Liberation of Slaves (Atsu and Kenji)

Job Information:

"I don't know, man. I'm just not feeling it." mumbled the impossibly thin man to no one in particular. His slender frame draped in clothes clearly too large for his build lounged upon a bench overlooking the Hargeon pier. A bony hand was brought to the man's temple and reached to scratch at the back of his unkempt and shaggy head. The same hand proceeded to adjust his large mirrored sunglasses before resting at his side once again. The hand was employed once more to cover his mouth as the man let out a strained yawn. A familiar itching developed at the back of his head. Not an itch he could scratch. It was more of an itch in his mind than anything physical that could be remedied by simple friction.

"The hell do you mean you're not feeling it?" came a rough voice echoing in his head, "You spent the last of your money on cake last I remember! I am not going to let you dump the vessel in the park again tonight!"

"Hey, where I sleep is my choice, Hyou." the man mumbled calmly -- once again letting out a yawn, this time mid-sentence, "You act like you have some sort of ownership over my vessel."

The hermit's voice carried a bit more bite to it this time. It was true that Hyouryu was beginning to exhibit some entitlement to the vessel made of grave soil he currently inhabited. It was true that he would often allow his friend to share the vessel with him in times of need, but it was purely out of the hermit's good graces that he was allowed to and only for short periods of time.

"This ain't no rent to own business, my man." the lightness had returned to his voice. He could feel Hyouryu become more agitated as he bristled in his Shade form back in Purgatory.

"Rent to what? I don't... look, I get it, okay Atsu? I just don't want you getting the damn thing thrown into a mass grave somewhere." Hyouryu said after calming down. Despite his sentimentality, he still couldn't rid himself of the typical edge with which he barked his words. Atsu groaned more audibly, causing some passerbys to jerk their heads towards him and begin stepping in a direction away from the clearly homeless man talking to himself. The lesser god visiting the mortal world groaned once more, but in effort as opposed to frustration as he sat upright on the bench. He adjusted his glasses once more and observed the pier, watching the tide roll in and then take its leave in rhythmic fashion. An uncomfortable silence ensued as he watched the dock workers below while pondering his options. Finally, after what felt like an eternity to Hyouryu, another voice chimed in. Steady and logical with a draft of whimsy to it.

"I actually have to agree with Hyouryu, Milord." came the calculating tone of Mitsuhide, Atsusemimaru's ancestor and self-appointed retainer, "Leaving your vessel in public overnight is not an advisable action. Too many people could find it and assume it is a dead body because, for all intents and purposes, it is."

Atsu groaned again and took a sharp breath inward.

"Alright, fine. I'll go check out the gig board." he said with some resistance. The hermit picked himself off of the bench and looped his toes in the thongs of his wooden sandals. Hollow clacking began echoing across the pier as he plodded along the stone platform. The itching from Hyouryu became more intense as his agitation turned into anger.

"Wait, hold up! You listen to him, but not me?! He just said the same thing I said!"

"Yeah, but he said it in a much nicer way." grinned Atsu as he continued his trek to the Hargeon open job board.

- - - - -

"Well this is a drag, man." Atsu muttered to himself as he surveyed the mostly empty job board. Only a few leaflets were pinned to the cork of the board; most of them faded by the sun or torn up from vandals looking to harass local wizards.

"Talk about your slim pickings..." he grumbled as he scanned the board one more time. Before deciding to call it quits, however, Atsu's eye caught a particularly large sum peeking out from behind one of the smaller job fliers. He reached a slender hand over to it and lifted the paper in front to find a very handsomely paying job hidden by the peanuts covering it.

"Fifteen thousand? Forty-five if they're brought back alive? If I get this kind of money, they're bound to stay off my back for a while..." the wheels turned in his artificial head before he reached to pull the paper from the board... only to find another hand grasping it as well. Atsu's heart sank. How did this keep happening?

"Not again..." the distraught hermit turned his shaggy head to look at his potential rival or possibly partner.

Rolling around at the speed of sound!

(need to summon some monsters for my post)

The member 'Kenji Oshiro' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

---

'Monster Dice' :

Upon closer inspection, Atsu found that the paper was not, in fact, being grasped by another wizard. Instead, it had simply caught on an errant nail sticking out of the frame holding the cork board to the wall of the wizarding office. The hermit chuckled softly, the tone of his convulsions showing a hint of relief.

"Well ain't that embarrassing? Thought I had another adventure in friendship ahead of me." he mused in a mocking tone aimed at his usual misfortune. It wasn't that Atsu disliked working with other people. He loved meeting the denizens of the mortal place, in fact. It simply had become such a common occurrence that the mere concept had become stale.

"So? Find anything worth working?" came the itching once again that translated into words in Atsu's mind. Hyouryu's words felt strained. As if his patience was too thin to bother hiding behind any facade of eagerness.

"You could say that. This one should satisfy you for a --" Atsu's words were cut short when his vessel's ears picked up scuffling and commotion down below. The hermit adjusted his sunglasses as he clacked over to the edge of the platform he stood on and peered over the wrought iron railing.

"For a what? A while? Is it a big job?" came Hyouryu again.

"Um, sure. Yeah." Atsu replied, distracted by the scene developing at the docks below. He could make out a pair of men harassing a young boy. No one seemed to pay attention. Not a single passerby, dock worker, nor even the authorities responded to the kid's pleas for help. Atsu's eyes darkened under his mirrored glasses as he noticed several other individuals watching from a distance. Not with any sort of heroic intent, however. In total, he counted five men seemingly waiting to enter the scene. Possibly to back up the harassers. The paper mentioned a ring of slavers in the city. If there were anything resembling that in Hargeon, this scene would fit the description.

Atsu gave a groaning sigh and scratched his head vigorously as he contemplated if he should interfere. It was really none of his business, but if these people did turn out to be the slavers then it was now his job to help the boy. His bony hand gripped the railing tighter, his other hand lowering to join it.

"Dammit. Fine." he muttered in frustration before vaulting over the railing. His toes gripped the edges of his wooden sandals as he fell, finally landing on top of a palette of crates draped in nets to hold them in place. The wood of his sandals made a hollow impact against the wood of the palette before he carefully ducked behind the crates. The hermit poked his shaggy head out from behind them to observe the situation. The two men were still trying to get a firm hold of the boy who was struggling valiantly to get away.

"Keep on fightin' kid. I'm coming." Atsu mumbled as he stood up and prepared to engage the potential slavers. Perhaps the unexpected approach was best in this situation? In that case, Atsu shoved his hands into his pockets and casually strolled out from behind the crates. He slowly clacked along the stone platform the docks were built upon towards the men. Just before reaching the man who clearly led the duo, he flipped around and allowed himself to fall backwards against the assailant. He leaned on the man, back to back, and adjusted his glasses nonchalantly.

The feeling of suddenly being used as a leaning wall stopped the man in his assault of the boy. Confused, he slowly craned his neck to see what it was as his friend turned to peer at Atsu. He simply looked at the hermit perplexed, likely trying to figure out how they didn't notice him approaching. The appearance of the lesser god's vessel often helped in these cases. After all, no one paid attention to a homeless hermit.


Atsu smiled widely and waved at the man.

"Yo! Would you mind maybe letting the kid go? Not really jiving on that action, man. Not cool." the slaver's expression quickly changed from confusion to anger as he reared back to throw a punch at Atsu. Instinctively, the hermit dropped low with a speed unnatural of someone his size, allowing the punch to sail over his head, and brought a hand to adjust his glasses.

"The hard way, then? Fine with me." Atsu spun, sticking out his right leg, and hooked the man's foot with it. The hermit swept across and sent the man reeling off balance and to the ground. As the slaver began picking himself up, his friend had already turned around, blade in hand, ready to slice the hermit in two. Again with incredible speed, Atsu rolled out of the way of the swing and vaulted over the slaver, sending a wooden sandal into his back as he sailed over his head. The assailant was pushed forward from the impact and sent tumbling towards his friend who was once again on his feet. Atsu landed and ran to the boy, placing a hand on his back in comfort.

"You okay, kid? Nod once for yes; twice for no." he said in a jovial tone, clearly trying to lighten the mood. After all, if Atsu had been attacked like this as a child he would have preferred his life to be saved with smile. The hermit looked back at the slavers and noticed the five others he spied earlier were making their way to the scene. The other slaver had drawn his sword and they both rushed forward, blades high in the air.

"Swords are no fair, guys! Bad form!" Atsu made his faux complaint as he extended his hand forward. The air in front of the hermit and the boy began to heat up and bend, warping the light around it until it finally ripped open a hole in the space between planes of existence. From the dark hole bounded a figure fully clad in black armor, a blue coat fluttering in the wind as he sailed forward. At his waist, six blades were hung with cloth between the scabbards resembling a sea creature's fins. The swordsman drew one of the blades with a flash and parried both of the slaver's swords. The samurai held firm and grinned underneath his black eye patch, peering at them with his single good eye.


"Ya know? Brigands like you really annoy the fuck out of me! You act all tough, but you got no training!" Hyouryu slid his blade upward and stomped forward, clashing his blade against theirs -- causing them to stumble backwards once more. The samurai's body crackled with blue electricity before he leaped backwards and landed in front of Atsu and the boy.

"No discipline!" the lightning around his body trailed to his blade, accumulating at the edge. The warrior pointed the tip at the ground, blade now glowing blue with electricity, and ran it along the ground, ultimately swiping upward into the air.

"Dragons Rift!" he shouted as the blade was brought skyward. From the spot where the katana scraped the ground burst forth a surge of lightning that traveled along the ground toward the assailants at tremendous speed. The two only had a moment to rethink their lot in life before being thrown into the air by the projectile. As they landed back on the ground with a hollow thud, Hyou began stretching out his arms and cracking his neck.

"Getting yourself into trouble already? Well good, been a while since you let me have a bit of fun." the samurai addressed his long time friend slyly.

"Well I'm just glad you were paying attention. If you just stepped out like usual then that wouldn't have been nearly as cool as it was." Atsu responded in kind.

"Yeah. Well we'll have more opportunities here pretty soon." Hyou said as his eyes darted about watching the five newcomers. They seemed to be far less of a threat than the two men -- only one of which was picking himself off the ground, twitching with muscle spasms from the lightning assault -- but their numbers certainly made made up for that. He turned his helmeted head to look at the boy with his piercing single eye, "Hey, kid. Can you fight or do you wanna run? We're okay with either, but you better choose fast."

Atsu nodded as Hyouryu raised his katana once more, ready to engage the mob.

The samurai planted himself, crouching low with his blade held anxiously; anticipating the coming battle. It was as if the warrior couldn't contain himself as the mob of adversaries attempted to rush him. Atsu peered around as his friend shifted his stance and held his katana over his head to ready himself to strike. It certainly seemed as though they were outnumbered, but Hyouryu had faced greater odds before and come out the victor. The hermit exhaled to calm himself. Things would be alright as long as Hyou was there. Plus, if things became precarious he could always bring out Mitsuhide to bolster their numbers.

Both the hermit and the samurai had proven to be fools, however, as neither noticed the creature who had presented herself behind them. The only indication Atsu had of another opponent was the immense pain that ripped through his back and into his chest. Ribs shattering and lungs bursting from whatever it was that attacked him. The world slowed, every movement of the approaching bandits felt like an eternity. The only sensation the hermit could feel was coldness. The coldness of his vessel losing its grip on life, but also an intense cold all around him and -- somehow -- inside of him. The lesser god's eyes drifted painfully downward to spy a gigantic frozen spire. Had he been able to breathe, Atsu would have gasped in surprise and terror. He had just been run through by a massive, upward facing icicle. As he blinked, trying with every ounce of his fortitude to stay awake, he peered toward Hyouryu and froze in horror to find his friend suffering the same fate. Of course, death meant nothing to the both of them, but it certainly felt real. Atsu's mind was taken back to his original death. The feeling of losing Hyouryu the first time and then being killed in almost the same fashion by the spirit of his deceased friend. The only thing that rang in his mind during the hermit's final moments were the words, "Not again..."

After the world faded, Atsu found himself back at the pier. Dazed, but unharmed -- the lesser god's eyes shot open wide as he looked to his friend. To his relief, Hyouryu was also unscathed. In fact, he was in the same pose that he assumed just before the frozen assault.

"This again." he gasped. This wasn't the first time Atsu had experienced a bizarrely realistic dream involving his own death. The last time it happened, he was able to use it to avoid an attack from a stone golem. Was this the same instance? Were they about to be impaled?

Atsu's question was answered as he felt the same overwhelming cold from before. Moving before he could properly think, the hermit dashed at his friend and tacked him out of the way just as the frozen spikes emerged from the ground. Adjusting his glasses, Atsu found himself clutching Hyouryu just inches from one of the icicles. There could be no doubt. The lesser god had witnessed a glimpse of the future. Somehow, he had foreseen the spell and given the chance to avoid it. Now was not the time to contemplate the meaning or possibilities of this newfound ability of his. The important thing was to engage the new adversary.

Looking around, Hyouryu stood up, head spinning from what just happened. It seemed that the spell had put the entire mob out of commission. All the advancing slavers lay impaled by the icy spikes. With a threatening glance, he looked towards the center of the attack at a woman. Her skin as blue as the ice she wielded, it was clear that she was the source of the assault. The samurai gripped his sword tighter, leather glove creaking under his armored plates. It was clear to Atsu that there was no danger to be assumed of the newcomer considering she hadn't followed up the attack with anything else. This fact was lost on the samurai, who strode in anger towards the woman as the ice began to melt in the midday sun.

"Hey, you! What the hell do you think you're pulling with that shit?!" he shouted at the newcomer, "We needed one of them alive, you idiot! How are we supposed to continue this job now?!"

The samurai continued to yell at the blue woman, getting more profane with every second. It was true. Wiping out the entire mob of potential slavers did cause a major setback to their mission. Thankfully, the hermit noticed something that his friend -- in his rage -- hadn't. A gruff voice groaning in pain behind a row of spires. While the samurai continued his advance on the woman, still not putting it together that she was tied to the boy yet, Atsu stepped through the collection of icicles to find one of the more formidable slavers clutching his bleeding side, leaning against one of the frozen constructs. He was breathing with great difficulty, clearly nursing a punctured lung from the sounds of his wheezing.

"Hey, there. I have a few questions for you." Atsu said calmly to the ruffian. He then crouched down on his wooden sandals and turned to call towards his companion, "Hey, Hyouryu! Stop shouting at the kid's familiar help me question this guy!"

The hermit then peered at the boy and crooked an eyebrow as if to tell him that he was sorry for the trouble.

"Huh?! Kid's what?" Hyouryu stopped in his tracks and spun around as he placed his blade in its scabbard, "Nevermind that, you found one alive?"

Atsu nodded and looked back down at the quickly fading bandit.

"Yup. Cat's not gonna be with us much longer, though. Hurry up and help me out. We need to figure out where these slavers are before he's gone." at the mention of "slavers" the bandit became visibly more agitated. Squirming to try and get up, his blood stained the blue ice with red splotches. After crying out in pain, his hand slipped from the frozen spire and he landed once more on the ground.

"You're free to watch if you want, kid. If you got the stomach for a little interrogation." he called out to the boy, "I know I'd enjoy seeing my wannabe assailant's last moments. Buuuuut everyone's different, ya dig? No skin off my back if you don't abide stickin' around."