Miki had continued following the cat-hunting group in uncharacteristic silence, hovering around the edges while others joined the squad.
Man, it's strange feeling this out-of-place... Though I guess it must be even stranger for... Akio? I think? Whatever the human kid's name is.
She looked him over with interest, but kept a neutral expression on her face. He seemed pleasant enough, and was definitely dealing with the situation better than she'd expect a normie to. Maybe she could use someone like him...
A thought struck her, and she sidled up beside him, close enough that only he would be able to catch her stage-whisper.
"Y'know, the ID is a lot more fun if you do get into trouble. Betcha I can prove it, too."
Why were they all messing around? What were they even thinking? How could anyone act so lightly when faced with the prospect of confronting an embodiment of pure, existential dread? Then again, Yuina could barely pay much notice to what the others were doing, let alone whatever it was that obnoxious tanuki was blathering about. She'd heard her mother mention him vaguely recently, and she didn't seem to have a high opinion of him.
...Oh, mother. What would her mother think if she saw her like this? Really, she'd rather face an army of ghosts, wraiths and spectres than dwell on that. With this in mind, and hazy recollections of Makiko mentioning something about yakitori, she tried to swallow her fear...
...Which worked for almost ten seconds before she noticed, just for a moment, an eerie-looking girl staring out from one of the windows.
"...Waaaah no I can't do this Makiko don't make me do this!" She was on the verge of tears as she clung tightly to her friend, her knees trembling and her hair starting to get a little frizzy. "H-how... How much yakitori...?"
@VitaVitaAR@13org For the most part, the "little" girl had been oddly... normal in her silence on the way. And by normal, it better meant that one could easily forget her haunting presence than it usually should. The only thing that could be said to be off with Karu was that she was swinging her arms like a field of dandelions had just suddenly sprouted on the streets, and the smile of such that had delved too much into frolicking that she couldn't hear what Aamuu had just asked.
Wait, did Ms. Bird Lady ask?
Speaking of which, now she couldn't hear anything over all these whooshing. Are tengus so good at dancing that even sick beats spontaneously blast out of some invisible speaker? Maybe Karu'll never know.
"Umbrella-chan, Umbrella-chan! Look at Ms. Bird Lady go!"
Another mundane job in a mundane day at a mundane work, given by a mundane princess. Though, as the bunny had heard, the closest thing to home where Ayame could check out this Organization she didn't even care so much about was where a girl had been saying things about someone having stolen her cat. This was an unusually miniscule task for such a "big" group to solve, unless the thief happened to, say, feed their own bigger pet with the cat, or the cat had ran away to live a free bakeneko away from the slavery of a child, perhaps even inciting its own Civil War.
Regardless, it's all but a cakewalk even for a 12 year old. Stopping still at the pavement, the bunny thought: would it even go bad at this po-
Okay, you know what? No.
Oh, great. What now?
Listen. I'm not going to get any closer near... that.
Why not?
You know me.
Well, there's the bakeneko. Aren't you going to hand it over?
You're not fooling me. Where's the tail? Are those even ears?
Listen, alright? It's just a... er, little psychic girl.
No.
Hm. How about you try policing around? That might be a better job.
Makiko winced slightly, raising one hand as the wind whipped around them from Aamuu's demonstration. Was that really necessary? It wasn't exactly going to be useful when it came to exorcising a malevolent spirit! At least, not when you did it from the outside. At least it didn't last forever.
"Cutting the apartment in half definitely isn't an option," she said, swiftly, before her attention turned to the goat demon. Sho's question wasn't... terrible but it wouldn't take a genius to figure out why it wouldn't work. This was an entire apartment building, setting up an exorcism to get the entire building would be difficult. Besides, the existence of benevolent household spirits could be threatened by such a huge exorcism if it wasn't made specific enough.
"I don't think it's practical to try something like that from the outside, some harmless spirits could be caught up in it and we'd still have to set up the spell to clear the entire apartment," she explained. Finally... those clinging, trembling hands. Makiko sighed. Yuina was really shaken up about this... she'd seen that face in the window, hadn't she?
"Yuina-san," the black-haired girl began, hesitating for only a moment. If it took this to persuade her friend, then, well... "... Unlimited. You'll get unlimited yakitori. As much as I can afford, at least. Alright? Now, let's go."
With that, Makiko headed inside.
The apartment was fairly... average within. There was an elevator up, stairs as well, a rather basic but still somewhat homey lobby... though it was notable that there was no-one at the desk. Many of the residents, and employees, were finding themselves unable to remain in the apartment until the problem was taken care of.
And indeed, Makiko could feel it. There was an atmosphere in here. The air felt rather... cold. Still. There was definitely some sort of presence here, and certainly an onryo could explain it.
Without missing a beat, the girl approached the stairs and began heading up.
"We'll find her as quickly as we can," she said, "She'll probably be drawn to us. All these living people walking around isn't going to escape the notice of a vengeful spirit."
As she turned to face forward again, she saw her. For a split second. At the top of the stairs, a deathly pale face, long, stringy black hair, white clothing... and then she was gone. Almost immediately, Makiko placed a hand on the hilt of her sword and sprinted the rest of the way up the stairs, coming to the next floor.
Wolfram just gave a tolerant smiled at the apology for the antics of the shrine's inhabitants, more pleased to see how much more at home the girl was here than bothered by any of the abrupt chaos around them. "Oh it's no problem at all, Miss Hotaru. In fact the energetic atmosphere around here is rather nice, I think." He followed her along as she led him further into the shrine to a rather nice peaceful looking little living room with a very pleasant view. "Tea sounds lovely, thank you but I hope you're not troubling yourself." The priest managed to relax easily into a seiza position as he waited, though he also took the time to contemplate how much to tell her regarding his mission.
Well, she seemed trustworthy enough and he hated the idea of staying under her roof under false pretenses.
"Well, to tell you the truth I'm here on a rather special assignment from the Catholic Church. You see, we don't actually have much of a presence here in the Imaginary District and the Church's higher ups don't know much about it except that it's a haven for supernatural creatures. So I've been sent here to examine and evaluate the area and bring my findings back to the Church after I do. It's a little bit like being one of those people who writes guidebooks for travelers I suppose, if all of your clientele were priests and clergy. But I was so excited to start on my assignment that I sort of...took off for Japan before anyone had a chance to set up accommodations or resources of any sort. As a result well...I ended up like I was when I ran into you."
He didn't add what might happen depending on the results of his report, but from what he had seen so far she more likely than not would never have to worry about those sorts of consequences. At least, so Wolfram hoped. Besides, he was here as an impartial observer for the most part. He didn't want the fact that he was one of the Church's High Executors, the elite of the elite among its' Exorcism Corps, to in any way color his time here unless he had no other choice.
"To that end, what's your opinion on this place? As one of the people responsible for its' spiritual well-being, I'm naturally interested to know."
Hotaru exited the kitchen, carrying a silver tray with a tea kettle and two cups on it. "I see... Well, I would suppose the imaginary district is just like any other. The only true difference is the creatures inhabiting it." She looked down at him thoughtfully, giving a pleasant smile. "I quite enjoy it here."
(Edit begins here.) As she set the tray down and poured tea into either cup, handing one to Wolfram. "After you get settled, Juju and I would be willing to show you to wherever it is you have to go." The priestess stated softly, taking a sip of her tea. A few pink petals of the daisies outside blew in, a small smile meeting Hotaru's face.
The canine spirit entered, face showing a sour expression towards Wolfram, ears forward in the typical wolf way of challenging. "Lady Hotaru... The guest room is prepared." He gave a small bow to the girl, who nodded simply. "Thank you, Inugami." The wolf blinked, about to say something when a certain snake found his way cuddled up to Hotaru.
"Hotaru, darling~ Did I hear you were going into town again? I'm sure you could use your favorite shikigami as a-AGH!" A clawed foot slammed into the snake's side, throwing him onto the floor. "Off." "You dumb mutt! What do you have against my love for my darling, huh?!"
The angry monologue continued to fall on the deaf ears of Inugami, who respectfully sat off to the side, eyes closed in obedience. He really did act like a well trained dog.
Hotaru, unsurprisingly, ignored the arguing to speak to Wolfram as if nothing had or was occurring. "So if you are creating a guide of sorts, then you need to see the most important places, correct?" @dblade26
@Rune_Alchemist@Raineh Daze@VitaVitaAR Akio blinked, and then gave a nervous chuckle at what Hikaru requested from him, "Uh, let me think about it." He said, "But I don't think I'll be here too long, I just kinda stumbled into this place." He explained to her, before he was gruffly addressed by Shina. "You, don't get into any trouble." Akio stepped away from her, "Of course Shina-sama" He responded, and glanced at the green haired child who had joined them, and he shook his head, "Not much has happened, you're fine." He told her, and decided to introduce himself, "My name's Akio by the way, and you are?" He asked.
The little girl peered up at the oni. Oh... she recognized her! Not personally but she'd seen her punch that one guy! It was really cool! Her expression briefly brightened as she looked up at her.
"I know you! I saw you punch that guy! You're really cool!" she declared, grinning brightly. Without any more details on who she saw get punched or where she was when it happened, it was likely hard to tell what the circumstances were. But regardless, it seemed to be a positive in the little girl's mind.
However, there were more important matters at hand, and Mii swiftly nodded to herself. Himeko could be in trouble!
"Himeko's my cat!" she declared, to confirm what Shina had said, "I last saw her yesterday, she was laying on my bed when I went to take a shower. When I came back she was gone, and the window was wide open! But I didn't leave the window open, and Himeko-chan definitely can't open windows! And a bunch of stuff on the desk in front of my window was knocked down!"
Aoi, currently not able to get to the front of the group, looked up at Akio and smiled.
"It's nice to meet you, Haritama-san!" she said brightly. Then she paused for a few moments, her antenna twitching. Oops. She didn't pick up very much most of the time while she was restricting herself, but surface thoughts, like names and stuff... sometimes she'd pick them up. It was kind of rude to bring things up that you weren't told about, wasn't it? Oh well, it wasn't a big deal! Aoi smiled up at him brightly.
"My name is Honami Aoi!" she continued, cheerfully, glancing towards the front of the group again. She did want to help, but she needed to get to the little girl to do that still. "It's really nice to meet you, I hope we can get along!"
Aoi's 'ears' continued twitching as she spoke, but she didn't pick up much else. After all, she did restrict herself in order to make sure she didn't pick up an endless stream of thoughts from everyone around her.
A small person had come in! Why there were small people wandering around a police office, she had no clue, but maybe that was just a normal thing here. The description of police work made it sound like a job for Big People and not grumpy lambs... but this seemingly-lost boy obviously proved the contrary. He had also, rather unfortunately, made an inaccurate assumption.
"I didn't fall! I was there first and the planet ran into me." Ryuuko said, correcting any strange ideas he might have about a dragon falling down. Falling was for people whose reference point actually had the planet in a downwards direction; she had been hit from slightly above and to the left.
A shiver slithered, burrowed, and reverberated through Styx's spine every time his step emanated a wheeze from the creaks of the planks that embodied the stairway. With Makiko on point and the youngsters to their behind, a safe vantage point, the amalgamated team from MYO ascended the stairs at an vigilant pace. The air was stale despite its cooled temperament. Like the atmosphere that lingered when a body was nearby, a sensation he has been graced by on many occasions, far too many to count. The complex was surprisingly accomadating, a stark contrast from the dank establishments that comprised part of town. Then again, Mr. Tegumi was dressed pretty nicely and carried about him a weight that practically screamed affluent, so it's not as if a man like that would own a rundown place, even though this was probably one of his smaller projects.
Meanwhile Styx, in all of his wisdom, was currently preoccupied with averting his eyes from white lied behind the veil that was Makiko's skirt, "Dontlookdontlookdontlookdontlook" He had to be careful to keep his thoughts to himself, otherwise if displayed any shred of carelessness, Mizar would broadcast them without remorse. And since they were on high alert, keeping his gaze locked on the stairs wouldn't do him any good. Thus by process of elimination he left his line of sight rested on the space just over the leader's shoulder.
Styx saw it, or rather, sensed it too. It wasn't trying to conceal its presence. If anything, it was taunting those who encroached on its domain to give chase. He only caught a glimmer of its physical form. A tattered mess of greasy black locks that cascaded over a shrouded face, combined with clothing that starkly contrasted her color scheme. Regardless of how quickly it ran off, Styx had already gotten a good look at the composition of the onryo's soul.
For lack of a better term, it was fucking pissed.
Makiko scaled the steps faster than a bullet. Styx nearly stumbled, his mouth gaping for a brief moment before the need catch himself arose, and quickly ran up the stairwell. While doing so, he thrust his hand out into the empty area behind, For eternal happiness, finite. For eternal rest, infinite. We are the estranged children. For preservation of halcyon days and melancholy happenstances." It was their first time in a while hearing Styx's voice. There was some clarity to it despite the extensive disuse its seen. It sounded just like the voice of an average nineteen year old, almost to a generic fault. But there was a faint hint of power in there, somewhere, buried deep within the soulless conscience.
A hole was suddenly bored into Styx's outstretched palm by an unseen force. Blood did not seep out. Instead, a blade of slate metal peaked from the aperture. The fine blade cut its own way out to a physically impossible extent by the feasible mind. Not after longer the head of a scythe protruded from the now expanded gap, followed by the shaft of a similar hue that bolstered its strcture. With weapon in hand the Ankou held it close due to the constraints of the stairwell. "Boss!" Mizar yelled this time around as Styx awkwardly continued on, paying heed to not put any ravines into the walls. He finally caught up at the head of the stairwell and focused his scythe down one hall, "Hey, I commend you on your chivalry, but don't leave the others in the dust." His eyes panned over the stretch of doorways, as if they were piercing through the concrete, "She's nearby, but it's hard to get a solid read. She's moving fast." Obviously their target wasn't one to conform to the laws of physical material @VitaVitaAR@13org@ghastlyinc
"And if you had attempted to flatten men, I would have gladly made you indistinguishable from a human~" She returned fire with her smile sharply curved from both ends. Ana was already quite aware that the kitsune had a few years on her, and a few pounds (more in specific places than others), she was a girl notorious for challenging the leverage elders so carelessly rely on as a crutch. Perhaps living as long as she has has taken the glamour out of most aspects of life, since there were surely far more captivating things than following around a group of kids and a couple drunks. Or maybe she was telling the truth in earnest and she really, really, had nothing to do... Which was really, really depressing. It almost made Red shed a tear, maybe two because of how really, really depressing it was.
Ana proceeded to watch attentively while the kitsune acted as a caster, making a quick comment with every major development. But Ana didn't care for the obvious facts. Her eyes peered vigilantly for the minor bits, the things most people would consider discrepancies. And those kind of people were ignorant.
Ana was in her own little world. She gazed down the optic, utilized her own prowess to check for wind resistance, and thanks to the short berth between them had no need to account for drop. Just as the car sped off, the teenager eased out of her "zone" and answered the kitsune's question, her vision still locked on the dispersing MYO staff. "I'm Anastasia. Call me Ana or Red." She introduced herself curtly, then without notice swung her whole body around. The resounding click of the sidearm in her outstretched hand denoted that the weapon was live, "And if you look up my skirt, your vision will be filled with more than just my panties." She threatened the new arrival coolly, another individual who had managed to escape the kitsune's notice. Perhaps the fox lady's wits had waned after the countless failed marriages she has surely experienced.
The weapon's housing glimmered with luster under the scant sun that fell on the three. Ana's eyes narrowed as her finger seemed to gradually squeeze the trigger, "I kid. Had you going there for a second, eh?" Her expression transitioned into a crescent moon smile as she slid the pistol back into her hood, "But seriously, had you seen my panties, I would have given you another orifice to be fucked from." She stated nonchalantly no matter how obscene it sounded. "You mentioned a wallet, right? We- well, I, can help you find it. I can't speak on the fox lady's behalf." Her stature in general relaxed and displayed a disposition worthy of her age. Her young looks hid a well-versed ethic. "I'm Anastasia. Call me Ana or Red." The girl eyes of deep cerulean said gleefully.
"Stand back, this might get dangerous." she said to the weird girl who appeared to be way too calm to the situation.
"Very well, but i'm wont lower my guard. Something tells me that this onryo is far dangerous that we may think." she said, dispersing the wind around her, moving with the rest of the group inside the building.
As she entered inside, she moved cautiously. The air was cold inside, something was off with that building.
Following Makiko, she was moving looking to every nock and cranny of the lobby, trying to perceive anything unusual. The moment she and Makiko got near the stairs, Aamuu saw something on the end of it.
Somethig pale and dark, with an strange and cold aura around it. She saw only but a blur, but was enough to make her tighten her grip on the tanto and the tessen.
Retracting her wings close to her body, she dashed like a bullet up the stairs, passing Makiko who apparently also saw the creature. In the blink of one's eyes, she was already on the next floor.
"She's nearby, but it's hard to get a solid read. She's moving fast."
"Where?" She asked Styx in a hissed voice as he appeared behind her and Makiko.
It was rather a strange sight, a kind and sweet girl like Aamuu, her eyes focused, looking any signal of movement, her talons making slight holes on the ground as she firmed her posture, ready to attack. Her eyes were fierce, as they rapidly darted from one place to another, the eyes of a predator. "She is not the only one that is fast. Where is she?" She asked him again, contracting her talons on the ground, scratching it impatiently. Something in that aura she saw on the creature was getting her on her nerves.
Sho nodded curtly as Makiko’s response. ”Blowing up the good spirits with the bad would kind of miss the point of this whole thing…Plus that might upset mister penis dog...” he thinks as the follows his boss up the stairs into the spacious foyer of the apartment. He looks around, somewhat underwhelmed by its modesty.
Thick as he was, even Sho could feel the presence of something...more than physical. He seemed to be operating as normal though, seemingly oblivious to the proposed spiritual threat that lurked around them as he looked for some sort of residence list. Worrying about such things, he’d learned, didnt really help the situation. And when it takes a bus ramming into you to feel pain, threat assessment starts becoming….complicated.
His attention was drawn to the stairs as Makiko bolted up them, persuing something he’d failed to take notice of. He follows quickly trailing shortly behind Aamuu, the unfamiliar din of Styx’s voice brushing past his ears as he heads up stairs. He turns around just in time to see a scythe wrench itself from the undead’s chest. In the back of his mind, he makes a mental note to ask about how that fit in there later.
For the moment he stands behind the tengu girl currently gouging holes in the floor. He thinks about telling her, but decides its probably not the best moment to bring up the accidental property damage. Sort that out later. "She's nearby, but it's hard to get a solid read. She's moving fast." he hears from Styx, now in a more familiar tone.
”Well, she is a ghost…” He says, arms raised to his side, ready to fight (though he wondered how effective punching a ghost WOULD be if he had to). ”Whole moving through walls thing is probably standard….Think she’s got a perfered room to ‘haunt’ as it were?” he asks, wishing he’d found the resident directory when he looked earlier. Be a lot easier to search these rooms if they knew which ones belonged to female tenants. @Jedly@VitaVitaAR@13org
Detective Shun Baba
Shun eyed the dragon woman, face impassive as she explained her ‘collision’ with the planet. ”Ahuh. I’m sure the corgi’s you spooked appreciate the difference.” He says, flipping through his assignment briefing. It didnt actually suggest the breed of dog disrupted by the dragon girls abrupt impact, but he enjoyed the mental image.
”Regardless of who hit what under the gravitational effects of the other, I’m here to inform you that I’ll be acting as your chaperone while we find a more permanent solution for your...situation. Being a newcomer to the district, country and...I suppose the planet. Congratulations, you’re an illegal alien thrice over.” He stops to take a breath, collapsing his briefing back into its folder. Why were the MYO not doing this? This sort of thing seemed so much farther up their alley than his own.
He takes another deep breath before offering his hand to the taller woman. [”My name is Shun Baba. I look forward to working with you Miss….” He pauses for a moment, relooking at the document he was handed earlier. ”I uh...Do not suppose you know if you’ve got a name or not?...and what that might be?” @Raineh Daze
Really, the lack of interest the youth was displaying in her request was quite disheartening. Most people would at least display wariness about being asked for their blood but this boy... well, maybe he just hadn't realised what she was asking for? "This one would at least hope that you might consider the issue. There is not a single resident in the district that wants Jiangshi or vampires to be forced to take their meals."
The police would have a horrible time trying to find the right culprit when the more hazardous dietary requirements were involved and bringing in the undead was far from a simple task. Many were used to having to avoid being blamed or caught when mysterious injuries were on the rise.
Hopefully, this dealt with the oni's questions. If he wasn't going to sign up... well, she could maybe help with the cat issue.
Ryuuko
"How can I be an illegal alien three times? I'm only from space once..." the dragon wondered aloud. Maybe there were multiple places in space to come from that counted and this detective had worked out how many it was from where she had landed. The other meaning of the word seemed to be missed in favour of the terribly obvious: dragons came from space and were therefore extraterrestrial lifeforms. Not that many people would address them like that.
Shun's proffered hand was gently taken by the dragon's claws and poked, turned over, and generally inspected. Maybe there was something wrong with it? She wasn't sure, but at least the question that came with the hand was quite interesting: "Oh, the officer that found me asked me the same question! I didn't have one then but they told me to use Ryuuko and even showed how to write it."
"Dragon Child" was not, however, an imaginative name by any stretch.
Cool? It had been awhile since she had been called that. Shina rubbed the back of her neck somewhat sheepishly, not used to being praised in such a manner and causing her cheeks to flush somewhat in embarrassment. Not that she didn't think she was cool or anything, far from it, but she just wasn't used to being called 'cool' so casually. Well, at least the little girl wasn't a bad kid at least.
"Heh, thanks kid." She replied quietly. She didn't want to linger on the praise though, she wasn't entirely fond of needless compliments like those to begin with, but it did feel somewhat nice to be appreciated like that every once in awhile. More important matters were at hand anyways, like the cat. Himeko-chan.
Shina wasn't exactly a detective, and she wasn't really all that good with stuff like this. It seemed like something had happened to the cat. Cats couldn't exactly open windows, and from the way the kid described it, it sounded like she had definitely been..catnapped? Shina frowned, unsure of what to make of this. Who would even want to catnap a cat to begin with unless they were just a terrible person?
"Catnapped, huh?" Shina replied with a grunt. She turned her head to Akio and someone she hadn't noticed before. "Oi, either of you have any ideas of how we can find this cat-burglar?" Shina asked both of them. Had she recognized the other one? Not entirely, but she looked like she was with the MYO so the kid was probably fine. "Kid here says someone broke into her house to steal Himeko-chan."
She supposed she could ask for more details...but she had no idea what to ask for more details about.
The sudden retort from the child had indeed taken her by surprise. Not many in her life tried to insult or threaten her ever. Her head turned towards Ana with mild questioning eyes. Though eventually she relinquished her awkward expression. "You either have a deathwish...-" She looks back at her character, stance, how she holds herself, expression, demeanor, and considers her choice of words again. "Hmm... no. You seem to have your fair share of experiences already." And with that, her own expression relaxed and started forming a slightly warm smile. The thought that they didn't have anything against each other at the very least was enough. "You're different from all the other cubs, aren't you? Yes... it would be more fitting to call you a wolf-cub. Fierce in appearance to some, yet calm and boisterous to others." She had a newfound respect for Red, for a good reason. A part of her old self desired to quell the child and her insults, but that also had the opposite effect.
And if the new person whom would soon find himself in quite a... "questionable" position and scene hadn't interrupted, she might've gone into complimenting the girl one more time for the sake of making it clear for her. Some things just never go the way you want in life, and that breeds obscure but thrilling outcomes. Listening to Red talking was quite humorous really, as the language people used in the old days differs so much from the young'uns these days. "Truthful at the very least. Unlike some in this world." Setsura eyed the man, checking every nook and corner of his profile. "Your body definitely didn't correlate with your mind, it seems." A minor chuckle leaves her mouth as she comes slightly closer, but stays behind Red.
"The name is Setsura, and while I do not normally participate in mundane searches-.." Her ears jerk, and her eyes slide to the side in response towards the apartment where some of the MYO crew went. "..-it seems the others won't be needing any aid from me." Her expression eases up and she stares at both of them. "You don't have a problem with that, now do you my dear?" Meanwhile without any prior notice, her three tails pop out below her kimono. Finding a slightly adjusted angle and properly aligning it with her back. And almost without effort, she spawns a glowing bright blue and dark black orb on top of the middle tail. Ironically presented right above her head, which then slowly descends into her two hands which held it forward in a suspended state. The two colorful entities dance as if in a perfect waltz inside the orb.
"A fox's flame is a weapon as much as it is a guide. 狐火 - (Kitsunebi)"
Ricardo shuffled his feet, knowing full the awkwardness of the situation. Apparently they were introducing at eachother. And now they were thinking it was peeping. He was beginning to sweat. He really wanted to get out of there and GUN!
GUN IN HIS FACE. THIS WAS BAD. REALLY BAD! Ricardo stood wide eyed, as he thanked whatever way his brain wired that paralysis and chills had set in before he could collapse in a heap. At the very least, he didn't soil this pants. This time. Probably. No, not really soiled there. His eyes stared at his assailant, raising his face in a jerkish movement, his pupils zigzagging out of terror. Well, she was rather cute, for a teenager. At the very least that was a small consolation. And she was smiling. So adorable.
Not really, it was very off. Ricardo stopped trembling so slightly as the psychotic girl decided she was really kidding. And then let loose a potty mouth that could make a sailor proud. It was then when he picked the girl's accent, name and mannerisms.
Hello? Is this the Russian Prime Minister? I think you let loose one of your psychotic goverment assasins! You know, the kawaai as hell ones who look like Red Riding Hood! He retorted mentally.
"You're...crazy. " His physical answer was much more lame, though, what with his difficulty in adressing the opposite gender, and the mind-boggling fear that came being stared from the wrong side of a gun. "What the hell do they teach kids in Russia anyway? Why would I be interested in underage girls' underwear? I'm not japanese, for God's sake!" He finally managed to get a reaction out of his system, as he flailed a bit more. "But hey, um, help appreciated and that. Anastasia is a nice name too... there was a tale about a Tsarist descendant called that, i believe?"
His eyes, now aware of the situation a little more, looked at the other girl. Now this one was rather striking and beatiful. And sexy to boot! And also had fox features and three tails, and was summoning some kind of spirit fire. Foxfire? Yeah, that thing. "Umm, nice to meet you, Setsura-san?." He added. Fox spirits were tricky and this one had no small degree of haughtiness, but at least she hadn't flailed a live gun on his face to make a joke at his expense.
"I'm Ricardo Caballero. Yep. And earlier today I was enjoying the views of the District. I uuuh..." He trailed off, remembering his silly moment of earlier where he tried to pretend he was the Batman. "...might've dropped my wallet when taking pictures and whatnot. And this was one of the last places to check." Having talked for a while, he felt confident now, so he carried on.
"That's a handy trick, Setsura-san, but probably not the best for flammable wallets..." He scratched the back of his head, as he noticed a grate. His eyes almost popped out, as if remembering something, and he jumped face first into the offending metalwork.
"HERE IT IS! Well, that was quick. Must be because foxes bring good luck or something." He added. "Hnng, I can't reach it. My hands are too wide. Maybe..." His stomach churned, not believing his words.
"Ana, can you try to reach it?" He added. "Your hands are smaller."
Seth listened to the girl talk about her missing cat trying to wonder what might have happened to the girls cat. A catnapping just seemed unlikely but it still seemed the most likely since a cat could not open a window by itself, that would require thumbs..cats with thumbs that was ridiculous even for this district. "Do you know anyone who might steal your cat? Like do you have anyone who has a problem with you or your family?" Seth asked the girl breaking the silence of his train of thoughts to try and make tracking the cat somewhat easier.
Turning to Shina to respond to give her his conclusion so far "If the cat has been kidnapped then it could be anywhere in the district now, maybe we check with the police to see if anymore cases of cat thefts have occurred that way we can try and set up a trap for the thief but, if its a solo case then it was either random chance that this thief stole this cat or it was personal to the girl or her family." He explained his reasoning wondering if anyone else had any ideas about how to go about this since no one as rushing to throw ideas onto the table.
Well at least if it did end in a fight with a kidnapper the group could just set Shina on them Seth thought noticing that Akio had turned down Hikaru and faced away as to not try and draw attention that would lead the girl to approach him once more.
Strange aeons had come. A dragon impacting in the middle of the city of Miura, in the Imaginary District no less. What was next, the moon rabbits suddenly deciding to make a move to take over earth? Mei shook off the dreary thoughts, as her tricky heart beat with anticipation. A real, live, dragon. A god made flesh, finally manifesting. She had lived for centuries, but never had the opportunity to see one so up close. It was too bad that the police had taken the divine being into custody.
The old chinese fox spirit pondered if some of them had a death wish, and wanted ruin upon their descendants. A dragon's power went beyond force of nature, as far a she was told. Her entire clan was afraid of even sighting one of such creatures. Not Mei, at least not to a paralysis degree. She skipped a step with her nimble feet, as her lonesome tail (showing the other seven would've been too much of a bother) swished gracefully, her ears perked up. She was wearing her finest clothes and baubles for once, and she had even bothered to wear her bell earrings for the occassion.
And somewhat incredibly, she was grasping a full box of chocolates. Normally she wouldn't bother buying treats for others, after all, she was a freelance spirit more prone to borrow food in exchange of wise advice. But the chocolates had a reason, which soon would be unveiled...
"Miss, you can't go in there!" One of the cops chided as she scurried past, box in tow.
"Oh, shut it, you know i'm one of your good guys." The ancient spirit japed, as she jumped deftly over the attempt of blockade and persevered through the station. It was a piece of cake, really. Most people were already used to her antics, and would give her wide berth. And then she felt someone tripping up her legs. The Huli Jinn let out a yelp, and promptly fell forward... only to do a forward roll and continue anyway, the stack of chocolates neatly falling on her extended arm.
"Nice try, sunekosuri!" She chimed to the glasses lady who was defiantly trying to pin her down. And they said she was only good for paperwork! Hah! Mei smirked. "Here's your reward!" She focused...
...and the stack of papers near the other youkai became the man of her dreams. Mei was most certainly sure it had worked, given how she was flustering at a stack of papers. One last obstacle...
She opened the door in flair, examining the stance. There she was, in all her glory. Somewhat tacky of a form she had chosen to bear, halfway human. Oh, and there was a tiny thing frowning next to her. Ah yes, that small sheep demon. She smirked at him back, while she cleaned her throat.
And did a most exaggerated reverence. "Dragon-sama. It is an honor for us mortals to have you in this abode. Please forgive the crass behaviour of these policemen, and accept this humble offering." She added, offering the box of opened chocolates to the dragon. "The Kin of Coatl thinks this is a most succulent treat." She added.
Akio gave a shifting glance at Aoi, a bit surprised that she knew his last name. He then noticed her ears, and he realized that she must have overheard him at the MYO. He smiled at her, before responding, "Hmm. They didn't take anything but the cat?" He didn't like the sound of that, given where they were. He looked over at Hikaru, and whispered over to her, "Not to be all gloom and doom, but do you know of any residents that might eat cats?" He asked quietly. As horrible as it may be, that was a real possibility.
Aoi immediately raised her hand when Shina mentioned needing ways to find the catnapper, her 'ears' twitching. She couldn't be sure that she'd get anything useful, but just in case there was any details floating around in the little girl's mind that she couldn't quite recall at the moment, it was worth taking a look.
"I can try!" she declared, quickly. Someone stealing a cat would have to be pretty mean, wouldn't they? That meant this was something they had to deal with as quickly as they could. After all, they couldn't let a super mean person have free run with a cat! She swiftly came forward without waiting for a response. She had to help, after all!
The little girl looked upwards, thoughtful for a few moments, at Seth's question. After a pause, she shook her head.
"I don't know who would want to take Himeko-chan..." she said with a sigh, "She doesn't do anything bad or anything! She's a really good cat!"
It was about then that Aoi came to a halt next to the both of them.
"Mii-chan," she said, recalling the girl's name from initially hearing about the incident, "Hold still, okay?"
Mii, for a few moments, was completely distracted by Aoi's twitching 'ears', but after a moment she nodded. With that, Aoi leaned down a little to press her forehead against the little girls. A faint light seemed to emanate from her antenna as she began to receive thoughts. Memories of trying to find Himeko, trying to contact the MYO... and there. There was the moment that Mii discovered her cat was missing in the first place. As seen through Mii's eyes. Aoi took in as much as she could, searching for any details that the little girl might recall, but not at the moment, or anything she might have thought wasn't relevant...
"... There!"
Aoi leaned back, leaving Mii slightly confused about what just happened.
"It looks like the window was opened from the inside!" she declared, "Since it had been locked!"
For a few moments, the little girl was quiet, confused, and then she nodded rapidly. "That's right! It was locked!"
That must have meant that the culprit had access to the house...
