ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ ᴀғᴛᴇʀ ᴀʟʟ

[formidable]

Androids, psychics, magic, investigations, and finding out how to human. ➢ Cool Mood Music No. 1 ➤ Cool Mood Music No. 2

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[sorser]

Then we'll make sure that you don't fall asleep on the job, hm?

[There's that facetious smile again.]

You have an hour before we leave. Make sure you're ready to go when I call for you.

timeskip

[sakaya]

Fair enough, fair enough. I'll be ready when you are Master.

[She draws out the last word in a sultry manner which would probably fluster anyone else, but him.

Shuten already confirmed it herself, but she really doesn't dislike him even if they seem incompatible on the surface. But what can she say, she likes a challenge.]

❈ ❈ ❈

[It sure does smell like booze around here. Shuten Douji had parked herself at a window sill somewhere in the Sanctum and had been enjoying herself as she said she would. Her large sake cup, more like a dish sits in her hand and the clear liquor, sweet and cloying is slowly being drained by her.

How many servings has she had? More than most people could handle probably.]

[sorser]

[Stephen appears without fanfare, without flourish. There's only the telltale sound of a magic opening a tear, a portal, and him stepping through. He appears in Shuten's periphery.]

Are you ready?

[But then he's hit with that sultry smell, permeating the whole of the room. He wrinkles his nose, even as he notes the sunlight flooding in through the window, illuminating her form.]

...My god. How much did you drink?

[sakaya]

Ufu. Why are you so shocked? I already told you before.

[Oni drink hard, fight hard, and die hard apparently. Her speech is only just a bit more tipsy than before. ]

But to answer your question, not nearly enough.

[sorser]

I gave you an hour.

[Another sniff of the air, another inhale where his nostrils are filled with the scent of sake.]

Should be enough debauchery to last for a single outing, wouldn't you say?

[sakaya]

Hardly. You came calling like you said you would though, so...

[Shuten picks herself up as she finishes the last of her sake from her cup.]

I'm ready like you asked. I do need to work up a sweat after all.

[sorser]

Naturally.

[It won't take long for him to open up another portal, into the busy streets of New York. But he makes quite certain to step into the Mirror Dimension's version of it.

Things look relatively normal, but Shuten would easily be able to tell something was off. ]

Before we begin, anything I need to know about how you fight? Assists you prefer, and all that?

[sakaya]

[Her head turns around to survey the dimension, clearly intrigued as she stretches her arms and then summons her blade with the blue gourd and lantern that comes with it. The world around them seems to have been made into fractals and it's certainly not looking that way because she was drunk (as she always is of course, but hey, she's a functionally drunk demon).]

I'm of the Assassin class, but that's not very indicative of how I fight... Except with poison.

As for what I prefer, do as you see fit really, depending on what you make of the make of the situation. Healing if my body is too injured, stunning the enemy, that sort of thing. You have a higher repertoire of spells than I expect of most magi, even the most accomplished ones.

[She's only worked with someone who could only be considered a third-rate magus and yet a top-tier Master.]

I have my own magic of course. I'm not a one trick oni myself.

[Can't be called one of the three calamities of Japan if all she did was just drink herself silly.]

[sorser]

I won't stand by idly. It isn't how I do things. You're right, of course -- my magic is, generally speaking, nothing to scoff at.

[Not to toot his own horn or anything.]

Now then, I've brought us into the mirror dimension, and with any luck, should we near, I can pull both other Master and Servant in along with us. We need only track them down, but in this case, it's often just spotting smoke to locate the figurative fire.

[sakaya]

Hm. If I know anything about that Berserker, he's somewhat of a musclehead. If there's a fight to be had, he'll find it. A clash between Servants is always inevitable.

Although, is the Master a "sorcerer" like you? It's my first time in this universe so the type of practitioner I'm familiar with is quite different from this one.

[sorser]

[And here comes a scoff.]

A two-bit "sorcerer" who thinks he can dabble in the dark arts like it were a passing hobby. The sort that always end up cursed or dead or even worse, at the end of the day. Not caring who they bring down with them.

So, yes, a sorcerer. But not one that should be cause for too much trouble once their Servant is dealt with.

[He exhales.]

They're searching for something. An artifact of sorts, I think, hidden somewhere in the city. They've totaled buildings looking for the damnable thing.

[sakaya]

An artifact... Could it be that little trinket you wear around your neck or an actual Grail?

[Don't think she didn't notice the Eye of Agamotto Stephen]

Not bad by the way. I don't know what it is, but not bad.

[sorser]

[Oh? For a moment he lifts his brows, a little surprised. And also a little impressed.]

Drunk and yet still perceptive. Who would've thought?

[A hand lifts to touch lightly at the Eye around his neck.]

But you're right. I think they are after this little trinket; but I'll be dead before they get their hands on it. I guarantee you that.

[sakaya]

[that's her secret, she's always drunk]

Ah, so dutiful. Careful, though. If you put it like that, there's no way I'd let your bones go to waste.

[So yeah, uh, that's the demon way of saying not to die needlessly. Or she's just saying she'll eat Stephen. Either or.]

[sorser]

[He gives her a deadpan look.]

Don’t you worry about my bones, hm? Just keep focused on the task ahead of us.

[With that, Stephen turns to head down a certain direction along the street — it’s obvious that he’s moving with purpose, his cloak swishing behind him.]

This way. They’ve left their magical fingerprints all over this city; it’s just a matter of following the trail. Or can you sense where another Servant might be better than I?

[sakaya]

Oh, but it's of my concern. I can't let anyone else touch them after all.

[How nice, Shuten.

At his question, Shuten hums, thinking.]

To an extent, that's true. I don't think we've any intent to hide, ourselves. And if it's a Servant of my caliber... Fufu.

He might come running for a piece of me. Who knows?

[sorser]

Beowulf, rushing in headfirst to fell a demon. Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. If that’s the case, then keep your guard up.

[There’s a feeling — a ripple, really, shuddering through the mirror world. The touch of magic, aggressive, searching for something. For that little stone around Stephen’s neck, for his Servant, or maybe both. It’s hard to say, but Stephen stops in his tracks.]

Hold on. Do you feel that?

[sakaya]

Ah, scary, scary.

[She feels the ripple in the fractals and the impending danger hit her like the scent of a strong and tantalizing liquor.

With the sword balanced on her shoulder, Shuten steps in and around Strange so that she has his back and although her stance remains casual, the demon Servant is far from being non-vigilant.]

So busy on our first day out together.

[sorser]

Well, what can I say?

[Those hands he had deemed so weak before, call forth their usual glow of circular magic. With a small spark of dry humor:]

I like to show people a good time.

[In the distance, the mirror world ripples again, as if something or someone is entering it. There's nothing they can visually see just yet, until something groans in the distance. A skyscraper, towering above them, bending and warping and falling right towards them.]

Time to move!

[sakaya]

Got it. [Said with the urgency of completing a minor errand.]

[Troublesome. There's going to be a lot of this isn't there? What Shuten opts to do is to have her body dissipate into thin air, turning into her spirit form essentially before reappearing in full on the side of the skyscraper and scaling it by running as it falls. Then she finds a good vantage point to leap off of, making a neat arc before landing on her feet with her blade pinned to the ground making for a small crater beneath her.]

Fuu. What convoluted magic.

[sorser]

[Stephen, on the other hand, remains standing as she disappears and scales the building. He’s focusing his own magic towards making the skyscraper divide into parts just before it crashes into him; four equal rectangular pillars, twisting upwards and upwards as if they were nothing more than strange columns.

He feels the shake of her landing next to him.]

Oh, this is nothing. Believe me.

[But with the skyscraper out of the way, in the distance, there are the silhouettes of two approaching forms.]

[sakaya]

[The kaleidoscope of a world gone mad is intriguing and all and maybe it might even make Shuten even dizzy if she tried to concentrate too much on the constantly shifting surroundings.

But the two silhouettes are of more importance right now. One of them stops and freezes and so does she. There's a split second or two of a deadly pause.]

... Master.

[She readies her blade, pulling it from the ground.]

Don't blink.

[The other figure has gathered a burst of speed and above Strange, a muscular and scarred man looks just about ready to crush him with his blades.

That is until Shuten's sword clashes with the enemy Servant's. She pushes him back and when he tries to strike her, she takes two fingers and almost lazily stops his weapon while crouching and putting her feet on the other.]

No, no, this won't do.

[sorser]

[A passing second, and there's a flash of blades just above his head. Stephen doesn't have a chance to bring up a magical shield to protect himself, but thankfully he doesn't have to. Shuten's defended him in a clash of weapons and a show of strength, and it's almost disturbing how he can feel the vortex of power emanating from the two Servants.]

Careful!

[He can feel it before he sees it. A blast of dark magic comes flying Shuten's way, courtesy of the sorcerer -- a man about Stephen's age, with short black hair and dark vestments. Stephen reaches out and casts a protective shield on the side of his own Servant to deflect the attack.

Give us the Eye, Strange. You'll save us all the trouble! he calls out, an almost hysterical humor to his tone.]

How about no? [Stephen's face is twisted into a frown, despite the quip.]

[sakaya]

[It's becoming a power struggle between the two Servants and Shuten finally gives by deflecting the blade she held with her fingers resulting in her and Berserker exchanging blows that make the sound that isn't unlike trucks colliding with one another.

They push at one another until they both skid backward in front of their respective Masters. Standing up slowly the shirtless and scarred Servant nods at Shuten while she just gazes back with mild boredom at him and his Master.]

Assassin.

Berserker.

[The demon clicks her tongue. She had been wearing the civilian clothing the whole time since they exited the Sanctum, but now in a glow of light, she reverts back to her normal, if revealing garments.]

The only handsome one here. Well, I suppose it's worth it.

[Berserker, despite his moniker, seems oddly at ease and not at all like a maddened warrior like his class title suggests. He lets out a low whistle and calls out to the other sorcerer who commands him.]

Hey, Master. I think it's better if you let me handle things from here. Any closer and that little lady will have you dancing in her hand before you know it.

[sorser]

[Do whatever needs to be done, replies the dark sorcerer, as long as you bring me that little artifact hanging around Strange's neck. Whatever it takes.

It's Stephen's turn to click his tongue.]

Going to stand back and let everyone else do the work for you? Not only are you foolish, but you're incompetent too.

[Stephen doesn't intend to let his Servant do all the work. He extends a hand, and the columns around them -- the ones that had been the skyscraper moments before, twist in the air. He directs them down like bulldozers charging towards Beowulf.]

Better move, Shuten.