(RC) Tamano – Ch. 8, part 2

Synopsis: The Cabal invade the Uchida sanctum to free the souls trapped in their twisted Ningyo. They also track down Tamano and discover she has taken the body of a familiar acquaintance.

Recap: The Cabal make plans to take out the Uchida store and free the souls trapped in the Soul Jars. Kemosiri is especially mad about the Uchidas.

As a first step, they go to meet the Consilium and find out some information regarding the Uchida family. The Shogun is not able to meet with them. Instead, Ankokuji, Deacon of the Hagekure Kyodai meets with them and tells them that he will do what he can to warn the Consilium about these soul stealers. The Cabal leave Kiyomizu-dera thinking that Ankokuji will do nothing about the Uchidas.

The Cabal discusses possibilities – Mori wants to break in to the Uchida’s, but Tenzin does not want anything to do with criminal activity. He wants the Consilium permission. He is opposed by Mori and Kemosiri who wants to barrel ahead.

Kemosiri and Mori go to explore the Uchida shop. They go at dusk and as Kemosiri approaches their shop, he looks into Twilight and sees the ghost of a young Japanese woman in a Kimono and carrying a small cloth-covered package. She implores Kemosiri to help her, but Kemosiri is at a loss for words. She then goes to Mori who cannot see her. Kemosiri gives Mori the ability to see into Twilight and Mori then sees the young woman holding a small package. The woman puts the package on the street in front of Mori. A pool of red begins to form under it and spread out from all sides. The woman implores to Mori that he is a Samurai and only he can help her. Mori prepares a spell and drains her of essence, destroying her.

Kemosiri and Mori enter the store. They see no one at first. Still looking in Twilight, they both see a ghostly Japanese man dressed in the uniform of a Japanese WWII soldier. He is guarding the entrance to the back of the shop. They wait for Uchida to come out and he tries to sell them a doll and show them a soul jar from the back of the store.

As they leave, the see a young Japanese woman in a business suit examining the ground where the ghostly woman had placed her package. It becomes apparent that she is using Mage Sight to scrutinize the area. She identifies herself as Kurotsuki of the Kempai Tai. She has two bodyguards with her. With veiled threats, she warns them not to touch the Uchida family.
After arriving back at their Sanctum, Kemosiri discusses matters with the rest of the Cabal. He still wants to attack the Uchida family irregardless of consequences. They are soul stealers and should be punished. He thinks the Consilium is corrupt for allowing the Uchida family to even exist within their borders.

Meanwhile, Tenzin and Kontonshin track Lady Kagawa through Kyoto and find her at Alcatraz II, an eclectic bar. Kontonshin uses her powers of persuasion to get them in the bar in front of the line. When they get in, they see the cramped hallways of Alcatraz – with tables in rooms that look like cells – complete with cell doors. Servers are dressed in very skimpy costumes. They get into the main chamber and see a punk rock band on stage. They see Lady Kagawa carrying a long knife which appears to be dripping with blood. Her eyes look blank and she appears to be approaching someone. They look over and see their boss, Akio Ogawa. As they approach her, she appears to have blue eyes.

Kagawa turns to see Kontonshin. Kagawa lifts her knife and at Akio’s command, begins attacking Kontonshin. Aghast, Kontonshin protects herself with magic. Then, Akio Ogawa reveals herself to actually be possessed by Tamano no Mae. She tells Tenzin “thank you for freeing me from my prison.” Kontonshin uses her martial arts to neutralize Kagawa while Tenzin uses Spirit spells to damage Tamano’s pattern. Tamano uses her Numina to create chaos in the bar. The lights flicker and explode. Fires start and the customers begin to stampede for the doors causing more mayhem and chaos. Tenzin eventually manages to destroy Tamano’s pattern, but as he does so, Tamano smiles and then her spirit disappears – apparently destroyed.

Kontonshin carries out Lady Kagawa and gets rid of the knife. Tenzin gets Akio Ogawa out as well. They take both of them home. Akio Ogawa still has blue eyes. It is eventually discovered that she has always had blue eyes, and the rest of the time she has worn brown contact lenses. Ayame is there and thanks the Cabal for their service.

But, their night is not over yet. In the middle of the night, Mori, Kemosiri and Kontonshin raid the Uchida stores in an effort to free the Souls of those trapped in their Soul Jars – including the soul of Lady Kagawa.

They break in to the shop and examine the Ningyo. All the dolls are still there, including the soul jars. Kemosiri commands the ghost soldier to move and takes control of it. It now stands with them. They go into the back room and Mori goes down the hall where Kontonshin tells him to go to retrieve Lady Kagawa’s soul. He finds a large iron door in the way and begins using Magic to lower the doors durability.

Meanwhile, the others begin going toward the door leading to the basement. They pass through a workshop and see two shadows coming up the stairs. Two zombies come up and begin attacking the Cabal. The group dispatch them handily. When they begin going down, the ghost soldier departs saying he is no longer held there. Mori joins them after getting the soul jar containing Lady Kagawa.

They go into the basement – the basement is soft ground. There is only a bit of light and they see an alter with Uchida behind it. Fresh graves litter the ground. They begin approaching, so Uchida begins casting a spell. Mori casts a counterspell, but it is disrupted by another counterspell Uchida had set up to activate. Uchida’s damage spell goes through hitting Kemosiri and knocking him unconscious (he still had a large amount of Aggrevated damage). Kontonshin leaps ahead and begins to wail on Uchida using her martial arts, but then Uchida disappears into Twilight. The others cannot touch him without Kemosiri and so they get out carrying Kemosiri. They burn down the Uchida shop in the process.

When the characters arrive back at Lady Kagawa’s sanctum, Ayame thanks them for their service and lets the Cabal know – that one of the original cabal members is still alive. Ayame had seen him wandering the streets of Tokyo, but he was taken away before she could do anything. He was taken to a local insane asylum located at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine.

Next: Yamada Taro