Cut Scene: Yata no Kagami

Sato “Storm” Kiyoshi yawned and stretched. The hotel suite was luxurious, but he had been sitting in there for days, acting as a guard at the request of his father, Raiden. Like his father, Sato had a hardy appetite, polishing off four or five room service meals a day. The plates and glasses from his latest feast lay discarded over the table in front of him. He yawned again as the doorbell rang.

He quickly stood up, his pistol suddenly appearing in his hand. The tattoos on his body rippled over his stocky, naked torso. “Konnichiwa ka?” Hello?

“I’m here for Sato-san,” a throaty female voice said in Japanese.

Sato’s interest was immediately roused. He put his pistol flat against the door frame and opened it a crack. A beautiful woman stood in front of him, her skimpy dress comprised in soft, red feathers which barely covered her essentials. “Your father sent me to help keep you company,” she cooed before doing a little spin in the hallway.

“He always had good taste,” Sato muttered happily. He quickly shoved the pistol into the back of his pants and opened the door, letting her in.

. . .

Twenty-four hours later, Sato was on a plane. His father was furious. He had lost Yata no Kagami, Amaterasu’s mirror.

Prologue

March-May 2010

The Band spend their two million dollars to make a variety of improvements to the Subway Base, with the exception of Hofi Hamasdöttir (who continues to live at the hotel).

During one of her bodyguarding jobs, Heimdall warns Jake Legard to “watch himself” around her father, Tyr.

Evan Itzcóatl studies the city and the dynamic between the criminal element, the police and the political system.

Takahashi “Eight” Fujiwara checks out to see if the Yakuza have a foothold in Cincinnati, but there’s not much (primarily Italian and Irish mob).

In early May, an earthquake hits Peebles, collapsing part of the Great Serpent Mound. Azure Kessinger gets word that it was primarily the head that collapsed, making it look like it’s opened its mouth wider.

Going Out For Some Good Sushi

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Hachiman calls Eight, says to meet him at Aqua alone that evening. It’s “family business.” Hachiman prepares a huge meal of sushi using Japanese techniques fused with American influences with various Ohio River fish as the basis. After the delicious meal, Hachiman explains that Yata no Kagami (Amaterasu’s mirror) has gone missing. No one knows who took it or where it has gone, but it has come to Hachiman’s ears that Amaterasu is furious. Sato “Storm” Kiyoshi, one of Raiden’s Scions, was seen at Cincinnati airport, taking a flight to Columbus. He was in possession of a special package that somehow avoided a security scan. Hachiman wants Eight to take “his team” and find out what Sato knows.

Eight heads back to the base and tells the Band about the situation. They lament on the ability to find something that they don’t know what it looks like, but agree to help out. Eight asks Crystal Messenger for a private train to load cars onto. Evan says that they should all spend six hours getting as much information as they can before they prepare to go.

Evan uses Mystery to find the mirror, but it appears to be somewhat occulted from Fate. He learns that the mirror is in Columbus, Ohio, it’s protected by shadows, it was taken to awaken Uktena, and the thieves plan to use it within a month, but more than the mirror is needed. He also gets an image of a man with bird feathers wearing a mask.

Azure asks the Mythbusters how to get an item through customs. They debate the “myth” a lot, but point out that it’s easier to mail. They decide not to make it a focus of one of their shows because of the problems they had with the credit card companies a while back. She tries to get into the Customs database to see if anything was flagged as strange from Japan, but she didn’t find anything. She then uses her academic credentials to find any Japanese programs, and instead finds the Columbus Japanese Language School which has a number of noteworthy members.

Hofi calls newspapers in Columbus, using her AP credentials, asking if anyone unusual has shown up in town recently. She finds that a known Japanese figure showed up who only speaks Japanese, and has the same last name as a known Yakuzi crime family. As such, he’s a “person of interest” to the police, but no one has any reason to pursue any real action against him. She then calls the Renaissance hotel to claim she has package for a Japanese gentleman, but she got the brush-off.

They reconvene to compare notes. Eight recognizes the vision as a tengu. Keq mentions that they tend to be associated with the Titans. They decide to call it a night and take the train in the morning.

Shadows Of Cincinnati

May 21

The Band get up in the morning to get on the train. Since it’s a private charter, they bring all their stuff with them, including their vehicles.

The train ride is fairly uneventful. They go through one tunnel well enough, but as they enter a second tunnel, a couple of them get a feeling that someone is on the train. Evan starts to glow, and they pull out their weapons just as they notice a few shinobi (shadow ninjas) in the car with them.

A fight ensues, and shortly after it begins they can feel the train shudder and the brakes come on. Eight dives through his opponents while Jake does some fancy footwork with her spear and Evan keeps one locked on his gaze. Eventually Evan and Azure order the remaining shinobi to leave the train, and they dive out to jump onto the roof. Jake cuts a hole in the roof and battles one while Eight finds two more in the engine, trying to stop the train. Hofi runs back to help Evan’s Followers who are dealing with a sixth one, and convinces them to turn on all the lights in the vehicles. There’s lots of running back and forth and stunts pulled off, but eventually the shinobi meld into the shadows and leave.

The train, however, has its brakes fused together, so the Band grab the conductor, pile into their vehicles, and leave the train behind. They eventually make it to Columbus in the evening, where they push the conductor out next to a motel. They call Crystal, and she arranges for them to rent a vacation house about fifteen minutes southwest of the city.

Looking For A Good Time

Before the Band turns in, they decide to take advantage of the evening. Eight tells the Band that Storm is a pleasure seeker, so they decide to check out the various pleasure spots: Eight and Azure look into strip joints near the airport, while Hofi and Jake look into the bars and Evan and his followers into drug areas. Hofi also casts “Unlidded Eye,” and Eight marks kanji on Hofi, Jake and Azure (Vigil Brand).

After searching in a variety of areas, a few members of the Band find out that a Japanese man looking for a strip club was directed to The Velvet Club. Eight, however, almost instinctively went there, and runs into Storm getting a lap dance from two different women. Eight pays the women to leave, and they start to talk.

Storm starts to question Eight about the mirror, but eventual reveals that he’s looking for the mirror as well (he was smuggling weapons into the country). He was guarding the mirror at the Eji Shrine (which, to the World, looks like an exclusive hotel) when he was seduced by a beautiful woman (see the cut scene, above).

Jake joins the table, and Storm starts to shamelessly flirt with her. The three of them agree to work together. Storm dismisses Eight, but tells Jake to stay. She shares drinks with him, and they eventually end up back at his hotel room together. The rest of the Band retire to their rented home to make a fresh start in the morning.

Quotes of the Night

• “Is it ethnic-sounding gunfire? El bang bang bang?”
• “Mime ninjas turn into shadowy shurikans. Say that five times fast.”