Sengoku Shrine [S1 - E0]

Thu Sep 02, 2021 6:13 pm

PHASE 3: SENGOKU SHRINE

Information: This location is reserved for Team 5. Start your session where Sakurai left off, which was getting on the bus, and exiting at your designated location(s). Everyone on team 5 has been issued a picture through text message on the description of the cursed. We will also try to wrap this up before 15 posts.

LISTEN & READ

Team five were met with a more serious personality than the rest of the examiners. "I'll be frank and cut to the chase; out of all of the examination sites, you three have the worse location," without introducing himself, the man looked at a few file reports on the squad. "And telling by these data sheets, Mr. Masahi Unmei will be slowing you down with his below-average body." He gave them all a cold stare, especially the Unmei child. "Countless squads have been sent here around the same level as you guys, but none of them have returned to give us information on what's lurking around here. Sadly, I cannot provide you with much information on the Sengoku Shrine, but given the name and history, an old Samurai from the Sengoku Period lived here once. Anyone who's visited the place as you know has died with precise slashes from a katana" The examiner fixed his glasses. "I'm betting that this cursed spirit is Sengoku himself, meaning this battle won't be an easy one. I doubt he's around grade 3." If anyone would have been getting cold feet by now, it would be Masahi. "There's no telling what the grade of this curse is, but if things end up getting dicey, I expect you to run if you think you cannot take it down without casualty." The examiner looked at Ra. "Hmph, with a Ten Shadows user here, you may be fine. Later."

With no actual clues to go on other than what was given, Team 5 would have to do their own searching while traveling into the shrine starting at the first gate which leads up stone stairs. Maybe they would end up finding something valuable besides taking down the mysterious cursed spirit known as Sengoku.

Sat Sep 04, 2021 11:54 pm

~~READ & LISTEN~~

Late to the park and blinded by the haze, the first thing Ao paid any real attention to was the proctor and his voice. In his backpack he carried his table tennis gear and a couple of sai. Each of the latter were 1.5 feet in length and made of steel and iron with corded tsuka and faceted prongs. Cuff weights banded his ankles, adding an extra few dozen pounds to each leg. He sat with his fingers tented over the nape of his neck with his reflexes ripe and his senses keen. His previous test-taking hyperattention had yet to wear off, and he knew it was possible the test could commence abruptly at any time. So he studied his surroundings. And the white-haired man caught his attention--how he stood above the others in the park with his hair blurring with the blear in Ao’s eyes and the air and the sheets of white light, the kind so bright he could see flecks of dust illuminated against the green of the trees, and as they floated in the rays he swore he could see on their tiny edges rigid spines, spinning antennae, and other obscure dotted appendages. When he was younger someone had told him they were not specks of dust but instead bacteria swarming in the film over his eyes that he could only see in bright light. He had frowned and argued with him for a couple minutes before bopping him on the nose and breaking it when their bickering became personal. His mind lingered on that as his eyes followed the sweeping contours of the man as he stood in passive anticipation and listened, like him.

His voice was smooth and authoritative like the foam of a wave mid-thrust. It crested over the bustle and soon pulled in the attention of many. As Ao listened he rubbed his eyes so they were clear and his grin returned, but this time no longer as lazy and loose as it had been in his grogginess. Now his teeth practically swung from his mouth, so exposed and full they were almost tusks. He didn’t have much experience with working in teams, but he was confident in his leadership ability. The most challenging aspect, he thought, would be properly considering his teammates ability and maximizing their safety. Shaking his joints loose and jogging in place, he waited and yelled at the line for the bus to thin quicker.

Ao entered the bus and sat in the front and as his excitement dipped for a moment he took the time to notice the new email on his phone.

“Woooh! Team captain! Go five! Go five! Go Masahi Unmei! Go Ra Zenin!” He repeated similar chants throughout the course of the ride, his newly-deemed captain position fueling his passion and vocal chords, which, by the time the ride was over, seemed as sturdy as chords of adamantine and as sleek as spiderweb--like the flexible and ever-ringing strings of some divine harp. To pass the time, he worked out a chant in loose iambic tetrameter on the back of his left forearm with a loose pen he’d found underneath his seat. He muttered it to himself as he wrote, crossing out whole lines, his tongue poking from his mouth in concentration:

Team Five Chant

FOR MERCY, BEAUTY, POWER, DRIVE,

DO ALL WE SORCERERS THREE STRIVE;

FOR PITY, BEAUTY, POWER, DRIVE--

THESE VIRTUES ALL, FOR ALL OUR LIVES,

WITH EMPOWERED ARMS, WITH GNASHING KNIVES.

FOR MERCY, BEAUTY, POWER, DRIVE,

INTO EVERY DUTY WE WILL DIVE!

Content with this, he nodded and copied it twice more on loose scrap paper for his teammates to memorize before slipping the pen into his shorts pocket. At his stop he slung the backpack over his shoulder and made his exit.

“Bye!” he shouted, jerking his head over his shoulder toward the bus driver before stepping out. “But don’t forget to drive back around here again. I’ll be back here again waiting with my team soon.”

~~READ & LISTEN~~

Squinting, he surveyed the site. Traditionally-wrought crimson gates and posts framed the cobblestone walkway and in the distance the shadowy shrine. They were bold and broad against the surrounding swaths of evergreens, and they burned themselves into his memory as they shone under the light. The painted wood seemed to him as pristine and present as it was hundreds of years ago; only now, the sun had singed its edges, lended it a heartier core, a more blazing finish. To Ao, as he listened to the briefing, he thought he could see it seething with all the agony of wartime, even leaning out towards him in pursuit of retribution.

All the warnings offered by the higher-ups didn’t faze him, especially not this one. He was too giddy to begin the mission to worry on such a level; the action was too tangible now. Plus, he had trained his whole life for such a profession and seen the dangers firsthand on many occasions. Ao knew of all its graveness, and he was pretty sure he was aware of all its hardship, too.

Scratching his scalp, he muttered under his breath--it was a harsh, strangely projected mutter.

“So one of us’s kinda crippled it sounds like. That shouldn’t be too hard; I’m not that well-bodied either but I can fight really well. As long as he has some sort of speciality or strength he shouldn’t be too hard to work with. And if the spirit’s a samurai or related to them somehow, he’s probably a pretty traditional guy, so if we’re creative and resourceful enough we can overwhelm him. If he’s using a katana, I can hold my own for at least a little with my sai if I really put in the effort. Then maybe the one with the Ten Shadows technique, Ra, I think, could nail him from a distance with his shikigami while I keep him occupied.”

With that, he turned to the others and handed them the copies of the chant. “Memorize this til you can sing it backwards, okay? I hope you’re good singers, too. We gotta wow the other teams.”

“My name’s Ao Ryu the third of the strong and prestigious Ryu clan. You’re Masahi Unmei and Ra Zenin, right? By the way, cool hair, Ra Zenin. Anyways, all three of us’re gonna beat up this katana guy and complement each other and stuff. I’ve got weak cursed energy and I’m not very buff, even though it’s not obvious, but my control, agility, endurance, and use of weapons are super powerful, you’ll see.” He shared with them his previously-conjured plan with passion and with more vivid imagery and hand motions, though they had probably heard most of its content already due to his inability to whisper.

And with that, Ao started down on the left edge of the path with a methodical step, beckoning them to follow. Were any of them to talk to introduce themselves and their ability or offer their own plans, he would listen intently. If not, he would begin on a light ramble on test taking, the park, and eventually the bus ride. Regardless, he kept his senses tuned to the environment and his gaze on the distance as if he were driving; he even prepared in his right hand a sai, ready to plunge into action on immediate notice.

Wed Sep 15, 2021 2:35 am

Aaaand then he was at a shrine. IT was still Tokyo so, not like he was moved somewhere incredibly far away, but still a different place entirely. One moment he was in the heart of Tokyo, surrounded by a tall building hunting a spirit as he was tasked to do, the next minute he was surrounded by gates and trees. The best and most likely answer was that the last spirit had some sort of teleportation technique and just removed Kinshi from its range. Jarring would be the best word to describe the moment, but he'd still make the most of it. Except he had one question: "Wait, do I still get to pass?" He spoke aloud, to nobody in particular. Kinshi was still scanning his surroundings to figure out where the hell he was when he picked up the presence of another person, who he assumed was going to be his new partner. That or they were just a really unfortunate soul about to die alongside him.

"So... do you know what's happening?" He would approach the other kid, having been dropped of only a few meters behind him. From the distance he was at Kinshi couldn't really make out what he was like or what he was even doing, but any human is an ally in these parts so he'll take what he could get. "What happened to the rest of your team? Where the hell are we?" More and more questions would be thrown by his tongue towards this oddly familiar target. It was definitely a shift in character from before, but then again that was in a place that he was comfortable with. That was from a Kinshi who had the illusion of understanding and control until it was basically ripped from him.

Fri Sep 17, 2021 10:03 pm

"Huh? Of course you get to pass. We're gonna pass for sure."

Turning to face Kinshi the disc of light swung and bounced on the rim of Ao's head like a tight halo. His teeth, gnashed in such a firm grin the light rendered it as a flat white crescent, glittered in the clear light. On sight of the boy he was a little startled, rubbing the skin of his chin in a minor bout of confusion, but soon reanchored himself on his previous goal. He didn't mind who his team was as long as he had one. It didn't matter with what mechanisms and from what realms they arose; if they were willing to cooperate, they were valuable to Ao.

"There's the ghost cursed spirit of a samurai who used to live here somewhere in this old shrine from the Warring States period, lurking with his arms and stuff. He's probably got some sort of katana and he's been slicing people up with it. Proctor says he's around grade three or lower, I think. He was vague about it. We gotta' try to take him, but we can escape if we need to and still pass as long as you're still alive. That should be pretty manageable for you; you seem like you can take a few leagues of hits. By the way, your hair's cool. And your cursed energy's really strong. That'll be useful. And don't worry about all the stuff you don't understand, like how you got here and what happened to my team or whatever, that'll just bog us down. I'm really confused too, but it doesn't matter. We should focus on the mission right now; we don't wanna dilute our effort."

"Oh, my name is Ao Ryu the third of the really strong and prestigious Ryu clan... [rehashing his speech from before almost word for word] Who're you?"

He looked down at his copies of the poem and then back up, handing Kinshi both. "Memorize this as best as you can. We're kinda' small, but we gotta' be the best team still. Okay?"

Following, Ao returned to his previous proactive state.

"Got any good ideas or plans?"

Fri Sep 24, 2021 12:26 am

Sengoku Shrine [S1 - E0] D15e2f833cc950fe20107099547bdfae

[Listen & Read]

As the air slept in silence, footsteps crept into it. Emerging from the wooden shrine covered in shade was a sliding door being shut closed which caused an echoing bang that triggered the wings of Bull-headed shrike birds to flee into the sky — and as their wings sang, a breeze rushed through the enclosed area, possibly freezing over someone like Ao Ryu with a colossus vibe dividing his mind by implanted weariness into it. Something violent pile-drived the air, only to pair its self with the wind that blew through the locale. A cursed spirit clad in white armor revealed its self like a ghost from thin air. Its footsteps met the stone ground with a light rhythm that couldn’t be ignored by anyone; and with his seething yellow eyes that glowed, Sengoku stared at Ao with immense killing intent.

It was enough to paralyze anyone beneath him with fear. If Ao were truly a genius, this encounter alone would’ve forced him to realize Sengoku was a special grade curse spirit, however; the important thing to think about was why would Ao be sent on a test like this? And more importantly, how was he about to survive? “Prepare yourself...human child.” Sengoku held his sheath with his left hand and wrapped his right hand around the blade’s handle. Without any sign of physical gesture, Ao could not telegraph Sengoku’s future movements. The five-foot-eleven cursed spirit vanished at the distance it stood and re-appeared with teleporting speed four feet away in front of Ao with his blade covered in an intense blue aura. His quick-draw was unleashed mid-movement and by the time Ao saw everything happening, he wouldn’t be able to lay an eye on Sengoku due to the overpowering blue light blinding his eyes. “While you still have time to breathe, tell me of the current Unmei Clan!” he demanded halfway through his swing of immense speed. Ao needed to be careful because there was no telling what the aura could do, and two, Sengoku still hadn't revealed any abilities that Ao was aware of. There was something else interesting about Sengoku though. Why would he be asking for the current state of the Unmei Clan?
Sengoku Shrine [S1 - E0] Tab3

Sun Sep 26, 2021 4:22 pm Message reputation : 100% (1 vote)

The spare and spectral rhythm of Sengoku’s moving feet overlaid with Ao’s own as the former made his advance. And the sounds veered on towards each other, anxious to interlock.

Realizing his solitude, Ao had scoured his bag and equipped himself with everything he thought could be useful, thinking himself some sort of makeshift mercenary. If he was to face such a formidable curse alone he knew he would need to have an especially well-rounded defense, one as lacking as possible in all areas. Ao had taken his other Sai from the bag and held both with the sharpened tips of the hexagonal monouchi at his elbow. His index fingers extended to the ends of the tsuka, and his thumbs and other fingers fixed around the moto, where the bases of the prongs and side guards met. His digits barely touched the iron, and held it with extreme lightness and poise. Fingertips perched near the tsuka like sparrow-feet on a brittle winter branch — soundless, careful, prepared to leap from its surface without the slightest warping of the branch or shaking of surrounding leaves.

Sengoku Shrine [S1 - E0] F8344ae80a5aab66aa1a8a80db2558f3

On Ao’s head he wore a cloth headband with the face of a blue, bulging-eyed oni he had won at a festival several years ago. It was dingy and hard, like it had been left outside in the dirt overnight. It was ink-stained, dirt-smeared, and coated in a broad film of dust and grime — Ao even had to strain his thumb just to wipe it from the cloth — all from wallowing in the pit of his backpack’s neglected pocket. One of the oni’s nostrils had a gaping tear in it, and one eye was stained so deeply it looked like it made the monster look like it had a severe case of pink eye. He had equipped it in hopes it would scare off the samurai. Or, if nothing else, it would at least catch his sweat from dripping past his eyes. He quadruple-knotted his shoelaces, fashioned his table tennis paddle in the tight waistband of his uniform shorts, and now performed countless dynamic stretches as he walked. His whole body had sparked with action, and every sinew and nerve danced in preparation.

At first Ao continued at the path’s left edge, but as he advanced his confidence grew and he anchored himself in its center. His eyes glazed over the middle of the horizon where the temple stood with an intensity that made them water and redden. As soon as he heard and saw the sliding door shift out of place — the wood compelled, disturbed by Sengoku’s wretched hand — he decided he was ready. The path’s straightness and simple design offered him transparency and clarity, and let him scrutinize his target as much as he desired. The ghost warrior’s energy swelled and lurched out towards him and what seemed like everywhere, occupying the space with its colossal weight unhindered.

'His cursed energy is stronger than I expected,' Ao thought. 'Way past Grade 3, like the proctor said — probably even Special Grade. The name of his grade doesn’t really matter, though; I can feel his energy right now, and gauge his technique without assigning it a tier or name — using big terms like that’ll only scare me. And plus, I have all I really need to know now: that I can handle all of it.'

It’ll be tough to deal with his experience. He’s a samurai, so he was pretty strong to start off with. But I bet time’s rusted him at least a little; and he’s probably archaic in his fighting and general approach, as ghosts are by nature — not letting go and stuff, being bitter, dwelling. I have to make sure he can’t get his katana out, and if he does I’ll have to make sure he can use it as little and with the least possible autonomy and range. I’ll have to move first. And to deal with his power I’ve gotta be as careful and precise with my own movement and strength as possible.'

Exhaling, Ao walked at a brisker pace than before. His contemplations from before still lingered, festering in his mind and disturbing him. What did the samurai want? What compelled him to remain here, bound in solitude to this temple? And what did he think made it just to slaughter its visitors? These thoughts surfaced on his face in the furrow of his brow, the gritting of his teeth. Anger and unease flowered within him, but not of the debilitating variety. The emotions were incentives for him to approach, learn, and then rid himself of them through defeating Sengoku. And, maybe even more importantly, they sprouted cursed energy.

“You too...cursed spirit old man.” He spoke in a tone half-mocking and half-courteous, maybe as some sort of basic greeting and acknowledgement of dignity, of basic martial respect. He projected and his voice had its characteristic energy, but it was slower and more methodical than usual. Ao hadn’t yet decided what to think of the man; he had only just seen him, and was more focused now on physical evaluation, especially in the moments before a battle this dire.

Sengoku’s stolid word of advice was all Ao needed to spark his action; it was a signal that budded in him a spirit of defense and initiative. As the samurai settled his lips to finish his sentence and his body slurred and lurched violently with the air until it escaped his vision, Ao moved in turn, striving to match his speed. Like the shrikes scattering off into the sky and exerting themselves, so did Ao spring from his resting place, from his comfort zone, with the same nimble toes. His feet shifted in rapid, controlled succession, surfing the cobblestone like it was anything but solid. But unlike the birds who winged off into the sky whose only direction was away, from, Ao instead burst with to the only orientation on his mind’s compass. He moved with a mindset of pointed, unwavering pursuit of the warrior. Though, that wasn’t to say his movement was straightforward, or that he aimed directly for his opponent. Attempting to do so and probably facing the wrath of his blade directly would be unwise. Instead he bounced left-and-right at an idiosyncratic tempo and range of motion, warming up each leg and making the process of aiming a more complicated one for his opponent.

Then, acting on the first blue flash of his katana he could see, Ao settled on his right foot, before his opponent’s left, almost three feet away from his former position. Doing so allowed him to be closer to the scabbard, so the sword wouldn’t be allowed to reach its full momentum before making contact with him. It also served as an effective position for countering his opponent’s attack. As he made his shift to the right, his right thumb dipped into the pocket of the side guards so the rest of his fingers could make their anticipated lift from the metal, curving so they held the tsuka from the other side and sai swung so the monouchi faced outwards. His thumb rested at the base of the prongs. The movement was soundless and sweeping, performed in an almost instinctual, mechanical fashion and efficiency Ao had developed through a decade of repetition. He had flicked and flung and curved and swung and spun the sai in his hands until they had become iron appendages, until they were ingrained in the fiber of his muscles and in between the tightest grooves his brain almost as much as his hands themselves were. Such a proficiency with the tool allowed Ao to thrust it outwards just as the monouchi began to tilt forwards, puncturing the tension in the air. He squinted so the values intensified and fixated on the smeared mass of light that was the blade, training his eyes on the streak of light most saturated and vivid; that was where he had to strike. His movements bled with each other and stacked like grand terrace steps, and Ao made them as rapidly as he could. Aiming to close in before Sengoku’s blade could fully swing from its scabbard (but if this timing was somehow impossible, Ao could still complete the same action), Ao’s hand dove forth. The ball of his right foot spun on the cobblestone and breathed into his musculature a bolt of energy that climbed to his corresponding calf, thigh, and hip, all of which twisted along accordingly. Then in turn his shoulder, chest, back, Serratus Anterior, biceps, and triceps all strained as they carried the electric surge of motion. He dug the monouchi under the base of the katana’s blade, blocking it, then turned it so it was caught in the space between the prong and the sideguard. The stretch of metal where that sideguard and the prong met shone a pale green with cursed energy and the light radiated out on every extremity of the weapon, bursting out from the center like some ragged emerald supernova. The blade secured, he dug the tip upwards so the warmed metal of the prong also pushed against Sengoku’s wrist and therefore obstructed his most direct and effective line of control over the sword.

Holding the sai in rigid place, Ao jerked it to his right so the tsuka of the katana was over his shoulder. Then it sprang into a measured backward jolt, the sai pushing hand past its range of motion. He extended the monouchi outwards so it forced its hand out of place, exercising almost complete volition over it. He swung the sword back so it fell over his shoulder less than a couple feet from his heels, the fine metal clashing with the coarse face of the cobblestone pathway.

Ao pinned the blade to the ground with his left heel, stamping onto it the muddy print of his sneaker’s sole. His eyes flashed like embers; he resembled a crazed, hairless albino rodent. His muscles were thin but they all rose from his body with intricate and meticulous definition, each worked past their limits. They bulged beneath his almost translucent skin and he looked at once both ghostly and intensely-worldly — a jagged and prehistoric arrowhead carved from bone.

“Oh, I’m well familiar with the Unmei clan. I’ll tell you about them, but only if you return the favor and answer my own questions, and if you allot us a moment of truce so I can fully inform you.” Ao smiled and continued steadily: “The Unmei clan of today has departed from their government connections due to a major shift in interest in the recent couple decades, though they’re still a very tightly-knit group. They’ve fixed their gaze on the up-and-coming beauty and entertainment industries in recent years, and use their jujutsu to eliminate competition.” Picturing the email in his head and recalling the names he had seen, he went on after a moment’s pause. “There’s ol’ Kensack Unmei, I think his name is, who has seen great success as a mens model for Raw Leather Bears Magazine and as a social media influencer and activist for veganism and gun rights. He’s a very progressive guy, y’know — doing some really provocative and great work, I think. Then there’s Taikutsuni, known as “Tack” Unmei (the story goes she fell on a tack and had to go to the hospital for a week), who hosts a TV game show for the morbidly obese. She started it at eight when she realized the television industry was lacking in shows centered around weak fat people. Really precocious kid, if you ask me. Then there’s Matei Unmei, a drag queen and makeup artist on several social media sites. He’s the youngest and least experienced, but he’s really up-and-coming they say.”

He exhaled, relieved to have finished, and recomposed himself. “Anything else you need to know? Anyways, to return the favor, since I know you’re an honorable guy: why are you here, and why’ve you been killing everyone who comes here? And more importantly, what’s your ability?”

Tue Oct 05, 2021 12:13 am

The battle between the two was fierce. Ao Ryu was able to plant a massive attack on Sengoku with his wits since he knew he could not keep up for long. The attack Ao performed was strong enough to tear off Sengoku's arm which the samurai respected in full. Just when Ao was close to death after receiving heavy injuries from the battle, Team 6 dropped in and took the heat off of the boy. Xerxes Ryu leads the charge with his bravery and a small window of finesse. Yoi Kogane was able to pick Ao up. Due to Yoi's high intelligence, she already knew about the Sengoku Shrine and its full layout, so finding their escape route did not take long at all. Just as they were leaving, Sengoku shouted out under the red sky that the battle between him and Ao was not over.

Sengoku Shrine [S1 - E0]

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