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

[hellskitchen]

[ Rin turns to the voice calling out to him, he recognizes Lann from the banquet immediately. Without questioning it, he switches directions and runs towards the alleyway. He doesn't know what Lann has in mind, but there's not much time to think with two vicious dogs trailing him, and starting to catch up!]

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Given his angle, he couldn't really get a close look at the injury, and he wasn't really caring to give it any attention until Fushimi said that. He'd been watching Yata skate off into the trees instead, without backup, like a dumbass.

Well, whatever. Shinki are dead already anyway. What's a little more? ]

Yeah, I can do that. If I go too high it'd be useless with the tree cover. Unless you wanna burn the place down.

[ He's fine with that, honestly. ]

[monkeyblue]

Hm?

[It's a bit hard to see without his glasses, but Fushimi guesses Misaki caught up and flew at the leader's face. Typical.]

I had it under control, Misaki. Geez.

[toremainbehind]

[He watches Fushimi follow after Yata and he shakes his head before he shifts his attention to Judar.]

I’d rather avoid that for now, but I will eventually.

[Maybe. If this keeps up.]

But let’s go. Those two do have a knack for getting into trouble, too.

[Even Fushimi. Those two have always been troublemakers.]

[thevanguard]

Shut up, you.

[ The words are snarled because... ]

...you just got punched, your glasses are broken and maybe your nose and that is definitely blood and there is no fucking way any of this is handled!

[ Okay so maybe that internal tirade ended up an external tirade as he slams his fist into the face of another punk. ]

[monkeyblue]

It is, because they're dumbasses who'll bunch anyone scrawnier than them.

[Fushimi pulls out his daggers and throws them at two of the punks, getting one in the ankle and bringing him down.]

Despite the fact I'm armed to the teeth.

[hellskitchen]

Huh?

[Rin turns his attention from the brats to Kanade. Got it handled?]

You got this? Didn't seem like they were listening to you?

[ And right on cue, while Rin is distracted, one of the punks runs up and kicks his shin! Motherfuc---! Rin hisses out in pain, but he recovers enough to grab the troublemaker by the collar.]

Why you--?!

[thevanguard]

[ He doesn't know what you're talking about. He never causes trouble, Izumo.

Although he's charged towards the trees on his skateboard ahead of everyone else, whistling and making a general racket and....

Well. He knows how to play bait well. Even if he's used to it being ayakashi and not dogs, because when he hadn't been Named for so long, there wasn't a lot else he could do to help out the other gods, so there might have been a lot of this that happened. Not that he'd confessed that to anyone.

But Project Bait All the Dogs? Potentially more successful than he'd anticipated...

There is a literal pack racing after his skateboard, which he glances back to see and curses, putting on another boost of speed as he kites them around. ]

Hey, Izumo! What am I supposed to do with them once I have their attention?

[ At least he can safely keep his distance on his board. Mostly. ]

[monkeyblue]

Dumbass!

[Fushimi, still chasing after his idiot boyfriend and the dogs, starts to throw flaming daggers into the pack. The actual dogs sheer off and run away, afraid of the fire, but the ayakashi seem not to care about it and keep going after Misaki.]

[kuroi_taiyo]

I don't think we've gotta go anywhere.

[ You can see it as well, right Izumo? If not the idiot skating towards them, then the flaming daggers that are getting the dogs and ayakashi to separate in this stupid chase.

Well. He'll just draw a borderline for Fushimi and Yata to go through a few feet in front of Izumo while floating over his shoulder. ]

So that's a bunch of shit to rend.

[toremainbehind]

....

[He sighs and he almost holds his head in an exasperated manner.

Almost.

Izumo makes his way over to where Yata and Fushimi are.]

Then we'll just have to rend them.

[toremainbehind]

[Yes, he's coming.

After gathering the boy up in his arms, at least. Just lead the way, Chikusa.]

[toremainbehind]

'Small'.

[Hakkai, should he be worried. You're usually someone he doesn't bother to worry about. Don't let this change.

He frowns, placing the tablet down.]

It is. I didn't expect the situation to get too out of hand that Lady Orihime would need to request help with all of this.

[toremainbehind]

Pot calling the kettle black, is it.

[Izumo isn't going to dive more into whatever antagonistic relationship Shun has with Hakkai.

Given the situation, however, he does allow his Aura to grow a bit bigger. Not enough to make the heat uncomfortable, but enough to keep them all warm at least until they make it to the building.]

[toremainbehind]

[Izumo is too worried about the kids than about Mikoto sort of - not really - avoiding his men.

But when the redhead comes over, he carefully handles a young girl over to him.]

Keep her warm. [A simple enough order.] Bring her to a hospital then come back.

[Since there are still more kids in bad shape and Izumo can only do so much to make sure at least half of them doesn't have to be transported to a hospital.]

[reformedsinner]

A small misjudgment in a dangerous situation is all one needs, unfortunately.

[When the misjudgment is "not doing enough research on a god he was planning to assassinate," it's probably a stretch to describe it as "small," too, but he prefers to keep looking like he has some idea what he's doing.

It's much less embarrassing that way.]

But it looks as though there's much more work to be done here than she can manage. I'd been wondering why I was getting so many prayers.

[sixthree]

[Once Samus reforms out of her vessel form, she tucks and spins, glowing as she does so, and lands carefully in the tree-tops, now clad in armor and armed with a cannon that she turns on the nearest of the shadow-dog swarm. It's not going to be permanent damage, but it's hopefully enough to distract them from Zelda and Archer.]

[battered]

[For Raichi, working in a group like this honestly feels a lot more natural. All his past gods had other shinki besides him, but even before that, it just felt... safer? More strategically sound? Either way, he has no qualms about going out on a mission with others, whether or not the group has managed to gel properly just yet or not.

Actually killing the regular dogs seems like a little... much, though.]

Take the leader out, the rest crumble, right?

[Or, uh, hopefully snap back to their senses, but the sentiment is the same.]

Kahaha! We just need to find it, and we can smash it away!

Wild Hounds

[hellskitchen]

[ This whole day has been like cat and mouse. Rin's been chasing dogs all day. Sometimes, the dogs were running after him too. He's taking a break, when he sees Urashima. Rin notices that the other is having a hard time with a dog. The dog still has a leash on, but it appears to be stuck on the park bench. This guy must be trying to get him free, or something along those lines.

So Rin decides to help him out, since the canine is being difficult. Luckily, he still has a few bones left over from shenanigans earlier in the day. Rin approaches the pair, waving the bone in the air, and trying to get the dog's attention.]

Hey, boy! See what I got! Do you see it?

[He tries to keep his voice as enthusiastic as possible. It's enough to get the dog looking away from Urashima towards Rin. He brings the bone forward so the dog can see it more clearly. He tries to discreetly signal for Urashima to try for the leash again.]

Do you want it, boy! Do you want this bone? Yeah, you do! You want the bone! Only good doggies get bones, right? So you've got to be a good dog!

A

[hellskitchen]

[ Rin isn't paying much attention either, he's a little too excited with being a part of Orihime's efforts. As he draws closer to Goten, of course, the inevitable happens. Goten's feet connects with the shinki's face, and he goes down. It hurts ...a lot! But Rin sits back up it doesn't seem as if he's seriously injured.]

Woah! Watch where you're swing 'em legs!

[ He rubs at his cheek,which is red from impact, but it doesn't seem to be swelling.]

[hellishrabbit]

[Kamui smiles up at Hitsugaya as he appears above him. He wasn't displeased that he got away. The opposite, actually.]

You were headed the wrong way, so thought I'd help you out.

[He flips over the giant toy this time, spinning around before kicking it towards the god.]

Here ya go!

[hellishrabbit]

Guess not. It's about being stronger, no?

[Again, it just made sense.]

Does it matter?

Re: child's play

[doodlebuginette]

[Marinette is not even going to question how the other girl got into the house, but now that she's there, the baby has decided to focus her attention on Hibiki. Her little arms are flailing and she seems to be doing her best to get the silver-haired girl's attention.]

I think someone is waiting for an explanation.

[She's teasing of course, but the baby does seem to be calmer now at any rate.]

[doodlebuginette]

I could be an Auntie!

[Y'know... if she had any siblings. Ah, technicalities.]

Did you just climb in through the window?

[The baby had decided that the sudden appearance of someone new was enough reason to calm down for the time being, and she's currently staring at the aforementioned new person with large, round eyes.]

she has her moments, hah

[doodlebuginette]

[It wasn't until after she'd finished handing out all the bags that she finally spotted him. Marinette's eyes narrowed slightly and after a moment she just shook her head as she approached the guy.]

Sharing is caring, you know.

[She didn't want to point out that he shouldn't really be hoarding the food, but at the same time she'd only made a certain amount. So the more he ate, the less there would be for other people. Ah, wonderful.]

How many have you had?