Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM): In the Shadows of the City - Chapter 1: The First Gathering

[Kaori Aoyama]

"I will do my family no service by cowering while they are under attack by these... these... whatever they are." Her expression took a grim turn. "Serve the darkness? And what does that mean exactly? What darkness? I see beasts attacking innocent people, and my family needs me."

She scooped up her school bag and began running in the direction of her Dojo. "Good luck to all of you. I'll see you soon at Mikamura Temple!" She shouted as she ran off.

[Rorx]

Jim accepts the sword that he had created for Ken back from him with some aware and starts to examine it and the gun, when Lindh's comments about other dangers nearby breaks through his reverie. At first he looks grim at the dialogue between Ken and Kaori, but he quickly adopts the 'poker' face the others have seen when he fights and he starts after Kaori as she runs off.

"I will help her bring as many of her family as we can to the shrine. I owwe them a debt for agreeing to train me, and I'm sure that Master Aoyama would be an asset with the blades I could great for them. We'll see you there as soon as we can."

With that he turns and runs after Koari.

[z-Skye]

Skye was slowly coming down out of her strange reverie when trouble started again. She started to head to the shrine, only to stop, stricken, as people split up. "Oh, no!" she shouted in German. "Don't split up. You should never split up!"

By the time, she'd sorted out the right words in her rising panic, they were gone. Heart hammering in her throat, she tried to follow the others to the shrine. When she tucked her fans in her bag, she brushed by her phone. Grabbing that, she tried to call her mother. Kaori wasn't the only one worried about her family.

[Adrian Moss]

Ken turns to Skye while they are hurrying down the street,

"What are you saying? Your speaking in a language I don't think we understand."

Seeing the phone, but doesn't understand. Who could she possibly be calling at this moment?

[z-Skye]

"I was saying we shouldn't split up," Skye said, not lifting her eyes from the phone for more than a second. "Verdammen Sie es! The cells aren't working!" Her blue eyes brimmed with tears as she turned to Ken and said, "I can't reach my mother."

[Adrian Moss]

Ken barely hesitates. He walks over to Skye.

"Give me a token of yours and I'll send Lyndh to go get her."

"Lindh, I have another mission for you."

He waits for his Valkyrie to come down and holds out a hand to Skye.

"Your mother will want some sign that you are with us if we can expect her to come with my ... servant."

[z-Skye]

There was only a second's hesitation, but Ken was a good kid, and his Valkyrie was clearly trustworthy. Skye typed out a message in German on her cell phone but didn't send it. Leaving the message on the screen, she passed the phone to Ken. "This will do it."

[if Lindh or Ken read it, it says:

"Mutter, vertrauen diesem Valkyrie. Sie holt Sie mir, zur Sicherheit. Skye]

[Adrian Moss]

Ken nods and hands the cellphone over to Lindh,

"Take this to this girrr ... lady's mother. She will give you directions. Find her and bring her to the shrine. Oh, and be careful."

He reaches out and hugs her,

"Please be careful, Lindh, and come back safe to me."

[z-Skye]

Skye quickly told the Valkyrie where to do find her mother, mentioning both her apartment and her office. Then Skye joined the others in their run for the shrine. One of her hands slipped into her bag and wrapped around her Tessen. She felt better, holding them.

[Justin OOC]

Lindh nods once. "As you say Master." She looks to Skye. "I leave him in your charge, protect him, Without him i cannot exist in this world. Keep him safe and I will bring your mother too you at the Shrine."

Lindh blushes abit as Ken embraces her, and smiles. "Do not worry, We have a contract, and We Valkyrie are warriors of our word." She lifts off and they quickly lose sight of her as she flies for Skye's home.

[Josefina Reyes]

When a lightning bolt completely obliterated the three-headed (?!) beast attacking them, and shouted something in what she thought was Japanese, she could only stare blankly. Frantically, the gears in her head spun as they tried to process everything that'd happened, but her dumbstruck expression spoke volumes about the progress being made.

It was shaping up to be a very exciting, interesting, and confusing evening. To Jo, it was like being stuck in the middle of some bizarre Asian action movie, with all sorts of explosions, special effects, and daring acts of heroism in the face of unfathomable occult forces. Between the demon-dog-things, fireballs, explodey-glowing-light-orbs, angels, thunderbolts, and (Jo remembered nervously) freshly-mauled corpses, she was ready for chocolate cake and bedtime.

"Look," she began uncertainly with a wary glance at Shin and the other girl as she began to slowly back away. "Um, this has been kinda cool, and all, but I'd kinda like to get back home now. So, if you guys are okay, I'm gonna head out. 'Kay?"

[Shin Okuda]

Shin looked over his shoulder at Jo, "Listen, take this." He scribbles down his cell number on a sheet of notebook paper, and hands it to Jo.

"If you need help, at any time, give me a call." He then runs off after the flying angel-thing, then stops for a second, shouting back, "Be careful." He resumes running after the flying lady.

[Kenichi]

Kenichi slowly walks over to the once proud three headed beast that had breathed fire his way, and saw that it was now nothing more than a husk of what it had been. Whistling to show his amazement, he turned to the girl who had made such work, together with the foreigner girl and the other guy.

"Nice work." giving Keiko a thumbs up and a grin. "Want to go grab a burger? Was aiming to get one from a restaurant nearby from here." Looking at the guy giving something to the foreigner girl he got on his way.

"It's not of a gentleman to leave ladies alone during times of danger, if you are going off on your on and you find another one of those things, do you think you can get away from it fast enough?" Kenichi talked big, like he knew something. But as a matter of fact, all this bravado came exactly from the opposite, not knowing at all how dangerous the situation was.

[Shin Okuda]

Shin stopped, and headed back to Jo and the others once he saw that no one else was running. "Excuse me. But I suggest we get to a safe place as soon as possible. There could be more of those things out there. That angel lady said to seek holy ground." He turned to look at Jo, "Sorry. I shouldn't have ran."

[SalmonMax]

Keiko takes a deep breath and says, "You should all follow me. There's more. A lot more. Follow me to the shrine, and you'll be safe for now. We're trying to get as many people there as we can."

She turns around, a little stiffly, then waves the others to follow her as she starts walking back up the street. The glow is emanating from the pendant around her neck.

[Josefina Reyes]

What the hell are these people babbling about?! the tall American girl thought wildly as these total strangers yammered on in Japanese as if nothing had happened. The boy who was walking her home managed a brief translation- something about "holy ground"- but reality was unraveling around Jo in very unpleasant ways in the wake of the battle. She wanted to go home. She wanted to be with her father, but, no. She was stuck here with these lunatics and their crazy cross-dimensional drama. The acrid taste of fear burned on her tongue, and as the other young woman waved her hand, something screeched shrilly nearby.

Gun in hand, and turquoise eyes wide with adrenaline, Jo spun around instinctively. The ominously thick barrel of her sidearm swung in a broad arc as she whirled to face Kenichi; one hand grasped the opposite wrist to steady her aim and, unthinkably, squeezed the trigger. There was a blinding flash, and for a brief instant, her gaze met his, and then the sound of explosive impact echoed through the night.

The effect was immediate and her aim unerring, and the phone booth behind the tall young delinquent fell suddenly silent, reduced to so much slag and shattered glass. The anonymous caller, and the subject of their message, would have to remain a mystery.

Panting heavily, Jo shook her head as her arms dropped to her sides.

"I hate Japan," she growled, stalking off after the priestess.

[Rorx]

With a brief sprint Jim quickly catches up with Kaori, then settles down to run beside her.

"Sempi Kaori, have you thought how we are to convince your family to come with us to the shrine if they have not been attacked or seen theses creatures already?"

And if they have been attacked, how prepared are you for the inevitable injuries, if not deaths. I doubt everyone will have been as lucky as our small group seems to have been in being granted objects or powers that help us survive and even fight back against these creatures.

My the gods preserve my own family! Hopefully Grandfather might have had another couple of blades that can effect these things. dad always tried to prepare us that he might not come back from a deployment, but this is hardly the same thing.

[Kenichi]

Kenichi's mind decided to not actually work for a bit, having almost had his head blown off, he appeared abnormaly calm. Laughing at the event, he found out in no time that his legs were not responding.

"Huh...you go ahead, I still have some things to do around here. I will catch up with you on the shrine like he said."

[Kaori Aoyama]

Originally Posted By: Rorx

With a brief sprint Jim quickly catches up with Kaori, then settles down to run beside her.

"Sempi Kaori, have you thought how we are to convince your family to come with us to the shrine if they have not been attacked or seen theses creatures already?"

"Convince?" She asked, heavy breaths coming as she dashed down the avenue. "You question my integrity? I will explain, and they will believe me. They haven't any reason not to believe me. Only a fool or a liar would need to convince those whom she has never given reason to mistrust."

It was only a bit farther. Her thumb flicked Onimaru up from its scabbard in preparation of something not going as smoothly as she hoped.

[Rorx]

"No Sempi, I do not question your integrity. I just wondered if their automatic assumption of your truthfulness might not be stretched by your sudden appearance claiming the coming of Bakemono, Oni and Hellhounds without any proof, unless they have seen them for themselves."

Seeing Kaori preparing her sword he makes sure that his own is ready, and keeps a close eye on the road ahead and to either side as they run closer to the Aoyama dojo/house.

[Kaori Aoyama]

"Bakemono? Oni? Hellhounds?" She slowed her pace to a light jog, but continued to press on. "You seem awfully knowledgeable James McAllister. I'm curious to know where you managed to acquire a Bestiary."

"They will believe me." He said flatly. "If this answer is not enough for you then your pace is at the shrine, not with me. I have little time for thought, I focus only on my purpose. Doubt will only weaken me."

[Rorx]

"A bestiary, no, but my mother used to tell me stories from Japanese history and mythology as a child."

Jim matches her pace, maintaining his watch for enemies.

"Oh, I don't doubt your focus, and I believe you are correct, they will believe you without question."

After all, you don't have the imagination to make anything up, that would require thinking about something other than your precious Kendo.

[Kaori Aoyama]

"Then talk less, and run more." She said as she hunched low and sprinted off like bolt. "We have little time."

[Rorx]

Jim sprints after her, easily catching back up and matching her pace as they head for the dojo.

[Justin OOC]

Keiko, Shin and Jo make it to the Shrine without Incident. When Kenichi finally makes it there, he tells of how he too lacked any further encounters.

(Kazuo, you can now interact with Jo, Kenichi, Shin, and Keiko and Vice Versa.)

Skye, Kage, Ken, however aren't so lucky. They turn the corner about 4 blocks from the Shrine and encounter a group of oni, A small pack of 4 Hellhounds and 1 that's larger, about tiger sized with glowing claws and fangs.

(Initiative and actions please)

Kaori and Jim are simply unprepared for the scene that greets them as they arrive at the dojo. Half the students are strewn about the place, and her Grandfather sits in the innermost sanctum of the dojo itself. His eyes are open and stricken white with blindess. His face is one that has seen too much, of one who has been broken. On the walls written in blood is the message. "I desire my blade, swordmaiden."

As soon as she draws near, Her gradfather though blind, looks straight at her and speaks in a voice not his own. "I am disappointed in who has been granted my blade to hold in trust. I Will test your mettle myself, Only then shall I allow you to keep it. I will spare your family this one time, but in exchange you will come alone to the top of the city in two days time. We shall fight, and the victor shall wield my blade." He slumped over onto the teak flooring afterwards unconscious.

There was no sign of anyone eles alive, but no others dead.

[Adrian Moss]

"Oh, this can't be good ..." Ken says quietly as the monsters turn to look at them. He realizes the only weapon he has is his school briefcase and his fists - and he's not skilled with either.

(22:49:24) ChatBot: (Adrian) rolls 2d6 and gets 6,2 +4 = 12 for Initiative.

"Kage, Skye, do we fight or run ... or do we even have a choice?"

(Ken's briefcase is a Rank 5 Weapon with -1 Accuracy -woot!)

[z-Skye]

"I don't know that we have a choice," Skye said, her voice thick with fear and looming tears. "This is crazy!" She snapped her Tessen open and held them before, that eerie calm from before evading her. But as the fans trembled before her, she felt something.

[initative: 1d6=3, 1d6=1 = 10

Activating Force Field]

[Rorx]

Jim is sickened by the sight in the dojo, but does his best to keep himself under control and recentre himself. Following her Grandfather's controlled speech Jim rushes to Master Aoyama's side to check his condition (OOC: Medicine), finding he is only unconcious he step back and faces Kaori as he draws his sword.

"You need to trust me Kaori, my sword can help heal your Grandfather, but to do so I must stab him with it."

So saying he turns and gently thrusts Holy Touch into his chest.

(OOC: Heals 27 damage)

[Kaori Aoyama]

It was painful within the walls of the Aoyama estate & Dojo. It looked like the demons tore everything apart in the span of only moments. Gore lay strewn about the yard, grass, dripped from the trees, and even slowly slid down the still freshly wet walls.

"Grandfather!" she cried out as she saw him. Blind to the possible dangers she ran off to him only to stop dead in her tracks as the demon's voice seemed to shake the walls, rattle her bones, and chill her soul.

As he fell to the floor she ran forward, puzzling for a moment as James seemed to somehow beat her there despite her being closer, she felt the burn from the wood as her bare legs refused to slide gently along the flooring.

Quote:

"You need to trust me Kaori, my sword can help heal your Grandfather, but to do so I must stab him with it."

So saying he turns and gently thrusts Holy Touch into his chest.

With the carnage about her, and her grandfather lying, nearly dead at her feet, seeing James draw his blade and plunge it into the chest of the only man who ever meant anything to her, even more than her own father, without much warning was enough to push the young woman to brink of her own sanity.

"No!" she soared up from a crouch, Onimaru in hand, its steel already visible. In a flash, she almost seemed to simply disappear and reappear behind the student in the blink of an eye. With a thrust of her sword's hilt there was a 'clunk' and James fell to the ground beside her grandfather. (Sandman Technique)

Her hands trembled as she withdrew the blade from his chest. His raspy moan betrayed his injuries as life flowed through his body, just barely though.

She cast the blade aside and it soared through the courtyard. She heard the tell tale sound of its landing but cared little about it. "Grandfather... Grandfather, please, please tell me your okay, oh God."

The tears in her eyes flowed like an endless rain. As he opened his eyes, still white with blindness, she tried to wipe away her pain and sadness with her palms across her cheeks.

"Kaori," he barely was able to speak. "Onimaru... keep... Onimaru... safe."

He passed out again, and Kaori could see there was no wound where James' blade had pierced his chest, but frankly she didn't care. This day was the single most messed up day of her life and the fools she was surrounded by were doing little to make the transition a smooth one.

He was alive, and safe. That's all that mattered. Gathering up her ancestral blade she left him to rest and continued on to the house to search for any more survivors... and get something better than her uniform to wear.

As she walked off she let James lie there unconscious, he'd be awake soon and could head to the shrine on his own. He seemed quite capable of doing just about anything he desired in the typical fashion of American arrogance.

[Rorx]

Jim came to amidst the blood and debris of the dojo, rolled over and staggered to his feet. Glancing around proved that Kaori was no longer present but that Master Aoyama was.

Typical of her, thinking, if you can call it that, with her sword. Oh no, can't possibly trust that someone else knows what they are doing.

Bending down breifly he checks the Master and finds his condition has improved thanks to his actions with Holy Touch. Then looks around for where his sword is.

Gone off now, and i better not be here when she returns. i'm not realy sure what either of us would do. Now where did she put my sword. Oh well, I suppose I'll have to find a way to find it.

With a minutes concentration and a aggravating the headache that Kaori had left him with Jim eventually created a wakizashi in a similar style to Holy Touch, but whose blade glowed a pale blue as he turned on the spot and faced the direction in which his sword lie. Having recovered the ancient blade given to him by his Grandfather and with the new blade in his other hand he staggered fom the dojo and broke into a ragged jog towards the shrine, following the glowing of his new wakizashi.

(OOC: New wakizashi

Multidimensional, Supersense (Sense Holy) range 3 (1km), WL 7 Accurate 1)

[Kaori Aoyama]

There were no survivors. The carnage the demons left within the Aoyama household and Dojo ran the gamut from bizarre to grisly.

She took in what sights she could: five students lay slaughtered and several others completely eviscerated. One however caught her eye and she knelt before his corpse to investigate him more closely. He was not a student at her Dojo; in fact, she'd never seen the man before today. She brushed away the strangeness but tried her best to keep a mental note of him to ask her grandfather later.

She spent several minutes in the bathroom holding back her raven's feather-hued hair as she forfeited her lunch and breakfast to whichever porcelain god might be listening this day and afterward went to her bedroom and packed some clothes, even changing out of her uniform into her traditional kendogi and hakama. There was nothing for her to do here. Her mother and father were gone, and not among the dead. In the back of her mind she hoped they were safe, but her logical mind refused to allow her to be so naive. They were dead, taken away most likely, to be slaughtered later.

She would miss them greatly, but vengeance on their behalf would be brutal. Of this Kaori was certain.

She was slow walking down the street with her grandfather limping painfully at her side. With one arm around her shoulder and one of her own around his waist, she supported him, carrying the now blind old man to the shrine.

The demons gathered in force upon the streets around them, snarling and baying at the two, mocking them in their demonic tongue, but nary a one dared to approach. They didn't fear her, or her sacred blade. She was now under the protection of whatever being had challenged her for the right to wield Onimaru, and it was obvious that this being was far greater in power than the minions that gathered in the streets.

As she approached the shrine she let her grandfather down easy, allowing him to rest himself.

"Hello?" She looked around, wondering if the others had arrived yet. "Skye? Kinobi!? Hello!"

Her voice echoed loudly, but no one seemed to be near.

[Kazuo]

((OOC: I'm putting up a "reputation" entry in Kazuo's profile so that you guys have some more IC info to go off of to decide whether/what/how much you know about him - since we've all supposedly been going to the same school, and have probably seen each other around, at the least.))

It might have seemed like no one was near, but then a gruff voice answered her, "If you’re lookin’ for that little blond bitch, she aint here. And I don’t know any ‘Kinobi’.”

Turning to her right, Kaori was met with the sight of a dried-blood-smeared, shirt-missing, covered-in-scars Kazuo Kanai who was looking her up and down with his one good eye and not making any effort to hide it. He’d been tossing a rock in his right hand when Kaori had first turned towards him, but then he caught the rock, turned away from her, took aim and chucked the thing as hard as he could. The rock hurtled through the air like an aerodynamic insult and struck the snout of one of the nearby skulking hell hounds with an audible *smack*! The beast jumped back, emitting something that wasn’t quite a yelp but wasn’t exactly a growl either, shaking its head vigorously and then leaping to within five meters or so of where they stood and snarling loudly. Kazuo responded by smiling broadly and giving it the finger. Scattered amongst the hell hounds and demons who had gathered around the shrine could be seen several more stones of roughly the same size and shape – apparently Kazuo had been getting in a little bit of target practice…

Seeming to forget about the hound, Kazuo turned back towards Kaori and walked towards her. “Three other Kiyamori students just showed up a coupl’a minutes ago, though.” Kazuo got a thoughtful look on his face, “uh… Kenji, Shin’ji, and uh… Jo, I think – that tall blond gaijin,” said Kazuo, getting most of the names completely wrong.

Kazuo fixed Kaori with a look that bordered on a leer and said, "you're Kaori, right? I'm Kazuo." Then he looked down at her grandfather and, seeing the blindness in his eyes, squatted down in front of him to get a better look and asked, "so what happened to him?"

[Kaori Aoyama]

He startled her. Not surprising considering all that had happened so far today. When he first made his presence known Onimaru was slid several inches out if its scabbard. Although Kazuo didn't flinch (outwardly) he knew that, if Kaori's reputation was an accurate one, she could have easily sliced him in two.

It wasn't long however before the blade was slid back into its home and she seemed to relax (as much as she was able, anyway). She seemed entertained slightly as the stone bounced off the beasts snout. She cared little, if at all, for those demons and their mistreatment did little to tarnish her conscious.

She let the leering slide, this time. It was Kazuo Kanai, like whipping him would do any good. Animals like him you had to rub their nose in the offense while beating them with a news paper for it to sink in. In this case, there was no way Kazuo's nose was going anywhere near where he was leering, and it was more than likely he was into masochism anyway. To top it off, she was tired, scared, and worried and had little time to fume over Kazuo being himself.

"I believe the woman to whom you are referring is named Skye. I'm glad she arrived safely and in the future I expect you to be more respectful to her." Her voice was soft and delicate and laced with that air of superiority and arrogance that stabbed Kazuo in his black heart. Kaori always sounded like she was talking down to him, like he was riff-raff and nothing more than common street vermin his entire life. "And I'll not ask you twice."

The click of her adjusting the blade at her side informed Kazuo that disrespecting women would not be tolerated on Kaori's shift, and ever since they demolished the cafeteria in 5th Grade over a pat on the bum, Kazuo knew she was quite serious. Although neither ever claimed a victory, it was a battle of the sexes that was made nearly legendary through out Tokyo. To this day, if asked, they would simply grin (or scowl in Kaori's case) and shrug the question away.

She let the nostalgia pass and continued on. "He is my Grandfather. My home, our Dojo, was attacked by the creatures." She seemed to barely choke back tears as they formed. "Mother, Father... everyone."

She was loathe to do so, but today seemed the day for the impossible. "K-Kazuo," she studdered. "He is injured. I've hardly strength enough to keep myself standing. W-would you help me get him inside?"

There was a looong... very awkward pause as the Princess and the Pauper let years of friction linger between them.

"Please." She finally said humbly as she stared at the stones under their feet.

[SalmonMax]

"Who's there?" a voice called from farther inside the shrine.

Bushes rustle, and a pretty young girl in the white and red hakama of a miko bursts out onto the curved path that winds around the gardens down to the ornately carved shrine gate.

She paused for a moment at the scene before her, sensing the tension in the air. The hesitation was only momentary though before she was rushing down join Kaori and Kazuo.

"You made it here by yourself! Are you injured?"

[Kazuo]

"I believe the woman to whom you are referring is named Skye. I'm glad she arrived safely and in the future I expect you to be more respectful to her. And I'll not ask you twice."

Kaori sounded so superior as she spoke. She always sounded like that when she talked to Kazuo, believing he was inferior to her. A part of Kazuo actually agreed with her, knowing full well what an unapologetic reprobate he was - but he was about as likely to admit this to her or anyone as he was to admit that he once entertained fantasies of becoming an idoru pop star. Sad, but true.

"Yeah, like I haven't heard that before", muttered Kazuo, glancing up from where he squatted and eyeing Kaori's blade suspiciously as it clicked in its sheath. "I jus' call 'em like I see 'em, Kaori", Kazuo drawled out, and gave her a challenging grin. "You should know that by now, girl."

"And you need to clean the wax out of yer ears, bijin, cuz I said she aint here yet!" Kazuo purposely said this louder than was necassary, because, ya know, he's a jerk.

Kazuo's relationship with Kaori had much in common with the relationships between dogs and cats. Seeing her got him excited, and chasing after her was a shitload of fun. Catching her, on the other hand, always left Kazuo wondering what the hell just happened, and seemed to involve an unexpectedly large amount of yelling, screaming, name-calling, blood, and physical pain. Kazuo was forced to recall that not all of his scars were new...

And, true to form, Kaori left him off-balance and reeling by doing what girls do best, and getting all emotional. Kuso...

"He is my Grandfather. My home, our Dojo, was attacked by the creatures. Mother, Father... everyone." The girl looked like she was about to get all hysterical on him or something. Kazuo, like most teenage boys, handled emotions like a gazelle that has just discovered a lion attached by the teeth to its hindquarters. Which is to say poorly. This explains why Kazuo irrationally began assessing possible escape routes between the crowding demons, and weighing his chances of survival if he broke and ran right there and then.

Then she actually began to stutter and her voice actually broke! Any second now the waterworks were gonna start. She was almost begging him to carry the old blind guy inside for her, but hell - Kazuo woulda done it anyway just to get some kind of barrier between him and her. This shit was getting way too intense!

There was a long, awkward pause, and then Kaori broke it by simply saying "please", and sounding like she actually meant it!

This provoked within Kazuo an urge to simultaneously panic, scream, run away, kill something, laugh, give Kaori a comforting hug, and ask her if she wouldn't mind running him through with her fancy sword. He grit his teeth and tried to fight it, but it was no good. His will was crumbling!

He was... going... to be... nice to Kaori Aoyama!!!

"...yeah sure", said Kazuo Kanai. He slipped his arm under the old man's shoulder and helped him back up to his feet.

"Let's get inside."

[Rorx]

Jim heard the voices from where he was inside the shrine, and recognising Kaori's voice, moved further in towards the heart of the shrine.

I'm glad she made it with her Grandfather, but considering her recent actions I think I'd better stay out of her way for a while. Heh, twenty years might do it to start with!

As he went he looked for signs of other people, or indeed the priests presence.

[Josefina Reyes]

Hands shoved deep in her pockets, the tanned, lanky American whistled quietly to herself as she paced back and forth. Her father's jacket was a comforting weight around her shoulders, and she imagined that she could still smell the faint, crisp scent of his aftershave in the plush collar. It wasn't in her nature to be introspective, and all the restless energy she felt manifested in the unceasing motion of her feet on the clean wooden floor.

She moved from one patch of moonlight to the next, her eyes glimmering with unshed tears. She hated this place, she missed her father... Missed his confidence, his calm reassurances. He would have known what to do, how to handle the situation, and despite the years she'd spent traveling with him, she hadn't the faintest clue. Bitterly, she regretted her every unspoken wish for a chance to prove herself, to find her own adventures and...

And make you proud.

With a half-sigh, half-grunt of frustration, she kicked one of Kazuo's pebbles, sending it skittering outside.

Now what, Jo? You got your wish, right? Jo's Big Adventure! So what are you going to do? Sit here and wait for Dad to come back and fix it? Well, he's not coming. He's miles away, dealing with some stupid contract. This is all you, and if you want a good story to tell him when he does get back, you'd better shape up, missy.

The sound of voices caught her ear, and she found herself instinctively turning in that direction. Probably some of the other kids from school. Wonder if they all made it? Reluctantly, she trudged toward the gathering cluster of students, resolutely squaring her shoulders. Whatever these things were, they were going to pay for screwing up her "vacation."

[Kenichi]

Kenichi took his own while to get to the shrine, ignoring all the demons arranged around it, wondering exactly where the others were or if this was even the shrine they were supposed to come, Kenichi knew another shrine but guessed not everyone considered it Holy around here.

Decidedly stuck in a bad day and trying to not surprise the gun-toting gaijin anymore, he decided to go to the sword-totin nippon, the priestly dressed girl and the gansgter looking Kazuo.

Coming up to them while Kazuo was about to help Kaori with lifting her grandfather, he stepped besides the priestess. "How fitting, a priestess in this place. Where did you come from back there? and how did you make one of the Oni explode?" Kenichi looked at the shorter girl puzzled "...were we classmates prior to this?"

[Kaori Aoyama]

"N-no." Kaori addressed the vibrant Keiko. "I am fine, and yes, making it here was no worry. The demons offered up little to no resistance. My grandfather was injured and needs rest, however. Excuse us."

Without another word she passes Keiko like she's not even there.

Kaori slowly followed Kazuo. She was indeed as tired as she said she was. She was unskilled and far to inexperienced to be drawing on Onimaru's power as frequently as she had this day.

She saw her assembled classmates and was thankful they'd all made it safely, even James. She slumped over and dropped one of her two duffel bags on the floor. The one she kept had her clothes in it.

"There is bottled water and food in there. I grabbed what I could. Some fruit, crackers, things like that. I think there's some noodle cups too, and I'd not be too shocked if one of us blink and make a campfire appear..." everything about her voice, her movements, her completely apathetic manner of conveying her point told everyone that she was just plain plum tuckered out. "Please, help your self, we'll need to keep up our strength."

Several feet away she layed down her duffel, clutched Onimaru close, and curled into a ball using the bag as a pillow.

[Rorx]

Jim comes down and adds a couple of plastic boxes from his bag and 2 bottles of water.

"It's not much, just my dinner for between the class with Kaori and my koppo class across town later on."

He turns to the girl dressed as a miko.

"Can you tell us what facilities might be here in the shrine? Presumably they have water for the plants and cleaning, but does anyone live here or have meals here? If not I know how to make a fire, if we are allowed to gather wood for one, and I'm sure I've seen at least one of you guys smoking.[looking to Kazuo and Kenichi]"