It was around this time, almost every day, that the school bells rang and students headed off to spend the rest of their day however they chose to. Some workers were released from their shifts, and others were just starting them. All in all, it was a perfectly average day in the peaceful town of Minazawa. Day in and day out, it was the routine as usual. This wasn't to say that nothing enjoyable or exciting ever happened, but nothing out of the ordinary occurred in the town, either. At least, not really. Certainly there were plenty of myths and rumors, but no-one really believed in those, right?

On most days you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise.

Just like any other day in Minazawa, given the temperature was pleasant and there was no sign of unpleasant weather on the horizon, there was a plethora of people investigating the reported mysteries. From the vanishing alleyway, to sightings of the beautiful vampire in the entertainment district, to the hidden district, there were all kinds of investigations. One in particular was a reported encounter with at a kuchisake-onna, the scissor-wielding specter reportedly stalking the back alleys of the town in search of anyone who was out late at night. The local high school's paranormal investigation club was all over that particular rumor. Not that they had any idea what they'd do if they actually found a kuchisake-onna, but damn it, they would try all the same! Other recent highlights in the Minazawa mythology were the rumor of a kitsune in the form of a beautiful woman hanging around the old abandoned shrine at the edge of town, one that had sadly fallen to a raging fire many years ago.

Another favorite was the tale of some form of spider woman. Then, of a female oni living on the edge of town. A particularly striking rumor that even the most staunch nonbelievers couldn't ignore, however, was the daylight lightning strike.

It was less a rumor and more a fact. Everyone had seen it, but there was not a cloud in the sky. Thankfully, no-one had been hurt, but indeed when the place it had apparently struck was investigated there was a smoking crater still left in the concrete. While there were many people trying to come up with a rational explanation for the event, the supernatural one was fairly popular.

One girl in particular didn't seem to care for any of these investigations.

She thought them all to be rather foolish.

Midorikawa Fumie made her way past a few groups of both her peers and adults, one in particular investigating a 'mysterious' set of stairs that apparently had one more step on the way down then they did on the way up. It was something she'd never paid attention to, simply because she knew better then that.

Her bag carried by a strap over her shoulder, its long shape perfect for carrying something very important to her, Fumie reflected on recent occurrences. There'd been a buzz among her fellow students about the daylight lighting strike, even moreso then the other strange rumors that circulated through the student body. Of course, that wasn't the only thing they were talking about. All sorts of subjects traveled from student to student, some Fumie preferred to hear about more then others.

The fact that she was so 'tiny and cute' was not one of the ones she liked hearing about. Really, it made the black-haired girl quite irritable whenever she heard someone mention it to her.

Fumie's height, to put it simply, wasn't a topic she liked to be reminded about.

However, for once, she was rather interested in the 'daylight lightning strike'. Or rather, interested in what caused it.

It was important, after all. Something like that could be awfully dangerous...

In any case, it was another day in the town of Minazawa. A town where some believed anything could happen.

And sometimes, maybe it did.

@Feyblue@vietmyke@Raineh Daze@Eisenhorn@TheFake

Minazawa was a curious place.

On one hand, you had your usual collection of rumors and superstitions, as well as the stupid nerds that thoughtlessly chase after them. On the other hand, you had your actual supernatural existences blending in with the rumors and doing physical harm to the modern world, as well as those that fought to stop such incidents from happening. Then you had the third party, those who were aware of the difference between fact and fiction, those who had sufficient power to stop such incidents…and those who didn’t give a shit despite all that.

Rokkaku, freewheeling high school dropout delinquent part-timer camper bro, fell solidly in the third category. As long as whoever was tossing lightning bolts wasn’t sending anyone uninvolved to the hospitable, the biker didn’t care, and the same sort of nonchalance could be directed to basically every monster that dwelled within the boundary of Minazawa. He wasn’t into hero play, after all, and after a six hour shift at Live House Thunderblood, all the delinquent wanted to do was to take his bike out for a spin through downtown, weaving through the boxy cars of corporate drones out to the quieter parts of Minazawa. He’d heard from his manager that there was quite a “rocking” lakeside camping spot nestled a little ways away in the mountains, and considering the weather…

Yup, nice and clear, without a single lightning bolt in sight. Revving up the engine further, Rokkaku ran the red light like the rebel he always was, speeding down towards the suburbs and his home for the night.

"This is rather outside your usual wanderings, Weiland..." For those that could see into the spirit world, they would see the feint outline of a spirit following the foreign man walking down the street. The foreigner in question, Weiland Voss, was not even attempting to blend into his surroundings. The German foreigner had been here for long enough to not be out of place for those who saw him doing his rounds on a regular basis, though he still got looks from those who don't look at him too closely. He was also outside his usual wandering area, so he got more looks than usual. He mentally responded to the spirit that followed him around constantly, bound as she was to his family, though not out loud, their conversation being exclusively in thoughts.

"The lightning strike in broad daylight. Foreign to this area, and I am curious. It needs investigated." Weiland was walking forward towards the location where other people were watching and looking around the area where the strike had occurred. Out of all the mysteries and tales going around this place, most disinterested him, considering the fact he had a spirit following him around on a routine basis. So here he was, heading to investigate something that could be as simple as a natural phenomenon. He ignored the various people and groups wandering about, investigating this or that, not even bothering to give them any second of his attention unless they were directly speaking about the unusual lightning strike during broad daylight. It struck him as something unnatural, as if someone else called upon it, either willingly or unwillingly. So the young man found himself walking towards the site of this strike, keeping an eye out for anyone or anything out of place, or warranting his attention in regards to the odd lightning strike.

Six long, spindly legs worked clumsily in tandem with two more humanlike ones, pattering quietly over the underside of the metallic edifice. The girl's crimson eyes flashed in the shadows as she hung suspended from a vast array of almost imperceptibly fine webs, her hair fluttering in the breeze as she stared down into the river below.

It really was incredible. She'd only been sleeping for a few hundred years, but the world outside had changed so much in that time. The humans who once had been hard-pressed to even swim properly had now created something like this enormous bridge from which she hung, spanning from one bank of the wide current to the other. The tiny village she'd known in her time had become a gigantic, towering forest of buildings, and there were so many new things she hadn't the slightest inkling of. It made her so curious, she'd just had to find out more, despite her misgivings.

That was definitely the reason why she hadn't stayed close to her familiar lake. It definitely had nothing to do with how disgusted the mere sight of the place made her, or how it made her think about the way she'd been tricked. That definitely had nothing to do with it at all. No, all of this was a brilliant plan to gather information, and this bridge at the center of town was the perfect place to do just that. Its giant structure of supports would hide her from view from anyone passing below, it was damp and dark in just the right way, and there were so many different intersecting beams that weaving a truly comfortable web was child's play for her. Of course, she'd done her best to conceal the shimmering strands from view, but since most traffic passed over the bridge rather than under or around it, she doubted anyone would have been in the right place to look up and see it anyway.

And, on top of all that, there were plenty of her comrades in the area. A large tribe of water spiders had quickly yielded to her influence, and were presently spreading up and down the river in search of information. So far, though, their reports had been so confusing that she really didn't understand them very well, beyond the fact that the humans had apparently made some really crazy stuff... And that they apparently didn't believe in Youkai anymore, which was strange, because so many of the people she'd met had been looking for them anyway. Apparently there were already a Kitsune and an Oni in the area - a fact which made her a little bit uncomfortable, since she'd never really dealt with any of her fellow Youkai before. There were also rumors of a lady spider, too, though. That one sounded interesting!

...But of course, she could only sit around doing nothing for so long. Oriko - no, Nephila - was very curious, very bored, and most importantly, very hungry. A report from one of her spiders told her that apparently, all the Humans were freaking out about a bolt of lightning that had struck somewhere, and since she didn't have anything better to do, she figured she'd go see what all the fuss was about. So, dropping gingerly from her web and to the ground a few stories below, she dusted herself off, folded all of her legs up underneath her skirt, and, humming a tune to herself, set off on a course that would take her to where the spiders had said that the lightning bolt had struck.

...At least, probably. She wasn't very good with directions.

---

---

Seventeen year old Toriyama Itona had been hearing that in his dreams a lot lately, for whatever reason. It was bad enough that a children's poem about an arachnid kept popping into his dreams, but repeatedly? He wanted to sit down and have a lengthy chat with whoever or whatever was in charge of his subconscious. As he left the grounds of his school he thought about all the rumors that had been swirling around. Aliens, ghosts, youkai. The only thing missing were the UMAs and and human sacrifices.

Then there was the lightning strike out of the clear blue sky. Absolutely bizarre, and there was physical evidence to prove it. Something like that wasn't outside the realm of possibility, Itona knew. It just required the right circumstances in the atmosphere, and blah-blah-blah...

Try not to overthink it, he reminded himself. The young man donned a pair of headphones and turned his music on. He'd grown up with crazy rumors in Minazawa his entire life, and he'd absolutely loved them as a child. Until that one event, that is. Toriyama shook his head, as if the action would dislodge the memories. His mind went back to some of the rumors. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a beautiful fox-woman was around that old temple? His lips twitched into a small smile at the thought. If that was the case, I'd be willing to join that "Society in Search of the Supernatural" club.

But, knowing my luck, it'd be one of those that lures cherry boys and herbivore men in and kills them.

And then there was that rumor of a jorōgumo...

Itona shuddered. Nope, nope, nope. Not even going there!

Sylvie, currently using the Polish surname Zima, stepped out of her truck to prepare her cafe for the incoming rush of students fresh from school. As she got behind the counter she could hear the schoolbells in the distance. This town was very nearly perfect in her eyes, Small enough for her to fully experience life in a small town but with enough things going on behind the scenes that she would have no trouble being entertained.

Certainly things weren't as exciting as boarding a French merchant as a pirate or facing down a Prussian cavalry charge but, as they say, the devil was in the details. In this current life she could take her time to experience every small thing to her hearts content. An excellent starting point would be these unnatural occurrences.

On a similar train of thought, she hung a sign up in the front door.

Soushi hummed to herself as she stepped into the café, ignoring the "help wanted" sign--maybe if it was still there next week, she'd suggest it to one of the newer rabbits as a place to get to grips with the Earth without the distraction of needing to keep tabs on all the information. Soushi herself was enough to keep tabs on Minazawa and its neighbours. For instance, today's lightning strike? She'd already sent some rabbits to look at it and would ask them what they noticed when they got back this evening.

Her interest in this place had initially been purely out of curiosity from the name. It would be unlikely for someone here to pick that name without it having significance... and yet, there were no illusions that would betray a kitsune of any kind and the owner definitely wasn't a nine-tailed fox. She knew all of those by name. Yet she had a hunch that there was something unusual about Sylvie... and her hunches were rarely wrong. Rabbits' feet were lucky and she, of course, still had two.

It was just a matter of waiting until something was let slip.

And enjoying the café as a break from her office, even when it was going to be full of students in a little while.

"The same as yesterday, please."

@TheFake

As she walked home, Fumie's eyes occasionally drifted up to glance at her surroundings. There was that cafe, but she didn't feel like going there right now. No, there was something else she was going to take a look at on her way back.

The sight of the daylight lightning strike was on her way home, after all. Indeed, soon enough, she could see the entrance to the alleyway where the bolt of lightning had hit. She scowled, somewhat, when she realized just how many people were there. Fumie didn't like dealing with anyone acting like an idiot, and there was no way that this entire crowd of people wasn't composed mostly of people acting like idiots. She couldn't even see the crater through the crowd of people, and the babble she heard didn't exactly endear her to these people. There were all sorts of explanations being posited, and she overheard a few. One in particular was that it was secretly aliens, which was profoundly idiotic in her opinion.

Fumie let out a resigned sigh, deciding she'd likely have to come back later, and turned...

Only to nearly run directly into a boy who, presumably, had come here to gawk at the site of the lightning strike, too.

"Hey!" the tiny black-haired girl snapped, stepping back, "Can't you watch where you're going?!"

@Eisenhorn

Much to Weiland's irritation, once he spotted the location in question where the lightning strike had occurred, it was already swamped by people. He really didn't feel like muscling his way in, and found himself pacing back and forth while his thoughts considered the varied remarks, most of them unfounded or otherwise not worth really considering. He continued to suspect magic of some sort, though he hardly spoke out loud of such things. He instead confided in Ermendrud, who was an ever present being, though she had been taught to not constantly monitor her ward's thoughts. "I am considering this an act of either a Magi, or resident being to Japan, what do you know of local legends of lightning beasts?" He could feel the hermingja consider his question, and her remark would have gotten a sigh of irritation if he was so willing to advertise his thoughts as being irritable. "Why, have you already forgotten the wide and varied beings that inhabit Japan? For shame, young Voss. Perhaps the name Narukami might ring a bell? Though, speaking of ringing bells..."

Before Weiland could consider what she was going on about now, he found himself colliding with a rather young looking local girl. Mid teens, given her size, light in skin tone and with hair that reminded him of a raven's wings. Curious, though her mouth and tone was hardly welcome things. His expression had that typical one he wore, idle amusement and pleasantness, as if always placating those he was, unfortunately, speaking with. She had remarked on not paying attention to where he was going, and his accent clearly marked him as a foreigner, though his fluency in the local language indicated either a great deal of preparation, or having spent some time in the locale.

"Ah, my apologies. And just after I got out of the habit of looking down when walking, too, I run into someone that would have helped with, such a shame. My thoughts were elsewhere, even if the point of interest is currently swamped with those, shall we say, quick to speak and slow to think..." As far as appearances went, Weiland might as well be a rather boring example of a foreigner, at a casual glance. Though one that might due to learn to be a bit more respectful, given the backhanded remark on her height, and when he was apparently at fault no less. Of course, Ermendrud simply watched, bound to do so unless given leave to manifest and act, however temporarily, upon the physical world. She did try to warn her host, after all, so she felt her part in all of this was done.

@VitaVitaAR

Had this... this guy just said what she thought he did? No, she had to have misheard. What kind of person went around making comments like... like... like that! For a few moments, Fumie could simply quietly seethe with a mix of rage and surprise as she looked up at him. How dare he... he make a comment about her height! The black-haired girl hated hearing that kind of thing even from people she knew, so this totaly stranger... well, any thoughts of investigation almost immediately flew from her mind out of sheer irritation. There was no way, absolutely no way, she would let that slide.

This foreign stranger had to be taught a lesson, and he had to be taught it immediately.

And so, with no further hesitation, anger plain on her face, Fumie wound up with one leg and kicked him in the shin.

"What kind of rude idiot are you!?" she snapped, "First you almost run right into me and then you make fun of me?!"

@Eisenhorn

"Now then, given current circumstances...." As far as Weiland was concerned, he had already dismissed the seething, short bundle of rage, considering he wasn't even looking in her general direction now. Ermendrud, however, was keeping an eye on her, a sly grin that was unseen to all on her face. She found the young Voss' antics rather amusing, given his general attitude, though she did feel obligated to say something to her partner when it was apparent that the young, angry girl was going to be resorting to violence to rectify things. "Given current circumstances, I would shift your weight to your right leg Voss." Resisting the urge to raise an eyebrow at the remark, he did as instructed, having learned to trust Ermendrud whenever she said such things out of the blue, and sure enough, she was once again in the right in her actions. There was no way he could have seen that or prepared himself without forewarning, and the amount of force behind the kick was unexpected.

A sharp, clipped hiss of pain from the sudden kick that connected rather solidly with his left shin. Now that was much more strength than he had been expecting from some girl in her teens, which shifted his attention back to her as she barked about him being a rude idiot for first nearly running into her then insulting her. So, highly ill tempered and extraordinarily sensitive about her height. Not necessarily surprising, given her response to being nearly collided with, but confirmation was good. What had not been anticipated was the strength of the kick, something to be keeping in mind should he find himself dealing with her more. Be ready to avoid such blows, given the likely bruise that was now forming on his shin. Adjusting his glasses, his gaze focused down at her once more, a touch of intensity and clarity despite his rather devil may care attitude on display. "The kind of rude idiot who does not shy away from his nature. I'm sure you understand that, given your rather crude approach to dispensing notification on your displeasure."

Yes, he was still being antagonizing, in an off hand sort of manner, but it was just who Weiland was. Considering he had learned a few interesting, useful bits of information, all without having to ask a thing or even offer information on himself in return, it was all going smoothly as far as he was concerned. Of course, Ermendrud had gone back to looking around and watching their surroundings, considering she had redirected Weiland's attention back to the angry young lady, the spirit's job was done once more. She would be listening in, as she always was, but that was nothing new really. Weiland was alarmingly used to a complete lack of privacy, what with having the spirit with him at all times unless he gave her leave to manifest and do something, and even then, she rarely left his line of sight or, barring that, ability to stay in contact with her.

@VitaVitaAR

“Certainly,” she replied in a near monotone. There was just enough warmth and inflection in her voice to show that there was still an actual person behind the words.

Sylvia nodded and moved over to the counter, gesturing to one of the nine tables. As she turned her back she flashed a private smile. She busied herself preparing the geeen tea.

“So have you heard anything about the interesting weather we had? A bolt of lightning out of a clear sky. Or do you not find it interesting, considering that you’re here instead of there.”

@Raineh Daze

The world's oldest rabbit slid herself into a seat, behind a small table, and looked thoughtful about the question. So much interest in lightning... well, not that much, if Sylvia--as she said--was here instead of going over there to look at it. Her reply was pretty perky: "Oh, I sent a friend of mine to go have a look at it, I'm sure if there's anything unusual she'll see. Lightning out of nowhere isn't so unusual, after all. Sometimes it just happens, sometimes people would say it's Raijuu."

Sure enough, there was indeed a large, white rabbit sitting on a closed dumpster, looking intently at the charred ground.

Perhaps... perhaps kicking him had been wrong. For a moment, Fumie walked herself back from such an extreme reaction. No, it had definitely been wrong. He was a stranger, and he had been stupid, but that didn't excuse kicking him in the shin, did it? At least, not quite so hard. Just as she was about to apologize for having such a harsh reaction, but still clarify how angry she was at being run into and insulted... he spoke again. And insulted her again. For a few moments, Fumie was unable to properly voice her own reaction. How would one person be so... so stupid!? Such a stupid jerk!? She'd run into plenty of stupid jerks, but this was a total stranger acting like a bigger moron then any of them in the first few sentences he'd ever spoken to her!

"Grrr..." Fumie's hands balled themselves into fists, but this time she just barely managed to stop herself from physically attacking him again. Even though he so totally deserved it, at least in the short girl's mind. "Is this how you treat everyone you run into!? Insulting them until they want to hit you!? I'm sure you make plenty of friends like that!"

Even in her current state, however, she couldn't help but notice the rabbit perched near the crater in the concrete nearby. Obviously it wasn't something you saw every day...

A rabbit investigating something like this...

@Eisenhorn@Raineh Daze

“I may have someone of my own looking into things.”

Sylvie returned to the counter and came back with a drink of her own, spelling of cinnamon and other spices. She sat across from Soushi and inhaled while sitting quietly for several seconds.

“Raijuu, huh? And why that one? The world is a lot smaller than it used to be and maybe some other lightning deity has decided to wake up this sleepy town. Perhaps Thor or Perun has paid us a visit.”

She sipped her drink and gave a coy smile.

@Raineh Daze



The white haired girl in what was almost a mockery of a school uniform strolled down the street, hands jammed deep into her pockets. In fact she attended no school, having no need or desire. But a uniform made it easier to casually blend in with a crowd. A casual glance would reveal a likeness to a certain cafe owner. Someone who looked more closely could almost see them as siblings.

The clone, thought of as an elder daughter, stared intently at the location of the lightning strike with a sullen, rebellious teenager kind of expression.

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze

It seemed that emptying out the luggage and setting everything up didn’t take nearly as long as they were figuring. The clothes were neatly put into the dressers or hung up nicely in the walk-in closet, though it was not too much of a walk-in. Alesandro let out a groan as finally hid the last part of the rifle safely in a little nook underneath the bed while Nagi simply floated by and examined all the clothes. There were quite a few fancy looking clothes and not really more casual outfits. She scratched her head as she floated back towards Alesandro, who simply let out a loud yawn as he looked outside. It seemed there was still some daylight hours, meaning that all the unpacking and hiding didn’t take all day like he predicted. Sometimes, it was good to be wrong…

“I guess we’re gonna start a lil bit before the clock, huh?” Nagi asked in a slightly annoyed tone. She let out a grumble as she sprawled out her limbs, her back and head arching back like she was the one doing the heavy lifting. She didn’t even look at Alesandro as she spoke again. “After more than half a day on a stupid flying machine, you think television or food would be the first thing on someone’s mind. Not more moving around.” He only took a quick glance at the floater as he made sure his pistol was loaded and on safety before hiding it safely away in a uniquely made “holster” on the inside of the back of his pants. With a few pat downs, it was near impossible to even tell it was there. “You’re right, but staying in there half a day also can make someone want to spread their legs a bit. Get the blood flowing, you know?” He said as he put a few tools and other essentials inside a gray gym bag. As he opened the door, he looked back towards nagi. “What better way to do it than seeing what Minazawa has to offer?” He jerked his head forward slightly. “Come on. It’ll be fun.” It's not like she had much choice. If she didn't go, the fool would probably get lost and just waste hours doing nothing. Nagi simply shrugged as she laid an elbow onto Alesandro’s shoulder. With a door closing firmly shut and a slight walk, the duo was off.

A few local murmurs usually spelt good news when you’re looking for something, especially trouble. A few people spoke of strange women appearing in shrines, spider people, or apparitions in schools, but all of those primarily were at night. There was still some hours left before those could get a more thorough look. It seemed that Alesandro and Nagi would need to settle for something...a tad bit more mundane. Currently, the only thing notable enough to take a look was talk of a lightning strike lightning strike in the middle of broad daylight. It didn’t sound terribly out of place, things like this have happened before and can be plainly explained, but it was the way people were talking and describing it that peaked interest. It’s probably nothing, but a look-see never hurts.

As the two turned around another corner, the arguing was the first and, probably only, notable sounds that he heard. He paused for a moment to look at what was going on. It seemed that a long-haired girl had crashed into some man wearing a scarf. More than likely, it was a misunderstanding or just people being too consumed in their electronics. Likely both. It’d probably be best to just leave them and continue on the path they had planned.

It would be if the person who gave them directions on where the lightning happened had been just a tiny bit clearer. Or, perhaps, if they weren’t the only people he’d seen in the past 5 minutes or so. Sometimes, life likes to have you go towards a bit of trouble, so what could the harm be?

Walking over as Nagi calmly sat her butt upon his shoulder, thankfully being spectral meant she didn’t way an ounce, he gave a quick wave. And as he was about to speak, Nagi naturally did a slight bit of assisting. Her eyes gave a slight glow as Alesandro spoke in Japanese, the language they’d hopefully both know. “Hello, there. Hate to be a bother, but do you happen to know the directions to where apparently there was a strike of lightning?”

@VitaVitaAR @Eisenhorn