Dragonball M, Chapter 1: Silent Menace Aproaches!

[Lord Falcon]

“Okay, lets get this over with so Eva doesn’t beat me unconscious.” Jinzi mumbles. He gestures and a holoscreeen pops up with two images.








“Samson Balon is a monk that works on Turtle Island. From what I can tell he’s clean and has a stellar reputation. It is my belief that Battersea is blackmailing him somehow. This might be the in Battersea has at the Tournament.”

He gestures to the second image.

“Kevi the Stalker. A figure of legend, allegedly sealed away via the ancient Mafuba Spell in the mountains near Anvil City. She’s more mythological than historical, or was thought to be. Other than the fact that she’s supposed to be a powerful witch and, possibly, a vampire, I have no information on her.”

As the others gathered, Zaofan saw Sarada in the distance, and the evening's...revealing...events flashed back in his mind. He resisted the urge to go over and say hi, trying to rationalize to himself that, no, entering into anything with Sarada would be a bad idea all around. Still, it did lead to one mind blowing self-training session the night before. It was good that she was fully clothed, so that Zaofan could concentrate on more important things.



Zaofan overheard the conversation but dared not to enter. He felt a tinge of jealousy, looking at her and Jack, but again he had to reason it out to himself.

1. Okay, remember, do not hook up with Sarada.
2. Sarada doesn't even like me like that, okay? And that's the way I want it!
3. She likes Jack. Jack is cool. I like Jack, don't I?
4. I've nothing against Jack! Jack's my friend!
5. Stop it. Stop it! I'm in my head too much.
6. Maybe some tea will help? Oh, I always have tea, though.
7. When was the last time that I meditated? Oh, this morning. DAMMIT!

Zaofan also did not realize that, while he was still in his head, the others had moved on to the briefing.



Eva, eh? Note that for later.



"Excuse me, Mr. Pantaloon," Zaofan said, raising his hand and index finger. "You've been a great host no matter where we go. But a good host needs rest, too. I could maybe whip something up for you to eat before you go to bed, if you'd like."





"I have to concur with Meagan here. If Balon is a trained monk, how powerful are we looking at here? What if he resists?"

Zaofan then scratched his chin. "But how do we address the blackmail part, as well? What does Battersea have on him? And how should we adjust the team then?"

"And again, Fife shows his proclivity for gathering monsters in prisons." Koorimaru chuckled, "This Kevi seems just as likely to turn on us as she is to aid us, and dare I say, without the realisation of how poor a master Fife is, she will be less easy to persuade than the Vitalmancer. It may well be that the best we can hope for under these circumstances it to retrieve the prison in which she is sealed and keep it far from Fife's hands."

Koorimaru tapped his cheek, taking a moment to consider the other figure Jinzi had shown.

"As for this Samson, the answer lies in your assessment of his situation. If we can find just exactly what it is Battersea has over him, and convince him that we have the means to guarantee it is no longer an issue, perhaps he will see fit to aid us in attaining his liberation. Tell me, for however stellar a reputation he has, there must be something that he would hold dear enough that any threat to it would resort to his poor choice in allies. Has your attempt to seek out this information provided an answer on that front?"

Samson Balon's name caught Asha'rah's attention in particular. It was peculiar for one of the orders to work for a man like Battersea - one who had slaughtered his way through a temple for power, and who lived a life of wealth and publicity. Balon's actions suggested either corruption or blackmail, and Jinzi's work research suggested the latter. Zaofan and Koorimaru each wondered about the form of blackmail being used. Asha'rah spoke up, feeling her particular perspective might have a role here, having spent her waking years among the monks of Kame.

"A monk generally has few worldly ties. The possible scope of what Battersea holds over Samson's head should be relatively narrow. A shameful past, an ill deed, corruption, a secret child...something that a life of asceticism cannot sever."

[Ptrvc]

Jack settled the weighted jacket back on his shoulders. Pausing in his stride, he took time for a few short squats and then a giant leap forward. At the rate they were getting stronger, he would have to find some way of adding to the weight of the Jacket by the end of the week if not sooner. It was beginning to get to the point that Jack had trouble noticing the difference between having the thing on and not.

To be fair, after his 'date' with Macey and Bedlam's compensation, combined with the training Ka-Ev...Guardian Evangeline...he needed to ask her that actually.

After everything Jack had more than doubled his power from when they had been at Jinzi's and quadrupled the power he had when he had fought the Yeti. That was some amazing strength gains. But if anything, Jack would need to double his strength again, at least, if he hoped to have a chance of defeating Battersea.

Jack watched the people on screen.

A monk huh? Weird, I thought all them turtle guys were friends with Battersea. Maybe if we could get him alone, Samson might have a clue how to defeat his 'friend."

Vampire chick huh? Kinda hot actually. Wonder if Karine might have some ins...wait a minute!

"Hey Jinzi, can you focus in on Kevi's eyes there for a second?" Jack asked the inventor, "She looks a mite familiar..."

[The Dog]

"Robot monk is smart, make sure to listen when talk. Erosa also smart....so make sure listen to Erosa too. Erosa first lesson of mating start now." She hugged the two of them closer. "Stamina very important....build stamina to mate. So eat all square meals a day. Pre-Breakfast, Breakfast, After-Breakfast, Lunchfast, Lunch, Brunch, Other-Lunch, Supper and bite-before-bed.....in fact, Erosa think it close to one. We go have 3 course meal to celebrate......wonder if hot cookman still around..?"

"I did not realize mating required so much eating. Nine meals all just to be able to mate." Midori said, and Shiro looked to Erosa as she replied "I do not think 'mating' requires so many meals, especially considering we do not technically require any meals due to our nature."

"But we do eat, it adds fuel to our emergency power supplies." Midori said, and Shiro frowned as she conceded "That's true."

[Sion Reaver]

".....Shes a boogeyman....." Etrina responded, seemingly deep in thought. "......The imprisonment enchantment used is top tier magic, reserved for the kinds of monsters you want to lock away and melt the key. If it is the same kevi....then I've heard of her before. Something of a folk tale, the kind of character you scare children with and for good reason. According to the legend, she eats children....."

Etrina paused, a dark look in her eyes. "To be more specific....she targeted children with strong magical potential and drained them til death. I never put much faith in tall tales meant to scare children......I had my own demons growing up. But if shes real, and if this is the actual kevi from those stories....I'd advise extra caution."

This Kevi sounded like a real piece of work. Going around, targeting children because of their magical potential? Absolutely despicable. A quiet rage ignited within his heart.

A low rumbling could be heard from around him, and the floor slabs immediately around him began to shake from the build-up of power around him.

"...if there's one thing I can't stand, it's those that rob the young of their future," said Totoma, closing his eyes to control his temper. "If those stories are true... would anyone be opposed to me ripping her in half?"

Karine closed her eyes a bit at the news, seemingly to mentally debate something in her head. before she opened them The next words may have been surprising:

"..If her next prison turns out to be her grave, I have no complaint if what you said is accurate."

People who targeted children intentionally were a special kind of scum to her.

Something else to consider was if Etrina's story was accurate about going after children, then at least some of them had to be Nosferartu since high magical potential is what she sought. It didn't change anything what so ever, if they all had been Human she'd still feel the same exact way; but it did add that slight extra layer. The victims very easily could of been Kylie or someone like her as well.

It would be time to show them why Nosferartu had once been the feared and dominant race on this planet.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Sarada nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it really is. I'd tell you to give it a shot one day, but I doubt you'd be into that sort of thing."

She hoped, anyway. She didn't want to see any other girl -- or guy, for that matter -- sleeping in Jack's coat. Only she had coat-blanket privileges. "So," she said to shift gears so Ishtar wouldn't get any ideas, "when's that lesson on Aeshma Xeshm coming. We were supposed to do it at dawn yesterday, but that didn't work out. So after the training exercise today?"

"I do not have the ... 'dibs', nor do I want them." Ishtar replied with a shrug before focusing on the matter of Sarada's training.

"Assuming the lesson does not last the full day, this is likely. Though ... my initial idea was to have you accompany me as I began my lessons with Nunlil, and then to meditate once the 'lesson' concluded." Of course the lesson was nothing more than a spar, Ishtar's cousin was much stronger after all, such a thing would be good both for assessing their full power, and also allowing for the golden-eyed Oni to test her newly reforged arm.

"So ... Does this seem agreeable ? The lesson with Nunlil ?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"I do not have the ... 'dibs', nor do I want them." Ishtar replied with a shrug before focusing on the matter of Sarada's training.

"Assuming the lesson does not last the full day, this is likely. Though ... my initial idea was to have you accompany me as I began my lessons with Nunlil, and then to meditate once the 'lesson' concluded." Of course the lesson was nothing more than a spar, Ishtar's cousin was much stronger after all, such a thing would be good both for assessing their full power, and also allowing for the golden-eyed Oni to test her newly reforged arm.

"So ... Does this seem agreeable ? The lesson with Nunlil ?"

Ishtar's offer didn't require too much consideration. The thought of watching her and her cousin fighting had her heart beating a little faster. Sweat dripping down those chiseled abs, Nunlil's small top threatening to pop open once they got started.

Mmm, yes.

"Absolutely," she answered with no hesitation. "I'm sure I can learn quite a bit just from watching the two of you fight."

[rhyvurg]

As the meeting with Jinzi continues, Adam's head opens like a flower and small tendrils grow from it's neck, reaching in. There are brief flashes of light and the occasional spark as the android operates on it's own brain, excising bits of it's own emotions.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Jack settled the weighted jacket back on his shoulders. Pausing in his stride, he took time for a few short squats and then a giant leap forward. At the rate they were getting stronger, he would have to find some way of adding to the weight of the Jacket by the end of the week if not sooner. It was beginning to get to the point that Jack had trouble noticing the difference between having the thing on and not.

To be fair, after his 'date' with Macey and Bedlam's compensation, combined with the training Ka-Ev...Guardian Evangeline...he needed to ask her that actually.

After everything Jack had more than doubled his power from when they had been at Jinzi's and quadrupled the power he had when he had fought the Yeti. That was some amazing strength gains. But if anything, Jack would need to double his strength again, at least, if he hoped to have a chance of defeating Battersea.

Jack watched the people on screen.

A monk huh? Weird, I thought all them turtle guys were friends with Battersea. Maybe if we could get him alone, Samson might have a clue how to defeat his 'friend."

Vampire chick huh? Kinda hot actually. Wonder if Karine might have some ins...wait a minute!

"Hey Jinzi, can you focus in on Kevi's eyes there for a second?" Jack asked the inventor, "She looks a mite familiar..."

Jinzi does so, zomming in on her eyes.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Ishtar's offer didn't require too much consideration. The thought of watching her and her cousin fighting had her heart beating a little faster. Sweat dripping down those chiseled abs, Nunlil's small top threatening to pop open once they got started.

Mmm, yes.

"Absolutely," she answered with no hesitation. "I'm sure I can learn quite a bit just from watching the two of you fight."

Ishtar cocked her head slightly, before chuckling.

"Perhaps at first you will watch. The idea however, was to involve you in some capacity. Assuming Nunlil is not adverse." The Oni explained. At the very least it would tire the girl out and make her more amenable to lessons and words of calm and peace and silence. It was also, to a lesser extent, amusing to see the girl sweat at the thought of seeing Nunlil exert herself.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

“So, the first Kevi legend is the basic one. A boogeyman who took magical children and either ate them or drained them. The second is the story of a monk running across Kevi in the forest. The two get into a battle of wits, Kevi telling the monk if he could not figure out her puzzles, she would eat him. In return, if she could not figure out his, he could keep advancing through the forest. Eventually the monk stalls her long enough that he manages to construct a spell within his puzzle and when she solves it she ends up trapped.”

“The last story is perhaps the most chilling, and possibly the closest to historical record. There is a story of a guardian, some two centuries after Arthur, who went down to deal with a string of mysterious child disappearances. Only when he got there, he found the bones of the children and Kevi waiting, still covered in their blood. It was said that Kevi and he battled day and night until Kevi won, taking the Guardian’s life and draining it. She then went to claim the Lookout as her own, only to be stopped by the Mafuba sealings Spell, cast upon her by the Guardian’s then apprentice. She then buried her in a shrine hidden within a mountain.”


Jinzi shrugs.

“As to Samson, before he became a monk he had a kid. My guess would be Battersea threatened her.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Summoning up her own energy, Etrina propelled the shield upwards and then dashed immediately forward. The TK smashed the shield into a cloud of icey particles...but Etrina just barely made it out of the area of effect. That left her now with no eyes on her opponent and no shards left, it would take some time to reform them. In the meantime she readied her wand again and assumed her defensive pose.

".....So....now what.......attack from below....above...the sides....."

The sides.

A kick takes Etrina in the left side, sending her flying towards a tree.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Oni are among other things, vegetarians. They also do not hunt in a manner similar to that of what you refer to as 'vampires'." Ishtar commented as she assessed the information presented in the dossiers.





Ishtar considered then all of the information provided in the dossier. Mostly myth and legend, a powerful witch sealed away with a Mufaba- sealing spells were known to her, though the name was not- it was also known that Fife had leveled Anvil City, lending credence to the witch's imprisonment. Which at the very least provided a thread for the Oni to pull on.

Nodding to herself, Ishtar addressed Eva, and Mr. Pantaloon.

"With permission, I would investigate the ruins of Anvil City and its surrounding mountains. Perhaps something of worth could be found."

Eva shook her head.

“I would prefer not to. Fife already laid one trap for me there, I would rather not rush anyone going there and springing another one potentially.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Ishtar cocked her head slightly, before chuckling.

"Perhaps at first you will watch. The idea however, was to involve you in some capacity. Assuming Nunlil is not adverse." The Oni explained. At the very least it would tire the girl out and make her more amenable to lessons and words of calm and peace and silence. It was also, to a lesser extent, amusing to see the girl sweat at the thought of seeing Nunlil exert herself.

"Ah, so a three-way dance, huh?" It was almost like her dream was coming true; except, Nunlil was swapped in for Jack, and she would be fighting Ishtar, as well, as opposed to them both fighting Sarada one at a time. The idea of her hand 'accidentally' undoing the knot on the red oni's top flashed through her mind briefly before being dismissed. No, there's no time for that foolishness during training. After, though...

"Either way, I'm game."

“So, the first Kevi legend is the basic one. A boogeyman who took magical children and either ate them or drained them. The second is the story of a monk running across Kevi in the forest. The two get into a battle of wits, Kevi telling the monk if he could not figure out her puzzles, she would eat him. In return, if she could not figure out his, he could keep advancing through the forest. Eventually the monk stalls her long enough that he manages to construct a spell within his puzzle and when she solves it she ends up trapped.”

“The last story is perhaps the most chilling, and possibly the closest to historical record. There is a story of a guardian, some two centuries after Arthur, who went down to deal with a string of mysterious child disappearances. Only when he got there, he found the bones of the children and Kevi waiting, still covered in their blood. It was said that Kevi and he battled day and night until Kevi won, taking the Guardian’s life and draining it. She then went to claim the Lookout as her own, only to be stopped by the Mafuba sealings Spell, cast upon her by the Guardian’s then apprentice. She then buried her in a shrine hidden within a mountain.”


Jinzi shrugs.

“As to Samson, before he became a monk he had a kid. My guess would be Battersea threatened her.”

"Tch."

The stories of this Kevi -- at least the first and last ones -- made Sarada's blood come to a boil. Not even the Saiyans of old would target children exclusively. Of course, they still killed them, but that was more a consequence of being in the wrong place at the wrong time rather than outright malice toward the young. After her talk with Totoma and bringing up her kid brother and cousin, she couldn't help but imagine them being victims of this sick ****.

That... was a bad idea.

Her ki spiked sharply, coming to a boiling fever pitch before finally relaxing and settling down back to normal.

"I... really want to kill this witch," she declared, her tail still twitching and jerking angrily. Given the reactions of at least Etrina, Totoma, and -- surprisingly -- Karine, she wouldn't be alone in that endeavor.

And then there was Battersea. Threatening someone child just to gain an in to blackmail them with was among the lowest actions a man could take. "And Battersea's life is looking more expendable by the minute."

These were all, of course, rumors, unsubstantiated folk tales and hearsay that should in no way have any merit when making plans. Then again, that was usually never the case in times like this; and it would prudent to prepare for the worse case scenario in either case.

"So, what's the deal with this Mafuba?" she asked Eva. "Is it something any one of us can do?"

[Lord Falcon]

"I was afraid of that." Shiro muttered, and Midori smiled as she said "Come on Shiro, this'll definitely let us discover that everything we are wasn't programmed into us by Dr. Nijimoto. Also, what better way to discover 'sex' and relationships beyond what we see on TV and books than experience it with Erosa?"

Shiro sighed in defeat, instead turning to Asha'rah as she said "That would be great, Asha'rah. Maybe it'll help me decompress after dealing with, well..." She motioned to herself, Erosa, and Midori "This."

"Robot monk is smart, make sure to listen when talk. Erosa also smart....so make sure listen to Erosa too. Erosa first lesson of mating start now." She hugged the two of them closer. "Stamina very important....build stamina to mate. So eat all square meals a day. Pre-Breakfast, Breakfast, After-Breakfast, Lunchfast, Lunch, Brunch, Other-Lunch, Supper and bite-before-bed.....in fact, Erosa think it close to one. We go have 3 course meal to celebrate......wonder if hot cookman still around..?"

"I did not realize mating required so much eating. Nine meals all just to be able to mate." Midori said, and Shiro looked to Erosa as she replied "I do not think 'mating' requires so many meals, especially considering we do not technically require any meals due to our nature."

"But we do eat, it adds fuel to our emergency power supplies." Midori said, and Shiro frowned as she conceded "That's true."

Erosa meant to teach Midori of the carnal pleasures she was so curious about, and as usual Shiro allowed herself to get roped in. They showed themselves capable of remarkable mental elasticity, managing to move from an existential crisis to the task at hand with an alacrity with a speed most organic species would find impossible. Scars would remain, but it seemed the worst was over.

Asha'rah nodded her thanks for Erosa's support and compliment. The Id seemed to put a different weight on "smart" when referring to Asha'rah than she would when, say, referring to Jinzi. Their minds had different things to offer, after all. As Erosa spoke to Midori and Shiro about their preparatory diet, the sisters were perturbed by the sheer volume of meals the Id was describing. Asha'rah felt her orbs bob up and down in amusement.

"Unless I am mistaken, neither of you will grow fat from overeating. It would be a significant advantage towards tackling Erosa's proposed diet, though most individuals do not need to eat especially much before copulating."

She held up a hand, indicating a qualifier.

"How you prioritize your activities is up to you, of course. But our time before the tournament is limited, and even Zaofan has his limits."

[grampagen]

Still in the habit of a stupid Crane, racing to sate his appetite on Snake. Despite finding the fullness of the hidden strength of his opponent, Ochazuke gained nothing for his efforts but a poison which cost him.

His head fell forward as he fell upon his knees, folded under his weight until he was seated on legs cumbersomely folded, falling into unconsciousness. Facing the nadir of death and sensation, the simple knowledge of life brought him to a peaceful sleep, there under a ruined chamber of the Lookout where he remained until the dawn of the next day.

He'd called for an exhibition of the ancient Snake Style, and he was answered by the Majin in full after the goading of his first shot. What an end. He would die for the sake of sating a moment's curiosity. Once more he had pursued the truth, seeking a commonality between the techniques of the feuding arts of the war he'd been trained to fight all his life, and by experiencing them firsthand, perhaps understand the division of what was once whole. It brought him no further insight beyond his inheritance from egotistical dead masters and a familiar sensation of sinking. No closer, and nothing gained, for he'd been here once before. Perhaps the fate he'd escaped that day nearly five years ago was but delayed until he tread upon the familiar path he'd strayed from once more. Ochazuke felt lucidity slip and let it go. This was the death he deserved, after all.

“I won't be seeing you, Kru, but at least I won't be alone in Hell,” he thought, the last rational vapours before thoughts , “My life...wasn't enough..for your memory...”

A lightness took his body as if he were floating. Whether he wished it, it seemed he continued to move forward through this curtain of blackness, absent of any true direction but what was ahead. He'd spent his time in training gazing back, seeing how far he'd come, hoping the ascendance would capture a stirring, and with it would come a vision. But there hadn't been any such invigoration since before the time of his first death. Taking in ragged breaths, there was the brittle crunching under sinking steps. The heat hung in the dry air, pockets of a ghost escaping to another world.

_____

He lifted one foot before another. Wrapping his cloak around ragged shoulders as he pressed further onward. To survive in a desolate wasteland like this required a means to acquire what resources one could. In the land of nothing, a frugal handful was a bounty. Anything but the clothes on his back had been lost or stolen days ago. He'd been fortunate to escape with his life, but more was stolen from him with every second as blood pooled at his side, ebbing warmth where it pressed against the air through his tunic. Where he walked, aimless in the Northern wild, a rust-coloured trail followed him in the fallen snow.

The peak of the mountain stood before him there, brilliant white even under the vermilion dusk sky. The gleaming summit would be a fine thing to see before the wolves took him. One, two...nine members of a swelling pack. He'd been warding them off for days, now they closed in. The incline before him may as well have been a wall between him and another day. Shivering legs were no foundation to take a fighting stance; he couldn't lift his arms to defend himself if he wanted do. There was the final technique, but no. If his life were to be forfeit now, he'd never let even the shadow of Chahan claim victory over his memories or his form. Ochazuke spat on the ground before him, but produced nothing through his wind-dried lips. The beasts fell upon him in a semicircle. Peeling his face into a blood-cracked grin, he did the only thing he could and shout a defiant kiai. It echoed throughout, casting powder before him in a bloom. The last desperate threat, fell empty. The wolves snarled, then turned to flee, one after another down to the plateau. Reeling as he held his side, he smirked before he felt the ground shift underfoot and felt an icy spit fall down upon him before an avalanche blanketed him in white and then darkness as he was buried.

Light returned to him slowly. Ash, suphur, and a sweet rot through the fugue of fever. He moved to stand, but found himself weighed down by the shooting pain in his side as he stretched his hand out to the surrounding rock-wall. One of the stones was cast loose as he fell, skittering backwards before falling into a waiting palm outside of the pool. A scaly head peeked out of the tiled surface, followed by diminuitive pillar legs.

“A tortoise this far north?”

“S'a strange thing. So'sat kiai. But Screaming under'a snowpack isn't th' smartest thing t' do,” came the throaty reply from a hoarse voice that seemed to only recently have remembered how to speak

He was aware of it then, the heat around him that fed vitality to frozen flesh. A hot spring in the open snow? To weak to move, he sat up with a groan and felt the poultice wrapped tight over his ribs.

“...who...? I felt no presence-”

“Gyee-heh heh! Y'think y'can't see what y'not lookin' fer? ”

Gazing into the sunken eyes of the sallow-skinned man, Ochazuke realized who it was he stood before.

“And now w'eat.”

The Corpse-Ogre of the Frozen Falls. But as he was known in another life: Kuki, the lost hermit sage of the Turtle School. He offered him a singed selection of fungus, ferns and roots. Tortured, ruined foodstuffs, but in a land of nothing, any meal is a banquet.

The others began to filter outside when Ishtar arrived, her unconscious luggage in tow, and with a wave of her free hand the Oni slipped inside quickly to take advantage of the food prepared by Zaofan.

Unsure of just what it was the Majin enjoyed, the Oni simply took a platter and piled it high with food, before two cups with water, two with coffee, and a single with tea.

The platter then full, and precariously balanced in Ishtar's free hand, the Oni made her way back out slowly, to where the others were. And, once outside, the golden-eyed Oni casually dropped Sasheem to the floor, a loud clank echoing as the toilet struck the ground; only to do the same with Ochazuke.

The others could see it then, as Ishtar lifted the lid on Sasheem's toilet prison so that she could splash the Majin in the face with one of the cups of water.

"I have brought you to breakfast." She then comments simply, placing a cup of coffee in Ochazuke's hands, and making sure he's sitting so that he will not fall over.

"For you there is coffee, and tea. I do not know which you prefer."

Scooping up the remaining cup of coffee, and a single donut, the Oni turned her attention to the others.

A rude awakening shook the clarity of his memory with a waking impact. Ochazuke stirred to awareness, then shuddered under shocked nerves from receiving all the radiant pain at once. Slowly opening his eyes from a residue crust that sealed them, a flaring white met his bleary gaze.

Somehow he'd found himself moved, and was aware he was seated on the ground, but the searing pain that came in pulses from behind his eyes into his temples and down flaming V-shaped path gave him pause. Shifting his position, the stiff peel of dried blood over long wounds under the torn fabric of his shirt filled his skin with crawling, then swung into a dash of ache as the bitterness of coffee slid across his palate with a heady fragrance that filled his nose and throat.

“Mmrgh...hrrmmgh,” he mumbled, painfully aware of the swollen slash that wound on the left side of his jaw, inhaling deeply through his nose, blinking har - as if that would collect the flourescent blur before formerly blinded eyes into something comprehensible. “...thanks,” came the mutter through one side of his mouth, acknowledging the Oni's cordial effort to drag him from Hell.

Seeing Sasheem no worse for wear from their fight, Ochazuke grinned, his chest rising with a few short laughs before ceasing from the pain. What an idiotic endeavor. But the man who calls himself Champion would do no less.

He observed the Majin as he ate, then turned his thoughts to the image in his memory of the assassin revealed the previous night. Extension. Binding. Soft targets and blind areas. He contemplated this as the last of the coffee dashed against the roof of his mouth. There might be something to be learned from such specialized methods.

In his blurred vision, he grabbed something soft and round on the dish before him, seeking something savoury. When he bit down, he was met with an abominable sweetness that made him crave another cup of bitterness.