25 - Troubled Waters

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Alleviating the troubles caused by conflict in Heaven
When: October 10
Where: Orihime's meadows in the Far Shore, as well as various places in Japan, China and Ireland
Summary: Orihime has been tasked by the Heavens with resolving the conflict caused in the mortal world by the new gods' struggles against one another. Several gods have been killed recently, and their violent deaths have led to dangerous corruption being released in the mortal world. Help Orihime expunge the corruption and return the human world to a peaceful existence.







Orihime's Meadows

Before traveling to the Far Shore, gods and shinki can meet and make plans near Orihime's modest home at the edge of the Southeastern District. Her dwelling is too small to accommodate even one team of gods and shinki arranging something as serious as this, let alone several. It is obvious she thought about this fact, and has crafted four cloth tents out in the meadows surrounding her home. The sounds of the milky way river are now joined by rustling fabric in the wind, for each tent has a flag mounted atop it and standing in front of it:

• The blue tent belongs to the team for Ksitigarbha. It has a sigil in black on the flag.
  
• The green tent belongs to the team for Li Tieguai. On its flag, a mortar and pestle in white, but the visible part of the pestle resembles a staff crook.
  
• The red tent belongs to the team for Cu Chulainn, with an impressive reproduction of a two-headed dog celtic knot in shining silver.
  
• The brown tent belongs to the team for Loki. Its flag bears a two-headed snake in gold.
All four tents are spread out in cardinal directions. Near each tent, she has a few stacks of wooden prayer tablets related to each of the problems, as well as maps and supplies for those who might need them.

In the center of all four tents is a simple chair and table where Orihime herself is generally sitting, talking to others nearby, or writing notes based on those conversations. She does a lot of listening when people ask her for new supplies she hadn't thought of previously, but has only been supplied with four shinki runners to get those supplies, one per group. Additionally, she cannot teleport down to the Near Shore herself, nor can anyone use her home to teleport down to where each of the troubles are; that is a problem for each group to solve on their own, with Orihime only able to mediate and provide suggestions.

Child's Play

Kshitigarbha, protector of children and of hell beings, is one of the recent casualties. Without his protection, it seems that babies' fears are giving rise to new and awful ayakashi throughout the city of Xi'an. Shadows on the wall above the crib, oversized stuffed animals, monsters hiding in the closet or rattling the windows at night -- all the fears of earliest childhood are taking real, malicious form. Babies are panicking, parents are exhausted, and all this stress is pulling in even more ayakashi! Someone needs to lure out these nursery nightmares and defeat them before the situation gets worse.

As gods and shinki work to rend the ayakashi tormenting children, they may notice a strange shadow passing by in the street outside, or scratching noises at the nursery window. Something more seems to be waiting outside....

Flu Season

With sky-high living costs and limited space, Tokyo has a large homeless population. Li Tieguai, protector of the poor and patron of medicine, was another recent death: now, winter's coming, and without his protection it seems like everyone's getting sick at once. They're suffering from everything ranging from plain old head colds and 'flu to more serious things like pneumonia or infections. Help pass out tea, soup and blankets, make sure they get the right medications, and get the sickest people to the hospital.

Carrion crows crowd close around the sick and croak, watching the gods and shinki helping them.

Wild Hounds

As if honoring the fall of the Hound of Chulainn, stray dogs have begun to form into large, dangerous packs in rural and suburban areas of Ireland, and even well-trained housepets have started breaking their leashes and joining them. They're starting to chase and bite humans, and it's only a matter of time before someone gets killed. Gods need to defeat the ayakashi possessing the "leaders of the pack," and get the pets back to their worried owners.

The groves of trees where the dogs are lairing seem unusually dark and shadowy, and footsteps seem to echo those of the gods and shinki tracking them down.

Prank War

Teenage pranks are turning unusually cruel and dangerous lately: with Loki gone, a few groups of bored kids have coalesced into more serious gangs in Chiba, and they've been seen setting fires, tormenting animals, vandalizing businesses and intimidating or robbing people walking alone at night. Someone needs to stop them from causing trouble, put them on a better path, or turn them in to the police before someone gets badly hurt.

Even as they're working to stop the teenagers' mischief, something seems to whisper to them and encourage them to join in and cause a little trouble. After all, it's just some fun....

Boss Battles

Those who helped to resolve the problems caused by the gods' deaths have one final enemy to face. Four dangerous ayakashi are behind these conflicts. Each character can participate in one boss battle, but it's fine for characters to form multiple different groups (i.e. multiple threads under one boss's comment.) To ensure that the NPC knows when to respond to your characters, please indicate which characters will be in a thread in your first comment.

Kshitigarbha - Child's Play

Li Tieguai - Flu Season

Cu Chulainn - Wild Hounds

Loki - Prank War

In Summary:

• Check in with Orihime and your new teams
• Save scared children
• Help the sick
• Tame stray dogs
• Stop pranks from going too far
• Watch out~

Comments

[brynwieldr]

[Leo smirks and gestures for Hijikata to take the lead, fog and smoke already billowing around their feet.]

I've always wanted to do something like this.

[brynwieldr]

That's kind of the point, Lady Sakura. But I'll try to talk to them first, if you'd like.

[freezetheheavens]

The fact that it’s hiding doesn’t bode well.

[And those dogs seems like they’re ready to attack once more. The bigger ones are already taking a stance to pounce.]

But I suppose we’ll need to handle these first. [He sounds almost exasperated by it, even if Goten might be able to feel a brief flare of Hitsugaya’s reiatsu.]

[koukai_kirai]

You’re a sick man.

[He says that with distinct fondness, then turns and rounds the corner towards the nearest sign of Troublesome Youth Activity.]

[reformedsinner]

Actually, I was wondering about the store owner. I'm sure there are other problems we'll need to address.

[As fun as it might be to tell a bunch of cursed teenagers to be good citizens for a few hours, dealing with the ones who aren't being quite so compliant unfortunately comes first. Hakkai shakes his head, mock-sighing.]

So if he can order them around, it'd leave us both free.

[freezetheheavens]

My shinki is nearby. [Somewhere. He’s keeping track of Alibaba though he does give Aymeric a curious look.]

Goten and Yoon aren’t with you? [In a way, he’s not too concerned about Yoon as much as he is with Goten. The child shinki has a way of getting himself into trouble.]

smh she's too cute

[pachintoki]

[And it's in those meadows where she'll probably see this guy, still holding on to the bag of croissants that she handed to him briefly in one of the tents. He's not so much looking at the tables as sitting cross-legged in a bit of grass, eating these delicious croissants that he was probably supposed to share.

Like hell he was gonna do that. He seems to be eating them way, way too happily, bag clutched firmly in his lap, kitsune tails twitching greedily.]

[brynwieldr]

Dark mage. It comes with the territory.

[Leo stands just behind Hiijikata, making sure to stay hidden even as he starts casting a curse to give Hijikata's voice an ominous rumble.]

[freezetheheavens]

[Emizel, why do you have—

Actually, nevermind. Toushirou’s numbers may be just as bad, considering how the numbers only seem to be increasing. It was easy to keep their attention on him at least, especially when he threw small kido spells at them to keep their attention on him.

Either way, he makes it to the appointed location, skidding to a stop and the ayakashi all snarl as they rush to catch up to him.]

[freezetheheavens]

I see.

[How much use can you be in that form?

But the god is already moving onto another few ill victims, not planning to stop any time soon.]

[brynwieldr]

Oh, he should be able to, yes. This is his property, after all. If not, I'm sure these boys will behave all the same, right?

[He gives one of the boys who has by now pissed his pants the most sinister of looks.]

Otherwise it's not like it will be hard to find them.

[reformedsinner]

[Mikoto lunges into action, pummeling one of the teenagers with blows that look hard enough to do real damage-- and yet, though his target is reeling, he doesn't seem as injured as he should be. His chi flickers strangely in Hakkai's perceptions: injured, well, injured, well again, and Hakkai blinks to focus himself on his own opponents. Whatever it is Mikoto's doing, it at least doesn't look too fatal. He can be left to his fun for now.

Meanwhile, Hakkai has three of the would-be muggers advancing on him. He drops low, scything one foot around to catch one of them behind the knees and dump him into another as Hakkai straightens in a fluid movement that ends with his fist buried in the stomach of the third and the teenager bent double and retching as he struggles for air. Hakkai lets him fall, turning to knock one of the two he'd tripped flat with a chop to the side of his neck.]

[reformedsinner]

Ah, gods do come back from the dead! Sometimes, ha ha.

[And the new shinki can, too. Sometimes. After so many deaths that haven't ended in resurrection, Hakkai has no illusions about their odds.]

I'm embarrassed to have caused so much trouble, though.

[reformedsinner]

They'll keep the bruises, at least. [And Hakkai may have to check them over once they're all down, just to be sure no one had taken a blow wrong and injured something that might be fatal. Necks were annoyingly fragile, and these punks hadn't done anything that truly deserved death.

He turns neatly around a boy coming at him with swinging fists, propelling him into one of his comrades with a neatly placed hand between the shoulders, and spins to strike the next with a blow to the solar plexus. A blow grazes his shoulder, and he grimaces, grabbing that kid by the shirt front and pulling him in for a forehead-to-nose strike that leaves him sagging down with blood spouting from his nose.]

[reformedsinner]

I'd assumed that was more a matter of faith than...

[He reaches up to get the water bottle, and looks around, the corner of his mouth crimping.]

... quite so literal a statement.

[But here they are, facing a surprising amount of trouble on Earth. The girl makes an unhappy noise, trying to pull away from the cold pack against her forehead, and Hakkai leans down to her again.] Let it stay there for a moment, and you'll feel better, I promise.

[yasei]

Hm?

[ Oh, this girl isn't so bad at what she's doing, she's got some skill as well.

Obi threw another knife and a line, to steer an ayakashi the right direction and further away from people. ]

That~ hmmm, doesn't really matter? I'm not so picky about that.

[priforprince]

[ Hibiki pops open the helmet of the suit in the hopes that will scare off the bird. Which it does. It gets the one on her shoulder away, too.

For now. ]

Is everyone here slumbering?

[yasei]

[ Without a doubt, Obi senses Urashima's presence. He's obvious to him even before he makes himself known. ]

Oh~ The police seeing this would be bad, wouldn't it?

[ Obi isn't bothered but the kids are. They don't want to be caught by the police, which is clear from their frightened exchange of words. ]

Do you think I could rob them before the police comes?

[priforprince]

Those who seek to disturb the innocent must submit themselves to our authority!

[ And here's Hibiki, mostly just making noise so it'll notice Wendy.

That or she sincerely thinks she has the clout to yell at the ayakashi. ]

[hellishrabbit]

[Kamui was just about to connect his fist to an incoming dog when his hand suddenly disappears, along with his arm, and then the rest of him.

For once, the smile fades from his face.]

And what do you think you're doing, Permed fox?

[creeping_spirit]

[The borderline slices neatly through the creature's wrist in a shower of purple goo, and it jolts in silent pain, lifting a dozen other hands so that the eyes in its palms can blink at the three.

And then, slowly, it begins to pull back more and more of its arms, turning each towards them, in a forest of blinking yellow-red.

The spidery body shifts, and opens a wide red slash of a mouth, with a long purplish tongue licking out to taste the air and wet its lips.]


Y̹̗͎̩̭̟͎o̻͆ų̘̲̖̠͉̾̇ ̨̭͈̠̭͗s̗̝ͨ͆̔̇̕m̲̥̯̹e͕̭̬̖̫̤ͣͣ͊̑ͅl̶̼͍̤̻̔̆ͦ̊̋l͈̞͉̂͊ ̫̱͎̟͟n̖͖̈́̀̇̎͋ĩ͇̝̘͍̰̗͍̀c͂̒͂̿̍̚̕eͣ̍ͣ̄ͧ͒҉̩̜͕͖̣ͅ


[--it whispers, and giggles in a voice like a child's shouting into a well.

Its hands whip forward, a dozen or more aiming for each of the three, trying to grab them and drag them forward towards that mouth.]

[reformedsinner]

Excuse me!

[Hakkai nods to Urashima and starts striding towards the boys, raising his voice in the classic snap of an annoyed teacher. One of them starts guiltily, dropping a trash bag he'd been about to hurl into the street, and another pulls himself up to full height, trying to look intimidating.

Get lost! shouts the would-be intimidating one, and Hakkai turns his most thunderous frown on them.]

Shouldn't you be in school? Look at this mess!

[onedrinkwithme]

Nay, neither is with me. But I do have a card just in case I need to contact Goten.

[Shinki names are just as good as phones. Think of it like a baby leash....at least Yoon is good with just a phone.]

I do trust him with his comrades but even so, I worry despite it all. Even if well prepared.

[pachintoki]

[Gintoki gives a yawn as the umbrella forms in his hand. He'll give a short chuckle, then open it to give himself a little shade, resting it on his shoulder and turning it slowly.]

Shut it already. Only good kids get to go outside and play with their friends. Kids who don't obey are grounded and have to stay inside and do their homework.

[He'll study the scene a bit more, trying to determine what kind of fight they are looking at right now.

The dogs seem to be in confusion now that their target is suddenly gone, snarling and growling at each other now. Gintoki wouldn't want them to go find another target, but wasting time fighting small fries isn't going to fix this. If his former time as a 'god' didn't teach him much, he at least learned that lesson.]

I'm not a fox.

Team Bad Life Choices - Zelda, Samus, Archer, and a special guest...

[sageprincess]

^{[ooc; hey mods, caster will be jumping in here later when it is appropriately dramatic to do so, but don't worry about waiting for him in the first few rounds or so.]}

[... Ah.]

I imagine that, then, is the true source of our problem.

[She should be scared, Zelda thinks as she watches the giant rises up, up, up above the tree canopy, so large she would hardly even be able to see it from her place on the forest floor if it weren't for its sparkling eyes and too-white grin, rivaling the moon's own light overhead. She should be scared, because she is no Hero. Courage is not her virtue, and no matter how she might have wished it once, that fact will not change.

But... nope, still nothing. And if staring down a literal giant ayakashi isn't enough to draw something meaningful out of her, who knows what is? Perhaps this is simply who she is now.

Oh well. Something to think about later, if she survives this.]

Toriki, see if you can get any information on it. Kaki, watch my back. I am going to try to get a better vantage point.

[Which means she is going to hop, skip, and jump her way up into the trees. Hopefully shadow dogs can't climb...?]