1250/Maybe We're Myth-taken: The Minotaur

Maybe We're Myth-taken: The Minotaur
Date of Scene:	08 March 2024
Location:	Mitakihara Ward
Synopsis:	Some of the Culinary Guardians take down a creature shaped vaguely like a bull on two legs, and then tentatively make plans to continue teaming up! Well, Sukiyaki and Shokupan do, but Kushiage is quick to flee the scene.
Cast of Characters:	Ren Morimoto, Hitomi Kobe, Katsumi Cora

---

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    Spring is slow in coming this year it seems, and tonight it feels especially true. The wind is cutting, cold as ice and nearly quite literally frozen, if the dark clouds threatening overhead are anything to go by. Nearby, the many windows of Mitakihara General Hospital gleam bright in the dark, as do the few scattered lights of the surrounding office buildings, only those especially committed workers still dilligently typing away this late at night.

    The streets below are quiet except for the occasional cry of an ambulance. In this part of the city there isn't nearly as much nightlife, so it's really just the slow, steady trickle of office workers heading home, some slumped over at late night bus stops, others slowly crawling towards the nearest train station...

    ...Wait, that's not right! Their energy has been stolen!

    A clomp, clomp of hooven feet and heavy snorts of air announce the presence of a hulking beast, standing upright but severely hunched over. Its lower body is that of a cow, though the legs are backwards, strange looking, and the torso is that of... something akin to a human, if the musculature was all wrong. But the head is indeed that of a bull, if somewhat oddly shaped, and having a dual set of horns that curve forward sharply, their points deadly honed. Its mere presence seems to sap those it passes by too closely, and as it stalks the streets, several people have already fallen prey to its dark energy.

    A woman in business attire walks hurriedly towards the nearest station, apparently unaware of the beast only a few meters behind her, but the click of her heels on the pavement begin to slow, then stop entirely as she drops to her knees, before she falls over entirely, tired eyes blinking before going closed.

Hitomi Kobe has posed:
    Spring was springing early, by the end of April it would have sprung right into Summer, Hitomi was supposing. There should still be snow and what not, but hey, who's going to complain about some warmer nights?

    Not Hitomi, she had been out in her typical civillian (read, non-school) leggings and skirt, the green jacket with her family's food stall brand on it, her helmet tucked under her arm as she nursed some cheap noodles in a box, her eyes half closed when she felt it... that sense of something... wrong.

    The girl's dark eyes open, and narrow, feeling the familiar tug at her as her dwarf flying squirrel pokes its head out of a pocket on her jacket.

    "Hitomi -- that darkness!" Panko squeaks out, and the box of noodles is left on Hitomi's motorcycle saddle bag as she ducks into a nearby alley.

    "I know, I know I know I know -- it's time to fight again." she states. She raises her hand into the air.

    "Mystic Saibashi to me -- Let's Cook!" she calls out, and in a flash of sickly green light, the hungry student disappears, replaced by CULINARY GUARDIAN KUSHIAGE, who leaps up to hop a building to a rooftop to get a better eye on the situation!

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    Down on pavement level, the creature looms above the fallen woman, draining her of just about all she can spare before he stomps onwards, looking for another victim. The streets do not offer much for it, though... not until the beast comes face-to-face with someone standing in the middle of a crosswalk, blocking the way forward.

    "I can't believe I'm doing this alone," says the lone figure, a young man with red hair wrapped in a short kimono and, thankfully, pants beneath it. Notably, he hefts a Giant Cleaver onto his shoulder, the modified kitchen utensil looking cumbersomely big even against his tall, lanky frame.

    Little does Guardian Sukiyaki know, he's not alone! But he is not yet aware of the other Culinary Guardian up on a nearby roof.

    The beast faces Sukiyaki down, snorting once from its beastly maw, before it lowers its head and charges!

    What happens next is mostly a lot of flailing and a little bit of last-minute dodging out of the way, which Sukiyaki at least manages to do cleanly, landing on his feet on the sidewalk as the creature continues barreling its way down the street. Eventually it loses steam and comes to a stop, before rounding on Sukiyaki again.

    Its cloven hoof drags against the concrete, creating sparks that dance towards the gutters. Once, twice... three times... and then it charges again!

    Sukiyaki cries out but this time lifts his sword, ready to meet the beast and its horns head-on! Whether or not it's a good idea for him to hold his ground and take the brunt of the attack, well, that maybe hasn't occurred to him.

Hitomi Kobe has posed:
    Light glints from above!

    "Tch. You're not alone." comes a feminine voice with an aggressive bent, muffled slightly by the fact that she's wearing a green motorcycle helmet.

    Kushiage had made her way to the roof, to the top of a Utility pole and was crouched there, her yari held in front of her as she watched the bull man charge. Sukiyaki may be brave enough to meet the thread head-on, but the green-clad Culinary Guardian leaps to his defense, hakama flared out, the straw-rope bow around her middle fluttering as she comes down from her mighty leap!

    She stands scant inches ahead of Sukiyaki's sword, bringing her spear down to try and re-direct the bull towards another utility pole with a solid WHACK to the horn -- or at least to turn him away from her crimson-clad companion!

Katsumi Cora has posed:
And into this mess, there's a new player. Having been at the hospital for an appointment, Katsumi Cora had missed the inital wave that had taken out most of the civilians. And now, as he finds himself in the plaza, it is only as he comes around a corner that Kobo starts to bark loudly in alert.

Unfortunately, it's too late as Katsumi comes around the corner, and the teen finds himself facing a pillar of dark energy that's under attack. He can't really figure out where to run, or where to go. There's no spot nearby for him to henshin.

Horri-Bull is far too close to the young student to really for him to get away if he wanted to anyway. So, he tries to backpedal, stumbling in his steps before he falls over, his guide cane falling out of his hand as he pulls in Kobo to try to protect the poor Shiba, and hopes that the creature doesn't see him!

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    Roaring as it charges, the beast lowers its center of gravity again so all four points of those dangerous double horns are aimed right for Guardian Sukiyaki. Lights from above the street gleam off of those sharp points, highlighting precisely how dangerous they are, and how much Sukiyaki is putting at risk by placing himself in their way.

    If not for Guardian Kushiage's quick intervention, he may have been seriously hurt! But her swat does precisely what she means it to do, redirecting the beast to the side, where he rams and manages to crack the beam of a utility pole via direct impact with a horn. Though given the pained sound it lets out at impact, the beast did not particularly enjoy that!

    Its head shaking loosely, its cloven feet stomping, slowly it turns. Unfortunately in its confusion it turns the wrong way, which means it comes upon Katsumi and his barking guide dog rather than the two standing Culinary Guardians who are presently more equipped to deal with such a creature.

    Scenting the air, the beast seems to sense a less-protected source of energy nearby, and it stomps forward as Katsumi stumbles and tumbles.

    "Hey, beasty!" Sukiyaki calls, and given the beast has turned its back, he dashes forward with his Giant Cleaver, leaving a slice in its flank. "What, bored of us already?"

    Battle taunts, Ren can do. It's just like teasing another team during sports, except you really mean it when it's a youma trying to eat peoples' energy! He darts back out of the way as the beast roars and swipes at him with a hand, and he grins at Guardian Kushiage, eyebrows lifting. "We got this!" he tells her, full of bravado.

Hitomi Kobe has posed:
    Kushiage's helmet tilts a momet as Ren gives a smile to her, and she turns her head back towards the blind boy with the seeing-eye Shibe. Her eyes go wide beneath her helmet, and Sukiyaki may hear her whisper "--Katsumi-kun --"

    And as Sukiyaki taunts the beast, the smaller, green-clad Guardian charges with a mighty yell. She uses her yari to vault over the beast as Sukiyaki looks to make flank steak, and she puts herself between the beast and the baker boy, bracing herself for a blow.

    "We got this." she states to herself, and then yells back "GO! Get out of here! Ten meters to your left, then make another left into the alley! Get to cover!" she yells back.

Katsumi Cora has posed:
There's a sudden new arrival, and while he can't see her, he can hear Kushiage's voice. "O-oh kay! Be careful!" Katsumi offers suddenly to the Culinary Guardian. Why did he say that? He doesn't know. He just... it felt right! Getting to his feet, he grabs the cane.

There's a moment of confusion as he orients, but then he's getting led around the corner by Kobo. And as soon as they are clear, and there's noone else around, Kobo turns to Katsumi. "We need to get in there!" the dog tells the would-be Guardian.

"R-right!"

A quick henshin switch later, and Guardian Shokupan grabs his staff/peel, coming from a different corner as he raises the peel. "Cookie Shards!" A slap of the recipe card against the peel and dozens of sharp pieces of cookie fly at the minotaur, peppering it with fire. "Sorry I'm late!"

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    The slice from Guardian Sukiyaki's sword definitely angered the beast, but now it's being faced down from seemingly all corners! It roars, then grunts in pain, giving another fuzzy shake of its head before its shadowy eyes turn on Guardian Kushiage, standing where its next intended target had just been.

    And Ren had recognized him too, the boy from the class he'd introduced that new transfer student into. He hopes Katsumi is going to be okay, but in the meantime they have to deal with this monster. If they take it down, that should mean everyone's energy should return to them.

    At least, that's how it's worked in the past, and that's all Sukiyaki has to go off of.

    "We can -- oh, hey!" Sukiyaki starts to call out to Kushiage, but then his attention is drawn by Shokupan, or rather the cookie shards that come flying towards the beast. They speckle its hide with wounds that begin to leak energy, little whisps of pale light that slip away as if on gusts of wind.

    Clearing his throat, Ren tries again: "We have it surrounded! Hit it with everything you got, and we'll take it down!"

    So Sukiyaki lifts his blade, as if it weighs nothing despite its massive size, and yells "Boiling Broth Torrent!" which causes a wave of hot soup to emerge as he swipes his sword through the air, splashing the beast's hide.

    Apparently it's weak to burn damage, as it looks to start to break down in spots where it was hit, its dark energy shell melting apart and releasing even more of its stolen energy.

Hitomi Kobe has posed:
    Kushiage skids a little on her tabi boots, her eyes narrowing behind her helmet as she bares her teeth at the minotaur-like creature, brows knit.

    But Katsumi was safe. For now. What misfortune to have him stumble in when she leans back and away from the cookie shards!

    Her eyes go wide, and she turns to look at Shokupan, and gives a nod. She braces herself. She spins her Yari around her, focusing her powers. Golden oil, shimmering with heat spins around her as she calls out:

    "High Temperature Oil Splash!"

Katsumi Cora has posed:
And while Shopukan has no high temperature spells - yet, the small Guardian does join in to help! With his peel staff twisted around, he grabs a firm hold of it as he draws a fresh card. Turning it in his hand, he flips it over and slaps it against the wood as a summon circle opens.

"Monkey Bread!"

And out comes that sticky bun bread monster, which runs and latches onto the creature's legs to be held tightly and try to keep it from getting away from the cross-fire of the other two Guardians.

"Let's serve this dish hot!" he calls out to the others.

He's trying.

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    The sticky bun monkey leaves a smear of glossy cinnamon sugar on the creature's furred legs as it latches on, effectively gluing it to the spot. It holds on tight, squeezing, and though the monster is a large, oafing sort of type, it's enough of a grip to keep it stumbling instead of able to run away from the splash of first hot broth and then boiling oil that comes its way.

    And it works!

    Sukiyaki's aimed splash starts the melting process, more and more wisps of light energy flying up into the night sky, and Kushiage's frying does the rest, completely destroying the beast's shell. A big burst of energy escapes, beams of it shooting off left and right and upwards, trailing off towards where its former victims have fallen.

    Nearby, the woman walking to the train station groans groggily, sounding like she's just waking up. Which she is! She climbs to her feet and looks around blearily, dazed but not finding anything abnormal about the situation as she continues her journey to the train, unaware of the mortal peril she was recently in.

    Broth and oil intermix on the ground before fading into magical sparkles, leaving no trace of their scorching touch behind, and Guardian Sukiyaki's Giant Cleaver ends up slung over his shoulder.

    There's a bright grin on his face as he looks first at Kushiage and then at Shokupan. "Great work, team! We did awesome!" He makes a fist, thrusting it up into the air in joyful victory.

Hitomi Kobe has posed:
    The Monkey. Hitomi is SO GLAD that didn't leave sugary smear all over her helmet the last time she had the monkey on her back.

    And she watches the broth and oil intermix. The bubbling sepapration of the two liquids, and then the sparkly end of the attack as the shell of the Bull breaks apart and the creature no longer threatens the area, and Kushiage takes a few steps back. She looks around, and then gives a two-finger salute to Sukiyaki, and goes to make a run for it, away from any further teamwork celebrations!

    She had to de-henshin, and then find Katsumi to make sure he was all right.

    Not that she cares or anything.

Katsumi Cora has posed:
As the creature goes down, Shokupan lets out a sigh of relief. "I was glad to be of help!" he offers cheerfully to the other two. And he was just about to say something to Kushiage, as she takes off again! "She never sticks around long, does she?" he asks quietly.

"But yeah, we're getting better at this! Hopefully we'll have Daifuku here next time and things will be even better! But... you did great."

A quick smile, and the white haired boy is preparing to leave as well. After all, if Kushiage went looking for 'Katsumi', he'd need to find a place to change back.

Just in case.

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    The last traces of the beast disappear, and the air feels cleaner, that icky, foreboding sense of dark energy lifted. It makes Guardian Sukiyaki take a deep breath, just to feel his lungs expand and then contract.

    "Daifuku is my mentor," he says, for general awareness. "She's tons better at this than I am, so you're right! But we did great even on our own, and that's definitely improvement."

    He calls out "Bye, thanks!" to Kushiage as she runs, but Shokupan is still here, so Ren is going to keep talking to him. "Can I add you as a contact so we can communicate? Daifuku and I chat via text all the time, though I understand if you want to keep your identity secret you can always get a new phone just for when we're in costume! That's what I did."

    He reaches into his apron and digs out a fairly basic phone that has a few charms dangling from it, all meat-themed, though none are secretly his spirit guide as, of course, Umeboshi is currently the Giant Cleaver on his shoulder.

    "If you want to do that, let's agree to meet up again soon to exchange numbers!"

Katsumi Cora has posed:
Yeah, for now, Katsumi is unsure and it shows in Shopukan's face. "I'll remember that next time. Just... leave a note on the Club board about a home ec class that involves... I... I'm not sure, but I'm sure it would be something that could grab the interest of all four or us?" he asks.

"That way we don't have to wait for the next monster attack to stumble across each other again." The quickest of smiles is offered to Sukiyaki, before he turns to head off. "Have a good night!" And with that, he's on his way as well.

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    That leaves Sukiyaki rubbing the back of his neck, frowningly trying to ponder over what kind of note he might leave on the club board that would attract the Culinary Guardians... and only the Culinary Guardians.

    Well, that's a discussion to be had with Umeboshi at a later time! For now, Ren is starving... time to get some carbs and protein before heading home for a couple hours of sleep!