[Closed]

[thevanguard]

Who: Butch Cassidy, Saruhiko Fushimi and Misaki Yata
When: Backdated to August 1
Where: The Near Shore
What: Prayer 40


[ With the Babysitting Job from Hell wrapped up (thank all the gods), Yata and Saru had headed out to the place they were supposed to meet Butch later in the day. Only the quiet street they'd parted ways on this morning was not quite so quiet and empty now. In fact, it looked like half the town had crowded into the shops and stalls set up here, making it seem like there was a sea of people stretching from one end of the street to the other.

Rounding the corner, his hands propped behind his head as he chatted with Saru, Yata stops short and stares at the sight in surprise. ]

Uhh. I think our plans might have just been changed on us. Hopefully, your god can still find you out here because I'm not sure it's possible to find anyone in there.

Comments

[thevanguard]

[ Yata gives a thoughtful hum and glances over at the god. ]

Maybe if you gave her a boost up on your shoulders, she might be able to spot them over the heads in the crowd, too? It couldn't hurt, anyway. Saru, send me that pic, we can each take a direction.

[monkeyblue]

[Roy tried, that's all that matters. Fushimi nods and does just that.]

I'll go left and up, you go right and down.

[lovemguns]

[ Hanako seems to find that idea, and so does he. ]

Sure. And up we go.

[ He’s lifted enough younger siblings over the years that he doesn’t even have to think about how to most easily lift her up on his shoulders. ]

Your view from up there any good?

Yes!

[thevanguard]

[ Yata laughs and gives the little girl a thumbs up from where she's now perched. ]

You keep an eye out for them from up there now, yeah? [ He glances at Roy and Saru and holds up his phone with the pic of the little girl. ] I'll see what I can find and be back in a few.

[monkeyblue]

[Fushimi nods and off they go, trying to track down this poor girl's parents.

So far, he's not having any luck. There's not even any distressed parents he can approach this way. Tch.]

[lovemguns]

[ And while the two shinki wanders off, Butch and Hanako looks from the area they’re at. A tall man is the main thing to look for, he guesses, but it’s hard to know what qualifies as “tall” to a child.

And if she’s up above the crowd’s heads, maybe her parents will spot her. This far nobody seems to have noticed her or heard that she's shouting for them. ]

[thevanguard]

[ It seems like Yata picked the lucky direction this time since after about five minutes he comes weaving back through the crowd with a harried-looking couple behind him. Lifting his hand in a wave, he tries to get Roy's attention, hoping he's managed to find the right people. ]

Oi! Roy! Saru! I think I found 'em!

[monkeyblue]

[Fushimi hears Misaki and heads back, looking the couple over. Does the woman have Hanako's eyes? The father seems to have a similar facial structure....]

The kid's parents?

[lovemguns]

Mommy! Daddy!

[ That answers that question, and Hanako is suddenly in a great hurry of getting over to them so Butch quickly has to maneuver her to the ground so she doesn’t fall. ]

Seems like't. Howdy, ma'am, sir.

[thevanguard]

[ Yata melts off to the side, watching when the little reacts positively to the couple he'd found. Oh good, it would really suck if he'd found the parents of another lost kid in this mess.

Although despite the fact that the three were very happily reuniting, he's frowning and looking worried as he shifts from one foot to another, waiting impatiently until he can speak to Saru and his god again. ]

START OF PRAYER 41

[monkeyblue]

[Fushimi glances at Misaki, frowning.]

What is it?

[lovemguns]

[ Once Butch finishes talking briefly to the parents and the girl, and after he waves them off, he sighs in relief that the little family has been reunited safely. Then he turns to the two young men. ]

Y' seem awful impatient, son.

[thevanguard]

[ He waits until the trio departs before speaking up, glancing between Saru and Roy before gesturing back in the direction he'd just come. ]

I found them outside a daycare down there, I guess they thought she might have wandered back to it or someone might have brought her there. But all the kids and babies inside were crying and no one could get them to stop. I think... I think there's something back there. It... it felt wrong.

[ He didn't know how else to describe it. ]

[monkeyblue]

Wrong like "who let this freak near children" wrong or "ayakashi" wrong?

[lovemguns]

[ There is a moment or two where he looks pretty puzzled, but soon "daycare" connects to "nursery" and the other establishments that took care of children so the mothers could work too, he thinks he gets what Yata means by the word. ]

If't was the former, the adults should be takin' care'a that. [ Logically speaking. ] Y'mean ya wanna have a look'n see what it might be? That ain't all hard'a do, long as ya ain't mindin' showin' the way there.

[thevanguard]

I think it was more ayakashi, but I'm not really sure. but if you don't mind checking anyway...?

[ He looks relieved when Roy suggests that, nodding his head and motioning back the way he'd come. ]

It's just down here. I mean, the crying kids is hard to miss. [ It was how he'd found the parents in the first place, actually. ]

[monkeyblue]

Lead on.

[Fushimi will let the other two lead the charge yet again, hanging back to watch their backs. Just in case.]

[lovemguns]

I guess that they would be that.

[ While he follows Yata, he’s also keeping an eye on Fushimi because it wouldn’t do if he got separated from them, or if he got hurt for some reason while Butch wasn’t paying attention. ]

[thevanguard]

[ Yata weaves through the crowded street and takes them directly to the daycare he'd found earlier and sure enough the babies and children are all still crying while the workers rush around trying to figure out how to calm them all.

What stands out as odd, however, is the appearance of several tiny ayakashi running amok around the playground yard, cackling and throwing things and pinching and taunting the babies.

Yata stops short and stares, because he's positive he hadn't seen those when he'd been here a few minutes ago. ]

...Shit.

[monkeyblue]

Tch.

[Fushimi is not surprised to see ayakashi, and he's not surprised to see that Misaki didn't see them.]

If we can get them away from the kids, it'll be easy to kill them.

[lovemguns]

[ He's guessing those ayakashi wasn't there before. Or that they just weren't visible. Both are possible. ]

Drivin' em where no-one ain't gonna get hurt ain't gonna be like herdin' cattle, but it can't be too hard to get it t'work.

[ Can you rope an ayakashi like you can rope cattle, anyway? These are clearly too small for it and their size will be a bigger problem than their number, but the thoughts of driving them away before taking care of them is familiar, even if ayakashi don't exist him his world. ]

[thevanguard]

Do you think we can bait them to lure 'em away?

[ He definitely hadn't seen them here before. He never would have walked away if he had. Now he just stares at the yard in displeasure, wincing when one of the nearby kids lets out a particularly ear-piercing wail. ]

What can we make them want more than.... whatever they're doing in there?

[monkeyblue]

You or I need to bait them. We'll be more appealing than screaming toddlers, and when they're away the other one can help Roy rend them.

[He's purposefully speaking as if Roy would name Misaki so Misaki doesn't think he's only good for live bait.]

[lovemguns]

[ He scowls. It’s not that he doesn’t see that they need to do that, but he doesn’t like the thought of using kids as bait. He’d be bait anytime, he’s been so for the Bunch in the past, but he can’t be bait this time, can he? ]

Yeah, whichever way the two’a you prefer.

[ As long as Yata is willing, Butch doesn’t mind naming him, temporarily or permanently. That’s up to him, no matter what. ]

[thevanguard]

[ He knows Saru means well, but Yata's not so quick to volunteer himself to be named and discarded again. Not that Roy would do that - or with that intent - but the whole encounter with Schuldig has left a bad taste in his mouth for doing things on the fly like this.

He doesn't comment on any of that, however, merely takes a step forward as he approaches the gate. ]

Well, you're on Rending duty, then. Lucky for us, I make great bait, apparently. [ Because has that been happening a lot? He's not telling.

And before they can stop him, he wanders into the daycare to put himself at the center of attention. The humans don't really notice him, but several of the little ayakashi slow to a stop, their many eyes drawn to the unnamed shinki wandering into their midst. ]