Night at the Museum! 🎃

[datmass]

He couldn't get them to just go with the way humans are and act. Not while their lives were impacted. The most he wanted was for them to understand it that it wasn't on purpose, that there could be a give-and-take with all this, conditions made and ground given. That was the process of negotiations. It got people to consider things outside of themselves and realize a compromise between individuals. To that end, Shiro listened intently to what the Yanari felt about all this. They had a claim. Their lives were affected, and they wanted to fight back. It was all in effect to gain something beneficial. So, let's see what we can do here. Even though the possibility of building an avenue existed, the head honcho didn't like essentially living in somebody else's basement, so to speak. It was definitely a matter of respectibility, paving over his world like he didn't exist. No malice was intended, as the people didn't even know, but...

"No, I can see how it doesn't entirely excuse it. That's what I'm trying to help out with here."

These yokai weren't mere monsters. Many were what they were by how they came to be, dependent on how much lore was true and how much has changed over the years. Normal Yanari were vicious creatures, accurately described as little oni or such-like in their actions. It would be hard to bargain with them, but fortunately, fifty years ago, some kid got them to take on a more humanized persona. It made them open to discussion, even though it's hard to please a gang of toughs with an image to protect. To that end, the leader proposed a condition to his idea of just making an external exit and using the museum as effectly a bunker to his domain. They wanted a tithe, a tribute paid, to acknowledge them and the potential wrong that had been done here. On the surface of it, that sounded reasonable, even amicable.

Provided the payment they want isn't too steep, the museum would save a great deal of trouble in the long run. With the way they have been sabotaging things, and they ways in which they could escalate, giving them a piece of the action would solve alot of problems.

He gave a nodded at this, now.

"I would have to talk to the curator and everyone in charge over the offer, but depending on what you want, I'm sure we can-"

BAM!

"Kunekawa-san! Lloyd-san is missing!"

The younger guard, whom he'd asked to find the older Lloyd-san came back suddenly to report that the old guard was missing. He was lying down in a room full of tiny demons, basically, and one hotshot detective. This was probably a sight to behold for him, especially since Shiro remained relatively calm, in with respect to this new development. That is, Shiro's eyes widened with concern for a moment, but he let the anxious feeling drop, as it was probably that some of the gangers kidnapped the old man as leverage. Well...hopefully, that's what it was. Because as things were, right now, they'd just release him. So saying, he turned to said boss now.

"Did some of your guys abduct Lloyd-san? We'd like him back, please. He seems nice."

[mermalaide]

"Did you say Lloyd-san..?"

Some of the oni gave concerned noises. The leader looked from oni to oni sharply. "Did I say any of you could take him?" Some of them looked sheepish. "Well no oyabun, we'd never.. not ta Lloyd." A few of them exchanged concerned looks, and the Oyabun again held up his hand to silence them. The little robot oni slid forward. "Boss, it could have been Shinpei and Jozo. They have been rather hard pressed to follow rules as of late, they have even gotten a few to their side of things." The robot spoke with a quiet and respectful tone, as if speaking to a Yakuza boss, and not a small time, small size gang leader.

The boss in the pompadour turned almost purple with rage!

His voice got quiet and yet, still seemed to project through the room. "Find them. I want Lloyd-san brought here now, and if he is hurt, well, you all better pray he is not." Oni were bowing and tripping over himself to find an exit to get him. "H-h-how do you know old man?" Young blood was kneeling on his knees near the oni.

"Apologies. I feel I should explain a bit."

The oni looked at him through one eye and a bit of fallen pompadour. "Lloyd-san..was not always called so. We knew him Kaminari back then." His eye glinted. "We owe much to Kaminari-dono. When we woke last time, he showed us how to really live. When he went away, we decided to rest, but I am glad we were able to meet him again."

It was as clear as day. The concern he wore, the pacing. The oni-bot had not left him, though it watched him, staying to ensure that he was safe with these two humans. "He was our first human friend you see. Before Llyod-san, we ate humans, and we knew nothing of your culture." He cam to a stop, his fists clenched by his side. "He rallied us, gave us something to look up to and forward to."

[datmass]

As soon as there was recognition of Lloyd-sam from these guys, Shiro had a feeling...and it turned out to be exactly right. These Yanari had woken up to the world, found a kid who taught them how to be Jet all the way, from their first cigarette to their dying day, and then fifty years later, here we are, and their friend was an old security guard with a bit od seniority on his side. This had good potential, but only if Lloyd was alright at the end of it, and open to a few ideas for the future. The only problem was that the robot - with such a deep voice! - stepped forward and named some of their number that may've taken matters into their own hands.

"It sounds like you have a little descension in the ranks. This Jozo and Shinpei ambitious at all? Got sort of a vibe like 'I'm gonna own this town.' and 'Yeah, boss! We'll own it all!' going for them, maybe?"

It was just a guess on his part, but with them copying gang styles like aliens in Star Trek who all became gangsters, it seemed reasonable to guess that some of them maybe wanted to follow a new leader because they wanted to try a new direction, consequences be damned.

"'Cause I want you to know that you guys are being very reasonable, and I appreciate that. However, if they bring harm to this man, regardless of his importance to you, I'll have to do something terrible, and I ask that you don't stop me from doing just that."

This was in due understanding that if he started taking action without informing them first, the rob-oni would probably attack, and the rest of them might go at it, as well. However, if it were a side-group and he said up-front that he'd want to put them down in the interests of keeping everybody safe, they would understand that their part in this was being acknowledged and their permission to strike was politely sought.

[mermalaide]

"It sounds like you have a little descension in the ranks. This Jozo and Shinpei ambitious at all? Got sort of a vibe like 'I'm gonna own this town.' and 'Yeah, boss! We'll own it all!' going for them, maybe?"

"Very much so." The robot cleared his throat. The boss gave him a look and he retreated a little. "Perhaps I was too lenient on them, Lloyd-san often spoke about giving more of a chance than I will admit I liked, however, the more I saw of human culture, the more I felt changed by stories." He shook his head. "We still are what we are though, and they have made me see that. It's hard to resist nature." 

He paced a little.

"'Cause I want you to know that you guys are being very reasonable, and I appreciate that. However, if they bring harm to this man, regardless of his importance to you, I'll have to do something terrible, and I ask that you don't stop me from doing just that."

"We need to get him back." He opened his coat, and you saw the taped ribs and chain he wore. "Boss?" The robot looked concerned, and the boss walked up to him and pushed down the antenna on it's head. Something dropped like the sound of a vending machine and the boss reached down and pulled out what looked like a small version of a lead pipe. The robot actually looked flabbergasted! "Boss?"

He strode up to Shiro. "Let's go resolve this then. The others should find them for us in the basement. They will also try to protect Lloyd-san from any threats coming at him." He looked  angry, like a storm contained. He ties a headband on his forehead with the kanji for Iron Will on his brow. 鉄の意志

The robot trailed him and the boss hopped onto it's back.  "Ore!! Hurry up! 急いで！"

[datmass]

After confirming his suspicions about the two Yanari in question, it seemed that Shiro's words reached the leader, getting him to take action. Indeed, it seemed to surprise the robot bodyguard for a minute, as the boss got him to dispense him a weapon, and then he proceeded to ride the robot into battle. Shiro thought that he was going to have to slow-walk into battle, but he was proven wrong, as it turns out that Yanari are REALLY FAST! Maybe not enough to outrun a living shadow or a running human, per se, but those little legs can carry them, so Shiro had to break into a run himself to keep up, trying not to topple anything over along the way. Their destination was apparently the basement, and as Shiro locked eyes on the young security guard, he said...

"Be prepared to grab and pull him out of there at a moment's notice. This just became the makings of a gang war, and I am not having this man's blood on anybody's hands."

With that, he would then pick up the pace to catch up with the boss man.

"I know you're going to take them on yourself if they won't listen to reason, and I know you don't want anyone - especially me - to interfere. However, I can make sure that if it comes to it, your conflict remains fair and equal, if that's alright."

Because...he was a fairly-quick study on matters, and apart from that lovable anime parody, Shiro has also seen West Side Story. Things could go fairly bad and definitely to worst if this wasn't resolved properly.

[mermalaide]

"Be prepared to grab and pull him out of there at a moment's notice. This just became the makings of a gang war, and I am not having this man's blood on anybody's hands."

"Believe you me, I wish not for that either." He rode the small robot into battle, bouncing with the seams on the floor from the tile. His weapon was outstretched in a pointing gesture. "If you can, I would like you to get Llyod-san to safety. I will handle the dissenters." His voice was low and his expression grim. He looked like he would likely be fighting to the death. The robot seemed nervous if that was even possible. "Boss you can't! Let one of us-" He was cut short by being bonked on the head. He bounced but did not skip a beat, "Unthinkable."



"I know you're going to take them on yourself if they won't listen to reason, and I know you don't want anyone - especially me - to interfere. However, I can make sure that if it comes to it, your conflict remains fair and equal, if that's alright." 

"It is fine by me. Whatever happens, we want our friend to live out a good life. He is a kind person. Rough, but kind. These young oni, they don't get it. They have grown fat and rowdy in a time of peace, but they know nothing about what it was before, save stories that were passed down. They think of glory, and do not understand the old ways were very bloody.. and without tv." He grunted and they began down the steps. The stairwell was dark. Disgustingly so. You could not see well, and typically, the flood lights would have come on. 

Only  the toe of a work shoe was visible. 

The little boss was ready to surge ahead, but showed the bot he was on. "There may be a trap in the stairs." He looked to see if there was a leg attached to the toe of the shoe, and there was not. It was strange. Down a ways further, was another shoe. A young oni climbed the stairs as best as he could. "O-oyabun! some of the others are acting strange! Jozo had some kind of gem and was waving it about, the others' eyes got all cloudy!" He looked like he was almost in tears. "T-they told me to run so I-"

[datmass]

For his part, Shiro waas fully prepared to deal with this honorably, according to the gang's own by-laws, according to their leader. It was the best way to get them to cooperate, but...it was soon apparent that there was a problem. Well, first of all, as they reached the basement stairs, there was another different kind of issue, which was that once the detective was in the dark, he was once again hidden from sight. None of the sounds or smells of him were vacant, and you could reach out and touch him, but he was gone, and this would be rather important to what happened next. If the darkness was an oppressive force, actually cancelling light, Shiro would at least have a chance to see into it with his natural attunement with the shadows. That said, he was getting an uneasy feeling and whispers in his head regardless of whether or not there was some foul energy afoot. Which uhhh...about that... There was the toe of a shoe - sans toe itself - on the stairs, and then another shoe itself. Was it breadcrumbs? A warning? A scare-tactic against either them or Lloyd-san himself? Then, a single Yanari was seen climbing up the stairs - He wouldn't see Shiro, at this point - and that's when things went...wrong. It sounded like...

"Sorry, boss-man, but this stopped being about honor. Your man is either brainwashing your gang, or they're all under the thrall of a cursed artifact, and I have get to it, right now."

They could now hear Shiro running at top speed, but judging by the gait and the fact that his voice changed, he just went full dark samurai, and YOU DO go full-samurai if things go from bad to worse! With no lights, anyone looking for trouble would find something moving at a rapid pace, but if they wanted to draw a bead on it, good luck!

Gotta get Lloyd-san out of there and quick! If there's a possession going on, he'll be the most vulnerable!

But what would he actually find once he got there?

[mermalaide]

The area was so dark, but it wouldn't matter to Shiro or even to the boss. Both could see just fine, but what they ended up seeing was a sight. All the oni that had gone down to clash seemed to be absolving into the other oni's ranks. It was pure pandemonium. If anything, this seemed like a proximity effect. "Lloyd-san!" The oyabun yelled out to his friend, prompting the eyes of many brainwashed oni to turn to him. "Sir, I have detected an anomaly. If we go any further, you will be affected!" His warning was sharp and he skidded to a stop, in the vein of trying to hold the boss back. The boss was trying to climb down, but his small robot was trying to restrain him.

An older man, clearly Lloyd-san was lying prone on the floor of the basement. He was bound by his arms and legs, while the chanting seemed to roll to a fever pitch! Two oni in the center, one holding up a glowing green gem that frankly looked like kryptonite. It gave off malicious noises and shadows. The closer the other oni were to it, the more brainwashed they looked. They gyrated and danced wildly like they were enacting some sort of hunt. It was absolutely creepy.

"And what do we have here? Hmmmm? A shadow that can't mind it's business! KekekeKEKEkeKe!"

The laugh from the one holding the gem was absolutely nuts. "Where's that pathetic Oyabun? I will treat him real nice if that stupid old man wants to join our crew." There were mocking, howling bits of laughter.

[datmass]

They came upon a dark basement area, where two Yanari in the middle of a group that absolutely had to be Jozo and Shinpei. The little man holding the gem was exactly what Shiro had pictured. He was a smarmy little opportunistic pain in the butt who wanted to run things, but he was the Starscream to the group's Megatron. He was inept, regardless of abilities, and though he latched onto some power, he was clearly misusing it and couldn't possibly achieve anything under his OWN power. Plus, that mocking tone... Definitely the bad guy here, though it was unclear if he was actually in control, or only thought he was in control. Same goes for the other one, who apparently noticed Shiro's samurai-like shadow cast on the wall by the light of the gem. This was an important factor. The robot oni was keeping Oyabun from approaching because there was a dark anomaly - a proximal effect - that seemed to be responsible for drawing all these other oni in for some kind of a dance. Shiro didn't like the looks of this. He hoped that they weren't dancing a horrible ritual, like summoning Mothra, resurrecting Dagoth, or causing the end of the world.

Nevertheless, we'll get to that. First, one of the Yanari at the center of this DID spot him.

"Oh, so you NOTICED, did you?"

Cue the act of Shiro wwilling himself to be visible by cancelling the Shadow's Embrace. They now saw what was - to them - a towering black samurai in armor, wielding a large shadowy sword.

"Jozo and Shinpei, I presume... You shouldn't be messing with cursed artifacts like that. Invariably, somerthing terrible always happens to those who do, whether it's due to the power consuming them, or..."

He suddenly swung his sword, using the extended shadowy reach to try and break the green gem...or at least knock it from the little oni's grip.

"...the power fades."

[mermalaide]

"Oh, so you NOTICED, did you?"
\
A lot of them jumped back. The ones that were still somewhat coherent, likely ones that weren't completely brainwashed. The ones that were brainwashed though rained down on the dark armor, trying to do there best to puncture it with small, privative weapons. They seemed to slide down him or bounce off somewhat. A few tried to stick to the armor but to no avail. The ones that weren't completely under control, turned tail and fled, cursing Jozo as they did so. These were likely his converts that he did not have to brain wash. The ones that had been full brainwashed though, had likely been Oyabun's men, and more importantly, Lloyd-san's friends.

"Jozo and Shinpei, I presume... You shouldn't be messing with cursed artifacts like that. Invariably, something terrible always happens to those who do, whether it's due to the power consuming them, or..."


The gem is knocked to the floor. It bounces, seemingly made of some kind of crystal. Before they can converge or fight over it, something charges out of the darkness, on wheels! The whirrrrr whirrrr noise of robo-oni-san being ridden by none other than Oyabun himself! The little gang leader leaps off of Robo-kun's back before the helpful companion realizes what has happened. He grasps up the gem quickly. A look of anguish  colors his features in the shadow.


"...the power fades."

The oni all stop. They turn to look at Oyabun. He is holding it high in his hand. As the light from the gem colors the room in a sickly green light, all of the onis seem to stop, like works that have winded down, seemingly frozen. Oyabun seems stuck in that pose for a few moments before the brainwashed oni start to swarm, making there way to Oyabun. Lloyd-san regains consciousness from the floor, still imobile from where he is giving a shout.

"Orogumo move!"

That seemed to do it. The power of the gem making Oyabun, or as we know him to be now as Orogumo, inert wore thin and  with tears in his eyes, Orogumo hurled the gem to the ground, causing it to shatter on the concrete floor. The oni, no longer under control, but no longer under control either were thrown backwards hard. They landed scattered onto the floor.

[datmass]

His moves were quick, and yielded results while several Yanari failed to penetrate his armor. It wasn't as though even the ones trying to gain power were really formidable. It was just that this was a dangerous and delicate situation, one in which Shiro gladly enabled to reach a decent end. When the gem clattered away from its holder, Oyabun - or apparently Orogumo - grabbed it, held it up high, and as those who were brainwashed by it began to approach...smashed it, thus ending the power of the gem. As he said, then... The power fades. Shiro took a deep breath and cancelled out of his Shokuna armor, returning his sword to normal. He let out a breath as he took a seat, careful not to plop on top of anybody small.

"Okay... That was a bit of a close one."

He looked around the room as he was sheathing his weapon.

"Everyone alright? Lloyd-san? Young blood? Various yanari?"

The blast of the gem breaking apart hadn't been much to Shiro himself, but to them, it could've been like dynamite, which was not good for their prospects, but the point was that their ears could be ringing.

"Just in case any of you are listening, your boss and I have come to an agreement for a lasting and peaceful co-existence. I'm aware that some of you may've wanted a fight, to show your strength, but I like to give everybody what they want, and I know what you guys want is your turf secure and respected while the museum wants to keep being a museum. That was always my goal. It's what I do."

[mermalaide]

There was the sound of groaning off to one side. Young blood as he was called groaned and sat up from where he had been slumped over. "Jesus. I didn't get isekai'd did I?" He was dizzy and trying to pull himself up to help Lloyd-san, who had managed to get his gag free to shout when he had, but not much else. "I feel like a a bundle of something all tied like this!" He tried to make a joke out of his situation. A few of the tiny oni that seemed to have snapped out of it were trying to free him from his ties. 


Orogumo looked utterly exhausted and slumped prone to the ground. "I am glad you're ok...friend." His body made a solid thunk to the floor. Some of the oni panicked seeing him like that. There were tearful cries of 'Oyabun' and a few choked, manly sobs coming from some of them. The little robot manages to make his way over to the boss and tried to carefully lift him. The oni's black pompadour was now an ash gray color. "Oh dear." 

The two trouble makers in question started to try and slink off in the surrounding chaos that was happening. There were some that was listening to Shiro, one with glasses for example. He tried to listen intently as did another, bald oni. Lloyd-san managed to get out of the restraints with help. "Kaminari-dono, please don't be mad at us!" A few were trying to shout with distraught cries. "I know you didn't mean it." He went over to the little oni-bot, and to Shiro.

"Somehow I think that they have learned their lesson a bit. These guys are tough, but they aren't bad."

He shook his head, bending down to the little robot who handed over the boss. "Oro-kun..that zapped ya real good. Like that time ya put a metal chopstick in the outlet." He shook his head and held the oni. Almost for a moment, you got the image of the delinquent he used to be when he crouched on his haunches. "So it was a gem that did all this?" There were pieces on the museum. Youngblood came over holding onto the wall as he was still dizzy. "Was that in collections?"

[datmass]

In response to the Isekai comment, Shiro looked around, saying "I don't see a Truck-kun. I think we're good." with a smile. He watched as the scene unfolded, with Lloyd-san having his reunion with the yanari boss, apparently named Orogumo. Something...familiar with that name... He blinked.

Yeah, it DOES sound like something out of Inuyasha, doesn't it?

Just a BIT. It didn't matter. Not really. Jozo and Shinpei, realizing the full measure of what the heck they'd done, begged forgiveness, and it seemed like the boss was going to be lenient, though...in the spirit of it, Shiro did feel like they could answer a question or two. Namely, about the gem... It was, itself, completely done for. No 'Shards of the Shikon Jewel' nonsense here. However, as Shiro stood up, he was thoughtful about it.

"It does seem like the museum picked up a dangerous artifact, doesn't it?"

He turned to regard the Yanari who had found it in the first place.

"Alright, guys. Things seem to be calming down here, which is good, but I'd be really happy if you showed me where you got this artifact from, so I can make sure the museum doesn't have anything more to worry about. In fact, that kind of cooperation will smoothe over any ruffled feathers the owners might have, for sure."

Getting rid of the gem and making sure there aren't any other old artifacts would definitely give those guys a sigh of relief, in that they wouldn't have to mess with it and the consequences.

[mermalaide]

"Alright, guys. Things seem to be calming down here, which is good, but I'd be really happy if you showed me where you got this artifact from, so I can make sure the museum doesn't have anything more to worry about. In fact, that kind of cooperation will smoothe over any ruffled feathers the owners might have, for sure."

The little guys had tried hard to get away, but had basically been surrounded by the other small oni. It was to keep them honest really. The one named Jozo, who looked like he had some kind of mohawk spoke first. "Found it in one of the crates! It was so shiny! Was gonna take it to the boss!" The other oni likely Shinpei elbowed him hard sending him to his knees. "That was my idea! 'Sides! It spoke to me first!"

Jozo tackled him and they started rough housing, rolling about, until they were pulled apart. "Mine!"

"No! Mine!" 

The boss was still out cold, but Lloyd-san who was holding him in his hands came over and bent down to talk to them. "Ora!" He gave a bit of a little shout and they stopped what they were doing. "You found it in a box? Which one?" He was utterly sore, but maybe Shiro could do something with the information. "It was in the back room, where all the good crates are!" Jozo said this as a matter of fact. 

"So do you mean cataloging and collections?" Youngblood was also going to try to help. He had somehow got his shoes and flashlight back, maybe with the help of some of the repenting oni helping. Shinpei was nodding and he and Jozo were trying to part the crowd to get to the back room where all of this started. "Might be good to find out was actually broken.. hope they don't make us pay for any of this." Llyod-san sighed a little. He felt a bit sore.

There was an odd feeling in the air. And you could hear the bit of whispering again. It almost sounded like spirits quietly speaking when no one was still talking. "What-was that?" Youngblood gaped. He pointed a flashlight beam to the door, which had a little bit of a red light escaping from the bottom of the steel door.

[datmass]

So, after some confusion and attempted getaways, it came to this: The gem had come from a backroom storage, where the museum housed items that were yet to be catelogued and examined. It was a thing, sometimes. You're a popular museum that manages to locate alot of stuff, so you have a backlog of items that haven't been categorized and/or determined safe or viable for the public. Obviously, someone was lagging, but with the distractions that were going on in this place, it wouldn't surprise Shiro to know that they had something not yet vetted or even remotely looked after. Soon, Shiro and everybody else would make for the room in question, only to find that it had an ominous and not-at-all pleasant red glow beneath the door. There was also some faint eerie whispers coming from it.

What-was that?"

"That...was the sound of my job beckoning me forward. Lloyd-san, Youngblood - you two stay here. I would also advise that any Yanari not wanting to get caught up in this also stay back. I won't stop you, but I advise not to."

If he needed a key, he would get it off of one of the two guards. From there, Shiro would open the door and go inside...provided there wasn't something actively knocking him on his ass, once he opened the door. But provided none of that happened, he was going in.