[Episode] Dark Truth Under Bright Lies!

Quest Request:

[npc=misc]“Ladies, gentlemen, people of all kinds! Are you ready to strike a pose with DJ Thought Control herself? Well, her and…”[/npc]

The announcer, a man gleaming beneath his moment in the spotlight, dressed as a professional as though not to distinguish himself too much; he seemed to savor his moment in the spotlight before jolting into a signal pose. At “his” command a brilliant and multicolored light show fluttered from glimmering screens of mirrors and spouts of fireworks and colored flame.

[npc=misc]“...Nightmare SYNC 9!”[/npc] With the MC’s proclamation the band flashed into view beneath the almost blindingly bright stage lights: three beautiful men stood backing up their gorgeous leader. 5 plainly featured but stylishly dressed guys stood in a row with their fists held to their chests, each standing at attention like a soldier ready to take orders.

The glamorous diva’s eyes sparkled with a smug air of superiority, DJ Thought Control herself: Meg Melody, the second most popular of Mirrorball’s pink-haired popstars. With the flick of her wrists, like a puppeteer dancing her marionettes, the men on stage were jolted into their choreographed routine.

[dass]“♪ I’m losing my patience waitin'… ♫” floating like a leaf on a cacophonous river of sound Megara’s voice rang out across the crowd; it was an inviting and yearning-filled voice, almost claustrophobically enveloping its listeners, her instrument was well-honed, “???? ...have you let your guard down yet? ♫ I really wanna see how your heart dissects! ♫”[cmt]Unnecessarily long sentence. It made it a bit hard to follow. Also, this paragraph should've been broken into two.[/cmt][/dass] Now things were heating up, as the show began in earnest the performers’ stans began cheering and congregating. Some fans tried to make their way onto the stage but seemed to throw themselves back before climbing up; others, however, those most beautiful and bright-eyed, were ushered backstage…

Behind the Scenes…

Lavish V.I.P rooms, a stunning wardrobe and makeup section, a bit of abduction, and indentured servitude; these were the humble luxuries that made up the day-to-day of Meg and her Nightmare boys. With little need for proper security, [dass]the telepathic user of the thought-thought fruit needed only enough brawny men to keep up appearances[cmt]Classic example of you telling me rather than just showing me. It would've been more interesting to build up the mystery a bit.

Also, in general, I would advise against naming NPC fruits where you can help it. Doubly so if you're doing it in narration like this. Naming fruits in your quests technically canonizes them in RevDawn's lore. So, if anyone creates a similar fruit idea in the future with the same fruit name, they'll be beholden to your throwaway NPC's use of it.[/cmt][/dass]; for those strong of will or tranquil of thought, it was a gold-laying waterfowl sitting out in the open, just waiting to be plundered.

Bordering the open venue sits the narrow and winding alleyways of Mirrorball Island, notorious for their shady and unsavory nature compared to the rest of town; though the city’s heart was a bright and raucous disco, it was as though its veins were pulsing with the vicious ebb of crime and corruption.

Meanwhile, in the cemetery up the hill…

[dass]The lights of the city were beautiful from up here, pairing with the evening starlight to form shining rays like the multifaceted panels of a disco ball. As always, the blind troll was blind to much of the world’s beauty, in-fact this island of ear-splitting pop music and chipper little groupies was quite offensive to Doji’s monstrous sensibilities.[cmt]Once again, my critique from before applies here too. For future threads, I encourage you describe the world in Doji's narration less as what a sighted person would see and more as how Doji senses it. Not to say you can't use any visual details at all, of course. But, imagery where you're specifically pointing out how something is "beautiful from up here" when writing from Doji's perspective by describing how it looks doesn't quite fit. Alternatively, as suggested before, you can give him an NPC companion from whose perspective you could write more often while they accompany Doji. It could even provide an opportunity for an interesting dynamic where they have a habit of describing the world to Doji - if you were interested in exploring such a character relationship, of course.[/cmt][/dass]

Tensing his fingers against the bridge of his nose the oni attempted to alleviate the ringing in his ears and the splitting migraine that had afflicted him, “There’s not enough sake in the world to make that fuckin’ music tolerable…” he grumbled, reaching his serpent’s tongue for the last dew of his flask.

“...alright Mishima, did ya manage to die in a gaudy place like this?” Doji spoke drunkenly to the “spirit” of his presumably dead master before scrambling through the cemetery gates and stumbling down to start tracing the inscriptions of the headstones.

The sake and the wonder of graverobbing started to work their magic, and by the time the lad had reached his third headstone his headache was beginning to clear, Hey at least the people here are distracted enough that I can work in peace. No distractions! No unwanted witnesses… Doji thought contentedly to himself.

Then he noticed them, the faint tremors of world-wary footsteps, the warm wisps of breath contrasting crisp cold air, ...ugh scratch that. Somebody’s up to something around here. Nobody sans Doji’s preternatural perception, or those with the rare and unusual ability to see, would have noticed. With this observation, the giant-oni stood to his feet and began listening for the unknown presence.

Post Word Count: 700
Total Word Count: 700

It had been some time since Nikola had experienced his latest adventure, and this one had involved him being contracted by the Marines and the World Government to assist them in the role of a physician. Since then, Nikola had resumed his daily routine professional work as a physician again and had also returned to immersing himself deeply in his ongoing and ever-burgeoning mad science research efforts. During this time, he had come across a missing person rumor about an island known as Mirrorball Island in the East Blue.

People vanishing under rather mysterious circumstances, eh? That is a rather amusingly intriguing occurrence, indeed...Perhaps this merits further investigation...

While musing silently thus about the prospect of investigating this rumor, Nikola had prepared himself for the journey to Mirrorball Island and after gathering the requisite equipment and his underlings within his internal castle space via the power of his Castle-Castle fruit, he had then made his way there. That had been several hours ago from the present time, and the day found Nikola meandering amidst several rows of headstones in a hilltop cemetery in Mirrorball Island since he had realized that this was also a perfect opportunity to stock up on corpse specimens.

Ah yes...there is nothing quite like a brief foray into graverobbing...er, I mean, carefully calibrated forensic-style exhumation to put my mind at ease regarding my dwindling research specimen supply...

As he mused silently thus, Nikola chuckled briefly at the thought and continued digging into the graves around him while also storing the exhumed corpses in his internal castle space quickly to avoid the risk of anyone spotting him carrying the bodies in plain sight. However, his silent work was soon interrupted due to the mental alert he received from the auditory sensor array installed in his ears due to them having picked up the sounds of someone or something moving nearby.

So, he stopped and listened while ensuring to remain perfectly still and even went so far as to lower his respiratory rate to a tactical breathing level to mask his presence from detection to whatever extent possible. Little did he know, though, that soon he would be coming face to face with some rather unique individuals who would end up making this relatively lowkey graverobbing spree into quite the adventure for him.

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OOC:

Wordcount: 385/385/5000

Text Legend:
- Italics (Nikola's silent thought text)
- Bold w/ Quotes (Nikola's spoken aloud text)
- Bold w/ Italics (Nikola's whispered/covert text)
- No Bold, No Italics, No Quotes (Nikola's action text)

A Week Ago…

Sailing was something Riva always had a love hate relationship with, on one hand she loved the rocking motion of a ship bouncing on the waves with the sea breeze blowing through her short hair while nothing but the expansive sea lay spread in all directions with a few sea birds here and there. On the other hand there wasn’t really much she could do on a ship out in the ocean, especially such a tiny one. Not only that but she had no clue where she was heading or even where the next island was. This fact is made worse when you take into account the small fact that Riva when she escaped and stole her sloop she hadn’t exactly grabbed provisions of any sort. So for the few days after she set off she sailed aimlessly on the sea slowly starving to death. After almost a week of drifting Riva came to accept that she was going to die from starving out on the open ocean until she thought she spotted a speck of an island on the horizon.

Sitting up and staring hard at the speck on the horizon Riva contemplated if she was truly seeing an island or was it another hallucination. [dass]She inwardly debates with herself for a few minutes before getting up and steering The Sea Hobbit towards the speck with a bit of hope. ‘I hope this is real. I might just throw myself overboard if it turns out not to be’, she thinks bitterly to herself. As she gets closer to the speck it begins to go from a speck to a proper silhouette of an impressive island.[cmt]Be careful with sudden changes in tense. They can be jarring and severely hurt the grammatical integrity of your piece. I would generally recommend writing your posts in simple past tense. Writing in simple present tense can be handy in some cases, but it's ill-used most times in creative writing.

Also, this is probably gonna apply to the entire thread, but try to break up your paragraphs more. There is rarely a need for 200+ word paragraphs. The average paragraph should be no longer than 100-150 words.[/cmt][/dass] Riva is a bit taken aback by the amount of buildings on the island, she hadn’t expected to see an island that, at first glance, looked like it was made of buildings. Riva hummed a curious tune as she docks her ship ‘wonder if there’s anyone worth stealing from here,’ she thinks quietly to herself as she finishes making sure her little sloop was tethered properly. Straightening up Riva heads deeper into the island, noticing out of the corner of her eye a post board with lots of missing people’s posters tacked onto it. She shakes her head to rid herself of her curiosity and concern for the missing people, she had more pressing matters to attend to like getting food immediately.

A Few Days Ago..

It's been a few days since Riva’s been on the island she quickly found out was called Mirrorball Island and apparently the inhabitants of the island didn’t know how to slow down for pretty much anything. Riva’s lost count how many times she’s almost been stomped on or shoved out of the way for being too slow. She had been forcing her way through a crowded street aiming to find a store with some decent navigational equipment when she heard singing. Riva paused for a moment but was quickly shoved around by the crowd until she was pushed hard into the wall of a street-facing building, luckily for Riva she reacted quickly and threw her arms up to catch herself before her face greeted the wall. She glared over her shoulder and was about to yell some colorful words at the person when she realized she could hear the singing better now.

Staying as quiet as she could, Riva follows the sweet sounding singing, being led down dirty alleyways and even dirtier side streets. She scrunched her face a bit at the smell but kept following the singing until she reached what she guessed was the backside of a concert stage. Riva frowned at herself for getting sidetracked and was about to head back the way she came until the singing stopped and talking began. She stiffened at the sound glancing around quickly and decided to hide under the stage until an opportunity came to run without notice. As Riva hides and keeps quiet a conversation begins with the singer speaking first.

[npc=misc]“Humph! This concert didn’t bring in enough people like the last one,”[/npc] the singer complains loud and whiny as Riva [dass]makes a quiet annoyed expression[cmt]I encourage you to use descriptive words where possible to make your narration brief without losing any information. For example, here, you could've simply said "Riva frowned silently/quietly".[/cmt][/dass]. [npc=misc]“How am I supposed to make money if I don't draw in enough people, Dart!”[/npc] She finishes in a yell as Riva hears what she thinks is glass shattering. It's silent for a moment before the person she assumes is called Dart speaks up in a slightly shaky tone, [npc=misc]“I’m sorry Meg but what can I do about this?!”[/npc] Riva can hear Meg huff angrily before the scratching of a chair moving fills the still air and angry footsteps move away from where Riva’s hiding. Nothing more is said as Riva waits for the pair's footsteps to fade away before she swiftly slips out from underneath the stage and back into the maze of alleyways. As Riva makes it back to the main street and continues on her original plan she quietly curses her curiosity, “that’s the last time I follow random noises,” she hisses under her breath to herself.

Current Day…

As the sun sank below the horizon Riva checked her ship's stock for the umpteenth time that hour trying to make extra sure she had everything she needed. Deciding she finally has everything she could need, she makes her way onto the deck of her ship becoming a bit stunned at the sudden bright lights flooding her vision. She blinks rapidly trying to get her eyes used to the brightness again as a displeased frown showed on her face. Rubbing her eyes as she hops onto the dock and heads towards the main street aiming to figure out what to eat. She looked up and down the street for a restaurant, mainly sticking to the edges of the street so she didn't have to fight the crowd as much.

The sky is dark and the street lights are even brighter than before when Riva passes by a bar. She stops mid step and  blinks, spotting a hooded figure leading two young seemingly innocent girls down an alleyway, Riva turns away and tries to keep walking but guilty conscience eats at her the farther she gets from the bar. Sighing heavily she turns on her heel and quickly follows the trio, she can barely spot them but tries her best to keep up. After trying to keep up but also keeping out of sight she loses track of them. She curses under her breath and she leaves the alleyway popping up onto one of the many side streets the island has. Riva shakes her head a bit before rubbing her eyes and continues on her search for food, shivering a bit as a sudden gust of cold breeze blows through the street. A slip of paper tumbling along the floor catches Riva's attention, she bends down and swipes it up. Unfolding the paper she sees something written hastily onto it, she stares in bewilderment at the chicken scratch. She flips the paper around several times before barely making out two words 'graveyard' and 'mausoleum'. Confused but a bit intrigued, Riva pockets the paper and continues on her way, deciding that her empty stomach is more pressing of a matter than wherever that strange hooded man took those girls or whatever the paper was hinting to.

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Current Word Count - 1220
Total Word Count - 1220

Almost comically, as soon as Nikola settled down into his hiding place, the lurking giant skittered up directly behind him, “Hey.” Doji spoke curtly, as though trying to break an awkward silence.

“So uh…” a bone-chilling wind blew past the two as they shared their awkward introductions, “...you come here often? I was just uh…” The red-haired oni rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly trying to come up with an excuse for his presence, he just hoped he hadn’t managed to run into another nosy crypt keeper, “...paying my respects.”

Keeping up with Nightmare SYNC 9

Though in total there are nine total members of the hit boy band, everybody knows there are only three who really matter; the rest aren’t much more than a rotating cast of backup dancers. These three men, each boyishly charming in their own distinct ways, were the stars of the show: Gack the pretty one, Kai the mysterious one, and Ken the peppy one; these lads and their palatable musical talents had stolen the hearts of countless young adults across the city!

The organ markets were flooding.

Excerpt from an interview with “Gack” Nikurojiano Gakuto “Soulmate Monthly Magazine” …
Where did you go to school?
I am a student of the Lotus Storm school, my master resides in Shimotsuki Village. After coming of age I chose to come here to Mirrorball and study at Hanabi Idol Academy where I had the good fortune of meeting Ken and Katty; and well, the rest is history.

You’re probably wondering how a swordsman gets himself into the music industry, and to that curiosity, I offer some insight regarding the nature of the Lotus Storm: as mighty as a sword may be, it is words and diplomacy that truly dictate the course of fate; I know that I can best spread my philosophy through bringing joy and entertainment to the masses! That’s why I chose to be an idol!

Tell us about your “instrument”?
Ah yes, my ability! Though it’s an inferior model the tap-tap fruit has taken my percussion to the next level! All I have to do is tap the air with my finger, and I can emit a sharp kinetic force at whatever frequency I see fit; not quite as flashy a fruit as some of the Devil Bands’ but I rather enjoy it!

Excerpt from an interview with “Katty” Yamaha Katsuki “Paramour Digest”…
Tell us, you’re the closest with DJ Thought Control, what’s Megara “really” like?
Megara? I love her. She’s the best friend a guy like me could ask for. Why would you think she’s different behind closed doors from how she is in public? We try to be as genuine as we can with our precious, adoring fans.

How do you and Meg achieve such dazzling light shows?
A lot of it comes down to electronic fuses, we’ve been experimenting with some of those fancy new electric lights, but honestly I’ll miss the pyrotechnics if we ever make the switch. I’m sure you’ve noticed “The Engine” lets us control all of our automated instruments and the lights; sometimes I don’t even understand that thing.

Excerpt from an interview with “Kenny” Kirameki Ken in [dass]“The Sweetheart Review”[cmt]I find the idea of these magazines amusing. This is some worldbuilding I can get behind.[/cmt][/dass]…
In your hit song “Gun Bunny Ganguro” are you actually advocating that all women carry a firearm for personal protection?
What? You’re saying a girl can’t have a gun? Listen I’m just sayin’, with all the shit ladies go through, a little bit of extra firepower never hurt anyone…

…well I mean I guess it hurts someone, but only if they’re pushin’ ya! You gotta trust your trigger finger!

You’ve had some controversial outbursts in the past Ken, how does it feel being known as the “bad boy” of the group? Do you have any regrets?
[dass]Not a damn one! And I reiterate, fuck all these pretty boy solo idols, group acts are back in baby! Just you watch, me n’ my outbursts are gonna take Nightmare SYNC worldwide! [cmt]I really liked this interview-style introduction of what I assume will be this episode's antagonists. It fits the theme of the island and their group really well. And, while I can't say I fully love the naming choice (referring to the actual names, not the nicknames), I can live with it in the spirit of the J-pop boy band theme you seem to be aiming for.[/cmt][/dass]

Post Word Count: 666
Total Word Count: 1,366

Nikola had been deeply immersed in examining the graves around him and in trying to figure out a way to exhume them efficiently without causing too much of a spectacle in an attempt to avoid drawing any unwanted attention to his activity there, but alas...fate seemed to have had other plans for him on that day as he did end up drawing the attention of another, and this stranger had seen fit to approach him unbidden and was now engaging him. So, with no other choice but to engage the stranger in return, Nikola turned around slowly and tried to take in the stranger's details so he could mentally plan out his response, but that was easier said than done in this case

Well now, this one is truly an intriguing specimen, indeed...and so tall as well...it almost hurts my neck to crane it up so much...oh well...

Nikola [dass]mused silently[cmt]"mused silently" seems to be your favourite action for Nikola. I'm sure you could figure out other ways to describe it.[/cmt][/dass] while listening to the stranger give a rather awkward explanation which seemed to Nikola as if it was being made to justify to Nikola why he was at that graveyard at that precise moment

Hmm, that hesitance in this one's speech is curious...almost seems as though this stranger has gone and mistaken me for this graveyard's keeper or overseer...

After mulling over the situation silently for a few moments longer, Nikola spoke to the stranger who was now looming over him like some dark and shadowy behemoth from old legends, but despite knowing the stranger's obvious height advantage over him, Nikola forged ahead unperturbed, being his usual unnervingly calm and composed self as was his routine when engaging those around him, ensuring to having his well-practiced and convincingly natural facade of the polite and cordial businessman while his voice was measured and steady as per usual too

"Are you now? Well, that is quite admirable of you to undertake at such a late hour, so you certainly have earned my respect, stranger...and regarding my own presence here at this very moment, it is the same as yours. More precisely, I am also here to pay my respects to one of my dear friends who I have heard is buried here in this graveyard. Alas, this all-encompassing darkness makes it rather difficult to perceive the names engraved on these headstones easily, so it merely takes some time to do so for me due to my poor night vision."

With that said, Nikola fell silent while maintaining that cordial countenance of his and waited patiently to experience whatever response the stranger would choose to give him.

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OOC:

Wordcount: 425/810/5000

Riva sighs happily as she exits the restaurant feeling full and satisfied, she moves from standing in front of the entrance to the side to keep out of the way. She then pulls out the paper she grabbed earlier to reread its contents thinking quietly to herself, ‘hmm it just says graveyard, some big word I can’t care to pronounce and the number 12.’ Riva hums quietly as she mulls over what she just read while flipping the paper over countless times, checking to see if there was anything else written on it she missed. Seeing nothing else and knowing herself well enough Riva heads off down the street to try and find the nearest graveyard. ‘Might as well see where it leads,’ she thinks quietly to herself as she glances around for a brief moment. ‘I’ve got nothing better to do till tomorrow.’

After getting lost and being turned around quite a bit Riva groans in annoyance. She glances around to try and find something to indicate where the damn graveyard is but nothing seems to help. An elderly lady, noticing Riva’s lost and annoyed expression, shook her head with amusement before walking over to her. [npc=misc]“Hello my dear you seem a bit lost. May I be of help?”[/npc] The old woman questioned with a croak, Riva looked at her with gratitude before answering. “Yes, actually can you tell me where the graveyard is?”

The old lady looks at her with a confused expression but doesn't question and merely points her arm down the way Riva had come with her hand crooked to the right before speaking. [npc=misc]“Okay you head back the way you came until you stumble on a crossroad then keep left,”[/npc] she explains stopping briefly before finishing with, [npc=misc]“there should be a sign there that points towards the graveyard it's hard to miss.”[/npc] Riva grinned happily with a small nod and a thankful voice, “thank you.” The old lady nods with a small chuckle as she watches Riva get swallowed up by the crowd as she’s leaving.

As Riva’s following the old woman’s direction she wonders about the odd music that’s played on the island. Everyone seems to like it but she feels it's more like an annoying buzz in her ear. She frowns a bit at the thought of having to listen to any more of the music drifting through the air. She huffs softly as she spots the graveyard sign she grins to herself thankful she actually managed to stay focused this time. It takes a few more minutes of walking but Riva finally gets to the graveyard but realizes she hadn’t asked about the big word she couldn’t read. She slaps a hand on her forehead before sighing heavily, “whelp that's how it is I guess,” she mutters to herself as she walks through the open gate. “I hope there’s a grounds keeper somewhere,” Riva says quietly as carefully makes her way through the graveyard not wanting to be disrespectful. “Maybe they might be able to help me,” she finishes quietly with a small hum as she makes her way deeper into the graveyard trying her best not to step on any graves.

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Post Word Count: 529
Total Word Count: 1749

“Oh! Have you ever tried tracing them with your fingers! I can certainly understand the difficulties of uh…” Doji tugged at the bottom of his eyelid, revealing his clouded blind eyes, “... visual impediment? Is that the right word for that?” The oni stroked beneath his lip, pondering his diction.

“So who died?” The drunk and loutish giant bore a toothy [dass]grin toward Nikola[cmt]When writing from the perspective of a certain character, I recommend not to use characters' names until your PoV character discovers them. If you think it'll confuse your RP partner, you can simply add an OOC note at the end. Though, in general, I don't think it'd be necessary.[/cmt][/dass], a cheerful expression unbefitting the allegedly mournful affair.

“I uh, came here looking for an…” Doji struggled to coach the identity of his lost swordmaster, “...old relative. I’m not sure where he was buried, so I’ve been traveling in search of his burial site. I haven’t had any luck in finding him, but I’ve tried to be respectful to all the dead who slumber here,” The oni waxed philosophical while coaching kernel of truth within the fluff of his white lie.

Near the graveyard’s gates

Meanwhile, the groundskeeper exits from the slate gray Mausoleum, tired from his long day working beneath the cemetery. He’d spent hours processing Nightmare SYNC’s rejected “prospects” for parts; such was the nature of the entertainment industry: chew ‘em up and spit ‘em out. The last thing he needed now was a couple of intruders darkening his doorstep.

And yet, here they were; an enormous horned fellow off towards the end of the yard, and a little lady approaching from the entrance. He figured he’d play it safe and deal with the small fry first.

The man, a stout and burly fellow with nearly oversized arms teetered over [ass=See my previous comment in this post.]toward the approaching Riva[/ass], stuffing a cigar into his mouth with his pudgy sausage-like fingers and lighting it along his way. The blocky and flush-cheeked man appeared as though he was made from brick, puffing out smoke like a furnace.

[npc=misc]“Evening young lady, seems you’ve found yourself off the beaten path eh?”[/npc] As the man spoke with his gravely warble of a voice he began walking in a slow circle around his “visitor,” like a vulture encircling its next meal.

[npc=misc] “I don’t suppose you know anything about that big fellow over there are ya? It’s a bit late for a visit to the graveyard don’t ya think?”[/npc] The man asked, gesturing towards the 17-foot-tall giant standing towards the far end of the yard, a perturbed look in his eye.

Post Word Count: 384
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Nikola nodded to the rather tall stranger with whom he was conversing and waited patiently for him to complete his narrative before beginning his reply

"I have indeed, but on many of these headstones, the engravings are rather worn, no doubt due to ravages of nature and the inexorable forward march of time."

Nikola paused there ever so briefly before continuing and morphed his countenance right then to put on a convincingly natural-looking show of hesitance and what seemed like sadness complete with twin streams of tears streaking down his face, in equal parts, to make the requested info seem important or even secret when in reality, it was nothing of the sort

"The one...whose grave I am searching for...was named Rika Saionji. She was...a very dear friend of mine...right from my childhood days...I had heard the terrible news of her rather untimely passing very recently and that she was buried somewhere in this area...so, I thought that, perhaps, her grave would be on this island or maybe the next one over...but alas...I have also not had much luck in finding said grave site yet...and, naturally, I have also tried to be mindful to not disturb the peaceful slumber of those laid to rest here."

Nikola then heaved an audible sigh that was calibrated to sound naturally and convincingly remorseful and grief-laden in an attempt to give more credence to his reason for being present in the graveyard so late before falling silent and then, he waited for whatever response and reaction that the towering stranger may have to his narrative, all the while being wholly unaware that he would be encountering some trouble with the overseer of the graveyard and perhaps some other unsavory characters very soon.

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OOC:

Wordcount: 288/1098/5000

As Riva walked through the graveyard she couldn't help but to wonder if any of the headstones belonged to any of the people that have gone missing recently. She stopped at a random headstone and tried to read what was on it, being somewhat curious. Having a bit of a hard time she went to run her hand along the writing when she heard something. Freezing for a moment before standing up at hearing a gravelly voice speaking towards her. Sounding closer and closer with every step of the owner, Riva looked up, spotting the man puffing his cigar. [dass]She hummed quietly to herself for a moment before speaking quietly[cmt]Be careful about repeating words so close to one another. It can hurt your prose.[/cmt][/dass], “I'm sorry could you repeat please I don't think I caught that."

The stout and burly groundskeeper huffed in a bit of annoyance at having to repeat himself, Riva raised a brow as she watched him circle her. While listening to him the second time Riva wondered quietly why this man was circling like some overzealous predator. She pushes the question aside before answering the man's questions with a very blunt tone, "No I haven't found myself off the beaten path it was on purpose." She messes with the paper still in her hand as she continues her tone morphing to slight confusion, "And no I have never seen him before also I thought graveyards were always open?"

As she finishes speaking she puts the paper away and glances at the massive Oni wondering how she managed to miss someone so large. Riva concludes that it's probably from how dark it is and leaves it at that. Suddenly she remembered the big word she couldn't read on the paper. She was about to ask the groundskeeper but instincts told her to wait as something felt off and she couldn't figure out what. She turns her attention back to the groundskeeper, her face neutral but eyes holding distrust as she keeps her distance from him, ‘he feels odd’ she thinks to herself.

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Word Count: 331
Total Word Count: 2080

Though Nikola’s performance was like that of a practiced actor, Doji wouldn’t have had much in the way of questions either way; after all it’s only in the nature of adolescents to fall into the company of unsavory types, “I think I’ve actually seen that one! If you follow me I’ll show you, and I was going to wait to check out the mausoleum, but if you want to join me then it’s always better to pay respects in company.”

The oni didn’t quite understand the nuances to mourning, figuring it to be another human tradition that he’d never quite grasp; no in truth this boy’s fascination with the world’s graveyards was a matter of loneliness, self-sufficiency, and ambition. Ignorant to his dispassionate tone and improper cemetery etiquette the oni began trodding off towards the promised headstone.

“So what’s the name stranger? I’m Asakura Doji, traveling swordsman; if you find yourself in need of martial assistance I’m your oni!” The oversized red-head spoke down with a friendly tone to his voice, seeming to get along easily with Eisenstein’s performative persona.

[dass]As he makes his way to the tombstone in question, Doji overhears a pair of little people arguing around the corner of the nearby mausoleum[cmt]Odd and unnecessary shift in tense.[/cmt][/dass]; based on the voices he figures that a woman and man are having a disagreement, Man just my luck, how many people are crawling around this place? The oni thought to himself, a vein bulging in his forehead as he tried to remain calm.

Just around the Corner

[npc=misc]“Well ya thought fookin’ wrong then didn’t ya lass?”[/npc] The gravekeeper grumbled, exhaling a plume of stale-smelling smoke from his whiskered lips. As the little man, standing shorter than Riva stormed back and forth pounding his fist into his hand, an odd little detail presented itself: the man’s hands were covered in blood.

[npc=misc]“So what’re ya here for then? The yard ain’t open for you lot to come in and wreck shit in the middle of the night, it’s fer the respectable friends n’ family of the deceased to pay their respects!”[/npc] The man’s cover story was obviously a falsehood, seemingly one made up on the fly to get the so-called “intruder” away from his business.

[npc=misc]“Ya know, I don’t got time for this shit tonight little lady…”[/npc] an ironic statement from the man standing nearly a head shorter than Riva, [npc=misc]“...how ‘bout you take a little dirt nap, I’ll call a couple a’ my associates to pick ya up, and I can get some fuckin’ shut-eye.”[/npc] With this, the man slipped on a pair of brass knuckles, squaring up to throw a punch towards Riva with his thick brick-like fist.

Concurrently with the agitation of Riva’s attacker, a large humanoid figure lurched into frame from around the corner of a nearby structure; a horned creature standing almost twenty feet tall, shrugging back and hushedly shouting to somebody out of view, “I was pretty sure it was over here! And I have no idea what these two are up to, the tiny fella seems like he’s got himself worked up over something.”

Indeed the little fellow had worked himself up so much that he paid no mind to the monstrous intruder that had snuck up right behind him, and in a red faced rage the little man charged for Riva.

Post Word Count: 553
Total Word Count: 2,303

Nikola was a tad surprised at the stranger's response to his fabricated cover story with which he chose to explain his presence in the graveyard at the time, but naturally, Nikola did not show it on his face and instead put on the appearance of someone who was seemingly grateful for a kind stranger's assistance and matched his response to it while ensuring to make it sound convincingly despondent and contrite

"Oh? T-Thank you...with your kind assistance, I can perhaps make up...for my sin of having been unable to assist my friend in a timely manner...I sincerely hope that...I can at least set her soul to rest in peace and ask for her forgiveness for this grave oversight of mine."

With that, Nikola started walking beside the taller stranger oni as they both made their way toward the mausoleum that the stranger had mentioned earlier. While they were walking, Nikola heard the stranger inquire about his name and heard him give his own as being "Asakura Doji" while also offering his services as a sellsword. So, he responded to Doji in kind

"My acquaintances call me Johann Faust, so feel free to call me that as well, if you so desire, Sir Doji."

Nikola was about to say more, but then, the noise of an altercation that was currently transpiring in the distance now broke the pace of their conversation and drew their attention to the participants of said quarrel. So, Nikola followed Doji as he made his way over to examine the problem. As they went, Nikola remarked to Doji

"It would seem your martial prowess will be put to use sooner than expected, Sir Doji...for that young lady is clearly in a spot of trouble."

With that, Nikola fell silent and then waited for whatever was going to happen next in the situation, all the while silently wondering if he would have to exert himself in some sort of imminent confrontation.

---

OOC:

323/1421/5000

Riva raised a brow at the sudden hostility as she watched him storm back and forth wondering how she managed to piss him off so quickly. As she watches Riva blinking at the shininess of the gravekeeper's hands, she switches from watching the gravekeeper to staring at his hands, curious but thinking better of it. She focuses back on what the gravekeeper was saying but only got the tail end of it. Before she could stop herself Riva responded with a flat "since you're so tired why don't you take a nap?"

When the stout man began to square up with her, Riva tensed up ready to react if this man actually meant what he said. Seeing how angry he seemed along with his shiny wet fists Riva wondered if this was how those people went missing. As she begins to get slightly lost in thought the red-faced stout man charged towards her, Riva noticing movement refocused on her current situation and side stepped him. She turns to face him as he charges past her and drives her knee as hard as she could into his stomach. The man gasped and tried to catch the breath Riva had knocked clean out of him but she wasn't going to give him much of a chance. When the groundskeeper fell to his knees Riva kicked him in the side of the head, he went sprawling onto his side completely knocked out.

Riva stares at him a moment before shaking her head in exasperation before noticing the large horned Oni standing by a corner. She stares at him for a moment before speaking, "he asked for it." She raised her hands in mock surrender before bending down and poking the tiny man a couple of times and checking his hands to figure out what was making them so shiny. She instantly let the gravekeeper’s hands go when she felt how sticky the wet substance was. She looks at her hands which were now slightly covered with the same substance, she hesitantly takes a sniff and her face twists in disgust at the unmistakable metallic smell. Riva wiped her hands as best she could on the grass before turning back to the large Oni and asked "do you happen to have anything to tie him up do you?"

---

Post Word Count: 384
Current Word Count: 2464

“Hmm. I don’t have any restraints. We’d better bury him alive!” A cheery grin crossed his face alongside his morbid suggestion. Swiftly the giant-oni unearthed a nearby grave and hauled up a coffin to throw the man into, patting the top of the casket like a fine sailing vessel.

“It’s your choice, he came for you first. Did you get a chance to pat him down and see if he has anything interesting on him? Oh and I’m getting ahead of myself! My name is Asakura Doji, I’m a traveling swordsman looking for the grave of my master, and I like to poke into mysteries on the side; I hear something’s going on in this graveyard, and I’d bet that it’s happening there in the Mausoleum. Anyways, who the hell are you?!” At this point Doji was just excited to enjoy such a lively time in a graveyard without getting chased out of it, the yokai yammered down gleefully to Riva with an inebriated chumminess.

Nikola Eisenstein however, seemed less enthused; as the risk of the situation mounted he recluded himself, stalking away from things as the other two struck up the beginnings of a new caper. [dass]A glitzy place like this was probably too much for the Northern fellow to keep up with anyways.[cmt]It might have been funny to see Doji try and introduce Johann Faust only for the man to have fled. Missed an opportunity for an awkward comedic moment, but oh well![/cmt][/dass]

Meanwhile in the Depths of the Mausoleum

Empty tombs made for a perfect front to the operation, off on the outskirts of town disturbances were rare, and people wouldn’t have too many questions seeing bodies coming into the area. Underneath the surface of the stone floor laid the stairs leading to the operations’ smuggling corridors, a veritable labyrinthe of ”classrooms”, operating rooms, and torture chambers.

Just beneath the Mausoleum was the operation’s most used facility: ”packaging and processing,” in this location workers such as our fine cryptkeeper ready “product” for the willing buyers of Mirrorball. Ever since Nightmare Sync had established its body shop local hospitals had no shortage of organ transplants; what a peculiar coincidence, funny how things work out that way.

Coolers and chopping counters constituted the bulk of the room, the organization had plenty of ”stock” on hand, kept good for use through a relatively sophisticated refrigeration system; the room was, as a result, deathly cold and covered by a thin layer of ice crystals. Though the affiliates have done their best to keep the chopping block clean, it’s obvious that bloody work is done here from the stains on the walls.

What lies in wait for our curious thrillseekers? Asides from the chopped up and spit out remains of those who weren’t good enough to cut it in the music industry…

Post Word Count: 440
Total Word Count: 2,743

A normal person once hearing the Oni's morbid suggestion would have probably backed away or stared at him in horrible confusion, but not Riva. She laughed at the suggestion as she began to rifle through the Gravekeeper's pockets. Finding only a few bloodstained Berries along with some various other miscellaneous objects. She frowns at the very sad haul, hearing the sound of something patting on wood she looks over to the Oni but has to tilt her head quite a bit to face him properly. Riva's face scrunched up a bit at the feeling of a crick in her neck but she ignores it instead to listen to the Oni introduce himself.

Riva smiles in genuine glee as the Oni now known as Doji continues talking, seeing him motion to the large building the Gravekeeper came out of. She hums quietly to herself before facing Doji again while explaining her request, "I just finished patting him down, he didn't have much on him." She holds up the bloodstained Berri as she continues, "he just had a few bloodstained Berries and some trinkets honestly though I really only wanted the rope just in case he woke up."

She looks over the graveyard again before looking back at the Mausoleum. "To be frank that Mausoleum is the only one in this entire graveyard which is kind of suspicious in itself," she says with a frown before realization hits her. Riva looks back at Doji with an apologetic look, "I'm sorry I completely forgot to introduce myself." She then proceeds to hold her hand out to Doji with a big grin on her face, "My name's Riva Aderyn it's nice to meet you."

Feeling satisfied with her introduction Riva looks down at the still unconscious Gravekeeper and decides to do exactly what Doji suggests. Would be a life lesson for the Gravekeeper and a morbidly hilarious joke between Doji and Riva. As she opens the coffin and starts to drag the Gravekeeper towards it she speaks casually, "Oh yea! I've heard a bunch of rumors about people going missing only for their tombstones to show up in this graveyard." She grunts as she hauls the short but heavy man into the coffin, she lets out a huff before pulling the lip over the casket and continuing to speak still with a casual tone. "I only came her cause I found a random note with some big word, graveyard and the number 12."

Riva straightens up and dusts her hands before facing back to Doji, tilting her head again so she can talk face to face. "So are we going to go explore the Mausoleum? Bet there's some gross stuff down there considering the midget's hands were covered in blood."

---

Word Count - 456
Total Word Count - 2920

A devilish grin sprawled across Doji’s face at the suggestion,“of course! Let’s get on in there then eh?...” With this, the monster lumbered over to the structure’s entrance before popping a squat and patting at the portal’s borders “...seems like it’ll be a tight squeeze, but I’ll manage,” the oni spoke calmly before suddenly rearing back and punching a larger opening for himself into the building’s stonework.

“Yahoo! Typical! People like to say they want a fancy restin’ place, but nobody wants to waste the good materials on the dead!” In short order, the oni began tearing the interior of the structure apart, rummaging around as if searching for some hidden entrance; suddenly, something inside gave way and the sound of shattering tile filled the air.

“Got it! You can come in now, Riva!” The room was destroyed, bricks were ripped from the walls, the ruins of a fractured stone sarcophagus littered the ground, and most notably: a massive hole leading down to a wide stairway stood in the center of a pile of broken marble tiling.

“Can you lead the way? I uh, I’m not the best at investigating things on my own…” the blind boy waved his hand in front of his face to illustrate the lack of response in his eyes, “... I wish I could help you out with that note too! But I can only read if there’s some texture to it! How do you spell that big word you were talkin’ about?”

Meanwhile, a Transponder Snail Rings throughout the Empty Corridors of a Large and Lonely Mansion…”

[npc=misc]“Purupurupuru-purupurupuru-purupu…”[/npc] the drowsy-eyed prince seemed to get up in a trance to pick up the receiver, [npc=misc]“...Ko-cha.”[/npc]

“Hell-” Katsuki’s answer was cut-off immediately by the hurried chattering of the frightened goon on the other end. It was rare that any of the trainees were bold enough to speak over the idols, he’d better have something important, Katty thought to himself [ass=Noice.]cattily[/ass].

[npc=misc]“Mr. Yamaha! Please come down to the yard quickly! Somebody, or something, just broke down the Mausoleum and found the entrance!”[/npc] The intern yammered on fearfully.

Somebody broke it? That building was constructed from hewn granite of the highest quality, what business would a monster capable of such a thing have on Mirrorball… the handsome young man contemplated his course of action before speaking, “... and where’s the Kirameki boy? It was his job to head operations tonight.”

[npc=misc]“Mr. Kenny said he was going to go out and grab us a round of drinks for making it this far through the candidate selection process!”[/npc] The youthful man on the other side of the phone sounded excited at the prospect, typically the recruits were not permitted to drink for fear of damaging their “assets.”

“That indolent little shit. You tell security to keep all of the merchandise secure or we’re scrapping every last one of you for parts,” with his morbid promise Katsuki hung up the receiver and threw on some clothes on his way out the door, why did she have to settle on that tow-headed troublemaking twerp. All we do is pick up after his messes.

Post Word Count: 520
Total Word Count: 3,263

Riva kept her distance as she watched Doji inspect the portal's border before jumping a bit as he punched an opening into the stonework. Riva blinked before covering up a small giggle with a cough. As she makes her way over to the newly made entrance Riva hears tile shattering and runs through the Doji-made entrance thinking something bad has happened.

Blinking rapidly in surprise at the now uncovered entrance Riva couldn't help wondering where it led to and if there was anything living down those stairs. She turns to look over at Doji as she listens to him begin to speak. Riva hums quietly to herself a small frown on her face when Doji showed off his lack of sight. Walking over to him she hesitates slightly before taking a hold of one of Doji's fingers and begins to carefully guide him over to the uncovered stairway.

"Sure I can lead the way sorry for not noticing before," she tells him while also pulling out the note. "Um the big word is spelt M-A-U," she pauses a minute to read the paper again. Some of the writing had gotten a bit smudged and was a bit hard to read now. Eventually Riva continued finishing up her spelling, "S-O-L watch out for the next few steps they're a bit slippery E-U-M."

Focusing back on what was in front of her Riva realized there wasn't much light down here. She tenses at the sudden feeling of claustrophobia and paranoia, she pushes the feelings down but tries her best to be wary of the darkness around her and Doji. Once at the bottom of the stairs and making sure Doji was alright she spoke up again. "I'm gonna try and find something to light up the place, I don’t really like not seeing what’s around me," Riva explained as she let go of Doji and felt around before touching a wall. As Riva crept along the wall slowly she shivered a bit from the drop in temperature. Deciding to ignore the temperature change Riva runs her hands along the wall hoping to come across a light switch or a torch. Even a lamp would be better than being stuck in the dark.

As she continues feeling the wall Riva knocks right into what she thinks is a table. Feeling around a bit she finds a switch and without a second thought she flicks it on. The room is softly illuminated and seemed very bare bones, only a small desk with a lamp that's got a few old blood stains on it, a few of what looked like filing cabinets and an entrance into a very long slightly bloody hallway. Riva stared at the sight before turning to Doji, "I found a lamp looks like we're in a small office?" Her tone takes a confused and questioning tone before she heads for the hallway continuing to tell Doji what she's seeing. "There's also a hallway not sure where it leads but it's got a few doors on either side and a suspicious blood trail that goes down it with a few blood trails coming from random doors."

She looks back at Doji hand on the wooden frame of the archway as she asks a bit absentmindedly, "Should we keep going? It seems there's definitely something going on." Curiosity tugged at her to explore the rooms with the blood trails coming from them. Knowing for certain there's something hidden behind them but she'd feel guilty for just leaving Doji like that. Especially since she can make a good guess that this place was supposed to be secret. She just hoped that no trouble finds them before they explore the place a bit more.

---

Word Count: 619
Total Word Count: 3539

“Oh no need to worry so much! I can get around just fine, it’s just…” the oni struggled to articulate his exact limitations as the woman grabbed his finger and led him down the stairs,“...some of the finer details you know? Like books, and paintings, I know what those are for; but I’m not too good at figuring out their specifics. I do know how to read and write though, my ma taught me how to do it with a stick and some dirt. I’ve read that word plenty of times, that’s a mausoleum, the type of grave we just cracked into; guess we must be on the right track.”

Noticing his ally seem to clamp up Doji attempts to reassure her as she finds her light source, “being able to see sounds nice! Everyone who has described it to me speaks quite positively of the phenomenon, shini-hi-hi-hi…” the oni trailed off into his chuckle, amused at the he and Riva’s differing abilities, “... do whatever you need, but I will say: not being able to see isn’t as bad as you all make it out to be. Sometimes the absence of one thing cultivates another, no?”

As Riva found her lightsource and described the nature of the situation the crouching lad’s interest was piqued, “yeugh hold on a second…” with a sudden motion the oni punched a hole in the structure’s ceiling to situate his head beneath, “...sorry, I hate scrapin’ my horns. Dyang, so these are the kinda guys who’ll build secret passages but can’t get a fuckin’ janitor in to clean ‘em? In that case they probably ain’t much to worry about, hell I’ll bet I could beat ‘em on my hands and knees.”

The hallway seemed to beckon; feeling at its threshold the demon found that it was just wide enough to accommodate his frame, “How about this? I’ll lead the way and crack open those doors, you see what you can find in the rooms. If anybody gives you trouble in those rooms I’ll reach in and grab ‘em!”

The Messy Hall Problem

In every endeavor one accepts risk in exchange for the promise of reward, each door one opens in life can contain endless possibility and endless hardship alike. When it comes to matters of life and death one must be careful in which door they open, for it may be their last; the “false prize” behind such a door may be a precise gunshot to the center of the forehead.

[npc=misc]“One of them’s got a big mouth…,”[/npc] the suit and tie clad agent spoke into his mini-transponder, [npc=misc]“...can’t make out much from the other, seems more level headed. So far they haven’t poked their nose into any of the merchandise, keep evacuating further into the complex. My team will dispatch, you’ll be the first to know if things go south.”[/npc]

“Copy that Mr. Kane, I’ll leave the matter in your hands,” Katsuki spoke into his transponder as he approached the far end of the facility. He was in for a long night of putting out his most irritating coworker’s fires; he shouldn’t have expected anything less from the loudmouthed runt.

Meanwhile, at the milk and cigarettes store…

“Whaddya mean I can’t have four bottles of vodka, do you know who I am buddy?” The petty thief blew off the shopkeep’s threat as he made his way nonchalantly for the exit.

“If you’re such hot shit then get back here and pay for those!” The man shakily leveled his shotgun at the fleeing thief.

“Woah woah!...” Kenny threw his hands up, dangling the liquor precariously from his fingers, “...now that you ask so nicely I suppose I can be persuaded,” a saccharine grin sprawled across the blonde haired boy’s face as he took down his hood and slowly set 3 of his four bottles upon the counter.

“So how much is it gonna run me?” The clerk stared on at disbelief at the brashness of the young man standing before him.

“Ugh. You’re one of the members of that boy band aren’t you. No good getting the authorities involved, you’ll just get more tabloid articles written about ye. Comes out to 7,500 berries, ya really couldn’t spare the fuckin’ change?”

“I forgot my wallet…” the boy answered, rifling through his coat pockets as though looking for pocket change, “...and say, you like guns?” An innocent, curious, childlike grin crossed the boy's face as he pointed to the man’s shotgun.

Tentatively the shopkeep nodded. A confirmation of his death sentence.

In an instant, the man was shot through the heart; the murder weapon? A small derringer kept in the gun-fanatics coat pocket, “There’s an old mountain bandit saying about ‘em…” Kenny spun the little pistol on his fingers as he savored the man’s final moments, “...I forget exactly how it goes, somethin’ about actions speakin’ louder than threats. Point is, you underestimated me; shoulda shot me when ya had the chance. But I guess that’s obvious now! Yeehee-hee! See ya later gramps!”

With this, Kenny snagged his merchandise and began heading back to celebrate with his coworkers, now possessed of another anecdote to share over alcohol! It sure was fun being rich and famous enough to do whatever he wanted!

Post Word Count: 876
Total Word Count: 4,139

Riva hummed in agreement as Doji made himself comfortable, she glanced around the room again to see if she might have missed something. As she's about to give up and head into the hallway she spots a few missing people's posters just scattered about. She grabs them up before turning to Doji with an amused look on her face at his comment. "They probably don't wanna waste money on a janitor," she states walking back over to him before looking at the missing posters while continuing, "I mean if they are confident someone wasn't going to find the place why bother?"

As she looks at the missing poster she tilts her head a bit wondering quietly why the posters were down here before looking back up at Doji seeing he'd moved closer to the hallway. She quickly follows after him not really wanting to be by herself before thinking a bit about his plan, feeling it was quite a good plan she replied "sounds good to me and I guess the best ones to open are probably the ones with the blood coming from it." Remembering about the missing posters she quickly added, "oh and I found some missing people posters scattered on a desk I don’t know why but maybe they have something to with this?"

She turns her attention in front of her as she walks further into the hallway sneezing a bit at the stench of fresh and days old blood. Riva carefully makes her way down the hallway trying not to step barefoot in blood. She glances back at Doji for a second to see if he was following before grabbing the handle of a very simple white door. She takes a deep breath to recenter herself before pushing open the door. Riva stood tense as she waited a bit as the echo of the door slamming onto the wall rang out, when the echo had died down Riva walked slowly into the room but was quick to make a noise at the smell assaulting her nose. She rubs her nose furiously as she glances around at the blood stained room with fresh pools of blood and couldn't help but feel a bit bad for whoever this had been.

Riva doesn't move a muscle looking over at Doji as she murmurs softly, "wonder if they are kidnapping people to harvest organs. It would seem like that's what's going on unless someone is living their fantasy." She gives the room another glance before slipping back into the hallway glad to be able to breathe without tasting iron. After taking a few deep somewhat clean breaths Riva blinks at a faint sound. She couldn’t pin point where it came from but she glanced around nonetheless. Not seeing anything obvious Riva shakes her head a bit before slipping back into the room with Doji.

---

Word Count - 461
Total Word Count - 4000

“Harvest organs? Like rice? What good is a pile of bloody guts gonna do anyone?...” Doji asked, wholly ignorant of the medical utility of such a collection, [dass]“...Yo! Maybe it’s some kinda wealthy serial killer who built this place to keep trophies of his kills!”[cmt]Is it just me is Doji's speech style significantly different in this quest? I remember him having a much more formal and well-articulated speech style in previous threads.[/cmt][/dass] The oni seemed overly proud of his ditzy and oblivious suggestion.

From down the hallway, the gunmetal of a silencer pistol glints like the eyes of a serpent stalking through its underbrush. Taking a deep breath, Mr. Kane levels his pistol for a shot at Riva’s head.

Unfortunately, this single breath was more than enough for the observant giant to notice the unfamiliar presence; however, the man’s cover wasn’t blown just yet, the boy was too much of an excitable idiot to catch onto his intentions, “Oy! You there! Are you as lost as us? Whaddyou think? Is this place some kinda weird organ farm, or do ya think it’s a serial killer’s trophy collection?!”

[npc=misc]Damn, spotted…[/npc] Kane thought to himself as he realigned his targeting, now aiming for the horned beast’s head, [npc=misc]“... I don’t know buddy. I think you’re onto something either way, I just work here,”[/npc] with this, the agent pulled the trigger.

Just dodging the bullet, Doji tilted his head in confusion at the man’s response, “You work for a serial killer? Or is it the farm thing?”

He’s being too nonchalant, and that must have been… retreating down the hallway, the man grabbed his transponder once more, [npc=misc]“... the big one can use Haki! Katsuki! I think I’m in over my head here, come quickly to E block!”[/npc]

“What the fuck is a hockey?!” The oversized red-head shouted down the hall towards his fleeing opposition, but it was too late, the man was already long gone; in order to pursue properly the two would have to begin sprinting to chase, a difficult proposition for the giant considering the size of the hallways.

“Strange. I haven’t ever been to a mausoleum that needed people to work inside of it, guards or gravekeepers sure, but I think you’re onto something…” the pieces were beginning to fall together, “... this is some kind of proper operation, I guess like a farm? I wonder who that guy was calling for,” Doji rested his chin against his index finger as he wondered what kind of people would run a “facility” like this.

“A Haki user? Are either of them ability users?” The blue haired idol spoke calmly into his transceiver.

[npc=misc]“I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, at least aside from the giant red-haired oni, but I didn’t get much time to check.”[/npc]

“Giant red-haired oni?...” the description brought a fearsome face to mind, “...hmm. If that’s the case then we may have a valuable set of organs on our hands. Mr. Kane, station yourself in the archives and no matter what you do don’t let anybody in. I’ll be there shortly.”

[npc=misc]“Copy,”[/npc] with this, the agent headed for a large room filled to the brim with medical records and the portfolios of former “employees.” Sliding the door’s heavy bolt shut, he readied himself in the corner and prepared to shoot any unfamiliar faces who might come knocking.

Meanwhile, Katsuki had a short call to make on his way down the facility’s halls, “Miss Megara? Apologies for calling at this hour, but I may have something of interest: a large red-haired oni has broken into the facility along with a sneakier ally…” the woman’s response was curt, but seemingly curious, Katsuki dutifully answered her questions “...yes, yes Kenny did leave, very well. Yes, if you can, please get here as soon as possible and bring Gack. I’ll see if I can keep things under control in the meantime.”

In short order, the slender blue-haired figure made his way to E block; and from down the hallway, he spotted the pair. Speaking cordially, but with a menacing undertone to his voice, he addressed Riva, “Hello Miss, I apologize for my employees rudeness in greeting you two. Can I ask what brings you to the neighborhood?”

Post Word Count: 677
Total Word Count: 4,816

Riva was about to explain why someone might want to farm organs when she was interrupted by Doji calling out to someone. Seeing the man with a gun pointed at Doji she reached for one of her folded kamas but was a bit taken aback by Doji dodging the bullet. It takes her a few moments to shake off the shock as she watches the man make a run for it. Frowning a bit she huffs, "coward much," she quickly comments before turning her attention back to Doji.

She hums with a small smile seeing Doji slowly catching on. "Probably his boss or someone similar?" She offers before adding a quick "Also I think he meant to say Haki though I've never heard of it."

She looked in the direction the man had run off in and was curious as to what was down that way. It didn't seem random to her especially if the guy actually worked here. Though catching up might be an issue, she glances back at Doji in contemplation. Wondering if splitting up was a good idea or not, on one hand her curiosity would be satiated as to where that trigger happy guy went but she would feel a bit guilty leaving Doji by himself. Especially with the added fact that he couldn't really move all that well in such a tight space. She sighed heavily at her conscience coming back to restrain her again even though she’s almost certain Doji could take care of himself even with a disadvantage.

As Riva turned towards Doji with her back to the rest of the hallway, she was about to ask him what he would like to do when she heard a male voice sound close behind her. She turns around quite quickly while taking a few steps back to make more distance. Riva stared at the blue-haired man with serious confusion and a bit of tenseness. She listened to what this new guy was saying and made a glance at Doji with an unsure look despite knowing he wouldn't see it. She focuses back on the guy as he finishes speaking, she lets the quiet fill the space for a minute before replying. "I wouldn't call a blatant attempt at killing my friend here plain rude but insulting." She frowns a bit before continuing, "especially since he ran right after but to answer your question why should we tell you exactly?"

Riva crosses her arms before turning herself to keep the blue-haired man in her line of sight while she looks over at Doji. "What do you think, Doji?" She questions curiously before adding, "should we tell him anything or no?"

---

Word Count: 445
Total Word Count: 4445

“How about this… ” the oni spoke to Riva before turning his attention to the stranger. He wasn’t particularly socially proficient, but he was familiar enough with extortion, “...you and her can have a conversation, but for every answer you get, we get to ask a question too. If I get the feeling you’re lying I’ll tear this whole place down, sound fair?”


The celebrity raised his eyebrow and smirked before giving his answer, “Fair enough. As a token of goodwill, I suppose I’ll explain what you two have happened upon: we’re a medical supplier, we source and distribute organs for transplantation purposes here in Mirrorball. Now, and I apologize again that our security greeted you so roughly, what exactly is it that brought you two here?” Katsuki asked Riva once more with a grave tone in his voice.

Arriving at the Cemetery Gates with Booze in Hand…

“Alright guys, I hope you’re excited…” Kenny hopped off his bike as he headed back for the Mausoleum, “...we’re gonna party hard tonight!”

The ruins of the structure, and the wreckage that had been thrown out of its entrance quickly put a hamper on the blonde’s excitement, “Wait a second, what the fuck?...” Setting down the alcohol and drawing a pistol, Kenny approached the ruins trepidatiously, “... aw man, Meg ain’t gonna be happy about this.”

Meanwhile, Meg and Gack Arrive at the Facility’s Secondary Entrance…

“What do you figure the gun bunny got up to?” The lavender-haired man spoke with an eerie calm as the pair dismounted their motorcycles.

“Probably off drinking or saying some dumb shit to get himself back in the spotlight. Useless little attention whore…” Megara, breaking from her bubbly and exuberant public persona, answered cynically.

“I’m surprised he hasn’t managed to ruin all of our public images at this point. I get that all the girls think he’s cute so we have to keep him around, but it still seems like a disaster waiting to happen. If he runs his mouth and people figure out what we’re up to here, then we’re all going down.”

“Fair point. I may be giving the twerp too much credit in assuming he can at least keep this under wraps…” the bubblegum-pink bitch gossiped with her partner. As she made her way to the facility’s rear entrance she radioed in via mini-transponder to security, “... open the door.”

The sounds of heavy gears rotating like clockwork were punctuated by the hammer-like sound of the entryway’s bolt slamming open. Gack opened the door for Meg, and the two made their way swiftly towards the facility’s boiler room.

Back with Katsuki…

As Riva and Katsuki finish their first exchange, his mini-transponder rings again…
Dutifully, the idol holds his finger up to Doji and Riva to excuse himself, “one moment please,” after speaking this, he turns away and begins whispering into the transceiver.

“What’s the situation?” The diva asked curtly.

“I’m not sure. I don’t think they’re with the Marines or law enforcement.”

“That’s almost worse, authorities are easier to pay off than weirdos. I’m going to set us up for emergency protocol, keep them distracted and radio in when you’re ready.”

“Very well, see you soon then,” finishing the short chat, Katsuki hung up his snail.

“Apologies again, thank you for bearing with me! Now, feel free to ask your question!” The man seemed a bit too eager to answer Riva’s question.

Doji’s ear twitched, as his concentrated expression diminished. Kneeling down and cupping his hands, he whispered down to Riva as quietly as a giant could, “I heard most of that. They’re worried we’re Marines, there’s some lady on the other end who thinks they’ve got an emergency on their hands.”

Abruptly following the end of the oni’s sentence, the sounds of countless whirring and clicking gears roared to life from deep within the halls. From within them, fluttering on one by one a series of bulbs in the ceiling began to radiate a pale, unnatural yellow light.

Katsuki seemed pleased to see one of the many advantages of fame and fortune; though he preferred pyrotechnics for the purposes of performance, this newfangled technology was tremendously useful for keeping the facility well-lit and secure. Powered by steam-based generators in the facility’s boiler room, the coils of the lights let out a warm and consistent glow.

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Riva frowned, glancing between Doji and the blue-haired man but didn't say anything beyond a small huff. As the blue-haired guy started giving his answer Riva raised a brow at how the guy started his answer but only got a bit more suspicious as he continued. Riva’s frown gets a bit deeper at the apology but it quickly vanishes as she shifts a bit as she thinks of a question to ask before she begins to answer, "well I just want to know," as Riva asks her question she's interrupted by the sound of a transponder snail ringing.

Riva blinks before shaking her head a little, feeling a bit miffed at the interruption but it soon turns to curiosity as she tilts her head watching the celebrity’s back. She becomes curious to know who was on the other end of the call. It seemed like from the celebrity's body language that he was talking to someone above him or more accurately someone more important. This only caused Riva to become more curious and to change her question up last minute.  She was about to voice her question again regardless of the fact he was still busy talking to that interesting someone but was stopped again. Riva held her question as well as putting on a clearly [dass]annoyed expression[cmt]I noticed that you use "annoyed" and "annoyance" constantly. I recommend broadening your vocabulary. Irked, irritated, peeved, and miffed are some options.[/cmt][/dass] when the celebrity spun around and was more eager to answer her question than he had been before the call. Riva’s annoyance quickly changed to being on edge. 'No one would be so quick to change their tone unless something else is happening behind the scenes, especially around something as illegal as what is happening here,' she thinks a little anxiously to herself.

Riva gave a hard neutral expression until Doji began whispering to her. She gave a curious raise of her brown before quickly hiding her reaction so as not to give what Doji was saying away. After a moment of silence Riva answered in the same whisper, "sounds like they are a little dense if they think we're Marines." She lets her previously crossed arms drop to hang at her side before whispering up, "also should probably expect the worst to happen just in case this guy suddenly seems very eager to talk."

As the lights lit up one by one Riva blinked rapidly to get used to the bright light. Once her vision stopped being covered in black spots she glanced around with a small hum but noticed the pleased expression on the celebrity's face. Deciding this might be a good change to butter the guy up she spoke with a curious tone, "[dass]normally I'm used to underground places having flickering lights.[cmt]Note that in RevDawn's world, electrical lights aren't very common. That being said, flames do flicker often too.[/cmt][/dass]" Riva gives him a pleasant smile, "so having lights that don't are quite a pleasant surprise."

Riva then tilts her head to the left while placing her hand on her hip before asking, "I just want to ask one thing, who were you talking to the transponder snail?" She then tilts her head to the right, her smile never changing, "sounds like they're stressing out over us."

---

Word Count: 510
Total Word Count: 4955

The demon couldn’t help but smile wide with Riva’s question, it was as though she had given him full license to raze the place to the ground. Baring his teeth like a wild beast he sat back and awaited whatever pitiful excuse the man was about to speak up.

Katsuki quickly took note of the change in his situation, the monster seemed to be salivating at the chance to rip him to shreds, “you’d make a good interrogator, though I still expect my question answered…” the man spoke with a defeated tone to his voice, though he drew out his words as long as he could.

“... in truth—” the beginnings of the Yamaha boy’s lie were cut off by the sound of a familiar, if not severely irritating voice.

“Katsuki? Fuck is the deal with these two?!” Kenny, walking down the debris-scattered staircase with pistol in hand, shouted down to his ally.

Little moron, if you’d have just shot them then we’d be out of this mess… Katsuki thought to himself resentfully before answering, “... they’re visitors. I came here to answer a couple of questions for them, and to politely ask that they leave.”

“Ask politely? Answer questions? Fuck man, I mean even I know that ain’t how this place works. If somebody starts askin’ questions you pop ‘em in the head! Them’s the rules a’ the meat market~” the boy spoke of their macabre profession in a sing-song voice, as though talking down to a child.

With mouth agape, and an incredulous scowl plastered across his face; he knew that his coworker was an idiot, but to flagrantly refer to the operation as a “meat market” was another level of stupidity.

Doji turned his attention to the new entrant, gesturing to him with open palm, “more of your security I assume? At least if the trigger happiness is anything to go on.”

“Hey ya big lumberin’ piece ‘a shit! I ain’t just some random employee! Don’t you see who I am?”

“Uh. No actually. Hell, I don’t even think your voice is familiar,” the oni was irritated by the runt’s assumption of his visual capabilities, and placed a hand upon one of his swords’ handles.

“Ah come on man! I know I ain’t got as pretty a voice as Gack or Meg! But how are ya gonna forget about lil’ old me?!” Furious, Kenny cocked his gun.

The blonde was rather presumptuous to assume that the foreigner knew any of the people he was referring to; but Doji, irritated with the little man’s big ego, was happy to play into the insecurity, “I don’t know, you just must not have a very memorable face. Shini-hi-hi-hi!” It was laughable, pretending that anybody’s face was all that memorable to him, but nobody had to know that for now.

Noticing the giant’s attention had turned to someone else, Katsuki was quick to take advantage of the moment. Speaking to Riva before turning his heels and running, he spoke with a menacing tone that betrayed his growing sense of panic, “You can head out that front entrance if you know what’s good for you. I’m afraid I can’t answer that question for you, but I suppose it’s only fair [dass]that we both keep our secrets eh[cmt]I'm not sure I understand which secret of Riva's he's alluding to here.[/cmt][/dass]?”

Once Doji and Kenny are Alone…

“So you don’t think I’m worth rememberin’ eh?...” the blonde, a boy who had suffered from inadequacy issues since childhood, was wounded by ignorance of his newfound status, “...well how about this: If you can’t get my name through your thick skull by the time I’m done with ya then I’ll make sure we scrap ya for parts alive.”

“Tych. Of course I don’t think you’re worthy of my memory…” in an uncannily swift motion the oni readied his swords, “... legacy is an honor reserved for those who fight and kill for it,” with this simple statement, Doji was quickly able to close the distance on the little fellow.

Kenny was stuck between a rock and a hard place, he could have taken his shot, but if he missed he’d just be another corpse for the cemetery. Panicked, the gunner jumped down towards the room below from atop the stairway, narrowly rolling through the oni’s attacks unscathed, “Gotcha bitch!”

He unloaded his clip as quickly as he could into the oni’s center of mass; the sound of [ass=Echoes do indeed echo out.]metal echoing against metal echoed out[/ass].

Had the bullet that glanced from Doji’s hook followed its course to the end, it would have found its mark in his heart; instead, it had been mildly deflected, and grazed solidly across his ribs. The remainder of the little guy’s shots were little more than tears in the demon’s kimono.

“I can hear it. The weakness of a man who will never be worthy…” the oni cruelly mocked his prey as he drew near the man, whose firearm now echoed out nothing but clicks; Kenny wouldn’t have enough time to load another clip. Dropping his swords, the oni snatched the blonde up with his bare hands, “... give me your name. I’d like another weakling to forget about.”

With widened, terrified eyes, he began to spit out his name, “K-K— IT’S KEN—” cutting off his final words, the man was slammed into the stone wall with inhuman force. Every bone in Kirameki Ken’s body was shattered in an instant, every organ damaged beyond repair. Slumping into its crater, the graveyard’s new corpse wheezed out a final bloody gasp of indignation.

“I guess that’s the price of fame for ya…” Doji growled out as he made his way back towards the hallways of the facility, “... if you can’t compete, there’s always somebody who’ll crush you given the chance,” with this grim proclamation of victory Doji began dismantling the building from within, tearing a warpath to catch up with his ally.

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Riva's smile becomes a bit wider and sharper picking up on Doji's excitement along with the celebrity's defeated tone. She turns towards the sound of a new voice, one she feels is going to get annoying real quick.  Riva blinked at the crass way the boy spoke and wondered if he was raised up or dragged instead. She stays quiet as the new kid and the blue-haired celebrity talk which is beginning to bore her, until the boy slips up and spills too much information. Riva frowns deeply at this making a quiet remark, "well aren't you an airhead."

Riva stays quiet as she lets Doji take this one but tenses when the boy throws some insults at Doji. She contemplates whether or not to just cut the boy down while he is too busy flapping his lips, but snorts a bit. Finding it sort of funny that the boy was mad at a blind man not recognizing him. Seeing Doji placing a hand on one of his weapons she gets a bit excited; she can actually see her Oni friend fight, even if it's not much of a fight. Again Riva bites back a small laugh at the boy's increasing stupidity.

She was just about to cheer on Doji but turns her attention back on the blue-haired celebrity hearing him speak towards her. She frowns when he spins on his heels and runs with Riva right on his tail. She wasn't about to let this guy get away, especially since she had more questions though she yells back at Doji. "I'm going after the blue-haired guy you can deal with the twerp!"

She grabs one of her kamas unfolding it as she continues to chase the celebrity down the hallway. The two take many turns but just before the man makes another left turn Riva throws her kama as hard as she could. Aiming to pin him to the wall or injure him badly enough at the very least to try and slow him now. Riva grins as her kama spins through the air emitting a soft whipping sound before the blade wedges itself deep into the runaway celebrity's shoulder. Causing enough pain to somewhat hinder the man's speed enough to where Riva could manage to catch up to him. She doesn't hesitate to do just that.

She sprints to the side that her kama was on and grabs the handle while pulling down aiming to cause enough pain where the celebrity would collapse to the floor. Riva slows herself down enough so she doesn't join him on the floor. She smirks down at him as she questions breathlessly in a soft tone, "don't you know you're not supposed to run from a predator?" She adjusts her grip on the kama's handle before humming quietly. Riva decides to answer his question earlier but asks her own question first. "So mind telling me where you were running to?" She pauses briefly before finishing with, "and to answer your question I only wanted to know where a piece of paper might lead me to."

As Riva waits for a response she jerks the kama slightly as she warns, “and don’t try lying either or I’ll let Doji play with you a bit.” She then thinks a bit before adding in a nonchalant way, “or I could just cut your head off would be a lot easier.” Her smile turns into a grin before her attention is grabbed by what sounds like large footsteps and destruction moving coming closer. She glances at the celebrity before commenting with some snark, “ah you better hurry with that answer, it seems like Doji’s on a warpath.”

---

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The pinned idol’s eyes seemed to flutter into the back of his skull before he answered Riva in a voice not quite his own, “he was headed to get backup. You can cut his head off if you want, it ain’t gonna get you any answers; and if you break one of my favorite toys…” the man referred to himself in third person, as though somebody else was speaking on his behalf.

Dashing past Riva with seemingly impossible swiftness, a wisp of purple hair was followed by a whisper on the wind, “... if you break him, I’ll show you how our talent scouting works firsthand; you’d better be a damn good singer if you want to take that chance.”

Gack’s eyes returned to him as Meg finished speaking through his mouth, and as he drew nearer his target his sight narrowed. Using the power of his tap-tap fruit, he projected extreme force from his toes, allowing him to leap and propel himself with uncanny speed. In mere moments he would intercept his enemy, Meg and Katsuki would surely be able to make short work of the other one…

Further down the hallway from Riva, the diva postured herself against the wall balancing a scalpel at the tip of her index finger; speaking without words, [dass]Meg attempted to intrude upon the inner monologue of those nearby, projecting her thoughts within her area of dominion[cmt]This entire sequence could've been so much more interesting if you hadn't spoiled her ability from the start.[/cmt][/dass], you shouldn’t go messing around with people above your pay grade. You really want to know what’s going on here? I’ll tell you.

Shifting her ability-usage to its bodily control function, Meg caused Katsuki’s nervous system to spasm at her whim, throwing a punch fiercely towards Riva. Megara chuckled as she shot a vicious grin through the darkness towards the intruder; speaking from her pulpit with a cold condescension in her voice, she was happy to share the sophistication of her plan with a dead woman, “for every talented person in this world there are a thousand mediocre ones, but still, everybody wants to be special; everybody wants to be a star. All we did was create a way to sift out those talented people, and to help the mediocre make themselves useful. If an ordinary person could give their heart to preserve the life of somebody more important, why wouldn’t they do so? I’ll tell you why…”

Motioning the fingers on her open hand, Meg began to dance Katsuki like a marionette on his strings; the blue-haired guy’s fighting ability was combined with that of his boss, and “together” the two would begin their brawl with Riva, “... it’s because they’re cowards; and because we live in a world where cowards are given the choice to deprive their betters of precious resources. I can’t stand it, if it were up to me I wouldn’t suffer mediocrity to live; but you know what makes me more angry than anything? Mediocre people who force themselves into the spotlight. That’s why I started the Nightmare Dormitory, so I could sniff people like that out and force them to be of some real use. You think you’re gonna be an idol but you aren’t cut out for it? I’ll cut ya apart and sell yer scrap to the finest doctors a’ Mirrorball; after all, you wanted a life of fortune and fame didn’t ya? This way you get to live it, might not be yer brain, but at least your liver can be in a famous person! Gyaru-ru-ru-ru-ru!”

Cackling like a madwoman as her ally threw punch after punch towards Riva, the pink-haired Diva pulled a lever on the wall; with a heavy clank, a heavy steel shutter fell at the mouth of the hallway, cutting off the rogue’s most obvious path to escape. Meanwhile, on the other side of the divider, Gakuto made his way towards his massive opponent.

Battle Without Honor or Humanity

Like a bull in a china shop the oni rampaged further into the facility, he’d catch up to his ally and that little fucker that had slipped their grasp no matter what it took. Having crushed one opponent in his hands, the monster was eager to shatter another, the thrill of battle had overcome him; and a simple gunman could not sate his appetite for bloodshed.

Suddenly and without warning, Doji’s grazed rib was shattered in an instant, “I thought you were supposed to have Haki…” the purple-haired samurai spoke with a confused, if not somewhat relieved tone to his voice. There were few ordinary men capable of keeping up with the descendant of the dragon, but with the aid of his devil fruit abilities, Gack was one such man.

Doji coughed violently before attending to his new opponent, “[dass]a couple of you have said that now. I don’t know what on earth you’re talking about.[cmt]Having been trained by his mother (a skilled warrior from the Wano region), it's surprising to me that she never exposed him to haki. Doubly so since his blindness is an impediment she would've known haki could help solve.

Unless, Doji's whole confusion is simply over the term 'haki', as people from Wano would probably refer to it as 'ryuo'. If so, ignore this comment.[/cmt][/dass]”

“...eh? Ka-kamu-mu-mu-mu-iii! Really now? But you're blind! How are you a swordsman if you truly can’t see anything?” The astute samurai noticed his opponent’s impairment as soon as he laid eyes on him.

Clacking the beads at his hip, Doji used the echoes surrounding him to assess his opponent’s appearance; that of an ōdachi-carrying warrior, “so you’re a swordsman too, and if I had to guess you’re a samurai too.”

Gack raised his eyebrow in confusion at his opponent’s curious trick of perception, “And so what if I—”

Doji rudely cut his opponent off, happy to disrespect the honor of such a warrior, “to answer your question. I perceive using the techniques that were drilled into me since birth, the echoes of sound, the flow of the wind, the gentle ebb of blood coursing through a human body. What school do you come from samurai?”

“Ktsch, you’re getting on my nerves, presumptuous mongrel. Still, if you must know, I’m a student of the Lotus Storm; a school that draws its sword only to resolve issues that cannot be settled by words, issues such as yourself. What about you oni? What do you know of swordsmanship?”

“More than you it sounds like. A true warrior has no need to rely upon empty words. I am Asakura Doji, heir apparent to the Niten Ichi-ryū school,” Doji growled down towards the man, coughing up a small amount of blood as he readied his swords.

“Niten? You’re delusional, the man who created that school is far beyond the pedigree of some sort of hill-giant. I won’t waste the kiss of my sword on trash like you,” with this assertion, Gack took on an open-palmed fighting posture.

Trash… this little brat had struck a chord in the oni’s rageful heart, … I’ll make you wish you were never born, seething and seeing red, Doji suddenly swung the flat of his blade down towards Gack.

In an instant the samurai was gone; the oni tried to pin down his foe’s location, but it was no use, the swordsman was moving too quickly for Doji to track. Suddenly, pouncing like a wolf diving in on its prey, Gack flicked his finger into the monster’s rib; a wave of force resonated throughout Doji’s body, shattering another one of his ribs like a dried twig.

“Give up before I have to break anything else fool, you’ll never outpace me. You’ll never be my equal, I’ve attained everything a man should: wealth, fame, power! I’ve studied as a true swordsman rather than pretending to be the inheritor of a dying school, you’re simply incapable of matching me!” The illustrious idol smugly shouted as he continued encircling his prey.

Spitting a larger globule of sanguine spit, Doji spoke with a hateful and contemptuous tone to his voice, “And what did you do to attain that? Kneel before a master, sheath your sword and swear fealty like a good little servant? You haven’t earned a damn thing, you were given everything you have, and still you flaunt it as though I’m supposed to be impressed. IF YOU COULDN’T CLAIM ANYTHING YOU HAVE BY YOUR OWN HAND THEN WHY SHOULD I RESPECT A GODDAMN THING ABOUT YOU?!” The monster roared out his bloody wail before attacking his surroundings wildly, hoping to catch the arrogant samurai in an errant hook.

“I don’t need your respect, you’re as good as dead. I have what I’ve been entitled to by this world. That’s more than enough for me,” the opposing swordsman spoke coldly as he drew in for the kill.

The beast was growing tired, it was time for Gack to finish the job; propelling himself into the air, the purple-haired idol flicked several more of Doji’s ribs, sending the monster flying backwards into a pile of rubble. With one final tap, he would stop the monster’s heart and be finished with this night of unpleasantness.

Igniting like a spark of pure, unadulterated hatred, a swell of red-hot adrenaline coursed through the giant oni’s heart.

“I’ll never lose to scum like you…” the monster’s face contorted into a wild and horrid visage as he stumbled to his footing and readied his swords.

“Stay in denial all you’d like.”

“... 二天: 空の分裂ランス (Niten: Sora no Bunretsu Ransu, Two Heavens: Sky Splitting Lance),” using the one Niten technique imparted to him by his mother in conjunction with the raging hormones inherited from his father, the oni attacked the only target he had that couldn’t dodge away from him: the room itself. Exploding as though it had been struck by a meteor, the entire room was shattered into rubble in a single moment.

Damn it, despite his efforts, Gack was caught up in the ruinous landslide.

Only one of the two men was strong enough to pry himself from the wreckage: the one who had brought it raining down. The samurai was buried up to his legs, if he couldn’t dodge then he would have to stand and fight; he drew his sword, perhaps this opponent truly was worthy.

A toothy grin sprawled across the oni’s face as he unburied himself and stalked towards Gack. Like a devil leaning before a sinner yet to be sentenced, Doji loomed above his opponent, “I thought you said I wasn’t worth your sword…”

The idol began screaming, without the use of his legs there was no way he could have dodged the hook that had ripped his arm off. The severed limb hurtled through the air limply clinging to its once prized possession, the blade and its swordarm sunk themselves impotently into a mound of grave soil.

“You aren’t worth my sword either. You’re just like your little friend, a stuck up brat who’s too used to getting what he wants,” with this, the young oni picked his opponent up by his head, and flicked him in the face with the oversized index finger of his free hand. With the impact, Gack’s jaw and nose were shattered.

The samurai felt the grip around his head begin to tighten, “No, no, NO, NO, NO! PLEASE STOP! I’LL DO ANYTHING!” He screamed as the oni’s palm tensed firmer and firmer.

“You’re worthless. You have nothing I desire,” mercilessly, Doji clenched his fist fully, crushing the man’s skull in his bare hand. The headless corpse of the tap-tap fruit’s former user fell lifeless into the heap of wreckage like the broken remains of a discarded toy.

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