~ Z A M O R A ~

"I'm awake." Talia wasn't really sure if she actually said what she was thinking, but after a deep breath and taking in the fact that she had dozed off she was able to think clearly again. She lifted her head up, smiling to herself as she removed the pillow and blanket from her person. It was a nice gift, but she felt bad that someone took the time to make her feel better. She neatly folded away and set down the bedding as she walked to the gathering of people as she peered over their shoulders. She had obviously missed something, but it was clear what was going on. Talia quickly went through the list of jobs on the board, but once she read the second one she knew which one she'd go for. She had left her main wardrobe back with her parents in storage; and while she could clean her show suit more often than she did already, she'd rather pick up a couple of others in case she wanted to hang out around town or in the café.

"I'll take the second mission, if nobody minds~" Talia said grinning. She was a bit concerned that there was that one pervert looking man that also showed interest in the job, but she could always resort to magic if he'd think about getting a little too fresh with her. Talia shouldn't need the money, with her theater opening up in town; but she'd love to spend a little extra time trying on their selections and perhaps leave with a little something after solving the 'mystery'. At least that could also serve as a good excuse from getting away from the man once the job was done.

Talia just turned around and saw the cutest little ... shark? What evs. She squealed with excitement as she ran up to Mako's table and stealing away the smol Sume-san into her arms as she twirled about. It was just the cutest thing; it was small but dangerous but she realized she probably shouldn't randomly steal away random bar patrons, especially being new to the area, so she just set him back down without a word. She did give the small creature a nice wave before turning and skipping off out the door. She knew where she was headed and the quicker she got there, the more time she'd have to try on clothes.

---

@CorpusMundum@RoflsMazoy

Chikage’s presence was as swift as it was sudden, the shadowy Youkai already vanishing from sight. Thank goodness too, because Aria didn’t need complaints of the woman flashing her customers. That wasn’t good business for the Dangeki and would only attract a less than tolerable crowd. Shaking her head, she turned to her equally as rowdy familiar.

“No Ellie, napping wouldn’t be acceptable in these dark times. And besides, you still need to serve everyone their complimentary doughnuts. Someone has to keep reminding you about that,” said Aria with an airy sigh. “Oh well. At least you’re all keeping yourselves busy. Please go forward and do the very best you can everyone,” she said aloud with a smile for all the Chasers to hear.

Dinky gave a small salute before getting Miranda’s orders ready while contemplating how best to chew Ellie’s head off. The little succubus was god awful annoying by her standards but at least she was keeping herself busy with filling orders. Irritation could only go so far before she’d snap one day with more than words, shark teeth clenched in notice.

“To those who will be taking the special mission and toilet factory mission, please be addressed by me. To the other two, please direct your questions to Ellie,” Aria called out. Once the crowd of those curious gathered around her she said, “Although your missions are both radically different, I implore you to please be careful. Reports of deadly water-based Youkai are said to inhabit the toilet factory so please be conscious of this potential exploit.”

The Chaser leader than noticed the arrival of Mako the Kitsune. A look was given at Ellie to serve their latest guest before she turned back to the crowd. “One more thing. To those heading towards the mysterious mansion, please, please take heed. Reports of a very powerful Youkai is said to dwell there, possibly a Class SSS. If you encounter this creature, I want you to report immediately back to me. Do not engage it,” she said with all the sternness of a worried mother.

With that said and done, Aria motioned for her Chasers to proceed along their missions before walking over to Mako. She politely bowed towards the Kitsune before noticing Sume-San upon her lap and grinned. “I see you’ve already made a new friend. Welcome Mako,” said Aria, waiting patiently for a reply. Dinky took the coupon without hesitation, already getting back-logged with hefty orders on the go for hungry Chasers on the road.

And so the missions had officially begun. To those heading towards the toilet factory, their location wasn’t really hard to miss. Found at the very edges of Dangeki City, it was dark and desolate just as Aria had said it would be. The sound of something moving would ring every present the moment the place was approached and just at the corner of the eye, slight movement could be detected. Where were they to go next?

Unfortunately for those who had taken the special mission, their path was not so simple. Two mansions lay before them, their images hazy but very real to Chasers and Youkai. One lay at the far east, shrouded in a mist bathed in the color of the Crimson Sky and the sound of flocking bats echoing in its distance.

The other one lay dormant to the far west and while although this one was not coated in mist, it look abandoned and decrepit. Plant growth seemed to have taken over the entire estate as if the vegetation reigned supreme in this land. Both mansions were at opposite ends of the Crimson Sky…to which one would the Chasers choose?

---

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---

Elliot ran through the city turning corner to corner as the sky went from black to red, signifying his entrance into the Crimson Sky. The red light reflected off the street signs and light posts, blaring the red moon onto Elliots white hair. The road beneath his feet echoed his steps, though light as they were as Elliot began counting them. "77, 78, 79, 80.." he whispered under his breath. His Katana bounced against his hip and his revolver weighed heavy in it's holster.

The further he went the deeper red the of the Crimson Sky went, one more corner turn then, darkness again. The realm of the Crimson Sky left behind and he was within Dangeki City once again. A small wood showed up ahead with the glimpses of grey brick showing through the distant branches. An eerie feeling fell into the pit of Elliots stomach, growing deeper and deeper with each step. He slowed his pace now, almost to a jog or brisk walk. He took a step and herd metal clanking sounded under his shoe.

Elliot jumped up and backwards quickly, whatever he had stepped on was covered in dead fallen leaves but it didn't seam to be moving. With his shoe he brushed aside the leaves to a sign that read. Hibiya Elementary. The sign was clearly very old and seemed out of place as it was rusted and tattered, thrown aside and forgotten. Elliot looked at it curiously then glanced up at the grey building, trailing his eyes around the brick fence that surrounded the front of it, at the entrance to the building he made out an iron arched entryway with the words Dangeki City Toilet Factory written in it. The flickering lamp behind it barely making the letters legible. "There was a school here?" Elliot whispered under his breath.

He walked quietly and light footed around the edge of the wood that encased the building, eyeing it for an entrance. The building was desolate and abandoned as though some sort of apocalypse had struck it then left it alone as a post-battle landmark. Finally, Elliot spotted a triangle shaped hole in what seemed to be a warehouse or storage area for the factory. With a single foot beyond the wood the skies once again turned Crimson, Elliot placed a hand on the grip of his revolver and continued his way towards the small opening, steadying his breathes.

Nearing the little entrance, Elliot felt his heart in his stomach and took gentle steps over the fallen brick through the crack in the wall. The room opened up though light was scarce revealing rows and rows of toilets, some were smashed, some missing pieces but most were intact. Randomly throughout the toilets where pools of blood stains leaking down the porcelain and onto the concrete beneath it. A small sound echoed through the halls and round the room of the warehouse.

Elliot stilled himself at the sound, his heart racing but his breath steady. His eyes searched the room and then the sound came again, almost like a sob. Elliot took a step towards it almost as if it were robotic, his heal coming down on the corner of a shattered toilet cover, smashing it. It would have been an almost inconsequential sound but as it bounced off the walls, the sobbing became wailing. Echoing off each surface, filling the room in a thunderous sound. Elliot covered his ears, trying to focus on the task at hand before, down the hall he heard a heavy footstep and a shadow appear large on the floor.

At the edge of the hall, the corner turning to the warehouse appeared a pair of sharp red eyes, staring straight at him. The eyes were no higher then three and a half feet tall and around it the silhouette of a blouse and skirt with clasp shoes on. Elliots eyes opened wider with the sudden realization of his new friend. "Hanako-san.. here?" His voice was barely a whisper but at the last syllable the eyes narrowed slightly and a brief pause enveloped the room without the trace of a sound, no crying, no sobbing then suddenly as though whispering directly in his ear came, "Yes, I'm here." in an innocent little girls voice.

Elliot drew is revolver fast as the girl disappeared, he quickly shot his eyes around the room searching. Then came the sound of a toilet flush from the line-up of waiting toilets and the girl reached her hand out of its rim, pulling herself onto the floor. Her red skirt and blood stained white school shirt now more visible as she was only 30 paces from him. She stood quickly and began in an almost sprint towards him.

Elliot pulled up his handgun, lined up the sights and shot rapidly 4 times in her direction. The girl fell into a crawl and on all fours began moving spiderlike towards Elliot. He jumped up and began running across the tops of the toilets. With the touch of his foot down on the 9th rim he slipped and fell, seeing her arm outstretched from within the toilet and grabbing onto the hem of his pants. He pointed his revolver at the hand a shot twice quickly, shattering the toilet though there was no blood or missing limbs to be seen. "Get away from the toilets, you fucking idiot." Elliot thought to himself now running towards an open area of the room.

The room fell silent once again no sounds to be heard but the sounds of Elliots breathes. He quickly took this opportunity to empty the brass from his cylinder and reload it with one of his speed loaders, his pants were torn where they were grabbed though his mattered little at this moment. The sudden sound of toilets flushing filled the room as Hanako rose and fell from various toilets throughout the room each time her eyes gazing and pierced on Elliot.

The last flush spat her out of it's toilet and she began running towards Elliot again. He once again emptied his cylinder in her direction each shot lower then the last just in case she dropped. One bullet hit and a screech of pain enveloped the room. Her eyes glowed with fury as she sprinted towards him the wound on the right side of her waist barely oozing blood. She jumped up and wrapped her legs around Elliots throat, suffocating him as her fingers came down and started scratching viciously at his face.

He quickly tucked into a roll, landing her on her head against the concrete, lighting her grip on Elliots neck. He grabbed her waist and threw her against a toilet, shattering it with the weight of her body. His face bleed and ached with it's fresh wounds dripping onto his chest and shoulders, burning his eyes, his throat felt bruised from the pressure of the Hanako's tiny legs.

Elliots hand found the hilt of his sword which he quickly drew, simultaneously holstering his empty handgun. Hanako rose slowly as she limped towards him, a malicious smile forming on her lips with each step closer she took."Oh, to hell with this!" Elliot shouted as he charged her with his sword outstretched. Hanako quickly bounced aside, grabbing onto Elliots leg and beginning her ascension of his body, ripping at his skin as she did so. The pain shot through him like knives with each slice of her sharp nails. He attempted to grab at her but she sank her teeth into her hand which seemed to almost release a venom.

Instinctively Elliot flipped backwards, causing her to loose her grip and in a swift motion sliced his sword, cutting her length wise across the chest. She wailed as blood tears poured down her cheeks, her short bob cut black hair sticking to it. Before she could move again, Elliot slashed his sword across her neck severing her head. The head, now sitting lopsided next to a toilet cried loudly then gradually decreased in volume until it stopped, the light in the eyes of the little girl disappearing.

Elliot wiped the edge of his blade on his pants to clear it of blood before sheathing it then collapsed onto his hands noticing that his left hand, the one bit by Hanako was bleeding profusely and swollen to twice the size of his right. The blood dripping from his face and right side left spots on his hands and the floor. "Come on tough guy." He said to himself, almost choking on his words. He pulled himself up and in a limp, walked towards the head, scooping it up into his arms. He pulled his sheathed sword off his belt and used it as a cane as he exited the building, cradling the soccer ball sized head in his swollen hand.

Slowly, he began walking back to the café. The sun was beginning to rise as he entered the human side of the parallel, limping and breathing heavily. His left hand now had almost no feeling and the right side of his body was just one long red mass. By the time he reached the door the sun was over the sky revealing the morning as Elliot entered the room, he dropped, back against the wall next to the cafe door and closed his eyes, the venom in his hand seeped into the rest of his body, shutting down his organs one by one until death struck him. He was got, contract in hand, head in another.



@TheWindel @Aether Spawn @Lonewolf685 @RoflsMazoy @Lucius Cypher @Heap241 @Ebonsquire @MacDuffy @BubbleGumKing @Ent @Kyuubey @liferusher @KoL @Letter Bee

"My, my, you really did came? Of course I have something special for you." Ellie greeted Mako with a cheerful smile, while placing a menu with all the house's specialties before the kitsune. "Oh? I see you've become friends with Sume, that's good. You should come more often, we don't bite... too much, that is." The succubus petted Sumesan as she complimented her joke by flashing some very sharp fangs once more, before giving off a hearty laugh.

After managing all the chores she was imposed with by her Master, Ellie clapped to call the attention of those who were directed at her for debriefing. "Well, for those who are going to face the Yellow Jackets, the biggest clue we have is that they are back at their usual hideout in the Old Industrial District, close to the Port. You should be aware of their leader, the notorious Suzumebachi, he may be a goof, but he packs quite a punch. Just go there and give'em a lesson!"

Ellie marked the location of the hideout on a map of Dangeki, before proceeding to explain the other mission, marking the shop's location in a likely manner as she spoke. "As for the other mission. The shop in question is of a fancy brand called Chic Grey. It's located on Dangeki's Shopping Arcade, close to the Downtown Train Station. The disappearances have been happening right around the store's closing time. If you leave soon, you may catch a clue of what's going on."

"And, oh! Before anyone... else, leaves, please take you courtesy doughnuts, they're on the house. Don't worry!" Ellie added, placing a box of freshly baked doughnuts over the counter, where everyone could get one before leaving.

Sume leaned into Ellie's hand as she petted him. He relished the pats, but he knew that there was such a thing as having too much of something good. Sometimes he played hard to get with the pats, which was warranted in a way because being petted by someone he didn't really know usually felt strange. Mako would technically classify as a stranger in the end, but being a guardian spirit and all, being in her lap felt like safe and warm. On any other day he might just curl up and fall asleep, since he was able to make himself fall asleep just about anywhere, anytime; but unfortunately they had a job to do today.

"Hmmm, I think I know where their hideout is." He said, furrowing his head in thought. "Pretty sure I got chased out of there, once."

The sooner they could complete the mission, the longer Sume could spend lounging around the Cafe.

"I can fly us there, if you want!" He said excitedly, looking up at Mako. "My dragon form is fast!"

Below them, Mod rolled out from under the chair Mako was sitting on and fixed her with a beady, black stare.

---

@BubbleGumKing

---

With his declaration, Avalanche was promptly shoved to the side by the approaching Elliot, who was at the board and out the door in the blink of an eye. "Oof-!.....Well, a hearty hello to you too, Kid...." He said, rubbing his arm. His ears then perked up at the sound of others making their intent to tackle his mission of choice. He often did these simple jobs by himself, since more help meant further splitting the reward....though, with the nature of this job, he could probably negotiate a big enough pay that it wouldn't matter. Never hurts to have help when the help is cheap!

He turned and looked at his fellow Chasers on the job. There was.....a creepy old guy, and.....a priest....Not exactly his idea of the ideal people for negotiating, but hey, maybe the priest would take a smaller cut! He quickly walked up to the two of them, putting on his million-dollar smile.

"So, looks like we'll be running this job together, huh?" he said to the pair in greeting. "Lemmie get the formalities outta the way. Name's Avalanche Sandrovich! As you can tell by this suit of mine, I'm quite the professional. So rest assured, you're in good hands for this one!"

At the priest's mention of protecting the innocent from the evils of the mansion, Avalanche chuckled and put a friendly arm around his shoulder. "Hey, hey, hey, listen..." He began. "Random urban legends like this start up aaaall the time, and they're usually either a buncha superstition, or misinterpretation o' the facts. I mean, think about it...Youkai's one thing, but a disappearing, kidnapping ghost mansion? That's just WAY outta the realm o' plausibility. So relax, take it easy! All we gotta do is go out, ask around town, get some facts straight, badda-bing, badda-boom, we're paid! So don't go lookin' for a fight or nothin', this kinda stuff's nothin' but conjecture."

No sooner had he finished his spiel that Aria made mention of an extremely dangerous SSS-Class Youkai possibly dwelling within the mansion.

".................NNNNNOTHIN' but conjecture."

Rolling up the mission poster and placing it in his pocket, he strolled out from the mission board and towards the door, stopping on a dime to turn and wink at Dinky. "Have fun while I'm gone, gorgeous! Let's have a real hero's welcome when I get back~..." He kicked off towards the door with a spring in his step and an excited disposition, looking back at his compatriots.

"Alright, boys, let's go out there and bust some myths! This is gonna be great! This is gonna be fantastic!"

---

"This is bullshit."

Avalanche stood at the crossroads, staring out at the not one, but TWO mysterious mansions in the distance. His once cheery demeanor was long gone, and he slumped over in despair so much his face was halfway to the concrete. He slowly turned toward his compatriots with sunken, defeated eyes, and slowly raised up his finger, pointing out towards the buildings.

"....You see that? What the fuck is that? That's two of 'em. Two. TWO real honest-to-God horror mansions. The fuck is this false advertisin'!?"

He pulled the job poster from his pocket and threw it on the ground in frustration, before straightening out and taking deep, sharp breaths.

"Okay...OKAY this is FINE, this is fine. Breathe IN.....breathe OUT.

@Ent @Kyuubey @TheWindel

Drinking her juice Sheolred just sort of took in the mood. Everything was so... Refreshing. Usually under the Crimson Sky things were rather serious. A sort of do-or-die mentality that made it really hard for Sheolred to relax. But here, even with all the drama, it felt relaxing. Good company. Sheolred wouldn't mind just sitting here and relaxing. But alas, she had work to do! It wasn't as if she only joined the Chasers for apple juice. Getting off her rump Sheolred went to look up the missions, taking note that doing the first mission would let her get into contact with those Yellow Jackets that Chikage wanted them to seek out. However the second mission was also tempting. Sheolred didn't know how much 500,000 yen or pesos or whatever currency this city ran off of was, but it seemed like a lot. And if there was one thing her mother taught Sheolred, it's that money is power. Right now Sheolred had only a bit of money from her potion sales, which barely broke a thousand, let alone 500,000. So it would be a good idea for Sheolred to get her resources built first before she jumped head first into a serious job.

"I'll take the second mission. Let's see..." As Sheolred was looking for where the mission would take place the succubus from before gave a briefing. "Dangeki's Shopping Arcade, close to the Downtown Train Station. I've been there before!" Granted Sheolred didn't stay for long, but it was one of the common hang outs for youkais. Powerful youkais unfortunately, so Sheolred couldn't do business there if she didn't want to pay protection money. Still she knew where it was at so it wouldn't be hard for her to get there. But as for who was there... Well, Sheolred would be finding out soon enough. As she was about to leave Sheolred took one of the complimentary doughnuts and look at Sume-san. He was just... "So cute~" Sheolred couldn't help but reach out to pet Sume-san, and even when his weird fish companion showed up Sheolred gave the little derpy creature a playful poke. Of course Sheolred was still wearing his Witch Mask this entire time, and while for a harden Chaser it wouldn't really be scary, it was still rather intimidating to look if for the more faint of heart.

After she finished playing with the tiger-shark Sheolred went to do her mission. If memories served, there were a few others who were going on this mission as well. Sheolred didn't know if they knew where to go, but if she went quickly she could catch up. So Sheolred ran in the direction of the shopping arcade, careful not to take any open paths where she could be sniped, but also watchful of the side passages where she could be ambushed.

@Aether Spawn@RoflsMazoy@CorpusMundum@KoL

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Mako looked at the creature which had walked over to her table and talked to her which she analyzed them quickly before determining that, no it was not a talking animal but a yokai. Although he certainly didn't look like any animal she recognized so, mistaking the yokai for anything else would have been silly, but its question seemed sincere "Well, I hope we will get along. Let us see where that takes us, hm? To introduce myself, I am Mako." She said to Youkai quickly before Aria and Ellie began giving their mission briefings to the respective Chasers who took them. In this case, a briefing for the two Yokai who took on the first mission by Ellie which explained the situation that they were getting them into. Looking over at her partner's form, while unintimidating at first glance, the weak do not survive long and a yokai certainly nowhere close to how weak humans are. She and Sume, which Ellie mentioned his name, were probably going to be more than enough to be handling this mission with just the two of them.

Taking note of the important things that Ellie was telling them, she checked on the birdies that she had deployed earlier in the Old Industrial District for their progress. However, before she could cycle through all of them, Sume poked themselves into her concentration and mentioned that he had been there once before. 'Great, that means I can focus on preparing myself instead of acting as GPS' She thought to herself silently as she continued to listen to Sume. Upon even hearing him offering her a ride, this was going to be much better than she thought when she expected to hail a cab again.

Looking at Sume with a slight grin "Okay, let us go then, shall we? Let see how fast you are~" She said playfully before waiting for him to lead the way as he was going to be the driver and the car in this case. Taking a donut and the cake that she ordered hurriedly and packed them while she was still inside the cafe.

"I'm not quite sure whether my back will be good for riding or not, but I think I'll still be able to carry you in case it isn't." Sume said, jumping down from the chair.

He picked up Mob with his teeth and trotted merrily towards the exit. Perhaps if his form had been closer to human right about now, he would be blushing profusely. It was always quite something when people seemed to enjoy his presence beyond just casual pats. It felt warm and fuzzy inside.

He pushed open the Cafe door quite easily and stepped outside.

"Alright," He said, dropping Mob from his teeth. "Here we go!"

The transformation was almost instantaneous, but Sume had to consciously place all his limbs as they changed. Right now he was just going for the expansion route since there was a lot of room. He grew bigger on the spot; arms and legs becoming thicker and sporting sharper claws; head extending and growing a neck, face extending and teeth growing sharper, wings grew out of his back, and his tail grew, and became more whip-like.

Mako may have observed the changes that had occurred, as the speed was usually just a little too fast to be caught by human perception. He leaned down to allow Mako to climb on his back.

"Climb on," Sume said, his voice noticeably more gravelly than before.

---

@BubbleGumKing

@RoflsMazoy

Mako followed the other Yokai, walking outside before watching Sume going straight to business as she watched him transform into a different form. Watching him change into his other form, while surprising her that this was going to be her transportation. She could only catch a few glimpse clearly from the sudden change but it was very interesting ability that Sume had which was different from even most peculiar Yokai.

Nodding approvingly as she noted the change to be not an illusion but a physical change of form which was the real thing, she would definitely mistake him as a stranger if he was in this form or any other if he had more than this single transformation. "Impressive..." She said with a hint of... mischievousness? Circling around Sume as she appraised his form further before satisfying her own curiosity and stopped when she finished.

She smiled charmingly at the Yokai but she had her own preparations to make sure she wasn't going to be lynched by the Yellow Coats as well, looking at herself before changing as well. Moving her hands through her hair as it turned several tones darker into black and became shorten instantly before moving to her face, as she waved her hand over it before a red oni mask donned her face and hid it behind the powerful illusion. It then came to her clothing which she began brushing off the imaginary dirt on them as they transformed from simply casual clothing into a simple reddish purple kimono which fitted her form elegantly as she was done.

Smiling behind her disguise "Ikimashou?" Mako said before she got on Sume before they began heading their way to the Old Industrial District. Taking her time on the ride as she began to prepare herself for getting into trouble, as the paper talisman began getting prepared as tucked in a variety of places for flexibility of reaching. To say the least, it was going to be interesting for two Yokai who were going to handle the job, hopefully doing it without destroying everything after they were done there.

---

Her drink never did show up and that really put a damper on Miranda's desire to lounge at the bar for awhile. Luckily for everyone present the job board was made available and offered with it the plethora of goods and goodies any Chaser could hope for if they managed to accomplish the given task. In one shocking display, a lone Chaser even tried to handle the mission on their own without letting the Dangeki staff get a work in edgewise, and it really was no wonder when they returned a corpse clutching a severed head. While disgruntled waitresses went about removing the corpse from beside the doorway and let a 'Caution! Wet Floor!' sign in the pool of blood, Miranda slid out of her chair and approached the mission board.

"A motorcycle? I couldn't afford the gas, let alone insurance, licenses, and a place to store it. Toilet Paper is already taken by the stiff over there. Money is nice, but a mystery mansion sounds like its worth any reward." Miranda said to herself, mind already maid up on seeing what secrets laid within the mysterious estate.

@KoL@TheWindel

At the heart of the Dangeki's Old Industrial District, amid a number of derelict factories and warehouses, most of them marked for demolition and being used mainly as hideout for the worst of the society's trash (both human and Youkai), the gang known as the Yellow Jackets made their nest.

Despite their peculiar naming, the Jackets weren't in fact identified by their glaring bad sense of fashion. That was a self reference by gang's leader, the notorious biker Youkai Suzumebachi, known to be a harder prey to fell than his --apparent-- lack of cunning would indicate. Usually, both the Jackets and Suzumebachi are busy most of the time with small crimes and over dramatic edgy behavior that aren't of much concern to anyone. The problem is when someone with an intelligence and a plan hires them to do grunt work.

Such was the case of last week's robbery of the focusing lens of Dangeki's University's new telescope. Made from a one of a kind natural crystal found in a Guatemalan cenote that (unknown to the scientific community) has a powerful connection to the Crimson Sky. Some members of the Hunters' Association believe that the reported 'unique' optical properties of the crystal may have something to do with the Crimson Sky's influence, given that the cave seemed to have been inhabited by ancient Youkai that might be the source of the legends of some Pre Colombian deities.

Either way, the fact is that the current Jacket's activity spree began after this theft that couldn't have been planned by anyone other than Yotsuba's scientists. The corporation made a public attempt of securing the crystal before but was turn down by the government, given that the crystal had been unearthed by Dangeki U's archeologists and bought by the university from the Guatemalan government far before YTC showed interest on it. As is customary of them, what YTC can't get with the power of money, they steal by force an (very much likely) such was one of those cases.

It wasn't very hard to find the number of Yellow Jackets thugs in the old warehouse they use as their hideout. The noise of revving engines and deafening loud music was a very good telltale sign of their location, actually. However, neither Suzumebachi or the mirror were nowhere to be seen at the moment.

Maybe, some 'friendly' interrogation would reveal the truth?


A dark shadow, sinister and creeping, seemed to hang over the Hell Girl Clothing Store. The establishment, known as much for their high grade premium goods as for their sky high prices, making this a business intended only at really rich teens and young women, had a simplistic storefront with shiny, piano black sides, frosted glass windows and the shop's logo written in elegant silvery letters.

The last remnants of the bloody light of the setting sun where filtered through the glass, making the inside of the store --an equally sober space, mostly populated by mannequins and shelves full of, mostly, black clothing and accessories-- look like it it was on fire, or bathed in freshly drawn blood.

A soft music was playing from hidden speakers, making the inside of the store look like a completely different place than the outside. All in all, it looked as nothing more than a fancy boutique for girls that had too much money to spend on this sort of stuff, or those who liked the ever popular Japanese tradition of window shopping, even though they would likely never be able to buy anything sold in such a place.

Further investigation would be needed to find a clue as to the cause of the disappearances. Perhaps the staff (if they could be found) would know of something?

Dinky, the head waitress was smiling at her for cleaning up the mess. Emilia felt happy that the head waitress appreciate her like that. Emilia continued to clean up and try to calm down the customer that was causing the ruckus. After that she nicely tended her wound and was back in action. The headmaster of the Dangeki had in the meanwhile arrived too.

Everyone was told to chose a job and like the sweet girl she was Emilia waited till last for choosing a job she didn't need a specific job anyway, she was fine with whatever they were going to do. As long as it wasn't too scary and she was actually useful she was fine with everything.

So it appeared Emilia and some others were sent on a mission involving some kind of clothing store, it didn't sound all too bad and didn't look all too bad now standing in front of the store. It was unlike her parents her store. Instead of clothes being made and repaired they had clothes coming in from the factory and sell them here. What is the fun in that, they are super overpriced too.

Emilia got closer to one of the shelves with many different gothic outfits on it to inspect the quality of the clothes. The stitching wasn't perfect and the fabric was utterly cheap. In price it probably wouldn't go above the 20 bucks but it was sold as a piece of 60 bucks. Emilia frowned and continued on into the store noticing there was no staff at the front of the store.



She muttered to herself as she slowly shifted closer to the counter of the store. With careful gracious steps she stepped closer and called out to anyone.



Her hands brushed over the shelves she passed. Her eyes snapped to the hand as she brushed over some nice feeling fabric. Emilia tilted her head in confusion and got a better look at the piece of cloth by raising it up in the air. It was a nice black looking dress with a big black ribbon at the back.



She rushed towards one of the changing room and quickly changed to the new outfit. She stepped out in only seconds again with the new piece of fabric under her short grey mantle. She turned a little to take a good look at herself. Her hair kinda fitted with it she thought herself.

Sume circled around, high above the warehouse, scoping out the situation. The Yellow Jackets probably weren't looking up, but even then they probably wouldn't see anything. His scales weren't too reflective, and even then there wasn't much light going up from below to give them away.

"Bachi isn't here." He growled.

A part of the grievances the Yellow Jackets had with Sume was, what they saw as blatant disrespect. Sume had a different name for Suzumebachi for all of his forms because they all spoke differently. Suzumebachi was an awkward name to call someone after all, so he shortened it. But being a biker gang and all, they were big on getting respect so being so flippant and casual about his name was something they took offence to. Now normally whenever he met them, he would just be playing around until someone started something, but their actions as of late betrayed the fact that something was probably going on behind the scenes.

Sume didn't really care who wanted what in the Yokai world. Mostly because if they had it, then what was he supposed to do about it? But he didn't like it when people threatened others. He didn't understand why people like the Yotsuba corporation were so driven to do such things, when really they could just share everything and have fun. You only lived once, and being bad wasn't a fun way to live.

Anyway, they had to find Bachi first to find out where he sent the lens. He couldn't see him down there, and hell he might now even be down there at all. They'd have to catch someone first, but Sume wasn't one to interrogate people. He had too much strength, and he wasn't great at controlling it...

"...Looks like it's time for some trick fishing."

---

@BubbleGumKing

As the others arrived, Sheolred took a good look at the team composition. There was one girl wearing tight clothing and looked like a wizard Sheolred sees on flyers, there was another who looked like an old man who could be a wizard, and finally a little girl with pigtails. And of course Sheolred. They didn't really look the part of warriors, put perhaps they were spellcasters instead? Sheolred would have wished they had someone more melee oriented, but she simply sighed and resigned herself to the fate of the meat shield. Still, better her than the others, right? At least Sheolred was tailored, just a bit, to be more face-to-face confrontation. She just hoped that if she had to fight, it'd be with blades rather than words.

Once they arrived nothing particularly was amiss. It seemed like the shop was closed, or at least vacate of employees. This immediately put alarms in Sheolred's head, wondering why the store left it's doors open so late at night. Perhaps the thief or thieves have already come and gone? Just as she asked that, one of the other members asked how she looked. She was wearing one of the merchandise. "Looks good, but we should focus. Let's try out new clothes once we're done investigating." Though it was certainly tempting to try. Sheolred had never had much clothes beyond whatever rags she could cobble together or steal. Her mother didn't really care for fashion and Sheolred often fought the beings of the Crimson Sky too often for her clothing to stay in tact. It helps that as an orc, she was more tolerate of cold weather, so wearing her fairly thin garments were only needed to provide modesty, rather than protection.

Once inside the shop Sheolred looked around for clues. Perhaps there may still be an employee here or something. If so, Sheolred took the chance to look for one. Approaching the counter were a cashier is normally at, there was a small bell. Sheolred looked around and didn't see anyone that wasn't part of the team, so she pressed the bell and waited for service. She also looked around on the counter for any other clues, perhaps identification or even keys. Perhaps even some sort of scrying tool that the humans use instead of magic. And of course, Sheolred kept her nose out for danger. If it smells like a youkai, Sheolred would know. Hopefully.

@liferusher@Aether Spawn@CorpusMundum@KoL

While Avalanche may have appreciated the return wink Dinky sent his way, it was evident that now his high-spirits weren’t so lofty. Certainly, if his reaction was to be taken into account, he was not a happy camper to discover that two spooky mansions lay before the group. Surely it was only a choice of picking one and not the other, yes?

As it turned out though, it looked like everyone had gone silent from this revelation. Probably too busy trying to put together a decision that would benefit the good of the group. So far it looked like only Avalanche and Miranda were paying attention to their mission. Well then, if they couldn’t make a choice themselves then their locations would do so for them.

It was almost like the first mansion, the one to the far east, had a mind of its own because soon a flock of something dark and fast had manifested in the sky. Not only that, but it was heading right for the Chasers with no signs of stopping. Closer inspection would reveal the phenomenon to be a heavy flock of big, black bats.

---

---

"T-Two mansions? That wasn't on the job board." Miranda said in alarm, her head whirling back and forth to try, and fail, to discern which was the objective they were searching for. "I suppose if no one ever survived these mansions we couldn't expect an accurate accounting of the facts. That is what we are here f- Eep! What are those!?"

The tome wielding woman thrust her finger out towards the eastern sky to trace the flight of a black mass approaching with great haste towards the motley band of Chasers. They approached with chattering and screeches that developed in clarity with each passing moment till the dwindling distance shattered their cohesion and revealed the mass to be a swarm of bats. It was safe to assume that, given their origin and the path they flew, that they weren't simply scavenging for fruit from the trees this evening.

"Umm, should we be running towards the mansion without the bats or the one that they roost at?" Miranda queried in a hurried manner, fidgeting in place with clammy hands prying open the Tome of Companions to her most familiar page. Depicted upon it was a creature strikingly similar to an azure colored rabbit, with ears long and floppy sweeped back over its body and legs well suited for hopping. However, it's tail was as long as its ears and pressed into its forehead was a striking ruby. Miranda pressed her palm against the page and released the sealed Youkai within.

Jeffers the Carbuncle came into the Crimson Sky stooped upon Miranda's shoulder, his cold, rabbit eyes fixated on the approaching threat. Those inside the book had varying degrees of awareness of the world around them, depending on how much or little Miranda allowed, so it needn't be appraised of the situation. Knowing that the source of its food was inclined towards flight then fight, it glowed a pale light that seeped from the Carbuncle and into Miranda. Scattered leaves upon the ground were repelled in all directions by a whoosh of wind emanating from Miranda as Jeffer's wind magic coursed through her, lightening her frame and giving the normally lanky woman a speed fitting an Olympic athlete.

Perfect for running from her life, assuming Avalanche and the others didn't want to fight a swarm bats.

@MacDuffy@TheWindel