[see who it may call]

[detentionroom]

Who: Katsumori and a fr. . . iend?
When: September 21
Where: the equipment shed
What: a risky encounter
Warnings: spiders, spider bites, someone getting a hunk of flesh torn outta them

[Ever since Yakuyoke's vandalism of the equipment shed, the aura around the building has been a little. . . well. Unpleasant, to say the least! Not outright dangerous; nothing attacks when people pass by. But you may get the sense that something is staring at you warily if you get too close. Weird!!]

[At any rate, up until now, the equipment shed doors have only opened once, and that was to swallow up poor Nei. But today? A line of Kodama carrying various gardening tools march themselves straight towards the entrance. Weirdly enough, the shed's doors fly open to welcome them inside, allowing each little pale creature to file into the building before they slam shut again]

[Curious. Whatever could be inside??]

Comments

[REACTION SHOTS]

[detentionroom]

[. . . the doors close, and that is when you see it]

[the lock on the shed door is glowing a deep, Katsumori green]

Re: [REACTION SHOTS]

[darkholder]

[glancing at the door with a light frown]

...I suppose it's our turn, then?

[candlestick]

[ He's staring at the light as well, the tip of his tail flicking as he considers this carefully. ]

Given how this has been going for people, we must proceed with caution.

[ People have almost died, and at least one girl has gone missing... The one girl who happens to know his real name.

If they go in, then will they be able to find her...? ]

[darkholder]

Certainly. Better to be prepared, but... I would prefer to enter, at least.

Re: [REACTION SHOTS]

[presgarddihellis]

[welp.]

... I suppose it was just a matter of time?

Re: [REACTION SHOTS]

[darkholder]

The other groups said their charms unlocked it, correct?

[pulling out her omamori]

Re: [REACTION SHOTS]

[presgarddihellis]

I don't know about unlocked it, but...

There could be a resonance.

[candlestick]

Likely so, though it does not mean we cannot have a better outcome ourselves. We are at least aware of the potential dangers.

[ Sort of... they don't know the specific dangers really, just that there are dangers.

They actually don't know the potential dangers at all if they say it that way, but he's trying to be encouraging, so he won't point out the many flaws in what he just said. Please no one else do either. ]

[laevateinns]

[ what the what ]

What are those things? [ he asks, avoiding stepping on them. ]

[darkholder]

Some kind of spirits...?

[candlestick]

Another group of the odd spirits that seem to roam this place, though I don't know how much trouble they may be for us.

[ They look harmless at a glance, but that means jack shit. ]

[presgarddihellis]

Aren't they some kind of forest spirit?

[THE SHED]

[detentionroom]

[you hold your charms up to the glowing light, and the equipment shed doors unlock with a small click. they swing open, and you step inside to find. . .]

[. . . well! it's a storage shed, and the interior looks pretty standard and unassuming. gardening tools hang from the walls near the front; you see rakes, hoes, trimming shears, shovels, etc etc. . . if it's used for gardening, it is there! there's even a wheelbarrow or two propped up neatly near the entrance. how useful!]

[that said, there's something far more interesting near the back of the shed: weapons]

[you can't get a good look at them from the entrance, but you can still make out the shapes of combat knives, broadswords, iron crowbars. . . the kinds of things that would be very helpful to have in a school filled with dangerous, often aggressive, ghosts!]

[weirdly enough, you don't see any signs of the kodama who entered the shed just moments before you. huh]

[do you venture forth?]

Re: [THE SHED]

[darkholder]

[carefully heading forward, looking around for any potential traps or harmful presences as she goes!]

[laevateinns]

[ akechi follows her in carefully, before- ]

Ah- [ he motions towards the weapons and nods. ]

Better safe than sorry. [ he admits, grabbing a broadsword as he comments, eyes peeled. ]

[THE EQUIPMENT SHED]

[detentionroom]

[The equipment shed appears to be a pretty standard, if fairly spacious, gardening storage area. The walls are lined with shelves, which then in turn are decorated with various gardening tools. You can find rakes, hoes, gardening sheers, shovels, even wheelbarrows if you dig around enough. Plain ceramic pots are piled on one shelf, though if you're artistically inclined, perhaps you could decorate them with paints from the art room?]

[Even more fascinating than the gardening tools, however. . . are the weapons]

[At the very back of the shed is a wall lined with various. . . well. Weapons! None of them are very modern, and they are all in various states of disrepair. Some are more rusted than others, but beyond being old and a little crusty, they are still all perfectly usable. A little TLC might serve them well! And yes, you can also find things like blade oil and cloth to give these guys a nice, clean makeover, if you'd like]

[Weapons you can find in the equipment shed include:

Short swords (broadswords, wakizashi, etc etc; nothing longer than the length of someone's arm)

Daggers and combat knives

Crowbars

Small hand axes (nothing bigger)

Other small (EMPHASIS ON SMALL) weapons that are not listed

THE GENERAL RULE IS: if it is a fairly small weapon, then you can find it! Things like spears, polearm weapons, two-handed swords, large battle axes, and even firearms cannot be found in the shed at all. All weapons should start in a state of disrepair; characters will have to spruce them up themselves to make them usable. Also, weapons do not respawn once they are taken, but you can assume there are enough that people are fighting over the last broadsword.]

[As for you, Katsumori. . . as the first one's here, you will notice a few things!]

[First, there appears to be a pile of shattered ceramic pot shards in the corner of the shed, surrounded by black dirt and the husk of a flower that has long since withered. Second, there is a pair of gardening gloves in Katsumori's green colors sitting on a nearby shelf. And finally--!]

[A tiny lantern with a rapidly dimming light is casting shadows at the back of the shed]

[Take a minute to rest before you start poking around. You earned it!]

Re: [THE EQUIPMENT SHED]

[darkholder]

[ignores the bracket text and does not rest, instead carefully going towards the lantern to inspect it]

[detentionroom]

[girl]



[please]

[the light flickers as she approaches. she will hear warm voice spring to life in her head, low and sleepy]

You should be resting, young madam.

[laevateinns]

[ meanwhile akechi goes for the plant! he tips the shards over with his foot, looking at it carefully. ]

Not a very good gardener.

[detentionroom]

[YOU GUYS. . . . . . . . AKECHI YOUR ARM IS NOT WORKING]

[the shards appear perfectly normal, albeit some of their edges are tinged in old, dried blood. but even more strikingly than that is the fact that as soon as he touches them, Akechi finds himself yanked into. . . a memory, of sorts. he won't see anything, but he will hear it, loud and vivid as though it is happening in the present. and while the emotions he feels along with it absolutely do not belong to him, he will experience them as they do. it's kind of a surreal experience!]

[and it begins with a punch to the gut]

[whumpf. just like that, the air is knocked out of him. the sensation of stumbling back and falling onto one's ass may make him trip as well. someone laughs, low but cheerful. it's more apologetic than mocking]

["Aaaah, Katsumori!" the laughing voice speaks, "You used to be my best sparring partner! Seriously, what happened, dude? Have you been slacking?"]

[a small flicker of irritation. another voice-- Katsumori??-- speaks. "Don't say it like we had some sort of bond, Kai-un. We didn't. You were just a conveniently tough target."]

["Sure, sure. . ." the laughing voice snorts, but it is not unkind. in fact, Akechi may get the feeling that the owner of that voice-- Kai-un-- is very good-natured. "You're always saying shit like that, man. You know, Shiawase--"

["I don't care what Shiawase says," snaps Katsumori. their tone is dismissive. "Hey, we're not leaving things here. Give me another round."]

[the laughing voice sounds uncertain. "You've taken a lot of punishment today, my guy. Spend all of your strength here, and you'll have nothing left by the time we confront--" for a moment, the voice fades into static noises. was that. . . a name? did the laughing voice just say someone's name? "Are you sure you're up for--"]

[Katsumori interrupts. "Of course I am. It'll make me stronger. And when I am stronger, then. . ."]

[. . . the voice trails off. another emotion bubbles in the pit of Akechi's stomach. the desire to crush all those who stand in his path. the desire to rend any and all enemies into bloody pieces, to scatter their remains across the battlefield like trophies. the desire to clutch victory out of the jaws of defeat, no matter the cost. the cost. . . which has been so, so heavy up until this point. which will continue to balance heavily upon your shoulders, to smother you with the weight of responsibility that you never even asked for--]

[and just like that, the memory ends, and Akechi snaps back to himself, though Katsumori's lingering burdens continue to haunt him. the broken ceramic shards are gone]

[the withered flower has returned to life again. it is a green zinnia]

Re: [THE EQUIPMENT SHED]

[flamecursed]

[ thank you she is immediately taking one of the small axes. she picks it up like it's an old friend; honestly, it's much smaller than her usual go-to, but. familiar murder weapon is familiar.

there is no resting, though, because she's going to peer at the dead flower. the ceramic pieces catch her eye as she does so, but she looks back at the flower several times. ]

Unfortunate. I would have enjoyed seeing what this would have bloomed into.

[detentionroom]

[well]

[the flower comes back]

Re: [THE EQUIPMENT SHED]

[presgarddihellis]

[Klein? rest when there's things to poke?

never.

he's keying in on the gloves, picking them up with his good hand.]

[detentionroom]

[none of you know what self-care is]

[he can pick up the gloves, though! they seem pretty ordinary, if battered with plenty of use. dirt clings to the fabric of the fingers, and a white tag sticks out of the bottom edges. it has a name crawled on it in green ink-- Katsumori]

[candlestick]

[ Zuo Le waits to make sure the rest of his group is alright enough to move around before going to grab one if the broadswords. It's in bad shape, but he's determined to be properly ready next time someone like this happens.

He can't let anyone else get injured on his watch. ]