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@Aku the Samurai: Hm.

I still don't think this Contract Ability screams Orochi, and it kind of blocks out anyone else who might want to go for an elemental focus.

I think you should lean into the snake elements more and set up a different contract from the outset. There's other serpents or potential ideas for serpents(an OC snake god could still be pretty serious business) you could go for.

The changes I made should make things more congruous.

@VitaVitaAR I edited the app. Not sure if it's good now.
Sylva

??? — Ruined Inn(?)



The reactions the others had to the journal were mixed, though all of them had similar thoughts on it. Sora’s thoughts mostly mirrored his own, and it made a lot of sense, of course. By all indications, whatever had happened to the town was no accident. That, however, still left the problem of who—or, more likely, what—had caused it all. It sent a shiver down his spine, and he couldn’t tell whether it was excitement or apprehension. There was–

Sylva’s thoughts ground to a halt at the sound of a bell.

What the....?

Sora was the first to comment on it and Sylva was conflicted

On one hand, judging by the state of the rest of the town, and the building they were in, Sylva doubted that automatic bells were a thing here. But on the other hand, magic was, in fact, a thing here, so nothing was for certain. At least the sound had drawn the zombies’ attention.

“Yeah.... we should gather what we can before heading out.”

However, before he could get to that, the little blonde elf spoke up with a reminder that none of them had introduced themselves to each other. Except for Sora, but she wasn’t there for that.

The little blonde elf went ahead with the introductions first, and he tilted his head in confusion. Hm.... Sephily. Where had he heard that name before? Ah, well, if he couldn’t remember, then it probably wasn’t anything important.

The taller blonde woman introduced herself as Bianca next and he smiled back at her. Now, he supposed it was his turn. For a moment, though, he was quiet.

This was a fantasy world, right? New world, new life. A fresh start.

“.... I’m Sylva,” he eventually said, a slight alteration from the nickname he was used to. It had felt right in the moment, although he wasn’t sure why. Yet another mystery to figure out....

“Nice to meet you, Sephy!” Sylva said with a broad grin, mimicking the other blonde’s gesture of patting the little elf's beret-covered head, “You, too, Bianca!”

He’d think of a nickname for her later. For now, they had some supplies to find.

@VitaVitaAR@SilverPaw@RolePlayerRoxas@PKMNB0Y
Name: Yuji Otawari

Age: 15

Gender: Male

Appearance:

Personality: Despite his outward appearance, Yuji is a person who cares deeply for others regardless of their background or whether or not they reciprocate. He views the life of every single person as precious and as such considers it his obligation to preserve them, which is why he chooses to fight Grudges without hesitation. More than anything, he believes it is morally wrong for anyone to take a human life and tries to avoid any situation where such is a possibility. Since wearing his mask, Yuji has learnt to emote almost entirely with his eyes.

Backstory: Yuji was a boy cursed. Not in the literal sense, though it may as well have been. He was born to a former shrine maiden of the Kōtai Jingū, the eighth and only surviving child of her family, though he spent very little time there himself in his youth. His mother left the Kōtai Jingū for reasons unknown to him soon after his birth and he was raised away from the shrine for much of his life. While less invested in religious practices than his mother, her teachings nonetheless formed an important part of his childhood and his fate was ultimately intertwined with the Shinto religion.

For the most part, the early years of Yuji’s life were uneventful. That was, however, until his mother’s health started failing. It started slow; first, she became weaker and weaker until eventually, she could no longer stand. At first, he was hopeful that she would get better, but as time passed, it seemed less and less likely that she would make it. Inevitably, the moment he had dreaded did come to pass.

Her last words were for him to “live a beautiful life without bitterness or regrets”.

It didn’t take long after that for the funeral to take place. Yuji decided then and there to always honour his mother’s final words to the best of his ability.

Days after the ceremony, Yuji encountered and befriended a wounded tri-coloured serpent at a riverside whom he affectionately nicknamed “Niji”. With his new friend at his side, Yuji set about making himself useful to anyone and everyone who required his help. Unbeknownst to himself, he ended up making something of a name for himself within the town as a dependable worker. On his fifteenth birthday, Yuji was fatally injured while protecting a child from a newly-manifested Grudge. He saw his life flash before his eyes, and yet against all odds, he survived the experience, due to the intervention of a then mysterious being. When he awoke some days later, Niji was nowhere to be found and his body was irreversibly transformed.

It wasn’t until much later that the changes became noticeable. He felt better than ever before and even recovered quicker whenever he got hurt. But, not all the changes were beneficial. His hair lost its colour, his eyes became snake-like and his mouth was altered beyond human, causing him to hide it behind a mask (though it wasn't as bad as he made it out to be). Not long after his awakening, Yuji was approached by a shrine maiden of the Kōtai Jingū who informed him of a way to control his newfound abilities and use them to protect others.

An opportunity in Tokyo.

Skills: While still somewhat inexperienced in combat, Yuji is proficient with a blade, particularly the naginata, and is also capable of holding his own in a hand-to-hand fight—if only barely. Additionally, due to his time spent doing all sorts of odd jobs in his hometown, Yuji has developed skills in a variety of fields such as gardening, carpentry, cooking and some knowledge of first aid.

Spiritual Energy Grade: D. The circumstances surrounding the forming of his contract have resulted in his spiritual energy being reduced significantly. As such, his current level of spiritual power is too low to allow the use of the full extent of the contract’s power.

Contracted Being: Ryūjin/Watatsumi

Contract Rank: C

Contract Abilities: The contract provided by the dragon god has afforded a variety of powerful abilities for Yuji’s use; most notably, absolute control over the ocean, seas and water in general, as well as authority over all of the inhabitants thereof and potent regeneration by way of "shedding" injuries, though the use of many of these abilities requires an immense amount of spiritual energy that would take him out of commission with a single use. As such, until he gets to the point of being able to utilise the full extent of the contract, it merely grants him enhanced physical capabilities and immunity to most toxins and diseases as well as the ability to speak to the subjects of the sea. His blood also has a mystical cleansing property to it, allowing it to treat the afflictions of others and affect impure beings.

Cost: The initial cost of the contract was a seemingly innocuous change to his physical appearance, making him more dragon/serpent-like, something that didn’t bother Yuji much. Of course, a contract forged with such a powerful being could never have such a simple cost. Other than his purely physical alterations, Yuji requires periods of submerging in bodies of water, otherwise he becomes weaker. Furthermore, greater use of his contract requires an amount of energy he is unable to provide on his own. It also has a lesser cost that requires him to collect precious objects, particularly jewels.
Yui Kazuma


Location: 1B Homeroom, Eirei Academy, Shibuya, Tokyo Prefecture

Hm?

Yui acknowledged the pink-haired girl with a slight incline of his head. Her clap wasn’t done harshly, but his Quirk redirected the force all the same. He raised an eyebrow at the lengthy speech she gave to the professor, and the rest of the class before she fluttered out of the classroom in a storm of flower petals.

Yui’s gaze turned back to Ravens when he started laughing out of nowhere.

Well, that was quite the 180. It was all a test? That sounded like a bit of a cop-out in all honesty.

He stifled a fake yawn, staring at Ravens through half-lidded eyes. Well, it wasn’t like he’d been planning to go to detention regardless, and cop-out or not, he wasn’t one to pass up on free food.

“I hope you won’t regret that, sensei.”

Usually, Yui wouldn’t care much about the bipolar outburst of a professor he didn’t know, but.... hm. There was something that piqued his interest; an itch he couldn’t just ignore. Without much thought, he pressed a finger to the side of his head, taking a breath to steady his hand. It lasted only a second—and not any longer, for safety reasons—but he still got what he wanted.

Ah, well that satisfied his curiosity a tad. A more inquisitive person would have tried to go further, but he wasn’t that kind of guy—not when he didn’t need to be. Everyone had their secrets, and he wasn’t usually one to pry into things that didn’t concern him. He could reciprocate at least that much.

Yui blinked the spots from his eyes, pulling up his headphones and reclining in his chair.

He’d get to the dorms soon enough, but for now, he had something to check. Flipping through his Hawkpad, Yui’s eyes scanned over the latest news for a moment until something caught his eye. Huh, so Endeavor was retiring? Not surprising, considering the severity of the injuries he sustained a few years ago during the Paranormal Liberation War. If anything, this was a long time coming. Hopefully, nothing too bad would happen after the announcement.

Yui’s lips twitched.

Hopefully, indeed.

He attached his Hawkpad to his bracer and frowned as he looked at the screen again.

[Search pending....]

With a sigh, Yui shut off the device. Hawkpads were distributed to every student at Eirei, so of course they were monitored in some way. Getting rid of that would’ve been far too suspicious, not to mention just a terrible idea in general. They were made that way for a reason and it wasn’t a stupid one.

In the grand scheme of things, however, that made keeping certain things to himself.... difficult. He wasn’t opposed to working with other people, but if there was something they didn’t need to know, then they didn’t need to know.

Circumventing that particular issue wasn’t exactly rocket science—that would’ve been useless—but it wasn’t easy either. He had sacrificed a lot of sleepless nights to get it done right. It might not have been a necessity anymore, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed it any less.

Yui removed the Hawkpad from his bracer and pocketed it, letting his eyes flutter shut for the briefest of moments. He took a breath and then stood up from his chair in a single, fluid movement. Well, he had to head over to the dorm sooner or later and there was no point in delaying it further.

Plus, he had to stop by the support department for.... things. Then, he’d get right on what was likely another wild goose chase.

Sigh.... Why couldn’t things just be easy for once?

Despite his thoughts, the slightest ghost of a smile appeared on Yui’s lips.
Yui Kazuma


Location: 1B Homeroom, Eirei Academy, Shibuya, Tokyo Prefecture

Whoa~

Casual racism just like that, on the first day? And coming from what seemed to be a second-year student supervisor of all things? Maybe being in this class wouldn't be an utterly tedious affair, after all. Honestly, the crazies were usually some of the most entertaining to watch. That said, while Yui was indifferent to her status, he had enough understanding of her position to realise her actions were less than stellar—in the eyes of regular people, at least. However, if such things were allowed purely based on her role as a student advisor, maybe he should start rethinking his strategy this time around. Not that he agreed with the use of such force on a fellow hero-to-be, but it wasn't like it bothered him either way. Ah, but.... Yui's eyes scanned over Rin's body for a moment, and his eyebrows furrowed. That was odd. She–

Yui's mismatched eyes flashed back to the door as the lights flickered and the professor arrived. Well, here comes the voice of reason–

.... Actually, he'd have to reserve judgment on that. You could never know what kind of person someone was at first glance, not in most cases. That, at least, he could attest to.

Yui was proven right in his decision when, instead of acting like a normal professor (what was even considered normal, though?), the man only made things worse, for everyone. Well, most everyone. He used the same term too—Yui blatantly rolled his eyes at the professor calling them hatchlings. So, he was even more casually racist than the second year. Goody. And here he was thinking, hoping, yearning for this school to be more tolerant than that. Shame on him for even daring to entertain the very thought.... Anyway, the appointed professor wasn't unknown to him, not entirely. He had at least a passing familiarity with the names of Pro Heroes. That was the least he needed if he wanted to succeed. He had to admit, though, that the hero's personality left quite a lot to be desired. The professor raged a bit at Mia—he seemed to have something against her for some reason—and finished his "speech" by calling the entirety of the class Dirtbloods, Nullbloods, and Truebloods before assigning almost the entirety of the class to detention for a month, because of.... nothing? The dorm assignments were pushed to the back of his mind as he processed the information.

Yui could only blink in confusion at the announcement.

What?

No, seriously. What the fuck?

Such a blatant show of favouritism was.... not surprising, to be honest, but that didn't make it any less unfair, which was something a lot of people didn't really like. It wasn't that he didn't understand why they held the sentiment, he just didn't care. That, however, was not to say he would just roll over and follow the whims of a prejudiced teacher with more vitriol than sense. He didn't expect much from most people, but the bar could only be so low and yet this guy had cleared it entirely. Almost impressive, actually.

It was like watching a game of Limbo if it was hot garbage.

"Shimura-sensei, was it? I think—and I say this with all the respect you deserve," Yui's voice was just oozing with sarcasm as he drawled and he wasn't even bothering to hide it, "You should throw yourself out of a window. Head first, if you'd be so kind."
Yui Kazuma


Location: 1B Homeroom, Eirei Academy, Shibuya, Tokyo Prefecture

Yui was bored.

That was usually the case as of late, much as he disliked it. A boring day was his most hated enemy, though not one that could generally be physically fought, unfortunately enough. The worst part was that he had no one else to blame but himself. Choosing to drop out of the Sports Festival because of a miscalculation he made was something that was remarkably out of character for him, and yet here he was. Well, at least the event hadn’t been too boring, despite his lack of involvement.

The battle section was a bit of a disappointment, though.

Fortunately, he wasn’t one to sulk over spilt milk. The festival was entertaining overall, even as just a spectator. Sigh.

Yui cracked his neck as he mulled over his current situation. ‘That’ move was still a bit too much for his body to handle at the moment, and he wasn’t foolish enough to rush such a delicate process. Patience was a virtue, after all—and that would’ve also been a terrible way to die. It was a regrettable situation truly, but an ultimately unavoidable one. Next time, he’d have to make sure not to do a test run on the same day he had an important event to attend.

For a fleeting moment, he wondered if that was why he had been assigned to 1-B, but that couldn’t have been the case, considering the winner of the Sports Festival was there too. It must have been based on some other unknown metric, or perhaps, nothing at all. That would be a fun time.

Throw a bunch of misfits together, and what do you get? Entertaining chaos. Especially when superpowers were thrown into the mix.

Or, it might turn out to be a dull affair.

He shuddered theatrically at the thought.

Regardless, as long as they didn’t cross the line too far on either side, he could deal. Less so with the latter, but he was nothing if not adaptable. Glancing at his watch, Yui decided he’d wasted enough time before going to his classroom. There was only so late he was willing to be. Putting it off any further would be no–

Suddenly, and rather startlingly, Yui’s thoughts were interrupted by a succession of bangs, loud enough that he could hear them—barely—even through his headphones. His ears would have probably been ringing if he hadn’t already been blasting Korn in them for the past half hour. That was almost definitely going to make him go deaf one of these days, but not today.

It was still enough reason to remove his headphones and let them rest on his shoulders as he paused outside the classroom door. Those were rather familiar sounds, and not just because he was used to hearing gunshots almost daily—he hadn’t been back in that neighbourhood for months at this point. No, it was a more recent familiarity, and somewhat odd taking into account the current environs. Did someone get whacked at Eirei?

Well, it's not like standing around was going to answer anything.

Yui stepped into the classroom, his mismatched eyes surveying the frazzled looks of his classmates and the hole in the ceiling for a moment before alighting on the second year at the front of the class.

“.... I missed all the fun, didn’t I?”
Sylva

??? — Ruined Inn(?) Cellar



Sylva merely inclined his head to acknowledge the hammer-wielding woman and the little blonde elf’s descent into the cellar.

As his eyes wandered around the rest of the cellar, he caught sight of something a bit odd; a lantern and a leather-bound book that seemed to be a journal of sorts. They weren’t things most people would usually consider storing in a cellar that held only food and alcohol. A more in-depth inspection revealed a few more details. The book looked worn but it wasn’t a recent thing, and the lantern had long since burnt out. It seemed someone had been trying to keep a record of events—someone who had been down in the cellar for some time.

.... That crumbled zombie upstairs was the most likely suspect. Well, it was.

Morbid thoughts aside, the journal might contain useful information, so it was a start. It wasn’t like anyone else was going to be reading it now. Carefully, Sylva made his way over to the area where the book and lantern were kept, picking up the journal and ignoring the lighting implement. There wasn’t much light in the cellar, and the lantern had already exhausted its use, but strangely enough, it didn’t seem to hinder him very much, if at all. Yet another thing to figure out later. With that in mind, he began flipping through the pages of the journal.

The first few entries were nothing special, mostly mundane accounts of the life of an innkeeper’s son, but it was when he reached the 13th entry that things became odd.

Something's not quite right. Call it instinct, but there've been less travelling merchants hawking their wares here these days. The streets feel emptier than usual, but...

.... That was ominous. The innkeeper’s son had thought the same, which made Sylva wonder how things had gotten this bad. It didn’t seem to have happened all at once, everything pointed to it being a gradual change. Filing that question away for later, he continued reading.

The next relevant entry wasn’t much better than the previous ones.

All the adventurers have left; our only guests now are the knights. One of them told us to pack our bags and go, but Dad wouldn't have it. Started going on about how his dad and granddad had run the place, and that giving it up wouldn't ever happen.

So, the innkeeper had been too stubborn to evacuate when things started getting worse, and his son stayed with him. Sylva could sympathise with that. His parents were stubborn at the best of times, too set in their ways to see any perspective other than their own.

He didn’t regret many things, but.... some things could have been better.

All hell has broken loose. Whatever's outside is killing anyone and everyone that it so much as catches a whiff of. I saw it through the window last night, but just barely. Dad was being dragged away by it as he tried to open the door. I can't take this much longer.

That entry was just depressing. Sylva’s lips dipped downwards as he read. The young man had all but watched his father die at the hands of something he couldn’t even describe, and there was nothing he could have done to stop it. A picture of events had started forming in his head, and it wasn’t pleasant.

Not one bit.

That knight who told us to leave—she came back. I let her inside, but I saw how much blood was dripping down her body. She thanked me for giving her a peaceful place to die, but...

Reading that gave Sylva pause and his eyes shone with vague understanding. If—and it was still an if for now—these undead were anything like the ones he knew of, then, in his attempt to help, the innkeeper’s son may have very well doomed himself. Then again, considering the knight had seemingly died while she was still human, that might not have been the case. He simply didn’t know enough to come to any conclusions yet.

The next page he flipped to was blank, save for what seemed to be a few faint scribbles on the paper.

Sylva closed the journal with a heavy sigh. Well, that was about as bad as he expected. From the first floor, he heard Sora pose a question and his eyes drifted to the steps leading out of the cellar. How he would have hoped for it to have been a simple yes.

“Yes, and no.” Sylva replied, his eyes darting back to the leather book he held.

Something had definitely caused the town to become deserted, he just didn’t know what it could have been. The writer of the journal had seen it, but he hadn’t been able to provide any descriptions. There was a more pressing issue, though. Whether or not the being responsible for the undead had done this intentionally, one thing seemed clear to him.

It was probably still here.

@VitaVitaAR@RolePlayerRoxas@SilverPaw@PKMNB0Y
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