Nightfall (IC)

[Vritra]

Yuu Kurogami
April 3rd – Evening
Nakano, Streets – Alleyways

“Miss, we’re being followed.”

Hoooo ~

Ah I see my greatness can still beguile even the gods how amusing.

Subtlety motioning for Kaede to prepare and look after the group I look back and tuck my hands into my pockets in feigned unguardedness, fools are so quick to forget their place after all so it’s not unimaginable that they would commit the terrible sin of trying to strike a heavenly star such as me.

Yet let’s not get ahead of ourselves after all anyone who would pick a fight with me like this would only do so with a plan, thus I am compelled to study the situation and our surroundings to puzzle it out.

[Tobias]

Taka Nishi
April 3^rd – Evening
Shinjuku, Toriyama Bar – Back Room

A good gambler knew when to cash out, even if there were still chips on the table. Taka wasn't 100% certain that rattling in the back of hiragami's whiskey soaked brain there wasn't a critical clue, but at this point it appeared diminishing returns was coming into play. Taka had a few names and a few leads, and the mark had yet to sober up to the point that he stopped paying attention to the card and started paying attention to things fare more concerning.

"...Good man." Taka clapped hiragami on the shoulder, releasing his fingers from the carefully arranged bribe. "One of the folks who is gonna be at the table is a European loud mouth who likes to bluff a lot. He taps his chips if he has anything over two pair, so have him for lunch."

The hell of it is, Taka wasn't kidding. nor was the bribe fake. He had burned off a couple favors getting invited to the game, and had been prepared to make a mint. Idly, as he stood up, Taka wondered if Hiragami could actually win. For all the money at the table, everyone at it was terrible. It would be a total crap shoot. But with Taka's tip even Hiragami would likely be an early chip leader, maybe that would be enough. At any rate, information bought and paid for. Now he needed to get what he knew to Mei and let her start putting feelers out.

Taka may be clever and good at getting people to open up, but Mei's hostess crew was far superior when it came to talking to a bunch of people quickly. He would let Mei have her own in put of course, but his tentative plan was to let his mother work on compiling information related to this occult business while he focused his efforts on the family's, starting with Izanami Zaibatsu.

Taka stood and, nodding once more at Hiragami, holding the card up to the light as if expecting a "treasure found!" BGM to play and left the room, stopping only to pay the tab and put put a few bills in the pocket of the bartender. These were to pay for any more drinks Hiragami wanted. Far as Taka was concerned, while he wasn't going to pour them down the jack ass's throat, if Hiragami wanted to blur his memory with a few more drinks, that was all to the good. If not, a server at a seedy bar got an extra special tip. No big deal.

A cab was quick to the curb, as expected. Cab driver's loved fairs coming out of bars late at night. The tips were good.

Asuka, are you watching? I have a plan now. who knows, by the time you wake up, maybe I will be the brains of the operation!

[Ayakashi]

------ Mizuhara Mitsuki April 3rd – Evening Nakano Streets Spiritual Rank: 1 Self: 100

Aieyayaya... that kinda hurt. Ouchie... I hope that Kaori is fine at least... I guess this is just me reliving when Kaori pushed me away from that care free bicycle driver! Heh, she landed on top of me too back then, it was quite funny how she was all red and flustered. Mmm, maybe that Kaori should stop turning into a tomato over things like that, I mean, we're two good friends, and we're girls! That's just normal every day stuff, right? Maybe that there's some other issue that I should ask her, but then I do kinda like it when she's like that, eheheheh...

... oh no, maybe it's not really the time to ask her now, with what's happening and whatnot!

Ah, this back pain, is this how grandmas feel? Hope that I didn't break anything...

Mmmm? Oh, it's the fancy doll-- I mean girl! Well, I see her as a doll. She's a doll to me, just that someday, maybe that she'll turn into a person too. Who knows?

"Ahaha, hello Ikeda-san. I'm sorry for not looking where I was looking, but Kaori was a bit in a hurry. That's a bit of a strange scenery today isn't it? When do you think that I'm gonna wake up from this dream?"

------

The eggshell above is more than halfway gone now. Does this person see what the beholder of Dolls sees?
As she accepts the helping bisque hand, cold and pale... she tells herself once more that is all a dream and still...
... in the corner of her mind, what could be considered sane insanity is beginning to question wherever reality, no matter the filter it was perceived through, had begun to lose its integrity.

------

[RacingeR]

Shiratori Kaguya
April 3^rd – Evening
Minato, Tokyo Tower – Sei Kyonatsu’s Ramen Stop

“D’awww! This kid is so kyuuute!” Cinque lightened her hug somewhat, letting you breathe normally again, but she didn’t seem to plan to release you anytime soon. In fact, she even started rubbing her face against you, apparently completely lost in some sort of kyute-induced state of pure bliss. “Did’ya hear her? So pyuure! I bet she even wears white underwear!”

The last comment caused the whole room to make an odd face, and Laura nearly stumbled and faceplanted against the floor.

“What the hell does her underwear have to do with anything?!” Reign retorted from behind you. At that point, you noticed you were practically sandwiched between the two girls.

“Hmph, what would someone like Reign-sama who always wears black string panties understand?” Cinque replied, pouting, still embracing you like one would hug a plushie.

This caused Reign to become completely speechless for once, as she pointed towards Cinque with her mouth wide open. Evidently, this ojou-sama was not accustomed to be placed in the role of the tsukkomi.

“How do you even know what she’s wearing?!” Sherry came to the rescue!

“I know every single detail of my Reign-chan!” Cinque replied, proudly.

“I give up!” Sherry was defeated!

“But, hmph, since my Reign-sama doesn’t appreciate me anymore, I might as well go with Kaguya-chan here!” Cinque made a show of pouting as she suddenly pulled you towards her chest. You noticed Reign making a strange expression, veins nearly popping out on her forehead.

“Hell no!” Finally, she stepped out, pointing at the both of you as she cursed. “Not gonna allow it! Definitely not gonna allow it! Kaguya-chan is my toy! And mine alone!” She stomped on the floor, very clearly displeased. And Cinque…

“Kyaa! I knew that Reign-sama would get jealous for my sake~!” Cinque suddenly let go of you and pounced upon the now defenseless Reign who was barely able to react with an “oh crap!” before being mercilessly glomped.

“Finally! We’re reunited! Reign-chan~!”

“Lemme go! Lemme go! Damnit, Cinque! Wait, where are you touching?! Kyaaa! Not there!” All you could was to watch numbly as all the imposing presence and scariness that the girl had managed to build were destroyed in one fell swoop.

“So…” Rinko started, with a deadpan tone, “I guess, uh, Lady Reign is the type that can only be on top?”

“Yep, that’s pretty much it.” Sherry replied, in the same kind of deadpan tone. Laura coughed awkwardly for some reason, while Rei and you tilted your heads in confusion. In fact, everyone else in the room, even the hooded figures,

“That’s. Enough!” Reign shouted, at the same time she managed to somehow grab Cinque, and perform some sort of suplex on her, planting her head-first into the wooden floor, which cracked and broke apart under the impact, effectively planting the pink-haired girl into some sort of crater. “Sette! Keep her under control.”

“Understood, milady.” Sette sighed, as he walked up to Cinque, grabbed her leg, and yanked her off the floor. The girl had been knocked out-could, although for some reason she had a happy expression in her face. Effortlessly carrying her with the strength of one arm, Sette put her atop one of the empty tables, then returned to his seat.

“These people are completely and utterly crazy.” Laura muttered near you, more tired and perplexed at this point. Evidently, the many supernatural happenings had worn her out so much she couldn’t even bother affecting her usual ladylike air.

Reign adjusted her clothes, trying to pretend that everything that had happened before hadn’t been a thing. She knocked her closed parasol against the floor, causing everyone in the room to tense up, the earlier light mood completely forgotten.

“Report.” Reign stared at Sette.

“Right.” The old man coughed, his face becoming serious, his eyes suddenly cold and business-like. It was a scary transformation, as if your everyday kindly old grandpa suddenly morphed into a serial killer. That was the kind of pressure he emitted.

“We can confirm the whole of Tokyo has been engulfed into many different Distortions. One per each municipality in the Metropolis… 61 different Distortions, to be exact. With one more slated to appear in Minato, here, anytime soon. Sadly, this means we’ve lost contact with the different teams.” Sette made a pause. Nobody made much of an attempt to explain anything to you, and the four of you remained on the side, confused, but unable to speak up, given the heavy atmosphere that reigned on the room.

You noticed that the three hooded people from before, as well as Taiki, Sherry and Roman, had practically formed a circle, with you four inside but at one side, and Reign, along with Cinque, Six and Sette in the center, as if those three were of an higher rank.

“Yeah, yeah, so, what do you know? I’d rather we finish this before the Distortion hits, then.” Reign hurried him, impatiently.

“Nothing very concrete. Izanami’s main HQ might be in Tokyo, but most of the Great Families of Japan based themselves on Kyoto, and that side of Japan in general. Especially the Kurogami. This is not their territory, per se, but they still have local advantage. I’m afraid the resistance has been stiff… many groups have been clashing against each other, all over the place, and the local gangs and powers have smelled something’s wrong, and started to act in consequence. I loathe to say; the circumstances will worsen as more foreign groups arrive to Japan.” Sette started to put some brown leather gloves on his hands. “Although, when it comes to big groups, so far it has only been Izanami’s Teijitsu, the Dawn Collective, and us.”

“No Outsiders so far?” Reign asked, sounding somewhat worried.

“None so far. Of course, with the situation this chaotic, it is extremely hard for us to confirm.” Sette nodded affirmatively.

“Got it. Continue.”

“We’ve lost three men over Shibuya. We had identified a Seer, but it is evident that the Teijitsu did so, as well. Duo went running over there before we could stop him.”

“Fuck, we’re lucky this dumbass was done early, otherwise we’d have been understrength.” Reign rolled her eyes. “Speaking off, how come you got done that fast, Cinque? Didn’t you go to Okutama?”

“Ah, yes! Reporting!” Cinque suddenly sprung up from the table, completely recovered. “It was all empty. A few awakened running around, I ran into Group Bravo, but no Izanami presence there. I put the devices up, and took the road back.” She paused, before adding with pride: “I got into contact with our people at Ome and Hinohara, before they got swallowed by the Distortions, and they also found nothing there.”

“If my guess is right, they must be concentrating their forces in old Tokyo City, more precisely, in the Yamanote Loop. Probably rallying around Kurogami Yuki herself.” Sette continued. “Furthermore, they had some sort of operation going on in Bunkyo, because we’ve lost contact with our people there. They’re probably done for.”

You saw Reign’s eyebrows rise in surprise. “This doesn’t make sense, with what I know about those guys… given what we know, this Distortion is central… but they’ve chosen to spread out like we did?”

Sette shook his head. “It is impossible to know more, we don’t have nearly enough people available, with our main force yet to arrive. We’ll have to accelerate our plans and sneak in as much of our guys as we can in the shortest timeframe possible.”

“But, if you want to know more, you might as well ask Shiratori-chan over there.”

[palad1n]

Shiratori Kaguya
April 3^rd – Evening
Minato, Tokyo Tower – Sei Kyonatsu’s Ramen Stop

“D’awww! This kid is so kyuuute! Did’ya hear her? So pyuure! I bet she even wears white underwear!”

The day keep on getting more and more bizarre.

It's not actually that bad, she thought; now that she can breathe again (even though Cinque hasn't released her yet) she could feel the air of the room lightening at these comments by Cinque, even as she felt her cheeks reddening in embarrassment; How the girl managed to guess that right is a mystery to Kaguya, but she is determined to not say anything that proves that Cinque was right.

Immediately afterwards, the two started to bicker in a friendly manner - at least it seems that way to Kaguya - and in the middle of this, she managed to barely realize that she is sandwiched between Reign and Cinque.

“But, hmph, since my Reign-sama doesn’t appreciate me anymore, I might as well go with Kaguya-chan here!”

As she is pulled towards Cinque's chest for the second time that day, Kaguya had an epiphany.

“Hell no! Not gonna allow it! Definitely not gonna allow it! Kaguya-chan is my toy! And mine alone!”

This seemed to look like...

“Kyaa! I knew that Reign-sama would get jealous for my sake~!”

A couple fight...?

As Cinque finally released her and glomped the now defenseless Reign, Kaguya in her dazed state of mind didn't really register the implication of what Reign had said, or even her cursing; no, perhaps to cling to some form of normalcy in this crazy day, Kaguya is entirely focused on the fact that Reign, the scary and eldritch being, is reduced to a squealing girl on Cinque's advances.

So she just walked to Laura's side and see the event unfolds, though Rinko and Sherry's comment about Reign "can only be on top" confused her (and Rei, it seems) to no end. Maybe they mean Reign doesn't like being outclassed in strength by Cinque?

She really wanted to ask Laura about this, but her friend's awkward cough changed her mind.

Soon enough, the squabble ends with Reign performing a suplex (that's the word, she thought) on Cinque, planting her head-first into the wooden floor; Kaguya cringed at the rather brutal move, before remembering that the people here are likely all superhuman in some ways, and from Reign's nonchalance it seems that Cinque will be alright...

Which was immediately proven when Sette pulled her up to reveal a knocked out, but smiling and otherwise fine, Cinque.

“These people are completely and utterly crazy.”

Honestly, even she must agree with Laura on this one; she would normally giggle happily if she saw a scene like what Cinque just did to Reign and their squabble.

And after that, the lighter mood from before is completely gone, replaced by the cold and serious air which they had felt when they first meet Reign, and even Sette, the kind and gentlemanly old man, seemed to transform into someone dangerous.

Kaguya didn't like this, not at all, but at least they are in no danger for now.

As Sette began his report, Kaguya listened intently, even if she doesn't understand much of it; she merely tried to try and grasp what is happening in Tokyo, to Minato, and she just have to listen and think really hard about this...

Firstly, apparently there are many "distortions" in Tokyo, with one soon appearing here. She had no idea what it means, but she vaguely remember someone from Reign's group mentioning it before, about something being used outside the distortion. Perhaps it's related to the cracks in the sky that she occasionally saw.

Secondly, the Great Families are apparently based in Kyoto rather than Tokyo for the most part, and Reign's group is opposed to them; there is also a mention of big groups, like Reign's, Teijitsu, and Dawn Collective, and Kaguya made sure to mentally note them in her mind - or at least tried to. Who knows whether she'd be able to remember when the day still isn't close to ending yet?

What is talked about afterwards, Kaguya didn't catch it really well - except for some kind of an operation - because it goes on at such a pace that someone not in the know like her feel numb just by listening intently. This honestly reminds her whenever she tried her best to listen and understand complex mathematics in her class.

Until suddenly...

“But, if you want to know more, you might as well ask Shiratori-chan over there.”

"Eh?"

Kaguya was immediately frozen in place when Sette adressed her, and she could see that everyone's attention is now on her person. She didn't even understand what is going on, or what he even meant by that; ask her about what? Did she know something about all this? Kaguya's answer would be a resounding no, which only serves to make her more nervous than she already been.

"Ah, um... I..."

She took a few breaths to calm herself down. She needs to be calm, if only slightly, and answer honestly.

"I'm sorry! I... don't know what you mean... or what you asked of me..." She apologized as she bowed deep. "I, my family really doesn't tell me much, or anything, about their business, so..."

Kaguya closed her eyes, vaguely noting that her body is trembling.

Hoping that her ignorance doesn't cost her or her friends.

[RacingeR]

Mizuhara Mitsuki
April 3^rd – Evening
Nakano, Streets

“Ah, yes, quite the bit of a strange scenery. It sure is strange today, isn’t it? More than usual, I mean!” Minori giggled as she easily lifted both you and Kaori up, without exerting the slightest effort. Once you were up, Kaori quickly pulled you back a few steps, looking around in fright.

“You can see… t-the cracks?” Kaori asked, and the girl nodded, before looking at you directly. The movements of this particular doll weren’t as stiff and robotic as the normal ones you had saw during most of your life. There was a grace and fluidity to her that was only present in the three human shapes you had seen so far.

“But a dream, you say?” Minori shook her head. “Ah, if only it was so simple. But, if you think about it, wouldn’t it be a shame? You would miss out on so many beautiful things!” The girl spread her arms around.

You looked around in the fading twilight, as darkness slowly settled in and the rays of the sun died, one by one. Above, the cracks had covered most of the sky. Below, you were surrounded. Around you, and inside the stores and buildings, you could see what seemed like an endless amount of faceless, white, blank marionettes standing around, unmoving except for the arrhythmic, odd swaying their bodies did while standing in place. You had the feeling they were staring at you, somehow, their eyeless faces turned at your direction.

It was an unavoidable, instinctual fear. You couldn’t avoid the chill going up your spine as you took a step back. Something inside you immediately rejected these things, whatever they were, as if they were anathema to you. A sensation of coldness emanated from them, covering the air around you.

“What’s going on? What are you seeing?” Kaori immediately put her arm around your shoulders, in an attempt to comfort you, while looking around in a panic. But evidently, she couldn’t see anything at all.

“Ah, it is useless… you can’t see them. You haven’t opened it, yet.” Minori tapped the center of her forehead. “There’s a proper order to things. You’ll see soon enough, Kaori-chan!”

“What… what’s happening?” Kaori’s voice bordered hysteria. “Stop it already! Please! This is too much! Make it stop!” It was pretty much the reaction of a normal person after seeing so many impossible things.

“Make it stop? There’s nothing that can stop this. You cannot contain a hurricane… a tsunami. This… is the same.” Minori’s eyes shinned as she lifted her face up. “But it sure is weirder than ever today. It seems like it is truly going to break today, to break entirely!” There was a badly disguised excitement on her voice, and an expectation, as if she truly wished to see the eggshell above destroyed.

You also couldn’t help but to look up… the very moment the heavens were covered in a web of cracks. The moment reality ceased to be as you had known it.

“Ah! Look! It is happening! Once again!” Minori laughed out loud and pointed towards the sky as she spoke with a sudden commanding, reverberations that echoed in the bizarre and twisted streets. “Behold! Daughter of the Dollmaker, and her chosen Lifeline! Look up, and watch! The Shattered Sky… and the Other Side of this world!”

The sun was gone. It was taken away. It died an agonic death as it was taken away and replaced by a bizarre world in which all rules of reality had suddenly ceased to function. The cracks sundered apart the firmament, and beyond them, rose a green moon unlike anything you had seen before. Under its twisted light, everything fell apart.

Everything was fallen apart. Normality had ceased. It was as if everything was damaged, as if everything had become nonsensical.

Everything was being changed.

And you too, were being changed, under the strange and crazy light of the twisted moon. Your body was completely out of your control, your organs pulsing by themselves, your blood boiling and circulating at great speeds inside, churning, acting as if it had obtained its own will. You trembled, your heart stopped and started by itself. All regularity inside you was gone. And you could see Kaori trapped into a similar state.

It hurt. It was an intense pain, one that couldn’t be described in words.

But even that paled in comparison to the sudden, sharp pain in the center of your forehead. Blood spurted from there, covering your face and your clothes, as the spot opened by itself, and a third, crystalline eye was opened for the first time in your life.

A life that would never be the same.

And you could now see, even more abnormal things, even more than with your visual aphasia, even more. You could see the other side of the world, the side of the spiritual, the side were humans weren’t meant to be. But, could you be even considered an human anymore?

“Have a nice Awakening, Mitsuki-chan! Kaori-chan!”

And then…

A vision.

Beyond the cracks of the dying world. Beyond the twisted green moon. Beyond everything else.

A vision meant only for you, for your special third eye. Something that Kaori couldn’t see. Something that you knew even Minori couldn’t see.

It was a doll.

A doll so massive and titanic it dwarfed everything. A doll so titanic its scale was impossible to precise. Perhaps, it was as big as the continent. Perhaps, it was as big as the planet.

It was hanging in the air, anchored to space itself, out there. Beyond the Shattered Sky, a being so powerful it could annihilate humankind. A being so massive, in many different ways, that dwarfed imagination.

Yet, you could see the doll’s face.

It had a clearly drawn expression of pure unaltered horror.

And then,

Night fell.

The skies shattered.

And mercifully, your consciousness was cut.

[RacingeR]

Elora Griffin & Yuu Kurogami
April 3^rd – Evening
Nakano, Streets - Alleyways

There was a bit of shifting in the group as people moved around. Rika, of course, walked by Elora’s side, a frown on her face and arms crossed. Ryou also took positions at Elora’s left, his face serious as he remembered the topic that had been talked just a few minutes ago. Osamu also took a few steps forward, before remaining behind. To be fair, he’d be less useful in a fight than most of the girls. Sakura, meanwhile, showed an almost imperceptible frown.

“What’s going on?” Erika asked, scared, as she squeezed by Elora’s side, more seeking security than showing bravado. She couldn’t help but to cringe at how loud her voice sounded in the eerie, empty silence of the alley. This was not normal.

This was not natural.

The rest of the girls remained on the back of the group, frozen in place, not daring to move or say anything. Despite the internal assertions of this being some sort of prank, nothing that needed to be taken seriously… the tension could be cut by a dull knife.

And then…

A cold laughter shattered the silence. A chill ran down the spines of everyone present. Next, the distinctly human-like presence behind the boxes… retreated, and in its stead, appeared a dark, horrible presence that seemed to corrupt the air itself with its mere existence. An intense smell of rot and decay assaulted their noses. It was as if the world was turning gray and discolored.

On the side of the boxes. There appeared a hand twice the size of a normal human hand, bloated, rotten, covered with sores, long and horrid claws extending forth from it. They saw as, with the mere contact, it cut the boxes as if they were made of paper.

-----The rumors had spoken about monsters.

The hand suddenly exerted force, slowly pulling the being from hidden, and in front of their eyes so all of its stark horror could be witnessed. A figure. A dead figure. Clad in a gray aura of rot and decay. The body of someone who had died long ago, mutated in utter darkness, and then unleashed upon the world to gorge itself in living flesh.

It had no face.

Where it should have had eyes. Where it should have had a nose. Where there should’ve been human features, there was nothing but gray skin covered in putrid sores. Only a mouth was there, a big, gaping, wide maw covered in sharp teeth and fangs, from which blood could still be seen, dripping.

It stood there, fully in view of everyone. Its tall, emaciated body standing straight against the twilight sky, unaware of the falling sun that illuminated it in all of its uncanny monstrosity, arms extended forth, a posture like a pianist about to give a concerto. It was nauseating. It was wrong in all the possible ways (so much worse under the light of the fading sun than under the eternal night of that other world).

Encountered Faceless One

There was screaming. Everyone was screaming together upon seeing this horror. Just incoherent exclamations of pure terror. Someone threw up, but it was impossible to tell who, everyone’s attention was centered on that monster.

“Oh my god… what is that…” Erika trembled as she took a few steps back, almost starting to cry in fear. However, more importantly for her, Elora noticed that Rika wasn’t screaming or saying anything… no, she had completely cramped up.

Taking her hand, she noticed her cousin was trembling like mad, her eyes blanked out, her face frozen in an expression of horror. She was totally paralyzed, almost as if she wasn’t here. What was going on? This thing was horrifying, but Rika wasn’t the type that would be paralyzed in front of danger like this.

Nearby…

Kaede paled. She almost screamed, but managed to contain herself, pushing aside the cowering Ryou as she pulled out a knife from one of her pockets, standing right in front of Yuu.

“Run. Everyone! Start moving! Run, now!” She yelled, in evident panic. “My lady! We got to move!”

It was evident for anyone who could see these horrifying claws that any direct confrontation with the monster would end in many of the group dying.

[Vritra]

Yuu Kurogami
April 3rd – Evening
Nakano, Streets - Alleyways

Aaaaaa…

KuuuuuuuuuuHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

In the embrace of the coming dusk the disciples of the world trembles, oh glorious night, oh gracious fall, oh, oh, ooooooooooooooooh let us welcome the mad banquet and embrace the petals as our revelry blows them to the wind. Cowering delight of weeping stars invigorate me so that the storm might carry me on its moonlight wings!

Frozen in place as my body grapples with the bitter duality of delight and horror, laughter and fear I tremble at the inexplicable and transcendent nature of the terror before me. I find it almost incomprehensible. honestly since when did wishes come true? Monsters they said and to think I had dismissed it as exaggeration.

MONSTERS!

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONSTERS!

I tremble as my self tries to adjust to new reality and I tremble as the monster awakens the

Dad

the demon

that dwells within my shadow. The world slows down before me as everything as even the smallest things become almost painfully in focus. Oh howl my divine power and let us obliterate everything before us.

But first this!

“R-“

Grabbing the cute head of my wonderfully active maid I cut her off and smother her words by pushing her face into my chest before gently stroking her head and whispering into her ear.

“Sssssh Kaede losing your head over such things is unbecoming of my super beautiful and all powerful maid and as you know Kurogami don't run away in a panic like the common man, they strategically retreat .”

In the face of a situation where life and death are decided by a single mistake one must keep their composure and never falter even if they are facing down a terrible demon lord. Thanks dad even if your lessons were horrible to endure you were a great teacher.

Tracing my finger down her spine before slipping it under her skirt and pinching her butt I continue. “While it would certainly be fun to punish you don’t you think the situation calls for something else? So please be a dear and start analyzing everything I'm sure a fight will be breaking out soon …ah but don’t worry I’ll be sure to tie you up so we can play to our hearts content later.”

Smirking at the embarrassing memories I can tell I’ve dredged up by the way she’s begun to squirm I release her and tighten my grip on my book bag. Although I’m sure it will prove to be only a marginal defense the steel reinforcements that dad had made will still be helpful.

Taking a stride forward I stand unconcerned, brave and exstatic grind etched into my face staring down the horror as I analyze it and the environment.

Well as one might say, come at me O’ spindly scrub of decay?

[Airen]

Elora Griffin
April 3^rd – Evening
Nakano, Streets - Alleyways

The scream had eventually caught in her throat as her body seized up in terror.

Staring at a thing that shouldn't exist, a thing that both reinforced the idea of a prank while simultaneously blasting it into pieces, the sounds of everyone else screaming doesn't register at first as her mind simply goes numb with a deep and instinctual fear.

But it's only for a moment.

"Run-!"

When she speaks, it's with a remarkable sort of strained calm as her instincts notice something else, something far more important than the monster could ever hope to be, even if it gave a certain urgency to this other issue.

Namely...

"Go, go now-! We're retreating-!"

Rika had frozen up, and wasn't responding to anything anyone was saying; this in itself was bizarre, Rika was one of the bravest people she knew, but unable to figure out the cause behind all of this in this scenario, the younger girl doesn't even bother to figure it out.

Instead, she simply sweeps the older girl into her arms, hoisting her up and into her arms in a princess carry, silently thanking the heavens that she was never the type to skip out on her daily physicals, even as she turns away from the monster, instinctively and decisively putting her own back in between the enemy and her family, more than prepared to have her back cut open while she ran rather than have Rika be harmed at all-!

"You too, Yuu! Fighting if it catches us is one thing, but this isn't a good idea-!"

[RacingeR]

Taka Nishi
April 3^rd – Evening
Shinjuku, Nishimoto’s Rest – Room 45

When the cab stopped near Mei’s hostess club, it was dusk. The sun was almost gone already. You gave the driver a generous tip, and got out of the car and into the darkness. Your target was not the hostess club your mother managed, but instead, the discrete five-floors tall building that was at its side.

Nishimoto’s Rest. The play on your surname wasn’t even subtle, but not many people gave the building a second glance in comparison to the flashier club at the side. A hotel… hostel of sorts owned by your family, one of the many assets Nishi Mei administered all over Tokyo. All the rooms in the hotel were, according to the receptionist at the front, perennially full. Of course, it was just a façade of sorts: the place was exclusively reserved for the workers of the club, a safe place provided for their rest and living, if necessary.

You crossed the street, ignoring the girl wearing a hoodie passing by, and stopped in front of the hotel. There was a weird feeling in the back of your head. Were you being followed? You turned around, only to be greeted by an empty street. The sensation of being followed disappeared soon after. If anything, it was weirder to see the streets so empty, but five minutes of waiting didn’t give you anything new.

You proceeded towards the hotel.

Usually speaking, your family almost never went to the place. You owned much more luxurious places to live in, if only discreetly so. So did Mei and Asuka, to be fair. You only came here when you needed to talk with your mother and she was busying herself with the club’s administration. The receptionist (one of the girls who worked as a hostess, you remembered), however, recognized you, and nodded in a greeting as she passed by.

The fifth room in the fourth floor was, as always, reserved for Mei’s use. It was less of a room meant for living, and more akin to an administrative center, the actual nucleus of the club’s business. You stepped inside.

To find your mother pale, scared, although immediate relief appeared on her face when she saw you. “I thought something had happened. Why didn’t you look at your phone” She said, in a very calm tone, anticipating your question. It was odd seeing her react to this point, when she was usually so calm towards everything. You had muted your phone during the game and the conversation afterwards, and had forgotten to look at it after leaving Hiragami and taking the cab. Not that you could be faulted, given all the revelations of the day. Your brain had been quite busy processing everything.

But her next words clarified this particular mystery.

“The daughter of the Kamiyama-gumi’s leading family, the Shiromi, became a Lost a while ago. The yakuza kept it under wraps, but Shizumi-chan got the tip from one of Asuka’s clients. And you were at one of their establishments…”

It was enough to give anyone a chill. You had been talking about the Lost and a cure for them precisely in territory of a criminal organization that would surely do the impossible to get their hands in any information. Hopefully, nobody had paid that much attention to your conversation with Hiragami. Either way, it was now out of your hands. It was the kind of freak coincidence that could ruin any plan, no matter how well it was laid out.

“What did you discover?” She asked, having calmed down somewhat now.

[Vritra]

Yuu Kurogami
April 3rd – Evening
Nakano, Streets - Alleyways

Facing down transcendent horror that erodes the boundaries of our ‘world’ I prepare. With my left hand I signal for Kaede to round up and quietly get rid of the dead weight and with my right I tug Elora’s ear and force her to listen.

“My, my, isn’t it the heroes job to stand against monsters? And I do believe you seem to be misunderstanding me While I would love to rip this little thing piece of rotten meat from piece of rotten bone I would like to gather a few more items before I attempt to do that. My meaning was instead of blinding running away we should do things in more of an orderly fashion after all a panicked run becomes simply about being faster than the next person.

Ah of course the glorious and noble me is always prepared with the resolve to stand as the great hero of consuming light so feel free to show the paper nature of your resolve and abandon everything for yourself it’s only natural for one such as you. As cute little Mizuki-chan says, Griffon code #2 rules are only guidelines after all so feel free to embrace ones fundamental nature and bye bye.”

Rejoice Elora-chan for the great me has decided to heed the demons spurring and save the riff raff that clings to you. While you blind yourself to the great blessing that is my presence the great divinely demonic hero shall over look your ingratitude my magnanimity is boundless after all.

“Oh right one thing please be useful and avoid making sounds surmising from out little friends appearance it might prove to be detrimental.”

When something lacks something as obvious as eyes then it would rely on some other sense but I do dearly hope it isn’t as stupid as a magical life detection one or as sublime as something like a shark or snake might possess. It would make my life so much harder and that would be a tragic sin against all that is good in the world you know.

Letting Elora go I jab Rika in the side and focus the boundless raging power that resides within me within me solely to the task at hand. Measuring the distance needed to fulfil the role as protector of innocent sheep, sharpening my senses and bracing myself for any action it might take and running through all the possible counter actions I can take and minimizing any noise I create.

Really, escort missions are such a kill joy.

[Airen]

Elora Griffin
April 3rd – Evening
Nakano, Streets - Alleyways

"Paper nature of resolve my ass...!"

It wasn't like that at all; from the start, her intentions had been to ensure that everyone else got out of this in one piece. If Rika had not lost consciousness, she would have even stood at the back while buying time for the others to get away.

But Rika had lost consciousness.

Why?

She didn't know, but it didn't change the fact that she had, and with everyone else running away, it was up to her to make sure that her family was kept safe, and she sure as hell wouldn't do something so stupid as fighting while carrying her unconscious and defenseless cousin on her back.

It was easily the highest priority, even so...

"Kiyoko! Please, take Rika and get out of here-! Keep her safe-!"

By that same token, she couldn't leave any of her friends behind either.

It was absolutely stupid, just looking at that creature was enough to know that there chances against it were endlessly close to zero, especially because they had pretty much nothing that could be used as a weapon, but-!

She was the Council President after all, if people refused to run, then she would have to stay to make sure no one got themselves killed; and passing her cousin along as a sort of compromise between priorities, the blonde student steps forward with a sigh and...

"I'll let it go because of the situation... But never grab my ear like that again."

Makes something extra clear as she takes her place amongst the 'wall' separating the monster from the others.

[Tobias]

Taka felt a little blind sided as he walked into the hotel room. All he had really wanted to do was strip off the shit he was wearing and have a bath, try and think through his next move while he untwisted his mind. It may sound odd, but Taka was a bit of a method actor. In order to act like a silly fop with more money than sense he had to become one at least in a limited sense. It usually took a little processing to untangle himself from she was pretending to be.

...It seemed in this case however, time was one luxury which even he could not afford. But fuck it, at least who could get changed. It may seem odd that Taka would gratefully strip off a suit requiring 6 zeroes to describe its price in yen for a pair of nondescript jeans, an old shirt and a ratty leather overcoat at least 2 or three years past when any self respecting yakuza (or wannabe) would have tossed it out, but there it was.

Taka often thought clothes were like wine. It was a bad idea to buy the cheapest of course, and generally towards about 10000 yen you could expect them to get better the more you paid. The first 5000 yen would go towards longevity and comfort, the next 5000 would go towards appea and complexity, very similar to a fine alcohol getting smoother and tastier. But after the first 10000, there was such a drop off. Things actually got worse in favor of obvious opulence.


“What did you discover?” His mother asked, after demonstrating the pointlessness of planning ahead.

“That I am not nearly as smart as I think I am.” Taka said ruefully, and honestly. All that work looking for an in that if wasn’t completely clueless, was at least easily to cut out.. Taka’s back up plan, though he had been loathe to make use of it, had been a botched mugging. His mark could be silenced going home one day if Taka had absolutely no other option to keep a tongue from wagging. But now it was entirely pointless. The only unanswered question was whether it would be the bartender or the doorman who went running of to sell his secrets first.

No helping it now.

Taka summed up the events of the night as dispassionately as he could. He didn’t bother to emphasize his successes or minimize his failures. Taka wasn’t quite certain his mother was smarter then he was, but at the least, she wasn't stupid. WIthout his sister’s genius,
Relying on mei’s experience was not a bad bet. At the very least, he wasn’t going to kneecap her and thus himself to satisfy his own recently bruised pride.

“Anyway, if we are made we are made. If we have to throw around some bribes late, then we pay. For now, unless your girls have am gonna look into izanami Zaibatsu. I am not gonna lie, the mysticism of this makes me suspect a scam, but its weird...how do I put this. It's stupid, but if you think of it as something possible…”

Taka shrugged, feeling like a dupe taking himself into buying whatever was being hawked….

“Things start making sense. I'll work with you and the girls. Let's do this together.” Taka had worked as a host before, and knew how easy it was to sneak information (or money) out of a man whose distracted by his pants suddenly being to tight. We may need to lay low for a while, but we have three clues. ‘Boss lady’ Zaibatsu, and the blood of the demon. Zaibatsu is looking into the blood anyway, it's two clues in one, and i'm not ready to start pinging the radar of a woman that scary just yet.”

...Well, no more than he already had, at any rate.

...It was only just then that Taka realized that if he was going to be pulling host duty, he had just talked himself into putting back on another stiff, uncomfortable, garish ensemble. One only marginally less chafing and crotch mashing then the one he just took off. Looking back at his mother, she appeared to have recovered enough equilibrium to allow a small glint of amusement to enter her eyes as she appeared to have the same thought.

Sighing, Taka went to get changed before they went to the club.

[RacingeR]

Taka Nishi
April 3^rd – Evening
Shinjuku, Nishimoto’s Rest – Room 45

At least the host suit was slightly more comfortable than the suit from before. Garish, overtly flashy, and unnecessarily pastel, but a bit more comfortable. You were supposed to be quite a long time wearing it, and the hosts lost some appeal if they weren’t looking their best all the time.

“Something about this is very fishy.” Was all your mother had muttered at the end, as she was processing the information you had obtained. “Kurogami… they’re a really big family, but apart from Kurogami Yuki and her attendants in Tokyo… I think there was this Kurogami Yuu.”

Mei frowned slightly. “She came to the city recently and has made quite a splash. Apparently even took over a gang just for her own amusement. Might be worth investigating her, she’d be a more accessible lead than the big fish herself.” For someone like Mei, a frown was quite the expression of worry. Or perhaps, just puzzlement. She was finding everything as weird as you yourself were, but she had quickly come up with a possible in.

“Anyway, go get changed, if you’re going to the club. Maybe we can get something more concrete tonight, with those keywords…” She had said, with some amusement as she looked at the expensive suit you had just managed to free yourself from.

And that’s how you were here, having finished changing into another bothersome costume, and standing in front of a mirror, trying to comb your hair into a more modern, better looking style and trying to generally look your best.

--- That’s why you didn’t notice, outside, that there was a crack in the sky.

Suddenly, you heard a sharp scream coming from below, which startled you awake from your thoughts. That voice… it sounded like the hostess that was playing the part of receptionist below.

You quickly exited to the room where your mother was. She hadn’t started changing yet, and she was looking towards the door that connected with the hallway alertly. She frowned when footsteps coming up became evident, especially because there were at least six persons climbing the stairs, and rather quickly. Her expression changing suddenly, she made for the nightstand at one side of the bed, where she kept a gun that she had obtained god knows from which channel, but…

The door was suddenly kicked open, and five men and a woman poured inside.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, missy.” A rough male voice spoke.

The woman that had just entered was almost politely, yet firmly shoved towards the bed. Mei, who had become paralyzed the moment she noticed four of the suited men who had entered inside were carrying guns, quickly caught her. It was the hostess that had been in the reception. “Shizumi-chan, are you alright?” Mei asked with concern.

“I-I’m fine, boss.” The girl answered timidly. She didn’t look hurt at all, and you suspected she had released that scream from before on purpose, to alert the both of you. It hadn’t done much good.

You eyed the newcomers. Four nondescript sturdy men wearing cheap suits and holding illegal guns, and a flamboyantly dressed young man with a pompadour that had gone out of style a while ago. He seemed to be the one in charge and was the one who had spoken before. He was also someone you recognized.

Shiromi Tetsuo. Nephew of the Kamiyama-gumi’s patriarch. Which would make him cousin to the girl who had become Lost recently. Barely out of high school, although he was a heavy-weight purely by his family connections, he was just a small-time gang leader in practice. You had to admit, these guys had moved quite fast, already sending someone like him to search for trouble. He was rather hard to deal with, if you looked at his stubborn personality, but he was also not very bright. You had talked with him a few times before, but always with one disguise or the other, and you doubted he’d even recognize you right now.

“It is him, boss.” One of the suits spoke, pointing at you. You recognized him as one of the guards that had been there in the seedy bar, although you’d put some good money on either the waitress or the doorman being the ones who had ratted you out.

“Alright.” Tetsuo’s eyes scanned you, face ferocious as he swung around a baseball bat, in an obvious intimidating gesture. “You three are coming with us. You got some questions to answer.”

At that time, you noticed something wrong. The door was wide open, and you could tell that these five were the only intruders. Sure, at this point in the evening most of the hotel’s inhabitants were at work in the club, but there should still be people around. Furthermore, there was the personnel of the hotel, and it had its own security detail, not that it’d be that much help against people armed with guns. But the point was… there should have been a decent amount of people that’d come to see what the noise was, and what was going on…

So, how come there was nobody else at all?

[Tobias]

Taka Nishi
April 3^rd – Evening
Shinjuku, Nishimoto’s Rest – Room 45

Its funny the way one's mind can drift onto the most inane tangents when you were afraid. Taka was made. Damn was he made but good. If he didn't start playing his cards a hell of a lot better then he had been, he was going to have played his last hand of poker.

...And the hell of it was, it was a losing hand seeing as how he had been letting that fat sack of debt take his money.

Put that another way, the way things looked, Taka had actually paid a shit ton of money to get himself, his mother, and a whole lot of good working girls shot.

...And the first thing that popped into Taka's head was was...

seriously, this day and age, who the hell dresses like that?

The second thing that popped into Taka's head was, Oh right, right now, I do.

In reality, it was the very real fear of dying in the shitty over priced suit he was wearing that galvanized Taka to try and maybe, just maybe, save his own life. The first step was simple. Taka stretched his arm in a very clear "stop, wait" motion towards his mother. He didn't bother with any subterfuge here. In this case, he wanted the boisterous, gun toting thugs to know their captives weren't about to due something that might make a trigger figure start to itch.

"Don't. Leave that where it is." Taka said slowly and carefully, in a voice very reminiscent as one might use when talking to an angry and aggressive predatory animal. Secondly he turned to the group of toughs who would probably be dumping his body in a few hours. "We will come quietly, nobody has to get hurt today." Taka said, showing both his hands at shoulder level in a surrender position. "I dont know what this is about, but I am sure we can all come to a nice, mutually beneficial and profitable arrangement."

This was code for "hey fellas. worse comes to worse, before you do anything permanent, give me a chance to beat the offer of whoever is paying you to be here." Taka's poker face was easily good enough to not react visibly when he saw a few eyes narrow speculatively. Odds are they were a good enough crew that he couldn't just buy them wholesale but it would be far from the first time a crew of toughs had "accidentally" botched a hit and allowed their quarry to escape when a good enough bribe was negotiated.

Then Taka looked at the lead tough, whose ridiculous hair cut brought to mind a cartoon chicken that had just had a bomb go off in its face. "We will certainly answer any questions you have. We are just a couple of stiffs who apparently did something to you or someone you work for and I am most looking forward to a chance to apologize and make whatever amends seem appropriate to him and or her."

Taka briefly internally debated and immediately discarded the idea of trying to negotiate a scenario where they took just him and left his mother and Shizumi behind. It did not seem a high success strategy and once his captors got started telling him no, it would become habitual. A reflexive action requiring no thought. The best scenario for the next while was to simply go along quietly, negotiate a big enough bribe to be let off the hook, and then spend the next weeks in a safe house. But if it turned out he needed a plan B, setting a few hooks in the street level goons was a start. That scenario did not start with them getting used to turning down offers he made them.

...It was then a completely different thought filtered through to Taka's conscious thoughts.

where is the peanut gallery?

Now it was true that the current abduction currently taken place had been done thus far with rather admirable swiftness. if Shizumi had screamed a little earlier or they had taken longer finding the correct room, Taka and his mother could have created at least a brief stand off.

Not they would have had any hope of winning but they could have made it dangerous to enter the room with a dresser against the door hindering entry, and some likely inaccurate but at least suppressing fire from Mei's gun. Long enough for Taka to get a few friends on the phone and start calling in favors at any rate.

But there was no way that it had been done with such alacrity that it wouldn't be filtering through the collective subconsciousness of the club that shit was going down. Half the regulars (the ones with sense) should be sprinting from the doors hollering like frightened sheep. The other half should be rubber necking at the door trying to see what was happening with no regard for even the most basic premises of self preservation. Of all the strange and unexpected things Taka had heard and seen tonight, the fact that there wasnt some twat in the hall with his cellphone video camera out, mentally work shopping titles for his youtube video sensation was absolutely the number one most puzzling.

The young man of course in no way let any sign of these thoughts reach his countenance. He of course had no idea what was happening. But the hairs prickling at the back of his neck suggested indeed, something was happening. And whatever it was, Taka intended to be ready. He shared a quick glance with his mother, no more. But the searching look that she gave him and the rather exaggerated way she seemed to settle her weight underneath her encouraged her son.

It wasn't much. Maybe it wasn't anything. But like hell was he going to tell some goons with to much hair gel anything that might tip them off that something might be occurring. A two of clubs wasn't the best thing to have stashed, but when you are playing your last chips and you have a card up your sleeve, you don't really care what it is.

You wait for your opportunity then you go all in.

[RacingeR]

Elora Griffin & Yuu Kurogami
April 3^rd – Evening
Nakano, Streets - Alleyways

“Ah-!” Kaede was unable to do anything but to calm down under Yuu’s bold attack, which caused her to blush slightly. She regained her cool nonetheless.

“Understood. I’ll guide the other students to safety, and then come back. Please, take care, my lady.” The maid nodded, willing to obey her orders even if she disagreed with Yuu’s actions; as far as Kaede was concerned, she’d rather throw the rest of the students under the bus rather than putting her lady at risk. With one last horrified look at the monster, she turned back, and ran towards the paralyzed students at the back, grabbing onto Erika’s shirt and dragging her along with surprising strength.

“What the hell are you standing around for!?” She shouted, breaking them out of their reverie. She pushed Osamu and Nanami. “Move! Now!”

“Aahhh… AAAHHHHH!” Osamu started shouting, and completely losing his nerve, he turned around, and started running away desperately, shouting all the way.

“Damnit, that idiot…!” Nanami shuddered, staring at the monster, before turning around, and running towards Ayako. “Let’s go!” She tried to drag the girl, who seemed to have been completely paralyzed by sheer terror.

“N-nanami… look! The- The sky is…” Ayako pointed upwards, prompting her to look towards the sky. Nanami’s face paled: above, she could see cracks spreading through the air, rifts slowly sundering the sky apart as the sun waned, and night slowly fell. For some reason, this sight was much more eerie and disquieting than the horrifying monster behind them.

“Shit… Ayako, we’re going, now!” She cursed, and then grabbed the smaller girl, lifting her in a princess carry before breaking into a run, behind Osamu. All she could do now was to pray the ones behind would be safe.

“Elora, no! You can’t stay behind!” Kiyoko replied, terrified, as she accepted the paralyzed Rika nonetheless. The white-haired girl seemed to react slightly when she noticed Elora being away from her, and she twitched slightly, but whatever was keeping her paralyzed like this didn’t let her even talk. Her wide eyes were staring straight at the shattering sky.

“No, I can’t just leave you behind-!” Kiyoko started shouting but interrupted herself when she looked towards her little sister. She gritted her teeth, eyes teary, before looking back at her neighbor. “Please, you must be careful, don’t get yourself killed!”

She turned around, moving Rika’s weight towards her right arm, and used her left arm to grab Akane’s hand. “Wait, neechan, we can’t…” But Kiyoko didn’t give her sister time to argue, and started running, practically dragging Akane with her.

“So, not running, Kobayashi-kun?” Sakura asked. She, Ryou, Yuu and Elora were the only four left behind. She seemed very calm, despite the bizarre and threatening situation.

“No way in hell I’m turning tail and running while a girl takes a hit for me!” Ryou replied, hitting his chest.

“…Your knees are trembling. Also, that’s really sexist.” Sakura sighed, while she stared at the monster. Like Elora, she was very clearly afraid, but was successfully repressing her fear.

“We should get moving, too, we’ll be the rear-guard and try to keep this thing off the re-“

Before Sakura was able to finish her words. The thing moved.

In one instant it was standing there, like a herald of the apocalypse, surrounded by a gray mist, head slightly tilted in a gesture that seemed almost mocking, arms extended to the sides, with claws that seemed to shine in the increasing darkness. Then… it almost disappeared, moving forth in a blur of speed, so fast it was almost invisible to the human eye.

Moving with that inhuman celerity, its body swaying forwards in an almost liquid way, like it was flowing into the space it was occupying, rather than advancing like a normal being. It appeared in front of Yuu, almost giving her no space to react at all. Its claws moved with a spectral precision.

Only her rapid reflexes prevented Yuu from having a hole punctured through her chest, as she threw her reinforced bookbag towards the incoming scythe of the faceless reaper. The rest could only watch with their eyes wide open as the claws tore through the steel reinforcements as if they were paper, practically disintegrating the item. You could see how the books and papers rotted away in the air just by taking contact with the gray mist that emanated from the undead abomination.

However, at the very least the steel reinforcements of the bag managed to delay the strike enough for Yuu to throw herself to the ground and roll away from the abomination’s strike, having avoided death by a hair. This monster was just too strong, too superhuman. It was simply not something normal humans could face head on.

Just a single strike from this monstrosity was more than enough to kill any of you in an instant-!

Faceless Terror
Turn 1

Run for your lives…!

[Airen]

Elora Griffin
April 3rd – Evening
Nakano, Streets - Alleyways

"Run."

It's no longer a request, no longer even a suggestion, it's an absolute demand made by the Council President towards the others.

Her mind had almost shut down; the emotion was something close to fear, but at the same time, the overwhelming shock that was in it as well was probably the stronger of the mixing emotions. She can't comprehend what she had just watched happen, and yet her years of interaction and training with the police keep her from screaming out even though a part of her would like to do nothing more than shout.

It's too fast.

It's way too fast, way too strong, it's giving off poison, and it had just torn apart metal with it's bare hands; even Yuu had been forced to retreat, and the girl is forced to acknowledge that her first instinct had been the correct one all along...

They needed to get away from it.

They needed to get away from it right the hell now.

"That's an order! Now!"

She would drag Yuu if she had too-!

Hopefully the girl wouldn't be the kind of stubborn and stupid that gets the both of them killed by resisting commands.

[Vritra]

Yuu Kurogami
April 3^rd
Nakano, streets – Alleyways

Instinct howling and adrenaline pumping I roll into a crouch after evading the force of the incoming attack.

“KUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Aaaaaaah such dark force~!

To good, this was to goddamn good NOW THIS IS A REAL MONSTER! The impossibility that this dead end world was missing, the agitator that this stagnant world craved and the realization of my wish it was honestly breathtaking …well aside from the horrible smell assaulting but such things are small sacrifices. A trial to awaken the dark disciple forced into slumber by this world, a blade to cleave the weakness of the light, oh thank you eight million gods for this blessing I just can’t wait to take it apart to study it!

…

Ah, well maybe if I had more equipment on hand. Tch that’s just like life to ruin a wonderful atmospheric moment. Ah well nothing I can do now, might as well ditch even if it’s success seems laughable but who knows maybe it’s incompetent?

Preserving my momentum I spring backwards out of the crouch while throwing what’s left of the ruined bag in its face. No sense in doing things with half measure in this situation so might as well go all in, so, here, we, go! Grabbing Ryu and Sakura’s hand I sprint with all my might and drag them forward.

Speed and utilization of the environment to impede it, I shut out everything else and focus on that goal.

Last one’s a rotten egg! Or maybe they’d just be a corpse… Who knows?

[RacingeR]

Shiratori Kaguya
April 3^rd – Evening
Minato, Tokyo Tower – Sei Kyonatsu’s Ramen Stop

Sette opened his mouth to say something, but then Reign interrupted him.

“No, I’m fairly sure she doesn’t know anything. No, she couldn’t possibly know anything. She’s the first Shiratori worth something in many generations.” She said with clear despise in her voice. “No way they’d risk tainting their precious Maiden.”

There was a visible change in the expressions of the people standing around there, although it was really hard to interpret them. It was clear that whatever Reign had said had quite a deep meaning to it.

“I see…” Sette looked at you, then back at his boss. “So that’s what is going on here… you’re taking quite the gamble, Lady Reign.” He seemed to have suddenly understood something. “I would usually advice against it, but I suspect my opinion on the matter would be violently dismissed.”

“It would.”

Sette merely shrugged. Looking around, you noticed not only your little group of normal people, the rest of them seemed quite confused as well, except for Sherry, who you briefly noticed was sporting a very disgusted expression. And it seemed for a moment that she had looked at you with pity.

“Wait a moment, what is this Maiden thing about? What are you saying about Kaguya?” Laura grabbed onto your arm protectively, as she asked very worriedly about the mysterious keyword Reign had used.

“Nothing you have to worry about at this point.” Reign said somewhat harshly. “Hell, you can ask your own parents, since the Leonhardt are involved with Izanami as well. Dunno how the hell they accomplished that, since it’s full of racist fucks, but…” she sent a significative glance on Laura’s way, who suddenly paled and fell silent.

“What about the Dawn Collective? Anything about them, Sette?” Reign continued asking for her report, completely ignoring the four of you once again.

“Not much, they’re encroaching on the city, but it is hard to know how they’ll strike. They’re planning something, that’s for sure, and they have a strong presence here in Minato too.” He made a pause to calculate something. “We’ve sighted Lin Yu in a few places… I guess they’re going to try and take over a minor Leyline… which might just as well end up provoking the Rakt into action, if they’re not coming over already.”

“So all the chess pieces are in the table at the moment.” Reign frowned, casting her glance around the room. “Well, we gotta try and get an advantage while it is just three sides, and this is going to be the central battlefield…” She looked at her clock.

“It is starting.” Suddenly, Taiki spoke out loud, directing his glance to the outside. The others did the same.

“Damn, already? That’s earlier than expected!” Cinque said as she jumped off the table she had been sitting at.

“Seems that not only the day is different, but the hour too.” Sette said calmly.

“Well, damn.” Reign turned towards the four of you. “I thought we had time to give you an explanation and prepare you a bit. I mean, you were going to awaken today anyway no matter what, I guess, but…” She shrugged. “Let’s go outside. We’ll help you out while we’re at it, and hey, you might as well see the whole spectacle.”

She grabbed you by the arm, and ignoring any kind of protest, she forcefully dragged you outside the ramen shop. Your three friends followed, with Cinque, Six and Sette walking behind them.

And then you saw it. The phenomenon you had started this reckless search for…

The sundered sky.

Yes. Just as some of the craziest rumors had said.

The sky itself was shattering apart.

“Huh, seems that today’s is way worse than before.” Cinque said. “You think whole thing will break today, Reign-sama?”

The blonde eldritch abomination’s answer was a mere shrug.

[RacingeR]

Taka Nishi
April 3^rd – Evening
Shinjuku, Nishimoto’s Rest – Room 45

“You. Shut the fuck up.” Tetsuo waved the bat around threateningly in your direction, evidently not amused you had spoken up without permission. You had noticed the characteristic eyebrow raise in at least two of the four thugs. Of course, life wasn’t like the movies. There didn’t exist a horde of faceless mooks that would be somehow loyal until death and willing to be mowed down for the sake of their employer. These paid gorillas had their own lives and own ambitions, and you knew by experience they were susceptible to a generous payment.

Of course, there was the fact that their employer was right there, and that these guys didn’t look like the kind that were able to rub two neurons together very frequently, but it was a start. They were unlikely to get very rough with you, for now at least, thanks to the small bait you had planted. Bait that you might not be able to cash in, but that it served to buy time. And your instinct told you that you needed to buy all the time you could. Strange things were afoot, and you had to search for a chance to get out of this bind.

The attitude you had put on had also helped. A quick exchange of glances with your mother had told you that she was putting you in charge, and ready to move in synth with you. Shizumi also seemed calm after the initial shock, and you knew that she was a sharp girl. It was unlikely she’d do something extreme, at least without prompting. Tetsuo had made his moves with the intention to establish his authority, and quickly punish any attempt to challenge it, but since there had been no challenge and you had reacted with surprising calmness, it had taken some wind off his sails.

“We won’t hurt you. We just want to ask you some questions, that’s all.” He finally said, in a less violent tone, and finally stopped waving his bat around.

If this was an interrogation, as they said, it was unlikely that you’d end up dead unless you did something very stupid. However, it was also not very good at all, because you had heard enough stories about these kinds of incidents to know that the ‘We won’t hurt you’ part was a complete lie. Even if you were completely honest from the beginning, they were quite likely to hurt you just to make sure that you weren’t hiding anything, and to give you a reminder that it was best to not talk to the cops about this.

“Bring ‘em outside, boys.” Tetsuo ordered. “Quickly, before any asshole calls the cops on us.”

You didn’t have much time to react to that, nor many options. It was either do as they said, or possibly get shot at. Walking obediently behind Tetsuo and two of his thugs was the best you could do to avoid more displays of violence.

As you descended the floors, you noticed there was… well, nobody. Nobody taking a look too see what was going on, nobody just going and coming from the many rooms of the hotel… an eerie silence reigned on the whole place, and you started to feel a chill going down your spine. Something was very, very wrong, and both Mei and Shizumi seemed to have noticed too, although wisely enough, they said nothing. Even some of the thugs seemed a bit nervous, as if they instinctively understood something was going on.

Finally, you passed by the empty reception, and went out in the street. There was a simple, anonymous white van waiting in the street, and you knew that soon enough the time to gamble would come…

But, as it had become a pattern today, the unexpected happened. As the light of the sun was about to vanish, the armed man that was walking ahead of the group looked up, and stopped dead on his tracks.

“What the hell, Takashi? Get in the van already!” Spat a displeased Tetsuo.

“B-boss…” Takashi said with a strange, shuddering tone.

“What?!”

“T-the sky… look… at the sky!”

And he did, and you did, and so did everyone else. And that’s how you saw it for the first time…

A firmament full of cracks.

A crack in the foundation of the world.