Kuro Mirai

[Mini]

--1/28 6:10 PM--
Body of a 20 year old woman found near Kanojo River, close to Sakurajima Village. Her stomach had been sliced open. Victim died of blood loss. No sign of a struggle or any other injuries detected. The only other item found was a water jug next to her body. Victim had just moved to the village several weeks ago. No known family. No witnesses.
So why was she killed?

--1/29 2:30 PM--
Body of a 40 year old man found on the steps of the temple in Sakurajima Village. He had been stabbed clean through his throat, slicing through his windpipe and neckbone. Victim appears to have died instantly. Victim lived in Sakurajima for the past ten years. Had no known family, but was well-liked and a member of the city council. No sign of a struggle. No witnesses.
Was this a random killing?

--1/31 7:03 AM--
Body of a 32 year old man found on the outskirts of Sakurajima Village. He had been stabbed in the chest right through the heart. Victim died of blood loss. No sign of a struggle detected. Victim's money bag and sake jug were still on his person. Victim lived in Sakurajima his whole life, but was not married nor did he have any children. No witnesses.
So this wasn't a robbery. Why was he killed?

--2/2 3:47 PM--
Body of a 57 year old peddler found on the path leading of Mori Woods, just east of Komakai Village. His neck had been slit. Victim died of blood loss. No sign of a struggle detected. His pack contained an inventory list. Everything on list was accounted for. Nothing missing. Victim did not have a known home, but simply roamed the countryside, selling various things for a living. Was a well-known and well-liked man by many. No witnesses.
This wasn't a robbery or botched theft attempt, either. Why was this man killed?

--2/3 9:36 PM--
Body of 23 year old woman found behind chicken coop in Komakai Village. Victim was found with multiple slices to her arms. Her neck had been slashed open. Died of blood loss. Definite sign of a struggle detected. It would appear that she was first attacked behind the storage shed. Followed a blood trail to the chicken coop, which is where her body was found. Victim recently became a widow. Her husband was a soldier who had been killed several months ago in battle. Nothing appears to have been taken from her home or her person. Nothing in the storage shed was reported missing. No witnesses.
Why did this happen? Why was she attacked? Why was she killed?

--2/5 12:15 PM--
Body of a 28 year old woman found behind the inn in Sakurajima Village. She had been stabbed in her lower torso and abdomen area. The blow looks to have been quick and struck something vital. No signs of a struggle or fight detected. Victim died of blood loss. Victim worked as a maid in the inn. Keys to the hotel were still tied to her kimono. Nobody suspicious reported staying at the inn. No witnesses.
Another random killing. What is this?!

--2/6 4:45 PM--
Body of a 19 year old male discovered on the road halfway between Komakai and Sakurajima by a group of travelers. The boy was wearing light armor of some sort. He had been stabbed in the back and then sliced clean in two. There was some sign of a struggle, but nothing that would give any hint to who or what attacked the boy. The boy's belongings were found on his person. Nobody in either village can identify the boy. A man who had passed through a little after high noon reported seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Another man reported passing by a traveler wearing a hooded cloak heading towards Komakai in the afternoon, but that was the only description available. No witnesses to the actual attack.
Another one...  




Devoe sat in the tavern, pouring over the papers he had in front of him. Long, bushy brown bangs cast dark shadows over his dark brown eyes. His hands were clasped tightly together, resting just below his chin. His yellow hat, which he seldom ever took off, was pushed down low on his head. In the time span of almost two weeks, there had been six completely random and out of the blue killings occur in the villages of Sakurajima and Komakai. There was nothing of interest in either one of the villages, in Devoe's opinion. Komakai was a quiet farming village. There was a small shrine by the woods, but other than that, it was just small huts and farmland all the way down to the river. Sakurajima was a bit bigger - they had an inn and a small temple. Mori Woods ran halfway between the two, and there was a forest path that ran through the entirety of the woods, but few people traveled it for fear of demons and wild animals. The main road took longer but was safer. 

Yet there have been killings in both locations now... 

Sakurajima was where the young man was presently located. He had originally come here several weeks ago on his way to other business, but... well, things had changed. Devoe was once a part of a small organization known simply as "Clan Chaos." He and his comrades had taken on all sorts of work - not all of it was nice and clean, either - but there had been a terrible incident several weeks ago. The whole clan had been lured into a deadly trap. The group had worked together to steal some sort of scroll and a mysterious gemstone from two separate locations. The pay was just too great to pass up, and they had also heard that the man they had stolen the gem from getting ready to wage war on a nearby land. Labinya, a mysterious and quiet female assassin who served as the clan's second in command, volunteered to take their spoils to the meeting place. The man she was supposed to meet melted into the shadows. Labinya was attached by a hoard of demonic looking creatures. Javet, their leader, had gone racing in to try and save her. There was a horrible noise, a shout of strange sounding words, then a giant explosion. By the time that Devoe and Wagner, his paladin companion, had gotten there, the only thing left was a giant crater. There was no sign of Javet or Labinya. There was also no sign of the demons or the man who had tricked them. It had been a long walk back to the hut they had left Loretta, their healer, waiting in. When she heard the news, she cried for a good hour. The three of them had no idea what to do. Devoe wanted to hunt down the man who had tricked them and likely killed their friends, but Loretta begged him not to. She should never had gotten involved in Clan Chaos... she was simply too soft and kind-hearted. Wagner and Devoe had a long talk after she had fallen asleep, and it was decided that Wagner would stay with Loretta to keep her safe. They both agreed that it was very possible something was after the rest of them, for Clan Chaos had made quite a few enemies over the years. Devoe would set out on his own to try and unearth any clues as to what was so important about that scroll and gemstone, and more importantly, to try and find out what had happened to his friends. 

Devoe had come to Sakurajima originally to follow a lead he had heard on the gemstone. That's when the first killing had happened. The following day, there was another one. And then another, and another, and another... it was crazy. Devoe might be a lot of things, but he certainly wasn't one to up and leave in the middle of what looked like a string of serial killings going on right beneath his nose. He had started to compile notes on everything that happened. Reconnaissance had never been his strong suite (Loretta and Labinya were much better at it than he was), but there was little else to do at this point. Besides, he couldn't help but feel like maybe, just maybe, these killings were connected to what he was looking for. 

"I just don't get it," he muttered to himself, running through his papers for the 62nd time that night. "There has to be some kind of common denominator here. It's not gender - both males and females have been killed. It's not age, either. It seems like the young and the old are both at risk. Mmm, but no children... that's a relief, at least. Come on, Devoe. Think! What do all of these things have in common?" He stared down at everything he had written and frowned. "No witnesses... it seems like almost all of them were caught by surprise. Front and back attacks were both used... but each person was... killed by a sword. A sword... no, not just any sword. Had to be a katana. So whoever this was... if it is just one person... uses a katana. Had to be someone who is fast and agile, too. They haven't left a single shred of evidence, either. No discernible footprints or anything. Argh, this just doesn't make any sense," he groaned, resting his head against the table. 

Without much warning, the door came crashing open. It was a cold, blustery night out, and it had started to snow. Two men in cloaks came walking in. Devoe tried to ignore them, but they were talking too loud for him to ignore. 

"... and that's the sixth one, I've heard. I'm thinking about leaving town, myself."
"You and everyone else. Did I tell you that I was the inn the day they found poor Mai?"
"No! Oh, Hojo, no! Did you see anything?"
"Well..." 
Devoe's ears perked up. The men had sat down right across from him and had lowered their voices considerably. 
"Keep this between the two of us. I don't know if it means much, but I did see something... strange."
"What did you see?"
"Earlier that day, I had been out walking. I had an errand to run at the temple. On my way back into town, as I was passing by the inn, I saw somebody standing on the other side of the road in the shadows of a tall building. They were just standing there, staring across the street. It was just for half a second. I'm not even sure that I really saw what I saw."
"Just tell me, Hojo!" 
The other man took a deep breath. "I saw a girl. A young girl, from the looks of her. She was wearing a cloak, but her hood had been blown off by the wind. Yukiteru, I swear to you, this girl had pink hair! Pink!" 
"What??"
"Yes!"
"Pink... Oh! So then you think you saw some sorta demon?! Only demons have hair in such strange colors!" 
"I don't know. But I do know this - she had pink hair. And... she had a sword."

"What?!" Devoe roared, startling both the men so much that Hojo nearly fell out of his chair. "Did you just say you saw some sort of pink haired demon girl with a sword close to where one of those people was murdered, and you didn't think to tell anybody about this?!"

"What-- now hold on a minute, son, I just--"

"No, YOU hold on! Why wouldn't you tell somebody this, you idiot?!" Devoe yelled loudly, ignoring the fact that others in the tavern were staring at the group of them. "Tell me, what kind of sword was it?!"

"Wha-- I-I don't know! I didn't get a good look at it! But... But, wait, wait, let me think. It was a small sheath. Long and skinny. Maybe some kinda katana?" Hojo replied, staring up at Devoe. "But I don't see what that's got to do with anything. I mean, I only caught a glimpse of her. Doesn't mean anything!"

Devoe gritted his teeth together and bit back a rather flippant remark he was about to say. "It means everything. All of the killings so far? In every single one of them, the victim has been killed by a katana. You said you saw this girl standing looking at the inn? What else do you remember about her? What color cloak was she wearing? What did she look like? Is there anything else you can tell me about her? Or anyone else, for that matter?" Devoe asked loudly, turning to address everyone in the tavern. "This is your home, people! Don't you want to get to the bottom of this?! Is there anyone else here, anyone at all, who might be able to tell me anything the least bit helpful?!"

[Remus]

"How many killings does that make as of last week?" Raven asked her as he sat down on the chair across from her. On the table in the room that they had rented was a map of the general area. Little red X's had been made in both villages marking the locations of all the recent murders.

"Seven" his sister answered. "The last of which was right here." She tapped the map halfway between Sakurajima and Komakai, the village they were currently staying in.
"It doesn't look like a lowbrow demon. Too clean. All of the victims are human, and all of them sliced in various ways."

"Which means it's either your local psychopath or a high class demon whose choosey about his methods of killing." Raven concluded. "The villagers don't seem to want to do anything about it. Most likely they are too frightened to do anything about it. Makes it good for us at least. If the local guards cant help protect the people, we might be able to do something about it. Perhaps if we kill this demon there will be a nice reward in it. Finally get some real food on the table."

"If only we really HAD a table" she joked. "So what's the plan Raven?"

"Gather intel, see what other people know. Perhaps there are some suspicious people who've showed up lately....other than us of course. We can split up, I'll go to Sakurajima and the temple. Seems like most of the murders happened around there. You stay here and see what you can get from the other people in the inn and the tavern. Regardless of how the villagers feel, there is always someone who will talk." Raven pushed back the chair and stood up. Walking over to the bed he grabbed his cloak and swung it over his shoulders. He also picked up his sword and sheathed it alongside his belt. "Just in case I run into him along the way." he told Merissa winking. Finally he took some linen from his pack and wrapped it alongside the right side of his head covering his crimson eye.

"I'll also check the woods surrounding the village." Merissa told him. "Locals don't go around there often, it may be the perfect hiding place."

"Then we meet back here at sunset." He walked over to his sister and kissed her lightly. "Try not to get into too much trouble while I'm gone." he whispered with a smirk.

"Like you can go five minutes without challenging someone to a duel?" was her response.

[Cernan]

Issen sat by himself at the end of the small bar inside the inn at Sakurajima quitely thinking to himself. Someone had killed Mai, and apperently a few other people in the are as well over the last two weeks. He didnt know who the other people were. but Mai he had come to know over the past three months he had been staying in the inn. He liked her, she was sweet, and she tolerated him better then most. she had learned that there was no telling when Issen would be in or out of his room, and that he rarely answered even if she knocked so she had taken to just barging in and doing her cleaning when it suited her. When Issen was in they would talk a bit, she would make him help her usually with a smart comment, and then usually she would be on her way. Most interesting about her was that she would ignore the many clearly stolen items in his room, many of them being from the Inn itself, food and sake mostly, but also a few other more valuable items he had taken. She would just pick them up dust them off and put them back never mentioning it to anybody.

Issen poured himself another drink from the bottle as he waited for the bartender to come back, he was currently busy serving some other patrons who had come in and interrupted his conversation with the bartender just recently. He decided they would be paying for his drinks. As the bartender finished with them he walked back over to Issen.

"So what was it you wanted to know about Mai?" the bartender asked him.

"Two things really" Issen's eyes met the bartenders with an unusually cold look in their eyes, "The first being do you know when her funeral will be, and second how did she die?"

The bartender studied the look on Issen's face for a second, it was far more serious then he had ever seen on the man, usually he was so light-hearted it was slightly annoying. He decided he should choose his words carefully before replying.

"I'm not sure when the funeral will be, I didn't know her that well, but you can check at the temple they will know. As to how she died... I don't know much either, all I know is that she was stabbed by a sword of some kind, and that it looks like whoever did it, did it fast, there was no sign of struggle or of her trying to escape."

Issen frowned slightly thinking what this information could mean. After a moment he finished his drink and got up to leave.

"Hold on a moment" the bartender said giving him a sharp look, "are you gpoing to pay for the drinks?"

"Oh right." Issen dropped a small bag of coins onto the counter, the strings where it would have been tied to a belt having been clearly cut. "The gentlemen who came in earlier will be paying for my drinks, although im not sure how they will be paying for theirs...." Iseen ave the bartender a sly smile which was returned and walked out. He considered going to his room, but decided against it, he didnt like being cooped up, and usually thought better outside, so he left through the front enterance, gazing breifly at the horizon where the sun was just begining to set before crossing the road to sit under his favorite tree, almost completely blending into both the tree and the snow beneath it.

[Nayr]

(Well, I can't resist entering this thread, but I'm going to do so with one of my more fun OCs that's been just knocking about. Also, someone should answer Devoe's question...)

Satoshi Nakamura had come to Sakuraijima on his way elsewhere. As what one might call an itinerant businessman, he found himself traveling rather frequently in search of the next thing that would put food in his belly for a while. Sakuraijima and its neighboring village Komakai were so quiet and peaceful that someone like him could only possibly have come on his way somewhere. It also so happened, it was time for him to finish traveling for the day. As such, here he was, in a small tavern in a small village where small people were taking a brief respite from their small lives. It was almost too boring, but Satoshi didn't mind. Life was a funny thing, particularly when you couldn't see. He'd been born with his sight, so at least he'd had a relatively normal youth, but not so very long ago his sight had dimmed until it had vanished entirely. These days he made his way around using only old training and a trusty staff which now leaned just out of the way next to him. He was enjoying a quiet drink by himself when the usual subtle din of the tavern was interrupted by a man's raised voice.

"What?!" he roared suddenly, apparently having heard something that displeased him, "Did you just say you saw some sort of pink haired demon girl with a sword close to where one of those people was murdered, and you didn't think to tell anybody about this?!"

The reply wasn't quite understandable from where Satoshi was sitting.

"No, YOU hold on! Why wouldn't you tell somebody this, you idiot?!" the man yelled loudly, ignoring the fact that others in the tavern were most likely staring at the group of them. "Tell me, what kind of sword was it?!"

This time the reply was clear enough to understand, but only because Satoshi had very good hearing.

"Wha-- I-I don't know! I didn't get a good look at it! But... But, wait, wait, let me think. It was a small sheath. Long and skinny. Maybe some kinda katana? But I don't see what that's got to do with anything. I mean, I only caught a glimpse of her. Doesn't mean anything!"

"It means everything," the first man replied finally, "All of the killings so far? In every single one of them, the victim has been killed by a katana. You said you saw this girl standing looking at the inn? What else do you remember about her? What color cloak was she wearing? What did she look like? Is there anything else you can tell me about her? Or anyone else, for that matter?"

The man raised his voice further for his next statement, addressing the tavern as a whole.

"This is your home, people! Don't you want to get to the bottom of this?! Is there anyone else here, anyone at all, who might be able to tell me anything the least bit helpful?!"

The snatch of conversation was enough to jog Satoshi's memory. He'd heard that there had been a rash of killings in the area, but had dismissed it out of hand. It had nothing to do with him, save to reinforce the idea that there was most likely nothing for him here except for a rest from his travels. He was beginning to revise that opinion, however, in light of this new information. Apparently all the killings had been done the same way and in a manner that puzzled even a mind like that of the loud man, apparently some kind of investigator. He smiled, feeling suddenly like spending a little time around these quiet villages. His last enterprise had been a little more lucrative than usual, and he could spare some coins for a delay if pressed.

"I can tell you that you're being too loud," he said loudly enough to echo through the silence of the room, not looking up from his drink.

He was being antagonistic, and he knew it. It wasn't nice, but the only way he could genuinely be of help was to admit to something he liked to keep to himself and speak from the unique position that little secret afforded him. Besides, the man was being entirely too loud. The kind of people who usually lived in villages like these weren't all that likely to speak up when confronted loudly in a public place. It was as if quiet lives bred quiet people who were unwilling to confront troublesome people. Just as well that Satoshi wasn't from a quiet village.

[Gen]

OoC (Okay guys... Here goes. Sorry, I'm a little out of touch with this so please cut me some slack till I'm able to get back into gear. Thanks. Also... YAY CERNAN I MISSED YOU! )

IC

The winters in this region were turning out to be quite lovely. Further north, though not much further, they were so much more harsh and seemed to last months longer. It was nothing for someone raised in those parts, of course. Born of the mountains, conceived and even birthed during the winter seasons. Though still below freezing, it seemed that the weather here was just cold enough to keep the snow from melting even when the sun was high in the sky. It was setting now, though, of course, which meant back to the frigid temperatures. The night would need more tobacco and MUCH more sake.

It was always such a bother going into towns, though. Gen hated venturing into a village almost as much as he hated the little children that were always drawn to his presence. It was tedious. He had to wear a bandana in order to hide his ears and mostly conceal his identity as a demon so as not to startle anyone, as if his eyes alone didn't give it away. Not many people were sensitive to him, though. Priests and the like didn't seem to mind his presence either. He wasn't sure if maybe he just wasn't frightening despite his size and odd appearance, or if it was that he was always conned into helping someone out every time he went into town, and so people trusted him more.

He wrapped his head with the bandana and picked up the large gourde used for his sake, fastened his wallet to his belt and then stowed much of his belongings in a small den under the tree he slept under, including the lengthy sword he traveled with. He didn't need that, it would only serve to intimidate people when in fact that was the opposite of his intentions. Once he was situated, Gen made his way into the town just down the hill from him.

He didn't really take notice to demons or otherwise non-human creatures, himself. He was completely oblivious to the man he'd pass under a tree, just setting in the snow, for instance. It had always been this way for him. Perhaps it was his mother's blood clouding up his father's reknowned senses. Not that he minded. It gave him a sense of peace rather than anxiety. As long as no one bothered him, what did it matter what they were? Or where they were, for that matter. That was her way of thinking...

It was by no coinsidence that once he'd descended the hill he would wind up in the one inn, and again not so coinsidentally, the one pub there was in this little backwater town. It was the only place he could get anyone to fill his gourd and not have eyes staring him down like he was a drunk. He'd come just in time, too, it seemed. Before he could even take to the tavern bar he heard some kid yelling about a recent rash of killings. There was always someone in a small town like this that thought that they could be the one to slay the next big bad wolf. It was always a human, nearly almost always male, and often enough, they never survived their hunt. If they did, they would never "hunt" again.

"Sucks to be you, kid..." He muttered under his breath, not spending much more time thinking about the kid and his endeavor. He couldn't help but to continue to listen, of course, while he sat at the bar and waited for service. Keen hearing and such. The plea for action was becoming more like a grating drone in his ears, however, the longer he waited. He resisted the urge to speak, but not so well and only for a few moments. Then, just as his gourd was being filled he couldn't take anymore. Gen took the sake from a man sitting next to him and then turned back.

"...Whaddya think you're gonna do when you finally identify the killer, kid?" Gen called out, crossing his arms and leaning back against the bar. He eyed the young man even through the crowd of people between them. In a moment the bar became quiet. "Even if you did finally identify the killer... the kills are quick and clean. I hear someone was even cleaved in half-- Do you know what kind of force and precision that takes? To just slice a human body in half? The killer would have to be strong. Not to mention nearly all of the killings are without struggle... if the rumors are correct. That means speed and agility to match... Nothing human. You're looking to die young, if you want my opinion. Only desperate or insane bounty hunters are gonna touch this one. Best leave it to them..."

By the time he was finished speaking, his gourd had been filled. The man nodded and smiled, and then ordered a drink for himself. He wasn't generally one for drama, and getting up and leaving right after his speech seemed too cliche. Hopefully the brat wouldn't bother him too much.

[Mini]

Devoe turned around and glared daggers at the man who had just commented during the awkward silence following the man's frustrated outburst that he was being too loud. Someone in the background chuckled under their breath, but it was just as quickly cut off as Devoe turned and glared off in the general direction of where the chuckle had come from. There were a surprising number of people in the little tavern, but not a one of them would return his steely gaze. His attention turned first to the man who had commented on how loud he was being. The man was sitting all by his lonesome and seemed perfectly content to ignore Devoe and focus solely on his drink.

"Too loud?! Oh, excuuuse me, my good sir, for voicing my concern over the fact that there have been a whole string of unsolved, cold blooded murders in a village where I happen to be laying my head down at night to go to sleep. Is it really so wrong to worry about the fact that, gee, I don't know, I might not wake up the next morning if these sorta things keep on happening?!" he roared, throwing his arms up in the air in frustration. Why were these backwater people so complacent to sit around and keep to themselves while all these horrible things kept happening around them?

"...Whaddya think you're gonna do when you finally identify the killer, kid?"

Another gruff voice. Another naysayer. Well, Devoe supposed that nobody in this entire tavern had the slightest idea just what kind of person he really was. To everyone in the tavern, he was probably coming off as a loud, boisterous, hot-shot wanna be demon slayer of some sort. Devoe had run into those types of people enough in his many adventures, and they always rubbed him the long way. They were the ones who would come striding into a village (the best ones were the idiots who rode in on horseback) and proclaim themselves the very best demon slayer that insert-village-name-here was ever going to see, and that for a low sum of insert-astronomical-amount-of-money-here, they could slay any and all demons within a twenty mile radius so that the villagers could lead happy, peaceful, and prosperous lives. These were the very same idiots Devoe often saw laying dead at the bottom of a cliff, or saw their bones scattered around sketchy looking caves. If he was coming across like that type of person, perhaps that was actually a good thing. He certainly wasn't going to stand up on a chair and proclaim himself a member of the fearsome Clan Chaos. That was liable to get him stabbed in the back. No, for now, perhaps he would adopt the role of fearsome and fearless demon hunter detective.

Detective Devoe did have a nice ring to it...

Trying to keep the smirk off his face, he turned to the strange looking hulk of a man sitting at the bar behind him. Next to this behemoth, Hojo and Yukiteru look like midgets. Something about him seemed a bit off, but Devoe couldn't quite put his finger on what it was about him that was so different. He rubbed the bottom of his nose as he listened to the man tell him he was insane. Devoe couldn't help but chuckle.

"Oh, so now I'm loud and boisterous AND I'm looking to die young? Thank you so much, both of you, for giving me your most humble opinions. Yes, I had indeed heard that one guy was cleaved clean in half, and yes, believe it or not, I do actually know the kind of force it takes to do that. But you know what scares me more?" he asked, strolling over towards Gen as he turned back to the bartender and ordered himself a drink. "What scares me worse than the thought of some maniac out there with a sword who is strong enough to cut a person clean it two is the fact that nobody else is doing a thing about it. This person has killed six-- no, seven people now. SEVEN. Seven completely innocent humans, both men and women, were slaughtered in cold blood... and nobody seems to even care," he whispered. "If nobody steps up to do something about this, then what's to keep whatever's doing the killings to keep from killing every single man, woman, and child between here and Komakai, huh? What are you gonna do, Mr. Let's See How Much Sake I Can Drink Outta My Gourd Before I Blow Up? What if on your merry way home, some freakish thing comes flying at you with a sword? You just gonna stand there and let it slice your head clean off while you think to yourself, 'Oh boy, I'm SO glad those crazy bounter hunters are taking care of this,' eh?"

[Cernan]

Issen had been sitting under his tree for awhile thinking, and listening. He had opened an eye when a large man had walked by and into the Inn, and again when two other went in having a whispered conversation with each other. Shortly after a loud commotion started. Issen's ears suddenly popped up, he had folded them back and hidden them before, but he wanted to hear what was going on. He heard a man tell the one shouting he was being to louad, heard another say that the shouting man was foolish and would die, he also heard a mouse scurrying through the snow a tasty treat - no he had to focus he would get the mouse later. He listened intently as the first man replied, it seemed he was rather bothered by these murders, and seemed to know a bit, he could be helpfull.

Issen stood up and brushed some of the snow that had started to cover him off. He looked toward the inn and sighed concentrating for a second as he made sure his ears and tail were hidden. Humans he had found were not good at discerning between demons that wanted to rip there heads off and those that didn't. As he crossed he tried to think of what he would say or do to think of some sort of plan, but fin ding himself at the door before he thought of anything decided to just wing it. He entered the inn letting in another gust of cold wind his cloak flapping around his legs as he stood in the doorway assesing the stiuation. A man frantically shouting and flapping his arms, a large man and a smaller one at the bar, and the two men who presumably having the whispered conversation earlier.

Issen quickly crossed the room to the bar, throwing is cloak over a chair that was close to the shouting man, tried to flag the bartender for a drink, noticed the bartender was too busy staring at the frantic man and gave up. Issen sat down and swiveled around to face the shouting man.

"So what's your plan then?"

[Gen]

(Sorry it's so sloppy. It's hard to post on a smart phone during work...)

The bar seemed to become more and more crowded by the minute as others didn't necessarily enter, but became known. Gen didn't really like the crowd. He didn't really like the attention, either, though he couldn't avoid that now. Damn his tongue. Damn this loud kid for provoking him. He shuddered slightly when the door opened and yet another joined them.

"I have no intention of hunting this thing down." Gen replied simply. He shrugged his shoulders and took another drink. "If I'm attacked on the road I'll have no choice but to defend myself, obviously... but then obviously circumstances would be different. I don't know anything about this insidious thing attacking people. In fact I would wager that it probably knows more about us. Charging in blindly could prove troublesome, and I get into enough trouble as it is."

Still, as reasonable as he was trying to appear, he did feel guilty himself. He was a strong man and plenty more quick than he appeared. Surely he could be of some use in defending these people. He was, after all, inhabiting their territory. It was the least his father would do. It was simply too reckless. If whatever this thing was proved as wicked as he feared, who would have his back? This kid and his buddies? Gen didn't feel comfortable with that idea.

He sniffed the air some as a strange scent suddenly wafted around him. Another demon. He glanced around quickly for it's source and then looked back to the young man. He could tell that the kid was determined. Others in the tavern seemed to empathize with him, too. He just hoped they were strong enough. Maybe they were. He was certainly in no place to judge. Perhaps he would hang around a little while longer just to see how things turn out.

Gen sighed. He glanced back to the white haired man behind him, making eye contact for just a moment. Gen knew this to be the other he'd smelled. He was surprised at just how nearly normal the man appeared. He then returned his attention to the young man.

"... Okay, maybe there is a possibility that this is all the work of a lower level demon just preying on humans for sport. Or another human, for that matter. Highly skilled with a blade..." Gen said, attempting to humor the boy, "Are you really willing to risk the flipside, though? Has anyone yet considered that maybe whomever is killing is just using the murders as bait? Attempting to lure more exciting prey into its clutches? Who will back you up if this proves to big a job for you?"

Gen felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach while he looked to the young man, trying to convince him. Years ago Gen would have already been on the hunt. It was his way. It was his father's way. Somewhere along the way though, in some recent years, Gen had lost the fire and the confidence his family was known for. People used to know if him and when he was around. Now he just kept to himself floor the most part, unless he felt otherwise provoked of course. He could see that this young man would most likely not let this matter rest, leaving Gen feeling like he would now have to get involved. His conscience wouldn't allow for anything else.

[Mini]

Devoe felt a room full of eyeballs staring at him and Gen. Even most of the quiet conversation had died down. It seemed nobody was even bothering to try and hide the fast looks over their shoulders, the sideways glances, or the fact that several of the denizens of the tavern had given up on obscurity and turned completely around in their chairs at this point. Whether it was the tone the conversation had taken or the fact that there were now two very strange looking men taking an interest in trying to stop Devoe from going after whoever was behind the murders, he didn't know. Or maybe it was simply because he had sort of turned and addressed the whole tavern a bit earlier, which probably represented nearly half of the village.

Jeez. Was I really being all THAT loud?

"Tch. What's my plan?" Devoe repeated, ignoring Gen for the moment to turn his attention to the other man who had strolled in from outside and taken a seat at the counter. Devoe crossed his arms and looked thoughtful. "Wouldn't you like to know? Both of you, that is. Why do you sound so interested there, Mr. I Just Made An Epic Entrance Strolling Into The Bar While Everyone's Attention Was On Me?" he asked, perking his eyebrow as he glanced across to the man sitting at the bar. "You weren't even in here for the whole conversation! Do you even know what we're talking about? Then again, it wouldn't be too hard to guess, now, would it? Not much happens in a sleepy little village like this one."

Here, he took a few steps away from the bar and out into the center of attention again. "You all are more than happy to go about your lives. Farming in the fields, fishing on the river, assisting the priests and priestesses at the temple, raising kids and families, or whatever it is you all do. Every day is the same to people like you. At the end of the day, what have you achieved? You lived yet another day in your lives. Well, good for you! But when something comes along that challenges that tranquility you think you have, are any of you actually strong enough to go out there and try to fight it? If you care about your friends and families and your peaceful, quiet little lives, maybe you should get your heads outta your turtle shells and DO something about this string of murders!! Seriously, how does it not bother you?!!" he shouted, groaning as he turned back to the bar, where he sat down next to Hojo. Surprisingly, he was quiet for a few moments while he hunched over the bar, apparently deep in thought about something.

A few minutes later, he turned his suddenly steely gaze back to Gen. "Hrmph. Someone like you really believes what you're saying there? You really think this is the work of a lesser demon? A lesser demon doesn't tend to be intelligent enough to sneak up on multiple victims and kill with one blow, let alone a sword. Don't know that I've seen too many lesser demons who use a sword. Hell, not too many demons bother with swords, either. Only a few I've heard of or seen pop into my mind. Smarter, stronger demons tend to rely on other things, like claws and fangs and demonic powers. And again, I don't know too many demons who seem to get a whole lot of pleasure or enjoyment out of random killings like this. It's the lesser ones who enjoy the random killings, but the ones who do usually opt for blood baths over random stealthy killings."

A frown crossed his face as Gen brought up the possibility that whoever was behind this could be doing it in the hopes of drawing out some sort of bigger, better victims. Could it be possible that someone or something was carrying out random killings to use as some sort of bait? It was something he didn't even want to consider a possibility. "Hrmph," he grumbled again, reaching for a glass the bartender had just filled out and was just about to hand to Hojo. He downed the contents of whatever it was - fairly bitter sake, from the after taste - opened his mouth to say something but then his face contorted into a sourpuss expression. "Ohmy--wooow, that's strong," he said, coughing a bit before he turned back to Gen.

"Who's gonna back me up, eh? Hah. You should be a stand up comedian, buddy. Clearly nobody here. Everyone's too comfortable hiding in their shells," he said, getting up from the bar after he slammed the glass down on the counter next to Gen's glass. A small, crumpled up piece of paper slipped out of his hand and rested on the counter. Should Gen and/or Issen happen to look at it, a very peculiar message had been hastily scrawled onto it: If you're the kind of person I think you are, meet me down by the river shortly before midnight, away from prying eyes and listening ears.

"If you all wanna stay here and be sitting ducks for this nut job, suit yourselves," he proclaimed, walking right past Satoshi's table on his way out to the door. He tripped over a loose floorboard and nearly knocked the poor man right out of his chair. "Oof! Oh, jeez, sorry, man. Didn't mean to do that. Loose floorboard or something. I should really watch my step. Guess my mind is just elsewhere right now. Maybe some of that fresh river air will clear my head," he murmured as he headed out the door and into the snow.

(EDIT: Names corrected)

[Cernan]

Issen sat and Listened to Devoes speech with what appeared to be a sort of cold patience, though in reality he was trying his hardest not to smirk. He had entered in serious manner and he was determined to keep that appearence as long as he could. It was hard though, the man seemed to like attention and had an amusing flair for dramatically addressing an entire tavern. He also seemed to have atleast some knowledge of what he was talking about given his response to Gen.

Watching the man leave, a slight smirk breaking as he tripped, Issen then turned his eyes to the little scrap of paper reading it's message. The man he knew must be crazy to want to go down to the river in the weather they were having. Issens eyes flicked up the to meet Gen's. The man was also a demon, he had known the second their eyes had met the first time, and he knew the stranger knew the same about him.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later then?"

Issen's eyes lingured on Gen's for a second more before he got up and without another word, headed off to his room. Once there he closed the door and slid down to the ground leaning against it, his disguise dispelling as he did so. He realised he had no idea what he was getting himself into. He had only been in the area for a short while and had managed to stay out of any serious trouble, but he also hadn't learned very much about the land or it's inhabitants, other than that they made rice into delicious spirit. He knew almost nothing about the demons or people though, and so had no idea about who or what the attacker might be. If it was some psychopath human or lesser demon that was good with a blade Issen knew he would be okay, he was more than proficient with a blade himself, but he had a feeling there was something more to it than that, something all together more dangerous. He let out a sigh and leaned his head back closing his eyes as he tried to figure out just what it was he was planning to do.

Several hours later Issens eyes opened, he had fallen asleep without meaning to. Loooking out the small window he realised it was late. He got up, and hiding his ears and tail once again, he left his room, and the inn, slipping out into the night as quitely as he could, he headed down to the river to seee what was in store.

[Nayr]

(So I totally didn't mean to take two weeks to respond to this. My life has this odd tendency to interrupt me left, right, and center when I'm trying to write. I'll do better in the future)

Satoshi paid casual attention to the conversation as it unfolded. It was the only thing of note going on at the moment, but it wasn't so interesting that he could be said to be particularly invested. Still, perhaps it was worth investigating these strange occurrences later on, in case there was something to these rumors. A killer on the loose was always worth casual notice.

At any rate, the conversation eventually reached the point where the loud one had finally had enough and turned to leave, bumping into the table in the process. Satoshi grabbed his staff with practiced speed and pushed himself back a little to avoid being injured by the table's motion.

"Oof!" the man exclaimed upon his impact. He seemed to take notice instantly and continued with polite embarrassment. "Oh, jeez, sorry, man. Didn't mean to do that. Loose floorboard or something. I should really watch my step. Guess my mind is just elsewhere right now. Maybe some of that fresh river air will clear my head."

There was just enough about his tone that Satoshi thought he'd heard a subtle invitation delivered in a very unsubtle manner.

"Indeed," was all he said, making the word sound both gracious and interested all at once. He arched a brow as he said this, but returned his expression to normal shortly thereafter.

After the loud one had left, the tavern slowly returned to its usual state, leaving Satoshi alone with his thoughts.

With so many deaths, particularly bearing commonalities like these, it can only be assumed that the one doing this has practice, and is doing this purposefully. They say it's a demon or something like that, but I wonder if the loud one doesn't have some kind of point. Perhaps this is a professional of some kind making a statement. I think I'm curious now. Drat. I was looking forward to spending some time in the south.

When next he got the tavern keeper's attention, he paid for what he had consumed sitting there and made a further request.

"I think I'll be staying for a few days after all," was all he said, plainly referencing what had so recently transpired.

With that he left, heading off toward his accommodations to rest a while and get his thoughts in order. No use getting excited only to have his hopes dashed, after all. Perhaps this was worth the delay, perhaps it wasn't. Time would tell. In the meantime, perhaps some of that fresh river air would help. He'd heard it did wonders for clearing one's head of distraction...

[Mini]

It was very dark out. The moon hadn't yet risen, even though it was very close to midnight, and the clouds obscured the dim light that would have normally been given off by the stars. Hardly a single star could be seen in the skies above. A cold wind started to blow, howling mournfully as it blew through the trees that grew along the river's edge.

That was where Devoe sat. He was perched high up in a thick, snow covered pine tree, almost perfectly obscured from view from the ground below. He had made sure to leave footprints in the snow that lead down to the river bank and headed slightly upstream, indicating that he had indeed gone for nothing more than a simple walk. He had doubled back around and erased his steps behind him with a big piece of pine he had found laying on the ground until he reached the pine tree. It was the perfect hunter's perch - tall enough to see in all directions for quite some distance, protected from the elements, and the pine also served to keep him mostly out of sight. He had thrown on his traveling cloak, which was dark green in color. He almost blended right in with the deep shadows of the pine. In the tavern, Devoe had put on quite the show. He set himself up as being some loud, boisterous, thick-headed newbie soldier who wanted to kill demons for glory and money. Most everybody had bought the act, but there were a very small few who had peaked his interest and even a smaller number still who might actually turn out to be intelligent enough to help him in figuring out what exactly was going on.

I just can't help shake the feeling that everything is connected to that damned scroll and gemstone we stole. But how? What's the big picture? There's gotta be something I'm missing. Why kill all those completely random people? That's the big mystery right now. No matter how I look at it, I can't find a single connection save for the fact that they've all been semi-local, but there could be hundreds of reasons for that. Maybe this is the work of some crazy psychopath, and I'm just trying to make mountains out of molehills.

Devoe let out a deep sigh and let his arms fall into his lap at rest. Old habits certainly did die hard, that was for sure. He had strung his bow and had been sighting just about everything in sight for what felt like an hour now. The only living thing he had seen was a raccoon that had waddled its way past the river some time ago. He shifted his weight ever so slightly, careful not to disturb the branches above him and drop snow onto the ground below. Just as he was contemplating leaving his post and giving up on extra assistance, he finally heard the very feint sounds of footsteps. He closed his eyes and focus his hearing. There were two sets of footsteps! Both were coming from the direction of the village, but they weren't together. One set, the closer one, was much closer and lighter on his feet. He seemed to move with a grace that wasn't all quite human.

I betcha it's one of those two demons from the bar. Only an idiot wouldn't be able to tell they weren't human. Guess there's a bunch of idiots in this town. And the second set... sounds human. Must be that guy who said I was too loud. He doesn't seem like your basic average guy. All right, time to see how they react to a little bit of danger.

Smirking, Devoe lifted his bow back up, notched his arrow, and squinted his eyes ever so slightly. He could see the first man approaching the river, but he was still back by the trees. He was perhaps some sixty feet away from the tree Devoe was hiding in. Without hesitation, Devoe fired his arrow. FWIP! It went speeding through the air and embedded itself deep into the bark of the tree Issen had just walked by. It missed him to the left by two inches.

Turning his head to the left, Devoe soon spotted the other man working his way through the woods to the river. This would be a trickier shot with so many trees in the way, but nothing Devoe hadn't tried before. From his hiding spot, he had an almost perfect line at where Satoshi would be standing in three... two... one... FWIP! This one he aimed to go sailing past Satoshi's right arm, coming close enough that the fletchings would brush up against his sleeve but would cause no harm whatsoever.

[Cernan]

As Issen walked up the river, his eyes scanning along it's bank looking for the man from the bar, an arrow suddenly zipped by his head. He let out a sudden and very loud yip in surprise. He was so shocked that his illusion broke and suddenly his ears and tail were quite visible, the tail slightly puffed, his ears though were now pointed right at Devoe. His hand also suddenly reached to the kindjal he had on his belt, and very, very quickly with just his thumb popped it slightly out of it's sheath. He had heard quite well where the shot had come from, though he tried to make a show of looking around like he was frantically searching for it's source. His moved his head around, and his eyes darted, but his ears stayed focused, as he stepped forward, then a little to the side, then in the other direction, making it look as though he was walking randomly but actually moving quickly towards Devoe in an indirect manner. When he had closed to about 30 feet to the tree where Devoe was in he stopped and looked up, staring right at the spot where Devoe was sitting even though he was still obscured from his view, his hand suddenly flicking back to the kindjal clicking it back into it's sheath and his image disappeared.

"Yo."

There was Issen, suddenly at the base of the tree staring up intently at Devoe, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword ready to draw.

[Remus]

[OOC: okay a slight edit. I know this doesn't leave things open for everyone, but since im catching up I figure for now I will keep Merissa hidden until things actually start to go down. Meaning until Devoe and Issen actually start talking down by the river. Though I wouldn't mind it if someone DID see her. She is after all playing the innocent villager role)


Merissa had chosen her seat in the most secluded part of the tavern. In the far back corner she would be far enough away so that the other patrons would not bother her, but close enough so that she could hear them all talking. Most of what she heard didn't interest her. Talk about daily labor and life. She tuned this out as easily as one could tune out any back round noise. Only one conversation spiked her interest between two men on the opposite end of the tavern. They were discussing whether or not the murders were done by a demon. It was obvious to them. The girl had pink hair and a sword. To them that easily equaled demon & malicious intent.

"Thank god I left my own sword upstairs." she muttered to herself pretending to take a long drink. "That and my hair is blonde not pink."

A third man sitting far from the other two seemed to be agitated by their conversation. Merissa's eyes narrowed. This man too was trying to gather information. 'Another person trying to stop the killer? Or the killer himself trying to evade being caught?' He was quite young. Young enough to have the brash attitude of wanting to run headlong into the lions den without any planning as to what he was up against. Then there was that hat. No killer, no matter how sick and sadistic would run around wearing a yellow hat. The thought made her laugh which she quickly stifled beneath the kimono she had changed into before coming downstairs. Act the part, and look natural. Those were the two laws she and her brother had lived by.

The man - Devoe, his name appeared to be- continued to try and rise the other customers into joining him, helping him in any way. No one seemed to be interested except for the giant of a creature sitting directly at the bar. Merissa instantly took in two things, his size for one, which was almost twice the size of a normal man, and the fact that he was obviously a demon. She could already sense his aura though she saw he tried to hide his features with a bandana he wore around his head. It reminded her of when Raven used to hide his eye from the world. This man too obviously had physical traits that showed what he was and he wanted to hide it either out of fear, or weariness for the treatment their kind always got whenever they entered a town.

Poor thing. She thought He must have seen the same things Raven and I did growing up. Felt the same animosity just for being different

Both men had points, the killer whoever he or she was obviously had the power to rip this Devoe to shreds without even breaking a sweat, and the bigger man, who looked more bear than man was right about the foolishness of trying to rouse people to go against something unknown and obviously way more powerful then they were. Still, they both were both very interesting, and worth following. Devoe more for information than anything.

"So what's your plan then?" a voice shouted.

Merissa's head snapped to the door as she just noticed two men walking in. One of them looked familiar. She could have sworn she saw him...somewhere outside perhaps, but for some reason she couldn't place it. Clearly though his appearance, or the appearance of his companion had upset Devoe. He had walked out the door with an angry comment, almost knocking a man out of his seat in the process-but not before she noticed- leaving a note on the counter where he was sitting before. She was about to get up and work her way over to the bar when the man who had entered hastily walked over to the counter and picked up the piece of paper Devoe had left. She had made her decision. She would follow Devoe first, talk to him if she had too. He would be the easier to follow. As a half demon, she risked being found out by the larger man who clearly was a demon himself and probably could sense her even now, but thanks to the bar's light evening crowd she would be harder to place. She quickly threw on her cloak and hurried out the door after Devoe.

Plus it's not like I'm completely unarmed. her thoughts were almost casual now as she reached into one of the sleeves of her cloak and felt the long dagger strapped to her arm. Even if he does appear to be more than he is, I have the weapons no human could be matched against. Her only wish is that she had time to leave her brother a note before heading down towards the river.

[Nayr]

Satoshi was making his way carefully, snow causing certain complications for a blind man. Still, this particular blind man was not without his gifts, although he liked to take pains to keep that from being known by anyone who didn't have to. Once he'd had to make a particular show of casting about in the way of a blind person to disguise his surprisingly minimal need for the staff he carried, but these days it was a habit, like those that governed so much of his day to day life. The canny could generally tell just enough to conclude that they shouldn't try to take advantage of his blindness, but most people just tried to avoid prolonged dealings with him for one reason or another. So long as a reasonable portion of the world's coin found its way into his pocket, who was he to judge? On this particular night, he was noticing footprints in the snow leading towards the river and was generally speaking following them, although he wove about in the trees a bit so that eyebrows didn't raise unnecessarily. Wooded areas were like home to him, mostly, as the trees whispered between each other about basically everything that went on if one knew how to interpret the signs. As such he had enough warning regarding the arrow's flight towards him that he wasn't wholly surprised when it flew past his right arm, although who expected random arrows in a forest at midnight? Before he could even begin to suspect that it had been a test of some kind by someone who had great faith in his aim, he'd already reflexively spun his staff under his arm and faced the approximate source of the projectile. He kept absolutely still, his feet spread into a fighting stance, his staff ready, and his free hand at his side but ready to spring to whatever task presented itself. He waited and listened to the trees for any sign of renewed attack, he smelled the air for any sign of his attacker, and he minded how the air felt against his skin in case another attack came, for any such assault would change the flow of air in the area. Such basic sensory exercises had been drilled into him so many years ago that it was now second nature and he betrayed their employment only to those who knew them as well as he.

Once he was convinced that the attack was not going to be followed immediately, he began ambling towards the source of the arrow in the manner of a blind man. He'd already revealed that he was far from helpless in a fight, but no need to abandon the facade completely. The rabbit hole went so very much deeper, after all. He'd only need to, as always, be careful about what was revealed and when to protect what lay beneath the blind merchant he let the world see. He knew he'd neared the tree when the wind carried the scent of another person nearby.

"It isn't nice to shoot arrows at blind men," he remarked casually, not especially caring who it was that waited at the tree.