<strong>Time:</strong>1:40 PM<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Akihabara (Chiyoda)<br/><strong>Tagged:</strong>Miki, Hideyoshi<br/><br/>Miki's poking around at the program proves initially fruitless. Her phone practically refuses to do anything to it; anything more than moving the icon around on her home screen results in an "Operation not possible" message that her device definitely<em>didn't</em>give before. On the other hand, should she keep at it, long enough, she does discover one interesting piece of information. In the phone's profile for the program, it lists the publisher as "Kuzunoha Group." The name, unfortunately, means nothing to her; perhaps with access to a search engine, though those seem like they'd be in rather short slow.<br/><br/>The program's somewhat large, a bit over 200 megabytes. Pretty big for a phone-based game, but not unheard.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, either someone overheard Hideyoshi's question, or had a similar thought themselves. Someone just at the edge of earshot is yelling, asking if anyone has got a satellite phone. While he can't make out all the details of the conversation, there's a distinct lack of anything sounding like a "Yes, and I have reception"--either nobody's got one, or they're not getting service either.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><strong>Time:</strong>2:32 PM<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Ikebukuro (Toshima)<br/><strong>Tagged:</strong>Caine<br/><br/>Caine's attempts to navigate Ikebukuro, let alone find some place still open, prove exceptionally frustrating. In addition to the general congestion, a fire's broken out nearby; somehow, a fire truck managed to arrive and is doing a fairly good job, from what he can gather, of keeping things under control. Certainly a good thing, but between the fire crew and the crowd gathered to watch as the flames gradually make their way towards the outside of the four-story building, that entire direction is a no-go (not that it much mattered, probably; anyone nearby would likely be too panicked to sell him anything).<br/><br/>Still, when looking around he eventually comes across a small group of friends who seem to have had a similar idea: two teenage boys and one slightly older-looking girl who're carrying plastic bags filled with bottled water, bread, and canned food. When questioned (assuming he does), they'll be more than happy to give him directions to where they did their shopping, a fairly small grocery store a few roads over.<br/><br/>"Though, you might want to hurry," one of the boys advises. "Not that the place is going to run out, just, it's turning into a pain getting anywhere here. Plenty of places are open, but nobody wants to just, you know, get out of your way until they find out what's happening."<br/><br/>Following their directions takes Caine through what was once a small side-street but has in recent years demoted to a reasonably tidy and spacious back alley between two tall, looming buildings. It's empty, simply because most people don't imagine they'll get any answers standing around in an alley, and fairly long (they're rather big buildings), but there's nothing that immediately would suggest it's anything<em>other than</em>a perfectly ordinary, serviceable path from one major street to another.<br/><br/>Caine's made it about halfway through when he suddenly gets a very<em>bad</em>feeling, the hairs on the back of his neck tingling as dread settles over him like a blanket. Unfortunately, that 'warning' comes too late; he might have time to quicken his pace, or look around behind him, but the danger comes from above. There's a heavy<em>thump</em>against his back, and then... something, is holding onto him, clinging to the backs of his shoulders as if glued there, and it is<em>heavy</em>.<br/><br/>Not only is it heavy, but somehow its weight seems to be increasing rapidly. Within a matter of seconds he'll be forced to his knees, then flat against the ground; while struggling he might be able to claw at what feels like smooth, rubbery flesh, but the<em>thing</em>on him is holding too tightly to be dislodged.<br/><br/>And, of all the absurd things, his phone has started buzzing insistently--whether or not he'd actually left it on vibrate.<br/><br/>As the assailant's weight grows, and Caine feels as though he's in danger of literally being crushed to death, something...<em>happens</em>.<br/><br/>There's a strange noise, a computerized-sounding series of beeps, and a flash of light from behind him, as his phone stops buzzing. Then an animalistic growl, followed by a fierce squealing  as the young American feels something pulling against the weight on his back. The grip loosens, the pressure lightens--and then it's gone entirely, whatever<em>thing</em>had attacked him being flung into the wall of a nearby building.<br/><br/>Depending how quickly Caine recovered, he might be in time to see his assailant (http://images.wikia.com/megamitensei/images/7/7b/ObariyonP4.PNG), a bizarre monkey-like thing less than half his height. It doesn't last long; Caine's apparent 'savior' is a dog that stands higher than his waist, covered from head to tail in multiple thick, dark sheets of fur. Really, it looks more like a walking mound of hair with a dog's nose and mouth than anything else--but, its arguably less-than-intimidating appearance aside, it wastes no time in following up its own assault, leaping the orange creature, locking its jaws around the thing's neck, and...<br/><br/>There's no blood, no crunch, just a high-pitched whine as the orange demon devolves into a silhouette, black with something that looks oddly like streaming code running along its surface, before shattering into so many motes of light.<br/><br/>The dog turns towards him, then. On the one hand, it doesn't seem that dangerous. On the other, it just... destroyed, some sort of monster. Whatever Caine's reaction, whether he tries to flee or defend himself, the 'dog' responds in the same way: Sitting back on its haunches, and lowering its head in a manner that would be hard to describe as anything but subservient.<br/><br/>"I am the barghest, hairy jack." It can<em>talk</em>, apparently, its voice a low and barely-comprehensible rumble. "Call on me when you need my power, summoner."