Tamamo's eye twitched once at the mention of the word demon. "You know, maybe I'm mistaken, but did the definition of that word change when I wasn't looking? Feels like you just called me a monster." Well, he wouldn't be wrong. Before he could respond though, she practically interrupted herself, switching gears with a swish of her tail. "No, before that, one question. This is going to sound strange, but what year is it? None of this-" Tamamo waved her arm at the buildings, the moving, metal contraptions. "looks anything like what I recognize. How do those move? There can't be that many magi powering them, right?"
The young man seems
incredibly confused, and begins to stammer through something that was probably supposed to be an answer, before stopping, rubbing the back of his head, and trying again.
"Uh, well... If you're not from around... 'now'," He begins, quite confused, and rather mumbling, "Maybe a seal? Anyway, 'Demon' is the term for members of non-human races. Its not supposed to be a 'monster' that's more like 'Magic Beast', which are non-sentient magical creatures. Animals, basically..." He looks away briefly, still ordering his thoughts.
"It's 20XX. Uh... Heisei XX?" He says, using two different date systems, only one of which you actually recognize. It... is not the same Era as when you were alive. You don't know how long its been, though.
Now, the man points at the metal boxes on the street, "Those are cars. They aren't run by magic, but some of the more fancy, higher-end models are enchanted. We're pretty technologically advanced, compared to some other countries..." He pauses, then looks at you.
"Um, we're in Japan. Well, on an island south of Honshu which is Japanese territory." How nice, he was making sure you knew what country you were in.
He continues rubbing his head, apparently thinking.
"Hey, it sounds like you're kind of in a... weird situation. Do you want me to take you to the Island Guard and see if they can sort it out? That's the police, or uh... the equivalent of a lord's warriors, keeping order? It might be dangerous for you to walk around in a completely unknown area..."
Mary's eyes narrowed, and her arm twitched toward the weapon she head stowed away on her back. Don't kill them, don't kill them, don't kill them. She remained silent as she took in the be- no, Demon's words. As far as she could tell, the girl in front of her hadn't succumbed to beastly madness yet, but it was only a matter of time, wasn't it? She admitted to being a beast. Or, beast person, which just sounded like a round about way of saying she wasn't mad yet. And what was that all that about Demon districts? It sounded like the they city allowed, or even encouraged this madness. Giving these things bands to wear, like it would stop them?
Then another though struck. They had called something called the 'Island Guard'. If her suspicions were correct, then they would be some form of enforcers for the city. Perhaps even akin to Hunters for the church, though much more likely to be like the Executioners were, before they all went mad. Either way, she could not allow to them to take her.
"That will not be necessary. I already have some idea of what happened, and I doubt your Island guard will be of any help" Mary turns around, and begins to walk away, drawing her saw cleaver as she leaves. Despite the girls beast hood, she didn't want to kill someone sane if she didn't have to, and hopefully the giant serrated blade would be enough to ward her off. She headed towards the biggest group of buildings she could find, and hoped her Insight would be enough to show her the building she wanted. The Man-Made Island Management Corp HQ.
The woman seems to want to say something, but allows you to leave. She turns to one of the others, who is holding some sort of rectangular object to her ear, and says something you can't make out. At which point the other woman says something into the device.
As you make your way through the streets however, you find something... quite odd.
There are people everywhere, for one. Quite unlike Yarhnam's deserted streets. Very few of them seemed to be armed in any way, though you supposed the same could be said for Yarhnam when the Hunt wasn't on. And lastly, there were a few, relative to the rest of the population, who were quite obviously inhuman.
There walked a man with the lower body of a horse. There a woman in a wheelchair let her piscine tail slip momentarily from the skirt of her dress as she shifted, pushed by a henpecked-looking man. These are simply the ones you see that you can accurately describe, and which seem even slightly familiar. A moment ago a young girl bumped into you while running with some others, and as she pauses and apologizes you see a hideous creature lurking behind her, chained to her with some form of arcane energy.
Truly, this is a bizarre place.
A modern city, most likely post-industrial judging by the lack of smog. That was both useful and highly inconvenient. There were likely to be many amenities, such as well-stocked libraries and jewelers who would not ask a great many questions. There would also be problems like cell-phone cameras, Hunters full of zeal and short on brains, or just people long on ideas and short on sense.
Chancing the hedge, making a break for it, and hiding until nightfall. None of the options were good, and time must also be a consideration. Hiding would not work, and he was loath to open a Hedge Gate due to other considerations.
A squidcycle is not, by nature, quiet, though Ralph did his beast to ease the throttle open and break for the open sky and thence to a nearby road, where he should be able to eventually lose any pursuers via the simple means of entering an alley and letting the squidcycle return to the Hedge. A simple plan, true, but one that would hinge on those few crucial seconds until he touched down again.
There were some shouts of surprise as you leave the hole, reaching out to the open sky and seeing yourself at the edge of a city of shining metal. What looks like a work crew of some sort is positioned around the area, lifting debris up into trucks and generally amid the process of repairing what looks to be a
very damaged area.
No one stops you, or gives chase as you clear the tape and set down on what looks like a temporary bridge, built over the remains of the previous one, and drive off.
Klaus had never heard of Itogami Island (particularly one with a terminal this size), but that wasn't hugely surprising: There were hundreds of small islands across Japan's oceans, and thousands more across Oceania. He spent a minute chatting with the woman and asking for directions to the nearest set of phones before recalling something. "I'm sorry for the trouble m'am, but I couldn't help but notice that there seems to be quite a few police officers about. Is there a problem?"
It couldn't be a coincidence that his captor had dropped him off in full view of a police blockade: Something has to be afoot. He'd secure some information, then see about bringing in reinforcements.
The woman, blonde and busty and generally looking like she appreciated having someone who understood what 'manners' were, instead of the usual crowd at a busy airport, looked off in the direction you had come from, while pursing her lips.
"I guess you didn't see the news. Apparently Princess La Folia is coming to Itogami Island for some sort of diplomatic talk. Again." she shakes her head, apparently somewhat amused. "That's the twelfth time since last year that Aldegyrian royalty has come to the island. There are rumors there's some sort of hidden agenda about all the trips..." She suddenly catches herself, coughs, and puts on a sunny smile.
"I mean, that's just what I've heard." She slips into a slightly worried expression, "Please don't tell my boss I said anything, I'm not supposed to gossip on the job."
Nevertheless, you are directed to the closest phones (just across the hall, apparently) and are free to pursue contacting your employees.
A soft hum of consideration leaves Arthur as he studies the miniature woman perched atop the young lady's shoulder for a moment, obviously not human given her size so perhaps a member of the Fae or some manner of familiar? No matter, it would be rude to stare any longer and Arthur gave a soft chuckle as he turned his head away before responding, "You flatter me, my lady. I may be a better man then some perhaps, but am not without my own flaws. However, I do not believe your ward's inclination towards offering a hand of charity to those in need is something deserving condemnation, there are precious few in this modern age willing to aid a stranger without recompense. As her guardian show you not be instead be praising her for a display of good morals?"
The tiny woman exhales sharply in a deriding manner.
"Being nice is great, but when she's supposed to be doing something and gets sidetracked again and again, I'm the one who gets a stern lecture from the teacher."
Kanon looks apologetic, and turns to Nina, "I'm sorry about that Nina. But I don't have anything to do today, so its fine right?"
To which the miniature woman sighs, and pats her cheek.
"Yes well. Just be careful in the future. Your good heart means people will take advantage of you."
Arthur quickly strode towards the vistor's center to ask for the attendant's assistance, starting with an inquiry for general information of his location before deciding on what more specific questions to ask after they had finished their routine explanations.
You learn, in what is obviously something of a tourism pitch, that you are on the Man-Made Itogami Island, made 40 years ago as the world's first Demon District, where all manner of non-human people can come be registered and live in peace and prosperity, under the auspice of the Sacred Treaty signed by the Three Progenitor Vampires and most human governments.
You are in the Keystone Gate, the central tower in the exact middle of the island, where the local police force, the island's governmental body, and the Man-Made Island Management Corporation which maintains the island day-to-day, are all stationed. It is also a massive tourist spot, and a lot of attractions exist on this central block to which the four other gigafloats (Islands North, East, South, and West) are attached.
Clutching her rags around her, Vestal set off, making slow but steady headway towards the sun, apparently having forgotten about Abdul. She was whispering something, but even she didn't know what.
That was as good as a place as any.
You wander. You wander for quite a while, actually. This may be due to the fact that it is currently high noon, and the sun is positioned about as directly overhead as it can be, meaning that by the time you've moved enough for its position to seem to have changed, it has changed to go in the opposite direction of where you were walking.
Eventually, however, time passes enough for the sun to begin to head westward, and so you end up going west. So west, in fact, you come across a large bridge, heading over a vast stretch of sea towards another 'island', on which a massive tower stands. From here, you can also make out two other islands, to the north-west and south-west respectively, which are connected to the one you stand on by rail lines.
