ORIGINAL QUEST TEXT You receive an email from an unfamiliar source:
I have a job for you. Find me at Yamazaki Bar.
Strangely to the point, given the flighty nature of the youkai thus far. You can quickly find out what's going on if you head to the bar. A dour yet handsome man by the name of Takashi (as Master helpfully provides) is looking to get to the bottom of the suspicious pendants that appeared in Hakagemachi last month. He offers his own insights: it is true that these pendants were used to control the youkai and the Farm shrine spirit in recent events. It is also true that the ones responsible are not youkai. He has his suspicions about the culprits and where to glean more information on them.
As for the reason why, well — that's where you come in.
If you catch him in a less surly mood, he may even engage you in helpful conversation.
"You must be familiar with the concept of this city's magic by now. The spirits here aren't the only ones capable of using it. One of you, a child with glasses, has already started investigating, I've heard. So, I will tell you this: there were once specialists in sorcery and divination who eradicated evil spirits. Those specialists were humans.
Regardless, they're nothing but troublesome occultists now. They've longed to be rid of our existence, but it seems your arrival has caused them to act sooner than they intended. Their arrogance makes them reckless. Since the start, we've been one step behind..."
Master interrupts whatever else he'd like to say with a slide of a teacup across the counter — looks like there's no alcohol being served today. Takashi looks displeased, but he ultimately relents and moves on to explain the task at hand. It's straightforward and involves doing investigative work that will send you to the northernmost residential area of the city, a place that once housed the wealthy and elite. It is eerily devoid of youkai, unlike the city proper.
But try not to let that distract you from what you're supposed to be doing here in the first place.
Illusory methods and sneaking are the best ways to enter the area without being detected. All of the houses were once expensive and beautiful but have now taken on substantial water damage, as if they have been flooded many times over. The air is dark and cold, and breathing in feels much like breathing in sorrow and shards of ice. On the perimeter of the neighborhood, thrashing water can sometimes be heard. Scope out the area and see if you can find evidence that they were here to begin with, or canvas the insides of houses for clues pointing to what their next move might be. Takashi mentions that they're a proud lot, thinking that they own this place even though they're the ones who abandoned it, so you're more than likely to find talismans, scrolls of magic script, pristine golden pendants that are already so familiar... but they are all well hidden, guarded, and likely booby-trapped.
Regardless of the dangers, Takashi wants anything and everything you can find. Disappointing him would not be wise.
QUEST RESULTS Osomatsu can attempt an illusion through his youkai’s abilities. It even seems to work, at first, allowing them entry deeper into this area of the city. Between a number of the houses and shops is a large cluster of beautiful, softly glowing butterflies. They’re enchanting, each flap of their wings seeming slower than the last, but somehow they manage to stay floating gracefully in the air. It’s then that it will become clear to the both of them that something is wrong. Katsuki, who opted to not rely on disguises, is likely further from the butterflies that are beginning to close in on Osomatsu. It’s almost as if they can sense them. And the closer they look, the more they may begin to notice that there’s an illusion at play already. The butterflies are leaving a strange powder beneath them as they fly. Osomatsu will feel the full force of the effects of this, and his youkai may be the one to warn him first. Get away, wash that off! If they remain here, with the butterflies, they will be quickly overwhelmed and sedated before they can kill all of them. After all, more and more seem to appear with every slowing blink.
The two will have to work together to find the right direction to run, but since the powder is the enemy here, they’ll have to find something to wash it off. The lake itself seems to be protected, and trying to run straight towards it will only run them into an invisible barrier. However, there’s a cove off the side of one of the edges, near a peasant’s house, where they can run in without worry. The moment one (or both!) of them enters the water, something else shifts nearby, and the air grows tense and alarming. Looking towards the lake, they may be able to spot the scales of something large coiling near the surface of the water before it whips beneath, sending large ripples across the lake, and even into the cove.
There is something in the water of the lake. Even if they had missed the sight of those scales, that feeling is overwhelming in them now. They’re not alone.
This is only one piece of the story here, of course. Maybe some of the others can help piece this puzzle together...
Katsuki knows Osomatsu, even if his estimation of the guy is "kind of lame" so far. To be fair this is his opinion of a great many competent and demonstrably not lame people, so Osomatsu is more working against Katsuki's dislike of people in general than he is anything else.
That doesn't mean he won't work together with someone on something so important. He's learned a little bit about teamwork, and even if he's unpleasant he will at least give it his all. ]
We need a game plan before we go in. [ So, after they leave the bar, he will actually take the first step towards TeamworkTM. ]
[So all of this is dramatic and on-brand enough for this place. First, there was the intimidating guy he'd had a drink with. Then there was The Mission, which was really epic hero stuff, which means of course Hana was going to compel him into it. That was just the Hana brand. Push someone into heroics, don't care about much else--....something something.
Speaking of heroics! He'd luckily gotten an actual hero to come with him for this mission. Katsuki-kun! Who was a real hero, even if he was...he was like Ichi on a bad day if Ichi was just that much more daring. That's scary. But hey, it's...it's fine. Probably. He was a hero! They were two hero friends, going on a stealth mission!
....Hana had hissed something about 'having regrets' when he realized this was the duo he was stuck with but HE WAS THE ONE WHO ENCOURAGED IT IN THE FIRST PLACE, SO THERE. They were still at the bar working up a game plan, and Osomatsu took a sip of his beer, thinking it over.]
Well. We've got youkai abilities. That's...kind of ALL I've got. You're experienced with this hero-y stuff, but I've got...fire. I can burn things! But I don't think that's good for stealth...
[ You've got illusions.
Do I???]
Oh! And! I've got illusions. That might be a bit more useful, yeah?
[ At least someone is enjoying themselves...even if Katsuki would absolutely object to "hero friends" if he knew that was what Osomatsu was thinking. Luckily noen of his new and exciting powers include the ability to read minds!
[Aw, you'll lighten up to hero friends over time, you Explosion-Monster, you.
Osomatsu scratches his chin.
Let me talk. I'm the one who will plan better.
Ugh. Fine.
He makes the one minute sign, tugging the mask over his face. His voice lowers, and he speaks with an echo.]
Right, since I'll be doing most of the planning...my host is listening in. At any rate, we can create disguising illusions, but at the current extent of his training - which is very little - we should be able to maintain them for blocks of 6 minutes with 10 minute separations. The disguise will work on ourselves. To manifest objects, it'll go down to 4 minutes. Still, it's enough time to catch someone's attention, I feel.
[ Katsuki blinks. He's never seen anyone let their youkai take over completely like that...so far, anyway. Maybe he needs to talk to people less stubborn than he is sometimes. Or at least less stubborn than the usual people he knows... ]
...I guess that's enough to give us a little bit of coverage, but are you guys sure you can handle it?
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FEBRUARY 2021: BORDER OF LIES (OSOMATSU MATSUNO)
That doesn't mean he won't work together with someone on something so important. He's learned a little bit about teamwork, and even if he's unpleasant he will at least give it his all. ]
We need a game plan before we go in. [ So, after they leave the bar, he will actually take the first step towards TeamworkTM. ]
no subject
Speaking of heroics! He'd luckily gotten an actual hero to come with him for this mission. Katsuki-kun! Who was a real hero, even if he was...he was like Ichi on a bad day if Ichi was just that much more daring. That's scary. But hey, it's...it's fine. Probably. He was a hero! They were two hero friends, going on a stealth mission!
....Hana had hissed something about 'having regrets' when he realized this was the duo he was stuck with but HE WAS THE ONE WHO ENCOURAGED IT IN THE FIRST PLACE, SO THERE. They were still at the bar working up a game plan, and Osomatsu took a sip of his beer, thinking it over.]
Well. We've got youkai abilities. That's...kind of ALL I've got. You're experienced with this hero-y stuff, but I've got...fire. I can burn things! But I don't think that's good for stealth...
[ You've got illusions.
Do I???]
Oh! And! I've got illusions. That might be a bit more useful, yeah?
no subject
Osomatsu is safe for the time being. ]
Depends. What are the limits on those illusions?
no subject
Osomatsu scratches his chin.
Let me talk. I'm the one who will plan better.
Ugh. Fine.
He makes the one minute sign, tugging the mask over his face. His voice lowers, and he speaks with an echo.]
Right, since I'll be doing most of the planning...my host is listening in. At any rate, we can create disguising illusions, but at the current extent of his training - which is very little - we should be able to maintain them for blocks of 6 minutes with 10 minute separations. The disguise will work on ourselves. To manifest objects, it'll go down to 4 minutes. Still, it's enough time to catch someone's attention, I feel.
no subject
...I guess that's enough to give us a little bit of coverage, but are you guys sure you can handle it?