C2 S2 - Extended Scene Intro: Lacy's Investigation

As Lacy walks up to the National Theatre of Japan, she's optimistic that the current lead will yield the stolen phoenix, despite the strange foretelling she had received earlier. When she had dropped off the decoy phoenix at the local animal shelter, she had been able to get the contact of a few exotic animal dealers in the prefecture by promising the head veterinarian that she would find out who had abused the poor bird. She worked fast to accumulate a list of people who had recently acquired peafowls. Many of the names had been quickly crossed off the list after a little research, but one had turned out to be a wild encounter that had left her with the mysterious foretelling.

Hideko Watanabe turned out to be a retired woman living in the countryside and Lacy's investigation of her started much like some of the others. When Lacy visited, she immediately saw the healthy peacock strutting around Watanabe's garden eliminating the old woman as a suspect. However, before Lacy could leave, Watanabe, who happened to be working in the garden, had noticed Lacy's interest in the peafowl and was so excited to show it off, she invited Lacy to join her for a tour and some tea. Despite needing to quickly continue her investigation, she could not resist the friendly elder's invitation and convinced herself she needed a break to refresh as the pace of the investigation had been intense.

After a tour of the beautiful grounds, they knelt at a stone table on a patch of grass next to a salt water pond in the center of the garden. A cast iron pot of water sat atop a small bed of hot coals. Lacy's attention was drawn towards the pond, she could sense hundreds, maybe thousands of fish and sea creatures living below its surface. It seemed unbelievable, so she must be confused.

With great ceremony in her manner, Watanabe poured the steaming liquid over a heaping spoon of bright green tea leaves, the aroma immediately enveloped Lacy's perception accompanied by a familiar and unique feeling. She suddenly realized that she was in the presence of another shinobi. Noticing Lacy's discovery, Watanabe just smiled without speaking, her eyes cunning but kind, as Lacy perceived the old woman's thoughts, "Yes, I, Hideko, am also a shinobi, but you have nothing to fear. I only offer to read your fortune for humoring an old lady with your valuable time."

Lacy didn't fully relax, but she also didn't react negatively. She decided to wait to see what this ancient shinobi intended.

"I sense that you miss your kindred," the old woman's words surprised Lacy ... How does she know? ... Lacy wondered as she looked momentarily back towards the pond.

"When we are finished our tea, I must tend to my garden, but you are welcome to swim in the pond with your friends."

Hideko poured each of them a cup of tea and then slammed the empty steeping pot upside down on the table with a bang. Lacy, taken a back by the sudden action, remained calm because the old woman's kind eyes had stayed locked on hers the entire time showing no signs for concern.

"But before you swim, please tell me a story from the sea while we drink our tea," Hideko's voice continued in Lacy's mind as the old shinobi lifted her cup to her lips, inhaling the warm steam before taking a sip with great enjoyment as she held the taste in her mouth with her eyes closed to fully savour before swallowing and exhaling a long relaxing breath of satisfaction.

Lacy followed suit and then told Hideko about a time she had traveled to the Mediterranean Sea to visit a Greek Island that had an ancient temple of a sea goddess, Salacia, that Lacy had been named after. Lacy can no longer recall the details of the story ... she did not realize at the time, but Hideko had used some sort of magic to steal her memory. When she had finished the tale, both ladies had finished their tea. Hideko lifted the inverted tea pot to reveal that the tea leaves were splattered on the stone in a strange pattern. The old ninja looked completely engrossed by the leaves until she looked up at Lacy and spoke out loud this time in a deep echoing voice, "YOU WILL NOT FIND WHAT YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR DURING THIS INVESTIGATION ... BUT IF YOU CONTINUE THE ENDEAVOR, YOU MAY DISCOVER SOMETHING EVEN MORE VALUABLE."

Hideko then stood up, bowed very deeply and wandered off into the garden without saying another word. However, Lacy perceived the woman's thoughts again, leaving an final salutation in her mind, "Thank you child ... please enjoy your swim."

Alone in the center of the secluded garden, Lacy stood up and walked to the edge of the pool. The thought of swimming among fish again and the salt water on her skin excited her and she quickly stripped naked ready to jump in only to be startled by a sudden ROAR behind her. Turning around in panic, she found the peacock that had brought her here in the first place. The sound had been its spectacular tail feathers lifting quickly to display. Lacy laughed in relief ... you cheeky scoundrel ... she thought as dozens of "eyes" in the feathers seemed to stare at her. She turned back and quickly dove into the pool.

The surface of the water seemed to lift up slightly to meet her, before her body cleanly pierced through in a splash. As soon as the salt water hit her skin, she transformed into her mermaid form, propelling herself deep into the pool to discover that it was in fact an elaborate aquarium. She was surprised how massive the structure was as she explored the natural underground caverns into which it had been built. It was exhilarating to swim at full speed among all the varieties of sea life, some she herself had never seen before. After what felt like hours, she eventually returned to the surface, feeling a bit guilty that she had wasted so much precious time on this indulgence.

She was pleasantly confused to find that time had not passed as she had expected. In fact the sun seemed to be in the same place in the sky as when she had first entered the pool, although the peacock had disappeared. Relieved that she had not lost much time, she lay out to dry in the sun before heading back out on her mission feeling completely refreshed. It was at this time, reflecting on the bizarre encounter that she realized the witch had stolen her memory. She left a note on the table as she left:

"Dearest Hideko,
Thank you so much for the garden tour, the tea, the fortune and the refreshing swim. It was well worth "lending" you my story. Please enjoy and keep it safe until I return to claim it back!
Yours Truly, Salacia."

The main entrance to the National Theatre of Japan is locked. Presumably the doors are only open for performances. Lacy peers through the glass doors. In the distance she sees people going about their business, but they all ignore her waves and knocks. Huge posters hang in the lobby showcasing previous performances. One has an image of a handsome gentleman in peak physical condition, dressed in magnificent, ancient Japanese costume, clearly in the act of an impressive athletic maneuver mid-dance. Underneath the image is written "Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami starring Bandō Mitsugorō V." Lacy smiles knowing she is in the right place. Before she turns to look for another entrance, she sees a sculpture in the lobby with an extremely familiar style ... no, it can't be ... A metal plate proclaims the artist as Kenzo Hayashi ... what are the chances? ... She pulls out her list of names, many of which are crossed off including Kenzo Hayashi. A silly grin danced across her face as her mind quickly replayed the memory of that encounter as a daydream ...


... an art studio ... incredible abstract sculptures ... Kenzo Hayashi ... an attractive and stylish man ... but vain, cocksure and brash ... hungry wandering eyes ... suggestive, promiscuous and lustful ... peacock feathers, laying all around the workshop and incorporated into pieces of art ... one feather picked up, examined and tucked into her jacket secretly ... could they be from the bald decoy ... confidence ... could be a perfect cover, this must be the culprit ... flirting, teasing and seduction ... from both parties ... this is going to be too easy ... initial indulgence ... might as well enjoy myself ... but disciplined restraint ... mustn't get too distracted ... a hidden needle ... subtly extended from beneath the polished lacquer of a fingernail ... laced with a neurotoxic fish extract ... a prick in the neck during a tempest of passion ... not enough to kill, but sleep for hours ... meticulous search through organized chaos ... a garbage can at the back of the workshop ... a peafowl corpse ... F*&#! ... frustration ... a name crossed off the list ...


... she shakes her head in regret. She really thought she'd found the culprit that time. Sighing, Lacy clears her head and focuses on her current lead. She circles the theatre looking for a staff or performer's entrance while she retraces the clues that had brought her here.

At the very beginning of her investigation, before taking the poor decoy phoenix to the animal shelter, Lacy had tried to wash the disgusting red dye off of the bald bird, unfortunately to no avail. However, she dropped off a sample of the runoff water to the lab. Spectral analysis revealed the red dye as well as many common compounds, but one trace chemical was very unusual and surprising, a component of traditional Japanese make-up. It didn't really provide a lead, but Lacy tucked the information away in her mind in case it became relevant later.

As she was making her way through the list of new peafowl owners, she discovered one of them had reported theirs missing. Pretending to be an animal conservation officer, she was able to interview the owners who showed her the last spot the peafowl was seen. They said they had found a bunch of feathers and it looked like there had been a struggle. The feathers had been cleaned up and the tracks were faded, but something about the scene looked or felt familiar to Lacy. She couldn't put her finger on it, but her intuition recalled the few times she had encountered the work of the Kurama Shin Clan. She had a hunch that they were behind this.

Rushing back to her local headquarters, she scoured the Hirasaka Agency's records for suspected agents of the Kurama Shin in the city. As she poured over the details, she paused on one record ... Occupation/Cover: Kabuki Performer ... Lacy had seen Kabuki once, when she had first moved to Japan and was doing a lot of the tourist things trying to learn about traditional Japanese culture. An image popped into her head of performers dancing in elaborate costumes and ... TRADITIONAL JAPANESE MAKEUP ... This might match the trace chemical found on the decoy! ... The agent's name was Shinmen Takezo, currently employed at the National Theatre of Japan. Lacy read the rest of the record copying notes into her phone as her mind began to formulate a plan ...

"Excuse me, can I help you?" One of the staff members asked as Lacy enters one of the side entrances of the theatre.

"Oh, thank you, yes, I'm looking for Shinmen Takezo. I'd like to talk with him," Lacy replied.

The staff member looks suspiciously at Lacy, "What's your business with him?"

"I'm visiting from Hollywood, in America. I'm an agent for one of the large film productions. We are looking into making a movie about the great rivalry between Bando Mitsugoro V and Nakamura Utaemon V. It will be called The Greatest Tachiyaku."

The staff member's affect flips immediately, "Really! Wow, that's amazing!" But then disappointingly says, "Well unfortunately, Takezo isn't here today. Actually, he hasn't been in for the last few days. Would you like to leave a message and your card for the next time I see him?"

"Really? Is that normal for him to be absent?"

"Come to think of it, it's a bit strange. He's the most meticulous practitioner in the art, practicing for hours every day, so it's rare not to see him around. Having said that, he could be practicing at a smaller studio this week. I don't know, it's below my pay grade," he chuckles. "Anyways, I'll give him your card next time he's here. There's a full cast meeting next week, so he'll definitely be here for that."

"Thank you," Lacy says disappointed ... A week! She was running out of time!

As Lacy opens the door to leave, the staff member shouts, "Oh, it's almost lunch time. You could try checking Ippudo Roppongi. It's his favourite lunch joint. It's only a few blocks from here."

Trying not to get her hopes up too much, she waves 'Thank You' with true sincerity and rushes down the street.