2013-09-28 - Star Lion attacks! Shibuya's mysterious sleeping spell

Star Lion attacks! Shibuya's mysterious sleeping spell
Summary: The Star Lion attempts to steal the wish of a Shibuya shopper for some peaceful rest, and magical girls assemble to stop the attack! After the fight, everyone goes out for snacks and video games.
Who: Sakura Akagi, Tokiko Amagawa, Madobe Kuroi, Yoshirou Kurotsuki, Fate Testarossa
Where: Shibuya Shopping Center - Shitamachi Low City
OOC - IC Date: 9/28/2013 - 9/25/2013

Shopping can be fun...or it can be torture. For Juichi Iijima, it's torture. Juichi is the overworked and tired salaryman boyfriend of Chisaki Ichihara, who loves shopping. He'd love to make her happy, but he just can't catch a break. Today, he's come off several very long workdays only to be dragooned into carrying bags and judging clothing purchases. he leans against the statue of Hachiko near the station.

"Ugh...I wish that she'd just let me get a bit of rest...this is gonna kill me!"

Overhead, hidden by the sun, a star falls.

The black ring guides the Star Lion, who appears atop a roof nearby. His armor is black and intimidating, easily seven feet tall and laden with spikes and long blades. In his hand, he wields a black blade nearly as long as he is tall. Blue fire is all that is visisble behind the faceplate of his helmet.

"I have heard your wish. Now...see it granted! From the darkness of the void, behold! Star Lion!"

The falling star turns black, darkening the sky as it falls down towards Shibuya. A wave of chills sweeps over the shopping district as, by ones and tens, the entire place begins to fall asleep.

A shadow falls over the sun, edges glimmering in the daylight. As it descends, it resolves itself into a human form falling at terminal velocity, the wind shearing past it so harshly it becomes visible as white ripples.

"Entering the situation zone..."

A white parachute decorated with golden filigree erupts from the figure shortly before landing, billowing in the wind. The figure stands up, wearing a golden flight suit and helmet with a white visor. She flips up the visor with a flourish of her arm, and as she does so, the flight suit, helmet and parachute all dissolve into the open air, revealing a white military uniform!

"Starry Soldier Angel! You're in violation of galactic wish law! Release that wish or I will open fire!"

The Star Lion has not come alone, although one of his helpers at least is really not into the whole... mass danger and potential death thing. She's not into the whole fighting thing at all, actually, but her mother's word is law, and she wants to help her be happier in all ways possible.

Considerably shorter than the two others with her, Fate Testarossa hovers down, already transformed into her Barrier Jacket. The long black and red cape, aside from the black and red color scheme otherwise, is all that really separates her from just being "another magical girl". Without any mask, recognizing her isn't that hard. At least, Tokiko could, having seen her, even if she doesn't know her name.

There's a lot of shops here, which is at least good for her. She raises her poleaxe, Bardiche, to look into the yellow gemstone at the end.

"Is there... anything we can do here? For mother?" <YES SIR. IT DETECTS MINOR MAGICAL FLUCTUATIONS THERE.> "That's... an antique shop? It might have magical items..."

Secondary objective found, at least.

Her main one's to keep heat off the massive figure that have summoned her here. She wonders if she can really compete with those kinds of obvious powerhouses, though. She's just a child, comparatively.

For now, she's going to suuuubtly shuffle towards that antique shop. As subtle as she can be with that big poofy cape and obvious WEAPON.

Was that the shooting star she was supposed to watch out for?

Cherry Blossom saw it from the corneer of her eye. She wasn't sure, but it might not hurt to check it out.

She arrives on a rooftop overlooking the shopping district. She sees the huge figure of Star Lion. This isn't really her fight, but Solider Angel seemed... to be a good person. Maybe she could use a little bit of help.

She does not focus on making a dramatic entrance. And... perhaps because of this, she sees that one person is uneffected by the powers at hand. That looks like she might even be a Magical Girl too. But whose side is Fate on?

A girl with pink hair and a short kimono is looking down at Fate from the tops of the roof.

"Entering the situation zone, *SIGH*, henshin sweet pea *groan* splash, I guess. *ANOTHER SIGH*."

Sweet Pea was about to give up on fighting evil when she not just got her butt kicked but also got shown up by elementary school kids. The fact of the matter is, she is now pretty depressed. She walks onto the scene, with dull eyes of unhappiness on her face even before someone said her costume was way too pink or anything of the sort.

"Please stop putting people to sleep and causing a disturbance...eheh...eh.h...It's not nice and ruins our shopping trips..."

And she's also remembering how she yelled at that one yakuza girl who either wants to have her killed now, probably, or even possibly worse is interested in her, which means she might go yell about how she likes tentacle hentai now. MADOBE DOESN'T LIKE TENTACLE HENTAI. She prefers boy love and reverse harems, okay?? IT'S NOT ALL THE SAME, OKAY?

She actually sort of mumbled her intro lines today and ironically wasn't just with Cherry Blossom today, having been around on unrelated business.

The Star Lion turns, raising his blade and pointing it out over the area. "Soldier Angel! You've come to stop me again, have you? I've told you before - these wishes are mine, and no law can hold my power back! If you want to stop me, you had best do it yourself!" He turns, the blade sweeping over the area. "I see you've brought allies today...well then!"

The blade rests briefly, aimed at Sweet Pea. "Sweet Pea, valiant defender!" He ignores Cherry Blossom for now - if she wants attention she'll make some noise, after all. Right? "Your name does not frighten me, for I am the Star Lion! Even you cannot intimidate me!" ('Even?')

There is a flash of darkness, and Star Lion appears between Sweet Pea and Soldier Angel. "Still, I cannot ignore you. Very well! Soldier Angel, Sweet Pea! Show me your power!" He turns, pointing his blade at Sweet Pea. "Do not think this will be easy! The Soldier Angel may be confident with you at her back, but I am prepared even for that!"

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki has fully healed himself. He is now ready to take on 2 opponents!

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki has used Calling By Name on Madobe Kuroi.

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki has used Lion's Roar on Yoshirou Kurotsuki.

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki accepts Yoshirou Kurotsuki's Lion's Roar, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Empower and Withstand applied to Yoshirou Kurotsuki!

The blonde girl is totally a Magical Girl. But for her to not rush and help the two who so bravely oppose the armored behemoth? Surely that casts doubt. If it doesn't cast enough, Fate just sort of walks into the antique store without paying immediate attention to the fact she's being watched.

Tunnel vision, sadly. There's signatures in the store, even if they're just really lousy magical baubles, she probably thinks if she makes a BIG pile of them it'll make her mother happy. It's no Jewel Seed for sure but magic is magic.

At least she's polite. She doesn't smash the glass or anything. She walks in like a normal person, using the door! And then, two little orbs of yellow magic slowly come out of gemstone on her poleaxe, while there is a lot of shouting outside. She wonders if that means she was supposed to attack one of those people.

<BEGINNING AREA SEARCH.> Bardiche announces.

While the little orbs flutter about, scanning old chests and furniture and jewelry, Fate awkwardly stands by the door, giving an uneasy look towards the cashier who has fallen asleep at his desk.

At least none of them are dead, right. Right? D:

Japanese Cherry Blossom does not know why a magical girl would rob a jewelry store. There are the obvious reasons. But usually their motives are something more interesting, like looking for true magic. It's still possible Fate might not be a bad person.

But Cherry Blossom has her suspicions. She pushes open the door also, and stands in it, pointing a finger at the other girl. "Stop right there. If you have a plan to take advantage of these people to steal, I can't allow it!"

Soldier Angel hasn't spotted the arrival of Japanese Cherry Blossom yet, being on a rooftop as she is, but she turns with surprise to see Sweet Pea entering the scene. "Sweet Pea-chan? You shouldn't..." She glances back at the Star Lion, and remains silent as he delivers his shpiel acknowledging Sweet Pea's unquestionable power. Okay. He wants to do this. She didn't have the chance to tell Sweet Pea to go easy on him... not that that's very easy to do anyway. How do you tell a magical girl not to hurt your archnemesis too much without giving the whole thing away?

"Okay! Let's do this. Together, all right?" She holds out a hand to clasp Sweet Pea's and shake it confidently. "I'll lay down suppressive fire, you do your thing and catch him!" She lifts her hands in the air and draws a white and gold assault rifle out of the sky, training it across Star Lion's means of escape, though she doesn't strike the Star Lion himself.

COMBAT: Tokiko Amagawa has used Suppressive Fire on Yoshirou Kurotsuki.

COMBAT: Tokiko Amagawa has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Madobe Kuroi accepts Yoshirou Kurotsuki's Calling By Name, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Madobe Kuroi is Cheered!

WHUMP.

That's the sound of the door slamming into the extremely distracted Fate, who ends up face first into the ground. She is definitely a killing machine who assaults people for fun and profit, yep.

Fortunately she does kind of pick herself up quickly, and actually wastes no time pointing the business end of her sharp, spiked poleaxe Device at Cherry Blossom. There's an idle crackle of golden electricity along the blade, but no immediate attack.

"I-I can't. I don't want to harm these people, but if you force me I..." She'll what? She wouldn't just shank the sleeping shopkeep or anything. Though she could be forced to shank Cherry Blossom instead.

"Please. I'll be done soon."

She omits to mention she's here to help Star Lion out. She's not sure she should be shouting they're allies or anything, though if she had to she guesses she'd have to take obvious, visible orders from him anyway.

Sweet Pea blinks a few times at Star Lion. "...Huh?" Did ... did he even actually hear her? "...Wait..." She seems a bit flustered. Did she do something amazing at some point? She doesn't think so. Okay, she beat that perfume demon or...or maybe it actually is a show? Maybe even magical girls put on magical girl shows on the street. No, that's impossible, people wouldn't be falling asleep then. She goes a bit cross-eyed.

"Uh." She says awkwardly. "...O...kay."

Wait! She thinks she gets it. Tokiko seems to have fought this guy a few times already, that means that she may have told him about Sweet Pea and given him the idea that she's badass or something. She looks towards Soldier Angel. Man, she's glad Cherry Blossom isn't here to hear--

In the background, faintly: 'Stop right there. If you have a plan to take advantage of these people to steal, I can't allow it!'.

Her head slowly turns back to look at Sakura. And then she says, "Ah--don't worry about...us! We'll be able to handle this guy! St..stop that jewelry store robber! People have the right to uh ... ... well... I don't really have something cool to say there but..."

She draws her PEA SHOOTERS out and opens fire! If her blasts hit the Star Lion, flowers will sprout where he's hit adorably.

"Um--um..." She tells him. How does one go about telling an evil demon lieutenant type that he's their favorite evil demon lieutenant type? Are magical girls even allowed to say that??

Oops.

Well, that's awkward. Cherry didn't actually mean to hit her with the door. She just was a lot closer to the door than Cherry Blossom originally thought.

She does pause when Fate threatens to harm people. No jewels are worth the cost to a life. "I'll give you one chance to explain yourself," she demands, which she thinks is quite fair. The young lady seems distressed.

COMBAT: Madobe Kuroi has used Flower Shot on Yoshirou Kurotsuki.

COMBAT: Madobe Kuroi has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki narrowly dodges Tokiko Amagawa's Suppressive Fire, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki narrowly braces Madobe Kuroi's Flower Shot, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Yoshirou Kurotsuki's Parry ability activates! Diversion and Stun applied to Yoshirou Kurotsuki!

She doesn't have time to explain! Who knows how long this'll last? On the other hand, it might buy her a bit of time. It's a tough call, does she say something useful about her ~mission~ or does she just, once again, open fire against the interlopper? One certainly takes a lot less time than the other.

What would she say, anyway? Some of these jewels are faintly magical! Let me take them so they can't harm anyone, also because I'm trying to build a stockpile of things that are magical for someone to do things with. No, she wouldn't buy that. Really, who would? Fate's not sure she even buys her own reasoning anymore.

Really, there's only one way to justify herself left.

<PHOTON LANCER.>

Just like that, lightning arcs from her Device and forms a glowing, bright yellow ball of light, which immediatly shoots straight at Cherry Blossom. For what it's worth, the blonde looks insanely conflicted right now.

COMBAT: Fate Testarossa has used Photon Lancer: Standard on Sakura Akagi.

COMBAT: Fate Testarossa has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Sakura Akagi perfectly dodges Fate Testarossa's Photon Lancer: Standard, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Dodge!

Bullets fly down around the Star Lion, but he ducks under them with a grand sweep of his deep blue cloak, posing dramatically amid the hail of shots. "You are so confident in her, Soldier Angel? Then let us see what she can do!" Star Lion turns on Sweet Pea as the Pea Shooters come out. He raises his blade, meeting the shots with the flat of it. The flowers sprout around it, roping the blade to his arm and sprouting along it. He looks down at the arm, then nods once, shaking it.

"Not bad! But you face the greatest necromancer that has ever lived! Born of the darkness beyond the moon, speaker to the black cosmos!" This is not actually a meaningful set of phrases, but Yoshirou Kurotsuki understands that part of impressing your foes and building a legend is saying things that are cool even if they don't make sense.

He raises his arm, intoning. "Tenebrarum, et signa mea hostem surgere!" Darkness rises around him. "Soldier Angel! Have you seen what lies between the stars?" The darkness flows over the rooftop, moving to surround Tokiko, flowing ominously. What dark plans could he have once she's trapped in place?! He then turns on Sweet Pea. "As for you..." He sweeps his free hand forward, the darkness flowing at Sweet Pea like a crushing wave! "Let me show it to you! Black Cosmos!"

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki has used Darkness Between Stars on Tokiko Amagawa.

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki has used Black Cosmos on Madobe Kuroi.

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Madobe Kuroi fails to dodge Yoshirou Kurotsuki's Black Cosmos, taking 9 Fatigue damage!

COMBAT: Tokiko Amagawa narrowly counters Yoshirou Kurotsuki's Darkness Between Stars, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Tokiko Amagawa's Tactician ability activates!

COMBAT: Tokiko Amagawa's counterattack, Starry Flashbang, partially gets through, doing 2 Fatigue damage to Yoshirou Kurotsuki!

"Huh? There's a jewelry..." Soldier Angel trails off as she looks aside in the direction of the jewelry store. She can't spot who's in there, but Japanese Cherry Blossom is on the scene, which is good! She smiles and snaps off a salute, and then turns back to Star Lion, who has done nothing to her in the interim.

"The stars shine brightest when they reflect off each other," she retorts, making not much more sense. She doesn't understand Latin, but the battle plan covered all these things Star Lion says, so she tenses her legs when he begins to cast, and leaps into the air as he casts the cloud of darkness. Soldier Angel disappears into the blackness...

"Starry Flashbang!"

A small, golden-filigreed canister falls down from the cloud of darkness, cracking open at the Star Lion's feet, where it releases a glimmering torrent of starry light. The flash subsides quickly, revealing an unentangled Soldier Angel landing within melee range of the Star Lion's blade, rifle gone. "The darkness only waits to be filled with spectacular light!"

Cherry Blossom has to leap into the buiding to dodge the ray. She lands behind a jewelry case. She doesn't like this, since things that are important might be easily destroyed in the melee. Maybe there's a way to slow Fate down, or get her outside.

She casts a very quick spell. She clasps her hands together. "Cherry Trees - please aid me--"

Pink branches bloom up from the ground, and try to surround Fate in a small trap. That should give her a little time to figure out what to do, but she thinks she might have to take this outside somewhere. If she just leaves, though, Fate probably won't follow her, so what to do? This isn't a problem she thought she'd encounter, since most mindless monsters don't steal from stores. She knows she's going to have to get more clever about this...

COMBAT: Sakura Akagi has used Blossom Tangle on Fate Testarossa.

COMBAT: Sakura Akagi has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Fate Testarossa fails to dodge Sakura Akagi's Blossom Tangle, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Tangle applied to Fate Testarossa!

Having landed before the Star Lion and made her declaration, she throws an arm out to her side, forming a gleaming golden combat knife. She ducks under the arc of the Star Lion's blade and rushes in close, levelling the knife for the Star Lion's very heart, as it trails stardust in its wake. The knife does not cut, but it sears at the evil heart - and if she gets the chance, it will burn that much more when she takes the opportunity to twist it in.

COMBAT: Tokiko Amagawa has used Close Quarters Miracle on Yoshirou Kurotsuki.

COMBAT: Tokiko Amagawa has finished attacking.

Sweet Pea breathes out--she actually got him! Yay! Maybe it's because Tokiko patted her earlier, allowing some of her coolness to rub off on her. If she knew that physical contact could make awesome rub off on you, she would have been grabbing people a lot earlier than now!

Madobe learns the wrong lessons.

But then--Tokiko jumps into THE DARKNESS. "Oh no! Soldier Angel!" She cries out. "Are you okay? There might be a grue in there!" But instead, Star Lion unleashes a wave of darkness at her! It ripples around her and sends her crashing along the ground. She naturally goes 'Aieeee!' as she's flung away from him. "Latin...? Tenebrarum is..ah...ah...Well mea is some form of me and--"

She stands herself up. "Probably--"

She is inspired by TOkiko launching a canister over at Yoshirou and she grins. She's okay! Well of course she is.

"Um...you said you're...Star Lion, a great necromancer? Um..are you after one of those boxed stars?" Did she get caught up in the most magical game of Mario Galaxy ever?

She fires another shot at Star Lion, trying to keep her spirits up.

COMBAT: Madobe Kuroi has used Sweet Pea Strike on Yoshirou Kurotsuki.

COMBAT: Madobe Kuroi has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki narrowly dodges Madobe Kuroi's Sweet Pea Strike, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Madobe Kuroi is Psyched!

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki narrowly counters Tokiko Amagawa's Close Quarters Miracle, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Tokiko Amagawa is Psyched!

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki's counterattack, Forsaken Blade, partially gets through, doing 20 Fatigue damage to Tokiko Amagawa! Critical Counterhit!

Cherry has a good idea there. There isn't a lot of room to dodge while indoors. At least, not to dodge quick assaults like this. Branches and vines break through the floor tiling and tangle Fate's feet and legs up, grounding her there for the moment. She tugs on them, very briefly, to see how solid a trap she's stuck in, before the indecision and conflict in her scarlet eyes disappears.

When she isn't fighting, she's awkward, doesn't know how to deal with people, and can't really say much. In battle, though, it's a lot easier. There's just one thing to consider, and that's how you'll beat your opponent. No complicated social mazes to navigate.

"Bardiche, finish the scan for now." <YES SIR.>

Lowering the weapon, Fate instead aims her empty, gloved hand towards the other magical girl, as electricity arcs between her fingers. "SHOOT!"

It's not a spell, so much as direct conversion of her mana into lightning. She lets a lightning bolt loose at Cherry Blossom, while she continues tugging on the branches holding her down.

The collateral is probably going to be unavoidable with this girl.

COMBAT: Fate Testarossa has used Lightning Bolt on Sakura Akagi.

COMBAT: Fate Testarossa has finished attacking.

"The falling stars are /mine/, by right and by claim! Their wishing power belongs only to the Star Lion, and no other, no matter what you or Soldier Angel claim!" As Sweet Pea fires at him, Star Lion tries to duck under the shot again as he turns. It doesn't work out quite so well, and the Sweet Pea Shot strikes him on the shoulder, causing the blue fire in the helm to flare brighter, perhaps in annoyance.

As Tokiko gets in close, however, he continues the spin, bringing his sword up to meet her knife with a solid and very loud CLANG! The light of the knife and the darkness of the sword flare against each other, outlining the entire rooftop in monochrome for several seconds. "Fill the darkness? Nothing can fill the darkness! It consumes and devours all!" Star Lion is the first to break the clash, shoving Soldier Angel away.

He sweeps out with the blade, making several slashes at her - never enough to really cause a deep cut, but enough to force her to move and keep her on her toes. The Star Lion prefers to wear his foes down, it seems. It makes for more dramatic fights. "All that lies within the darkness will fade away, but the blackness remains!" He whirls, bringing the sword down onto the rooftop. Black power gathers around it, and he brings it up at Sweet Pea, firing off a shadow clone of the blade towards her. "BLACK FANG!"

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki has used Darkness Duel on Tokiko Amagawa.

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki has used Black Fang on Madobe Kuroi.

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Tokiko Amagawa fails to brace Yoshirou Kurotsuki's Darkness Duel, taking 8 Fatigue damage!

COMBAT: Madobe Kuroi narrowly counters Yoshirou Kurotsuki's Black Fang, taking 8 Fatigue damage!

COMBAT: Madobe Kuroi's counterattack, Sweet Pea Shooters, partially gets through, doing 5 Fatigue damage to Yoshirou Kurotsuki! Critical Counterhit! Trap applied to Yoshirou Kurotsuki!

Cherry Blossom doesn't want the lightning bolt to hit the case, so she leans into it a bit, and takes it to her shoulder. It hurts... but she just winces, and presses on. She never thought, after all, that this wasn't going to involve taking a hit or two.

She raises her hands up, and the branches on the ground begin to glow with a soft pink light. They then explode, with a blast of pink magic that totally surrounds Fate! It might be a little more painful than just grabbing at her. The nature of the magic is such that she doesn't do nearly as much damage to the surroundings as lightning might, but she still doesn't feel really good about where this is headed. "Sorry, but... I can't let you steal from innocent people-- you'll have to leave before they wake up! Even if I have to make you!"

COMBAT: Sakura Akagi has used Blossom Burst on Fate Testarossa.

COMBAT: Sakura Akagi has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Fate Testarossa perfectly counters Sakura Akagi's Blossom Burst, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter!

COMBAT: Fate Testarossa's counterattack, Defenser, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Sakura Akagi!

Soldier Angel grits her teeth as the massive blade of the Star Lion comes into contact with her. Time seems to slow down as the rooftop is limned in black and white alone, until, as Star Lion declares, the darkness consumes: the black overwhelms the white, and Soldier Angel is sent sprawling. She desperately pushes her combat knife up to try to halt the blade as the Star Lion follows his assault up, but a combat knife can only do so much against such a mighty weapon as the Star Lion's.

"Sweet Pea-chan," Soldier Angel says, climbing back to her feet, hands resting on her knees. "I need a second. Keep it up, you're doing great... and use this!" She spins her right hand, and the combat knife in it glows and resolves into golden light, reshaping as she tosses it Sweet Pea's way. As it lands in Sweet Pea's hands, it resolves itself into the borrowed power of the Soldier Angel gifted to Sweet Pea: a semiautomatic machine pistol, white, with trim that quickly fades from gold to pink.

COMBAT: Tokiko Amagawa has used Borrow My Power on Madobe Kuroi.

COMBAT: Tokiko Amagawa has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Madobe Kuroi accepts Tokiko Amagawa's Borrow My Power, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Madobe Kuroi is Cheered!

"I... I can't..."

Fate can't go home empty-handed. Nor can she just leave her (however intimidating and massive) ally to fend against three people instead of two. Both terrible outcomes!

The branches detonate, and the dark magical girl is seemingly engulfed in the bright pink explosion. Before the smoke even clears, a faint yellow light breaks through it, revealing the blonde standing a few feet back from where she used to be, large yellow circle of magic maintained in front of her by her empty hand. A barrier spell, evidently, since she doesn't seem to have been harmed.

She was worried for a second there, though.

"I-If I return empty-handed..."

She doesn't finish her thought. Doesn't want to either. No ifs! No buts! She raises the poleaxe up, which chimes with its smooth, suave, polite and perfect for a butler male voice: <THUNDER BULLET.>

Nothing happens for a moment; if Cherry Blossom is fast, she'll notice another one of those golden orbs has appeared to her rear, in a blind spot. It launches itself straight at her, somewhat faster than the first. Seems to have a bit more of an electrical punch to it, too.

COMBAT: Fate Testarossa has used Thunder Bullet on Sakura Akagi.

COMBAT: Fate Testarossa has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Sakura Akagi narrowly counters Fate Testarossa's Thunder Bullet, taking 7 Fatigue damage!

COMBAT: Sakura Akagi's counterattack, Thrown Blossom, partially gets through, doing 2 Fatigue damage to Fate Testarossa!

"D..do you have a receipt?" Sweet Pea asks. "I'm um." Woah! He's already firing back! Even though Star Lion talked a while about doing it, it somehow still is a surprise for Sweet Pea! She brings her pistols forward and fires a few shots through the Darkness in an attempt to stop it--some simply punch through--but the bulk of the strike slams into Sweet Pea. She cringes in pain before collapsing to a knee, panting for breath.

She pants there for a moment before Tokikotosses her a weapon. In a moment of panic, she drops her OWN pistols to catch it with her hands (rather than with her face). Woah woah--how'd Toki--Soldier Angel do that?? Is she doing this because she knew she was feeling crummy lately?? Could she tell?? Actually, she doesn't know Sweet Pea is Madobe right?

"Th...thank you." She says. "I'll...I'll make sure it counts." This probably means that she won't be holding back against the mighty Star Lion. It's not like anybody told her to!

Well she's still pretty new, Star Lion can probably handle it, right? Feeling confident, she swings the pistol so it points towards Star Lion's chest. Her hand isn't even shaking.

"Wishes belong to those who make them! Nobody can claim them!"

She hopes she's actually right on these ones. Maybe there's like a wishing company or something and Star Lion is the CEO or whatever, she doesn't know! But she believes in Tokiko and is willing to do so blindly!

A pink swirl ripples out of the pistol for Star Lion!

COMBAT: Madobe Kuroi has used Viewtiful Pea on Yoshirou Kurotsuki.

COMBAT: Madobe Kuroi has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki narrowly braces Madobe Kuroi's Viewtiful Pea, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Yoshirou Kurotsuki's Parry ability activates! Exhausted applied to Yoshirou Kurotsuki!

Cherry Blossom tries to get a flower in the way of the orb, but it's not very effective. It still blows up, exploding in her blind spot and knocking her off her feet. That was a rough one -- and the interior of the store shakes a little when she hits the ground on her side.

She stands up... a bit slowly, her face flushed.

But she didn't miss what Fate said. "Return empty-handed... to who?"

She dashes toward Fate, attacking with a simple karate-style chop to her neck. It's not super powerful compared to magic, but it might be surprising.

COMBAT: Sakura Akagi has used Cherry Chop on Fate Testarossa.

COMBAT: Sakura Akagi has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Fate Testarossa narrowly braces Sakura Akagi's Cherry Chop, taking 5 Fatigue damage!

Yoshirou knows that signal - 'give me a breather.' At least, he thinks it's that signal. Well, he can focus on the other girl. He might have to swing harder, because she doesn't know the deal...but that's okay, she seems like she can take it. The Star Lion turns fully to Sweet Pea. "You dare to order the Star Lion!?" He brings up his blade, trying to cut the pink swirl in half. It doesn't go so well - the blast strikes his blade and sends him staggering back.

"Gh...perhaps you have more power than I had anticipated! Very well. Let me taste that power myself! Consumens sideris, da mihi potestatem!" He holds his clawlike gauntlet out towards Sweet Pea as the darkness flares, trying to surround and overwhelm her, feeding her energy into his armor. He focuses, then gathers the darkness around his claw, turning and slamming it down at Soldier Angel, trying to overwhelm her defenses. Of course, it's all very showy, but Yoshirou is always careful not to aim for anywhere vital.

Firstly, because Tokiko is his friend. Secondly, because dead heroes can't tell your story.

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki has used Starlit Darkness on Madobe Kuroi.

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki has used Consuming Claw on Tokiko Amagawa.

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Madobe Kuroi fails to dodge Yoshirou Kurotsuki's Starlit Darkness, taking 21 Fatigue damage! Exhausted applied to Madobe Kuroi! Yoshirou Kurotsuki drains 8 fatigue from Madobe Kuroi!

COMBAT: Tokiko Amagawa narrowly braces Yoshirou Kurotsuki's Consuming Claw, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Tokiko Amagawa's Block ability activates! Tokiko Amagawa's Parry ability activates! Stun applied to Tokiko Amagawa!

To who indeed. Can she say it? Mother probably wouldn't like that. She's avoided attention for so long, hidden in the Garden of Time. And she certainly didn't do all that just for her daughter to prance around antique stores shouting her name! The TSAB would be on her faster than... faster than... faster than something that is very fast. Fate feels very sorry she doesn't have a better analogy to think of, right then and there.

Cherry Blossom comes in with a melee strike, and Fate lifts her arm, allowing the chop to hit her forearm. It's actually sort of painful, because she's not very strong physically. Sakura could tell her opponent would probably have a harder time dealing with an all-out melee fight than a magical one.

"I'm... I'm sorry, I can't say... p-please just leave me!" <AREA SEARCH COMPLETE. FOUND EARRINGS WITH MAGIC.> "A-Ah! Then we have to... B-Bardiche!" <GET SET. GLAIVE FORM.>

The poleaxe shifts, as the axe blade angles itself up like a spear, and sprouts three golden fins from the weapon's top, all the way down to about halfway across the shaft. They'd make a pyramid if they were linked at the base, with the spear end the summit.

"S-SPARK--"

There's a sudden build-up of magic, a big orb of yellow light between Fate and Cherry Blossom. In the instant it takes for it to form, she thrusts Bardiche's tip into it, breaking the sphere.

"--SMASHER!"

It is a very large yellow laser. With lightning. The store front may not survive, or the store in front of this one either. Unless Cherry Blossom has very good barrier spells, anyway! It doesn't threaten any sleeping people, thankfully.

COMBAT: Fate Testarossa has used Spark Smasher on Sakura Akagi.

COMBAT: Fate Testarossa has finished attacking.

It's true, Tokiko could use a breather for a moment - that sword hit was pretty heavy! - but mostly, it was a good way to keep Sweet Pea's spirits up. A novice can use a good solid win once in awhile, and now is a good time for it! She catches her breath and throws her arm out to catch the Star Lion's claw attack, pushed back by the force of it and tiring out her arm, but remaining on the offensive. She uses the force to slide further backwards, falling into a tactical crouch and holding her arms out as a long white pipe with a golden handle forms in them. She draws another hand in the air to grasp a developing golden rocket, loading it into the launcher, and rests it against her shoulder.

"Sweet Pea-chan, stay clear! You heard her, Star Lion, you can't pluck a wish from the heart any easier than a star from the sky! Exploding supernova, Angel Heavy Arms!" The recoil tips the launcher up only slightly as a rocket-propelled grenade blasts out with a burst of stardust, spinning through the air for the Star Lion to explode in a burst of golden magic!

COMBAT: Tokiko Amagawa has used Angel Heavy Arms on Yoshirou Kurotsuki.

COMBAT: Tokiko Amagawa has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Sakura Akagi fails to dodge Fate Testarossa's Spark Smasher, taking 32 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

Sweet Pea surprisingly doesn't cringe when Yoshirou shouts back at her. This might be because of all the encouragement (ironically even from him) she's been getting this fight. She's feeling pretty good about herself right now. Yesterday with Satan was clearly a fluke. Yeah, that's it. She didn't embarass herself in front of people who haven't even yet hit double digits on their years alive number too much! She'd very much like to believe that. So she does! Man, the power of belief and wishes is amazing!

Sweet Pea tries to bounce outta the way of Yoshirou's darkness but it still catches her and draws her purity of essence into him.

She pants for breath for a few moments before shaking her head. NOPE SHE ISN'T DESPAIRING.

"Soldier Angel...is my friend! And my sister is fighting her hardest out there...I won't go easy on you just cause you got me out of my funk (and I kind of want your autograph!) because what you're doing isn't right!"

She brings up Tokiko's pistol and one of her own, swinging them together. "For the snack nights to come..."

A large pink eruption of a blast explodes out of the pistols, leaving a field of Sweet Pea flowers where it passes--and possibly over the Star Lion too, as it's heading straight for him.

"SWEET PEA SHOTGUN SOJOURN!" Sweet Pea cries.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Madobe Kuroi has used Sweet Pea Shotgun Sojourn on Yoshirou Kurotsuki.

COMBAT: Madobe Kuroi has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki fails to brace Tokiko Amagawa's Angel Heavy Arms, taking 39 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki narrowly braces Madobe Kuroi's Finisher, Sweet Pea Shotgun Sojourn, taking 39 Fatigue damage! Yoshirou Kurotsuki's Parry ability activates!

A barrier? Not... so much.

Cherry Blossom just tries to dodge. But she fails.

The windows shatter as she's pushed back through them, sparkling bits of glass falling everywhere around her. She hits the ground as the shards all fall around her, landing on the road outside. The storefront across the way also shatters, leaving glass dust all over the ground.

Cherry Blossom's knees wobble as she tries to stand. She finally gets to her feet, but she looks fatigued. Maybe Fate is going to run away, leaving her hopeless...

She tries to brace herself. She knows that Sweet Pea is still out there too, fighting, and she can't give up for her sake!

She closes her eyes, raises her hand, and mutters another spell. "Please give me strength to fight!"

A pink wave of blossoms streaks through the shattered windows, carrying with it cutting petals and a sweet scent.

COMBAT: Sakura Akagi has used Beautiful Blossoms on Fate Testarossa.

COMBAT: Sakura Akagi has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Fate Testarossa fails to dodge Sakura Akagi's Beautiful Blossoms, taking 26 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sakura Akagi is Psyched!

The Star Lion steps back into a defensive stance. "Rrrgh...show me the best you have!" He tries to bring the blade around to chop the incoming missile in half - but as Tokiko knows, this can't possibly work. It explodes on contact, sending the Star Lion back, his armor smoking from the impact! The golden light washes over him, forcing him down on one knee. He raises the blade again as Sweet Pea fires - but all he can manage to do is get it in the way of the blast, which surrounds him utterly.

When it clears, he has one gauntlet on the ground - well, the roof - and he's visibly panting. "You...you are strong."

He forces himself to stand. "But I...I am the Star Lion! I cannot be defeated so easily! You have forced me to this length...forced me to use my greatest power! If this does not work, then I cannot win! But on my word of honor, I WILL NOT BE STOPPED!"

He lets out a load and terrible roar, dark power exploding around him. The sky blackens for an instant, as the falling star centers over his body. It is still black, as he tries to siphon its power. It halts in its fall, glowing darker and darker. "Soldier Angel! Sweet Pea! PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR MY POWER!"

He spreads his hands, and the black star seems to explode into darkness, sending a terrible black light down towards the pair in a massive column. The darkness wraps around them, trying to consume and destroy them...well, possibly. Yoshirou doesn't /think/ it'll manage to do that.

There's always some risk, though.

"BLACK STAR! GIVE ME YOUR POWER! OPEN UNTO ME!"

MOUTH OF THE VOID!"

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki has used Calling the Void on Tokiko Amagawa.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Yoshirou Kurotsuki has used Black Star Rising on Madobe Kuroi.

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Tokiko Amagawa fails to brace Yoshirou Kurotsuki's Calling the Void, taking 34 Fatigue damage!

Out! She blasted her out! HOME FREE!

Fate scrambles for the earrings Bardiche spotted, and ends up not paying enough attention for what she SHOULD have been paying attention to. When she sees that Cherry Blossom isn't just still standing, but attacking, it's too late to dive for cover. Oh, she tries, but she's caught anyway.

The magical flowers cut through the blonde's Barrier Jacket, shredding parts of her cloak, leaving streaks in her thigh-highs, damaging her skirt! It's horrible, because her clothes are like armor. And now they're all busted up. She avoids bleeding cuts, miraculously, but this is no less of a bother. She regains her balance and avoids falling over, glaring her opponent down.

"W-Why... why can't you just leave me? Is this... store important to you?" Why else would someone risk their life like this? Not to mention...

What the HELL is going on outside?

It looks MASSIVE, whatever it is. It's kind of telling Fate she needs to hurry up.

Lightning crackles into existence around Cherry Blossom, with no warning. The gemstone on Bardiche gleams, and announces a bit too late:

<LIGHTNING BIND.>

The lightning attempts to form large shackles around both of her ankles and wrists, to hold her as firmly in place as possible. They're not impossible to break free of, though. Just takes a bit of willpower.

And then Fate yanks the earrings, plunging her hand through the glass without care that large shards of it are now sticking out of it, despite the gauntlet. She must want that pair of earrings real bad.

COMBAT: Fate Testarossa has used Lightning Bind on Sakura Akagi.

COMBAT: Fate Testarossa has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Madobe Kuroi narrowly dodges Yoshirou Kurotsuki's Finisher, Black Star Rising, taking 70 Fatigue damage! Madobe Kuroi is unable to keep fighting! Madobe Kuroi's Flash ability activates!

Lightning strikes down around Cherry Blossom, rippling through her feet and pinning her to the ground. She struggles. She could try to build up another spell... she's brave enough, but she senses something else has gone wrong. That big attack above their heads....

Was Sweet Pea in trouble? She can't try to defend a jewelry store if someone she cares about is hurt. That would be pointless. It looks like Fate might get her way after all, as Cherry Blossom disengages, leaving the store behind to see what's happened in the other fight. "Don't think you've won, but... you're right, my friends are more important to me."

COMBAT: Sakura Akagi has finished attacking.

Her... friends?

Fate bites her lip. What an uncomfortable topic. And a sentiment she truly can't understand. She has family. Not friends. It's... it's complicated.

But Cherry Blossom's words are enough that the blonde lowers her weapon. She pockets the earrings, and kind of... sulks there for a couple of long moments. Right in the feels, Sakura.

The action outside eventually snaps her out of it, and slowly exits the story. Flying up, she parks herself on the roof, and kind of looks in Star Lion's direction, as if wondering what to do. Maybe he'll know what she should do now? Does he want help? Does he want an out?

COMBAT: Fate Testarossa has finished attacking.

Madobe looks down and sees darkness swirling up and around her. Shrieking, she runs from the explosions like a maniac. She even manages it--until she runs face first into a wall and collapses onto her back, an red imprint on her face.

She lies on the floor, laughing disturbingly. "eheh..heh...heh...I thought I was gonna die..."

Yeah she seems done x.x.

The black star rises. This is always the part that stings. Soldier Angel clasps her hands quickly, trying to call upon the power of the falling star herself, but she's too late - the Star Lion has claimed the wholeness of the star's power for the moment, and she crumples to one knee under the force of the column of dark light, breathing heavily. Like her own attacks, the assault is magical enough not to leave physical injury, at least, simply draining at her will to fight.

That's not what concerns her right now; what concerns her is Sweet Pea, knocked literally silly. "Sweet Pea-chan!" She looks up, and fixes a glance on the Star Lion, one more fit for friends in a tiff than archnemeses: one that says, 'you just messed up, and you know you're going to take the punishment now, right?'

"Begin operation," Soldier Angel says, and the Star Lion knows what's coming next. She sweeps her arms across her chest in a cross shape, forming glittering white grenade belts, which she clutches in either hand as she leaps into the air. She sweeps her hands across each belt in turn, arming them all in quick succession, and hurls both belts down at the Star Lion's feet. As they fall through the air, she points down, and golden suppressive fire emerges from seemingly nowhere in the sky. She withdraws her hand and clutches her fingers as two man-portable recoilless rifles flutter into existence, one for each hand, from which she begins to fire a repeated flurry of anti-tank rounds.

The resulting cluster of explosives is visible by magical girls across the city.

"SHOKKU ANDO OOOOAAAAAA!!"

COMBAT: FINISHER! Tokiko Amagawa has used Shock and Awe on Yoshirou Kurotsuki.

COMBAT: Tokiko Amagawa has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Yoshirou Kurotsuki fails to dodge Tokiko Amagawa's Finisher, Shock and Awe, taking 84 Fatigue damage!

As the darkness fades, the Star Lion is visibly panting, the armor moving in and out. Part of that is for show...and part of it is sudden fear. Yoshirou hadn't /meant/ to channel that much power. The magic shouldn't leave lasting injury, at least. Probably. But he's messed up. His helmet turns to face the Soldier Angel. Yeah. Yeah, he fucked up there. "What - no!"

The shells explode around him, and the Star Lion tries to get away...but he's far too slow. The light of the explosions grows around him, enough to obscure the darkness of even his armor and sword. When it fades, he is on one knee, head bowed against the sword. "Ugh..."

He tries to salvage what he's done. He /has/ to, now, he owes it. "You...without her help...without her help, you would never have won. But I am...I am a man of honor." The black star overhead fades, as the Star Lion releases his grip on the falling star. The darkness flows out of it, and the star becomes brilliant white once more.

He struggles to stand, and then collapses back to one knee. The pain is coming through the armor, even. "Next time...next time it will go differently, Soldier Angel. Next time, you won't have the help of the Sweet Pea!" Hopefully she's coherent enough to notice.

The darkness flows around the armor, as Yoshirou uses the dregs of his power to vanish, reappearing on the street below, near Fate. He reaches out to take her by the shoulder. "Child. Come - we are done here." He's going to have to apologize to /her/, too. When he'd asked for her help, he hadn't realized she was just a little kid. Oops.

Cherry Blossom wasn't trying to just hurt Fate's feelings. Though she sees she did.... which makes her pause. Just for a moment. But not very long, since then she's rushing to find Sweet Pea. She runs to her friend and skids down to kneel next to her. She touches her face.... "You'll be okay."

Though not startled, it's pretty obvious Fate did NOT expect the massive armored tower of a man to just sort of APPEAR next to her. Mostly from how fast she turns her head. Fortunately she doesn't attack so much as suddenly look twice as out of place as before. It's probably the whole hand on her shoulder thing.

"Y-Yes. Alright."

The blonde does glance towards Cherry Blossom. Very briefly, to avoid eye contact. Oh how she dreads that. "Sorry..."

Soldier Angel lands neatly, abruptly unarmed in the wake of the great firestorm. She watches Star Lion escape with a mix of practiced contempt and genuine irritation, and then hurries to Sweet Pea's side with Cherry Blossom. "Is she hurt?" she says, leaning over the kneeling Cherry Blossom. "Any signs of a concussion?" She glances in Fate's direction, but not long enough to really absorb anything, before she turns to the sky. "Well. Let's fix things here..."

She spreads her arms wide, and the star in the sky twinkles and gently drifts down into her hands, which she clasps around it. "You've had a hard day," she says to the star. "It's over now. Go on your way!" She throws her hands open forth like releasing a bird, and the star streaks across the sky, resuming its falling path.

Across Shibuya, people find themselves waking up, uncognizant of the sudden sleeping spell. All except one: Juichi Iijima's wife, who rests on a bench with him, her head resting on her shoulder. He looks confused for a moment, but when he notices her lying next to him, he smiles, clasps a hand over hers, and enjoys a quiet respite with the woman who, despite her occasional faults, he loves.

MEANWHILE, IN THE BACK ROOM OF THE LOCAL DARK BURGER

Yoshirou groans as he finishes the spell to teleport himself and Fate away. That's always tiring, and on top of the beating he just took...he takes off his helmet, which means his voice reverts from 'sounds like Darth Vader' to 'normal fourteen-year-old'. "That...was not as planned." He looks down at Fate, ruffling her hair with one claw-like gauntlet. "Sorry about that, kid. I, uh, I didn't mean to make you have to fight like that, I thought you'd be a little older."

Pause.

"So, you didn't get too hurt, right? I mean, you did a good job, I definitely couldn't handle three of 'em at once. But you're okay, right?"

"Aheheh..." Sweet Pea stares at the stars. "I wish... that these guys were less scary...Would you wishing stars grant this unworthy one's wish?" She is starting to, shall we say, see the issues of using Sweet Pea as an avenue for getting confidence. Namely, in order to get confident she has to fight people a lot scarier than she is, who are like great necromancers and the like. At least this guy didn't make her want to curl up and die. She...she will call that a victory.

She turns her head to Cherry Blossom. Oh her best friend and past life sister..."Hi, Blossom-Chan... eheheh...that guy was scary...eheh..."

Knocked silly seems to be the most accurate descriptor. Maybe that star flying off is her wish, her wish for a confident and unbruised future.

"Hi Soldier-Chan. I'm ok. Is snack night coming soon?"

Yes! Snack night! Sweet Pea shakes herself out of it. That is what all these sacrifices are for. If she continues to fight, Tokiko will share snacks with her and Cherry Blossom!

"I'm okay. Sorry. Eheh.." She offers them a smile.

"I'm okay," Fate manages somewhat uncomfortably, plunging a hand in her pockets to retrieve the earrings she found. She takes a moment to examine them; they're a bit old, but kind of pretty. Gold and silver with little diamonds. More importantly they feel magical, but go figure what they do. It's probably some really minor enchantment. Or curse. Hard to tell. Well, a prize is a prize.

"And it's alright. I want... I want Mother to be happy. And she said, it would make her very happy if I helped all of you. I didn't find a Jewel Seed, but maybe these are good enough...?"

She breaks eye contact with the jewelry to look at Yoshirou, who is now far less intimidating and easier to talk to, considering. "Did you find what you were looking for too?"

"Good. I, uh...well, I got what I needed, yeah." The original plan was just to put on a good show and make more of a reputation, along with satisfying his mentor. That...probably succeeded. It just didn't succeed the way it was entirely /meant/ to. "I'll be sure to tell your mom you did really well, okay?" He grins weakly, then mutters the spell to banish the armor. Outside it, he's really much less intimidating, not least for not being immense and dressed like a horrible dark lord.

"So, you want some ice cream? I think I owe you ice cream."

Japanese Cherry Blossom helps Sweet Pea to her feet. "You did great, okay?"

"You know what?" Soldier Angel says, with a smile. "Snack night is tonight. If it wasn't before, it is now. Let's go hit the conbini and pick out what we want, okay?" She helps Sweet Pea up to her feet as well, and puts a hand on her shoulder. "She's right. Madobe-chan did amazing."

Japanese Cherry Blossom gives Soldier Angel a Look when she says that.

She looks over at Madobe to confirm if she heard that too. And if she was okay with it.

She wants to say yes so much. But... Arf is probably worried sick about her right now. Familiars always know when their master's using mana. Not to mention Precia'll get mad if she wastes time doing trivial things like "enjoying food". No, that's just terrible. Like sleeping more than five hours. That's just unforgiveable. Such a waste of time. Well, if it's just a couple of minutes, though...

"I could... yeah. I'd like that. I just... I need to go tell someone I'm okay first. It won't take long!"

"All right. Whatever you want, okay? My treat." Yoshirou grins. "You've earned it! Actually, I should check something..."

He pulls out his cell phone, sending off a quick message.

!! Her wish came true! Snack Night! Yes! Of course, Tokiko seems to know who she is now, but Madobe had already tried to tell her once so it's okay. She still turns bright red from embarrassment.

"e..eh...you knew?" She smiles brightly. In the right circumstances, Madobe can get good smiles off. This is one of those! Clearly the perfume is making her a better smile.

She is helped up. "I'd, um, like that." She is definitely not too cool for snack night. "Can..uh...Blossom-Chan come too?" She won't spill Blossom's secret ID if she doesn't want to.

"Sorry!" Soldier Angel says, bowing her head apologetically. "I didn't mean anything by it. Sweet Pea-chan is strong, no matter what she's like." She nods to Sweet Pea. "Of course she can, if she wants! And I have a friend who's a magician studying at the Infinity Institute. Do you mind if I invite him? You can trust him, you don't have to tell him who you are but he's the best guy I know."

Yoshirou looks up from his phone. "Okay. We can go get ice cream, or you can come with me while I grab some snacks and then meet up with some...friends. But if you come with me, you have to promise you'll never, ever talk about it with anyone else, okay? I'd get in big trouble if it got out."

"Ah, um... n-no, it's okay. We can get ice cream when you're not busy! I guess... I should get these to Mother, or at least put them somewhere safe while waiting to. I promise I won't say anything to anyone though." Normal teenager or not, Yoshirou's Star Lion form kind of... well, intimidates her. She absolutely wouldn't want to anger him. But then, she doesn't really want to anger -anyone- ever. Sometimes she's just forced to, but it's all for a good cause!

"Well, okay! See you around, kid, just ask me whenever you want that ice cream!" Yoshirou waves. Nice kid, that Fate. He wonders what she's doing with all the horrible monsters. (And him. But he often wonders what /he's/ doing with all the horrible monsters.)

Madobe is starting to feel pitied, but she'll take it. Actually hurting the greatest necromancer in the world is worthy of some good feelings even if she ran into a wall. The best guy Tokiko knows...Madobe thinks. Is this...a /boyfriend/?? OF COURSE IT IS, Soldier Angel can even beat up big monsters and crap, of course she's got a guy.

""eheh...okay.... It'll be fine..." She kind of wants to get out of her perfumed state.

---

The Kurotsuki household is shockingly empty, for being so big. It's a large, Western-style mansion, with three floors, plus whatever's underneath it. Despite this, there is a grand total of one servant (a little, silent old man who seems to appear out of nowhere when needed and then to vanish just as quickly) and a black cat which always seems to be in the last convenient place. The house itself is a bit spooky - everything in it seems to be antique, and most of the rooms take a bit for the lights to come on.

Snack night is in the games room, which is a large room with all kinds of old Victorian-era books lining the shelves around the walls, a pool table, a very out-of-place big-screen TV with various consoles attached to it and several large, plush chairs. There is also a piano tucked into a corner. The snacks have been placed on the pool table.

Tokiko has insisted on carrying the snacks; her hands are full to the brim with bags, boxes and bottles on the way in. Cheese snacks, potato chips, fresh nikuman, even a sheet of fried squid, and of course the requisite soda and tea. "Yokkun's grandfather isn't here, is he?" she asks, looking around with a bit of suspicion. From her tone of voice, she doesn't care for the old man for some reason. "Brr... it's always cold in here."

Sakura has decided she can probably trust Soldier Angel.

But she's a little nervous when she sees the size of the house they're going to. She must be... from one of the wealthy schools, not public school like her and Madobe. She's lacking the confidence from her henshin perfume and feels a bit nervous when she walks up to the door to knock.

This seems to be the place, though.

Madobe has TRANSFORMED back to being Madobe. Even if she knew about the stranger danger elsewhere, she is way too beat up and tired to care. In Li we trust.

Madobe doesn't blame Tokiko from not wanting her boyfriend's grandfather around. It would be super awkward, wouldn't it? You wouldn't even be able to kiss. Madobe's mind has been thinking up scenarios between Tokiko and Yoshirou who, for a while, looks like a handsome man with no face, dating sim style, a bit plain. She seems to trust Soldier Angel.

In fact, she seems very happy--if not especially talkative. Maybe that's all she needs in life, a decent amount of companionship with people who at least kind of sort of like her. She is pretty sure Tokiko actually likes her and isn't just pitying her and, of course, Sakura is practically family.

She sees the house and is now imagining Yoshirou as Tamaki from Ouran High.

"Wow..." She murmurs before clasping her hands over her mouth.

"He's...resting right now. I don't think he'll be up for a long while." Yoshirou shrugs. He's not entirely sure why the old man needs so much rest, but there it is. The silent old man opens the door when it is knocked on. He bows, and gestures inside, towards the game room. Once the girls seem to know which way it is, he vanishes while no one is looking. Not even the floor creaks as he moves, even though it's pretty creaky in spots.

"Hi! I'm Yoshirou Kurotsuki. Come on in! You're all Tocchan's friends, right?" He isn't Tamaki. For one, his hair is black. For another, he has mastered the concept of 'casualwear', and is wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

Sakura does not know who this boy is. But she gives him a greeting bow. "Y - yes. I'm Sakura. Pleased to meet you."

"Yokkun is a magician, but what he really loves is acting," Tokiko explains as she lays the snacks out on the pool table. "He, um, he lives with his grandfather here." That's as close as she gets to the subject of Yoshirou's parents, and she looks appropriately somber about it. "Please don't be intimidated, Yokkun is really easy to get along with! Yokkun, this is Madobe-chan, and this is..." Actually, she didn't catch Sakura's name, but luckily, Sakura provides it herself.

Madobe thinks Yoshirou looks a little generic. Maybe he is the sort of person who is super rich but likes to pretend he is just like the common people. Though...the house is kind of spooky, with all the creaking...and emptiness....

She wonders if the old man was a butler or something. Butlers are pretty good at vanishing when nobody is looking. She has met Satan recently, but ghosts are too scary to consider.

T...tocchan, she thinks. They really are <funimation edit> really good chums </funimation edit> with each other.

"Y...yes...." Madobe says, bowing deeply. "I'm Madobe. Pleased to meet you."

Did she just copy Sakura?

"Oh...um...can he do, uh, tricks?" Somehow telling her not to be intimidated doesn't make her not intimidated.

Sakura walks all the way inside, but she's looking around a lot at this place. After a moment she realizes she's staring, and...politely, puts her eyes forward.

"It's not anything that big, but...yeah, I can do a little magic. It's pretty great." Yoshirou grins, then begins to chant under his breath. A purple circle appears on the floor around his feet, and then one of the bags of chips opens and pours itself. He shakes himself a little as it happens. "See? Kinda tiring, though. I, uh...the place can be a little overwhelming, I guess, but make yourselves at home! So, what school do you guys go to?"

Tokiko sets the snacks around neatly, and ducks into another room, coming back with a set of plastic cups. "What do you like to drink?" she asks the perfume girls. "Tea, Fanta, Coke? Milk tea?" She giggles at the suggestion that Yoshirou is more of a stage magician, and pours herself a cup of milk tea, picking up a meat dumpling to nibble at. "Thank you for your help today, by the way! What was with, um, that blonde girl who was with the Star Lion?" she asks Sakura. "I think I missed her."

Madobe goes quiet for a few moments. "Uh..." More silence.

She applauds politely. "Wow! That was a really impressive trick! I didn't even see the strings! Eheheheh..." In the animation, she sweatdrops. And it only gets worse when Tokiko basically gives out their SECRET IDENTITIES. Well, whatever, it doesn't really matter--does it, Madobe? Right. right. It seems apparent this guy knows Tokoki's. He must be with the Tuners too.

What should she pick? She wants a coke or maybe a fanta, but ... but will Tokiko consider her childish if she picks up a coke? SHE MIGHT. So she says, "Ah--I'll...have a milk tea too."

Whew. Good thing Tokiko poured for herself first

"Um...Juuban." She tells Yoshirou. "Are you Infinity too..?"

Sakura looks really astonished at the magic. She knows about magic, but... her studies are not so formal. Not yet anyway.

"Ah... Milk Tea, would be nice, thank you." She bows again, and sits down in a delicate way. She really is just going to ask for what everyone else is having.

"She was robbing the jewelry store. I tried to stop her, but, it wasn't worth risking either of our lives."

"Yeah, Infinity. It's the only place I know about that has classes on magic." Yoshirou nods. "I'll take some milk tea, too, Tocchan." Sure, he paid for it himself, but if Tokiko wants to pour, that's fine by him. "I can't believe you guys go out and fight like that...it's always amazing to me. I'd be terrified to go out there and just fight stuff without any protection." Which...is technically true.

"Milk tea all around!" Tokiko says, pouring out cups for everyone and handing them out. She notices Madobe's alarm, and bows apologetically again. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'm sorry. You can trust Yokkun. He's a good guy, and he knows how to keep a secret. You promise not to tell anybody, right, Yokkun?" There's no edge to her voice, she knows she can trust him for it.

"Robbing the jewelry store, a girl her age? That doesn't sound right..." She frowns, trying to mull it over for a moment. "Anyway, the magic is really impressive at first, but then you realize that opening a bag of chips exhausts him for like half an hour and it's not as big a deal. It's easier just to use your hands!"

"Infinity has classes on magic?" Madobe asks. She's pretty stunned. The way these people just treating it so matter-of-factly. Maybe it's not actually as big of a secret as she thought? It's certainly something of a secret, there isn't--like--magic TV or anything, though there probably should be.

She laughs a bit at Tokiko's comment. "Y--yeah... I guess so. But it's still pretty cool."

She'll take some hchips totally unabashedly and put them into her mouth. Eating means she doesn't have to talk as much and as such is generally something she does a fair bit of at snack nights.

Still, she's talking a lot more with Sakura, Tokiko and friends a lot more than most peeps. Any peeps, really.

"How um...how long have you known each other?" There, she thinks, that's a question people ask a lot at these things, right? Right.

She laughs a bit at Yoshirou's comment regarding being terrified. She isn't going to admit that she almost broke down crying earlier today, no sir.

Classes on magic? Wow, that's interesting. Sakura kind of wishes she had that at her school. But she only learned just this year that magic is even real.

She quietly sips tea, since that question was the same as hers.

"Well, it's...technically not something we're supposed to talk about with normal people." Yoshirou shrugs, grinning. "But you guys aren't normal people, you're superheroes! So, you know, that's okay." He looks over at Tokiko for a moment. "Oh, yeah, I promise. Won't tell anyone, not even Grandpa." He means it, too. This isn't the first secret he's had to keep from his grandfather.

"Oh, we've known each other forever. Since we were both little kids."

Tokiko nods enthusiastically. "I live just down the street," she says, pointing out a window and down the block a little. "And no," she says with a smile, "I don't live in a big fancy manor. That's just Yokkun. He was pretty lonely back when we were just little," she muses, finger on her chin. "But that was then, and Yokkun's got lots of friends now!"

"What about you?" Tokiko asks, leaning in a little. "How did Madobe-chan and Sakura-chan meet?"

"Ah, in school," Sakura says. She laughs very softly. "I guess we were always the ones sitting alone at lunch, so we sat alone together."

Madobe looks down awkwardly as Sakura just comes out and mentions that. Though to come out in support of her friend she does say, "Ah...but you've made a lot of friends actually, like Aimi-Chan." Normally she'd be suspicious that a guy like Yokkun would be lonely, but this house...it FEELS lonely, even in the floorboards. She accepts this at face value.

Yokkun was lonely too, huh...

"..W..well we could...um..."

She trails off.

'Yokkun' blushes a bit around the ears, coughing. "Uh...yeah." He seems to be embarrassed about the whole 'lonely' thing. "People were scared of the house. ...people still /are/ scared of the house sometimes." He glances over at the TV. "So, uh...you guys like video games? I have a bunch of them. Tocchan's really good at the shooters."

"I like video games, a bit." Madobe admits, glancing away because she's underselling here.

"Wow, really?" Tokiko asks. "I wouldn't have figured!" She's being completely unironic; Sakura has a good head on her shoulders and doesn't seem like the unpopular type, and Madobe... well, it would be really rude to exclude Madobe from that! "Most of the shooters Yokkun has are very unrealistic," she says, holding her head high and adjusting her glasses, and in so doing, entering lecture mode. "They have you carry all kinds of guns like you have some kind of magic backpack that doesn't weigh anything, squad tactics are undervalued, and when you play online everybody wants to be snipers. But I like a few of them, when I have time to play them."

Video games with guns aren't really Sakura's favorite but she's too polite to mention this. She nods when Tokiko says a few things about guns. That must be why she's the soldier angel. "Are those the American-style gun games?"

"Everybody rags on American games but I just can't get into most Japanese games," Tokiko says. "I like Dance Dance Revolution, and some arcade games, but the fantasy adventures and the colorful stuff aren't for me. But everybody has their own tastes, and that's okay! I just wish more of them came out on console. A lot of them are on computer, and I'm not great with computers."

"I like the fantasy adventures." Yoshirou shrugs. "What I like most are the party games, though. They're nice and easy and I don't have to figure out weird strategies. Fighting games are pretty neat, too. I don't have a lot of time to play, though. Clubs and stuff, plus Shakespeare in the Park. I've been trying to get that off the ground for months."

"Is it, uhhh, Eks Box?" Sakura asks Tokiko. She certainly doesn't have one of those. "If... it was a party game, all four could play," she says. Plus then it wouldn't be very difficult she thinks.

"Sure, I'll play a party game," Tokiko says with a smile. "The important thing is having fun with friends, right? What do you have around here, Yokkun? Do you have enough controllers?"

It's hard to believe that Tokiko is really Soldier Angel, except maybe when she's talking about artillery and guns and survival and stuff, but when she wears those glasses it's like she's a totally different person. If tokiko hadn't just flat out said it she would have never guessed!

Hmm...maybe if she puts glasses on Sweet Pea, nobody will realize she's Madobe? She likes the flamethrower using guys in games like these, anyway. Even if flamethrowers are not a very efficient weapon in reality.

She wiggles her feet up and down a bit. She naturally plays a lot of japanese games. She has a lot of time in her life for gaming. Less now, though, by a matter of course. She's actually been considering going to school more than a couple days out of the week.

"There's party games... a lot of them, actually..." She murmurs. "I have a couple."

She got 'em before middle school thinking a lot of people would want to play games with her :-(.

"I think we have four wii remotes around here somewhere. I've got Wii Party and...one of the Mario Party games, I have no idea which one." Yoshirou starts digging through the area behind the TV. "One...two...three..." He gets up and starts checking the shelves. "Ah! Here we go, the cat stole it. Four."

[OOC] Tokiko Amagawa says, "I'm not sure how to keep Mario Party poses interesting for very long, so do we fade out around here with a fun night of Mario Party and snacks, or does somebody have something else to throw into the pot?"

[OOC] Sakura Akagi says, "I admit I am good with that!"

[OOC] Madobe Kuroi says, "sounds good to me!"''