Shaft goes hunting for Nanami, definitely on foot.  Ixnay the ump-Tray

Asking around the castle, you are eventually back down into the city
to City Hall, where workers are trying to clean out the seaweed.

Nanami is up in her office.  The secretary smiles and lets you into
Nanami's office without even asking Nanami.

Shaft has a sinking feeling on that alone.

Shaft pokes his head into the office.  "S'cuse me, par-don."

Nanami looks up.  "Yes, Ota?"

Shaft enters the office slowly.  "Hey, um, Auntie N, just wanted to
check up on things.... what'd you do with the spikard I took from
Wakaba?"

Nanami says, "Makoto sacrificed it to the Elder Gods atop the Mountain of
the Sleeping Badass to wake the legendary badass Stagger Lee to join our
battle against Annadil."

Nanami says this with a tone which indicates you should have known
without asking.

Shaft raises an eyebrow.  He notes the tone.  "Hey, nobody told me
nothin' about it.  Cool, though, cool."

Shaft asks, "OOCly am I wearing Justice?"
Shaft asks, "OOCly and do I detect any BS?"
Nanami says, "OOC Justice says Nanami is lying her ass off."

Shaft clicks the Shields On

Shaft eyes Nanami's hands to see if she's wearing any suspicious
jewelry

Nanami says, "Are you aware that my son has asked Keiko to marry him?"

Nanami is wearing goatloads of jewelry. Rings, necklaces, pendants,
bracelets, etc.

Shaft asks, "yep.  you happy'bout that or you gonna toss a lightnin'
bolt keiko's way?"

Nanami smiles slightly for a moment, then turns more serious.  "I
don't know."  She purses her lips.  "I know you were there when they
met.  Which one of them seemed to be more actively pursuing?"

Shaft thinks on this for a moment.  "You know... I was so busy mackin' on
Keiko I didn't notice."

Shaft says, "by the time i start noticin', she's thankin' him for
savin' her, he's blushin' and goin'all "Aw shucks", she's giggling,
an'then it just went from there."

Nanami shakes her head.  "I sense trouble ahead, but Ramon has had
such poor luck with women, I am reluctant to push him to break this
off.  Keiko is very good at what she does, but..."  She shakes her
head.  "How are you and Kasumi doing?"

Shaft grins. "You know, I could go ask Keiko if she's just bein' a
gold digger or really cares for him.  Y'see, I'm attuned ta Justice,
an' cos'a that, I can smell a lie a mile away."  He looks at her with a
brief smile, then idly whistles looking away.

Nanami, for a just a moment, has the look like she's been hit with a
cinderblock.

Shaft asks, "Oh, kasumi's fine, kasumi's also fine, I'm cool.
How'bout you?"

Then she says, "Touche, nephew.  The ring is sealed away inside a
block of magic-deflecting rock which is mostly indestructible until I can
either find a way to cleanse it or destroy it.  More I cannot say."

Justice says she's telling the truth.

Shaft nods.  "So I guess a good solid whack with a patternblade ain't
gonna do it?  Shame."

She continues, "There are times when I am indeed reminded that we do
truly share the same heritage, nephew."  She shakes her head ruefully.
"The truth can be a double-edged sword which turns in its weilder's hands
at times, but..."  She shakes her head.  "The Spikards predate the Pattern
and the Logrus.  They are weaker in some ways than either, but not easily
destroyed."

Shaft says, "heard rumors Hiko got hers cleaned by doin' the nasty
with the Unicorn, but I think my sources was on crack...."

Nanami says, "Actually, I suspect your sources were probably right.
That madwoman would probably sleep with the Serpent too."

Nanami says, "Unfortunately, I'm not into horses, so I don't have that
option."

Shaft smirks.  "Heeeey, be nice."

Shaft says, "anyway.... I don't need t'be telling you how much bad
news that spikard is.  An'since the master spikard went off into the
Weird Shit zone with Annadil, f'r all we know some freaky sex octopus mad
god might be wearin' it."

Nanami nods. "Exactly.  I wish I'd had it handy to throw through the
gate with Annadil when he was cast out."

Shaft pauses.  "Hey, that thing was, like, one of a set'a Annadil's
spikards, yeah?  I think I'll be spendin' a few days tracking down the
others."

Shaft asks, "heard any rumors where the rest of'em might be?"

Nanami says, "I suspect most of them were in the hands of major chaos
lords he wished to control with them."

Shaft frowns.  "Shit, okay, I ain't goin' so far as to ride down to
Chaos town."

She continues, "Though some may be floating around Amber in the hands of
pawns."  She frowns.  "Yes, I believe hunting those on our side of the
universe down would be a good idea."

Shaft says, "oh yeah, forgot to say...."

"Hmm?"

Shaft says, "those girly jewelry things ya gave me to fight Wakaba,
saved my ass, auntie.  Big props to ya."

Shaft says, "but I just got one basic question for ya."

She nods and smiles faintly.  "You're welcome, Ota."

"Sure, what?"

Shaft exclaims, "Why, why, of all the freakin' words across the
worlds'a shadow, WHY did ya make the flight activation phrase be
PRETTY PRINCESS MAKEUP POWER?!?!?!"

Nanami says, "The same reason 'Open Sesame' opens Ali Baba's Cave."

Shaft gives his auntie a baffled look.  "An'that is?"

Nanami says, "It's just the nature of things.  Magic things require
appopriate command phrases."

Shaft stares at Nanami.  "Oh.  I see.  You sayin' I'm a princess."

She smiles.  "Am I not a Pretty Princess?  And did you not draw upon
my power?"

Shaft's jaw drops

Shaft facepalms

Shaft, sounding defeated, "Okay, okay, right, ya got me there."

Shaft says ruefully, "If my kid's a daughter, I'll let her have it.
Least she won't be embarrassed to death sayin' the damn phrase."

Nanami smiles gently.  "I'm sure she'll like it very much."

Shaft says, with a hint of jest in his voice, "though if I hear you
givin'her jewelry that activates with 'mighty mighty butch manly
power', I'm gonna be a little upset."

Nanami laughs.  "I would never be so cruel to a young girl who did not
deserve it."

Shaft says, "heh, now there's somethin' I ain't wishin' on my kid, to be
on the wrong side'a you."  He bows slightly.  "Well, if'n you'll excuse
me, I've other things to check on.  Need someone's ass whooped, you got my
trump."

She nods.  "May the Unicorn guide you, Nephew."

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