hush

[whatoncewaswhole]

Who: Open to anyone!
Where: Everywhere at first, but leading up to the Virgo District.
Summary: There's an odd feeling in the air, in the wake of the Scorpio incident...
Warnings: Secondary, small plot event
The city was in a sort of rebuilding lull after the Scorpio incident. People swept debris off their porches as Wand operatives did their best to calm the demon population- the post-battle issues would probably have lasted quite a long time, if not for an odd intervention.

The twenty-seventh of October was an oddly quiet night in Hinoto-Ri. The silence seemed to scrub the streets clean, even if only metaphorically. A soft, humid rain drizzled down over the city like a blanket, lulling those who were still awake and patrolling. Yet, there were not nearly as many demons as usual; something unheard of for the town, and too suspicious to leave be, especially in the wake of Skorpios.

At about eleven, the rain picked up, more of a downpour than anyone could have expected- and there was a sound. No, more than that- it was music.

At first, the tune was simply an irritation, but as the minutes ticked on, it wormed its way much deeper. Like a fading echo, it pushed through the rain from parts unknown, calling out with it's last, faint breath. Yet never did it cease. The song begged to whatever persona users would heed it, beckoning them softly to follow it...whatever 'it' was.

Anyone who heard the melody would find themselves lured to the same place- a small row of shops in the Virgo district. The rain was harsh, yet could barely whisper over the song's intensity by then...

[ OOC: The half of this log set on the 27th is just a mingle, to ponder over what could be happening- feel free to make ridiculous theories, or what have you! The half set on the 28th will go up tomorrow, and will kick off the event proper. ]

Comments

[ghost_shield]

The tune is suspicious, its summoning call even moreso. Stiill on edge from the events of the past few days, Nick can't help but find it suspicious -- and yet here he comes anyway, his brow furrowed, the rain pattering away on his umbrella.

His head is clearer, at least. The waves of paranoia and fear are gone, although it's difficult to come down from such high levels of anxiety quite like that. He's not really comfortable with the effect this song is having. Ironically, this is all further reason to investigate it. He's still feeling the sting of his own uselessness during the event, after all.

And so here he is. His hand brushes over the pendant around his neck. He hopes whatever is singing this song isn't going to be immediately dangerous. Focusing his mind to ensure the song doesn't overpower his mental faculties, he continues to look for its source.

[otakuro]

"Entertainment-wise, I liked the dancing Jack Frosts better."

A voice sounds through the darkness - barely audible over the driving rain and the unearthly melody, it nonetheless serves to banish part of the eerie atmosphere. Atsuro speaks as much for his own benefit as for the person standing under the umbrella. Laid up in bed in exhaustion after combating Skorpios, he had ventured out tonight to examine the aftermath of the debacle only to be caught by the unusual siren song.

He approaches slowly. A part of him wonders if it was wise to approach a stranger under such a potentially parlous situation. Another part of him points out that if karakasa-obake weren't exactly known for their viciousness, even if this individual happened to be a demon in disguise.

"Where do you think it's taking us?"

[ghost_shield]

He blinks, turning to look at the new arrival. Young, but hardly outside the realm of normal per his experience. "You too, huh?" He turns back to the shops. "That's the question, isn't it? Is it good, is it bad? It's hard to trust something that pulls you in like this, but at the same time if you don't investigate mysteries like this, things could get worse simply from the neglect."

He frowns. "And really, if it IS something bad, better me than somebody else, I guess."

[otakuro]

"..."

Atsuro coughs slightly to himself. "A-Actually, I'd be turning around in the opposite direction, but uh... I'm still too exhausted from the fight a few days back to throw this off." He points downwards at his feet and shrugs. No top-down cognitive control of motor action here, sorry. "I guess I'd better start preparing myself for another fight..."

A brief shake of his head as he adjusts his grip on his own umbrella. "You're pretty self-sacrificing, huh? ...Or do you mean you've got some advantage over the rest of us?"

[ghost_shield]

"Oh. Well. I guess that's a valid option too. Um." He coughs. "Well, there's no guarantee there's a fight, but if there is, I guess I can back you up or... something. I feel better than I did a few days ago, at least."

He looks sheepish. "I... guess I am? Maybe I just have a more blase view on death than most or something."

[otakuro]

The boy is silent for a few moments, the conversation giving way to the continuous drumming of the driving rain and the crescendo of the music.

"It's not worth it, you know." Another brief pause. "Being a hero because you want to be a hero... I can't say anything about that. But not because you don't care about dying..."

[ghost_shield]

"Well, the not caring about dying is only part of it." He looks back at the shops. "The other part is caring about OTHERS dying."

[otakuro]

"Yeah, but..." He's not really in the mood to argue about heavy philosophical material while they're being lured by a Pied Piper to Who Knows Where. Atsuro shakes his head slightly instead and leaves off with...

"I learned something a few weeks back - you can't save anyone if you're dead. ...Anyway, I guess neither of us are too optimistic that this thing might turn out to be harmless, huh?"

[ghost_shield]

"Frankly, you'd be surprised what you can pull off when you're dead." He shrugs. "Anyway, I'd say the proper term is that we're 'guarded' about it. It's hard to say exactly what this is, but we can't be too careful."

[otakuro]

He nods, lowering his gaze down towards his feet again as he continues to march slowly forward.

"My name is Atsuro. Atsuro Kihara. If I get eaten by something, I'm leaving my computer to my best friend Kazuya on the condition he takes some basic programming classes first.

...Wills are important, right?"

[ghost_shield]

He snorts. "Just as long as you're not so anal retentive about whether or not it gets followed to the letter you end up haunting a place until someone makes sure the will is carried out perfectly."

THAT case was obnoxious as hell. How could anybody get THAT hung up over semantics?

"Anyway, let's save the will writing until we find out what we're up against, okay?"

[otakuro]

"Sure." The heavy melancholy of the downpour and the ethereal music is somewhat dispelled now. These kinds of things were always better faced with someone else at your side.

"I was going for, uh, a humorous way to introduce myself, by the way."

Cough cough hint hint.

[ghost_shield]

alskdjfklasdf

"O-oh! Oh geez, I'm sorry, I... Sorry. Nicholas Reeve. It's good to meet you, Atsuro." Crap, now he looks like an antisocial nerd!

[otakuro]

He has to chuckle softly at the overreaction. "Ah, don't worry about it! It was a... pretty weird way to go about it, honestly. It's nice to meet you, too, Nicholas.

"...Mind if I call you Nick?"

Somewhere in the world, the word 'objection' rings out.

[ghost_shield]

"Might as well. Everybody else does."

He has no idea what you're referring to. Really.

[otakuro]

"Nice to meet you, then, Nick."

They've reached the shops by now. Atsuro finds himself coming to a halt as it seems he's been brought to wherever it is the compelling force wanted him to go.

...
...
...

There is absolutely jack-squat.

[ghost_shield]

"This seems... horribly anticlimactic."

Geez, and he got all het up for nothing.

[otakuro]

"N-No, hold on... It's gotta have brought us to something, right? Treasure? Secret treasure? A reward for fighting against that thing?"

Atsuro approaches the shop windows and pokes at the glass feebly.

[ghost_shield]

"It brought us something, all right -- a red herring." He sighs, and looks in the window. "...do you think that's a real monkey's paw?"

[otakuro]

"It's the ghost of a monkey! We've got to reunite it with the rest of its body!"

Monkeys play flutes, right?

[ghost_shield]

He stares blankly. "...you're stretching, man."

[otakuro]

"They could play flutes. They've got opposable thumbs."

This is a very valid point, if irrelevant. Atsuro continues to search around, tapping randomly at bricks. This will likely continue for another hour if Nick doesn't put a stop to it.

[ghost_shield]

"Give it up already. I can't even really hear the music anymore, can you?"

Okay, maybe not today. He's not convinced that's the end of things, though.

[otakuro]

"Not over the sound of us talking!"

...Atsuro can be persistent when he needs to be. ...After one last rap against the glass, though, he sighs and retreats, a glum expression on his face.

"What the heck was this all about?"