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 Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 7:51 am
To Takuma being suddenly aware of such wondrous powers was still new and not fully understood. The only thing he did fully understand however was on stormy nights it was impossible to focus on his usual schoolwork or get any sleep. Every drop of rain he could hear hitting the side of the house made him want to go outside more and more. It called to him to come outside and test out his new found powers. While his parents were asleep and he was certain he would not get caught leaving he slipped outside of the house. Once he found somewhere out of view he transformed and ran along the deserted street feeling energized from the summer storm.
A few hours had passed and Rakurai was no longer aware of where he was and he could care less. As he roved around a thick fog was beginning to set in as the rain died down. It was becoming more and more difficult to see but the thunder oni found it to be a welcome change. While Rakurai was thinking more about the shift in weather then where he was going he noticed motion in the corner of his eye. Something about it had seemed weird. Was it one of those fluffy pink monsters? Whatever it was it left him on edge. He carefully stalked after the thing hoping he didn't already lose it.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 8:24 am
The wind howled down the quiet streets, rustling papers and dry leaves skittered down dark alleys and in and out of garbage cans. A stray pepsi soda can tinkered away, a cat yowled, but the wind swallowed most of these sounds, the rain deafened the lonely streets.
What Rakurai had seen was no puffy ball of anger and teeth; a woman lurched from the gutters, her cheap white heel caught in a grate, with a grunt and a peculiar cracking noise, she lumbered away from the grate, moving at a slow, sedate pace, off into the night- her arms swinging uselessly by her side. A tuft of dirty, matted fur coat slid off her shoulders- unhindered by the woman's strange pace.
Beyond the woman, another figure lurched through the rain, drawn as if by strings toward something dark swallowed in the mists. Then another, faintly shuffling, and another, and another- a line of gray-skinned, dirty men and women of no particular age or height, walking like... well... they had no mind of their own. And if one could see through the swirling fog and the listing sea of bodies, the swish of black cloth, the click of shoes, the ominous presence of something... something strange. Or, someone.
The fog roiled about the streets, pawing at windows and doors, mists hissing away from the soft footfalls of King's City. It was a dark and stormy night and the dead walked the roads of the living.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:33 am
As he crept after his prey it suddenly dawned on Rakurai that it was a person. Why would someone be out this late... and what was wrong with her gait? He paused and continued to keep low and chose to monitor this strange person a little longer. It quickly became apparent that they were not alone. The fog made it impossible to judge how many people were out there. It also made it difficult to tell if they were having the same issues walking.
It was curiosity and a nagging feeling at the back of his mind that something wasn't right that drove Rakurai from his hiding place towards the woman. At first he had been thinking she might simply be drunk. Once he had reached her side oh how he wished that had been the case or that he had stayed put and been content with only watching.
He felt a chill run down his spine once he was close enough he could actually smell her... Or what was left of her. The smell of rotting flesh was strong enough it clung to the air despite the cleansing effects of the rain. A low rumbling growl began emanating from his throat. He was agitated by this discovery. Once he was close enough to see the shuffling woman's unpleasant appearance he let out a roar that sounded like the crashing of thunder. A crackling wave of sound energy rushed forth from the oni to lash out at the things surrounding him.
To anyone looking out at the storm, or even towards Rakurai himself, the last clap of thunder seemed strange. There was no flash or arcing bolt of lightning accompanying it.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:46 am
The front of the woman's face had crumbled to decay and months in a coffin- bits of flesh and bone stuck out at odd angles, and dirt grimed across her features. She was quite obviously not of the living. The roar of the oni blasted the woman off her feet, sending her tumbling like a domino, but it had an unexpected side effect.
The column of shuffling feet stopped, turning as the pide-piper of this poorly assembled group glanced back through the fog and darkness. A pale finger rose from the depths of the billowing cloak and two of the shambling corpses trundled into the mists, seeking the source of the strange disturbance.
The woman rose, awkwardly, it was obvious that the attack had damaged her, but she felt neither pain nor dizziness- afterall, she was beyond these concerns. A clammy hand reached out of the fog, gnarled fingers probing for Rakurai- the dead did not have the best of senses, instead they relied on human eyes to guide them- but in such a thick mist, this was little help.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 10:11 am
His fun little excursion was fast becoming a nightmare. A downside of activating his roar was becoming lost is a storm of adrenaline and aggression. The last time it had thrown him into a rage when he had used it and sure enough it was happening again. He was unaware of the sudden stillness of the other undead and the individuals that were now after him. The only thing that mattered was his target. His creepy abomination of a target that needed to be persuaded into no longer moving.
Rakruai followed after his prey and lunged forward clawing blindly at the woman when she was able to get back up. He did not want to give his target the chance to gain the upper hand.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 10:21 am
 The shamblig corpse made no cries of pain as Rakurai tore into it, after he sliced at it, it began to fall to pieces. Unfortunately his victory was short lived. The mists curled around the legs of two emerging creatures- the shambling arms reaching out to grab at the raging oni. The cloaked figure had now turned completely around, the destruction of one of his followers apparently merited more than a small afterthought. The rain and storm did not let up, lightning raced through the clouds and the sky rumbled with displeasure. "What have we here, hm?" The voice that echoed from the cloak was young, certainly not aged or frail, and most assuredly a man's voice.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 10:54 am
Once the first zombie looked like it wasn't going to get up yet again Rakurai looked around intending to find his next target. As he moved towards the next zombie he thought was closest Rakruai was startled to suddenly be grabbed by something unpleasantly cold and slimy. It was one of the zombies that had been sent after the disturbance! He pushed and clawed at his captor desperately before another one grabbed him as well. Once it became clear how outnumbered he was he begrudgingly stopped struggling. For now he would bide his time and save his energy as he waited for an opening to try to escape.
Rakurai looked around frantically when he could suddenly hear someone's voice. What was going on? Why was one of these things talking?! He really didn't want to be here any more.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 5:48 am
The gravel on the road crunched under the press of boots and footsteps pierced the night, echoing almost sinister in the fogs before the cloaked figure stepped into view of Rakurai, in such a small visibility range, it made the figure very close indeed. Three more undead lumbered forward, clammy blue and green hands reaching to hold the oni at bay.
The figure stood silently for so long it seemed as though it might be nothing more than a cloak, boots and some curious darkness hidden beneath. That would be ridiculous, though! An empty cape, nothing more? And then, if it was an empty cape, what had spoken?
Then the hood shifted, moving ever so slightly- a signal, like a nod or direction. No sound passed its darkened folds but two of the zombies moved forward, kicking at the Oni's legs to force him to kneel.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 6:30 am
The situation was looking dire. There were too many of them. Feeling he could not do much at the moment Rakurai glowered at the cloaked figure growling. The low rumble of his growling mirrored the fury of the sky above.
Rakuai would have contently let the standoff continue as it had been progressing. The shadowy figure's silence enduring against the oni's agitated rumbling and crackling. The other man's slight movement followed by the sudden kick thew him off guard. Rakurai landed on the ground harshly. If the undead had not been hanging onto him he would have fallen completely but instead he found himself on his knees. A wave of panic came over him. Why would they want him on his knees? This wasn't an execution right?!
Seeing as it may be his last chance he roared releasing what magical energy he had left for a final act of resistance and pulled at the restraining hands but it was no use. Despite his attack the horrible things held tight. He was not pleased by this situation at all and simply watches the cloaked figure. It wasn't like he had much left he could do.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 6:42 am
Two of the zombies in front of Rakurai's sudden outcry stumbled a little but with a shake of the hooded figure's head, they stopped moving entirely. One might almost think it was not them that was affected by the roar...
"Are you done snarling like an animal?" Yes, it was a man, a young man perhaps, but little more was discernible from the voice. His tones were clipped and his words short.
A gloved hand extended from the billows of the cape, reaching to lift Rakurai's chin. One of the zombies grabbed at the tuft of red hair, straining the Oni's neck so he had no choice but to hold his head at an awkward angle.
Thunder rumbled again overhead and lightning slammed into a nearby weathervein, lighting up the shadows, flashing over the scene in the deserted street.
"You have an interesting power, little lion." The fingers released Rakurai's head and the cloak shifted. "So consider this a warning...."
Another kick from one of the zombies, this time at Rakurai's stomach.
"Don't try and get in my way. In fact, consider this an offer of employment." He chuckled to himself, obviously laughing at some sort of personal joke.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 7:18 am
He answered the question with his sudden silence. Rakurai was out of energy and he was no better off than when he had first been captured. Not a single answer came to mind that would do anything to improve the situation. No, all of his possible quips would have made things much worse so he bit his tongue.
He clearly tensed when the gloved hand touched his jaw. Being forced to contort his neck in such an awkward angle only reminded Rakurai of his earlier concerns when he had been forced to his knees. He certainly did not want to give them an excuse to snap his neck so he strained to move where he was guided. He was ashamed he was being somewhat complacent but the only thing on his mind was wanting to survive long enough to return the favor.
The strike made Rakurai buckle and want to collapse. How was this guy controlling these things? Again if it wasn't for the unwelcome hands holding him up he would have been on the ground. While trying to recover he tugged and struggled in vain. He should have left them alone. He wouldn't be in this mess if he had done that... But if he had shied from danger what kind of hero would he be?
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 7:27 am
"What's wrong, little lion, cat got your tongue?" Again, the figure laughed. Apparently he thought he had taught Rakurai enough of a lesson because he turned on his heels, fabric and boots vanishing into the fogs.
"Think about my offer."
Some of the corpses turned obediantly following their pied-piper, the two holding Rakurai did not move for some time.
The rain became light and then cleared from the sky somewhat, then, one of the corpses holding Rakurai trembled like a puppet on strings and fell backwards. The other zombie made a meaty crunch as part of its leg suddenly stopped holding its weight and it too slammed to the ground. Apparently they were out of range or the man in the cloak had let them go. What a curious and terrifying power.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 8:18 am
He scoffed at the quip thinking the offer did not deserve so much as a reply. The master's exit was a relief until Rakurai realized that 2 of the more friendly zombies were not leaving. Was this a joke?
Seeing as the master had left Rakruai continued his struggles to get free. "C'mon guys... Leggo... I'll just go on my merry way... If you would only let go..." It seemed like the undead were ignoring his pleas. What seemed like an eternity passed before one of the zombies wobbled and fell. Rakurai jumped and the opportunity and was going to leave whether the remaining zombie wanted to be dragged or not. He was relieved when it promptly began falling apart. In hindsight later he would be disturbed by this but for now retreat was the only thing on his mind.
Rakurai slinked off into the night to lick his wounds and mend his bruised ego. Was what happened really real?
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