Fandom Bleach: Undying: Chapter one: The Interview

Naoya Fuyuzumi
A nose breaking makes a very particular sort of sound, a kind of wet crunching a bit like stomping on a juice carton that still has some juice left in it. Naoya was pretty familiar with the sound but the guy he hit wasn't judging by the way he gasped and landed on his ass, clutching at his face as blood leaked out between his fingers.

"YOU- YOU FROKE BY BOSE YOU FHUNOVABITCH!" The other teen gasped, with a look of indignation. Naoya frowned.

"Look asshole you were the one who wanted to fight," said Nayo bemusedly. From the looks of him this guy was used to picking fights with people who didn't fight back: he was big and had some muscle but his punches were wild haymakers that Naoya had been able to slip under easily and bop him lightly on the nose. Well, sorta lightly.

"FUG YOU!" Shouted the guy on the ground, trying to scramble ungracefully to his feet. "ME AN MAH BUDDIES ARE GONNA FUG YOU UP! GUYS OVER HERE!"

"Yeah, yeah, get in line," Nayoa said dismissively, before glancing in the direction the guy was gesturing to see a pack of three more thuggish looking teenagers sauntering towards.

Shit Naoya thought as he broke into a sprint, eliciting angry yells and the sound of running feet from the punks behind him. Ordinarily Naoya would have tried his luck: three guys was probably pushing his luck a bit but if they all fought like the last guy Naoya liked his odds of at least doing enough damage to scare them off. Tonight was a little different though, Naoya had an interview to get to and he was already running late, turning up all messed up from fighting was probably a bad move. Discretion would have to be the better form of valour tonight.

Naoya was running at a pretty good pace, so he was surprised to find that the voices behind him seemed to getting closer not further away so he chanced a glance over his shoulder and cursed at what he saw. Two of the punks had procured bikes from somewhere, probably the rack they had just passed. Now they were gaining on him with loud jeers. Naoya picked up his pace and put a little more distance between them over the course of the next two blocks, but he could feel his legs starting to ache and his breathing become irregular, he probably couldn't keep this up long enough to lose his pursuers.

"Hey kid! Over here!" Called a voice from somewhere up ahead and Naoya's eyes widened as a door in one of the buildings up ahead suddenly swung open invitingly. Not seeing any better options Naoya shrugged mentally and halted abruptly, skidding on his heels to turn and nearly dive through the open door before slamming it shut and pressing his back against it.

"Tha-Thanks-" Nayo muttered breathlessly as he bent over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"You gotta work on that cardio kid," said the voice from before. It was certainly masculine, with a slighly gravelly quality, definitely an older man and maybe a smoker. "Nicer right though,"

"Yeah I'm not really used to running," said Naoya, his breathing slowly returning to normal. "Normally I'd just take 'em on but I have a thing tonight,"

"Oho, this 'thing wouldn't happen to be at the Rest for the Wicked cafe would it? If it is then we're going the same direction? Wanna travel together?"

"Uhhh sure," Naoya said, figuring he'd be better off with another witness if those punks showed up again. The teenager straightened up and looked around the empty room confused. THe voice had sounded pretty close by but he couldn't see anyone...

"Down here kid," said the voice, from Naoya's left. Naoya turned and looked down and his jaw dropped "WHAT THE F-"




"-ar from here, just round the corner."

"Huh?" Naoya blinked and adjusted the load under his arm. He was seriously starting to regret his decision to tag along with this guy. Not only was Naoya stuck carrying the load his travelling companion didn't know how to shut up. As a consequence Naoya had been tuning out the voice as it nattered on but it sounded like he had missed something.

"I said we're almost there! Jeez kid you gotta learn how to listen if you wanna do well in this gig!" said the voice indiginantly.

"About that---" Naoya said hesitantly. "Could you run the whole thing by me again? I'm not sure I really-"

"I don't have time fore that!" The voice said impatiently. "Let's just head in and I'll explain it to everyone all at once,"

Nayoa sighed. "Whatever," he said as the cafe came into view. It was an older, brick building but Naoya had to admit it looked better than it normally did with its lights on and people moving about inside and taking up the normally empty booths. There was some kind of music leaking out from the cafe but it was mostly drowned out by the sound of chattering voices from inside. "Sounds kinda rowdy in there, are those all applicants?" Naoya asked as he made his way up to the door and fumbled with the handle to open it without dropping his burden.

"Yeah they seem like a pretty good bunch," said the voice cheerily, then as Naoya entered the cafe the voice cleared its throat and then spoke loudly to address everyone. "Okaaaaay! All you folks here for the interview? Why don't we all say our names and something about ourselves uhhh your perfect Sunday or somethin like that. After that we can do questions and all that yada yada stuff. Oh I'm Tarozaki by the way and my perfect Sunday involves a hammock; a beach; something fruity served in a coconut and lots pretty ladies in bikinis, nice to meetcha's"


To the people already in the cafe the scene would look something like this: A moody looking teenager with what appeared to be a shiba inu in a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses t tucked under his arm would push his way into the cafe and then the whole room would be addressed. There was one odd detail to the whole arrangement though: The teenager's mouth was clasped shut and the dog appeared to be talking. In response to whatever looks he received from the audience the teenager shrugged. He was just as confused as they were.

Ema Narisawa
Ema smiled brightly as Akkun sat down with them. Not exactly where she expected but hey she saw it as a win win! She wasn't exactly use to the whole 'being a wingman' thing but it seemed she was doing a good amount of work that he wouldn't just walk away and actually would join them. It was enough to make Ema already seeing an image of her best friend in a beautiful wedding dress being swooped up in the church and carried down the isle with a bunch of stuffed teddy bears and an assortment of cartoon characters from her siblings children's shows all watching mixed in with several of her other classrooms. Who said getting way ahead of herself had to even remotely be realistic?

Her little bit scheming and day dreaming had all but kept her distracted from realizing a potential fight was brewing in the background. Mariya had popped up quickly shifting back Ema to reality looking about a bit puzzled in response not quite catching onto her friends sheer embarrassment for the trouble she caused. It was only then she finally took notice as it seemed some tussle was going on with Mariya putting herself in harms way as everyone else (exaggerating perhaps the fact considering not everyone was doing so) seemed to be focused on stopping Haru-chan. The other looking like they must of come from some crazy cosplay convention though the outfit seemed extremely well made and it didn't really remind her of any character in particular.

OOo maybe that fancy dressed girl and Haru would be a good couple too? Ema shook her head a bit as if to snap herself out of matchmaker mode realizing it was instead a warzone. She had to act and do something? Time out? No wait no that only works on her brothers and sister. Cuddle bear? No, she didn't have a teddy bear on her to provoke cuddling! She needed to act swiftly to not cause a fight particularly with her dear friend right in the middle with another trying to put an end to it all! Fortunately a new voice picked up seemingly trying to pick up everyone's attention acting as a bludgeon to knock fighting out of everyones mind. Well, at least Ema was distracted enough to quickly shift her attention, or more so who it came from.

"Awwwww such an adorbsssss puppppppyy! Such a good little booooy!" She spoke out not at all seeming to pause that much given the fact the dog was talking and she clearly saw him do so. She ran up excitedly quickly petting the dog's head not at all hesitating to do so giggling a bit in response.

"Such a cuuuute little guy awwww , and what's your human's name Teriyaki?" She spoke not seeming to at all be phased by the fact she is talking to the dog while also not hesitating to put him like a dog rubbing behind his ears and fawning over the cute dog in a shirt.




Interacted: AtlannianSpy
Mentioned: MocaPoka Akkun no Baka Xcelgamer Servant

Takahite


It was a nice dream, the soft fluffy clouds providing comfort from the chaos that surrounded him.

A nice... Temporary relief from the daily stress...

A... the clouds have become sheep... Bouncing happy sheep, baahing and hopping a fence in a perfect line...

One sheep... two sheep... Beep.... beep....

Ah... he must follow them!

Running on floaty feet, he rushed towards the fence and took a massive leap through the air! The air time, the speed of the wind on his face, it was amazing, he opened his eyes and gazed on the upon sky infront of him... As he realized the land beyond...

Had turned into a sheer drop!!! He leapt a fence right into a canyon!!!

The sudden jolt downwards waking him up faster than a meterstick to the back of the head. "gah!" he gasped out loud, quickl;y looking around at the people around him... And then realizing nobody was looking at him... uhh.. maybe... Wait what were they looking at-

"IS THAT A DOG WITH SUNGLASSES ON!?" takahite wasted no time moving up to pet the fucking kickass dog as well, useing both hands and scratching his squishy cheeks. "Aaaaahahahaha! So cute!! What a good boy! Whos a good boy?!" he was lost to the purest admiration of a cute dog... His brain not yet up from the nap, he embraced his stupidity.

AtlannianSpy & Hanarei in a tag team ultimate dog petting action

"Coffee?" Ketsuichi asked, a bit dumbfounded. It seemed that by inviting himself into the kitchen and immediately beginning to make ramen was not only a surefire way to get hired, but in fact made it seem as if he already worked there. In hindsight, this was something that Ketsuichi should have expected, and really, there was no reason for him not to. Yet, he stared at the boy dumbfounded, then turned to the coffee pot. Ketsuichi had made coffee before. The question on his mind was what he should actually do in such a situation. After all, it wasn't as if he actually worked there. He just wanted to impress people with his cooking.

"Look, I don't actually-"Ketsuichi was about to excuse himself in the midst of the commotion within the cafe before hearing a voice stick out from the crowd. It was the only voice that he couldn't quite place- seemingly coming out of nowhere. Then, interrupting the cacophony of teenagers was what appeared to be a talking dog led by his silent owner. A ventriloquist maybe? That's a fun gimmick. Ketsuichi thought to himself. Quickly, he poured a coffee and laid the cup in front of Ren with a pitcher of creamer and a bottle of sugar, not really paying the boy as much mind as he did the dog.

Ketsuichi figured that the owner must have been someone who did comedy on the side of owning a cafe. At least, that's what made sense to him. Therefore, he had to be just as eccentric to match. Ketsuichi took a batch of extra chashu and held it in a pair of wooden chopsticks. He just wanted to feed the dog was all. He got on one knee in front of "Tarozaki", as "the dog" introduced himself as and held the piece of pork meat just above the dog's reach. "Sit boy." Ketsuichi ordered, as if playing with his own dog at home.

Ren sat at the bar as he waited to be served, listening in to the going ons around him as he did. He was new to town, which meant that everyone here was a stranger to him, but he was use to making new friends due to moving around a bit as a kid, and most of the people who were in this little cafe looked to be around his own age. Seemed to him though that most of the conversation was based on there being some kind of interview, so may they weren't even open to the general public, and Ren thought about leaving but the word Shinigami popped in a few conversations, so he decided to stay if only to statisfy his curiosity. Soon he witnessed a fight break out, or at least the beginnings of a fight, between a rich girl and some kind of punk. Ren was well dressed but even then he would've looked poor on side of the so called heiress, with his hair up in a messy bun and all. He was about to step up to stop the fight but before he could a few people seemingly steped in between the two girls, so Ren relaxed himself and stayed seated.

Soon the door opened again, this time a teenager with a dog came in, and Ren listened carefully, watching both the teenager and the dog, it was obvious that the dog was the one talking. He was about to approach as his coffee was laid infront of him, "Oh, Thanks" He said looking at the man behind the counter as he began to mix up his sugar and cream before he took a sip and approached the duo at the door. "Hello, my name is Ren Kazuki, 16 and new to town, I'll be starting school soon" He said looking directly at the dog, "As for my perfect Sunday I enjoy being able to get a full training session in and then to relax in front of a fire place. I was out exploring the town so I decided to come in for a coffee, but this shinigami stuff I've been hearing about intrigues me, so assuming you are the employer I would also like to be interviewed" He said, still looking directly at the dog, while casually sipping on his coffee.

Interacted: Duwang AtlannianSpy

Taeko Suijin
Taeko was far from convinced that Lime was 'fine' considering that her obsession with kendo was almost approaching his own dedication to science but he supposed this wasn't the right place to press the issue. "If you say so. Looks like this 'job' is bringing out all kinds of people." He found that an old man and some moneyed up foreigner who seemed to want to throw her weight around stood out the most, especially with the latter getting the others riled up. Taeko didn't believe in solving his own problems by hitting them but that didn't mean he wouldn't get a kick out of watching someone that high and mighty get taken on.

Any potential fighting got put on hold when another teen walked in holding a dog that tried to call the meeting to order with a rather cliche request for introductions, staring at the animal as it spoke with a human voice Taeko frowned trying to decipher what he was seeing and hearing then hit on what he thought made sense. "Taeko Suijin, I don't know about perfect but it would make a Sunday better to be 'interviewed' by an actual person instead of through their animatronic toy." He said as he stood and walked over to poke the 'dog' in the side. "Not bad work though, is it a custom build? Sounds like a pretty good speaker too." Without pausing he pried Tarozaki's mouth open to look inside for the mechanical moving parts.

InsaneAsylum AtlannianSpy

As Akkun sat at the table he could see the content grin on Ema's face. It seemed that he had followed along with her plan, at least for the most part. Akkun continued to play on his phone as he heard the quarrel between the cafe goers escalate. He didn't think anything of it until a SMACK sound resonated throughout the cafe. Silence fell as Akkun looked on in shock. It was about this time that Maria jolted up from the table and took a stance in between the two troublemakers. As Akkun weighted in on the scenario it was clear that it was under control, hopefully. A delinquent friend full off tattoos and piercings was talking to her friend trying to calm her and Maria was suprisingly aggressive to stop further violent actions.

"What did I get my self into?" Akkun asked himself. He turned to Ema to ask a question when the doors to the cafe opened. A teenager holding a dog entered the cafe. "Great, another teen" he thought annoyed. though something was off, something very obvious yet hard to place. Seconds after the dog and teenager entered the cafe Ema was on her feet making a b-line for the animal. She started giving it mad scritches and was quickly accompanied by the large muscular dude that had been napping in the corner. together they must have given the best scritches. Something was still bothering him about the scenario...what could it be...

"That Dog Is Taking!" Akkun said loudly. "Ema, don't you think it is strange you are petting a talking dog?" Akkun said as he approached Ema with a bit of concern for her safety and her sanity. "Does no one else find the talking dog...interesting?" Akkun asked the crowd in the cafe. He was a bit perplexed at the situation. How was the dog talking, why was a teenage boy carrying it, why did no one else seem to care? Maybe he had made a mistake coming out for this job offer. If there was some trick involved here there was no seemingly good reason for a possible employer of a legitimate establishment to act this way. He let out a deep sigh, "I guess I will politely decline the offer when the time comes. I really don't need this type of craziness in my life." Akkun muttered as he walked back to the table he shared with Ema and Maria. There seemed to be more than enough people there for the job anyways.

Conversation with: Hanarei

As the standoff continued with Mariya in the middle, the tension of the situation was suddenly sliced apart by the appearance of a boy and a talking dog.

The small canine was adorable and wearing a little Hawaiian shirt with little sunglasses. The talking Shiba was quickly surrounded by the other patrons of the café; trying to understand how it was talking. Mariya could only assume that the Shiba had bridged a friendship with the cats. The felines must have taught the canine how to speak human despite their species’ historic feuds and differences. To think she would live to see such a beautiful overcoming of hateful history and the emergence of a once unthinkable friendship between the cats and the dogs.

Slowly Mariya walked over to the gathering crowd. She wanted to reach out and pet the small canine but feared that adding more to the surrounding pets, pulling, and snuggles would only overwhelm the poor thing. Perhaps this was why the cats didn’t speak to humans? That did raise the question though; why was this dog willing to speak with them? Surely, he didn’t talk to humans often. Was the job so important that he was willing to directly hire humans? Why not hire other dogs or cats?

Mariya continued to slowly move forward until she was able to make eye contact with the Shiba. Smiling she bent down to eye level and spoke to the canine.

“Hello Tarozaki-san. My name is Mariya Manoa. My perfect Sunday is exploring dark echoey places that have magic objects hidden in them in the morning. Then walking around places with sunny weather and nice breezes in the afternoon with friends. Then sneaking out of home and coming to cool cafés at night to drink white chocolate mochas.”

She gave a smile and finished her introduction with a bow. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.”

Looking up from the dog she gave a small smile to the boy holding the canine as well. He must be special to be friends with a talking dog.

AtlannianSpy

Tarozaki
"Hey! Hey! Watch the fur! Watch the frmmhghghg!" the talking dog demanded, yipping loudly as he was assaulted by petting and prodding hands. from three different people "Dammit this is beneath my digni- Ooh that spot feels pretty good actually, a little to the lef- Wait is that pork!?" Tarozaki lunged out of Naoya's grip and snatched the tempting morsel out of Ketsuichi's chopsticks, devouring it in instant as his tail wagged furiously, seemingly without his awareness.'

"Mmmf, that'sh delishus" the dog said through a mouthful of pork and then he seemed to shake himself awake. "Dammit! Stop all this this is serious! Gah, I hate this body!" he snapped "Kid put me down on the table dammit, I gotta lot to get through here," Naoya shrugged, he was actually glad to out down his burden and stop getting dog fur all over his jacket so he let Tarozaki go on top of the table of nearby booth where the dog shook himself off and then pawed at his face, smoothing out the fur that had been ruffled by all the earlier attention.


Tarozaki cleared his throat with a sort of doglike cough to attract everyone's focus and then continued. "Alright moving on! You folks are probably wondering about the job you all came here for tonight right? Well lemme give you some of the details," Tarozaki broke off and turned to Naoya. "I need to ya to go round the back and get the cage, once you guys see what's in it you'll start to get the picture."

Naoya Fuyuzumi
Nayoa stared. "Wh--cage? Why is there a-" Naoya cut himself off after thinking about it some more. He really did need this job even if his boss was going to be a talking dog. "Uhh, sure, back in a bit I guess," Naoya said, cautiously crossing the cafe floor and heading through the door behind the counter. The back of the cafe was kind of creepy honestly, with creaky, wooden floors and a lot more dust than out front. The backroom was also lit by only a single, bare bulb which buzzed as it gave off a weak, yellow light. Still despite the conditions the cage was hard to miss, it was about waist height and covered in a thick blanket that obscured its form, but Naoya was sure this was the cage Tarozaki had meant beacause as soon as he entered the room it began shaking and rattling as bestial hisses and growls emanated out from it. Despite his warm jacket Naoya shivered lightly.

A minute or so later Nayoa appeared back in the front of the cafe, using a long handled broom to push the cage ahead of him, which was still rattling and shaking as some creature inside vented its frustration at being confined.

"Oh good thinking with the broom," Tarozaki said, nodding his little head and raising his voice casually so that he could still be heard over the howls coming from inside the cage "Yeah I probably shoulda given you something like that upfront you mighta lost an arm or something. My bad. Anyways go ahead and take the blanket off,"

Naoya tensed up and then lunged at the cage,hooking the head of his broom underneath the blanket and yanking it off like a bandaid due to be removed but still firmly stuck to the skin. But underneath the blanket was...nothing. Well, not entirely nothing, there was a cage there, an old fashioned looking construction with thick, iron bars. But there was seemingly nothing to be seen inside the cage.

However despite the absence of anything inside the cage, the noises and movement within did not cease, in fact the shaking and rattling only got worse and the hisses and growls were supplemented with unsettling, high pitched yowls. It seemed that whatever invisible entity was inside the cage care little for the humans assembled within the cafe.

"Fufuffu you can't see it right?" Tarozaki asked smugly, seemingly unperturbed by the unusual events unfolding. "Humans can't normally, but seeing as this job I'm hiring for requires you to hunt them I came up with a kinda workaround. Kid behind the bar there's a bottle of silver pills, anyone who takes one will be able to see what's inside the cage. You can consider this part of your interview I guess,"

Naoya meanwhile, had been staring at the cage, trying to figure out what was going on. Maybe there was some kind of motor speaker combo in the floor of the cage? But it didn't really sound like the noise was coming from the floor of the cage so much as the middle. Gingerly Naoya lifted the broom, flipped it and poked the end through the bars. Suddenly Naoya gave a shout as some kind of force seemed to grab onto the broom and tug on it as the growling and hissing suddenly became muffled. Thene there was a snap and Nayoa stumbled backwards as the force he had been bracing against suddenly relinqushed its hold on the broom. Once he recovered himself Naoya stared in astonishment, first at the end of his broom, which was missing nearly thirty centimetres of length and now ended in a rough, splintery breakage. After that Naoya stared at the cage, where the end of the broom was now bobbing up and down in midair and breaking up into pieces, as if being chewed up by an invisible pair of jaws.

"Alright.. Screw it," Naoya muttered, heading behind the counter. Just minutes ago the thought of taking mystery pills offered to him by a talking dog sounded like an acid assisted fever dream, but now so much weirdness had piled up that the only way out seemed to be to just roll with it. As Nayoa searched underneath the counter he seriously considered just bolting out the door, or hell pinching himself and hoping he woke up in bed. But Naoya knew if he did that he'd probably wonder about tonight for the rest of his life. Besides, Naoya had already done enough running tonight.

"Yeah I wanted to get em in red," Tarozaki barked from the table, as if reading Naoya's mind. "And have like blue sugar pills next to em, do the whole bit. It runs out pigments kind of messed with the active ingredient and it was a whole thing. I think they look pretty good in silver though,"

As Tarozaki nattered on Nayoa dug out the bottle of pills, unlabelled and shook one out into the palm of his hand. True enough it was light, faintly sparking silver color, Naoya had never seen a pill like this before, but hey this was the first time he'd met a talking dog before as well so who cared?

"Okay so once you take one of the pills," interjected Tarozaki. "Your interview will begin in full. You'll be able to see what's in the cage and your task will be to find a weapon that can kill it. There'll be one weapon for each of you and you need to find your's nobody else's will work for you. I can't tell you where to look, it kind of works differently for everyone. If you want a hint though I'd suggest looking in places that give you strength,"

Naoya paused to listen to Tarozaki's instructions, clenching the pill tightly in his hand but setting the bottle down on a nearby table for anyone else as stupid as him to take one. When Tarozaki was done Naoya sighed, took a deep breath and then threw the pill into his mouth and swallowed.

Ema Narisawa
"Well how else would a dog speak with you if it didn't speak your language! I mean I didn't study bark... I wonder how hard it would be." She spoke briefly pausing her petting to talk to Akkun before quickly resuming.

The dog's protest only entertained the blonde that much more being quite giddy petting him onto he finally escaped from the group petting. So far this job was looking better and better! It did leave her a bit curious when a cage was mentioned. She nearly bounced on her tippy toes excited to see what might be hiding in the back. Sure enough once they got there and saw the little demonstraition with the broom Ema was even more excited rather then nervous. I mean who wouldn't be, a cage that could eat a broom handle! That was like, one of the things she would of had on her bucket list to see if she had thought of it herself before hand! Eyeing the pills as Nayoa took the jar out she didn't even hesitate as she took one so swiftly without a second thought, tossing it into her mouth to swallow it.

"Ah... oh... I guess I should of as...." She stopped her body suddenly turning limp as the blonde fell on the ground unconscious. Perhaps a rather horrific sight to behold particularly for her friend Mariya, or perhaps Karma for her little attempt to set her up with a random guy. Either way she was clearly unconcious her body still with her mouth wide open managing to somehow look more ditsy in her unconscious state. Of coarse that was due to the fact that Ema wasn't exactly in her body. It wasn't likely anyone noticed that... nor did Ema.

"...asked what flavor it was first. It sure was weird... bubblegum? It did have a weird feeling when I took it." The blonde tapped her chin. She looked to be debating to herself the taste completely oblivious to the fact she wasn't in her body nor the fact no one could hear her. That changed rather quickly as she turned back noticing everyone else's expression and then her own body as she pointed.

"Oh wow! There is another of me! That's a cool trick! Wait.. what was I suppose to do? Find a weapon? To kill the cage that eats stuff?" She questioned quite evident she had done a poor job listening to the explanation as she turned to the cage noticing the hollow in it. She walked over to it looking at it in awe now seeing what she couldn't before. She leaned in close as if tempting fate as the hollow seemed to react trying to lash out towards her causing her to step back.

"It's kinda cute... in a dark spooky way." She spoke seeming to admire the hollow and get distracted by it rather then what she was suppose to do for her interview.



Interacted: AtlannianSpy Akkun no Baka
Mentioned: MocaPoka Orikanyo

Taeko Suijin
The struggling of the 'dog' and the other prying hands made it difficult for Taeko to get a look down it's throat but what he did managed to see looked perfectly realistic and it even managed to snatch up a bit of meat. "Woah it can even eat! I need to take a look inside!" Pulling a multitool out of his pocket he flipped out the screwdriver and tried to find somewhere he could open up the chatty dog.

His fruitless examination had only confirmed that the supposed automaton had been made with remarkable dedication to anatomical correctness when he was distracted by the arrival of the rattling cage but being unable to see or hear anything inside he dismissed it as an empty cage with a motor hidden in it. "Maybe the reason we can't see anything in there is because there's nothing to see. But that there is a neat trick." While he had rolled his eyes at Naoya pretending to struggle with the broom the sight of it's broken section floating and splintering in midair, reaching out he waved his arm over it to check for wires he might have missed. "Now how does that work? Ow!" Grabbing a chopstick he poked it through the bars until sharp pain made him snatch his hand back, examining his hand he found a set of three dark symmetrical scratches on the back. "What the hell is this?" He asked Tarozaki holding up his injured hand.

At the mention of the pills Taeko picked one up and examined it sceptically. "How does this help us see whatever is in there?" He considered questioning Tarozaki further about it but getting slashed by a supposedly invisible creature had piqued his curiosity enough to do an awful lot in search of answers and this seemed far too elaborate to just be a plot to drug up a bunch of random small town people. "Fine but if this is some silly trick I'm going to open up your toy here and not put it back together when I'm done." Throwing the pill in his mouth he tried and failed to dry swallow a free times. "Gah anyone got any water?" Running off to fetch a glass he missed the first two people taking their pills and washed his down leaving his body to drop the glass with a crash.

"What was that noise?" Turning towards the sound he saw his sprawled out body and yelped. "What the hell?! What was in that pill?" Feeling a pressure on his chest making it harder to breathe he looked down to see a chain clamped to his chest linking to his fallen body. "What's with this thing?" Tugging on it he only managed to make his chest ache and stared for a moment at the other two disembodied people before noticing the creature in the cage. "I got scratched up by that?" Looking at the back of his hand he couldn't see the scratch on his soul form and rounded on Tarozaki. "What is that thing and what did you do to us?"

AtlannianSpy Hanarei

It was odd, watching the boy speak without moving his mouth. It was actually a little creepy. Lime could have sworn she had heard of people doing that sort of thing before with puppets on t.v. and the like. Lime's eyes focused on the boy's face, zooming in like security camera. He looked a little awkward at the moment, and more than a little confused. He even shrugged, as if he himself hadn't a clue what all the closed mouth talking was all about. He didn't seem to mind an incredible amount when the dog was surrounded and pampered from all sides. Even Taeko went over to look at his teeth or something. Was he a dog expert? Lime had no clue, but it was a cute puppy nonetheless.

Lime almost fell on her butt when she realized it was the dog talking all along. Was she dreaming? Did she fall and hit her head on the way here? Lime wasn't sure, but when the dog started talking about their job, and had the boy bring out the rattling cage, Lime was already shaking in her shoes. Nothing made sense. First a dog was talking to them, and now there was an invisible monster locked up in a cage. One way or another they were supposed to kill it by finding a weapon somewhere important to them. Was this the start to some kind of superhero t.v. show? Was she signing up to be an actor? Lime rubbed her hands against the side of her head, trying to soothe her turbulent mind.

She had just taken a deep breathe when Ema dropped to the floor limp, followed by Taeko not long after. Lime released an ear splitting scream. The pill had killed them! It was one of those suicide pills she saw in the movies!

"I-I don't understand what's going on here... B-but I uh... I think I should go..." Lime started backing away towards the door. She was visibly shaking, and her eyes nervously darted from the dog, to the cage, and to Taoki and Ema's corpses. She held her breathe thinking that somehow she might be next if she didn't get out of there right then and there. Should she go to the police? What would they even do about this? Arrest the talking dog for manipulating teenagers into taking suicide pills? They'd laugh at her!

Mariya continued to watch the dog with polite attentiveness. When the cage was brought in and the broom invisibly destroyed; Mariya was overjoyed with wonderment. This was truly like nothing she had even seen before and she could think of few mundane ways to accomplish everything that she had seen so far. A talking dog, an invisible monster in a cage, a job involving hunting whatever these invisible things were. She couldn’t remember ever feeling her heartbeat this fast before.

Mariya quickly went with Ema to grab a silver pill. She stared at the small thing with fascination, only vagally aware when her friend took the mysterious drug. She carefully listened to the dog’s following words about finding a weapon. A place of strength for her… she knew where to go.

Mariya quickly swung her head to Ema when she heard her friend’s body hit the floor. Taeko Suijin soon followed and Lime Boolaki began to scream. Mariya froze in hesitation at the sudden events. Instinctively she grabbed Ema’s body under her arms and began to pull her friend to a booth. While she dragged her friend’s limp body a million thoughts flew through her head.

Any normal person wouldn’t take these pills after seeing other people drop instantly from taking them. But that almost proved the pills weren’t just some weird drug or poison. What normal drug could cause someone to instantly collapse like that? Didn’t those types of things take time to affect people? The very moment Ema had taken the pill she had collapse.

Mariya was able to put her friend’s body onto one of the booths. She stared at Ema’s lifeless body in worry and then back at the small silver pill in her hands. What if the pill had simply killed her? Was she about to take something would kill to? But if the pill was deadly… then she herself had killed Ema. Mariya had been the one to tell her about this place, they had discussed coming here together...

If the pill did kill her, it would only be right. It wouldn’t be fair if Ema had died and she didn’t because of this place…

The schoolgirl sat down next to her friend’s body and threw the pill into her mouth.

The next thing that she was aware of was a chain. It was a chain that was connecting her to… herself? Looking around she saw two of Ema and two of Taeko; both with chains connecting to themselves. She could also see the small monster in the cage now; just like the dog had said. For several moments Mariya simply continued to silently look around and feel the differences in this new… body?

Everything was the same, but the very atmosphere of everything was subtle different… heavier.

Akkun sat at the booth with his eyes closed tight and his brow furrowed. He was listening to what the dog was saying but was intentionally avoiding looking at it. It was his desperate attempt to maintain his sanity. After a few minutes a cage was pushed into the main room by the newcomer. Akkun watched and was astonished when he saw the end of a broom become shattered seemingly by air. "What is going on? " he thought to himself. His sense of panic was only increased when he saw one of the few people he "knew" Ema, take a random pill and collapse immediately. Akkun stood up quickly just in time to hear another "thud" from a falling body. A women began screaming, rightfully so, and Just as panic was about to set in he saw Mariya go to the aid of Ema. Regaining some composure at the sentiment he quickly went to help Mariya carry Ema to a nearby booth where they placed her in a comfortable position. Much to his horror as he tried to start a conversation he watched Mariya promptly take the same pill as Ema and she also went limp.

"NANI!!!" Akkun yelled as he jumped up again. He pointed to the dog then to his two unconscious?...dead?...high? acquaintances the back to the dog. "Ok mutt, what is going on with these pills? I will at least give you a chance to explain your actions before I go to the authorities!" Akkun demanded in a very authoritative tone.

"What am I doing?" he thought, "This is soo not me. I guess its to late to run, I have to keep up the facade just a bit longer, long enough to give everyone else time to escape." As Akkun waited for the response he remembered that his sister was sleeping soundly in bed right now. What he wouldn't give to be back at their apartment brushing her hair or making her bento for school tomorrow. Why was he in the midst of some suicidal cult shenanigans. As he stood their thinking about Aiko he unconsciously put his hand in his pocket and grasped the Hello Kitty charm on his cell phone. "After everyone who can move is out I am going straight the to cops" he kept reminding himself. "I will get through this for Aiko!"

Interacted: MocaPoka (Kinda)

Tarozaki
"Okay hey, everybody calm down," said the talking dog quickly, rearing up on his hind legs temporarily to gather attention to himself. "I'm sensing a little apprehension here, maybe some people feeling a little threatened. All of that is totally unwarranted and, may I say, not conducive to a good first impression during an interview, but let me address some of your uhh, concerns. First of all! You are all free to leave right now! You can even go straight to the police if it makes you feel better, I'm not keeping anyone here against their will. Second: The folks on the floor there are fine! I mean, it looks like a couple of em might have bumped their heads a bit on the way down but they aren't dead or even unconscious technically. What they are is exploring behind the edges of your perception, beyond the perception of most mortals."

Tarozaki delivered his statement very gravely and then immediately ruined the atmosphere by lifting up a leg to scratch behind his ear. "Damn fur, always gets so itchy," Tarozaki grumbled to himself before continuing. "In a way everything you've seen tonight is beyond ordinary perception. You can say this cafe is for you folks a kind of border; or maybe a cross roads. One path leads back to your ordinary lives and the world you are familar with. There ain't nothing wrong with that by the way: your world as you know it is already full of opportunity, adventure, danger and good in need of doing. You can live rich, fulfilling lives without ever leaving that world. But there is another road, a weirder, more dangerous world that most humans never go down. Like I said you don't have to go down that road if you don't want to. But one piece of advice I wanna give you is this: I doubt you'll find yourself at a crossroad like this ever again: whichever path you choose tonight you'll have to live with it."

Rika, who was currently trying to prevent a fight, found herself wondering why she had even bothered to come here in the first place. It took away from her time practicing as a musician and plus she didn't want a job, she only wanted to keep her aunts support, she could honestly find something elese, but there was just something about this advert that intrigued her, it seemed interesting. She wasn't wrong because not moments later a boy walked in through the doors holding a dog, which was strange enough on its own for an interview but then a voice filled the room and she couldn't tell when it came from. She began to scan the room until her eyes fell on the dog whose mouth seemed to be moving in sync with the words being spoken. Her suspicions were confirmed in moments as people began to flock towards said talking dog. She stood back waiting to see what would happen, for her she wasnt sure if this was something real or fake, but she wanted to find out more so she stayed and listened.

It was when the dog was laid down on the table that her interest had increased, as the dog began to talk about the opportunity and the cage in the back, having the teen who had brought the dog grab it. The guy came out with it on a stick and the cage seemingly moved on it's own and managed to make the pole holding it disappear. The dog explained that they couldn't see what was in the cage, but Riku swore she could almost make something out, like a blurry image on a TV. She had to know what was going on. "Fine, I'll take the pill" she said walking up and swallowing it.

She stepped back as she swallowed it and began to look around, she couldn't understand why she was fine and the others had dropped to the ground. But with a look around the room she could see that everyone was now standing. She then looked down and to her surprise their bodies were on the ground, but they were also standing, then she looked down in front of her feet to see her body in front of her. "What the fuck is this" she said as she looked around. Her eyes then fell on the cage, "what the fuck is that" she said out loud, as she looked at the cage, to see the creature she couldn't see quite well before. "What the hell is this?" she said turning back to Tarozaki.

AtlannianSpy

Taeko Suijin
"Lime? Lime I'm right here!" Taeko waved a hand in front of his panicking friend's face but found himself just as unseen and unheard as the caged frog creature which was still making it's displeasure known despite the gaping hole in it's chest, his attempts to grab her shoulder either went unnoticed and his hand occasionally slipped through her entirely. Rather than take Tarozaki's assurance that he was unharmed at face value he crouched down next to his vacant body and watched his chest rise and fall normally for a minute. "Well 'I' seem to be still breathing for the moment, assuming of course that this isn't all a drug trip from taking that pill." His scepticism was only halfheartedly added having gotten himself attacked by the creature before any mystery drugs were involved.

Much as he was still unwilling to trust the chatty Shibe Taeko did think the speech was fairly good. "How long were you rehearsing that in the mirror for?" He asked while he experimentally perched on a table until he was sure he wasn't going to fall through it. "Fine I got three questions. What happened to us? What are you? What is that thing?" He pointed to the relevant subjects in turn, the way he saw it he wouldn't be much of a (aspiring) scientist if he were to simply walk away from this assuming that was actually an option for him in his current state. When one of the other girls declared that she would indeed be taking the pill he watched with interest as she dropped to the ground leaving herself also still standing there albeit with the mysterious chain clamped to her chest. "Yeah I just asked most of those questions already."

InsaneAsylum AtlannianSpy Blackvelvet

Akkun stood perplexed. The dog had spoken again. Dogs can't talk, but it did it again. What the hell was going on? Whats more is the dog was acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary even with the threat of the authorities. "Ahem, w~well maybe I o~overreacted a bit." Akkun stated nervously. Sweat dripping out of every pour. "I really need this job" he thought. Akkun closed his eyes tight and all he could picture was Aiko and her smiling face. The money from this job would help to keep her face smiling. All he had to do was take a suicide pill...

Akkun slowly walked to where the pills were and picked one up. He looked to the dog and then to Mariya and Ema for reassurance, he got none. HE had seen enough collapsing bodies to know that he wanted to be "comfortable" when he popped the pill. He made his way back to the table with the two girls and sat down across from them. Leaning back in the seat he dropped the pill into his mouth. Aikos smiling face was all he could see. Then he was out.

Akkun blinked looking ahead he saw his two arms. He was able to move them no problem. Beyond his arms was...his body... Nervously he began to look around. To his surprise the area around was more or less the same. As he started to comprehend what was going on he saw Mariya and Ema nearby. "Mariya, Ema do you have any idea whats going on with our bodies?" Akkun asked as he approached them. "Also, I remember the dog gave use a bit of a mission after we took the pills. Want to try and help each other out?" he said as he continued to look around the cafe.

Conversation with MocaPoka Hanarei

People kept on taking the pills. Did they not see people dying right before them? Lime looked down at the bodies, then back at the dog. His words didn't strike Lime very deeply, as she was still too worried about the dead bodies littering the cafe. However the fact that they still took the pills after seeing what happened upset the girl. Did they know something she didn't? Did you have to die to see this hidden world the dog was mentioning? Lime wasn't sure. What if there was no way back from this new world? Was it gonna be like the anime where she opens her eyes and finds herself in a fantasy world? Whatever would happen, many of her friends had already done it. She couldn't let herself be the only weak one.

Lime's heart and mind raced as she approached the pills. She grabbed one, and held it between her index finger and thumb. She brought it to her mouth, but just before it could touch her lips. Lime dropped the pill, turned, and ran out of the cafe, stumbling through the door as she did so. Once outside, Lime didn't stop running. She ran down the street with her eyes welling up. Her fists were clenched tight, and her knuckles were white.

Lime ran and ran until her breathing was ragged, and she was reduced to a stumble as she plopped herself down on a wooden bench to get her bearings. She took deep breathes, trying to catch her breathe. She looked down at her palms and gazed at the indents where her fingernails had dug in. "I was that close to taking that pill," Lime said to herself. Lime had a habit of talking to herself when she was worried. "It's too risky. Just because I want to see another world doesn't mean I should risk losing everything I have now. I don't want to lose anything else! My mom would be devastated... I can't just leave her alone because I was curious..." Lime leaned back and looked up into the night sky. But as she did so, she felt something hard poking the bottom of her foot from inside of her shoe. Lime's eyebrow rose, and she leaned forward, then down to reach her shoe. She slipped it off, and shook it over her hand. A silver pill fell out and into her palm.

Lime frowned, and closed her hand around the pill, forming a fist. "I guess this is a sign, or maybe just a silly coincidence. I think my mom would be pretty disappointed if I came home with my tail between my legs anyway. This is probably going to be the worst decision of my life. S-sorry mom." With that said, Lime dropped the pill down her throat, swallowing it. Oddly enough, it didn't look like anything had changed. She was still sitting on the bench, and she wasn't in a fantasy world. Had she picked a pill that didn't work? Was it going to kick in later when she wasn't expecting it? Lime stood up and look around. She saw someone walking down the street away from her, and the looked a little... see through. The pill probably just messed up her eyes sight.

Lime let out another scream once she turned around. Sitting on the bench unconsciously was non other than herself! She was a ghost! A spirit! She was out of her own body! If a ghost could throw up, Lime would have vomited all over the street. They were suicide pills after all! She was an idiot! Lime grabbed the chain attached to her chest, and gave it a tug. This made her wince. That meant the chain was important. It was attached to her body after all. What did the dog say they were supposed to do after taking the pill... find a weapon somewhere important to them? Lime tapped her chin. It sounded like a silly thing to have them do, but Lime had an idea of where to go. Fortunately, she had already ran in that direction. Her school wasn't all that far away. "Looks like I'll be visiting the kendo club one last time..."

Ema Narisawa
Ema had all but remained fascinated by the creature giggling a bit finding it a bit cute despite the obvious fact it was some ferocious monster. She perhaps had a secret little enjoyment not just of the cute but of the predator... usually while they are cute! It was fascinating even if in a bit of a dark way. A reminder of sorts that despite the fact something might hunt other creatures, they weren't just some monsters either. Well... maybe this creature was it didn't exactly seem like it was some friendly creature that went out to the beach with his buds and played games and chated and shared great times with friends and family every Saturday night.

Her attention had finally snapped to Taeko as he seemed to be questioning Lime. She tilted her head just not seeming to pick up the fact that the others weren't able to see them. She tapped her chin curiously as her eyes caught sight of the chain on her, looking curiously at it. Her eyes shifted away finally seeming to recognize the fact it was connected to her body now dragged over by Mariya with a little help from Akkun. She watched as suddenly two of her friend appeared as she looked a bit surprised, scratching her nose. She suddenly bounced in place smiling brightly.

"Hi Mariya, and hi Mariya number two! Oh... I guess Ema is there too... hmm... well... since your Mariya 2, that must mean sleeping me is Ema 1 then and I'm Ema 2! Nice to meet you Mariya 2!" She spoke with a little bounce as she stood where she was taking it rather well. She couldn't help but notice a few more seemed to be multiplying their bodies as well. Naturally she hadn't really heard much of what Mr. Kibbles had said, not much of a surprise since she truthfully didn't at all register what he had said before she had even took the pill anyways. A bit of a little slip up on her part. Oh well, what was done is done!

Before she could debate asking Mariya, she noticed as Akkun had walked back suddenly sitting beside taking the pill and popping out a second one. She blinked a little surprised by it though perhaps not for the right reasons. As he approached them she smiled brightly bouncing in place a bit as he came up. Her head tilted to the side as he asked what had happened, not really sure what had happened herself... though she had her own 'theories'. Mentioning the mission though in particularly caught her attention. So there was something about a mission! It was like that one announcer in one of those phone games her brother played. 'Mission start!' before his little character went off being guided by him pushing the screen to make his character float up and down trying to make it to the end! Maybe they had to float in the air and get to the end goal where they saved some poor animal in distress! That could be fun! First onto her hypothesis!

"Well, my hipomotheesists is that the pill made is turn double! Now there is two of us and there is a chain thing... probably to play like jump rope! Ooo... or maybe its like our anchor to keep us in place tied to this very existence! Can't go having your copy go around too far else they might start asking questions how you are in two places at once!" She spoke oddly getting a little close to the real answer despite the nonsense it was sandwiched in. Then again considering how crazy it was perhaps it took a bit of an airhead like Ema to make even the slightest bit of sense of it even if caked in plenty of false conjecture.

"Ooo! See Mariya 2, you can date Akkun 1, and I can date this Akkun 2 as Ema 2! Oh wait, that would be Mariya 1 with Akkun 1. Darn it! I'll have to figure this out so both of yourself gets a date. Don't you worry I'll figure it out! Oh wait, that was my mission darn it. We got a different mission altogether! I... kind of wasn't paying much attention. What was it we were suppose to do again?" Ema laughed rubbing the back of her head completely clueless.



Interacted: MocaPoka Akkun no Baka
Mentioned: IG42

Mariya had often wondered if a ghost or spirit could blush and from how her face felt currently, it seemed the answer was yes.

“E-Ema!” Mariya grabbed “Ema 2” by the shoulders and gave her friend a light shake.

“T-this isn’t the time for that!” She released her friend after vetting her embarrassment at her friend’s attempts to get her a date. After moaning into her hands in mortification she turned to the boy of the group.

“I think we might have… died? Or went to another plane of existence maybe? We might be ghosts or in some kind of spirit form…” Mariya said hesitantly. “I think Ema is right though, the chains might be some kind of connection to our original bodies and our normal... world.”

The black-haired girl carefully touched the chain connecting her to her other body. Ema was probably right about this chain being a kind of anchor. What would happen if it broke? Could it break? Regardless they all were way out of anything they understood. It would be best do what the talking dog had said as quickly as possible.

“We need to… find a weapon. In a place that gives us strength. For me that would be the antiques room at my house.”

Hanarei Akkun no Baka

Alex Urishima
As events began to unfold in the Cafe, with people pouring in for the interview and the conversations that proceeded one boy sat in the back of the room silent and un-engaged, sitting them almost as calm and still as a statue, a care free expression on his face as he sat and waited. The boy who had stayed where he was seated even through the whole fight scene and the incident with the talking dog sat with just a few papers in front of them, the name Alex Urishima written on top of it followed by an email and telephone number, standard resume stuff. Alex, who was dressed in Khaki's and a thick grey hoodie even remained seated as the cage came out and the dog began to explain how they needed to take some kind of pill to see what was inside of it. It was when bodies began to drop that he got up, and walked towards the dog, leaving his resume on the table he was seated at. He was interested to say the least, it was one thing with the theatrics on having a dog who could talk or a cage that seemingly moved on its own but the fact that this dog was not worried about the fact that people were dropping like flies in his store, not worried about the fact that the cops could be called or that he possibly just killed a bunch of teenagers, and he maintained the fact that they were fine.

The boy who had been sitting still now approached the dog, "this whole thing is crazy" he said, but his voice stayed rather calm and light rather than showing any hit of anger or of being upset, "I'll take your pill" he said as he reached for one. Alex rolled the capsule around between his fingers for a few seconds, looking it over and wondering what the hell it would do to him. Swallowing what ever doubts he had Alex placed the pill on his tongue and tilted his head back, gulping it down. It wasn't instantly that anything happened, he felt fine after taking it, then he heard a clunk behind his and turned around to see his own body on the ground. He looked around the room, seeing that everyone who had already taken the pill and passed out were present and accounted for, their bodies on the ground too. He looked down to his chest to find a chain connected to it and then gazed back to the cage to see the ugly creature that sat inside of it. Alex who had been calm up to this point became confused, but he shook it off, something he didn't understand was happening here, and he feel like right now he wouldn't get his answers.

"Find a weapon in a place that gives you strength" he said to himself, as he thought about all the places that meant something to him, and only coming up with places that were thousands of miles away in Greece where he was born. it would be hard for him to travel over seas right now, especially in the condition his body seemed to be in, and with no other alternative he turned to the dog, "If I'm being honest all the places that give strength to me are overseas, I only recently moved to Japan" he said. But then like a stroke of lightning something hit him, when he was younger he remembered sitting in front of a old olive tree that was on his parents estate on the hot summer days, and he remember there being one just like it at his grandfathers as his father had brought it back to japan before alex was born. Alex looked at the dog "never mind I think I got it" as he rushed towards the Cafe doors and to the outside as the chain from his body extended.

AtlannianSpy

Naoya Fuyuzumi
It took Naoya a few moments to realise he was staring at the ceiling. Naoya gasped and sat bolt upright, breathing heavily as he looked around. He was still in the cafe apparently and most of the same people were still here... only there seemed to be two of everyone. Naoya had heard of seeing double but this seemed to be a different thing altogether: there was a version of everyone lying on the floor or slumped in a chair and a version walking around and talking to other people, when Naoya turned around and looked down he saw what he had been fearing: a nother version of himself lying on the floor, although Naoya's upper body was now above the second version their legs seemed to occupy the same space. Quickly Naoya stood up and heard the sound of clinking metal which drew his attention to the chain attached to his chest, running down to the chest of his other self.

Naoya experimented with the chain, tugging it away from his chest which produced no effect except a sharp pain, however he noticed when he lifted it up from the body of his other self it seemed to extend at some indeterminate point.

So I'm on a leash, but its a long one at least Naoya thought grimly, turning to face Tarozaki, who was using a hindleg to scratch his neck.

"Alright, what the hell is all this exactly?!" Naoya demanded, making a grab for the dog which failed when his hands passed right through Tarozaki

"It's about what everyone's putting together," said Tarozaki, unphased by a ghostly assault on his person. "The pills you took separated your spirit from your physical body, temporarily of course. Since the things I need you to hunt are also spiritual beings this is necessary in order to see and fight them."

With that reminder Naoya spun around again to look at the cage. Sure enough it was now occupied, or rather the occupant that had always been there was now visible to him. It was an ugly creature: squat and toadlike but about the size of a large dog, with bonelike, white mask covering its face and perfectly round hole in the centre of its chest.

"It's called a hollow," Tarozaki said from behind Naoya, anticipating his question. "A creature that hunts human souls which have yet to pass onto the afterlife, most of em tend to be a lot bigger and a lot nastier though,"

"I guess that's why we need the weapons huh?" Naoya asked dryly, causing Tarozaki to cackle.

"Exactly! Hope you know where you're looking!"

Naoya's expression darkened slightly. "Mmm I have an idea yeah, it's gonna be a pain in the ass though,"




Being outside in spirit form was an odd experience. Naoya found that overall he was feeling the cold less than he had on the way here, but that it seemed to permeate into his core now in a way that left him feeling uncomfortably permeable. On his short journey Naoya also discovered that he was invisible, at least to the four punks who had chased him on the way, as he happened to pass by them loitering outside the Iminaza convenience store.

"Remember to keep your eyes open," said the big one Naoya had fought with, his nose had been treated with the finest medical supplies the convenience store could offer and all the expertise his fellow ruffians could muster. This was to say that several bandaids had been haphazardly layered over his broken nose, roughly holding it in place.

"Yeah he could be anywhere," said his skinnier companion, as Naoya waved an invisible hand in front of the other boy's face. "If he turns up again we gotta be ready to stomp him!"


After amusing himself by haunting the punks for a few moments more Naoya continued on his way, after remembering that Tarozaki had specified that the pills were temporary. Naoya wasn't exactly sure what would happen if he was away from his body when they ran out but he decided he'd rather not find out. With that thought to hasten his steps, Naiya arrived at his destination only a few minutes later: The Fuyuzumi dojo.

The dojo was a small, but handsome little building constructed in an austere, traditional style, with old fashioned tiles on the roof and walls made of wood and paper screens. Naoya stood outside the dojo with his hands in his pockets and a confused expression on his face. The partially transparent paper screens that made up the dojo walls made it obvious that the lights were still on.

Dammit Dad," Naoya sighed, before walking up to the door. Out of habit Naoya tried to slide the screen open, when his hand sunk right through it Naoya remembered that he was a spirit, squared his shoulders and phased through the screen. THe dojo interior was about what one would expect from it outsides, traditional and austere, the tatami had been put away for the night so the gleaming, hardwood floor underneath was fully visible. A single man in a traditional hakama was bent over, slowly polishing the floor with a rag, the scent of polish giving the air a rich, chemical smell.

"Jeez Dad go home already," Naoya muttered from behind his father, then started when the man bolted to his feet and turned around with a hard glare. Shuuhei Fuyuzumi was in his mid thirties, but looked older, with a lined, weathered face and short, practical hair, it wasn't obvious underneath his traditional garb, but Naoya knew from experience his limbs possessed a wiry strength and hardness to them that matched his face.

"Naoya?" Shuuhei asked, but his eyes looked straight through Naoya and he looked from side to side before eventually scratching his head and returning to his polishing. "Damn fool," Shuuhei muttered under his breath, "going senile,"

Naoya let out a breath that he'd been holding in and relaxed. .For a moment it had seemed like his father had been able to see him, but maybe he'd just been thinking about him or something. "Now that that's out of the way, I guess I better find this weapon," Naoya said to himself and then was struck by the thought that looking for a weapon in a karate dungeon was sort of ironic. Naoya's father always used to natter on about the soul of karate being "strength without the need for weapons" or some such, Naoya rather though the old man might be offended to know one was hiding in his dojo.

Can you...hear me...

Naya turned around suddenly. Someone had spoken, not his Father, a different voice, a strange, echoey voice whose location was hard to pinpoint.

You can... I can feel it... you can here me!

"Who's there!" Snapped Naoya, unconsciously raising his fists.

Haha.... not a bad reaction. I suppose you might be fit to wield me, if you can keep that fire going through what's to come...

"The fuck are you talking about?" Naoya demanded bluntly. "Who are you!?"

The voice spoke again but it was distorted into a hollow buzz. As I thought my name is beyond you for now, but you will learn it in time. For now all you need to know is how to draw me...

Naoya blinked. In the middle of the dojo something had appeared and was now floating eerily in place. It was a sword, Naoya realised, as his eyes picked out the long, subtly curved length of its sheathed blade and the shining, gold adornments of its guard and hilt.

Of course the sword talks Naoya thought wearily, as he slowly approached the floating blade. It's hardly the strangest thing that's happened tonight. What was stranger to Naoya was how familiar the weapon seemed, although he was sure he had never seen anything like it except in movies. When Naoya finally reached out and grabbed the sword by its hilt that felt familiar too, as if it had been moulded to his grip.

Exactly right said the eerie voice and Naoya could tell for sure now it was coming from the sword in his hand. I was made to be wielded by you and you were made to wield me

"What does that mean?" Naoya asked, but before he could receive a reply they were interrupted by the wailing, high pitched scream of a child.

"HEEEEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEE!"

Taeko Suijin
"The afterlife?" Taeko echoed still not quite willing to believe everything the talking dog had to say, he would have liked to continue questioning the creature but Lime chose that moment to flee the cafe. "Lime? Hey wait!" Jumping up he jabbed a finger at Tarozaki before rushing out after her. "I'm not done with you yet."

Outside in chill night air Taeko barely noticed the way the chain clamped to his chest never ran out as he called Lime's name between his panting breaths and the constant pressure on his chest. When he stopped to catch his breath he wondered how breathing as a supposedly disembodied spirit even worked and then kicked himself for wasting it on shouting when she wasn't able to see or hear him. Any thoughts of the futility of chasing his friend left his mind when he heard her scream nearby.

Reaching the source of the scream he found Lime's body slumped on a bench and saw the chain leading away in the direction of the school. Following the chain Taeko found that Lime's walkabout spirit hadn't gotten far. "Lime wait up! Finally joined the madness have you?" He said gesturing to the chain extending from her chest. "You're looking for that weapon to kill the hollow thing like the dog said right? I'm betting that if it's anywhere mine is at the school too."

AtlannianSpy InsaneAsylum

Akkun was grateful that Mariya had mentioned the antiques in her house. Otherwise he would have been at a complete loss for what to do. "OK, lets head there first and see what happens. Ema dont worry I think your bod... Ema 1 will be fine as long as we find these swords." Akkun said in a not so convincing voice. As the three of them made there way to the exit Akkun could see the chain in his chest lengthening and then eventually fading into nothing. He peered back at his body and could still see the chain. I guess our real body is our anchor he though with a bit a apprehension.

As the three exited the cafe Akkun was expecting to be hit by a blast of cold from the night air. There was no such phenomenon. In fact he didn't really feel anything. After being a little weirded out by the though of not feeling and began to follow behind Maria. He wasn't the only one feeling this way and it would be selfish to think like that. "What area of the town do you live in Mariya?" Akkun asked as he strolled behind the two girls.

When was the last time he was with girls like this he thought. two cute girls his added subconsciously. Akkuns thoughts quickly shifted to Aiko and the responsibility he had to protect and raise her. He let out a sigh and a chuckle. I already have a cute girl in my life he thought, but maybe she needs some female role models...

Hanarei MocaPoka