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

[junkyarddog]

Yeah! [This does not, in fact, make the tail stop wagging. In fact, it wags a little more than before.] Watch, byon!

[And he flicks a borderline that sends one of the little ayakashi rolling end over end, and then laughs with pure glee over it.

It is, indeed. advancement. However, it's a more minor accomplishment than it necessarily looks on the surface. Ken's been training his accuracy today, which isn't necessarily challenging - especially with his channel-enhanced vision, and for borderlines that are instantaneous rather than lasting creations. Likewise, a borderline that's meant to flare to life for an instant and can then just as quickly dissipate isn't difficult to maintain even for someone of Ken's short attention span. But the actual strength of his borderlines, or his ability to maintain them for any extended period, is almost wholly unchanged. He's learned, at best, how to harass with them - he's still largely useless for either containing, protecting, or doing significant damage - which is to say, all the primary functions of borderlines.

Functionally, Ken's essentially taught himself how to beat people with a gun - he's completely failing to use the weapon to its full potential, or even in any way that's remotely related to its intended purpose, but...at least he's using it. And it is a form of progress, however small, as is the fact that he's using borderlines and trying to teach himself how to handle them better unprompted. It's just a shame it's not in any way that's particularly applicable to any scenario but this.]

What took you so long, byon?

[kokuyoyo]

[So long as Ken has an interest in practicing, then that means they can go further with it eventually. Chikusa will take what little steps of progress are made, if only because he has no idea what else to do. It's not like he's good at teaching, especially for Ken's specific problems.]

[Although maybe if live targets help, well, he's always on the lookout for weak enough ayakashi anyway for his poison...]

[Thinking about this helps a little bit with the attention towards that tail wagging. But only a little.]

I was going around... Ayakashi are all over.

[junkyarddog]

They're tiny, byon. You were just being slow. [This probably isn't an entirely unfair assessment, considering that it's Chikusa.]

We should go get something to eat, this is getting boring.

[kokuyoyo]

They still affect people, Ken...

[So. You know.]

[Still, food is always a much better idea than most anything else they might be doing at any given time, so Chikusa doesn't take long to decide on an answer.]

Yeah, sure... What do you want to eat?

[junkyarddog]

Yakitori, byon! [Ken declares this with certainty. And then, because he's impatient and also a shit, he shoves Chikusa off the bus stop roof, jumping down after him with a cackle.] C'mon, I've already waited for your slow kappa ass enough!

[Sometimes Ken is cute, sometimes Ken is feral, and sometimes he's just a loud brat with zero self-restraint.]

[kokuyoyo]

[Fuck- Chikusa goes tumbling off with a swear, and it's only the quick reflexes of his hands that have him able to snag onto the very edge. It tugs at his shoulder a little uncomfortably, but that's fine with him. So long as he can swing himself down without cracking his head on the pavement.]

[That doesn't stop the sulky glare he sends towards Ken, however.]

If I'm so slow, you can just carry me...

[junkyarddog]

No way, byon. If I start carrying you around places, your legs might just wither and fall off. They're already like sticks as it is. [Ken's grinning broadly, utterly unrepentant.] If I want you to go faster, maybe I should just chase you.

[kokuyoyo]

Chase me and I'll make you take a bath.

[Reaching up, he adjusts his glasses. Alas, there is no anime shine with them.]

....With smelly shampoo.

[junkyarddog]

[Ken twitches.] You'd have to catch me first. And if I tire you out chasing you, you won't have the energy to catch me!

[He's just trying to reassure himself.]

[kokuyoyo]

I can use a borderline to trap you. Or...

[Actually, hold on. Raising his hand in a gesture similar to a borderline- and which Ken has probably noticed Chikusa using no him plenty of times in the past- Chikusa concentrates to use Bind against him.]

[He is a horrible person who should never have been allowed to learn magic.]

[junkyarddog]

[Ken freezes in place, his expression a picture of alarm, confusion, and anger. The sound he makes in his throat is a low whine, with growl undertones.]

[kokuyoyo]

[Ha. Ha. Completely at his leisure, Chikusa shuffles over and, like the huge dick he secretly (??) is inside, blows on Ken's nose.]

Caught you.

[junkyarddog]

[MORE WHINING, at an increased volume.]

[kokuyoyo]

[....Mm. Chikusa pauses, blinking at Ken. That... is good. He's never assumed himself to be much of a sadist, because that takes a lot more effort than he thinks he's capable of, but for some reason this is really... endearing?]

[Well. He's learned his lesson. Chikusa still takes a long step back and away from Ken before releasing the spell, however.]

...So that's that.

[junkyarddog]

[It's good that he does, but it's probably not enough. As soon as Ken's body is obeying him again, he's trying to tackle Chikusa.] I'm gonna bite you to death, shitty kappa!

[Someone may have picked up a phrase or two from Hibari. It sounds a lot less serious than when Hibari used to say it, though.]

[kokuyoyo]

[TIIIIIIIIIMBERRRRRRRRRR-]

[Chikusa goes down immediately, made of sticks and prayer as it is, and he barely manages to catch himself so that his head doesn't crack down against the concrete.]

Ow.

[Have you ever heard a more deadpan saying of the word- ]

[junkyarddog]

You're stupid and you suck. [Ken scowls down at Chikusa. But he's less interested in actually beating Chikusa up than he acts, so instead he reaches up and - yeah, Chikusa's beanie is being pulled down as far over his face as it'll stretch. Suffocate in your own headwear, Chikusa.]

[kokuyoyo]

You're dum-

[And then his voice gets muffled as the material stretches surprisingly well. There's an annoyed noise, and Chikusa's hand lightly (lazily) smacks at Ken's chest. Bad dog, bad dog!]

[junkyarddog]

[Ken laughs outright, clearly pleased with himself.] Now you look stupid, too!

[kokuyoyo]

[Chikusa's hand finds Ken's face to shove at.]

You always look stupid.

[junkyarddog]

[Ken responds in the most natural and childish way possible, by messily licking Chikusa's hand as punishment for putting it over his face. He and Chikusa have mastered the art of sibling rivalry without the bother of actually being related.]

[kokuyoyo]

[True to the usual, Chikusa makes a disgusted noise that's muffled by his hat. Immediately, he wipes his hand against Ken's jacket, or at least tries to.]

You're gross.... Get off of me already.

[junkyarddog]

Don't wanna, byon. [Ken sounds immensely and aggravatingly self-satisfied.]

[kokuyoyo]

[...This little shit. Reaching up, he pushes his beanie back again so that he can give Ken the full force of his dead eyes.]

...I'm definitely getting you smelly shampoo.

[junkyarddog]

I just won't let you use it on me! [Problem? Solved.]