[open] one jump ahead of the hitmen

[goen]

WHO: Yato, a whole lot of hired thugs, and you!
WHERE: all around Recolle
WHEN: late April, sometime after the charity event (April 22)
WHAT: Yato is hounded by thugs of pre-Recolle past. Shady situations, lots of chasing, and a good old-fashioned beatdown ensue.
WARNINGS: Violence. PG-13, tops?


[ Day 1: press O to loot


It happens so fast.

A hand grabs Yato by the collar and drags him off his feet. He hits the floor of a narrow alleyway, the runoff filth of a nearby dumpster clinging to his hands as he pushes himself up. The shape of his aggressor is large -- not very fast, but Yato is soft and confused enough to get caught in the head by the man’s fist.

His vision flashes black. Back down he goes.

A switch flips.

Life or death.

He rolls and scrambles back to his feet. And this time when the fist returns, he’s ready; he pivots, snatches that wrist, and slams the point of his pocket knife into the stranger’s arm.

The man curses and immediately tries to pull the knife out. After that, it’s as elementary as snatching the man by the front of his clothes, lunging with as much might as he can muster, and slamming the man’s head against the corner of the dumpster with an awful thud. The stranger goes limp.

Chest heaving, Yato staggers to his knees to dig through the man’s pockets. A wallet: driver’s license (never heard of him), credit card (no use to Yato), and some petty cash (to go toward buying Yato a drink for the trouble). A phone, password-protected. A picture, computer-printed, of a slightly younger Yato smiling and posing for the camera.

Well. Shit.

Yato should leave, and quicklike. He tosses the wallet back on the man, wipes his knife on the guy’s clothes, and pockets the picture. Boy he sure hopes no one peeks into the alley and happens to see him in the middle of all this. It might look bad.

It might look really, really bad.


Day 2: escape room


More trouble today. One person wasn’t enough for the job, so now it’s a trio. Yato sprints his way through town, fresh irritation on his face as he weaves his way around corners and scrambles over obstacles to escape the small swarm of rough-looking types pursuing him. The trio disperses, doubtless trying to cut off his routes of escape. At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before he’s caught…

He needs to hide.

Maybe you’re just walking along. Maybe you’re in your home or at work. Wherever you are, Yato’s somehow tumbling into your life: around the corner, into that trash can next to you, through your open window, through the front door. Clearly he’s been running for some time, because he’s laboring for breath and awash with sweat. But he dives out of sight, makes eye contact with you, and holds a shaking finger to his lips in the universal gesture of

Shhhhh....…

Because sooner or later, someone else might come along… and you probably don’t want to get caught in Yato’s company.


Day 3: closed to Anya


Anya, I’m not gonna be around for a bit… (;´∀｀)
Just some stuff I need to get sorted out. I’ll still have my phone on me, though.
Don’t party too hard while I’m not looking, wild child! ☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆


Night 4: closed to Yuuko


It’s another day of scuffles and escapes by the skin of his teeth. And if the days aren’t bad enough, the nights are worse. Yato has to sleep sooner or later, and his pursuers know it. He sees movement that isn’t there, every noise to break the stillness a threat. The best he can do is squirrel himself away and hope they aren’t looking. But it always seems like they’re looking.

The stress is catching up to him. He hasn’t been eating or sleeping well. The scrapes and bruises are starting to accumulate in a bad way. He is so very tired.

But there are some things he can’t forget to do. Yato retrieves a hidden roll of bandages from a tree knot on the outskirts of Hollingberry Field. He sits, melting his silhouette with the cradle of the tree’s roots, and begins to redress his wounds. The worst is a long cut to his hand -- blessedly, his offhand. He unwinds the old, stained bandages and rewraps the wound firmly, the better to retain some use when he’ll need it. But he can’t quite finish tying it off with only one hand; he tries to use his teeth, but his coordination is all wrong and he growls in frustration before giving up and thunking the back of his head against the tree.

Something must change. He always ran before, but no longer. He won’t be chased from this town… No more……

He rests his eyes.

And just like that, he falls asleep.


Day 5: the solution


A baseball bat.

Yato is far from dressed for a ball game. He looks positively wild in his dusty tracksuit, unwashed and gray and ringed at head and hands with bandages. But underneath all that unfiltered street hobo is a serious hobo, and despite the posse of thugs outnumbering him, he’s ready to stop running and start venting.

A war god? What a joke. No one needs a modern day Thor or Ares or Shiva. Fighting only causes problems. Fighting is a critical failure of maturity. And as Yato hits a smashing home run with the first thug’s arm, he thinks it’s only just that a would-be god of war teaches them this lesson.

His mind isn’t really all there.

But his body is. It aches and throbs, but his body knows what it’s doing. It wields the baseball bat like it’s an instrument far greater, dancing like it has an edge. Of course, there is no edge -- and so it doesn’t feel quite right. But he can sink into this feeling, a rhythm of yielding flesh and fleeting footwork. He can lose himself in this feeling.

-- That is, until one of the thugs manages to flank him and smash him in the head with a metal pipe. Talk about embarrassing. Yato loses his grip on the baseball bat as he stumbles. Half the group of thugs is down, but the remaining half is more than enough to overpower a vulnerable Yato. They descend upon him with a vengeance, punching and kicking and jeering until he disappears beneath their feet.

He could probably use a little help here…


Day x: wildcard


((I’m dtp -- down to plot! Check out my plotting comment or hit me up at chipsnfish. Also feel free to reply with commentspam if you like, I just didn't want to tinytext this whole hot mess lmao)) ]

Comments

day 3

[constellates]

[Her first thought is "I dislike this."

And Anya doesn't dislike very much. Most things she can take with some understanding of "this is just how it is" but this text sounds like there's going to be distance between her and Yato.

So her question is immediate:]

why ?

[She shouldn't expect Yato to always be around when she calls.

... but she does.]

[goen]

[ UHHHHhhhhh... His first instinct is euphemize the whole thing. He's spending time with friends from out of town? But before he can finish typing the sentence, he stops himself.

He told her he was sorry for making her think she couldn't ask questions. If he really is sorry, then he can't keep deflecting and repeating the behavior that makes her back off. He can be so stupid...

He types his response slowly, knowing that he's just exchanging one of her worries for another. ]

Someone real persistent has beef with me.
I'm not sure who, but I'm figuring it out. Until then, I don't want to get you sucked into this.
Don't worry! I know how to take care of myself.

[ said the homeless guy ]

[constellates]

[ . . . yeah, it really is just switching her worries over. Except Anya can also recognize that this is Yato trusting her with more information. So she waits for a moment before she can respond, albeit sadly.]

ok
thank you for telling me
not seeing anya
it is so i am safe ?
i do not like it
but i understand

please also stay safe
ask occhan for help
i do not want to go too long without yato

day 2

[notbunaga]

[Well the first thing he'll find about Nobu's place is that once he makes his way in, forcefully or not, he could be forgiven for thinking she isn't home - her computer and tv, usually running constantly when she is, are both shut off.

Only turn around to the bed on the other side of the room and there she is, napping face down on the cover. It looks like she just fell asleep while she was in the middle of something else, really. No big deal. He could just hang around until she wakes up.

But at the sight of an intruder, familiar or not, Souji stands up from her cushion at the foot of Nobu's bed and looks over in his direction.

This dog is crazy. She could start barking. She might even lunge at him with the intent to bite, considering his past experiences.

What do you do.]

[goen]

[ Pooper

don't do this to him

Yato grimaces, frozen against the door as a heavy set of footsteps approaches from down the hall. As spirited as she is, Souji's always been a relatively quiet dog around Yato. He doesn't think she'll bark, but if she does...

The footsteps stop nearby. Yato shakes his head at Souji, as if she could understand what that means. Crosses his arms in front of him. Mouths a big, silent, "Nooooo," at her. No play. No biting. No tackling, and definitely no barking.

And suddenly, there's a loud pounding on a door somewhere. Not on Aki's door, but nearby. It seems like whoever's chasing Yato doesn't mind a bit of trial and error. ]

1/2

[notbunaga]

..nnn...

[Well, however close it is, it's close enough. Over on her bed, Nobu rolls onto her side from her former face down position, revealing that she's...cradling her sword in her arms, actually. It's pressed against her torso with one hand on the handle and the other holding the bottom of the sheath. It's like it's another person.

Thank god it's not out of that sheath, at least. She doesn't......seem to be at risk of hurting herself unwittingly.]

...whoever's...noise...stop it...zzz...

[Okay, she hasn't really woken up. Not really.]

[notbunaga]

[But hope that wasn't too distracting, because in the meantime Souji trots over to Yato and bites onto his trouser leg, then just starts pulling. She could rip it at this rate.]

day 5

[doublesmall]

Hey, assholes!

[That voice doesn't come from beyond the group-- it comes from slightly above them. What good are gravity powers if you don't use them to literally get the drop on someone, after all?

The 'death from above' angle gets rid of one, with Chuuya using one of the thugs to break the fall, and in the second while the others are still figuring out where the hell he came from he pulls his knife from somewhere within that oversized coat.]

Yato, c'mon, get your ass up--

[Chuuya is not the one of them who knows how to use this thing, okay. He can hold it like he knows what he's doing, he can brandish it like he knows, but if he has to actually start using it then he's going to have to resort to 'just hurry up and try to stab them'. If Yato can still stand-- he can't tell, just yet-- he would rather hand it off.

If he can't, well, this is going to be interesting-- but he's down for it either way.]

[goen]

[ Well. He can't say he expected this, but Yato sure is taking advantage of it.

Adrenaline is a hell of a drug, and Yato takes the opportunity to lurch to his feet and snatch a metal pipe (classic) out of the distracted hand of a hired thug. He slams it into the temple of its owner, crumpling him. The sight of a big knife like Chuuya's seems to grab most of the group's attention, and half are slow to notice that Yato is back on his feet. The better for Yato to smash the pipe into the hands of another man, dropping the wooden bat they were holding.

In any case, it's clear that he doesn't intend to take the knife. There's plenty else to work with. ]

Perfect time for practice, boss!

[ The closest men to Yato focus on him, while the rest regard Chuuya with his fancy cape and sword-knife with open hostility. The odds are a little more even, but only just. Good luck, Chuuya... ]

[doublesmall]

Seriously?!

[Jesus. Okay. This is fine, it's not like he doesn't know how to fight; he can take them, he's pretty sure. He's used to taking on larger opponents, he's been outnumbered before-- it's just the unfamiliar weapon (that he feels should be familiar) throwing him off.]

Fine, those guys are yours--

[He nods toward the men closer to Yato before he abruptly lunges for the one closest to him, aiming a slash at the arm holding his weapon-- it's not as clean a hit as he wants and it grazes down his arm, but the knife is large enough and sharp enough that it makes a fairly nasty cut regardless. There's a shout and a clatter as metal hits the ground and the man stumbles back, and an annoyed tch from Chuuya as he gives the guy a hard kick in the gut.

Not good enough. A couple more shift forward, ready to move.]

You better not take too long over there, I'm not gonna clean up this whole mess myself!

DAY 2 ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

[okitactless]

[It's immediately obvious that something's wrong.

Yamato's used to coming home and finding Yato in his apartment, or getting a quick "coming over" text if he knows Yamato will be there. But there's something about the way Yato throws himself inside that sets Yamato's alarm bells ringing, even before he has time to jump at the sudden intrusion. He opens his mouth, but Yato shushes him, and there's a wild intensity on his face that has Yamato doing what he says without question.

He ducks down, crouching quietly on the floor and out of sight of the window. (Thank goodness for crappy student apartment windows that barely let in light.) But Yamato doesn't like it when he doesn't know what's going on, so he tilts his head, an expression of clear confusion on his face.

Whatever's going on, he obviously won't kick Yato out. But he'd still like to know what he's getting into.]

[goen]

[ Yamato is in. Yato isn't sure if that's a good thing or not. But at least Koukichi doesn't seem to be around, and that's a blessing.

He struggles to catch his breath but do it silently, taking a moment to close his eyes and rest against the wall. He listens for footsteps in the meantime: a set of three rapidly pounding down the way, then slowing as they near the apartment. It seems they aren't sure yet which room Yato went into, and they begin to confer among themselves in low, rough voices. With luck, they'll give up...

Yato tilts his head toward Yamato, chest still heaving, and tries to tell him with his eyes and a gesture of the chin. The people out there are the reason why he's in here. ]

[okitactless]

[Koukichi isn't around, and neither is Kashuu, or most of the people in this little complex, actually. School, errands, there's all sorts of things to be doing at this time of day, and Yamato's only here because his earlier class got cancelled.

He is here, though, and he hears those voices perfectly well. They don't sound like they're trying to kidnap Yato for a surprise birthday party.

He nods once, then glances over his shoulder towards the rest of the apartment, looking thoughtful. When he turns back to Yato, he tilts his head again, and there's still a question on his face, but this time he draws a finger across his neck.

Are they dangerous?

Yato told him about his mob days, albeit briefly. But with Yato's lifestyle, there are any number of reasons he could be hiding from people, Yamato doesn't want to jump to conclusions. No need to gear up for a fight if they can be turned away at the door.]

day 1...

[sharplydressed]

[Because someone has to be here to see Yato's Great Escape. Someone with spectacularly bad luck and timing...

Kashuu fits the bill for both of those things, and honestly, this isn't even the first time he's walked by an alley only to glance down and see something sketchy going on. He's been in alleys while sketchy things were going on-- heck, he's actually been part of those sketchy things! So he almost does his patented "glance quickly and pretend you didn't see anything and keep walking" technique; it's rare that anyone actually stops him, since he has the I'm A Busy Important Person walk down to a science.

But.

He recognizes that person wiping a knife off and stepping away from a body?! AN ACTUAL BODY. Did he just try to take his wallet? What's happening?!]

—Holy shit, did you just kill a man.

[It's blurted out before he can bite his tongue but he's so dang surprised that he probably wouldn't have even if he could have.

Yato Yatoson what have you done.]

[goen]

[ What a technique Kashuu...

Yato whips around at the familiar voice, an ultra-defensive look on his face. Caught knife-handed... Why did it have to be Kashuu and not someone a little more morally ambiguous like Kashuu's vastly superior roommate. But okay first of all ]

No.

[ He'll... even OH-SO-SUBTLY feel around the guy's neck for a pulse, that's how sure he is. And also quietly fold his knife away you didn't see nothin'. ]

And not so loud. Someone might hear you.

[ He doesn't want Kashuu hanging around on the street and drawing attention, so Yato waves him closer... walk into this dark alley and join in on the adventures of Schrodinger's Thug and the Hobo Who Stabbed Him, it's fine it's fine. ]

night 4

[ghostories]

[ Toss, turn, wake up, and hit the streets. For the past few weeks, this has been Yuuko's nightly routine. And while she could always use this moment to indulge in a little more delinquency than her previously constant truancy, the thought of Ryoji frowning at her antics keeps her in check. But staying at home when she can barely sleep a wink suffocates her with boredom and gloom so here she is, walking around the city until she finds another graffiti artist or stray alley cat.

Yato's at least one of those things. ]

Hey. [ She pokes his head. ] Heeeey.

[ Whether he responds or not, she crouches down to get a closer look at and adjust the dressing on his wound. Her father often told her trouble followed Yato's kind, but it's different when the proof is right before her. ]

The nurse did a really bad job with your bandages...

[goen]

[ Yato wakes to something touching him. His eyes shoot open and he rips his hand away, eyes burning so bright and blue that they seem to glow in the darkness. He's already raising a fist to knock her away when he realizes that the person in front of him isn't trying to fight him -- and he freezes, tense. It takes a couple seconds for him to make out her features, but he doesn't know all too many girls with hair as long as hers. ]

... Yuuko?

[ Why is she even here? It's way past bedtime for good girls. ]

day 2;; let'S DO THIS

[caelestialis]

[ she had just opened her door by coincidence. with a leashed dog at her side and with a bright pink tracksuit on, it was pretty clear that she was going to be taking a jog around the city with kara. then a blur came through her door and before she can get her bearings and yell, she sees who it is and wonders what's going on. is he hurt? is he in trouble? what's happening?

hearing a little whimper from kara that's a telltale sign that it would become an anxious barking fit if left unchecked, ainsley quietly snaps out of her shock and springs into action. softly as she could.

first she shushes her frightened dog and shoos her to the direction of her bedroom. it's probably for the best right now. when that's over, she does her best to usher yato further into her apartment and close the door slowly as she can while speaking in a whisper soft voice. ] ... What do you need? Is there something I can do?

[goen]

[ Ah a tracksuit friend... Yato would be congratulating her on her taste if he weren't in such a situation.

He's been trying to avoid associating with the people he knows today, but seeing Ainsley about to step out puts him in a jam. If his pursuers see her, surely they'll ask her if she's seen him. He can't ask her to lie for him on the spot; the men might not even believe her. So he makes the impulse decision to dart through her door and usher her to be quiet as they hole up in her apartment.

He needs a moment to regain his breath before he can answer her. In the meantime, two pairs of footsteps come pounding up outside. They pass, then pause they realize they've lost sight of their bounty. What now? Their rough voices begin to mutter inaudibly to themselves.

Yato glances toward them before looking at Ainsley. He's already sorry that he's gotten her involved; it's like leading bad company to his own mother. He speaks just as softly, a struggle when he's still panting for breath. ]

Please... just stay safe. If they knock, don't answer.

day 5, obviously c:

[darkinferno]

Dante hasn't been having a lot of luck on his runs for the past couple months... it seems like every other day something else is happening to distract him, between dogs getting off their leashes and his phone deciding to scream out his secrets or people accidentally calling his number with their sudden gunshot wound appearances. And it looks like the trend is going to continue today, too, as he lopes past the mouth of an alley and catches sight of a number of people all clustered around something on the ground.

He knows what that clustering means.

Dante scowls as he pulls up short, yanking one of his earbuds out. He takes in the situation at a glance, and then he's darting into the alley, crouching to grab up the baseball bat as he does so. "Hey!" he yells, about a half-second before he swings at the guy with the metal pipe, the bat making a satisfying dull thud as it comes into contact with the thug's elbow. "Why don't you try and handle this in a fair fight?"

The pipe falls as the thug yells in pain, hand automatically going to clutch at his elbow, and Dante snags the pipe out of the air. It's not his sword, not by a long shot, but it feels more right in his hand than the baseball bat does. He lashes out again, taking a swing at one's knees, jabbing another in the stomach with the pipe and then bringing it down on his head when he doubles over in pain. The others retreat for a moment, watching the newcomer warily, and he takes that moment to glance down at the guy he's come to the rescue of.

"Hey, you all right?"

If he's able to fight still, Dante will offer him the baseball bat. If not... well, there are still a few thugs to go, and Dante's itching to find out what he can do when he doesn't have to worry about injuring his sparring partners.

/o/!

[goen]

Yato hardly notices the new arrival. The bludgeoning from every direction takes up all of his attention, his efforts to rise put down with extreme prejudice. This is bad... He's always been able to fight his way through one-on-one situations or improvise when he's a little outnumbered, but this is too much. He doesn't have enough weight on him to brute force his way to freedom. The most he can do is try to minimize the damage. But at this rate he might break...

And then it stops. His attackers scurry away, leaving Yato with sweet relief and a man's voice, vaguely familiar. He opens his eyes and squints at the newcomer, a guy with a pipe. A friend of Anya's... isn't he? (Genuine question...) Then Yato takes in the thugs on the floor. It seems like he has a savior.

He uncurls painfully and staggers to his feet, standing hunched and clearly not all right. But he'll still take the baseball bat, because he's not done smashing these fuckers' heads in. Just... kind of mostly done. He probably won't be a huge amount of help, but it'll make him feel better to try.

"Thanks," he rasps, which is about all he can manage verbally for now. He'll have to trust Dante to take care of himself.

Meanwhile, the assailants don't look too happy about Yato being back on his feet. But now Dante is the main attraction, and while one thug edges toward Yato, the rest heft their weapons and begin to fan out to take Dante from multiple sides. Then one lets out a battle cry, and they all charge in at once.

crashes in late with a 5 and bad skills at writing fights

[wordcarvings]

[ Koutarou may have put his martial arts background behind him - more or less, as much as he can, even if he still spars with some people some times - but there's no way he's going to ignore someone in trouble. He doesn't instantly see that it's Yato, but that doesn't matter. Though it becomes even more important to him to do something once he realizes that it's his friend who's in trouble.

He's already silent when he moves, and with the thugs' attention being locke don Yato, Koutarou more or less comes out of nowhere when he launches more than one sharp kick that are strong and fast enough to hit and down two thugs before they have had the chance to react, and a punch that hits a third in the face as that one turns. (He's not a former multiple martial arts champion for nothing.) ]

I'd be very grateful if you left Yato-kun alone.

[ The look in his eyes have never been colder, nor has the tone of his voice sounded deadlier. (He'd never kill, but the thugs don't know that and he's angry.) ]

[goen]

[ The sight and sound of Koutarou with an axe to grind is so unlike him, yet Yato grins fiercely, as down and beaten as he is. Of all the saviors he could've had, he wasn't expecting this one. But he won't complain.

While the group is looking at Koutarou, Yato surges to his feet and tackles the nearest thug, ripping the wrench out of the man's hand. Down they go, Yato clobbering his victim about the head with extreme prejudice. Chaos breaks out as a few men refocus on Yato, others continue to eye Koutarou warily, and the rest are caught somewhere inbetween. ]

No reasoning with 'em, Koutarou!

[ He shouts with renewed vigor. Someone pulls him off the wrench man by the jacket, which he simply slips out of before turning and landing a haymaker on the guy for his trouble. ]

Show me that fighter's blood in you!

day 2 u can't stop me

[arahoushi]

[Right smack into the front of him, poor Yato. Toshi barely moves beyond a surprised grunt.]

Yato!

[Oh wait, he just got shushed. Let him just tone down his voice a little....which admittedly isn't much.]

You don't look so hot. You okay?

[goen]

[ That's not shushing, Toshi!! Yato grimaces and glances around for...

Ah. Hello dumpster his old friend. Yato grabs Toshi by the collar and hauls him up to the dumpster before hopping in himself and furiously beckoning at Toshi to follow. ]

Shut up and get in!