O Tanabata

O Tanabata
Date of Scene:	07 July 2014
Location:	Earth-6022
Synopsis:	The youkai are upto no good, trying to capture Orihime and Hikoboshi! Seimei, the Union, and the Confederacy intervene.
Cast of Characters:	31, Staren, 85, 369

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Abe no Seimei (31) has posed:
The warpgates and coordinates lead any interested party to the middle of a field outside of the modern yet supernaturally touched world of Japan of Earth-6022. It is a picturesque place, where summer has grown the grass a deep, vivid green. The field is wide, and were it empty, it would be a place where many might seek meditation or peace from their daily struggles. In the distance, there are trees lined up against a nearby river that runs along the edges of the field. A lacquered and perfectly arched bridge covers the gap between the river and field to some old, abandoned Buddhist temple guarded by two Jizo statues that stare warily onto the scene that plays beyond.

This was the night. The Star Festival, the fateful meeting of the goddess Orihime and her chosen lover, Hikoboshi. With the barriers broken between the World of Spirit and Man, things would return to what once was the balance of chaos and order of the normal and the not-so-normal. Humans could now witness for themselves the bridge that would lead to the Milky Way--if all went well--and the two gods meeting once more for their yearly visit. People, both spirit and otherwise, were crowded in the field just now, as a cloud of black birds weighed heavy on the sky above. It was their ritual, sent by the god of Heaven, to build the bridge that would connect the Milky Way to the world below.

However, not all of the crowds below were what one could consider peaceful. A stampede of some strange and certainly not entirely human creatures were headed their way from the forests and beyond. Some as large as trolls, and others just darker sides of the spirit world--wicked-minded youkai, fairies who turned to darker ways, and even celestials who had long abandoned heaven and this silly meeting. From the looks of the people in the field turning their way, it was clear they /knew/ this band meant no good.

A red-colored oni at the front led the way, brandishing a one-handed sword. He had a fierce look to him with an awful face contorted in a foul grimace. He yelled to the crowd of spirits below, "Ha! The gods think they can just waltz all over this world like they did before! Well, we won't be having any of that, will we? The youkai stand united to help people remember /exactly/ how things are going to be around here after next Star Festival! You /will/ remember our promise!"

The crowd at once becomes unsettled. Some present Celestials frowned at one another, quietly murmuring among one another and falling into the background. After all, under the Sky God, they could not interfere with this meeting directly. Other humans and spirits shrieked and fleed, while others unsheathed their own weapons to use.

And one particular man stood amongst the crowd appearing... frighteningly calm despite the rising chaos. As the wind blew, the bells in his wide, tall hat jingled. He wore a large white noble's robe from an era long before this one... And amongst the spirits, he looked to be of similar style, but he did not fit in at all with the modern dress of the other humans around him. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking toward the sky of black birds cawing in distress.

"My my... It's going to be an interesting night tonight, don't you think, Saburo?" He says, his smooth voice sounding more amused than anything.

"Ha... If that's what /you/ want to call it, Lord Seimei." Says a tall, imposing anthropomorphic wolf who in the blink of an eye manifested from behind the white-robed man, arms crossed as he considered the situation seriously. He was dressed in equally anachronistic apparel--like ninja from old tales, with his face covered in a black mask and wearing the black uniform and all. Only his clawed feet remained unclothed.

The white-robed man grinned cheerfully, his attention now turned to the oncoming march of youkai. "Well, why don't we just wait to see what happens here."

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
Shizune Nakamura finds herself pacing in the back of the shuttle en route to Japan-6022. Hearing Kagenashi speak up made her blood run cold almost immediately, and she already can't keep herself from worrying and wondering about the nogitsune's aims here. Will she try to usurp another powerful being's strength? Is she coming for some other reason?

If the fate of Tanabata itself didn't hang in the balance, she would probably be a lot more reluctant to come help.

But for now, she can't hesitate - she has to protect the meeting of Orihime and Hikoboshi, whether that be from whatever local force of youkai is attacking, or from Kagenashi herself. So when the shuttle swings over the crowd, the girl who jumps out is calm and resolute, gliding to the ground in a floral-print yukata done up in earthen tones and landing with a graceful touch. She stands opposite the towering red oni, adjusting her glasses, and looks right up to him, standing placidly, staring steadily.

"Please don't do this. There isn't any need for youkai, kami and humans to live at odds. I come from a world where they coexist peacefully. I know youkai can be some of the most stalwart and steadfast of friends or allies. I don't know what bad blood there is between you and the kami of this world, but..." She shakes her head. "I'd like to help. Because if you do this, innocent blood will be spilled on all sides."

Kagenashi (85) has posed:
Lucky though this day might be, it seems it could use another gift of fortune. How many greater symbols of good luck could there be than a black fox for a world of spirits and gods?

Except the one that darts amid the chaotically fleeing people is...different. Silver eyes gleam in passing, four tails stretch behind her, and no shadow lies along the ground to mark her presence. Her shadow, instead, trails behind her as a second black fox with only one tail, flitting over the shadows of others in a mirror of her master.

Only when they reach the statues do they come to a halt, bounding up to the top of one and perching on its summit. Both stare out across the bridge at the approaching beasts, but only one is consumed in black before her shape expands and shifts. Soon there is not a fox sitting on the statue, but a human-seeming woman perched upon the statue's head with two blades bound to her forearms and a third resting on her back.

Kagenashi looks out at the youkai from behind her mask, silently watching and waiting. While one hand alights on the statue to keep her balance, the other curls around the sheathed Nageki, pulling the cursed longsword from its hold on her back to be ready to draw it at a moment's notice.

Against /who/ isn't entirely clear yet.

Staren has posed:
MEANWHILE, in Staren's family lab, underneath the outskirts of Lazlo:

Staren hears of spirits trying to hostile takeover some world.

He's had kind of a tiring and yet boring day. He starts suiting up and climbing into his mecha. Then someone says they're going to try diplomacy. Well then. He'll wait to launch until they've failed...

Abe no Seimei (31) has posed:
The people in the general vicinity of the shuttle shriek and disperse, while the march of the youkai stops in its tracks. The red oni lifts an arm to signal to the rest of his crew to stop, and he awaits for a soldier to come jump out. But instead finds a girl who leaps out in a yukata? ... Sweatdrop. He grimaces some more, clenching the hilt of his longsword as she suddenly decides to beat him down with words.

The shrieks and chaos fall quiet for a little bit. The celestials huddled together look on expectantly. The black birds above caw ominously. A pin could drop.

And the outright laughter erupts from the red oni, guffawing right in her face in a saying it and spraying it sort of way. Clearly a uncouth fellow. "Foreigner, /you/ a human girl? To know of our world? Insolence! It is long past the time of being friends and allies... Too long have we been put in cages by people like /HIM/--" a grotesque finger points to the white-robed Abe no Seimei who assumes an innocent look to the side as if he was not paying attention. "--and /he/ was supported by these foolish, air-brained celestials. Too long have we waited for this. There is no such thing as innocent blood anymore, foreigner." He grits his teeth in growing anger, "Orihime and her husband WILL be captured. And they will pay for their crimes!"

Cheers from the youkai section. Seimei, from a distance, attempts to continue looking innocent---although his attention is grabbed by another. A sidelong glance is given to another figure farther away, near the temple. He whispers quietly to the wolf standing guard beside him. "Figure out what she's doing here." He knew that role. The observer. And observers tended to be troublesome.

At once, the shadow ninjawolf bows and disappears into the trees--before a mere few minutes later amongst the wild cheers of the demon and youkai, he is hanging upside down from the limbs of a tree above a certain Jizo statue. "You aren't from this world. But you aren't with the young woman either." He says matter-of-factly in a flat baritone.

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
Shizune reaches up and adjusts her glasses, closing her eyes and letting out a soft, disappointed sigh. "You're right. I don't know this world. But I would like to. If you would talk, I'd listen. It doesn't sound as if that's going to be the case, though." She opens her eyes again. "And I have to disagree with you on one point. Those who were born long after your grudge began, those who had no hand in it, those who don't even know of the situation. Those are innocents. And if your rampage won't distinguish between them, you leave me no choice."

The martial artist's hand dips down to the front of her yukata, below the sash, and quickly swings the robe aside, freeing her legs for movement. She drops into a ready stance with the lower half of the yukata billowing around her, the dust at her feet rippling outward in a ringed puff. Her hands come up, her stance calm and graceful, and the dust at her feet settles... revealing a yin-yang symbol drawn in the dirt sheerly by the girl's presence and natural movements.

She does not make the first move. She's going to force the oni to do that. To be the instigator, if he's going to. And she also does not balk in the least at the prospect of facing down an oni. Perhaps that will say something to him. Perhaps not.

Staren has posed:
STAREN'S LAB

Welp, that's it. It's okay, Shizune. You Tried.

The Star Hawk's launch bay opens, and away he goes...

JAPAN-6022

At over mach 2.5, it doesn't take long for Staren to arrive. A shiny jet fighter in the sky, that slows down as it dives, then grows arms and legs as it slows down more, than in a blur of moving parts, shifts to humanoid form as it comes to land before the Youkai, over 40 feet tall and gleaming metal. "She asked nicely." Staren's voice comes from the speakers. "Now I'm gonna ask not so nicely: For over eight years, I've been protecting innocent people, humans and nonhumans alike, from those who would bully and prey upon them. /I/ am still here. /They/ are not." Staren blinks. The mecha echoes his body language as he looks confusedly between the Youkai and the humans. "What's this about humans caging you? You're here for Orihime, not to take over the world?"

Kagenashi (85) has posed:
Kagenashi barely seems to react when Shizune's bid for peace fails. Of course, she expected as much. Perhaps she could rub it in against the girl later, but for now, she has little to say.

It's the ninja that appears beside her that draws her words. She looks aside to the shadowy wolf, taking Nageki's hilt in her other hand as she keeps the long blade ready to be drawn. "A keen observation," she remarks with unwavering serenity. "I am not of this world, but of one that is similar. And that little one would call me an enemy, perhaps even a nemesis. Amusing, then, that we so happen to come to the same troubled location."

The nogitsune rises, then, standing on the balls of her feet as she unsheaths Nageki. The sword's nine vicious hooks gleam in the light, and she tucks the scarlet sheath back under her obi to keep both hands free. Taking the cursed blade in a two-handed grip, she lifts the sword slightly, the hooked edge pointed up to the ninja wolf beside her. Her head tilts slightly to one side as if in curiosity, accentuating the smirk of her mask. "And what of you? You are with the priest, I assume? Someone in favor of these deities, or of the youkai?"

Abe no Seimei (31) has posed:
The din rises and falls once more. Clearly, they were interested in what Shizune had to say. After all, there was just something mind-bending about foreign worlds, and the youkai seemed particularly curious about what other Japans and worlds had to offer. The oni eyes Shizune more carefully than his compatriots, snorting viciously as he watches her take a battle stance. At once, he steps back with one leg, lowering his sword in a suddenly defensive posture. "I am not blinded by rage, child of Man. Heh. That's not the case at all. You just don't realize that if we leave things just as they are... that's exactly what they will be. A repeat of history. And my sisters and brothers will not wait to see the same Dawn of the Gods as we have seen before. Amaterasu has yet to claim her throne... Yes, we will --- Aguh?"

Crowd gaaaaaasp. Excited chitter chatter and iPhone flashes. A mecha. Wow. Way to make a statement, Union. The oni's eyes widen as SUDDENLY A 40 FOOT TALL PIECE OF METAL HOVERS DOWN IN FRONT OF THEM ALL. "Another foreigner... And what a prideful little beast! Guaahahahaha!" His laughter roars as he puffs out his chest. "Are you two threatening me and my people? You see, we don't deal well with threats..." Grin. "They tend to end badly. And Orihime and Hikoboshi... They are the first fee we are taking. The gods mock us, to think we won't take this land in due time. The world that should belong to us in the first place! We will ask you only once: /Stand aside/."

Seimei whistles thoughtfully, shouting above the noise to the two Unionites, "You know," he adds cheerfully, "There was something I forgot to mention! Hahaha! Really, what a small detail! They made a deal not to hurt anyone if they weren't threatened. Just thought you should know!" There, he did his daily good deed. Now was a great time for a smoke. As he reaches in one of his billowy white sleeves, he pulls out ... nothing. Teeth grit. He forgot his pipe.

One of the youkai pipe up, "Silence, Seimei-sama! /You're/ definitely next!" Grr arg rawr.

Saburo hmphs, watching the nogitsune sheath her sword before rolling onto the ground with a cat's grace. Dusting his paws off, he stands straight and bows to her atop the statue. "Hmph. I see. So, you come here because there is trouble?" He asks, head tilting. "My master and I, we were once guardians of this world, but now..." Shrug. "I can't say what we are. He's a priest, if that's what you want to call him..." He pointedly looks over to Seimei who was now pouting because he was without a good light. Saburo promptly eyerolls. "Wish I could give you straight answers, lady, but truth is, even I'm not sure which side he's on right now."

Staren has posed:
The Star Hawk leans over slightly. "There are plenty of worlds out there. Do you really think you need to take the place where innocent humans live, to have a land to call your own?" It turns and looks at Seimei. "Dude, don't be a dick. Saying stuff like that /now/ has no purpose but to make us look bad. Haven't we got a bigger problem" it waves at the Youkai, "to deal with here than getting digs in on people who came here to /help/?" It turns back to the Youkai. "Now then. What /exactly/ is it you wish to do here?"

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
"It's awfully hypocritical of you to talk about threats right now," Shizune replies, shaking her head, before turning to look over her shoulder towards the yelling voice of Seimei. There is something of a flat stare for a moment, but then she turns her gaze back around to the oni. "I'm not going to make the first move. I absolutely refuse to. But if you lift your weapon against anyone here, if you move to interfere with Tanabata, I have no choice but to stand in your way. Violence begets violence. But I'd like to make you a counter-offer."

She doesn't quite leave her ready stance, but it does relax, just a little. Even in the face of that uproarious laughter, she remains a rock of calm, unruffled. "Turn and go home. Live in peace, bothering no one, hurting no one who doesn't earn it before your own eyes. If you do so, then anyone who attempts to unjustly bring you under their thumb, to punish or kill you without reason? We'll gladly stand beside you in fighting them off. I would defend your homes without hesitation were you the ones under threat."

Kagenashi (85) has posed:
Kagenashi returns the bow once Saburo lands nearby, though hers is slight. She is terribly proud, after all. "I go where my curiosity leads me," she replies simply, looking aside at the conflict brewing near the bridge. Her gaze soon lowers down to where Seimei stands, and she lifts one hand from Nageki's hilt to bring her fingers up to her mask's mouth. From the mouth seeps a greenish-blue flame; an orb of ghostly fox fire that slips down to where Seimei is and hovers in front of him. At least someone has a light.

"Roles change," the nogitsune remarks. "With age comes an altering of what was, and the establishment of what will be. Perhaps you would be best of accepting that change." She looks back to Saburo, then, nodding her head slightly. "Now, if you will excuse me, I think I will intervene."

Kagenashi simply flies off the statue's head, then, even without any outward means of doing so. Her flight could pass as a leap, if it were done underwater; the smoothness and grace with which she lands beside Shizune, facing the wall of youkai with her sword held low, is clearly unnatural.

When she speaks, her voice is more like that of an empress than the quiet assassin she normally is. Loud, firm, and clear, but still holding that uninterrupted calm. "And then you would break your promise, shattering your convictions in the face of...how many? Look around you, look at yourselves; you are strong, strong enough to see your wishes through with barely any resistance. Look at how those here flee before you. If you have been so offended, will you then allow that to simply pass without retribution? Will you let them live their lives having insulted you, and after you have insulted yourselves? Surely you are not so weak that you would allow that to pass. Besides...if you are so burdened by your promise not to harm those who do not threaten you first, why not request the aid of one who is not hindered by such an oath?"

Abe no Seimei (31) has posed:
"Hypocrites?" The oni's eyes widen, and at once, fire erupts from his nostrils. "/Hypocrites?/ HA!" The red oni twirls his sword artfully before slamming the blade deep into the dirt of the ground. "You have no idea what you're saying. You're telling us to leave our homeland to find another world? But then you want us to live in peace here? You don't understand, fools. You think we're you're enemy? Fuahaha! You just wait... You just wait. You haven't seen them. /This/ is not a world of innocents. ALL of these humans are the children of the Holy Empress of the Sun, the witch who started it all! Heh... You'll see the truth for yourselves soon enough." He breathes deeply to pause, the fire turning to steam. "What we want is... payback. What we want... is a new order."

Seimei smirks.

Saburo raises a furry eyebrow, watching carefully as she conjures up a fire--a fire that is immediately recognized by both the wolf and the sorcerer who at once seriously watches it come toward him... before conjuring up his pipe from within his sleeves. "There it was." He says, more cheerfully than before, lifting up his pipe to gently inhale the flame so that the tobacco inside is set to flame. "Well met, then." He offers a friendly nod to Kagenashi at a distance. Saburo shakes his head, "So things do change after all..." Fwish! He leaps up into the trees to join the crowd.

The youkai and crowd are both stunned by two sudden changes on the field.

The crows have begun to huddle in formation, slowly and surely beginning their creation of the bridge from the Milky Way.

And the oni lifts his sword from the ground, raising it in the air. The youkai are moved by Kagenashi's speech, which stirs their feelings of injustice! The oni shouts, "Kith and kin! The children of the Empress have remained quiet while we suffered for hundreds of years. This is it... This..." He offers a grin to Shizune. "This is the truth."

He swipes his sword against the wind, and the youkai begin to fan out in a formation themselves---circling the crowd of mecha, drunken martial artist, nogitsune, sorcerer and servant, and all the humans, celestials, and spirits in between. It becomes... very quiet.

The caws rise.

Staren has posed:
And then the troublesome nogitsune tries to stir up trouble while things are already on a knife's edge.

Yeah, Staren's having none of that. This person is trying to get a whole lot of people killed, and noone's all attached to her or wanting to talk to her like Samael. As soon as she finishes speaking, Staren sends a quick radio warning to Shizune, then the mecha just draws its gunpod and points at her, one-handed, firing several hotloaded mini-missiles that aim to turn where she's standing and several feet around it into superheated plasma. It is one of the most un-subtle weapons he has. It will leave a large circle of ash in the grass. He fires several, because he knows she's an elite and can take it, but it feels like the point still has to be made to the Youkai that this level of destructon can be inflicted casually.

Sadly, it appears that the Youkai are moving ahead foolishly. Sigh. Staren steels himself for the fight to come, trying to plan how he can get those Youkai without hitting innocents.

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
Shizune whirls around as Kagenashi steps forth, and for the first time, her mask breaks. There is visible ire in her expression. And almost immediately, the young martial artist leaps backward, opening a good four or five meters between herself and the nogitsune.

And then she speaks to the oni again. "Her above all, you should not listen to! If you have any pride, if you have any sense of justice, her words are poison! She seeks only power, and she truly doesn't care if innocents are hurt in her pursuit of it! She's an offworlder the same as I am, and her hands have more than a little blood on them!"

It's convenient that her opening of distance puts her out of reach of the attack Staren unleashes on Kagenashi.

"Regardless of whatever the Holy Empress may have done, unless these people took part in it, you can't put her crimes on their shoulders! They /are/ innocent of her wrongdoings!"

Kagenashi (85) has posed:
Whatever else Kagenashi was going to say is abruptly cut off by a rain of missile fire from the Union-aligned mecha nearby. She was preparing herself in case her little speech drew the ire of those around her, but she can safely say she wasn't really expecting to have /missiles/ rained on her out of nowhere. She turns just in time to see them approaching, and that's probably the only reason she isn't completely blasted away by them.

Her agility does wonders for her, but even it isn't perfect. She leaps, flips, twirls, and jolts out of the way of the explosions, but for every one she avoids, another catches her in its superheated blast, until one last shot directly in front of her sends her tumbling back through the air. Her clothes and body clearly scorched by the attack, she still manages to flip in midair and land in a skidding crouch a good distance away near the growing youkai wall, with Munashi landing beside her a moment later.

The nogitsune rises despite a brief limp, her grip tightening on Nageki again as she looks over to Shizune. "Pride and justice? You know nothing of either, little one. Claim what knowledge you will, but it is only that which is spawned by naivety."

Kagenashi flies once more, rising up over the oni to hover high above the others. She turns Nageki in her hands, raises it...and stabs herself with it. The blade goes into the side of her waist, not exactly striking anything /vital/, but it's plenty to make her flinch and grunt in pain as blood freely flows from the wound. None of it hits the ground, however, for Nageki drinks it; the crimson fluid flows into the trenches carved into its blade, each groove glowing brighter and brighter. Soon they are filled and their bloody glow reaches the peak of its intensity, at which point the blade itself becomes suffused in a dark mist of scarlet that seeps off the metal like bloody smoke. Only then does she pull the blade free with a gasp, hunching over slightly as she returns Nageki to its forward grip.

"The blood on my hands is not only that of others," she continues, her calm tone only faintly disturbed by lingering pain. "My own blood has fed the earth time and time again for what I believe. My goals are carried out by myself, and if I must bleed for them, then so I shall. Hardship brings strength, and if none of you will accept strife for your goals, then you do not even deserve them."

It's then that she brings Nageki up, and, before gathering its consumed life energy for a moment, brings it down toward Staren in a quick slash. What strikes him isn't a single hit, however, but a storm of crimson slashes formed from bloody energy that whip and cut around him, just as effective as if it were her own blade she were using down there.

Abe no Seimei (31) has posed:
The crowd is in. absolute. chaos. There's really no hope for much of anything. Demons and humans alike, they are scattering around like chickens with their heads cut off as soon as the mecha's missiles explode on the ground--leaving a wide area damaged by the missile! A fire immediately sets on the ground, causing all of the youkai band to shout as their oni captain barely scrapes by from being damaged by collateral. His ugly grimaced face grimaces more. "What... is... this?"

To which finally Seimei decides to intervene, amidst the screaming. He and his loyal werewolf servant were walking straight toward the axis of the chaos around them. His stormy grey eyes were focused directly on Shizune, a placid smile on his face, the wind whipping the larger sections of his kimono. Saburo followed close behind with a more serious don't-screw-with-me frown on his face.

Smoke of his pipe. Careful, pleasant inhale. "Mm. Seems like you offworlders are bringing more trouble than you are helping?" He motions to the enraged youkai who were now closing in on the crowd. "This really is my fault, you know. Their anger. Their hatred. If I hadn't listened to the celestials so many years ago, I wonder if this would be happening. But as Saburo was telling me, accepting change might just be the answer. This world would be better off starting from zero... starting from..."

He turns around, back facing Shizune as he watches Kagenashi stab herself in the side. Eyebrow raise. He was ever-so-curious, as foxes are wont to do. He takes another puff from his pipe, as the spirits shriek in horror and amazement all at once. "... This needs to start from nothing. If there was a reset button for my world, the oni has it. Erase everything that existed before."

The oni sighs deeply. "So you finally see reason, Master Seimei. That masked woman... she understands us. But young lady... you have reason too. Innocents have died for countless years."

The onmyouji shrugs. "What is reason but one way of explaining endless possibilities? Consider it an apology for my mistakes."

"Well, now's a better time than never." The oni then steps forward.

The magpie bridge has solidified, and at once, the birds transform into sparkling stairs of onyx. A doorway opens at the top, shining a bright light down on the crowd below!

And a male voice shouts, "ORIHIMEEEEEEEEE!" Somewhere from the crowd below--a man runs across the bridge. Sweat pouring down his body, dressed in a yukata and hakama pants. He was running, running toward the stairs.

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
Shizune meets Kagenashi's stare with a stern look of her own, not even so much as flinching as Kagenashi draws on her own blood for power, with her own blood. "No. I refute you, and I refute what you say. Struggle, and hardship? I'm willing to take in both, as much and as often as I need to. But you associate with people who slaughter without restraint. You let them butcher innocents in your name, without batting an eye, you tread on the lives of others to gain what you seek. If you showed remorse or regret, if you distanced yourself from those who would /fire into an innocent crowd for their own hide/, condemned them for what they did in the process of helping you, I might be able to forgive you. But you don't!"

Shizune's actually getting riled up.

"You /don't/, you simply accept what they've done and keep walking with them! And because of that, you will never be justified. You will never tell me a reason that satisfies me. You can spill all of your own blood for the sake of your goals, and it won't be enough to wash away your sin or make those goals worth it!"

She turns herself towards the oni, and to Seimei, finally taking a breath to control herself so that she can address them properly. Staren will handle Kagenashi as best he can. She'll keep control of herself and try to defuse this situation. "As for all of you... I want to understand what's going on here. Make me understand. Tell me what grudge the gods are responsible for. I'll defend the uninvolved people here with all my strength, but if you really are wronged parties, and I can find a solution, I'm perfectly willing to try and help. I wasn't lying about that."

Staren has posed:
"I accept strife! But my own, not that of innocents!" Staren retorts, and then... slash slash slash slash slash, all over, cutting into his mech's armor. Surprisingly deep. Staren is kind of shocked that it's that effective. This is some powerful magic! but then, blood magic usually is, isn't it?

But as Staren's gearing up to fight them all off, it seems like there's even more going on. "Reset the world? You would kill not only the humans but your people too? Are you that spiteful? Press the reset button and die." Staren levels the missile pod at the Oni. While trying to figure out hoiw to ensure that man makes it to his reunion.... Wait. The Oni's going to destroy the world, threatening to kill it won't work. But, Shizune is too close to the Oni, and he's not going to blast her.

Kagenashi (85) has posed:
Kagenashi has to take a moment to level her own breathing. Nageki's influence is not one that is conducive to calm or peace; it takes a concerted effort to work through its bloodlust, especially when it is so empowered. When she does, however, she simply takes the longsword's sheath from behind her, brings it forward, and slowly slides the glowing, steaming sword in until it clicks against the sheath's rim. She holds the cursed sword beside her as she gives Shizune another level stare, her voice still confidently serene. "Then do not forgive me," she remarks plainly and simply. "I do not demand it, and you do not wish to give it. I have no reason to force your thoughts to change."

Her hand is still on the sword's hilt as she floats in midair, but it seems she's made her stance clear enough for the moment. She's not attacking anyone, but instead observing the events around her. First the oni and Seimei, then the man charging up and shouting Orihime's name. She makes no move to stop any of them, instead turning to look down at the priest and the demon in curiosity. What is going to come of this?

Abe no Seimei (31) has posed:
The chaos continues. The crowd is torn between watching Shizune, Staren, and Kagenashi bicker and the woman who was walking out from the gates of Heaven. As she steps out in full, a unbelievably gorgeous woman with stark black hair dressed in a celestial kimono (and a floating cloth behind her), the door behind her closes. She walks slowly, like a bride down the aisle, toward her first step. Mikoboshi finally slows his run as the crowd parts to let him through, begrudgingly.

Seimei's eyes, however, turn at once to Staren's mecha--with its artillery pointed his way. He raises a single palm, chanting swiftly in a whisper, "Mine is the voice of the gods. I speak with Abhaya Mudra and look directly in the eye of mine enemy. The mirror knows the way." As soon as the last word is said on a swift breath, thick glass-like geometric structures shaped like trigrams shimmer and appear in front of Staren's mecha's cannon barrels--forming a cap of sorts. He offers a smile up to the 40 foot structure. He says out loud, plainly, "I would reset the world to save it all from its cycle of suffering."

As Orihime descends, voices become hushed. Mikoboshi meets her halfway on the celestial stair made of crystallized bird bodies. He lifts her up in the air, and they giggle and laugh and mushy love blahblah.

But as he gently puts her down, she puts his hand on his and the couple descend the stair in a regal fashion.

A wave of psychic energy is felt by all present. For the Elites, it feels like a gentle push but is easily shaken off. For everyone else? It forces every human, youkai, and spirit in the area to immediately sit and kneel, bowing low to the goddess and her lover.

She says, her voice ringing with utmost authority, "I have returned. Silence in our presence. Bow."

Clearly the oni and a few other swarthy youkai were resisting with all of their might. The oni was /specifically/ shooting dagger glares at Shizune, sweat breaking at his head as he ... finally submits. Shizune can see for herself just what he was meaning, perhaps!

Seimei looks to Orihime and her husband and pushes his sleeves together, formally bowing to the two. "Your Majesties."

Orihime's voice comes out light and airy, "Master Seimei. What is the meaning of this? Is this your doing?" She motions to the large piece of wounded ground where Staren's bullet aimed true and the splash of blood where a certain nogitsune began her Omnislash.

Seimei grins rather playfully. "Why, no. I can't take credit for this. .."

And he leaves the other Elites present to fend for themselves. She stares coldly at them all.

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
Shizune watches in total silence, folding her hands in front of herself. She has only ever heard tales. She is now seeing the myth of Tanabata in actuality, seeing the actual meeting of Orihime and Mikoboshi. There is a hint of wonder there.

When the wave of divine presence washes over them, Shizune takes a breath. A slow, deep breath. Her ki flow, smooth and clear like a deep, calm river, gently breaks the divine order to 'kneel' around her. It is something that Orihime and Mikoboshi can probably even sense themselves.

Which only makes it more significant when she bows deeply anyway. Choice, rather than compulsion.

"My deepest apologies for intruding on the night of Tanabata, your majesty. My name is Nakamura Shizune, and my friend and I are outsiders to this world. We received a distress signal that the evening might be in danger, and came to investigate. Someone more unsavory also came to investigate," she adds, with a side glance to Kagenashi, "And we responded to her presence with force."

She straightens at the waist, though she keeps her gaze lowered just slightly, just enough to not make eye contact. "We seem to have happened upon a feud of a very ancient sort, however. I would very much like to know more about it."

Kagenashi (85) has posed:
Kagenashi doesn't kneel, even though that divine influence strikes her with surprising force. Her malevolent nature finds itself unpleasantly strained, but she endures as much as she has to, keeping her breathing steady. She does lower to gently alight on the ground near Shizune, however, and Orihime and Mikoboshi are both offered a light bow of respect. It is one that is more akin to what an equal would offer than a subordinate.

"I am Kagenashi, an outsider from this world, though I come from one that is similar. I came to investigate...and it would seem that my presence was not desired by those who also came to assist." Munashi pads up to her feet, glancing at Staren and Shizune in turn. "I came to offer my insight toward the situation I perceived and was met with acceptance on the one hand and violence on the other. Naturally, I responded in my defense," she adds, indicating the cursed sword in her hand. "I apologize if it...disturbed your return."

Staren has posed:
Staren can't see the barrier, so he's not really aware of the actually really clever trick Seimei just pulled.

Staren is vaguely aware of the myth of Tanabata. And here it's happening, two of a very powerful species of being are reunited at last, because apparently for all their supposed power they can't bother to find a way to see their loved ones more often. Because fate and destiny and other things that every fiber of Staren's being rebels against.

The wave of divine presense trying to make him submit ignites rage. Who do these beings think they are? Oh right, gods. As if that makes them /important/. You know what kind of person demands bowing? Viridian Sunrise, that's the kind of person that commands people to bow. Staren is less impressed by the second, but he's trying, TRYING to go along with things and be polite to this foreign culture.

The Star Hawk turns to face the gods. After a moment of hesitation, Staren makes it bow slightly. A polite bow, but not one of submission or deference. "We came here to help these people. She" he points at Kagenashi "encouraged the Youkai to attack the humans, so I attempted to make an example of her and show the Youkai the force with which we will defend innocents. Now they have threatened to erase everything. I just want people to be able to live in peace, be they human, or youkai, or something else." There. Straightforward and truthful.

Abe no Seimei (31) has posed:
Orihime looks to Shizune and immediately receives a smile as she looks down upon the girl. A pause, as she closes her eyes and seems to be considering something. And then, reopening her eyes, "I see. Sakura tells the truth. Your aid is beyond appreciated by the Heavens, young lady. We thank you for your response to her call. We will remember your deeds."

And then, Hikoboshi turns to Kagenashi and scowls. "A being shamed by Inari."

Orihime eyes Kagenashi and shakes her head. She then speaks bluntly, "A fox of shadow. I'm sure your presence did nothing to help matters. But I understand that you saw right in your own mind." Her tone sounds forgiving. Read: condescending.

She then turns to Staren's mecha. The couple bow to the gigantic metal bot. "Your efforts will not go unrewarded, warrior of metal. In fact... Allow us to show you the force with which we protect innocence." In tandem, the couple move to the red oni, whose sweat was now covering his whole body. She places a single hand on his head, and her voice rings divine:

"For your attempted crimes against the Heavenly Court, I release you. Feel the might of heaven. And henceforth, let there be no mutiny against that which is our divine right." She looks down to the red oni and whispers, "Weave, spiders of divine threads." The oni then SCREEAMS. Bands of light thread through his entire body, like cracks and crevices in broken glass. And then. His body /shatters/ from existence.

Hushed murmurs. Sobs. Gulps.

Hikoboshi then responds to Shizune, "This is a battle we have fought for years. The youkai have long attempted to take what we have. They feed on chaos, destruction... Nothing else. We have tried to end it. Master Seimei and a few others succeeded, even though we, too, were forced in exile with our enemies. The barrier has shattered, and now? ... We are trying to bring order to what was broken. We have a lot of work to do. But this is how it must be. It is what it is." He says gruffly, pulling Orihime close.

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
Shizune shows none of her revulsion at the summary execution. Not on her face. Not in her body language. A complete and total poker face.

But the look she gives to Seimei for just a moment says it all. 'I'm not happy with what I just saw. And I'm going to be coming back to find out what's going on here.'

"I can understand the position you're in perfectly," Shizune replies to Hikoboshi, with another bow. "With your leave, I wonder if I might return at a later date, and see if there are troubles that I can help to quell? I pride myself on my ability to settle disputes with words alone, and if need be, my fists can defeat spirits as easily as men."

Staren has posed:
Staren watches the gods react curiously. He quirks a brow at their comment about Kagenashi being excused for thinking she was right. The mecha's optical visor is expressionless, of course.

Rewarded? He wonders what that means. And then... they execute the Oni that he was trying to kill for threatening to erase everyone. While it was needlessly drawn out and dramatic, he /was/ trying to kill that guy, so he can't fault them too much for it. Sure, they're making a big deal about divine right, but that's part of this whole 'culture' thing he's supposed to try and be accepting of. Shizune seems to think the gods are important, after all.

Staren's machine nods slightly at the explanation about the ongoing feud. "So, what's the next step?" he asks.

And inwardly, he tries to stifle the tiny, tiny bit of him that has any sense of schadenfreude left at all and that finds it kind of funny that Shizune was making a big deal about how these were /gods/ to be respected but the moment they go around /acting/ like gods she gets all repulsed. Because they killed a bad guy, of all things.

Honestly, this cultural thing is only getting more confusing and impossible to understand, but he hopes that maybe Shizune has learned some kind of lesson about gods not being worthy of blind worship or respect. That would be good, right?

Kagenashi (85) has posed:
The nogitsune wasn't expecting to be /thanked/ for her efforts earlier, certainly not by the people she was encouraging the youkai to go after to fulfill their vow. That doesn't make being talked down to any more pleasant, especially not for a creature as proud as Kagenashi. The grip on her sword tightens, and her head lifts slightly...but outwardly she doesn't let her offense show much more. Inwardly, her mind is filled with little more than resentment for these two celestial beings.

She silently steps aside when Orihime moves to the oni, Munashi following beside her. She does little when she sees the oni abruptly shattered into oblivion, merely casting her gaze over Shizune, Staren, and Seimei for a moment before looking to Orihime and Hikoboshi. For once, it seems she and Shizune can agree on something; there's no small amount of disgust rolling up through her at these divine beings.

None of it comes through in her voice when she speaks to Orihime and Hikoboshi, however, ever composed as she is. "I am sure your action just now has done nothing to quell this conflict. But I understand that you saw yourself as just in your own mind." A look to Seimei. "My time here is done, and my curiosity satisfied. Perhaps it will bring me here again."

And then she turns in a billowing of scarlet, striding off through the crowd of bowing youkai.

Abe no Seimei (31) has posed:
Orihime looks to Hikoboshi and sighs. He nods. They have a quiet understanding between each other, and although it was easy to see the love between the two of them--it was undoubtedly difficult to empathize with beings of such intense power.

Seimei looks on, his mouth pulled in a grimace. Just for a few seconds. But his face quickly turns up in a smile, and he rudely comments out of place, "Oh, Your Majesties. Your grace and elegance proceeds you. At least you didn't leave blood, right?" A misplaced chuckle.

"Master Seimei..." Orihime quickly retorts, "... I asked nothing of you."

"Mm. So you did not." A quiet grin, but he shares a look with both Kagenashi and Shizune. There was a knowing glint in his eye, and he would let these folk mull over just what happened on this oh-so-beautiful Star Festival.

Hikoboshi nods to Shizune first, "You have our leave. We would welcome your assistance in the future. It is our hope Japan remains a peaceful country where we may enjoy harmony some day." And pointedly to Kagenashi, "No matter what it takes."

Orihime was the one who responds to Staren, offering a gentle noblewoman's laugh. "Ohohoho~ Warrior of metal. We will take it from here. Please, you have done so much. Rest. We will send a personal gift to the..." Pause, as she closes her eyes again, an apparent form of telepathic communication. "The Union, is it? Sakura recognized the shuttle. Yes. We will thank your organization for your quick response." She looks skyward, dramatically, "And one day, we /will/ live in harmony. But tonight, I must celebrate our victory with my beloved."

Seimei chuckles coldly, and... begins walking off into the distance in a different direction.

Staren has posed:
Staren cocks his head slightly as the gods promise to thank the Union, the mecha mimicing his motions. Well, okay then. He bows slightly again -- politely, not submissively or deferently. "Enjoy your night, then. I know such time is precious." He offers Shizune a ride to the warpgate, if she needs it, then departs. Mecha, away!