[center][h1][color=39b54a][b]Hakuro Kuroda[/b][/color][/h1][/center]

Elsewhere...

[color=39b54a]"I warn you, brother.  To not contend with forces you cannot understand.  Make peace with your ills and repent thy deeds.  It is only a matter of time before they catch up to you."[/color]

The figure stood away from the lantern light, symbolically cast away from all that is good and proper.  He waited for this very line, and turned with sudden ferocity towards the light, turning [i]against[/i] the light, as it were.

[b]"My works are my own, and my family need not concern themselves!  What have I, a great warrior to fear from this thing?  I swear to you, I shall conquer it as all things!"[/b]

He was taken aback, but as he was the man's brother, he dared press on.

[color=00a651]"But this is no ordinary threat.  Even [i]you[/i] must see it by now.  The black fortune, the sounds of some creature, even now stalking towards you..."[/color]

There was the sound of growling in the backdrop.  It had been worked on considerably to sound decent enough for the play.  Yes, [i]play[/i].  This was the Drama Club room, and they were going through one of the latter scenes of a three-act script, in which a man - a samurai - is haunted by the deeds of his past and is thoroughly unrepentent.  As a result, a creature had been stirred by all the woes and sorrow against him, one which had formed from his beloved pet.  Even now, the growling began to sound more...cat-like.  The male lead - Hakuro's friend, Roshi - pushed Hakuro back now, forcing him to drop the lantern - a prop they rigged with a false flickery flame that they could turn off remotely - and cause the light to falter.

[b]"Away with you!  I face my demons alone!  Come out, beast!  Come out, and face your master!"[/b]

[b]"Aaand done!  Okay, this is good.  We still need to make the monster, and I know that it's going to be difficult, but I know we can do it."[/b]

This was an idea that the Drama Club head had had [i]last year[/i] with members, back when he was just a member.  Since he had been put in charge this year, he'd been working on a script over the summer, and was proofing it out now with the others.  Hakuro was the main supporting lead while Roshi, probably the [i]best[/i] actor in the group, was the main role.  Both had been in costume from a previous play still stored in this place, and the backdrop had been a sheet, but there was great confidence that this would work out.  People [i]love[/i] a horror tale, although [i]some[/i] people wanted to do the Shakespearean tragedy that was the Legacy of Kain game series.  A good tale, and well-written AS play, but very confusing.  All that time travel...

At this stage, though, the hour groweth late, and they needed to clean up and get home.  Here, there was the problem.  In their enthusiasm, they'd run a bit long, and several of the members needed to go NOW.  In a sudden solution to this, Hakuro held up his hand and said [color=39b54a]"No problem.  I've got this.  My hat is at your service."[/color].  This was met with uncertainty, but he said he had no other plans, so he'd do it.  The others thanked him, and they were off.  Truth be told, there wasn't much else for him to do today.  In fact, as his investigations were starting to get into his head, he thought of taking a break to ease his mind and, in fact, stave off any suspicion anybody might have of his activities.  A paranoid thought, but one he entertained for his own sake.  If anyone was looking around for trouble, he was backing off so they wouldn't find any.  If there wa none there, then he still needed a little break.

[color=39b54a][i]This stuff isn't as troublesome as it looks.  Captain runs a tight ship.[/i][/color]

He got to work, putting things away as he listened to some music via phone.