Dandy's Thread

So... The mall, or looking for a smaller store more out of the way?

You leave your mooks behind on guard duty and head out towards the commercial district, sticking near the university and giving the mall a wide berth. You find a few shops still open. Plenty of baseball caps for the local university, but those horns... probably won't fit under that. They're several inches tall. You're going to need to get a bit creat- oh, hello. There's a novelty ten-gallon hat for sale in one of the university stores. That might work, if you can get the look right. It won't really go with her current... shredded rags.

"So this is a university, huh," your invisible follower whispers directly into your mind. "Hmph. You humans think you're so smart. Giving up your animal instincts in pursuit of 'knowledge' and 'culture.' All the most dangerous humans are the ones that remember where they came from. This whole city disgusts me."

You purchase the hat and quickly find a secluded alley. When you enter, the golden girl re-materializes at your side. Well, partway up your side, seeing as she's so short...

You flop the hat on her head while she gives you a blank stare (with her usual fang-y frown). The horns are in the front and make things awkward. It takes a bit of adjustment, but you finally manage to get it to sit well enough to hide the horns while looking more like she just doesn't know how to wear her hat properly than an oni in a cowboy hat. At the least it won't draw more scrutiny than any of the dorky tourists wearing the 'local garb' to blend in.

She'll definitely probably pass as human as long as nothing else catches oh right the blood-red hands and clawed, demonic feet. Also the red markings but those could pass as normal(ish) tattoos, especially with that vaguely thuggish face of hers.

She pulls at the brim of the hat. "Hmph." No objections to wearing it. She doesn't seem to hate it, at least. And no shredding. Without even using a command seal! That's good.

"..." She disappears without another word. Her costume could still use some work, but it's a bit late. You could still try some of the larger chain stores, but anywhere small will be closing up.

You retreat out of town towards the edge of the city. The buildings grow more and more sparse, then disappear completely. The sprawling civilization gradually gives way to miles of open desert, with tall mountains visible just on the edge of your vision. They ring the city, other than the four freeways cutting through in the cardinal directions. And beyond that, a massive expanse of nothing but sand.

Ibaraki re-materializes at your side. She looks around, scowls, buries her foot in the sand, frowns, then looks at the sky. "It's better out here. So bright and opulent back there you can't even see the skies."

Now that she mentions it, you really couldn't see much of the stars from back there.

She points at one of the taller mountains. "What's up there?"

You have no idea.

"You don't know much about me, huh?" Ibaraki asks. She seems mildly annoyed. "Guess my kind aren't as famous as we used to be. Bah." Her frown fades into a scary grin, the same grin you've seen on traditional masks. "I'll just have to remind everyone about us oni."

She points at the distant mountain. "We're going to live there now. It's no Mt. Ooe, but it'll do."

"I'm going to simply walk up the mountain, and..." Ibaraki suddenly stops talking. "!?" She grabs your arm and pulls you behind her.

You follow her gaze back towards the city. You see a pair of horses racing towards you at an unbelievable speed. Then you notice the chariot behind it. Two dark-haired men are riding on it. One is dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. The other has a form-fitting black shirt decorated with plenty of fancy golden jewelry.

They're charging straight at you.