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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[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!

[He can feel his phone vibrate in his pocket, reasoning that it might be Chikusa since he noticed that the other hadn't come along with them.

As they arrive at the temple, Lavi breathes a bit as he looks around.]

He teleported? [Explains why Ken has stopped and let out a frustrated growl.

Straightening, Lavi cups his chin in thought.] Might've escaped to the Near Shore then. [And he can hope that the trail is fresh there. He peers over at Shun and Izuku.]

Should we try?

[It's useful to have the brief changes so they actually have time to catch up decently before taking off again, though by the time they stop, Shun doesn't seem like he's exerted himself much, at least. Or maybe he's just concealing it, since it's kind of hard to tell with him sometimes.

It makes sense that they would have teleported back at the first opportunity they had, and though Shun grimaces a bit, he nods at Lavi's suggestion.]

Might as well. It could be the only good chance we get to catch them, so unless anyone recognises this shrine and can tell where they would've ended up, it's the only way we'd be able to follow.

[Izuku doesn't even look like he's been running. He doesn't even look winded, but he does look as stressed as ever about this entire situation.]

We don't have anything to lose here. This shrine is probably connected to somewhere on the Near Shore... If they've come this far to teleport- this probably goes to their god's shrine.

[He grabs everybody's hands and teleports them down. He'd be more embarrassed if he wasn't so stressed. The moment they're all there he drops their hands.]

Do you still have a trail?

[Ken shakes himself off convulsively after they've teleported, as though to reorient himself, and then sniffs the air again.] Yeah, I can smell him! [Ken's nose is good enough to be able to discern the murderer as male.

He glances around for a moment, then pauses, frowning.] ...wait, where's the kappa?

[Ken is literally only realizing Chikusa isn't with them now.]

[At the mention of Chikusa, Lavi remembers his cellphone.

He's quick to pull it out, reading the text message that was sent to him before he glances at Ken.]

He decided to stay behind to investigate the scene more. Said to send Shun [A glance at Shun] to go and fetch him if we ended up staying for more than five minutes.

[Shun gives Lavi a rather flat, unimpressed glance back at the passed-on request, but a moment later he sighs somewhat irritably. There's no time to argue the point...and if he's being honest, he has his suspicions as to why Chikusa requested him specifically.]

Figures. Fine then. But for now we need to focus on following the trail. [Hopefully with the matter of where exactly Chikusa is cleared up, Ken will be more willing to head on.]

[He'd be more worried about that if they weren't on the trail right now. Besides, it seems cleared up for now.]

It sounds like it's been sorted out.

[Ken looks warily between the three guys he realizes he doesn't know at all, and considers the absence of the one person he does trust. In the end, he does reluctantly go back to scenting the air, but it's still clear that there's some definite unease without his partner there to give guidance.]

It's this way, byon. [And, after this announcement, he takes off again. The blood trail isn't quite as visually clear anymore, so he's still in Wolf Channel rather than having switched to Cheetah; as a result, he's still fast, but much easier for a human pair of legs to follow. He's keeping his nose close to the ground, running on all fours; with no visual trail left, he has to go by the lingering scent of the blood. Luckily, blood's a pretty easy scent for him to follow.

Soon enough, he's skidding to a stop in front of a convenience store. He sniffs at the door only momentarily - either not noticing or not caring about the CLOSED sign - and then immediately stands upright and tries the door. Upon confirming that it's locked, Ken kicks hard at the door lock, trying to break it.

Subtlety is not in Ken's nature.]

[It's not hard to miss the uneasiness that comes from Ken and Lavi does have half the mind to get Chikusa on the phone if it means easing him for a bit. After all, Ken's their best chance of getting any sort of lead.

But Ken seems to be getting back on track, so he decides to put the thought aside in order to follow him again.

When they arrive at the convenience store, he raises an eyebrow at Ken kicking at the door. If the door doesn't seem like it'll break down soon, he's going over to help kick the door down.]

[As uneasy as Ken seems, as long as he isn't actively complaining about it, Shun's focusing on the task ahead of them. Once they end up in front of a locked door, though, Shun's reaction is exactly as bad as Ken's - as soon as he finishes kicking at the lock, Shun follows up and drives another brutal kick into the poor, innocent door.

If all of them do it then it's got to break sometime, right? Shun can do this breaking down doors thing all day.]

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I'm so sorry it took me forever to get back to this

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