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

[sageprincess]

... I see.

[She frowns, disappointed, as Shun explains. And a tad frustrated at her ignorance of how things work in this world. Everything is so overly complicated...]

Still, I cannot help feeling it is something that should be looked into, regardless, even if it must be done after this current problem is dealt with. If it has happened before, then it is likely to happen again, I would think.

[Or she's just suspicious of everything and has a habit of seeing patterns regardless of whether or not they're actually there, either way.]

[revolutionfalcon]

I'll see about looking into it after this is done with. There's already some other recent things I need to finish checking into. [The department store arson, the moon viewing...it's been a busy month or so in terms of oddities on the Near Shore.] I'd have to find out a little more about the incident with the chocolates, as well, to make sure they're not connected.

[The effects are different, but the general background of "ayakashi trapped in small objects and released under specific circumstances" seems to him a little too close to be overlooked.]

[sageprincess]

... I realize I am ignorant in the workings of this world and the Heavens both, but should there be something I can assist with, I would ask that you let me know.

[How quick this boy is to shoulder the burden of investigation all by himself.]

If nothing else, a second pair of eyes is rarely a bad thing to have.

[revolutionfalcon]

A second pair of eyes isn't usually something I have trouble finding, when I've been here so long. [It's blunt, as ever from him. Shun isn't the type to shy away from pointing out he has people he trusts more and knows better than Zelda.

But Zelda has also proven herself competent, and discreet in the matters of what they both saw in that nightmare. There's no reason, if the opportunity arises, not to allow her to prove herself trustworthy as well, as long as that takes in his eyes.]

But I'll see what I find. Maybe I'll need more than one extra pair.

[sageprincess]

[She frowns a little, unable to fully mask her disappointment, but does not object to his frank observation. He is right, after all, even if it does leave her feeling rather helpless.]

... I understand. Thank you, for that concession, and your assistance. [She'll just have to figure out her own means of investigating their situation.] You should return to scouting, if you have your shinki with you. I should be all right, now.

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun doesn't really have a problem with that suggestion, though he does look over the area quickly as he lifts the cracked war hammer over one shoulder.] You'd be best off finding your own shinki at this rate. There seem to be more of these things appearing whenever I turn around.

[And while it seems Zelda has sufficient power to defend herself, getting rid of them is another matter entirely when the rending magic works the way it does.]