and hide, though," Fumi remarked as she and Akio backed up, her weapon at the ready as a dull 'bang' seemed to resonate from past the door. Covered as it was, though, neither of the pair could really see what had caused the noise. Then another.

And another.

The ever-escalating frequency finally reached a fever pitch, though, as the door seemed to blow off of it's hinges, releasing a torrent of what seemed to be black hair and armlike appendages towards the group, all of them grasping towards whatever was nearby.

"Yep, that's certainly par for the course!" Fumi shouted, leaping to the side as she slashed out at the oncoming mass of... Whatever this was. Hopefully, the others would be able to dodge in time.

@VitaVitaAR@SilverPaw@Vertigo

---

Umeda Park

Though it had managed to catch the one who had charged into it, the Grudge in question had found itself equally anchored... For better or worse. With a giant torrent of flames fast approaching, the amorphous blob did indeed attempt to struggle to retreat—but with that option all but removed, all it could do was let out an unearthly howl that seemed to shake the very earth they were standing upon as it was lit aflame. The mass that it had allowed to spread onto the ground quickly retreated backwards, shoring up the creature's size as it seemed to recoil in pain... Assuming they could feel pain, of course. This had the side effect, though, of releasing Kyozan from it's grasp and allowing the rakshasa free movement once more.

Once the flames had subsided, though, the Grudge seemed to begin to bubble, if but for a moment, before attempting to simply envelop the nearby youkai in an attempt to consume it. It had shrank from what it had been before, if only somewhat, but what was left was still more than enough to at least attempt such a feat.

At the same time, though, the sight of the Grudges that had not yet been immobilized by the nekomata and her partner beginning to recoverge towards meant that something else was afoot; maybe the monster was a hive mind and seeked to protect itself instead of expanding further?

@Raineh Daze@Rune_Alchemist@Zeroth

[VitaVitaAR]

"Figures," Akira commented with a frown, when Akio tried the door only to discover it was locked. Had the owner of the apartment actively attempted to make it more difficult for them to conduct their extermination, or had this been done by the grudges? Or was it an effort to keep something inside that hadn't been thought through?

The deceptively boyish young lady's thoughts were interrupted when she noticed inky darkness oozing out from around the frame of the door, looking almost like strands of hair.

"Akiraaaa, there's something really nasty beyond that door...!"

"I don't need you to tell me that!" she hissed at the spirit as her grip tightened on Hanamaru's hilt. With each thud on the door that followed, her body tensed just a little more. She narrowed her senses, focusing entirely on the very moment the door would open. Her left foot slid slowly back as she lowered her stance, eyes fixed firmly on the rattling door.

And then it exploded off of its hinges. Greasy black hair pooled on the floor, like pools of oil, as gangly pale limbs exploded through the air and lashed out towards the assembled attuned.

In the very same instant, Akira leaped back. In the very same motion, Hanamaru left its sheath, a sliver of moonlight cleaving through the air.

Then she landed two meters back.

Alongside her fell one of the pale limbs, trailing almost-black blood before hitting the ground, twitching and writhing. Drawing her blade and swinging in the same motion was practiced technique, one she had done plenty of times before. And this opponent was not trying to protect itself in the least.

Akira had known her strike would be successful the moment the door had been torn from its hinges.

"Blech, cutting through that felt awful!" came the spirit's voice with a loud complaint.

"Oh, please!" responded Akira, irritated as she sized up the grudge. Its form, or at least what could be seen of it, was a mass of vaguely feminine pale arms, surrounded by enormous amounts of stringy, greasy black hair. All of it looked slightly damp, and each of the hands sported chipped and cracked nails, some entirely uprooted.

"Don't tell me this sword hasn't cut plenty of grudges since you decided to possess it, this isn't even the first one I've faced since I started wielding it!" she continued in frustration. There were no obvious points of attack aside from the limbs.

"That doesn't mean I like it!"

Another limb lashed out towards her.

If that was how it was, then she'd have to start cutting. They all would.

This time she swung the blade upwards from a low stance, advancing in the very same moment. She caught the hand between the middle finger and the ring finger and parted it neatly up the middle until she reached the elbow, splattering black ichor to the ground.

@PKMNB0Y@Silverpaw@Vertigo

[Rune_Alchemist]

Nyoko and Kaeru

@Raineh Daze@Zeroth@PKMNB0Y

---

Kaeru's foot slammed itself into the 'face' of a grudge, the young boy following through with a forward movement and delivering a strong jab right into its mid section. The shadowy creature fell to its knees, just as a second came up and made a futile attempt to swipe at Kaeru. His martial arts might nowhere be near the level to do anything superhuman really, or fancy, but this level? Well, he could certainly manage. He caught the grudge's wrist, hooking it under his armpit. He grabbed it, sinking fingers into its shadowy flesh and slamming it into the ground.

"Aaha, what's the matter, I expected more!" A swift dodge to the left, a retaliating punch to the creatures midsection. As long as they were focused on him and slowed by Kaeru, this would be easy. Almost disappointingly easy, really. It was a shame then...they had decided to throw their attention elsewhere.

"Eh? What gives? You guys all running from cute little 'ol me?" He'd laugh, though his eyes narrowed at the figures as they instead, decided to run towards the blob, spurned on by Sato's flames and the Youkai anchoring it.

"...Kaeru." Nyoko had stopped her dancing. Slowing the grudges were only going to get them so far. "I think...it wants to absorb them?"

"Geh, guess I shouldn't be surprised this freak of nature wants to absorb more freaks of nature..." He was hoping to save his own resonance for later, but someone probably should help the newbie. "Nyoko, slowing them down won't work! Lets get something a little more...pointy!

"Mhm, on it." Nyoko clapped her hands, a resounding clap echoing through the area as she'd begin another dance. Vigorous aggressive movements. From Mai, to Odori, she'd leap, spin and another clap, and as her hands parted, a large skeletal creature crawled its way out of the ground below, looking something akin to an old, large samurai wearing traditional armor, broken and rotten in some areas, but with a blade as sharp and gleaming as any masterwork. With an exhale and a downward movement of her arm, the undead warrior sliced its blade into the shadowy blobs flesh where it was trying to envelop Kyozan.

This, though, had the effect of releasing the hold the lesser spirits had on the grudges still about, but Kaeru was still working to thin the herd as he could.