SilverPaw

Into Perdition's Jaws

Linus Guiren

Well, they’d decimated the biomachine in a satisfying, cacophonous display of gunshots, fire, and explosive. One down, one to go. The clearer – and honestly annoyingly bossy – voice over the comms affirmed that the other construct should be put down before they’d lead it to the park. Sound advice, though with all the saying and no doing from the mysterious ally, Linus didn’t appreciate it as much as they otherwise might have.

Escaping through the burning forest as they were, getting to that other platform-esque machine wasn’t exactly easy though. Linus managed to weave between the trees with the occasional slight boost from ether – which they’d provide to the Reclaimer as well if she were near enough – until the Celaderaka had clear line of sight. At that point, they took a hold of their energy rifle and provided support fire. This weapon was capable of the longest range out of their arsenal, so it was the most appropriate. If so many of Linus’ allies hadn’t already congregated near the construct, they’d might have lobed another grenade at it, but as it was, they refrained.

Some of their allies looked a bit worse for wear, but at least they were all still eagerly going at it. Revenge was sweet, even if they were only able to destroy some of their enemies. But at least it would mean a nuisance, a financial cost, a failure of the enemy’s mission, and a warning to them what messing with Linus and co. would lead to. All in all, a tentative success for a party who was betrayed, ambushed, and had sent a vastly superior force against them. Of course, it would only be a true success if they wrecked this remaining construct, escaped to the park, and met with what Linus really hoped wasn’t another trap.

To fulfill that plan, Linus contributed to the hell they were all raining down upon the thing. Especially after that vrexul ally of theirs fired their Hellhammer at it. Now, that was helpful. With a hiss of triumph, Linus ramped up their rate of fire and coated their ammo in ether, so the impact would pact more of a punch. They were still careful with their aiming, since they didn’t want to hit any of the allies nearby. Despite that, they didn’t doubt their combined efforts would be enough to crush the biomachine. Then, the only thing to do would be to haul it to the park asap, before the forest burned around them and trapped them into the whole mess with the remaining enemies. Simple plan, perhaps a bit of a tricky execution, but nothing that should prove unconquerable.

The Devil Hunter Agency

Hoshio Kikuchi

Hoshio stayed at the warehouse as long as possible, getting rid of as many rocks as he could in the timeframe. The treant had been destroyed, some ignorant idiot had called the police – which surely wouldn’t have happened if some other idiots hadn’t set the whole building on fire – and his fellow hunters had all but evacuated. Before the other policemen were near enough to spot him, he took his leave as well.

He received the DHA’s message just when he’d settled into his car comfortably. Oh for… Apparently Da Xia had picked up some strays. Then she claimed they were alright for devils and probably wouldn’t bring them to base in any case. Mh, whatever. If one gets in, we can just dispose of it. Hoshio really was too tired to overthink the issue. Besides, he was severely disgruntled at the pay cut he could expect to his salary. Fuck, but he hated collective responsibility. Unfortunately, he was also too tired to try and argue futilely. He knew how the DHA operated in Japan, and not much could convince them to defy their set ways.

Even though he was one of the last ones to leave the warehouse, he was one of the first ones to arrive at the base. The advantage of owning a car and making no detours, he supposed. He parked at the video rental, slowly shuffled his way through, and went about picking up his pay. Which is where he discovered that he wasn’t too tired to bitch.

“I know you don’t care, but this is way too unfair. That building was already falling apart! Not to mention it was Da-Xia who first thought igniting some gasoline was a fun idea. Granted, she also took care of the treant so maybe it balances out. Oh, but if that exotic foreigner woman who can fly with flames despite being a Feeder shows up, you should definitely chew her up. Really, what did you expect sending a bunch of strangers without any foreplanning on a mission like this anyway? Oh, and thanks for the cash,” he rambled, finishing with a thanks upon receiving what he was there for.

When the transaction was completed, he dragged himself away, without even waiting for an answer. Hoshio stumbled his way to where he was supposed to go, and gleefully threw himself into the nearest sitting arrangement. Only after that did he disentangle the quiver and bow from his person, and unstrung the latter. It was time for a bit of a rest, both for him and the weapon. We better get some good free food and drinks outta this too, he thought grumpily as he settled himself and half-closed his eyes. No, strike that, he closed them fully. Maybe dozed a bit until there was something important going on.

Blood's Jewels (High Casual Fantasy Revolution)

Jandar Varan

Winton

Jandar was puzzled at what Mikhail had told him, but honestly, a glimmer of hope sparked within him. His initial mission, the reason he’d travelled to Terreille, had been to get SaDiablo back to Kaeleer if he were still alive. This, then, would be fulfilling his purpose. The problem was how to get to the man…and how to convince him to journey with them. Unlike Mikahil, he did not believe control was what they should seek – the Black Jeweled Warlord Prince had been controlled by the collar for longer than he himself had been alive.

All the confusion was momentarily forgotten once they descended the cliff and came across Sybl, at the sight of whom Jandar actually swore under his breath, glaring daggers at him. Worse, the sly Prince was standing between them and a cave reeking of death. The Warlord’s lips curled in fury at what he was sensing, and yet his body froze momentarily when that Alice’s bastard dared to brush against his mind, and greeted them politely. Not gloating…Stalling. Whatever he’d done, Fatima must not be dead yet.

With that knowledge, Jandar channeled his tension into the beginning of a run, dashing straight past Sybl, towards and into the cave. At the sight that met him, he once again came to a standstill. Bewilderment took a hold of him, and dominated his entire being. SaDiablo, the very man Mikhail had said they were to find and convince to travel with them was right there in front of him. Not only that, he was cuddling Fatima.

“W-what? Prince?” he questioned, utterly confused. Eyeing the man, it was obvious he’d been the one injured. Had Fatima helped heal him?

Speaking of her, his Lady was alive and uninjured…if not exactly well. She was shivering very lightly, and her countenance was feverish. Sending a light, questioning tendril of telepathy towards her, he inquired “How are you?”

Turning to SaDiablo, the juxtaposition between their last encounter and this one clear and sharp as the one between midday and midnight, he asked quietly, respectfully, “What happened?” Sensing the danger, and to show he did not intend to act in any way – yet – he slowly raised his arms, palms facing outwards in the universal ‘Peace, I mean no harm’ sign.

He was sure SaDiablo was aware that he would act if he felt the need to do so, however. For all he knew, the black jeweled male had lured Fatima here and got her drunk on his power. He had seemed curious about her their last meeting, so perhaps he’d seen the opportunity to question her and took it. Yet, the fact that he’d apparently escaped Shalador and Laska’s influence, and had been injured as a result did not escape his notice – and this was a fact that did not fit Jandar’s suspicions. So, while he could not entirely relinquish his mistrust, he was willing to converse; hopefully, the same went for the other male.

The Devil Hunter Agency

Hoshio Kikuchi

Hoshio really shouldn’t have been surprised that all hell broke loose. With the portent that was the spier-wielding motorcycle-riding pyromaniac, what else could have possibly happened? She was followed by some more sedate hunters – and just how much backup did the Japanese branch of the DHA request? – and just as the yurei were starting to strike back in an oddly aggressive manner while showcasing their hostages, another fire-wielder joined them. Now that’s just not fair, Hoshio thought with a mild grumble when he saw her fly not only with obvious ease and showy (but almost enviable if it weren’t so ill-advised) grandeur.

Throughout, Hoshio continued shooting, and noted some other mild and odd disturbances, such as some black and small shape swiftly sneaking by – a cat? Rat? Bird? – and shot an arrow in its direction just in case, though it was fairly evasive. The hostages were already being rescued, but he also provided them long-range support until it was too crowded for him to do so any longer. Besides the fact that the entire building was in danger of burning down and collapsing on their heads, things seemed to be going well – but only for about a minute, if not less.

A treant grew out of practically nothing, and Hoshio couldn’t decide which was stranger – it appearing among a bunch of yurei as it somehow belonged there or that it sprouted and grew to such proportions amidst all these flames. Either way, its lifespan should reach an end soon even if left alone. But since it almost shook him off the ledge with all its rumbling, Hoshio sent some arrows its way nonetheless. He winced when he saw it tear off the whole catwalk, sending it flying together with all the hunters and victim, but he couldn’t do much about the situation; nor did he need to, what with the others being present.

Much more concerning was the sudden human figure falling all the way from the roof to the floor. Hoshio’s first thought was Oh, dear. The second one being Ha! I was right about the roof. And the third, Note to self: if you must fall, fall to the outside. Because that old man lying right at the feet of all this, just waiting to be trampled on…Yeah, Hoshio did not want to end up there alongside him.

So, when some of the frenzied yurei approached, Hoshio quickly shot them down. Now more aware than ever of the risk and dangers of falling down, his heartbeat definitely sped up a notch. He did not want any enemies approaching when he was in such a precarious position, whether they were corporeal or not.

As if the scene was not chaotic enough already, several detonations boomed and rocked the place, thankfully not loud enough to rupture anyone’s eardrums. However, weird black rocks did sprout of it, and if this wasn’t related to the yureis and treant and all the other congregating devil presences, Hoshio would eat one of his arrows.

As it was, he took a gamble, aimed, and sent a blessed arrow towards one of the rocks. Given that they had the effect of dispersing, weakening, and nullifying demonic energy, they should work even on the curse – as long as the curse originated from a devil and/or was permeated with similarly evil energy, that was.

The Devil Hunter Agency

Hoshio Kikuchi

As per the usual when he received such messages, Hoshio was awoken in the middle of the night by a loud ping of his phone which alerted him to the DHA’s notice of a mission and its details. With a sigh, he rubbed his eyes, and got ready, departing from his small apartment with his gear in a used light gray Suzuki Swift. He didn’t drive to the exact location of their meeting, rather parking a few streets away and taking the 10-minute walk to the warehouse.

Like this whole district, the building was old, abandoned, and dusty. There was some unexpectedly spectacular activity when he arrived, however. Someone with a serious love for a dramatic, explosive, and stylish entrance had just driven a motorcycle straight through the doors, had for some reasons spilled and ignited some gasoline floor, and challenged all the ghost within to a fight. Well. That’s one way to do it, he thought with a shake of his head as he moved to the side of the warehouse, seeking a back entrance.

The only thing like it that Hoshio saw were some fairly high up windows. He found a service ladder of questionable quality which lead to a roof missing half its paneling; not the most reassuring of things. There was also a pipe or two he could climb up, but they creaked dubiously when he grabbed them and shook them a bit, so he didn’t quite trust them to hold up his weight.

A long silent exhalation later, he paced his way away from one of the windows, making sure the floor wasn’t too slippery. Securing the bow and quiver to his body as much as he could, Hoshio turned and charged the wall at a run, jumping up it when close enough. A strong push off of the wall later, he was stretching up, scrabbling for the ledge, barely catching it with one hand, dangling for a minute, before finally catching it with the other and hauling himself up.

That accomplished, the hunter allowed himself a fully tremulous breath of relief as he crouched on the window’s outside ledge. Then he bashed the little glass squares in, bending some of the thinner steel frames latticing the larger expanse of the window. Just as he did so, a gun shot resounded from above him, hitting one of the Yurei within the storage building, almost startling him right off the ledge with the suddenness of it. So, someone did go up there. And now I get to feel like a fool. Great start, huh, he grimaced.

Rather than ponder on what was done, however, Hoshio settled into position – as stable and comfortable one as was possible to obtain on a window ledge – readied his bow, nocked the first arrow, and began picking off the targets. At least with the different vantage points, he and the person on the roof didn’t have too much direct competition, and could provide a better if slightly spread out support to the huntress within.

Into Perdition's Jaws

Linus Guiren

Linus' weapons clattered against their body as they ran through the forest, but despite that, they were able to hear the enemy approach, and saw various silhouettes peripherally. Not liking the feeling of someone being directly behind them and them not knowing their exact positions nor what they were like, Linus dashed behind a tree for cover, turned around, and pointed their spear and shotgun in the direction of their followers.

The first one that they saw was an ally, however, the heavily armored and charred-smelling one. They waved at the figure, and greeted it. “Reclaimer? There’s enemies behind, so best take cover, shoot at them, lose line of sight, then dash,” Linus suggested once Corsica was close enough to hear.

After the mortar fire, in midst of the loud assault of various firearms, and to the background of interspersed crashed which reminded Linus of a tank, a dark gray mechanical construct approached and opened fire. In response, the Celaderaka a whole shotgun magazine at it while retreating to another tree. Momentarily letting the firearm swing freely on one of their shoulders, Linus lobed two grenades at the artificial enemy in quick succession, hoping to distract it momentarily. Then they took a hold of Serah, their spear-gun with both hands, aimed it at the base of their nature-provided cover, and uprooted the whole thing with a combination of physical prowess and a cascade of energy blasts. It fell swiftly, and Linus rolled it towards the feet of the mecha, mainly to see how it would react to an obstacle. Of course, they also immediately retreated further into the forest, behind yet another tree.

In the midst of all this, a camera-esque flying droid approached, and Linus almost shot it down on pure reflex, but stopped once it began to relay its message. “Well, I don’t mind following the drone…But we can’t just let these fellas follow us so easily,” they mused. Retreating as needing and vaguely following the drone, they observed the goings on behind them. There were a few familiar shapes approaching – more allied survivors of the wreckage, it seemed. “Wish there was time enough to stack a whole buncha trees in front of these fuckers. Not that it’d deter them for long,” they muttered.

At one point, when they happened to find themselves next to Corsica once again, Linus addressed her again. “Once the others get cleared out of here, what do you think about burning this whole section of forest? If nothing else, it might obscure us from the enemies for a while,” they suggested.

Blood's Jewels (High Casual Fantasy Revolution)

Jandar Varan

Winton

Jandar’s eyes widened momentarily at Mikhail’s sudden appearance, but his questions had him gnashing his teeth, looking away as the turmoil within him was stirred to a maddening urgency. “They left. During the few minutes that they were alone in that damned changing room, Sybl seems to have convinced Fatima to go with him.

“They must have used a sight shield to sneak out of a back door, then they took to the air,” the Warlord explained bitterly before finally looking back at Mikhail. “Fatima only informed us both mentally that a ‘someone’ is injured and that we shouldn’t worry, after she had already left, of course,” he smiled tightly.

“It is my fault that I have left her out of my sight for even a second. I should have hounded her every step, regardless of how crowded or improper it got. However, I mistakenly believed that she would not trust a stranger so easily, and grew lenient. If something happens to her, I-” he shook his head, a raspy sound escaping him, something between a choke and a strangled, horrified laugh. “Let’s hope we get to that bastard before that,” he concluded, continuing to jog after Dunny.

However, Mikhail’s next muttering couldn’t be ignored by Jandar. “What do you mean about SaDiablo?” he questioned, utterly bewildered. He didn’t know yet why they had to find them and what the Prince meant about dealing with the man, but the former certainly aligned with Jandar’s own interest.

With worries and conversation to spice their way, the group soon arrived to a cliff side. “You needn’t go down the cliff, we will be the ones to do that,” Jandar explained to Dunny. He saw him slip, and immediately crouched to grab him by the ruff of his neck and pull him back from the edge. “Careful there. Now, can you tell us where exactly the track leads? What exactly is down there?” he questioned, as he peered down, enhancing his sight with Craft to attempt discern the answer for himself.

The Devil Hunter Agency

Hoshio

Name: Hoshio Kikuchi

Title: /

Age: 28

Division: Japanese branch

Class/Species: Devil Bringer

Weaponry:

• Bow. Enchanted to shoot farther and more accurately. Blessed to repel devils, and can withstand a few hits from them, but isn’t built for defense.
• Arrows. They disintegrate devils, whether they’re corporeal or not. The larger/stronger the devil, the more arrows needed to kill them. However, each hit weakens them, so even non-lethal attacks are effective.
• Quiver. A tool which replenishes arrows when needed from a designated storage room.
• Switchblade. Corrosive to the touch for devils, it also functions as a mild ward, discouraging them from approaching.
• Tattoos. The enchanted ink inscribed into his skin promotes power, endurance, vitality, and regeneration. Does not at all compare to a Devil Feeder’s physicality, but it is better than nothing. It just helps him to shoot more for longer, and makes him a bit less vulnerable.

Personality:
Hoshio usually comes across as tired, exasperated, unenthusiastic, and just about done with life. Feels older than he is, and insists it’s not only the general ‘approaching 30s mentality’, though he’s objectively not drastically different from others in their late twenties. Passionate about very few things (and even that rarely), and killing devils sure isn’t one of them – though it’s the thing he’s best at (and as much as that is obvious, he sometimes finds it to be depressing). He does experience the so-called ‘thrill of the hunt’, but even that is already part of the routine. Hoshio’s purpose is to make things easier, the world a bit more pleasant one, and that so happens to involve hunting devils and making things better for the mundane – he claims his motives to be selfish, any altruistic consequences merely the natural byproduct of his actions.

That said, he loathes devils much more than he does his job, and he has no problem taking it out on them. He does occasionally gripe to his fellow hunters, but since he rarely meets anyone like-minded or sympathetic, he normally keeps it to himself. As for his attitude to his co-workers, he’s generally accepting of a variety of characters and eccentricities, though he doesn’t get along well with any preachy hard-asses who needlessly and constantly spew about duty or honor and the like (he’s had enough of that with his family). Hoshio spends his off-time doing mundane things, often with mundane folks, keeping as far away from anything hunter related as someone in his position can. He does train regularly, though usually by himself, and catches up with other hunters on a need-to basis.

Background:
Hoshio hails from a family of hunters. His father was a Japanese hunter, his mother an English hunter. On his father’s side, there was a long-spanning tradition of working for the DHA. Though his parents lived on their own and tried to raise him normally, it didn’t really work out that way. They were often busy with their jobs, and so Hoshio was delegated to his other relatives, often his grandfather, who felt much more strongly about their family’s traditions and historical knowledge. So, from a young age, it was learning this, practicing that, training this, proper hobbies that, et cetera. His mother resisted the most and for the longest time, but once his father succumbed to the Kikuchi’s head’s will, it was all over.

‘It’ being over referring to the marriage between his parents. As for the chance of a ‘normal’ life, well, that may have been decided before Hoshio’s birth. When his mother was finally fed up with the situation, she moved back to England, and so Hoshio was left with his father’s family…Not much of a change, really. He regretted at the time that he hadn’t been taken alongside his mother, since he’d also come to find the rest of his family stifling, but he eventually (years later, in fact) came to understand her decision. In the meanwhile, Hoshio grew up under the strict and exacting guidance of his grandfather (and some others). When he was 16, a harmless captured yokai was brought to him to slay – under his elders' supervision and with his previous training of martial arts, Hoshio succeeded. He was enlisted into the DHA, working alongside his father until he was of age.

Once Hoshio had the legal ability to become independent, he did so. He moved out with the money he'd saved, and while he continued to work as a hunter, he no longer associated with his father, grandfather, or any other damned Kikuchi maniacs. Soon after, he moved to England, with some vague ideas about finding and confronting his mother. Sadly, it turned out that she’d died a few years back. Nonetheless, Hoshio stayed in her homeland, working as a hunter while finding information about her. He discovered her remaining family, who was entirely mundane, and did not approve of whatever they thought she had been involved in. He caught up with some of her old acquaintances and co-workers, who revealed to him various tidbits about his mother. Even after his self-claimed mission to learn what he could about her, Hoshio stayed in England, mainly because the newly discovered freedom and lack of any undesirable associations was great. However, at 27, he was called back to Japan due to the emerging youkai situation, where he’s been ever since.

Inventory: His mother’s journal. Contains both professional and personal musings (about devils, her colleagues, acquaintances, family, and life).

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

Asteria

---

---

Yes! Asteria thought triumphantly when she saw the Myrminors emerge. However, despite things going to plan, it soon became obvious that the goblinoids might not have as much trouble with the bugs as they’d thought. That meant they could join the fight to get rid of them for good (perhaps after the insects were done for) or use the opportunity to sneak into their hideout and explore. Moreover, a Hobgoblin discovered that a rock had been thrown to distract them, and while they were all currently preoccupied by the newly emerged bug enemies, if he remembered that there might be someone else afterwards, the rat trio could be in trouble.

Asteria was still considering the options when Ed offered his opinion. “Yeah, that’s alright. I’ll sneak in, and come back when I can, but in the meantime, the two of you should leave the premises and hide somewhere. Maybe just far enough that you can still observe, though depending on whether they remember to search for other enemies when they’re done with the bugs, that could be dangerous,” she expressed her worries. “Anyhow, I’m heading off now. By the way, I think I’ll try and free the troll if I can, because that may cause the chaos we need,” she said, making an on-spot decision about it.

Then she did as she’d said, sneaking towards the previously dug hole by the caged savage troll, passed into the camp, and began to fiddle with the cage. If the lock were something she could easily dismantle while remaining unnoticed, she would do so. Otherwise, she’d immediately head to the hideout’s main entrance while trying to avoid being observed from above – where she knew the leader and possibly some others resided on that ledge. All the while, she used her Beast Senses, Faster II, Muffle II, and Suppress Presence I to get around as quickly and sneakily as possible.

The Devil Hunter Agency

Hope I'm not too late.

Hoshio

Name: Hoshio Kikuchi

Title: /

Age: 28

Division: Japanese branch

Class/Species: Devil Bringer

Weaponry:

• Bow. Enchanted to shoot farther and more accurately. Blessed to repel devils, and can withstand a few hits from them, but isn’t built for defense.
• Arrows. They disintegrate devils, whether they’re corporeal or not. The larger/stronger the devil, the more arrows needed to kill them. However, each hit weakens them, so even non-lethal attacks are effective.
• Quiver. A tool which replenishes arrows when needed from a designated storage room.
• Switchblade. Corrosive to the touch for devils, it also functions as a mild ward, discouraging them from approaching.
• Tattoos. The enchanted ink inscribed into his skin promotes power, endurance, vitality, and regeneration. Does not at all compare to a Devil Feeder’s physicality, but it is better than nothing. It just helps him to shoot more for longer, and makes him a bit less vulnerable.

Personality:
Hoshio usually comes across as tired, exasperated, unenthusiastic, and just about done with life. Feels older than he is, and insists it’s not only the general ‘approaching 30s mentality’, though he’s objectively not drastically different from others in their late twenties. Passionate about very few things (and even that rarely), and killing devils sure isn’t one of them – though it’s the thing he’s best at (and as much as that is obvious, he sometimes finds it to be depressing). He does experience the so-called ‘thrill of the hunt’, but even that is already part of the routine. Hoshio’s purpose is to make things easier, the world a bit more pleasant one, and that so happens to involve hunting devils and making things better for the mundane – he claims his motives to be selfish, any altruistic consequences merely the natural byproduct of his actions.

That said, he loathes devils much more than he does his job, and he has no problem taking it out on them. He does occasionally gripe to his fellow hunters, but since he rarely meets anyone like-minded or sympathetic, he normally keeps it to himself. As for his attitude to his co-workers, he’s generally accepting of a variety of characters and eccentricities, though he doesn’t get along well with any preachy hard-asses who needlessly and constantly spew about duty or honor and the like (he’s had enough of that with his family). Hoshio spends his off-time doing mundane things, often with mundane folks, keeping as far away from anything hunter related as someone in his position can. He does train regularly, though usually by himself, and catches up with other hunters on a need-to basis.

Background:
Hoshio hails from a family of hunters. His father was a Japanese hunter, his mother an English hunter. On his father’s side, there was a long-spanning tradition of working for the DHA. Though his parents lived on their own and tried to raise him normally, it didn’t really work out that way. They were often busy with their jobs, and so Hoshio was delegated to his other relatives, often his grandfather, who felt much more strongly about their family’s traditions and historical knowledge. So, from a young age, it was learning this, practicing that, training this, proper hobbies that, et cetera. His mother resisted the most and for the longest time, but once his father succumbed to the Kikuchi’s head’s will, it was all over.

‘It’ being over referring to the marriage between his parents. As for the chance of a ‘normal’ life, well, that may have been decided before Hoshio’s birth. When his mother was finally fed up with the situation, she moved back to England, and so Hoshio was left with his father’s family…Not much of a change, really. He regretted at the time that he hadn’t been taken alongside his mother, since he’d also come to find the rest of his family stifling, but he eventually (years later, in fact) came to understand her decision. In the meanwhile, Hoshio grew up under the strict and exacting guidance of his grandfather (and some others). When he was 16, a harmless captured yokai was brought to him to slay – under his elders' supervision and with his previous training of martial arts, Hoshio succeeded. He was enlisted into the DHA, working alongside his father until he was of age.

Once Hoshio had the legal ability to become independent, he did so. He moved out with the money he'd saved, and while he continued to work as a hunter, he no longer associated with his father, grandfather, or any other damned Kikuchi maniacs. Soon after, he moved to England, with some vague ideas about finding and confronting his mother. Sadly, it turned out that she’d died a few years back. Nonetheless, Hoshio stayed in her homeland, working as a hunter while finding information about her. He discovered her remaining family, who was entirely mundane, and did not approve of whatever they thought she had been involved in. He caught up with some of her old acquaintances and co-workers, who revealed to him various tidbits about his mother. Even after his self-claimed mission to learn what he could about her, Hoshio stayed in England, mainly because the newly discovered freedom and lack of any undesirable associations was great. However, at 27, he was called back to Japan due to the emerging youkai situation, where he’s been ever since.

Inventory: His mother’s journal. Contains both professional and personal musings (about devils, her colleagues, acquaintances, family, and life).