It was an overcast day. Any moment, it threatened to rain. Raijin had chosen to go out anyway. He brought no umbrella. If the sky dared to rain down upon him, he would tear it asunder with his wrath. 

Or so he'd like to think. The forecast said it would likely rain tomorrow. He figured he had time to sit in the park and finish his latest scroll of spellwork. That spark of inspiration the other day had nearly come to fruition. He sat in the park, his usual place, having already scoured the park and scratched out all of the little art pieces. 

Leaning back against the tree, he looked up at its branches, mumbling under his breath what ever came to mind. Imagery, sparks of electricity, howling winds. He would bounce between random musings, and intricate spellwork scrawled out in runes originating in his homeland. He hadn't looked at his phone, and the overcast sky made it difficult to tell the time. How long had he been here? Was it nearing night? He was close to finishing, but if it was getting late, it might become too dark to see properly. His phone had been fried this morning when he checked it, so he would have to get a replacement on the way home...

He threw caution to the wind. For all he knew it was still early afternoon. He shifted his robes for comfort once more, and started filling out more lines in his spell scroll.

It was hard not to notice the man. He reeked of blood, and she could sense the miasma of death hanging around him like a shroud from what felt like miles away. Hiyori has been out on patrol, stopping intermittently for mischief and snacks. She had been about to head home to bathe and take a nap when the first whiff of something caught her sensitive nose. It only took a few deep breaths through her mouth to get a general direction, and then the hunt was on.

She was not really expecting what she found. A man sat, in very familiar robes, with scrolls and paper all around him. Sure, the city had a wide variety of people in it, but not many wore the grab of her home country in parks. She was hooked. Hiyori needed to know more.

Waiting for him to look away, preferably back up at the cloud-ridden sky, she slunk quickly and silently out of the bush she had been hiding in. The next time he looked back down she'd be sitting before him, conveniently just out of distance from his swords. Which, upon closer inspection, were very familiar. She needed to pick her brain a bit.

The small black cat sat there for a moment without moving, one tail in view with the other hidden behind. Her yellow eyes were wide and curious. Her fluffy neck bow was purple and silk, with a lotus flower pattern. She went from looking at him to inspecting his scrolls- reading- to looking back up at him.

Her pupils shrank, and she smiled by opening her mouth a little and letting her sharp while needle teeth show.

"... You smell like death." She spoke in her native tongue. She was still in practice as her sister and her reverted to it constantly.

She could see a hint of color peeking out around his robes, which sported various dried stains. She was still drawing a bit of a blank on why the human seemed familiar though.

"Fresh." She sniffed the air again, and her second tail snaked out to join the other in lazily twitching behind her. "Who have you killed?"

Okay. Yes. It would have to be flashy. Violent. A sure hand stroked brush against paper in fine designs that detailed the parameters of something interesting, that would make sense to absolutely one living person in the world. It was true, as far as he knew, he was the only japanese practitioner of spellcraft alive in this time. Most of his reference material was at least two hundred years old.

One or two more lines ought to do it. At this point he was just making the flash brighter, the crackles extend out further. He turned to dip his brush once more, pausing as he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He continued moving, dipping the brush once more, and writing another line... Faster. Snappier. A close to the spell was all he needed.

"Curious, little Neko... What a long tail you have." He spoke in english, knowing any cat that lived here would meow, and not nyan. He turned slowly to look toward the cat that had been watching him. He began to reach out to extend a finger toward her, when she suddenly spoke.

"...Bakeneko." He spoke, his other hand moved to rest upon his blade, though he did not act past that. He leaned back, and dipped his brush once more with his free hand as she spoke. "Iie... Anata wa Nekomatadesu..." He spoke in his native tongue as well.

A demon had come to him. Maybe this was just what happened when you killed as many as he had. "No one of consequence this time... A thief. I have killed greater foes in the past. I will kill even greater in the future."

He scrawled the last line on his scroll, and set the brush aside. "Tell me, demon. Have you come to feast upon my flesh, or will you be a good omen to me?" With them, it really could go either way.

"Oh?" She perked up a little, lifting a paw to lick her nails clean from her most recent snack. 

She started purring at his line of questioning in place of laughter. That depends, human." Standing, she started padding around him slowly. Stalking. Still just out of reach of his blades."On who... you... are."

She eyed the old blade on his side. It had much more death attached to it than his own flesh did. A well-used blade. The cat gestured with a paw at his work across the ground. She didn't know a lick of what it was. Could read it, yes... but nothing more. "You are fond of ancient things. The old world in general, or just cherry-picked items?"

Her family line had ancient roots. Some of the heirlooms they had on the compound were beyond priceless. "So far you have given me no reason to hold any ill will for you. I am simply... curious. So few these days smell the way you do."

He remained calm. There was no sense springing into action... she was out of his reach, and so far he got the sense that this Yokai was curious more than anything. The ink needed a moment to dry. He sat up, reaching over to cap his ink jar and place his arm in is lap. She told him her reaction depended on who he was.

No reply came from his mouth. She asked her second question, and he considered the thought for a second, before replying this time. "I take only what is useful. It so happens that the craftsmen of old were good at what they did."

Was the Yokai somehow interested in his weapon? Perhaps these old writings? He wondered what a Japanese spirit was doing in such a place. Then again, what was he doing here? This was the place to be.

"Like death?" He spoke, letting go of his blade, and sliding his arm from his sleeve, doing the same with the other, he let his garb fall from his shoudlers, revealing his tattoos. "You wondered who I am. Why I reeked of death. Does this answer those questions?" Two gods were locked in fierce battle across his pieces, a dragon clawed its way up his chest between them.

He looked over to the dark spirit to see how she might react. The Aura of death energies drifting from his skin would be more intense without his coverings, not that he was at all aware of this. He just knew many identified him via his tattoos.

"...Sensible." He had the same energies rolling off of him as her sister did. He was confident in whatever abilities he had. Cautious, but not afraid.

The cat started purring again, loudly. "Yes. It is not an unpleasant smell. Metallic and rich. Like meat."

The man started to disrobe and she watched curiously, parking her butt on the ground again and tilting her head. He revealed tattoos... one's she recognized pretty quick. Her pupils dilated with excitement and her ears straightened up on the top of her head.

"The Thunder God!" She let out a little Nyan of excitement and her tails picked up their erratic rhythm behind her. "I have heard many of your tales!" A genuine, living demon in human skin was before her. Many of the folks back home were afraid of encountering him, especially those who might cross paths due to similar employment.

"You've caused many grown men to wet themselves like children. But... what are you doing here? So far away from home?"

He didn't speak to her comment on his pragmatism. He could tell she was actively gaging his range, and staying just out of it. She was experienced enough to know that being at the tip of his draw length wasn't enough, either. He was mildly impressed, though he supposed he should not expect less from a Nekomata. Their lore was steeped in blood.

He did grin a little in spite of himself as she recognized him, and displayed a measure of excitement at his presence. "Most are true." It was nice to run into someone who knew of him. Many districts in Japan knew him as a sort of folk legend, a larger than life being that had many stories to go along with his actual feats. He'd never silenced any of them, either.

"I might ask the same as you. Yes. Tell me why you are here, and I promise to impress with a demonstration of why I am. Is that fair, Yokai?"

Was she excited? Heck yes! The man was a ledgend! Local thugs in all of the areas she had ever hunted were terrified of the prospect of encountering him on the streets.

"Is it really true that you bested twenty of the top Inagawa-kai in Okayama? They say the streets ran red with blood for three days and nights."

Ooo. Did he want to strike a deal? Well... she didn't see any harm in it.

"That is fair. I accept, Human." She sat back and floofed her bow a little with her paws. "I am here because a child of a family I have decided to protect is here. I followed her to make sure she would be well taken care of in a foreign place." She paused, purring contentedly, and squinted her eyes. "...and eat anyone who dares harm her."

Her attention zeroed back in on him. Ears forward, eyes alert. Watching, waiting. Listening.

"Your turn."

He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded his head fondly at his memory of the incident she was speaking of. "It was 12, and I stained the banner outside of the super market... It's still a little red. They followed me down to the Kibitsu-jinja shrine boardwalk, where I killed the last three. They got all of the stains out after a few days, I suppose. I was shot three times, so I can't say I was too focused on checking out the crime scene."

He watched her for a moment as she considered his deal, and accepted.

Ah. She was a guardian, then. If she spoke the truth, the child she spoke of had gained quite the fierce protector. The Yokai of legend was not one to trifle with lightly. He nodded again, and placed his hands on his knees for a moment and then pulled himself to a standing position. "I have decided I like you, Nekomata. I will consider you a good omen."

He then pulled his short sword, and drew a shape in front of himself before he reared it back. "I will show you why I am here, Yokai!" He yelled out a promise to the sky in their native tongue, to be as swift as lightning.

With all of his might, he heaved the wakizashi, with speared through the air before smacking into a tree 50 feet off. He looked down to the cat, and grinned widely, before opening up his hand, and stepping toward it.

ZZZZZZAT! In a crackling flash he was suddenly at the trunk of the tree, grasping the blade and pulling it free. "To learn to do that..." He turned, and grinned, the thrill of casting a spell for the first time running through his veins like burning lightning.

Soo.... it was a real story, even if it had been embellished over time. Her eyes sparkled as he told the real story, and her vivid imagination filled in the details. 13 men against each other on a dusty, dark road at dusk. The red and orange hues of the sun coloring the sky. Tension filled the air- 12 people know they will meet their deaths that night. "Yabaiii." She whispered in awe. How many of the other stories were true also? She had so many questions!

The Thunder God deemed her worthy of his time, and one some small level that really just made her day. Sure, she was a demon to many or an ill omen, but he had just called her a good one! She'd be blushing if her physical body was capable. Instead, she sat a little straighter and pretended not to get super excited about it.

When he moved she remained still, watching curiously as he drew his short sword and drew symbols of light in the air. The shout caused her sensitive ears to flinch, which was not as appreciated, but-

... Why'd he throw his-

He literally vanished in a flash of lightning that forced her to close her eyes and cause her hair to stand on end and reappeared 50ft away at where his sword had landed.

"Eh?" It took a moment for her to realize what had happened.

"EH?!"

That was one of the COOLEST things she had ever seen!

"SUGOOOI!"

She scrambled for a moment getting her feet under her in her excitement, and then bolted at him with all the speed a four-legged small black shadow could muster.

A little clawed shimmied up the tree beside him and onto a branch later, she was much closer to his face.

"Ne ne, how did you do that?! That was so amazing!"

The Neko shared in his excitement, the creation of deadly art. He wondered how many times he could do this before running out of energy. He would have to test his limits. He looked up from the locked stare he had on his blade, before looking up to see the cat at eye level.

She'd climbed that tree with the grace and speed of a...right. He grinned, eyeing the tip of the Wakizashi's blade to ensure it was still in good condition before sheathing it once more. "Magic." He stated at her question, not shy about the origins of his newest powers.

"Now, all I need is someone to test this on. Neko-chan, do you know anyone who needs a reckoning?" He spoke in their native tongue, glad to be able to communicate with someone in the language he was most comfortable with. At times, when he was speaking english, he had to pause to find the right words, and perhaps his grammar was oddly skewed at times. He didn't think it made him any less intimidating, but he felt more intelligent speaking in Japanese.

"Have you been your family's feline for some time? When did you become wise enough to speak?" He was already walking, not before offering the feline a shoulder. If she wished to eat him, she would have by now. Why not hunt together? She would only stray from her master if she were feeling peckish, right?

"...Kotodama?" She had read about it but never had she seen it practiced with her own eyes. She'd thought it a practice that had died out, or a misunderstanding of the powers people had. It was an exciting prospect if someone had managed to revive it!

Her ears perked. He... wanted her to pick someone out to hunt? She'd already been doing that all morning! Of COURSE she could! "I am sure there is someone nearby who would suit your needs. Always plenty of targets in a city such as this."

She hardly ever had trouble finding evildoers, anyway. Those who would seek to hurt her in her natural form were probably serial killers in their early stages, and those who would seek to hurt her in one of her human forms were no better than some of the instinct-based animals she's encountered. Fueled by want and need, without a thought or feeling for those on the receiving end.

She paused a moment to sharpen her claws on the bark of the tree and stretch, priming herself for an adventure that was sure to come.

When he offered her his shoulder she just about fell off her branch, she was so excited! Stars and sparkles may well have exploded from her eyes. One butt wiggles later for calibration and she landed on his broad shoulder with perfect balance and settled down. Her tails wrapped around his neck from behind, and she offered an affectionate head bump to show how pleased she was.

"If you mean to find someone worthy to test your skills against, though, that is a different matter entirely. This place is filled with all sorts of fodder. Worthy opponents are apparently rare, or well hidden."

He started walking, and she stared at his side profile from where she was sat.

"I am still young in terms of strength, but I have known how to speak since I was two or three in human years. Best I can gather is that I am not a typical example of my kind."

Parks like this often had plenty of characters you would find who were up to no good. They liked to linger on trails and hide in the shadows, waiting for the weak and unsuspecting. She'd jumped a few of them before, but unless you put them down for good they tended to come back like rats.

"I do not guard the Family of my chosen human... they do not deserve it. Only the girl." She purred at all the fond memories of her sister. From the moment they met to the current day. "She showed kindness to me where no one else would, and in spite of her family being unkind to her. One day I will make them regret it."

In particular, her father. He would come to regret his actions, oh yes. She wasn't sure when, or how, but she was absolutely certain of it.

But, back to the task at hand. She sniffed at the air. There was a musk coming from where... a particularly bad rendition of a human cologne.


"Would you like me to draw a rodent out? It is fairly easy... like fishing. You just need the right bait."

She took him up on his offer of the shoulder, and got incredibly comfortable quite quick. He allowed her to nudge him, but did not react to her show of affection; it was cooler for him not to."Mm. I will settle for fodder at this point in time. Someone worthy of death, is acceptable for a test." He needed to get a feel for this new work. Work it into his muscle memory so that it became second nature, like his barrier crest.

The park did have a few shady people in it from time to time. "You are still growing in power, then." Perhaps they could fight to the death one day. He did aim to become as powerful as a god with his new found strength. Then, he could fight more people like that greek he had encountered last month...

He didn't reply to her defensive statement about the family of her charge. It was none of his business, after all. She wanted to kill them, though, so it was interesting. He stopped next to the path as she offered to lure someone out. "I am interested. Show me." He'd heard tales of the Yokai's talents... Would they hold as true as the tales about him?

He was just so...

COOL.

Main protagonist levels of cool. "Yes. I am training to see where my strengths lie, so that I may grow faster." Not that she'd received much training in terms of 'quality' so far. She'd mostly been going out on her own still. The mutant school was beginning to seem like a bit of a letdown, though she wasn't yet prepared to tell her sister that she had been right.

She was more than ready to show him, although she was a little nervous now that she knew who he was. Would he think it was cool, too? Or would he scoff and tell her she still had a lot to learn? She sat up a little, still balanced, and focused on a point just before him.

Swirls of purple energy started to form, condensing and wrapping into the physical body of a woman. She was putting a bit more effort into it than normal... definitely trying to show off a little. The Geisha appeared before them with a flourish of energy. A refined version of the form she had used when back home. Long black hair; sleek and straight with straight cut bangs parted in the middle. Almond-shaped eyes with long lashes, a small dainty nose, and perfect little lips with just the right amount of pink. She was a bit taller than your typical Japanese woman, curvey even under the elaborate kimono layers she was wearing. She lifted a pale hand to pull long strands of hair from her face, exposing the length of her neck, and smiled coyly at Hiyori's direction.

"... What do you think, Raijin-sama? I can edit her to suit the needs of whatever prey I look to attract."

Oh, he was an Anti-hero at best!

He didn't look her way, as it was easy enough to speak to someone on your shoulder without twisting your head their way. It was strange, though, as an old, wise creature, this being seemed rather youthful and inspired. A mythical creature in the making. Full of potential. While it was odd to consider oneself a senior to such a being, she seemed to treat him as such, and he would not complain.

It made him feel pretty badass.

"Good! Become a Yokai even the gods shy away from, little Neko-Chan!" He grinned widely, and waited for her to do her work. His eyebrows lifted as he watched the Geisha form before him. She was the very picture of the ideal for his homeland. He had admittedly developed more Americanized tastes during his stay here. She asked him what he thought, even called him Sama.

"Mm... Impressive. Americans tend to go for... Larger chests, More plump lips... A bigger rear." He nodded as he watched her work, staring intently as she did.

This was amazing. He reminded himself that when creatures like this made something like this, it was meant to be a death trap. He would not be sleeping with this geisha. Still... Nice to look at. "I think that does it... Now to put the bait out."