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[izo brown]

the shaggy-haired boy smiled weakly in response to the girl's halfhearted gratitude. it seemed like a rather perfunctory thanking, said out of habit. he was glad that he hadn't ruffled her feathers even further. girls were odd creatures. when they were crying, was he supposed to comfort them or leave them alone? it seemed that he'd gotten screamed at because of the failure to do one of them countless times. as izo stood up, he resumed his original valiant posture. the redhead, previously thought of as energyless and moony, seemed to be having a fit of some sort. he could easily identify with the man. the hunter really was aggravating. was it impossible for him to just leave already? he had been asked to do so. he'd even been giving a verbal lashing by the girl he'd bullied. the whole situation was getting so exasperating, the brown-haired man earnestly hoped that it would come to an end soon. he hadn't really contributed much, but still felt like he was too involved to leave. and to leave was the one thing that he desired at this very moment.

izo rolled his dark eyes when the hunter came back down from his perch in the tree. he went on and on, giving some misguided apology. then he made a statement, basically saying that they could hurt him if they so wished. who is this guy?! thought he testily. he really, really did want to hit him. the masked man hadn't done anything directly to him, but honestly! being a nuisance ought to be enough! it would look rather odd for him to suddenly haul out and punch him in the middle of a park. a park filled with children and their overprotective parents. he didn't particularly want to be talking to the police.. yet, the idea was too tempting for the demon.

"really, is that so? you won't fight back at all?" he said, raising his eyebrows tentatively. "you're just so annoying that i might take you up on that offer." he usually wasn't one to instigate physical battles. but hell, he thought. there's a first time for everything. izo glared at him riotously. if things didn't work out well, he could always show his true form. or he could run. if there was one thing the man was good at, it was disappearing.

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[ARYN ALBATROSS]

there he was again, the ignorant hunter droning on about how he surmised they were all demons. aryn could tell from the gesture--even though he wore a mask his body language was clear enough. the ignorant hunter made it very clear he wanted to slit all of their throats. he almost exposed it in such a way that he almost seemed as though he didn't care if they were humans or demons. the only thing that was probably holding him back was the law. and this alone caused aryn to feel the urge to claw his eyes out, but she remained steadfast and stared at him with judgmental eyes. oafs will always be oafs, and this ignorant man was clearly passed being enlightened. one of aryn's least favourite things.

when the careless nobody began to rant on about demons and the ignorant hunter's lack in fighting excellence, aryn had to try and stifle a giggle. aryn had wanted to say the very same thing. but she faltered for a moment, and looked at the careless nobody. there was a gold glimmer in his eye which hadn't been there before. she looked closely, very closely, and noted his changed speak and actions. it became very apparent to her then. he was a demon as well, wasn't he? she looked behind her at the devious yet kind fellow who had helped her pick up her ink pot and wondered for a moment if he was as well. were there three demons here, and she wouldn't have even known? she thought to herself, and wondered if they had thought the same about her. if she was a demon. she hoped she hadn't made it obvious.

she didn't do it to protect the careless nobody, she did it to protect all of them--even the ignorant hunter. she had already gotten black ink stains on one of her nicest overshirts, she didn't want it stained with blood as well. she darted in front of the careless nobody, facing him and holding her arms out. she had thrust herself between him and the ignorant hunter, halting their flow of instigating words at each other. then she walked toward the careless nobody and said very quietly, almost a whisper, "aren't we all acting a bit too human?" she looked at him with prying, otherwise emotionless cerulean eyes. yet those eyes echoed her knowledge that she knew what he was. she turned to the hunter, gave a halfhearted stare and went to pick up her things. this was all much too tiring. as she bent to pick up her items, the bell around her neck jingled distinctly.

[mao]

"Haa? Well, stay still for a moment, would you..." As Mao raised his clenched fist, fully prepared to punch the old fool across the jaw, the strange girl from earlier leaped in front of him. Confusion flashed across his eyes for a moment, before he hissed out a quiet 'move' towards her. However, her next words caused him to pause in his fit of rage, and take a good look at her. "Aren't we all acting a bit too human?" She knew. It was obvious in her voice. But, well, Mao hadn't been exactly trying to hide it before. It wasn't that surprising that at least one of them noticed his actual nature.

Even so, her words spoke truth. He was acting too rashly. He had gotten agitated by the freak, and acted on his feelings rather than his logic. He needed to cool his head. A long, drawn out sigh escaped from Mao's lips as he lowered his raised fist. What had he been doing? Jeeze, it was like he was in his youth again, snapping at every little thing that made its way by. It seemed with age, he had become more tired and lazy, and he really hadn't even felt deep anger in such a long time. He cast a sideways glance towards the black haired boy, noting his fighting spirit towards the masked man with regard. He was apparently just as pissed off as the rest of them just by watching the situation. Perhaps he wasn't as big headed as he seemed.

"This blasted island is making me feel young again." He hissed under his breath. He never felt like doing anything except living, yet here he was, spitting in the face of a supposed hunter when he could be taking a quiet nap, and defending a girl that he honestly didn't care too much about. Then again, there wasn't much of another place he'd like to be. Interest had overtook him. He had only been on this island for a bit, and he already felt like there were so many secrets and things to discover. It seemed to have a sort of drawing feeling to it, he thought. This whole island was drawing monsters, youkai, demons, hunters, and regular humans to it.

[hayatoyamashita]

He stood up, disappointed that the redhead wasn't planning a punch or so. But now, he had no doubts that these three are demons. Though, he decided to not to attack, fighting against three demons with unknown powers might prove to be risky. "aren't we all acting a bit too human?" Hayatoya smiled under his mask from the artists words. He thought for a minute, if acting human was negative. He looked back up into the sky, ignoring everything around him. It seemed that he angered both the black-haired fellow, and the redhead, and they were both ready to pick a fight against him.

Hayatoya took out a small bottle of vodka from his pocket, he moved his mask so only his mouth would be exposed. Though only the mouth could be shown, it was clear that the person was young with a comely face. He drank only a sip, and positioned his mask back in place. He then tossed the bottle of vodka to the redhead, hoping he would catch it.

"Acting human, huh? How do you act demon?" Hayatoya asked the crowd, wondering if they thought low of humans. The masked hunter never put humans above demons, but always thought of them as dangerous creatures, like top of the food chain. He takes out his knife again, though he only uses it to point at the three. "I apologize, I think I realized it now..." He took a another deep breath, and paused for a minute. "Don't you think humans and demons are the same? You cried when I destroyed your painting, You were angered when I aggravated you. Humans and demons show the same emotions, do they not? ...and like humans, there are villainous demons." He placed his knife back into his pockets, and started to lean on one of the trees. His face, again, pointed upwards to the atmosphere.
"Don't you agree?"

[izo brown]

izo furrowed his brow in confusion. for a moment there, he had actually been willing, if not eager to fight this masked man. the redhead had been about to throw the first punch, but had been halted by the girl. she leaped in front of him and created a scene reminiscent of a t.v. drama. he had initially thought that she might get caught in between the feuding two. however, her efforts had been successful and it seemed that everyone calmed down in an instant - even the dark-haired demon himself. he saw her whisper something, but was too far away to actually hear it. the man concluded that it must have been something particularly stoic. these happenings were becoming too befuddling for him.

the man stared at the hunter as he pulled out some kind of liquor. maybe that's why he's acting like he is? probably hammered, izo thought crossly. he decided that nothing good would come out of further instigating a fight. from the way things were going, the two others were probably demons. he wasn't sure if they suspected him. he didn't believe that he'd done anything to make them think that he was one of them. in actuality, he hadn't done much of anything. the hunter began to talk, asking how it was to act demon. he was now fighting back to urge to reveal himself, injure him, and say 'this is how'. izo sighed and took another look at the girl and the redhead.

"are you saying that you differentiate between the good and the bad? yet, you don't kill humans, no matter how evil they are. tell me, if demons and humans are really the same, then why is it that you only hunt those that are different from yourself?" he said, wearing the light, detached smile that seemed to be permanently fixed on his face. it quickly occurred to him that he was taking his comments far too personally. "you shouldn't say things like that, stupid hunter. you'll give people like me the wrong idea!" he said, eyes filled with artificial innocence.

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[ARYN ALBATROSS]

aryn looked at everyone crossly. they were all getting into debates of humanity and monstrosity--a debate that aryn wasn't fond of realizing. everyone was on edge, she could see that. and what aryn said to the careless nobody would only stall them for a moment or so. she thought briskly of a way to calm them. she had always been good at instruments, in fact, she had always been skilled with anything that was involved with art. maybe if she played the violin she brought, they would all calm themselves? demon or no, the art of music was the best remedy of calming souls. but then she reconsidered. that ignorant hunter would probably scold her for breaking his ears and then toss two hundred dollars at her as some type of compensation. she scoffed.

but part of her wanted to make the ignorant hunter understand that even though she was a demon, she had never killed a soul. she certainly could if she wanted, but that was never something that she desired. to steal life was not her decision, even though the devil had bore her for that purpose. she had told herself since she was a child that she would not follow the will of anyone but herself. and she meant it. she knew what he wanted; she knew what the devil wanted. when her mother's womb became corrupted by the devil's wish--when the devil corrupted the unborn aryn--the devil made it clear that he wanted her as a tool of his destruction, and that was a wish that aryn would not grant. not for anyone. she doubted, even for herself. but she was cursed in a way she couldn't lift.

she was forced, when a soul left from the island, by the sound of her bell. her bell around her neck would jingle without the aid of wind or any agent, and it would call to her. it would call for her to remove the shell from which that soul had left, and carry them to where they wouldn't be found again. as a cat, she'd walk looking for these lifeless corpses. she was always in a daze when she carried them away, so she never knew where exactly she took the corpses, but she felt like such trash. no, not trash... more like the one who cleaned trash. she felt as though she was only preforming a public service. not even a true demon! must have been her punishment, for defying the devil his wish. so aryn stepped forward, to the hunter, and spoke very sweetly, but without much emotion. "there are good demons, just as there are bad people. if i were a demon, who is to say i am a murderer. not that i am, of course." she made sure to revoke her demonic qualities--he was already on edge.

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[mao]

Mao just listened as the conversations went on, not particuarly paying attention anymore as his anger cooled. His eyes averted from the group for a second, glancing towards a nearby tree in thought. As he wondered silently if the birds here could even stand all the noise, something hit the side of his cheek. Pain welled up where the glass bottle had landed, but it didn't even match the overwhelming smell of alchohol that entered the clearing as the glass shattered and soaked the cat demon's clothes. The agitation he had welled up once more, and he firmly decided that that was the last straw. The (c)tolerance he had towards the human quickly disappeared.

"It seems like you're just asking for a beating." He hissed out, more pissed off by the scent that he was bathed in rather than the pain from the bruise. The pipe he had nestled in his hand seemed to change forms, back into its original body. Instead of a carved work, it looked like a bamboo shoot, far from what one would call 'normal'. The thoughts that his identity could be discovered was the least of his worries at the moment, and he made no move to even hide his true nature as he blew the strange object. Flames burst out, licking the grass and headed towards the masked stranger and going through anything in their way. The golden glint in Mao's eyes were now very distinct, the normal cherry red disappeared into his irises. Although he wasn't using his full power, there was no question that he wasn't holding his punches.

ooc; short post. fff.

[hayatoyamashita]

The conflict which would've started a physical clash was calmed. But this time, it was a debate about humans and demons, Hayatoya wasn't a fan, he was deciding it was soon to depart. Hayatoya smoothly and swiftly took out his dagger, and pointed it at a random passerby-er at the park. " I would love to kill villainous humans, but the law prevent me to do so." His faced, then pointed towards the black haired man. "but killing demons aren't against the law...so atleast, I could eliminate some evil" Hayatoya unequipped his dagger, placing it under his sleeve. Hayatoya stretched his body, and yawned. He was a nocturnal hunter, awake all night, and asleep all day. The masked hunter was ready to part, and go to his daily slumber.

The situation has become much calmer, and Hayatoya knew from the start, he was misbehaving. He looked at the two, the black haired person and the artist ... the redhead was located farther, at one of the trees, not paying any attention. "Fine. I apologize..." Hayatoya started walking towards the tree, he adjusted his equips, and analyzed the leap. "Farewell, new friends." Just when the Hayatoya was about to climb, from the side of his eyes, a ray of fire was accelerating directly towards him...

With quick reflexes, he dodge-rolled out of the way, but felt the heat from the ray. "The hell?" He turned to see who was responsible for the flames. It was the redhead, fire surrounding him. "..D..Demon?!" Hayatoya wasn't surprised that the redhead was a demon, he already had an suspected that he was. What surprised him, that he the redhead striked in his demon form. He pulled out his knife, preparing to kill him, when he turned and looked at the other two.
Hayatoya frowned for a bit. Fine... He changed to a different dagger, this one, coated with a torpor enzyme, used to put one to sleep. He weakened his voice, so only the black haired man and the artist would be able to hear. "Fine, I won't kill him...This dagger is able to put him to sleep." He quickly analyzed the field of fire, and like a agile and quick feline, he dashed towards the redhead in seconds, leaping through all the flames. Hayatoya grabbed his neck, the cold steel placed right under, just tickling him. Make one more move, and I'll kill you! Hayatoya yelled, his voice much more serious, and no longer dark or playful. The flames slowly died out, and the atmosphere was calm, but the mask demon noticed the redheads eyes. They were different and storming, one slip from Hayatoya, and the redhead would unleash his flames...

[izo brown]

the young demon disregarded the hunter's reply. in all honesty, he hadn't much cared about what he thought since the beginning. he had jumped from the treetops and started trouble immediately. this was an action that he had thought to be without rhyme or reason, but perhaps that wasn't the case. maybe he could tell that there was a monster among the three? through some high-tuned sense that he had gained when he became a hunter, he could clearly see that at least two of them were not normal. no matter how much they appeared to be normal people out for leisurely walks in the park, they were demons. dark creatures that had risen from ancient objects, corrupted souls, and some even from the depths of fiery hell.

and a fiery hell was what it looked to be as the redhead unleashed a breath of fire into the park, setting once lush blades of grass aflame. it was a powerful beam of fire, so powerful that it blew the man's hair back and he could feel a sweltering heat on his face. the hunter somehow managed to dodge it, but just barely. izo found himself feeling a little bit disappointed - he would have liked to see the man laid on the ground, blackened and charred. now, though, he was unsure of what to do. he turned to look at the girl, as if she had all the answers. she seemed to have most of them so far; giving a thought-provoking reply to each and every one of the hunter's questions. he turned away quickly to keep an eye on the action and soon found himself wanting a piece of it.

izo frowned. he didn't particularly want to see a fellow demon fall to such an unworthy opponent. he wasn't sure of the hunter's skills just yet. could he handle two of them? could he even handle one? the dark-eyed boy sighed. he wasn't the type to reveal himself in the daylight. even so, he let his aloof grin that had been static during this whole encounter grow wider and wider. his teeth, of which there were so many it was a wonder that they fit in his mouth, were revealed to be jagged and black in color. it was as if his mouth had once been filled with campfire soot. his eyes and all other features dissipated. all that remained was his chilling grin, which he'd used for years upon years to strike fear into his prey. he understood that the hunter would probably be quite occupied with the fire-breathing redhead with the glinting eyes. he stood silently.

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[ARYN ALBATROSS]

her sea-coloured eyes stared as the ignorant hunter put a knife to the careless nobody's throat, and aryn's gaze grew skeptical. he must have been joking. and she didn't just think that about the ignorant hunter, but the careless nobody as well. how could he so foolishly expose himself to a man who was obviously intent on wiping out any demons he came across? human were always so sentimental--his strange loathing of demons must have been tied to his past, or something like that. humans were so judgemental. they believed that if one category of person had wronged them at some point, all of them in the same category would wrong them as well. aryn was different from that. she felt no particular love for demons over humans, just because she was a demon herself. but she also didn't loathe all humans because of this ignorant hunter's actions.

she noticed that the mischievous fellow was getting riled up as well. she cursed to herself. there was too much going on at once. she put her hands on the mischevious fellow's chests, as to restrain him from attacking without meaning to. she put her hands down quickly, realizing it may have been an action to personal for them to just be meeting. and in such a manner, too. she skipped the subject and spoke quickly, in a hushed tone, "don't attack. the people around have probably already started to take notice of that red haired man and the masked fellow. if the masked fellow dies, people will know who to report as killing him. and if you get involved, you both will surely kill that man. then you both would be found by hunters. i don't want that to happen..." she spoke as if she was positive the mischievous fellow was a demon, when, in actuality, she wasn't sure in the slightest. but she assumed it was alright to say, by then. "it's okay, i'm a demon too. my name is aryn." she turned away from him, and looked at the fight.

she knew she probably wouldn't be able to break it up again without sustaining a hit from crossfire, so she vouched that it would be better to stay to the side until their scuffle was over. as she noticed, some people did begin to notice, and some began to gather. some even chose sides. a few said, "yeah, get him mr. dragon!" and others would retort with phrases like "don't root for that monster! mr. cool sly guy is the best!" humans were so barbaric. aryn sighed to herself and put her hand over her face. she sincerely hoped a death wouldn't have to take place. then her bell would call to her again, and she might easily expose herself in front of everyone.

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[mao]

Mao had done it. He had finally killed the damned hunter, allowing his flames to lick the most likely charred body. Or, atleast, that's what he had hoped. As the cat demon had finally begun to relax, lowering the old bamboo pipe with ease, a blur seemed to burst out of the dying fire. For a long moment, he wasn't quite sure what to think. As the strange shape leaped for him, he attempted to step back, his heart beating rapidly. Cold metal pressed against his throat before he could even react, and as his golden eyes flickered towards his attacker, he realize that, other than a few burnt bits of clothing, the annoying man was quite alright. A low growl rumbled in the redhead's throat, although he made no move to attack. He knew that if he made any move that he could get seriously hurt, judging by how warped the hunter's voice had become. If Mao was going to die anywhere, it was where he pleased and by whose hands he chose. He had decided that a long, long time ago, when he wasn't even a part of the youkai.

His memories of his childhood was spotty. He remembered squirming, hunger, mewling from both himself and his siblings. Mother was weak; too weak to feed all of the small kittens. He wasn't even sure why. Was there a drought? Was Mother just inable of supporting so many children? Were the humans keeping them from eating? He was so hungry for so long. There was only enough milk to keep them barely alive. For the first few weeks of his life, the only thing he could feel was the starvation and gnawing at his belly. He was so tired of it, yet the thought of death scared him. He didn't want to die. No one wanted to die. And even as his siblings' meows quieted, their bodies shivering before their breaths just washing away, his only thoughts were to eat and to live. Eat and live, eat and live, all the way until he could feel only coldness and misery, even when Mother left him behind to go on, even when he couldn't feel anything anymore, even when his last breath stopped. Mao supposed he only really started to feel life after his death, when his will to just 'live' seemed to awaken something after the final darkness had fallen.

He had experienced so much during his demon-hood that made his childhood seem to disappear, casting greater and more enjoyable memories upon him. He had always been a quiet person, but during his youth, there seemed to be an excitement about him, much different from the constant tiredness he held during his old age. He would journey around the country for ages just to see and try new things, which would always get him into some sort of trouble with both demons and exorcists. He wasn't quite sure when he started to get bored of it all; probably when there just wasn't much to see. He would start staying at places longer, just sleeping or reading by himself, instead of adventuring like he used to. However, this island, this city, seemed to bring a sort of life to Mao he hadn't experienced in a while. The unknown existed once more as he saw, things he didn't understand resurfaced, and he knew he just didn't want to die without seeing what there was to see.

His yellow orbs flickered to the strange man's mask, searching for anything to tell him his next move. However, he guessed it wouldn't be of any help, and slowly released a sigh from his lips. He wanted to leave and go home, but the urge to see this battle to the end drove him on. He shuffled the pipe with his fingers, wondering if he could possibly reach it to his mouth in time to release the fiery attack before the hunter could slice his neck open. As Mao pondered his options, he couldn't help but notice the hunter's arm in his view, wrapped around his neck securely. He knew it was somewhat cowardly and not such a prideful move, but he didn't regret his decision as his hands flew to grab the fabric of his sleeve, dragging it away from neck just long enough to sink his teeth into the flesh. He was very much planning on leaving this battle alive, with style or none.