text; @CURSE

[gimu]

hello.

i have several questions for the outsider populace and i require truthful answers.

1. what are your abilities in battle?
2. what is your estimation of your skill with your own abilities?
3. who are you?
4. what was your proudest moment?
5. what was your weakest?

answer as you see fit. i’m not your boss.

[ this isn’t how one goes about making work acquaintances but it’s direct, it’s simple, and choso can’t be bothered to care if it meets industry standard. ]

Comments

@kuzunoha14

[the_fourteenth]

I'm Kuzunoha Raidou. We met in the cafeteria.

I use a katana and firearms in battle. Normally I would also utilize demons to fight along side with, but I am without them here.

Because of this I feel as if I have a lot of catching up to do in terms of abilities compared to other Outsiders. I have been finding other ways to contribute.

Itadori tells me you're his brother?

[gimu]

yuji told me of you.
hello kuzunoha raidou. thank you for taking care of my younger brother, and for your efforts otherwise.

your summoning is an interesting point. will you elaborate on how it works?

[the_fourteenth]

The demons I've formed bonds with and work with me would reside in special containment tubes, to be called out when needed. They could use my own power in order to use their abilities, which is all different depending on the demon. Magic, physical attacks, specialty skills. But when I arrived here, all I had with me was my sword. There does not seem to be demons in this version of Japan, none that I have encountered yet anyway.

[gimu]

[ that strikes choso as strangely familiar, a peculiar flash of deja vu gone as quickly as it came. huh. ]

what constitutes as a ‘demon’ by your power’s definition? could something else stand in for them?

[the_fourteenth]

Most any supernatural creature. Spirits, devils, monsters, legendary heroes, cryptids... From all cultures and times. You name it, and there is a good chance I at least know if it.

I'm not sure if something else can stand in for them. Even if a demon did appear here, I have nothing to capture it with. My sword is a purifying blade, capable of exorcising demons, as they are otherwise unable to be interacted with by any other means other than magical. If a kaiju that was demonic in nature should appear, I should be able to deal with it.

I have met someone else here who has something remarkably similar to my own demons, which he calls Persona, and require no containment. He summons them forth at will. One of them was eerily similar to one of my own demons.

[This kid is much more talkative and more eloquent over text, when he has time to choose his words.]

[gimu]

[ it's impossible not to notice here. memory of kuzunoha's speech when they first met fits in so neatly despite this verbose difference, a softly enunciated undercurrent wending beneath each crisp word and ordered sentence.

choso, he thinks he understands, somehow. ]

do you know what the vessels were made of? with the technology available, we may be able to replicate them. [ we. ]

[the_fourteenth]

Small metal tubes imbued with magnetite - magic, essentially - but I don't know more beyond that, I'm afraid. Only someone with magical ability can use them.

I suppose it's only a concern if demonic or spiritual kaiju appear, but it would be nice to be prepared in case it happens.

[gimu]

one would think something as fantastical as kaiju would be as demonic as you could get.

we can ad hoc something like those tubes somehow. cursed energy isn't too far removed from the concept of magic. [ experimenting time. ]

[the_fourteenth]

You would, but whatever they are is not demonic in nature. Not as I know it. While it runs the gamut of types of spirits in my world, everything here just feels... different. Outsider or local.

I'd be willing to try. Cursed energy and magnetite seem to have a lot on common, and I'm sure it'd be the case for other types of magic as well. Whether or not magical creatures from this world could be captured... Well, only one way we can find out.

[gimu]

creepy. this is what they mean when they say things like 'eldritch', huh?

i have an idea about that i want to try out if you do.

[the_fourteenth]

Perhaps. It's different, it's strong, unmistakable from anything I've encountered in the other Outsiders.

Sure. I'm willing to listen.

[gimu]

well, i'm a curse, which is at best adjacent to demons. what if that could be exploited for battle?

[the_fourteenth]

[This isn't totally surprising news; there were a few clues. He's also talked to someone who claims to be half-devil here, so why not a curse who looks like a person?

There's a pause, though. He's thinking. If Choso and Yuji are brothers, what did that make Yuji...?]

That's a possibility. With a pact, you might be able to utilize my power to strengthen your own.

Though, I think both you and Yuji would resent if I kept you locked up in a tube the rest of the time.

[Congratulations, you have earned one (1) Raidou Joke.]

[gimu]

a pact will grant your sword arm a deadlier weight.

how long do your pacts last? what are their structures? it could be something we could utilize solely for battle.

[ how curious, this spark. like a burgeoning ember in the dark. ]

[the_fourteenth]

Normally, a demon could utilize my magic in order to strengthen their abilities or spells, while in turn using those to help me, whether it's physical attacks, a healing spell, increase to strength and speed, etc. Often this is in battle, but not always. Demons cannot be perceived by most humans, and they make for great help in investigations.

A pact would last as long as we had loyalty to one other. A two-way street.

[And Raidou's demons are quite loyal.]

[gimu]

do they have to stay in the tubes? it might be nice for a while but i imagine it would get cramped.

[the_fourteenth]

While it's advantageous for other demons I am fighting to not know who it is I have on my side, no, I don't believe here it would be necessary.

[gimu]

that's a relief. so cramped.

when you have time next, i would like to explore that. if it's possible, a pact would benefit the both of us the next time LILITH calls us to battle.

[the_fourteenth]

Alright. We could always do a practice sim as well. I don't know if you've tried one yet, but they are quite realistic.

I hope you are able to place your trust in me.

[gimu]

if yuji has placed his trust, then i do not doubt that in time i, too, will see why.

i'll have to try LILITH's amenities eventually. a practice sim doesn't sound too terrible to try.