[Mission] Case File #1

[Ringo Shiro]

Well, Ringo sure was an interesting position. For one, he never thought he'd met, nay, talk and get an investigation from a demon. Yeah, she was human enough but to get requests from someone with horns legitimately growing out of their head was not exactly something he found himself doing in the future. But, a client is a client. Apparently Jack, the client in question, wanted to look for his friend who is supposed here in Yoyogi. 

The city tends to be a busy place. Slightly worse is that Ringo doesn't know Yoyogi like the back of his hand. It seems like he was going to be awhile since he wasn't even given much of a description of said friend to go off of. Ringo took out his phone to check the time. 12:30PM, he still had plenty of time to look. Maybe he could stay the night here if the investigation turns up no leads.

"Oh boy...what did I sign myself up for?" Ringo said to himself. It was then he remembered something. Come to think of it, someone else also took the job. "I guess I'll look for Mikami-san and start from there."

[Marina Mikami]

This was a new one for Marina. After her last experience with demons, she was a little hesitant when she started talking to the one in charge of requests. But when she heard about the missing person, she couldn't help but accept it. Well missing demon technically right? Whatever the case, someone was missing and she was going to help find them.

Which led her to Yoyogi. She didn't frequent this place very often. Which meant searching was probably going to take awhile as she figured out the lay of the land. She twirled the parasol in her hands as she walked through the neighborhood. She was wearing a nicer dress than normal, she didn't expect to run into too much trouble here. Was that naive thinking? Probably. She probably stood out a bit as well, since she dressed like it was winter still. She always dressed like it was winter, she hated being cold in any capacity.

She then remembered that someone else had accepted the request as well. A Ringo Shiro if she remembered correctly. Guess that would be what she should do first. Too bad she didn't know what they looked like. She then had an idea. She tried summoning her Persona. It took some effort, but Apsaras finally appeared. No one else seemed to react to a strange blue woman appearing out of nowhere. She guessed another Persona user would probably see her own. This hopefully would make it easier to find each other.

[Alice]

Once the two of you actually manage to find each other- seriously, two young adults in a random neighborhood; has to be a pain, right?- you find yourselves at the central location that Jack had cut the search down to. It looked like a mostly normal neighborhood. Hell, it was a perfectly normal neighborhood. Everything looked pretty normal. But that's how things are supposed to look when something is being hidden, right?

The three most noteworthy residences were located a little ways into the neighborhood. The first, lacking a proper fence and gate, was easy to investigate. It was a typical Japanese home, so nothing stood out on that level, but it was the only one on that street without a fence. Circling around the house, it looked, would be simple. Of course, it was probably rude to do so. Not to mention suspicious. The next place was a more modern household, a fusion of Western and Japanese architecture. It didn't stand out that much in terms of looks. Really, it was painfully bland with how much it fit in. On the other hand, there was an odd stench coming from somewhere near the back of the yard. Peeking from the other side of the gate would be impossible due to another row of residences further back. The final, er, “house” stood out like a sore thumb. In proper Western design, the place was a veritable manor. With a brick design, and a much more grand gate than any of the other households, it was painfully suspicious. Of course, it stood out so much that it couldn't possibly be the place.

. . . right?

Snooping was the only real option here. How you two went about it was where things would get interesting, though.

Option A: Stake the area out, watch to see what sort of traffic the places have.

Option B: Snoop around the yards. It's a little risky, since it's suspicious. Not to mention trespassing. And who knows if anybody has security. Roll a 1d10 for each member choosing this option.

Option C: Throw caution to the wind and knock on the doors, ring the door bells, or otherwise get the attention of the residents. Roll a 1d20 for each member choosing this option.

[Ringo Shiro]

Ringo looked over to see...a rather decorative blue haired girl to put it minorly. She couldn't have been the missing person if her outfit is that noticable. The parasol also helped in the notability department. Even more odd is her decision to wear winter based outfit in today's weather. The girl decided to summon her Persona. He guessed that she was the help they sent...though it was a very good thing that Personas aren't visible out here to those without the capability to use one.

"Hello, Mikami-san?" Ringo's eyes glowed but didn't show his Persona. "I'm Shiro Ringo." He bowed politely toward the girl. Now that introductions are out of the way, how should they sort out their situation? He eyed parts of the neighborhood. One building stood out like a sore thumb and it was the western style manor. But other than that there wasn't too much to note. "Shall we scout about?" Ringo asked. Every good investigation starts by the simple act of looking around after all.

Action: Action A

[Marina Mikami]

Marina didn't have to wait long. She soon heard her name being spoken. Her Persona went away as she turned to face the boy. She was lucky he had spotted her. Well maybe not that lucky, she kind of stood out like a sore thumb. She gave a soft smile as the boy introduced himself. He was very polite. "Nice to meet you, Ringo-kun," she greeted. It was still a little weird for her to use honorifics. She typically forgot to add them to people's names. Hopefully if that happened during their investigation, he wouldn't mind too much. "And please, call me Rina," she added with a smile.

She then returned her focus to the neighborhood. The only thing painfully obvious to her was the one building that had the design of a western-style manor. It didn't seem to fit the other buildings around it. She nodded to Ringo's question as she looked around some more. She soon caught the whiff of something...unpleasant. This smell came from a different building, she didn't really know what it could be. She hoped they didn't end up over there. Finally after a few more minutes looking around, she noticed one of the buildings had no fence. Only the one. That was odd wasn't it?

Marina then turned towards Ringo. "I wonder why that one building over there doesn't have a fence when every other building does?" she asked him, seeing if he thought it was odd as well. Maybe she was just thinking too much into it. Whatever the case it was probably smart to just wait and see if anyone approached or entered the buildings for now. Maybe one of them would turn out to be abandoned, that would probably be a good place to search.



Action: Option A

[Alice]

Time passed. It almost seemed as though nothing would happen- at least, nothing of note. Sure, normal people came and left. Even one of those stereotypical “young Lady” types came by, heading into the overly large Western manor-thing. She even included that typical “Ohoho~” laughter while being seen in by her servants. Though a bit sad to see actually happening in reality, there was nothing too abnormal about it. More time passed. You two had probably been waiting for about an hour before someone that just seemed to ooze “suspicious” finally appeared.

He walked with a sort of limp, and he even seemed to have a hunched back. Assuming was pretty bad in general, but he just had an aura about him that suggested there was something “off”. Hell, if one were close enough, they'd the rancid air that came off of him. Suspect A made his way to the gate of the average home and made his way on in, seemingly a resident. Combining the fact that there was an odd scent in the back of the yard somewhere with the man's own dubious nature and the fact that the household was within Jack's suggested region, it was entirely possible- nay, probable- that this place was key to the assignment. There was always a chance of being wrong, but this was as close to substantial evidence as one would likely find.

Option A: Play it safe, and legal, and knock on the house's door. You'll need to make up a story for why you'd need to get inside the house, though. Roll a 1d10 for convincing checks.

Option B: Check the back of the house. Considering the smell from the back, checking it out before getting in touch with the residents might not be a bad idea. Who knows? You might even find something relevant to the case.

Option C: Try to locate a means of breaking in from the front of the house. Roll a 1d100.

Option D: Go back to observing. After all, assuming is mean. Maybe the guy's power and water were cut off, and he just happened to smell bad and threw food out in his back yard. Yeah, that explains everything.

[Ringo Shiro]

"Nice to meet you, Ringo-kun," The girl greeted back. "And please, call me Rina," Ringo nodded in return of her request.

"Very well, Rina."

"I wonder why that one building over there doesn't have a fence when every other building does?" That was a decent question. Before Ringo could ponder more on the matter, a young lady and what Ringo will assume to be her servant passed by with the oh so iconic ohhoho laugh. Though they didn't have much to note outside of those traits.

The hour passed and it gave Ringo time to ponder about the building without a fence. Maybe it was taken down for repairing? He didn't notice any evidence of the fact that it was abandoned. Before he could think more on it, he saw someone that...stood out.

It was a man that limbed and there was a rancid air about him. He entered the home. Ringo started to ponder as to what to do. He looked over at Rina for a moment and back at the western manor. He might as well put his plan into action.

"Hey, Rina, can you investigate the manor over there please? Just knock on the door and ask if they seen anyone odd around. I'll investigate the house and the man." Ringo bowed politely. He began to walk over to the house the odd man walked into.

Numerous stories began to circle his head. He wasn't sure if the excuse he has in mind is the best one. It wasn't exactly brilliant but it was better than waiting for permission to investigate. Ringo walked up to the house. The house had an uncomfortable smell about it that might not just be from the oldman. He raised his hand to knock on the door.


"Hello?" Ringo asked. "I lost something around this neighborhood. It was a black metal watch that was given to me by someone I really like. I looked around the street but couldn't find anything and I was wondering if someone picked it up?" It wasn't the best excuse but it didn't hurt to try right?

Story attempt:
l0HQutId1-101-10

[Marina Mikami]

Marina staked out the neighborhood with Ringo for about an hour or so. During that hour a lady had entered the manor alongside her servants. She looked like those annoying rich types, so it made sense that the building was hers. Nothing really all that strange, she supposed. Besides that nothing particularly interesting happened. The fence-less building seemed about the most suspicious to her, but maybe there was a reason there was no fence?

Though she put those thoughts away as soon as she saw the person that approached the middle house. He limped to the bland house with the smell and had a hunchback. Saying he was suspicious was an understatement. Though appearances could be deceiving right? She pondered about what to do until Ringo spoke up. He said he would investigate the house the man had entered and asked her to inspect the manor. Before she could reply he had already gone to the house.

She then stared at the mansion, thinking about what to do. While it was quite elaborate, it didn't strike her as quite suspicious enough. However, there was no harm in asking if they heard anything right? Plus, she really did not want to have to go to the house with the smell, it was really unpleasant. She figured she might as well ask.

As she approached she started thinking of a decent sounding story. Once she knocked she had one. "Hi there. I lost my dog around this neighborhood a couple days go. We've been searching and searching and I was wondering if maybe anyone had heard any strange noises lately? Or seen anyone with one?" she asked, trying her best to sounded worried and concerned. She hoped she sounded convincing.

Story check:
k1YxuySE1-10
1-10

[Alice]

Seemingly surprised that there was, in fact, a person at the door of the manor, a butler with a rather bewildered expression opened the door and gazed at the young woman. Despite not really expecting a guest at all- in fact, it shouldn't have been possible, he thought, he still listened to her inquiry. Gradually, his expression softened before darkening. It seemed that there was, in fact, something to do with a canine entity going on. Pointing to the house where the limping man had gone, the butler explained that a dog's incessant barking had been heard recently. However, he went on to explain that that was about three days ago. With an apology, stating that the information might not help, the lightly bowed and closed the door.

At least there was something that came out of that?

Back at the key location, though, the limping man had answered the door, opening it only part of the way. The deadbolt was still set, and the lighting inside was clearly bad. Foul odors, worse than that of the man himself, wafted out. It wouldn't have been an exaggeration to say the stench of rot was flowing out. The man's eyes were. . . odd. Not quite crazed, but definitely off. After hearing the boy out, he uttered a singular "No" before closing the door without any hesitation. Seemed he didn't like guests.

So it seems that getting in through the front door won't work. Continued knocking would likely be reported as harassment, or something. On the other hand, there's probably a window or something you could try to get into on the front, at the risk of being discovered. Alternatively, there's still the backyard, which has that odd scent. Coincidentally, it smells eerily like the air from the front door, as well. Of course, going back to observation is an option. It could just all be coincidences, after all.

One big old coincidence that there's a rotten scent around the house, a limping man with obvious sociability problems, and reports of a dog having suddenly gone silent at that house. Yep! Coincidence. Could only be that.

Option A: Check the back of the house. A lot of evidence suggests that this is the place, so maybe the scent coming from back there would be related to the case?

Option B: Try to break in from the front of the house. Roll a 1d100 for discovery checks.

Option C: Go back to observing! All the evidence is just circumstantial, after all. There's no real way this guy could ever be related to the case! These smells are probably just failed cooking projects! Ha-ha-ha.

[Ringo Shiro]

Suffice to say, the moment the door opened, there was an unpleasant air that was worse than what the man produced. There was something odd about his eyes too. Something about them appeared unfocused. Not an unfocused that most would get when they were bored in class just...an unnerving kind. The man did at least listen to Ringo...but shut the door after a short no. 

Well there went that plan. He guessed he was going to have to try something else. Ringo decided that he was going to have to break his usual casual approach and might risk himself getting arrested for trespassing. He was going to the back of this foul house. Technically, it was bad on Ringo to do this without telling his partner, but he decided it will just be a quick glance and he'll report what he found to Rina. It shouldn't take too long...right?


Ringo lowered himself and quickly navigated himself so that he wouldn't be too visible form the windows and started to head around the house. Hopefully it'll just be some junk the man forgot about.

Action: Option A

[Marina Mikami]

Marina wasn't surprised to see one of the lady's servants answer the door, though the butler that did seemed to be confused she was there. They must not have been expecting company. She relayed her story and the butler pointed her towards the house Ringo had gone towards. She was surprised that there had actually been a dog around, but apparently that was three days ago and there hasn't been a peep since. That was probably a bad sign. Marina respectfully bowed to the butler for the info, thanking him and relaying that the information was more help than he knew.

She soon left the manor's grounds and looked towards the house that Ringo had walked up too. He didn't seem to really get anywhere and began moving towards the back. Towards the smell that just filled the air. She really didn't want to go back there, but all signs pointed there. With a sigh, she started heading for the back as well. The smell got stronger as she approached. She covered her nose as she followed after Ringo, trying her best to stay out of sight from the windows. What could that smell even be? Whatever it was, she wasn't touching it. Not with a ten foot pole.


Action: Option A

[Alice]

Upon reaching the back yard, you find several things. One of the windows on the back of the house has been left open. Easily enough to climb through, for those trying to do some burglarizing. Strong scents of bad stuff float through said window, but that's not the primary cause of the disgusting odor floating about the back yard. Nah, that can be blamed on the still mass lying in the middle of the yard. At one point in time, it was probably an active and happy dog. At the present, the corpse was missing the majority of the flesh along the bottom torso, literally being primarily skeleton there. Oddly enough, the limbs and head were in perfect shape. Additionally, the dog's hide and fur did remain along its back. It was an unfortunate sight. And a horrid scent. And that's all it was.

Up until it stirred and began standing, that is.

What stood before your eyes was a clear objection to the common order in the world. Clearly, there was something going wrong at this residence. Whether or not there was also the missing demon, well, that was something you could determine later. At present, there were more pressing things. Like how you addressed the dog, which was gradually approaching. No growling, though.

Option A: Embrace your fate, and the dog.

Option B: Escape into the open window.

Option C: Engage the target! Stats below, if so.


~Zambie Doge~

? ? ?

Skills

Bite
Bigger Bite
Biggest Bite
Oh, God, the Teeth
The Thing

[Ringo Shiro]

Ringo walked on over to the backyard. He eyed the open window. Looks like he can't progress much further at this point since now he runs the risk of being discovered....no, that shouldn't be his concern at the moment. It was at what he was seeing in the backyard. Ringo looked upon a dog that would fit in a zombie game in the fact that most of its flesh was decaying. 

Ringo took a step back and heard Rina walk up behind her to explore the back of the house. Well, this just keeps getting worse. The dog gradually approached the two. Great, just great. If this dog is indeed hostile, then he didn't have any options to defend himself. He left his knives at home. Actually wait, if the dog is like this, what did this say about the old man?! 

The dog hasn't made the attack yet...Ringo was going to have make a decision. Does he high tail it and hope the dog doesn't follow and go back when the midnight world occurs? No, that'd take too long. He looked back at Rina. He whispered over to her.

"Don't make any sudden movements or noises." Ringo decided to watch the dog and see where this goes. He wasn't going to make the attack first that was for sure.

Action: Aish? He definitely isn't going to embrace the dog but he is going to observe it.

[Marina Mikami]

Marina couldn't help but let out a small gasp as she saw what the smell belonged to. It was the corpse of a dog. The poor thing. What was going on over here? Why would that man do this to the dog? It was horrible. Though then the unexpected happened. It started to move. What was going on? That thing was dead wasn't it? So why could it move? She had not expected to run into a zombie when she took this request, that was for sure.

Ringo soon whispered over to her. It was a little surprising, if only because she had almost forgot he was there. She had been too focused on the poor creature in front of them. It was slowly approaching them, but it didn't look like it was going to attack. At least not yet. She slowly nodded at Ringo's words. No sudden movements was probably the right call for now. She kind of felt they should put the poor thing out of its misery, but she would wait see if it would attack first.


Option A, though she isn't touching it either

[Alice]

With nothing to resist its charge, the dog lunged at Ringo! Except it didn't actually attack. At least, you know, not with its teeth. Instead, Frankenweenie assaulted the youth with its tongue. Well, some wouldn't call it an assault, but the smell probably made it seem like that. It was just a not-so-cute, completely affectionate, zombie dog! Why, there was absolutely nothing wrong with that image! Nooooope. Not. At. All. It almost seemed to be about to give Marina the same attention before it flopped over. Its body went still and all signs of necrolife seemed to have faded from it. Whatever form of foul sorcery, those dark arfs, seemed to have run out. The dog was right and truly dead. Redead? Deader? Well, it was dead.

Upon closer examination, it seemed that the dog's ribcage had some odd scrapping at points. Further staring (and possible retching) would reveal that the scrapping was actually uniform in several places, as though something with a large mouth had taken a bite or two. It didn't explain how one created a zombie dog, but it definitely explained the means of death. It was a something-eat-dog world, after all. Either way, up front, there seemed to be sounds of banging on the front door. Listening closely, you discover that the police have arrived. But it seems that they didn't come for you! Lucky you! Sneaking around as they enter through the front, you carefully avoid detection and wait things out outside, where it's safe. Some few minutes pass, and the creepy little dude was escorted outside by the two police officers. The door was left cracked open, though. As they drive away, it seems like your best chance has come! You'll have to make it quick, though. You have no idea if there's another team coming to sweep the house.

A quick search, though, reveals nothing, except perhaps your lunch. While the resident certainly didn't have much going for them on the side of tidiness, you're fairly certain you swept over anything of note. You know, important things like spoiled food and failed elementary school science projects. While the dog was definite evidence that something had been there at one time, it's doubtful that the current resident has anything to do with the case at large. The lead, while accurate, seemed to be a little dated. You'll have to report back to Jack, but it's not like it was a complete waste.

After all, who else can claim to receive a zombie dog's affection?

Upon reporting in, the Oni commented that you had just missed Jack. It seemed he had been chilling, hoping to meet you two, but duty called. The manager took the notes, though, and promised to forward them to the detective. The case was still on, and it'd, no doubt, fall to you all again to follow up on his new leads. In any case. . .



Congratulations! You're one step closer to the truth!

Rewards

300 FP, one pack of Hachiman-brand bubblegum*

*Coincidentally, Jack left a note about the gum. It's a super-rare seasonal type of gum popular in the demon world. It's extremely poisonous to humans, so he suggests not consuming it. He does make note that it could come in handy when negotiating with demons. Well, who knows when that'd be important? Either way, it's not like it's terrible to keep it on hand.

Please come again when we have new missions available!