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

A

[blahblahblah]

Rita doesn't do fixing very well; as she's walked through the festival she's realized she's a bit short on assistance skills to give all these people a hand, and it's made her just a little bit sulky. She also doesn't much look like she was excited to be here; she's just here in her usual garb, casual clothing with her red cloak thrown over the top.

When she hears someone call to her, she's surprised for a moment, before she turns and nods. "Yeah, that's fine. What do you need?" As she realizes he's helping kids, her expression softens almost unconsciously, and she gives him a little more attention.

[chibisu]

Such flashy clothing isn't likely to show up on the Far Shore. Well, unless she was cosplaying... but that's not likely to happen during a festival. It helps to mark her as being different from mortals, and Ebisu beams cheerfully upon getting her attention. It's a good feeling to be right, when this new generation is ever shifting.

"Oh, I was merely hoping that you would not be particularly busy, so that I could request you get some dark chocolate from one of the stalls. That is, if any are currently selling them. You would be compensated for the trouble, of course."

[blahblahblah]

At the request to run errands, part of her walls slam back up... but she's trying here. If he's compensating her, that helps too - spending money? Something else? It's something she didn't have before, in any event, and she's not going to complain about that.

"I can do that," Rita says slowly. "I think I saw a stand a little ways back. Just a little, or a bunch?"

[chibisu]

"Oh. Hm." Ebisu apparently didn't think that much, and he considers the children he's with again. "If there was too much, then it would simply make them sick in a different way... So, perhaps only a single bag?" As he says it, he gives a small nod. Yes, that's sounds sufficient enough. "If we need anymore, then we can simply acquire some more." It shouldn't be too hard, if she's already seen a stall.

Now that they have a proper agreement, Ebisu reaches into his small kimono and digs around until he's bringing out what looks like a well made coin-purse of sorts, with the name 'Ebi' stitched into it delicately. He digs through the various bits of currency- a lot of it now outdated and worthless on a trading scale- before he pulls out some bills to hold out to her. It's roughly five thousand yen. "Here! Please feel free to keep the chance for yourself."

[blahblahblah]

"For them, huh? Okay, I can handle that. One bag should tide everyone over," Rita agrees after a moment. Mentally she tries to call up where the stand had been while he fishes around for money; not too far, maybe a few minutes' walk? Not close, and certainly not with a posse of children to escort, but not far for her.

When the money is passed over, her eyes widen for a moment; she hasn't worked out an exchange rate for gald to yen yet, but she's getting there, and this seems like a lot, even knowing prices will be higher here. "This seems like way too much... The kids are waiting so I'm not gonna argue it now, but we're not done." She shakes her head, before making herself smile in case the kids are watching her. "Don't go too far, or I won't find you when I get back. Anything else while I'm going anyway?"

[chibisu]

"Is it?" Ebisu has a good grasp on money and the rates on that, technically... It's simply that it's long lost any personal meaning to him. Of course he wants to propel Japan's economy to grand heights! That's a given. It's just that he's never had any issue with needing it. Isn't it better if he gives it to another god or shinki, ensuring that it continues circulating?

Still, she's right. They can continue to talk when she gets back, so he nods. "Alright, I will be sure to stay right here!" Barring extenuating circumstances, but he doesn't think that is likely to happen. Some of the children who've started paying attention to who their new friend is talking to look up, and a couple tentatively wave.

[blahblahblah]

Don't let Rita hear that, she'll flip her lid. Probably.

"I'll be back soon!" Rita calls, waving back to the kids that have recognized something's going on with a smile as she walks away, back the way she came from. The trip isn't long, but it sure feels like it as she dodges a piece of a float that almost falls on her and runs away from a fight that very nearly pulls her in. But she makes it back to the stand, picking up a reasonably-sized bag and securing it to the side of her cloak so it doesn't melt. Now she just needs to make it back..,

...which would be fine, if a float hadn't collapsed and broken close to where she'd left Ebisu, leaving a pile of debris between her and him. It takes her quite a few hops, but she eventually ends up perched on top of it, looking down to see if he'd moved far from there. Hopefully not; this chocolate isn't going to stay pristine forever on a night like this.

[chibisu]

It's fine, he deserves lids on occasions.

However, he doesn't deserve to be crushed by a float, that's for certain. If there's any good news, it's that he is safeguarded by what he would say is one of the best shinki in the Far Shore.... and his own abnormal luck which seems to do well enough in keeping him safe from accidents such as this.

This is good for the children around him, too, as it turns out. Once Rita returns- successfully, this time- she'll see the kids not too far off, all of them peering around Ebisu towards the pile of destruction. Some of them look like they're even more nervous and sick now, clinging to the tiny god or their own stomachs, while others look morbidly fascinated by what's just happened. When Ebisu sees Rita perched on top of it, he smiles brightly and waves his hand high.

[blahblahblah]

Oh, good, looks like everyone's present and accounted for. After a brief wave of her own, Rita takes a conscious leap from the top of the ruined float, landing with a thump by Ebisu and the kids. After a second, she stands up and holds out the bag of chocolate, delivered without incident! A rousing success, by all accounts! And proof positive that some new physical properties really are as advertised. "That went better than I thought it would," Rita admits out loud, but after a second shakes her head and doesn't comment further. Instead, after another pause, she adds, "Everything okay on this end?"

[chibisu]

Before Ebisu himself can actually answer, one of the children clinging to him sniffles out an action. "It just fell!" he exclaims, fighting back a hiccup and failing. "I thought it was going to fall right on us and we'd all get squished!"

Patiently, the young god pats his head. "It was rather close," he tells Rita. "However, even if it was scary, everyone was safe in the end. That's the most important thing."

[blahblahblah]

Yipe. Hopefully it wasn't really that close; Rita pales a little, before kneeling down to the child's level. "I bet it was scary," she said, a little concern in her own tone. "But like he said, it turned out all right. Try to relax a little, okay? Let's try and enjoy the rest of the festival." She smiles, trying to project a confidence she doesn't entirely feel. Enough's happened that she can't promise it'll be okay.

Opening the bag, she takes out a bit of the chocolate and examines it briefly, before holding it up toward their charges. "A festival without sweets sounds pretty boring! Anyone want a piece?"

[chibisu]

Even in such startling circumstances, no child ever refuses the gift of sweets. Immediately, a bunch of small hands thrust forward, eager for both the chocolate itself and any kind of distraction. Ebisu helps hand them out patiently, although sometimes he seems to almost drop pieces now and again. It's a good thing that he has much more quick handed kids around him to make sure nothing hits the ground.

"Chocolate makes things better," he says decisively, looking into the bag. "Because then it's at least one good thing that happened, right?"