[color=6ecff6][center][img]https://i.ibb.co/M9NXqq1/Raiden.jpg[/img]
[i][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKtsdZs9LJo]Ain't No Rest For The Wicked[/url][/i]
Interactions/Mentions: None || Location: Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Japan[/center][/color]

	[color=fff79a][i][b]*[/b][/i][/color] "[color=a9a9a9]Fairy tales![/color]"  Daichi laughed, his voluminous gut jiggling as he went.  "[color=a9a9a9]You're telling me you saw a merman?![/color]"  Again, his thunderous laugh filled the quaint dive bar as he looked upon his drinking buddy with utter disbelief.  His girthy gut was held in only by the buttons of his buttoned up blue collared shirt and high seated belt that held up his black slacks. His drinking companion was his stark opposite.  A build quite svelte and a wardrobe far less elegant.  Whereas Daichi looked like he had a team of employees in charge of maintaining his hygiene, his newly acquired friend looked like he hadn't bathed in at least a week.

	"[color=6ecff6]Not a merman,[/color]" Raiden clarified, making no attempt to hide his frustration.  "[color=6ecff6]I think it was... I mean I've heard it could be a... kappa.[/color]"  The last word made Daichi hysterically roar once more. The two of them weren't friends.  They were mere acquaintances.  Daichi was a rich businessman who sought entertainment in the strangest corners of the town.  One night, he found Raiden in the streets spinning tales of an impending doom.  He told his stories with such passion that it became hard not to engross yourself within them.  Daichi lived for that sort of oddity.  Once a week, he would find Raiden and treat him to some drinks while listening to his tales of primordial horror yet to come.

	Raiden knew his role in all of this.  He was well aware that he was a monkey being tasked to dance for a coin.  It didn't matter.  This was the easiest money he made each week.  Drink some free beer and tell a rich man some bed time stories.  If only he could make an honest business this way.  

	"[color=a9a9a9]A kappa?!  A dimple-headed sea monkey?  And what did the kappa say when you saw him?[/color]" Daichi awaited the response with his mouth agape, preparing to laugh at whatever came next.  It was a show, afterall.  Up close and personal theater with only one actor on stage.  Raiden thought about his next words very carefully.

	"[color=6ecff6]It said... 'There's plenty of fish in the sea... Just be careful not to catch crabs.'[/color]"  Daichi wheezed with glee at he slapped the bar counter.  Raiden gave a small crooked grin, note entirely pleased with himself, but satisfied that he got the effect he wanted.  He would keep this routine up for hours so long as Daichi kept paying for the drinks.  While his buddy was busy hyuking it up, Raiden's eyes began to wander around the bar.  They fell on a gorgeous dark hared woman at the corner stool who met his glance.    Awkwardly, Raiden tried to smile and give a nod.  Dressed in unwashed hand-me-downs that one would find at a poorly managed thrift store, he was hardly an image of impressiveness.  Nevertheless, the woman returned the grin.  It was enough to make Raiden's stomach flutter.

	Just then there was a rumble.  The lights in the bar blinked off, on, and back off again.  The glasses could be heard rapidly clinking against one another behind the bar.  In the darkness, Raiden's eyes grew wide.  There was possibility here.  Opportunity.  He turned to Daichi, shrouded in darkness, and reached back for the ultimate prize: his wallet.  In a liquid motion, Raiden seized the billfold, removed the bills, and stashed it back.  It was a feat that should only be attempted by experts.  Luckily the rumbling ground and the disconcerting electricity problem was enough to make the maneuver. Eventually the rumbling died and the lights settled, glowing once more upon the patrons.

	"[color=6ecff6]Look, Daichi, this has been great, as always, but I have to leave.[/color]"  He didn't want to be around when his man asked for his check.

	"[color=a9a9a9]Oh, come on!  You're going to let a little tremor scare you off?[/color]" The businessman wore his disappointment very obviously.

	"[color=6ecff6]I'm afraid it's just that time, but I thank you again, my friend.  You're always so good to me.[/color]"  Raiden knew he could survive without the cash.  He would not lose a wink of sleep over the theft.  He would, however, lose a finger or a hand should Daichi find out what he had done.  With that, Raiden stood up from the bar and winked at the young woman who had given him the slightest attention.  As he strode toward the exit, he gave her a sideways nod, beckoning her to follow.  She looked hesitant at first, like a deer in headlights, before finally shoving herself off her barstool and following him outside.

	Raiden stopped just a few steps outside of the building and turned to her.  "[color=6ecff6]You are gorgeous.  What are you called, princess?[/color]"  He humbly smiled and spoke in a very delicate voice.

	"[color=f6989d]I am called Aiko.[/color]"  She gave a nervous giggle as she looked at him.  Something was a little weird about it.  She seemed incredibly uncomfortable.

	"[color=6ecff6]I'm Raiden,[/color]" he said, introducing himself as he pulled out a crooked cigarette from his pocket and brought it to his lips.  "[color=6ecff6]Any chance you want to get out of here with me?[/color]"  He was already tipsy and didn't feel like dancing around the point.

	"[color=f6989d]Oh... uh... No, I really shouldn't.  I mean...[/color]" The stammering seemed as if it would continue forever if Raiden hadn't interjected.

	"[color=6ecff6]I get it,[/color]" he started as he pulled out a lighter and lit the cig, taking in a slow puff.  "[color=6ecff6]I seem interesting enough to hear out, but not enough to fuck.[/color]"  The bluntness took the woman by surprise.  Stammering, and in fact all speech whatsoever, ceased.  Raiden knew a lost cause when he saw one.  "[color=6ecff6]Well alright then.  Enjoy your night![/color]" He turned and waved, walking off into the darkness of the evening, leaving the girl behind to watch him as he went.
	
	Just then there was a wresting sound from one of the bushes that lined the establishment.  The young woman looked in that direction curiously.  Perhaps it was a small animal like a kitten.  Maybe it needed a home.  She ventured further toward the brush and saw a pair of eyes that glimmered from within.  

	"[color=f6989d]Aww... Here, sweetie.  Come to me![/color]" she beckoned.  The eyes didn't move.  A sense of dread slowly fell over her, raising the hairs on her neck.  This was no kitten.  Before she could react, it launched itself at her.  A fury of wet, slimy fists began berrading her, sending her tumbling backwards.  The assailant squealed out in a sound so foreign that she couldn't identify it for the life of her.  She tried to raise her hands to block the blows but they came down relentlessly nonetheless.  After a while, her conscious mind could take no more and her battered and bruised body fell limp.  Her attacker grabbed her by the legs and began to drag her, each step sounding off with a sickening wet slap against the asphalt.  As she was dragged, her body soon become one with the night, enveloped in shadow, never to be seen on the surface world again.

[color=fff79a][i][b]*All dialogue translated from Japanese[/b][/i][/color]

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[center][img]https://i.ibb.co/St71X0D/KingKap.jpg[/img]
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdZd-FwYWVw][i]Bloodlines[/i][/url]
[color=a2d39c]Interactions/Mentions: None | Location: Sea of Japan
[/color][/center]

	Shadowy figures swam in an organized manner, as if they were components of a well oiled machine performing a task.  One by one, these creatures dived deep into the sea with gifts and offerings, showing no sign of jealously or contempt for the chore that were compelled to perform.  Indeed, they took pleasure in their mission to provide.

	Bringing down the corpses of mammals, reptiles and birds alike, the Kappa diligently continued to descend into the darkness until reaching the point at which they dropped off their gifts upon the smooth rock below.  As they did, a tremor caused extraordinary waves, shaking them all and disrupting their swim pattern.  In unison, they all had the same reaction.  They looked down below, just passed the mound of offerings to the gargantuan silhouette beside it.  As they looked, they ceased to move.  The anticipation was paralyzing.

	Some of them quivered in fear while others felt excited, suspended there in the water.  Would he...  could he...?

	Their unspoken questions were soon answered as their god's eyelids sprung open, it's irises illuminating the waters around them.  The time had finally come.  Kappakami was awake.