Fandom Norgami: A New Era (IC)

[QuirkyAngel]

Norgami: A New Era

Posting Rules​

1. Try to stay active with at least 1 posts per week. If you have trouble meeting this, let gm know.
2. Title each post with the character's name (followed by title in parenthesis), location, date, and time. This so other players know where your character is where they need to be to interact.
3. This rp is about interacting. Please do your best to interact.
4. Tag the player you wish to interact with.
5. Romance, drama, etc. is encouraged.
6. No god-modding. Only gm is allowed to do that.
7. Treat fellow players with respect.
8. No one-liners. I need at least 1 paragraph (5 sentences) of decent grammar and spelling to work with
9. Planning and ooc chat belongs in the lounge.

GM Comments: For the sake of this rp, we will be starting in Kyoto, Japan (with the exception of Takamagahara/Heaven or Yomi/Underworld if you desire...) but otherwise this is a sandbox rp, so feel free to start them off however you want. Design their encounters and plan interactions to rp their lives/tell their story or leave it all as natural as you wish. Only enshrined gods have access to heaven. Only phantoms (of a certain power) have free access to Yomi. Humans are the only ones who can build shrines and only gods with regalias can take on some of the more powerful and/or human-like phantoms. Any questions, ask in the ooc.

MrThe VeiledPariah Dante Verren Nico Life. Peckinou NoQuillToLive Phayne Ian Temero Mera

Location: Shirotome High School, Kyoto City
Date: April 1st, 2030
Time: 2:00 pm​

Rika Murakami (Human)

Dark tentacles wound around the figure it clung to, slowly tightening its hold and choking the life out of its prey with every passing second. However, the gloomy looking boy didn’t seem to notice the large, black jellyfish on his shoulders. Or, if he did, he didn’t care. No one else seemed to. Dark circles marked his eyes from sleepless nights and he sat hunched, his foot tapping impatiently under the desk as the teacher’s monotone voice rambled on about arithmetic.

Rika watched it all silently from the corner of her eyes, the pencil in her hand moving robotically to copy down the equations on the blackboard. At this point, such sightings have become a regular occurrence for her that she no longer flinched at the sight. There wasn’t much she could do about it anyway. Talking to him wouldn’t do much if he was already so deeply possessed—not she knew him well enough to do so. She doubted he would take a hand drawn talisman from her even if it did work in repelling the phantom—which she wasn’t entirely sure it would.

She’d only just started basic Onmyōji training, after all. Barely scratched the surface of what her mother’s ancestors could do. It was better that he go to a shrine. Offer a prayer to a god that may help him remove the affliction befouling him. However, that was easier said than done. Few people visited shrines these days—fear of AFAH retaliation still lingering even if a majority of their more violent members have been arrested ten years ago. AFAH wasn’t just a group of people. It was an ideology. A hatred of religion which had yet to truly fade even after its main body had been put down. The proof was in the forums and whispers that still contained traces of anti-faith sentiments. Seeds of doubt had already been planted.

Truthfully, Rika couldn’t call herself a particularly devout person either.

Besides Uzume, few gods had really shown themselves in front of her. Perhaps it was because she was just a human. Perhaps it because they had other, more important, things to do. She sometimes saw them—strange looking wierdos that destroyed phantoms—but even then, she hadn’t really connected them as gods until her grandfather told her they were. It already boggled her mind that Uzume-chan, the cute girl she’d met dancing at the Ota Jinja Shrine was the Ame no Uzume. The Goddess of dawn and happiness.

Where was she now? What was she doing? Glancing out the classroom window to the blossoming cherry blossoms outside, which marked spring in all its glory, Rika also saw the big eyeballs that floated in procession towards a nearby building. Kyoto wasn’t home to just humans. It was home to phantoms, spirits, and gods as well. Supernatural things were all around her. Existed everywhere—in homes, around public facilities, in every nook and cranny…Most malevolent spirts were too small to be a problem. It was when they grew larger, filled with the need to feed, consume, and taint those around them that they became a problem.

When one of the eyeballs looked her way, Rika avoided its gaze…and found herself staring back at the jellyfish, which had doubled in size, inky darkness spreading across the boy’s skin. Was he harboring more negative thoughts? Was he going to kill someone? This wasn’t good. Phantoms were drawn to more phantoms from her experience. She could already hear the spidery whispers growing in number: Smells Nice! Smells Nice! Smells Nice! SmellsNice! SmellsNice! SmellsNice! SMELLS NIC—

“Miss Murakami! Eyes to the front, please.”

Blinking, Rika looked towards the face of her irate teacher.

“Why don’t you come to the front and answer this question for us?”

Hehehe, you won’t get it right, you know.

Teacher knows it too.

He just wants to humiliate you.

Hate him!

Hate Him! HateHim! HateHim!HateHim!HaTeHiM—​

Rika took a deep breath. Moving towards the front of the front of the room, she took the chalk from Mr. Horiya…and made a guess. It was wrong, of course. She endured a bit berating from the teacher and giggles from her classmates, but she refused to let the words of phantoms alter her mind. Refused to let herself get possessed. Once class ends, she’d stop by the nearest shrine on her way home just to be sure.

Passing the possessed boy who glared at her, Rika ignored him and returned to her seat. She’d already seen many others like him—her mother included. There was nothing she could do. Only a god could save him at this point. Where were they? The hell if she knew. So far, it just felt like she'd been praying to empty shrines.

 

[VeiledPariah]

Location: Kyoto Railway Station
Date: April 1st 2030
Time: 2:05 pm ​

Ametaru (Regalia)

The rush of wind against her skin and the quick flash of light as the sun disappeared from her sight as the building ceiling covered its radiant visage upon the planet. The clandestine chime resounding from within the train and the outside station for both on-boarders and off boarders alike.
“Kyoto....after all these years, it still feels the same Ude.....”
*Now arriving at Kyoto station please stand clear of the tram doors until the tram has come to a complete stop, thank you and welcome to kyoto*
The young woman stood up stretching a bit seemingly unnoticed by the populace entering and exiting the train as she hopped off the top of the train and landing deftly onto the platform. Ame adjusted the sleeves of her hoodie noting some smudging that had occured as consequence for napping on a moving locomotive. She had always loved trains especially when the mode of transportation was in its infancy but nowadays they were run by electricity and solar power.
“I wonder if the Kami get reimbursed for that?” she asked aloud absentmindedly beginning to walk from the platform to the adjoining street below.

Kyoto was always lively but truthfully it had been almost ten years since she had been here last.
One thing was for sure it seemed the lack of ayakashi activity had certainly not been weened in her absence.
Smaller phantoms floated and hoarded around in flocks and herds. Ame paid them no mind as she continued walking forward ignoring the swaths or passers by as well her intent focused on reaching a specific destination.

After the war and the losses Ame had left Japan in search of a fallen god since his last reincarnation was in France. Her search of ten years was fruitless however, another development had brought her closer to home.
At the thought the Regalia unconsciously moved a hand to her right shoulder and made a tch sound with her tongue.
As soon as the memory came she cast it out.
She had to steel her resolve, that’s right no unwanted emotions that could be damaging to others.

Snapping herself from her stupor the regalia had found herself at the desired destination.
A small shrine tucked in the back of a painters workshop in a more rural district of the sprawling city.
This shrine overlooked a small neighborhood and community park, one of her favorites.
The issue however was that the shrine and anything to do with faith was now scorched planks and charred piles of sodden ash.
The shrine was gone and with that so were any answers she had come to seek.
Ame was back to square one once again.
She let her eyes cast across the landscape as she clenched a fist and heaved a reluctant sigh.
“Well now what, Things are far stranger here than before....I need a guide, and a god”
The regalia affirmed to herself as her shadow cast across the hollowed and burnt remains of her Kami’s shrine...Ude‘s shrine.

 

[Dante Verren]

Location: Yamashina Public Library
Date: April 1st 2030
Time: 2:00 pm​

Yuya Sumiko (Human)


One behind the counter, one on Mr. Sato's shoulder, one hanging from the rafters, and one large one in the shape of a dog following Mrs. Matsuri and her kids. Sumiko took note of the different creatures that she saw. While other people took up people watching to pass the time, Sumiko had picked up creature watching. Those weird critters created from her imagination seemed to be endless in both variety and number. When their was a quiet moment in her day not reserved for herself she would often just watch and wonder how it was that her mind came up with these weird configurations. When she was younger these creatures used to scare her, but now the little ones were nothing more then a normal part of life. The dog was one of the weird ones. Even at first glance she could tell that it was off, It had the body of a normal dog but dozens of eyes scattered along it's body. To top it off the dogs mouth moved like it was whispering something to the woman it was following her around. It was creepy.

Before she heard it she felt it. Along with the fact that she could see these strange creatures she also had the weird ability to sense when they were nearby. Even if she couldn't see them at first she could still feel them if they were around her. She felt that strange shiver across her body that signaled the approach of one of them and a moment later a small fuzzier one of the creatures crawled up her leg. Unaware of what the creature actually was or what it was trying to do, She scooped it up and gently set it on the floor. Turning back to her work she finally saw the time and realized her shift was over. Grabbing her things she said goodbye to her manger and coworkers before heading out.

Stretching and letting out a satisfied sigh as the sunlight hit her almost ghostly pale skin. Walking down the street she turned her gaze up to the flocks of the creepy creatures that hung the sky. Maybe she would find a bench nearby and do some imaginary bird watching.

 

[Mera]

Chisato Amai (Human)Location: Maruyama Park, Kyoto.
Date: April 1st, 2030
Time: 4:25 PM
Mentions: None.


Children laughing. Dogs barking. Families having numerous conversations. The smell of food being sold in cartwheels nearby that flew with the occasional breezes, which also plucked the pink petals of the flowers that had bloomed on the trees recently. It was an hour after school had ended and students and working adults alike were freed to do whatever they wished for the rest of the day. Of course, the weather was the most perfect it had been after the coldness of winter seized as well. It was natural that most wanted to enjoy of the spring view and sensation. It was something that anyone would enjoy.

Ha! Look at you being all alone!
You look pathetic.
Hey! Where are your parents, ehh~?
You don't have any friends either.
Hahahahah!
HAHAHAH!

Unfortunately, no relaxing view or comfortable temperature made Chisato any less annoyed by her unwanted company.

It seemed as if the noise of the park didn't even remotely silence or muffle the screeches of the small, dark blobs jumping onto the open book that rested on the girl's lap. Chisato had even deliberately chosen to go to a considerably noisy place as, by her logic, constant noise wouldn't make her mind unconsciously create these annoying creatures that followed her around. Day and night. Does her head just never stop imagining these things? And those things they keep saying- just what was wrong with her mental health? She had even witnessed creatures that were so weird and beyond anything she would ever imagine. Sometimes Chisato even wondered if she was Schizophrenic by now, though hasn't made the attempt to actually seek a check up. After all, besides these apparitions annoying her every day, they hadn't done any actual harm from what she was aware of.

Admit it. You're crazy!
Hahahah!!

"Be Quiet."
In a swift movement, the open book that contained the multiple egg-sized phantoms suddenly closed on them in an intent to squish and shut them all up. The force of the two ends hitting each other made a loud CLAP noise that nearby passing people took notice of, giving some weird looks to the young girl that caused the sound before continuing with their day. But this was the least of Chisato's concerns. Her gray irises examined the closed pages for a few seconds before those little bastards were squeezing out of the very thin space between the papers like goo, to which Chisato just sighed in slight disappointment. She had already tried many times to, unsuccessfully, get rid of these pesky phantoms herself to get some time in peace, but she couldn't help but hope that someday they would vanish if she did something.

Her colorless eyes raised up from her darkened book to the people that were enjoying themselves, but the peaceful and bright scenery was tainted with the many creatures that surrounded majority of the visitors there, some of them even had managed to stick to a person like how she had witnessed many times before, assuming what was to happen. "Tsk..." Predicting the demise of someone was one of those things that annoyed Chisato the most as she had no logical explanation for this, but it was one of those things that was hard to ignore as well. She had seen some students get progressively worse with each passing day while the monster stuck to them grew in size and eventually wrap them with its goo, yet none of them seemed to notice. It bothered her. Why was she the only one that noticed? Was it just her own mind playing tricks on her, like always? She'd like to believe the latter, though the incident with her former teacher was something she could never completely ignore.

"Alright. Time to move." And with this, Chisato stood up from the public bench she had borrowed when arriving. Grabbing the closed book, with the dropping goo and the multiple creatures that had already gotten out of their futile confinement, to simply toss it onto the trash can that was nearby almost mindlessly, even if these creatures just simply floated out of the place and were attracted by a rather gloomy-looking woman. Chisato exhaled in slight relief that the creatures left her alone, but was still annoyed overall by their previous teasing she had to endure. She had tossed so many things she owned already that this was merely just like blinking to her. It wasn't really necessary for her to do this, but she hoped that somehow throwing these objects away would get those imaginary creatures away, like throwing away a piece of her mind or so she thought. Chisato's constant denial led her to be determined to stop her own "imagination" in many ways, even if in reality it was futile. But for now, she was to simply go to a more isolated area now that her hypothesis failed once again.

Though Chisato noticed that pavement path that led to the higher grounds of the park, knowing where it led to as her parents had made sure she knew all the places she was supposed to NOT go to. "This leads to one of those 'Shrines'..." She spoke to herself as she couldn't help but slow down her steps to stare at the road. It was dirty, and some of the stairs even had pieces of concrete chipped out. "...Ugh. Ignore it, Chisato." She nagged at herself as she mentally pulled herself to remove her gaze from the entrance and exit the park, but deep down she couldn't help but get a curious sensation growing within her as she left the place. Regardless, she maintained her head low to avoid seeing as many of those imaginary creatures a possible as she walked down the pavement, though this always sacrificed being unable of seeing what she was walking towards most of the time. ​

 

[NoQuillToLive]

Phantom [Greed]
Location: Kyoto Streets,
Date: April 1st, 2030
Time: 10pm [Night],

--

Pitter-patter,

Ue enjoyed the rain, the sounds, the insufferable droplets— a worthy splatter that drenched the very city in a canopy of misery. She smiled, sweetly, reflected in the flickering lights of the lamp and sauntered, a fluttery figure that thrived underneath this dreary canvas. She delicately spun, pivoting, as a poor human was already in her grasp— sweetened upon the phantom, eyes dulled and ever so receptive to her taunts, whispers, she estimated maybe a few days. Until her stomach was full and this human was all dry, a well, empty from emotions, and all the care, until then, she was going to strain every ounce of energy and life from his wrinkled suit. She leaned forward, a silky web of purple that tickled his shoulders if he was aware, holding the umbrella unsteadily and his phone, looking at the poor work charter. "Don't you deserve nice things," She enticed with an innocent glance, tapping her fingers, ever so ghostly over his arms, leaning up beside the poor human. "Don't you deserve to have more to your life than such a mediocre existence?" She said yet again, quiet, as the droplet that splashed onto his expensive shoes and twirled away, withdrawing her fingers and laughing, a little spark that ignited in his eyes. She hummed, "All that hard work and poor you, still working, forever slaving away for those higher, don't you want more?"

A nail in the coffin as the man looked up, as the umbrella dropped, consumed with a pool of negativity, struggled to resist the temptation of Ue's whims "I want more money," He muttered, angrily, as Ue nodded, sympathetically, a one-woman show, that slowly encouraged that tangle of despair.

"I deserve nice things! Why them? Why them all the time?!" The human grounded out, stuttering with the sudden outburst of his emotions.

"Embrace your bleeding heart, poor thing, unbind yourself from the chains of your perceived mortality and let us travel the path of your freedom?" Ue's slowly wound her words around him, as the man nodded, helpless to the corruption that was prevalent at her pallid fingertips. As the salaryman was starting to eye a jewellery store— Ue tsked, humans were so materialistic, she thought, flashing behind him. She patted his back, gently, as the man stormed ahead, legs, marching behind an enhanced beat and she blinked, concealing an amused smile behind a chaste blink, slowly, surely, mocking the human that was now a doll on her humble strings.

"Gods have no mercy for the human heart,"

She ignored the sound of shattering glass, an alarm blaring, stirring the night away and an employee shouting in the background. She saw the disjointed glimpse of a fist being thrown, tireless, a man driven to the edge by the very society he had been born into. A wife that wanted more, the pair were a welcome delight upon her roster, but predictably boring. She could pluck the chords of those naturally selfish but yet— she craved something stronger, one to sedate a hunger that was carving so deeply, in and out from her frame. "Maybe a school might be fun," She whispered, as the scuffle faded, as Ue jumped from the streets and landed upon a smaller building, extending her fingertips in the scraps of moonlight. "Hmm, I wonder, indeed," For now, Ue's night had been a festive meal, bland, surely, but the week was young.

 

[MrThe]

Hasuna 蓮那
(Goddess)
Location: Maruyama Park, Kyoto
Date: April 1st, 2030
Time: 4:30 PM
Mentions: Mera Nico

Hasuna was going to see the cherry blossoms today. And the best place for that was Maruyama Park. Sadly it was quite close to the shrine of Susanoo whom Hasuna thought to be quite rude. Thankfully, so long as she did not use the main entrance, which passed through Yasaka she would not have to interact with him. She flitted through the park like a butterfly, completely entranced by nature and yanking her young regalia Nico with her everywhere she went. To anyone who could see them it looked like a pregnant mother and her older son enjoying the cherry blossoms in one of the best places to do so in all Kyoto. The difference is that most people could NOT see them, and that they were not normal people.

Eventually the pair would meander their way toward a small dirt path, it led to the shrine of an unnamed, forgotten god. Hasuna would always try and take care of these types of shrines. The Graveyards of uncounted, missing gods. They were seemingly everywhere, and at this time even some of the shrines dedicated to gods of importance lay abandoned. The shrine she was visiting now was formerly the spirit of a Monk that was deified. They once were great friends and Hasuna would frequently visit his small shrine to speak with him and absorb the nature. While she was lost in thoughts of the past she was not looking where she was walking. Neither was the young girl in front of her and they collided, Hasuna apologized profusely to the girl.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention, it's entirely my fault! How can I make it up to you?" Mera​

 

[Ian Temero]

City Streets
April 1st 2030
2:00 pm

Kokoro
Mentions: Dante Verren
​

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck..."

Kokoro ran through the streets of Kyoto, kicking up clouds of pink petals as she weaved through the crowds of people. Not an easy task, running and dodging a crowd while hoisting around sixty pounds of holy water in a backpack, taken from the closest shrine and stored in an assortment of bottles scrounged from recycling bins. Normally gathering the water was a two person job so they could trade off carrying the heavy bag, but everyone at Limbo had either been out gathering old clothes, hunting through dumpsters for edible food (despite being dead they still felt the need to eat surprisingly), or were just 'too busy' to help. Fucking Osamu! The bastard was getting an asskicking for this! But there was a more pressing matter to take care of: Namely the massive monster hot on her heals. She had seriously underestimated how fast the thing was when she decided to draw its attention away from the poor soul it had been harassing, and now its long tooth filled maw was inches from snapping shut on her head.

Kokoro made a sharp left down an alleyway, feeling the breeze as the monster flew past her unprepared for her sudden change in direction, a fact she took careful note of as a plan began forming. Exiting the alley, Kokoro dashed across the street, past a white haired girl who was staring up at the sky, and stopped in front of a large brick wall directly across from the alley, where she waited for the beast. She didn't wait long as the Phantom charged out of alley and, in a single bound, leapt across the street and lunged at her, determined to get the kill this time. Just as planned. Throwing herself out of the way, Kokoro gave the bottle she had pulled from her bag a hard squeeze, spraying its contents into the air directly in the monster's path. The Ayakashi roared in pain as the blessed liquid burned its purple flesh and its eyes. Blinded, the Phantom crashed into the wall, bringing the whole thing down on top of it. As the dust settled, Kokoro picked herself up and examined her work. "Fuck ya!" she cheered, pumping her fist in the air. "Suck on that, asshole!" Her celebration was short lived however, as the rubble began to shift. "Oh son-of-a-bitch!" Kokoro groaned. She really was not enjoying this daily game of 'death tag' she kept playing with the neighborhood bullies. She made made a mental note. Less taunting, more running.

If you were to ask Kokoro how she felt about her unlife so far, she would have to put the afterlife pretty low on her list of favorite vacation spots. The constant struggle to survive in world where the only things that knew you were around wanted to eat you was a pretty big turn off. If there was one thing that she couldn't complain about however, it was her now enhanced strength and agility. Apparently no longer having a physical body meant that the laws of physics had a looser hold on you or something, though other spirits didn't seem to realize it even when she tried to teach them. Kokoro figured it was probably a self-limitation kind of thing, because they remember always being bound by physics they just can't except that they were now free from it. Seligman's Learned Helplessness if she remembered her psychology lessons correctly.

Dashing past the recovering Phantom Kokoro leaped at one of the side walls. Running up it a few steps she pushed off and started climbing, using AC units and pipes, and reached the roofs in a matter of seconds. She took half a second to look around and make sure the coast was clear before pulling herself all the way up. Normally she would never have set foot up here, having seen one too many flying phantoms for comfort, but having to chose between that and evil-Speedy-Gonzales? She would take the risk. Speaking off...

She poked her head over the edge of the building. "Please tell me that thing can't-" she started to say, but was cut short as the creature leaped halfway up the wall, dug its claws into the brick, and began to scale. She reeled back. "Oh fuck! It can..." Then did a double take. "...climb?" To say it was climbing was probably giving it too much credit. It was crawling; those same legs that made it run fast not being able to fight gravity. Oh yeah, there was no way Kokoro could resist getting a dig in.

"Hey fatass!" Kokoro called down to it, sticking her tongue out and making a face at it. "You best lay off those twinkies! You'll never catch me at this rate" Whether the Phantom was pissed off by what she said, that she was taunting it in general, that it hadn't caught her yet, or just plain pissed off, it opened its mouth and roared at her and Kokoro, not being able to pass up the opportunity, poured the rest of her bottle strait down the back of its throat.

The Ayakashi's reaction was almost like something out of a cartoon. It sat there for a few seconds, as if trying to figure out what just happened. Every single one of its eyes bugged out and it let out a scream, steam pouring out of its mouth as it lost its grip on the wall and fell like a rock, hitting the ground with a sickening crunch. She watched for a minute as the creature lay unmoving on the ground. Had she just... killed a phantom? There was no way it was that easy, right? Then again, she had never tried to force feed one holy water before so maybe it was?

Hopping off the roof Kokoro landed effortlessly back down on the road, turning to examine her handy work. To test whether it was actually dead or not she pulled out the second bottle and poured a few drops onto the monster. It burns! the Phantom screamed, suddenly writhing in pain as the liquid hit its skin. It burns! It burns! It burns!

Kokoro jumped back, ready to throw more water at it, though it seemed to lack the strength to get up. Letting out a sigh of relief she lowered the bottle. "Aw damn it, I hate it when they talk. It's fucking creepy!"

​

 

[Dante Verren]

Location: City Streets, near Yamashina Public Library
Date: April 1st 2030
Time: 2:00 pm​

Yuya Sumiko (Human)
Interactions: Kokoro ( Ian Temero )


What strange creatures I can come up with. Maybe I should start writing these down. Some of them might make for good inspiration in creative writing assignments. Sumiko raised her finger and tapped her chin as she swiftly became lost in her own mind. Staring blankly into the sky she didn't even notice the shift in behavior at the critters populating the sky. Like a swarm of bees whose nest had recently been destroyed the flock seemed to be consumed by madness. Their movements became erratic and viscous as they started to swarm overhead. It was almost like they had discovered their next meal, and that meal was coming right towards them. Their tone shifted again as the flock of mini phantoms realized what was chasing their prey, and they dispersed. Sumiko was pulled out of the never ending spiral of her overactive imagination and back into the reality as her nose filled with the stench of one of those monsters heading rapidly for her. Letting out a bit of an eep, the Albino girl jumped backwards as a younger looking girl, probably in her late teens went running past her, a massive monster right on her heels.

Sumiko's fixated on the girl as she went running down the street into a nearby alley. That was a human, at least it looked like a human, but she was running from the monster. Could she see them and feel them like Sumiko could? Sumiko wasn't the only who could? Questions like these ran through her mind as she found herself taking off after the girl and the beast. Something was still off. When the girl ran by her, Sumiko felt something. There was a smell that she gave off, a smell that she knew she smelt before but only very faintly... and it was a smell no human she had ever met had on them.

Even before Sumiko reached the aftermath she could hear the confrontation come to an end. The loud thud of something heavy hitting the ground, lots of foul mouthed swearing and screaming, and finally the bad smell given off by the big thing started to grow weaker. Catching up to the scene she stopped and internally cursed the fact that she wasn't in great shape. If this happened again she was going to have to start doing more cardio. Bent over and trying to catch her breath, a small thud and her nose filling with that sweet scent caused her to raise her head. She waited for the girl to finish her last insult at the creature before standing up straight and making her presence known. "Excuse me! Can you please tell me your name?!" she said a little louder then she meant to, her nerves were starting to catch up to her.

 

[Mera]

Chisato Amai (Human)Location: Maruyama Park, Kyoto.
Date: April 1st, 2030
Time: 4:30 PM
Mentions: MrThe Nico

It seemed as if Chisato hadn't been the only one who wasn't aware of her surroundings, whether purposefully or not, and this led to a not-surprising collision between her and a couple of people probably just as, if not more, oblivious of her grounds as her. "A-Argh!" The girl exclaimed more in surprise than any kind of pain as she was met with an obstacle that blocked her way to exit, pushing her back a couple of steps. "Wh-" As she impulsively wanted to exclaim towards whoever had collided with her, the sight of a pregnant woman, probably of 5-7 months, and a barely taller boy who was being held by the woman made her subconsciously swallow her words.

The woman who's hand was resting on her expanded belly held the most gentle look that Chisato had ever encountered on someone. From her chestnut brown locks of hair that all lightly were held together by a low, side ponytail resting on her shoulder down to her white, light dress that moved with the breeze of spring. The mint haired girl couldn't help but think of a single word when she saw her "Motherhood." . The sight of a gentle yet protective sight of the pregnant woman almost took Chisato back as she stared at her face, and then down to her belly. "So this is what a mother looks like?" she couldn't help but think. She had a mom of her own and respected her as family, but as she was a single child, and most of the time was separated from her guardians, a sight of seemingly pure motherhood was somewhat surprising for Chisato. Though, she couldn't help but also be slightly annoyed at her for being careless. "You got a baby! Shouldn't you be more careful?" She exclaimed mentally as she looked at the woman's belly with concern, but as the stranger seemed to be more worried about herself than her baby then it probably meant it was fine.

Clearing her throat slightly as she accommodated her posture, Chisato patted her dress lightly to fix it and then placed her hands together. "No, Ma'am. You shouldn't worry. I was not paying attention to where I was going as well. I apologize to you and your son." She finished saying with a low bow towards them in sign of respect. She had been raised to be extremely formal to anyone, and in this current society that formality could've been seen as uncomfortable or extra, but acting informally publicly was something that Chisato wasn't used to, at all. Even witnessing people being informal with each other rubbed her the wrong way. She had assumed the boy who was being practically dragged by the woman was some sort of relative to her, and directed her apologies to him as well. Though, from looks alone, he seemed quite young though was basically the same height as she was. His brown, messy hair complimented his eyes of hues alike as well as his young-looking build. Yet, Chisato couldn't help but for reason label him as a "brat". It was nothing personal against him, but more so young boys were all brats in her eyes based on experience, which only was her fellow male students at her school.

Chisato flipped her mint haired locks over her shoulder and her colorless eyes soon noticed something peculiar of the pair. "...They don't have creatures floating around them..." She thought as her eyes flinched around them quickly to scan their aura. It was very, very unusual for Chisato to see not only one, but two people who didn't have any of those weird-looking creatures roaming their whereabouts, but even if she could still hear the pesky things making small noises from afar with the other visitors around them. Regardless, not having those creatures in her sight was more than enough to make the girl lose some of her tension. But, that tension was soon recovered when she noticed the path they would've been taking if it wasn't for their encounter.

Her head moved to a side to get a better view of the dirt path that led to the heights of the park, her eyes following the road up to when she couldn't see it anymore. "Excuse my prying, but are you two planning on going up there?" She couldn't help but ask with her eyebrow arching a bit. All she knew was that it was a shrine and that, according to her parents, those places were only there to steal money out of the public and that faithful people were delusional. A expression a concern from her landed on the woman, but she maintained her formal and elegant posture and form in front of them, almost like a maid waiting the order of her master. "I do not mean to delve into your business, but I feel obligated to warn you two of the danger of places like this one. My parents have warned me of ever visiting them as I am told people there are thieves. I worry for the safety of both of you in this case." She spoke firmly with her words, almost as if mimicking the same tone her mother would to towards her. But, regardless of her message, she was genuinely concerned for the pair given the belief she's under.​

 

[MrThe]

Location: Maruyama Park, Kyoto
Date: April 1st, 2030
Time: 4:30 PM
Mentions: Mera Nico

Hasuna 蓮那
(Goddess)

Hasuna took a good look at the Mint haired and seemingly well-meaning girl in front of her. She was dressed in an adorable dress with puffy sleeves and with her short stature and vibrant hair Hasuna couldn't help but think of her as doll-like. Upon hearing the warning from her that thieves hang around shrines, she laughed loudly, quite amused at the words that came out of her mouth. After recovering she smiled gently and said to her "Forgive my laughter, but this shrine is long abandoned and has nothing worth stealing. The one who once lived there was a good friend of mine. Perhaps you ought to come with me and view this place for yourself. I assure you that there is nothing to fear, for both I and my companion will protect you. Right YuYu?"​

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Location: Yuto Mori's apartment, near Yamashina Public Library
Date: April 1st, 2030
Time: 2:05pm​

Kami_X (God of Hackers)

Kami_X was minding his own business, rapidly typing away on his beloved laptop in an honest effort to complete a request to Kami_X regarding assistance in cyber security when a loud crashing noise, followed by a tremor, disrupted him. Not just disrupted him. It caused a Styrofoam cup from a nearby table to tip over, dripping hot coffee across the keys.

“Fuck!” The young, red-haired god called Kami_X cursed as he grabbed napkins to dab away the dark liquid and salvage what he could of an item far more important to him than any regalia. Fortunately, everything still seemed to be in working order. No data was lost either. “What in heaven’s name was that?”

Tossing the used napkin in a wastebasket, Kami_X folded the laptop closed and, tucking the device under his arm, stepped into the balcony…to be greeted by the sight of a phantom crawling up a neighboring wall. Well, trying to crawl up. A girl from the top of the adjacent building taunted it to open its mouth and poured what looked to be…water…down its throat, causing it to fall back down rather quickly.

Holy water mostly likely, since only the artifacts blessed by a god or a priest could do such damage to a phantom.

Lips twisted in amusement, Kami_X watched as the female spirit jumped down to examine the fallen creature. Not named as far as he could tell. It was rare to see a pure spirit in these parts. Least of all, one daring enough to taunt and pick a fight with a phantom. With her temperament, he thought it a miracle she hadn’t turned into a phantom herself yet. Then there was the human that chased after her…

Interesting.

Kami_X chuckled, pushing his brightly colored glasses up. It’d been a while since he’d seen such entertainment that he’d nearly forgotten the hardship his beloved laptop had to endure because of all their shenanigans. Still. He wasn’t an evil god, by any means. Or, at least, he didn’t consider himself one. Therefore, hands curled to form a tunnel in front of his his lips, Kami_X called. “Oi~! You girls down there! You might want to keep away from that thing since I doubt it’ll be very happy whenever it gets up!”

He doubted it was dead since it didn’t look to be properly exorcised. The proof was in the fact that the body hadn't vanished yet. Kami_X’s policy for dealing with phantoms was not to mess them unless they bothered him. It wasn’t as if he had the means to deal with them anyway. That stuff was to be left to war gods--and Inari would probably request a limb as collateral if he were to request to borrow one again so soon--but the least he could do was offer a bit of sound advice. Besides, the people on the streets were giving the white haired girl weird looks for talking to herself.

Ian Temero
Dante Verren

 

[Dante Verren]

Location: Kyoto Railway Station
Date: April 1st 2030
Time: 2:06 pm​

Phantom (Pride)
Interactions Ame ( VeiledPariah )


Spring was always a beautiful season. It is the season of new love, burning passions, changing friendships, and so deliciously inflated ego's. As humans shrugged off the shackles of winter and pridefully embraced their vices as the temperature warmed up. Spring was the best season, spring was the season of pride, and pride belonged to her. The phantom chuckled to herself as she lightly waved her leaf shaped fan in-front of her face. She wasn't hot or anything, but the easily accomplished task of waving a fan in front of herself made her look more regal, not that anyone could see her. If someone could see her, well then they were in for a less then enjoyable time. Unless of course it was for her favorite little protege, but she was unsure as to what tricks the little prankster was performing at this very moment.

With little actual interest the winged woman looked out at her kingdom sprawling out before her. She had taken to sitting on the edge the roof to a four story building overlooking the Main transit hub of the city. This was her way of passing time today, watching as her new unknowing subjects arrived or left her domain. The fools didn't even ask permission if they could come and go. Oh well, she would let them off for now. Unlike the cruel deities that let these poor souls suffer, she was a benevolent being. Tengu's in myth were to act as guides and so she would fulfill her destined role given to her when she took her human form, a guide for these poor suffering souls. That all would come later, but for now a large grin spread across her face revealing sharp devil like fangs. One figure stepping off the railways caught her attention, A spirit, and not just any spirit. She could sense it from here. They were a regalia, one of those souls who were corrupted and forced to work for the despicable gods. What monsters they were to make harmless spirits become their tools for destruction.

The clap of wooden sandals echoed off of the rooftop as the phantom got to her feet, he wings stretching out and flapping lightly. Keeping her eyes locked on the spirit she waited for them to start heading off before taking a step off the building and beginning her fall down to earth. Her wings stretched out to their full length and the breeze caught under her wings causing her to gain altitude, a perfectly timed feat otherwise she would have impacted right into oncoming traffic. Soaring up and up and up she once again found her perch in the sky, all the while following her target to their destination.

The phantom woman was slightly surprised when her pursuit came to an end. Not to far away form the starting point, the spirit found itself a little shrine, or what was left of one. Whatever spiritual protection/power it once had was long gone which meant it could no longer keep this phantom away. With light flaps of her wings she descended down to meet this new spirit. Though she didn't hear all of it, she managed to catch the mention of a guide, something that put a smile on her face. Landing softly with a light clack of her sandals the phantom once again to absent mindlessly swish the fan in front of her face. "Do not be disheartened little spirit. If it is a guide you seek then you will find no one better suited for the role. Come little one, tell me what ails you."

 

[VeiledPariah]

Location: Ude’s Shrine
Date: April 1st 2030
Time: 2:10 pm​

Ametaru (Regalia)

The regalia sighed placing her left hand in her hoodie pocket and turning her eyes steeled and focused the intent behind them clear. This little spirit was not one you wanted to mess with, especially not now.
Her free hand held at the ready by her side index and forefinger together a soft light emanating from her fingertips.
“So Ayakashi can make complete sentences now, You did nothing about the smell though.“
She retorted coldly as the wind kicked up around the pair tension building seemingly out of no where.
A fight was not what the Nora wanted but this phantom seemed way more intelligent than most she had seen.
Ame let the pause of time pass before speaking again.
“Despite your misguided intentions I will clarify right now that I do not intend to be your prey, If it is a meal you are looking for find it in a weaker regalia. If you are sincere in your offer however”
The girl relaxed her fingers the light ebbing away and her visage relaxing somewhat, but her stance remained guarded.
“Tell me, where can I find shelter from your kind”
She prodded with a cool demeanor her unkempt hair jostling in the soft breeze that brushed the hilltop. Sounds of children playing at the park below echoed to her ears and for a moment Ame thought to initiate the fight here and now but she could tell that it would take more than her power to destroy this phantom without a Kami at her side. The most she could do would be to hold it off or tire it out.
The phantom who had yet to introduce itself appeared to be a tengu although more human like than she was used to.
The Nora remembered fending off many Ayakashi of her kind, usually a mid level phantom but the one that stood before her was obviously different. She had intelligence, personality, and could even express more than the simple want to feed. What he caused this development and was it connected to the disappearance of so many kami?
“If you cannot do that then at least show me to the nearest shrine that is still standing. Yet I am curious what do you get out of this?”
Dante Verren ​

 

[Ian Temero]

City Streets, Near Yamashina Public Library
April 1st 2030
2:05 pm

Kokoro
Mentions: Dante Verren QuirkyAngel
​

"Excuse me! Can you please tell me your name?!"

Was somebody getting hit on? How ironic would that be? A love confession while someone else was fighting for their lives. Almost funny actually. Taking her eyes off the phantom, Kokoro turned to see the drama she assumed was happening behind her, only to find the white haired woman from before staring straight at her, with everyone else on the street giving the woman odd looks. She was clearly human so there was no way she was asking her. So was she talking to? Kokoro looked around and... there was no one. No one else the pale woman could be talking to except her.

"The hell? Are you talking to me?" She asked, shocked. There was no way, right? Right? She'd noticed that children sometimes seemed to notice her, but those were like babies and not a full fucking grown woman. Before the woman could answer however someone above them started shouting. Something about staying away. There was no way... but sure enough there was some redhead nerd staring at her from above. "The fuck?! You people can-?!"

Wait. No. That wasn't important. The nerd might have been another spirit, she couldn't really tell, but he was right, they needed to get away from there before the phantom recovered. "Yeah no shit it ain't going to be happy!" She shouted up to him, dumping the rest of the bottle on the shrieking monster to make sure it stayed down a little longer. "It'll probably be lookin' for new prey, so you'd best get out of here too!"

Finally she tuned back to the woman. What to do about her? Could she actually see her? Could she see the phantom? If she could she would probably be in danger if she stayed. "We need to get the hell out of here. So if you can hear me start fucking moving." She ordered as she started marching down the road.

​

 

[Life.]

InemaruLocation: City Streets near Maruyama Park, Kyoto | Date: April 1st, 2030 | Time: 4:30pm | Mentions: Phayne

The flow of time continuously moves on whether organisms adapt to it or not. Ideologies, culture, environments, objects, and much more reflect the different phases of this abstract construct. In the present time of 2030, the foundations of gods have been disturbed and shaken from the clash of religions, beliefs, and virtues of individuals who denounced the deities. Inemaru, a patron deity of justice, was well aware of the dependent relationship between humans and time. He, himself, lives under the influence of time and the changes it brings. A telltale sign of this was from his current attire. Before, his outfit was a single kimono that endured many wars from its stained sleeves to the shredded ends of the bottom of the clothing. But now, after stumbling onto the city of Kyoto, he can be seen with a white tee shirt worn underneath a blue jacket, black, stretchy jeans, and white sneakers. The first time he wore the outfit, Shiro had teased him on how the god walked awkwardly in the new outfit. Shifting from free-moving to tight-fitting articles of clothing bothered Inemaru for a bit. While the god may have changed in attitude and clothing from the time he had come into existence till the present time, the one constant of his godhood were the wishes that humans prayed to him. Justice, equality, fairness, and revenge. With corruption, discrimination, and societal structures, hate and envy always lingered about. Kyoto of 2030 was no exception. It did not surprise Inemaru on the number of wishes pleaded upon him or the storms of Phantoms that appeared. Since his first day on Kyoto, Inemaru had been occupied with fulfilling wishes and fighting Phantoms.

However, today, April 1st of 2030, Inemaru had an important mission to fulfill.

"New-York style hotdogs! The tastiest of Kyoto!" An elderly gentleman, with blonde hair and blue eyes--who was clearly a foreigner with an established residency in Japan--stood next to his worn street cart on the corner of the park with a large grin on his face. Couples, groups of students and few families were huddled in clusters close to the vendor, all with hot dogs in their hands. With a lot of human activity around, phantoms and spirits lingered about.

The god of justice stood close to the hot dog cart with his hands balled into fists by his side. He was well aware of a few Phantoms close by that were threatening to become nuisances, but there was something of a more urgent matter for Inemaru. His red eyes watched closely as a young boy approached the vendor with money ready in hand. After the quick exchange, the hot dog man went straight to work on building the perfect hot dog. Inemaru inched a few steps forward to watch the process more closely. First, it started with the long, golden-brown bun that shined so brightly it could challenge an actual bar of gold. Next, was the most vital part of the dish, the sausage-shaped beef meat. The freshness of the meat was apparent from the visible steam rising from it. Following the sausage were the toppings that completed the recipe; sauerkaut, onion sauce and spicy brown mustard. At the same time, a slight trail of drool flowed down from Inemaru and the customer's faces.

From his years of existence, the one thing that always fascinated Inemaru was food. While it was a concept older than him, just like everything else, it constantly changed. The New York hot dog was something foreign, exciting, and appealing to Inemaru ever since he laid eyes on it. Today, he made a promise to himself to try and snag one. However, he needed to wait for the time when the vendor closed up to make his move. But he couldn't help but admire the process again in order to memorize how to build his hot dog later. The god wiped away the drool from his face as he leaned back to watch the boy take his first bite from the street food and moan with pleasure from the explosion of tastes in his mouth. Inemaru wondered if he would make the same expressions. His mind had been distracted with the thought of consuming a hot-dog that he had to quickly move his position away from the hot dog cart when he noticed a Phantom beginning to turn its eyes onto him. The last thing he wanted was for the Phantom to get in between him and the hot dog. But from its burning stare, it was clear that Inemaru was not going to be eating a hot dog tonight. A long, disappointed sigh slipped out of his mouth as he glanced around behind him in search of a particular figure. "Shiro? Shiro? Where are you?" All this time Inemaru was sure his companion was standing next to him. Although it could be that he believed he was around so that he could focus on the hot-dog building process. The black-haired god placed both of his hands on the corresponding sides of his hips as he glanced around the park. His search didn't last long as the Phantom that had been eyeing him grew larger in size and started slithering towards him. "Flippin' fox boy. Where is he?" Inemaru began to jog away from the park then to lure the Phantom to a more secluded location.

 

[Dante Verren]

• Kuro-Kyogi
• Yuya Sumiko

• 
  
  Location: Kyoto Railway Station
  Date: April 1st 2030
  Time: 2:12 pm​
  Phantom (Pride)
  Interactions: Ame ( VeiledPariah )
  
  
  A loud crack filled the air as the fan held in the phantoms right hand was slapped into the palm of her left. Her expression turned into one of anger but quickly resided back to the pleasant one she formerly had. "How rude it is to insult someone who is benevolently offering their help to you. My intentions are not misguided nor do I smell. Telling a being as eloquent as I that they smell. Hmpph!" Feeling herself getting worked up again, she returned to fanning herself although now it was fully intended to cool her down rather then fanning herself for fun. "Let me make one thing clear I am no mindless beast whose mouth waters at the thought of her next meal. I am far above that. As this is your first offense and I was in a rather good mood this ridicule will be overlooked. Do see that it does not happen again. Civility is the way of the righteous and I do not intend to stray from my path unless provoked"
  
  As opposed to her less then friendly acquaintance's unkempt messy hair blowing freely in the breeze, Kuro-Kyogi's own well kept and cared for hair stayed mostly still. The wings on her back protected her hair only allowing a bit of the breeze to ruffle the ends. "I have no intention of eating you. Unlike the un-sophisticated beasts you refer to as my kind" she said with a bit of a sneer. "I actually have a meal schedule. If I don't stick to it then I will start to bloat and I can't very well be the picture of health and beauty you see before you if I am bloated.". Her attention was momentarily pulled away from the regalia in front of her. One of the parents over in the nearby park were absolutely brimming with pride, the toxic kind that caused pain and suffering to those around them. She would have to lead him back to the right path, but that could be done at a later time.
  
  Turning her attention back to the regalia she cleared her throat. "Where were we? Ah of course you were seeking shelter. Unfortunately for you that is easier said then done. Most of the small shrines like the one you stand by suffered similar fates. Humans with their false bravado took out their sins on the gods by crushing their places of worship. Only the really large ones that were protected or the very small ones that were well hidden now remain. The safest course of action for you would be to remain with me, but if you insist on returning to the dens of corruptions then there are some nearby I can lead you to. Although we must hurry. For when nightfall comes.... creatures less hospitable then me will come after you."
  
• 
  
  Location: City Streets, near Yamashina Public Library
  Date: April 1st 2030
  Time: 2:05 pm​
  Yuya Sumiko (Human)
  Interactions: Kokoro ( Ian Temero ) Kami_x ( QuirkyAngel )
  
  
  Sumiko's lips curled up into a big smile as the girl turned to look at her and actually responded. Sure it was a vulgar response but the confusion meant that she was surprised Sumiko could see her. This was her chance to see if she really has been crazy this entire time or if it was something else. Sumiko's attention was quickly drawn up to a nearby window where a rather handsome red haired man called out to them to get away from the creature. If he was calling out to multiple people then that meant he could see the other girl and the creature. Was she really not the only one? Something was off about this guy as well. A sweet smell similar to the one that hung around the girl was coming from him, only it was much more powerful. She didn't have time to call out to him before the girl started to storm off and demanded Sumiko get moving. Looking back and forth between the two she turned towards the window again and shouted out to him, "Thank you mister!" before turning and following after the girl.
  
  "Wait for me!" Sumiko called after the younger girl as she tried to catch up. This girls base walking speed was even faster then hers. Sumiko could feel the stares of the normal people who had witnessed her essentially yell at nothing. Stuff like that had bothered her when she was younger but not anymore. Especially after what had happened, she didn't care if some random strangers thought she was crazy. This was her chance to get some answers... or to finally determine once and for all if her imagination was the root cause off all of this. As strange as it was her imagination being the cause seemed less and less likely with every passing minute. After all, last time she checked her imagination couldn't cause damage to the walls of buildings.
  
  Finally catching up with the girl she had a chance to ask the first of her soon o be many questions. "Um hello there. I'm Yuya Sumiko. What's your name? Also this is going to be a very weird question but you aren't a figment of my imagination right? You look, sound, smell, and act like you are way to real to be imaginary.... but no one else can see you..... can they?...."
  

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Location: City streets
Date: April 1st, 2030
Time: 2:05pm​

Kami_X (God of Hackers)

What an interesting duo.

A spirit brave enough to take on a phantom without the power of a name would certainly make for a powerful weapon. Why hadn’t she been snatched up yet? Surely someone so entertaining couldn’t have difficulty finding a job. Kyoto was home to many, many shrines, after all…and even though AFAH did a number on a good many of them…the labor market wasn’t so terrible. Many of the older gods likely lost their regalias in all the fighting and would likely be looking to replenish their stock so while some died from the war 10 years ago, opportunities still ought be there if one looked hard enough.

Key words of course were ‘looked hard enough’.

She did seem fairly inexperienced—considering she hadn’t recognized a god—and most probably weren’t willing to train a newbie who might accidentally blight them.

As for the human, it was rare enough to find one that could see him even without having heard of Kami_X. Or perhaps she had heard of him. Perhaps she was one of his followers? Well, if she wasn’t there was no harm in making her one. A girl with that much spiritual power would likely remember him for longer than a day. Kami_X sniggered to himself.

He only had a couple seconds to decide though since they were walking away rather quickly.

3

2

1

Blinking away from the balcony, Kami_X reappeared with a pop beside the willful spirit just as the albino human caught up, keeping to her pace as the soul walked…to wherever she wanted to go. He'd always been a bit on the impulsive side.

“Don’t call me ‘Mister’, Sumiko-chan. I’m not that old.” For a god anyway. Forty was probably around her father’s age. He handed her his business card. “Call me Kami X, Kami-sama X, or just X—god of hackers and lord of information…acquirement.” Larceny sounded way cooler and appealed more with boys, but this one sorta looked like a good girl. “There’s not much I don’t know so if you’re new to seeing us folks from the far shore and need some knowledge, I’m your guy for information. Just call my name or text me with a prayer on this number~ I assure you we’re not imaginary.”

Kami_X smiled and winked before looking towards the spirit.

“But yeah, yeah, I totally agree with you. I'd love to hear her name as well~” She didn’t have one currently from what he could tell and since she wasn’t corrupted, she likely didn’t remember her original one either. That was how things worked when you’re dead. The past remained in the past so they could create a new life in the afterlife. “The way you handled that phantom was siiick, Miss!" Kami_X's tone was excited and his eyes gleamed. "Like a hero straight out of an action movie!”

Ian Temero Dante Verren

Location: Under Sanjo Bridge, Kyoto City
Date: April 1st, 2030
Time: 4:30 pm​

Rika Murakami (Human)

Three claps, followed by a prayer for the possessed classmate that she didn’t have thee power to help. That was how Rika spent the hours after class ended. She’d hurried out the gloom-filled room to the small, wayside shrine she’d found and made a “fort” against phantoms since Ota Jinja had been desecrated. Nestled beneath the Sanjo Bridge, supporters of AFAH hadn’t seemed to notice it yet or, if they did, they didn’t vandalize it, making it and ideal safehouse. Phantoms didn’t go near it. Rika hadn’t noticed at first, but a translucent, semi-permeable wall surrounded the shrine, expanding to encase the entire bridge. She said semi-permeable because humans seemed to cross it just fine and it didn’t seem to impact physical objects either. No one noticed it except for phantoms.

The old man was there again as well.

He’d show up every once in a while to clean the shrine or pray with her. He was the one who told her it was a shrine dedicated to the Wandering God, Nagi—the same one mentioned in her ancestor’s poem. At first, she’d thought him like her grandfather. Someone who enjoyed old poetry. However, after multiple trips, it became apparent that no one else saw him. It was just like how she’d met Uzume.

“…are you Nagi?”

“No.” At first the short answer made her think he was going to stop there, but he continued. “The god no longer lives here so you should send your prayers elsewhere if you wish them granted, Child.”

“Why are you still here then?”

“It’s my duty.”

His response made her look his way and she was startled by the loneliness it she’d caught beneath the seemingly unaffected orbs. His back was straight, and he showed no signs of obvious sighs of weakness, but, for some reason, she could just tell. “Are you his caretaker or something?”

“Of sorts…I am the servant that guards his house for whenever he decides to return.”

Not human either. Spirit? Ghost? Revenant? She was surprised a gods even had servants though—least of all such human-looking ones—, but, thinking about it again, it would make sense. They were gods, after all. “Must be a boring job.”

“I’m used to it. The wandering god does nothing but wander on most days.”

“Pfft, sounds like a deadbeat god.”

“I assure you My Lord will have a mountain of work to do whenever he gets back.” Amusement lightened the old man’s tone. “But it’s best for you to get home before it gets too dark, Child. If you’re trying to avoid phantoms, they are most active at night when the line that divides the far shore and the near shore are at its weakest.”

Far shore. Near shore. Those were terms she heard her grandfather use when describing the world of spirits and the world of humans. It was strange how even though she belonged on one side, the people she more easily connected with belonged on the other. One was Uzume and the other…”…what should I call you?”

“Tatsume.”

“Tatsume-san, isn’t it safer if I stay here? My father wouldn’t mind. He won’t be home until late anyway…”

“I can’t always protect this shrine. Lord Nagi has a couple of others I need to check on.” Tatsume looked towards her, his expression undecipherable. “Besides, if you have a home you should treasure it.”

“But—”

“I will escort you back if you’re afraid of the phantoms, but this is not negotiable Miss Rika Murakami.”

 

[VeiledPariah]

Location: Ude’s Shrine
Date: April 1st 2030
Time: 2:20 pm​

Interactions: Dante Verren
Ametaru (Regalia)

The girl smirked seeing that her comment hit home for the phantom that stood before her but she shrugged it off fast and commented about her benevolent nature. This was truly a strange surprise to the female as she raised a brow to the following answers that the tengu offered to her requests. She acted more like a god than a phantom in her demeanor and to be honest if she was one the regalia would be likely to offer her services to her. That of course was not the case but this temporary situation seemed to benefit her more than the Ayakashi with her fan flipping in front of her.
“Very well my apologies then,lead the way ogracious one”
She breathed with a bit of sarcasm but even offered a slight bow to this self ordained phantom goddess.
Ame smiles softly allowing a slight giggle to form at the mention of the tengu becoming bloated from a sudden intake in diet.
Not that she was sure if a phantom could gain weight to begin with.
Her knowledge about them was majority oriented toward defeating them and habits but she really knew what their purpose was if they had one other than feeding off humans and spirits.
The regalia walked closer placing both her hands into her hoodie pocket now to brace against the spring air.
“Whether at your side or not matters little, I have just returned and need to get a better understanding of my surroundings in safety and well as rest and food, the latter sooner if possible”
She added with a groan in her voice, it bothered her that even after almost 1300 years of afterlife she still felt the need to eat and sleep.
One thing was for sure though, this phantom had a decent amount of knowledge about current Kyoto.
So many shrines were destroyed on the aftermath of the war...
That didn’t help the girls chances at encountering a god or goddess any time soon.
Maybe this rather odd pairing was a good thing then at least for now.
“I don’t think I caught your name, and even if we are kept out late I can handle myself Kami or not”
This woman’s way of speaking sounded like Amaterasu very regal. Still the way she touched on shrines, gods, and people it was obvious this was an Ayakashi and despite in a helpful mood now...she would be an enemy.
It was just a matter of when.
The Nora stood by awaiting the directions that would be proffered from the tengu girl.
All she wanted was to get away from this place, thoughts of Ude flooded her mind.
Dancing against the back drop of the stars, the warmth of his embrace, the smooth calm of his voice as he whispered to her when they laid together.
His eyes as he was wounded and his last words.
“I won’t forget again...find me...I lov..”
That was all, his body dissipating before her.
Ame blinked away the driving thoughts suppressing it down to the depths of her soul.
Now was not the time to grieve... she had to learn what was going on here and figure out her next move.
“I am ready, whenever you are.”



​

 

[Phayne]

~Regalia~
Location: Maruyama Park // Date: 01/04/2030 // Time: 4:30pm // Mentions: Inemaru Life.

A few yards from where the foreign hot dog vendor did his business, the snow white hair of Shiro could be seen amidst a sea of brown and black hair, the silent boy finding himself standing amidst a group of youths whom had gathered around two particular individuals. Lured by an innate curiosity, Shiro had wandered away from Inemaru within the first few minutes of their arrival, his silent escape accomplished with relative ease as the God he had pledged to serve was easily captivated by the western delicacy. Meanwhile, Shiro who did not hold as much interest in food as Inemaru did was instead captivated by something far more recognisable and associated with the modern times they now found themselves living in. Now an integral member of the growing crowd of youths, The silent boy could be seen bobbing up and down within the group as he battled for his own vantage point whilst all the while his adversaries were unaware of his presence.

The cause for this commotion was standing a few feet in front of the group, two boys presently the center of attention, though whether they were aware of it or not was entirely debatable as they seemed far too engrossed with the game in hand. Eyes focused on the small screen of their hand held consoles, the two boys conducted their virtual duel; hands furiously tapping away at the various buttons that adorned their device. Combination after combination, the two boys fought valiantly; their duel a fierce one as neither competitor showed signs of wanting to lose; all the while the onlookers waiting for their turn to fight the victor; similar consoles easily visible in their clenched hands.

Curiosity still on full spin, Shiro had managed to weasel his way through the group, the white haired boy had finding his way next to the two fierce rivals, his hazel eyes looking over the shoulder of the younger of the two boys and down onto the screen where a small man clad in traditional samurai armor now stood, controlled by the young man as he was forced to fight the opposing champion; a monkey wielding a staff; a clear reference to the infamous deity 'Sun Wukong'. Noticing this, Shiro could not help but turn towards the direction of where Inemaru stood; the god of Justice still devoting his attention towards the charismatic vendor. Whilst a foolish thought, Shiro could not help but wonder if Inemaru in some form had been depicted in recent media, whether the god of justice had been redefined as some kind of champion in a modern day video game and whether he would make an appearance as well as the trusty companion. His thoughts quickly turned towards how he imagined himself to look inside a video game, a long flowing red cape fluttering behind him as he stood beside his master; the two heroes overlooking a sea of dead phantoms. He already had most of his look patented, the dark brooding mask he wore was easily a good selling point if he ever had an action figurine scultped after him. The cape would be just the icing on the cake.

Unfortunetily, such thoughts were quickly quashed as his attention was drawn back to the two combatants, the one in control of Sun Wukong being the clear victor as the younger of the two boys was now slumped in defeat; the cheers of the crowd loud as several of them went to congratulate the victor whilst a few others consoled the loser. Sighing in unison with the loser, Shiro placed an ethereal hand upon the boys shoulder and said a silent prayer for the deceased virtual champion, all the while knowing that it was not really needed.

A few minutes for the celebrations to die down and a new challenger had stepped forth from the crowd, a girl garbed in black jeans and a black hood had appeared from behind; her bright yellow console held in her hand as she replaced the young boy; taking center stage as the 'champion' and 'challenger' linked their devices to one another and like everyone else here, Shiro was quite excited to watch another duel, alas it was not to be as his ears began to twitch; his name being called from where Inemaru stood and before Shiro could even attempt to alert him of where he was; his eyes were instead drawn to the large Phantom coming from the other side of the park, its snake like body slithering along the ground as it clearly headed towards where Inemaru stood.

Sighing again, it seemed like the fun and games would have to be postponed as duty called; the fox boy now heading back towards Inemaru, the latter now jogging away from the vendor as he tried to lure the phantom elsewhere and as the god of justice began to pick up pace, so to did the phantom whose movements had begun to attract attention fron those unaware of its presence. The sudden sound of a large recycle bin falling to one side had caught the attention of several onlookers, including the vendor who had turned to see what the sudden noise was, his right hand held in the direction of the customer and clasping a freshly made hot dog. However upon returning his attention back to his customer, the vendor would now find that the freshly made delicacy was nowhere to be seen, save for a dabble of sauce upon his thumb and a few coins on the counter of his vending stall.

Silently catching up with Inemaru, Shiro kept up the pace just behind his master, a half eaten hot dog in one hand and sauce covering his mask as the sight of the phantom behind them got ever closer. He'd have alerted Inemaru of his presence if he could, but seeing as how they were drawing the phantom away, it seemed best to just focus on that first.​

 

[Karcen]

Location: Ude’s Shrine
Date: April 1st 2030
Time: 2:20 pm​

Today was a normal enough day for Azani always did humans have those they hated, those they would give anything to see gone and she was the one that took them up on that deal. While many were surprised that she was for one real and secondly looked like a child, they all got over it in a hurry as she demanded the name of the one they hated. that was how Azani worked, she let humans call to her and she granted their wishes of vengeance for a price, a very step price far to many were willing to pay. The years of the atheist regime had in truth passed Azani by with little issue despite her being one of the darker gods of the pantheon. The reason for that was exactly because she was seen so negatively, she had never had a shrine erected that could be destroyed, she had no priests to torture into recanting, and her followers kept their worship secret, and that all meant it was very hard to sniff out one of hers unless you went through people's mail. Many gods had fallen as this swelling of disbelief had brought about so many phantoms that had created even more negative emotions, not only the desire to kill themselves, but to kill others and even an atheist might turn to a god in such times of need.

Still all good times must come to an end and faith had been brought back to the lands and with it came other gods swelling in power and more able to destroy phantoms. That of course reduced her work load as negative emotions from the interference of the phantoms had declined. Still at least those that had made a deal with her were safe from becoming phantoms even if they killed themselves, as they were marked for the hell of Yomi. The phantoms had turned into something new and in truth Azani didn't like it those things didn't need to be smart, they should be mindless emotion, not a thinking being.

There was a saying speak of the devil and he shall appear and as the thought of Phantoms and their thinning numbers passed through her mind Azani noticed one of the pests that had managed to grow beyond what it should be and imitate to her a tengu, though she lacked a proper nose to really be one, just like a phantom to do something half assed. Still a phantom doing something stupid was not exactly her concern as they didn't hurt her worship that much and she lost nothing if they killed her followers. Well not nothing as she lost a worshiper, but well they were going to hell anyways so no new phantoms were made at least. What was more important than the phantom was the spirit that it was harassing, that little spirit of her dear brother and sister Ame. The two had met the weapons of the sun goddess and the dark child of the dead mother. Azani didn't exactly think they got along well, but that could be her she didn't get along well with much of anyone after all only she should have to play her role. Still she couldn't let the little spirit get gobbled up by some beast that thought it could mimic the humanity it had lost.

Azani approached the two dressed in her rather traditional black kimono with red spider lily prints that seemed to move all over it. " Oh pitiful shadow wallowing in darkness" She said starting h a small chat she said to each she sent to hell, at least if they deserved some extra torment " bringing torment and paint to others" She continued as she drew closer her words right now holding now power but they were dramatic " A damned soul wallowing in sin" She then paused for a moment " Perhaps you should give hell a visit?" she finished standing before the two girls her chant i an introduction enough for her.

" Now what would my dear sister say if she saw her beloved little spirit spending time with such a corrupt being playing at being what it once was?" She asked though her voice was dripping with venom and sarcasm and almost completely discounting the phantom as now there was a god and a regalia here the two could take down one phantom if a name was given for sure.

Dante Verren VeiledPariah

 

[Mera]

Chisato Amai (Human)Location: Maruyama Park, Kyoto.
Date: April 1st, 2030.
Mentions: MrThe Nico Phayne

Chiato's serious expression after her warning to the pair suddenly cracked into a surprised face after the older lady seemingly had taken her very serious caution. Her eyes widened instantly and couldn't help but blink a couple of times as well, with her eyebrow curved down in confusion as the lady's laughter drowned the noise of the other visitors in the park (and phantoms lingering as well) in Chisato's hearing. "W-Why is she laughing?" she thought to herself as she glanced over the boy beside her to see if he found amusement in the situation as well, though she didn't last long as seemingly her eyes were glued to the lady in giggles. With the passing seconds, Chisato's cheeks started to burn up once she felt her stomach go up to her throat. "I-Is she making fun of me?! I'm being serious here, you know?!" she mentally exclaimed as her teeth slightly bit the inside of her mouth, her eyes blinking several times in instinct to her vision becoming slightly blurry. She immediately slapped herself internally when she felt those pesky feelings wanting to come out. "No. NO. Do NOT do this in front of strangers, Chisato." She gulped as she held back her embarrassed tears as much as she could.

This was one of those traits of Chisato that she would do anything to get rid of. She has been a crybaby ever since little and it seemed like it was one of those things that she never grew out of and she hated it. The worst part is that the tears never last long and they could happen for the smallest things. There was a special occasion where playing dolls made her tear up a couple of times when younger, as the stories she made up in her own mind were sad enough to do that. Thankfully, those spirits that accompanied her sometimes played with her instead-

"Hng-" The memory of her imaginary friends of the past made her snap back to reality, shaking her head a bit to calm herself down and look at the lady who seemed to have stopped laughing a little after. Chisato was thankful that she managed to keep herself steady and her nose let out an exhale in relief. Though, even with her best efforts to maintain her posture from before, her eyebrow remained arched slightly as she couldn't understand the joke in her words. As she proceeded to explain and reassure Chisato that the Shrine was indeed a safe place. She even had invited her to follow them to see it herself. That last thing perplexed the mint haired girl a bit and made her blink a couple of times, unsure of what to say given how open to the idea the lady seemed, even though her companion hadn't said anything the entire time. "Do they not realize I'm a stranger?" She questioned the motives of the lady and the boy beside her. No person would just go to a shrine and also invite someone else to go with them!

Chisato cleared her throat once again, though she was somewhat keeping her guard up from the pair at this point. "Well, that's very kind of you, Ma'am. However, I'm afraid I can't attend to your businesses in the Shrine. I apologize for this." She bowed down to the pair once again as she refused the offer as polite as possible, not meaning to make the woman feel bad regardless of her own thoughts on her previous actions. "I possess some business of my own that I need to do for today, as well. In fact, I was on my way to leave the park before encountering each other. I am quite in a hurry, I'm afraid to say." She spoke firmly to the both of them, keeping her hands together as she gave them her excuse for refusing. Truthfully, she had not much to do for the rest of the day but this made her feel uneasy, so she planned on going home to do some chores to kill time. It was then that a sudden noise of metal hitting a nearby sidewalk made Chisato instantly look towards where the sound came from, meeting with a recycle bin that had fallen to the side. The girl's OCD tingled her body a bit at the sight of no one picking the object and some of the plastic bottles up, and quickly needed to go do this herself instead. "It was a pleasure encountering the both of you. Be safe today and I hope you complete your business today." She bowed to the pair once again before quickly setting off to where the fallen recycled bin was.

"Goodness...What is it with people and not being careful with public services.." She complained under her breath as her hands picked up the rather light container up to his stance again, looking around as people were mostly concentrated to the hot dogs that the vendor was promoting to the crowd of people. She wasn't going to lie. They smelled quite delicious, but right now it was no time to think about food. Her eyes quickly navigated through her surroundings to hopefully see the potential criminal to the bin have fallen down, given that it was heavy enough to not be knocked over by wind alone. Unfortunately, all she could see was only the multiple imaginary creatures she kept unconsciously imagining. Those pesky, floating creatures that were attracted to several of the people around. Yet, that's when she saw the glimpse of a very peculiar-looking man running far ahead from the park area, almost as if chasing something. It was too far away by now to tell what it exactly was, but all she did notice from that distance was the bright, snow white hair on the running figure. "Huh..." She weirdly remarked as she stared at the boy slowly disappear within the crowd before her vision was soon blocked by several small phantoms ready to torment her.

"Ugh. Here it comes..." she groaned in annoyance as she damned her own mind for bothering her without rest, putting a blind ear to the small blobs floating around as they teased her while picking up several of the plastic bottles on the floor to put them on the recycle bin once again.​

 

[Lucem]

Location:

Under Sanjo Bridge, Kyoto City
Date: April 1st, 2030
Time: 4:30 pm​

Ryotaro Hirai (Human)
This is a tricky situation. As he crossed the Sanjo Bridge, Ryo thought back to the phantom that had been clinging to one of his classmates. Rather than a jellyfish, it resembled a mass of black tar that stuck to the boy's body. He had been observing it for some time, trying to devise a way to to resolve the situation before something terrible happened. To that end, he'd been keeping tabs on his fellow student, piecing together every detail of his life. If he could figure out what was stirring the negative emotions that attracted the phantom, he could prevent a potential disaster. However, creatures like that weren't the type to wait. Instead of having the decency to let him finish his investigation, the thing just kept growing larger. Despite having no concept of time, phantoms were an impatient bunch.

With less time to work with, it'd be harder to solve this by tackling the student's personal issues. He'd have to change to a more aggressive approach if he wanted to close the case before it was too late. But what was he supposed to do? He had some experience with talismans, but he doubted anything he made would be very effective, especially against something of that size. The only thing he could do with a self-made talisman was practice calligraphy. Maybe he could shoot it with an arrow soaked in holy water. If he couldn't destroy the phantom that way, it might be possible to damage it or scare it off. Although, that was a very optimistic thought. Even if it was possible for him to pull that off without becoming jellyfish food, it'd be tricky to get the student to stand still while he shot an arrow at him. He didn't think praying to a god would be very helpful either. If they answered requests so easily, then the god of wealth would've blessed him with a fortune by now. Was his only option to follow his original plan and hope for the best?

Even after reaching the other side of the bridge, he still wasn't any closer to an answer. However, he did find something that piqued his interest. His usual smirk grew a bit wider when he noticed a familiar person standing by the water's edge. The conversation she was having was interesting, but that wasn't as important as the idea that came to mind as soon as he saw Murakami's face. She didn't say anything about it, but it was obvious that the Phantom caught her attention as well. The girl had been staring holes into it during class.

"Would you mind if I escorted her instead?" Approaching the pair, he spoke with a cheerful tone in his voice, his smirk changing to a more relaxed smile. "As one of her classmates, it would be the right thing to do." He may have had the appearance of a good-natured young man trying to help a student from the same school, but his eyes told a different story. He was examining this old man very closely, trying to glean as much information as he could from this small interaction. Every blink was like the snap of a camera. He was memorizing his height, facial features, and the sound of his voice. He had a habit of doing things like this for his job. Whenever he met someone, he created a mental profile of them, attempting to figure out things like their hobbies and personality. He even paid close attention to the way a person walked. Although, the usual analysis probably wouldn't be too helpful here. This person wasn't human, after all.

Ryo noticed the larger quantity of remnants gathered underneath the bridge, including the ones coming from the old guy. He'd been meaning to investigate this place ever since he discovered the walls that encased the bridge, but it turned out to be nothing major. Compared to some of the other shrines he knew about, this one was pretty small. As someone who called a tiny office his home, he could sympathize. Even gods had it rough these days.

Hands in his pockets, he moved a little closer to Murakami. The shrine wasn't the reason for his sudden interruption. He was more interested in the judo girl right now. They weren't close or anything, but he liked to think they were more than strangers. The two of them had plenty in common. "If you don't mind, maybe you could lend me an ear on our way home. You see, I've been having trouble with this one assignment."

He looked back to the old man, bowing his head a bit before turning his attention to the shrine."It'd be nice if I could get some help from the gods too. The deadline is coming up fast."

QuirkyAngel

 

[Nico]

Yuuken {Regalia}


Location: Maruyama Park, Kyoto
Date: April 1st, 2030
Time: 4:30 PM
Mentions: Mera MrThe

​

When his god told him they were going to see the cherry blossoms, Yuuken was ecstatic. Hanami only came around once a year and it was always Yuu's favorite time of the year. That's how he found himself in Maruyama Park his eyes wide as he watched each with awe how the flowers were a pleasant pink, almost like how his cheeks twinged when he was happy about something. He was trying to keep up his pace with his bounded god when he snapped out of his reverie as they collided with something. Well, more like someone. There was a human girl in front of him and he shifted awkwardly it wasn't like he often had conversations with humans. Perhaps the only time he interacted with them was when he was out, or when he was doing shopping for Hasuna.

"Sorry," he mumbled as he realized due to Hasuna dragging him he also ran into the young lady.

He mostly watched in silence as the two interacted. He eyed the lady pensively, she was acting like a stiff board, though it wasn't uncommon for people to be on edge these days. Yuuken was well aware of the state of the world at the moment. It came with the territory of being a regalia he supposed. Then again he wasn't going to dwell on it, it was a nice spring day and he wasn't going to ruin it by worrying. So he offered the lady a small smile and watched the exchange between the two women, only answering when Hasuna addressed him.

"Yes, Ma'am." he smiled. He normally would use formalities but it would be strange to the human if he did so.

He bowed when she bowed, formalities out of the way he watched as she trekked off. He knitted his brows together and turned to Hasuna to speak.

"She seemed, tense, I hope she's okay." he murmured. Ever the observant one, Yuuken.

 

[Peckinou]

Liashu
(Phantom Of Misery)
Location: City Streets near Kyoto Plaza , Kyoto City
Date: April 1st, 2030
Time: 4:00 pm
Interactions: None
Liashu has currently spent a unnecessary amount of time in Kyoto City, he honestly felt like he should go back to the underworld sooner or later but, he had to admit that the amount of Misery in the city was astounding. It smelt so nice as he pranced around the street with a cheery smile on his face and his eyes closed as he kept walking forward, letting his nose lead him until he suddenly stopped. He spent a lot of time feeding on the Misery of others even driving a few to their deaths when it came to corrupting them, the most recent one involved him pushing someone into entering a their home that was still on fire. Yet Liashu practically snickered at those fond memories, he found school to be the funnest place to be at though, so many teenagers stuck in a place meant to make people Miserable, it was just perfect place to so easily take advantage of. Sadly that ended though and they would have to wait till tomorrow to go back, which led them to wondering the streets and finding their own way to amuse themselves as of now. Although he did see that their were many Miserable people close by that he could so easily take advantage of, he was looking for something specific, maybe someone he could use, someone wasn't already laid claim to by another Phantom that was wondering in the area.

As another car whizzed by Liashu snapped out of his thoughts, finally deciding that he would just take a quick tour of the city and maybe find the right person that they could use as their own little tool. With that they jumped onto the roof of the nearest building, glanced over the area they couldn't help but find the city quite a lovely scene, especially with the sun high in the sky letting its heat strike down on the cities surface. To some they would see it as a very hot day, but to him he sees it as a nice and cozy afternoon. As Liashu looked over the area, they couldn't help but take a deep breath in relishing in the smell of all the miserable humans that seemed to be in the area, it smelt so nice. But he learned to restrain himself just bit so he held himself from going after any of the humans as of now. Instead opting to just move around the city by hopping from rooftop to rooftop stopping every now in the to glance down at the humans below figuring they had the whole day to do what they wished and they knew they would soon find a perfect human target that they could use if they just looked well enough. He couldn't help but chuckle a little realizing just how much more picky they became since school, though their was so much Misery around that they could afford to be as picky as they wanted to be so it didn't even matter much to them anymore, they now just wanted to have fun when it comes to draining their victims and if being a little bit picky was what they had to do for a little enjoyment then they wouldn't mind at all.
​

 

[MrThe]

Location: Maruyama Park, Kyoto
Date: April 1st, 2030
Time: 4:30 PM
Mentions: Nico Mera

Hasuna 蓮那
(Goddess)

Hasuna felt bad about the embarrassment she caused the girl by laughing. She was afraid she had offended her by doing that because she quickly left after Hasuna invited her to accompany them to the shrine. The girl did not go far because she stopped to pick up a fallen recycling bin, further cementing in the mind of the mother goddess that it wasn't urgent business that caused her to leave but the fact that Hasuna had offended the young girl. She was determined to apologize and so set off to help her pick up the mess. "I'm sorry I laughed at you, I can see I caused a lot of embarrassment. I can also see that you are a very kind person because even though you are so very busy and have urgent business to take care of you stopped to talk to a stranger, and you stopped again to pick up a toppled recycling bin." Hasuna smiled very warmly as she knelt down next to her new friend and began cleaning up. "Please forgive me, and before you go again, allow me to treat you to a Hot Dog. And I would like to ask you a question since your eyes seem to flick about." For this, she stared intently at the young girl who was able to see her so clearly and from all appearances could see the Phantoms that plagued the land. "You can see them can't you? I know because I can see them too, the creatures of darkness. We call them Phantoms." This was said in a whisper, like a secret that only they shared.​