For the past month or so, all signs of Maeko simply seemed to ... cease. No more strange feelings of being followed. No more feelings of being watched. No more 'bad luck' for a certain orange keeper. It's been... silent. At least, on that front. And then those rumors started to crop up, as well as missing persons reports. A doll-like ghost, wearing tattered clothing, small... like a gradeschooler.
Not that ghost tales were odd in the wake of Walpurgisnacht. It's likely there were several people who were dead or missing -- Misa Sakagami among them. And that brings those who came tonight... to one of the areas that were still in the process of being cleaned and restored. Broken buildings, many of which were in the process of being torn down so they could be rebuilt.
Unlike many of the other construction sites, even during the day it's been abandoned... due to the disappearances, the repair efforts have been stopped until they can find the source, opting instead for search and rescue teams that seem to find nothing. It was a thoroughly unsettling situation. The construction workers chasing after a lost and scared-looking girl.
And when people arrive, the possibility of ghosts becomes even more real... as the crying of a young girl can be heard echoing through the damaged area, abandoned for nightfall.
Reiko Touyama heard reports, of a doll-like ghost haunting an area of Tokyo in broken buildings that were under construction because she's been keeping her ears open. Misa-chan... could it be? She calls Hoshi, because she needs help with this, and Hoshi's stars might be useful too, she thinks- but.. really. She needs a friend for this.
There she is, standing in front of the building as she frowns a bit and looks to Hoshi. "Do you hear that?" she asks as she looks around. She begins to walk into the abandoned building, as she follows along.
She wraps her arms around herself. Unsure. Protective.
"Misa-chan.... Maeko-san...." she mutters out.
"If you're here... yo- you better come out." she calls out a little. Though not too loudly.
Hoshi is always happy to help her friends. Though, ... this is scary. She's hiding behind Reiko for this, because eek, ghosts. "Someone's crying." She answers Reiko softly, the dread obvious in her voice. Still, she follows her friend, looking around with clear fear on her face. But, she doesn't complain, "I hope your girlfriend is here, and not some flesh-eating monster ghost."
The rumors of ghosts have reached to many interested places. One of these is the Minase family, whose onmyouji investigate such rumors. Once, they would have done so at the behest of the Imperial Household. In the modern era, such intimate connections are a matter of ancient history and superstition. So several members of the clan have surveyed the areas where the 'ghost' was reported, and pooled their information.
It isn't their fault that Hokuto ignored their admonitions to focus on her studies, and snuck into the chart room where they'd been plotting the ghost sightings. It also isn't their fault that she decided to go poke her nose in and see what's going on. If they knew she were here...
... well, they'd just sigh and shrug and mutter about irreverent young brats who should pay more attention to their elders.
She doesn't notice the other girls looking about, at least not yet. But the sound of a girl crying can be hard to miss. And if it isn't the ghost, then it's someone who needs help, or at least an escort to the nearest police box so that someone can call their parents.
Time for the Minase Prodigy to investigate!
It's hard to tell exactly where the crying is coming from; the shape of the abandoned area made it so it almost sounded like it came from everywhere. What was odd, though... is that... looking at things closer, now that people had begun to investigate and look around...
There appear to be prayer slips spread around. Small, tattered scraps of paper with the symbols of a prayer slip written on them. But... it was not a pure energy coming off of them. They were steeped in fear, in hatred, in resentment, in pain. And when Misa and Maeko's names were spoken... they all seemed to glow almost immediately, all at once.
The crying grows louder, starting to echo, seemingly rebounding off each of the prayer slips, and... was that... in the window? There was a shape that could possibly be Misa, in one of the less damaged buildings!
But a blink later, and she seems to be gone. Still, it was possibly a start on where to begin searching...
Reiko Touyama eyes dart around as she purses her lips nervously. She doesn't correct Hoshi on the girlfriend point-- maybe she's tried of correcting people. Or maybe he mind is somewhere else. "We'll be fine Hoshi-chan..." she says softly. 'I hope' she thinks in her head , finishing the sentence internally.
She doesn't know Minase-san enter either- she does however notice the prayer slips and they all react when she says the names and she frowns heavily as she looks to the right. A shape by a window. Maeko? Misa? Maeko likes stupid windows. She knows that much.
She begins walking that way. "I saw something that way.. um..."
She taps her Chroma Prism and a Koi appears, bright, orange and looking spooked because creepy abandoned area-- and Reiko's a little spooked. She shoves a tiny penlight into it's fins. It turns it on and holds it ahead of the two.
"There we go." she says.
She begins walking towards where she saw the shadow. "Come on Hoshi... I think I saw something over here..." she says.
Hoshi helps with the lighting thing by summoning her own magical construct, a little star that hides behind the koi like Hoshi hides behind Reiko, but it glows with a pleasant Yellow glow, and provides a little light to see by. "Are you sure we'll be fine?" Despite her fears, the girl follows her friend with little hesitation. If they're not going to be fine as a group then Reiko definitely won't be fine alone
Hokuto pays little attention to the two youngsters, that is, until they start conjuring koi and stars. At which point she shakes her head and suppresses a light, playful chuckle.
A murmured "Suzu?" triggers a quick motion from the butterfly pin that is caught in her hair. It flickers for a moment, then a quick and nimble little ninja pixie flutters about her shoulders.
The girl goes one way, and the shikigami another, as they exmaine the scene. The closer they get, however, the less comfortable either one is. There's something just wrong about those prayer slips.
Hokuto takes an ofuda of her own from her pouch, charges it, and pats it into place over one of them. Mostly just to see what happens.
A penlight in the area... is probably nice; even though it was lit up by the prayer slips, it was an eerie purple glow, rather than a more pleasant one. As they begin to walk towards where the shadow was seen, the prayer slips begin to glow brighter -- and create a connection between each other.
Which... becomes lopsided as Hokuto places one of her own ofuda over the negatively charged ofuda; which sparkles and both ofuda begin to burn almost immediately. Thanks to Hokuto...
There is now a door in the barrier that was forming. It may have saved them from a terrible fate. The crying began to grow quiet... and then... it altogether stops.
As they approach the entrance of the building, there is a familiar...
~giggle~
Reiko Touyama blinks and turns around suddenly. "Huh?" she says. Wait someone else is here!? "H--hey! Get outta here it's dangerous!" she cries out at Hokuto. She huffs and turns back around to the feeling of something terribly wrong.
And then there's that giggle....
She frowns. "Oh no..." she says.
She was hoping, for a moment, that it'd be Misa. Instead. Maeko.
"Maeko! You jerk....! Give back Misa-chan!" she calls out.
She grabs her Chroma Prism...
"Chroma Prism Orange, Transform!" she calls out. There's a lovely transformation, of Reiko gaining a pretty dress, and white gloves and koi spin around and tie a bow on her hair!--one becomes a fish clip!
She frowns heavily as she levels her Chroma Wand forward.
"Show yourself! I'm not falling for anymore of your tricks! I've tried really hard to get you to understand but it fails miserably!" she calls out.
"S--so you're not leaving me much choice now are you!?" she calls out.
Likewise, Hoshi grabs her Chroma Prism. "Chroma Prism Yellow, Transform!" The callout is followed by a fancy miko outfit forming around the girl, two yellow stars spinning around her to tie down all the cute bows, and then the crystal itself turns into a little telescope with a star at the top, which she grips like a wand. She doesn't say a thing, this is Orange's thing, she's just here to help. She looks towards Hokuto, a questioning glance, but Maeko is far more important.
Hokuto shakes her head, a soft little chuckle her first reply to the warning that 'this is dangerous'. As if she didn't realize that when her ofuda caught fire.
And now orange-girl is in a frilly dress. Magical girls and fashion sense. Two great tastes that rarely go well together.
She shrugs, then takes a pair of ofuda from her pouch and tosses them into the air. The inked characters glow, then swell until they cover an area nearly six feet tall... then wash back over the girl, leaving her dressed in the familiar red hakama and white kimono with its multi-colored cord.
"Saa, saa. Orange and yellow, hm? I guess I'll fill in for Red. Call me Hanabi."
That feeling that something was terribly wrong would only grow stronger, too. The closer they step towards the building the more obvious it's become her base for now; it was positively STEEPED in the resentment and hatred that Maeko's curse personified.
~I honestly wondered when you would come. So long, and you have yet to find her. I wonder how strong your bond truly is~. Uhuhuhu...~
Maeko's voice, like the crying before, seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, echoing off the walls of that barrier; in spite of the opening in it forged by Hokuto's fortunate decision to randomly place an ofudo over the corrupted prayer slip.
~And you brought a little friend with you, too. Prism Keeper Yellow, I presume?~
Ofuda. And a transformation that leaves the girl covered in a red and white Kimono. It seems that THIS is what Maeko drops the games. Darkness seems to wreathe the area, covering in a black fog, and ... the scrape of a large blade along the ground can be heard. ~Ofudo. A priestess, or... perhaps.. a curse hunter?~ Maeko is suddenly in the doorway, her eyes glowing dimly in the black fog. ~I cannot play with you, like I can these two. I cannot allow you to leave here alive.~
There's a sudden rattle, and then several of those cursed Ofuda are sent flying from the darkness.
One aimed for Reiko, and one aimed for Hanabi. Thanks to her hiding, Hoshi is spared. The cursed slip sent flying for Reiko is ... not weaker, but in some ways, less vicious. More of that curse sent for her before, more of that attempt to drag Reiko down into the hopelessness, resentment, and hatred that she had before.
The curse slip aimed for Hanabi though... it's much more vicious, a curse of destruction, simply attempting to cause as much damage to her as possible with the hopeful surprise attack.
And in that dark fog... there was a slowly approaching rattle. THUMP... rattle... scraaaaaaape... Two... three... maybe four figures beginning to approach through that fog.
Prism Keeper Orange almost wants to snap at Hokuto thanks to her current mental state. 'You're no Mei-chan!' she wants to yell so loudly-- but she doesn't, instead, Hokuto gets a glare of sorts that ALMOST says the same thing.
She looks over to Hoshi for ressarance and speaks out. "I'm here, and not running away!" she calls out. "I'm going to save my friend and you're done standing in my way!" she says determinedly.
Then a cursed prayer slip smacks dab in the middle of her chest as she nrrrrggss! She's already been cursed and that STILL hadn't been taken care of, just slowed down thanks to Ikiko's charm barcelet--- this makes it very hard to concentrate as sounds of rattling she hears.
"N--nrg, Y-yellow-chan...! S..she has monsters I think those are them..please...." she says as she mutters-- trying to keep control of her emotions. She can't let herself get angry or upset or depressed. She HAS to keep pushing through this! She grips onto her Chroma Wand tightly.
Yellow does comment on that, "Red's taken." She says with an angry glower, not because it matters too much to her, but because she knows Orange cares. Then she stands next to Orange, now that she has her magic, she feels a lot more confident.
She points her wand at Reiko when the curse hits her friend, a little yellow star impacting the spot of impact, a gentle, purifying, glow that by itself provides emotional support. "I'll be careful, Orange, but I need you here." She says gently, "I know you can."
Then she points her wand at one of the incoming dolls, sending another yellow star flying, to dissolve into the doll as purifying colour energy.
Actually, a priestess and a curse hunter. Onmyouji. Which is probably going to annoy the heck out of a certain Cursed Doll. She certainly intends to make an effort at it!
And Hokuto can practically -taste- the curse on the incoming ofuda. It's strong, and it's dangerous. So she tries to counter it with another of her own, tossing the slip into the air.
"In the Emperor's name, your corruption will not stand!" The inked characters on the slip start to glow, just as the previous set did, and it tries to wrap around the cursed ofuda before it can carry its dark magic to the priestess herself.
It isn't quite quick enough, though, and she's driven to her knees by the impact. "Ghhhk!"
Her hand flies up to her chest as the black/violet glow spreads over her white robe, and she chants briefly under her breath. It seems to stop, but it doesn't fade... so she reaches over her shoulder for the peachwood bow, sliding it out from its cloth coverings.
And Reiko was struck. That link reopened. Those memories. Those feelings of being alone, even with people around. Even with one of her best friends right behind her. That all consuming sense of being alone... alone... with Maeko. ~Don't worry, Reiko. Even when everyone abandons you and leaves you alone... you will still have Maeko.~ Comes Maeko's voice sweetly, slowly beginning to walk towards her. ~Just like Misa does.~ Slow steps towards Orange, that blade scraping along the ground. Though, with those feelings of resentment and hatred... one might wonder if Maeko WANTED to be hit.
Purifying light burns through the black fog, sending a flash of light that illuminates the area around Reiko, likely freeing her from the immediate effects of the curse slip that struck Reiko! And another star streaks through the night, burning through the fog and making it visible! Unfortunately, it was visible for the doll too, and it had some sense of a self-preservation instinct, moving to the side to avoid the worst of it! And then it dashes forwards towards Yellow, scythe-arms lashing out towards her! Luckily for her, the scythe arms held similar properties to Maeko's blade... in that it didn't actually cut her flesh, but rather at her energy in the form of a moderate energy drain!
A priestess and a curse hunter; a mixture that... really... just meant that she was probably a curse hunter, but still no less dangerous for the Curse. ~A priestess, then. From your kimono, to the bow. You embody their image. Calling to the Emperor though... now that's a surprise.~ Maeko continues to speak, as that black fog begins to close in on the priestess, circling the woman with the cursed slip attached to her. And when it passes... the other two doll-like figures are to either of her sides, both of their scythe-arms turned inward to attempt to catch Hokuto between them! Luckily the fog doesn't cut out all sight, so she might be able to notice them before they come in for their attacks! Especially if she senses them!
Prism Keeper Orange nrg, she can feel the weight lifting that's good, she can think now! "T..thank you Yellow-chan." she says softly, with a wry half smile. She listens to the other girl, is she calling about the Emperor? Ugh why!? That makes no sense to Reiko. She keeps up with more modern contemporary things than culture really it seems is why.
Hoshi'll probably throw a fit if she found out. Well Hoshi's version of a fit. It's probably a very graceful fit.
She calls out. "No! I never alone! Stop this at once!" she calls out, as she levels her wand and fires off a purifying beam of orange energy into the oncoming Maeko. She can hear that massive knife scrape.
"YOU'VE BEEN IN MY FRIEND LONG ENOUGH! IT'S TIME TO GIVE HER BACK!" she screams out loudly.
"Namah sarva tatha gatebhyah sarva!" A series of occult hand-gestures accompanies the sanskrit chant, and the ofuda Hokuto has just drawn bursts into flame - which stretches into an arrow as she touches it to the bowstring.
She twists to one side, unleashing the arrow towards one of the oncoming dolls. "A surprise indeed, that one should call upon the Son of Amaterasu? Are you uneducated, as well as uncouth?"
It would appear that she's left her back exposed to the second doll. This is a poor assumption, however, as Suzumebachi is still about. And paying close attention to the battle. The ninja-pixie is a sneaky little thing, however. She swoops down out of the sky, slashing out at the doll with her little sword, catching the scythe-arm with surprising strength!
"Perhaps you should revisit your assumptions, and reconsider your course of action. Or perhaps you are yet young? Should we expect a visit from your parents to retrieve you? Or do they even know you've snuck out to play with these sweet girls?"