Ketsuekikawa

Eric saw the pain and memories and the negative feelings returned. ... "No...i won't fight you but this is not my cross to bear.... i will not be tormented" he says flying off but the boy followed now he was seeing a mixture of his memories and the childs.


"You can't bring back the dead you have to accept that. ...i have and i am sorry for all my wrongs in life" he says crying. ..


Seeing a vision of his and Miyata's first communion together. ...he remembers the church. ...


"SHRINE" he says as it hit him like bricks.


He ignored the reel of memories tears still in his eyes.


He saw a shrine in the distance. ...but the visions were strong but he fought through passing through the veil of the shrine protection and it all stopped 
 
Arimi winced when she saw Warren thrown back and Tokshi narrowly avoid a cut. Clearly they weren’t strong enough to face the Kuchisake-onna. “No no, don’t attack it! Throw some candy to distract it or something! God dammit…”


Arimi swore as she watched Tokshi charge at the malevolent female spirit. Too late to back out now. Arimi raised her pointer finger towards the Slit mouth woman. She didn’t particularly want to kill the Kuchisake-onna or anything. More than that, she wanted to study it. But Tokshi and Warrren could die! Not that they weren’t already dead…


Focus, Arimi. Focus!


People were counting on her. Taking the deep, breath Arimi closed her eyes. Drowning out Warren’s cheers so that it was only an echo in the background, Arimi could actually feel the energy gathering towards the tip of her finger. The problem was shooting it. She had to separate all the energy she gathered from her body. But how? Botan hadn’t exactly explained. She just said it was simple.


“It’s not that simple!” Arimi shouted at Warren. But none of that mattered. She simply had to do it. There was no other way. Arimi opened her eyes, her brown orbs glinting behind her glasses in determination. “And that’s not a girl! It’s an evil spirit~”


The vengeful spirit of a woman who had been mutilated by her husband according the legends. Arimi needed to stop the thing from attacking her Black haired friend more than she needed to inspect it. She tilted her head, watching as the Slit-mouthed woman chant its beauty like a mantra. Were all Kuchisake-onnas so vain? “Actually, for an evil spirit, I think you’re about average.”


A bullet of blue energy the size of a golf ball erupted from her finger tip and streaked towards the Kuschisake-onna, leaving Arimi to feel a little drained. There was probably a reason spirit energy didn't like leaving the body. “Spirit Gun.”          


@Nenma Takashi


@Sir Les Paul


@Scrubnoppon
 
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"The shot heard round the world..."
Click to expand...


"Botan." a light, calm voice said aloud. There was an authoritative tone, almost scolding, yet the impact of her name was far from as harsh as it could have been. 

"Y-Yes, Lord Koenma..." Botan replied as she floated far above the scene with Warren, Tokshi, Arimi and the Kuschisake-onna. While the others were floating mid-air, Botan was beyond the clouds, peering through them to watch the fight. So was Koenma.

"I could feel it from the Spirit World, Botan. She fired the Spirit Gun before her soul even had a chance to spark... that is a death sentence," Koenma replied. His tone, while still light, boded over her like a mentor.

"She will survive, Lord Koenma," Botan replied dryly, stating the only thing she had to defend herself with.

"No - she won't. And, neither will they. Even if her soul is not torn apart by the blast, it will be by the spirit... It doesn't matter. Of these four, only the one that calls himself Echo deserves the title of Spirit Detective," Koenma retorted, dissolving what little defense she had.

"Wh-What? Why? You allowed those two and all four of them were successful when the Seeds of Life were sewn..." Botan asked, her voice quivering now realizing what she had pushed the group into.

"You're a Shinigami, Botan. You should know better. You should know to follow orders. You told them to seek out refuge at shrine. Of the four, only Echo did. If you were half the Shinigami your sister was, your argument would to be save Warren for at least trying to get to a shrine. Tokshi ran straight into danger and Arimi wasn't even approved - then ran in after Tokshi. Spirit Detectives must follow our laws. They must listen to instruction - regardless of reason. Therefore... only Eric should survive," Koenma answered her, his voice as stern as it was when he called her name.

"L-Lord Koenma... I... I told them that Warren was in trouble. It's my fault. I made them think they'd have a fighting cha--"

"I know, Botan," Koenma replied, cutting her off. "But, the fact remains, you presented them with an option: to go save an ally in a fight they cannot win. You gave them the instructions to seek refuge because they could not fight. And why complicate the matter? To give one human soul a chance to be a Spirit Detective? One life that never ended? You are responsible. You are a disappointment to Mei - she was a fine Shinigami," Koenma continued on.

"Shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up! I'm not Mei. I never said I could be Mei. The only reason you even promoted me was the breach in the Mekai! I don't care if you send me back to work cases in Hell, I'm tired of you expecting me to be someone I'm not!" Botan said, shouting at Koenma. For just a moment, the air of respect that seemed to be between them was shattered.

Silence...

"You are right. You are not Mei and I can't expect you to be a proper Shinigami so quickly. It takes most hundreds of years to understand the consequences of their actions. I will save them and even allow all of them to continue their trial. But, they will not go to another Shinigami if they pass. They will stay with you. You will watch them grow. You will watch them fail or succeed. You will see if it was worth disobeying orders," Koenma told her. The silence stood a slight amount longer before he explained, "I cannot expect you to learn if you do not understand it first hand. It was unfair to expect you to catch on as quickly as her." 

Meanwhile, time was frozen for the group combating the spirit. The Spirit Gun had just launched from the fingertip of Arimi, and the moment it did, Koenma entered the realm to scold Botan. He intended on letting the three die to the Kuschisake-onna right then, but the argument Botan gave him convinced him otherwise. Not for their sake. Not in the slightest. Even in this time of need, a handful of mortal lives was worth only so much to Lords like Koenma. These three would become a lesson to Botan. A lesson about impudence. About futility. Time resumed and as the Spirit Gun hit the spirit, Koenma released a burst of rekai from his hand that empowered the blast. Normally, such a little pellet would have done little harm to this spirit, but with the assistance of Koenma, it was enough to tear the Spirit in twain. With a wild screech, the spirit, now a torn sheet of ectoplasm, fell to the ground. The only one to even remotely see the wave would be Warren, but the blinding wave of spiritual energy from the blast would likely be enough to cover it.

Arimi immediately felt the effects of the Spirit Gun. Every part of her body felt tired. Worn down. Dying, almost. But, as Botan argued, she would survive. Likely more fatigued and ill than she had ever in her life, but she would survive. Once the action started to fall, the jolts of energy that once ran through Warren and Tokshi faded. The odd sight that Warren had was gone and the even more odd predictions and intuition that Tokshi had were completely absent. To the group, Arimi and her blast tore apart the spirit, but they had a similar effect on her.

Meanwhile all of this, Eric entered the church to feel an immediate relief of the negative feelings the previous spirit had pressed on him. Soon after, he saw an old man kneeling in front of a large wooden cross depicting the Crucifixion of Jesus. There were few Christian Churches in Ketsuekikawa, but the few there were often were quite extravagant. The air was completely different inside the church. The atmosphere, really. Instead of feeling the cold embrace of death, Eric felt warmth. Eric could almost feel blood running through his veins again. It was as if he was alive. The man through the dozen rows of pews had to be real, too. Spirits, or at least malevolent ones, could not enter such sanctuaries. Above all, being on the sacred grounds had an odd rejuvenating effect, much like that of hot springs on an old body. This seemed to be the power of shrines; places where spiritual pressure built up from the prayer and faith.

After all of these events, Botan looked over to Koenma, nearly teary eyed. With a voice full of tremors, she murmured, "Th-Thank you..."

Koenma, before stepped back to fade away into the cloud cover, simply replied, "Do not thank me yet."


@QuirkyAngel @Scrubnoppon @Midnite @Nenma Takashi
 
Tokshi watched in awe as the spirit gun tore through the demon like they were nothing she fell backwards in shock. Taking a moment to just process what had happened she sighed glad it was over. She stood up walking over to Warren to make sure he was ok when she had judged him to not be seriously injured she patted his head. "Glad your ok." She then slammed her fist into the top of his head. "Be more careful next time your lucky me and Ari showed up or you'd be dead!" Tokshi decided she had scolded him enough after all it wasn't all his fault. Tokshi then walked over to Ari helping her up by lending Ari her shoulder. "You really pulled through for us Ari thanks for coming along, you really saved our asses." Tokshi held onto Ari with one hand and reached into her pocket with the other pulling out her egg and looking at it. 'Wonder just how much time has pasted I stopped keeping track, is Uta ok right now...yeah he must be Rin promised he'd be fine.' She put the egg back turning her attention back to Warren and Ari. "We should head to a shrine or something I'm tired as all hell." 


@QuirkyAngel@Scrubnoppon 
 
"Haha! Yesss!"


a barly noticible chill ran though the boy as the the demon split in two. The extreme energy that was coursing through him just, vanished. 


Warren sighed as he noticed Tokshi walk over and pat him on the head 


"Sorry... I'll be more careful." 


Warren floated over to Arimi 


"You're 'ari' right?" 


Warren embraced her, almost crying out of happiness 


"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUUUU! I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT! I WOULD HAVE DIEDDD!" 


Warren let go, to make things less weird. 


"Aww man, it looks like that spirit gun took a lot outta you... Tokshi's right, we should all get to a shrine." 


Warren stuck his hand out to support arimi,


if needed. 


"C'mon, we all deserve to take it easy for a bit."
 
Eric was really at peace going over to the man and looking around at the depictions of christ and he thought back to days he was a child.


He grabbed the egg and felt positive energy flowing through it as well.


"You know now that i think about it before this experience i never had much faith" he says as he sees all of the positive spirits around.


@Sir Les Paul
 
"Wh-Who's there?" the old man asked as Eric murmured to himself. He knelt up on his wobbly knees. It was apparent that this man was old and nearly feeble, yet he stayed in this place of worship. And, for his age, he still managed to kneel flat on his knees - a feat few a decade younger than him could do. His hair was white and thin, wispy as it fell down his old, wrinkled face. Inside his pale blue eyes, which gleamed in the refraction of the painted-glass windows, teemed with a compassion that made him seem half the age he was. From his voice, which crackled as he was first startled, his tone seemed kind. Not as if inquiring who was there, but curious as to whom would visit a church at this time of night. Whom would visit God with him at this time. His pale eyes squinted as they locked onto Eric. It was odd. Eric was a spirit. All day, no one had seen him aside from the spirits. His family, the people he passed on the streets - no one. Yet this old man seemed to at least know he was there.
 


@Midnite
 
"Ah--um--you're welcome, I guess?"


Floating on her back, Arimi looked between the two hands offered to her, her face red from all the thanks she received. Or maybe it was the embarrassment of being hugged by a boy for he first time in her life. Not just any boy. A foreigner from the looks of him. Letting out a  cough--to remove the awkward feelings--Arimi reached out one hand to Tokshi and the other to Warren, letting both of them support her. Because, really, she needed it. Little drain was an understatement. She felt like she'd been run over by a truck. Not that she had ever been run over by a truck before.


"Geez, Botan-sama didn't say anything about the Spirit gun being this exhausting," Arimi grumbled between Warren and Tokshi, her leaden arms slung around each of their shoulders for support. To be honest, Arimi wasn't sure what had happened. The energy that had departed from her finger left her entirely too woozy to concentrate on anything other than not passing out. But apparently everything worked out okay. Seriously. The spirit gun must be a mad powerful technique.  "A shrine's a good idea...evil spirits tend to avoid those places...Shrines, churches, any place protected by any kind of deity really..."


She was beginning to feel light headed. Like the spirit's equivalent of wanting to throw up. Did bodiless spirits even throw up? Could she eat as a spirit? Kami, if she weren't so tired, she'd be taking down notes: the Symptoms of Spirit Sickness. Despite her condition, Arimi let out a light chuckle...that waned as she fought another spell of dizziness. 


"I work part time at one...a shrine dedicated to some sort of River God I think...I can lead you there...," If she didn't pass out before then. Then, amidst the wave of nausea, a thought hit her. "What about Eric? He's one of you guys right? Botan-sama said he was in danger...?"


@Nenma Takashi


@Scrubnoppon   
 
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Tokshi let Ari lean on her shoulder but because of the height difference she had to crouch a bit. She clicked her tongue and looked past Ari to Warren. "Oi short stop I'll carry her since the way she is now, she'll collapse before we get anywhere like this."  After saying that without warning she swept Ari off her feet and held her princess style. "This'll be easier than dragging you around." She thought about how Ari mentioned Eric she sighed rocking her head left and right like she was trying to rattle and idea out of her head. "I guess we can go looking for him after we get you to a shrine. I mean no offense but right now your kinda useless, again no offense just sayin." Tokshi began walking looking over her shoulder she called to Warren. "What do you say short stop wanna help escort two cute girls to a romantic shrine~" She asked sarcastically part of her figured he wouldn't get it and say yes, but part of her hoped he had some form of brain cells in that tiny head of his. 


Tokshi paused for a moment as a thought crossed her mind she didn't even realize it. She had no explanation for the strange feeling she used to get during fights especially since it seemed to upgrade against that demon. Now she felt like she could figure it out she just needed something to help confirm it. "Hey uh you guys um...you ever get a strange feeling like something bad is gonna happen. Not like just anything but like you sorta have an idea of exactly how it'll go. Like seeing it happen before it even happens. Basically I'm asking, can any of you guys kinda sorta see the future?"


@Scrubnoppon @QuirkyAngel 
 
"Ho-ho! So in Japan the hot place to go is a shrine, huh? I'm down!" 


Warren tried to act "smooth" by placing the web of his hand on his chin extending the thumb and pointer finger, with a grin plastered on his face. 


"Leave it to me, Baby!" 


Warren floated close to Tokshi, listening to her request. 


"Umm, no I don't think I can see the future, why do you- noooo, you're not saying you can see the dang FUTURE, are you?!" 


Warren thought back to the fight. He remembered the strange energy he sensed from him, Tokshi, that monster, even some strange blue mist gatharing at Ari's fingertip. 


"Hmm, well I can't say I didn't have anything strange happen to me. Like this, energy was coming from us, and I kinda, could sense it I guess you could say. I dunno what it was. I'm guessing it was just... the adrenaline that kicked in, let me survive, let me live- well, you get it- another day... 


but hey, I could be, and probably am, 100 percent wrong..."
 
Tokshi nodded her head when he asked about her seeing the future. "Yeah well I think I'm not sure all I know is that before that before that demon tried to stab me I saw it happen. But I got no idea how I did it I sorta just did it's weird but what's even weirder is just how natural it felt." She paused as they found themselves at the bottom of the steps to the shrine climbing them she laid Ari down. "I don't think your wrong actually, it can't be just a coincident that we both had some kind of weird thing happen. I mean look at us we're ghost Shortstop, we fought a demon, this girl shot a beam out of her finger. Not to mention you were hitting on Death themselves just a while ago so I'm 100 percent sure you completely right."  Then Tokshi scratched her neck looking out at the town she sighed. "Maybe we should go looking for Eric or at least one of us should since I don't like the idea of just leaving Ari here alone." She held out her fist to Warren. "Alright Shortstop you stay here and guard Ari with your life....afterlife....you know what I mean. I'm going to go find Eric since if he'd fighting no offense but I feel like I'm more suited." Tokshi ran towards to the stairs and jumped flying around looking for some sign of Eric. 


@Scrubnoppon @QuirkyAngel @Midnite 
 
"Well, hitting on death herself is a once in an afterlife-time chance! You can't blame me!" Warren smirked and sat down on the steps and sighed. 


"Man, that's just too bizarre..." Warren put his hand to his chin in thought. 


"Maybe this is us becomeing spirit detectives! I can see energy, you can see the future, Ari can shoot stuff... it's all starting to come together!" 


Warren looked over to Ari,the spirit gun must have taken a lot out of her... they should be fine as long as they're at a shrine, but if they're in danger again, they'll need to play it by ear, untill Ari feels up to it again...


"Yeah, you should go look for Eric, I'll chill here." 


"... 


I get to fight demons, and work with 2 girls, huh? 


Maybe this job isn't so bad after all..."
 
Tokshi was flying around looking for Eric she thought about calling out for him but decided against that. Afraid she'd just attract another demon which she'd rather avoid if she had a choice. "Cmon Eric where the hell are you?" She mumbled to herself then she noticed someone familiar it was Rin. Tokshi flew down to him and called out to him as she tried touching his shoulder. "Yo Rin!" But her hand just went through his shoulder and he didn't answer her. "Oh yeah ghost I forgot." Tokshi looked around a little then tapped her chin. "Well I suppose Eric can't be in that much trouble or else Botan would find us and tell us to hurry up and help him....I think?" Tokshi had decided to follow around Rin since she honestly didn't know that much about the guy other than that he sure punched hard. Some in the gang said he punched harder than her which to Tokshi was a bit scary.  


@Sir Les Paul
 
Eric was in shock... that the old man heard him. He floated in front of the old man and could tell that he couldn't see him but he followed his movement a little bit...


"You can hear me old man.. my name is Eric how is it possible for you to hear me your the first living person to be able to." he says to him floating right in front of him now


Eric places his hand on the Old mans shoulder to see if he could feel him as well.


"I'm a spirit and I came here for sanctuary from a evil spirit" he says so the Old man didn't think he was in fact a evil spirit.


They may have been in a shrine but you never know.


@Sir Les Paul
 
Rin lived up to his name. Or, at least the name he made for himself. Criminals in Ketsuekikawa - at least the real ones - rarely went by their real name. Rin was one such criminal. The man was known for being cold, ruthless and calculating. His intelligence put those in the highest rungs of the classrooms to shame, although he was a handful of years older than most them. Regardless, the type of keen wit he possessed is not what one would expect from a thug on the street. He was a terror to every enemy gang and not a force to be trifled with in his own. Most refused to talk to him although most that actually did never had a crossword to say about him. He was always a relatively nice fellow directly; it was his indirect action that most often earned him the notoriety he had on the streets. These actions were soon to be more evident than even Tokshi realized. Their gang, like most of them, sold drugs to a set area in the town and fought with others just to get by. Boundaries were always being pushed, but the general rule was that these "fights" rarely got anyone killed; it was survival of the fittest, but even the weak lived to fight another day - if only in a smaller territory.

Rin was followed by two other cronies; big gentlemen, more than likely escorts. Rin could probably have fought either of them, but likely not both. He often was accompanied by others solely because a rival gang would jump one of the greater tactical minds and threats of another if they could. It was never wise to be alone. Rin and his men walked through the alleyways and backstreets; nothing uncommon for thugs like them. They were their streets; they had nothing to worry about there. Not long after, Rin met a large door guarded by another man. A quick exchange left the two cronies outside and let Rin slip right in. As for Tokshi? She was a ghost. There were few doors she couldn't pass through. This entire area seemed to be a backroom to a business, likely one on another side that only used half its space. The area that Rin walked into was a large antechamber where he was once again met and patted down - the guards finding two knives and a pistol in his boot. He was passed through only to find a dozen people packing yellow powder into capsules, but that wasn't his destination. No, Rin was going downstairs. To a whole different level. The level Tokshi never went to.

Below, Rin met up with some of the leaders of their gang. The oddity of Ketsuekikawa was that it was riddled with gangs, but few had names. Most simply knew which territory was theirs and which wasn't. This downstairs area, once passed the metal stairs, became nicer and nicer, coated in thick woods and lit with warm, ambient lighting. Through another wooden door, this time with no guard, Rin found himself at another room with a large table surrounded by three other men. There were eight chairs, but only four were occupied once Rin sat down. "Fifth street crossed a line," Rin said, "they killed my pet. She was an asset to u-"

"No, Rin, you were attached. You were warned long ago," one of the gentlemen, apparently the oldest, replied.

"I have seen you set fire to businesses for less," Rin retorted, "and I have never asked for anything aside for you to honor her request."

"And we shall," the older man replied, "but it is not in our interest to start a war."

A silence filled the air and one of the other men, easily in his thirties, was about to speak up before Rin interrupted. "Well, it's in mine. You can either try to get rid of me now and lose an actual asset or control the damage I intend to do," Rin said in a calm, yet stern voice. The look of his eyes was enough to bring an end to the negotiations as his words filled the room with finality.

A silence fell in the room before the oldest man let out a chuckle. "I can see why Az insisted on you," he told him. He cleared his throat, asserting himself in the room. "We will not start a war, but if you want revenge, we will compromise," he said, somehow shattering the finality Rin created just a moment ago.

"I want a statement made. I want these punks that pretend they're important to understand what could really be lost if they don't obey our instructions. If you want compromise, then let my vengeance be a violent reminder to this generation that we are the bosses and they are nothing but idle hands and wasted time," Rin proposed.

"I think we can work something out, but let's cut the shit, Rin," the elder man replied.

The man in his thirties snorted before he added, "Yeah, this beating around the bush gets old. How many bodies you want to make you feel better about losing your girl?"

All the while, the blond man in the corner sporting a dark green sportcoat sat silent, listening to the entire conversation.
 


@Nenma Takashi

"Aren't we all just wandering Spirits?" the old man said with a light chuckle. Once Eric touched his shoulder, his entire body was grounded. He felt heavy. For the first time since his death, his body felt truly alive again, although it did have an odd emptiness. More importantly, the old man took his words as a metaphor - a spirit running away from the evils of the world. "Eric, is it?" the old man repeated him. "Well, you can call me Hitsu," he said. While Eric had his hand on his shoulder, the older gentlemen pressed his hands together and bowed respectfully towards Eric. He was from a more traditional generation, something Eric hadn't quite considered. "I come here to speak to my wife," he said, "she was a Christian... and I can feel her here. I never believed in the man on the cross, but faith isn't always about what you believe," Hitsu said. He then wobbled over and took a seat on one of the pews. "Out of all the places in town, what brings you to this church, young man?" Hitsu asked. 
 


@Midnite (I intentionally gave you another chance to tell the old man why you're in a church. You don't necessarily need to tell him your a ghost. This scene is a little bit about exploring Eric as a person before I reveal his spark. :D  )
 
Tokshi aimlessly followed Rin she had seen the two big guys following him her and a couple of the guys called them, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb. She chuckled a bit remembering the childish joke. Following Rin when they arrived to the door Tokshi flew through first then waited for Rin to pass inspection. When he came through the door she went back to following him they soon reached the area Tokshi never went down. She had always wondered what was down in the deeper parts tons of the guys in the gang had their own ideas. Tokshi's favorites were that ideas they either had a fight arena or a demon they feed traitors or snitches to. Before Tokshi only thought the last one was a joke but after her day so far she was a bit scared that, that very well might be the case. Tokshi entered the room with Rin and let out a whistle of awe as she spun around to look at the room as a whole. "Nice~" She said she guessed the people at the table were other gang leaders she wasn't paying too much attention until Rin brought her up. Or so she guessed since he called her a pet she instinctively swung her fist at him only to have it fly right through him. "Pet real funny." She said sarcastically.


Then Tokshi paused taking in the conversation as a whole then it hit her the words left her mouth in a low mumble. "Rin's starting a war cause of me?" She was so confused by the way she talked about getting rid of her body it seemed like it was just business. But here he was getting mad wanting revenge putting his own life on the line. "What happened to me being some chick who saved your ass a few times?" She chuckled smiling she didn't know why but she was happy that Rin was mad something about it made her feel a little better. She thought about it and realized she was just as weird as him, before Tokshi always respected Rin she was ok with how tough he come off as. He didn't really scare her and she didn't really scare him so she felt they somewhat got along, never in her life did Tokshi think she'd protect his life with her own. Tokshi looked at her own hands if it wasn't for all this Spirit Detective stuff she would've died back there saving his life. Maybe that was it maybe he felt like he owed her for saving his life. He felt he should do something more than just protect Uta but something made Tokshi want to believe he truly saw her as a friend. Because she too thought of him as a friend she realized she saw many of the gang members as her friends as a family she never had.


@Sir Les Paul   
 
Rin allowed a slight grin to creep along his face as they finally asked him what he wanted. He stood up and leaned over the table, looking each one of them save the blond gentlemen at the far end of the table. "It is not a number that I want," Rin replied, "but a single person you forbid me from hunting down."

The elderly gentlemen leaned back as he heard this proposition, now listening more intently. "Go on," he said.

"I joined because the Saints had Uriel burn down the housing my family was in. When I finally got a position to hunt him down, you told me no," Rin said, "now I want to."

"The middle-aged gentlemen was far less intrigued by the idea. In fact, he opposed it, "Uriel and the Saints have nothing to do with your petty squabble. The Saints are above our reach."

"I don't give a damn, I'll hunt him down myse-"

"Gentlemen..." the group was interrupted by the blond man. He had a slightly effeminate voice, but it resounded with sophistication more than it did true femininity. Upon his words, however, the entire group fell silent and turned towards him. "The Saints of Ketsuekikawa are off the table - period. However..." the man went on, smiling almost evilly, "the one you call Uriel is not."

The blond man let silence permeate the air. It was obvious Rin wanted to speak up, but something about the tense look on his face made it apparent he was restraining himself. The older gentlemen had a distinct look on his face as if far more focused than before while the middle-aged man seemed just as intent as Rin. The silence was almost deafening. To anyone watching, it was obvious that the blond man held the entire group with just a few words. "Uriel is a title. Not a name. If you want revenge, I can direct you to the person that set those fires and, best of all, it will break nothing but a promise," the blond man said. With a menacing chuckle, he then added, "but what is a promise to men like us?"

Another period of silence was followed by his rhetorical question and Rin was the only apparently bold enough to break it. "Then we'll break that promise and I'll make his world go down in flames just as mine did," Rin said. His eyes widened for a moment as he continued, "How you want to use the flames I set to send a message is not something I care about."

The blond man smiled before he added, "I wonder what you will become when your drive is gone, Rin. What will you do for us once the reason you joined us is gone?" His questions, still seeming rhetorical, were almost poetic. His tone set him leagues apart from the others. Rin stared at him for a moment, he wanted to speak, but he stopped, not answering. There was no waver in his voice. No, something different. 

"We need time," the middle-aged man interjected. "This will be a large task, I'm sure..."

"No, no it won't," the elderly man barked. "His eyes glanced over at the blond man whom remained smiling, then over to Rin. "I'll take of it. By morning, you will have a list of names - the man you need and his family. On the list will be the timeframe you have to do whatever you want. No cops will stop you, no ambulances will answer, no one will interfere. Take whoever you want to help. But, this is old school. You will be gone by the deadline and the scene will be mine after. Are we clear?" the man asked. Something changed in him. With the blond now giving these orders, it was as if the elderly man shifted from being an equal to somewhat of a godfather to the group.

Rin had no smile. No smirk. No tension. He simply replied, "Done. I'll be at Seventh and Rhine by nine. I'll have a request sent out in no more than an hour."

The elderly man nodded. The middle-aged gentlemen was about to speak up - to interject. He was red-faced and enraged. Something had set him off and as he was about to spew off, all the blond man had to do was gently tap his index finger on the table. It was enough to draw the attention of all of them and silence them one more time. That silence became a moment and after that moment, Rin turned around to leave the room, back up the stairs and back to the streets.


@Nenma Takashi 
 
Tokshi clutched her chest her heart racing from the sheet tension in the room, in but a few words the blond man had changed the tide of the argument his words holding such weight to them. "Just who the hell is this guy and why is everyone so afraid of him?" He didn't look too strong to Tokshi but then again maybe it wasn't how strong he was physically but just his sheer power in number of people he had at his disposal. Tokshi followed Rin out the room taking a moment to look back at the people in the room then followed as she floated up the stairs with Rin she thought about his reason for joining the gang. 


"Rin's reason I never would of guessed it was all for revenge, figured he just found his way into it." Now that she had one answer she had a galaxy load of more but the one that nagged at her the most. "Why did the Saints burn down Rin's house in the first place? Was it just collateral or just to fuck with some guy they didn't know?" Tokshi scratched her head trying to figure out the answer but soon gave up on it and decided to just follow Rin. "I wonder what you will become will you become when your drive is gone." She said repeating what the blond man said. "That guy seems like the type who'd kill his own mom just to watch the world. Those guys are the scariest in my opinion ya know?" She said speaking towards Rin but she knew she wouldn't get and answer she sighed putting her hands behind her head.


@Sir Les Paul   
 
The evening panned a little less eventful for Rin. He spent a majority of it loading handguns, preparing his outfit for the next day which had an assortment of hidden knives and most menacing of all: preparing several fuel tanks. Rin worked quietly and alone, which was odd given he was normally accompanied by two strong arms - both of which would have been useful for carrying the heavy tanks and equipment if nothing else. What coursed through Rin was determination. A personal ferocity that made this entire evening his own. If he had to sweat more to prepare it, then it was just more investment in his vengeance. 

Rin worked well into the evening, but once the sun went down, he finished a few tasks and went home. He lived in a small apartment only a little nicer than the thugs that worked under him. It was almost surprising how normal Rin lived off the streets. Same beat-up couch, same floor-level mattress, hell even the same brand of cup noodles. There was a sense of grounding reality that these people, regardless of what they did outside their homes, were so similar once they stepped through those doors. It was an early night, however, only because it was an early morning. Just as promised, Rin sat on a bench at the corner of Seventh and Rhine. It was a little bus stop right in the middle of his personal territory. The 7:15 came around and a guy dropped off an orange backpack beside Rin, then walked down the street with a handful of others. It was as simple as that.

Inside the bag were a few more detailed plans, a couple manila folders and of course the instructions. Rin closed the bag, then slung it over his shoulder to nonchalantly walk behind the coffee shop that seated some of the morning workers living their normal lives before they hit their 8-5 jobs. Once he was out of plain view, the first folder he opened was the one containing his instructions. Most of it was the type of property damage he was allowed to do and the area he was confined to - which itself was notably large. Three entire neighborhoods not even in his territory were given to him. Owned by rival gangs on the Northeast end of town far off the docks that Rin and Tokshi were accustomed to. That must've been what the blond haired guy meant when he said, "no interference." Right after that, he remember something. In that file, somewhere, was Uriel. The old Uriel. The one that sent his family into flames. Frantically, he searched through the folders until he saw one plainly marked U. Inside it was a profile with plenty of places blacked out, but it had all Rin really needed... a face and a name:
 


Byakuya2010-1.jpg
       Toma Wantanbe, former Uriel of the Saints




His file was easily the most marked out of any given. Rin spent the next hour reading over them in-between sending out texts. What little he could make from it was that Toma was a highly-trained operative of some kind before joining the Saints. Not only that, everything about the Saints was wiped out with very little explanation as to what exactly he was responsible for. What little could be gathered is that his position, which Rin knew as Uriel, was that of mental acuity and capability. He represented penance and salvation in metaphorical terms. With nearly half of his entire file being erased, it was difficult to tell just how dangerous Toma was. The real information came near the end. The man retired. Toma likely wasn't even his real name. He settled down and married, had a daughter and took on a job as an Asset Protection Supervisor at a medical facility. Rin remembered his face, too, but it seemed so different then.

Flashbacks filled his mind. He saw Toma as he was then, but he seemed so much older. The reports said they were only three years apart. That didn't seem right, but his most recent pictures showed him appearing the right age. It could have been another layer of the new identity, but it didn't matter: Rin remembered that face. Through the heat and the flames, he remembered that long black hair as he pointed men out to search certain areas through the heat. Rin only survived by jumping out of a window and avoiding gunshots, then hiding below in a dumpster. He had several broken ribs and a fractured arm, but they didn't go looking for him. He made it out alive. His family were far less fortunate and as Rin recalled why he was even going this far, he found that he could still hear their screams among the dozens of others in that building. 


Time passed and a few vans drove by to pick up Rin. Right after that, the vans headed towards the garage of a house up for sale to pick up the gas tanks and equipment he stored earlier. He was given an address, a time limit and a secondary objective: burn down the recently-constructed housing units on the Northern side of the round-about the entire neighborhood was around. Two of the vans left for the North side; Rin just wanted him and this Toma to be isolated. He had the same two thugs from yesterday with him, but once it came down to it, he wanted to be the one responsible for his vengeance. So they waited... the instructions read to start off at 11:15 AM and Rin already saw Toma pull up to his house in a white sedan. The time now was 11:10. Toma had five minutes of his normal life left.



11:11... make a wish.
​


@Nenma Takashi 
 
Eric sat with the old man..."ok Old man Hitsu this place is where my mother use to come and ask for divine protection not for her but for her sons me and my brother respectively. Its kind of ironic that my brothers dead but this place right now is my sanctuary" he says 


"I came here to escape the pain and guilt and coming here just felt right you know i feel at peace you could say"


@Sir Les Paul
 
"Heh," the old man responded. It took him a little while; in his age, processing what he heard took a little longer than normal. "Y'know, son, my wife used tah do the same thing..." he said, his voice trailing off. He then reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out his wallet, "she never asked for anythin' herself... but she wanted our boy to grow up better then we did." He pulled out an old picture from his wallet and handed it to Eric. Hitsu coughed up some before he said, "So I used to drop her off whenever she wanted."
 


91b853d44ad516d325c75c43908d8f69.jpg



"Lookin' back now, I know I should'a stayed with her more," he added. His voice had a little bit of melancholy in it. A slight sense of sadness. He just told Eric about all the time he spent in the church because he felt closer to his wife, yet when she was alive, he dropped her off to pray for their son. It was understandable in a way; finding the time for church was hard. But, at the same time, it was obvious that Hitsu regretted his priorities.
 


@Midnite (So, all Eric needs to do is take the picture to look at and it'll trigger the event. If you wanna have dialogue/actions before that, do them before he grabs the picture because that'll be the cut-off for my reply. :D  It'll be neat, trust me. )
 
"Well i guess we can relate to one another then" he says as he looked at the picture. ."oh so that's you and your wife...wow haven't really seen such a old picture its kinda hard to make out mind if i hold it i won't damage it just want a better look" he says this to the old man and he hands the picture over..Eric grabs the picture 


@Sir Les Paul
 
Tokshi was a bit worried about how determined Rin was to get revenge on this guy. She read the file along with him her heart dropping as she read that the man had a family of his own. She felt like Rin was about to simply walk in the man's shoes all he was doing was exactly what the man had done to him. Tokshi wanted to try and talk some sense into him but she knew her words wouldn't reach him all she could do was watch him. Still she couldn't help but speak. "Is this really gonna make you feel better?" She asked him knowing she wasn't going to get and answer only made asking hurt more. 


@Sir Les Paul
 
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The moment his fingertips touched the picture, it was as if a spark of electricity jumped through his fingers. Not the type that shocked, but more of an invigorating energy that ran through Eric. Every bone in his body, every vessel that carried blood, it felt like it was overflowing with a cool, dense energy that made him feel more alive than the tallest roller coaster in the world. This was the same spark that filled the others; it was the moment their souls ignited and they became more than just your average human being. Eric, however, had more to his spark than just a misunderstood perception - although he had far less action. Eric was brought to a whole new realm.

It was as if Eric was thrust into that black and white picture like the beginning of a 3D movie. The world spun around him until he was at the chapel the day that picture was taken. Everything had changed. It was early spring; the air was warm, the photographer was placing the couple in the perfect light from the sun and the camera was this vintage monstrosity the size of a small fridge. "All done!" the cameraman yelled and the two lovebirds broke from their stance, but soon re-embraced. While Eric could feel and hear the world around them, he was floating again. He was, in some ways, a ghost again. This world was not solid or tangible, but he felt everything as it was going on. The energy coursing through him only made the event more lively, and the details were impeccable; Eric was taking in everything down to the pattern on the cloth behind them.

"I hate pictures," the man said.

"Oh, Hitsutama, you'll show that thing off someday. You just hate waiting," the woman replied. She then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I won't need to show off a picture when I have you, Anna," he replied before pulling her in for a longer, sweeter kiss. She was far more beautiful in person than she was in the picture. In fact, that old photo done her no justice; her best angle wasn't from the front, but from the side when she kissed Hitsu the first time. Every little detail, every single moment, was being fed to Eric as if he was experiencing it.

But, that was it. The end. Once his lips met hers, the entire world went dark again - like the end of an old film reel. As if coming to from a hard punch, Eric was centered back into reality where Hitsu was sitting below him. No time had passed, in fact, Hitsu was just now replying to Eric, "It's fine, sonny, take a look. She was the sweetest thing God ever put on this Earth." 
 


@Midnite (And that's the big reveal for Eric. :D )
 
Eric was in awe... he didn't want to freak Hitsu out with what just happened to him...but he nodded and handed him back the picture. .."Yea she sure was I bet you were a lucky man" he says as he stood up he needed to move to try to comprehend what happened. ..


"Did i just see no i was there somehow i saw the event taking place like i was there personally" he says to himself 
 
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