298/Sunny With a Chance of Sharknado

Sunny With a Chance of Sharknado
Date of Scene:	25 August 2023
Location:	Beach
Synopsis:	A sharklobsterman youma attacks the beach! Rashmi, Tsukiko, and Jolly Roger make it feed the fish and then chill with soda.
Cast of Characters:	Erika Shimizu, Rashmi Terios, Ikiko Hisakata

---

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    The sun is shining bright and warm along the stretches of Yumegahama's beach. People are enjoying a nice, sunny, and warm day, while they can. A few have set up grills for barbecuing, while others lay on beach towels and play in the shallows of the blue water.
    Erika Shimizu is here- actually with her family- having spent most of the early part of the day building sandcastles, splashing around, eating ice cream and such. But that's about to come to an end.
    Erika herself is settled at a picnic table by the sand, licking slowly at an ice cream cone when uh.
    People start to panic.
    Now, just why are people beginning to panic? That's a good question.
    It might be the figure that emerges from the water, slowly lumbering towards the sands. A huge shark-man with lobster-claws for hands starts wading out of the water, blowing bubbles from the corners of its mouth. The bubbles grow in size the further away they float from the shark and start to envelope people to drain the of their energy.
    That's bad. That's very bad.
    Erika, however, does not panic and flee. She simply shoves the rest of her ice cream cone into her mouth, cone and all and swallows it down.
    She doesn't even *feel* the brainfreeze as she fumbles in her cutesy swimsuit for something very important.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Dressed in a bright red one-piece, patterned yellow pareo, and big floppy sun-hat, Rashmi has been enjoying her day at the beach! Homework all finished, no need to sub in at the Korma, and no youma attacks, the redhead is free to dive into her favorite fantasy series on the beach, *all day!* Today is looking like a good day!

=====> Exeunt crowd, ALL A-PANIC <=====

...Today *was* going to be a good day. Well, at least the day's mostly over...

Rashmi shoves her book against a charm hanging around her neck, sighs, and dashes to the nearest shower-stall. A flash of golden energy later, she soars out of the stall, and toward a fracas, swiftly evolving into a rumpus.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Today is a good day to visit the beach, and for Ikiko Hisakata, that means it's also a good day to visit the stray dogs that live near the beach -- visit her canine friends, then spend some time relaxing on the sand.

Well, the first part of that has gone according to plan, and at least the chaos is unfolding in the phase between 'pack up after having fed the stray dogs' and 'relax on the beach'. Useful for having a place to hide her stuff while she deals with this marauding seafood platter!

There's a silvery glow of light in the alleyway, and then Cute Wolf Tsukiko darts forward, ready to kick some shark keister.

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    Yep. Yep there goes the crowd. Anyone not fast enough gets swallowed by bubbles, but most people are rushing away yelling 'Shark! Shark!' as loud as they can. They're... Partially right about what it is, sure. So let's give the crowd partial credit.
    Nevertheless, poor Rashmi's reading is interrupted, but at least Ikiko has gotten some time in with her canine friends before everything went down. It is as the pair move swiftly into action, already henshin'd and everything, that Erika spots them.
    "Oho..." The blonde girl muses as she finds what she's looking for and stands up, hopping onto her picnic table.
    It's a little brazen as the golden glimmer of a Spanish doubloon dances between her fingers.

    "Under a black flag we sail and the sea shall be our empire! Take what you can. Give nothing back!" She says, flipping the coin into the air once before snatching it into her palm.

    In an instant she's dressed in the regalia of a pirate, bicorne hat with feathers in it, naval greatcoat, and everything as she rushes to join the two.
    "Ahoy! Fancy seein' you lasses here." Jovial as ever, Jolly Roger draws a flintlock pistol from the inner folds of her coat and pelts the youma with an opener shot to the knee to make it stagger.
    It proceeds to fall face-flat into a sandcastle.
    It was a really nice sandcastle, too.
    "... Oops."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Hello Pirate-san, Tsukiko-chan!" Rashmi says cheerily, as a trio of bright yellow balls of energy materialize and rotate around her waistline. She reaches out and taps one, causing it to be surrounded briefly by a rune-etched ribbon, then casts all three off at once.

Two are standard, if low-power Barrets, but the third has an ensnaring payload, set to entrap whatever it hits and hold it immobile in space. Could be an arm, could be a leg, could by anything! But whatever it is, it's not going to move without applying an excessive amount of force.

"Is this one of your enemies, Pirate-chan?" Yes, she *is* making conversation in the middle of a fight.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"Hi Rashmi-chan, Jolly-chan!" Tsukiko calls back with a grin, dashing forward to deliver a jumping *stomp* on the prone shark-man after the Barret barrage. The tide-damp sand is good for traction, and the wolfgirl is getting some decent acceleration, but she's still cautious about her footwork, and makes sure to generally keep her distance from the youma -- having an oversized Dark Energy snowcone almost topple onto her nearly two months ago was definitely an unforgettable lesson about the hazards of trying to do emergency acceleration on loose sand!

"Whatever it is, I'm just glad that it's this size and not trying out for a full-sized kaiju movie," she giggles.

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    Tossing aside the spent flintlock, the gun dissolves into seafoam and sparkles as the pirate-themed mahou flashes a big ol' grin. "Aye, that be one o' mine. It's got a piece of my treasure on it, I can *smell* the gold." Jolly Roger replies pretty casually to Rashmi as the other two girls make their own attacks.
    The shark-thing is already getting up when it gets a face-full of two barret shots, making it flail and swing its oversized lobster claws about. Just as one is about to snap-snap at Tsukiko, the snare-shot hits, and Rashmi's spell holds the claw locked in place, providing the perfect opportunity for the cute wolf girl to stomp the youma good. But it starts to pick itself up fully now, and snap-snaps its remaining mobile claw menacingly.
    Jolly Roger lunges in, cutlass drawn.
    "Blimey, if he were any bigger we'd have a right proper shark problem on our hands wouldn't we, huh?" She does consider as she meets that claw with her blade. The claw snaps down on her cutlass and she holds it in place, gritting her teeth, leaving it open for the other two to finish the job.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Luckily, it's not!" Rashmi chirps, pursing her lips in thought. Having not seen much in the way of ranged options out of Tsukiko, she opts for a more brute-force approach to finishing this fight.

*BONG!* << STRIKE -- BOOST UP >>

As the golden wisp streaks down to Tsukiko, an idea comes to Rashmi, and the wisp is followed by a second.

*BONG!* << FLIER FIN >>

As the spells connect with the dilute werewolf, her claws glimmer a sunny yellow... and then yellow, dragonfly-like wings unfurl along the wolfgirl's ankles. "Think of it kind of like jumping, but then gravity stops caring about you!" she calls after the spells, as a bit of advice on how to fly.

Tsukiko seems to have fun with these fights, and a good supporter plays to their audience!

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Increased damage is always good, and simple enough for Tsukiko to work with. The increased maneuverability is a bit unexpected, and the wolfgirl does careen about like a pinball on an invisible table as she angles for a good strike.

Once she gets the hang of deceleration and controlled rotation, plus the concept of inverse-jumping, Tsukiko gets several meters of altitude, then launches herself downward, feet-first, aimed at the small of the shark-man's back, with a two-handed overhead sledge to connect with the shark-man's head at the same time, the strike-boost making both of these impacts extra spiky.

"Remember, let Jolly-chan handle the gold," Tsukiko calls to Rashmi. "I'm not sure if assisting with the recovery is as hazardous as touching the original treasure, but I'd rather not find out the hard way."

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    Claw and cutlass clash with the sound of snappy-bits against metal as Jolly Roger holds the sharkcrab-thing at bay while Rashmi empowers Tsukiko.
    And then...
    THEN...
    Orbital Cute Wolf inbound.
    The pirate takes a leap back as Tsukiko comes crashing down upon the monster, boots-first followed by a devastating sledgefist attack.
    For a moment. For just a beat, everything seems to halt. The youma stands in place as though stricken. ... Probably because it HAS been stricken (and very hard at that), before it collapses to the beach hard enough to send sand everywhere and leave a shark-shaped crater.
    And it is as the shark turns to seafoam that all that's left in the crater is a single gold-glimmering coin... A coin that Jolly Roger plucks right up, flips into the air with her thumb, catches, and stows away in an inner pocket of her greatcoat.
    "Ha-har! That sure was an impressive show ye both put on there. Ye've got my thanks for that~." She says before glancing left. Then right.
    The beach is prettymuch empty now.
    This is all well and good as she reaches into her coat and pulls out two bottles of Jan Ken Pop, both of which she offers to Rashmi and Tsukiko.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Hey, anytime!" Rashmi chirps, drifting toward the ground, and banishing her wings when she's about a centimeter up. Tsukiko's wings remain, at least as long as it takes for her to touch the sand. Bobbing her head in thanks, she takes one of the offered sodas, raising it up in silent toast. "So, wow... pirate magic, monsters that turn into treasure? That's... *definitely* new!"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Tsukiko veers sideways of the crater before drifting downwards, her feet touching the sand as she accepts the offered soda. "I could say the same about flying," the wolfgirl giggles. "That definitely has a bit of a learning curve to it!"

As she takes a drink of the soda, she looks at the crater, then glances out towards the ocean. "Jolly-chan, did the ghost captain say if there was anyone else seeking out their treasure?" Tsukiko inquires.

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    Once Rashmi and Tsukiko have accepted their soda, Jolly Roger pulls out a third bottle for herself.
    It really is a good thing she re-stocked on soda, lately, at the rate she's going through it. Nevertheless she pops the cap, raises the bottle in toast, and then takes a deep pull of delicious, delicious, pop.
    "New? Aye you could say it's new. Definitely not somethin' I've read in any manga." She considers before plopping down on the nearest beach towel. Well. With no one else around on this stretch of beach, for the moment. There's a soft flare of light, and the pirate outfit is gone, leaving Erika sitting on the towel in her swimsuit.
    It has little skull and crossbones decorations all over it. She kind of transformed out in the open where the other two could see her already, today, so there's no real harm in it, is there?
    "Eheh heh~. Nope, just me as far as I know. Anyone else hunting my treasure... Well that's a problem for future me, isn't it~?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Upon seeing Jolly Roger de-henshin, Rashmi startles, hurriedly looking all about them just in case... But no, the beach truly is empty. Which point she shrugs, and her Barrier Jacket and floating armored book shine golden and *shatter,* leaving the bookworm in her summer outfit with a glowing charm around her neck.

*BONG!* << STANDBY >> says the charm, before the glow fades entirely.

"*That* sounds like a story," Rashmi says over the lip of her bottle, before taking a pull. "But it's probably one you're tired of tell-- ooh, melon."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Tsukiko looks at Erika and Rashmi, glances around to confirm that the beach is emptpy, then shrugs--

    --and one silvery glow later, Ikiko has de-henshined as well.

"Good point," she nods to Erika. "Random coin-infested monsters are one thing; why worry about coin-hungry marauders until they actually exist?"

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    "Weeeeeeell..." Erika muses amidst another sip of her soda. "To make a long story short, I wound up marooned on a desert island where pirates left their treasure. I got greeeeeeeedy and took from the Captain's Share and got cursed to become part of the crew." She explains for Rashmi's sake while making jazz-hands.
    But then she's giving Ikiko a HUGE grin.
    "I mean. That's me. I'm the coin-hungry marauder here." She points out, giggling.
    "More seriously, though, I'm not worried about it~. ... Yet." A pause.
    "I'm Erika, by the way!"
    Oh yeah this looks totally normal now. Just three girls chilling on the beach. No one would suspect they just took out a youma moments before.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Rashmi," says the redhead with a chuckle, just to confirm that she was in fact being serious in the fencing hall, and outing herself in solidarity with Greta. "If you've ever heard of the Korma Chameleon, that's my family's place."

Pausing, she blinks as she parses Erika's story. "...How... actually no, wha--" Her face scrunches up in confusion, and she lets out a heavy sigh. "...Did the people who made that Pirates movie *know* they were taking from real life...?"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"Ikiko," nods the youngest girl, giggling at Erika's point. She pauses a moment and looks at Rashmi, tilting her head as a background memory wiggled to the forefront...

"Ah, right -- 'growth spurt'!" Ikiko says to herself, then makes a 'don't worry about it' wave of her hand towards Erika. Although this does indirectly remind her to talk to Koji at some point when there's not a crowd around.

"Most legendary curses have at least a seed of truth to them," Ikiko explains. "Sometimes it's a truth from a different curse, but if a legend is known well enough for a franchise to be made, then there's probably something accurate to it, even if it seems unbelieveable to those who don't know about curses and magic."

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    "I think I've heard a few other girls talking about that place. I might have to stop by sometime~." Erika says in regards to Rashmi's family restaurant. Though Ikiko gets a curious look at the handwave, the girl grimaces faintly for another reason.
    "Ahah hah hah~ hahaha~. Right that movie! Yeah that was a pretty big surprise to me, I was really surprised."
    It's not like she's an ~undead pirate~ or anything like that right? That would be SUPER SPOOKY.
    Except that's kind of what she is. Oh well.
    "Well, at the very least, I probably should have paid attention to the spooky 'I curse anyone who touches so much as a single coin of my treasure' note tacked onto the chest I plundered. Big warning sign and all, but I kind of didn't expect to find a legendary dread pirate's treasure that day. Oops."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Wh-- aaaaaugh!" Rashmi says, covering her face with her hands as the memory Ikiko evokes bubbles up. "Look Papi's a dad and he *loves* to embarrass me like that. Anyway how am I supposed to tell him *why* I can eat for two grown men after a fight? And I know he doesn't mean it, we're a huge food family so if you *don't* eat big something must be wrong. ANYWAY."

Shaking her head, she looks back at Erika, then... pulls a smartphone out of the charm around her neck? A perfectly ordinary smartphone, if a bit scuffed and a few years old. "Numbers? Because one way or another, we're probably gonna wanna get in touch sooner or later."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko reaches over and pats Rashmi on the back sympathetically, then pulls out her own phone. "That one old anime about a high-powered short-tempered sorceress and her himbo swordman friend had the right idea about food and high-energy adventuring," she agrees. "When you fight hard, you wind up needing to eat hard."

Erika's worried grimace and denial draws an amused smirk from the youngest girl, recalling the moonlit meeting at the soda vending machine. Well, if Erika doesn't want to explain the (not-so-)gory details of her henshin to Rashmi just yet, then it's on the pirate mahou to decide when is a good time for that.

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    Explaining 'Hey I'm actually magical pirate zombie-chan' to Rashmi is a problem for Future Erika, or if Rashmi ever sees Erika in the moonlight. Right now though she's tugging her phone out from her hip-pouch with a giggle.
    It's a pristine phone- likely because she has a sturdy case and screen protector on it, but it, too, is an ordinary smartphone.
    Though the screen saver is a skull and crossbones, because of course.
    "Oh yeah, I can get pretty hungry after a fight too." She does sympathize, but then purses her lips. "I might have caught an episode or two of that one, I think. Anyway! Swapping numbers sounds like a good idea~." She says before draining the last of her Jan Ken Pop.