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

C

[unlucky7]

[Ginia's breaking up a fight when she spots two people rush by; it takes a moment to recognize Mitsui Ryou - oh hell - but Shun is much quicker to recognize. With the fight largely deescalated, Ginia breaks away and joins in the pursuit, nodding at Shun.]

I'll Bind his ass once I get into range.

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun nods slightly to Ginia once he spots her - the issue right now is mainly that the festival area is still crowded, which gives a single person a lot of scope to hide themselves and avoid capture.]

If he gets to somewhere clearer I can try summoning something to stop him as well, but it's going to be difficult in the middle of all this.

[He's pretty much having to dodge people all throughout saying that, which is essentially making his point for him.]

[unlucky7]

[If the ground isn't working, it's time to go upward. Ginia pushes her way through the crowd and leaps toward the nearest stand, focusing on being light. She lands on the edge of the metal frame and runs across without disturbing the fabric canopy, leaping to the next stand as she scouts ahead for Mitsui. Hell he's fast, far more than she expected, especially given the crowd.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun remains closer to the ground for now to give a different vantage point, but he does leap up and let his god powers levitate him slightly, so he can skim over the heads of the crowd a little faster than he was running. It's not all that helpful, though, because even with the obstruction out of the way, there's the clear problem of Mitsui looking so average.]

If we can't catch up soon, we're going to lose him in the mix. He doesn't stand out, and that's an advantage here.

[unlucky7]

[Fuck you and your mediocrity, Mitsui. Nothing wrong with being average, but you had to have an ego and decide you weren't given what you were owned and join a cult. Ginia hisses as she's forced to make a longer jump as the stands split off at an intersection. Eyes on her landing, she loses track of him, and is forced to pick up speed.]

Mitsui Ryou, BIND!

[It's a longshot, but she takes it, signing and hoping he's in range. Looking over the crowd, no one freezes and topples.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun keeps an eye out himself as she calls out for him, but he doesn't see anyone respond to the effects of the spell either. Letting out a hiss, he pushes himself upwards and summons Booster Strix beneath him - a blue robotic bird with large engines that afford it better speed than his other smaller monsters. He uses it to dart ahead over the crowd, but he can't see any particular sign of the guy.

Shun pulls up, looking a little pissed off.] Lost in the mix. I can't see any sign of him.

[unlucky7]

[Ginia scowls, moving down one of the intersections and keeping an eye for anyone still moving fast or trying to hide. No luck. She nods at Shun as he pulls up.]

We know where he lives, though I doubt he's headed back there.

[After a stunt like this, she'd be real surprised if he went back to his home. Laying low is the smart thing to do. At the same time, who would suspect him or the cult but them?]

Damn bold move, I'll give the cult that. That mask raises all sorts of questions.

[revolutionfalcon]

Probably not. He was away the entire time I tried to stake him out last - might've been preparing for this.

[Which means he's probably headquartered himself somewhere here temporarily, much like Saburo and Shinnosuke did with the department store fiasco.]

I haven't seen one of those masks in a long time, but with what little I know about them, definitely a lot of questions. Hopefully just because he gave us the slip doesn't mean he'll get away entirely.

[They aren't the only ones who've been dealing with the cult, after all, and this is a more public confrontation than a lot of those have been.]

[unlucky7]

I'm going to try to get the mask, or as much of it as possible. I need answers.

[Who made the mask is the most relevant question. Following that is whether they were connected to the demon and the greater circumstances around Ebisu's execution.

She looks back toward the direction they'd come from.]

We should rejoin the fight or at least do damage control.

[revolutionfalcon]

I grabbed the one from the last one I fought, so it's possible. There weren't as many magic users here back then, so I only managed to take it to one person to check before I destroyed it.

[He'd heard about the reputation that those masks attach to anyone who uses them in the eyes of the Heavens, and he'd thought it safer to destroy it than risk bringing down retribution on his temple.

At the indication to go back the way they came, Shun nods slightly, turning his mount back in that direction.]

This'll be faster than jumping if you want a ride back.

[unlucky7]

[Ginia doesn't waste any time jumping onto the back of Booster Strix. If the situation wasn't so tense, she'd be a bit more giddy at the ride, but right now she's focused. Get the mask, get in touch with her temple, figure out what to do next.]

If I find anything out, I'll let you know.

[revolutionfalcon]

[As soon as Ginia is in a solid position on the back of Booster Strix, they set off at a brisk pace back towards the thick of the fighting. The feeling of the speed is unmistakeable, but at the same time, it somehow feels like there's less resistance than there'd usually be going at this speed.]

Likewise. Even if we can't catch the bastard, we might be able to get a lead out of this.

[unlucky7]

[She could get used to flying. Maybe once things are calmer, she can talk to Shun about going on a joyride. Which also means having that long-delayed discussion about fun things and the value of the superfluous and not being a dick. Ugh.]

The return of the mask raises serious questions. With more knowledge about it, I'm hoping we can track down whoever made it or is controlling the ayakashi.

[revolutionfalcon]

I haven't seen one in months, so it's definitely something to take note of. The last time I remember it actually being tied to an attack wasn't long after I arrived, so that's a lot of time unaccounted for.

[And that hadn't even been in the same manner as this - the mask had been presented as more of a sacrifice than anything, it had seemed.

They're getting quite close to the area of chaos around the ayakashi now, so Shun veers slightly to one side so they don't have to land in the thick of it.]

We'd better worry about that after we deal with this, though.

[unlucky7]

[Connected incidents or someone trying to throw them off? With the mask and Mitsui fleeing, it throws things back into the cult's court, but what about the demon? What about the sorcerer Ebisu took the fall for?

Questions for later.]

I know Chris is around somewhere. I'm going to try to keep borderlines up and keep the ayakashi distracted until I can find her.

[Ginia flashes a quick grin.]

But if you want to rend it, be my guest. As long as I get the mask.

[revolutionfalcon]

[They stop near an overhanging, low rooftop, Shun looking like he's debating to himself whether to stay mounted or go through the crowd on foot.]

Chinatsu is around here too as far as I know, so I'll see if I can find her. But I've had one of those masks before, so you're free to take that one even if I do end up rending the thing.

[Which he doubts somewhat, since he doesn't want to risk Kotori with such a powerful ayakashi and there's plenty of people here who probably already have access to their shinki, but it's Shun. Even if it's unlikely, he's not just going to dismiss the attempt entirely.]

[unlucky7]

[If anyone really wants bragging rights, they're welcome to it. In Ginia's opinion, every bit of damage and damage control matters in a situation like this.]

Stay safe. If I get the mask and learn anything, I'll keep you updated.

[Ginia gives a light salute before dropping off the rooftop and into the crowd. She wades her way through as it moves against her, stopping to break up any fights and send people on their way.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun inclines his head slightly in response, and once Ginia drops off his mount, he starts to sweep around to another section of the crowd to do some damage control while he searches for Chinatsu. The longer the chaos goes on, the harder it's going to be for people to organise and get rid of this thing.]