~*(y,n)'s POV*~
"-Sir... Sir. Could you please answer the question?"
"Whuah~... What... w-what was it you asked me again, doll?" The fifth time in counting that I have to repeat myself, more unbearable than the last four. Makes me absolutely sick to my stomach, any sane person would feel the same if they had to be on the receiving end of this bullshit. He's resorted to flirting with me, dismissing all my attempts to have a civilized talk. I swear to all things holy, if I hear one more goddamn comment about 'How stunning I'd look in a skirt' or 'The space in his bed waiting for me', I might need Kyojuro to hold me back from socking this asshole smack dab at the center of his face. Break his nose... a drunken creep like this deserves it.
"I asked if you've seen anything suspicious around the city. Like disappearances, of sorts?" I pinched my temples as I prickled, fed up, and retracing my steps once more in the conversation as he giggled at me drunkenly.
I sure have had a real talent for weeding out the worst people to question about the matter at hand tonight. Especially this one. From far away, he seemed like the perfect candidate for my mission- had exhausted eyes that looked like they held the world's secrets within them, seen things that anyone would wish to eradicate from their mind- on the contrary, he's in fact; just drunk. Intoxicated to the point where he can't properly stand on his own, and yet, he still continues to take chug after chug from his drink.
... I should've left when I smelled the twinge of cheap liquor orbiting around him, so pungent and revolting that it might as well be considered a solid.
"Suspicious things..." The old codger slurred during the interval he took to make love to his bottle of alcohol from where he sits on the bench. Is he finally going to give me something useful to go off of? He's thinking... longer than all the other rounds. That's good! It has to mean that-
"Well..." He began while... one of his hands sauntered in it's path to reach out towards me. It didn't raise; it's going to my behind, maybe give a squeeze or two to knock his rocks off. Trying to cop a feel in broad sight of everyone around us? Ugh, how vile. He wasn't taking his time to think, he was just growing a pair to stretch things to the next level. Does he think I'm blind?! It's official, this is going to be my first time to ever commit 2nd degree assault.
"Give me a little sugar and I might tell you~ c-come on, toots, I don't bite-"
"You get your FILTHY hands away from her!!!" I flinched back when a woman looking a little older than me came by and rammed a large- and packed full- burlap sack straight at the drunkard's face to bash him away from me. He gave a scraggly cry as he fell to the ground and spilled his drink all over himself, could hardly scramble to his feet when the fuming villager took another swing at him with the luggage, this time a nick away from hitting his goods. Damn, beat me to the punch. I didn't even realize until now how hard I've been clenching my fist, on the very last string of my patience.
"Go on, scram!! I told you to stop hanging around my father's store and causing trouble for people!!!" She yelled, waving around the object threateningly as he scuttled away and pushed through the other citizens near us, tearing loose a ruckus. Those in the way of the onslaught shot looks of disgust his way at his sloppy state, but soon went back to their normal night as if nothing had happened. This must be a common occurrence for them.
"Better... bastard comes around here every time he's drunk... acts like it's home sweet home..." The woman who spared me a nasty experience fixed up her unruly hair back into its neat style as she whispered a line of insults under her breath, and she soon looked over her shoulder at me while rolling her arms out. She slung the bag over, smiling.
"Sorry about that. My father and I try to keep him away as much as we can to save everyone the problems..." She bowed to me through her hasty apology and laughed. It happens often? No wonder people seem so unbothered by it, because it is a commonplace!
"You... asked if there's been anything suspicious around Nichibotsu, right?" Through her heavy breathing, my savior mentioned what I was trying to ask just a minute ago. I turned my attention to her after seeing the drunkard disappear into the crowd. I was hoping to get a swipe at him too, but I can't get distracted from my main goal.
"Yes. Have there been strange occurrences around here, or possibly disappearances popping up?" My body shifted around while she looked away from my gaze, the little gestures of her face coming and going with her thoughts as she racked her brain.
"Mmmm, no, not that I can think of. None of the rumors around here have to do with such, either." A sorry look was given to me with that admitted- even after such a lengthy time of thinking, and there's absolutely nothing that can help me.
When seeing the disappointment in my eyes, the villager peered at me fully, my slayer uniform the longest thing on her focus. She caught my sights again, a dead-good tip-off. That look right there is a clear light flicking on. "You know... I have seen some other people dressed like you over the weeks, but there aren't any around anymore, besides you."
"I assume so, those are some of the people that've gone missing." I responded to her input. When I thought I'd fall, the cliff gives me a surprise ledge to catch onto in the nick of time. I may be onto something here, or this is where my luck stretches short.
So, the other teams sent out to Nichibotsu were actually sighted in the city, enough for people to even recognize their uniforms off the top of their heads. What was the length of their stay? I wouldn't be able to find out. Multiple squads were sent on this mission, after all. The woman in front of me could be talking about any of the slayers, there's no saying of who was there, or when they were around. It had to have been somewhere around this area, especially for this recent clue to be useful...
-But where?? There haven't been any signs of disappearances, mayhem, evidence of a clashing happening; NOTHING. They barely left a trace here... did they even stay for long? Leading up to this point, I looked in on the past several months-worth of Inn rosters around the town, and none of them came up with the names of the missing demon slayers (At our departure, Kyojuro and I got a list of who's already been sent on this mission from Master Ubuyashiki).
Yet again... I hit another dead end waiting to be bashed down, and that doesn't even began to cover how many civilians have fallen prey to this wave of disappearances... My comrade and I don't nearly know the extent of that.
"-... Is something happening in Nichibotsu? A-are there people going missing?" I glanced back at the citizen while her grip around the burlap sack slung over her shoulder shook, her eyes miming such a reaction. Shit, I gave away too much. That's got to be one of the more irritating things about investigating here. My comrade and I can't risk crossing any boundaries, not in a town like this. The more information that goes out; the more rumors, and the increasing hysteria and panic that would eventually spread. Rats.
"I know that... t-there is some crime going around the town, but... m-missing cases?" The woman stuttered over her words fretfully.
My expression tried it's best to clear up any cold strings that may cloud her sights- not very effective, however. I spoke in a softer voice; a tempt to sway her unease. "Don't worry. I'm... looking for people wanted at the company I work at. Tax evasion, happens often." I'm not very good at giving reassuring words, Kyojuro could most definitely calm her down with more ease, maybe a better lie than the fib I came up with.
"Oh, a-alright then..." The woman breathed with a smile, a tad less worried. ... Good enough. A sigh rips through my lungs at the thought that; I have to yield again, pressing her harder will only cause issues I'm not looking for. She even seemed like a good candidate, the right series of question could've led me further to a more promising answer.
"Thankyou for helping me. Goodnight to you, ma'am..."
"No problem! You make sure to watch out for some of the men here, they do stuff like that all the time!" My company laughed off the rest of her concerns after I bowed to her for the assistance, and she waved me goodbye as I journeyed back into the traffic.
What is this now... the 10th, 13th attempt I've made to question the villagers around here? I lost count at about the 6th try... I just hope that my teammate on this mission found something worth dusting the lint away; we split up earlier to cover my ground. If I haven't had much of a lucky streak, then-
"Kyojuro." I called out the man's name when spotting him through the other people in Nichibotsu- easier than before now that the streets have cleared up slightly, and-... it's impossible not to pick him out from the average crowd. I'm working with a walking sign that says 'Pay attention to me! Look at me! I'm easy to notice'!.
The slayer turned around to face me at the sound of his name as he finished off a stake of Dango- I'm sure that has to be his fifth snack by now... "Did you find anything useful?" I registered him after he walked over to me, the wooden stick once holding his most recent meal twirled loosely around in his hand.
He smiled at me dejectedly, "As of yet... no. I even went into the main city-center to search around, but nothing came up." The Flame Hashira exhaled and placed his other hand on his side, looking over the heads of the other people by us with a puff from his chest.
"Any luck on your side?"
"I'm at a dead end, there isn't much that can help us." I grumbled. I almost predicted that he hasn't had any more success compared to me, his smile gave away the details in bold print. Perplexed, confused, in thought, and maybe a little miffed too, by the looks of it.
"So, what I'm getting here is that we're at a roadblock?" I questioned the my company.
"I'd like to be hopeful, but precisely that." He answered swiftly to my rundown, the smirk upon his lips faltering when he admitted that. We both come to the realization, good to know we're at least seeing eye to eye.
"Not only have we barely anything, but I'm not sensing any type of dark auras. If there were some around, they're being heavily diluted by all the people here." I shut my (e,c) sights to give myself a rest from the bright lights of the city, still up and glowing at such a late time in the evening. Even in one of the more secluded spaces of Nichibotsu, there are too many individuals a for me to pick up a demonic presence nearby. Yes, the ambiences of humans and demons are almost completely different in every way, but too much of the opposite spectrum can easily snuff out the other, acting a mask.
Not good for me, and I usually have some ease with feeling such airs-
"What if we got to higher grounds?"
"Hm?" I opened my eyes over at my comrade when hearing that statement from him. He smiled back at the glance I gave him, his arms crossed over his chest. Get to higher grounds, the man suggests? I question whether that would even work; sounds like it would contradict our goal, and be a waste of time, at that.
"Neither of us can feel any demons in these populated surroundings, yes? In short, the higher we get and farther away from the blockage, the more capable we'll be to locate a possible threat! " He said with a gesture of his hands, sliding through slowly as if he's explaining this to himself as well. Afterwards, his peering gaze returned to me, proud of his work. I thought for a moment, then another, and-...
He might be right. Seems solid. I've never pulled it off, but... I've never tried it, anyways.
I sang a slight blow of my breath, rounding off from his merry features. "That... could possibly work," I trailed away with a tentative slant to my eyelids, "But where do you intend for us to get to higher grounds? The tallest the buildings here get is two stories; that wouldn't be nearly enough for your method to work."
"I already had a place in mind, I saw it earlier!" Kyojuro responded positively, and motioned his shoulder to the path in front of us. I assume he wants me to follow along... I made my way a to his left while he paced forward- the sun on legs, I'd define him as. It only took a few moments of getting by through the lively town before I got a better view of where we're going.
In the distance is a tall- definitely taller than two stories, maybe five or six to be humble with the estimate- pristine building, the types of Japanese architecture where it's got the words important painted over every surface. Shining across its surface are lanterns strung from the point of it the flares in it's roofs. This city can't possibly get more grand than this. There are citizens gathered all around the place, not too many, though, thankfully. I don't think normal people would take very kindly to two random strangers climbing to the very top of such a beautiful landmark, we can't stand out if that's the case.
The blonde slayer took a sharp turn to the left, making his way into the darker alleyway between the structures by us. I went to question his antics until he hiked up in a jump, bounding from wall to wall before he made it to the roof of the building. Oh... makes sense. Guess it would be easier to tread this path out of plain sight. He looked down at me and grinned, his cape and hair flowing behind him in the new winds at the perch.
Following him, I disappeared into the shadows of the back streets and jumped up to the top of the shop in one swift motion, only catching the eyes of a small handful of townsfolk who happened to see my feat. They'll blame it on the wind, no need to worry too much.
I stood up on the roof- quieted down immediately,' only took me a second to gather my senses. Here now, I feel it; a demon's aura. I can't pinpoint where it's at, the signal is still too faint for it to be useful, however, it's still something to work on.
And I got all this just from getting a little higher? If that's the case... We need to go even higher. I'll be sure to locate our enemy with ease by then.
"Getting anything?" Kyojuro asked me as he looked over his shoulder.
"... Let's keep going." I don't need many words of sorts to tell what I'm thinking, it's already clear in my expression, actions, and intentions. I bounded to the next roof in front of us, landing softly on the other side. I glanced to the warrior accompanying me when seeing his slight apprehension to follow. 'What-the-hell-are-you-waiting-for?' My glare to him would say if it could talk, speaking more words than what I can.
Laughing at the face I gave him, he then trailed after me while we jumped from one roof to the next, gaining on our destination with no attention to us. My feet stopped me at the very edge of one of the buildings, the last jump before we reach the tallest peak. As I halted my inertia, the sight I took in... got an irk from me, a damn good, sour expression. What a damper... My teammate stumbled on his feet after slowing down, inches away from falling to the ground level. He gathered himself up and gazed over at the humongous building we're trying to get to, letting out a long "Oh..." in realization.
He sees it too, the newest issue at hand. What may it be?... We're only one more leap away from reaching the town center, the problem's that... we're just short of an extra fifty feet away from the actual building, and the altitude of such a peak tying into the equation is only a stronger dour on my mood.
"I didn't think it'd be that hard to get to..." Kyojuro dug his hand across his long locks, nervously chuckling to me.
"Maybe we could... Get to the top from the inside out? I-if that would work..."
"No, we'd have to break a window then to get to the roof... it'd be more noticeable. Unless, you don't mind putting on a show for everyone around here." I murmured during my little move to crouch down at the edge of the structure we're on top of. I have a certain feeling that the only way for me to fully sense the aura of a demon around here... I need to be at the very top of that glamorous place. The only other option may actually be to jump, and there aren't any other building around here as tall as that.
I rested my chin in my hand as my eyes scanned the building diligently, calculations going off like spontaneous sparks. A strong trajectory, jump at that angle, may need some velocity as well...
~*Kyojuro's POV*~
Can either of us even make a jump like this? Even for (y,n), it looks difficult to pull off... On one hand, I'm confident in both of our skills, but there also needs to be some realism to this; missing the catch would raise a sea of other dilemmas on our hands. Injured? Yes. Noticed by a good majority of Nichibotsu? Also correct. Cover blown? Absolutely. The whole mission would be flubbed, we'd either have to start from scratch, or surrender it to some of the other Pillars.
I peered down at the Ice Hashira when she stood back up ensuing the long moment she took to think to herself. She walked backward until the heel of her foot met with the edge of the roof.
"... What are you-"
"I'm going to need a running start for this." The (h,c)-haired slayer explained, cutting me off before I could get even halfway through my sentence. A... running start? She's actually going to attempt that leap?! I can't help but be worried, thinking of what could possibly happen if she misses the landing point. No, I have to be confident in my comrade!
She took a deep breath in and sprinted forward, lunging high into the air at the very edge of the building. The force of the jump flew through my cape at that take-off; a powerful vault, I'd say!!
I shielded my face from the winds and gazed at her-... the excitement went away. Quickly. So very quickly. Panic took its place at that sight of (y,n); Close, but not close enough to the building. She didn't jump far enough to reach it on the first go, her descent shows that, her haori and hair following the rules of gravity.
"Crap!!" I whispered sharply, a stab at my throat with the sudden inhale. Take action, take action!! What can I actually do? I don't know, but there needs to be some sort of attempt, and fast!!
... My feet stuttered to a hasty layoff before my leap when the woman unsheathed her Katana, unfazed by her fall. With a swift flick of her wrist, a platform of ice materialized under her feet, straight from thin air, I cry! She landed on the physics-defying sheet of water to jump for a second time, making it on top of the building after that point.
Ok... I wasn't expecting that.
(y,n) looked back over at me now at the higher summit, sliding her weapon back into the scabbard on her side with an expressionless face, not a drop of trepidation to be found. That's the Ice Pillar for you, everyone. Give a round of applause...
It took me calming my heart down before I could laugh, taking a few steps back on the roof. I'm still a little shaky from my nerves, I was so ready to jump over there and help her! Maybe I shouldn't have been so worried, it's almost like (y,n) always has a backup plan hidden somewhere in that mysterious mind of hers.
I bounded forth with an insane amount of strength (I even surprised myself with the force), luckily making it over to the tall building with only one needed go. I fell into a land next to my teammate- I wanted to land next to my teammate, is what I meant to say. A successful touchdown... that would've been a lot better than letting my foot slip on one of the slick shingles of the roof. The force took me dragged me down in an instant, too quickly to regain my balance.
"W-woah!" I stuttered as my senses dropped into the lowest pit of my stomach, leaving me to scramble around as I tumbled closer to my final destination. Far away does the ground loom from me, bursting a dreadful feeling throughout every fiber in my form. Such a long drop, I can't survive this! This is it for me, I'm a goner!! Goodbye Senjuro, goodbye father, goodbye to that one food stand I like near my home, goodbye, my comfortable futon-!!!
"Be careful. Christ." I let out a sound of shock at the jerking of reality when (y,n) grabbed onto a handful of my cape to stop my fall, reprimanding me coldly as I dangled from her grip. I smirked anxiously at seeing the ground level past my feet, the people at the bottom not knowing that they nearly got to see a random stranger fall down from the top of the town center. ... That was close, thank god (y,n) caught me in time, it would've been worse if my cape couldn't hold my weight.
She pulled me back onto the roof next to her, letting go of my long accessory as I trembled slightly. I feel... a little queasy... "T-thanks!" I puffed out my gratitude with a breathless voice, my smile going all hay-wire with my shaking. The (e,c)-eyed Hashira didn't answer me while she got to a knee, looking straight forward to the forest that lays beyond the exit gates of Nichibotsu.
I put the quivering of my body to a rest and watched as the minutes passed, her eyes gently closing when she leaned lower. I peered at the dark greenery living next to the large town- thick, dormant, unlike this city. Still, activity within the shadows writhes and thrives, darkness being its lifeforce. That forest is our last stop, has to be. I can feel something; an aura. My plan worked. There's nothing washing away such dangerous presences now, the window to such a world so clear, the glass may not even be there at all. If I'm feeling it too, (y,n)'s probably on her way to tracking the main source down.
"... The demon slayers before us didn't go missing in Nichibotsu... they left completely." She commented out of the blue. One mystery solved. Right on the money, the full picture coming together with the missing pieces to the puzzle now found.
"Anything worth looking into?" I observed as she pointed a hand forward, trailing to the left wing of the woods.
"There's a few weak demons lingering around in that area... not much of a threat. Just some low class enemies we can knock out quickly. We'll deal with those later." The woman commented, then slowly shifted her arm to the center of the overgrown grove.
"Now there," She opened her lids, half crescent, "Deeper in the forest is a much stronger pocket of aura's... I can't tell how many demons there may be, but the ambience is strong enough to be considered a battle for a Hashira. Right there is why we were sent here, and most likely the place where the disappearances all lead back to."
"I was thinking that too! Nice job!!" I smirked, standing up to roll out my shoulders. A detailed estimate just by getting away from the townspeople; she's good at this~, better than me, no doubting it.
I stared at the area (y,n) dug out while a gale wind picked up my hair. There's no saying of what's past the city gates, anything could be residing there that caused the mayhem we're looking into. And, for more than one Pillar to be called up to assist? It's a real hazard. To look on the bright side of things; we finally have a lead to this mission! "Let's get a move on, then!" I gave (y,n) a sure laugh from deep within my diaphragm, a cheerful clap following while she got up too.