23 - Crazy Cat Shuffle

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Crazy Cat Shuffle
When: September 20
Where: Shibuya & Ikebukuro, as well as the Far Shore
Summary: The new Crazy Cat mascot keychains are sparking real passion in Tokyo's hot spots. Brawls have broken out over the extra-rare versions, and all of this angst is attracting ayakashi. The gods have been asked to step in before things get out of control.







Crossing Crisis

The Shibuya scramble crossing is always busy, but it's especially wild today. Ten new Crazy Cat vending machines have been installed at the mouth of the alley across from Shibuya Station's exit. Rumors are flying that these machines have extra Blue-Star Cats in them: the very rarest kind! A crowd of hundreds of excited fans have gathered, but the people at the front of the lines are buying lots of cats, and the mood is starting to grow sour as the people at the back of the lines begin to wonder if there will be any left by the time it's their turn.

This crowd needs crossing guards... or just someone who can snag some of those ultra-rare Cats and sell them to the back of the line for crazy cash. Everything a god does is righteous, after all.

Sunshine Struggle

Crazy Cat machines dot the Sunshine City complex in Ikebukuro. The machines here are attracting some particularly nasty ayakashi: jealous little purple creatures with too many legs that stoke buyers' envy and need for more and better collectibles. Under their influence, it's not just the Cats going fast. The local stores are selling out of everything cute on the shelves.

Worse, some of the ayakashi victims are turning to theft when they run out of pocket money. Time to exterminate those bugs before they start a new crime wave.

Taking Stock

Accident? Sabotage? No one's telling, but a delivery truck carrying boxes of new keychains to restock the machines blew a tire and overturned on a major street. Under the influence of those greedy little ayakashi, collectors are descending on the wreck to snag their favorites before the police show up.

The dazed driver doesn't know what to do, the crowd is starting to get violent, and those Cats do look amazingly cute. And appealing. And, for that matter, valuable.

Bad Kitty

The cat keychains are super cute! Even gods or shinki might be tempted to buy one and take it home, but taking these keychains back to the Far Shore will give away their hidden secret. It's not just human envy that's attracting ayakashi to the Crazy Cats. There are ayakashi hiding inside this batch of cute kitty dolls, and bringing them through a shrine to the Far Shore will force the hidden creatures out of their plushie prisons.

They're big, they're mad, and they're hungry. And the Heavens are full of souls that smell delicious.

The ayakashi escaping from Crazy Cat dolls on the Far Shore resemble gigantic (taller than a person at the shoulder) versions of the cute plushie cats, with very real and sharp teeth and claws. They run and attack at random once released from the dolls, so even gods and shinki who did not bring the toys back could be faced with a fight. The patrolling shinki will do their best to hold them back with borderlines, but they need help to rend these crazy cats before they do too much damage!

In Summary:

• Placate the crowds
• Squash bitty ayakashi
• Struggle with temptation
• Defeat the cat invasion
• Have fun~

Comments

[yoshinocherry]

[Even cat-like reflexes can only keep up at best! The creature recoils in reflex, but isn't quick enough to escape the new barrier going up to stop its escape. Which, in turn, allows Yuna to stick the landing, exerting more than enough force to knock the ayakashi down.

In anticipation of damaging it enough with that strike, she's got her shinki - a pair of white gauntlets - charged up and ready to finish it off by slamming her hands down on its back and issuing a sound,]

REND!

[To get rid of it for good.]

[kokuyoyo]

[And just like that.... it's gone.]

[Chikusa shuffles out with the threat neutralized, letting out a long breath. That was annoying.... But not as much as it could have been, he guesses.]

That's the only one... right?

[yoshinocherry]

[With a sound 'pap!' Yuna gracefully sticks the landing once the ayakashi under her has dissipated. That was definitely easier thanks to the extra assistance, so once she brings herself down off high alert, she offers Chikusa an enthusiastic,]

Thank you! That was super helpful!

[And, as far as she can tell right now,] That one got away from us while we was dealing with a second one, but those two are the only ones I've seen so far.

[kokuyoyo]

...There are more all over.

[Trust him, he knows. Shifting in place, that brings him to his next point...]

Have you seen a woman with an eyepatch?

[yoshinocherry]

That's... not surprising.

[If the ayakashi were coming from the key chains, like the two she'd accidentally brought in herself, then more running around are so, so likely.]

I haven't! Is it someone you're looking for?

[kokuyoyo]

Mmm. She's.... reckless. Sometimes.

[And he's.... invested in her wellbeing? Is there a word for that? Chikusa doesn't want to use it.]

[yoshinocherry]

[Don't worry, Yuna won't tell you how thoughtful it is to care about someone in a situation like this.

At least, not at the moment.]

What's her name? If I see someone like that, I can tell her you're looking for her, if you'd like!

[kokuyoyo]

Ayumu. She's... recognizable.

[As one is with an eyepatch.]

[yoshinocherry]

[She hasn't seen many people around here with eyepatches, so even if she does have to ask a couple of times to confirm, then it probably shouldn't be too hard to pick out this Ayumu.]

Got it! I'll keep an eye out for her, hopefully the two of you can meet up quickly.

[kokuyoyo]

Mm. It would be for the best. Since our god can't be relied on....

[Or else they wouldn't be in this mess.]

[yoshinocherry]

[Ah...! That's no good!]

You two should meet up fast, then! [Safety in numbers, and all that.] I can look with you, if you don't want to split up.

[Not that it sounds like a particularly bad idea, he seemed to have a handle on defending himself pretty well earlier, after all.]

[kokuyoyo]

...Splitting up would be faster. Besides... I've been mostly able to avoid things. As long as I can cast a borderline.... it's alright.

[All he needs is a shield. A defense is better than tiring himself out with too many fights, as far as he's concerned.]

[yoshinocherry]

If you think you can handle it, then I'm sure you can.

[He doesn't sound uncertain, so there's no reason not to trust his judgement of his own abilities.]

I'll do my best to look out, and you stay safe while you search, too!

[kokuyoyo]

I'll see you, then.

[There's not really any question of him staying out of as much battle as possible unless he thinks he can get more information.]

[A goodbye is... sort of forgotten. He just stands to slink back into the foliage again.]