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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A flicker of movement high above the pavement and a glimpse of red don't make for a breathtaking picture in the clouded-over night, but it's amazing what a few snatches of hearsay can fill in for the eyes of a teenage boy. If the mutterings elsewhere in a market square this morning about a break-in somewhere-or-other had retreated from the forefront of Yosuke's mind by now, they've elbowed their way back in the half second it takes him to wrench his scratched headphones down and look up. A... cat burglar? An honest to god cat burglar, in a place like this? Seriously?

Probably not seriously, his battered common sense hastens to remind him. No, suspension of disbelief is one thing, complete and utter lack of practicality is another. Those streaks of red don't belong on the face of anyone who legitimately doesn't want to get noticed. And then there's the way they were moving, more in a wave than in strides. Somebody's trying to show off... ugh, but that's even less plausible at this time of night, when basically the only light to see by is -

- the eyes. Gleaming eyes, a mask, a pitch-black body that flows.

"Hey...!"

Yosuke's common sense isn't fast enough to cut that unfounded connection as soon as he draws it. His curiosity is. Heedless for now of the rest of the street, he bursts into a sprint along the foot of the wall before the dark shape can vanish from his sight entirely. A voice in the back of his head, almost unheard over the pounding of his unsubtle feet, murmurs as he runs: well, why can't this time be it?

He's heard some of the rumors himself, and can't help but roll his eyes at them; all told, though, he can't say he's displeased. Better they not know what he's up to than being insisting on one thing or another, and if he has to 'help' that confusion by going against the grain...well, fine. He can do a bit of that.

Yokai's allowing himself to be seen. Just...slightly. In sectors other than Metal, just to keep the information flowing, just to keep it all going to...

Plan? No, there isn't a plan. Not yet. Not this early. But there is an understanding that unless he plans to give up immediately, he needs to adapt, and right now he needs to adapt to what looks like a young man running down below?

Human, if he has to guess. Or- kedan masquerading as one. Either way, he only looks down for a few moments before making a sharp turn, outright leaping across they alley, the microbots securing him on the opposite side before he risks a fall.

If the figure had slipped just then, it would have landed exactly where Yosuke skids to a halt. Only when it touches down does he realise he'd been holding his breath for a second. Why didn't it fall, though? Apart from a Shadow, or maybe a shapeshifter even more eccentric than the ones he's already met, what kind of creature could flow from wall to wall like that? "Uh, I meant - excuse me...?"

...Dammit, what's he thinking? This is no time to be worrying about how appropriate his language is! This is the time to dart around the next street corner that comes into view and keep going, on the minuscule chance that the masked silhouette isn't already out of sight, that it'll lead him to proof of something other than his being left behind.

Poor Yosuke has a lot of keeping up to do. Yokai is already moving to the next roof, but this one's actually quite a bit wider than the previous- it's hard to see what direction he's moving.

Mainly because he's halting in the middle, crouching, and taking a moment to not only catch his breath but to gather a look at his surroundings.

He knows Metal sector best; this one's a bit out of his comfort zone, and as such, he doesn't want to get in to a position where he's either forced to expose himself in an uncontrolled manner, or where he's lost the choice of what routes to take.

Nope, no good. Even as Yosuke runs along below, the figure overhead disappears over the edge of the roof, melting back into the night.

This should be where he reluctantly gives up, abruptly realises how stupid the impulse was been from the start, and slinks away to go hide his head under a pillow or something. He's not a Shadow or a lower-case shadow or whatever else grabbed his attention from up on high, he's an ordinary seventeen-year-old who likes having his feet on the ground. There's no way he could climb up there in a hurry, even if it was remotely a good idea.

If he was at home, anyway. He isn't. Knowing that he isn't, the thought that enters his head now is even dumber than the one that led him here to begin with. But hey, doesn't mean it's not worth a shot.

With a wordless yell, heartfelt but pathetic in the underlying buzz of the urban night, he jumps at the wall. And then, right when gravity would normally decide his last few scraps of dignity had had long enough - in a shimmer of blue light that becomes a blaze with a noise like breaking glass, becomes the ten-foot gleaming outline of a slender figure in white and gold, becomes suddenly empty air again except for the unearthly green glow left behind - he vaults over, clearing the edge of the roof by a hair.

He touches down in a slight daze, but at least for now on both feet. No, of course he didn't think about what to do next.

Well, that certainly catches Yokai's attention.

He spins around, microbots looping around him protectively - thin chain lengths acting like snakes as he faces the (glowing?) young man who's landing on the edge of the roof. There's a good distance between them - full yards, as opposed to feet - but he takes a short step back anyway, ready to run if need be.

Because, really, in all honesty;

What the hell was that?

The rush of metal, closer now, is a strange enough noise for Yosuke to pick up on over the pounding of his adrenaline rush. Still shaking off the last of his momentary dizziness, he squints; the extravagant light show of his Persona-summoning a moment ago has by now faded completely besides a lingering green flicker in the air around him, and it did no favours for his night vision. Still, that figure -

"Whoa! What the...!?"

- shit, where was it hiding all of those heads!? He'd been hung up on the mask, the mask that doesn't resemble any Shadow he recalls and does look like it could have come straight out of a storybook - a bit of a letdown, really - but that's a monster if ever he saw one! Isn't it?

Wait, has he seen this one before? No, not a chance. He doesn't remember his partner summoning any snakes or snake-like things that looked so sharp. The ones he saw must have been bulkier, he thinks. They'd go right through the middle of this roof.

...This roof. That Yosuke is... also standing on.

...

Now is when his escapism-fuelled life choices circle back to hit him in the face. It would have been more convenient if they'd done it while he was still on the ground. He doesn't even have a nearby friend to blame. And, oh man, how is he going to get down...?

All of that panic flashes past in an instant, but it's not going anywhere. Fervently hoping that the rest of him will be luckier, Yosuke raises both of his hands and musters a terrified approximation of a non-threatening smile. "Um, sorry!" he says. "I just thought you might... no, no, I mean, I was just... Ahaha, ha, nothing to see here. ...I'll just go home."

He nearly takes a step back too, before reminding himself why he shouldn't. Thank you, last few drawn-out seconds of magically aided reaction time.

For a few long moments, there is nothing but silence. Then Yokai simply half-raises his hands in a palm-up gesture, as if saying no harm done; he doesn't look very aggressive, perhaps borderline friendly? In fact, let him help you down, Yosuke.

No really, he insists.

That sure is the cluster of microbots launching themselves forwards towards him, all prepared to wrap him up like a bundle and knock him off the roof.

Edited 2015-04-25 20:37 (UTC)

Relaxing a split second earlier, Yosuke's better judgement might finally have caught up with him; a split second later, and his decidedly physical survival instinct might have kicked in. In this sense, he has perfect timing. He goes from standing to knocking back against what feels terrifyingly like the edge of the roof in the time it takes him to yelp.

He kicks out without thinking, and they're on his leg. Christ, they're swarming up his exposed arm too, he can't struggle, he can't concentrate or think, he shouldn't waste time staring and hoping that the cluster resolves itself into something comprehensible - but seriously, what the hell are these things? So staring happens, somehow.

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OPEN LOG; The Masked Man

first week-ish of the month, after the rumours get going?

sounds good!

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