[8:00 PM]
When they are out of Grandma Mari's sight, Miku lets go of her wrist and hands her the money. "Here, do something." Mai breathes in deeply, annoyed by his unsociable personality, then takes the cash. Like every festival, the stalls have the same food and games with the only difference being the names. dragon shooting range, dragon shaped taiyaki, dragon head smashing... "Let's just eat some dragon-fruit ice cream..."
The two sit down and observe the crowd. They're both silent until.. "Hey. Why did you ignore me earlier?" Mai couldn't help but feel miffed at how Miku just blatantly walked away from her. But leaving her question unanswered he just sits there. A vein pops from her forehead, but she knows that even if she were to pester him, he would just ignore her.
About a minute passes. "How about we just find your friend, you know the black haired one? You can hang out with her. Just tell your grandma you hung out with me."
Mai winces, but still responds. "You mean Ayame? You've been in the same class for 3 years and still don't know the names of your classmates?" Miku just shrugs. He finishes his ice cream and walks ahead. Mai follows with hers being long gone. "She's at home. She said she wanted to prepare for tomorrow, but I know she just wanted to take care of her little brother since no one else was home. He's usually too weak for these types of events. What about your frien-" She stops herself realizing the awkward question she was going to ask. Though Miku is one of the strongest, most good-looking and popular boys in their class, he's a total loner.
Without trying to make anymore useless small-talk the two just walk silently through the buzzing crowd. People start to migrate North toward a large stage on the beach where a annual show takes place and naturally, the two follow the crowd. They secure a spot in the middle when the show begins.
[8:30 PM]
A man dressed in a long black robe steps out of the curtain, the buzzing stops and lights shine onto the stage.
[Long ago, after the Eight Beast Gods left our world to returned to the Heavens, there were these colossal, powerful beings called, Dragons.] Almost a hundred dancers rush out of the curtain holding wooden poles that carry the bodies of eight colorful man-made dragons.
[At first they lived in harmony with humans as revered beings, protected and worshiped as living gods. The world was completely peaceful, until... the Dragons attacked!] The dragons start to spew out the eight elements from their mouths; a few whimpers from young children could be heard
[They claimed that humans were not worthy of living under the same sky as them, thus the deaths hundreds of thousands of innocent people and the rampaging of villages and cities alike. Using their Blessings for destruction, the Dragons became the most evil things to roam our world.] Loud drums begin to beat, synchronizing the steps of of the dancers.
[All kingdoms came together in hopes of conquering these beasts, but even when killed, the demonic monsters would resurrect somehow. Being slaughtered senselessly, our ancestors lived in great fear. The human race was on the verge of extinction.....] All sounds and movements stop on stage.
[..then, when everything was about to be lost, eight legendary warriors came forward. Each possessed a Blessing from one of the Gods. One had the Blessing of fire from the God of Tora; one had the Blessing of ice from the Goddess Okami; one with the Blessing of wood from the Goddess of Shika; one with the Blessing of earth from the God Kame; one with the Blessing of wind from the Goddess Tori; one with the Blessing of thunder from the God of Kuma; one with the Blessing of darkness from the Goddess Usagi; and lastly, one with the Blessing of water from the God of Koi. It was as if the stars were aligning. These were the first Chibushi.]
Chibushi Dancers of the 8 different elements jump out from behind the crowd, twirling, tumbling and letting out a spectacle of their powers. A kid no more than 4 years old yells out, "Daddy! I like the Water one!" The crowd chuckles.
The black-dressed man clears his throat and continues. [These Legendary Chibushi knew that there was no way to kill these monsters, but they knew that there was away to win against them.] The 8 dragons trap the warriors to the edge of the stage, some of the young kids begin to cry. [The powerful beings may not be able to die, but it was possible for them to be sealed away.] The sniffling of the kids starts to quiet. [With the power and intelligence of the Legendary Chibushi, the most powerful seal ever made was created.] The eight Chibushi surround the raging Dragons.
[One by one, the Eight sealed the Dragons into the body of Vessel, imprisoning them and their power.] One by one, the Dragons disappear the bodies of eight handcuffed actors appear in their place. [It was on this day that our Eight ancestors saved our world from the destruction of Dragons! It was today that the birth of the 8 Nations came to be. In honor of our ancestors whose descendants continue to reign today, we celebrate. In honor of our Nation's birthday, we celebrate! In honor of the defeat of the Dragons, we celebrate!]
The first firework sounds and everyone looks up to the sky over the ocean. Bursts of energy fly to the moon and fall back down to the Earth; children and adults gaze in awe of the fantastical sight. But when the embers in the sky started to fade from the sky, a different burning smell wafted with the ocean breeze. The audience's heads turn and see the faint sight of dark smoke rising to the sky above the eastern forest.
[9:00 PM]
Mai's heart sinks. Circulating Chi to her feet, she leaps over hundreds of people, rushing toward the direction of the smoke. Feeling oddly concerned, Miku follows her. The two rush up the hill and reach a small paved trail leading to an arched staircase. A patrolling officer block them from going any further. "I'm sorry, but you cannot come any further please go back."
Though she is in an obvious panic, Mai states firmly, "This is the Miyamoto shrine, I am the best friend of the household's daughter. She and her little brother were home alone tonight! I have to see them! Please let me through!"
The man shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but I cannot let you pass. The fire is being extinguished and we have top-tier fire and water Chibushi saving your friends."
Mai doesn't give up. Giving the non-Blessed patrol officer a hard time, she tries rush past him with the circulated chi technique, but is held back by Principal Miyamoto. "Mai, stay here. Don't cause trouble for people doing their job." He hands her to Miku who has been silent the hold time. The Principal turns to the patrol officer. "I am a resident of the household as well as the uncle of the two kids in the fire."
The officer nods and lets him through. The Principal then vanishes like a quick lighting bolt up the stairs.
The orange-red glow from the top of the staircase fades and paramedics carry down two small figures from the fire. Mai bursts into tears. "Ayame! Youta!" The Principal rushes down with them; his usually long slicked back hair has turned messy as he assisted as much as he could in saving the two. "They are going to be okay. They found in the middle of Youta's water-barrier. However right now they're heading to the CODE district for urgent care." Ayame follows the Principal who is much faster. Miku lags behind a bit unsure what he should do. He doesn't have any connection to Ayame other than her being his classmate, but Mai was entrusted in his care by Grandma Mari, therefore he can't just leave her alone. Noticing Miku still behind her, Mai stops right at the 6th district tunnel. "Miku, thank you for hanging out with me today. I'll see you in class tomorrow. Also, can you please tell grandma what happened? I'm sorry.. and thank you."
~~~
[9:15 AM, 1 Nov. *676; Primary Training School, 5th year Chibushi Classroom]
School has long been in session, but the exam has yet to begin. Naoki-sensei walks in with a solemn face informing us that "...the mock exam will be postponed for a few hours. Yesterday night, a fire broke out at the Miyamoto residence. Unfortunately Ayame-chan and her brother, who are also Principal Miyamoto's niece and nephew, were caught in the fire and have sustained injuries. Ayame-chan will not be able to join us today and Principal Miyamoto will be late, but he will be here as soon as possible." Naoki-sensei walks out the room and black-haired kid worriedly rushes out the door. The classroom is fills with chatter.
Female Classmate A: Poor, Ayame-chan, I hope she's okay....
Male Classmate A: That's probably why Mai isn't here right now. She must have it rough right now.
Female Classmate A: I know.. but why did Junko run out? Is he close with Ayame-chan?
Female Classmate B: For the love of.. How clueless can you be? The entire class knows that Junko has had a major crush on Ayame since our 1st year. Jeez, this is why you don't notice... [looks at Male Classmate A] Nevermind.
Male Classmate A: [blushes and turns away]
Random Nobody 1: [A voice from the opposite side of the room purposefully speaks loudly.] Who cares about that?! My question is why isn't Ryoko here? [The room shifts its gaze to Taitsuke's empty seat in the back corner.]
Random Nobody2: Maybe he was the one that started the fire.
Random Nobody 3: Yeah! I mean it does make sense with him being a Vessel and it being the Dragon Festival. [a heavy feeling makes its way into the classroom]
Random Nobody 2: I knew that guy was up to no good. He's been way too quiet. It's creepy. [The conspiracy theory spreads.]
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
[CHARACTER BIO]
Mai Amatsuchi:
[Name Meaning] mai-dance; amatsuchi-heaven and earth
[Physical Traits] Sandy, wavy hair; Olive eyes, carries a fanny pack
[Personality Traits] Moody, intuitive, sentimental. Cares deeply for her friend.
[Birthday] July 6, *666; 10 y/o, Cancer
[Blessing/Element] Earth; skill: TBA
[Background] Lives with her Grandma, works part-time at her family's restaurant. She tends to complain about it, but still works diligently.... 'Come-for-Food' specializing in country-style comfort food.
[EIGHT GODS & GODDESSES: BLESSING/COUNTRY]
God of Koi (Carp): Blessing of Water/ Koisan
God of Tora (Tiger): Blessing of Fire/ --
God of Kuma (Bear): Blessing of Thunder/ --
God Kame (Tortoise): Blessing of Earth/ --
Goddess Okami (Wolf): Blessing of Ice/ --
Goddess of Shika (Deer): Blessing of Wood/Shikakokka
Goddess of Tori (Bird): Blessing of Wind/ --
Goddess Usagi (Rabbit): Blessing of Darkness/ --