Plotlogs
Venom And Vows Sr Takeshi 250409
In Kyoto, an eclectic group of investigators, including Ritsuka, Emily, Raina, Lorenzo, and Lynette, embark on a haunting journey that weaves through the city's ancient streets and abandoned realms to uncover the supernatural threat that's been preying on the homeless. Pierced with mystery, their path leads them through the eerie remains of a construction site and into the unnerving depths of Sujaku Hozocho, uncovering clues of a dark presence lurking in the shadows.
In the desolate stretches of the construction site, amidst echoes of turmoil and the sinister oversight of invisible watchers, they encounter traces of powerful illusion magic. The site, charged with the whispers of the vanished and the despair of those remaining, reveals a story of fear, of a predator unseen, complex, weaving a reality of lies and terror. Ritsuka, with her innate senses, alongside Raina’s comforting presence, Lorenzo’s charm, and Lynette’s investigations, finds the first threads of their inquiry leading to a supernatural explanation for the disturbances troubling Kyoto’s forgotten spaces.
As they proceed, the investigation takes them to Sujaku Hozocho, a place caught between worlds, where the labyrinth of alleys holds secrets darker than the city would dare admit. Here, they find a homeless man stricken with an unnatural paralysis, fear etched into his eyes—a clear victim of the sinister forces at play. Through Raina’s questions and Ritsuka’s medical insights, combined with Lynette’s intuition and Lorenzo’s investigatory aids, they piece together the puzzle, revealing a creature steeped in myth: a Jorogumo, a spider yokai known for its cunning and for preying on humans.
The revelation strikes a chord of fear and resolve within the group. Raina, facing her arachnophobia, stands at the precipice of her courage. Meanwhile, Ritsuka, with her commanding presence, steers the team towards the confrontation, armed with the knowledge and clues gathered from the whispers of the city and its spectral sidelines.
Their journey, a tapestry of courage, fear, and collective resolve against the backdrop of Kyoto's intoxicating blend of the ancient and the hidden, concludes as they identify their adversary. The group's eclectic skills, from Ritsuka’s leadership and Raina's humanity to Lorenzo's charm and Lynette’s keen senses, knit together a story of modern-day ghost hunters navigating the thin veil between the known and the ethereal, ready to face the Jorogumo in a city that breathes mystery as much as it does life.
As Lorenzo celebrates their success in a manner as unconventional as their quest, they stand united, a testament to the strength found in diverse alliance against the shadows. The veneer of the everyday peels back to reveal the depth of narratives untold, of vows taken in the silent watch of venom and shadows—a story of venom and vows.
(Venom and Vows(SRTakeshi):SRTakeshi)
[Mon Apr 7 2025]
On Foothold in Kyoto
Tucked away in the winding backstreets of Kyoto, behind an unassuming wooden gate marked only by a single, weathered camellia crest, lies a foothold in Japan. The air is thick with the scent of incense and the cold outside, the silence broken only by the distant chime of temple bells or the occasional murmur of unseen watchers.
Beyond the entrance, the locations fits into the surroundings, traditional sliding doors conceal fortified chambers, and a garden disguises hidden pathways beneath its moss-covered stones. Paper lanterns cast flickering shadows against lacquered wood, their crimson glow reflecting in the eyes of those who may take a moment to watch.
Power flows like an unseen current beneath Kyoto's ancient streets. Only those who walk the path of along the Yokai may ever uncover this current.
It is about 50F(10C) degrees.
Emily glances at Ritsuka and keeps instinctively close to her, warily glancing at Raina, Lorenzo, and Lynette
The late evening casts long shadows over the west end of Kyoto, where the tourist-laden clamor of the central city thins into wide, open silence. Just beyond Umekoji Park, behind a half-hearted mesh of fencing and weather-faded signage reading Umekoji Redevelopment Project Authorized Personnel Only, the expansion site yawns like a scar upon the earth.
The place feels abandoned, or rather, pausedcaught mid-breath in the act of becoming. Steel girders and skeletal frames of half-built annexes stretch out under the indigo sky, their outlines jagged against the faint glow of the citys skyline. Tower cranes stand still, rust catching in their joints like old bones too stiff to move. The concrete underfoot is rough, littered with chalk-markings, broken tools, and the detritus of forgotten work. Pylons lean at angles that feel wrongaccidental, or perhaps deliberate in ways only madness would understand.
Theres the scent of old oil, rain-soaked wood, and ozoneKyoto's air always smells faintly of centuries.
The warning signs, once bold in red and white, have been sun-bleached to pink and rust. Someoneor somethinghas scratched shapes into the aluminum barriers, symbols that resist clear recognition no matter how long you stare.
A tattered construction tarp, whipping softly in the breeze, conceals the inner sector. Beyond it, the deeper grounds are dimly lit by emergency floodlightsmost of them flickering or dead. The farthest edges bleed into the wild fringe of Umekoji Park proper: overgrown hedges and unmown grass swallowing paths, where the parks manicured beauty gives way to wild shadows and the quiet hiss of cicadas too earlyor too latefor this season.
The hum of Kyoto Stations distant announcements feels muffled, as though the world here is wrapped in a veil. Your skin itches faintly at the base of your neck, that primal warning born from instincts older than citiesolder than reason.
There are signs of squatters living here. Old bedding beneath the overhang of a half-built wall. A shopping cart crammed with flattened PET bottles and rusted cookware. Newspaper makeshift insulation pinned up against the base of a site officenow just a hollow shell of windowless plywood. The kind of shelter used by those society stopped seeing. The kind who know how to listen when no one else will.
An old worker's locker, rust-eaten and dented, stands ajar beside a collapsed shed. Inside, scrawled in charcoal across the metal interior, is a phrase repeated over and over:
Theyre not homeless. Theyre hiding.
There are too many echoes here. Too many shadows that dont quite match their sources. The stillness isnt naturalits defensive. This site doesnt want to be found. Or worseit does.
This is where the rumors started. Where stories spilled from the mouths of the few who dared sleep too close to the exposed bones of progress. Stories that filtered out through murmured slurs, drunken warnings, and frantic, sleepless eyesstories the supernatural world cannot afford to let spread.
Youve come here with a job to do
Beyond the floodlights reach, the shadows stretch deeper, becoming less like the absence of light and more like things in their own rightdense, coiled, and patient. Some flicker when youre not looking at them directly. Others seem to edge closer each time you blink.
As you move further in, the temperature seems to drop, though theres no logical reason for it. Kyoto in early autumn carries a chill, but this is something else. Deeper. A cold that seeps not into your skin, but your thoughtsslowing them, dampening your focus. Like walking through the breath of something long dead.
At the heart of the site lies what should be the future visitor annex: a concrete slab foundation ringed with steel rebars, bent and rusting. A tarp has collapsed inward here, tented over a makeshift hovel cobbled together with plywood and scavenged signage. Someone has been living hererecently. The air inside smells of burnt plastic, fermented soy, and old blood. A ring of half-melted candles surrounds a pile of carefully stacked stones, each inscribed with characters in broken, unskilled brushstrokes. Some are kanji. Some aren't any language you recognize.
Theres a small paper talisman pinned to a support beam with a rusted nail. It flutters despite the stillness. Its ink is smeared, the protective script degraded into chaotic spirals. Around the base of the hovel are feathershundreds of them, matte black and slightly iridescent, strewn like shed skin. Not a single bird calls in the sky above.
In one corner, beneath an overturned wheelbarrow, lies a weather-beaten composition notebook. Its pages are wrinkled with water damage, but enough remain legible:
...they only whisper at night. When the lights flicker. They know who listens.
The concrete hums. It remembers the blood.
Not all of us are real anymore. Some walked in too deep.
I thought it was dreams. But I woke up holding her teeth.
They buried something under this site. Not bones. Not a shrine. Older.
He said he saw the lanterns walking without hands
The pages devolve into sketchescrude, frantic etchings of mouths with too many teeth, tunnels that spiral like nautilus shells, and faceless people kneeling before broken train tracks that vanish into the void.
There was a fire here. The fire was not recentbut not old enough for nature to reclaim. The inside smells of melted plastic and scorched metal. One corner appears to have been barricaded from the insidean effort made too late.
A scorched message is still visible on the inside wall, carved into the soot with someone's fingers:
We werent the first. We wont be the last.
From time to time, you spot small things that don't belongc
Having skipped the pleasantries this time, the group bring themselves straight to the second location, the description for which Ive prepared ahead of time and posted just before this one! On our last adventure, Ritsuka, and Lynette discovered that their creature was using some kind of magical silk to bind its prey to the ground, doing so to a friendly guard dog that they later found quite tragically unable to move, and unable to properly feed its self, slowly dying.
If the dog is to be saved, the yokai will need to be discovered, and studied. Clues for such lie within this location! The group will need to venture forwards, and find out what they can
"alright...i dont exactly have full context of what has transpired in this moment, does anyone mind catching me up to speed briefly?" Raina who just joined in to help Ritsuka and the others, may not exactly have any clue what they should truly be doing but she seems eager to help out, not to mention there are some unfamiliar faces here as well, with Emily and Lorenzo being two people she doesnt really know, taking a bow she introduces herself to the both of them "i am raina, it is good to meet the both of you, i hope we can work together well" Raina takes a bow and glancing at Lynette and Ritsuka briefly "so are we to help this being?" Raina asked them both.
Emily glances around again, scanning the surroundings nervously with her hands in her pockets and shoulders hunched, visibly uncomfortable and still keeping close to Ritsuka, from time to time giving the others glances that are no less nervous than the ones she is observing the area with.
Pathing does take up a different look this time, after getting Emily set up with whatever weapon she may need - and a backpack for it, Ritsuka starts the process of pathing. The golden foxfire has turned the color of a bluish black dark tide and it burns a rift into which to tread onto the path that stands surrounded by the empty branches of trees and the mist that resides perpetually there. And once through, they actually end up in a foothold that is located near their stronghold now, not at, but nearby in the residential area near the Fushimi Inari Taisha. Raina and Lynette may be accompanying her on this pathing, who knows? And even Lorenzo may, but then the place from which they path is a different one, outside the Tsubaki no Tetsu Headquarter. Next is a vehicle, and a drive towards one of the locations, and she does explain in English along the way.
"Homeless have been kidnapped. Perpetrator has been using some odd psychic strings. Wore a red dress, if my memory is not failing me. A female. The homeless from one of the locations identified her as a temptress or something like that. A dog is what we found strung up to the ground with those spiritual threads."
"do not worry, miss if you are wary about our situation at the moment, you are free to use me as a shield im quiet tough" Raina said to Emily noticing her wariness, though she cant exactly give her a reassurance that the mission itself would be safe, Raina can reduce the risk to Emily if needed "i see, sounds rather troubling, i will help with the best of my abilities" Raina listens to someone briefing of the situation and nods, atleast she has some context now.
"do not worry, miss if you are wary about our situation at the moment, you are free to use me as a shield im quiet tough" Raina said to Emily noticing her wariness, though she cant exactly give her a reassurance that the mission itself would be safe, Raina can reduce the risk to Emily if needed "i see, sounds rather troubling, i will help with the best of my abilities" Raina listens to Ritsuka briefing of the situation and nods, atleast she has some context now.
Lynette was busy sweeping her hair off her neck to tie into a ponytail. Walking around a dirty place like this make her feel a bit too exposed to the grime if she left it down. Her eyes flickering between the pair of unfamiliar faces. "Ritsuka, did you bring along more strays or something? Who are they?" Lynette insists, pointing to both Emily and Lorenzo. "Names and credit card information please."
At Ritsuka's words, Lynette glances down at her own red dress, rubbing the back of her neck realizing it might not have been the best woredore choice today. "So, we're looking for a woman who has a homeless man fetish? Gross.. what other leads do we have beside the dog or do we have to go about talking to them again?"
Lorenzo leans casually, weight on one leg at the edge of the encampment, an impish grin spreading across his face. "Name's Enzo," he announces to Raina. "Didnt think my mourning would have me in Kyoto's less glamorous parts?acting like the Mystery Machine gang, but with more spirits and less Scooby snacks." He winks playfully, adjusting his stance.
Everyone gathered together and ready to go on a yokai hunt, the wind howls through the empty, half constructed halls of the construction site. Getting onto the premises would be easy. Those who couldn't simply hop up and over the fence would have no difficulty at all cutting through it, and even if they considered such techniques too crude for their purposes, holes a plenty would be found pre cut.
As they approach the structure, voices could be heard, too faint and far off to be parsable. They echoed throughout the structure, coming from deep within, and amongst them also, a glow. A fire perhaps, and perhaps the people who might gather around a fire also.
Emily makes a dismissive gesture at Lynette's question and lowers her voice as they approach the voices and the glow. "Since when do strays have names or credit cards?", her voice is laced with sarcasm, her gaze follows the motions of the hands to the red dress.
"These are not strays. Enzo is here as part of creating better bonds with the Hand, I did not look at the file closely and do not care. Emily is a dear friend of mine and you will show her respect or I might switch out your makeup for similarly looking paint that makes you look disgusting." Ritsuka says, her tone leaning towards disinterested. "Raina. You go talk to them. Whomever else wants to accompany her can, and I recommend one of you at least does. I will take a look around. Climb somewhere, get an overview. See who is watching." She looks to Raina "If they look weary, tell them that you are an emissary of the Imperial family to resolve this problem. This is not a lie, today you are mine and I affiliate with them."
Raina looks at Lorenzo and smiled "it is good to meet you sir enzo, it does feel like scooby doo at times with how much investigating we go about at times, yes" Raina rubs her neck and they have arrived at another destination, there are people here, maybe they can try asking the people around if they do plan to search some clues, Raina then looks at Emily "hmm..." Raina still unsure what to make of her two new acquaintances, but they are a colorful, Raina gets her orders from Ritsuka, well she was planning to talk to them herself if no one did and nodded, walking ahead of the group for a moment and glancing back to see if anyone is going to follow her to group up with her.
Lorenzo lingers at the back of the group, his eyes scanning the darkened silhouettes of the abandoned construction site. With practiced nonchalance, he leans against a cold metal girder, his arms folded casually across his chest. The faint glow and distant voices draw murmurs from the group, but he stays silent, his sharp gaze darting from shadow to shadow. He watches the play of light and listens to the echoing whispers, his expression unreadable. Content to observe for now.
Emily silently moves closer to Raina to follow her, her intent clear from her posture and movements even though she does not put it into words.
Lynette shrugs. "I was checking if you had value is all," she hums to Emily before immediately flashing a wide grin towards Ritsuka. "I'll behave, don't worry. You can call me Muse, Emily. See? Besides, it's good to have more people about. I can even go with Raina if you'd like," she purrs helpfully, pulling out two strands of hair from her ponytail to frame her face. She trots off in Raina's direction, sending a little wave back to the rest of the group.
It wouldn't take long to locate the vagabonds that made this abandoned construction site their homes. Close to the center of the site. Where the main reception area would be if this building ever finished it's construction, a handful of men sat huddled around a moderately sized fire flickering out of an empty metal drum. They kept well clear of the walls, their little camp set up right in the center of the room, and time and time again they'd check warily over their shoulders.
One of them was sleeping, it seemed like, wrapped up in a large puffy sleeping bag. He was positioned closest to the drum, and the fire in it.
The rest huddled themselves as deeply into their thick coats as they could, conversation hanging low under their voices in quiet, wary, somber tones that didn't carry far enough to be properly understood, small drifts of white clouds escaping their mouths in the cold morning air.
Now with the others going ahead to speak, Ritsuka does not follow after them and instead starts to circle around the construction site, taking a look around the construction site. This building will have to best be broken down again, it is unsightly, untraditional, too large. Skyscrappers do not belong into Kyoto, they defile the natural order and its beauty. It will not be allowed to be taller than the Nidec. But she can work through this later and hunt down the fool in government who thought it a good idea to ever approve this defilement of Kyoto.
Raina, Emily and Lynette has arrived at where they need to be, Raina went slightly ahead of the group and started a conversation with the vagabonds, greeting them first "hello sirs, good morning if it doesnt trouble you all much may i ask some questions?" Raina shows no signs of wariness towards the vagabonds, she seems to be at ease around them, then again she is to extract information so making herself seem like a friendly fellow would help a little bit.
Emily whispers sarcastically towards Lynette as the trio continues, "Yeah, you could get a quick buck for a pint of my blood... that value enough for ya?" Other than that she keeps close to Raina and only glances at the homeless with her hands in her pockets.
Lorenzo finds a shadowed column, his eyes half-lidded but alert as he watches Raina approach the group around the fire. His expression is unreadable, a mask of indifference as the low murmur of conversation drifts through the chill air. He remains detached, observing the scene unfold without inserting himself into the dynamics. His presence is almost ghost-like, blending into the backdrop of the abandoned construction site with an ease that speaks of a predator watching, waiting, but not yet ready to reveal himself. His silence is as deliberate as his stillness, a choice in a moment filled with cautious whispers and wary glances.
Lynette smirks at Emily's reply, sliding her gaze towards the new girl. She's got a tongue on her, but not in a way that someone didn't enjoy. She lets Raina start the conversations since she's the most polite.
"Sounds like it'd be the most valuable inside you... although Ritsuka may require a bag of it here and there," her voice mutters softly to Emily.
Lynette smirks at Emily's reply, sliding her gaze towards the new girl. She's got a tongue on her, but not in a way that Lynette didn't enjoy. She lets Raina start the conversations since she's the most polite.
"Sounds like it'd be the most valuable inside you... although Ritsuka may require a bag of it here and there," her voice mutters softly to Emily.
I'll move forwards assuming all dialogue is being properly translated and distributed throughout the party.
The men look up warily as Raina , Emily , and Lynette approach. They scare concerned glances between themselves before the largest among them, a broad shouldered fellow with a beanie worn underneath the large bell hood of a blue-grey raincoat, speaks first. "[You'll come no further.]" The man says in Japanese as the party stand about ten feet out. "[You're not real. And we aren't playing these games anymore. You'll not have us.]" The man tells the group, sounding quite stern, even if he was quite afraid, as if he was willing to put up the full brunt of whatever meager resistance he might be all to offer if he were to be made to.
The other men in the group, about four in total, not counting the one asleep on the floor watch the interaction in similar fear and wariness, though despite that, their eyes constantly flick to the shadows, never leaving them unseen for more than a few moments.
Emily is poised to respond sharply to Lynette but her gaze gets caught by the movement in the shadows and she shudders as she whispers breathlessly: "Did ya see that too?!"
Raina stops and goes no further than a good few feet around the vagabonds, she gave a kind smile, "good sir, i am very much real, we are here to help so do not worry" Raina enters a disarming stance raising both of her hands and just wait for the vagabonds to drop their guard around her, she isnt using the imperial family card just yet, since she still sees there is a way to communicate with the vagabonds without resorting using authority first, she does want to get the info however so she is going to use the imperial family name next if this wont work out.
Raina didnt notice, she is also busy trying to get the vagabonds into a talking mood, so sadly she is unaware.
Lynette could tell from their tone that this group wasn't the most welcoming and Raina translating for us confirmed that suspicion. "Well something has the spooked badly. You do your best to soothe them Raina," Lynette encourges in the way that one might not find very supportive. Instead Lynette had her eyes glancing through their surroundings. "Hm... I'm not sure honestly. Maybe?" she mutters tapping on her lip as she boldly steps away from the group to check in the direction something flickered in. "Might as well do a check of our surroundings while Raina is busy. I forgot I don't speek Japanese," she sighs.
Ritsuka circles around, peering into the darkness. Her steps are light and she keeps away from the group and the conversation, as far as she may know, she might had been the one who was witnessed. She was, after all, someone who did have some knowing into being a little sneaky and discrete in her movements after all.
Ritsuka(Kitsune) lowers her upper body down and shifts. She was faster like this, after-all and rushes right on after it. Her vision in darkness was also better. Of course, as it is a bit of moving shadow, maybe it may hamper everyone else doing as they do, but that will be what will be.
Emily keeps glancing at the shadows and leaves Raina to speak with the homeless, apparently not understanding a word of what is said without translation. She walks the opposite direction of Lynette, glancing here and there at the shadows.
Lorenzo silently steps next to Raina, his gaze sweeping over the huddled vagabonds with an imperceptible sharpness. He leans slightly towards one of them, a whispered "May I?" barely audible as he locks eyes with a particularly wary individual. With a subtle intensity, he plants a compulsion, his voice soft but carrying an undercurrent of power, coaxing the man to be more receptive and forthcoming. As Raina continues her gentle persuasion, Lorenzo's influence weaves through the air, a silent but potent force aiming to lower barriers and ease the flow of information without overtly alarming their wary audience.
Ritsuka(Kitsune) rounds the corner in a flash! And ... Nothing. There's no hiding places either, nowhere whatever that thing was could have gone. No further corners, not so much as a rock to hide behind. Just a long, long empty hallway, and the faint lingering sound of a woman's playful laughter, barely audible on the air.
Making to sit, Ritsuka(Kitsune) kind of begins to realize what this likely was. There is a little yip, audible even to the others with the homeless but from one fox to another. She was no red fox, far from a Yako with red fur, but one of blackness, and it was a challenge, fox to fox.
As Lynette searches a dark alley, it just so happened to be the exact moment a rusty screw on a lamp-post came undone. The fixture tilts just so that it lights up the path Lynette walks.
The men all step back a bit, huddle together a little more, as Lorenzo, far more intimidating than the group of beautiful young women that had been talking before. But, that was an easily solved problem. Lorenzo was a social lubricant after all, and between Raina 's negotiations and Lorenzo slick support, the men would suddenly become far more cooperative.
"[Good lord, you're standing too close to the walls, get over here!]" The man would call to the group in a concerned voice, waving them over, even nervously shuffling his way to the with fast feed. A large meaty hand at the back of whoever was stand furthest to the rear, he'd try to gently shepherd them closer towards the fire and the group huddled around it. "[I thought you were just more false images, what are you doing here? This place is dangerous]" The man chides the group, sounding thoroughly worried. "[It'll make you see things.]" The man warns them, his eyes flickering to the shadows again "[Things that aren't real, that aren't actually there. In the shadows.]" He adds before the whole group looks over as Lynette walks on a path of light, seeming struck by the beauty of it, wondering how they could have ever suspected this group of being of malicious intent ...
Ritsuka returns into her human self, hands gliding over her dress to straighten it out and making sure it does not hang above her bum. It is coming up from her fours after all; but there was still a thought now that is there, and she lets out a loud giggle, might as well be a little naughty and give to the mischief that is blooming inside her chest. And then it goes back around, to looking, patrolling around and away from the group.
Raina gives her translation to the group, well mostly enzo who is right next to her, she then speaks up to the vagabonds "we are here to investigate on these false images, do not worry, we are quiet good at our jobs, so rest assured that these wont haunt you no more" Raina nods and gave the vagabonds a confident smile "we just need some questions answered then we will be on our way to see this problem fixed, so if you do not mind to indulge us on what is going on in this area and what have you seen?" Raina asked a basic question first no sense in going in deep if the vagabonds know nothing, Raina glances at Lorenzo for a moment and gave him a nod and a grin for his help, since her job got a lot more easier to do now.
Lorenzo gives Raina a knowing wink, as he slips on his aviators one more, after his hypnosis, and leaves the vagabonds more amenable to her inquiries. With a discreet step back, he gives Raina the space to continue, his presence a quiet shadow at her side, content to check out her ass with that ever familiar Obama approves face.
Emily returns from her little investigative walk that took her not more than a few paces away from the group into the shadows and stays a step away from Raina to not interrupt her parley. "All a load of nothing...", she whispers to Lorenzo, "Are ya hungry too?"
Lynette pauses, turning back to the group as Raina relays the frantic words of the homeless men. Still under the glow of the streetlight, she does take a step away from the the wall, yet her gaze remains vigilant. "They're seeing things they don't think are real in the shadows... well, that probably means they are real right? Supernatural shit always seems fake to normies," Lynette concludes, speaking freely since English wasn't the native language here.
Lorenzo tilts his head slightly, his smirk playing at the corners of his lips as he leans in close, his voice a low murmur just for Emily. "Darling, I'm always hungry, but right now Im on a -diet-?" Offering her a friendly wink.
As Raina, Lorenzo and Lynette interview the homeless that live here, they would learn a few interesting things. The first was that many, many more homeless used to live here, the second was that they'd been picked off one by one, wondering into shadows and never returning. And the third, which seemed the most pertinent, was that any time they were within these grounds, they would start to see things which weren't real. someone would recognize these mechanizations as ones similar to her own, but hers would pale in comparison. What the group would have discovered, without a doubt however, is that their culprit is capable of /powerful illusion magic/.
As Raina, Lorenzo and Lynette interview the homeless that live here, they would learn a few interesting things. The first was that many, many more homeless used to live here, the second was that they'd been picked off one by one, wondering into shadows and never returning. And the third, which seemed the most pertinent, was that any time they were within these grounds, they would start to see things which weren't real. Lynette would recognize these mechanizations as ones similar to her own, but hers would pale in comparison. What the group would have discovered, without a doubt however, is that their culprit is capable of /powerful illusion magic/.
With this information, the group would start to feel they'd /found all the clues in this area/.
Emily raises an eyebrow at Lorenzo and answers with an acerbic: "I bet ya are..." Her gaze darts to Raina's posterior for a brief moment before she clears her throat and glances over to Lynette. "Hey, how are you back again? I saw you out there runnin' from me...", she asserts, her voice a little hushed not to interfere with the talk between Raina and the homeless.
"thank you for the information then good sirs also...hmm" Raina rummages around her coat and pulled out a lot of onigiri, it seems like that was her lunch and likely dinner as well, actually it looks like she brought a lot probably to share with everyone but now she hands it to the homeless "please take this for now, i hope this will help you all, we shall go ahead and solve this problem and give you some ease of mind" Raina said to the vagabonds as she stood up and looks at Lorenzo, Emily and Lynette "we got what we need to know, it seems that this might be a bit more troublesome than expected, did you all have any insights as to what is going on, since from what i can see, we should really stick together in dark places if we dont want to be picked off by whatever being that is around here" Raina said to them in english.
Eventually, Ritsuka makes her way back to the others, brushing some of her black hair behind an ear. "Nothing around the proximity. Lets head to the third and last location, and then we can draw together what we have and make to arrest what is causing it. They really need to stop installing prototype machinery into the building. It is such a headache. All that new technology hidden inside these walls. It has scared a lot of people off at least so we can go on and proceed into destroying the construction site sometime." She, of course, says all of that in Japanese and loud enough to be heard by others. "The culprit stole one of the remotes. We got to handle that soon. No other way to play with the tech otherwise, and we can examine it at a laboratory better."
As the information is gathered Lynette scrunches her nose in consideration, catching the tail end of Raina's explaintions. "Perhaps I'm wrong, but this sounds like it might be illusionary magic," she mutters softly to the others. "Kinda like what I can do, but if it's full images it's more than I'm capable of," Lynette raises an eyebrow towards Emily. "Imagine me, running. Definitely an illusion," she dismissed just from the absurdity alone.
Lorenzo sticks a pinky in his ear, twists it once, twice, thrice, plucks it out, gives it a small whiff, and then wipes it off on a pant leg.
Lynette blinks at Ritsuka. "What? They don't know what I'm saying, I'm super discreet," she bats her eyes innocently.
Lynette says "How can I scare someone if they can't understand what I'm saying?"
SRTakeshi returns! Is everyone ready for the next location?
"miss muse...they might actually know what you are saying" Raina said in a whisper to her and bring Lynette close to her "so best that we dont take any chances okay" Raina said patting Lynette is back and then she said out loud in japanese "that is very troubling, we really should find the thief that stole the remote soon" backing up Ritsuka
Lorenzo takes a few steps back, fading into a supportive role, and providing backup, while checking out the gluteus maximus of the ladies from behind shaded eyes.
Along the drive to the next location, Ritsuka says what she probably has told a million times already, but this time to Lynette. Her patience is fragile, barely present as she simply demands from Lynette "You will abide by the required secrecy, Muse. If you talk about any of this in front of unawares again, I will enforce the Venetian treaty to the full extend on you and take the necessary measures to enforce it. And this counts for Takeshi, too. Do you understand?"
Just a few minutes walk southwest from the neon-lit sprawl of Kyoto Station, the world seems to fold in on itself.
Gone are the grand faades of hotels and commercial towers. Gone are the crowds, the chatter, the fluorescent dazzle. Here, the city peels back its surface like skin, revealing the forgotten webwork underneath. Sujaku Hozocho: a tightly-knit, half-hidden grid of narrow alleyways pressed between aging concrete buildings, sagging shuttered storefronts, and the skeletons of Showa-era dreams.
The street signs thin out. The map apps become unreliable. The deeper you move in, the more the citys logic seems to slip, gently, but unmistakably. These alleys werent designedthey grew, like roots in the cracks of something long dead. Each turn takes you further from the pulse of the living city and deeper into the whispering veins beneath it.
Above, power lines hang like tangled webbing between rusted poles, crisscrossing so densely in places that they block out the sky. The buildings are low, hunched together, as if theyre conspiring. Most of them are silenttiny apartments with cracked frosted windows, izakayas long since gone out of business, or empty kura-style warehouses, their doors sealed with more locks than necessary.
And yet, youre not alone.
You feel it immediately. That watched sensation, like breath on the back of your neck, as if the alley walls themselves lean a little closer when your back is turned.
Theres movement heresoft, subtle. The rustle of something shifting behind a pile of cardboard. A door creaking open without anyone there. A whisper you cant quite make outmaybe a radio in the distance, or maybe someone murmuring to themselves just out of sight.
The ground is uneven: patched asphalt, old brick, newer concrete poured carelessly over the old. Grates cover drains that reek of mildew and rain-soaked garbage. The scent of stale soy, mold, and smoke lingers in the air. You pass a narrow garden someones stubbornly maintainedpots of flowers half-choked by cigarette butts and weeds, a tiny shrine tucked into a corner wall, its offerings gone untouched.
Sujaku Hozocho isnt lawlessbut it is unobserved. Its the kind of place the city doesnt talk about. A pocket universe where the rules of civility are still present, but hollow. Its also where those without options end uppeople who fell through the cracks, or perhaps chose the cracks, because they were safer than the spotlight.
There are signs of life. Of presence. Cardboard bedding hidden beneath a blue tarp. A futon hung to dry over a railing that doesnt belong to anyone. The scent of instant noodles cooked over a makeshift burner. A small TV flickers in a first-floor window, casting blue static over the alley.
Graffiti crawls up the wallsat first, ordinary: tags, warnings, insults. But deeper in, the symbols change. Spirals. Eyes. Shapes that suggest meaning but defy translation. Some look freshly drawn. Others seem etched into the concrete itself, as though they'd been there before the wall.
The homeless here are quiet. Cautious. When you see them, its from afarsomeone watching from a shadowed alcove, another half-visible between the slats of a half-open door. No one speaks. No one approaches. But they see you.
Theyve seen others like you, maybe. Maybe recently. Maybe too recently.
Somewhere overhead, a shutter clatters in the wind. Or did it open?
You step into a forked intersection of three narrow paths. The streetlight above buzzes faintly and then dims, bathing everything in a dull amber haze. Down one alley, you see a vending machine blinking forlornly in the dark, stocked with drinks no one buys anymore. Down another, an old payphone hangs askew, receiver dangling like a limp hand.
In the middle of the intersection, painted in a fading red circle, are the kanji:
[Keep Out]
The paint flakes beneath your feet, worn down by timeor by passage.
Theres a corner where three walls meet that feels wrongnot cursed or visibly disturbed, just wrong. Like the angles dont add up. Like something waits there. You avoid it without meaning to.
As you walk, you begin to notice something else: the sound of your footsteps. They echo strangely. Sometimes too loud, sometimes not at all. The deeper you go, the more the city seems to lose depth. Distant soundstraffic, voices, trainsfade, replaced with a low, steady hum. Not electrical. Not mechanical. Something deeper. Like a breath. Like a lullaby sung by empty streets.
You pass a rusted metal door with a faded sticker:
The world ends quietly.
Behind it, you hear something moving. Slow. Deliberate. But it never opens.
Eventually, you come to a small courtyardmore like a dead-end where too many alleys tried to coexist. In its center is a collapsed bus stop shelter repurposed into a kind of shrine. Candlessome new, some half-meltedsurround a pile of old train tickets and cigarette boxes. At the top, propped upright, is a photo frame filled with newspaper clippings. Most are too water-damaged to read.
But one headline is still legible:
Mysterious Deaths Near Kyoto Station: No Suspects, No Cause.
A homeless man once lived here. A small tent still stands nearby. Inside, his belongings have been carefully packed into plastic boxeshis coat, his lighter, his books. All untouched. Waiting. And on the wall above his sleeping bag, someone has scrawled in perfect hiragana:
[Youre better off not knowing.]
Now, the rumors spread like funguswhispers of supernatural things lurking in the back alleys. The kind of stories no one believes until its too late.
Lorenzo let's out a low whistle as he adjusts his aviators.
"I think I like this place even less than the last one," Lynette mutters, disgust creeping over her features. "It's so dirty and abandoned. I've got like creeped out chills all over," she whines to the others.
There wasn't so much of a homeless colony here. They'd scattered. Smart. The group does manage to find one homeless without too much struggle, though. But he wasn't in good shape. Lying on the ground like he was trying to create snow angels in snow that wasn't there, the man lay on the ground still and cold as ice.
Dressed in a large, puffy, cotton coat, worker's pants, and with scuffed but holding together leather boots, the only motion coming from this man was the frantic skittering of his eyes, looking from place to place in a panic. His mouth hangs open, as if frozen in a scream, but no noise comes from him. At all.
"alright, best for me and miss muse to stick together tightly, since she and i arent really combatants, that said, we should start investigating this place before moving on" Raina said she looks like she is rather chill about being in places like this, though she is starting to look around her surrounding warily, with how ominous the place is
Raina approaches the homeless first, though she keeps her distance and looks at the mans face, looking if he is breathing or not before getting any closer, she isnt going to touch anyone that ominous looking until she is sure it isnt anything to worry about.
Ritsuka glances down to the man. Of course, she senses what is wrong with him quite quickly, if it s a weakness, physically, mentally, but her interest is not so present anymore and she just gestures to Raina again. "You go take a look, Raina." Her own eyes then do draw back to Emily and she approaches the other woman with light steps.
Lorenzo drops into a slavic squat next to the homl
Lynette stares at the man on the floor with a face of disgust. The shape of his mouth, the panicked darting of his eyes. It was hard to know what to make of it. Lynette tilts her head towards Lorenzo instead. "You. Come here and check his pulse," Lynette insists.
Lorenzo drops into a slavic squat next to the homeless man playing at making snow angel's and says in a very low baritone in a clear Italian accent,"Chi vive senza follia non e cosi saggio come crede."Before gingerly poking his cheek.
The man seems to recognize they're there, each of them would get direct eye contact. If a pulse was searched for, they'd find it, but it would be weak and subdued. Still, fearful as the man looks, the seems to remain incapable of responding at all to any of the people around him, not even able to talk ...
Lorenzo removes his aviators to snatch the man's gaze as he begins the mind probe and compulsions. His vibrant blues locking into a hypnotic fascination as he tries to imprint the impulse to speak of the horrors he's seen or to terrified to speak.
"sir i am going to ask you some questions all you need to do is nod or blink twice if you say yes, alright good" Raina knows there is no point in being nice to a person who looks like they are about to die so she is cutting right to the chase "can you move by yourself or no" Raina asked first "are you trying to scream" Raina next question "did you see anything weird or not" Raina other question and lastly "did you see anyone else near you when this happened?"
It seems that whatever was affecting the man, it wasn't some kind of issue of the mind. Lorenzo would be able to say quite confidently that if it had been, his hypnosis would have cured it. It, however, does not. Which would imply the issue was not a mental one.
The man looks over to Raina, he does not seem capable of nodding ... The first question remains unanswered. The second is answered by two blinks, the third by two blinks, the fourth remains unanswered ....
Lorenzo pushses his aviators firmly against his face with a digit at the bridge of his nose, chewing idly on his bottom lip in idle thought.
Emily gives Ritsuka a doubtful look and zips up her jacket, shivering a little while watching the group that remains. "How high is the chance we get out of this alive?", she asks flippantly, seemingly without expecting a response in return.
raises her hands along for a shrug to Emily and then moves on over to the man. "I believe he has been paralyzed, but I am not sure by what. Let me take a look, maybe he has some pinpricks somewhere, or a bite. Raina, can you see anything?" And then, Ritsuka does actually kneel down besides the man and actually does rely on her medical knowledge to give him a close look over.
Lorenzo uses this as an opportunity
"it is a bit inconclusive...but i think we might be onto our target now..." Raina said a bit less confident in her investigation, since the man couldnt talk so she can really only get very limited information out of him, Raina leaves it to Ritsuka on the medical check, it might even prove far more useful than her questions.
Lorenzo uses this as an opportunity to quietly begin looking about seeing if anything obvious stands out.
The ability to create magical silken strands that cannot be cut by mundane means. Powerful Illusory magic. Powerful paralytic venom, and more more clue Ritsuka has been given which she may yet share. All clues have been discovered, it's times to see if the heroes can guess the culprit ...
Lorenzo is in fact not a hero.
"I think I know what it may yet be." And then Ritsuka does glance around, telling Lynette "You had a sixth sense for it. Can you feel the strand, or do you run on empty, when you focus and feel?"
As Ritsuka considers the evidence at hand, it all clicks into place! A Jorogumo. It all lines up. Once the culprit is identified, an confirmatory investigation would be trivially simple. The bottom line, is, however ...
The adventure is a success!
Lorenzo throws up confetti.
"hmm...ritsuka sama, a jorogumo of all things...this sounds unpleasant" Raina has a great deal of fear of spiders as she whispers this to Ritsuka as to not let anyone else hear about the confirmation of supernatural beings "i really dislike spiders...no i genuinely fear them..."
In the desolate stretches of the construction site, amidst echoes of turmoil and the sinister oversight of invisible watchers, they encounter traces of powerful illusion magic. The site, charged with the whispers of the vanished and the despair of those remaining, reveals a story of fear, of a predator unseen, complex, weaving a reality of lies and terror. Ritsuka, with her innate senses, alongside Raina’s comforting presence, Lorenzo’s charm, and Lynette’s investigations, finds the first threads of their inquiry leading to a supernatural explanation for the disturbances troubling Kyoto’s forgotten spaces.
As they proceed, the investigation takes them to Sujaku Hozocho, a place caught between worlds, where the labyrinth of alleys holds secrets darker than the city would dare admit. Here, they find a homeless man stricken with an unnatural paralysis, fear etched into his eyes—a clear victim of the sinister forces at play. Through Raina’s questions and Ritsuka’s medical insights, combined with Lynette’s intuition and Lorenzo’s investigatory aids, they piece together the puzzle, revealing a creature steeped in myth: a Jorogumo, a spider yokai known for its cunning and for preying on humans.
The revelation strikes a chord of fear and resolve within the group. Raina, facing her arachnophobia, stands at the precipice of her courage. Meanwhile, Ritsuka, with her commanding presence, steers the team towards the confrontation, armed with the knowledge and clues gathered from the whispers of the city and its spectral sidelines.
Their journey, a tapestry of courage, fear, and collective resolve against the backdrop of Kyoto's intoxicating blend of the ancient and the hidden, concludes as they identify their adversary. The group's eclectic skills, from Ritsuka’s leadership and Raina's humanity to Lorenzo's charm and Lynette’s keen senses, knit together a story of modern-day ghost hunters navigating the thin veil between the known and the ethereal, ready to face the Jorogumo in a city that breathes mystery as much as it does life.
As Lorenzo celebrates their success in a manner as unconventional as their quest, they stand united, a testament to the strength found in diverse alliance against the shadows. The veneer of the everyday peels back to reveal the depth of narratives untold, of vows taken in the silent watch of venom and shadows—a story of venom and vows.
(Venom and Vows(SRTakeshi):SRTakeshi)
[Mon Apr 7 2025]
On Foothold in Kyoto
Tucked away in the winding backstreets of Kyoto, behind an unassuming wooden gate marked only by a single, weathered camellia crest, lies a foothold in Japan. The air is thick with the scent of incense and the cold outside, the silence broken only by the distant chime of temple bells or the occasional murmur of unseen watchers.
Beyond the entrance, the locations fits into the surroundings, traditional sliding doors conceal fortified chambers, and a garden disguises hidden pathways beneath its moss-covered stones. Paper lanterns cast flickering shadows against lacquered wood, their crimson glow reflecting in the eyes of those who may take a moment to watch.
Power flows like an unseen current beneath Kyoto's ancient streets. Only those who walk the path of along the Yokai may ever uncover this current.
It is about 50F(10C) degrees.
Emily glances at Ritsuka and keeps instinctively close to her, warily glancing at Raina, Lorenzo, and Lynette
The late evening casts long shadows over the west end of Kyoto, where the tourist-laden clamor of the central city thins into wide, open silence. Just beyond Umekoji Park, behind a half-hearted mesh of fencing and weather-faded signage reading Umekoji Redevelopment Project Authorized Personnel Only, the expansion site yawns like a scar upon the earth.
The place feels abandoned, or rather, pausedcaught mid-breath in the act of becoming. Steel girders and skeletal frames of half-built annexes stretch out under the indigo sky, their outlines jagged against the faint glow of the citys skyline. Tower cranes stand still, rust catching in their joints like old bones too stiff to move. The concrete underfoot is rough, littered with chalk-markings, broken tools, and the detritus of forgotten work. Pylons lean at angles that feel wrongaccidental, or perhaps deliberate in ways only madness would understand.
Theres the scent of old oil, rain-soaked wood, and ozoneKyoto's air always smells faintly of centuries.
The warning signs, once bold in red and white, have been sun-bleached to pink and rust. Someoneor somethinghas scratched shapes into the aluminum barriers, symbols that resist clear recognition no matter how long you stare.
A tattered construction tarp, whipping softly in the breeze, conceals the inner sector. Beyond it, the deeper grounds are dimly lit by emergency floodlightsmost of them flickering or dead. The farthest edges bleed into the wild fringe of Umekoji Park proper: overgrown hedges and unmown grass swallowing paths, where the parks manicured beauty gives way to wild shadows and the quiet hiss of cicadas too earlyor too latefor this season.
The hum of Kyoto Stations distant announcements feels muffled, as though the world here is wrapped in a veil. Your skin itches faintly at the base of your neck, that primal warning born from instincts older than citiesolder than reason.
There are signs of squatters living here. Old bedding beneath the overhang of a half-built wall. A shopping cart crammed with flattened PET bottles and rusted cookware. Newspaper makeshift insulation pinned up against the base of a site officenow just a hollow shell of windowless plywood. The kind of shelter used by those society stopped seeing. The kind who know how to listen when no one else will.
An old worker's locker, rust-eaten and dented, stands ajar beside a collapsed shed. Inside, scrawled in charcoal across the metal interior, is a phrase repeated over and over:
Theyre not homeless. Theyre hiding.
There are too many echoes here. Too many shadows that dont quite match their sources. The stillness isnt naturalits defensive. This site doesnt want to be found. Or worseit does.
This is where the rumors started. Where stories spilled from the mouths of the few who dared sleep too close to the exposed bones of progress. Stories that filtered out through murmured slurs, drunken warnings, and frantic, sleepless eyesstories the supernatural world cannot afford to let spread.
Youve come here with a job to do
Beyond the floodlights reach, the shadows stretch deeper, becoming less like the absence of light and more like things in their own rightdense, coiled, and patient. Some flicker when youre not looking at them directly. Others seem to edge closer each time you blink.
As you move further in, the temperature seems to drop, though theres no logical reason for it. Kyoto in early autumn carries a chill, but this is something else. Deeper. A cold that seeps not into your skin, but your thoughtsslowing them, dampening your focus. Like walking through the breath of something long dead.
At the heart of the site lies what should be the future visitor annex: a concrete slab foundation ringed with steel rebars, bent and rusting. A tarp has collapsed inward here, tented over a makeshift hovel cobbled together with plywood and scavenged signage. Someone has been living hererecently. The air inside smells of burnt plastic, fermented soy, and old blood. A ring of half-melted candles surrounds a pile of carefully stacked stones, each inscribed with characters in broken, unskilled brushstrokes. Some are kanji. Some aren't any language you recognize.
Theres a small paper talisman pinned to a support beam with a rusted nail. It flutters despite the stillness. Its ink is smeared, the protective script degraded into chaotic spirals. Around the base of the hovel are feathershundreds of them, matte black and slightly iridescent, strewn like shed skin. Not a single bird calls in the sky above.
In one corner, beneath an overturned wheelbarrow, lies a weather-beaten composition notebook. Its pages are wrinkled with water damage, but enough remain legible:
...they only whisper at night. When the lights flicker. They know who listens.
The concrete hums. It remembers the blood.
Not all of us are real anymore. Some walked in too deep.
I thought it was dreams. But I woke up holding her teeth.
They buried something under this site. Not bones. Not a shrine. Older.
He said he saw the lanterns walking without hands
The pages devolve into sketchescrude, frantic etchings of mouths with too many teeth, tunnels that spiral like nautilus shells, and faceless people kneeling before broken train tracks that vanish into the void.
There was a fire here. The fire was not recentbut not old enough for nature to reclaim. The inside smells of melted plastic and scorched metal. One corner appears to have been barricaded from the insidean effort made too late.
A scorched message is still visible on the inside wall, carved into the soot with someone's fingers:
We werent the first. We wont be the last.
From time to time, you spot small things that don't belongc
Having skipped the pleasantries this time, the group bring themselves straight to the second location, the description for which Ive prepared ahead of time and posted just before this one! On our last adventure, Ritsuka, and Lynette discovered that their creature was using some kind of magical silk to bind its prey to the ground, doing so to a friendly guard dog that they later found quite tragically unable to move, and unable to properly feed its self, slowly dying.
If the dog is to be saved, the yokai will need to be discovered, and studied. Clues for such lie within this location! The group will need to venture forwards, and find out what they can
"alright...i dont exactly have full context of what has transpired in this moment, does anyone mind catching me up to speed briefly?" Raina who just joined in to help Ritsuka and the others, may not exactly have any clue what they should truly be doing but she seems eager to help out, not to mention there are some unfamiliar faces here as well, with Emily and Lorenzo being two people she doesnt really know, taking a bow she introduces herself to the both of them "i am raina, it is good to meet the both of you, i hope we can work together well" Raina takes a bow and glancing at Lynette and Ritsuka briefly "so are we to help this being?" Raina asked them both.
Emily glances around again, scanning the surroundings nervously with her hands in her pockets and shoulders hunched, visibly uncomfortable and still keeping close to Ritsuka, from time to time giving the others glances that are no less nervous than the ones she is observing the area with.
Pathing does take up a different look this time, after getting Emily set up with whatever weapon she may need - and a backpack for it, Ritsuka starts the process of pathing. The golden foxfire has turned the color of a bluish black dark tide and it burns a rift into which to tread onto the path that stands surrounded by the empty branches of trees and the mist that resides perpetually there. And once through, they actually end up in a foothold that is located near their stronghold now, not at, but nearby in the residential area near the Fushimi Inari Taisha. Raina and Lynette may be accompanying her on this pathing, who knows? And even Lorenzo may, but then the place from which they path is a different one, outside the Tsubaki no Tetsu Headquarter. Next is a vehicle, and a drive towards one of the locations, and she does explain in English along the way.
"Homeless have been kidnapped. Perpetrator has been using some odd psychic strings. Wore a red dress, if my memory is not failing me. A female. The homeless from one of the locations identified her as a temptress or something like that. A dog is what we found strung up to the ground with those spiritual threads."
"do not worry, miss if you are wary about our situation at the moment, you are free to use me as a shield im quiet tough" Raina said to Emily noticing her wariness, though she cant exactly give her a reassurance that the mission itself would be safe, Raina can reduce the risk to Emily if needed "i see, sounds rather troubling, i will help with the best of my abilities" Raina listens to someone briefing of the situation and nods, atleast she has some context now.
"do not worry, miss if you are wary about our situation at the moment, you are free to use me as a shield im quiet tough" Raina said to Emily noticing her wariness, though she cant exactly give her a reassurance that the mission itself would be safe, Raina can reduce the risk to Emily if needed "i see, sounds rather troubling, i will help with the best of my abilities" Raina listens to Ritsuka briefing of the situation and nods, atleast she has some context now.
Lynette was busy sweeping her hair off her neck to tie into a ponytail. Walking around a dirty place like this make her feel a bit too exposed to the grime if she left it down. Her eyes flickering between the pair of unfamiliar faces. "Ritsuka, did you bring along more strays or something? Who are they?" Lynette insists, pointing to both Emily and Lorenzo. "Names and credit card information please."
At Ritsuka's words, Lynette glances down at her own red dress, rubbing the back of her neck realizing it might not have been the best woredore choice today. "So, we're looking for a woman who has a homeless man fetish? Gross.. what other leads do we have beside the dog or do we have to go about talking to them again?"
Lorenzo leans casually, weight on one leg at the edge of the encampment, an impish grin spreading across his face. "Name's Enzo," he announces to Raina. "Didnt think my mourning would have me in Kyoto's less glamorous parts?acting like the Mystery Machine gang, but with more spirits and less Scooby snacks." He winks playfully, adjusting his stance.
Everyone gathered together and ready to go on a yokai hunt, the wind howls through the empty, half constructed halls of the construction site. Getting onto the premises would be easy. Those who couldn't simply hop up and over the fence would have no difficulty at all cutting through it, and even if they considered such techniques too crude for their purposes, holes a plenty would be found pre cut.
As they approach the structure, voices could be heard, too faint and far off to be parsable. They echoed throughout the structure, coming from deep within, and amongst them also, a glow. A fire perhaps, and perhaps the people who might gather around a fire also.
Emily makes a dismissive gesture at Lynette's question and lowers her voice as they approach the voices and the glow. "Since when do strays have names or credit cards?", her voice is laced with sarcasm, her gaze follows the motions of the hands to the red dress.
"These are not strays. Enzo is here as part of creating better bonds with the Hand, I did not look at the file closely and do not care. Emily is a dear friend of mine and you will show her respect or I might switch out your makeup for similarly looking paint that makes you look disgusting." Ritsuka says, her tone leaning towards disinterested. "Raina. You go talk to them. Whomever else wants to accompany her can, and I recommend one of you at least does. I will take a look around. Climb somewhere, get an overview. See who is watching." She looks to Raina "If they look weary, tell them that you are an emissary of the Imperial family to resolve this problem. This is not a lie, today you are mine and I affiliate with them."
Raina looks at Lorenzo and smiled "it is good to meet you sir enzo, it does feel like scooby doo at times with how much investigating we go about at times, yes" Raina rubs her neck and they have arrived at another destination, there are people here, maybe they can try asking the people around if they do plan to search some clues, Raina then looks at Emily "hmm..." Raina still unsure what to make of her two new acquaintances, but they are a colorful, Raina gets her orders from Ritsuka, well she was planning to talk to them herself if no one did and nodded, walking ahead of the group for a moment and glancing back to see if anyone is going to follow her to group up with her.
Lorenzo lingers at the back of the group, his eyes scanning the darkened silhouettes of the abandoned construction site. With practiced nonchalance, he leans against a cold metal girder, his arms folded casually across his chest. The faint glow and distant voices draw murmurs from the group, but he stays silent, his sharp gaze darting from shadow to shadow. He watches the play of light and listens to the echoing whispers, his expression unreadable. Content to observe for now.
Emily silently moves closer to Raina to follow her, her intent clear from her posture and movements even though she does not put it into words.
Lynette shrugs. "I was checking if you had value is all," she hums to Emily before immediately flashing a wide grin towards Ritsuka. "I'll behave, don't worry. You can call me Muse, Emily. See? Besides, it's good to have more people about. I can even go with Raina if you'd like," she purrs helpfully, pulling out two strands of hair from her ponytail to frame her face. She trots off in Raina's direction, sending a little wave back to the rest of the group.
It wouldn't take long to locate the vagabonds that made this abandoned construction site their homes. Close to the center of the site. Where the main reception area would be if this building ever finished it's construction, a handful of men sat huddled around a moderately sized fire flickering out of an empty metal drum. They kept well clear of the walls, their little camp set up right in the center of the room, and time and time again they'd check warily over their shoulders.
One of them was sleeping, it seemed like, wrapped up in a large puffy sleeping bag. He was positioned closest to the drum, and the fire in it.
The rest huddled themselves as deeply into their thick coats as they could, conversation hanging low under their voices in quiet, wary, somber tones that didn't carry far enough to be properly understood, small drifts of white clouds escaping their mouths in the cold morning air.
Now with the others going ahead to speak, Ritsuka does not follow after them and instead starts to circle around the construction site, taking a look around the construction site. This building will have to best be broken down again, it is unsightly, untraditional, too large. Skyscrappers do not belong into Kyoto, they defile the natural order and its beauty. It will not be allowed to be taller than the Nidec. But she can work through this later and hunt down the fool in government who thought it a good idea to ever approve this defilement of Kyoto.
Raina, Emily and Lynette has arrived at where they need to be, Raina went slightly ahead of the group and started a conversation with the vagabonds, greeting them first "hello sirs, good morning if it doesnt trouble you all much may i ask some questions?" Raina shows no signs of wariness towards the vagabonds, she seems to be at ease around them, then again she is to extract information so making herself seem like a friendly fellow would help a little bit.
Emily whispers sarcastically towards Lynette as the trio continues, "Yeah, you could get a quick buck for a pint of my blood... that value enough for ya?" Other than that she keeps close to Raina and only glances at the homeless with her hands in her pockets.
Lorenzo finds a shadowed column, his eyes half-lidded but alert as he watches Raina approach the group around the fire. His expression is unreadable, a mask of indifference as the low murmur of conversation drifts through the chill air. He remains detached, observing the scene unfold without inserting himself into the dynamics. His presence is almost ghost-like, blending into the backdrop of the abandoned construction site with an ease that speaks of a predator watching, waiting, but not yet ready to reveal himself. His silence is as deliberate as his stillness, a choice in a moment filled with cautious whispers and wary glances.
Lynette smirks at Emily's reply, sliding her gaze towards the new girl. She's got a tongue on her, but not in a way that someone didn't enjoy. She lets Raina start the conversations since she's the most polite.
"Sounds like it'd be the most valuable inside you... although Ritsuka may require a bag of it here and there," her voice mutters softly to Emily.
Lynette smirks at Emily's reply, sliding her gaze towards the new girl. She's got a tongue on her, but not in a way that Lynette didn't enjoy. She lets Raina start the conversations since she's the most polite.
"Sounds like it'd be the most valuable inside you... although Ritsuka may require a bag of it here and there," her voice mutters softly to Emily.
I'll move forwards assuming all dialogue is being properly translated and distributed throughout the party.
The men look up warily as Raina , Emily , and Lynette approach. They scare concerned glances between themselves before the largest among them, a broad shouldered fellow with a beanie worn underneath the large bell hood of a blue-grey raincoat, speaks first. "[You'll come no further.]" The man says in Japanese as the party stand about ten feet out. "[You're not real. And we aren't playing these games anymore. You'll not have us.]" The man tells the group, sounding quite stern, even if he was quite afraid, as if he was willing to put up the full brunt of whatever meager resistance he might be all to offer if he were to be made to.
The other men in the group, about four in total, not counting the one asleep on the floor watch the interaction in similar fear and wariness, though despite that, their eyes constantly flick to the shadows, never leaving them unseen for more than a few moments.
Emily is poised to respond sharply to Lynette but her gaze gets caught by the movement in the shadows and she shudders as she whispers breathlessly: "Did ya see that too?!"
Raina stops and goes no further than a good few feet around the vagabonds, she gave a kind smile, "good sir, i am very much real, we are here to help so do not worry" Raina enters a disarming stance raising both of her hands and just wait for the vagabonds to drop their guard around her, she isnt using the imperial family card just yet, since she still sees there is a way to communicate with the vagabonds without resorting using authority first, she does want to get the info however so she is going to use the imperial family name next if this wont work out.
Raina didnt notice, she is also busy trying to get the vagabonds into a talking mood, so sadly she is unaware.
Lynette could tell from their tone that this group wasn't the most welcoming and Raina translating for us confirmed that suspicion. "Well something has the spooked badly. You do your best to soothe them Raina," Lynette encourges in the way that one might not find very supportive. Instead Lynette had her eyes glancing through their surroundings. "Hm... I'm not sure honestly. Maybe?" she mutters tapping on her lip as she boldly steps away from the group to check in the direction something flickered in. "Might as well do a check of our surroundings while Raina is busy. I forgot I don't speek Japanese," she sighs.
Ritsuka circles around, peering into the darkness. Her steps are light and she keeps away from the group and the conversation, as far as she may know, she might had been the one who was witnessed. She was, after all, someone who did have some knowing into being a little sneaky and discrete in her movements after all.
Ritsuka(Kitsune) lowers her upper body down and shifts. She was faster like this, after-all and rushes right on after it. Her vision in darkness was also better. Of course, as it is a bit of moving shadow, maybe it may hamper everyone else doing as they do, but that will be what will be.
Emily keeps glancing at the shadows and leaves Raina to speak with the homeless, apparently not understanding a word of what is said without translation. She walks the opposite direction of Lynette, glancing here and there at the shadows.
Lorenzo silently steps next to Raina, his gaze sweeping over the huddled vagabonds with an imperceptible sharpness. He leans slightly towards one of them, a whispered "May I?" barely audible as he locks eyes with a particularly wary individual. With a subtle intensity, he plants a compulsion, his voice soft but carrying an undercurrent of power, coaxing the man to be more receptive and forthcoming. As Raina continues her gentle persuasion, Lorenzo's influence weaves through the air, a silent but potent force aiming to lower barriers and ease the flow of information without overtly alarming their wary audience.
Ritsuka(Kitsune) rounds the corner in a flash! And ... Nothing. There's no hiding places either, nowhere whatever that thing was could have gone. No further corners, not so much as a rock to hide behind. Just a long, long empty hallway, and the faint lingering sound of a woman's playful laughter, barely audible on the air.
Making to sit, Ritsuka(Kitsune) kind of begins to realize what this likely was. There is a little yip, audible even to the others with the homeless but from one fox to another. She was no red fox, far from a Yako with red fur, but one of blackness, and it was a challenge, fox to fox.
As Lynette searches a dark alley, it just so happened to be the exact moment a rusty screw on a lamp-post came undone. The fixture tilts just so that it lights up the path Lynette walks.
The men all step back a bit, huddle together a little more, as Lorenzo, far more intimidating than the group of beautiful young women that had been talking before. But, that was an easily solved problem. Lorenzo was a social lubricant after all, and between Raina 's negotiations and Lorenzo slick support, the men would suddenly become far more cooperative.
"[Good lord, you're standing too close to the walls, get over here!]" The man would call to the group in a concerned voice, waving them over, even nervously shuffling his way to the with fast feed. A large meaty hand at the back of whoever was stand furthest to the rear, he'd try to gently shepherd them closer towards the fire and the group huddled around it. "[I thought you were just more false images, what are you doing here? This place is dangerous]" The man chides the group, sounding thoroughly worried. "[It'll make you see things.]" The man warns them, his eyes flickering to the shadows again "[Things that aren't real, that aren't actually there. In the shadows.]" He adds before the whole group looks over as Lynette walks on a path of light, seeming struck by the beauty of it, wondering how they could have ever suspected this group of being of malicious intent ...
Ritsuka returns into her human self, hands gliding over her dress to straighten it out and making sure it does not hang above her bum. It is coming up from her fours after all; but there was still a thought now that is there, and she lets out a loud giggle, might as well be a little naughty and give to the mischief that is blooming inside her chest. And then it goes back around, to looking, patrolling around and away from the group.
Raina gives her translation to the group, well mostly enzo who is right next to her, she then speaks up to the vagabonds "we are here to investigate on these false images, do not worry, we are quiet good at our jobs, so rest assured that these wont haunt you no more" Raina nods and gave the vagabonds a confident smile "we just need some questions answered then we will be on our way to see this problem fixed, so if you do not mind to indulge us on what is going on in this area and what have you seen?" Raina asked a basic question first no sense in going in deep if the vagabonds know nothing, Raina glances at Lorenzo for a moment and gave him a nod and a grin for his help, since her job got a lot more easier to do now.
Lorenzo gives Raina a knowing wink, as he slips on his aviators one more, after his hypnosis, and leaves the vagabonds more amenable to her inquiries. With a discreet step back, he gives Raina the space to continue, his presence a quiet shadow at her side, content to check out her ass with that ever familiar Obama approves face.
Emily returns from her little investigative walk that took her not more than a few paces away from the group into the shadows and stays a step away from Raina to not interrupt her parley. "All a load of nothing...", she whispers to Lorenzo, "Are ya hungry too?"
Lynette pauses, turning back to the group as Raina relays the frantic words of the homeless men. Still under the glow of the streetlight, she does take a step away from the the wall, yet her gaze remains vigilant. "They're seeing things they don't think are real in the shadows... well, that probably means they are real right? Supernatural shit always seems fake to normies," Lynette concludes, speaking freely since English wasn't the native language here.
Lorenzo tilts his head slightly, his smirk playing at the corners of his lips as he leans in close, his voice a low murmur just for Emily. "Darling, I'm always hungry, but right now Im on a -diet-?" Offering her a friendly wink.
As Raina, Lorenzo and Lynette interview the homeless that live here, they would learn a few interesting things. The first was that many, many more homeless used to live here, the second was that they'd been picked off one by one, wondering into shadows and never returning. And the third, which seemed the most pertinent, was that any time they were within these grounds, they would start to see things which weren't real. someone would recognize these mechanizations as ones similar to her own, but hers would pale in comparison. What the group would have discovered, without a doubt however, is that their culprit is capable of /powerful illusion magic/.
As Raina, Lorenzo and Lynette interview the homeless that live here, they would learn a few interesting things. The first was that many, many more homeless used to live here, the second was that they'd been picked off one by one, wondering into shadows and never returning. And the third, which seemed the most pertinent, was that any time they were within these grounds, they would start to see things which weren't real. Lynette would recognize these mechanizations as ones similar to her own, but hers would pale in comparison. What the group would have discovered, without a doubt however, is that their culprit is capable of /powerful illusion magic/.
With this information, the group would start to feel they'd /found all the clues in this area/.
Emily raises an eyebrow at Lorenzo and answers with an acerbic: "I bet ya are..." Her gaze darts to Raina's posterior for a brief moment before she clears her throat and glances over to Lynette. "Hey, how are you back again? I saw you out there runnin' from me...", she asserts, her voice a little hushed not to interfere with the talk between Raina and the homeless.
"thank you for the information then good sirs also...hmm" Raina rummages around her coat and pulled out a lot of onigiri, it seems like that was her lunch and likely dinner as well, actually it looks like she brought a lot probably to share with everyone but now she hands it to the homeless "please take this for now, i hope this will help you all, we shall go ahead and solve this problem and give you some ease of mind" Raina said to the vagabonds as she stood up and looks at Lorenzo, Emily and Lynette "we got what we need to know, it seems that this might be a bit more troublesome than expected, did you all have any insights as to what is going on, since from what i can see, we should really stick together in dark places if we dont want to be picked off by whatever being that is around here" Raina said to them in english.
Eventually, Ritsuka makes her way back to the others, brushing some of her black hair behind an ear. "Nothing around the proximity. Lets head to the third and last location, and then we can draw together what we have and make to arrest what is causing it. They really need to stop installing prototype machinery into the building. It is such a headache. All that new technology hidden inside these walls. It has scared a lot of people off at least so we can go on and proceed into destroying the construction site sometime." She, of course, says all of that in Japanese and loud enough to be heard by others. "The culprit stole one of the remotes. We got to handle that soon. No other way to play with the tech otherwise, and we can examine it at a laboratory better."
As the information is gathered Lynette scrunches her nose in consideration, catching the tail end of Raina's explaintions. "Perhaps I'm wrong, but this sounds like it might be illusionary magic," she mutters softly to the others. "Kinda like what I can do, but if it's full images it's more than I'm capable of," Lynette raises an eyebrow towards Emily. "Imagine me, running. Definitely an illusion," she dismissed just from the absurdity alone.
Lorenzo sticks a pinky in his ear, twists it once, twice, thrice, plucks it out, gives it a small whiff, and then wipes it off on a pant leg.
Lynette blinks at Ritsuka. "What? They don't know what I'm saying, I'm super discreet," she bats her eyes innocently.
Lynette says "How can I scare someone if they can't understand what I'm saying?"
SRTakeshi returns! Is everyone ready for the next location?
"miss muse...they might actually know what you are saying" Raina said in a whisper to her and bring Lynette close to her "so best that we dont take any chances okay" Raina said patting Lynette is back and then she said out loud in japanese "that is very troubling, we really should find the thief that stole the remote soon" backing up Ritsuka
Lorenzo takes a few steps back, fading into a supportive role, and providing backup, while checking out the gluteus maximus of the ladies from behind shaded eyes.
Along the drive to the next location, Ritsuka says what she probably has told a million times already, but this time to Lynette. Her patience is fragile, barely present as she simply demands from Lynette "You will abide by the required secrecy, Muse. If you talk about any of this in front of unawares again, I will enforce the Venetian treaty to the full extend on you and take the necessary measures to enforce it. And this counts for Takeshi, too. Do you understand?"
Just a few minutes walk southwest from the neon-lit sprawl of Kyoto Station, the world seems to fold in on itself.
Gone are the grand faades of hotels and commercial towers. Gone are the crowds, the chatter, the fluorescent dazzle. Here, the city peels back its surface like skin, revealing the forgotten webwork underneath. Sujaku Hozocho: a tightly-knit, half-hidden grid of narrow alleyways pressed between aging concrete buildings, sagging shuttered storefronts, and the skeletons of Showa-era dreams.
The street signs thin out. The map apps become unreliable. The deeper you move in, the more the citys logic seems to slip, gently, but unmistakably. These alleys werent designedthey grew, like roots in the cracks of something long dead. Each turn takes you further from the pulse of the living city and deeper into the whispering veins beneath it.
Above, power lines hang like tangled webbing between rusted poles, crisscrossing so densely in places that they block out the sky. The buildings are low, hunched together, as if theyre conspiring. Most of them are silenttiny apartments with cracked frosted windows, izakayas long since gone out of business, or empty kura-style warehouses, their doors sealed with more locks than necessary.
And yet, youre not alone.
You feel it immediately. That watched sensation, like breath on the back of your neck, as if the alley walls themselves lean a little closer when your back is turned.
Theres movement heresoft, subtle. The rustle of something shifting behind a pile of cardboard. A door creaking open without anyone there. A whisper you cant quite make outmaybe a radio in the distance, or maybe someone murmuring to themselves just out of sight.
The ground is uneven: patched asphalt, old brick, newer concrete poured carelessly over the old. Grates cover drains that reek of mildew and rain-soaked garbage. The scent of stale soy, mold, and smoke lingers in the air. You pass a narrow garden someones stubbornly maintainedpots of flowers half-choked by cigarette butts and weeds, a tiny shrine tucked into a corner wall, its offerings gone untouched.
Sujaku Hozocho isnt lawlessbut it is unobserved. Its the kind of place the city doesnt talk about. A pocket universe where the rules of civility are still present, but hollow. Its also where those without options end uppeople who fell through the cracks, or perhaps chose the cracks, because they were safer than the spotlight.
There are signs of life. Of presence. Cardboard bedding hidden beneath a blue tarp. A futon hung to dry over a railing that doesnt belong to anyone. The scent of instant noodles cooked over a makeshift burner. A small TV flickers in a first-floor window, casting blue static over the alley.
Graffiti crawls up the wallsat first, ordinary: tags, warnings, insults. But deeper in, the symbols change. Spirals. Eyes. Shapes that suggest meaning but defy translation. Some look freshly drawn. Others seem etched into the concrete itself, as though they'd been there before the wall.
The homeless here are quiet. Cautious. When you see them, its from afarsomeone watching from a shadowed alcove, another half-visible between the slats of a half-open door. No one speaks. No one approaches. But they see you.
Theyve seen others like you, maybe. Maybe recently. Maybe too recently.
Somewhere overhead, a shutter clatters in the wind. Or did it open?
You step into a forked intersection of three narrow paths. The streetlight above buzzes faintly and then dims, bathing everything in a dull amber haze. Down one alley, you see a vending machine blinking forlornly in the dark, stocked with drinks no one buys anymore. Down another, an old payphone hangs askew, receiver dangling like a limp hand.
In the middle of the intersection, painted in a fading red circle, are the kanji:
[Keep Out]
The paint flakes beneath your feet, worn down by timeor by passage.
Theres a corner where three walls meet that feels wrongnot cursed or visibly disturbed, just wrong. Like the angles dont add up. Like something waits there. You avoid it without meaning to.
As you walk, you begin to notice something else: the sound of your footsteps. They echo strangely. Sometimes too loud, sometimes not at all. The deeper you go, the more the city seems to lose depth. Distant soundstraffic, voices, trainsfade, replaced with a low, steady hum. Not electrical. Not mechanical. Something deeper. Like a breath. Like a lullaby sung by empty streets.
You pass a rusted metal door with a faded sticker:
The world ends quietly.
Behind it, you hear something moving. Slow. Deliberate. But it never opens.
Eventually, you come to a small courtyardmore like a dead-end where too many alleys tried to coexist. In its center is a collapsed bus stop shelter repurposed into a kind of shrine. Candlessome new, some half-meltedsurround a pile of old train tickets and cigarette boxes. At the top, propped upright, is a photo frame filled with newspaper clippings. Most are too water-damaged to read.
But one headline is still legible:
Mysterious Deaths Near Kyoto Station: No Suspects, No Cause.
A homeless man once lived here. A small tent still stands nearby. Inside, his belongings have been carefully packed into plastic boxeshis coat, his lighter, his books. All untouched. Waiting. And on the wall above his sleeping bag, someone has scrawled in perfect hiragana:
[Youre better off not knowing.]
Now, the rumors spread like funguswhispers of supernatural things lurking in the back alleys. The kind of stories no one believes until its too late.
Lorenzo let's out a low whistle as he adjusts his aviators.
"I think I like this place even less than the last one," Lynette mutters, disgust creeping over her features. "It's so dirty and abandoned. I've got like creeped out chills all over," she whines to the others.
There wasn't so much of a homeless colony here. They'd scattered. Smart. The group does manage to find one homeless without too much struggle, though. But he wasn't in good shape. Lying on the ground like he was trying to create snow angels in snow that wasn't there, the man lay on the ground still and cold as ice.
Dressed in a large, puffy, cotton coat, worker's pants, and with scuffed but holding together leather boots, the only motion coming from this man was the frantic skittering of his eyes, looking from place to place in a panic. His mouth hangs open, as if frozen in a scream, but no noise comes from him. At all.
"alright, best for me and miss muse to stick together tightly, since she and i arent really combatants, that said, we should start investigating this place before moving on" Raina said she looks like she is rather chill about being in places like this, though she is starting to look around her surrounding warily, with how ominous the place is
Raina approaches the homeless first, though she keeps her distance and looks at the mans face, looking if he is breathing or not before getting any closer, she isnt going to touch anyone that ominous looking until she is sure it isnt anything to worry about.
Ritsuka glances down to the man. Of course, she senses what is wrong with him quite quickly, if it s a weakness, physically, mentally, but her interest is not so present anymore and she just gestures to Raina again. "You go take a look, Raina." Her own eyes then do draw back to Emily and she approaches the other woman with light steps.
Lorenzo drops into a slavic squat next to the homl
Lynette stares at the man on the floor with a face of disgust. The shape of his mouth, the panicked darting of his eyes. It was hard to know what to make of it. Lynette tilts her head towards Lorenzo instead. "You. Come here and check his pulse," Lynette insists.
Lorenzo drops into a slavic squat next to the homeless man playing at making snow angel's and says in a very low baritone in a clear Italian accent,"Chi vive senza follia non e cosi saggio come crede."Before gingerly poking his cheek.
The man seems to recognize they're there, each of them would get direct eye contact. If a pulse was searched for, they'd find it, but it would be weak and subdued. Still, fearful as the man looks, the seems to remain incapable of responding at all to any of the people around him, not even able to talk ...
Lorenzo removes his aviators to snatch the man's gaze as he begins the mind probe and compulsions. His vibrant blues locking into a hypnotic fascination as he tries to imprint the impulse to speak of the horrors he's seen or to terrified to speak.
"sir i am going to ask you some questions all you need to do is nod or blink twice if you say yes, alright good" Raina knows there is no point in being nice to a person who looks like they are about to die so she is cutting right to the chase "can you move by yourself or no" Raina asked first "are you trying to scream" Raina next question "did you see anything weird or not" Raina other question and lastly "did you see anyone else near you when this happened?"
It seems that whatever was affecting the man, it wasn't some kind of issue of the mind. Lorenzo would be able to say quite confidently that if it had been, his hypnosis would have cured it. It, however, does not. Which would imply the issue was not a mental one.
The man looks over to Raina, he does not seem capable of nodding ... The first question remains unanswered. The second is answered by two blinks, the third by two blinks, the fourth remains unanswered ....
Lorenzo pushses his aviators firmly against his face with a digit at the bridge of his nose, chewing idly on his bottom lip in idle thought.
Emily gives Ritsuka a doubtful look and zips up her jacket, shivering a little while watching the group that remains. "How high is the chance we get out of this alive?", she asks flippantly, seemingly without expecting a response in return.
raises her hands along for a shrug to Emily and then moves on over to the man. "I believe he has been paralyzed, but I am not sure by what. Let me take a look, maybe he has some pinpricks somewhere, or a bite. Raina, can you see anything?" And then, Ritsuka does actually kneel down besides the man and actually does rely on her medical knowledge to give him a close look over.
Lorenzo uses this as an opportunity
"it is a bit inconclusive...but i think we might be onto our target now..." Raina said a bit less confident in her investigation, since the man couldnt talk so she can really only get very limited information out of him, Raina leaves it to Ritsuka on the medical check, it might even prove far more useful than her questions.
Lorenzo uses this as an opportunity to quietly begin looking about seeing if anything obvious stands out.
The ability to create magical silken strands that cannot be cut by mundane means. Powerful Illusory magic. Powerful paralytic venom, and more more clue Ritsuka has been given which she may yet share. All clues have been discovered, it's times to see if the heroes can guess the culprit ...
Lorenzo is in fact not a hero.
"I think I know what it may yet be." And then Ritsuka does glance around, telling Lynette "You had a sixth sense for it. Can you feel the strand, or do you run on empty, when you focus and feel?"
As Ritsuka considers the evidence at hand, it all clicks into place! A Jorogumo. It all lines up. Once the culprit is identified, an confirmatory investigation would be trivially simple. The bottom line, is, however ...
The adventure is a success!
Lorenzo throws up confetti.
"hmm...ritsuka sama, a jorogumo of all things...this sounds unpleasant" Raina has a great deal of fear of spiders as she whispers this to Ritsuka as to not let anyone else hear about the confirmation of supernatural beings "i really dislike spiders...no i genuinely fear them..."