[OOC: Open/Free RP. Hoping to meet someone in the Kaibutsu, or someone else who would be willing to mentor a young hunter. Going for a Supernatural spin on monster hunting. Everyone is welcome, though!]
A summer shower blanketed the Village Hidden in the Clouds if heavy rain as thunder rolled across the early evening sky. Pedestrian foot traffic was few and far between, with the handful of brave or foolish souls that were out and about sporting the usual rain gear; umbrellas, galoshes, and knee-length rain coats. Kumogakureans were not unfamiliar with poor weather. One wanderer, though, was not a native to Kumo. Takahashi Kiyoshi had finally earned enough cash to update his wardrobe to be more fitting for the climate of his new village. Now he was sporting: a pair of brown leather work boots; weathered blue jeans; a red and black, plaid flannel shirt; and a worn brown leather jacket with a built-in, grey cotton hood.
Kiyoshi’s hood was drawn over his head, and his hands tucked into his jacket pockets, the brows over his downcast eyes furrowed in deep thought. Ever since Airi had revealed to him that Demons were real, he hadn’t been able to get it off his mind. Could it be possible that all of the horror stories he’d heard in his youth were true? The appearance of the small, one-eyed goblin and the snake-necked lady had confirmed his fears; but the situation wasn’t that simple. Airi had told him that her father was a Kitsune, a mischievous fox-demon, which made her half-demon, herself.
Airi had been nothing but kind to him, and she had assured him her father’s demons were friendly enough; but Kiyoshi had doubts. Between the priests back at his small hometown in the valley and the horror stories his parent’s used to feed him, he’d only ever heard of demons being evil and malicious. There was even a whole sector of the Kumo Main Branch who specialized in hunting down dangerous creatures, to include those of the underworld; and all of the students had been warned against the dangers of allowing a demon to utilize them as a vessel. The life expectancy of a shinobi with the Jinchuuriki Kinjutsu was exceedingly short, and often ended in tragedy.
With this many questions in need of answers, there was only one place the Academy Student could go; the Bibliotheca Conscientiae. Climbing the mountainous marble steps in front of the building, Kiyoshi entered the refuge of the library. Turning down his rain-soaked hood , Kiyoshi approached the librarian at the receptionist’s desk.
“Hey. Where would a guy go to learn about demons?”
The librarian looked up from the pile of books she was marking “Returned” and eyed Kiyoshi up and down over the rim of her horn-rimmed, tortoise shell glasses. Her grey eyes, framed by fairly aggressive crows feet, seemed both bored and annoyed at having to do her job and interact with other human beings instead of being left alone with her books. Everything about her, from her steel-grey hair drawn into an overly-tight bun, to the tweed pantsuit and pursed, pencil-thin lips screamed disciplinarian, and her voice matched.
“Folklore is in Section G, third floor, north wing.” She said tersely, redirecting her attention to what she felt was more important work.
“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” Kiyoshi said, thrown off by her brusqueness. As Kiyoshi walked to the nearby elevator, the librarian checked he was out of earshot before reaching for the nearby phone and pressing one on her speed dial. It rang once before the line was picked up.
“We’ve got another student digging into things he’s not ready for, yet. Yeah… demons. I sent him to the right section, but you or someone from the Kaibutsu should probably talk to him… All right. Thank you.” Hanging up the phone with a light “click”, the librarian returned to her precious books.
Kiyoshi sat at a table in a dusty, secluded portion of Sector G, a dozen or so books stacked all around him. The green-shaded lamp was the only light source in the area; the soft, amber glow of the wall sconce bulbs having burnt out months ago. The janitor always intended to get back to them, but never did. The table lamp illuminated the book Kiyoshi was currently reading, but left everything else in in the vicinity in hazy shadow that faded to darkness within a few feet.
Everything he had read had only verified his suspicions. There were multiple different types of demons from different planes of reality, and all of them had different strengths, abilities, and – most important for those trying to fight them – weaknesses. The most common types of demons could be held at bay by an unbroken line of salt, or could be framed in by properly drawn trapping seals or blessed, pure iron. However, some demons were so powerful, only extremely rare holy weapons could harm them.
What had been even more shocking to Kiyoshi than these discoveries was the revelation that demons weren’t the only supernatural monsters that weren’t fictional. Vampires, werewolves, sprites, skinwalkers, and other horrors that hadn’t even been named yet were not only real, but posed a real threat to the people of the world. All of the urban legends and folk stories he’d heard about and dismissed as phony legends suddenly didn’t seem so farfetched.
Pouring over the book in front of him, Kiyoshi didn’t even notice the person lurking in the shadows…
[WC: 913, MFT]
A summer shower blanketed the Village Hidden in the Clouds if heavy rain as thunder rolled across the early evening sky. Pedestrian foot traffic was few and far between, with the handful of brave or foolish souls that were out and about sporting the usual rain gear; umbrellas, galoshes, and knee-length rain coats. Kumogakureans were not unfamiliar with poor weather. One wanderer, though, was not a native to Kumo. Takahashi Kiyoshi had finally earned enough cash to update his wardrobe to be more fitting for the climate of his new village. Now he was sporting: a pair of brown leather work boots; weathered blue jeans; a red and black, plaid flannel shirt; and a worn brown leather jacket with a built-in, grey cotton hood.
Kiyoshi’s hood was drawn over his head, and his hands tucked into his jacket pockets, the brows over his downcast eyes furrowed in deep thought. Ever since Airi had revealed to him that Demons were real, he hadn’t been able to get it off his mind. Could it be possible that all of the horror stories he’d heard in his youth were true? The appearance of the small, one-eyed goblin and the snake-necked lady had confirmed his fears; but the situation wasn’t that simple. Airi had told him that her father was a Kitsune, a mischievous fox-demon, which made her half-demon, herself.
Airi had been nothing but kind to him, and she had assured him her father’s demons were friendly enough; but Kiyoshi had doubts. Between the priests back at his small hometown in the valley and the horror stories his parent’s used to feed him, he’d only ever heard of demons being evil and malicious. There was even a whole sector of the Kumo Main Branch who specialized in hunting down dangerous creatures, to include those of the underworld; and all of the students had been warned against the dangers of allowing a demon to utilize them as a vessel. The life expectancy of a shinobi with the Jinchuuriki Kinjutsu was exceedingly short, and often ended in tragedy.
With this many questions in need of answers, there was only one place the Academy Student could go; the Bibliotheca Conscientiae. Climbing the mountainous marble steps in front of the building, Kiyoshi entered the refuge of the library. Turning down his rain-soaked hood , Kiyoshi approached the librarian at the receptionist’s desk.
“Hey. Where would a guy go to learn about demons?”
The librarian looked up from the pile of books she was marking “Returned” and eyed Kiyoshi up and down over the rim of her horn-rimmed, tortoise shell glasses. Her grey eyes, framed by fairly aggressive crows feet, seemed both bored and annoyed at having to do her job and interact with other human beings instead of being left alone with her books. Everything about her, from her steel-grey hair drawn into an overly-tight bun, to the tweed pantsuit and pursed, pencil-thin lips screamed disciplinarian, and her voice matched.
“Folklore is in Section G, third floor, north wing.” She said tersely, redirecting her attention to what she felt was more important work.
“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” Kiyoshi said, thrown off by her brusqueness. As Kiyoshi walked to the nearby elevator, the librarian checked he was out of earshot before reaching for the nearby phone and pressing one on her speed dial. It rang once before the line was picked up.
“We’ve got another student digging into things he’s not ready for, yet. Yeah… demons. I sent him to the right section, but you or someone from the Kaibutsu should probably talk to him… All right. Thank you.” Hanging up the phone with a light “click”, the librarian returned to her precious books.
*******
Kiyoshi sat at a table in a dusty, secluded portion of Sector G, a dozen or so books stacked all around him. The green-shaded lamp was the only light source in the area; the soft, amber glow of the wall sconce bulbs having burnt out months ago. The janitor always intended to get back to them, but never did. The table lamp illuminated the book Kiyoshi was currently reading, but left everything else in in the vicinity in hazy shadow that faded to darkness within a few feet.
Everything he had read had only verified his suspicions. There were multiple different types of demons from different planes of reality, and all of them had different strengths, abilities, and – most important for those trying to fight them – weaknesses. The most common types of demons could be held at bay by an unbroken line of salt, or could be framed in by properly drawn trapping seals or blessed, pure iron. However, some demons were so powerful, only extremely rare holy weapons could harm them.
What had been even more shocking to Kiyoshi than these discoveries was the revelation that demons weren’t the only supernatural monsters that weren’t fictional. Vampires, werewolves, sprites, skinwalkers, and other horrors that hadn’t even been named yet were not only real, but posed a real threat to the people of the world. All of the urban legends and folk stories he’d heard about and dismissed as phony legends suddenly didn’t seem so farfetched.
Pouring over the book in front of him, Kiyoshi didn’t even notice the person lurking in the shadows…
[WC: 913, MFT]
'Oh… really? Well in that case I'll be right over.' Maru clicked his very old Rotary Phone that stood on four small goblin legs, after hanging up the phone stood to attention then shuffled itself away then the yokai doing a cat stretch on his bed then got himself prepared to meet the child who was curious on the supernatural. It was always good that he had a good connection with the library since he gave the librarian a charitable donation after he broke through the roof of the library from being tossed, even more so was he grateful that he was apart of the Kaibutsu Hunters and since he was considered a Godslayer within the branch he was looked at as an expert in the subject of the supernatural. Letting a demon commander himself help in ridding rogue demons from the land all while keeping a few of the more innocent ones contained safely away from the public…. Though honestly he was just using the Kaibutsu hunters to help him gain more supernatural companions to aid him, after all his targets were the ones who wouldn't come with him easily. All nine of his tails gave him authority over Youkai, hence why it's almost always that there were always demons, goblins, and ghosts around when he is present. It comes with the Nurarihyon title he guessed. Arranging for his Oni to get his palanquin ready for his trip to the library, he decided to take along with him his elemental spirit Cold-Blooded and DANGER since they both more or less acted like his bodyguards. 
Maru taken off guard stopped, the eye holes in his mask stretched wide, then him and the elemental both looked at the vampire to see if something were wrong. The vampire now having their attention cleared her throat then pointed at the sleeping 'child' with an accusatory finger.