Too close. Much too close. All the fake confidence Kyouko had build up in a few seconds suddenly crumbled as Kira moved way too close. If it had been anyone but Kira, Kyouko wouldn't have cared. She'd seen it as an act of aggression and retaliated. But Kira?...
Kyouko blushed even more as she instinctively made herself tinier. Trying to salvage what she could by repeatedly chanting 'It's just a game. Don't back down now. Show your Lion Fangs!' and similar. Maybe it would have helped. Maybe Kyouko could have retaliated. Alas, Kira was merciless.
"...want to make it weird?"
That, the weird heavy breathing of her sweetheart the red-hair, and the fact that Kira actually said that line rather swiftly after she closed the distance between them was the finishing blow.
"W-W-Weird w-what do you m-mean?"
Did she faint? Hell no. As weak as Kyouko felt around Kira, she was by no means one of those 'Princesses' locked away in their own fantasy. But, what did follow, was the blonde instinctively taking a step backward. Of course, as fate wanted to have it, it ended in a catastrophe. For somebody like Kyouko, who some even claimed to be a monkey, to stumble over her own week feet like that was simply not acceptable.
Yet, here she was, not even letting out a gasp of surprise as the towering giant became taller and taller as gravity did its thing.
Wow, Kyouko's reaction was a lot cuter than she'd expected. She couldn't help but grin to herself. This was going much better than it had in months, years — maybe ever. Kira couldn't remember when someone had reacted like this to her advances. Man, why did she bother with any of the other girls if she had someone like Kyouko just waiting to be claimed all along?
Kira reacted quickly when Kyouko fell, grabbing her by the arm, pulling her back up on her feet, which meant they ended up even closer together. They were practically hugging. Their only protection from such intimacy was their arms stuck in between them.
The strong arms of a drummer had made it easy to save her damsel in distress, yet she hadn't pictured this happening in the middle of the classroom, and she almost wanted to apologize to Kyouko, but it wasn't her fault. Turbo Lover was the ditz here! If she hadn't overreacted, none of this would have happened. "Guess I can tell our children how you literally fell for me," Kira thought, laughing to herself. It wasn't until after the fact that she realized she'd said it out loud.
What the fuck…? How was she supposed to recover from such a blunder? She should go bury herself somewhere. In a few years she could resurface, but this was definitely the worst misstep in a long line of botched dance moves.
"Ah…" Kira's face felt like it might melt, drip onto the floor. She'd tripped over her own tongue in the worst scenario imaginable. "Well, I'm going to go find Nyoko."
I need someone to punch me in the face. She's wanted to do it for a while, so I may as well let her.
"Take care, Turbo Lover! You should be more careful in the future," Kira said, turning around to leave, heading for the door. Yup, it was the only sane alternative available to her. Once outside, she could be heard yelling: "Goddammit, her name is Kyouko!"
Not Turbo Lover, which she'd called her straight to her face. Maybe she'd just ask Nyoko to kill her, spare her the embarrassment of living.
The only thing greeting the two of them when they arrived at the arcade was whispers of a incident. Hearing some minor details, Leo could only wonder on what happened.
"Can't go anywhere without hearing strange things, eh?" Leo commented, his face in worried thought.
Kane,
We Need to Talk, now. Just find me and I'll make the arrangements for us to be alone.
A expected sigh, the scribbling of pen on paper.
That was quick.
[ November 9th, Afternoon / Hisakawa Academy, School Rooftop ]
"Okay then..." Leo turned around, facing the school president.
His face seemed to display his usual apathy, though he couldn't say he felt quite so relaxed on the inside.
The school roof wasn't the place he would have picked. He wasn't exactly a fan on how high up they were. Perhaps that was point, it was hard to know. Leo couldn't help but feel a tinge unease as he scratched his wrist. That was natural, he was talking with Kokoro afterall. "What do you want to talk about?" He let his head fall to side in seemed curiousity. While the reason was pretty clear. He wasn't going to say anything until Kokoro said it herself. The world was full of suprises afterall. "The message didn't say much." He uttered, scratching his cheek innocently.
Over the course of several days, any person would notice something peculiar with Michio, particularly with his appearance. It wasn't something normal like him changing his hairstyle, or something bizarre like the Demonic Social Morals Officer breaking conduct and getting a tattoo or a piercing all of a sudden. It was much more shocking than that.
For the last few days, Michio had been coming to school looking like shit. Various parts of his body were wrapped in bandages, concealing the bruises and wounds he had sustained from the intensified training regiment his parents had placed him under. After he confronted them about how they were holding back when they were training him, that apparently flipped a switch in his parents' heads.
Ever since then, Michio's training increased in intensity and frequency. His parents displayed a level of prowess even he had not seen before and were it not for his previous knowledge and experiences, he was certain that he would already be dead or dying at this point. But he never once complained with this shift in his training. In fact, he was ecstatic to find out that there was so much more he could learn from them. For every pain he endured, he gained experience. Each experience brings him knowledge. And if he manages to survive until the end of his training, then nobody would be able to beat him in actual combat. Never again would he suffer the shame he experienced under the hands of Ayatane Shigeru.
Though with the amount of time he had devoted to his training, he had foregone spending time with Ayame. The only mode of communication the two had these days was the messages they were sending to each other with their chips. And that was on a good day. Ever since he mentioned the possibility of taking her as a concubine rather than his wife if ever he becomes the boss, she had started acting distant all of a sudden. Until finally, she had met up with him in person and decided that she needed some space. Although this was the first time he had been in a relationship, Michio knew enough what she meant by "needing some space". Though unlike that incident in the rooftop, Michio understood clearly why Ayame wanted to break up with him.
While he wanted Mizunohara Sagawa to depend on him, he ended up depending too much on Sayoto Ayame, particularly when he delegated some of his social morals work to her, and whenever he would seemingly demand her attention even when he is aware just how busy she was. It was his fault for adding more chaos to her already hectic life.
Though their breakup may also be attributed with what she mentioned about her memories but she would always dodge the subject whenever he brings it up. As much as he wanted to help her, he also understood that there are some problems that one must solve on their own. That said, he regretted never being able to do anything for her when she had done so much to build him back up again.
After class, he was about to go home, having finished his social morals work earlier, when suddenly Mana ambushed him from behind. However, he immediately noted her peculiar change in attitude based on how nervous she sounded when she asked him to come with her to the music room.
"Alright. Now that I think about it, it's been a while since I played the piano, huh? Oh well, I have some time to spare anyways."
"I guess she got impatient waiting for me to go there myself." Michio thought as they were headed to the school's music room.
Along the way, he noticed strange music being played by the school's broadcast. While he did not find the music itself to be that strange, considering Kira is part of the student radio and this type of music is her cup of tea, he did find it dumbfounding why they were being broadcast all over the school. Normally, they are broadcast to everyone's chips instead giving them an option to tune in or not to the radio broadcasts without having to announce it to the entire school. Usually, only the principal or other school staff would broadcast announcements "the old fashion way" since it is still way more convenient than sending notices to everyone's chips which could be easily dismissed, ignored, or go unnoticed.
Even though he should be helping with the incident or at least investigating it, he had already drawn a clear line not to get involved with the affairs of Morita Nyoko. Nothing good ever came out of them crossing paths anyways and frankly he didn't want a headache to compliment his already aching body.
"It's her responsibility anyways. 'sides. I'm nowhere near the broadcast room at the moment.I'll let my subordinates handle it.. the poor bastards." He thought envisioning his fellow SMO's getting on a heated conversation with that person.
He immediately shook of all thoughts about Nyoko out of his head as the two of them arrived at the music room. Since there are still some classes going on, he decided to close the door behind them before taking a seat by the grand piano. With the room being soundproof and all, he shouldn't be causing any trouble for the other students and teachers while playing the piano.
Deciding not to put any more holdups to his performance, he started softly touching each individual keys of the piano to test out how it sounded before he started playing one of his favorite pieces.
Though a bit on the short side, he is open to any requests Mana would make, provided he knows the piece or sees a music sheet of the notes. He turned around to face the girl with a calm and contented look on his face.
"So, how was it? I haven't lost my touch yet, hopefully."
At the peculiar sound of lyrics being sung through the speakers, Chiyo groggily lifted her head. Sitting the rest of the way up at her desk and adjusting crooked glasses, it took a few moments to register what had happened to her.
"...I was asleep?"
To be precise, the peach had been asleep for about half an hour now, suddenly faceplanting her desk out of nowhere. Thankfully the girl doesn't snore, but to some degree, it must've been an odd sight to see.
Ah, I guess it's because I didn't drink any coffee this morning. Chalking it up to the fact her household ran out of the caffeinated drink, along with late nights of poster-placing. But, thankfully, all of the posters she had copied were finally stuck onto any and every surface she could find--said posters also including her email and phone number in the case that anybody had any leads on the disappearances of Ren and Iori.
Anyhow, why's the radio playing on the speakers? And where's Nyoko? Looking around, the peach failed to find her new friend, and instead caught a glimpse of her fellow Social Morals Officer leaving...with another student.
Ah, he's busy. I should probably talk to him at some point about those bandages.
Grabbing her stuff, Chiyo began to walk over to the student radio room. Nyoko seemed experienced enough not to do this without reason and...wait, Nyoko was in class today, wasn't she? She wouldn't have been able to get to the room, plug in to the speakers, and play the song within the span of...what was it, a few minutes?
Speaking of Nyoko...
"Ah, Morita-san!" Chiyo called out to the familiar figure in front of her, quickening her pace to stand beside her.
[fieldbox= , white, solid] [November 9th, Afternoon / Hisakawa Academy - Social Morals Office]
Yuri's solitary desk-work was interrupted with the arrival of a blonde haired girl. She was older than most of the other students, in yet still only in the second year. She was a bit of a problem in that regard, so Yuri immediately recognized her.
"Ah, Good Afternoon Ayame-sa-...." "Nozomi, Yuri san.."
"Yes?"
"I am sorry to have came here but.. About our last talk, I want to set up both to meet up with the council. But I cannot do this in good standing.. your words bothered me.. they were sharp and implied things that have been pushing me. I've heard some rumors on hackers being able to change memories, what you said that day wasn't something random! My head has been hurting every day, as my thoughts keep running into a brick wall.. I've been keeping a paper dairy of everything should my memory be muddled again. So please I ask you, tell me what it is you remember or know of me."
Looking lost, Yuri innocently blinked. As of confused to what the exact nature of Ayame's request was. "Good or bad, I need to know and I am sorry if I have forgotten you.. How and why, just what my job is, what my failures were, only then can I act for either of the two. Otherwise I'm nothing more than the shadow of a shadow. I also may need your advice on how to carry out that meeting. I don't believe you would lie to me and I cannot deal with this on my own..these chips are beyond me. Even if I have forgotten others besides you may remember, then what do I do? I will repay this if there is someway that I can, I like to think I always kept my word."
Taking her hand off her paperwork, Yuri clasped her hands at the table. She politely smiled.
"I see that we must be feeling a little ill today. Perhaps it would be best for you to go to the Nurse to get checked on, surely?"
Complete lack of acknowledgement. Yuri's suggestion was so sincere, it really drove home just how preposterous the things she was saying seemed to be. But, it was Yuri whom had said it in the first place! In yet, now... it was as if their exchange had never happened.
Sayoto had run into a wall just as solid and blocking as the presumably missing links in her memory.
While this went on... music suddenly started to play over the schgool's PA system. "Ah... what's going on?"
@RedArmyShogun
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox= , white, solid] [ November 9th, Afternoon / Hisakawa Academy, School Rooftop ]
"Okay then..."Leo turned around, facing the school president. "So you actually came then? Color me surprised. I didn't take you to be so masochistic, Kane."
The girl with short black hair. Wearing a comfortable sweater over her uniform. From the eyes of anyone who didn't know her, they would probably be misgiving by her charming appearance. But, for anyone else in the know, and especially for Leo Kane, it was the visage of someone who was truly frightening.
Amane Kokoro. The Council President of Hisakawa. Additionally, the equivalent of Nobility within The Town's Yakuza Circles.
Even now, Kane couldn't accept that fact. A part of him still attached to the image of the carefree girl who started a woefully ambiguous club out of nothing more than a desire to become popular. How regretful to think of how simple and innocently she thought of things back then. But not anymore.
His entire life up through now had been a series of losses after losses. And in turn, making other people suffer losses of their own. But, the losses attached to this girl stung more than anything else. Perhaps that was why he was always so stubborn in disregarding his better judgement when he came into contact with her.
Staying instead of running. Coming to instead of avoiding. Truly, he was a bit of a sore loser in this regard. "What do you want to talk about?" "The message didn't say much." "Is it something important?"
"Of course. I did say that I would arrange for us to be alone. Since it seems like that person isn't around, we can go ahead and proceed. Morita's radio nonsense ended up being a convenient cover."
What?
Kokoro motioned outward with her hand. That was the signal.
Leo was suddenly grabbed.
Practically kidnapped.
"So it turn ed out he's not all too fantastic when it comes to fighting." "Yup, Kane-kun got outclassed by those Kendo Club members pretty bad. But, he looked really cool though." "I... don't think cool points are really worth it when it comes to the amount of bruises he got from getting wacked around." "You're probably right. That cut down some of his Ego, but he's still physically as tall as ever!" "Right? They'd need a hammer as opposed to a shinai!" "Just you watch. He might've gotten an early growth spurt. But when I get MY growth spurt I'll be just as imposing looking!"
Kokoro and the girl with glasses laughed at Leo's expense.
Why did those two always find jokes about his height so profoundly humorous? Some of those injuries still hurt a little.
Seriously.
[ November 9th, Afternoon / Town of Hisakawa, Fifth Street Overpass ]
Leo opened his eyes. Staring up into... a concrete ceiling. But he was definitively outside. He could clearly hear cars. Nearby, he could also hear the sound of water. flowing. This was probably a car bridge that crossed over a waterway. An overpass.
Sitting up, he looked around, he was immediately taken by his surroundings. This place was unmistakable.
"Memory deletion is a fickle process. Even with my skill, I can't count on you not trying to pull something while I'm doing my work on her. That's why you need to get out of this picture before you kill your friend."
Leo gasped. This place was literally where...!
"Hey."
Kokor's voice brought him back from the brink of reliving that traumatizing moment. He followed the source of the voice, to her. She was sitting at the edge of the water, just a few steps away. With a glowing roll of paper in her fingers, she brought it up to her lips. She took a drag, and breathed out. Letting a puff of smoke.
Even from Leo's distance he could still smell the distinctive odor of cigarette smoke. "...Did you have bad dream, Kane? You were pretty quiet when you were invisibly getting carried around the school."
Kokoro looked relaxed. A long ways from the image of the council president everyone knew. Leo...
November 9th - Afternoon / Hisakawa Academy - Class 2A
"I was about to get going, but I have time to talk, sure. By the way, how's Mika doing?"
"She... still haven't replied to me, that worries me." Yuuki replied, not comfortable about the question. His mind wandered to the speaker that suddenly playing a song. He thought that maybe Kira is the one who put the song in the school's radio and decided to share it to everyone, but he can see Kira in the class. Which makes him wonder, who's the one playing with the radio.
Wait that wasn't the thing he should be thinking about at the moment. "Anyway, let's go talk about this somewhere else." Yuuki turned around to exit the classroom after waiting for Rei to gather her stuffs and be ready to leave the classroom.
Hisakawa Academy - Hallways
"Geez, what's with the song. Who's in the radio room anyway?" Yuuki complained about the song playing on the school's speakers. After he complained however, the music stopped playing. "That's odd, I was about to ask Morita-san about this." Yuuki wondered, the one who's messing with the radio surely wouldn't have been Nyoko or Kira. "Anyway, I think I have to drop by the Radio room, it'll be short I guess?".
Yuuki continued to walk through the hallways, heading over to the student radio room. Until he saw both Chiyo and Nyoko together.
"Morita-san, what's with the radio earlier?" Yuuki asked as he approached them.
.:. November 9th, Afternoon / Hisakawa Academy - Library Building .:.Ryuu had decided to return to the library building this morning, after several unfruitful days of inquiring about where his wallet was around the school campus. That girl... Sagawa... nobody wanted to talk about her, and for good reason. Ryuu's only hope was to check in at the library and see if perhaps his wallet had been turned in to the lost and found.
As he approached the library, Ryuu's thoughts wandered. He hadn't seen much of Pratt since that incident last week, and he hoped he was still doing well. Actually... it had been a very quiet week. Ryuu hadn't seen any of his few friends. He assumed they must all be busy with their studies. Letting a small sigh escape him, Ryuu timidly entered the hushed area of the library proper and made his way to the reception counter.
"E-excuse me. I was here last week, and I think I've lost something. Do you have a wallet in your lost-and-found?"
Ryuu's identification papers and some money were in his wallet. It wasn't a huge loss if it was gone forever, but it wasn't a small one, either. Ryuu was annoyed with Mizunohara Sagawa, as well as the girl from the arcade. They needed to stand down, not be so uppity. But... part of him wondered if there might be more to their stories than he knew.
[November 9th, Afternoon / Hisakawa Academy - Social Morals Office]
Having said what she needed, the reply was a slap to the face, to say the least. In a calm and serious fashion, the words were very cutting;
"I see that we must be feeling a little ill today. Perhaps it would be best for you to go to the Nurse to get checked on, surely?"
Balling her fists tightly, the nice approach did not seem to have worked. If that was how she wanted to play it, then so be it. Regardless of who she was or represented, Ayame was not about to break down, smashing her right fist into the wall with a rearward swing, she glares, snarling her mouth into a twisted smile of anger. "Stop screwing around with me! I'll drop protecting those two, you can take a couple of my damn fingers for all I care! You people and these damn chips! Like this all was some stupid game! If I can't get the answers out of you, I'll go to someone else! Or I'll just challenge you to a VR Bat-"
Before she can finish music begins playing over the PA system. "What the hell is this, a mall? Stop screwing around.." Looking a bit more calm the Blonde stays at her position at the doorway, blocking Yuri from just leaving.
"Ah... What's going on?"
"How the hell should I know? You're the Disciplinary Committee member.. And don't think you'll get rid of me so easy!" As the music continues, even if Ayame found her thoughts dancing around the notion of finding answers from another source, simply beating them out of Yuri, or just dropping her responsibilities in protest. But the Music continued to play and until she actually quit, it warranted investigation, or at the least checking on the two heirs.
"Tch.. If It's not one thing it's something else..." Partly saying what she did out of desperation and anger, she still wanted answers, but now likely wasn't the time. Well unless she want to attack Yuri, while hotheaded, if not a bit stupid, Ayame suspected some of the dangers that laid there.
"Maybe I should be a good Ninja and do as I'm told, do not question, only observe. But remember this Yuri-san, with what has been going on in this town, I'm the one that's going to get hurt or die unless I take matters into my own hands." Gripping the door slider and preparing to at least get out of the way, the Bodyguard had to decide what to do next.
"I deserve to know what I may get harmed over. I didn't ask for this. I need to check on the other two, then head for the radio club..see if I can find out what's going on.. Unless it's from the Office it's Nyoko, and even if I don't like her, it's out of character."
In part while she had stayed as a co-host and the bad water between the pair had remained simmering, she didn't much believe it likely Nyoko would purposely make such a mistake.. Recalling the previous incidents could this be some sort of trap, or was Nyoko just doing as she pleased? Stepping out and through the doorway, Ayame makes her way down the hall. Barring a return on her own part or Yuri contacting her later, this all was a wash. She didn't really want to get forceful with Yuri, but would the other accept her unfinished challenge to a VR battle? Regardless this would have to be revisited.
Instead of falling, Kyouko found herself embraced by the very same person she tried to get away from. For a few moments, as both of the girls stared at each other in silence with blushing faces, the situation Kyouko found herself in could have surely been called better in comparison to landing on the ground. But then, just like that, Kira dropped the bomb.
"Guess I can tell our children how you literally fell for me,"
Just as long as Kira needed to realize she wasn't just thinking, it took Kyouko long enough to register the meaning of those words outside of being a horrible pun. Now was the time the blonde was supposed to faint, was it not? At least that was her wish.
"Well, I'm going to go find Nyoko."
Just like that, however, Kira was about to leave. Nearly making Kyouko fall again as the strong-armed drummer left her side.
"Take care, Turbo Lover! You should be more careful in the future,"
Turbo...what? Did she... oh. Kyouko refused to believe.
"Goddammit, her name is Kyouko!"
With Kira's loud yelling only confirming the few coherent thoughts Kyouko was capable of making, time continued ticking. Live continued. Still as complex as ever.
Just what... happened? Kyouko stood there, completely dumbfounded. Could that have been called a confession? It was... a slip of the tongue. Yes. Kyouko wasn't even sure if she'd be more of the romantic type... it did not suit her. Though was it really?
A few more minutes passed with Kyouko posing as a rock. The conversation she just had was simply... weird. Heck, Kyouko didn't even want to think about it. Despite the involuntary boot-camp going by the name of Raptor that had already put her through more extremes it was an entirely different deal if the person in question was actually someone that the blonde genuinely liked.
The only question was: Did Kira feel the same? After all, every single assumption and read Kyouko had about Kira was plagued by this small, tiny devil that whispered 'She is just a Seductress.'.
Even so. Why was it so hard for Kyouko to just tell the red-head who she felt? Kyouko had no problems doing it with others. Was she afraid of rejection? Probably Nonsense. If it were that easy than the blonde was sure she had done it the first time they met.
No, if Kira was the kind of person everybody painted her to be then it simply meant Kyouko just couldn't know if Kira told the truth. But... doubting her 'chosen one' like that was... just horrible?
"Urgh..." Kyouko's head started to hurt a little. By now, the pirate started to get legit mad. Mad enough in fact that it gave her enough motivation to just go ahead and do it. After all, she was Kyouko Himura and not just some ordinary Fool.
And just like that, after what might have even been 5 minutes, Kyouko was suddenly burning full of confidence. "ALRIGHT, TIME TO DO IT!" She randomly yelled out loud before leaving the classroom to confront... right... where was she even?!
For a second Kyouko had a hundred opportunities to stop once again. To make excuses. Not being aware of simply sending her crush a message. Pretending to have forgotten that she wanted to meet Kira. Alas, this time it was different. Kyouko had enough with dealing all of this bullshit at once. It was time to solve at least one of her troubles.
Yo,
Got a new taste in music, huh? You happen to be around?
If Nyoko were to be where she usually was Kyouko doubted that music would have been a thing, especially over the speaker-systems. @Wen
@_nobody[/fieldbox]
[November 9th, Afternoon - Class 2A -> Music Room]
Mana grinned to show her approval as her silver-haired crush accepted the invitation. Hopefully she wasn't being too pushy? But then again, he could've just said no, and he hadn't, so that was a good sign.
Traversing the hallways beside him, Mana bit her lip as she noticed Michio closer up. He looked.... broken? Or maybe just "worn out?" Basically: not good. All of a sudden, the thought of this Michio getting involved in a gang was very believable. Yakuza, hm?
Mana opened her mouth to speak when the speaker system interrupted her with a song that would've sounded appropriate for a march to the gallows. Her mouth remained in that half-open position for a few moments. What on earth? "I'm definitely not marching to my death, 'kay," she thought to herself. It was also ruining the moment....
Once they'd finally shut out the outside world, Mana claimed her usual spot on a nearby folding chair and waited for him to play. It wasn't like her to stay silent this long, but this was a tricky situation that required just the right words of confession. Truthfully, her crush had become significantly less appealing to her lately, with all the gang stuff and the bandages.
Any feelings for him that Mana had lost began to return as he played. Right: this was how she'd fallen for him in the first place. Music was personal, emotional and, in this case, beautiful. Mana's face took on a peaceful, euphoric look, and she closed her eyes, swinging her head back and forth. When the song concluded, Mana gave Michio a round of applause.
"Just as great as I remember it.... and I remember it being really good!" Mana stood and wandered up to Michio, gently leaning on the piano. On closer inspection, one might notice that her hair looked a bit neater than usual, and she smelled faintly of cherry blossom perfume. She readied herself with a deep breath.
"So.... at least you've been keeping busy, I guess," Mana hinted, eyeing the bandages. "But ya know, you can't just ignore the artsy side of yourself and play sports all the time, 'kay? You're just gonna mess yourself up." Mana inflected the term 'playing sports' suggestively.
"I um.... can you.... would you maybe wanna do something fun together? Just to unwind a little?"
[November 9th, Afternoon / Hisakawa Academy - Class 2A -> Hallways]
"She... still haven't replied to me, that worries me."
"... I see." It was an uncomfortable question, for both of them, but it still needed to be asked.
That was when the speakers started to blare an obnoxious tune. It wasn't Kira, which would make sense given the song choice... which reminded Rei. She still needed to talk to Kira. After renewing her friendship with Michio, it wouldn't make sense to just leave Kira in the dust, either.
"Anyway, let's go talk about this somewhere else."
Fair enough, he had just handed her a black envelope with her name on it, and they were discussing within earshot of the gossipy students. Rei gathered up the rest of her stuff and followed behind Yuuki.
"Geez, what's with the song. Who's in the radio room anyway?"
"No idea. Has an ominous feel, though."
"That's odd, I was about to ask Morita-san about this. Anyway, I think I have to drop by the Radio room, it'll be short I guess?"
"I'll wait outside. I wanted to talk to someone anyway."
Rei waited, wondering if Kira would come by to complain about the music or praise someone in the room for their choice.
"Goddammit, her name is Kyouko!"
Well, that solved that problem. Now, Rei just had to find the courage to apologize. This was too big for an apology, though. Rei just hoped that this could be solved all right.
Rei walked over to Kira, stuffing the envelope into her bag.
"I feel like Kyouko could probably hear that, if I could."Rei said, trying to force a joke and an easy smile at the same time. "...So. How have you been? I... I heard about the hospital. I'm sorry." Rei wanted to add 'it was my fault if I hadn't said to continue with it, even if you don't want to...'but the words were difficult to organize into proper thoughts, much less say out loud.
Rei could lie and say that her mother had cut off contact, but that would be not right. She didn't really want to lie here.
[November 9th, Afternoon / Student Radio Corridor]
"Is everything alright?" Nyoko glances at the person who approaches her, smiling when she sees that it is Chiyo. Obviously something is amiss, but she doesn't exactly want to tell people about it. These are her problems, so it's weak of her if she can't handle them on her own.
"It's, uh… nothing,"Nyoko says, quickening her own steps as the music continues to play. "We'll have it handled soon enough. It's perfectly fine. You don't have to worry Chiyo-san."
She stops at the door of the student radio, smiling awkwardly, as she pushes the handle down. This will be solved within a matter of minutes, and they can all return home or wherever they are going. However, nothing happens. The door seems to be locked. "Morita-san, what's with the radio earlier?"
"Earlier…?" Nyoko asks, raising an eyebrow since the current mess is currently ongoing as far as she can tell. "Did something else happen?" Please say no. Please say no.
Nyoko gets her key out of her pocket, sliding it into the lock of the door to unlock it, but that doesn't do much either. In a fit of rage, she pulls the handle of the door again, attempting to throw the door open like Kira does. It works, yet it closes quickly again. Someone's holding the door closed from the other side…? Why?!
Yo, got a new taste in music, huh? You happen to be around? Much love blabla, Kyouko
Nyoko catches Kyouko's message in the chaos of the messages people are currently sending to her chip. She's prioritized a select few of her friends so they will rise above when a lot of Red Pandas are sending her messages.
No, sorry, I've flown to the moon. I got tired of this earthly existence. (Yes, obviously, duh. I'm at the student radio.)
Seriously, why does everything have to happen at once!? She can't be in two places. She has not learnt how to clone herself with the help of VR yet, not that it's possible. The TTC is more important than the student radio, since it's easier to lose, but it will take her at least ten minutes to get there.
Great, maybe she can deal with this problem first. Gah, where is Kira when she's actually needed?! The girl can fling open this door like it's made of wool when it's one of the thickest metal doors in the school. "Can you…" Nyoko hesitates, closing her eyes, weighing the alternatives against each other before she turns to Chiyo and Yuuki. "Can you help me get this door open? I'd really appreciate it." The music in the speaker system stops playing right then, and an eerie silence settles over the corridors of the school. It is supposed to be silent, yet someone is fucking with her on purpose. What are they going to do next…? Regardless, she still needs to get into the student radio. @Raven Haruka@Skyswimsky@LowDefinition
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox= OSHIRO KIRA, #ffa938, solid]
[November 9th, Afternoon / Corridors]
Kira tries to get away from her fellow classmates, with no intention to find Nyoko. It was just an excuse to escape with her tail between her legs like the coward she is. Besides, Nyoko definitely won't punch her even if she says it's okay. Kira's pretty sure it goes against her beliefs.
"I feel like Kyouko could probably hear that, if I could. ...So. How have you been? I... I heard about the hospital. I'm sorry."
Oh great, you of all people.
Kira barely bothers listening to Rei's words, though they still manage to sound like a poor excuse to her. It's been over a week since Kira was in the hospital, and this is the first time they even talk. What a great best friend Rei is! Truly, Kira is blessed to have someone like her.
"For what it's worth, I'm glad you're okay."
At least she has a friend, even if they're not as close as she thought they were. Life's full of disappointments, so it's not that surprising. Who cares? They should just make up right here and now. Pretend like nothing ever happened. They'll be happier that way. When Kira moves away from this city and Rei gets dragged down by the yakuza, they can continue pretending they're closer than ever. It's not like either of them will meet new people or anything!
She doesn't want to listen to Rei. She needs a reason to be angry at her, so they can distance themselves from each other. She hates pretending anyway!
"Spaghetti's only straight until it's wet, huh!?" Kira shouts.
Right, that can be a reason why she's pissed at Rei. Nyoko told her about what happened. She figures it's because Nyoko isn't particularly fond of Rei, but she isn't particularly fond of Kira either, so there has to be more to it than that.
Taigi made no effort to hide the displeasure on his face. What was supposed to be a fun diversion was now an incident. Straining his voice to appear composed, he spoke.
"I'll see you at school."
Then, he ran off. He took out his phone and dialed Ryuu and Pratt's numbers. He didn't get names, but from witness' descriptions they fit the bill. Of course, they didn't pick up. Taigi spent the rest of the day running around and asking passerby about his friends' locations, to no avail. After he reported the two boys' disappearances to a local police officer, he sat down on a bench and cradled his head in his hands. He gripped his hair, frustrated.
"Ahhghahadhhh it's too fuckin' hard man I'm so fuckin'' drunk man everythin' fuckin' spinnin' hahaha…!" "Can I hang up now?"
"NO! Nononononono man I love youuuuuuuu so muchhhhhhhhhhhhh fuckin' chrissssssssssssssttttttttttttt man! Gawdddamnnnnn I soo sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…"
Taigi regretted picking up the phone. A drunk dial, even from his cousin, was irritating.
In reality, Taigi was cycling through generic answers while reading a light novel. After what seemed like an eternity, his cousin hung up.
Taigi didn't come to school the past few days on the excuse of pinkeye. In reality, he was trying to take a break from all the drama and ponder upon his future. He thought about it, but there was really not much he could practically do.
"Deus ex machina…"
He mumbled those words to himself, as he realized an obvious and inconvenient truth: the chips were almighty. They allowed a hacker to pull off ridiculous feats with barely any risk to themselves. Taigi thought the incidents at school were an exception, something outside the norm. But then the incident at the mall happened. Pratt and Ryuu were most likely hacked. And by a different hacker. He had no proof, but from the way there was no response from either of them he felt it was more likely than not.
If kids in high school could do this sort of stuff, what could the adults that had a hand in creating this technology do? He shuddered at the thought.
Again, he had no proof the hackers were kids. But from the idiotic way they used their abilities, he assumed as much. An adult would have probably been more scrupulous with their usage. Taigi didn't consider himself to be particularly intelligent, but even he could think up of a dozen different ways that would have resulted in more chaos amongst Hisakawa. That is, assuming the goal was to create chaos. He couldn't really fathom the motives. If it was truly to hurt Sagawa, there were easier ways to do it as well. He was trying to think if the perpetrator had some ulterior motive or if he was just dumb.
Giving up that train of thought, Taigi thought of the answers he reached. There was no way to counter what happened to Lisa and others from happening to himself without removing his chip. He probably could get it removed illegally, but the government would know the moment he did so.
To Taigi, being hacked via chip was scarier than anything. Even guns paled in comparison. A gun had to be aimed and fired. And more likely than not, the shooter was in your field of vision; handguns were rare, let alone sniper rifles. Being instantly killed by one bullet was rare, and one could run for their lives and escape. Guns are loud too, and would attract attention. Just not walking out at night and being with a friend highly reduced one's chances of being shot in modern day Japan. And even if one were killed by them, forensics would ensure that the culprit would be caught and brought to justice. But being hacked? There seemed to be nothing. No defense. Time of day didn't matter; a person being hacked would look like they were not under anyone's will but their own until the hacker made it obvious. Being hacked made no sound, only silence. A friend? If that friend had a chip then they would be controlled too.
So to defend against being hacked, it was to either remove one's chip, be good enough with chips that you can construct your own security, or hire someone that can do it for you. And even then, there was no guarantee. Who knows how good the defense is until it's been tested? And by then, it would be too late.
Taigi slammed his fist on the floor.
A person could very well be forced to commit a crime against his will.
Along the same lines, Taigi thought why was Sagawa still enrolled in high school? Considering her talents she should have been scouted by the government and given a job. A respectable, white hat job with her talents. From what he could garner from the internet, feats that Sagawa performed were in the realm of fantasy, unheard of.
He could pack it up and leave. If he moved to anywhere in the Western Hemisphere, he could probably live without the fear of being hacked; the chips were a Japanese invention and so would likely be more familiar with Japanese people.
"…"
He sighed. He had offered Michio help but he was already wavering like this.
("But really, Michio hasn't really asked me for help after I offered it. And another fucking hacker, and I don't doubt there's more… I was really naïve to think that there could only be one doing such exceptional things…")
Taigi laid on his bed like that for several hours. He reached a conclusion.
("Ok. Two weeks. If nothing crazy happens for two weeks then I stay.")
Having reached that conclusion, Taigi went to sleep. He dreamed of a party where he and several classmates were having fun at the beach. When he woke up he remembered the contents and was tempted to have it happen in reality. He put the thought of it into the back of his mind as he prepared to go to school.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox= , grey, solid][November 9th, Afternoon / Class 2A]
Taigi didn't pay much attention to schoolwork today. His mind was wandering and focused on other matters. Like how Pratt was missing but Ryuu wasn't. How? Why? Why was it not both of them? Or, how Michio was covered in bandages. What was he doing? Was he getting abused at home or something? And if he was, why wasn't Taigi notified for help? Ever since that day at Kanesaka, Taigi wasn't contacted by Michio once for help. Was it a tacit refusal of his offer? Though Taigi came barely on time today, there were opportunities at lunch to ask his friends about his questions, but a part of him wasn't prepared to hear the answers. He resigned himself and was about to get up from his desk and walk over to his friend, but stopped. Before he could get there, Mana did. Taigi was surprised at Mana's bold approach to Michio. To Taigi, it obviously seemed like a prelude to a confession. And, in his peripheral vision, he could make out Yuuki approaching Rei. Behind him he could hear Kyouko and Kira's voices. From the contents of their talk, Taigi couldn't help but think…
("The hell is this? Valentine's Day? Someone spread their pheromones? And wait, are they just horseplaying or are they both lesbian?")
He pretended to be occupied with his phone as the conversation behind him unraveled. While he could just get up and leave, he didn't feel like reminding them of his presence. Finally, Kira left.
"Goddammit, her name is Kyouko!"
Taigi didn't know where to start with that conversation he overheard. He was about to brush it off and just go on home when he realized he couldn't hear any movement from behind him. If it was Ayame, it wouldn't be surprising if he couldn't hear her footsteps. But Kyouko didn't have that same reputation. He still didn't dare to turn around though.
Several minutes passed in silence before it was interrupted. Loudly.
"ALRIGHT, TIME TO DO IT!"
Taigi jumped and hit his knees against the bottom of his desk.
("!&@$^@!**$(@!!!!")
Paying no notice to that, the pirate left the room.
The whole affair was enough for him to forget the music that was constantly looping and cause him to remember the dream he had last night. At first he thought of inviting everyone from class, but then abandoned that thought. Having Sagawa and Michio in the same room was bound to stir up trouble. Taigi himself wasn't a Yukitani in terms of relationships; it would be awkward for him to meet Rei and Kira, for example.
("Maybe just the guys…?")
That seemed like a safe bet. From what he could remember, none of the males from his class had any bad blood between each other. He opened his phone and started to text.
It would have been faster to send a generic group text, but Taigi never really did like to do that. He didn't send one to Leo or Yuuki Iwasawa since he didn't know their numbers. But if Ryuu or Michio weren't available on the same days, there was no need for him to send texts to the other two in the first place; the get together wouldn't happen if they weren't all available.
As he got his backpack and prepared to go home, his teacher appeared in the doorway, appearing a bit winded.
"Oh good, there's still someone here. Can you take this to 3-A Narita-kun? I need to get going to the principal."
The teacher tossed a can of coffee to him. Taigi caught it in mid-air.
"Thank you Narita-kun!"
With that the teacher left in a hurry. Taigi let out a sigh and headed to the third floor.
After he delivered the coffee, a familiar person caught his eye.
("Sagawa Mizunohara…")
As he saw her, he recalled the events that happened in the mall. And immediately remembered that Sagawa read Leo's mind or was bluffing. Whatever the case was, Taigi repeated a singular thought in his head as he passed by her while raising a hand in friendly acknowledgment of her presence.
("Shoes shoes shoes shoes shoes shoes shoes…")
He didn't like to gamble. In the past, he had thought to thank her for saving Lisa but that was forgotten and replaced with fear. If he calmed down to think about it, if Sagawa wanted to, she would have had plenty of opportunities to read the minds of all her classmates. But since he was inwardly panicking, the thought of shoes composed the entirety of his mind.
[November 9th, Afternoon / Hisakawa Academy - Class 2A -> Hallways]
"Spaghetti's only straight until it's wet, huh!?"
Kira was suddenly yelling, and Rei didn't exactly know what about. The spaghetti thing was completely lost on Rei. And why the yelling? Was she really that mad about Rei suddenly showing up? Rei didn't really understand what was going on or why.
The most Rei reacted to the outburst was raising an eyebrow. Was... was that meant to be insulting or something?
Rei could understand resentment -hell, she resented herself for letting their friendship sit idly by- but... cooking tips? Being yelled at her in a hallway?
"Uhm, I guess? Uh, did you know that rice expands in a cooker up to three times? Since we're talking about cooking... I guess? But that holds true for all noodles, I suppose. Kind of an odd reaction though, Kira," Rei said. "I'm... I'm still sorry for not talking to you earlier. I wish I did. It sounds like you've been having a hard time too, what with Misheru being in the hospital now."
And it's all my fault.
Rei wouldn't bring up the stickers, nor the envelope. Too many people were a part of this now for it to go off without a hitch. Not to mention... they would get more ammunition against Rei or the Red Pandas. Nyoko certainly wasn't find of Kira, but destroying Kira would certainly lead to some leverage.
"I... I wanted to send you a card but things got busy. Uhm, something with music in it but I didn't know your tastes exactly... they didn't have anything with Elvis or screamed 'Kira'."
More like I was busy trying not to break down.
God, she was babbling now. Desperate to keep a conversation. She sounded like an idiot... but she'd be a hypocrite if she let this go after renewing her friendship with Michio. Which was worse than an idiot, at the very least.
Still, what the hell was that comment from Kira about? Rei could have sworn she'd heard the phrase before... but she couldn't place where exactly she'd heard it.
[November 9th, Afternoon / Corridors]
"Kind of an odd reaction though, Kira. I'm... I'm still sorry for not talking to you earlier. I wish I did. It sounds like you've been having a hard time too, what with Misheru being in the hospital now."
The fact that Rei was playing dumb just disappointed Kira further, and she balled her hands into fists. They had known each other for so long, yet she kept a secret like what had happened at the TTC from her. What else was she keeping from her…? She wouldn't be surprised if there were another ten secrets she'd never find out about. After all, Rei was great at keeping secrets from everybody. If it wasn't for Nyoko, Kira would still believe every word.
"I... I wanted to send you a card but things got busy. Uhm, something with music in it but I didn't know your tastes exactly... they didn't have anything with Elvis or screamed 'Kira'."
"Screw you, Rei," Kira says, narrowing her eyes. "Go ahead and play dumb if you want, but Nyoko told me about what happened when you visited our little club. That's right. I'm a Red Panda now. And thanks to them, I haven't had a hard time at all. I've been super fine. I've been walking on sunshine!"
Kira's angry tone suggests that she's not really been walking on sunshine, but she doesn't want to think about Misheru. People look at her funny, talk behind her back, because their friend is in the hospital. They think it's Kira's fault. Rei brings it up a week after it's happened, along with her poor excuses as to why she's not done anything earlier. Rei should stop pretending already. It's tiresome and annoying. "You don't need to keep up the charade any more, Rei. I don't care what you do. If you want to exclude me from your life, that's fine. Kiss whatever you want to kiss," Kira says, sighing, running a hand through her hair. "We don't have to pretend to be best friends. It's not a fun game anyway. I guess we both picked the wrong person."
Kira turns around, slumping her shoulders, hesitating for a moment before she gets her drumsticks out of her pockets. She may as well listen to some more excuses from Rei before she goes home. She doubts it's the last time she'll hear them, even if they end up talking less.
[ November 9th, Afternoon / Hisakawa Academy, School Rooftop ]
"Of course. I did say that I would arrange for us to be alone. Since it seems like that person isn't around, we can go ahead and proceed. Morita's radio nonsense ended up being a convenient cover."
What? Who was 'that person'?
Kokoro waved her hand, and it dawned on him that they weren't actually alone.
"Oh-"
[ November 9th, Afternoon / Town of Hisakawa, Fifth Street Overpass ]
Concrete. Cars. Water flowing? The grey ceiling above must mean that...
He was under an overpass. Sitting up, his eyes widened as his brain finally clicked on where he was.
Haunted memories began to flood back at full force.
No.
"Hey."
Turning to the source, Leo found Kokoro sitting beside the water. The smell of cigarette smoke made his nose twitch. "Could have just walked here..." "...Did you have a bad dream, Kane? You were pretty quiet when you were invisibly getting carried around the school."
He furrowed his brows, wondering whether she was being genuine or not.
He moved to the edge of the water, still standing, he sighed. "Just remembering...things. Such as the days where I didn't get suddenly grabbed and taken to distant locations. The past certainly has that going for it."
She looked more relaxed now then he wa sure most people would ever see her. He could see the headlines now.
Kokoro Amane, only pissed because of cravings.
Who would of guessed?
Still, much to his annoyance, she seemed content to let him be the one to carry the conversation forward. He supposed there was no avoiding it then. There were questions to be asked. If he could just get over the underlying fear of saying anything.
He gaze around, this place was horrid. In every sense of the word.
He clicked his tongue.
"Why?" He turned towards her. "I assume you didn't bring me here to catch up on eachother. Hmm?"
She wouldn't have bothered her time for that.
"Because I've been to the mall, as I'm sure you know. Colour me suprised when I learn that someone doesn't remember what she's supposed to."
"You wouldn't happen to know anything about that fact would you?" @Ehb[/fieldbox]
[November 9th, Afternoon / Student Radio Corridor]
"It's, uh… nothing," At this, Chiyo raised an eyebrow--or at least, tried to. She can't really raise one, so instead her face contorted into...something squinty.
"We'll have it handled soon enough. It's perfectly fine. You don't have to worry Chiyo-san." "But Mori--" "Morita-san, what's with the radio earlier?"
"Ah, Yuuki-kun!" Quickly flipping her frown upside-down in greeting at her effeminate friend, Chiyo stayed quiet as Nyoko responded...and unsuccessfully tried to open the door.
One raging door slam later--and it opens!!
Only to be shut again?
"Huh? It suddenly closed!" Chiyo tilted her head, her eyes practically illuminating in awe. "I wonder if it's a ghost?"
"Can you help me get this door open? I'd really appreciate it."
The music stopped, causing Chiyo to pause a moment before answering. "I'll try my best, Morita-san!"
Strangely enough, the peach was just a tad bit too pumped for this mundane activity. Grabbing the door handle, she spoke loudly to the door.
"Ghost-san, a friend once told me that ghosts get spirited out of the living realm if they're injured. So, because of that, I don't want to hurt you. Please let us open the door!"
Grinning to the two people behind her, Chiyo realized the size of the door handle, compared to all three of their hands. "Umm, how about I use both my hands on the door handle? Then, each one of you guys can grab onto one of my wrists, and we'll all pull together!"
[/fieldbox]@Wen @LowDefinition
@Others???
[fieldbox= , white, solid] [November 9th, Afternoon / Hisakawa Academy - Social Morals Office]
Yuri's mouth was just slightly open as Ayame left the office. Whatever words she had for the Ninja were going to have to wait. Though in any case it probably would've been the same. Things that she simply did not want to hear. "Saying what you want and leaving then, Sayoto-san? Goodness..." Yuri tapped her papers against the desk, straightening the pile. Without anyone around, she allowed a dejected expression to sneak into her demeanor.
If she couldn't help Ayame then then what good could come of it now? All of this convenience was ultimately Yuri's own fault however. She just had to be worried for her.
"That's unfair, Ayame. Asking me to break a promise like that."
[ November 9th, Afternoon / Hisakawa Academy, Third Floor Hallways ]
Sagawa turned her gaze over to the greeting boy. It was the highly... unremarkable yet profoundly vagrant boy in class named Taigi Narita. Now giving her a misplaced greeting in the third floor hallway. Come to think of it, what was he even doing up where the third years were supposed be?
Sagwa returned the greeting with an obligatory nod. Nothing more was needed beyond that.
However, the girl suddenly shifted her gaze downwards. Seeming to look down to his feet.
"Hey..." Sagawa began. "You have gum on your knee there."
Surely enough, there it was. A white glob on his right pants leg. It was sort of pancaked in. Like it had been flattened against something at some point. How did he not notice it earlier?
[fieldbox= , white, solid] [ November 9th, Afternoon / Town of Hisakawa, Fifth Street Overpass ]
"Where to start, Kane..."
Kokoro broke out of a long pause. After shifting through many, many things that she had to say to him. It was a terrible, hateful catalogue to go through, but that wasn't what she had dragged Leo here for.
"I dragged you over to this place because today's a special day."Kokoro said as she flicked her cigarette into the water. "I dragged you over here since I don't know where Umeko's family ended up storing her ashes away. From what I understand, they just locked the jar away in an attic or threw out the ashes altogether."
Kokoro hugged her knees looking off distantly to the other side of the river. "So, this is probably the closest thing I can do to pay respects. Aside from going over and tearing Fujibayashi's home apart. But, even I'm not that inconsiderate."
Still clasping her knees, she spread open her fingers, stretching them.
"You do know just how bad it was with Umeko and her family, right?"
My sister is really... My new sister is super... My mother tries super hard to... My father has some really big expectations. Don't tell Chiyo-chan, okay Leo?
He had broken a promise by confronting Sagawa and saying all that. The sad and betrayed look on Chiyo's face... that was exactly what Umeko didn't want have happen wasn't it?
A part of Leo wanted to push the thing with Sagawa forward more. But, another part of him made him hold that thought. The uncomfortable sensation in his scarred hand jutted at him annoyingly. The constant reminder that in Kokoro's eyes, that girl wasn't the only one she held responsible.
If he pushed the topic of Sagawa, then he'd also surely have to face the same thing that gave him that scar.
It wasn't my fault!
What else could I have done!
The scar on his hand tinged antagonistically even more.
But Kokoro was right. This was the day that Umeko died. In fact, this was probably the first year he'd forgotten about it.
[November 9th, Afternoon Outside of Class 2A / Student Radio Corridor]
"Fucking hell.. This was a wasted trip, why in the shit won't she tell me.. I need to set up a meeting with, oh damnit.. I forgot to ask. Well guess we can show up like beggars..." All the while that damn music continued to play, what in the world was Nyoko doing? Nearing class 2A Ayame slides open the door but doesn't step in directly, noticing Mana near Michio she could not hear them, but the body language was very telling. As was her own reaction to it. She didn't care, or rather it didn't hurt.
Ducking back around the corner, the simple fact was she took to him out of a need to protect him, out of anger at what that bitch had done. While she did not dislike him, she couldn't say with a straight face she loved him. While their time together had been fun she knew them being close from this point on would be difficult if not painful. She also knew he would not dump her. Sighing a bit she wished she could stick around to see what her friend's confession would be like, even if it would make things incredibly awkward.
Pausing, she did want him to be happy at least. Keying up her mail function she wasn't sure what to say exactly, going with what she could think of as she walked the halls.
Hey it's me.. I think for now we might should go our.. separate ways. I need time to think and it's not exactly proper for a Bodyguard to be dating her client.. This also relates to that warning I was given. Besides I think a certain little bluehead in class is into you.I need to check something first, but I may be calling for you and Rei later today.. Take care of yourself, also I don't hate you, if I did I would just deck you already, also this meeting is important, I'll try and not get in the way of your..other activities with it. ~Ayame
Rei, if you can keep your schedule freed up today if you can, maybe some time after depending. I have to look into something for now, once I find out what I need to there is something important I need to get both of you into, might be going in over my head here, but if both of you are serious about this it could help you both out. ~Ayame
Sighing a bit at least the partial distancing she had gotten herself towards the pair did by her some time to relax and study. Though the headaches were as bad as ever, the simple fact is the pair of them needed to meet the council and not just one member, they needed to see what the Yakuza was, what being part of it meant. They needed work and tasks short of drawing out sums of money for stupid crap or being a bouncer at a night club, otherwise both of them would stay in low standing and naivety. Plus she had a request she wanted to make of the council if possible in private to try and confirm some side thoughts she had on all of this. And just maybe, to buy her freedom. Thinking more like her ninja moniker there was still one more problem to deal with.. Then she could decide what to do finally.
Suddenly the music just stops, was the situation settled or did something else happen? Breaking into a run it wasn't long till the so-called Ninja girl had entered the hall, seeing Nyoko and others standing at the door. Stopping her run, if Nyoko was out here, then who was in there? While she didn't much like her fellow co-host Ayame did take her responsibilities seriously. She was co-host, even if she had other things to settle today she did have to at least be sure if this was something they could handle or not. Not like Nyoko would directly want her company anyways, though she at least had to make an appearance.
