MISSION 1

[adsum]

Participants: Hanako, Amami, Clamor, Lucifer, Meng Yao, Shinobu, Gundham
Location: Courtyard
Date: 08/07

(ooc notes: I will state any possible content warnings in the subject line of the mod response when it comes up. If anything makes you uncomfortable, please tell me so I can back off and refocus the thread.

There will be no tag order, and a mod response will come after at least 6 player responses OR the next day, whichever is earlier. Please note this means that if you're absent for a day or more, the thread will move on, but I will pace things so that people aren't missing large plot beats.

For this mission, characters will icly split into two groups, and there may be an opportunity to remix groups later in the mission.)

Comments

Strategy meeting

[hanaban]

[ (Pretend he brought this up during the meeting but) Hanako gathers up everybody who had expressed interest in confronting the gardener a little before dusk in the locker area in front of the doors leading out to the courtyard. Two hitodama float around him, and Hanako himself does not hide the kitchen knife he holds in his hands, gesturing broadly with it. ]

Allllllllright!! So this is the group of vigilantes we have to work with, huh? It's okay if you can't fight, 'cause we're also gonna need [ pats Amami on the arm ] bait!

That said... All of you can see him, can't you? If not, let me grant your wish.

[carpevinum]

[belatedly I realised I should've regained Lucifer his sword and not a very cute stuffed animal but fuck it here he is, demoned out for the Aesthetic. shamefully I remembered seconds later that he has a whip and I'm an idiot, I am putting my shame on display, please bully me. Anyway he's wanted to fight this dude for like an eternity so time to fuck shit up.]

I have been fighting since my days serving in Michael's armies. [Shut up.] I'll be fine. It should be a simple matter of me binding this creature and you all killing it, yes?

[Haha, sure.]

[sisters]

( not gonna lie, amami probably peeking at lucifer all decked out in demon mode whenever he thinks the other isn't looking. bro, he thought you were a chuuni, hellooooo... oh, but about the matter at hand, he'll give a wry grin. )

It'd be nice if it was that easy, but it's probably good to have a backup plan too. ( a pause, a glance to hanako. ) Guess I kind of owe you this much after last time, don't I?

( still feeling bad about the imps and it's true, compared to this guy he's not much of a fighter. if bait is still something useful, then bait he supposes he can be. )

[filialdeception]

[ Meng Yao frowns a little. ]

...You are sure about being bait, then?

[ He's just going to check in with him on that, and then he'll look back at Luci. ]

I should hope it'll be that easy, but I agree that it's likely to be much more difficult than that, and we should be prepared in the event that it is.

[sunstead]

[Clamor........ has a broom.

And a spellbook. And the broom is floating, so hey, he's not entirely outclassed over here. He's already frowning at Hanako's little introduction, though, glancing at Amami with Concern.]

I'm not really a combatant, but I know enough about protective spells... just stay close to me, okay?

Anyway... we should at least try to resolve this peacefully. We don't know if this gardener really is dangerous or not. We should at least hear him out before jumping to conclusions. [maybe... he could be a friend?? he sounds nice enough...]

[carpevinum]

[Nooo Clamor, Lucifer wants to Kill. :(]

In this place? I doubt that's the case, though it is a rather lovely plan. I'd like to strategize a bit before we throw ourselves out there, however. Meng Yao is right in that this is likely to be more difficult than a few simple spells. In which case...

[Red eyes roam around the group before settling on Hanako.]

You seem to know the most about the situation. Would you care to enlighten all of us, so that an effective plan can be created?

[sisters]

( ah, so meng yao's a fighter then is he? that's interesting to note. though amami won't interrupt hanako if and when he speaks up, or anyone else for that matter, he still offers up a sheepish look to clamor and meng yao, followed briefly by a quieter reassurance. )

I appreciate the worry, but I'd feel better about this if you guys had more confidence in it too.

( this will really only be as dangerous as y'all let it be for him, right? )

[hanaban]

[ There is always talking with the gardener, and Hanako supposes he owes this to him because he hasn't seen the man attack anybody, nor heard of him doing so. But he throws a glance Lucifer's way when he's addressed, letting go of Amami. ]

Plan? I was thinking something like some people drawing him out, you bind him and I stab him!

[ Easy peasy.

But maaaaaayybe a little more than that, because otherwise he would have just made Amami be bait and asked for nobody else's help. ]

That, and... I'm positive there's something here that gives the gardener his strength, or that binds him here. If we can find it and get rid of it, he'll be much easier to get rid of.

[overlordofice]

[ Gundham finally speaks up from his corner of the room, arms crossed in thought as he listened before speaking. ]

Hm, yes... Some sort of tether that keeps him stable within this realm. Perhaps it should be so that multiple teams should cover different tasks. Some may draw the beast out to keep him busy, and others must break the tether to weaken him in order for an effective strike to be dealt.

i hope it's ok for me to start a new thread to make a wish,,

[insecution]

[ Shinobu is aware that, as one of the shortest—if not the shortest—people present, she doesn’t cut an imposing figure. She needs to reassure everybody that she can contribute. She needs to reassure them that she’s not weak. ]

While I know I may not seem it, I assure you that I am a capable fighter in my own right. I can also see to any wounds after we’ve taken care of it… [ Because the gardener is a thing. A monster. A demon. ] … but if we can avoid it, I’d prefer it if nobody was to get hurt.

[ As it stands, though, she’s the only person here that can’t see Kazuki. And she can’t stab what she can’t see. ]

I cannot, however, see the gardener. Do you require anything in exchange, Hanako-kun?

[sunstead]

[A tether? Hmm.]

... I wonder if he's trapped here the same as we are. [and it reminds Clamor of something Nene brought up once, about how empty this place is... there are barely any spirits around, so why is the gardener here?

but anyway, spirit magic is his specialty, so he's damn well gonna try to take the pacifist route first... please try to reel your murder instincts the fuck in, he's lookin at you hanako & lucifer.]

yes, this works!

[hanaban]

[ At least Hanako won't ever mistake height for strength, since— according to their wikis— Shinobu and himself are the same height, and he's the one waving a knife around. ]

I'll also do my best to make sure nobody gets too hurt. In exchange for granting your wish, though... I will be taking your life at the end of two years. So you had better get out of here before then, alright?

[ Nothing like a deadline to get people going. ]

[carpevinum]

[He will not reel in his murder instincts dammit, he wants to be the alpha demon and that guy is encroaching on his territory or something.]

A tether would be an interesting theory, yes. Have we any means of testing it or locating said anchors, however?

[sisters]

If he's bound to it, or it's giving him strength, he would probably be pretty attached to it. The first thing that comes to mind for me is the wisteria tree.

( he's a gardener, right? keeping the grounds? what would he be more attached to in this school, literally and figuratively, than that? )

[insecution]

If we’re going to pick teams…

[ Shinobu pulls her sword free from its sheath with a ‘click,’ then holds it out like it’s time for show-and-tell. ]

My sword was forged from a unique steel that makes it especially effective against demons. To that end, I believe I would be best suited to fighting with the gardener directly. Does anybody else have anything that might be helpful?

[insecution]

[ Two years? Hanako says that like Shinobu’ll live long enough for him to do that. She smiles, entirely unfazed by the looming threat of death. ]

Very well, then. In two years’ time, you may have my life.

[ To seal the deal, she offers him her pinky. Girls from the Kochou family don’t ever break pinky promises. ]

[carpevinum]

[The demon™ has noted the sword™.]

I have both the powers of creating hexes as well as breaking curses, and I can summon imps to back you up if needed. To that end, I propose that I be in charge of binding the gardener. I could also very well augment your weapon — a hex pertaining to whatever element you feel you may need can do well.

[Listen Obey Me canon is waffly on magical limitations, which means Lucifer and I do what We want.]

[hanaban]

[ The easy agreement makes him smile, but it falters at the sight of the offered pinky. ]

...not how I usually seal the deal, but this works too.

[ The smile returns as he hooks his pinky with hers and squeezes a little before letting go, immediately turning to stand at her side so close their shoulders bump, and points towards the nearest courtyard facing window. ]

Do you see anything?

[ Not the gardener. Nobody can, since it isn't night yet. ]

[hanaban]

Yashiro said burning down the tree wouldn't be a good idea... I kinda promised her we wouldn't try it if there were other options.

[ Hanako was an advocate, but, you know. This is also an option, I'm just saying. ]

[carpevinum]

[Well if Nene doesn't want the tree to be harmed they're not fucking hurting the tree, Nene is Lucifer's daughter, he found her in the hallway??? His now.]

Let's exhaust all other options first, in that case.

[Can you say "biased"?]

[sunstead]

[Clamor is also making note of that sword, thanks, please don't stab the demon...]

I'd like to be there to try and talk to him before you all start picking fights. I am a spirit specialist.

[though uhh he does still have a question about that] What is it that has everyone so suspicious of this gardener, anyway? I haven't spoken him myself, but I've seen him around. He seems harmless enough to me.

[sisters]

I think being "bait" means I can't really contribute much else than trying to talk to him, so that decides it for me. We'll probably need a separate team to deal with the tether too, if we can figure out what it is.

( anyway, minato's words got him feeling kinda bad about being on team kill kazuki, so he feels like he should at least try on that front. that aside? )

I can't speak for the others, but the things he said when I spoke to him didn't quite add up. On one hand, he said he wasn't trying to get inside the school, and on the other, he said that the doors glowed with a light when he came too close to remind him to stay on his side of the boundary.

( so like, which is it man... do you want in or don't you... )

[insecution]

[ That’s… weird. Shinobu doesn’t feel different. As far as she knows, she can’t see anything she couldn’t already see before, either. Her eyes flit out towards the courtyard, to Hanako, and then back outside again. She didn’t swear on her life—literally—for nothing, did she?

It doesn’t matter. It’s fine. It was a sacrifice she was willing to make, so if Hanako was lying, she’ll learn to live with the consequences. She can make him pay after they’ve dealt with Kazuki, too. ]

Where should I be looking?

[ Is there anything she can see near the wisteria tree sitting in the heart of the courtyard? What about the doors leading to it? ]

[insecution]

And if he can’t be reasoned with?

[ Shinobu can count the number of demons not totally hell-bent on slaughtering the human race on one (1) hand. If Rantaro died—no, if anybody here died because she put her trust in the wrong demon, she’d never be able to forgive herself. ]

I’m not comfortable with unnecessarily putting Amami-kun in harm’s way. We need to be prepared for the worst.

[carpevinum]

If he cannot be reasoned with, we put him down. I think Clamor's words are worth heeding, and I think Amami brings up an interesting point as well. It seems that this entity cannot make up his mind about if he'd like "in" or not. Does anyone know if he's been violent in the past?

[Lucifer still wants to Kill, but... logic has to win in the end, unfortunately.]