This Is An Emergency (D10, LM)

[Susumu Yakumo]

Yakumo had to keep herself from speeding from the hotel and over to the shrine. She had thrown on some casual wear and placed a veil over the lower half of her face, for different reasons than she usually would.

It was with very decisive steps she approached the shrine, seeking out the priests there. "I am in need of spiritual purification," she requested with a forced calm, but it didn't quite dampen the distress she was feeling.

[Tassu]

"Ara ara maa." A gentle voice called out to her, a young woman carrying the pendant depicting two intertwined snakes on her bosom. She wore a dark robes with the traditional white kato no kesa usually associate with warrior monks, even if she was unarmed - yet there was steel in her eyes, a steel Yakumo might well recognize from the shrines back on Shiragiku. "Please follow me, Susumu-sama." The young monk, likely only barely older than Yakumo herself, beckoned her towards the shrine proper. "Lady of Undying Passion brings deliverance to the faithful."

[Susumu Yakumo]

There was something oddly comforting in seeing something as familiar as someone who seemed to belong to the Order of the Spider. The songstress bowed respectfully to the lady, as she had been instructed to do with monks. "Thank you." Another bow of her head, as she followed her towards the shrine proper.

"I come seeking spiritual purification, and... only superficial treatment of a wound, holy one," she explained. And if this woman belonged to the Order of Spider, it wouldn't hurt to ask her about other things too.

[Tassu]

"Oh my." the young monk chirped, fluttering her hand as if to fan herself. "Oh my oh my." Clearing throat to regain her composure, she guided Yakumo in front of a small altar, upon which a status of rather forgiving looking snake coiled around a group of people sat. "Kyosho brings redemption to those who put their faith in her." she muttered, picking up a somewhat wilted, yet sacred branch and incense bearer. "Please sit down, Susumu-sama. I will get right into it." Her soft words rang with tempered steel - as kind as the monk might have looked, she had a poise of someone ready to kill.

[Susumu Yakumo]

"Thank you," she bowed once more to the nun, and a deep bow to the altar before seating herself down. Yakumo's breath trembled slightly from her own rattled nerves, but being in a sacred place to the Dark Fortunes began to put her at ease. And well, if that thing came back, maybe the nun would beat it up.

Another deep breath, and the scent of incense made her relax slightly.

"My faith in her and the Dark Fortunes is absolute." Yakumo spoke the words with quiet reverence.

[Tassu]

The monk would walk towards Yakumo, dousing her with incense as she murmured prayers to the Dark Fortunes, repeating many names Yakumo would recognize. Yet one was left out - Daigotsu himself, the Dark Lord. With his service limited to the Spider alone, his name was taboo on worlds where the Spider did not hold power. The sweet, acrid smoke would surround Yakumo, clinging to her clothes like claws of a loving demon, the tendrils of sacred fumes slowly coiling around her. "Pray, Susumu-sama. Pray and surrender your soul to those who have gone before you." Muttering prayers still, she began to wave the sacred branch around the songstress, each swing of her arms causing the sacred vapors slowly drift away from Yakumo, the evil spirits ostensibly driven away along with the fumes.

[Susumu Yakumo]

It had been a long time since she had been asked to pray like this, but she had not forgotten. When one prayed to the Dark Fortunes, one didn't ask for blessings one had not earned through their own deeds.

As she prayed she listed her accomplishments to prove her worthiness to the Fortunes, baring her soul to the Dark Ones for their judgement. Yakumo likewise did not speak the name of the holiest, only mouthing his name.

[Tassu]

As Yakumo prayed, the young monk recited the rites of purification, swinging the sacred branch vigorously around the Susumu artisan, occasionally giving her more or less accidental whack to 'drive the evil out of her'. No evil would suffer the touch of the sacred after all. "Prey!" the monk beseeched her, her own chanting become more and more fervent, the words slowly dying out even as the fumes of the incense drifted away. "You are reborn in your faith to the Fortunes, Susumu-sama. Now raise and cleanse yourself." she nodded at a small fountain surrounded by a half d dozen ceremonial ladles.

[Susumu Yakumo]

Yakumo was fairly certain that the monk had told her to pray, and not to begin stalking around for prey around the temples, so she dutifully continued her incantations that she had learned as a child. The praise of the Dark Fortunes recited with dedicated piety.

As the ritual reached its natural conclusion, with the fading of the incense and the ending of the whishing branch, she relaxed again, feeling at ease and at peace. She gave a quiet nod to the next step, rose and approached the fountain. While she did not enjoy the step before the cleansing, it was a nescessary one.

The black gloves were slipped off, exposing her miscolored fingers; purpleish at the fingertips and then yellowish around the knuckles, like permanent bruises. She tucked the gloves neatly into her pocket and then raised her hands to remove the veil. There were no blemishes like that on the beautiful face, though it was pale... and on her chin was something that seemed like a cut. Or a bad scrape that had bled earlier. Like the gloves, the veil was placed away into the other pocket.

At least these steps she remembered easily from her uncle's teachings. Using the ladle she scooped up a little water and poured water first on her left hand, then repeated the process for her right hand. Then Yakum poured a small mouthful into the palm of her left palm, and proceeded to cleanse her mouth. Finishing the ritual, a little more water was poured over her left hand again, then the ladle was turned upright to empty the remaining water down its handle, purifying it as the last step before it was returned to its proper place by the fountain.

It was with a quiet serenity that she went through these rites, finding safety and peace in the comfort of the Dark Fortunes' blessings and the sanctity of the shrine. For while she had been touched by something foul and evil, here she was safe. "Thank you," she said softly, bowing once more to the altar.

[Tassu]

"Ara?" The monk tilted her head to the side. "We served the Lady of Obsession so that her mercy might reach her devoout followers on this side." She replied rather cheerfully, all things considered. "This is a wicked, wicked city. Many get lost here, one way or another." she added, her own gaze getting lost for a moment, if only because Yakumo's presence shadowed hers a little. "Would Susumu-sams wish to discuss what she has seen?" The monk asked, nodding at one of the doors by the side.

[Susumu Yakumo]

Lifting her gaze away from the altar, Yakumo looked to the nun and nodded. "Yes... I would like that, thank you. Perhaps sharing what I've seen, I might find knowledge that I need." With the nun's guidance, she followed for a more private place to speak, feeling stronger and more confident after the rites of purification.

It was a small hope that perhaps the holy people of this shrine could hold some answers. None of the others had found any answers on how to exorcise the gaki.

[Tassu]

"Ara-ara. Let us go then." the monk would lead Yakumo to a more private room, harassing the buttons of a tea machine even as she beckoned the Spider songstress to take a seat on a worn cushion on the stone floor. Yakumo could hear the monk humming as she prepared the tea, having little to do while her 'host' prepared refreshments. On the wall hung several digital paintings that showed the ascension of Kyoso. One of the works displayed showed oni bowing down before a dark alter that represented Daigotsu himself, another showing Kyoso taking her place in Dark Pantheon, the once Tainted creature taking her place among the others with Susumu and Shahai welcoming her with open arms.

Eventually Yakumo would be served tea - Dark Iron blend, a Spider favorite with strong, earthen flavor. The tea had been spiked with medical iron, mean to be served to fresh mothers and injured soldiers both. "Please." the young monk took a seat opposite to the Spider songstress, tilting her head to the side. "How I can help you?"

[Susumu Yakumo]

The medical tea was not her favorite, but there was something about familiar tastes and scents that made you like it even if you did not, or so Yakumo thought at least she sipped the offered beverage.

"I had... a nightmare, sacred nun. Of a terrible creature in the Desolation. In my nightmare, I was pulled out to the Desolation, where nothing moved, not even insects who seemed frozen in time. I saw... a large crooked tower, partially destroyed I think by that disaster years ago. There I saw this... a portal, I think." She gathered her strength some more with another sip of tea. "A portal of sickly pink light that shimmered in the air. And, it just radiated fear as I was further drawn towards it. And this terrible creature stepped through, bathed in pink vapors."

Yakumo placed a hand to her injured chin. "It touched me, and I awoke with this."

"I am lacking in Knowledge, about these sorts of beings. But I feel I am compelled to face this creature."

[Tassu]

The monk fiddled with her cup, occasionally taking a sip with great gusto as she listened to Yakumo, her eyes intent on the sorceress. "Ara ara ara..." Three ara's, reserved for only the most unsettling of situations, the young woman frowning with great concern. "...ara." Four 'ara's' never mean anything good. "Portal tells of coming." she nodded sagely. "Daigotsu Koyuki-sensei wrote as much on her 'On Gaki and Other Malicious Entities'. I think." she tiled her head as if she was trying to recall something. "Or becoming. But unless Susumu-sama is planning to become gaki, it likely means coming."

"Wound means harm or death - obvious really." she added with a nod. "At least according to Daigotsu-sensei. I think." Her tongue escaped her mouth, the monk blepping like a cat for a moment. "Uh, it has really been a while. But you got lucky, I have spent way too long in the libraries. Old books - I looooove them. Their smell, the paper, the bindings.. oh.." The young monk spoke of the written works like a Doji maiden spoke of her first love. "They are coming for you." she nodded. "Whatever those spirits might be, they are coming for you." she explained, dead serious. "There is no other explanation. Probably."

[Susumu Yakumo]

Four ara's sounded troubling indeed.

"So it seems," she said with a calm resolve. "But I have no intention of becoming a gaki, or falling to them. It would... keep me from the eternal reward we all hope for." All Spider, of course.

Perhaps she had been a fool for not seeking the disciples of the Dark Fortunes earlier. "You seem very well-read. Perhaps you know if there is a way to vanquish such an evil spirit? Because I have no intention of waiting around for them to get me first." Her bare hands tightened their hold on the teacup as she found the steely resolve that she had inherited from the Daigotsu.

[Tassu]

The young monk nodded solemnly. "Well, we could maybe hatch a plan." she suggested carefully, tapping her chin. "We have many sacred relics here, some that would undoubtedly be potent enough to banish such evil. But, how to get these relics to the gaki. There lies a problem. Unless the gaki come here." she looked markedly at Yakumo. "Lure them in, perhaps? I do truly think they come for you, sooner or later - so better we strike first, no?"

[Susumu Yakumo]

"Lure them in, or seek them out. I would rather go on the offensive, to have Control of how and when to confront this evil."

Yakumo, while she knew she was as useful as a paperbag in a rainstorm to stay dry when it came to a fight, also refused to be a useless Crane-like damsel in distress.

"If these relics could be put to use to banish it, I would take it upon myself to see it done. Along with a few trusted allies." It wasn't only for herself, but it was the right thing to do, even if she knew the risks were great.

[Tassu]

"If you are brave enough! But they might not come out, unless you are there?" The monk tilted his head to the side. "I see steel in your soul. But walking out there on your own is dangerous. Very much so." she nodded matter-of-factually, as if as much wasn't evident. "Hum-hum. I trust that could be arranged, yes." the nun nodded, seemingly approving of her plan. "As long as you promise to bring the relics back, yes?"

[Susumu Yakumo]

"If I am there, and not an army along with me, it might be drawn out, I think." Too many, and it would just think it's a trap. Only a handful though, it would probably consider it good odds.

"As for the relics, if I do not bring them back myself, I am dead - my allies will be given strict orders to return them here in that case." And if they didn't then Yakumo would personally see to hounding them for all eternity for mistreating sacred relics of this shrine in such a manner. "You have my word."

[Tassu]

"Yes." she nodded seriously. "They must think they can have you. Well, your soul. Why would they want you, I cannot tell. But fight you must." the monk added. "Yes, that does sound prudent." Please wait a moment - I will be back soon. Pushing herself slowly up, the young monk tip-toed out of the room, determination evident in her pose.