2013-11-22 - The Blue Rose Asunder! Zoisite Shatters Miki's Hand!
| Title: The Blue Rose Asunder! Zoisite Shatters Miki's Hand! | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Zoisite, jealous of Miki Kaoru's skills with the piano, takes his revenge. | |
| Who: Miki Kaoru, Midori Sugiura, Nori Ankou, Eri Shimanouchi, Homura Akemi, Sayaka Miki, Kanako Watanabe, Mami Tomoe, Utena Tenjou, Zoisite | |
| Where: Ohtori Academy | |
| OOC - IC Date: 11-22-2013 - 10-21-2013 | |
<Pose Tracker> Miki Kaoru [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
It's LUNCHTIME at Ohtori campus!
Many students gather at the cafe or on the fields for lunch, some bringing picnics for their beloveds and others just eating alone. Miki Kaoru himself is sitting at a cafe table outdoors. Lunch for him is a sandwich perfectly cut into mathematically correct quarters, because when one doesn't ordinarily sleep late, one needs to do SOMETHING in the early morning. He's also looking over sheets of blank music paper, dotting down notes in pencil about an arrangement he's been working on for Michiru.
Everything's terribly peaceful, isn't it?
<Pose Tracker> Midori Sugiura [Ohtori Academy (S)] has posed.
Midori Sugiura is here to get something at the cafe, she's quite hungry after all. She's been working pretty hard and has sat down at a table with some food, she's also going over some papers. She's clearly grading even as she eats, the work load must be pretty large from the looks of it. She is also humming some super sentai theme or another as she goes.
<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
Nori Ankou is eating her lunch at one of the cafe tables, underneath an umbrella. She has a book out, and has a plate which seems to feature fresh grilled shrimp, which must have been today's presentation island speciality. (Ah, the joys of a decadent cafeteria.) She picks up a shrimp with her chopstick - and those who watch closely will notice she drops perhaps one shrimp in three, very discreetly, quite accidentally.
That is a little weird, but then again, consider the location. She glances up occasionally towards where Miki Kaoru is seated, but hasn't yet opted to be a buttinsky. Maybe something is keeping her in place.
<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
Lunch time was highly personal for Eri Shimanouchi. Mainly because she sat apart, away from the other students. Especially as of late.. once the malicious rumors started anew. But she didn't mind sitting on one of the fields mainly due to the scenery, where she'd positioned herself under one of the trees dotting the landscape. All she had was a humble vegetarian assortment inside a bento box, but her meal wasn't really all that concerning to her.
Instead she had out pencils, and a sketchpad... for which she was drawing.. something. She generally kept her art rather private, and was hunkered up so it was a close to the chest. Every so often, she'd look away, abstracted, before continuing in her work.
<Pose Tracker> Homura Akemi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
TERRIBL-y peaceful, yes.
Lunchtime for Homura Akemi is, like with many things, a fairly lonely affair. She eats whatever food she has packed quickly and out of the way of the other students. Anyone who came across her would even find her meals to be simple and utilitarian: protein, rice, vegetables, a bit of something sweet and water to wash it all down with. It's a meal because her body needs a meal, not a celebration for the sense of taste.
Once Homura's meal is finished her work begins. First she establishes the location of Madoka Kaname during this lunch hour and assesses the Kyubey Threat Index. The latter is particularly important as it will determine whether or not a Homuvention is required. For the sake of brevity we will assume that the Kyubey threat is... uh... ur... green, which is usually considered to be a good color excepting for those who suffer from red-green color blindness.
But again, /brevity/.
Next begins the patrol. This part is simple enough: Homura walks through campus, often near the location of Madoka, and searches for signs of supernatural activity. Occasionally she will pull out her soul gem in order to assess the flow of magic in the area ... but she tries to do that carefully. Though beautiful gems are hardly rare at an academy as fancy as Ohtori it's best not to draw any undue attention.
So as Miki Nori and Eri enjoy their meals (and mysterious drawings) at the outdoors cafe tables, the figure of pale girl can be seen walking past. Her long, raven hair flows freely in the afternoon autumn breeze, but her violet eyes are focused ever forwards. It's very likely she'll walk by them all without noticing.
Unless...
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
Sayaka spends her lunches with Madoka and Hitomi, almost every day. Today, however, both other girls have club-related commitments, and so Sayaka falls back on an old friend. He's a boy who intimidates most girls at Ohtori, particularly those in younger grades, for as a Student Council member he's seen as a celebrity... or a demigod.
Sayaka is far from immune to this intimidation; she worships the Student Council alongside the other girls. Broad, gorgeous Touga. Sharp, confident Juri. Most of all, brooding, beautiful Saionji. But Miki is the exception. She's been friends with him so long that he's like a kid brother. Yes, /kid/ brother, even though he's older.
"Miki-kuuun!" she sings, as she flops down across from him, bouncing his papers a little with her exuberant sitting. "Are you doing boring Council stuff again?" She doesn't ask permission to sit with him, just opens her bento and stuffs the nearest piece of it into her mouth, discovering only afterwards that it was shrimp. "Oh, wait, that's sheet music?!"
<Pose Tracker> Kanako Watanabe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Kanako Watanabe normally eats lunch in her own classroom, where she can ogle Takuto Tsunashi, I mean-- no actually pretty much that, and maybe get her hair clipped, or stare out the window marveling at her wedding ring, or...you get the picture.
Today, however, apparently on a whim, she has decided to go out among the masses, and thus Mrs. Watanabe is off in the not-too-far-off high schoolers' zone of the cafe courtyard, where she is...lying on a patio lounge with some lovely hand-stitched cushions, with her hand in the cradle of another classmate - a blonde-haired, blue-eyed young woman of rather slimmer proportions than Kanako's spectacular curves, who appears to be...doing her nails.
Off to the other side, a black-haired quite traditionally Japanese young man is standing by with a European-style serving platter, and a table.
<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
Mami Tomoe is easy to miss at lunch, largely because she stays fairly well out of the way and, for some mysterious reason, is often away. She might just stay near her classroom, but then, her classmates would disagree with that assessment. It's a good thing she's not interesting enough for her fellow students to discuss, being just another blonde rich girl, albeit one who /doesn't/ torment the underclassmen.
Surely she's not the only one?
Regardless, her out of the way place today is out in the greenery, with a lovely lunch that may have been professionally made, and she is totally joining in the 'not talking with people' matter. In essence, she is ironically much like Homura in this matter, only fancier.
<Pose Tracker> Miki Kaoru [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
Miki looks up and happens to catch a glimpse of Homura, aka Her, That Girl Who Gave me a Warning When We Fought That Monster That I Foolishly Ignored. Unfortunately, other attempts to track down Homura Akemi have been unsuccessful. Somehow she always ends up leaving before he arrives, almost as if she knows he's coming. Which is silly. What would tip her off, the groupies he's completely oblivious to cooing as he walks by?
He remains equally ignorant of the groupies who scowl when Sayaka arrives, but know better than to interfere. He brightens when he sees her, though, moving his paperwork over to make room.
"Sayaka-kun!" Sometimes he slips back into 'sempai,' but he's trying to at least be a little more casual. "Ah, no Council 'stuff' this time. Remember I was going to arrange a piece for that concert? I'm working on it. I don't mind taking a break, though. The work's honestly giving me a headache. Are Madoka-san and Hitomi-san here today?"
<Pose Tracker> Midori Sugiura [Ohtori Academy (S)] has posed.
Midori Sugiura is well dvouring her food looking over the paper for a moment, then sets it down, of all thing she pulls out a game system of some sort. Looks like she's taking a break from her papers. She seems to be playing some game or another, there may or may not be robots involved. Who knwos with her, she's still chewing on her food content to leave the student be for now, she'll make their lives interesting when history class comes up.
<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
As the silence is broken, Nori looks upright, sharply. Perhaps even scornfully, as WORKING LUNCH's silence is breached irreperably - but oh; it's Sayaka. Her expression softens.
Something in her lap moves, rising upwards. Small black eyes in a plush and inquisitive face blink once. Nori drops her napkin over whatever it is, and there is a suggestion of a protest. Nori says, into thin air and in a mild but clear tone, "Aide de camp. Aide de camp."
'I've never felt more in tune with this school in my life,' she muses inwardly for a fleeting moment.
<Pose Tracker> Homura Akemi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
Yes, Homura certainly couldn't know details about future events that would allow her to circumvent a potential obstacle. Well except for that one time, but really, who is /counting that/?
Still it seems for whatever reason that Homura is a hard time for Miki Kaoru to pin down. Meanwhile Sayaka Miki probably finds that she shows up far more often than is comfortable. After all, Sayaka is a part of the Kyubey Threat Index as well. The fact that Sayaka is here and not with Madoka though means that Sayaka is relatively safe from Kyubey however.
Relatively.
Really you can't give that little red eyed frozen faced jerk an inch.
At the moment Homura has no reason to deviate from her usual patrol route so she continues on her way past the outdoor cafe tables. Even Kanako being pampered by several other students doesn't get so much as a batting of the mysterious middle schooler's eyes before her gaze moves past.
... I mean, it /is/ Ohtori after all.
<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
While gazing about for inspiration for her sketching, Mami Tomoe comes into her vision... the pencil stops moving across the paper immediately. Far be it from staring though, Eri actually closes her eyes upon sighting her. The top of her sketchbook touches her forehead. Her breathing immediately becomes longer, and more drawn out. The sketchpad is returned to her lap, she then turns sideways, then fishes around in her bookbag, checking to see if a certain binder was in there.. of course it was, it never left her person. Taking another breath, she states in a muted voice, "....might as well." Putting away her sketchpad and what remains of her lunch, she shoulders the bookbag, stands.. and starts walking Mami's way.
She halts in her step, however, upon catching sight of Homura. Homura did tend to have that affect on people, even when she was being less mysterious than usual. And she couldn't help but stare for a brief time, before realizing she was indeed.. staring. This causes her to falter, glancing sideways at Mami. And then she turns.. and walks away in a direction that would take her off the fields and towards the cafe, thus allowing her to flee from both of them. She mutters to herself a simple, "...Not right now."
<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
Maybe not an inch, but Mami Tomoe has been known to give Kyubey /cake/.
From where she is delicately eating her lunch, the blonde third-year seems not to have so much as noticed Eri's approach; she doesn't look towards her, doesn't make a greeting, and doesn't ask why the approach suddenly stops and turns into a retreat. Neither does Mami look towards Homura.
...She may, out of the sides of her vision, easy for anyone at all to miss, watch Kanako and her 'friends' a little bit. Just, here and there. But surely that's not true, because what could possibly interest her about having people around all the time just to do whatever?
Nothing at all, that's what. Nothing at all.
<Pose Tracker> Utena Tenjou [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
Glancing over to that clear, firm voice, Utena spots Nori working on lunch for a few seconds; her expression is a little quizzical, when she notices Nori fussing with... something. Isn't that the girl who fainted? Utena tilts her head a little, wondering what /her/ deal is.
She pays her little mind, however; she feels no strong attachment to her -- she's just the weird girl who fainted one time, right? -- and as a result her attention ends up landing on... Kanako. "Mrs. Watanabe" made quite an impression on her, and she ends up moving a table closer to her, now on the boundary between the middle- and high-schooler zones. Math is, for the moment, forgotten, as she studies the green-haired young woman getting her nails done.
<Pose Tracker> Kanako Watanabe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Kanako looks away from her apparently-amateur manicure to observe the bustle of the middle schoolers. "Ah," she sighs, deeply. She speaks at full conversational volume and basically doesn't care who hears. "Such open admiration. Friendships in the spring of youth are truly wonderful, aren't they Simone?"
"They aren't much younger than us, Madame," the blonde replies.
Kanako hems noncomittally in response, and then raises her hand, fingertips waving just a fraction. Takashi responds immediately, setting the table down across her lounge so that she can eat and sit, and then moving back to crank her more upright. "Very good, Takashi," she says, and then ignores her serving platter some more (it's actually just carrying a fairly ordinary-looking bento...) in favor of considering the others around. Homura catches her eye for about one second, but the talking people are of much greater interest.
Ah, but then a certain pink head catches her eye, and Kanako tips her head and smiles at Utena with warmth. "Utena-san," she calls, taking full advantage of the social liberties provided her by her frankly ludicrous societal position.
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
"Let me see!" Sayaka urges eagerly, but she doesn't wait for permission for that, either, reaching over to plant her fingers atop the uppermost sheet of music and spin it to face her. "Uwah, this is complicated. But I guess you are writing it for the great Michiru Kaioh. And you're amazing, too." She sighs happily.
She finally notices some of the fangirls around her when one accidentally sneezes, and looks up sharply. "What, you guys again? Take a picture, it'll last long--"
Sayaka has to shield her eyes rapidly as the girls are suddenly given the faintest permission to take a picture of Miki. Flashes continue for about thirty seconds, as Sayaka sighs less happily. "Are you two feeling ready for the performance?" she asks, trying to ignore them.
<Pose Tracker> Miki Kaoru [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
Miki sighs at the photographs, turning just a bit red. Or perhaps that's Sayaka's praise. "Well, she said she wanted a challenge! And I did too, to be honest. Still my wrist is getting a little sore." He spins his right hand and winces. "Should be careful with that."
"The performance? Well, I hope so. You're going to be there, right? The truth is, I'm looking forward to it."
He pauses, smile halting for just a moment. "I wonder if Kozue will come." Of course she won't.
<Pose Tracker> Homura Akemi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
Speaking of things in need of a Homuvention.
Eri briefly graces the corner of Homura's eye. Compared with the knowledge that Mami is nearby as well as Eri's approximate heading it doesn't take much for the Puella Magi to realize what is going on. Or what might have gone on were she not there. The transfer student doesn't move to interact with Eri today. Instead she sighs to herself.
If only she could make them know what she knows and understand what she understands. If only they had the benefit of her foresight and knowledge. Surely then it would be better. At least that's what one would think. Homura has been through this dance before though.
The last person Homura steals a glance is of Nori, talking to the unidentified creature in her lap. There is no curiosity from Homura in the matter though. It's merely another thing of note filed away as her eyes remain fixed ahead.
As Miki is busy today seems like it will be another unfortunate day for him in his attempts to converse with the mysterious Puella Magi. Homura's patrol path is now taking her away from the cafe entirely as she instead moves on to make a closer sweep of Madoka's club area.
But of course...
<Pose Tracker> Zoisite [None] has posed.
EARLIER THIS WEEK
Zoë Palissandre's manicured fingers fly over the keys, banging out Chopin's Revolutionary Étude with increasing belligerence and no respect to dynamics. Her lithe frame is taut and rigid, galvanised by tension; sweat has begun to bead very, very lightly upon the porcelain smoothness of her forehead, wetting and weighing down one, two, three wisps of strawberry blonde, drawing them from her fashionably messy French twist.
An acrylic snap and the inelegant twang of an errant C# bring the hysterical performance to an abrupt end.
In the hush that follows, la française hangs her head as one brought onto the platform of the guillotine. Slowly, she lifts her bleeding ring finger from the key, smearing it with crimson even as she ends its reverberation. Some of her music classmates gasp; the teacher pales, then frowns.
"Palissandre-san, that was very irresponsible of you. Here, let Kaoru-san," and here she raises her voice to be heard over the inevitable chorus of fluttering sighs, "show you how to evoke dynamics properly, as much for your audience's sake as for your own--"
A LITTLE LATER THAN THAT BUT STILL BEFORE NOW
"Kunzite-sama," Zoisite whines around his fingertip, emerald eyes awash in tears, "it's just not faaaaaaair!"
Infinitely patient, the head Shitennou soothes, "It is not, but I know how you can remediate the situation. Blood for blood, mm?" His hand is gentle as he lifts Zoisite's own to his mouth and, unfazed, places his lover's fingertip between his dusky lips.
NOW
It /is/ a lovely day, warm and windy. Pink rose petals dance in the breeze, fluttering through the colonnaded cafe in a...spiral pattern.
Inexplicably, there is now a boot planted squarely on the sheet music Sayaka had been perusing mere moments ago. There's one on the stack in front of Miki as well, and above them folded arms and poison-green eyes.
"Lunch is over," quips the smirking Shitennou -- who then just straight-up roundhouse kicks Miki right in the /face/.
Violence is never not the answer, kids.
<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
Nori puffs out her cheeks as she feels Utena's eyes on her, shrinking down into her clothes as best she can. No, she tells herself, /don't start blushing/. Ugh!!
She slides a hand underneath the linen napkin (of course there are linen napkins for lunchtime at an outdoor table). Shortly thereafter, she seems to relax slightly. Just in time for flashbulbs to go off, dazzling her utterly and leaving her staring, blank-eyed, forwards.
"it hurts..."
Being stunned as she is, Nori is unable to intervene when her napkin shifts aside again to reveal some manner of small rodent perched in her lap. It leans forwards on the tabletop, looking forwards intently.
"Fight, fight!" the small creature says, before getting concealed again. Squinting through the bedazzlement to see -- someone snap a kick at Kaoru's face?!
<Pose Tracker> Miki Kaoru [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
Miki doesn't take note of the rose petals. It's Ohtori. That's practically a weather pattern.
The boot however does in fact gain his attention, especially since it just manifests out of nowhere. "Hey! What are you-"
With that, Miki gets a kick to the face.
It's powerful enough to send him sprawling and rolling onto the ground, groaning and covering his bleeding nose. "What's the explanation for this?!" The rose signet on his hand glints in the light, and perhaps it has something to do with why he wasn't just knocked out completely. "Sayaka, run! There's a..."
He isn't sure what else to call this. "A trespasser!"
<Pose Tracker> Tomomi Shizuka [Ohtori Academy (S)] has posed.
Tomomi typically has lunch out on the lawn when the weather allows for it. She likes to sit at a table with her sketchpad and draw. She stands out from the student body for broadly similar reasons as Mrs. Watanabe, though at a much lower volume. She's not one to try to draw a lot of attention to herself (at work).
Tomomi is walking out of one of the studio buildings near the green. She sees numerous students already taking their luncheon. She smiles faintly. It will be a lovely thing to draw. She's walking with a small wicker basket with a dainty bottle of plum wine inside as she hears the sounds of a scuffle just over the hill.
Campus safety is everyone's responsibility, she hears her department chair tell her, and walks with a purpose toward the sound of problems.
<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
Flashes are the next thing that catch Eri's attention. A great multitude of them. Puzzled, she looks into it in depth, rolling her eyes with a faint smirk before stating, "The two Mikis. By the end of this Sayaka-san will be fortunate if the girls in our class don't start rumors based on their names alone." She does offer a small wave towards the incorrigible Sayaka afterwards but eventually moves towards one of the tables that isn't taken...
Which is about the time that Miki Kaoru just gets roundhouse kicked in the face.
She does a double take at the sight(Especially the scattering of rose petals which cause her to grit her teeth immediately in a show of anger), before observing the attacker.
Pushing up on her glasses, she straight up walks over to Zoisite, and taps a finger upon her shoulder. Right before five fingers, attempt to slap 'her' across the face. She states in an angry tone, "What possesses you to be so thoughtless as to kill so many roses just to make an entrance!?" Then as an afterthought she adds, "...and to attack Kaoru-san!?"
<Pose Tracker> Utena Tenjou [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
Kanako's invitation gets Utena's attention -- she tilts her head a little, then promptly takes a few steps over. Kanako is confusing, but not yet someone she considers particularly hostile; more than anything, she's just /weird/. Nevertheless, she walks over to see her, glancing down at those nails for a few moments. "Kanako-san?" Utena asks, deciding to stick to the form of address that seems most appropriate --
-- until rather abruptly, things turn into /nonstop kicking/. Utena's flight-or-fight reflex hits nigh on immediately, and her body tenses up. She's not sure if this person is here specifically for Miki, or for everyone. As a result, her first words are --
-- to Kanako, actually. "Stay back!" she says to her, popping back up and more neatly positioning herself between Mrs. Watanabe and Zoisite. She doesn't /quite/ immediately charge in, but her posture is defensive -- ready to act as soon as she makes sense of the situation.
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
Sayaka cradles her chin on the back of her threaded fingers, leering mischievously. "Oh? You're working really hard for this. You don't like her, do you? She's /very/ glamorous... and your babies would be musical geniuses!"
She's suddenly staring at the back of some booted legs. Sayaka's hands fly up in alarm as the stranger simply assaults Miki, with little prelude. "W-what?" she sputters, and falls backwards from her seat to gain some distance. This strange uniform, the flowing petals... Sayaka's eyes narrow. It's another part of that strange world. "Miki-kun!" she barks sharply, to the friend she assumes knows nothing of the supernatural. "Don't fight her! She's magical!"
In Sayaka's defense, she's behind Zosite, and in addition to the lovely French twist, he has a very shapely figure from this angle.
<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
Mami, for her part, has been continuing to secretly glance over some of the other students, assuredly for her various business matters and not just to see what they're all up to. ...Which is why she's as surprised as she is to see the rose petal rain followed up by something. Oh, if it were just the petals, and they were closer to the garden, that'd be one thing, but--
There is a moment where the seemingly ordinary student freezes in place to see all of a sudden a man just kicking a student in broad daylight. Anyone who looks to where Mami was will find that there is naught there but a neatly folded lunch and a couple of golden sparkles.
And then there is a girl in yellow and black, a hat perched jauntily upon her blonde head as she suddenly stands, pointing a silver musket towards the Shitennou. "Hold it right there!" the Puella Magi calls. "...I don't recall anyone inviting you to our lunch."
<Pose Tracker> Kanako Watanabe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Kanako confuses everyone, more or less. She's just a weird, weird person.
But then again, for how much cash she's packing, she seems like one of the less /malignant/ fabulously rich people at the academy, which might be worth a few points. Particularly as an actual malignant person suddenly shows up out of nowhere (??), stomps on Miki's hard work, and roundhouses him in the teeth. Simone looks up from tending to Kanako's nails at Utena's shout, her face alarmed; Takashi has thrown his own hand up with similar caution over the commotion. Kanako...lies there, head slowly tilting to the side to frown. Is that...
...no. That outfit does not show nearly enough cleavage for the Order of the Glittering Crux.
She tilts upright on her elbow. Her eyes catch Simone's worried, questioning look behind her, and she fractionally shakes her head. She considers Utena's shout, but rather than rise to her feet, she fairly languidly turns to Takashi. "Takashi," she says. "Do you have your weapon?"
"I could run to the kendo room to retrieve a shinai, Madame," the black-haired young man says, though he correctly suspects Kanako is thinking of a different weapon.
"That would take too much time," Kanako says, and...settles back in her lounge, looking at Simone. "Finish quickly," she says.
"You're not going to do anything?" Simone asks, quietly.
Kanako smiles, a shade wry...And only then does she turn her gaze to Utena. "Thank you for your protection, Utena-san. But I am not the one in danger."
<Pose Tracker> Midori Sugiura [Ohtori Academy (S)] has posed.
Midori Sugiura is just enjoying her break, really that's all she's doing she's not aware of any wrong doing. Well for a few moments longer before the brawl seems to be starting at this point. She looks for a moment, yup this is really happening. She does not seem too happy at all at this point. Someone just poofed into existence and she stares for a moment. She pauses pockets the game system and gets up from her table, a teacher has noticed these antics. What could make things even worse now?
"AHEM!"
<Pose Tracker> Zoisite [None] has posed.
Truth be told, it's as much the immediate uproar as it is the crack of cartilage and the sight of blood that gratifies Zoisite; half the patio begins shouting at once and he's in the middle of it, the center of attention. He pays no heed to Mami's gleaming musket, nor to those girls that outright charge the table he's commandeered, visibly and flamboyantly confident that they pose no threat.
"Hmph," he does murmur, casting a millisecond's glance down to Eri. "My roses are magic, you brainless twit." Magicness confirmed, Sayaka. "And as to that, I have to say your priorities are /dreadfully/ amusing~ Did you hear that, Kaoru-kun?" the Shitennou coos, "Roses are more important than *you*~ So much for the magic of friendship, mmm?"
At that, Zoisite descends from the table in a smooth, achingly lightfooted hop -- a hop that scatters Miki's sheet music like the disturbing of a flock of doves, sending them airborne and into the wind. Lush lips curve sweetly, poisonously, and against them the grey-uniformed general rests the tip of one white-gloved index finger. It's a smile for Miki alone.
"Why, I have an invitation," he replies to Mami, half-lidded viridian eyes fixed still on the blue-haired boy. "It came from your fancy little friend here."
Though soft, Zoisite's voice is laced with venom.
Click, click. There is a certain feminine grace in the redhead's movements -- yet it's laid on a foundation of a plainly military precision, an indelibly masculine imperialism.
Click, click. It's the sound of bootheels on pavement as the general saunters ever closer to Miki Kaoru, the boy who did nothing but follow a teacher's command.
"Tell me, do you think your admirers will love you after--?"
For a split-second something crackles in the air, dark and electric--
--and then, horribly, the crunch of a dozen little bones snapping like twigs.
<Pose Tracker> Miki Kaoru [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
Sooner or later, Miki will decide he ought to bring his fencing foil with him at all times. Just in case...this, for instance. This would be a good case for that. He is a Duelist, but a Duelist without his Soul Sword can't do much.
"Magical?!" He looks over his shoulder to the other students, notably Eri and even Kanako, who he's sure are both completely mundane. "Run, everyone! This is a dangerous person!" Well, that should be self-demonstrating, but...
He has a few moments to gawk at the sudden appearance of MAGICAL GIRL Totally Not Mami Tomoe, and wince as his sheet music flies away. He stares at that...smile Zoisite gives him. "Who are you? What-what are you talking about? I didn't invite you, I don't even know you--"
And Zoisite stomps on his hand.
He hears the breaking as much as anyone would, and he feels it naturally, his protests dissolving in a shout of anguished pain. He can't think about what this means for his piano playing, or anything else. All he can focus on is how much it /hurts./
He takes a deep breath, gritting his teeth so he can at least speak. "Sayaka, everyone else, run...!" Oddly enough, despite the great amount of pain he's in he manages to get back onto his feet, in a fencer's position. But he's in no condition to fence.
<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
Eri doesn't look Sayaka's way, but still speaks to her anyhow, her voice still gritting out the words of anger directed at Zoisite, "Magical? What makes you think she's magical Sayaka-san..?" There's a glint of silver in the sunlight, and Eri does actually venture to look, and that's Mami.. transformed, wielding a musket. This causes time to slow down for her, her thoughts coming to her in this order.
.oO(Why is Mami transformed?)
.oO(That must mean this girl is magical, and thus a major threat.)
.oO(....and I just tried to slap her, without being transformed myself.)
.oO(....SHIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!)
.oO(....Wait, is this really a girl at all? She kind of looks a little like a ma...)
Her thoughts were interrupted though as she hears that bone-crunching snap... Her eyes widen in horror. And because of what she sees.. she does not even try to run away to transform. Leaves of autumn intermingle the air with the lingering rose pettles. And where once there stood a 'brainless twit' who tried to snap one of the Shittenou, there was someone else entirely.
Eri Shimanouchi replies in a Zoisite in a tone which is suddenly devoid of empathy. "....Your roses are magical?" Motes of green energy coruscate over her wrists. There are sprouts upon the ground at Zoisite's feet, moments before rose bushes grow rapidly, twisting and warping to wrap about his form. Each of the thorns lining the stems drip a green substance. Some sort of poison perhaps? "....well, so are mine."
Miki stands up to face down Zoisite as a fencer would, despite his injuries, and Eri calls out to him in a concerned voice, "Kaoru-san, you're injured, get out of here! We'll take it from here!"
<Pose Tracker> Tomomi Shizuka [Ohtori Academy (S)] has posed.
Tomomi finds herself having to push upstream. Students are running off in all directions, abandoning their stuff to get away from some stranger beating somebody up. Tomomi yells at some stragglers to go get help per the faculty handbook. She anticipates some kind of fistfight, maybe some hair-pulling...
Tomomi hears bones breaking. For an instant, her eyes gleam with prurient interest before she slams her practiced mask of concern over her face. She speeds up, getting within line of sight of the ongoing scuffle. She looks to Zoisite, not immediately recognizing him, before looking at Miki. He's not screaming or crying despite having broken many of the small bones in his hand. Girls are outright transforming all around. Business is looking up.
Tomomi falls back. She moves to take cover behind a tree, trying to look like she's just another fleeing civilian. When she is out of sight, she drops her basket on the ground and reaches into her purse for her Moleskine, flipping it open to a new page. Notes. She must take notes.
<Pose Tracker> Utena Tenjou [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
As things get a little more intense, Utena begins to worry -- only moreso when Kanako insists that she's not the one in danger here. That's /true/ -- the trespasser has gone after Miki first and foremost, perhaps even exclusively -- but still...
Utena runs forward, now, attempting to close with the interloper. She's too far, though -- certainly too far to stop Zoisite from doing what he's doing. Utena's fast, but she's not /that/ fast, even as she vaults over chairs and tables, rushing in. She doesn't transform -- she's just rushing for the man, not even noticing what /exactly/ is being done here. She's a little out of her depth at the moment... but as others flee or panic, Utena rushes /in/, doing her best to push through the crowd and get to the Student Council member and his attacker. Whatever issues she may have with the student council are a distant second priority, for the moment.
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
Sayaka has a pretty strong bias toward identifying strange intrusions as magical right now. When she learns more, she will probably be /less/ inclined to cry 'magic,' but she erred the other way far too many times by now. And there was a lot that was unusual about this man's approach. Yes, she's realized her error by now.
The stranger answers Eri himself in various ways, so Sayaka doesn't bother, but she does enthuse to Eri. "Shimanouchi-chan! Awesome! You're in trouble now, mister!" Pretty soon she'll transform, and he'll get eaten by giant plants.
Picking herself up, Sayaka doesn't even bother going for her softball bat. She knows well that the only point of such a weapon is a distraction when no magical girls are around to save her. She's about to taunt the stranger, but something about his relentless approach stills her tongue.
S-snap, snap.
CRUNCH
Sayaka's body is carved ice, her eyes wide, her features rigid. Her mind plays a melody of horror on the black keys, light and sharp. She remembers the first time she knew what magic meant. There was no Witch or Barrier. There was red velvet, lacquered golden wood, brass fittings. She'd been trundled into her little dress, with a silk corsage and white lace, forced to come to this place, but her resentment fled at its quiet smell and warm dignity. The lights had muffled, melting down to a dim honey-gold glow. And then the magic began.
Music. Hundreds of years old, but with an immediacy that awakened her, sharpened her senses like the taste of lemon. She drowned, she died, she was born. Tears warmed her cheeks. Her mother knew better than to comfort her. It wasn't that kind of crying.
And then Miki. Boring Miki, a family friend, and his irksome sister. They played together, the siblings. And though Sayaka never stopped thinking Miki was a bit boring, Kozue a bit irksome, she came to understand that they had something precious beyond words inside them. Music. And so much of it that there could be none left for her.
"No!" she shrieks. "Monster!" With Homura recently absent and Madoka away, no one present has seen affable, goofy Sayaka like this before. The skin beneath her eyes is creased, the muscles there unstable. Her pupils are shrunken, her fists clenched. She is furious, horrified. She normally hides when monsters come, but with this one, she seems likely to use her fists at any moment.
<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
Not even a teacher's presence can dissuade Mami Tomoe from her read on the situation now; her weapon is still trained... but not fired, not with all the students in the way, with people so close to whoever this being must be. The talk of magic is pretty obvious in her case, but--
Priorities aside, "Kaoru-san, step away--!" The invitation came from him? Well, he denies it, but ther'es not much time to argue the point before Zoisite takes action, and Mami hesitate rather than risk hitting Miki himself or worsening the blow somehow. Things do seem to slow. Utena, who as far as she knows is a normal girl, is rushing forward; Sayaka...
"Miki-san!" she calls, her mind racing despite the sluggishness she feels--and breaks through. In moments she is moving, a leap closing the distance between herself and Sayaka, where suddenly the girl's bat is no longer on the gym bag; it's gripped lightly in Mami's hand, held out towards Sayaka as with a flash of light, its appearance changes. "...This will protect you. Swing it if something gets too close. Go in and pull Kaoru-san out. Let me handle the enemy." Her eyes are deadly serious--as is her tone--and she doesn't wait around for a decision to be made.
Another leap--now she's on the way back to the fight.
This time, she doesn't call out to Eri or to Zoisite or anyone; as she takes aim, she isn't planning to give the General more warning than she has to.
<Pose Tracker> Kanako Watanabe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Utena rushes off. Kanako settles back in her seat. "Madame?" Takashi asks, apparently expecting orders.
Kanako's eyes shut. "Schoolyard bullying is beyond distasteful, Takashi, but unless you have a plan, you're to stay here and guard me." Despite her dispassionate tone, her eyes crack open again at the horrible screaming, her shoulder and leg muscles tensing subtly.
"Are you sure you won't step in, Madame?" Takashi asks, more pointedly. "You could--"
They're shouting about magic over there. Kanako figured that out already, but the confirmation firms her resolve. "It would be a shame to so quickly ruin Simone's hard work with blood," Kanako replies, flexing her hand to indicate her fingers.
"Don't move, Madame," Simone chides. "I'm nearly done."
"Of course," Kanako replies, pointedly not getting up and running away like a sensible person.
This is less suspicious than one might expect, because there's really not a lot of times Kanako does anything a sensible person would do. (Other people getting swept up in her wake beyond their control: also design intent.)
<Pose Tracker> Midori Sugiura [Ohtori Academy (S)] has posed.
Midori Sugiura is just not a happy teacher at this point, she sees a fight brewing an this could make quite a mess however? At the mention of magic however that does get her attention and her eyes narrow for a brief second. Just what does Midori think she's doing as she comes up to the group, as she see's what going on here. Then comes the dark magic, okay this is bad, this is very bad, but it seems Miki has the right idea to run. However she's a teacher and she's well got her responsibilities right? Or she's just nuts which may be the case. She makes note of the others who have transformed.
"You don't want to do this here."
She looks to Eri and says "Eri? Go get them out of here, get them to the school nurse."
She says no more as she tuns her attention back to what's going on. She's just a civilian right? Likely just too stupid to run. She sees Utena moves in and she's knows there's nothing left to do, at this point she's going to have to get into it. She's not summoned her element just yet, after all she might not need to.
<Pose Tracker> Zoisite [None] has posed.
Regrettably, magical girl transformations are not exactly subtle; between that and Zoisite's own magic (and frankly superhuman reflexes), all Eri's thorny vines are able to grab of him is the smattering of rose petals his teleporting leaves behind.
When the copper-haired Shitennou reappears, he is sitting cross-legged some twelve or fifteen feet above the crowd, one taunting hand held against his lush rosy mouth, the other cupping his elbow. He laughs, and the sound is a cruel mélange of poisonous silkiness and disdainful triumph that crests and falls as an ojou's might, ringing haughtily against the pavement below.
"Ahahahaha, look at you!" he calls down to Miki, a gleam in his narrowed eyes. "You couldn't fight if you wanted to, yet still you try! Are you hoping to impress your admirers, or are you really just that stupid? Hmhm, not that it matters either way, I suppose..."
Sayaka would feel the touch of those emerald eyes next, her screams an irresistible lure to the corrupted General of the long-lost Golden Kingdom. His pride is sufficiently inflated by this victory that it's able to act as proof against that insult, 'monster' -- yet it nonetheless begs an answer...as does, belatedly, that crucial question of Miki's...
"I am Zoisite of the Shitennou, General of the Dark Kingdom."
<Pose Tracker> Miki Kaoru [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
Miki's a bit overwhelmed by physical pain to notice the heroic Utena, Mami and Eri, or everyone else interfering, though he'd be a bit flattered and touched if he was more conscious of it. He's taking deep breaths in order to concentrate on anything at all. Whoever this person is, they're incredibly strong, able to smash his hand like that. (It isn't beyond repair, right? It can heal? Can't it? Without it, his piano playing...)
He manages to focus on Sayaka, at least. "Sayaka-..san, please run!" She's enraged, he can tell, though it doesn't quite strike him that she's angry on his behalf. He glares at Zoisite, and it's uncharacteristically cold.
Zoisite has taken something precious from him, he can already tell. Already he can see his Shining Thing slipping away even further out of his grasp.
"...A member of the Student Council," he finally gasps, "can't run away. I'll remember this..."
<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
The accusation that flowers mattered more than Miki.. it stung, even if she felt no compulsion to justify herself to Zoisite. Miki wasn't even an acquaintance, much less a friend. She knew him by reputation certainly. ....but, to her, pulling the petals off rose en masse, condemning them to a slow wilting death certainly ranked just as highly as booting someone in the face on her 'ire' scale, being rather obsessed with the welfare of plants. ...but not as much as crushing the bones of a hand, and almost certainly the dreams of a world renowned concert pianist...
There comes that change in Sayaka... while Eri doesn't know her well, it's something that's still perceptible. Something different in demeanor from the brash, happy-go-lucky tomboy that she does know. It's a change that might lead to her doing something rash. And while she hates to do it... she tries to remind her about priorities, "...Sayaka-san, get Kaoru-san out of here!" Fortunately, Mami appears to be reminding her of the same, and giving her the means to protect herself. Good. But then Midori calls for /her/ to do that, and she replies through gritted teeth, "Sugiura-sensei... I think we've got that covered." And I guess that confirms.. well a few things about Midori to her, that make a lot more sense now in context given how she was interacting with them.
Zoisite dodges her attacks, and then reappears above them offering taunting, mocking laughter. She states to herself analytically, "Fast... time to change up tactics." She then replies to Zoisite in a very dry tone, "First off, why are you named after a mineral? Second, why is it called the 'dark' kingdom? Is it a kingdom suffering a severe lightbulb shortage? Third... if you really are a general, then why are you ambushing Kaoru-san while he goes to school? Disgraceful!"
She doesn't wait for an answer to her questions, as they were mostly a distraction. Eri leaps into the air after him, lashing out at the Shitennou general with her thorned vine whip, but it's mostly a feint, as it goes purposefully wide. She tries.. but doesn't necessarily succeed, to drive Zoisite to the side, where a Monstrous size Venus Fly Trap, sporting a pair of rheumy looking eyes suddenly rises out of the ground. She calls out to it, "Now Seymour-sama!" It's fanged maw attempts to snap around him and catch any part of him that it can.
Sayaka wasn't wrong about her trying to have giant plants eat her foe... Miki protests, and Eri calls out to him, "Forget your pride as a Student Council member! Get out of here! Is there noone precious enough to you for you to realize the despair you'd cause them if you died!?" ...if Eri had time to think about it, she'd probably realize the hypocrisy of her own statement.
<Pose Tracker> Tomomi Shizuka [Ohtori Academy (S)] has posed.
Tomomi starts making marks in her Moleskine in shorthand, taking notes on the developments as they unfold. She keeps low behind her tree, trying to assess the situation as best she can. Surely this couldn't go on for much longer, she thinks. (Part of her toys with the idea of starting to eat lunch anyway. Maybe if she was tenured.)
<Pose Tracker> Utena Tenjou [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
Utena's bull rush ignores things like good sense and 'her surroundings,' which becomes regrettable when she practically leaps for Zoisite, even as he retreats from the thorny vines. What this means is that, unfortunately, mostly she just shoulder-blocks directly into the vines without any sort of hesitation.
Crunch.
Utena lands neatly on the barbs, even as Eri turns her attention toward Zoisite with new, stronger maneuvers. It takes her a few seconds upon landing to even really realize what she's done; every muscle in her body tenses up well before she actually consciously processes any of the things that are happening to her.
She turns a faint shade of green /herself/, now, crawling back out of the thorns slowly but surely; her teeth grit, and though she tries her best, she can't quite pull herself away from those dripping green bushes.
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
Sayaka takes her softball bat--now transformed elaborately--numbly. Zoisite's flash of motion, or un-motion, takes him out of the range of punches, and Mami is someone she trusts a great deal. She tries to focus on Mami's suggestion, looking down at the bat. Slowly, something about its splendor begins to penetrate her haze, and a soft, sad smile tugs at her lips for a moment.
It's much bigger, now, and its proportions have changed. It's like a wedding cake now, thick and white and rounded and elegant. There's something deliciously absurd about it. All right. She'll listen to Mami.
She takes the table with less grace than Utena, but with similar athletic verve, bounding over it by stepping onto the seat on her side and leaping. She rushes to Miki's side, holding the bat in both hands. "Miki!" she says, pained, beyond honorifics. "We need to go. You need a doctor. Shimanouchi-san and Mami-senpai can handle this." The former seems intent on doing so, leaping headfirst into battle with the plants that are so dear to her gentle heart.
<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
The cruel laughter, if nothing else, gives Mami more to go on as she aims; things in motion the way they are, at least there's a teacher keeping her head about all this and trying to direct those students that are left. For Miki himself... Hopefully they can end this quickly, at the least. His bravery is impressive, of course, but...
She can only trust that her actions with Sayaka have worked and helped; instead, admist the back-and-forth of words, and of Utena becoming tangled in the brush, Mami finally lines up her shot--and fires one musket shot straight for the General's center mass. The bullet is weighty--and fast, infused with more magic even than usual.
It is not the last. She leaps forward, pulling another gun from seemingly nothing, but this one is held with only one hand. There is no concern for the plants in her way; instead, her other hand is given to Utena, "Tenjou-san! Hang on!"
<Pose Tracker> Miki Kaoru [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
Miki seems to finally come to his senses when he focuses on Sayaka. "Oh...I...alright." Perhaps he's realized how foolish it is to try to duel when he's in too much pain to summon a Soul Sword, or more likely he's just too stunned to argue. "Thank you, I should see a doctor..." He stares numbly at the hand, twisted into a rough and unnatural-looking position, his breathing still heavy. "Will Tenjou-sempai be alright? Those...those plants..."
He decides, instead of trying to ignore the pain, to just focus on it. Adjust to it. IT's better than thinking about what will come next.
<Pose Tracker> Zoisite [None] has posed.
Blah blah Student Council whatever. "How precious," Zoisite smirks, wrinkling his pert nose as dismissively as he possibly can.
(Miki's impassioned refusal dredges up things, golden things from a golden time now sunk in inky, soporific depths; thus that disdain is as much reflexive defensiveness as it is an insult to the brave young man below, for Zoisite cannot-- cannot--)
Without thought, the Shitennou vanishes from Eri's path, reappearing behind Miki -- and far beyond the reach of poor Seymour. One white-gloved finger wags as he taunts, "Nice try, child, but what works on youma won't scratch the surface of the Shitennou." Beat. "Looks like the same cannot be said for your pink-haired friend, though..."
And then Mami fires--
--only to watch her bullet burn up in a sudden gout of flame, one hot enough to singe and curl the plants below before it dissipates.
"Ahahahaha-- ahahahahahaha! Goodbye, children~" Zoisite calls -- and his voice rings out over the whoosh of another whirlwind of petals as, his magic and his mission horribly, spitefully successful, he vanishes.
<Pose Tracker> Kanako Watanabe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Kanako watches with a hooded, neutral expression.
"I am done, Madame," Simone says, as neutrally as possible; but as she finishes, her eyes quickly rise to see Zoisite, her posture tense. Kanako is more languid as she rises from recline, pushing Takashi's table aside to set herself to standing.
That screaming...she could probably heal it, with Betreida's power. But apprivoising the Cybody would get more than a little attention. Even if Scarlet Kiss wouldn't slam her for it, or Head wouldn't make a joke of it, she couldn't do it here; discovery was not an option. She might, thus, never get a chance to attempt it. Kanako rose up with a face like a dull mask. "Takashi, collect the lounge and have the driver return it to the ship," she instructs.
He watches her back for a moment, but then says, "Yes, Madame," and obeys.
Kanako turns on her heels to watch as the battle swarms around Zoisite, as Utena falls into Magical Eri's Magical Poison Pit, as Mami Tomoe opens fire.
"Zoisite," she repeats. "General of the Dark Kingdom. Shitennou."
"Watch, Simone," she says, suddenly, and the blonde's eyes swivel to glare at her. "Madame?"
"This is the price of arrogance," Kanako says simply.
Simone's eyes glide shut, and in the clipped tones of a displeased servant, snips, "Unfettered dominance, Madame?"
Kanako's lip curls up a hair, but she turns to walk away, in the direction of the high school building. "Memory," she replies. "Call the hospital, make sure the best orthopedic specialist there is aware he will have business soon. The rest will be up to those girls, today."
"...yes, Madame," Simone replies, and reaches for her phone case, pulling out her pink cell phone as the trio march away coolly.
<Pose Tracker> Midori Sugiura [Ohtori Academy (S)] has posed.
Midori Sugiura can see the people here have the Dark Kingdom general? Or whatever he is in hand, with that in mind there's a lot of students who have no idea what's going on and could end up getting ripped apart she looks to those facing Zoisite. She's about to run off to keep other staff and students the heck out o here, however Zoisite leaves. So ya, she looks about for a moment cough and is going to wander off to get her stuff before the first district goon squad shows up.
"I suggest we ahem get on our way quickly. There's going to be some people who might show up soon we'd not want to deal with."
With that she's got her things and she's departing.
<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
"NO! UTENA it's..." /CRUNCH/ Utena lands in her impromptu rose bushes.
Very little time to act, or she'd be out. Uncaring that Zoisite just disappeared given the situation, she runs towards her and Mami.
One thing Eri learned swiftly when studying how to plants was... always to have an antidote. And she does! Several which she can create on the fly thankfully, given how they're created. Unfortunately the antidotes to her poisons are most often poisons in and of themselves if she isn't careful. So, she's anxious, very anxious, since Utena was someone she admired. And while she was learning that she had very instinctual fine control over her magic.. she was so self-depreciating that she believed she might flub that up. So she starts rambling quietly to herself, "...alright I need physostigmine from the Calabar bean.... just have to be careful about the dosage.. but I can control that." She repeats it to herself, "..I can control that...and atropine from belladonna if it's too much."
A plant suddenly appears beside her, and she picks off a single bean, breaking off a tiny piece of the bean and putting it next to Utena's mouth, "Tenjou-san." She states in a tone which is just as anxious, but has a hint of command within it, "...Chew for a few seconds, then spit it out. It's the antidote."
And then she states in a very soft, broken up voice, "I.. am /so/ sorry Tenjou-san."
<Pose Tracker> Utena Tenjou [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
The poison, nonlethal though it may be, is clearly having an effect on Utena, who ... actually pretty much regrets nothing, in the long view. In the /short/ view, however, she feels pretty miserable, and definitely needs that hand up from Mami to get back up at all. She staggers up, leaning on Mami as Eri runs over.
The clear worry in Eri's expression does nothing to help her case here -- but the actual, material help definitely does, and Utena leans forward, putting her mouth on the bean. She turns it over in her mouth a few times, delicately chewing it before letting it sort of roll out of her mouth.
"Tthhhanks," she breathes out, slumping to one side a little.
