{"submission_id":"844346","keywords":[{"keyword_id":"743","keyword_name":"adventure","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"2920"},{"keyword_id":"44319","keyword_name":"contemporary","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"101"},{"keyword_id":"10159","keyword_name":"cyclops","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"379"},{"keyword_id":"398","keyword_name":"demon","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"18404"},{"keyword_id":"2602","keyword_name":"fairy","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"2015"},{"keyword_id":"2193","keyword_name":"fantasy","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"11602"},{"keyword_id":"123","keyword_name":"female","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"519917"},{"keyword_id":"112296","keyword_name":"garuda","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"51"},{"keyword_id":"32881","keyword_name":"geist","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"28"},{"keyword_id":"2646","keyword_name":"ghost","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"4373"},{"keyword_id":"13506","keyword_name":"ghosts","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"373"},{"keyword_id":"1440","keyword_name":"human","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"46907"},{"keyword_id":"776","keyword_name":"japan","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"481"},{"keyword_id":"191","keyword_name":"magic","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"11599"},{"keyword_id":"165","keyword_name":"male","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"639915"},{"keyword_id":"3313","keyword_name":"monkey","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"4908"},{"keyword_id":"10129","keyword_name":"supernatural","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"375"},{"keyword_id":"1146","keyword_name":"vampire","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"3972"},{"keyword_id":"597","keyword_name":"werewolf","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"5589"}],"hidden":"f","scraps":"f","favorite":"f","favorites_count":"0","create_datetime":"2015-05-03 18:47:01.244266+02","create_datetime_usertime":"03 May 2015 18:47 CEST","last_file_update_datetime":"2015-05-03 18:40:26.292316+02","last_file_update_datetime_usertime":"03 May 2015 18:40 CEST","username":"Simoni","user_id":"279733","user_icon_file_name":"75728_Simoni_simoni_barjar.gif","user_icon_url_large":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/usericons/large/75/75728_Simoni_simoni_barjar.gif","user_icon_url_medium":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/usericons/medium/75/75728_Simoni_simoni_barjar.gif","user_icon_url_small":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/usericons/small/75/75728_Simoni_simoni_barjar.gif","file_name":"1147391_Simoni_part_22_ohayo_tokyo_.doc","file_url_full":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/full/1147/1147391_Simoni_part_22_ohayo_tokyo_.doc","file_url_screen":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/1147/1147391_Simoni_part_22_ohayo_tokyo_.doc","file_url_preview":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/1147/1147391_Simoni_part_22_ohayo_tokyo_.doc","files":[{"file_id":"1147391","file_name":"1147391_Simoni_part_22_ohayo_tokyo_.doc","file_url_full":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/full/1147/1147391_Simoni_part_22_ohayo_tokyo_.doc","file_url_screen":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/1147/1147391_Simoni_part_22_ohayo_tokyo_.doc","file_url_preview":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/1147/1147391_Simoni_part_22_ohayo_tokyo_.doc","mimetype":"application/msword","submission_id":"844346","user_id":"279733","submission_file_order":"0","full_size_x":null,"full_size_y":null,"screen_size_x":null,"screen_size_y":null,"preview_size_x":null,"preview_size_y":null,"initial_file_md5":"8a69ed3dee42e7df5f4c335797c829e8","full_file_md5":"8a69ed3dee42e7df5f4c335797c829e8","large_file_md5":"","small_file_md5":"","thumbnail_md5":"","deleted":"f","create_datetime":"2015-05-03 18:40:26.292316+02","create_datetime_usertime":"03 May 2015 18:40 CEST"}],"pools":[],"description":"Kinda surprised it took a pair of otaku this long to write a story about Japan. Seriously.\n\nSo yeah, this was a fun little one to do. Our little gang of magical misfits visiting Arja's sister in Japan. She works for the government there as an expert on supernatural problems. I hear she's even helping Stephen Hawking develop something. A... something summoning program. I forget the details but I'm sure it won't result in the end of the world or anything.\n\nThe ghost girls were all my writing partner's idea... though I'm pretty sure they were influenced by The Ring. I think... I don't watch many horror films, Japanese or otherwise, but I did find it amusing that everyone's first reaction in Tokyo wasn't to run screaming from the dreadful apparitions but rather to try to get a picture on their phones. Guess some things are universal.\n\nPaale's reappearance was something I'd been planning for a bit. Its [i]supposed[/i] to take ages to find a suitable host for a geist to merge with, but on the other hand there's a death about every fifteen seconds last I checked so maybe its not as hard as it sounds. He was driven away this time, but you can bet he'll be back.","description_bbcode_parsed":"Kinda surprised it took a pair of otaku this long to write a story about Japan. Seriously.
So yeah, this was a fun little one to do. Our little gang of magical misfits visiting Arja's sister in Japan. She works for the government there as an expert on supernatural problems. I hear she's even helping Stephen Hawking develop something. A... something summoning program. I forget the details but I'm sure it won't result in the end of the world or anything.
The ghost girls were all my writing partner's idea... though I'm pretty sure they were influenced by The Ring. I think... I don't watch many horror films, Japanese or otherwise, but I did find it amusing that everyone's first reaction in Tokyo wasn't to run screaming from the dreadful apparitions but rather to try to get a picture on their phones. Guess some things are universal.
Paale's reappearance was something I'd been planning for a bit. Its supposed to take ages to find a suitable host for a geist to merge with, but on the other hand there's a death about every fifteen seconds last I checked so maybe its not as hard as it sounds. He was driven away this time, but you can bet he'll be back.","writing":"With a faint squeak of rubber the plane touches down on the tarmac outside of the airport in Tokyo Bay. Not just near it, or around it, literally in the bay itself, a manmade island and one of the biggest airports in the world. Inside the plane Stephy and Simoni are practically vibrating with excitement, both are wearing kimonos (Stephy's white with blue snowflakes, Simoni's green with a pattern of feathers on the sleeves) as they prepare to disembark.\n\nThey're kids, and like many kids these days, they're otaku. They were born right after the anime boom of the 1990s and grew up in a culture where manga, anime, and video games from Japan were in a massive spotlight. The whole last ten minutes of the flight they'd been making a low, high pitched, excited squeeing sound that had Dawn folding her ears and Lupe whining and slinking to the back cabin to curl up on Natasha's coffin with her hands over her ears.\n\nArja grins wide, just as excited as the others, dressed in her red and gold kimono with a monkey on the back, a gold vine pattern surrounding it. \"Alright so we'll get to my sister's place nice and fast and then we're going on a shopping spree, I wanna hit up all the big anime stores and Sammi's probably gonna beeline for the fashion district...\" Sammi was on his way, coming in from Arcadia, the young magician not wanting to make a scene for one (androgynous young boy who's magic show involves more than a few Magical Girl tributes...he was fairly big in Japan...) for another, as the group learned during the prison raid, he genuinely didn't like flight that much...nature fae, he's more at home on the ground, or in water to be specific. Stephy wasn’t, but then Stephy had retained his ability to fly even after becoming a fae so that was probably why.\n\nNatasha was snoozing in the large trunk she was 'stored' in, wrapped up in a black and red kimono for when she wakes up to prowl the night...\n\nSimoni nods to her as she tries to decide if she's gonna run off with Arja or Sammi first. She wants to stay with Arja during as much of the trip as possible of course, but she is a girly girl and the fashion district was practically calling to her. Stephy, of course, would set off with his fae brother as soon as he showed up. \"Yeah, so is your sister really okay with all of us showing up like this?\" she asks, gesturing to the rest of their group.\n\nAisha, Sandra, Spooky, Lara (who had been on Bethandi's ship and returned with Stephy), and Alice (Arja was still annoyed with how she got her new body and besides it stood out too much) had stayed behind in India. Nelen had, at Simoni's insistence, donned a black men's kimono with a sort of magic circle drawn on the back (though no force on earth would separate him from his black baseball cap), and Dawn had her own orange one with the image of a stylized black cat with glowing yellow eyes on it. Lupe had her own, midnight blue with a wolf motif, but she had resisted all attempts to get it on until Natasha had made her agree to wear it (and be human) after they'd landed. Drusilla, seated next to Nelen, had on her human disguise bracelet and a deep purple kimono with the image of a huge red one-eyed oni on it.\n\n\"I mean, y'know. Our family has gotten pretty huge...\" she admits, giggling a bit as she leans into Arja.\n\nArja smiles, \"It's fine.\" she says as she pats Simoni's head, \"She has a big house she's... doing pretty well for herself.\" she giggles. Despite the trip she hadn't said much about her big sister, just that she was in her twenties, married, and some kind of 'government contractor'. Soon enough the plane was fully ready for disembarking, the girls a near mini flood as they surged to the door, bumping past the poor stewardess Arja's family employed for the private plane. Sammi was already waiting at the base of the stairs, having teleported in shortly after the plane landed, wearing an ice blue and gold lined kimono with a stylized butterfly pattern not just on the back but running down the sleeves.\n\nStephy immediately glomps Sammi, then pulls him over next to Trixie, the tomboy in her own men's kimono depicting the sunset over a western landscape (Stephy and Sammi had gotten them all made in Arcadia at one of the goblin markets. He hadn't told the group exactly how he'd paid for such things, as money was generally an unknown concept among the fae... though Trixie had noticed he was limping a bit when he first returned with them).\n\nSimoni giggles and rolls her eyes at the two, then follows along behind the group as they leave the airport, heading into Tokyo. It was an interesting sight for both them and the people who lived there. Even in a city like Tokyo a group as... varied... as theirs stood out like a Computer Technician in Amish Country. Simoni is hanging on Arja's arm the whole way in, noticing as they leave that someone isn't entirely in disguise.\n\n\"Dawn!\" she hisses to the cat, \"Your ears! Where's your hat?!\" she says, to which the cat just grins and replies, \"Chill out, we're in Japan. As far as anyone knows they're a fashion accessory.\"\n\nSure enough, as they pass a few young girls Simoni catches a bit of chatter with words like 'neko-chan' and 'kawaii', the girls squealing when Dawn winks at them and flexes her ears, folding and moving them.\nArja smirks lightly as she walks along, Sammi snuggling into Stephy happily as he walks with them. The path was outside of the 'core' city, not living in the normal residential districts of large apartment buildings and small private houses. She was living in the 'old' part of Tokyo, or one of them at least. It was more expensive than the city proper by a good bit, but for your money you got a good deal more land, large houses with yards and such... Drusilla yawns softly as she carries most of the luggage behind her, including the trunk holding Natasha.\n\n\"Let's seeee…\" Arja thinks, walking past gates to houses, looking at numbers, \"Should be right... aha! Here!\" She smiles, stopping in front of a rather large iron gate, Stephy and Sammi both can sense it's the real deal 'cold iron' not just modern alloy painted to look like old school iron. There was even a large red Torii gate behind it as if it was a temple... Beyond it was a rather large house, a garden surrounding it full of cherry blossom trees, even a koi pond out front, looking like someone designed it from a tourism poster...\n\nStephy eeps and ducks behind Trixie, peeking out at it. Even if it didn't have an edge to it, just the touch of cold iron was painful to fae like himself. A horseshoe, a hammer, anything made from wrought iron would burn. Dawn smirks at him as he does, \"Aww, wassamatter? Scared of the big bad iron?\" she smirks, then yelps as her tail suddenly ices over under her kimono.\n\nLupe grins at that, the feral girl still tugging awkwardly at her own robes as she tries to resist the urge to get down on all fours. She wants to, badly, but... well... Alpha-bat told her not to. Wolf instincts were a useful thing sometimes, she could try, but she would rarely disobey a direct order from Natasha unless it was a matter of life or death (like the incident with the Goblin King). \"So... is there a buzzer we ring or...\" asks Nelen, looking up at the building with an impressed expression.\n\nArja looks around, not finding one, \"Weird, guess she doesn't get lots of visitors... eh fuck it we're family.\" she says, pushing the gate open for the group (and holding it away so the fae could walk past it without getting singed). Going under the arch, though, was a different kind of discomfort. The fae wouldn't feel it, but Natasha would grunt and wiggle in the coffin box, making it rattle, and likely Nelen would feel his demon a bit uneasy as he got under it directly. The arches were meant to ward off evil spirits and the angry dead and the sort, not a full on banishment, more like a warning that beyond that point there was probably someone who could mess them up badly if they were able to keep that arch blessed. It seemed Arja's sister knew a good deal about the supernatural, and how to ward it off\n\nStephy and Sammi practically go through the gates back to back to keep their eyes on the iron and make sure it stays the hell away from them, and indeed, Merihim does cause Nelen's arm to spasm and twitch restlessly as the warlock winces at it, \"Gah... huh, yeah, thats the real deal there...\" he nods at the Torii once they're past it, his arm throbbing faintly for a few minutes afterwards. \n\n\"Guess I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, she is -your- sister Arja.\" he nods to her, \"So, yeah, of course she'd know about stuff like this.\"\n\nArja just grins as she makes her way to the front door. A video camera was mounted over it to give the people inside a look at how was there without needing a peep hole... She gave a little wave to the camera before knocking loudly, rocking back and forth on her feet happily as she waits. Soon enough the door opens, revealing a tall young woman that looked like... well a bigger Arja, her hair longer, tied back in a ponytail. She certainly looked like she grew up athletic like Arja, standing a good 5' 9\" and her body looking rather lean and toned under the long white coat she wore over her orange top and black pants. \"Arja!\" she says happily, squatting down to give her sister a hug.\n\nSimoni giggles, stepping a bit over so Arja and her sister can have their little reunion. She lets her eyes wander over the woman, wondering idly if that's what Arja will look like when she gets older. The rest of the group stands back politely, though Lupe is still fussing and whining at having to wear... well, anything.\n\nArja smiles, hugging back, \"Glad to see you! Guys this is Ivari, my oldest sister, Ivari this is... well this is Simoni, she's your sister too now...\" she says, getting the most 'important' introduction out of the way before pointing out everyone, the woman smiling happily as she nods, \"Wonderful, glad so many of you could make it.\" she says before stepping aside, \"Come on in and make yourself at home,\" she says, ushering the group into her large living room area. As a bit of a contrast to the rather old school look of the outside, inside was all modern and high tech. Flat screen on the wall, sound system hooked up all through the room, large comfy sofas...\n\nSimoni giggles and gives her new 'sister' a hug as well, the rest of the crew waving, nodding, or barking in Lupe's case as they're introduced, heading on inside as they look around. Nelen looks pretty impressed, he's a techie as much as he is a wizard, so anything shiny and electronic tends to draw his attention. Dawn however, in typical cat-like fashion, immediately notices the large plush sofa and flops onto it with a large grin.\n\nArja smiles as her sister nods, \"Now let's see if I remember, garuda…\" she says pointing to Simoni, \"… obviously the wonder-cat…\" she says to Dawn, \"I can tell by the bark and the hate of clothes that's our werewolf.\" she says, nodding to Lupe, \"Considering she's lugging the bags all by herself that must be the Cyclops.\" she says to Dru before nodding to Nelen, \"Which makes you the blood mage. Then there's the fae brothers.\" she says to Sammi and Stephy, \"I assume your vampire is in the trunk and... hrm…\" she says, looking at Trixie, \"The other werewolf?\"\n\nStephy giggles, \"No, but she's definitely built like one in certain areas.\" he grins, \"She's our huckster.\" he nods, \"The other werewolf stayed home.\"\n\nDawn grins, \"Yeah, puppers has enough trouble flying already, we didn't want to risk it with a fully grown werewolf.\" she nods. She'd gotten fairly used to the changes in pressure, but Lupe was having a much harder time adapting and Sandra... well... Nelen had to knock her out or risk the plane going down after her new senses reacted to being several thousand feet in the air.\n\n\nIvari nods, giggling, \"Aw, almost had ‘em all…\" she says, smiling to Trixie, \"Well you guys settle in, make yourselves at home, but I do have a couple rules. For one, most things here that look like they cost a lot did, try not to break them. For another I'm fine with you in whatever supernatural form is comfortable, but you must leave and enter this house as humans, I can't have little monsters scrambling around my front yard in front of the neighbors. Also I'm sure Arja is beyond coy about what my job is so I'll say now I'm an... eliminations specialist that works on contract with the Japanese government... I hunt monsters and such. So, I have things like iron knives, silver bullets, poisons, lots of things that can PROBABLY kill all of you. Now, luckily all that stuff is safe and secure in my lab, if you don't cause chaos in there you'll be plenty safe.\"\n\nNelen nods, \"Huh, that'd explain the Torii...\" he murmurs as Stephy, Dawn, and Simoni wince a bit. Even Lupe listens to the last one, though she might miss the part about property damage... especially since the expensive sofa cushions are calling to her dog-like instincts in a very specific way. \"Yeah, I think we can manage that.\" nods Simoni, getting a firm grip on Lupe before she can start chewing on the sofa, \"Stoppit or I'm telling Nat.\" she frowns at Lupe, the werewolf whining and pouting... until Simoni takes a rawhide bone out of the luggage. Lupe immediately pounces it and starts growling and gnawing.\n\nAfter they spend a few hours visiting the group heads out into the city, Nelen having made an excuse to stay behind mostly so he can look into the stuff that Ivari keeps in her lab (because geek), while Dawn and Lupe do likewise. Dawn being very much a lazy cat while Lupe wants to focus on the bone. It’s also not quite sunset yet so Natasha stays in her coffin for now. \"So, where to first then guys?\" asks Simoni.\n\nArja grins, \"Well I suppose I'm out voted for the fashion district anyway.\" she teases as Sammi nods \"Mhm, me and Stephy were gonna just run there anyway...\"\n\nSimoni grins widely and nods, along with Stephy who's already trying to puzzle out the street signs. \"Um... just occurred to me guys... do any of us, well, read or speak Japanese?\" he asks, sounding a bit worried. They already stood out as foreigners in a very isolationist country (though Tokyo was more liberal than the rest of Japan by far), but they would have to ask directions eventually...\n\nArja blinks \"Uh... a little...\" she says as she looks around, nope, none of this matched the Japanese Kanji used in big flashy attacks on One Piece, \"Yea we're boned...\"\n\nDawn leans in, peeking her head between Arja and Simoni's, \"It says that the shopping district is that way.\" she says, then grins, \"Nelen thought you guys might need me.\" she smirks, having teleported nearby and snuck up behind the group as they were puzzling over the sign.\n\nArja jumps a bit as she appears, then stares at the cheshire. \"...Since when do you speak Japanese, catface?\"\n\nDawn grins at her, \"Since I speak Hindi, and Romanian, and all the languages you kids know. I was born able to do this.\" she replies, \"Bit of a perk of being a Wonderlander. We're born hyper-linguistic.\" she nods, \"Which means, yes, I know all the stuff you two said about me when you were talking in Hindi.\" she boops both Arja and Simoni's noses, then turns on her heel and heads off into the crowd, \"C'mon kids, thought you wanted to do some shopping!\"\n\nArja smirks \"Noted, alright let's go, follow the neko.\" she teases, guiding through the crowd easily, years of living in much more chaotic Indian crowds meant the much more orderly Japanese ones were easy to navigate for her, almost like swimming, just gotta find a current and follow it...\n\nThe group heads out into the shopping district, Dawn leading the way as she's able to translate for them. Even in a city like Tokyo though they do get some odd looks. For one their group consists of two hindi girls, three blonde-haired white kids, a huge black haired woman who towers over most anyone else nearby (Drusilla was still disguised as an adult human), and Dawn who wasn't making any attempt to hide her cat-like features on the basis that most would just assume she was some kind of otaku. \"So, any idea where you guys wanna go first?\" she asks.\n\nArja shrugs lightly as she looks around, \"Hmmm good question…\" she says, grinning at the display around her, \"So many neat places!\"\n\nSammi nods, eyes locking on any cosplay or costume shop they pass. \"Ooh I can use that in my act!\" he giggles, stopping in front of a shop mainly focused on maid costumes, yanking Stephy inside with him.\n\nStephy lets out an eep as he gets dragged along behind his fae brother, Simoni looking curiously at the window of a collectibles store... before she blinks, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck prick up suddenly. She straightens up, then heads over to Arja as casually as she can and whispers in Hindi, \"Arja, do you feel anything odd?\" she asks. Of course Arja would know when she said odd she meant 'supernatural that isn't one of us'. She could sense something, but in this crowd it could be anything. Hell, it could just be some random magic user walking past who isn't even paying attention to them.\n\nArja nods, looking around, \"Could be harmless though. Tokyo's a big city.\" she whispers back, \"Lots of magic users or the like could be hanging around. After a bit more browsing, though, a shriek comes from a nearby store, followed by more, before people begin surging over to the storefront! Cries of 'it's her again' and 'I told you it was real' (though they’re in Japanese so only Dawn knows what they’re saying) come as people whip their phones out to record and take pictures.\n\nDawn's tail fluffs out under her kimoni as her ears perk up. She makes a 'stay here' gesture and then, suddenly, she's not there. Simoni and Arja get a brief glimpse of her eyes winking at them, before those vanish as well and Dawn, invisible, sneaks up to the crowd and tries to see what's going on. Its not easy, even for her. She has to duck around people and be careful not to bump into anyone. That's the problem with her abilities... She can teleport and she can turn invisible, but she can't do them both at the same time.\n\nThe storefront seems fairly normal. It's a horror shop, it sells replicas from famous movies, some stuff from Japanese folklore and urban legends, even some rather distasteful 'too soon' stuff like replica sweatshirts from that time some crazy kid cut up a classmate with a boxcutter. Up at the window there was a display of costumes… including one very realistic display of a young girl in a long white full body robe, her straight black hair down to her lower back and over her eyes down to her nose. It seems everyone is focused on that for some reason... before 'it' moves, hands jerking around before it lunges at a nearby woman, making her scream with... well she sounded scared but also kinda excited, cameras going off all around to capture it before the girl does the same thing with someone else. For a bit it looks like just some kinda cosplay event, right up until the girl vanishes into thin air.\n\nDawn's ears perk up before the girl ever vanishes, and even then she can tell that she's still 'there', just not visible anymore. She sneaks back to the others and lets herself become visible again, flicking one of her ears. \"Its a ghost.\" she nods, \"Creepy sure, but not our problem. Looks like she can't stay corporial for very long before she snaps back into being intangible so she's probably not very strong.\" she shrugs. \"Scared the jeebas out of the locals though.\"\n\nArja nods, \"Hm, weird.\" she comments as she goes back to looking around. Then suddenly there's another shriek from down further in the street as the crowd moves quickly to follow it...\n\nSimoni raises her eyebrow, \"That was fast... I don't know a ton about ghosts, but doesn't it usually take them longer to get up enough energy to do that?\" she asks as Dawn shrugs, \"Don't look at me, the dead aren't my thing. If Draculaura wasn't snoozing away in her coffin then maybe we could find out where she's going or what she wants...\"\n\nArja shrugs as well, \"Yea ghosts are my sister's thing, not much experience here.\" she adds, moving down the street further before another shriek comes from behind the group, then another, then Sammi comes running out of the maid store yelling angrily in French.\n\nStephy stumbles out behind him, hastily straightening his own icy blue kimono as Simoni looks around, \"Wait... how many are there!?\" she gasps as Dawn's tail thrashes under her robes, the cat's ears flattened against her head. She reaches into her bag, trying to fish out her cell phone.\n\nArja nods, \"Shit, I should call sis...\" she says, reaching for her own phone as the girl in white appears right in front of the group, seeming to appear out of the crowd itself. In a flash everyone's cellphone battery suddenly drains to zero, even Dru's bracelet seems to 'short out' making her yelp loudly as soon enough she (thankfully with her clothing) are shrunk down to normal... the girl in white just standing there silently.\n\nMore than a few people are shocked by the sudden appearance of a cyclops, though Dawn thinks faster as her eyes literally shine bright yellow, everyone around them suddenly turning and running into the distance. \"Alright, that'll keep them away for a bit.\" she nods, having used her powers to induce a sudden surge of fear in the onlookers. Simoni looks at the girl, tilting her head, \"Who are you? What do you want?\" she asks the ghost, it's obvious to her that she was trying to get their attention...\n\nThe girl just keeps standing there as Drusilla reaches into a nearby shop, pulling out a white and red kitsune mask and quickly pulling it over her face. The girl looks like she starts to talk, words coming out in a low gurgle as water pours from her mouth, not staining the ground as it hits it...\n\nSimoni winces, stepping back a bit even though the water vanishes before it actually reaches the ground. Ghosts tend to reflect some facet of their death and, in the girl's case, she most likely drowned. Could be a suicide, could be an accident, could even be a victim of the recent tsunami... but somehow water factored into her demise. Dawn listens closely, trying to make out as much as she can... after all she can at least understand Japanese.\n\nThe girl's words are hard to understand around the torrent of water coming from her, but Dawn does recognize a few words; \"Shrine\" \"Can't\" and \"Listen\" are coherent enough to get through the deluge of water...\n\nShe scratches her ear thoughtfully, \"She's saying something about a shrine, and that either she wants to listen or wants us to listen, but she can't somehow...\" she nods, \"Arja, call your sister and ask her if there's any shrines around here, something that might have relevance to anyone who might've died from drowning.\"\n\nArja nods, moving out from around the ghost girl to put her call in, speaking rather quickly with her to try to outrun the last sliver of battery she had thanks to the drain. After a bit she returns, the ghost girl having vanished. \"She says there are a couple in the area, even more if we're talking all of Tokyo. People often build little shrines if someone dies suddenly, especially a kid... Thing is we have no idea how old she is, most shrines just kinda go away after a few months as people stop going to them but if she's old her shrine could have been made more 'official'... or could be gone entirely...”\n\nSimoni folds her arms and thinks, \"Hm... she didn't look that old, but then she could have died decades ago and still look the same.\" she nods, then sighs and leans back against one of the buildings, \"Y'know, just once it'd be nice to go on a vacation and have, y'know, a vacation.\" she frowns, then stands up, \"Well... there was that huge tsunami that hit Japan a while back... maybe we should look at the memorial for that one?\" she suggests. It was a national disaster, so its quite likely that it'd have been made permanent.\n\nArja nods, \"There are a good few of those, we should be able to find one.\" she says before pausing, \"Wait... can't and listen, right Dawn? That sounds... weird. What kind of ghost cares about listening?\"\n\nDawn blinks, then earflicks, \"Huh, good question actually... maybe she was into music or something before she died?\" she suggests as Simoni just shrugs her shoulders at that one.\n\nArja nods, \"That's a good idea. So music with that, that's probably more a personal shrine... Gimmie a sec.\" she says, going back to make another call, coming back, \"Alright, I think I figured out a lead. I asked my sister if there've been any floods recently. She said none in the city but a place just outside city limits got hit with some bad rain recently and had flooding issues. Let's grab a train.\"\n\nSimoni nods to her as the group heads off, Dawn leading the way to the local rail station as the group boards up and heads out to where Ivari indicated. As the train rattles along she leans into Arja, looking troubled. \"Why did that ghost try to get our attention though? I mean, doesn't Japan have it's own little supernatural cliques and such?\" she asks.\n\nArja shrugs faintly, \"Maybe we were the only group nearby, she could be tethered somehow...\" she says as she watches the city slowly vanish, \"At least this is kinda fun, a mystery rather than, ya know, attempted murder.\"\n\nSimoni nods as Dawn frowns, reaching into her robes and feeling around a bit, as if scratching an itch. \"Yeah, well, we'd better hope that's all it is.\" says the cat, \"I mean, Japanese magic is pretty much unknown to me and Nelen. Hell, this is the first time either of us have even been in Japan. They're pretty isolationist when it comes to their supernatural circles.\" she shrugs. Eventually the train gets to their stop and the group disembarks, Dawn looking around at the scenery. \"Alright, any idea where we are?\"\n\nArja stretches her arms out, looking around. Even just a short trip from Tokyo it was a world apart, nearly undeveloped save for a road and some small shops by the train station. A large sign advertising local tourist traps... one does catch the eye, well, actually it doesn't catch the eye at all, unless you're actively looking for something to fit the bill. Faded, paint peeling, words hard to read even when you squint reading ‘Lake of Drowned Tears, 1 mile North’. Drusilla blinks a bit, looking to the others, \"Sounds spooky, seems the best lead?\"\n\nSimoni nods, \"Seems as good as any.\" she replies, the group heading off towards the lake. It takes about a half hour for them to walk, though given how often they get exercise in the jungles of India it's not strenuous at all. Eventually they arrive at the lakefront, Dawn sniffing at the air as Simoni closes her eyes, trying to listen to the winds nearby to see if they can give any hint as to what's going on. \"Anyone getting anything?\" she asks.\n\nThe lake looks... entirely normal. A small, very clean, lake attached to a flowing river surrounded by very alive trees. There's a small dock built on it for fishing, though now the lake has overflowed a good bit, enveloping the dock by a good few inches, but nothing else. \"That's... weird right? A lake like this that at least used to be an attraction would have something right?\n\nSimoni nods, then looks around. \"Hm... no mundanes...\" she murmurs, \"May as well have a look around then.\" she nods, then slips out of her kimono. Under it she's wearing a white cotton tank top and a pair of green shorts. She flexes her arms as they begin to stretch, scales growing all along her legs as she shifts from human to garuda. She nods to Arja, bending down so the girl can climb onto her back, and then shoots up into the air, the lake spreading out under them as they get a literal bird's eye view of the area.\n\nArja nods, hopping on you to look down \"Wait shit, something's in there!\" She says, pointing down. Dead center in the lake was, well it looked like a bunch of wood and some shiny stuff, hard to tell this high up.\n\nSimoni blinks, then swoops lower, staying high enough to keep out of reach of whatever might be hiding in the water. It's probably nothing supernatural, maybe a kappa nest at worst, but she'd learned to be cautious in their travels. \"Hm... see anything Arja?\" she asks as the pair get lower over the debris.\n\nArja shakes her head \"It's deep, I'd kinda rather not go in...\" she says, Sammi nodding, \"On it, ice fae, water's part of the domain.\" he says, running to the lake and diving in, leaving a faint bit of frost behind where he dove.\n\nStephy sits down on the banks as he watches Sammi do his thing. He was an ice fae too, but thanks to his former heritage he had more in common with icy winter winds than anything strictly water based... that and Sammi was just a better swimmer than he was. As he goes in Simoni tilts and angles back towards the shore, landing just past the edge of the water as she bends down and lets Arja climb back off her.\n\nAfter a bit of diving Sammi returns up, holding a bundle of glossy painted black wood, an empty old frame, an old incense burner, and what look like an assortment of small boxes of various colors. \"Welp\" Arja says, \"There's our shrine, must have gotten knocked over in the flood...\"\n\nSimoni nods, \"Yeah, looks like it. So, anyone know how to set up a Shinto shrine?\" she asks as she looks over by the banks. There's a bare spot with some half-flooded holes, like where a few wooden posts might have gone, most likely where the shrine was before the flood.\n\nEveryone shakes their heads at that, \"Better call sis, with her work I'm sure she's done this before, get comfy.\" she says, Sammi diving back down to snatch a few other flooded valuables not belonging to the shrine as Arja makes her call.\n\nAs they do Dawn looks at the post holes and earflicks, \"Hm...\" she narrows her eyes, sniffing at the ground... then frowning. \"Guys? This wasn't knocked out by the flood. Look.\" she points at the ground near where the shrine was. There's a set of footprints there, the backs of which are deeper as if, say, someone was pushing on something. \"Someone vandalized the shrine, knocked it into the water.\" she nods, straightening up.\n\nDrusilla sighs \"That'll make it more annoying.\" she frowns as Arja nods, \"Yea, what kinda jerk vandalizes a shrine this far out?\"\n\nDawn nods. It was done recently too, within the past twenty four hours approximately. \"Yeah, why would they do it to this one anyways? I mean its way out in the middle of nowhere, nobody... around for... ah shit.\" she meeps, her words trailing off before, suddenly, everyone in the group feels a chill running up their spines, like someone walked over their grave. It's the kind of chill that makes goosebumps appear on flesh and sends people on edge... and worst of all, its familiar.\n\nIts not as bad, but it feels like the Underworld.\n\nDrusilla shivers \"What?\" she gasps as Arja frowns, \"Shit, alright, spread out, keep your eyes open...\"\n\nSimoni shudders as Dawn hisses, her ears going flat as she flexes her claws. Stephy slips out of his own kimono, dressed the same as Simoni was (though his shorts were pink) as he changes into his own bird-like form... the air around them seems unnaturally still... even the water seems to have stopped moving... and then with a suddenness that even makes Dawn jump there's a man standing amongst the group.\n\nHe's asian and looks to be about fourty years old, dressed in a simple polo shirt, slacks, and leather shoes. He wouldn't look out of place at a more casual office building... and yet there's something horribly wrong about his face. A leering grin on his lips as he looks over the group. \"Kids shouldn't be out this late…\" he whispers, then just as suddenly he vanishes again. No sudden sensation of magic like when Dawn teleports. He's just gone.\n\nDrusilla jumps at the man before he vanishes, growling as she winds up skidding on the ground, Arja's claws ripping out of her fingers as she snarls as well, \"And creepy old men shouldn't be scaring little girls!\"\n\nThe man reappears again a few feet away, \"Oh how mean... I just want to play with yooooooou…\" he giggles, leering at the group as he leans in, then vanishes again, \"Play with you over and over and over and over until you can't STAND it anymore!\" he cackles, grinning wider... and wider... until his mouth seems too big for his face.\n\nArja blinks, her fur bristling, \"Wait... oh fuck I know who this is!\" she says, her hands wrapping in fire as she gets ready for a real fight.\n\nSimoni nods as Dawn hisses, having pulled off her own kimono and dropped to all fours, moving more like a feral cat than any human now. The man laughs again as his body begins to spark, soon glowing with a halo of ghostly flames as his eyes seem to sink back into his skull, becoming gaping black holes, his teeth grinding and gnashing until they're serrated pointy objects. \"You didn't think that witch would be able to keep me down there forever did you?!\" he sneers, \"Time to plaaaaaay, little dolls…\" he grins wickedly.\n\nLike a nightmare come to life the man’s body twists and warps, shifting and swirling until he becomes a monstrous ghostly apparition, looming over the group. His chest grows and stretches, becoming akin to an exposed ribcage and, between the ribs, shapes are visible. Small feminine bodies, like children… trapped forever with the monster that murdered them.\n\nThere’s no mistaking it. Paale has returned!\n\nSimoni shoots under Arja and lifts her up into the air as Stephy does likewise with Sammi, a blast of ghostflames hitting right where they'd been standing a moment before as the man's skin turns chalk white. \"Come back down dollies! LET ME PLAY WITH YOU!\"\n\nDrusilla growls, trying to tackle him, \"Fuck off creep!\" she snarls, Arja sending bolts of fire down at him as Sammi freezes the ground under him, trying to knock him over. \"Craaaap! where's my sister?! She can handle this guy easy!”\n\nPaale knocks Drusilla away, then looks down at the icy patch under him and simply vanishes once more, Arja's flames simply melting Sammi's ice where they hit. Dawn looks around frantically, trying to spot where he went... until there's a sudden pressure behind Arja and Sammi as Paale appears behind them and grabs both them and their mounts, putting his full weight on Simoni and Stephy. The two of them let out a sudden cry as the added weight is too much for them to support and their wings lose the fight with gravity, all five of them plummeting back towards the ground!\n\nArja and Sammi scream as they and their siblings are brought down harshly, Sammi blasting a trail of ice in their path for them to skid down rather than take the full brunt of the impact, the fae looking exhausted from conjuring that much material at once, though...\n\nSimoni quickly shifts back to human form as they land, rather than risk her fragile bird-bones being broken by the impact. Even then she takes the landing harshly, a large purple bruise forming on one of her arms as she scoots backwards from the ghostly monster. \"Hehehe… That ghost did her job fabulously didn't she? I wrecked her shrine and told her if she wanted it back she had to get you guys over here. I thought I'd be camping out all week but you showed up the very next day!\" he sneers.\n\nSimoni scoots away from him, \"How... how the hell are you even here?!\" she demands, \"Even if you could get out you shouldn't...\" she pauses as Paale laughs at her, \"Hehehe... how do you think little doll?\" he taunts, tapping his chest, \"I found myself a host! We're a sin eater now, and I'm going to gobble each and every one of you up!\" he grins, rearing up one of his arms... before a sudden streak of yellow dives at him and almost knocks Paale off his feet. Lupe lands on all fours, her jaws clamped firmly around Paale's left wrist as she snarls at him. Behind the group there's a squeak of tires as a car pulls up, Nelen climbing out of the passenger seat and glaring at the new sin eater, Merihim's tendrils already snaking their way out of his bandages and lashing around eagerly at the anger his host is feeling.\n\nArja growls, taking a defensive stance in front of Simoni as Sammi does the same by Stephy, both of them wrapping their hands in their elements, Sammi forming wicked looking ice claws. As they do however, Iravi climbs out of the car, \"Get down!\" she yells at Lupe, pulling what looks like a shiny jade, aiming it and firing three shots at the sin-eater, streaks of bright white light wrapped around the bullets as they fly at him, designed not just to cut flesh, but to tear at ectoplasm as well, damaging the host and their connection to their spirit. \"Stay the FUCK away from my sister!\" she snarls, her own iron fangs exposed as she advances.\n\nPaale stumbles as the beams hit him, tearing chunks out of his ectoplasmic form and revealing the human sin eater underneath as he stumbles. \"Well hey hey! Gang's all here now!\" he grins... before letting out a sudden sharp cry as Nelen rakes one of Merihim's tendrils across his stomach, the razor sharp teeth of the demon tearing through his host's stomach almost far enough to expose his organs. \"Stay the fuck away from OUR sisters!\" he shouts, readying another blast of blood, charging it up with every nasty contagion he can think of, from smallpox to the common cold. Even if he is a sin eater and his 'plasm' will protect him from mundane diseases SOMETHING in there would break through...\n\n... or it would have if Paale was completely stupid. A host is a hard thing for a sin eater to find and he knows full well that he can't hope to kill the whole group together. He quickly shoots a burst of ghost fire at Lupe, the werewolf yelping in panic as she darts away, but not before getting a nose full of smoke and ash, causing her to whine and rub frantically at her nostrils, trying to clear them. He lets out one last mocking laugh before vanishing again, using the Stillness key to shroud him long enough to make his escape.\n\nArja gnashes her fangs as she looks around, \"Stop hiding you coward! Fight with some honor!\" she roars as she looks around, Arja's sister moving to gather the shrine materials, starting to quickly rebuild it.\n\nNelen sighs and pulls Merihim back inside his body, the demon seeping back through his bandages. \"Arja, don't bother. He's long gone.\" he sighs, taking several deep breaths to calm himself down as Simoni goes over to Lupe, trying to help the werewolf. \"He didn't want to risk losing a host, so he made sure Lupe couldn't track him and bolted. If there's an Avernian Gate anywhere near here he's probably already hiding in the Underworld.\" he frowns.\n\nHe helps Iravi set up the shrine again as Stephy uses his magic to ice Simoni's bruise, the garuda frowning at it as she pouts, \"Great, I'm not going to be flying for a while now...\" she huffs, \"Seems like I keep getting my wings clipped every other week. First Franklin, then Carmen, and now Paale...\"\n\nArja frowns, snugging her sister gently, \"I'm sorry…\" she pouts as her sister and Nelen work on the shrine, able to get it set up quickly enough. Iravi chants softly as she lights the incense with her finger, reciting a shinto funeral prayer. There's a long pause before the frame shudders, shaking and rattling wildly before a picture seems to appear in it from thin air... a very old picture, looking like from about when cameras were first 'a thing'... a black and white photo of a young girl standing with her family, a mother and father and three sisters.\n\nNelen looks at it, adjusting his glasses. \"Guess that's our ghost girl.\" he mutters, Dawn walking over as she adjusts her kimono. A nekomimi in Japan would already get the otakus into overdrive, a naked one would probably cause riots. \"Yeah, that'd be her. Looks like she's been here for a while now.\" she nods.\n\nDrusilla nods, still frowning at the lack of ability to punch Paale before the air ripples around the shrine, Iravi finishing her chant to rebless it. After a bit the girl in white steps out of the air... then another... then another... then another... All four young girls, looking the same age and build, the same long black hair and white robe.\n\nSimoni gives Arja a single armed hug with her uninjured arm, kissing the monkey girl on the cheek as she looks over at the sudden appearance of the ghostly quadruplets, \"Guess that explains why we saw so many.\" she says, nodding to herself, \"Well, at least now we can be sure they won't be haunting anyone.\" she nods as Lupe rrrfs, still pawing at her face as she tries to clear out her nostrils. Thanks to Paale she'd have a hard time smelling much of anything, much less the faint ectoplasmic trail left by a sin eater.\n\nArja nods, the girls bowing in unison before one speaks to the group, surprisingly in English this time. \"We are so sorry for our part in this. As long as our shrine was broken, though, it was like we were drowning again. We tried telling people but... well... no one understood, they just seemed to want to aim their boxes at us...”\n\nSimoni nods sympathetically. Its not like the girls would be likely to know what a smartphone was, \"Its alright. We know the man who vandalized your shrine, he's a real bastard when it comes to little girls.\" she replies. Nelen nods, \"Your shrine should be safe now. I doubt Paale will try this again now that we know he's back.\" he adds.\n\nArja nods, Iravi doing so as well, \"I added a few warding spells, even for a sin-eater it'll be hard to do anything to you girls again. We're so sorry for whatever problems this caused.\"\n\nSimoni lays back on the grass and sighs as, one by one, the ghosts begin to vanish back into... well... rest, the grave, wherever ghosts go really. \"Well, our trip to Japan is off to a flying start...\" she giggles, then sits up a bit and looks out at the lake. \"This may sound weird, given what just happened and all, but... anyone wanna get sushi or something?\" she asks as Dawn's head snaps around so hard that her neck almost pops, \"HELL YEAH!\" she mrowls.","writing_bbcode_parsed":"With a faint squeak of rubber the plane touches down on the tarmac outside of the airport in Tokyo Bay. Not just near it, or around it, literally in the bay itself, a manmade island and one of the biggest airports in the world. Inside the plane Stephy and Simoni are practically vibrating with excitement, both are wearing kimonos (Stephy's white with blue snowflakes, Simoni's green with a pattern of feathers on the sleeves) as they prepare to disembark.
They're kids, and like many kids these days, they're otaku. They were born right after the anime boom of the 1990s and grew up in a culture where manga, anime, and video games from Japan were in a massive spotlight. The whole last ten minutes of the flight they'd been making a low, high pitched, excited squeeing sound that had Dawn folding her ears and Lupe whining and slinking to the back cabin to curl up on Natasha's coffin with her hands over her ears.
Arja grins wide, just as excited as the others, dressed in her red and gold kimono with a monkey on the back, a gold vine pattern surrounding it. "Alright so we'll get to my sister's place nice and fast and then we're going on a shopping spree, I wanna hit up all the big anime stores and Sammi's probably gonna beeline for the fashion district..." Sammi was on his way, coming in from Arcadia, the young magician not wanting to make a scene for one (androgynous young boy who's magic show involves more than a few Magical Girl tributes...he was fairly big in Japan...) for another, as the group learned during the prison raid, he genuinely didn't like flight that much...nature fae, he's more at home on the ground, or in water to be specific. Stephy wasn’t, but then Stephy had retained his ability to fly even after becoming a fae so that was probably why.
Natasha was snoozing in the large trunk she was 'stored' in, wrapped up in a black and red kimono for when she wakes up to prowl the night...
Simoni nods to her as she tries to decide if she's gonna run off with Arja or Sammi first. She wants to stay with Arja during as much of the trip as possible of course, but she is a girly girl and the fashion district was practically calling to her. Stephy, of course, would set off with his fae brother as soon as he showed up. "Yeah, so is your sister really okay with all of us showing up like this?" she asks, gesturing to the rest of their group.
Aisha, Sandra, Spooky, Lara (who had been on Bethandi's ship and returned with Stephy), and Alice (Arja was still annoyed with how she got her new body and besides it stood out too much) had stayed behind in India. Nelen had, at Simoni's insistence, donned a black men's kimono with a sort of magic circle drawn on the back (though no force on earth would separate him from his black baseball cap), and Dawn had her own orange one with the image of a stylized black cat with glowing yellow eyes on it. Lupe had her own, midnight blue with a wolf motif, but she had resisted all attempts to get it on until Natasha had made her agree to wear it (and be human) after they'd landed. Drusilla, seated next to Nelen, had on her human disguise bracelet and a deep purple kimono with the image of a huge red one-eyed oni on it.
"I mean, y'know. Our family has gotten pretty huge..." she admits, giggling a bit as she leans into Arja.
Arja smiles, "It's fine." she says as she pats Simoni's head, "She has a big house she's... doing pretty well for herself." she giggles. Despite the trip she hadn't said much about her big sister, just that she was in her twenties, married, and some kind of 'government contractor'. Soon enough the plane was fully ready for disembarking, the girls a near mini flood as they surged to the door, bumping past the poor stewardess Arja's family employed for the private plane. Sammi was already waiting at the base of the stairs, having teleported in shortly after the plane landed, wearing an ice blue and gold lined kimono with a stylized butterfly pattern not just on the back but running down the sleeves.
Stephy immediately glomps Sammi, then pulls him over next to Trixie, the tomboy in her own men's kimono depicting the sunset over a western landscape (Stephy and Sammi had gotten them all made in Arcadia at one of the goblin markets. He hadn't told the group exactly how he'd paid for such things, as money was generally an unknown concept among the fae... though Trixie had noticed he was limping a bit when he first returned with them).
Simoni giggles and rolls her eyes at the two, then follows along behind the group as they leave the airport, heading into Tokyo. It was an interesting sight for both them and the people who lived there. Even in a city like Tokyo a group as... varied... as theirs stood out like a Computer Technician in Amish Country. Simoni is hanging on Arja's arm the whole way in, noticing as they leave that someone isn't entirely in disguise.
"Dawn!" she hisses to the cat, "Your ears! Where's your hat?!" she says, to which the cat just grins and replies, "Chill out, we're in Japan. As far as anyone knows they're a fashion accessory."
Sure enough, as they pass a few young girls Simoni catches a bit of chatter with words like 'neko-chan' and 'kawaii', the girls squealing when Dawn winks at them and flexes her ears, folding and moving them.
Arja smirks lightly as she walks along, Sammi snuggling into Stephy happily as he walks with them. The path was outside of the 'core' city, not living in the normal residential districts of large apartment buildings and small private houses. She was living in the 'old' part of Tokyo, or one of them at least. It was more expensive than the city proper by a good bit, but for your money you got a good deal more land, large houses with yards and such... Drusilla yawns softly as she carries most of the luggage behind her, including the trunk holding Natasha.
"Let's seeee…" Arja thinks, walking past gates to houses, looking at numbers, "Should be right... aha! Here!" She smiles, stopping in front of a rather large iron gate, Stephy and Sammi both can sense it's the real deal 'cold iron' not just modern alloy painted to look like old school iron. There was even a large red Torii gate behind it as if it was a temple... Beyond it was a rather large house, a garden surrounding it full of cherry blossom trees, even a koi pond out front, looking like someone designed it from a tourism poster...
Stephy eeps and ducks behind Trixie, peeking out at it. Even if it didn't have an edge to it, just the touch of cold iron was painful to fae like himself. A horseshoe, a hammer, anything made from wrought iron would burn. Dawn smirks at him as he does, "Aww, wassamatter? Scared of the big bad iron?" she smirks, then yelps as her tail suddenly ices over under her kimono.
Lupe grins at that, the feral girl still tugging awkwardly at her own robes as she tries to resist the urge to get down on all fours. She wants to, badly, but... well... Alpha-bat told her not to. Wolf instincts were a useful thing sometimes, she could try, but she would rarely disobey a direct order from Natasha unless it was a matter of life or death (like the incident with the Goblin King). "So... is there a buzzer we ring or..." asks Nelen, looking up at the building with an impressed expression.
Arja looks around, not finding one, "Weird, guess she doesn't get lots of visitors... eh fuck it we're family." she says, pushing the gate open for the group (and holding it away so the fae could walk past it without getting singed). Going under the arch, though, was a different kind of discomfort. The fae wouldn't feel it, but Natasha would grunt and wiggle in the coffin box, making it rattle, and likely Nelen would feel his demon a bit uneasy as he got under it directly. The arches were meant to ward off evil spirits and the angry dead and the sort, not a full on banishment, more like a warning that beyond that point there was probably someone who could mess them up badly if they were able to keep that arch blessed. It seemed Arja's sister knew a good deal about the supernatural, and how to ward it off
Stephy and Sammi practically go through the gates back to back to keep their eyes on the iron and make sure it stays the hell away from them, and indeed, Merihim does cause Nelen's arm to spasm and twitch restlessly as the warlock winces at it, "Gah... huh, yeah, thats the real deal there..." he nods at the Torii once they're past it, his arm throbbing faintly for a few minutes afterwards.
"Guess I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, she is -your- sister Arja." he nods to her, "So, yeah, of course she'd know about stuff like this."
Arja just grins as she makes her way to the front door. A video camera was mounted over it to give the people inside a look at how was there without needing a peep hole... She gave a little wave to the camera before knocking loudly, rocking back and forth on her feet happily as she waits. Soon enough the door opens, revealing a tall young woman that looked like... well a bigger Arja, her hair longer, tied back in a ponytail. She certainly looked like she grew up athletic like Arja, standing a good 5' 9" and her body looking rather lean and toned under the long white coat she wore over her orange top and black pants. "Arja!" she says happily, squatting down to give her sister a hug.
Simoni giggles, stepping a bit over so Arja and her sister can have their little reunion. She lets her eyes wander over the woman, wondering idly if that's what Arja will look like when she gets older. The rest of the group stands back politely, though Lupe is still fussing and whining at having to wear... well, anything.
Arja smiles, hugging back, "Glad to see you! Guys this is Ivari, my oldest sister, Ivari this is... well this is Simoni, she's your sister too now..." she says, getting the most 'important' introduction out of the way before pointing out everyone, the woman smiling happily as she nods, "Wonderful, glad so many of you could make it." she says before stepping aside, "Come on in and make yourself at home," she says, ushering the group into her large living room area. As a bit of a contrast to the rather old school look of the outside, inside was all modern and high tech. Flat screen on the wall, sound system hooked up all through the room, large comfy sofas...
Simoni giggles and gives her new 'sister' a hug as well, the rest of the crew waving, nodding, or barking in Lupe's case as they're introduced, heading on inside as they look around. Nelen looks pretty impressed, he's a techie as much as he is a wizard, so anything shiny and electronic tends to draw his attention. Dawn however, in typical cat-like fashion, immediately notices the large plush sofa and flops onto it with a large grin.
Arja smiles as her sister nods, "Now let's see if I remember, garuda…" she says pointing to Simoni, "… obviously the wonder-cat…" she says to Dawn, "I can tell by the bark and the hate of clothes that's our werewolf." she says, nodding to Lupe, "Considering she's lugging the bags all by herself that must be the Cyclops." she says to Dru before nodding to Nelen, "Which makes you the blood mage. Then there's the fae brothers." she says to Sammi and Stephy, "I assume your vampire is in the trunk and... hrm…" she says, looking at Trixie, "The other werewolf?"
Stephy giggles, "No, but she's definitely built like one in certain areas." he grins, "She's our huckster." he nods, "The other werewolf stayed home."
Dawn grins, "Yeah, puppers has enough trouble flying already, we didn't want to risk it with a fully grown werewolf." she nods. She'd gotten fairly used to the changes in pressure, but Lupe was having a much harder time adapting and Sandra... well... Nelen had to knock her out or risk the plane going down after her new senses reacted to being several thousand feet in the air.
Ivari nods, giggling, "Aw, almost had ‘em all…" she says, smiling to Trixie, "Well you guys settle in, make yourselves at home, but I do have a couple rules. For one, most things here that look like they cost a lot did, try not to break them. For another I'm fine with you in whatever supernatural form is comfortable, but you must leave and enter this house as humans, I can't have little monsters scrambling around my front yard in front of the neighbors. Also I'm sure Arja is beyond coy about what my job is so I'll say now I'm an... eliminations specialist that works on contract with the Japanese government... I hunt monsters and such. So, I have things like iron knives, silver bullets, poisons, lots of things that can PROBABLY kill all of you. Now, luckily all that stuff is safe and secure in my lab, if you don't cause chaos in there you'll be plenty safe."
Nelen nods, "Huh, that'd explain the Torii..." he murmurs as Stephy, Dawn, and Simoni wince a bit. Even Lupe listens to the last one, though she might miss the part about property damage... especially since the expensive sofa cushions are calling to her dog-like instincts in a very specific way. "Yeah, I think we can manage that." nods Simoni, getting a firm grip on Lupe before she can start chewing on the sofa, "Stoppit or I'm telling Nat." she frowns at Lupe, the werewolf whining and pouting... until Simoni takes a rawhide bone out of the luggage. Lupe immediately pounces it and starts growling and gnawing.
After they spend a few hours visiting the group heads out into the city, Nelen having made an excuse to stay behind mostly so he can look into the stuff that Ivari keeps in her lab (because geek), while Dawn and Lupe do likewise. Dawn being very much a lazy cat while Lupe wants to focus on the bone. It’s also not quite sunset yet so Natasha stays in her coffin for now. "So, where to first then guys?" asks Simoni.
Arja grins, "Well I suppose I'm out voted for the fashion district anyway." she teases as Sammi nods "Mhm, me and Stephy were gonna just run there anyway..."
Simoni grins widely and nods, along with Stephy who's already trying to puzzle out the street signs. "Um... just occurred to me guys... do any of us, well, read or speak Japanese?" he asks, sounding a bit worried. They already stood out as foreigners in a very isolationist country (though Tokyo was more liberal than the rest of Japan by far), but they would have to ask directions eventually...
Arja blinks "Uh... a little..." she says as she looks around, nope, none of this matched the Japanese Kanji used in big flashy attacks on One Piece, "Yea we're boned..."
Dawn leans in, peeking her head between Arja and Simoni's, "It says that the shopping district is that way." she says, then grins, "Nelen thought you guys might need me." she smirks, having teleported nearby and snuck up behind the group as they were puzzling over the sign.
Arja jumps a bit as she appears, then stares at the cheshire. "...Since when do you speak Japanese, catface?"
Dawn grins at her, "Since I speak Hindi, and Romanian, and all the languages you kids know. I was born able to do this." she replies, "Bit of a perk of being a Wonderlander. We're born hyper-linguistic." she nods, "Which means, yes, I know all the stuff you two said about me when you were talking in Hindi." she boops both Arja and Simoni's noses, then turns on her heel and heads off into the crowd, "C'mon kids, thought you wanted to do some shopping!"
Arja smirks "Noted, alright let's go, follow the neko." she teases, guiding through the crowd easily, years of living in much more chaotic Indian crowds meant the much more orderly Japanese ones were easy to navigate for her, almost like swimming, just gotta find a current and follow it...
The group heads out into the shopping district, Dawn leading the way as she's able to translate for them. Even in a city like Tokyo though they do get some odd looks. For one their group consists of two hindi girls, three blonde-haired white kids, a huge black haired woman who towers over most anyone else nearby (Drusilla was still disguised as an adult human), and Dawn who wasn't making any attempt to hide her cat-like features on the basis that most would just assume she was some kind of otaku. "So, any idea where you guys wanna go first?" she asks.
Arja shrugs lightly as she looks around, "Hmmm good question…" she says, grinning at the display around her, "So many neat places!"
Sammi nods, eyes locking on any cosplay or costume shop they pass. "Ooh I can use that in my act!" he giggles, stopping in front of a shop mainly focused on maid costumes, yanking Stephy inside with him.
Stephy lets out an eep as he gets dragged along behind his fae brother, Simoni looking curiously at the window of a collectibles store... before she blinks, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck prick up suddenly. She straightens up, then heads over to Arja as casually as she can and whispers in Hindi, "Arja, do you feel anything odd?" she asks. Of course Arja would know when she said odd she meant 'supernatural that isn't one of us'. She could sense something, but in this crowd it could be anything. Hell, it could just be some random magic user walking past who isn't even paying attention to them.
Arja nods, looking around, "Could be harmless though. Tokyo's a big city." she whispers back, "Lots of magic users or the like could be hanging around. After a bit more browsing, though, a shriek comes from a nearby store, followed by more, before people begin surging over to the storefront! Cries of 'it's her again' and 'I told you it was real' (though they’re in Japanese so only Dawn knows what they’re saying) come as people whip their phones out to record and take pictures.
Dawn's tail fluffs out under her kimoni as her ears perk up. She makes a 'stay here' gesture and then, suddenly, she's not there. Simoni and Arja get a brief glimpse of her eyes winking at them, before those vanish as well and Dawn, invisible, sneaks up to the crowd and tries to see what's going on. Its not easy, even for her. She has to duck around people and be careful not to bump into anyone. That's the problem with her abilities... She can teleport and she can turn invisible, but she can't do them both at the same time.
The storefront seems fairly normal. It's a horror shop, it sells replicas from famous movies, some stuff from Japanese folklore and urban legends, even some rather distasteful 'too soon' stuff like replica sweatshirts from that time some crazy kid cut up a classmate with a boxcutter. Up at the window there was a display of costumes… including one very realistic display of a young girl in a long white full body robe, her straight black hair down to her lower back and over her eyes down to her nose. It seems everyone is focused on that for some reason... before 'it' moves, hands jerking around before it lunges at a nearby woman, making her scream with... well she sounded scared but also kinda excited, cameras going off all around to capture it before the girl does the same thing with someone else. For a bit it looks like just some kinda cosplay event, right up until the girl vanishes into thin air.
Dawn's ears perk up before the girl ever vanishes, and even then she can tell that she's still 'there', just not visible anymore. She sneaks back to the others and lets herself become visible again, flicking one of her ears. "Its a ghost." she nods, "Creepy sure, but not our problem. Looks like she can't stay corporial for very long before she snaps back into being intangible so she's probably not very strong." she shrugs. "Scared the jeebas out of the locals though."
Arja nods, "Hm, weird." she comments as she goes back to looking around. Then suddenly there's another shriek from down further in the street as the crowd moves quickly to follow it...
Simoni raises her eyebrow, "That was fast... I don't know a ton about ghosts, but doesn't it usually take them longer to get up enough energy to do that?" she asks as Dawn shrugs, "Don't look at me, the dead aren't my thing. If Draculaura wasn't snoozing away in her coffin then maybe we could find out where she's going or what she wants..."
Arja shrugs as well, "Yea ghosts are my sister's thing, not much experience here." she adds, moving down the street further before another shriek comes from behind the group, then another, then Sammi comes running out of the maid store yelling angrily in French.
Stephy stumbles out behind him, hastily straightening his own icy blue kimono as Simoni looks around, "Wait... how many are there!?" she gasps as Dawn's tail thrashes under her robes, the cat's ears flattened against her head. She reaches into her bag, trying to fish out her cell phone.
Arja nods, "Shit, I should call sis..." she says, reaching for her own phone as the girl in white appears right in front of the group, seeming to appear out of the crowd itself. In a flash everyone's cellphone battery suddenly drains to zero, even Dru's bracelet seems to 'short out' making her yelp loudly as soon enough she (thankfully with her clothing) are shrunk down to normal... the girl in white just standing there silently.
More than a few people are shocked by the sudden appearance of a cyclops, though Dawn thinks faster as her eyes literally shine bright yellow, everyone around them suddenly turning and running into the distance. "Alright, that'll keep them away for a bit." she nods, having used her powers to induce a sudden surge of fear in the onlookers. Simoni looks at the girl, tilting her head, "Who are you? What do you want?" she asks the ghost, it's obvious to her that she was trying to get their attention...
The girl just keeps standing there as Drusilla reaches into a nearby shop, pulling out a white and red kitsune mask and quickly pulling it over her face. The girl looks like she starts to talk, words coming out in a low gurgle as water pours from her mouth, not staining the ground as it hits it...
Simoni winces, stepping back a bit even though the water vanishes before it actually reaches the ground. Ghosts tend to reflect some facet of their death and, in the girl's case, she most likely drowned. Could be a suicide, could be an accident, could even be a victim of the recent tsunami... but somehow water factored into her demise. Dawn listens closely, trying to make out as much as she can... after all she can at least understand Japanese.
The girl's words are hard to understand around the torrent of water coming from her, but Dawn does recognize a few words; "Shrine" "Can't" and "Listen" are coherent enough to get through the deluge of water...
She scratches her ear thoughtfully, "She's saying something about a shrine, and that either she wants to listen or wants us to listen, but she can't somehow..." she nods, "Arja, call your sister and ask her if there's any shrines around here, something that might have relevance to anyone who might've died from drowning."
Arja nods, moving out from around the ghost girl to put her call in, speaking rather quickly with her to try to outrun the last sliver of battery she had thanks to the drain. After a bit she returns, the ghost girl having vanished. "She says there are a couple in the area, even more if we're talking all of Tokyo. People often build little shrines if someone dies suddenly, especially a kid... Thing is we have no idea how old she is, most shrines just kinda go away after a few months as people stop going to them but if she's old her shrine could have been made more 'official'... or could be gone entirely...”
Simoni folds her arms and thinks, "Hm... she didn't look that old, but then she could have died decades ago and still look the same." she nods, then sighs and leans back against one of the buildings, "Y'know, just once it'd be nice to go on a vacation and have, y'know, a vacation." she frowns, then stands up, "Well... there was that huge tsunami that hit Japan a while back... maybe we should look at the memorial for that one?" she suggests. It was a national disaster, so its quite likely that it'd have been made permanent.
Arja nods, "There are a good few of those, we should be able to find one." she says before pausing, "Wait... can't and listen, right Dawn? That sounds... weird. What kind of ghost cares about listening?"
Dawn blinks, then earflicks, "Huh, good question actually... maybe she was into music or something before she died?" she suggests as Simoni just shrugs her shoulders at that one.
Arja nods, "That's a good idea. So music with that, that's probably more a personal shrine... Gimmie a sec." she says, going back to make another call, coming back, "Alright, I think I figured out a lead. I asked my sister if there've been any floods recently. She said none in the city but a place just outside city limits got hit with some bad rain recently and had flooding issues. Let's grab a train."
Simoni nods to her as the group heads off, Dawn leading the way to the local rail station as the group boards up and heads out to where Ivari indicated. As the train rattles along she leans into Arja, looking troubled. "Why did that ghost try to get our attention though? I mean, doesn't Japan have it's own little supernatural cliques and such?" she asks.
Arja shrugs faintly, "Maybe we were the only group nearby, she could be tethered somehow..." she says as she watches the city slowly vanish, "At least this is kinda fun, a mystery rather than, ya know, attempted murder."
Simoni nods as Dawn frowns, reaching into her robes and feeling around a bit, as if scratching an itch. "Yeah, well, we'd better hope that's all it is." says the cat, "I mean, Japanese magic is pretty much unknown to me and Nelen. Hell, this is the first time either of us have even been in Japan. They're pretty isolationist when it comes to their supernatural circles." she shrugs. Eventually the train gets to their stop and the group disembarks, Dawn looking around at the scenery. "Alright, any idea where we are?"
Arja stretches her arms out, looking around. Even just a short trip from Tokyo it was a world apart, nearly undeveloped save for a road and some small shops by the train station. A large sign advertising local tourist traps... one does catch the eye, well, actually it doesn't catch the eye at all, unless you're actively looking for something to fit the bill. Faded, paint peeling, words hard to read even when you squint reading ‘Lake of Drowned Tears, 1 mile North’. Drusilla blinks a bit, looking to the others, "Sounds spooky, seems the best lead?"
Simoni nods, "Seems as good as any." she replies, the group heading off towards the lake. It takes about a half hour for them to walk, though given how often they get exercise in the jungles of India it's not strenuous at all. Eventually they arrive at the lakefront, Dawn sniffing at the air as Simoni closes her eyes, trying to listen to the winds nearby to see if they can give any hint as to what's going on. "Anyone getting anything?" she asks.
The lake looks... entirely normal. A small, very clean, lake attached to a flowing river surrounded by very alive trees. There's a small dock built on it for fishing, though now the lake has overflowed a good bit, enveloping the dock by a good few inches, but nothing else. "That's... weird right? A lake like this that at least used to be an attraction would have something right?
Simoni nods, then looks around. "Hm... no mundanes..." she murmurs, "May as well have a look around then." she nods, then slips out of her kimono. Under it she's wearing a white cotton tank top and a pair of green shorts. She flexes her arms as they begin to stretch, scales growing all along her legs as she shifts from human to garuda. She nods to Arja, bending down so the girl can climb onto her back, and then shoots up into the air, the lake spreading out under them as they get a literal bird's eye view of the area.
Arja nods, hopping on you to look down "Wait shit, something's in there!" She says, pointing down. Dead center in the lake was, well it looked like a bunch of wood and some shiny stuff, hard to tell this high up.
Simoni blinks, then swoops lower, staying high enough to keep out of reach of whatever might be hiding in the water. It's probably nothing supernatural, maybe a kappa nest at worst, but she'd learned to be cautious in their travels. "Hm... see anything Arja?" she asks as the pair get lower over the debris.
Arja shakes her head "It's deep, I'd kinda rather not go in..." she says, Sammi nodding, "On it, ice fae, water's part of the domain." he says, running to the lake and diving in, leaving a faint bit of frost behind where he dove.
Stephy sits down on the banks as he watches Sammi do his thing. He was an ice fae too, but thanks to his former heritage he had more in common with icy winter winds than anything strictly water based... that and Sammi was just a better swimmer than he was. As he goes in Simoni tilts and angles back towards the shore, landing just past the edge of the water as she bends down and lets Arja climb back off her.
After a bit of diving Sammi returns up, holding a bundle of glossy painted black wood, an empty old frame, an old incense burner, and what look like an assortment of small boxes of various colors. "Welp" Arja says, "There's our shrine, must have gotten knocked over in the flood..."
Simoni nods, "Yeah, looks like it. So, anyone know how to set up a Shinto shrine?" she asks as she looks over by the banks. There's a bare spot with some half-flooded holes, like where a few wooden posts might have gone, most likely where the shrine was before the flood.
Everyone shakes their heads at that, "Better call sis, with her work I'm sure she's done this before, get comfy." she says, Sammi diving back down to snatch a few other flooded valuables not belonging to the shrine as Arja makes her call.
As they do Dawn looks at the post holes and earflicks, "Hm..." she narrows her eyes, sniffing at the ground... then frowning. "Guys? This wasn't knocked out by the flood. Look." she points at the ground near where the shrine was. There's a set of footprints there, the backs of which are deeper as if, say, someone was pushing on something. "Someone vandalized the shrine, knocked it into the water." she nods, straightening up.
Drusilla sighs "That'll make it more annoying." she frowns as Arja nods, "Yea, what kinda jerk vandalizes a shrine this far out?"
Dawn nods. It was done recently too, within the past twenty four hours approximately. "Yeah, why would they do it to this one anyways? I mean its way out in the middle of nowhere, nobody... around for... ah shit." she meeps, her words trailing off before, suddenly, everyone in the group feels a chill running up their spines, like someone walked over their grave. It's the kind of chill that makes goosebumps appear on flesh and sends people on edge... and worst of all, its familiar.
Its not as bad, but it feels like the Underworld.
Drusilla shivers "What?" she gasps as Arja frowns, "Shit, alright, spread out, keep your eyes open..."
Simoni shudders as Dawn hisses, her ears going flat as she flexes her claws. Stephy slips out of his own kimono, dressed the same as Simoni was (though his shorts were pink) as he changes into his own bird-like form... the air around them seems unnaturally still... even the water seems to have stopped moving... and then with a suddenness that even makes Dawn jump there's a man standing amongst the group.
He's asian and looks to be about fourty years old, dressed in a simple polo shirt, slacks, and leather shoes. He wouldn't look out of place at a more casual office building... and yet there's something horribly wrong about his face. A leering grin on his lips as he looks over the group. "Kids shouldn't be out this late…" he whispers, then just as suddenly he vanishes again. No sudden sensation of magic like when Dawn teleports. He's just gone.
Drusilla jumps at the man before he vanishes, growling as she winds up skidding on the ground, Arja's claws ripping out of her fingers as she snarls as well, "And creepy old men shouldn't be scaring little girls!"
The man reappears again a few feet away, "Oh how mean... I just want to play with yooooooou…" he giggles, leering at the group as he leans in, then vanishes again, "Play with you over and over and over and over until you can't STAND it anymore!" he cackles, grinning wider... and wider... until his mouth seems too big for his face.
Arja blinks, her fur bristling, "Wait... oh fuck I know who this is!" she says, her hands wrapping in fire as she gets ready for a real fight.
Simoni nods as Dawn hisses, having pulled off her own kimono and dropped to all fours, moving more like a feral cat than any human now. The man laughs again as his body begins to spark, soon glowing with a halo of ghostly flames as his eyes seem to sink back into his skull, becoming gaping black holes, his teeth grinding and gnashing until they're serrated pointy objects. "You didn't think that witch would be able to keep me down there forever did you?!" he sneers, "Time to plaaaaaay, little dolls…" he grins wickedly.
Like a nightmare come to life the man’s body twists and warps, shifting and swirling until he becomes a monstrous ghostly apparition, looming over the group. His chest grows and stretches, becoming akin to an exposed ribcage and, between the ribs, shapes are visible. Small feminine bodies, like children… trapped forever with the monster that murdered them.
There’s no mistaking it. Paale has returned!
Simoni shoots under Arja and lifts her up into the air as Stephy does likewise with Sammi, a blast of ghostflames hitting right where they'd been standing a moment before as the man's skin turns chalk white. "Come back down dollies! LET ME PLAY WITH YOU!"
Drusilla growls, trying to tackle him, "Fuck off creep!" she snarls, Arja sending bolts of fire down at him as Sammi freezes the ground under him, trying to knock him over. "Craaaap! where's my sister?! She can handle this guy easy!”
Paale knocks Drusilla away, then looks down at the icy patch under him and simply vanishes once more, Arja's flames simply melting Sammi's ice where they hit. Dawn looks around frantically, trying to spot where he went... until there's a sudden pressure behind Arja and Sammi as Paale appears behind them and grabs both them and their mounts, putting his full weight on Simoni and Stephy. The two of them let out a sudden cry as the added weight is too much for them to support and their wings lose the fight with gravity, all five of them plummeting back towards the ground!
Arja and Sammi scream as they and their siblings are brought down harshly, Sammi blasting a trail of ice in their path for them to skid down rather than take the full brunt of the impact, the fae looking exhausted from conjuring that much material at once, though...
Simoni quickly shifts back to human form as they land, rather than risk her fragile bird-bones being broken by the impact. Even then she takes the landing harshly, a large purple bruise forming on one of her arms as she scoots backwards from the ghostly monster. "Hehehe… That ghost did her job fabulously didn't she? I wrecked her shrine and told her if she wanted it back she had to get you guys over here. I thought I'd be camping out all week but you showed up the very next day!" he sneers.
Simoni scoots away from him, "How... how the hell are you even here?!" she demands, "Even if you could get out you shouldn't..." she pauses as Paale laughs at her, "Hehehe... how do you think little doll?" he taunts, tapping his chest, "I found myself a host! We're a sin eater now, and I'm going to gobble each and every one of you up!" he grins, rearing up one of his arms... before a sudden streak of yellow dives at him and almost knocks Paale off his feet. Lupe lands on all fours, her jaws clamped firmly around Paale's left wrist as she snarls at him. Behind the group there's a squeak of tires as a car pulls up, Nelen climbing out of the passenger seat and glaring at the new sin eater, Merihim's tendrils already snaking their way out of his bandages and lashing around eagerly at the anger his host is feeling.
Arja growls, taking a defensive stance in front of Simoni as Sammi does the same by Stephy, both of them wrapping their hands in their elements, Sammi forming wicked looking ice claws. As they do however, Iravi climbs out of the car, "Get down!" she yells at Lupe, pulling what looks like a shiny jade, aiming it and firing three shots at the sin-eater, streaks of bright white light wrapped around the bullets as they fly at him, designed not just to cut flesh, but to tear at ectoplasm as well, damaging the host and their connection to their spirit. "Stay the FUCK away from my sister!" she snarls, her own iron fangs exposed as she advances.
Paale stumbles as the beams hit him, tearing chunks out of his ectoplasmic form and revealing the human sin eater underneath as he stumbles. "Well hey hey! Gang's all here now!" he grins... before letting out a sudden sharp cry as Nelen rakes one of Merihim's tendrils across his stomach, the razor sharp teeth of the demon tearing through his host's stomach almost far enough to expose his organs. "Stay the fuck away from OUR sisters!" he shouts, readying another blast of blood, charging it up with every nasty contagion he can think of, from smallpox to the common cold. Even if he is a sin eater and his 'plasm' will protect him from mundane diseases SOMETHING in there would break through...
... or it would have if Paale was completely stupid. A host is a hard thing for a sin eater to find and he knows full well that he can't hope to kill the whole group together. He quickly shoots a burst of ghost fire at Lupe, the werewolf yelping in panic as she darts away, but not before getting a nose full of smoke and ash, causing her to whine and rub frantically at her nostrils, trying to clear them. He lets out one last mocking laugh before vanishing again, using the Stillness key to shroud him long enough to make his escape.
Arja gnashes her fangs as she looks around, "Stop hiding you coward! Fight with some honor!" she roars as she looks around, Arja's sister moving to gather the shrine materials, starting to quickly rebuild it.
Nelen sighs and pulls Merihim back inside his body, the demon seeping back through his bandages. "Arja, don't bother. He's long gone." he sighs, taking several deep breaths to calm himself down as Simoni goes over to Lupe, trying to help the werewolf. "He didn't want to risk losing a host, so he made sure Lupe couldn't track him and bolted. If there's an Avernian Gate anywhere near here he's probably already hiding in the Underworld." he frowns.
He helps Iravi set up the shrine again as Stephy uses his magic to ice Simoni's bruise, the garuda frowning at it as she pouts, "Great, I'm not going to be flying for a while now..." she huffs, "Seems like I keep getting my wings clipped every other week. First Franklin, then Carmen, and now Paale..."
Arja frowns, snugging her sister gently, "I'm sorry…" she pouts as her sister and Nelen work on the shrine, able to get it set up quickly enough. Iravi chants softly as she lights the incense with her finger, reciting a shinto funeral prayer. There's a long pause before the frame shudders, shaking and rattling wildly before a picture seems to appear in it from thin air... a very old picture, looking like from about when cameras were first 'a thing'... a black and white photo of a young girl standing with her family, a mother and father and three sisters.
Nelen looks at it, adjusting his glasses. "Guess that's our ghost girl." he mutters, Dawn walking over as she adjusts her kimono. A nekomimi in Japan would already get the otakus into overdrive, a naked one would probably cause riots. "Yeah, that'd be her. Looks like she's been here for a while now." she nods.
Drusilla nods, still frowning at the lack of ability to punch Paale before the air ripples around the shrine, Iravi finishing her chant to rebless it. After a bit the girl in white steps out of the air... then another... then another... then another... All four young girls, looking the same age and build, the same long black hair and white robe.
Simoni gives Arja a single armed hug with her uninjured arm, kissing the monkey girl on the cheek as she looks over at the sudden appearance of the ghostly quadruplets, "Guess that explains why we saw so many." she says, nodding to herself, "Well, at least now we can be sure they won't be haunting anyone." she nods as Lupe rrrfs, still pawing at her face as she tries to clear out her nostrils. Thanks to Paale she'd have a hard time smelling much of anything, much less the faint ectoplasmic trail left by a sin eater.
Arja nods, the girls bowing in unison before one speaks to the group, surprisingly in English this time. "We are so sorry for our part in this. As long as our shrine was broken, though, it was like we were drowning again. We tried telling people but... well... no one understood, they just seemed to want to aim their boxes at us...”
Simoni nods sympathetically. Its not like the girls would be likely to know what a smartphone was, "Its alright. We know the man who vandalized your shrine, he's a real bastard when it comes to little girls." she replies. Nelen nods, "Your shrine should be safe now. I doubt Paale will try this again now that we know he's back." he adds.
Arja nods, Iravi doing so as well, "I added a few warding spells, even for a sin-eater it'll be hard to do anything to you girls again. We're so sorry for whatever problems this caused."
Simoni lays back on the grass and sighs as, one by one, the ghosts begin to vanish back into... well... rest, the grave, wherever ghosts go really. "Well, our trip to Japan is off to a flying start..." she giggles, then sits up a bit and looks out at the lake. "This may sound weird, given what just happened and all, but... anyone wanna get sushi or something?" she asks as Dawn's head snaps around so hard that her neck almost pops, "HELL YEAH!" she mrowls.","pools_count":0,"title":"Part 1.22: Ohayo Tokyo!","deleted":"f","public":"t","mimetype":"application/msword","pagecount":"1","rating_id":"1","rating_name":"Mature","ratings":[{"content_tag_id":"3","name":"Violence","description":"Mild violence","rating_id":"1"}],"submission_type_id":"12","type_name":"Writing - Document","guest_block":"t","friends_only":"f","comments_count":"0","views":"25","sales_description":null,"forsale":"f","digitalsales":"f","printsales":"f","digital_price":""}