2013-11-10 - Love X Hate

Title: Love X Hate
Summary: Evil comes to Tokyo Tower. It wants to feed on the unknowing tourists that come to this place to view Japan from up high. Yet where there is evil, good shall come to defend the day. Yet on this day, can good truly win?
Who: Hotaka Domen, Sakura Akagi, Eri Shimanouchi, Rikoru Koyou, Ren Aizawa, Aimi Saionji
Where: Tokyo Tower
OOC - IC Date: 11/10/2013 - 10/15/2013

Hotaka Domen has posed:

The Tokyo Tower was a very popular place. Tourist come from far and wide to view the tower and the grounds around it. It was a place full of people. Young and old. Small to tall. A perfect place to collect energy from those and also a place to hunt down any who may have artifacts.

Yet to collect energy was no subtle manner and Alastor, though he could be subtle-- Hotaka when in control influenced by Alastor was nothing but NOT subtle. After all, what is the fun of it if you can't cause a little chaos right? Though he doesn't want to hurt anyone and he figures if they do this quickly-- they wont. Alastor told Hotaka that taking a part of their energy wont kill them.

Hotaka has no choice by the believe the demon. At least it is far enough away from his home area that.. well.. that is a subject for another time.

At first nothing was happening. People still going about their lives until there was a strange howl on the wind and soon a shadow goes over those who are standing outside. It wasn't to soon till everyone who was outside start to try and run inside. Not shortly after the panic, a figure drops from the skies standing six foot, his wings out stretch for a moment, before they cape around his figure. A dark smile plays on his lips with those fanged teeth and those gold cat like eyes glowing as he starts to walk toward a young lady who has tripped over.

As she pleads for help, he snatches her by the arm with his right, gauntlet hand and then reaches for her neck with his left hand, holding her gently. He places his index and middle finger of his gauntlet hand to his lips as if going 'shh' to her softly. It doesn't stop her tears, it doesn't stop her silent pleads.

The gem in the center of his chest glows softly as the gold armor of the gauntlet starts to become black. He extends out his hand tower the center of her chest and slowly a spiral of energy starts to be pulled outward. Encircling around the gauntlet to form slowly an orb in his hand. "..the more you struggle-- the easier it is I could hurt you.." He says softly to her. "..so just relax and this nightmare will be over soon." His voice sounded like Hotaka, but a deeper voice echoed over it. Someone else's voice entirely.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Sakura Akagi is heading home from school. Last night was rough and she barely got much sleep. She is a little worried that do-gooding is going to start to affect her otherwise-excellent grades.

Right now, she's nowhere near this neighborhood. She's walking home.

But when she sees the little face of Perfume Splash's dragon mascot poking around at her from behind a bush, she has a sudden moment of stomach-clenching dread. There's going to be something.

"Sakura-sama--"

"I... I have homework."

"...It's... that boy with the bracelet."

Sakura's face flushes. "...Is it?" She does have to handle it, then. And she feels bad that, just for a moment, she wanted to make an excuse. "All right. Let's go."

Eri Shimanouchi has posed:

A trip to Shibuya always makes Eri feel extremely self-conscious, however, it ended in Ice Cream. Ice Cream always makes everything better. She was carrying a single bag, as she'd bought a very modest outfit somewhere along the way. As they walked by the Tokyo Tower, Eri licks her ice cream, stating in an idle voice to Ren. "Well the day is still young, Ren-chan, is there anything else you needed to do? Wait.. what's that sound?" She shivered as the wind picked up, looking around with an abstracted look on her expression.

Then came the panic, and unlike most sane people, who were running in the other direction... Eri starts walking towards the epicenter of the macabre scene, her expression becoming more grave as she sees the demonic figure with the young woman in his thrall. She states simply to Ren, "I believe something just came up..." Eri attempts to gradually make her way through the crowd, as people shoved her, left and right, blocking her path in this panic. As she walks, the ring on her finger transmogrifies into a egg shaped viridian soul gem, which comes to rest in the palm of her hand, leaves trailing off the ground, which were previously not present, in autumn crimson, browns, and golds which are picked up, swirling to merge into her outfit, transforming her slowly. At the end of it, she places the gem on her brow, as it merges into a ribbon on one of her twintails in a floral pattern. A whip rises out of the ground, surging like a root from the concrete, and moving to coil into her hand in a roughly vine shaped weapon.

"Excuse me." She arcs her arm forward, and the whip uncoils in an attempt to crack against the demon's wrist. Yes, she just tried to wrist slap a demon. In particular the wrist that was trying to drain the energy from his victim, ".....I don't know what you are but would you mind /not/ doing that?"

Rikoru Koyou has posed:

"Oh /come on/!" Rikoru Koyou /was/ out on delivery, having spent last night cooking healing chili and getting herself back up to snuff before school today. She had her day off, and now it's time to work. The tacos have been delivered, sure, but Hotaka, up on Tokyo Tower, is easy to spot. "Now I'm gonna get yelled at for getting lost...."

But that doesn't stop Rikoru from pulling out her gun and playing card. "Well, whatever. It's not like I have a choice! Ace of Clubs, release: DESERT STAR!"

One gunshot later, and she's ready for battle - stetson, revolved and spurred boots. Rikoru jumps up, over the panicking crowds.

"HEY, ASSHOLE! DANCE!" She's rather less eloquent in her taunts than Eri is. As she jumps up the tower's side, she fires off a rain of shining blasts from her revolver. None are very powerful, but their job is to be distracting.

Ren Aizawa has posed:

Ice cream! It's good! Really good! Ren can attest to that -- especially since she's currently munching away on a cone. Eri and her both stopped off to get some after their little impromptu shopping trip. It's a nice way to treat themselves and cap off an otherwise fun evening. Ren almost doesn't want go go home! And Eri seems to have the same idea. Splendid~

"Well I thought maybe we could check out-"

Ah... yes... /that wind/. Ren shivers also, stopping in her tracks. Something definitely does not feel right. It doesn't take long for the source of it all to be spotted -- a winged man who was clearly up to no good. Ren sighs a bit, following behind Eri through the fleeing crowd. "Not exactly what I had in mind but..." It can't really be helped. She grips the silver ring that is Souverain Heraut, and doesn't even have to issue a command before it begins to glow.

<BARRIER JACKET, SET UP.> The same glow ripples through her body and transforms her in seconds. The ring elongates into her scepter, which she grips tightly as she kicks off the ground and takes flight, heading straight for Hotaka. Eri and Rikoru are quicker in attacking, though Ren soon joins them, pointing her scepter directly at the demon's back.

<ENERGY BULLET.> And then there's a flash of golden light that is fired off as a projectile, heading for Hotaka speedily.

Aimi Saionji has posed:

Aimi is making her own way home from school, having decided that she would take the scenic route home and maybe get some sketching in. She really felt like she should take the time to do so.

She went about to enjoy her time as she can, smiling and generally looking to be in a good, sunny mood. Happy, peaceful...

Trying to sketch pictures of Tokyo Tower and folks with out demons getting in the way. She frowned some at this, sighing and shaking her head a bit.

"Okay then. Guess its time to get busy and do the love and justice thing." She says, getting up from where she was sitting, heading off somewhere private to henshin. She doesn't know if anyone else is around, let alone if any of her friends are there. As it stands, she's going to just do her thing and will move on from there as required. Hopefully with less mind-shattering demons than before.

"Henshin! Warm Vanilla! Splash!" She calls out, spraying her perfume onto her. Sparkles, golden light, and a warm vanilla scent spread out and cover Aimi as her battle outfit is formed onto her and she poses at the end of the transformation.

"Right, lets do this!" She says, psyching herself up and heading out to fight alongside the rest.

Hotaka Domen has posed:

'Hotaka. Incoming.'

Those gold eyes glance up from the woman he is holding, as he the hears someone's voice. Someone asking him to not do what he is doing, however about the time he registers the excuse me and the whip snapping for him. He has to quickly move his arm away, which does break the energy coil and the whip snap does hit his wrist that was holding the lady.

He growls softly, before he hears another voice not far behind him. Then spots the sudden bullet rush right for him and actually his 'prize' that was on the ground still behind him. Someone yells dance and the demon spins around, raising up that golden black gauntlet up and a magical field of crimson red energy flashes outward with the edges nearly dancing with demonic flame. The energy bullets from the revolver slam into the field a few stray ones get close to his feet and one almost hits the lady.

Was he protecting her-- as much as himself? Or was it just happen stance she was behind him so she got some of the protection. Either way, the young lady was out of there as she pulls herself up to her feet and runs off. Thanking one of the magical girls on her way out; Probably the one with a whip.

Then an energy bolt comes racing for him and the demon growls lowly. "You people always come in force, don't you? Hehe. Glad to know," He then attempts to block the energy strike with his gauntlet once more. The beam is mostly absorbed by the gauntlet but a part of it nicks his shoulder, which causes him to wince a bit. "..I am so popular."

'Focus Hotaka. We have more coming in from below. This is a larger group then you have dealt with before. I am trusting you to do what you need to do-- don't make me change my mind.'

The young demon narrows his eyes sharply before he grins and then flips into the air sharply, his wings opening up and he takes flight into the air. A magic circle force around his left hand as he reaches over his shoulder and then with a loud humanish roar, he throws his left hand and demonic blue fire balls descend down upon the ones at the tower so far.

Rikoru Koyou has posed:

It wouldn't have mattered if the energy bullet /had/ hit the woman - they're bullets powered by the heart of the Marked Cards, after all. They don't hurt the people they're meant to protect. It's one reason Rikoru doesn't worry about collateral damage. She's here to protect the weak and take down bullies. What Rikoru is worried about are the blasts that rain down around her. She's jumping up a tower - not really the best place to dodge.

And so, Rikoru is hemmed in by the blasts, forced into awkward spots and even winged by a few. She keeps making her way up. "Put her down, asshole, and maybe I won't break you in half!" Rikoru finally makes it closer, jumping through the barrage. "But you know what? It doesn't matter if you do or don't! I'm gonna MAKE ya!" She lunges, grabbing for the arm Hotaka is using to hold the woman. Her other hand moves to try and catch the woman herself, so that she can jump away after.

Specifically, after twisting and shoving, trying to force Hotaka to loosen his grip and slam into a wall.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Sakura sees the demon when she arrives. She sees the other young women who are circling to help, some familiar now, some not. She wonders if what Madobe said about seeing a transformation is really true. But she knows that for now, like with Dark Amber, all she can do is try to rescue people and hope that things can somehow be worked out better later.

"Henshin! Cherry Blossom! Splash!"

The flower-shaped cap of the perfume spins off and away at the shout of her magical words. Her hand grips around her magical perfume bottle, and she sprays it toward herself as her body begins to glow in white and gold. First she sprays downward, in a diagonal stroke from shoulder to hip; the spray becomes the collar of a dress. Then she sprays across her waist, which creates an obi sash in brilliant gold. The sash ties itself around her back, in a perfect bow. A short skirt appears under the sash, silk and decorated with cherry blossoms. The dress sprouts sleeves, long and elegant. Then shoes appear on her feet: sandals, with long socks underneath that ride up her legs and stop below the knee.

She spritzes the perfume toward her hair, and her hair changes from dark to light pink. Teardrop earrings appear on her ears, and, finally, the cap of the perfume reappears, spinning into place, returning now as a flower clip that holds her hairstyle.

She runs now, like a flash for the base of the tower, having gotten used to how transformation increases her speed. She runs up the side of the tower, without any more difficulty, stopping when she hits a rung level with the demon. A whirlwind springs up in her wake, with pink blossoms sprouting out behind her - she kicks them out toward the demon gracefully, attacking with a spritz of cherry scent on the pink-tinted wind.

She turns to look at him. "You don't want to do this."

Aimi Saionji has posed:

"I dunno if its so much popularity as it is people want to do what's right," Warm Vanilla Sugar says in responce to the demon's words. "We are all here to do what we feel is right and to stop you from harming people, for that is what we do now."

She smiles, looking at everyone and nodding. "We all want the same thing, to defeat you. Whether its for love and justice or for more personal reasons is mostly meaningless as it is at this point. We have all gathered to defeat you regardless."

Warm Vanilla Sugar smiled and pointed a finger out at the demon now. "I am the Perfume Warrior Warm Vanilla Sugar, and in the name of love, peace, and the loving memories one makes and has with people, I will ensure that your defeat comes one way or the other!" Vanilla isn't going to be doing much else. She's mainly working to psyche herself up for the fight to come. And maybe just give the demon cavities or the like. Its hard to tell with Vanilla what she's thinking at times.

Eri Shimanouchi has posed:

Eri watches Hotaka through his graceful display of dodging, choosing not to press the attack as the young woman is released and makes her escape. Instead she watches Hotaka analytically as he takes flight, and begins his barrage of azure flames. Green wisps of energy play across her wrists as she watches the barrage head her way, still she watches it calmly. Suddenly, a line of green shoots, mere sprouts burst through the concrete, and rapidly grow into a line of shrubs. The flames strike, and catch them aflame, which has Eri wincing as if the mere thought of the shrubs as incendiaries pained her. A fireball still manages to make it partially through the improvised barrier, catching her with a burst of embers in the face. "Hypothesis." She states in a bland tone. More green energy plays across her wrists, and she watches as the shrubs grow to giant size, "......you're still vulnerable to your own flames."

And then the shrubs, which were alight with blue flames grew even more rapidly, to such a giant size vertically as to engulf even Hotaka in flight, "....and even if not, the oft maligned briar bushes should still do some damage."

Ren Aizawa has posed:

The innocent woman is freed due to their combined assault, and Ren feels elated. Whatever this guy is up to they just put a stop to it. Now it's time to take him down! Ren takes a moment to assess the situation. Five against one, now that Cherry Blossom has joined in. Depending on what tricks he has up his sleeve though this could be a tough fight.

<"INCOMING."> Souverain Heraut chirps, and then Ren witnesses the blue fireballs heading her way. She holds her scepter out in front of her, and a golden barrier materializes to take the assault. One does manage to get through though, hitting her shoulder. "Tch!" She grits her teeth, having mostly withstood the barrage. "Alright. Let's get a little closer then..." She flies off through the air, watching Rikoru grab onto the demon and attempt to through him into a wall. More attacks head Hotaka's way -- and guess what? Ren aims to pile on more hurt! Wielding her scepter, she swings it out in an arc, using one end of it to deliver a jab to the demon's torso. And then she repeats the action, adding in more hits.

Hotaka Domen has posed:

Rikoru comes in at top speed and a blade is summon from demonic flames with a deep crimson, almost black in color. As she reaches for him and thankfully with no woman in toe, she is able to force him toward the wall. The impact is somewhat saved as he flips himself around, with his feet impacting the wall. It still hurts a bit, before he springs right off and slashes at her in passing with the sword.

In his rotation around to come for the next target, or at least face them. The demon is caught off guard by the sudden cherry blossom 'blades' or at least something perhaps kin too. In this moment of irony, Hotaka can't help but be amused he is being attacked by cherry blossoms which also happen to be the SAME tree he enjoyed sitting under. Perhaps now he will mean it when he says he is 'allergic' to cherry blossoms.

The blossoms slam into him and cut across his body and his armor, he swoops down in attempt to avoid any further onslaught by the planet weapon. Sakura attempts to state her plead. That Hotaka doesn't want to do this, but sadly those words fall on deaf ears.

Aimi on the other hand. Miss Vanilla Sugar gets someone's attention far deeper then Hotaka. Actually the very demon who is puppeting the boy somewhat, or many would say is the one doing the puppeting. "Love?" The Demon lands down, those gold eyes staring her down. "Really? Hahhaha! All love does is get you face with pain and misery! Love is for the weak! Let me show you true strength in HATRED!" In return for her quip, the Demon creates a fire ball and slams it in her direction before snarling his fanged teeth.

That seem to have hit a nerve with someone...

The Demon leaps back into the air, only to see Ren coming in from the corner of his vision. "Tsk." Her scepter jabs into his torso, but his hand was already coming around to shove it away. Her next attacks are met with him quickly using his free arm to shove away the strikes as the dance in the air for a moment.

Soon the demon swoops down and lands back on part of the tower. His eyes burning with gold light. "Since some of you though where so nice to give me your names, let me introduce myself." He then readies his sword, resting the blade against the two armored clawed finger of his index and middle finger of his right hand. "..My name is Alastor, and today-- and perhaps for all eternity, you will wish you never got in my way."

Then with a shove off, he rushes right for each one of them. Swing his blade like a sword master, lashing out the blade with demonic flames now covering it for each of what could be vital locations. Attempting to drain them of their strength for a time.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Japanese Cherry Blossom leaps aside, but the edge of the blade still catches onto her leg. She trips... and grabs onto the side of the tower, before controlling a fall back to the ground. Fortunately, she wasn't too high up. Sometimes lately she forgets this stuff is pretty dangerous... "Vanilla Sugar!" she shouts, hearing the comforting words of her teammate. "You're right! It seems like we can reach him that way, too!"

She braces herself, and gets ready to evade another attack, but keeps her eyes on Vanilla. "You can do it!"

Rikoru Koyou has posed:

The Desert Star squares off, bouncing on the balls of her feet, her spurs clinking. Sure, the blade /hurts/ as she just barely pulls back, getting a nasty scratch for her effort...but she's more than ready the second time around. It comes for her, and her left fist slams into it, stopping it dead. "You think you're scary? I've seen worse than you in /elementary school!/ I don't care what your name is!"

Rikoru draws back, bobbing back and forth, looking for a good spot. "You're nothing but a bully. And in the name of justice, I can't go letting that stand!" She draws one fist back, and then goes for a heavy uppercut, aimed right at Alastor's chin. Her gun clicks, the power of its bullets charging her fist with a shining golden light. "You're going down - well, what do you know, I already forgot your name!"

Ren Aizawa has posed:

They do their little "dance" in midair for a few moments, probably looking like something straight out of a stereotypical shonen manga. When Hotaka breaks away, Ren flies back a bit, putting some distance between them and taking a breather. Yeah, he was no pushover. She looks down at the other assembled girls -- Eri especially to make sure she's still doing ok. Then their opponent decides to introduce himself, causing Ren to blink. "Alastor..." She repeats lowly, committing the name to memory in case of future clashes. Though he seems intent to make sure they reconsider doing battle with him in the future.

The demon man then attacks. And he's /fast/. Ren isn't able to get her scepter up in time for a counterattack before she's hit, sending her flipping backwards. A magic circle appears out of nowhere to catch her before she goes spiralling off too far, though. "Woah..." That hit definitely took a bite out of her reserves. "Enough." She says shakily, holding her scepter up. It pulses as more magic circles spin into existence, encasing her body to give her a much needed "tune up".

Aimi Saionji has posed:

"Hatred... a nasty emotion, but certainly one that I cannot deny is needed for people," Vanilla says. "Without it, how would people know true love then? But the power it gives is always fleeting, and never nearly enough. People always want more when they get their power through hatred."

Warm Vanilla Sugar doesn't bother with spending too much time speechifying here while the demon is getting beat on by the others. She's seeing now that this demon is going to need a few (hundred perhaps) purifying blasts before it truly gets the message. But that's okay, she's got it covered.

When it comes at her, she braces and does her best to block and take the blow, wincing just a bit as the beast hits her, feeling a bit weakened from it. She doesn't stop there though, moving to throw her own punch at the beast in an attempt to slow it down a bit, but doesn't seem to work out well, due to the lack of power behind the punch.

She smiles over at Cherry Blossom, nodding and feeling encouraged by her friend's words. "Exactly! Love... friendship... family... these are the things that drive us, that encourage us to get better, stronger. Love gives us the strength we need to continue on, to keep moving, to never stop. It is warm, comforting, empowering..."

"And there is nothing that is more powerful than love, and it can never be truly defeated!"

Eri Shimanouchi has posed:

If Eri were more religious, she might find the fact that she attacked a demon with a burning bush humorous. But instead, she's just lamenting the burning plants. With a gesture, she causes them to shrink out of existence, stopping the burning before they were fully consumed. It was as if they never existed at all.

Eri quirks an eyebrow at his taunt, "There is no strength in hatred. Just blind, impotent rage. I don't understand you at all..."

She tries to spin out of the way of Alastor's strike, by diving out of the way, but it connects, nevertheless. She feels some of her strength drain out of her, as she tries to roll with the blow. Her vision blurs, and she rises only gradually from her position on the ground. "Alastor is it? Why are you even doing this?" There's a short pause, as she calls out to Cherry Blossom and Vanilla Sugar, "You've fought him before? What's his deal anyhow?"

More green energy plays off her wrists, right before something rises up behind Alastor's current position, in an attempt to ambush him from behind... it's a giant venus fly trap, trying to snap at his wings, and mess with his manueverability, with one big chomp of its oversized maw. If one looked closely, they'd swear that they see actual /eyes/ on the fly trap. Eri calls out to her creation encouragingly, "Go Seymour-sama!" Wait, why Seymour? Wouldn't Audrey be more appropriate? She then looks Ren's way, calling out to her in concern, "How are you and Heraut-san doing?"

Hotaka Domen has posed:

Sakura seems to be staying out of the fight, but she is aiding her teammates. That wont stand for long, however Alastor needs to focus on the fact one of the young women with a bit of country in her is getting all southern on him. He attempts to avoid the strike, but only gets slammed back the strike to his jaw, which actually causes him to get flipped up into the air.

Ren then can be seen healing herself-- which is another problem, but the real concerning problem is the attack coming for him while he is off balance thanks to Rikoru. This comes by a summoning of a massive Venus fly trap, that does actually partially ensnare him. Snarling at it, he creates a fire ball and blasts it into the fly trap's mouth before it can actually bite down on him. Though the vines were still /extremely/ painful, crushing what limbs it does have a hold of.

Aimi goes through her spill and The demon rolls his eyes before he snarls his teeth. His voice taking a slightly different tone by this point. The deeper voice much louder now then the more youthful one, because truth was-- those words were pissing off the demon bound within and causing Hotaka to be a bit shaken up.

After all-- a true family.. That was not something Hotaka honestly had.

"Blah. Blah. Blah. You hairless apes and your need of hearts, flowers, roses, and love!" He struggles to break free. So he'll just have to take measures a little more-- cruelly now. "Love is nothing but a curse. A Plight! All it does in the end is harm, destroy, and bring suffering to all those around. Look at yourselves /right/ now. You are fighting me in the name of /love/ and justice, yet by your /love/ of getting together, you are all now suffering for one another. Allowing the /other/ to be placed into pain and turmoil."

"For what reason, hm? You have depend on one another. You have to sit back a shed tears for someone you care about getting harmed. It leads to NOTHING!"

"Broken hearts. Broken dreams. That is what love gets you!" The demon roars out, the air feeling with almost a dark void of whispers. Magic in the air attempting to grasp for their very wills. Is he trying to break them?

"I will show you what /love/ gets you. I will show you what love /brings/ you. I will destroy everything that you hold deer and I will watch it burn in the flames of hell!!" He then breaks himself free, with a wave for demonic flames as he snarls at all of them. Pointing his blade down directly at Sakura. Does he know who she is? That is impossible-- isn't it? "..and You. You I will shatter right here and NOW!"

Suddenly Alastor rushes right for Sakura. The Daemon being held by both hands, he charges right at her and moves to impale the very demonic sword right into her. To pierce the blade into the depth of perhaps her very soul.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Cherry Blossom knew that, even though she was only working with Vanilla rather than attacking the demon directly, she should expect this kind of reaction. She wanted to speak to his heart. And for that, she was already ready to pay a price.

He rushes for her. She braces her feet. A powerful blade heads toward her heart. And she pulls out a small rod, from her hair, glowing gold. That tiny blade can't possibly be enough to deflect the demon's gigantic sword...

And yet, with a clash, she gives back to him as good as he to her. The weapon nicks her, but she pushes it away from her heart.

She looks into Alastor's eyes. "Love.... will be the only thing that can set you free."

She sets aside the chopstick blade with a little flick of her wrist. It vanishes.

She looks over at Eri with just a glance. "It's a little complicated. We should discuss it. But first."

She leans back, and presses her palms together. A pink light builds up under her feet, along with a sweet-scented wind. It blows her skirt slightly, and whips at the long sleeves of her dress. She lowers her hands, and a whirlwind of blossoms form, entire pink and white flowers spinning in the wind. They move in a circular motion to wrap around the demon. "Cherry Blossom Breeze!"

Rikoru Koyou has posed:

"Sit back? Listen, loser. When people are getting hurt, you don't have to sit back. LET ME SHOW YOU!" As Alastor lashes out on his way to Sakura, Rikoru steps in to the blow, allowing herself to get cut because it just means her right hand comes in all the faster, slamming Alastor in a painful cross counter. "If I get a little hurt, what does it matter? Just means I'm beating /you/ down that much harder!"

She turns, looking avet at Sakura. "Come on! Show him what you're made of! He thinks he can break us?" Rikoru has little idea who her comrades-in-arms are...but that doesn't matter. She's getting pumped up. "All I'm hearing is 'aww, poor me, I can't hurt people who just sit there and take it any more!' Can't handle someone wh ofights back? Your kind never can. Just because /you're/ a loser who's given up doesn't mean anyone else has to be!"

Rikoru draws back her fist, then launches a nasty right hook for Alastor's gut. "Me, I'm not giving up until you've LEARNED YOUR DAMN LESSON!"

Aimi Saionji has posed:

"And yet," Vanilla says as the Demon attacks, monologuing himself. "You fear it. You're scared of us, of our power we get from each other, from our friendship, our comraderie, and from our love."

Aimi does her best to jump and dodge around the flames, getting scorched a bit by them. She stands up, looking for the demon now, and preparing herself. She finds him over by Cherry Blossom, nearly impaling her through the heart. "Cherry!" She calls out, but relaxes and smiles. Her friend is still alive, and kicking. She trust her, knew that she would beable to resist and stand against the beast with ease.

She took a quick breath then, relaxing some more and drawing upon the magic of her perfume, letting out a wave of warm, vanilla scented magic to wash over herself, a portion of it floating over towards Eri now as well, the magic healing and helping to revitalize the two of them now.

"Love overcomes all. Love will free you from your chains of suffering, and it will show you a better way!"

Eri Shimanouchi has posed:

Seymour gets a fireball in the mouth. His head jerks back at the last moment, preventing his maw from finding purchase around Alastor's wings. Eri is close enough that she's grazed by the explosion that follows. There's a painful moment where it looks like he is in fact, severely injured by the experience, as wisps of smoke trail out of its mouth. And then suddenly. The fly trap belches, moving its stalk forward to stare /murder/ at Hotaka. And then it speaks in a halting tone which is nevertheless sort of Fey in its quality, its maw chomping in time with its words, "EaT yOu FOr HUrtINg hER!" Eri gives Seymour a pained look, and actually puts a hand on his stalk. "Calm, Seymour-sama! You've done enough. Retreat for now..."

The Venus fly trap... appears to dive into the concrete, disappearing as quickly as it appeared.

And then she gives Seymour a pained look, "And what would you understand of flowers and love? People like you see only the transient beauty in all things... they thoughtlessly condemn flowers to die a slow death when they pluck them, wilting gradually. And you know what? You're right about love. Half-right. Love does cause suffering. People do terrible things in it's name.. but it's /worth it/. Whether it be for a plant, an animal.. a person, or even you."

Eri is suddenly overwhelmed mid-speech by flames, and she screams, she rolls immediately, attempting to put out the flames, but the damage is done.. she's still burned terribly by the experience. Getting up slowly, she grimaces, her throat is raw, and burned, singed from the experience, "....but I'll bear suffering any time in it's name."

She drops an Acorn from her hand, green energy coruscating off her wrists, and suddenly... an oak tree grows. An oak treant, actually, as it opens its eyes, grasping Eri by its branches, and holding her aloft. "There's no resolve in your words..." And then it spins her, before tossing her straight up at Hotaka. She snaps out her whip of tangled vines above his head, which suddenly grows, as more vines tangle, one by one, until it's as thick as a tree trunk. She brings it down with as much force as she can, letting gravity do much of the work. ".....Let me show you mine!"

Hotaka Domen has posed:

"I don't give up." Alastor quickly quips at Rikoru, "We demon warriors NEVER give up!" She comes in with a charge attack and he lashes out with his sword just as her fist goes to smash into him, he skims it to the side, he bruises his body, just as his blade barely scathes her.

However the cherry wind whips around him and it forces him to actually land down and he growls softly. His eyes then narrow. "We also do not fear. We conquerer, but yes. No more talk." His eyes nearly become solid yellow. "..lets just get this over and done with."

It seems he got whatever it was out of his system or their combined efforts are starting to wear him down at last. Why did he take command again from Hotaka? Oh right. Aimi's constant desire to spread her belief in love.

He snarls at her and then his eyes loose their light for a moment. There was something off as if he was processing what she and Sakura stated. Perhaps even in the words of Eri as well. No resolve was the next part, but that seems to snap him out of whatever caused him to freeze there for a moment. His eyes narrowing dangerously again.

Yet whatever cause him to hold his assault was also what left him open to Eri's own unleash. The vines snaps around the demon and crush him for a moment. Encircling and covering him completely up, yet soon he breaks them free with a roar and his wings flaring out, before kneeling down. Resting some of his weight on the hilt of his sword.

'Alastor? Are-- are you ok? What was---'

The demon glanced up, shoving Hotaka back into a state of sleep. There was new determination in those demonic eyes. A determination and a resolve unlike many out there, yet seen in so many heroes. It seems the game was now over. "Impressive." He says calmly. He fully stands up lifting his sword out of the ground with it then pointing at Eri. "..and perhaps you are correct. I have not been giving you my true resolve. Let me correct that."

His other hand glows with demonic fire before he slams it into the ground. Black metal chains suddenly rip out of the tower and lash out for several of the girls. Attempting to entangle them as they have done several times to him thus far. Then with his blade in hand, he rushes at the others. Moving vertically, diagonally, and horizontally in rapid strikes. Like a blade dance of speed and yet control.

Aimi Saionji has posed:

The firey chaiins lash themselves at Vanilla, but she stands her ground, closing her eyes and letting the remaining vanilla perfume magic that was around her serve as a barrier. The flames and heat scorched her body some more, but it failed to latch on before it had to retreat. She opened her eyes then, turning to focus on the demon.

"Why don't I show you our true resolve then? Our true power?" She says.

Warm Vanilla Sugar took a deep breath, focusing on her magic now, and drawing from the perfume bottle as she pulls it out of its pouch on her side. She pulls it up and holds it close to her chest with both hands, a golden aura slowly spilling out, one that smells of, of course, vanilla.

"Your dark heart needs to be shown the light... needs to see what it means to be truly loved. To be reminded that people do love and care about you," Vanilla says, glancing over at Cherry Blossom. She knows her friend well enough to know that, given her actions, this is someone worth saving.

"Let the warm, purifying love wash over you, and open up your heart to our words... remember and realize that there are those that support you... let your memories be restored so that you may know what I say is true..."

"Vanilla Purifying Crash!"

The magic came together into a warm golden blast, rushing forth at the demon to wash over it and attempt to cleanse it with the power of love and warm vanilla perfume!

Rikoru Koyou has posed:

"Funny. Sounds to /me/ like you're just whining and giving up. Otherwise you wouldn't bother trying to get us to give up and you'd actually /fight/." The chains wrap around Rikoru's legs, and she can't manage to get out of the way...but that doesn't matter. She points at Alastor, smiling broadly. "I mean, look at you! All I've heard from you is whine, whine, whine. If this is your true resolve...no wonder you can't see the power of love and justice!"

She closes her eyes, drawing her revolver. "But that's okay. I'll show you the power of justice. If you really never gave up, you'd already know it. But hey, someone's got to show you the light sometime." She points the gun at the sky, pulling the trigger. Golden light flows out of it, surrounding Rikoru rather than forming any kind of bullet. She spins the revolver, holstering it as she raises her other hand up. "So open your eyes and accept it! The light..."

And then she's up in Alastor's face, her fist flying for it. It flares with golden light, washing out the colors around her. Her hair blows back from the force of it, and her fist shines with a golden, five-pointed light.

"OF MY GUIDING STAR!"

Eri Shimanouchi has posed:

While in mid air, Aimi's cleansing wave washes over her, Eri lands, actually surprisingly gracefully. Many of the vines retract, leaving her only with the original thin length of thorned vine. She turns briefly, smiling at Aimi, "Thank you very much. And yes, we'll have to discuss that later.. it sounds, complicated." But it's at this point that Alastor decides to get serious, as black metal chains, entangle her. She tries to hop over it, but they enclose around her, hindering her movements, for a moment... she's hobbled, and crashes to the ground.

It might actually look rather comical, given that she's totally entangled, and seemingly helpless.. but then she begins to glow. A wispy yellow aura begins to lim her body. And then she slowly pushes back against the chains. While she doesn't snap them, she loosens them enough so that she can move. Her strength increasing by the moment, when the light and potency of the sun entering inside her, empowering every cell of her body. 

Eri states very softly, ".....For resolve to be strong, one must have goals. What then are yours, Alastor?"

Ren Aizawa has posed:

Successful slashes against the demon gets Ren pumped! Not so smarmy now is he? She lets up once her assault comes to an end, panting softly from the effort. "I'm still good to go. How about you?" She tauints the demons, raising her sword defensively when he looks to be plotting something. And plot he does, pointing directly at Eri. Which Ren does not like one bit! The demon slams his hand to the ground and releases fiery chains. Ugh. Nasty.

Ren moves to protect Eri. Or rather she would have had Alastor not chosen to rush at her and the others not caught by his chains. "Ahh!" She raises her sword but the blow he delivers gets through, creating a gash in her barrier jacket. "Ow..." She grits out, holding her side. No blood seems to have been drawn -- yet. She raises her rapier again, holding it high above her head as it glows.

<LUSTROUS BURNING.> Phantom images of swords appear around the real sword, before they then spiral towards Alastor.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Japanese Cherry Blossom holds her hands up, still, and the blade comes for her. It slashes at her sleeves, cutting through one of them, but she holds her ground. She shuts her eyes for a moment, opening them when she catches the scent of vanilla on the wind. Aimi can do it. They can all do it.

Her own magic needs another moment to recover from that previous blast. She looks over at Rikoru, and then at Eri. But Desert Star is already on the case.

Finally she looks over at Ren. "Let's handle this together, all right?" She steps back once, and then looks over at the Demon. "... If you can, on my mark!"

Hotaka Domen has posed:

Ren comes at him with her ghost rapier and Alastor creates a fireball and blasts it at the ghost rapier. Holding it in place, giving him enough time to quickly avoid step the ghost blade as it breaks through the fire ball and comes rushing by. His gold eyes stare in her direction for a moment as he does answer Eri. "What is my goal?"

He then looks over to her. "You will have to wait and find out. It will become clear in time." It seems now they were truly speaking to the very being that is controlling the boy. Alastor was now fully in command.

That is about when Rikoru comes rushing in with her fist glowing of elegant light. Alastor snarled at her as she came in. He quickly uses his open hand to slam into her arm, to try and direct the mighty energy away from him. Yet he is not all so lucky. The blazing light of the fist slams into his shoulder armor with all its power. The sheer strength that the magical girl displays shatters the very armor on his shoulder. It breaks off into pieces, that scatter into the air before disappearing in red wisps of light.

Aimi then makes her plans known. That she plans to show his heart love once more. Those gold eyes slowly turn to look at her as the air starts to smell of a vanilla scent. It was-- a very nice scent actually. He snarls at her and as her banishing light comes rushing at him, he roars into it with all his might, anger, and hatred.

The light swarms around him, engulfing him.

Though when the light fades he is still standing there. Smiling. Slowly starting to laugh. It is a very dark laugh really and its only building up into a mad form of laughter. He then leaps straight into the air. The demonic sword suddenly grows slightly in length as demonic flames engulf it in blue light. His gold eyes glow brightly.

"Impressive display! Now.." His eyes narrow sharply as he gets a far more grieve sound in his voice. "Its my turn."

He then flies up a bit higher, before swinging the blade around in a hard swing. As he starts to spin around, the flames form outward just extending the length of the sword; or so it seems. He yells with a mighty roar of his voice, "Burning Hell Fire!!!"

Then as the blade comes back around he finishes his call to power, ""UNLEEAAASH!!!" The demonic flame comes down in a wave of fire for them. It impacts part of the tower and actually takes the top section of it off, and it continues to roll right down for them seeming to not care for whatever stands in its way, slashing it in half like if it was the very blade itself with explosive force.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Sakura stands still, her eyes going wide with fear. Hell Fire begins to wash toward her. She knows she... can't do it, if she just stands straight and allows it to roll her down. She tries to leap aside...

But it's no good. The flames wash over Japanese Cherry Blossom, licking into her dress and slashing at her body. Bits of tower fall toward her, and she tries to evade those as well, but then another piece of it falls... right atop her. It crushes her leg, and she falls prone, pinned and unable to fight further as flames still surge around her. She squints through the fire... looking for her friends. It can't end THIS way...

But there's nothing more that she can do now...

Rikoru Koyou has posed:

Rikoru crosses her arms as the fire washes down. She's lucky - she's barely on the edge of it all. It stings, but it's nothing compared to the others. Rikoru's eyes, however, now blaze with fury. "You think that's enough to save you, asshole? I'm still here. And no matter what you do, no matter what you try! I WON'T LET YOU HURT ANYONE ELSE!" Rikoru points at Alastor.

"You thought that was it? COME ON! For their sake, and the sake of everyone you've ever bullied - you're going down!" The light gathers around her again. She can't channel it as powerfully as before, but Rikoru isn't about to let these other people down. Sure, she might not know them. Sure, they may never have spoken to her before. But Rikoru Koyou has never let that stop her from stepping in to fight a bully before.

Her fist blazes as she lunges for Hotaka, hammering him with a quick jab followed by a nastier heavy cross. She's trying to hem him in, crush his defense and keep him from getting a chance to rest.

Ren Aizawa has posed:

Yes... perhaps love-talk doesn't do much but anger a hellish demon guy and cause him to lay down serious hurt. There's certainly evidence to support that. "Guys..." Is all Ren gets out before Alastor powers up and unleashes a devestating finisher. CRAP. <PROTECTION.> Souverain Heraut gleams, and a wide magic circle spreads out to provide shielding from the incoming attack for Ren. She grtis her teeth as she'd pushed back, pieces of her barrier jacket shredding from the sheer power that's being held at bay. It probably helps that she wasn't hit full on with Alastor's assault. But the others... "ERI!" She cries out, seeing Puella Magi fail to block. Aimi fairs just as well too, and Ren begins to feel her anger boil up to the surface. /BIG TIME/.

"You... YOU'RE THROUGH!" Her rapier gleams, and a faint ghost outline resembling her scepter is wrapped around it in a flash. Then she zooms forward, holding it up above her, and once she's close enough she brings it down on Alastor's head.

Aimi Saionji has posed:

Warm Vanilla Sugar stands there, watching as Alastor withstands the power of her magic with out a scratch. That can't be! It can't be true unless...

Warm Vanilla Sugar winces a bit, a strange sense and thoughts coming to her. "So... that's why..." She says softly. It makes more sense now.

It distracts her enough, however, that by the time the hellfire comes along, she's not ready or prepared. She tries to resist, does her best to try and keep herself up through the flames and the fire. It burns, scorches, sears...

She collapses down to a knee when the flames end, panting and looking in a very bad shape. Her clothing is, fortunately, flame resistant so she still is clothed, but she doesn't look like she can continue fighting like this.

"Cherry..." She says, looking over to her friend and teammate. "I can't keep on like this... nor you..." she says, forcing herself up to go over to Cherry, ignoring the protests of her body to her moving around so she can try to help her friend out of the way of the fight.

Of course she's already thinking on what she's learned now, and how best to fight this demon next time. She's not that upset at being beat in the long run though. More that her drawing time was interrupted and she won't be able to finish now.

Hotaka Domen has posed:

The three that have been trying to pull on him away from his hatred seem to have been caught in the blaze of his power. The Daemon seeming to return to its normal style as a weapon as the flames below and the partial destruction of the tower reflect in his eyes as he starts to chuckle again.

Then his chuckle, turns into laughter. A howling laughter. It is only worse as Ren and Rikoru come after him now touched by their shared anger toward him. He then looks at them as they come in with his eyes gleaming.

This Hotaka-- Alastor thinks to himself-- is the power you possess if you know how to use it correctly. He knows the youth can see it. Because he snapped him awake just in time to see it himself.

'You..'

Alastor then sneers as Rikoru comes in, he quickly slashes out with his blade in return. Yet her fist strikes in and shoves him straight back toward Ren who is also charging in.

'..you...'

He attempts to get out of the way and barely does, but barely wasn't enough. The blade comes down and the edge of it slashes a cut across his face and slashing a gap in part of his chest armor. Blood starts to run down that side of his face as he flaps his wings to get some distance between himself and the two.

'.. you.. BASTAARRD!!'

With Hotaka's own mental cry of anger, Alastor lets out a hellish roar as he extends the Daemon blade into the air. A massive demonic fire ball appears at the edge of the blade. He then swings the sword and it unleashes the fire ball, which splits in half and rushes right for both of the remaining ladies.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Cherry Blossom isn't unconscious, but she's pinned under the rubble. She can feel her magic starting to fade... and, before it does, she makes one strong KICK, freeing herself partially. Vanilla comes over to help her, and with a hand up, she can stand.

She sees the other girl has passed out, and looks at her. Is that an Ohtori uniform?

Her magic flickers and fades, smoke washing away the scent of cherry blossom from her body, as her own outfit starts to disappear. Still, she reaches for Eri... "Let's help her, okay, and... get moving."

Rikoru Koyou has posed:

As Hotaka comes in, Rikoru has been focusing. She has one fist drawn back. The fireball comes in...and Rikoru doesn't move. She keeps standing there, hand drawn back, fioocusing. She waits, and waits...and at last, raises her other arm up to block the fire. It burns over her - but at the end, Rikoru steps through the flame, coming up next to the sword. She's only singed, and now she's grinning.

"Is that your best? You don't have the strength of love and justice! Now come on!" And that punch she's been winding up is finally unleashed. It's heavily telegraphed - but it's got all her force behind it. "There's no way I'm letting you go here! Once this is all over, I'll fix /everything/ you did!"

Ren Aizawa has posed:

He can curse and spit all he wants. Ren isn't going to give in to his angry little tantrum. "You're gonna pay." She reassures him, holding out her sword and using a bit of magic to block most of the raging fire blast. If it hurts her, she doesn't show it. Her focus is /entirely/ on the foul demon standing before her. "You ok?" She asks Rikoru, giving her a brief once over. "Good. We're both gonna need to hit him with all we have to end this." Ren is /clearly/ not going to rest until she's made Alastor bleed a lot more than he already was. "Souverain Heraut... Please grant me your strength..." She brings the blade up and closes her eyes, focusing on drawing all she can muster. Within her she can feel her linker core, pulsing in time with her heart beat. Thump. Thump. Thump. The rapier begins to leak pure mana, which condenses into a protective layer around her.

"Heroic..."

Her body shifts forward, and there's the subtle shifting of air as it flows into the ball of energy that has hardened around Ren. Then, she opens her eyes wide.

"LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANCE!"

And with that courageous, thunderous shout, she streaks forward like a bullet train, rapier extended outward to deal what will hopefully be the ending blow.

Aimi Saionji has posed:

Vanilla's own magic and power is pretty much running on her willpower alone, stubborn to not give up and give in just yet. The same strength and willpower that got her through much worse than this. Scorched and battered, she has the willpower to say no to what her body and everything is telling her.

"Right... I... I think I can do that," Vanilla says, smiling and trying to keep that strength and confidence up and going. Sure she has the willpower, but it can only go so long before she falls over.

But that won't be for now, Warm Vanilla Sugar moving over to where Eri lay so that she could try to help get her out of danger. "Come on now girl," She said to herself. "You can collapse and let yourself rest after you get home... for now you need to do this... don't give up... don't give in..."

Hotaka Domen has posed:

The demon attempts to unleash the Daemon blade in time for Rikoru, however her fists are far faster. The attack slams into the demon as he has come far close to the ground perhaps and that was all she needed it would seem. The strike slams into him and sends him flying backwards. His feet impact the ground as he slides back and nearly falls over.

'Don't you understand Hotaka.. Your anger for me? Your anger for what has happened. This is what you need. What we need. We can win this-- that is what I am now showing you! Now END THIS!'

The demon growls lowly and then he wants to yell, but such a yell is cut off as suddenly a mystical lance of the repair punches right through him. It slams into his right part of his chest and goes right through. His eyes go wide. The armor shattering around the blade and with it he crashes down to the ground. His body not really moving, but what blood is on the ground is black, instead of red and yet.. it soon starts to pull back in.

'Hotaka. You have the strength to do this.'

His hand twitches.

'You believe you can do it better.. that my actions are injustice for protecting us..'

He slowly starts to stand up with his eyes closed. The sword sceeching across the metal floor.

'THEN PROVE TO BE STRONGER OR I WILL CONSUME YOU!'

Those gold eyes then snap open as he stares at the two. The blade grows in length. He staggers a step back before he snarls his words out. "Enough! Just go away before you all die to my hand!" That-- doesn't sound right.

The demon blade engulfs in flames once more and he swings the blade. This time in a horizontal direction. Trying to snatch both of the two remaining magical girls in its cutting edge of a wake. "Because I am STRONGER!!"

Rikoru Koyou has posed:

This time, Rikoru isn't lucky enough to just be on the edge of the fire. The sword swings for her, and while the tries to dodge out of the way, it's too fast. She spent too much time on windup, leaving her open. The sword slams into her, sending her flying across the tower. She hits the floor heavily, rolling a few feet. While she's still awake, she's in no condition to fight. Her outfit is slowly dissolving back to normal, even as she fights to stand back up,

Yeah, that didn't go so well.

Ren Aizawa has posed:

Ren runs the demon through and through. A direct hit. No mistaking it. Ren lands on the ground afterward. Well, more like she impacts with it. Which creates a big, smoking crater. /Wow/. That was some power. "Did it... work...?" She says aloud, panting and leaning heavily on her blade. She turns to look... and is happy when she spots Alastor splayed out on the ground.

But then... he moves! "W-What!?" She scrambles to get up from one knee, knowing what's coming next. But alas, she's too sapped of energy to put up much of a fight. Alastor's will is much more dedicated to ending things it seems. He swings his blade, and Ren watches helplessly as the burning hell fire flies at her and Rikoru. The pain when it makes contact with the mage girl is indescribable. She lets out a short scream, flying backwards further into the crater. And once the fire ceases, she lays there unmoving.

<BARRIER JACKET, RELEASE.> Unable to maintain her transformation, it dispells and leaves her back in her civilian wear, scepter also morphing back into the silver ring she keeps hanging around her neck. It hovers in midair for awhile before falling down, landing on her chest.

Hotaka Domen has posed:

They could gain the artifacts right now. Hotaka thinks. That is what Alastor is after right. That is what he wants me to do isn't it? Just take their trinkets and let him hand them over. Yet as he takes a step, he falls down to his knee cringing.

"..oh right.. hole.. in chest.." He mutters to himself as his eyes start to try and close. That is when he starts to her ambulances, fire trucks-- choppers. At last people outside called in and at last emergency teams were starting to arrive.

He grunts softly and looks at those who have fallen, those who were transforming back. What their faces looked like. Who they were. He sneers softly and then runs to the edge before leaping off and then starts to quickly swoop down to an alley not to far.

Once he lands down, he lands down roughly, almost crashing into a trash bin. The demonic form fades away in wisps of light and flame, before he comes to a rolling stop. His hand reaching up for his shoulder in his Juuban uniform. He lays there for a bit in the alley. Just-- holding his shoulder.

Even if the damage was not there-- he could feel it and it /would/ leave a mark.

Though he had won this battle-- perhaps what was worse.. is he may have lost a part of himself in the process...

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Sakura is in her school uniform when she finally pulls out of the rubble. She coughs a little bit. She looks like an ordinary girl who survived a very unfortunate situation with just a few scratches... but she looks really sad, now. He did look at her face, didn't he? What's going to happen now?

She looks over at Vanilla, and looks down. "I don't want to feel like we failed. At least he's gone. We should... get some rest, but I was going to call Tokiko tonight. Are you okay?"

Rikoru Koyou has posed:

"Bastard..." Rikoru wipes her face, groaning. "And now I'm gonna get home late and I'll get yelled at for missing time..." She pauses, rubbing at a bruise, and then turns over towards Sakura. "You! You're...huh?" Pause, blink. "Akagi-san? ...well, whatever. You - all of you - are coming with me back to my house. You guys can't be any better off than me. So I'll fix something up to fix that."

And now she'll have to go shopping for ingredients sooner. And that'll cost more money. /Dammit/.

Eri Shimanouchi has posed:

Fortunately Eri wasn't in a school uniform, but still Hotaka saw her face. And the others who dragged her out would definitely recognize her in the future...

Wherever they take her, she's actually not laid out for long. A few hours after she'd awakened, there'd be nary a mark on her, though her means for healing may seem unconventional to anyone who watched her do it.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

A small dragon-like creature, with a curly chameleon tail and white butterfly wings, flits over and sits on Sakura's shoulder. It fades to blue and white, blending in with the collar of her uniform. "S-sakura-sama--"

"What." Sakura's eyes are watering with tears, now that her henshin magic has dulled her bravery. "This... is all your fault, you know that?"

"I'm... so sorry." Mist, the little dragon-fairy, hangs its head. "I thought you cared about that boy. So when I smelled danger I thought you should know. We should focus on the Apothecary."

"...Oh....." Sakura seems a little angry. "Who ARE they, anyway?" She looks over at Rikoru. Well, there is not much point in hiding the little dragon from her either. "Okay. Is it... is it all right if I send a text or two?"

Mist continues to hang its head down, eyes shut.

Rikoru Koyou has posed:

"Uh...sure, that's fine." Rikoru nods. "Come on, though, if I don't get home soon my dad's gonna yell at me for being really late."

=

News feed following the events...:

News at 6!

After some weather, sports, and other stuff (like saving a kitten and the kitty getting a new home, d'aww), the news goes over to about what happened at Tokyo Tower today. "Some may have seen the smoke coming from Tokyo Tower earlier today. Many believed that due to the special effects taking place that the Tower was actually under attack. However as we found out from crews at the scene. The attack on Tokyo Tower was actually just a film crew filming new footage for a commercial."

The news footage flips to the interview of a young man in his mid twenties perhaps with stylish black hair, nice clothing and fixing his cuff as one of the reports asks him, "So this special effects show that had people worried was all for a new commercial, Mister Warden?"

"That would be correct. Big budget production for a big budget commercial, all for our latest product coming out for the holidays." He then looks at the camera with his violet purple eyes and a warm smile. "My condolences however for those who believed that this was an actual attack on Tokyo Tower. It seems our special effects crews got a bit carried away."

There was some laughter from him, the reporters, and the crew around him. "Well, thank you for your time, Mister Warden."

"My pleasure."

Then it flips back to the news room with the female reporter looking at her crew member beside her. "It seems commercials are getting bigger budgets every year. Next thing you know, we will be enjoy them as much as we enjoy the movies!" She says with a smile before then looking at the camera, "..Now onto other news..."