Tokyo Devils [Urban Shadows IC]

[Deadly]

We never got any closer to defining Akane's territory, so let me take a moment to talk just a little about it without being too specific. Akane likes fashion and nightlife, so it's only natural that she would settle here in Shibuya. Her territory is broad, stretching to include both Shibuya station itself and Yoyogi park, among other places. The latter is her hunting ground.

Lately, while patrolling, she's noticed crime in her territory has been surfacing (Comes with the Territory: 1+5+2 = 8). Which is not a surprise when you've got both schoolgirl gangs and mafia foxes running around in the same spot on any given day. And who knows what else is restless these days.

And then there's Akira, once more getting herself into trouble. Did I mention that Akane doesn't normally help the helpless? I'm sure I mentioned it, and this is why she's not rushing to help Akira just because some foxes are rounding on her: gotta give the girl a chance to show she can get herself out of trouble. If it turns out she can't, maybe Akane will help her this time, but she has to show she doesn't need Akane all the time.

So Akane keeps an eye on the situation, but for now she's more interested in Cho and the girls. What is it about these walking uniforms that has them so riled up, anyway. What does Cho worry might happen?

Figure Cho Out: 6+3+0 = 9

[Anarion]

[SIZE=1]
Put a face to a name, lead fox. Night: [roll0]

You're staring at the leader of the three but you can't quite place him. This is a problem because while you're looking that way, you didn't catch the two foxes getting out of the car on the other side. They've slipped through the crowd ahead of you and now they're cutting off the exit to the train station.

Let's look around here. The train's out, they run on precise timetables and the doors are already shut, so you'd have to jump on the outside and try not to slam into the tunnel wall if you wanted that route (this would be difficult). There are two foxes blocking your route out of the station, and three closing on you through the crowd. It's a big station though, you've got some options open to you: shops, food stands, bathrooms, and the whole crowd to work with. You're gonna need to act fast though, whatever you do next, if it doesn't work, you're gonna have foxes on top of you.

Here, have a map, maybe that will help.

Spoiler: Station map

Show

Okay, first of all, I don't know where you get the idea that I'm the sort of person, mysticially inclined or otherwise, who likes lace, because that's not the sort of thing that you can tell just by looking at someone, and I'm a little offended that you would even make that assumption about me, is it because I'm from Europe, is this a filthy westerner stereotype that you are unfairly and very inaccurately dropping onto my head? I bet that you're really actually just trying to distract us all from the fact that you are obviously really the sort of person who likes lace yourself, which is the only reason you know about this cafe and you should feel ashamed of yourself, accusing other people of having special lace drawers in their wardrobes when really you're the only person here who looks at the super-pretty maid dresses and says to yourself, yes, I am going to acquire one of these and wear them for cosplay at my earliest convenience, I don't care how the little headdress will make my hair look, I'm still going to do it anyway and be the prettiest wizard maid ever. For shame, sir. For shame.

You caught me red-handed, June. I didn't accuse you of any lace drawer though, you volunteered that.

[Face to Name, marking Night: [roll0]]

June, forgive me, but who is it that you're face to naming here? Is it the foxes too? They're night, but I didn't think you meant them. If you mean Akira, she's wild not night, and Cho is mortality so...I'm not quite sure who you mean. Please do let me know.

We never got any closer to defining Akane's territory, so let me take a moment to talk just a little about it without being too specific. Akane likes fashion and nightlife, so it's only natural that she would settle here in Shibuya. Her territory is broad, stretching to include both Shibuya station itself and Yoyogi park, among other places. The latter is her hunting ground.

Lately, while patrolling, she's noticed crime in her territory has been surfacing (Comes with the Territory: 1+5+2 = 8). Which is not a surprise when you've got both schoolgirl gangs and mafia foxes running around in the same spot on any given day. And who knows what else is restless these days.

And then there's Akira, once more getting herself into trouble. Did I mention that Akane doesn't normally help the helpless? I'm sure I mentioned it, and this is why she's not rushing to help Akira just because some foxes are rounding on her: gotta give the girl a chance to show she can get herself out of trouble. If it turns out she can't, maybe Akane will help her this time, but she has to show she doesn't need Akane all the time.

So Akane keeps an eye on the situation, but for now she's more interested in Cho and the girls. What is it about these walking uniforms that has them so riled up, anyway. What does Cho worry might happen?

Figure Cho Out: 6+3+0 = 9

Cho's worried that the Tsukumogami are forerunners for something bigger that might hurt her or her friends, especially kidnap people, though she wouldn't know why, just a sense. What you've got to understand about Cho is that she's got the second sight but unlike June and other wizards you've met, she's either untrained or simply not gifted: she's got no special power beyond being a normal teenage girl that sees crazy stuff. Imagine that perspective for a minute. You're young, kinda mousy but with a little fire in your spirit, and you gain the ability to see all this crazy stuff around the city, but you can't do anything about it. This is Japan, so they don't even sell guns on the normal market and her parents would freak if they learned she had bought a knife. Her best option is to take some self-defense classes and, I mean really, the best Judo throw in the world isn't going to help against an army of animated spirits, vengeful ghosts, or cunning demons.

[Raz_Fox]

You caught me red-handed, June. I didn't accuse you of any lace drawer though, you volunteered that.

It's called SUBTEXT. Contextual conversational insinuations. Obviously.

June, forgive me, but who is it that you're face to naming here? Is it the foxes too? They're night, but I didn't think you meant them. If you mean Akira, she's wild not night, and Cho is mortality so...I'm not quite sure who you mean. Please do let me know.

Oh, definitely the foxes, I wanted to know who was chasing Akira. I know Akira. Oh do I ever know Akira.

[Anarion]

It's called SUBTEXT. Contextual conversational insinuations. Obviously.

I'm just saying, secret maid lace drawer is mighty specific subtext, that's all.

Oh, definitely the foxes, I wanted to know who was chasing Akira. I know Akira. Oh do I ever know Akira.

Oh, well, you don't know those foxes, or those other foxes that just popped up. But would you believe that Akihabara is just crawling with foxes today? You'd probably believe that, on account of the one maid who's on break in your cafe standing by the window. She's dressed up pretty heavily, soldier maid, thick heavy dress with a camo print and a fake sniper rifle that she marches around with while taking orders. You didn't notice her before because with all the clothes, the camo paints, and the helmet, she just looked really dolled up and all the tails were tucked under her voluminous skirts, but right now she's got the helmet off while she's on on break and there are some very pretty little fox ears above that camo paint and suddenly you might wonder how fake that sniper rifle actually is, on account of she's looking out the window with it and drawing a bead on Akira.

And now that you think of it, you do know this fox. Or you know of her. Sogekisha, the fox assassin.

See, isn't this convenient, June? Now you don't even have to go outside to help.

[RCgothic]

You're staring at the leader of the three but you can't quite place him. This is a problem because while you're looking that way, you didn't catch the two foxes getting out of the car on the other side. They've slipped through the crowd ahead of you and now they're cutting off the exit to the train station.

Let's look around here. The train's out, they run on precise timetables and the doors are already shut, so you'd have to jump on the outside and try not to slam into the tunnel wall if you wanted that route (this would be difficult). There are two foxes blocking your route out of the station, and three closing on you through the crowd. It's a big station though, you've got some options open to you: shops, food stands, bathrooms, and the whole crowd to work with. You're gonna need to act fast though, whatever you do next, if it doesn't work, you're gonna have foxes on top of you.

Here, have a map, maybe that will help.

Spoiler: Station map

Show

Well ****.

That map sure is useful though. Useful to the point where Akira already has it memorized; it's her local station.

Those all seem like pretty sucky options. Let's go over then to make sure:

Firstly, she can fly. The foxes can't. But the moment that happens, everyone freaks the hell out, and the demon girl probably ends up on the evening news. No thank you!

The train sounds pretty difficult. You didn't mention it, but from platform 2 it's not just the train doors to contend with, but a chest-high barrier as well. That pretty much rules out into or under, and whilst the barrier would actually help with over, getting down again or over the barrier fencing platform 3 would be problematic. And as for staying up... Let's just say it's more likely people would notice and hit the emergency stop before Akira got very far out of the station. Then there's not just be angry foxes, but angry police officers, and that isn't going to end well with anyone.

How are food stands supposed to help? Akira briefly entertains the idea of feeding the foxes to death, but absent any evidence of fatal gluttony on the part of the foxes, quickly dismisses the idea.

Shops or bathrooms? Single exit. It isn't like the station mid-level backs on to some convenient alleyway. It's major streets all round. Still, as a place to turn and confront her pursuers privately, they have some merit. But that would mean killing them. Akira will kill them if she has to. But it has to be because she was forced to, not because it was more convenient.

That leaves the crowd. A solid mass of bodies separate her from the foxes in front and behind. Sure, it's beginning to thin a bit, but a crowd is a fluid, living thing. If it could be convinced to constrict...

Akira suddenly shrieks! Arm outstretched she points right at the two foxes who'd moved to cut her off! "A gun! He's got a gun!" She turns and starts elbowing her way in the other direction, towards the other set of escalators. With any luck the instigated panic will carry the other the foxes along with it...

Not sure if this is rolling to Escape or Mislead, Distract or Trick. Either Blood +1 or Mind +0. (2d6)[6]

[Raz_Fox]

My first instinct is to shrug my shoulders and declare the kid dead. Sniper rifle in the headspace, boom, no more demon-servant running around. We're working at cross purposes, after all, her boss and my boss, and thus, also, the two of us, like pawns in a game of chess. But also, the thought of a kid getting her head blown off like it's an arcade target? That churns my stomach like those foxes were very enthusiastically trying to make butter in it.

Right. Watch me, because I am going to go do something stupid. It's going to be very stupid, in the sort of way that only a wizard can be stupid. Not the summoning-something-bigger-than-your-head sort of stupid, mind you. Or the turning-into-a-snake sort of stupid. Or the trying-to-teleport-to-heaven sort of stupid, for that matter.

It's the "Excuse me, ma'am? I know you're on break, but I just wanted a moment to ask, lolita-enthusiast to lolita-enthusiast, where you got the uniform- or is it yours? Does it belong to the cafe? Do you know where the cafe got it? I ask because, okay, have you seen Toradora? It's just the most fantastic anime, one of my favorites, and I've been thinking about a cosplay..."

[Rolling to Distract - (2d6+1)[7] I would like to create an opportunity, because I'm just the sweetest nicest wizard ever, and avoid further entanglement.]

[Deadly]

Cho's worried that the Tsukumogami are forerunners for something bigger that might hurt her or her friends, especially kidnap people, though she wouldn't know why, just a sense. What you've got to understand about Cho is that she's got the second sight but unlike June and other wizards you've met, she's either untrained or simply not gifted: she's got no special power beyond being a normal teenage girl that sees crazy stuff. Imagine that perspective for a minute. You're young, kinda mousy but with a little fire in your spirit, and you gain the ability to see all this crazy stuff around the city, but you can't do anything about it. This is Japan, so they don't even sell guns on the normal market and her parents would freak if they learned she had bought a knife. Her best option is to take some self-defense classes and, I mean really, the best Judo throw in the world isn't going to help against an army of animated spirits, vengeful ghosts, or cunning demons.

Half the time, Akane wasn't so different herself, deep down. She didn't often admit it, but it wasn't easy being just a girl ...

Ah what the hell ... lending Akira a little hand wouldn't hurt, especially if it was fun and wild. The girls didn't look like they would mind a little excitement to shake off the dust. Akane turned to the girls and pointed towards Akira, "Think we can cause enough panic and distraction here so my friend down there can give some people the slip?"

Enough to Lend Akira a Hand if we start causing a ruckus? If not, just ignore this roll. Lend a Hand (+wild): 6+2+1 = 9

Also remember that Cho holds a question on me too.

[Anarion]

June, we'll start with you. Sogekisha is very focused and you have to put your hand on her shoulder to get her attention. When you touch her, she fires a shot from the gun out the window. It's silenced, most of the patrons just think somebody dropped a tray, but you see it. You touched her though, and it threw her aim off. She rounds on you as you're babbling something about her dress, but there are patrons all around and other maids coming over too. Touching is a big no-no in a place like this (as much so the costumes aren't mussed as because nobody wants anything untoward to happen), and amid multiple people calling you a pervert and jeering, you suddenly find yourself thrown out of the cafe nearly on your butt and before Sogekisha really got a good look at your face, you lucky dog. Well done, other than getting yourself banned from a maid cafe for your lewd behavior, you've avoided any further complications.

Now, let's zoom out because a lot of things are all happening at once. Akira, you don't hear a shot, but you feel it. The bullet strikes you in the shoulder, throwing you for just a moment [Suffer 1 harm] but you've felt worse in your time. At around the same time, bystanders around you saw you get hit and the blood on your arm and one of them shouts "there's a gun!" as they start panicking. The shouter, it looks like a tough little schoolgirl, starts running, as do a few other bystanders and, is that Akane there at the head of them pushing through the crowd? You're certain it is, and a lucky thing too because the two foxes by the entrance that would be blocking your path instead find themselves crashing into Akane in a tumble of skirts, suits, and tails. Other girls are running around them, shoving the whole lot around in a jumble. Akane, one of the foxes grabs hold of your dress. He's snarling, his teeth bared in an expression you know all too well as a challenge, and you're trapped in close quarters, too close for any of the girls to intervene. How do you handle him?

Akira, you've got an opening, you break from the 3 foxes chasing you, leap one of the exit gates and join with the suddenly panicking crowd. The foxes try to chase, but hordes of girls and commuters ranging from business people to anime geeks get in the way in the short time between your movement and theirs and suddenly you're melted into a mob and they're looking around the station and trying to extract their companions. You know you owe Akane for that one big time, she pretty much cleared out your escape route. [Owe her 1 debt.] And that leaves you in a crowd in Akihabara. It's a pretty thriving area: electronics and game shops, tourist stores of all sorts, restaurants and cafes both normal and themed all available. So where do you go from here?

[Anarion]

Oh, one more little thing. Akane, there's Cho further back from you, but looking worried. She's important and the other girls know it, so they kept her screened from the action and behind several others. She's wondering, and really this is the sweetest thing, but what she's wondering and [spending a hold on] is how she can get you to be her friend. You know, like for real, not just making a show of being nice, but actually caring about each other's well-being.

[Raz_Fox]

Well. That's that. Hopefully the little demon girl can fend for herself, now that I've bought her a breath and a space, and for the price of getting thrown out of one of my favorite- I mean, a cafe I just happened to be at this morning, you know, like anyone might go to.

But I can't push it back any longer. I've been running half over the city trying to collect the ingredients for that scrying ritual that needs to go down tonight, and still no cicada. Still! Still no cicada, despite the fact that as I start walking, the streets are full of their scream-hum. If I had a cicada, I could find more cicadas, easily, but since I don't have a cicada, which is the problem, I can't find cicadas.

Actually, come to think of it, maybe I just need to accept that I can't find those cicadas. That I need the attention of somebody bigger and much more perceptive than me, someone who can burn through shadows to see everyone on a day like this, a day like today, when the air is muggy enough to swim through and there's far too much heat in the air, body temperatures rising inch by inch, degree by degree, everyone sweating with the cicada-song singing in their ear.

I find a bench, away from some of the noise of the station, and clutch my necklace, the sun-disk that hangs heavy about my neck, not as heavy as a real sun would, not that I'd wear a real sun around my neck, that would be suicidal, not to mention far too hot, even for me, and I think I can handle the heat as well as anyone else around here. Not to mention my liquor.

I look with the eyes of my goddess, the sun, and I see.

[Let it out - (2d6+2)[12] I extend my senses, mystical and otherwise.]

[RCgothic]

Now, let's zoom out because a lot of things are all happening at once. Akira, you don't hear a shot, but you feel it. The bullet strikes you in the shoulder, throwing you for just a moment [Suffer 1 harm] but you've felt worse in your time. At around the same time, bystanders around you saw you get hit and the blood on your arm and one of them shouts "there's a gun!" as they start panicking. The shouter, it looks like a tough little schoolgirl, starts running, as do a few other bystanders and, is that Akane there at the head of them pushing through the crowd? You're certain it is, and a lucky thing too because the two foxes by the entrance that would be blocking your path instead find themselves crashing into Akane in a tumble of skirts, suits, and tails. Other girls are running around them, shoving the whole lot around in a jumble.

Akira, you've got an opening, you break from the 3 foxes chasing you, leap one of the exit gates and join with the suddenly panicking crowd. The foxes try to chase, but hordes of girls and commuters ranging from business people to anime geeks get in the way in the short time between your movement and theirs and suddenly you're melted into a mob and they're looking around the station and trying to extract their companions. You know you owe Akane for that one big time, she pretty much cleared out your escape route. [Owe her 1 debt.] And that leaves you in a crowd in Akihabara. It's a pretty thriving area: electronics and game shops, tourist stores of all sorts, restaurants and cafes both normal and themed all available. So where do you go from here?

Wtf?! Somebody actually had a gun?! And is that Akane?!

Akira is nearly as shocked as the foxes, but she takes the opportunity presented, leaping the exit gate and moving swiftly with the crowd until it thins. The wound on her shoulder is going to require attention. It's like a burning dagger pressed against her flesh! And having blood run down her arm despite fingers clamped tight is going to be kind of conspicuous. So that's the first priority. Still... well, she doesn't want to have to explain to an ambulance why she has a gun or a dismembered fox tail, that's for sure!

She hurries through the nearest cafe and barricades herself in their toilet. This next bit is really going to suck. Leaning heavily on the bathroom sink, shadows begin to fill the room as she connection with her patron. Akira lets out a whimper as scalding smoke pushes its way out of her pores and two enormous shadowy wings begin to remould the flesh of her back. The power of her patron flows through her, remoulding her body to his will!

Using The Devil Inside. Rolling Blood: (2d6+1)[11]
Pick Heal 2 Harm

And then she cuts the connection and all is back to normal. She just hopes she hasn't paid too high a price for borrowing her master's power. A quick inspection shows the flesh on her arm is knitted back together leaving no trace it was ever there... besides the rents in her hoody. Aware that she was probably noticed charging through the cafe dripping blood from her arm she uses some tissues to wrap a bandage over her non-existant wound and stains it with some of the blood still soaked into the fabric of her damaged garment, which she then washes as best she can and ties around her waist.

Finally, she digs out her phone.

To: Akane
Message: Thanks

[Deadly]

You're certain it is, and a lucky thing too because the two foxes by the entrance that would be blocking your path instead find themselves crashing into Akane in a tumble of skirts, suits, and tails. Other girls are running around them, shoving the whole lot around in a jumble. Akane, one of the foxes grabs hold of your dress. He's snarling, his teeth bared in an expression you know all too well as a challenge, and you're trapped in close quarters, too close for any of the girls to intervene. How do you handle him?

Oh look, an itty bitty fox just stumbled into the lair of the alpha beast and dared the big, bad wolf to a snarling contest. Me thinks this fox is confused.

Akane grabs the fox and snarls right back in his face, pulling him closer and offering no escape from what he's gotten himself into. "You really wanna do this? You REALLY want to do this?" she snarls viciously. "Get out of my territory, fox! And take your friends with you."

Threaten an NPC (Alpha Dog): 2+3+2 = 7

Oh, one more little thing. Akane, there's Cho further back from you, but looking worried. She's important and the other girls know it, so they kept her screened from the action and behind several others. She's wondering, and really this is the sweetest thing, but what she's wondering and [spending a hold on] is how she can get you to be her friend. You know, like for real, not just making a show of being nice, but actually caring about each other's well-being.

Akane isn't so different from Cho, in many ways, but she's caught between conflicting sides of herself. During the day, she's just a girl with heightened senses. She can get real tough when threatened, but ultimately she's just a girl, just like Cho. And being just a girl scares her. She tries to act the wolf, even during the day, but its the fear that makes her do that. She's afraid to be just a girl.

During the night is when she's free of that fear, free to be how she really sees herself. But during the night, she is also alone, a wolf without a pack. Not only is she a wolf away from home, a wolf in a huge city, she's also different from other wolves, different even from the wolf she once was.

Wolves are pack animals. Akane understands the need for friends, the strength in numbers, and that sometimes an individual can't do it on their own no matter how strong they are. She values individual strength, and doesn't care for the weak and helpless, but she realizes that people have different strengths - different talents - and that sometimes your particular strengths don't cut it. Definitely find a way to show off your particular strengths.

Akane longs for others like her, to not be alone anymore. Werewolves can ... "infect" others, right? Maybe Akane can even be convinced to make Cho a wolf, make her like a real sister, although it might take some convincing that Cho is worthy of it, which sort of brings us full circle right back to the same question: how to become her friend and prove your worth. The key is to show Akane that you are more alike and akin than others, that you can understand her and connect with her like no one else can. Just be careful not to be creepy about it.

[Anarion]

[Let it out - [roll0] I extend my senses, mystical and otherwise.]

June, June stop trying. Cicadas are everywhere. Really, they're everywhere, I promise. Look, one just hopped into your hand, you're holding it now. It's staring right back at you, it's eyes wide and black, like a bottomless abyss. So simple. It flutters its wings, patterns of black lines criss-crossing around them like a gossamer maze but stays in your hand. It buzzes. It doesn't move, it stays where it is, just resting in the palm of your hand. It's heavy, large, it fills the hand, it's legs have fine hairs that brush your skin, tickling your own, like a feather just brushing across it.

Look, there's another on the bench. And another on the streetlamp near you, no, wait, two, five on the lamp. The tree nearby to add shade to those coming out of the station, it's got at least 20 in it, now that you look. They're hanging from branches, they're resting on leaves, they're clinging to the trunk. There's more on the buildings, a few on the sidewalk, some on the power lines and the train tracks. The buzz is deafening, shrieking through your ears June, I'm not sure how you could miss them?

Finally, she digs out her phone.

To: Akane
Message: Thanks

It's nice, having a moment of quiet, isn't it? Even though it's binding a wound in a bathroom, panicked that somebody could come in at anytime, they don't. It's quiet, a little bit of calm away from the mass of people. A drop of serenity in a chaotic life.

It was never going to last. You feel your stomach drop out like you just went over the drop of a rollercoaster. You tumble head over heels and for a moment you're in pure freefall, the ground rushing up to meet you when...

...You're standing in a back alley in front of a mural on the side of a building. A red bridge surrounded by swirling portals. Looking at it makes you dizzy, like it's not quite drawn right. The smell of iron hangs heavy in the air.

Amatsu Mikaboshi has summoned you, mark off a debt. But before we get to the details of his request, tell me, what does he look like, to you?

Oh look, an itty bitty fox just stumbled into the lair of the alpha beast and dared the big, bad wolf to a snarling contest. Me thinks this fox is confused.

Akane grabs the fox and snarls right back in his face, pulling him closer and offering no escape from what he's gotten himself into. "You really wanna do this? You REALLY want to do this?" she snarls viciously. "Get out of my territory, fox! And take your friends with you."

Threaten an NPC (Alpha Dog): 2+3+2 = 7

He starts, but keeps a low growl. Maybe you just don't have quite the effect without the heavy fur and thick, sharp, claws to gore him with? I dunno, I'm not a mind-reader here, you've got him hesitating but not quite backing off. He looks at the chaos though, all the girls running around, Cho is coming over with a posse. He looks back at you. "Fine." He lets your dress go, stands. "We'll go, this whole operation is botched anyway. Remember this, girl. I left freely, you owe me for that." And somehow, you know you do if you let him walk away right here. [He'll obey, but only if you owe him a debt]

Just be careful not to be creepy about it.

Well, I suppose the answer didn't have to be a realistic possibility. Oh well. Cho's holding the girls back, she knows you're dealing with foxes and is keeping the girls from getting mixed up here. She might do something if you signal to her that you want it.

[RCgothic]

It's nice, having a moment of quiet, isn't it? Even though it's binding a wound in a bathroom, panicked that somebody could come in at anytime, they don't. It's quiet, a little bit of calm away from the mass of people. A drop of serenity in a chaotic life.

It was never going to last. You feel your stomach drop out like you just went over the drop of a rollercoaster. You tumble head over heels and for a moment you're in pure freefall, the ground rushing up to meet you when...

...You're standing in a back alley in front of a mural on the side of a building. A red bridge surrounded by swirling portals. Looking at it makes you dizzy, like it's not quite drawn right. The smell of iron hangs heavy in the air.

Amatsu Mikaboshi has summoned you, mark off a debt. But before we get to the details of his request, tell me, what does he look like, to you?

****ing terrifying!

No way no how is Akira laying eyes on him unless directly ordered. It isn't like he can fully manifest yet, but he does this thing where he possesses some poor pawn and their face gets replaced with a giant gaping maw that consumes their whole head. As if that weren't bad enough, if you look straight at him you get a psychic vision of his horrifying true form forced directly into your occipital lobe. That's not an experience anyone wants to go through twice.

Spoiler

Show

Akira drops immediately to her knees and presses her forehead against the paving; dogeza.

[Raz_Fox]

How could I miss all these cicadas? That is a very, very good question. What I do next depends quite a bit on whether or not I can curl my fingers around the one I have cupped gently in my hand, as they all scream so horribly around me, this is deafening and I don't know why I couldn't hear them. Are they not really there, is there a veil drawn over them, are they all cicada-ghosts dragged out of the cicada underworld? If I can pick this one up, he is for the workshop so quick. If not- well, that will explain some things about why no one can actually see these cicadas.

[Deadly]

He starts, but keeps a low growl. Maybe you just don't have quite the effect without the heavy fur and thick, sharp, claws to gore him with? I dunno, I'm not a mind-reader here, you've got him hesitating but not quite backing off. He looks at the chaos though, all the girls running around, Cho is coming over with a posse. He looks back at you. "Fine." He lets your dress go, stands. "We'll go, this whole operation is botched anyway. Remember this, girl. I left freely, you owe me for that." And somehow, you know you do if you let him walk away right here. [He'll obey, but only if you owe him a debt]

Akane stands back up, but doesn't back away or give him an inch of space. "You just think very carefully when you cash that in, boy," she warns. And that's all she's got to say to him. Her eyes follow him until he's out of sight, her nose even longer.

Well, I suppose the answer didn't have to be a realistic possibility. Oh well.

Where there's a will, they say.

[Anarion]

****ing terrifying!

No way no how is Akira laying eyes on him unless directly ordered. It isn't like he can fully manifest yet, but he does this thing where he possesses some poor pawn and their face gets replaced with a giant gaping maw that consumes their whole head. As if that weren't bad enough, if you look straight at him you get a psychic vision of his horrifying true form forced directly into your occipital lobe. That's not an experience anyone wants to go through twice.

Spoiler

Show

Akira drops immediately to her knees and presses her forehead against the paving; dogeza.

"Stand, wretch." The voice doesn't seem to quite come from anywhere. It's tinged with the hint of a young woman, coming from in front of you, but it reverberates in your mind with a deep, booming echo. They don't wait for you to stand, but continue. "I have need of you immediately. A young nature spirit known here as Ameko has become dangerous to us. The reason is unimportant, and you will not investigate. I expect her dead before noon tomorrow. Do you understand your task?"

They wait for you to confirm your commitment to the assassination.

How could I miss all these cicadas? That is a very, very good question. What I do next depends quite a bit on whether or not I can curl my fingers around the one I have cupped gently in my hand, as they all scream so horribly around me, this is deafening and I don't know why I couldn't hear them. Are they not really there, is there a veil drawn over them, are they all cicada-ghosts dragged out of the cicada underworld? If I can pick this one up, he is for the workshop so quick. If not- well, that will explain some things about why no one can actually see these cicadas.

Your hand closes and there is a solid cicada within it. Don't squeeze too hard June, you're scaring it and you don't want cicada ichor all over you. Do you know how long it takes to wash that stuff out? Your hand will stink for days.

No, you'd have been able to tell if these were ghosts, wizard vision is better than that, at least in its good moments. What you're seeing is the real deal. Cicadas are everywhere and everyone is ignoring them. You were too, but now you're not. Some additional cicadas flutter over and land on the bench where you're sitting. It occurs to you that they're not ignoring you either.

Akane stands back up, but doesn't back away or give him an inch of space. "You just think very carefully when you cash that in, boy," she warns. And that's all she's got to say to him. Her eyes follow him until he's out of sight, her nose even longer.



Where there's a will, they say.

Well, the fox is gone. Akira is gone without trace, and June is sitting nearby on a park bench looking like she's about to doze off rather than do anything useful. Wasn't she supposed to be fetching some things so that you could get on with getting your lotus root? Wow, what a lazy wizard, magic power must really go to the head. Cho pushes past her girls though and walks over. She bites her lip, but then talks anyway. "So, you okay, Akane? The girls helped, right? You just let me know if there's anything else we can do to give you a hand. Anytime. That's what friends are for." She offers you her hand too. It looks like she's going outside her comfort zone here, and you get the sense that an angry gesture from you now might make her want to disappear into a hole and never come out.

[RCgothic]

"Stand, wretch." The voice doesn't seem to quite come from anywhere. It's tinged with the hint of a young woman, coming from in front of you, but it reverberates in your mind with a deep, booming echo. They don't wait for you to stand, but continue. "I have need of you immediately. A young nature spirit known here as Ameko has become dangerous to us. The reason is unimportant, and you will not investigate. I expect her dead before noon tomorrow. Do you understand your task?"

They wait for you to confirm your commitment to the assassination.

Akira rises awkwardly, laying the fox's tail out reverentially two paces in front of her even as she keeps her eyes downcast. Disobedience is unthinkable. "I understand and will comply, lord."

[Anarion]

Akira rises awkwardly, laying the fox's tail out reverentially two paces in front of her even as she keeps her eyes downcast. Disobedience is unthinkable. "I understand and will comply, lord."

"Good." The voice reverberates through your mind like a marble in a metal jar. The tail is snatched up and disappears into the fold of a jacket, and then information comes flooding to you.

"You will find Ameko in the grounds of the Imperial palace. She will be cultivating the pine trees." An image comes into your head of a short woman, short even for Japanese standards, maybe 4'8" with hair nearly as tall as she is wearing jeans and a loose, flowing white blouse. "If you delay, you will have to follow her, she takes the green line railway, but her apartment is not known to us. She meets a wizard sometimes, if you wait you may have to contend with others. I care not if the murder is seen and if you are not capable of escaping consequences, you are expendable in this matter. Be certain that she is dead, the body may be more resilient than normal."

[RCgothic]

Akira remains bowed until it becomes clear her master is finished with her. She bows deeper, takes a step back, and then bows again. Then she hurries out of the alley. The first thing she does once out of sight of her master is take a look around. Imperial Palace wouldn't be that far from Akihabara station, but after being summoned she could be frankly anywhere and she needs to get her bearings.

[Deadly]

Well, the fox is gone. Akira is gone without trace, and June is sitting nearby on a park bench looking like she's about to doze off rather than do anything useful. Wasn't she supposed to be fetching some things so that you could get on with getting your lotus root? Wow, what a lazy wizard, magic power must really go to the head. Cho pushes past her girls though and walks over. She bites her lip, but then talks anyway. "So, you okay, Akane? The girls helped, right? You just let me know if there's anything else we can do to give you a hand. Anytime. That's what friends are for." She offers you her hand too. It looks like she's going outside her comfort zone here, and you get the sense that an angry gesture from you now might make her want to disappear into a hole and never come out.

Wizards ... there's just no understanding them or what they're up to, sitting like that. Maybe she should sneak over there and grab the wizard, shake her by the shoulders! Or yell "boo" right behind her ... if that wasn't as likely to wake her up as to blow her up, Akane might just feel tempted.

Akane took Cho's hand, masking her own uncertainty about the gesture with a firm grasp. "Same to you. You need anything, just come to me, I'll see what I can do." They had done her a favor today, it only seemed right to return it in some fashion. "You did good," she said and looked around at the aftermath, grinning. "Exciting, right? And I think my friend got away."

[Raz_Fox]

Your hand closes and there is a solid cicada within it. Don't squeeze too hard June, you're scaring it and you don't want cicada ichor all over you. Do you know how long it takes to wash that stuff out? Your hand will stink for days.

No, you'd have been able to tell if these were ghosts, wizard vision is better than that, at least in its good moments. What you're seeing is the real deal. Cicadas are everywhere and everyone is ignoring them. You were too, but now you're not. Some additional cicadas flutter over and land on the bench where you're sitting. It occurs to you that they're not ignoring you either.

There are two things that could be happening right now. The first is that I've stumbled onto some sort of naturally-occurring little quirk of nature. Maybe the cicadas of the city have stumbled onto a contaminant that makes our attentions just slide right on past them, slipping away from the little cicada-shaped hole in our perceptions, and who knows what might be causing that, or what other side-effects might occur. The other possibility that hits me immediately is that there is an intelligence behind this, a magic that I don't yet understand, and that intelligence might be out to kill me for knowing the truth.

I need to go do my boss's scrying ritual right NOW. And not get dead in the process. Please don't come eat me, cicadas.

[Anarion]

Akira remains bowed until it becomes clear her master is finished with her. She bows deeper, takes a step back, and then bows again. Then she hurries out of the alley. The first thing she does once out of sight of her master is take a look around. Imperial Palace wouldn't be that far from Akihabara station, but after being summoned she could be frankly anywhere and she needs to get her bearings.

Shibuya, right near the 109 building in a back alley. Center of high couture fashion. And for the moment, you've got your freedom. Well, not really, the whole thing sounded pretty urgent, but you've at least got the freedom to choose your preferred method of transport to go and find Ameko. And you're right near a huge shopping center if you needed a disguise. Or any other prep, there are more than clothing stores here, after all.

Wizards ... there's just no understanding them or what they're up to, sitting like that. Maybe she should sneak over there and grab the wizard, shake her by the shoulders! Or yell "boo" right behind her ... if that wasn't as likely to wake her up as to blow her up, Akane might just feel tempted.

Akane took Cho's hand, masking her own uncertainty about the gesture with a firm grasp. "Same to you. You need anything, just come to me, I'll see what I can do." They had done her a favor today, it only seemed right to return it in some fashion. "You did good," she said and looked around at the aftermath, grinning. "Exciting, right? And I think my friend got away."

Cho grins and grasps your hand firmly. Before you can share more than a moment, she looks over your shoulder and adjusts her glasses. She's not worried, exactly, but she's looking at June and then she takes the glasses off, cleans them, looks back again, she seems like she's having trouble seeing something.

There are two things that could be happening right now. The first is that I've stumbled onto some sort of naturally-occurring little quirk of nature. Maybe the cicadas of the city have stumbled onto a contaminant that makes our attentions just slide right on past them, slipping away from the little cicada-shaped hole in our perceptions, and who knows what might be causing that, or what other side-effects might occur. The other possibility that hits me immediately is that there is an intelligence behind this, a magic that I don't yet understand, and that intelligence might be out to kill me for knowing the truth.

I need to go do my boss's scrying ritual right NOW. And not get dead in the process. Please don't come eat me, cicadas.

That's a lot of thinking you're doing there June. Thinking that is happening while several hundred Cicadas converge on your position. You'll need to do something about that, get some help maybe, cast a fireball in the middle of a crowded square if you want? I hear that one always goes over well when you have to explain it later. Akane could probably help though. Or not, I dunno. You two should sort it out. I'll just be over here, controlling a vast swarm of big grasshopper things, I can wait.

[Deadly]

Cho grins and grasps your hand firmly. Before you can share more than a moment, she looks over your shoulder and adjusts her glasses. She's not worried, exactly, but she's looking at June and then she takes the glasses off, cleans them, looks back again, she seems like she's having trouble seeing something.

"What is it?" Akane turned to look, seeing June still sitting there. "Yeah, I was going to go poke her. You think that's a good idea?"

[Anarion]

"What is it?" Akane turned to look, seeing June still sitting there. "Yeah, I was going to go poke her. You think that's a good idea?"

"I...yeah. Go...go poke her. There's something there but I can't see it right. It's weird."

[RCgothic]

Shibuya, right near the 109 building in a back alley. Center of high couture fashion. And for the moment, you've got your freedom. Well, not really, the whole thing sounded pretty urgent, but you've at least got the freedom to choose your preferred method of transport to go and find Ameko. And you're right near a huge shopping center if you needed a disguise. Or any other prep, there are more than clothing stores here, after all.

Akira takes a moment to focus, until her short rasping breaths become steadier. She ****ing hates assassinations! The foxes and getting shot was bad enough for today! And now this... It's too much! Focus. Focus on the where and how.

Shibuya.

Damn. Akihabara was much closer. There's probably not much difference in getting to the Imperial Palace between cab or subway, but the foxes could still be about on the subway. Cab would be okay.

Master was pretty clear about the urgency, so she probably shouldn't delay. But she still needs to get in and out without being discovered, a damp mildly blood-stained hoody isn't exactly inconspicuous. And Imperial Palace would be a ****ing stupid place to try and smuggle a gun into anyway. That means going home to stash it first...

Ok, the plan: Gun from hoody into purse. Hoody into garbage. Cab home. Stash gun. Change into most generic hoody. Cab back to Imperial Palace. Find target. Kill with own hands. Demonic hands. Whatever. Walk out, go home.

The simple plans are the best ones, right?

[Deadly]

"I...yeah. Go...go poke her. There's something there but I can't see it right. It's weird."

"Weird. Got it," Akane said as she was about to head over to poke the hornets nest. Because why not?

She did her best to sneak up on the wizard, all inconspicuous like ... then poked her in the sides. "Heya."

[Raz_Fox]

When you're fighting off a storm any harbor is a safe harbor, particularly if instead of a storm, it's all the cicadas in Japan converging on your location, and even if the harbor is the arms of a werewolf who you already owe immensely. I wasn't exactly calm before Akane came up and poked me right in the ribs, and I admit to maybe possibly grabbing her arm and standing up quickly.

Little awful cicada crunches issue out from beneath my shoes.

"Oh my god Akane hello help me if you get me to my apartment not eaten by bugs I will owe you a very big favor now vamoose please, and pick me up would you?"

[Anarion]

Awww, no shopping spree, Akira? What good is being a powerful demon if you can't even have any fun while you're planning murder?

But okay, sure, the boring plan. You're in one of the most crowded sections of Tokyo, cabs are everywhere. So getting home is no trouble. Tell me about your place now that you're getting back to it? What does it look like? What's the first thing you notice every time you get back to it? Oh and would anyone else be home during the day?

******

Akane, as soon as you touch June, you are aware of the fact that there is a swarm of cicadas converging on your location. June herself is grasping one in her hand.

Otherwise, don't let me interrupt your tender moment.

[Deadly]

When you're fighting off a storm any harbor is a safe harbor, particularly if instead of a storm, it's all the cicadas in Japan converging on your location, and even if the harbor is the arms of a werewolf who you already owe immensely. I wasn't exactly calm before Akane came up and poked me right in the ribs, and I admit to maybe possibly grabbing her arm and standing up quickly.

Little awful cicada crunches issue out from beneath my shoes.

"Oh my god Akane hello help me if you get me to my apartment not eaten by bugs I will owe you a very big favor now vamoose please, and pick me up would you?"

Akane, as soon as you touch June, you are aware of the fact that there is a swarm of cicadas converging on your location. June herself is grasping one in her hand.

Otherwise, don't let me interrupt your tender moment.

"Ugh, bugs! NOISY bugs!" Akane tried to wave some off. "Where are they coming from? What's going on? Something wrong with your legs?"