#then the roof top area kinda like the one in...one of the gens where there will be some stalls

[raredrop]

progress shots of the last almost 12 hours.....

our new pixelmon server’s very own mall! featuring our anchor store and entrance with dome as done by kiki

some residents including the local mall goths (across from them the mall rats but i didnt get a shot of them)  and the distant mall clown (have to keep the kids entertained!)

the pokemon center/pharmacy and pokemon mart located on the first floor next to the bathrooms (rumor has it theres someone in there)

view from the escalator

and the currently creepy bc i took a break after covering the 2nd floor....wip food court and second floor elevator

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Dragon Dancer IV: Hiwatari Matsuri

The Shrine was about an hour and a half away in the mountains surrounding the Western side of Tokyo. We rode in a bulletproof Buick with deep black tinted windows in a caravan that included two other cars.

Aoi Gen sat beside me, Spider Fang and Tongzi in her lap, the baby’s carseat between us.  Every so often, she would look at Ru’Yi who was captivated by the swinging toys above her head, watching her occasionally flap her little arms to make them move more. 

“I am sorry I threatened her life.” Aoi said, her voice quiet. “It won’t happen again.”

“Are you nervous?” I asked.

“No,” she said. “Whether or not he believes me doesn’t change the truth of the matter. He is a foreigner. He has no right to call himself by the name Gen, and he needs to forfeit the assets he stole from my family. There’s nothing to be nervous or uncertain about.”

“I mean... Hydra doesn’t believe you... The woman I talked to called you a ‘crazy lady.’“

She smiled, holding up a manila envelope. “I’ve brought proof.”

She opened it, pulling out a photograph and handing it to me.

“This is the last photo of the Gen Clan before the massacre. The woman standing on the far left is my mother, pregnant with me. You can probably see the resemblance. She flew off to the States and this photo was mailed to her. I was born in the States and raised there with her American husband. After he died, she came back but was too scared to contact. Hydra I was about sixteen at the time.”

“So... your last name isn’t Gen...” I said.

“No. Officially it’s Arnett. However...” She pulled out another piece of paper and handed it to me. A birth certificate from California. Sure enough, Aoi Arnett’s mother’s last name was Hana Minamoto.

I looked up at her. “And you showed them this?” I handed them back to her.

“Of course.” 

“And what did they say?”

“That they were fake.” She returned the papers to the envelope.

I twined my fingers eyes resting on my daughters face. “That’s really tough. Well...” I looked up at her. “I believe you.”

We arrived at the shrine as the sun was setting.  We stayed in the car while Aoi’s men stood by the doors. Black guns rested at their hips. I started to scan upwards and spotted moving shadows on the roofs of buildings.

“Hydra are everywhere. Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked.

“I have to do this. They won’t fire on me so long as you’re here.”

Once it was evident that the tension in the area wasn’t rising, the men opened our doors to let us out. I lifted Ru’Yi from her carseat where she’d fallen fast asleep from the motion of the drive.

Hydra agents in suits led me to one of the outside buildings on the complex. My eyes brightened when I spotted Crow. He gave Aoi a glare but gave me a smile. “This way.”

I glanced over my shoulder as Aoi was led away to wait elsewhere. “You’re not going to hurt her are you?” I whispered to Crow. 

“That would be up to her...” He murmured back. We entered through the door into a room full of paintings of dragons and samurai engaging them in battle. On one wall, a white eight headed beast loomed over me from floor to ceiling.

“Wait here.”

Crow turned on his heel and marched out. I sighed, shifting Ru’Yi from one shoulder to the other. I didn’t like this place. I felt like the paintings on the wall were going to crawl out and eat me. In fact, it reminded me a lot of the feeling I got in the basement of Minamoto Heavy Industries.

I approached the painting of the serpent and sniffed it. Sure enough, it had that fishy smell of the paint used on the large murals in that building. This was no ordinary shrine, but a shrine owned by Hydra, likely for generations.

The door opened behind me and I turned. There, silhouetted by the last gleams of daylight, was Chisei Gen. I hadn’t seen him in over a year! 

He was still tall as I remembered him, tanned from his time on the beach in France. He was dressed in the traditional robes of the priests and a ceremonial necklace. Behind him, the sound of a loud horn announced that the firewalking ceremony was soon to begin.

“Carli. Are you alright?” He seemed shocked to see me there.

“I’m okay!” I said, relieved. “Did Crow tell you I would be here?”

He shook his head and looked behind him, annoyed. “No...”

I rolled my eyes. “Have you ever wondered if there were any one else of the Gen Clan remaining? It existed before you arrived, what happened to all of them?”

“They were massacred in a gang war... Carli what is this about?” He shut the door behind him.

“There’s a woman claiming to be one of the Gen Clan. Her name is Aoi. She presented me with a photo of her family taken within Hydra headquarters as well as a her birth certificate with her mothers maiden name Minamoto as proof. She’s asking to speak with you.”

His eyes narrowed. “Really... this again.”

“What do you mean, this again?”

“Do you think this the first time someone has approached me with this sort of thing?”

“Eh?” I was genuinely surprised. “I...”

“It happens to all prestigious families. These hereditary claims.” He shook his head, amused. “It’s good to see you though, Carli. Is that your baby?” He tilted his head to look at Ru’Yi.

My eyes shifted. “Yes... but...” I couldn’t believe he was blowing her off so easily. “I mean surely you should talk to her right?”

He gave an incredulous laugh. “No. I have people for that.” He approached. “Can I hold her?”

“Sure...” My heart was slamming in my chest as I handed Ru’Yi to him. “But... but Chisei. I kinda... Told her you would meet with her.”

“What?!” His head swiveled.

“It’s a situation where I felt a lot of sympathy for her! Right now, I’m desperately searching for my own family and no one believes me!” 

“Did something happen to Mingfei?” He glanced behind him at the sound of another horn. “Make it quick, the ceremony is about to begin.”

“The night Ru’Yi was born I came under attack by a powerful Soul Skill. Before that attack I was married to a man named Chu Zihang. And afterward, everything changed. The house I was living in changed form and everyone told me that I was married to Lu Mingfei and that Ru’Yi is his daughter!”

“Everything I remember? People tell me it never happened! And that I’m delusional or crazy! But I’m not crazy!”

Chisei stared at me, wide eyed, silent, Ru’Yi dozing in his arms.

I felt like I was digging myself deeper and deeper but I just couldn’t stop, searching for any sort of sign that he was understand me. “I ran away from the academy, because they accused Mingfei of treason and wanted implicate me. Aoi Gen found me and I said if they could hide me for a while, I would bring her to you, to state her case.”

Chisei had begun to shake his head, in full disbelief, but that gradually turned to anger as he spoke. “You’re on the run from the academy for treason and you would drag me into it? Carli... what are you thinking?” His voice lowered to a hissing whisper. “They will come down on us like a hammer!” He leaned forward, passing Ru’Yi to me, his eyes intent.

I swallowed hard. “I thought you would listen.”

“I did listen and I’m hearing insanity and foolishness.” He glared at me and I shrank away.  “I gave you Spider Fang and Tongzi at your wedding. To Mingfei Lu. Are you telling me I didn’t do that?”

I gave a little sigh. “The person you gave the swords to... his name was Chu Zihang. That’s what I remember.” My shoulders fell. My eyes started to burn. I hiccuped, tears falling.

 Chisei turned away, regret softening his features. “I can’t help you. I’ll have my men take care of Aoi. Get out of here. And don’t contact me again.”

He left and shut the door behind him.

“Johann... now what?” Tears flowed once more as I stood in the dark, alone in that dim room. In my effort to find a friend, I’d lost one.

I had to find Aoi. They weren’t going to believe her. She wasn’t talking to Chisei.

I stepped out of the small room into the dark. The mountains were loud with the sound of singing crickets, frogs and awakening cicadas. No one was watching me. Chisei was long gone. 

A rolling drum beat was followed by the sound of low horns and chanting. The ancient sounds raised goosebumps on my arms.  

A crowd of chanting priests shaking ceremonial rattles were following a man with a horn and a torch in his hand. I fell in line behind them.

They suddenly stopped. I looked around. An older man was holding up what looked like a scroll and shouting out its contents in front of a gigantic bonfire. A man came with a flat paddle and stared to pull the bonfire apart, smashing the charred logs flat.

I ducked away from loud chanting crowd. On the roof of the temple proper, I spied human figures moving against the dark blue sky. I pressed myself between two buildings as the drums began a steady beat and the first of the priests began their walk down an aisle of fire over smoldering embers.

I spotted an opening in the crowd near a stone fence near the trees, but as soon as I moved toward it, someone came from the woods dressed in black, eyes fixed on me.

I backed away, running into someone who shouted in annoyance.

The chants were interrupted by gasps and shouting. 

Between the two rows of fire stood Chisei and facing him was Aoi.

The two stood on top of the embers, heedless of the incredible heat. Aoi smiled, serene, as she turned the hilt of the sword Spider Fang so that it glimmered in the light of the crackling fire. 

She wasn’t going to win this fight. She was going to die. I rushed forward only to be grabbed from behind around my neck.

“Where do you think you’re going?” The hard metal of a pistol was placed against my head.

“Taiga!”

“You’re not leaving until this is settled. One way or another.”