[ Shuten drains her cup completely, her violet eyes never breaking its gaze from the sorcerer sitting across from her. Through her ever present smile, her more predatory nature persists as she assesses Stephen.
The youkai of Mount Ooe does this a lot to him. Her whims are as dangerous as her ability to intoxicate others. And even if she says she likes him and approves of their bond it doesn't erase the mere possibility of her boredom changing her mind. ]
... There are phenomena that are cut off from the greater multiverse. Histories of 'failure' you could call it. If your gaze reaches that far, then I commend you Master.
[ This time Shuten pours sake from her own vessel; the dangerous brew which she drinks as if it were water. ]
These 'failures' are very specific divergences that lead to humanity's downfall. There is no progress. There is no hope. Everything and everyone that remains are to be erased should it try to take over the 'present' reality.
I should wonder really... could my summoning to a world that doesn't need Servants be the start?
[And here, a clear cinch of the brows. His eyes remain fixed on his Servant, undeterred by the nature of her gaze — beguilement to him, after all, merely means another reason to tread carefully. To present only with caution.]
What exactly are you getting at, Shuten? That your summoning has pulled the trigger towards another historical “failure”?
[Deadpan, though failing to cover the shadow twitching across his features:]
[ Shuten lets out a sudden cackle at his response as she fills her cup to the brim. Some of it drips down her arm and she gives it a lick before replying. ]
Who said anything about going back? I just wanted to know what you think, boy.
You've indicated that you understand what kind of Spirit I am and what I was in my past life, but were you ever truly prepared? Are you actually ready for the potential consequences and what it means to be my Master if you are to wield me?
[ Around her the fumes of her personal drink begin to swirl around her in a cloud of noxious purple mist and the scent grows stronger. It's sickeningly sweet made to confuse and weaken just like her sultry voice. ]
Tell me Doctor Stephen Strange—
[ She stands up and her clothing reverts to her usual garments. She levels with him and everything about her yells she's looking for a fight. ]
What's stopping me from eating you right here and now?
[Ah, he thinks, and here we are. The moment he expected due — the oni being an oni, which he has always accounted for, even if he trusted her enough to believe she would keep those figurative fangs dulled for a while longer. Stephen straightens, looking at her without giving much away. A steady glance to pierce through the swirling fog of heady drink; he does little more than lift his chin to account for her new stance, standing and ready to take baleful action.]
I have faced much worse than you, Shuten.
[He does not mean it as a hit to her pride, but so be it if it is. She is an oni of ill repute, one who might try to strip flesh from bone at a moment’s notice — but she is no Dormammu. Her hovering threat does not make him flinch, bolstered by past experiences, already looped with death over and over and over—]
But to answer your question, this, I imagine.
[His free hand raises to show the spirit seals imprinted there. The obvious answer — and the dull one. So he continues.]
Yet you know that. So tell me, are you fishing for a response? Is this a test? Or have you gone restless during your time in my service, and now you’re flashing your fangs to keep yourself amused?
[He huffs.]
Don’t tell me you asked me out here for that, and that alone.
[ When he reveals the Command Seals, that actually makes Shuten pause. ]
... Oh. Of course. [ That totally did not just slip her mind, nope. ] Three seals, three chances to assert or assist. Hm.
[ She notably has not put away her sake vessel yet. The brew in her cup glows dully, not yet at a high potency to be weaponized. ]
Truthfully, dear, boredom is part of it.
[ Thinking back on it, her time at Chaldea (in between resolving smaller singularities, the strange festivities, and the Losbelts) was fairly relaxed. Surrounded by many other powerful Heroic Spirits including her favorite individuals, there were plenty of drinking and fighting partners. Of course, certain individuals spoiled the mood sometimes, but never enough to deter her from answering Ritsuka Fujimaru's requests as needed.
This Shuten's current context was different. She was a bit bored and a bit curious. Sure she could cause mayhem and terrorize New York City by getting a bite to eat and let the bodies pile up, but they both knew very well it was easy to put a stop to that sort of mischief.
Her blade appears to replace her sake cup. ]
If you need time to think of a proper response, think about it while giving me a fight. You can at least do that much.
[Much like her to forget about the most basic modes of protection keeping him whole and hale if the oni gets a little peckish. But that isn't the real point of contention here, is it? This isn't the equivalent of a diabolic demeanor getting the best of one -- no, it's a matter of languor and restlessness. Of nibbling on a midnight snack because there's nothing else to keep entertainment running high.
How flattering, to be equated to leftovers in a fridge. Stephen severs the thought in his mind, which is easy to do when swirling, purple fumes are tendriling in his direction.]
Really?
[A touch of exasperation, watching the glint of that blade. He sighs as he places his sake on the wooden stand dividing them, and the white porcelain nearly glows beneath the moonlight.]
What a disservice I've done you, that you're picking a fight on a castle roof instead of enjoying your usual vice. But the mistake was mine, first, in assuming your violent tendencies could be fully directed elsewhere.
[ As the question goes; have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?
It looks like Strange is about to answer that question, what with Shuten starting to circle around him as the moonlight illuminates her form. ]
Don't take this the wrong way; I'm not trying to be disliked by you.
[ She knows her likes and dislikes and thinks it is unbecoming to focus so keenly on the latter. But her way of liking or loving is deadly and inhuman. ]
There aren't as many distractions around me... And besides.
[ She takes a large swig directly from her gourd this time with her free hand. Exhaling deeply, she smiles at Stephen, a fresh drunken flush flooding her cheeks. ]
Fighting for your life, inebriated and outwitting your opponent is its own kind of fun you know?
So think fast.
[ And thus she disappears into her spirit form. Looks like she's doing what she wants but on a more deadly level now. ]
[Think fast, indeed. This isn’t what he planned on, exactly—having to indulge his Servant’s whims by sparring on a rooftop in Japan—but he cannot say it’s wholly unexpected. Best to nip this not-quite-problem in the bud before it became a problem proper. Best that he deals with it instead of Wong, or instead of a student getting too in over their heads, too fast.]
Fine.
[There’s a punctuation to that word, a concession that goes out of its way to sound beleaguered. A second later, and Stephen’s on his feet. A second later, blink and you’ve probably missed it, he’s in his sorcerer’s garb, his cloak a bright streak of red even in the blueish night, which might have something to do with the levitation moments before.
Shuten is nowhere to be seen just yet, but his senses are keen, and already there’s a hint of magic at his fingertips, aglow in the dark.]
Who is outwitting who?
[Excuse you, but he can take that as a challenge.]
[ Ritsuka Fujimaru, Chaldea's only Master was not exactly a combatant; they directed the Servants' battles and supported them with their limited abilities; her word was the ultimate command. For that, Shuten Douji was lenient with what she considered an adorable hardworking child who had fought her fair share of hellish battles. She never laid a hand on Ritsuka even if she playfully and shamelessly flirted with her, letting her know that the Master's bones had become most delectable in her eyes.
This current Shuten Douji, the Assassin-class Servant wants this deadly dance because this Master had more potential to go toe-to-toe with her. It's new, it's intriguing, and it'll stave off her inner lull. There's also something about Stephen Strange's determined blue eyes when faced with danger, that makes her want to take a closer and intimate look. ]
Hi there.
[ Her luscious drunken voice sounds like it's right next to his ear before the oni appears above of him to deliver a drop kick. ]
[The air is heady and brackish with a fruity, alcoholic scent. It’s warning enough even before her silken drawl sounds in the shell of his ear, and magic encircles Stephen’s hands as he ducks low to bring them up and over his head. A sparking shield of amber light forms, and sparks fly when her heel slams into his newly-created protection.]
Hi.
[Cheeky. Stephen pushes forward, the shield following suit. He intends to send her flying back, and with any success, conjure up a portal for her to fall into mid-flight.
Where it leads? No one knows, she’ll just have to find out.]
[ Oh she won't let herself fall into any of those portals yet. Shuten's sober enough to keep that in the back of her mind and the oni wants to see if she can even land a hit. Having fought with human warriors in the Heian era, she knows better than to underestimate their capabilities. And it would be insulting to him for her to take him so lightly no?
When Stephen pushes back with his magic shield, Shuten hums and uses both of her feet to spring off the surface and land only a few feet away from him.
Let's see if she can get him drunk. A sake dish appears in one hand already full of the glowing rainbow-colored liquid. While she creates some more distance between them Shuten holds it out in front of her tipping the vessel lightly until one drop hits the ground.
And that drop transforms into a tidal wave that rushes towards the sorcerer. Is it enough to melt him down? No, but it's thick and sickeningly sweet, and lesser men than Stephen would probably keel over like he's seen before. ]
[The portal behind her snaps closed, with no oni to gobble up this time — a shame, he thinks, but it’s time that he focuses his magic elsewhere, now that she’s landed before him and using her vessel in ways he’s seen in battle before.
Not that it makes this any less worrisome, of course. He’s never had that saccharine sweet drink literally attempt to flood his senses, and Stephen flings up another magical shield to block the tide hurtling his way. It slams against his magic, then sweeps along the sides, the only place it’s given clearance. Enough to stall the immediate effect, but not enough to stop it from completely sloshing at his soles, thickening the air with a drunken sweetness that already has him feeling dizzy.
He knows better than to linger, and so he doesn’t. Stephen leaps up into the air and hovers swiftly above Shuten’s head with the help of his cloak, conjuring up a whip with magic. He flings it at her, aiming to wrap around the hand balancing her vessel.]
[ Her eyes follow his movements and the magic whip he conjures is successful in wrapping around her wrist which drops her vessel. It causes the alcohol in the surrounding perimeter to evaporate instantly.
Shuten isn't totally upset; you don't live as long as she did if you linger on every imperfect move. ]
Trying to bind me already, huh? Bold man. I like it.
[ Instead, she's going to put her monstrous strength to good use by using her other hand to yank on the chain to pull him out of the air and towards her. ]
[Good development: that noxiously potent sake is out of the picture, dissipated the moment her vessel clatters to the floor. Bad development: her strength is what one would expect of an oni, far greater than his own, and Stephen finds himself yanked forward like he was the one on the leash.
Not as planned, clearly, but often he’s had to adjust his plans accordingly — the sorcerer doesn’t bother trying to change his trajectory, instead allowing physics to play its role. His mass is yanked straight into her, which he plans to use much like a ball clattering into another on a pool table. And the corner pocket just happens to be yet another portal opening up right behind them both — they can both take the plunge this time, unless she’s fast enough to redirect them both.]
[ Shuten has pulled Stephen so that he's a few inches away from her. The energy she has grasped makes her fingers tingle and up close, the sorcerer can see her lighthearted expression. And that's the thing, isn't it? She's having fun making him fight for his life and seeing him struggle. What a troublesome familiar Shuten Douji is, and that's putting it lightly.
Her ears perk up at the sound of the portal opening beneath them. The oni could have managed a redirection but... ]
Now, where does this lead us? I'd like to see what surprise you have for me in there.
[ With a delighted giggle, Shuten allows herself to drop downwards taking Stephen with her. ]
[It’s a void, really, once they fall through. Just endless motion and nothingness, gravity or some facsimile of it flinging them downwards, like stones dropped from the top of a skyscraper. Falling, falling, falling. An eternity of it.
Shuten might recognize this dimension as one used to keep a certain Asgardian trickster god busy, but that’s neither here nor there.
Stephen plummets right beside her, the swell of his cloak fluttering behind in a red swath. He looks nonplussed, almost comfortably assured.]
Shuten… Tell me something. Does an oni have a third eye?
[ Well, well, well. Shuten lazily lets go of Stephen as they both fall through the endless void. Using her giant gourd as a seat, she drapes herself across it to look at the sorcerer. Her hair dances from the air created from their endless descent. ]
An interesting question, Sweetie. Some onis have literal third eyes, but aside from that...
[ Falling is a different sensation from getting drunk. It's not entirely unpleasant, but she gets the feeling that he's trying to resolve this without any major injuries for either of them. ]
Trying to end this in a stalemate, are you? No third eye on my pretty person here, but I have some foresight when it comes to these little bouts.
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no subject
[ Shuten drains her cup completely, her violet eyes never breaking its gaze from the sorcerer sitting across from her. Through her ever present smile, her more predatory nature persists as she assesses Stephen.
The youkai of Mount Ooe does this a lot to him. Her whims are as dangerous as her ability to intoxicate others. And even if she says she likes him and approves of their bond it doesn't erase the mere possibility of her boredom changing her mind. ]
... There are phenomena that are cut off from the greater multiverse. Histories of 'failure' you could call it. If your gaze reaches that far, then I commend you Master.
[ This time Shuten pours sake from her own vessel; the dangerous brew which she drinks as if it were water. ]
These 'failures' are very specific divergences that lead to humanity's downfall. There is no progress. There is no hope. Everything and everyone that remains are to be erased should it try to take over the 'present' reality.
I should wonder really... could my summoning to a world that doesn't need Servants be the start?
no subject
What exactly are you getting at, Shuten? That your summoning has pulled the trigger towards another historical “failure”?
[Deadpan, though failing to cover the shadow twitching across his features:]
Trying to get me to send you back?
no subject
Who said anything about going back? I just wanted to know what you think, boy.
You've indicated that you understand what kind of Spirit I am and what I was in my past life, but were you ever truly prepared? Are you actually ready for the potential consequences and what it means to be my Master if you are to wield me?
[ Around her the fumes of her personal drink begin to swirl around her in a cloud of noxious purple mist and the scent grows stronger. It's sickeningly sweet made to confuse and weaken just like her sultry voice. ]
Tell me Doctor Stephen Strange—
[ She stands up and her clothing reverts to her usual garments. She levels with him and everything about her yells she's looking for a fight. ]
What's stopping me from eating you right here and now?
no subject
I have faced much worse than you, Shuten.
[He does not mean it as a hit to her pride, but so be it if it is. She is an oni of ill repute, one who might try to strip flesh from bone at a moment’s notice — but she is no Dormammu. Her hovering threat does not make him flinch, bolstered by past experiences, already looped with death over and over and over—]
But to answer your question, this, I imagine.
[His free hand raises to show the spirit seals imprinted there. The obvious answer — and the dull one. So he continues.]
Yet you know that. So tell me, are you fishing for a response? Is this a test? Or have you gone restless during your time in my service, and now you’re flashing your fangs to keep yourself amused?
[He huffs.]
Don’t tell me you asked me out here for that, and that alone.
no subject
... Oh. Of course. [ That totally did not just slip her mind, nope. ] Three seals, three chances to assert or assist. Hm.
[ She notably has not put away her sake vessel yet. The brew in her cup glows dully, not yet at a high potency to be weaponized. ]
Truthfully, dear, boredom is part of it.
[ Thinking back on it, her time at Chaldea (in between resolving smaller singularities, the strange festivities, and the Losbelts) was fairly relaxed. Surrounded by many other powerful Heroic Spirits including her favorite individuals, there were plenty of drinking and fighting partners. Of course, certain individuals spoiled the mood sometimes, but never enough to deter her from answering Ritsuka Fujimaru's requests as needed.
This Shuten's current context was different. She was a bit bored and a bit curious. Sure she could cause mayhem and terrorize New York City by getting a bite to eat and let the bodies pile up, but they both knew very well it was easy to put a stop to that sort of mischief.
Her blade appears to replace her sake cup. ]
If you need time to think of a proper response, think about it while giving me a fight. You can at least do that much.
no subject
How flattering, to be equated to leftovers in a fridge. Stephen severs the thought in his mind, which is easy to do when swirling, purple fumes are tendriling in his direction.]
Really?
[A touch of exasperation, watching the glint of that blade. He sighs as he places his sake on the wooden stand dividing them, and the white porcelain nearly glows beneath the moonlight.]
What a disservice I've done you, that you're picking a fight on a castle roof instead of enjoying your usual vice. But the mistake was mine, first, in assuming your violent tendencies could be fully directed elsewhere.
[You know, not at him or any of his colleagues.]
Is this really what you want?
no subject
[ As the question goes; have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?
It looks like Strange is about to answer that question, what with Shuten starting to circle around him as the moonlight illuminates her form. ]
Don't take this the wrong way; I'm not trying to be disliked by you.
[ She knows her likes and dislikes and thinks it is unbecoming to focus so keenly on the latter. But her way of liking or loving is deadly and inhuman. ]
There aren't as many distractions around me... And besides.
[ She takes a large swig directly from her gourd this time with her free hand. Exhaling deeply, she smiles at Stephen, a fresh drunken flush flooding her cheeks. ]
Fighting for your life, inebriated and outwitting your opponent is its own kind of fun you know?
So think fast.
[ And thus she disappears into her spirit form. Looks like she's doing what she wants but on a more deadly level now. ]
no subject
Fine.
[There’s a punctuation to that word, a concession that goes out of its way to sound beleaguered. A second later, and Stephen’s on his feet. A second later, blink and you’ve probably missed it, he’s in his sorcerer’s garb, his cloak a bright streak of red even in the blueish night, which might have something to do with the levitation moments before.
Shuten is nowhere to be seen just yet, but his senses are keen, and already there’s a hint of magic at his fingertips, aglow in the dark.]
Who is outwitting who?
[Excuse you, but he can take that as a challenge.]
no subject
This current Shuten Douji, the Assassin-class Servant wants this deadly dance because this Master had more potential to go toe-to-toe with her. It's new, it's intriguing, and it'll stave off her inner lull. There's also something about Stephen Strange's determined blue eyes when faced with danger, that makes her want to take a closer and intimate look. ]
Hi there.
[ Her luscious drunken voice sounds like it's right next to his ear before the oni appears above of him to deliver a drop kick. ]
no subject
Hi.
[Cheeky. Stephen pushes forward, the shield following suit. He intends to send her flying back, and with any success, conjure up a portal for her to fall into mid-flight.
Where it leads? No one knows, she’ll just have to find out.]
no subject
When Stephen pushes back with his magic shield, Shuten hums and uses both of her feet to spring off the surface and land only a few feet away from him.
Let's see if she can get him drunk. A sake dish appears in one hand already full of the glowing rainbow-colored liquid. While she creates some more distance between them Shuten holds it out in front of her tipping the vessel lightly until one drop hits the ground.
And that drop transforms into a tidal wave that rushes towards the sorcerer. Is it enough to melt him down? No, but it's thick and sickeningly sweet, and lesser men than Stephen would probably keel over like he's seen before. ]
no subject
Not that it makes this any less worrisome, of course. He’s never had that saccharine sweet drink literally attempt to flood his senses, and Stephen flings up another magical shield to block the tide hurtling his way. It slams against his magic, then sweeps along the sides, the only place it’s given clearance. Enough to stall the immediate effect, but not enough to stop it from completely sloshing at his soles, thickening the air with a drunken sweetness that already has him feeling dizzy.
He knows better than to linger, and so he doesn’t. Stephen leaps up into the air and hovers swiftly above Shuten’s head with the help of his cloak, conjuring up a whip with magic. He flings it at her, aiming to wrap around the hand balancing her vessel.]
Enough. You can’t do that up here.
[hello they’re on a castle?]
no subject
Shuten isn't totally upset; you don't live as long as she did if you linger on every imperfect move. ]
Trying to bind me already, huh? Bold man. I like it.
[ Instead, she's going to put her monstrous strength to good use by using her other hand to yank on the chain to pull him out of the air and towards her. ]
no subject
Not as planned, clearly, but often he’s had to adjust his plans accordingly — the sorcerer doesn’t bother trying to change his trajectory, instead allowing physics to play its role. His mass is yanked straight into her, which he plans to use much like a ball clattering into another on a pool table. And the corner pocket just happens to be yet another portal opening up right behind them both — they can both take the plunge this time, unless she’s fast enough to redirect them both.]
no subject
[ Shuten has pulled Stephen so that he's a few inches away from her. The energy she has grasped makes her fingers tingle and up close, the sorcerer can see her lighthearted expression. And that's the thing, isn't it? She's having fun making him fight for his life and seeing him struggle. What a troublesome familiar Shuten Douji is, and that's putting it lightly.
Her ears perk up at the sound of the portal opening beneath them. The oni could have managed a redirection but... ]
Now, where does this lead us? I'd like to see what surprise you have for me in there.
[ With a delighted giggle, Shuten allows herself to drop downwards taking Stephen with her. ]
no subject
Shuten might recognize this dimension as one used to keep a certain Asgardian trickster god busy, but that’s neither here nor there.
Stephen plummets right beside her, the swell of his cloak fluttering behind in a red swath. He looks nonplussed, almost comfortably assured.]
Shuten… Tell me something. Does an oni have a third eye?
no subject
An interesting question, Sweetie. Some onis have literal third eyes, but aside from that...
[ Falling is a different sensation from getting drunk. It's not entirely unpleasant, but she gets the feeling that he's trying to resolve this without any major injuries for either of them. ]
Trying to end this in a stalemate, are you? No third eye on my pretty person here, but I have some foresight when it comes to these little bouts.