36 - Dragon Dance

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Help the Heavens cover for a missing goddess at her temple festival.
When: March 18
Where: Near the Sensou-ji temple in Asakusa
Summary: After Kannon's disappearance last year, the Heavens are concerned that things might go wrong at her temple's March 18 omikoshi festival. They've asked new gods and shinki to attend the festival and keep an eye out for trouble. Meanwhile, trusted newcomers and older gods and shinki alike are watching over the cultists that have been identified.






The Festival

Shrine-carriers, musicians and dancers congregate early in the morning in their matching outfits to get organized into their parade. Luckily, all of the parade participants this time are alive and well. There aren't even any troublesome ayakashi hanging around... so why is everyone having such bad luck?! Laces are breaking, costumes tearing, small children are getting sick from nerves, and even the drums seem to have gone out of tune. It looks like this parade is going to need a whole lot of help to prevent disaster.

For those who aren't busy with the parade preparations, food and souvenir booths throng the area in front of the temple. There's traveling games, too, and plenty of people showing up early with their families to find a good spot to watch the parade. This is one of Tokyo's most popular temples, so it's quite a crowd!

The Stakeouts

Any gods or shinki who were told about the cult problem by Amaterasu -- or anyone who might have heard from friends and allies about the plans -- can help Amaterasu's shinki keep a tight watch on all of the known cult members. Her shinki are looking for any sign of the young gods who she believes are behind all of this trouble, but are there other clues that might be found by a keen observer? Join in on staking out a cult member, and see what you can see.

Current cult members that the shinki are watching include:

• Mitsui Ryou - lives alone in a medium-sized apartment, appears to work a 9 - 5 schedule with occasional late nights.
• Imai Takeru - lives in a small two-story house by himself, has an unpredictable schedule.
• Shimoda Tsuki - lives alone in a small apartment with a lot of plants, works retail with varying shifts.
• Oota Saburo- lives in a medium-sized apartment with his wife and two young children, works a 9 - 5 schedule with frequent work trips.
• Maeda Shinnosuke - lives alone in a small, messy apartment, works construction (early mornings, long days.)
If your character is taking part in the surveillance of any of these people, please feel free to comment to the Cult Clues thread below with the name of the character they're watching, and the times that they're watching that character, in order to learn what they might see. (Note: surveillance doesn't have to take place only on the 18th. Characters can take part in watching the cult members at any time after Amaterasu's announcement on March 8.)

The Parade

At noon, the parade begins. Misfortune is still dogging the participants and the crowds around them, but it looks as though everything will go all right up until the final turn as the heavy, gilded shrine turns back towards the main temple building, tips, and slowly falls over sideways, straight for the crowd.

What's worse, when the shrine hits the ground, it cracks open -- and a huge, jellyfish-like ayakashi wearing a giant white mask with a single black eye inscribed on it heaves its way out and begins lashing its tentacles in every direction. People stung by the tentacles are driven into a furious frenzy, and fights are breaking out everywhere. Stop the humans from fighting, take care of the injured, and destroy the ayakashi before the situation gets any worse.

The Pursuit

In the middle of the fighting crowd, two white-robed shinki are chasing after a very average-looking salaryman in a tan coat. He doesn't seem to know that the shinki are chasing him, but he is moving fast, and they're in danger of losing track of him. They're calling out to any Far Shore denizen close enough to hear, shinki or god:

"Don't let that guy get away! He knows what happened!"

Anyone who has met or spent time staking out Mitsui Ryou will recognize him as the escaping salaryman. If your character takes part in the pursuit, please comment to the Cult Clues thread with a link to your thread - the character who successfully catches Mitsui will be determined by RNG on January 6, 2019.

In Summary:

• Attend the Sensou-ji festival
• Enjoy food and games
• Help Amaterasu's shinki stake out the cult
• Fight a masked ayakashi
• Have fun~

Comments

[reloves]

..

You know, I'm actually not sure if that's the weirdest or the smartest thing ever!

[ Yes, she's just being very direct and honest about it. That's what happens when your middle name is practically "shameless".. As weird as that technique sounds, you've got to admire the ability to drag people that far into being friends. ]

[reloves]

Are you sure?

[ The upside here - for Sakon, anyway - is that Minako isn't putting down her foot about helping out as much as she regularly would have been. Maybe even she realises she's not exactly in the best position to fight, despite still wanting to. ]

What if they can't handle it and just needed a few more people to make it work out..?

[godsoffortune]

No, it was the Arakawa river. (The Agano river is on the other side of Honshu -- Agano train station is along an interstate on the outskirts of the Tokyo metro area.)

However, the river that's closest to Agano station is a tributary of the Arakawa.

[swordofzero]

He's over there. [Edge seems to be alright so he sprints off again, trying to follow the trail through the crowd. It is thick though and the man clearly had his escape planned, he loses sight of him.

He jumps up onto a wall, scanning the crowd for any sign of him.]

[swordofzero]

It might take more than that. There are a few people fighting it already, it seems to be tougher than the average ayakashi.

[It's almost a coaxing, this ayakashi is not going to be easy to fight, not even with shinki. Hopefully it will encourage Saber to want to fight it, the more people who battle it the quicker they can make this area safe again.]

[ofnovalue]

And you refused to use it, exposing your very own hands to the blight?! [ Okay, now she was in full scolding mode. ]

[cleansingstrike]

Very well.

[Then she remembers something she'd been meaning to do.]

Ah, I would also offer to you my thanks once more. For what you showed me upon my arrival to these lands.

[cleansingstrike]

[Agrias examines the garment carefully. She considers the material it's made out of, plus the amount of sewing that would be needed.]

Finally, she nods.]

I should be able to fix this for you.

[cleansingstrike]

[Agrias was unimpressed as well with the creature that stood before her. She was not underestimating the ayakashi of course not.

She was merely confident in her own skill.

And the bond between herself and Enki.

A swift dodge the side, with little wasted movement.]

Your reach may be great, but it leaves you exposed!

[She swung Enki down on one of the tentacles.]

[cleansingstrike]

[Though it's her first time wielding such a weapon, Agrias' years of combat are enough to see them through. Wielding a double-edged blade can be dangerous to oneself in the hands of the reckless and inexperienced, though for here, it's akin to second nature.

It's that sense of familiarity that makes it such an effective combination, with Agrias slashing upon the ayakashi's tentacles.]

[mithrarin]

[And Dust is not entirely powerless in this form. "Line!" reverberates in her mind as Dust launches a cutting Borderline into the creature, severing some of its tentacles.]

[beyondtheblade]

[Tsubasa doesn't say anything at first. She sees the tentacle coming in, and mercifully the borderline slows it down for a moment. She snaps out her sword and transforms it into its cleaving form. As it barrels towards them she swings, gouging it and making it back off.]

I know, my hope is that if enough people attempt to rend it, it'll wear it down...

[She eyes the main body.]

So, we take our shot, and then back off. I've been fighting so much, I only have so much energy... we can focus on rescue afterwards.

[beyondtheblade]

[She moves to scoop up the next people knocked out, nodding to him.]

Of course, but do watch yourself. [She glances back to where the sword is embedded. The tentacle tugs and... it looks like one or two more will wedge it loose.] That won't hold for long!

[Annnnnnnnnd she's off again.]

[beyondtheblade]

[As Elfnein sets up her signs, Tsubasa runs along the nearby area. As tentacles lance out towards the crowds, she swings and tosses blades left and right, catching and at least wounding them slightly. It's enough to get the tentacles to focus on her, which she dodges instead of trying to outright defeat.

Of course, she hopes the people pay mind to the signs, given their nature as gods.]

\o/ it happens

[beyondtheblade]

Darkness! Places to hide!

[Too many people though. No matter how fast she is in this armor, or what they have at their disposal, these people - who don't really want to pay much mind to them in the first place, and are thus harder to just get out of the way - are making it difficult to even get there in the first place.

Finally she lets out a curse and jumps straight up, willing the blades on her leg armor to snap out, the propulsion jetting out from them keeping her aloft for a moment.]

Dammit! Which way did he go...?!

[cleansingstrike]

Ovelia!

[Theirs was a bond that truly went beyond shinki and goddess. They had placed their trust in each other, in both mind and body. She reached out as her queen feel, arms at the ready. Between the queen's light frame and Agrias' own strength, she was able to easily catch her.

One arm was around Ovelia's back while the other was lifting her up by the knees.]

Are you unharmed?

[Agrias asked, closing her eyes, her forehead resting upon the shinki's.]

[ofnovalue]

[ Ovelia's landing was relatively soft, all things considered, barely an 'oof' from her as she found herself in Agrias' embrace, hands moving to frame her goddess' face, holding her there for a moment as she caught her breath. ]

Aye, I am well. Hibiki assured my safety. [ She pulled away to nod, her smile grateful and bright, first for Agrias' eyes, then turning back to Hibiki in the sky and giving here a wave. ]

[beyondtheblade]

[Wait, what're you--]

Yu- YUKINE!

[Tsubasa doesn't really have the strength to fight back, but she flails mildly as Chris scoops her up and takes off with her. It's ... quite embarrassing, actually, her face flushing red.]

Yukine, I am fine to walk on my own...!

[She wasn't.]

[beyondtheblade]

[Tsubasa had preoccupied herself talking she hadn't really even thought about the task at hand. She lets go, as requested, and takes a half step back.]

Normally, when I have to wait for the enemy to come to me, it is only that much worse. Still, I also realize that at times there is no choice to that...

[Which is how most of her adventures have ended with nearly averting the apocalypse.]

But I wish I could be doing something more. Still... [She nods a bit, looking at their work.] At least this isn't completely without merit.

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Ugh! [Suzaku, you naive little -- Exhaling rough frustration, he begins half-shouldering, half-eeling his way through the crowd to no avail. Damn it, they'd lost him!]

[cloak]

[Although he knows little of himself, Roxas is of the impression that he is durable, and nothing has contradicted this yet. For this reason, he doesn't fear the size of their enemy, and suspects that it's nothing especially new to him. It also means he has no hesitation.

As the Ayakashi howls in pain and whips around to face Ain, Roxas strikes again. This time, he uses it as a conduit for a Thunder spell, eletricity bounding along the blade and hitting its target with a thunderous boom.

He may be no more aware of how he does it, but he knows he can, and it drags the Ayakashi's attention toward him once more.

Ever the better, since Ain's viable attacks are more varied than his own]

[beyondtheblade]

...ah?

[Honestly it's probably good that Minako stopped her. She thought maybe if she acted fast enough, the fish wouldn't see her coming!

Actually yeah that probably wasn't a good idea.]

Careful, you say? Hm...

[She relaxes a bit and takes a breath.] I can do careful, my apologies.

[So she takes a different approach. If she can't just snap it into the water, she... just tries to dip it. And... still misses.]

...Hrm.

[holygrailed]

Oh yes, I get along with my god. It's true the choice was not mine, but we get along. I am happy where I am. I hope you are getting along with your shinki?

[The choice is none of theirs on arrival, but Irisviel hopes things are working for everyone. Perhaps it's luck, but she's yet to find anyone unhappy with their god or shinki.]

[ofnovalue]

[ The strength of Sancus and Enki together, goddess and shinki working as one, did more than simply slice away the tentacle, but the thing turned to ash as a result, a complete rending of the beast's arm, causing the monster to screech. ]

Careful! They will not make the same mistake twice, milady!

[beyondtheblade]

Hmm. [Shs supposes that in a way, Rita did not have a “choice” even if Tsubasa made certain she was okay with it. Yes, I’d say we are. Even if I admit, I have been somewhat uncertain of how to help her find a direction beyond just me...

Which I would like to. I do ... not like the thought of considering someone as just a tool. [She looks to irisviel.] After all, we are inherently two parts of a whole here, are we not? I would rather consider us partners. It’s the only way I feel like I can do this and remain true to myself.

[Given how much she’s tried to break away from just being her family’s “sword,” it’s not surprising she feels so strongly being on the other side of that equation.]