FujiwaraPhoenix

Echoes of a Moonless Night

Icelit Office — Morning

Akio and Fumi

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

Echoes of a Moonless Night

Icelit Office — Morning

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..."

Echoes of a Moonless Night

@RolePlayerRoxas: Accepted.

@VitaVitaAR: Also accepted.

Echoes of a Moonless Night

@Zeroth: Little of column A, little of column B. The early should be more mission-centric, but plot threads should tie together and form arcs here and there.

While I'm here, though...

@Vertigo@SilverPaw: How goes form generation? Obviously, we're a little ways off starting, but it'd be nice to check in to make sure things are going all right there.

Echoes of a Moonless Night

@Zeroth: Yeah, I'd say both are fine now. Accepted.

Echoes of a Moonless Night

@VitaVitaAR: Right, looking things over... Think the character is mostly fine? Assuming that the starting power level is about on par with the rest of the cast, at least. So long as that approximate level is maintained for the moment, vampy accepted.

Echoes of a Moonless Night

@Zeroth: Once more unto the breach!

Mika first.

• Re: Personality stuff (again):
  I feel like the way she probes people out should have been explained better in the form in this case. Her outward-facing mannerisms make sense when presented in this context, but at a glance they didn't really read as such.
  Next point: I feel like if you want to have information hidden from the rest of the cast in a character, you contact the GM and discuss matters privately. A form (as I see it) is a third-person omniscient 'summary' of a character that other people (not just the GM) should have access to in order to understand the character, which means that you want to have most of the cards you want to play on the table when putting it up, so to speak. If it IS public knowledge, though, I think that it's reasonable to expect players to not metagame and know information that shouldn't explicitly be "public knowledge" in-universe.
  Third part loops back to the first; it's a lot easier to make sense of things (and leave other traits to be developed further) if that first part is made clearer.
• Honestly, names to differentiate them from the "standard" would be better in my opinion. You don't need to denote a barrier as something part of a "barrier style"; it's a barrier, and reiterating that fact would be redundant.
• I think that onmyoji would generally grow by either expanding those reserves or becoming more efficient in it's usage, yeah, but that's a bit of a smaller point to make here. Translating magical energy into ether is probably fine, though, given how traditionally onmyoji would have shikigami (like, the non-paper familiar types) anyways, so that's probably an okay route to go down.

Re: Kyozan:

• Levitation and airdashing is probably fine, but I'd definitely try to lean more into the 'skill/speed' over 'strength' relative to one another as a means of differentiation. Arrogance explanation is fine, though.
• Both are problems here. A relative timeframe as to how long he lived would make it easier to judge, but hitting that cap in the assumed timeframe definitely gets you noticed.
  With regards to the Big Three and a bit more quantification: I'm obviously using Shuten-Douji as a point of reference towards Kyozan specifically, and in-universe he would've had the capability to, say, cleave giant holes in the land with a single swing sort of deal, or bash through fortifications without worry—that sort of power, more or less. A canyon by the end of the fight, especially if it was large enough to be called a canyon in the first place would definitely place you on that level of power imo.
  An acceptable level of power, though... If we're talking late Heian Japan? Probably sacked a few cities on his own. Mass murder, destruction, the works. Maybe even took out a small army or something in the process; something like that.
• Regarding age: I'm using given age as a frame of reference. The closer we are to a proper number, the easier it is for me to gauge how strong or weak a youkai would/should be. Again, with 1000 years being late Heian Japan and the age being listed as 1000, things didn't exactly line up as well. The bigger problem in this isn't that he was sealed for all that time, but how strong he managed to get BEFORE being sealed... Which, like, we're sorta resolving anyways?
  I had initially mentioned the age not to argue the point that being older would make him stronger, but that he was way stronger than he should have been before being sealed. With the 150-year active lifespan as a point of reference (and a good chunk of that on the run from India all the way through China and into Japan, which sorta limits how much of a bloody trail he can afford to leave behind), he definitely had a higher floor than most of the cast (in his initial iteration, at least).
• Re: Motivations: I think it works better, but again, need that in the history section. Wasn't present in the initial draft. Also probably more elaboration as to why things changed, but that can be done fairly easily with this in mind.

Uh... Yeah, think that's about it on my end.

Echoes of a Moonless Night

@Zeroth: Right, form by form then.

Re: Mika:

• This bit:

  Though she’s petite, she’s also filled out rather nicely–and she knows it.

  Could probably be phrased a bit better. Yeah, that's how I'll put that. Could be phrased better.
• Personality seems like it clashes with itself. A girl who tends towards teasing while also shouldering the burden of a clan's livelihood on her shoulders doesn't quite add up; if her wish is to raise it back up, you'd sort of expect her façade to reflect that to some extent, right? A personality more in line with that of a gyaru's would reflect similarly, and in this SPECIFIC case where first impressions matter a lot, letting that "true self" bleed through in either direction (at least for starters) doesn't make much sense to me. In my eyes, the character needs to pick a direction and commit to it. That sorta applies to the whole form, honestly; pick a direction and stick with it instead of going 50/50.
• Onmyodo technique names: I humbly request you reconsider how these are named. For example, "Kekkai no Jutsu" literally translates to "Technique of Barriers"　or "Barrier Technique" (or, if you're really stretching it, Barrier Style or something like that). This is very much a 'me' problem in this context, but, like... Yeah. I'll just leave it at that.
  As for the actual usage of onmyodo... See, logically onmyoji and all that stuff should exist in the world, but in my head Attunement had only really started to come into being around the late Heian in Japan—so, like, around the events of the Genpei War, more or less. Onmyodo as a technique would likely be a line of techniques derived from using ether, and so would not require a Contract to use to begin with. Of course, not all humans should be able to use those techniques to begin with; maybe it'd be apt to call it a certain 'type' of ether that can be manipulated without outside interference only in certain individuals? That's probably the best way to explain it.
• Backstory... Hm. See, with the knowledge of how onmyodo should be, the story only half holds up... And, well, not just that, but also sort of doesn't match the personality (or, well, in my view, personalities) given?
  On one hand, we have the personality, which is (in my opinion) a clash of two personality types that don't make sense without context. On the other, we have the actual backstory, which... Is way more traumatic than I'd expect given the character's personality. You don't just recover from being backstabbed and seeing all your friends and family killed, much less to the point where you'd be able to tease and crack jokes with other people and be so open with them. You know, after a betrayal after doing exactly that?
  It just... Doesn't make sense. Then you have the other half of the personality to compare to: a desire to 'rebuild' and 'recover' the prestige of a clan. On the initial read, I assumed this to mean that they were 'in decline', not 'wiped out'. The former would make a lot more sense, especially in matters where pride and public perception are involved, but... That isn't really applicable in this context. You have a backstory that seeks vengeance after a devastating betrayal and a personality that makes it seem like the weight of her family rests on her shoulders AND an open enough personality to be affable with everyone, but... These three cannot all coexist within the same character.

Re: Kyozan:

• Uh... A 1000+ year old rakshasa? Let's start putting things into perspective.
  First, rakshasa bit. What bugs me more than anything with this section is that they're literally just described as 'oni, but better', which... Feels super off-putting to me? There are probably better ways to address the differences in this context without just going that route.
  And besides, it's not as if oni can't do all the things you say they can't. Oni who are smart, who can use magic, who can use more than just weapons of brute force... They existed and continue to exist in-universe. There's no reason they wouldn't, given the multitude of myths that state they can do just that. Being the traditional (and stereotypical) norm isn't quite right in the context of this world and the way it has developed, honestly speaking.
  Now, the age. '1000 years ago' translated into a more apparent year is approximately 1000AD (duh), which places us right around when Heian-era Japan was starting to decline. Now, a thousand years is a damn long time, obviously, but if we use that and reference a bit later in the form:

  Being sealed for hundreds of years by the Aomori Clan

  things get a bit weird. Now, while this does put us at the start of Attunement within Japan (relatively speaking), relationships between human and youkai would have still been pretty poor for at least a few decades (if not centuries) more. Where am I going with this?
  Well, as stated in the OP, a lot of ether's needed for a youkai to really start ramping up in power. That's a lot of kills. Racking up that amount of kills in that timeframe (as you put 1000+ and not, say, 1100+, I'm estimating it to be sub-100 years of chaos) solo is insane and rather unfeasible unless he really went ham murdering people... Which, again, paints a much bigger target on his back and probably has him approaching, like, famous named youkai status—doubly so if the battle left a canyon in it's wake. If he's older than 1000, though, even if by a factor of 100-200 years, that definitely puts him on Big Three level, which... Yeah, no, I'm not allowing that, even if they are depowered to some extent.
• Backstory. I get... Like, nothing reasonable here. Why was he sealed? Why does he have affection for the people who sealed him away? We get the destruction of the seal and the temple, but no meaningful reason behind the actions that he takes afterwards. A throwaway line about a promise or a vague allusion to watching generation upon generation of humans coming and going isn't enough to justify any of what I just mentioned. I don't have a clue as to why he was as strong as he was, or why he was designated to be hunted, or even why he took any of the actions that he did after popping out of the seal. I can assume, yes, but that assumption alone isn't enough to let me give the okay here. This is also assuming that the battle you allude to at the end of this section did not result in a complete rout, because if it did, there wouldn't be any 'vengeance' motivation in play for Mika.

That should sum up most of my thoughts on the forms.

Echoes of a Moonless Night

Human

Name: Yatsujima Akio
Age: 18
Appearance: "Let's finish this."
At an above-average 176cm, Akio doesn't really stand out from his peers at a glance. More often than not, it's the fight wounds that cause him to stick out like a sore thumb; hard to cover up bloodstained clothing and bruises from fighting, after all.
Personality: Stubborn at heart, Akio is the type of person who refuses to back down in the face of danger. Regardless of how many times he is beaten down, he rises again and again to face what is in front of him until his body physically cannot support him in doing so. This is not to say that he is persistent to the point of being suicidal, though; so long as he feels that there is a chance of victory, he will not give up. That persistence does not only apply to fights, of course; when given a line of action or a promise to keep, Akio will hold to it until the job is done, regardless of the toll it might take upon him.
That being said, he can be a bit blunt at times and often wears his heart on his sleeve—a combination that has led to him getting into more than a bit of trouble with those more inclined to solving problems with than him. With that said, Akio is the type of person more inclined to fight for the sake of others and not his own. It just so happens that all of these things bundled together often leads to his mislabeling as a delinquent in his own right.
Abilities: Beyond the parameter boosts that his Contract bestows him? Nothing of note.
Skills: Akio is fairly proficient at swordplay—a talent which would not have been cultivated had Fumi not decided to train him on a whim. Coupled with the ability to 'read' the flow of a battlefield and his own nature as a person, though, and Akio is a force to be reckoned with.
Equipment: The only real thing of note is the katana he wields in combat. Though it is a normal katana forged with modern methods, the magical energy that flows into it from Fumi means that it is rather durable compared to an unaugmented blade of the same make.
History: Growing up in a fairly unassuming middle-class family, Akio lived his life fairly free of problems for most of his early childhood. The young child had spent his formative years as many a child would—reading manga, playing video games, and slacking off between classes—and as he entered his final year of middle school, he had assumed things would remain much the same.
They did not.
A freak incident at his school had led to a Grudge wreaking havoc on the building and it's surroundings—to say nothing of the other students and staff there. Though he had come out of the mess uninjured, the barely-too-late arrival of emergency forces to settle the incident coupled with what he had seen had left a deep impression on the boy. Counseling was a given, but given how there were children who seemed to be more shaken than him about the incident, the young Akio was left to the side in favor of the people who needed it more.
High school, then, began no better. News of the incident had long since made the rounds around the city, and a gang of delinquents thought it funny to press-gang a few of the incoming students more shaken up by that gruesome past into "helping them out", as it were. Stepping in, though, only served to put him on the receiving end of a rather unceremonious beatdown.
Time and time again, the young Akio would try and step in, only for the routine brawl to break out to try and put him in his place. Eventually, though, Akio began to be able to fight back rather than be placed permanently on the back foot. One or two people being knocked out of the fight was a great improvement from none, of course, but against the overwhelming odds he pitted himself against, even that much could be considered progress.
It was at this point, though, that one of his senpai—a tengu by the name of Takenohara Fumi—stepped in and offered to teach him. Akio had blown her off at first, of course; this was his problem now, and getting other people wrapped up in them was the last thing he wanted to do. But the tengu replied in turn; this was not an offer made of pity, but of honest belief—belief that was rather absent, given his apparent reputation as the local punching bag (that was occasionally fighting back). She wouldn't help him fight herself, of course, but being taught how to fight was different from that, no?
And so the lessons began. Compared to leaving bruised and battered and possibly with a lighter wallet than when he had left, training with Fumi was far more palatable—even if that training left him feeling far worse for wear afterwards. Learning how to use a sword was incredibly straightforward to him, who had only ever picked up a makeshift weapon in those brawls to try and defend himself with, and the constant drills and training exercises had left his body in a far better shape to fight in than before.
Three months had come and gone in the blink of an eye, and Akio soon found himself in yet another brawl with those same delinquents, who at this point had moved on from their initial scheme and only wished to pick a fight with the plucky idiot that served as their stress relief. This time around, though, Akio came armed with a bokuto and experience in fighting beyond that of the simple street fights his opponents were armed with.
Unlike the last fight he had been involved in, Akio came out of this one on top. Against all odds, the young man, though bruised and battered as ever, had left all of the delinquents lying at his feet this time around. If that had been the end of it, all would have been well. If only.
With their pride wounded, the delinquents (after licking their wounds) came back—this time, armed with a few more weapons and a bit more wariness about them. Though Akio had won the second engagement, the tighter margin by which he had done so had left him with a bad premonition. And so he returned to Fumi once more, earnestly asking the upperclassman if she could help continue training him. She obliged.
Fights had become the norm for Akio by this point, and despite what the adults in his life were trying to do to get him to stop, getting wrapped up in brawl after brawl seemed almost inevitable. Juggling academics, training, and fighting was tiring, of course, but it wasn't like he had much of a say in the matter. Though the delinquents that he had first dealt with were no longer a threat, rumors of his purported strength meant that others were coming to look for him, too.
And so went Akio's first year of high school. By this point, though, the young man had set his sights on something more than simply shutting up the people picking fights with him—no, with this sort of power in hand, he could do something meaningful about the Grudges that continued to pop up across the city. An influx in recent years had not slipped past his attention, of course, but the young man was always left wary after what had happened a few years prior, and if he could help resolve or even prevent another incident like that from happening, then there was no reason not to try.
The only matter on that front that remained to be settled, though, was the matter of being Attuned. Using a Weapon had crossed his mind, of course, but the price of one was no small thing; it made much more sense to simply seek a Contract...
And who better to ask than the youkai who had set this whole thing into motion?
His earnest request on the day of Fumi's graduation was met with a conditional 'yes'—so long as he could show growth in mind and body without her, she would consider it. Given everything that he had gone through, though, Akio took this to mean 'handling the delinquent problem once and for all while also keeping up with his studies'. But with a goal in mind, the young man had no reason to shy away from that challenge now; after all, if he couldn't handle such a thing, what good would he be against Grudges?
Two years and a new reputation as a fighter (and a bunch of people who had decided to tag along for their own reasons taking up his mantle as a vigilante peacekeeping group) later, Akio once again returned to Fumi to ask her to form a Contract with him. Though the results were not exactly what she had envisioned, the tengu had no real reason to decline.
Other: Has a little sister who really doesn't care much for the incidental reputation her brother has gained over the last few years. With their father working overseas and mother in a different city, though, the two siblings are surprisingly close despite their apparent butting heads half the time.

Youkai

Name: Takenohara Fumi
Race: Tengu
Age: 20
Appearance: "You know, I don't actually mind wearing this. Bit too outdated for my liking, though."
With a height of 165cm, Fumi is by no means a physical anomaly, and if she chooses to hide her wings, blending into a crowd as a human is quite a simple feat for her.
Personality: At heart, Fumi is a bit of a capricious person; though her dedication towards a task or topic when given direction is admirable in it's own right, the tengu only truly shines when her interest is piqued. Ordinarily, though, Fumi is somewhat lax, placing in just enough effort into things to not stand out. Fueled by her desire to fulfill the 'obligations' levied upon her by her family and surroundings, the young tengu's lack of grander aspirations left her with just enough motivation to live life as it came. Though her skills might not stand out, the results that she puts forth are good enough to leave her unperturbed. When it comes to things that interest her, though, Fumi's focus seems to spike. Placing her usual demeanor to the side, Fumi quickly places her entire self—body, mind, and soul—towards whatever goal she has set for herself.
Aside from that, the young tengu is rather affable—a skill gained from having to help out at her family business growing up—and willing to lend aid to those who ask—and, when the mood strikes her, to those who don't. Whether or not that is a good thing is up for debate.
Abilities: As might be obvious given her wings, Fumi (like most tengu) is able to fly in the sky. She is also rather quick, regardless of if she is on the ground or in the sky. That speed is more suited for sprints than marathons, though; she can quickly close in on a target or retreat from them easily enough, but moving large distances or extended fights can easily burn her out if she isn't managing herself carefully.
Skills: Beyond knowledge of military tactics and strategy drilled into her from a young age, Fumi is also quite adept at using arms of war. Her preferred weapon is a naginata, of course, but she is knowledgeable enough at other forms of armed combat to at least be 'passable' when it comes to using anything else.
Aside from proficiency in combat, Fumi is also a fairly decent chef, if only by dint of having to help her parents out at their restaurant every now and again.
History: As a youkai born in the 'modern era', Fumi never had anything too far off from what people might call a 'normal' time growing up. Born in an era of peace (unlike her predecessors from the last few centuries), the young tengu had little need for the principles of war and combat that were drilled into her from a young age. "As descendants of the tengu of Mt. Kurama, such studies are to be expected", or so she was told, and so every day after classes the young girl would return home to study how to fight—from small-scale conflicts to grand battles, nothing was left untouched. Fumi, of course, felt she had no real reason to learn such things; she had no desire to throw her life away in service of some nebulous goal, and aspirations for power were the furthest thing from her mind; a life of peace and quiet was more than enough for her.
It was about then, though, that Fumi met Yatsujima Akio, a young man who seemed a bit too gung-ho for his own good. Her underclassman by two years, Akio found himself getting wrapped up in one mess after another with the local delinquents, which would inevitably result in him getting a thrashing and being left bloodied and beaten somewhere nearby after school. Even so, the tengu was left curious about her kouhai—doubly so given the frequency of his purported fights—and eventually chose to watch one of those street brawls from the shadows.
Ultimately though, Akio left sprawled out on the floor, bruised and battered—as was the norm whenever she happened to catch a glimpse of the young man in the hallways—but what was more intriguing was the fact that he had actually managed to take down a few of the delinquents in the process. Against such overwhelming odds, to find this sort of success...
Maybe it was something in her bloodline that had flipped a switch, but Fumi found herself wanting to see him succeed—and to that end, teaching Akio a bit more about the art of warfare and fighting seemed like the best way to do so. After all, all those lessons had to be useful for something, right?
So teach him she did. The young man was a bit reluctant at first, not wanting to get someone else involved in his 'problems' on a whim, but Fumi's reasoning and logic ultimately prevailed. Thus began the most entertaining days of her high school life—constant training and putting her learned theory towards more practical applications. It helped, of course, that Akio took to her lessons in kenjutsu like a fish to water, and her drive to help him spurred her own studies onwards. The only thing that remained to be seen, though, was how well those lessons would translate to combat proper.
Three months of unfettered training later, and Akio once again took to the battlefield—this time, with a new bokuto in hand—and Fumi, as before, watched from the sidelines. Compared to the wild and chaotic fistfights he had against the delinquents before, the Akio now seemed to be able to strike down his foes without getting swept up by their flow. And so when he emerged victories, with only a few injuries on him...
Well, it was hard for either of them to call that anything but a win.
Of course, that was only the beginning; the delinquents, with their pride wounded, would inevitably end up trying to strike back at Akio time and time again. Fumi had never actually dug into the reasons why he had gone so far in the first place, but seeing as how he continued to request for her aid in training and practice, she count only assume the constant assaults were at fault.
And so went Fumi's last year in high school; eventful as it was, the young woman could only hope the lessons she had imparted onto the boy would allow him to eventually settle the matter once and for all. But fate, it seemed, had other plans in store. On the day of her graduation, Akio had pulled the tengu aside and asked if, after he graduated, they could form a Contract. The young man had other motives beyond just revenge, it seemed—Grudges seemed to be the reason behind his recklessness. Given that she had seen his growth firsthand, Fumi agreed, though only on the condition that he didn't slack off in his training or his studies.
What she didn't expect was that Akio would take that matter quite as seriously as he did. And so, two years later, the tengu kept true to her promise and applied to a new Grudge-hunting startup—Icelit, it was called—as a pair of Attuned.
Other: Her family owns a somewhat popular izakaya within the city.

Echoes of a Moonless Night

@RolePlayerRoxas: Skellington fine. Accepted.

I suppose it's time for me to toss up my own pair then, huh?

Human

Name: Yatsujima Akio
Age: 18
Appearance: "Let's finish this."
At an above-average 176cm, Akio doesn't really stand out from his peers at a glance. More often than not, it's the fight wounds that cause him to stick out like a sore thumb; hard to cover up bloodstained clothing and bruises from fighting, after all.
Personality: Stubborn at heart, Akio is the type of person who refuses to back down in the face of danger. Regardless of how many times he is beaten down, he rises again and again to face what is in front of him until his body physically cannot support him in doing so. This is not to say that he is persistent to the point of being suicidal, though; so long as he feels that there is a chance of victory, he will not give up. That persistence does not only apply to fights, of course; when given a line of action or a promise to keep, Akio will hold to it until the job is done, regardless of the toll it might take upon him.
That being said, he can be a bit blunt at times and often wears his heart on his sleeve—a combination that has led to him getting into more than a bit of trouble with those more inclined to solving problems with than him. With that said, Akio is the type of person more inclined to fight for the sake of others and not his own. It just so happens that all of these things bundled together often leads to his mislabeling as a delinquent in his own right.
Abilities: Beyond the parameter boosts that his Contract bestows him? Nothing of note.
Skills: Akio is fairly proficient at swordplay—a talent which would not have been cultivated had Fumi not decided to train him on a whim. Coupled with the ability to 'read' the flow of a battlefield and his own nature as a person, though, and Akio is a force to be reckoned with.
Equipment: The only real thing of note is the katana he wields in combat. Though it is a normal katana forged with modern methods, the magical energy that flows into it from Fumi means that it is rather durable compared to an unaugmented blade of the same make.
History: Growing up in a fairly unassuming middle-class family, Akio lived his life fairly free of problems for most of his early childhood. The young child had spent his formative years as many a child would—reading manga, playing video games, and slacking off between classes—and as he entered his final year of middle school, he had assumed things would remain much the same.
They did not.
A freak incident at his school had led to a Grudge wreaking havoc on the building and it's surroundings—to say nothing of the other students and staff there. Though he had come out of the mess uninjured, the barely-too-late arrival of emergency forces to settle the incident coupled with what he had seen had left a deep impression on the boy. Counseling was a given, but given how there were children who seemed to be more shaken than him about the incident, the young Akio was left to the side in favor of the people who needed it more.
High school, then, began no better. News of the incident had long since made the rounds around the city, and a gang of delinquents thought it funny to press-gang a few of the incoming students more shaken up by that gruesome past into "helping them out", as it were. Stepping in, though, only served to put him on the receiving end of a rather unceremonious beatdown.
Time and time again, the young Akio would try and step in, only for the routine brawl to break out to try and put him in his place. Eventually, though, Akio began to be able to fight back rather than be placed permanently on the back foot. One or two people being knocked out of the fight was a great improvement from none, of course, but against the overwhelming odds he pitted himself against, even that much could be considered progress.
It was at this point, though, that one of his senpai—a tengu by the name of Takenohara Fumi—stepped in and offered to teach him. Akio had blown her off at first, of course; this was his problem now, and getting other people wrapped up in them was the last thing he wanted to do. But the tengu replied in turn; this was not an offer made of pity, but of honest belief—belief that was rather absent, given his apparent reputation as the local punching bag (that was occasionally fighting back). She wouldn't help him fight herself, of course, but being taught how to fight was different from that, no?
And so the lessons began. Compared to leaving bruised and battered and possibly with a lighter wallet than when he had left, training with Fumi was far more palatable—even if that training left him feeling far worse for wear afterwards. Learning how to use a sword was incredibly straightforward to him, who had only ever picked up a makeshift weapon in those brawls to try and defend himself with, and the constant drills and training exercises had left his body in a far better shape to fight in than before.
Three months had come and gone in the blink of an eye, and Akio soon found himself in yet another brawl with those same delinquents, who at this point had moved on from their initial scheme and only wished to pick a fight with the plucky idiot that served as their stress relief. This time around, though, Akio came armed with a bokuto and experience in fighting beyond that of the simple street fights his opponents were armed with.
Unlike the last fight he had been involved in, Akio came out of this one on top. Against all odds, the young man, though bruised and battered as ever, had left all of the delinquents lying at his feet this time around. If that had been the end of it, all would have been well. If only.
With their pride wounded, the delinquents (after licking their wounds) came back—this time, armed with a few more weapons and a bit more wariness about them. Though Akio had won the second engagement, the tighter margin by which he had done so had left him with a bad premonition. And so he returned to Fumi once more, earnestly asking the upperclassman if she could help continue training him. She obliged.
Fights had become the norm for Akio by this point, and despite what the adults in his life were trying to do to get him to stop, getting wrapped up in brawl after brawl seemed almost inevitable. Juggling academics, training, and fighting was tiring, of course, but it wasn't like he had much of a say in the matter. Though the delinquents that he had first dealt with were no longer a threat, rumors of his purported strength meant that others were coming to look for him, too.
And so went Akio's first year of high school. By this point, though, the young man had set his sights on something more than simply shutting up the people picking fights with him—no, with this sort of power in hand, he could do something meaningful about the Grudges that continued to pop up across the city. An influx in recent years had not slipped past his attention, of course, but the young man was always left wary after what had happened a few years prior, and if he could help resolve or even prevent another incident like that from happening, then there was no reason not to try.
The only matter on that front that remained to be settled, though, was the matter of being Attuned. Using a Weapon had crossed his mind, of course, but the price of one was no small thing; it made much more sense to simply seek a Contract...
And who better to ask than the youkai who had set this whole thing into motion?
His earnest request on the day of Fumi's graduation was met with a conditional 'yes'—so long as he could show growth in mind and body without her, she would consider it. Given everything that he had gone through, though, Akio took this to mean 'handling the delinquent problem once and for all while also keeping up with his studies'. But with a goal in mind, the young man had no reason to shy away from that challenge now; after all, if he couldn't handle such a thing, what good would he be against Grudges?
Two years and a new reputation as a fighter (and a bunch of people who had decided to tag along for their own reasons taking up his mantle as a vigilante peacekeeping group) later, Akio once again returned to Fumi to ask her to form a Contract with him. Though the results were not exactly what she had envisioned, the tengu had no real reason to decline.
Other: Has a little sister who really doesn't care much for the incidental reputation her brother has gained over the last few years. With their father working overseas and mother in a different city, though, the two siblings are surprisingly close despite their apparent butting heads half the time.

Youkai

Name: Takenohara Fumi
Race: Tengu
Age: 20
Appearance: "You know, I don't actually mind wearing this. Bit too outdated for my liking, though."
With a height of 165cm, Fumi is by no means a physical anomaly, and if she chooses to hide her wings, blending into a crowd as a human is quite a simple feat for her.
Personality: At heart, Fumi is a bit of a capricious person; though her dedication towards a task or topic when given direction is admirable in it's own right, the tengu only truly shines when her interest is piqued. Ordinarily, though, Fumi is somewhat lax, placing in just enough effort into things to not stand out. Fueled by her desire to fulfill the 'obligations' levied upon her by her family and surroundings, the young tengu's lack of grander aspirations left her with just enough motivation to live life as it came. Though her skills might not stand out, the results that she puts forth are good enough to leave her unperturbed. When it comes to things that interest her, though, Fumi's focus seems to spike. Placing her usual demeanor to the side, Fumi quickly places her entire self—body, mind, and soul—towards whatever goal she has set for herself.
Aside from that, the young tengu is rather affable—a skill gained from having to help out at her family business growing up—and willing to lend aid to those who ask—and, when the mood strikes her, to those who don't. Whether or not that is a good thing is up for debate.
Abilities: As might be obvious given her wings, Fumi (like most tengu) is able to fly in the sky. She is also rather quick, regardless of if she is on the ground or in the sky. That speed is more suited for sprints than marathons, though; she can quickly close in on a target or retreat from them easily enough, but moving large distances or extended fights can easily burn her out if she isn't managing herself carefully.
Skills: Beyond knowledge of military tactics and strategy drilled into her from a young age, Fumi is also quite adept at using arms of war. Her preferred weapon is a naginata, of course, but she is knowledgeable enough at other forms of armed combat to at least be 'passable' when it comes to using anything else.
Aside from proficiency in combat, Fumi is also a fairly decent chef, if only by dint of having to help her parents out at their restaurant every now and again.
History: As a youkai born in the 'modern era', Fumi never had anything too far off from what people might call a 'normal' time growing up. Born in an era of peace (unlike her predecessors from the last few centuries), the young tengu had little need for the principles of war and combat that were drilled into her from a young age. "As descendants of the tengu of Mt. Kurama, such studies are to be expected", or so she was told, and so every day after classes the young girl would return home to study how to fight—from small-scale conflicts to grand battles, nothing was left untouched. Fumi, of course, felt she had no real reason to learn such things; she had no desire to throw her life away in service of some nebulous goal, and aspirations for power were the furthest thing from her mind; a life of peace and quiet was more than enough for her.
It was about then, though, that Fumi met Yatsujima Akio, a young man who seemed a bit too gung-ho for his own good. Her underclassman by two years, Akio found himself getting wrapped up in one mess after another with the local delinquents, which would inevitably result in him getting a thrashing and being left bloodied and beaten somewhere nearby after school. Even so, the tengu was left curious about her kouhai—doubly so given the frequency of his purported fights—and eventually chose to watch one of those street brawls from the shadows.
Ultimately though, Akio left sprawled out on the floor, bruised and battered—as was the norm whenever she happened to catch a glimpse of the young man in the hallways—but what was more intriguing was the fact that he had actually managed to take down a few of the delinquents in the process. Against such overwhelming odds, to find this sort of success...
Maybe it was something in her bloodline that had flipped a switch, but Fumi found herself wanting to see him succeed—and to that end, teaching Akio a bit more about the art of warfare and fighting seemed like the best way to do so. After all, all those lessons had to be useful for something, right?
So teach him she did. The young man was a bit reluctant at first, not wanting to get someone else involved in his 'problems' on a whim, but Fumi's reasoning and logic ultimately prevailed. Thus began the most entertaining days of her high school life—constant training and putting her learned theory towards more practical applications. It helped, of course, that Akio took to her lessons in kenjutsu like a fish to water, and her drive to help him spurred her own studies onwards. The only thing that remained to be seen, though, was how well those lessons would translate to combat proper.
Three months of unfettered training later, and Akio once again took to the battlefield—this time, with a new bokuto in hand—and Fumi, as before, watched from the sidelines. Compared to the wild and chaotic fistfights he had against the delinquents before, the Akio now seemed to be able to strike down his foes without getting swept up by their flow. And so when he emerged victories, with only a few injuries on him...
Well, it was hard for either of them to call that anything but a win.
Of course, that was only the beginning; the delinquents, with their pride wounded, would inevitably end up trying to strike back at Akio time and time again. Fumi had never actually dug into the reasons why he had gone so far in the first place, but seeing as how he continued to request for her aid in training and practice, she count only assume the constant assaults were at fault.
And so went Fumi's last year in high school; eventful as it was, the young woman could only hope the lessons she had imparted onto the boy would allow him to eventually settle the matter once and for all. But fate, it seemed, had other plans in store. On the day of her graduation, Akio had pulled the tengu aside and asked if, after he graduated, they could form a Contract. The young man had other motives beyond just revenge, it seemed—Grudges seemed to be the reason behind his recklessness. Given that she had seen his growth firsthand, Fumi agreed, though only on the condition that he didn't slack off in his training or his studies.
What she didn't expect was that Akio would take that matter quite as seriously as he did. And so, two years later, the tengu kept true to her promise and applied to a new Grudge-hunting startup—Icelit, it was called—as a pair of Attuned.
Other: Her family owns a somewhat popular izakaya within the city.