Hisakawa Koukou - Hard Reset IC

[Rithas]

[fieldbox= Leo Kane, #666699, solid]

[November 4th, Noon / Downtown - Karakuri Mall]

It seemed the other two had noticed Sagawa's attempt and had decided to leave by themselves instead of being ditched. That, Leo supposed, was an acceptable outcome.

"Leo-kun, do you think I'll have to take another bus to get to the copy store? Maybe, if you're not busy, we can go there together?"

"Yeah sure-"

"I'm Sorry!" Sagawa called out, stopping the two from leaving.

"I know I don't get people that much. I know that that I'm irrevocably self-centered and that I act like I want to be left alone..."
"But I hate that! I don't want to be left alone! Even if it's completely uncalled for me to say this after all that I've done. Even as selfishly as I've acted. Please let me say it for real!"

"Please be my friend! Himura-san! Imada-san!"

"I don't know how to do it... but, I want to be the person who can support you and make you smile!"
"Even knowing that it stems from my own selfish sentiments... that's how I really feel!"

Sagawa was on the verge of tears.

"It will happen for sure...! Even if I need to change myself!"

Hah.....

That was strange, his throat was too dry to speak at the moment.

"Sagawa-chan... Let's be friends!"

Kyouko gave a hand out to Sagawa, who had fallen to the ground. Ignoring the lack of reaction from the people passing by in the mall. This moment was an emotional one that the trio would surely back in the future as the start of a true bond.

The three would...

"You can't be serious right?"

Basically unnoticed through this little affair, Leo had gotten noticeably closer to Sagawa.

"You just don't make sense."

There was always some sort of humourous aura surrounding Leo, the unforgettable reminder that he seemed to never take anything or anyone seriously. Accompanied by a smile or smirk.

This was not to be found.

---

Music

---

I am so sick of this

It wasn't exactly a scowl, but Leo's expression was certainly one that was displaying a barely tethered rage.

"I handled it well enough didn't I? You were a loner, noticable friends including someone who used you as the sole reason to live and a person who was at the best of times wanted to get into fights too much."
"I could of....I could of somehow managed that."
"But you just couldn't leave it at that. You had to keep going.......and it's so fake. So utterly fake."

People passed by, just like always. They had things to do. This was of no buisness to them.

But still, it was in a public space. Unable to do anything drastic.

Always something.

"This is wrong. So horrifically wrong."

Always surrounding herself with ignorant people. Protection. Never thoughts of talking, as he was never given a chance.

Always a reason to ignore her. Always a reason. Reasons to move on.

Think about the people. Think about the reactions. Think about the consquences. Think abou-

But what did that get him?

"And you talk to her, exclaiming your wish to be friends after...." Leo face twisted into a deep grimace.
"It's sickening!"
"Acting like none of it ever happened!...Like you never did what you did!"

She was laughing at him. He knew it. Behind that face of hers. She was laughing. Mocking him. He could only imagine it, a twisted sneer.


Laughing at his inability.
Laughing at his misfortune.

Complete amateur.

What did she get out of this? Was she such a monster that she was doing this just to hurt him?

"Do you enjoy this?"
"Putting on this show. Crying for friendship?"

And she'll get it. A voice spoke to him. She'll get it like she got everything.

It's not fair.

Kokoro would....

Oh who cares.

Abandoned by, Hated by ,Hurt by.

That's all Kokoro did.

"I wonder, that precious little Hacker. Did they mention anything? In your little confrontation, Hmm? Any little clue towards their motive!? Funny how everyone skips that part eh?"

Nobody cared, they just wanted to move on.

But he could make an educated guess. He flexed his hands.

The only one who seemed to care.

Forced silence. Self-hesitation.

"Y-you get to win...."

Everyday, a reminder of...

Voice in disrepair, "Does it matter that little to you."

Leo looked down.

"Did she?"

@Ehb
@Skyswimsky
@Raven Haruka
@Hah[/fieldbox]

 

[ShiroKiyoshi]

[fieldbox= Pratt Rikuto, blue, solid]

[November 4th, Noon / Excalibur Arcade]


"I wouldn't hold a grudge on ya' for slipping up once." Pratt chuckled. "But, be mindful of it, I find it really annoying."

"You're a lot like me then." Pratt commented, he then looked at Ryuu's face as he stared at his hands. It was a weird thing to witness but Pratt kept his questions to himself. He didn't feel it was right to question that far into Ryuu's past. However, he felt it necessary to reassure him and just as he was about to wake Ryuu up, something else beat him to it.

A drone, an all too familiar drone, that if Pratt wasn't so sure the owner would sue him for it, he'd destroy it. It belonged to Mana Kazami, from what Pratt knew about her, she was nosy and that just pissed him off. And the drone just extended how far she could sniff. Pratt crossed his arms and looked to Ryu nudging him. "Yeah, it's hers. Who else would go so far to snoop on people?"

Upon hearing his name Pratt turned to a group of three gamers approaching them. Too busy thinking about what they could possibly have to show them, Pratt had no time to react to Ryuu's sudden pull and started stumbling in the direction he was being dragged. "Yeah, okay, okay, chill out man."

Pratt fixed his clothes when he could finally stand on his own again and then went over to examine the screen everyone was so excited to show him. Ryu had gotten a high score on some game. It wasn't anything surprising, but Pratt knew it was only courtesy to congratulate others on their achievements. And just when Pratt was gonna give him a pat on the back, Ryu said he'd never played it. Well, that was certainly mysterious, but Ryuu is a pretty common name, could even be a gamer tag. Street Fighter was a popular game once. So, Pratt ruled out anything weird going on.

Pratt was just about to go sit down in an empty game booth, but then someone said he had gotten a high score on a machine. He got up and looked at the game they claimed he had conquered, narrowing his eyes. An arcade game where one was forced to sit down and manipulate the character with a joystick, Pratt's arch nemesis. Yet, there his name was along with two others.

PRT
TOM
RIN
​

"Looks like we got some fans, Ryuu. Think we should challenge them?" Pratt said looking away from the machine as he called out to Ryuu.
​

@Eruantien @WhoeverElse

[/fieldbox]

 

[Luma]

[fieldbox=Kamei Mana, #ccffff, solid]

[November 4th, Noon / Downtown - Excalibur Arcade (Cafeteria)]

"I wanted to leave the student radio, and she lost her shit. It's not the only time I've seen her angry. She's kind of terrifying when she loses it."

Mana wanted to argue, but....well....she couldn't exactly say Kira was wrong. Of the times Mana had witnessed her infamous "Nyoko-splosions", as Mana liked to call them, it'd been terrifying standing in the same room as her. Or even in the next room over. Still, from what she'd seen, she usually went off for good reasons....or at least decent ones.

It was a little disappointing she didn't get a nickname. Nicknames were fun. Actually, she was still addressed as "Potion-chan" every now and then because of how common mana potions were in video games. Weird, but she kinda liked it.

"A family sounds nice. I don't know. I didn't think I knew so many pandas, but I guess it's a superior option to getting involved with the… Nevermind."

"The Mafia?" Mana smiled, guessing as a joke since she was 99% certain she was way off. Her mind had leapt there because of a video game she'd played a few months ago. Japan had it's own Mafia, right? Yakuza? As far as she was concerned, the Yakuza were in the same boat as the Mafia: alleged groups that may or may not be real. Well.... they were probably "sorta real", but there's no way they could live up to all that hyped drama video games put on them.

"Does Turbo Lover spend a lot of time at the TTC?"

Turbo Lover? Who's Tur--

"I mean, Kyouko. Heard you were friends or something."

Mana's face lit up with a joyous grin as Kira blushed red. So it was mutual! She'd just said it after all, nicknames for those she flirted with. That was a relief to know there was at least something between them. And Kira was giving all the signs of a crush....Mana knew those all too well.

"Mm, yep. I've known Captain Kyouko since forever. She doesn't like to stay put, but I'd say she spends more time there than most places, 'kay? And she has to show up for meetings too." Mana returned to her food a moment, eating at a more moderate pace. It was a little awkward being next to someone pigging out like that.

"By the way," Mana changed the topic for Kira's sake, "why haven't you formed a band yet? A drummer without a band is kinda like.... um...." She paused for a moment to think about it. "A bird without wings? A sandwich without bread? Something like that."

Mana heard a 'ping' in her mind and checked to see Kyouko's response. Mm yep, that'd do. She could trust her not to screw up that whole suggestion thing. Well....okay maybe it was more 50/50. At least her name would be brought up though, which was better than nothing. She'd talk to Nyoko about it herself later. In fact, maybe she'd bring Kira with her once they were done eating.

@Wen
@Skyswimsky[/fieldbox]

 

[Weracious]

[fieldbox= OSHIRO KIRA, #ffa938, solid]

[November 4th, Noon / Excalibur Arcade]


[BCOLOR=transparent]Kira had the sense to remain level-headed when Mana mentioned the mafia, though on the inside she freaked out a little bit. There was no way Mana could know. In the end, by the time she would have worked up the nerve to tell Rei what she wanted to tell her, it would still be a secret she'd keep. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Mana's grin struck her as weird. Was it that funny to her that Kira asked about Kyouko? It wouldn't surprise her if they'd laugh about it together later. Although, Mana didn't seem the type to mock others for who they were.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Mm, yep. I've known Captain Kyouko since forever. She doesn't like to stay put, but I'd say she spends more time there than most places, 'kay? And she has to show up for meetings too."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Doesn't like to stay put? Did that mean she had commitment issues? Wait, wait, why did she care if Kyouko had commitment issues? Furthermore, it was rich coming from someone like herself, she supposed. Then again, she flirted with everyone in the search of someone to be romantic with. It was just that she never found them. They were never willing to be openly gay, or she pushed them until they ended up in car accidents. Admittedly, the last thing had only happened once — so far.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"why haven't you formed a band yet? A drummer without a band is kinda like.... um...."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Kira didn't belong in a band, not really. She was a free spirit. Besides, she hadn't really heard anyone else which impressed her. While she was still learning how to drum, more or less, she felt she had reached a higher level than most at her age. Her parents had high hopes for her as well, wishing she'd apply to any number of prestigious music schools after she'd graduated from Hisakawa. Kira didn't think she had a chance at being accepted, but it was a better reason for her to keep up with her music than wanting to be a rockstar, according to her parents. She didn't necessarily agree or disagree. It wasn't something she'd told anyone else either. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]She'd wanted to be seen as a delinquent to improve her reputation, make her appear more rock, yet Nyoko was right. The actual delinquents, like some of her friends, didn't have a future, but she did.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]It wasn't a good idea for her to be seen as someone others could use against a yakuza boss. It might undo all her hard work if they decided to come after her. Not a single person was worth that. Her drumming, her dreams, her music, and her future was more to her than anything else in the entire world.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"It's not really like that. It's like any other instrument," Kira said, pausing for a moment. "I'm not sure you've seen Whiplash. It's an old movie, but it's probably my favourite. It's about a drummer at a prestigious school. He plays in a jazz orchestra, of sorts, and he plays a long drum solo at one point, impressing his teacher. I… I wanna be more like that than some drummer at the back of a band."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Maybe it wasn't just her parents who thought it was an appealing idea for her to get into a music school, though she wasn't about to admit how they were right. She'd sooner admit that Nyoko was right, and that she should stop acting out like a failed rebel, since she wasn't fooling anyone anyway.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Some drummers even…" Kira put more food into her mouth, deciding to show Mana rather than tell her.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]She sent her a link to a video. The Eagles performing Hotel California, one of the great rock classics, live, and the drummer was singing. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Sing, while playing the drums," Kira said, with a dreamy inflection to her voice. "I don't know how to sing, but I'd rather do both than be someone else's drummer. So no, a drummer without a band is not like a bird without wings, or a sandwich without bread. A drummer without a band is an artist in her own right. She doesn't need anyone else."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Kira knew Mana wouldn't agree, knew she'd raise some argument about how both of her examples had had other musicians playing with them. However, that would be missing the point entirely. It wasn't about the group; it was about the individual.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Why should she settle for less than the best?[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I have never told anyone else this, because I wanted to fit in, wanted to be seen as cool, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone either," Kira said, but she imagined it wouldn't take that long for it to spread, much like the rumours about her and Misheru had spread. Mana was likely interested in secrets because she was one of those who spread rumours. "Also, I practice a lot more than anyone else I know. Even those in the music club don't practice every available hour they have. I'd love to jam with others, but I don't want to be in a band with anyone. Why, do you want to play some time?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Kira perked up as she asked the question. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"You make music, right? What does it sound like? Maybe we could make sweet music together, if you want."[/BCOLOR]

No, no... She should stop using that expression on every girl she came across. It was a double entendre, and pretty much everyone knew it. They didn't need to be genuises to figure it out.

After a moment's hesitation, Kira pulled up one of the selfies she'd stored on her chip. She was lying on a bed, and she was dressed in a suit, covering pretty much everything except her bare stomach and her chest. There was a quick way to determine if Kyouko was another waste of time, or if she was remotely interested in her. Judging by Mana's reactions, and if she stopped being a pessimistic little shit, there was a chance that Mana knew something. Was that what the grin had been?

Kira sent the selfie to Kyouko, without writing any text or anything. She only sent the picture.

[BCOLOR=transparent]@Luma @Skyswimsky[/BCOLOR]

[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox= , magenta, solid]

[BCOLOR=transparent][November 4th, Noon / The TTC][/BCOLOR]


[BCOLOR=transparent]Paperwork? Seriously? Fine, I'll stay for now...or until I can look at that crap. Just forget what happened Earlier with that. And really? You want to know now? Hahaha.. someone in my family made a huge debt and ran, while signing me as part of the collateral. There may be ways out of it, but it would threaten my Family, plus I could be in need of a prosthetic finger or two when it's all said and done. This was the lesser of the two ways I was of use to them. What Advice could you possibly have..[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Nyoko wasn't really surprised by any of it. She chose not to respond, because she'd already given her advice. Ayame had missed it; the girl may as well be deaf. Unfortunately, some people thought they had all the answers when they had none. They refused to listen to anyone else than themselves. There was no point for Nyoko to bother with her further. She wasn't going to listen to her anyway. Maybe after a few hours or a day she would have calmed down — almost certainly not.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]@RedArmyShogun[/BCOLOR]

[/fieldbox]

 

[Illin]

[fieldbox= Narita Taigi, Grey, solid]

[November 3rd, Evening/ Taigi's Home]

Days passed. For the most part, he kept up his usual routine which included exercise and restraining the niggling desire to partake in his illegal vices. Taigi didn't talk to Michio about yakuza matters, leaving him be for the most part; it seemed that he was focused on something that Taigi couldn't help with. He visited Yuuki and Lisa's homes twice during different days, but both times nobody was home. Obviously they didn't respond to cell phone messages either, though he still tried. He sent a letter to Kira when she was in the hospital. Though they weren't on the best of terms, he felt sending one was only polite. Nothing too amazing was written, but more along the lines of "get well soon". And though it was mostly pointless to Taigi (since she wouldn't wake up whether he went or not), he met Misheru during visiting hours one day just to confirm her state with his own eyes. He felt a bit sad when he saw her face and felt a bit thankful that he didn't know her better; it would have hurt more if he did. Another day, he went to pay a visit to local police to see if they were aware of what happened at school. To his surprise, they were but didn't give him any details, stating that it was all still under investigation. Not even the name of the suspect he assumed they had in custody.

Taigi unlocked his phone and called his cousin one day...

Meaningless Phone Conversation 2

"Get the fuck out!"

Interestingly, it was spoken in English.

"Why?"
"Don't act dumb."

Switching back to Japanese, he continued.

"Seriously, what the fuck? Two of your classmates got into a car accident, resulting in a coma for one of them. Hold up, a couple of them even got hacked, something thought to be incredibly unbelievable. And some fucking high school kid who hasn't even had his balls or tits drop managed to do this shit? Considering that there's no info on this fucking hacker. Speaking of, your friend, Lisa, almost died. Most of your classmates are missing, along with their parents for some. An undisclosed number of students were sent to the hospital as well. Two of your fucking classmates are in a bid to become yakuza heir. Police and media are fucking dead silent on these issues. I thought about the last conversation too. You have prime real estate with that park. Yet nobody has laid their hands on it, not even the yakuza. That's impossible. Something fucky, I mean real fucky is up with that park. Not just that park, the yakuza too man. According to your friend, they're big. Why the fuck would they go through all the trouble for this stupid heir shit? You don't make it big without pragmatism. Also, your whole fucking school is a circus man. Do I need to explain more? My gut is screaming for you to just get the fuck out. And it has a high accuracy rate. I know Michio is your friend but goddamn dude there is some suspicious ass shit going on there. Shit fucking what the fuck…"

He continued to spew profanities, his emotions in disorder. Taigi sneezed, then turned back to his phone.

"You're probably right. But I can't just leave Michio here. I-"

Taigi was cut off.

"Dude, the man doesn't need you. What he needs is a professional therapist, alright? Maybe the whole fuckin school needs one with all the shit that has gone down recently; the fact that they don't just boggles my mind. He has other friends. You are in the middle of something fucking big. I have no idea what it is, but it's fucking big. You are in very, very real danger of being fucking killed. Incidents like these are fucking unbelievable, incredible. And happening in a span of weeks, in fucking modern day Japan."
"I know, but chances are good that such dramatic happenings won't continu-"
"No. No no no no no no no. I will bet you my left nut that things will continue to escalate. Right now you are the horror movie protagonist walking into the fucking haunted house by himself and calling out to his friends if anyone is there."
"…"
"Seriously, I'll even vouch for you if you're worried about your parents. This is insane."
"Look, I appreciate the concern and understand your points but-"

Taigi was interrupted by a loud sigh.

"Goddamnit. Fine. Whatever. Stay safe. I'm hanging up."
"Got it. Thanks. Woot."
"The fuck I tell you 'bout that 'woot' shit man. Goddamn."

[November 4th, Morning/ Taigi's Home]

There were several options on what to do from now on. He could meet with Rei and obtain information about her situation; it was one of the things he should have done already, but he put it off since he was still feeling hesitant and awkward about her. He could try to talk to Leo to obtain information about Kokoro; Yuuki, before he vanished, had cryptically mentioned something about the two in a message to Taigi. He could try to meet with Mana on the off chance that her drone caught something about the incidents or any other interesting events. He could try to talk to Michio again, about the yakuza and his new love life. From the way Taigi saw him at the festival holding hands with that store girl it seemed he already got himself a replacement for Sagawa, a rebound girlfriend. He didn't think it was a healthy thing for both of them, but would see how it would play out. He could get more information about Yura's committee, but that was a low priority considering all the other events that played out so far. He could try to visit Yuuki and Lisa's homes again, but it would probably be a waste of time.

There was one more option that was considered, but immediately rejected. That idea was to meet with Kokoro directly using the information of a Social Morals officer abusing his position to get an audience. It sounded fine at first, but there was no guarantee of her being truthful and from the way she handled things, she was the type of person he hated. Also, if he used that information, it would be basically screaming to her that he used and purchased illegal substances; how else would he know? Sure he never bought from that Social Morals officer due to his paranoia, but Kokoro probably wouldn't buy that. That choice was a definite no. The fact that he even humored that thought was because he dreamed of that scenario.

Since there were too many reasonable options available, Taigi chose none of them.

[November 4th, Noon / Downtown - Karakuri Mall]

He chose to get a change of pace and went to the mall, different from his usual routine. He didn't go there that often, since there was nothing he needed to buy, and the stuff that the mall had could usually be ordered online for a cheaper price.

Then he saw Sagawa collapsed on the ground. Taigi didn't stand still to gawk, but moved around with the crowd in a circle to hopefully be hiding in plain sight; to hide a tree, plant it in a forest.

"…Even if I need to change myself!"
"Sagawa-chan... Let's be friends!"

Taigi found himself nonplussed by the scene before him; it was like a scene from a play or movie. But, it seemed that they weren't acting. If his classmates were, they were extraordinarily good actors. He wished he came sooner so he could understand some of the context. He always thought Kyouko wasn't one to be emotional, but her tearful face betrayed that thought. Same went for Sagawa; was she only pretending to be strong and apathetic? As he was about to walk away, thinking everything was resolved, he heard a voice.

"You can't be serious right? You just don't make sense. I…"

Taigi could feel the palpable discomfort growing inside him as Leo continued to speak.

("Huh, is that really Leo? He's so... Different. Then again I didn't expect Kyouko to be crying either and Sagawa asking to be friends after she got rid of Michio. You learn things everyday.")

One part of him just wanted to leave, seeing as this was getting intimate and personal. Another part wanted to stay and see where it would go; perhaps he could get useful information about his classmates, especially Sagawa, and have a chance to talk to Leo about Kokoro. Another part of him just wanted to drag his four classmates by their necks and sit them down in a room somewhere; he wasn't even a part of the conversation but he felt embarrassed and uncomfortable for them.

In the end he chose to be a fly on the wall, continuing to move with the crowd and trying to maintain a normal expression on his face, though the urge to cringe was strong.

@Ehb
@Rithas
@Skyswimsky
@Raven Haruka
[/fieldbox]

 

[Calypso Major]

[fieldbox=Chiyo Imada, #fbceb1, solid, 10]

[November 4th, Noon / Downtown - Karakuri Mall]


A small tug at her back caught Chiyo's attention, as she turned around.

"I'm Sorry!"

"???" Chiyo blinked at Sagawa in confusion. Why is she...?

"I know I don't get people that much. I know that that I'm irrevocably self-centered and that I act like I want to be left alone..."
"But I hate that! I don't want to be left alone! Even if it's completely uncalled for me to say this after all that I've done. Even as selfishly as I've acted. Please let me say it for real!"

"Please be my friend! Himura-san! Imada-san!"

"Sagawa-san..."

"I don't know how to do it... but, I want to be the person who can support you and make you smile!"
"Even knowing that it stems from my own selfish sentiments... that's how I really feel!"

The girl in front of her sounded terribly sad--as if she would burst into tears at any moment. It was worrying.

"It will happen for sure...! Even if I need to change myself!"

Chiyo's worry intensified tenfold as Sagawa suddenly collapsed onto her knees, the glasses girl hurriedly following suit and landing in front of said girl.

"Are you okay?!? I'm...We're..." At a loss for words, she looked up to Kyouko for support.

"Let's be friends!"

It was a passionate sight, Kyouko's tears stirring something within her own heart. Turning back to face the meat-bun loving girl, Chiyo tried a wobbly smile.

"Yeah, let's-"

"-You can't be serious right?"

Looking up at the now-suddenly-closer-than-a-moment-ago-Leo, the peach was shocked at the expression on his face.

A face of anger- no, a face of outright fury. And it was all directed at Sagawa.

"You just don't make sense."

"L-Leo-kun...?"
This doesn't feel right...

"I handled it well enough didn't I? You were a loner, noticeable friends including someone who used you as the sole reason to live and a person who was at the best of times wanted to get into fights too much."
In fact, it feels hostile. Even for Leo-kun.
"I could of....I could of somehow managed that."
"But you just couldn't leave it at that. You had to keep going.......and it's so fake. So utterly fake."
Too hostile, it's almost like...

Slowly standing up as he focused onto Sagawa, Chiyo neared Kyouko, before quickly turning and looking up at her. A watery pair of eyes stared into the pirate's as she spoke in a hushed tone.

"Kyouko-san, if the situation here escalates any further...can you run away with Sagawa-san? I can take care of Leo-kun, if it has to come down to it."

Once again, it seemed like her Social Morals instincts had kicked in. Kyouko probably noticed this change, although minute, within her friend.

"This is wrong. So horrifically wrong."

Moving away from Kyouko, she inched closer to the duo of focus, whilst the crowd passed by them.

"And you talk to her, exclaiming your wish to be friends after...."
"It's sickening!"
"Acting like none of it ever happened!...Like you never did what you did!"

A painful reminder hit the peach.

A memory

~With the blessing of Miya~

[ [ It was a quiet evening in the house of Kotori Imada--the aunt of Chiyo Imada. The sun had just hit the edge of the mountains nearby, the day ready to cycle into night for the town of Onomichi.

Meanwhile, in a quaint little room, two girls were busy talking amongst one another- a certain peach, and her maid- to be exact. It was one of those days where, in order to keep up the job of being a maid, said maid would spend a day with her "master", helping around the house if need be--and mostly spending the night there as well, due to mentioned master living out of town.

"I understand you don't want to talk about what happened, Iori-san...but acting like none of it ever happened?
Like you never did what you did? It can't be healthy for you, surely, holding all of it in like you do..."

A small wince could be felt underneath her fingers as a particularly nasty cut near Iori's nose made contact with the antiseptic liquid.

"It's..." She hesitated. "It's fine. No need to worry about it."
"But still--!"
A knock interrupted the two from their conversation, as a white-haired girl poked her head through the door.

"Hey, do you know--oh. Iori, you got into another fight again?"

"She won't tell me why. Or who. Or when." Chiyo pouted as she turned towards the girl.

"The Chiyo-sama that I know doesn't pout like that. It feels fake."

Ren nodded in agreement. "So utterly fake..."

"Awww, but at least I did a better job that time! Don't you think so, Iori-san???"

"Chiyo..."

"Iori-san?!?" ] ]

'Her'?
What did Sagawa-san do to Leo-kun, to make him this angry?

"I wonder, that precious little Hacker. Did they mention anything? In your little confrontation, Hmm? Any little clue towards their motive!? Funny how everyone skips that part eh?"

...No.

Chiyo shook herself out of her thoughts. None of those things mattered right now., what mattered was that this situation didn't try to escalate out of hand.

"Does it matter that little to you."
"Did she?"

As Leo looked down, Chiyo rushed in between the pair, arms up as if to protect the girl on the floor behind her.

"Leo-kun...stop it. I don't like it, those things you're saying...it's not like you." Although she tried to keep a cool tone, she failed- as she instead came out a little too bit harsh--a little bit too worried. She should probably start working with Michio on that--he was pretty good at it.

"I don't want to hear it again, not those words. Please, stop it."

With those unshed tears in her eyes, it was almost as if the peach was frightened by Leo's actions.

"Don't do anything, please. Whatever happened between the two of you...I'm sorry, but you need to walk away, Leo-kun."

"It's really scary, you talking to Sagawa-san like this..."

Meanwhile, the crowd passed by, considering this little situation non-existent and continuing their days as usual. Chiyo attempted to be mature, for once.

"If you'd like, I could walk with you. We could still go to the copy store together?"
[/fieldbox]
@Ehb
@Skyswimsky
@Rithas
@Illin

 

[Accelerator]

[fieldbox= Kamijou Michio, plum, solid]

Michio and Nichio

[November 4th, Noon / Downtown - Obato Castle, Training Hall]

To say that he lost that fight was an understatement.

Calling that a fight meant that both sides had an equal chance of winning. That was no fight. With the way Ayatane Shigeru countered him, Michio might as well plunged himself into a poorly hidden trap. Thus, he could only grit his teeth as he lay there in defeat, contemplating whether or not accepting Shigeru's challenge was a wise decision. While it was true that decisive action, and bravery were qualities of a leader, an equally important quality is discernment... and by the looks of it, he had already failed to show that he could choose his own battles.

Why had things been so messed up for him? His family incurs a huge debt, he is forced into the dark world of the Yakuzas, his childhood friend, the woman he dreamed of spending the rest of his life with, had abandoned him, and now he lost to a self-entitled asshole at something he was supposed to be great at. If God really does exist, then Michio thought He either has a problem in the head, or a very sick sense of humor. Setting him up to lose at the one thing he had the utmost confidence at was a pitiful, if not a humbling experience for the boy. He could imagine God laughing at how shitty his life had become, clearly amused the He had been partly responsible for making the life of one of his creations miserable... though he can't say that he is surprised. Life's been always shitty for the silver-haired boy to begin with, though as it turns out, like a bottle of rum or unlike it, the more time passes, the shittier his life becomes.

Still he was unfazed with the pitiful look Amane had been giving him. Why would he when he was already fucking used to the feeling of getting mocked or pitied from when he was a kid. From his perspective, things never really changed from back then. The kids who mocked him and beat him up were like Ayatane Shigeru. The kids who pitied him because he was beaten up were like Kokoro Amane, and the kids who were once his friends, but turned on him when they learned of his accursed bloodline were like Mizunohara Sagawa. But that was okay... that was fine... he had been there before.... He was born out of all that negativity that the young boy could not possibly shoulder by himself... when he could not turn to anyone, not even his parents about his problems, he would listen to him... he would comfort him... he would take all the pain away. Nichio was the reason he was able to deal with anything God tried to throw at him. If it hadn't been for him, then Michio would have already ended everything a long time ago. That was it... he shouldn't have depended on Sagawa to save him from the ghosts of the past... In the end, the only person he could ever truly depend on was himself.

Nothing had ever changed for him, huh? Aside from his age, and whatnot... except... except that this time, not everyone stabbed him in the back when they learned of his affiliation with the Yakuza. For starters, Taigi still maintained his friendship with him despite learning the truth that Michio tried to hide from everyone. Heck, the guy even hinted about offering to pay for his family's debt. Who in their right mind would even do that? And yet he had been neglecting him until recently... add to the fact that he had been too busy with his part-time jobs that he could not even visit Kira in person after hearing word that she got into an accident, and even failing to check up on Yura, who had stopped coming to school ever since the incident where the Hacker took control of Liza, then some friend he turned out to be.

Others like Mana and Sayuri were also there for him but it's not like he is particularly close with the two of them. There was certainly no way he could get them involve with the Yakuza. No more of his friends needed to be swallowed by this darkness. Even if Mana were to caught the scent of him keeping this secret, Michio would not hesitate to keep it from her in order to protect her... even if she starts hating him for it.

Then there was Ayame, the other person he could wholeheartedly lean on for support aside from Taigi. Ever since that incident in Kazama's Tavern, he could confidently say that he now had finally something to look forward to after spending a tiresome, stress-filled day. And that was spending time with the woman he now loved.

"Geez, with the amount of people who hate me steadily increasing, then it really is no surprise if I wound up getting assassinated one day." The morbid, yet sarcastic thought was quickly dismissed inside his head when he heard Shigeru running his mouth again.

"...Have you even actually fought against someone before, Mishisho? Or at least, against someone who wasn't completely mediocre?"

He had trained with his parents for many years as they passed down their knowledge of martial arts to him. Although he had not exactly reached their level yet, he was confident that he had improved to the point that he could hold his own against either of them, one on one. But if that standard meant trash to the likes of Shigeru, then had his parents simply been going easy on him... because he is their own blood? If that is the case, then he would have a lengthy talk with Kamijou Kakeru and Kamijou Asuho soon. If he ever hoped of beating the like of Ayatane Shigeru, then he needed to improve exponentially.

"If that's the way you fight, then it's fine really. I hear you're really good at doing paperwork. So maybe you'd make a good secretary or something."


"Heh, the guy's got a bad habit of running his mouth too much but he's actually a better fighter than you are? Isn't that a bit unfair? Normally in manga, characters like him are quickly dealt upon and taught a lesson by character's like us, but you losing here just proves that this is reality. We never should have underestimated him. Well, you know what you have to do now, right?" Nichio told him.

"Of course." Was the short, simple reply of the boy to his other personality.

"Still it seemed pretty weird... normally, nobody would have predicted your actions like that unless they've witnessed it before. And while that is likely, to anticipate such a thing out of all the possible actions you could perform isn't a feat any normal opponent would be capable of. It was as if he either has a program that predicts an opponent's moves through calculating body language, or God just plainly blessed the motherfucker with Precognition. While both ideas are absurd, I'd still say that the former is a lot more likely than the latter." After voicing his assessment, Nichio evidently remained quiet, as if anticipating what Michio would do next.

"Kamijou. It's over. Stand down." Amane ordered, signaling the end of the fight. He did give her his word that the fight would only continue as long as she deemed it necessary.

Most people would expect him to lash out again at Shigeru, but after what had just occurred, he knew that any hostile action towards the loudmouth would bring him nothing more than shame and defeat. For that reason, Michio threw away the wooden sword he still held away from him and raised his arms in surrender. That had not been the strangest part though, as the silver-haired boy gave a pleasant smile as he faced the person who claimed to be his "rival".

"Hai, hai (Yes, yes) I give. It was my loss clearly, Ayatane Shigeru-san. I didn't imagine you'd be so skilled in combat. On the contrary, I imagined you to be the type to let his bodyguards handle the violence. My mistake, clearly. That certainly won't happen again." Michio stated in a calm, and composed manner while facing Shigeru. He still could not look directly at Kokoro in the eyes due to the piercing look of pity she gave him but he could at least manage facing the man who had humbled him.

"I'd have to thank you for the match as well, if one could call it that. It has opened my eyes yet again that I have much to learn in terms of combat. Perhaps in another time, we could have a rematch?" Asked the milk-tea lover in a hopeful voice.

"You know, you might just have been a decent candidate... if you acted a bit more polite around people, that is. But hey, who am I to judge, right?" He asked sarcastically.

Finally relaxing for the first time in a while, Michio had just noticed that he had received a message from Ayame. Since he was still in the presence of Amane and Shigeru, he could not just read it without regarding them.

"Excuse me for a second, it seems that I have received a message." Michio stated politely before facing the other way to read Ayame's message.

"Heh, sending me more flirts are you? Least its not the bar again, I've contacted Rei-sama in hopes that she'll agree to the meeting, I've arranged it at The Amaterasu Shrine, I'll let you know of a time..I also have another matter to deal with, if things don't go badly I was thinking we could go to the Ramen shop, maybe elsewhere.. Ara ara, I'll start to ramble like some middle school girl, Will contact you again once I know something. ~ Ayame"

Reading Ayame's message could not help but brighten Michio's mood, if by only a little. It reminded him that his life isn't all that dreary now that he doesn't bear the weight of his burdens alone. Still, his expression did not change at the slightest as he read the message, desperately stifling a smile to conceal any emotion from the two other people in the room. As much as he hated to admit it, having a relationship with Amane could prove to be a double-edged sword. Needless to say that this relationship would act as one of his primary sources of strength and happiness, on the other hand, it could turn as a potential weakness if Amane, Shigeru, or anyone who wanted to bring him down got word of their relationship.

To: Ayame Sayoto
Subject: Today's Agenda

"Hey there, Aya~ I apologize for the late reply. Hey, I'm not trying to get you drunk all the time, you know? Alcohol's good if taken in moderation but I wouldn't want you to destroy your kidneys over the stuff. Still, I can't help but think that you're really cute when you're drunk so I can't say I'm not tempted. Anyways, I'm still at the old castle. I told you that I'd be here because I was summoned by Amane-sama, right? Well, it's good that I'll finally get to talk to her. I'm unsure when I'll be able to finish here but I'll just update you when I'm done. And I'll be happy to take you out on another date, Aya. The ramen shop sounds good, they serve great tea there as well so I'm looking forward to it. Don't mind yourself around me too much. Would be interested to read/listen to your middle school girl ramblings :P "

XOXO

~Michio

After sending the reply, he immediately deleted the message before facing Shigeru and Kokoro once more. If Shigeru did have access to programs that allowed him to predict his opponent's moves, then it would not be farfetched to think that he would have an app that allows him to snoop inside someone's inventory and read their messages.

"Do you have anything else you'd like to discuss with me, Amane-sama?"

@Ehb

@RedArmyShogun

[/fieldbox]

 

[Ehb]

[fieldbox= Mizunohara Sagawa, turquoise, solid]

[November 4th, Noon / Downtown - Karakuri Mall]

Sagawa was still unable to fully believe that it could happen. She was able to get her feelings across. It wasn't a particularly elegant way to go about it, but it was able to reach them. Sagawa appreciatively looked back at Kyouko and Chiyo.

"You guys..."

A grateful Sagawa nodded.

"Yes! Let's start over, and-"
"-You can't be serious right?"

Leo Kane spoke out, in a frustrated and deeply troubled voice.

"You just don't make sense."
"L-Leo-kun...?"
"I handled it well enough didn't I? You were a loner, noticeable friends including someone who used you as the sole reason to live and a person who was at the best of times wanted to get into fights too much."
"I could of....I could of somehow managed that."
"But you just couldn't leave it at that. You had to keep going.......and it's so fake. So utterly fake."

Leo Kane, whom had never spoken to Sagawa before, suddenly seemed to be going into detail about her, and how he felt of her situation.

"Kane-san... what are you talking about?"


"This is wrong. So horrifically wrong."

Sagawa knew that Leo Kane was an observant person. His messages were the most interesting to read and shed some light on how he looked at people. She knew he didn't like her all too much, so it was easy for her to take the side of the people who also didn't like him for the various betrayals and wrongdoings he'd done towards them. But the way he was talking to her now.... there was something missing. Something important that was only making Sagawa more and more confused.

Leo wasn't making sense at all. But, Sagawa had one, relatively illegal, way to find out about it. A little frightened and guilty. but wishing to find out the truth, she apologized to Leo mentally as she began. Even as he continued to voice his various displeasures.

"And you talk to her, exclaiming your wish to be friends after...."
"It's sickening!"
"Acting like none of it ever happened!...Like you never did what you did!"

What did she ever do to him?

Sagawa always thought of him as a coward who spoke used his detached nature to manipulate people. But, she'd never known he'd go out and start a direct confrontation like this. But, in his mind... speaking so emotionally, made it very likley some of his thoughts were being iterated into text by his Chip interface.

"I wonder, that precious little Hacker. Did they mention anything? In your little confrontation, Hmm? Any little clue towards their motive!? Funny how everyone skips that part eh?"
"Does it matter that little to you."
"Did she?"

...

The meat bun lover was speechless. There was a genuine anger coming from Leo Kane. But, he was only ever a classmate. She never interacted with him at all beyond passing a dropped pencil or a test paper. They were supposed be complete strangers.

Chiyo attempted to calm down the situation. Speaking firmly to Leo, wishing him to stop.

"Leo-kun...stop it. I don't like it, those things you're saying...it's not like you."
"I don't want to hear it again, not those words. Please, stop it."
"Don't do anything, please. Whatever happened between the two of you...I'm sorry, but you need to walk away, Leo-kun."
"It's really scary, you talking to Sagawa-san like this..."
"If you'd like, I could walk with you. We could still go to the copy store together?"


Suddenly...

"Kane-san, who's Umeko?"

Chiyo and Leo both stopped immediately upon hearing that name.

"When you were talking, you kept on thinking about that name."

Looking at Leo, Sagawa's expression was only that of confusion and worry. Of course, even a hacker like her couldn't penetrate his thoughts much deeper than that.

@Rithas
@Raven Haruka
@Skyswimsky
[/fieldbox]

---

[fieldbox= , white, solid]
[November 4th, Noon / Downtown - Obato Castle, Training Hall]

"Hai, hai (Yes, yes) I give. It was my loss clearly, Ayatane Shigeru-san. I didn't imagine you'd be so skilled in combat. On the contrary, I imagined you to be the type to let his bodyguards handle the violence. My mistake, clearly. That certainly won't happen again."

Returning to his casual posture from before, Shigeru mechanically 'sheathed' the training sword into his belt.

"Bodyguards? Those or for handling outside threats. Mikado doctrine states that internal struggles are kept person to person. You did know that, right? In fact, Amane-sama..."

"Stop."

"Yes, mam'. Please don't glare at me too hard."

"I'd have to thank you for the match as well, if one could call it that. It has opened my eyes yet again that I have much to learn interms of combat. Perhaps in another time, we could have a rematch?"

Ayatane shrugged in a non-comitted fashion.

"Fine by me."

"You know, you might just have been a decent candidate... if you acted a bit more polite around people, that is. But hey, who am I to judge, right?" Michio asked in a sarcastic tone. "Excuse me for a second, it seems that I have received a message."

"Kek."

While Michio was focused his interface, writing back to someone they liked, Ayatane and Kokoro looked at one another. Seeing to gossip about who he was talking to through expression alone. Finished, Michio addressed Kokoro, seeking to take his leave.

"Do you have anything else you'd like to discuss with me, Amane-sama?"

"If you're going to take this seriously then you're going to want to speak with the Council at some point. Primarily, you can expect to get a good scolding for never seeing them up until now. But, they're the people who'll have a say in which candidate will make the ascension when the time comes. If have other plans, and don't want to go through getting grilled by those geezers today, then you can do it later on."

"Can't really make someone the face of an organization without ever really meeting them, can they?" Ayatane said as he put his arms behind his head in a classic and generic pose.

"The reason why I mentioned the whole thing with Mizunohara was because that's a volatile subject right now. For someone like you who's low on the radar, you'd best avoid looking like you're taking any sides without realizing it. If she really does have nothing to do with her, then please act on that conjecture."

Ayatane idly kicked the floor.

@Accelerator
[/fieldbox]

---

[fieldbox= , white, solid]
[November 4th, Noon / Hachi-Ou Park]

"Hey I haven't drank anything today!.. It's just stress. Or is there something...no never mind." Ayame seemed to protest, but relented. "I doubt you brought me out here to kill me, and you're being pretty friendly. What is it you want from me Nozomi-san? Not to be rude, but most people don't just talk like this to me for fun, you also seem like a busy lady. Plus it's not like I'm high up the school's most liked list, Ninja Girl or Gorilla Chan are my nicknames after all.."

"Well, yes. I would be lying if I said I had too much free time on my hands. But I feel like keeping active with reasonable times to rest is healthy. Right now, being here and talking to you can count as a time of taking a rest." Putting her hands behind her back, Yuri leaned forward a little. Seeming to grant Ayame's wish to get to the point with her response. "You should also take time to slow down occasionally as well, Sayoto-san. You'll burn yourself out if you worry over Kamijou-san, Saionji-san, and your own problems all at the same time."

Standing straight again, Yuri casually pumped her shoulders.

"That's it. Really. I just don't want you to burn out and neglect your studies. I think it would be very uplifting for the other students to see you actually move up a grade this year!" Yuri said, sporting a playful smile.

[BCOLOR=transparent]@RedArmyShogun[/BCOLOR]
[/fieldbox]

 

[RedArmyShogun]

[fieldbox= Ayame Sayato, maroon, solid]

[November 4th, Noon / Hachi-Ou Park]

Narrowing her eyes, Yuri knew a bit too much. Was it yet another troublesome person, or maybe an Ally... Regardless she seemed to know an awful lot about about her own situation. As Yrui leaned in, then withdrew during her speech, Ayame's eyes go from narrowed to wide open. Considering her words carefully, there was some danger here. Was this friendly advice or a warning. The Cheerful girl's expression was hard to read past the surface.

"Just who, or what are you, Nozomi..you seem to know a bit more than any normal student should with my worries." Letting her thoughts spill out in the form of words, Ayame sighs, letting her shoulders slump as she shakes her head side-to-side. Putting her right fist knuckle first, under her chin the body guard's eyes take a more normal pose.

"I guess it wouldn't be a good idea to lie to yah.. I'm being over worked, but if you know why, then what can I do to get out of it? With Rei's situation I'm at my wit's end, and I'm not sure I can count on my ally.. I might should quit my lunch time responsibility as well, paperwork be damned.."

"And yeah, yeah, shut it..I know I failed last year.. I would like to move up this year myself, but I haven't had the time to study, and not like my employer cares." Ayame pondered why she was telling this all to the girl, even if not detailed it was still a bit much. Was in the smile, or because she seemed the sort to know what was going around in this city.

"Ah Sorry, I got carried away.." Crossing her arms and having her typical blank expression, Ayame was curious what Yuri would have to say next, if she had anything to say. It would be a little disappointing if all this was in the end was obvious advice. Ayame knew what she needed to do and should be doing, just not how to make it happen.


[/fieldbox]

@Ehb

 

[Eru]

[fieldbox="Miyamoto Ryuu, #2feb83"]

[November 4th, Noon / Excalibur Arcade]

"I don't know..."
Ryuu glanced curiously over to Pratt's screen, a similar array of letters and numbers clearly visible.

"I still want to get something to eat." His stomach rumbled in agreement. "So, if you want to stay, you can do that; but, I think I'll just pass by the front desk on the way to the cafeteria." Ryuu jabbed a thumb in the direction of the arcade's entrance. "Maybe the owner knows something we don't. No offense to you guys, of course," Ryuu quickly added, turning to the first-years who had summoned them. They shook their heads, waved, and headed off, eager to test their skills against each other on some different game. Ryuu watched them leave with his hand stuck in midair, wondering if he'd somehow managed to offend them.

After a moment, he tried to compose himself again. "Well," Ryuu stated, turning slowly toward the entrance and beginning to walk, "I'm, uh. I'm just gonna go this way. You ready to eat, or...?" Of course he hadn't done anything wrong. No need to kick himself mentally for it. He sighed, silently. Things were so much harder away from where he was comfortable, even when he was with Pratt. Already, Ryuu couldn't wait to get back to his room. But, he was hungry... and this new arcade mystery did seem like something that needed to be looked into. Ryuu let out a puff of air from his cheeks, frustrated.

@ShiroKiyoshi
[/fieldbox]

 

[Luma]

[fieldbox=Kamei Mana, #ccffff, solid]

[November 4th, Noon / Downtown - Excalibur Arcade (Cafeteria)]

"It's not really like that. It's like any other instrument," Kira said, pausing for a moment.

Darn. Mana hadn't come off as instrument-racist had she? Instrumentist? Was that a thing?

"I'm not sure you've seen Whiplash. It's an old movie, but it's probably my favourite. It's about a drummer at a prestigious school. He plays in a jazz orchestra, of sorts, and he plays a long drum solo at one point, impressing his teacher. I… I wanna be more like that than some drummer at the back of a band."

Mana nodded in understanding. "Right, right. Makes sense. No one wants to be the background."

Opening the link Kira sent her right away, Mana started swaying her head side-to-side in time with a rhythm only she could hear. Definitely a "head swaying" kind of song, and Mana already had a strange looking drone on her head, so it wasn't like it was making her look that much sillier.

Kira continued, sharing her secret desire to sing. It felt like a pretty obvious secret, but from the way Kira was fantasizing over it, it appeared to mean a lot to her. Still.... it wasn't 'cool' enough for her? That didn't make sense. And yep, she'd definitely come off as instrument-racist....

"You make music, right? What does it sound like? Maybe we could make sweet music together, if you want."

"Hmm...." Mana searched through her files, navigating to her own music. She didn't really think her songs were all that great, or even anything Kira would like, but she'd expressed interest, so it was worth sharing, if only to give her a confidence boost. In truth, her songs were actually pretty good for a hobby, but they still fell short of professional.

Mana finally selected a song to send Kira titled "Blazing Sky", an EDM song that mostly featured heavily affected wind chimes, hardcore synth sounds and, most importantly, Mana singing an uplifting melody. The lyrics seemed to imply it was about Kazami flying into a sunset, though it'd be hard to tell if one didn't know about Mana's drone.

"Baby we can rise, my darling if you try~"
"We can reach up to the scarlet clouds into the blazing sky~!"

Mana continued speaking after having sent it; partially to mask the anxiousness. She wasn't exactly shy about her singing voice or her music, but it was still intimidating sharing stuff you put your heart into. "I dunno if I can make music all day, but I'd love to, as long as it's the kinda music for your ears, 'kay? Why would singing make you 'uncool' though," Mana asked, genuinely confused? "Aren't all the cool people you look up to singers? Like Elvis and such?"

@Wen[/fieldbox]

 

[Skyswimsky]

[fieldbox= Kyouko Himura, #3DA3C2, solid]

[November 4th, Noon / Downtown - Karakuri Mall]
Everything could have been going well. Despite Kyouko's current pile of problems, the blonde truthfully treasured this sacred, yet weird, moment until-

"You can't be serious right?"

The enemy attacked.

It did not matter what he said. It did not matter what reasons he had. It did not even matter if, with whatever he was on about, he was in the right.

Kyouko did not know. The blonde couldn't know. For her, all she saw was how a certain Fool made a big mistake. Whatever his problem was, clearly, he had to be in the wrong. Sagawa was a nice girl. Sagawa was pure. More than the eye-patch wearing girl could ever hope to be. For her, all that mattered was to protect her treasured friend.

"Kyouko-san, if the situation here escalates any further...can you run away with Sagawa-san? I can take care of Leo-kun, if it has to come down to it."

No. Really, if the Peach knew the pirate as good as she was supposed to, then both of them were already aware that Chiyo's plea would fall on deaf ears.

Chiyo tried her way.
Kyouko would choose her own way.

For someone she already disliked before now spilling a bunch of nonsense Kyouko's course of action was pretty simple. Maybe, if not for the two other girls being around, the one-eyed girl would have already gone a step further. "Leo..." Without any respect - not even naming him a Fool - Kyouko called his first name in disgust. Her still teary face creating a weird contrast trying to look intimidating. "You little shit better shut your-"

"Kane-san, who's Umeko?"

The first strike - Sagawa craved her own path.

...What? Not only Leo and Chiyo stopped, Kyouko too; held in the middle of her sentence.

No 'Kyouko-chan it's fine', No 'Stop it!', no silence. No nothing. No, Sagawa did, in fact, the most adult thing out of all the three girls.

"When you were talking, you kept on thinking about that name."

Mizunohara Sagawara was a scary person.
No, Sagawa tried to...talk it out with him? Taking the iniative in her own hands? Was that... really her?

Kyouko's honest side was damn well aware that Leo Kane wouldn't just do what he did without a certain Agenda of his own, and thus, even if Kyouko didn't know any details, she wasn't that big of a Fool to not be aware that something was going on between those two.

Still... the one-eyed girl couldn't just stop here, could she? Slowly, regaining her composure, Kyouko finally opened her mouth again to-

The second strike - you received a new message!

Kyouko wasn't a very popular person and the few messages she got usually held a certain meaning of importance. Hence, unless she was busy playing City Monkey, Kyouko Himura generally had it so that whatever messages she got were promptly displayed in front of her: Including a lewd picture of little innocent Kyouko's first crush.

It wasn't a message of Mana asking her some stuff that could be answered later.
It wasn't a message of Nyoko that held a certain meaning of importance but wouldn't spell doom upon the Panda's if Kyouko didn't respond in a hour.
It wasn't a message of her mother asking her if she had a special wish for dinner tonight.

It wasn't any of those things. Instead, it was the best thing in the universe a message with content that had an impact on Kyouko that made her focused mind spiral out of control.

Kyouko stumbled a few steps back, her nose clearly starting to bleed as her idiotic grinning face reddened.

---

For a moment, Leo was forgotten. Sagawa was forgotten. The shopping mall, all of no importance in comparison to Kyouko's denied love-life. While the blonde clearly approved of this message undoubtedly send by Kira for whatever reason the blonde immediately started to question 'Why?' Why? Why? Why?

Did shipping-master Misheru tell Kira something about Kyouko's feelings in denial? Was Kira a cruel, cruel Fool that now, with Misheru temporarily out, decided to play with Kyouko? After all, Kyouko's innocent version of something sacred like 'love' carried a certain weight of loyalty. Questions. Questions and more questions.

Things Kyouko had successfully pushed back into her mind to concentrate on Sagawa&co for the sake of enjoying the day were now plaguing her in a relentless assault again.

Generally, Kyouko had such an easy time knowing what to do so why was it so hard when it came to Kira? Heck, the pirate wasn't even supposed to admit that she was in love with the red-head! Clearly, 'not responding' was not an option... . Thus, the question was? Just how was Kyouko supposed to respond? Like how she felt? Some sort of thumbs up emoji? But weren't Misheru and Kira... .

Kyouko shook her head. Fuck this. Fuck everything. She had to tackle this differently. And quickly. Her entire rage towards Leo was already gone. So fuck him too. Kyouko knew about the rumours that were going on about Kira. Though, clearly, Kyouko's chosen one could in no way be a bad person! But... Hah!

A stroke of genius. Just what exactly did Kira expect from Kyouko? The blonde did not know. But whatever it was, Kyouko wouldn't give it to her. No person right in their mind would respond to a lewd picture with... another lewd one!

Well, only partially. In fact, considering the great shots Yuuki made Kyouko wouldn't be surprised if Kira had already seen them. So instead... yeah, Kyouko had to use bigger guns! Just a picture, no words, no content.

---

Giving Kira what she deserved Kyouko was able to put that behind her, for the time being, and pay attention back to matters at hand. Just with a bleeding nose. For now the Lion was tamed.


@Ehb
@Raven Haruka
@Rithas
@Illin
@Wen[/fieldbox]

 

[Weracious]

[fieldbox= OSHIRO KIRA, #ffa938, solid]

[November 4th, Noon / Excalibur Arcade]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Kira smiled when Mana swayed her head. Seemed she liked the song Kira had sent her then, and it was sung by a popular multi-talented drummer. Someone quite different from Kira herself, who still hadn't achieved anything worth mentioning with her life. It was a question of time, if she kept going down the old beaten path. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The song Mana sent her reminded Kira a lot of Nyoko's taste in music. In fact, it was pretty much identical. Nyoko played a lot of techno on the radio, differentiating her from all the pop garbage and anime music everyone else played. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Kira wasn't sure what to think about the song though. The techno itself was pretty good, but the singing reminded her too much of cliche anime songs. Kira was used to listening to professional singers all day round too, so she found it harder to appreciate rookies.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Yes, she was a music snob. After all, she listened almost exclusively to classic rock and metal music.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I dunno if I can make music [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]all day[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent], but I'd love to, as long as it's the kinda music for your ears, 'kay? Why would singing make you 'uncool' though. Aren't all the cool people you look up to singers? Like Elvis and such?" [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]What…? Kira raised an eyebrow, as she put her chopsticks down in her food. That's not what she'd said…? [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"That's…" Kira shook her head, laughing it off. There wasn't much else she could do when she'd revealed a secret to someone, and they hadn't been listening attentively enough to understand her. Maybe it was her own fault. Maybe nobody could understand someone like her. "Yeah, they're singers, but I could never be as cool as them anyway. I'm just some snobby girl in high school."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]That's how they all saw her, wasn't it? She had more money than most. Her parents could get her anything she wanted, but there was no way she would ever ask for their help with her dreams of rock n' roll. It wouldn't mean much if she didn't succeed on her own.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I'm not that fond of techno music," Kira confessed after hesitating for a moment. "Your song's nice though. Nyoko plays that kind of stuff on the radio, but I'm sure you knew that already. Do you—"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Right then she got a response to the picture she'd sent to Kyouko. Kira had almost forgotten about it; probably because it was a horribly casual idea. She put more food in her mouth before she opened the message, expecting a question asking what she was doing. She did not get that.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]No, instead she got a picture.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Kira choked on her food, coughing, when her eyes had processed what Kyouko had actually sent her. She struck her chest hard to put a stop to the coughing. What kind of answer was this? What kind of person just sent these kind of pictures of themselves to someone they didn't know!?[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Oh, right… She'd started this herself. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]She wasn't sure how to continue it now though. It felt wrong to pursue this any further, especially with Misheru in the hospital, but she had to remind herself that Misheru never cared for her. They'd hated each other. It may be Kira's fault that they'd both ended up in a car crash, but she would never have entered a taxi if she'd known the outcome.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Besides, what would Kyouko think if she didn't respond? She wasn't even sure what either of them were thinking right now. There had to be a logical response to this, and naturally her dirty mind was more than willing to supply her with options.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Still… She shouldn't respond. If she did nothing, they'd eventually meet, and it would be super weird, and super awkward, and… perfect. It could be perfectly wonderful. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]They'd traded pictures. Kira should leave it at that. If she continued this, she might fuck it up before she had the opportunity to be smooth in reality. Face to face was the superior way to flirt, and she would know for certain what was up with Kyouko, and if she'd read Mana accurately.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]At least she had material for tonight, if nothing else.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]She made certain to save the picture in a special place on her chip, before returning her attention to Mana, blushing like a moron as she stared at her food. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Sorry, I got a message from someone," Kira said, pushing her plate away as she wasn't feeling hungry. Not for food anyway. "You know, maybe if played together we'd sound like one of those industrial bands."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Kira played another song, which wasn't in English, so she had a difficult time understanding it herself, yet it was an example of the best blend of metal and techno. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Der Wahnsinn ist nur eine schmale Brücke~[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"This is a cool sound," Kira said, bobbing her head, even if she got the urge to headbang. It wasn't something she often did in public, even if she did it a lot at home in the basement. Her family stayed clear of the basement if they knew what was good for them. "I wouldn't mind being a drummer in a band this brilliant."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ich steig dir nach~[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The language barrier might be there, but it didn't matter. It was shattered by the talent.[/BCOLOR]


[BCOLOR=transparent]@Luma @Skyswimsky[/BCOLOR]

[/fieldbox]

 

[LowDefinition]

[fieldbox= Iwasawa Yuuki, #339966, solid]

[November 4th, Noon / Iwasawa's Residence]

Silence surrounded the room after Yuuki said it. Did Yuuki made a mistake? He should probably not say anything about his indecisiveness. If anything it must've hurt Rei more than it hurt him.

Not knowing what to say or do next, the silence continues on until Rei seemed to take a message.
"Ah, I just got a message from Ayame. She says that she needs to meet with something unrelated. I'll bring my bag to her. So... I'll see you in school later, then. Let me know what you decide."

Rei took her bag, turning around to leave. "Don't worry about hurting anyone, just do whatever you think would be best for you. If that isn't me... Don't worry. My heart's made of sterner stuff than you'd think. It hasn't broken yet, after all."

. . .


No, even if Rei have said that. Yuuki couldn't possibly hurt the girls that he liked.

"Even though you say that..." Yuuki muttered, approaching Rei who is about to leave. He then hugged Rei from behind.

"It's still hard for me to decide... I... I don't want to hurt Mika. But..." Yuuki feel conflicted in all of this. "I'm also happy that I'm finally not denying or hiding my feelings to you either... I mean... If I were to choose right now... It'd be... you."

Yuuki let go of his hug. "Damnit I sound really stupid right now... Anyway, I'll walk you outside." Yuuki then lead Rei to the front door of his house. "See you later in school I guess... And, don't let that bag of yours get stolen again." Yuuki concluded and let Rei leave his house.

@Karyra

[/fieldbox]

 

[ShiroKiyoshi]

[fieldbox= Pratt Rikuto, blue, solid]

[November 4th, Noon / Excalibur Arcade]

"Hmm..." Pratt looked over Ryuu's face one quick time before facing his screen. "I will be here. You go and grab something to eat, I'll come linger around after I finish this game."

Pratt had made up his mind to fight this battle himself. It was his issue so it would require his solution to get through it, or at least that was how he reasoned it. The infamous school rock would remain the guy who did nothing and saw nothing besides occasionally hit on a female. He would be normal and not full of rage, only his enemies would see that side. And he was determined to make sure they saw it only once.

With a quick move Pratt pulled out his game card and swiped it on the machine. He entered full on gamer mode to beat the high-score registered on the platforming game. He missed nothing, no enemy, no powerup, or anything, passed by him unnoticed or untouched. For a lazy bones like Pratt this was his element and someone threatened it, not something they should have thought he would take lightly.

​

@Eruantien @WhoeverElse

[/fieldbox]

 

[Ehb]

[fieldbox= , white, solid]
[November 4th, Noon / Hachi-Ou Park]

"Just who, or what are you, Nozomi..you seem to know a bit more than any normal student should with my worries."

"Is it really that surprising? I am with Social Morals after all." Yuri said. Dismissing the question with confidence.

"I guess it wouldn't be a good idea to lie to yah.. I'm being over worked, but if you know why, then what can I do to get out of it? With Rei's situation I'm at my wit's end, and I'm not sure I can count on my ally.. I might should quit my lunch time responsibility as well, paperwork be damned.."
"And yeah, yeah, shut it..I know I failed last year.. I would like to move up this year myself, but I haven't had the time to study, and not like my employer cares."

"I suppose that is so." Yuri replied.

"Ah Sorry, I got carried away.." Crossing her arms and having her typical blank expression, Ayame was curious what Yuri would have to say next, if she had anything to say. It would be a little disappointing if all this was in the end was obvious advice. Ayame knew what she needed to do and should be doing, just not how to make it happen.

"If you don't know a solution to save everyone, then why don't you focus on saving the one that's most important first?" Yuri, with a distant gaze, looked away. "No one can expect someone to be able to come up with an answer problems like that too easily. When it comes to that, then you should just set your priorities and move from there, right?"

Curious, Ayama followed the direction to where Yuri was looking at. If she guessed right, it was at a peculiar looking knarled tree stump close in a thinner patch of weeds.

"You can't expect yourself to be able to do everything for them all at once. When you try saving everyone, then you'll just end up losing all of them instead.... But I'm the one to talk, right? I'm pretty guilty of doing that myself too, actually." The social morals officer shook her head, and smiled bashfully at Ayame. "I guess I just did not want to see you get sad over being helpless."

There was a piece missing. There was something that was supposed be in Ayame's mind to make sense of the way Yuri was talking to her, but it wasn't there. She kept on drawing blanks on this girl she only knew as one of Hisakawa's most splendid Social Morals Officers.

Just what was Yuri Nozomi supposed be?


"The best advice I can give for you is to choose which person you want to serve and make sure they nurture their connections. Because, if the day to choose a successor comes and they're unprepared... they will no doubt die if they have no allies."

With an understanding smile, Yuri took a step away from Ayame.

"Considering the way those two are, and the position that they're in that may be difficult. If anything, you'd want them to at least be acquainted with the Council since they're the ones who're supposed pick the successor in the end, right?"

@RedArmyShogun
[/fieldbox]

 

[Calypso Major]

[fieldbox=Chiyo Imada, #fbceb1, solid, 10]

[November 4th, Noon / Downtown - Karakuri Mall]

"Kane-san, who's Umeko?"

Chiyo stopped, her face paling at that name. No, why did she--

"When you were talking, you kept on thinking about that name."

"Ume--I mean, H-Hayata-san?" Stuttering the name out, Chiyo struggled to find what she wanted.

"Sagawa-san, what are you--no, why was Leo-kun...huh?" Moving her hand to her face, she noticed a familiar wetness.

"Oh, I'm crying. How nice."

Stating the obvious as usual, the girl's tone had suddenly fallen flat--as if she had suddenly switched into autopilot mode. She turned around to face Sagawa, as the other girl surely didn't realize...

"Umeko Hayata... she unfortunately passed away in middle school. It was kind of a big deal back then, as she was a part of that infamous club who helped people, so I'm surprised you don't know. But, she was a dear friend to Leo-kun--and I had brought up the subject with him a little while ago, so that's probably why he was thinking about her."

A slight pause.

"...Sorry, she was also my step-sister. I--" Stopping abruptly, she sighed. "No, it doesn't matter. If you want to work things out with Leo-kun, I'd be glad to step away."

Honestly, the peach was happy to let Sagawa try to figure out what Leo was so upset about. What Umeko had to do with it, she didn't know, but she didn't want to think about it. Walking back to her original spot near Kyouko--she suddenly noticed the bloody nose.

"What's wrong, Kyouko-san? You're bleeding...did you injure yourself?"

"Here, take this." Reaching into her sack, she offered the girl a cloth napkin--not exactly a tissue, but hopefully it would provide a decent substitute.
[/fieldbox]
@Ehb
@Skyswimsky
@Rithas

 

[Luma]

[fieldbox=Kamei Mana, #ccffff, solid]

[November 4th, Noon / Downtown - Excalibur Arcade (Cafeteria)]

"That's…" Kira shook her head, laughing it off. "Yeah, they're singers, but I could never be as cool as them anyway. I'm just some snobby girl in high school."

Ehh? Mana continued smiling pleasantly, but on the inside she was confused. The truth of it was, a secret had been told to her, and it had gone right over her head. She could feel it too. Something in the way Kira had raised her eyebrow, or the head-shake.

Bit-by-bit, Mana revisited the last minute or so of conversation in her mind. Literally: she was that kind of person who liked to have her chip record every single conversation she could hear, 24/7, into massive text files. It was actually one of the first programs she'd written with her father, and it had been surprisingly useful here and there.

Now let's see....TTC....Turbo Lover....old movie....prestigious school....sing while playing the drums.... She thought about all these for a moment. Cool....cool....what's 'uncool'? Was school considered uncool? Or maybe the old movie? Mana honestly couldn't tell. As far as she was concerned, the world of the 'cool kids' was a distant and far off place she'd never reach, and that was okay.

Suddenly, Mana attention was jerked from her conversational records by a fit of coughing. Go figure: anyone that shoveled food in their face that quickly was bound to gag on it sooner or later. Still--

"You okay, Kira," Mana asked, a little concerned? Kira seemed to snap out of it, but Mana couldn't help noticing the blush.

"Sorry, I got a message from someone," Kira said, pushing her plate away. "You know, maybe if we played together we'd sound like one of those industrial bands."

Way to dodge that topic, Kira. Judging from the explosive reaction, Mana already knew what sort of 'message' she was referring to though, so maybe it was best she didn't pry further. As the song started up, she couldn't help herself from joining Kira in a subtle head bobbing. Music always deserved some kinda movement, especially good music, and she enjoyed this sound.

"This is a cool sound. I wouldn't mind being a drummer in a band this brilliant."

Mana nodded, though it was hard to tell with her head moving that way already, "Me neither. I can do the synth sounds, but the voice...." she trailed off, letting Kira just imagine Mana trying to sing in a similar way. Although Mana's singing voice was a little sweet or even cutesy sounding, the best word to describe her speaking voice would be "dork". This worked well with the rest of Mana's personality, which could similarly be described as "dork".

"I um....ya know, now that I think about it....I dunno. They're really awesome, and I'm just....well, Mana." Mana looked a little uncomfortable; almost like if she agreed to make music with Kira, she'd get sucked into a world where she didn't belong. The world of rockers and cool kids. One that simply wouldn't accept a dork like her. Besides, she'd already proven her ineptitude for understanding what was 'cool' and what wasn't.

"I mean, if you need someone playing behind the curtain I could, 'kay? I doubt you'd want a dorky Mana in a band like this though." She openly admitted to being a dork. There was no point in denying the obvious, and frankly there were several people who'd admitted it was kinda cute, so the term felt almost endearing to her.

"Right-o, anyway I was about to head to the TTC," Mana mentioned, finishing off her comparatively light lunch and standing up. "Maybe you'd like to come with, 'kay? Leader'd love to welcome a new sister to our order." Mana stood and gave her a strange, ritual bow, joking that the Red Pandas were like a cult. She totally wanted to be the one to recruit someone Nyoko had set her eyes on though. Maybe that'd be bonus points towards that shiny new position.

Mana was about to turn to leave, but waited a moment to see if Kira was going to tag along. Meanwhile, Kazami hovered off her head and started circling Mana, as if she was excited to start flying around outside.

@Wen[/fieldbox]

 

[RedArmyShogun]

[fieldbox= Ayame Sayato, maroon, solid]

[November 4th, Noon / Hachi-Ou Park]


Listening to Yuri's words, Ayame understands them, but they put her in a compromising situation, this went against her values, even if she knew it was true, which in a manner made the words all the more painful.

"I can't just throw one away! I have a Duty to protect them! If I just ran away then who will do the job? Who will help them.. If I run, then how am I any different than my father!?" Shouting out the last bit, her face winces slightly soon thereafter. The memory of what he did, and condemned her to was and likely always would be fresh in her mind.

"..I know that. I didn't ask for any of this, and I like kids more than I do shaking people down, but if I just run when it's difficult, then when do I ever stop?"

Shaking her head side-to-side with a down expression, she knew there was no running from it at least. "..I'll likely have to rework how I do this.. but it isn't fair. At the end of the day all three of us are just Teenagers..well I guess I'm close enough to be a legal adult, but still.."

"I guess I just did not want to see you get sad over being helpless."

"It's hard to not feel a bit helpless considering the people I'm working for, and what failure means.. but, I get your point."


Having a lingering idea on what Yuri might be, Ayame stares at the girl briefly as her next bit of advice comes forth.

"The best advice I can give for you is to choose which person you want to serve and make sure they nurture their connections. Because, if the day to choose a successor comes and they're unprepared... they will no doubt die if they have no allies."

She then went on to describe the council, or the need for connections within it for Yuri to speak of such, either she was on it, or directly worked for it, some danger was here, but also some opportunity to let out her worries and opinion, normally she was not asked for such. With the connection being made in her mind now, she at least felt she could talk openly.

"Given what you said, you aren't just some bystander.. I now think I may know what you are, If I can speak honestly, I won't be surprised if when this happens, the older members don't just kill or puppet whoever gets it. The Council is playing it's own game, trying to keep it civil, but when it all ends, the Yakuza is built on violence.. Rei doesn't understand how the organization works, her reliance on her own self will make enemies and break bonds. Michio, I don't know what to think about him at times, he tries to play the role like a gentleman, that won't cut it unless he were an old man, but he keeps doing whatever it takes. And I'm responsible for them both in a way, where does that leave my head?"

There was no way she was going to share her personal involvement with Yuri, that might not be the best of idea's considering the situation. And having said her own feelings in regard to this, the bodyguard, lifts he right hand, pressing it to her forehead.
"If I could, I would want to free both of them from this, but that doesn't seem like it could happen, I might can still get out, but not for now. I just question if I should.. You already know my grades, they are borderline Average, if not below, I won't be getting into any universities. I'm sorry for taking up your time like this with my gripes."

Bowing in apology, Ayame stands back up straight turning her gaze directly toward the white haired girl who had now retreated a step back from the bodyguard.

"I thank you for the talk Nozomi, and I think I know what I'll try later today.. And I'll give what you said some thought... I should get to know this council more myself, and even if they don't listen try and pass on some of what I know. Was there anything else Nozomi-san?"

Waiting for her dismissal, any other words, or perhaps requests, Ayame found it strange if Yuri was just here to check on her well being, though it may have just been a test.

[/fieldbox]

@Ehb

 

[Weracious]

[fieldbox= OSHIRO KIRA, #ffa938, solid]

[November 4th, Noon / Excalibur Arcade]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I um....ya know, now that I think about it....I dunno. They're really awesome, and I'm just....well, Mana."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Kira wasn't sure what Mana was getting at with that statement. There was nothing wrong with being yourself. It was probably better than what she'd been doing up to this point, trying to get people to think she was cool when she was just faking all of it. Honestly, it took more effort than it was worth. It wasn't worth acting out, and it wouldn't make a difference in the end. Real skill and hard work would matter the most when it came down to it.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I mean, if you need someone playing behind the curtain I could, 'kay? I doubt you'd want a dorky Mana in a band like this though."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Kira scrounged her face up to prevent it, but then she started laughing. She couldn't help it, even though she knew Mana would likely take it the wrong way. It wasn't a mean or mocking laugh. She genuinely thought what Mana had said was funny.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Oh, I don't think you need to worry about being a dork if you're in a band like this," Kira said, after she'd calmed down. "The guy who played the synth in this band looked like a dork too. He didn't really want to be in the band, if I remember correctly, but they wanted him with them because he had the talent, and they were friends."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]She wasn't certain if the last part was true, though she'd read rumours about it. It didn't matter if it was true or false anyway. It was what Kira wanted to tell Mana, so that maybe they could make music together. Somehow her reluctance to do it only spurred Kira on.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Right-o, anyway I was about to head to the TTC. Maybe you'd like to come with, 'kay? Leader'd love to welcome a new sister to our order."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Kira had finished eating for now, so she supposed there was no harm in going with Mana to the TTC. Still, she knew that if she went she was likely to argue with Nyoko, and probably end up as a new member. It shouldn't be that easy to get her to agree to something.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Okay, I'll come with you, but in return you will make sweet music with me soon." Kira winked at Mana, rising to her feet. She wasn't asking Mana to do it, as that might leave room for her to turn Kira down. No, she was demanding. "Let's go then."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Kira didn't wait for an answer, as she headed for the exit of the arcade. Where was the TTC located? Oh well, she'd wait for Mana outside if she was too slow, and then they could either walk, or take the bus. She wasn't about to get into a car any time soon.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]@Luma[/BCOLOR]

[/fieldbox]