A Nose for Danger

A Nose for Danger
Date of Scene:	27 December 2019
Location:	Somewhere in Tokyo
Synopsis:	ROOFTOP MOTORCYCLE WHEELIE PRACTICE! Or not.
Cast of Characters:	Kyouko Sakura, Mamoru Chiba, Kunzite

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Kyouko Sakura has posed:
It's evening in Tokyo. The sun has already passed behind the wall of skyscrapers that is the downtown skyline, though it isn't full dark yet, the slivers of sky seen between the monolithic buildings a vibrant purple-crimson. It's going to be chilly tonight, and while it would be an exaggeration to call it 'cold', the wind has an edge to it.

Kyouko sits straddling her motorcycle, the red-and-white street bike, on the open top floor of a parking garage situated among the taller buildings. The lights are just starting to flicker on and illuminate the parked cars- there's a bunch of them, but the lot is far from full, used mostly during the day by commuting salarymen.

She has her helmet tucked under her arm, a red leather riding jacket zipped up against the chill covering her torso. She's frowning towards the direction of the setting sun, her eyes slightly narrowed, her head tilted back. As a fresh gust of wind washes over the building, she actually sniffs the air faintly. "Somethin' ain't right tonight. I can smell it."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I'm glad you can smell anything," says Mamoru, on his own motorcycle and pulling his helmet off again while they idle. His voice is stuffy and his nose is red. "I couldn't smell a stinkbug if you startled it in front of my face."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"I have.. a nose for danger." Kyouko says, completely straight-faced, before jamming her helmet back on her head. It has a tinted visor so it's somewhat like sunglasses. She then slams the visor up because she wasn't done speaking.

"Anyway I wasn't being that literal," although she totally does do the 'sniffing the air' thing unconsciously when she senses some kind of magical malfeasance. "But there's definitely something off around here. Not sure if it's really dangerous but it's definitely not natural. So our rooftop motorcycle wheelie practice may have to wait."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Good," says the prince fervently. "Losing a bet is one thing, pulling it off without getting in trouble with literally everyone is another thing entirely. Which way, O Dangernose? And should we tag anyone else to come with?"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"Maybe the trouble I smelt was Kazuo coming to yell at me.." Kyouko takes a moment to consider the possibility. Then she shakes her head. "No, I didn't smell any collar-starch, it's not him."

As for anyone else, she adds, "Dunno if we need anyone else or not, since we don't know what we're dealing with, but I'll never say no to insurance if anyone else is in the area."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Mean," laughs Mamoru and leans to shove at Kyouko's arm. But then he puts his helmet back on. "Eh, if we get in trouble they'll find us. Or if it looks like big trouble when we get wherever it is, we'll call them before stomping in, then probably not wait for them before we stomp in, given our track record." He revs. He doesn't take off; Kyouko knows where they're going. But boy does he rev.

Then he thinks better of it and flips his visor up and brings his wrist up, pushing buttons. "Kyouko thinks there's a thing, so we're going to investigate. If there's a thing I'm sure you'll hear the screaming."

Kunzite has posed:
Kazuo's voice comes through, thinned by the transmission. "We are eternally reassured."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"I am a meanie." Kyouko confirms without remorse, "It's what makes me good at my job." The shove is not returned, but a wink is given instead. She once-again slams down the visor of her helmet, since the Prince is revving.

She does do a wheelie, of a sort, lifting her handlebars to pull the front wheel of the bike off the ground and pivot the back wheel in place to reverse direction, gunning the engine before the front wheel hits the ground again so for a second she's moving forward balanced only on the back before the front hits the ground again. She takes off towards the ramp leading down the multiple levels of the garage to the street, which does necessitate slowing down. A little.

Once at the exit, she pauses, waiting for Mamoru to catch up (assuming he is not quite as reckless around the hairpin turns inside the garage as she was) and casting her senses about, attempting to zero-in on the disturbance. "This way, I think." She shouts through her helmet to Mamoru when he is beside her, and pulls out onto the street, headed west, towards the setting sun.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mamoru is not nearly as reckless around the hairpin turns inside the garage. (He also does no wheelies or stunts, despite nobody else being around.) He is only mildly surprised when they literally ride off into the sunset. On the ride, he considers getting radios or bluetooth headsets or something getting installed in their helmets so they can actually talk to each other while riding on motorcycles, and he suspects that Kyouko might find this cool right up until he starts giving history lessons on various buildings and parks and monuments they pass.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
The city is still decorated for Christmas, and all the lights strung around streetlights and fake trees (and real trees) are coming on, giving the city an almost dreamlike quality as they two ride along it. Of course, Tokyo streets are crowded so progress is only so fast, and out of consideration for Mamoru, Kyouko does not weave between cars or run lights or anything like that. But steady progress is made.

Eventually, Kyouko pulls her bike over to the curb in the middle of a busy shopping district. Taking off her helmet, she frowns at a dim alleyway between a brightly lit coffee shop and some kind of high-end clothing retailer. Mamoru can likely feel what it is Kyouko felt, by this point- she has a sensitive nose for this stuff, but here, the sense of something 'off' is palpable to anyone tuned into magic. It isn't exactly evil, or dark, but definitely otherworldly, and seems to be coming from the alleyway between the two buildings.