Lonewolf685

The Devil Hunter Agency

Rufus

By ear alone Rufus could tell the forest was certainly lively today, and it brought him no end of amusement to distinguish it was the DHA cause the more widespread devastation. It was a crying shame about all the trees they were burning down amidst the cry of a rampant motorcycle, the police cordon that was inevitably going to section off this swathe of woodland was going to really hamper people's enjoyment of the walking path.

All those romantic walks between couples and stress relieving excursions of Japanese crumbling under the pressure of constant work in a cold, hard, unfeeling city would now go up in smoke for weeks. How such simple, short sighted actions could cascade outwards to bring forth misery never fail to bring a spring to Rufus' step even as he hobbled around, back bent steeply to pick out the singing fragments of rock. There was the echo of a tune wanting to work itself from his lips in response, but he swallowed it and offered them a cheery hum instead.

It rather dramatically rose in pitch as her found himself confronted by an unfamiliar demon that had his eyes crossing taking her in. His eyes lied to him, but then, all eyes lie and take in the world as an inverted picture the brain had to flip in real time. Such was the same for demons as it was humans when they chose the same foolish ocular orbs.

"I see a kindred spirit, though your tastes would appear to be far more refined then my own. A shame you deprive yourself the full experience, but I won't be getting into any fancy restaurants myself either." Rufus straightened his back, flicking back his hood to favor her with a rakish grin as he rolled a dirt laden stone in his palm. "Ah, but to answer your question, I collect them because they ask me to, as a child cries for an adult to help them when they have neither the hands to grasp or the mind to know the world around them. These stones are as seeds, waiting to bloom in fertile soil and birth with remarkable potential new life."

"I'm quite curious to see what comes of that potential, yet by the racket getting closer, I do not think those guys and gals at the DHA share my views. Nasty lot they are. Don't suppose you'd like to help me keep these rocks from their hands?" He said, turning towards the coming clamor of mortals and contractors, his hood pulled up once more to mask his face and his hand outstretched. A portal formed along the ground, passing over grass and root like a smear of reflective paint, yet it zipped about and swallowed the precious rocks without issue wherever his fingers directed to clear them from the coming conflict.

Silver Gate Academy [Accepting New Players]

Lorelai De Windt

There was something pressing upon Lorelai, carrying that implacable sensation that reminded her chillingly of the run-in with the gutless assassin who hadn't the decency to fight the students arrayed against her. It was softer then that, however, more a gentle nudge to try somewhere else, but that previous experience had her ignoring such impulses and press onwards.

It immediately cost her the dango she had remaining. If this kept up she'd develop a phobia of barriers.

Her search turned upwards- More out of exasperation then a genuine belief some bird had swooped by with more grace then a swallow and snatched the dango- one to find...that was actually the case. A bird of an entirely different breed, to be clear, but a Tengu, plain as day. Lorelai had the misfortune of being assaulted with what could only be called a southern twang in the Tengu's voice, it's affable drawl countered by the dango being plucked from Lorelai's stick.

"What are you doing here, just laying about waiting to rob tourists of their food? How shameless! Are you going to steal the offerings from the shrines as well?!" The blonde barked, shaking a rueful fist up towards the avian youkai and wishing yet again she had her spear, if only to discipline her with a whack across the back of her hands.

The Devil Hunter Agency

Rufus

The group of Devil Hunters before them didn't strike him as the sort weak enough to be contained by a few hasty barriers, but Lumen seemed confident he could delay them, if nothing else, and at the end of the day that was all they needed to do. He wasn't a glutton liable to lose himself to a hunger induced bloodlust, so it wasn't like he needed the extra meat for his freezer from all those hunters.

"Alright, just don't get yourself killed while I'm rock picking. The others may get some dirty ideas about me if I leave my partner for dead on the first mission, and I don't need that kind of rep without actually earning it. It's really no fun being accused of a crime if they don't let you do it, just for funsies~"

He favored Limen with a raised thumb before falling through a portal at his feet and rising smoothly further ahead in the forest, locating the rocks by their siren song. Or perhaps it was more apt to think of it like a baby crying out for an adult? Children did have that uncanny ability to draw all sorts to their care, even lion's would rear a gazelle if the circumstances were right. Such flights of fancy amused Rufus as he stooped down, scooping up the first such rock littering the forest. "Hey there, little guy. Now, if you don't go blowing my hand off, I'll get you home real soon."

Looking about at the scattered singing rocks, he pocketed his first into his cloak and made to do the same to the rest.

Tower of Fable

Kanbaru Otoko

The huntress proved ready for the challenge that Kanbaru presented, matching her bullet to bullet to create a brief storm of sparks where ice met melt in mid-air between them. It was only her indifference to projectiles that would cleanly miss her that saw Annabel's perch collapse, and given the convenient broom nearby, it wasn't a great loss either.

She kept her eyes cast upwards even as Ami continued the fight against Riku. Or, rather, she started the fight with the hooded girl, as she hadn't put up much of any defense the first time around. Arrogant though it was, Kanbaru didn't see Riku doing any better without this huntress helping her significantly, and found her beliefs validated by the smoke grenades that melted her ice constructs with insane speed.

If she was still limited to her magical girl power set, that would have been a deal breaker for her to deal with, but the Tower had more then accounted that. Dropping the revolver she summoned her plushie once more and slammed it to the floor before her. An orca's cry rang through the room as a wave of knee water shot forth, sweeping across the room and the two girls still fighting along the ground. More important to Kanbaru was them sweeping up the smoke producing objects, heating the water to a boil before the wave converged on a single point Annabel and rose with a geyser of force to smash through her and the ceiling above.

Silver Gate Academy [Accepting New Players]

Lorelai De Windt

For all that Lorelai felt she could keep training for the entire trip, it wasn't fair to the dojo to hog up all their time. They'd doubtless have other visitors and the students who'd already earned their places would probably want their sensei's attention back upon them. That left her with free time and idle hands that would need to be occupied, and the streets of Kyoto had ample attractions to do so.

The level of tourist energy radiating from the ecstatic blonde was so high, she didn't even notice the multiple Starbucks being an obvious chain of cafes, though by the mercy of some divine entity, she didn't manage to spend her entire time mistaking foreign franchises for local delicacies and only wasted time at that one KFC...

With a wallet significantly lighter, one arm laden with bags nestled heavily upon the crook of her elbow, and a hand balancing spears of dango between clenched fingers, she ambled through the crowds. Eyes bright and carefree, she drank in the people as much as she did the local storefronts, growing energized by the steady pulse of life marching up and down the street. A flicker of peculiarity in this stream drew her attention from it, drawn by the splash of color most typical of avian in the form of distant feathers.

Seeing no harm in investigating, she munched on one of her snacks as she sped along towards the splash of color in the sea of humanity.

The Devil Hunter Agency

Rufus

The park was a radical shift from it's night-time splendor, it's many branches overhead no longer carrying the grim dread that both comforted and terrified the dregs of society as they cowered in shadows. Not that Rufus cowered, but for the sake of the human experience he had skulked her seeking a quiet hovel between roots to sleep upon undisturbed before digging out his junkyard sanctuary. "Mmm, places like this make me think I might have studied druidcraft. Though I think my presence would do more harm then good to Nature on just about every level..."

Chuckling wistfully to himself, Rufus quirked neck back as the voice of the Youkai in the form of an uncanny young boy had opted to follow him to the park. Obviously he held nothing of Limen's physical appearance against him, as even eldritch horrors can understand Hypocrisy without setting a tentacle upon the mortal realms, and his sounds of amusement deepened at the question offered to him.

"You know, I don't think it went all that well for those Dogs, so just call me Rufus. It's...a far better name then what I'd initially thought would fit this world. Guh, a millenia and a half ago, though, and I'd have made history books as the coolest wizard ever, but that ain't happening here." The portal youkai answered, only to lazily lead onwards into the brush and bushes with a bounce in his step, body swaying to keep his ragged cloak away from clasping branches as the buzzing of monstrous insects intensified with the distance closing between them and the singing rocks.

As expected there were Hunters here. Four by his count, with two of them being the recent guests of Humen Eaters Anonymous and the other being far more bloody minded hunters. Sidling up behind a tree he eyed the one sided slaughter of bugs by the more violent Devil Hunters, eying them for what they were and considering whether he should add fuel to this fire and slow them down or race to sneak ahead of them. Motioning for Limen to join them, he quietly asked, "You got anything to slow them down with? I'm thinking I either start portalling those bugs into their backs and try to get some cheap shots on them, or we just keep moving and hope they don't catch up in time."

Silver Gate Academy [Accepting New Players]

Lorelai De Windt

Solemn repetition. That was what defined her stint beneath the instructor's gaze, and Lorelai couldn't have been more at ease. If there was some expectation that the weight and length of the spear would wear her out, they clearly didn't know how much time she put into practicing with a real spear with actual steel to weigh it down. To be fair, the added length pushed her to re-evaluate her arcs and grasp upon it, so it wasn't like she was there showing off to any of the more experienced students.

But she kept her word, as brash as it was, feeling her confidence soar as she worked the yata through fancy footwork and feints against imagined foes. Imagined foes in animal masks, reeking of spilled blood and carrying the chill of departed souls.

"I can do more then this....but for now, this is plenty of progress. Kyah!" Lorelai cheered, executing a vicious downward thrust that would have marred the floormats had the training weapon held a true edge. "I can't wait to practice this with a real weighted weapon!"

Tower of Fable

Kanbaru Otoko

She'd blame her carelessness upon the JSTR's influence, her parasitic partner instilling such a single minded focus she has lost all sense of situational awareness. Easier to blame the nun then admit she had been entirely caught flat footed by the marksmen trying to steal her prize. While her spectral companion deflected the projectiles meant for her, she hadn't acted to spare Riku the same barrage and Kanbaru had to flinch back as the icy prison shattered, freeing Riku from her hold.

That Riku wasn't perforated like some exceptional chunk of swiss cheese spoke to some unseen ability of the distant sharpshooter, as even Kanbaru in her magical girl days couldn't claim to have that degree of control over her ice bullets. Then again, she hadn't even seen the need, but who prepares to to shoot someone with live ammo and still only have the force of a paint ball?

"Wow, she really is like a Light Girl. Chickening out and running the second they're under pressure. Great thing we've got experience hunting cowards like that, aye, Ami~?" Kanbaru swiped her hand downwards, palming and absorbing the Corpse Collector card to conjure forth her flowing coat and the arsenal it held. Taking the sharpshooter's presence as a provocation to be answered, a revolver appeared in her dominant hand while the other hovered over the hammer. Squaring her shoulders she unloaded upon the marksmen, eager to see her rafter hiding place blasted to splinters and send her tumbling down for Ami to flambe.

Silver Gate Academy [Accepting New Players]

Lorelai De Windt

The hardest part was sitting still for an hour while all the regulars got to demonstrate their arts. Even without an interest in swordsmanship she could be impressed by the display and ache to practice it, but she wasn't raised to be rude when this was done for the Silver Gate student's benefit. They had limited time and there was much that could be learned, so cramming everything short of CPR into an hour was hardly tedious.

When the demonstrations concluded she didn't hesitate to proclaim her interest into the yari spear. It would not be long till she had one of her own and she wouldn't embarrass Muramasa-san by fumbling it just because she couldn't account for the difference in weight and length. She could tell already this would be significantly longer then her more westernized spear, but hey, that just meant she had an edge in pole vaulting, right? That, and stabbing, but the obvious need not be stated.

"I shall be proficient in using the Yari before I leave Kyoto, or I shall train with a weighted staff for the next year, I swear it!" The blonde declared passionately to the instructor, eyes almost seeming to be aflame as she pumped her fist before the older sensei.

Tower of Fable

Kanbaru Otoko

Kanbaru was not deaf to Riku's pleas, but she was indifferent to them. If anything hearing the fear and familiarity in her tone had excited the killer edge in her, knuckles taut upon the tail of her whale plushie as she took in the spectacle of Riku's fall. It would have been even better to see her soaked to the bone and battered from her water echo, but blunting the force of her attack still ensured she was a sopping mess when she came ungainly down upon the ground.

Before she could consider how to really make this girl who excited her partner so intensely squirm before them, Ami stepped in like a proper Detention Club member should with a helping hand. That said hand was wreathed in flame and slammed into the back of Riku's head was exactly the sort of help she'd come to appreciate from such a trust worthy acquaintance.

Moving with viscious intent her free hand shot forward, snatching the airborne Riku by the throat to arrest all the momentum of Ami's punch with a sudden stop against a hand that burned like dry ice. The spray of water across her skin and clothes flash froze in a wave emanating from the fingers clenched like iron upon her delicate airway. "I can't say I recall you off the top of my head, but I have a hunch a little interrogation will jog those memories, and the truth of your crimes as well. Unless, that is, you feel like confessing to the thefts before the mistress of the castle. You seem to fear her a lot less~"

Kanbaru looked back over her shoulder, her smile broad and joyous as she favored Victoire and Akiko with her captive Princess dangling like the catch of the day. She carried the sincere hope Riku would continue to deny her crimes, all the better for Kanbaru to force the truth from her lips with a more personal touch.