thenearshore | [Open]

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Who: Izuku and you
When: July 26th on
Where: Various
What: Catchall

A. [Izuku can be found in the library fairly often, after all, he's volunteered to take over, since there were suddenly far, far fewer of the library goblins than there used to be. Usually, he's near the front entrance, looking through books, scowling a bit and then putting them back.]

Have you seen anything about the history of the Heavens here?

B. [That's usually though. Sometimes he's sitting next to a stack of books and passed out instead. At least he's getting sleep somewhere.]

C. [He doesn't just keep to the Far Shore though. He's the one that goes out and gets groceries for his temple, so he can be found throughout the week considering the merits of branded or unbranded products.

With a lot of coupons. Look, just because they're hard to see doesn't mean he's going to walk out without legitimately paying for those groceries.]

What do you think of the unbranded bread?

D. [If, for whatever reason, you're at a beach. A very particular beach. A beach that seems to be covered in garbage- Izuku is there. Izuku is there and he's moving the garbage around like it's no problem. The garbage that includes carsh, heavy microwaves, refrigerators- he's not fussed.]

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[Izuku's examining the knife- he thinks it's a throwing knife, but he can't be sure. The most experience he had with this sort of thing came from Stain, and that was just one fight.

The was a gunshot, wasn't there? Scully shot him. So now they just have to look for somebody who's injured and is carrying knives.

How many people could that be?]

He's likely still armed, so be cautious.

[But at least not with a gun.]

Let's follow the trail. If it cuts off... does anybody know how to track from blood? Because this has to be theirs.

[There are a lot of people who could be like that here. Lavi frowns a bit, studying the blood trail.]

I'm not personally good at tracking blood, but...

[He recalls Chikusa and his friend. What his name again? Ken.

Lavi glances back at them.]

If I recall properly, Chikusa and Ken are good at tracking blood.

That's a given, with what we're dealing with. [Not that Izuku's caution isn't appreciated, but Shun considers it pretty obvious that they need to keep their wits about them.

While he doesn't have any suggestions to make on the front of blood tracking, he does glance over at Lavi's suggestion, looking mildly interested.]

I've only met one of those two, but it doesn't surprise me that he'd know how to do something like that. If they're our best shot, we don't have much of a choice but to call them in.

[Chikusa, at least, is...well, not trustworthy, but reliably just lazy enough to be ordered around into taking positive action, in Shun's experience. They'll have to assume the other guy can be trusted with this as well.]

[He's weary and tired, but he's on edge. If they can stop one murder, then it's worth it to follow the trail- but it'll probably stop somewhere- ]

I've met Chikusa before. If either can track a blood scent, then we'll need their help.

[Nobody he knows is specifically well versed in tracking.]

Then let's hope they'll come here quick.

[And with that, he'll call Chikusa.]

[Funnily enough, for any of the three of them who have good hearing, they might actually hear a phone ringtone going off in the distance... Near the front of the library, in fact.]

[Chikusa had already been planning to get to the library, both for his own research and for Ken's benefit, who he's brought along. It was meant to be a simple errand where he found books with plenty of pictures for Ken on various methods of murder and the crime scene which occurred at them, and more difficult ones for himself.]

[And then, of course, from a distance, they heard a gun shot.]

[It's been a lot more cautious going since then and, stopping in front of the library as his phone buzzes in his pocket, Chikusa purses his lips slightly. Taking out his phone , he answers the call with it brushing along his bright rainbow beanie.]

I'm a bit busy right now...

[In fact, if it hadn't been Lavi's name on the screen, he probably would have just let it go to voicemail.]

[In the meanwhile, it's highly possible that Ken can already smell blood, gun smoke, and a familiar scent or two in the air... Especially if he's already switched into one of his channels since the initial gunshot.]

[And Ken certainly has. The echoes of the gunshot haven't even faded before Ken's snapping in his Wolf cartridge, claws and fangs growing even as he goes on tiptoe, trying to catch the smells on the wind further off the ground, away from any other confusing scents.]

Someone got hit, byon. There's blood! [There's tension in every line of him; it's clear he wants to charge off after the scent already. If he was a trained bloodhound whining on a leash, he couldn't be more eager.] C'mon, get off the phone!

[The faint ringtone catches Lavi's attention enough that he goes to look in the direction of it. He briefly wonders if Chikusa just had perfect timing or if it was just a coincidence.

In any case--]

Sorry, but a new murder just happened and we've found a blood trail belonging to the culprit. If Ken's with you, can you come here?

[Wordlessly, with Lavi's words in his ears, Chikusa looks over to Ken...]

[...and wordlessly hangs up, tucking his phone into his pocket again.]

Alright, Ken. Lead the way.

[Either they're talking about the same corpse or there's another body, time to find out]

[Ken bares his fangs in what's...probably, based on context, a grin. And then he takes off without needing a second invitation, running on all fours - and honestly, in Wolf Channel, he runs faster that way than he would running upright.

Chikusa's going to have his work cut out for him keeping up with Ken. And in that phrase, the point of contention isn't "keeping up with"; it's "work".]

[Honestly, if it was anyone but Chikusa, he'd be more offended.

Shaking his head, he tucks his phone away and looks at Shun and Izuku.]

They're coming.

[Shun wasn't really expecting that conversation to be a long one, given what Chikusa is generally like, so he just nods, keeping an eye out around them. He feels like he heard something very faintly when Lavi made the original call, but he couldn't quite pinpoint where it was coming from.]

As long as they're doing it faster than at a slouch. [He's not judging Chikusa, but...okay, he's kind of judging Chikusa.]

[Izuku's wincing but it's not as though they have any better way to track down a blood trail other than just following it. And somehow he doesn't think it'll be quite that easy.]

We can wait for them. But the faster they get here, the faster we're likely to find the killer.

[Bad news, Shun- you will get Chikusa to stop slouching his way across god's green earth when you pay him. Although at least he's slouching faster in a way that could be sort of a fast walk?]

[But good news, Izuku! Ken is guaranteed to be there in literally probably two seconds, and Chikusa will be right behind him. So enjoy the dog you're all getting soon.]

[It's true, too; Ken tears his way directly to the source of the nearest clear scent, skidding to a stop just in front of the body before scenting the air again, mouth slightly open and tongue hanging out. Does that help him smell better, or is it just a canine thing? Who knows.

It's only after he's absorbed the scene olfactorily that he peers curiously at the three strangers in front of him. If he's at all concerned with how he looks to them - having run up on all fours, crouched like an animal, claws and fangs and even a tail clearly visible - it's not evident in any way.

He sniffs again.] I still smell blood, but none of you are bleeding, byon. [He leans down and in to sniff at Scully more closely.] ...and it's definitely not her blood I smell, either... [Then he sneezes. There's gunpowder here. It's almost as strong a scent as the blood, and he's already shifting his weight impatiently, ready to take off after it - but he looks back at Chikusa for confirmation first.]

....At least Ken got here fast.

[Which means that Chikusa shouldn't be too far behind.

Lavi is a little bemused, watching Ken sniff around. He really does make him think of a dog, making him wonder why that is, but that's definitely a question they can get to later. In the meantime, he looks over at Chikusa when he approaches them.]

[Well. That's definitely something. Shun watches Ken sniff around the ground with an unreadable expression on his face for a few moments before just letting out a sigh.]

I suppose that's one way to bring a sniffer dog. [Look, one of his almost-friends here was a shapeshifting bird monster, his weirdness meter broke a while ago. He'll just take solace in the fact that Chikusa's friend is faster than he is.]

[Ah. Maybe it's some kind of enhanced smell quirk? He wouldn't be too surprised.

There's a lot of weird things in heaven.]

We can't be picky. Lead the way.

[Listen- he's in the area after a few seconds, long enough for Ken to have finished shoving his nose into the scene. It even looks like he might almost have hustled a little bit, although he slows once the group is in sight.]

Anything else you're picking up on the trail, Ken?

[Ken, when he sees Chikusa is still a few steps behind him, turns back to the small crowd in front of him for a moment, scrutinizing them.] Who're you guys, anyway?

[Not that there's much time for answers or introductions in any case; Chikusa wasn't that far behind. And as soon as he arrives, and directs his question to Ken, Ken seems to lose interest in getting an answer anyway.]

There's gunpowder, byon. She's the one who shot the gun. [He says this authoritatively.] And I think she hit somebody, 'cause I smell other blood than hers... [He lowers his head, sniffing at the blood pool, then prowls around the body until he hits the unfamiliar, different blood.

When he sees it leads away from the body, he grins.] She died here, byon! This blood's from the other one! [And without even a moment's hesitation, he's swapping cartridges - Wolf for Cheetah - with his appearance changing to match. As long as he can see the blood, he reasons, he doesn't need the sharpest nose in his repertoire; he can prioritize for speed.

Of course...good luck to the others keeping up with him when he takes off, at frankly alarming speed.]

[Lavi knew that Chikusa could be somewhat counted on when it comes to the murders. Really, Ken is just an added bonus, especially since the other seems to be...some sort of mutant, he guesses.

Or something.

He listens, head tilted to the side, as he listens to Ken talk. From what he's saying is something they can truly confirm now, but then he watches in mild fascination as Ken seems to shift appearances. So he can change from wolf to cheetah? Lavi feels himself jerking to follow Ken when the other runs off, instinct kicking in as he goes to run after him.]

[Given Ken departs from his question almost immediately after asking it, Shun doesn't bother answering, instead just listening intently as he reads the scents of the scene. Honestly, it's lucky as hell these two happened to be nearby if he's this attuned to following smells, and for the first time in a while, new determination that they might actually track down the killer this time flares in him.

While Shun doesn't know what the swapping cartridges signifies, he can see the faint traces of what appears to be cheetah-like features appearing, and clicks to what that means with enough time to be ready to have to keep up. As soon as Ken takes off, he's following - while Shun's speed certainly isn't superhuman, it's impressive for normal human levels, and he figures right now it's fine if he just keeps Ken in sight rather than even attempting to actively keep up with him anyway.]

[Izuku starts running the moment that Ken takes off. They have a chance to find the murderer and bring them to justice. He's not letting that slip out of his hands. The faster they go, the more likely they'll be able to find them.

He only spares a moment to make a mental note of Ken's quirk. Switches between animal features? He's never seen anything quite like that before.

Izuku, however, can get to superhuman speeds and keep that up for a long time. So he's actually keeping up with Ken just fine.]

[So, uh, have fun keeping up with Ken's cheetah Channel, everyone, Chikusa thinks he'd rather lay right down here and literally expire right next to Scully's own corpse.]

[...Okay. Not quite. However, Chikusa does very notably stay behind in contrast to everyone else taking off running. Lavi's phone will buzz a few seconds after with the reason why.]

Investigating the scene, getting samples, etc. Make Shun pick me up if you actually stay in place for more than 5 min

[Izuku is a surprise; of all the people who might've been able to keep pace with him in the group, he's the one Ken would have suspected the least, and he gets a very baffled sidelong look from Ken as they run. But beyond that, Ken seems to accept it readily enough, and then just focuses on running.

In a few places, the blood trail tapers off enough - or the bleeding is widely spaced enough - that it's not easily visible. Fortunately for the less fleet-footed trackers, Ken pauses at these points, switching channels - sometimes to Wolf, sometimes to Boar; it seems to be random - to sniff his way around the scene, until he finds the trail again. Then it's back to Cheetah Channel, and off he bolts again.

Soon enough, considering the speed Ken is going, they reach a temple, and Ken runs all the way up to the shrine before skidding to a stop. He switches channels back to Wolf again, prowling around the shrine, and eventually growls in frustration.] Dammit, he must've teleported away! The scent just stops, byon!

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