video; un: TIGER-STRIPED, LOCKED TO SHUTEN CLAN

[jigokumods]

[ The shot is Toraguma's desk. His sunglasses are on, so his expression is difficult to read, but the way he puffs on his cigar... kind of suggests what's going on.

On the desk in front of him is the remains of some sort of device, likely recovered from the explosion. Jiro is there as well, obviously having done his best to piece it back together and identify what it was, but it seems a conclusion has been reached... ]

The fox... She's a clever bitch, as always. She thought she could throw me off by having a mechanical bomb instead of a mystic one...

[ Toraguma gestured to Jiro, who nervously stepped forward and set down what appeared to be a ruptured container of some kind. ]

"B-but, well... she works with what she has, and it seems they used a combustion relic to cause the actual ignition. But it was tampered with. The seal on it shortened the fuse time, so..."

[ Toraguma cut him off, leaning forward ]

The fox has a spy in her house. So for now... I'm gonna let her put out her own damn fires and get my payback on this later. I don't want any of you losing track of what's ahead of us.

[ Jiro visibly swallows, stepping back and ducking his head, because he knows what's coming next. ]

"Iron Bear" is Kaneguma... my kyoudai... That means no matter what money is on the line, no matter who that Ringo girl is, it's our responsibility as the Shuten Clan to go out there and stop him. No matter what, we take care of him first... I'll deal with the fox bitch after that.

Listen up!

We've got a primary vehicle, but anyone that can ride, you're with us. We head out in two weeks. You have that much time to get ready. If you need to stay behind... so be it. But we're taking this war to Kaneguma.

[ Toraguma leaned back in his chair, once more and just... let out a heavy sigh. ]

And I'll deal with him myself. No one else touches him. Got it?


[[ooc: Characters are free to thread among themselves here. Toraguma will likely not respond unless directly addressed. Jiro may respond, as well. ]]

Comments

text; un: threehorns

[ganashara]

Understood, sir.

Everyone else; if we haven't met formally, I'm Lio Fotia, a sub-lieutenant under Majima. If you need help learning to ride in the desert, or getting your vehicles desert ready, talk to me.

I'm obviously going with the convoy.

text; un: crimsonhorizon

[crimsonhorizon]

I don't need lessons, but I'd like a look at the vehicle and what else we're riding, if it's possible.

video; un: beautythief

[empression]

... I'd rather not stay behind, if I can help it.

[ Haru looks a little messy? Messed up? Whatever the case, she's got bandages on one wrist and the edges of some of her curls look singed. There are glimpses of more bandages when she moves. Her voice is a quiet rasp, hoarse. ]

private;

[jigokumods]

[ ... The rest of the boys don't need to see this. He peels off his sunglasses and let's Haru see his eyes and it's... obvious he's stressed. ]

I don't wanna order you to stay behind, kid... But we both know you're not gonna be in any shape for this, even two weeks on.

[ Don't make him make it an order, Haru. ]

also private lol

[karumic]

Okumura.

guess what's private

[tracedfeelings]

Haru-chan.... [ while her brow is furrowed with worry, her mouth is set in a determined line. ] You've got to care of yourself, especially when you're hurt.

text; un: suizenji

[watermemory]

[ HEY. WHAT. HEY. WHAT. ]

Okumura-san, what happened? Were you at the warehouse fire?

private, voice

[inspiteful]

[ /record scratch ]

Haru, what happened?

text - un; imchris

[shrieking_violet]

good thing i just practiced riding. if Ii can get a hold of anything to take out i'm good to go on my own.

never thought i'd be excited to see a real fight again but it's got me amped up.

( VIDEO. ) un: devilman

[mrfuckwit]

_{[ All this chaotic energy in the air has certainly riled Akira up a bit, so at the prospect of going into a war with direction, a wild look is seen in his eyes. He cracks his knuckles. ]}

I’ll do whatever it takes to prevent something like this from happening again.

_{[ Like always, Akira feels a sense of responsibility when people get injured. ]}

video; un: imchris

[shrieking_violet]

[ Chris doesn't have this kind of intensity - not like most of Shuten it seems - but she's simmering. ]

Even if you have to do the same kinda thing back to someone else?

audio | un: segawa

[frogmarched]

A lot of people got hurt. Shuten isn't exactly the most equipped for medical care, so we're going to need more care and supplies if we don't want to all drop dead in the middle of the trip.

We were worried about being able to carry enough supplies, so will the vehicle be big enough?

[Look, he's even using the audio function like a whole ass adult! Though his voice does sound a little scratchy.]

voice; un: karakasa

[jigokumods]

[ Jiro jumps in for this one. ]

Oh, trust me. The boss went all out on this one. This beast's got room to spare for medical supplies. But you are right we're going to need people who are medical specialists. Supplies are fine, but we need someone who knows how to use them most efficiently.

Berserker / Video

[bananaoni]

Kaneguma is mine and Shuten's.

[jigokumods]

No.

[ Said... remarkably calmly, given the situation. ]

No matter how similar things are, this ain't your wrong to make right.

text, un: skylark

[inspiteful]

[ Oh, guess the boss said what a lot of them were thinking and kind of confirmed a couple of things he was suspecting. Cool. Cool cool cool he might have walked into the deep end by accident again. ]

Understood, Boss.

I'm still just an apprentice, but I can assist with medical matters if needed.

text, un: takemitchy

[crybabyhero]

i know you said you're just an apprentice but me and some of my friends really need to leave with everybody in two weeks. do you know anyone who can help?

i can pay. whatever it takes.

[crimsonhorizon]

...I was already going, but I can ride.

[She's got some burns on her back, and scratches on her face, but that's not important.]

An oath was broken, wasn't it? That is a sin...[Something itches at her hands. But she doesn't know how well using that power will go...and Toraguma's claim is irrefutable.] I have questions, if you want to answer.

[She's not owed them. She knows that. But what can she do but ask?]

[jigokumods]

Technically... This doesn't violate our truce. [ Welcome to the wild world of yakuza, Crimson. ]

I ain't gonna sit here and play trivia with ya, so make it worth my time.

video; un: majima

[no_kyouken]

Family comes together. Whether yer stayin' or yer going', look after each other.

[invinciblemikey]

I'm in.

(the manji is a biker gang, what can we do.)

text | un: user07384

[karumic]

You're sure the bomb was Tamamo in origin, sir?

voice; un: karakasa

[jigokumods]

[ Jiro jumps in again. ]

If it hadn't been tampered with, the combustion relic would have burned up completely and not left any evidence behind, but because someone messed with the seal that controls its fuse time, it didn't ignite properly, so some of it got left behind. Basically only onmyouji use this kind of tool, and, well... You can draw your own conclusions from that.

But I can promise you this is from them. It's got Old Kinsei's signature all over it. That's also why I'm certain it was tampered with; Kinsei's not the kind of guy who'd make this sort of mistake.

video; un: enanan

[tracedfeelings]

How can we help if we're staying in town?

video; un: UEHARA

[metafictions]

Can you fight, Ena-san? We'll probably need people patrolling to ensure there isn't any trouble on Shuten streets.

If not, there are still plenty of day-to-day organizational tasks at HQ that need to be handled. Maybe ask Hizen-san, he can always use some help.

[Hizen actually does his paperwork, who knew.]

video; un: UEHARA

[metafictions]

[Kamui's shooting from his apartment-- his new one, not the one from a few months back that's still probably leaking some curse blood. He cants his head to the side and taps his chin thoughtfully, shifting slightly on the couch he's sitting on.]

So the bomb was Tenkohime's, but some outside force tampered with it? Interesting.

[That said, he nods his head deferentially to the camera...]

I'm afraid I was injured in the chaos, sir, so I won't be able to come along. But although I'm not at my best, I'm still more than capable enough of putting up a fight. I'll do what I can to continue patrolling our territory while the convoy is out. If any others remaining behind would like to coordinate with me, please let me know.

[And in the background - is that a woman? A dark-haired woman, walking around pantless. A woman who looks suspiciously like Enma lieutenant Andy - and sounds like her when she looks up to see what Kamui is doing.

"Say hi to the big man for me."

Kamui's expression remains utterly stoic as he continues.] ...Andy says hello.

[jigokumods]

[ He's just gonna. pretend he didn't see any of that shit. ]

video; un: primetimechampion

[neonleon]

[He's definitely somewhere quieter and not as destroyed as Shuten.]

I can drive if you get me something to drive.

[More than one car is better, right?]

text; un: threehorns

[ganashara]

We've got bikes. It's just a matter of prepping them for desert riding.

audio; un: suizenji

[watermemory]

So spies really are infiltrating the city...

[ It's confirmation he didn't want, but he's getting. ]

[ Minato is quieter than usual, though it doesn't do much to mask the scratchiness in his voice. At least he's not as bad off as Eiichi! ]

I'm going, to make sure we all get there in one piece -- and come back.

For those of us staying, stay close to each other. If you're patrolling, be watchful and don't go alone. With our attention divided, it might be the best opportunity for Iron Bear to try something like this again.

audio; un: crimsonhorizon

[crimsonhorizon]

...Minakami-san, your voice...

[She hadn't known he was by the fire.]

I think someone was asking about organization.

video; un: wildtiger

[earnedmystripes]

This Kaneguma guy, why's he doing this? What does he want?

[Something about a raven's labor and holy chosen ones?? It was all practically gibberish to him, honestly.]

[jigokumods]

[ Toraguma's tone drops, and he sort of turns his gaze, behind the sunglasses, off into the middle distance... ]

Right now... Probably revenge.

On me. On the city. Who knows... The guy's always been the zealous type. Sounds like he found a new creed out there.

[ Toraguma takes a moment to ash his cigarette. ]

I thought the guy's been dead this whole time. So there's a gap in my knowledge, to say the least.

video; un: Hammertime

[forgeabettertomorrow]

So, hey...that bomb piece. Thing. That device. Anyone interested in looking into that? I've never seen anything like that and maybe there's something we can glean from it before we go bringing a war to someone's door step.

video; un: karakasa

[jigokumods]

[ Jiro pops in here, carefully holding the remains in question with his gloved hand. ]

Well, unless you want to spend years learning onmyoudo, I'm not sure what you'd be able to get from this. Even I only have extremely basic knowledge... I don't think I could make something this complex.

[ He adjusts his goggles a bit, chuckling slightly. ]

I can say with full confidence, though, this is the work of Old Kinsei down in Tamamo. That guy's a genius, but whoever tampered with his work knows what they're doing, too...

You and the rest of the engineering guys can study this, but I'm not sure it'll tell us who tampered with Tamamo's bomb aside from "as good at onmyoudo as Old Kinsei" and that's...

[ His smile fades some. ]

Well that's a worrying prospect, I guess.