Happy New Year! The Tojis' New Year's and Prayers [mystery]

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The third annual riddle event, where you could win a prize by guessing the answers correctly on twitter.

1: Riddles in Place of Osechi

Mirja: Good work on our mission, everyone. We successfully cleared out the aradama without incident.
Kaoru: They went and dragged us into a mission on New Year's morning. Couldn't they give us a special bonus and call it our New Year's money?
Hirona: ...
Hirona: ...Having seven people is inefficient. Couldn't some of us have been absent or on standby?
Kaoru: You tell 'em-.
Mirja: Hm? This is...
Kiyoka: What is it? Did you get some urgent assignment?
Mirja: No, you don't need to worry about that. I only received a strange message.
Mirja: It caught my attention because the subject is: "Focusing on aradama will help you."
Sayaka: What does it say?
Suu: It sounds like spam... Maybe you should just delete it without checking. Ah, I mean... Not that I'm trying to argue with you or anything, Itomi-sama?
Mirja: It has no images or URL; only text.
Mirja: "If you'd like to know more, first head to '1-middle, 1-down, 4-down, 2-middle, 0-up'. Then, take a picture of the location. Attach it in a response to this message."
Mirja: --That's all it says.
Hiyori: That's it? It sounded like some kind of code.
Kiyoka: ...There used to be a lot of ghost stories that started with texts like this, weren't there? You think it doesn't have anything to do with you, but then... It goes like that.
Mirja: ...I think it's only a prank, but, with the reference to aradama, I can't overlook it.
Suu: Well I'm not interested in any aradama, so I just want to go straight home-!
Kaoru: Same. I don't want stick my neck into trouble right after getting out of a mission. I can already tell this won't be worth it.
Suu: See, exactly! Let's go back home!
Sayaka: ...?
Sayaka: I just got a message on my phone... Is this a hint?
Sayaka: "It's a store very popular among certain young girls (they say) What you hold in your hand now is the 'key'." --That's what it says.
Hirona: They're specifically sending messages to us thenn...
Hiyori: It's suspicious...
Mirja: We can't disregard whoever's sending these at this point. Itomi Sayaka, could you show me that hint once more?
Sayaka: Here.
Mirja: Thank you.
Mirja: ...A store very popular among certain young girls. I don't know what the "they say" part refers to, but is "1-middle, 1-down, 2-middle, 0-down" the name of the store?
Kiyoka: The other hint: "What you hold in your hand now is the 'key'", does it mean phones?
Kaoru: You guys... Aren't you a little too fast in switching gears to whatever weird stuff comes up?
Hirona: ......Let's just give in and solve this riddle. I'm sure that'll be the most efficient outcome.
Suu: ...But, I wanted to go home-!
Sayaka: We can go home after we find who sent these messages, so you try your best too, Suu.

2: The Hint is Always Right Beside You

Hiyori: "1-middle, 1-down, 4-down, 2-middle, 0-up"... So, it's numbers, and... What's the up, down, and middle part about? Some kind of location, or direction?
Mirja: I wonder what rules it's following. They gave a hint that it has to do with our phones, but... Hmm.
Suu: Aghh, I keep sending Hokuto-san Happy New Year's texts, but she isn't responding to any-!
Hirona: ...That's amazing, Inami-san.
Hirona: You're writing those texts unbelievably fast.
Suu: Eh, am I really that fast?
Hiyori: ...How are you going that fast pressing the screen so few times?
Hirona: ......She's using flick inputs. Inami-san, please demonstrate.
Suu: Just watch me!
Suu: With flick inputs, if you want "A", tap A. If you want "Ke", tap Ka and flick it to the right, see? For "O", go down... like that!
Hirona: [clap clap clap]~...
Hiyori: So, if you tap and keep it right in the middle, you get A sounds. Left gets you I sounds. Up gets U sounds... Right gets E sounds. Down gets O sounds... And you can write like that...?
Suu: You'll mess up at first, but once you get used to it, it's a lot faster.
Hirona: ...
Hirona: Excuuse... me. I figured out that code... I think.
Mirja: Did you, Nitta Hirona? Please explain.
Hirona: Okaay.
Hirona: The numbers in here apply to each line of the Japanese alphabet. 1 is the A column, 2 is the Ka column, 3 is the Sa column, 5 is the Ta column... and so on.
Hirona: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0." "A, Ka, Sa, Ta, Na, Ha, Ma, Ya, Ra, Wa." --If you write it out easier to understand, it's like this.
Hirona: And, the middle and down part is, when you use flick input, the direction you flick it.
Hirona: So the directions point to each column of the Japanese alphabet, or which vowel to use in each line...
Kiyoka: Oh! You change the input, but you tap the A column and number at the same place!
Kaoru: When you put it like that, it makes sense.
Suu: So... 1-middle is "A". 1-down is "O". 4-down is "To". 2-middle is "Ka". And last is 0-up, "N". Is that it?
Sayaka: Aoto... kan.
Mirja: It's Aoto-kan? It's true that it's popular among certain young girls... Toji like ourselves. And, if the input method on our phones is the key they mentioned, there's no questioning it.
Hiyori: That place isn't far from here. Guess we should run over there.
Kaoru: Hiyori... I'm surprised to see her getting so into this. Does she actually like this kinda thing?
Kiyoka: If you invite Juujou-san along, she'll come up with some reason to join in.
Kaoru: Well, as long as she's having fun.
Hiyori: It's closed. Probably should have expected that, since it's New Year's Day.
Mirja: For now, let's send a photo of Aoto-kan's exterior as we were instructed.
Mirja: ...I'm surprised to get a response almost immediately after sending it, but, is this another code?
Mirja: --"Head to 111121145's former research facility."
Sayaka: ...The place where the research facility is became numbers?
Kaoru: They're not making it easy on us, but it sounds like it from how they wrote it. Did you get another hint, Sayaka?
Sayaka: I didn't get one.
Suu: Making us do this without a hint is a huge difficulty spike out of nowhere, isn't it-?
Kiyoka: Ah, take a look at this. The paper on the door to Aoto-kan...!
Hiyori: "Greetings, Happy New Year" ...and afterwards is...
Hiyori: "1, 15, 20, 15, 11, 1, 14. owner, Aoto Youji."
Mirja: This is likely the same as the previous code.
Kiyoka: Do you think this is a hint, maybe? Like... these numbers represent Aoto-kan, or something.
Suu: But, isn't the amount of numbers different...?
Mirja: The first question was in hiragana, but this one might be in some other alphabet.
Mirja: Then, if these numbers do represent Aoto-kan as Musumi Kiyoka suggests, the "1" at the start is very likely "A".
Sayaka: ...This is hard.
Kaoru: You're supposed to spend New Year's under a kotatsu with mikan. It's basically the law... But this is probably gonna keep us stuck here for a while.
Kaoru: Nn... Wait, it's my phone this time. What now... "The place of origin of certain okatana." What's that about?

3: Is Cracking Codes Business as Usual for Toji?

Suu: "Head to 111121145's former research facility"...
Suu: It says that, but, this code... Does it make any sense at all? I'm hitting max hopelessness here; I can't think of anything anymoreee.
Kaoru: Don't force it, just take it easy-. I feel like passing on this one too.
Kiyoka: Ah--! The amount of numbers here, this has to be it when you write it with the English alphabet...!
Kiyoka: A, O, T, O, K, A, N. With seven of them, you get Aoto-kan.
Hiyori: So A is 1, then O is 15, T is 20, K is 11, and N is 14?
Kiyoka: Exactly. I think these numbers probably apply to the English alphabet starting from 1 in ABC order.
Suu: Wow... Kiyoka-san! I think you're right.
Mirja: In that case, let's examine the string of numbers "111121145" piece by piece.
Mirja: The first sequence of 1s could be 1 or 11. And, as there are 26 characters in the English alphabet, it's reasonable to assume the end is 5 and not 45.
Sayaka: E is the fifth letter, so the end is "E". Or, a syllable that ends with "e".
Mirja: The next question is whether the number in front of the 5 is a 4 or a 14.
Mirja: If it's a 4, that would make it D, so the end is "De". If it's a 14, it would be N, so it reads as "Ne".
Kaoru: This one's definitely gonna take a lot longer than the hint, since they broke Aoto-kan up by letters.
Mirja: That's true. Then, let's move to the first number, 1, or "A".
Mirja: There is a chance it could be 11, or K, but if it were 11 and 11 then it would be read as Kk, which wouldn't make sense, so we can exclude it.
Kiyoka: Which means, the name of the next place we go either starts with "Kaa" or "Aka", but I think "Aka" sounds right. Right, Mirja-san?
Mirja: Yes, I reached the same conclusion. After all, our next destination is a former research facility, and the hint Mashiko Kaoru received was that it's "the place of origin of certain okatana."
Mirja: I realized it's a place that we, the investigation team, were very familiar with.
Hirona: Ahh... Since you're... the Akabane sword investigation team?
Kiyoka: Yeah. If you split up the numbers like this, you get "1, 11, 1, 2, 1, 14, 5."
Kiyoka: If you match it up with the English alphabet, then it's "A, K, A, B, A, N, E". Akabane.
Mirja: We did previously investigate the 5th Physiological Research Institute in Akabane, and it does match the description of a former research facility. If that's our destination, I can guide us there.
Hiyori: With how closely it matches, it doesn't seem likely it'd be anything else.
Sayaka: The 5th Physiological Research Institute in Akabane... Let's go. I think Mirja and Kiyoka got it right.
Kaoru: 'kay, let's get going-. You know, I feel like I had to solve a riddle like this before.
Suu: It's kind of dark and creepy here...!
Hirona: ...It looks as abandoned as you'd expect for an unused building. Did you get any additional instructions?
Kiyoka: It doesn't seem like it yet.
Sayaka: Come over here. There's something written on the floor in chalk.
Mirja: The chalk is hardly eroded, so I suppose that means this is our next code.
Mirja: --"Head to where the 6023NJ141 is performed" ...is what it says.
Hiyori: There's numbers and letters this time. Even if we tried the same rules as last time... it wouldn't work because there's a 0, would it? Though, maybe it's not a 0, but a capital O...
Kiyoka: Hmm, I wonder what they mean by a place where something's performed...?
Hirona: I'm at a loss... completely.
Sayaka: Kaoru... Did you figure out anything?
Kaoru: What're you asking me for? It's not like I'm all that great with this stuff...
Sayaka: But, when I don't know what to do, you and Ellen always help.
Kaoru: Well... I don't know if it's the right move here, but just plain solving the riddle isn't the only approach.
Kaoru: When we started out, they said "Focusing on aradama will help you."
Kaoru: First was Aoto-kan. Then the abandoned building that had to do with the Akabane swords. So, wouldn't the next place also have to do with toji and aradama?
Kiyoka: That makes sense. Ah... They messaged me this time! I'll read it out.
Kiyoka: --"It's just as important to focus on appearances. Pay attention to the shapes." --"It's a place where those who fight with okatana in hand gather."
Sayaka: Half of it was just like Kaoru said.
Kaoru: Come on, if you're gonna give us a hint, do it sooner...
Hirona: ...It's kind of mean of them, isn't it.
Mirja: --6023NJ141.
Mirja: Why don't we focus on the shapes of these letters and numbers for the time being.

4: The Place Where the Codes Connect

Kiyoka: ...6.0.2.3.N.J.1.4.1. They told us to look at the shapes, but I don't even know where to begin.
Kaoru: ......
Hiyori: Maybe the shapes are similar to something...
Suu: What's 6 similar to... If you look at it upside down, I guess it's a 9?
Mirja: It could be a good way of looking at it. However, thinking of 6 as 9 doesn't seem like it will help make any significant progress.
Sayaka: ...Kaoru, what were you looking on your phone for?
Kaoru: Just reading back through the messages Ellen sent me over winter break. Ahh, there it is. Right here. Look at this.
Sayaka: ?
Kaoru: "H3110 KAORU! How are you spending your winter break?" See how it says that?
Kaoru: The part at the start; doesn't that kinda look like this code? With the numbers and the letters.
Suu: Ah! That "H3110" is "Hello", isn't it. I used to play around writing like that with my friends.
Kaoru: That's how it works.
Mirja: It's true that it's similar in some places. Like how 3 is substituted for E, though the orientation is inverted.
Hiyori: So they're replacing letters with numbers? That sounds like a good clue.
Kaoru: Don't worry about it. I already found a chart for swapping these. You can find a lot of this stuff on the internet.
Kaoru: I'll say what 6023NJ141 swaps into, so somebody write it down. 6 is "G", 0 is "O", 2 is... "Z", probably. 3 is "E".
Kaoru: And then, we should be able to leave "N" and "J" as is. 1 is either "I" or "L". 4 should be "A". Cause it looks like a lowercase "a".
Hirona: Then that means 6023NJ141 is... "GOZENJIAI"?
Sayaka: The place we have to go to next is where they hold the tournament (gozenjiai)?
Hiyori: There's the martial arts hall where they hold preliminaries with representatives from each school. But, they probably mean... the place where they hold the finals, don't you think?
Kaoru: That place did leave a pretty crazy impression. All thanks to a couple people I know.
Hiyori: ...Hmph. Either way, are we going to be able to get in there on New Year's morning?
Mirja: Let's go and check for now. It won't do us any good staying here.
Suu: Yeah. I don't want to be here too long, and I'm a little bit curious to see what's next on this riddle solving tour!
Kaoru: It doesn't sound that "little bit" curious anymore. Though, since we came this far, we might as well go along too.
Kiyoka: They let us in...
Mirja: We can interpret that as us being correct to come here... No wait, I just got a message. That settles it.
Mirja: The subject is: "This is the final riddle. After that your reward is waiting."
Suu: There's got to be a reward for solving riddles, after all. If they don't have one, that's a scam! A scam!
Hirona: Inami-san... you sure got excited about this. You switch on and off, I get iit.
Suu: After coming this far, you have to get excited for it! Otherwise it'd be like going to a joint live and leaving just before your idol comes out!
Sayaka: I'm glad you want to do it, Suu. Mirja, what's the riddle?
Mirja: I'll read it out loud.
Mirja: --"Think back over today, and visit the shrine dedicated to the god linked to the following 3."
Mirja: "2-middle, 7-left, 9-left". "201921182179". "N4M42U".
Mirja: They specifically advise us to think back over today, so I suppose that means to solve the codes using the previous solutions and guess a specific shrine from these keywords.
Hirona: We know how to solve them, so this should go quick... ...That's helpfull.
Hiyori: ...I got a message too? "The hint this time is you yourself." ...What does that mean?
Kiyoka: Hmm, so then it has some connection to Juujou-san?
Kaoru: The shrine's on the Yamato Plain... That's gotta be it.
Hiyori: That's it. I'm going to kill you.

5: The Future the Present Reaches

Kiyoka: Okay, let's start by cracking the codes. The first is "2-middle, 7-left, 9-left". If you put that into a phone, it's... "Ka" "Mi" "Na" Ri" (thunder).
Hirona: Thunder... A natural phenomenonn. I'll write it down.
Sayaka: Next is "201921182179". These numbers are the alphabet. You replace them counting from 1, 2, 3 starting from A.
Sayaka: So Z becomes 26. There's no 0, so the first one has to be the 20th letter of the alphabet.
Suu: T!
Kaoru: There wouldn't be 79 either, so the last one has to be 9. And, the 9th letter is I.
Mirja: These 12 numbers separate into 20, 19, 21, 18, 21, 7, 9 which equals in that order: T, S, U, R, U, G, I.
Hiyori: Reading it out... you get tsurugi (sword). It has to be swords.
Hirona: I did the last one, "N4M42U"... Comparing it to what Mashiko-san found online, it's "NAMAZU"u.
Hirona: Namazu... It's a fish. Ahh... By the way, did you know, replacing letters with characters that look vaguely similar is called "leetspeak"?
Sayaka: Thunder, swords, namazu. Does anyone know what shrine has a god that's related to these?
Kaoru: Oi, Sayaka. You're forgetting the most important one. Thunder, swords, namazu, and, horizon chest.
Hiyori: ......
Kaoru: Try putting your hand on that chest of yours. Anything come to mind?
Hiyori: ...It does. But, let me say one thing. I've been thinking this for a while, but you really don't have the right to talk down to me here, do you?
Kaoru: Maybe I don't. But I'll do it anyway.
Hiyori: You're...... Whatever. Let's get back to the question. When you think of thunder, swords, and namazu, the Japanese god connected to them is Takemikazuchi. He's the god of both thunder and swords.
Hiyori: There was also a widely believed anecdote about him sealing a namazu that was thought to be causing earthquakes.
Kiyoka: Do you have any idea which shrine is dedicated to Takemikazuchi?
Hiyori: At Kashima Shrine. Since I was the hint. It's where the style of swordfighting I use, Kashima Shinto-ryu, is supposed to have originated.
Hirona: Then, that settles it-.
Hiyori: If it is Kashima Shrine... you realize that's in Kashima City in Ibaraki. Are we going to catch trains all the way there?
Mirja: A helicopter showing up now? I suppose that means we should get on board. There's no other choice if we're going.
Suu: EHH-----!?
Suu: WE'RE GETTING ON THAT!?
Mirja: This is where the mystery person sending us messages should be.
Kaoru: They'll probably be coming around any second now.
Ellen: Kaoru-! Happy New Year! You all did really well-!
Kaoru: What'd you send us on this whole goose chase for right on New Year's... I'm supposed to be sitting under a kotatsu eating mikan right about now.
Ellen: Sorry, but I was only here to help out. The evil mastermind is-- Grandpa!
Friedman: Hahaha, you could put it nicer than that, Ellen.
Mirja: ...Dr. Richard Friedman!?
Suu: There's a celebrity!?
Sayaka: Why are you here?
Friedman: I wanted to give you a little surprise as a New Year's greeting.
Hiyori: It didn't seem that little... You went all out. What was the point of all this?
Friedman: It might be a bit late to say it, and I know it's preaching to the choir, but I wanted to give you another chance to think about toji and aradama while having some fun.
Friedman: All the places you visited today were related to the two of them, weren't they?
Mirja: Yes, and they were places we had a personal connection to as well.
Friedman: This nation has spent a long time with aradama. Even if that relationship and the state of things shift, that connection is likely going to remain.
Friedman: And, as toji in service, you all have the ability to shape the state of things in the future. Though, practically speaking, you'll need the support of a great deal of people to make that happen.
Friedman: But, I won't bore you with any more of this. For doing so well on making it here to Kashima Shrine, I'm inviting all of you on a hot springs trip. Think of it as your New Year's gift.
Kaoru/Suu: Hot...
Hiyori/Kiyoka: ...Springs!?
Kaoru: Ahh... but, this is one of those things, right? I'm about to get called back on an urgent mission.
Friedman: No need to worry, during this trip, you'll be completely off the clock. I've already talked it over with the presidents of each school.
Mirja: If you've gone to that extent, then we'll enjoy this vacation to the fullest.
Hirona: It's important to take breaks... I appreciate the hot springs too. It's what's most important.
Kaoru: ......
Kaoru: Oohhhhh! You planned this all out perfect, grandpa! It's so perfect I didn't know what to say for a second. Ellen, your grandpa's the best!
Ellen: I'm really happy you can tell how great Grandpa is, Kaoru.
Ellen: And then, tomorrow, we can all go again and do our first shrine visit together! I hope we'll all get along this year~!