Far Off Places and New Faces (RYUU)

Jump City had a way of chewing people up and spitting them back out. Whether it was someone looking to make it big on the west coast as the next big movie star, someone looking to land high profile investors for the new biggest thing or someone who just appreciate the sun and fun that came from sandy beaches and a fast paced vacation season. For someone like Tyler, it was just a place to get away to that happened to have all of those things but not much of that mattered, especially not tonight.

Her own efforts to fill her pockets with enough coin to eat this week had been swiftly foiled by torrential rains. Nobody was out and about and it had only started after she had taken the long walk all the way there. Her first thought was to crash in the metro system, at least until the storm died off, but the presence of what looked to be a DOMA checkpoint just outside some of the city’s rebuilding efforts had caused her to consider other options.

While not picky by nature, choices were limited and rain soaked clothing was starting to let the chill of the seasonal air dig in deep enough she could feel her nose running. The last thing she needed was to get sick, especially without five dollars to her name. Her wandering came to a head when she stumbled upon a remote place she had never been before. Far removed from the high rise office buildings and residential apartments, was a long set of carved stone steps, saved into the hillside leading up to what looked to her like a large ornate arch.

While the meaning of it was lost to her, she had seen this sort of thing before, mischaracterized in film and media, never really delving into its purpose. This however, wasn’t on her mind at all. Two by two she lumbered up the steps, holding her jacket up and over her head as if she were some sort of a hunchback, doing whatever she could to keep dry. She ducked her head a bit as she passed beneath the torii, even though the large gate had ample enough space to account for her petite size by comparison, it was something she did out of habit.

She moved swiftly across the wide open space, mindful of the eroded uneven stonework squeaking beneath her rain slicked sneakers. She passed several smaller structures on either side of her but paid them no real mind as her goal lay before her in the largest of the buildings. Tyler did however stop briefly just before crossing a waist high gated threshold that lay open before her. Two larger statues on either side depicting animals she was unsure of what they were supposed to be… they looked like ugly dogs. It could have just been crude handiwork or ages of disrepair. It was hard to tell in the heavy rain.

“Hope you don’t mind Fido.” Tyler mumbled quietly to herself as she skirted past the lumbering stature to finally jog to be under the protection of the large shingled roof. The overhang gave her some protection from the rain, enough to shrug the jacket off the top of her head to slosh uncomfortably back over her shoulders. It felt like she was carrying several pounds of extra water weight at this point alone. Getting out of the cold and warming up was top priority.

Tyler made her way to another smaller set of stairs, leaning to one side of some sort of an engraved stone alter. The wood creaked under her weight with each step until she was standing on a raised platform, staring at a long walkway that spanned out to either side, parts of which open to the exposed elements. Her interest however was on the large wooden door. Stepping up to it, she gave a light push, testing the weight only to find it readily shifted, cracking open just enough to expose the dark interior. It gave her pause, looking back and side to side as if she were being watched. Was this place actually empty?

She rapped her knuckles gently on the wooden surface, doing her part to make her presence known with a knock, though not loud enough for it to travel far. While she was trying to be courteous, her want for shelter came first and this was more of an afterthought if found trespassing so she could claim to have tried to hail someone. She idly tapped the two of her shoes on the floor, wiping the bottoms off before considering crossing the threshold.

“Anyone here?” She waited less than three beats before deciding that was ample enough warning, and pushed her way past the door, slipping inside. With a nudge of her hip she let it slowly close behind her, leaving her in a darkened entry hall, seemingly alone. The pink haired girl quietly searched her pockets on the inky blackness until she found her blocky cell phone, taking the keys to navigate to its flashlight function. With a tap, she had a means in which to light her patch, sweeping the beam over the room slowly to take it all in. “Hellooooo?”

’Ghuleh… ghuleh…
Ghuleh… ghuleh…
Putrefaction
A scent the cursed be
Under coat of dust
From the darkness
Lies a succubus
From the earth and rust…’

The lyrics of one of Rapture’s favorite songs, Zombie Queen, played from her vinyl record of the album. It had been a terribly tiring day, having just swept up a horde of yokai from the entire temple –– her version of Christmas cleaning. The temple sat silently other than the music which could be heard throughout the lower levels.

’Zombie queen,
Zombie queen
Black light guides you,
Ghuleh, ghuleh!’

“Zombie queen,” the teen repeated, grinning. “Might as well take that title for myself. What do you think, Luci?” she turned to her pure white cat, named after the teen's favorite fallen angel, who meowed nonchalantly and went back to sleep. Noting her feline friend, Ryuuzaki decided a nap would be in order. She had done a damn good job and deserved it. Four days had been pushing it, and now the effects were really hitting her. Pausing the music and heading for her bedroom, Rapture began to untie her long black hair when she received a spiritual communication from her android companion, Zenith.

‘Rapture. The Temple has allowed another live one in,’ the highly sophisticated AI alerted their partner. ‘Would you like me to remove her?’

“Get me eyes on her,” she replied, wondering why her sanctuary had not only gave entry to another person –– that Verdant Gale kid from before had been a bit of a pest –– but had not attempted to rile this individual up, yokai or not. “And sweep the place for paranormal activity. Newcomers always bring in trouble.”

A screen to her right blared to life, revealing a hidden view from one of the surveillance cameras in the front room. Sure enough, a figure appeared, dripping wet from the rain. With pink hair, jade eyes, and a tragically faded jacket, a girl appearing to be in her late teens became the newest intruder to what was meant to be a sacred place. However, Rapture could not control the temple itself nor its inhabitants, having been enchanted long before she had taken up residence. She seemed… pretty ordinary, by all standards, which only put Ryuuzaki on greater alert. Anyone could be anything, everything could be nothing, and all souls were never as they seemed.

Rapture, of all people, would know; her specialty lay in souls, especially those of a more tragic nature. She could feel tragedy from the girl even in the deep underground. Not enough to warrant any sense, though, so why had the temple decided to let her in? There was, however, one thing certain: the person could be human; no humans could tread in this place lest they be immediately consumed by hungry spirits –– something Rapture never bothered to deal with –– which meant she had some sort of power.

Powered individuals had to tread carefully these days, what with DOMA crawling up everyone’s asses and inflicting their beliefs upon the masses. Rapture had been an active dissenter and key influencer for the opposition, having fought their benefactor, put important agents into the ICU, gathered together a band of rogue Yakuza as her eyes and ears, and vowed to end their reign. Could this individual be seeking shelter from DOMA, or perhaps be a spy? ‘No, they wouldn’t send someone in after all that has happened,’ the petite powerhouse concluded while retaining all sense of skepticism.

Far above her, the doors to the temple closed resolutely, signifying its intentions to harbor the possible fugitive. So it was decided, then. “Zenith, it is out of our control now. I’m heading up there.”

She stopped in front of the mirror before ascending, pulling her hair tighter and glaring daggers with her icy eyes, bright despite her tiredness. A set of stairs that spiraled precariously along the side of a circular cavern led her to the surface and allowed her to emerge in the back room of the main floor. There, she lit a traditional Japanese lantern with the kanji for ‘red’ on it and proceeded to the entrance, her steps calm and measured. She appeared out of the darkness like a ghost, silently and lit with flickering light, ready to pounce and take a defensive position. Arriving within the line of sight of the newcomer, Rapture spoke.

“You’re lucky I just did some house cleaning,” a heavily accented voice noted casually. Tinged with both Icelandic and Japanese notes, her words sounded mysterious and pointed. “This temple has chosen you. I’m curious as to why."

There was an eerie stillness to this place, one that left her feeling strangely out of time and place. A relic of an era she nor to her knowledge, California never really experienced. She was used to being an outsider, an other, that presence people wanted gone as if having a homeless person loitering around would lower their value of living. All the charm in the world couldn't sway everyone, it was one of the reasons she was here and not lounging in recliner a furniture store waiting for the storm to pass.

Save for the groaning creak of aged floorboards beneath her feet, the only sound was the gentle pitty-patter of rain pouring down from above. It was a soothing sound, but the innocence of that was lost to her while she stood soaking wet like a drowned animal. The weak flashlight of her phone danced along the room, briefly pausing to take in foreign symbols and iconography that were far behind her understanding past being “pretty” due to their innate strangeness when brushed up against her ignorance.

Coming to stand before the wide base of a statue that sat within the center of the room, she leaned back, gliding the beam of light along its curved form until reaching the snarling face of the beast. This was one of the few things she was familiar with from other places. Unlike the more weighty and thick western depictions of dragons, these ones had a certain elegance to them. She lovingly referred to them as “Noodle Dragons” partly because of their over saturated image plastered all over the side of a food cart she visited in midtown, but mostly because they were giant wiggle worm looking animals with noodle bodies. She couldn't help her imagination.

“Hold this for me, will you? Thanks.” Carefully she shrugged her jacket off, slipping out of the weighty drenched garment. Reaching out she draped the inside collar of the coat over the back of the statues protruding tail, the perfect hanger to let it dry out. With a small tug of the bill of her cap, she shook her ponytail out the back before setting that on top of the hanging jacket. Nobody had made themselves known to her, so Tyler in her infinite wisdom had deemed this place abandoned.

She tucked her elbow inward, huddling up a bit as she rubbed her arm lightly, directing the light with her other hand as she circled the statue to examine the rest of the far wall. So many small intricate details, a wonder that so much of this remained seemingly untouched by anything but time. She pink haired girl twirled on her heel, blissfully unaware of the growing lantern light slowly creeping into view from the nearby staircase. It wasn't until she walked her way back and turned the corner that the fact she was not alone here was shattered.

Tyler froze mid step up the stairs, staring up at rapture with big blinking eyes as a small droplet rain water trickled out of her unkempt hair to zigzag a path down the side of her face. She opened her mouth as if to say something but the other woman beat her to it and left her lips slightly parted in speechlessness. Her first real reaction with to flash an uneasy smile up at her, leaning herself away to take a step back off the stair she had only just started to climb. She quietly brought her phone up and turned the flashlight off, tucking the item away as she tried to compile her thoughts… which left the two at a very uncomfortable standing silence.

“You know…” She started softly, stopping to clear her throat before it could give out and crack on her. She was steeling herself, drawing in a deep breath before allowing her gaze to rise back to meet Rapture. “I’ve been to a lot of soup kitchens with those really religious types, but this is probably the most interesting pitch I’ve gotten so far so... kudos for that” She gave a nervous chuckle, flashing a big goofy grin that seemed to ooze with her personality. She was taking small inching steps backwards. For all she knew this person had already called the police.

“Sorry… I uh, didn’t think anyone lived here… I knocked.” She certainly had. "I can see myself out though... I didn't take anything."

Rapture felt a level of cringe as the foreigner put her jacket to rest on her family’s prized caretaker, the statue of the Great Red Dragon. It took all her might not to attack the girl for her insolence, but the temple might react adversely to her quick reactions. Instead, the older teen lifted the piece of offending cloth, dropped it to the floor, then went about setting it on fire using her lantern before deciding the hat would suffice. Surely, in any other circumstance its drenched state would be a poor conductor of heat, but this circumstance introduced magic to the action, negating nature’s fury. Neatly, the little fire burned at her feet before reverting to a pile of ashes. As Ryuuzaki listened to the pink-haired girl, she set the lantern down to retrieve a broom and dustpan. Deftly and quietly, the ashes were swept into the pan and deposited in a wooden bin labeled, in Japanese, “The Dishonorable”. With her task done, the yokai priestess returned to the lantern and went about lighting the wall lanterns, the illumination dancing across ancient relics and providing some warmth. Finally, Rapture pointed a black polished finger to the now locked front doors, sighing.

“You can try to leave, but you’ll have no luck,” she responded ominously. “Looks like you’re stuck here until you find your destiny or some shit. Fuck do I know what this place demands besides a little respect.” Her ‘lady of the manor’ persona had vanished, replaced by a worn-out teenager’s who just needed some sleep. Putting her hands on her hips and sighing audibly, Rapture of the Great Red Dragon decided the newcomer truly meant no harm and had only good intentions. Nevertheless, this was yet another obstacle to her path toward slumber. Wandering back to the staircase, the vigilante sat down. “I am Rapture, the caretaker of this godforsaken place,” she began, patting the wooden stairs as a sign to come have a seat.

“This shrine is sacred and powerful. It can also be a bit of a bitch sometimes and will occasionally produce demons that range from spider-ladies to hot girls to doppelgängers of your dead parents. Depends on the person, really. Glad you knocked, though. Have you happened to address the temple and thank it for its hospitality?” Rapture queried, although she already knew the answer. “Name and birthplace really help. Means you’re giving power over. Who knows? You might end up staying a night or straight-up dying. You could become one of the undead inhabitants, and I’d have to reap your ass. Or maybe you’ll be turned into a cute woodland creature only to be devoured by a yokai. Strange days, these days…”

Turning inward, the petite powerhouse contacted Zenith and asked the android to pull more data on the stranger, but no luck. Apparently, they had gone through life relatively unnoticed and besides some facial recognition matches of her in the background of the occasional photo, her face was on no official systems. This… was good. Rapture couldn’t handle another personality like Verdant Gale’s, and she felt a bit raw on superhumans. Deciding to move forward, she made a rather telling point.

“…oh, right,” she feigned forgetfulness. “If you’re a DOMA agent or affiliated with them on any account, I will fucking rip your hands off and send them to my favorite adversary, got it?”

It was a conflicting feeling as Rapture brushed past her. The clear difference in their size told Tyler she shouldn't be intimidated, but the other girl had a certain presence about her that demanded her attention which put her on edge, regardless of her diminutive stature. Her bright green eyes trailed after her hostess, wincing as her belongings were dumped unceremoniously onto the floor. She practically lived out of her jacket, her empty wallet, iPod, all the chargers, headphones, even her toothbrush. They were all tucked away into it as if it were a backpack loaded to bursting.

Her unease turned to wide eyed panic when flames licked over her baseball cap, washing over her hat so fast it was reduced to a smoldering pile in second. She stood by stiffly, staring in disbelief. How had she done that? Was she going to be lit on fire next? She grit her teeth in silence, waiting for the inevitable judgement… when one didn't come and Rapture occupied herself with sweeping up the remains of hat, she hurried over to scoop up her jacket and hugged it close to her chest protectively.

When Rapture cast a digit towards the door, almost comedically, Tyler had already hurried herself over. She awkwardly shifted her jacket into one arm, tugging at the wooden door that had easily budged earlier but now felt like a wall of sudden stone. Perhaps the wrong way? She pressed her shoulder up against it next, shoving with all her might. Her sneaker soles squealed as they dragged against the wooden floorboards, only succeeding on pushing herself away from the door the more she tried… Rapture was right. It wasn't budging.

She turned back around, resting her back to the sealed doors with a huff, regarding Rapture again quietly. She wasn't sure whether or not she preferred the strange stoic version she had first witnessed or this newer more human one that seemed content to big up all the potential horrors that awaited her in this place. The small offer to take a seat beside her seemed absolutely crazy. This woman had just combusted her hat and her creepy ghost house-temple-thing maybe wanted to eat her?

"Tyler." She offered quietly, keeping the vast expanse of the hall between them still. "I asked the dog things outside if they minded and they didn't say no… but I wasn't really expecting them to talk to me… I did thank the statue though." It was true, she had offered the proud guardian who temporarily had moonlight as her coat hanger thanks, even if it had been her speaking to herself really.

This was all a lot to take in. She wasn't a spiritual girl but nature, but the fire and locked entryway had been a nice proof of concept something was off here. "I don't really get all of… this… but I can't really do the whole starting forever thing. I have plans… plans that involve me not being turning I things or eaten so..." she waved a hand, gesturing around the room. Her eyes were darting about a bit more erratically, breathing becoming quicker. This was the sort of thing that secretly ate away at her, that feeling of being trapped.

She swallowed hard, reaching up to tug at the collar of her T-shirt. Having a panic attack here and now wasn't going to go down well. She needed to take a moment. Closing her eyes she leaned her weight against the door, trying her hardest to calm down and just breath. If she hadn't already looked like a disheveled mess, this certainly wasn't painting her in a better light.

"Listen I'm sorry, I didn't want to know, just open and door and I'll leave. I just need to leave..." There was a shakiness to her voice as she worked to maintain her composure. Rapture had done a fine job of explaining this was out of her hands but that all seemed to slip into the void as her mind faced, pushing out much of what was being offered to her in terms of information of the situation.

Rapture knew that the quickest way to get someone to not calm down was to tell them to calm down. Sure, she could have gone about her introduction better, but she also understood fear better than most. How to handle someone else’s? That was another story. Staring unabashedly at the girl named Tyler, her next moves were decidedly less brash. Really, she couldn’t do anything to make the shrine spit the weary traveler out, so the least the yokai priestess could do was keep any wayward spirits at bay and at least attempt to be hospitable. Granting Tyler her space, Rapture remained at the steps as she silently sent a spiritual message to Zenith. ‘Hey, Zenith. So like, you know how we talked about you never doing servant-related stuff for me? Well, I––’

A soft whirring sound could be heard from behind the unlikely hostess, signifying the arrival of the six-armed android. Zenith had fought with Rapture in the war against HOPE back in Japan and stayed by their comrade’s side as the move to Jump City took place. Standing nearly a foot above the Icelandic-Japanese immigrant and made from alien technology, Zenith’s presence felt jarring next to the backdrop of the ancient shrine. They wore a beautiful plum-colored bodysuit with flame detailing, a white mask with matching markings, and a futuristic half-shaved wig that complimented the android’s features.

Carrying in one arm was a tea tray with one hot cup of chamomile and valerian root tea, perfect for soothing anxiety and aiding sleep. Another hand held a lantern, another a fluffy towel, and finally a plate of warm Nikuman –– a traditional Japanese confection of ground pork wrapped in a steamy flour bun. Placing the items down before the visitor, Zenith bowed, turned without a word to Tyler, then exited the same way they came after lightly smacking Rapture upside the head. “Try to be civil,” Zenith said with a hint of annoyance. “The temple has chosen this moment, this event. It will be your head if you do not heed its will.”

The words resonated within the petite powerhouse who knew just how unforgiving her adopted home could be. Still, seeing Zenith take on the role of generous hostess threw her off; the android tended to keep to themselves and rarely associated themselves with strangers. It made Rapture uneasy. Perhaps this arrival really did hold more significance than she gave credit.

“…right,” Ryuuzaki sighed, moved closer but not too close to Tyler, sat down, and crossed her legs. “Look, this place has a mind of its own, but it seems like it doesn’t mean any malcontent. It could be closed because it’s protecting you from something or someone outside, or perhaps it is trying to teach you some convoluted lesson. I really do wish I could open those doors, but the facts are facts. What’s key is understanding that you are not in any danger; I just said those things to test your resolve. As you will certainly come to know or have already figured out, I’m a bit of a bitch. I’m also someone who knows this place like the back of my hand. You’re not going to die here, I’ll make sure no spirits harm you, and you have my word that you will be treated with respect.”

Pulling a small hand-carved trinket of a maneki neko –– a good luck cat –– and sat placed it in front of her. “Tyler,” she began, feeling a tad uncomfortable with using one’s first name even though it had been the only one given, “I understand that you’re freaked out, and that’s totally valid. But it’s as I told this kid in a Power Ranger suit like, I’m not even fucking with you on that one –– anyway, fear is only as deep as the mind allows. Nothing has power until you give it power, including what you’re feeling now.”

Tyler lead a fairly mundane life. Sure, she was gifted in some ways with natural talents and some unnatural ones, but this was all new to her. The crazy happenings of Jump City, while not exactly quiet, never had really found her way to her doorstep… well, if she had one. Still. She had never met someone who could do the crazy things she sometimes saw in the papers first hand. They would have been easy to dismiss as a work of fiction of part of the city hadn't been leveled from forces beyond her comprehension. Was a haunted house that far fetched then?

Before that realization could settle in, another figure darkened the stairway, their coming had been enough for jer to squeeze a peek out from under her eyelids. In rather stark contract to both the temple and Rapture was Zenith. A sleek alien looking body moving towards her… she leaned back against the door a bit harder, watching in stunned silence as the items were gently set out before her. This was a strange day.

Had someone drugged her on the street? Was this all some sort of a fever dream from being stuck out in the elements for so long? These were deep and important questions though when the scent of food drifted up from the plates in front of her, the loud growl of her stomach threw her concerns out the window. When was the last time she had a good meal… or just a meal in general? Almost two days now.

"Thank you." She whispered softly, though Zenith was already walking away back to Rapture. For the time being, she was distracted from the grimness of her situation, finding herself sliding down the door until she plopped down in a soggy pile as she examined both the tea and food with a scrutiny reserved for royal taste testers looking for drugs or poison. Sitting huddled up on the floor, she set the items in her lap, trying to find the best ways to balance the load she was given.

Taking up the towel from the pile, she wrapped it around herself the best she could as a makeshift blanket, overjoyed to have an extra layer that wasn't soaked through for now. The pink haired girl gave Rapture a weary look when she moved closer but didn't vocalize any concerns when she sat opposite from her leaving them both on the floor. It was clear the other girl was making an effort, something that wasn't really a requirement given the situation and the horribly stilted dynamic of power here… She had some sort of zen robo-butler for crying out loud.

"You talk a lot, huh?" She mused quietly, a lightheartedness in her voice that clued in she didn't mind but was instead poking a bit of fun to test the waters. Cradling the cup of tea in hand, she gave it a light blow, cooling the surface down between taking a small sip. The warm beverage was a welcome one, if not a bit odd. She wasn't exactly a big tea drinker, preferring something with a bit more sweetness in it, but this wasn't bad.

Kid in the power rangers suit? Had some poor wayward kid wandered up her during halloween? There was probably a story there. Casting that thought aside, Rapture's take on fear got a small smile out of her. It wasn't as if she liked being scared. If it was a choice, she would never want this sort of crushing feeling of dread to infect her mind to the point of madness. It was a shame level headed logic had no real power of the irrational grip of fear, not for her anyway. She didn't have the strength of will for that. Tyler substituted bravery for denial, using the conversation and food to keep her mind off the situation at hand.

"So you live in a haunted temple… that's a really good conversation piece. You must be fun at parties." Tyler closed her eyes again, taking a long sip from the tea, letting the warmth fill her, adding a bit of color to her cheeks. A soft content with slipped from her, unabashedly snuggling up with the borrowed towel as she settled into a badly postured slump against the door. After a moment she opened one eye, peeking curiously over at the woman opposite her. "...is that your real name?"

Being accustomed to fighting skyscraper-sized monsters, life-threatening yokai, and the powers that be, the black-haired girl felt completely out of place. Even in her own home, she found herself lost for words and any semblance of normalcy. Wondering if cleaning out the yokai had been an untimely mistake or lucky coincidence, Rapture pictured a Jorogumō crashing down from the ceiling and decided she’d rather deal with that than casual conversation. A creeping thought that the temple was trying to teach her a lesson made her shiver. A song lyric came to mind;

If you have ghosts,
You have everything
The moon to the left
Is a part of my thoughts
If you have ghosts,
You have everything

Rapture had no ghosts, for once in her life. Perhaps she had become too used to having supernatural companions populating the shrine. As Tyler spoke, she raised an eyebrow. ‘Talk a lot?’ she balked at first, then settled with appreciative amusement. Not many would speak that way to her, let alone someone who had just given them aid… well, by proxy that is. Speaking thus, Ryuuzaki had never seen Zenith cook anything, let alone something that smelled as good as those nikuman. She'd have to deal with that anomaly later, though.

“Oh yes,” the yokai priestess mused, leaning back on her arms. “Parents thought it would be a cute name for a girl. Damn shame they didn’t go for their first choice, ‘Armageddon’.” Rapture’s title had been self-chosen, a twisted answer to her supervillain father’s alter ego, Ragnarök. Going about the end of the world was a family affair, it seemed, and the older teen seemed to take it all in stride. Giant skeleton? No biggie. Best friend die? Kid stuff. Saw your comrades die cruel and thankless deaths? Typical. Father was one of the world’s most powerful supervillains while your mother was a subservient pacifist? Just childhood memories.

…making polite conversation with a complete stranger? Send in reinforcements! Literally. In the form of Zenith. ‘Oh shit.’ When was the last time she had actually made an effort to not straight-up reject or pulverized someone? Ryuuzaki’s life had been so overblown that it had led her to flee her country, turn a Shinto shrine into a personal bunker, and stay away from the living unless absolutely necessary. Pity the dragon that must play nice with a peasant!

Trying to play it cool, Rapture flashed a smile as she shook her head, her abnormally sharp canines prominent. “This is just stupid. I haven’t slept for, like, four days and now I’m stuck with someone who isn’t being chased by yokai. What a drag.” Unfolding her legs and sprawling out on the floor was all she could do to stay sane. Groaning, she explained a bit further. "Names are sacred. They hold more meaning here. Yours literally means one who lays tile. My name translates to 'red dragon,' and that's all you're getting."

“Ah.” She remarked softly, nodding along with Raptures explanation, far more reasonable than the things that had flashed in her mind. It wasn’t as if the petite woman across from her looked the role, no judgement here, but her first thought was to people of more of an exotic profession where flashy names that could be taken crudely were pretty prevalent. She was more than happy to be wrong on this front, more so that she had kept that tidbit to herself to keep from offending. She couldn’t help but feel the other woman would be less than enthused by Tyler’s rampant imagination in these regards.

It was a near balancing act to set the tea cup down half full on her thigh, adjusting the small saucer to it have it level out neatly. Next up was the plate of pork buns, drawing in a deep breath to take in the scent of the freshly steamed treat. It made her mouth water. She wiped her han off on the side of her shirt, something that likely didn't really help as far as germs were concerned before plucking one up to take a large bite out of it. Her face skewed into of expression of recognizable regret as the burning heat of the yet to cook buns sat in her mouth. She swished it from cheek to cheek, breathing out with a heavy huff to try and manage it.

Once she had it onto control she glanced to the ceiling, chewing quietly with a faint rosy hue gracing her cheeks. That had been a bit embarrassing. She lofted a brow when rapture spoke again, a clear sign of sympathy paying in those jade eyes of her over sleepless nights… until she got to the end. Her brow furrowed as she forced herself to swallow her mouthful of food.

“Tyler.” She reminded the priestess, not taking kindly to being referred to as “someone” to her face while she was sitting right there. “ And I can’t say I’m sorry about not being chased by… Yokai.” She seemed to just be repeating the term with no real understanding of what it was.

“Never laid a tile in my life, personally… I’ve laid down on some before though. Not sure if that counts.” She gave a small shrug, taking a moment to blow on the exposed innards of the dumpling she had bitten into, cooling it down before taking a testing nibble. Despite all of her apparent lack of decorum, she did finish what was in her mouth before talking. “That’s fine, I’m not trying to grill you or anything. Just curious."

“Red dragon.” She repeated softly, scanning rapture up and down with a growing smirk. Well, she certainly didn’t look the part, but after watching her set her hat ablaze she wasn’t about to question it. Leaning away from the wall, she held out the plate of nikuman out to Rapture, offering her one as well. Even if she was the hostess, at least she thought so, she felt odd sitting here and eating as the other girl sat by idly, apparently bored with Tyler’s company.

“So you don’t get many guests, outside of me and the uh… power ranger guy huh?” Tyler reached back, slipping the towel up and over her head to begin shaking out her hair into it. “Did you ever consider putting a sign out front about no trespassing, or maybe something like… “BEWARE: MURDEROUS SPIRITS AHEAD!” You know… general safety stuff.” Just like all houses had, right?

Rapture listened as her guest spoke, still sprawled on the ground nonchalantly, so Tyler’s miniature brawl with the nikuman went unnoticed –– not that the Icelandic-Japanese woman would have cared. What she did care about took the form of little details about laying on tiles. Perhaps the pink-haired one was homeless? It would explain why someone would seek shelter at the temple, her sopping wet clothes, and protectiveness over that ratty jacket. Still, her teeth were white and hair dyed –– Ryuuzaki could tell, not that it had been a bad job, but hair meant great importance to the pseudo-traditionalist in the older teen with obsidian hair reaching past her back, even when held by a ponytail.

Although growing up with riches, Rapture had been taught to never take them for granted. When both her parents had been murdered, she went on the lamb, adopting a vagabond lifestyle in the unforgiving cold of Iceland until she sneaked her way into Japan. She had spent many-a-long nights wondering if death would carry her away on swift wings, saving her from the freezing weather. Charity did not suit her, but she had to learn to accept hospitality. In the land of the rising sun, she adopted a more criminal way of addressing her homelessness until an old man had caught her, took pity, and set her to work in his traditional Tebori tattoo shop.

She had worked her way to self-sufficiency and ended up working for the vigilante organization, The Cavalry. There, monetary profit was awarded to the best operatives, of which she easily climbed the ranks with her stellar powers. After the massacre with HOPE and defecting to the United States, she had nothing but her android compassion, ambition, and fight in her eyes. This temple had taken her in after it realized she could swiftly and efficiently dispel of the evil yokai that drove away benevolent spirits and even allowed her to tunnel deep beneath the foundations. She had worked for nearly everything her whole life, knowing both spectrums of financial extremes.

At present, Ryuuzaki lived comfortably. She had an entire temple as a home, a roof over her head, food to eat, and an elaborate wardrobe. That, and a training facility, a giant nature hot spring, and other luxurious rooms. Puzzling over whether anything she had would fit Tyler, she sat up and cracked her neck, putting a hand in protest to the offered nikuman; she had already eaten and the other young woman needed it more.

“Put up a warning sign, and it draws all sorts of negative attention,” she replied casually, “like placing a ‘do not enter’ notice that will encourage rascal teenagers to do the opposite. Besides, it’s not the spirits people have to worry about; it’s me.” Rapture meant every word. With her, spirits could be dispelled. Without her, one would be caught in a quagmire of supernatural torture. "Anyway,” the yokai priestess sighed, “it’s like I said: the temple has a mind of its own. I have to respect it, which is why I’m being hospitable to you.” Her eyes narrowed. “Now that we’ve covered that subject thoroughly, let’s talk about your powers. Your soul gives you away, and I’m curious. You a vigilante? Budding supervillain? Cliché superhero? The fact I haven’t heard of you speaks leagues to your status… or rather, lack of. Of course, we all start somewhere. Four powerful spirits share the same soul as I do. Pretty gnarly but crowded, plus I suspect the Golden Scorpion and Ivory Crow are gambling again.”

A sigh, those icy eyes still fixated on Tyler.

Tyler gave the plate of nikuman a few wiggles, letting the boiled dumplings bounce as they rolled along the inside curve of the dish. Going once, going twice… when Rapture waved a hand and dismissed the offer the pink haired girl didn't need any further explanation. Frankly, she was starving and had secretly hoped she wouldn't have to share. Either way, she had done her part in being a gracious guest, enough to warrant logging out on the rest. Without a second thought she plopped the plate back down onto her lap.

The urchin delicately plucked another dumpling up, giving it a few gentle squeezes between thumb and pointer fingers as she turned it over looking for an ideal spot to bit. With a small nibble she bit open  small vent to the cool air and let some of the steaming mist inside trickle out a begin to settle.

"Well sure, but if nobody knows someone owns the place and it's not boarded up or nothin', you get people like me wandering in and getting trapped for all eternity… that's no good." She was trying to stay lighthearted, a bit of her usual cheer muddied by the lingering dread of truth in her words after what Rapture had said about the temple. She gave another nervous chuckle before nipping at the dumpling again… still too hot.

The comment on Rapture being the one more worthy of fear was an odd one to her that had her head tilted to the side. She pursed her lips, blowing a few stray strands of pink hair from her eyes as they drifted down. Sure, Rapture seemed pretty eccentric what with looking like she looked and living in a possibly haunted temple in California and she had also lit her hat on fire… okay yeah that was all weird. But after their initial meeting, she didn't feel terribly threatened by her. Maybe Tyler was just being foolish.

"Oh… and here I thought you liked me and just wanted to be nice." She murmured softly, slouching back against the doorframe as she took a big bite from the nikuman.  She chewed quietly, letting the other woman say her piece. The mention of powers had her brow quirked but other than that she displayed no obvious signs of admission. Had she used any of her gifts at the temple? She didn't think she had… so how did this girl know? She must have been assuming…

"I know some card tricks." She offered with a small smirk, popping the rest of the dumpling in her mouth. Leaning forward, Tyler slipped a hand into her back pocket to work loose a weather deck of playing cards. She held the deck by its sides, thumping the bottom against her palm before opening them up. Tyler poured the cards out into her hand, setting the box aside. Idly, she began to shuffle, switching through several methods in increasing quick succession. If nothing else she handled them well.

"Four spirits huh? Sounds like a headache." Tyler fanned the cards out in her hands, showing a display of nearly all the cards in the deck, though five were turned around so the backs faced Rapture. She folded all the cards inward before fanning them out again in reverse leaving the queen of spades besides the ace of each suit. She had a mirthful look from over the top of the cards, bringing them all back in to shuffle them once again.

"Unless you are walking around midtown on a weekday you likely won't know me. I work the corners, street magic and the like. You'll be shocked to find though, it's not real." With a light flick of her wrist a card popped up from her best pile. She plucked it up, turning it over to reveal a joker card that hadn't previously been there when she had shown the full deck moments prior.

"I might be so inclined to show you some more interesting magic though… if you get me a replacement for my hat you dusted. I am not exactly as one might say, flush with cash, so it would mean ever so much for me… I mean, if you are still feeling hospitable." She glanced around the Temple main room, shrugging the towel off her head to rest across her shoulders again.

“Do I look like a hattery to you?” Rapture frowned, not impressed by the card trick by the least. Sure, she hadn’t expected Tyler to simply drop her guard and reveal her powers, but she had no patience for games. Her temper had begun to flare a bit, igniting a desire to confiscate the cards and burn those, too. Standing and taking to pacing in order to cool off, she continued. “You offended this holy shrine by hanging your wet laundry on its guardian, The Great Red Dragon. Be grateful I did not set fire to your ratty jacket as well.” If complying with custom, Ryuuzaki would ordinarily have no hesitation doing so, for every action had its consequence. However, something told her that committing the action would lead to a more unforgiving punishment. Call it intuition, call it instinct, or even dumb luck. The jacket had been preserved. The notion of replacing an offering to  the temple as payment held no place in the real world.

However, Rapture’s anger quickly turned to shock as she stopped in her tracks and shrieked, bowing deeply and outstretching her arms and palms to the floor. What looked like a possession episode proceeded to escalate in creepiness when the creature that had elicited such a visceral reaction came into view by lantern light: a spindly black spider as large as her hand had its front legs reared up, ready to strike. Its gangly limbs dangled dangerously, fangs readied with poison. Slowly, the petite powerhouse backed away before kneeling in front of the abhorrent arachnid. “Dō ka oyurushi kudasai, kumo-san!” she breathed, bowing further. “Please forgive me, Mr. Spider!”

Anyone not privy to Rapture’s history of spiders would witness this bizarre reaction as insane and counter-productive. Anyone privy to it would understand that the creature signified a sacred being, noted by its white belly and presence within the temple. If stepped on, hundreds of years of bad luck would be bestowed upon the offender. Instead, by offering it refuge, one could even gain positive luck. The spider hesitated before bowing to Ryuuzaki and climbing atop her small hands. Having calmed the incensed beast, the temple’s host carefully returned to a cross-legged position and turned to face Tyler. Her already pale complexion had become just a few shades lighter, but other than that, her disposition spoke nothing of handling a deadly organism.

“Forgive me,” she managed, clearing her throat. “Tyler, this is Kumo-san, or Mr. Spider. Kumo-san, this is Tyler of Jump City. She is a ward of the temple and my guest. Please disregard her and allow my hospitality to wash over you, honored one.” As an answer, Kumo-San crawled up Ryuu’s silk kimono sleeve and disappeared in her swath of hair. Letting a sigh out, Rapture focused her icy gaze on the pink-haired girl. “There are consequences to every action, Tyler. Hang your wet laundry on a sacred statue, you get cursed. I burn your hat, the curse is lifted. I step on a spider, I’m fucked. Spider accepts me, I gain good fortune. We will get nowhere dawdling like this. If you don’t start shooting straight with me, I’ll let Kumo-san play in that pretty pink hair of yours.”

"Maybe. I'm not terribly judgemental, so you could be." Tyler's eyes wandered skyward to the rafters in thought. "Can't say I have really met a hatter before, so I don't really know if there is some underlying thing that makes their profession jump out as being obvious at a glance." She could she wasn't making any real progress on lightening Rapture up. It seemed as though just about everything she said or did had a way of jabbing at the other woman the wrong way. Tough crowd.

She considered firing back about her own thoughts on this "Great Dragon" but figured it would be a fruitless endeavour. The idea of respect needing to be earned rather than given freely was just her own school of thought, one that was no doubt lost on this other woman. In her experience the people who demanded respect were normally people who didn't really have authority. Teachers, "parents", street thugs and the like. However pink haired girl figured Rapture would be less than enthused if she started speaking ill of her… deity? Whatever the dragon statue was. With a small shake of her head she bridge shuffled the cards into one hand, scooping up the box to start sliding them away when she caught Rapture's sudden reaction.

She grit her teeth, stiffening up against the doorframe at the scream, half expecting to be lectures about somehow having committed another unforgivable sin. What she was greeted with was another odd scene of an overly large spider and her threatening host going into full crazy mode, bowing before it… yeah, she needed to get out of this place. The rain was seeking like a better alternative at this point.

"Mr. spider." She mouthed wordlessly as she watched things play out in awe, a smirk of amusement tugging at the corner of her lips. As unnerving as Rapture's swinging mood was, seeing the darkly serious woman reduced to a covering child before a spider was pretty funny. She didn't dare laugh though, avoiding sparking another argument with her host. Instead she sat quietly as if observing nature on a safari, taking it for what it was. She'd have one hell of a story to tell about all of this once she was out of this creepy temple.

"Kumo-san." She gave a small how with surprising flourish, a big dumb smile plastered across her face. "I'd tip my hat to you but… weeeeeell..." she gave a small shrug. When Rapture began with her lecturing ideology again, it was pretty clear the street far had checked out. Focusing instead on drying out her head and shoulders with the towel. Actions had consequences, yeah yeah. She got it. Though the power dynamic here was clearly stilted and one sided. Apparently there weren't any consequences for locking up people in temples against their will or vaporizing their belongings for making honest mistakes. If this was how things were conducted here, she was okay with never coming back.

She seemed unperturbed by the further threats about a spider crawling up in her business. Aside from the fact she was unaware of the spider was actually deadly or not, it wasn't like she didn't share her sleeping spaces with all matter of bugs and vermin. That was just a fact of life when you squared in buildings for a living, she wasn't squeamish about handling spiders even if they were the size of her hand. In fact she was pretty open to it.

"Is it customary for a host to make demands and threats when they are extending hospitality where you're from?" Tyler muttered from under the towel as she lay her hair down one more time. With a small sigh, she pushed herself up, coming to stand against the door to give Rapture a flat look as she dropped the towel to rest across her shoulders.

"Listen, Rapture, I do appreciate the food and drink… the tea was really good." She raised her voice on the last bit, looking to the distant stairs in hopes her voice would carry to wherever Zenith had scurried off to, just to let them know. "You said I apparently have to find my destiny in here or something, so I'm just going to go ahead and do that. You can keep levying threats and asking twenty questions if you want, or you can help me get out of here so I can be out of your hair and you never have to deal with me again." Tyler bent forward, plucking up the last two dumplings off the plate she had left on the floor. Balancing the two in her hand, she casually started to nibble at one as she gave Rapture a chance to respond before attempting to wander past on her lonesome.