2026-04-25: The Witch and the Wolf

• Log: The Witch and the Wolf
• Cast: Hyousuke Suzuki, Haruka Konno
• Where: <The location(s) the log occurs in.>
• OOC Date: 2026-04-25
• IC Date: Mon Oct 29 2012
• Summary: Two wanderers cross paths in the night, and an exchange of barbs threatens to spill over into an exchange of blows instead.

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(|============================= Yumezaki - Main ==============================|)
-=============================================== Sumaru City/Yumezaki Ward ====-
With a name that means "Dream Peninsula," it's no wonder that the glitziest part
of the city is Yumezaki. All kinds of fun and exciting business can be found    
here, up to and including a game center (or is it a casino?) called Mu          
Continent, where rumor has it one can potentially win big at slots, bingo,      
poker, or blackjack. Pachinko Silver is right next door if one wants one's      
gambling activities to be a little more subtle.                                 
                                                                                
Across from Mu Continent, there's Club Zodiac, a techno dance club where the    
boots are always bumping--but rumor has it the back is a maze that will lead you
to some very dangerous places... To be specific, supposedly it was bought out by
the Taiwanese mafia and is now their hideout. It's best not to pay too much mind
to those kinds of tales, though--or else.                                       
                                                                                
The ward also includes a robust multi-story music store and an impressive gym.  
Oddly, the music store, NOT the gym, is called Giga Macho. The gym, which is    
bright, clean, and amply furnished with all kinds of equipment, is called GOLD. 
Nearby, the shopping street, Yumezaki Center, invites spendthrifts and window   
shoppers alike to browse its indoor and outdoor stores.                         
                                                                                
BGM: Map I - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0B_2vwPcxc                        
                                        
(|============================================================================|)

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.

The hour arrived, and the world was subsumed.

Muted green hues and bile-yellow tones raced swallowed the landscape like a putrescent flood, while once-crystalline water turned to some bloody red ooze. What few stars could be seen were blotted out, leaving the pale moon to hang in an ocean of endless black, while the world below it seemed to stop upon its axis. But the supernatural taint was more than simply visual and temporal. Creatures of the night began to drag themselves from every corner and crevice, their hour at hand, the world now fashioned into their playground.

Demons scurried and flitted and ambled about, each seeking to satisfy their own agenda, all ignoring the coffins that were scattered about Sumaru like jacks. Shadows - blackened and faceless things, human only in their shape and their speech emerged from the dark as well, and began to inflict their presence upon the world. Some lumbered like beasts, carried forward more by their own weight than conscious effort. Some strode with purpose and power, asserting themselves upon the world rather than simply existing within it. Others still moved with grace, like the winds that had now stilled into a stagnant, unmoving, air.

And Hyousuke sought to hunt them.

Clad in purple armour trimmed with gold, he adjusted the straps that pressed his mask to his face, and let the golden visor wash away any sign of his identity. There was no student there, no spurned ex-member of a distant gang, no boy seeking a place and a purpose. There was just Hyousuke, the fighter. The warrior. The soldier. The one that could indulge his basest desires, and unleash himself upon the horde of nightmares that deigned to inflict themselves upon the night. A groan sounded as he tightened his hands inside his armour's gauntlets, and he strode forward to seek a target.

<Pose Tracker> Haruka Konno has posed.

Earlier in the day, Haruka found a hair growing on their chin. Their eyes narrowed at the discovery.

 The self proclaimed 'Greater Witch of Sumaru' was in a foul mood. Something was going to die tonight. They snorted before taking a drag from their kiseru pipe. The smoke had a floral tint to it, almost like incense for a ritual.

 Haruka was a feminine figure in a iridescent ceremonial kimono depicting overlapping sigils and flower patterns. The kimono is pulled to rest on their shoulders, revealing some of cleavage if you aren't playing the censored US version.

 It was the sound of armor that perked up Haruka's aggravated expression. The witch paused before a smile crossed their face when a thought came to their mind...Time to have some fun.

 "Oh, wow...that's such a POWERFUL Looking armor...Do you know whats going on?" Haruka called out, smiling smugly before taking a drag from their long pipe. "I'm just a poor little school girl who got caught up in this nightmare." The act isn't very convincing but Haruka is hot in their mind, so gold star.

 Haruka's face is semi obscured by the weird green shadows, an absurdly smug smile on their face.

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.

Hyousuke snapped around at the sound of another voice. It was bad enough that it wasn't one he recognised - the tone it took only served to put him more on edge. Like nails running slowly down a chalkboard, or the edge of a knife carving lines into sheet metal. His hands shot upwards, the toughened fibres of his costumes rustling a little as he drew halfway into a guard, and there was a dull thud as the soles of his boots drew across the concrete to shift into a fighting stance.

He analysed the stranger as they spoke. They didn't seem to be a Demon or a Shadow at first glance, but he would not have put it against one or the other to assume a humanoid form to lure unsuspecting prey. He waited as they spoke, and when they finally finished, his mask shifted. It was hard to tell past the mirrored lens and the purple clasped against his mouth, but his lips had begun to curl into a snarl, and his brow had begun furrowing into something less than friendly.

"The hell are you talking about? You aren't in a coffin, you goddamn know what's happening." Hyousuke asked bluntly, wondering if he should have gone for the shotgun hanging off his back, instead of relying on his fists or Achilles. His eyes darted over their form, prying for tells that they were about to strike. A twitch of their fingers, a glint of steel, anything that served to give the game away and confirm his caution. "Just tell me what you want, I got things to do tonight."

Hyousuke Suzuki(#492PenAk)
Standing at 6'1", Hyousuke's broad shoulders and toned build lend him a distinctly imposing figure. The short length of his honey-blonde hair certainly does not help him look any less intimidating, and neither do the deep, piercing, green of his eyes, or the deep scar that runs vertically across his right eye. However, his soft and somewhat rounded features go a little way towards mitigating this, as does the sunny look he usually wears.

A dark purple bodysuit forms the bulk of the outfit, highlighting the tone of his muscles. Padding - likely rubber or toughened fabric - covers his vitals, making those sections slightly more prominent than others. Strips of black and seams of gold separate the costume into different pieces, running across joints and embedded into each section's edges as trim and accents. Meanwhile, his face was covered by a rigid plastic mask. While the frame and mouth covering are the same purple as his costume, the single, mirrored, lens that covers his eyes is gold.

<Pose Tracker> Haruka Konno has posed.

"Oho?" Haruka smile becomes predatory. They found a winner here. The sound of that snarl. This guy was clearly going to be fun to mess with!

 "What do I want?" They mimic Hyousuke's voice. "What do I want? Hmmm...Ehehehehe" That laugh was so unfined, like a shrieking ghost in the night. But Haruka buttons it, this was still getting good. "I guess I want to know where a girl like me gets such gaudy armor like that. I want to have it so I can laugh all year long EHIYEHEHAHAHA"

The laugh of a witch. Enough said.

 They take another drag of their Kiseru pipe before grinning and letting the smoke drift out like tendrils invading the air. Haruka makes a mock pout. "Oh poor little doggie...So scared of running into danger. Think you're a pit bull but you're a chihuahua. HIYAHEHAHAHAHHA..Oh I can't be too mean to you...It would just go to waste..."

 Haruka makes a predatory grin. "What do Iiiiiiiii want?" Perhaps she's crazy?

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.

Against the witch stood a hound - a snarling, prowling thing, suspicious of they who had encroached upon its territory. His voice had an edge to it like an old saw's teeth, rough and grating in stark contrast against the echoing tones of the newcomer's, though he did not seem quite so eager to let his loose into the night. He waited, his expression - hidden though it was behind the layers of plastic that formed his mask - unable to decide between frustrated and confused, though it seemed to have settled somewhere between the two when they'd finished speaking.

"Great... Another fucking weirdo." He murmured to himself, not particularly caring if they heard him speak or not. Though they didn't seem to carry the same sense of dread and malice that the late Sudou once held, they seemed every bit as unhinged, and that left him bristling all the same. "Listen, lady, I'm not gonna take that from someone who came out here looking like they rented the cheapest rag they could find. 'Sides, you're doing a lot of yapping to be calling someone else a dog." The snarl grew more pronounced, particularly as he spoke of dogs - though whether it was because the conversation had reminded him of the Black Mask's barbs, or if they were truly that annoying, was difficult to say.

"Go be a pain in someone else's ass, I've got hunting to do."

<Pose Tracker> Haruka Konno has posed.

They did hear that. Haruka smiles smugly, taking a drag and blowing the smoke at Hyousuke's mask.

 Then Hyousuke insults their outfit and calls them a dog. "No, no. Bad doggie. We don't bite back. Heheh..." The witch throws back their shoulders and lets out a cackle that is starting to get a little creepy.

 "Thaaaaaaat is what I want. This area is claimed. I already have my eye on the treasure here so go take that purple trash can elsewhere. Go Doggie! Run along before I have to put you in time out." Haruka's predatory grin widens, teeth almost looking razor sharp. They take another drag of their pipe, waiting to see how this guy continues to bark or if he leaves.

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.

Smoke seeped through the grills, and though he pushed it back with a grunting breath, it still stung at his airways. He resisted the urge to cough, foul as it tasted and smelled, unwilling to give them the satisfaction of such a reaction. Instead, he looked over them, drawing to his full height and allowing what shadow he cast in the dark to swallow them like a wolf's maw. He had been about to bite back with something - be it a blow or a barb - but something they said caught his attention, and his mask shifted again. This time with a sharp grin.

"Treasure? I was only here to crack some skulls. But I'm thinking I'll get both tonight." Hyousuke looked down at her, stepping into striking range, muscles primed and ready like a hound awaiting the order for a hunt. "So how about this. You get out of here and let me have the treasure, and I don't don't start swinging. Unless you're looking to start a fight." He sounded more animated - eager, almost. As though he was spoiling for a fight, and the fact that his opponent was human didn't matter.

<Pose Tracker> Haruka Konno has posed.

Haruka clicks their tongue when Hyousuke mentions wanting the treasure. It would seem that this guy is willing to fight. There was some part of Haruka who was glad to know that. "Well, It would seem I'm going to have to slap your nose with a newspaper."

 The witch widens their stance, cracking their neck by moving their head quickly. "If you aren't going to leave, then I'll have to get mean. Are you sure you want to fight then I'm all yours."

 Haruka takes a drag from her pipe, waiting for Hyousuke to move. While they merely smile at Hyousuke, their eyes are scanning his form for any sign of movement, making split second decisions on the direction and speed. If Hyousuke pays attention, he can see that Haruka's eye movement seems that of a seasoned pro.

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.

The mask shifted. What few patches of skin and muscle could be seen at the edges of his face pulled outwards and upwards, and his limbs began to shift. He hadn't taken it as a threat, nor as a warning - to him, it was a challenge. And it was one that he, like some wolf baited by the scent of an intruder upon its territory, was all too happy to accept.
"You don't know a damn thing about mean. Better watch your neck - this dog'll bite back." He took a fighter's stance with the swiftness and fluidity reserved only for those that had practiced it for countless hours, and levelled a sharp gaze at them through glinting emerald eyes.

His arms twitched. His legs started forward. His mouth opened to bellow out a warcry. But in the heartbeat between the thought occurring and his blow lashing forward, something stirred in the dark. A hulking thing, wide as they were tall and towering above the pair, the Shadow looked down on them with a swirling mass of black that passed for a face. Clothed in mismatched rags and dragging a crude, single-edged blade behind it, the Shadow was a behemoth foe that eyed the both of them with unfalteringly malicious intent.

"Son of a-" Hyousuke growled, before turning his attention over to the monstrous arrival. "Change of plans! We rip this guy to shreds first!"

<Pose Tracker> Haruka Konno has posed.

Haruka chuckles as Hyousuke barks some more. They note Hyousuke's stance and musculature in their mind, knowing to take this fight somewhat seriously. Whether that got to full serious remains to be seen.

 They watch Hyousuke come forward, keeping still as he moves forward. So much that they almost miss the Shadow explode out of the darkness.

 The Witch clicks their tongue, changing their stance to account for the Shadow. "Well well well....Looks like the one guarding the treasure is finally here."

 Without warning, Haruka speeds forward, changing position until the final moment where they lunge forward. The lunging strike aims a weighted kiseru pipe to strike the Shadow in it's center of mass. While the pipe was small, for some reason it seemed to have a heft as it moved through the air.

 "Looks like you interrupted my late night sparring match...Guess you're gonna have to pay~<3 HEHEHEHEHEHEEHE"

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.

The shadow heaved its sword with a deep roar that bludgeoned aside the air around it. That mass of steel - chipped and tarnished, more blunt instrument than blade - was a deadly thing, but far slower than Haruka. It cleaved empty air and received a blow for its troubles, doubling over in what was ostensibly pain, before roaring again in indignation. Hyousuke didn't waste a moment. He matched the thing's cry with his own bellowing declaration of war, baring slavering fangs behind his muzzle while shouting bloody fury into the now-clamoring air of the night.

It swung again, trying to catch Hyousuke with the back of the sword as it dragged the weapon back around, but a great wall of creaking bronze stood against it. Achilles - himself a hulking mass of heavy armour, its every inch bearing the scars of war - held a might shield against the strike. Hyousuke had not the agility that Haruka displayed, but it seemed he made up for it with brute strength. His Persona, despite creaking under the weight of its own armour and the force of the blow, kept the Shadow still while Hyousuke surged forward with lightning blows to its stomach.

"Come on! Is this all you've got?! I came here for a fight! SO FUCKING FIGHT ME!" He shouted, his voice almost an animalistic roar. She was not the only 'weirdo' there tonight, it seemed. All he'd needed was something to get him going, and Hyousuke had devolved into something bestial himself. He recalled Achilles and let the Shadow's sudden burst of momentum carry it stumbling backwards, before lunging in with a vicious kick against the knee it tottered on.

<Pose Tracker> Haruka Konno has posed.

Haruka watches Hyousuke with the corners of their vision. Their main focus is on the gigantic Shadow. The Witch continues to strike at the Shadow, trying to overwhelm it with calculated strikes. Each strike is matched with a bob and a weave, trying to just overwhelm the Shadows senses.

 Haruka does pause to just stare at Hyousuke's outburst. What in the hell is this guy on? Like did he think he was an anime character? Haruka almost loses focus, taking a small wound from the Shadow.

 "Tch. Weird Sisters! Chill this monster to its soul."

 The Weird Sisters appear as three figures emerging from a cast iron cauldron. The brew within bubbles as the Persona activates it's Ice spell, attempting to freeze the Shadow's heart.

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.

Hyousuke was a storm of blows. No matter how the beast raged at him, he matched met it with his own ferocity, shouting and laughing and taunting every step of the way. It raised its blade like a cleaver, trying to swing down at both of its opponents with a single blow, and Hyousuke prepared to meet it with metal of his own again. But ice struck before bronze, and the Shadow reeled in pain crystalline chunks of ice began to expand through - and across - its chest. Never one to be outdone, Hyousuke called upon his Persona, and issued but a single order.

"Achilles!" He called out, stepping back to give himself room to avoid the beast's mad flailing. "Cut its chest open and END THIS!" The figure, his eyes red and glowing in the void beneath his helmet, rushed forward like a shot from a cannon. An ear-splitting noise, like glass grinding and shattering, played as the backdrop to his spear punching a cavernous wound into the Shadow's chest, leaving nothing but a tunnel of ice bored clean through once he had pulled back his spear. It staggered back, letting out one last pathetic attempt at a roar, before collapsing to the ground and dissipating into nothingness.

Hyousuke was tensed for a moment, but relaxed once he was certain the fight was done... though he almost seemed reluctant to. The slight note of frustration to his voice did little to dispel the notion.
"That was it? Tch. Some guard. I wasn't done yet..."

<Pose Tracker> Haruka Konno has posed.

Haruka breaths heavily as the Shadow fades away. The Witch shifts focus to Hyousuke, ready for anything the other can throw at them. After a moment, something tells Haruka to just let it go, prompting a 'tch'.

 There is a pause from the Witch as they consider what they should do. Something told them that the Dark Hour was nearing an end so they might want to leave. With no further business, Haruka moves to disappear behind a near by building, effectively disappearing before anyone can follow.

 Once the Dark Hour ends, the Seven Sisters student sighs as they attempt to get back home before their Dad notices.