Scion – Petro Campaign – Session 49
This account was originally found on Livejournal, I am not the original author—I am just a fan of the journal and have found reading it on livejournal clunky to navigate and rife with errors/instability (such as having to refresh multiple times due to the page in questions becoming unavailable often requiring multiple refreshes. The original post can be found here, published by DJ-Yomi, and was published on Apr 19th 2009
Great news! We’re all set to go take down Pika Don. The ghost of Little Boy has been purified and Miko has been redeemed! It’s so nice seeing her looking more like the pure shrine maiden I knew when I was a child (though I have to admit that dark Miko was awfully sexy in a kind of ferocious way).
As I mentioned in my previous journal, we decided to split up. Ray, Adam, T-Bone, and Elisa went to Hashima Island to deal with the titanspawn that were congregating around the dragon line nexus there. Meanwhile, I went to the Shrine of Ise to purify the ghost of Little Boy with Pierre, Miko, Keiko, Sera, Tabby, Audrey, Sophie, Robin, Konoko, Rakushinpu, and Taro. Before we parted ways, however, Adam stopped us all and performed a brief ritual (in his typical, casual way that makes you wonder if he’s really even trying…you know how he is about formal stuff ^_^). And when it was done, he explained that he’d just sanctified our group. Fate itself now recognizes us as a close-knit band of scions, with all the benefits that entails. I’ve thought of us as a family for a long time, and now it’s official! ^_^
T-Bone wasn’t happy about it though, being a creature of chaos and all. ^_^
Anyway, just getting to the Shrine of Ise was kind of a pain given that Pierre was carrying around an 8-ton object that was effectively invisible to the mortals around us, but a few words with a few JR stationmasters got us to Ise without too much trouble. As we approached the shrine, I caught sight of a horse head hanging from a tree nearby. It was a sagari (a type of youkai said to bring tidings of bad luck) named Kitahoshi (North Star? Sounds like a race horse’s name…). I briefly spoke with him, and he commented that my fate was in flux. I can only assume he was referring to my plans with Miko. We didn’t linger long, though.
The Shrine of Ise is a beautiful shrine. As Amaterasu’s principle shrine and the shrine of Japan’s Emperors, it doesn’t disappoint. But like all Shinto shrines, it’s surprisingly sedate, especially compared to some of the elaborate Buddhist temples or Catholic cathedrals out there. The main shrine buildings are also built in a much older style of Shinto architecture than many more recent shrines, which really lends it an air of age and tradition. But as we approached, passing through a series of torii leading to the main grounds, I ran smack into an invisible wall that prevented me from passing through the second torii. Pierre could walk through. So could Keiko, Sera, Konoko, Rakushinpu, and Taro. But someone had warded the shrine against shikome, so the rest of us were stuck. >_<
And that’s when the ward’s creator revealed herself. It was Lady Himiko! The goddess! I probably would have been much more excited to finally meet her, but she didn’t look happy with me. In fact, her incredible beauty was almost evenly matched by the sternness of her gaze. She told me that she would not allow someone with my taint to defile the sacred grounds of the shrine of Ise. In short, she had no intention of allowing me, Miko, or any of the other shikome into the Shrine of Ise.
I argued that we were on a mission to return Miko, one of Amaterasu’s lost servants, into the goddess’s good graces by purifying her at the shrine, and asked almost confrontationally is she would stand in the way of Amaterasu’s will and desire. In response, she told me that Amaterasu had a “blind spot” where I’m concerned, and that she did not trust me. Secretly, I found that interesting. So, other Amatsukami aside from my mother are aware of Amaterasu’s weakness toward me, huh? That’s probably for the best, really.
Anyway, I didn’t back down. I took Miko’s hand and entranced her with my beauty so that she would remain oblivious to my true intentions as I explained them to Himiko. I argued that purifying Miko would eliminate one of the greatest threats to Amaterasu since it was Miko that was to give me the power to corrupt Amaterasu. And in the end, Himiko saw the wisdom and sincerity of my words and relented. She wasn’t happy about allowing any shikome taint into the shrine, but she let me pass anyway. To make things easier, though, I commanded the rest of my shikome to wait outside the shrine grounds.
Hinako was waiting for us inside with a few of the shrine’s priests and the ritual trappings we’d need to purify both Miko and Little Boy. We decided to purify Miko first, since doing so would keep her from being a potential problem while we were purifying Little Boy. And purifying Miko turned out to be one of the most demanding rituals I’ve ever performed. It took five hours of intensive prayer and invocation. Hinako and I were literally fighting against my mother’s will, and had to overcome it in order to purge the black-blooded taint from Miko’s body. All the while, Miko screamed and struggled to escape, but the tireless Pierre held her fast.
In the end, we succeeded in purifying Miko’s taint, and her body expelled the corrupt ichor. In the process, she passed out, and I carried her off to cleanse and bathe her before leaving her to rest in one of the shrine’s adjunct chambers. She woke up briefly while I was doing so, and when she recognized me, a look of surprise passed over her face before she passed out again. She probably doesn’t remember the ten or fifteen years of her life very clearly. And she’s definitely changed. Even the nature of her appearance is different…she’s so beautiful, so adorable, and…well, so radiant. I mean, she’s not emitting light or anything. There’s just something very bright and inspiring about her newfound purity and innocence.
She’s no longer the powerful shikome she was. Instead, she’s again sanctified to Amaterasu, and in fact she’s become a kami of the sun and fertility. We’re still irrevocably bound by fate, but now she’s my companion and advisor. Kind of a foil to Oiwa, in a way. I spoke briefly with Himiko about it, and she claims that my connection to Miko can give me strength and power, restoring my spiritual energies and will as well as providing my greater power over the purviews that are sacred to Amaterasu, like sun and fertility. What’s more, as I understand it the rest of my “family”—the rest of my newly sanctified group—can benefit from the same advantages. Handy, huh? ^_^
While all that was going on, the others infiltrated Hashima Island and sought out the titanspawn there. Along the way, they ran across a group of younger scions training in the ruins of the abandoned town. They all knew Ray, of course, and were star-struck to meet one of their heroes. It turns out they were training for some sort of athletic competition being hosted by the Dodekatheon, I think. They knew there were monsters on the island and had warded their training ground, but I don’t think they knew just how terrifying things were on the island’s northern reaches
(which Ray and the others discovered later). Ray gave them autographs and strengthened their wards to protect them before moving on.
The others also ran across an akaname named Yuko. Akaname are a type of bronze-skinned, long-tongued youkai that lick bathrooms clean. Yuko was creeping around trying to avoid attention (she’s been subsisting off the bathrooms of the abandoned homes on Hashima Island). The others were honestly worried about her safety, so they took her with them.
They also ran across Chiaki, our kuchisake onna friend. I guess I should have warned them about what had happened between her and Hinako recently, but it was embarrassing to both of them and I didn’t think it was my place to share it. See, Hinako told me last time I called her that Chiaki apparently revealed that she was in love with Hinako, and Hinako responded with revulsion. She feels really bad about that because it hurt Chiaki’s feelings terribly and she likes Chiaki as a friend. But Chiaki’s pretty terrifying, and she couldn’t help her reaction. Chiaki had gone to Hashima to prove worth to Hinako by fighting the titanspawn there or die trying.
Fortunately, Ray and the others convinced her not to throw her life away foolishly. And though it took some doing, I think they also got her to recognize the fact that if Hinako isn’t romantically interested in her, she shouldn’t try to change that. She needs to accept it and move on. I’m glad they gave her that advice. The last thing Hinako needs right now is more romantic attention from people she doesn’t really love. What she needs is to hook up with Ryunomaru. As a burgeoning goth love goddess, I need to make sure that happens. Call me a meddler if you want, but I think it’s for the best. ^_^.
As they approached the north of the island, the others fought off shitidama (and from what I hear, Adam was pretty awesome using Mother’s Touch to kill the specters before they even materialized), gyuki, and several fearsome, green-skinned aobozu oni. As they related the story, Ray and T-Bone kept referring to the oni as “the Turtles,” which I eventually figured out was a reference to the cartoon based on how the oni were armed. Weird.
At last, however, they arrived at the northern caves of the island and discovered a formidable collection of foes, including more shitidama, mortal onmyoji, gyuki, aobozu oni, and even a shinigami (O_O). Even our group can’t really face those odds and emerge victorious, at least not in a stand-up fight with a shinigami. But the others had to do something, because it was immediately obvious that these titansawn were once again trying to create a spiritual focal point for Mikaboshi’s entry into the world, much like the ones we foiled in Shikoku and Kyushu.
And that’s where Adam’s great intellect came into play. He quickly devised a plan. T-Bone would sneak into the midst of the enemies with the Orb of Chaos and use its powers to cause a meltdown of the spiritual energies coursing throughout the place while simultaneously using that same chaos to weather ensuing blast of power without harm. The blast would destroy the titanspawn like a miniature nuke, and then Adam would use his knowledge of ley lines and feng shui to repair the damage to the dragon lines and return them to normal. Ray would perform a Tsukumo-gami ritual to calm the local kami and return the land to its pure spiritual state. Meanwhile, Elisa would keep watch to make sure no other titanspawn came running.
It worked like a charm…and once again we’ve foiled Mikaboshi’s plans. ^_^ He must really hate us by now. All the more reason to work towards destroying him.
Back at the Shrine of Ise, I left Miko in Keiko’s care (they were good friends when Miko was a shikome, and I know Keiko’s very concerned about her) and returned to the main shrine to purify the ghost of Little Boy. Compared to the ritual to cleanse Miko, purifying Little Boy was a cinch. Hinako and I were able to do so in just under an hour. Even so, we were both pretty tired afterward and just sat there for awhile leaning against each other.
I realized in that precious moment of closeness that I really do adore her. Hinako’s like a little sister to me, which I guess is one reason I’ve always been so concerned about her happiness. ^_^
Miko was still asleep after we finished cleansing little boy, and by that time the others were done on Hashima Island, so we lost no time in setting a rally point so that we could meet up and take the fight to Pika Don. I left Keiko behind to watch over Miko and I left the rest of my followers behind in Ise (though not the shrine proper) to await my return. I’ll be going back there after we’ve slain Pika Don to check on Miko and formally present her to Amaterasu. Pierre, Konoko, Little Boy and I then left to meet back up with the others.
On the way out, I spoke briefly to Himiko again, thanking her sincerely for her forbearance and assistance in saving one of Amaterasu’s chosen. Then I gave her one of my most charming smiles and commented that her beauty was far greater than the stories claimed. That got a reaction out of her. ^_^ She may not trust me yet, but I know she’s starting to warm up to me. ^_^
With any luck, Pika Don will be destroyed in another day or so. I still have a few things to take care of here in Japan, but I am really looking forward to getting back to my loving wife and my beautiful daughter. I really miss them. >_< I called to check in on them, and they’re fine, but they miss me too. ^_^
I also called the contractors who built my house on Red Mountain and talked to them about building a small shrine in the gardens . Miko’s going to be staying with me from here on out, and I want to give her an appropriate house to live in. Now I just have to figure out what the fallout of her redemption will be. Mom’s not going to be happy. One of the first orders of business when I get home is to summon Oiwa. She wanted to visit with the rest of the family anyway (and I want her to meet her sister Rose! ^_^), and she’ll know how things stand in Yomi