/jp/ - Otaku Culture

The hunter was satisfied lately, even though he'd settled down somewhat and taken some odd jobs to get enough money to feed him instead of laser focusing on hunting youkai. The whole incident with the Rokurokubi had humbled him, there was no way a man could stand before a youkai after all, not without preparations and weakened by hunger. It was why he was hatching a new plan to take her down, and more over he had the village's foremost expert on the Rokurokubi to help him!


It happened a few days after he recovered enough to consider hunting again, he'd worked a few odd jobs in the mean time to support himself and was itching to get back out there now that he had enough for a few meals under his belt. The night was just fixing its grasp over the land and the sun was tinting the sky an orange hue as the shadows grew long and darker.

He was walking the canals thinking back to his epic battle walking step per step in his mind of what happened there, he was caught up in his thinking walking slowly past the battle site and down the canals without much care in the world. Soon enough night fell as it always did and it wasn't until the light was a deep and dark blue that he realized how much time had passed exactly, he had walked practically to the other side of the village!

He groaned inwardly, it'd be a pain to head back over to the battle site from here and he simply wasn't ready for the Rokurokubi's dastardly tricks and frightening magic. He was no Hakurei who could just lay low youkai in a casual stroll after all, so when he saw the figure of a women in the distance he was put on edge.

His hand inched towards the pouches on his belt, ready to cast the charms and seals he was habitually armed with. Even if he would loose he wouldn't be so easy this time and would fight properly in the way that was drilled into him. Fortunately, just as he moved to the deeper shadows between the buildings that lined the canals and was ready to ambush the supposed youkai the moonlight interceded with the brightness of a mostly full moon.

A deep and lovely red met his eyes, both the hair and high collared cape of a familiar girl came into view properly as he stumbled out in a half hearted charge done on reflex. His ofuda was in one hand and rod in the other clenched tightly and ready to use, the loud rattling sound of him kicking a piece of litter over as he stumbled out only matched the awkwardness of his voice as he half shouted, 'Sekibanki-san?!'


Sekibanki was in an unusually good mood lately, well at least her co-workers said as much. From her point of view she may have been a bit more relaxed and hummed a bit more when she got a half remembered song in her head, but that didn't mean much. She'd lived a long time after all and learned such moods passed by quickly after all, there were less notable than a bug flying around your ear.

Still she couldn't deny that she seemed to set off at night with more of a spring in her step, after defeating that buffoon and the new dark rumors that were undoubtedly spreading about her as she walked she did indeed make things feel like they were finally turning up.

As always she was conscious of her surroundings looking for the unsuspecting but that vigilance quickly turned to admiration of the visible stars and the moon above. It formed a grand tapestry in the unpolluted skies above that on a rare occasion such as this she took the time to take in.

In reflection it must have been because of that that she didn't notice the man in the distance that quickly dived into cover upon seeing her, surely any other time her predatory eyes would've spotted him first. Even as she returned to watch her step a bit more closely she didn't detect his gaze on her at all, nor the did she see through the darkness of one of the many back allies.

When Sekibanki snapped back to reality it was already too late as the sounds of the detritus clattered on the ground and out popped the beast she was loathe to admit occasionally haunted her mind. Even with the light her eyes naturally drifted to the rod in the hunter's hand first not hearing the awkward and surprised voice immediately.

She knew she was caught and lifted up her arms to protect her all important head on instinct not even considering separating fearing for the worst of making an easy target. She heard a rather undignified yelp fill the air that surely must not have come from her as she braced for the debilitating sting of a seal or the iron strike of a purified rod that never came.

It wasn't until she came back to reality that she heard the worried voice of the hunter enter her ears, "Err... Sekibanki-san, I'm sorry for scaring you and all... I didn't think a lady would be walking around this late at night... I'm really sorry..." She realized belatedly that she was standing there in a most... unbefitting... pose for a youkai of her caliber with her arms crossed to hold back a strike and her legs crouching to make her profile smaller.