tushanshu_logs | OPEN LOG; The Masked Man

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OPEN LOG; The Masked Man

CHARACTERS; Yokai and YOU!
DATE; Throughout the month of April. [Mostly at night.]
LOCATION; All about Keeliai!
SITUATION; A certain old man has terrible coping methods when it comes to dealing with racing thoughts and stress. A certain masked man finds himself exploring Keelai through yellowed eyes, and may or may not be running in to trouble in the meantime.
WARNINGS/RATINGS; Possible violence. Otherwise, nothing past PG-13.

See me, the red lines cry. See my role in this story, see that I have a wrong to right; see that I am power and that I will not be denied.

Callaghan hadn't chosen the mask without being ignorant of its meaning; he had, however, chosen it for a multitude of reasons. All symbolism aside, it offered full-face coverage, and hardly blocked his peripheral vision. Secured with the ski mask underneath, it would take (and had taken) a heavy strike to knock off, but since arriving here in Keeliai, he'd made a few further tweaks to ensure that if, for whatever reason, he had to don it again...

To be fair, he hadn't considered donning it for the freedom it offered. Dressing in the outfit again felt inherently good, as did running along the building edges with the microbots enhancing his movements. He did not know parkour, per se, but he didn't need to - not when the microbots were there by his feet to give him the push or pull he needed to cross an alley, not when they could toss him in to the air and his own strength could grab on to a protrusion to haul himself in to another position.

God, but this felt good. It felt right. And as long as he could keep himself out of view, the microbots next to him, and the terrain itself from betraying him...

He just had to be careful, was all. Without nearly as many microbots as he had before, he tried to keep to the shadows. And if that ended up with him overseeing a few gang members or so...?

On one hand, it wasn't any of his business.

On the other, there's something to be said about getting carried away.

((Over the course of the month, rumors will begin to spread regarding a mysterious figure, some mugging incidents [unclear as to what side they were partaking in], and some thefts as well. feel free to put a general time period/area in your first comment, or PM/plurk me and we can do something specific!))

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It's in one of those alleys that Yokai finds something catching his attention; crouched in a shadowed nook, he watches a group of kedan discuss what sounds like 'protection' and 'insurance'. Normally such a thing wouldn't be too important, if not for a couple of facts-

One, they're clearly one of the unaffiliated gangs.

Two, there's some of the aforementioned 'insurance' in crates only so far away from them, but there's only one four-armed member keeping watch. One set is folded across their chest, the other resting behind their head as they lean against the wall, only paying so much attention to the conversation at hand.

All heads, however, turn towards the sound of motion only so far away- a body quickly moving through the area, and they go quiet as they try to decide whether or not it's something they need to worry about.

And it's at that point that Yokai risks dropping down, landing in a crouch again, the microbots remaining above before slowly trickling down after him.

tnk.tnk.tnk.

It's the sound of the Kedan talking that prompts Mike to come to a sliding stop at the edge of one roof. The sword is still missing, and because of that he's still itching for as much intel as he can get his three-fingered hands on.

Mike crouches low, still like a gargoyle, neck craning...all in an effort to hear what they're saying.

If only that slow trickle of water would still.
...
Wait...that's not water it sounds almost like...metal?

The Kedan seem to notice it as well, but when they turn, the sound has gone quiet- they look at one another before making their decision, one moving out towards the alley to check that noise, the other two moving back for the shadows. Yokai presses himself further against the wall as they approach, considering, considering, thinking, waiting-

A flex of fingers, and that's not a slow trickle of water- that's a sudden mass of black metal shooting forwards as though to 'escape'. The two kedan make sounds of surprise as it all but bowls them over, shooting for the alley's mouth, carefully manipulated in to a distraction that then rises up the corner wall. As all three eyes follow that, one even literally leap-climbing after it, Yokai moves for the crates to take a look at their ill-gotten gains.

If he's noticed another figure in the area, he shows no sign.

Great googly moogly!
Mike is so surprised at that...wave of...what the hell was that anyway?! That he very nearly loses his footing on the roof's edge. His eyes track the movement, darting back to trace the path of the gang members in hot pursuit.

But...it didn't attack. It just ran. Why would something that looked like an all encompassing wave of metal just...unless...

Movement in his periphery catches his attention. Movement around the crates.

A diversion.

"...nice."

Under different circumstances Mike would likely have been that wave, while his brothers, probably Donnie, would root through what ever it was they were trying to search.

On silent feet Mike bridges the distance between where he is and where this new stranger with the even stranger metal friend is rooting through the goods.

Don't mind him. He's just being nosey.

With the mass continuing to to 'escape', the kedan finding it an appealing target, Yokai removes the top and finds himself startled by what he sees. After a moment, he even reaches inside, scooping his hand in to it and raising it slowly as he lets the small shards fall through his fingers.

...well.

It's not like anyone important will miss this, right? He looks up to see where the microbots have gotten to and then pauses, head turning back towards one of the shadows.

Is that...?

A nearly five foot tall turtle with opposable thumbs watching you from a shadow?

Why yes, yes it is.

Only now, he's seen you seeing him, so no longer is he just watching. No, now he smiles...with teeth even, and offers a little wave. A two fingered and the one opposable thumb wave.

On the bright side, it's a much smaller turtle than the one whose back they're set upon.

On the down side, it is still a large turtle, one who's staring right at him, and- waving, as well. This is a wonderful turn of events that Yokai had not in the slightest forseen, nor had any interest in imagining because are you kidding him he gets rid of three watchers and now he has to deal with a fourth.

Can he get nothing done without a hitch?

The mask, thankfully, hides his expression. The hunch of his shoulders, however, suggests mild annoyance-frustration, and- perhaps a bit of resignation as he raises two fingers in what could very well be a 'peace' formation.

...or that could just be setup for him to curl said fingers downwards and the microbots to try and smack the turtle across the back of the head. That could be a thing, too.

Yay! He kind of waves back! That's good news.
Mike's grin widens.

"Find anything" he starts just before the masked man's fingers begin to curl down. That...that's not a high-sign, is it? IS IT?

To Mike, it's like the last word of his comes out in slowmotion, because even as he feels himself saying the word, every reflex honed from years of martial arts training begins to kick in.

"....iiiiiinnnnnnnteeeeerrrrrrressssssstttttiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnggggggggg?"

He know's he's never supposed to lower his eyes to an enemy, but...he's also supposed to not lose sight of his six.

What...is right behind him, anyway?

It's a fist-sized mass of microbots trying to punch the turtle-man in the back of the head, of course. What else would it be?

Though Yokai does shift his shoulders a bit, seeming somewhere between confused and exasperated. Body language is worth a thousand words, and the unspoken message here?

Are you seriously asking me that?

Perhaps triggered by the difference in thought pattern, the microbots will manage only a grazing blow if Mike doesn't move.

Oh Mike moves.
Mike moves damn fast, given that he's a turtle.
But...he's also a turtle with a lifetime's worth of martial arts training, and a long standing history of being smacked upside the head.

Actually, it's a testament to how fast Mike moves that his brothers and cousins haven't killed him yet. (That one time not withstanding.)

As he moves he takes his nunchucks from the their holsters on his belt, and sets them to spin until he relocates to a position where he can keep both the man in the mask and his Cartoon Swarm of Bees in his field of vision.

"Hey hey hey hey! We're all friends here! I just want to know if there's a sword in there, that's all."

The talking turtle man is also a martial artist with nunchuks.

It's a testament to his time here that Yokai just accepts that. There is a moment where he reaches up to adjust his mask, and it almost looks like he's face-palming, but- the moment passes. A quick gesture and the microbots drop to the ground, and move back to him like a trained hound as he glances inside the crate.

And then shrugs, tilting his head.

Why?

He still seems a bit wary, and far from friendly- and perhaps a bit possessive of his 'spoils' - but he doesn't seem immediately about to attack again.

Mike tracks the swarm as it moves, but doesn't for one second let his guard down.

"Well that's not creepy at all," Mike mutters under his breath as the swarm shifts and congeals behind the masked man.

"What do you mean?" Mike asks before copying the man's movements. "Because I'm looking for a sword. Bout yay long." The 'chucks stop spinning and he uses his now still hands to indicate just how long the sword in question would be.

There's a few more moments of consideration, another look towards the crate, and then, after a moment, Yokai rests his hand on it.

Then shoves.

The microbots give him the extra force he needs to knock it over, and its contents spill out towards Mikey- there's the rustling of metal, and paperclips, of all things, flow everywhere.

A cheap, useless metal- normally. But to a resourceful man, there is some salvage to be had.

Not in here.

It's not that Mike isn't resourceful, one kind of has to be if they're going to live beneath humanity without being discovered, it's just that paperclips aren't quite what he's looking for.

"These aren't the droids I'm looking for," he says with a sigh that's edged with more than a little defeat.

"Oh well, one more crate overturned is one less crate to look through, I guess."

Sorry, Mike. For what it's worth, though, Yokai was willing to share? And- more than that, there's a slight twitch of his shoulders, a change in posture, that almost looks amused. A fellow fan of some war in the stars, perhaps?

"Move along," he drawls, not quite matching the cadence, but- it's few enough words and he roughens his voice enough (he hopes) that indulging in the quote won't be too poor a choice.

Mike freezes, and then slowly turns his full attention towards the man in the mask.
Did....did he...did he just get one of Mike's references?!

Slowly a smile works across Mike's face.

"Nice, man. Nice. If you happen to find a sword? Lemme know. The name's Mike."

On one hand, it's...charming to have made that connection. He doesn't know how a humanoid turtle would know such a quote, but some things, apparently, go across dimensions.

On the other hand, a connection between them risks...well, that connection being used against him. Used to learn things he doesn't want to reveal.

Such as his name.

There's pause, there, because in all truth he'd only given so much thought or care to what people called him. To buy a bit of time to think, he reaches down to gather some of those clips, taking a small handful up in hand and letting it fall through his fingers...

"Yokai," he settles for saying, looking up slowly. "I will."

Mike's browridges go up at the name.
His Japanese isn't fantastic, but that word he knows. Interesting.

"Hope so," Mike says, flashing a broad smile.
Then he turns towards the nearest shadow and to the naked eye all but disappears into the night.

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OPEN LOG; The Masked Man

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let me know if this isn't okay?

Oh this is so okay!

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