Battle Fantasia MUSH - User contributions [en]

Chitose Shiratori

2022-10-19T04:45:36Z

Lucientes:

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 25em; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Chitose Shiratori'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[File:Chitose 2.png|350px]]
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Chitose Shiratori
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Aliases:
|
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Gender:
| Female
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age/Birthdate:
| 18 (December 24th)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 180cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Black
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Green
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Astrological Sign:
| Capricorn
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Blood Type:
| AB
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Food:
|
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Food:
| Strawberries
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Subject:
| Linguistics
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Subject:
| Art
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Dossier'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Organization:
| [[Ends of the World]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Position:
| Perfectly Legitimate Businesswoman
|-
! style="text-align:left" | School:
| [[School:_Infinity_Institute|Infinity Institute]] (University)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | [[Serenity%27s_Miracles#The_Second_Wish:_Recognition_Inhibition|Recog. Inhib.]]
| No (Ask first)
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| [[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] (OC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:Lucientes|Lucientes]]
|-
|}
'''Your Character Name''' is stupendous in every respect!

And that's because she's redoing her wiki page (still). Pardon the dust, everyone!

== Quote ==
"I suppose we must do as we must."
[[Category:Characters]][[Category:Infinity]][[Category:Ends of the World]]

== History ==

And so it was that little Chitose was born to two loving parents. Her mother was something of a tourist, and her father worked for the local crime syndicate. When the little girl asked the inevitable question about how they met, her mother claimed that she came to Japan to research something. What Chitose's mother had come to Japan for, she would never say. What she did say were stories, stories of far away places and stories of heroic adventures in lost temples and tombs.

As for her father, he worked for the Kogishi Syndicate. This led to a number of things, one of which was Sachiyo Kogoshi, one of the daughters of the crime syndicate. Her relationship was (and still is) somewhat rocky with her, especially since the two met when they were children, and there was no more entitled children than very rich children. But, she and the two twins got along after a fashion. Yet, Chitose learned from the Kogoshi that she was expected to at least give some form of respect to them, since they ran the syndicate.

As soon as she grew old enough to attend school, she went to Ohtori, as her family had the money and connections necessary to ensure entrance. Chitose loved Ohtori, at least at the beginning. It was a beautiful school, of course, and she liked that. What she didn't like was the fact that Ohtori seemed very stuffy. Even here at school, Chitose found she needed a different, strict decorum. She was never too sure what that decorum was, however. School was, however, slightly less protocol-driven than her father's associates, so she kind of enjoyed her time there, and even made some friends in the bargain that didn't care about her status.

When Chitose turned 14 her mother took her aside and told her something she wasn't expecting: She was from some planet named 'Midchilda', and that all of the stories she told were true! Well, most of them, at least. Her mother told her that she had originally come to find something special, but stopped when she met Chitose's father.

Of course, having been taught up until now that Earth was the only world with confirmed intelligent life, Chitose did not believe her mother... until her father confirmed that she was telling the truth. To prove it, they said, they gave Chitose a hairclip. At first, she was very confused since it was just a hairclip. But after a few months of having it, it revealed itself as the 'Intelligent Device' White Omen.

Thus began Chitose's journey. The two became fast friends pretty quickly, as she learned that he too enjoyed learning about new cultures. For him, though, everything about Earth was new and interesting.

Chitose's mother gave her a crash course in Midchildan magic for two years before she dropped another revelation: She was leaving, and returning to Midchilda for adventure. And so she went off. Chitose and White Omen turned to the world, and what might await the two for the future.

...Except the two of them immediately turned away to study and learn, instead of anything remotely resembling 'action'. This suited them just fine, really, as scholarly pursuits were more their interests. Plus, she was assigned to protect the Kogoshi Syndicate's two daughters, which took up a lot of her time. But soon enough the two daughters withdrew from the world, which gave Chitose considerably more free time.

''Now'', Chitose and White Omen stood towards the world, bracing themselves for the future.

== Logs ==

== 2015 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2015-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2016 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2016-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2017 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2017-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}
== 2018 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2018-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2019 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2019-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2020 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2020-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2021 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2021-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== Gallery ==

<gallery widths=300px heights=200px>
Chitose.png|Barrier Jacket
</gallery>

Chitose Shiratori

2022-10-18T07:00:33Z

Lucientes: New Chitose art, also adjusting some things

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 25em; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Chitose Shiratori'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[File:Chitose 2.png|350px]]
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Chitose Shiratori
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Aliases:
|
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Gender:
| Female
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age/Birthdate:
| 18 (December 24th)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 180cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Black
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Green
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Astrological Sign:
| Capricorn
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Blood Type:
| AB
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Food:
|
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Food:
| Strawberries
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Subject:
| Linguistics
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Subject:
| Art
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Dossier'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Organization:
| [[Ends of the World]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Position:
| Perfectly Legitimate Businesswoman
|-
! style="text-align:left" | School:
| [[School:_Infinity_Institute|Infinity Institute]] (University)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | [[Serenity%27s_Miracles#The_Second_Wish:_Recognition_Inhibition|Recog. Inhib.]]
| No (Ask first)
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| [[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] (OC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:Lucientes|Lucientes]]
|-
|}
'''Your Character Name''' is stupendous in every respect!

And that's because she's redoing her wiki page (still). Pardon the dust, everyone!

== Quote ==
"I suppose we must do as we must."
[[Category:Characters]][[Category:Infinity]][[Category:Ends of the World]]

== History ==

And so it was that little Chitose was born to two loving parents. Her mother was something of a tourist, and her father worked for the local crime syndicate. When the little girl asked the inevitable question about how they met, her mother claimed that she came to Japan to research something. What Chitose's mother had come to Japan for, she would never say. What she did say were stories, stories of far away places and stories of heroic adventures in lost temples and tombs.

As for her father, he worked for the Kogishi Syndicate. This led to a number of things, one of which was Sachiyo Kogoshi, one of the daughters of the crime syndicate. Her relationship was (and still is) somewhat rocky with her, especially since the two met when they were children, and there was no more entitled children than very rich children. But, she and the two twins got along after a fashion. Yet, Chitose learned from the Kogoshi that she was expected to at least give some form of respect to them, since they ran the syndicate.

As soon as she grew old enough to attend school, she went to Ohtori, as her family had the money and connections necessary to ensure entrance. Chitose loved Ohtori, at least at the beginning. It was a beautiful school, of course, and she liked that. What she didn't like was the fact that Ohtori seemed very stuffy. Even here at school, Chitose found she needed a different, strict decorum. She was never too sure what that decorum was, however. School was, however, slightly less protocol-driven than her father's associates, so she kind of enjoyed her time there, and even made some friends in the bargain that didn't care about her status.

When Chitose turned 14 her mother took her aside and told her something she wasn't expecting: She was from some planet named 'Midchilda', and that all of the stories she told were true! Well, most of them, at least. Her mother told her that she had originally come to find something special, but stopped when she met Chitose's father.

Of course, having been taught up until now that Earth was the only world with confirmed intelligent life, Chitose did not believe her mother... until her father confirmed that she was telling the truth. To prove it, they said, they gave Chitose a hairclip. At first, she was very confused since it was just a hairclip. But after a few months of having it, it revealed itself as the 'Intelligent Device' White Omen.

Thus began Chitose's journey. The two became fast friends pretty quickly, as she learned that he too enjoyed learning about new cultures. For him, though, everything about Earth was new and interesting.

Chitose's mother gave her a crash course in Midchildan magic for two years before she dropped another revelation: She was leaving, and returning to Midchilda for adventure. And so she went off. Chitose and White Omen turned to the world, and what might await the two for the future.

...Except the two of them immediately turned away to study and learn, instead of anything remotely resembling 'action'. This suited them just fine, really, as scholarly pursuits were more their interests. Plus, she was assigned to protect the Kogoshi Syndicate's two daughters, which took up a lot of her time. But soon enough the two daughters withdrew from the world, which gave Chitose considerably more free time.

''Now'', Chitose and White Omen stood towards the world, bracing themselves for the future.

== Logs ==

== 2015 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2015-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2016 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2016-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2017 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2017-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}
== 2018 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2018-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2019 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2019-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2020 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2020-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2021 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2021-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

<gallery widths=300px heights=200px>
Chitose.png|Barrier Jacket
</gallery>

Chitose Shiratori

2022-10-18T06:54:51Z

Lucientes:

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 25em; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Character Name'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[File:Chitose 2.png|350px]]
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Chitose Shiratori
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Aliases:
|
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Gender:
| Female
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age/Birthdate:
| 18 (December 24th)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 180cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Black
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Green
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Astrological Sign:
| Capricorn
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Blood Type:
| AB
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Food:
|
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Food:
| Strawberries
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Subject:
| Linguistics
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Subject:
| Art
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Dossier'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Organization:
| [[Ends of the World]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Position:
| Perfectly Legitimate Businesswoman
|-
! style="text-align:left" | School:
| [[School:_Infinity_Institute|Infinity Institute]] (University)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | [[Serenity%27s_Miracles#The_Second_Wish:_Recognition_Inhibition|Recog. Inhib.]]
| No (Ask first)
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| [[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] (OC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:Lucientes|Lucientes]]
|-
|}
'''Your Character Name''' is stupendous in every respect!

And that's because she's redoing her wiki page (still). Pardon the dust, everyone!

== Quote ==
"I suppose we must do as we must."
[[Category:Characters]][[Category:Infinity]][[Category:Ends of the World]]

== History ==

And so it was that little Chitose was born to two loving parents. Her mother was something of a tourist, and her father worked for the local crime syndicate. When the little girl asked the inevitable question about how they met, her mother claimed that she came to Japan to research something. What Chitose's mother had come to Japan for, she would never say. What she did say were stories, stories of far away places and stories of heroic adventures in lost temples and tombs.

As for her father, he worked for the Kogishi Syndicate. This led to a number of things, one of which was Sachiyo Kogoshi, one of the daughters of the crime syndicate. Her relationship was (and still is) somewhat rocky with her, especially since the two met when they were children, and there was no more entitled children than very rich children. But, she and the two twins got along after a fashion. Yet, Chitose learned from the Kogoshi that she was expected to at least give some form of respect to them, since they ran the syndicate.

As soon as she grew old enough to attend school, she went to Ohtori, as her family had the money and connections necessary to ensure entrance. Chitose loved Ohtori, at least at the beginning. It was a beautiful school, of course, and she liked that. What she didn't like was the fact that Ohtori seemed very stuffy. Even here at school, Chitose found she needed a different, strict decorum. She was never too sure what that decorum was, however. School was, however, slightly less protocol-driven than her father's associates, so she kind of enjoyed her time there, and even made some friends in the bargain that didn't care about her status.

When Chitose turned 14 her mother took her aside and told her something she wasn't expecting: She was from some planet named 'Midchilda', and that all of the stories she told were true! Well, most of them, at least. Her mother told her that she had originally come to find something special, but stopped when she met Chitose's father.

Of course, having been taught up until now that Earth was the only world with confirmed intelligent life, Chitose did not believe her mother... until her father confirmed that she was telling the truth. To prove it, they said, they gave Chitose a hairclip. At first, she was very confused since it was just a hairclip. But after a few months of having it, it revealed itself as the 'Intelligent Device' White Omen.

Thus began Chitose's journey. The two became fast friends pretty quickly, as she learned that he too enjoyed learning about new cultures. For him, though, everything about Earth was new and interesting.

Chitose's mother gave her a crash course in Midchildan magic for two years before she dropped another revelation: She was leaving, and returning to Midchilda for adventure. And so she went off. Chitose and White Omen turned to the world, and what might await the two for the future.

...Except the two of them immediately turned away to study and learn, instead of anything remotely resembling 'action'. This suited them just fine, really, as scholarly pursuits were more their interests. Plus, she was assigned to protect the Kogoshi Syndicate's two daughters, which took up a lot of her time. But soon enough the two daughters withdrew from the world, which gave Chitose considerably more free time.

''Now'', Chitose and White Omen stood towards the world, bracing themselves for the future.

== Logs ==

== 2015 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2015-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2016 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2016-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2017 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2017-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}
== 2018 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2018-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2019 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2019-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2020 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2020-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2021 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2021-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

File:Chitose 2.png

2022-10-18T06:54:32Z

Lucientes:

Chitose Shiratori

2021-08-11T16:49:45Z

Lucientes: logssssss

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 25em; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Character Name'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[File:Chitose.png|350px]]
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Chitose Shiratori
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Aliases:
|
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Gender:
| Female
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age/Birthdate:
| 18 (December 24th)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 180cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Black
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Green
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Astrological Sign:
| Capricorn
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Blood Type:
| AB
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Food:
|
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Food:
| Strawberries
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Subject:
| Linguistics
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Subject:
| Art
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Dossier'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Organization:
| [[Ends of the World]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Position:
| Perfectly Legitimate Businesswoman
|-
! style="text-align:left" | School:
| [[School:_Infinity_Institute|Infinity Institute]] (University)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | [[Serenity%27s_Miracles#The_Second_Wish:_Recognition_Inhibition|Recog. Inhib.]]
| No (Ask first)
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| [[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] (OC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:Lucientes|Lucientes]]
|-
|}
'''Your Character Name''' is stupendous in every respect!

And that's because she's redoing her wiki page (still). Pardon the dust, everyone!

== Quote ==
"I suppose we must do as we must."
[[Category:Characters]][[Category:Infinity]][[Category:Ends of the World]]

== History ==

And so it was that little Chitose was born to two loving parents. Her mother was something of a tourist, and her father worked for the local crime syndicate. When the little girl asked the inevitable question about how they met, her mother claimed that she came to Japan to research something. What Chitose's mother had come to Japan for, she would never say. What she did say were stories, stories of far away places and stories of heroic adventures in lost temples and tombs.

As for her father, he worked for the Kogishi Syndicate. This led to a number of things, one of which was Sachiyo Kogoshi, one of the daughters of the crime syndicate. Her relationship was (and still is) somewhat rocky with her, especially since the two met when they were children, and there was no more entitled children than very rich children. But, she and the two twins got along after a fashion. Yet, Chitose learned from the Kogoshi that she was expected to at least give some form of respect to them, since they ran the syndicate.

As soon as she grew old enough to attend school, she went to Ohtori, as her family had the money and connections necessary to ensure entrance. Chitose loved Ohtori, at least at the beginning. It was a beautiful school, of course, and she liked that. What she didn't like was the fact that Ohtori seemed very stuffy. Even here at school, Chitose found she needed a different, strict decorum. She was never too sure what that decorum was, however. School was, however, slightly less protocol-driven than her father's associates, so she kind of enjoyed her time there, and even made some friends in the bargain that didn't care about her status.

When Chitose turned 14 her mother took her aside and told her something she wasn't expecting: She was from some planet named 'Midchilda', and that all of the stories she told were true! Well, most of them, at least. Her mother told her that she had originally come to find something special, but stopped when she met Chitose's father.

Of course, having been taught up until now that Earth was the only world with confirmed intelligent life, Chitose did not believe her mother... until her father confirmed that she was telling the truth. To prove it, they said, they gave Chitose a hairclip. At first, she was very confused since it was just a hairclip. But after a few months of having it, it revealed itself as the 'Intelligent Device' White Omen.

Thus began Chitose's journey. The two became fast friends pretty quickly, as she learned that he too enjoyed learning about new cultures. For him, though, everything about Earth was new and interesting.

Chitose's mother gave her a crash course in Midchildan magic for two years before she dropped another revelation: She was leaving, and returning to Midchilda for adventure. And so she went off. Chitose and White Omen turned to the world, and what might await the two for the future.

...Except the two of them immediately turned away to study and learn, instead of anything remotely resembling 'action'. This suited them just fine, really, as scholarly pursuits were more their interests. Plus, she was assigned to protect the Kogoshi Syndicate's two daughters, which took up a lot of her time. But soon enough the two daughters withdrew from the world, which gave Chitose considerably more free time.

''Now'', Chitose and White Omen stood towards the world, bracing themselves for the future.

== Logs ==

== 2015 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2015-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2016 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2016-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2017 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2017-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}
== 2018 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2018-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2019 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2019-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2020 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2020-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2021 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2021-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

Iona Hikawa

2020-11-29T07:23:19Z

Lucientes:

Chitose Shiratori

2020-03-21T02:03:51Z

Lucientes: Hindsight is 2020.

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 25em; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Character Name'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[File:Chitose.png|350px]]
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Chitose Shiratori
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Aliases:
|
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Gender:
| Female
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age/Birthdate:
| 18 (December 24th)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 180cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Black
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Green
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Astrological Sign:
| Capricorn
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Blood Type:
| AB
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Food:
|
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Food:
| Strawberries
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Subject:
| Linguistics
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Subject:
| Art
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Dossier'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Organization:
| [[Ends of the World]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Position:
| Perfectly Legitimate Businesswoman
|-
! style="text-align:left" | School:
| [[School:_Infinity_Institute|Infinity Institute]] (University)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | [[Serenity%27s_Miracles#The_Second_Wish:_Recognition_Inhibition|Recog. Inhib.]]
| No (Ask first)
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| [[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] (OC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:Lucientes|Lucientes]]
|-
|}
'''Your Character Name''' is stupendous in every respect!

And that's because she's redoing her wiki page (still). Pardon the dust, everyone!

== Quote ==
"I suppose we must do as we must."
[[Category:Characters]][[Category:Infinity]][[Category:Ends of the World]]

== History ==

And so it was that little Chitose was born to two loving parents. Her mother was something of a tourist, and her father worked for the local crime syndicate. When the little girl asked the inevitable question about how they met, her mother claimed that she came to Japan to research something. What Chitose's mother had come to Japan for, she would never say. What she did say were stories, stories of far away places and stories of heroic adventures in lost temples and tombs.

As for her father, he worked for the Kogishi Syndicate. This led to a number of things, one of which was Sachiyo Kogoshi, one of the daughters of the crime syndicate. Her relationship was (and still is) somewhat rocky with her, especially since the two met when they were children, and there was no more entitled children than very rich children. But, she and the two twins got along after a fashion. Yet, Chitose learned from the Kogoshi that she was expected to at least give some form of respect to them, since they ran the syndicate.

As soon as she grew old enough to attend school, she went to Ohtori, as her family had the money and connections necessary to ensure entrance. Chitose loved Ohtori, at least at the beginning. It was a beautiful school, of course, and she liked that. What she didn't like was the fact that Ohtori seemed very stuffy. Even here at school, Chitose found she needed a different, strict decorum. She was never too sure what that decorum was, however. School was, however, slightly less protocol-driven than her father's associates, so she kind of enjoyed her time there, and even made some friends in the bargain that didn't care about her status.

When Chitose turned 14 her mother took her aside and told her something she wasn't expecting: She was from some planet named 'Midchilda', and that all of the stories she told were true! Well, most of them, at least. Her mother told her that she had originally come to find something special, but stopped when she met Chitose's father.

Of course, having been taught up until now that Earth was the only world with confirmed intelligent life, Chitose did not believe her mother... until her father confirmed that she was telling the truth. To prove it, they said, they gave Chitose a hairclip. At first, she was very confused since it was just a hairclip. But after a few months of having it, it revealed itself as the 'Intelligent Device' White Omen.

Thus began Chitose's journey. The two became fast friends pretty quickly, as she learned that he too enjoyed learning about new cultures. For him, though, everything about Earth was new and interesting.

Chitose's mother gave her a crash course in Midchildan magic for two years before she dropped another revelation: She was leaving, and returning to Midchilda for adventure. And so she went off. Chitose and White Omen turned to the world, and what might await the two for the future.

...Except the two of them immediately turned away to study and learn, instead of anything remotely resembling 'action'. This suited them just fine, really, as scholarly pursuits were more their interests. Plus, she was assigned to protect the Kogoshi Syndicate's two daughters, which took up a lot of her time. But soon enough the two daughters withdrew from the world, which gave Chitose considerably more free time.

''Now'', Chitose and White Omen stood towards the world, bracing themselves for the future.

== Logs ==

== 2015 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2015-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2016 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2016-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2017 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2017-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}
== 2018 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2018-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2019 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2019-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2020 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2020-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

User:Lucientes

2019-11-20T04:40:54Z

Lucientes:

Luc, you are my me!

Or something like that. I play [[Chitose Shiratori]], yakuza underling extraordinaire.

Iona Hikawa

2019-09-14T03:04:43Z

Lucientes: log section broke

Chitose Shiratori

2019-04-18T06:08:20Z

Lucientes:

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 25em; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Character Name'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[File:Chitose.png|350px]]
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Chitose Shiratori
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Aliases:
|
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Gender:
| Female
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age/Birthdate:
| 18 (December 24th)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 180cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Black
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Green
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Astrological Sign:
| Capricorn
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Blood Type:
| AB
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Food:
|
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Food:
| Strawberries
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Subject:
| Linguistics
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Subject:
| Art
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Dossier'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Organization:
| [[Ends of the World]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Position:
| Perfectly Legitimate Businesswoman
|-
! style="text-align:left" | School:
| [[School:_Infinity_Institute|Infinity Institute]] (University)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | [[Serenity%27s_Miracles#The_Second_Wish:_Recognition_Inhibition|Recog. Inhib.]]
| No (Ask first)
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| [[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] (OC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:Lucientes|Lucientes]]
|-
|}
'''Your Character Name''' is stupendous in every respect!

And that's because she's redoing her wiki page (still). Pardon the dust, everyone!

== Quote ==
"I suppose we must do as we must."
[[Category:Characters]][[Category:Infinity]][[Category:Ends of the World]]

== History ==

And so it was that little Chitose was born to two loving parents. Her mother was something of a tourist, and her father worked for the local crime syndicate. When the little girl asked the inevitable question about how they met, her mother claimed that she came to Japan to research something. What Chitose's mother had come to Japan for, she would never say. What she did say were stories, stories of far away places and stories of heroic adventures in lost temples and tombs.

As for her father, he worked for the Kogishi Syndicate. This led to a number of things, one of which was Sachiyo Kogoshi, one of the daughters of the crime syndicate. Her relationship was (and still is) somewhat rocky with her, especially since the two met when they were children, and there was no more entitled children than very rich children. But, she and the two twins got along after a fashion. Yet, Chitose learned from the Kogoshi that she was expected to at least give some form of respect to them, since they ran the syndicate.

As soon as she grew old enough to attend school, she went to Ohtori, as her family had the money and connections necessary to ensure entrance. Chitose loved Ohtori, at least at the beginning. It was a beautiful school, of course, and she liked that. What she didn't like was the fact that Ohtori seemed very stuffy. Even here at school, Chitose found she needed a different, strict decorum. She was never too sure what that decorum was, however. School was, however, slightly less protocol-driven than her father's associates, so she kind of enjoyed her time there, and even made some friends in the bargain that didn't care about her status.

When Chitose turned 14 her mother took her aside and told her something she wasn't expecting: She was from some planet named 'Midchilda', and that all of the stories she told were true! Well, most of them, at least. Her mother told her that she had originally come to find something special, but stopped when she met Chitose's father.

Of course, having been taught up until now that Earth was the only world with confirmed intelligent life, Chitose did not believe her mother... until her father confirmed that she was telling the truth. To prove it, they said, they gave Chitose a hairclip. At first, she was very confused since it was just a hairclip. But after a few months of having it, it revealed itself as the 'Intelligent Device' White Omen.

Thus began Chitose's journey. The two became fast friends pretty quickly, as she learned that he too enjoyed learning about new cultures. For him, though, everything about Earth was new and interesting.

Chitose's mother gave her a crash course in Midchildan magic for two years before she dropped another revelation: She was leaving, and returning to Midchilda for adventure. And so she went off. Chitose and White Omen turned to the world, and what might await the two for the future.

...Except the two of them immediately turned away to study and learn, instead of anything remotely resembling 'action'. This suited them just fine, really, as scholarly pursuits were more their interests. Plus, she was assigned to protect the Kogoshi Syndicate's two daughters, which took up a lot of her time. But soon enough the two daughters withdrew from the world, which gave Chitose considerably more free time.

''Now'', Chitose and White Omen stood towards the world, bracing themselves for the future.

== Logs ==

== 2015 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2015-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2016 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2016-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2017 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2017-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}
== 2018 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2018-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

== 2019 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2019-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

User:Lucientes

2019-02-17T05:47:57Z

Lucientes:

Chitose Shiratori

2018-04-18T05:12:49Z

Lucientes: logsssssss

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 25em; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Character Name'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[File:Chitose.png|350px]]
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Chitose Shiratori
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Aliases:
|
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Gender:
| Female
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age/Birthdate:
| 18 (December 24th)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 180cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Black
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Green
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Astrological Sign:
| Capricorn
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Blood Type:
| AB
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Food:
|
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Food:
| Strawberries
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Subject:
| Linguistics
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Subject:
| Art
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Dossier'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Organization:
| [[Ends of the World]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Position:
| Perfectly Legitimate Businesswoman
|-
! style="text-align:left" | School:
| [[School:_Infinity_Institute|Infinity Institute]] (University)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | [[Serenity%27s_Miracles#The_Second_Wish:_Recognition_Inhibition|Recog. Inhib.]]
| No (Ask first)
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| [[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] (OC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:Lucientes|Lucientes]]
|-
|}
'''Your Character Name''' is stupendous in every respect!

And that's because she's redoing her wiki page (still). Pardon the dust, everyone!

== Quote ==
"I suppose we must do as we must."
[[Category:Characters]][[Category:Infinity]][[Category:Ends of the World]]

== History ==

And so it was that little Chitose was born to two loving parents. Her mother was something of a tourist, and her father worked for the local crime syndicate. When the little girl asked the inevitable question about how they met, her mother claimed that she came to Japan to research something. What Chitose's mother had come to Japan for, she would never say. What she did say were stories, stories of far away places and stories of heroic adventures in lost temples and tombs.

As for her father, he worked for the Kogishi Syndicate. This led to a number of things, one of which was Sachiyo Kogoshi, one of the daughters of the crime syndicate. Her relationship was (and still is) somewhat rocky with her, especially since the two met when they were children, and there was no more entitled children than very rich children. But, she and the two twins got along after a fashion. Yet, Chitose learned from the Kogoshi that she was expected to at least give some form of respect to them, since they ran the syndicate.

As soon as she grew old enough to attend school, she went to Ohtori, as her family had the money and connections necessary to ensure entrance. Chitose loved Ohtori, at least at the beginning. It was a beautiful school, of course, and she liked that. What she didn't like was the fact that Ohtori seemed very stuffy. Even here at school, Chitose found she needed a different, strict decorum. She was never too sure what that decorum was, however. School was, however, slightly less protocol-driven than her father's associates, so she kind of enjoyed her time there, and even made some friends in the bargain that didn't care about her status.

When Chitose turned 14 her mother took her aside and told her something she wasn't expecting: She was from some planet named 'Midchilda', and that all of the stories she told were true! Well, most of them, at least. Her mother told her that she had originally come to find something special, but stopped when she met Chitose's father.

Of course, having been taught up until now that Earth was the only world with confirmed intelligent life, Chitose did not believe her mother... until her father confirmed that she was telling the truth. To prove it, they said, they gave Chitose a hairclip. At first, she was very confused since it was just a hairclip. But after a few months of having it, it revealed itself as the 'Intelligent Device' White Omen.

Thus began Chitose's journey. The two became fast friends pretty quickly, as she learned that he too enjoyed learning about new cultures. For him, though, everything about Earth was new and interesting.

Chitose's mother gave her a crash course in Midchildan magic for two years before she dropped another revelation: She was leaving, and returning to Midchilda for adventure. And so she went off. Chitose and White Omen turned to the world, and what might await the two for the future.

...Except the two of them immediately turned away to study and learn, instead of anything remotely resembling 'action'. This suited them just fine, really, as scholarly pursuits were more their interests. Plus, she was assigned to protect the Kogoshi Syndicate's two daughters, which took up a lot of her time. But soon enough the two daughters withdrew from the world, which gave Chitose considerably more free time.

''Now'', Chitose and White Omen stood towards the world, bracing themselves for the future.

== Logs ==

== 2015 ==

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== 2016 ==

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== 2017 ==

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== 2018 ==

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2018-02-18 - Ueno: Chevalier-Shepherd War

2018-02-20T22:19:07Z

Lucientes:

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Ueno: Chevalier-Shepherd War'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''The war between Chevalier and Shepherd has gone on long enough. The snows of Hokkaido had briefly cooled hostilities, but in Hotaru Tomoe, the two sides have each found a cause that they cannot compromise. The Chevaliers will not sacrifice an innocent, the Shepherds will not sacrifice the world.

''The Chevaliers have marshalled to defeat their rivals. First, they will force the Shepherds to defend Ueno, hunting ground of Eri Shimanouchi. Both sides know that the true target will follow: Shinjuku.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Chitose Shiratori]], [[Endo Naoki]], [[Garnet]], [[Kasagami Araki]], [[Kozue Kaoru]], [[Kyouko Sakura]], [[Madoka Kaname]], [[Mami Tomoe]], [[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Nao Yuuki]], [[Nori Ankou]], [[Sayaka Miki]], [[Setsuna Meioh]], and [[Tsubasa Kazanari]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Ueno Museum District
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Sat Feb 17, 2018 and Sun Feb 18, 2018 / Sat Mar 28, 2015
|-
|}

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> When the Levee Breaks - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFDYuO53BUk

Pale sunlight is trickling across an artificial urban horizon, filtering down the bustling, awning-strewn lane of Ameyayoko. There are many people still here at market, but the traffic is largely directed outward. Crates are being stacked on crates and slid back into streetlevel shops. Cash and coins for final purchases are urged into impatient hands even as rusty metal gates are drawn down over nearby storefronts. Glowing neon is supplementing the waning sun, limning the edges of jackets and shopping bags in pink or red. Briskly or meandering, in pairs or alone, shoppers are flowing out of the shopping street.

Right down the center of this cheerfully disintegrating human tableau walk the Chevaliers. Sayaka Miki and Mami Tomoe are at their center. None are transformed; Sayaka has a blue hooded sweatshirt and jeans. On the outside, she appears not only relaxed, but happy, chatting readily with others, even glancing at fruit stalls as they pack up. Mami can see that her fists are tight inside her hoodie pockets, however.

"Don't worry about hiding," she had said back on the train, both hands far above her head on the railing. "This isn't like Shinjuku will; there's nothing here we want to get to other than the Shepherds, right? So we might as well let them know we're coming." She winks at the basketball-player-sized Garnet for some reason. "This time, we'll know they're waiting."

The crowd parts readily around the plainclothes Chevaliers, not least of which because of Garnet, but partially through their sheer numbers tonight. They pause for a moment at the market street entrance; if anyone was watching it would be a nice time for a group photo, there beneath the strung-out arch of lit-up letters. The museum district of Ueno is before them, the scent of its expansive park already reaching the nose despite the wide and well-trafficked street before them. The station lies beneath it like an anthill, a green sign announcing its presence. People are draining into it as the streets begin to empty out. Slow progress is better. More time to clear the area.

Their goal is the vast bridge across the station. Far wider than it needs to be save at peak rush hour on the very busiest days, it is presently entirely empty, almost cyclopean in scale above the JR station. Broad concrete tiles and metal railings produce a sturdy effect, with yellow corrugated plates marking areas where there is an elevation shift.

At the bottom of the stairs, Sayaka Miki had ascended with hands in pocket. At the top, she steps off as Puella Magi Sayaka, and is holding Mami's hand, though she releases it as they disembark. Together, the Chevaliers walk out to one end of the bridge. Already arrayed on the other side are the Shepherds. Sayaka shakes her head with a half-smile. "If only that girl would go to school and pay this much attention..."

Turning enough to keep both foe and friend in sight, Sayaka takes a deep breath. "This is it. We'll just roll 'em all the way out of here and keep going right into Shinjuku. Hotaru-chan and the people of the city are counting on us. So let's give our all."

She has to stop talking there for two reasons. One is that a train passes beneath the bridge, and the rush of air cuts off her voice and musses her hair about. The second is that Kyouko Sakura is approaching, and these words weren't for her at all.

Unable to speak, Sayaka crosses her arms. It's not exactly a show of trust, but it's the best Kyouko is going to get.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> Mel/Sue Sandwich https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSVMcM9uA24

Everything explodes.

Madoka, in her stocking feet, her twintails pinned to the top of her head and kept safe beneath a kerchief that -- since she doesn't own any kerchiefs -- is really a very thin towel. Edged with lace and embroidered with a pink bunny, it is a fine piece from her Pink Era (which some might argue is her whole life).

Madoka, shrieking, as the cloud of white powder spreads, rolling in its thickness, to engulf her -- and the kitchen -- and the living room.

Teapots. Pot holders. Counters. Stovetops. The cute rug by the sink. The cuter rug by the little table...

Madoka, flailing her arms wildly as she emerges from the cloud, sneezing in a rapid consecutive crescendo likely to flush her brains right out of her nose. This is the only thing that gets her to stop wailing.

Finally, gulping down her despair, she looks around Mami's apartment to see what her misapplied culinary science has wrought. "Uwaaaaaaa..."

Kyuubey glances up at her, ever helpful, and delicately curls his tail around her ankle. She glances down at him and pulls free.

Pursing her lips and rolling up her sleeves, she snatches the motherly kerchief off her head and folds and reties it into a Serious Business headband instead. Knotting it briskly feels like making a promise.

"No one will ever know about this if I hurry," she mutters, leaving a trail of floury footprints behind her as she crosses Mami's hallway to fetch a broom.

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mami, for her part, is not dressed quite so casually as Sayaka--or rather, casual in a far more feminine fashion. She walks beside the blue-haired girl, wearing a patterned white dress, belted at the waist, and knee-high brown boots, along with a denim jacket to go with it, her hair in her traditional drills. ...She wears flats, and a golden set of bracelets on her left wrist, to go with the Soul Gem ring there. Her amber eyes are forward. ...Forward, and then to the sides; she has long observed the people about their lives on her hunts, part of a secret world that sees them all, that suggests questions about what they do, where they are, where they're going. The crowd parts for them, to be sure.

Mami Tomoe looks as if she expects it.

...But her thoughts are not only here, of course. EARLIER...

"Madoka-chan," Mami says, very seriously, her expression clouded with intent--she looks desperate. ...Not quite desperate enough, but she's managing a decent go of it, anyway, staring at her dear, dear friend in pink in the kitchen.

"You're my only hope," Mami says to Madoka earnestly. "If I don't have this cake ready by morning, I'll /fail/ home ec completely. My grades are bad enough as it is. ...Can you help me? I don't have time to do it myself..."

"I need you to bake me a cake, Madoka-chan."

Mami didn't bother mentioning that school is already out. It's... plausible that she had a late assignment, right?

NOW

At the bottom of the stairs, Mami's hands were at her sides. At the top, she is the Golden Queen of Shibuya, at the head of an invading force, Mami Tomoe the golden Puella Magi known throughout Tokyo. Sayaka is the one who starts doing the talking, and Mami says nothing about Kyouko. ...These are the people she's doing this for, aren't they?

Back on the train, Mami had agreed with Sayaka. "Just be careful. They're committed--you can expect them to fight hard. ...And pull some tricks you might not expect. If we work together, we can do this."

Mami stares out towards Kyouko, looking, scanning the Shepherds there... and stares into Kyouko Sakura's eyes.

Kyouko told her this wasn't some kind of destiny. So maybe it really is just one old friend looking to another.

Mami's hatpin shines in the fading light, resolute, neutral in expression.

<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.
<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu11QRO9BrQ

There they are.

They look small enough from the rooftops above, all of those people milling about, shopping and walking and talking and all sorts of things besides. But some of these things are not like the others.

Some of these things just do not belong.

Not that an untrained eye would ever note the school-agers weaving among the pedestrian gaps. They are known by name or known not at all. But Kyouko knows them. She thinks that she knows where they are headed, for Eri's territory is a short distance off. And she knows who they will find when they get there.

Grinning bright, the fangs of her incissors neatly frame the slender stem of the corn cob pipe wedged between her teeth and jaunted out at a slight angle. Plucking the piece free, with its fat bulbed end she prods a pair of aviator sunglasses up to the summit of the bridge of her nose and adjusts her cap for the right kilter. And as the Chevaliers walk on the streets below, Kyouko walks with them on the buildings above, her arms to her sides to balance her body as she catwalks along the rims of the roofs, hopping between them with a practiced polish.

At last, it's here. Or at least, the first installment. The first of the last. No hundred years war this will be. For better or for worse it won't drag on for much longer. Hopefully they won't miss their bridge all that much. It's hard to imagine that much will be left of it by sunrise, but then surprise is hard currency within Tokyo's walls. Though she has little use for school herself, it can hardly be overstated how helpful it is to know where your enemies will be and when, five days out of the week. Even when a Shepherd doesn't share the class, it's an easy enough thing to enlist a random student to observe and report for a few baked goods, a videogame, or some cash. When Kyouko heard that the Chevaliers were buzzing about, carrying themselves with an air of determination..it only took a little recon to make a good guess as to why.

For her part Kyouko is merely tracking their progress, making sure all the little lambs of this troublesome herd are gathered together and headed where they ought to be. No strays working mischief in the inattentive dark. Even now she's cautious about shedding an image of self defense, even no wary of drawing neutrals in against her, or she'd be raining spears. It may well come to that by the end, but for now honor remains.

And then she sees the rest of them. Her comrades in arms in healthy numbers. Where the Chevaliers are a column, the Shepherds are a wall. That wall may buckle, but Kyouko will stand shoulder to shoulder with her fellows and friends to ensure that it does not break. May the invaders beat their fists against it before dispersing in frustration.

Not much roof left, end of that road. For a moment, she withdraws her pipe, clapping a stick of chewing gum between her teeth and chewing with purpose, admiring, just for a moment, the last glitters of the fading day along the water's burnished edge, fractaled by the mild chaos of tiny breaking waves. Well chewed, she extracts the red cinnamon lump, inspecting it in the twilit sky, and nodding in approval, closing her fist around the gum.

And then she dives. Fabric billows all around her limbs, her other hand clapped to her head to keep her cap in proper place. Lacking a more dedicated landing strip, she makes do with a blue ball, moving away from her at a steady pace like an arcade shooting gallery game.

Her heels clack into the pavement about ten paces before Sayaka Miki, attire still blowing out and around like an aftershock of the impact before settling back along the spear-fighter's figure. Smirking her best shit-eating grin, from the shoulders down she wears a burgundy yukata, something like a katana's handle visible from her hip. From the shoulders up she cuts a different figure entirely. An antique style naval officer's cap, immense pair of black crystal sunglasses, and most particularly a comically long stemmed corncob pipe ending in a comically tall bowl suggest nobody so much as MacArthur. Up close, it is clear that none of her attire is of any particular quality, all costume grade at best. The katana in particular is simply a single piece of wood carved to superficially resemble a sheathed blade.

Striding up with a loping saunter, casual and unhurried with a hand concealed within oversized sleeves, Kyouko waggles her pipe between her teeth, looking Sayaka up and down, scanning at the forces she's brought with her, and stepping closer and closer until blue and red stand within spitting distance. The grinning girl swats her fist at the swordsman's face, opening it just in time to mash a sticky wad of chewed up red gum against Sayaka's forehead. The moment she releases her payload, the stealth bomber backflips away, shoving off of the ground with her hands, pirouetting in the skies above with a long length of spear made manifest in her grip before using its butt as a pole vault to launch her higher, further.

She lands facing the Chevaliers, standing with the Shepherds, grinning bright, clasping hands clapping shoulders, handing out pocky to everybody in the line like she's giving out cups of coffee for those manning the trench.

"Are you alright?"

"Feeling good?"

"Ready to rumble?"

Cracking her knuckles, cracking her neck, her back, toes, she sighs with great contentment as so much tension snaps out of her body. And she smiles wide to the Shepherds, again.

"Eri-chan couldn't make it, but let's make her proud and put a smile on her face. I'm proud too. It's been said before but it can't be said enough. Thank you. Thank you for standing with her. For standing with me. I truly believe that we're going to keep this city from splitting apart at the seams. That we're gonna help see the world through this crisis. And that we're gonna make it happen right here, and right now. From all that I am, thank you."

Taking off her hat and placing it over her heart, she bows deeply, crimson tresses spilling down like a bloody waterfall, maintaining her poise for several long seconds before standing back straight, and turning on her heel with a flourish to face the evening's fate.

"For our friends, our city, and all mankind! We fight for our future!"

<Pose Tracker> Nao Yuuki [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

EARLIER

The salaryman twists in the wind behind Nao. Slo-www-ly he rotates in one direction, the tendril attaching his coccoon to the ceiling twisting more and more tightly until finally his momentum is arrested, and he starts, nauseatingly, reversing in his course.

Meanwhile, Nao looks down at the text on her cell phone, and muses.

There are different reasons, not to be a Chevalier or a Shepherd -- to stay out of it all. Some girls don't know; others don't care.

Up until recently, she fell rather more into the latter category. Why stick her neck out? This has nothing to do with her. Or at least, it doesn't /have/ to have anything to do with her.

But she sees things. Things like how Mikoto and her various friends and senpai are being run more and more ragged. Things like the hospital in Shinjuku, too, which may have just been a rumor to her, but a dark one.

And now the gleaming screen of her phone, which lights up her face in this abandoned apartment building like she's on the school trip telling a ghost story after curfew, is informing her that things are coming to a head.

She slices the man down with a swish of her Element. Trodding over his butt on her way out the door, she knows in her heart which side she wants to see win.

SOMEWHAT LATER

Nao knows most of Mikoto's favorite sleeping places, and also understands the best way to wake her up without triggering a startled cat reaction. She may not be able to summon the smell of Mai's ramen at will, but there are other good smells to waft up towards that rooftop, swishing a paper fan back and forth over the steam, like freshly baked bread...

Patience serves her. "Yo," she drawls, once her friend has appeared. "Apparently your friends downtown need our help in Ueno. You know, Sakura and her buddies."

Her lips twitch into a smirk that is feigned only in that it hides the more tender smile underneath. It isn't a smile she has for many. "You wanna go together?"

She folds her arms over her chest, too cool to extend a hand in friendship. Besides, there's that hot loaf of sourdough on the picnic blanket in front of her. She suspects she knows which one Mikoto will grab first.

NOW

Nao has spent most of her time waiting for this to start with a hip propped up against a wall, tapping at blinding speeds into her phone. Setting up more rondevouxs, no doubt. She has many flaws, but dedication to her mission is not one of them.

Now that things are finally starting, she stretches her arms over her head, rolling her head on her neck behind, then between them. Even though school is out, she's still in her Ohtori Middle School uniform -- it is, after all, an important part of her hobby. And she wears it as dangerously as any flak jacket, or long leather trenchcoat.

She's cool enough to be wearing mirrored shades, even though she isn't, as she stares across the distance at the other group.

"/This/ is what we were waiting for?" she pouts at Kyouko, a sly grin lingering in her eyes. "I--"

Kasagami makes her speech. Roses rise and lamp posts fall.

Nao twitches a little, and summons her Element again -- claws that wrap her fingers, razor-sharp. She runs her tongue along one of them, playful, catlike.

"Ara," she sighs, playfully. Snarkily. "If only we could all be so cool. Ne, Mikoto-chan?"

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Endo is mostly silent during the train ride, nodding his head to conversation, making short affirmation of Sayaka's declaration. He's dressed in a poofy black jacket and jeans, hands tucked into sleeves, hidden fingers rolling a rugged purple stone between nervous digits. Unseen, it pulses like a heartbeat, eager to fulfill its purpose once again.

It's owner is not so eager. He does, however, manage a reassuring smile for his allies as they stride through the market, an assurance of: "I'll do my best. You all be careful too and we'll be fine, right?" His eyes move over each face, each person he's fought with and come to care about since he's joined the Chevaliers. It helps him focus as they move through the thinning crowds, as the noise and grind of metal gates start to fade into the distance.

When the group crests the stairs Endo is armed and armored, enormous sword resting across shoulder and cape billowing out behind, an ancient knight made real. There's no sign of nerves now, his face neutral, eyes on the bridge ahead.

He's silent on Kyouko's approach, silent-until she pins Sayaka with a wad of gum. And when she makes such swift escape, there's not he can do but bat an eye. "Aahis she taking this seriously?" Perhaps this is what they call psychological warfare.

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene de Diamant [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

La Sirene de Diamant is not present, but AkaMira, as a result, is. Nori's hair trails behind her, long and loose. She is wearing a sweater in a rich grey that seems both immensely comfortable, immensely warm, and as if the clouds themselves were pulled down and knitted together into a garment suitable for keeping the chill of early spring off one's arms. Below are close fitting slacks in a deep velvety purple with an embroider suggesting sunset clouds along the left calf. She had a bag over her shoulder - though this one was Louisoix Vuitton, rather than an AkaMira special.

That's how you know she is here as herself. That and the two small diamond earrings set in gold, which were, of course, a gift.

As she walks, Nori is calm and poised and... quiet; but then, she is adjacent, as she so often is, to a blunette. As the bridge comes within sight, she turns her head slightly to tell her: "I won't try to constrain you. But remember that story of the three arrows."

Nori Ankou begins to climb the stairs.

"Besides," a girl says during the climb, one whose identity is rather liminal for a moment: "I want to see what you can do."

La Sirene de Diamant ascends. The corona around her can be seen before she herself does, the sun's rays touching it and seeming to scatter like raindrops on an umbrella. There is a momentary prismatic effect that does not correspond to anything seen on Earth under regular circumstances.

A few steps more and her entire form can be seen. She has a hand on her hip. She glances towards the one with whom she had walked for a moment, and then answers Endo. "Don't underestimate that one," she says, even as her gaze returns to the Shepherds before them. Over Kasagami, past Kyouko.

"In fact," she says, "Don't underestimate any of them. Or over-estimate them. I suppose that's not the sagest advice in the world," la Sirene sighs, tossing her hair with a cavalcade of dark sparkles from the diamonds on the back of her glove.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto is difficult to track down, for most people. She is always moving, always searching. But there are places she likes to frequent, all the same.

She's wearing her coat, black with yellow trim. Black pants, and a teal shirt which clashes so badly with the rest that one wonders where she got it. And, of course, the sword strapped across her back, safe inside its case. It's a little uncomfortably warm, but not wearing so many layers is uncomfortably cool -- the eternal struggle of clothing oneself between season changes.

Besides, it keeps her warm when she stops patrolling, and takes a nap, as she has on the roof. So few people look to the rooftops -- it's the perfect place to stop for a while. No one comes up to the roof, when all the stores and attractions are down below. That's why it's so strange to smell food so close. Sniff, sniff...

It takes her a few moments, but the smell eventually rouses her. She peeks over the edge to find the source, only for the source to be Nao. "Huh..?" Her friends. Mikoto's face changes in an instant, from sleepy confusion to a frown. "Trouble?"

Mikoto stands, and pulls at Miroku's case until she's able to wriggle out of her coat, tossing it behind the sign she'd been sleeping under. The fight will warm her up, she knows. She jumps down, and snatches up the sourdough, tearing into it hungrily. "Thanks," she says, mouth muffled by food. "Glad Nao came to get me. Nao's a good person."

After all, Mikoto doesn't carry a phone. She might never have known if Nao hadn't decided to be a friend.

--

That's how the Chevaliers find her, as unfashionable as you please, with Miroku's edge tilted towards them as the final argument as to whether her clothes matter -- or, for that matter, whether they should take another step forward. The train rumbles beneath them, and Mikoto's steady hands make the blade notch a centimetre into the ground as she resists being shaken.

She growls a warning, eyes darting from Chevalier to Chevalier. The others will speak. Her enemies must know what she's communicating: that this is Eri's land, and they are trespassers. Leave, or be destroyed. It's more than Mikoto would normally grant an enemy, but... there's someone who would be disappointed if she didn't try.

Nao's question earns her a 'hrm' at the back of her throat, and a nod, not even looking back. It's the wordiest she's gotten since she's pulled Miroku from its case. She's tight as a spring, waiting for the first move, and it's clear she's not here to sue for peace.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet follows the group, "dressed" as she ever is in her garb her retro-futurism and shouting pinks, likely just as responsible for the backing away of the other passengers as her sheer size. If Sayaka wants the Shepherds to know they're coming, then there's no need for a more subdued transformation during the journey. When Sayaka looks to her, Garnet looks back, but says little. When they disembark, she walks alongside the other Chevaliers, rather than leaping forward, her steps slow, but firm. The Gem's thoughts are divided, between being here with them, and being elsewhere, remembering the march to the last battles of her last war. Remembering the sound of all her comrades, as they made their way there, and... remembering how few of them remained when the dust finally cleared and They had returned to the stars. That's why she would not, could not, let those survivors march with her again here. Better for them to never know of this conflict at all, so that they may live their lives how Rose would have wanted, unburdened by this secret war and the knowledge of what every single day that the Chevaliers have yet to prevail cost in the lives and needless blood of the humans they were bound to protect...

Garnet's thoughts return to those she marches with now and she looks to each one in turn, her stares hidden behind her mirrored shades and commits them one by one to her memory.

The Shepherds, fearsome though they are, don't seem to wield the terrifying and overwhelming power They used with impunity, but Garnet knows not to underestimate their current foes in numbers or ruthlessness.

Garnet solemnly looks at the assembled Shepherds, and is unmoved either in frustration or amusement at Kyouko's "opening sal(ia)vo".

She looks back to the Chevaliers, at all of them, maybe for the last time, then clears and focuses her mind on the harmony of the cosmos, the energy that suffuses all living things and hopes that its harmony will help her here.As red armored gauntlets appear on her forearms with a brilliant glow of transformative light, the Crystal Gem, sworn follower of Rose Quartz and all she stands for, waits for Sayaka to give the command to advance.

<Pose Tracker> Chitose Shiratori [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

Chitose Shiratori may not be too responsive. She accepts the pocky, though. To do otherwise would be extremely impolite. But she's quiet, as she's not really looking at the Chevaliers approaching, but instead past them. As if, well, her mind was not quite here.

ELSEWHERE

In a larger building, closer to the center of the city, a large man in a very well made suit walks down a hallway, where he passes by an office. He stops, and puts a hand on the knob before turning it. "Shiratori! Do you have that report I want--" He opens the door to a completely empty office. "...ed." He trails off. Chitose was not there. "Hrm."

HERE

Here, Chitose cries a veritable river of tears in her mind. Part of her really, really wanted to be at work, instead of here. Admittedly, she also didn't really want this fight to be happening, either. But such is life.

She's brought out of her reverie by lampposts falling to the ground, which jolts her to reality. "Oh, right." And so she reaches up to the back of her head and takes her hairclip, and the moment her fingers touch she transforms, barrier jacket at the ready.

Chitose gives a world-weary sigh. "I suppose we must do as we must."

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Pluto [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

The peace and ease that Ueno Park's arching tree boughs and wandering paths usually bring does not come to Setsuna Meioh. She is not here for its museums this evening, does not seek to escape the bustle of the Tokyo of Here and Now on its winding paths. The twilight lamps of vendors don't turn her head.

A different sort of calm inhabits her smoothly swinging limbs and slows the beat of a heart that already beats slow and steady and strong. Soon enough she will ride the electric rush of adrenaline.

The Soldier of Revolution marches to war.

A defensive battle befits her sentinel nature. She has come to care for this place, and more, she has come to care for the puella magi whose territory it is. Setsuna slides her phone from the pocket of her black blazer and thumbs a message out.

TXT to a contact in Pluto's phone named 'Vulpecula': We have this. Don't worry.

Because the senshi knows that she will. It's a small gesture, and perhaps changes little, but she feels better having reached out to Eri in this moment. Hopefully her friend will feel the same.

The straggling humanity thins as the mysteries of twilight quicken; Setsuna passes behind the gnarled bole of the most ancient tree in the park, and it stands in brief and sharp relief against a crackle of vivid violet. Sailor Pluto emerges on the other side, hair floating downward to settle again from the transformation.

There comes the sensation of being watched, but it does not prickle between her shoulder blades so much as settle about her shoulders like a blanket. Gloved hands tighten on the Garnet Rod, and it casts its dark gleam on the path ahead to battle.

Sailor Pluto joins the gathering Shepherds at the foot of the bridge, her boots sounding against the concrete at precise, even intervals: her only fanfare.

It is Kasagami's turn to be watched then, and she is beheld for a long, quiet moment -- an allowance, of sorts, for Pluto's heart. She lingers on the fierce fall of dark hair and the duelist's proud bearing. With dutiful reluctance, she pulls her attention away.

Garnet eyes glitter as if faceted as they fall on the Chevaliers across the bridge. They find each in turn, lingering on Sayaka Miki and Mami Tomoe in particular -- after a long moment she replies to their red-maned leader, drawing her own gaze away from their assembled enemies.

"I am ready, Sakura-san." Despite the solemnity, a gleam of humor tugs at the corner of her mouth as she accepts the pocky. "And it looks like you are, as well." It is very like Sailor Pluto to nod a formal thanks for the candied treat.

In the end her eyes fall back to their foes. "We make our stand here, then. They can come through us, or not at all." She plants her legs and the haft of her sacred weapon, and looks every inch the Guardian she is, unmoving and perhaps unmoveable.

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Kazanari [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Anticipation always felt the same way; be it before a concert or a battle. No matter how many times one participated, you'd still feel your heart speed up, and the dilution of your perspective of time. Mere moments felt like an eternity, and yet you were called on stage before you knew it.

Despite her status as a famous singer, Tsubasa Kazanari was never one for fashion. She wore a simple blue sweater, one you might wear over your stage outfit while backstage, along with a similarly simple pair of jeans. The clothing might not be particularly flattering, but it wasn't like Tsubasa would remain in this outfit for long, regardless. The red gem dangling from her necklace was proof enough of that.

If nothing else, it was pleasant to finally be accompanied by somebody who didn't bother her too much. Silence is golden, after all, and Tsubasa wasn't really (ever) in the mood for talking. Finally ascending the staircase, accompanying Nori, Tsubasa hums her activation phrase, and the red gem shines bright, enveloping her in the light that transforms her ragged sweater into the refined armour of a Symphogear.

At first, she merely holds a hilt, but the long blade of the sacred sword Ame-no-Habakiri is soon unfolded, baring its long edge. Even with this, she says nothing. For Tsubasa, there's nothing here to settle with words; in her mind, the battle has already started. For her, there is only one way this can unfold.

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

When Kyouko lands, Sayaka startles only a little before lowering her head a little to glare stoically. As the train rushes by she waits right there, arms folded. Kyouko proved well enough that she wouldn't feign a truce to stab her suddenly. Besides, Kyouko is a little hard to take seriously at the moment.

Bemused at the strangeness of this outfit, Sayaka glances up and down Kyouko as she takes her last few steps towards her. The train passes away, leaving both free to talk, and Sayaka raises an eyebrow expectantly.

Squish.

"Augh, you--!!" Sayaka reaches up and touches the gum with her glove, recoiling when she feels it stick to the glove itself, stretching a little tendril of gum with it. "You think that's funny? Hey!" Shaking her fist, pink-cheeked from embarrassment, Sayaka looks up crosseyed and gives the gum a few prying tugs with her forefinger and thumb until it pops off. She has to flick it a few times before it stops just switching to the other finger.

"That girl..." Sayaka fumes. "She doesn't take anything seriously," she tells Endo.

The Shepherds make for an intimidating force, there on the other side. There is the small but fearsome Mikoto, who ran decisively rampant among the Chevalier's ranks during their first (and until tonight, only) all-out battle. Next to her, a new face, with sharp claws and sharper eyes. And there's green-eyed Chitose, perhaps the Shepherd's answer to the formidable magic of Endo Naoki. Kyouko "Anko" Sakura, of course, her once-friend who has cost Sayaka more blood than any other foe, rival or Witch alike. Sailor Pluto, the warrior from the stars whose power and demeanor could make a regular teenager feel quite small. And Kasagami Araki, whose raw strength brought Sayaka down even in defense of her beloved Madoka, and whose personality annoys her almost as much as Kyouko's.

But Endo is as powerful as he is affable, and Nori as loyal as La Sirene is terrible. Mysterious Tsubasa has brought bladework Sayaka can only envy, and Garnet, the rock of the Chevaliers, must surely be stronger than anyone the Shepherds can call on. And of course there is the Golden Queen.

Sayaka draws her sword--she's surely not the first insofar as Mikoto's sword is so large it's never really sheathed, just kind of "behind" or "in front." Magic shimmers up the blade as it peels out from the inside of Sayaka's cloak. "The Shepherds," she says to her fellow Chevaliers, "already have what they're protecting. They have a world where only some people deserve to live, and power gives you the right to decide which people that is. If they want that world, they can run in any direction any time they want. But the world we want... the city we think this can be... it's behind them. And our only way to it is straight through, and our only time to get it is tonight."

Keeping her eyes on the Shepherds, Sayaka extends her sword to the side, towards Mami, and touches it to Mami's musket, crossing barrel and blade. "That's why we'll win." She holds that slightly unsteady contact for a few seconds. With the contact near the end of their respective weapons, it's impossible to keep it fully stable, as any slight motion is amplified. They slide a little with a nearly inaudible rasp. Mami can feel the little corrections Sayaka makes, though their hands are nowhere close. Tokyo's self-proclaimed premiere Puella Magi konbi is in this together, even when they're apart.

Probably Not the OST You Expected -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gefTW4Huqog

Sayaka's sword swipes off of Mami's musket as she breaks off to her own side of the bridge, towards Garnet. With a long lateral leap, she lands in one of Garnet's gloves. "Don't hold back!" she tells her frequent tag team partner, perhaps unwisely. Sayaka's cape plasters to her shoulders and flutters like a flag as she aims (or rather, is aimed with little control over it herself) at Sailor Pluto. With a swing of her shoulders, she chambers her sword across her hip, drawn back for the swing. At the moment of impact, she pinches her eyes against the wind to get a moment of clear sight, drags her arms up hard against the resistance of the wind, and rips a silver line through the night. Her momentum is not nearly dispersed, and she is flung still further past, to catch at the ground with her feet and hands and try to stay as near as she can. She's a close-in kinda gal.

COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has started a combo targeting Sailor Pluto!

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"...Sakura-san makes a habit of making it look as if she takes /nothing/ seriously," Mami says darkly in answer to Endo's statement, in time with Sayaka's answer. They talk together. It's almost cute. She has watched each and every of her Chevaliers on the way over, looked them over, judged their state--not just as some kind of general, but to make sure they are all well, to check each of them over. She cares for all of them, after all. Each of them is precious. ...She even smiles at Nori's earrings; she remembers those well, after all.

...As for the Shepherds, not /all/ are familiar to her precisely. She lifts an eyebrow at Nao, Kasagami gets her look, and Mikoto and her sword--Mami's eyes bear down on her for an instant. She knows that one well. Chitose, too. And Pluto... It is solemn, yes. They are all talking.

She has to agree with Tsubasa about the battle.

But Sayaka speaks up, mentions the Chevaliers, mentions the world they want, that they will have, and Mami says nothing at first; instead, she is already holding her musket, and when Sayaka draws her sword and touches it to her weapon, Mami looks to her once, with a nod. She senses those little movements... and only Sayaka is likely to notice the little give in the way Mami holds her weapon, the flutter of her heart as she looks to her. They are in this together, no matter how far apart they are.

...And as soon as Sayaka moves, Mami steps back, her weapons fanning out as suddenly there are /six/ rather than one, each hanging in the air, pointed downward, and Mami pulls the first--and starts towards Kasagami, the Engaged, not that she knows it. Her honeyed eyes are on her, this foe she's faced before. And the muskets twirl along behind her, a beautiful chain that she twirls and takes from, leaping into the air as she keeps firing, picking up one after another and dropping each in turn.

"You have /no/ idea how long I've waited for this one, Araki-san."

COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has used Tiro Flourish on Kasagami Araki.
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kasagami Araki narrowly dodges Mami Tomoe's Tiro Flourish, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Kasagami Araki's Fade ability activates! Kasagami Araki's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto's enemies, all lined up. Sayaka, whose honeyed words have turned so many against them; Mami, who hates her, divinely and utterly, as far as Mikoto cares to know. La Sirene, whose darkness consumes; Garnet, whose fists decimate. A strange, stately woman, unfamiliar to Mikoto, bearing a blade which marks her enemy regardless. And Endo, who she had once fought alongside, when fate took a strange turn.

It's that last one she focuses on, eyes locking on his, grip tightening around her claymore. You learn someone's measure when you fight side-by-side, and she knows that he presents just as much of a threat as the louder warriors facing them. She has already decided that her blade must meet his. Now, she waits. It doesn't take long.

When the flurry of movement starts, Mikoto springs forward, as if a sprinter pushing off of the starting block. A scream tears from her throat, primal and terrible, Miroku squealing against the ground as she tears forward towards enemy lines. When she swings her mighty sword in a wide horizontal arc, she doesn't care who gets caught in the crossfire -- but she's only aiming for one boy.

He's got the devil's luck.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Obsidian Blade: Dauntlessness on Endo Naoki.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Sayaka Miki. What she lacks in stature she makes up for with heart and courage. At Sayaka's words and bearing, Garnet is (as she feels all beings with a conscience should be at so noble a call to action) inspired, and when her blueberry leader asks her for a hand with her assault, Garnet complies gladly, her teeth grit with stermination, carrying into that throw and Chevalier flagship strike all the energy it deserves and more.

COMBAT: Garnet has joined the combo started by Sayaka Miki!
COMBAT: COMBO! Sayaka Miki and Garnet have used Perfect Pitch and Hand Tossed Special Delivery on Sailor Pluto.
COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Pluto perfectly braces Sayaka Miki and Garnet's Combo: Perfect Pitch, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Brace! Sailor Pluto's Block ability activates! Sailor Pluto's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Kasagami Araki [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"You know Mami-chan..." She starts, smiling all cheshire and bloody minded grin and just /itching/ to fight the Golden Queen. And Mami gives her a brilliant start, with those many muskets fired at her. Ribbon musket balls fly for her, and as usual she's annoyingly difficult to hit.

She spins, turns, leaps into the air upside down and spins her long nodachi in a flash that has bullets falling from the sky. A few get close though, this is /Mami/ we're talking about, and her coat has several signs of gentle aeration from those seeking bullets. Kassie brushes her poor coat off, touching down a few feet away from her golden tressed dance partner, just in time to blow a kiss and wink at one Sailor Pluto.

"Don't you dare lose, Sailor Pluto!" Her tone is encouraging. Her eyes say more. I love you. I believe in you. Let's end this.

"I actually believe that! Hah haaaaah! Come on, Golden Delinquent, don't hold back! Let's cross blade and gun, dance and let our hearts light on fire! Nothing more that I love than beautiful girls like you, dangerous and savage, and a good fight! Oh, tonight is going to be WONDERFUL!" She laughs, joining battle with her demon's grin and way too much enthusiasm for a duel, even if not a Duel.

She also briefly seems to dissappear, falling from on high and blade slashing down to try to lash into Mami!

"Show me what you dream of, Mami Tomoe! Say it with your weapons!" Encourages Kassie most unwisely. Perhaps Kassie's life is just one bad decision stretched out over years, but she's going to enjoy it, dangit!

COMBAT: Kasagami Araki has used Rose on the Wind on Mami Tomoe.
COMBAT: Kasagami Araki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe narrowly counters Kasagami Araki's Rose on the Wind, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Kasagami Araki is Psyched! Mami Tomoe's Reverse ability activates! Mami Tomoe's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe's counterattack, Tiro Retort, partially gets through, doing 14 Fatigue damage to Kasagami Araki!

<Pose Tracker> Nao Yuuki [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto watches the enemy -- Nao watches Mikoto. They've fought alongside one another enough for her to be wise to what's about to happen; her friend will charge in and could get taken by surprise from the sides, and that is /not/ cool. Not cool at all.

Yup, there's the battle roar.

Her smirk widening into a grin, Nao slams a button on her phone. If she's going to fight tonight, it might as well be to her tunes. Its speakers are not up to the task of penetrating the myriad noises of the battlefield, but every so often snatches of the chorus make it up to her ears.

Diegetic BGM: Now - Paramore https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcpxjx2fy_E

Then she leaps into action -- leaps /high/, like she's in a wuxia film, being pulled by wires (more on that later). She comes down on the person nearest Endo -- la Sirene -- with a swish-slash of claws that turns her whole body in a complete, graceful circle.

Don't try to take this from me
Don't try to take this from me -- no-o-o-o-o-o-w

Her stocking knee comes down hard, hits the concrete, but she's game to take it, and again tastes whatever her claws have caught on the other side, even if it's nothing but the cool evening air.

"Have you ever tried selling all those diamonds?" she asks her opponent, without turning around. "I mean, like, if that was /my/ magic power, I'd never worry about anything again. You could even use it to buy stuff for widows and orphans if you needed that to sleep at night."

COMBAT: Nao Yuuki has used A Girl's Best Friend on La Sirene de Diamant.
COMBAT: Nao Yuuki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki perfectly counters Mikoto Minagi's Obsidian Blade: Dauntlessness, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! Endo Naoki's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Endo Naoki's counterattack, Asteroid Eilen, bursts all the way through, doing 42 Fatigue damage to Mikoto Minagi!
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant narrowly braces Nao Yuuki's A Girl's Best Friend, taking 3 Fatigue damage! La Sirene de Diamant's Block ability activates! La Sirene de Diamant's Parry ability activates! La Sirene de Diamant is Taunted!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.
<SoundTracker> .

~~EARLIER~~

Between Kyouko's first footfall, not so far from those she means to slash and stab, and the series of flips and leaps that sends her off to the other side of the thin red line, she caught the eye of her oldest friend. Mami looks at her without apparent feeling, save assurance, and Kyouko returns her gaze as evenly as it is offered. She doesn't mock Mami, nor offer a respectful nod. There are a number of things that she wants to do with Mami, but the door that leads to them has been sealed, and she is not eager to proceed down the only path remaining to them.

It hadn't been destiny, not when they'd spoken. But Mami has made it so, so so it is.

~~EARLIER STILL~~

Kyouko shaked her head, her oversized hat wobbling precariously upon her head. "Thanks, but I don't want anything nice enough that I have to care about keepin' nice. 'sides I kinda gotta go katana for this East / West thing.." Her face splits into a grin. Shrugging her hat off of her head and catching it with a fingertip, she starts to spin it around and around..

"'s not meant to be graceful. That's your job."

~~NOW~~

Kyouko glances at the falling street lamps, taken slightly aback before she realizes that Kasagami is speaking to her, but before she can gather herself to respond, her theatrical comrade is chiming in with a pep rally of her own. Kyouko's eyebrows lift about as far as the corners of her lips, but she blanches a little at the final tag.

/What? We're not the revolutionaries here...that's the whole point.../ Naturally, she thinks better of raising the issue.

She waves a hand to Nao, grinning back in kind. "This? This is just the sound check. Main event's comin', don't worry." To Sailor Pluto she flashes a wink. "Oh, always ready. That way I don't need to worry about if I should be ready, or when. I'm glad you're ready too." To her own epigram, she smiles, and nods in approbation.

~~SOUNDTRACK CHANGE - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa90OVJkBos ~~

And then it's on.

Mami rushes forward with a whole squadron of rifles to her credit, and alongside her is a swordswoman who Kyouko does not recognize. Kasagami, in her way, leaps into the fray to lock horns. Kyouko bares her teeth in something like a smile, hurling hat and glasses and pipe and robes from her body to reveal the ornate dress proclaiming her power.

Mami's range gave her an early opening, and Kasagami's cavalry charge bravado quickly closed the distance between the two..in short, they've met in melee slightly sooner than most. The expected thing would be to engage the fencer. As an unknown factor, she can't yet assess her as a threat..but the golden gunner she stands with is a well known danger. In her way, she goes with her gut.

Squaring her spear out like a lance, Kyouko charges headlong towards Tsubasa, her hair whipping behind her like a comet's tail, her face a feral rictus as she expels an animal scream. But before the two can join in battle, Kyouko's magic banishes the spearhead from its forward positioning, toggling it to the rear as she plants the newly blunted end into the ground, lifting herself up into the air as her weapon takes on a vertical posture which only grows as the shaft extends itself. Instead of fighting Tsubasa, Kyouko has leapt straight over her..and behind her comrade.

Mami's back is to her..and Kasagami is, among other things, a tremendously effective gravitational center for attention. It is time to walk the last path left to her and her senpai. Gritting her teeth and whitening her knuckles, she does not hesitate as she attempts to run her oldest friend through.

COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura has used Masterstroke on Mami Tomoe.
COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru covers Mami Tomoe for Kyouko Sakura's attack, Masterstroke, taking it upon herself instead!
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru narrowly counters Kyouko Sakura's Masterstroke, taking 30 Fatigue damage! Kozue Kaoru's Reverse ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru's counterattack, Strepitoso, partially gets through, doing 10 Fatigue damage to Kyouko Sakura! Critical Counterhit! Tangle applied to Kyouko Sakura!

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Endo gives a nod at Nori's assessment of Kyoto. He wasn't present at the last battle, hasn't seen the full might of the Shepards, but he knows some. He's seen the power of Kasagami's unbridaled passion, the strength of the Outer Senshi, the unbridled ferocity of Mikoto and the dark blade she wields. None are to be taken lightly.

But neither are the Chevaliers and their dream, spoken so eloquently by the blue-haired Puella Magi at their front. It's a sentiment he shares-and even more, a promise he made. He has a contract of his own, to protect his home. To destroy his enemies. He never imagined that those foes would be these, other magical girls, some who he'd even fought with side-by-side on strange occasions.

But there's no choice in the matter. Not now. Not with the howling figure of Mikoto charging forward, swinging the vicious sword he'd seen easily carve through other adversaries. He doesn't have to go far to meet her, and he does so head on and with much the same strategy. Run forward and swing.

They crash together like comets. Ancient weapons meet, collide, spark. The force reverberates through Endo, shakes him to his bones and throws the knight backward once the exchange is done.

He extends a hand quickly after, thrusts it forward and calls forth a spell. The air around his fingers burns and a large, triangular glyph spins to life in the air in front of him.

<KETTE BINDEN.>

From the disc-like sigil burst a dozen chains, purple-black lines of Belkan magic that streak toward his opponent. They seek to catch, to bind, to restrain and slow the power behind her massive strikes. Any one, he knows, could be fatal.

COMBAT: Endo Naoki has used Kette Binden on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi perfectly dodges Endo Naoki's Kette Binden, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Mikoto Minagi's Fade ability activates! Mikoto Minagi's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene de Diamant [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

La Sirene gleams lightly as Sayaka speaks with such clarity. She draws in a breath. She has no blade or gun to lay atop Mami's or Sayaka's but for a fleeting moment she wishes she did; that her strength did not lay so deeply in shadows and feelings and subtle permutations. Yes, of course, it's effective. That isn't the /point/. What is she going to do, walk up and rest her Pharos on top of --

There is, of course, another problem with la Sirene's way of thinking, which is that she is not always fully aware of her surroundings. Yes, she could see the girl with the great sword, but she saw her tense and was shifting herself in anticipation of raising her left hand, calling upon Les Mysteres, and sending Mikoto into the side of the bridge.

There is a problem with this plan.

That problem is Nao Yuuki.

"Kyah!" la Sirene exclaims as she whips her arm abruptly upwards, a sharp SHING! coming along with a spark of unnatural light as one of those diamonds on the backs of her gloves glances off of the sweeping blade. She stares at Nao, breathing heavily for a moment, before she realizes - Nao spoke -

Recover yourself. Straightening, her arm lowers, and la Sirene answers her with a tart tongue, "They're common enough, where I am from. It would be poor play for me to give away my regalia for so much dross."

Those blades, she thinks.

The light tightens around la Sirene and then ripples outwards. Unlike the traditional form, the erupting all-directions attack aimed to ensnare and tangle up Nao Yuuki before she can gut la Sirene like so much seafood does /not/ resemble vines - it resembles instead a ghostly anemone aiming to entrap her, finding its own personal nobody and holding her against the bridge. Such is la Sirene's intention.

The execution is more complex. "Endo," la Sirene begins, before she sees his own sorcery erupt - "Ah, you've seen her, fair enough," she concludes with a nod.

COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant has used Polyploia on Nao Yuuki.
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Nao Yuuki fails to counter La Sirene de Diamant's Polyploia, taking 33 Fatigue damage! Trap applied to Nao Yuuki!
COMBAT: Nao Yuuki's counterattack, Mean Girls, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to La Sirene de Diamant!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Pluto [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

Sailor Pluto breathes in deeply of the charged air, filling her lungs with anticipation, and feels the steady pace of her heart jump -- speeding as everything else slows, a natural dilation of her element, adrenaline welcomed as an old comrade-at-arms. In the moment that battle is joined she feels the absence of Sailors Uranus and Neptune, that distance itself an old comrade of sorts. She salutes them in her mind, knowing that a stand here might make the difference to their duty.

Pluto has newer comrades, though. The Shepherds are at her side, and she theirs; with Chitose at her shoulder and the ferocious might of hungry swords and spears unleashed before her, she cannot feel alone. Certainly not after she catches a blown kiss and wink, and with battle-readiness thudding through her veins all Pluto can feel is a surge of fierce joy that drowns anything bittersweet.

There is only time and space here for ferocity, in all things. She nods with gazes locked, and calls, "Never!" and her evergreen hair swirls in the shifting currents of the fray's opening volleys, whipped by passing bullets even as she stands tall and still. "While I breathe, I stand." It is a promise.

They come -- her focus forward, now, the senshi imposes with the deep tones of her voice, addressing their attackers directly. "And while I stand, you shall not have Ueno!"

In particular, Sayaka comes, propelled by a Garnet-colored and -attached fist Sailor Pluto -- and more specifically, a spot on her jaw that suddenly aches from pure memory -- remembers with exquisite clarity. That painfully-gained knowledge gives the senshi an idea of the walloping force headed her way.

It is a test. And she will meet it. Legs limber, ready to absorb impact -- she grips the Garnet Rod with hands spread wide, like her feet, all of the stoic senshi primed for the moment of impact. Sailor Pluto makes her stand with eyes narrowed and hair streaming.

She promised not to move.

Blade and staff collide with a flash of light and a clash of sound, both silvery and sharp and immense. All of the bruising impact of Garnet fists combine with the blue streak of velocity that is Sayaka and her sword, and it rings through the sacred titanium of the Garnet Rod right back through Sailor Pluto's very being.

Concrete ripples behind her boot heels as they dig into the bridge, driven down with great force -- down... but not back.

The promise is kept.

And when the violence of Sayaka's passing clears, the senshi has not moved. The cost of it rattles her arms and teeth, but she stands. And turns -- to face the blue knight.

Rotates, with the Garnet Rod at the fore, to not just face her foe but retaliate, sweeping it down and around to tangle the limbs of the girl who would take Ueno.

COMBAT: Sailor Pluto has used Aoristic Fulcrum on Sayaka Miki.
COMBAT: Sailor Pluto has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sayaka Miki narrowly counters Sailor Pluto's Aoristic Fulcrum, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Sayaka Miki is Quipped!
COMBAT: Sayaka Miki's counterattack, Disjunct Chord, partially gets through, doing 4 Fatigue damage to Sailor Pluto!

<Pose Tracker> Kozue Kaoru [None] has posed.

As it is in many things, Aohime is fashionably late as she vaults over the side of the bridge, just after battle is joined. Black flying behind her before there's a tremendous clack of her boots, and her coat flies down back into place. Heeled black suede that reach just over the knee. A matching black miniskirt and leather trench that's open.

Beneath it is a T-shirt with the singular word of SERIOUS printed upon it. She's not wearing shades either. But she knows how to accessorize-! In this case it's a sickle in her right hand attached to jangling chain links held in her left. A weight with asymmetrical blades attached to it swinging back and forth like a pendulum..

"You know - when you first proposed a girl's night out for this part of town Sayaka-chan, I wasn't really that into the idea. I mean museums? The zoo? Sounds like where you go to finish a school report rather than for a good time."

Her eyes drift up, towards the bolt of blue fluttering towards Sailor Pluto. One might think now is the worst time to distract. And yet she's shameless about her timing. "I think you've convinced me."

She hardly seems like a Chevalier. In fact in many ways none of the Chevaliers would mistake this girl for one of them. Given their past history some seem like to even turn on her, putting her in a pincher between the other side...

And what a side the other one is.

They're all heavy hitters on the other side, enough that it would give her pause under the best of circumstances.

On any given day she didn't give herself good odds against any of them, and even now is a little hesitant to make Minagi or Yuuki her enemies. Even settling old scores with Araki or Pluto would be a bad idea, no matter how much she wants to.

She's not here to settle old scores though.

Now that she's on the battlefield she seems entirely unhurried. Her gait slow and measured, as her eyes assess and reevaluate what she's walking into at any given moment. The weight on her chain moves back and forth in a pendulum like rhythm with a wrenching jangle.

And then there's Sakura. She only knew her by reputation but she knew Mami Tomoe is wide open - and sees the feint the moment she leaps over Tsubasa's head. And her gait stops for just a fraction of a second, but just to press down a little more at her knees, before her gait picks up. She's no runner even if she's athletic, but she has to see if her swimmers legs are up to the challenge as she takes off at an all out sprint in a war of the crimson Puella Magi's momentum, starting to revolve the chain with her hand as she runs until it's a whirling blur.

She isn't going to make it - and she knows it.

A blue-haired streak that might make Sakura think that Sayaka had come to her senpai's aid for all of a split second as she enters into her vision. That is until Kozue's revolving chain arcs to wrap around Sakura's chained lance - spoiling her aim in mid-air as she yanks it taut.

But only just. Digging her heels in, she pulls with all of her might. In a tremendous effort against the Puella Magi's greater strength, which she knows she can't stop it. Just redirect. Which sends the red comet straight at her instead. Hooking her sickle up against the tip of the barbed spearhead. Sparks fly before she jukes up the sickle with all of her might in an attempt to blade lock it.

Only for her to be slammed backwards with the force of a freight train the moment she /thinks/ she has it parried.

The transferred force slams her into the ground and grinds her in, a cloud of pulverized concrete wafting up from the spot.

In a cloud of white and grey, it's a situation that Madoka might throoughly empathize with from afar.

Coughing and wheezing from within - it's clear that she's inside, but unclear where, other than on the ground.

"What've they been... feeding you..." Is the groaned statement from within the settling cloud, as her silhouette finally appears. The spear pinning her appears to suddenly smack concrete as the black outline moves inside. There's a light tug like a kid trying to pull someone that thoroughly one-upped them off-balance by the spear.

Before she slides forward like the devil himself is prompting her to move before she loses all opportunity.

In a desperate attempt to slide into her guard, she takes the sickle in a serpentine quick strike at her flank with the blurring sickle. Any other Chevalier might consider it a dirty move, like a rabbit punch with a blade.

Despite being covered with powdery white, there's now a telltale stain of red on the shirt, as her opposite clenched hand is run over her lip as she finally catches her breath. "Everyone wants to get a piece of Mami-chan. I get it."

In the wake of that hand, there's a wicked looking grin, "But now that you've painted me your color, it's only natural that we tussle for a while - ne?"

COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Staccato on Kyouko Sakura.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura narrowly braces Kozue Kaoru's Staccato, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Kyouko Sakura's Block ability activates! Kyouko Sakura's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

There are many things Mami would rather do with her oldest friend, with her onetime partner, than this. ...But that door is sealed. She will proceed down the path that has been prepared. ...That Mami herself ahs prepared.

It is destiny now, whether it was or not before.

"You don't want me to stop holding back," Mami says smoothly to Kasagami, with all the authority of the Queen that she has been long named. "You want to see my dreams? You don't understand dreams--"

Mami is in motion, for Kasagami this time. Kasagami's sword hacks a thin red line in Mami's side, in her arm, as she whirls and pulls a gigantic hand cannon out of nowhere and fires it straight back into Kasagami. Mami doesn't smile; Kyouko is revealed, and quickly there is melee. ...Mami doesn't favor melee. But Kyouko charges forward in an instant, and Mami /realizes/ her mistake--turning her back on Kyouko--when there is no time for her to do anything about it. The final path available to them is here. Mami draws in a quick breath, knowing that she cannot move in time.

But it doesn't come. It hits someone else, in a blur of blue, and Mami's eyes widen. "Kozue-chan," she breathes, and nods to her for an instant. "...Thank you. Don't take her lightly."

Mami whirls at that, hitting the ground again and starting to put her eyes on Kasagami. "...You don't get it," Mami says to her. "This isn't a game. This isn't some kind of beautiful showing of what we are. ...Do you know what this kind of conflict is?"

Mami's hands are empty of guns--and then suddenly she's pulling a yellow ribbon taut. "But sure, I'll say it like this. I have a lot to say to you."

She whirls out with the ribbon--but moves /past/ Kasagami, as she leaps over her next, sticking that ribbon to the ground, sticking another to a pole, before she has an entire lattice of them all around Kasagami in instants, whirling far too quickly to be seen.

...Each of them razor sharp as she pulls the whole thing tight to crash around the Engaged. They may not be yellow ribbons for long.

COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has used Tagliare on Kasagami Araki.
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kasagami Araki narrowly counters Mami Tomoe's Tagliare, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cripple applied to Kasagami Araki!
COMBAT: Kasagami Araki's counterattack, Turning the Petal's Edge, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Mami Tomoe!

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Both Endo and Mikoto charge forward, wielding ancient blades, and it's clear the power between them as they clash. Miroku meets Fallen Stern, and the two have a conversation writ entirely in grinding steel, dark blade against dark blade. Golden slits appear along Miroku's side, like eyes, for just a moment, as if to recognise a greater threat -

- and then, from the corner of the eye, Mikoto catches the flash of a sickle-blade. Unbelieving, she's driven to glance. She sees something she never wanted to see -- Kozue, so similar to her friend Nao, but she's attacking Kyouko. Attacking her ally. Mikoto's eyes widen, and for just a moment her grip falters. "Kozue!" Mikoto screams, her voice breaking. "/No!/"

It's the very worst time to have an emotional moment. The distraction is deadly, and Endo's strength overwhelms Mikoto. His strike sends her flying, bodily, sailing back along the bridge she'd charged over. Such is the power of the swing that she, unthinkably, loses her grip on her sword.

The chains chase her, as she falls to the ground. But Mikoto does not slam against the concrete like a broken doll -- she rolls, instinctively, and the motion takes her away from the first chain. As it slams into the ground, all force and fury, Mikoto realises Endo is still on the attack.

There's no time to mourn for people on the wrong side of her sword, not now. She has to fight, or she'll die. Kozue is an enemy, now. Kozue will kill her. And Endo is her enemy, and Endo will kill her. Mikoto has to get there first.

She springs from the ground, a split second before another chain latches onto the spot she'd been; she twists around in the air as if she had her own righting-reflex, leaving two more chains to pass alongside her instead of finding purchase. When she lands, she ducks, as another of those horrible magic chains passes overhead. She is a flurry of movement, always just a step ahead of the chains. One misstep could kill her; she doesn't misstep.

She's not cold any more.

"MIROKU!", Mikoto cries, once the barrage has finished, hands outstretched. The obsidian blade flickers and disappears from wherever it has landed, and reappears in her grip, her arms sagging slightly when the weight hits. One cannot disarm a HiME -- not when their weapons are materialising equipment.

There are tears in her eyes as she snarls, whirling to face Endo. She charges, screaming, a raging, wounded tiger. Before she reaches him, she springs upwards, and brings Miroku down in an overhead swing which is surely intended to cleave him in two.

They're all her enemies. They're just her enemies. Don't think about it. Just fight.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Obsidian Blade: Destruction on Endo Naoki.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki fails to brace Mikoto Minagi's Obsidian Blade: Destruction, taking 49 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Kasagami Araki [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Kyouko rages like a bull, using her lance so well. It has Kassie shooting grins and even a wink her own way. "Oh don't be that way, Kyouko-chan! I'm a King! I'll do whatever is right, just, and most importantly, pleasant! Sometimes change is it's own status quo~!" She's teasing here, all grins and poking to set off just a biiiit more fury in her fellow Shepherd. All so Kyouko can slam it right into Mami Tomoe's face.

She is, by the way, graceful as heck Kyouko. And some of her katanas probably are worth more than most people's life insurance pay outs. So that's probably the smart thing there wasn't any borrowing done.

Kassie's delinquent senses tingle. Oh hey, it's the expelee! She's busy with Mami, but not so busy that she can't find a petty taunt to toss the former Duelist.

"Kozue-chan! Now that's just /rude/! Didn't anyone ever tell you not to cut in on someone's date at a dance!? Terrible manners, really, but I guess the life of a worthless dropout invites such lack of standards!"

Kasagami just has this knack for being a punchable /jerk/ even without trying. Here, she's trying.

There's also a Mami weaving plenty of razor-sharp ribbons around her in that whirling pattern of hers, like a spider web attached to poles. This is worrisome. Very worrisome actually, Kassies don't fight well when not free to dodge and weave and put blade into vulnerable body parts. So, hammer to a nail, she does the thing she does so well. As they all crash around her, her blade is everywhere at once. A vast majority of those razorribbons are slashed to yellow confetti in a spinning maneuver with a dancer's grace and warrior's ferocity.

"We have /got/ to have a chat about your hobbies Mami-chan, this embarrasses even me." This is said while one of said ribbons has caught her free arm, causing her to dangle a bit before she manages enough momentum to swing about with it still attached. Her sleeve is obliterated, one glove torn to bits, and burnt flesh on display. Luckily she doesn't seem to feel the cutting it's doing. She'll deal wtih that in a bit, she has a Mami to catch.

"But dreams, Mami, is something I understand completely. I live for my dreams! I'd be dead without them! Now come on, double time, I told you I want to see your heart burn for me!" She suddenly howls out, ribbon on her going taut and she's once again devouring space with worrying quickness as her sword swings swiftly in a one-handed drawing motion. Hit or miss, several nearby lightpoles are getting their height cut in half before crashing to the ground. The range on that nodachi is a thing of beauty and menace in it's perfect shine yet to be dulled!

COMBAT: Kasagami Araki has used Rose Flash on Mami Tomoe.
COMBAT: Kasagami Araki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe narrowly braces Kasagami Araki's Rose Flash, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Kasagami Araki is Psyched!

<Pose Tracker> Nao Yuuki [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> Nao's iTunes, con't: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcpxjx2fy_E

Remember the part where Nao leapt forwards as though she was on wires?

That becomes relevant right around the time that la Sirene's shadows close in all around her. Her eyes flash brilliantly, unabashedly frightened by fighting a force that she does not understand; her claws pass straight through the many-limbed unlight that surrounds her, and moments later she is wrapped up in a cruel parody of her own best practices upon the unsuspecting pedophiles of Tokyo.

Her cell phone music is swallowed up with the rest of her.

--el- ---- --- wa--- ---- --- -- ead
-n- -ve-------- --en ------- -n -e

Nao makes a cute shadow-chrysalis; she /wiggles/. It's a lot less fun inside; sweat pours off her brow, then chills instantly at the touch of the Sea of Tears, and her eyes roll wildly behind reflexively shut eyelids.

Inside, she can hear clearly enough. Too clearly, it's loud, it's too loud.

Now I'll never have to wonder
What it's like to sleep a year away

This could already be over. Mikoto looks like she took a big hit, and now Nao is helpless to aid her; the only reason she's even here.

Well -- almost.

She stops moving. From the outside, it looks like a surrender, the pillar of unlight finally stilling.

And then she, and it, topple over the edge of the bridge -- and the many, many sharp strings of webbing, strings she planted all over the area before the battle even started, strings which were all connected, through one trajectory or another, to her claws -- go taut.

A razor-sharp net closes around la Sirene from below, from above, from everywhere.

Nao herself is lost from sight for a long moment, until she comes swinging back up from the other side of the bridge like Tarzan on a fully circular arc, shedding polyploic shadow as she moves. Shreds of it still stick to her, trail after her like the wavering scraps of an artfully torn witch's sleeves.

She is, naturally, preceded by the music accompanying her.

Lose the battle, win the war
Bringing my sinking ship back to the shore

She lands behind la Sirene and not far from Mikoto, who she is hugely relieved to see is still up, still fighting. She missed both her friend's epic escape from her own chains, /and/ the full implications of Kozue's presence in this battle, but none of that matters to her right now.

That's already in the past. There is only the present.

We're starting over, so head back in
There's a time and a place to die but this ain't it

With a twist of both her hands (and her lips, also), she tightens the many nearly-invisible wires around la Sirene.

"That's just like a rich bitch -- you're gonna call the kind of money that could feed starving kids /dross/? So much for heroism, I guess. That's okay, though."

Her claws glitter, not like gold or diamonds. Just like danger and hatred and anger.

Just like her eyes.

"I only punish the wicked, after all."

If there's a future, we want it, no-o-o-o-ow

COMBAT: Nao Yuuki has used Welcome To My Parlor on La Sirene de Diamant.
COMBAT: Nao Yuuki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant accepts Nao Yuuki's Welcome To My Parlor, taking 29 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! La Sirene de Diamant is Quipped! Trap applied to La Sirene de Diamant!

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The ringing in Sailor Pluto's bones is exceeded by that in Sayaka's, insofar as that great staff is a much better implement for this contest than Sayaka's sword. Diverted solidly away, Sayaka scrapes to a stop on one hand and two feet, managing to keep hold of her sword despite her stinging fingers.

"Tch." Sayaka wipes her cheek with her glove, then drives forward with a shove of both leg, her booted feet pattering rapidly as she lets her cape fall over her arms.

"Garnet!" she cries, as her blade rings out again, a skyward swipe the opening note. "We need to bring her down before she starts putting up shields or using Death Screech!" Sayaka may not remember the attack name too well but she remembers how it was the most visibly frightening one she's ever seen. Pluto is a priority target... unfortunately there are a lot of those.

Pirouetting, Sayaka lightly takes the opposite side of Pluto to Garnet's. She keeps doing that, infuriatingly, no matter where Pluto turns, harrying the much taller woman with light slashes and pokes, denying her the ability to retreat from Garnet's much heavier blows.

"Kozue!" Sayaka espies the other bluenette. "Garnet, Kozue's here!" She's really happy about that. Did she forget to mention something?

COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has used Caprice on Sailor Pluto.
COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Pluto fails to dodge Sayaka Miki's Caprice, taking 21 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.
<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk5s_nMFh6I

A remarkable phenomenon. An oversized lump of hail whistles through the air..not falling, but gliding above the ground. A dirty blue nuisance, and with such clear skies...

It's true, at first Kyouko was sure that Sayaka, hot headed and fearful of calamitous loss, had abandoned the din of battle to hurl her body in the way of a blade. It is only when the literal dust settles that she sees that that is not the case. This woman wields no saber, but a sickle. Her hair is a close cropped blue, but shaped to angular wings instead of a tight sphere. And that outfit..Sayaka's fairy knight attire gives way to a certain vintage of chic, a short skirt and looooong leather.

A stranger. How SERIOUS a stranger remains to be seen. But, from the outset, Kyouko knows a few things.

She is brave.

She stands with Mami Tomoe.

And she bleeds.

Kyouko's entire poise shifts. The instrument of her initial thrust is gone from her grip, its purpose achieved. She had leaned so far forward in her gait that she would nearly fall flat if she stopped moving. Now she corrects so severely that she doesn't stand straight so much as she slightly leans back, her sprinting charge giving way to a long legged lope. Where before her stride could make a circle of perpetual motion, her feet now stab into the ground as if anchoring with every step. A spear in her hand swishes through the air in arcing circles, dancing from hand to hand, before her and behind.

She is dining now, supping upon raw observation, pressing a sheaf of wax paper to the contours of this girl's being and scraping it with flat charcoal to inscribe an impression. She drinks of this unknown soldier's aura, entirely fixated on this newest combatant as the periphery of battle seems to momentarily slip away from third party influence.

A half grin splits her left-face wide at the remark. One who makes quips. And then she is gone from under her needle.

Kyouko stands firm as this fashionable girl who speaks cleverly before she strikes appears before her, nocking the angry fang of her sickle into Kyouko's side. Leering at her, she does not flinch, even as her own red garment stains darker. Her hand lashes out to grasp at that leather coat's collar, to yank this strange girl closer in, close enough to feel the heat of Kyouko's breath, and the palpable thrill emanating from her like a cloud of spores.

"I eat blue-haired girls."

Her muscles tense. The nascent nubs of spears form all along the front of her body, molten and malformed, lacking much in aesthetic but nothing in jagged serration. Kyouko makes herself a crown of thorns, and attempts to taste blood.

COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura has used Pincushion on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru narrowly dodges Kyouko Sakura's Pincushion, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Kozue Kaoru is Quipped! Kozue Kaoru's Fade ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Flash ability activates! Cripple and Exhausted applied to Kozue Kaoru!

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mami may or may not be planning to wreck at least one of those swords--especially now that Kyouko is commenting, tossing a taunt, and Mami narrows her eyes. "Worthless dropout?" Mami asks.

"...You're a worthless blowhard who will never achieve any of your dreams, Araki. Calling yourself a King is a /joke/. You're the most common girl I've ever /met/."

Mami is weaving her ribbons--and Kasagami starts cutting. Perfect, of course--she sees that. A chat about her hobbies, is it? Mami keeps working, and watches the burnt flesh for an instant. But Mami is here to be caught, all right. She's here, prepared for it, already having started planting rifles. Even as Kasagami approaches, Mami is pulling another from her bodice, three from her skirt, four from her sleeves in an instant, so many all at once. Worryying quickness is right--Kasagami is howling, and Mami doesn't even /try/ to dodge this time.

She just projects a set of ribbons before herself to slow and redirect the blade, taking what remains across her stomach, razor sharp but not a deep enough wound to kill her.

"...You know my dream, /Araki/-chan?" Mami says.

"...One of them is already there, taking on your ex."

She pulls an arm back as if ripping a cord, and the scattered rifles erupt, turning into a semicircle as Mami handsprings backward and upward, towards a rooftop--

And a dozen rifles fire straight at Kasagami's chest all at once in a roar of gunfire.

COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has used Tiro Circle on Kasagami Araki.
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kasagami Araki fails to dodge Mami Tomoe's Tiro Circle, taking 41 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Mami Tomoe is Psyched!

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene de Diamant [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Kozue! la Sirene thinks when she hears Mikoto call out that name in such hot denial. Is she - ah, there it is. That is an obscure relief, even if there is that same sick tightening at the recollection of whatever it is that has led Kozue and Sayaka to bond. That feeling, mixed with the wicked claws of her opponent...

and

The net comes around her. Her eyes are swift enough to see the wires. It lets her bring her arms up, and so it is that the collapsing web around her does not go through her like so much soft cheese subject to the wire. Those diamonds prove themselves worthy because each piece of chunked carbonado is nigh-unbreakable: they might make poor armor, but they and the thicker material keep most of la Sirene's personal corpus from contact with those wires.

Most; not all. There are a few blooms of red on her upper arms, towards the shoulder, which are bare. Her crossed arms and an aborted half-leap back mean that she is in fact well and truly clasped in that web, unable to even see much beyond her wrists. Well, her first thought goes: This is a mess.

Then Nao speaks and it all gets much worse.

Her face does not redden because in this state, la Sirene de Diamant doesn't exactly have very dark red blood, but the flush comes. A helpless tightening. A contraction in her gut. I didn't want to, she thinks. She feels choked; she wants to scream, but black futility and lassitude take a moment to murmur wordless assent to what Nao is saying. It is a swaying and dizzying twist; perhaps not so different from the spin Nao took.

Caught like this, Nao has a pretty clear shot towards la Sirene if she cares to take it. The lantern at her belt - whose rope, perhaps notably, did not fray at the touch of the wires, though it was indeed pressed into - glitters like a strange black jewel. La Sirene contorts inwards and that glitter flares - a sudden lash, blind yet guided, right towards the face of Nao!! (Though of course the light itself has almost no quite-exactly physical presence behind it.)

La Sirene speaks then, though her voice is querelous. "Hate me if you want. You have the chance..." It trails off, but after that she /does/ twist, decisively, hissing out the rest of that breath because she managed to wrench her upper body free. With a hand on the ground she is able to curl her fingers, which is, it seems, enough to pull the rest of her. Her back arches; the aura around her undulates, and the wires don't break but they do /slide/, skitting down the leathern armor of her dress and her boots.

Sometimes they catch on the diamonds, but then they move along.

Of course this gracious process takes time, and, tragically enough, a short hank of hair from two particularly closely lashed wires; so it goes. It grows back.

COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant has used The Black Kaleidoscope on Nao Yuuki.
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Nao Yuuki narrowly braces La Sirene de Diamant's The Black Kaleidoscope, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Nao Yuuki is Quipped! Nao Yuuki's Block ability activates! Nao Yuuki's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet, still landbound allows herself a moment of quiet awe at the outcome of their assault. Well.. she (Pluto) certainly stayed true to her word...

But Sayaka wastes no time in redoubling their assault and calls out to the Gem! Garnet doesn't know what a Death Screech is... oh wait, isn't it something from that movie Steven watches during the holidays... "The Banshee Who Stole Christmas"? It turns all the presents in a room into coal as she recalls, which seems of dubious usefulness in this battle, but Pluto's probably does something else, something worse.

So Garnet heeds Sayaka's call, and while the valiant blue swordsgirl keeps their foe's attention with her flurry of strikes, Garnet swoops in at speed with a low punch, carrying the momentum of her blur of motion into a hopeful opening of her defenses.

COMBAT: Garnet has used Decisive Punch on Sailor Pluto.
COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Pluto perfectly braces Garnet's Decisive Punch, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Brace! Sailor Pluto's Block ability activates! Sailor Pluto's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Kasagami Araki [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Pretty dull dream if you ask me!" Pause. "The blue one, not Big Red. Gems are always shiney." So the insult is falling apart, Kassie is rolling with it here.

Squint. Pause. Wait a sec..."COMMON!? I am the head of a prestigious samurai family! My Dad was a /Diet Member/! I am not COMMON!" Oh dear, did Mami hit a nerve? Yes. Yes she did.

This all is a great distraction though, as she has lots of guns and rifles circled about connected to a set of ribbons. The trap sprung, Mami Tomoe gets this lovely look of surprise as the guns go all right to her chest. Someone get a picture, that's a moment to treasure. Even moreso as ribbon bullets tear through her. Her coat is basically tatters now.

Oh, and her sides of her uniform look like she's gone through a Student Council approved punk phase. Kassie did an impressive series of back flips to avoid being actively made very dead by the Golden Queen of Shibuya, but boy did more of those shots hit than were strictly comfortable.

Now there's just anger fueling her, and Kasagami gives another howl of fury. Leaping at the fancy Puella, she drops things like tactics, insults, or even human speech. Just spitting wrath as she gains on Mami. Then she jumps at the last second, long legs carrying her with superhuman speed up and then down in a front flip.

Oh, and there's the toe of her steel toed boots. Aimed very, very hard for Mami Tomoe's face.

COMBAT: Kasagami Araki has used Kassie Kick on Mami Tomoe.
COMBAT: Kasagami Araki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe narrowly dodges Kasagami Araki's Kassie Kick, taking 39 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Mami Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Mami Tomoe's Flash ability activates! Stagger applied to Mami Tomoe!

<Pose Tracker> Kozue Kaoru [None] has posed.

"Heh. No need to waste your breath on the obvious." Kozue retorts playfully back at Mami, having now seen Kyouko's strength. Now in a predator's challenge she knows that the other girl is the stronger one. A spear honed by the streets and battle after battle. One wouldn't think a rich privileged girl would have anything on her, but she's also a mean feral thing in her own right. Yanked in close, she's hit by the heat of that pocky-filled halitosis. And she doesn't flinch. Instead she's immediately trying to rip away with a growl from her grip, releasing fabric into her hand.

Twisting to the side, her chain unravels around the other girl's lance, sliding away. There's one hop back, then another. Then a sideways one as more spears come close to her and rips a hole in her coat. At the last minute she knocks another away with her sickle when she seems beyond endurance in just barely avoiding. Breathless from the effort, and a little wide-eyed from the number. The smirk goes back onto her lips after in her charade play of dominance. "That a promise?" She asks with a feisty suggestiveness.

The piercing scream of her name and 'No' from Minagi's voice causes her eyelashes to flutter in a gesture that would cause her to close her eyes normally. After this grunting exhalation of breath, she finally says, "No - what Mikoto? /No/ /what/? What are you asking me not to do? Don't fight? Don't defend people who are important to me?"

She can't look her way, not right now. Not facing down Sakura. "I know better than to patronize you by telling you no."

Whereas when Araki calls her out, she turns her neck with a twisting of the vertebrae, a popping and cracking of the joints without even looking in her direction, eyes still upon the crimson gladiator facing her down, "Excuse you Araki. The only dance here is between wild animals - and since you're carrying on like a baboon in heat there's not a girl here that isn't out of your league on this dance floor - Mami-chan most of all."

Spinning her arm in a vertical loop-de-loop as she circles around Kyouko in a back and forth of this predator's dance. "So you're the kind of girl that just likes to get straight to it huh?" She suddenly steps in with a wild feint like she's going to rush into her guard again and that grip. When suddenly she slams her foot down and pivots in a long twist, grasping her chain as it circles round and round at her. The whirling knob at the end of it shooting past her in that wild circle.

Only to slam against spear haft or body, as it wraps again and again and again in a circling revolution to encompass her whole body before the weight snaps into the tangle - coming to the end of it's length.

Raising up one leg high like an axe kick over the held chain while keeping the other planted. She then slams it down upon the chain to try to viciously snap the scarlet Puella Magi into the ground like some lasso'ed wild animal, hoping the wound leverage outstrips her strength.

"Such a shame - normally I'd enjoy this more, but I'm only letting one girl take me home tonight and it's not you."

COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Dominant Chord on Kyouko Sakura.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura perfectly counters Kozue Kaoru's Dominant Chord, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter!
COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura's counterattack, Latticework, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Kozue Kaoru!

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Endo doesn't have much time so see what's going on around him. Her can tell La Sirene de Diamant is close, and catch just a glimpse of her foe. "I see." And he's happy to see that she's still on once piece after Nao's appearance. He can also see, across the way, the entrance of Kozue-though the task of processing her actions and what side she might be on is too mind intensive an exercise for this particular moment.

This moment, with Mikoto re-launching her assault. The chains he'd expected to wrangle her do no good, and his eyes snap back as she takes her leap. He doesn't have much time to react, and it's doubtful he could move fast enough to avoid such a strike. Instead, much like the last time, he raises his weapon in a bid to deflect hers.

The exchange goes worse this time. The collide again, and Endo gives. A knee folds, driven down into the foundation of the bridge with the overwhelming force of his opponent's strike, concrete tiles snapping and cracking with the impact. He appears for a moment as Atlus, one hand on the hilt of his weapon and the other on the flat underside of the opposite end, desperate to hold back the weight of the world.

And he does, this once. He remains one whole Endo, albeit with screaming joints and near blinding pain shooting through one leg. There's a moment, brief, when the proximity allows him a glance at Mikoto's face. Time, for an instant, stands still.

And then he uses his sword. He shoves back in desperate bid to put a few feet of space between them again, enough to right himself before she can overwhelm him. The blade is cast in an arc toward Mikoto after, a sharp cut to ward her off with a pained grunt.

Like Mikoto, Endo is not much for talking. Not until it's over. But Fallen Stern, it's dark metal marked with a thin line from the exchange, warbles its acknowledgement: <STRONG.>

COMBAT: Endo Naoki has used Blauverschiebung on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi perfectly braces Endo Naoki's Blauverschiebung, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Brace!

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"If you say so," Mami answers Kozue, smoothly as they fight their respective partners here--she is concerned for her, but she cannot look away from her own opponent for long. ...That's how she's gotten as far as she has, after all. Besides--she's getting quite the reaction out of Kasagami here, smirks as a result.

"So you say. You haven't seen what I have. You don't know the really valuable things."

A beat, "And all I hear is that your family was important and managed to turn out an ordinary bully."

The distraction works, and she treasures that moment of surprise, the coat in tatters. Kasagami does her backflips, and Mami watches that howl of fury--the tactics, insults, everything is dropped in favor of wrath--

And Kasagami's kick connects--but not with Mami's face. She lunges to the side and takes a hit hard enough to make an awful noise at her shoulder, the steel toe knocking her backward into a storefront that crashes down around her, seemingly just the end of things for an instant, causing her to cough for an instant.

..."...Out of her league, hm...?"

Mami's voice comes from the ruin, as she lifts one arm--just one arm--as if taking a hint from Sayaka's conducting. A wall of rifled muskets suddenly appears before her, dozens in succession right there, in a burst of golden magic, as Mami starts to rise from out of the rubble.

"...I should tell you," Mami says, "It's really not very kind of me to enjoy this as much as I'm about to."

They all go off at once, and Kasagami faces a one-woman firing squad as Mami's left arm hangs uselessly at her side, eyes /entirely/ on the girl who once kidnapped her precious, precious friend not here tonight.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Mami Tomoe has used Tiro Salvo on Kasagami Araki.
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kasagami Araki fails to brace Mami Tomoe's Finisher, Tiro Salvo, taking 112 Fatigue damage! Kasagami Araki is unable to keep fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Pluto [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

The demands of combat awareness hone Sailor Pluto's perceptions, and her world becomes the precise and narrow slice of reality that she requires to track two opponents at once. Kasagami becomes a dear flash of crimson she keeps at the corner of her eye. The entrance of Kozue Kaoru, in similar fashion, splashes a touch of blue at the senshi's peripheral, unrecognized by her tactical mind in the moment as more than an addition to the Chevalier ranks that is not her immediate concern.

The combined onslaught of Sayaka's dancing blade and the indomitable Garnet is extremely immediate and of the utmost concern to Sailor Pluto, however. She acknowledges the necessity of movement -- this is no defensible choke point, and the Shepherds are themselves the wall the Chevaliers must break through. Any symbolic point she needed to make about the absolute nature of their resolve has been more than made.

Pluto steps free of the small craters left by her stand and moves to try and put both attackers in her field of vision, only to be foiled by the dragonfly quickness of the blue knight. It's bothersome, but somehow... not so bothersome as hearing Sayaka call it /Death Screech/. It shows in an arch of one elegant eyebrow.

"You--" she grates out between teeth, between throwing herself away from that wicked sword edge repeatedly and more often than not failing, "--are welcome to try, Miki-san." Dark skin appears in thin stripes beneath split senshi silk. "But you'll find I'm harder to stop than that! Stubborn, like you."

She gives up trying to keep both of them in sight and turns to Garnet, knowing that whatever blow is coming will be mighty -- and she is not wrong in the least. Pluto is only just in time to catch the incoming metal knuckles on the horizontal length of the Garnet Rod, and another clash of impervious wills resounds.

The senshi staggers, but stands yet, and the sweat on her brow betrays how close a thing it might have been.

She whirls again, following her instincts -- if she can take down the sturdy but at least not /metal-bodied/ Sayaka with all her quickness, then perhaps Pluto can engage in a battle of endurance with Garnet after. Not with that sword stinging her she can't, though.

With a great pull of her arms she drags the Garnet Rod into a swift spin, the whirring of displaced air announcing all the menace of the sacred weapon's velocity. This, she aims directly at the blue knight, swinging down and around to send countless raining blows down at the white-cloaked puella magi.

If her eyes blink a bit comically wide somewhere in the middle of all of that rotational fury she's bringing to bear at the mention of Kozue Kaoru, it's to her credit that she doesn't slow her roll at all.

COMBAT: Sailor Pluto has used Pendulum Blitz on Sayaka Miki.
COMBAT: Sailor Pluto has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sayaka Miki narrowly braces Sailor Pluto's Pendulum Blitz, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Sailor Pluto is Psyched! Sayaka Miki's Block ability activates! Sayaka Miki's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Kasagami Araki [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Squint.

"Quit your barking, little dog, before I tie you to a tree!" Is Kassie's snapped response to Kozue. Oh man this is /not/ Kassie's night out.

There's some catharsis here though. That satisfying sound of Mami's shoulder, that eruption of chaos as Mami is added to the ruined storefront like a piece of jewelry. Kasagami takes a moment to survey her work and give a self satisfied little nod.

Truly Kassie is the greatest King. She scowls though when Mami gets back up.

"Bully, huh? Please, I just use authority the way it aught to be used. Direct and practical." She counters, though there's real hurt in her tone. The thought that she'd dissappoint her parents with her ways is a very real fear, deep down in her heart. Mami tugging on that scabbed wound though lets her get out a proper firing squad, and Kassie knows she can't block or dodge all of that.

Oh, she tries, and full half of them are parried or kicked out of the way. She even catches one with her teeth before spitting it out.

When the ribbon bullets hit, though, she doesn't feel too bad. This just has /not/ been her night. Uniform and appropriate wounds given to her, it's a pair of shorts and a lovely, cut mid-drift now. Just as she collapses to the ground, right before blackness takes her, she gets the last word edgewise to her opponent like a proper bullying git.

"To be fair...I would have enjoyed doing the same thing to you." Mami and Kassie finally agree on something, sort of.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Another girl, another fighter, would have screamed: I don't want to fight you! I don't want to kill you! Please, don't fight this war! I don't want to hurt you! I don't want you to be my enemy!

Perhaps...
... perhaps a tiny little sliver of Mikoto is still screaming that, in some untouched corner of her heart. In the smallest little garden of her soul, the part which hasn't been turned to steel, there might be a little raincloud, falling on the little flower of Kozue's friendship, driving all the cats away.

The only hint on her face are the tears, which only keep falling as Kozue confirms that she is her enemy, that she has something to fight for. She has no choice. She has to fight her enemies.

Does it hurt more, fighting someone she respects as she struggles to accept Kozue's apparent betrayal? Someone whose weapon she knows the name of? She doesn't know Endo's name, but she knows Fallen Stern. They're not strangers to her. And she's fighting them, too. Knowing someone doesn't mean they'll stop fighting you. You can know your enemies, too. And Mikoto has to fight her enemies. Why does she have to know her enemies? It's so much harder to know them.

She looks Endo in the eye, from behind tears, as she grinds him into the pavement. Her teeth are bared in a snarl. Her eyes... her eyes are so sad.

But she has to fight. Her enemies must be destroyed.

The garden door locks; she blinks the rain away. It gives Endo the opportunity to rise, and as she shakes off the tears, she sees Fallen Stern coming for her.

Is it strange, that she only knows the sword's name?

Is it strange, that her eyes are hard as steel the next time Endo looks into them?

Mikoto raises Miroku into a left ox guard, a strangely Western style -- though one befitting the claymore-shape Miroku has taken. It seems impossible for such a small girl to hold such a large sword so well, let alone to bear the brunt of Endo's strike; but she can, and she does.

There are golden slits along Miroku's length. They appeared when Mikoto's breath stopped shuddering. They disappear when she growls, deep and throaty, golden eyes narrowed. It's as if she has another pair, as yet unopened, to see out of her weapon.

It's as if she's forgotten all about being so upset.

Mikoto moves fluidly, with a terrible scream, shifting from high stance to a diagonal slash as she dives forward towards Endo. She's trying to slice his sword-arm clean off.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Obsidian Blade: Demolition on Endo Naoki.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki perfectly counters Mikoto Minagi's Obsidian Blade: Demolition, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! Endo Naoki's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Endo Naoki's counterattack, Machtiger Schild, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Mikoto Minagi!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.
<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP0Ks3ecOj8

She's performative. But even then..there's some scrap to her. Not everybody is so fit to stand ground against Kyouko in a stare down, and she always appreciates a good growl. Dancing like an arcade queen, she manages to sidestep the full force of her speartips, too, and at point blank range no less.

To her coy counter of a question, Kyouko offers no riposte. This girl prefers a wordly arena and she can think of no reason to indulge in her preferences. But despite her denial, words come for Kozue all the same as allies and antagonists alike call for this apparently popular person.

It annoys Kyouko, to be denied her full attention, even if that gaze never leaves her.

Kyouko does not know that Kozue is a duelist, but as she darts and weaves all throughout the empty spaces of the imminent assault, she comes to appreciate her opponent's nimble alacrity. She seems to be squirming her way to an advantage..fielding responses and finding the confidence to taunt the flame haired fighter in her spare time.

How dexterous of her. How masterfully performed..that lacerating lasso loops along longitude and latitude, looking to loose lengths of life from the long-haired lancer. Kyouko stares with an unblinking gaze, allowing herself a pygmy smirk as a criss crossing gridwork of humming ruby light radiates around her, snipping the oncoming attacks like so many rosebuds all at once.

And then she drives a harpoon towards the nimble girl's torso, confident that she'll hop as easily as any other grasshopper underneath an entomologist's pin.

"Don't worry. I'm enjoying it for all three of us."

COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura has used Masterstroke on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru narrowly braces Kyouko Sakura's Masterstroke, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Kozue Kaoru's Block ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Nao Yuuki [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The invitation is given, straight out -- and, after all, Nao is very good at hate.

It's the thing she's best at, really.

It is a blade that she's honed to a fine edge, ready to be wielded with equal ease against murderous invaders like SEARRS or obnoxious gnats like the unfortunate Takehara-san still webbed to the floor of that building she left earlier.

Like the spider her powers so resemble, she looks down at her prey with merciless eyes and a razor grin far sharper than even her own wires. It is warmed by the unmatchable fire of self-satisfaction. Nao saw her words hurt la Sirene. It was worth taking that lash of darkness across her quickly crossed arms, worth the chill that followed them.

Even as she starts to pull free, la Sirene feels a matching chill to her own powers in the nearness of Nao's claws, an index finger's tip especially, which lingers, for a critical, dangerous moment, right in the hollow of her throat.

Nao hesitates.

(There's a lot to be said there, a lot to discuss about those two words, but for all the honey-like slowness of near-death experiences, everything is happening very quickly, so we will leave it at that for the moment.)

Nao hesitates, and a moment later, la Sirene is too mobile to guarantee the shot, while at the same time, Mikoto's scream has reached a pitch she recognizes, from other times, times as bad as these. Maybe times that were worse.

She pulls away -- leaves her prey to her struggles to free herself, knowing that she still has time before la Sirene will be a serious danger again. Just a little time. Maybe enough.

In a graceless scramble that belies her own desperation, fingers -- fingers!, she's banished the Element on one of her hands for this -- shaking, she fishes her phone back out of her shirt, and thumbs down her playlist.

---

ON A ROOFTOP, IN WARMER TIMES

The concrete is warm on Nao's back, even though it's getting her painstakingly well-kept hair gritty.

"Hmph," she grunts at her companion, and her companion's companions, a small army of cats. "I see why you like it up here."

Lazily she watches the color of her phone's screen change with the music, dull in comparison to the midday sun overhead.

BGM: Spectrum - Florence + The Machine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcpngOvcBlg

When we first came here
We were cold and we were clear
With no colors on our skin
We were light and paper-thin

Nao flushes a little when she realizes what's come up, and she rolls onto her side, turning away from Mikoto.

"This song is so uncool," she lies. "I'm not sure how it got onto my phone..."

And when we first came here
We were cold and we were clear
With no colors on our skin
'Till you let the spectrum in

After that there's no further point in denying anything; with a last sigh for propriety, she lets momentum carry her the rest of the way over, so that she's facing Mikoto now, almost nose to nose.

They listen to the whole thing together quietly. Afterwards, when the cats demand attention, it's almost a relief.

---

NOW

Nao flies the phone across the bridge towards the two greatswordfighters (great swords, greatswords, greatsword fighters, great sword fighters, all are true) by the simple expedient of sticking it to the webbed tip of one of her wires.

Thank goodness there was still a lamppost left to hang it from.

It's cranked up to full volume, and, no longer under fabric or polyploic matter, has at least a hope of making it into her brutally miserable friend's ears before she does something that would make today an even worse day than all those other days before.

Say my name
And every color illuminates
We are shining
And we will never be afraid again

"MI-KO-TOOOOOOOO!!!" Nao screams in counterpoint, not self-possessed enough to fail to blush furiously at breaking her own cool mien to do so.

But some things are more important than being cool.

Some things are even more important than hating people.

COMBAT: Nao Yuuki has used Spectrum on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Nao Yuuki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi accepts Nao Yuuki's Spectrum, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Mikoto Minagi is Reinforced by Nao Yuuki!

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Sayaka is opening her mouth to call out again, "Hey, Koz-" when she gets cuffed sharply upside the head by a giant key, which is a lot more elegant and menacing in practice than it sounds on paper. Stumbling back from her prancing assault in a daze, she starts forward again before her head even clears; she's learned to rely on her quick healing, and over-rely on it too.

Sayaka gets drubbed a few more times before learning her lesson, the whirling staff cracking into exposed limbs whenever she tries to pick a side to defend. Not wounded badly enough that her healing can't sort most of it out quickly, but presently outmatched, Sayaka ducks a high blow and scampers off to Garnet, leaping up onto her shoulder and seating herself there. "Back, back!" she says, like Garnet was both a truck and the driver of said truck.

When they have some distance, Sayaka hops up to a standing position on Garnet's shoulder, then down onto Garnet's palm. "Um..." She's eyeing Sailor Pluto's titanium defenses dubiously. "How about that... NASA thing." She refers to a Secret Attack by an indirect name in order to conceal it from Pluto's ears.

<Pose Tracker> Kozue Kaoru [None] has posed.

Without missing a beat at the threat, she tosses back her own sort of rejoinder, "Ara. If you want to get kinky like that it's your business Araki." There's a hint of a smirk on her concrete covered face, "Just find a girl that's willing first." It's her own way of thinking she can help out Mami perhaps. By trying to throw Kasagami off her game in a fight with stakes this high.

But then red light flashes in that ruby cocoon of lattice work and her chain bangs off against the endless metallic eyes.

It's a little unnerving, like those diamonds are looking at her from every which way.

And then there's a flash of red as that girl drives her spear right towards her. Whipping out her sickle, she slides her foot underneath the chain link and kicks it upwards in the air.

The harpoon bangs against the jangling links before driving against the hooked blade, en route towards the hollow of her neck.

... and deflecting just enough to prevent a fatal blow

"Gck." That's a sound out of Kozue's throat as the spear just misses her neck, slicing off the coat over her shoulder again, leaving another stain right on the ripped part of her shoulder, hissing as she does.

After she gets over her initial shock from the pain though, there's a light chuckle out of her throat, "... heh heh..."

The way her eyes flit to the side it's like she wants to put her hand against her wound and knows she can't quite. Instead substituting laughter as her narcotic of the hour, "...ahahahaha... that's quite a boast!"

Twisting in a sudden jagged carousel of metal, the chain rivets off the ground as she spins in a wide arc. It's like what she does before, but at the last moment her arm starts to spin it back into whirling revolutions. "Because it's you...

Right before casting it forward with a sudden power like a pianist hitting the keys forcefully during a passionate cadenza. The chained fastball streaks outwards, in a shearing buzz of wicked blades, hoping to stain red upon red as she tries to send it dead center into her red rival.

"...I ALMOST BELIEVE IT!"

COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Subito Sforzando on Kyouko Sakura.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura perfectly braces Kozue Kaoru's Subito Sforzando, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Brace! Kyouko Sakura's Block ability activates! Kyouko Sakura's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet nods at the code phrase, grabs Sayaka and places her on her hair (AKA The Steven Taxi) for quick transport and takes a large leap backwards, putting considerable distance between the two and the implacable Guardian.

Garnet raises one of her armored gauntlets in front of her and it glows with transformative light, quintipling in size and stands at the ready for its passenger. Garnet seems to remember something and they glow again, and now have a handle just in case. The mom in her is hard to shake. She waits for Sayaka to board and then it rockets... upward?

Garnet leaps back to Pluto and shadowpunches awkwardly with her other arm, not waiting for the one gone to fully form so She seems a little, off balance. The punches don't seem very accurate. just quick, and irritating.

COMBAT: Garnet has started a combo targeting Sailor Pluto!

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Endo takes what time he has, pushing to his feet, heavily favoring one leg now. He is given a moment too, to ruminate on their brief glance. There's something he saw in Mikoto's face that tugs at his heart, something familiar. Tears shed for a friend, pain not made from combat, but something deeper? Those are things he knows too well. He hopes, fleetingly, that La Sirene and the rest of the Chevaliers are holding their own.

And when their eyes meet again, what was there is gone. Only ferocity, once again. Maybe, when this is over, things will be different. Some time, but not this time.

Symbols whirl to life as Endo lifts his sword, this time not trusting only steel to protect him from Mikoto's savage strikes. There's magic too this time, an iron wall to catch the blade racing forward.

<MACHTIGER SCHILD>

There's a brief flick of his eyes in surprise when, suddenly, his battle is now orchestrated. There's no time to worry if there's more it than that, though.

Again ugly violet triangles form, though this time they do so at Endo's feet. His hands grip his weapon tight, his face painted, breathing short. He launches forward again, the symbols beneath his feet acting almost like a springboard, giving him lift and speed he'd be unable to achieve on his own. His weapon arcs through the air, whirls in a circle as it gathers speed. Contrails of purple-black fire arc behind it, flashing lurid light across the space between closeby combatants.

<METEOR ABSTURZ>

He puts nearly all of his power into it, a massive strike to mirror Mikoto's previous.

COMBAT: Endo Naoki has used Meteor Absturz on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi narrowly dodges Endo Naoki's Meteor Absturz, taking 51 Fatigue damage! Mikoto Minagi's Fade ability activates! Mikoto Minagi's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene de Diamant [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The blade touches la Sirene's throat. The feeling that comes is indescribable. A moment later it ends and the feeling that comes THEN is very describable: saggy, lumplike relief. Her eyes close as she hears screams.

La Sirene writhes as Nao moves. Her attention is diverted and the tension in her wires feels less to her. She gets her other arm free, and starts untangling a leg while Nao -- she does something with her phone; in her inner despair mingled with the cold tempered sense of relief at not having found herself gouting her life's blood out on this bridge, la Sirene is having a hard time focusing on anything more than the raw physical.

Guns speak. Blades reply. Magic clashes.

Nao screams a name in three syllables. La Sirene's head curls, her hair falling obliquely, and she answers Nao then.

The words come out of la Sirene's mouth with a penetrant echo and a faint distortion. The concrete she's facing mostly towards, perhaps?

"What's wrong?" she asks.

"It looks like she's winning," la Sirene continues. There is none of the airy distance and mystery to her usual words.

"You'd remove an obstacle, if she won," la Sirene says. "You would not even have had to do anything. Another block to matters, removed."

La Sirene is quiet for several seconds due to a sudden full body cold tremor that she does not vocalize. She waits it out. She turns her face away so its contortion won't be seen by Nao and she doesn't look back even as she draws her foot, her leg, stretched at a balletic and gracious angle, loose of slips of wire.

"You could plunder him, for his Device," la Sirene continues. "It would no doubt /sell for a lot of money/."

There is the heat, at last.

There are other words la Sirene wants to say, but they run into each other in her throat, a half-dozen cutting vicious retorts or final remarks crashing and wrecking themselves as if there were a great disorder in the rail line that runs from her heart and her mind to her throat and her lips.

In the end it's just a pained and impotent gasping. Her foot comes loose, but she can feel the cold wash sneak up on her. Is she going to be able to stand? La Sirene herself cannot say for certain.

The wreckage slips past her lips. "Why do you all act so callous!!?"

COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant has used Cutting Remark on Nao Yuuki.
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Nao Yuuki fails to dodge La Sirene de Diamant's Cutting Remark, taking 10 Fatigue damage! La Sirene de Diamant is Psyched!
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant is unable to keep fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.
<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5zTNr11kk8&list=PLeogPTA03KQ_vl0v9G04dexcCkBxfed_3&index=4

Kyouko's brow furrows. Even now, this girl can't scrounge up her full attention. Acting like an angel above, offering prayers for the faithful to steel them in their time of trouble. But she has her own crisis to deal with, and if she doesn't realize it yet then she will learn all too quickly. But all's well with the world. Tonight she wars with some she'd rather save, people she wants to live who insist on death instead. People she cares for.

For this stranger there is nothing. All the better if she's too busy taunting the likes of Kasagami to save herself.

She fights well, whoever she is. That slender swan neck of hers is unbroken yet, for all the red blemish to blossom against its lily field. Kyouko is confident that she commands full attention, now. The dancer's motions are that much less controlled. There's a jaggedness that was lacking before, a haphazard careen where there had been choreographed grace. As Kozue hops, Kyouko stands her ground, and watches.

Her ears hum as that angry wasp buzzes by in looping arcs, probing her space for inattentiveness, for a slow uptake. For exposed skin. No stranger to such a technique, she knows to wait when waiting is called for. And when it comes..all that misdirection gives way to something profoundly direct.

All she has to do is eschew panic..and to shift her wrist and the spear in her grip, ever so precisely.

...

The flat end of her blade rings like a tuning fork, absorbing the entirety of force that was meant to steal her away from all that she might ever be. She smiles.

"I know that you're afraid."

Ducking down low, she lunges for Kozue's belly..and keeps lunging past it, stepping beyond her target. Her blade again inverts position in the same moment that she stabs back to pick at her opponent's side. Her entire body follows through on the motion, crouching down and balling herself up to tackle at Kozue's legs from behind. Just after transferring the lion's share of her kinetic energy into a hopeful impact, her heel grinds the ground, propelling her away at a perpendicular angle as her hands lash out in her wake, blades manifesting and snapping at unseen speeds. At the crest of her jump, a spear length forms in her hands, jutting against the ground and halting her momentum entirely. Grunting, she reverses her course through sheer force and will, pushing herself up above Kozue's head, spinning her pole vault in her hands to slash down below in a half circle, landing opposite of Kozue from her initial launching point.

COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura has used Bloodcraze on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru narrowly counters Kyouko Sakura's Bloodcraze, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Kozue Kaoru is unable to keep fighting! Kozue Kaoru is Quipped! Kozue Kaoru's Reverse ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Tactician ability activates! Stun and Trap applied to Kozue Kaoru!
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru's counterattack, Paint it Blue, partially gets through, doing 7 Fatigue damage to Kyouko Sakura!

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> SUPER ROCKET RUMBLE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmMisr-o4pg

Sayaka leaps atop the now truly gigantic gauntlet, grinning openly at Pluto. When you have an attack this cool you can gloat about it a bit, it's okay. It will definitely work anyway.

"I don't need this, though," Sayaka grumps out of the corner of her mouth, looking at the big friendly handle popping up right when she's trying to be cool. "Look, no hands!" Is she making fun of Garnet? Probably not.

The rockets are loud and proud, and Sayaka gets pinned to the palm of the glove like a bug on a windshield. Groping around for the handlebar, Sayaka grabs it with great shame and turns her eyes to the sky, tears streaming back across her temples as the wind lashes her hair violently and wobbles her cheeks around. "SpaAaAaAaAce," she says, either out of fear or amazement; she can't remember because she immediately is thinking more about how her voice sounds like it's going through a floor fan. Sayaka hooks her arm through the handle as she breaks the clouds... she's not quite going to space but it's not too far off either. With a graceful loop-de-loop, Sayaka is deprived of gravity, floating weightlessly, the handle now quite easy to grip. "Whoa," she breathes. "Whuh-OOOOOOOH!" she screams, as the jet boosters kick in again and send it hurtling straight down. The giant hand breaks the clouds again violently, bringing a little poof of them down for a moment, and judders around trying to fix on where Pluto is. When it locks on, the thumb sticks up in either confirmation or simple satisfaction. Sayaka, gripping tightly with teeth locked, counts in her head.

The fist smashes down in a giant cloud of shattered concrete, cratering the nearby area. Sayaka is surely either dead or in for a long heal... but wait! Tossed up from the impact is a fluttering white cape and a determined blue head with hair inverted like a troll doll. She had let go before the rocket fell, and before terminal velocity could break her legs on its own, the impact itself tossed her back up, more gently this time. Eyes sharply tracking through the debris cloud, Sayaka wraps herself in her cape to protect from flying shards, falling straight through right to (and maybe on top of) Pluto.

Lashing about with her sword, Sayaka uses the advantage of temporarily concealed vision to make this a more brutish fight, with less room for Pluto's prowess to turn the tide. With raw speed and savagery she lashes out repeatedly, chasing Pluto around with scampering motions when needed. It's more Mikoto-like than Pluto has previously seen Sayaka, and more frightening.

"Wan sumoru..." A silver blade slashes a bright figure eight as the debris clears. "Suteppu for man!" Sayaka fistbumps the side of the half-buried hand with a metallic clonk.

Well it was briefly frightening anyway.

COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has joined the combo started by Garnet!
COMBAT: COMBO! Garnet and Sayaka Miki have used Combo: Super Rocket Rumble!, composed of Rock-it Gauntlets! and Furioso, on Sailor Pluto.
COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Pluto fails to counter Garnet and Sayaka Miki's Combo: Super Rocket Rumble!, taking 49 Fatigue damage! Garnet drains 20 fatigue from Sailor Pluto!
COMBAT: Sailor Pluto's counterattack, Garnet Dome, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Garnet!

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Miroku is hungry, but Fallen Stern is not ready for Endo to be dinner just yet. The obsidian blade meets a wall, magically summoned, and it cannot break the defense. Mikoto pushes, but Endo pushes back. In the end, neither sword draws blood; Mikoto leaps backwards, once it's clear the offensive is fruitless.

People who oppose you are your enemies, Mikoto. You must kill your enemies.

She begins to circle him, blade held low, searching for an opening. She is a wild beast, come down from the mountains to rip and tear; has she only been pretending to be tame, all this time? In that moment, Mikoto's eyes glowing like a demon, the answer seems clear.

Destroy your enemies. This is the will of your Lord Brother, Mikoto. Do not disappoint.

She can see the avenue of attack clearly in her mind. All she has to do is catch him off his guard, and open him from belly to neck. Then she will open La Sirene, and Mami, and Kozue, like a locksmith on a chilly night. Her lips part, and her tongue darts out to lick over her teeth. She can almost taste the blood already, as he pulls himself into position to attack. This is as it should be.

But.

When we first came here, we were cold and we were clear...

There is a song, at the corner of her mind.

She's made half a circle before Endo's magic takes root again, propelling him forward with terrible force. Her warring mind is far from him; her instincts take over, leaping away again. It's just a hair too late, and Fallen Stern draws blood, a long line along Mikoto's left arm. It drips into the teal of her shirt, staining it irrevocably. Hissing through grit teeth, Mikoto is forced to transfer her greatsword to a single-handed grip.

When it's time to pray, we dressed up all in gray... with metal on our tongues, and silver in our lungs...

She grips her sword, lips raised in a snarl, and takes a step forward.

'MI-KO-TOOO!'

And at her name, Mikoto hesitates. Shaking, shuddering, blood dripping from her open wound, she turns her head halfway towards Nao. That song...

... it's the song they were listening to when she introduced Nao to her kittens, isn't it?

"Nao," Mikoto says, through grit teeth, "it hurts. But I can't stop, Nao."

People who oppose you are your enemies, Mikoto.

So say my name, and every color illuminates...

You must kill your enemies.

... and we are shining, and we'll never be afraid again...

Mikoto tries to grasp her sword with her other hand, but the grip is weak, and it makes her hiss in protest. "It hurts, Nao," Mikoto says, again, emotion staining her face like the blood on her shirt. "It hurts."

Her single-minded focus is broken, torn up by Nao's music and Endo's sharpness; more than that, she's /talking/. She stands, she faces Endo, but she does not attack.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Kozue Kaoru [None] has posed.

Whatever grin, whatever easy confidence in Kozue's expression fades the moment Kyouko confirms her fear. It's easy enough to deny it to someone who doesn't know.

But this girl knows. And it's a game of chicken for a moment, on who will blink - before the lunge.

Of course it's Kyouko who wins that staredown.

Just as she lunges for her prize. And her sickle scythe slams again and again into her blade. In this back and forth desperate game of hooking parries and blinding slashes and thrusts. It's red on blue violence at it's finest. As red - red - red appears, overwhelming her with every single flinch.

With every single growl.

To whatever small credit, no matter how afraid she is, she gives back as best as she can, even beyond endurance.

Just like she gave Greer.

Until finally she takes several blows just to lunge in enough to grab Kyouko's collar, and whisper something by her ear. "Course I'm scared..." A light rasp, "... always terrifies me... when I see people... who are willing... to drown kittens... crush baby birds... for their bottom line..."

There's a hoarse chuckle as her grip weakens... and she sounds more raspy, "...S'like looking in the mirror."

And then unable to hold on any longer, she let's go, and slumps down to her knees, her fingertips sliding off her Element as it hits the concrete. "Damnit." Whatever fear she might have though, she's got enough dignity not to beg. In the same way she knew she couldn't beg the others before. Just sounding resigned to her failure, "Go on. Finish what your friends the Senshi started... just don't make her watch."

<Pose Tracker> Nao Yuuki [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nao is not immune to La Sirene's words.

"You don't even know me," she observes, though, without turning around immediately. (This is an ignorant statement, because Nori Ankou must know, at least from afar, of her delinquent kohai Nao Yuuki; but HiME Nao knows nothing of Red Future's connection to la Sirene du Diamant...) She can't tear herself away so easily from Endo and Mikoto's clash. "But if you think that my choice, or lack thereof, to steal and sell his sword thingy, absolves you of /your/ choice to use your magic powers for -- this..."

She gestures at the battlefield, the falling girls everywhere, the wreckage and debris, and as she does, her metallic claws reappear on her hands in a sparkle of summoning, fading back into existence first down at the knuckle, then up to each fingertip.

"...Instead of by, y'know, feeding the homeless or whatever, you're wrong."

She presses one of her low heels -- higher than school standard, lower than any sort of stiletto -- an innocent heel, in a way, the heel of a young maiden not fully into her prime -- and swivels back to face her opponent.

Her eyes are ice chips, but her words are colder.

"One way or another, we each gotta live with our own choices."

Hints of Nao's prior passion is all but drowned by the sharpness everywhere. It's her own sharpness -- the razor wires she was spinning with her own back to hide them, which she now releases, yet again, to surround la Sirene, to keep her out of this fight.

"Or die with them."

She shrugs one shoulder, lowers it.

"Up to you."

Nao walks away, and joins Mikoto, who is calling for her. With perfect gentleness, she drapes a hand, still clawed, across her classmate's back -- and points her free one at Endo.

Setting sunlight collects on the outstretched claw. It sparkles beautifully, and dangerously.

Now it's two on one.

"Walk away," she suggests to him, flatly, with the authority of the person who just convinced his fellow Human Sword-Comet to stay her hand, at least for one quiet moment. "Because pretty quickly I am gonna run out of sympathy, dude, if you decide to keep hitting /that/."

That being Mikoto, misery incarnate.

COMBAT: Nao Yuuki has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Pluto [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

That dear flash of crimson dwindles, at the corner of Sailor Pluto's vision, in the unmistakable motion of a proud combatant crumpling on the battlefield. She feels Kasagami fall more than sees it happen, in the squeezing breathlessness that stabs her chest. The shout tears from her -- "Kasagami!" -- and that is all the senshi can allow herself in the moment, fear for the one she loves to span the utterance of her name.

Because Sayaka and Garnet have made a spectacular bid to demand every last bit of the senshi's attention. Garnet's more terrestrial punch lands first, smacking her into immediate awareness.

There's a demi-orbital fist rocketing straight down at Sailor Pluto.

Correction: there's a demi-orbital /thumbs-up/ rocketing straight down at Sailor Pluto. With Sayaka payload.

There are a few thoughts that whip through her mind, ripped and random like leaves in a tornado. Like the rapid calculations of speed and trajectory required to determine that it must be demi-orbital, not sub-orbital -- it couldn't have reached the Karman Line in the time it took to leave and return. And, much more simply: how is fighting in the Tokyo of the Here and Now /weirder/ than battling aliens out at the farthest reaches of the Solar System?

All of it blows away under the immediacy of needing to defend herself from the tremendous impact headed Pluto's way. There is no time at all, really -- and so its Guardian makes do with the barest slice left, throwing her will UP and OUT through the sacred lens that is the Garnet Orb.

That projected force of mind takes the tangible form of a half-dome of brilliant garnet energy, a shell hastily-formed but glittering with power. Without even a moment to crouch beneath it, she can only trust in what she has woven.

Metal meets magic, and... magic shatters! It is a splintering of shards that become violet-red motes and then dance to nothingness within the cloud of kicked-up cement, and Sailor Pluto beneath the hurtling force of it all, unseen.

When she emerges, painted grey-brown with bridge-dust, her limbs shake to bring her back up to standing. It is a painful journey of screaming joints and pure grit-teethed determination. She manages it, her will enough for this if it was not enough to protect her moments before against the combined might sword and fist.

Sword, indeed, darts in now at end of Sayaka's nimble arm, scoring more hits as the senshi pulls herself up and around. The stinging of a stubborn blade wielded by a stubborn girl... Pluto gives the blue knight a fearsome, dust-streaked grimace over the length of the crosswise Garnet Rod and beats feet backward as she can, seeking distance. She slings a torrent of rippling plutonic energy at her sometime-frightful assailant as she seeks it. The stoic sentinel still stands... but it is a skin-of-the-teeth thing, now, clearly.

COMBAT: Sailor Pluto has used Garnet Blast on Sayaka Miki.
COMBAT: Sailor Pluto has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sayaka Miki perfectly dodges Sailor Pluto's Garnet Blast, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge!

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

It's been near a year now, since Endo took up Fallen Stern. Someone could put a number to the things he's seen since then--not even a big number compared to ancient Garnet, to golden Mami Tomoe, or timeless Setsuna Meioh--but if you asked Endo Naoki the number of them, he'd say they were countless.

But blood is not a common one. Not from another human beings, not from someone he'd fought beside, who he'd watched to the right thing to protect the people she loved. Not by his own hand. That doesn't happen often. It shouldn't happen at all.

He sees, in his minds eye, a dear friend. A little twin-tailed blonde girl nervously holding out a birthday present for her best friend. He sees the same girl, kicking a soccer ball around Ueno park, playing a sport for the first time in her life. Chasing down a theme park mascot for a picture, breaking a friend out of a pretend prison, cheering amidst a concert crowd.

He stood across from her like this too, a long time ago. As enemies, high above Tokyo, crashing together like thunder in overcast skies. But it wasn't that way anymore. Did it have to be that way again?

<THIS IS OUR ENEMY. DO NOT FALTER.>

His eyes focus again, flicker between Mikoto and the red-haired girl that moves to join her. Nao's presence does not bode well for himself, and worse for La Sirene de Diamant. He can only imagine she's down, or worse. He can't spare a glance, but he's afraid. For her, and for the rest of the Chevaliers lost in explosive sound and movement. The best choice would be to finish this now. To capitalize on Mikito's hesitation, to take at least one terribly dangerous enemy out of the fight.

<ATTACK.>

Or he could be brave. He could be like Nanoha.

"It doesn't have to be like this." He speaks now, his words pained from wounds. His sword lowers, touches the ground to give his wobbling leg support. "I can't walk away--but she can. There's always another day, right?"

COMBAT: Endo Naoki has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Sayaka pushes down as best she can on the Garnet Rod, but not only are senshi strong, this one is particularly /tall/, and leverage is an issue. She accepts Pluto breaking away, granting a trade of the distance Pluto needs for the break Sayaka wants. She feels a little loopy from her NASA mission.

"Garnet!" she cries, a generic call for help. As the Crystal Gem presses forward, Sayaka doubles back quickly to the giant fist. Pushing on it with both arms, she groans, unable to knock it over with the knuckles wedged down in the debris. With a quick jog back, she takes a running start and kicks it with both feet at once, knocking it to its side as Garnet and Pluto battle.

Picking herself off the ground, Sayaka sweeps her cape quickly before her to drop a brace of three swords. Plucking them one at a time like daisies, she stuffs them hilt-first between each knuckle of the giant hand, tucking them into place more carefully with the edge of her foot when she's done. Bending down, she hooks her gloves beneath it, but of course she cannot budge the massive hand no matter how she strives. "Shrink this giant thing!" she complains.

When Garnet complies, Sayaka yelps as it drops into her arms, the claws safely away. Now smaller, the fist clenches the claws quite tightly. Sayaka extends both arms and swings, letting the weight of the massive maniple do-si-do her around, until she's mimicking the technique of a shotputter. "Trade you!" Releasing it, she sends it hurtling at Pluto... but she's not intending for it to hit. She just wants to get it to the person /behind/ Pluto.

As the glinting, claw-armed fist hurtles towards Garnet, Sayaka drops another brace of swords and spreads her feet wide, switching from shotputter to soccer goalie in an instant.

COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has started a combo targeting Sailor Pluto!

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene de Diamant [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

La Sirene de Diamant looks at Nao with her strange pale eyes, set off by the streak of lining across them, and she cannot quite form words.

The wires come again. She had barely got loose, much less gotten to her feet. She curls up, perhaps the best she can do to protect her body from those wires. The surface of her outfit, the armor she wears against the world and to guard a body that feels tender and vulnerable in a fundamental way, holds; but she is plucked up now, inverted partway, like a true coccoon. She will not be interfering, although some of her strange light leaks out round the fringes.

Hidden thus, la Sirene's face, contorted with tears, is not revealed. She strives to keep her mouth shut, but even as a child she learned not to be uncommonly loud.

So her tears come in silence, and they run the wrong way, up and over her eyebrows.

Perhaps she is right, la Sirene thinks, and all of this is a childish game and we are wasting ourselves and all our dreams are nothing. Perhaps, she thinks. Perhaps.

There are other thoughts there, fluttering like bats fleeing the roost of a flooding church in a dismal swamp. Anger. Frustration. A desperate longing affection. A wound that the pressing wires don't stitch up. Her shoulders contort, squeezing inwards, and perhaps the grasp of the razor-sharp strings follows.

We helped Utena, la Sirene thinks to herself. At least we did that. That isn't nothing.

I hope I won't make Madoka cry, she thinks, and her shoulders go limp.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto's right hand grips Miroku, white-knuckled from the pain. Fallen Stern speaks the words which are on her mind; if Miroku could speak, it would surely concur. This is her enemy, their enemy; he is right in front of her, she can still fight. He is her enemy. She must attack.

But there's a hand on her shoulder, tipped with long, sharp claws which somehow rest gently along her shirt. It is Nao's presence, a friend she can still trust, which keeps her from charging.

He speaks. Mikoto growls. She knows he can walk, well enough to attack; she knows he must mean for her to flee. Her first instinct is to attack, but Nao's comforting presence helps the words come.

"Fallen Stern's wielder... thinks I can walk away? Thinks I can... abandon Eri?" The words are pained, pulled through grit teeth. "Eri, who I love? Without hunting ground... Eri would die. Eri's... not even here... to defend. I am. I must. No other day. No other day!"

There's still a hand on her shoulder, and Mikoto tilts her chin, though she doesn't look away from Endo. She's only speaking to her friend, now, but she's in too much pain to lower her voice; it's easy enough for the others to hear. "Nao, please understand... I can't run. I can't. My Lord Brother... I know..."

Tears stain her eyes again, but they're tears of pain now. "... would never allow it."

Perhaps it makes sense, now, the way she howls in pain as she grips her sword anew, nostrils flaring against the smell of her own blood. It seems impossible -- feels impossible, the way she's panting open-mouthed, sweat beading over her skin. She shouldn't be able to fight in the condition she's in.

... what sort of monster is Mikoto Minagi, who can charge forward, blood flecking behind her, screaming like a cornered beast?

Her sword drags against the concrete, too heavy to lift, sending sparks flying behind her. She plants her feet and swings, a low cut full of momentum, the greatest amount of power she can possibly summon in her current state.

No fear. No pain. No defeat.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Obsidian Blade: Destruction on Endo Naoki.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki narrowly counters Mikoto Minagi's Obsidian Blade: Destruction, taking 43 Fatigue damage! Endo Naoki's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Endo Naoki's counterattack, Asteroid Eilen, partially gets through, doing 12 Fatigue damage to Mikoto Minagi! Critical Counterhit! Mikoto Minagi is unable to keep fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet reaches for and catches the Gauntlet Sayaka throws with one armored hand, and (relatively) gently fires off the fist on the opposite arm, not at Pluto, not into the "net", but TO the goalie and regrows the stump. The goalie deftly catches and returns the gauntlet (in this odd soccer game using nothing but hands), with more swords in tow and Garnet catches it with her new regrown hand.

Were this an actual sports game, the player in between the shots might well be annoyed enough to descend on them both to beat them up, but, this being a war instead, the /uncertainty/ of an eventual aggressive reaction from Pluto is removed.

A small comfort perhaps.

Garnet holds the two caught gauntlets in her hand, and all (four?) of her hands glow with transformative light as the new gauntlets are shapeshifted back into her form. The sword blades are ascended from between the fingers to being held in the gauntlets themselves as claw blades, and when Garnet flexes her fists, electricity crackles through her new "claws".

So empowered with the combination of her own and Sayaka's magic, She pounces towards Pluto and brings both claws down on her at once, electricity, a strange music, and blue light arcing after them!

COMBAT: Garnet has joined the combo started by Sayaka Miki!
COMBAT: COMBO! Sayaka Miki and Garnet have used Combo: Clawrnet, composed of Perfect Pitch and Heavyweight Clamping-on, on Sailor Pluto.
COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Pluto narrowly dodges Sayaka Miki and Garnet's Combo: Clawrnet, taking 36 Fatigue damage! Sailor Pluto is unable to keep fighting! Sayaka Miki and Garnet are Psyched!

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Endo's face is grim, his teeth gritted tight. Maybe he's not good at this. Or maybe it wasn't meant to be. But Mikoto can't back down, and neither can he. Her words tear at his heart, her cries for her friend and her duty. It feels too similar. Too familiar.

But there's only one way for either of them. Forward.

Mikoro goes first and Endo follows suit, if without as much force behind his steps. Dark blades meet again, crash and clang. In another duel, at another time, it might end differently. If they were ancient samurai perhaps they'd pass in silhouettes, one to stand and one to fall. Were they foiled fencers, a clean stroke and salute.

But what happens here is fierce and messy. It's Endo's blade that gives first, slides aside and bares his armored chest to Miroku's point. His barrier jacket doesn't hold it back, not everything. It's shorn deep, and he can feel a sudden heat. He gasps for breath, screams through gritted teeth-0

And, with a jerk to the side and the last of his stumbling momentum, he strikes back. Not clean, not practiced, no finesse, just a shove forward to clear enough space to bring the haft of his blade crashing into his opponent as he stumbles to the ground. No edge bites, but the damage is done.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

With the terrible greatblades Mikoto and Endo wield, there was only one way this could have gone.

Blade meets blade. Mikoto hefts her claymore, with an agonising scream, and slips through Endo's defenses - both of them, it seems, since his clothes armor him. She smells blood. She can't be sure whose it is.

In the same motion, Fallen Stern comes down, haft over head. It's quite literal; Mikoto is too short, stance held too low down, and Endo is able to strike her about the temple with the haft of his blade. It may not have been the most practiced move, but it is enough.

As she falls, she sees the fallen forms of the girls she was fighting alongside - and against. A single glimpse, confused. It's difficult to decipher. It makes her heart hurt. ... after all, she can see people she cares about on the ground.

That's the last thing she thinks, as she hits the ground, Miroku clattering to the concrete next to her. Her blood stains the bridge, and she's silent. The world around her seems disquieting, now it's not filled with her bloodcurling screams.

<Pose Tracker> Nao Yuuki [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

'I can't walk away -- but she can. There's always another day, right?'

Nao's eyes, which had become uncommonly wide with concern for her friend, narrow to /slits/. A vein starts to pulse in her forehead. She is /not/ amused, and going from cool cucumber to hot potato very rapidly.

"Oh, /fu/--" One can easily imagine how she was going to finish that sentence, but -- Mikoto is talking. Mikoto is /talking/, and that's quite remarkable, under the circumstances. It is, in a way, something of a triumph of humanity, or, like, the power of music, or something.

So she shuts up, biting off the ending of her reaction to instead chew on her lip with a mix of total irritability towards Endo and (admittedly) sappy feelings for Mikoto.

Embarrassed by it all -- especially Mikoto's grief, which she feels like an intruder in the presence of -- she even looked away, letting her eyes skim the glinting water of the river behind and to the side of Endo, rather than at the two of them directly.

This turns out to be a critical mistake. Because, of course, it all happens so quickly.

Unable to react in time to Endo's riposte, she can do nothing but watch the second half of their titanic clash, to drag her gaze frantically back to see his haft impact her friend with dreadful force. She can't weave a web to protect Mikoto; she can't even interpose herself, something that would make her laugh if it was suggested to her on any normal day. The very /idea/. Puh-leeze. Like she would ever. As if.

Now she's quivering in rage at the missed opportunity, because in this moment, at this time, yeah, she would have done it, after all. Rage at her own weakness, her inattention, that led to Mikoto sprawled out at her feet, sure.

Mostly, though, it's rage at Endo.

BGM Swap! Mezame (live) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfAnWWF8OWw&feature=youtu.be&t=305

Her smile is manic, her teeth clacking in her mouth, as she looks over at him. The sun has mostly set by now, and she is mostly lit by one of the last few lampposts. At her present angle, it leaves her face half illuminated, and half in shadow, and her shadowed eye is bright red.

"As I was /saying/," she spits at him, "/FUCK/ you. You arrogant, self-righteous asshole. When you drag your punk ass home later, remember that YOU are the ones who came here today. YOU started all this. Telling us that you can't walk away -- telling /her/ that -- hahahaha...HA!"

And then, her eyes screwed shut with fury, unshed tears hot beneath her lids, she brings back the bloodcurdling scream, howling at the sky. It's always in vogue when there are HiME around. The contents, though, are something perhaps marginally less predictable to her opponent.

"JULIA!!!"

One of the shadows on the bridge -- the lamppost, of course it's the lamppost -- begins to wriggle, and then it starts to /split/. It becomes two, three, four shadows, more...

...eight.

No, nine. Let's not forget the massive, golden blade-tipped scorpion's tail to go with the eight teal spider legs. Her torso is so long and straight that it's almost a tenth appendage, golden too, armored. It's basically entirely jaw and fangs, two up and two down, the better to eat you with, my dear. She is a good twelve feet tall and eight of those feet are nothin' but maw.

The technomagical demon that is Nao's Child hisses. Smoking saliva drips from between those terrible jaws as the only forewarning Endo gets, before a gout of toxic, acidic spiderweb blasts towards him with more than enough force to knock him away from Mikoto, and quite possibly squarely off the bridge.

"Walk it off, jerk," mutters Nao, as she kneels down to check on Mikoto, to raise the girl's head to her own knees. She's so /small/. It can be hard to remember that they're the same age.

Nao is small too, though, delicate, fragile-looking. Normally her whole modus operandi relies on that fact, but right now, as her shoulders quiver with fear and anger, she's forgotten that as well.

COMBAT: Nao Yuuki transforms into Nao and Julia!
COMBAT: Nao Yuuki has used Toxic Blast on Endo Naoki.
COMBAT: Nao Yuuki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki narrowly counters Nao Yuuki's Toxic Blast, taking 18 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Endo Naoki is unable to keep fighting! Endo Naoki's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Endo Naoki's counterattack, Machtiger Schild, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Nao Yuuki!

Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

There's nothing to be satisfied about for Endo. A temporary victory over someone he doesn't want to fight, and dire wounds to show for it. Nao's voice is hazy in his ears, distant, but not far enough that the words don't cut.

"I'm sorry."

He doesn't get up again. It's too much work, to move, to make any more rasping words. To devote thought to anything but re-crafting the shield he'd brought to life earlier. A flat wall of energy, spinning triangles meant to guard from the hideous menace of Nao's child.

It doesn't hold, cracks and crumples as globs of webbing break through and send him blasting backward. The world whirls, and coherent thought becomes difficult. The ground and sky are a kaleidoscope, near impossible to distinguish, as are the figures of friend and foe alike. And as he vanishes off the edge of the bridge, the world goes dark.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Pluto [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

Whatever temporary freedom she's gained from the jabbing edge of Sayaka's saber is lost soon enough. Garnet demands it with the hazardous imposition of her presence, and Pluto can't spare much thought for anything other than staying on her own feet. Things started strange and continue that way as the senshi finds herself in the middle of a fist-themed game of Keep Away.

Not that she really... /wants/ the fists, exactly. Pluto is not leaping up to intercept them, that is for certain.

She doesn't catch the import of the dangerous game Sayaka and Garnet are playing, not in time, not until she finds herself facing a Crystal Gem made somehow even more fearsome than usual by the addition of /sword blades/ to the anvils she calls hands. Pluto doubts she can weather a normal punch from Garnet -- a normal punch from Garnet is like taking a hit from a directed nuke shaped like knuckles.

All she can do is try to twist out of the way, but there's not enough speed left to knees still rubbery from the meteoric impact of NASA. Electricity arcs across the claws, and she thinks, at the last moment, that she hears music...

Then she's rolling off the backs of livewire blades that leave crackling welts, bouncing off knuckles that feel like so many individual freight trains thudding across her side.

She loses time to a brief and airborne unconsciousness, only to crash back into merciless wakefulness against what's left of a railing. The senshi lies there in a bruised heap for what feels like forever, but she knows to be only seconds. Black flashes behind her eyes turn a shaky survey of the battlefield into a strobe-like experience, full of fallen Shepherds and broken chunks of bridge.

The dark-and-red crumpled glory that is so dear to her, is also not so distant now. "I'm sorry, Eri-chan..." The failure to hold fast tightens her throat, cuts off further words, but Pluto finds she doesn't have more to say. She just drags herself on torn gloves and skinned knees toward Kasagami.

She's aware that Mami Tomoe may still stand over her fallen foe, aware of her own inability to defend herself. Sailor Pluto has been vulnerable to the Golden Queen before. She does not expect to wake with a blanket on her; all she can hope for is a small mercy, here.

Pluto rolls the limp Kasagami into her lap, her own weary arms over strong, loose shoulders, and begins the slow and painful and shameful journey of retreat. Away from the remains of the bridge and the myriad fallen, away from the trails and museums and shaded greenery of Ueno.

<Pose Tracker> Nao Yuuki [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nao's shaking begins to revert from fury to fearful relief as the immediate menace of Endo recedes into the distance. She's pretty new to this whole Battle Royale thing, and it does not occur to her that he could pull the same stunt she did, and come up the other side.

(Julia disappears too, in this case a sign of victory, not defeat.)

She weighs Endo's apology against Mikoto's head in her lap, and shakes her head. Not because she finds it wanting, but because it keeps /echoing/ in there, like tinnitus. 'Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry...'

"/Yeah/ you are," she mutters halfheartedly, at first visualizing his offscreen suffering, and then trying not to. "Yeah."

It's very difficult to get Delinquent Yuuki to participate in school events, but if she were bound and tied and held at knife point to do the samurai event at Sports Day, she would definitely be the warrior, not the horse.

Even with adrenaline on her side -- redoubled as the crashing climaxes of the other battles rage all around her -- she is unable to make serious progress bearing Mikoto away.

(Forget Miroku. A laughable thought. It can take care of itself, anyway.)

Blowing sweaty red hair out of her face with a huff of frustration, she plunks down, keeping herself between Mikoto and any possible surprise engagements, and retrieves her cell phone. It was still dangling from a wire, all this time.

She stops the music with a firm thumb, and swipes away from iTunes and over to Contacts.

When she speaks, she speaks loudly and clearly /because/ of the battle raging on; she wants to be sure she is heard, which means, for better or for worse, others may hear as well.

"Yo," she half-yells into the phone. "/TO-KI-HA/! Meet me at Ueno Station ASAP, someone beat up your cat and I can't get her home by myself. You feed her too much ramen for that!"

Her eyes glitter as she stares outward at nothing and land, at random, on Mami Tomoe.

"Yeah."

...

"Yeah."

...

"Yeah, don't worry, Tokiha-san, I'll tell you all about it when you get here."

The call ends, and Nao's half-carry, half-drag of Mikoto towards the train station resumes.

<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.

Kozue's sickle plants kisses all along her. Their marks are not stains of lipstick, but they are red all the same.

But it is not enough. And now this unknown girl clutches at her collar, as Kyouko had just clutched hers, and kneels, and commits. Though both bleed it is red that still stands. She frowns, slightly.

"I don't drown kittens. I don't crush baby birds. Don't kill for fun...Goodto know you would, though..."

As for the girl, or the woman..the whoever Kozue doesn't want watching..well, that sounds a little more likea conversation, and there's hardly time for that right now. Time, in fact, has one foot out the door, and Kyouko can't afford to lose it. Buthere she is, faced with a choice.

Decisions, decisions...time may not wait for her, but choice is more malleable, if properly hammered into shape. So Kyouko chooses.

BGM CHANGE - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsi1leDatEU

Twisting her wrist and sweeping her arm, Kyouko smashes the flat end of her spear against Kozue's temple.

That trenchcoat sags like an empty leather sack as the cobalt column crumbles to the ground on her side. The loose pebbles on the bridge can barely dig into Kozue's cheek before chains sprout like vines around herarms and legs, bending them back so that ankles and wrists all come together in a classic hog tie, magisteel links binding the bunch as one. Staring at her for a moment, another chain takes form by the newly sleeping beauty's face, wrapping around her mouth to serve as a makeshift gag.

Can't be too careful in kidnapping.

Bending down low, Kyouko growls to herself with some exertion, hidden muscle tone making itself known as she hauls her human cargo up upon her shoulders. That flirtatious sickle is draped around her shoulders like a boa. She walks slowl at first, adjusting to the weight, but she builds momentum quickly, her soul gem shining bright as her steps become walks become trots become a dash to clear the bridge for Ueno beyond..for the bridge lacks what she now needs.

There are many small touches of brilliance at work in Tokyo's municipal engineering, and few greater fans of its planners than she. In this moment she is thankful for something that few of its inhabitants ever notice, let alone appreciate.

A manhole is never far..

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Kasagami, of course, said that she would have enjoyed it too. This could be quite the parting shot... But Mami already acknowledged that it wasn't one of her kinder impulses, and she shrugs lightly. "...I'm sure that's true." Their battle is starting to come to a close, for now, as Mami dismisses what weapons she has remaining. She looks down at Kasagami, looks to the other battles as they unfold, expression grim. ...And that's when she sees Sailor Pluto, rolling towards her, bruised, shaky. She watches her, for a moment, as she begins to pick up Kasagami.

"..." She has respect for the Guardian of Time. ...She has respect for people gathering up those they care for. Mami /could/, she knows in that moment, eliminate a threat to her once and for all, make her school life altogether simpler, remove someone many won't miss, even as tired as she is; Pluto is vulnerable, which makes Kasagami fulnerable.

"...I won't stop you," she says instead to Sailor Pluto. "Either of you." ...Which is when she hears Nao yelling a name that she /definitely/ doesn't get along with. Nao's eyes glitter; she stares outward at Mami. Mami stares back at her, for long moments. "Who even--"

Her eyes flicker next to Sayaka--and then she tries to find Kozue--

"Kozue!" Mami calls, alarmed, seeing Kyouko leaving. She sees that gem shining bright, she sees her dashing, and Mami starts forward. "KYOUKO!"

...It's anger, thistime. But Mami tries to raise her arm, and a sound of pain stops her; it's still dislocated, still needs tending before she can keep fighting, she still has to think of her magic, but--

Mami takes off anyway. ...Kyouko has a head start, though, even as Mami holds her hurt arm with her other hand, trying to keep it in place, running after her to try to catch up.

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

It is a dark moment for Sailor Pluto. Her immortality may seem at grave risk. There's pain and confusion, and the hurt of seeing her beloved Kasagami fallen, and the shame of defeat. She has such gravity about her as becomes Madonna to Kasagami, and bears her away with dusty arms and a heavy heart.

Sayaka, at the same time, is whooping and giving Garnet a high-five low-five back-and-forth then fistbump combo while whooping. This is a compliment to Sailor Pluto, believe it or not. You see, the thing about fighting a force of nature beyond mortal ken is that you don't really feel all that guilty about it. Anyone particularly upset at defeating Lavos in Chrono Trigger? Even Madoka Kaname had no problem with that. And to Sayaka...

"WOO!" Sayaka shouts. "Get out of here you creepy beansprout! You think we're out of special attacks? We've got a phone book of 'em! Call Garnet Hotline now to get beat up again! Biiii!" She's pulling her eyelid down and sticking her tongue out.

Wow, Sayaka is annoying. If Sailor Pluto is anything more emotionally sensitive than a pillar holding up some mystic fundament of the universe Sayaka cannot even comprehend, that's going to have to be Kasagami Araki's problem for now.

"Ah hah hah hee," Sayaka giggles her way down from her adrenaline high, putting her hands on her knees to pant off the effort of the battle. "We... beat Sailor Pluto." She'd seemed utterly invincible at the start, taking the full force of Garnet and Sayaka /combined/ head on and defeating it repeatedly. "Well, the space program is for dreamers," Sayaka states authoritatively, thumping her chest with a palm in solidarity with the towering Ground Control officer-slash-spaceship beside her. Smiling lopsidedly at Garnet, Sayaka pushes off her knees and stretches, pushing her elbows back with a grunt. Now that she's gotten her wind back she should help the others.

"We can really do this," she dares to say aloud. She had assured them all that they would win before they started, even, but this is different, this is new. Sayaka indulges herself with just a short glance towards Shinjuku.

"Kozue!"

"Senpai?!" Sayaka cries, spinning around to search the chaos of the half-ruined bridge.

<Pose Tracker> Kozue Kaoru [None] has posed.

Furrowing her eyebrow as if momentarily thinking she got the other girl all wrong - when Kyouko clarifies all confusion seems to fade into this rueful look. "Heh." Kozue has a splotch of red on her otherwise blue shade of lipstick giving her this split lip look without any hint of a smile. She gives this light shake of her head like she feels like Kyouko got it all wrong, "Killing for fun...." She wheezes once as she clamps her hand upon the shoulder wound. A futile gesture in the wake of thinking she's about to die, "...s'not what I meant."

But whatever the case is. She's not clarifying that further. Like she thinks getting in some last word here would be even more futile than putting a hand on her shoulder wound. Whether Kyouko believes her or not she doesn't think would change the decision of what's going to happen.

Unlike Pluto before, strangely she doesn't bear Kyouko even half as much malice.

She chose to get in her way. Between her and Mami.

Every day she had after she was expelled was a blessing after all. Living on borrowed time as she'd been. Only a matter of time before Ends of the World or the Outer Senshi or any one of the people she pissed off came after her.

"Well? Don't make me-"

And then the impact of a spear flattens her, giving her just a few seconds of thought as her senses fade first.

Not having had time to comprehend exactly what hit her and how, her three thoughts before blessed unconsciousness comes with the belief she's dead and not coming back from this.

Her first is gratitude that Sayaka was probably distracted by her battle elsewhere.

Her second is that gratitude that her brother is nowhere near here.

And her third is wonder that it didn't hurt more... some vague distant part of her wishing that it had.

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

By the time Sayaka knows anything is amiss, it seems almost too late to intervene. She follows a flash of yellow to find Mami, then her eyes snap along Mami's path to find the fleeing Kyouko, and the third stop on this journey, the one that counts, is just a little nictation of the eye down from there.

She had not even expected Kozue to be here, though that will offer her no comfort later. And she had been at Mami's side, infallible Mami, so in the heat of the moment Sayaka had focused on Pluto, and now as if out of nowhere Kozue is bound, dust-stained, bleeding from a chain-gagged mouth.

All things considered, Sayaka is the least mobile of the Puella Magi, with the most limited tools for controlling her movement about the battlefield. But in a straight line along the ground, boots pattering, she fares better. Better certainly than the wounded and spent Mami. Sayaka's healing has left her relatively hale from the battering she got at Pluto's hands. Desperation hastens her. Soon she blows past Mami, buying herself nothing thus far but a somewhat closer look at the girl she loves being borne away unconscious by a red wolf.

"Kozue! KOZUE!" Sayaka might run like this for any Chevalier, but Kyouko can still detect what may be an unexpected intensity of pain in these calls. "No, no, no... Sakura!" Well, apparently Sayaka can get mad enough to stop using 'Anko.' Kyouko is already at the manhole cover. Sayaka sacrifices a little ground to draw a sword and curl through an underhanded pitch, wrenching out a shout with violent effort, sacrificing form for power. As Kyouko reaches the manhole cover, a length of silver sinks into it, a diagonal sword in the stone that will king no one, and in no way impedes the operation of the manhole. Unable to risk hitting Kozue herself, too far back to stop Kyouko from entering, Sayaka just stands where she is, wheezing with effort as her shoulders heave, cobalt eyes burning into Kyouko with something more like pleading than rage.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Despite her usually stony demeanor, Garnet is both used to, and enjoys the excitability of the young. When Sayaka high fives, she returns them gladly and smiles softly. Deep down, she's also very pleased at their victory, and especially the teamwork that made it possible. The first few assaults that Pluto weathered like an eternal sentinel were worrying and disheartening. But they kept trying, and worked together, and together, they prevailed at last, even against such a formidable power as stood before them.

The celebration is exuberant but short lived as attentions quickly turns to Kyouko's abduction of Kozue, and the golden figure of Mami Tomoe glows golden in the night pursuing them both.

The thrill and relief of this victory after so many bitter defeats, courses through Garnet like electricity, and she charges that power, she focuses on the Future, scanning the rivers of possibilty to see if she can stop Kyouko even from this great distance with a torrent of her righteous fury.

But she gasps and stops, and instead jumps off the side of the bridge, the accrual of magic ebbing the space around where she stood, briefly.

She disappears into the darkness over the side, and there is a thump of a large object grabbing onto the side of the bridge, and soon Garnet reappears from below, cradling the body of Endo Naoki in her other arm, its gauntlet shapeshifted to hold him with the gentleness appropriate for his wounds. She lifts them both onto the bridge, and looks off to the distance where Sayaka and the others gave chase to the Red Menace, and goes to check on and aid La Sirene.

<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.
<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_kEKW_lL5k

Not what she meant? Kyouko nods to Kozue in the dwindling moments of her waking life, a brusque affirmation of her words. She doesn't doubt her. Why would she? She doesn't know a thing about her..not even her name.

But, midstride, moments later, she gets a hint. Mami's fury is a rare bird indeed, though Kyouko is no stranger to it. She knows better than to stop, or to turn. It's easy enough to picture the gleaming gun barrel staring her down, no need to gawk long enough for her to line up the shot, or to remind her old friend of just where her soul gem sits..

She doesn't gloat, or hesitate, or ponder her actions. She simply runs on down that narrow hallway where once there seemed so many exits and options.

Sayaka's voice rings out next, and the name she calls rings louder than when Kyouko first heard it. Kozue, Kozue, KOZUE...As her own name is heard, her destination is at hand. Panting slightly, exerted from the run and exhausted from the fighting, a narrow strand of chain-linked spear hooks into the heavy plate's access holes. A silver streak buries itself in the brown iron, more ceremonial and declarative than anything else, and only then does Kyouko turn to regard her pursuers. Only then does she see Mami squeezing speed from a limp, and Sayaka, gasping and desperate and afraid.

She can smell the distinction in that fear..the specialness. The more-than that sets it apart as exceptional. She doesn't know its name yet, nor its disposition. But Kyouko can sense that it is there. She doesn't glare at Sayaka, nor sneer. She just looks at her with all the fatigue that she feels, far more than she's accumulated from this night alone. Her chain snaps the manhole cover aside, sending the heavy metal clattering off against the pavement. And she calls to the girl who she taught how to fight, so long ago.

"I'm not a monster."

And then they are gone, the Puella and her prisoner, swallowed into the darkness of the sewers. A faint red glow can be seen just past the lip of the maw. Closer inspection would soon reveal a humming crimson trellis sealing the entrance off for awhile.

Kyouko is gone, and Kozue with her.

---

Coughing softly, Kyouko bends down low, shrugging her bounty off of her shoulders and onto a cot in a cramped little room, one of perhaps dozens scattered among the bowels of the city's infrastructure. In moments she will pat down her prisoner and confiscate anything of note, but for the moment Kyouko's hand goes for Kyouko's phone. A sterile white light casts clinically along Kozue's face. Minutes later, a number of cell phones buzz and ring, and an image of the unconscious girl splashes across the screens of every Shepherd with a phone, of the Outer Senshi and of Homura Akemi, with a few spare words underneath.

"Who is this? Who are her people?"

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mami lets Sayaka's cheers, in the moment, her shouting, wash past her, shaking her head. This... Well, this she doesn't much like, for once. The high is something, all right. ...But then, Mami is not so excitable about victory. She's won many times in the past, and knows full well how close it can be. How different it can be. But while Sayaka is talking what they can do--

Mami is running. Mami is watching Kyouko and Kozue, fear and guilt and pain being shoved aside for /worry/. ...And she watches Kyouko go. She sees the faint red glow, and she knows what it is immediately. Kyouko... Kyouko says that she isn't a monster.

But she says it to Sayaka, not to Mami. Mami can see that. She can see it all too well, hear it, understand it. Because the two of them know something else. What the two of them are, what they've become in the years since those days feeling in touch with a family again, for just a little while...

Mami's foe is gone by now. But she calls out--not to Kyouko. "Sayaka-chan," she calls out, makes it up to her, places her good hand on the other girl's shoulder. "...We won't find her now. We can't break that barrier, and she knows these places better than we do."

She thinks of something Eri told her, and shakes her head.

"...The only way to get her back is to keep going. And we will." Lowering her hand, Mami turns, and starts back, wincing, towards the others, to check on those who she can help, but her mind is full of thoughts of Kozue, and of others. Of... A lot of things.

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Kyouko's fatigue is not a hopeful sign, but it is not the slammed door she expected, and Sayaka's eyes remain fixed on her, irises trembling with desperation. She's leaning forward like a hunting dog. She doesn't understand what Kyouko's feeling, not at all, but she clearly cares and cares a lot, is thinking only of that.

It might be flattering if it didn't take a kidnapping.

The words for Sayaka have the weight of a summation, but they are written in Greek. Sayaka's eyes flick back and forth across Kyouko's face, comprehending only that no, Kyouko is not going to give Kozue back. It's difficult for anything else to matter right now.

"Sakura!" Sayaka shouts in anguish. The truce she had plaintively offered by ceasing her run is shattered when Kyouko leaps, and Sayaka gets a few inches into what will soon be a fervid sprint before a soft palm graces her shoulder. To do even the smallest, most incidental violence against Mami Tomoe is anathema to Sayaka, not only in ethos but down to her very instincts, and she halts at once rather than brush past her senpai, however harmlessly. The coiled panic in her is restrained, but Mami can feel it vibrating beneath her hand as Sayaka turns her confusion now upon her senpai. It takes her a few moments to decipher what she's being told; she's reading it from her memory because her mind is too clogged with images of a stolen Kozue to listen in real time. But when she remembers properly, she slowly lets her fists unclench, and parts her teeth with a little pop of a sore jaw. Mami's right. That grid of red diamonds, like a spread of playing cards, will take a while to break... and once inside Sayaka would be Kyouko's prey in the tunnels, not the other way around. The house always wins. She swallows unhappily, swaying a little when Mami releases her shoulder.

"You came to get me, huh?" Sayaka asks the blocked-off hole in the ground. "Well," she wipes her cheek roughly with a white glove, clearing dust off a smear of pale cheek. "I'll come to get you, too."

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mami can feel that violence in Sayaka. SHe knew it would be there. It should be there. ...But she doesn't give up on it. She doesn't relent in what she says, in the logic she offers. Sayaka sways, when Mami releases her shoulder, and Mami as she turns to walk back towards the others, to check on them, does not hold onto her hurt arm this time, does nothing for her dislocated shoulder yet, allowing the pain to rest in her mind. ...But she's barely with it; her mind is elswhere, past latticework, past an old church.

"If that's how it is," Mami murmurs to herself, to Kyouko, to her oldest friend...

"...Then /I'll/ have to be."

[[Category:Logs]]

User:Lucientes

2017-10-07T05:09:05Z

Lucientes:

Luc, you are my me!

Or something like that. I play [[Chitose Shiratori]], yakuza underling extraordinaire. Also probably the only character I'll have for some time, likely.

I also play

-[[Iona Hikawa]]
-[[Kintoleski]]
-[[Minako Aino]]
Still the only character I'll have for some time, though!
It is more likely you know me as Persona MUSH's resident Vehicle Handler, Maya Amano.

Chitose Shiratori

2017-08-12T21:30:01Z

Lucientes: Also oops! Chitose flipped sides (again), but has she really 'flipped' sides?

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 25em; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Character Name'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[File:Chitose.png|350px]]
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Chitose Shiratori
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Aliases:
|
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Gender:
| Female
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age/Birthdate:
| 18 (December 24th)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 180cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Black
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Green
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Astrological Sign:
| Capricorn
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Blood Type:
| AB
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Food:
|
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Food:
| Strawberries
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Subject:
| Linguistics
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Subject:
| Art
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Dossier'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Organization:
| [[Ends of the World]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Position:
| Perfectly Legitimate Businesswoman
|-
! style="text-align:left" | School:
| [[School:_Infinity_Institute|Infinity Institute]] (University)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | [[Serenity%27s_Miracles#The_Second_Wish:_Recognition_Inhibition|Recog. Inhib.]]
| No (Ask first)
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| [[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] (OC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:Lucientes|Lucientes]]
|-
|}
'''Your Character Name''' is stupendous in every respect!

And that's because she's redoing her wiki page (still). Pardon the dust, everyone!

== Quote ==
"I suppose we must do as we must."
[[Category:Characters]][[Category:Infinity]][[Category:Ends of the World]]

== History ==

And so it was that little Chitose was born to two loving parents. Her mother was something of a tourist, and her father worked for the local crime syndicate. When the little girl asked the inevitable question about how they met, her mother claimed that she came to Japan to research something. What Chitose's mother had come to Japan for, she would never say. What she did say were stories, stories of far away places and stories of heroic adventures in lost temples and tombs.

As for her father, he worked for the Kogishi Syndicate. This led to a number of things, one of which was Sachiyo Kogoshi, one of the daughters of the crime syndicate. Her relationship was (and still is) somewhat rocky with her, especially since the two met when they were children, and there was no more entitled children than very rich children. But, she and the two twins got along after a fashion. Yet, Chitose learned from the Kogoshi that she was expected to at least give some form of respect to them, since they ran the syndicate.

As soon as she grew old enough to attend school, she went to Ohtori, as her family had the money and connections necessary to ensure entrance. Chitose loved Ohtori, at least at the beginning. It was a beautiful school, of course, and she liked that. What she didn't like was the fact that Ohtori seemed very stuffy. Even here at school, Chitose found she needed a different, strict decorum. She was never too sure what that decorum was, however. School was, however, slightly less protocol-driven than her father's associates, so she kind of enjoyed her time there, and even made some friends in the bargain that didn't care about her status.

When Chitose turned 14 her mother took her aside and told her something she wasn't expecting: She was from some planet named 'Midchilda', and that all of the stories she told were true! Well, most of them, at least. Her mother told her that she had originally come to find something special, but stopped when she met Chitose's father.

Of course, having been taught up until now that Earth was the only world with confirmed intelligent life, Chitose did not believe her mother... until her father confirmed that she was telling the truth. To prove it, they said, they gave Chitose a hairclip. At first, she was very confused since it was just a hairclip. But after a few months of having it, it revealed itself as the 'Intelligent Device' White Omen.

Thus began Chitose's journey. The two became fast friends pretty quickly, as she learned that he too enjoyed learning about new cultures. For him, though, everything about Earth was new and interesting.

Chitose's mother gave her a crash course in Midchildan magic for two years before she dropped another revelation: She was leaving, and returning to Midchilda for adventure. And so she went off. Chitose and White Omen turned to the world, and what might await the two for the future.

...Except the two of them immediately turned away to study and learn, instead of anything remotely resembling 'action'. This suited them just fine, really, as scholarly pursuits were more their interests. Plus, she was assigned to protect the Kogoshi Syndicate's two daughters, which took up a lot of her time. But soon enough the two daughters withdrew from the world, which gave Chitose considerably more free time.

''Now'', Chitose and White Omen stood towards the world, bracing themselves for the future.

== Logs ==

== 2015 ==

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== 2016 ==

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== 2017 ==

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Chitose Shiratori

2017-08-12T20:47:40Z

Lucientes: Finally. History up to right before the Okinawa trip (aka a whole load of nothing). Please stay tuned for Battle Fantasia's 8th anniversary when I finish the History and start the Personality.

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 25em; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Character Name'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[File:Chitose.png|350px]]
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Chitose Shiratori
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Aliases:
|
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Gender:
| Female
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age/Birthdate:
| 18 (December 24th)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 180cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Black
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Green
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Astrological Sign:
| Capricorn
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Blood Type:
| AB
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Food:
|
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Food:
| Strawberries
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Subject:
| Linguistics
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Subject:
| Art
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Dossier'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Organization:
| Unaffiliated
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Position:
| Perfectly Legitimate Businesswoman
|-
! style="text-align:left" | School:
| [[School:_Infinity_Institute|Infinity Institute]] (University)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | [[Serenity%27s_Miracles#The_Second_Wish:_Recognition_Inhibition|Recog. Inhib.]]
| No (Ask first)
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| [[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] (OC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:Lucientes|Lucientes]]
|-
|}
'''Your Character Name''' is stupendous in every respect!

And that's because she's redoing her wiki page (still). Pardon the dust, everyone!

== Quote ==
"I suppose we must do as we must."
[[Category:Characters]][[Category:Infinity]][[Category:Unaffiliated]]

== History ==

And so it was that little Chitose was born to two loving parents. Her mother was something of a tourist, and her father worked for the local crime syndicate. When the little girl asked the inevitable question about how they met, her mother claimed that she came to Japan to research something. What Chitose's mother had come to Japan for, she would never say. What she did say were stories, stories of far away places and stories of heroic adventures in lost temples and tombs.

As for her father, he worked for the Kogishi Syndicate. This led to a number of things, one of which was Sachiyo Kogoshi, one of the daughters of the crime syndicate. Her relationship was (and still is) somewhat rocky with her, especially since the two met when they were children, and there was no more entitled children than very rich children. But, she and the two twins got along after a fashion. Yet, Chitose learned from the Kogoshi that she was expected to at least give some form of respect to them, since they ran the syndicate.

As soon as she grew old enough to attend school, she went to Ohtori, as her family had the money and connections necessary to ensure entrance. Chitose loved Ohtori, at least at the beginning. It was a beautiful school, of course, and she liked that. What she didn't like was the fact that Ohtori seemed very stuffy. Even here at school, Chitose found she needed a different, strict decorum. She was never too sure what that decorum was, however. School was, however, slightly less protocol-driven than her father's associates, so she kind of enjoyed her time there, and even made some friends in the bargain that didn't care about her status.

When Chitose turned 14 her mother took her aside and told her something she wasn't expecting: She was from some planet named 'Midchilda', and that all of the stories she told were true! Well, most of them, at least. Her mother told her that she had originally come to find something special, but stopped when she met Chitose's father.

Of course, having been taught up until now that Earth was the only world with confirmed intelligent life, Chitose did not believe her mother... until her father confirmed that she was telling the truth. To prove it, they said, they gave Chitose a hairclip. At first, she was very confused since it was just a hairclip. But after a few months of having it, it revealed itself as the 'Intelligent Device' White Omen.

Thus began Chitose's journey. The two became fast friends pretty quickly, as she learned that he too enjoyed learning about new cultures. For him, though, everything about Earth was new and interesting.

Chitose's mother gave her a crash course in Midchildan magic for two years before she dropped another revelation: She was leaving, and returning to Midchilda for adventure. And so she went off. Chitose and White Omen turned to the world, and what might await the two for the future.

...Except the two of them immediately turned away to study and learn, instead of anything remotely resembling 'action'. This suited them just fine, really, as scholarly pursuits were more their interests. Plus, she was assigned to protect the Kogoshi Syndicate's two daughters, which took up a lot of her time. But soon enough the two daughters withdrew from the world, which gave Chitose considerably more free time.

''Now'', Chitose and White Omen stood towards the world, bracing themselves for the future.

== Logs ==

== 2015 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
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|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
|rowcolformat=width=50%
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|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
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== 2016 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2016-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
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== 2017 ==

{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 2017-%-% -%
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 1
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}}

Chitose Shiratori

2017-08-12T17:58:21Z

Lucientes: updating, yay. One day I may actually start filling this out.

Chitose Shiratori

2017-08-11T20:15:25Z

Lucientes: updating, yay. One day I may actually start filling this out.

School: Infinity Institute

2016-08-20T20:17:30Z

Lucientes:

The Infinity Institute is the new kid on the block, academically speaking. Only founded in the late '90s and only really rising as a premier educational program in the last five years, Infinity rivals Ohtori as the rockstar of the Tokyo education scene. Students of the Infinity Institute are viewed with a combination of reverence and fear, because teenagers being what they are, it's not uncommon for Infinity students to let their school's stature get to their heads. That attitude is not fully undeserved, however: The Infinity Institute aggressively and unapologetically frames itself as a school where the gifted can thrive in whatever field they may like, and has the programs to back up that boast. Only the gifted make the cut at Infinity; the school will mercilessly boot students without the talent or drive to succeed...although, occasionally, and usually to the confusion of the student body, the faculty will insist a seeming underachiever is worth their seat.

Infinity's program is designed to facilitate the excellence of its students. The school takes students of any age - from kindergarten through grad school, each grade a floor in the monumental tower that is the Institute's campus. The school has classes in essentially every field, from the philosophies and sciences to sports, entertainment and the professional world, and early on students are encouraged to spread throughout the school's curricula to find where their greatest talents lie. By the same token, the Infinity Institute has an extremely laissez faire approach to student clubs, and will approve essentially anything that can meet minimum membership requirements, no matter how humble, fantastical, or outright silly.

Infinity Academy, unlike the other schools in Tokyo, has a formalized magic program. Appropriately, its day-to-day classes are confined to the 13th floor, the real existence of which is lost in a haze of student rumors. Labs for various specific disciplines as well as occult research extend deep beneath the academy; some say there's as many as six hundred sixty-six sub-basements!

Because of this, those with magical potential are often targeted for recruitment by the Infinity Institute, even if they are otherwise limited achievers. The Infinity Institute is quite aggressive about recruiting magical potentials, and even wizards from outside the region send their children here for a top-rate magical education. This section of the school still has significant backing from the Magic Association, including several powerful wizards on staff and oversight by the local Association bureau chiefs.

Yet, even here, much of the education is done by Souichi Tomoe's inner circle, and the Association's grip is kept in a tight deadlock. Supposedly, one of the sub-basements here leads directly to the belly of Magic Association Headquarters...but as relations with Doctor Tomoe became more tenuous, a Recognition Inhibition spell was cast, obliterating the memory of its location from everyone involved. Probably.

With Infinity's focus on the supremacy of talent over background, and their very recent history, they have a natural and rather intense rivalry with Ohtori Academy, a more upper-crust school with a stronger emphasis on wealth and social status, and a much, much longer history of academic excellence. The Infinity Institute sees Ohtori mostly as overinflated blowhards; Ohtori sees Infinity's students as upstart, overinflated blowhards.
Infinity's relations to the Juuban schools are more jocular. Infinity sees Juuban as the lesser sibling, where the people who can't make the cut end up. Some take that as a weakness to be coddled; others, as a fault to be derided. Juuban, appropriately, mostly thinks Infinity is a bunch of stuck-up jerks.

__TOC__

==History==
In the aftermath of Clow Reed's destructive battle over the Sacred Tree, the Magic Association set up a research and protection base around the Sacred Tree's site. They wrote channeling and warding spells into the very stones of the small settlement that sprung up, drawing mystics - and with them, knowledge, a wizard's eternal companion - to the site.

In time, this settlement would be integrated into ever-growing Tokyo. The powerful magic surrounding this place was eventually used as a final line of defense against the phenomenal power of Lord Dune in 196X, at which point all eyes turned upon the Sacred Tree's defenders. The Magic Association built up the site; situated their Japanese headquarters in a vast labyrinth which terminated at the Tree's mystic heart, and secured dangerous tomes on nearby Library Island. But in the 1980s, the Magic Association's power was curtailed by a massive war in the far off magic haven of Mundus Magicus, and the Sacred Tree operation was one of several that suffered a serious loss in power and clout as high-profile wizards raced off to the fight.

With their powerbase lessened, the mages of the Japanese Magic Association knew they needed to shore up their control of the tremendous power surrounding the so-called "World Tree". With that in mind, they allowed certain individuals with knowledge of magic to build on sites of power surrounding the tree, using those structures as focal points for powerful spells. One of those individuals, and one of those projects, was Doctor Souichi Tomoe, and his Infinity Institute.

The Infinity Institute was to be a beacon of gifted education. Founded as a public charter school, Infinity was able to bolster its municipal funding with private wealth, and supply its students with innovative technology and teaching methods. Unlike a private school, however, it did not charge for tuition; any student who demonstrated sufficient academic excellence would be accepted. Where the long-running Ohtori Academy serviced the rich and privileged, Infinity was meant to give an education to what Tomoe believed were the real heroes of the age: Those with talent. Talent for science, talent for art, talent for wisdom...and talent for magic. And to support those talents, on the same grounds as Infinity Academy, Tomoe constructed his own personal laboratory, quietly (and not entirely legally) using the massive power flow of the Magic Association's sigils to perform technomagical experiments.

In 2006, Tomoe Laboratory experienced a tremendous explosion. The Magic Association believed something had slipped through amid the chaotic mana eruption, but, against all odds, Tomoe emerged into the waiting crowd of horrified supporters, unscathed. No sign of anything amiss could be found.

Since then, though, the Magic Association's grip on Tomoe has slipped. A group of science-witches have gathered around him, cheerfully helping the academy surge to pre-eminence while simultaneously keeping the Magic Association from exerting too much authority on - or even seeing too much ''of'' - Souichi Tomoe. With Tomoe holding the mundane rites to the land, the Association can do little but watch and wait to see what Souichi Tomoe and his so-called Witches 5 will do.

Now, the Infinity Institute's towering monolith is considered one of the top educational facilities in mainland Tokyo, and continues, despite some misgivings, to be the best place in the archipelago for students to practice their magic training. With its enormously open stance on school clubs and pointed interest in student excellence, Infinity Academy is poised to rival any other school in the city in performance...and with its proximity to powerful sources of magical energy, some of those magic classes might just turn out to be full-contact!

==Student Body==
''This list can be edited by players to add their characters to their appropriate grade. Feel free to add your name as a link to your character page!''

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''Infinity's Student Body''
|-
|
'''[[Schools: Faculty and Staff#Infinity Institute|Faculty and Staff]]''': Souichi Tomoe, Kaori Kishi, Yuuichi Kazama, Gordon, Cyprine, Mimi Hanyu, Lulu Teruno.

'''University''': Setsuna Meioh, [[Chitose Shiratori]].

'''Grade 12''': Shun Minami, Hayato Nishi.

'''Grade 11''': Kuniko Saito, [[Haruka Tenoh]], [[Michiru Kaioh]], [[Ren Aizawa]], Yuuko Ichihara.

'''Grade 10''': Fakir, Jad Werke, [[Lera Camry]], Lilith Abarth, [[Mytho]], Rue, Ryoko Kikuchi, Tsuru, Utau Hoshina, Yumi Ohzora.

'''Grade 9''': Chao Lingshen, Chrono Harlaown, [[Duck]], Ferio, Fu Inubozaki, [[Fuu Hououji]], Hibiki Houjou, Kanade Minamino, [[Minako Aino]], Miki Aono, Yui Bidoh.

'''Grade 8''': Akane Hino, Karin Miyoshi, Mai Mishou, Mimori Togo, Miyuki Hoshizora, Nao Midorikawa, Reika Aoki, Saki Hyuuga, [[Yayoi Kise]], Yuna Yuki.

'''Grade 7''': [[Akira Moto]], Itsuki Inubozaki.

'''Grade 6''': Hotaru Tomoe.

'''Grade 5''':

'''Grade 4''': Ako Shirabe, [[Fate Testarossa]], [[Nanoha Takamachi]].

'''Grade 3''':

'''Grade 2''':

'''Grade 1''':

'''Grade K''':

|}

==Student Council==
Infinity, nurturing many political talents, tries to accommodate everyone with Class Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Secretaries and Treasurers from each grade, K-12, plus the university level. They vote as a quorum in the Infinity Academic Senate, with some oversight from faculty, on issues as minor as whether or not to promote a petition to improve the acceleration on the skyscraper's central elevator, to as major as the distribution of club funding (the source of many a complex feud).

''If you'd like to join the Student Council (new characters can easily be retconned in), please contact the Staff on-game.''

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''Infinity's Student Council''
|-
|
===The Infinity Academic Senate===
====University====
* '''President:''' Open!
* '''Vice President:''' Open!
* '''Secretary:''' Open!
* '''Treasurer:''' Open!

====Grade 12====
* '''President:''' Hayato Nishi
* '''Vice President:''' Open
* '''Secretary:''' Open
* '''Treasurer:''' Shun Minami

====Grade 11====
* '''President:''' Yuuko Arimura
* '''Vice President:''' Open!
* '''Secretary:''' Open!
* '''Treasurer:''' Open!

====Grade 10====
* '''President:''' Open!
* '''Vice President:''' Open!
* '''Secretary:''' Open!
* '''Treasurer:''' Mimi Hanyu

====Grade 9====
* '''President:''' Open!
* '''Vice President:''' Yui Bidou
* '''Secretary:''' Open!
* '''Treasurer:''' Open!

====Grade 8====
* '''President:''' Open!
* '''Vice President:''' Open!
* '''Secretary:''' Open!
* '''Treasurer:''' Open!

====Grade 7====
* '''President:''' Open!
* '''Vice President:''' Open!
* '''Secretary:''' Open!
* '''Treasurer:''' Open!

====Grade 6====
* '''President:''' Open!
* '''Vice President:''' Open!
* '''Secretary:''' Open!
* '''Treasurer:''' Open!

====Grade 5====
* '''President:''' Open!
* '''Vice President:''' Open!
* '''Secretary:''' Open!
* '''Treasurer:''' Open!

====Grade 4====
* '''President:''' Open!
* '''Vice President:''' Open!
* '''Secretary:''' Open!
* '''Treasurer:''' Open!

====Grade 3====
* '''President:''' Open!
* '''Vice President:''' Open!
* '''Secretary:''' Open!
* '''Treasurer:''' Open!

====Grade 2====
* '''President:''' Open!
* '''Vice President:''' Open!
* '''Secretary:''' Open!
* '''Treasurer:''' Open!

====Grade 1====
* '''President:''' Open!
* '''Vice President:''' Open!
* '''Secretary:''' Open!
* '''Treasurer:''' Open!

====Grade K====
* '''President:''' Open!
* '''Vice President:''' Open!
* '''Secretary:''' Open!
* '''Treasurer:''' Open!
|}

==Clubs==
Even in Japan, Infinity's highly motivated students are famous for the sheer quantity and specialization of the clubs they form, from the World Tree Club investigating Tama's enormous, mystical landmark to Feels for Wheels, a group of happy nerd engineers trying to literally reinvent, and improve, the wheel.

''This list may be edited by any player who wishes to note the on-camera existence of their club. There are many other clubs at Infinity not listed here because they don't currently have any player characters in them.''

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''Clubs of Infinity''
|-
|
===Advanced Ballet===
The Advanced Ballet class at Infinity continues their studies well after most students have gone home, in the pastoral setting of Gold Crown Town. There are a limited number of members; competition for entry is fierce.

'''Members''': [[Mytho]], Fakir, Rue, Tsuru

===Archery Team===
A bowstring drawn across the heart. A single, perfect moment. Bullseye.

'''Members''': [[Fuu Hououji]], [[Reika Aoki]]

===Computer Club===
It's not all fun and games at the computer club, but there is a certain amount of both expected at all times! Utilizing Infinity's remarkable infrastructure and resources, the computer club hacks at high levels, for love and justice.

'''Members''': [[Fuu Hououji]] (occasionally)

===Drama Club===
Drama Club is for those with a passion for the performing arts that are related to non-musical vocals; it is a club that teaches how to use body language to help emphasize words to act out a scene. The Drama Club hosts Shakespeare in the Park on a regular basis, and performs plays every so often. They collaborate with the sister schools for larger plays or for festival performances.

'''Members''': Miki Aono

===Fashion Club===
A wildly enthusiastic club, Infinity Institute's group of fashionistas are so prolific that some of them are already launching their own professional lines, while others are real models.

'''Members''': Miki Aono, Tsuru

===Gardening Club===
Although their school is a ridiculously huge skyscraper, the Infinity Gardening Club works hard to bring as much of nature's beauty to the student body as possible.

'''Members''': Reika Aoki

===Hero Club===
The Infinity Institute Hero Club is one of the prides of the school, with its focus on civic service and volunteerism. Secretly, they're a group of carefully selected students who defend the Shinjuu from Vertex encroachments, and fight other evils as time permits.

'''Members''': Akira Moto, Fu Inubozaki, Itsuki Inubozaki, Karin Miyoshi, Mimori Togo, Yuna Yuki

===Hiking Club===
For a combination of nature and athletics enthusiasts. The Hiking Club has enough funding to travel widely throughout the year!

'''Members''': [[Lera Camry]]

===Judo Club===
A very competitive martial arts club with a proud tradition of success.

'''Members''': Hibiki Houjou, [[Haruka Tenoh]], Yuuko Arimura

===Library Island Exploration Club===
The ancient Library Island is a very large building, full of mysteries and disrepair, to the point where entire sections of it are deemed too dangerous to allow students into under normal circumstances. This club, mostly University-level but accepting all students, regularly organizes expeditions into its (literally) uncharted depths. In that sense, the club has a lot to do with a climbing or spelunking club, and accounts of previous expeditions make them sound like sequences from an Indiana Jones movie more than anything else.

'''Members''': [[Fuu Hououji]]

===Orchestra===
The after-school orchestra group is all ages, separated down into different sections. All sections learn how to sight-read and perform with others. This club has a competition for principle and chair positions within the separate divisions, as well as participating in joint Sister School performances as well as competitions against them.

'''Members''': Michiru Kaioh

===Softball Team===
Sumo may be Japan's official national sport, but everyone knows it's actually baseball.

'''Members''': Saki Hyuuga

===Survival Club===
One of the less popular clubs in terms of societal approval, Survival Club focuses primarily on wargames and airsoft battles, with side activities including gun safety lessons, airshows and educational trips in cooperation with the Japanese Self-Defense Force. This club opens its activities to Sister School participation.

'''Members''': [[Nanoha Takamachi]], [[Ren Aizawa]]

===Swordfighting Club===
For students of the blade not trained in more specific traditions, this is more of a group of generalists and enthusiasts and less of a competitive team.

'''Members''': [[Lera Camry]]

===Track and Field Club===
The pounding of pavement, and leaping to soaring heights.

'''Members''': [[Haruka Tenoh]], [[Hayato Nishi]]
|}

==Uniforms==
Infinity Institute's blue-themed uniforms may be found [[Schools: Uniforms#Infinity Institute: Elementary|here]].

For more information, please see: [[Schools]], [[Organization: The Magic Association]], [[Organization: Dark Fall]], [[History: Clow Reed]], [[Theme]]

[[Category:Schools]]
[[Category:Infinity]]
[[Category:Theme]]
[[Category:History]]

Chitose Shiratori

2016-08-18T23:20:09Z

Lucientes: Altering page in preparation for actual wiki information. I swear, to those people bored enough to read these things, it's coming!

Chitose Shiratori

2016-07-08T04:05:32Z

Lucientes: Picture! And also altering based on +finger changes. There'll be an actual page here someday, I swear!

File:Chitose.png

2016-07-08T03:58:34Z

Lucientes: Done by Manu-chan. http://manu-chann.deviantart.com/art/Commission-Chitose-610668668

Done by Manu-chan.

http://manu-chann.deviantart.com/art/Commission-Chitose-610668668

Iona Hikawa

2016-05-17T00:01:44Z

Lucientes: Same verse as the first

Chitose Shiratori

2016-05-16T23:51:57Z

Lucientes: I have altered the page, pray I do not alter it further.

Chitose Shiratori

2016-05-16T23:46:44Z

Lucientes: Tampering with the template and deciding that Chitose should have something more flavorful as a disliked food.

2016-01-23 - Ohtori Sports Festival Dance

2016-02-09T00:46:38Z

Lucientes:

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Ohtori Sports Festival Dance'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''All good things must come to an end.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Ami Mizuno]], [[Lera Camry]], [[Natsuki Kuga]], [[Setsuna Higashi]], [[Steven Universe]], [[Takeo Akamizu]], [[Endo Naoki]], [[Nori Ankou]], [[Fuu Hououji]], [[Hikaru Shidou]], [[Iona Hikawa]], [[Mai Tokiha]], [[Minako Aino]] 
GM: Madoka Kaname
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Ohtori Academy
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Sep 23 2014 - 01-23-2016
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Traditionally, Athletics Festivals conclude with a folkdance around a bonfire. It's mandatory -- all the students know the steps from gym class -- and usually more fun than awkward.

At Ohtori, the bonfire has been replaced with as many candles as there are stars in the sky, and instead of dancing on concrete, the marble floors of a massive ballroom, constructed as part of the event facilities, are in use. The school transforms from 'full Olympics mode' to 'full gala mode' in seconds, it seems, with aid from an army of attendants, decorators, caterers and fashionistas.

No student will go unscathed; white-tie tuxedos and ballgowns have been prepared for all and sundry, no matter how large or how small, unless -- with typical Ohtori exceptionalism -- you're on the Ohtori Student Council, in which case your uniform already looks like something a Victorian military officer might grace a ballroom with, anyway. Either way, tonight the Viennese Waltz is as inescapable as Turkey In The Straw might have been at Juuban.

There are a sum total of eight Grand Staircases, chased with gold and hung with roses, descending to the ballroom floor. Each has an announcer, complete with trumpet. Each seems to have memorized the faces of every single Sister Schools student -- and their grade, and their club membership, or perhaps some other notable fact or affiliation -- and will announce them in bold voices as they first come in. This is a bit of a cacophany for a few minutes, but they're well-trained, staircase calls coming consecutively instead of simultaneously, such that it's kind of a surround-sound experience.

Roses are emblazoned on the dance floor too, because of course they are. The walls have pillars and filagree. The ceiling is gloriously spun of gold and glass, letting in starlight which intermingles freely with all of the candles. Even now, Kyouichi Saionji, an affiliate of the Ohtori Student Council, teeters at the top of an exceedingly tall ladder, lighting the last few candles on the main, sparkling, glorious, crystal-hung chandelier.

There are refreshments at both sides of the massive hall, and the canapes and hors d'voeurs are as impossibly glitzy (and delicious) as could be hoped. There isn't alcohol, unless you're a teacher or a sufficiently daring student, but sparkling cider is being served in nice clinky champagne flutes. Yukino Kikukawa, the bespectacled secretary of the high school Ohtori Student Council, looks a little frazzled as she directs the kitchen staff at the perimeter of things, but the food couldn't be fresher or more fabulous.

An actual professional orchestra (mingled with Sister School clubs who previously arranged for an opportunity to play with said orchestra) has come in to play. The music that fills the air is sweet, romantic, and luxurious. Tadase Hotori, the King of the Ohtori Elementary Guardians, can be seen wearing a plaid blue stole over his tuxedo instead of a full cape, and is attending to the musicians' needs, trotting gamely back and forth with water bottles, adjusting the lighting, and generally making their performance more sparkling through support.

Attendance is mandatory, but getting to go to a high-class party isn't widely considered an onerous burden. There are butlers and maids on hand to help students with any wardrobe malfunctions, and dance instructors give 'Waltz 101' every ten minutes or so in one quadrant of the room, so that any lad and lass can be dancing with as much basic competence as they'd like to attain. Right now, the President and Vice-President of the Ohtori High School Council, are demonstrating. Touga Kiryuu and Shizuru Fujino dance a dance of mutual respect, round and round one another, moving in graceful synchronicity, and behaving with absolute propriety.

There is a very faint sense that maybe they don't get along very well, but both of their smiles seem so genuine.

There are tables by the refreshments, and more of them outside, where the moonlight spills alongside the music, swirling into a rose garden positively lush with little spots for smaller groups to gather, eat, and talk. Ohtori High School Treasurer Juri Arisugawa stalks-- wanders-- stalks the side paths, ostensibly to make sure nobody gets up to any mischief. It somehow feels more likely that Disciplinary Executive Haruka Suzushiro is going to bust up the cuddles; Juri is more likely to intervene only if someone is getting attention they don't actually desire.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

At the fourth of eight staircases (oblivious to the ill omen that represents) appears Mikoto Minagi, but not as we know her. She's dressed here in an elegant gown, black as night, with golden embroidery along its contours. It fits her torso snugly, with tasteful ruffles along her neckline, only to fan out into wide ruffled skirts which disguise everything down to her ankles. Her golden shoes have an inch of heel to them.

She looks completely lost and even a little scared.

Her first steps come before she's even announced, and the trumpet-bearer hurries to announce her before she's too far down. "Mikoto Minagi, grade 10!" With no club membership to speak of, Mikoto makes the rest of the trip down in silence, her cheeks burning as so many people turn to look at her. She gives the announcer a reproachful look when she reaches the bottom of the staircase, before hurrying off - hands gripping her skirts to lift them up so she doesn't trip - towards the side of of the hall.

It's okay. It's going to be okay! Mikoto can do this. She and Mai /talked/ about this. It's mandatory to show up, but that's all she has to do, right? Right. So all she has to do is stand here and try not to fall over in these wobbly impractical shoes and-
Just then, a waiter passes by with a tray of entrees.
Mikoto begins trailing after him.

(In addition to her fine dress, Mikoto wears a cape with a ruffled strap along its length. There seems to be something underneath it, but it would be impolite to point that out, right?)

<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

This is /harrowing/. Though Ami Mizuno is at least here with friends, she's a little sketchy on this whole thing; it seems... a little much, to her. At heart, no matter how brilliant or how well-off she might be, she's a Juuban girl -- these showy displays are very much not her style.

On the other hand... it's a little romantic, isn't it? The /idea/ holds some appeal, even if on balance it's a little worrying to have to participate -- it's practically a scene from a storybook. Accordingly, when her name is announced, she strides down the stair with much more confidence than one might expect from the studious Ms. Mizuno, wearing a brilliant blue gown.

It's only once she gets down the stair that she immediately retreats to the punchbowl, quite done with that bit of excitement for now.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lera has seen grand galas and formal events before. Sometimes, her mother went to one; some of those times, she brought her daughter along. The younger Camry only felt marginally more at home in a formal environment. Despite seeing such occasions before, she still finds herself starstruck at the top of the second grand staircase. Her hand -- no glove on it -- rests on the railing, as she looks down at the marble floor, the elegant dancers, and the spread of food.

It leaves her breathless, if only for a moment. One of the uniformed attendees standing behind Lera clears her throat. The Midchildan girl's cheeks redden slightly, before she starts down the staircase. She is, mercifully, wearing dark golden slippers.

Her dress is a sleek, shoulderless gown of a dark gold color -- it matches her eyes -- and has slashes of green mixed in here and there, including a pattern that swirls like a tree along her stomach. The green matches the emerald in her pandant. She takes a deep breath, as she walks down the staircase, nearly stumbling.

<Easy,> Soaring Sky tells her. <One step at a time.>

"Thanks, buddy," she says softly as she finishes the walk down. It's easy enough; she stares as she reaches the bottom, only half hearing the announcer call out her name. The girl comes to a stop below, looking around with a smile -- and not as many nerves as she would expect. She is, after all, here with someone.

But she looks over her shoulder, back at the staircase, and grins at it. "Nailed it~"

<Pose Tracker> Natsuki Kuga [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The night is still and nothing could be heard but he pleasant civilized music, and the soft chirping of the crickets. However, it was quickly shattered as a high speed motorcycle drew up to the gates and screeched to an ear piercing halt. The rider, Natsuki, barely took notice of the tread marks left behind as she removed her helmet and let her hair flap in the breeze.

Natsuki sighed. "Really wish I didn't have to come to this stupid thing," she grumbled as she removed her practical boots for a pair of high heels. Then, she unzipped her jacket revealing she was wearing a snow white, not ball gown, but a tux. The jacket just reached the top of her waist and she fixed the tie around her neck.

Natsuki then reached into her purse and clipped on a white rose pin into her hair.

She smirked at the irony since she knew white roses were suppose to represent 'innocence' and innocent Natuski was not.

Natuski then briskly walked through the gates and barely glanced at those around her. Although, she did notice a younger girl in a yellow ball gown and seemed to be clutching a white cat.

Natsuki glanced around and decided that the refreshment table would be a safe zone from being asked to dance and made a beeline for it. She really hoped that guy from the Kendo club wasn't around. Natsuki wasn't in the mood to deal with him. Just being at this grand spectacle was enough to suck her energy.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Out admist the ballroom, the somehow casually elegant Mami Tomoe moves in her golden-yellow dress as if she was always suited to it--an obvious and clear Ohtori Academy student. ...But standing out just as much is a vision in green, Makoto Kino, tall and somehow regal in a lovely dress that flatters her long lines.

But only now at the top of the staircase is a more-recent Juuban transfer student, holding her breath as she waits to enter.

Above all, the dress Setsuna Higashi chose is red. It makes no pretense at minimalism, chased in complementary shades with ribbon and embellishment; her shoulders do /not/ show, but the fabric looks light regardless, a sense of grace suffusing her--though that could as well be the way her eyes are simply lit up watching the proceedings around her. Only at the bottom of her long, flowing skirt do her black heels show, adding a good bit more height than she'd usually have.

"Setsuna Higashi," the announcer speaks, as she steps down, smiling and seeming much calmer than she feels. "Of the track team."

Setsuna herself finally makes it down to the end, having come down a different staircase from Lera's, and her ungloved hands suddenly clasp together as she tries to look around at everyone.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

"I haven't been to anything so fancy before! How should I act? I am so nervous!"

"You'll be just fine! Just remember how to walk like I showed you! Do as I taught, and everything will be fine! Also, try not to get anything on the suit, okay?"

A stout child emerges at the third staircase, and is immediately recognizeable as Steven Universe, who is also amiably announced to the event as he begins going down the stairs. "Wow, there's a lot of them," he says to himself. "And people, too."

Steven is quite well dressed in a white tuxedo, complete with top hat and cane, with a pink gem on top. The tuxedo is well hemmed and fitted, and looks rathr new! His undershirt is a shade of pink matching the gem on the cane, with the tie a lighter sade to compliment the ivory suit. "I hope dad was right about how this suit color will make a statement," he says quietly as he approaches the bottom of the stairs.

Being involved in this Sports Festival was been a wonderful thing, making him very thankful to be in a school now. He even won an event! Okay, maybe it was a bit of a joke event, but a solid gold trophy doesn't lie! It sits by his bed, right next to everythign else important to him! Well, everything that isn't alive and moving, anyway.

"Okay, uhhh..." The gem child says aloud. He wasn't exactly coached on what to do once in a crowd! He seems to fiddle with his small cane for a moment as he ponders what to do! Being in a large crowd of people never bothered him before, so why does it now?!

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Takeo Akamizu, Grade Eleven. Student Council Affiliate and one of the Top Tier Kendo Club Members." Is called as Takeo takes to the stares. Being an affiliate he still has to wear the tux, but his is slightly different. Black slacks, and a black blazer are both trimmed in shimering sliver. The sleeves end in three rings at the cuff of the same shimmering silver material.

He moves down the steps, moving quickly, becuase he REALLY doens't like being all the center of attention. Even if it is for exactly two seconds. He makes it down to the landing and moves just as quickly to the food table.

He walks down it's length, popping delicous finger sized goodies in his mouth as he goes before he ends up at the plates, where he cheerfully grabs one and begins to fill it up. Once that is done he finds a wall to lean against, leaning casually and snacking more sedately than the previous food dash he performed as he arrived. He watches a people dance, and arrive, and for the most part appears to be just enjoying the music and food.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.
Endo appears distinctly uncomfortable. Mostly because he's in a tuxedo, which he was more or less wrestled into by fashion club mandates. It's a plain looking thing by the Ohotri standards--or most peoples--, one wouldn't be wrong to think he just picked the worst option available from the rack, when forced. He keeps trying to adjust his tie, or look down at it like it's a snake that might decide to strangle him at any moment. Which might be better than attending a ball, really.

Regardless, he does make his way down the stairs after a few minutes of complaining and fidgeting around. He pauses on the stair for just a moment, eyes surveying the spectacle of the room. Aside from the opening ceremony and a few other sister school events, he's not used to anything as lavish as this. Then he begins to descend.

He is announced plainly: "Endo-"

His foot catches the second step and he goes skipping down a few more, wobbling precariously for just a second.

"Naoki. 11th Grade."

He quickly hustles off the stairs.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Nori Ankou was pleased to get thoroughly showered and given a quick brush out, shampoo-and-conditioner, and a manicure check at the field beauty stations after she'd eaten mud at the tug of war.

And then, her ball-gown...

... but we'll get to that in a moment.

KUNIKO SAITO is not wearing her chef's whites for once. She is in a wholly mundane if well-fitted light blue dress, with some faintly ill fitting opera gloves and sparkling earrings. She is observing the Dance of the Touga with admiration.
LILIAN ABARTH is in a rather high cut - for a ballgown - silver number, very moderne. She is being pretty low key. She has gone through two of the cider flutes and is wondering why she isn't feeling anything yet. (This is the miracle of being raised by a socialite.)

And NORI ANKOU...

"Nori Ankou: Grade nine. Affiliate of the Student Council, and member of the Fencing Club..."

Nori steps forwards, doing her best to look serene. Her dress is primarily a deep navy blue, with a streaking pattern of dark crimson roundels along the side, suggesting subtly perhaps algae or the cells of the bloodstream... or just being a handsome pattern. The front of the dress is cut high, but along the back, over a dozen strings of beads attach together, producing the impression of a low back from behind. A lacy black bridal gauntlet, decorated with several of those red roundel shapes, covers her right arm; the left is bare.

Nori tries not to sweat, pull a face, or trip on her way down Stairway #7. But will it be enough in the face of suffering?

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fuu knows how to dance a waltz; the Princess Seminar included ballroom dancing lessons, and the waltz is a staple of the category - as it has been, probably, ever since it was invented. And while the seminar was indeed a trap by the Dark Kingdom, the lessons taught there have still been useful for Fuu to draw upon in matters of high society. It might not be a substitute for finishing school, but it's passable enough for what she needs tonight.

The ballgown wasn't a problem either, although making sure somebody had it when Fuu needed to change out of her gym clothes might have been an interesting exercise in practical logistics. As she descends the staircase, she wears a flowing dress in shades of green - a very pale green bodice, almost white, with panels of the same fabric overlaying the left and right of her skirt. The bodice and side panels contrast with the rich emerald green of her waist sash, the skirt itself, and the cloak (or is it more of a mantle?) which flutters gently behind her; a 'plate' of some golden-looking material seems to function as a brooch, apparently holding the cloak's collar closed and in place against her bodice, but closer inspection of the dress might reveal that it's more decorative than structural. The dress's sleeves are of two parts: loops just a bit below her shoulders as though to help support the garment, and wrappings of dark green about her forearms, detached from the rest to all appearances.

A slender tiara set with a visible green stone rests atop Fuu's head as she descends the sixth staircase, and the announcer declares at her turn, "Fuu Hououji, ninth grade, Archery Club!" as she makes her way on down.

Fuu reaches the bottom of the stair, gathering her skirts for a polite and proper curtsey to those nearby, then stands up straight again, looking about for familiar faces.

.... and very possibly, for one *specific* face in particular. Ferio is bound to be here somewhere, and she means to locate him for at least *one* dance this evening while she has the opportunity. Hopefully, he has the same idea.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Ballgowns? Are you kidding? Hikaru's always been a tomboy all of her life, but if the dress code calls for a ballgown, then it's a ballgown that Hikaru will be wearing tonight! She's not entirely comfortable in things of this nature, but if there's one thing she's learned since becoming a Magic Knight, it's that sometimes you have to adapt to things you don't entirely like in order to be able to do what needs to be done. Not that this is a mandatory event for Hikaru, but she does want to show up on behalf of her school. And so she decides to bite the bullet and go to the ball.

When Hikaru arrives, it's obvious she's put a bit of effort into making herself look nice. Her red hair is tied up instead of hanging down, and on her head is a tiara as well, albeit with a red stone instead of green. Her ballgown is red, like her hair, and covers her body well. It has a few black panels as well, and on her feet are a pair of matching heeled shoes. She's not accustomed to wearing them, so walking is a bit of a chore.

When Hikaru does arrive, coincidentally right after Fuu, the announcer quickly speaks up and says, "Here's Miss Hikaru Shidou, also in the ninth grade, with the Kendo Club as well as the Anime Club!" Hikaru's walking down the stairs is a little slower, but she does make it. She takes a moment to curtsey, then steps off to the side... nearly bumping into Fuu-chan no less!

"Oh I'm so sorry, I--" Hikaru trails off as she sees who she nearly bumped into, and she blushes a little with a sweatdrop. "Well, fancy meeting you here, Fuu-chan!" She grins, albeit slightly nervously.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona Hikawa has had a long, hard day of sports festival. And like some Juuban students, she's prepared herself for the post-festival party.

Which is where the culture shock hits as she is still in her sports jersey! She stalks down one of the hallways as a Ohtori underclassman chases her with a dress. "Miss, it's really important that you wear something extravagant to this dance!"

"I'm fine." Iona states simply, continuing her walk.

"You'll feel very pretty!"

"I said I'm fine."

"Miss, ah, it would be a great favor to me if you--" The boy is suddenly cut off as Iona sharply turns into the women's bathroom.

As the door closes behind her, Iona presses herself against it to prevent the boy from following her in. She sighs. It's been a long day of sports. Not that this was bad, she loved every moment of it (at least after a while), and now she has to get dressed in a white dress, since she didn't have anything Ohtori-casual. And that's where she's concerned, because white just won't do.

So she pulls out her PreChan mirror. Two of her cards go inside and the mirror closes, erupting in a flash of light.

Eventually Iona steps back out, dressed in a resplendent purple gown and her hair in a very fancy ponytail. She looks at the boy with the dress, curtseys politely...

And very politely sticks her tounge out and pulls down an eyelid.

So /now/ she's arrived, and /now/ she's announced, as she walks down the stairs very gracefully. Though once she hits the bottom of the stairs? She looks around at all the /really fancy/ things that Ohtori's got set up, especially all the candles. For some reason they've got her attention more so than anything else.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

NEAR THE REFRESHMENT TABLE

"I say," remarks a snobby-looking maiden clad all in blue, her nose high in the air, "These escargot are simply atrocious! They taste like... like... snails!"

"Mademoiselle," the waiter that Mikoto is following gulps, pulling his heavily burdened but apparently offending tray away from the girl, "This is foie gras."

"/Don't you tell me what to eat!/" Thrusting herself up from her seat, the girl tosses her long, blond hair and throws her drink in the man's face! It was grape juice, too, and he's in a snazzy white suit. That definitely looks like it's going to stain...

And what's worse, some stray splatters of juice flew past the waiter and onto those behind him -- Mikoto, Ami, Endo, Natsuki and Takeo were all nearby, in the potential blast radius.

There are also some stray foie gras appetizers flying up into the air, as the man slips on the juicy puddle at his feet. His tray is going to make an intensely loud clatter in the next few seconds, drawing even more attention, if it isn't somehow saved.

---

OUT IN THE CROWD

The next waltz lesson is about to start, and the enthusiastic head dance teacher, a long black-haired Miss Shamour, eagerly gathers in the group milling around at the base of the stairs, who've just finished their grand entrance. "Ohhh! You will all make such beautiful dancers!" Her accent is /gloriously/ posh and maybe French but also kind of hard to place. Leading them by hands and shoulders, she pairs off Steven and Nori, Setsuna and Lera, Fuu and Hikaru. Iona has the grave misfortune of hitting the floor at the exact same moment that Kyouichi Saionji gets down off his ladder. Now, he /was/ responsible for all that candlelight (and he didn't set his long green tresses on fire, either!), but as the instructor pairs him off with Iona (he seems nonplussed but not upset, scowling graciously enough to almost pass for a smile) a faint tremor of doom rumbles through the crowd.

There are a lot of girls who really want to be Iona right now, and she can feel their glares hot on the back of her neck.

"Nowww! Place your hands like this..." she demonstrates, "And your feet like this..."

Somewhere or other a wand has appeared in her hand. It has something like a paw at the end of it, like it's a long puppet arm. "And now... ONE two three ONE two three ONE two three! Le waltz!! Ah, you are all such beautiful princesses!" Steven and Saionji are apparently included in that compliment. The latter sputters. It's a good thing he's so much taller than Iona, or it would have gone right in her face. As it stands, he's quite a good dancer but his palms are all sweaty. Is he /nervous/?

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Behind the scenes, there's tension. Anticipation, waiting for the next proclamation, the next announcement. As candles glitter overhead, the next entry is made - entering from the northmost staircase, as it happens. A young man, in a green-trimmed tuxedo taking tentative but eager steps forward-

"Takumi Tokiha, Eighth Grade!" As the announcer goes on to mention club affiliations and the like, there's a sigh of relief from the other end of the grand hall. A moment to smile privately, to collect one's self - and finally, to make an entrance.

A young woman in a shimmering golden ballgown, decorated with crimson embroidery, and wearing a similarly-coloured sheer stole across her shoulders. It's not quite as absurd as the dress she once wore for a contest, but lit by candles overhead it almost seems to flicker as she moves - as if she wears flames on her back. Her hair matches it, her usual short haircut pinned back with glints of silver. Pride and uncertainty war in her steps, but she straightens her back while stepping forward, heels clacking softly against the marble steps of the southern staircase. A breath, a step-

"Mai Tokiha, Eleventh Grade!"

...the silence where her club memberships should be listed is almost palpable.

In spite of that gap, she's smiling - almost beaming. Any uncertainty tonight is borne of her limited practice more than any unwillingness to be here, and she carefully circumnavigates the dance floor in search of...well, any of those she should be looking after tonight. Though even from here, it seems Takumi is already busy...

It's a long path. There's the orchestra, in full sing, with a brunette in a red-and-black gown looking at the musicians with enough interest that it's better that Mai just go around; there's one of the punchbowls, utterly commandeered by a tall blonde-haired student who appears to have discovered the greatest drink in existence - and then there's people Mai actually knows.

It's a busy dance floor - she tries to give those she knows at least a cursory nod, but it's Natsuki that she runs into first. Upon seeing the snow-white tuxedo, Mai lets out a quiet whistle. "Bold statement, Kuga - though I suppose there's no rule, right? ...kind of works, though." She grins - and then spies the plight of the waiters, and sighs. "And of course...one moment.

Mai's mission-driven steps pause by Takeo on her way by, and...the girl does a bit of a double-take. "...nice suit." She shakes her head, and gives a small grin. "You do know there's more to a dance than eating, right? And speaking of which...."

And she's off again, after her...

...her Mikoto. "Mikoto. Leave the poor waiter alone, you know that they're people too...right?" Fiery colours contrast against dark ones, and she gives Mikoto a brief stern look - but one that quickly turns to an encouraging smile. "Now, come on - there's more to do than just eat, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Ami /really/ does not want to ruin this dress. Accordingly, she ducks low; some of the grape juice lands in her hair, which is... not great, and will probably be even less great later -- but she saves the dress! A little bit drips from her hair and face onto it, but onto spots that are a deep enough blue that it isn't going to be noticeable.

"Ah -- excuse me," she says, tilting her head a little further forward and down, making sure that her hasty defense actually pays off... which places her head squarely in the path of the second wave of catastrophe, and its incoming foie gras.

... aaaaaaat least she's still saving the dress?
<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Blinks as all the events happen seemingly at once. He blinks when Mai stops in fornt of him, wiht a puffball of some sort of delicious looking pastry about to be plopped in his mouth and he...

Stops eating. Swallows.

He ignores the splatter of grape juice on his black suit and the flying tray as he watches Mai leave. "Merde Sainte." He states simply. Then he steps up to Mai and Mikoto and offers Mikoto hsi plate of food. "Try the cream puffs." He says and then bows to Mai.

He clears his throat. "Miss Tokiha. I'm afraid that i am not the best at... This sort of thing. But I was wondering if I might trouble you todo the second thing that happens at a dance." He says this while still bowed and then offers a hand, looking over it to Mai. "I mean. I figure if we gotta be all dressed up, why not dance with somebody who captures the flames of the heart?" He offers that roguish smile of his.
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lera keeps looking around the room, curiously -- but intently. She's glancing at friends, acquaintances, and strangers alike. But, really, she is looking for someone in particular.

MEANWHILE:

Off in one corner, to the side, Homura Akemi is politely leaning against a wall. She has her phone out, in hand, and her thumb slides across the touchscreen intently. Her purple eyes reflect in it -- and she does her best to keep away from others for the moment. She a high-necked black dress on, with violet gloves and slippers to match.

At one of the food tables, Gordon rules as master and commander. All of the food is fantastic, of course, but his stands out in its own way: pepper-infused pork loin skewers, with teriyaki dipping sauce, makes up the main meal. Periodically, he glances at one of the Ohtori chefs.

The rabbit glares at them and mouths one word: "Souffle." They know why.

BACK ON THE DANCE FLOOR:

Lera's efforts to find the person she was looking for are, at first, dashed. She hears that woman's voice -- what, she wonders, is someone from Australia doing here? -- and then she gets her hand grabbed. Lera sputters a moment. "H-Hey, wait," she says, "hold on, I came with--"

Then she gets pushed right at Setsuna Higashi.

Lera blinks when she sees her; her amber eyes widen a little when she finally sees the person she was looking for. The blush comes back, too, faint but persistent. She holds a gloveless hand out towards her and tries her very best to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. Her expression changes from pleasantly surprised to brightly smiling.

"Hi."

<Pose Tracker> Minako Aino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Minako Aino glances up from where she's standing at a table of hors d'ouevres, overloading a tiny white plate with treats that look almost too good to eat.

Almost.

If her partner-in-crime, Usagi, had been here, the two blondes would almost certainly have been chowing down together, gabbing about the clothes, cute boys, and how predictably froufrou Ohtori's showing was for the Sister Schools Athletics Day Event. Unfortunately, much to Minako's disappointment, she hasn't been able to spot even one of her fellow senshi -- and hadn't yet spotted any of her fellow classmates at Infinity Junior High, either.

The blonde vollyeball player uses a tiny silver fork to puncture a puffy, pie-shaped pastry with an orange smoked salmon topping, then pops it into her mouth with all the culture she can manage in her starved state. She chews animatedly, her eyes narrowing down on the many figures in the crowd, scanning for some sign of a familiar face.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

"Steven, you got this, maintain!" The boy says to himself. He begins to strut forward with his can in hand, acting as though he belongs in highbrow society. It is pretty obvious he does not, despite the performance. The boy makes his way over near the dance floor first, being a person that enjoys busting a move from time to time.

He watches from the sidelines for the moment, as every girl seems to be hating another in a dance at the moment. They sure seem to be jealous! "H-Huh?" Steven lets out, when he swore someone jsut called him a princess. "I am beautiful, aren't I?" he says in response, "But sadly, it would have to actually be a prince. That is a boy pricness, right? Pretty sure it is. I will have to fact check it later."

"So, tiem to find a lucky lady to waltz with!" he says happily, scanning the crowd. "Wait, uh. I don't know how to waltz. Will that eb a problem? Can I improvise? I can do a mean square dance!"

Most people here probably don't even know what that is. Oh the problems of being foreign.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

The sheer /extravagance/ is something Setsuna's come close to seeing only once--at a certain Princess Seminar that she nevertheless didn't finish.

She has no idea what the woman's accent but is at peace with this fact--instead, however, she finds herself being led by the hand. "Ah--" She doesn't quite manage to say anything before she's led, and placed right in front of--

"Lera!" Her eyes practically sparkle with happiness as she levels her broad smile the taller (well, not as much taller today) girl's way. She lets Lera do the talking for the moment, as she finds she has nothing else /too/ say.

'Princesses', she's told, and then moves exactly as she's told to move. One two--

She starts dancing, and for someone who grew up without knowing what dancing /was/, Setsuna is quite light on her feet.

She certainly /feels/ light; the sheer delight in her expression is infectious.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

A young man in a dapper gray tuxedo approaches the chewing Minako.

"Hey, bay-bee," he says in pretty good English, before smoothly switching to Japanese, "A pretty girl like you shouldn't be all alone at a time like this. How about you and me hit the dance floor?"

His eyes are huge, sparkling blue. But something about his bristly hair is weirdly familiar. Familiar from a distance... this guy must not go to Infinity Institute.

He gropes for her hand. Those eyes may be lovely, but he's having a hard time seeing very well. Maybe it's the glint of bottle-thick glasses in his jacket pocket where a flower should be.

And then he slips on the juice and goes faceplanting directly towards her.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

There is a woman in blue who is being Rude and Loud, and Mikoto instantly decides that she doesn't like her. She doesn't bother dodging away from the grape juice, which is just /liquid/ and not at all threatening to someone who cares little for her very fancy dress. Luckily for her, it lands largely on the black parts of her dress, and black handles all kinds of stains well, metaphorically as well as literally.

And in that moment, two things happen:

1) Mai tells her to leave the poor waiter alone, and,
2) The poor waiter slips in that horrible woman's grape juice puddle.

In an instant, Mikoto decides to ignore Mai, and lunges forward to catch the waiter before he can impact with the hard ballroom floor. Her heels skid in the juice, and she plants them down with such strength that she hears a /snap/ and that foot finally comes in contact with the ground again. By the end of her maneuver, she's halfway down to the ground herself, legs bent at the knee and much wider than a lady should hold them, gold-trimmed skirts soaking in the juice -- but she somehow manages to avoid dropping herself and her beneficiary to the ground.

For some reason, the weight of a full-grown man doesn't really bother her. Letting him down gently, she asks: "You okay?"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Nori feels gorgeous. She accepts the gracious pairing off from Miss Shamour with the smaller underclassman with her own share of grace, giving Steve a smile as she comes up. She has, perhaps, more eyeliner on than Steven is used to seeing. (But who knows.)

She curtsies to him, and then says as she presents her hands (one gloved, one not) "Would you prefer for me to lead...?" She is after all somewhat taller.

Either way, positioning ensues - and then ONE two three, ONE two three - Nori colors slightly as she's told she's a beautiful princess. "Do you think he's right?" she murmurs to Steven, glancing towards the ballroom at large with a half-shy smile. The smile is momentarily disturbed as she sees the distant signs of chaos.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The sight of green hair starts to draw Fuu's attention, but a second look at Saionji-san confirms that it's not the green hair she's looking for, and Fuu's attention circulates onwards before she's almost collided with - by another familiar face. "Good evening to you as well, Hikaru-san," Fuu smiles, curtseying again to her red-haired friend. "You enjoyed the Sports Festival, I hope? Although I must admit I'm relieved it's over ..."

And before she can say anything else, Miss Shamour draws her and Hikaru into the 'crash course' for the waltz. "Hm? Ah, it's okay, I'm already ..."

Fuu trails off, looking at Hikaru, and smiles briefly. She DOES remember the waltz lessons, but Hikaru may not have had those lessons. With that in mind, Fuu allows herself to be directed into dancing with her red-haired comrade. (The refresher course/last-minute practice certainly doesn't hurt, either.) Being called a 'princess,' though ...

Fuu really shouldn't blush like that, the red clashes HORRIBLY with her gown.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Endo spies a few faces he knows as he wanders amongst the crowd, though his first stop seems to be the tables laden with mysterious foods, some in shapes he's never imagined. And one made of snails. Are they all made of snails? He makes a mental note to ask someone about this. He's about to when a slop of grape juice splashes him in the face.

"Wha-" AND THEN THE TRAY. "Yaa!" Endo's reaction is borne out of survival. When he sees something coming toward him, he backhands it. The tray ascends like a beach-ball, bouncing before Endo can jump and snatch it. At least it doesn't hit the ground.

"Don't worry! Everything is fine!" He beams. A few pieces of lost foie gras splatter around his feet after a poignant delay. "Everything is fine." He even tries to hand the tray back, once Mikoto has made sure the waiter is saved.

<Pose Tracker> Natsuki Kuga [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Wasn't as much statement as more pants are better to drive on a motorcycle," Natsuki commented as she nibbled on a sweet. She gave Mai a smirk. "You, on the other hand, really went for the fire princess look, eh?"

She smirked a bit as she watched Mai attempt to get Mikoto under control. "Glad that's not my problem," she muttered and would have kept that thought process if not for the sudden splash of grape juice.

"Hey!" Natsuki growled as she frantically tried to wipe the juice off with a napkin. She had paid good money for this! However, her efforts were fruitless and the grape stain stayed. Thinking quickly, Natsuki removed her hair pin and placed it over the purple stains. Not the look she was going for, but it would have to do.

She got a dagger glare at the some as she stomped over. "Hey idiot, why don't you stop picking on the waiters and stop making more work for them."

She glanced over as Mikoto made the perfect save of the waiter. "Good move, Kid," she said as she cast another glare at the blonde woman. "I can honestly you got more brains than that girl."

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

It takes Lera a second to really /process/ that Setsuna is wearing heels. She is used to being almost a head taller than the girl from Labyrinth. Thanks to those heels, Setsuna is almost at a height with her. She feels impressed, knowing they didn't bother her in the slightest -- but heels were never something Lera could do sop well.

"Ah, s-so--"

She doesn't think of anything to say to Setsuna while she starts. She knows how to waltz already; she learned a similar Midchildan dance when she was little. She adjusted it, nicely, into this. Lera's arm slips around Setsuna's waist, and she smiles down. Her footsteps are confident.

Her words are less so. Unlike Setsuna, when she doesn't know what to say, she says /everything/. The nervousness doesn't help.

"Th-this dance is called a waltz, y'know?" she says. So far, so good; she knows that. "It's from a city called Vienna!" Also correct. "It's in Australia!" ...Er. "And... and it's named after sausages! I learned that in A-America!"

At least she can dance.

<Pose Tracker> Minako Aino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Minako almost drops her plate of towering appetizers to the floor.

This guy -- this totally dreamy guy -- looks so much like a dark-haired Kaitou Ace that it's almost scary; if his eyes had been green instead of blue and his hair had been lighter, maybe --

Minako immediately lowers her eyes, trying to appear as feminine as Minako Aino can manage. Somehow, she manages to force a demure blush to rise to her face.

"My," she manages, discarding the plate on the table's edge, hoping it'll still be there when she returns. /If/ she returns. Hue hue hue!

She instead offers an orange-gloved hand to her hopeful admirer. "They say that 'haste makes dancing', right? Let's go."

And with that totally incorrect English idiom uttered, Minako waits for Umino to guide her onto the dance floor, hoping that Shun catches sight of the pair of them and REGRETS FOREVER GIVING THIS UP.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

When Iona steps down onto the main floor, she gets assigned... who? Who's this guy here? Kyouichi Saionji? Iona's never heard of him.

She feels strangely compelled not to say that outloud. As she takse his hand, though, she feels the jealousy burning through her neck. Purple eyes scan the room briefly before the dance begins, and she can tell that other girls are staring at her. Why?

Then Saionji sputters, and as tall as Iona is, she's not tall enough to get sputtery in her face. Just her hair, which she spent all of a minute preparing! How rude. In fact Iona frowns at this. It's only for a moment, but it's there. But she remembers the seething hate coming from the other girls. She's still not sure why, exactly. So... her smile returns, brighter than before!

She'll just enjoy whatever it is that has the girls all upset. A-one two three, A-one two three...
<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Hikaru returns the curtsey with a smile. "Good evening, Fuu-chan! I have enjoyed it, but it's almost over I know. Well, it was fun while it lasted and there'll always be next year!" She smiles a little. "So for now, shall we--" She is interrupted by Miss Shamour who decides to pair people together, and by some kind of coincidence (or not) she is paired with her best friend. At first she blushes a little, feeling a little awkward having to dance with another girl, but then the blush disappears and she decides to go along with it.

"I think I've only done the waltz once, Fuu-chan," Hikaru says softly, smiling nervously. "So this refresher should help out quite a lot!"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Indeed, Setsuna steps back like she's walking on air during the dance; she only knows how at all, however, because of instruction...

And because of /intense/ practice over the course of the week. Even then, though, her confidence isn't quite at the level of Lera's; she's focusing hard on where her feet go, where her hands go, where she has to be.

...Lera's babble lets her relax a little, though.

"A waltz," Setsuna agrees, nodding her head, red eyes fixed on Lera's amber. "Vienna..." Pause. ...Further pause.

"I..."

One two three one two three one two three...

"I don't think it's named after sausages."

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"O-oh, my lady!" gasps the waiter, goggling in horror at Mikoto's stained skirts. "I'm so terribly sorry for the trouble. Thank you so very much for--"

"EEEEEEEEK!" shrieks the girl who started all this, one Mayune Awayuki, heiress to a major corporate fortune. "That man -- he got escargot all /over/ me!" And then Natsuki chimes in. "And -- and -- YOU! You /brat/! This is none of your--" She raises a hand to slap the senior right across her face.

"Madamoiselle," says another lady's voice, this one rich with an accent from central Japan, as she comes up smoothly behind her and grabs her wrist, "I fear you are distraught. Please, come with me, and we'll get you calmed down and cleaned up." It's Shizuru Fujino again, now freed of Touga's grasp. She gives Natsuki a brief smile that does not leak any of her irritability, nope, not even a little bit, then hustles Mayune out of the way.

The waiter gazes up at Mikoto gratefully, then scrambles to his feet. "Please, my lady, allow me to find you new footwear. Ah, thank you, good sir." He collects the tray from Endo with a grateful bow.

More waiters come scurrying out of the shadows to pick up all the fallen food. Maybe Ohtori subcontracted to a ninja clan or something, because that floor is sparkling again in a fingersnap.

"Can I offer you all something special for your trouble?" Yukino Kikukawa seems to have seen the whole thing, and appears promptly to pass around a tray of glasses and moist towelettes, for everyone involved in the slightest, be they splattered, stained, or just offended. "The glasses are, um, it's a 1992 non-alcoholic vintage champagne. Maybe we can... have a toast?" She seems a little flustered, but friendly enough.

---

On the dance floor, Minako promptly gets her feet trodden on. Pretty much every other measure. And the guy's hands are wandering all over the place -- he's practically using her as a seeing-eye girl instead of a dance partner!

His confidence is evaporating fast. "I'm really sorry," he gasps the first time, and then again in a lower mumble, and more choked up the third time. "I'm so sorry, Naru-chan. I just can't really... see."

Finally, in a last ditch effort, he puts those glinting glasses from his pocket onto his face and is revealed to be Gurio Umino, the least cool of Usagi's classmates. Apparently this is the cue that Naru Osaka needed to recognize him, too, because an auburn-tressed girl, her ribbon extra sparkling for the evening, comes flouncing over looking furious. "/What/ are you doing, Umino?" She props her hands on her hips.

Truly a situation worthy of the Goddess of Love to find herself in the midst of.

Iona, meanwhile, finds that Saionji is a decent enough dance partner until, in the crowd of faces that that gaggle of girls surrounding them, he spots someone... else. "Excuse me," he mutters, before simply stepping out of synch mid-dance-step and disappearing into the crowd. "...I'll get that monkey," can be faintly heard on the air behind him, grim as a reaper.

Miss Shamour frowns at this display of abandonment, and steps right in where Saionji left off, waltzing Iona skillfully into a twirl. "Not all boys can be princes," she murmurs. "I wouldn't take it personally! That one seems like le--"

Whatever she was about to call Saionji is blatted out by the flare of a trumpet as the waltz escalates towards a climax.

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

A funny thing, about Mai's determination to be the parental figure. It's like blinders - so intent she was on getting to Mikoto that she didn't even notice the argument happening nearby. She's taking a breath to make some sort of invitation to her, when-

-all of that happens.

Her heels slip on the floor, just a bit, and she catches a portion of the juice spray on one cheek. A staggering step back, two or three - she's clearly out of practice in heels - and stops just short of collision.

With a hand. Held out to her. She turns, surprise written clear on her face as the chaos around her settles with a snap of a heel and a splatter of foie gras. Faced with an earnest boy her age inviting her to dance....

She blinks. A napkin, flung from the tray in all the chaos, lands in one hand, and she dabs at her face absently. It's a few moments before she responds. "Did...did you seriously just make that..."

She looks behind her. Looks ahead of her. Takes a breath. "...one moment."

She wheels around, turning back to Mikoto - and Natsuki, to her surprise. "You can say that again, Kuga." She looks toward the snotty girl, and the baleful eyes do their best to remember her. "One should really know better than to treat food providers like that." A smirk - and then a proud look at Mikoto. "...good work, Mikoto. Well done." A grin - she nearly ruffles Mikoto's hair - but just smiles warmly. "Now, I've got something to do, so..."

...Natsuki can help, right? Natsuki's going to help. "I'm sure the 'snow prince' here can help you keep an eye on things, Mikoto." Yes, Natsuki, that was a smirk. "You just keep defending the..." She trails off, as swift waitstaff - masters of their craft - rush in to clear up the mess. ...what more is there to say?

Well. A brief bow to the nearest waiters. "Thanks for your hard work." And then - giving Mikoto and Natsuki wave - she turns back to Takeo.

"Sorry for the wait there, Akamizu-kun. But if you're still willing..." There's hesitation, and a slight flush, but she reaches out to take that hand. "I will take you up on that dance."

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"Y-You don't think so?" Lera asks Setsuna, tilting her head to the side. Her lips part, as she looks curious for a moment, and then she smiles a little brighter. The slip-up doesn't make her nerves get on edge, the way it once would have. That might speak volumes about how comfortable she is around Setsuna.

She smiles again in short order, and it reaches her amber eyes. "I'm kinda glad, y'know? I felt bad for that poor city. Being named after sausages."

She keeps time, though, and follows the other dancers to be certain. She practiced, too. Especially for one of the moves coming up, where faking it won't work. She feels -- and looks -- nervous, as she glances to each side to check others' movements. Then, she lifts her hand up, and tries to start a twirl for Setsuna.

One thing runs through her mind: 'Please don't trip her, please don't trip her, please don't trip her...'

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Steven sttems to be enjoying watching others dance and have a good time. They just keep going and going! It is like this waltz is endless! "The mvoes don't look too hard..." he says aloud. It looks like a couple of steps to it, and that is it!

Before Steven can try and study it more, A pretty (and slightly familiar) girl approaches! Like, right at him! Steven looks around to see if it is anyone else she is walking toward, but no one else is close! "Oh! Uh. Right!" The boy seems to be going through something in his head, and then bows to Nori in return. "Hiya!" he says, and then is promptly asked about dancing! "Oh, I don't know the Waltz. Can you help guide me?" he asks.

The boy lights up as a hand is offered and he takes it gingerly. He seems to be lightly blushing, but mostly stars are in his eyes. Someoen wants to dance with him! This is so cool! He's gonna learn how to waltz!

They get underway dancing, and the boy finds it isn't too difficult to keep up. "Why wouldn't you be?" he responds with. "I think you are, yeah!" he says. Always nice to pay compliments to girls. That's what dad always said.

A commotion seems to be happening off to the side of the dance floor. "What do you think is going on over there?" he asks kindly.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto blinks and looks from waiter to Rude Lady to Shizuru, and then back to the waiter, now scrambling up. New footwear? "Oh," Mikoto says, when she looks down at her heels. Right, those are /very/ broken, so of course she sits herself down, heedless of the juice, and pulls off her shoes. Those she leaves there as she pushes herself back up, looking around for the food --

She /just/ manages to catch a glimpse of the last foie gras getting cleaned up from the floor, and her face falls. There was going to be food and now there's no food at all/?! At least Mai and Kuga are here to congratulate her. Mikoto smiles again, proud to hear the encouragement, looking up to them with a firm nod. "Yup!" It's a good thing Mai resisted the urge to ruffle Mikoto's hair - it's a bit messy after that adventure, but still, someone (probably Mai herself) has /tried/ to comb it into something resembling order. She waves to Mai as her companion turns to go and avail herself of dancing.

And now, here's Yukino! Mikoto likes Yukino, so of course she listens to her, and she mentions getting them toast. "Okay! Let's have toast!" Mikoto agrees, completely ignoring the champagne and instead looking expectantly around for where she's hidden the bread and butter.

<Pose Tracker> Natsuki Kuga [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Natsuki catches Shizuru's slight wince and hopes her irritation is more directed at the girl than her. "I really owe her either way," Natsuki muttered. "I'll have to make sure I send her some of her favourite tea later."

She then glanced back as Mai seems to have turned away from someone asking her to dance. Oh ho! So, little Mai really was becoming a princess.

She smirked and would have made a remark, but then Mai's suggestion of watching with Mikoto cut her off. She glanced to the kid and shrugged. "If it gets me out of dancing, I'll gladly pair up with the cat for the night," she replied.

She tugged at her suite. "If anything, hopefully that will save my clothes from any future stains.

Then Yukino proposes a toast with the cider. "Sure, better than nothing," Natuski held up a glass. "To...dealing with rude guests I guess and having the patience to not strangling them," she suggested with a shrug.

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Dipping his head, Takeo says with only a slight cracking of his voice, "I'd be honored Tokiha-san." He replies and taking her hand leads her to the dance floor. He may or may not be blushing himself.

Once out there on the dance floor he closes his eyes. He has no idea how to dance. He knows martial arts and he knows ... Lancelot's memories.

He opens his eyes, allowing for once the courtside of Lancelot to flow through him. There had to be SOME goodside to being a French Knight reincarnated right? You know. Other than the Horse.

Sparkles is pretty rad.

He gives Mai a little tilt of his head, and holds his hands in the ready position of the waltz. He smiles a bit, around that blush of his and says this time without a cracking voice, "I think the two of us can just enjoy the evening without having to worry about ... Our other lives." He smiles honestly. "If you're at work, and ever need company on break again Tokiha-san, you have my number. Give me a call. I won't even order bacon next bacon time."

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Slightly, Setsuna shakes her head from side to side. "It doesn't seem plausible." A beat, and she laughs, quietly, this time getting the joke right off.

But then--Lera is glancing o the side, and so does Setsuna. Suddenly, her eyes widen just a little--and then narrow in determination. She looks right back at Lera again, feels the hand rise--

She slips about halfway through the motion, tumbling back-first straight for Lera. "Aaa--!"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"Well, I always felt like being a princess didn't quite suit me," Nori answers Steven while leading him through the steps. She looks at him directly now, partly to shake her attention away from the horrible disaster, partly because it's rude not to look at your partner. She smiles.

"I always felt like more of a queen... What do you think?"

As the waltz comes nearer to its conclusion, Nori moves to be the one dipping Steven - due mostly to the height advantage - and answers him: "I don't know. Things like that happen here..." And diiiiip and back up. "Do they have the wild animal drill, at your school?"

As the waltz ends, Nori disengages with a smile. "Could I trouble you, ah- Universe, wasn't it?" Seems like a reasonable name to Seaweed Anglerfish. "To get me a glass of the cider...?"

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Endo seems rather proud of his catch, despite losing half of the contents of the actual tray. It still makes up for his earlier fumble in his mind. He turns to Yukino when the girl appears. He bobs his head, smiling again and noting, "Ah, thank you." He takes a napkin when offered, swabbing his face before passing it off to another waiter when he appears, like a service ninja.

When offered a reward, Endo considers carefully. And then asks: "Do you have any meat that's not made of snails? Can I have that?" The boy reaches to gingerly take a glass, hazing to look side-long at the others around before he holds it correctly: with his pinky out as far as humanly possible.

"That was a good catch," He asides to Mikoto. And then he drinks! Daintily.

<Pose Tracker> Minako Aino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"Naru.... chan?"

Minako feels fury racing up to her face until her cheeks are almost as red as the ribbon in her hair. Gone is the demure blush; Minako Aino is pissed.

"Naru-chan?!"

Minako's voice grows shrill, and she doesn't exactly care who overhears them at this point. But before Minako can air her grievances loud enough for everyone in a one-hundred yard vicinity to hear --

Umino puts on his glasses.

Minako visibly recoils. But before she has a chance to react further --

Naru makes and appearance.

Minako quickly whips her hand away from Umino and takes a few uneasy steps backward and glances around nervously. Someone -- anyone -- save her from this!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fuu smiles, nodding to Hikaru. "You seem to remember the steps well enough," she encourages her friend, while continuing to dance. "Remember, though, the teacher put you where the boy would be in a waltz pair, so you'll need to flip the movements around when you're dancing with a boy." If Hikaru messes up a little, Fuu will 'borrow' the lead briefly to guide her back on-track.

At least that blush is fading again. Maybe it helps that Miss Shamour was distracted by substituting for whats-his-name who just abandoned his partner in mid-step. There's another problem that's going to sneak up on them shortly, though, if Fuu remembers her waltzes right ... isn't the man supposed to twirl his partner? And Fuu has a modest height advantage on Hikaru ...

So when the other couples twirl, Fuu goes ahead and tries to twirl Hikaru the same way. That can't possibly go badly, can it?

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

The laugh prompts a giggle from Lera, too. It wasn't so long ago that they couldn't -- that they /never/ -- both laugh like that. She doesn't get carried away with only because she has a twirl to execute.

Or, try to.

She realizes the slip in their movement a little too late. Lera's arm wasn't high enough; Setsuna wasn't quite sure enough on her feet. "Oh no!" Lera whispers softly, as she sees her tumbling towards her.

But, while Lera may not yet be an expert dancer, she has excellent reflexes. Training in Belkan swordfighting in school, her experience as a mage, and even her love of technical mountain climbing made that instinctive. So she dips down, bending a knee, and catches Setsuna in her arm. It doesn't look like a controlled fall, really, but she nonetheless keeps them both from the floor.

She looks down at Setsuna, arm straining to hold her upright, and grins sheepishly. "I-I maybe got a little too ambitious, huh...?"

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

If Mai were at work, the cracking of the voice might bring amusement. The lofty position of the serving staff is a pedestal from which judgment can be thrown...but right now? She's just as awkward, if not more. It's not even the trouble a crush might bring - just...

Mikoto and Natsuki are in her wake, having adventures with toasts and toast, and Mai takes a step toward that terrifying world of 'dating'. It's not too late to hang out on the roof with a fiery dragon, right?

She's looking up when Takeo opens his eyes abruptly, meeting his gaze by accident. His relaxation helps, maybe just a bit... "That'd...be nice. Honestly, not having to worry about my regular life is escape enough..." Smiling past her own hesitation, she matches his hands. One...two...three.

Her steps are awkward, and she's not trying anything fancy yet, but...she, Mai Tokiha, is getting to dance at a fancy ball. Who could have imagined?...for now, she can just lose herself in the moment. Maybe she can pretend she's a princess...

Briefly. Mai's brother, if he's looking on, might notice as she flashes Takeo a bit of a grin. "Such a harsh sacrifice. Don't think I won't hold you to that - maybe I'll cook something up myself."

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

That possibly can go badly, actually. Being twirled by a girl taller than Hikaru could cause problems. Fortunately, though, Hikaru's moving along quite well and seems to take the twirl in stride. She smiles as she's twirled around and then rejoins her partner. "It's one of those things that comes back as you do it, I suppose. And yeah, Fuu-chan, I know I'd be doing it with a boy. But it's still just as fun with you!"

Hikaru giggles a little at that. "Then again, dancing is supposed to be fun, right?" She tries not to blush, since she's really enjoying herself but feels like she's just said something that could be construed as funny perhaps.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Setsuna entirely fails to notice flying trays and toasts elsewhere in the ballroom; it's much too crowded for her to even try to keep track. Not while there's the beat to stay with and the movement to get and the...

If she'd actually practiced with the three dancers she knows, she might have gotten it down better. As it is, however, she feels herself falling towards the floor, just as--

She /doesn't/. Instead, she finds herself suspended in the air, an arm at her back, and looks up to see Lera's grin.

...she promptly turns a shade that matches her dress quite well.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona continues smiling as the guy she's dancing with takes off and leaves. Iona watches him disappear, completely unfazed by this development. Mostly because she, too, has had people she has had to get. She nods in deep understanding.

When she gets a new dancing partner, though, she continues her smiling onslaught. "Oh, that's quite all right." She says, putting on something of a faux fancy air. "I feel like I feel his pain." She twirls and the trumpets sound, and she just decides to wrap herself in the majesty of the situation. As much as she's not had a good opinion of Ohtori so far, they do know how to throw a party.

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Lancelot's memories are not ... whole ... So while it allows Takeo to actually know the steps of the Waltz, he has no actual muscle memory, jsut an idea of how it should go. So he dances with Mai, not as some amazing shimmering Knight, but as a young man attempting to dance. Nervously.

Takeo grins at the "threat" of having to eat Mai's cooking. With a little bit of laughter in his voice he says, "I think I'd like that." He leads her through a gentle twirl, giving her a nod as a warning, then lifting his arm and moving her through the twirl in time with the music. Then pulls her back gently. "It is definatley nice to not have to be super heroes for a night." He closes his eyes and tilts his head in thanks toward Mai. "Thank you for spending at least part of it with me."

He tries not to blush.

He's totally blushing.

After Takeo clears his throat, he looks into Mai's eyes and asks, this time without a cracking voice. "Want to try a second dance?"
<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Yukino blinks at Mikoto and Endo, then gives a floaty little laugh which summons, instantly, one of the waiters back to her side. They exchange a brief, hushed conversation, before the man disappears and reappears with buttered toast on a little plate for Mikoto -- and some miniature pastry puff-surrounded wieners for everyone -- in absolutely record time.

Ninjas /indeed/.

Then she takes her own cup and bows her head solemnly at Natsuki. "To the end of the Athletics Festival!" she cheers, perhaps indecorously as one of its hosts, but my oh my does she seem fiercely sincere. And her smile, if Mikoto toasts her with toast, is as genuine as can be.

---

Out on the dance floor, the waltz winds down, and what replaces it is a little bit... up-tempo. A faint blush comes to Miss Shamour's face, and she frowns. "There are children at this party," she murmurs under her breath. Apparently she /won't/ be offering tango lessons -- leaving Iona and Nori momentarily partnerless next to each other. Still, plenty of Ohtori students know the basics, and it's possible to improvise other dances to that beat, leading to the rapid formation of an impromptu dance competition.

One that those still dancing may well find themselves drawn into whether they're expecting it or not. The gist of it seems to be to add a fillip here or a twirl there, just a little extra to outdo whoever crossed the floor last. Mai and Takeo are up next, followed by Lera and Setsuna, and then Hikaru and Fuu. It's definitely possible to escape, but the crowds are starting to close in.

At least matching step to that militaristic snare drum is easy enough!

And at the end of the floor, nonchalantly holding a basket of bloody red roses, is Touga Kiryuu, He offers one to each boy (or 'dance lead' as the case may be) as they sashay past him, to, in turn, be offered to their partner.

Umino gropes towards one such rose and offers it to Naru, who is still glaring at Minako with eyes aflame with the fires of hell.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto's eyes go wide, and so does her huge smile. Yukino is so good! She said there would be toast, and here it is. She looks around at everyone as Yukino declares the toast, and seeing how they're all raising their glasses, she does indeed raise her plate up in mimickry, because clearly that's how this works.

And then people are sipping at their champagne, and Mikoto takes that as cue to eat her toast. With big chomps, it's gone in no time, and Mikoto's licking her fingers to get the buttery goodness off of them. The gold trim of her skirts has almost entirely been stained by purple, only a few flecks remaining. Barefoot, in a dress now both purple and gold, licking her fingers, she is... not exactly the image of womanhood, but she's definitely a faithful representation of Mikoto Minagi.

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It's a wonderful waltz. 'Graceful' might not be the right word, but it's relatively sedate as dances go - and as long as both partners are roughly equally nervous and awkward, it goes well. As Takeo leads, Mai follows - and the spin, at least, she seems to get the hang of a little bit more easily.

"Well, it was this or worry all night - thanks for the invitation. Not like I..." She trails off. He's blushing. He's blushing, why is he blushing, now she's blushing - and as their gazes meet, it's like she's momentarily pinned. "...ah, I should..."

The music changes. The tempo picks up, the drum kicks in, and the dance music is about two notches more wild all of a sudden. And - with a casual glance past Takeo - it seems there's no escape for either of them. (And there's Mikoto happy, and there's Takumi doing well...)

"...kind of sudden, asking for this as a second dance." She looks stern for but a moment - but then grins. "But sure. No promises this isn't going to be embarrassing, but..."

If embarrassment were that big a worry, she wouldn't be a fan of karaoke.

Surrounded by similarly minded students, Mai hasn't been at Ohtori long enough to pick up...quite so much boldness. But she starts to get the hang of the general theme in short order - a few more aggressive steps forward, rather than following a slow dance's lead. And falling back, in time to the beat.

And when she spins - which is about as often as she can get away with - her stole dances in her wake like a contrail of living flame.

Takeo might take the lead enough to be granted that rose - but will he?

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

"Really?" Steven replies to Nori. "That's okay! It isn't for everyone. Being a princess means people look to you for their future! Also you are usually the beauty of the nation." The boy continues dancing. He feels like he has seen thsi girl around before! But where? Was it the field trip? He can't quite remember. "A Queen, huh? Yeah! You could totally be a queen. Being a Queen takes a lot of work though!"

The boy bows in return at the end of the dance. "I uh. I don't know! I have only been there a little while. I can't say I have heard of that though! It sounds kinda fun."

"Yep, that's my name!" Steven adds. "Sure thing! give me jsut a second, I will be right back!" And with that, the boy bounds off to the refreshments. He will at least get a moment to see what the commotion was while the dance was going. while getting the drink, he sees there was some kind of chai nreaction that happened involving a spilled drink in a packed area. Whoops!

Steven returns to near the dance floor with the drinks to find a new dance has started up! This one sounds really familiar, but another dance he doesn't know.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The waltz winds down, and Fuu steps back from Hikaru, bowing (not curtseying this time) at the end of the dance. The orchestra starts up the next tune as she's still straightening up, and Fuu takes a split second to consider the music before shaking her head a bit. "I need to look around for people, Hikaru-san, but I hope you enjoy the remainder of the evening!"
Hersnd with that, Fuu attempts to withdraw from the dance floor. She *does* want to try and find Ferio now, while she has a potential opportunity. She also winds up with a small plate of hors d'ouevres, and nibbles decorously on a sausage as she continues looking around - not actually just for the swordsman, but for other familiar faces.

<Pose Tracker> Natsuki Kuga [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Natsuki doesn't know wether to laugh or cry at Mikoto actually getting toast. "At least it keeps her out of trouble," she mumbled to herself. She sips her cider as she glances over to the dance flow. Mai, while perhaps stumbling a little, seems to be doing well to keep up and then much to her surprise the tempo picks up with a fast beat.

She blinks as suddenly Mai slow dance changes to more of a fast pace one. "I almost want to give her my rose," she muttered.

And then an idea popped into her head and she grinned evilly. She looked to Mikoto who seemed to be licking her fingers and leaned towards her. "Hey, Mikoto," she pointed out to the dance floor. "Want to join me for the dance on the floor? It's not hard, it's a lot like fighting where you just have to stay insync with your partner's steps?"

If Mikoto went for this, the look on Mai's face would be priceless.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Hikaru smiles and curtseys to Fuu. "I'm sure we will, Fuu-chan!" She says with a big grin, before heading off to look for something to drink. All that dancing made her thirsty. Still, she's got a bit more of a confident smile on her face than she did before.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

"Aah! Small hot dogs!" Endo laughs with pleasure at Yukino's offering. "These are popular in America, right?" He reaches to pinch up one of the puffy items on the plate, and then another, until he's got one pinched between each of his fingers. A bite is taken, and the food is found satisfactory judging by the firm nod of his head.

When it comes time to do the actual toast, he tries to ignore that he's already sipped down about half the glass. "The athletics festival was a really out of control this year, but I guess it was still fun." The boy seems to be enjoying himself now that he's around other people and talking, falling back into his casual, cheery mannerism. "But I feel like I'm at the olympics or something, with all this stuff."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"Oh, I know," Nori answers Steven. "But... I think I can manage it." She takes a few deep breaths, but before Steven can return with her drink, the music... changes.

Nori looks round to Miss Shamour, and then forwards -- to Iona.

She's smiling. That's good. Nori smiles back, if with a little effort, and then steps forwards. PERILOUSLY close. Close enough to tango.

"Hikawa-san," she says, tone formal, "would you do me the honor of giving me this dance...?" Then suddenly: Touga! (This is a reaction Nori has had before.) Touga gives her a rose, and Nori turns her smoky-lined gaze back to Iona, raising the blossom on its green stem upwards with a flick of her wrist, a momentary twirl, and then she slides it up -

Between her lips. She holds it with her teeth, tilting her head back slightly. She remains perfectly still for two heartbeats and then says through her clenched teeth in a bit of a mutter, "this is right, isn't it...?" On the up side, she /is/ adequate at keeping up synch, and doesn't immediately step on Iona's feet or dig a thorn into her lip.

YET.

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Lancelot does not know the Tango. That is about ten centuries past the memories of the French Knight. Takeo however is an accomplished martial artist and a secret singer. So. He knows tempo and cadence. He blushes again however when he realizes where this is going, but he, like Mai gets the gist of how this dance works fairly quickly.

Take sweeps Mai near the offered flower, and then hands Mai the rose while he attempts to lead he just clear shis throat. "For you." He says softly toward her. "If I had known I would dance with you tonight I'd have brought you one myself. So. This, will have to do I suppose. From me." He says and gives her slight grin while he concentrates on performing this dance. "I'm not really worried about winning an impromptu dance competition." Which might be about as odd as him saying he doesn't want bacon! Takeo is normally HUGELY competive! "I'm just happy to be having a good time." He gives her his roguish grin once more. "Thanks Tokiha-san. This means more than you can know."

And to show her, he gives her a little spin, and a quick playful dip, before going back into dance. Once dipped, he keeps Mai there for just a moment. Winks. Then goes about dancing once more. "You know. One of these days, despite your dragon," he whispers to her, "You should go for a ride on Sparkles. I know it can't compare to the big guy, but there is something awesome about a horse by a cliff at sunrise." He clears his throat, "And I think I owe you another Rose."

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

The grin on Lera Camry's face turns a little sheepish, when she sees that blush. She ends up frozen like that for a moment, just staring down at her. Eventually, physics demands she do something (or drop her). So, carefully but firmly, she pulls Setsuna back to her feet. She looks a moment longer, before she glances to the side and lets out a sigh.

"That was fun," she says, quietly. Then, a little louder: "You okay?"

Then, she looks back at Setsuna. Her eyebrows lift, as the waltz comes to an end, and she hears something more upbeat. She takes a couple steps backward. It sounds fun, but... why are those people...?

Lera looks to the dance floor, and the growing realization starts to dawn on her as she watches how /well/ Mai Tokiha dances with Takeo. She watches him provide her with a rose, and realizes: she is in /far/ over her head. Her amber eyes widen and her cheeks flush red. That is precisely why and when Soaring Sky chimes, but it isn't with words, at first. Instead, an upbeat set of chords begins coming from where the Device is tucked inside of one of the folds in Lera's dress. He makes his intent clear, though:

<Egress! Egress!>

Lera stares in confusion for a moment, looking forward in alarm.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Setsuna, too, is frozen there, and pretty much oblivious to the difficulty in holding a person up in this position for that long. ...But she's brought to her feet eventually, and lets out the same, glancing away in obvious embarrassment and fluster. "It was," she agrees all the same, though, and nods brightly when asked if she's okay, except...

The music changes. The purple-haired girl blinks, looking from dancer to dancer, to see what it is that they're trying to do next. The song is stirring already, even the beat makes her stop and take notice, the snare in time with her heart pumping. But then she sees a flip here, a tiwrl there, and a basket of beautiful roses. ...And then she looks back to watch Mai and Takeo before her. She can only stare, for a brief instant, forgetting the moment as she watches that dancing flame.

...And then the tenor of the /movements/ registers. Setsuna turns immediately, quickly, to look at Lera, with widened eyes. The crowds are already starting to close in.

She doesn't even hear Sky until after she's taken Lera's hand. She doesn't pull toward the dance floor, however--and neither does she wait for the same. She looks nervously at Lera, and at the dance floor, and tugs her hand /away/, trying to find the break in the crowd as they start to close in around them.

Her steps click /hard/ against the dance floor. She's going about as quickly as she can in this lovely dress.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona raises an eyebrow as Miss Shamour says something about there being children on the dance field. Well... she does know this is a school function, right? Children do go to school. Having not tangoed before, she's... not so sure there's a reason to be concerned? Maybe. She watches as the Shamour walks away. "All right... see you later?"

This confusion may explain why the appearance of Nori is something of a surprise. Iona actually kind of jumps a little bit. "Oh, ah, sure! Yes. Yes." She takes Nori up on her tango offer... and she's not very good at it. Oh, sure, she's good enough to at least keep up, and not step on Nori's feet.

Unfortunately for Iona, she's actually being very sure that she's not stepping on feet, and thus her feet are probably not in the positions they should be, and Iona wavers just a little bit as she tries to keep herself upright.

Nori's muttering only gets something of a shrug from the purple-haired girl.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

BY THE REFRESHMENTS

"Well, that was kind of what we were aiming for," Yukino admits a little bit shyly to Endo. "So... mission accomplished, I guess?" Someone shouts her name from the kitchens and, with a little bow, she makes herself scarce. "Excuse me! Please enjoy the party!"

Since she first arrived, what was being served at the tables has turned over completely, though, which may provide a fair amount of distraction for those who are just arriving. Lera, Hikaru and Fuu, upon departing the dance floor, find themselves near Endo and by extension, the tables.

Which are on fire.

They are maybe supposed to be, some sort of elaborate 'en flambe' arrangement, but there is a group of fancily coiffered elementary school students creeping up towards it. They have skewers. From somewhere, they have marshmallows.

More problematically, though, they have long sleeves and lots of really flammable-looking silk, lace, and hair. One is recognizably Mina Koruske from the Okinawa trip, and despite her affiliation with the Vermillion Bird of the South, it seems pretty likely that this is about to end badly in a 'spontaneous combustion' sort of way.

ON THE TERRACE

Setsuna emerges from the intensifying cluster of tango on the side of the crowd that is coolest -- literally, not figuratively. Minako isn't far off, caught between a shamefaced Umino and a jilted Naru, and Iona and Nori's dance has just led them to this side of the room, as well. Breezy night air is spilling in from the terrace doors, flung open wide to embrace the evening.

Other embraces are occurring nearby.

It takes some deliberate hunting to find the source of the soft soprano quietly protesting a louder and more aggressive baritone rumble. But eventually they can be found, around two walls of shrubbery: a pair of leering senior boys, their jackets worn open and ties undone, have a younger girl, possibly still in middle school, quite cornered.

The boys maybe found some alcohol somewhere; they stink. The girl is increasingly still, drawing more and more into herself, looking straight at the ground. "Please, just leave me alone..."

"Did you hear that," one of them scoffs, "I think that was an /invitation/!"

ON THE DANCE FLOOR

Around the same time that Natsuki propositions Mikoto, that one waiter she saved reappears with a pair of actual, honest to god glass slippers on a velvet cushion. Or, at least, they are clear and sparkling. They may actually be some marvelous sort of plastic. They are /definitely/ surprisingly comfortable. "For you, my lady." Now she is dance-prepared.

Steven also finds himself with an unexpected new partner; a young lady about his age with slender pigtails and a red stole around her shoulders, her white dress is already stained in a few places from an evening of hearty partying. Yaya Yuiki beams at him. "Hey, you're cute -- let's dance!" She seems downright eager to take the lead and swing him all over the floor.

The tango competition, shall we say, heats up, when Rue and Mytho from Infinity Institute's dance program take the floor. They swirl sensually (well, Rue is sensual, Mytho's dancing is merely technical perfection) past Takeo and Mai to collect their rose, and Rue's crimson eyes briefly meet Mai's, steadily, as much warning as challenge.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Refreshment tables shouldn't be on fire; Fuu is relatively certain of that. She still has the presence of mind to curtsey in greetings to Endo and Lera ... and then spots the elementary students approaching. With alarmingly flammable dresses, as best Fuu can judge without a more detailed look. Fortunately, there's an easy strategy to try and divert them ...

"Mina-san?" Fuu says, smiling cheerfully. "It's good to see you again!" she gushes as she sweeps towards Mina and the others, all ladylike yet still (she hopes) 'cool big sister'-y. "How have your classes been going? And it's good to see the rest of you as well .."

Forget curtseying; she just bows to the children this time. She might recognize one or two of the others from the chaos preceding their flight's takeoff, but it's mostly Mina whom she recognizes.

She might still need some help making sure nobody gets lit on fire, though.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

The cool air is a relief, and when Setsuna steps out into it, she takes a few quick breathes, slowly slowing down as she finds herself in greenery. She looks around immediately, only to find that she's lost her dance partner. Turning, Setsuna spins around to try to see where Lera could have gone, but she hears a voice at the edge of her senses, somewhere nearby. ...She sees a number of others out here and does her best to avert her eyes. But the voice keeps up. She takes a step, and then another, heels clicking against the stone as she walks around one shrubbery, listens to what sounds more like a conversation, and then sounds like something else entirely.

Her nose wrinkles as she turns the corner and sees the two boys cornering one girl. The scene is...

Well, it's something Setsuna's never /seen/ before. But the distress obvious in the middle schooler's voice and demeanor tells her she doesn't like it.

"What are you doing?" she asks, frowning hard. Her voice is a mix of clear disapproval and, just at the edge, a little bit of confusion. The Juuban student slowly curls her fingers at her sides.

But her route wasn't the /only/ one here...

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto looks up at Natsuki, tilting her head. "Like fighting...?" She looks back towards the strange cylindrical lump in her cape, and then looks over at the dancefloor. (Mai's having fun! That's great!) After a moment, she returns her attention to Kuga and nods. "Okay!"

And surely she would have gone out onto the dancefloor barefoot, if she weren't saved in turn by that waiter. Mikoto takes the offered slippers and grins. "Thanks!" A little shoe-hopping later, and her glittering slippers (/much/ easier to move in than the heels) are snug on her feet. She takes a few steps in them to evaluate how she can move, and then she grabs Natsuki's hand to drag her out onto the dance floor! If she has to squeeze between the onlookers to do so, well - Mikoto's pretty good at worming her way into places she's not really supposed to be.

Once she's out there, though, she pauses. Dancing is just like fighting, she said. So does that make Natsuki an enemy? No - no, they must be on the same side working against a /common/ enemy. A common enemy she frankly can't see. Mikoto looks this way, and Mikoto looks that way, and then Mikoto looks back up at Kuga, looking /incredibly lost/. "Natsuki's starting dance?"

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

In their flight from the dance floor, Lera got separated from Setsuna. They had been hand-in-hand, but the press of the crowd resulted in them getting separated. She walks towards the food -- thinking maybe that's where Setsuna went -- and then she pauses, as she sees Endo. She starts to raise a hand, to wave at him, when--

She catches sight of a gaggle of elementary schoolers waving around food that is ON FIRE. She opens her mouth.

She closes her mouth. Fuu is moving in.

<...We're both thinking it.>

"...Yep."

The music starts up again, from where she tucked the little Device. <Egress! Egress!>

Gordon the Rabbit turns, glancing irritably after a blur of orange hair in a golden dress, making her way for the balcony. He hops up to the kids -- his eyebrow twitching, a vein bulging. Then, in the most patient and friendly voice:

"Hello, kids!" he says. "Remember, we must eat food with caution. Food should always be shown respect, because of the hard work you did in getting it just right. So... let's be careful, before we set our clothes on fire, and ruin our night and our snack!"

<Pose Tracker> Minako Aino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Minako tries to hide her humiliation behind anger as Umino offers his rose to Naru. She didn't want it anyway, but that didn't matter! She had been snubbed -- yet again, no less! -- by some dweeb from some other school.

It's difficult for Minako NOT to think of Kaitou Ace's prophecy at times like these -- and seeing the happy couples dancing together on the floor doesn't exactly improve Minako's mood.

"Boys are the worst," Minako declares definitively to Setsuna. Then without elaborating further, she stomps off to the table where she had left her appetizers a few minutes before to discover they're gone, which just makes things worse.

Instead, she picks up a flute of some yellow-white sparkling beverage and stomps out onto the terrace, where there's far fewer happy couples to remind her of own failures in the romance department.

She takes a long swig from her glass, not even bothering to keep up any pretense of proper Ohtori decorum.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

"Hi, Lera-san. You looked like you were having fun out there." Endo is pleased to see his friend, waving his glass in her direction. He likewise gives a short bow to Fuu, a cheerful smile offered toward her and Hikaru. "Hello, Fuu-san, and--

When he notices the table ablaze, Endo pauses. "Is that normal?" He inquires incredulously. It's hard to tell what's supposed to happen and no happen. "I've never been to a ball before, they don't just set things on fire, right? This is what they get for trying to show off so much."

He tries throwing what's left of his champaign on the blaze. It doesn't work. "Ah. Wait. Hold on!" He goes for a pitcher of grape juice next.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Coming to a stop near the exit, Setsuna looks around immediately, only to find that she's lost her dance partner. Turning, Setsuna spins around to try to see where Lera could have gone,but instead there's... Minako! Speaking to her, and imparting something that sounds very important.

She tilts her head slightly as she turns to look at her. "Is that so?" Setsuna asks, blankly. Then, she pauses, and thinks about the boys she knows. Something in her demeanor might be oddly familiar to Minako, for /some/ reason.

She follows, for now, however, wanting at least to be out of the crowd for the moment.

The cool air is a relief, and when Setsuna steps out into it, she takes a few quick breathes, slowly slowing down as she finds herself in greenery. But shen she watches Minako swing back her drink, looking out at others. "Did something happen?"

Then, though, she hears a voice at the edge of her senses, somewhere nearby. Pausing, Setsuna asks, "...Did you hear...?" Even as Setsuna looks to Minako, the voice keeps up. She takes a step, and then another, heels clicking against the stone as she walks around one shrubbery, listens to what sounds more like a conversation, and then sounds like something else entirely.

Her nose wrinkles as she turns the corner and sees the two boys cornering one girl. The scene is...

Well, it's something Setsuna's never /seen/ before. But the distress obvious in the middle schooler's voice and demeanor tells her she doesn't like it.

"What are you doing?" she asks, frowning hard. Her voice is a mix of clear disapproval and legitimate confusion, and she slowly curls her fingers at her sides.

Maybe that blonde girl (Minako) was /right/.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Hikaru smiles and is about to return the greeting until she notices that the table has just gone ablaze. "Ugh, and I just HAD to be the Magic Knight of Fire!" She thinks to herself. "Where's Umi when you need her?!"

Thinking quickly, Hikaru is about to go to grab something until she sees that Endo is taking care of it. Shrugging a little, Hikaru turns to Fuu again and blushes a little. "It seems that things are getting a bit hot here!" She says nervously.

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

She's not a professional dancer. Nor is she an accredited musician by any reasonable stretch. But Mai Tokiha is a karaoke nut, and tempo trumps pitch on that musical battlefield. The dance is a fiery one, and Mai is dressed for the part, as the steps and spins and dips continue to escalate.

As the couple receives their rose - and Mai, surprised, is the recipient - she blinks and then laughs. "Well, seeing as I wasn't planning to dance myself, I think I can forgive your not thinking ahead there." There's a fiery grin as she tucks it into her fiery stole. "And yeah. Nice as it might be to win, I'm fine with just having a good ti-"

She lets out a tiny surprised yelp as Takeo dips her - not any panic or worry, just a squeak of shock. She stares back, eyes wide, face beginning to pinken - and then they're dancing again, but in spite of the flame-like cloth dancing around her she's a bit off tempo. The whispers...might not help. "Certainly going for the dashing knight bit, noble steed and all, aren't you? Not saying it's a bad thing...but Akamizu-kun, are you trying to-"

Mai glances away from Takeo as she starts to ask a significant question - and a wandering gaze is pinned by crimson eyes of warning. Rue's unspoken challenge hangs in the air as the expert dancers move on, and Mai...is left utterly without words.

Thank the stars that there's a diversion. A prince of white and a princess of black step onto the dance floor, latter leading the former, and Mai's jaw drops. "...Mikoto and Kuga? How...why did..."

She turns to Takeo, bewilderment plain, and the previous question seems to have been dropped entirely. "...let's make our way over, see what they're up to." Her tango is a good bit less certain, but she still manages a few fiery flourishes as she spins herself - or perhaps Takeo - across the dance floor, closer to Natsuki and Mikoto. She regains most of her groove by the time they're across - but not quite enough to really -challenge- an expert dancer pair.

"...decided to dance after all, Kuga?" Besides, there's important snark to be had.

<Pose Tracker> Minako Aino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Minako Aino has had it up to /here/ with guys tonight. And basically forever. The only way this night could get worse is if Shun showed up with some /other/ blonde bombshell babe on his arm.

She's about to open her mouth and give the pink-haired girl an answer when alluvasudden --

"Did you hear something?" the pink-haired girl asks, and suddenly, in that moment, Minako's curiosity trumps her anger, and she follows in step with Setsuna around the corner to --

"Please just leave me alone!"

"Did you hear that? I think that was /an invitation/!"

Setsuna might be content to settle this with words, but Minako's still furious from earlier and her patience is ebbing away.

Instead of using her words, Minako drenches the propositioning boy with the remainder of champagne in her glass.

"Didn't you hear? She's not interested!"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Iona moves with her... more or less... and Nori becomes acutely aware that she has a rose in her teeth.

Why do I have a rose in my teeth? she asks herself, silently; Iona can probably see a slowly increasing level of anxiety in her eyes and a couple of missed steps. Until suddenly - mid tango! - she says, plucking the rose from her lips as her heart beat races, "I - I am sorry Hikawa but I have to --"

"To -"

To run away, she thinks as she turns away from the tango, tension and embarrassment suddenly building in her heart. To run away and hide my face...!

This momentary burst of anxiety ends when she reaches up to take the rose from her lips and, sure enough, scrapes her lip with a thorn. There's a little wince and a tiny "ow!" but it's not enough to make her do much than suck on her lower lip nervously. She does not like how the lip gloss tastes.

Her face still feels warm.

No, wait -

Nori turns to look with wide white eyes towards -- Fire! Fire and a rabbit, a rabbit of warning. "Ah--!" she gasps, raising her rose-having hand up to her mouth again and managing to not quite nick herself with a thorn tip THIS time. Her gaze casts along.

Steven's drinks! She plucks one up and immediately dashes it out, to try and dim this sudden inferno. "Universe-san, what should - I mean - be careful!"

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Takeo Akamizu blushes a red that almost matches the fiery touch Mai's outfit has, and it stnads out quite well thanks to the Black and silver tux he is wearing. He clear shis throat. "Well. I am a Knight. Technically. I think. I'm reasonably certain I qualify for Knighthood." He nods once. Firmly. He listens as she is about to ask a question and his gaze snaps to the area mentioned by Mai.

He knows the woman in the White Tux. She also rides a motorcycle. A pretty awesome one, though not nearly as radical as Takeo's radical red riding engine of radicalness. "Is... Kuga-San in a tnago with that Blonde haired girl?" He tilts his head. "When did Kuga learn to /Tango/?" He might be jealous that she's better than him.

Even if she isn't better than he is on a motorcycle.

He's sticking to that belief folks. Accept it.

He shrugs a shoulder and tango's with Mai over to get a better look. He blinks at Rue and Mytho when they give the death glare challange of danciness. He then decides to throw Mytho off a bit and when he spins Mai, he looks right into Mytho's eyes and gives the other man a wink.

Then he's tango'ing off with Mai again.

<Pose Tracker> Natsuki Kuga [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Natsuki smirks slightly at the waiter offering Mikoto a slipper. "Does that make me the prince charming in this?" she remarks as she watches Mikoto try out the slipper. Then, she starts to think perhaps this was a bad idea as Mikoto snags her hand and drags her out on the dance floor.

However, the flare of doubt dies as Mikoto looks up at her like a lost kitten looking unsure what to do next.

"It's easy," she said as she took Mikoto's hand and placed her other hand on her hip. "Basically, just try to move with me and try to avoid me stepping on your feet and mine on yours okay? We'll start by counting."

She doesn't bother moving to the fast pace of the beat yet, no point until Mikoto felt more comfortable about this 'battlefield'.

"1..2..3, yeah that's it," she whispered. She glances over and saw Mai had spotted them and smirks. "Just as I predicted, priceless."

They danced as if she was indeed a prince charming with a very short Cinderella as Mai moves closer to them.

"Figured seeing the shock look on your face would be worth seeing, Princess," Natsuki comments as she slowly twirls Mikoto. "But let's face it, I make a way better prince than princess." She glances down to Mikoto. "Although, I suppose you would be happier being the royal pet cat than a princess. Eh, Kid?"

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Steven is once again attempting to learn this dange called the Tango. Watching people do it though, with roses in hands and mouths, makes it look a lot more complicated. Maybe it is just the sudden movements. Actually, didnt he see the Gems doing this dance once before? Or something like it...

He waits patiently for Nori, having her drink on hand as he enjoys his, which is some sort of fruity punch that tastes really good. he also drinks it with the daintist of movements - one false move and his tuxedo is /done/.

The boy is then suddenly approached from the side. "Oh, Hi there! I-- Ahh!" Before introductions can be had to Yaya, the boy is near snatched from his spot on the sidelines towards the dance floor! he barely has time to set a drink down. Thankfully Nori at least slows the process of being yanked to a dance, by pointing out a fire situation!

"Oh jeez, I didn't even see that! Thank you!" he says toward her. "Least the drink came in handy! I will be right back, I got to try this dance out!" he adds in. Seeing as the Tango involves roses, he should have some kind of proficiency to the dance for unknown reasons.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

BY THE REFRESHMENTS

When the kids turn to greet Fuu and Hikaru, it's almost disaster -- those swirling flames dance dangerously close to the flames. They're all smiles, at least. "Hi, Aunties!" Ah, kids. Gordon's chiding has them sliding their marshmallow-laden skewers behind their backs, faces falling a little bit. And Endo's fire control...

"Ahem, sir, please do not extinguish the entree," says a well-mannered butler whose calm, resonant voice is completely and entirely at odds with the way his voice has turned a similar purple to the grape juice just flung. "This is part of the display."

"Haha, do it again!" laughs Mina.

ON THE TERRACE

"We're having a party, you wanna come?" replies the second boy, leering at Setsuna--

--right until he gets a faceful of Minako's drink. "Oh."

"OH," growls the first. "YOU WANNA GO?" He takes a warning step forward.

"Please don't fight," pleads the girl, willingly touching either boy for the first time tonight as she grabs them behind their elbows. "Everyone, we'll get in so much trouble..."

ON THE DANCE FLOOR

There's plenty of room in the crowd for Natsuki and Mikoto, whose dancing is getting appreciative looks (and a few jealous ones, though any boy's hopes to dance with Kuga were dashed for the night when she showed up in a tux, anyway).

Takeo discovers that winking at Mytho is a lot more uncomfortable for him than his target. The pale boy just gazes back, not an ounce of emotion in his dead, golden eyes. It is downright creepy and apparently effortlessly so. Fortunately, Mai seems to be rescuing him from the contest (Rue and Mytho proceed to equally effortlessly smear all challengers across the floor, just grind them into the marble, one end to the other).

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto puts her hands where she's directed, and looks down at her feet to try and avoid stepping on Natsuki's. But it's really not that difficult, following her lead; Mikoto has enough natural grace that she manages to avoid stomping on anyone's toes or stumbling onto her face. She's a cat! Cats are good at looking like they meant to do what they do.

Mikoto twirls around, and catches a glimpse of Mai as she does. "Mai!" She calls out, grinning. She spins again as they banter, and shrugs at the end of it. "Already HiME," she says, as if it's self-explanatory. Perhaps she's mixing up her princesses.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona, in her continued tango-dancing, swings by a couple who seem to be somewhat nettled. Iona doesn't pry, but certainly both parties are at fault, right? Iona's sure if they sit down and talk about their issues, they'll be fine.

These may be hollow words coming from her.

She continues to dance, and when she looks at her partner, she... sees anxiety? Why is there anxiety? Is Iona not dancing well enough? She's never tangoed, but they're having fun, right? Iona's own anxiety begins to build, somewhat

And then Nori runs away. "I... wait!" Iona reaches out to try and grab Nori, but alas she is too late. "Oh." Iona sighs. Was it her fault?

After Nori disappears, Iona figures out what to do. She likes dancing, sure, but after Nori left, she... doesn't feel like she can keep up at this point. But, despite the dance failure, she still feel very warm, almost uplifing. So, Iona turns, intent on getting a little bit of refreshments before she continues to dance...

When she sees a /whole lot of fire/. Iona gapes at this display for a moment, before she turns and begins to meander out to the terrace, to find a safe space away from all the crazy. And maybe text an Ohtori student she knows, because she really, really wants to express sympathy for going to Ohtori.

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Kuga? When did Mikoto learn?" Mai's muttering more to herself than answering her dance partner - and getting over to the other HiME takes more priority than actively competing in the contest. And so Takeo is pulled away from Mytho's unending stare before madness can set in, and they continue.

Upon getting there - with Tango Carnage in progress on the other end of the marble floor - Mai lets out a far-from-subtle groan. "Don't you start on those nicknames, Kuga. Bad enough that I have to hear them from Nagi. Bad enough that -you- have to hear them from Nagi....though you're right about being a better prince. Having fun working on being dashing?"

She flashes Takeo a grin as she makes that small jab - and maybe a pat on the arm.

Mikoto, on the other hand, is compeltely a cat - and a HiME, as she rightly points out. "That you are, Mikoto, that you are. Crown princess of all the world's cats." She grins - and resumes dancing with Takeo, safely on this end of the dance floor.

It might be a bit less outrageous than before. But Mai's still happy to demonstrate a few spins in her fiery dress - because it's fun, and for the others' benefit. Of course. No other reason.

<Pose Tracker> Natsuki Kuga [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"She learned from me, I just told her the basic," Natsuki commented, not admitting she was actually impressed by how fast Mikoto had picked up on the lesson.

Hearing the comment about Nagi, makes Natsuki scoffed. "Hey, with Nagi it's annoying, but I'm allowed to call you 'Princess' because I'm way more of a 'loveable' person for it."

She twirls Mikoto again. "Yeah, you are a HIME too," she said and smirked. "Hey, Mikoto, you should snag Mai for a dance too. Then we could get two 'princesses' dancing with each other."

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

When that second boy /leers/ at her, Setsuna can feel her skin crawl. She /had/ been content to start with words, but she feels more than a little satisfaction seeing that drink splashed straight in his face.

Her jaw sets. "What gives you the right to act this way!?" she asks, her own anger quickly rising as she sees an obvious challenge out of the first boy. The middle schooler in red forgets, for the moment, that she is an ordinary girl right now, and steps forward in return, staring straight up at him as she joins Minako. "You need to go cool down," she commands, with all the iron of a former general.

...But she's not exactly the most intimidating figure--and she looks away from the boy, in the moment, towards the girl behind, "There's no reason we would get in trouble. They're the ones who are misbehaving!"

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Completely at a loss, as Mai and Takeo make their way near Kuga and Mikoto, the "Knight" looks over the fellow motorcycle rider and grins. "Full of Suprises there Kuga-san! I wouldn't expect you to be a dancer. Figured you'd be a gear head like me." He grins and nods. "Nice of you to keep the Cat one busy for Tokiha-San. I appreciate it." He grins and then let's himself be danced away, but not before he whispers to Mikoto, "I think I saw some kids preparing smores by the buffet table..."

He then grins innocently to Mai and waits until they're sufficiently away before he says with that roguish grin of his, "She looked like she needed the challenge." He gives Mai a playful wink as he dips her, and while dipped whispers, "Besides. I'm having a good time. And I hope you are too." He twirls her as she traightens, to allow her to show off that dress some more. "Also. That kid. Has some seriously creepy eye thing going. I think he might be evil. I'd need the Rabbit to be sure though." He shrugs.

Oh well. Not his problem. Not tonight.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"Thank you very much, Gordon-san," Fuu asides to the culinary lapine. Being called an 'auntie' still stings, but Fuu is bound and determined not to lsoe her temper over it; the important thing is that the kids *don't* catch on fire. On the other hand, the way the butler indicates that the table is SUPPOSED to be on fire ...

And there ARE elementary students at this ball who may not be careful enough ...

Fuu just takes a brief look around, wondering if they keep a fire extinguisher or three on hand near this particular table, just in case of comparable mishaps. And while she's looking around, she takes a moment to peruse the table's edible contents, and tries to procure some additional munchies. Being an athlete all day does work up an appetite, after all.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

"Oh." Endo pauses. "Are you sure?" He doesn't sound like the waiter should be sure about that. The boy glances down at his empty pitcher, and then the waiter, and then the table. Finally, slowly, he offers the pitcher out. "Well, if you guys really want to do it that way." Slowly, be backpedals.

When he passes Lera again he beams at the girl, chiming, "Lera-san! Introduce me to your date later. I should go find Ren, she'll be mad if I don't dance with her." He then evacuates the area, before it burns down or any other catastrophes happen.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto looked like she might have taken Natsuki's advice-- until Takeo whispers to her. Mikoto's eyes go wide and she looks up to her dancing partner. "There's food," she says -- as much of an explanation as /anyone/ could hope for from such a cat -- and then she disappears to go hunt down s'mores.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The display.

It's part of the display.

Nori feels sick for a moment but feels relief in a sense. I'm going to drop dead of embarrassment, she thinks. How fortunate. Her eyes close for a moment...

Until she realizes that - no, it's aimed at Endo Naoki! She opens her eyes and looks at him, possibly with the gaze of the recently deceased. (No.)

"I suppose it's a very surprising display, isn't it, to make people think such things... ha, ha..." She wobbles forward enough to put her hand on a nearby table that is not on fire and say "ha ha ha," softly to herself a few more times, which is not exactly the same thing as laughter.

On the up side, she's in an excellent place to get an entree... right?

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Lovable. Right. In spite of the atmosphere, in spite of the situation, the amount of eye-rolling Natsuki gets from Mai is something to behold. "Whatever you say..." She pauses, then sings softly - just loud enough for maybe for the four of them. "Prince Natsuki, wonderful she, Natsuki Kuga..."

There's a grin. It falters with surprise, briefly, at the suggestion - her gaze flickering to Mikoto - but Takeo gives the girl a delicious suggestion, and in moments the question is moot. With no small bit of surprise, Mai turns back to Takeo...

...and snorts. A ladylike snort, honest - whoop, there she goes getting dipped and spun again. It's a moment before she's laughing again, but.... "That, Akamizu-kun, was sneaky of you. Just know that if she winds up on a sugar rush, I'm holding you responsible!"

And then, since it's a tango, she takes over the footwork for a moment - aggressive steps forward, so that Takeo has to step back, and then spinning herself to the side. It's a bit clumsy - mimicing similar moves of Rue's, across the floor - but it's a dance and she's just taking the evening off.

...completely off. "Evil, jerk, one of those. Not a problem for tonight, though!"

<Pose Tracker> Minako Aino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"'You want to go'?" Minako echoes mockingly. She lets out a scoffing laugh. "It's no wonder why you need to coerce women into affection. I've seen bullies in B-list films with better lines that."

Minako's smile turns smug; she's clearly just antagonizing him at this point. Still, despite the soldier of love's wrath levels (which are extremely high tonight, surprisingly), she still feels inclined to high-five her newfound friend for their shared policy on sexual harassment.

She'll save the high-fives for /after/ they handle this, though.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

That marvelous ceiling of glass and gold filigree has made a noble frame for the sky all evening. As the sun slipped over the horizon, it gradually painted a palette of oranges and lavenders and deepening, deepening blues, until black overwrote it entirely but for the silvery shimmer of the moon and the twinkle of distant stars.

All but one star, that is. One light in the night sky is a baleful red, a feature of Ohtori's constellations that those who haven't spent the evening here before may not recognize. It does not twinkle, it just... shines, like a bloodied, distant pinprick. After a while, its sheer constancy makes it easy to forget, the brain adjusting to its background presence the same way it might filter out a nearby, routinely passing train.

But what happens next, no one will ever forget. It's the kind of thing that you remember, the hour-minute-second it happened, exactly what it was you were doing before, the little details...

(The look on the boys' faces as Setsuna and Minako stand up to them.)
(The sizzling smell in the air of all that well-charred meat on the tables.)
(Smiles on the dance floor, twirling fabric. The smell of fresh roses.)

...because afterwards, nothing will ever be the same again.

The effect can briefly be mistaken for the sun rising far before its foretold hour, as a shimmer of light grows behind the blackness of night, which rises to blue; in combination, a sickly green flash.

But it's gold, gold, the gold of fairy tale treasure troves, of fevered, frenzied dreams, the stuff that riots are made of, that showers downwards -- not coins but light, purest golden radiance that puts the solar corona to shame, makes it seem butter yellow, pale and frothy in comparison.

Although beautiful, it's also horrible, otherworldly. Anyone who's ever been to the extreme north might find the trails in the sky faintly reminiscent of an aurora, but that comparison is also inadequate. If a kid with gold fingerpaints were to tear down the sky, this might be what results.

It is a silent phenomenon, until it isn't.

Until a pillar of golden light at least a quarter mile thick shatters the atmosphere, boiling the rare stray clouds in its path, and impacts Southern Cross Bridge, which connects this island to the main body of Tokyo. With a terrible tremble like the snapping strings of fate, it then explodes upwards in a spherical blast all too similar to a mushroom.

The air shakes, the ground shakes, the ocean roars; the steel and concrete of the bridge, as well as any unfortunates who might have been on it at the moment of impact, are absolutely and completely vaporized. Waters gush into a hemispherical chasm that had been instantly rendered to steam, which strains what's left of the bridge on either end -- which isn't much at all -- to collapse.

The bridge -- the only connection between Ohtori Academy and the rest of the world -- is just... gone.

More quickly than the stunned silence can be broken, the shockwave arrives, shattering windows, knocking people to the floor, tearing weaker trees up by their roots.

/Now/ the screaming begins.

2016-01-23 - Ohtori Sports Festival Dance

2016-02-09T00:46:16Z

Lucientes: On Battle Fantasia, we set our food on fire.

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Ohtori Sports Festival, Part Two'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''All good things must come to an end.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Ami Mizuno]], [[Lera Camry]], [[Natsuki Kuga]], [[Setsuna Higashi]], [[Steven Universe]], [[Takeo Akamizu]], [[Endo Naoki]], [[Nori Ankou]], [[Fuu Hououji]], [[Hikaru Shidou]], [[Iona Hikawa]], [[Mai Tokiha]], [[Minako Aino]] 
GM: Madoka Kaname
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Ohtori Academy
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Sep 23 2014 - 01-23-2016
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Traditionally, Athletics Festivals conclude with a folkdance around a bonfire. It's mandatory -- all the students know the steps from gym class -- and usually more fun than awkward.

At Ohtori, the bonfire has been replaced with as many candles as there are stars in the sky, and instead of dancing on concrete, the marble floors of a massive ballroom, constructed as part of the event facilities, are in use. The school transforms from 'full Olympics mode' to 'full gala mode' in seconds, it seems, with aid from an army of attendants, decorators, caterers and fashionistas.

No student will go unscathed; white-tie tuxedos and ballgowns have been prepared for all and sundry, no matter how large or how small, unless -- with typical Ohtori exceptionalism -- you're on the Ohtori Student Council, in which case your uniform already looks like something a Victorian military officer might grace a ballroom with, anyway. Either way, tonight the Viennese Waltz is as inescapable as Turkey In The Straw might have been at Juuban.

There are a sum total of eight Grand Staircases, chased with gold and hung with roses, descending to the ballroom floor. Each has an announcer, complete with trumpet. Each seems to have memorized the faces of every single Sister Schools student -- and their grade, and their club membership, or perhaps some other notable fact or affiliation -- and will announce them in bold voices as they first come in. This is a bit of a cacophany for a few minutes, but they're well-trained, staircase calls coming consecutively instead of simultaneously, such that it's kind of a surround-sound experience.

Roses are emblazoned on the dance floor too, because of course they are. The walls have pillars and filagree. The ceiling is gloriously spun of gold and glass, letting in starlight which intermingles freely with all of the candles. Even now, Kyouichi Saionji, an affiliate of the Ohtori Student Council, teeters at the top of an exceedingly tall ladder, lighting the last few candles on the main, sparkling, glorious, crystal-hung chandelier.

There are refreshments at both sides of the massive hall, and the canapes and hors d'voeurs are as impossibly glitzy (and delicious) as could be hoped. There isn't alcohol, unless you're a teacher or a sufficiently daring student, but sparkling cider is being served in nice clinky champagne flutes. Yukino Kikukawa, the bespectacled secretary of the high school Ohtori Student Council, looks a little frazzled as she directs the kitchen staff at the perimeter of things, but the food couldn't be fresher or more fabulous.

An actual professional orchestra (mingled with Sister School clubs who previously arranged for an opportunity to play with said orchestra) has come in to play. The music that fills the air is sweet, romantic, and luxurious. Tadase Hotori, the King of the Ohtori Elementary Guardians, can be seen wearing a plaid blue stole over his tuxedo instead of a full cape, and is attending to the musicians' needs, trotting gamely back and forth with water bottles, adjusting the lighting, and generally making their performance more sparkling through support.

Attendance is mandatory, but getting to go to a high-class party isn't widely considered an onerous burden. There are butlers and maids on hand to help students with any wardrobe malfunctions, and dance instructors give 'Waltz 101' every ten minutes or so in one quadrant of the room, so that any lad and lass can be dancing with as much basic competence as they'd like to attain. Right now, the President and Vice-President of the Ohtori High School Council, are demonstrating. Touga Kiryuu and Shizuru Fujino dance a dance of mutual respect, round and round one another, moving in graceful synchronicity, and behaving with absolute propriety.

There is a very faint sense that maybe they don't get along very well, but both of their smiles seem so genuine.

There are tables by the refreshments, and more of them outside, where the moonlight spills alongside the music, swirling into a rose garden positively lush with little spots for smaller groups to gather, eat, and talk. Ohtori High School Treasurer Juri Arisugawa stalks-- wanders-- stalks the side paths, ostensibly to make sure nobody gets up to any mischief. It somehow feels more likely that Disciplinary Executive Haruka Suzushiro is going to bust up the cuddles; Juri is more likely to intervene only if someone is getting attention they don't actually desire.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

At the fourth of eight staircases (oblivious to the ill omen that represents) appears Mikoto Minagi, but not as we know her. She's dressed here in an elegant gown, black as night, with golden embroidery along its contours. It fits her torso snugly, with tasteful ruffles along her neckline, only to fan out into wide ruffled skirts which disguise everything down to her ankles. Her golden shoes have an inch of heel to them.

She looks completely lost and even a little scared.

Her first steps come before she's even announced, and the trumpet-bearer hurries to announce her before she's too far down. "Mikoto Minagi, grade 10!" With no club membership to speak of, Mikoto makes the rest of the trip down in silence, her cheeks burning as so many people turn to look at her. She gives the announcer a reproachful look when she reaches the bottom of the staircase, before hurrying off - hands gripping her skirts to lift them up so she doesn't trip - towards the side of of the hall.

It's okay. It's going to be okay! Mikoto can do this. She and Mai /talked/ about this. It's mandatory to show up, but that's all she has to do, right? Right. So all she has to do is stand here and try not to fall over in these wobbly impractical shoes and-
Just then, a waiter passes by with a tray of entrees.
Mikoto begins trailing after him.

(In addition to her fine dress, Mikoto wears a cape with a ruffled strap along its length. There seems to be something underneath it, but it would be impolite to point that out, right?)

<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

This is /harrowing/. Though Ami Mizuno is at least here with friends, she's a little sketchy on this whole thing; it seems... a little much, to her. At heart, no matter how brilliant or how well-off she might be, she's a Juuban girl -- these showy displays are very much not her style.

On the other hand... it's a little romantic, isn't it? The /idea/ holds some appeal, even if on balance it's a little worrying to have to participate -- it's practically a scene from a storybook. Accordingly, when her name is announced, she strides down the stair with much more confidence than one might expect from the studious Ms. Mizuno, wearing a brilliant blue gown.

It's only once she gets down the stair that she immediately retreats to the punchbowl, quite done with that bit of excitement for now.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lera has seen grand galas and formal events before. Sometimes, her mother went to one; some of those times, she brought her daughter along. The younger Camry only felt marginally more at home in a formal environment. Despite seeing such occasions before, she still finds herself starstruck at the top of the second grand staircase. Her hand -- no glove on it -- rests on the railing, as she looks down at the marble floor, the elegant dancers, and the spread of food.

It leaves her breathless, if only for a moment. One of the uniformed attendees standing behind Lera clears her throat. The Midchildan girl's cheeks redden slightly, before she starts down the staircase. She is, mercifully, wearing dark golden slippers.

Her dress is a sleek, shoulderless gown of a dark gold color -- it matches her eyes -- and has slashes of green mixed in here and there, including a pattern that swirls like a tree along her stomach. The green matches the emerald in her pandant. She takes a deep breath, as she walks down the staircase, nearly stumbling.

<Easy,> Soaring Sky tells her. <One step at a time.>

"Thanks, buddy," she says softly as she finishes the walk down. It's easy enough; she stares as she reaches the bottom, only half hearing the announcer call out her name. The girl comes to a stop below, looking around with a smile -- and not as many nerves as she would expect. She is, after all, here with someone.

But she looks over her shoulder, back at the staircase, and grins at it. "Nailed it~"

<Pose Tracker> Natsuki Kuga [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The night is still and nothing could be heard but he pleasant civilized music, and the soft chirping of the crickets. However, it was quickly shattered as a high speed motorcycle drew up to the gates and screeched to an ear piercing halt. The rider, Natsuki, barely took notice of the tread marks left behind as she removed her helmet and let her hair flap in the breeze.

Natsuki sighed. "Really wish I didn't have to come to this stupid thing," she grumbled as she removed her practical boots for a pair of high heels. Then, she unzipped her jacket revealing she was wearing a snow white, not ball gown, but a tux. The jacket just reached the top of her waist and she fixed the tie around her neck.

Natsuki then reached into her purse and clipped on a white rose pin into her hair.

She smirked at the irony since she knew white roses were suppose to represent 'innocence' and innocent Natuski was not.

Natuski then briskly walked through the gates and barely glanced at those around her. Although, she did notice a younger girl in a yellow ball gown and seemed to be clutching a white cat.

Natsuki glanced around and decided that the refreshment table would be a safe zone from being asked to dance and made a beeline for it. She really hoped that guy from the Kendo club wasn't around. Natsuki wasn't in the mood to deal with him. Just being at this grand spectacle was enough to suck her energy.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Out admist the ballroom, the somehow casually elegant Mami Tomoe moves in her golden-yellow dress as if she was always suited to it--an obvious and clear Ohtori Academy student. ...But standing out just as much is a vision in green, Makoto Kino, tall and somehow regal in a lovely dress that flatters her long lines.

But only now at the top of the staircase is a more-recent Juuban transfer student, holding her breath as she waits to enter.

Above all, the dress Setsuna Higashi chose is red. It makes no pretense at minimalism, chased in complementary shades with ribbon and embellishment; her shoulders do /not/ show, but the fabric looks light regardless, a sense of grace suffusing her--though that could as well be the way her eyes are simply lit up watching the proceedings around her. Only at the bottom of her long, flowing skirt do her black heels show, adding a good bit more height than she'd usually have.

"Setsuna Higashi," the announcer speaks, as she steps down, smiling and seeming much calmer than she feels. "Of the track team."

Setsuna herself finally makes it down to the end, having come down a different staircase from Lera's, and her ungloved hands suddenly clasp together as she tries to look around at everyone.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

"I haven't been to anything so fancy before! How should I act? I am so nervous!"

"You'll be just fine! Just remember how to walk like I showed you! Do as I taught, and everything will be fine! Also, try not to get anything on the suit, okay?"

A stout child emerges at the third staircase, and is immediately recognizeable as Steven Universe, who is also amiably announced to the event as he begins going down the stairs. "Wow, there's a lot of them," he says to himself. "And people, too."

Steven is quite well dressed in a white tuxedo, complete with top hat and cane, with a pink gem on top. The tuxedo is well hemmed and fitted, and looks rathr new! His undershirt is a shade of pink matching the gem on the cane, with the tie a lighter sade to compliment the ivory suit. "I hope dad was right about how this suit color will make a statement," he says quietly as he approaches the bottom of the stairs.

Being involved in this Sports Festival was been a wonderful thing, making him very thankful to be in a school now. He even won an event! Okay, maybe it was a bit of a joke event, but a solid gold trophy doesn't lie! It sits by his bed, right next to everythign else important to him! Well, everything that isn't alive and moving, anyway.

"Okay, uhhh..." The gem child says aloud. He wasn't exactly coached on what to do once in a crowd! He seems to fiddle with his small cane for a moment as he ponders what to do! Being in a large crowd of people never bothered him before, so why does it now?!

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Takeo Akamizu, Grade Eleven. Student Council Affiliate and one of the Top Tier Kendo Club Members." Is called as Takeo takes to the stares. Being an affiliate he still has to wear the tux, but his is slightly different. Black slacks, and a black blazer are both trimmed in shimering sliver. The sleeves end in three rings at the cuff of the same shimmering silver material.

He moves down the steps, moving quickly, becuase he REALLY doens't like being all the center of attention. Even if it is for exactly two seconds. He makes it down to the landing and moves just as quickly to the food table.

He walks down it's length, popping delicous finger sized goodies in his mouth as he goes before he ends up at the plates, where he cheerfully grabs one and begins to fill it up. Once that is done he finds a wall to lean against, leaning casually and snacking more sedately than the previous food dash he performed as he arrived. He watches a people dance, and arrive, and for the most part appears to be just enjoying the music and food.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.
Endo appears distinctly uncomfortable. Mostly because he's in a tuxedo, which he was more or less wrestled into by fashion club mandates. It's a plain looking thing by the Ohotri standards--or most peoples--, one wouldn't be wrong to think he just picked the worst option available from the rack, when forced. He keeps trying to adjust his tie, or look down at it like it's a snake that might decide to strangle him at any moment. Which might be better than attending a ball, really.

Regardless, he does make his way down the stairs after a few minutes of complaining and fidgeting around. He pauses on the stair for just a moment, eyes surveying the spectacle of the room. Aside from the opening ceremony and a few other sister school events, he's not used to anything as lavish as this. Then he begins to descend.

He is announced plainly: "Endo-"

His foot catches the second step and he goes skipping down a few more, wobbling precariously for just a second.

"Naoki. 11th Grade."

He quickly hustles off the stairs.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Nori Ankou was pleased to get thoroughly showered and given a quick brush out, shampoo-and-conditioner, and a manicure check at the field beauty stations after she'd eaten mud at the tug of war.

And then, her ball-gown...

... but we'll get to that in a moment.

KUNIKO SAITO is not wearing her chef's whites for once. She is in a wholly mundane if well-fitted light blue dress, with some faintly ill fitting opera gloves and sparkling earrings. She is observing the Dance of the Touga with admiration.
LILIAN ABARTH is in a rather high cut - for a ballgown - silver number, very moderne. She is being pretty low key. She has gone through two of the cider flutes and is wondering why she isn't feeling anything yet. (This is the miracle of being raised by a socialite.)

And NORI ANKOU...

"Nori Ankou: Grade nine. Affiliate of the Student Council, and member of the Fencing Club..."

Nori steps forwards, doing her best to look serene. Her dress is primarily a deep navy blue, with a streaking pattern of dark crimson roundels along the side, suggesting subtly perhaps algae or the cells of the bloodstream... or just being a handsome pattern. The front of the dress is cut high, but along the back, over a dozen strings of beads attach together, producing the impression of a low back from behind. A lacy black bridal gauntlet, decorated with several of those red roundel shapes, covers her right arm; the left is bare.

Nori tries not to sweat, pull a face, or trip on her way down Stairway #7. But will it be enough in the face of suffering?

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fuu knows how to dance a waltz; the Princess Seminar included ballroom dancing lessons, and the waltz is a staple of the category - as it has been, probably, ever since it was invented. And while the seminar was indeed a trap by the Dark Kingdom, the lessons taught there have still been useful for Fuu to draw upon in matters of high society. It might not be a substitute for finishing school, but it's passable enough for what she needs tonight.

The ballgown wasn't a problem either, although making sure somebody had it when Fuu needed to change out of her gym clothes might have been an interesting exercise in practical logistics. As she descends the staircase, she wears a flowing dress in shades of green - a very pale green bodice, almost white, with panels of the same fabric overlaying the left and right of her skirt. The bodice and side panels contrast with the rich emerald green of her waist sash, the skirt itself, and the cloak (or is it more of a mantle?) which flutters gently behind her; a 'plate' of some golden-looking material seems to function as a brooch, apparently holding the cloak's collar closed and in place against her bodice, but closer inspection of the dress might reveal that it's more decorative than structural. The dress's sleeves are of two parts: loops just a bit below her shoulders as though to help support the garment, and wrappings of dark green about her forearms, detached from the rest to all appearances.

A slender tiara set with a visible green stone rests atop Fuu's head as she descends the sixth staircase, and the announcer declares at her turn, "Fuu Hououji, ninth grade, Archery Club!" as she makes her way on down.

Fuu reaches the bottom of the stair, gathering her skirts for a polite and proper curtsey to those nearby, then stands up straight again, looking about for familiar faces.

.... and very possibly, for one *specific* face in particular. Ferio is bound to be here somewhere, and she means to locate him for at least *one* dance this evening while she has the opportunity. Hopefully, he has the same idea.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Ballgowns? Are you kidding? Hikaru's always been a tomboy all of her life, but if the dress code calls for a ballgown, then it's a ballgown that Hikaru will be wearing tonight! She's not entirely comfortable in things of this nature, but if there's one thing she's learned since becoming a Magic Knight, it's that sometimes you have to adapt to things you don't entirely like in order to be able to do what needs to be done. Not that this is a mandatory event for Hikaru, but she does want to show up on behalf of her school. And so she decides to bite the bullet and go to the ball.

When Hikaru arrives, it's obvious she's put a bit of effort into making herself look nice. Her red hair is tied up instead of hanging down, and on her head is a tiara as well, albeit with a red stone instead of green. Her ballgown is red, like her hair, and covers her body well. It has a few black panels as well, and on her feet are a pair of matching heeled shoes. She's not accustomed to wearing them, so walking is a bit of a chore.

When Hikaru does arrive, coincidentally right after Fuu, the announcer quickly speaks up and says, "Here's Miss Hikaru Shidou, also in the ninth grade, with the Kendo Club as well as the Anime Club!" Hikaru's walking down the stairs is a little slower, but she does make it. She takes a moment to curtsey, then steps off to the side... nearly bumping into Fuu-chan no less!

"Oh I'm so sorry, I--" Hikaru trails off as she sees who she nearly bumped into, and she blushes a little with a sweatdrop. "Well, fancy meeting you here, Fuu-chan!" She grins, albeit slightly nervously.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona Hikawa has had a long, hard day of sports festival. And like some Juuban students, she's prepared herself for the post-festival party.

Which is where the culture shock hits as she is still in her sports jersey! She stalks down one of the hallways as a Ohtori underclassman chases her with a dress. "Miss, it's really important that you wear something extravagant to this dance!"

"I'm fine." Iona states simply, continuing her walk.

"You'll feel very pretty!"

"I said I'm fine."

"Miss, ah, it would be a great favor to me if you--" The boy is suddenly cut off as Iona sharply turns into the women's bathroom.

As the door closes behind her, Iona presses herself against it to prevent the boy from following her in. She sighs. It's been a long day of sports. Not that this was bad, she loved every moment of it (at least after a while), and now she has to get dressed in a white dress, since she didn't have anything Ohtori-casual. And that's where she's concerned, because white just won't do.

So she pulls out her PreChan mirror. Two of her cards go inside and the mirror closes, erupting in a flash of light.

Eventually Iona steps back out, dressed in a resplendent purple gown and her hair in a very fancy ponytail. She looks at the boy with the dress, curtseys politely...

And very politely sticks her tounge out and pulls down an eyelid.

So /now/ she's arrived, and /now/ she's announced, as she walks down the stairs very gracefully. Though once she hits the bottom of the stairs? She looks around at all the /really fancy/ things that Ohtori's got set up, especially all the candles. For some reason they've got her attention more so than anything else.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

NEAR THE REFRESHMENT TABLE

"I say," remarks a snobby-looking maiden clad all in blue, her nose high in the air, "These escargot are simply atrocious! They taste like... like... snails!"

"Mademoiselle," the waiter that Mikoto is following gulps, pulling his heavily burdened but apparently offending tray away from the girl, "This is foie gras."

"/Don't you tell me what to eat!/" Thrusting herself up from her seat, the girl tosses her long, blond hair and throws her drink in the man's face! It was grape juice, too, and he's in a snazzy white suit. That definitely looks like it's going to stain...

And what's worse, some stray splatters of juice flew past the waiter and onto those behind him -- Mikoto, Ami, Endo, Natsuki and Takeo were all nearby, in the potential blast radius.

There are also some stray foie gras appetizers flying up into the air, as the man slips on the juicy puddle at his feet. His tray is going to make an intensely loud clatter in the next few seconds, drawing even more attention, if it isn't somehow saved.

---

OUT IN THE CROWD

The next waltz lesson is about to start, and the enthusiastic head dance teacher, a long black-haired Miss Shamour, eagerly gathers in the group milling around at the base of the stairs, who've just finished their grand entrance. "Ohhh! You will all make such beautiful dancers!" Her accent is /gloriously/ posh and maybe French but also kind of hard to place. Leading them by hands and shoulders, she pairs off Steven and Nori, Setsuna and Lera, Fuu and Hikaru. Iona has the grave misfortune of hitting the floor at the exact same moment that Kyouichi Saionji gets down off his ladder. Now, he /was/ responsible for all that candlelight (and he didn't set his long green tresses on fire, either!), but as the instructor pairs him off with Iona (he seems nonplussed but not upset, scowling graciously enough to almost pass for a smile) a faint tremor of doom rumbles through the crowd.

There are a lot of girls who really want to be Iona right now, and she can feel their glares hot on the back of her neck.

"Nowww! Place your hands like this..." she demonstrates, "And your feet like this..."

Somewhere or other a wand has appeared in her hand. It has something like a paw at the end of it, like it's a long puppet arm. "And now... ONE two three ONE two three ONE two three! Le waltz!! Ah, you are all such beautiful princesses!" Steven and Saionji are apparently included in that compliment. The latter sputters. It's a good thing he's so much taller than Iona, or it would have gone right in her face. As it stands, he's quite a good dancer but his palms are all sweaty. Is he /nervous/?

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Behind the scenes, there's tension. Anticipation, waiting for the next proclamation, the next announcement. As candles glitter overhead, the next entry is made - entering from the northmost staircase, as it happens. A young man, in a green-trimmed tuxedo taking tentative but eager steps forward-

"Takumi Tokiha, Eighth Grade!" As the announcer goes on to mention club affiliations and the like, there's a sigh of relief from the other end of the grand hall. A moment to smile privately, to collect one's self - and finally, to make an entrance.

A young woman in a shimmering golden ballgown, decorated with crimson embroidery, and wearing a similarly-coloured sheer stole across her shoulders. It's not quite as absurd as the dress she once wore for a contest, but lit by candles overhead it almost seems to flicker as she moves - as if she wears flames on her back. Her hair matches it, her usual short haircut pinned back with glints of silver. Pride and uncertainty war in her steps, but she straightens her back while stepping forward, heels clacking softly against the marble steps of the southern staircase. A breath, a step-

"Mai Tokiha, Eleventh Grade!"

...the silence where her club memberships should be listed is almost palpable.

In spite of that gap, she's smiling - almost beaming. Any uncertainty tonight is borne of her limited practice more than any unwillingness to be here, and she carefully circumnavigates the dance floor in search of...well, any of those she should be looking after tonight. Though even from here, it seems Takumi is already busy...

It's a long path. There's the orchestra, in full sing, with a brunette in a red-and-black gown looking at the musicians with enough interest that it's better that Mai just go around; there's one of the punchbowls, utterly commandeered by a tall blonde-haired student who appears to have discovered the greatest drink in existence - and then there's people Mai actually knows.

It's a busy dance floor - she tries to give those she knows at least a cursory nod, but it's Natsuki that she runs into first. Upon seeing the snow-white tuxedo, Mai lets out a quiet whistle. "Bold statement, Kuga - though I suppose there's no rule, right? ...kind of works, though." She grins - and then spies the plight of the waiters, and sighs. "And of course...one moment.

Mai's mission-driven steps pause by Takeo on her way by, and...the girl does a bit of a double-take. "...nice suit." She shakes her head, and gives a small grin. "You do know there's more to a dance than eating, right? And speaking of which...."

And she's off again, after her...

...her Mikoto. "Mikoto. Leave the poor waiter alone, you know that they're people too...right?" Fiery colours contrast against dark ones, and she gives Mikoto a brief stern look - but one that quickly turns to an encouraging smile. "Now, come on - there's more to do than just eat, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Ami /really/ does not want to ruin this dress. Accordingly, she ducks low; some of the grape juice lands in her hair, which is... not great, and will probably be even less great later -- but she saves the dress! A little bit drips from her hair and face onto it, but onto spots that are a deep enough blue that it isn't going to be noticeable.

"Ah -- excuse me," she says, tilting her head a little further forward and down, making sure that her hasty defense actually pays off... which places her head squarely in the path of the second wave of catastrophe, and its incoming foie gras.

... aaaaaaat least she's still saving the dress?
<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Blinks as all the events happen seemingly at once. He blinks when Mai stops in fornt of him, wiht a puffball of some sort of delicious looking pastry about to be plopped in his mouth and he...

Stops eating. Swallows.

He ignores the splatter of grape juice on his black suit and the flying tray as he watches Mai leave. "Merde Sainte." He states simply. Then he steps up to Mai and Mikoto and offers Mikoto hsi plate of food. "Try the cream puffs." He says and then bows to Mai.

He clears his throat. "Miss Tokiha. I'm afraid that i am not the best at... This sort of thing. But I was wondering if I might trouble you todo the second thing that happens at a dance." He says this while still bowed and then offers a hand, looking over it to Mai. "I mean. I figure if we gotta be all dressed up, why not dance with somebody who captures the flames of the heart?" He offers that roguish smile of his.
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lera keeps looking around the room, curiously -- but intently. She's glancing at friends, acquaintances, and strangers alike. But, really, she is looking for someone in particular.

MEANWHILE:

Off in one corner, to the side, Homura Akemi is politely leaning against a wall. She has her phone out, in hand, and her thumb slides across the touchscreen intently. Her purple eyes reflect in it -- and she does her best to keep away from others for the moment. She a high-necked black dress on, with violet gloves and slippers to match.

At one of the food tables, Gordon rules as master and commander. All of the food is fantastic, of course, but his stands out in its own way: pepper-infused pork loin skewers, with teriyaki dipping sauce, makes up the main meal. Periodically, he glances at one of the Ohtori chefs.

The rabbit glares at them and mouths one word: "Souffle." They know why.

BACK ON THE DANCE FLOOR:

Lera's efforts to find the person she was looking for are, at first, dashed. She hears that woman's voice -- what, she wonders, is someone from Australia doing here? -- and then she gets her hand grabbed. Lera sputters a moment. "H-Hey, wait," she says, "hold on, I came with--"

Then she gets pushed right at Setsuna Higashi.

Lera blinks when she sees her; her amber eyes widen a little when she finally sees the person she was looking for. The blush comes back, too, faint but persistent. She holds a gloveless hand out towards her and tries her very best to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. Her expression changes from pleasantly surprised to brightly smiling.

"Hi."

<Pose Tracker> Minako Aino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Minako Aino glances up from where she's standing at a table of hors d'ouevres, overloading a tiny white plate with treats that look almost too good to eat.

Almost.

If her partner-in-crime, Usagi, had been here, the two blondes would almost certainly have been chowing down together, gabbing about the clothes, cute boys, and how predictably froufrou Ohtori's showing was for the Sister Schools Athletics Day Event. Unfortunately, much to Minako's disappointment, she hasn't been able to spot even one of her fellow senshi -- and hadn't yet spotted any of her fellow classmates at Infinity Junior High, either.

The blonde vollyeball player uses a tiny silver fork to puncture a puffy, pie-shaped pastry with an orange smoked salmon topping, then pops it into her mouth with all the culture she can manage in her starved state. She chews animatedly, her eyes narrowing down on the many figures in the crowd, scanning for some sign of a familiar face.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

"Steven, you got this, maintain!" The boy says to himself. He begins to strut forward with his can in hand, acting as though he belongs in highbrow society. It is pretty obvious he does not, despite the performance. The boy makes his way over near the dance floor first, being a person that enjoys busting a move from time to time.

He watches from the sidelines for the moment, as every girl seems to be hating another in a dance at the moment. They sure seem to be jealous! "H-Huh?" Steven lets out, when he swore someone jsut called him a princess. "I am beautiful, aren't I?" he says in response, "But sadly, it would have to actually be a prince. That is a boy pricness, right? Pretty sure it is. I will have to fact check it later."

"So, tiem to find a lucky lady to waltz with!" he says happily, scanning the crowd. "Wait, uh. I don't know how to waltz. Will that eb a problem? Can I improvise? I can do a mean square dance!"

Most people here probably don't even know what that is. Oh the problems of being foreign.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

The sheer /extravagance/ is something Setsuna's come close to seeing only once--at a certain Princess Seminar that she nevertheless didn't finish.

She has no idea what the woman's accent but is at peace with this fact--instead, however, she finds herself being led by the hand. "Ah--" She doesn't quite manage to say anything before she's led, and placed right in front of--

"Lera!" Her eyes practically sparkle with happiness as she levels her broad smile the taller (well, not as much taller today) girl's way. She lets Lera do the talking for the moment, as she finds she has nothing else /too/ say.

'Princesses', she's told, and then moves exactly as she's told to move. One two--

She starts dancing, and for someone who grew up without knowing what dancing /was/, Setsuna is quite light on her feet.

She certainly /feels/ light; the sheer delight in her expression is infectious.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

A young man in a dapper gray tuxedo approaches the chewing Minako.

"Hey, bay-bee," he says in pretty good English, before smoothly switching to Japanese, "A pretty girl like you shouldn't be all alone at a time like this. How about you and me hit the dance floor?"

His eyes are huge, sparkling blue. But something about his bristly hair is weirdly familiar. Familiar from a distance... this guy must not go to Infinity Institute.

He gropes for her hand. Those eyes may be lovely, but he's having a hard time seeing very well. Maybe it's the glint of bottle-thick glasses in his jacket pocket where a flower should be.

And then he slips on the juice and goes faceplanting directly towards her.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

There is a woman in blue who is being Rude and Loud, and Mikoto instantly decides that she doesn't like her. She doesn't bother dodging away from the grape juice, which is just /liquid/ and not at all threatening to someone who cares little for her very fancy dress. Luckily for her, it lands largely on the black parts of her dress, and black handles all kinds of stains well, metaphorically as well as literally.

And in that moment, two things happen:

1) Mai tells her to leave the poor waiter alone, and,
2) The poor waiter slips in that horrible woman's grape juice puddle.

In an instant, Mikoto decides to ignore Mai, and lunges forward to catch the waiter before he can impact with the hard ballroom floor. Her heels skid in the juice, and she plants them down with such strength that she hears a /snap/ and that foot finally comes in contact with the ground again. By the end of her maneuver, she's halfway down to the ground herself, legs bent at the knee and much wider than a lady should hold them, gold-trimmed skirts soaking in the juice -- but she somehow manages to avoid dropping herself and her beneficiary to the ground.

For some reason, the weight of a full-grown man doesn't really bother her. Letting him down gently, she asks: "You okay?"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Nori feels gorgeous. She accepts the gracious pairing off from Miss Shamour with the smaller underclassman with her own share of grace, giving Steve a smile as she comes up. She has, perhaps, more eyeliner on than Steven is used to seeing. (But who knows.)

She curtsies to him, and then says as she presents her hands (one gloved, one not) "Would you prefer for me to lead...?" She is after all somewhat taller.

Either way, positioning ensues - and then ONE two three, ONE two three - Nori colors slightly as she's told she's a beautiful princess. "Do you think he's right?" she murmurs to Steven, glancing towards the ballroom at large with a half-shy smile. The smile is momentarily disturbed as she sees the distant signs of chaos.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The sight of green hair starts to draw Fuu's attention, but a second look at Saionji-san confirms that it's not the green hair she's looking for, and Fuu's attention circulates onwards before she's almost collided with - by another familiar face. "Good evening to you as well, Hikaru-san," Fuu smiles, curtseying again to her red-haired friend. "You enjoyed the Sports Festival, I hope? Although I must admit I'm relieved it's over ..."

And before she can say anything else, Miss Shamour draws her and Hikaru into the 'crash course' for the waltz. "Hm? Ah, it's okay, I'm already ..."

Fuu trails off, looking at Hikaru, and smiles briefly. She DOES remember the waltz lessons, but Hikaru may not have had those lessons. With that in mind, Fuu allows herself to be directed into dancing with her red-haired comrade. (The refresher course/last-minute practice certainly doesn't hurt, either.) Being called a 'princess,' though ...

Fuu really shouldn't blush like that, the red clashes HORRIBLY with her gown.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Endo spies a few faces he knows as he wanders amongst the crowd, though his first stop seems to be the tables laden with mysterious foods, some in shapes he's never imagined. And one made of snails. Are they all made of snails? He makes a mental note to ask someone about this. He's about to when a slop of grape juice splashes him in the face.

"Wha-" AND THEN THE TRAY. "Yaa!" Endo's reaction is borne out of survival. When he sees something coming toward him, he backhands it. The tray ascends like a beach-ball, bouncing before Endo can jump and snatch it. At least it doesn't hit the ground.

"Don't worry! Everything is fine!" He beams. A few pieces of lost foie gras splatter around his feet after a poignant delay. "Everything is fine." He even tries to hand the tray back, once Mikoto has made sure the waiter is saved.

<Pose Tracker> Natsuki Kuga [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Wasn't as much statement as more pants are better to drive on a motorcycle," Natsuki commented as she nibbled on a sweet. She gave Mai a smirk. "You, on the other hand, really went for the fire princess look, eh?"

She smirked a bit as she watched Mai attempt to get Mikoto under control. "Glad that's not my problem," she muttered and would have kept that thought process if not for the sudden splash of grape juice.

"Hey!" Natsuki growled as she frantically tried to wipe the juice off with a napkin. She had paid good money for this! However, her efforts were fruitless and the grape stain stayed. Thinking quickly, Natsuki removed her hair pin and placed it over the purple stains. Not the look she was going for, but it would have to do.

She got a dagger glare at the some as she stomped over. "Hey idiot, why don't you stop picking on the waiters and stop making more work for them."

She glanced over as Mikoto made the perfect save of the waiter. "Good move, Kid," she said as she cast another glare at the blonde woman. "I can honestly you got more brains than that girl."

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

It takes Lera a second to really /process/ that Setsuna is wearing heels. She is used to being almost a head taller than the girl from Labyrinth. Thanks to those heels, Setsuna is almost at a height with her. She feels impressed, knowing they didn't bother her in the slightest -- but heels were never something Lera could do sop well.

"Ah, s-so--"

She doesn't think of anything to say to Setsuna while she starts. She knows how to waltz already; she learned a similar Midchildan dance when she was little. She adjusted it, nicely, into this. Lera's arm slips around Setsuna's waist, and she smiles down. Her footsteps are confident.

Her words are less so. Unlike Setsuna, when she doesn't know what to say, she says /everything/. The nervousness doesn't help.

"Th-this dance is called a waltz, y'know?" she says. So far, so good; she knows that. "It's from a city called Vienna!" Also correct. "It's in Australia!" ...Er. "And... and it's named after sausages! I learned that in A-America!"

At least she can dance.

<Pose Tracker> Minako Aino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Minako almost drops her plate of towering appetizers to the floor.

This guy -- this totally dreamy guy -- looks so much like a dark-haired Kaitou Ace that it's almost scary; if his eyes had been green instead of blue and his hair had been lighter, maybe --

Minako immediately lowers her eyes, trying to appear as feminine as Minako Aino can manage. Somehow, she manages to force a demure blush to rise to her face.

"My," she manages, discarding the plate on the table's edge, hoping it'll still be there when she returns. /If/ she returns. Hue hue hue!

She instead offers an orange-gloved hand to her hopeful admirer. "They say that 'haste makes dancing', right? Let's go."

And with that totally incorrect English idiom uttered, Minako waits for Umino to guide her onto the dance floor, hoping that Shun catches sight of the pair of them and REGRETS FOREVER GIVING THIS UP.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

When Iona steps down onto the main floor, she gets assigned... who? Who's this guy here? Kyouichi Saionji? Iona's never heard of him.

She feels strangely compelled not to say that outloud. As she takse his hand, though, she feels the jealousy burning through her neck. Purple eyes scan the room briefly before the dance begins, and she can tell that other girls are staring at her. Why?

Then Saionji sputters, and as tall as Iona is, she's not tall enough to get sputtery in her face. Just her hair, which she spent all of a minute preparing! How rude. In fact Iona frowns at this. It's only for a moment, but it's there. But she remembers the seething hate coming from the other girls. She's still not sure why, exactly. So... her smile returns, brighter than before!

She'll just enjoy whatever it is that has the girls all upset. A-one two three, A-one two three...
<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Hikaru returns the curtsey with a smile. "Good evening, Fuu-chan! I have enjoyed it, but it's almost over I know. Well, it was fun while it lasted and there'll always be next year!" She smiles a little. "So for now, shall we--" She is interrupted by Miss Shamour who decides to pair people together, and by some kind of coincidence (or not) she is paired with her best friend. At first she blushes a little, feeling a little awkward having to dance with another girl, but then the blush disappears and she decides to go along with it.

"I think I've only done the waltz once, Fuu-chan," Hikaru says softly, smiling nervously. "So this refresher should help out quite a lot!"

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Indeed, Setsuna steps back like she's walking on air during the dance; she only knows how at all, however, because of instruction...

And because of /intense/ practice over the course of the week. Even then, though, her confidence isn't quite at the level of Lera's; she's focusing hard on where her feet go, where her hands go, where she has to be.

...Lera's babble lets her relax a little, though.

"A waltz," Setsuna agrees, nodding her head, red eyes fixed on Lera's amber. "Vienna..." Pause. ...Further pause.

"I..."

One two three one two three one two three...

"I don't think it's named after sausages."

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"O-oh, my lady!" gasps the waiter, goggling in horror at Mikoto's stained skirts. "I'm so terribly sorry for the trouble. Thank you so very much for--"

"EEEEEEEEK!" shrieks the girl who started all this, one Mayune Awayuki, heiress to a major corporate fortune. "That man -- he got escargot all /over/ me!" And then Natsuki chimes in. "And -- and -- YOU! You /brat/! This is none of your--" She raises a hand to slap the senior right across her face.

"Madamoiselle," says another lady's voice, this one rich with an accent from central Japan, as she comes up smoothly behind her and grabs her wrist, "I fear you are distraught. Please, come with me, and we'll get you calmed down and cleaned up." It's Shizuru Fujino again, now freed of Touga's grasp. She gives Natsuki a brief smile that does not leak any of her irritability, nope, not even a little bit, then hustles Mayune out of the way.

The waiter gazes up at Mikoto gratefully, then scrambles to his feet. "Please, my lady, allow me to find you new footwear. Ah, thank you, good sir." He collects the tray from Endo with a grateful bow.

More waiters come scurrying out of the shadows to pick up all the fallen food. Maybe Ohtori subcontracted to a ninja clan or something, because that floor is sparkling again in a fingersnap.

"Can I offer you all something special for your trouble?" Yukino Kikukawa seems to have seen the whole thing, and appears promptly to pass around a tray of glasses and moist towelettes, for everyone involved in the slightest, be they splattered, stained, or just offended. "The glasses are, um, it's a 1992 non-alcoholic vintage champagne. Maybe we can... have a toast?" She seems a little flustered, but friendly enough.

---

On the dance floor, Minako promptly gets her feet trodden on. Pretty much every other measure. And the guy's hands are wandering all over the place -- he's practically using her as a seeing-eye girl instead of a dance partner!

His confidence is evaporating fast. "I'm really sorry," he gasps the first time, and then again in a lower mumble, and more choked up the third time. "I'm so sorry, Naru-chan. I just can't really... see."

Finally, in a last ditch effort, he puts those glinting glasses from his pocket onto his face and is revealed to be Gurio Umino, the least cool of Usagi's classmates. Apparently this is the cue that Naru Osaka needed to recognize him, too, because an auburn-tressed girl, her ribbon extra sparkling for the evening, comes flouncing over looking furious. "/What/ are you doing, Umino?" She props her hands on her hips.

Truly a situation worthy of the Goddess of Love to find herself in the midst of.

Iona, meanwhile, finds that Saionji is a decent enough dance partner until, in the crowd of faces that that gaggle of girls surrounding them, he spots someone... else. "Excuse me," he mutters, before simply stepping out of synch mid-dance-step and disappearing into the crowd. "...I'll get that monkey," can be faintly heard on the air behind him, grim as a reaper.

Miss Shamour frowns at this display of abandonment, and steps right in where Saionji left off, waltzing Iona skillfully into a twirl. "Not all boys can be princes," she murmurs. "I wouldn't take it personally! That one seems like le--"

Whatever she was about to call Saionji is blatted out by the flare of a trumpet as the waltz escalates towards a climax.

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

A funny thing, about Mai's determination to be the parental figure. It's like blinders - so intent she was on getting to Mikoto that she didn't even notice the argument happening nearby. She's taking a breath to make some sort of invitation to her, when-

-all of that happens.

Her heels slip on the floor, just a bit, and she catches a portion of the juice spray on one cheek. A staggering step back, two or three - she's clearly out of practice in heels - and stops just short of collision.

With a hand. Held out to her. She turns, surprise written clear on her face as the chaos around her settles with a snap of a heel and a splatter of foie gras. Faced with an earnest boy her age inviting her to dance....

She blinks. A napkin, flung from the tray in all the chaos, lands in one hand, and she dabs at her face absently. It's a few moments before she responds. "Did...did you seriously just make that..."

She looks behind her. Looks ahead of her. Takes a breath. "...one moment."

She wheels around, turning back to Mikoto - and Natsuki, to her surprise. "You can say that again, Kuga." She looks toward the snotty girl, and the baleful eyes do their best to remember her. "One should really know better than to treat food providers like that." A smirk - and then a proud look at Mikoto. "...good work, Mikoto. Well done." A grin - she nearly ruffles Mikoto's hair - but just smiles warmly. "Now, I've got something to do, so..."

...Natsuki can help, right? Natsuki's going to help. "I'm sure the 'snow prince' here can help you keep an eye on things, Mikoto." Yes, Natsuki, that was a smirk. "You just keep defending the..." She trails off, as swift waitstaff - masters of their craft - rush in to clear up the mess. ...what more is there to say?

Well. A brief bow to the nearest waiters. "Thanks for your hard work." And then - giving Mikoto and Natsuki wave - she turns back to Takeo.

"Sorry for the wait there, Akamizu-kun. But if you're still willing..." There's hesitation, and a slight flush, but she reaches out to take that hand. "I will take you up on that dance."

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"Y-You don't think so?" Lera asks Setsuna, tilting her head to the side. Her lips part, as she looks curious for a moment, and then she smiles a little brighter. The slip-up doesn't make her nerves get on edge, the way it once would have. That might speak volumes about how comfortable she is around Setsuna.

She smiles again in short order, and it reaches her amber eyes. "I'm kinda glad, y'know? I felt bad for that poor city. Being named after sausages."

She keeps time, though, and follows the other dancers to be certain. She practiced, too. Especially for one of the moves coming up, where faking it won't work. She feels -- and looks -- nervous, as she glances to each side to check others' movements. Then, she lifts her hand up, and tries to start a twirl for Setsuna.

One thing runs through her mind: 'Please don't trip her, please don't trip her, please don't trip her...'

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Steven sttems to be enjoying watching others dance and have a good time. They just keep going and going! It is like this waltz is endless! "The mvoes don't look too hard..." he says aloud. It looks like a couple of steps to it, and that is it!

Before Steven can try and study it more, A pretty (and slightly familiar) girl approaches! Like, right at him! Steven looks around to see if it is anyone else she is walking toward, but no one else is close! "Oh! Uh. Right!" The boy seems to be going through something in his head, and then bows to Nori in return. "Hiya!" he says, and then is promptly asked about dancing! "Oh, I don't know the Waltz. Can you help guide me?" he asks.

The boy lights up as a hand is offered and he takes it gingerly. He seems to be lightly blushing, but mostly stars are in his eyes. Someoen wants to dance with him! This is so cool! He's gonna learn how to waltz!

They get underway dancing, and the boy finds it isn't too difficult to keep up. "Why wouldn't you be?" he responds with. "I think you are, yeah!" he says. Always nice to pay compliments to girls. That's what dad always said.

A commotion seems to be happening off to the side of the dance floor. "What do you think is going on over there?" he asks kindly.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto blinks and looks from waiter to Rude Lady to Shizuru, and then back to the waiter, now scrambling up. New footwear? "Oh," Mikoto says, when she looks down at her heels. Right, those are /very/ broken, so of course she sits herself down, heedless of the juice, and pulls off her shoes. Those she leaves there as she pushes herself back up, looking around for the food --

She /just/ manages to catch a glimpse of the last foie gras getting cleaned up from the floor, and her face falls. There was going to be food and now there's no food at all/?! At least Mai and Kuga are here to congratulate her. Mikoto smiles again, proud to hear the encouragement, looking up to them with a firm nod. "Yup!" It's a good thing Mai resisted the urge to ruffle Mikoto's hair - it's a bit messy after that adventure, but still, someone (probably Mai herself) has /tried/ to comb it into something resembling order. She waves to Mai as her companion turns to go and avail herself of dancing.

And now, here's Yukino! Mikoto likes Yukino, so of course she listens to her, and she mentions getting them toast. "Okay! Let's have toast!" Mikoto agrees, completely ignoring the champagne and instead looking expectantly around for where she's hidden the bread and butter.

<Pose Tracker> Natsuki Kuga [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Natsuki catches Shizuru's slight wince and hopes her irritation is more directed at the girl than her. "I really owe her either way," Natsuki muttered. "I'll have to make sure I send her some of her favourite tea later."

She then glanced back as Mai seems to have turned away from someone asking her to dance. Oh ho! So, little Mai really was becoming a princess.

She smirked and would have made a remark, but then Mai's suggestion of watching with Mikoto cut her off. She glanced to the kid and shrugged. "If it gets me out of dancing, I'll gladly pair up with the cat for the night," she replied.

She tugged at her suite. "If anything, hopefully that will save my clothes from any future stains.

Then Yukino proposes a toast with the cider. "Sure, better than nothing," Natuski held up a glass. "To...dealing with rude guests I guess and having the patience to not strangling them," she suggested with a shrug.

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Dipping his head, Takeo says with only a slight cracking of his voice, "I'd be honored Tokiha-san." He replies and taking her hand leads her to the dance floor. He may or may not be blushing himself.

Once out there on the dance floor he closes his eyes. He has no idea how to dance. He knows martial arts and he knows ... Lancelot's memories.

He opens his eyes, allowing for once the courtside of Lancelot to flow through him. There had to be SOME goodside to being a French Knight reincarnated right? You know. Other than the Horse.

Sparkles is pretty rad.

He gives Mai a little tilt of his head, and holds his hands in the ready position of the waltz. He smiles a bit, around that blush of his and says this time without a cracking voice, "I think the two of us can just enjoy the evening without having to worry about ... Our other lives." He smiles honestly. "If you're at work, and ever need company on break again Tokiha-san, you have my number. Give me a call. I won't even order bacon next bacon time."

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Slightly, Setsuna shakes her head from side to side. "It doesn't seem plausible." A beat, and she laughs, quietly, this time getting the joke right off.

But then--Lera is glancing o the side, and so does Setsuna. Suddenly, her eyes widen just a little--and then narrow in determination. She looks right back at Lera again, feels the hand rise--

She slips about halfway through the motion, tumbling back-first straight for Lera. "Aaa--!"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"Well, I always felt like being a princess didn't quite suit me," Nori answers Steven while leading him through the steps. She looks at him directly now, partly to shake her attention away from the horrible disaster, partly because it's rude not to look at your partner. She smiles.

"I always felt like more of a queen... What do you think?"

As the waltz comes nearer to its conclusion, Nori moves to be the one dipping Steven - due mostly to the height advantage - and answers him: "I don't know. Things like that happen here..." And diiiiip and back up. "Do they have the wild animal drill, at your school?"

As the waltz ends, Nori disengages with a smile. "Could I trouble you, ah- Universe, wasn't it?" Seems like a reasonable name to Seaweed Anglerfish. "To get me a glass of the cider...?"

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Endo seems rather proud of his catch, despite losing half of the contents of the actual tray. It still makes up for his earlier fumble in his mind. He turns to Yukino when the girl appears. He bobs his head, smiling again and noting, "Ah, thank you." He takes a napkin when offered, swabbing his face before passing it off to another waiter when he appears, like a service ninja.

When offered a reward, Endo considers carefully. And then asks: "Do you have any meat that's not made of snails? Can I have that?" The boy reaches to gingerly take a glass, hazing to look side-long at the others around before he holds it correctly: with his pinky out as far as humanly possible.

"That was a good catch," He asides to Mikoto. And then he drinks! Daintily.

<Pose Tracker> Minako Aino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"Naru.... chan?"

Minako feels fury racing up to her face until her cheeks are almost as red as the ribbon in her hair. Gone is the demure blush; Minako Aino is pissed.

"Naru-chan?!"

Minako's voice grows shrill, and she doesn't exactly care who overhears them at this point. But before Minako can air her grievances loud enough for everyone in a one-hundred yard vicinity to hear --

Umino puts on his glasses.

Minako visibly recoils. But before she has a chance to react further --

Naru makes and appearance.

Minako quickly whips her hand away from Umino and takes a few uneasy steps backward and glances around nervously. Someone -- anyone -- save her from this!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fuu smiles, nodding to Hikaru. "You seem to remember the steps well enough," she encourages her friend, while continuing to dance. "Remember, though, the teacher put you where the boy would be in a waltz pair, so you'll need to flip the movements around when you're dancing with a boy." If Hikaru messes up a little, Fuu will 'borrow' the lead briefly to guide her back on-track.

At least that blush is fading again. Maybe it helps that Miss Shamour was distracted by substituting for whats-his-name who just abandoned his partner in mid-step. There's another problem that's going to sneak up on them shortly, though, if Fuu remembers her waltzes right ... isn't the man supposed to twirl his partner? And Fuu has a modest height advantage on Hikaru ...

So when the other couples twirl, Fuu goes ahead and tries to twirl Hikaru the same way. That can't possibly go badly, can it?

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

The laugh prompts a giggle from Lera, too. It wasn't so long ago that they couldn't -- that they /never/ -- both laugh like that. She doesn't get carried away with only because she has a twirl to execute.

Or, try to.

She realizes the slip in their movement a little too late. Lera's arm wasn't high enough; Setsuna wasn't quite sure enough on her feet. "Oh no!" Lera whispers softly, as she sees her tumbling towards her.

But, while Lera may not yet be an expert dancer, she has excellent reflexes. Training in Belkan swordfighting in school, her experience as a mage, and even her love of technical mountain climbing made that instinctive. So she dips down, bending a knee, and catches Setsuna in her arm. It doesn't look like a controlled fall, really, but she nonetheless keeps them both from the floor.

She looks down at Setsuna, arm straining to hold her upright, and grins sheepishly. "I-I maybe got a little too ambitious, huh...?"

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

If Mai were at work, the cracking of the voice might bring amusement. The lofty position of the serving staff is a pedestal from which judgment can be thrown...but right now? She's just as awkward, if not more. It's not even the trouble a crush might bring - just...

Mikoto and Natsuki are in her wake, having adventures with toasts and toast, and Mai takes a step toward that terrifying world of 'dating'. It's not too late to hang out on the roof with a fiery dragon, right?

She's looking up when Takeo opens his eyes abruptly, meeting his gaze by accident. His relaxation helps, maybe just a bit... "That'd...be nice. Honestly, not having to worry about my regular life is escape enough..." Smiling past her own hesitation, she matches his hands. One...two...three.

Her steps are awkward, and she's not trying anything fancy yet, but...she, Mai Tokiha, is getting to dance at a fancy ball. Who could have imagined?...for now, she can just lose herself in the moment. Maybe she can pretend she's a princess...

Briefly. Mai's brother, if he's looking on, might notice as she flashes Takeo a bit of a grin. "Such a harsh sacrifice. Don't think I won't hold you to that - maybe I'll cook something up myself."

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

That possibly can go badly, actually. Being twirled by a girl taller than Hikaru could cause problems. Fortunately, though, Hikaru's moving along quite well and seems to take the twirl in stride. She smiles as she's twirled around and then rejoins her partner. "It's one of those things that comes back as you do it, I suppose. And yeah, Fuu-chan, I know I'd be doing it with a boy. But it's still just as fun with you!"

Hikaru giggles a little at that. "Then again, dancing is supposed to be fun, right?" She tries not to blush, since she's really enjoying herself but feels like she's just said something that could be construed as funny perhaps.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Setsuna entirely fails to notice flying trays and toasts elsewhere in the ballroom; it's much too crowded for her to even try to keep track. Not while there's the beat to stay with and the movement to get and the...

If she'd actually practiced with the three dancers she knows, she might have gotten it down better. As it is, however, she feels herself falling towards the floor, just as--

She /doesn't/. Instead, she finds herself suspended in the air, an arm at her back, and looks up to see Lera's grin.

...she promptly turns a shade that matches her dress quite well.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona continues smiling as the guy she's dancing with takes off and leaves. Iona watches him disappear, completely unfazed by this development. Mostly because she, too, has had people she has had to get. She nods in deep understanding.

When she gets a new dancing partner, though, she continues her smiling onslaught. "Oh, that's quite all right." She says, putting on something of a faux fancy air. "I feel like I feel his pain." She twirls and the trumpets sound, and she just decides to wrap herself in the majesty of the situation. As much as she's not had a good opinion of Ohtori so far, they do know how to throw a party.

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Lancelot's memories are not ... whole ... So while it allows Takeo to actually know the steps of the Waltz, he has no actual muscle memory, jsut an idea of how it should go. So he dances with Mai, not as some amazing shimmering Knight, but as a young man attempting to dance. Nervously.

Takeo grins at the "threat" of having to eat Mai's cooking. With a little bit of laughter in his voice he says, "I think I'd like that." He leads her through a gentle twirl, giving her a nod as a warning, then lifting his arm and moving her through the twirl in time with the music. Then pulls her back gently. "It is definatley nice to not have to be super heroes for a night." He closes his eyes and tilts his head in thanks toward Mai. "Thank you for spending at least part of it with me."

He tries not to blush.

He's totally blushing.

After Takeo clears his throat, he looks into Mai's eyes and asks, this time without a cracking voice. "Want to try a second dance?"
<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Yukino blinks at Mikoto and Endo, then gives a floaty little laugh which summons, instantly, one of the waiters back to her side. They exchange a brief, hushed conversation, before the man disappears and reappears with buttered toast on a little plate for Mikoto -- and some miniature pastry puff-surrounded wieners for everyone -- in absolutely record time.

Ninjas /indeed/.

Then she takes her own cup and bows her head solemnly at Natsuki. "To the end of the Athletics Festival!" she cheers, perhaps indecorously as one of its hosts, but my oh my does she seem fiercely sincere. And her smile, if Mikoto toasts her with toast, is as genuine as can be.

---

Out on the dance floor, the waltz winds down, and what replaces it is a little bit... up-tempo. A faint blush comes to Miss Shamour's face, and she frowns. "There are children at this party," she murmurs under her breath. Apparently she /won't/ be offering tango lessons -- leaving Iona and Nori momentarily partnerless next to each other. Still, plenty of Ohtori students know the basics, and it's possible to improvise other dances to that beat, leading to the rapid formation of an impromptu dance competition.

One that those still dancing may well find themselves drawn into whether they're expecting it or not. The gist of it seems to be to add a fillip here or a twirl there, just a little extra to outdo whoever crossed the floor last. Mai and Takeo are up next, followed by Lera and Setsuna, and then Hikaru and Fuu. It's definitely possible to escape, but the crowds are starting to close in.

At least matching step to that militaristic snare drum is easy enough!

And at the end of the floor, nonchalantly holding a basket of bloody red roses, is Touga Kiryuu, He offers one to each boy (or 'dance lead' as the case may be) as they sashay past him, to, in turn, be offered to their partner.

Umino gropes towards one such rose and offers it to Naru, who is still glaring at Minako with eyes aflame with the fires of hell.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto's eyes go wide, and so does her huge smile. Yukino is so good! She said there would be toast, and here it is. She looks around at everyone as Yukino declares the toast, and seeing how they're all raising their glasses, she does indeed raise her plate up in mimickry, because clearly that's how this works.

And then people are sipping at their champagne, and Mikoto takes that as cue to eat her toast. With big chomps, it's gone in no time, and Mikoto's licking her fingers to get the buttery goodness off of them. The gold trim of her skirts has almost entirely been stained by purple, only a few flecks remaining. Barefoot, in a dress now both purple and gold, licking her fingers, she is... not exactly the image of womanhood, but she's definitely a faithful representation of Mikoto Minagi.

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It's a wonderful waltz. 'Graceful' might not be the right word, but it's relatively sedate as dances go - and as long as both partners are roughly equally nervous and awkward, it goes well. As Takeo leads, Mai follows - and the spin, at least, she seems to get the hang of a little bit more easily.

"Well, it was this or worry all night - thanks for the invitation. Not like I..." She trails off. He's blushing. He's blushing, why is he blushing, now she's blushing - and as their gazes meet, it's like she's momentarily pinned. "...ah, I should..."

The music changes. The tempo picks up, the drum kicks in, and the dance music is about two notches more wild all of a sudden. And - with a casual glance past Takeo - it seems there's no escape for either of them. (And there's Mikoto happy, and there's Takumi doing well...)

"...kind of sudden, asking for this as a second dance." She looks stern for but a moment - but then grins. "But sure. No promises this isn't going to be embarrassing, but..."

If embarrassment were that big a worry, she wouldn't be a fan of karaoke.

Surrounded by similarly minded students, Mai hasn't been at Ohtori long enough to pick up...quite so much boldness. But she starts to get the hang of the general theme in short order - a few more aggressive steps forward, rather than following a slow dance's lead. And falling back, in time to the beat.

And when she spins - which is about as often as she can get away with - her stole dances in her wake like a contrail of living flame.

Takeo might take the lead enough to be granted that rose - but will he?

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

"Really?" Steven replies to Nori. "That's okay! It isn't for everyone. Being a princess means people look to you for their future! Also you are usually the beauty of the nation." The boy continues dancing. He feels like he has seen thsi girl around before! But where? Was it the field trip? He can't quite remember. "A Queen, huh? Yeah! You could totally be a queen. Being a Queen takes a lot of work though!"

The boy bows in return at the end of the dance. "I uh. I don't know! I have only been there a little while. I can't say I have heard of that though! It sounds kinda fun."

"Yep, that's my name!" Steven adds. "Sure thing! give me jsut a second, I will be right back!" And with that, the boy bounds off to the refreshments. He will at least get a moment to see what the commotion was while the dance was going. while getting the drink, he sees there was some kind of chai nreaction that happened involving a spilled drink in a packed area. Whoops!

Steven returns to near the dance floor with the drinks to find a new dance has started up! This one sounds really familiar, but another dance he doesn't know.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The waltz winds down, and Fuu steps back from Hikaru, bowing (not curtseying this time) at the end of the dance. The orchestra starts up the next tune as she's still straightening up, and Fuu takes a split second to consider the music before shaking her head a bit. "I need to look around for people, Hikaru-san, but I hope you enjoy the remainder of the evening!"
Hersnd with that, Fuu attempts to withdraw from the dance floor. She *does* want to try and find Ferio now, while she has a potential opportunity. She also winds up with a small plate of hors d'ouevres, and nibbles decorously on a sausage as she continues looking around - not actually just for the swordsman, but for other familiar faces.

<Pose Tracker> Natsuki Kuga [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Natsuki doesn't know wether to laugh or cry at Mikoto actually getting toast. "At least it keeps her out of trouble," she mumbled to herself. She sips her cider as she glances over to the dance flow. Mai, while perhaps stumbling a little, seems to be doing well to keep up and then much to her surprise the tempo picks up with a fast beat.

She blinks as suddenly Mai slow dance changes to more of a fast pace one. "I almost want to give her my rose," she muttered.

And then an idea popped into her head and she grinned evilly. She looked to Mikoto who seemed to be licking her fingers and leaned towards her. "Hey, Mikoto," she pointed out to the dance floor. "Want to join me for the dance on the floor? It's not hard, it's a lot like fighting where you just have to stay insync with your partner's steps?"

If Mikoto went for this, the look on Mai's face would be priceless.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Hikaru smiles and curtseys to Fuu. "I'm sure we will, Fuu-chan!" She says with a big grin, before heading off to look for something to drink. All that dancing made her thirsty. Still, she's got a bit more of a confident smile on her face than she did before.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

"Aah! Small hot dogs!" Endo laughs with pleasure at Yukino's offering. "These are popular in America, right?" He reaches to pinch up one of the puffy items on the plate, and then another, until he's got one pinched between each of his fingers. A bite is taken, and the food is found satisfactory judging by the firm nod of his head.

When it comes time to do the actual toast, he tries to ignore that he's already sipped down about half the glass. "The athletics festival was a really out of control this year, but I guess it was still fun." The boy seems to be enjoying himself now that he's around other people and talking, falling back into his casual, cheery mannerism. "But I feel like I'm at the olympics or something, with all this stuff."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"Oh, I know," Nori answers Steven. "But... I think I can manage it." She takes a few deep breaths, but before Steven can return with her drink, the music... changes.

Nori looks round to Miss Shamour, and then forwards -- to Iona.

She's smiling. That's good. Nori smiles back, if with a little effort, and then steps forwards. PERILOUSLY close. Close enough to tango.

"Hikawa-san," she says, tone formal, "would you do me the honor of giving me this dance...?" Then suddenly: Touga! (This is a reaction Nori has had before.) Touga gives her a rose, and Nori turns her smoky-lined gaze back to Iona, raising the blossom on its green stem upwards with a flick of her wrist, a momentary twirl, and then she slides it up -

Between her lips. She holds it with her teeth, tilting her head back slightly. She remains perfectly still for two heartbeats and then says through her clenched teeth in a bit of a mutter, "this is right, isn't it...?" On the up side, she /is/ adequate at keeping up synch, and doesn't immediately step on Iona's feet or dig a thorn into her lip.

YET.

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Lancelot does not know the Tango. That is about ten centuries past the memories of the French Knight. Takeo however is an accomplished martial artist and a secret singer. So. He knows tempo and cadence. He blushes again however when he realizes where this is going, but he, like Mai gets the gist of how this dance works fairly quickly.

Take sweeps Mai near the offered flower, and then hands Mai the rose while he attempts to lead he just clear shis throat. "For you." He says softly toward her. "If I had known I would dance with you tonight I'd have brought you one myself. So. This, will have to do I suppose. From me." He says and gives her slight grin while he concentrates on performing this dance. "I'm not really worried about winning an impromptu dance competition." Which might be about as odd as him saying he doesn't want bacon! Takeo is normally HUGELY competive! "I'm just happy to be having a good time." He gives her his roguish grin once more. "Thanks Tokiha-san. This means more than you can know."

And to show her, he gives her a little spin, and a quick playful dip, before going back into dance. Once dipped, he keeps Mai there for just a moment. Winks. Then goes about dancing once more. "You know. One of these days, despite your dragon," he whispers to her, "You should go for a ride on Sparkles. I know it can't compare to the big guy, but there is something awesome about a horse by a cliff at sunrise." He clears his throat, "And I think I owe you another Rose."

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

The grin on Lera Camry's face turns a little sheepish, when she sees that blush. She ends up frozen like that for a moment, just staring down at her. Eventually, physics demands she do something (or drop her). So, carefully but firmly, she pulls Setsuna back to her feet. She looks a moment longer, before she glances to the side and lets out a sigh.

"That was fun," she says, quietly. Then, a little louder: "You okay?"

Then, she looks back at Setsuna. Her eyebrows lift, as the waltz comes to an end, and she hears something more upbeat. She takes a couple steps backward. It sounds fun, but... why are those people...?

Lera looks to the dance floor, and the growing realization starts to dawn on her as she watches how /well/ Mai Tokiha dances with Takeo. She watches him provide her with a rose, and realizes: she is in /far/ over her head. Her amber eyes widen and her cheeks flush red. That is precisely why and when Soaring Sky chimes, but it isn't with words, at first. Instead, an upbeat set of chords begins coming from where the Device is tucked inside of one of the folds in Lera's dress. He makes his intent clear, though:

<Egress! Egress!>

Lera stares in confusion for a moment, looking forward in alarm.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Setsuna, too, is frozen there, and pretty much oblivious to the difficulty in holding a person up in this position for that long. ...But she's brought to her feet eventually, and lets out the same, glancing away in obvious embarrassment and fluster. "It was," she agrees all the same, though, and nods brightly when asked if she's okay, except...

The music changes. The purple-haired girl blinks, looking from dancer to dancer, to see what it is that they're trying to do next. The song is stirring already, even the beat makes her stop and take notice, the snare in time with her heart pumping. But then she sees a flip here, a tiwrl there, and a basket of beautiful roses. ...And then she looks back to watch Mai and Takeo before her. She can only stare, for a brief instant, forgetting the moment as she watches that dancing flame.

...And then the tenor of the /movements/ registers. Setsuna turns immediately, quickly, to look at Lera, with widened eyes. The crowds are already starting to close in.

She doesn't even hear Sky until after she's taken Lera's hand. She doesn't pull toward the dance floor, however--and neither does she wait for the same. She looks nervously at Lera, and at the dance floor, and tugs her hand /away/, trying to find the break in the crowd as they start to close in around them.

Her steps click /hard/ against the dance floor. She's going about as quickly as she can in this lovely dress.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona raises an eyebrow as Miss Shamour says something about there being children on the dance field. Well... she does know this is a school function, right? Children do go to school. Having not tangoed before, she's... not so sure there's a reason to be concerned? Maybe. She watches as the Shamour walks away. "All right... see you later?"

This confusion may explain why the appearance of Nori is something of a surprise. Iona actually kind of jumps a little bit. "Oh, ah, sure! Yes. Yes." She takes Nori up on her tango offer... and she's not very good at it. Oh, sure, she's good enough to at least keep up, and not step on Nori's feet.

Unfortunately for Iona, she's actually being very sure that she's not stepping on feet, and thus her feet are probably not in the positions they should be, and Iona wavers just a little bit as she tries to keep herself upright.

Nori's muttering only gets something of a shrug from the purple-haired girl.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

BY THE REFRESHMENTS

"Well, that was kind of what we were aiming for," Yukino admits a little bit shyly to Endo. "So... mission accomplished, I guess?" Someone shouts her name from the kitchens and, with a little bow, she makes herself scarce. "Excuse me! Please enjoy the party!"

Since she first arrived, what was being served at the tables has turned over completely, though, which may provide a fair amount of distraction for those who are just arriving. Lera, Hikaru and Fuu, upon departing the dance floor, find themselves near Endo and by extension, the tables.

Which are on fire.

They are maybe supposed to be, some sort of elaborate 'en flambe' arrangement, but there is a group of fancily coiffered elementary school students creeping up towards it. They have skewers. From somewhere, they have marshmallows.

More problematically, though, they have long sleeves and lots of really flammable-looking silk, lace, and hair. One is recognizably Mina Koruske from the Okinawa trip, and despite her affiliation with the Vermillion Bird of the South, it seems pretty likely that this is about to end badly in a 'spontaneous combustion' sort of way.

ON THE TERRACE

Setsuna emerges from the intensifying cluster of tango on the side of the crowd that is coolest -- literally, not figuratively. Minako isn't far off, caught between a shamefaced Umino and a jilted Naru, and Iona and Nori's dance has just led them to this side of the room, as well. Breezy night air is spilling in from the terrace doors, flung open wide to embrace the evening.

Other embraces are occurring nearby.

It takes some deliberate hunting to find the source of the soft soprano quietly protesting a louder and more aggressive baritone rumble. But eventually they can be found, around two walls of shrubbery: a pair of leering senior boys, their jackets worn open and ties undone, have a younger girl, possibly still in middle school, quite cornered.

The boys maybe found some alcohol somewhere; they stink. The girl is increasingly still, drawing more and more into herself, looking straight at the ground. "Please, just leave me alone..."

"Did you hear that," one of them scoffs, "I think that was an /invitation/!"

ON THE DANCE FLOOR

Around the same time that Natsuki propositions Mikoto, that one waiter she saved reappears with a pair of actual, honest to god glass slippers on a velvet cushion. Or, at least, they are clear and sparkling. They may actually be some marvelous sort of plastic. They are /definitely/ surprisingly comfortable. "For you, my lady." Now she is dance-prepared.

Steven also finds himself with an unexpected new partner; a young lady about his age with slender pigtails and a red stole around her shoulders, her white dress is already stained in a few places from an evening of hearty partying. Yaya Yuiki beams at him. "Hey, you're cute -- let's dance!" She seems downright eager to take the lead and swing him all over the floor.

The tango competition, shall we say, heats up, when Rue and Mytho from Infinity Institute's dance program take the floor. They swirl sensually (well, Rue is sensual, Mytho's dancing is merely technical perfection) past Takeo and Mai to collect their rose, and Rue's crimson eyes briefly meet Mai's, steadily, as much warning as challenge.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Refreshment tables shouldn't be on fire; Fuu is relatively certain of that. She still has the presence of mind to curtsey in greetings to Endo and Lera ... and then spots the elementary students approaching. With alarmingly flammable dresses, as best Fuu can judge without a more detailed look. Fortunately, there's an easy strategy to try and divert them ...

"Mina-san?" Fuu says, smiling cheerfully. "It's good to see you again!" she gushes as she sweeps towards Mina and the others, all ladylike yet still (she hopes) 'cool big sister'-y. "How have your classes been going? And it's good to see the rest of you as well .."

Forget curtseying; she just bows to the children this time. She might recognize one or two of the others from the chaos preceding their flight's takeoff, but it's mostly Mina whom she recognizes.

She might still need some help making sure nobody gets lit on fire, though.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

The cool air is a relief, and when Setsuna steps out into it, she takes a few quick breathes, slowly slowing down as she finds herself in greenery. She looks around immediately, only to find that she's lost her dance partner. Turning, Setsuna spins around to try to see where Lera could have gone, but she hears a voice at the edge of her senses, somewhere nearby. ...She sees a number of others out here and does her best to avert her eyes. But the voice keeps up. She takes a step, and then another, heels clicking against the stone as she walks around one shrubbery, listens to what sounds more like a conversation, and then sounds like something else entirely.

Her nose wrinkles as she turns the corner and sees the two boys cornering one girl. The scene is...

Well, it's something Setsuna's never /seen/ before. But the distress obvious in the middle schooler's voice and demeanor tells her she doesn't like it.

"What are you doing?" she asks, frowning hard. Her voice is a mix of clear disapproval and, just at the edge, a little bit of confusion. The Juuban student slowly curls her fingers at her sides.

But her route wasn't the /only/ one here...

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto looks up at Natsuki, tilting her head. "Like fighting...?" She looks back towards the strange cylindrical lump in her cape, and then looks over at the dancefloor. (Mai's having fun! That's great!) After a moment, she returns her attention to Kuga and nods. "Okay!"

And surely she would have gone out onto the dancefloor barefoot, if she weren't saved in turn by that waiter. Mikoto takes the offered slippers and grins. "Thanks!" A little shoe-hopping later, and her glittering slippers (/much/ easier to move in than the heels) are snug on her feet. She takes a few steps in them to evaluate how she can move, and then she grabs Natsuki's hand to drag her out onto the dance floor! If she has to squeeze between the onlookers to do so, well - Mikoto's pretty good at worming her way into places she's not really supposed to be.

Once she's out there, though, she pauses. Dancing is just like fighting, she said. So does that make Natsuki an enemy? No - no, they must be on the same side working against a /common/ enemy. A common enemy she frankly can't see. Mikoto looks this way, and Mikoto looks that way, and then Mikoto looks back up at Kuga, looking /incredibly lost/. "Natsuki's starting dance?"

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

In their flight from the dance floor, Lera got separated from Setsuna. They had been hand-in-hand, but the press of the crowd resulted in them getting separated. She walks towards the food -- thinking maybe that's where Setsuna went -- and then she pauses, as she sees Endo. She starts to raise a hand, to wave at him, when--

She catches sight of a gaggle of elementary schoolers waving around food that is ON FIRE. She opens her mouth.

She closes her mouth. Fuu is moving in.

<...We're both thinking it.>

"...Yep."

The music starts up again, from where she tucked the little Device. <Egress! Egress!>

Gordon the Rabbit turns, glancing irritably after a blur of orange hair in a golden dress, making her way for the balcony. He hops up to the kids -- his eyebrow twitching, a vein bulging. Then, in the most patient and friendly voice:

"Hello, kids!" he says. "Remember, we must eat food with caution. Food should always be shown respect, because of the hard work you did in getting it just right. So... let's be careful, before we set our clothes on fire, and ruin our night and our snack!"

<Pose Tracker> Minako Aino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Minako tries to hide her humiliation behind anger as Umino offers his rose to Naru. She didn't want it anyway, but that didn't matter! She had been snubbed -- yet again, no less! -- by some dweeb from some other school.

It's difficult for Minako NOT to think of Kaitou Ace's prophecy at times like these -- and seeing the happy couples dancing together on the floor doesn't exactly improve Minako's mood.

"Boys are the worst," Minako declares definitively to Setsuna. Then without elaborating further, she stomps off to the table where she had left her appetizers a few minutes before to discover they're gone, which just makes things worse.

Instead, she picks up a flute of some yellow-white sparkling beverage and stomps out onto the terrace, where there's far fewer happy couples to remind her of own failures in the romance department.

She takes a long swig from her glass, not even bothering to keep up any pretense of proper Ohtori decorum.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

"Hi, Lera-san. You looked like you were having fun out there." Endo is pleased to see his friend, waving his glass in her direction. He likewise gives a short bow to Fuu, a cheerful smile offered toward her and Hikaru. "Hello, Fuu-san, and--

When he notices the table ablaze, Endo pauses. "Is that normal?" He inquires incredulously. It's hard to tell what's supposed to happen and no happen. "I've never been to a ball before, they don't just set things on fire, right? This is what they get for trying to show off so much."

He tries throwing what's left of his champaign on the blaze. It doesn't work. "Ah. Wait. Hold on!" He goes for a pitcher of grape juice next.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Coming to a stop near the exit, Setsuna looks around immediately, only to find that she's lost her dance partner. Turning, Setsuna spins around to try to see where Lera could have gone,but instead there's... Minako! Speaking to her, and imparting something that sounds very important.

She tilts her head slightly as she turns to look at her. "Is that so?" Setsuna asks, blankly. Then, she pauses, and thinks about the boys she knows. Something in her demeanor might be oddly familiar to Minako, for /some/ reason.

She follows, for now, however, wanting at least to be out of the crowd for the moment.

The cool air is a relief, and when Setsuna steps out into it, she takes a few quick breathes, slowly slowing down as she finds herself in greenery. But shen she watches Minako swing back her drink, looking out at others. "Did something happen?"

Then, though, she hears a voice at the edge of her senses, somewhere nearby. Pausing, Setsuna asks, "...Did you hear...?" Even as Setsuna looks to Minako, the voice keeps up. She takes a step, and then another, heels clicking against the stone as she walks around one shrubbery, listens to what sounds more like a conversation, and then sounds like something else entirely.

Her nose wrinkles as she turns the corner and sees the two boys cornering one girl. The scene is...

Well, it's something Setsuna's never /seen/ before. But the distress obvious in the middle schooler's voice and demeanor tells her she doesn't like it.

"What are you doing?" she asks, frowning hard. Her voice is a mix of clear disapproval and legitimate confusion, and she slowly curls her fingers at her sides.

Maybe that blonde girl (Minako) was /right/.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Hikaru smiles and is about to return the greeting until she notices that the table has just gone ablaze. "Ugh, and I just HAD to be the Magic Knight of Fire!" She thinks to herself. "Where's Umi when you need her?!"

Thinking quickly, Hikaru is about to go to grab something until she sees that Endo is taking care of it. Shrugging a little, Hikaru turns to Fuu again and blushes a little. "It seems that things are getting a bit hot here!" She says nervously.

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

She's not a professional dancer. Nor is she an accredited musician by any reasonable stretch. But Mai Tokiha is a karaoke nut, and tempo trumps pitch on that musical battlefield. The dance is a fiery one, and Mai is dressed for the part, as the steps and spins and dips continue to escalate.

As the couple receives their rose - and Mai, surprised, is the recipient - she blinks and then laughs. "Well, seeing as I wasn't planning to dance myself, I think I can forgive your not thinking ahead there." There's a fiery grin as she tucks it into her fiery stole. "And yeah. Nice as it might be to win, I'm fine with just having a good ti-"

She lets out a tiny surprised yelp as Takeo dips her - not any panic or worry, just a squeak of shock. She stares back, eyes wide, face beginning to pinken - and then they're dancing again, but in spite of the flame-like cloth dancing around her she's a bit off tempo. The whispers...might not help. "Certainly going for the dashing knight bit, noble steed and all, aren't you? Not saying it's a bad thing...but Akamizu-kun, are you trying to-"

Mai glances away from Takeo as she starts to ask a significant question - and a wandering gaze is pinned by crimson eyes of warning. Rue's unspoken challenge hangs in the air as the expert dancers move on, and Mai...is left utterly without words.

Thank the stars that there's a diversion. A prince of white and a princess of black step onto the dance floor, latter leading the former, and Mai's jaw drops. "...Mikoto and Kuga? How...why did..."

She turns to Takeo, bewilderment plain, and the previous question seems to have been dropped entirely. "...let's make our way over, see what they're up to." Her tango is a good bit less certain, but she still manages a few fiery flourishes as she spins herself - or perhaps Takeo - across the dance floor, closer to Natsuki and Mikoto. She regains most of her groove by the time they're across - but not quite enough to really -challenge- an expert dancer pair.

"...decided to dance after all, Kuga?" Besides, there's important snark to be had.

<Pose Tracker> Minako Aino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Minako Aino has had it up to /here/ with guys tonight. And basically forever. The only way this night could get worse is if Shun showed up with some /other/ blonde bombshell babe on his arm.

She's about to open her mouth and give the pink-haired girl an answer when alluvasudden --

"Did you hear something?" the pink-haired girl asks, and suddenly, in that moment, Minako's curiosity trumps her anger, and she follows in step with Setsuna around the corner to --

"Please just leave me alone!"

"Did you hear that? I think that was /an invitation/!"

Setsuna might be content to settle this with words, but Minako's still furious from earlier and her patience is ebbing away.

Instead of using her words, Minako drenches the propositioning boy with the remainder of champagne in her glass.

"Didn't you hear? She's not interested!"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Iona moves with her... more or less... and Nori becomes acutely aware that she has a rose in her teeth.

Why do I have a rose in my teeth? she asks herself, silently; Iona can probably see a slowly increasing level of anxiety in her eyes and a couple of missed steps. Until suddenly - mid tango! - she says, plucking the rose from her lips as her heart beat races, "I - I am sorry Hikawa but I have to --"

"To -"

To run away, she thinks as she turns away from the tango, tension and embarrassment suddenly building in her heart. To run away and hide my face...!

This momentary burst of anxiety ends when she reaches up to take the rose from her lips and, sure enough, scrapes her lip with a thorn. There's a little wince and a tiny "ow!" but it's not enough to make her do much than suck on her lower lip nervously. She does not like how the lip gloss tastes.

Her face still feels warm.

No, wait -

Nori turns to look with wide white eyes towards -- Fire! Fire and a rabbit, a rabbit of warning. "Ah--!" she gasps, raising her rose-having hand up to her mouth again and managing to not quite nick herself with a thorn tip THIS time. Her gaze casts along.

Steven's drinks! She plucks one up and immediately dashes it out, to try and dim this sudden inferno. "Universe-san, what should - I mean - be careful!"

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Takeo Akamizu blushes a red that almost matches the fiery touch Mai's outfit has, and it stnads out quite well thanks to the Black and silver tux he is wearing. He clear shis throat. "Well. I am a Knight. Technically. I think. I'm reasonably certain I qualify for Knighthood." He nods once. Firmly. He listens as she is about to ask a question and his gaze snaps to the area mentioned by Mai.

He knows the woman in the White Tux. She also rides a motorcycle. A pretty awesome one, though not nearly as radical as Takeo's radical red riding engine of radicalness. "Is... Kuga-San in a tnago with that Blonde haired girl?" He tilts his head. "When did Kuga learn to /Tango/?" He might be jealous that she's better than him.

Even if she isn't better than he is on a motorcycle.

He's sticking to that belief folks. Accept it.

He shrugs a shoulder and tango's with Mai over to get a better look. He blinks at Rue and Mytho when they give the death glare challange of danciness. He then decides to throw Mytho off a bit and when he spins Mai, he looks right into Mytho's eyes and gives the other man a wink.

Then he's tango'ing off with Mai again.

<Pose Tracker> Natsuki Kuga [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Natsuki smirks slightly at the waiter offering Mikoto a slipper. "Does that make me the prince charming in this?" she remarks as she watches Mikoto try out the slipper. Then, she starts to think perhaps this was a bad idea as Mikoto snags her hand and drags her out on the dance floor.

However, the flare of doubt dies as Mikoto looks up at her like a lost kitten looking unsure what to do next.

"It's easy," she said as she took Mikoto's hand and placed her other hand on her hip. "Basically, just try to move with me and try to avoid me stepping on your feet and mine on yours okay? We'll start by counting."

She doesn't bother moving to the fast pace of the beat yet, no point until Mikoto felt more comfortable about this 'battlefield'.

"1..2..3, yeah that's it," she whispered. She glances over and saw Mai had spotted them and smirks. "Just as I predicted, priceless."

They danced as if she was indeed a prince charming with a very short Cinderella as Mai moves closer to them.

"Figured seeing the shock look on your face would be worth seeing, Princess," Natsuki comments as she slowly twirls Mikoto. "But let's face it, I make a way better prince than princess." She glances down to Mikoto. "Although, I suppose you would be happier being the royal pet cat than a princess. Eh, Kid?"

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Steven is once again attempting to learn this dange called the Tango. Watching people do it though, with roses in hands and mouths, makes it look a lot more complicated. Maybe it is just the sudden movements. Actually, didnt he see the Gems doing this dance once before? Or something like it...

He waits patiently for Nori, having her drink on hand as he enjoys his, which is some sort of fruity punch that tastes really good. he also drinks it with the daintist of movements - one false move and his tuxedo is /done/.

The boy is then suddenly approached from the side. "Oh, Hi there! I-- Ahh!" Before introductions can be had to Yaya, the boy is near snatched from his spot on the sidelines towards the dance floor! he barely has time to set a drink down. Thankfully Nori at least slows the process of being yanked to a dance, by pointing out a fire situation!

"Oh jeez, I didn't even see that! Thank you!" he says toward her. "Least the drink came in handy! I will be right back, I got to try this dance out!" he adds in. Seeing as the Tango involves roses, he should have some kind of proficiency to the dance for unknown reasons.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

BY THE REFRESHMENTS

When the kids turn to greet Fuu and Hikaru, it's almost disaster -- those swirling flames dance dangerously close to the flames. They're all smiles, at least. "Hi, Aunties!" Ah, kids. Gordon's chiding has them sliding their marshmallow-laden skewers behind their backs, faces falling a little bit. And Endo's fire control...

"Ahem, sir, please do not extinguish the entree," says a well-mannered butler whose calm, resonant voice is completely and entirely at odds with the way his voice has turned a similar purple to the grape juice just flung. "This is part of the display."

"Haha, do it again!" laughs Mina.

ON THE TERRACE

"We're having a party, you wanna come?" replies the second boy, leering at Setsuna--

--right until he gets a faceful of Minako's drink. "Oh."

"OH," growls the first. "YOU WANNA GO?" He takes a warning step forward.

"Please don't fight," pleads the girl, willingly touching either boy for the first time tonight as she grabs them behind their elbows. "Everyone, we'll get in so much trouble..."

ON THE DANCE FLOOR

There's plenty of room in the crowd for Natsuki and Mikoto, whose dancing is getting appreciative looks (and a few jealous ones, though any boy's hopes to dance with Kuga were dashed for the night when she showed up in a tux, anyway).

Takeo discovers that winking at Mytho is a lot more uncomfortable for him than his target. The pale boy just gazes back, not an ounce of emotion in his dead, golden eyes. It is downright creepy and apparently effortlessly so. Fortunately, Mai seems to be rescuing him from the contest (Rue and Mytho proceed to equally effortlessly smear all challengers across the floor, just grind them into the marble, one end to the other).

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto puts her hands where she's directed, and looks down at her feet to try and avoid stepping on Natsuki's. But it's really not that difficult, following her lead; Mikoto has enough natural grace that she manages to avoid stomping on anyone's toes or stumbling onto her face. She's a cat! Cats are good at looking like they meant to do what they do.

Mikoto twirls around, and catches a glimpse of Mai as she does. "Mai!" She calls out, grinning. She spins again as they banter, and shrugs at the end of it. "Already HiME," she says, as if it's self-explanatory. Perhaps she's mixing up her princesses.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona, in her continued tango-dancing, swings by a couple who seem to be somewhat nettled. Iona doesn't pry, but certainly both parties are at fault, right? Iona's sure if they sit down and talk about their issues, they'll be fine.

These may be hollow words coming from her.

She continues to dance, and when she looks at her partner, she... sees anxiety? Why is there anxiety? Is Iona not dancing well enough? She's never tangoed, but they're having fun, right? Iona's own anxiety begins to build, somewhat

And then Nori runs away. "I... wait!" Iona reaches out to try and grab Nori, but alas she is too late. "Oh." Iona sighs. Was it her fault?

After Nori disappears, Iona figures out what to do. She likes dancing, sure, but after Nori left, she... doesn't feel like she can keep up at this point. But, despite the dance failure, she still feel very warm, almost uplifing. So, Iona turns, intent on getting a little bit of refreshments before she continues to dance...

When she sees a /whole lot of fire/. Iona gapes at this display for a moment, before she turns and begins to meander out to the terrace, to find a safe space away from all the crazy. And maybe text an Ohtori student she knows, because she really, really wants to express sympathy for going to Ohtori.

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Kuga? When did Mikoto learn?" Mai's muttering more to herself than answering her dance partner - and getting over to the other HiME takes more priority than actively competing in the contest. And so Takeo is pulled away from Mytho's unending stare before madness can set in, and they continue.

Upon getting there - with Tango Carnage in progress on the other end of the marble floor - Mai lets out a far-from-subtle groan. "Don't you start on those nicknames, Kuga. Bad enough that I have to hear them from Nagi. Bad enough that -you- have to hear them from Nagi....though you're right about being a better prince. Having fun working on being dashing?"

She flashes Takeo a grin as she makes that small jab - and maybe a pat on the arm.

Mikoto, on the other hand, is compeltely a cat - and a HiME, as she rightly points out. "That you are, Mikoto, that you are. Crown princess of all the world's cats." She grins - and resumes dancing with Takeo, safely on this end of the dance floor.

It might be a bit less outrageous than before. But Mai's still happy to demonstrate a few spins in her fiery dress - because it's fun, and for the others' benefit. Of course. No other reason.

<Pose Tracker> Natsuki Kuga [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"She learned from me, I just told her the basic," Natsuki commented, not admitting she was actually impressed by how fast Mikoto had picked up on the lesson.

Hearing the comment about Nagi, makes Natsuki scoffed. "Hey, with Nagi it's annoying, but I'm allowed to call you 'Princess' because I'm way more of a 'loveable' person for it."

She twirls Mikoto again. "Yeah, you are a HIME too," she said and smirked. "Hey, Mikoto, you should snag Mai for a dance too. Then we could get two 'princesses' dancing with each other."

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

When that second boy /leers/ at her, Setsuna can feel her skin crawl. She /had/ been content to start with words, but she feels more than a little satisfaction seeing that drink splashed straight in his face.

Her jaw sets. "What gives you the right to act this way!?" she asks, her own anger quickly rising as she sees an obvious challenge out of the first boy. The middle schooler in red forgets, for the moment, that she is an ordinary girl right now, and steps forward in return, staring straight up at him as she joins Minako. "You need to go cool down," she commands, with all the iron of a former general.

...But she's not exactly the most intimidating figure--and she looks away from the boy, in the moment, towards the girl behind, "There's no reason we would get in trouble. They're the ones who are misbehaving!"

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Completely at a loss, as Mai and Takeo make their way near Kuga and Mikoto, the "Knight" looks over the fellow motorcycle rider and grins. "Full of Suprises there Kuga-san! I wouldn't expect you to be a dancer. Figured you'd be a gear head like me." He grins and nods. "Nice of you to keep the Cat one busy for Tokiha-San. I appreciate it." He grins and then let's himself be danced away, but not before he whispers to Mikoto, "I think I saw some kids preparing smores by the buffet table..."

He then grins innocently to Mai and waits until they're sufficiently away before he says with that roguish grin of his, "She looked like she needed the challenge." He gives Mai a playful wink as he dips her, and while dipped whispers, "Besides. I'm having a good time. And I hope you are too." He twirls her as she traightens, to allow her to show off that dress some more. "Also. That kid. Has some seriously creepy eye thing going. I think he might be evil. I'd need the Rabbit to be sure though." He shrugs.

Oh well. Not his problem. Not tonight.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"Thank you very much, Gordon-san," Fuu asides to the culinary lapine. Being called an 'auntie' still stings, but Fuu is bound and determined not to lsoe her temper over it; the important thing is that the kids *don't* catch on fire. On the other hand, the way the butler indicates that the table is SUPPOSED to be on fire ...

And there ARE elementary students at this ball who may not be careful enough ...

Fuu just takes a brief look around, wondering if they keep a fire extinguisher or three on hand near this particular table, just in case of comparable mishaps. And while she's looking around, she takes a moment to peruse the table's edible contents, and tries to procure some additional munchies. Being an athlete all day does work up an appetite, after all.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

"Oh." Endo pauses. "Are you sure?" He doesn't sound like the waiter should be sure about that. The boy glances down at his empty pitcher, and then the waiter, and then the table. Finally, slowly, he offers the pitcher out. "Well, if you guys really want to do it that way." Slowly, be backpedals.

When he passes Lera again he beams at the girl, chiming, "Lera-san! Introduce me to your date later. I should go find Ren, she'll be mad if I don't dance with her." He then evacuates the area, before it burns down or any other catastrophes happen.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto looked like she might have taken Natsuki's advice-- until Takeo whispers to her. Mikoto's eyes go wide and she looks up to her dancing partner. "There's food," she says -- as much of an explanation as /anyone/ could hope for from such a cat -- and then she disappears to go hunt down s'mores.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The display.

It's part of the display.

Nori feels sick for a moment but feels relief in a sense. I'm going to drop dead of embarrassment, she thinks. How fortunate. Her eyes close for a moment...

Until she realizes that - no, it's aimed at Endo Naoki! She opens her eyes and looks at him, possibly with the gaze of the recently deceased. (No.)

"I suppose it's a very surprising display, isn't it, to make people think such things... ha, ha..." She wobbles forward enough to put her hand on a nearby table that is not on fire and say "ha ha ha," softly to herself a few more times, which is not exactly the same thing as laughter.

On the up side, she's in an excellent place to get an entree... right?

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Lovable. Right. In spite of the atmosphere, in spite of the situation, the amount of eye-rolling Natsuki gets from Mai is something to behold. "Whatever you say..." She pauses, then sings softly - just loud enough for maybe for the four of them. "Prince Natsuki, wonderful she, Natsuki Kuga..."

There's a grin. It falters with surprise, briefly, at the suggestion - her gaze flickering to Mikoto - but Takeo gives the girl a delicious suggestion, and in moments the question is moot. With no small bit of surprise, Mai turns back to Takeo...

...and snorts. A ladylike snort, honest - whoop, there she goes getting dipped and spun again. It's a moment before she's laughing again, but.... "That, Akamizu-kun, was sneaky of you. Just know that if she winds up on a sugar rush, I'm holding you responsible!"

And then, since it's a tango, she takes over the footwork for a moment - aggressive steps forward, so that Takeo has to step back, and then spinning herself to the side. It's a bit clumsy - mimicing similar moves of Rue's, across the floor - but it's a dance and she's just taking the evening off.

...completely off. "Evil, jerk, one of those. Not a problem for tonight, though!"

<Pose Tracker> Minako Aino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"'You want to go'?" Minako echoes mockingly. She lets out a scoffing laugh. "It's no wonder why you need to coerce women into affection. I've seen bullies in B-list films with better lines that."

Minako's smile turns smug; she's clearly just antagonizing him at this point. Still, despite the soldier of love's wrath levels (which are extremely high tonight, surprisingly), she still feels inclined to high-five her newfound friend for their shared policy on sexual harassment.

She'll save the high-fives for /after/ they handle this, though.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

That marvelous ceiling of glass and gold filigree has made a noble frame for the sky all evening. As the sun slipped over the horizon, it gradually painted a palette of oranges and lavenders and deepening, deepening blues, until black overwrote it entirely but for the silvery shimmer of the moon and the twinkle of distant stars.

All but one star, that is. One light in the night sky is a baleful red, a feature of Ohtori's constellations that those who haven't spent the evening here before may not recognize. It does not twinkle, it just... shines, like a bloodied, distant pinprick. After a while, its sheer constancy makes it easy to forget, the brain adjusting to its background presence the same way it might filter out a nearby, routinely passing train.

But what happens next, no one will ever forget. It's the kind of thing that you remember, the hour-minute-second it happened, exactly what it was you were doing before, the little details...

(The look on the boys' faces as Setsuna and Minako stand up to them.)
(The sizzling smell in the air of all that well-charred meat on the tables.)
(Smiles on the dance floor, twirling fabric. The smell of fresh roses.)

...because afterwards, nothing will ever be the same again.

The effect can briefly be mistaken for the sun rising far before its foretold hour, as a shimmer of light grows behind the blackness of night, which rises to blue; in combination, a sickly green flash.

But it's gold, gold, the gold of fairy tale treasure troves, of fevered, frenzied dreams, the stuff that riots are made of, that showers downwards -- not coins but light, purest golden radiance that puts the solar corona to shame, makes it seem butter yellow, pale and frothy in comparison.

Although beautiful, it's also horrible, otherworldly. Anyone who's ever been to the extreme north might find the trails in the sky faintly reminiscent of an aurora, but that comparison is also inadequate. If a kid with gold fingerpaints were to tear down the sky, this might be what results.

It is a silent phenomenon, until it isn't.

Until a pillar of golden light at least a quarter mile thick shatters the atmosphere, boiling the rare stray clouds in its path, and impacts Southern Cross Bridge, which connects this island to the main body of Tokyo. With a terrible tremble like the snapping strings of fate, it then explodes upwards in a spherical blast all too similar to a mushroom.

The air shakes, the ground shakes, the ocean roars; the steel and concrete of the bridge, as well as any unfortunates who might have been on it at the moment of impact, are absolutely and completely vaporized. Waters gush into a hemispherical chasm that had been instantly rendered to steam, which strains what's left of the bridge on either end -- which isn't much at all -- to collapse.

The bridge -- the only connection between Ohtori Academy and the rest of the world -- is just... gone.

More quickly than the stunned silence can be broken, the shockwave arrives, shattering windows, knocking people to the floor, tearing weaker trees up by their roots.

/Now/ the screaming begins.

0-17-2016 - Ohtori Sports Festival, Part Two

2016-02-09T00:28:25Z

Lucientes: Lucientes moved page 0-17-2016 - Ohtori Sports Festival, Part Two to 01-17-2016 - Ohtori Sports Festival, Part Two

#REDIRECT [[01-17-2016 - Ohtori Sports Festival, Part Two]]

2016-01-17 - Ohtori Sports Festival, Part Two

2016-02-09T00:28:24Z

Lucientes: Lucientes moved page 0-17-2016 - Ohtori Sports Festival, Part Two to 01-17-2016 - Ohtori Sports Festival, Part Two

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Ohtori Sports Festival, Part Two'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''The Sister Schools Sports Festival continues, commencing a race with fowl intentions.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Fuu Hououji]], [[Hikaru Shidou]], [[Lilian Abarth]], [[Iona Hikawa]], [[Steven Universe]] 
GM: Inori Yamabuki
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Ohtori Academy
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Sep 23 2014 - 1/17/2016
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The afternoon of the Sports festival.

There are so many events going on that they're all difficult to keep track of, but rumors abound of an amateur race, put on by the riding club, with open sign ups, no experience required, and a trophy that might be solid gold as the prize. It's the sort of extravagance that Ohtori certainly seems capable of.

The sign ups are held just by the massive stables and the race track, and anyone who signs up is provided with jockey gear of their preference and color. Once everyone is changed in the locker rooms, they're all led into the stables. A good half of the stables seems fenced off by curtains for what is probably renovations, while they pass by horses of all shapes and sizes in their majestic glory.

A bright eyed high schooler with short black hair, wearing her own gear leads them through the row of stalls talking all the way. "What do you see when you look into a horse's eyes?" She looks over her shoulder at the group as she leads them, "Affection, indifference, fear... loathing. You can see every kind of emotion. Maybe their thoughts aren't as deep as peoples' are, but their feelings certainly can be."

She waves with a hand towards a tall Arabian horse, "They're the perfect animals for riding. Take a look at their necks. Nice, sturdy, with all that handy mane to grab ahold of. And their legs... four of them! One in each corner! Very comforting how they can balance out the weight on top of them to the point where it's just like they're wearing a hat, rather than a person. They're really magical animals!"

... this lecture is turning kind of odd, but it may be that Ako just really loves her equestrians that much. She gets to the end of the line of horse stalls, swivels on her foot, and turns around to face the group of students. "It takes time and experience to learn how to ride them, to form a bond of trust necessary between rider and steed to race together. Unfortunately we don't have that kind of time!" Mischief or good humor, perhaps both gleams in her eyes, "It's only about ten minutes until we line up, so I'll do my best to offer what guidance I can in the meanwhile!"

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The archery meet turned out to be scheduled for later than Fuu expected, and she spotted the amateur riding sign-up while at the same time, so the chance to try her hand at riding horseback seemed like an obvious choice ... so long as nothing goes horribly wrong. Presumably even Ohtori wouldn't turn a bunch of newbies loose on horses without some kind of preparation and precaution - like making sure the horses available to choose from are relatively calm and unlikely to dump a rider in harm's way.

Fuu would have picked a set of riding clothes in medium green, and made extra-sure her glasses are secured in place, before joining the group heading into the stables; roughly half of her attention is on the horses, gauging them in passing as well as she can, with the other half on Ako's 'lecture'. Her comment about the mane prompts a quirked eyebrow from Fuu, "Aren't we supposed to use bridles rather than grabbing hold of the horses' manes?" Granted, some animal rights groups get up in arms about how a bit and bridle can hurt a horse's mouth, but surely that would hurt LESS than yanking on their manes.

Apart from that first question, Fuu is currently continuing to study the horses ... actually seeing if any of them will make eye contact with her, and the vibe she gets, based on that part of what Ako was saying. Animals having emotions isn't a new concept to Fuu, after all.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Being a jockey was never in Hikaru's agenda before, but she's always willing to try something new. Even if it means changing into a unique form of attire that's not a school uniform or her kendo attire. It's always good to try new things. Namely because the kendo meet for today was cancelled for reasons unknown, and Hikaru doesn't want to dwell on that. Just like Fuu-chan did, Hikaru chose colors that resembled her general personality and preferences, wearing maroon colored clothes. She didn't wear glasses, which was always a good thing since she didn't have to secure them in place like Fuu-chan did.

Hikaru had listened to the lecture intently and was trying to pick out a good horse to use. She looked over each and every one of them, trying to make sure that she could find the right one. In fact, she felt that the right horse would pick her instead of Hikaru picking the right horse.

<Pose Tracker> Lilian Abarth [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lilian Abarth is familiar with horses.

What? Of course she is. She used to live up in the country, near a mountain. In Europe. Yes, Europe. There were horses involved occasionally.

Her own riding gear sits a little differently than it should, though that might just mean her leather jockey vest is all fashionable. It has little mirror-chrome buttons. Otherwise, though, she blends in.

Gazing into the eyes of a horse, Lilian doesn't answer Fuu. Instead, she reaches up - hesitantly - to see if she can pet that soft, soft nose. "... Will you be my steed," she says, mostly to herself, and seemingly without irony.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona Hikawa signed up for the horse race that was about to go on here. It sounded fun, and she never knew, the experience here might be very useful later on. She's dressed in the jockey suit that is her favorite purple, and she pays attention to the lecture from Ako silently, not saying anything and absorbing as much as she can. She checks herself very quickly to see that everything she's wearing was secured, the helmet especially.

She looks around at the horses once the lecture was over, checking each of them to see if they're all healthy and ready. It's Ohtori, so they should at least /look/ healthy and ready.

But it's also Ohtori, and Iona had seen Nanami and how much she was willing to try and win. So she's on the lookout for any strange tricks, as well. She's met some good kids from Ohtori, yes. Hopefully there are more.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

"So, even if I had a Lion, I couldn't use it?"

"This is... Horse Jockeying. It is called that for a reason."

"Oh, I guess you are right."

In a small, adorable jockey outfit, is Steven Universe, appearing as though something has gotten to him suddenly, though seeing the hroses, he bounces back rather quickly. It sounds similar to anohter animal he is used to riding, even including holding on to the mane! Of course, just not too hard. It would hurt!

"Not many people from my school..." he seems to mutter to himself, looking for familiar faces.

"Um, do I need a smaller horse?" Steven asks aloud. Being rather short and stout has him thinking that maybe a shroter variety might be more up his alley for better control. Some of these he doesn't even think he can sit right on!

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Ako smiles at Fuu, "That's right Hououji-san! Normally so! What I'm saying though is that it's like a backup safety measure. If all else fails, you have so much neck to grab ahold of!" The animal Lilian raises a hand to snorts once proudly, before allowing her, bending down to show that he's actually quite gentle. She then gives Lilian an approving nod, "Good choice! That's Lhambert! He's one of our finest. Unfortunately he's not available for this race. He's going to be racing later today."

Iona's inspection reveals all the horses look quite majestic and very healthy! Ohtori is a school of affluent kids and equestrian sports are rather prestigious amongst the scandalously rich. In respect to Steven, Ako holds up a finger, "Nope! I'd say you're actually the perfect size for this sport Mister Universe! A lot of people swear by smaller jockeys!"

All of a sudden, Ako grabs the curtain, and casts it aside with a dramatic tug. It reveals tall feathered animals with slim necks standing on two slender legs and bags over their heads. Ostriches. "Because you'll be riding these beauties! What do you see when you look into an the eyes of an ostrich?" She grins, "Mostly they'll just serve as handy mirrors to check your hair. Look at that ostrich's neck? So slim and flimsy. Don't believe me!? Give it a little push! It'll coil away like some kind of snake! You definitely don't want to be hanging onto that." Her hands shift downwards towards the legs, "See that? Just two legs. Not as good, it's more like riding some sort of giant chicken!"

She crosses her arms proudly with the widest grin, "Thus the only guidance you need to ride an ostrich is to hold on for dear life and keep your eye on the prize!" A beat, "Which I would like to mention, is in fact solid gold. That wasn't just a rumor. And just because we're such good sports, you'll be able to pick your mount and name it for this race alone! So go ahead! Tell us what we should submit to the announcers!"

Ten Minutes Later~

A banner hangs over the racing stalls on a giant oval shaped racing track that would be considered giant for some small towns. Initially it's covered, but then on the signal, two students tug down on golden ropes to cause the cover drift away and reveal: Ohtori Academy Presents the Don't Lay an Egg Dash! The announcer's voice suddenly echoes through the loudspeakers. "Really!? Wow that's wild! The riding club has just passed me an exciting bulletin that reveals a 'fowl' twist in the upcoming race..." There's much confusion, which leads to excited clapping as it spreads throughout the crowd what is really going on.

The stands are full of students from all school, divided enough so that red, blue, and yellow are seperate, yet there's some mingling going on amongst friends that transcends any assigned seating.

The riding club members on hand to provide safety measures lead out the Ostriches one by one to the horse stalls. They mull about inside, looking mostly directionless. There's no saddle, no bridle, just a lot of feathers they can grip ahold of! The participants, they're led out after, with great adulation by the crowd that just can't stop cheering and clapping.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Ostriches?

Seriously?

OSTRICHES?!

... That's more or less the pattern of Fuu's thoughts after seeing the designated mounts for this race. At least getting thrown from ostrichback should be a *little* safer than horseback, although she still doesn't want to find out how badly she could be hurt as a result of that. Fuu tries to focus on the idea that it's going to be just like riding a chocobo, right out of the Final Fantasy games - and some depictions of chocobos *have* been remarkably similar to ostriches in appearance. Either way, hopefully it's going to be a fairly straight-line race without having to turn around the track too many times.

Fuu walks out to the starting gates with the ostriches - her own mount having been dubbed 'Ghibli,' not after the fabled animation studio, but for the desert winds that Miyazaki-sensei named the studio after. Once they're in the starting line, only then does she climb onto Ghibli's back and try to get comfortable while anchoring herself more or less securely. She's trying not to hinder Ghibli's wings; they may not be required, but she'd prefer not to hinder her mount's movement too much.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Ostriches? Is that a joke?

Not one to laugh at this whole thing, Hikaru goes along with the whole thing, picking a mount of her own. She struggles a little but manages to get accustomed to handling this ostrich, who is named 'Hideo,' although how the name came to be is unknown. Regardless, Hikaru manages to get onto her ostrich and gain control with it. "This is going to be interesting," Hikaru says to nobody in particular, although Fuu-chan might hear it.

<Pose Tracker> Lilian Abarth [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lilian looks to Steven. "Oh," she says. "You should be able to ride a smaller one fine, you're old enough..." And then Ako ruins her dreams. Her lips purse, because she's not... not going to be able to ride Lhambert. She gives him a soulful look.

And then their real mounts are revealed.

SOON

Atop the newly dubbed "Alpha Romeo," Lilian holds on as best she can. She is watching the bird's tiny head, not so much for its probably-evil agenda, but also because it has a beak. She knows this. She got dinged in the hairline while touching its neck.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona continues to pay attention to the lecture about the horses and their emotions, and barely pays attention when they announce that ostriches will be used for the race. So she continues scanning, trying to see which horse she should pi--wait.

Ostriches?! Iona gapes a little bit at the sudden appearance of Ostriches. This was weird. Can they even hold riders? Iona wonders what Ohtori's game is. If this is the sort of thing they show outsiders, what sort of things go on when they're not in public?

Iona takes a deep breath, and heads towards her assigned ostrich. She gets on it and considers a name. "Hmm, I think I'll call you 'The Wheel'." She takes a few moments to make sure she was situated on the hors--ostrich and to also make sure that the ostrich won't buck her. Could it even if it wanted to? She starts to guide the ostrich to the starting line.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

As the Gem child looks around at the horses, he is happy to hear that smaller jockeys are in fact, preferred! "Oh! Well that works out! I guess there are other perks to being small and handsome like myself!" he says in an 'as-a-matter-of-fact' style of tone.

And then they find out that they aren't signed up to ride horses at all! "WHAAAAAT?!" he exclaims. "Its a big bird!" Steven says, hustling over to the amazing creatures. "Soooo cooool..." He holds a hand out to it to try and touch, but retracts before contact. The birds are almost... intimidating. Almost, their silly faces offput that by a couple notches.

"Name?" The boy repeats. "Uhm..." He looks over at Fuu, the only person he really knows here, as if some sort of inspirational target, but then he changes his mind. He shuffles over to his backpack, then starts digging through it. Cookie Cat Wrappers,fragments of some sort of ancient looking marble, a VHS casette tape, and school books come out, but he stops at a photograph.

THe picture depicts Steven and the Gems with the Fryman family outside their old fast food joint in Beach City. "Thats it!" He says, putting it away and going back to a choice bird. "I dub thee, Ronaldo!" A pause. "Because his dad and brother both say he has scrambled eggs for brains at times, and you lay eggs, and if you cook it..."

"Okay, I know it is a stretch, but just work with me here."

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"In lane one we have, Ghibli, ridden by Fuu Hououji, Infinity Institute Middle Schooler! With a name like that they'll certainly ride like the wind!"

"Over in the second lane we have Hideo, ridden by Hikaru Shidou from Juuban Public Middle school! Wow they look like quite the spitfire pair!"

"Down in the third lane is Alpha Romeo! With a name like that, one wonders if his rider, Lilian Abarth from Infinity High is looking for romance~ Give it up for the brave girl!"

"Next there's the intrepid pairing of The Wheel and their rider Iona Hikawa of Juuban Public Middle School in the fourth lane! Could Lady Luck favor this pair? You'll have to find out for yourselves! ... Remember, no betting please."

"Last but certainly not least is Ronaldo and his rider Steven Universe from Juuban Public Elementary! ..." For a while everything sounds muffled like he's put a hand on the microphone 'Why Ronaldo!?' 'I have no idea!' 'Well I've got nothing!' 'Well just say something.' "... don't lay an egg Mister Universe!"

On the track, Ako salutes the racers, before calling out safely behind the fences, "Racers on your marks? Get set?" She holds a gun up in the air and fires the blank shot, "Go!"

The gates open, and all of the ostriches lurch forward... and begin accelerating. They can hit a top speed of 40 mph!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"Haah!" Fuu calls out, leaning forward over Ghibli's back - although she has to be careful not to collide with the bird's neck. She was wondering how she'd get Ghibli to start, but the gates and the starter gun seem to have been the only needed signal. Hopefully, all she has to do now is hang on ...

<Pose Tracker> Lilian Abarth [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lilian's cheeks color slightly. No, she thinks, it's not like that! She's not after an ostrich-flavored love affair! AND THEN:

Off they go! Accelerating steadily. Lilian crosses her legs at the calves, forming a relatively secure (she hopes) grip over the front of the bird. From there... "How do I even steer," she mumbles to herself. "This is random chance--" And Lilian is also kind of a tall girl, so perhaps it's rigged. The fix is in?!

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

As Iona waits for the start and the announcer starts to introduce the riders, she actually starts to wave to the crowd as her name is called. And then when the ref on the field says to get ready, Iona grabs some feathers and braces herself for the ostrich to take off.

Then the gun goes off and the ostrich starts to run. "These are really strong birds!" She shouts, mostly for her own sake but it's audible to the other racers, if not some people in the crowd. She tries her best to keep a hold on the feathers, and lowers her head to try and reduce drag. That'll help, right?

...Right?

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Steven finds himself clinging to Ronaldo before the gates are even open. "Okay Ronaldo! Don't do anythign reckless! Like crash into other ostriches, or go on long alien hunts!"

The announcement is made for each racer, and Steven's heart is in his throat! He is both incredibly excited and somewhat scared, though not much danger is involved as long as his helmet is on tight.

The gates swing open at the bird takes off! "Ahhhh! Why couldn't you have a mane I could hide in!?" he yells as he clings for dear life.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Unfortunately, Hikaru's not doing too well so far. She's struggling to hold onto her mount. She feels like the comic foil in a bad comedy. "Come on, get back on!" She says to herself, struggling not to fall off completely. "This is embarassing!"

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

It's not a particularly long race due to the nature of it, but the crowd is going wild already with enthusiasm. There are some jeers interspersed but mostly everyone is cheering to support the brave riders representing Infinity and Juuban. There's no reason to announce standings on a lap by lap basis because there's only one lap!

So instead it starts a few seconds into the race... "Out in the lead it's The Wheel neck and neck with Ronaldo! That's one small jockey! Maybe it's giving him an advantage. Coming up not too far from behind them is Alpha Romeo followed by Ghibli and running just behind is Hideo! ... Anyone ever get the urge to shout out something after that? I know I do! HIDDEEEOOOOO NEGATI-! gyuck-"

... A sound of impact even through the microphone. Followed by... "I'll behave senpai, I promise." The second leg of the race is only a few hundred meters long as it curves around the edge of the field. Fortunately it's fenced properly to keep the mounts on course.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

There's probably a video gaming joke that could be attached to Hideo's name, but Fuu doesn't know of any (and isn't entirely sure where Hikaru picked the name from to begin with).

So she focuses on trying to encourage Ghibli to pick up speed. As fast as the ostriches are running, she's trailing the pack by a noticeable length. Getting herself settled more securely on Ghibli's back seems to help, though - maybe the ostrich is just more confident now that it doesn't seem like that precarious weight is as precarious any more?

It's too bad she doesn't know more about the mechanics of riding chocobos, thinks Fuu ... although there's no way of knowing how similar the birds really would be. The gap starts narrowing, which is the important part. Hopefully she can shrink it to nothing before the end of the race - but either way, this is turning fun.

<Pose Tracker> Lilian Abarth [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"Silver, stop this crazy thing!" Lilian cries out as the ostrich wildly vaccilates. Her position is secure enough for now, even if she's reluctant to firmly grasp that noodly neck in order to steady herself. This is certainly going to give her a good core workout.

<You know that I have no influence over birds,> Silver Scorpion replies, quietly. (He is a bangle currently beneath Lilian's blouse, on the upper arm.) <We've gone over this.>

"Kyah--! It's like a chair that keeps running - Please, Alpha Romeo, don't swerve so much!"

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

The Wheel handles surprisingly well, Iona finds, and she's rewarded by getting pretty far out beyond the pack. Her greatest competition seems to be a young boy. She looks over to the other ostrich out in front, and looks over the tiny jockey for a moment. Hmm, maybe there's something to being really short. She gives Steven a short smile before returning to her own ostrich riding.

Iona continues to try and minimize her own profile and keeping a grip on the bird. She considers trying to pretend this is a horse and possibly giving it a good kick, but... that might be an unfortunate idea.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

This bird is the word! And that word is speedy! This might even be faster than Lion's normal land speed! "Garnet! Amethyst! Pearl! someone heeeelp!" the boy cries as the bird continues on the path down the stretch.
While it isn't all that bad, riding on this ostritch just feels... unsafe for some reason. It might have to do with having access to a pocket dimension to somewhat brace himself in.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Somehow, Hikaru manages to recover and pulls forward. As for the name, it was just something that popped in her head. Yeah, there could be video game jokes, but now's not the time. "Come on, we can do this!" Hikaru says to her bird as they start to get back into the race.

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"Coming up from behind is Alpha Romeo! while Ronaldo and The Wheel are having some trouble maintaining their lead! And look at this enthusiasm from Ghibli! could they be on the verge of a last minute come back!? Even Hideo is picking up the pace! It's still anyone's race as we approach the final stretch!" The crowd is going /wild/! Noone has fallen off yet! Who will be the first to cross the finish line!?

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona continues to hold on to the feathery reigns of The Wheel... but it seems that's not working too well, as she starts to fall behind and the others start to catch up. She swivels her head to make sure none of them are getting too close (hey, weird things might happen). She just tries to maintain a good hold on the ostrich. She's rather make it across the finish line as opposed to trying to do something flashy to get ahead. Her time will come. Maybe. She just has to be patient.

Very, very patient.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

It's very encouraging to Fuu, but she still isn't resting on her laurels. She doesn't have laurels to rest on yet, anyway - not where this race is concerned. All she has is an ostrich which is still in motion, and she's not sure if Ghibli can keep the pace up strongly enough ...

Well, there's only so much she can do, and most of it involves 'don't fall off your bird'. She wraps her fingers carefully into some of Ghibli's shoulder feathers, hunkering down a bit more while leaning into the bird's run. "Let's go, Ghibli-san!" she encourages her mount, her voice soft but urgent.

<Pose Tracker> Lilian Abarth [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"-- It worked! He's going faster!"

 Silver Scorpion chides.

"But he's speeding up so much - it must be his animal spirits!"

<Where did you learn that phrase?>

"In economics class," Lilian huffs.

Silver Scorpion silently mourns.

Either way the wind's in her bangs, the bird is leaning forwards - "Ah! It has wings?!" Lilian says when Alpha Romeo flutters his li'l drumsticks.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Steven at this point has stopped talking, and seems to just be making some mix of exhaling and sceeching noise.

It is quite humorous to listen to as it passes by.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Having gotten the hang of things, Hikaru and Hideo still make steady progress. She may not win the race, but at least she gave it her all and didn't wind up falling on the ground and looking like the reject from a comedy or something similar. "We're doing great!" She says to Hideo. "Let's keep it up!"

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The crowd's enthusiasm feels like a bounding pulse that's only growing and growing in rapidity and strength. When it comes down to it... Ronaldo crosses the finish line, breaking the rose covered tape! He's closely followed by Alpha Romeo and The Wheel who both cross half a second after each other. Only a second behind that is Ghibli closely followed by Hideo! All the riders are still mounted at the end! This is unexpected by /everyone/! Almost every ostrich race all over the world ends with at least one jockey flying off!

It's pandemonium in the stands for that simple fact alone, enough that the announcer calling out the winners is drowned out.

Not long after~

They're given the full Olympic treatment. A three tiered block that looks like a misshapen Tetris T. Iona is made to stand on the 3, and Lilian on the 2. Steven is up on the 1. Ako puts a bronze metal with an egg emblazoned on it around Iona's neck! It's sure to... be a stand out amongst her karate medals, that's for sure!

Lilian receives a silver medal. Something she'll at least likely more appreciate as being precious!

Steven receives a elaborate sports trophy which... at the top, sure enough, is a solid gold egg fastened to it, while Ronaldo has a wreath of pink roses draped around the base of his neck. He doesn't look particularly pleased by it!

Those three, unless they protest too much, are carried off the track by the sudden rush of classmates onto it! Hikaru and Fuu each receive a carton of a dozen Grade A eggs as consolation prizes for being such good sports, and a ticket that's good for them both to come back for a real horseback riding lesson from the club once the festival is over!

<Pose Tracker> Lilian Abarth [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Silver Scorpion has a two point plan on how to reassure Lilian in this aftermath.

1. He was shorter than you and thus less air-resistant.
2. Silver is your color isn't it?

But it's unnecessary. After a little wobbling and a wary retreat from her noble steed, Lilian is simply, purely charmed to be on that platform at all. She wears that medal with pride. This is the power of the egg...!

Though she does try to get a copy of the picture "for her scrapbook" later, this is /really/ to be shown to her aunt(?), who will, no doubt, be thrilled.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Steven clings to the bird with all that he has! Aaaand... his trusty mount crosses the finish line first! The bird itself eve nseems to know that the race is over, and seems to come to a crawl as others surround it to rein it in. The oy continues to remain clamped to the bird for a while after though, refusing to move until coaxed. He eventually gets off.

At the medal block, Steven seems so heroic and determined that he knew he would win! "Yeah, I knew I would win!" An offhanded ocmment by a nearby classmate seems to change his pride into going into the defensive. "I-I wasn't scared! That much." A pause. "Really, a siren? It was that bad?"

He immediately stops boasting having been shut down so quickly, and merely poses with some waves in a more humble manner.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona apparently didn't have much time! Racing was hard. So she decides to try and push her feathery steed as fast as she can...

Except... She didn't really know how to. She's seen actual horse races, she could guess what to do with them, but with birds she has /no idea/.

The next thing Iona knew, she was standing on a pedestal with a bronze egg-medal. Oh, well. She did, at least, win something. And that was something to be proud of, considering she's never ridden a bird before. Hopefully it /never happens again/. But the roar of the crowd is nice, and she did have fun. That was the most important part, right? She waves to the crowd too, smiling warmly. Yeah, fun is the most important part.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fourth place isn't so bad, even out of a field of only five. More to the point, it was Fuu's first experience riding ANYTHING without an engine ... unless you count Clef's summoned beasts, which were under *his* command rather than being guided by their riders, so that was hardly a matter of skill, was it?

The carton of eggs is accepted with a friendly smile and a polite bow; she'll have to find her parents and elder sister to hand them off for safe keeping. Hopefully there'll be a way to keep the eggs cool for the remainder of the afternoon.

Fuu is also a gracious 'loser' to those who scored medals; at the very least, she's no less friendly than usual, even if she fails to gush particularly at her co-competitors' superior performance. She congratulates Steven, and Lilian, and Iona, on their respective performances, and bids them good luck in the other events to come throughout the sports festival.

2016-01-17 - Ohtori Sports Festival, Part Two

2016-02-09T00:26:53Z

Lucientes: On Battle Fantasia, the fancy way to ride is with ostriches.

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Ohtori Sports Festival, Part Two'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''The Sister Schools Sports Festival continues, commencing a race with fowl intentions.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Fuu Hououji]], [[Hikaru Shidou]], [[Lilian Abarth]], [[Iona Hikawa]], [[Steven Universe]] 
GM: Inori Yamabuki
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Ohtori Academy
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Sep 23 2014 - 1/17/2016
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The afternoon of the Sports festival.

There are so many events going on that they're all difficult to keep track of, but rumors abound of an amateur race, put on by the riding club, with open sign ups, no experience required, and a trophy that might be solid gold as the prize. It's the sort of extravagance that Ohtori certainly seems capable of.

The sign ups are held just by the massive stables and the race track, and anyone who signs up is provided with jockey gear of their preference and color. Once everyone is changed in the locker rooms, they're all led into the stables. A good half of the stables seems fenced off by curtains for what is probably renovations, while they pass by horses of all shapes and sizes in their majestic glory.

A bright eyed high schooler with short black hair, wearing her own gear leads them through the row of stalls talking all the way. "What do you see when you look into a horse's eyes?" She looks over her shoulder at the group as she leads them, "Affection, indifference, fear... loathing. You can see every kind of emotion. Maybe their thoughts aren't as deep as peoples' are, but their feelings certainly can be."

She waves with a hand towards a tall Arabian horse, "They're the perfect animals for riding. Take a look at their necks. Nice, sturdy, with all that handy mane to grab ahold of. And their legs... four of them! One in each corner! Very comforting how they can balance out the weight on top of them to the point where it's just like they're wearing a hat, rather than a person. They're really magical animals!"

... this lecture is turning kind of odd, but it may be that Ako just really loves her equestrians that much. She gets to the end of the line of horse stalls, swivels on her foot, and turns around to face the group of students. "It takes time and experience to learn how to ride them, to form a bond of trust necessary between rider and steed to race together. Unfortunately we don't have that kind of time!" Mischief or good humor, perhaps both gleams in her eyes, "It's only about ten minutes until we line up, so I'll do my best to offer what guidance I can in the meanwhile!"

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The archery meet turned out to be scheduled for later than Fuu expected, and she spotted the amateur riding sign-up while at the same time, so the chance to try her hand at riding horseback seemed like an obvious choice ... so long as nothing goes horribly wrong. Presumably even Ohtori wouldn't turn a bunch of newbies loose on horses without some kind of preparation and precaution - like making sure the horses available to choose from are relatively calm and unlikely to dump a rider in harm's way.

Fuu would have picked a set of riding clothes in medium green, and made extra-sure her glasses are secured in place, before joining the group heading into the stables; roughly half of her attention is on the horses, gauging them in passing as well as she can, with the other half on Ako's 'lecture'. Her comment about the mane prompts a quirked eyebrow from Fuu, "Aren't we supposed to use bridles rather than grabbing hold of the horses' manes?" Granted, some animal rights groups get up in arms about how a bit and bridle can hurt a horse's mouth, but surely that would hurt LESS than yanking on their manes.

Apart from that first question, Fuu is currently continuing to study the horses ... actually seeing if any of them will make eye contact with her, and the vibe she gets, based on that part of what Ako was saying. Animals having emotions isn't a new concept to Fuu, after all.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Being a jockey was never in Hikaru's agenda before, but she's always willing to try something new. Even if it means changing into a unique form of attire that's not a school uniform or her kendo attire. It's always good to try new things. Namely because the kendo meet for today was cancelled for reasons unknown, and Hikaru doesn't want to dwell on that. Just like Fuu-chan did, Hikaru chose colors that resembled her general personality and preferences, wearing maroon colored clothes. She didn't wear glasses, which was always a good thing since she didn't have to secure them in place like Fuu-chan did.

Hikaru had listened to the lecture intently and was trying to pick out a good horse to use. She looked over each and every one of them, trying to make sure that she could find the right one. In fact, she felt that the right horse would pick her instead of Hikaru picking the right horse.

<Pose Tracker> Lilian Abarth [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lilian Abarth is familiar with horses.

What? Of course she is. She used to live up in the country, near a mountain. In Europe. Yes, Europe. There were horses involved occasionally.

Her own riding gear sits a little differently than it should, though that might just mean her leather jockey vest is all fashionable. It has little mirror-chrome buttons. Otherwise, though, she blends in.

Gazing into the eyes of a horse, Lilian doesn't answer Fuu. Instead, she reaches up - hesitantly - to see if she can pet that soft, soft nose. "... Will you be my steed," she says, mostly to herself, and seemingly without irony.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona Hikawa signed up for the horse race that was about to go on here. It sounded fun, and she never knew, the experience here might be very useful later on. She's dressed in the jockey suit that is her favorite purple, and she pays attention to the lecture from Ako silently, not saying anything and absorbing as much as she can. She checks herself very quickly to see that everything she's wearing was secured, the helmet especially.

She looks around at the horses once the lecture was over, checking each of them to see if they're all healthy and ready. It's Ohtori, so they should at least /look/ healthy and ready.

But it's also Ohtori, and Iona had seen Nanami and how much she was willing to try and win. So she's on the lookout for any strange tricks, as well. She's met some good kids from Ohtori, yes. Hopefully there are more.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

"So, even if I had a Lion, I couldn't use it?"

"This is... Horse Jockeying. It is called that for a reason."

"Oh, I guess you are right."

In a small, adorable jockey outfit, is Steven Universe, appearing as though something has gotten to him suddenly, though seeing the hroses, he bounces back rather quickly. It sounds similar to anohter animal he is used to riding, even including holding on to the mane! Of course, just not too hard. It would hurt!

"Not many people from my school..." he seems to mutter to himself, looking for familiar faces.

"Um, do I need a smaller horse?" Steven asks aloud. Being rather short and stout has him thinking that maybe a shroter variety might be more up his alley for better control. Some of these he doesn't even think he can sit right on!

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Ako smiles at Fuu, "That's right Hououji-san! Normally so! What I'm saying though is that it's like a backup safety measure. If all else fails, you have so much neck to grab ahold of!" The animal Lilian raises a hand to snorts once proudly, before allowing her, bending down to show that he's actually quite gentle. She then gives Lilian an approving nod, "Good choice! That's Lhambert! He's one of our finest. Unfortunately he's not available for this race. He's going to be racing later today."

Iona's inspection reveals all the horses look quite majestic and very healthy! Ohtori is a school of affluent kids and equestrian sports are rather prestigious amongst the scandalously rich. In respect to Steven, Ako holds up a finger, "Nope! I'd say you're actually the perfect size for this sport Mister Universe! A lot of people swear by smaller jockeys!"

All of a sudden, Ako grabs the curtain, and casts it aside with a dramatic tug. It reveals tall feathered animals with slim necks standing on two slender legs and bags over their heads. Ostriches. "Because you'll be riding these beauties! What do you see when you look into an the eyes of an ostrich?" She grins, "Mostly they'll just serve as handy mirrors to check your hair. Look at that ostrich's neck? So slim and flimsy. Don't believe me!? Give it a little push! It'll coil away like some kind of snake! You definitely don't want to be hanging onto that." Her hands shift downwards towards the legs, "See that? Just two legs. Not as good, it's more like riding some sort of giant chicken!"

She crosses her arms proudly with the widest grin, "Thus the only guidance you need to ride an ostrich is to hold on for dear life and keep your eye on the prize!" A beat, "Which I would like to mention, is in fact solid gold. That wasn't just a rumor. And just because we're such good sports, you'll be able to pick your mount and name it for this race alone! So go ahead! Tell us what we should submit to the announcers!"

Ten Minutes Later~

A banner hangs over the racing stalls on a giant oval shaped racing track that would be considered giant for some small towns. Initially it's covered, but then on the signal, two students tug down on golden ropes to cause the cover drift away and reveal: Ohtori Academy Presents the Don't Lay an Egg Dash! The announcer's voice suddenly echoes through the loudspeakers. "Really!? Wow that's wild! The riding club has just passed me an exciting bulletin that reveals a 'fowl' twist in the upcoming race..." There's much confusion, which leads to excited clapping as it spreads throughout the crowd what is really going on.

The stands are full of students from all school, divided enough so that red, blue, and yellow are seperate, yet there's some mingling going on amongst friends that transcends any assigned seating.

The riding club members on hand to provide safety measures lead out the Ostriches one by one to the horse stalls. They mull about inside, looking mostly directionless. There's no saddle, no bridle, just a lot of feathers they can grip ahold of! The participants, they're led out after, with great adulation by the crowd that just can't stop cheering and clapping.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Ostriches?

Seriously?

OSTRICHES?!

... That's more or less the pattern of Fuu's thoughts after seeing the designated mounts for this race. At least getting thrown from ostrichback should be a *little* safer than horseback, although she still doesn't want to find out how badly she could be hurt as a result of that. Fuu tries to focus on the idea that it's going to be just like riding a chocobo, right out of the Final Fantasy games - and some depictions of chocobos *have* been remarkably similar to ostriches in appearance. Either way, hopefully it's going to be a fairly straight-line race without having to turn around the track too many times.

Fuu walks out to the starting gates with the ostriches - her own mount having been dubbed 'Ghibli,' not after the fabled animation studio, but for the desert winds that Miyazaki-sensei named the studio after. Once they're in the starting line, only then does she climb onto Ghibli's back and try to get comfortable while anchoring herself more or less securely. She's trying not to hinder Ghibli's wings; they may not be required, but she'd prefer not to hinder her mount's movement too much.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Ostriches? Is that a joke?

Not one to laugh at this whole thing, Hikaru goes along with the whole thing, picking a mount of her own. She struggles a little but manages to get accustomed to handling this ostrich, who is named 'Hideo,' although how the name came to be is unknown. Regardless, Hikaru manages to get onto her ostrich and gain control with it. "This is going to be interesting," Hikaru says to nobody in particular, although Fuu-chan might hear it.

<Pose Tracker> Lilian Abarth [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lilian looks to Steven. "Oh," she says. "You should be able to ride a smaller one fine, you're old enough..." And then Ako ruins her dreams. Her lips purse, because she's not... not going to be able to ride Lhambert. She gives him a soulful look.

And then their real mounts are revealed.

SOON

Atop the newly dubbed "Alpha Romeo," Lilian holds on as best she can. She is watching the bird's tiny head, not so much for its probably-evil agenda, but also because it has a beak. She knows this. She got dinged in the hairline while touching its neck.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona continues to pay attention to the lecture about the horses and their emotions, and barely pays attention when they announce that ostriches will be used for the race. So she continues scanning, trying to see which horse she should pi--wait.

Ostriches?! Iona gapes a little bit at the sudden appearance of Ostriches. This was weird. Can they even hold riders? Iona wonders what Ohtori's game is. If this is the sort of thing they show outsiders, what sort of things go on when they're not in public?

Iona takes a deep breath, and heads towards her assigned ostrich. She gets on it and considers a name. "Hmm, I think I'll call you 'The Wheel'." She takes a few moments to make sure she was situated on the hors--ostrich and to also make sure that the ostrich won't buck her. Could it even if it wanted to? She starts to guide the ostrich to the starting line.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

As the Gem child looks around at the horses, he is happy to hear that smaller jockeys are in fact, preferred! "Oh! Well that works out! I guess there are other perks to being small and handsome like myself!" he says in an 'as-a-matter-of-fact' style of tone.

And then they find out that they aren't signed up to ride horses at all! "WHAAAAAT?!" he exclaims. "Its a big bird!" Steven says, hustling over to the amazing creatures. "Soooo cooool..." He holds a hand out to it to try and touch, but retracts before contact. The birds are almost... intimidating. Almost, their silly faces offput that by a couple notches.

"Name?" The boy repeats. "Uhm..." He looks over at Fuu, the only person he really knows here, as if some sort of inspirational target, but then he changes his mind. He shuffles over to his backpack, then starts digging through it. Cookie Cat Wrappers,fragments of some sort of ancient looking marble, a VHS casette tape, and school books come out, but he stops at a photograph.

THe picture depicts Steven and the Gems with the Fryman family outside their old fast food joint in Beach City. "Thats it!" He says, putting it away and going back to a choice bird. "I dub thee, Ronaldo!" A pause. "Because his dad and brother both say he has scrambled eggs for brains at times, and you lay eggs, and if you cook it..."

"Okay, I know it is a stretch, but just work with me here."

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"In lane one we have, Ghibli, ridden by Fuu Hououji, Infinity Institute Middle Schooler! With a name like that they'll certainly ride like the wind!"

"Over in the second lane we have Hideo, ridden by Hikaru Shidou from Juuban Public Middle school! Wow they look like quite the spitfire pair!"

"Down in the third lane is Alpha Romeo! With a name like that, one wonders if his rider, Lilian Abarth from Infinity High is looking for romance~ Give it up for the brave girl!"

"Next there's the intrepid pairing of The Wheel and their rider Iona Hikawa of Juuban Public Middle School in the fourth lane! Could Lady Luck favor this pair? You'll have to find out for yourselves! ... Remember, no betting please."

"Last but certainly not least is Ronaldo and his rider Steven Universe from Juuban Public Elementary! ..." For a while everything sounds muffled like he's put a hand on the microphone 'Why Ronaldo!?' 'I have no idea!' 'Well I've got nothing!' 'Well just say something.' "... don't lay an egg Mister Universe!"

On the track, Ako salutes the racers, before calling out safely behind the fences, "Racers on your marks? Get set?" She holds a gun up in the air and fires the blank shot, "Go!"

The gates open, and all of the ostriches lurch forward... and begin accelerating. They can hit a top speed of 40 mph!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"Haah!" Fuu calls out, leaning forward over Ghibli's back - although she has to be careful not to collide with the bird's neck. She was wondering how she'd get Ghibli to start, but the gates and the starter gun seem to have been the only needed signal. Hopefully, all she has to do now is hang on ...

<Pose Tracker> Lilian Abarth [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lilian's cheeks color slightly. No, she thinks, it's not like that! She's not after an ostrich-flavored love affair! AND THEN:

Off they go! Accelerating steadily. Lilian crosses her legs at the calves, forming a relatively secure (she hopes) grip over the front of the bird. From there... "How do I even steer," she mumbles to herself. "This is random chance--" And Lilian is also kind of a tall girl, so perhaps it's rigged. The fix is in?!

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

As Iona waits for the start and the announcer starts to introduce the riders, she actually starts to wave to the crowd as her name is called. And then when the ref on the field says to get ready, Iona grabs some feathers and braces herself for the ostrich to take off.

Then the gun goes off and the ostrich starts to run. "These are really strong birds!" She shouts, mostly for her own sake but it's audible to the other racers, if not some people in the crowd. She tries her best to keep a hold on the feathers, and lowers her head to try and reduce drag. That'll help, right?

...Right?

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Steven finds himself clinging to Ronaldo before the gates are even open. "Okay Ronaldo! Don't do anythign reckless! Like crash into other ostriches, or go on long alien hunts!"

The announcement is made for each racer, and Steven's heart is in his throat! He is both incredibly excited and somewhat scared, though not much danger is involved as long as his helmet is on tight.

The gates swing open at the bird takes off! "Ahhhh! Why couldn't you have a mane I could hide in!?" he yells as he clings for dear life.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Unfortunately, Hikaru's not doing too well so far. She's struggling to hold onto her mount. She feels like the comic foil in a bad comedy. "Come on, get back on!" She says to herself, struggling not to fall off completely. "This is embarassing!"

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

It's not a particularly long race due to the nature of it, but the crowd is going wild already with enthusiasm. There are some jeers interspersed but mostly everyone is cheering to support the brave riders representing Infinity and Juuban. There's no reason to announce standings on a lap by lap basis because there's only one lap!

So instead it starts a few seconds into the race... "Out in the lead it's The Wheel neck and neck with Ronaldo! That's one small jockey! Maybe it's giving him an advantage. Coming up not too far from behind them is Alpha Romeo followed by Ghibli and running just behind is Hideo! ... Anyone ever get the urge to shout out something after that? I know I do! HIDDEEEOOOOO NEGATI-! gyuck-"

... A sound of impact even through the microphone. Followed by... "I'll behave senpai, I promise." The second leg of the race is only a few hundred meters long as it curves around the edge of the field. Fortunately it's fenced properly to keep the mounts on course.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

There's probably a video gaming joke that could be attached to Hideo's name, but Fuu doesn't know of any (and isn't entirely sure where Hikaru picked the name from to begin with).

So she focuses on trying to encourage Ghibli to pick up speed. As fast as the ostriches are running, she's trailing the pack by a noticeable length. Getting herself settled more securely on Ghibli's back seems to help, though - maybe the ostrich is just more confident now that it doesn't seem like that precarious weight is as precarious any more?

It's too bad she doesn't know more about the mechanics of riding chocobos, thinks Fuu ... although there's no way of knowing how similar the birds really would be. The gap starts narrowing, which is the important part. Hopefully she can shrink it to nothing before the end of the race - but either way, this is turning fun.

<Pose Tracker> Lilian Abarth [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"Silver, stop this crazy thing!" Lilian cries out as the ostrich wildly vaccilates. Her position is secure enough for now, even if she's reluctant to firmly grasp that noodly neck in order to steady herself. This is certainly going to give her a good core workout.

<You know that I have no influence over birds,> Silver Scorpion replies, quietly. (He is a bangle currently beneath Lilian's blouse, on the upper arm.) <We've gone over this.>

"Kyah--! It's like a chair that keeps running - Please, Alpha Romeo, don't swerve so much!"

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

The Wheel handles surprisingly well, Iona finds, and she's rewarded by getting pretty far out beyond the pack. Her greatest competition seems to be a young boy. She looks over to the other ostrich out in front, and looks over the tiny jockey for a moment. Hmm, maybe there's something to being really short. She gives Steven a short smile before returning to her own ostrich riding.

Iona continues to try and minimize her own profile and keeping a grip on the bird. She considers trying to pretend this is a horse and possibly giving it a good kick, but... that might be an unfortunate idea.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

This bird is the word! And that word is speedy! This might even be faster than Lion's normal land speed! "Garnet! Amethyst! Pearl! someone heeeelp!" the boy cries as the bird continues on the path down the stretch.
While it isn't all that bad, riding on this ostritch just feels... unsafe for some reason. It might have to do with having access to a pocket dimension to somewhat brace himself in.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Somehow, Hikaru manages to recover and pulls forward. As for the name, it was just something that popped in her head. Yeah, there could be video game jokes, but now's not the time. "Come on, we can do this!" Hikaru says to her bird as they start to get back into the race.

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"Coming up from behind is Alpha Romeo! while Ronaldo and The Wheel are having some trouble maintaining their lead! And look at this enthusiasm from Ghibli! could they be on the verge of a last minute come back!? Even Hideo is picking up the pace! It's still anyone's race as we approach the final stretch!" The crowd is going /wild/! Noone has fallen off yet! Who will be the first to cross the finish line!?

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona continues to hold on to the feathery reigns of The Wheel... but it seems that's not working too well, as she starts to fall behind and the others start to catch up. She swivels her head to make sure none of them are getting too close (hey, weird things might happen). She just tries to maintain a good hold on the ostrich. She's rather make it across the finish line as opposed to trying to do something flashy to get ahead. Her time will come. Maybe. She just has to be patient.

Very, very patient.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

It's very encouraging to Fuu, but she still isn't resting on her laurels. She doesn't have laurels to rest on yet, anyway - not where this race is concerned. All she has is an ostrich which is still in motion, and she's not sure if Ghibli can keep the pace up strongly enough ...

Well, there's only so much she can do, and most of it involves 'don't fall off your bird'. She wraps her fingers carefully into some of Ghibli's shoulder feathers, hunkering down a bit more while leaning into the bird's run. "Let's go, Ghibli-san!" she encourages her mount, her voice soft but urgent.

<Pose Tracker> Lilian Abarth [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"-- It worked! He's going faster!"

 Silver Scorpion chides.

"But he's speeding up so much - it must be his animal spirits!"

<Where did you learn that phrase?>

"In economics class," Lilian huffs.

Silver Scorpion silently mourns.

Either way the wind's in her bangs, the bird is leaning forwards - "Ah! It has wings?!" Lilian says when Alpha Romeo flutters his li'l drumsticks.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Steven at this point has stopped talking, and seems to just be making some mix of exhaling and sceeching noise.

It is quite humorous to listen to as it passes by.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Having gotten the hang of things, Hikaru and Hideo still make steady progress. She may not win the race, but at least she gave it her all and didn't wind up falling on the ground and looking like the reject from a comedy or something similar. "We're doing great!" She says to Hideo. "Let's keep it up!"

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The crowd's enthusiasm feels like a bounding pulse that's only growing and growing in rapidity and strength. When it comes down to it... Ronaldo crosses the finish line, breaking the rose covered tape! He's closely followed by Alpha Romeo and The Wheel who both cross half a second after each other. Only a second behind that is Ghibli closely followed by Hideo! All the riders are still mounted at the end! This is unexpected by /everyone/! Almost every ostrich race all over the world ends with at least one jockey flying off!

It's pandemonium in the stands for that simple fact alone, enough that the announcer calling out the winners is drowned out.

Not long after~

They're given the full Olympic treatment. A three tiered block that looks like a misshapen Tetris T. Iona is made to stand on the 3, and Lilian on the 2. Steven is up on the 1. Ako puts a bronze metal with an egg emblazoned on it around Iona's neck! It's sure to... be a stand out amongst her karate medals, that's for sure!

Lilian receives a silver medal. Something she'll at least likely more appreciate as being precious!

Steven receives a elaborate sports trophy which... at the top, sure enough, is a solid gold egg fastened to it, while Ronaldo has a wreath of pink roses draped around the base of his neck. He doesn't look particularly pleased by it!

Those three, unless they protest too much, are carried off the track by the sudden rush of classmates onto it! Hikaru and Fuu each receive a carton of a dozen Grade A eggs as consolation prizes for being such good sports, and a ticket that's good for them both to come back for a real horseback riding lesson from the club once the festival is over!

<Pose Tracker> Lilian Abarth [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Silver Scorpion has a two point plan on how to reassure Lilian in this aftermath.

1. He was shorter than you and thus less air-resistant.
2. Silver is your color isn't it?

But it's unnecessary. After a little wobbling and a wary retreat from her noble steed, Lilian is simply, purely charmed to be on that platform at all. She wears that medal with pride. This is the power of the egg...!

Though she does try to get a copy of the picture "for her scrapbook" later, this is /really/ to be shown to her aunt(?), who will, no doubt, be thrilled.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Steven clings to the bird with all that he has! Aaaand... his trusty mount crosses the finish line first! The bird itself eve nseems to know that the race is over, and seems to come to a crawl as others surround it to rein it in. The oy continues to remain clamped to the bird for a while after though, refusing to move until coaxed. He eventually gets off.

At the medal block, Steven seems so heroic and determined that he knew he would win! "Yeah, I knew I would win!" An offhanded ocmment by a nearby classmate seems to change his pride into going into the defensive. "I-I wasn't scared! That much." A pause. "Really, a siren? It was that bad?"

He immediately stops boasting having been shut down so quickly, and merely poses with some waves in a more humble manner.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona apparently didn't have much time! Racing was hard. So she decides to try and push her feathery steed as fast as she can...

Except... She didn't really know how to. She's seen actual horse races, she could guess what to do with them, but with birds she has /no idea/.

The next thing Iona knew, she was standing on a pedestal with a bronze egg-medal. Oh, well. She did, at least, win something. And that was something to be proud of, considering she's never ridden a bird before. Hopefully it /never happens again/. But the roar of the crowd is nice, and she did have fun. That was the most important part, right? She waves to the crowd too, smiling warmly. Yeah, fun is the most important part.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fourth place isn't so bad, even out of a field of only five. More to the point, it was Fuu's first experience riding ANYTHING without an engine ... unless you count Clef's summoned beasts, which were under *his* command rather than being guided by their riders, so that was hardly a matter of skill, was it?

The carton of eggs is accepted with a friendly smile and a polite bow; she'll have to find her parents and elder sister to hand them off for safe keeping. Hopefully there'll be a way to keep the eggs cool for the remainder of the afternoon.

Fuu is also a gracious 'loser' to those who scored medals; at the very least, she's no less friendly than usual, even if she fails to gush particularly at her co-competitors' superior performance. She congratulates Steven, and Lilian, and Iona, on their respective performances, and bids them good luck in the other events to come throughout the sports festival.

Logs

2016-02-08T23:59:49Z

Lucientes: Updating logs?

To create a page for your log, simply create a page with a title of 'MM-DD-YYYY - Log Title'. This index page will automatically link it in the appropriate month folder, as long as the appropriate category is included at the end with:

<pre>
[[Category:Logs]]
</pre>

For the fancy summary table you may use this code:
<pre>
{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: <Your title>'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''<The summary>''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
<Who is involved. Make sure to place their names [[Between the brackets]]>
|-
| '''Where:''' 
<The location>
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
<IC Date - RL Date>
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]
</pre>
Back to [[Miscellaneous]].

===2013===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''September''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 09-%-2013 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of September.
}}

[[Sweet_Pea_Transforms!_My_Big_Sis_is_a_Superhero%3F|09-23-2013 - Sweet Pea Transforms!]]

|}

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''October''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 10-%-2013 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of October.
}}
[[Does_This_Mean_We%27re_Monster_Hunters_Now%3F_Let%27s_Do_Our_Best!|10-6-2013 - Does This Mean We're Monster Hunters Now?]]

[[10-15-13 - Peace and Sanity|10-15-2013 - Peace and Sanity]]

[[With_Mysterious_Friends_and_Foes..._Is_School_So_Important%3F|10-19-2013 - With Mysterious Friends and Foes... Is School So Important?]]

|}

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''November''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 11-%-2013 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of November.
}}
[[Memory_Thief_Dark_Amber_-_Battle_Against_an_Old_Foe!|11-9-2013 - Memory Thief Dark Amber - Battle Against an Old Foe!]]

[[Red_Carnation_-_That%27s_No_Zaku!_Defeat_the_Armored_Otaku!|11-11-2013 - That's No Zaku! Defeat the Armored Otaku!]]

[[Yellow_Daisy_-_Do_the_Locomotion_-_The_Highway_Chase!|11-20-2013 - Do the Locomotion - The Highway Chase!]]
|}

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''December''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 12-%-2013 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of December.
}}
|}

===2014===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''January''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 01-%-2014 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of January.
}}
|}

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''February''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 02-%-2014 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of February.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''March''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 03-%-2014 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of March.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''April''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 04-%-2014 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of April.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''May''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 05-%-2014 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of May.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''June''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 06-%-2014 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of June.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''July''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 07-%-2014 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of July.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''August''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 08-%-2014 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of August.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''September''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 09-%-2014 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of September.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''October''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 10-%-2014 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of October.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''November''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 11-%-2014 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of November.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''December''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 12-%-2014 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of December.
}}
|}

===2015===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''January''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 01-%-2015 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of January.
}}
|}

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''February''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 02-%-2015 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of February.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''March''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 03-%-2015 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of March.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''April''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 04-%-2015 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of April.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''May''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 05-%-2015 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of May.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''June''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 06-%-2015 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of June.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''July''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 07-%-2015 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of July.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''August''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 08-%-2015 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of August.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''September''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 09-%-2015 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of September.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''October''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 10-%-2015 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of October.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''November''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 11-%-2015 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of November.
}}
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''December''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 12-%-2015 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of December.
}}
|}

===2016===
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''January''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 01-%-2016 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of January.
}}
|}

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="border:0px solid #ffffff;background: #ffffff;vertical-align: top;"
!style="text-align: left;background: #hhhhhh; width:1000pt"|''February''
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|titlematch = 02-%-2016 -%
|notcategory = News Files
|notcategory = cutscenes
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki for the month of February.
}}
|}
[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Miscellaneous]]

2016-01-16 - Ohtori Sports Festival, Part One

2016-02-08T23:59:24Z

Lucientes: Lucientes moved page 1-16-2016 - Ohtori Sports Festival, Part One to 01-16-2016 - Ohtori Sports Festival, Part One: Same verse as the first

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Ohtori Sports Festival, Part One'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''The Sister Schools Sports Festival erupts with a frenzy, as Ohtori shows their opulence with fancy penalties and special guest stars.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Fuu Hououji]], [[Nori Ankou]], [[Ren Aizawa]], [[Endo Naoki]], [[Fu Inubozaki]], [[Iona Hikawa]], [[Fu Inubozaki]], [[Hibiki Houjou]], [[Nanami Kiryuu]], [[Mami Tomoe]], [[Takeo Akamizu]] 
GM: Madoka Kaname
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Ohtori Academy
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Sep 23 2014 - 1/16/2016
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The Welcoming Ceremony has just ended, and wow, this year's athletics festival sure is at Ohtori all right. The warm September air has just enough of a crisp edge to it to relieve the overshadowing heat of late summer, but right now it's full of fireworks, the finale to a ceremony that can only really be called a 'miniature Olympics' because of the size of the crowd, not the size of the spectacle. There were bands, brass bands and taiko drums alike. There were dancers, possibly professionally hired, with feathered headdresses and sequined skirts (and shirts for the boys, flapping gloriously open in the breeze). There were acrobats, who skillfully replicated, with use of their bodies and some LED-shaded uniforms, the tall Infinity tower, an example of one of the squat Juuban buildings, and elegant Ohtori archways.

Student Council President Touga Kiryuu is resplendent in a color-coded-white-and-red-for-your-convenience custom version of the sleek Ohtori tracksuit. At least it makes him easy to find. Not that it was ever hard -- he towers over most other students, even within senior year, and his commanding, velvety presence looms irrespective of physical height, anyway.

"And now..." he calls, his warm, cultured voice carried by outstanding amplification to every ear, no matter how blasted they just were by the fireworks, "...let the games... begin!"

He fires a blank into the air from one of those sports pistols. This one looks like it came off the set of The Man With The Golden Gun.

And then the students are off, in a buzzing mass of red and blue and yellow, to populate the fields, of which there are several more than usual, a tiered set of sports fields arcing towards the sky in a glorious display of architecture and outrageous budget expenditure. There are several massive, digital boards with constantly updating listings of who's been signed up for what. It seems as though those decisions were made at more of an executive level this year, and that personal requests may have gone largely ignored.

For example:

Group A Infinity vs. Juuban Tug-Of-War - And then there are a list of names. Even as people look at it, a pair of girls who have already twisted their ankles are replaced at the last minute by a pair of Ohtori students, including Nori Ankou.

The tug of war pit is rather magnificent. It starts as neatly trimmed grass, but towards the middle, becomes gooey with all manner of slick and edible substances, like whipped cream, chocolate sauce, jello and candied cherry juice.

The rope is glittering golden. It probably isn't /real/ gold. It couldn't be. No way.

The referee, who looks like they might be a hired professional, waits for the students to take their positions.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Well, there has to be something to do before the archery meet starts in earnest, right? And hauling on a rope is possibly good preliminary exercise for a sport that involves pulling strings back and letting them go ...

Fuu still made a point of bringing an extra pair of gloves, something she can protect her hands with while still being legit gear for field sports or tug-of-war ... and as she sees her name on the tug-of-war list, Fuu silently gives thanks for her insight, tugging the gloves out of her sweatjacket pockets and pulling them on. She can shuck them again if anybody objects and isn't overruled by the referee.

She heads for the tug-of-war pit ... and comes to a dead stop upon seeing how it's been laid out. Grass isn't a surprise; cream and chocolate sauce and the like ... "Well," she muses with a smile, "at least it'll taste better than the usual mud does if any happens to get into the losing team's mouths, right?"

As for the golden rope, she presumes it's just like the decorative rope used for theatre curtains and the like. That would be easy enough to get a hold of, and Ohtori's students (and faculty) do seem to love their tasteful theatrics. As long as she can get a decent grip on it without getting her hands scraped, she's not about to complain; Fuu moves to the Infinity side of the 'pit' and takes a position next to the rope, around what should be the middle - not too close to the pit, but not where she's going to be the last linchpin between victory or defeat if Juuban gets a quick advantage.

Ahead of Fuu and on the other side of the rope is Sora Kumogawa, another member of Infinity's middle-school archery team. "So they roped you into this too, Hououji?" he asks with a grin. "Let's see how fast we can dunk the Juuban team - or at least how hard we can make them work for their win, if they're that good."

"I doubt it's going to be an easy win for either side," Fuu notes, making sure the elastic cord anchoring her glasses is snug and secure without being too tight. She did recognize a couple of the Juuban players' names as well ...

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Autumn and early spring are Nori Ankou's favorite time of the year. It really puts her in the spirit to... well, alright, enthusiasm isn't quite the right term, but she's much less gloomy now. Her long black hair has been tied back with a scrunchy into a low-hanging ponytail.

HITOMI SHIZUKI, on the other hand, has her hair in her usual style. Having been waved in with Nori, she says to the rather dark girl, "I guess we're the replacements... Let's give it our all!" She jabs her fist in the air, just a little, beaming.

Nori smiles back with only slight mordancy. "Yes," she says to her class representative: "Let's." She steps up to the rope, positioning herself behind Hitomi.

"Let's do our best, everybody!" Hitomi cheers. Nori leans out of the queue of aspiring tuggers to say, blinking, "Shizuki-san, in the pit there..."

"Hm?"

"Is that actual cherry juice? That could stain..."

"Then we'll just have to do our best!" Hitomi resolves. Nori has no protest.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Let's go Ren!" Comes the excited voice of Ming Zhou, a bubbly Chinese exchange student who has pretty much attatched herself to her classmate in question. "I /love" tug-of-war! We're so going to win!" She hops up and down as she says this, brunette pig-tails bouncing in unison. Ren, of course, is not so keen on their chances, but is trying to look at it like she does video games.

"Y-Yeah! Let's try our best, ok Zhou-san?" She casts a glance over at Endo, smiling. Perhaps it's a plea for mercy? Or perhaps a clever ruse designed to lure him into a false sense of security. Either way, it's a smile!

"That's the spirit Ren! We'll make an athlete out of you yet!" Ming asserts with a nod and a hearty clasp on Ren's back, sending the other girl stumbling forward a bit. "Whoops! Sorry, don't know my own strength! Heh heh..." The exchange student rubs the back of her neck sheepishly, eyes glittering. Ren shakes her head and waves a hand dismissively.

"It's ok! I'm fine!" Though her back /did/ sting a bit. Ow ow ow. Nothing she couldn't deal with, however...

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Endo likes sports. He had a lot more time for them during his last year of school, before the part-time job and running around doing magical things. But school-mandated sports means he gets to indulge, guilt free. He also has a helmet on. He's come prepared.

But only after he sits through the opening ceremony. He spends most of it staring his at the spectacle, his head ever-slowly tilting to the side until, by the end, he's looking very vertical. "Ah, really, isn't all this a little much?" He repeats his at regular intervals, to be chastised to silenced by his companion and former club-mate, Shinji Akeda. The other boy is taller than Endo, lean from chasing things into and out of goals.

Once names are flashing up on the board and people are getting into place, Endo's friend gives him a shake and hustles him along toward the tug of war line.

"I think this rope might cost more than my home." Endo reaches down to gingerly grab his share of the line, giving a testing tug before leaning out from the line to wave at Ren when she gets into position across the mire of sweetness.

He is quickly wrestled back into line.

"Don't show weakness to the enemy!'

<Pose Tracker> Fu Inubozaki [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fu Inubozaki watches the final moments of the opening ceremony with a grin on her face. Ohtori Academy has really outdone themselves this year. It was quite difficult to know where to look first with all the dancers, music, and now even fireworks. Ohtori obviously spared no expense in hosting the combined Athletics Festival, but this was Ohtori Academy afterall. That much is to be expected as opulence is practically in their namesake.

For the most part, Fu plays off her reaction to the festivities as cool and subdued as she can. She smiles and looks to be having a good time, but she's not letting Ohtori's display intimidate her. This is in complete and utter contrast to how Fu's beloved younger sister is reacting to everything. While Fu remains pretty calm for the time being, Itsuki Inubozaki is very much wide-eyed with her mouth agape right now over the spectacle. The younger Inubozaki sister carries a look of half utter excitement and half nervous worry on her face that causes Fu to grin that much wider over at her younger sister.

Taking a step closer to her sister, Fu places her hand on Itsuki's shoulder and gives it a squeeze. "Hey Itsuki, the tug-of-war is first. Are you ready to go?" Itsuki is a little surprised by the sudden shoulder squeeze, but she quickly recovers when she sees that it was her sister that had squeezed her. She then turns and gives Fu a very determined nod of her head. "Yes! Let's go, big sis!" She cheerfully chirps back with much to Fu's delight.

Itsuki's reaction causes Fu to grin from ear to ear and start laughing. She just loved to see her little sister get fired up. "Fuhuhu. Alright! Let's go show everyone just how tough and strong the Inubozaki sisters are!" The blonde-haired Fu laughs again as she ushers her sister over to where her classmates were gathering. "Hi everyone! We're here and ready to go!" The older Inubozaki sister announces loudly while the younger one just nods meekly in greeting before adding, "Um. H-hello. Let's do our best!" Fu shoots her younger sister a sly nod of approval before both sisters take up their respective positions on Infinity's side of the golden rope.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona Hikawa is here today at the sports festival. She relaxes for a brief moment on the benches near where everyone else is, and watches the spectatcle that Ohtori seems to have arranged for this festival. The dancers and the bands seemed. Not to say they weren't great. Iona did find them all kind of neat, but she couldn't help but think that this was all just a little... excessive. They must have a /lot/ of money to be able to burn it on something like this. So Iona sits, smiling but otherwise stonewalled, until the starting gun shoots and everyone starts to run out onto the field, Iona following.

Her gait slows down just a little bit as she sees her name on the board for... tug of war? Iona shifts her direction torwards the tug of war pit... and sees all the chocolate and cherry juice and everything else inside.

Momentary memories, not even twenty-four hours old, re-emerge where Iona found herself being dragged towards a pit of mold. Her enthusiasm drops just a little bit because of it. "I wonder if any of that is molding right now?" She asks herself. There's a brief moment where she considers trying to see if she can excuse herself, but trying to explain why she's avoiding tug-of-war might be... just a little vague and insufficient. So she takes a deep breath, and trudges over to a free spot where she can get a hold of the rope well enough.

Behind her, another girl her age takes a place. Iona looks backwards to get a look at her -- red hair in a ponytail, equally red eyes, and a large, almost encompassing smile. It was so bright that Iona could hardly look directly at it.

The girl waves at Iona. "Hello, Hikawa-san!"

"Ah, hello." Iona responds, not completely sure how to react. There's a smile in return, but Iona turns back to get a good grip on the rope and get ready for the event.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The referee looks along the rope, up one end, then down the other. "Three!" she shouts, her voice rising above the same sorts of chants barking up and down the fields. "Two! One!"

*TWEET!*

Her whistle blasts and the rope immediately strains between the two groups. So far there's no imminent threat of either team being plunged into the goo pit -- are they evenly matched?

There are plenty of students as-yet unassigned to an event, and the cheering quickly becomes pleasantly raucous, the high energy of a carnival infecting kids of all ages. It's a roar in the background, but somehow it seeps under the skin and through the eyes, into the bloodstream... pull -- pull -- pull!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

It's not purely about raw strength, Fuu reminds herself as the referee counts down to the start; it's about leverage. Really, pulling too hard can be suicidal in tug-of-war.

Then the whistle blows, and Fuu stops thinking too much about the mechanics of it with her brain; her body has to do the 'thinking' now, her gloved hands wrapping tightly around the rope, her feet planted solidly on the ground with her weight on her heels, her legs *almost* locked to dig her heels in underneath her. All of that happens faster than it takes to think consciously about it; she goes from 'at rest' to 'pulling' in a little over an instant, even if she's not yet actively trying to haul the Juuban students into the goop.

Not the way Sora is, anyway; he's got his feet planted but he *is* actively hauling on the rope like he were on an old-time sailing ship, his teeth gritted as he contributes the raw strength that some girls might not have ... and that some very well *might*, to judge by the Inubozaki sisters' enthusiasm. Among others.

It may not be archery, but Fuu and Sora are both familiar with tug-of-war, and neither of them is about to let Infinity down in *any* event today.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

As soon as the whistle blows, the tugging begins. Ren feels herself sliding forward, eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. But never fear -- Ming is here! The loud girl grins as she plants her feet down into the ground beneath her, becoming the immovable force within the roaring storm she imagines herself to be. It helps since Ren smacks face-first into her back, which gives her enough time to regain her bearings and start tugging backwards, face already starting to turn red from the exertion.

"Heave! Ho!" Ming cries out, trying to provide as much encouragement as possible.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Endo commences pulling. He's spent the first few seconds waiting for the shot wrapping the rope around his fists, making sure he's in prime pulling position. This will probably mean he's getting dragged wherever the rope goes regardless of his choice, but such heroic sacrifices must be made. He's been looking forward to stuff like this, so when the game starts he starts pulling with all the ferocity he can muster. Pacing himself is not something that's even entered his mind.

This seems to be the case for the boy behind him as well, who likewise attempts a full backpedaling sprint the second the rope is live. It's probably a bit much, but his heart seems to be in the right place. A place that is far away from the strawberry pit. They are alike, Endo and friendo.

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The crispness of the air - the raucous cheer of amassed crowds - that tangible spirit of cooperation and competition all in one. This is the athletics festival, home to well-organized chaos with students running around in every direction. There's a schedule to keep, last-minute team substitutions to register, those suited to medical care hard at work keeping tabs on classmates...

And, as Hibiki Houjou is rapidly discovering, the problem with many students having the attention span of a cat.

"Have you seen - yeah, Minamino. ...Field C? Isn't that for the elem-" Hibiki slaps her forehead. "Souta's event - I hope she knows what she's doing, going to check on him at a time like this. Who knows how quickly they'll get to our race..."

"Nya? Isn't a race where you just have to run, Hibiki?" Atop Hibiki's head, utterly unruffled, sits a white cat happily cleaning her paw.

"...did your cat just..."

"...I'M A VENTRILOQUIST BYE!"

A rapid sprint takes Hibiki to the stands near the pending tug-of-war competition, and she takes a minute to catch her breath. While she does, the cat leaps daintily down from head to lap, and looks out at the pending battle. "Nya...that place looks delicious..."

Wiping her brow, Hibiki nods - and then freezes. "Hang on....Hummy! You know cats aren't supposed to talk, right? Especially not around, uh..." She glances around herself...but a sports festival is, mercifully, very noisy.

"But I'm not a cat, I'm a song fairy cat! Wait..."

"Not the- anyway, as I was saying! Kanade and I are racing together - it's a three-legged race, we get our legs tied together, and we have to stay in sync or-"

For a moment, it's as if the cat is sparkling. "You have to win with Harmony Power! Nya!....and Kanade isn't here! This is a big problem - what should we do?!"

Hibiki's answer is interrupted by a loud tweet of a whistle blast, and both girl and cat look over. Hibiki shades her eyes with one hand, squinting at the side of the battle in Infinity colours. She recognizes a couple of them...and that's good enough for her. Standing up, she pumps her fist in the air, shouting loudly. "Go, Infinity! Heave, ho! Go, Infinity! Heave, ho!"

It's got a good rhythm to it. Maybe those of her school around her will join in...

(Hummy, meanwhile, considers whether to join in cheering, find Kanade, or...ooh, a butterfly....)

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

PULL! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MONTRESOR! PULL!

Hitomi pulls, of course. She pulls her best and she pulls with strength and desperation, biting her lip with the effort. Behind her, Nori Ankou digs her heel in and does /not/ pull quite immediately. Tension builds up, and she can tell they're moving forwards - so, she goes from anchor to driver, and joins in her own strength.

It's HARD! Nori finds with a shock. Soon enough she's sweating and her arms are crying out. "Guh -"

"Don't give up! Ankou-san!" Hitomi cries over her shoulder. "Just - th, think of it like a waltz!" Nori grimaces at this comparison.

"One two - STEP!" And Hitomi pushes forwards. "You see? One two - STEP! One two - STEP!"

The rhythm helps Nori, at least. And it means that there's a steady pulsing spike in the strength of the tugging when they - and perhaps others - push off together. Yes, that's Ohtori for you - victory by jerks! ... Wait...

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

When the whistle blows, Iona immediately begins to pull the rope. It's not as hard as some others would pull it. Enough to try and prevent the other team from pulling her into the strange liquid concotion, a fate she wants to prevent /at all costs/. So she tries to take it as easy as she can, to try and let the other team expend their energy first before she tries to go for the kill.

Admittedly, that's her plan, anyway. She's not paying too much attention to what her team is doing, though she tries to at least keep some sort of pace with them. Instead, what Iona does is try to lift the rope over her, attempting to use her body as leverage to try and pull the rope.

She's also not paying attention to the girl behind her. Megumi might find an easier time since Iona's attempting to do all of the work, but she does her level best to keep pulling anyway.

<Pose Tracker> Fu Inubozaki [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fu begins pulling the rope along with her teammates, but shockingly the opposing team has a very similar strategy. This puts the two sides at a temporary standstill. However, Fu is not about to give up anytime soon! Her sister is of the same mind and she is also doing her best to contribute to the effort. Knowing just how tough this was turning out to bet, Fu sneaks a glance over at her sister. The sight of her sister trying so hard at this reinvigorates Fu's aching muscles. Itsuki was trying so hard these days and not just at this tug of war. The older sister grits her teeth, digs her feet into the ground, and begins to pull some more! "Itsuki! Hang in there! Remember everyone, we'll likely succeed if we try!" Fu, wanting to look impressive in front of her sister, keeps pulling just as Itsuki, wanting to show that she's up to the challenge, keeps pulling on the rope opposite of Fu.

"Aizawa-san! Are you okay?!" Fu asks of her classmate when she sees her nearly pinball off of Ming. But thankfully Ming doesn't seem phased by that and Ren soon recovers. It is at about this time that Ming's and Hibiki's cheers reach Fu's ears. A chant! That was a great idea! "Heave, ho!" Fu cheers as she joins in. "Go, Infinity!" Itsuki adds quite helpfully as the two sisters begin to alternate their team chants. "Heave, ho!" "Go, Infinity!"

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

"Do you know, oniisama? The feelings I keep safe for you, only you?"

A breeze lifts, and with it, soft blonde locks float around a blushing face. Long lashes fall to shield the emotion in wet eyes as Nanami cups her hands together, leaning forward as though her yearning would lift her from her toes and bear her through the air.

"I'm afraid, oniisama. That I was never meant to be your sister. That a day will come when I stand between you and your happiness, and the final consummation of our love will be for me to... step aside." She turns her head, her mouth trembling with emotion, as a swirl of rose petals flourishes past her orange gown, rippling the butterfly-like purple bow that adorns her back. "And I feel disgusted with myself, because I know that I would cherish that moment forever, and place it behind glass, and take it out from under my bed and clutch it to my breast and MY GOD do you think that's enough PETALS? Are you trying to choke me to DEATH or just bury me?"

Kneeling at her feet, three school uniform'ed brunettes hunch meekly. One is directing a portable electric fan up at Nanami, another sits next to her with a bag full of rose petals, and a third is holding an old-fashioned camera with a large flashbulb. "Last time, you said there wasn't enough," the fan girl reminds Nanami.

"Did I truly? Because as far as I can tell your ideal aesthetic would involve me drowning in an Olympic pool FILLED with them."

"I'm pretty sure you did," says the petal-bag girl resentfully. She has a fresh knot on her head that she is rubbing meaningfully.

"Augh! Forget it. Just take a few pictures while I have them in my hair. Yes? Like this?" Nanami tilts her face and makes her eyes large as she gazes off into the far distance with a faint smile on her face. The flash bulb goes off.

"Are they testing out the rope?" she asks distractedly.

Her coterie glance in the direction Nanami is looking. "They're participating in the sports festival," one ventures.

Nanami's eye twitches. "They're from those /other/ schools."

"That's... how we do it, remember when last year, we..."

"But not at Ohtori," Nanami fumes. "No, there's some mistake."

"Did you watch the ceremony? It was all about how..."

"Oniisama," Nanami sighs immediately. "He was so magnetic, wasn't he?" Nanami's face suddenly darkens. "No, this will not do. Bring around the sedan." When Nanami says that word, it doesn't mean "car." She lifts her skirts and starts striding toward the field. "I need my things."

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The rope jerks back and forth! Muscles burn and fingers strain. It seems as though the rhythm shared by the Infinity crowd and their team is starting to pay off, because, inch by inch, Team Juuban (and Ohtori Friends, who have their own rhythm, for good and for ill) is being dragged towards the goop.

Endo is the first to have strawberry shoes! The stain may not be blood but oh, oh, it is honor spilled upon the field. And now his feet are sliding, and Endo's friendo and Iona are getting awfully close...

...but on the other side, Sora suddenly misses a beat in the pulling, wincing from terrible rope burn! This sends Itsuki flying into her big sister -- Ren and Ming are going to have to work hard to prevent Juuban from capitalizing on this momentary dust-up!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

And this is EXACTLY why Fuu wanted to wear gloves for the tug-of-war; she needs her hands unbloodied for archery. Sora yelps a brief apology and tries to get back into it, preferably with the less-burned hand now being dominant in his efforts to pull; Fuu just digs her heels in harder and starts reeling in the slack. "Inubozaki-san, are you all right?" Fuu calls out over the roar of the crowd, doing her best to maintain her balance and not let Juuban regain any momentum ...

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Wait... are they winning? They are! Ren sees Endo's shoes get some straberry on them, and smiles real big. "H-Hey! I think-"

The tides change, however, and things start to sway in the Juuban side's favor! "Oh no!" Ren cries out, starting to panic. But Ming holds steady, turning her head to look at Ren over her shoulder.

"You can do this, Ren. Dig deep." Comes to profound words of the exchange student. And that seems to spark something inside of Ren, even as they begin to lose ground, inching ever closer to the pit.

"I won't let you down, Zhou-san!" Ren cries out, letting out a yell as she pulls with everything she has, fingers and arms and legs beginning to burn painfully.
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.
Endo is getting a little tired after his initial burst of stamina, but the sight of his shoes slowly being engulfed by strawberry liquid redoubles his determination. He digs in as best he can, attempting to drag the rope back and himself away.

"Come on, Endo-san! You've gotten out of shape since you quit the club!" Shinji is still pulling, thankfully a few feet from suffering the same fate as Endo.

"I got it! The rope just needs to stop moving!"

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

It's not a butterfly. It's even better. For a moment, Hummy the cat is nearly absolutely still, only the twitching of her tail betraying her non-statue status. Some careless person has released rose petals into the breeze, and the cat sits utterly entranced as a handful dance in the air above her. They are pink, and fluttering, and gorgeous. "Nya...."

Meanwhile, however...

"Heave, ho! Go, Infinity - that's it!" As her school starts to claim the advantage, Hibiki breaks off her rhythm to punch the air in victory. It might not be Waon out there, but it's still her school - and so it's worth cheering on. She cups her hands, letting out a whoop -

- but despair! Sora's missed a beat, and the balance is swinging back to Juuban. The brown-haired girl, having utterly forgotten her need to find her three-legged-race-partner, calls out to the field of battle. "Come on! You've nearly got this, just one more pull-"

"nnnnnNNNYAAAAA!" Abruptly, Hummy pounces. After all, these were rose petals, and they were pretty and fluttery and there were oh so many of them and she just had to have one! And so, the white cat pounces into the air.

She doesn't catch a petal. She does, however, utterly blindside her human of the day, knocking Hibiki off-balance. And into a nearby cheering group.

Fight on, Infinity! Don't follow the example of those cheering you on, stay standing!

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Hitomi squeaks in dismay as the rope jerks - right in her hands. She grits her teeth against the pain, though. She has to set a good example...!

Nori cares much less for setting a good example. Her arms do jerk forwards, though, and she winces as she feels her shoulder cry out in interior dismay. Digging her heels in, she sees, feels the moist soil of this rich campus give way beneath her athletic sneakers, until--

A slackening.

Hitomi cheers, but can't let go - Nori, on the other hand, feels an irrational surge of enthusiasm, perhaps at the reversal. She scrapes into the ground and throws herself backwards, twisting - even as she cries out, "They're too strong--!"

"Don't give up!"

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Nanami Kiryuu is a professional at what she does, and what she does isn't very professional. Soon she has her skirts lifted daintily, pinkies out, as she shuffles out into the field with eyes mostly closed and a placid smile on her face.

A microphone squeaks as one of the sports announcers begins to commentate. "And it's our first surprise of the day, as Nanami Kiryuu enters the field. What could she have in mind? One thing's for sure, she's going to do it fashionably. As Touga Kiryuu's beloved little sister, Nanami is naturally the most popular girl at Ohtori Academy--what, really?" There's a loud thump audible through the microphone.

Up in the booth, the announcer's face is mashed down against a piece of notebook paper, his glasses pushed askew almost to his ear. One of Nanami's brunettes has a hand on the back of his neck, and a starter pistol pushed against the base of his skull. "Is there a problem, four-eyes?" she seethes coldly.

Out on the field, the commentary resumes. "By /far/ the most popular girl at Ohtori, really no question..." Nanami's smile blossoms larger.

As she reaches the Juuban side of the tug of war, Nanami pauses and curtsies. "Yes, it seems Kiryuu-san is here to pay honor to our guests. Truly one of the gentlest blooms of the Ohtori garden. And what better time then when they are mid-match?"

Nanami takes a few steps to the left and curtsies again. This time, however, she executes her plan. As her skirt lifts, a black trash bag is briefly exposed beneath it. Nanami pauses long enough to draw back one of her feet, then kicks her pointy-toed heel into it hard enough to puncture a hole. As though a spigot opened, a torrent of snakey, wet-looking sea-fauna pours into the dirt hollow in which the Juuban students are laboring. Eels! That whole skirt must be full of them!

They tumble over one another, slimey and outraged, a small pool of salt water sustaining their ire. No wonder Nanami had to shuffle. They wrap calves, get underfoot, and otherwise attempt to express their supreme dissatisfaction with their new living quarters.

"AAAIIIII!" Nanami wails, hurring back with a tatter of trash bag flapping around at the bottom of her skirts. "How can it be? Do all Juuban students carry eels?!"

"How can it be?" the announcer asks. "Do all Juuban students carry eels?"

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona watches as first the boy at the front gets closer to the pit, then someone on the other team loses their resolve. It's a good thing, too, as Iona's grip on the rope is also starting to falter, just a little bit. It's still a strong grip, but the fibers are starting to move independently from her hands, causing her own share of rope burns. But this is the time to pull as /hard/ as she can! So she pulls, and pulls as much as she can, to try and capitalize on the sudden change of fortune.

And so is Megumi, taking her cue from the purple haired girl.

<Pose Tracker> Fu Inubozaki [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The elder Inubozaki starts grinning even wider when she sees that their side is making progress. The Infinity chant must be working! They almost had it! But just then an Itsuki shaped projectile crashes into Fu which causes her to briefly lose her footing and both sisters slide closer to the center of the tug-of-war pit. "Itsuki!" cries out Fu as she tries to make sense of what just happened after the younger blonde crashed into her. Fu's the first one of the sisters to regrab the rope and she soon turns and offers her other hand to help Itsuki back up onto her feet. "We're okay!" She calls back to Fuu while keeping her eyes on Itsuki. The younger Inubozaki sister takes a bit longer to get up, but she soon rejoins her sister in pulling the rope. The two sisters exchange another look with each other before changing grips on the rope so it goes Fu, Itsuki, Fu, Itsuki. The Inubozaki sisters were really giving it their all!

From their position, the sisters can't really make out what's going on with Nanami and her expertly crafted plan. Whatever it is, it must be quite the ord-eel.

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

In the stands, there as been a complete and total cat-astrophe. From the heap of toppled Infinity supporters, Hibiki pulls herself free. "Hummy...! What do you think you're doing- where is she?" The girl looks around for the paw-petrator of this incident, but where can she be?...

(Answer: Behind the stands. Springing off of Hibiki's arm let her catch a pretty petal, and now she's just rolling in the grass, the embodiment of happiness. ...so, as herself.)

"Ugh...you okay?" Giving up on the hunt, Hibiki turns to give the nearest girl a hand up - and both of them are caught off-guard by the sudden scream. They, along with more than a few disoriented supporters, turn at Nanami's cry and accusation.

And since they were all recently knocked over, it's quite easy to see the claim for what it is.

"Eels?! In a tug of war match?! Wait, how would that even...never mind that! Foul! Red card! Free throw!" The accusations - in varying degrees of coherence - are sure to fly from this corner, at least.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

"Aaah-what's that? Shinji, do we have eels?" Endo asks.

"I don't have any eels."

There's some confusion over the topic of eels when announced, until one is spotted. Endo tries to point, but also with his hands twisted up in the rope he sort of just starts tugging to the side. Which may or may not be helpful.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Come on just keep pulling!" Ming is not going to give up, and neither will Ren! She looks over to the Juuban side where Endo is giving it his all, too. He's pretty strong! But, so were they.

"Hey, what's the girl up to?" Ming notices Nanami, and then... "Eeels?!" She cries out, grip faltering enough to cause the rope to sway over to the opposing side. Ren yelps, getting tangled up with her, and the two of them slide into the beginnings of the aforementioned strawberry eel pit.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Hitomi and Nori both look towards the incoming Nanami Kiryuu, because she is a figure that demands attention, as the announcers are finding out. Nori's position as a higher level bourgeoise from a distant prefecture means her reaction is mild surprise; Hitomi blanches slightly.

And then Nanami releases a huge swarm of eels from her skirt, perhaps not for the first time. As the slimy, slithery notochords of the sea burst forth, ungraced by rice or grill, Hitomi does the logical and sensible thing:

"EUWWWWW!!" Hitomi's strong enough of character that she doesn't let go of the rope as an eel decides to coil around her ankle, but all the strength has gone out of her tugging. The most she'll be is a minor anchor now, her face blanching as she tries not to scream again.

Nori gets an eel in her shoe and takes it philosophically. It's kind of annoying, but the smell of the sea is if anything invigorating. However, the slimy wiggle on her calf is telling her that they're at a critical moment. Her shoulders are screaming, but even as everyone's distracted -- she isn't quite.

Crouching slightly, Nori pulls inwards. Her teeth set together with a skeletal click as she feels another eel swim merrily past her. She pulls - and then the rope jerks. Nori can see the taller and older boy is moving his direction, and this seems like a great idea to her - she joins Endo's change of direction. Will it save them!? Or doom them to a watery grave?

It's a very shallow grave, to be fair.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The official starts to tweet her whistle to penalize the eels but midway through her inhalation a cloud of pepper -- released conveniently from a popped paper bag nearby -- causes her to gasp and choke, and the match is not stopped in time to prevent the inevitable.

Juuban's straining to turn the tide probably would have worked if they hadn't been distracted by gooey slimy eels, but the sabotage has done its work. It also makes the inevitable collapse of the Juuban line into the sugary goop a little less pleasant than it might have been otherwise, because now all the cream and chocolate and whatnot is /full of eels/ and dubiously delicious, if at all.

Another official jumps in with her whistle to declare the match in favor of Infinity. The crowd doesn't really understand what happened (with a few exceptions) -- some gape at Nanami's claims as to Juuban, but mostly they just cheer the victors and rush up with towels to rescue the losers.

The nearby digital board flickers to announce the next round's schedule. There's a break of a couple of minutes, and then -- as it just so happens -- all participants in this tug-of-war match, and then some, are to participate in a joint Infinity-Juuban-with-a-few-Ohtori-ringers co-ed baseball team.

The baseball green, that field of dreams, awaits...

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Pitcher: Mami Tomoe (you stand on the mound, glaring at batters and chucking stuff at them)
Catcher: Iona Hikawa (center of the defense, very athletic position)
Third Baseman: Fuu Hououji (a lot of fast-moving liners will come straight at you, look out!)
Center Field: Nori Ankou (in charge of catching fly balls after a long dramatic chase beneath them)
Shortstop: Hibiki Houjou (lots of running and diving to catch difficult balls and throw them to basemen, another athletic position)

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Endo, despite his best efforts, is soon first to get a facefull of eel-laden dessert. He lets out a cry as he's drug over the line and farther still. He flails as he goes, but he does manage to get one hand free of the knot of rope he's tired himself in. This hand, of course, he uses to reach back and put his partner in a headlock. So it is that both Endo and Shinji--despite the latters attempt to flee--end up rolling around fighting off eels in the strawberry pit until someone manages to pull them free and off to the sidelines.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

There are trumpets, because of course there are trumpets, as the Juuban-Infinity Eel Lovers (team apparently named by someone with authority, because there it is, right on the scoreboard -- the name of the opposition has yet to appear) are cheered on by their schools as they take the baseball field.

It's a lovely field. The bases are not made of chocolate or any such nonsense, but they might have a little extra sparkle ground into them from some silver dust or something, and the occasional rose petals sprinkling the yard are definitely nonregulation.

There are hats and gloves for everyone (and bats, though the Eel Lovers will be batting at the bottom of the inning, not the top), and a very enthusiastic P.E. teacher who is eager to help people improve their swing at the last minute. "Settle your hips!" cries the sensei, a dark-haired twenty-something and Juuban alumnus. "Balance your arms! And then... release all your power in one strike!"

This is not relevant advice for fielding at all, but at least she's enthusiastic.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona continues to pull and pull, and pulls alongside that redheaded girl whose name she doesn't recall. Oh, well. Iona sets that aside as the two pull the hardest that they can. It's a testiment to her discipline that she doesn't even know there are eels on the field. She /does/ hear the announcer talk about eels, though she just dismisses it as Ohtori jealousy. What? Of course Juuban students don't all have eels, that's crazy.

Which may explain why it's a complete surprise as Iona gets yanked into the goop. She lands with a soft ploop, getting everything on everything else, and a mere few moments later Megumi joins her in the sauce.

The two girls sputter and gasp as they try to extract themselves from the saucy pit.

Megumi is the first one up, though. "Well," Megumi says as Iona sits up and removes an eel from her shoulder. "We tried our best, and that's what's important, right?"

A hand is offered to Iona, which the latter looks at for a moment, before nodding and taking it. "Yes, you're right." She lifts up from the pudding and the two girls look at one another. Are the bonds of friendship forming? Is this the start of a lasting friendship that will test the bonds of time and be the sort of thing Iona is looking for?

The glowing board signals the start of baseball. Both girls look at it for a moment, before returning to each other, Megumi with the cheer to blow away mountains. "Do your best, Hikawa-san!" And then Megumi heads to the bleachers.

Iona watches the girl disappear, before turning and accepting a towel while heading to the diamond.

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mami Tomoe has chosen her own hat, in bright Ohtori yellow, with a golden ribbon-bow decoration to the side. ...Sport is no excuse not to be fashioanble. And indeed, her sporting attire is /perfect/ as she steps out towards the field, nodding fiercely towards their enthusiastic advisor.

...She doesn't... Actually /say/ a whole lot, though, because she's ordinary Mami right now, and instead casts her eyes about to the stands.

This is not the same as her reaction when she learned what position she would play. /That/ was different, with less of an audience, as she went, 'Wait, I'm the /what/?'

Her glove has glitter on it, for luck. Her eye is set.

...It's... not a coincidence that, as she approaches the pitcher's mound, /somehow/ Mami completely missed the messiest event thus far.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The victory in the tug-of-war is a much-appreciated early high point for the Infinity Institute contingent, Fuu included. Sora has to go get some medical attention for his rope-burned hands ... while Fuu has been drafted onto the baseball team.

Somebody really doesn't want her rested up for the archery meet, do they ... ?

With distressingly strong doubts that a 'no' of any intensity would stick with the decision-makers, Fuu changes into what she needs to wear for the baseball game. T-shirt and gym shorts may not quite cut it; at the very least she needs a catcher's mitt and a suitable cap to keep the sun out of her eyes. Fuu takes her place at third base, adjusting her glasses and her cap (which bizarrely, has a Gundam-style yellow V-fin attached to the front of it), and settles into a relaxed but ready stance, watching Mami at first, then shifting her attention to home plate so she's ready for what the batter will have to offer ...

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

After that horrid faceplanting in the delicious yet pre-salted dessert heap, Nori Ankou was quite glad to get a brief delay so that she could at least rinse the sugar out of her hair and shirt-tail.

Especially in the glamorous shadow of Tomoe-sempai. The briefing from the baseball coach makes Nori nod as she adjusts her hat and tightens her glove. "Settle. Balance. And strike!"

SOON

Nori stands on a grassy plain, the wind stirring her hair and passing through her as huge gorgeous clouds streak overhead, as the rotating wind generators of the Tanegashima launch center move scenically in the distance. Something like this... https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/5cmcos001.jpg

Nori closes her eyes...

And opens them again, shaking off that intense impression. No, she thinks: I'm still here. I'm in school. This is the sports festival... She shades her face with the leather glove, to squint towards the tiny but distinctive outline of Mami on the pitcher's mound, near the horizon. Fortunately, the curvature of the Earth is not enough to fully conceal the batter's cage from her sight!

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

In the end, Infinity is - perhaps a little shadily - declared the victor of this match. First point to the tallest school!

It's a short-lived victory, though, as Hibiki finds herself...grabbed rather suddenly. "Wha- you must have the wrong person, I certainly didn't bring a cat-"

"There's no time to explain! Nishijima-san said you're athletic, right?"

"Waon said that? I mean, kind of, yeah..."

"Great! Come on!"

And so - with a cat batting at drifting petals left in her wake - Hibiki finds herself hurried to the baseball field. She manages to catch a glimpse of the latest board on the way, and boggles briefly at the team name... But that's about as much time as she has for ponderings.

Fortunately, she'd been planning on running with Kanade later, so she's already set for sports in general. After all, this is the festival for such things. A hat, a glove, she's good to go.

"All my power, huh? ...all right! I'll catch with all my strength, sensei!" Grinning eagerly at the advice, Hibiki tips the bill of her cap (adorned with a treble clef for some reason), peering carefully at the batter. At at her teammates, of course - but it's game on, right?

...was baseball the throwing one or the kicking one?

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona, now that she's dried up her sauces and other chocolatey goodness, grabs her helmet and a glove... when someone hands her a mask. Without even blinking she places it on and heads to the batter box area, crouching and looking directly at Mami. She points her fingers in various ways, to see if the blonde pitcher will understand. Does Iona?

Not one lick. She's sure that she's doing /something/, she's just not sure what.

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Of /course/ Mami understand. Mami nods intendly, staring at Iona's fingers, and then makes two small gestures with her own ungloved hand in return.

Mami Tomoe has no idea what she's doing. Mami Tomoe is /never/ going to admit that.

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

At the edge of the field, some sort of party cannon goes off. A fluttering rain of confetti falls around a group of adult men jogs onto the field. Their uniform is recognizable to any Tokyoite: white with orange fringe and black letters. And what do they spell?

GIANTS

"Say hello to Tokyo's very own Yomiura Giants!" the announcer shouts, sounding as confused about it as anyone else. "Yes, today the Sister Schools will be taking on a professional team?"

The Giants line up in two rows, and in the center of this very-athletic aisle, three brunettes hurriedly push out a medical-style changing screen on wheels. At the end of the aisle, Nanami steps out and begins to stride through, hands folded humbly over her ornate gown, her butterfly-bow rippling behind her. The brunettes tense, two entering the screen, another readying her thumb over a stopwatch. Nanami doesn't even seem to notice the screen as she steps through, not breaking her stride, and she emerges from the other side as if her pace never changed. However, in those few seconds, her gown has entirely changed to a Yomiura Giants uniform, and she wears a glove on one hand. It's Italian leather, never used.

One of the girls jogs behind her and meekly puts the Giants cap on Nanami's head, and the stopwatch girl shakes her head in disappointment. Leaving Nanami with a microphone, she hurries away.

"Hello, guests of Ohtori Academy! Please feel welcome to our modest campus. As Ohtori is well aware of your storied athletic histories, we felt it would be impolite not to offer you the sort of competition you feel yourselves worthy of. And who could doubt your claims? After all, your presence here indicates you are all the very best that Japan--no, the world--has to offer, in every possible way... fufu..." Her laugh is almost inaudible. "So, please favor your hosts, and show us how you score goals in your quaint hometowns."

The Giants all look confused. Some seem to have thrown on their uniforms rather hastily. But one of them claps his hands twice and whoops, and the others jog into the dugout with the precision of a Swiss watch.

"All right, then," the announcer says nervously. "It looks like, uh, Tomoe is on the mound. Who will the Giants send to bat first? I've been watching a lot of their games lately, I know they have some of the best in the league, but I'm going to guess that they'll lead off with..."

Nanami is walking out with mincing steps and a sunny smile on her face. She blows a kiss to a cheering bleacher full of Ohtori kohai, keeping an eye out for the red mane of her brother. When she reaches the plate, she taps it twice with her bat, and swings her butt the way she's seen batters do in old movies.

"...Kiryuu," the announcer says. "Nanami Kiryuu."

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

It's at times like these that the spirit of the Sister Schools really shows. Because they could cry foul and they could gasp or jeer, but instead, like the low rumbling of an earthquake, the scream rises and it is joyous. What honor -- what glory -- what student could hope but dream to pit themselves against the beloved home team of Tokyo? Win or lose, this is an unforgettable opportunity, and somewhat inadvertantly Nanami may win accolades for this move from many others.

Touga Kiryuu is indeed in the stands, his fingers tented in front of his mouth, leaning forward with the intent interest of a gamesman.

But it's green hair, not red, which is much closer to the field. In the batting cages, warming up, is Kyouichi Saionji, Student Council flunky (and rival of the aforementioned Touga). As he whips his bat to and fro, he mutters, "Well, at least she didn't demand to go fourth batter." No one will hear him but the mournful wind torn behind his practice swings.

The umpire barks, "Play ball!"

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mami Tomoe has done the weird hand gestures the pitcher is supposed to do. She has her uniform perfect. Her hat is on just right, and her arm is limber. Surely, everything is set for the high schooler to make a great showing. Surely...

Surely they're....

Mami's eyes widen, almost imperceptibly. To anyone who knows her, this is as good as actually staring. ...She only doesn't stare open-mouthed because she is elegant by so much practice. But she wants to.

Well, no. A part of her wants to do something very differently as she sees Nanami Kiryuu, of all people, apparently behind this. And...A... professional team. Everything looks awful for just a moment.

...Everything, until the batter is announced. And then?

...Would it be /wrong/ to just hit Nanami with the ball?

...No, that's not what a baseball ally of justice would do. ...And someone would probably notice anyway.

"Right!" Tomoe says from the mound. She takes a breath, puts her hands together, and lets herself feel the weight of the ball. She turns partially to the side, winds up. Her twin trills glow in the sunlight. She readies--

And Mami Tomoe throws a baseball as hard as she can!!!

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Second Base. This is where Takeo finds himself, and he tilts his head, when the Giants... THE GIANTS are announced as the opponant. Takeo does not like to loose. e gets into a baseball stance and adjests his glove.

He watches as Mami prepares to throw the ball and he hangs his head. It's not that she's throwing the ball. It's that they're playing professionals and there will be no Magic Shenanigans this time, so no need to transform. And it's not a sword fight, so let's face it. Takeo has WATCHED baseball, but the last time he played the sport was in Gym class, and the last time he played regularly was when he was Five and he wanted to be like Ichiro Suzuki before he went and joined the American Baseball league. "No matter. I'll play ball. I will represent Ohtorri." He takes a deep breath and lets it out. "STRIKE THE LOOSER OUT MAMI!!"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

What is Kiryuu doing playing against us so often, Nori thinks from her position half a subprefecture over. She adjusts her cap. She can hear it fine of course, it's not actually that bad, just spiritually remote.

I guess she's gone past even Ohtori, Nori thinks, her eyes going to the field's turf.

But then there's a motion -

Nori straightens up as she sees a pitch. Maybe...

Nanami is a rather impressive young woman, after all. She might hit it right at her.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The Yomiuri Giants? Against an impromptu *cross-schools* team of teenagers?

... and Nanami Kiryuu-san is leading off to bat for them?

Fuu lets out a sigh, and settles in a little more comfortably at third base - not *relaxing*, but there's no point in being excessively tense, it'll just slow her down when she needs to react. Mami-san launches the first pitch, and Fuu watches, getting ready in case it comes flying her way.

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"...you're kidding, right? I'm not that good a pinch-hitter, Waon-chan..." All Hibiki can do is punch into her glove at the thought that they're going to have to face off against pros...

Though on the other hand. They get to face off against pros.

She looks to her left, at the Ohtori high-schooler on second base. And to her right, at her fellow Infinity student. And finally, back to the batter...

"...wait, isn't that the same girl who found the eels?..." Nanami Kiryuu, huh? Time to find out how good she is...

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona nods alongside Mami. She understands that Mami understands. There's a lot of understanding going on.

No one must know the truth.

Her attempts to learn baseball on the fly is ground to a halt by the sounds of a bus arriving to the grounds. Her eyes widen the moment she sees what emerges from it. "T-The Giants?" Iona knew of them by reputation, but had never seen a game. What sort of money does that school throw around? And did the Giants really have nothing better to do?

Iona's eyes remain wide even when the rest of the schools start to cheer. Really? She rolls her eyes just a little bit. This isn't worth her time to be stomped into the dirt by someone way out of her league.

Then Nanami walks out of the dugout and takes her position at bat. Okay, so do they not have dignity? Shouldn't an actual Giants member be playing?

But after a few moments, there's a smile slightly forming on the girl's face, as she looks up directly at the pitch Mami is throwing. She's had to face overwhelming odds before. If it's the fate of the game that they lose...

Then she will change it.

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Nanami catches sight of her honored older brother and sighs happily to herself. "Oniisama... yes," she whispers. "I look cute. I am the cutest one on the field!" Itsuki, on the sidelines, may notice Nanami glaring at her for a few seconds.

"Not old enough to worry about," Nanami decides.

She is grinning as Mami winds up, and when the pitch comes, she squeezes her eyes tight and swings with all of her love! But she opens them when she feels nothing, and glances to the side, watching the ball ping off the fence, nowhere near her strike zone. "Hah!" she barks. "That means you're out!"

"Strike one!" the umpire calls.

"What?! Why?" Nanami demands, but her brunettes are nowhere near, so she turns to demand the answer of Iona. "Why is that a strike?"

The next pitch, Nanami swings at even harder, missing again. "Strike two!" Fuming, she sets her feet again. Maybe if she keeps her eyes open...

Ping!

"Yes!" Nanami shouts, prancing off the base.

"Foul ball!"

Nanami prances back.

Nanami is infuriated as she prepares herself. She looks Mami up and down. "Lovely uniform, by the way," she calls. "The vertical stripes were a... necessary choice for you. Very slimming. Oh! And that elaborate... thing, on your head. It is good of you to put safety before style when needs must. With that on, you will not be struck by any passing vehicles."

Nanami feels flush with power, like a vampire after feeding. When the next pitch comes, she strikes it far out into the outfield.

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mami can hear Takeo's cheer! She beams over his way, albeit in a subtle, restrained sort of way. She's not exactly a baseball /expert/, herself, but...

She sure isn't going to tell anyone that.

Instead, she lifts her head high, trying to inspire her teammates (and herself) with a show of confidence. Strangely enough, she sees the same in Iona... And that helps her, too. It's going to be just fine.

Mami /throws/, and--

"My, Kiryuu-san. I'm glad you seem to be having so much fun," Mami offers after the foul ball. But--....

Her little salvo is not really enough in the face of what Nanami says next. Mami blinks, once, surprised at the compiment--but then it isn't a compliment at all. As Nanami powers up...

Mami can't help but reach one hand partially up to her hat, involuntarily, her smile rather abrubtly faded.

The next pitch is awful. Mami's heart sinks as she turns, ostensibly watching the ball, but mostly trying to hide her face from a certain middle schooler.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fuu isn't even the target of Nanami's viciously barbed and venomous tongue, and *she* winces at the insults being levelled at the pitcher. Isn't there some kind of rule against excessively vicious psychological warfare tactics? Maybe not in the book of baseball rules, but ... oh, maybe in the Geneva Conventions?

Still, if Nanami-san wanted to inspire the Infinity/Juuban/Ohtori players to play to their utmost, she just succeeded at *THAT*; Fuu is coolly, utterly certain of that much. She, at least, doesn't intend to let Nanami Kiryuu get past third base if there's any (legal) means by which she can stop the pompous little ojousama from advancing to home plate.

But it's up to the outfielders right now; Fuu can only stand ready to catch the ball if it comes her way.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

POK!

The ball flies upwards with the momentum of inevitability. It actually takes Nori two full seconds to realize that at that angle, propelled by the immense strength of Nanami Kiryuu's passion, the ball is coming right at her! ... ish.

Nori runs forwards, accelerating herself across the field and watching the ball as it goes... fortunately there is nothing for her to run into out here, or trip over (for once), so this goes more or less as planned, except for when she leaps to catch and the ball instead slams down like the tiny fist of an unusually angry god into the turf near her.

No instant out, sadly.

But it's right there! Nori crouches down, picks the ball up, stares at it for another precious second - then looks up. Hibiki's hair catches her eye first, despite her being slightly further away, and so Nori throws the ball with great enthusiasm and indifferent form towards her!

Hikaru Shidou has left.

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

There's a whoop from somewhere between bases two and three when Mami's second pitch evades Nanami's bat - but it's brief, and Hibiki's focus swings back to the batter. Swing, batter, swing at the obvious foul-

Nope. Even Nanami won't be fooled three times in a row. Then her barbs come out, and for a moment even Hibiki is stunned quiet with anger.

Briefly, because...the ball is in the air! "Get ready - we can't let her have a home run in her first inning!" The shortstop runs, and run Hibiki shall. There's a poof of sod, and then a ball being hurtled at a running shortstop...

Hibiki leaps up, catches the ball against her stomach, and comes to a skidding halt. First base is lost. Second..."Here...you...GO!"

A girl, running toward the base, hurling a baseball with all her might. Second base, perhaps the best chance to stop this run...and close enough that only one person on the field can make the call.

The word resounds. "SAFE!"

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Takeo Akamizu watches the ball sail after the connection and moves to base, jsut in case his glove is needed. He kneels and the loud SNAP of the ball slamming into his mit, his head looking to Nanami to make sure she doens't go anywhere else. With a nod, he tosses the balllightly back to Mami. "Nice pitch Mami!" He says witha genuine grin.

Then he looks to Nanami, points two fingers at his eyes, then points those two fingers to Nanami. His expression grim.

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

"Hah! As expected!" Nanami chirps as she skids onto second. That's what she thinks she did, anyway. She actually ran there with her palms held around the level of her shoulders, fingernails tucked, heels kicking gaily with every step. She hops a few times happily, before glancing at Hibiki. "If you give me your student ID, you might find some free lunches on your account if I make it to home," she says. "These things happen."

The first Giant up to the plate looks vaguely embarrassed to be batting against schoolchildren, but he also doesn't want to patronize them. Besides, he's getting a paycheck for this. He wiggles his butt, which Nanami finds vindicating. Then he smashes Mami's next pitch all the way to Saitama.

That's what it feels like, at any rate. That ball is nowhere in sight. If a Giants fan is going to retrieve it, they'll have to organize a search party with posters, police, and bloodhounds. Nanami crosses home plate with an insoucient chirrup, while the batter jogs lightly around the field, reassured somewhat by the cheers of the home team fans. They seem to be a very positive bunch. But there's no way they are going to win this game. Unless...

"Third up to bat is... Nanami Kiryuu! Again. Somehow."

Nanami bats every other time from then out, and every time, Mami strikes her out. In between, the Giants hit deep drivers, but they only manage to get one more of their number home before Nanami strikes out with the bases fully loaded. 3-0 Giants.

As the Giants jog out into the field, Nanami takes her place on the pitcher's mound, switching repeatedly from a left-handed stance to a right-handed one as she considers which angle might be more flattering from oniisama's vantage. As the first Sister Schools batter steps up, Nanami is trying that pose where the pitcher has the ball in her glove, tucked behind the small of her back, and is bending forward while looking meditative. Her pale blonde hair tumbles profusely out the back of her baseball cap.

"I hope you're ready," she warns airily. "I won't go easy on you. This will just be my regular pitch, but if you prove worthy, I will show you..." Nanami flicks her hair over her shoulder as she rises to her full height. "Angelic Supremacy Ball Kiryuu."

Nanami does not strike out a single one of the batters.

Oh, they might strike themselves out, if they swing when they shouldn't. But about half of them will walk, and the other half will sooner or later get a sweetheart of a pitch. All nine of the starting members of the Eel Lovers will enjoy the easiest trip to the base of their life, unless they psych themselves out.

And then someone manages to convince Nanami to take a literal powder break, and a Giant demolishes the three upcoming relief batters in a row with pitches that would get pulled over on the Autobahn. Itsuki, Hitomi, and Megumi are sent back to the bleachers almost instantly, and it's on to the next inning.

By which point, the score will be?

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Coming to bat, Takeo nods once to Nanami. He narrows his eyes and dos the finger point to his eyes, and to Nanami again. He's watching. Alwaaaaays watching. Then he sets himself and gets ready to swing.

The first few are balls, and he let's them go. The third he notices is in what he has dubbed, the sweet spot, and he swings with all his might.

There is a loud CRACK as bat connects to ball, and sends it flying toward Left Field. He winks to Nanami as he sprints past. He makes it to Second before the Giants manage to save Left Field. He screams to a stop and decides not to even attempt to go further, professionals vs High Schooler.

He stands on second, ready to sprint to third if he's able.

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nice pitch?

Mami turns and catches the ball, relying on instinct more than anything else. She feels a bit slow, acutely conscious of each movement. But the team comes together...! And Mami mostly tries to avoid looking at second base for the moment, as well as avoiding looking to the stands. Instead, she'll just have to pay her next attention to the batter coming up.

"I'll get the next one!" she calls to the others, tugging the bill on her hat down a little farther. She throws...!

The vindication of striking Nanami out like ten times wars within Mami with the utter dejection of attempting to strike out professional ball players.

But striking out Nanami repeatedly /does/ feel incredible.

Once they actually switch sides, though, Mami takes a breath, trying to swing the bat to warm herself up a little bit as she's taking her turn.

Mami has no words for Nanami this time. She just sets herself in place, widens her stance, and thinks back to... every time she's watched Sayaka swing a bat.

This proves a mistake at first, as the first pitch comes and she swings /straight/ past it, still jittery and expecting Nanami to say something again.

The second comes, and Mami's too tense; she swings her bat /just/ too late. That's two down. Two, against /Nanami/.

She takes a breath. She's sure she can imagine how smug Nanami must be, but she's not looking at her face. Instead... She waits...

She /swings/, and this time with a loud crack it /connects/, and goes flying out into the outfield. It soars. It goes beyond where she thought it could, and with a half-second's delay, Mami starts running.

...But the professional outfielders do their work well, and before Mami makes it, the first-baseman catches the ball.

...On the way back, she shifts so her ribbon catches the light better.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

There really would be nothing more satisfying than wiping the metaphorical smile off of Nanami-san's face by nailing a home run, thinks Fuu as her turn at bat comes around. And with the first two pitches, she swings - genuinely whiffing the first, and coming credibly close on the second pitch to be launched her way.

After that, Fuu decides it's probably just as simple to get walked. It's an easy decision; three Nanami pitches in a row sail over the plate so far from the strike zone that Fuu could code a boss battle in the intervening space. Nanami looks just a little irritable by this point, and Fuu prepares for another actual swing - to make it look good, if nothing else.

(Not that she thinks Nanami Kiryuu deserves to look THAT good.)

The full-count pitch is faster and straighter, and the sharp *crack* of bat meeting ball even catches Fuu herself by surprise. Too bad it sails straight over the third-base foul line, giving some fan a lucky souvenir. The pitch after *that* is another ball, and Fuu walks quickly to first base, relieved not to have plowed into a disaster.

.... and even though she's an Infinity student, Fuu suspects that a vengeance-fueled Nanami would likely find some way to make her life difficult even there. Hopefully that was enough to more or less mollify her.

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Hit the lights. Focus the projector. It's time for a sports montage.

FIRST INNING

Nanami blinks, confused by Takeo's gesture. What's that mean? He's looking at her? Well, good, right? Nanami beams, though she takes care to turn her chin sharply from the prettyboy. Sorry, boys. She's not in the market for more brothers. "Hmph!" she chides him happily.

SECOND INNING

"You..." Nanami seethes at Fuu, squeezing the baseball as though it were a stress-ball. "Is there even anything wrong with your eyes? Or are you just one of those girls who wants to look smarter than everyone else? WELL? Which is it? Because you don't look nearly smart enough to wear glasses."

THIRD INNING

"Oh, it's Tomoe again," Nanami says in honeyed tones. "You know, I think you're a natural at this. I wish I could have been born with such ability." She sighs wistfully. "When I'm at bat, I have a strike zone a mile wide." Somehow she knows /that/ term. "But somehow when you're there, you manage to shrink that area down to mere inches. Is it some Tomoe family technique? Some special stance?" She puts a finger to her chin, appearing for all the world to be in earnest thought.

FOURTH INNING

"Houjou, is it?" Nanami greets from the mound. "You look like a fine athlete. Someday I hope to have your strength..." She tucks her chin, looking legitimately sad, even repulsed with herself. "I am to blame, for my own indolence. If I had your strength of character, I would have forged myself into something worthwhile... not plush and adorable like this. I could become stringy, ungainly with my own athleticism, my cheeks whittled hollow by my own willpower..."

FIFTH INNING

"I apologize on behalf of the Student Council," Nanami tells Nori. "You should not have to bat with the smell of seaweed in your nose. Oh, oh, it's just cropped up, I have no idea from whence..."SIXTH INNING

Nanami takes another look at Fuu's glasses, and pegs her in the leg with the ball with all of her (somewhat noodley) strength.

SEVENTH INNING

"Tomoe," Nanami ventures. "You have something on your..." She indicates on her own head where Mami's hat accessory would lie. "Oh... right it's... never mind!"EIGHTH INNING

Nanami scowls as a brunette clips and files a chipped nail.

NINETH INNING

Wait, what about the sports part?

The Giants are an unstoppable force, and Nanami is a consummately moveable object. For every ruthless victory they rip from their foes, Nanami hands them an equally devastating loss.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

THE FIFTH INNING

Nori purses her lips a little. Nanami's words have given her pause, and perhaps bruised her ego, even if it is one of those complicated and perplexing sideways bumps that are not uncommon in the realm of Ohtori Academy.

THE NINTH INNING

Nori is holding the bat differently now... she's rather sore but she's also managed to break in her muscles with the exciting adventure of 'not being very good at batting.' Her style has gotten looser and looser, and now when Nanami hurls that ball forwards --

Nori doesn't swing. She TWISTS the bat round, holding the club+1 as if it were a guitar, and pivots around for a sudden blocking bunt! Up it goes, towards somewhere between left and center; Nori though is already off and running, huffing.

Seaweed isn't a bad smell!

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

As Mami makes her way through the innings again and again, swinging bats and getting actually fairly used to pitching, there is one constant: Nanami /talking/.

By the fourth inning Mami has stopped even trying to actually /say/ anything in return, and her demeanor has become considerably more businesslike than it was before.

By the sixth inning, Mami has already estimated exactly how much magic it would take to gag Nanami Kiryuu for an hour.

...In the seventh inning, Mami presses her lips together and swings despite everything. ...But doesn't do so great. Again, Nanami wins that round.

But in the /ninth/....

In the ninth inning, Mami is already sure there'll be some new insult waiting, some new awful thing. She doesn't even remember what she did to Nanami in the first place to merit it. But she's holding up the bat anyway, trying to keep her breathing under control. ...Secret Tomoe family technique....

When the pitch comes towards her, Mami feels tired, to the point where she's almost relaxed; she /wants/ to go curl up somewhere unnoticed. But she sees the ball, and she starts to swing, running on habit, maybe, for what she'd usually do for something flying at her.

/TAP/.

The ball goes flying through the air. Up, and up. Mami blinks, and /stares/ at it. ...She almost forgets to run.

But only almost. /This/ ball sails out of the outfield, and Mami sprints the bases before somebody comes up with a rule that lets somebody try to /catch/ it.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fortunately for Fuu's leg, she's a good girl and drinks her milk. It's going to take more than a noodly throw to do more than advance Fuu to first base, without even having to score four balls for the walk. As for the taunting about her glasses ... well, if Fuu suspected that Nanami didn't buy the best of report cards, she might actually challenge the ojousama to a contest of grades. She's got more important things to do, though ... like finishing this baseball game so that she can go practice for the actual archery meet.

"... and so we meet again, Kiryuu-san," Fuu calls out solemnly as she comes up to bat in the ninth. "Our final battle, I'm certain. Have you made your peace with whatever gods saw fit to bless your life?" She unshoulders her bat, points it dramatically at the outfield, then settles into her ready position, watching carefully with just a hint of a smile gently curving her lips. As if she knows something.

The first pitch of the at-bat is so obviously off-target that Fuu stifles a yawn at it. "If you've tired of your career as a baseball star, I'm sure we can end things more cleanly ..."

The second pitch has more force and less accuracy; Fuu doesn't NEED to lean away from it, but does so anyway. She also doesn't need to mock Nanami any more, and she *doesn't* say anything further.

The third pitch: right down the center at a decent clip, and Fuu swings as hard as she can, eliciting a *CRACK* of impact that she's actually ready for this time. She runs, watching the ball's flight ... is it going to clear the outer fence?

.... why yes, yes it is. Probably.

Fuu just runs as hard as she can, not wanting to look back and see the ball being hurled to the next stop on her circuit of the bases after all. If it cleared the fence, fine; if it didn't, she'll find out the hard way whether she looks or not, and if she runs hard enough she *MIGHT* get across home plate before the ball cuts her off in a fielder's hand.

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Takeo Akamizu sighs slightly and shakes his head as he prepares to take the field again. He moves to the batter's box in this, the Ninth inning, and adjusts his helmet. Then spits to the side. Because that's what he's seen other baseball player's do. He nods once to Nanami and then, he does a few practice swings, before he once agian spits to the side. He nods to the pitcher. "Bring it." He says before he sets himself to bat, eyes narrowed.

He isn't sure he's even going to get to swing, as the first three throws are all balls, and one of whihc nearly takes his head off! He does the finger to the eyes, then points at her agian wiht a dour and serious look.

Then he recieves the final pitch. There is an ear spitting crack as Takeo sends the ball somewhere near the Moon Kingdom's domain. (That's what he likes to think. In reality, he sent it to left field again. Not for planning, but because he hit the thing in teh wrong spot. Again.) He sprints, while the Left Field tries to figure out what's happening, as he sent it deep into the outfield.

Takeo is fast, and if he cna't slide at least ONCE then he isn't playing baseball. "It's what Suzuki Sempai would want." He says ans he pumps his arms and legs furiously and rounds third base. The Catcher, standing, throws off his mask to better see the ball as it sails toward him. Takeo hit sthe dirt in a slide that kicks up a lot of dust. He blinks up at the catcher and says very calmly as the Umpire declares him safe, "Um... Could you sign my Baseball? It... It's for my sister...."

Yeeeeah. He'll believe that.

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

"Are we going to lose?" 08 asks 31. 08 was first draft pick out of the minors. Baseball is his whole life.

"Maybe," 31 sighs. "If the kids play real smart." He has small bar themed entirely around him in the Golden Gai, with his first game ball hung on the wall with his signature.

"Are there reporters here to tell everybody we lost?" 08 wonders.
"Maybe."

"Think she'll let us pitch?"

"Maybe," 31 says again.

Nanami is standing on the mound with her head thrown back. "O ho ho ho!"

"On second thought. Not a chance," 31 says.

Nori is on base when Fuu strikes her glorious blow against ojoukind, and by all rights, she should have sent both of them home. In any fair game it would have been a home run. But a sprinting Giants outfielder sails through the air past Saionji like one of Fuu's arrows, spearing the ball, and it zooms in a three-point pass all the way back to home base just before Nori can reach it. Mami just barely avoids the same fate, but brings the score even through Saionji's incompetence.

"The moment has come, then," Nanami retorts to Takeo. "I hope you are ready to face... my final attack!"

Nanami inhales, then slowly lifts her knee and chambers the ball. The sun is beginning to set as she draws her arm back, and as her body goes taut, the light hits the fence behind her, and the broad wings of a seraph seem to spread from her back. When she opens her eyes, the righteous fire of Oniisama Heaven blazes in them.

Angelic Supremacy...

Kiryuu...

Ball!

Nanami snaps her arm forward, and is forced to hop a few steps on one leg, overbalanced. The ball whizzes lightly through the air. It's really wobbly. It might be an all right curve ball. Or slowball.

"It's a REALLY SLOW curveball!" the announcer gasps in histrionic disbelief.

And Takeo knocks it into the next life and scores a homer.

As he's getting his baseball signed, Nanami falls to her knees and starts wailing. The brunettes get the hospital screen around her before the tears show up.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Nanami might be distraught, but she's the only one.

The crowd -- all three schools' worth -- rushes the field. Someone is smart enough to pull the cord for more rose petal confetti, and there is a loud and messy moment of joy, all beaming teenagers and flailing limbs. The Sister Schools team are the heroes of the moment, and this day will be spoken of for all of history (or at least until everyone graduates and institutional memory has forgotten it).

Among the jubilation strides Touga Kiryuu, tall and magnificent, his booming laughter a golden, baritone bell. He schools his features to pure seriousness as he approaches his beloved younger sister, however, and gently clasps the side of her face in one enormous palm. The other love of his life, his cell phone, is gently clasped in the other hand; today of all days, surely he is very hooked into all of the proceedings.

"Well done, Nanami. Your brilliant play has brought all the students of Ohtori such joy." He knows his audience, and doesn't say 'the Sister Schools' for a reason. "Now, come," he commands, "It's time for the three-legged race!"

Slinging an arm around her shoulders (and a thumb across his phone), he gently guides her off the field -- and other students begin to scatter to their next events, as well. They know where to go because the massive digital board has once again blinked its updated list.

Including:

Three-Legged Race
- Nanami Kiryuu and Touga Kiryuu

*blink*

-Nanami Kiryuu and Touga Ki

*blink*

-Nanami Kiryuu and Tou

*blink*

-Nanami Kiryuu and Kyouichi Saionji

1-16-2016 - Ohtori Sports Festival, Part One

2016-02-08T23:59:24Z

Lucientes: Lucientes moved page 1-16-2016 - Ohtori Sports Festival, Part One to 01-16-2016 - Ohtori Sports Festival, Part One: Same verse as the first

#REDIRECT [[01-16-2016 - Ohtori Sports Festival, Part One]]

1-14-2016 - Terribad Timeout

2016-02-08T23:58:41Z

Lucientes: Lucientes moved page 1-14-2016 - Terribad Timeout to 01-14-2016 - Terribad Timeout: Apparently I need a 0 at the beginning for it to show up in logs, silly me

#REDIRECT [[01-14-2016 - Terribad Timeout]]

2016-01-14 - Terribad Timeout

2016-02-08T23:58:40Z

Lucientes: Lucientes moved page 1-14-2016 - Terribad Timeout to 01-14-2016 - Terribad Timeout: Apparently I need a 0 at the beginning for it to show up in logs, silly me

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Terribad Timeout'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''During practice for the Sister Schools Sports Festival, Namakelder arrives and engages in his own Sports Festival.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Lera Camry]], [[Fuu Hououji]], [[Setsuna Higashi|Cure Passion]], [[Makoto Kenzaki|Cure Sword]], [[Nori Ankou|La Sirene du Nord]], [[Iona Hikawa|Cure Fortune]], [[Fu Inubozaki]] 
GM: Kozue Kaoru
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Nishitama Park District
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Sep 23 2014 - 1/14/2016
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Kozue Kaoru [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

It's a perfect day for spending one's time at the park. Warm but overcast, with a light breeze that heralds autumn's arrival. Most of the open fields claimed by sports have sights one would expect, of teenagers playing baseball, football, and more... but one in particular has become a spectacle to behold.

A group that's comprised mostly of Infinity middle schoolers have claimed what is usually a football field, but the goals aren't set up, instead, they're making hobbled laps around the lines. Why? Because they're divided in pairs, with one leg apiece bound firmly to another person's. Falls aren't just commonplace, they've become frequent to the point of absurdity. All the while amplified comments sound throughout the park, "Good recovery! Now let's show some hustle! Where's that school spirit?!"

The 'coach' making all that commentary is a spiky haired blunette in an Infinity PE uniform which she's added her own little touch to. A white headband around her brow, tied in the back. She's standing near a bench with several other piles of equipment, including coils of thick rope, marked batons, fishing lines, packages of bread, and stacked tires. Watching the warm up race reach the finish line, she raises a megaphone to her mouth and flips it on to end that event, "That's enough of that for now. Good work everyone! Untie yourselves and take a breather."

This unconventional practice is just a glimpse of the spirited festivities to come between the Sister Schools and crowds of spectators have formed accordingly. While unannounced, park going students that want practice for more peculiar events have been permitted to join in... as friendly rivals!

Once everyone was untied and next to the bench, she lowers the megaphone and holds up five fingers, "Five minutes and then we'll set up the obstacle course. Everyone be ready to show me your burning spirit!"

Good natured grumbling ensues all around, as more than a few nervous looks were cast at the red packaging with decorative flames around certain One Hundred Fold Super Spicy Curry Bread! Something may be burning alright.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lera Camry might be a high schooler, but she was placed with the middle schoolers anyways for this three-legged race. The reasoning was, apparently, that 'she was too tall for both of them.' She isn't sure that she follows this line of reasoning, but she went with it anyways.

It didn't work out so well. Lera is athletic and has excellent balance and grace, to be certain, but she really wasn't used to three-legged races. The girl she was partnered with was much shorter, too, and the height difference...

...well, she has been falling a lot today. She came in somewhere close to last.

Now, with a five minute break, Lera takes off towards the other side -- ignoring the suspiciously hot-looking curry bread -- and starts to walk towards the sideline. She is looking for one person, in particular: a Juuban student. Also, her water bottle. She sighs, shoulders slumping. "Well," she murmurs to herself, "at least I won't fall--"

She hits a little hole and falls, face-first, into the ground with a whump! Lera's eyebrow twitches as she looks up and finds herself staring right at a pair of red tennis shoes.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

On the one hand, Fuu doesn't usually worry too much about the track-and-field events for sports festival days; she's usually more concerned with the archery meet, or with non-sports activities if archery isn't on the schedule.

On the other hand, when her classmates and juniors are so enthusiastic about making the best possible showing for Infinity at the upcoming Sister Schools sports festival, who is she to put a damper on anyone else's enthusiasm? Her archery skills aren't going to suffer for a little less practice, and she could always use some more practice at running and related activities ... although, she thinks as she unties her leg from her partner's, three-legged races aren't usually part of fighting the latest monster to crawl out of the shadows.

At least her glasses have survived a few tumbles - mostly because she knows how to fall down safely, *and* she has one of those elastic bands helping keep her glasses in place so they don't just fall off given the wrong set of inertial vectors relative to Fuu's head.

With her leg untied from her partner's, Fuu gets back to her feet, stretching her legs a little bit during the break. She's mildly (and perhaps morbidly) curious about what the curry bread has to do with anything ... but doubtless she'll find out. For now, Fuu looks around to see how her friends, classmates, and other acquaintances are faring; she's hardly going to be a champion on the track tomorrow, unless EVERY serious runner gets stricken with something horrible.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cue one friendly rival here on the scene, in Juuban red instead of Infinity blue: one Setsuna Higashi, looking with seriousness upon the field as she turns back around to consider the warmup they just tried.

...She'd fallen about six times so far. Matching someone else's pace is hard...!

"Right!" Setsuna answers their announce, and finally makes her way back, just in time to look for--

"...Hi, Lera. I don't think you need to practice falling anymore." Beat. Further beat. ...then, she offers a hand up.

She hasn't even /looked/ at the curry bread.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kenzaki [None] has posed.

Makoto Kenzaki is not a student at any of the Sister Schools as of this time, so the practice activities have nothing to do with her. However, the park is open to anyone and everyone, and in between her busy schedule as an idol, she noticed news of the upcoming sports festivals. The Princess would like that; she always did like moving her body around, and she's always been one for public spectacles... It's a dim hope, but it's hope nonetheless.

A totally normal-looking girl in an oversized floppy white hat and red lensless frames watches the goings-on with a sort of distracted indifference as she meanders at the edges of the gathering. Truth be told, it would be nice if she could join in, too... but she doesn't have time for that. A stranger like her wouldn't fit in, anyway.

She tilts her head as curry bread starts coming out, not quite close enough to see exactly how hot it's labeled as being. What kind of sports event would need bread...?

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Nori Ankou has gone out for the athletic training here, not least so that she does not embarrass her school, but also for a lack of other clear things to do -- and a surfeit of school spirit. She had been teamed up with one of her contacts from the woodwind section of the Ohtori orchestra for the purposes of the three-legged race, but that girl has now ducked behind the bleachers, possibly from a surfeit of public attention.

This leaves Nori seated on the bench, taking sheer pleasure in simply not being on her feet or lashed to someone else.

She watches with benign curiosity as Lera takes her spill, but her attention is drawn slowly, steadily, but surely towards that ominous BREAD...

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona Hikawa has been mostly focused on her karate skills these past few days. In fact, she's dressed in it right now, having originally showed up to practice some of it herself. She's on her own and pointed away from the actual festivites, though every time she hears someone fall, she casts an wary eye back towards the track, in case one set of three legs decide to stumble their way into her own activity. For the most part, her karate practice is slow and methodical, though there's a swift uptick in speed every time she hears someone fall, almost as if she wants to get everything done before someone ultimately crashes into her.

When the call for a break comes, she sighs in relief and decides to join the group, walking over to the bench and taking a seat. When she does, she looks directly at the spicy curry bread. Just how spicy was that bread, anyway?

Iona decides she doesn't want any part of /that/.

<Pose Tracker> Fu Inubozaki [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Before the three-legged races even began, Fu had her eyes peeled for a certain stubborn transfer student whom apparently had decided to skip out on the races altogether. But no matter, she would simply have to round up her friends and pay a visit to Miss-Doesn't-Like-School-Activities later. This left the blonde-haired middle-school student paired up with one of her other classmates as her partner instead. The now three-legged duo did their best to keep up the pace, but it was not long before Fu's group also ended up butt-over-teakettle onto the ground.

Thankfully, they were soon saved by a certain blunette's megaphone which harkened the end of the practice. "Don't worry. As long as we try our best, we will do just fine." Fu says confidently to her three-legged race partner as she unties them and then proceeds to where the refreshments are. Oh look! There were a few people over there that she didn't know, but she did recognize several of her classmates and even the upperclassman that had joined them. Fu strolls on over with a bright smile on her face and says, "Camry-senpai, how did you do out there? I saw more of the ground than...." Sniff-sniff. Fu's suddenly hungry eyes settle on the fire-red wrapping of the curry bread that was being passed around. She also noticed a few of the hesitant looks on some of the other girls' faces. Whatever was someone like Fu to do?

The answer was simple; she was going to take decisive action. "Let me try one, I'm feeling famished from all that falling." Fu then attempts to aquire the nearest available piece of bread and take a big bite out of it.

<Pose Tracker> Kozue Kaoru [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Several of the volunteers were carrying in football goal posts, sans nets. The packages of fishing line were being carried ominously away. With a hand on her hip, the 'coach' grins at Lera, "Well senpai. Looks like you're celebrating the 'fall' season in your own way."

But when Fu suggests she tries it because she's hungry... "Huh? You really want to try it? I mean if you're just hungry we've got sweet buns too... Melonpan..." And when she does, there's a heat her mouth so searing that Fu likely feels like she wants to spit flames. A torment straight from the deepest bowels of Tartarus that feels like it's going to last forever... unless she's really really used to horribly overspiced food that is!

The coach's eyes light up like she just got the best idea, "Sugoi! I get it! I like the way that you think Inubozaki-san! Maybe we should have everyone take bites as part of our training rather than leaving it up to random chance!" ... one of the assistants opens up a cooler and mercifully hands Fu a milk carton.

It's probably fortunate for everyone this line of thought is interrupted by the dapper gentleman approaching the sidelines at a sedate pace. "How irritating. How am I supposed to enjoy skipping out on work when everyone is being this noisy?" He does spare the girl in the floppy white hat a look, "What a lovely hat." It sounds like a compliment, but there's this otherworldly gleam to his yellow eyes that might make one think otherwise, "It doesn't look like it brings you much happiness though. Ah well." He sounds almost like he's letting her off.

He doesn't part the crowd of spectators, and he doesn't go around it. That's just too much trouble. One moment he's behind it and the next in front, uncaring that this was observed by someone he was speaking to.

Everything from the lax dip of the antenna in his hat to down to the spindliness of his legs gives onlookers the impression of a grasshopper. Namakelder puts a gloved hand to his mouth, allowing himself a brief yawn, before finishing his approach, clapping his cane down to the ground as he faces the coach, who's bending down to grab the remaining bread packages. "You there, why don't you take a time out? LET THE FUTURE REFLECTED IN THE MIRROR TURN TERRIBLE!"

Spreading his arms wide, he's encircled by countless coffin shaped mirrors. A blast of light, and the shocked girl is naught but a despair ridden visage inside a dark mirror, laced with ribbon binds. "COME FORTH - TERRIBAD!"

Emerging from the mirror is an enormous monster with dark and rubbery skin. Around it's forehead is a white headband, just over the top of its sharp opaque red glasses. Its arms are misshapen, giving one the impression of no joints, but simply thick fibers, that branch into five wiry fingers. Its legs are squat and black, while its feet are covered in red paper with fiery motifs on the side. "Terribad. Let's make this unsightly park a paradise." Screaming starts right away, spectators and students alike understandably panicked.

And just like that, colorful, odiferous, mold starts appearing everywhere. Namakelder, takes the opportunity to settle down in a misshapen dip within it, putting his booted feet up on a squishy pile. The middle of the field itself becomes the thickest mass of it, quickly eroding the ground until it collapses upon itself, becoming a decaying pit.

COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru transforms into Youma Form Timeout for Terribad!
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has fully healed herself. She is now ready to take on 7 opponents!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"P-Practice makes perfect, y'know?" Lera sputters, as she makes herself sit upright and rubs at her forehead. She remains sitting on the ground for a moment, though, before she clutches Setsuna's hand. She takes her help to hop to her feet. She fires a quick glower in the direction of the underclassman that made fun of her, though.

"That was pretty hard," she sighs. "I'm not sure I get it. We're not gonna jog like that often, y'know?"

She rotates her arms back, over her head, and stretches them out. She glances about, first at the curry bread, and then she looks off towards Makoto Kenzaki. She waves at her -- someone standing by themselves, after all -- but doesn't linger too long. The Midchildan looks back at Setsuna.

"Maybe I'll be good at the next one!" she declares, happily. "Like if it's a normal American sporting activity, like rock climbing or sword fighting or anti-grav--"

One of the underclassmen is approaching. She laughs a little awkwardly, cutting her statement off, and she turns to face Fu. "Hi, Inuzobaki-san! I, um, I didn't... do so great, y'know? Kinda fell a lot. Um, this is--"

She starts to motion to Setsuna, but Fu's attention is distracted. Lera's head tilts to the side and she raises one eyebrow. She must have been hungry, Lera reasons.

She may not be aware of the bread's true nature. Yet.

But then, Namakelder shows up. Her eyes widen -- she turns, glancing at him, and she cries out a warning. It comes too late; the Terribad appears, drawing from the curry bread, and that familiar mold begins to spread. She hisses, softly, before she glances at Setsuna. "It's them!" she says. "The ones that I fought, the time..."

The time before, when Setsuna told her about her guilty feelings. She can't be quite certain what the former Executive will decide. Lera can't make that decision for her. Hers, though, is easy enough: "...I'm gonna get in there."

She grimaces, before she looks back at Namakelder. She holds a hand up into the air above her head. "Soaring dreams, fiery love! Soaring Sky, SET UP!"

<Get Set!>

Light flashes up in a ring around Lera. Her coat appears, fluttering outward; the feather charm in her hair winks into existence. The tiny pen in her hand expands outward with a flash of gold, becoming a broadsword-shaped Device. Lera spins it down, pointing it towards the Terribad. "We're not gonna let you ruin the park with that... that /mold/! This is a nice place, y'know? And--and everyone was having a lot of fun, too!"

Lera leaps into the air -- then she goes flying with a burst light, in a straight line. She leaves an orange-red aura in the air, as she spins around, and slashes her blade hard at the side of the Terribad when she closes in.

COMBAT: Lera Camry transforms into Barrier Jacket Perihelion!
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Line Burst on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru narrowly braces Lera Camry's Line Burst, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Kozue Kaoru's Block ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Much like she tends to avoid serious track events, Fuu also tends to avoid extra-spicy foods when she can. Her almost-namesake's enthusiasm for the curry bread (of doom) has her looking on with some trepidation; the fact that somebody brought milk to help wash the spices out of people's mouths is a noteworthy relief.

... And then somebody turns a Terribad loose on the field.

Putting the lie to her aversion to track and field, Fuu *RUNS* away from the monster and the spreading mold, sprinting until she's safely past the edge of the sports grounds, and continuing until she's clear out of sight. Just what any smart girl should do when a monster appears out of nowhere and a formerly-healthy field turns all moldy and dank and terrible, right? Of course, that mainly applies to smart, *ordinary* girls ...

"Belief becomes power ... winds, guide me!"

... and Fuu Hououji is not quite as ordinary as she looks. Once she's out of sight of the field and the other students, she ducks behind a conveniently-located public restroom to pull her jewel-glove out and transform. Then the Magic Knight of Wind starts making her way back towards the field, wondering how many other magical girls will have joined the fray by the time she arrives. Ideally, she'd keep her distance and rely on arrows and spells - but that's an approach which yielded mixed results against the recent swarm of Terribad appearances, and further, it depends on being able to SEE the target from range.

Fortunately, Terribads are generally pretty big, and that headband makes a convenient target to focus on. The Wind Knight pulls an arrow from her quiver, quickly taking a kyuudou stance as she nocks the arrow, draws back, sights along the shaft, and lets it fly ...

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji transforms into Magic Knight!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Basic Archery on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru narrowly braces Fuu Hououji's Basic Archery, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Kozue Kaoru's Block ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

"...Oh! That was a pun, wasn't it?" ...In a delayed reaction, Setsuna beams at Lera, having taken a few extra moments to get the coach's joke. ...Though it seems Lera was less enthused about it than she was, causing the younger girl to close her mouth a moment after that. She glances Fu's way, too, though she doesn't recognize her personally. Even as she does, she answers, "I don't think they're going to have any American events like that."

...The deadpan delivery might make it worse, not better.

"Eh? Maybe I should--"

The bread looks pretty good--though the sudden explanation as if there's something wrong with this one gives Setsuna pause. Before she can say any more, though...

The dapper gentleman shows up. Shows up, and is then right /here/, all of a sudden, and in the next moment, everything changes.

"What--" Setsuna's eyes widen as she watches the strange mirrors, and listens to a chant not so different from one she's made before. She can feel that awful darkness herself as the monster steps forth from the mirror, taking half a step back as she stares towards it. Screaming starts--but she doesn't scream. Setsuna freezes in place. She can hear Lera saying that she's going to get in there, mentioning who it is, again, but in that moment, she can only stand amidst the growing chaos.

...But she remembers something else, something she'd decided already. And even if the others aren't here...

Her Linkrun is already in her hand. "Change!" Turning its key, she opens the device, pressing one o the buttons as she stares forward, "Pretty Cure! Beat... Up!"

Crimson light surrounds her in that instant, taking advantage of the chaos to transform, too. She falls, as if falling through the ground for an instant, but only leaps upward, the red glow forming into the pieces of her new battle attire in an instant. She lands on both heeled boots, clicking against the hard ground of where she's standing, hands already formed into a heart.

"The crimson heart is the proof of happiness!" She moves the symbol over the clover on her outfit, "Freshly ripened! Cure Passion!"

She's still for only half an instant, then, narrowing her eyes, pink hair flowing in a sudden breeze. "Everyone is working hard for this festival! ...I won't allow you to ruin their efforts!"

The others are already moving. Cure Passion steps forward, and leaps into the air, somersaulting forward before uncoiling to propel herself at the monster, outstretched fist-first. "Haaa....!"

COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi transforms into Cure Passion!
COMBAT: Cure Passion has used Passion Punch! on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru narrowly braces Cure Passion's Passion Punch!, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Kozue Kaoru's Block ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The appearance of Namakelder draws Nori's attention, blinking a few times, before he addresses the coach.

Her lips turn down into a frown when he starts dropping remarks on mirrors. She turns and runs, along with some others, of course, because this seems like a disaster waiting to happen - she just doesn't take the same route as others. To her bag, which she reaches into, disturbing Batiste -- who had been curled up in a windbreaker, eating clam chips and watching a video on the OtterPhone --

And to clasp the Brazen Pharos firmly.

"Twinned in the mirror," she breathes. There is a shimmer of blue and black and silver -

"It must be something bad," Batiste remarks.

"Awful," la Sirene du Nord confirms.

The two of them round the corner, then, glimpsing the field -- Batiste's fuzzy brow furrows in confusion. He has little experience with mold, which does not make a big appearance in the Sea of Tears, what with the salt, the strange glaring daylight filtered through clouds, the regular scrubbings, and so on.

La Sirene knows what it is very well and lets out, eventually, a completely aghast squeal of disgust. "What are you - This - You're RUINING the field! Euwww!!" After some gesticulation in midair, she finally ends up orienting the Pharos towards the Terribad and gripping the lens control open to send a streak of that (hopefully sterilizing) black un-radiance forwards, perhaps to get some of this mold under control!

COMBAT: Nori Ankou transforms into La Sirene du Nord!
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has used Pieces of the Perfect Black on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kenzaki [None] has posed.

When a redhead Makoto doesn't know waves to her, she waves back without thinking, then stares at the dark-haired girl next to her. Isn't that...? Oh, what was her name again? Setsu...? The fortune-teller girl. Makoto feels bad that her name has slipped her mind, considering she'd done her a good turn by telling that fortune for her. It was accurate too, albeit not in the way Makoto had hoped. And there's another girl, in a karate gi and a ponytail--that's the other fortune-teller girl, isn't she? She takes a few steps towards Setsuna and Iona (although they aren't together), thinking to thank them again, when an antennaed man in a top hat compliments her on her own hat.

Makoto stops short and stares at him, expression guarded. Possibly that's what saves her; he notes her lack of happiness and moves on, quite literally. He already looked suspicious, but when he outright *teleports*, Makoto understands even without recognizing him what's about to happen. Unfortunately, with him teleporting, she loses sight of him and whomever his imminent victim might be.

"Makoto!" Davi whispers from the phone in her pocket. "Let's slip away and transform!"

"All right," she murmurs, backing away from the crowd, then hurrying towards the treeline.

Her suspicions are dubiously rewarded. A moment later, Cure Sword makes the scene, leaping up into the air with the sun at her back, veering down towards the Terribad foot-first as mold spreads hither and yon, turning a brisk autumn day into an allergen nightmare.

COMBAT: Makoto Kenzaki transforms into Cure Sword!
COMBAT: Cure Sword has used Pretty Cure Kick on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Cure Sword has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru narrowly dodges Cure Sword's Pretty Cure Kick, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru narrowly braces La Sirene du Nord's Pieces of the Perfect Black, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Kozue Kaoru's Block ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Parry ability activates! Blind applied to Kozue Kaoru!

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona's still sitting on the bench, taking a breath and watching everyone else do the same. She sees one of the girls /go for the bread/. Now, Iona does have something of a loner streak, and she keeps herself aloof from other people's business...

But she feels like she really needs to speak up. She opens her mouth to do so when the 'coach' suggests they all do it.

Iona's mouth shuts closed and she gets up as politely as she can, making her way back towards her section of the park. She doesn't get too far, though, when Namakelder makes himself known to the students gathered here. Iona clenches her teeth and balls a hand into a fist. She really, really wants to just punch the general right this moment in his stupid lazy face.

He saves himself from this fate (and probably Iona herself from her own) by closing the mirror shut. Her odds of doing so no longer good, she ducks behind one of the random bleachers and pulls out her mirror.

The light of transformation comes and goes, and Iona checks out in favor of Cure Fortune. The purple-clad Pretty Cure dashes directly for the Terribad, reaching back with a fist and letting it rip on the monster.

COMBAT: Iona Hikawa transforms into Cure Fortune!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Fortunate Punch on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru fails to dodge Cure Fortune's Fortunate Punch, taking 22 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Fu Inubozaki [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

After taking her bite of the curry, Fu stands there proudly with her hands on her hips. She playfully beams a smile at Lera and Setsuna and reports, "No sweat." Yes, no sweat just like the -actual- sweat that was starting to drip down the sides of the middle schooler's face. It does not take long before this burning sensation catches up to the rest of her body and she suddenly looks very flushed. But thankfully two things happen. One, an assistant hands her a milk carton and two, Itsuki and the others were not there to see her turn into a fiery tomato.

A watery eyed Fu downs the milk carton and short order just in time to see a rather dapper looking bloke appear out of seemingly nowhere. She grits her teeth together as she struggles to keep her eyes open to see what this ne'er'-do-well was up to! Well, this certainly was no Vertex attack, but she had to do something to help! Fu was not about to let this person endanger all these innocent people without a fight. Inugami, Fu's dog-like fairy companion, is seemingly of the same mind as he helpfully holds Fu's cellphone in front of her. She presses the center button on the cellphone and a bright yellow light soon erupts around the slowly recovering teenager. Adorned in a new uniform made up of different greens and yellows, a transformed Fu stands there with her right hand outstretched to her side. A massive sword that is easily two or three Fu-lengths appears and she easily rests the huge blade on her right shoulder. Taking a deep breath, she points her non-sword holding hand towards the Terribad. "I don't know who or what you are, but I'm not going to let you come close to Itsuki and the others!"

Fu decides to make good on her threat by dashing up into the air with her sword trailing behind her. She suddenly shifts her weight and comes dropping down out of the air at an alarming speed. The yellow clad swordswoman attempts to land past the Terribad, swinging her great sword as she passes in an attempt to slash the Terribad across its left side.

COMBAT: Fu Inubozaki has fully healed herself.
COMBAT: Fu Inubozaki transforms into Yuusha Fu!
COMBAT: Fu Inubozaki has used Hero Slash on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Fu Inubozaki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru fails to dodge Fu Inubozaki's Hero Slash, taking 38 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has fully healed herself.

<Pose Tracker> Kozue Kaoru [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Namakelder, does offer an idle remark to La Sirene, "Ruining it? Hardly. When I see the indignation in your eyes become despair, you'll know how much of an improvement it was all along." A gleaming orange-red blade slashes the at the Terribad, whose fibrous arms whip inward to block. It doesn't seem like it can take a slash, but they certainly do, slapping Lera's fiery blade just a little off the mark it singes into already darkened skin. Another swipe, takes out the Magic Knight's arrow, though the Terribad shakes its limb after, having gotten poked.

Cure Passion's punch causes the creature to perform a more impressive acrobatic feat of leaping and acrobatically turning with the punch to make certain all its force doesn't hit center mass. Just in time for Cure Sword's kick. Already airborne, it's in a less than ideal position, it slaps it back down for the one two combination.

Just as La Sirene du Nord paints the field black. Some of the mold blackens, and disintegrates, but it hardly affects most of it. If anything the mold just seems to take this in stride and keeps on multiplying its mass. The Terribad on the other hand, gets its red glasses painted over black. Its limbs try to hastily wipe away at the lens, but to no avail as it stands back up.

Which leaves it completely open for Cure Fortune to score a decisive hit, her punch slamming it backwards into an abandoned goal post, which it topples over like someone pushed it over a waiting classmate. And while it's down, Fu's giant sword cuts a gouge in it's side. It's a notable mark to its flank which doesn't appear to be healing anytime soon.

Namakelder looks a little irritated by how quickly everyone showed up, especially Pretty Cure but mostly bored, resting a chin on a hand, "Why so hasty? I'd expect that of Pretty Cure but not the rest of you. Are you really sure you want to leap right into this? Maybe you should relax for a while instead. Queen Mirage may have ordered me to conquer this city but that doesn't mean we have to do this right now."

The Terribad's headband responds as soon as it's up, gleaming with green energy, before it appears to come off its head, even though the original remains. The glowing cloth expands out longways and seems to home in on people's legs with the force of a barreling car, before contracting to squeeze around them. Each one strikes at least two people, before tying off into devious knots that feel more like iron cannon balls from the sheer weight.

"If you're going to be so insistent, you might just regret it." All around, hordes of Kindabads appear as if they were standing behind the piles of mold all along. They aren't charging yet though. They're raising their fists in what looks to be jeers... and cheers. The Terribad on the other hand, leaps back a ways.

COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Three-Legged Discord on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Three-Legged Discord on Cure Sword.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Three-Legged Discord on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Three-Legged Discord on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Three-Legged Discord on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Three-Legged Discord on Fu Inubozaki.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Three-Legged Discord on La Sirene du Nord.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly counters Kozue Kaoru's Three-Legged Discord, taking 18 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Reverse ability activates! Lera Camry's Tactician ability activates! Tangle and Trap applied to Lera Camry!
COMBAT: Lera Camry's counterattack, Aurora Bolt, partially gets through, doing 5 Fatigue damage to Kozue Kaoru!
COMBAT: Cure Passion fails to brace Kozue Kaoru's Three-Legged Discord, taking 18 Fatigue damage! Tangle and Trap applied to Cure Passion!
COMBAT: Cure Sword narrowly braces Kozue Kaoru's Three-Legged Discord, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Cure Sword's Block ability activates! Cure Sword's Parry ability activates! Tangle and Trap applied to Cure Sword!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune fails to dodge Kozue Kaoru's Three-Legged Discord, taking 22 Fatigue damage! Tangle and Trap applied to Cure Fortune!
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord narrowly braces Kozue Kaoru's Three-Legged Discord, taking 10 Fatigue damage! La Sirene du Nord's Block ability activates! La Sirene du Nord's Parry ability activates! Tangle and Trap applied to La Sirene du Nord!
COMBAT: Fu Inubozaki narrowly braces Kozue Kaoru's Three-Legged Discord, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Tangle and Trap applied to Fu Inubozaki!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lera's teeth grit as her sword swings. Then, next to her, she hears something -- 'Haaa....!' -- and turns her head to the side in time to see Setsuna's punch strike at the Terribad with her sword. She grins at her, brightly, before saying: "Set--" She catches herself. It doesn't dampen her smile in the slightest. "Cure Passion! Y-You came to help!"

She gives the red-suited Cure a long look. For a split second, it's like she forgot she was in a fight. It doesn't last, though; the Terribad is right there.

She misses, of course, Fu Inubozaki's transformation. In fact, Lera glances around -- to see if she fled -- and then she looks forward again. She notices Yuusha Fu, lit up yellow and with a sword. She grins at her, flashing a thumbs-up in her direction. "It's called a Terribad! It's, um, big and spreads that mold stuff! We gotta stop it, so we can free the girl stuck in there! Then--whoomph!"

The tie slams into Lera, dragging her back -- and slams her into Yuusha Fu, catching them at the legs. Lera points Soaring Sky at it, energy dancing up the sword, and loosing as a bolt of golden light.

Unfortunately, Lera is grounded -- and her left leg tied to Fu's right. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me!" she yells. "I-I can barely do this! U-um--" She looks at Fu, then frowns, and nods her head. "We've both got swords... let's jump at it on three, and try to hit it at once!"

They can do that, right? Please, she thinks, let them be able to do that.

She waits for the affirmation, then starts counting down -- possibly in tandem -- with gritted teeth. "One! ...Two!"

A breath. "THREE!"

Lera leaps, hoping her timing is good. The girl goes airborne, twisting to the side. A magical circle appears in front of the two; when they go through, light bursts around it, and Lera chops her sword from one side -- leaving the other for Fu to strike from, like a pair of magical girl scissors. Her blade ignites, fire rushing off it.

As it gets in close with the Terribad, a fang of explosive fire shoots off the sowrd, and straight towards the monster in advance of her slash. <Inferno Slasher!>

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly dodges Kozue Kaoru's Three-Legged Discord, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Inferno Slasher on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru perfectly counters Lera Camry's Inferno Slasher, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! Kozue Kaoru's Reverse ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru's counterattack, Terribad dislikes Smoke, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Lera Camry!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

No sweat...?

...Setsuna is going to remember Fu Inubozaki, all right.

But that's something for later; for now, Passion has to think about the battle at hand, rather than Setsuna thinking about something else. And so, as she charges in beside Lera, she finds to her surprise--it shouldn't be her surprise--that she isn't the only Pretty Cure here. But it's easy to be surprised given the circumstances: she's swinging hard, and one of those Cures happens to be taking advantage of the opening she hadn't even meant to leave. "Right!" she answers Lera, "Then we'll strike fast!"

Immediately, Passion leaps backwards through the air, trying to get out of the way in order to get a better angle for her next attack.

"Not right now!?--You can't be lazy at a time like this! I won't let up on you just because you don't know how to work!"

Passion crouches to start another attack--

The glowing cloth slams into her leg hard enough to stagger her, and the Fresh Cure stumbles just before she's abrubtly weighed down by something she can't quite understand, until--

She glances to either side, her senses awash in... purple.

"/You!?/" She gapes at Sword, and doesn't recognize Fortune at all. "Hmph--Don't think I've forgotten--" She grits her teeth. "Just try not to get in my way!" She looks to Fortune, "Come on! Let's go!"

Stuck by the ankle to /two/ Cures, Passion tries to move--but in practice, only serves to become unsteady. "You're the one who's going to regret this!" she shouts angrily at the servant of Queen Mirage before her, "On three! We can do this!"

...But she's sort of... Ignoring Sword. Even as she does her best to encourage Fortune.

COMBAT: Cure Passion has used The Crimson Heart on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene du Nord [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

La Sirene moves her lantern aside - her finger pointing ahead. "This is disgusting!! Disgusting, ewww! Don't interfere," she tells Namakelder. "Inhaled mold is AWFUL for you. You could be giving everyone respiratory illnesses just before the sports festival!!"

Then the headband bursts forwards, aiming for the legs. "Magic Knight!" la Sirene calls out, leaping forwards to try and vault over that cloth - but it manages to get her right in the left leg, lashing around and hauling her back to earth, where she lands heavily.

THUMP. Her boot, in fact, sinks several inches into the ground. With a huff, she says, "This is nothing --" And attempts a step forwards, only to nearly topple forwards in her own right. "Gh--!"

Batiste, whose tiny paws are too small to be wrapped up, runs forwards, scampering up la Sirene's coat and to her shoulder. He says to the Magic Knight, urgently, "Don't let yourself be -- I mean to say, don't give up, just because your legs are bound. Remember, the true steps of motion take place in your heart. Coordinate your actions and find the rhythm you need to succeed!"

La Sirene's face contorts. Not with disgust at Batiste's hastily regeared encouragement, so much as at... at the /mold/ and the /headband/, this entire situation is rapidly becoming the literal, factual, objective worst!

COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has used Carpe Aonyx on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji accepts La Sirene du Nord's Carpe Aonyx, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Withstand applied to Fuu Hououji!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune accepts Cure Passion's The Crimson Heart, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Accelerate and Empower applied to Cure Fortune!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The Magic Knight of Wind leaps away from one of the flying headbands, twisting to try and dodge another one, and comes down next to La Sirene du Nord - right as yet ANOTHER length of cloth nearly knocks her right leg out from underneath her, en route to attaching it to La Sirene's left. Her bow and quiver vanish as she staggers, managing to recover some semblance of balance. "He's right, La Sirene-san," she points out to the magical girl of the ocean's deep mysteries. "Our powers and our abilities may not match up particularly well, but we've fought side-by-side often enough to know each other's capabilities, right? We can do this, as a team."

The Wind Knight loops her right arm over La Sirene's shoulders - mostly because trying to do anything ELSE with it will just bump into her partner, probably repeatedly, or throw both of them off-balance. "I doubt that monster is going to give us the leisure to find a good tempo," she adds, the first part mostly to Batiste. "Trying to keep a waltz time might help, though ... you *were* at those lessons, weren't you? The 'princess school' course ... ?"

She's no more fond of the mold and the monsters than La Sirene du Nord is, of course (common ground where one can find it, yay), but coordination *is* going to be key, and she's trying to focus on that to begin with.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Favorable Observation on La Sirene du Nord.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord accepts Fuu Hououji's Favorable Observation, taking 0 Fatigue damage! La Sirene du Nord is Cheered!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Sword [None] has posed.

Cure Sword rebounds off her kick on the Terribad and lands nimbly to glare at Namakelder. "If you don't want a rush, then you shouldn't have come out at all!" Cure Sword declares, pointing a righteous finger at him. "Go back to the musty hole you crawled out of!"

Hordes of Kindabads make their appearance, though they don't seem to be attacking just yet. Sword narrows her eyes at them... but no time to lower her guard now. The Terribad flings green energy bands towards the magical girls, and she crosses her arms in front of her to brace the incoming strike... but it turns out she should have leapt for cover instead. Although she weathers the blow itself well, all of a sudden she staggers to one side, bumping hard into someone, attached at the ankle to... a couple of other Pretty Cures?!

The look on her face says it all.

But while Sword knows Fortune, and expects harsh words from her, Passion's displeasure comes as a surprise. She blinks at her twice when Passion nearly sneers at her. "...Do I know you?"

Cure Sword, it would seem, never got the bulletin about Eas becoming a Pretty Cure.

If she's being ignored, that's fine by her. She scowls and shoots back, "The same goes for you!" Then, trying not to fall flat on her face as Passion moves and just makes the whole group wobble like jell-o in an earthquake, she draws her Lovely Commune and sets a Cure Lovead.

"Shiny... Edge!!" she calls, sweeping her hand forward. It glows with lavender light, then shoots a pair of magical blades towards the Terribad with merciless intent. No pawn of evil will go unpunished under her watch!

COMBAT: Cure Sword has used Shiny Edge on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Cure Sword has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru narrowly braces Cure Sword's Shiny Edge, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Cure Sword is Psyched! Kozue Kaoru's Block ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune draws back after the punch and tries to get some distance before it tries to retaliate. She draws back her fist again. "Fortune..." However, one of her legs yank out from under her and draw her to the side. She looks towards her movement direction and sees... pink and red. And more purple further down. The Cure clad in pink, she didn't recognize. But the other one, she remembers, and her face darkens just a little bit. She looks away from the other two cures with a 'hmph'. Poor Cure Passion, caught in the middle of the two Purple Cures...

Which might make Fortune actually receptive when Passion tries to organize. There's a brief look to Passion as she tries to organize, but the sudden movements of Passion makes her leg move forward without her bidding, and she plants her free leg down to try and keep the Cure mass from moving too much.

This may make everything worse.

Fortune spins the dial on her brace. "Fortune..." She raises an arm, forming five purple stars. "Star..." The stars turn into rings. "Ring!" And with that, they fly off towards the Terribad.

Somewhere, on the bleachers, some of the mold rumbles and parts away, and in the wake stands Glassan. She is for some reason dressed in a jersy and shorts, and she's wearing her trademark glasses. The fairy waves two fans, one the ever-typical Japanese sun-flag, the other a purple star. "Go, go, Cure Fortune!" She yells to the wavering mass of Pretty Cures.

COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Fortune Star Ring on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru perfectly braces Cure Fortune's Fortune Star Ring, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Brace! Kozue Kaoru's Block ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Fu Inubozaki [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

These new opponents seem very different from the typical Vertex. For starters, the transformed creature was 'created' right before her eyes using an innocent bystander and it physically looked far different than anything that she had fought before. And woah! Was that a Dark General commanding this creature?! This was just like the Hero Club puppetshow coming to life! But if that dapper fellow was playing the role of the bad guy, then that meant Fu was going to have to play the part of the heroine. Fu grins. She is just fine with this little role-reversal. "Yo! Dark General! I'm not going to let you get away with whatever it is that you are planning! I'll pummel you until you see the light!" She shouts with all the grandiose bravado she could muster for that moment.

Lera's timely explanation helps explain a few necessary things to Fu. She turns towards the transformed girl and nods her head appreciatively. "If beating this thing up will save her, then I'll do everything I can to help!" Fu replies just as the Terribad's strange attacks comes forth. The terrible blow might have been even worse if it wasn't for Fu's fairy showing up to block some of the blow. But it was still going to hurt for Fu to fly through the air and slam against Lera. To add insult to injury, they were apparently bound together which was going to severly limit their options.

But thankfully, Lera had a similar attacking style to her. Normally, she was the one taking charge, but this girl did look older than her. Also, she wasn't exactly in a position to protest too much since they were now bound together. "We can do this. Our combined girl power will easily overwhelm our foe!" With that said, Fu steels herself for the next manuever by switching her right-handed grip to a left handed one. It was going to be to difficult to swing right-handed from that side.

"One," begins Fu as she grips her massive sword tightly. "Two," continues the swordswoman as she begins to crouch slightly in preparation to jump. "Three!" She yells in tandem as she follows Lera through the magic circle and towards the Terribad. The yellow clad magic girl raises her sword now above her head and grins fiercely. Her sword suddenly enlarges so that it doubles in size and she follows through with a HUGE swing of her own to uphold her part of the scissor attack!

COMBAT: Fu Inubozaki has used Even Bigger Hero Slash on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Fu Inubozaki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru narrowly braces Fu Inubozaki's Even Bigger Hero Slash, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Kozue Kaoru's Block ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Kozue Kaoru [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

"Mostly correct. Except you don't have to do anything. None of you do." Namakelder comments at Lera's exposition, before giving Cure Passion a dispassionate look, "Of course I can. It's one of the privileges afforded to me for being a General of the Phantom EmpireWhy should I exert myself when the Terribad is ready and willing to do all my work for me? Shouting commands unnecessarily is such a waste of energy."

Out of the corner of his eyes he looks at Sirene du Nord, "Wouldn't that be delightful? See if you can get Pretty Cure-" A look at the trio, Cure Fortune in particular, "-to breathe a little more deeply, won't you?" An idle look is made to the Hero as she issues threats, and he just smiles like he's patiently indulging her, Oh? Wouldn't that be a sight to behold? I think not though.

The Terribad begins backpeddling defensively as the girls begin moving towards it, to make it harder on them. When Lera's flaming strike gets close, it throws a tremendous swipe, not wanting to get anywhere close to that blade that causes the slash glance off the shoulder, raising smoke. Wary of Fu's own sword in the follow up, its leg knees upward suddenly, and sparkles fly as it makes contact. The creature stumbles backwards, staggered by the strength behind it.

The Cures advance while it's off-balance, Namakelder simply smirks at Passion's dislike of Sword and their wobbly advance, "Such sweet discord. Wouldn't it have been better for you not to have gotten involved at all rather than making mockeries of yourselves? Then again it does save me the trouble of tracking you down later." The smirk is wiped off his face however the moment the trio get in close enough to score a hit, first from Sword's lavender blade to get a grazing hit. The Starburst like punch forces the Terribad to dig its feet into the field, then whip up both arms, before slapping downward suddenly just as the rings make contact. There's an explosion, a haze of smoke rising, then red glasses gleam behind the haze, giving the impression of anger.

In the aftermath, the knots tying the bonds to the Magical Girl's legs all unknot save for Fuu and Nori, who both still seem quite thoroughly bound together as a three legged pair...

Suddenly the arms of the Terribad drape downward, tendril like appendages ripping off the packages from it's feet. It's then that they can see that it's feet? It's made up of bread, bread of many different shapes and sizes. The creature presses down at its knees and leaps into the air, before waving it's legs wildly. With each motion, it kicks loaves of bread through the air as leavened projectiles of various shapes and sizes.

Many loaves just strike and batter each of the combatants relentlessly but eventually one aims for just inside of each person's mouth. There's nothing preventing them from dropping it, except for the lazy comment of... "I wouldn't drop it if I were you."

That is when the Kindabads make their move, all rushing from their places in the mold to take the field just in front of the Terribad. Some squat over down onto all fours, others leap onto the other's shoulders like cheerleaders forming pyramids, arms outspread to try to catch anyone advancing on the Terribad and run interference in this impromptu, living obstacle course.

COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Day old Stale Hail on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Loaf is all you Knead on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Day old Stale Hail on Fu Inubozaki.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Loaf is all you Knead on La Sirene du Nord.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Loaf is all you Knead on Cure Sword.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used One Hundred Fold Kare Pandemonium! on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Lucky Sweet Bun! on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry accepts Kozue Kaoru's Lucky Sweet Bun!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Empower and Surge applied to Lera Camry!
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord fails to brace Kozue Kaoru's Loaf is all you Knead, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Kozue Kaoru is Psyched!
COMBAT: Cure Passion narrowly braces Kozue Kaoru's One Hundred Fold Kare Pandemonium!, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Passion's Block ability activates! Cure Passion's Parry ability activates! Blind applied to Cure Passion!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune narrowly braces Kozue Kaoru's Loaf is all you Knead, taking 3 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Sword fails to brace Kozue Kaoru's Loaf is all you Knead, taking 8 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Kozue Kaoru's Day old Stale Hail, taking 8 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Fu Inubozaki fails to brace Kozue Kaoru's Day old Stale Hail, taking 17 Fatigue damage! Stagger applied to Fu Inubozaki!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

"Is this some kind of game to you!?" Passion shouts at Namakelder immediately, "Getting power from someone else doesn't give you the right to act this way!"

The veteran of many shouted commands tries to organize with Fortune... But it doesn't work terribly well. Worse, Sword. "You--" Passion hesitates, "You don't need to know me! I remember how you treated Cure Pine!"

Their attacks work, though, and she's freed in an instant, breathing heavily as she stretches her now-mobile legs. "The only mockery here is you! You--"

She throws up her arms as the battery begins. She manages to avoid a number--until just one hits her straight in the face, forcing her to turn to the side, and involuntarily bite down on--

Hot.

She's not supposed to drop it. The rule is clear, and maybe out of some devotion to that by habit, or maybe out of stubbornness, she insists to herself that she won't--but the single bite /alone/ is already torture. Surely this must be some awful attack, not something anyone would /really/ eat.

Setsuna is rendered speechless in the moment, tears already flowing from her eyes at the sheet awfulness of the spiace. She can only barely see the blurring outlines of the Kindabads before her. She has to /win/. She can't be shown up by--

Passion /sprints/ forward, closing her eyes outright, and practically blurs. Relying on pure speed, she attempts to leap through outstretched arms right /past/ the Terribad--...Well, she's aiming /for/ the terribad--and striking out as soon as she feels it close.

COMBAT: Cure Passion has used Flash Feint on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru perfectly counters Cure Passion's Flash Feint, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Counter! Kozue Kaoru's Reverse ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru's counterattack, Kindabad Obstacle Course, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Cure Passion!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"C-C-Combined girl power...?" Lera repeats, softly, as they make their strikes. Her blade is batted hard to the side, her weapon raising upward. She yelps -- but the impact breaks the tie. Lera pulls away from Fu, glancing quickly in her direction. She nods. "I-I see watcha mean! But--but don't talk to them like that!" she says, turning to yell at Namakelder. "They're... they're all trying their best!"

Even if Passion yelled at Sword. Lera's eyes widen a little, when she hears why.

And, worse, loaves of bread are flying for them. Lera yelps -- and then one of those pieces of bread comes flying in towards her. Her mouth is open, and the resulting shot hits her mouth. She makes a face -- and bites down.

Then she tastes it. ...And takes a bite, but only one..

<Did... did you just eat gross battlefield bread?> Soaring Sky asks, sounding disgusted. <I--I think I would be sick. If I had anatomy.>

<<It was a sweet bun!>> Lera whines telepathically to him. <<I-It was really good, y'know?>>

<Lera, that's vile!>

Lera catches a sight of Cure Passion moving, with that likely very hot curry bread in her mouth (the conversation earlier today comes to mind), and sees her striking at the Terribad -- and moving past the Kindabads. She grits her teeth, then looks at Fu. She can't explain, but she can motion at the Terribad. Then, she bolts after the tear-streaked blur of Passion.

And a group of Kindabads, forming a pyramid, stand in front of her. Lera yells, with a loud but muffled cry, and does a sharp spinning kick right for their formation.

Lera tries to give a mid-air thumbs-up at Passion, but she can't quite call out at the moment.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Sonic Kick on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru narrowly counters Lera Camry's Sonic Kick, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry is Psyched! Kozue Kaoru's Reverse ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru's counterattack, Kindabad Obstacle Course, partially gets through, doing 29 Fatigue damage to Lera Camry! Tangle applied to Lera Camry!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Loaves of bread go flying all over the place - and the Wind Knight and La Sirene du Nord are still joined at the leg, which seems a little unfair. They'll have to do something about that -

Except that the Wind Knight's mouth is abruptly occupied by a stale roll, making her go cross-eyed briefly. Plus a handful of those Kindabad 'mooks' (which are still dangerous in their own right) just got in the way of charging at the Terribad.

At least Batiste is starting to keep time for them, the little otter reciting a steady three-count. The Magic Knight of Wind lets out a breath, and focuses on the rhythm, her weight dipping slightly on the 'one' down-beat. She can't use her sword or her bow, she can't cast spells ...

Or can she? She thrusts her left hand forward, thinking the words that her mouth is too full to say, and tries to cast a Winds of Admonishment to sweep the Kindabads out of her and La Sirene's path ...

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Admonishment on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru narrowly counters Fuu Hououji's Winds of Admonishment, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji is Psyched! Kozue Kaoru's Reverse ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Tactician ability activates! Trap applied to Kozue Kaoru!
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru's counterattack, Kindabad Obstacle Course, partially gets through, doing 23 Fatigue damage to Fuu Hououji! Critical Counterhit!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Sword [None] has posed.

/Mockeries/? That definitely ruffles Cure Sword's feathers, and she glares at Namakelder just before unleashing her magical attack on the Terribad. It doesn't bring a smile to her face to see his wiped off his face, but there is a certain grim satisfaction there. She didn't *ask* to get attached to these /Pretty Cures/.

Cure Fortune, at least, is making less of a fool of herself than Passion is; Sword can appreciate how she's getting right down to business. Passion instead yells at Sword for her treatment of Pine, and-- "How can you remember something you weren't there for?" she asks, baffled.

The implications may hit her later. Sword is just too straightforward a human being.

As the ankle attachments dissolve, she falls into a roll to one side to get herself well away from the others. A rain of bread falls after, though, and she finds herself pelted until finally one regular roll falls into her mouth. "?!?" she utters, about to spit it out--but then Namakelder makes his comment, and she thinks she'd better not... just in case.

Instead, she races for the obstacle course of Kindabads. If they're going to run interference, then all she has to go is get them out of the way. She's called Cure Sword for a reason: straightforward and sharp. Magic once again pours from her Lovely Commune, but this time in the shape of a blade. As she rushes into the herd of Kindabads, it swishes and slices from side to side as she attempts to cut a path.

...So to speak. There's no blood here; this is a kid's show.

COMBAT: Cure Sword has used Glow Edge on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Cure Sword has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru narrowly braces Cure Sword's Glow Edge, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Kozue Kaoru's Block ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Fu Inubozaki [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fu Inubozaki's bright glowing sword returns to its standard size after her swing connects against the Terribad. She shoots Lera a quick grin at their success one-two attack and her grin gets wider when she notices that their leg restraints were released. "Never underestimate girl power! We did it! Now let's follow through!" Fu accompanies her exclamation with a slight cheer using her sword-holding left hand. But this celebration is soon cut short as Fu gets utterly devastated by a barrage of day old bread. This time, not even Inugami can appear to save Fu from this onslaught. Knocked down to a knee, Fu uses her sword to push herself back up onto her feet. She's a little unsteady, but she's soon brandishing that great sword of her menacingly. "You'll....you'll have to do better than that!" She says half to her foe and half to herself. There was no way she was going to let her friends down!

The transformed green and yellow sword-swinger starts her assault by following after Lera and Cure Passion and it is at this exact moment that one last piece of stale bread finds its way to its target and lands in Fu's mouth. Blech! It was stale! However, even the most stale battlefield bread was nothing compared to the fiery curry bread earlier. Bread still in her mouth, she resumes her march forward through the obstacle course. She uses her sword to knock back the first few Kindabad, but a large pyramid of them loom before her. Fu views this obstacle before her carefully. Just how was she going to get past -that-?!

It was time for Fu to stop loafing about and get rye to it!. She takes a big step forward, plants a foot down, and spins low. As she comes out of her spin, she swings the flat side of her huge sword at the pyramid of Kindabads in an attempt to crush their hastily formed obstacle in one blow!

COMBAT: Fu Inubozaki has used Kneading to get Serious! on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Fu Inubozaki has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Suddenly, the binding surrounding Cure Fortune's ankle drops away, and she immediately leaps forward. But she stops briefly once she hears Passion complain about how the other Pretty Cure 'treated Pine'. She knows of a Cure Pine, yes. But she had never heard anything like that before. Is that what happens when Pretty Cure gather together, do they just descend into petty insults? Her face scrunches up again. Do they just not like to work together?

Turning, Fortune decides that the less she has to do with the other Cures, the better. She doesn't want to be in a situation like that.

Then the breadstorm happens, engulfing Fortune in its wheatiness. One of them even finds home and stuffs itself in her mouth. She moves her mouth around, trying to decide whether to eat it or spit it out. It doesn't taste bad, all things considered. Deciding to put that for later, her eyes narrow directly at the Terribad, and clenching her teeth as best she can (given that the space around her teeth is filled with bread), she jumps directly at the Terribad (hoping to avoid the swarms of Kindabads), trying to give it a swift kick to the face.

COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used High Fiber Kick on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru narrowly braces Fu Inubozaki's Kneading to get Serious!, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Fu Inubozaki is Psyched! Kozue Kaoru's Block ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru narrowly braces Cure Fortune's High Fiber Kick, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Kozue Kaoru's Block ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene du Nord [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

La Sirene's expression brightens. (Well, it remains dark and pale at once, but it's a figure of speech.) "Ah -- so I do - Then Batiste, if you will keep the time."

The otter starts to count off steadily. "ONE two three ONE two three ONE two three--"

Forward they go. And forwards, in front of them, are the swarms of the kindabads... as well as the obvious fact that they are not making very impressive time in this situation. She opens her mouth to call something out - and gets a baguette for her trouble, the loaf of french carbohydrate landing firmly in her mouth as she bites down, like it's an immense, wheat-based cigar. "Mrfgh!"

Well, she can remember worse breads she has eaten. She's about to spit it out when they get a reminder.

Gritting her teeth and drawing back her lips, la Sirene keeps moving forwards in time. Lacking the ability to call forth any words, now, with her mouth so full of delicious carbs, she raises the Pharos up with her freer hand and feathers her grip on the handle...

Casting a vast and flickering shadow behind the Kindabads. Perhaps it'll throw some of them off their games - it's certainly helping la Sirene's mood, which is otherwise rather down, between her restraints and her breadening.

COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has used Brockenspectre on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru fails to dodge La Sirene du Nord's Brockenspectre, taking 10 Fatigue damage! La Sirene du Nord is Psyched! Diversion applied to Kozue Kaoru!

<Pose Tracker> Kozue Kaoru [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Namakelder smiles at Passion's indignation, "Someone is taking this rather personally. I'd almost mistake you for Cure Fortune over there, if you weren't..." He gestures, not just at her attire but her cheeks, red faced and flushed from the spicy Karepan, "...very red from something other than rage." Idly he remarks to Lera, "And their best just isn't good enough. It's still not too late to put your feet up."

Passion sprints, and like some Western football team the Kindabads respond, some of them shifting side to side, others charging at her. More and more and more all creating a mass which she just barrels through at first with her blinding speed, knocking them aside like ten pins, but with each one she strikes, her speed slows down just a little. Just enough, until a dozen or more all pile on her like they're tackling someone about to hit the Endzone. In the end, Passion reaches with her fist. And it barely taps the side of the Terribad that's tryint to retreat a step backwards, making contact right before the Kindabads pull her away.

It's taking all they have just to restrain her even this much. Lera on the other hand tries to kick right into the formation and she does in fact kick one Kindabad, it shrieks as it's sent spinning it right into the Terribad. Splattering against the bigger creature, it does its job. Which is the exact moment when all of its partners latch onto Lera, pulling her out of the air and pummeling her right in the middle of her thumbs up.

The Magic Knight's whirlwind again causes the Terribad to dig in its feet, the gale force winds making its arms and headband tips to fly backwards as if it were in a wind tunnel, Kindabads being swept up into the atmosphere as they're bowled aside. But what goes up... must come down. And they do, flailingly right on top of the Magic Knight. Some of them might even be flapping their arms as if to try to direct them that way, in vengeance.

By now, most of the Kindabads are 'Kinda' preoccupied preventing the advance of the others, which means only about a half dozen rise up to meet Cure Sword's challenge. Darting in she cuts through one, then another, shearing them aside until they disperse into motes of nothingness, right before the edge cuts into the Terribad at what must be its ankle. Both of its sinuous limbs grab at it, as it hops on one foot backwards, away from the gleaming energy blade.

Fu comes in behind her, getting rye to it, and takes out at least another half dozen that are cleaved in half for only a moment before they disperse. The mere pressure wave of her titanic blade in the wake of the swing is enough to cause the Pressure wave to lose it's balance on it's hopping one foot, causing it to crash into a bench. It feebly raises a fibrous limb to try to turn aside Fortune's kick from it's supine position, with limited success as it's struck in the chin, causing it's neck to twist.

Meanwhile, any Kindabads that are preoccupied with restraining or beating up any Magical Girls present see a shadow looming behind them. They pause long enough from fear to free them from this treatment. Some of the Kindabads even flee outright, Namakelder scoffs, "Tck. Jumping at shadows? No matter. Terribad, bring an end to all this foolishness. Let me see the despair reflected in their eyes when they finally realize what a mistake it was to challenge the Phantom Empire!"

And the Terribad certainly responds vigorously enough to seemingly belie Namakelder's sloth. It leaps high into the air, before landing... on the other side of the pit of mold that's in the middle of the field. It's limbs, like thick ropes extend across to the other side of it, before it splits four ways with its left arm to try to catch Lera, Fuu, Nori, and Fu within its coils and three ways with its right to try to attach to the three Cures.

... And then it begins to pull towards the pit of mold. Because it's split fewer ways with it's right, it's able to exert more force towards the Cures.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Kozue Kaoru has used Purikyua and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Terribad day! on Cure Sword.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Kozue Kaoru has used Purikyua and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Terribad day! on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Kozue Kaoru has used Purikyua and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Terribad day! on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Terribad Tug on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Terribad Tug on La Sirene du Nord.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Terribad Tug on Fu Inubozaki.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has used Terribad Tug on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Kozue Kaoru's Terribad Tug, taking 32 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Fade ability activates! Lera Camry's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Passion narrowly dodges Kozue Kaoru's Finisher, Purikyua and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Terribad day!, taking 65 Fatigue damage! Cure Passion's Fade ability activates!
COMBAT: Fu Inubozaki narrowly dodges Kozue Kaoru's Terribad Tug, taking 31 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Fu Inubozaki's Fade ability activates! Fu Inubozaki's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord narrowly counters Kozue Kaoru's Terribad Tug, taking 9 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord's counterattack, Les Mysteres, partially gets through, doing 25 Fatigue damage to Kozue Kaoru!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"Don't talk about them like that!" Lera shouts, as she gets pulled down by the Kindabads -- and pummeled good, finally losing her bite of sweet bun. It falls, lost -- but it did its. Their blows hurt job. Lera grunts, briefly unable to see either Fu, Passion, or any of the other Cures. It doesn't stop her.

Her sword swings out in a circular arc -- and explodes with light, sending the Kindabads that had been on her away. It happens just in time for the Terribad's thick ropes to come shooting in. It grips her, then starts to drag her, hard.

<Gh! Careful!> Soaring Sky chimes.

"I know!" Lera yells. She digs her feet in, hard, heels dragging on the ground to try to slow the pulling. She glances back across the battlefield, taking stock -- and then sees Setsuna get hit. It brings the memory back, unbidden, when Northa's vines shot clean through her. It isn't nearly that bad.

She still forgets to breathe for a moment. Lera gets dragged a couple of feet, before she remembers herself. Her heels dig back in.

"Set--" She catches herself. This will take some getting used to. "Passion! You can do it! I-I know you said you weren't sure if you had any right to do this, but... but you've done your best, y'know? You can handle something like this! I know you can!"

The Midchildan mage glows for a moment. Then, the same red-orange glow gathers around Cure Passion, and infuses her briefly with a fiery aura.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Soaring Dreams! Fiery Love! on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Passion accepts Lera Camry's Soaring Dreams! Fiery Love!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Accelerate and Empower applied to Cure Passion!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune narrowly dodges Kozue Kaoru's Finisher, Purikyua and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Terribad day!, taking 52 Fatigue damage! Cure Fortune's Fade ability activates! Cure Fortune's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Sword narrowly dodges Kozue Kaoru's Finisher, Purikyua and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Terribad day!, taking 37 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Passion feels... A little lost, frankly, amidst the chaos; she attempts to charge through the Kindabads, no retort immediately to mind for her at Sword's pointed question. She doesn't quite see Lera's encouraging gesture; she can't really see... Well, /anything/ right now, not Fu swinging out or the Terribad beyond a raw blur.

...But she'd find it easier, she thinks, if her teammates were here. Peach would know what to do.

"Of course I'm taking it personally!" Passion finally spits out, breathing heavily once she manages to let go the bread. She still feels the unsteadiness of being thrown back quite so hard as she was, but it at least affords her a chance to watch the others--and watch their success.

"Never! I--Gh--" The ropes stretch out towards her, the awful limb easily taking hold of her by the waist, pressing her arms to her sides. Struggling, Passion nevertheless is tugged forward, trying and failing to dig her heels into the ground in order to stop herself. She'd told /Sword/ not to get in her way, and now...

The struggle requires her to breathe in harder, and she finds herself coughing as she gets too close to the pit of mold. It /hurts/, to say the least, and she still can't see--

...But she can hear. She can hear Lera's words, and feel her magic, for once not working against her but /for/ her.

Cure Passion's eyes snap open. "I--I won't give up!" she says, blazing briefly with spectral flames. "Not--" She tugs back, and manages to free one arm, "here!" and forces the other free, barely still on her feet. She can't slow herself far. ...But maybe she won't have to.

"...Passion...Harp!" Conjuring her weapon, the Fresh Cure starts to play a melody on it, forcing herself to work at it--"Pretty Cure....!"

She begins to spin, trying to gain momentum to tug back, as hearts of red begin to spin around her, "Happiness.... Hurricane!!"

She doesn't stop spinning. She just hurls out her arm, jabbing the harp outward, and a torrent of cleansing magic crashes towards the mirror-double Terribad.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Passion has used Pretty Cure Happiness Hurricane on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly dodges Kozue Kaoru's Terribad Tug, taking 41 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Fu Inubozaki [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fu manages to free herself from the latest round of dastardly traps by swinging her way through the Kindabads while on her way to the Terribad. But before she can get a good swing on her main target, it launches its next attack. The rope like appendage of the Terribad gets swung her way with a troubling amount of force behind it. Diving to the side, she manages to get out of the way of the initial slam, but only barely. From her prone position, she's unable to stop the Terribad from grabbing ahold of her and for it to start dragging her towards the mold pit. This was bad, real bad! Fu takes her giant sword and jams it into the ground. This action, while tiring, allows Fu to get back up onto her feet and have some time to contemplate her next action.

From her now standing position, she can get a good look at those still fighting this thing. It's too bad they didn't have time to regroup and hit this thing all at once. They were going to have to improvise.

Thankfully, improvising is one of Fu's many talents.

The blonde magic girl can feel the tremendous strength in which the Terribad was tugging at her with. But maybe she could use that to her advantage. What Fu is about to do might not be the most intelligent thing she has ever done. But this wasn't about doing the smart thing. This was about doing what she felt would keep her compatriots -safe-. But there was no way for to keep her fellow magic girls safe if her entire side was pulled into that mold. Fu suddenly knew exactly what she needed to do. "Everyone! I'm going ahead!" And with that shouted, she lifts her sword up out of the ground which allows the Terribad to fling her towards its side of the mold pit. It was this forward momentum that Fu was counting on. This was her chance!

Raising her giant sword above her head, Fu Inubozaki grimly smiles as her sword surges with yellow power and grows to atleast three times as big as it was before. "Take my attack that's full of girl power!" yells Fu as she draws her arms back even further behind her head. She then twists mid-air and brings her giant sword crashing down in a mighty swing! This swung blade attempts to cleave off the entire arm that the Terribad was using to drag Lera, Fuu, Nori and herself into the mold.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Fu Inubozaki has used Executive Power on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Fu Inubozaki has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The Magic Knight of Wind finds herself free from both the three-legging and the bread obstacle - and just in the nick of time, as she gets yanked into the mold in an impromptu (from her perspective) tug of war. On the plus side, her arms and mouth are free now, and she had a halfway decent lungful of air on the way into the moldpit. She tries to hang onto it long enough to get her head above the surface again ...

"STORM-DANCE OF KAMAITACHI!!!"

And as if she's making up for lost time, she unleashes one of her most devastating spells, the sorcerous tornado lashing out at Terribad and any remaining Kindabads alike. She does what she can to keep the wrath of the storm focused on the central 'boss' monster; it's the main threat, and while the Kindabads are bad enough in their own rights, taking *them* out won't end the battle. Finishing off the Terribad is the only thing that'll put an end to the monster attack, and she knows it.

She also makes a mental note to try and track down the 'girl power' blonde with the tmassive sword, and exchange introductions - magical or mundane, or (preferably) both. Maybe she can handle the first before anyone goes their separate ways after this fight ... ?

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune lands from the kick, her teeth finally managing to bite down enough to seperate parts of the bread. She then pulls the largest chunck out of her mouth and throws the bread to the mold covered ground. She eats the rest, though. Not bad. But this attempt to dislodge the bread gives enough of an opening that Fortune is wrapped up by the Terribad's rope limbs. "W-What?!" She sputters as the limbs start to drag her towards the mold pit. She pulls her arms to try and dislodge them from the ropes. The ropes hold firm, however. She does her best to grab the vine with both hands and walk backwards. This does actually work, somewhat, as Fortune finds that while she's still sliding backwards, each step does briefly stop the pulling. But after each step the pulling continues, dragging Fortune further towards the pit.

Deciding that wasn't working, she tries to pull her arms out of the vines again. This time, however, the finally rip themselves free of the vines, and she looks directly at the Terribad.

Fortune spins the dial on her PreBrace. "Pretty Cure!" She sweeps her other arm in front of her, creating a cluster of bright stars. "Star Streaaam!" She swings her arm forward, sending the stream of lights towards the Terribad, hoping to fill it with relaxing light.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Fortune has used Pretty Cure Star Stream on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Sword [None] has posed.

Cure Sword charges with valor towards the Terribad, magical sword gleaming in the autumn sunlight, even as mold spores grow across the field. The magic disippates, though, when the Terribad leaps high into the sky and lands on the other side of the pit of spores. Cure Sword doesn't have time to figure out what it's trying to do, and when Fortune leaps off to do her own thing and Passion is too occupied with her own fight to snap anything back, that's fine by her, because the monster whips rope-like limbs out at all of them, snapping around Sword's arms and jerking her forward.

Digging her heels in barely does any good; she just drags parallel lines along the dirt as it drags her towards the pit. She grits her teeth and pulls backwards against it, using her weight to make it a little easier. It's only a little; she doesn't weigh a lot. But...

She glances to one side at the other magical girls assaulted by the Terribad, one of whom (Fu) uses a sword twice as big as she is to charge forward and attempt to cut to the heart of the matter, as it were. Cure Sword can appreciate the direct approach, certainly, and she fixes a determined glare on the monster herself, then jumps up and over in a kicking cartwheel. Once the rope has loosened enough, she calls, "Davi!"

"Davi~!" her fairy partner chimes in return, floating up decisively before her. Sword grabs the Cure Lovead with her teeth, then plants it on the Commune, so that it radiates with brilliant light. They coalesce into lavender swords, around Cure Sword and in both her hands, as she shouts, "Twirl!"

Then, rather than *tugging*, Sword advances blade-first, all of her magical blades sweeping through the air as she twirls artfully along. If she can cut herself free, she'll attempt to jump up on top of the rope-like appendage and sprint up it, safely above the mold pit, over to the Terribad, and finish her dance choreography with a resounding, "SWORD DANCERRRRRR!"

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Sword has used Twirl! Sword Dancer on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: Cure Sword has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene du Nord [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Those big ropy limbs lash out. One of them snaps round la Sirene's waist and she ends up getting her hands on it before she can be hoisted inwards into that HORRIBLE PIT full of the WORST THINGS EVER, where she will be converted into evil pencillin over the course of a thousand years! Or so she thinks. The Brazen Pharos rattles in her grip as she cries out in dismay.

And then -

There is only one problem with the Terribad's position.

By placing a grasping binder at la Sirene's waist level, which she's gotten her hands on, the Terribad has given her not merely a problem to deal with, /but something to propel her magic along./ Her eyes gleam with determination in a moment as she raises her right hand, breathing to herself, "Les Myster-es--" The momentary gurgle as the grip tightens.

She leans backwards and strikes downwards. "Come!" she calls. And silver light ripples round her -- except that with a tenndril of this sort she doesn't so much send a burst of inky-silver force at her target as send it /straight into/ what might well be part of the Terribad's own body! It's cold and stark and shiveringly delightful in a spooky way.

The counterstroke comes back up, aiming to send another burst - complete with an almost subterranenan bass /hum/ from striking this 'chord' and building its potency - downwards as she sees the Pretty Cure erupt and the swinging fist of Fu come down to try and get the Terribad into a state of /disarmament/.

COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has used Les Mysteres on Kozue Kaoru.
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru narrowly braces Fuu Hououji's Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Kozue Kaoru's Block ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru fails to brace La Sirene du Nord's Les Mysteres, taking 37 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru fails to dodge Fu Inubozaki's Finisher, Executive Power, taking 99 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru narrowly dodges Cure Fortune's Finisher, Pretty Cure Star Stream, taking 48 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru narrowly braces Cure Passion's Finisher, Pretty Cure Happiness Hurricane, taking 52 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Kozue Kaoru's Block ability activates! Kozue Kaoru's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Kozue Kaoru fails to brace Cure Sword's Finisher, Twirl! Sword Dancer, taking 94 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Kozue Kaoru is unable to keep fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Kozue Kaoru [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Namakelder watches closely, looking invested in this battle for the first time. "How pointless. Investing your efforts into something as meaningless as a Sports Festival. All of that hard work will amount to nothing in the end."

Winds buffet the Terribad from the Magic Knight, the Tornado swirling around the Terribad, causing it's arms to creak and strain to keep the tugging up. Whereas La Sirene strikes a chord that shifts along the rope and straight into the creature with silvery power. It's limb stills for long enough that Fu's sword cleaves it right off, with all the Girl Power she can muster behind it!

The taut limb, now severed entirely, causes the Terribad to howl out 'Saiiiiarkkkkk!' and lose its balance for a few crucial moments. A cluster of bright stars falls towards it, and the Saiark tries to dip to the side to avoid it. As if a true star had touched it, it cries out again, searing wisps of black as the dark magic holding it together is unravelled thread by thread.

Passion's Hurricane of red hearts cluster around it, swirling, and the creature's red eyes glimmer with something, "Nirva-" "Oh? No I don't think so. It'd be too troublesome to hunt you all down again." Suddenly those eyes brighten with malice, and its shoulders bulge. It seems like it's about to cast off all of their efforts.

Which is when Cure Sword rushes up the rope arm, slicing herself free in a single motion, and with a dancer's grace, cutting into the Terribad, causing the brightness to fade from its sunglasses. "-na." Starlight and hearts and spade sword converges and the energies meld together to cause the creature to burst apart.

A blue haired girl with her headband slumps down from the other side of her mirror, as ribbons unwind from it, the mirror disappearing shortly after. "Well." In the tone expressing awkwardness, like a gentleman that committed some Faux Pas at a soiree, as he rises to his feet crisply, "I suppose we'll have to wait a while longer to seal you all away. Cheerio." He tips his hat, but only a little from his brow, not enough to actually disturb his antenna. Then he disappears. The mold follows, the decay it wrought upon the field undone within mere moments.

... And Davi suddenly has the urge to sneeze.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

"It's not meaningless! Just because you don't see the value in it doesn't mean that it isn't there!"

Cure Passion shouts at Namakelder, trying to convince him still despite... Well, everything. "It's not nothing! It's important to us! You'd see that, if you--"

...The dark magic starts to unravel. Passion tries to force her magic to work, as she sees it not working yet--

...but Cure Sword finishes the job. On the heels of the magic of those she recognizes, and those she doesn't. And Passion immediately turns, still breathing heavily, to glower at Namakelder. "Don't--"

...He's gone. Passion lowers her harp, and leans on a nearby tree. "...Already..."

...She ducks into the trees. A glance to Lera, and then she disappears into the foilage. ...It's not hard for her to do. She's got a lot of practice, after all.

...She just needs to de-transform, and get her head on her shoulders. ...But she's not exactly in the mood for fun anymore.

COMBAT: Cure Passion transforms into Setsuna Higashi!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"We won't let that happen!" Lera cries out, after Namakeldar tips his hat. She stands there, the decay unfurling around her, and she sighs as he departs. She looks down for a moment and shakes her head. Then, she sees Setsuna glance at her. The Midchildan hesitates a moment; there is a short nod.

She glances around at the others. She looks at the girl that she was paired up with, and flashes a smile at Fu. "Good sword work, y'know?" she says. "Keep it up! Ah, but--"

She glances at the direction Setsuna fled in. "--I gotta, um, do... a... thing."

<Smooth.>

"Quiet," Lera mutters at Sky. She takes a few steps, then darts off after Cure Passion.

COMBAT: Lera Camry transforms into Lera Camry!

2016-01-16 - Ohtori Sports Festival, Part One

2016-02-08T20:02:42Z

Lucientes: On Battle Fantasia, Lucientes will someday learn that there are two things to title on a log.

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Ohtori Sports Festival, Part One'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''The Sister Schools Sports Festival erupts with a frenzy, as Ohtori shows their opulence with fancy penalties and special guest stars.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Fuu Hououji]], [[Nori Ankou]], [[Ren Aizawa]], [[Endo Naoki]], [[Fu Inubozaki]], [[Iona Hikawa]], [[Fu Inubozaki]], [[Hibiki Houjou]], [[Nanami Kiryuu]], [[Mami Tomoe]], [[Takeo Akamizu]] 
GM: Madoka Kaname
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Ohtori Academy
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Sep 23 2014 - 1/16/2016
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The Welcoming Ceremony has just ended, and wow, this year's athletics festival sure is at Ohtori all right. The warm September air has just enough of a crisp edge to it to relieve the overshadowing heat of late summer, but right now it's full of fireworks, the finale to a ceremony that can only really be called a 'miniature Olympics' because of the size of the crowd, not the size of the spectacle. There were bands, brass bands and taiko drums alike. There were dancers, possibly professionally hired, with feathered headdresses and sequined skirts (and shirts for the boys, flapping gloriously open in the breeze). There were acrobats, who skillfully replicated, with use of their bodies and some LED-shaded uniforms, the tall Infinity tower, an example of one of the squat Juuban buildings, and elegant Ohtori archways.

Student Council President Touga Kiryuu is resplendent in a color-coded-white-and-red-for-your-convenience custom version of the sleek Ohtori tracksuit. At least it makes him easy to find. Not that it was ever hard -- he towers over most other students, even within senior year, and his commanding, velvety presence looms irrespective of physical height, anyway.

"And now..." he calls, his warm, cultured voice carried by outstanding amplification to every ear, no matter how blasted they just were by the fireworks, "...let the games... begin!"

He fires a blank into the air from one of those sports pistols. This one looks like it came off the set of The Man With The Golden Gun.

And then the students are off, in a buzzing mass of red and blue and yellow, to populate the fields, of which there are several more than usual, a tiered set of sports fields arcing towards the sky in a glorious display of architecture and outrageous budget expenditure. There are several massive, digital boards with constantly updating listings of who's been signed up for what. It seems as though those decisions were made at more of an executive level this year, and that personal requests may have gone largely ignored.

For example:

Group A Infinity vs. Juuban Tug-Of-War - And then there are a list of names. Even as people look at it, a pair of girls who have already twisted their ankles are replaced at the last minute by a pair of Ohtori students, including Nori Ankou.

The tug of war pit is rather magnificent. It starts as neatly trimmed grass, but towards the middle, becomes gooey with all manner of slick and edible substances, like whipped cream, chocolate sauce, jello and candied cherry juice.

The rope is glittering golden. It probably isn't /real/ gold. It couldn't be. No way.

The referee, who looks like they might be a hired professional, waits for the students to take their positions.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Well, there has to be something to do before the archery meet starts in earnest, right? And hauling on a rope is possibly good preliminary exercise for a sport that involves pulling strings back and letting them go ...

Fuu still made a point of bringing an extra pair of gloves, something she can protect her hands with while still being legit gear for field sports or tug-of-war ... and as she sees her name on the tug-of-war list, Fuu silently gives thanks for her insight, tugging the gloves out of her sweatjacket pockets and pulling them on. She can shuck them again if anybody objects and isn't overruled by the referee.

She heads for the tug-of-war pit ... and comes to a dead stop upon seeing how it's been laid out. Grass isn't a surprise; cream and chocolate sauce and the like ... "Well," she muses with a smile, "at least it'll taste better than the usual mud does if any happens to get into the losing team's mouths, right?"

As for the golden rope, she presumes it's just like the decorative rope used for theatre curtains and the like. That would be easy enough to get a hold of, and Ohtori's students (and faculty) do seem to love their tasteful theatrics. As long as she can get a decent grip on it without getting her hands scraped, she's not about to complain; Fuu moves to the Infinity side of the 'pit' and takes a position next to the rope, around what should be the middle - not too close to the pit, but not where she's going to be the last linchpin between victory or defeat if Juuban gets a quick advantage.

Ahead of Fuu and on the other side of the rope is Sora Kumogawa, another member of Infinity's middle-school archery team. "So they roped you into this too, Hououji?" he asks with a grin. "Let's see how fast we can dunk the Juuban team - or at least how hard we can make them work for their win, if they're that good."

"I doubt it's going to be an easy win for either side," Fuu notes, making sure the elastic cord anchoring her glasses is snug and secure without being too tight. She did recognize a couple of the Juuban players' names as well ...

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Autumn and early spring are Nori Ankou's favorite time of the year. It really puts her in the spirit to... well, alright, enthusiasm isn't quite the right term, but she's much less gloomy now. Her long black hair has been tied back with a scrunchy into a low-hanging ponytail.

HITOMI SHIZUKI, on the other hand, has her hair in her usual style. Having been waved in with Nori, she says to the rather dark girl, "I guess we're the replacements... Let's give it our all!" She jabs her fist in the air, just a little, beaming.

Nori smiles back with only slight mordancy. "Yes," she says to her class representative: "Let's." She steps up to the rope, positioning herself behind Hitomi.

"Let's do our best, everybody!" Hitomi cheers. Nori leans out of the queue of aspiring tuggers to say, blinking, "Shizuki-san, in the pit there..."

"Hm?"

"Is that actual cherry juice? That could stain..."

"Then we'll just have to do our best!" Hitomi resolves. Nori has no protest.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Let's go Ren!" Comes the excited voice of Ming Zhou, a bubbly Chinese exchange student who has pretty much attatched herself to her classmate in question. "I /love" tug-of-war! We're so going to win!" She hops up and down as she says this, brunette pig-tails bouncing in unison. Ren, of course, is not so keen on their chances, but is trying to look at it like she does video games.

"Y-Yeah! Let's try our best, ok Zhou-san?" She casts a glance over at Endo, smiling. Perhaps it's a plea for mercy? Or perhaps a clever ruse designed to lure him into a false sense of security. Either way, it's a smile!

"That's the spirit Ren! We'll make an athlete out of you yet!" Ming asserts with a nod and a hearty clasp on Ren's back, sending the other girl stumbling forward a bit. "Whoops! Sorry, don't know my own strength! Heh heh..." The exchange student rubs the back of her neck sheepishly, eyes glittering. Ren shakes her head and waves a hand dismissively.

"It's ok! I'm fine!" Though her back /did/ sting a bit. Ow ow ow. Nothing she couldn't deal with, however...

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Endo likes sports. He had a lot more time for them during his last year of school, before the part-time job and running around doing magical things. But school-mandated sports means he gets to indulge, guilt free. He also has a helmet on. He's come prepared.

But only after he sits through the opening ceremony. He spends most of it staring his at the spectacle, his head ever-slowly tilting to the side until, by the end, he's looking very vertical. "Ah, really, isn't all this a little much?" He repeats his at regular intervals, to be chastised to silenced by his companion and former club-mate, Shinji Akeda. The other boy is taller than Endo, lean from chasing things into and out of goals.

Once names are flashing up on the board and people are getting into place, Endo's friend gives him a shake and hustles him along toward the tug of war line.

"I think this rope might cost more than my home." Endo reaches down to gingerly grab his share of the line, giving a testing tug before leaning out from the line to wave at Ren when she gets into position across the mire of sweetness.

He is quickly wrestled back into line.

"Don't show weakness to the enemy!'

<Pose Tracker> Fu Inubozaki [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fu Inubozaki watches the final moments of the opening ceremony with a grin on her face. Ohtori Academy has really outdone themselves this year. It was quite difficult to know where to look first with all the dancers, music, and now even fireworks. Ohtori obviously spared no expense in hosting the combined Athletics Festival, but this was Ohtori Academy afterall. That much is to be expected as opulence is practically in their namesake.

For the most part, Fu plays off her reaction to the festivities as cool and subdued as she can. She smiles and looks to be having a good time, but she's not letting Ohtori's display intimidate her. This is in complete and utter contrast to how Fu's beloved younger sister is reacting to everything. While Fu remains pretty calm for the time being, Itsuki Inubozaki is very much wide-eyed with her mouth agape right now over the spectacle. The younger Inubozaki sister carries a look of half utter excitement and half nervous worry on her face that causes Fu to grin that much wider over at her younger sister.

Taking a step closer to her sister, Fu places her hand on Itsuki's shoulder and gives it a squeeze. "Hey Itsuki, the tug-of-war is first. Are you ready to go?" Itsuki is a little surprised by the sudden shoulder squeeze, but she quickly recovers when she sees that it was her sister that had squeezed her. She then turns and gives Fu a very determined nod of her head. "Yes! Let's go, big sis!" She cheerfully chirps back with much to Fu's delight.

Itsuki's reaction causes Fu to grin from ear to ear and start laughing. She just loved to see her little sister get fired up. "Fuhuhu. Alright! Let's go show everyone just how tough and strong the Inubozaki sisters are!" The blonde-haired Fu laughs again as she ushers her sister over to where her classmates were gathering. "Hi everyone! We're here and ready to go!" The older Inubozaki sister announces loudly while the younger one just nods meekly in greeting before adding, "Um. H-hello. Let's do our best!" Fu shoots her younger sister a sly nod of approval before both sisters take up their respective positions on Infinity's side of the golden rope.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona Hikawa is here today at the sports festival. She relaxes for a brief moment on the benches near where everyone else is, and watches the spectatcle that Ohtori seems to have arranged for this festival. The dancers and the bands seemed. Not to say they weren't great. Iona did find them all kind of neat, but she couldn't help but think that this was all just a little... excessive. They must have a /lot/ of money to be able to burn it on something like this. So Iona sits, smiling but otherwise stonewalled, until the starting gun shoots and everyone starts to run out onto the field, Iona following.

Her gait slows down just a little bit as she sees her name on the board for... tug of war? Iona shifts her direction torwards the tug of war pit... and sees all the chocolate and cherry juice and everything else inside.

Momentary memories, not even twenty-four hours old, re-emerge where Iona found herself being dragged towards a pit of mold. Her enthusiasm drops just a little bit because of it. "I wonder if any of that is molding right now?" She asks herself. There's a brief moment where she considers trying to see if she can excuse herself, but trying to explain why she's avoiding tug-of-war might be... just a little vague and insufficient. So she takes a deep breath, and trudges over to a free spot where she can get a hold of the rope well enough.

Behind her, another girl her age takes a place. Iona looks backwards to get a look at her -- red hair in a ponytail, equally red eyes, and a large, almost encompassing smile. It was so bright that Iona could hardly look directly at it.

The girl waves at Iona. "Hello, Hikawa-san!"

"Ah, hello." Iona responds, not completely sure how to react. There's a smile in return, but Iona turns back to get a good grip on the rope and get ready for the event.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The referee looks along the rope, up one end, then down the other. "Three!" she shouts, her voice rising above the same sorts of chants barking up and down the fields. "Two! One!"

*TWEET!*

Her whistle blasts and the rope immediately strains between the two groups. So far there's no imminent threat of either team being plunged into the goo pit -- are they evenly matched?

There are plenty of students as-yet unassigned to an event, and the cheering quickly becomes pleasantly raucous, the high energy of a carnival infecting kids of all ages. It's a roar in the background, but somehow it seeps under the skin and through the eyes, into the bloodstream... pull -- pull -- pull!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

It's not purely about raw strength, Fuu reminds herself as the referee counts down to the start; it's about leverage. Really, pulling too hard can be suicidal in tug-of-war.

Then the whistle blows, and Fuu stops thinking too much about the mechanics of it with her brain; her body has to do the 'thinking' now, her gloved hands wrapping tightly around the rope, her feet planted solidly on the ground with her weight on her heels, her legs *almost* locked to dig her heels in underneath her. All of that happens faster than it takes to think consciously about it; she goes from 'at rest' to 'pulling' in a little over an instant, even if she's not yet actively trying to haul the Juuban students into the goop.

Not the way Sora is, anyway; he's got his feet planted but he *is* actively hauling on the rope like he were on an old-time sailing ship, his teeth gritted as he contributes the raw strength that some girls might not have ... and that some very well *might*, to judge by the Inubozaki sisters' enthusiasm. Among others.

It may not be archery, but Fuu and Sora are both familiar with tug-of-war, and neither of them is about to let Infinity down in *any* event today.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

As soon as the whistle blows, the tugging begins. Ren feels herself sliding forward, eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. But never fear -- Ming is here! The loud girl grins as she plants her feet down into the ground beneath her, becoming the immovable force within the roaring storm she imagines herself to be. It helps since Ren smacks face-first into her back, which gives her enough time to regain her bearings and start tugging backwards, face already starting to turn red from the exertion.

"Heave! Ho!" Ming cries out, trying to provide as much encouragement as possible.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Endo commences pulling. He's spent the first few seconds waiting for the shot wrapping the rope around his fists, making sure he's in prime pulling position. This will probably mean he's getting dragged wherever the rope goes regardless of his choice, but such heroic sacrifices must be made. He's been looking forward to stuff like this, so when the game starts he starts pulling with all the ferocity he can muster. Pacing himself is not something that's even entered his mind.

This seems to be the case for the boy behind him as well, who likewise attempts a full backpedaling sprint the second the rope is live. It's probably a bit much, but his heart seems to be in the right place. A place that is far away from the strawberry pit. They are alike, Endo and friendo.

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The crispness of the air - the raucous cheer of amassed crowds - that tangible spirit of cooperation and competition all in one. This is the athletics festival, home to well-organized chaos with students running around in every direction. There's a schedule to keep, last-minute team substitutions to register, those suited to medical care hard at work keeping tabs on classmates...

And, as Hibiki Houjou is rapidly discovering, the problem with many students having the attention span of a cat.

"Have you seen - yeah, Minamino. ...Field C? Isn't that for the elem-" Hibiki slaps her forehead. "Souta's event - I hope she knows what she's doing, going to check on him at a time like this. Who knows how quickly they'll get to our race..."

"Nya? Isn't a race where you just have to run, Hibiki?" Atop Hibiki's head, utterly unruffled, sits a white cat happily cleaning her paw.

"...did your cat just..."

"...I'M A VENTRILOQUIST BYE!"

A rapid sprint takes Hibiki to the stands near the pending tug-of-war competition, and she takes a minute to catch her breath. While she does, the cat leaps daintily down from head to lap, and looks out at the pending battle. "Nya...that place looks delicious..."

Wiping her brow, Hibiki nods - and then freezes. "Hang on....Hummy! You know cats aren't supposed to talk, right? Especially not around, uh..." She glances around herself...but a sports festival is, mercifully, very noisy.

"But I'm not a cat, I'm a song fairy cat! Wait..."

"Not the- anyway, as I was saying! Kanade and I are racing together - it's a three-legged race, we get our legs tied together, and we have to stay in sync or-"

For a moment, it's as if the cat is sparkling. "You have to win with Harmony Power! Nya!....and Kanade isn't here! This is a big problem - what should we do?!"

Hibiki's answer is interrupted by a loud tweet of a whistle blast, and both girl and cat look over. Hibiki shades her eyes with one hand, squinting at the side of the battle in Infinity colours. She recognizes a couple of them...and that's good enough for her. Standing up, she pumps her fist in the air, shouting loudly. "Go, Infinity! Heave, ho! Go, Infinity! Heave, ho!"

It's got a good rhythm to it. Maybe those of her school around her will join in...

(Hummy, meanwhile, considers whether to join in cheering, find Kanade, or...ooh, a butterfly....)

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

PULL! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MONTRESOR! PULL!

Hitomi pulls, of course. She pulls her best and she pulls with strength and desperation, biting her lip with the effort. Behind her, Nori Ankou digs her heel in and does /not/ pull quite immediately. Tension builds up, and she can tell they're moving forwards - so, she goes from anchor to driver, and joins in her own strength.

It's HARD! Nori finds with a shock. Soon enough she's sweating and her arms are crying out. "Guh -"

"Don't give up! Ankou-san!" Hitomi cries over her shoulder. "Just - th, think of it like a waltz!" Nori grimaces at this comparison.

"One two - STEP!" And Hitomi pushes forwards. "You see? One two - STEP! One two - STEP!"

The rhythm helps Nori, at least. And it means that there's a steady pulsing spike in the strength of the tugging when they - and perhaps others - push off together. Yes, that's Ohtori for you - victory by jerks! ... Wait...

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

When the whistle blows, Iona immediately begins to pull the rope. It's not as hard as some others would pull it. Enough to try and prevent the other team from pulling her into the strange liquid concotion, a fate she wants to prevent /at all costs/. So she tries to take it as easy as she can, to try and let the other team expend their energy first before she tries to go for the kill.

Admittedly, that's her plan, anyway. She's not paying too much attention to what her team is doing, though she tries to at least keep some sort of pace with them. Instead, what Iona does is try to lift the rope over her, attempting to use her body as leverage to try and pull the rope.

She's also not paying attention to the girl behind her. Megumi might find an easier time since Iona's attempting to do all of the work, but she does her level best to keep pulling anyway.

<Pose Tracker> Fu Inubozaki [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fu begins pulling the rope along with her teammates, but shockingly the opposing team has a very similar strategy. This puts the two sides at a temporary standstill. However, Fu is not about to give up anytime soon! Her sister is of the same mind and she is also doing her best to contribute to the effort. Knowing just how tough this was turning out to bet, Fu sneaks a glance over at her sister. The sight of her sister trying so hard at this reinvigorates Fu's aching muscles. Itsuki was trying so hard these days and not just at this tug of war. The older sister grits her teeth, digs her feet into the ground, and begins to pull some more! "Itsuki! Hang in there! Remember everyone, we'll likely succeed if we try!" Fu, wanting to look impressive in front of her sister, keeps pulling just as Itsuki, wanting to show that she's up to the challenge, keeps pulling on the rope opposite of Fu.

"Aizawa-san! Are you okay?!" Fu asks of her classmate when she sees her nearly pinball off of Ming. But thankfully Ming doesn't seem phased by that and Ren soon recovers. It is at about this time that Ming's and Hibiki's cheers reach Fu's ears. A chant! That was a great idea! "Heave, ho!" Fu cheers as she joins in. "Go, Infinity!" Itsuki adds quite helpfully as the two sisters begin to alternate their team chants. "Heave, ho!" "Go, Infinity!"

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

"Do you know, oniisama? The feelings I keep safe for you, only you?"

A breeze lifts, and with it, soft blonde locks float around a blushing face. Long lashes fall to shield the emotion in wet eyes as Nanami cups her hands together, leaning forward as though her yearning would lift her from her toes and bear her through the air.

"I'm afraid, oniisama. That I was never meant to be your sister. That a day will come when I stand between you and your happiness, and the final consummation of our love will be for me to... step aside." She turns her head, her mouth trembling with emotion, as a swirl of rose petals flourishes past her orange gown, rippling the butterfly-like purple bow that adorns her back. "And I feel disgusted with myself, because I know that I would cherish that moment forever, and place it behind glass, and take it out from under my bed and clutch it to my breast and MY GOD do you think that's enough PETALS? Are you trying to choke me to DEATH or just bury me?"

Kneeling at her feet, three school uniform'ed brunettes hunch meekly. One is directing a portable electric fan up at Nanami, another sits next to her with a bag full of rose petals, and a third is holding an old-fashioned camera with a large flashbulb. "Last time, you said there wasn't enough," the fan girl reminds Nanami.

"Did I truly? Because as far as I can tell your ideal aesthetic would involve me drowning in an Olympic pool FILLED with them."

"I'm pretty sure you did," says the petal-bag girl resentfully. She has a fresh knot on her head that she is rubbing meaningfully.

"Augh! Forget it. Just take a few pictures while I have them in my hair. Yes? Like this?" Nanami tilts her face and makes her eyes large as she gazes off into the far distance with a faint smile on her face. The flash bulb goes off.

"Are they testing out the rope?" she asks distractedly.

Her coterie glance in the direction Nanami is looking. "They're participating in the sports festival," one ventures.

Nanami's eye twitches. "They're from those /other/ schools."

"That's... how we do it, remember when last year, we..."

"But not at Ohtori," Nanami fumes. "No, there's some mistake."

"Did you watch the ceremony? It was all about how..."

"Oniisama," Nanami sighs immediately. "He was so magnetic, wasn't he?" Nanami's face suddenly darkens. "No, this will not do. Bring around the sedan." When Nanami says that word, it doesn't mean "car." She lifts her skirts and starts striding toward the field. "I need my things."

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The rope jerks back and forth! Muscles burn and fingers strain. It seems as though the rhythm shared by the Infinity crowd and their team is starting to pay off, because, inch by inch, Team Juuban (and Ohtori Friends, who have their own rhythm, for good and for ill) is being dragged towards the goop.

Endo is the first to have strawberry shoes! The stain may not be blood but oh, oh, it is honor spilled upon the field. And now his feet are sliding, and Endo's friendo and Iona are getting awfully close...

...but on the other side, Sora suddenly misses a beat in the pulling, wincing from terrible rope burn! This sends Itsuki flying into her big sister -- Ren and Ming are going to have to work hard to prevent Juuban from capitalizing on this momentary dust-up!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

And this is EXACTLY why Fuu wanted to wear gloves for the tug-of-war; she needs her hands unbloodied for archery. Sora yelps a brief apology and tries to get back into it, preferably with the less-burned hand now being dominant in his efforts to pull; Fuu just digs her heels in harder and starts reeling in the slack. "Inubozaki-san, are you all right?" Fuu calls out over the roar of the crowd, doing her best to maintain her balance and not let Juuban regain any momentum ...

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Wait... are they winning? They are! Ren sees Endo's shoes get some straberry on them, and smiles real big. "H-Hey! I think-"

The tides change, however, and things start to sway in the Juuban side's favor! "Oh no!" Ren cries out, starting to panic. But Ming holds steady, turning her head to look at Ren over her shoulder.

"You can do this, Ren. Dig deep." Comes to profound words of the exchange student. And that seems to spark something inside of Ren, even as they begin to lose ground, inching ever closer to the pit.

"I won't let you down, Zhou-san!" Ren cries out, letting out a yell as she pulls with everything she has, fingers and arms and legs beginning to burn painfully.
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.
Endo is getting a little tired after his initial burst of stamina, but the sight of his shoes slowly being engulfed by strawberry liquid redoubles his determination. He digs in as best he can, attempting to drag the rope back and himself away.

"Come on, Endo-san! You've gotten out of shape since you quit the club!" Shinji is still pulling, thankfully a few feet from suffering the same fate as Endo.

"I got it! The rope just needs to stop moving!"

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

It's not a butterfly. It's even better. For a moment, Hummy the cat is nearly absolutely still, only the twitching of her tail betraying her non-statue status. Some careless person has released rose petals into the breeze, and the cat sits utterly entranced as a handful dance in the air above her. They are pink, and fluttering, and gorgeous. "Nya...."

Meanwhile, however...

"Heave, ho! Go, Infinity - that's it!" As her school starts to claim the advantage, Hibiki breaks off her rhythm to punch the air in victory. It might not be Waon out there, but it's still her school - and so it's worth cheering on. She cups her hands, letting out a whoop -

- but despair! Sora's missed a beat, and the balance is swinging back to Juuban. The brown-haired girl, having utterly forgotten her need to find her three-legged-race-partner, calls out to the field of battle. "Come on! You've nearly got this, just one more pull-"

"nnnnnNNNYAAAAA!" Abruptly, Hummy pounces. After all, these were rose petals, and they were pretty and fluttery and there were oh so many of them and she just had to have one! And so, the white cat pounces into the air.

She doesn't catch a petal. She does, however, utterly blindside her human of the day, knocking Hibiki off-balance. And into a nearby cheering group.

Fight on, Infinity! Don't follow the example of those cheering you on, stay standing!

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Hitomi squeaks in dismay as the rope jerks - right in her hands. She grits her teeth against the pain, though. She has to set a good example...!

Nori cares much less for setting a good example. Her arms do jerk forwards, though, and she winces as she feels her shoulder cry out in interior dismay. Digging her heels in, she sees, feels the moist soil of this rich campus give way beneath her athletic sneakers, until--

A slackening.

Hitomi cheers, but can't let go - Nori, on the other hand, feels an irrational surge of enthusiasm, perhaps at the reversal. She scrapes into the ground and throws herself backwards, twisting - even as she cries out, "They're too strong--!"

"Don't give up!"

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Nanami Kiryuu is a professional at what she does, and what she does isn't very professional. Soon she has her skirts lifted daintily, pinkies out, as she shuffles out into the field with eyes mostly closed and a placid smile on her face.

A microphone squeaks as one of the sports announcers begins to commentate. "And it's our first surprise of the day, as Nanami Kiryuu enters the field. What could she have in mind? One thing's for sure, she's going to do it fashionably. As Touga Kiryuu's beloved little sister, Nanami is naturally the most popular girl at Ohtori Academy--what, really?" There's a loud thump audible through the microphone.

Up in the booth, the announcer's face is mashed down against a piece of notebook paper, his glasses pushed askew almost to his ear. One of Nanami's brunettes has a hand on the back of his neck, and a starter pistol pushed against the base of his skull. "Is there a problem, four-eyes?" she seethes coldly.

Out on the field, the commentary resumes. "By /far/ the most popular girl at Ohtori, really no question..." Nanami's smile blossoms larger.

As she reaches the Juuban side of the tug of war, Nanami pauses and curtsies. "Yes, it seems Kiryuu-san is here to pay honor to our guests. Truly one of the gentlest blooms of the Ohtori garden. And what better time then when they are mid-match?"

Nanami takes a few steps to the left and curtsies again. This time, however, she executes her plan. As her skirt lifts, a black trash bag is briefly exposed beneath it. Nanami pauses long enough to draw back one of her feet, then kicks her pointy-toed heel into it hard enough to puncture a hole. As though a spigot opened, a torrent of snakey, wet-looking sea-fauna pours into the dirt hollow in which the Juuban students are laboring. Eels! That whole skirt must be full of them!

They tumble over one another, slimey and outraged, a small pool of salt water sustaining their ire. No wonder Nanami had to shuffle. They wrap calves, get underfoot, and otherwise attempt to express their supreme dissatisfaction with their new living quarters.

"AAAIIIII!" Nanami wails, hurring back with a tatter of trash bag flapping around at the bottom of her skirts. "How can it be? Do all Juuban students carry eels?!"

"How can it be?" the announcer asks. "Do all Juuban students carry eels?"

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona watches as first the boy at the front gets closer to the pit, then someone on the other team loses their resolve. It's a good thing, too, as Iona's grip on the rope is also starting to falter, just a little bit. It's still a strong grip, but the fibers are starting to move independently from her hands, causing her own share of rope burns. But this is the time to pull as /hard/ as she can! So she pulls, and pulls as much as she can, to try and capitalize on the sudden change of fortune.

And so is Megumi, taking her cue from the purple haired girl.

<Pose Tracker> Fu Inubozaki [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The elder Inubozaki starts grinning even wider when she sees that their side is making progress. The Infinity chant must be working! They almost had it! But just then an Itsuki shaped projectile crashes into Fu which causes her to briefly lose her footing and both sisters slide closer to the center of the tug-of-war pit. "Itsuki!" cries out Fu as she tries to make sense of what just happened after the younger blonde crashed into her. Fu's the first one of the sisters to regrab the rope and she soon turns and offers her other hand to help Itsuki back up onto her feet. "We're okay!" She calls back to Fuu while keeping her eyes on Itsuki. The younger Inubozaki sister takes a bit longer to get up, but she soon rejoins her sister in pulling the rope. The two sisters exchange another look with each other before changing grips on the rope so it goes Fu, Itsuki, Fu, Itsuki. The Inubozaki sisters were really giving it their all!

From their position, the sisters can't really make out what's going on with Nanami and her expertly crafted plan. Whatever it is, it must be quite the ord-eel.

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

In the stands, there as been a complete and total cat-astrophe. From the heap of toppled Infinity supporters, Hibiki pulls herself free. "Hummy...! What do you think you're doing- where is she?" The girl looks around for the paw-petrator of this incident, but where can she be?...

(Answer: Behind the stands. Springing off of Hibiki's arm let her catch a pretty petal, and now she's just rolling in the grass, the embodiment of happiness. ...so, as herself.)

"Ugh...you okay?" Giving up on the hunt, Hibiki turns to give the nearest girl a hand up - and both of them are caught off-guard by the sudden scream. They, along with more than a few disoriented supporters, turn at Nanami's cry and accusation.

And since they were all recently knocked over, it's quite easy to see the claim for what it is.

"Eels?! In a tug of war match?! Wait, how would that even...never mind that! Foul! Red card! Free throw!" The accusations - in varying degrees of coherence - are sure to fly from this corner, at least.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

"Aaah-what's that? Shinji, do we have eels?" Endo asks.

"I don't have any eels."

There's some confusion over the topic of eels when announced, until one is spotted. Endo tries to point, but also with his hands twisted up in the rope he sort of just starts tugging to the side. Which may or may not be helpful.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Come on just keep pulling!" Ming is not going to give up, and neither will Ren! She looks over to the Juuban side where Endo is giving it his all, too. He's pretty strong! But, so were they.

"Hey, what's the girl up to?" Ming notices Nanami, and then... "Eeels?!" She cries out, grip faltering enough to cause the rope to sway over to the opposing side. Ren yelps, getting tangled up with her, and the two of them slide into the beginnings of the aforementioned strawberry eel pit.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Hitomi and Nori both look towards the incoming Nanami Kiryuu, because she is a figure that demands attention, as the announcers are finding out. Nori's position as a higher level bourgeoise from a distant prefecture means her reaction is mild surprise; Hitomi blanches slightly.

And then Nanami releases a huge swarm of eels from her skirt, perhaps not for the first time. As the slimy, slithery notochords of the sea burst forth, ungraced by rice or grill, Hitomi does the logical and sensible thing:

"EUWWWWW!!" Hitomi's strong enough of character that she doesn't let go of the rope as an eel decides to coil around her ankle, but all the strength has gone out of her tugging. The most she'll be is a minor anchor now, her face blanching as she tries not to scream again.

Nori gets an eel in her shoe and takes it philosophically. It's kind of annoying, but the smell of the sea is if anything invigorating. However, the slimy wiggle on her calf is telling her that they're at a critical moment. Her shoulders are screaming, but even as everyone's distracted -- she isn't quite.

Crouching slightly, Nori pulls inwards. Her teeth set together with a skeletal click as she feels another eel swim merrily past her. She pulls - and then the rope jerks. Nori can see the taller and older boy is moving his direction, and this seems like a great idea to her - she joins Endo's change of direction. Will it save them!? Or doom them to a watery grave?

It's a very shallow grave, to be fair.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The official starts to tweet her whistle to penalize the eels but midway through her inhalation a cloud of pepper -- released conveniently from a popped paper bag nearby -- causes her to gasp and choke, and the match is not stopped in time to prevent the inevitable.

Juuban's straining to turn the tide probably would have worked if they hadn't been distracted by gooey slimy eels, but the sabotage has done its work. It also makes the inevitable collapse of the Juuban line into the sugary goop a little less pleasant than it might have been otherwise, because now all the cream and chocolate and whatnot is /full of eels/ and dubiously delicious, if at all.

Another official jumps in with her whistle to declare the match in favor of Infinity. The crowd doesn't really understand what happened (with a few exceptions) -- some gape at Nanami's claims as to Juuban, but mostly they just cheer the victors and rush up with towels to rescue the losers.

The nearby digital board flickers to announce the next round's schedule. There's a break of a couple of minutes, and then -- as it just so happens -- all participants in this tug-of-war match, and then some, are to participate in a joint Infinity-Juuban-with-a-few-Ohtori-ringers co-ed baseball team.

The baseball green, that field of dreams, awaits...

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Pitcher: Mami Tomoe (you stand on the mound, glaring at batters and chucking stuff at them)
Catcher: Iona Hikawa (center of the defense, very athletic position)
Third Baseman: Fuu Hououji (a lot of fast-moving liners will come straight at you, look out!)
Center Field: Nori Ankou (in charge of catching fly balls after a long dramatic chase beneath them)
Shortstop: Hibiki Houjou (lots of running and diving to catch difficult balls and throw them to basemen, another athletic position)

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Endo, despite his best efforts, is soon first to get a facefull of eel-laden dessert. He lets out a cry as he's drug over the line and farther still. He flails as he goes, but he does manage to get one hand free of the knot of rope he's tired himself in. This hand, of course, he uses to reach back and put his partner in a headlock. So it is that both Endo and Shinji--despite the latters attempt to flee--end up rolling around fighting off eels in the strawberry pit until someone manages to pull them free and off to the sidelines.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

There are trumpets, because of course there are trumpets, as the Juuban-Infinity Eel Lovers (team apparently named by someone with authority, because there it is, right on the scoreboard -- the name of the opposition has yet to appear) are cheered on by their schools as they take the baseball field.

It's a lovely field. The bases are not made of chocolate or any such nonsense, but they might have a little extra sparkle ground into them from some silver dust or something, and the occasional rose petals sprinkling the yard are definitely nonregulation.

There are hats and gloves for everyone (and bats, though the Eel Lovers will be batting at the bottom of the inning, not the top), and a very enthusiastic P.E. teacher who is eager to help people improve their swing at the last minute. "Settle your hips!" cries the sensei, a dark-haired twenty-something and Juuban alumnus. "Balance your arms! And then... release all your power in one strike!"

This is not relevant advice for fielding at all, but at least she's enthusiastic.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona continues to pull and pull, and pulls alongside that redheaded girl whose name she doesn't recall. Oh, well. Iona sets that aside as the two pull the hardest that they can. It's a testiment to her discipline that she doesn't even know there are eels on the field. She /does/ hear the announcer talk about eels, though she just dismisses it as Ohtori jealousy. What? Of course Juuban students don't all have eels, that's crazy.

Which may explain why it's a complete surprise as Iona gets yanked into the goop. She lands with a soft ploop, getting everything on everything else, and a mere few moments later Megumi joins her in the sauce.

The two girls sputter and gasp as they try to extract themselves from the saucy pit.

Megumi is the first one up, though. "Well," Megumi says as Iona sits up and removes an eel from her shoulder. "We tried our best, and that's what's important, right?"

A hand is offered to Iona, which the latter looks at for a moment, before nodding and taking it. "Yes, you're right." She lifts up from the pudding and the two girls look at one another. Are the bonds of friendship forming? Is this the start of a lasting friendship that will test the bonds of time and be the sort of thing Iona is looking for?

The glowing board signals the start of baseball. Both girls look at it for a moment, before returning to each other, Megumi with the cheer to blow away mountains. "Do your best, Hikawa-san!" And then Megumi heads to the bleachers.

Iona watches the girl disappear, before turning and accepting a towel while heading to the diamond.

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mami Tomoe has chosen her own hat, in bright Ohtori yellow, with a golden ribbon-bow decoration to the side. ...Sport is no excuse not to be fashioanble. And indeed, her sporting attire is /perfect/ as she steps out towards the field, nodding fiercely towards their enthusiastic advisor.

...She doesn't... Actually /say/ a whole lot, though, because she's ordinary Mami right now, and instead casts her eyes about to the stands.

This is not the same as her reaction when she learned what position she would play. /That/ was different, with less of an audience, as she went, 'Wait, I'm the /what/?'

Her glove has glitter on it, for luck. Her eye is set.

...It's... not a coincidence that, as she approaches the pitcher's mound, /somehow/ Mami completely missed the messiest event thus far.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The victory in the tug-of-war is a much-appreciated early high point for the Infinity Institute contingent, Fuu included. Sora has to go get some medical attention for his rope-burned hands ... while Fuu has been drafted onto the baseball team.

Somebody really doesn't want her rested up for the archery meet, do they ... ?

With distressingly strong doubts that a 'no' of any intensity would stick with the decision-makers, Fuu changes into what she needs to wear for the baseball game. T-shirt and gym shorts may not quite cut it; at the very least she needs a catcher's mitt and a suitable cap to keep the sun out of her eyes. Fuu takes her place at third base, adjusting her glasses and her cap (which bizarrely, has a Gundam-style yellow V-fin attached to the front of it), and settles into a relaxed but ready stance, watching Mami at first, then shifting her attention to home plate so she's ready for what the batter will have to offer ...

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

After that horrid faceplanting in the delicious yet pre-salted dessert heap, Nori Ankou was quite glad to get a brief delay so that she could at least rinse the sugar out of her hair and shirt-tail.

Especially in the glamorous shadow of Tomoe-sempai. The briefing from the baseball coach makes Nori nod as she adjusts her hat and tightens her glove. "Settle. Balance. And strike!"

SOON

Nori stands on a grassy plain, the wind stirring her hair and passing through her as huge gorgeous clouds streak overhead, as the rotating wind generators of the Tanegashima launch center move scenically in the distance. Something like this... https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/5cmcos001.jpg

Nori closes her eyes...

And opens them again, shaking off that intense impression. No, she thinks: I'm still here. I'm in school. This is the sports festival... She shades her face with the leather glove, to squint towards the tiny but distinctive outline of Mami on the pitcher's mound, near the horizon. Fortunately, the curvature of the Earth is not enough to fully conceal the batter's cage from her sight!

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

In the end, Infinity is - perhaps a little shadily - declared the victor of this match. First point to the tallest school!

It's a short-lived victory, though, as Hibiki finds herself...grabbed rather suddenly. "Wha- you must have the wrong person, I certainly didn't bring a cat-"

"There's no time to explain! Nishijima-san said you're athletic, right?"

"Waon said that? I mean, kind of, yeah..."

"Great! Come on!"

And so - with a cat batting at drifting petals left in her wake - Hibiki finds herself hurried to the baseball field. She manages to catch a glimpse of the latest board on the way, and boggles briefly at the team name... But that's about as much time as she has for ponderings.

Fortunately, she'd been planning on running with Kanade later, so she's already set for sports in general. After all, this is the festival for such things. A hat, a glove, she's good to go.

"All my power, huh? ...all right! I'll catch with all my strength, sensei!" Grinning eagerly at the advice, Hibiki tips the bill of her cap (adorned with a treble clef for some reason), peering carefully at the batter. At at her teammates, of course - but it's game on, right?

...was baseball the throwing one or the kicking one?

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona, now that she's dried up her sauces and other chocolatey goodness, grabs her helmet and a glove... when someone hands her a mask. Without even blinking she places it on and heads to the batter box area, crouching and looking directly at Mami. She points her fingers in various ways, to see if the blonde pitcher will understand. Does Iona?

Not one lick. She's sure that she's doing /something/, she's just not sure what.

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Of /course/ Mami understand. Mami nods intendly, staring at Iona's fingers, and then makes two small gestures with her own ungloved hand in return.

Mami Tomoe has no idea what she's doing. Mami Tomoe is /never/ going to admit that.

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

At the edge of the field, some sort of party cannon goes off. A fluttering rain of confetti falls around a group of adult men jogs onto the field. Their uniform is recognizable to any Tokyoite: white with orange fringe and black letters. And what do they spell?

GIANTS

"Say hello to Tokyo's very own Yomiura Giants!" the announcer shouts, sounding as confused about it as anyone else. "Yes, today the Sister Schools will be taking on a professional team?"

The Giants line up in two rows, and in the center of this very-athletic aisle, three brunettes hurriedly push out a medical-style changing screen on wheels. At the end of the aisle, Nanami steps out and begins to stride through, hands folded humbly over her ornate gown, her butterfly-bow rippling behind her. The brunettes tense, two entering the screen, another readying her thumb over a stopwatch. Nanami doesn't even seem to notice the screen as she steps through, not breaking her stride, and she emerges from the other side as if her pace never changed. However, in those few seconds, her gown has entirely changed to a Yomiura Giants uniform, and she wears a glove on one hand. It's Italian leather, never used.

One of the girls jogs behind her and meekly puts the Giants cap on Nanami's head, and the stopwatch girl shakes her head in disappointment. Leaving Nanami with a microphone, she hurries away.

"Hello, guests of Ohtori Academy! Please feel welcome to our modest campus. As Ohtori is well aware of your storied athletic histories, we felt it would be impolite not to offer you the sort of competition you feel yourselves worthy of. And who could doubt your claims? After all, your presence here indicates you are all the very best that Japan--no, the world--has to offer, in every possible way... fufu..." Her laugh is almost inaudible. "So, please favor your hosts, and show us how you score goals in your quaint hometowns."

The Giants all look confused. Some seem to have thrown on their uniforms rather hastily. But one of them claps his hands twice and whoops, and the others jog into the dugout with the precision of a Swiss watch.

"All right, then," the announcer says nervously. "It looks like, uh, Tomoe is on the mound. Who will the Giants send to bat first? I've been watching a lot of their games lately, I know they have some of the best in the league, but I'm going to guess that they'll lead off with..."

Nanami is walking out with mincing steps and a sunny smile on her face. She blows a kiss to a cheering bleacher full of Ohtori kohai, keeping an eye out for the red mane of her brother. When she reaches the plate, she taps it twice with her bat, and swings her butt the way she's seen batters do in old movies.

"...Kiryuu," the announcer says. "Nanami Kiryuu."

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

It's at times like these that the spirit of the Sister Schools really shows. Because they could cry foul and they could gasp or jeer, but instead, like the low rumbling of an earthquake, the scream rises and it is joyous. What honor -- what glory -- what student could hope but dream to pit themselves against the beloved home team of Tokyo? Win or lose, this is an unforgettable opportunity, and somewhat inadvertantly Nanami may win accolades for this move from many others.

Touga Kiryuu is indeed in the stands, his fingers tented in front of his mouth, leaning forward with the intent interest of a gamesman.

But it's green hair, not red, which is much closer to the field. In the batting cages, warming up, is Kyouichi Saionji, Student Council flunky (and rival of the aforementioned Touga). As he whips his bat to and fro, he mutters, "Well, at least she didn't demand to go fourth batter." No one will hear him but the mournful wind torn behind his practice swings.

The umpire barks, "Play ball!"

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mami Tomoe has done the weird hand gestures the pitcher is supposed to do. She has her uniform perfect. Her hat is on just right, and her arm is limber. Surely, everything is set for the high schooler to make a great showing. Surely...

Surely they're....

Mami's eyes widen, almost imperceptibly. To anyone who knows her, this is as good as actually staring. ...She only doesn't stare open-mouthed because she is elegant by so much practice. But she wants to.

Well, no. A part of her wants to do something very differently as she sees Nanami Kiryuu, of all people, apparently behind this. And...A... professional team. Everything looks awful for just a moment.

...Everything, until the batter is announced. And then?

...Would it be /wrong/ to just hit Nanami with the ball?

...No, that's not what a baseball ally of justice would do. ...And someone would probably notice anyway.

"Right!" Tomoe says from the mound. She takes a breath, puts her hands together, and lets herself feel the weight of the ball. She turns partially to the side, winds up. Her twin trills glow in the sunlight. She readies--

And Mami Tomoe throws a baseball as hard as she can!!!

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Second Base. This is where Takeo finds himself, and he tilts his head, when the Giants... THE GIANTS are announced as the opponant. Takeo does not like to loose. e gets into a baseball stance and adjests his glove.

He watches as Mami prepares to throw the ball and he hangs his head. It's not that she's throwing the ball. It's that they're playing professionals and there will be no Magic Shenanigans this time, so no need to transform. And it's not a sword fight, so let's face it. Takeo has WATCHED baseball, but the last time he played the sport was in Gym class, and the last time he played regularly was when he was Five and he wanted to be like Ichiro Suzuki before he went and joined the American Baseball league. "No matter. I'll play ball. I will represent Ohtorri." He takes a deep breath and lets it out. "STRIKE THE LOOSER OUT MAMI!!"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

What is Kiryuu doing playing against us so often, Nori thinks from her position half a subprefecture over. She adjusts her cap. She can hear it fine of course, it's not actually that bad, just spiritually remote.

I guess she's gone past even Ohtori, Nori thinks, her eyes going to the field's turf.

But then there's a motion -

Nori straightens up as she sees a pitch. Maybe...

Nanami is a rather impressive young woman, after all. She might hit it right at her.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The Yomiuri Giants? Against an impromptu *cross-schools* team of teenagers?

... and Nanami Kiryuu-san is leading off to bat for them?

Fuu lets out a sigh, and settles in a little more comfortably at third base - not *relaxing*, but there's no point in being excessively tense, it'll just slow her down when she needs to react. Mami-san launches the first pitch, and Fuu watches, getting ready in case it comes flying her way.

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"...you're kidding, right? I'm not that good a pinch-hitter, Waon-chan..." All Hibiki can do is punch into her glove at the thought that they're going to have to face off against pros...

Though on the other hand. They get to face off against pros.

She looks to her left, at the Ohtori high-schooler on second base. And to her right, at her fellow Infinity student. And finally, back to the batter...

"...wait, isn't that the same girl who found the eels?..." Nanami Kiryuu, huh? Time to find out how good she is...

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona nods alongside Mami. She understands that Mami understands. There's a lot of understanding going on.

No one must know the truth.

Her attempts to learn baseball on the fly is ground to a halt by the sounds of a bus arriving to the grounds. Her eyes widen the moment she sees what emerges from it. "T-The Giants?" Iona knew of them by reputation, but had never seen a game. What sort of money does that school throw around? And did the Giants really have nothing better to do?

Iona's eyes remain wide even when the rest of the schools start to cheer. Really? She rolls her eyes just a little bit. This isn't worth her time to be stomped into the dirt by someone way out of her league.

Then Nanami walks out of the dugout and takes her position at bat. Okay, so do they not have dignity? Shouldn't an actual Giants member be playing?

But after a few moments, there's a smile slightly forming on the girl's face, as she looks up directly at the pitch Mami is throwing. She's had to face overwhelming odds before. If it's the fate of the game that they lose...

Then she will change it.

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Nanami catches sight of her honored older brother and sighs happily to herself. "Oniisama... yes," she whispers. "I look cute. I am the cutest one on the field!" Itsuki, on the sidelines, may notice Nanami glaring at her for a few seconds.

"Not old enough to worry about," Nanami decides.

She is grinning as Mami winds up, and when the pitch comes, she squeezes her eyes tight and swings with all of her love! But she opens them when she feels nothing, and glances to the side, watching the ball ping off the fence, nowhere near her strike zone. "Hah!" she barks. "That means you're out!"

"Strike one!" the umpire calls.

"What?! Why?" Nanami demands, but her brunettes are nowhere near, so she turns to demand the answer of Iona. "Why is that a strike?"

The next pitch, Nanami swings at even harder, missing again. "Strike two!" Fuming, she sets her feet again. Maybe if she keeps her eyes open...

Ping!

"Yes!" Nanami shouts, prancing off the base.

"Foul ball!"

Nanami prances back.

Nanami is infuriated as she prepares herself. She looks Mami up and down. "Lovely uniform, by the way," she calls. "The vertical stripes were a... necessary choice for you. Very slimming. Oh! And that elaborate... thing, on your head. It is good of you to put safety before style when needs must. With that on, you will not be struck by any passing vehicles."

Nanami feels flush with power, like a vampire after feeding. When the next pitch comes, she strikes it far out into the outfield.

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mami can hear Takeo's cheer! She beams over his way, albeit in a subtle, restrained sort of way. She's not exactly a baseball /expert/, herself, but...

She sure isn't going to tell anyone that.

Instead, she lifts her head high, trying to inspire her teammates (and herself) with a show of confidence. Strangely enough, she sees the same in Iona... And that helps her, too. It's going to be just fine.

Mami /throws/, and--

"My, Kiryuu-san. I'm glad you seem to be having so much fun," Mami offers after the foul ball. But--....

Her little salvo is not really enough in the face of what Nanami says next. Mami blinks, once, surprised at the compiment--but then it isn't a compliment at all. As Nanami powers up...

Mami can't help but reach one hand partially up to her hat, involuntarily, her smile rather abrubtly faded.

The next pitch is awful. Mami's heart sinks as she turns, ostensibly watching the ball, but mostly trying to hide her face from a certain middle schooler.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fuu isn't even the target of Nanami's viciously barbed and venomous tongue, and *she* winces at the insults being levelled at the pitcher. Isn't there some kind of rule against excessively vicious psychological warfare tactics? Maybe not in the book of baseball rules, but ... oh, maybe in the Geneva Conventions?

Still, if Nanami-san wanted to inspire the Infinity/Juuban/Ohtori players to play to their utmost, she just succeeded at *THAT*; Fuu is coolly, utterly certain of that much. She, at least, doesn't intend to let Nanami Kiryuu get past third base if there's any (legal) means by which she can stop the pompous little ojousama from advancing to home plate.

But it's up to the outfielders right now; Fuu can only stand ready to catch the ball if it comes her way.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

POK!

The ball flies upwards with the momentum of inevitability. It actually takes Nori two full seconds to realize that at that angle, propelled by the immense strength of Nanami Kiryuu's passion, the ball is coming right at her! ... ish.

Nori runs forwards, accelerating herself across the field and watching the ball as it goes... fortunately there is nothing for her to run into out here, or trip over (for once), so this goes more or less as planned, except for when she leaps to catch and the ball instead slams down like the tiny fist of an unusually angry god into the turf near her.

No instant out, sadly.

But it's right there! Nori crouches down, picks the ball up, stares at it for another precious second - then looks up. Hibiki's hair catches her eye first, despite her being slightly further away, and so Nori throws the ball with great enthusiasm and indifferent form towards her!

Hikaru Shidou has left.

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

There's a whoop from somewhere between bases two and three when Mami's second pitch evades Nanami's bat - but it's brief, and Hibiki's focus swings back to the batter. Swing, batter, swing at the obvious foul-

Nope. Even Nanami won't be fooled three times in a row. Then her barbs come out, and for a moment even Hibiki is stunned quiet with anger.

Briefly, because...the ball is in the air! "Get ready - we can't let her have a home run in her first inning!" The shortstop runs, and run Hibiki shall. There's a poof of sod, and then a ball being hurtled at a running shortstop...

Hibiki leaps up, catches the ball against her stomach, and comes to a skidding halt. First base is lost. Second..."Here...you...GO!"

A girl, running toward the base, hurling a baseball with all her might. Second base, perhaps the best chance to stop this run...and close enough that only one person on the field can make the call.

The word resounds. "SAFE!"

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Takeo Akamizu watches the ball sail after the connection and moves to base, jsut in case his glove is needed. He kneels and the loud SNAP of the ball slamming into his mit, his head looking to Nanami to make sure she doens't go anywhere else. With a nod, he tosses the balllightly back to Mami. "Nice pitch Mami!" He says witha genuine grin.

Then he looks to Nanami, points two fingers at his eyes, then points those two fingers to Nanami. His expression grim.

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

"Hah! As expected!" Nanami chirps as she skids onto second. That's what she thinks she did, anyway. She actually ran there with her palms held around the level of her shoulders, fingernails tucked, heels kicking gaily with every step. She hops a few times happily, before glancing at Hibiki. "If you give me your student ID, you might find some free lunches on your account if I make it to home," she says. "These things happen."

The first Giant up to the plate looks vaguely embarrassed to be batting against schoolchildren, but he also doesn't want to patronize them. Besides, he's getting a paycheck for this. He wiggles his butt, which Nanami finds vindicating. Then he smashes Mami's next pitch all the way to Saitama.

That's what it feels like, at any rate. That ball is nowhere in sight. If a Giants fan is going to retrieve it, they'll have to organize a search party with posters, police, and bloodhounds. Nanami crosses home plate with an insoucient chirrup, while the batter jogs lightly around the field, reassured somewhat by the cheers of the home team fans. They seem to be a very positive bunch. But there's no way they are going to win this game. Unless...

"Third up to bat is... Nanami Kiryuu! Again. Somehow."

Nanami bats every other time from then out, and every time, Mami strikes her out. In between, the Giants hit deep drivers, but they only manage to get one more of their number home before Nanami strikes out with the bases fully loaded. 3-0 Giants.

As the Giants jog out into the field, Nanami takes her place on the pitcher's mound, switching repeatedly from a left-handed stance to a right-handed one as she considers which angle might be more flattering from oniisama's vantage. As the first Sister Schools batter steps up, Nanami is trying that pose where the pitcher has the ball in her glove, tucked behind the small of her back, and is bending forward while looking meditative. Her pale blonde hair tumbles profusely out the back of her baseball cap.

"I hope you're ready," she warns airily. "I won't go easy on you. This will just be my regular pitch, but if you prove worthy, I will show you..." Nanami flicks her hair over her shoulder as she rises to her full height. "Angelic Supremacy Ball Kiryuu."

Nanami does not strike out a single one of the batters.

Oh, they might strike themselves out, if they swing when they shouldn't. But about half of them will walk, and the other half will sooner or later get a sweetheart of a pitch. All nine of the starting members of the Eel Lovers will enjoy the easiest trip to the base of their life, unless they psych themselves out.

And then someone manages to convince Nanami to take a literal powder break, and a Giant demolishes the three upcoming relief batters in a row with pitches that would get pulled over on the Autobahn. Itsuki, Hitomi, and Megumi are sent back to the bleachers almost instantly, and it's on to the next inning.

By which point, the score will be?

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Coming to bat, Takeo nods once to Nanami. He narrows his eyes and dos the finger point to his eyes, and to Nanami again. He's watching. Alwaaaaays watching. Then he sets himself and gets ready to swing.

The first few are balls, and he let's them go. The third he notices is in what he has dubbed, the sweet spot, and he swings with all his might.

There is a loud CRACK as bat connects to ball, and sends it flying toward Left Field. He winks to Nanami as he sprints past. He makes it to Second before the Giants manage to save Left Field. He screams to a stop and decides not to even attempt to go further, professionals vs High Schooler.

He stands on second, ready to sprint to third if he's able.

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nice pitch?

Mami turns and catches the ball, relying on instinct more than anything else. She feels a bit slow, acutely conscious of each movement. But the team comes together...! And Mami mostly tries to avoid looking at second base for the moment, as well as avoiding looking to the stands. Instead, she'll just have to pay her next attention to the batter coming up.

"I'll get the next one!" she calls to the others, tugging the bill on her hat down a little farther. She throws...!

The vindication of striking Nanami out like ten times wars within Mami with the utter dejection of attempting to strike out professional ball players.

But striking out Nanami repeatedly /does/ feel incredible.

Once they actually switch sides, though, Mami takes a breath, trying to swing the bat to warm herself up a little bit as she's taking her turn.

Mami has no words for Nanami this time. She just sets herself in place, widens her stance, and thinks back to... every time she's watched Sayaka swing a bat.

This proves a mistake at first, as the first pitch comes and she swings /straight/ past it, still jittery and expecting Nanami to say something again.

The second comes, and Mami's too tense; she swings her bat /just/ too late. That's two down. Two, against /Nanami/.

She takes a breath. She's sure she can imagine how smug Nanami must be, but she's not looking at her face. Instead... She waits...

She /swings/, and this time with a loud crack it /connects/, and goes flying out into the outfield. It soars. It goes beyond where she thought it could, and with a half-second's delay, Mami starts running.

...But the professional outfielders do their work well, and before Mami makes it, the first-baseman catches the ball.

...On the way back, she shifts so her ribbon catches the light better.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

There really would be nothing more satisfying than wiping the metaphorical smile off of Nanami-san's face by nailing a home run, thinks Fuu as her turn at bat comes around. And with the first two pitches, she swings - genuinely whiffing the first, and coming credibly close on the second pitch to be launched her way.

After that, Fuu decides it's probably just as simple to get walked. It's an easy decision; three Nanami pitches in a row sail over the plate so far from the strike zone that Fuu could code a boss battle in the intervening space. Nanami looks just a little irritable by this point, and Fuu prepares for another actual swing - to make it look good, if nothing else.

(Not that she thinks Nanami Kiryuu deserves to look THAT good.)

The full-count pitch is faster and straighter, and the sharp *crack* of bat meeting ball even catches Fuu herself by surprise. Too bad it sails straight over the third-base foul line, giving some fan a lucky souvenir. The pitch after *that* is another ball, and Fuu walks quickly to first base, relieved not to have plowed into a disaster.

.... and even though she's an Infinity student, Fuu suspects that a vengeance-fueled Nanami would likely find some way to make her life difficult even there. Hopefully that was enough to more or less mollify her.

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Hit the lights. Focus the projector. It's time for a sports montage.

FIRST INNING

Nanami blinks, confused by Takeo's gesture. What's that mean? He's looking at her? Well, good, right? Nanami beams, though she takes care to turn her chin sharply from the prettyboy. Sorry, boys. She's not in the market for more brothers. "Hmph!" she chides him happily.

SECOND INNING

"You..." Nanami seethes at Fuu, squeezing the baseball as though it were a stress-ball. "Is there even anything wrong with your eyes? Or are you just one of those girls who wants to look smarter than everyone else? WELL? Which is it? Because you don't look nearly smart enough to wear glasses."

THIRD INNING

"Oh, it's Tomoe again," Nanami says in honeyed tones. "You know, I think you're a natural at this. I wish I could have been born with such ability." She sighs wistfully. "When I'm at bat, I have a strike zone a mile wide." Somehow she knows /that/ term. "But somehow when you're there, you manage to shrink that area down to mere inches. Is it some Tomoe family technique? Some special stance?" She puts a finger to her chin, appearing for all the world to be in earnest thought.

FOURTH INNING

"Houjou, is it?" Nanami greets from the mound. "You look like a fine athlete. Someday I hope to have your strength..." She tucks her chin, looking legitimately sad, even repulsed with herself. "I am to blame, for my own indolence. If I had your strength of character, I would have forged myself into something worthwhile... not plush and adorable like this. I could become stringy, ungainly with my own athleticism, my cheeks whittled hollow by my own willpower..."

FIFTH INNING

"I apologize on behalf of the Student Council," Nanami tells Nori. "You should not have to bat with the smell of seaweed in your nose. Oh, oh, it's just cropped up, I have no idea from whence..."SIXTH INNING

Nanami takes another look at Fuu's glasses, and pegs her in the leg with the ball with all of her (somewhat noodley) strength.

SEVENTH INNING

"Tomoe," Nanami ventures. "You have something on your..." She indicates on her own head where Mami's hat accessory would lie. "Oh... right it's... never mind!"EIGHTH INNING

Nanami scowls as a brunette clips and files a chipped nail.

NINETH INNING

Wait, what about the sports part?

The Giants are an unstoppable force, and Nanami is a consummately moveable object. For every ruthless victory they rip from their foes, Nanami hands them an equally devastating loss.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

THE FIFTH INNING

Nori purses her lips a little. Nanami's words have given her pause, and perhaps bruised her ego, even if it is one of those complicated and perplexing sideways bumps that are not uncommon in the realm of Ohtori Academy.

THE NINTH INNING

Nori is holding the bat differently now... she's rather sore but she's also managed to break in her muscles with the exciting adventure of 'not being very good at batting.' Her style has gotten looser and looser, and now when Nanami hurls that ball forwards --

Nori doesn't swing. She TWISTS the bat round, holding the club+1 as if it were a guitar, and pivots around for a sudden blocking bunt! Up it goes, towards somewhere between left and center; Nori though is already off and running, huffing.

Seaweed isn't a bad smell!

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

As Mami makes her way through the innings again and again, swinging bats and getting actually fairly used to pitching, there is one constant: Nanami /talking/.

By the fourth inning Mami has stopped even trying to actually /say/ anything in return, and her demeanor has become considerably more businesslike than it was before.

By the sixth inning, Mami has already estimated exactly how much magic it would take to gag Nanami Kiryuu for an hour.

...In the seventh inning, Mami presses her lips together and swings despite everything. ...But doesn't do so great. Again, Nanami wins that round.

But in the /ninth/....

In the ninth inning, Mami is already sure there'll be some new insult waiting, some new awful thing. She doesn't even remember what she did to Nanami in the first place to merit it. But she's holding up the bat anyway, trying to keep her breathing under control. ...Secret Tomoe family technique....

When the pitch comes towards her, Mami feels tired, to the point where she's almost relaxed; she /wants/ to go curl up somewhere unnoticed. But she sees the ball, and she starts to swing, running on habit, maybe, for what she'd usually do for something flying at her.

/TAP/.

The ball goes flying through the air. Up, and up. Mami blinks, and /stares/ at it. ...She almost forgets to run.

But only almost. /This/ ball sails out of the outfield, and Mami sprints the bases before somebody comes up with a rule that lets somebody try to /catch/ it.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fortunately for Fuu's leg, she's a good girl and drinks her milk. It's going to take more than a noodly throw to do more than advance Fuu to first base, without even having to score four balls for the walk. As for the taunting about her glasses ... well, if Fuu suspected that Nanami didn't buy the best of report cards, she might actually challenge the ojousama to a contest of grades. She's got more important things to do, though ... like finishing this baseball game so that she can go practice for the actual archery meet.

"... and so we meet again, Kiryuu-san," Fuu calls out solemnly as she comes up to bat in the ninth. "Our final battle, I'm certain. Have you made your peace with whatever gods saw fit to bless your life?" She unshoulders her bat, points it dramatically at the outfield, then settles into her ready position, watching carefully with just a hint of a smile gently curving her lips. As if she knows something.

The first pitch of the at-bat is so obviously off-target that Fuu stifles a yawn at it. "If you've tired of your career as a baseball star, I'm sure we can end things more cleanly ..."

The second pitch has more force and less accuracy; Fuu doesn't NEED to lean away from it, but does so anyway. She also doesn't need to mock Nanami any more, and she *doesn't* say anything further.

The third pitch: right down the center at a decent clip, and Fuu swings as hard as she can, eliciting a *CRACK* of impact that she's actually ready for this time. She runs, watching the ball's flight ... is it going to clear the outer fence?

.... why yes, yes it is. Probably.

Fuu just runs as hard as she can, not wanting to look back and see the ball being hurled to the next stop on her circuit of the bases after all. If it cleared the fence, fine; if it didn't, she'll find out the hard way whether she looks or not, and if she runs hard enough she *MIGHT* get across home plate before the ball cuts her off in a fielder's hand.

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Takeo Akamizu sighs slightly and shakes his head as he prepares to take the field again. He moves to the batter's box in this, the Ninth inning, and adjusts his helmet. Then spits to the side. Because that's what he's seen other baseball player's do. He nods once to Nanami and then, he does a few practice swings, before he once agian spits to the side. He nods to the pitcher. "Bring it." He says before he sets himself to bat, eyes narrowed.

He isn't sure he's even going to get to swing, as the first three throws are all balls, and one of whihc nearly takes his head off! He does the finger to the eyes, then points at her agian wiht a dour and serious look.

Then he recieves the final pitch. There is an ear spitting crack as Takeo sends the ball somewhere near the Moon Kingdom's domain. (That's what he likes to think. In reality, he sent it to left field again. Not for planning, but because he hit the thing in teh wrong spot. Again.) He sprints, while the Left Field tries to figure out what's happening, as he sent it deep into the outfield.

Takeo is fast, and if he cna't slide at least ONCE then he isn't playing baseball. "It's what Suzuki Sempai would want." He says ans he pumps his arms and legs furiously and rounds third base. The Catcher, standing, throws off his mask to better see the ball as it sails toward him. Takeo hit sthe dirt in a slide that kicks up a lot of dust. He blinks up at the catcher and says very calmly as the Umpire declares him safe, "Um... Could you sign my Baseball? It... It's for my sister...."

Yeeeeah. He'll believe that.

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

"Are we going to lose?" 08 asks 31. 08 was first draft pick out of the minors. Baseball is his whole life.

"Maybe," 31 sighs. "If the kids play real smart." He has small bar themed entirely around him in the Golden Gai, with his first game ball hung on the wall with his signature.

"Are there reporters here to tell everybody we lost?" 08 wonders.
"Maybe."

"Think she'll let us pitch?"

"Maybe," 31 says again.

Nanami is standing on the mound with her head thrown back. "O ho ho ho!"

"On second thought. Not a chance," 31 says.

Nori is on base when Fuu strikes her glorious blow against ojoukind, and by all rights, she should have sent both of them home. In any fair game it would have been a home run. But a sprinting Giants outfielder sails through the air past Saionji like one of Fuu's arrows, spearing the ball, and it zooms in a three-point pass all the way back to home base just before Nori can reach it. Mami just barely avoids the same fate, but brings the score even through Saionji's incompetence.

"The moment has come, then," Nanami retorts to Takeo. "I hope you are ready to face... my final attack!"

Nanami inhales, then slowly lifts her knee and chambers the ball. The sun is beginning to set as she draws her arm back, and as her body goes taut, the light hits the fence behind her, and the broad wings of a seraph seem to spread from her back. When she opens her eyes, the righteous fire of Oniisama Heaven blazes in them.

Angelic Supremacy...

Kiryuu...

Ball!

Nanami snaps her arm forward, and is forced to hop a few steps on one leg, overbalanced. The ball whizzes lightly through the air. It's really wobbly. It might be an all right curve ball. Or slowball.

"It's a REALLY SLOW curveball!" the announcer gasps in histrionic disbelief.

And Takeo knocks it into the next life and scores a homer.

As he's getting his baseball signed, Nanami falls to her knees and starts wailing. The brunettes get the hospital screen around her before the tears show up.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Nanami might be distraught, but she's the only one.

The crowd -- all three schools' worth -- rushes the field. Someone is smart enough to pull the cord for more rose petal confetti, and there is a loud and messy moment of joy, all beaming teenagers and flailing limbs. The Sister Schools team are the heroes of the moment, and this day will be spoken of for all of history (or at least until everyone graduates and institutional memory has forgotten it).

Among the jubilation strides Touga Kiryuu, tall and magnificent, his booming laughter a golden, baritone bell. He schools his features to pure seriousness as he approaches his beloved younger sister, however, and gently clasps the side of her face in one enormous palm. The other love of his life, his cell phone, is gently clasped in the other hand; today of all days, surely he is very hooked into all of the proceedings.

"Well done, Nanami. Your brilliant play has brought all the students of Ohtori such joy." He knows his audience, and doesn't say 'the Sister Schools' for a reason. "Now, come," he commands, "It's time for the three-legged race!"

Slinging an arm around her shoulders (and a thumb across his phone), he gently guides her off the field -- and other students begin to scatter to their next events, as well. They know where to go because the massive digital board has once again blinked its updated list.

Including:

Three-Legged Race
- Nanami Kiryuu and Touga Kiryuu

*blink*

-Nanami Kiryuu and Touga Ki

*blink*

-Nanami Kiryuu and Tou

*blink*

-Nanami Kiryuu and Kyouichi Saionji

2016-01-16 - Ohtori Sports Festival, Part One

2016-02-07T23:41:58Z

Lucientes: On Battle Fantasia, even sports festivals are Fantastic.

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Terribad Timeout'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''The Sister Schools Sports Festival erupts with a frenzy, as Ohtori shows their opulence with fancy penalties and special guest stars.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Fuu Hououji]], [[Nori Ankou]], [[Ren Aizawa]], [[Endo Naoki]], [[Fu Inubozaki]], [[Iona Hikawa]], [[Fu Inubozaki]], [[Hibiki Houjou]], [[Nanami Kiryuu]], [[Mami Tomoe]], [[Takeo Akamizu]] 
GM: Madoka Kaname
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Ohtori Academy
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Sep 23 2014 - 1/16/2016
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The Welcoming Ceremony has just ended, and wow, this year's athletics festival sure is at Ohtori all right. The warm September air has just enough of a crisp edge to it to relieve the overshadowing heat of late summer, but right now it's full of fireworks, the finale to a ceremony that can only really be called a 'miniature Olympics' because of the size of the crowd, not the size of the spectacle. There were bands, brass bands and taiko drums alike. There were dancers, possibly professionally hired, with feathered headdresses and sequined skirts (and shirts for the boys, flapping gloriously open in the breeze). There were acrobats, who skillfully replicated, with use of their bodies and some LED-shaded uniforms, the tall Infinity tower, an example of one of the squat Juuban buildings, and elegant Ohtori archways.

Student Council President Touga Kiryuu is resplendent in a color-coded-white-and-red-for-your-convenience custom version of the sleek Ohtori tracksuit. At least it makes him easy to find. Not that it was ever hard -- he towers over most other students, even within senior year, and his commanding, velvety presence looms irrespective of physical height, anyway.

"And now..." he calls, his warm, cultured voice carried by outstanding amplification to every ear, no matter how blasted they just were by the fireworks, "...let the games... begin!"

He fires a blank into the air from one of those sports pistols. This one looks like it came off the set of The Man With The Golden Gun.

And then the students are off, in a buzzing mass of red and blue and yellow, to populate the fields, of which there are several more than usual, a tiered set of sports fields arcing towards the sky in a glorious display of architecture and outrageous budget expenditure. There are several massive, digital boards with constantly updating listings of who's been signed up for what. It seems as though those decisions were made at more of an executive level this year, and that personal requests may have gone largely ignored.

For example:

Group A Infinity vs. Juuban Tug-Of-War - And then there are a list of names. Even as people look at it, a pair of girls who have already twisted their ankles are replaced at the last minute by a pair of Ohtori students, including Nori Ankou.

The tug of war pit is rather magnificent. It starts as neatly trimmed grass, but towards the middle, becomes gooey with all manner of slick and edible substances, like whipped cream, chocolate sauce, jello and candied cherry juice.

The rope is glittering golden. It probably isn't /real/ gold. It couldn't be. No way.

The referee, who looks like they might be a hired professional, waits for the students to take their positions.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Well, there has to be something to do before the archery meet starts in earnest, right? And hauling on a rope is possibly good preliminary exercise for a sport that involves pulling strings back and letting them go ...

Fuu still made a point of bringing an extra pair of gloves, something she can protect her hands with while still being legit gear for field sports or tug-of-war ... and as she sees her name on the tug-of-war list, Fuu silently gives thanks for her insight, tugging the gloves out of her sweatjacket pockets and pulling them on. She can shuck them again if anybody objects and isn't overruled by the referee.

She heads for the tug-of-war pit ... and comes to a dead stop upon seeing how it's been laid out. Grass isn't a surprise; cream and chocolate sauce and the like ... "Well," she muses with a smile, "at least it'll taste better than the usual mud does if any happens to get into the losing team's mouths, right?"

As for the golden rope, she presumes it's just like the decorative rope used for theatre curtains and the like. That would be easy enough to get a hold of, and Ohtori's students (and faculty) do seem to love their tasteful theatrics. As long as she can get a decent grip on it without getting her hands scraped, she's not about to complain; Fuu moves to the Infinity side of the 'pit' and takes a position next to the rope, around what should be the middle - not too close to the pit, but not where she's going to be the last linchpin between victory or defeat if Juuban gets a quick advantage.

Ahead of Fuu and on the other side of the rope is Sora Kumogawa, another member of Infinity's middle-school archery team. "So they roped you into this too, Hououji?" he asks with a grin. "Let's see how fast we can dunk the Juuban team - or at least how hard we can make them work for their win, if they're that good."

"I doubt it's going to be an easy win for either side," Fuu notes, making sure the elastic cord anchoring her glasses is snug and secure without being too tight. She did recognize a couple of the Juuban players' names as well ...

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Autumn and early spring are Nori Ankou's favorite time of the year. It really puts her in the spirit to... well, alright, enthusiasm isn't quite the right term, but she's much less gloomy now. Her long black hair has been tied back with a scrunchy into a low-hanging ponytail.

HITOMI SHIZUKI, on the other hand, has her hair in her usual style. Having been waved in with Nori, she says to the rather dark girl, "I guess we're the replacements... Let's give it our all!" She jabs her fist in the air, just a little, beaming.

Nori smiles back with only slight mordancy. "Yes," she says to her class representative: "Let's." She steps up to the rope, positioning herself behind Hitomi.

"Let's do our best, everybody!" Hitomi cheers. Nori leans out of the queue of aspiring tuggers to say, blinking, "Shizuki-san, in the pit there..."

"Hm?"

"Is that actual cherry juice? That could stain..."

"Then we'll just have to do our best!" Hitomi resolves. Nori has no protest.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Let's go Ren!" Comes the excited voice of Ming Zhou, a bubbly Chinese exchange student who has pretty much attatched herself to her classmate in question. "I /love" tug-of-war! We're so going to win!" She hops up and down as she says this, brunette pig-tails bouncing in unison. Ren, of course, is not so keen on their chances, but is trying to look at it like she does video games.

"Y-Yeah! Let's try our best, ok Zhou-san?" She casts a glance over at Endo, smiling. Perhaps it's a plea for mercy? Or perhaps a clever ruse designed to lure him into a false sense of security. Either way, it's a smile!

"That's the spirit Ren! We'll make an athlete out of you yet!" Ming asserts with a nod and a hearty clasp on Ren's back, sending the other girl stumbling forward a bit. "Whoops! Sorry, don't know my own strength! Heh heh..." The exchange student rubs the back of her neck sheepishly, eyes glittering. Ren shakes her head and waves a hand dismissively.

"It's ok! I'm fine!" Though her back /did/ sting a bit. Ow ow ow. Nothing she couldn't deal with, however...

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Endo likes sports. He had a lot more time for them during his last year of school, before the part-time job and running around doing magical things. But school-mandated sports means he gets to indulge, guilt free. He also has a helmet on. He's come prepared.

But only after he sits through the opening ceremony. He spends most of it staring his at the spectacle, his head ever-slowly tilting to the side until, by the end, he's looking very vertical. "Ah, really, isn't all this a little much?" He repeats his at regular intervals, to be chastised to silenced by his companion and former club-mate, Shinji Akeda. The other boy is taller than Endo, lean from chasing things into and out of goals.

Once names are flashing up on the board and people are getting into place, Endo's friend gives him a shake and hustles him along toward the tug of war line.

"I think this rope might cost more than my home." Endo reaches down to gingerly grab his share of the line, giving a testing tug before leaning out from the line to wave at Ren when she gets into position across the mire of sweetness.

He is quickly wrestled back into line.

"Don't show weakness to the enemy!'

<Pose Tracker> Fu Inubozaki [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fu Inubozaki watches the final moments of the opening ceremony with a grin on her face. Ohtori Academy has really outdone themselves this year. It was quite difficult to know where to look first with all the dancers, music, and now even fireworks. Ohtori obviously spared no expense in hosting the combined Athletics Festival, but this was Ohtori Academy afterall. That much is to be expected as opulence is practically in their namesake.

For the most part, Fu plays off her reaction to the festivities as cool and subdued as she can. She smiles and looks to be having a good time, but she's not letting Ohtori's display intimidate her. This is in complete and utter contrast to how Fu's beloved younger sister is reacting to everything. While Fu remains pretty calm for the time being, Itsuki Inubozaki is very much wide-eyed with her mouth agape right now over the spectacle. The younger Inubozaki sister carries a look of half utter excitement and half nervous worry on her face that causes Fu to grin that much wider over at her younger sister.

Taking a step closer to her sister, Fu places her hand on Itsuki's shoulder and gives it a squeeze. "Hey Itsuki, the tug-of-war is first. Are you ready to go?" Itsuki is a little surprised by the sudden shoulder squeeze, but she quickly recovers when she sees that it was her sister that had squeezed her. She then turns and gives Fu a very determined nod of her head. "Yes! Let's go, big sis!" She cheerfully chirps back with much to Fu's delight.

Itsuki's reaction causes Fu to grin from ear to ear and start laughing. She just loved to see her little sister get fired up. "Fuhuhu. Alright! Let's go show everyone just how tough and strong the Inubozaki sisters are!" The blonde-haired Fu laughs again as she ushers her sister over to where her classmates were gathering. "Hi everyone! We're here and ready to go!" The older Inubozaki sister announces loudly while the younger one just nods meekly in greeting before adding, "Um. H-hello. Let's do our best!" Fu shoots her younger sister a sly nod of approval before both sisters take up their respective positions on Infinity's side of the golden rope.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona Hikawa is here today at the sports festival. She relaxes for a brief moment on the benches near where everyone else is, and watches the spectatcle that Ohtori seems to have arranged for this festival. The dancers and the bands seemed. Not to say they weren't great. Iona did find them all kind of neat, but she couldn't help but think that this was all just a little... excessive. They must have a /lot/ of money to be able to burn it on something like this. So Iona sits, smiling but otherwise stonewalled, until the starting gun shoots and everyone starts to run out onto the field, Iona following.

Her gait slows down just a little bit as she sees her name on the board for... tug of war? Iona shifts her direction torwards the tug of war pit... and sees all the chocolate and cherry juice and everything else inside.

Momentary memories, not even twenty-four hours old, re-emerge where Iona found herself being dragged towards a pit of mold. Her enthusiasm drops just a little bit because of it. "I wonder if any of that is molding right now?" She asks herself. There's a brief moment where she considers trying to see if she can excuse herself, but trying to explain why she's avoiding tug-of-war might be... just a little vague and insufficient. So she takes a deep breath, and trudges over to a free spot where she can get a hold of the rope well enough.

Behind her, another girl her age takes a place. Iona looks backwards to get a look at her -- red hair in a ponytail, equally red eyes, and a large, almost encompassing smile. It was so bright that Iona could hardly look directly at it.

The girl waves at Iona. "Hello, Hikawa-san!"

"Ah, hello." Iona responds, not completely sure how to react. There's a smile in return, but Iona turns back to get a good grip on the rope and get ready for the event.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The referee looks along the rope, up one end, then down the other. "Three!" she shouts, her voice rising above the same sorts of chants barking up and down the fields. "Two! One!"

*TWEET!*

Her whistle blasts and the rope immediately strains between the two groups. So far there's no imminent threat of either team being plunged into the goo pit -- are they evenly matched?

There are plenty of students as-yet unassigned to an event, and the cheering quickly becomes pleasantly raucous, the high energy of a carnival infecting kids of all ages. It's a roar in the background, but somehow it seeps under the skin and through the eyes, into the bloodstream... pull -- pull -- pull!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

It's not purely about raw strength, Fuu reminds herself as the referee counts down to the start; it's about leverage. Really, pulling too hard can be suicidal in tug-of-war.

Then the whistle blows, and Fuu stops thinking too much about the mechanics of it with her brain; her body has to do the 'thinking' now, her gloved hands wrapping tightly around the rope, her feet planted solidly on the ground with her weight on her heels, her legs *almost* locked to dig her heels in underneath her. All of that happens faster than it takes to think consciously about it; she goes from 'at rest' to 'pulling' in a little over an instant, even if she's not yet actively trying to haul the Juuban students into the goop.

Not the way Sora is, anyway; he's got his feet planted but he *is* actively hauling on the rope like he were on an old-time sailing ship, his teeth gritted as he contributes the raw strength that some girls might not have ... and that some very well *might*, to judge by the Inubozaki sisters' enthusiasm. Among others.

It may not be archery, but Fuu and Sora are both familiar with tug-of-war, and neither of them is about to let Infinity down in *any* event today.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

As soon as the whistle blows, the tugging begins. Ren feels herself sliding forward, eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. But never fear -- Ming is here! The loud girl grins as she plants her feet down into the ground beneath her, becoming the immovable force within the roaring storm she imagines herself to be. It helps since Ren smacks face-first into her back, which gives her enough time to regain her bearings and start tugging backwards, face already starting to turn red from the exertion.

"Heave! Ho!" Ming cries out, trying to provide as much encouragement as possible.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Endo commences pulling. He's spent the first few seconds waiting for the shot wrapping the rope around his fists, making sure he's in prime pulling position. This will probably mean he's getting dragged wherever the rope goes regardless of his choice, but such heroic sacrifices must be made. He's been looking forward to stuff like this, so when the game starts he starts pulling with all the ferocity he can muster. Pacing himself is not something that's even entered his mind.

This seems to be the case for the boy behind him as well, who likewise attempts a full backpedaling sprint the second the rope is live. It's probably a bit much, but his heart seems to be in the right place. A place that is far away from the strawberry pit. They are alike, Endo and friendo.

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The crispness of the air - the raucous cheer of amassed crowds - that tangible spirit of cooperation and competition all in one. This is the athletics festival, home to well-organized chaos with students running around in every direction. There's a schedule to keep, last-minute team substitutions to register, those suited to medical care hard at work keeping tabs on classmates...

And, as Hibiki Houjou is rapidly discovering, the problem with many students having the attention span of a cat.

"Have you seen - yeah, Minamino. ...Field C? Isn't that for the elem-" Hibiki slaps her forehead. "Souta's event - I hope she knows what she's doing, going to check on him at a time like this. Who knows how quickly they'll get to our race..."

"Nya? Isn't a race where you just have to run, Hibiki?" Atop Hibiki's head, utterly unruffled, sits a white cat happily cleaning her paw.

"...did your cat just..."

"...I'M A VENTRILOQUIST BYE!"

A rapid sprint takes Hibiki to the stands near the pending tug-of-war competition, and she takes a minute to catch her breath. While she does, the cat leaps daintily down from head to lap, and looks out at the pending battle. "Nya...that place looks delicious..."

Wiping her brow, Hibiki nods - and then freezes. "Hang on....Hummy! You know cats aren't supposed to talk, right? Especially not around, uh..." She glances around herself...but a sports festival is, mercifully, very noisy.

"But I'm not a cat, I'm a song fairy cat! Wait..."

"Not the- anyway, as I was saying! Kanade and I are racing together - it's a three-legged race, we get our legs tied together, and we have to stay in sync or-"

For a moment, it's as if the cat is sparkling. "You have to win with Harmony Power! Nya!....and Kanade isn't here! This is a big problem - what should we do?!"

Hibiki's answer is interrupted by a loud tweet of a whistle blast, and both girl and cat look over. Hibiki shades her eyes with one hand, squinting at the side of the battle in Infinity colours. She recognizes a couple of them...and that's good enough for her. Standing up, she pumps her fist in the air, shouting loudly. "Go, Infinity! Heave, ho! Go, Infinity! Heave, ho!"

It's got a good rhythm to it. Maybe those of her school around her will join in...

(Hummy, meanwhile, considers whether to join in cheering, find Kanade, or...ooh, a butterfly....)

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

PULL! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MONTRESOR! PULL!

Hitomi pulls, of course. She pulls her best and she pulls with strength and desperation, biting her lip with the effort. Behind her, Nori Ankou digs her heel in and does /not/ pull quite immediately. Tension builds up, and she can tell they're moving forwards - so, she goes from anchor to driver, and joins in her own strength.

It's HARD! Nori finds with a shock. Soon enough she's sweating and her arms are crying out. "Guh -"

"Don't give up! Ankou-san!" Hitomi cries over her shoulder. "Just - th, think of it like a waltz!" Nori grimaces at this comparison.

"One two - STEP!" And Hitomi pushes forwards. "You see? One two - STEP! One two - STEP!"

The rhythm helps Nori, at least. And it means that there's a steady pulsing spike in the strength of the tugging when they - and perhaps others - push off together. Yes, that's Ohtori for you - victory by jerks! ... Wait...

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

When the whistle blows, Iona immediately begins to pull the rope. It's not as hard as some others would pull it. Enough to try and prevent the other team from pulling her into the strange liquid concotion, a fate she wants to prevent /at all costs/. So she tries to take it as easy as she can, to try and let the other team expend their energy first before she tries to go for the kill.

Admittedly, that's her plan, anyway. She's not paying too much attention to what her team is doing, though she tries to at least keep some sort of pace with them. Instead, what Iona does is try to lift the rope over her, attempting to use her body as leverage to try and pull the rope.

She's also not paying attention to the girl behind her. Megumi might find an easier time since Iona's attempting to do all of the work, but she does her level best to keep pulling anyway.

<Pose Tracker> Fu Inubozaki [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fu begins pulling the rope along with her teammates, but shockingly the opposing team has a very similar strategy. This puts the two sides at a temporary standstill. However, Fu is not about to give up anytime soon! Her sister is of the same mind and she is also doing her best to contribute to the effort. Knowing just how tough this was turning out to bet, Fu sneaks a glance over at her sister. The sight of her sister trying so hard at this reinvigorates Fu's aching muscles. Itsuki was trying so hard these days and not just at this tug of war. The older sister grits her teeth, digs her feet into the ground, and begins to pull some more! "Itsuki! Hang in there! Remember everyone, we'll likely succeed if we try!" Fu, wanting to look impressive in front of her sister, keeps pulling just as Itsuki, wanting to show that she's up to the challenge, keeps pulling on the rope opposite of Fu.

"Aizawa-san! Are you okay?!" Fu asks of her classmate when she sees her nearly pinball off of Ming. But thankfully Ming doesn't seem phased by that and Ren soon recovers. It is at about this time that Ming's and Hibiki's cheers reach Fu's ears. A chant! That was a great idea! "Heave, ho!" Fu cheers as she joins in. "Go, Infinity!" Itsuki adds quite helpfully as the two sisters begin to alternate their team chants. "Heave, ho!" "Go, Infinity!"

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

"Do you know, oniisama? The feelings I keep safe for you, only you?"

A breeze lifts, and with it, soft blonde locks float around a blushing face. Long lashes fall to shield the emotion in wet eyes as Nanami cups her hands together, leaning forward as though her yearning would lift her from her toes and bear her through the air.

"I'm afraid, oniisama. That I was never meant to be your sister. That a day will come when I stand between you and your happiness, and the final consummation of our love will be for me to... step aside." She turns her head, her mouth trembling with emotion, as a swirl of rose petals flourishes past her orange gown, rippling the butterfly-like purple bow that adorns her back. "And I feel disgusted with myself, because I know that I would cherish that moment forever, and place it behind glass, and take it out from under my bed and clutch it to my breast and MY GOD do you think that's enough PETALS? Are you trying to choke me to DEATH or just bury me?"

Kneeling at her feet, three school uniform'ed brunettes hunch meekly. One is directing a portable electric fan up at Nanami, another sits next to her with a bag full of rose petals, and a third is holding an old-fashioned camera with a large flashbulb. "Last time, you said there wasn't enough," the fan girl reminds Nanami.

"Did I truly? Because as far as I can tell your ideal aesthetic would involve me drowning in an Olympic pool FILLED with them."

"I'm pretty sure you did," says the petal-bag girl resentfully. She has a fresh knot on her head that she is rubbing meaningfully.

"Augh! Forget it. Just take a few pictures while I have them in my hair. Yes? Like this?" Nanami tilts her face and makes her eyes large as she gazes off into the far distance with a faint smile on her face. The flash bulb goes off.

"Are they testing out the rope?" she asks distractedly.

Her coterie glance in the direction Nanami is looking. "They're participating in the sports festival," one ventures.

Nanami's eye twitches. "They're from those /other/ schools."

"That's... how we do it, remember when last year, we..."

"But not at Ohtori," Nanami fumes. "No, there's some mistake."

"Did you watch the ceremony? It was all about how..."

"Oniisama," Nanami sighs immediately. "He was so magnetic, wasn't he?" Nanami's face suddenly darkens. "No, this will not do. Bring around the sedan." When Nanami says that word, it doesn't mean "car." She lifts her skirts and starts striding toward the field. "I need my things."

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The rope jerks back and forth! Muscles burn and fingers strain. It seems as though the rhythm shared by the Infinity crowd and their team is starting to pay off, because, inch by inch, Team Juuban (and Ohtori Friends, who have their own rhythm, for good and for ill) is being dragged towards the goop.

Endo is the first to have strawberry shoes! The stain may not be blood but oh, oh, it is honor spilled upon the field. And now his feet are sliding, and Endo's friendo and Iona are getting awfully close...

...but on the other side, Sora suddenly misses a beat in the pulling, wincing from terrible rope burn! This sends Itsuki flying into her big sister -- Ren and Ming are going to have to work hard to prevent Juuban from capitalizing on this momentary dust-up!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

And this is EXACTLY why Fuu wanted to wear gloves for the tug-of-war; she needs her hands unbloodied for archery. Sora yelps a brief apology and tries to get back into it, preferably with the less-burned hand now being dominant in his efforts to pull; Fuu just digs her heels in harder and starts reeling in the slack. "Inubozaki-san, are you all right?" Fuu calls out over the roar of the crowd, doing her best to maintain her balance and not let Juuban regain any momentum ...

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Wait... are they winning? They are! Ren sees Endo's shoes get some straberry on them, and smiles real big. "H-Hey! I think-"

The tides change, however, and things start to sway in the Juuban side's favor! "Oh no!" Ren cries out, starting to panic. But Ming holds steady, turning her head to look at Ren over her shoulder.

"You can do this, Ren. Dig deep." Comes to profound words of the exchange student. And that seems to spark something inside of Ren, even as they begin to lose ground, inching ever closer to the pit.

"I won't let you down, Zhou-san!" Ren cries out, letting out a yell as she pulls with everything she has, fingers and arms and legs beginning to burn painfully.
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.
Endo is getting a little tired after his initial burst of stamina, but the sight of his shoes slowly being engulfed by strawberry liquid redoubles his determination. He digs in as best he can, attempting to drag the rope back and himself away.

"Come on, Endo-san! You've gotten out of shape since you quit the club!" Shinji is still pulling, thankfully a few feet from suffering the same fate as Endo.

"I got it! The rope just needs to stop moving!"

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

It's not a butterfly. It's even better. For a moment, Hummy the cat is nearly absolutely still, only the twitching of her tail betraying her non-statue status. Some careless person has released rose petals into the breeze, and the cat sits utterly entranced as a handful dance in the air above her. They are pink, and fluttering, and gorgeous. "Nya...."

Meanwhile, however...

"Heave, ho! Go, Infinity - that's it!" As her school starts to claim the advantage, Hibiki breaks off her rhythm to punch the air in victory. It might not be Waon out there, but it's still her school - and so it's worth cheering on. She cups her hands, letting out a whoop -

- but despair! Sora's missed a beat, and the balance is swinging back to Juuban. The brown-haired girl, having utterly forgotten her need to find her three-legged-race-partner, calls out to the field of battle. "Come on! You've nearly got this, just one more pull-"

"nnnnnNNNYAAAAA!" Abruptly, Hummy pounces. After all, these were rose petals, and they were pretty and fluttery and there were oh so many of them and she just had to have one! And so, the white cat pounces into the air.

She doesn't catch a petal. She does, however, utterly blindside her human of the day, knocking Hibiki off-balance. And into a nearby cheering group.

Fight on, Infinity! Don't follow the example of those cheering you on, stay standing!

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Hitomi squeaks in dismay as the rope jerks - right in her hands. She grits her teeth against the pain, though. She has to set a good example...!

Nori cares much less for setting a good example. Her arms do jerk forwards, though, and she winces as she feels her shoulder cry out in interior dismay. Digging her heels in, she sees, feels the moist soil of this rich campus give way beneath her athletic sneakers, until--

A slackening.

Hitomi cheers, but can't let go - Nori, on the other hand, feels an irrational surge of enthusiasm, perhaps at the reversal. She scrapes into the ground and throws herself backwards, twisting - even as she cries out, "They're too strong--!"

"Don't give up!"

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Nanami Kiryuu is a professional at what she does, and what she does isn't very professional. Soon she has her skirts lifted daintily, pinkies out, as she shuffles out into the field with eyes mostly closed and a placid smile on her face.

A microphone squeaks as one of the sports announcers begins to commentate. "And it's our first surprise of the day, as Nanami Kiryuu enters the field. What could she have in mind? One thing's for sure, she's going to do it fashionably. As Touga Kiryuu's beloved little sister, Nanami is naturally the most popular girl at Ohtori Academy--what, really?" There's a loud thump audible through the microphone.

Up in the booth, the announcer's face is mashed down against a piece of notebook paper, his glasses pushed askew almost to his ear. One of Nanami's brunettes has a hand on the back of his neck, and a starter pistol pushed against the base of his skull. "Is there a problem, four-eyes?" she seethes coldly.

Out on the field, the commentary resumes. "By /far/ the most popular girl at Ohtori, really no question..." Nanami's smile blossoms larger.

As she reaches the Juuban side of the tug of war, Nanami pauses and curtsies. "Yes, it seems Kiryuu-san is here to pay honor to our guests. Truly one of the gentlest blooms of the Ohtori garden. And what better time then when they are mid-match?"

Nanami takes a few steps to the left and curtsies again. This time, however, she executes her plan. As her skirt lifts, a black trash bag is briefly exposed beneath it. Nanami pauses long enough to draw back one of her feet, then kicks her pointy-toed heel into it hard enough to puncture a hole. As though a spigot opened, a torrent of snakey, wet-looking sea-fauna pours into the dirt hollow in which the Juuban students are laboring. Eels! That whole skirt must be full of them!

They tumble over one another, slimey and outraged, a small pool of salt water sustaining their ire. No wonder Nanami had to shuffle. They wrap calves, get underfoot, and otherwise attempt to express their supreme dissatisfaction with their new living quarters.

"AAAIIIII!" Nanami wails, hurring back with a tatter of trash bag flapping around at the bottom of her skirts. "How can it be? Do all Juuban students carry eels?!"

"How can it be?" the announcer asks. "Do all Juuban students carry eels?"

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona watches as first the boy at the front gets closer to the pit, then someone on the other team loses their resolve. It's a good thing, too, as Iona's grip on the rope is also starting to falter, just a little bit. It's still a strong grip, but the fibers are starting to move independently from her hands, causing her own share of rope burns. But this is the time to pull as /hard/ as she can! So she pulls, and pulls as much as she can, to try and capitalize on the sudden change of fortune.

And so is Megumi, taking her cue from the purple haired girl.

<Pose Tracker> Fu Inubozaki [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The elder Inubozaki starts grinning even wider when she sees that their side is making progress. The Infinity chant must be working! They almost had it! But just then an Itsuki shaped projectile crashes into Fu which causes her to briefly lose her footing and both sisters slide closer to the center of the tug-of-war pit. "Itsuki!" cries out Fu as she tries to make sense of what just happened after the younger blonde crashed into her. Fu's the first one of the sisters to regrab the rope and she soon turns and offers her other hand to help Itsuki back up onto her feet. "We're okay!" She calls back to Fuu while keeping her eyes on Itsuki. The younger Inubozaki sister takes a bit longer to get up, but she soon rejoins her sister in pulling the rope. The two sisters exchange another look with each other before changing grips on the rope so it goes Fu, Itsuki, Fu, Itsuki. The Inubozaki sisters were really giving it their all!

From their position, the sisters can't really make out what's going on with Nanami and her expertly crafted plan. Whatever it is, it must be quite the ord-eel.

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

In the stands, there as been a complete and total cat-astrophe. From the heap of toppled Infinity supporters, Hibiki pulls herself free. "Hummy...! What do you think you're doing- where is she?" The girl looks around for the paw-petrator of this incident, but where can she be?...

(Answer: Behind the stands. Springing off of Hibiki's arm let her catch a pretty petal, and now she's just rolling in the grass, the embodiment of happiness. ...so, as herself.)

"Ugh...you okay?" Giving up on the hunt, Hibiki turns to give the nearest girl a hand up - and both of them are caught off-guard by the sudden scream. They, along with more than a few disoriented supporters, turn at Nanami's cry and accusation.

And since they were all recently knocked over, it's quite easy to see the claim for what it is.

"Eels?! In a tug of war match?! Wait, how would that even...never mind that! Foul! Red card! Free throw!" The accusations - in varying degrees of coherence - are sure to fly from this corner, at least.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

"Aaah-what's that? Shinji, do we have eels?" Endo asks.

"I don't have any eels."

There's some confusion over the topic of eels when announced, until one is spotted. Endo tries to point, but also with his hands twisted up in the rope he sort of just starts tugging to the side. Which may or may not be helpful.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Come on just keep pulling!" Ming is not going to give up, and neither will Ren! She looks over to the Juuban side where Endo is giving it his all, too. He's pretty strong! But, so were they.

"Hey, what's the girl up to?" Ming notices Nanami, and then... "Eeels?!" She cries out, grip faltering enough to cause the rope to sway over to the opposing side. Ren yelps, getting tangled up with her, and the two of them slide into the beginnings of the aforementioned strawberry eel pit.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Hitomi and Nori both look towards the incoming Nanami Kiryuu, because she is a figure that demands attention, as the announcers are finding out. Nori's position as a higher level bourgeoise from a distant prefecture means her reaction is mild surprise; Hitomi blanches slightly.

And then Nanami releases a huge swarm of eels from her skirt, perhaps not for the first time. As the slimy, slithery notochords of the sea burst forth, ungraced by rice or grill, Hitomi does the logical and sensible thing:

"EUWWWWW!!" Hitomi's strong enough of character that she doesn't let go of the rope as an eel decides to coil around her ankle, but all the strength has gone out of her tugging. The most she'll be is a minor anchor now, her face blanching as she tries not to scream again.

Nori gets an eel in her shoe and takes it philosophically. It's kind of annoying, but the smell of the sea is if anything invigorating. However, the slimy wiggle on her calf is telling her that they're at a critical moment. Her shoulders are screaming, but even as everyone's distracted -- she isn't quite.

Crouching slightly, Nori pulls inwards. Her teeth set together with a skeletal click as she feels another eel swim merrily past her. She pulls - and then the rope jerks. Nori can see the taller and older boy is moving his direction, and this seems like a great idea to her - she joins Endo's change of direction. Will it save them!? Or doom them to a watery grave?

It's a very shallow grave, to be fair.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The official starts to tweet her whistle to penalize the eels but midway through her inhalation a cloud of pepper -- released conveniently from a popped paper bag nearby -- causes her to gasp and choke, and the match is not stopped in time to prevent the inevitable.

Juuban's straining to turn the tide probably would have worked if they hadn't been distracted by gooey slimy eels, but the sabotage has done its work. It also makes the inevitable collapse of the Juuban line into the sugary goop a little less pleasant than it might have been otherwise, because now all the cream and chocolate and whatnot is /full of eels/ and dubiously delicious, if at all.

Another official jumps in with her whistle to declare the match in favor of Infinity. The crowd doesn't really understand what happened (with a few exceptions) -- some gape at Nanami's claims as to Juuban, but mostly they just cheer the victors and rush up with towels to rescue the losers.

The nearby digital board flickers to announce the next round's schedule. There's a break of a couple of minutes, and then -- as it just so happens -- all participants in this tug-of-war match, and then some, are to participate in a joint Infinity-Juuban-with-a-few-Ohtori-ringers co-ed baseball team.

The baseball green, that field of dreams, awaits...

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Pitcher: Mami Tomoe (you stand on the mound, glaring at batters and chucking stuff at them)
Catcher: Iona Hikawa (center of the defense, very athletic position)
Third Baseman: Fuu Hououji (a lot of fast-moving liners will come straight at you, look out!)
Center Field: Nori Ankou (in charge of catching fly balls after a long dramatic chase beneath them)
Shortstop: Hibiki Houjou (lots of running and diving to catch difficult balls and throw them to basemen, another athletic position)

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Endo, despite his best efforts, is soon first to get a facefull of eel-laden dessert. He lets out a cry as he's drug over the line and farther still. He flails as he goes, but he does manage to get one hand free of the knot of rope he's tired himself in. This hand, of course, he uses to reach back and put his partner in a headlock. So it is that both Endo and Shinji--despite the latters attempt to flee--end up rolling around fighting off eels in the strawberry pit until someone manages to pull them free and off to the sidelines.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

There are trumpets, because of course there are trumpets, as the Juuban-Infinity Eel Lovers (team apparently named by someone with authority, because there it is, right on the scoreboard -- the name of the opposition has yet to appear) are cheered on by their schools as they take the baseball field.

It's a lovely field. The bases are not made of chocolate or any such nonsense, but they might have a little extra sparkle ground into them from some silver dust or something, and the occasional rose petals sprinkling the yard are definitely nonregulation.

There are hats and gloves for everyone (and bats, though the Eel Lovers will be batting at the bottom of the inning, not the top), and a very enthusiastic P.E. teacher who is eager to help people improve their swing at the last minute. "Settle your hips!" cries the sensei, a dark-haired twenty-something and Juuban alumnus. "Balance your arms! And then... release all your power in one strike!"

This is not relevant advice for fielding at all, but at least she's enthusiastic.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona continues to pull and pull, and pulls alongside that redheaded girl whose name she doesn't recall. Oh, well. Iona sets that aside as the two pull the hardest that they can. It's a testiment to her discipline that she doesn't even know there are eels on the field. She /does/ hear the announcer talk about eels, though she just dismisses it as Ohtori jealousy. What? Of course Juuban students don't all have eels, that's crazy.

Which may explain why it's a complete surprise as Iona gets yanked into the goop. She lands with a soft ploop, getting everything on everything else, and a mere few moments later Megumi joins her in the sauce.

The two girls sputter and gasp as they try to extract themselves from the saucy pit.

Megumi is the first one up, though. "Well," Megumi says as Iona sits up and removes an eel from her shoulder. "We tried our best, and that's what's important, right?"

A hand is offered to Iona, which the latter looks at for a moment, before nodding and taking it. "Yes, you're right." She lifts up from the pudding and the two girls look at one another. Are the bonds of friendship forming? Is this the start of a lasting friendship that will test the bonds of time and be the sort of thing Iona is looking for?

The glowing board signals the start of baseball. Both girls look at it for a moment, before returning to each other, Megumi with the cheer to blow away mountains. "Do your best, Hikawa-san!" And then Megumi heads to the bleachers.

Iona watches the girl disappear, before turning and accepting a towel while heading to the diamond.

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mami Tomoe has chosen her own hat, in bright Ohtori yellow, with a golden ribbon-bow decoration to the side. ...Sport is no excuse not to be fashioanble. And indeed, her sporting attire is /perfect/ as she steps out towards the field, nodding fiercely towards their enthusiastic advisor.

...She doesn't... Actually /say/ a whole lot, though, because she's ordinary Mami right now, and instead casts her eyes about to the stands.

This is not the same as her reaction when she learned what position she would play. /That/ was different, with less of an audience, as she went, 'Wait, I'm the /what/?'

Her glove has glitter on it, for luck. Her eye is set.

...It's... not a coincidence that, as she approaches the pitcher's mound, /somehow/ Mami completely missed the messiest event thus far.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The victory in the tug-of-war is a much-appreciated early high point for the Infinity Institute contingent, Fuu included. Sora has to go get some medical attention for his rope-burned hands ... while Fuu has been drafted onto the baseball team.

Somebody really doesn't want her rested up for the archery meet, do they ... ?

With distressingly strong doubts that a 'no' of any intensity would stick with the decision-makers, Fuu changes into what she needs to wear for the baseball game. T-shirt and gym shorts may not quite cut it; at the very least she needs a catcher's mitt and a suitable cap to keep the sun out of her eyes. Fuu takes her place at third base, adjusting her glasses and her cap (which bizarrely, has a Gundam-style yellow V-fin attached to the front of it), and settles into a relaxed but ready stance, watching Mami at first, then shifting her attention to home plate so she's ready for what the batter will have to offer ...

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

After that horrid faceplanting in the delicious yet pre-salted dessert heap, Nori Ankou was quite glad to get a brief delay so that she could at least rinse the sugar out of her hair and shirt-tail.

Especially in the glamorous shadow of Tomoe-sempai. The briefing from the baseball coach makes Nori nod as she adjusts her hat and tightens her glove. "Settle. Balance. And strike!"

SOON

Nori stands on a grassy plain, the wind stirring her hair and passing through her as huge gorgeous clouds streak overhead, as the rotating wind generators of the Tanegashima launch center move scenically in the distance. Something like this... https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/5cmcos001.jpg

Nori closes her eyes...

And opens them again, shaking off that intense impression. No, she thinks: I'm still here. I'm in school. This is the sports festival... She shades her face with the leather glove, to squint towards the tiny but distinctive outline of Mami on the pitcher's mound, near the horizon. Fortunately, the curvature of the Earth is not enough to fully conceal the batter's cage from her sight!

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

In the end, Infinity is - perhaps a little shadily - declared the victor of this match. First point to the tallest school!

It's a short-lived victory, though, as Hibiki finds herself...grabbed rather suddenly. "Wha- you must have the wrong person, I certainly didn't bring a cat-"

"There's no time to explain! Nishijima-san said you're athletic, right?"

"Waon said that? I mean, kind of, yeah..."

"Great! Come on!"

And so - with a cat batting at drifting petals left in her wake - Hibiki finds herself hurried to the baseball field. She manages to catch a glimpse of the latest board on the way, and boggles briefly at the team name... But that's about as much time as she has for ponderings.

Fortunately, she'd been planning on running with Kanade later, so she's already set for sports in general. After all, this is the festival for such things. A hat, a glove, she's good to go.

"All my power, huh? ...all right! I'll catch with all my strength, sensei!" Grinning eagerly at the advice, Hibiki tips the bill of her cap (adorned with a treble clef for some reason), peering carefully at the batter. At at her teammates, of course - but it's game on, right?

...was baseball the throwing one or the kicking one?

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona, now that she's dried up her sauces and other chocolatey goodness, grabs her helmet and a glove... when someone hands her a mask. Without even blinking she places it on and heads to the batter box area, crouching and looking directly at Mami. She points her fingers in various ways, to see if the blonde pitcher will understand. Does Iona?

Not one lick. She's sure that she's doing /something/, she's just not sure what.

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Of /course/ Mami understand. Mami nods intendly, staring at Iona's fingers, and then makes two small gestures with her own ungloved hand in return.

Mami Tomoe has no idea what she's doing. Mami Tomoe is /never/ going to admit that.

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

At the edge of the field, some sort of party cannon goes off. A fluttering rain of confetti falls around a group of adult men jogs onto the field. Their uniform is recognizable to any Tokyoite: white with orange fringe and black letters. And what do they spell?

GIANTS

"Say hello to Tokyo's very own Yomiura Giants!" the announcer shouts, sounding as confused about it as anyone else. "Yes, today the Sister Schools will be taking on a professional team?"

The Giants line up in two rows, and in the center of this very-athletic aisle, three brunettes hurriedly push out a medical-style changing screen on wheels. At the end of the aisle, Nanami steps out and begins to stride through, hands folded humbly over her ornate gown, her butterfly-bow rippling behind her. The brunettes tense, two entering the screen, another readying her thumb over a stopwatch. Nanami doesn't even seem to notice the screen as she steps through, not breaking her stride, and she emerges from the other side as if her pace never changed. However, in those few seconds, her gown has entirely changed to a Yomiura Giants uniform, and she wears a glove on one hand. It's Italian leather, never used.

One of the girls jogs behind her and meekly puts the Giants cap on Nanami's head, and the stopwatch girl shakes her head in disappointment. Leaving Nanami with a microphone, she hurries away.

"Hello, guests of Ohtori Academy! Please feel welcome to our modest campus. As Ohtori is well aware of your storied athletic histories, we felt it would be impolite not to offer you the sort of competition you feel yourselves worthy of. And who could doubt your claims? After all, your presence here indicates you are all the very best that Japan--no, the world--has to offer, in every possible way... fufu..." Her laugh is almost inaudible. "So, please favor your hosts, and show us how you score goals in your quaint hometowns."

The Giants all look confused. Some seem to have thrown on their uniforms rather hastily. But one of them claps his hands twice and whoops, and the others jog into the dugout with the precision of a Swiss watch.

"All right, then," the announcer says nervously. "It looks like, uh, Tomoe is on the mound. Who will the Giants send to bat first? I've been watching a lot of their games lately, I know they have some of the best in the league, but I'm going to guess that they'll lead off with..."

Nanami is walking out with mincing steps and a sunny smile on her face. She blows a kiss to a cheering bleacher full of Ohtori kohai, keeping an eye out for the red mane of her brother. When she reaches the plate, she taps it twice with her bat, and swings her butt the way she's seen batters do in old movies.

"...Kiryuu," the announcer says. "Nanami Kiryuu."

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

It's at times like these that the spirit of the Sister Schools really shows. Because they could cry foul and they could gasp or jeer, but instead, like the low rumbling of an earthquake, the scream rises and it is joyous. What honor -- what glory -- what student could hope but dream to pit themselves against the beloved home team of Tokyo? Win or lose, this is an unforgettable opportunity, and somewhat inadvertantly Nanami may win accolades for this move from many others.

Touga Kiryuu is indeed in the stands, his fingers tented in front of his mouth, leaning forward with the intent interest of a gamesman.

But it's green hair, not red, which is much closer to the field. In the batting cages, warming up, is Kyouichi Saionji, Student Council flunky (and rival of the aforementioned Touga). As he whips his bat to and fro, he mutters, "Well, at least she didn't demand to go fourth batter." No one will hear him but the mournful wind torn behind his practice swings.

The umpire barks, "Play ball!"

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mami Tomoe has done the weird hand gestures the pitcher is supposed to do. She has her uniform perfect. Her hat is on just right, and her arm is limber. Surely, everything is set for the high schooler to make a great showing. Surely...

Surely they're....

Mami's eyes widen, almost imperceptibly. To anyone who knows her, this is as good as actually staring. ...She only doesn't stare open-mouthed because she is elegant by so much practice. But she wants to.

Well, no. A part of her wants to do something very differently as she sees Nanami Kiryuu, of all people, apparently behind this. And...A... professional team. Everything looks awful for just a moment.

...Everything, until the batter is announced. And then?

...Would it be /wrong/ to just hit Nanami with the ball?

...No, that's not what a baseball ally of justice would do. ...And someone would probably notice anyway.

"Right!" Tomoe says from the mound. She takes a breath, puts her hands together, and lets herself feel the weight of the ball. She turns partially to the side, winds up. Her twin trills glow in the sunlight. She readies--

And Mami Tomoe throws a baseball as hard as she can!!!

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Second Base. This is where Takeo finds himself, and he tilts his head, when the Giants... THE GIANTS are announced as the opponant. Takeo does not like to loose. e gets into a baseball stance and adjests his glove.

He watches as Mami prepares to throw the ball and he hangs his head. It's not that she's throwing the ball. It's that they're playing professionals and there will be no Magic Shenanigans this time, so no need to transform. And it's not a sword fight, so let's face it. Takeo has WATCHED baseball, but the last time he played the sport was in Gym class, and the last time he played regularly was when he was Five and he wanted to be like Ichiro Suzuki before he went and joined the American Baseball league. "No matter. I'll play ball. I will represent Ohtorri." He takes a deep breath and lets it out. "STRIKE THE LOOSER OUT MAMI!!"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

What is Kiryuu doing playing against us so often, Nori thinks from her position half a subprefecture over. She adjusts her cap. She can hear it fine of course, it's not actually that bad, just spiritually remote.

I guess she's gone past even Ohtori, Nori thinks, her eyes going to the field's turf.

But then there's a motion -

Nori straightens up as she sees a pitch. Maybe...

Nanami is a rather impressive young woman, after all. She might hit it right at her.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The Yomiuri Giants? Against an impromptu *cross-schools* team of teenagers?

... and Nanami Kiryuu-san is leading off to bat for them?

Fuu lets out a sigh, and settles in a little more comfortably at third base - not *relaxing*, but there's no point in being excessively tense, it'll just slow her down when she needs to react. Mami-san launches the first pitch, and Fuu watches, getting ready in case it comes flying her way.

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"...you're kidding, right? I'm not that good a pinch-hitter, Waon-chan..." All Hibiki can do is punch into her glove at the thought that they're going to have to face off against pros...

Though on the other hand. They get to face off against pros.

She looks to her left, at the Ohtori high-schooler on second base. And to her right, at her fellow Infinity student. And finally, back to the batter...

"...wait, isn't that the same girl who found the eels?..." Nanami Kiryuu, huh? Time to find out how good she is...

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona nods alongside Mami. She understands that Mami understands. There's a lot of understanding going on.

No one must know the truth.

Her attempts to learn baseball on the fly is ground to a halt by the sounds of a bus arriving to the grounds. Her eyes widen the moment she sees what emerges from it. "T-The Giants?" Iona knew of them by reputation, but had never seen a game. What sort of money does that school throw around? And did the Giants really have nothing better to do?

Iona's eyes remain wide even when the rest of the schools start to cheer. Really? She rolls her eyes just a little bit. This isn't worth her time to be stomped into the dirt by someone way out of her league.

Then Nanami walks out of the dugout and takes her position at bat. Okay, so do they not have dignity? Shouldn't an actual Giants member be playing?

But after a few moments, there's a smile slightly forming on the girl's face, as she looks up directly at the pitch Mami is throwing. She's had to face overwhelming odds before. If it's the fate of the game that they lose...

Then she will change it.

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Nanami catches sight of her honored older brother and sighs happily to herself. "Oniisama... yes," she whispers. "I look cute. I am the cutest one on the field!" Itsuki, on the sidelines, may notice Nanami glaring at her for a few seconds.

"Not old enough to worry about," Nanami decides.

She is grinning as Mami winds up, and when the pitch comes, she squeezes her eyes tight and swings with all of her love! But she opens them when she feels nothing, and glances to the side, watching the ball ping off the fence, nowhere near her strike zone. "Hah!" she barks. "That means you're out!"

"Strike one!" the umpire calls.

"What?! Why?" Nanami demands, but her brunettes are nowhere near, so she turns to demand the answer of Iona. "Why is that a strike?"

The next pitch, Nanami swings at even harder, missing again. "Strike two!" Fuming, she sets her feet again. Maybe if she keeps her eyes open...

Ping!

"Yes!" Nanami shouts, prancing off the base.

"Foul ball!"

Nanami prances back.

Nanami is infuriated as she prepares herself. She looks Mami up and down. "Lovely uniform, by the way," she calls. "The vertical stripes were a... necessary choice for you. Very slimming. Oh! And that elaborate... thing, on your head. It is good of you to put safety before style when needs must. With that on, you will not be struck by any passing vehicles."

Nanami feels flush with power, like a vampire after feeding. When the next pitch comes, she strikes it far out into the outfield.

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mami can hear Takeo's cheer! She beams over his way, albeit in a subtle, restrained sort of way. She's not exactly a baseball /expert/, herself, but...

She sure isn't going to tell anyone that.

Instead, she lifts her head high, trying to inspire her teammates (and herself) with a show of confidence. Strangely enough, she sees the same in Iona... And that helps her, too. It's going to be just fine.

Mami /throws/, and--

"My, Kiryuu-san. I'm glad you seem to be having so much fun," Mami offers after the foul ball. But--....

Her little salvo is not really enough in the face of what Nanami says next. Mami blinks, once, surprised at the compiment--but then it isn't a compliment at all. As Nanami powers up...

Mami can't help but reach one hand partially up to her hat, involuntarily, her smile rather abrubtly faded.

The next pitch is awful. Mami's heart sinks as she turns, ostensibly watching the ball, but mostly trying to hide her face from a certain middle schooler.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fuu isn't even the target of Nanami's viciously barbed and venomous tongue, and *she* winces at the insults being levelled at the pitcher. Isn't there some kind of rule against excessively vicious psychological warfare tactics? Maybe not in the book of baseball rules, but ... oh, maybe in the Geneva Conventions?

Still, if Nanami-san wanted to inspire the Infinity/Juuban/Ohtori players to play to their utmost, she just succeeded at *THAT*; Fuu is coolly, utterly certain of that much. She, at least, doesn't intend to let Nanami Kiryuu get past third base if there's any (legal) means by which she can stop the pompous little ojousama from advancing to home plate.

But it's up to the outfielders right now; Fuu can only stand ready to catch the ball if it comes her way.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

POK!

The ball flies upwards with the momentum of inevitability. It actually takes Nori two full seconds to realize that at that angle, propelled by the immense strength of Nanami Kiryuu's passion, the ball is coming right at her! ... ish.

Nori runs forwards, accelerating herself across the field and watching the ball as it goes... fortunately there is nothing for her to run into out here, or trip over (for once), so this goes more or less as planned, except for when she leaps to catch and the ball instead slams down like the tiny fist of an unusually angry god into the turf near her.

No instant out, sadly.

But it's right there! Nori crouches down, picks the ball up, stares at it for another precious second - then looks up. Hibiki's hair catches her eye first, despite her being slightly further away, and so Nori throws the ball with great enthusiasm and indifferent form towards her!

Hikaru Shidou has left.

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

There's a whoop from somewhere between bases two and three when Mami's second pitch evades Nanami's bat - but it's brief, and Hibiki's focus swings back to the batter. Swing, batter, swing at the obvious foul-

Nope. Even Nanami won't be fooled three times in a row. Then her barbs come out, and for a moment even Hibiki is stunned quiet with anger.

Briefly, because...the ball is in the air! "Get ready - we can't let her have a home run in her first inning!" The shortstop runs, and run Hibiki shall. There's a poof of sod, and then a ball being hurtled at a running shortstop...

Hibiki leaps up, catches the ball against her stomach, and comes to a skidding halt. First base is lost. Second..."Here...you...GO!"

A girl, running toward the base, hurling a baseball with all her might. Second base, perhaps the best chance to stop this run...and close enough that only one person on the field can make the call.

The word resounds. "SAFE!"

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Takeo Akamizu watches the ball sail after the connection and moves to base, jsut in case his glove is needed. He kneels and the loud SNAP of the ball slamming into his mit, his head looking to Nanami to make sure she doens't go anywhere else. With a nod, he tosses the balllightly back to Mami. "Nice pitch Mami!" He says witha genuine grin.

Then he looks to Nanami, points two fingers at his eyes, then points those two fingers to Nanami. His expression grim.

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

"Hah! As expected!" Nanami chirps as she skids onto second. That's what she thinks she did, anyway. She actually ran there with her palms held around the level of her shoulders, fingernails tucked, heels kicking gaily with every step. She hops a few times happily, before glancing at Hibiki. "If you give me your student ID, you might find some free lunches on your account if I make it to home," she says. "These things happen."

The first Giant up to the plate looks vaguely embarrassed to be batting against schoolchildren, but he also doesn't want to patronize them. Besides, he's getting a paycheck for this. He wiggles his butt, which Nanami finds vindicating. Then he smashes Mami's next pitch all the way to Saitama.

That's what it feels like, at any rate. That ball is nowhere in sight. If a Giants fan is going to retrieve it, they'll have to organize a search party with posters, police, and bloodhounds. Nanami crosses home plate with an insoucient chirrup, while the batter jogs lightly around the field, reassured somewhat by the cheers of the home team fans. They seem to be a very positive bunch. But there's no way they are going to win this game. Unless...

"Third up to bat is... Nanami Kiryuu! Again. Somehow."

Nanami bats every other time from then out, and every time, Mami strikes her out. In between, the Giants hit deep drivers, but they only manage to get one more of their number home before Nanami strikes out with the bases fully loaded. 3-0 Giants.

As the Giants jog out into the field, Nanami takes her place on the pitcher's mound, switching repeatedly from a left-handed stance to a right-handed one as she considers which angle might be more flattering from oniisama's vantage. As the first Sister Schools batter steps up, Nanami is trying that pose where the pitcher has the ball in her glove, tucked behind the small of her back, and is bending forward while looking meditative. Her pale blonde hair tumbles profusely out the back of her baseball cap.

"I hope you're ready," she warns airily. "I won't go easy on you. This will just be my regular pitch, but if you prove worthy, I will show you..." Nanami flicks her hair over her shoulder as she rises to her full height. "Angelic Supremacy Ball Kiryuu."

Nanami does not strike out a single one of the batters.

Oh, they might strike themselves out, if they swing when they shouldn't. But about half of them will walk, and the other half will sooner or later get a sweetheart of a pitch. All nine of the starting members of the Eel Lovers will enjoy the easiest trip to the base of their life, unless they psych themselves out.

And then someone manages to convince Nanami to take a literal powder break, and a Giant demolishes the three upcoming relief batters in a row with pitches that would get pulled over on the Autobahn. Itsuki, Hitomi, and Megumi are sent back to the bleachers almost instantly, and it's on to the next inning.

By which point, the score will be?

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Coming to bat, Takeo nods once to Nanami. He narrows his eyes and dos the finger point to his eyes, and to Nanami again. He's watching. Alwaaaaays watching. Then he sets himself and gets ready to swing.

The first few are balls, and he let's them go. The third he notices is in what he has dubbed, the sweet spot, and he swings with all his might.

There is a loud CRACK as bat connects to ball, and sends it flying toward Left Field. He winks to Nanami as he sprints past. He makes it to Second before the Giants manage to save Left Field. He screams to a stop and decides not to even attempt to go further, professionals vs High Schooler.

He stands on second, ready to sprint to third if he's able.

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Nice pitch?

Mami turns and catches the ball, relying on instinct more than anything else. She feels a bit slow, acutely conscious of each movement. But the team comes together...! And Mami mostly tries to avoid looking at second base for the moment, as well as avoiding looking to the stands. Instead, she'll just have to pay her next attention to the batter coming up.

"I'll get the next one!" she calls to the others, tugging the bill on her hat down a little farther. She throws...!

The vindication of striking Nanami out like ten times wars within Mami with the utter dejection of attempting to strike out professional ball players.

But striking out Nanami repeatedly /does/ feel incredible.

Once they actually switch sides, though, Mami takes a breath, trying to swing the bat to warm herself up a little bit as she's taking her turn.

Mami has no words for Nanami this time. She just sets herself in place, widens her stance, and thinks back to... every time she's watched Sayaka swing a bat.

This proves a mistake at first, as the first pitch comes and she swings /straight/ past it, still jittery and expecting Nanami to say something again.

The second comes, and Mami's too tense; she swings her bat /just/ too late. That's two down. Two, against /Nanami/.

She takes a breath. She's sure she can imagine how smug Nanami must be, but she's not looking at her face. Instead... She waits...

She /swings/, and this time with a loud crack it /connects/, and goes flying out into the outfield. It soars. It goes beyond where she thought it could, and with a half-second's delay, Mami starts running.

...But the professional outfielders do their work well, and before Mami makes it, the first-baseman catches the ball.

...On the way back, she shifts so her ribbon catches the light better.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

There really would be nothing more satisfying than wiping the metaphorical smile off of Nanami-san's face by nailing a home run, thinks Fuu as her turn at bat comes around. And with the first two pitches, she swings - genuinely whiffing the first, and coming credibly close on the second pitch to be launched her way.

After that, Fuu decides it's probably just as simple to get walked. It's an easy decision; three Nanami pitches in a row sail over the plate so far from the strike zone that Fuu could code a boss battle in the intervening space. Nanami looks just a little irritable by this point, and Fuu prepares for another actual swing - to make it look good, if nothing else.

(Not that she thinks Nanami Kiryuu deserves to look THAT good.)

The full-count pitch is faster and straighter, and the sharp *crack* of bat meeting ball even catches Fuu herself by surprise. Too bad it sails straight over the third-base foul line, giving some fan a lucky souvenir. The pitch after *that* is another ball, and Fuu walks quickly to first base, relieved not to have plowed into a disaster.

.... and even though she's an Infinity student, Fuu suspects that a vengeance-fueled Nanami would likely find some way to make her life difficult even there. Hopefully that was enough to more or less mollify her.

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Hit the lights. Focus the projector. It's time for a sports montage.

FIRST INNING

Nanami blinks, confused by Takeo's gesture. What's that mean? He's looking at her? Well, good, right? Nanami beams, though she takes care to turn her chin sharply from the prettyboy. Sorry, boys. She's not in the market for more brothers. "Hmph!" she chides him happily.

SECOND INNING

"You..." Nanami seethes at Fuu, squeezing the baseball as though it were a stress-ball. "Is there even anything wrong with your eyes? Or are you just one of those girls who wants to look smarter than everyone else? WELL? Which is it? Because you don't look nearly smart enough to wear glasses."

THIRD INNING

"Oh, it's Tomoe again," Nanami says in honeyed tones. "You know, I think you're a natural at this. I wish I could have been born with such ability." She sighs wistfully. "When I'm at bat, I have a strike zone a mile wide." Somehow she knows /that/ term. "But somehow when you're there, you manage to shrink that area down to mere inches. Is it some Tomoe family technique? Some special stance?" She puts a finger to her chin, appearing for all the world to be in earnest thought.

FOURTH INNING

"Houjou, is it?" Nanami greets from the mound. "You look like a fine athlete. Someday I hope to have your strength..." She tucks her chin, looking legitimately sad, even repulsed with herself. "I am to blame, for my own indolence. If I had your strength of character, I would have forged myself into something worthwhile... not plush and adorable like this. I could become stringy, ungainly with my own athleticism, my cheeks whittled hollow by my own willpower..."

FIFTH INNING

"I apologize on behalf of the Student Council," Nanami tells Nori. "You should not have to bat with the smell of seaweed in your nose. Oh, oh, it's just cropped up, I have no idea from whence..."SIXTH INNING

Nanami takes another look at Fuu's glasses, and pegs her in the leg with the ball with all of her (somewhat noodley) strength.

SEVENTH INNING

"Tomoe," Nanami ventures. "You have something on your..." She indicates on her own head where Mami's hat accessory would lie. "Oh... right it's... never mind!"EIGHTH INNING

Nanami scowls as a brunette clips and files a chipped nail.

NINETH INNING

Wait, what about the sports part?

The Giants are an unstoppable force, and Nanami is a consummately moveable object. For every ruthless victory they rip from their foes, Nanami hands them an equally devastating loss.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

THE FIFTH INNING

Nori purses her lips a little. Nanami's words have given her pause, and perhaps bruised her ego, even if it is one of those complicated and perplexing sideways bumps that are not uncommon in the realm of Ohtori Academy.

THE NINTH INNING

Nori is holding the bat differently now... she's rather sore but she's also managed to break in her muscles with the exciting adventure of 'not being very good at batting.' Her style has gotten looser and looser, and now when Nanami hurls that ball forwards --

Nori doesn't swing. She TWISTS the bat round, holding the club+1 as if it were a guitar, and pivots around for a sudden blocking bunt! Up it goes, towards somewhere between left and center; Nori though is already off and running, huffing.

Seaweed isn't a bad smell!

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

As Mami makes her way through the innings again and again, swinging bats and getting actually fairly used to pitching, there is one constant: Nanami /talking/.

By the fourth inning Mami has stopped even trying to actually /say/ anything in return, and her demeanor has become considerably more businesslike than it was before.

By the sixth inning, Mami has already estimated exactly how much magic it would take to gag Nanami Kiryuu for an hour.

...In the seventh inning, Mami presses her lips together and swings despite everything. ...But doesn't do so great. Again, Nanami wins that round.

But in the /ninth/....

In the ninth inning, Mami is already sure there'll be some new insult waiting, some new awful thing. She doesn't even remember what she did to Nanami in the first place to merit it. But she's holding up the bat anyway, trying to keep her breathing under control. ...Secret Tomoe family technique....

When the pitch comes towards her, Mami feels tired, to the point where she's almost relaxed; she /wants/ to go curl up somewhere unnoticed. But she sees the ball, and she starts to swing, running on habit, maybe, for what she'd usually do for something flying at her.

/TAP/.

The ball goes flying through the air. Up, and up. Mami blinks, and /stares/ at it. ...She almost forgets to run.

But only almost. /This/ ball sails out of the outfield, and Mami sprints the bases before somebody comes up with a rule that lets somebody try to /catch/ it.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fortunately for Fuu's leg, she's a good girl and drinks her milk. It's going to take more than a noodly throw to do more than advance Fuu to first base, without even having to score four balls for the walk. As for the taunting about her glasses ... well, if Fuu suspected that Nanami didn't buy the best of report cards, she might actually challenge the ojousama to a contest of grades. She's got more important things to do, though ... like finishing this baseball game so that she can go practice for the actual archery meet.

"... and so we meet again, Kiryuu-san," Fuu calls out solemnly as she comes up to bat in the ninth. "Our final battle, I'm certain. Have you made your peace with whatever gods saw fit to bless your life?" She unshoulders her bat, points it dramatically at the outfield, then settles into her ready position, watching carefully with just a hint of a smile gently curving her lips. As if she knows something.

The first pitch of the at-bat is so obviously off-target that Fuu stifles a yawn at it. "If you've tired of your career as a baseball star, I'm sure we can end things more cleanly ..."

The second pitch has more force and less accuracy; Fuu doesn't NEED to lean away from it, but does so anyway. She also doesn't need to mock Nanami any more, and she *doesn't* say anything further.

The third pitch: right down the center at a decent clip, and Fuu swings as hard as she can, eliciting a *CRACK* of impact that she's actually ready for this time. She runs, watching the ball's flight ... is it going to clear the outer fence?

.... why yes, yes it is. Probably.

Fuu just runs as hard as she can, not wanting to look back and see the ball being hurled to the next stop on her circuit of the bases after all. If it cleared the fence, fine; if it didn't, she'll find out the hard way whether she looks or not, and if she runs hard enough she *MIGHT* get across home plate before the ball cuts her off in a fielder's hand.

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Takeo Akamizu sighs slightly and shakes his head as he prepares to take the field again. He moves to the batter's box in this, the Ninth inning, and adjusts his helmet. Then spits to the side. Because that's what he's seen other baseball player's do. He nods once to Nanami and then, he does a few practice swings, before he once agian spits to the side. He nods to the pitcher. "Bring it." He says before he sets himself to bat, eyes narrowed.

He isn't sure he's even going to get to swing, as the first three throws are all balls, and one of whihc nearly takes his head off! He does the finger to the eyes, then points at her agian wiht a dour and serious look.

Then he recieves the final pitch. There is an ear spitting crack as Takeo sends the ball somewhere near the Moon Kingdom's domain. (That's what he likes to think. In reality, he sent it to left field again. Not for planning, but because he hit the thing in teh wrong spot. Again.) He sprints, while the Left Field tries to figure out what's happening, as he sent it deep into the outfield.

Takeo is fast, and if he cna't slide at least ONCE then he isn't playing baseball. "It's what Suzuki Sempai would want." He says ans he pumps his arms and legs furiously and rounds third base. The Catcher, standing, throws off his mask to better see the ball as it sails toward him. Takeo hit sthe dirt in a slide that kicks up a lot of dust. He blinks up at the catcher and says very calmly as the Umpire declares him safe, "Um... Could you sign my Baseball? It... It's for my sister...."

Yeeeeah. He'll believe that.

<Pose Tracker> Nanami Kiryuu [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

"Are we going to lose?" 08 asks 31. 08 was first draft pick out of the minors. Baseball is his whole life.

"Maybe," 31 sighs. "If the kids play real smart." He has small bar themed entirely around him in the Golden Gai, with his first game ball hung on the wall with his signature.

"Are there reporters here to tell everybody we lost?" 08 wonders.
"Maybe."

"Think she'll let us pitch?"

"Maybe," 31 says again.

Nanami is standing on the mound with her head thrown back. "O ho ho ho!"

"On second thought. Not a chance," 31 says.

Nori is on base when Fuu strikes her glorious blow against ojoukind, and by all rights, she should have sent both of them home. In any fair game it would have been a home run. But a sprinting Giants outfielder sails through the air past Saionji like one of Fuu's arrows, spearing the ball, and it zooms in a three-point pass all the way back to home base just before Nori can reach it. Mami just barely avoids the same fate, but brings the score even through Saionji's incompetence.

"The moment has come, then," Nanami retorts to Takeo. "I hope you are ready to face... my final attack!"

Nanami inhales, then slowly lifts her knee and chambers the ball. The sun is beginning to set as she draws her arm back, and as her body goes taut, the light hits the fence behind her, and the broad wings of a seraph seem to spread from her back. When she opens her eyes, the righteous fire of Oniisama Heaven blazes in them.

Angelic Supremacy...

Kiryuu...

Ball!

Nanami snaps her arm forward, and is forced to hop a few steps on one leg, overbalanced. The ball whizzes lightly through the air. It's really wobbly. It might be an all right curve ball. Or slowball.

"It's a REALLY SLOW curveball!" the announcer gasps in histrionic disbelief.

And Takeo knocks it into the next life and scores a homer.

As he's getting his baseball signed, Nanami falls to her knees and starts wailing. The brunettes get the hospital screen around her before the tears show up.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Nanami might be distraught, but she's the only one.

The crowd -- all three schools' worth -- rushes the field. Someone is smart enough to pull the cord for more rose petal confetti, and there is a loud and messy moment of joy, all beaming teenagers and flailing limbs. The Sister Schools team are the heroes of the moment, and this day will be spoken of for all of history (or at least until everyone graduates and institutional memory has forgotten it).

Among the jubilation strides Touga Kiryuu, tall and magnificent, his booming laughter a golden, baritone bell. He schools his features to pure seriousness as he approaches his beloved younger sister, however, and gently clasps the side of her face in one enormous palm. The other love of his life, his cell phone, is gently clasped in the other hand; today of all days, surely he is very hooked into all of the proceedings.

"Well done, Nanami. Your brilliant play has brought all the students of Ohtori such joy." He knows his audience, and doesn't say 'the Sister Schools' for a reason. "Now, come," he commands, "It's time for the three-legged race!"

Slinging an arm around her shoulders (and a thumb across his phone), he gently guides her off the field -- and other students begin to scatter to their next events, as well. They know where to go because the massive digital board has once again blinked its updated list.

Including:

Three-Legged Race
- Nanami Kiryuu and Touga Kiryuu

*blink*

-Nanami Kiryuu and Touga Ki

*blink*

-Nanami Kiryuu and Tou

*blink*

-Nanami Kiryuu and Kyouichi Saionji

Iona Hikawa

2016-02-05T22:46:58Z

Lucientes: Created page with "{| class="toccolours" style="width: 25em; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2" |- ! style="ba..."

2016-01-14 - Terribad Timeout

2016-02-05T22:31:06Z

Lucientes: On Battle Fantasia, we ask you how many breads you have eaten.

Chitose Shiratori

2016-02-05T21:36:02Z

Lucientes: Continuing

Chitose Shiratori

2016-02-04T06:02:44Z

Lucientes:

Chitose Shiratori

2016-02-04T05:55:42Z

Lucientes: Ironing out some... inconsistencies. Could this be a prelude to an actual wiki page?!

2015-12-31 - Plushy Providence

2016-01-13T00:03:41Z

Lucientes: On Battle Fantasia, the toy industry wonders who keeps making these lifelike plushes

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: The Terribads Try To Take Tokyo'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''One meets the oddest people when dogs chase fairies.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Inori Yamabuki]], [[Iona Hikawa]] 
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Shitamachi Low City
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Sep 19 2014 - 12/31/2015
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"Kyua!"

It could either be the most adorable word in the world, or the most ominous. In this case, it was definitely the latter. In part because Inori Yamabuki was walking a very enthusiastic golden retriever when she'd first heard it.

Next came the barking then...

The girl on the other end of the leash was all but being dragged along by the dog chasing after a tiny floating toddler bear fairy. "Chiffon-chan! Please wait! Chiffon... not so fast Lucy! You're going way too fast!"

It was quite a spectacle, mitigated by the fact that Chiffon was zipping along so quickly that almost noone caught sight of her for more than a split second. This went on for block upon block, until they'd completely lost sight of her. 'buki was all but breathless, her side hurting. Yet Lucy still seemed content to keep dragging her down the street sidewalk, barking like a maniac, people just barely managing to step out of the way in time, "S-Sorry! Stop! I'm so sorry! S-Stop! Please heel!"

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona Hikawa's day had been pretty good so far. Getting up, going to school, and now that school was over she was heading back to her grandfather's to prepare for his Karate class. Nothing was going to make it worse...

Well, maybe except for a Terribad attack. In fact, when she hears the barking, something in her does rankle a bit, and she looks around in search of either the pink lady or the green-haired grasshopper man. When neither of them actually appears (and Glassan not deigning to move from her perch on Iona's school bag), she relaxes...

Just in time for a dog to zip past her. She watches the dog for a moment before she sees what is probably her owner running past her as well.

Iona looks at the two, then at the other miscellanious people, then she runs after the both of them "H-Hey!" She calls out to the girl. She's probably going to need some help getting her dog back.

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Not thinking that Iona was actually chasing after her, but instead someone she almost ran into, Inori calls out breathlessly, "E-Excuse me! I'm so sorry!" Her legs seemed to be moving faster than she seemed capable of, her opposite hand alternating between holding onto her side and being sent backwards from the jog, her sidetail whipping in a back and forth rhythm behind her.

All of a sudden the dog turns around.... "Oh thank good-" ...into a one hundred and eighty degree spin. "-nessss! No Lucy! No!" ...and runs in the opposite direction, snapping the leash so hard that 'buki stumbles and almost falls outright. Somehow though she manages to keep her footing as she's whipped around in the sudden snap of the leash.

The golden retriever on the other hand, is now running right at Iona, barking happily, it's tongue hanging out of its mouth. ... and when she catches up to Iona who was running, immediately jumps to put her forepaws on other girl's shoulders, her tongue flicking out to try to give her a lick on the face.

"Lucy! D-Down girl!" Inori has her hands on her knees, with one keeping a death grip on the leash as well, just catching her breath, unable to give much immediate assistance in getting off her off. "P-Please excuse her behavior! She's just really e-enthusiastic to be outdoors again!"

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona keeps running, and stops almost on cue with the dog when she stops and turn. She's not, however, prepared for the sudden boomerang run of the dog, and especially not prepared for when the dog leaps at her. The paws land on her shoulder and she gets a lot of licking in the face. Iona laughs, almost on reflex, from the sensation. Pulling her bag further up her arm, she actually catches the dog a little bit to let her do her licking thing, a firm hold to the dog's shoulders, but soft enough that she lets the dog drop when she's got her fill.

Iona looks over at Inori, and smiles to her. "It's okay, I can tell she's very happy to be out here."

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

It's such a relief when someone seems to forgive the behavioral lapse of a pet. There's a grateful smile on her lips right away, though it takes her some time to get more words out, she's breathing really hard. Lucy gets another lick in, before dropping back down to the ground, sitting on her haunches, tongue lolling out happily.

Inori finally straightens before bowing her head once more in apology anyhow, "She must really like you! You appeared and then she just shot off like a bolt in the other direction."

She leans down and ruffles Lucy once on the head, who barks once hapilly in response. Though she then gives a worried look around the immediate area. When she doesn't seem to catch sight of what she's looking for, the middle schooler gives Iona another look and a smile, "Anyhow, where are my manners? My name is Inori Yamabuki and this is Lucy, she's a patient at my Father's hospital. Lucy has been really sick lately. This walk was supposed to be her physical therapy but I think she overdid it a little." That's quite the understatement.

Inori's breath seems to catch, a little hitch in her throat, and this tiny look of panic on her face as she looks behind Iona. ... Because only about a meter behind her is Chiffon, a floating tiny bear fairy, at about eye level who seems to be examining the purple haired girl with a baby's curiosity.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona continues to smile, and when the dog drops back on the ground, she bends over and gives the dog a few pats on the head, before she straightens up when Inori explains herself and the dog. Iona nods in response. "Well, she seems to be good as new, aren't you?" She smiles back down at the dog. "My name is Iona Hikawa. Pleased to meet you." She bows as well.

Iona doesn't notice Chiffon, as Lucy seems to be quite keen on distracting her herself. But on Iona's bag, Glassan still sits, and even if she doesn't see Chiffon, she's keeping an eye out for the other fairy.

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"She is making that pretty clear isn't she?" Inori gives this little nervous giggle. "I wish she'd taken it a bit slower myself. It's very nice to meet you Hikawa-san." Another bow of the head, though even as she dips, her eyes are still fastened forward.

The game now is to make certain that Iona keeps not noticing Chiffon. That could make things awkward. Worst case scenario, half the objects on the block start floating off the ground so she'd prefer it never ever gets to that point.

Iona's graceful reaction to Lucy had endeared her enough to 'buki that she wasn't feeling too shy about getting to know her better at least. "Where are we now-?" A look to her left, then her right for familiar street signs and landmarks before it dawns in her, "Oh! Azabu-Juuban." A beat, "Would you happen to be a student at Juuban Public School?"

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

"Oh, ah, yes." Iona nods when Inori asks her about her school. "School just ended for me, and I was on my way home. Are you? I don't think I've seen you around before." Inori does look school aged, but she's seen people her age who /don't/ go to school for whatever reason, so it doesn't hurt to ask. She then returns her attention to the dog. "What was she sick with?" She examines Lucy for a few moments before returning to Inori "I--wait, just one moment."

And Iona turns, right now, behind her. She has this weird feeling that something's amiss behind her.

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Inori gives a little shake of the head, "I'm an Ohtori student, but one of my best friends, Love Momozono goes to your school. Have you met her? She's a third year middle school student there."

A few moments later, her smile vanishes, "Parvo. She unfortunately wasn't vaccinated. It was a rough road to recovery..." '--wait just one moment.' Instantly she seems a little panicked, "I-I'm sure there's nothing b-"

There's a little start out of her as Chiffon is no longer but behind Iona, but has teleported into Inori's arms. Lucy barks once, out of surprise, but then seems to focus back on Iona. "Oh thank goodness! I thought I lost-"

Trying to think fast, there's a hitch in her voice before she bends over quickly like she was picking something up off the sidewalk. Chiffon... stops moving, eyes unblinking. Nevertheless, the girl doesn't want to chance any movement and hugs her against her chest. "-m-my favorite plushie!"

It was a bit embarrassing in front of someone she barely knew but... it was the best excuse she could think up on short notice!

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

"Momozono?" Iona considers the name for a moment, still looking behind her for something she swears she thought was behind her. "I've... heard of her, I think." Then she shakes her head. "But I don't think I've met her before." She turns back to Inori. Iona may have seen Love before, but for vague reasons she's never really had cause to interact with her. Fancy that!

When Iona sees Inori again, she blinks at the girl's bending over and her new... plushie? Iona smiles again. "Aw, that's very cute. I understand how that feels, I've got my own favorite plushie, too." She swiftly takes Glassan from her bag and holds her up. Glassan is likewise unmoving and unblinking, but the face looks somewhat cross, as Glassan is not new to the idea of 'look I've got a plushie too', and it wasn't even Iona who did it! Iona likewise hugs Glassan to her chest, though a subtle poke to the ladybug fairy gets the latter from 'cross' to 'generic plushy-like joy' really quickly.

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"You'll know her when you see her." 'buki says, her tone has the affectionate tease of a good friend admiring another friend. "Though she is a rather enthusiastic matchmaker, so be careful if you discuss anyone you might have... affection for." She could see it now, Love just instantly grabbing Iona's hand and trying to instantly get her to confess.

Thankfully, Iona doesn't make the fact that she's hugging a cute plushie awkward, instead bringing out her own. Inori's face is instantly all sunshine through tropical leaves, so delighted at the sight of her, "Oh! She's got the cutest sunglasses! They're so stylish! And that dress is just adorable on her!" She looks up at Iona's hair, then down at Glassan again, "And the two of you match so well! It's uncanny!"

Eventually she turns around Chiffon to let her get a look at her, trusting that Chiffon will remain inanimate around strangers. ... This wasn't always the case, but Chiffon did seem to have a sixth sense about when she was being examined a little too closely. "This is Chiffon-chan." She says while giving Lucy another pat. The dog seems mostly calm now, just sniffing the ground every now and then.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona can totally see Love grab her hand, too. She smiles at that image a little bit, and laughs as well. "I understand." She doesn't say that she doesn't have anyone in mind, not yet. But someday, maybe.

"Thanks! Actually, she used to belong to my sister. I think. I actually don't remember when she came to our home." Her face suddenly drops the happiness for a moment, as she remembers how her sister disappeared. But it comes back quick enough. "This is Glassan." She likewise rotates her fairy around, and even rotates her forward to give Inori a good look at her ladybug backpack. Glassan, like Chiffon, does a pretty good job at staying inanimate.

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Used to. Something about that word and how Iona stops smiling causes the delight to fall away from her face, her visage one of uncertainty. Even if Iona brightens up after, and Inori finds her smile again, something about that sticks with her. Even if it could be something as innocuous as she grew out of stuffed animals.

It takes her a few moments to respond once she's introduced, "Well even if you don't, if she belonged to your older sister, then she must be very precious to you."

Inori shifts Chiffon carefully into her other arm, then sticks out a hand, pressing it against Glassan's tiny paw, and gives it a little shake, "It's very nice to meet you Glassan-chan." She says with a bright eyed smile, "It seems like you're in very good hands. I hope you're looking after Hikawa-san just as well as she is you."

It's quite clear that Inori doesn't in fact think that Glassan is anything more than a stuffed animal, even though she had seen Glassan from a distance before, but it lacks any sort of cutesy condescension. If anything, she finds Iona's ready attachment to her stuffed animal endearing and worth preserving.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona nods to Inori's words about her sister. "She is." She says simply.

Glassan... starts sweating? There may be little beads of sweat forming on her head, as she actually kind of wants to say something, like 'Yes, I'm working really hard', but she's trying to keep her composure pretty cool. And to be fair, she's working really hard. Like Inori, Iona doesn't think that Chiffon is anything more than a stuffed animal either. It's a little too adorable and child-like. Though, Iona does find it kind of oddly neat that both of them have adorable stuffed plushies... but so do a lot of girls.

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Inori doesn't notice the sweat beading on Glassan's forehead. And even if she did, she'd write it off on condensation or other things...

Chiffon is a baby, so she can only sit still too long, and eventually comes the small bored sound of "Puuu..." Which Inori instantly tries to cover for, "Puu-retty cool!"

Another nervous giggle as she retracts her hand, and hugs Chiffon back against her chest as a hint to her that she needs to stay quiet just a little longer.

After a moment she adds, "Well I'd like to invite you for ice cream as thanks for helping me curb Lucy's enthusiasm but..." She looks down at her, "...I'm not really sure she'd be welcome in an ice cream parlor and I should get back soon. So maybe some other time? I wouldn't mind trading phone numbers." In reality it's more that Chiffon is unlikely to behave sitting still for long but she can't really say that.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona giggles a bit when Inori makes with her nice word-play. "Pretty cool, yes!" She says.

She looks behind her again, just in case there actually is something behind her, but having seen nothing she turns back to Inori, Lucy, and Chiffon. But she doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary, whether behind her or in front of her.

The offer of ice cream does get her attention, though. "Oh, I'd love to, actually. I also have to get back soon too, though... Some other time." When Inori offers to trade phone numbers, she nods. "All right, I'll look forward to it. Here, have my phone number." And she offers her as is proper for people who might be friends someday.

2015-12-23 - Taiko Torment

2016-01-12T22:33:18Z

Lucientes:

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Taiko Torment'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''A Taiko drum festival turns terrible when a drummer turns to despair.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Sachiko Majime]], [[Makoto Kenzaki|Cure Sword]], [[Garnet]], [[Inori Yamabuki|Cure Pine]], [[Iona Hikawa|Cure Fortune]] 
GM: Honoka Yukishiro
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Shinjuku Capital Ward
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Sep 17 2014 - 12/23/2015
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Shitamachi loves festivals and tradition in equal measure, so the existence of a joint festival and competition for taiko drumming is certainly cause for a major party. Kids come out with masks and gongs, the food stands set up with steamy scents for all, and as the sun begins to set, torches light the intersections more wonderfully than any LED display could hope to do across the river amongst the skyscrapers.

The thunderous and resounding team displays are underway. After this there will be a solo competition, with the best of each team dueling drumbeats, but seeing dozens of strong people, some young and some old, pound away in beautiful synchronicity is the big crowd pleaser.

As the latest team comes to their ear-ringing conclusion, a marvelous silence falls upon the square. Then it's filled with even more deafening cheers. One of the drummers, a young man with brown hair, wearily adjusts his hachimaki, glancing down the line of his teammates at the one who was selected to do the solo competition.

He rubs his wrist wearily. "If only..." Then he shakes his head. "Nah, that's no good. We're a team." The woman who's come up behind him, resplendent in pink, leans over his shoulder curiously. There's something wrong about her... she may have a cute getup, but her eyes are so cold.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting all the glory for yourself," she reassures him. "Here. Let me show you!"

She casts out a hand, and a feeling of urgency and darkness engulfs the crowd. "LET THE FUTURE REFLECTED IN THE MIRROR TURN TERRIBLE! COME FORTH, TERRIBAD!"

A moment later, the taiko competitor is locked in a dark mirror, his eyes closed, his slumber despairing. On the ground he's been replaced by a thirty foot tall, pink-scarved monster with a massive and bulky black body, a white bandanna that bears the word 'INVASION', and huge drums everywhere, one on each shoulder and one hanging down in front.

The Terribad has drumsticks, of course, and begins pounding out a truly awful sound. As the sonic punishment pours across the square, people clap hands to their ears and flee. But there's more to flee than just the ear-torture... the buildings are beginning to transform, a few bricks at a time, into an unearthly landscape.

Cotton candy trees. Gingerbread houses. Frosting everywhere.

It would be heaven, except that it's obviously hell. Something about this place feels terribly wrong. And besides... the woman in pink, who gaily leaps atop a sugary tower to sit down, legs crossed primly, at a newly-materialized tea table, doesn't look too interested in sharing her sweets with anyone else.

"Ohohohohohohoho~! The despair of others is as sweet as honey."

Then she takes a long and satisfied sip.

"Terribad! Destroy the happiness of this city, and give me even more sweets!"

From around cookie towers and behind candy cane pillars, Kindabads, those small, red-sunglassed fellows, begin rushing down the food stands, overturning them. Another group knocks down a stack of round taiko drums that had been held in place with ropes, and they begin rolling through the fleeing crowd with supernatural speed and greatly impending danger...

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro transforms into Terribad and Kindabads!!

<Pose Tracker> Sachiko Majime [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Sachiko Majime slouches back in an unladylike manner in her seat with her hands already interlaced behind her head. She lets out a small sigh as this date was turning out to be way more boring than she had anticipated. Well, he seemed like he was going to be fun at the time, but he ended up being an absolute bore and just another cocky narcissist. Apparently the poor boy didn't get the theoretical memo stating that the only narcissist to be present was Sachiko herself. But thankfully, Ohtori's young softball starlet is saved by the sudden appearance of a rampaging, thirty foot tall drum-master and his entourage of ne'er'do-wells. For the first time tonight, Sachi smiles.

"You better save yourself while...." Sachiko trails off when she notices that her date has already fled arse over teakettle out of there. The young blonde clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth. Figures. She then untangles her fingers from behind her own head and lesiurely stands up tall before doing a few warmup stretches. It's been awhile since her last bout and she was looking forward to knocking the proverbially dust off herself.

But before Sachiko transforms, she reaches down the front of her shirt to pull out the orange 'charm' at the end of her necklace. The once shining gem was now a murky imitation of its former glory. Such is the life of a Puella Magi with no territory of their own. However, Sachiko is not the kind of girl that backs down from a fight just because the odds are stacked against her. No, she was still going to fight this monster and its cohorts. Then she was going to find whomever was really behind this and get some answers of them!

Cracking her knuckles, Sachiko Majime is engulfed by a bright light as her clothes are replaced by the stylished orange and black softball uniform of her transformed state. She strides forward lazily and heads toward the nearest group of Kindabads. "Hey weirdos! It's about time the real entertainment showed up!" Sachi then charges forward and attempts to grab ahold of the nearest Kindabad, spin around quickly in place, and then HURL her hopefully grabbed foe at his baddie buddies.

COMBAT: Sachiko Majime transforms into Puella Magi Sachiko!
COMBAT: Sachiko Majime has used Bowling for Baddies on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Sachiko Majime has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Sachiko Majime's Bowling for Baddies, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Sachiko Majime is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kenzaki [None] has posed.

Princess An always had a fascination with Japanese Earth culture, to the point where she became an expert at karuta, a uniquely Japanese sport--and she's also always been a people person and someone who delights in lively gatherings. Makoto Kenzaki doesn't know for sure if the Princess might appear here at a festival, as maybe it might be *too* lively for royalty, but the fortune that girl gave her earlier gives her the emotional fortitude to try.

She has an hour of free time. Between jobs, she has D.V. drive her to this festival, and joins in on the fun (...so to speak) with face-obscuring shades and oversized floppy hat in place... as well, of course, as her Pretty Commune, tucked away in phone form in her purse. An is tall, so she should be easy to spot...

Unfortunately, Makoto never gets the chance to see her. Before anything like that can happen, there's a sudden giant monster in shades and a bandana, and buildings turn into candy castles, while people scream and run.

"Davi," she murmurs as she ducks away behind a building, pulling out her phone.

"Let's go, Makoto!" Davi agrees.

A minute later, Cure Sword leaps up from seemingly out of nowhere and lands on a rooftop near the candified spot and the young woman seemingly in charge of his chaos. She narrows her eyes at her... but so long as she's hanging back, the various monsters terrorizing the people need to be dealt with first.

"Terribad," she murmurs to herself, echoing its master, narrowing her eyes at the big one. She recognizes the name; she read the bulletin from the Tuners. She doesn't need any kind of monetary reward, but if the rumors she's heard about some wish-granting cards are true...

There's already another magical girl on the scene, though Sword doesn't recognize the Puella Magi. There's sure to be more soon. Since Sachiko is taking care of the smaller ones (or at least a group of them), Cure Sword aims for the mid-boss. She dashes forward, leaps up from the edge of the roof, and with a fierce shout, aims a powerful kick towards the Terribad's head.

COMBAT: Makoto Kenzaki transforms into Cure Sword!
COMBAT: Cure Sword has used Melee Barrage on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Sword has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro perfectly dodges Cure Sword's Melee Barrage, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet catches one of of the rolling giant taiko drums and sets it on its side, then jumps after another and catches it as well. She's only one being though, and as fast as she is, and even with her Future Vision, that's all she can manage by herself. It looks like most of the people have gotten out of the way and are clearing out, and she takes the moment to observe the unfolding scene and she's... not sure what she is seeing exactly, even though she's seeing it for the second time. Scanning her future vision for threats revealed this location, and a brief glimpse of these events, but she was hoping the images of the Traditional District turning into various sweets would make more sense in context. Garnet still finds herself at a loss. The danger behind this visually benign display of power is unmistakable however, (she wouldn't be here just to bust up a free candy parade) and the strange woman's audible enjoyment of the despair of others is disturbing to say the least. It reminds her of an encounter she had with a maniacal young man who warped a parasol into a monster not unlike the drummer monster here. She wonders briefly if the two are related, and makes a note to think on it later. For now, the monsters can't be allowed to continue their assault, or their defamation of mirrored sunglasses. Her Gauntlets are already summoned, helping her grasp the barrels, but she takes a moment to brace herself and fires them off as rockets towards the Kindabads, in hopes of disrupting their foul work!

COMBAT: Garnet transforms into Garnet's Got Gauntlets!
COMBAT: Garnet has used Rocket Gauntlets on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Garnet's Rocket Gauntlets, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is Quipped! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Festivals are always a good time. The thrumming of the percussive chorus something 'buki watched from a distance, until their usual tune ended, leaving the girl applauding politely with a pleased smile.

"They work so well together." At the sound of delighted toddler giggling behind her she turned around, "How are you liking your Watame Chiff-" She placed a hand over her mouth, as she looked upon a pink cotton candy bearded ferret that looked none too pleased about his sudden growth of facial hair. "A little too much if you ask me." He says with a deadpan, as the toddler looked far too pleased with her mischief, holding the near empty stick of festival food, "Wa-ta-me!"

Turning around, the girl covered her mouth with both hands, barely suppressed peals of laughter muffled by her best efforts at keeping her mouth shut. The antics a momentary distraction, "Right... right, laugh it- whoa!" Not too far away a tree was transformed into Cotton Candy, "Did Chiffon do that!?" He stared right at her, wondering whether she'd gained a new power despite having this growing sense of unease that caused him to rub his paws nervously, "Feels a bit like home actually... but you can't just change the scenery up like that whenever you feel like it Chiffon!"

But Chiffon didn't look happy. If anything she looked upset, her face already twisting up like she was about to cry. Inori was already running to cover, having spotted the Taiko drum Terribad from nearly the start, "Tarte, I think it's the Phantom Empire! Take care of Chiffon!" "Oh now you tell me!"

Just around a corner and then a key is twisted, "Change! Pretty Cure - Beat Up!" A shimmer of pineapple fresh light, not long after heels clad by golden boots clop down upon a candy cane lamp post, fingers put together as a heart, "The yellow heart is the symbol of faith. Freshly harvested, Cure Pine!"

And with that, the Pretty Cure takes a short skip off the lamp post to kick the nearest Kindabad in the face. She then uses her other foot to press against it and propel herself off to the next, which receives similar treatment, as she tries to crowd surf the Kindabads one by one to get closer to the Terribad itself.

Pine isn't too familiar with the Puella Magi, so she kind of tries to keep away from her rampage amongst the Kindabads, instead calling out to Cure Sword between her kicks, "Cure Sword be careful! These Terribads can be pretty rough to deal with!" In the distance, a tiny ferret fist shakes its paw at the lady behind it all, "Hey! Sweets are happiness best shared with everyone you know!"

COMBAT: Inori Yamabuki transforms into Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pineapple Express on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Pine's Pineapple Express, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona Hikawa has been milling around the festival for quite some time, having set up a small purple fortune-tellers tent in the far side of the grounds. Of course, this meant that Iona had to hoof it across the grounds to get to the taiko drum competition. Not that she minded, the stalls were cute and full of neat games and good food. She'll just mill around for a little bit to get some air, then go back and tell more fortunes.

She does, admittedly, cast a sort of subtle, tired look back towards her tent, where a few scattered individuals were standing around her tent, in a sort of 'no we're really not here waiting for a fortune even though we are' way. Well, they can wait their turn. She'll get to them eventually.

She turns a corner on one of the makeshift paths, just in time to have direct sight of the taiko competition...

...And the creation of the Terribad, this time led by that pink-haired woman. Iona's smile turns into a grim frown, and the girl ducks behind a couple of stalls and pulls out her mirror.

Thus, where was once Iona Hikawa, now there was Cure Fortune. Fortune jumps out of the isle and dashes for the Kindabads! She punches, and kicks her way through the herd, attempting to get closer to, perhaps not the Terribad, but the one who controls it.

COMBAT: Iona Hikawa transforms into Cure Fortune!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Kindaclearin' Kindabads on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Cure Fortune's Kindaclearin' Kindabads, taking 23 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

The orange Puella Magi sends one of the Kindabads flying into the rest of a nearby clump, and they topple with all the spread and sound ("CHOIII!") of any rack of bowling pins. Another group advances, only to be taken out en masse by Garnet's rocket-propelled taiko drums, which smush but do not explode, probably thankfully (since surely those drums are precious to someone). Between the two of them, they succeed at clearing a wide path for the last of the normal people to escape the area.

Cure Pine and Cure Fortune each advance through the sea of Kindabads from two other angles -- the former surfing, the latter parting, to extend the metaphor a little further than is strictly necessary. Whether hanging-ten or commanding ten, though, the yellow and purple Pretty Cure find themselves near each other, with very few Kindabads remaining, after a few moments of fierce destruction.

First to the Terribad however, is another purple Pretty Cure, who lands a solid kick on its face, leaving a small bootmark on the white bandana. It roars its displeasure, reaching up with one drumstick to try to swat Cure Sword out of the air on the way to her landing. The other stick commences a thunderous roll on the main drum hanging in front of its gut -- sending concentric red rings of pure sonic hell out to assault the rest of the battlefield.

From her elevated tea table, Hosshiwa delicately nibbles the edge of a fancy, multi-hued cookie. With her spare hand, she gestures with her parasol (also pink, currently closed) at Cure Fortune. "Ohohoho! Pay too much attention to me, and you'll leave yourself open...!"

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Not Terrible At Kicking Butt on Cure Sword.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Gangcure Style on Sachiko Majime.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Gangcure Style on Garnet.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Gangcure Style on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Gangcure Style on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Gangcure Style, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine's Block ability activates! Cure Pine's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Garnet fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Gangcure Style, taking 37 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Gangcure Style, taking 9 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Sword narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Not Terrible At Kicking Butt, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Cure Sword's Block ability activates! Cure Sword's Parry ability activates! Stun applied to Cure Sword!
COMBAT: Sachiko Majime narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Gangcure Style, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Sachiko Majime [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Doki-doki. Sachiko's heart beats faster and faster as her thrown Kindabad-shaped projectile makes a Kindabad-shaped dent in the approaching enemies. She was beginning to feel the rush, the exhilaration, the excitement that only comes in a battle such as this. If only playing softball elicited the same response in her anymore! But for now, it didn't matter for she had this. Buttkicking for more or less goodness!

Garnet's dual drum launch draws a side-look from Sachiko. "Not bad." She admits just as a red ring of deadly energy comes bursting her way. Crouching down and raising her arms up, the softball player anticipates the play and is able to stay on her feet despite the resounding blow. She begins to smirk towards the source of this attack, the Terribad. It was no use wasting her time on the small fries anymore. It was time for the main course! Sachiko sprints now into action towards the colossal foe!

As Sachiko draws closer, she begins to stretch out her right arm in a circular fashion. Sachi then dash forward so that she was directly in front of her oversized foe. "Yo big guy!" She points her right hand forward accusingly and then holds her left arm out to her side where an enormous axe materializes out of thing air and into her grasp. "Ready for your big fall? Hiiiiiiyah!" A smirking Sachiko confidently calls out as she steps in and swings her axe with all of her might at the inside of Terribad's left ankle.

COMBAT: Sachiko Majime has used Swing for the Fences on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Sachiko Majime has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Sword [None] has posed.

As Sword expected, more magical girls arrive, including one who uses her own fists to knock away the taiko drums threatening the civilians. That's good; she'd anticipated that the Puella Magi would handle it, but the more the better when it comes to protecting civilians. If Sword knows that's being handled, then she can deal with this Terribad without worrying. This is cemented when two more Pretty Cure arrive to bowl through them. One of them, Sword even knows.

She narrows her eyes slightly at the warning against the Terribad. "Cure Pine..." she murmurs. Hmph; Pine can't possibly be so much more experienced with these types of monsters that she can give her advice like that.

Still, it does help. When she rebounds off her kick, leaving behind a bootheel imprint on the Terribad's face, she's at a bad angle to dodge the drumstick it swings her way. The warning lets Sword cross her arms defensively in front of her in time, which doesn't stop the Terribad from smacking her into the ground and smashing her into a booth, leaving naught but splinters in her wake, but does at least mitigate some of the pain it would have done had it been a direct hit. All the same, that landing leaves her a little woozy, and she staggers a step as she gets back to her feet.

"This isn't enough to stop me!" she calls nonetheless. Determination drives her forward into a sprint, and she sweeps her fingers across the face of her Lovely Commune, leaving behind a Cure Lovead. The surface sparkles with brilliant light, and Cure Sword sweeps her hand away. Magic coalesces in her palm, then bursts into the form of a long blade. Shouting defiance, she leaps up at the Terribad and swings the sword down for the very same drumstick it had used to attack her with the intent to cleave it in twain... or, if such is not possible, at least slice it up good so that it might snap later.

COMBAT: Cure Sword has used Bright Edge on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Sword has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Sachiko Majime's Swing for the Fences, taking 24 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Sword's Bright Edge, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Cure Sword is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet looks satisfied at her routing of the Kindabads, but it's that moment of reflection that proves her downfall, literally, as a wave of sonic energy knocks her off of her feet. Not currently having any forearms throws her balance off completely, and she ends up "dodging" right into the brunt of the blast. "Augh!!!" Garnet screams and shudders in pain, her ears and balance wracked, and her body seems to glitch momentarily. She reforms her arms out of magical light, and struggles to her feet. Still grimacing from pain, she focuses, and leaps at the Terribad, intent on repaying his percussion in kind!

COMBAT: Garnet has used Leaping Smash! on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Garnet's Leaping Smash!, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Honoka Yukishiro's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Catch and Release, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Garnet!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Pine isn't really surprised to see Cure Fortune here. After all, the Phantom Empire were her enemies. In a sense that was a great relief, knowing that there was someone here who was more knowledgeable about fighting them. "Thank goodness you made it Cure Fortune!"

Because as it stands, Cure Sword is right. She's not much more experienced. Her first encounter with a Terribad had just been a really rough fight.

Feeling the ripples in the air before the red rings even reach her. She clamps her hands down on her ears, just before she's battered right out of her flight.

It knocks her down into the midst of Kindabads, but she manages to clop down on chocolate pavement just in time to keep her footing. "Nngh."

Pressing forward with her hands clasped firmly against her ears, she slides beneath the legs of a groping Kindabad just before taking her hands away from her ears, she presses both hands to the ground for some lift, and uses that to send her in a rising kick that sends both feet flying against the Terribad's dark body.

She's a bit late, it comes just after Sachiko's axe sweeps in low, and Cure Sword's energy blade cuts high at the drum stuck. "You're so sure of yourselves." Pine comments, with perhaps a small amount of admiration creeping into the statement

COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pretty Cure Kick on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Pine's Pretty Cure Kick, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Fortune continues to punch and kick her way through the remaining Kindabads. She looks over to the Terribad to keep its location fresh when it applies stick to drum. She manages to raise her arms and brace herself for the red ring. Though it washes over her regardless, she manages to shield herself from the worst effects.

It's at this point that Hosshiwa starts to taunt her, bringing Fortune to look back up at the reclining woman. Fortune clenches her teeth. She stops and looks at Hosshiwa, and considers jumping at her instead. But, Fortune turns away and instead heads for the Terribad. Her ribbon morphs, enlarges, and the Cure takes flight, a fist aiming directly at its main drum.

Cure Fortune, when Cure Pine talks to her, looks back to the latter Cure...

...but she turns back towards the fight without a word.

COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Punching For The Doldrums on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro perfectly dodges Cure Fortune's Punching For The Doldrums, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

The last of the Kindabads seem to be dispatched almost as an afterthought; Sachiko gets one on the backswing, after the Terribad moves its leg out of the way in the nick of time, Cure Pine tips one over on her way past, then discovers that this puffed-out chested Terribad can simply force her feet back off of its torso by rapidly inhaling and expanding. Cure Sword chops some splinters out of the Terribad's massive drumstick, and as they fall they impale another Kindabad.

Garnet comes in swinging and winds up catching the Terribad's full attention -- it falls back against the first few pounding blows, then intercepts with a hand, tossing the Gem harmlessly back and away from it. One might think this would leave it too busy to notice Cure Fortune soaring in fist-first, but...

"Ohohohoho!!" Hosshiwa doesn't bother getting up, but she points that parasol at the Pretty Cure's retreating back and zaps several laser blasts out of it. These give the Terribad the warning it needs to leap bodily out of the way...

...landing, huge feet first, one headed towards Cure Pine, the other threatening to crush Cure Sword. With a bada-bum-bum-badang, it strikes out with its stronger drumstick towards Sachiko in what could almost be called a fencing engagement, feinting left, driving right. Garnet, a little at range, gets to enjoy the beat from one of those accursed drums again -- this time the one on its right shoulder.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used It Came From... Behind on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Up, Up And Away on Cure Sword.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Up, Up And Away on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Gangcure Style on Garnet.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Terribadass Assault on Sachiko Majime.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Up, Up And Away, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is Psyched! Cure Pine's Block ability activates! Cure Pine's Parry ability activates! Stagger applied to Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Garnet narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Gangcure Style, taking 12 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Sword perfectly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Up, Up And Away, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! Cure Sword's Reverse ability activates! Cure Sword's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Sword's counterattack, Bright Spade, bursts all the way through, doing 11 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's It Came From... Behind, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Cure Fortune's Fade ability activates! Cure Fortune's Flash ability activates! Stagger applied to Cure Fortune!
COMBAT: Sachiko Majime narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Terribadass Assault, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Sachiko Majime's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Sachiko Majime's counterattack, And My Axe!, partially gets through, doing 25 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet was taken aback by the first blast, but is ready for the second one, bracing against it. She grimaces in pain as the wave flows through her, but it's not as intense as before, and she's still standing. She takes a moment to take stock of the Cures and the Puella around her, and nods at each of them in approval, the different colored lights of their magic reflecting off of her shades. They don't seem to have suffered any particularly grievous wounds so far, so Garnet presses on with her attack on the Terribad, rushing towards it and punching it over and over in a blur of pummeling strikes, the light gleaming off of her rapidly moving gauntlets, giving the blows trails of sparkling illumination not unlike that of a glittering gemstone.

COMBAT: Garnet has used Adamantine Barrage on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Garnet's Adamantine Barrage, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates! Stagger applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Sachiko Majime [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Sachiko Majime is unsure if she's ever fought alongside these Pretty Cure before. That one yellow one seemed familiar, but she was unsure. Yellow was a bad color in her book thanks to Mami Tomoe. She does send a distracted glare up at first her and the other Cures. Well it looks like her and Garnet had some considerable reinforcements against the Terribad and the Notquitesobads. She stays squared off with her much larger foe and keeps a white knuckled grip on her battle-axe. This Puella Magi was not about to back down so easily!

A huge drum stick feints left and Sachi is able to se enough of the redirected strike to reposition herself to face the new direction of her foe's attack. She grits her teeth together as she skips forward, turns low, and brings her axe up high in a massive swing to meet her opponent's attack mid-air. The sheer force of axe colliding with drum sticks causes the ground beneath Sachiko to beging to shatter, dropping the Puella Magi down a half-foot or so. But the young softball star holds her ground against the much larger foe. This wasn't enough! She had to push herself more to see what her limits truely were. Sachiko's smirk turns slightly more fearsome as she continues to size up her foe. The battle was beginning to get quite interesting!

"They expect me to wait my turn like a good girl. Toe the line. Be a scavenger and wait for scraps." The orange and black Puella Magi begins excitedly as she waits for her opening. "You know what I say to that?" Sachiko takes her axe and begins spinning it around and around in what looks to be a big windup. She huffs and she puffs from the simple exertion from this continued action. "-Never-. Sachiko Majime walks her own path and this day....my path leads straight through you!" Sachi then takes a big step forward and pitches her axe towards Terribad, a fastball straight down the plate.

COMBAT: Sachiko Majime has used Fastball Special on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Sachiko Majime has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro perfectly dodges Sachiko Majime's Fastball Special, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Dodge! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Fortune is about to punch the drum... when she gets shot at from behind! Lasers whiz past Fortune's body, and a number of them impact her back. She immediately veers away from the Terribad, and zips left and right to avoid the remaining shots. She glares daggers at the pink lady. Does she /want/ to get punched in the face? She looks at Hosshiwa, then to the Terribad, then back to Hosshiwa.

Coming to a decision, she flies towards the Phantom Empire general, spinning the multicolored dial on her PreBrace, creating five purple stars of light. "Fortune..." She raises her arms over her head. The stars of light turn into rings of light. "Staaar..." She suddenly stops! Turning directly behind her, she sends the rings not towards Hosshiwa, but instead towards her Terribad creation. "Ring!"

COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Fortune Star Ring on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The look Fortune gives her... well suddenly she feels embarrassed for saying anything at all. Especially when Sachiko adds another glare that looks downright unnerving. Any sense of relief or delight falls away into a deep void of insecurity within herself.

"Huh? What!?" She calls out as the Terribad leaps, and as it comes back down with a giant foot ready to crush her. Cure Pine is suddenly indecisive about which way to run. She jukes one way then another in a nerve-wracking, sweet-inducing panic but really it looks like she can't figure out which way she needs to run to evade it. By the time she figures it out, it's too late. It's shadow looms too large for her to do anything more than to dig her feet into what feels peppermint and raise up her arms, palms high.

It lands on her hands with enormous force, driving her legs deep enough to crack the swirly red footing, but she despite her limbs bending from the strain of its weight, she manages to keep herself from being crushed, seconds before she lets go and rolls backwards just as the foot slams down where she last stood showering her in pieces of cracked candy.

Despite her arms feeling like gelatin, she barely misses a beat, as she rolls upright, she takes a hop step to the left before she leaps upwards, and twists at the hip to attempt to drive a haymaker right about where she approximates the Colossal monster's stomach would be if it were human.

COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pineapple Punch on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Fortune's Fortune Star Ring, taking 21 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Tangle and Trap applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Cure Pine's Pineapple Punch, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates! Exhausted and Stagger applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Sword [None] has posed.

Poor Cure Pine. She just wants to be friendly and have her friends around. Instead, she has... present company, Cure Sword included. Sword at least listened to her? A little? Not that she gave any outward indication of that?? Pine can't be feeling too good about that. A shame Sword isn't really thinking about that, or her, right now. She doesn't... *dislike* Pine per se, as a person, but... well, it's complicated, and Sword prefers to keep it professional anyway.

That large foot comes down towards Cure Sword, and in retaliation, she hurls her magical sword towards it, which breaks apart into multiple magical daggers. They land true, giving Sword the space she needs to leap out of the way just in time. She snaps a glance towards Hosshiwa, who seems to be concentrating her malice on Cure Fortune. She leaps back, then upwards, and swipes her hand again across her Lovely Commune.

"Radiaaaant..." she calls, sweeping her hand up and then down towards the Terribad. Lavender light glitters and sparkles around her, then shoots down in the form of multiple magical daggers, stronger than the ones she'd hurled at the Terribad earlier. "Spade!!" she concludes, finishing the attack. The sooner this ends, the better. Just a little more, and...!

COMBAT: Cure Sword has used Radiant Spade on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Sword has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Sword's Radiant Spade, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Honoka Yukishiro is Quipped! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates! Trap applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

All around the battle, the sickeningly sweet candyland is spreading further and further away in all directions. It carpets the concrete with green licorice grass. Some of the clouds in the sky are replaced with spun sugar. Even the sunlight tastes a bit lemony on the skin, now.

Hosshiwa exchanges a look with Cure Sword, chuckling as she sits back with her tea. When Fortune threatens her directly, she pops the parasol open at the last minute, expecting to deflect -- and growls with frustration as the rings settle around the Terribad's shoulders instead, leaving it unable to defend itself properly. Garnet's endless punches thud into its side, while all it can do is shift its weight away from Cure Pine's haymaker, so that she winds up punching the big central drum instead of the stomach.

This makes a huge noise, one that materializes in a burst of red sonic light. Like a beautifully swung bat, it intercepts Sachiko's mightily thrown axe, and sends it flying directly back at her in a beautiful and deadly line drive! Smaller red energy streamers peel away from the blast to torture the ears of the Pretty Cure. Finally, wriggling unhappily inside Fortune's rings, it tries to hip-check Garnet away from it, that that barrage may cease -- in the same moment that Cure Sword's lovely daggers thud into its other side with brilliant bursts of light.

"TER-RI-BAAAD!" it objects, loudly.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Line Drive on Sachiko Majime.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Gangcure Style on Cure Sword.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Gangcure Style on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Gangcure Style on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Not Terrible At Kicking Butt on Garnet.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Gangcure Style, taking 35 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Garnet fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Not Terrible At Kicking Butt, taking 28 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Stun applied to Garnet!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Gangcure Style, taking 25 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Sword fails to brace Honoka Yukishiro's Gangcure Style, taking 38 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Sachiko Majime narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Line Drive, taking 35 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sachiko Majime's Fade ability activates! Sachiko Majime's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Sachiko Majime [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The forward momentum from Sachiko's throw is so great that she topples over from the action. From the ground, the exhausted pitcher watches eagerly for the result of her thrown pitch. But much to Sachiko's horror, the Terribad smashes her axe back towards her. "No!" Sachiko screams as she gets up and throws herself out of the way of the incoming axe. She barely is able to get out of the way in time in what could have cut the poor Puella Magi into two halves. "No, no, no, no!" She eloquently elaborates as she stalks off after where her axe landed.

All around the orange clad Puella Magi, the landscape has turned into a wondrous candyland which only serves to enrage the girl even further. She kicks a newly formed lollipop tree in passing before smashing her first through a gingerbread house that once was a business stand. That last thrown punch causes Sachiko's fist to get stuck in the aforementioned gingerbread house. She places a heeled foot against the side of it and frees herself with a loud OOMPH that causes Sachiko to fall back onto her rump. "None of this was supposed to happen! No one is supposed to be able to hit my fastball and....and..." She gets back up onto her feet and reclaims her axe. She silently stares at her misthrown weapon before throwing it into the gingerbread house that had just nearly trapped her, utterly demolishing what was left of it.

".....I'm still far too weak." finishes the drained softball pitcher softly as the murky orange gem in the center of her uniform becomes slightly more burnt orange in appearance.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

If Garnet needed to breathe, the breath would be knocked out of her, as her agility fails her for the second time in this battle, and she is hip-checked but good. She reels off, and crashes into some surprisingly solid candy debris. Right before the impact, she manages to fire a large electric orb at the Terribad, only able to hope it strikes true as her impact both stuns her and buries her under the resulting debris. She's going to need a minute.

COMBAT: Garnet has used Adamantine Spark on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Garnet's Adamantine Spark, taking 17 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Fortune smiles, just a little bit, when the rings land true and binds the Terribad up, letting the rest of the good team beat up on it. Then one of them hits the drum, and the same red sonic sound comes out of the drum, to Fortune's surprise! She's caught off guard, and the tones of the drum rattles her entire body, and the Pretty Cure falls to the ground.

Cure Fortune climbs her way back up to her feet slowly, teeth clenched. Stopping a brief moment to gather herself, she charges again at the Terribad, just giving it a quick, swift punch. This time, /away/ from the giant drum.

COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Fortunate Punch on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Fortune's Fortunate Punch, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

This time, when the sonic rings move towards her she can't exactly get out of the way in time. She tries, but the leap doesn't quite take her far enough before she's hit head on. Her world descends into blurring vertigo and tinnitus that makes it hard to even understand what's happening as she's sent backwards, crashing into a chocolate bar that's jutting out of the landscape.

Getting back to her feet is tough, everything is blurring together like some surrealist painting that makes evey step a wobbly challenge. But after a moment she feels a nudge against her shoulder. Turning her head, she sees a cheerful face that looks like something straight out of art class until all the features line up and... "Oh, Kirun. This is getting a little out of hand." She murmurs how she feels a bit miserably. The little yellow Pickrun makes a worried noise, "Kiii?" "I think I'll be alright. Are you ready?"

She responds with more cheer this time, as she descends into the top of her Linkrun, where she turns. Pine holds it up, and runs a finger across the pad. Out of the air, a flute appears in a sparkling shower of radiance as it descends like a baton into her outstretched hand, when she catches it, she spins it around once. "Heal, harmony of faith! Cure stick, Pine Flute!"

Running her fingers across prismatic keys, concentric circles of joyful sound and light appear as she plays them. Whirling it from side to side like it's instead a wand, she even adds a little hop at the end as she cries out, "Nasty things, Nasty things, fly away!" Upon landing, she draws a golden diamond. It touches the senses lightly, with the scent of a freshly cut Okinawan pineapple, or the feeling of fulfillment that one gets from successfully doing something hard for the first time. "Precure Healing Prayer-"

Drawing her arm back, she then thrusts the flute forward, "-FRESH!" The diamond launches forward riotously, trailing streamers of blazing luminescence. And if it strikes, it collapses into a huge heart. Then many hearts, that orbit around the Terribad like electrons around an inner atom with the power of inner belief backing it.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Pine has used Precure Healing Prayer Fresh! on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Pine's Finisher, Precure Healing Prayer Fresh!, taking 104 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Sword [None] has posed.

Tch! These evil generals, always so smug...! Though the look Sword shares with Hosshiwa only lasts an instant, it still rubs her the wrong way how utterly confdient and uncaring she is. This sugarland is spreading further and further, and she's *happy* about the unhappiness she's spreading. But then, they're all like that, aren't they? That's why Cure Sword needs to defeat this enemy!

That being said, it won't be easy. Cure Sword hasn't been hit by the Terribad's sonic drum attack before now, so she's unprepared for how *discordant* it is, how LOUD. The waves of sound hit her dead-on, and she yelps in pain, clapping her hands over her ears. This leaves her wide open, and she crumples to the ground in a heap.

"A-are you all right?! Hang in there, Cure Sword!!" Davi yelps, her own ears curling in on themselves.

"I-I'm fine...! I won't... lose to... something like this!!" Sword gasps. She staggers to her feet, then sets a Cure Lovead into her Commune--the strongest one she has. This enemy might be strong, but that just means she'll have to give it her all. She sucks in a deep breath, then leaps into the air. "Flash!" she calls, swiping her arm up and down again. Her hand glows with sacred light, then sparkles away and into the air. "HOLY SWOOOOOORD!!" A hailstorm of magical shortswords--no, a torrential downpour--sweeps in the direction that she gestures, and the million points of light hurtle dangerously towards the Terribad.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Sword has used Flash! Holy Sword on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Sword has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Sword's Finisher, Flash! Holy Sword, taking 146 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Sachiko Majime has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Sword [None] has posed.

"See that you do," Cure Sword declares coldly to Hosshiwa just before she disappears. She flips her ponytail back and turns... but then Davi vibrates in her Commune form, and Sword brings her out just in time for the cat fairy to give a hearty sneeze. Sword, startled, drops her--but fortunately for both of them, Davi can still float even while in phone form. Between them float a pair of cards with a sword sigil on front, and Sword takes them in hand, eyes wide with wonder. She hears what Davi says--about the rumored cards that grant wishes. And when Davi looks her way, Sword meets her hopeful gaze with hope enough of her own.

"If it's really true, then...!" she utters, holding the cards a little tighter. It doesn't occur to her that anyone might want to contest or take the cards from her. After all, she defeated the Terribad, and her fairy sneezed (?!??) them out; they're her spoils. However, these PreCards represent something too valuable to take lightly. If she can collect enough, not just finding Princess An but restoring all of the Trump Kingdom could be within their grasp!

Her expression sets with determination, and she moves to put them away in her hip pouch--though someone could still interrupt if they were so inclined.

<Pose Tracker> Sachiko Majime [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Sachiko pauses momentarily in her rampage through the transformed candyland when she is addressed by Hosshiwa. The Puella Magi halts in her movement and slowly turns just her head towards the baddie general. "What did you say?!" She demands as she turns now fully, her axe forming back into her hand. Sachiko may not understand directly what Hosshiwa was saying, but she could easily leap to conclusions over the subtext. The young blonde looks ready to start another wind-up when a bunch of shouting and a lightshow draws her attention back towards the fight at hand.

Oh right. They were fighting a 30 foot monster.....that now was being destroyed by the others. She missed the end up the fight?! Sachiko had messed up. Even worse, she felt like she was benched. "No..way."

The Puella Magi tosses her axe away carelessly which causes it to dematerialize into nothing. She then haughtily crosses her arms against herself. "You can take your wish and shove it...."An exhausted and humiliated Sachiko clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth again and begins to stalk off..

Simply put, she didn't want anything more to do with wishes.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet tosses the last of the rubble off of herself, and looks over to the monster, intent on unleashing her power upon it, only to find it already gone. She lets her rage, and power subside, and dismisses her gauntlets. She watches the Cures and their interaction with the card, she closes her eyes and focuses on its Future, and so knows it for what it is and what it possibly can do, but doesn't seek to claim it for herself. It could be better used by others, and frankly, having them around the Temple creates the potential there might be accidentally used by Steven, for something like Fry Bits... Well... hopefully something so benign... or Pearl, or Amethyst. And the chaos they might each cause she can only imagine. Garnet collects herself but still stands at a distance.

COMBAT: Garnet transforms into Garnet!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune watches as the Terribad disappears under the concentrated fire of punches, love and justice. There's a brief sigh of relief as she checks around for any rogue Kindabads. Finding no more, she finally relaxes.

She turns away for a moment as Glassan floats up to her. "Great job, Cure Fortune!"

Fortune opens her mouth to say something, but she's suddenly interrupted by the sound of... sneezing? She looks to Glassan to see what the fairy is sensing... only for Glassan to look back at her with a similar look of surprise! The two slowly look over at the sound... and see another fairy sneezing out the PreCards. Fortune turns to Glassan again, eyes wide. "I... didn't know that could happen to others. Are you sure you don't sense anything?"

"No, I don't sense any power."

Fortune turns back to the rest of the group and walks up to Sword and the sneezy fairy. "How did you get those?" She asks the other loner Cure directly.

As for Sachiko, her wish shoving desire causes Fortune to look at her as she's walking away, but Fortune turns back to Sword in no time at all. Does she not have something she wishes for?

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The relief from her is palpable, more than just the exhalation of breath from being glad that the hard fight. "Thank goodness that's over with." Pine says, mostly to herself, as the landscape changes back and Hosshiwa vanishes, giving Fortune and Sword what she thinks is one last look.

She then turns as if she's about to go back over to Tarte and Chiffon when... 'chuu~' She remembers the fairy as Davi, from a time on rooftops, and pauses to listen to them talk.

At first she really doesn't process just the great import of what they're talking about, but then her gold eyes go wide and she asks suddenly, "Any wish at all?" She'd spoken before she'd really thought it through, insecurities making her think she'd instantly overstepped. Wincing especially when the Puella Magi throws her remark in about shoving it.

Even so... she looks pensive, as if she's considering something, in particular what she would want if she had any wish in the world. "... I wonder." Her mind keeps coming up with one thing she'd wish on, though she doesn't really say what she wants aloud. She seems unlike to contend Cure Sword possessing it at least.

But before she knows it, Fortune is approaching Sword and she does say something now, "Ah - well last time you defeated it. Maybe its drawn to the fairy of the one who scores the final blow?" She tries to work out the logic of this.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Sword [None] has posed.

Cure Sword has not, to her knowledge, spoken with Cure Fortune directly before. Garnet opts to simply watch and wait, and Sachiko washes her hands of the whole affair, so while Sword glances their way, she's content to leave them be. Fortune, on the other hand... Sword frowns up at her. How? That's a good question.

"By defeating the Terribad, I suppose," she replies. It's a logical connection; hers was the finishing blow, and the moment after the Terribad and Hosshiwa disappeared, taking the sugary scenery and the last of the Kindabads with them if any were left, Davi sneezed out the PreCards. Beyond that... it's as much of a surprise to them as it is to Fortune and Glassan.

Cure Pine enters the conversation, and postulates the same that Sword just had. She eyes Pine in particular, given how she latches onto the idea of any wish at all, but... well, even if Sword doesn't care for other Precures, they're still all soldiers of justice. Pine wouldn't do anything underhanded, and she doesn't seem likely to try to demand anything, either. "The Phantom Empire--were you awakened to fight them?" Sword continues, returning her attention to Fortune.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet remembers Steven is probably home alone, and as much as she would like to learn more about this, she should get back to him. Everyone's attention is rightfully focused on the phenomenon of the card, and she feels that's something they should work out without her input. She turns around and starts walking home, They'll meet again someday soon, and she'll ask her questions then.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune doesn't attempt to try and take the cards. The fact that they look different to hers is part of the reason why, also the fact that both of them did just fight a Terribad, and neither Fortune nor Sword (or Pine) is at their best. Plus, as upset as this development makes her, she's not too keen on fighting another person like her anyway. She looks to Pine as she makes the connection, and ditto Sword when she does. She herself turns to leave like Garnet or Sachiko, but stops as Sword asks her a question about her past. She doesn't move for a few moments, but turns again to look at the other Cures. "No."

Memories, fresher than she would like, flood Fortune's mind, of a young girl following her sister as she went out into the night, and of a young girl watching her sister lose to the forces of evil. The pain in those memories are easily reflected in Fortune's face. She looks directly at Sword. "No, I was not awakened to fight them."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Pine just nods hesitantly at Sword's similar conclusion. When Sword asks that question of Fortune, she honestly expects the answer to be 'yes'. After all, she was awakened with the purpose of fighting Labyrinth. Fortune had spoken on the Phantom Empire and how they came to be...

Oh.

The pain in Fortune's eyes is unmistakable even from Pine looking at her from the side. And while she hasn't quite figured it all out yet...

... she has a feeling that the cause of that pain is a certain Princess that Fortune spoke about. The one that caused the fall of the Blue Sky Kingdom.

Her own eyes drop to the ground, as she clasps her palms together and considers, before finally saying extremely softly, "It must have been really hard... harder than I can imagine... everything you went through." She doesn't really know what else to say, and she's not feeling good enough about herself to inquire more.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Sword [None] has posed.

"..." Sword sets both the cards and her Lovely Commune in her hip pouch. With the PreCards and her Precure partner safe, she can take a good look at Fortune and how she stares back at her with pain in her face. She wasn't awakened to fight the Phantom Empire...? It seems like there's a story there... She could just mean that she is a Precure who opposes some other Dark Fall foe, but...

Well, it's none of her business, anyway. Although Pine seems to know about some of it. Sword glances her way. It doesn't sound like it's something as simple as it could be, but that doesn't change that it's not her place to pry. She looks back to Fortune.

"I see," she replies. And... that's it. Cure Sword turns and begins to walk away. It's apparently a painful topic, so she's not going to pry for information that won't do her any good and is only going to hurt the person being asked.

Of course, on the surface, she probably seems like she just doesn't care.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune looks at Pine for a few moments. She doesn't reply to Pine's comments, but her face softens, just a little bit. A part of her cares that Pine cares, but the rest of Cure Fortune doesn't. It's not really her concern, thinks Fortune, and she's not exactly keen to offer additional information. When Cure Sword starts to walk away, her face hardens again as she also watches the salvation of her sister walk away as well. Maybe? If she had all the ones but those sword ones required, she's not sure if they'll work for her! But what does bother Fortune is Sword's posture as the latter is walking away. She doesn't seem like she cares. A little 'hmph' escapes from Fortune as she likewise turns away from Pine and Sword, and starts to walk away as well (though if Pine does say something she'll stop).

If what it takes to get these cards is to beat the enemy herself, well, she doesn't /need/ anyone else to fight for.

2015-12-23 - Taiko Torment

2016-01-12T22:32:56Z

Lucientes: On Battle Fantasia, we drum up friendship.

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: The Terribads Try To Take Tokyo'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''A Taiko drum festival turns terrible when a drummer turns to despair.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Sachiko Majime]], [[Makoto Kenzaki|Cure Sword]], [[Garnet]], [[Inori Yamabuki|Cure Pine]], [[Iona Hikawa|Cure Fortune]] 
GM: Honoka Yukishiro
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Shinjuku Capital Ward
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Sep 17 2014 - 12/23/2015
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Shitamachi loves festivals and tradition in equal measure, so the existence of a joint festival and competition for taiko drumming is certainly cause for a major party. Kids come out with masks and gongs, the food stands set up with steamy scents for all, and as the sun begins to set, torches light the intersections more wonderfully than any LED display could hope to do across the river amongst the skyscrapers.

The thunderous and resounding team displays are underway. After this there will be a solo competition, with the best of each team dueling drumbeats, but seeing dozens of strong people, some young and some old, pound away in beautiful synchronicity is the big crowd pleaser.

As the latest team comes to their ear-ringing conclusion, a marvelous silence falls upon the square. Then it's filled with even more deafening cheers. One of the drummers, a young man with brown hair, wearily adjusts his hachimaki, glancing down the line of his teammates at the one who was selected to do the solo competition.

He rubs his wrist wearily. "If only..." Then he shakes his head. "Nah, that's no good. We're a team." The woman who's come up behind him, resplendent in pink, leans over his shoulder curiously. There's something wrong about her... she may have a cute getup, but her eyes are so cold.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting all the glory for yourself," she reassures him. "Here. Let me show you!"

She casts out a hand, and a feeling of urgency and darkness engulfs the crowd. "LET THE FUTURE REFLECTED IN THE MIRROR TURN TERRIBLE! COME FORTH, TERRIBAD!"

A moment later, the taiko competitor is locked in a dark mirror, his eyes closed, his slumber despairing. On the ground he's been replaced by a thirty foot tall, pink-scarved monster with a massive and bulky black body, a white bandanna that bears the word 'INVASION', and huge drums everywhere, one on each shoulder and one hanging down in front.

The Terribad has drumsticks, of course, and begins pounding out a truly awful sound. As the sonic punishment pours across the square, people clap hands to their ears and flee. But there's more to flee than just the ear-torture... the buildings are beginning to transform, a few bricks at a time, into an unearthly landscape.

Cotton candy trees. Gingerbread houses. Frosting everywhere.

It would be heaven, except that it's obviously hell. Something about this place feels terribly wrong. And besides... the woman in pink, who gaily leaps atop a sugary tower to sit down, legs crossed primly, at a newly-materialized tea table, doesn't look too interested in sharing her sweets with anyone else.

"Ohohohohohohoho~! The despair of others is as sweet as honey."

Then she takes a long and satisfied sip.

"Terribad! Destroy the happiness of this city, and give me even more sweets!"

From around cookie towers and behind candy cane pillars, Kindabads, those small, red-sunglassed fellows, begin rushing down the food stands, overturning them. Another group knocks down a stack of round taiko drums that had been held in place with ropes, and they begin rolling through the fleeing crowd with supernatural speed and greatly impending danger...

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro transforms into Terribad and Kindabads!!

<Pose Tracker> Sachiko Majime [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Sachiko Majime slouches back in an unladylike manner in her seat with her hands already interlaced behind her head. She lets out a small sigh as this date was turning out to be way more boring than she had anticipated. Well, he seemed like he was going to be fun at the time, but he ended up being an absolute bore and just another cocky narcissist. Apparently the poor boy didn't get the theoretical memo stating that the only narcissist to be present was Sachiko herself. But thankfully, Ohtori's young softball starlet is saved by the sudden appearance of a rampaging, thirty foot tall drum-master and his entourage of ne'er'do-wells. For the first time tonight, Sachi smiles.

"You better save yourself while...." Sachiko trails off when she notices that her date has already fled arse over teakettle out of there. The young blonde clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth. Figures. She then untangles her fingers from behind her own head and lesiurely stands up tall before doing a few warmup stretches. It's been awhile since her last bout and she was looking forward to knocking the proverbially dust off herself.

But before Sachiko transforms, she reaches down the front of her shirt to pull out the orange 'charm' at the end of her necklace. The once shining gem was now a murky imitation of its former glory. Such is the life of a Puella Magi with no territory of their own. However, Sachiko is not the kind of girl that backs down from a fight just because the odds are stacked against her. No, she was still going to fight this monster and its cohorts. Then she was going to find whomever was really behind this and get some answers of them!

Cracking her knuckles, Sachiko Majime is engulfed by a bright light as her clothes are replaced by the stylished orange and black softball uniform of her transformed state. She strides forward lazily and heads toward the nearest group of Kindabads. "Hey weirdos! It's about time the real entertainment showed up!" Sachi then charges forward and attempts to grab ahold of the nearest Kindabad, spin around quickly in place, and then HURL her hopefully grabbed foe at his baddie buddies.

COMBAT: Sachiko Majime transforms into Puella Magi Sachiko!
COMBAT: Sachiko Majime has used Bowling for Baddies on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Sachiko Majime has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Sachiko Majime's Bowling for Baddies, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Sachiko Majime is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kenzaki [None] has posed.

Princess An always had a fascination with Japanese Earth culture, to the point where she became an expert at karuta, a uniquely Japanese sport--and she's also always been a people person and someone who delights in lively gatherings. Makoto Kenzaki doesn't know for sure if the Princess might appear here at a festival, as maybe it might be *too* lively for royalty, but the fortune that girl gave her earlier gives her the emotional fortitude to try.

She has an hour of free time. Between jobs, she has D.V. drive her to this festival, and joins in on the fun (...so to speak) with face-obscuring shades and oversized floppy hat in place... as well, of course, as her Pretty Commune, tucked away in phone form in her purse. An is tall, so she should be easy to spot...

Unfortunately, Makoto never gets the chance to see her. Before anything like that can happen, there's a sudden giant monster in shades and a bandana, and buildings turn into candy castles, while people scream and run.

"Davi," she murmurs as she ducks away behind a building, pulling out her phone.

"Let's go, Makoto!" Davi agrees.

A minute later, Cure Sword leaps up from seemingly out of nowhere and lands on a rooftop near the candified spot and the young woman seemingly in charge of his chaos. She narrows her eyes at her... but so long as she's hanging back, the various monsters terrorizing the people need to be dealt with first.

"Terribad," she murmurs to herself, echoing its master, narrowing her eyes at the big one. She recognizes the name; she read the bulletin from the Tuners. She doesn't need any kind of monetary reward, but if the rumors she's heard about some wish-granting cards are true...

There's already another magical girl on the scene, though Sword doesn't recognize the Puella Magi. There's sure to be more soon. Since Sachiko is taking care of the smaller ones (or at least a group of them), Cure Sword aims for the mid-boss. She dashes forward, leaps up from the edge of the roof, and with a fierce shout, aims a powerful kick towards the Terribad's head.

COMBAT: Makoto Kenzaki transforms into Cure Sword!
COMBAT: Cure Sword has used Melee Barrage on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Sword has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro perfectly dodges Cure Sword's Melee Barrage, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet catches one of of the rolling giant taiko drums and sets it on its side, then jumps after another and catches it as well. She's only one being though, and as fast as she is, and even with her Future Vision, that's all she can manage by herself. It looks like most of the people have gotten out of the way and are clearing out, and she takes the moment to observe the unfolding scene and she's... not sure what she is seeing exactly, even though she's seeing it for the second time. Scanning her future vision for threats revealed this location, and a brief glimpse of these events, but she was hoping the images of the Traditional District turning into various sweets would make more sense in context. Garnet still finds herself at a loss. The danger behind this visually benign display of power is unmistakable however, (she wouldn't be here just to bust up a free candy parade) and the strange woman's audible enjoyment of the despair of others is disturbing to say the least. It reminds her of an encounter she had with a maniacal young man who warped a parasol into a monster not unlike the drummer monster here. She wonders briefly if the two are related, and makes a note to think on it later. For now, the monsters can't be allowed to continue their assault, or their defamation of mirrored sunglasses. Her Gauntlets are already summoned, helping her grasp the barrels, but she takes a moment to brace herself and fires them off as rockets towards the Kindabads, in hopes of disrupting their foul work!

COMBAT: Garnet transforms into Garnet's Got Gauntlets!
COMBAT: Garnet has used Rocket Gauntlets on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Garnet's Rocket Gauntlets, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is Quipped! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Festivals are always a good time. The thrumming of the percussive chorus something 'buki watched from a distance, until their usual tune ended, leaving the girl applauding politely with a pleased smile.

"They work so well together." At the sound of delighted toddler giggling behind her she turned around, "How are you liking your Watame Chiff-" She placed a hand over her mouth, as she looked upon a pink cotton candy bearded ferret that looked none too pleased about his sudden growth of facial hair. "A little too much if you ask me." He says with a deadpan, as the toddler looked far too pleased with her mischief, holding the near empty stick of festival food, "Wa-ta-me!"

Turning around, the girl covered her mouth with both hands, barely suppressed peals of laughter muffled by her best efforts at keeping her mouth shut. The antics a momentary distraction, "Right... right, laugh it- whoa!" Not too far away a tree was transformed into Cotton Candy, "Did Chiffon do that!?" He stared right at her, wondering whether she'd gained a new power despite having this growing sense of unease that caused him to rub his paws nervously, "Feels a bit like home actually... but you can't just change the scenery up like that whenever you feel like it Chiffon!"

But Chiffon didn't look happy. If anything she looked upset, her face already twisting up like she was about to cry. Inori was already running to cover, having spotted the Taiko drum Terribad from nearly the start, "Tarte, I think it's the Phantom Empire! Take care of Chiffon!" "Oh now you tell me!"

Just around a corner and then a key is twisted, "Change! Pretty Cure - Beat Up!" A shimmer of pineapple fresh light, not long after heels clad by golden boots clop down upon a candy cane lamp post, fingers put together as a heart, "The yellow heart is the symbol of faith. Freshly harvested, Cure Pine!"

And with that, the Pretty Cure takes a short skip off the lamp post to kick the nearest Kindabad in the face. She then uses her other foot to press against it and propel herself off to the next, which receives similar treatment, as she tries to crowd surf the Kindabads one by one to get closer to the Terribad itself.

Pine isn't too familiar with the Puella Magi, so she kind of tries to keep away from her rampage amongst the Kindabads, instead calling out to Cure Sword between her kicks, "Cure Sword be careful! These Terribads can be pretty rough to deal with!" In the distance, a tiny ferret fist shakes its paw at the lady behind it all, "Hey! Sweets are happiness best shared with everyone you know!"

COMBAT: Inori Yamabuki transforms into Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pineapple Express on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Pine's Pineapple Express, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona Hikawa has been milling around the festival for quite some time, having set up a small purple fortune-tellers tent in the far side of the grounds. Of course, this meant that Iona had to hoof it across the grounds to get to the taiko drum competition. Not that she minded, the stalls were cute and full of neat games and good food. She'll just mill around for a little bit to get some air, then go back and tell more fortunes.

She does, admittedly, cast a sort of subtle, tired look back towards her tent, where a few scattered individuals were standing around her tent, in a sort of 'no we're really not here waiting for a fortune even though we are' way. Well, they can wait their turn. She'll get to them eventually.

She turns a corner on one of the makeshift paths, just in time to have direct sight of the taiko competition...

...And the creation of the Terribad, this time led by that pink-haired woman. Iona's smile turns into a grim frown, and the girl ducks behind a couple of stalls and pulls out her mirror.

Thus, where was once Iona Hikawa, now there was Cure Fortune. Fortune jumps out of the isle and dashes for the Kindabads! She punches, and kicks her way through the herd, attempting to get closer to, perhaps not the Terribad, but the one who controls it.

COMBAT: Iona Hikawa transforms into Cure Fortune!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Kindaclearin' Kindabads on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Cure Fortune's Kindaclearin' Kindabads, taking 23 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

The orange Puella Magi sends one of the Kindabads flying into the rest of a nearby clump, and they topple with all the spread and sound ("CHOIII!") of any rack of bowling pins. Another group advances, only to be taken out en masse by Garnet's rocket-propelled taiko drums, which smush but do not explode, probably thankfully (since surely those drums are precious to someone). Between the two of them, they succeed at clearing a wide path for the last of the normal people to escape the area.

Cure Pine and Cure Fortune each advance through the sea of Kindabads from two other angles -- the former surfing, the latter parting, to extend the metaphor a little further than is strictly necessary. Whether hanging-ten or commanding ten, though, the yellow and purple Pretty Cure find themselves near each other, with very few Kindabads remaining, after a few moments of fierce destruction.

First to the Terribad however, is another purple Pretty Cure, who lands a solid kick on its face, leaving a small bootmark on the white bandana. It roars its displeasure, reaching up with one drumstick to try to swat Cure Sword out of the air on the way to her landing. The other stick commences a thunderous roll on the main drum hanging in front of its gut -- sending concentric red rings of pure sonic hell out to assault the rest of the battlefield.

From her elevated tea table, Hosshiwa delicately nibbles the edge of a fancy, multi-hued cookie. With her spare hand, she gestures with her parasol (also pink, currently closed) at Cure Fortune. "Ohohoho! Pay too much attention to me, and you'll leave yourself open...!"

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Not Terrible At Kicking Butt on Cure Sword.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Gangcure Style on Sachiko Majime.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Gangcure Style on Garnet.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Gangcure Style on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Gangcure Style on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Gangcure Style, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine's Block ability activates! Cure Pine's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Garnet fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Gangcure Style, taking 37 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Gangcure Style, taking 9 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Sword narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Not Terrible At Kicking Butt, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Cure Sword's Block ability activates! Cure Sword's Parry ability activates! Stun applied to Cure Sword!
COMBAT: Sachiko Majime narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Gangcure Style, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Sachiko Majime [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Doki-doki. Sachiko's heart beats faster and faster as her thrown Kindabad-shaped projectile makes a Kindabad-shaped dent in the approaching enemies. She was beginning to feel the rush, the exhilaration, the excitement that only comes in a battle such as this. If only playing softball elicited the same response in her anymore! But for now, it didn't matter for she had this. Buttkicking for more or less goodness!

Garnet's dual drum launch draws a side-look from Sachiko. "Not bad." She admits just as a red ring of deadly energy comes bursting her way. Crouching down and raising her arms up, the softball player anticipates the play and is able to stay on her feet despite the resounding blow. She begins to smirk towards the source of this attack, the Terribad. It was no use wasting her time on the small fries anymore. It was time for the main course! Sachiko sprints now into action towards the colossal foe!

As Sachiko draws closer, she begins to stretch out her right arm in a circular fashion. Sachi then dash forward so that she was directly in front of her oversized foe. "Yo big guy!" She points her right hand forward accusingly and then holds her left arm out to her side where an enormous axe materializes out of thing air and into her grasp. "Ready for your big fall? Hiiiiiiyah!" A smirking Sachiko confidently calls out as she steps in and swings her axe with all of her might at the inside of Terribad's left ankle.

COMBAT: Sachiko Majime has used Swing for the Fences on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Sachiko Majime has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Sword [None] has posed.

As Sword expected, more magical girls arrive, including one who uses her own fists to knock away the taiko drums threatening the civilians. That's good; she'd anticipated that the Puella Magi would handle it, but the more the better when it comes to protecting civilians. If Sword knows that's being handled, then she can deal with this Terribad without worrying. This is cemented when two more Pretty Cure arrive to bowl through them. One of them, Sword even knows.

She narrows her eyes slightly at the warning against the Terribad. "Cure Pine..." she murmurs. Hmph; Pine can't possibly be so much more experienced with these types of monsters that she can give her advice like that.

Still, it does help. When she rebounds off her kick, leaving behind a bootheel imprint on the Terribad's face, she's at a bad angle to dodge the drumstick it swings her way. The warning lets Sword cross her arms defensively in front of her in time, which doesn't stop the Terribad from smacking her into the ground and smashing her into a booth, leaving naught but splinters in her wake, but does at least mitigate some of the pain it would have done had it been a direct hit. All the same, that landing leaves her a little woozy, and she staggers a step as she gets back to her feet.

"This isn't enough to stop me!" she calls nonetheless. Determination drives her forward into a sprint, and she sweeps her fingers across the face of her Lovely Commune, leaving behind a Cure Lovead. The surface sparkles with brilliant light, and Cure Sword sweeps her hand away. Magic coalesces in her palm, then bursts into the form of a long blade. Shouting defiance, she leaps up at the Terribad and swings the sword down for the very same drumstick it had used to attack her with the intent to cleave it in twain... or, if such is not possible, at least slice it up good so that it might snap later.

COMBAT: Cure Sword has used Bright Edge on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Sword has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Sachiko Majime's Swing for the Fences, taking 24 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Sword's Bright Edge, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Cure Sword is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet looks satisfied at her routing of the Kindabads, but it's that moment of reflection that proves her downfall, literally, as a wave of sonic energy knocks her off of her feet. Not currently having any forearms throws her balance off completely, and she ends up "dodging" right into the brunt of the blast. "Augh!!!" Garnet screams and shudders in pain, her ears and balance wracked, and her body seems to glitch momentarily. She reforms her arms out of magical light, and struggles to her feet. Still grimacing from pain, she focuses, and leaps at the Terribad, intent on repaying his percussion in kind!

COMBAT: Garnet has used Leaping Smash! on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Garnet's Leaping Smash!, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Honoka Yukishiro's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Catch and Release, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Garnet!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Pine isn't really surprised to see Cure Fortune here. After all, the Phantom Empire were her enemies. In a sense that was a great relief, knowing that there was someone here who was more knowledgeable about fighting them. "Thank goodness you made it Cure Fortune!"

Because as it stands, Cure Sword is right. She's not much more experienced. Her first encounter with a Terribad had just been a really rough fight.

Feeling the ripples in the air before the red rings even reach her. She clamps her hands down on her ears, just before she's battered right out of her flight.

It knocks her down into the midst of Kindabads, but she manages to clop down on chocolate pavement just in time to keep her footing. "Nngh."

Pressing forward with her hands clasped firmly against her ears, she slides beneath the legs of a groping Kindabad just before taking her hands away from her ears, she presses both hands to the ground for some lift, and uses that to send her in a rising kick that sends both feet flying against the Terribad's dark body.

She's a bit late, it comes just after Sachiko's axe sweeps in low, and Cure Sword's energy blade cuts high at the drum stuck. "You're so sure of yourselves." Pine comments, with perhaps a small amount of admiration creeping into the statement

COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pretty Cure Kick on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Pine's Pretty Cure Kick, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Fortune continues to punch and kick her way through the remaining Kindabads. She looks over to the Terribad to keep its location fresh when it applies stick to drum. She manages to raise her arms and brace herself for the red ring. Though it washes over her regardless, she manages to shield herself from the worst effects.

It's at this point that Hosshiwa starts to taunt her, bringing Fortune to look back up at the reclining woman. Fortune clenches her teeth. She stops and looks at Hosshiwa, and considers jumping at her instead. But, Fortune turns away and instead heads for the Terribad. Her ribbon morphs, enlarges, and the Cure takes flight, a fist aiming directly at its main drum.

Cure Fortune, when Cure Pine talks to her, looks back to the latter Cure...

...but she turns back towards the fight without a word.

COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Punching For The Doldrums on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro perfectly dodges Cure Fortune's Punching For The Doldrums, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

The last of the Kindabads seem to be dispatched almost as an afterthought; Sachiko gets one on the backswing, after the Terribad moves its leg out of the way in the nick of time, Cure Pine tips one over on her way past, then discovers that this puffed-out chested Terribad can simply force her feet back off of its torso by rapidly inhaling and expanding. Cure Sword chops some splinters out of the Terribad's massive drumstick, and as they fall they impale another Kindabad.

Garnet comes in swinging and winds up catching the Terribad's full attention -- it falls back against the first few pounding blows, then intercepts with a hand, tossing the Gem harmlessly back and away from it. One might think this would leave it too busy to notice Cure Fortune soaring in fist-first, but...

"Ohohohoho!!" Hosshiwa doesn't bother getting up, but she points that parasol at the Pretty Cure's retreating back and zaps several laser blasts out of it. These give the Terribad the warning it needs to leap bodily out of the way...

...landing, huge feet first, one headed towards Cure Pine, the other threatening to crush Cure Sword. With a bada-bum-bum-badang, it strikes out with its stronger drumstick towards Sachiko in what could almost be called a fencing engagement, feinting left, driving right. Garnet, a little at range, gets to enjoy the beat from one of those accursed drums again -- this time the one on its right shoulder.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used It Came From... Behind on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Up, Up And Away on Cure Sword.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Up, Up And Away on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Gangcure Style on Garnet.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Terribadass Assault on Sachiko Majime.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Up, Up And Away, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is Psyched! Cure Pine's Block ability activates! Cure Pine's Parry ability activates! Stagger applied to Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Garnet narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Gangcure Style, taking 12 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Sword perfectly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Up, Up And Away, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! Cure Sword's Reverse ability activates! Cure Sword's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Sword's counterattack, Bright Spade, bursts all the way through, doing 11 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's It Came From... Behind, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Cure Fortune's Fade ability activates! Cure Fortune's Flash ability activates! Stagger applied to Cure Fortune!
COMBAT: Sachiko Majime narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Terribadass Assault, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Sachiko Majime's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Sachiko Majime's counterattack, And My Axe!, partially gets through, doing 25 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet was taken aback by the first blast, but is ready for the second one, bracing against it. She grimaces in pain as the wave flows through her, but it's not as intense as before, and she's still standing. She takes a moment to take stock of the Cures and the Puella around her, and nods at each of them in approval, the different colored lights of their magic reflecting off of her shades. They don't seem to have suffered any particularly grievous wounds so far, so Garnet presses on with her attack on the Terribad, rushing towards it and punching it over and over in a blur of pummeling strikes, the light gleaming off of her rapidly moving gauntlets, giving the blows trails of sparkling illumination not unlike that of a glittering gemstone.

COMBAT: Garnet has used Adamantine Barrage on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Garnet's Adamantine Barrage, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates! Stagger applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Sachiko Majime [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Sachiko Majime is unsure if she's ever fought alongside these Pretty Cure before. That one yellow one seemed familiar, but she was unsure. Yellow was a bad color in her book thanks to Mami Tomoe. She does send a distracted glare up at first her and the other Cures. Well it looks like her and Garnet had some considerable reinforcements against the Terribad and the Notquitesobads. She stays squared off with her much larger foe and keeps a white knuckled grip on her battle-axe. This Puella Magi was not about to back down so easily!

A huge drum stick feints left and Sachi is able to se enough of the redirected strike to reposition herself to face the new direction of her foe's attack. She grits her teeth together as she skips forward, turns low, and brings her axe up high in a massive swing to meet her opponent's attack mid-air. The sheer force of axe colliding with drum sticks causes the ground beneath Sachiko to beging to shatter, dropping the Puella Magi down a half-foot or so. But the young softball star holds her ground against the much larger foe. This wasn't enough! She had to push herself more to see what her limits truely were. Sachiko's smirk turns slightly more fearsome as she continues to size up her foe. The battle was beginning to get quite interesting!

"They expect me to wait my turn like a good girl. Toe the line. Be a scavenger and wait for scraps." The orange and black Puella Magi begins excitedly as she waits for her opening. "You know what I say to that?" Sachiko takes her axe and begins spinning it around and around in what looks to be a big windup. She huffs and she puffs from the simple exertion from this continued action. "-Never-. Sachiko Majime walks her own path and this day....my path leads straight through you!" Sachi then takes a big step forward and pitches her axe towards Terribad, a fastball straight down the plate.

COMBAT: Sachiko Majime has used Fastball Special on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Sachiko Majime has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro perfectly dodges Sachiko Majime's Fastball Special, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Dodge! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Fortune is about to punch the drum... when she gets shot at from behind! Lasers whiz past Fortune's body, and a number of them impact her back. She immediately veers away from the Terribad, and zips left and right to avoid the remaining shots. She glares daggers at the pink lady. Does she /want/ to get punched in the face? She looks at Hosshiwa, then to the Terribad, then back to Hosshiwa.

Coming to a decision, she flies towards the Phantom Empire general, spinning the multicolored dial on her PreBrace, creating five purple stars of light. "Fortune..." She raises her arms over her head. The stars of light turn into rings of light. "Staaar..." She suddenly stops! Turning directly behind her, she sends the rings not towards Hosshiwa, but instead towards her Terribad creation. "Ring!"

COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Fortune Star Ring on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The look Fortune gives her... well suddenly she feels embarrassed for saying anything at all. Especially when Sachiko adds another glare that looks downright unnerving. Any sense of relief or delight falls away into a deep void of insecurity within herself.

"Huh? What!?" She calls out as the Terribad leaps, and as it comes back down with a giant foot ready to crush her. Cure Pine is suddenly indecisive about which way to run. She jukes one way then another in a nerve-wracking, sweet-inducing panic but really it looks like she can't figure out which way she needs to run to evade it. By the time she figures it out, it's too late. It's shadow looms too large for her to do anything more than to dig her feet into what feels peppermint and raise up her arms, palms high.

It lands on her hands with enormous force, driving her legs deep enough to crack the swirly red footing, but she despite her limbs bending from the strain of its weight, she manages to keep herself from being crushed, seconds before she lets go and rolls backwards just as the foot slams down where she last stood showering her in pieces of cracked candy.

Despite her arms feeling like gelatin, she barely misses a beat, as she rolls upright, she takes a hop step to the left before she leaps upwards, and twists at the hip to attempt to drive a haymaker right about where she approximates the Colossal monster's stomach would be if it were human.

COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pineapple Punch on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Fortune's Fortune Star Ring, taking 21 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Tangle and Trap applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Cure Pine's Pineapple Punch, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates! Exhausted and Stagger applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Sword [None] has posed.

Poor Cure Pine. She just wants to be friendly and have her friends around. Instead, she has... present company, Cure Sword included. Sword at least listened to her? A little? Not that she gave any outward indication of that?? Pine can't be feeling too good about that. A shame Sword isn't really thinking about that, or her, right now. She doesn't... *dislike* Pine per se, as a person, but... well, it's complicated, and Sword prefers to keep it professional anyway.

That large foot comes down towards Cure Sword, and in retaliation, she hurls her magical sword towards it, which breaks apart into multiple magical daggers. They land true, giving Sword the space she needs to leap out of the way just in time. She snaps a glance towards Hosshiwa, who seems to be concentrating her malice on Cure Fortune. She leaps back, then upwards, and swipes her hand again across her Lovely Commune.

"Radiaaaant..." she calls, sweeping her hand up and then down towards the Terribad. Lavender light glitters and sparkles around her, then shoots down in the form of multiple magical daggers, stronger than the ones she'd hurled at the Terribad earlier. "Spade!!" she concludes, finishing the attack. The sooner this ends, the better. Just a little more, and...!

COMBAT: Cure Sword has used Radiant Spade on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Sword has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Sword's Radiant Spade, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Honoka Yukishiro is Quipped! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates! Trap applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

All around the battle, the sickeningly sweet candyland is spreading further and further away in all directions. It carpets the concrete with green licorice grass. Some of the clouds in the sky are replaced with spun sugar. Even the sunlight tastes a bit lemony on the skin, now.

Hosshiwa exchanges a look with Cure Sword, chuckling as she sits back with her tea. When Fortune threatens her directly, she pops the parasol open at the last minute, expecting to deflect -- and growls with frustration as the rings settle around the Terribad's shoulders instead, leaving it unable to defend itself properly. Garnet's endless punches thud into its side, while all it can do is shift its weight away from Cure Pine's haymaker, so that she winds up punching the big central drum instead of the stomach.

This makes a huge noise, one that materializes in a burst of red sonic light. Like a beautifully swung bat, it intercepts Sachiko's mightily thrown axe, and sends it flying directly back at her in a beautiful and deadly line drive! Smaller red energy streamers peel away from the blast to torture the ears of the Pretty Cure. Finally, wriggling unhappily inside Fortune's rings, it tries to hip-check Garnet away from it, that that barrage may cease -- in the same moment that Cure Sword's lovely daggers thud into its other side with brilliant bursts of light.

"TER-RI-BAAAD!" it objects, loudly.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Line Drive on Sachiko Majime.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Gangcure Style on Cure Sword.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Gangcure Style on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Gangcure Style on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Not Terrible At Kicking Butt on Garnet.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Gangcure Style, taking 35 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Garnet fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Not Terrible At Kicking Butt, taking 28 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Stun applied to Garnet!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Gangcure Style, taking 25 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Sword fails to brace Honoka Yukishiro's Gangcure Style, taking 38 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Sachiko Majime narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Line Drive, taking 35 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sachiko Majime's Fade ability activates! Sachiko Majime's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Sachiko Majime [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The forward momentum from Sachiko's throw is so great that she topples over from the action. From the ground, the exhausted pitcher watches eagerly for the result of her thrown pitch. But much to Sachiko's horror, the Terribad smashes her axe back towards her. "No!" Sachiko screams as she gets up and throws herself out of the way of the incoming axe. She barely is able to get out of the way in time in what could have cut the poor Puella Magi into two halves. "No, no, no, no!" She eloquently elaborates as she stalks off after where her axe landed.

All around the orange clad Puella Magi, the landscape has turned into a wondrous candyland which only serves to enrage the girl even further. She kicks a newly formed lollipop tree in passing before smashing her first through a gingerbread house that once was a business stand. That last thrown punch causes Sachiko's fist to get stuck in the aforementioned gingerbread house. She places a heeled foot against the side of it and frees herself with a loud OOMPH that causes Sachiko to fall back onto her rump. "None of this was supposed to happen! No one is supposed to be able to hit my fastball and....and..." She gets back up onto her feet and reclaims her axe. She silently stares at her misthrown weapon before throwing it into the gingerbread house that had just nearly trapped her, utterly demolishing what was left of it.

".....I'm still far too weak." finishes the drained softball pitcher softly as the murky orange gem in the center of her uniform becomes slightly more burnt orange in appearance.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

If Garnet needed to breathe, the breath would be knocked out of her, as her agility fails her for the second time in this battle, and she is hip-checked but good. She reels off, and crashes into some surprisingly solid candy debris. Right before the impact, she manages to fire a large electric orb at the Terribad, only able to hope it strikes true as her impact both stuns her and buries her under the resulting debris. She's going to need a minute.

COMBAT: Garnet has used Adamantine Spark on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Garnet's Adamantine Spark, taking 17 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Fortune smiles, just a little bit, when the rings land true and binds the Terribad up, letting the rest of the good team beat up on it. Then one of them hits the drum, and the same red sonic sound comes out of the drum, to Fortune's surprise! She's caught off guard, and the tones of the drum rattles her entire body, and the Pretty Cure falls to the ground.

Cure Fortune climbs her way back up to her feet slowly, teeth clenched. Stopping a brief moment to gather herself, she charges again at the Terribad, just giving it a quick, swift punch. This time, /away/ from the giant drum.

COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Fortunate Punch on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Fortune's Fortunate Punch, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

This time, when the sonic rings move towards her she can't exactly get out of the way in time. She tries, but the leap doesn't quite take her far enough before she's hit head on. Her world descends into blurring vertigo and tinnitus that makes it hard to even understand what's happening as she's sent backwards, crashing into a chocolate bar that's jutting out of the landscape.

Getting back to her feet is tough, everything is blurring together like some surrealist painting that makes evey step a wobbly challenge. But after a moment she feels a nudge against her shoulder. Turning her head, she sees a cheerful face that looks like something straight out of art class until all the features line up and... "Oh, Kirun. This is getting a little out of hand." She murmurs how she feels a bit miserably. The little yellow Pickrun makes a worried noise, "Kiii?" "I think I'll be alright. Are you ready?"

She responds with more cheer this time, as she descends into the top of her Linkrun, where she turns. Pine holds it up, and runs a finger across the pad. Out of the air, a flute appears in a sparkling shower of radiance as it descends like a baton into her outstretched hand, when she catches it, she spins it around once. "Heal, harmony of faith! Cure stick, Pine Flute!"

Running her fingers across prismatic keys, concentric circles of joyful sound and light appear as she plays them. Whirling it from side to side like it's instead a wand, she even adds a little hop at the end as she cries out, "Nasty things, Nasty things, fly away!" Upon landing, she draws a golden diamond. It touches the senses lightly, with the scent of a freshly cut Okinawan pineapple, or the feeling of fulfillment that one gets from successfully doing something hard for the first time. "Precure Healing Prayer-"

Drawing her arm back, she then thrusts the flute forward, "-FRESH!" The diamond launches forward riotously, trailing streamers of blazing luminescence. And if it strikes, it collapses into a huge heart. Then many hearts, that orbit around the Terribad like electrons around an inner atom with the power of inner belief backing it.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Pine has used Precure Healing Prayer Fresh! on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Pine's Finisher, Precure Healing Prayer Fresh!, taking 104 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Sword [None] has posed.

Tch! These evil generals, always so smug...! Though the look Sword shares with Hosshiwa only lasts an instant, it still rubs her the wrong way how utterly confdient and uncaring she is. This sugarland is spreading further and further, and she's *happy* about the unhappiness she's spreading. But then, they're all like that, aren't they? That's why Cure Sword needs to defeat this enemy!

That being said, it won't be easy. Cure Sword hasn't been hit by the Terribad's sonic drum attack before now, so she's unprepared for how *discordant* it is, how LOUD. The waves of sound hit her dead-on, and she yelps in pain, clapping her hands over her ears. This leaves her wide open, and she crumples to the ground in a heap.

"A-are you all right?! Hang in there, Cure Sword!!" Davi yelps, her own ears curling in on themselves.

"I-I'm fine...! I won't... lose to... something like this!!" Sword gasps. She staggers to her feet, then sets a Cure Lovead into her Commune--the strongest one she has. This enemy might be strong, but that just means she'll have to give it her all. She sucks in a deep breath, then leaps into the air. "Flash!" she calls, swiping her arm up and down again. Her hand glows with sacred light, then sparkles away and into the air. "HOLY SWOOOOOORD!!" A hailstorm of magical shortswords--no, a torrential downpour--sweeps in the direction that she gestures, and the million points of light hurtle dangerously towards the Terribad.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Sword has used Flash! Holy Sword on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Sword has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Sword's Finisher, Flash! Holy Sword, taking 146 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Sachiko Majime has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Sword [None] has posed.

"See that you do," Cure Sword declares coldly to Hosshiwa just before she disappears. She flips her ponytail back and turns... but then Davi vibrates in her Commune form, and Sword brings her out just in time for the cat fairy to give a hearty sneeze. Sword, startled, drops her--but fortunately for both of them, Davi can still float even while in phone form. Between them float a pair of cards with a sword sigil on front, and Sword takes them in hand, eyes wide with wonder. She hears what Davi says--about the rumored cards that grant wishes. And when Davi looks her way, Sword meets her hopeful gaze with hope enough of her own.

"If it's really true, then...!" she utters, holding the cards a little tighter. It doesn't occur to her that anyone might want to contest or take the cards from her. After all, she defeated the Terribad, and her fairy sneezed (?!??) them out; they're her spoils. However, these PreCards represent something too valuable to take lightly. If she can collect enough, not just finding Princess An but restoring all of the Trump Kingdom could be within their grasp!

Her expression sets with determination, and she moves to put them away in her hip pouch--though someone could still interrupt if they were so inclined.

<Pose Tracker> Sachiko Majime [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Sachiko pauses momentarily in her rampage through the transformed candyland when she is addressed by Hosshiwa. The Puella Magi halts in her movement and slowly turns just her head towards the baddie general. "What did you say?!" She demands as she turns now fully, her axe forming back into her hand. Sachiko may not understand directly what Hosshiwa was saying, but she could easily leap to conclusions over the subtext. The young blonde looks ready to start another wind-up when a bunch of shouting and a lightshow draws her attention back towards the fight at hand.

Oh right. They were fighting a 30 foot monster.....that now was being destroyed by the others. She missed the end up the fight?! Sachiko had messed up. Even worse, she felt like she was benched. "No..way."

The Puella Magi tosses her axe away carelessly which causes it to dematerialize into nothing. She then haughtily crosses her arms against herself. "You can take your wish and shove it...."An exhausted and humiliated Sachiko clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth again and begins to stalk off..

Simply put, she didn't want anything more to do with wishes.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet tosses the last of the rubble off of herself, and looks over to the monster, intent on unleashing her power upon it, only to find it already gone. She lets her rage, and power subside, and dismisses her gauntlets. She watches the Cures and their interaction with the card, she closes her eyes and focuses on its Future, and so knows it for what it is and what it possibly can do, but doesn't seek to claim it for herself. It could be better used by others, and frankly, having them around the Temple creates the potential there might be accidentally used by Steven, for something like Fry Bits... Well... hopefully something so benign... or Pearl, or Amethyst. And the chaos they might each cause she can only imagine. Garnet collects herself but still stands at a distance.

COMBAT: Garnet transforms into Garnet!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune watches as the Terribad disappears under the concentrated fire of punches, love and justice. There's a brief sigh of relief as she checks around for any rogue Kindabads. Finding no more, she finally relaxes.

She turns away for a moment as Glassan floats up to her. "Great job, Cure Fortune!"

Fortune opens her mouth to say something, but she's suddenly interrupted by the sound of... sneezing? She looks to Glassan to see what the fairy is sensing... only for Glassan to look back at her with a similar look of surprise! The two slowly look over at the sound... and see another fairy sneezing out the PreCards. Fortune turns to Glassan again, eyes wide. "I... didn't know that could happen to others. Are you sure you don't sense anything?"

"No, I don't sense any power."

Fortune turns back to the rest of the group and walks up to Sword and the sneezy fairy. "How did you get those?" She asks the other loner Cure directly.

As for Sachiko, her wish shoving desire causes Fortune to look at her as she's walking away, but Fortune turns back to Sword in no time at all. Does she not have something she wishes for?

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The relief from her is palpable, more than just the exhalation of breath from being glad that the hard fight. "Thank goodness that's over with." Pine says, mostly to herself, as the landscape changes back and Hosshiwa vanishes, giving Fortune and Sword what she thinks is one last look.

She then turns as if she's about to go back over to Tarte and Chiffon when... 'chuu~' She remembers the fairy as Davi, from a time on rooftops, and pauses to listen to them talk.

At first she really doesn't process just the great import of what they're talking about, but then her gold eyes go wide and she asks suddenly, "Any wish at all?" She'd spoken before she'd really thought it through, insecurities making her think she'd instantly overstepped. Wincing especially when the Puella Magi throws her remark in about shoving it.

Even so... she looks pensive, as if she's considering something, in particular what she would want if she had any wish in the world. "... I wonder." Her mind keeps coming up with one thing she'd wish on, though she doesn't really say what she wants aloud. She seems unlike to contend Cure Sword possessing it at least.

But before she knows it, Fortune is approaching Sword and she does say something now, "Ah - well last time you defeated it. Maybe its drawn to the fairy of the one who scores the final blow?" She tries to work out the logic of this.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Sword [None] has posed.

Cure Sword has not, to her knowledge, spoken with Cure Fortune directly before. Garnet opts to simply watch and wait, and Sachiko washes her hands of the whole affair, so while Sword glances their way, she's content to leave them be. Fortune, on the other hand... Sword frowns up at her. How? That's a good question.

"By defeating the Terribad, I suppose," she replies. It's a logical connection; hers was the finishing blow, and the moment after the Terribad and Hosshiwa disappeared, taking the sugary scenery and the last of the Kindabads with them if any were left, Davi sneezed out the PreCards. Beyond that... it's as much of a surprise to them as it is to Fortune and Glassan.

Cure Pine enters the conversation, and postulates the same that Sword just had. She eyes Pine in particular, given how she latches onto the idea of any wish at all, but... well, even if Sword doesn't care for other Precures, they're still all soldiers of justice. Pine wouldn't do anything underhanded, and she doesn't seem likely to try to demand anything, either. "The Phantom Empire--were you awakened to fight them?" Sword continues, returning her attention to Fortune.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet remembers Steven is probably home alone, and as much as she would like to learn more about this, she should get back to him. Everyone's attention is rightfully focused on the phenomenon of the card, and she feels that's something they should work out without her input. She turns around and starts walking home, They'll meet again someday soon, and she'll ask her questions then.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune doesn't attempt to try and take the cards. The fact that they look different to hers is part of the reason why, also the fact that both of them did just fight a Terribad, and neither Fortune nor Sword (or Pine) is at their best. Plus, as upset as this development makes her, she's not too keen on fighting another person like her anyway. She looks to Pine as she makes the connection, and ditto Sword when she does. She herself turns to leave like Garnet or Sachiko, but stops as Sword asks her a question about her past. She doesn't move for a few moments, but turns again to look at the other Cures. "No."

Memories, fresher than she would like, flood Fortune's mind, of a young girl following her sister as she went out into the night, and of a young girl watching her sister lose to the forces of evil. The pain in those memories are easily reflected in Fortune's face. She looks directly at Sword. "No, I was not awakened to fight them."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Pine just nods hesitantly at Sword's similar conclusion. When Sword asks that question of Fortune, she honestly expects the answer to be 'yes'. After all, she was awakened with the purpose of fighting Labyrinth. Fortune had spoken on the Phantom Empire and how they came to be...

Oh.

The pain in Fortune's eyes is unmistakable even from Pine looking at her from the side. And while she hasn't quite figured it all out yet...

... she has a feeling that the cause of that pain is a certain Princess that Fortune spoke about. The one that caused the fall of the Blue Sky Kingdom.

Her own eyes drop to the ground, as she clasps her palms together and considers, before finally saying extremely softly, "It must have been really hard... harder than I can imagine... everything you went through." She doesn't really know what else to say, and she's not feeling good enough about herself to inquire more.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Sword [None] has posed.

"..." Sword sets both the cards and her Lovely Commune in her hip pouch. With the PreCards and her Precure partner safe, she can take a good look at Fortune and how she stares back at her with pain in her face. She wasn't awakened to fight the Phantom Empire...? It seems like there's a story there... She could just mean that she is a Precure who opposes some other Dark Fall foe, but...

Well, it's none of her business, anyway. Although Pine seems to know about some of it. Sword glances her way. It doesn't sound like it's something as simple as it could be, but that doesn't change that it's not her place to pry. She looks back to Fortune.

"I see," she replies. And... that's it. Cure Sword turns and begins to walk away. It's apparently a painful topic, so she's not going to pry for information that won't do her any good and is only going to hurt the person being asked.

Of course, on the surface, she probably seems like she just doesn't care.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune looks at Pine for a few moments. She doesn't reply to Pine's comments, but her face softens, just a little bit. A part of her cares that Pine cares, but the rest of Cure Fortune doesn't. It's not really her concern, thinks Fortune, and she's not exactly keen to offer additional information. When Cure Sword starts to walk away, her face hardens again as she also watches the salvation of her sister walk away as well. Maybe? If she had all the ones but those sword ones required, she's not sure if they'll work for her! But what does bother Fortune is Sword's posture as the latter is walking away. She doesn't seem like she cares. A little 'hmph' escapes from Fortune as she likewise turns away from Pine and Sword, and starts to walk away as well (though if Pine does say something she'll stop).

If what it takes to get these cards is to beat the enemy herself, well, she doesn't /need/ anyone else to fight for.

2015-12-16 - The Terribads Try To Take Tokyo

2016-01-11T19:00:00Z

Lucientes:

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: The Terribads Try To Take Tokyo'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''The Phantom Empire begins an attack on Tokyo, by transforming a girl's happiness into despair.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Lera Camry]], [[Mana Aida|Cure Heart]], [[Hibiki Houjou|Cure Melody]], [[Steven Universe]], [[Ami Mizuno|Sailor Mercury]], [[Fuu Hououji]], [[Kanade Minamino|Cure Rhythm]], [[Inori Yamabuki|Cure Pine]], [[Iona Hikawa|Cure Fortune]] 
GM: Honoka Yukishiro
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Shinjuku Capital Ward
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Sep 15 2014 - 12/16/2015
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Okinawa might as well have been in another lifetime, because back in Tokyo, autumn is in full swing. The leaves are just beginning to turn, shimmering with hints of scarlet and gold, and a chilly breeze occasionally blusters through the streets, the herald of oncoming frost. The sounds, sights and smells of school are paramount; kids swinging beautifully wrapped bento (or a few yen for curry bread) back and forth on their way to school; and struggling beneath the burden of large stacks of books on the way home.

Especially beleaguered are the ninth graders, who will, in another few months, face the greatest academic challenge of their career thus far: high school entrance exams. Every subject's teacher has given the class a stern lecture, a list of study guides, and advice about after-school 'cram school' study programs.

There are several truly impressive seminars, but the best of the best is in the heart of Yamanote, surrounded by mountains of glass and chrome. It remains hunkered low to the ground as though clinging with all its might, refusing to be blown away -- and the only thing that has allowed this merely three-story building to stand the test of time, development, and rising property values, is its sheer history of excellence.

Anyone can attend the Twin Swans cram school, but only the dedicated can stay; at the end of each week, they administer a practice exam, and anyone who has failed to master the material is replaced. The waiting list is essentially infinite -- there are always more students eager to throw themselves onto the machine (or be thrown by their parents, anyway).

A garden of brightly-colored school uniforms mingle outside, somehow forming a contiguous clump even as they're buffeted by the tides of salarymen, executives, shoppers and tourists who throng along this major avenue. It is the first day of a new sequence at Twin Swans, and all of their first day in the program. One, Juuban Middle School 9th grader Shiina Suzuki, is especially starry-eyed. She sings to herself quietly as she marches towards these hallowed halls.

o/` "Laaaaa, I'm gonna work really hard / study every day / and every night too! Laaaaa, I'm gonna work so hard / I pass the test / into Mama's high school..." o/`

Most adults smother smiles as they pass this pigtailed studymaniac, but one has to choke back his own vomit. "Being woken up from a nap by a song about hard work... truly, this must be hell, cheerio." He's perched on the roof of the cram school, dapper in top hat, long coat and cane. Little antennae sprout from the hat, not dissimilar to a grasshopper's.

His golden eyes narrow. "But today, at long last, we shall step out of the shadows and take this hideously productive city face on, pip pip."

Leaping down to balance on a nearby lamppost, he points his cane straight at young Shiina. "NOW! LET THE FUTURE REFLECTED BY THE MIRROR TURN TERRIBLE!" A blast of light later, the girl is trapped inside a dark mirror, bound by ribbons. Her eyes are closed, her face overwrought with despair. "COME OUT, TERRIBAD!"

All that's left of the girl is that sad reflection... and the immense monster that has taken her place, out in the real world. It is a good twenty feet tall, but with squat proportions. Black legs and arms emerge from its torso, which is a calculator; it holds a book in one hand, and a ruler in the other. Mirrored red sunglasses hide its face, and a jaunty green scarf is hung around its neck.

As soon as it takes its first stomping step into the street, horrible blooms of mold -- green and blue and pink and purple -- coat the area all around, and people, in turn, begin to cough, poison entering their lungs. The mere presence of this monster is transforming Tokyo into an environment not at all suited for human life!

And sprouting alongside the cloudlike mold are human-sized creatures that could not be more unlike clouds. They're of simple construction, the Kindabads, a black body with gray boots, gloves, and belt. Their red sunglasses match the Terribad's, and is the only thing that gives them the idea of a face -- otherwise, their heads could be mistaken for black marbles.

"CHOIIIIIII!" they shout as one, their kinda scary battle cry, as they try to topple and tangle every passerby in sight, rather than allowing them to escape the encroaching mold.

Up on his lamppost, Namakelder smirks with pure satisfaction. "Ahahahaha! The time has come! This world now belongs to Queen Mirage and her Phantom Empire!"

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro transforms into Terribad and Kindabads!!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has fully healed herself. She is now ready to take on 10 opponents!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lera Camry passed her high school entrance exams long ago, of course. She has been in high school for months now; she is helping with some English studying, though, as a volunteer position. What better way to put her skills (that may be one word for it) as a native speaker (she is not) to use?

She stops and sighs, though, trying to keep her cheer up; it doesn't last long, though, because being near people preparing for such exams is leads to no small amount of sympathetic stress. She looks up with alarm, though, when she hears voices cry out:

'CHOIIIIIII!'

The orange-haired girl's head snaps to look at the gigantic monster /and/ the human-sized creatures running around it. Her amber eyes widen; the bag on her shoulder slips when her shoulders tense up. "Wh-what is...?"

<I've never seen anything like it!> Soaring Sky states. <Lera, we better...>

"Right!" Lera cries out. "Soaring Sky, SET UP!"

<Get set!>

There is a flash of green light, underneath her feet. It shoots up around her; her jacket ruffles outward as it forms, long and green. A feather charm appears in her hair, the orange-tipped feather flashing into existence. Lera winks -- and a broadsword-shaped Armed Device appears in her hand, stretched out and pointed towards the Kindabads. Then, she glances up at the Terribad, and finally the Namakelder.

"We're not gonna let you conquer the world!" she yells. "Th--that just won't fly at all, y'know?"

<Gladiator Form!> Soaring Sky chimes. The broadsword splits up the middle, into two bronze-colored sabers. With one in each hand, Lera dives at the Kindabads; she leads with the left, slashing for one. Then the girl pivots on her right heel, the right sword slashing for a second Kindabad, and ends with a stab from the right saber at the third solder of the Phantom Empire. <Rapid Skyfall!>

COMBAT: Lera Camry transforms into Barrier Jacket Perihelion!
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Rapid Skyfall on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to counter Lera Camry's Rapid Skyfall, taking 27 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Strength In Numbers, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Lera Camry!

<Pose Tracker> Mana Aida [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

For Mana Aida, worries about cram school and graduation are still a long ways away.

Well, okay, a year away.

That doesn't stop her from skipping her way towards the cram school, though, a large box of something tucked under her arm. The sweet scent of warm peach-jam buns wafts from the box as she skips along. She's not alone, though.

"Mana, those smell so good!" Charle, the tiny fairy, whispers from the book bag slung over Mana's other arm. "Are you sure we can't have any...?"

"Mmnt-mmn!" Mana says with a shake of her head and a smile. "These are for the students who are waiting in line to study! You can't cram on an empty stomach, you know! And there's nothing like my dad's peach-jam buns to keep your energy up!" She grins and indulges in a twirl, nearly dislodging both a couple of buns and a startled Charle.

And then, suddenly, something happens in the distance. Mana gasps and touches her free hand to her heart as she stares ahead, watching the glasses-wearing... something... spring into existence. Something wearing a calculator.

"Mana!" Charle exclaims, eyes wide as she wiggles out of Mana's book bag. "That's--"

Mana presses her lips together, surprise giving way to focus. "Is it an Ego?"

"I don't think so," Charle murmurs worriedly. "I don't... I don't know /what/ it is."

Mana knits her brows a little - she's not an experienced enough fighter to grasp what she's facing. "...But it doesn't matter," she finally says with a sharp nod. "We've got to do something. Charle--!"

"Mm!" The tiny fairy pops up into the air, and Mana steps into a side alley just in time for the little pink sprite to poof into a puff of smoke and emerge as a cell phone. "Charle!!"

Quickly, Mana grasps her Lovely Commune and drags her finger across the screen to spell out four letters. Charle is kind enough to call them out.

"L~ O~ V~ E~"

The heart at the centre of the PDA pulses - and in a shimmer of magic, Mana lets the transformation begin.

A few seconds pass.

And then there's a sudden click of heels as a blur of blonde hair and pink and magenta touches down. With a twirl, the arriving Precure spins about and comes to bear with a smile.

"Overflowing love!
"Cure Heart!!"

With a broad, steady smile, she brings her hands up to the brooch at her chest to form a heart.

"Poor calculator-san who has lost his love," she says, the heart coming up with a twinkle. "Cure Heart will restore your beating heart!"

COMBAT: Mana Aida transforms into Cure Heart!
COMBAT: Cure Heart has used Cure Heart Will Restore Your Beating Heart on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Heart has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Heart's Cure Heart Will Restore Your Beating Heart, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cure Heart is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

There stands, amid the crowd, an embodiment of utmost despair. Clad in the baby blue of an Infinity middle school uniform, Hibiki Houjou looks upon her schoolbooks and despairs. It's a tight-packed crowd, and she's stuck between several taller students - left with little to focus on but the tests hastily stuffed into the pages of her book. Hidden well enough that none can see just what the number on her last math test was.

One might, however, be able to hazard a guess as to how many digits that number is....and so, Hibiki's despair.

"I'm doomed. Totally, utterly, doomed. I'm sorry, Kanade, but after this year it's going to be goodbye, there's no way I'm going to be able to keep up..." She looks up at the building looming overhead, with promises of academic glory...and a shining light ready to burn those fools who reach for something they cannot attain. Finally, though, she turns to Kanade, eyes wide and imploring. "You'll...you'll still come visit me after going ahead, right?..."

And then - absolute -cheerfulness- in the face of academia, enough to break her despair and instead leave her temple twitching. "...did she have this fabled 'too much sugar' you keep claiming exists? Because if studying's that fun..." Hibiki turns, ready to give the girl a piece of her mind-

-and catches a glimpse of Namakelder, unleashing the monster within. The Terribad looms, it gleams, it seems even more invested in studying than the girl was - and the world becomes that much more terrible. "What in the world - ack, ack!" The clouds leave her coughing, just as the gloating begins... "...we wanted to try to do a little better, and you're ruining that with this kind of scheme?!"

She catches Kanade's eye, reaching into her pocket for the instrument within as those around her begin to fall. "Unforgivable!"

There is light. There is miraculous music. And there is a figure in ruffled pink, sprinting through the ominous fog towards the nearest gathering of the monstrous horde. "Strumming the wild rhythm - Cure Melody! And thank you so much for giving me something to hit besides the books!"

She's going to be doing a lot of non-book hitting, if she has anything to say about it.

COMBAT: Hibiki Houjou transforms into Cure Melody!
COMBAT: Cure Melody has used 3/4 Punch on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Cure Melody's 3/4 Punch, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Another field trip of sorts!

Well, sort of. Steven had been directed to check out the Twin Swan, a school dedicated to help others study. If they have the aptitude for it, that is. While the small child does not require it yet, it is good to know about fofered facilities. You never know whe nsomething comes up that onen eeds a little extra help with, am I right?

Mr. Universe seems to be mingling with a group of kids his age, still dressed in his school uniform, looking rather dapper in it, if he says so himself! "So they help people that are having trouble with subjects? That sounds really cool! I am having a little difficulty with math, but I am getting help from my teacher. if it gets much harder though...!"

Ofcourse, everything jsut goes utterly south, as a nearby student gets captured in a... mirror? What? "Is that part of the hazing I hear about in older grades?" And then a rather nefarious looking thing appears that is definitely not part of high school hazing tradition. "...A monster! Oh yeah! Someone is itching for a fight! I am still amped up after yesterday's softball game!"

"Wish the Gems were here," he says to hismelf as the mold cloys at the air around. He can hold his breath for longer than most people for unknown reasons, but everyone else might be in trouble! "Badguy! You chose a bad time to attack! Because I, Steven Universe, will stop you! Yeah, that's right! Me!" The boy holds his hand up and summons a beautiful rosate shield adorned with a gemstone and thorn pattern to his forearm.

The boy then proceeds to, rather than attack, taunt the giant creature! Yes, a small child has the gall to taunt a giant monster. He blows a /mean/ raspberry at it, what whatever good that will do. "Now let her go, or you'll get more where that came from!"

Hopefully more superheroes show up while he buys time! They do seem to be everywhere in Japan. Not that that is a bad thing. It is pretty awesome, actually!

COMBAT: Steven Universe transforms into Steven Quartz Universe!
COMBAT: Steven Universe has used AND STEVEN! on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Steven Universe's AND STEVEN!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Steven Universe is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Flight of the Kindabads, partially gets through, doing 8 Fatigue damage to Steven Universe!

<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cram school, and moreover, a cram school with nigh-constant mock exams!

Needless to say, Ami Mizuno is absolutely here. This possibly exceeds even 'water' as her element, and accordingly, she's squarely within earshot of that song... and its subsequent end.

She rushes toward the shouting monster -- and when she sees it, sure enough, she then immediately gets around a corner again and fishes out her transformation pen. Raising it to the sky, she cries out, "Mercury Power -- Make Up!"

In moments, Sailor Mercury joins the battle! Rounding the corner back onto the street, she locks eyes with the monster, saying, "Everyone here has been working so hard to pass their exams! To disrupt that hard work is unforgivable!" As bubbles roll off of her in waves, she declares, "In the name of Mercury -- I will punish you!" She's hoping that the bubbles can keep that nasty choking mold away from her.

COMBAT: Ami Mizuno transforms into Sailor Mercury!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has used In The Name Of Mercury on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has adjusted her boss levels. She is now ready to take on 9 opponents!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Sailor Mercury's In The Name Of Mercury, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Mercury is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates! Exhausted, Stagger, and Tangle applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

While Infinity Institute students don't necessarily have to worry about entrance exams to advance from the middle-school tier to the high-school classes, extra preparation certainly never hurts; Kuu Hououji still remembers the comparative shock between the last day of ninth grade and the first day of tenth. She was better prepared for it than some of her peers, to be sure ... but she still advised her younger sister Fuu to take advantage of every opportunity to bone up on the material.

So Fuu has been attending Twin Swans, much as she was hoping to completely avoid cram schools. The challenge is relatively invigorating, though, and her archery skills remain solid enough that the (very understanding) team captain is willing to let Fuu miss some team practice sessions. So it's mostly her gaming time that suffers.

Fuu can live with that.

Fuu glances up from a pocket flash-card 'notebook' with a smile at Shiina's quiet singing, and continues on her way towards the doors -

And she's barely two meters away when the sudden unleashing of a monster, and mold, and additional mooks blows against her back, whipping her hair around her face and her skirt around her legs with a blast that seems to have been distilled from last winter's trip to Hokkaido. She immediately runs like hell, not even turning to look back at what just happened; she's just ahead of the mold as she vanishes around the corner of a wall.

"Belief becomes power ... Winds, guide me!!"

A cloud of mold precariously near to where Fuu disappeared is disturbed, then dispersed by a stray eddy of autumn breeze, and then a mostly-green blurr ascends from behind that corner. "Whosoever would prey upon honest students seeking to do their best -"

The Magic Knight of Wind alights on a lamppost, still weaponless as she aims her hands at the Terribad. "- prepare to face the fruits of good students' diligence, first-hand! WINDS OF ADMONISHMENT!!"

And with those last words, the Wind Knight conjures a tornado to try and bind the Terribad where it stands. Her first inclination would have been to enclose all of the mold and the lesser monsters with it, but there are too many civilians who are already being contaminated; she doesn't want to trap them in her spell, though.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji transforms into Magic Knight!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has fully healed herself.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Admonishment on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Kanade Minamino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Kanade pats her friend's shoulder as she attempt to give her an encouraging smile. "It's not that bad, Hibiki." She glances at the dreaded number again and winces. "Okay, this time it's that bad, but that doesn't mean you can't improve."

She tries to think of ways to cheer up her friend. Maybe she should try that idea she had of making a reward system out of cupcakes to help her study.

She gave a nervous chuckle as Hibiki shot daggers at the happy girl. "Now, Hibiki, you're over-"

She cut herself off as Namakelder and the monster catches her off guard. She barely has time to react before she finds herself coughing and hacking. "Is this a new enemy?" she tried to ask her friend. Then she hears the gloating...

"People are trying their hardest and you mock them for that!" She catch her partner's eye and brings out her Cure module. "Unforgivable!"

Bright lights and music notes twirl around her and within moments Kanade disappears and Cure Rhythm takes her place.

"Strumming the tranquil melody! Cure Rhythm!" She would make this monster pay for causing so much misery.

COMBAT: Kanade Minamino transforms into Cure Rhythm!
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has used Pretty Cure Kick on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

A future vet has to study hard to get into a good high school which is why Inori Yamabuki placed herself on the waiting list to begin with, months back...

"Inori. Your turn came at Twin Swans came through in the mail today. Congratulations! I know you'll make us proud."

.../Before/ she awakened as a Pretty Cure, and everything that surrounds that, as well as dancing lessons.

Carrying her book bag over her school uniform shoulder, her posture is somewhat slumped by sheer fatigue after coming directly from a hard day of classes straight to cram school, mingling with all the other hopeful ninth graders trying to make it into their high school of choice. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to survive on this schedule." A worried, "Kiiii..." tried to soothe her from within her Linkrun.

But suddenly a cheerful girl at Juuban skips by, all pigtails and song. It brings a smile to Inori's face, the girl's cheerfulness reminding her a little of someone she knows as her back straightens. "But I've got to try! I have to believe that I can handle it."

Still she doesn't have as much pep in her step and she's nearly a block back when it happens. The shout isn't one she catches, but she sees the blast of light and power. And a calculator rising above everything.

Amongst the screams and the fleeing people, Inori finds herself having backpeddled, before tripping, and landing hard on her backside, gawking a bit at the creature, "A calculator? W-Why is a calculator attacking!?"

Mold starts forming everywhere causing her nose to wrinkle, and other smaller creatures pour out of it, giving more urgency to her retreat and she scrambles backwards, on her palms, picking herself up quickly and dashing down an alleyway. She utters a sigh of despair, "I'm going to be late." But that doesn't stop her from doing what needs to be done.

Taking out her Linkrun, she inserts a key at the top, before shouting, "Change! Pretty Cure - Beat Up!"

With a flash of gold, she takes a leap of faith and careens out of the air, back on the block, landing with a click of heels on concrete. She puts her fingers together, shaped like a heart, "The yellow heart is the symbol of faith!" She spreads her hands out, "Freshly Harvested-" Twirling in a circle before taking an energetic hop in the air, she pumps a fist into the air, "Cure Pine!"

Upon landing she's charging into the midst of the throng of kindabads, trying to kick one in the face, before attempting to hop off of it, and perform a leaping punch into one. On the last, she tries to grab ahold of its wrists and twirl it in a circle before casting it amidst the others.

Over to the side there's a new Pretty Cure she doesn't recognize, calling out the Calculator monster, and she seems surprised as she calls out to Cure Heart, "Oh! A new Pretty Cure? Do you happen to know what's going on?" She asks Cure Heart, before catching sight of Melody and Rhythm, "Rhythm! Melody! You're here too!? Oh!" She tries to work her way over to them before asking Rhythm somewhat surreptitiously, "Was Melody giving you a hard time over cram school?"

COMBAT: Inori Yamabuki transforms into Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pineapple Express on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Fuu Hououji's Winds of Admonishment, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Fuu Hououji is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates! Cripple and Trap applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Pine's Pineapple Express, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Rhythm's Pretty Cure Kick, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona Hikawa has also been around the cram school for a similar reason: she had wanted to brush up on her academics. She could always use the brushing up. Plus, it kept her mind off of... more recent events. So she emerges from the cram school, not with the frown and despair, but just a sense of determination.

She's wearing her usual Juuban uniform, her bookbag curled around one arm, but she's got some sort of... stuffed toy she's clutching to her chest. It looks like a purple ladybug with large purple glasses. Girl and toy walks along for a few moments, before the stuffed toy suddenly moves! "Iona, look!"

"Wha?" Iona turns just in time to witness Shiina get placed inside the terrible mirror. Her eyes narrow as she lets go of the toy. Instead of falling, however, it starts to float. "Get ready!" Glassan, the fairy, shouts.

Iona nods and reaches for the tiny mirror hanging from her shirt. She opens it, pulling out two cards which she places inside and closes again. There's a flash of light, and what was once Iona is another Pretty Cure! She brings a hand forward, moving it up and down in a figure of a star. "The star of hope that glitters in the night sky! Cure Fortune!"

The light from the transformation doesn't even fade before Cure Fortune comes tearing out, dashing for the largest target, the Terribad, trying to give it a one-two punch.

COMBAT: Iona Hikawa transforms into Cure Fortune!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Fortunate Punch on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Fortune's Fortunate Punch, taking 16 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

There are, for the time being, an apparently unlimited number of Kindabads; the little black fellows come from around corners and through doorways and anywhere else touched by that poisonous and unearthly mold. That doesn't mean it isn't worthwhile to engage them, though. If you don't bail out the sinking ship...

And Lera tears through three of them like butter. It isn't a messy business; there is no gore and no splatter. Whatever these shadowy things are, they seem to disperse on impact. Cure Melody forces two more back with her fists, Cure Rhythm, two with her feet -- their leaping out of the way is perhaps a bit less viscerally satisfying, but they did just cause the Kindabads to, specifically, leap /away/ from the twin boys they were about to toss into a cloud of mold that used to be the escalator entrance to a major corporate skyscraper. More mold is trickling its way up the building, vein-ily. The boys, wisely, make a run for it, joining the stampede of humanity crushing its way down the block away from this catastrophe.

Unfortunately, the driven-back Kindabads leap /towards/ Steven Universe, joined by a half dozen of their buddies, eager to surround the little boy and give him a good pounding! Or maybe carry him off on their shoulders to never be seen again. Their arrival blocks his raspberry from their greater soldier's vision, alas. The tide of Kindabads is eager to surround Lera, Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm as well, an assault from all directions. Cure Pine bowls into it, taking another group out, but for every Kindabad smote, two more seem to take their place, screaming "CHOIIIIII!!!" Still more few notice Cure Heart standing a little apart from the crowd (though the Terribad doesn't seem to have much interest in the threat to its supposed heart), and take this as a sign of weakness. They pounce en masse, fists- and feet-first.

From his lamppost, Namakelder looks down at Lera, twirling his pole idly. His voice is clipped and precise and sort of weirdly overpolite, as though he's engaging in formalities that don't quite belong in this culture, or perhaps even this world.

"Your grammar is terrible, miss, wot wot. You're not 'going to' let me conquer the world. And I'd like to see you stop me, pip pip. The Blue Sky Kingdom was just our first stop -- we're spreading despair over all the worlds!"

His eyes narrow at the announcement of the arrival of various Pretty Cure. "You're all a real nuisance, cheerio. Wouldn't it be easier to just kick back and relax, 'Cure Melody'? We're not so different -- it's so much easier to coast along than work so very hard."

Tipping his top hat at the furious Sailor Senshi, he adds, "It's a very good thing I'm not looking for your forgiveness, isn't it, pip pip?"

Mercury's bubbles do indeed seem to keep the mold down, at least in her immediate area, and the Terribad's sunglasses narrow as though they were eyes. "TERRIBAD!" it yells, by way of battle cry and self-identification, before slamming forward with massive book and ruler in tandem, trying to crush the girl into the pavement.

The momentum of this motion carries it past the Magic Knight's tornado, which blows its green scarf right into its face. This makes it impossible for it to bring the ruler up in time to block Cure Fortune, who lands two solid punches, WHAM!, WHAM!, that create a spiderweb crack on those red glasses.

For a long moment, it seems like the Terribad will stagger backwards and slowly fall towards the ground, but it recovers at the last second, handspringing massively upwards, to fall, huge feet-first, towards the one that broke its face. And Kindabads surround her on all sides, trying to block Cure Fortune's escape! Some of them, near the Magic Knight of Wind, start pumping their arms up and down with perky chants of "CHOI! CHOI! CHOI!" which seems to be making the mold grow faster and more horribly than before, closing in on her even from above and below...

"Hmmmm... you look familiar," Namakelder remarks to Fortune. "But we can't have met before, or you would already be in despair, cheerio."

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Cure Melody.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Cure Rhythm.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Punches Come In Terrible Twoes on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Cure Heart.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Not Terrible At Kicking Butt on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Environmental Hazard on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Heart narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Cure Heart's Fade ability activates! Cure Heart's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Pine's Reverse ability activates! Cure Pine's Tactician ability activates! Diversion, Exhausted, and Trap applied to Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Cure Pine's counterattack, Pineapple Reverse, partially gets through, doing 21 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Reverse ability activates! Lera Camry's Tactician ability activates! Diversion, Exhausted, and Trap applied to Lera Camry!
COMBAT: Lera Camry's counterattack, Aura Surge, partially gets through, doing 12 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro! Diversion and Tangle applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Not Terrible At Kicking Butt, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Stun applied to Cure Fortune!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Punches Come In Terrible Twoes, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sailor Mercury's Fade ability activates! Sailor Mercury's Flash ability activates! Exhausted applied to Sailor Mercury!
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Cure Rhythm's Fade ability activates! Cure Rhythm's Flash ability activates! Diversion and Exhausted applied to Cure Rhythm!
COMBAT: Cure Melody narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Cure Melody's Block ability activates! Cure Melody's Parry ability activates! Diversion, Exhausted, and Trap applied to Cure Melody!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Environmental Hazard, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates! Blind applied to Fuu Hououji!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"Pine!" Lera calls out to the yellow Cure -- and then flashes a grin. "And Rhythm and Melody, too, and--" She blinks, though, at Cure Heart. She hasn't had the chance to meet her. It doesn't last long; she grins and nods at them all. "Glad you're all here, y'know? There's kind of a lot of these things and--"
Another Pretty Cure that she hasn't met! The Device wielder turns to stare at Fortune, for a moment, before she looks back at the horde of Kindabads. The way they dissipated like smoke is remarkable, she thinks. Her eyes narrow, as they come rushing in for her -- and Namakelder yells down at her.

"M-my grammar is totally amazing and great, y'know!?" she yells at him. Somehow, she makes it a question. "I-I'm always speaking clearly and effectively and--kyaaah!"

The tide of Kindabads close around the mage and she is, for a moment, vanished underneath the sea of shadowy figures. But then there is a bright flash of light -- <Aura Surge!> -- and her blade swings through a bunch, casting back many of them. A few still cling to her arms and legs; others press in. Lera focuses for a moment, light shimmering up Soaring Sky's length.

Rings of light appear around her, then burst out, striking at the nearby Kindabads -- rather than the binding spells they were meant to dispel. The effect, however, may be much the same.

<Bind Break!>

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Bind Break on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"Oh wow, it's more Precure!" Cure Heart gasps as Rhythm and Melody - and Pine and Fortune! - all come exploding into the picture.

"I didn't think there were others!" Charle gasps from her position on Mana's hip. "I mean, um... I guess Cure Sword...?"

Cure Heart blinks a little, then steps forward, shaking her head back towards Cure Pine. "Mmn! No, all I saw was this monster and all those little ones," she says, amazement giving way to focus now that there's a goal in front of her.

Well, giving way except for a big smile and a, "And, hi! I'm Cure Heart. Nice to meet you! Even if it's like thiiiyaaaaaaaa~n~"

Cure Heart's impulses towards being gregarious combine with her experience to trip her up - she gets so sidetracked trying to say hi to Pine that the Kindabad tide swamps her before she really realizes what's happening. With a yelp, she stumbles back as a couple of them rush close. She recovers quickly, managing to hurtle backwards with a sharp leap, then taking another one off to the side to elude a couple more that come hurtling at her.

"Phew! That was close," she says with a self-effacing sort of smile as she lands in a crouch.

Then she straightens up and raises her voice, shouting out towards Namakelder on the lamppost with a sudden burst of indignation - what he says strikes a chord. "That's not true!" she calls out. "Even if it's hard to do something worthwhile, it's still important to try your best all the time! Working hard for something means it matters to you! All these students coming here, it's important to them to get into a good high school and succeed! Besides -- coasting along just means you're making other people work twice as hard for you-"

With a flick of fluffy blonde hair, Cure Heart sinks into a crouch - then springs forward again. "- and that's selfish!" she calls as she hurtles into the air.

"And you /shouldn't be selfish!/" Cure Heart finishes as she plunges into the throng of Kindabads - aiming to slam feet-first into one with a flying dropkick! A dropkick that, if it connects, she's hoping will send the target Kindabad ricocheting into its fellows like a bowling ball!

COMBAT: Cure Heart has used Pretty Cure Kick on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Heart has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Lera Camry's Bind Break, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates! Bind Break! All of Lera Camry's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Cure Heart's Pretty Cure Kick, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Honoka Yukishiro's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Strength In Numbers, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Cure Heart!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Melody [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Shadows scattering from where fist and foot have struck down a pair of the Kindabads, Cure Melody finally answers her partner. "You're darn right it's that bad! Okay, maybe not all the classes, but you know how vicious the tests are going to be this year!" Snarling, she follows through to take out another of the Kindabads, and startles as Cure Pine calls out.

"Pine!...nah, I need the help, I'll admit that much. But isn't there some way we can, I don't know...beat up the test? Do you know anyone who can turn our next math test into a giant monster?"

She's kidding. PRobably. Mostly.

But...there's no end to them. Even others standing against the tide - unrecognized Cures among them - can't defy the fact that this monster seems to have brought a small army. There's no chance to even get close to the Terribad, with this many Kindabads in the way...and she clenches her fists as Namakelder speaks up.

"Not so different?! I'm not the one wearing a -top hat-! And sure, I'd love to relax - but I'm not backing down from what needs to be done!" She glances to Cure Rhythm, with a faint smile. Looking to her for support...

...or as the reason she's not allowed to back down. Ahem.

The Kindabads lunge forward, Rhythm leaping back while Melody stands her ground, fending off blow after blow. For all her words, she's driven back, step by step...and then an idea brings delight to her eyes, one hand reaching out behind her with blind trust. "Rhythm! Care to take this one?" She pulls, swinging her partner around to attack the Kindabads in force - trusting that Rhythm will return the favor.

Round and round, kick by kick, dancing violence to a just off-tempo beat~

COMBAT: Cure Melody has started a combo targeting Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Steven Universe fails to brace Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Diversion, Exhausted, and Trap applied to Steven Universe!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The gathering Kindabads around her perch prompt the Wind Knight to look down at them with a puzzled look - but a short-lived one, since she quickly notices they're basically exhorting the mold to grow even faster. She promptly does the smart thing, and leaps away ...

Or at least, it would NORMALLY be the smart thing. She didn't realize any of the mold had already accumulated ABOVE her perch, and only picks up on that oversight when she winds up plowing face-first through a clump of it.

Of *course* the stuff clings to her glasses - although her unprotected face doesn't necessarily fare much better; she spares a moment to wipe her face clean as quickly as she can with her sleeve. By the time she lowers her arm, the stinging is abating a little ... but she still can't see clearly enough for precision attacks.

On the bright side, the minions are numerous enough and uniquely shaped, so she doesn't have to be THAT precise. Her sword materializes and she starts swinging ... or, well, spinning. Or both.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Spinning Slash on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Fuu Hououji's Spinning Slash, taking 15 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Even if Sailor Mercury isn't the type to get /too/ mad at her opponents, there's something about being talked down to that gets under her skin more than she'd care to admit -- and it renders her a little late with her leap to the side of that hammering blow. When she lands, it's with a thud rather than graceful; she winces, but kips back up.

Taking a moment to catch her breath and assess her situation, Sailor Mercury considers whether to focus her attention on the larger monster, or the swarm. Her snap judgment says that the /best/ things she can do in this situation... don't actually require her to make a choice.

So, naturally, she begins to form a ball of blue-white light between her hands. With a twirl, she crosses her arms and then lets the energy fly... in the form of even more tiny bubbles, obscuring the monsters' vision and hopefully opening up some new lines of attack for the other assembled magical girls.

COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has used Sabao Spray! on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Sailor Mercury's Sabao Spray!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Reverse ability activates! Blind and Stun applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Flight of the Kindabads, partially gets through, doing 8 Fatigue damage to Sailor Mercury!

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Perhaps taunting the swarming things' boss was a bad idea. Who is to tell? It was fun. "Hey! Move! I was insulting the monster! Go away-- ahh!" Steven is u=quickly surrounded and the poundings come. The boy retreats under his shield in a porcupine style, ducking down, though it doesn't stop well placed kicks. "What are these guys?! They look wierd!"

The gem child looks around through the shield partly, and waits for a moment when nothing is hitting, before springing into action. The second comes, and the boy explodes upward, erecting a Bubble Shield around himself, then immediately expanding it in all directions, attempting to send... whatever those guys are, flying!

"I may be a kid, but I am a Crystal Gem! It will take more than badguy minions to defeat me!" At which point he attempts to charge through the crowd, attempting to close distance between him and the giant leader! And whoever that is talking with a funny accent.

COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Repelling Shield on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Steven Universe's Repelling Shield, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Cripple applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Rhythm [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Rhythm kicks through some of the kindabads causing them to scatter away in shadow. She hears the cries of other Pretty Cures, including one she's never seen before. Just how many Pretty Cures were there in their world? She made a note to ask Hummy later about.

Pine's voice rang out, letting her feel relieved in a moment. "It's more she's giving herself a hard time," she admitted to her friend. She sighs at Melody's question of beating up the test. "They really don't work that way-"

The Namakelder speaks and she can't help but notice Melody glances her way as she says it and smirks. Nope! No way would she ever like her partner get off that easily. The kindabads lunge and Rhythm dodges and stumbles slightly making her hiss in pain. "Watch yourself Pine! she warns her friend.

Then Melody gives her that look, the look that caused endless amount of trouble and fun in their childhoods. Gleefully, Rhythm takes Melody's hand while shouting "With pleasure!" As she lets her friend swing her, Rhythm uses the force and speed to kick into the kindabads. Quickly, she returns the favor and lets Melody have a turn by swinging. In perfect harmony, the pair swing each other as if it was a dance they had done a hundred times before.

COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has joined the combo started by Cure Melody!
COMBAT: COMBO! Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm have used Pretty Cure Jazz Swing on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm's Combo: Pretty Cure Jazz Swing, taking 36 Fatigue damage! Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm are Psyched! Stagger, Stun, and Tangle applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"Oh. So you don't..." A finger crooks at her chin as she laughs nervously, "I see! Well it's nice to meet you Cure Heart, I'm Cure Pine!" Another new Cure joins them, a literal star of hope by her own words, blasting right into the monster. She sounds relieved, "Thank goodness so many Pretty Cure managed to make it today!"

Melody's question takes her off guard, and she laughs nervously again, "Melody. I don't think you should count on a giant monster attack all the time to get out of an exam..."

Before she nods sympathetically to Rhythm, wishing Melody would think better of herself on that front. "...maybe we can find a way to study that suits her better after we make it out of this." She spots Lera in the air, "It really is. I don't know if the others are nearby so we'll have to manage somehow!"

Nodding at Rhythm's warning, she calls back, "You too!" Kindabads are everywhere, swarming her like angry clay dolls. A punch here, another there. And several are latching onto her ankles, hampering her movement. Another is coming at her hoping to score a decisive blow. She sways to the left, as its haymaker nicks her sidetail.

Her hands whip up to grab it's wrist. Turning at the waist, she tosses it over her shoulder like she's going to throw it, but doesn't let go. Instead slamming it into whole masses of them, batting them away like she were scattering rats with a broom. It's only after whirling it around several times does she let it go, bowling over about a half dozen more like they were ten pins.

The mold is growing up and everywhere, and despite her ankles feeling decidedly bruised, she dashes, using footwork to try to glide this way left and right on her approach towards the monster, raising her arms to block blows from Kindabads.

At the last moment she does a small crow hop, before attempting a leaping strike with a twist of her hips to add extra power to a punch right into the '8' key of the calculator, which if it connects is something that might just cause its display to go wild, "Don't listen to him! We can stop him if we all work together, even if the odds are against us! It's not just simple math. I believe we can do it!"

COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pineapple Punch on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune lands after the punches connect, watching the Terribad fall to the ground. She keeps her eye on it as it springs up and up, trying to stomp on her like some sort of mushroom. She raises her arms to block the energy from the kick, but she leaps backwards to slip out from under the Terribad. She turns to see the swarm of Kindabads form up around her to try and block her escape.

Namakelder's words ring at Fortune, and she looks up to where he stands, turning to face him directly. "I am Cure Fortune! Your people stole someone precious from me!" She then turns and descends at the Kindabads, kicking one, punching another, and repeating this action for quite some time

Glassan floats nearby, pondering the situation while Fortune goes to town. "They're just now invading with this force? Where's that old lady with the umbrella? She's gotta be around here somewhere, and not just doin' reconnaissance."

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Cure Pine's Pineapple Punch, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Reverse ability activates! Exhausted applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Catch and Release, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Kindaclearin' Kindabads on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Fortune's Kindaclearin' Kindabads, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Q: How many magical girls does it take to face an army of Kindabads?

A: Two. One would get overwhelmed; any more than that is overkill.

And so it is that the Kindabads get overkilled in /droves/ -- Lera's rings of magical light send a bunch of them leaping away from her and directly into the path of Cure Heart's kick-victim-cum-bowling-ball. They all go flying, but there are so many more.

Fortunately, Cure Melody and Rhythm work in beautiful harmony, and their unstoppable waltz across the battlefield leaves a trail of evaporating bodies in their wake. And the Magic Knight of Wind discovers that the mold that was beginning to surround her is also making it hard for the Kindabads to see her and her sword, and she slices down the ones surrounding her like they're so much moldy cheese.

There are a few more who seem to be making it their personal mission to draw pins out of -- somewhere, there aren't obvious pockets on their smooth black bodies -- and individually pop all of Sailor Mercury's bubbles (as well as give her a sharp poke, once or twice) with taunting calls of "ChoichoichoichoichoichoichoichoiCHOIIIII!" Still, they can't get them all, and a cool mist descends upon the area. It's a lot more pleasant to breathe than the mold.

Steven winds up putting an end to their anti-bubble rampage with a bubble of his own; gloriously pink, it sends them flying back to vanish on their rather rough impact with the ground. He'll have no luck approaching Namakelder, though; the man's on a lamppost, and quite out of reach.

"Neither am I, wot wot," the man says with a yawn, as to Cure Melody's assertion that she won't back down from what needs to be done. "Did we, Cure Fortune? Yes... I can see it in your eyes, your despair. Good!"

Fortune also finds success thinning out the Kindabads around her with myriad punches and kicks, and now there's breathing room to attack the Terribad in earnest. Cure Pine's the first to get there, but finds her fist caught by the stubby fingers not needed to keep ahold of that ruler, and then, with an over-the-head hammer throw, she's bodily flung away! Thankfully, her landing is softer than it might have been, since she's hurled directly onto a cushion of mold. Less thankfully, that mold has a tendency to inspire a great deal of choking and coughing when it's in close proximity!

"Time to clean up, cheerio!" Namakelder gestures towards the group with his cane, and the Terribad resolidifies its grip on its ruler. Then, with a flourishing spin -- not unlike that of someone holstering a revolver -- it swaps the way it's gripping said ruler, such that the point is facing /it/ instead of the crowd.

And at blurrily high speeds, it starts punching out numbers on the calculator! It may be a good thing Pine didn't manage to impact, because for every digit that gets pushed, its replicate soars forward from the screen to try to conk a girl right in the face!

It starts with single digits, 8s and 4s and 9s and 2s, each of them the same green as its scarf, and soon the battlefield has numbers flying everywhere at viciously high speeds.

What's going to happen if it finds the multiplication button?!

"TERRIBAAAAAD!!"

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Cure Melody.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Cure Rhythm.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Environmental Hazard on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Cure Heart.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Environmental Hazard, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine's Block ability activates! Cure Pine's Parry ability activates! Cripple applied to Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Cure Heart narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Cure Heart's Block ability activates!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 16 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 19 Fatigue damage! Sailor Mercury's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury's counterattack, Mercury Crash Launcher, partially gets through, doing 27 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro! Critical Counterhit!
COMBAT: Cure Melody narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 9 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Melody's counterattack, I Didn't Count On This!, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 31 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 21 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Fade ability activates! Lera Camry's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 29 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm's counterattack, Keeping Time, partially gets through, doing 4 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Steven Universe narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 7 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Looking up towards Cure Pine again, Cure Heart's eyes downright shine. "I didn't even know there /were/ so many Pretty Cure!"

"I wonder if they're from Trump Kingdom, too," Charle murmurs from Mana's hip. "But I didn't think there were any others."

"We should ask them later!" Cure Heart answers. She smiles as she takes advantage of a short breather, momentarily watching how the other Precures fight - the teamwork between Rhythm and Melody especially. Her eyes shine.

And then - everyone's number is up.

With a squeak, Cure Heart throws her arms up, planting her heels against the turf and crossing her forearms to block an ugly number 9 that comes steamrolling towards her. The digit slams into her like a freight train. A few number 1s follow. Cure Heart squeezes an eye closed and winces, breath catching at the force of the impact. It hurts - but somehow it hurts a lot less than she would have were she still strolling around as Mana Aida, regular girl. "That's... that's the worst way to use a calculator!"

Then she widens her eyes as something occurs to her.

"Charle! Hang on!" she shouts - and she begins to sprint forward, just as more numbers begin to pile up.

A number 8 booms towards her - and Cure Heart suddenly lunges at it at full speed, tucking one leg up. She sails towards the number -

- over it -

- and kicks off the 8 in midair, her arm thrown back to try and steer herself as she goes sailing towards the Terribad in the calculator suit.

"I've been in math class long enough to know how calculators work!!" Cure Heart shouts as she hurtles in, swinging her arm forward with a sudden explosion of force. Her fist unclenches, hand swinging out towards the calculator -

- as she attempts to slap one of the buttons higher up on the device.

C

COMBAT: Cure Heart has used Brought To You By The Letter C on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Heart has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Cure Heart's Brought To You By The Letter C, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Cure Heart is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Suddenly, numbers. Numbers, flying all around. NUMBERS EVERYWHERE.

The Wind Knight does what she can to protect herself, but it appears that numbers are crunching her today instead of the other way around. She staggers back under the arithmetical assault, guarding her face with the bracer on her right forearm; her breastplate blocks some of the worst of the impacts, but kinetic energy has to go somewhere.

An opening presents itself shortly, though - and when it does, the Magic Knight of Wind is prepared to capitalize. Her sword vanishes; her bow and quiver appear, and as she squints through a mostly-clear spot on her glasses, she lines up an arrow, not aiming for any of the calculator buttons ...

But for the calculator's *screen*.

The arrow flies, as she looses when she thinks her shot is lined up, rather than waiting for the 'feel' to be perfectly correct. If she takes too long setting up her shot, the numbers might start crunching her again; hitting the monster off-target is preferable, at this point, to not hitting the monster at all.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Trick Arrow Shot on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"It's attacking us with math!" Lera wails.

<Dodge it!>

The Midchildan weaves through a pair of 4's. Then, though, a 9 strikes into Lera and sends her into a vicious spin. She yelps as she slams into the ground, sending a plume of dirt and dust up into the air where she strikes. Lera yelps; she hops to her feet and shakes her head. She takes a deep breath, before she looks up. She peers around a moment.

Lera looks at Cure Heart -- then, she glances at Cure Pine and Sailor Mercury, too -- and nods her head. The girl nods. "C'mon!" she yells. "I dunno what this is, but... we add up to more than it, y'know? We can all work together! Like we did back on Okinawa!"

<Was that--did you just--a math-->

"Focus, Sky!"

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Soaring Heart on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Soaring Heart on Cure Heart.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Soaring Heart on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury accepts Lera Camry's Soaring Heart, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Mercury is Cheered!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro perfectly counters Fuu Hououji's Trick Arrow Shot, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! Honoka Yukishiro's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Strength In Numbers, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Fuu Hououji!
COMBAT: Cure Heart accepts Lera Camry's Soaring Heart, taking 0 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Pine accepts Lera Camry's Soaring Heart, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine is Cheered!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Summoning up more blue-white light, Mercury faces the oncoming digits head-on. As they streak for her, she responds by slamming her hands into the ground with a cry of, "Mercury Crash Launcher!"

The resultant torrent of bright blue-white fresh water, almost icy, engulfs some of the smaller numbers; a 9 and an 8 punch through the wave as it heads for the swarm of Kindabads and the Terribad, and a 2 sails neatly over it to hit her in the head.

Staggering forward just the same, Sailor Mercury processes what's happening -- it's a math attack. Looking to Lera, she gives the other girl a nod before returning her attention to the Terribad. Continuing her plan of 'deluge with bubbles to create openings for everyone else,' she goes through much the same motions as she did before; a ball of blue-white light, a twirl, a crossing of the arms, only this time...

"Sabao Spray Freezing!"

... it's /biting/ cold, rather than merely unpleasant.

COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has used Sabao Spray Freezing on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Steven breaks free of all his large numbered-oppressors, and attempts to make his way to the accented jerk. Of course, as usual, he is out of reach. The boy can only frown intensely at his height problem rears its ugly head high above him once more. "I'll be tall... one day," Steven says to himself. If only he could get the hang of shapeshifting like Amethyst...

And, while in his gravity based reverie, theres suddenly numbers made of some kind of energy everywhere! The hybrid child attempts to roll out of the way, but an awry number seven clips his leg and causes the dodge to roll into a fencepost with a thud. "Ow... I think I get the joke about why six is afraid of seven..."

The boy instead turns his attention to the large creature now that the lesser ones have been thinned some. He charges through the crowd, hitting any Kindabad that is unfortunate enough to be in the way as he charges right at the big bad Terribads feet!

Nothing hurts more than a stubbed toe at the wrong angle.

COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Shield Bash on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Sailor Mercury's Sabao Spray Freezing, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates! Stun and Tangle applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro perfectly dodges Steven Universe's Shield Bash, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Melody [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

It's a dance of joy and teamwork, carrying two Pretty Cure across the plaza. Cure Melody is positively beaming - flashing grins to friends and allies, and alternating between kicking Kindabads into oblivion and swinging her best friend into a position to do the same. As the impromptu swing dance comes to an end, they stand amid the ominous mold and evaporating shadows, triumphant.

A moment, to answer Pine: "I'm not counting on it all the time! I'm just saying, being able to beat up a test would be a lot easier..." Namakelder taunts them anew, and Melody looks up to where the man perches, eyes narrowed. "What makes you think you can beat us, anyway? If we work in concert, nothing can..."

...she didn't count on the numbers. Eyes widened in horror, Cure Melody starts actually running, punching wildly at all the numbers flying her way. A few get through her flailing fists, but the majority get scattered...more or less everywhere except the calculator that launched them. Breathing heavily, she glares down at the numbers that hit her...several blazing green eights, a reminder she never wanted.

"Terribad seems like a fitting name, whatever you are! Rhythm - let's hit that button so hard it'll never work again!" Filled with a grudge against the number eight, and determination to bring this rampage to a close, she runs forward - reaching out for Rhythm's hand. Where they meet, light blossoms... "Pretty Cure Harmony..."

COMBAT: Cure Melody has started a combo targeting Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Rhythm [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

They were time perfectly, almost as if they were one being, as they swung literally through their enemies. Rhythm laughed, almost not remembering they were in the middle of a swarm of shadows.

She looks to Pine. "I have an idea for a cupcake reward system! I'll ask your help for it later-" She trails off as Namakelder starts to taunts and glares along with her partner. "That's right! When we work together, we're unbeatable!"

Almost as if to prove them wrong they were struck by numbers. Rhythm did her best to counter, except there were more than she, no pun intended counted on. She yelped as they struck her and left bruises on her arms. That 7, 8 and 9 were quite hungry for damage.

Rhythm climbs back to her feet just as Melody's hand reaches towards her, both of them glowing. Sensing her intent, Rhythm takes hold "Harmony ShoT!"

COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has joined the combo started by Cure Melody!
COMBAT: COMBO! Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm have used Pretty Cure Harmony Shot on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm's Combo: Pretty Cure Harmony Shot, taking 94 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"We've all come together in a crisis before. I'm sure you'll meet the others soon." Pine replies to Heart softly, though she misses the exchange on where they're from. She at least doesn't suspect that they're from the Kingdom of Sweets, they'd found their fourth Cure and she was decidedly red!

The exchange between Cure Fortune and the man in the top hat has drawn her attention. She doesn't exactly know what's going on, but when he says that, "Stop taking pleasure in the pain you're causing her!" For some reason, it seemed far more personal and cruel to her than a Labyrinth Executive exulting in misery.

Pine sideeyes Melody, though there's this affectionate smile there, she's trying hard not to giggle, "Doesn't that just mean you should just study a bit harder, if you think that?" Before nodding at Rhythm's 'method', "With your cupcakes on the line I know you'll be able to get her to focus!"

Her attack is stopped quite suddenly by stubby fingers, and before she knows it she's hurled into a pile of mold. Pine thuds down, creating a Pretty Cure sized dent in it its softness. The problem is it's everywhere, all over her and... she begins to cough, softly at first, but it becomes more of a hacking cough as she pinches her nose and waves a hand, and tries to get out of there.

She feels a bit wobbly after inhaling that many fumes, her chest hurting and her muscles numb.

It's only then that she sees the devastation caused by raining numbers, "O-Oh... I'm really glad I didn't hit that button." It's somewhat worrisome when Cure Heart acts like they're going for the Calculator again, but her eyes light up when she realizes which button they're going for, "Good idea!"

She's still waving a hand in front of her face when Lera calls out to her. It really was like that wasn't it? They'd worked together to overcome hopeless odds before at the spectral tree. They'd done it again against the Cybody infected by twisted darkness, and yet again in Okinawa against a situation that seemed impossible. Her eyes widen, and then she nods at her, a fist clenching in determination, "You're right. I believe we can't be overcome..." She waits for Rhythm and Melody to set up their shot with blossoming light, "...so easily!"

She feels a surge of adrenaline born out of belief, as she dashes forward again, and slams a heeled boot right into the creature's shin. She hopes the surge of energy will help her shake off just how /terribad/ this monster is making her feel with all of its attacks really wearing on her. "So long as we try our hardest!"

COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Enduring Conviction on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Pine's Enduring Conviction, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates! Bind Break! All of Cure Pine's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune listens to the grasshopper man, and turns away with a "Hmph." as she continues to brawl Kindabads. She grabs one and throws it into another, but her brawling is cut short as the Terribad begins to assign her a number. In fact, it assigns her a whole lot of numbers. Small numbers fly at her. Fortune's waist ribbon expands and glows purple, and the Cure takes flight as she tries her best to avoid all of the numbers shooting at her, but as the numbers grow in... er, number, they also grow in size! When they get to 7 and 8, they get too large and too numerous to dodge, and a number of them impacts her body, causing her to fall to the ground.

Cure Fortune slowly climbs to her feet and addresses Namakelder again. "I'm not going to let you destroy this city's happiness!" She notices, now, the effects the other magical girls are having on the Terribad, from the small kid trying to attack the Terribad's feet to the arrows in the screen, to the cold fog, to the... other Cures? This actually stops Fortune for a few seconds, as the fact that she's not fighting alone finally reaches her.

But, she puts that out of her mind, for now, as she takes flight again. She rears a fist back. "Fortune! Staaarr Burst!" Energy crackles around her fist as she swings directly at the crack she had made at the beginning of the fight.

Glassan, meanwhile, floats at the edge of the battle. She ponders the rest of Team Good. "Hmm, Blue didn't tell us there were more of them."

COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Fortune Starburst on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Fortune's Fortune Starburst, taking 54 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

The fact that the Terribad responds to various clever tactics with its own cleverness (and/or desperation), rather than simply standing there and taking it, is a solid indication that if they were to properly connect, they would actually cause real problems.

For example, Cure Heart goes for that magnificent C with an equally magnificent smack, but the monster wheels its arms, flailing backwards and out of the way -- at an angle that causes her to connect with the M instead. Its last number was an 8, which goes speeding towards her at point-blank.

And when the Magic Knight of Wind's arrow goes speeding towards the screen, it hastily goes clickaclickaclick and sends a small army of numbers in the way to make a wall. More 8s, of course -- they have the best coverage.

It's not too busy to step out of the way of Steven's charge, though, nor too busy to, with its other foot, try to punt the kid back to where he came from. That's one way to fly! Sailor Mercury's icy blast, though, catches the Terribad in midswing, "Terri--?" and then Cure Pine kicks it right in the shin, sending what was merely 'wobbling off balance' into 'reeling' territory.

Which leaves Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm free to explode the 8 button off of the calculator in a burst of light. It tears free from the plastic housing and tumbles down the street, while the greater monster goes crashing backwards and hits the ground hard, pushing out a spiderweb of cracks beneath it on the pavement.

But not as hard, it must be said, as Cure Fortune hits /it/, in turn. The weird red glasses shatter in a burst of holy violet light, leaving the beast blind and groping. It doesn't bother getting up, knowing that it must try to end the battle here and now. That means that when numbers start shooting out of its screen, they fly straight up -- and then fall straight down.

Numbers like 1024. And 8312. And...

'9!'

...362880, which is like a skyscraper hurtling towards the ground. It will smoosh everyone and everything into whatever combination of 'mist' and 'smear' and 'pancake' floats their visual boat, unless it is stopped... which nobody could possibly do alone.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Cure Melody.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Cure Rhythm.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Up, Up And Away on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Feighted Strike on Cure Heart.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 33 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine's Block ability activates! Cure Pine's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Heart narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Feighted Strike, taking 13 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Heart's counterattack, Heart Cross Counter, partially gets through, doing 5 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 35 Fatigue damage! Cure Fortune's Fade ability activates! Cure Fortune's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Melody narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Cure Melody's Block ability activates! Cure Melody's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 35 Fatigue damage! Sailor Mercury's Fade ability activates! Sailor Mercury's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 34 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 40 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Fade ability activates! Lera Camry's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Steven Universe perfectly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Up, Up And Away, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter!
COMBAT: Steven Universe's counterattack, Bubble Shield, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Cure Heart manages to crane her neck just enough to flash a big, wide smile back at Lera. "Mmhmm! We can do it if we work together!!"

Then her palm smacks into the wrong button.

"That isn't a C!" she yelps - and without thinking, she slams her other hand forward, straight at the 8. The blow hits solidly but off-centre, and the digit tumbles up and hits her in the shoulder, leaving her to tumble, bounce off the calender and plunge to the ground. She bounces a couple of times before rolling over a bit awkwardly to straighten herself, brushing off her skirt.

She manages it with sufficient aplomb to snap a wave to Cure Fortune, and a big bright smile with it. "Hello! Let's do out best, okay~?" Taking a hit or not, she seems to recover almost instantly. Even the failure of her clever gambit doesn't slow her down for one single second.

The sight of a colossal number hurtling down towards the Earth, though - that's not good.

Cure Heart bites down to her bottom lip. Focuses for a second.

"Everyone!" she shouts as she runs forward, clenching both fists. "Let's hit it all at the same time! We can't let it fall on everyone!" She smiles a wide smile as she throws one arm back in readiness, her eyes flashing with sudden confidence. "We can definitely bounce that thing right back onto that monster if we all work together--!"

She hesitates no longer. She kicks off into a soaring leap, almost rocketing into the air. It's a leap every bit as high as the one she vaulted herself into accidentally on her first day as Cure Heart. This time, though, she means to jump that high. She actually sails up past the number - then pushes herself downwards, plunging heels-first towards it.

"MAYBE THIS WAS A BIT TOO HIGH," she yelps as she dives in - and attempts to just /wallop/ the number with as hard of a kick as she can muster. It might not be enough to destroy it - and alone, it won't be enough to change its course towards the Terribad waiting below.

But with more than one magical girl on the job--

COMBAT: Cure Heart has started a combo targeting Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lera nods, sharply, back to Cure Pine. She takes a deep breath, then she looks up at the Terribad. Then, she looks up, and sees the huge number crashing down towards her. She yelps; Lera jumps to the side, but she can't quite get away in time. The edge of it smashes into her. She rolls backward from the big number; she hits the ground and rolls a couple of times, before she comes back up, and stares up at the numbers. The damage they could do...!

But, she promised Cure Heart they would work together. She brings her two swords back together -- <Striker Form.> -- and they click together. She watches Heart rush, leaping into the air, and then she runs after it. She pivots in midair, flying up to join her. She doesn't use a kick.

Instead, her sword ignites with plasma that rushes up the edge. Lera does a pivot, swinging the weapon around at the numbers. "Right behind you!" she yells at Heart. She slams the weapon forward, striking for the numbers in tandem with Cure Heart, and--

COMBAT: Lera Camry has joined the combo started by Cure Heart!

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Steven makes his way toward the Terribad with gusto, knocking Kidnabads out of the way that attempt to resist his flow. A strong blow is aimed at the creature's foot, which it merely steps out of the way of. "I should have expected tha--"

What he didn't expect is the opposite foot coming in for a massive kick! "Oh jeez!" A reflexive Bubble Shield comes up to block it, preventing Steven from taking any damage! Awesome!

...Though the Terribad did have one thing on its side: Physics. The Bubbled Steven goes hurdling in the direction kicked, and begins bouncing off walls and objects. The boy inside is attempting to stabilize himself as he flies when he hears one of the supergirls call out to help with the tower of numbers! "Gimme a sec! I think... Yes!"

A bounce off the ground seems to have Steven not flipping around crazy while flying toward the wall of the Twin Swan school. He turns toward it, shield aiming at the wall at the point of impact. The Shield clangs agaisnt the wall, and emits a vicious ripple of energy, sending Steven flying at the numbers in a pink cannonball!

COMBAT: Steven Universe has joined the combo started by Cure Heart!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Again, Ami attempts to dive out of the way of an impossibly large assault from the Terribad -- and this time, it doesn't go so hot. She technically gets out of the path, but this time she lands more or less face-first; it feels pretty miserable.

As she staggers back to her feet, clearly agonized, she hears the cry for a synchronized attack... and while she isn't feeling quite strong enough to contribute /much/ just yet, she knows it's probably the best plan they're going to get.

All she musters is a modestly-sized blast of wintery mist, which streaks up behind Lera's strike.

COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has joined the combo started by Cure Heart!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Melody [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The most despised of digits shatters as a blooming flower of music-fueled light slams into the calculator, and Cure Melody turns to Cure Rhythm with a grin and a high-five. "We did it! Take that, math score!"

There's a pause. "...not that that was the grade I got or anything..." She coughs - and then lets out a resounding cheer as Cure Fortune's attack makes the Terribad's day even worse. "Nice one!"

She glances to Cure Pine, grinning self-consciously. "Hey, if it works...for the sake of delicious cupcakes, I'll vanquish even the worst math pro...." Melody trails off, looking up as a titanic number blots out the very sun. Factorials - truly, the worst of numbers.

It's too big. It's too big a number to even fathom having to deal with - hey, she's not in high school, she gets to avoid factorials for a little longer! There's a rush to try to stop it, but...

"...divide and conquer, right?" She claps hands against Rhythm - to psyche herself up if nothing else - then runs for the wall. Runs up the wall, a warcry building in volume as she runs up to meet it - and then pushes off the wall, swinging at the digits with a kick. Maybe if she can cut it down by a factor, it'll be easier to deal with?

Just let those factors rain down on the calculator...

COMBAT: Cure Melody has used Crescendo Kick on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

More weaponized numbers go flying; the Wind Knight dodges what she's able to ... but even though she's finally managed to clear the mold from her glasses, there's a new problem. And it is, literally, a very big problem.

"All together," she nods to Cure Heart, gathering up her magic and looking towards the now-descending projectile. Slowing it, even stopping it, won't be enough; it has to be completely obliterated, along with the monster. Possibly it can be reversed, turned against the Terribad, but either way they have to blast completely through the falling number.

"EMERALD CYCLONE!!!"

Rather than turning the fury of the storm loose without control, therefore, the Magic Knight of Wind focuses her most powerful attack carefully, trying to bolster her allies' attacks as well as tearing away at the Terribad's final strike. The Emerald Cyclone should carry enough force to help degrade the numeric projectile's speed, maybe even buy a few seconds more for the other magical girls (and Steven) to do additional damage, whether all at once or by chipping away at the total.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Fuu Hououji has used Emerald Cyclone: Focused on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Rhythm [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Rhythm gives Melody a nod and jumps up with her to join in on the attack. However, she didn't count on the sheer size of the number and is force to brace herself. It shoves her back, wanting to knock her down, but she just managed to hold her ground. Determined not to give up, she calls out "Don't give up!" and goes in for a punch.

COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has used Octave Punch on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Rhythm's Octave Punch, taking 1 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Melody's Crescendo Kick, taking 1 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Pine marvels a bit at the ferocity of Fortune's punch with the flash of holy light behind it, before shaking her head at Melody with a rueful smile. She doesn't comment on what that girl can accomplish if given cupcakes, instead trying to bring her attention back to the battle, "I think we're going to pull this off!"

... but maybe she spoke too soon, because the Terribad after being juggled by the Harmony Shot and Starbust punches starts creating numbers overhead in a frenzy.

One number descends after another. She catches a bus sized one, and casts it aside only with visible strain as she lands. Breathing hard from the effort of keeping them at bay. Which is when she notices the sky just got really dark and looks up.

You know, when the world comes crashing down sometimes there are just things felt in your heart, in your soul that you have to do as a Pretty Cure. An instinct that tells you what will happen if something like that giant number like that hits the ground on the unsuspecting masses.

So when Cure Heart calls for it, she already feels it. "Right!" She's already bending at the knees, before launching herself skyward in a leap which takes her up many stories at a time.

Unfortunately, she's feeling the wear of the battle on her, and all she can hope is that her efforts add to what the others are doing. She descends with a golden boot outstretched at the same time as Cure Heart, Lera, and Steven, and kicks the larger mass on her descent, repeatedly, one time after another to try to make small adjustments to steer it on its descent.

"Come on..." Melody and Rhythm are helping too by blasting away smaller numbers to make the mass more manageable. "... we can do this. I know we can do this!"

Baby steps! But maybe, just maybe with everyone working together could steer it where it needs to go, and keep the people below out of harm's way.

COMBAT: Cure Pine has joined the combo started by Cure Heart!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Blasts and blows pour upwards. They pound towards the tumbling number. Magical girls and one magical boy with a magical shield work together to strike the falling numbers again and again. Alone, each blow can't possibly be much against a six-digit number.

But it is falling. And little strikes come with something else. Momentum.

Cure Heart pounds on the number a few more times in the air. Wintery mist flows in; Steven hurtles in too. Lera strikes in with a blade. Cure Pine lends her weary support, her boot striking at the same time as Cure Heart's. Separately, they are small blows. But they are not truly separate.

Cure Heart's eyes positively shine - and she rears back to once again nail the number as hard as she can.

Blow by blow, the team of magical persons fight to break up the big number - and try to divert what's left down onto the Terribad lying below!

COMBAT: COMBO! Cure Heart, Sailor Mercury, Cure Pine, Lera Camry, and Steven Universe have used Combo: Work Together! Our Sweet Dunk, composed of Team Gambit Shenanigans, Mercury Aqua Mist, Pretty Cure Drive, Inferno Slasher, and Pink Pinball!, on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Heart has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Fuu Hououji's Finisher, Emerald Cyclone: Focused, taking 34 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Cure Heart, Sailor Mercury, Cure Pine, Lera Camry, and Steven Universe's Combo: Work Together! Our Sweet Dunk, taking 117 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Heart, Sailor Mercury, Cure Pine, Lera Camry, and Steven Universe are Psyched! Stagger applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune lands back on the ground after her Star Burst, and watches it warily. The fact that it's not springing up again is somewhat concerning, but she decides to try and finish things right here, right now. She reaches for a brace on her arm, and spins the dial on it...

Only to get waylaid by gigantic numbers. She dodges the smaller numbers, and the larger numbers, but as the numbers get larger one of them collides with her like a bus. She spins away from it, managing to deflect most of the blow.

Then the giant, skyscraper-like number begins to fall down. She looks around at all the other people fighting the Terribad.

She hears Mana's call for teamwork, but she doesn't seem to acknowledge her, her focus remaining on the falling numbers. But when everyone else started to push the number back, she leaps up and joins everyone else pushing it back, punching it as hard as she can. When the number changes its course, though? She immediately disengages, launching herself directly down at the fallen Terribad, attempting to give it a solid kick in the face for good measure!

COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used High Number Kick on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Fortune's High Number Kick, taking 20 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

The titanic 362880 was originally plunging towards the group parallel to the ground, which would cause incredible collateral damage, not to mention magical-girl-destruction. Cures Heart and Pine, Lera, Steven, Sailor Mercury and the Magic Knight of Wind team up to, through kicks and slash and body-block and mist and wind respectively, keep smacking one side of it at an angle, to try to alter its trajectory into being somewhat more perpendicular to the planet... and directly on top of the Terribad.

At first, it's just too big to move. But then the other Pretty Cure, Melody and Rhythm, leap up and start cutting it down to size. The first hit, Rhythm's punch, is simply tiny against its bulk. At first it seems like nothing happens. But then the huge number splits in two, with a crack like the first thaw of a mighty river, into two 181440s.

Melody's kick sends them soaring into each other, and a moment later there are four far more manageable, merely stretch-limo-length, tour-bus-sized 90720s.

/These/ are very wieldy. Cure Heart and Steven impact one of them at the same time, and it's the first to plunge directly at the cratered Terribad, trailing pink sparkles. Lera and Sailor Mercury's plasma and ice direct the next one with a splash of orange and blue; Pine's kick and Fuu's cyclone the last, green and yellow glitter everywhere.

What a beautiful rainbow of consecutive destruction!

WHAM!
WHAM!
WHAM!
WHAM!

Falling like a shooting star, Fortune impacts somewhere during the enormous cloud of smokey numerical debris, which lights everything up a brilliant purple.

And yet, as the explosion clears... it remains.

...and it gets up. Not at the encouragement of Namakelder, who at some point seems to have left, either because he didn't want to stick around to see the end or because he has other monsters to create in another part of Tokyo (not a comforting thought, that). Rather, purely fueled by its own terrible despair, it manages to take a knee.

The last dozen or so Kindabads in the area all rush forward, rapidly executing an acrobatic pyramid that, straining, helps lever the Terribad all the way back to its feet.

It has no sunglasses, and no face... it fired that massive number blind, after all. But once again the Kindabads are there to help -- a pair of them rip the cloth awning off of a nearby, business-lunch-only ramen stand, and the rest, in tandem, tie it around the Terribad's head like a blindfold.

At the same time, the Terribad attaches the ruler to the book like the haft to a spearhead... and once it's properly blindfolded, like a samurai of old, it takes a deadly-looking stance.

"TERRIBAAAAAAAAD!"

Charging into the landing magical girls, it sweeps the somehow razor-sharp book this way and that like a massive naginata, trying to thresh them all like wheat. "CHOIIIII!" call the Kindabads, encouragingly directing it, somewhat Marco Polo style, towards the group whenever the Terribad starts to get off course. Its nastiest slashes go towards Cure Heart, the Magic Knight of Wind, and Lera, each of which has just earned its exceptional ire through their equally exceptional contributions to the power of teamwork.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Harvest of Grades on Cure Melody.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Harvest of Grades on Cure Rhythm.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Harvest of Grades on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Harvest of Grades on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Harvest of Grades on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Harvest of Grades on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Honoka Yukishiro has used Sortagrim Reaping on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Honoka Yukishiro has used Sortagrim Reaping on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Honoka Yukishiro has used Sortagrim Reaping on Cure Heart.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Harvest of Grades, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Cure Melody narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Harvest of Grades, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Cure Melody's Block ability activates! Cure Melody's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Harvest of Grades, taking 23 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Heart fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Finisher, Sortagrim Reaping, taking 143 Fatigue damage! Cure Heart is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Lera Camry fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Finisher, Sortagrim Reaping, taking 166 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Lera Camry is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Steven Universe narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Harvest of Grades, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Steven Universe's Block ability activates! Steven Universe's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Harvest of Grades, taking 23 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Rhythm's Fade ability activates! Cure Rhythm's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Harvest of Grades, taking 12 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Melody [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The towering total is too much for anyone to tackle alone, as Cure Melody swiftly discovers - but with Cure Rhythm's help, she's able to cut the problem down to size. Rebounding off the now-smaller numbers, she tumbles back into a skid, sliding back alongside Cure Rhythm. Everything seemed lost...but everyone's strength, added together, was enough to overcome the counting catastrophe.

It brings a warm smile to her face - but the calculator Terribad is getting back up, and that mold is spreading as it charges forward. The blow catches her on crossed arms, and launches her up into the air...

But in the air, she catches Rhythm's hand, and the two descend side by side. Cure Melody calls out boldly to the monster, and to everyone fighting it. "Everyone you've hurt today...their voices are singing out! It's time to finish this!"

She turns to Rhythm, beaming. "Time to clear this up, so we can go study over those cupcakes of yours!" In spite of the surrounding darkness, that ominous mold, everything with this Mirage Empire or whatever it was...she's smiling at her friend. Hands clasp...

...and music resounds.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Melody has started a combo targeting Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"It's still standing!" Lera yells, in disbelief, as the explosion and smoke clear out. The Terribad is revealed there and her eyes widen; she sees the huge bladed book coming down for her. She tries to fly sharply to the left. The book is far too imsense for that.

<Look out! Protecti--> Soaring Sky starts to chime. It comes too late; the blade hits Lera's back as she tries to soar away from it, and her Barrier Jacket flashes to prevent the damage from being fatal. It still applies so much force that the orange-haired high schooler goes flying. She slams hard into the ground.

Her sword is dropped; Lera hits, rolls, and comes to a stop. Then she crumples down into a heap, knocked unconscious. She doesn't get back up right now.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Cure Heart lands on top of a very large number, which lands on top of a very large Terribad. She tumbles off after a few seconds and lands with a click of heels. "That was great!" she calls out, puming a fist in the air and hopping in place a couple of times. "Such great teamwork!!"

Ten the Terribad just gets up and hits her so hard she goes sailing though the air for about a hundred feet and crashes through a nearby parked car. She's hurled into it so hard that she actually blows through the back door and knocks the thing over. Her legs twitch in the air a couple of times.

"You know what...? I could really go for one of those peach-jam buns," she says with a sigh before closing her eyes and slumping into the backseat of the car.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Rhythm [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Her rising punch managed to split the number in half, and Cure Melody divided it further. As Cure Rhythm falls back, she smiles in satisfaction, watching as those numbers get slammed into the Terribad.

But it's getting back up, and she has to leap wildly to avoid getting slammed into a building. Eventually, in midair, she catches Cure Melody's hand, nodding firmly. "Ruining everyone's plans...unforgiveable!"

...and then she has to just shake her head at Cure Melody. "I swear, Melody, you're going to eat so many cupcakes you'll be too hyped up to study - which defeats the purpose!" But she's smiling, as they land on the ground.

Step, step, step-step. The rhythm of their heels clacking on pavement summon shining music to burn away the mold near them, to sing a melody of happiness and joy, to shine as a golden treble clef. Together, they call out:

"Pretty Cure Passionato... HARMONY!"

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Rhythm has joined the combo started by Cure Melody!
COMBAT: COMBO! FINISHER! Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm have used Pretty Cure Passionato Harmony on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Finisher, Sortagrim Reaping, taking 47 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Pressing her foot off the number one last time as it impacts, she flips backwards just as the mass of numbers strikes the Terribad center mass. "We-we did it." She sounds more relieved than excited. Yet even as she was back flipping away she realizes it was getting up. Pressing off a nearby building with her foot, she rebounds with a twist to try to try to avoid being scythed away by its razor sharp book.

It comes close enough that it grazes her fantastically yellow frills, the rush of wind in it's aftermath knocking her off course with a shriek.

She only barely manages to right herself before she'd be knocked into an office building, tucking herself into a more controlled descent back towards the ground. "Lera! Cure Heart!" She cries out as she catches sight of their horribad state in the middle of it all. Mid-flip she puts her hand to her side, and grasps her Linkrun. Kirun descends with a joyful "KIIII!"

Into the top with a twist as she runs her fingers across the touchpad simultaneously. The Pine flute appears mid-air, even as she lands, it twirls like a baton on it's downward arc into her outstretched hand. She whirls it around, and exchanges her grip to hold it like an actual flute, as she runs her fingers across the rainbow keys, "Everyone is working so hard to get into high school. I won't let you be more than a stumbling block for them! Heal, harmony of faith! Cure Stick, Pine Flute!"

One by one they light up in prismatic colors with concentric circles of light and sound erupting melodiously from it. She changes to presenting it like a wand, flourishing it this way and that side to side as she speaks the incantation. "Nasty things, nasty things, fly away..." A hop as she raises it skyward, before cutting it downward, the moment her heels touch the ground, she traces it in a diamond pattern, "...Pretty Cure Healing Prayer -" She juts it forward, and the diamond responds, launching at the Terribad, trailing hearts and golden sparkles, "-FRESHHHHHH!"

If it impacts just behind Melody and Rhythm's passionate music of happiness, then the light seems to grow, yellow hued hearts beginning to orbit it like an atom, Cure Pine straining to keep up the purifying power behind it. Yet she's only one girl, one heart, one set of beliefs. It's clear she won't be able to keep this up for long.

She turns her head, giving Cure Fortune an almost desperate look, pleading in it's own way to aid the other Pretty Cure. Yet she doesn't speak her need in words, she feels like if she does then her magic will just collapse upon itself from the distraction.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Pine has used Precure Healing Prayer Fresh! on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

The onrush of scything strikes catches Ami off-guard, but the Sailor Senshi doesn't let that get the best of her; she does her best to protect herself as the Terribad advances, clenching her fists tight. She has to hang in there a little longer -- and she does, moving /forward/ to get clipped with the flat of the book instead of with the sharper parts.

Crossing her arms in front of her and summoning forth another ball of energy, Sailor Mercury backpedals a little before sweeping her arms out to either side with a cry of, "Double Sabao Spray Freezing!"

The heightening intensity of her bubbles continues; this time, they sweep out in a wide arc across the Kindabads and the Terribad itself, bitter cold. If it doesn't keep moving, it just might get frozen solid amid the bubbles.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Sailor Mercury has used Double Sabao Spray Freezing on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

You really would think the Terribad would have been taken out of the fight by now - or the fight taken out of it, at any rate. Certainly the Wind Knight feels like she doesn't have much left in her.

But the Terribad has reinforcements, of a sort. The Kindabads are actively supporting their leader now, whereas Lera and one of the Cures are both out of the fight. The odds are, in short, not very good - and they're starting to get worse.

"And to think that I like math," the Wind Knight comments quietly, mustering her reserves of energy. She's starting to wonder whether this is like one of those boss fights where you HAVE to take out the minions before the actual boss can be defeated ... but she has one more big spell she can use. It takes some observation and some careful timing to find the right opening to cast it, but ...

"Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi!!"

The opening presents itself, and the Wind Knight sends another tornado at the monsters. The spell doesn't actually take form until it's gone past her allies, as a further precaution - but what energy the Magic Knight of Wind didn't invest in the spell itself is rapidly eaten up by trying to keep the Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi from running out of control.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Steven rebounds off the skyscraper of numbers, boucnes around a few mroe times, then comes to a stop, appearing rather dizzy and stumbling around. "DId anyone catch the license plate on that warp pad..." he says, slowly coming to. "Okay... well, that was fun! Vomit-y, but fun."

The numbers are crunched back in the Terribads face, but that doesn't yet stop it!

Though... inspiration comes from an adorable source. Rhythm and Melody break out into an attacking dance number with a sweet tune that just gets the boy jazzed. It might be jazz. Maybe?

"Get your funky flow on, girls!" he calls over to them, kinda dancing on his own. As he does, gemstones appear and begin to float around his shield in an orbiting pattern, and seem to almost channel the light from the sun. At least it looks like it is. It could be calling something else forth.

A Vivid Amethyst.
A Lustrous Pearl.
A Sparkling Garnet.

They spin, faster and faster, as steven points the shield slowly at the creature. "You shouldnt have messed with my and my friends!" Steven proclaims. He knows the shield is about to do something important, yet he is unsure what exactly, until the light the gems seem to channel connect in the center of the shield, and form a powerful beam of rose tinted energy, right at the Terribad!

COMBAT: FINISHER! Steven Universe has used Believe In Steven on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune lands back on the ground, below the remains of the giant numbers. She watches as the firepower from all the other magical girls collide with the Terribad...

But when the smoke subsides, it's still there. Not only that, it's getting back up. Her eyes scan the area to see if there are any other Kindabads left, but she doesn't seem to see any.

She turns to the Terribad, and raises her brace to the sky. It gives off a brilliant flash of light. Cure Fortune spins and spins. "Light of the Stars! Turn into sacred power!" She spins the dial on her brace, slapping it once. "Pretty Cure!" She spins her arms around each other, generating purple light which she raises above her head, forming into a star. "Stardust!" She then brings it down in front of her, spinning twice more before PUNCHING it towards the Terribad. "Shooooot!" As it races towards the enemy, she turns away from the monster, and raises her brace yet again. "Stars! Return to the skies!"

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Fortune has used Pretty Cure Stardust Shoot on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm's Finisher, Combo: Pretty Cure Passionato Harmony, taking 154 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Pine's Finisher, Precure Healing Prayer Fresh!, taking 119 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Sailor Mercury's Finisher, Double Sabao Spray Freezing, taking 85 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Fuu Hououji's Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi, taking 30 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Steven Universe's Finisher, Believe In Steven, taking 81 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Fortune's Finisher, Pretty Cure Stardust Shoot, taking 125 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Once the Terribad's blind samurai kata is through, it slumps... but feels, with satisfaction, that a couple of its enemies' bodies have hit the ground. Jerking its head upward, it shouts a "TERRIBAD!" so hot and fierce that it might as well be a kiai, cheered on by its Kindabad minions. It's a warning. It's a challenge.

It's a bluff.

And the girls call it together -- with a golden treble clef blast, a pineapple-fresh diamond of pure healing energy, the double torrent of icy Mercury, a vicious tornado and an immensely powerful pink beam.

Finally, a purple star crucifies the Terribad mid-destruction, and more stars spin around it as everything goes white.

When the radiance fades, the Terribad and Kindabads are gone, and so is all the mold. Shiina Suzuki is out of her mirror, blinking at the entrance to Twin Swans and likely to burst back into song at any moment. Indeed, everything is quite back to normal, with hardly a trace of battle. There is only one... and it pops out of the nose of Cure Fortune's fairy, when Glassan sneezes violently.

"Look, it's the power of a super-calculator!" They're a couple of cards with little people drawn on them, quickly vanished in some kind of notebook, which in turn the fairy stores wherever fairies store such things.

---

But Tokyo is massive.

And the Phantom Empire's reach is long... and ruthless.

This wasn't the only place attacked today.

Images of terrible battles, not all of them going the way of Shinjuku's, flicker on magical mirrors hung in a circle around a strange and mysterious room. In the middle stands a bluenette, who folds his arms as he gazes at what he knows, in his heart, is the beginning of the war he never wanted -- and fears cannot be won.

"This is it... the Invasion."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

When the purifying radiance is gone almost all signs of the destruction go with it. Pine kind of blinks her eyes at the return of the cheerful girl who'd passed her by earlier standing in front of the cram school. "It's over." She sighs heavily, bone weary, ignorance of the true scope of this invasion driving her words.

A flash of yellow light causes the Pine Flute ot materialize back into the phone at her side. She turns at the sneeze, looking somewhat confused by the fairy's gift at first but then deciding it's not all that different from how... Chiffon does everything she does. She's starting to limp towards Lera and Cure Heart to check on them but...

... something in her step catches, as she stops her walk, and turns towards Cure Fortune, "Cure Fortune wasn't it? Do you know what's going on? What's this Phantom Empire? This all seemed very personal..." She looks down and to the left, "...given what you said about them stealing someone precious to you." She hesitantly looks back at her, though not directly so.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

From the backseat of the wrecked Mitsubishi, a lone right fist rises up, clenched. "I'M GOOD," Cure Heart shouts. She actually sounds like it, too.

She sits up, and coughs up a mouthful of integers.

"My mouth tastes like advanced trigonometry," she complains.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

With everything back to normal, Cure Fortune finally allows herself to breathe a sigh of relief. She turns away from where the Terribad used to be, and regards the area now that all the mold is gone. Everyone can breathe a lot more easily now that Namakelder was gone. She had seen him before, but she had always been confused about why Namakelder's minions created mold. It just seemed so out of place. Or maybe that was the point.

She looks at the cards that were sneezed out by Glassan, some of which had... a teacher's outfit? They're placed in the fairy binder about the time Cure Pine addresses Fortune.

Fortune doesn't look at Pine when she replies, ignoring her words about the situation being personal. "The Phantom Empire..." She begins, "Is a group of people who want to cause misery." She looks towards Pine just enough to get her in her vision. "The Blue Sky Kingdom was conquered by them. The kingdom's princess just /let/ them go free," Fortune's voice gains something of an edge. "and they took the entire kingdom over. Now..." She turns back, away from Pine and towards the rest of Tokyo. "They're coming here."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Empire sounds rather ominous, just the imperialistic implications of the word. Breathing a sigh of relief when Cure Heart shouts and sits up, she nods at Fortune, "That sounds a little like Labyrinth... but..." Were they really so like them? "...something about them seems really different." Maybe it was just the way Namakelder interacted with Fortune that tips her off to that, but also the monsters they created.

It's the statement that the Princess of that Kingdom just let them go free that causes Cure Pine to look up at her, eyes wide, "Why would she do something so dangerous!?" She blurts out, she has no reason to disbelieve her words, instead it's more shock that someone would cause the fall of their own kingdom.

Again her breath catches at the thought they were coming here. It seemed like they were pressed from all sides given all myriad of fronts of attack they were fending off, and after a moment she looks down, seeming somewhat dispirited from a new one arising. But after turning it over in her head, she looks back up, "... Is there anything different that we should know about fighting them or the kinds of targets their leaders pick? Like..." She holds up a finger, "...for instance, Labyrinth doesn't pick people, they pick things and collect the misery they cause. What is the Phantom Empire creating misery for?"

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

With a wince, Cure Heart tumbles out of the damaged car. She takes a moment to dust herself off befoe letting out a heavy breath. She's sore and she's tired and part of her wants to go get a peach bun and curl up in bed until she feels better.

She decides not to. She just goes sauntering towards the remaining knot of Precures, doing her best not to look hurt. She even manages a smile as she listens in, though it fades to a frown as Cure Fortune tells her tale.

"That sounds just like the Selfish Kingdom!" Charle gasps from Mana's hip. "They took over the Trump Kingdom and now they're coming here too!"

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

The moment Pine also acknowledges the Princess of the Blue Sky Kingdom, Fortune spins back towards Pine. "I don't know! I don't think she knew what she was doing, and I don't think she ever knew!" She stops after this, taking a deep breath or two to settle herself down.

Glassan, floats on over to rejoin the group. "They like to target really happy people, turning their happiness into despair. I think..." She thinks for a moment before returning to looking at the Cures. "I don't think they're powering anything, they just want to put everyone into those mirrors, like they did to the Blue Sky Kingdom."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The heat in Fortune's words takes her off guard, as she visibly recoils a step back, "If she didn't know then..." Her volume drops to something of a murmur, though not so low then it couldn't be heard, "...why are you so angry with her?"

Her eyes drift over to Heart anhd Charle, widening again... two new Cures, two new foes. "Wait, there's another Kingdom invading too?!" It was a lot to take in. And there's quite a bit she'd like to ask about the Selfish Kingdom too, but given that she'd witnessed this invasion she's going to ask more about this one first.

She looks at Glassan as she explains, and doesn't quite nod, because there's something more visceral to this information. Something that she couldn't just accept and digest so easily, "That's what they want!? It just seems so... so... cruel. Like... misery just for misery's sake."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"That's terrible," Cure Heart murmurs, her right hand coming up to cradle her left bicep without her really thinking about it. She's in quite a bit more pain than she would like to vocalize. "That they're putting everyone into mirrors...." She winces a little.

The wince passes to a simple, steady smile, he eyes bright and sure. "It'll be okay," she assures the pair of Cures before her, though she's mostly talking to Fortune since she seems to be the most upset. "We'll help you whenever we can! We'll definitely get to work together." She nods with utter, utter confidence - nothing arrogant about it, just a /surety./

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

... After meeting Cure Sword, there's something about Cure Heart's statement that's worrisome to her. She'd thought all Pretty Cure would work together in the past and it didn't quite work out that way. So instead, she gives a nervous chuckle and rubs her chin with a finger, "Uh... that is assuming you wouldn't mind working with other Pretty Cure on occasion."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Cure Heart nods briskly back to Cure Pine, rocking back on her heels, then forward, eyes practically shining. "I'd love that!" she says, her hand falling from her arm to clasp with the opposite over her heart brooch. "It's always better to help each other out whenever you can!"

She holds her hand out to Cure Pine, then, and holds eye contact, chin coming up. It's almost as if she's forgotten she's hurt. "I'm Cure Heart. It's nice to meet you!"

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune keeps going with the words and the loud sounds. "Because she shouldn't have done it! It's her fault that..." Her face drops and her voice lowers to a strained whisper. "that..."

Cure Pine's surprise about the Selfish Kingdom is mirrored by Fortune, who softens just a little bit. But that disappears when the other Cures talk about helping each other, which kind of bristles Fortune just a little bit. She turns away from the Cures. "Don't misunderstand, I'm just in it to destroy the Phantom Kingdom and save the world. This is all just a convenience."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"Huh?" She looks so very bewildered by Heart who'd been injured so badly offering casual introductions, "Well it's very nice to meet you Cure Heart. I'm Cure Pine." A beat, "But..."

She looks down at her hand, then back up at her. She was a future vet, so she had a sort of caregiver's instinct there, "...are you sure you shouldn't be taking it easy?" She very hesitantly takes that hand, wondering if she shouldn't just bow her head instead, like she's afraid she might hurt her merely by gripping it.

Once the handshake is over, she gives Fortune a longer look, "...but you said she didn't know." She whispers. Wondering just how well placed her anger is, or if maybe it was a mistake to test it further.

At the end of her last statement, she nods, "I understand. We'll still help in whatever way we can. None of us are going to stand by and let them take over our world either."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"I'll be alright," Cure Heart assures, shaking Cure Pine's hand with a big smile that neatly papers over the fact that she looks like she's just been hit by a bus. "Don't worry about me! So long as all those students are alright, I'll be fine!"

Down on Cure Heart's hip, Charle puffs her cheeks out a little and looks up at her Precure with evident worry.

She seems about to say something, but the sight of Cure Fortune bristling and turning away actually takes her aback. Without it, she looks every bit the badly hurt and badly inexperienced Precure that she is, her chin dropping and her shoulders slouching just a little. Then Pine fills in with just the sentiment she was thinking.

Her smile returns again. It's quiet and sure, more subdued this time. "Then I hope you have good luck. I'm sure we'll see each other again."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

It takes a moment for Cure Fortune to join in on the naming festivities, turning back to the other Cures. "I'm Cure Fortune." She doesn't say too much more. She watches Cure Pine mother-hen over Cure Heart's wounds for a moment, though she doesn't join in. Ignoring still Pine's words on the Blue Sky Princess, she does however nod a little slightly when the two of them talk about standing together to stop the world from being taken over.

But that's it. Fortune turns away, and her ribbon wings expand and glow again. She pushes off from the ground and takes flight, away from the battlefield and the other Cures.

Glassan looks at Pine and Heart worryingly, before she floats off towards her own Cure.

2015-11-08 - Youma On A Plane!

2016-01-11T18:59:18Z

Lucientes:

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Youma On A Plane!'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''As the Sister Schools wait to board for Okinawa, disaster strikes: The first planes are in the air, but a shadowy presence threatens them. Can the protectors of Tokyo save their younger classmates?''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Lera Camry]], [[Takeo Akamizu]], [[Ren Aizawa]], [[Kuniko Saito]], [[Fuu Hououji]], [[Steven Universe]], [[Hikaru Shidou]], [[Usagi Tsukino]], [[Makoto Kino]], [[Nanoha Takamachi]], [[Garnet]], [[Chitose Shiratori]] 
GM: Madoka Kaname
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Haneda Airport, Skies over Japan
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Sep 06 2014 - 11/08/2015
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

[[11-07-2015 - Airport Chaos!|PREVIOUSLY]] ON BATTLE FANTASIA

The Sister School-booked flights to Okinawa are departing in sequence, all from the same gate, the better to keep the students together. And the first flight has been delayed for three long hours.

The first students, who would have boarded this flight, are also the youngest: kindergardeners and first-graders. They do not take the delay gracefully. Many faces do impressions of roasted tomatoes, screwing up tight with unhappiness. Others begin to flee their keepers, in the hopes of alleviating boredom and hunger by exploring the airport.

Fortunately, the day is saved thanks to the intervention of older students' patience and generosity; the little kids wind up amused, and in some cases, fed, successfully extorting sweets out of their elder peers.

In the end, they board their plane in an orderly fashion and launch joyously into the sky...

NOW

Invisible to the veiled eye but all too visible to magical girls and their ilk, a shadow crosses the sun above the airplane... and descends towards it with a hideous screech so loud it threatens to shatter the very air.

It's hard to see from a distance what is going on, but the sense of danger is up close and personal, talons of rage and despair enclosing the heart from all sides. An evil feeling by any metric, it's more than obvious to everyone that if they don't act immediately, that plane may well go down -- with no one ever the wiser about why or how so many innocent lives were lost.

Given that it is already many thousand feet in the air, however, there the a minor matter of catching up with it...

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lera Camry is gritting her teeth as she flies up into the air. She has a firm grip on the girl in her arms; she worked with Poissonier Kuniko a few times, now, and she owes her a lot for her help over the years. She feels perfectly comfortable helping her -- but she never feels entirely comfortable carrying someone into the air, at the speed of (quite literally) a jet plane. She glances at her, then she looks straight up.

"Kuniko-san!" she cries out. "When we get close enough, I'm going to put you up on the wing! Let's see if we can get a good look at that thing!"

 Soaring Sky chimes. <Or the sound!>

The orange-haired girl shoots up into the heavens, blitzing through a low-hanging cloud. The white, fluffy cloud disperses around her -- and appears to be impaled by a stream of red-orange light -- before Lera flies up to the plane. She lets Kuniko down, carefully, on the wing. Wind whips around them and the jet turbine spins, making a furious noise.

COMBAT: Lera Camry transforms into Barrier Jacket Perihelion!

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Takeo HAD been keeping a group of kindergartners stave off the boredom by allowing them to pet Merlin, the Rabbit trying very hard not to glower or speak angerly. Or speak at all, since that would blow his cover. It si sweet vengence for Takeo for ... Well for Takoe it's jsut revenge for Merlin being Merlin. He smiles smugly and folds his arms in pleased quiessence.

Once the kids go, he takes Merlin and plops the rabbit on to his shoulder. "Did you enjoy your playtime little Merlin Bunny?" He asks as he bops Merlin on the nose.

The Rabbit is silent and glares. "The one named Kana was most... I enjoyed having my ears rubbed. It relaxed me, but I will not forget this Lancelot." The rabbit says darkly.

Takeo grins and moves to watch the plane take off. He watches it ascend and folds his arms over his chest. It won't be long until he's in the sky too, and that... Kind of makes him happy. Right up until he sees the shape roaring and diving toward the plane.

"Get outside Lancelot!" Merlin says in bunny horror.

Not wasting anytime, Lancelot runs toward one of the airport's many exits, shouldering the door open with a grunt, as he clears the space. Merlin hops off hsi shoulder, as he grabs his medallion. Then pauses. "Merlin. I cna't fly!"

Merlin puts his front paws together and seperates them producing ... a Tiny adorable wand. He waves it and speaks in a long forgotton language. "You can now! Transform!"

There is a sharp nod. "On it!" He holds the Medallion to the heavens and calls out: "I SWEAR TO UPHOLD PEACE! JSUTICE! TO DEFEND ALL WHO ARE NEED!"

Lightning slams down form the sky, over and over again. Each strikign Takeo in rapid succession, and each bolt of lightning forming into a piece of armor. As the blue cloak billows out, he holds a hand to the side with his eyes closed, and a bolt of lightning is snatched form the air. The Azure light coalescing into bright white light, that with a flash becomes Arondight.

He flourishes the blade and looks sky ward. Then jumps, extending a hand, and landing on his face. "OW!" He looks to Merlin who is holding his face in his adorable paws.

"You have to say "Fly," and THEN jump you moron."

Grumbling, Lancelot gets to his feet. "Fly!" He calls and then jumps, soaring up toward the shape and speeds he finds... Kind of cool!

COMBAT: Takeo Akamizu transforms into Lancelot!

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

When the trip to Okinawa was first announced, Ren couldn't help but think someone had finally decided to answer her prayers for more vacation time. What were the odds! The days leading up to the time of their departure was filled with lots and lots of rushing around in an attempt to make sure she had everything she needed.

...And she /still/ forgot to pack sunscreen!

At first she panicked, but then relaxed once she realized there would be several duty free shops within the airport she could hit up to grab whatever last minute items she needed. Of course, she hadn't counted on the fact that the first flight out would be delayed, leading to a gaggle of upset elementary school students going wild with frustration, with /that/ leading to her having to play impromptu "kid wrangler" along with her fellow older students. So by the time the kids were all roped in and shuffled onto the plane, Ren was pretty beat, though still determined to get her sunscreen!

...That is, until something decided to appear out of nowhere and go for the very plane the children were on at the moment.

<Approaching the aircraft!> Heraut so helpfully chimes, Ren soaring through the air not too far behind Lera (who's helpfully carrying Kuniko). What on Earth could that thing be?! She wisely keeps her guard up, lips pursed and brows furrowed as the distance between her and the plane-in-peril shortens considerably with each passing moment.

COMBAT: Ren Aizawa transforms into Barrier Jacket!

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

YOU WILL BELIEVE... A Cook can Fly.

Kuniko was baffled at the mere idea for a moment, but the practical problem of a plane load full of kindergarteners - some of whom she'd only recently given 'real' candy, the kind you can savor - perishing in horrible fire during a school trip overwhelms such oddities. After throwing a few things on the stove to start simmering, Kuniko spread outher arms. "Take me up," she says.

And so they went.

In flight, the Poissonier's main attention other than the fact that she's FLYING THOUSANDS OF METERS ABOVE THE COLD, RELENTLESS SURFACE OF JAPAN and the SLIGHTLY LESS RELENTLESS BUT SIGNIFICANTLY COLDER SURFACE OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN, has been on the peculiar boiling in some of her pots. The issue is much less than she might have expected, but it's enough that Lera heard some clatter as she got out a stove-top pressure cooker. Just in case.

"Got it," she answers Lera as she's lowered down. She spreads her arms, squatting, prepared to have to cling desperately to the aluminium - and is pleased, and shocked, when she finds that the non-slip soles of her crew boots are living up to their advertising. She even takes a step forwards, and other than having to push a little - she doesn't go flying!

(She also attached her cap with several hairpins. Some things are important.)

COMBAT: Kuniko Saito transforms into Poissonnier Kuniko!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"That's going to be quite the challenge, isn't it?" Fuu observes, pulling her glove-jewel on and consigning her backtack (including her lately-acquired Ho-Oh plushie) to its sorcerous storage. The longer she delays, the further the plane is going to get from Haneda Airport - and the more chance the youma will have to wreak havoc on the plane and/or its passengers. There's no time to think this through at length or eliminate dangerous variables.

"Hikaru-san, transform and please stay as close as you can," she asks her red-haired companion with a smile. And then, without further explanation: "Belief becomes power ..."

She's going to have to act, and trust the instincts of her heart to push her in the right direction.

"... Winds, guide me!!"

The accustomed whirlwind forms around her, school uniform shifting to green, socks and shoes dissolving to reform into boots, and the remainder of her Magic Knight armor materializing around her body as its magic strengthens the fabric beneath it. Rather than allowing that wind to dissipate, though, Fuu latches on with her will -

And dials the whirlwind *up* instead of down. She and Hikaru should be safe enough from turbulence within the eye of the whirlwind; that just leaves the small yet critical matter of trying to steer.

In a way, it's sort of a familiar task; she's used tailwinds to assist her leaps when traversing the city or trying to dodge the attacks of monsters. This, however, is far more than just a tailwind: as the whirlwind itself does abate, the wind propelling the two Magic Knights through the sky is still gale-force - and the Wind Knight has to control it enough to avoid upsetting the airplane's flight on her approach. Anime makes it look so easy, like *every* magical girl can fly at will ... maybe the Magic Knights will get there eventually as well. For now, the Wind Knight settles for trying to come in above the plane, and then dipping enough to deposit the Fire Knight safely atop the fuselage before she makes her own 'landing' on top of the airliner.

Those who are especially sensitive to magic at work might notice that the Wind Knight still has a faint spell effect wrapped around her even when she seems to have landed. It doesn't stop her from sizing up the monster, debating which of her attack options will be most useful; archery seems ill-advised under these conditions ...

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [None] has posed.

"Why couldn't I have just rode on Lion to this place...!"

Steven, as it turns out, is not much of a fan of flying in an airplane. Sure, a Gem drop-pod or a big monster, but for whatever reason, airplanes are out. It looks safe as anything else. Planes almost never crash. But something about getting that high up is just... daunting! "Good thing nothing else can bother us on a plane, right?"

And then a terrible screech echoes out, and a shadow crosses the sun and plane Steven is looking at from the gate. "Oh man oh man oh man oh man!" Steven begins to panic. "I knew this would happen when we got here! It is like trouble follows us!"

Steven quickly scampers out of his seat by the gate, and after putting his cheeseburger backpack on, quickly locates Garnet. "Garnet, we gotta do something! Thats a big bird thingy. It is outside! I swear!" he says in a pained whispering voice. "We need to get outside!" The small boy wodner quickly locates a door and goes out. "Look, others are going to go help the plane!" But how is little old him going to get up there? The only thing he can turn into is a ball of cats.

"Maybe one of the others can help us get up there?" he asks as he conjures a gorgeous rose colored shield into being.

COMBAT: Steven Universe transforms into Steven Quartz Universe!

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

With her companion beside her and things going downhill all of a sudden, albeit somewhat expectedly, Hikaru nods to Fuu a little, while reaching for her glove-jewel. "I've got it, Fuu-chan. Don't worry, we'll take care of this!" She slips on her glove-jewel and says, "Belief becomes power..."

The flames appear around her.

"Flames guide me!"

The fire appears around Hikaru, replacing her uniform with her Magic Knight attire, her shoes and socks turning into boots, and her sword at the ready. Once all things are taken care of, the Fire Knight is unsurprised to find that she's being carried by the Wind Knight's magic. "Well casted!" She says with a slight smirk. "Even without our third partner, I'm sure the two of us can handle this together!"

COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou transforms into Magic Knight of Fire!

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

A fabulous flight attendant, twintails floating like streamers out of her navy blue pillbox hat is dragging along an embarrassed looking girl behind her by hand as she runs down the length of the terminal in heels which she was nearly tripping over given her speed. "Gangway! Coming through! Clear the way!"

An employee nearby who is unfortunate enough to be pushing an empty wheelchair suffers by virtue of the fact that he passed by, the whirlwind of enthusiasm that was the stewardess letting go of her hand long enough to grab the wheelchair out of theirs. The baffled individual is interrupted by the breathless shout of, "Priority boarding! She has a medical condition!" "Well so does... nevermind."

... Even though their plane wasn't even remotely ready to start boarding yet. Over her shoulder was a bag full of things she thought her mortified friend might need. Bottles of water, MP3 player with soothing music, sleeping mask, plushies...

She was looking through it as if taking inventory as the wheelchair was thrust out to her. "Have a seat Mako-chan! Come on don't be shy! You're in my care today. Its my duty and privilege to see to the needs of the passengers! And you're my extra special passenger!" She even gave a crisp salute, of what she imagined to be military.

But even as she does, rows upon rows of nearby glass have a shadow pass over them, and something in Usagi's shoulder twitches, as her head turns and she sees the danger. "All those kids..." She murmurs, horror and shock in her tone, before she gives Makoto a nervous look.

And yet this was the worst time, Makoto Kino being on an airplane was rough enough of a personal battle for her to fight, fighting on top of one? Something else entirely. She lets go of the wheelchair... turns to the other girl and raises her hands on her shoulders delicately... determination in her voice, "Just wait here Mako-chan. You're always so brave for my sake. Today it's my turn to be brave and... work twice as hard for your sake!"

And before a response could be given, this courageous flight attendant was already running, towards the employee exit, and as she descended down stairs outside... "Moon Crystal Power - Make Up!" Twirling ribbons, and a flash of feathered wings adorn her for battle as she bursts outside, eyes already skyward, hand clutched around a cute rod.

She'd only done this once, and leapt into space. That was a bit too far for right now! Right now she had the task of gauging a leap that would propel her upwards and forwards a few thousand feet up and possibly a kilometer or five forward.

COMBAT: Usagi Tsukino transforms into Sailor Moon!

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Makoto Kino, dragged along by the hand by her dear friend Usagi Tsukino, would stand out even in other circumstances. Tall enough in her Juuban Middle uniform to be a beacon for those worried they're at the wrong gate, she /really/ stands out as a mysterious flight attendant (yes, actually Usagi) rushes her through the terminal.

"Usagi-chan!" Makoto starts to complain, red-faced, but has to focus more in the moment on keeping her balance--something that, luckily, she's actually pretty good at. ...But then they /stop/, and--

Green eyes stares down at the wheelchair, and then up at Usagi-the-flight-attendant again. "Usagi-chan, I don't..." But it's hard to actually turn her /down/, seeing that look in her friend's eyes. She starts to say something else--

But she sees the shadow pass over, too. She sees the nervous look Usagi gives her, and in that moment she has one of her own, her embarrassment mingling with fear and a certain sureness about what was going to happen.

"...It had to be..."

'Today it's my turn to be brave and... work twice as hard for your sake!'

Surprised, the taller girl finds that her friend is gone before she even finishes looking in that direction. But she can /hear/ even over the crowd anyway. Makoto closes her eyes, and takes a breath.

Leaving the wheelchair behind, she bolts, sprinting after Usagi, hitting the stairs with her transformation pen already in hand. "Jupiter Star Power - Make Up!"

Sailor Jupiter leaps off of the stairs, crackling electricity, afterimages lingering much like her voice echoes. Regardless, she's adorned for battle by the time she touches down in a crouch, standing again to look up with her jaw set. "Sailor Moon," she says in a clipped voice, "I'll get us up there. Hang on!"

Jupiter takes Sailor Moon's hand and lifts her other one--and around them crackles a green sphere, as they rise quickly through the air towards the plane looming ahead.

...She keeps her eyes forward, on the shadow to which they're heading.

COMBAT: Makoto Kino transforms into Sailor Jupiter!

<Pose Tracker> Nanoha Takamachi [Infinity Institute (4)] has posed.

Earlier: 
So dealing with small excitable children can be draining. Unless you have the energy of a small child as well. Nanoha Takamachi sure doesn't seem too tuckered out after the whopping three hour delay keeping EVERYONE busy, she's still as chipper as ever- and even has a new pink stuffed elephant. Though she looks a little lost in her thoughts. 
<HEARTFUL ELEPHANT? REALLY?> 
<<Well. The elephant is a regal and majestic creature, Raising Heart.>> 
<NO I MEAN THE NAME.> 
<<Oh that I had to think of something on the fly.>> 
Whatever the Device was going to reply with next is cut off. 
<SIGNAL INBOUND! WARNING!> 
"Wh-" 
Then it hits her. To look up and see that shadow in the skies- the terrible sensations of roiling misery and gloom it brings with it, clamping down like a vice on the heart. It is perhaps a good thing that it would happen today- when the doubtless myriad and many magical warriors that attend all three sister schools would be present to step up, but that by no means makes the situation any less dire. 
There are -children- on that plene. 
"Raising Heart- SET UP!" 
It was all the command her Device needed, once Nanoha had a private moment to transform-- still she somehow ended up with a passanger... 

FAST FORWARDING JUST A LITTLE BIT 

"Ummm! Please hold on tight, I don't want to drop you!" That's said to the... Boy in her arms. Nanoha is not used to passengers, but she's not going to actively complain about it as long as Steven doesn't squirm or wriggle free as she flies hard and fast, trailing pink light in her wake. 

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

"Don't even think about it Steven." Garnet warns sternly and looks down at the eager little Steven. "Even if you got up there, what happens if you fall? You can't fly, and I might not be able to catch you!" "No. No airplane adventures today." "Now stay here. I will take care of this and we'll be on our way before you know it."

Garnet pauses for a moment, and focuses her mind on the cosmos, summoning her fearsome armored gauntlets! She crouches, takes a long deep breath, and leaps into the air! Soaring thousands of feet in the air, as soon as she reaches the crest of her leap, she shapeshifts a pair of bird's wings from her back, and rides the updrafts and her continued momentum to the plane, and guides herself down onto one of the wings.

COMBAT: Garnet transforms into Garnet's Got Gauntlets!

<Pose Tracker> Chitose Shiratori [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

It was probably a great thing that Chitose wasn't slated to be on the plane with the kids that she promised prizes and presents to, for she had no real idea exactly what to say when the children saw through her ruse. So Chitose practices the greatest of traditions, the holiday known as 'it's not my problem anymore', parked on a seat reading a book.

But when three hours pass, Chitose decides to check in on her partner, looking up and back behind her. "Are you done with that analyzing?"

No response from Omen.

"Or was that just an excuse to avoid helping me with the children?"

Still no response.

After a few moments, she sighs. "All right, suit your--"

<Look up.>

Immediately, Chitose looks up, scanning the area. This takes more than a few moments before she realizes what her Device was getting at. A shadow streaks across the sky, something that she could tell wasn't natural or even good. What purpose would something like that gain from attacking children?

Chitose slides off her seat and walks outside, taking White Omen off her hair. "I suppose we must do as we must." With that, Chitose transforms into her Barrier Jacket. Even before the light fades she gets a running start and takes off, flying as fast as she can towards the plane and the shadow.

Even though she is flying towards the evil presence, Chitose takes a moment to sigh and mutter. "This is still better than being in that group of kids."

COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori transforms into Barrier Jacket!

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

This high above the world, even late summer air is cold. And it's streaming past at extraordinary rates, ripping tears from delicate eyes and bringing a whole new meaning to the term 'windswept hair.' Magical girls are more than tough enough to endure this, but it's still a deeply strange experience. Even regular aerial combat doesn't take place at such sustained speeds.

Standing on the whitewashed wings of the plane, in comparison, is surprisingly normal-feeling. It's not like a lamppost precisely; in some sense it's easier, because it's so much wider. On the other hand, if you slip and fall it's a very, very long way down.

There's a long moment of relative silence, for some definitions of silence that include being quite near a jet engine wafting beautiful trails through the sky. Whatever was thought to be threatening the plane is nowhere to be found. Maybe this was a false alarm. Maybe everything is all right.

Maybe it's flying directly out of the blinding sun, straight at the plane and the girls protecting it.

Maybe it's got two sets of wings -- one made out of feathers, each one as sharp as a razor's blade, the other batlike, smooth and swooping.

Maybe it has a set of /arms/ in between the wings, for six backbound limbs total. Maybe the arms are both shaggy with pinfeathers and scaled with jewels.

Maybe a pair legs with talons, too, talons that gleam with a metallic shine subtly unlike any recognizable substance of Earth.

Maybe its head is, by surface area, about eight-tenths GAPING MAW to two-tenths 'space for eyes, of which there are eight, all of them narrowed to tiny slits'.

And everything is red, dripping red, ghastly red. There are so many distinct shades of the color in such a tight density that looking straight at the beast is rather like gazing at a Magic Eye... other images surface slowly and nebulously, then disappear in an eyeblink, replaced by new patterns.

The energy gathering in its half-closed mouth is red, too. It leaks out in sizzling streamers, crackles in discharge arcs.

Then it explodes. The oncoming wave of heat and pain threatens to engulf everyone and everything--!

COMBAT: Madoka Kaname transforms into The Vermillion Beast!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has fully healed herself. She is now ready to take on 12 opponents!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Red Rain on Nanoha Takamachi.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Red Rain on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Red Rain on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Red Rain on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Red Rain on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Red Rain on Kuniko Saito.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Red Rain on Ren Aizawa.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Red Rain on Lancelot.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Red Rain on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Red Rain on Chitose Shiratori.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Red Rain on Garnet.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Madoka Kaname's Red Rain, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Fade ability activates! Lera Camry's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Moon narrowly dodges Madoka Kaname's Red Rain, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon's Fade ability activates! Sailor Moon's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Red Rain, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Sailor Jupiter's Block ability activates! Sailor Jupiter's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Garnet narrowly dodges Madoka Kaname's Red Rain, taking 30 Fatigue damage! Garnet's Fade ability activates! Garnet's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Lancelot perfectly dodges Madoka Kaname's Red Rain, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Collateral Damage on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Red Rain on Hikaru Shidou.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito fails to dodge Madoka Kaname's Red Rain, taking 37 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Ren Aizawa fails to brace Madoka Kaname's Red Rain, taking 41 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Collateral Damage, taking 5 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori narrowly dodges Madoka Kaname's Red Rain, taking 21 Fatigue damage! Chitose Shiratori's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou fails to dodge Madoka Kaname's Red Rain, taking 42 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly dodges Madoka Kaname's Red Rain, taking 32 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Nanoha Takamachi fails to dodge Madoka Kaname's Red Rain, taking 44 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Steven Universe fails to brace Madoka Kaname's Red Rain, taking 45 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

<Here it comes!> Soaring Sky chimes, as the magical girls take to the skies. Lera sucks a breath in -- glancing first at Kuniko, then at Nanoha, and finally at Ren -- before she makes a thumbs-up and aims it at the last one. "We gotta make sure it doesn't get through, it's--"

A monster.

Lera stares at the multi-limbed, flying monster, with its terrible sets of eyes staring at them. Then, streamers of red come rushing in towards all of them. Lera hisses, her breath catching in her throat; then she does a sharp barrel roll around the first, ducks under the second, and shoots above the third. Each leaves a blackened near-miss along the green coat and black trousers. She grits her teeth, before she rolls downward.

"Sky! Those shots are--" Lera calls out.

<Pretend you're me!> Broken Ground chimes from Lera's gauntleted wrist, the little brown-yellow gem at the center flashing. Soaring Sky calls out: <Protection!>

A barrier of red light erupts in front of two of the streamers, flying at the side of the plane. Lera turns her head to look at it -- by happenstance, it's at the window seat that Mina is at. Lera looks at the little girl, then grins as the blasts of light disperse over Sky's hastily created barrier. She makes a thumbs-up at her.

Lera turns, then, back towards the monster and its large mouth. She sucks a breath in -- then /blitzes/ forward, leaving a sharp line of red-orange light in her wake. She slashes for the creature's side as she goes tearing past it, her blade leaving a trail of light in its wake.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Line Burst on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname fails to dodge Lera Camry's Line Burst, taking 22 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Sailor Moon didn't really expect for Jupiter to come after her. She'd begun to glow with this aura of vibrant pink, celestial light that would propel her when... "Jupiter-chan!" She's all too glad to take her hand. And then her other hand clasps over hers as well, her eyes shining with admiration. She knew how hard this had to be for her. But then they were off.

"You can fly!?" Was her first comment after the awe wore off of soaring through the air within a bubble of her power. She squeezes her hand even tighter, for support, "I'll never stop being amazed by how incredible you are Jupiter." She murmurs earnestly, as her eyes face forward, taking stock of the creature flying overhead. They levitate on the port side wing, the pair silhouetted against the sunlight, the occasional fluffy cloud giving it an ethereal feel to the experience of believing her hair was in a wind tunnel.

It's shockingly easy to stand on the wing, but she doesn't consider that. Instead she keeps a hand on Jupiter's. Her other hand, holding the Cutie Moon Rod, she puts up to her brow, in an impromptu V, grinning at the kids as if in reassurance that Sailor Moon has this handled. In fact she was about to give her trademark pose and speech when...

An incoming wave of heat threatens to consume her from the soles of her boots to the tips of her odangos. She ducks into a roll, rolling towards the cabin as if intending to spare the kids the worst of it. At least up here the little ones couldn't hear her shriek, like the other Magical Girls could.

Her skin reddened, her Fuku blackened in some parts, wisps of smoke rising off of it as they disperse, left behind within the atmosphere almost instantly. She wipes a hand across her eyes as if tears had sprung up while she was coming up on one knee with a hand down. No time for speeches and more poses today. Not if she wanted to save these children. Not if she wanted to spare Jupiter some added trauma.

Fierce determination and worry and fear in equal measure, as she gave Jupiter a last look to make certain she was holding up alright up here, hair flapping behind her wildly. She places her other hand to her tiara. Radiance shines, appearing like silver moonlight shimmering over a crest of a horizon of clouds. A simple fling of the wrist, and she spent it spinning towards the creature, soaring through the sky itself to punctuate the air. "We're definitely going to save these kids!" Is her cry to try to rally the others she recognizes up here against this monster. It's all she feels she needs. It's all she feels /they/ need.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Moon Tiara Action on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname perfectly dodges Sailor Moon's Moon Tiara Action, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Madoka Kaname's Fade ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

"I can't just ignore it while they're in danger," Jupiter answers Sailor Moon, shaking her head slightly as she tries to keep her focus. ...She doesn't answer about flying; she isn't sure she can do it reasonably herself. As it stands, it takes a lot of effort to keep going until they reach that wing.

...She doesn't let go Sailor Moon's hand in the moment, though, even as she looks up in alarm as--

"Ngh--!" It's at least as much breathlessness as it is toughness that means Jupiter barely cries out in the face of that crashing energy, even though it leaves her burned and winded.

Her ponytail whips behind her as she glares at the creature, teeth still gritted; she doesn't look back at Usagi when her friend looks at her, instead mostly working on staying up.

...She's done better. ...But here she is, and--

"How dare you strike out at innocent students on their trip! To try to bring down all these people before they can see their families again..."

"It's unforgivable! In the name of Jupiter, I will CRUSH YOU!"

The last words come out as a shout as Sailor Jupiter issues her challenge, hands curled into fists as she dares the creature to come right toward her.

COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has used In The Name Of Jupiter on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

What *IS* that?

The question is an overwhelming one, in several senses; the Magic Knight of Wind has faced some frighteningly powerful and peculiar enemies, but never one that she simply couldn't perceive or comprehend the form of. The sudden onslaught of energy, though, is QUITE comprehensible - and while the Wind Knight's first and instinctive reaction is to try and get out of its way, there are two problems with that.

First off, there may be plenty of space to stand or to move to, but it's all in a fairly limited arrangement, and everyone else is in the same line of fire that she is.

Secondly, the plane CAN'T dodge the onslaught - and while the Wind Knight doesn't know if the blast will hit a mundane aircraft the same way it hits magical girls, she's not prepared to assume it's going to endure strikes which lay low its protectors.

One mostly-unsuccessful dodge later, the Wind Knight is regaining her balance and re-evaluating her options. The monster - perhaps 'demon' is an apt description - may not have a coherent form that can be seen, but if it can attack her and the other magical girls, surely they have a way of attacking it in turn. Lera is flying at it and striking with magical melee, Sailor Moon is hurling her tiara; doubt doesn't slow them down.

"Winds of Admonishment!!" the green-clad Magic Knight calls out, daring to bend the winds to her will again; if the monster has any kind of physical form, a whirlwind should be able to restrict its movements and make it easier for her allies to assail. It certainly can't hurt to try; at the very least, it should be more productive than if she did nothing at all.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Admonishment on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly counters Sailor Jupiter's In The Name Of Jupiter, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Jupiter is Psyched! Madoka Kaname's Reverse ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Tactician ability activates! Diversion and Stagger applied to Madoka Kaname!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname's counterattack, Scarlet Slash, partially gets through, doing 14 Fatigue damage to Sailor Jupiter!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly dodges Fuu Hououji's Winds of Admonishment, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji is Psyched! Madoka Kaname's Fade ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Flash ability activates! Cripple applied to Madoka Kaname!

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

The Magic Knight of Fire has no idea what's coming at her, but has a sense that it's definitely dangerous and she should try to avoid it. But she's atop a flying plane, and between the gravity and the fact fighting on the outside of a plane isn't exactly easy, avoiding that incoming blast isn't going to be as easy as if she were on the ground. In fact, there just happens to be a bit of turbulence at the moment the Magic Knight of Fire attempts to dodge, meaning she gets hit... hard. She cries out and finds herself being caught by the red rain, or whatever it is, and it hurts a bit. She almost flies off of the airplane, but somehow manages to plant her boots firmly into the surface of the plane.

"No... can't give up!" The Magic Knight of Fire grunts as she struggles to maintain her balance. She makes her way back to where she was before, which is not too far from the Magic Knight of Wind. "Fire Arrow!" She calls out, summoning forth an arrow shaped projectile engulfed in flame, and shooting it in the general direction of where she believes the youma/monster/whatever is. Whatever it is, it's really irked the Magic Knight of Fire, and now it's gonna pay!

COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has used Fire Arrow on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Ren is relieved to see other magical defenders show up within the air, each of them finding their own creative ways of arriving. "Heraut. Can you sense anything about this enemy?" She asks her device, earning a quick chime in reply. <It's definitely... WATCH OUT!>

Heraut's warning comes right around the time the shadow reveals itself. Ren feels the color drain from her face momentarily at the mere sight of it. "W-What is that?!" She shouts in a shaky voice, not really expecting an answer. Her shock and revulsion is nearly overwhelming, and perhaps plays a part in her being unable to erect a strong enough shield in time when the airborne beast launches a devestating attack.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!" She shrieks as she's hit dead on, spiraling backwards through the sky like a ragdoll. The hit is mighty enough to tear a hole in her barrier jacket, parts of it actually flaking off and being vaporized into nothingness. But thankfully she herself doesn't suffer the same fate, the mage managing to stop her uncontrolled tumbling after some time.

"That was..."

<...Some hit!> Heraut finishes for her, gem pulsing steadily, <Exercise caution!> He then warns.

"Y-yeah..." She takes a deep breath and re-steels herself before rushing forward again. Lera's cover of the plane from being hit is encouraging in the best way, prompting her into remembering the smiling faces of the children who needed their protection along with everyone else. "Now Heraut!"

Acting on his master's command, the device takes on a bronze sheen as Ren comes to a halt above the winged creature. Holding Heraut above her head, the scepter expands upward in length, as though it's trying to pierce the heavens themselves. Gritting her teeth, Ren then brings her arm down, and with it comes a distinct whistling emanating from the scepter as it comes crashing down through the air, revealing that the head of the device has grown exponentially into something resembling a bejeweled battering ram that is bearing down on the monster at breakneck speed.

<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Lancelot eeps as he ducks and weaves through the rain of the monster's attack. It isn't graceful by ANY stretch of the imagination, and he nearly crashes into Magical Girls flying around him in his attempt to dodge the incoming fire. "Sorry! First time Flier!" He squeeks as one of the bolts neatly severs a strand of hair. "What am I doing here?!" He asks outloud.

Then he sees the critter and narrows his eyes. Oh yeah. Hero time. He adopts his superman like pose and tries to rocket forward toward the critter. He doesn't change speed at all. He hangs his head. "Next time, I need to ge tthe rabbit to give me directions." He points Arondight toward the beast and calls out: "LIGHTNING!" and a bolt of azure light crackles form the blade toward the creature of nightmare.

Merlin, on the ground looks up through tiny bunny size binnoculars idly chewing a baby carrot stick. "Bloody fool. Next time he should wait for directions." He nods once. As if that settled it.

COMBAT: Ren Aizawa has used Imperial Slam on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Ren Aizawa has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lancelot has used Lightning III on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Lancelot has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly braces Ren Aizawa's Imperial Slam, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Ren Aizawa is Psyched! Madoka Kaname's Block ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly dodges Hikaru Shidou's Fire Arrow, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Madoka Kaname's Fade ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly braces Lancelot's Lightning III, taking 1 Fatigue damage! Madoka Kaname's Block ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [None] has posed.

"Aw, but--" Is all Steven can muster to Garnet before she is gone. He wants to help too! But it is high up... Of course, Nanoha offers a helping hand to get there. "Y-Yes please! I wanna help! How do I--" of course, before he can ask just, how, he gets a big lift from the lady! "Thank you OH WOW!!!" is all that comes out of the boy's mouth as he is suddenly airborne!

Garnet is probably gonna be super-duper mad.

Steven gets a tender drop-off on the wing. "Thank you!" Steven says nicely as he makes a landing. It is easier than Steven thought to stay on the wing, despite, wearing sandals. "Oh, this is like surfing! I get it!" he says, as something giant and spooky looms in the distance.

And then, of course, the monster attacks. Steven doesn't even get to block it fully, it happens so fast. The boy gets plastered and knocked back slightly, but remains standing, though his star covered hawaiian buttondown has seen better days, smouldering a bit. "I uh, I am okay! I think..." That really hurt!

Steven's shield still vibrates and pulses from the kinetic energy of the attack though. "Oh yeah, you mean monster thing? Well have some of your own attack!" Steven readies his shield, and points it at the creature. The shield shines pink, and a copy of the creatures attack, only rose tinted (and of course much smaller scale) fires at the... whatever that thing is!

COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Reverb Shield on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Kuniko stares up at the sight of that red creature, eyes widening. The strange wind and the surreal experience of standing where she is - almost as if still, but cold and windy - does not help her dodge. The sudden surge of searing, bloody, heated red washes down over her, and she crouches down to try and move out of its way.

In no uncertain terms, this doesn't work. It feels like she's having hot marinara sauce poured down the back of her jacket. Sound cute? It's not; it's clinging, hot, boiling, agonizing. Kuniko's impression of it is like fluid, at least - fluid that whips off in the wind - but she wasn't looking at it.

She doesn't rise immediately.

But...

"Jeez," Kuniko says when one of her furtive efforts to put some coffee on to boil is answered by the water immediately boiling over thanks to the low pressure up here. "I guess I'd be limited to direct heat. Or cold food... What a pain." She turns and -

"eeh? Jupiter?? - Sailor Moon!" Kuniko says, sounding astonished /and/ thrilled. "I'd offer you a coffee, but it seems like that's not going to work out up here," she continues, half to herself. "But something cold -"

Pita! Halved! Mozzarella! Herbs! And a slice of tomato that is almost as red as their foe - almost, but not quite - and Kuniko lobs it, with careful and sorcerous precision, towards Sailor Moon. (Blame the scorch marks."

"Is great to eat on a flight," Kuniko concludes. Her head swivels then up towards that creature - "But how are we going to stop it before we end up grounded...?"

COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has used Tomato and Mozarella Antipasta on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Chitose Shiratori [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

Chitose continues to fly after the shadow, taking just a brief moment to slide her glasses off her face and tuck them somewhere. She was confident that they wouldn't fall off, but combined with the fighting and the flying, she figures it's probably safer this way. She finally manages to get everything stowed away when she finally takes a good look at the monster, with all its... many eyes? Chitose shakes her head to try and clear her vision to get a good look at it.

<Watch out!>

The wave is unleashed, and Chitose immediately swerves to avoid the heat of the blast, just narrowly getting her shoulder singed by the blast. "Ah!" She yells. This causes her to slow to a stop for a moment, gauging the monster and what she can do to help stop it. Taking a breath, she holds White Omen the rod in front of her, and the Device morphs around her hand into a crossbow. She takes off towards the shadow again, while the Device fires bolts of light at the enemy.

COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori has used Light Bolt on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon accepts Kuniko Saito's Tomato and Mozarella Antipasta, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Withstand applied to Sailor Moon! Cleanse! All of Sailor Moon's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Before Garnet is able to get a good look at her foe, it explodes in a wave of sinister heat! She attempts to dodge as best she can and missed the crest of the wave, but it was everywhere, and she still is smashed by its force and heat.
The damage itself is concerning, but the heat itself causing pain is a momentary shock to her system, and she gasps reflexively. Being immune to fire, and heat of any intensity provided it is not tempered with the magic of the emotions and the soul, provides her little opportunity to "feel the burn", and she finds the experience not to her liking.

As her vision clears, she sees it in the distance. As much as she would like to smash it with her fists, given the tremendous force it emitted, she decides to keep her distance until she can better ascertain her foe.
Garnet raises her arms in front of her, and channels the strength of the heavens, and the strength that binds all matter together, sending a giant electrical orb thundering at the creature!!

COMBAT: Garnet has used Adamantine Spark on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly dodges Steven Universe's Reverb Shield, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Madoka Kaname's Fade ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Flash ability activates! Stun applied to Madoka Kaname!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname fails to brace Chitose Shiratori's Light Bolt, taking 15 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname perfectly dodges Garnet's Adamantine Spark, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Madoka Kaname's Fade ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Nanoha Takamachi [Infinity Institute (4)] has posed.

That thing is... 
Terrible. 
In both appearance and menace, seeing the ungodly beast looming in blatant threat over the plane sends Nanoha's heart racing as she picks up in speed, slowing only to safely deposit Steven on the wing and then-- 
<EVASIVE MANEUVERS!> 
"Wah?!" 
Unlike Lera, Nanoha does not get to flash a thumbs up at the plane and passengers, she's too busy getting caught in the active blast of an immense wave of pain. It nearly knocks her out of the sky, the impact is stunning enough that she freefalls for a few beats, before regaining herself. 
Sizzling, Barrier Jacket singed and blackened, she pants, grasping Raising Heart tightly. 
<THIS ONE WILL NOT BE EASY.> "M-mn..." 
Well. If it's going to hit that hard... Nanoha pulls out the first stop without an ounce of guilt. She takes aim, setting herself on a runic sigil of pink light that forms a platform in the air beneath her, Device spreading wings of pink light and gathering energy. 
"Raising Heart- shooooot!" 
Of course, Device and Master are one in this decision, the girl's spell unleashing in a pillar of pink light. 

COMBAT: Nanoha Takamachi has used Heavy Laser on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Nanoha Takamachi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname fails to brace Nanoha Takamachi's Heavy Laser, taking 28 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Two of the beast's eight eyes widen at the sight of Lera shielding the plane. It is in that moment that anyone whose vision clears of red energy fast enough can notice that she -- for there is something subtly feminine about the creature -- has six lids on each eye, each pair offset about sixty degrees from the one in front of it.

Screeching her fury, an agonizing sound, she charges the Midchildan, which makes it quite impossible for her to dodge the comparably tiny human's counter-charge. The scent of burnt feathers is briefly in Lera's nose, before the high-speed combat leaves it far behind. Up close and personal with the beast, now, she reaches out with one of her arms to try to grab and crush.

It seems, however, that when she wants to move out of the way of something, she can do so with extraordinary speed. Sailor Moon's tiara comes soaring in, and despite the beast's immense size, easily twice the length of the plane, she simply barrel rolls out of the way. Feathers are torn loose from her wings by the strength and suddenness of the motion, and fly with deadly intent towards the leader of the senshi, and her mouthy companion.

Mid-roll, she is entangled briefly by the breezes conducted at the whim of the Magic Knight of Wind, but she's larger than that whirlwind by far, and essentially unadmonishable. With a huff from her mouth, she sends a stream of air back down the center of their connection, the eye of the tiny storm, and it carries with it still more bladelike feathers.

The beast comes out of all this motion just in time to see Lancelot's lightning coming from one side, and Hikaru's flame from the other. With another ear-piercing shriek, she launches straight upwards with a beat of her wings, right into Ren's massive slam -- which, apparently, was considered an acceptable loss. It mostly feels like hitting a pinata -- too many layers of scales and feathers for blunt force trauma to do much good.

Engaged with Ren, she cannot instantly counterstrike at the two Knights. On the other hand -- literally -- she still has a free one, giant and woolly and red, to grasp at, to crush with. At this rate Ren and Lera may wind up held next to each other in two separate hands, arms folding down across the beast's fuzzy, sharp underbelly.

Whether or not the beast can take what she dishes out is a question that will have to wait for another day, as she ducks its massive head under Steven's shield reflection, losing a couple of feathers to the near miss, which, like the others, head straight for him. Garnet's giant orb she furls her wings and ducks under entirely.

Chitose's little crossbow bolts somehow wind up sticking out of her throat in the middle of all this confusion, brightly aglow amid all that red. It's a really /big/ throat, the beast long-necked like a giraffe (or a dragon), but it -- along with Nanoha's subsequent pink blast, which smacks it right in the kisser -- is still an attack that elicits the biggest roar to date, one that is an attack in its own right, deafening in scope and painful to every exposed pore.

But the feathers -- there are far more razors out in the air, now, than are reasonable, or easy to keep track of. Every single one that misses its original intended target sprouts, at the end of the pinion, a pair of tiny eyes, a mouth with a gibbering tongue, and a bad attitude. They go rushing towards those who thought they were safe enough to not be attacked directly: Hikaru and Lance, Garnet and Steven, the Mile-High Chef...

...and a few head towards the nearest jet turbine. They'll need to be stopped!

COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Maroon Mayhem on Hikaru Shidou.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Mighty Roar on Nanoha Takamachi.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Scarlet Slash on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Scarlet Slash on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Scarlet Slash on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Scarlet Slash on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Maroon Mayhem on Kuniko Saito.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Crimson Crush on Ren Aizawa.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Maroon Mayhem on Lancelot.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Crimson Crush on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Mighty Roar on Chitose Shiratori.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Maroon Mayhem on Garnet.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter perfectly counters Madoka Kaname's Scarlet Slash, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! Sailor Jupiter's Reverse ability activates! Sailor Jupiter's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter's counterattack, Jupiter Thunderbolt, bursts all the way through, doing 22 Fatigue damage to Madoka Kaname!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Collateral Damage on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Collateral Damage, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sailor Jupiter's Block ability activates! Sailor Jupiter's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Madoka Kaname's Crimson Crush, taking 30 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Fade ability activates! Lera Camry's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Lancelot narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Maroon Mayhem, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Lancelot's Block ability activates! Lancelot's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Nanoha Takamachi narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Mighty Roar, taking 18 Fatigue damage! Nanoha Takamachi's Block ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Moon narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Scarlet Slash, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Garnet narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Maroon Mayhem, taking 21 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Tangle applied to Garnet!
COMBAT: Ren Aizawa narrowly dodges Madoka Kaname's Crimson Crush, taking 24 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori narrowly dodges Madoka Kaname's Mighty Roar, taking 19 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Chitose Shiratori's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Steven Universe narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Scarlet Slash, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Steven Universe's Block ability activates! Steven Universe's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Maroon Mayhem, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Kuniko Saito's Block ability activates! Kuniko Saito's Parry ability activates! Tangle applied to Kuniko Saito!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly counters Madoka Kaname's Scarlet Slash, taking 26 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji's counterattack, Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi, partially gets through, doing 10 Fatigue damage to Madoka Kaname! Critical Counterhit!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"I have no clue!" Lera answers Ren, even if she didn't expect one. "I've never seen a monster like this before!" She grits her teeth, as she finishes closing with the monster. Sailor Moon's words ring in her ears: 'We're definitely going to save these kids!' She nods, before she looks back at the monster that charges her. One of those six arms swings out, huge compared to her, and she drops backward, before it can wrap its fingers around her and crush.

The fist still slams into her. Her Barrier Jacket shudders, light erupting where the blow hits her on the front. Her shoulder -- hurt before -- has a sudden spike of pain that jolts her awake. She drops back away from the monster for a moment.

She glowers at the monster. Then, though, she spots Sailor Moon. Not on the wing of the plane, but falling. Lera sucks a deep breath in, before she blasts forward. A ring of green light erupts from her feet -- and she dives down, reaching out. It takes two swings of her free hand, before she grabs Sailor Moon's wrist tightly. "I've got you!" she yells at Sailor Moon. "Hang on! We'll get this thing together, Sailor Moon!"

She swings her arm up, then, and tosses her back onto the jet plane's wing.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used We'll Do It Together! on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon accepts Lera Camry's We'll Do It Together!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon is Cheered!
COMBAT: Lancelot has used Top Floor, Dragons, Knights and Magical Girls on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Lancelot has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Maroon Mayhem, taking 24 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Hikaru Shidou's Block ability activates! Hikaru Shidou's Parry ability activates! Tangle applied to Hikaru Shidou!

<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Having climbed, Lancelot looks down at the scene and grimaces. Then hsi eyes whip to Jupiter bing knocked off the plane and sort of. Well. She's falling. He nods once, as if that setlted everything and dove, sliding Arondight into a sheath on his back as he plumets after Jupiter. His hair whips and his cloak snaps as he falls faster and faster toward the girl letting out a hurricane's worth of lightning as she falls.

Stray bolts ripple over his armor, and he dodges the ones that look less than pleasant and he catches Jupiter with a quick smile. "Hi! I'm Lancelot. Nice to meet you. Would you like to go back up and murder a Dragon with Lightning? I'm partial to Lightning myself."

What he doesn't know, is he's said all of that. In French.

COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter accepts Lancelot's Top Floor, Dragons, Knights and Magical Girls, taking 0 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Nanoha Takamachi [Infinity Institute (4)] has posed.

That roar is deafening. Briefly, Nanoha quietly wonders to herself if her ears will pop at this height, regardless of being inside or outside of a plane. 
She is then very quickly taught that it does not matter if her ears pop, when something yells loud enough to make her ears -bleed-. 
The sheer force of the roar is enough to fling her end over end, but she regains her balance. The only thing she does not regain is her sense of hearing. Certainly she can feel the chill winds gust all around her, but... 
Raising Heart's gem flashes. The Device is saying something. 
It's a steady 'eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee' noise, before the mage realizes it's not her device. It's just her ears. 
Though her sense of hearing is shot, and she's somewhat dizzy as a result of it, her eyes are still keen. And that might be why her attention turns off the battle, the redhead mage in white suddenly breaking into a top speed dive bomb, hand outstretched... 

COMBAT: Nanoha Takamachi has used Take My Hand on Hikaru Shidou.
COMBAT: Nanoha Takamachi has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Her breath catches as she watches her tiara move in, as if she were trying to will it to hit. But the creature barrel rolls out of the way, the disk spinning out of its path before arcing back into her hand. Disappointment grows like a lump in her throat, but she can't let it deter her, looking to Jupiter as her example, an adoring look at her fellow Senshi as she calls out her indignation. "You're so brave." She whispers, at the soldier of Thunder and Courage.

But her attention is taken away by the sight of another ally. "Kuniko-chan!" Sailor Moon sounds delighted when she sees her, more than shocked, especially when she anticipates the treat. She's salivating even as it's being prepared, Mozzarella, tomato, herbs, and pita bread put together... "An in flight meal!"

Even more delighted, and surprised. She takes a bite. Then a larger one, then devours it entirely. Rubbing her stomach with her free hand, "Mmm! You've made my tummy so happy! Say- don't suppose you'd be able to switch to one of the middle school flights once we have this handled...? I know a flight attendant who can help you with that!"

As the creature sets its sights on them, she's turning back towards it, "Here it comes!" Feathers fly towards her, and she takes up a strong stance on the wing in anticipation, spinning the rod at hand in anticipation. And she sweeps up the Cutie Moon Rod, which she named herself, catching several of the feathers in its sweeping arc. However, several more graze past her, the mere force causing Sailor Moon to lose balance, as she trips and falls... right to the edge of the wing.

She's not a warrior born, her arms pinwheel at first as she hangs there in space before inevitably gravity and clumsiness win the war against her desperate attempt to hold fast. She doesn't scream at first, as if in shock that this is happening, her free hand outstretched towards Jupiter as if she still might reach her, is determined to get to her, to be with her, to support her even now. No, the shrill scream comes moments later, as she falls and falls and...

A hand clasps her wrist. 'I've got you!' Her eyes sparkle, as a smile widens on her face, "Lera-chan!" She nods, as shining droplets of water mingle with the look of resolution. "Thanks for the save... I thought..." Breathing a sigh of relief as Jupiter not only saves the plane, but is caught during her own descent by the goofiest, and thus best of knights. "Right! Can you give me a boost?"

Even as she's tossed back towards the wing, she puts both hands to her heart, emboldened by the Midchildan Mage's effort. "Moon Sparkling-"

A kaleidoscope of light emanates from the Crystal Star, as she turns a helicopter spin in mid-air, outstretching both hands just as she landed upon the wing. "-SENSATION!" Numerous silvery-pink beams of light rocket out from the Crystal Star, creating a shimmering light show in the atmosphere. They seek out the Vermillion beast, and try to stream through it in purifying prismatic bursts.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Moon Sparkling Sensation on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname perfectly dodges Sailor Moon's Moon Sparkling Sensation, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Madoka Kaname's Fade ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

"We'll do fine!" Jupiter answers Kuniko, very quickly. "It's good to see you!" ...The statements don't entirely go together. She flashes Sailor Moon a confident look anyway, despite the difficulty. She's breathing a little harder, but that's probably just the lack of air... nevermind the fact that she's fought in space before.

She keeps her eyes on the gigantic creature, though, and hurls a lightning bolt straight through the path of the feathers coming toward her, blasting a clear path as her attack pushes all the way back through towards the beast.

"Is that--Is that the best you've got!?"

Apparently there's a /lot/ better; Jupiter's eyes widen as she sees the feathers moving towards the engine. "No!"

She hurls herself upward, and through the air to block them, crossing her arms before herself to brace for the attack--but the sheer force of it knocks her off-course, leaving her to sail right /past/ the wing. Her eyes widen, and she thrusts out her arm--but her gloved hand isn't close enough to help her grab hold.

She's falling, outright, through the air, her hair whipped upward by the force of the wind up here. She looks around, but spots nothing to even /slow/ herself... She can only spot Sailor Moon. She can't grab hold of her friend...

But she can see that she's safe.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Sailor Jupiter--

Finds that she's been caught, falling right into the waiting arms of a knight crackling with the same kind of power she is. A knight who's... Speaking...

Between being caught and the language barrier, Jupiter stares at Lancelot in confusion. "...You..." Confusion turns into something a little dreamy before she suddenly catches /herself/, spotting the wing as Lancelot flies them both back up. ...Then her expression is still a little dreamy, but she's rolling through the air to land straight on the wing, too, with a, "Thanks!"

"I'll show you why you shouldn't fly through the storm! SUPREME...!"

The antenna on her tiara extends upward as Jupiter gathers her power, lightning striking her from above and staying /with/ her--as she hurls the mass of bolts directly for the beast flying above, "THUNDER!"

...Sailor Moon, of course, will recognize what happens when Jupiter is showing off.

COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has used Supreme Thunder! on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname perfectly braces Sailor Jupiter's Supreme Thunder!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Brace! Madoka Kaname's Block ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

This is quite the violent sky-monster, the Wind Knight thinks as she revs up another attack spell. "STORM-DANCE OF KAMAITACHI!!" she shouts, shaping her tornado to stay well above the plane before sending it flying at the red-sky demon. It's not nearly enough to block out the slash which is directed at the Magic Knight of Wind, but her armor takes most of the brunt of it, merely sending her skidding back along the fuselage a few dozen meters.

Others are not nearly so fortunate, she quickly realizes, and she sees the big, dark-skinned woman who's both falling away from the plane, and seems to have gotten snarled in something, to boot.

"Winds of Healing!!" the Magic Knight of Wind shouts, weaving the breeze into a net to both catch Garnet and clear away whatever had entangled her. Normally that would be it, but the Wind Knight 'digs in her heels' mentally, strengthening the restorative winds to pull Garnet back to safety and let her get her footing on the plane again.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Garnet.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [None] has posed.

Steven's attack lands, albeit barely. Something about traveling at this high a speed makes landing attacks harder than he remembers. Of course, before another attack can be used, unfathomable amounts of red feathers fire in all directions! Steven gets caught by a few, but repels most by hiding under his shield. The boy peeks out from under it. He fared better than some.

"Oh no, people are falling! Garnet!" he calls out to his caretaker, who was one of the unfortunate ones. "Someone please, save her!" he calls out. Thankfully it looks like people are moving in to save them.

That bird thing is so far away...! How will Steven reach it? Well, that attack reflection worked... kinda. Looking around, most of the others are well versed in their ablities, and are waiting on the badguy! Wait, maybe...! "Hey, bird thing! Over here!" he calls out, waving wildly at the creature. "You can't hit me!" And with that gives a mean stink eye!

This may not work, but at least he can make a good distraction, and keep others from getting hit! Maybe. Hopefully this doesn't go bad and the plane gets hit instead.

Maybe he should have thought about the first. Oh well, hindsight is something kids don't usually have.

COMBAT: Garnet accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cleanse! All of Garnet's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Steven Universe has used AND STEVEN! on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly dodges Steven Universe's AND STEVEN!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Steven Universe is Psyched! Madoka Kaname's Fade ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Flash ability activates! Diversion applied to Madoka Kaname!

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Lera's answer isn't very heartening. Ren doubts any of them will have a clue as to this thing's origins, but that doesn't really matter at the moment. Taking it out and keeping the plane safe is a much higher priority! The metallic clang that rings through the air upon Heraut making impact with the beast, though Ren's left speechless when it doesn't seem to have the amount of "oomph" behind it that she hopes for.

<...I don't like this bird-thing very much!> Heraut, of course, states exactly what his master is currently thinking. Not only does it hit hard but it can take hits too!

Retaliation comes swiftly, with Ren performing some impressive aerial maneuvers to avoid the hand that wants to crush her to a pulp. Well, mostly. It still clips her in the side, the sting causing her teeth to clench. Heraut also pings around his time, likely in response to several of the falling magical girls who weren't lucky enough to dodge out of the way. One of them in particular is close enough for Ren to streak toward. "I'm coming!" She shouts, holding her hand out towards the falling chef. A shimmering circle of Midchildan runes flare into existence right beneath Kuniko, seeking to cushion her fall as well as give her a bit of a boost.

COMBAT: Ren Aizawa has used Sovereign's Mettle on Kuniko Saito.
COMBAT: Ren Aizawa has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

The Magic Knight of Fire isn't worried so much about avoiding attacks right now, because she's going... going... gone! She's been knocked off of the airplane! And unfortunately, the Fire Knight can't use her flames to get back onto the plane. If someone doesn't do something soon, the poor Fire Knight is going to be leaving a huge crater in the ground soon. She tries to be brave, but the sense of helplessness along with the fear of being in midair with nothing to hold onto or anything like that is making her feel tears in her eyes as her heart begins to race faster than she ever thought possible. "I want my mommy!" The Fire Knight randomly babbles to herself, beginning to wonder when she's going to see her life flash before her eyes.

Just then, Nanoha seems to appear out of nowhere or something like that. It doesn't matter where she came from, honestly, as long as she's here to help the Fire Knight. Reaching out quickly, the Fire Knight takes hold of Nanoha's hand and smiles a little. "Thank you! You saved me!"

COMBAT: Kuniko Saito accepts Ren Aizawa's Sovereign's Mettle, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Kuniko Saito is Reinforced by Ren Aizawa!

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet is dismayed that her attack fails to connect, the creature suddenly dodging out of its berth. She suddenly hears a familiar voice exclaim "Oh yeah, you mean monster thing? Well have some of your own attack!" and she's horrified to realize that it wasn't her imagination, as she looks over and sees Steven facing down the beast! "STEVE-!" but before she can finish her exclamation she is knocked off of the plane and sent hurtling into a free fall! "No, no, no!" Garnet whispers to herself. She has to get back onto the plane and protect Steven!!! But, she takes stock of her seemingly dire situation, she is suddenly caught in a strange green net, that while catching her, melts away the tangles the beast left in its wake. Before her thoughts can drift back to Steven, Garnet sees another fighter, in more immediate need!
Garnet reaches and stretches her arms out like ropes to Chitose, taking her hand as gently as possible with her armored gloves.

"You're going to be all right. We're going back up. Keep strong."

COMBAT: Garnet has used Real Talk on Chitose Shiratori.
COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori accepts Garnet's Real Talk, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou accepts Nanoha Takamachi's Take My Hand, taking 0 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Chitose Shiratori [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

Chitose and White Omen continue firing shots at the shadow monster, dodging to the side and to another side to anticipate shots.

Which is why Chitose is taken slightly off guard when, instead, the beast roars at her. This stops her as the roar shakes her very being. On the bright side? It doesn't hurt as so much as she thought it would. On the other, less bright side?

Chitose's vision flips over and faces downward as she loses control and altitude. It's not a direct line to the face of the sea, Chitose is attempting to slow her descent to a slower spin.

Thankfully, help comes in the form of... outstreched arms? When they catch her, Chitose's sight drifts along the arms to Garnet, who owns those arms. Chitose smiles. "Thank you very much!"

Then she leans over just a bit to aim White Omen at the shadow again. "Fire!"

<Starling Shot.>

A shot is fired, which split into many smaller shots, moments before they fling themselves at the source of evil.

When that's over, she smiles again at Garnet, readjusts herself, and then takes flight again.

COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori has used Starling Shot on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"If I'd thought ahead, we'd've made lunchboxes," Kuniko tells Sailor Moon. "But now's not the time!" Or the thyme.

The screaming pinion with a mouth and tongue lunges towards Kuniko. Kuniko raises up her left leg to kick it aside. This would porbably be a really great plan on the surface of the Earth, which is not where Kuniko is right now.

She realizes her mistake almost immediately. "KYAHH!!"

Kuniko starts flailing in midair, perhaps in the mistaken belief that if she just thrashes hard enough the air will turn into a thick gelatinous mass, not unlike pudding, and permit her to clamber back to the wing. She sort of succeeds, in that Ren finds her - bounces her with Midchildian magic. "Ah - thanks!!" she calls back to her savior, giving her a huge thumbs up even as she lands on her knees on the wing again.

She looks up at the red creature. Her lips pull back from her teeth, wind whistling through her teeth momentarily. She can barely heat anything up in this situation. If only they had more pressure, more time... she can use the pressure cooker if she can get some breathing space, but HOW? What can she keep doing?

In flight meal, she thinks. Sailor Moon's words ring through her ears. Her eyes turn to the side - and Kuniko reaches out to rummage in the dry goods storage. Tearing open a cellophane package, Kuniko says in a little muffled tone, "Like Chef liked to say... <Sweets To The Sweet,>" this in English. "<And Nuts To The Nuts!>"

A pistachio, after all, comes in its own casing. Squeezing a baker's dozen of them closely, Kuniko casts them forth with a silent wish - that they streak up and find their target, shells serving as plates. Will it work? Can Service itself overcome the howl of the wind!?

COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has used A Pistachio Prescription on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly braces Chitose Shiratori's Starling Shot, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Madoka Kaname's Block ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly dodges Kuniko Saito's A Pistachio Prescription, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Kuniko Saito is Psyched! Madoka Kaname's Fade ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Magical girls soar to and fro, saving one another from plummeting straight into the ocean -- for it is, at this point, what they're flying above. There are a few fluffy clouds, but for the most part it's endless blue, sky and sea both sparkling with glints of sun.

This grants the beast an opportunity to regroup from the swarm harrying her. Beating her wings to stabilize its flight, she starts to inhale. Flowing into her throat are streams of air so thick that they suck bits of cloud along. From the holes made by Chitose's bolts (the second set adding to the first), one can faintly see more crackles of red energy. She is building up for another of those terrible explosive attacks.

Someone or something is going to have to stop her, and it sure isn't Sailor Moon or Sailor Jupiter. Moonbeams and heaven's wrath soar towards her with all the passion of two protective hearts... and she simply swoops past the former, and opens her mouth against the latter.

It isn't that the red beam comes out to soften Supreme Thunder, no. That attack just went /straight/ down the beast's throat.

She swallows with an 'ulp' noise made basso by the sheer size of her throat, and now there are little white crackles building along with the ruby energy there.

A few moments later, there are also pistachios. This time the 'ulp' is a little smaller, but very satisfied.

While that's still charging, Steven Q. Universe decides to get her full attention. She has eight eyes to his two, and totally overwhelms his stinkeye with her manifold glare, made triply weird by the way various opacities of eyelids flicker in and out, seemingly at random.

With dreadful pseudo-slowness, the illusion cast by her size, she flaps her batwings powerfully, then soars through the air between the two of them. In reality, she's approaching at high speed.

At the last moment she veers off course, letting her left arm reach out to try to snatch him off the plane!

And as she flies off, with or without him, she flaps her tailfeathers, of which there are many, in an effort to ensnare the wing and send the airplane twisting towards the sea below...

COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used How Rude on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Amaranth Arms on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used How Rude on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Itadakimasu on Kuniko Saito.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon narrowly dodges Madoka Kaname's How Rude, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sailor Moon's Fade ability activates! Sailor Moon's Flash ability activates! Sailor Moon is Taunted!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Collateral Damage on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Collateral Damage, taking 8 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter narrowly dodges Madoka Kaname's How Rude, taking 2 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito narrowly dodges Madoka Kaname's Itadakimasu, taking 2 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Steven Universe narrowly counters Madoka Kaname's Amaranth Arms, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Cripple, Stagger, Stun, and Trap applied to Steven Universe!
COMBAT: Steven Universe's counterattack, Bubble Shield, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Madoka Kaname!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"Aw, hey, I couldn't let you drop down there, y'know?" Lera tells Usagi, with a laugh. "What kinda friend would I be then?" She flies back, as the Moon Sparkling Sensation goes flying outward, shooting towards the monster. Lera lifts back above the jet, the fierce wind here flapping her coat and blowing her hair back from her head.

Then she realizes that Steven Universe is trying to get the thing's attention. Her mouth opens -- she's impressed by his guts, if nothing else -- and then she yells in surprise when the hand swings out and grabs him. She grimaces -- and then goes rocketing forward, straight towards that hand. "Hey!" she yells at Steven. "Hold on, I'll try to getcha out of there! Sky!"

<On it!> Soaring Sky yells. <We'll try to pin it place and force it to drop him!>

"Good enough for me!" Lera yells. She thrusts a hand out, towards that hand. A shimmering ring of red-orange light appears -- and then it condenses, tightly, around the wrist and tries to squeeze it in place. <Plasma Bind!>

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Plasma Bind on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly braces Lera Camry's Plasma Bind, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Madoka Kaname's Block ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Parry ability activates! Trap applied to Madoka Kaname!

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [None] has posed.

"Neener neener!" While everyone else is attacking, Steven has no idea if the monster can even hear him. It is so loud out right now! And well, even if it does hear him, will it understand? It is highly... yes. The answer is apparently yes to both as it looks rght at him, very angrily. "Uh-oh. Guys?"

Steven barely gets to react as it takes off liek a rocket right at him! He reflexively puts up a Bubble Shield! "Okay, it souldn't be able to get me from here! Mean badguy, you are no match for my shield! It holds up to--"

There is a distinct bubble popping noise as talons poke it gingerly, causing it to evaporate. "Ahhh!" And within moments Steven is airborne. "Oh this is bad! This is really bad! I am in so much trouble...!" The boy flails his free hand with the shield at the creature's leg, but cannot get the torque behind it to even do anything. "You! Nice lady!" he yells kindly to Nanoha, the person who gave him a lift. "I dont suppose I could ask for another hand, could I? You're doing really good and all, but I could use help!"

He would ask Garnet for help but he knows he is in trouble with her. So much trouble.

COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Go Giant Women! on Nanoha Takamachi.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet lands back on the wings of the plane thanks to Fuu's valiant rescue, for which she will thank her when things slow down a bit. First thing's first though, she needs to find that little boy... Oh there he is, being carried off by the gian-... "STEVEN!" Garnet leaps off of the plane and shapeshifts a pair of black feathered wings to help her manuever towards the creature. "You're not getting away this time..." She approaches in a supersonic blur, driven by fury, worry and purpose, and infusing her fists with emotion, strikes out at the claw holding her Steven!

COMBAT: Garnet has used Decisive Punch on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly braces Garnet's Decisive Punch, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Madoka Kaname's Block ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Kuniko-san..." Ren breathes in a sigh of relief, happy to see the chef bounce back up onto the plane's wing. "Thanks for keeping an eye on the others, Heraut." The device chimes back in an affirmative tone, and Ren ascends into the sky a bit, just as the winged monster makes it's next move.

"Watch out!" She finds herself screaming into the wind, her voice likely being carried away as she watches the plane get dangerously targeted again. But the horror is doubled when she spots Stephen get swept up by the passing creature, clutched within it's grasp. "Come on Heraut! We've got to save him!" And with that she rushes downward, following behind Lera who seems to have the same idea. She twirls the scepter within her grasp then slashes at the air, sending out a wave a rainbow colored energy that joins Lera's own attack in trying to get the talon to let go.

COMBAT: Ren Aizawa has used Radiance Noble Aura on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Ren Aizawa has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname fails to brace Ren Aizawa's Radiance Noble Aura, taking 32 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Briefly, Lancelot lands on the wingtip before Jupiter lets loose a torrent of elemental doom toward the creature in question. He nods in appreciation. "Nice Bolt. Blue Lightning. Nice. Nice. I like the traditional White lighting." He draws Arondight and bows, before he leaps off the wingtip.

He briefly wonders if he needed to reactivate the spell first as he DEFINATELY was in free fall for the barest of moemnts, beofre the spell picked up and he was off again. He stops as Sailor Moon is now falling and nods once. A Knight's job of rescuing falling people was never over. "I wonder if that was a thing in the medieval days?" He asks himself before he dives toward Sailor Moon.

Once agian his hair whips and his cloak cracks as he picks up speed to reach the falling Sailor Scout. He reaches has to circle her as they fall to try and find a method of cathing her that wouldn't rip his shoulders out of socket, but eventually he slams into Moon and wraps his arms around her.

The Chevalier lets out a breath of air in released tension. "I think I need to introduce you to my rabbit." He says with a smile. "He casts fly spells. OH! Hi, by the way. I'm Tak - Lancelot. Nice to meet you. Back to the plane then Princess?" He asks, since he was there at the battle against the large giant woman.

He ascends quickly toward the plane. Once agian oblivious to the fact that he's speaking French. Still.

<Pose Tracker> Chitose Shiratori [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

Chitose braces while the monster rears for another attack...

Only to notice it flying and attacking other people. How Rude indeed. After the kids, after the shadow creature, and after being knocked from the sky, Chitose frowns. She turns and veers to pursue, aiming yet again at the monster. Since it is moving very fast, she decides to try something slightly different. "Get ready..."

<Thunder Dove>

The Device launches small, tiny stylized birds with flowing wings at the shadow creature. They're not the fastest shots in the world, but they turn to match their target, and that's probably what Chitose needs right now.

COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori has used Thunder Dove on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lancelot has used Top Floor, Dragons, Knights and Magical Girls on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Lancelot has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

And now the young boy with a gem in his navel seems to have been ensnared by the monster's claws. This just isn't a good day for Tokyo's guardians, is it ... but on the bright side, it also means the monster isn't attacking the airplane again.

Yet.

For now.

The Magic Knight of Wind rises back to her feet, gauging the distance between herself and the 'dragon'; it'll be a difficult shot, but she can handle the kind of precision this may require. Her bow and quiver materialize, and she nocks an arrow to the bowstring. As she does so, the plane's headwind seems to abate even more sharply about her, although her hair and skirts are still being ruffled by a wind of some kind.

She draws back her shaft, her attention not so much 'focusing' as 'condensing' into clarity, finding the still point within her heart and letting her aim settle, arrow pointed at the dragon's wrist. The wind whips more violently at her hair, but her aim doesn't even waver.

It has to be a perfect shot, but she grows calm and certain that her arrow will fly true.

"Gale Arrow!"

The draw is released; the winds whip forward about the Magic Knight of Wind, and her arrow flies swift and sure at the giant monster's arm, enshrouded by the magical wind that propels it and steadies its flight.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon accepts Lancelot's Top Floor, Dragons, Knights and Magical Girls, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon is Cheered!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly dodges Chitose Shiratori's Thunder Dove, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Madoka Kaname's Fade ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Gale Arrow on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname fails to brace Fuu Hououji's Gale Arrow, taking 23 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji is Psyched!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Sailor Moon might have shrieked again in fury as it dodges again so effortlessly. "How rude! You're not supposed to just keep-" Except it proves just how rude it is by swooping right in past her. And while she leaps out of the way, the mere currents from its wake send Sailor Moon forwards rather than backwards, sliding across the wing, her gloved hands desperately grabbing for the edge with desperate cries of Aaa-aaa-aaa!

It's all she can do to keep hold from her position, and her grip is tenuous, requiring her to use both hands to catch ahold of one of the flaps along the leading edge, shrieking all the while. Even then it looks touch and go, like she might fall at any moment, when suddenly the creatures' tail feathers are flapping up and over the edge of the wing.

Its either sacrifice her grip or possibly the plane full of kids.

And while she's terrified beyond measure at the thought of falling again... the rod trailing pink sparkles arcing up, shows that her choice was never really a question to her. It sweeps away the tail feathers without doing any doing any real damage, just keeping them at bay from the wing. But the slap of the loose tailfeathers to her chin answers the question of whether she'll hold on even more certainly than the loss of a hand.

A little stunned from the blow, she still finds it in her to scream as she falls. Arms encircle around her and it's...

...Cute goofy Knight guy.

Sailor Moon's face reddens from her nose to the tips of her ears. She laughs nervously as he speaks in French, "Thanks! Are you a foreign exchange student? I guess you'd have to be..." I mean he looks like a Western Knight! "...because your Spanish is so good! Don't they say it's the language of love?" A beat, more nervous titters as she realizes what she said, "I-Is it suddenly a little hot up here or is it just me?"

As Lancelot flies on by the creature, determination lights up on her face even amongst the flush. "W-Well this is my stop! Thanks again!" Sailor Moon swings out of his grip, leg outstretched as she puts all of the weight of her 4'11" frame behind the kick to try to smash into its arm.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Thanks to Nanoha, the Fire Knight is back on the plane finally, alongside her allies. Unfortunately, the wind seems to have taken a bit of strength out of her, but she refuses to give up all the same. She tries to regain her footing as best as she can, and stares in the general direction of where she believes the monster to be. "We can't let it win!" She says loud enough that hopefully the Wind Knight will hear her. "We've got to defeat it!" She raises her hand and sends forth a simple fiery shot this tiem.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Sailor Moon Kick on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Thanks to Nanoha, the Fire Knight is back on the plane finally, alongside her allies. Unfortunately, the wind seems to have taken a bit of strength out of her, but she refuses to give up all the same. She tries to regain her footing as best as she can, and stares in the general direction of where she believes the monster to be. "We can't let it win!" She says loud enough that hopefully the Wind Knight will hear her. "We've got to defeat it!" She raises her hand and sends forth a simple fiery shot this time.

COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has used You're Fired on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Kuniko waits for this creature to repent its ways in the face of a pistachio infusion. She doesn't wait long, though. It's clear there's a problem with that plan. She is dismayed, perhaps, at how appreciative the creature seemed to be. She gazes at her hand.

But only briefly.

The creature's whipping close and dangerously so. And it - it stole that kid with the curly hair! Just straight up grabbed him! Kuniko's mouth hangs open in astonishment.

What she does next is the result of several useless factoids all interfacing inside of Kuniko's mind, simmering gently by the abrupt fear of what is to become of Steven in that creature's clutches. She doesn't know him from Izanagi; nonetheless...!

Kuniko grasps a bottle of dish soap from within the Mise-en-place's storage spaces, stabbing it firmly with a knife and squeezing it so it comes out. She looks towards Steven and steps forwards along the wing, drawing her hand back and building up what speed she can to HURL it out towards him - and towards the creature's taloned hand.

Dish soap! Could anything be slipperier? (Well, Kuniko probably has other things too, but this one might also damage the creature's flight feathers. Let HER see how it feels.) If nothing else the slipstream whips through the damaged plastic and catches it up - leaving a sea of bubbles of all sizes in its wake as it closes the distance.

Hopefully, Steven isn't one of those kids who takes pride in messiness.

COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has used A Dish-Stevenio Prescription on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly dodges Sailor Moon's Sailor Moon Kick, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon is Psyched! Madoka Kaname's Fade ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Flash ability activates! Stun applied to Madoka Kaname!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly braces Kuniko Saito's A Dish-Stevenio Prescription, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Madoka Kaname's Block ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname fails to dodge Hikaru Shidou's You're Fired, taking 17 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Sailor Jupiter can only stare at the monster before her as it simply /eats/ her attack, adding it to her own apparently and otherwise being... Totally unaffected.

She takes a step back, still standing on the wing, and her next move, for a moment, flies completely out of her mind. ...She can't actually /understand/ the comments Lancelot is making, either, though he does seem very dignified in how he's doing it. What language is he even speaking?

(Jupiter definitely doesn't know French.)

All she can understand after that is when Sailor Moon falls forwards. "Sailor Moon--" Jupiter reaches forward to try to catch her...

But she can't; Sailor Moon's already dropped to protect the kids on the plane, and Jupiter finds her heart catching in her throat in the moments before Lancelot flies down to catch her. She catches sight of the ground, so far below, and freezes. It's hard to tear her gaze away, but she does, barely, and as she looks up to the creature... she sees Steven in its grip.

"Right, I can't just--stop, I can't stay behind!"

Her feet still feel locked in place. She can't even /move/; she remembers well the ground below.

"Let... him... Go!" Jupiter shouts, and rears back, hurling another bolt of lightning for the wrist that's holding Steven--and stumbling forward after it, towards the wing of the plane, not even looking to see whether she's hit.

COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has used Jupiter Thunderbolt on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname fails to brace Sailor Jupiter's Jupiter Thunderbolt, taking 20 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

That hand is a /hand/, not a set of talons. It is not attached to a leg but an arm, a big shaggy red arm. Fur surrounds Steven. (It smells like cinnamon.)

Lera's shining bind makes the wrist pop a bit, though it flexes against it in retaliation, only to shiver when Fuu's arrow sprouts out of it. Garnet punches its closed knuckles, THWAM THWAM THWAM, and Ren's rainbow energy soars in all around, raising sparks as well as sparkles.

Chitose's soaring birds pepper at the beast's sides. Sailor Moon smashes into her arm, accompanied by Hikaru's fireblast and an extraordinary supply of Kuniko's dish soap. It's a new kind of bubble... popped with a splat by Jupiter's furious thunderbolt.

With an irritable shriek, it flaps its bird-wings, once again releasing a swarm of razor feathers to assault its assailants. Steven, still contained within the fist, begins to get crushed. It's a deliciously scented way to be in danger, but danger nonetheless, as the palm collapses on him from all sides...

And only then it does it finally release the torrent of pistachio-scented, lightning-infused vermillion energy, which boils up its pulsing throat to escape out of its gaping maw and blast towards the airplane with terribly murderous intent.

The majority of the battle has, quite rightly, converged upon the massive hand clutching Steven.

Fate leaves only one girl close enough to the path of this attack to intervene--

--Nanoha Takamachi.

COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Scarlet Slash on Hikaru Shidou.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Scarlet Slash on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Crimson Crush on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Scarlet Slash on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Scarlet Slash on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Scarlet Slash on Kuniko Saito.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Scarlet Slash on Ren Aizawa.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Scarlet Slash on Lancelot.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Scarlet Slash on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Scarlet Slash on Chitose Shiratori.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Scarlet Slash on Garnet.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Madoka Kaname has used Ruby Rampage on Nanoha Takamachi.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Scarlet Slash, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Sailor Jupiter's Block ability activates! Sailor Jupiter's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou perfectly dodges Madoka Kaname's Scarlet Slash, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge!
COMBAT: Sailor Moon narrowly dodges Madoka Kaname's Scarlet Slash, taking 17 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon's Fade ability activates! Sailor Moon's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Lancelot narrowly dodges Madoka Kaname's Scarlet Slash, taking 15 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Nanoha Takamachi fails to brace Madoka Kaname's Finisher, Ruby Rampage, taking 107 Fatigue damage! Nanoha Takamachi is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Garnet narrowly dodges Madoka Kaname's Scarlet Slash, taking 21 Fatigue damage! Garnet's Fade ability activates! Garnet's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Steven Universe narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Crimson Crush, taking 33 Fatigue damage! Steven Universe's Block ability activates! Steven Universe's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Ren Aizawa narrowly dodges Madoka Kaname's Scarlet Slash, taking 23 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Madoka Kaname's Scarlet Slash, taking 35 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Lera Camry's Fade ability activates! Lera Camry's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito perfectly braces Madoka Kaname's Scarlet Slash, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Brace! Kuniko Saito's Block ability activates! Kuniko Saito's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Scarlet Slash, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Chitose Shiratori's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Oh man. Am I speaking French?" Lancelot asks in surprised look of self-admonishment. Well It's a good thing he wasn't relaying important information, just ya know. Saving falling Princesses of the Magical Girl variety. "Um Nope. Nor foreign exchange! Just apparently cursed with bad language barriers!" He bows to Sailor Moon with a flourish of his cape, made even more flourish by the wind of the jet and air beast, before he let's himself fall backwards.

Drawing Arondight, Lancelot barrels toward the behemoth before him.He does a barrel roll. Because that sound bite goes through his head, and then calls out: "HEY!" He closes the gap. "YOUR MOTHER WAS A FIRST EDITION DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS GREAT WHITE WYRMM!" He nods once. "YEAH! YA KNOW? THE DUMB ONES! WITH A LOW INTELLIGENCE SCORE! THAT'S YOU!" He nods again. Clearly that was a great insult and a point for fellow gamers everywhere.

He then slashes with Arondight as he closes, lightning, white and hot, dances from the blade in great arcing plumes of power. The forks of lightning dancing and flickering across the sky in blinding white flashes and a sound of booming thunder.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Scarlet Slash, taking 18 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Lancelot has used Lightning Slash on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Lancelot has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly counters Lancelot's Lightning Slash, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Lancelot is Psyched! Madoka Kaname's Reverse ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Tactician ability activates! Blind applied to Madoka Kaname!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname's counterattack, Gules GAPING MAW, partially gets through, doing 19 Fatigue damage to Lancelot! Critical Counterhit!

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.
Garnet is slashed by the monster's giant claws! She dodges some of the brunt, but still takes quite a bit of damage. She wills the pain away, she will not lose sight of her goal or this perhaps chance to rescue Steven, and attacks the giant hand with an even greater fury than before!!
COMBAT: Garnet has used Decisive Punch on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Sailor Jupiter hears the shriek that suggests she may have done well with the others, but it's the repriswal that finally makes her look up; she turns to the side, throwing her arm up to shield her face, and takes the rain of feathers head-on, blocking them with sheer force rather than any particular agility. But when she looks up, she can see her Princess still fighting, instead of just falling.

...And she can see the boy who helped her crashing towards the beast's mouth, even with his sword. ...he also seems to be still talking in some other language, because she certainly doesn't understand what he's saying /now/.

But none of that matters; what matters is what she's seeing up ahead. Taking a breath, she steadies herself--and then /sprints/, leaping off the wing into freefall just like she couldn't a moment ago for Sailor Moon.

...All she can do is trust.

"You won't take him!" Jupiter shouts, and extends her arms to bodily /shove/ Lancelot out of the path towards the beast's mouth, in what would be a great tackle... On the ground.

COMBAT: Madoka Kaname fails to brace Garnet's Decisive Punch, taking 35 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has used What Goes Around on Lancelot.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lancelot accepts Sailor Jupiter's What Goes Around, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Lancelot is Reinforced by Sailor Jupiter!

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Seeing Steven get squeezed is not a good sight. Ren cries out in anger, rushing forward poised to strike. The bird-monster is much quicker, though, and she's forced to stop short and once again employ evasive maneuvers to avoid the torrent of feathers, getting hit by some of them which causes more tears in her barrier jacket.

"Lera-chan!" Unfortunately Lera is falling! Ren zooms toward her, able to move much faster than she did before with Kuniko, and grabs for the tumbling mage. "I've got you!"

COMBAT: Ren Aizawa has used Sovereign's Favor on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Ren Aizawa has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry accepts Ren Aizawa's Sovereign's Favor, taking 0 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Rather than trying to dodge or counter, the Magic Knight of Wind instead hunkers down as flat as she can against the plane's upper fuselage, enduring the onslaught as well as she can - albeit with no small amount of accompanying pain. SHe's had worse than this, and lived to recount it; she has to hope - or rather, to trust - that she can make it through this as well.

And there are plenty of people whose fortune is far worse than her own. The Wind Knight has managed to keep her footing pretty well ever since she landed on the plane, and she's grateful for that; wrapping a layer of wind about herself to help brace against headwinds and turbulence seems to have been a good idea. Not everyone has wind magic to work with, though, and the Wind Knight spots a Device-user - an older girl whom she doesn't really know - getting blasted out of control by the monster's assault.

"Winds of Protection!!" the green-clad Magic Knight calls out, her will reaching out along with her magic to wrap Chitose in a protective bubble of closely-controlled air. It should not only stabilize her flight and give her a boost back into the fray, but remain a protective shell about Chitose as the battle continues.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Protection on Chitose Shiratori.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [None] has posed.

Is this were only slightly less dangerous, it might be fun. The scent of cinnamon at least helps Steven relax only slightly. It does seem intent on keeping a hold of him for some reason. The hands begin to crush Steven, and only moments to react, manages to wedge his shield in between the hands. While it doesn't completely stop the crushing power of the creature, it helps enough to keep him breathing.

Steven is in it pretty bad right now. He cannot attack, move, or defend himself. He gets licked by the edge of soem attacks, being rather painful, notable small jolts of lightning coming down the hand and to him, and a lot of bubbles in the face.

The bubbles of soap help him slip an arm free though, thanks to soap power.

As he struggles, he sees Garnet coming in close. "Garnet! I'm sorry I didn't listen to you! I just wanted to help save the people on the plane..." He has caused so many problems in this fight. He feels like a failure as a Gem.

Garnet's hit causes the creature to let go of him though, and begisn to fall! "I shouldn't have gone on this trip!" he calls out as he starts to fall, the shield in the creature's hands dissipating.

COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Protection, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Accelerate and Withstand applied to Chitose Shiratori!
COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Go Giant Women! on Garnet.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Garnet accepts Steven Universe's Go Giant Women!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Razor feathers come rushing in for Lera Camry. They slash into her; several slash past the green coat and the armor underneath -- and then one catches her left shoulder. She hurt it, the day before, fighting another youma. The bladed feather slashes past and she shrieks -- and then she drops. The Midchildan goes plummeting, for just half a second, before she realizes.

<Lera! Pull up!> Soaring Sky cries out.

"Right, I'm--" She tries. Her flight spell activates; a ring of light explodes under her feet, and she tumbles through it, towards the ground below. "Oh no, oh no...!"

And then, suddenly, Ren is there. She reaches a hand out -- and grips Ren tightly by the wrist, pulling herself in close to her best friend. She looks at her, excitedly, and grins. "Ren-chan!" she yells. Another ring of light fires under her feet -- and this one stabilizes her, keeping her from falling. "You're the best!"

She pulls back, then, looking at her for a moment; she sees Garnet break Steven free, but she also sees the immense shot that Nanoha takes. Her eyes widen, before she looks up at Ren. "We gotta finish this thing. I'm gonna get in close, y'know?"

She nods at Ren. She falls backward, in a controlled way, before she looks at the monster. She holds her sword-Device to one side, and plasma crackles up the length of the blade. "C'mon, buddy," she says, "let's hit her before she knows what was coming for her!"

<Gladly!>

Lera grits her teeth -- and then she /launches/ forward, away from Ren. She leaves a trail of fiery light in the sky after her, while she does a tight barrel roll. The trail of light has a slight spiral to it. Lera speeds up; faster and faster still, until she rips right through the sound barrier. A sonic boom erupts, like an inverted mushroom of vapor at the point at which she speeds up so.

<Jet Ignition!> Sky chimes -- after the magical circle appears behind Lera.

A corona of plasma explodes around her, blazing along her and her Intelligent Device. Lera tries to /slam/ into the monster at such speeds, and then yanks to a stop. A fiery explosion is left in her wake.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Jet Ignition on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Nanoha Takamachi [Infinity Institute (4)] has posed.

"HUH WHAT WAS THAT?" Such is Nanoha's reply to both Steven and Hikaru, once the Knight of Fire is back on the wing. 
<THEY SAID THANK YOU.> 
"WHAT?" 
<'THANK YOU!'> 
"STILL CAN'T HEAR YOU!" 
<eeeeeeee> 
"OH! I get it~." 
But now her attention must turn back on the beast. Everything is chaos. But in that chaos it only gets worse. 
Once again this terrible beast is aiming for the plane. Destiny plays some funny games. Placing Nanoha in prime position to stop that deadly ray. The question is... Can she? 
No, there's no TIME to question it. She has to. 
Her left hand snaps up, fingers spread, the runic sigil of a mid-childa magic circle spreading from her palm- and then a second smaller one in front of it- and then a third. 
<LAYERED ROUND SHIELD!> 
It's a trick she had learned from Fate. And the first shield takes the brunt of the beam massively. With a shattering crash it evaporates almost instantly. The second fares no better- cracking and then shattering after a handful of seconds. 
The third begins to crack- hairline fractures forming as sweat beads on Nanoha's brow as she desperately wills it to last onger. 
"Raising Heart! PLEASE!" Her cry is desperate and trusting. And her faithful device answers. 
<ALRIGHT.> 
More energy is poured into the shield spell, but no matter how much the two will it, it cannot last indefinitely. With one last CRACK it shatters. Sending Nanoha tumbling, landing on the plane fuselage, burned, gasping, and with nearly no strength left... She wonders to herself... 
Why did it smell like pistachios...? 

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Miracles can happen... and they do. Despite being wounded and in a very difficult position right now, the Fire Knight manages to somehow avoid being hit by the next attack from the monster. And that's quite a good thing too since the Fire Knight is starting to really run out of patience with this monster. She looks around and then grips her sword tighter than before. "We can't let this thing win! We have to defeat it!" She says, flames starting to form around the blade of the Fire Knight's sword. "It will burn!"

As the Fire Knight clutches her sword tighter, the flames grow bigger in size. "We will send it back to where it belongs!" She slashes her sword, sending forth a blast of flame.

COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has used Flaming Slash on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly braces Lera Camry's Jet Ignition, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Madoka Kaname's Block ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

The feathers snap out towards them and Kuniko stares dead ahead. Having nothing else she can do - she can't duck down and roll without risking falling off the plane - she has no knife in her hand -

Kuniko snaps her hand forwards even as she leans slightly back...

It is said that the finest of chefs have the hand-eye coordination that could normally be only found in the makeup of a god. Perhaps that is true, perhaps it is not. What is undeniably true is that for a fleeting moment, everything lined up just right, and Kuniko has a razor-edged red feather in her hand.

She straightens up and stares at it, dumbfounded.

She dimly recalls, then, that the others grew mouths and eyes. Kuniko twists her hand around to hurl the feather back from whence it came before THAT can happen - and then looks at her hand again, still kind of dumbfounded. This has been the strangest school trip and they are not even in Okinawa yet.

COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has used I Have No Idea How I Did That on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname fails to dodge Hikaru Shidou's Flaming Slash, taking 16 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname fails to dodge Kuniko Saito's I Have No Idea How I Did That, taking 18 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

He didn't even know what language he was speaking? It might have made her laugh further. She still found it amazing anyone who could speak another language so well, even if he was pretty goofy. She had a certain affectionate fondness for goofy guys after all. As she lands, feathers zoom at her. She hops to the left, then to the right, then it becomes a flailing sort of dance as endless feathers graze her Fuku left and right and sideways.

Taking a breath, she gives Jupiter a thumbs up trying to let her know she's okay, even as Jupiter gives thanks to their savior.

But its at that moment, that a lightning infused vermillion blast is about to engulf the plane and is stopped only by the sacrifice of a tiny mage.

Looking on in horror, Sailor Moon's eyes follow as she falls onto the fusilage. She takes a breath. Then another, a hand clenching around the Cutie Moon Rod as righteous anger boils up in her. "She... you..."

She can't even form words. This wasn't even a Youma that she knew could understand her. It all seemed so senseless, just attacking a plane full of tiny children. And now a brave young mage may have given her everything to stop it. Her eyes look up at the creature burning with that same anger, even if she sounds baffled at first "...None of this makes any sense. I don't think attacking a plane full of kids ever could! All of them are so excited for their school trip. It's probably their first for a lot of them. They're just looking to enjoy themselves! And you... you..."

If not for that sacrifice, then it might have been their /last/ school trip for many of them. The fact makes her feel bile in her throat, "I don't know if you can understand me but even if you can't you're still unforgivable! In the Name of the Moon-"

There's something different about it, about her pose, her stance, the look in her eyes as she points at it, promising justice even to a the terror who had managed to brush off the best she'd had to offer so far. "-I /will/ definitely punish you!"

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used In The Name Of The Moon on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname fails to dodge Sailor Moon's In The Name Of The Moon, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sailor Moon is Psyched! Exhausted applied to Madoka Kaname!

<Pose Tracker> Chitose Shiratori [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

Chitose is still pursuing the bird creature with both talons and hands. In her defense, how many birds do people see with hands? Not very many. But still, Chitose presses on with determination. What could stop her from attacking the shadow?

Feathers shoot out from the darkness, and Chitose crosses her arms in front of her to try and block, and as a result only some of the feathers actually impacts her Barrier Jacket. That said, that's enough force to knock Chitose off balance and plummeting back down to the ground.

Yeah, that'll do it.

She falls for a moment before air currents slow her descent and wrap around to protect her. Safe for the moment, Chitose looks around before she finds Fuu. She smiles back at her rescuer, and when she reorganizes herself and manages to rebalance, she takes off again. She gives a slight wave and a hearty "Thank you!" before pulling herself back up to a higher altitude.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The last of the red energy not absorbed by her shields licks at Nanoha harmlessly -- and at the plane, not at all. The beast is surely not well pleased. Were it up to her, she would break away from this group and go finish off that interfering little girl, and take the plane with it.

Unfortunately, there is a small army in her way. She vents her frustration on the first to face her, Lancelot. His lightning-crackling sword-slash is parried with the beast's teeth, which jerks the knight, blade and all, off of his feet and sends him plummeting into her mouth.

But even that pleasure is denied her. In the same moment that Jupiter stages a rescue, Garnet does as well; a final, massive punch blasts the hand open. It shakes out the pain, a bruise forming, and of course in so doing releases Steven from its grasp.

To the rescuers and rescued, the vermillion beast gives the gift of pain: the lesser version of her blast, which first met them at the beginning of this fight. It pours towards both duos, hungrily.

Lera slams into her next, but she's ready, twisting in midair to ensure that the explosion is taken on a scaley leg rather than something more vulnerable. There are talons at the end of that leg, and they counterscratch with great ferocity. Hikaru's fireball explodes against her exposed side at that point, and, first hissing with displeasure, the beast inhales, then roars at deadly decibel.

Sailor Moon pauses to lecture her, and though she doesn't speak, there is a clear sense of understanding. Those eight eyes flicker open and shut. No further answer comes, but, very briefly, there is a strange sadness in the air.

It is quickly removed by the passing of the wind, the pistachio-scented wind, the wind of the beast's breath as it lunges her neck forward, trying to gobble Sailor Moon up in one bite!

And that second huge wave of razor feathers from last round also begin to sprout faces and pissed-off personalities, assaulting Chitose, Kuniko, Ren, Fuu -- and the plane -- from all sides...

COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Mighty Roar on Hikaru Shidou.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Gules GAPING MAW on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Red Rain on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Red Rain on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Maroon Mayhem on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Maroon Mayhem on Kuniko Saito.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Maroon Mayhem on Ren Aizawa.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Red Rain on Lancelot.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Carmine Claws on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Maroon Mayhem on Chitose Shiratori.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Red Rain on Garnet.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly counters Madoka Kaname's Carmine Claws, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Reverse ability activates! Lera Camry's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Lera Camry's counterattack, Sentinel Flash, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Madoka Kaname!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly dodges Madoka Kaname's Maroon Mayhem, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Ren Aizawa narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Maroon Mayhem, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Ren Aizawa's Block ability activates! Ren Aizawa's Parry ability activates! Tangle applied to Ren Aizawa!
COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori narrowly dodges Madoka Kaname's Maroon Mayhem, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Chitose Shiratori's Flash ability activates! Tangle applied to Chitose Shiratori!
COMBAT: Sailor Moon narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Gules GAPING MAW, taking 13 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Red Rain, taking 43 Fatigue damage! Sailor Jupiter's Block ability activates! Sailor Jupiter's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Steven Universe narrowly dodges Madoka Kaname's Red Rain, taking 2 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Lancelot narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Red Rain, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Lancelot's Block ability activates! Lancelot's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Collateral Damage on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji perfectly braces Madoka Kaname's Collateral Damage, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Brace!
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Maroon Mayhem, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Kuniko Saito's Block ability activates! Kuniko Saito's Parry ability activates! Tangle applied to Kuniko Saito!
COMBAT: Garnet narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Red Rain, taking 12 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Mighty Roar, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Hikaru Shidou's Block ability activates! Hikaru Shidou's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

The fiery explosion slams into the creature's scaled leg, and Lera bounces away. She sees those terrible claws slashing down for her. The talons are huge and wickedly sharp. Lera gasps, before she raises Soaring Sky up. The blade glows -- and then flashes a brilliant white. A cross-shaped field of energy erupts, intercepting the claws. <Sentinel Flash!>

But while the claws don't slash into Lera, they still hurl her downward. Wind rattles her, rushing through her hair and fluttering her feather charm; her eyes look upward. She glances upward; at Ren and Sailor Moon in turn, before she looks at the window that Mina was in. The girl who liked those crane claw games.

She grits her teeth, then she lifts her sword in one hand. "All right," she says. "Let's do this, buddy. We can't let her hurt the plane."

<Preparing the firing sequence!> Sky answers. A trio of spinning control rings form; the light rings have Midchildan runes in them, and they turn in sequence, as Lera lifts the sword up, aiming through the middle of the rings. The blade splits down the middle -- and strands of plasma leap from blade-half to blade-half. A faint, white glow gathers there.

<Aurora Burst...>

That glow intensifies, growing brighter and brighter. White light shines, edged by gold and deeper orange colors. Then, it fires, a solid beam of light shooting through the control rings. Each vanishes in an instant, and Lera shouts over the roar of wind, turbine, and bombardment spell:

"....RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!"

The beam shoots up and up, for the underside of the winged monster.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Lera Camry has used Aurora Burst Ray on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Time seems to slow around her, as Garnet's persistent and decisive blows finally forces the creature to release its grip on poor Steven!

She swoops downward...
reaches for him...
only to be struck by a sudden blast of heat from the monster that slams into them both!
But Garnet powers through the pain, at long last catching the little falling boy and pulls him close.

"Steven... You are a valued member of this team, and you mean more to all of us than you could ever know...
But sometimes you need to trust our judgement. We were only trying to protect you. Because we love you."
Garnet pauses.

"For now, you're staying put, and staying close." Garnet shapeshifts a harness of belts out of herself which bind Steven snugly to her chest.

Now that she's close enough to get a good look at him, she notices his all his wounds and bruises, and she shapeshifts a soft layer of pillows under him for him to rest.

She flys back towards the plane, full of thought for their next move.

How can she help while keeping Steven out of harm's way?

<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The lightning arcs and crackles across the sky, and then. Then the beast reacts and slaps Lancelot up and down toward the monster's ever waiting maw of REALLY sharp teeth. He blinks as he scrambles to gather some form of control over the flight spell that Merlin had placed on him but nope. It appears to be interrupted at this particular moment.

He lets out a rather shrill scream that vaguely sounds like a terrified toddler.

He'll justify that scream by the teeth. They were rather huge after all.

Luckily, just as he's about to be gobbled up by an abomination of evil's delight, he feels the impact of a slender frame knocking him aside, just as the thing's mouth closes in an audible CRASH of sound. He opens his eyes notices that Sailor Jupiter is now clinging to him after she had pushed him out of death's door. He closed his eyes and says, "Fly!"

The spell kicked in once again, and he hovers for a moment, now holding Jupiter. "Merci." He says with a smile. Then moves back to the Jumbo Jet to set Jupiter back on the wing.

His eyes narrow at the sight of Nanoha, felled having defended the plane and the children. He holds Arondight to the side. "No more." He says in perfect Japanese. He leaps tot eh fuselage and runs down the length of the plane, lighting crashing form the heavens to trike the blade with every step he takes. Dozens, hundreds of lightning bolts rain down to impact and slam with thunderous reverberation along Arondight's now electrified and glowing white blade. The Knight runs up the tail of the plane and leaps off the tip, spinning as he does and heading right for the monster's head, "CHARGING!" He cries in mid-air.

A hundred bolts of lightning descend at once in a veritable storm of electrical energy. That storm and all that energy is released on one swing of Lancelot's blade as he cries out "ASSAULT!" Thunder explodes all at once as the bolts of lightning erupt from Arondight's strike sending electrified bolts of energy in every direction. Waves of them cascading form the blade and the knight toward the foul beast before him.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Lancelot has used Charging Assault on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Lancelot has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname fails to dodge Lera Camry's Finisher, Aurora Burst Ray, taking 148 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly braces Lancelot's Finisher, Charging Assault, taking 51 Fatigue damage! Madoka Kaname's Block ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Pistachio scented wind. That strange aroma is what she sees first before her vision goes dark when the beast swoops down and catches her in its mouth. "No! Don't eat me! IPROMISEITASTEBAD! MARSTASTESBETTER!" She wails desperately, but... it doesn't manage to get her down its throat. She can't really match its strength, but inside its mouth the creature has no leverage.

As she stands straight up, Using her rod and its ornament to make the attempt to eat her as uncomfortable as possible, as her other glove presses too, getting covered in saliva and... well she'd rather not think about what she's covered by!

Slowly, she manages to get a foot up without losing her tenuous position, and kicks off the back of the throat, somersaulting backwards out of the mouth just as its jaws snap shut. She casts quite a silhouette in the sun as she actually lands upon the wing quite gracefully. All of that saliva is all over her, in her hair, on her Fuku, just... everywhere. "I need a vacation from this trip already Jupiter-chan." She declares miserably as she flings flecks of saliva off her arms and shakes it off her twintails, before her eyes find the creature again and she presents the Cutie Moon Rod.

The crown ornament at the top of the rod lights up, playing a tinkling melody in time with the rhythmic flashes. A phantasmal image of the moon appears behind her as she holds the rod forward with both hands, then spreads her arms out, and raises it above her head.

Bright light shines and gathers in the head. She flourishes the rod to one side, then the other, holding it in an aggressive pose of readiness. And a celestial princess, a Sailor Senshi, calls out... "Moon Princess-" Sweeping it upwards once again, she then points it straight forward, "-Halation!"

Spirals upon spirals of pink sparkles. whirling crescents of moonlit energy. Shimmering stars of light brought close. They roil out towards the edges to try to consume the creature, as everything fades to endless white.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Ren smiles at Lera, happy to have saved her friend. However that happiness doesn't last when she witnesses Nanoha take on the brunt of the latest attempt on the plane herself, eyes widening in horror as the tiny mage is blasted back onto the fuselage -- burned and bruised. "Nanoha-chan!" Lera's assertion that they need to end this becomes all too poignant at that point.

<Incoming!> Heraut's warning reaches Ren in time, though instead of trying to avoid the angry feathers, she holds out a single hand.

<Protection!> And out comes a shield capable of stopping most of the damage the razor feather seek to deliver, those who get by knicking up her barrier jacket just a bit. "Right. Ending this now..." She grits out, holding Heraut at the ready. <Agreed!>

Both master and device are in agreeance. Ren holds her hand up and concentrates, letting her mana pour out into the air around her. Then comes several miniature Midchildan runic cirles appearing in the sky above where Ren is floating, joined by a bigger one that appears beneath her feet. In her mind's eye she visualizes over a dozen or more hot blades of light, and it's not long before those same blades are emerging slowly from the smaller circles, restrained by her will alone.

"Don't worry kids." She says softly, eyes closing, "You're going to be fine."

<Blade...!>

"STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORM!"

With that battle cry unleashed, the multitude of light blades heat up with intensity akin to the sun before they explode forward, cutting through the air like hot knives on their way to slice through the sinister bird-beast.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Sailor Moon has used Moon Princess Halation on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Ren Aizawa has used Blade Storm on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Ren Aizawa has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Garnet has used Real Talk on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly braces Sailor Moon's Finisher, Moon Princess Halation, taking 75 Fatigue damage! Madoka Kaname's Block ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly braces Ren Aizawa's Finisher, Blade Storm, taking 36 Fatigue damage! Madoka Kaname's Block ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Steven Universe accepts Garnet's Real Talk, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

There's no way she's getting out of the way in time, so the Fire Knight simply braces herself for the impact of the incoming attack, fearing the worst... yet somehow she still remains on her feet after all that. She finds herself a lot weaker, but still has a little fight left in her, and refuses to go down that easily. Because when all else fails, it's time to use the last resort. The Fire Knight gets back to her feet, albeit very weakly, and raises her sword skyward, sending forth a beam of flame that literally seems to manifest itself above her in a literal claw-shaped apparition.

"There is nothing else left for you here!" The Fire Knight yells as she slowly turns her sword a little. "Begone you fiend!" She slashes her sword forth and sends forth the flaming claw apparition at the monster.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Hikaru Shidou has used Claw of Flame on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

The sheer heat of the blast overcome Sailor Jupiter; for a moment, she feels like she's going to pass out midair, not even able to /notice/ the fact that she's falling by the time it's over. Her momentum takes her through the blast just before then, but she still comes out of it badly burned, dazed and hanging onto the boy she just rescued a lot less steadily than she was a moment ago. "Huh? Oh, right," Jupiter says as she hears his thanks, though again she doesn't actually register them as such.

Landing on her feet back on the wing again, Jupiter takes a breath, and suddenly Sailor Moon is beside her again, covered in...

Ew. Some of it gets on Jupiter since she's standing so close.

"This is the /worst/," she agrees with Sailor Moon, and despite a strange feeling that ticks at the back of her mind...

Jupiter steps back, and calls forth the lightning that didn't work for her before; an antenna rises from her tiara as the wind whips her hair backward, and lightning, once more, crashes towards her--but this time it's even more than before, bolts of blinding light crackling around the soldier of protection as her eyes snap open again.

"Supreme... Thunder....!"

She raises her arms, and the bolts /launch/ towards the flying beast before them, but take shape mid-flight, becoming a giant creature themselves, a monster made of pure electricity crashing forward, "DRAGON!"

She pours everything she has left for now into helping safe this plane.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Sailor Jupiter has used Supreme Thunder Dragon on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname fails to brace Hikaru Shidou's Finisher, Claw of Flame, taking 42 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname fails to brace Sailor Jupiter's Finisher, Supreme Thunder Dragon, taking 110 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [None] has posed.

Steven keeps falling, and his mind wanders. Surely someone will save him...? And the people on the plane? What of them?

Thankfully before Steven grows all melancholy about life, he is caught by Garnet! A wave of painful heat comes, and Steven manages to pull up a shield to roll behind for a few seconds as he falls, blocking most of the heat before being caught.

"Sorry again, Garnet. I just wanna be like you when I get older!" he says kindly.

Wow, this belt pouch thing is comfy. He gets settled in, with his arms hanging out. One holds a shield still manifest, though looks, unstable. Steven looks pretty beat up. He has seen better days. "We gotta help them still! It isn't going down..." he says. He looks like he wants to start running, but forgot he was in what is basically a harness. "This is kinda embarassing, now that I think of it."

If we get close enough, we might be able to do something!" Steven says, ever hopeful. The boy takes a moment to catch a breather. Fighting is tough work!

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"I'm sorry," Kuniko says even as that maroon screech flies towards her -- and is promptly handled with an upended stew pot, held directly over one of those feathers. Kuniko shifts to stand on it with one foot, grimacing at the wind whipping at her face, but the grimace turns into a smile.

"Were you hoping for a snack? Were you hoping to start things off with a little bit of that kid, and then move on to kindergardeners mashed up fine? Well TOO BAD! But I'm not without mercy," Kuniko says, grasping something - and popping the valve on her pressure cooker.

A smell billows out. It pervades and expands all available space. The air here is wispy and thin, but that just means the high pressure fragrance has more room to spread. The characteristic mixture of tangy shoyu and creamy provencial herbs mixed with oily fishes and layered over potatoes. Kuniko draws out a jar of it - bouillabaise, condensed into a single dish.

"You're going to lose out on texture," Kuniko says, Terroir practically boiling off the serving of the mix. "And I'm sorry about that... but the rest, heh - it's practically good forever! Though I wouldn't let canned cream sauce rest too long. Not that it's going to be a problem for you."

The jar tilts in her hand, pivoting like an astromech droid's camera. Kuniko twists and pops off the lid.

"Enjoy!!"

And so the bouilliabaise au Japon ships its way forwards, fuelled by a passionate heart that overcomes any obstacles to fine cuisine. Will the richness of this mixture surpass its unorthodox presentation? Either way, Kuniko will, at least, have lunches to eat despite all her money turning into candy, doubtless being eaten on that plane right now.

COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Kuniko Saito has used Bouillabaise au Japon on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname fails to brace Kuniko Saito's Finisher, Bouillabaise au Japon, taking 74 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The monster's breath weapon rakes across the assembled magical protectors; the Magic Knight of Wind dives for cover again, getting winged but mostly getting lucky.

Then the plane is surrounded by razor feathers - *independently conscious and animate*, from the looks of things. The Wind Knight glances about, realizing the danger and unsure if anyone else is in a position to react adequately ...

"WINDS OF PROTECTION!!!"

Desperation and determination collide to spark a surge of mana, and a barrier of turbulence wraps around the airliner, long enough to smack the incoming feather-critters away again. It has to be a short-lived barrier; she doesn't want to disrupt the aircraft's flight. Cut off the flow of air over the wings, and it'll fall - which would be exactly the kind of flight-ending calamity they've been fighting so fervently to prevent.

It may be as much adrenaline as actual energy pumping through the Wind Knight right now, but as she releases the Winds of Protection, she shifts from defense to offense without missing a beat. "EMERALD CYCLONE!!" she calls out at the top of her lungs, gathering the gale from about herself and redirecting it to rip away at the hostile flyer, whether it's beast or spirit or somewhere in between. The focused wrath of the storm is turned against the monster, coupled with every spark of will that the Magic Knight of Wind can muster; between that and the attacks being mounted by her allies, she intends to see this monster torn out of the sky and left to drift on the breeze like so much dust ...

COMBAT: FINISHER! Fuu Hououji has used Emerald Cyclone: Full on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Chitose Shiratori [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

Chitose holds off for a few more moments longer, right as the feathers come back for another couple of strikes. She dodges behind her to dodge once, then to the right for a few more, and then to the left. Even with all of that, some feathers do find their mark on Chitose. She grunts and grimaces from the pain, before swinging White Omen to point at the monster. She holds the crossbow up to her eyes, just to make sure she's got the aim right.

She's still somewhat unbalanced from all the falling and the feathers, so instead of anything too draining for her, she instead just fires small light arrows at the monster. Unlike the ones she fired before, these have what look to be larger heads like real arrows.

COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori has used Light Arrow on Madoka Kaname.
COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname fails to brace Chitose Shiratori's Light Arrow, taking 18 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly braces Fuu Hououji's Finisher, Emerald Cyclone: Full, taking 19 Fatigue damage! Madoka Kaname is unable to keep fighting! Madoka Kaname's Block ability activates! Madoka Kaname's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

When the ending comes, it comes unfalteringly. Golden-white Midchildan ray, legendary lightning blade, pink and silver moonbeams flying, lightdaggers shine converging, slashing rending claw of flame, massive thunder dragon rises, seafood stew smell tantalizes, emerald cyclone, bolts of light--

--yeah, the beast can't win that fight.

Everything explodes in a rather glorious gold-white-pink-yellow-red-blue-cream-green-bright blast, converging on each other, point blank.

There is a long silence...

...and then the beast emerges from the last of the smoke and sparkles, soaring away at unmatchable speeds to vanish over the horizon.

<< MINE. >>

The word is felt, not heard, thrumming in the marrow of the bones, in the pounding of the heart. It's not a threat but a promise, sworn on the very fires of creation that have just forced the beast to retreat for now.

She will return -- and she will reclaim what is hers.

And what's worse? She flew south.

---

In the luggage compartment, the cold and dark bowels of the plane, there is no one there to see the golden glimmer coming from one of the bags. No one to wonder what it is that has been tucked between folds of laundry and a precious security blanket.

No one to read the clumsily but proudly penned name on the tag, 'Mina Koruske.'

TO BE CONTINUED...

2015-11-07 - Airport Chaos!

2016-01-11T18:58:46Z

Lucientes:

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Airport Chaos!'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''As the Sister Schools wait to board for Okinawa, disaster strikes: The flights are delayed. It's up to a few enterprising individuals to keep the youngest among their number from raising a ruckus.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Fuu Hououji]], [[Hikaru Shidou]], [[Mana Aida]], [[Kuniko Saito]], [[Garnet]], [[Lera Camry]], [[Hibiki Houjou]], [[Nagihiko Fujisaki]], [[Kanade Minamino]], [[Chitose Shiratori]], [[Nanoha Takamachi]], [[Steven Universe]] 
GM: Honoka Yukishiro
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Haneda Airport
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Sep 06 2014 - 11/07/2015
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Here are truths that have transpired: the collective mass of students, several thousand in all, who are today flying direct from Tokyo to Okinawa, assembled first not at the airport but rather the train station. There, without major incident, they boarded trains in class groups and made it to the airport.

For a while on this journey there were matching school uniforms as far as the eye can see, but at Haneda Airport that stops being true. Like a river disgorging into the ocean, the plume of Juuban red and Ohtori yellow and Infinity blue are quickly subsumed by black business suits and navy flight attendant uniforms and tourists, tourists of all shapes and sizes. Many are foreigners, but more are domestic, for Haneda primarily handles interisland flights. Traveling to the United States or China is not its regular purview.

It is a Herculean task to get all of these students' luggage properly collected -- they keep a carry-on pack, but their single allotted suitcase needs to be turned in to the airport staff, and those students who have failed to follow instructions, and brought many suitcases, are forced to decide very quickly what to take and what to leave... or what to purchase, in the case of those who have the money to separately pay the fee for multiple bags. The Sister Schools budget is not infinite, after all. It has only paid for the one per child.

And it is another task of epic proportions to get everyone through security. The nascent orderliness of class is put to good use here, with teachers and class representitives working together to get head counts before, during, and after the checkpoint.

For simplicity's sake, all the flights are departing from one gate, consecutively. It will take several planes in all, and the occupancy is not exclusive to the schools, either -- there are plenty of other people standing about, waiting in line, checking their phones and tablets and generally passing the time.

The first plane is planned to be boarded by the very youngest, kindergardeners and first-graders, the theory being that they bear long waits the worst. Excitement has kept them largely clustered as they should be, nearest the gate, teachers and chaperones scattered here and there amongst them. Many are sitting amid the backpacks, their handheld video games -- or books, or phones, or toys -- out and played with intently. Others are standing and chatting, and hundreds of sopranos make for a rich tapestry of happy, eager conversations.

The chaperones are older students, who previously volunteered for the task when a sign-up sheet made the rounds last week. There appears to be no minimum age for the job; third-grade chaperones are as effectively senior to a six-year-old than those from grade twelve. Perhaps moreso, as they more closely know the minds of their charges.

Everyone else is nearby, regardless, looking washed out and strange in the yellow and gold lighting of Terminal 1. It is a crush of people. A cheerful crush, on the whole, with a minimum of danger, but nonetheless the sheer density is marked.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

One suitcase, one week. And she'll be wearing her uniform on the flight, which saves some room in said suitcase for a week's clothing for sunny-and-warm Okinawa. Fuu has packed as efficiently as she could, and is reasonably confident in her choices; if push comes to shove, she can always entrust something to the hotel's laundry service.

Her backpack holds her laptop, a couple of handheld game systems, and chargers/power adapters for all of the above plus her smartphone. Also a couple of old-fashioned paper notebooks (one lined, one unlined) and a long-cherished pencil case.

Fuu tried to make sure she'd have room in there for souvenirs. It feels like the backpack might be lighter than it should be, but she has everything she needs.

And the backpack still leaves her hands free to help watch over the younger students, if her help is required. Having as many handheld games as she does means she can help keep them entertained with local wireless play, after all - and there's no shame, for her, in losing to somebody who's younger but loves the games as much as she does. She learns a lot from losing in Pokemon matches, for instance.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Like Fuu-chan, Hikaru's also chosen to wear her uniform on the flight to ease up the baggage she'll have to bring with her since she can't bring too much with her at once. Then again, she really doesn't have much to bring with her, save for clothing and things like that, along with a portable gaming system as well to play with Fuu-chan as well, since things might get boring. A couple of books and some room for souvenirs, and Hikaru's all packed and ready to go. A trip like this is going to be so exciting to Hikaru, and it's gonna be fun too since Fuu-chan will be going too.

While Fuu is entertaining the younger students, Hikaru is looking out the window and watching the airplanes coming and going, just like a little child. Occasionally, a younger student does get her attention, but aside from that she's more interested in looking out the window for now.

<Pose Tracker> Mana Aida [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Presumably Mana Aida is booked in a seat next to a blue-haired girl whom she's known for years.

She's also carrying a checklist, because as Juuban Middle School student council president, she has duties. With a smile, she rises on her toes to spot someone, before darting over. "Mm! Hello! Do you have your ticket yet? --Okay! Great!" On to the next student - "Hello! Do you have your seat number?! Okay! Good!" Her checklist is rapdily filling up.

Only after loading up much of her checklist does she pause to take a breath. She exhales and fans herself with one hand before going up on he tip-toes again, making sure she's accounted for every student. "Some of them must still be coming in," she muses as she turns to head out into the terminal, past a row of shops. She tucks the clipboard under her arm.

In spite of herself, she smiles and indulges in a twirl. "I can't believe everyone's going to Okinawa!" she exclaims, beaming. "I can't /wait/ to try the food. It'll be great to see how they eat there! Everyone says it tastes really good! My heart's beating a mile a minute!!"

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Kuniko Saito looks slightly smug as she stands in the crush of the crowd. She's wearing her "civilian" Infinity outfit - which makes her a little unusual, as she's typically worn her chef's whites at all times whenever wandering around Infinity. But her slightly rough haircut and her knowing expression stand out.

Why is Kuniko Saito so confident, looking as if she's gotten away with something?

Let the mind's eye wander through a largely empty suitcase that's actually older than Kuniko, containing mostly enough stuff that it doesn't rattle around too much. A couple of T-shirts. A pair of jeans. A windbreaker just in case.

Let it wander through her backpack, carrying a spare traveller's change of clothes (shirt, underpants), toothbrush, DS, phone charger, a bar of dark chocolate for the flight, a bottle of water, and a carefully folded up blue apron -- and in THAT apron is, nestling atop the stack of fluffy white hand towels (slightly precariously), is a basket of mixed fresh clean laundry.

Anyway, having checked in with the brisk redheaded president of her grade, Kuniko is taking it easy. "Yeah!!" she says, when Mana enthuses about the cuisine.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet looks frosty as usual, seeming to recline in relaxation, but those who know her could pick up on a ghost of nervousness. She's never been around this many people before, and it's to her benefit that she doesn't sweat.

She sits in one of a row of chairs, shapeshifted down in size a bit to fit into it and has shapeshifted a more subdued outfit, right now a sportcoat and dress combo with hosein dark maroon, with a silk black and red tie Very professional, or so she thinks. She subtly and gradually changes it ever so often if it appears to clash too much with the people around her. and observes the bustle, doing her best to acclimate herself to the sights and sounds of So. Many. Humans. She keeps her eye over to where Steven is shopping to make sure she doesn't lose track of him in all the motion.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lera Camry stares as she walks through the airport. Her luggage bounces after her, rolling on wheels. At a glance, it is like any other luggage; much like her Infinity Institute uniform is also completely normal. She glances sideways, taking in everything as they make the trek to the gate that these planes are departing from. The girl reaches her hand back, brushing some of her orange-red hair back.

She is ostensibly supposed to look after children. She doesn't have a lot of familiarity with kids. She doesn't quite know what to do. Because of this, she is /that/ chaperone.

The one staring at kids, in confusion, while they do things.

Lera is periodically checking her iPhone -- and then looking out the window, at the jets. She doesn't quite trust them. They look sort of primitive to her Midchildan sensibilities.

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Because she remembers the past, Hibiki did not make a plan to meet her best friend at the doors of the airport. Even a small airport has several entrances, after all, and Haneda not being a small airport...that would just be asking for another years-long feud. And they've done that piece already, so...

Instead, they did the sensible thing - suggested by Hummy - of getting together at the bakery, and setting out from there. Since then, they've tried to stick more-or-less close together, steadily making their way through the various security checkpoints with only a few hassles along the way.

"Still can't believe they wouldn't let me bring that box of cupcakes on the plane...what kind of country is this turning into, anyway?! I hope the security team appreciates your baking, Kanade, because I can't right now..." Grousing as she proceeds with a duffel bag packed enough she almost needs to drag it, she glances to her friend - but can't spend too much time dwelling on that. (Besides, there may be a backup box hidden in her checked luggage...) "Anyway, we just have to keep them in line, right?"

Filled with confidence verging on hubris, Hibiki Houjou looks out upon the hordes of gradeschoolers waiting as impatiently as she. The bag on her shoulder is heavy enough that she really should set it down, but instead she just jogs it a bit, leaning up against a pillar. Slowly, a smile finds its way onto her face...because Okinawa. She mutters under her breath - "Beaches and adventure and a total lack of actual lectures...this is going to be great!"

Inside her bag, nestled among wadded up clothes, toiletries, and a soccer ball - somehow, Hibiki crammed in a small pet carrier. And inside -that-, a happy little white cat should be sleeping. Hopefully, anyway...

<Pose Tracker> Nagihiko Fujisaki [Ohtori Academy (6)] has posed.

Lingshen Chao made a nuisance of herself during the train roundup and ride with her usual antics (see: aggressive pursuit of free market capitalism), but airplanes think girls with steamer baskets are a lot less funny, so she's currently secluded herself with her little enclave of nerds, doing nerd stuff, like math, and different math, and planning the final conquest of the world of the past at the hands of their righteous Martian masters.

Nagihiko Fujisaki, on the other hand, is the Jack's Chair of the Ohtori Guardians, and never shys away from an opportunity to help manage kids. He's dressed in the unique uniform of the Ohtori Guardians: Black blazer and white shirt and blue tie, with blue check-pattern shorts under a blue check-pattern cape. It helps him to stand out amid the crowd, with the handful of Guardians rushing around trying to keep at least Ohtori's kids somewhat in line. Specifically, he's taking his third headcount in ten minutes, quietly checking faces against names on a list he holds in his hands.

<Pose Tracker> Kanade Minamino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Kanade shook her head. "I did warn you they probably wouldn't allow cupcakes on the plane, especially the cream filled ones." She hummed to herself as she brought out her notebook.

"I can't wait for the beach either, and I planned out the whole trip." She gleefully showed Hibiki her through researched notes and a map with several red 'x' on it. "I figured we should start with some of the historic sites, but we'll have to get up around 7 am if we ant to have breakfast and by noon, we'll head to the beach. Then at 1:30, assuming we don't end up going back to the hotel because you forgot your swimsuit again, we'll hit the water and at 3:00 we'll go find some shaved ice. Then we'll sun bath and be back in time for dinner."

She promptly shut her notebook. "And that's just the tip of the iceberg I have. We're going to make use of every second of this trip!"

<Pose Tracker> Mana Aida [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"Mm! Kuniko-san!" Mana exclaims with a big smile, grasping her clipboard in both hands and coming to bear on the older girl with a smile so bright, it could push back the dry yellowish lights of the terminal with its sheer glow. "What should we try first? I've heard the taco rice is really good, and super unique! And maybe the goya chanpuru, too..." She trails off, tilting her head back and looking thoughtfully up to the ceiling. "I hope I left enough room for souvenirs, now that I think about it...."

When she looks down again, it's with a warm smile for Kuniko. "This is definitely going to be great! I can't wait! The food, the souvenirs... and we'll even get to learn while we're there!"

"You seem very excited, Ojou-sama," calls a voice from the side.

There is, inexplicably, a toothy brown terracotta gnome. It is sitting on a cart, about a foot and a half high, waving a little terracotta hand.

"Eeh?" Mana gasps as she turns with a touch of surprise, ending up with a face full of... the gnome. She blinks a time or two before her eyes migrate to the man standing behind the booth full of chintzy accessories and little bits of jewelry - a blond man with matching eyes and a bucket-style hat.

The man in the hat flashes a charming smile to Mana and Kuniko alike. "I have the perfect accessory for you," he invites with warmth. "Would you like to stop and look at it?"

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

A digitized three-note bell sounds across the gate area.

"Attention. Flight 2184 to Okinawa has been delayed. I repeat, Flight 2184 to Okinawa has been delayed. Please anticipate a three-hour wait. Thank you."

Uh oh.

The teachers cluster together to confer about this turn of events. The students buzz with the news, a mixed chorus of sighs and groans and complaints intermingling. The mood hasn't soured completely yet, but it's definitely put a damper on things. The airport, while exciting for its own sake, is not the sky, or the beach.

The littlest children, the ones who have been waiting to board as opposed to /waiting for their plane to show up/, take it the most personally. There are a few sniffles, and a few jeers from the ones who want to sniffle and need to distract themselves from doing so.

The natives are restless already from waiting around in the gate for half an hour... and now it is going to be another three.

Two groups lunge to their feet, on opposite sides of the sea of tots.

"I'm hungry! I wanna snack!" declares the primary troublemaker of Juuban's class 1-A, Kenjiro Tamasaki.

"I'm boooooooooored! Let's go to the arcade!" whines that of Infinity's First Grade Sakura class, Mina Koruske.

Other students start popping up to voice their agreements like weeds in a flower garden. Quickly, quickly, if they aren't distracted or placated, the kinder-garden will be overrun with chaos.

Nearby attractions include:

1) There is an actual arcade, with actual games, a few gates down from here. It is dark and loud in the manner of such places, a bit of a maze of a place despite the relatively cramped confines of the airport.

2) There is, in the opposite direction, a food court. It has a good dozen options, none of them particularly healthy or cheap, but all of them fresh and attractive in the manner of food-while-traveling, especially for those who have never been in an airport before (including most of the first-graders).

3) There is a nearby souvenir shop, filled to bursting with little Tokyo snow globes, candy treats, and so forth.

4) Up a set of escalators, there is an indoor playground, with chutes, ladders, parallel bars, etc.

They are all a tantalizingly short distance from the gate.

"Just for a miiiiinute," begs Mina, her sweet blue eyes full of yearning. Of hope.

<Pose Tracker> Chitose Shiratori [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

"Oh," Chitose Shiratori said to herself, when notice of the school trip occured. "I don't need to go to the school trip this year, I've been every other time, right? As a University Student I at least get the chance to say no, right? I have all this studying to do, anyway."

So when this very day rolled around, Chitose woke up... to realize she wasn't in her bed. Well, that last part wasn't true, she most definately was in her bed. It was just, for some reason outside, and in the grass outside the Itazura family mansion. And while she spent a lot of time at the mansion, it most definately wasn't where her bed was supposed to be! She looks around for a few moments, until she notices a small note next to her impromptu bed.

"Chitose,

Your mother called late last night, and told me to tell you that you should go on adventures while you still can! So have fun at the school trip! Bring me back something nice.

Love, Your Father"

The note is instantly scrunched.

This may explain why, a few hours later in the here and now, Chitose lurches out of the bathroom, sensibly dressed. She stuffs a recently used toothbrush back into its bag, and she has her hairclip in her mouth as she attempts to braid her hair into her normal pattern. Chitose finally manages to catch up with the vague mass of students, swishing her hair back and placing her hairclip where it should be on her braid. Chitose takes a slight moment to press her hands together in a silent apology to her hairclip the Device, and it's at this she remembers a detail. Wasn't she supposed to chaperone today? Chitose sighs, before thinking about it for a moment. She's had to keep Yakuza heiresses in line, how hard could chaperoning a school trip be?

She turns back towards the group, and sees the thousands of assorted school students.

"Ah." She says aloud.

<Pose Tracker> Nanoha Takamachi [Infinity Institute (4)] has posed.

So! Trip to Okinawa! 
GO! 
So this is something a little different for Nanoha Takamachi. Most of the ten-year-old Infinity student's travel has not been precisely long distance-- or if it has, it certainly was not by plane. On the
thought of 'flying' her mind goes to a very different place that most certainly is not 'board a flying tin can'. 
STILL! The fourth grader is present, her lone bag checked, she made it through security without incident, and she's not waiting at the gate with everyone else! 
Mission accomplished. 
At least for now, anyway, and that leaves her with time to do what any ten-year-old would do, when at an airport, no matter how mature they may be. 
She's pressed up against the nearest window staring outside at any, and all, planes. 
This is, of course, a natural thing, until the announcement breaks out. 
"-Eh? Eh? Eh?" 
A delay? 
"Does that happen often?" Just an idle think-out-loud musing. 

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"Sky," Lera hisses softly, "the kids want me to do--"

<Sleep mode activated. Preparing software upgrades...>

Lera's eyebrow twitches slightly. Then, she turns her head, and looks around. She spots Nanoha Takamachi; her eyes widen like saucers and she bolts. There may be a line of dashes from the seat she sat in to the girl's position. She stands next to her and looks down before she grins brightly. "Hey, Nanoha-chan!" she says loudly. "It sure is delayed, I guess that happens with... flights!"

SHe laughs awkwardly. "Um, maybe we should... try to help one of the younger kids, y'know?" she asks. "The... six year-olds."

Help.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

A three-hour delay?

Fuu's first thought is that none of her devices (except her phone, charged last night) are going to last that long. The second thought, more practical, is that it's going to be VERY difficult to keep all of the children from scattering if they don't organize something, fast. Right now.

"Koruske-san, isn't it?" Fuu asks the first-grader, smiling. "Three hours is an awful lot of time in an arcade, you would probably spend your whole allowance for the trip in that time if you aren't careful. However ..." She purses her lips briefly, counting heads - and not just of the elementary students. Who can she call on for help .. ?

"How about this. Everyone who'd like to go into the arcade, gather around and I'll make a list of your names. Then we can go to the arcade in small groups, but I don't want anyone to get lost, so -"

She pauses, looking towards Kuniko and Lera, trying to catch their attention. "Kuniko-san, Lera-san, could you help me organize small groups for the arcade? We'll check names and make sure everyone is accounted for at ... fifteen- to twenty-minute intervals, perhaps?"

Where are the teachers at a time like this, she wonders. Admittedly, she'd love to look through the arcade as well, but she volunteered to watch over the children; she can't shirk that duty just because something unfortunate came up. Hopefully it won't be TOO many kids who want to hit the arcade while time permits. It'd probably also be a good idea if somebody previewed what games are in the arcade, make sure nothing too disturbing is there where the kids might get an eyeful of DOA 5 or Time Crisis or the like.

Fuu pulls her phone out of her pocket, checking the battery charge, then sends a quick text to Hikaru:
> Would you like to help me organize some of Infinity's elementary students, to keep them out of trouble during the delay?

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Kuniko folds her arms loosely as Mana speaks to her. Her grin crinkles a little more. "Yeah, it's gonna be great. Just don't blow all your spending money the first day, huh?" And speaking of which -

Her head swivels as she looks at the man with the bucket hat. Her head tilts slightly to the side. "... sure," she answers him, arms unfolding slowly. "Watcha got."

And then comes the ringing announcement of THE DELAY. Kuniko's head turns to look towards the rumbling crowd and she tells the man in the hat, "Please excuse me a moment," tilting her head as she does towards Mana. "Aida san, good luck, don't take all the best stuff, OK??"

She ambles over - right smack into Hououji's organizational plan.

"Uh... I was gonna call them over to the shop there... but I guess that could work," she says a bit blankly, scratching her cheek with her index finger as she eyes the
small folks. "But I can just like, not do it first, or something. Yeah, sure."

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

At first, Hikaru's reaction is to grab her head and collapse to the ground in frustration before banging her hands, but then she remembers that there are younger students present. Being an older student means she should be setting a better example for the younger children. So Hikaru simply pretends to be stretching her arms over her head and taking a deep breath. As she blows it out she turns to face the children with an obviously forced smile. "Well, children, it looks like we're going to have to wait here for awhile. It stinks, I know, but there's no sense in getting upset about it, since we really have no control over this! So let's try to make the best of the situation, shall we?"

Hikaru glances around, looking for something to do. Before she can try to offer a suggestion to the students, she feels her phone vibrating, and she pulls it out of her pocket. Smirking a little as she sees who it's from, she sends a quick reply:

> Gladly, Fuu-chan. It seems the Juuban staff have things taken care of here, so I should be able to assist you. I'll be right over!

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"Yeah, but they even took the chocolate frosted - what kind of monsters, I ask you! Oh well - there's plenty to try when we get there!" Hibiki beams to her friend - and then that joyful expression turns to horror as Kanade brings out a map. And an agenda. And a -schedule-. "Kanadeeee! The teachers are already going to be setting the schedule part of the day, did you really need to add to that misery?!"

She huffs, folding her arms. "Anyway, we'll be there soon enough, and then I'll be free of all this timing trou-"

There's a triple chime, and a pronouncement promising dire consequences. Hibiki's immediate reaction mirrors that of the younger kids - absolute outrage, taking a deep breath to begin some very vocal whining. But...she's beaten to it by the mass outcry of all those she's supposed to be outmatching in maturity. She looks around, at the vocal outcries, at the whines or boredom -

-and so help her, that playground looks like an ideal solution.

Hibiki glances to her upperclassman - at least, assuming Fuu is from the uniform - and comments a bit louder than necessary. "We should probably make sure they stay entertained - a bored kid can get into a looot of trouble." She flashes Kanade a grin - then strides toward the nearest group of gradeschoolers, whichever one looks the most antsy.

After helping her father out the other day, this might just work...

Hibiki plants her hands on her knees, and grins to the first-graders. "Hey! So, we're stuck waiting - but big sister Hibiki has an idea! Want to learn a song?" She crouches down, making a face like some wild ape, and starts pounding her chest with her fists. "Hoo hoo hah! Hoo hoo hah!"

It's a kind of music. Not much for lyrics, but there's a simple melody - and acting like a gorilla, she sets off to try to lead an ape parade around.

<Pose Tracker> Mana Aida [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Mana seems, at first, a bit indecisive - until the voice rings through the gate.

"Three hours?" Mana gasps with a widening of her eyes.

The surprise vanishes behind a smile. "Well! That means we'll have plenty of time, though I guess people are going to be a little upset...." As Kuniko wanders off, Mana offers her a smile. "Mm! You should definitely send them over."

She pauses. Then she rises on her toes, and raises her voice, waving broadly. "Hey!" she calls out towards the nearest group of impatient students. "There's a souvenir stand over here! You should come get some accessories!"

That good deed done, Mana turns to the souvenir stand with a smile - she'll take a moment, at least, before moving on to try and solve every problem imaginable. She smiles up to the man in the bucket hat. "I don't have too long, but I'll look!"

Bright magenta eyes rove through the accessory pile. She gasps, beaming. "Iaaaaa~ it's all so pretty!"

SHe blinks, then; her smile breaks to a flicker of surprise. "Huh?" she murmurs as she reaches for something. It's a small clip of some kind, round and gold with a magenta gem set in it. "...It's just like the one Makopi had at the concert," she murmurs.

The man in the bucket hat smiles a wide, satisfied smile. "You sure have sharp eyes, Ojou-sama. Those are called 'Cure Loveads.'"

"Cure Loveads?" Mana asks as she stares at the bead. "What are...."

She trails off. Blinks, once.

She stays that way for what seems like a long time.

<Pose Tracker> Nanoha Takamachi [Infinity Institute (4)] has posed.

"I wouldn't know, I've never had a flight delayed before." There's something of a tease in Nanoha's voice when she replies to Lera, a small secret shared between friends, veiled in a giggle. But... The delay means three hours to kill- and three hours of sad, jilted, children to take care of. 
This may be a problem. 
Not to say that Nanoha isn't willing as she finally has an excuse to break herself away from the window. 
It can't be too hard, right? What's the worst that can happen? 

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

"This place. Is a model, of inefficiency." Garnet comments to herself, and adjusts her mirrored shades, appearing wholly unimpressed and unsurprised by the delay, but this is her first time to a relatively primitive human airport, the Crystal Gems teleporting or space travelling everywhere they need to go.

Still, there's not an active teleport pad in Okinawa as she could recall, and Steven was exploding in excitement to go as soon as he heard about the trip. This delay will give him more time to shop and play, and socialize. To have fun and be a child, and that's what's important.

Garnet feels like this downtime should be enjoyed, a tug from her extra-senses, ((Future Vision(!)) suggest that trouble could be on the horizon in Okinawa, and that her more... formidable talents might be needed to protect the youngest and seemingly most vulnerable people of her new home.

<Pose Tracker> Kanade Minamino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Kanade went to open her mouth, but the intercom beat her to it. She blinked and gave a mournful sigh. "Oh great, that means we won't arrive until late afternoon, that completely throws off my schedule."

The whining of the children gives Kanade flashbacks of the times her own little brother would complain during family vacations when she was younger, except this was multiple by a dozen at least. It was going to be a long wait...until Hibiki started to do her gorilla dance again. She snickered to herself. "You're becoming a real expert at this, Hibiki," she muttered and looked to the kids. Well, might as well have some fun with this.

"Gorillas are all fine and good, but if you really want to sing you need to howl like a wolf!" She pretend to throw her head back and did her best to give an elegant howl. "Awooo!" she cried. "Come on, kids. We need more wolves and gorillas for a proper chorus!"

<Pose Tracker> Nagihiko Fujisaki [Ohtori Academy (6)] has posed.

Nagi can tell from some of the other chaperones that 'delayed' made them feel like someone had walked over their grave, which is more or less the correct feeling. Nagi's not terribly happy about it either, and the kids are quick to voice their own frustrations. But just takes a brief step back to assess things. Think fast, man!

"If we take them to the arcade," he mutters aloud, "it'll settle them down now, but they'll be even more upset the next time the mood strikes them...the jungle gym is better for them, but..." He taps his foot, eyes casting across the sea of faces. Actually, they probably need to do both, for this many students, but, uh, hm. Hm. ... ...hm.

"Dude," Rhythm hisses to him, quietly, because in this mixed a crowd /somebody/ is guaranteed to hear him at his usual volume, "just do somethin'! It'll be cool!"

"You say that," Nagi mutters, and then his eyes find a few familiar faces. Familiar faces he can conscript to ensnare the minds of children!!

He motions that he's got an idea to one of the overseeing faculty and then dashes off into the churning sea of kiddies. He emerges some meters later, calling, "Nanoha-chan!" with a high wave of his hand. "We need help getting the kids coralled, can you and your friend," refering to Lera, because he has no idea what to call her right now, "help me with..."

And then, a zoo attacks.

... "...not, that, but instead, something else?"

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

The teachers break up from their huddle and scatter for some reason. One of them pauses to nod at the chaperones. "Keep an eye on them. Make sure they don't get lost. We're going to go make arrangements before things really get out of hand."

And so they do. This isn't as totally absurd as it seems; with these back-to-back-to-back flights planned, older students may well be stranded in the airport for six hours. They may be trying to book different flights, or reserve a room away from the gate, or something.

The mixed lectures and gorilla chanting that the group of kids receives goes over... incredulously, that is definitely the right word. "Obaa-san," one particularly snot-nose brat says pugnaciously to Hikaru, "This delay ain't the only thing that stinks! What is there to make the 'best of', anyway!"

(Ed. note: 'Obaa-san' is like 'Auntie'. It is a sassy way of calling her an old lady. 'Onee-san', like 'big sis', would have been inoffensive in comparison.)

The kids who've noticed Hibiki's gorilla antics, though, are collapsing into giggles. They are, for the moment, immobilized with laughter, though not quite yet chanting and grunting along. More encouragement may be required. Body humor on six-year-olds: it's super effective!! There are a lot of kids transfixed by this display, fortunately, but... not all.

"WAIII! THE ARCAAADE!" shouts Mina happily as Fuu grants her wish. She does not stick around to listen to the tangled web of plans about an organized march -- she leads the charge, and a gaggle of a dozen kids stream after her, bouncing down the terminal towards their goal.

They're going the wrong way. And a second group of kids have set their chins and clenched their fists and already begun to conduct a mission of exploration in the opposite direction, too.

Kenjiro meanwhile has gone totally ignored, and, with a defiant sniff, has elected to get into the abandoned backpacks of the students who've left. Another child reaches out to stop him... hesitates... and then, as she sees the candy he's unearthing, decides to join the scavenger hunt, instead.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lera guffaws at Nanoha's joke. It's maybe not that funny, but something about it hits the funny bone. The thought that they could have simply flown on their own power to Okinawa occurs to her -- or can they? She should check the distance. She grins, sheepishly, and then she looks down at Nanoha. She hears Fuu's call, then, and she looks up. She cries out after that:
"U-uh, I can try, sure!" Lera calls back at Fuu. "I think--oh!"

Nagihiko calls out. She stares for a moment, before she spots the children running for the arcade. Or, rather, in the wrong direction to the arcade. They're venturing deeper into the airport. "H-Hey! We gotta stop them!" she says. "Or they'll get in trouble! Let's get those kids, and get them to the arcade!"

Lera goes running after the children, arms waving in the air. "HEY! HEY KIDS! This way!" she yells. "The arcade's this way, not that way! Nanoha-chan, Nagihiko-san, help!"

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Cue a massive, MASSIVE sweatdrop on the back of Fuu's head as a dozen children run in EXACTLY the wrong direction. "Ara ara ara ... thank you, Lera-san. Hikaru-san, Kuniko-san, let's go!"

She joins the chase, grateful that everyone *IS* in their school uniforms, even the elementary students. That'll make them easier to identify. Thirteen elementary children, four middle- and high-schoolers to attend to them ... this should be manageable. If Nanoha-san and Nagihiko-san can contribute as well, all the better.

... she hopes.

If nothing else, something like this HAS to be worth the real-world equivalent of 'sidequest experience'. If only such a thing actually existed, she thinks wistfully.

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Hibiki ooks, and does a pratfall at that snot-nosed brat's insult. "Obaa-san?! Who do you think you are?!" Wheeling around dramatically - doing a big ape stomp for dramatic effect - Hibiki puts her hands on her hips to face her critics.

Still acting rather ape-like, for the benefit of those amused by these antics.

There's actual laughter, though, and even with those running off to the arcade she still has at least some of the kids' attention. And with Kanade joining in...well, whatever the other chaperones might say, it's working. Kind of. For now.

"Ook! If you're so smart, kid - let's see if you can do better!" She gorilla-walks forward, beckoning to her 'supporters'. "What do you all say? Come on, sing along with me - and you, kid, you can lead your own group of singers! Best singing wins!"

There's a pause, and then Hibiki turns to the brat with an expression verging on sinister - the kind of immature taunt she can do better than anyone in her grade. "Unless you're scared to, that is~"

Another beckon to the assembled kids. "Come on, my ape choir! Let's sing!" And pounding her chest, she starts marching around, ooking out a familiar children's tune...

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

In the immortal words of a singularly non-cute fox, "chaos reigns." Kuniko frowns as the teachers leave them to their own devices for the moment, as Arimura goes off to make a call, as everything goes to heck in a handbasket! She puts a hand on her hip and exhales, even as Fuu says 'let's go!'

Things move around and reveal... Kenjiro. Neglected, alone, and hunting for candy, along with another and nameless friend. (or ally. or co-thief. who knows.) "Oi, oi!" Kuniko says, advancing upon them. "Hey! How would you like it if I went digging for your candy!?" she says, leading with a sharp note. Just the one, though.

"If you two want candy," she says as she approaches Kenjiro and the other child, squatting slightly to get near to their level, "Come on, there's a bunch over at the souvenier shop. I'll treat you, and you can get what you want. OK?" She attempts a smile after this.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Obaa-san, quite an insulting term to use towards a young lady like Hikaru. She has an idea of who might have said it, but does she respond to them? Believe it or not, she doesn't. In her opinion, it's natural that these children are upset about the whole thing, and they're too young to most likely appreciate the lesson being taught here. So Hikaru simply brushes it off, namely since there are far more important things to worry about right now. Like chasing after school children who are running the wrong way! Fuu-chan will find she's not the only one sweatdropping either!

The sound of her school shoes clicking on the floor can be heard as Hikaru rushes after the children. "Please, come back here! You can't be wandering around a place like this!" She calls out, knowing most likely her words will be in vain, but she has to make an effort of some kind.

<Pose Tracker> Mana Aida [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Outwardly, Mana appears to be transfixed on a mere trinket.

Inwardly, something's happening. It's like a flash cutting through her senses as some part of her heart feels to almost melt into the Cure Lovead, like a shining light pulsing somewhere behind her chest. Her heart beats a mile a minute. She stares at the bead in her hand, a lump rising in her throat.

(What is this...? Is it because it's like Makopi's...?)

The man behind the counter just smiles. "It seems you've taken a liking to it, huh? I'd like you to have it," he says with a wink.

Mana gasps almost without thinking. She holds the bead out in her palms, eyes wide. "But I can't accept that! Grandpa always told me it's wrong to take anything for free!"

With a shake of his head, the bucket-hatted man gently takes the bead from Mana's hand. He leans forward, carefully affixing it to her bow. "The value of things can change depending on the person," he explains with a smile as he holds up a mirror.

A part of Mana still protests, but as she catches sight of her reflection, the Lovead gleaming at the heart of her ribbon, all she can do is smile. Her eyes shine.

That's about when a classmate suddenly grabs her by the arm. "Class prez, class prez, we need you!" the student squeals, beginning to drag Mana back into the sea of chaos.

"Iyaaaa~n~," Mana exclaims.

<Pose Tracker> Kanade Minamino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Kanade snickers at Hibiki being called 'Obaa-san' by the kids. "Well, to be fair, Hibiki, there are times you can complain like an old woman." She folded her arms. "Wasn't it just the other day you were actually telling kids to get off your lawn?"

She turned her attention back to the children they still had to entertain. "Come on, Kids. Let show the 'obaa-san' what great singers you are! AWHOO!" she howled once again.

She noticed some of the children wandering towards the cafeteria and mildly ponders if someone is going to chase after them. Kanade was tempted herself, but she had her hands full entertaining these kids.

<Pose Tracker> Nanoha Takamachi [Infinity Institute (4)] has posed.

Okay so. Dealing with small excitable children. Should be a snap right? But where to begin? For a moment, Nanoha folds her hands together behind her back, rocking on her toes. 
As an aside, it was a pretty great joke. At least to a fellow insider anyway. 
Her name is called yet again though, and blue eyes dart in the direction from whence it came. That's... Nadeshiko's brother isn't it? She's still squinting for a good moment, as though really trying to piece something together and utterly and completely failing at it. But regardless... "Oh! Hi Nagihiko-san!" Chipper as ever, "Lera-chan and I can help, sure!" Lera tugged on HER for the very same purpose anyway. 
"It shouldn't be too hard, I've got plenty of experience keeping the temps in line at Midori-ya." 
Somewhere, back at a pastry shop far far away, Akira Kinotori, and Tobi Houren shudder with instinctive terror for a reason they cannot understand. 
Off go the children, the lot of them blitzing for the bright lights and booping sound effects of the arcade-- except it's in the other way. 
"Heeeeey~. If you all slow down and walk calmly, I'll show you all a ~magic trick~." 
Nanoha does not mention that most of her real magic involves making things explode in bright pink light. 
That probably won't help right now. 

<Pose Tracker> Chitose Shiratori [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

Chitose is still seeing to herself, attempting to get somewhat more presentable when the call comes in, the flights will be delayed. She doesn't quite notice for a few moments, so engaged in cleaning up she is. It is only when children start to pipe up about boredom and the things that they want that she looks back up . And at this point, Chitose sees the group of children in her mind, and they are all waving. Not the waving one does with their hands, no. It's the sort of wave where the children move around like a wave on the beach. It's quite fanciful, really, with children crashing against the walls of the terminal like the very sea. Of course, while the entire image is kind of funny, it turns into a slight bit of horror, because while her thoughts are physically impossible, they'll probably be pretty close to this if things don't improve soon.

Meanwhile, some other kids start to take charge and begin to assemble the mass of kids. Neat, hopefully this means that she can just relax with a good book--

And then the teachers leave! Chitose sighs, even though the teachers probably had the right idea. Did they really need all the teachers to get that stuff done?

Oh, well. At least everyone is rising to the challenge and either distracting the students or otherwise attempting to herd the others. So what does that leave her?

She looks up behind her, the best way for her to 'look' at her Device without bringing it in front of her. "Any ideas?" She mutters to herself, and her Device.

<Analyzing findings...>

"Analyzing what findings? There's nothing here."

<Processing will take three hours. Stand by.>

Chitose sighs. Then she stalks off after the kids who wandered off away from the arcade and the other destinations, in case some of them decided to play hide and seek.

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Lera's fast action (and longer legs) get her in front of Mina's group quickly, and Hikaru and Fuu together can pen them in from behind. "W-what?" chokes the ringleader with embarrassment, turning a mottled red. She looks like she's about to cry, and the kids with her shift awkwardly... except for the three who simply turn around and try to head back the other direction, as instructed, for the arcade. They are met by Nanoha's promises of magic tricks. "Rehhh?" one says incredulously. "What can you do thass' as cool as Street Fighter Alpha Zeta?"

Chitose has pursued the group gangling along in the other direction. They're at the edge of the food court, now, and about to plunge into the stacks of tables and chairs along one wall, which are, indeed, perfect for something like hide and seek. There are only moments to spare before they start their game. They haven't noticed her yet, though, so at least she has the advantage of surprise.

Kuniko engages Kenjiro, meanwhile, and he rocks back on his heels, reluctantly releasing the candy. Her lecture has hit home -- its brevity may have helped. "Yeah, okay, what?"

His eyes widen at what comes next.

"OI, EVERYONE, ONEE-SAMA IS GONNA BUY US ALL CANDY!"

"YAAAAAAAY!"

Unless Kuniko is quite wealthy she may be in trouble, because a small army of tots are now crowding around her, eager to be led to the souvenir shop and bought goodies.

Hibiki and Kanade's joint efforts, however, are succeeding at wrangling the largest group. "I-I'm not scared, o/BAA/-san," the little punk counters, first folding his arms across his chest and then, when sufficiently egged on, untangling them and starting to match the beat instead. "OOH! OOH! AHH! OOH! OOH! AHH!"

Soon several dozen kids have joined him, while others are competing as wolves. "AROOOOOOOOOOO!!"

It's effective, yes, but now some of the adults in the airport who aren't part of the school trip are starting to cast troubled frowns at all the ruckus...

<Pose Tracker> Nagihiko Fujisaki [Ohtori Academy (6)] has posed.

"Thank you!" Nagi says. DEPUTIZED. OK, now what, he's got ohhhh gooood they're heading the wroooong waaaaaaaaay!!

And some other stuff is happening, too. He manages to catch sight of the would-be burglars, but also sees they're being managed; so instead, Nagi tears off after the Airport Explorers (Nanoha and Lera seem to have the arcadegoers well in hand); with impish disregard for propriety, he finds an empty seat and vaults over it, leaving a "Excuse me!" wafting in the air behind him as he hits the ground on the other side and spins on his heels, putting him neatly in front of the exploration team with a big grin and a thumbs up cocked at himself. "Hey, there!" he says, brightly. "You all wanna go somewhere cool? Stick with me! I've got something special lined up!"

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fuu smiles at the remaining children for the arcade group. "It's all right, but we need everyone to stick together. You wouldn't want to miss the flight to Okinawa because you got distracted and lost track of the time in the arcade or something, would you? We wouldn't be able to fly back to pick you up, after all ..."

Still being friendly, cheerful, and reassuring to the best of her ability, Fuu starts leading the group back towards the arcade, making a list of the children's names on her smartphone and texting it to Lera and Hikaru. Kuniko seems to have been sidetracked; Nanoha looks like she's gotten the attention of a couple of the runaway would-be gamers, and Fuu nods thankfully to her younger friend.

Maybe now the arcade trip can be safely managed ... but she sends a text to Nanoha as well:

> Can you please let me know if any of those three decide to head to the arcade?

Hopefully nothing else will go catastrophically wrong.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"It's okay!" Lera says to Mina, a little too loudly. She puts a hand on her shoulder, then she looks at Nanoha. She grins. "Nanoha! Let's play Street Fighter whatever they called it! We can show them a really good match!"

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Kuniko sees a sudden vision in her mind.

There is a stack of 10,000 yen notes in bricks, like you sometimes see in banks or (with American currency) in films. A prominent sign on them says "SUMMER CART PROCEEDS". It is being crawled over by small children who are pouring out bottles of mirin all over it.

Kenjiro, wearing a clown nose and a purple three-piece suit, touches it with a sparkler. With a cool blue flame, all of the money catches fire. The sign changes to read "DONKEY" before it too catches fire.

When the vision ends she is already passing behind Mana in the sea of children. "One piece each! Just one each!" That should at least control the burn rate. Right?

(Probably not.)

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [None] has posed.

"Oooh, look at this thing! It is a little birdie that bobs up and down for water! For like, ever! He even has a top hat and bow tie..."

Steven Universe is in fact, present! Though for the past little while has been utterly enamored with the small trinkets and toys a gift shop offers in the airport thoroughfare. He can't help it! Just look at that little weasel thing attached to a battery pwoered rolling ball that is rolling all over the shop! MADNESS!

While not necessarily allocated to a school yet, Steven, being in the midst of a decision, was permitted special permission to attend such a field trip, to see if school life and the perks involved are actually up his alley. The boy accepted, so not only is this a first for him, but a major decision to make in disquise!

Steven walks outside the shop with an ice cream sandwich in his hand, though seems rather disappointed in it for some reason as he eats it. "Okay! That mission is done, now--" He looks around and seems worried. "Where'd all the other kids go? I thought the flight was delayed..." Scampering back over to his hamburger pack near Garnet with the treat in his mouth, he slides it on hastefully. "I should go look for other kids that go to the school by the temple! I'll be back," he lets hsi caretaker know.

"If I were a kid my age that wasn't me, where would I go?" Naturally, the first thing to catch his attention is the Arcade. "Of course!"

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet nods at Steven's departure. "Good luck Steven, the arcade is packed full of children. Show no mercy." She winks and waves him off. She's confident he'll return in time for the flight, but keeps a third eye on him just in case.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

"Well, that's a relief," Hikaru says to Fuu, before looking at the children. "I know you all want to have some fun, but we have to stick together. We can't be running around like this! It's a huge place and who knows what might happen if you get lost!" Another sweatdrop briefly forms, before Hikaru wipes her forehead and then looks to Fuu. "So, that's taken care of, now what?"

<Pose Tracker> Nanoha Takamachi [Infinity Institute (4)] has posed.

That is a good question. The honest answer is 'a hell of a lot, you little brat', but Nanoha isn't going to brag that her down-right+fierce special is better than Reeoo's. BUT once she seems to have their attention... Nanoha holds up one finger. "Give me just oooone second, I need a helpful volunteer!" 
Said volunteet takes the form of a fuzzy pink elephant from the nearest gift shop, after explaining her reasoning to the clerks there- though she will pay for it if she has to, whipping out her phone and flinging a quick text back to Fuu. 

>>Don't worry! Lera-san and I have this! 
>><Insert clipart image of chibi Nanoha holding up the peace sign.> 

Now comes the task of holding the children's attention, she whispers down to the gem on her necklace, "Aheh heh... Raising heart, do you mind?" 
<SIGH. I HOPE YOU HAVE PRACTICED MY MASTER. ALRIGHT.> 

"Ahem..." 
Nanoha proceeds to hold up the stuffed animal and begins to ventriloquize like a pro. 
"So... Strange as it may seem, Heartful Elephant, they give ball players nowadays very peculiar names." 
<FUNNY NAMES?> 

A drity, cheating, Device equipped pro. 

"Mhm! Nicknames! on the Midori-ya team we have Who's on first, What's on second, I Don't Know is on third--." 
<TELL ME THE NAMES OF THE MIDORI-YA TEAM.> 
"I'm telling you. Who's on first, What's on second, I Don't Know is on third--" 
<YOU KNOW THEIR NAMES?> 
"Yes." 
<WHO IS PLAYING FIRST?> 
"Yes." 
<WHAT IS THEIR NAME?> 
"Who." 
<THE ONE ON FIRST.> 
"Who!" 
<ON FIRST BASE!?> 
"Who is on first!" 
Throughout this little spectacle, hoping to all heaven it holds the kids attention, Nanoha meets Lera's eye, when her friend challenges her to Street fighter in front of the children. 

<PREPARE TO BE OWNED.>

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

There is a ruckus. This is liable to continue for the foreseeable future - if the teachers aren't able to make arrangements, Hibiki and Kanade will have to entertain these kids for hours. And while it won't be the Animal Concert the whole time, 'quiet' isn't exactly on Hibiki's skill list.

The most concern she has for the uninvolved at the airport is to try - emphasis on try - to move the concert to the far side of the gate or seating area. Keep the kids together, and out of the way, and making an absolutely ridiculous racket...

...Pray that the crisis is resolved before Hibiki breaks out the soccer ball.

(Meanwhile, in Hibiki's duffel, a cat snoozes happily - and the hour for the Fari-Team to step in does not arrive.)

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lera stares at Heartful Elephant for a moment. She gawks -- then she glances down at her pocket. A quick glower for Soaring Sky, who has sold her out. And Broken Ground told her to put him inside the suitcase, because he didn't want to see children! She sighs, once. Then she claps her hands together and nods.

"ALL RIGHT, KIDS!" Lera yells. She has her 'tall, scary foreigner' act down pat. "Let's see some fighting! Get ready for a show! Here..."

She deposits the coins.

"....we..."

She selects her character, while she lets Nanoha do the same. She goes for a red-haired girl wearing a school uniform, hopping up and down, waving boxing glove-clad fists at nothing in particular. "...go!" she yells, before she adds: "LET'S GET READY TO RRRRRRRRRRUMBLE!"

Then the match starts.

Lera sends her character running straight for Nanoha's. Her finger slams repeatedly into the punch button; there is no effort for strategy or success here.

<Pose Tracker> Chitose Shiratori [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

Chitose catches up with the hiding children, and when she spots the children setting up to hide, she considers the best way to proceed.

1) She glares at them until they agree to go back (aka the Sei Itazura option)
2) Run up behind them and yell "Boo!" (the option her mother would go with)
3) Tell them they will be in big trouble if they don't shape up.

Chitose decides all of these ideas are wanting, so she goes for a more subtle option. "Children! There are presents waiting for good little boys and girls on the..."
Chitose tries to figure out someplace in Okinawa that they're going to... and fails. "plane! Yes. But only if you return to the gate with your things."

Chitose tells the dirtiest of lies.

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Steven winds up actually being the first kid to make it to the arcade, loud and dark and thrilling. The others are en route but being held hostage to Hikaru's lecture, Fuu's leadership, and...

...Nanoha and Raising Heart's comedy routine.

The kids don't get it, not really. This is punny stuff, and they haven't quite graduated to that level yet. They kind of shift and titter nervously. The brightest of the bunch finally giggles, but...

Well, there's no critic like a six-year-old.

"SWEEET!!! FIHTAAAAAAA!!!"

And they're off, fleeing Fuu and Hikaru to buzz straight past Steven into the depths of the arcade. The only one who stays nearby is Mina. She looks up at Lera's comforting words. "Th-thanks," she sniffs. "I just... I wanted to play the c-crane game. I always lose, but... this time I thought maybe I could... win a souvenir for my first time to the airport..."

Lera's already arcading it up. Fair enough, the needs of the many are more important; the little girl squares her shoulders and marches towards the crane, electric guitar battle music resounding in her ears. This time... this time.

Kuniko declares a one-piece limit, and is virtually crowd-surfing the hordes of kids eagerly pushing her towards the souvenir shop. The orders she receives are mostly reasonable, but there are dozens of requests all at once from all directions. Truly this is a true test of Service...!

Nagi winds up approaching the would-be hide and seekers at the edge of the food court from the opposite direction as Chitose. One squeaks and burrows further into the seats, but the others are transfixed. "Somewhere supa dupa cool?" they inquire hopefully.

"...presents...?" they add, as Chitose comes at them from the other side, nearest the sneaker -- but all of them hear it. "YAAAAAY!!"

They scamper back towards the gate...

<Pose Tracker> Mana Aida [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"Excuse me!"

The polite interjection comes as Mana Aida suddenly emerges from the crowd and slides neatly into place to Kuniko's left. She's holding a clipboard. It's the clipboard she was writing down ticketing information on, but now she's got a blank paper front and centre on it.

With a cheery smile, she clicks her heels together and delivers a bright and shining smile upon the crowd of squirts before her. "I know everyone wants to get some candy," she says with a brisk nod. "But if we all give our orders one at a time, we'll all get it faster, okay?! Now!"

She leans forward with a smile for the nearest kid. "Hi! I'm Mana! What's your name and what kind of candy would you like?"

She proceeds to repeat this from kid to kid. It will not save Kuniko any money. But it might help organize her personal hell.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

"I can't stand it. It's just too much." Garnet gets up and walks decisively towards the arcade. While she is tempted by the machines in general, particularly the rhythm games, she stops in front of the crane machine and Mina. "I can win you a souvenir if you'd like."
Garnet says, "Just pick whichever one you like best.""

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [None] has posed.

All the flashing lights, electronic screens and box systems act as some sort of bug zapper, but for children, and zapping wallets empty. But the stimulation is helpful as a distraction when planes are heavily delayed. Steven reaches a fist into his pocket, and pulls out a handful of various coins, sifting through them and plucking out four, placing the rest back in his pocket. "I don't know any of these games. They don't look like the oens on my GameCube..." he says to himself.

And then, suddenly, a stampede of children of all ages blast past him, causing him to spin, topple, and drop his coins! "Oh no!" He quickly scrambles to pick them up, and heads inside the arcade's darkness.

The different games jsut seem to dazzle Steven to no end, making the decision all the more diffiult. He holds his backpack close as the boy closes in on Lera, observing her fight with all her might. Steven can only watch all starry-eyed as it all goes down.

He appears as though he wants to yell and shake his handful of coins excitedly, but barely seems to manage the panache to not be an utter distraction.

Yet.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Admittedly, it's a series of puns that come fast and thick, so Fuu can understand why the younger children don't follow it enough to really care. Fortunately, Fuu got the names from Nanoha's abortive audience as well, and adds them to her list just as they go racing past.

And as much as Fuu would like to indulge in gaming for her own pleasure, she's conscientious enough about her responsibilities to keep tabs on the children. She's doing her best to keep track of where all of them are; thankfully it's just a one-floor arcade, not like the multi-story game centers of Akihabara (or Shinjuku or wherever else).

Parking herself at one of the crane games seems like a good way to stand watch for a bit; she busies herself trying to collect a Ho-oh plushie from a Pokemon-focused UFO Catcher game. (Managing to win it would not, however, make her Fuu Ho-Oh-ji ...)

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Kuniko manages to elbow her way to the front of the counter, where the candy itself mostly is. When people call out names, she points a little towards them, even saying the name if they are someone she recognizes or someone who she sees a name-tag on - and putting that piece up on the counter! Orderly distribution!

She sees Mana. Her eyes widen and she mouths 'THANK YOU' with a deep bow, or at least a suggestion of one. Such relief. Perhaps she will not disappoint them after all.

She stacks up more. Gum. Candy. Chocolate bar. Pocky. When she is given a vague statement ("Chocolate!") she picks something a little nicer than the child might be used to. She can't help it; even if it means Kuniko will be poor as a mouse there, she can't let a child's palate be completely ruled by mass produced glop!

Unless that's what the child specifically asks for, of course.

When Mana comes by she asks her, parenthetically, "What'd you get, anything? I guess I can hit him up after -" Kuniko trails off, perhaps because she knows... she's not going to be getting a very high grade accessory after this.

<Pose Tracker> Nanoha Takamachi [Infinity Institute (4)] has posed.

Nanoha's brow twitches. 
She had practiced that for -weeks-. 
<WHAT A TOUGH AUDIENCE.> 
The plan to give the kids a show in Street Fighter seems to bomb though. 
However Mina is spared her plight by Garnet's stoic amd TOWERING HEROISM. 
What a relief. Well, Heartful Elephant gets stuffed away, much to Raising Heart's chagrin. 
<BUT WE DID NOT GET TO THE BEST PART.> 
Alas, Lera is forced to contend alone, as Nanoha is KIDNAPPED. 
"GIVE ME YOUR MONEY." 
"Wh-" 
"I AM THE BLACK SAMURAI." 
Cue chiptune rock and roll theme. 
There's antics involved here. Antics that probably involve a lost child somewhere along the way, and a 1980's pinball machine. 

<Pose Tracker> Chitose Shiratori [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

Chitose watches the hiding kids flee back to the gate. She cups her hand around her mouth for a moment as she ponders what just happened. "I did not expect that to work." She looks back at Nagi and shrugs helplessly. "I... actually was expecting them to think I was lying." There always was one kid that could see through the lies of adults, but somehow she got the group that didn't have one. "Now what to do when they get on the plane..."

She walks off after them, plotting what to do next.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

15 Seconds Into Lera's Street Fighter Battle Against a 6 Year-Old:

"FLAWLESS VICTORY!" the computerized announcer yells.

Lera watches her emptied life bar with wide eyes, her lip trembling. Did... did she really just get schooled by a kindergartener?

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

The joint task force of Mana and Kuniko succeed at distributing Candy To The Masses, who cease their howling, enthusiastic or otherwise, to chomp and slurp and generally nom on their ill-gotten gains. It doesn't take much encouragement to get them to trickle back towards the gate along with Chitose and her group.

The gate is /loud/, though, with lots of merry screaming and chanting and animal imitation. Some of the less-humorous adults in the area are starting to get very steamed indeed -- something will need to be done pretty quickly, or else... well, it's hard to say or else what. Maybe the adults will just suffer in silence.

The arcade is also loud, though differently. Fuu manages to quickly and easily secure herself a prize, while Nanoha and Lera pursue their victories and Steven spectates. Dozens of other children are starting to get into the games, too, not without the occasional minor fight over turn order, but nothing too serious.

And Mina loses the crane game three times before Garnet shows up. And up, and up... she towers over the little girl, who blinks back more nascent tears of frustration to nibble her lip at the offer.

"Ummm..."

Once again her shoulders are firmly squared.

"Th-thank you, ma'am, but if I don't win it myself... it wouldn't have any, any... it wouldn't be the same. Do you maybe have any advice, are you good at crane games?"

<Pose Tracker> Mana Aida [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Mana does not even think about bailing Kuniko out financially because if it were her, she'd probably spend a pile of money on these kids too. To her Kuniko's just doing a good deed!

"Mm!" she says with a smile and a nod for the older girl, during a brief respite from taking orders. She gestures to the bow at her collar; the little gold bead has been clasped perfectly there. "It's just like the one Makopi dropped at the concert. I can't believe that souvenir merchant had one just like it! It's such a coincidence!"

She hands the clipboard to Kuniko, then, her smile wide and bright. "That's all their orders! It's so nice of you to help out like this, Kuniko-san!"

For the children, then, it's another big smile as she claps her hands together. "Don't eat too much before you get on the plane, okay? If you do, you'll have to go potty, and I heard it's hard on an airplane! Plus if you save room, you'll get to have some sata andagi when we arrive, and it's really good!"

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Hikaru also goes to the arcade with Fuu-chan. She's mostly playing classic retro games, like Galaga, Pole Position, and Dig-Dug for the time being. Apparently she's in a nostalgic mood right now. She has some good skills too, although Fuu-chan would probably best her any day.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

With a Ho-oh plushie tucked under her arm, Fuu continues making the rounds of the arcade, keeping track of where everybody is to the best of her ability. She has to manage a couple of other minor crises, but eventually manages to corral a few of her charges into a cooperative game of X-Men, a few others - probably older grade-schoolers - into a similar game of D&D: Tower of Doom. There's even an old Nintendo PlayChoice machine where she discovers a young one learning the antique glory that is the original old-school Super Mario Bros.

As she predicted, the children do start running out of money fairly quickly; Street Fighter is hardly Fuu's thing (although she does have a minor penchant for Aquapazza, or Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax).

There's one fighting game which Fuu finds herself staring at for a few moments in between herding elementary-schoolers: namely, a game by Arc System Works where the characters are all embodiments of different fantasy RPG archetypes, from the child hero to the princess to - surprisingly - the evil overlord.

She resists the urge to feed the machine a 100-yen coin, and goes back to making sure her charges are all where she knows them, and keeps an ear alert for further announcements about Flight 2184, as well as minding her pocket for buzzes from her phone.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.
"It's complicated. It helps if you just close your eyes, and visualize how you're going to approach it." Garnet touches Mina on the shoulder briefly, imperceptibly, and transfers an incredibly localized Future Vision of her next crane attempt, showing her the path to victory. "But it's up to you to make it real." Garnet smiles softly at the girl, and wishes her luck.

Since she's in the arcade, Garnet spends the next hour learning to play various games, but more importantly, learning to QUIT PLAYING various games. She was more than a little embarrassed at her Meat Beat Mania obsession, and views the ability to play games in moderation as shoring up a weakness, an important step in her self-development!

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [None] has posed.

Well, uh. That ended poorly. The person fighting Lera, a kid beating her soundly, and even getting a special announcement i nthe game for doing so happens. "Oh, I am nto very good at those games either. Don't feel bad," Steven says, attempting to console the stranger. I hear there are whole tournaments dedicated to this game. Those guys must be crazy good." A little off topic, but hopefuly noteworthy regardless.

"Better luck next time!" he says to Lera as he scampers off, money in tow. A particular game has caught his eye! A racing game!

Steven quickly plops down into the driver's seat, and gets adjusted to reach the pedals. The game has a remarkable numbr of vehicles to choose from, some of which make no sense for a race game! After going through the massive automobile list, he seems to settle on a... van? A very colorful van. Despite the ferrari being right beside the choice with much better stats, a van is indeed chosen, and Steven starts the race!
"Vroom! Look out! I have to get the my worldwide concert! I can't disappoint the fans!" He can be heard talking to himself about various reasons he has to win the race, mostly having to do with some kind of music career, a Ukelele, and a Lion.

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Kuniko leans in for a moment to look at it. "Ohhh, that's great, it really sets off your eyes," she tells Mana, before she's given a clipboard!

OF DOOM.

The doom is her own, as it turns out. Most of Kuniko's souvenier money is thrown down. She may have to quietly let Chef pick up the check if he goes anywhere fancy and gourmet with them, though Kuniko is at least in a good position to economize on personal meals. What with everything.

But even so, here, now, handing out candy to children - it's hard for her to get that upset. She may mope on the plane. Right now? Kuniko feels alright.

"Hey, take your time and taste this," she says, pretty often, when she's made a slightly fancier substitution. More often, she says, "Stay around the gate, OK? You don't want to get left if the plane gets here early. Just stick with everyone and -" That's about as far as the conversation really manages to get.

Still, it's an attempt!

While drifting back towards the gate herself, Kuniko says to Mana, "I didn't even notice Makopi dropping something. Still, lucky, huh?" She also backs up the statement with, "Sata andagi is /amazing/. Take it from me!" Even if she hasn't actually had it 'for real' yet.

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

TWO AND A HALF HOURS LATER...

"Flight 2184 is now boarding. I repeat, Flight 2194 is now boarding. Please proceed to Gate 51A immediately."

Time flies when you're having fun!

The teachers returned with trays of snacks, and also directions for the older kids -- those who aren't chaperones -- to wait in a nearby, but distinctly separate, lounge. Many of the youngsters, worn out by their entertaining afternoon, wind up taking naps at the gate, anyway.

But they're roused by their friends and form a neat and biddable line. Each has their backpack, after a bit of last minute name-tag checking, and not a single student is lost.

One at a time, they disappear onto the plane. Many of them turn over their shoulder to thank an onee-chan for candy (Kenjiro, mastermind of that heist, salutes Kuniko and Mana) or a good round of video game battle (Fuu, Hikaru, Nanoha and Lera, and their new friend Steven). Mina, joyfully clutching her plush shiba inu, a facsimile of the Tokyo-legendary Hachi, waves frantically at Garnet before disappearing inside.

A few minutes later, the plane leaps into the sky with a joyous roar, towards Okinawa.

Soon another will take its place, to collect the next batch of kids -- but the sharp-eyed notice a shadow against the sun, plummeting towards the elementary schoolers' airplane. Those who didn't watch through the windows might be warned instead by their tiny fairy companions, their Devices, or simply a glimpse of the future.

There's danger up there, threatening the tiniest of tykes.

Boarding the next plane is going to have to wait.

TO BE CONTINUED [[11-08-2015 - Youma On A Plane!|TOMORROW...!]]

2015-12-16 - The Terribads Try To Take Tokyo

2016-01-11T06:30:28Z

Lucientes:

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: <Your title>'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''The Phantom Empire begins an attack on Tokyo, by transforming a girl's happiness into despair.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Lera Camry]], [[Mana Aida|Cure Heart]], [[Hibiki Houjou|Cure Melody]], [[Steven Universe]], [[Ami Mizuno|Sailor Mercury]], [[Fuu Hououji]], [[Kanade Minamino|Cure Rhythm]], [[Inori Yamabuki|Cure Pine]], [[Iona Hikawa|Cure Fortune]] 
GM: Honoka Yukishiro
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Shinjuku Capital Ward
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Sep 15 2014 - 12/16/2015
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Okinawa might as well have been in another lifetime, because back in Tokyo, autumn is in full swing. The leaves are just beginning to turn, shimmering with hints of scarlet and gold, and a chilly breeze occasionally blusters through the streets, the herald of oncoming frost. The sounds, sights and smells of school are paramount; kids swinging beautifully wrapped bento (or a few yen for curry bread) back and forth on their way to school; and struggling beneath the burden of large stacks of books on the way home.

Especially beleaguered are the ninth graders, who will, in another few months, face the greatest academic challenge of their career thus far: high school entrance exams. Every subject's teacher has given the class a stern lecture, a list of study guides, and advice about after-school 'cram school' study programs.

There are several truly impressive seminars, but the best of the best is in the heart of Yamanote, surrounded by mountains of glass and chrome. It remains hunkered low to the ground as though clinging with all its might, refusing to be blown away -- and the only thing that has allowed this merely three-story building to stand the test of time, development, and rising property values, is its sheer history of excellence.

Anyone can attend the Twin Swans cram school, but only the dedicated can stay; at the end of each week, they administer a practice exam, and anyone who has failed to master the material is replaced. The waiting list is essentially infinite -- there are always more students eager to throw themselves onto the machine (or be thrown by their parents, anyway).

A garden of brightly-colored school uniforms mingle outside, somehow forming a contiguous clump even as they're buffeted by the tides of salarymen, executives, shoppers and tourists who throng along this major avenue. It is the first day of a new sequence at Twin Swans, and all of their first day in the program. One, Juuban Middle School 9th grader Shiina Suzuki, is especially starry-eyed. She sings to herself quietly as she marches towards these hallowed halls.

o/` "Laaaaa, I'm gonna work really hard / study every day / and every night too! Laaaaa, I'm gonna work so hard / I pass the test / into Mama's high school..." o/`

Most adults smother smiles as they pass this pigtailed studymaniac, but one has to choke back his own vomit. "Being woken up from a nap by a song about hard work... truly, this must be hell, cheerio." He's perched on the roof of the cram school, dapper in top hat, long coat and cane. Little antennae sprout from the hat, not dissimilar to a grasshopper's.

His golden eyes narrow. "But today, at long last, we shall step out of the shadows and take this hideously productive city face on, pip pip."

Leaping down to balance on a nearby lamppost, he points his cane straight at young Shiina. "NOW! LET THE FUTURE REFLECTED BY THE MIRROR TURN TERRIBLE!" A blast of light later, the girl is trapped inside a dark mirror, bound by ribbons. Her eyes are closed, her face overwrought with despair. "COME OUT, TERRIBAD!"

All that's left of the girl is that sad reflection... and the immense monster that has taken her place, out in the real world. It is a good twenty feet tall, but with squat proportions. Black legs and arms emerge from its torso, which is a calculator; it holds a book in one hand, and a ruler in the other. Mirrored red sunglasses hide its face, and a jaunty green scarf is hung around its neck.

As soon as it takes its first stomping step into the street, horrible blooms of mold -- green and blue and pink and purple -- coat the area all around, and people, in turn, begin to cough, poison entering their lungs. The mere presence of this monster is transforming Tokyo into an environment not at all suited for human life!

And sprouting alongside the cloudlike mold are human-sized creatures that could not be more unlike clouds. They're of simple construction, the Kindabads, a black body with gray boots, gloves, and belt. Their red sunglasses match the Terribad's, and is the only thing that gives them the idea of a face -- otherwise, their heads could be mistaken for black marbles.

"CHOIIIIIII!" they shout as one, their kinda scary battle cry, as they try to topple and tangle every passerby in sight, rather than allowing them to escape the encroaching mold.

Up on his lamppost, Namakelder smirks with pure satisfaction. "Ahahahaha! The time has come! This world now belongs to Queen Mirage and her Phantom Empire!"

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro transforms into Terribad and Kindabads!!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has fully healed herself. She is now ready to take on 10 opponents!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lera Camry passed her high school entrance exams long ago, of course. She has been in high school for months now; she is helping with some English studying, though, as a volunteer position. What better way to put her skills (that may be one word for it) as a native speaker (she is not) to use?

She stops and sighs, though, trying to keep her cheer up; it doesn't last long, though, because being near people preparing for such exams is leads to no small amount of sympathetic stress. She looks up with alarm, though, when she hears voices cry out:

'CHOIIIIIII!'

The orange-haired girl's head snaps to look at the gigantic monster /and/ the human-sized creatures running around it. Her amber eyes widen; the bag on her shoulder slips when her shoulders tense up. "Wh-what is...?"

<I've never seen anything like it!> Soaring Sky states. <Lera, we better...>

"Right!" Lera cries out. "Soaring Sky, SET UP!"

<Get set!>

There is a flash of green light, underneath her feet. It shoots up around her; her jacket ruffles outward as it forms, long and green. A feather charm appears in her hair, the orange-tipped feather flashing into existence. Lera winks -- and a broadsword-shaped Armed Device appears in her hand, stretched out and pointed towards the Kindabads. Then, she glances up at the Terribad, and finally the Namakelder.

"We're not gonna let you conquer the world!" she yells. "Th--that just won't fly at all, y'know?"

<Gladiator Form!> Soaring Sky chimes. The broadsword splits up the middle, into two bronze-colored sabers. With one in each hand, Lera dives at the Kindabads; she leads with the left, slashing for one. Then the girl pivots on her right heel, the right sword slashing for a second Kindabad, and ends with a stab from the right saber at the third solder of the Phantom Empire. <Rapid Skyfall!>

COMBAT: Lera Camry transforms into Barrier Jacket Perihelion!
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Rapid Skyfall on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to counter Lera Camry's Rapid Skyfall, taking 27 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Strength In Numbers, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Lera Camry!

<Pose Tracker> Mana Aida [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

For Mana Aida, worries about cram school and graduation are still a long ways away.

Well, okay, a year away.

That doesn't stop her from skipping her way towards the cram school, though, a large box of something tucked under her arm. The sweet scent of warm peach-jam buns wafts from the box as she skips along. She's not alone, though.

"Mana, those smell so good!" Charle, the tiny fairy, whispers from the book bag slung over Mana's other arm. "Are you sure we can't have any...?"

"Mmnt-mmn!" Mana says with a shake of her head and a smile. "These are for the students who are waiting in line to study! You can't cram on an empty stomach, you know! And there's nothing like my dad's peach-jam buns to keep your energy up!" She grins and indulges in a twirl, nearly dislodging both a couple of buns and a startled Charle.

And then, suddenly, something happens in the distance. Mana gasps and touches her free hand to her heart as she stares ahead, watching the glasses-wearing... something... spring into existence. Something wearing a calculator.

"Mana!" Charle exclaims, eyes wide as she wiggles out of Mana's book bag. "That's--"

Mana presses her lips together, surprise giving way to focus. "Is it an Ego?"

"I don't think so," Charle murmurs worriedly. "I don't... I don't know /what/ it is."

Mana knits her brows a little - she's not an experienced enough fighter to grasp what she's facing. "...But it doesn't matter," she finally says with a sharp nod. "We've got to do something. Charle--!"

"Mm!" The tiny fairy pops up into the air, and Mana steps into a side alley just in time for the little pink sprite to poof into a puff of smoke and emerge as a cell phone. "Charle!!"

Quickly, Mana grasps her Lovely Commune and drags her finger across the screen to spell out four letters. Charle is kind enough to call them out.

"L~ O~ V~ E~"

The heart at the centre of the PDA pulses - and in a shimmer of magic, Mana lets the transformation begin.

A few seconds pass.

And then there's a sudden click of heels as a blur of blonde hair and pink and magenta touches down. With a twirl, the arriving Precure spins about and comes to bear with a smile.

"Overflowing love!
"Cure Heart!!"

With a broad, steady smile, she brings her hands up to the brooch at her chest to form a heart.

"Poor calculator-san who has lost his love," she says, the heart coming up with a twinkle. "Cure Heart will restore your beating heart!"

COMBAT: Mana Aida transforms into Cure Heart!
COMBAT: Cure Heart has used Cure Heart Will Restore Your Beating Heart on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Heart has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Heart's Cure Heart Will Restore Your Beating Heart, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cure Heart is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

There stands, amid the crowd, an embodiment of utmost despair. Clad in the baby blue of an Infinity middle school uniform, Hibiki Houjou looks upon her schoolbooks and despairs. It's a tight-packed crowd, and she's stuck between several taller students - left with little to focus on but the tests hastily stuffed into the pages of her book. Hidden well enough that none can see just what the number on her last math test was.

One might, however, be able to hazard a guess as to how many digits that number is....and so, Hibiki's despair.

"I'm doomed. Totally, utterly, doomed. I'm sorry, Kanade, but after this year it's going to be goodbye, there's no way I'm going to be able to keep up..." She looks up at the building looming overhead, with promises of academic glory...and a shining light ready to burn those fools who reach for something they cannot attain. Finally, though, she turns to Kanade, eyes wide and imploring. "You'll...you'll still come visit me after going ahead, right?..."

And then - absolute -cheerfulness- in the face of academia, enough to break her despair and instead leave her temple twitching. "...did she have this fabled 'too much sugar' you keep claiming exists? Because if studying's that fun..." Hibiki turns, ready to give the girl a piece of her mind-

-and catches a glimpse of Namakelder, unleashing the monster within. The Terribad looms, it gleams, it seems even more invested in studying than the girl was - and the world becomes that much more terrible. "What in the world - ack, ack!" The clouds leave her coughing, just as the gloating begins... "...we wanted to try to do a little better, and you're ruining that with this kind of scheme?!"

She catches Kanade's eye, reaching into her pocket for the instrument within as those around her begin to fall. "Unforgivable!"

There is light. There is miraculous music. And there is a figure in ruffled pink, sprinting through the ominous fog towards the nearest gathering of the monstrous horde. "Strumming the wild rhythm - Cure Melody! And thank you so much for giving me something to hit besides the books!"

She's going to be doing a lot of non-book hitting, if she has anything to say about it.

COMBAT: Hibiki Houjou transforms into Cure Melody!
COMBAT: Cure Melody has used 3/4 Punch on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Cure Melody's 3/4 Punch, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Another field trip of sorts!

Well, sort of. Steven had been directed to check out the Twin Swan, a school dedicated to help others study. If they have the aptitude for it, that is. While the small child does not require it yet, it is good to know about fofered facilities. You never know whe nsomething comes up that onen eeds a little extra help with, am I right?

Mr. Universe seems to be mingling with a group of kids his age, still dressed in his school uniform, looking rather dapper in it, if he says so himself! "So they help people that are having trouble with subjects? That sounds really cool! I am having a little difficulty with math, but I am getting help from my teacher. if it gets much harder though...!"

Ofcourse, everything jsut goes utterly south, as a nearby student gets captured in a... mirror? What? "Is that part of the hazing I hear about in older grades?" And then a rather nefarious looking thing appears that is definitely not part of high school hazing tradition. "...A monster! Oh yeah! Someone is itching for a fight! I am still amped up after yesterday's softball game!"

"Wish the Gems were here," he says to hismelf as the mold cloys at the air around. He can hold his breath for longer than most people for unknown reasons, but everyone else might be in trouble! "Badguy! You chose a bad time to attack! Because I, Steven Universe, will stop you! Yeah, that's right! Me!" The boy holds his hand up and summons a beautiful rosate shield adorned with a gemstone and thorn pattern to his forearm.

The boy then proceeds to, rather than attack, taunt the giant creature! Yes, a small child has the gall to taunt a giant monster. He blows a /mean/ raspberry at it, what whatever good that will do. "Now let her go, or you'll get more where that came from!"

Hopefully more superheroes show up while he buys time! They do seem to be everywhere in Japan. Not that that is a bad thing. It is pretty awesome, actually!

COMBAT: Steven Universe transforms into Steven Quartz Universe!
COMBAT: Steven Universe has used AND STEVEN! on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Steven Universe's AND STEVEN!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Steven Universe is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Flight of the Kindabads, partially gets through, doing 8 Fatigue damage to Steven Universe!

<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cram school, and moreover, a cram school with nigh-constant mock exams!

Needless to say, Ami Mizuno is absolutely here. This possibly exceeds even 'water' as her element, and accordingly, she's squarely within earshot of that song... and its subsequent end.

She rushes toward the shouting monster -- and when she sees it, sure enough, she then immediately gets around a corner again and fishes out her transformation pen. Raising it to the sky, she cries out, "Mercury Power -- Make Up!"

In moments, Sailor Mercury joins the battle! Rounding the corner back onto the street, she locks eyes with the monster, saying, "Everyone here has been working so hard to pass their exams! To disrupt that hard work is unforgivable!" As bubbles roll off of her in waves, she declares, "In the name of Mercury -- I will punish you!" She's hoping that the bubbles can keep that nasty choking mold away from her.

COMBAT: Ami Mizuno transforms into Sailor Mercury!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has used In The Name Of Mercury on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has adjusted her boss levels. She is now ready to take on 9 opponents!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Sailor Mercury's In The Name Of Mercury, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Mercury is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates! Exhausted, Stagger, and Tangle applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

While Infinity Institute students don't necessarily have to worry about entrance exams to advance from the middle-school tier to the high-school classes, extra preparation certainly never hurts; Kuu Hououji still remembers the comparative shock between the last day of ninth grade and the first day of tenth. She was better prepared for it than some of her peers, to be sure ... but she still advised her younger sister Fuu to take advantage of every opportunity to bone up on the material.

So Fuu has been attending Twin Swans, much as she was hoping to completely avoid cram schools. The challenge is relatively invigorating, though, and her archery skills remain solid enough that the (very understanding) team captain is willing to let Fuu miss some team practice sessions. So it's mostly her gaming time that suffers.

Fuu can live with that.

Fuu glances up from a pocket flash-card 'notebook' with a smile at Shiina's quiet singing, and continues on her way towards the doors -

And she's barely two meters away when the sudden unleashing of a monster, and mold, and additional mooks blows against her back, whipping her hair around her face and her skirt around her legs with a blast that seems to have been distilled from last winter's trip to Hokkaido. She immediately runs like hell, not even turning to look back at what just happened; she's just ahead of the mold as she vanishes around the corner of a wall.

"Belief becomes power ... Winds, guide me!!"

A cloud of mold precariously near to where Fuu disappeared is disturbed, then dispersed by a stray eddy of autumn breeze, and then a mostly-green blurr ascends from behind that corner. "Whosoever would prey upon honest students seeking to do their best -"

The Magic Knight of Wind alights on a lamppost, still weaponless as she aims her hands at the Terribad. "- prepare to face the fruits of good students' diligence, first-hand! WINDS OF ADMONISHMENT!!"

And with those last words, the Wind Knight conjures a tornado to try and bind the Terribad where it stands. Her first inclination would have been to enclose all of the mold and the lesser monsters with it, but there are too many civilians who are already being contaminated; she doesn't want to trap them in her spell, though.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji transforms into Magic Knight!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has fully healed herself.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Admonishment on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Kanade Minamino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Kanade pats her friend's shoulder as she attempt to give her an encouraging smile. "It's not that bad, Hibiki." She glances at the dreaded number again and winces. "Okay, this time it's that bad, but that doesn't mean you can't improve."

She tries to think of ways to cheer up her friend. Maybe she should try that idea she had of making a reward system out of cupcakes to help her study.

She gave a nervous chuckle as Hibiki shot daggers at the happy girl. "Now, Hibiki, you're over-"

She cut herself off as Namakelder and the monster catches her off guard. She barely has time to react before she finds herself coughing and hacking. "Is this a new enemy?" she tried to ask her friend. Then she hears the gloating...

"People are trying their hardest and you mock them for that!" She catch her partner's eye and brings out her Cure module. "Unforgivable!"

Bright lights and music notes twirl around her and within moments Kanade disappears and Cure Rhythm takes her place.

"Strumming the tranquil melody! Cure Rhythm!" She would make this monster pay for causing so much misery.

COMBAT: Kanade Minamino transforms into Cure Rhythm!
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has used Pretty Cure Kick on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

A future vet has to study hard to get into a good high school which is why Inori Yamabuki placed herself on the waiting list to begin with, months back...

"Inori. Your turn came at Twin Swans came through in the mail today. Congratulations! I know you'll make us proud."

.../Before/ she awakened as a Pretty Cure, and everything that surrounds that, as well as dancing lessons.

Carrying her book bag over her school uniform shoulder, her posture is somewhat slumped by sheer fatigue after coming directly from a hard day of classes straight to cram school, mingling with all the other hopeful ninth graders trying to make it into their high school of choice. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to survive on this schedule." A worried, "Kiiii..." tried to soothe her from within her Linkrun.

But suddenly a cheerful girl at Juuban skips by, all pigtails and song. It brings a smile to Inori's face, the girl's cheerfulness reminding her a little of someone she knows as her back straightens. "But I've got to try! I have to believe that I can handle it."

Still she doesn't have as much pep in her step and she's nearly a block back when it happens. The shout isn't one she catches, but she sees the blast of light and power. And a calculator rising above everything.

Amongst the screams and the fleeing people, Inori finds herself having backpeddled, before tripping, and landing hard on her backside, gawking a bit at the creature, "A calculator? W-Why is a calculator attacking!?"

Mold starts forming everywhere causing her nose to wrinkle, and other smaller creatures pour out of it, giving more urgency to her retreat and she scrambles backwards, on her palms, picking herself up quickly and dashing down an alleyway. She utters a sigh of despair, "I'm going to be late." But that doesn't stop her from doing what needs to be done.

Taking out her Linkrun, she inserts a key at the top, before shouting, "Change! Pretty Cure - Beat Up!"

With a flash of gold, she takes a leap of faith and careens out of the air, back on the block, landing with a click of heels on concrete. She puts her fingers together, shaped like a heart, "The yellow heart is the symbol of faith!" She spreads her hands out, "Freshly Harvested-" Twirling in a circle before taking an energetic hop in the air, she pumps a fist into the air, "Cure Pine!"

Upon landing she's charging into the midst of the throng of kindabads, trying to kick one in the face, before attempting to hop off of it, and perform a leaping punch into one. On the last, she tries to grab ahold of its wrists and twirl it in a circle before casting it amidst the others.

Over to the side there's a new Pretty Cure she doesn't recognize, calling out the Calculator monster, and she seems surprised as she calls out to Cure Heart, "Oh! A new Pretty Cure? Do you happen to know what's going on?" She asks Cure Heart, before catching sight of Melody and Rhythm, "Rhythm! Melody! You're here too!? Oh!" She tries to work her way over to them before asking Rhythm somewhat surreptitiously, "Was Melody giving you a hard time over cram school?"

COMBAT: Inori Yamabuki transforms into Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pineapple Express on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Fuu Hououji's Winds of Admonishment, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Fuu Hououji is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates! Cripple and Trap applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Pine's Pineapple Express, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Rhythm's Pretty Cure Kick, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona Hikawa has also been around the cram school for a similar reason: she had wanted to brush up on her academics. She could always use the brushing up. Plus, it kept her mind off of... more recent events. So she emerges from the cram school, not with the frown and despair, but just a sense of determination.

She's wearing her usual Juuban uniform, her bookbag curled around one arm, but she's got some sort of... stuffed toy she's clutching to her chest. It looks like a purple ladybug with large purple glasses. Girl and toy walks along for a few moments, before the stuffed toy suddenly moves! "Iona, look!"

"Wha?" Iona turns just in time to witness Shiina get placed inside the terrible mirror. Her eyes narrow as she lets go of the toy. Instead of falling, however, it starts to float. "Get ready!" Glassan, the fairy, shouts.

Iona nods and reaches for the tiny mirror hanging from her shirt. She opens it, pulling out two cards which she places inside and closes again. There's a flash of light, and what was once Iona is another Pretty Cure! She brings a hand forward, moving it up and down in a figure of a star. "The star of hope that glitters in the night sky! Cure Fortune!"

The light from the transformation doesn't even fade before Cure Fortune comes tearing out, dashing for the largest target, the Terribad, trying to give it a one-two punch.

COMBAT: Iona Hikawa transforms into Cure Fortune!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Fortunate Punch on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Fortune's Fortunate Punch, taking 16 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

There are, for the time being, an apparently unlimited number of Kindabads; the little black fellows come from around corners and through doorways and anywhere else touched by that poisonous and unearthly mold. That doesn't mean it isn't worthwhile to engage them, though. If you don't bail out the sinking ship...

And Lera tears through three of them like butter. It isn't a messy business; there is no gore and no splatter. Whatever these shadowy things are, they seem to disperse on impact. Cure Melody forces two more back with her fists, Cure Rhythm, two with her feet -- their leaping out of the way is perhaps a bit less viscerally satisfying, but they did just cause the Kindabads to, specifically, leap /away/ from the twin boys they were about to toss into a cloud of mold that used to be the escalator entrance to a major corporate skyscraper. More mold is trickling its way up the building, vein-ily. The boys, wisely, make a run for it, joining the stampede of humanity crushing its way down the block away from this catastrophe.

Unfortunately, the driven-back Kindabads leap /towards/ Steven Universe, joined by a half dozen of their buddies, eager to surround the little boy and give him a good pounding! Or maybe carry him off on their shoulders to never be seen again. Their arrival blocks his raspberry from their greater soldier's vision, alas. The tide of Kindabads is eager to surround Lera, Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm as well, an assault from all directions. Cure Pine bowls into it, taking another group out, but for every Kindabad smote, two more seem to take their place, screaming "CHOIIIIII!!!" Still more few notice Cure Heart standing a little apart from the crowd (though the Terribad doesn't seem to have much interest in the threat to its supposed heart), and take this as a sign of weakness. They pounce en masse, fists- and feet-first.

From his lamppost, Namakelder looks down at Lera, twirling his pole idly. His voice is clipped and precise and sort of weirdly overpolite, as though he's engaging in formalities that don't quite belong in this culture, or perhaps even this world.

"Your grammar is terrible, miss, wot wot. You're not 'going to' let me conquer the world. And I'd like to see you stop me, pip pip. The Blue Sky Kingdom was just our first stop -- we're spreading despair over all the worlds!"

His eyes narrow at the announcement of the arrival of various Pretty Cure. "You're all a real nuisance, cheerio. Wouldn't it be easier to just kick back and relax, 'Cure Melody'? We're not so different -- it's so much easier to coast along than work so very hard."

Tipping his top hat at the furious Sailor Senshi, he adds, "It's a very good thing I'm not looking for your forgiveness, isn't it, pip pip?"

Mercury's bubbles do indeed seem to keep the mold down, at least in her immediate area, and the Terribad's sunglasses narrow as though they were eyes. "TERRIBAD!" it yells, by way of battle cry and self-identification, before slamming forward with massive book and ruler in tandem, trying to crush the girl into the pavement.

The momentum of this motion carries it past the Magic Knight's tornado, which blows its green scarf right into its face. This makes it impossible for it to bring the ruler up in time to block Cure Fortune, who lands two solid punches, WHAM!, WHAM!, that create a spiderweb crack on those red glasses.

For a long moment, it seems like the Terribad will stagger backwards and slowly fall towards the ground, but it recovers at the last second, handspringing massively upwards, to fall, huge feet-first, towards the one that broke its face. And Kindabads surround her on all sides, trying to block Cure Fortune's escape! Some of them, near the Magic Knight of Wind, start pumping their arms up and down with perky chants of "CHOI! CHOI! CHOI!" which seems to be making the mold grow faster and more horribly than before, closing in on her even from above and below...

"Hmmmm... you look familiar," Namakelder remarks to Fortune. "But we can't have met before, or you would already be in despair, cheerio."

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Cure Melody.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Cure Rhythm.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Punches Come In Terrible Twoes on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Cure Heart.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Not Terrible At Kicking Butt on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Environmental Hazard on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Heart narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Cure Heart's Fade ability activates! Cure Heart's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Pine's Reverse ability activates! Cure Pine's Tactician ability activates! Diversion, Exhausted, and Trap applied to Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Cure Pine's counterattack, Pineapple Reverse, partially gets through, doing 21 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Reverse ability activates! Lera Camry's Tactician ability activates! Diversion, Exhausted, and Trap applied to Lera Camry!
COMBAT: Lera Camry's counterattack, Aura Surge, partially gets through, doing 12 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro! Diversion and Tangle applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Not Terrible At Kicking Butt, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Stun applied to Cure Fortune!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Punches Come In Terrible Twoes, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sailor Mercury's Fade ability activates! Sailor Mercury's Flash ability activates! Exhausted applied to Sailor Mercury!
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Cure Rhythm's Fade ability activates! Cure Rhythm's Flash ability activates! Diversion and Exhausted applied to Cure Rhythm!
COMBAT: Cure Melody narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Cure Melody's Block ability activates! Cure Melody's Parry ability activates! Diversion, Exhausted, and Trap applied to Cure Melody!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Environmental Hazard, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates! Blind applied to Fuu Hououji!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"Pine!" Lera calls out to the yellow Cure -- and then flashes a grin. "And Rhythm and Melody, too, and--" She blinks, though, at Cure Heart. She hasn't had the chance to meet her. It doesn't last long; she grins and nods at them all. "Glad you're all here, y'know? There's kind of a lot of these things and--"
Another Pretty Cure that she hasn't met! The Device wielder turns to stare at Fortune, for a moment, before she looks back at the horde of Kindabads. The way they dissipated like smoke is remarkable, she thinks. Her eyes narrow, as they come rushing in for her -- and Namakelder yells down at her.

"M-my grammar is totally amazing and great, y'know!?" she yells at him. Somehow, she makes it a question. "I-I'm always speaking clearly and effectively and--kyaaah!"

The tide of Kindabads close around the mage and she is, for a moment, vanished underneath the sea of shadowy figures. But then there is a bright flash of light -- <Aura Surge!> -- and her blade swings through a bunch, casting back many of them. A few still cling to her arms and legs; others press in. Lera focuses for a moment, light shimmering up Soaring Sky's length.

Rings of light appear around her, then burst out, striking at the nearby Kindabads -- rather than the binding spells they were meant to dispel. The effect, however, may be much the same.

<Bind Break!>

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Bind Break on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"Oh wow, it's more Precure!" Cure Heart gasps as Rhythm and Melody - and Pine and Fortune! - all come exploding into the picture.

"I didn't think there were others!" Charle gasps from her position on Mana's hip. "I mean, um... I guess Cure Sword...?"

Cure Heart blinks a little, then steps forward, shaking her head back towards Cure Pine. "Mmn! No, all I saw was this monster and all those little ones," she says, amazement giving way to focus now that there's a goal in front of her.

Well, giving way except for a big smile and a, "And, hi! I'm Cure Heart. Nice to meet you! Even if it's like thiiiyaaaaaaaa~n~"

Cure Heart's impulses towards being gregarious combine with her experience to trip her up - she gets so sidetracked trying to say hi to Pine that the Kindabad tide swamps her before she really realizes what's happening. With a yelp, she stumbles back as a couple of them rush close. She recovers quickly, managing to hurtle backwards with a sharp leap, then taking another one off to the side to elude a couple more that come hurtling at her.

"Phew! That was close," she says with a self-effacing sort of smile as she lands in a crouch.

Then she straightens up and raises her voice, shouting out towards Namakelder on the lamppost with a sudden burst of indignation - what he says strikes a chord. "That's not true!" she calls out. "Even if it's hard to do something worthwhile, it's still important to try your best all the time! Working hard for something means it matters to you! All these students coming here, it's important to them to get into a good high school and succeed! Besides -- coasting along just means you're making other people work twice as hard for you-"

With a flick of fluffy blonde hair, Cure Heart sinks into a crouch - then springs forward again. "- and that's selfish!" she calls as she hurtles into the air.

"And you /shouldn't be selfish!/" Cure Heart finishes as she plunges into the throng of Kindabads - aiming to slam feet-first into one with a flying dropkick! A dropkick that, if it connects, she's hoping will send the target Kindabad ricocheting into its fellows like a bowling ball!

COMBAT: Cure Heart has used Pretty Cure Kick on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Heart has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Lera Camry's Bind Break, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates! Bind Break! All of Lera Camry's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Cure Heart's Pretty Cure Kick, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Honoka Yukishiro's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Strength In Numbers, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Cure Heart!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Melody [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Shadows scattering from where fist and foot have struck down a pair of the Kindabads, Cure Melody finally answers her partner. "You're darn right it's that bad! Okay, maybe not all the classes, but you know how vicious the tests are going to be this year!" Snarling, she follows through to take out another of the Kindabads, and startles as Cure Pine calls out.

"Pine!...nah, I need the help, I'll admit that much. But isn't there some way we can, I don't know...beat up the test? Do you know anyone who can turn our next math test into a giant monster?"

She's kidding. PRobably. Mostly.

But...there's no end to them. Even others standing against the tide - unrecognized Cures among them - can't defy the fact that this monster seems to have brought a small army. There's no chance to even get close to the Terribad, with this many Kindabads in the way...and she clenches her fists as Namakelder speaks up.

"Not so different?! I'm not the one wearing a -top hat-! And sure, I'd love to relax - but I'm not backing down from what needs to be done!" She glances to Cure Rhythm, with a faint smile. Looking to her for support...

...or as the reason she's not allowed to back down. Ahem.

The Kindabads lunge forward, Rhythm leaping back while Melody stands her ground, fending off blow after blow. For all her words, she's driven back, step by step...and then an idea brings delight to her eyes, one hand reaching out behind her with blind trust. "Rhythm! Care to take this one?" She pulls, swinging her partner around to attack the Kindabads in force - trusting that Rhythm will return the favor.

Round and round, kick by kick, dancing violence to a just off-tempo beat~

COMBAT: Cure Melody has started a combo targeting Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Steven Universe fails to brace Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Diversion, Exhausted, and Trap applied to Steven Universe!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The gathering Kindabads around her perch prompt the Wind Knight to look down at them with a puzzled look - but a short-lived one, since she quickly notices they're basically exhorting the mold to grow even faster. She promptly does the smart thing, and leaps away ...

Or at least, it would NORMALLY be the smart thing. She didn't realize any of the mold had already accumulated ABOVE her perch, and only picks up on that oversight when she winds up plowing face-first through a clump of it.

Of *course* the stuff clings to her glasses - although her unprotected face doesn't necessarily fare much better; she spares a moment to wipe her face clean as quickly as she can with her sleeve. By the time she lowers her arm, the stinging is abating a little ... but she still can't see clearly enough for precision attacks.

On the bright side, the minions are numerous enough and uniquely shaped, so she doesn't have to be THAT precise. Her sword materializes and she starts swinging ... or, well, spinning. Or both.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Spinning Slash on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Fuu Hououji's Spinning Slash, taking 15 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Even if Sailor Mercury isn't the type to get /too/ mad at her opponents, there's something about being talked down to that gets under her skin more than she'd care to admit -- and it renders her a little late with her leap to the side of that hammering blow. When she lands, it's with a thud rather than graceful; she winces, but kips back up.

Taking a moment to catch her breath and assess her situation, Sailor Mercury considers whether to focus her attention on the larger monster, or the swarm. Her snap judgment says that the /best/ things she can do in this situation... don't actually require her to make a choice.

So, naturally, she begins to form a ball of blue-white light between her hands. With a twirl, she crosses her arms and then lets the energy fly... in the form of even more tiny bubbles, obscuring the monsters' vision and hopefully opening up some new lines of attack for the other assembled magical girls.

COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has used Sabao Spray! on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Sailor Mercury's Sabao Spray!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Reverse ability activates! Blind and Stun applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Flight of the Kindabads, partially gets through, doing 8 Fatigue damage to Sailor Mercury!

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Perhaps taunting the swarming things' boss was a bad idea. Who is to tell? It was fun. "Hey! Move! I was insulting the monster! Go away-- ahh!" Steven is u=quickly surrounded and the poundings come. The boy retreats under his shield in a porcupine style, ducking down, though it doesn't stop well placed kicks. "What are these guys?! They look wierd!"

The gem child looks around through the shield partly, and waits for a moment when nothing is hitting, before springing into action. The second comes, and the boy explodes upward, erecting a Bubble Shield around himself, then immediately expanding it in all directions, attempting to send... whatever those guys are, flying!

"I may be a kid, but I am a Crystal Gem! It will take more than badguy minions to defeat me!" At which point he attempts to charge through the crowd, attempting to close distance between him and the giant leader! And whoever that is talking with a funny accent.

COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Repelling Shield on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Steven Universe's Repelling Shield, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Cripple applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Rhythm [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Rhythm kicks through some of the kindabads causing them to scatter away in shadow. She hears the cries of other Pretty Cures, including one she's never seen before. Just how many Pretty Cures were there in their world? She made a note to ask Hummy later about.

Pine's voice rang out, letting her feel relieved in a moment. "It's more she's giving herself a hard time," she admitted to her friend. She sighs at Melody's question of beating up the test. "They really don't work that way-"

The Namakelder speaks and she can't help but notice Melody glances her way as she says it and smirks. Nope! No way would she ever like her partner get off that easily. The kindabads lunge and Rhythm dodges and stumbles slightly making her hiss in pain. "Watch yourself Pine! she warns her friend.

Then Melody gives her that look, the look that caused endless amount of trouble and fun in their childhoods. Gleefully, Rhythm takes Melody's hand while shouting "With pleasure!" As she lets her friend swing her, Rhythm uses the force and speed to kick into the kindabads. Quickly, she returns the favor and lets Melody have a turn by swinging. In perfect harmony, the pair swing each other as if it was a dance they had done a hundred times before.

COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has joined the combo started by Cure Melody!
COMBAT: COMBO! Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm have used Pretty Cure Jazz Swing on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm's Combo: Pretty Cure Jazz Swing, taking 36 Fatigue damage! Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm are Psyched! Stagger, Stun, and Tangle applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"Oh. So you don't..." A finger crooks at her chin as she laughs nervously, "I see! Well it's nice to meet you Cure Heart, I'm Cure Pine!" Another new Cure joins them, a literal star of hope by her own words, blasting right into the monster. She sounds relieved, "Thank goodness so many Pretty Cure managed to make it today!"

Melody's question takes her off guard, and she laughs nervously again, "Melody. I don't think you should count on a giant monster attack all the time to get out of an exam..."

Before she nods sympathetically to Rhythm, wishing Melody would think better of herself on that front. "...maybe we can find a way to study that suits her better after we make it out of this." She spots Lera in the air, "It really is. I don't know if the others are nearby so we'll have to manage somehow!"

Nodding at Rhythm's warning, she calls back, "You too!" Kindabads are everywhere, swarming her like angry clay dolls. A punch here, another there. And several are latching onto her ankles, hampering her movement. Another is coming at her hoping to score a decisive blow. She sways to the left, as its haymaker nicks her sidetail.

Her hands whip up to grab it's wrist. Turning at the waist, she tosses it over her shoulder like she's going to throw it, but doesn't let go. Instead slamming it into whole masses of them, batting them away like she were scattering rats with a broom. It's only after whirling it around several times does she let it go, bowling over about a half dozen more like they were ten pins.

The mold is growing up and everywhere, and despite her ankles feeling decidedly bruised, she dashes, using footwork to try to glide this way left and right on her approach towards the monster, raising her arms to block blows from Kindabads.

At the last moment she does a small crow hop, before attempting a leaping strike with a twist of her hips to add extra power to a punch right into the '8' key of the calculator, which if it connects is something that might just cause its display to go wild, "Don't listen to him! We can stop him if we all work together, even if the odds are against us! It's not just simple math. I believe we can do it!"

COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pineapple Punch on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune lands after the punches connect, watching the Terribad fall to the ground. She keeps her eye on it as it springs up and up, trying to stomp on her like some sort of mushroom. She raises her arms to block the energy from the kick, but she leaps backwards to slip out from under the Terribad. She turns to see the swarm of Kindabads form up around her to try and block her escape.

Namakelder's words ring at Fortune, and she looks up to where he stands, turning to face him directly. "I am Cure Fortune! Your people stole someone precious from me!" She then turns and descends at the Kindabads, kicking one, punching another, and repeating this action for quite some time

Glassan floats nearby, pondering the situation while Fortune goes to town. "They're just now invading with this force? Where's that old lady with the umbrella? She's gotta be around here somewhere, and not just doin' reconnaissance."

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Cure Pine's Pineapple Punch, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Reverse ability activates! Exhausted applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Catch and Release, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Kindaclearin' Kindabads on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Fortune's Kindaclearin' Kindabads, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Q: How many magical girls does it take to face an army of Kindabads?

A: Two. One would get overwhelmed; any more than that is overkill.

And so it is that the Kindabads get overkilled in /droves/ -- Lera's rings of magical light send a bunch of them leaping away from her and directly into the path of Cure Heart's kick-victim-cum-bowling-ball. They all go flying, but there are so many more.

Fortunately, Cure Melody and Rhythm work in beautiful harmony, and their unstoppable waltz across the battlefield leaves a trail of evaporating bodies in their wake. And the Magic Knight of Wind discovers that the mold that was beginning to surround her is also making it hard for the Kindabads to see her and her sword, and she slices down the ones surrounding her like they're so much moldy cheese.

There are a few more who seem to be making it their personal mission to draw pins out of -- somewhere, there aren't obvious pockets on their smooth black bodies -- and individually pop all of Sailor Mercury's bubbles (as well as give her a sharp poke, once or twice) with taunting calls of "ChoichoichoichoichoichoichoichoiCHOIIIII!" Still, they can't get them all, and a cool mist descends upon the area. It's a lot more pleasant to breathe than the mold.

Steven winds up putting an end to their anti-bubble rampage with a bubble of his own; gloriously pink, it sends them flying back to vanish on their rather rough impact with the ground. He'll have no luck approaching Namakelder, though; the man's on a lamppost, and quite out of reach.

"Neither am I, wot wot," the man says with a yawn, as to Cure Melody's assertion that she won't back down from what needs to be done. "Did we, Cure Fortune? Yes... I can see it in your eyes, your despair. Good!"

Fortune also finds success thinning out the Kindabads around her with myriad punches and kicks, and now there's breathing room to attack the Terribad in earnest. Cure Pine's the first to get there, but finds her fist caught by the stubby fingers not needed to keep ahold of that ruler, and then, with an over-the-head hammer throw, she's bodily flung away! Thankfully, her landing is softer than it might have been, since she's hurled directly onto a cushion of mold. Less thankfully, that mold has a tendency to inspire a great deal of choking and coughing when it's in close proximity!

"Time to clean up, cheerio!" Namakelder gestures towards the group with his cane, and the Terribad resolidifies its grip on its ruler. Then, with a flourishing spin -- not unlike that of someone holstering a revolver -- it swaps the way it's gripping said ruler, such that the point is facing /it/ instead of the crowd.

And at blurrily high speeds, it starts punching out numbers on the calculator! It may be a good thing Pine didn't manage to impact, because for every digit that gets pushed, its replicate soars forward from the screen to try to conk a girl right in the face!

It starts with single digits, 8s and 4s and 9s and 2s, each of them the same green as its scarf, and soon the battlefield has numbers flying everywhere at viciously high speeds.

What's going to happen if it finds the multiplication button?!

"TERRIBAAAAAD!!"

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Cure Melody.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Cure Rhythm.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Environmental Hazard on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Cure Heart.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Environmental Hazard, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine's Block ability activates! Cure Pine's Parry ability activates! Cripple applied to Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Cure Heart narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Cure Heart's Block ability activates!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 16 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 19 Fatigue damage! Sailor Mercury's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury's counterattack, Mercury Crash Launcher, partially gets through, doing 27 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro! Critical Counterhit!
COMBAT: Cure Melody narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 9 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Melody's counterattack, I Didn't Count On This!, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 31 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 21 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Fade ability activates! Lera Camry's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 29 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm's counterattack, Keeping Time, partially gets through, doing 4 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Steven Universe narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 7 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Looking up towards Cure Pine again, Cure Heart's eyes downright shine. "I didn't even know there /were/ so many Pretty Cure!"

"I wonder if they're from Trump Kingdom, too," Charle murmurs from Mana's hip. "But I didn't think there were any others."

"We should ask them later!" Cure Heart answers. She smiles as she takes advantage of a short breather, momentarily watching how the other Precures fight - the teamwork between Rhythm and Melody especially. Her eyes shine.

And then - everyone's number is up.

With a squeak, Cure Heart throws her arms up, planting her heels against the turf and crossing her forearms to block an ugly number 9 that comes steamrolling towards her. The digit slams into her like a freight train. A few number 1s follow. Cure Heart squeezes an eye closed and winces, breath catching at the force of the impact. It hurts - but somehow it hurts a lot less than she would have were she still strolling around as Mana Aida, regular girl. "That's... that's the worst way to use a calculator!"

Then she widens her eyes as something occurs to her.

"Charle! Hang on!" she shouts - and she begins to sprint forward, just as more numbers begin to pile up.

A number 8 booms towards her - and Cure Heart suddenly lunges at it at full speed, tucking one leg up. She sails towards the number -

- over it -

- and kicks off the 8 in midair, her arm thrown back to try and steer herself as she goes sailing towards the Terribad in the calculator suit.

"I've been in math class long enough to know how calculators work!!" Cure Heart shouts as she hurtles in, swinging her arm forward with a sudden explosion of force. Her fist unclenches, hand swinging out towards the calculator -

- as she attempts to slap one of the buttons higher up on the device.

C

COMBAT: Cure Heart has used Brought To You By The Letter C on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Heart has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Cure Heart's Brought To You By The Letter C, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Cure Heart is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Suddenly, numbers. Numbers, flying all around. NUMBERS EVERYWHERE.

The Wind Knight does what she can to protect herself, but it appears that numbers are crunching her today instead of the other way around. She staggers back under the arithmetical assault, guarding her face with the bracer on her right forearm; her breastplate blocks some of the worst of the impacts, but kinetic energy has to go somewhere.

An opening presents itself shortly, though - and when it does, the Magic Knight of Wind is prepared to capitalize. Her sword vanishes; her bow and quiver appear, and as she squints through a mostly-clear spot on her glasses, she lines up an arrow, not aiming for any of the calculator buttons ...

But for the calculator's *screen*.

The arrow flies, as she looses when she thinks her shot is lined up, rather than waiting for the 'feel' to be perfectly correct. If she takes too long setting up her shot, the numbers might start crunching her again; hitting the monster off-target is preferable, at this point, to not hitting the monster at all.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Trick Arrow Shot on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"It's attacking us with math!" Lera wails.

<Dodge it!>

The Midchildan weaves through a pair of 4's. Then, though, a 9 strikes into Lera and sends her into a vicious spin. She yelps as she slams into the ground, sending a plume of dirt and dust up into the air where she strikes. Lera yelps; she hops to her feet and shakes her head. She takes a deep breath, before she looks up. She peers around a moment.

Lera looks at Cure Heart -- then, she glances at Cure Pine and Sailor Mercury, too -- and nods her head. The girl nods. "C'mon!" she yells. "I dunno what this is, but... we add up to more than it, y'know? We can all work together! Like we did back on Okinawa!"

<Was that--did you just--a math-->

"Focus, Sky!"

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Soaring Heart on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Soaring Heart on Cure Heart.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Soaring Heart on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury accepts Lera Camry's Soaring Heart, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Mercury is Cheered!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro perfectly counters Fuu Hououji's Trick Arrow Shot, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! Honoka Yukishiro's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Strength In Numbers, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Fuu Hououji!
COMBAT: Cure Heart accepts Lera Camry's Soaring Heart, taking 0 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Pine accepts Lera Camry's Soaring Heart, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine is Cheered!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Summoning up more blue-white light, Mercury faces the oncoming digits head-on. As they streak for her, she responds by slamming her hands into the ground with a cry of, "Mercury Crash Launcher!"

The resultant torrent of bright blue-white fresh water, almost icy, engulfs some of the smaller numbers; a 9 and an 8 punch through the wave as it heads for the swarm of Kindabads and the Terribad, and a 2 sails neatly over it to hit her in the head.

Staggering forward just the same, Sailor Mercury processes what's happening -- it's a math attack. Looking to Lera, she gives the other girl a nod before returning her attention to the Terribad. Continuing her plan of 'deluge with bubbles to create openings for everyone else,' she goes through much the same motions as she did before; a ball of blue-white light, a twirl, a crossing of the arms, only this time...

"Sabao Spray Freezing!"

... it's /biting/ cold, rather than merely unpleasant.

COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has used Sabao Spray Freezing on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Steven breaks free of all his large numbered-oppressors, and attempts to make his way to the accented jerk. Of course, as usual, he is out of reach. The boy can only frown intensely at his height problem rears its ugly head high above him once more. "I'll be tall... one day," Steven says to himself. If only he could get the hang of shapeshifting like Amethyst...

And, while in his gravity based reverie, theres suddenly numbers made of some kind of energy everywhere! The hybrid child attempts to roll out of the way, but an awry number seven clips his leg and causes the dodge to roll into a fencepost with a thud. "Ow... I think I get the joke about why six is afraid of seven..."

The boy instead turns his attention to the large creature now that the lesser ones have been thinned some. He charges through the crowd, hitting any Kindabad that is unfortunate enough to be in the way as he charges right at the big bad Terribads feet!

Nothing hurts more than a stubbed toe at the wrong angle.

COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Shield Bash on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Sailor Mercury's Sabao Spray Freezing, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates! Stun and Tangle applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro perfectly dodges Steven Universe's Shield Bash, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Melody [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

It's a dance of joy and teamwork, carrying two Pretty Cure across the plaza. Cure Melody is positively beaming - flashing grins to friends and allies, and alternating between kicking Kindabads into oblivion and swinging her best friend into a position to do the same. As the impromptu swing dance comes to an end, they stand amid the ominous mold and evaporating shadows, triumphant.

A moment, to answer Pine: "I'm not counting on it all the time! I'm just saying, being able to beat up a test would be a lot easier..." Namakelder taunts them anew, and Melody looks up to where the man perches, eyes narrowed. "What makes you think you can beat us, anyway? If we work in concert, nothing can..."

...she didn't count on the numbers. Eyes widened in horror, Cure Melody starts actually running, punching wildly at all the numbers flying her way. A few get through her flailing fists, but the majority get scattered...more or less everywhere except the calculator that launched them. Breathing heavily, she glares down at the numbers that hit her...several blazing green eights, a reminder she never wanted.

"Terribad seems like a fitting name, whatever you are! Rhythm - let's hit that button so hard it'll never work again!" Filled with a grudge against the number eight, and determination to bring this rampage to a close, she runs forward - reaching out for Rhythm's hand. Where they meet, light blossoms... "Pretty Cure Harmony..."

COMBAT: Cure Melody has started a combo targeting Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Rhythm [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

They were time perfectly, almost as if they were one being, as they swung literally through their enemies. Rhythm laughed, almost not remembering they were in the middle of a swarm of shadows.

She looks to Pine. "I have an idea for a cupcake reward system! I'll ask your help for it later-" She trails off as Namakelder starts to taunts and glares along with her partner. "That's right! When we work together, we're unbeatable!"

Almost as if to prove them wrong they were struck by numbers. Rhythm did her best to counter, except there were more than she, no pun intended counted on. She yelped as they struck her and left bruises on her arms. That 7, 8 and 9 were quite hungry for damage.

Rhythm climbs back to her feet just as Melody's hand reaches towards her, both of them glowing. Sensing her intent, Rhythm takes hold "Harmony ShoT!"

COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has joined the combo started by Cure Melody!
COMBAT: COMBO! Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm have used Pretty Cure Harmony Shot on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm's Combo: Pretty Cure Harmony Shot, taking 94 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"We've all come together in a crisis before. I'm sure you'll meet the others soon." Pine replies to Heart softly, though she misses the exchange on where they're from. She at least doesn't suspect that they're from the Kingdom of Sweets, they'd found their fourth Cure and she was decidedly red!

The exchange between Cure Fortune and the man in the top hat has drawn her attention. She doesn't exactly know what's going on, but when he says that, "Stop taking pleasure in the pain you're causing her!" For some reason, it seemed far more personal and cruel to her than a Labyrinth Executive exulting in misery.

Pine sideeyes Melody, though there's this affectionate smile there, she's trying hard not to giggle, "Doesn't that just mean you should just study a bit harder, if you think that?" Before nodding at Rhythm's 'method', "With your cupcakes on the line I know you'll be able to get her to focus!"

Her attack is stopped quite suddenly by stubby fingers, and before she knows it she's hurled into a pile of mold. Pine thuds down, creating a Pretty Cure sized dent in it its softness. The problem is it's everywhere, all over her and... she begins to cough, softly at first, but it becomes more of a hacking cough as she pinches her nose and waves a hand, and tries to get out of there.

She feels a bit wobbly after inhaling that many fumes, her chest hurting and her muscles numb.

It's only then that she sees the devastation caused by raining numbers, "O-Oh... I'm really glad I didn't hit that button." It's somewhat worrisome when Cure Heart acts like they're going for the Calculator again, but her eyes light up when she realizes which button they're going for, "Good idea!"

She's still waving a hand in front of her face when Lera calls out to her. It really was like that wasn't it? They'd worked together to overcome hopeless odds before at the spectral tree. They'd done it again against the Cybody infected by twisted darkness, and yet again in Okinawa against a situation that seemed impossible. Her eyes widen, and then she nods at her, a fist clenching in determination, "You're right. I believe we can't be overcome..." She waits for Rhythm and Melody to set up their shot with blossoming light, "...so easily!"

She feels a surge of adrenaline born out of belief, as she dashes forward again, and slams a heeled boot right into the creature's shin. She hopes the surge of energy will help her shake off just how /terribad/ this monster is making her feel with all of its attacks really wearing on her. "So long as we try our hardest!"

COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Enduring Conviction on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Pine's Enduring Conviction, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates! Bind Break! All of Cure Pine's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune listens to the grasshopper man, and turns away with a "Hmph." as she continues to brawl Kindabads. She grabs one and throws it into another, but her brawling is cut short as the Terribad begins to assign her a number. In fact, it assigns her a whole lot of numbers. Small numbers fly at her. Fortune's waist ribbon expands and glows purple, and the Cure takes flight as she tries her best to avoid all of the numbers shooting at her, but as the numbers grow in... er, number, they also grow in size! When they get to 7 and 8, they get too large and too numerous to dodge, and a number of them impacts her body, causing her to fall to the ground.

Cure Fortune slowly climbs to her feet and addresses Namakelder again. "I'm not going to let you destroy this city's happiness!" She notices, now, the effects the other magical girls are having on the Terribad, from the small kid trying to attack the Terribad's feet to the arrows in the screen, to the cold fog, to the... other Cures? This actually stops Fortune for a few seconds, as the fact that she's not fighting alone finally reaches her.

But, she puts that out of her mind, for now, as she takes flight again. She rears a fist back. "Fortune! Staaarr Burst!" Energy crackles around her fist as she swings directly at the crack she had made at the beginning of the fight.

Glassan, meanwhile, floats at the edge of the battle. She ponders the rest of Team Good. "Hmm, Blue didn't tell us there were more of them."

COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Fortune Starburst on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Fortune's Fortune Starburst, taking 54 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

The fact that the Terribad responds to various clever tactics with its own cleverness (and/or desperation), rather than simply standing there and taking it, is a solid indication that if they were to properly connect, they would actually cause real problems.

For example, Cure Heart goes for that magnificent C with an equally magnificent smack, but the monster wheels its arms, flailing backwards and out of the way -- at an angle that causes her to connect with the M instead. Its last number was an 8, which goes speeding towards her at point-blank.

And when the Magic Knight of Wind's arrow goes speeding towards the screen, it hastily goes clickaclickaclick and sends a small army of numbers in the way to make a wall. More 8s, of course -- they have the best coverage.

It's not too busy to step out of the way of Steven's charge, though, nor too busy to, with its other foot, try to punt the kid back to where he came from. That's one way to fly! Sailor Mercury's icy blast, though, catches the Terribad in midswing, "Terri--?" and then Cure Pine kicks it right in the shin, sending what was merely 'wobbling off balance' into 'reeling' territory.

Which leaves Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm free to explode the 8 button off of the calculator in a burst of light. It tears free from the plastic housing and tumbles down the street, while the greater monster goes crashing backwards and hits the ground hard, pushing out a spiderweb of cracks beneath it on the pavement.

But not as hard, it must be said, as Cure Fortune hits /it/, in turn. The weird red glasses shatter in a burst of holy violet light, leaving the beast blind and groping. It doesn't bother getting up, knowing that it must try to end the battle here and now. That means that when numbers start shooting out of its screen, they fly straight up -- and then fall straight down.

Numbers like 1024. And 8312. And...

'9!'

...362880, which is like a skyscraper hurtling towards the ground. It will smoosh everyone and everything into whatever combination of 'mist' and 'smear' and 'pancake' floats their visual boat, unless it is stopped... which nobody could possibly do alone.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Cure Melody.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Cure Rhythm.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Up, Up And Away on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Feighted Strike on Cure Heart.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 33 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine's Block ability activates! Cure Pine's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Heart narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Feighted Strike, taking 13 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Heart's counterattack, Heart Cross Counter, partially gets through, doing 5 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 35 Fatigue damage! Cure Fortune's Fade ability activates! Cure Fortune's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Melody narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Cure Melody's Block ability activates! Cure Melody's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 35 Fatigue damage! Sailor Mercury's Fade ability activates! Sailor Mercury's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 34 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 40 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Fade ability activates! Lera Camry's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Steven Universe perfectly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Up, Up And Away, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter!
COMBAT: Steven Universe's counterattack, Bubble Shield, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Cure Heart manages to crane her neck just enough to flash a big, wide smile back at Lera. "Mmhmm! We can do it if we work together!!"

Then her palm smacks into the wrong button.

"That isn't a C!" she yelps - and without thinking, she slams her other hand forward, straight at the 8. The blow hits solidly but off-centre, and the digit tumbles up and hits her in the shoulder, leaving her to tumble, bounce off the calender and plunge to the ground. She bounces a couple of times before rolling over a bit awkwardly to straighten herself, brushing off her skirt.

She manages it with sufficient aplomb to snap a wave to Cure Fortune, and a big bright smile with it. "Hello! Let's do out best, okay~?" Taking a hit or not, she seems to recover almost instantly. Even the failure of her clever gambit doesn't slow her down for one single second.

The sight of a colossal number hurtling down towards the Earth, though - that's not good.

Cure Heart bites down to her bottom lip. Focuses for a second.

"Everyone!" she shouts as she runs forward, clenching both fists. "Let's hit it all at the same time! We can't let it fall on everyone!" She smiles a wide smile as she throws one arm back in readiness, her eyes flashing with sudden confidence. "We can definitely bounce that thing right back onto that monster if we all work together--!"

She hesitates no longer. She kicks off into a soaring leap, almost rocketing into the air. It's a leap every bit as high as the one she vaulted herself into accidentally on her first day as Cure Heart. This time, though, she means to jump that high. She actually sails up past the number - then pushes herself downwards, plunging heels-first towards it.

"MAYBE THIS WAS A BIT TOO HIGH," she yelps as she dives in - and attempts to just /wallop/ the number with as hard of a kick as she can muster. It might not be enough to destroy it - and alone, it won't be enough to change its course towards the Terribad waiting below.

But with more than one magical girl on the job--

COMBAT: Cure Heart has started a combo targeting Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lera nods, sharply, back to Cure Pine. She takes a deep breath, then she looks up at the Terribad. Then, she looks up, and sees the huge number crashing down towards her. She yelps; Lera jumps to the side, but she can't quite get away in time. The edge of it smashes into her. She rolls backward from the big number; she hits the ground and rolls a couple of times, before she comes back up, and stares up at the numbers. The damage they could do...!

But, she promised Cure Heart they would work together. She brings her two swords back together -- <Striker Form.> -- and they click together. She watches Heart rush, leaping into the air, and then she runs after it. She pivots in midair, flying up to join her. She doesn't use a kick.

Instead, her sword ignites with plasma that rushes up the edge. Lera does a pivot, swinging the weapon around at the numbers. "Right behind you!" she yells at Heart. She slams the weapon forward, striking for the numbers in tandem with Cure Heart, and--

COMBAT: Lera Camry has joined the combo started by Cure Heart!

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Steven makes his way toward the Terribad with gusto, knocking Kidnabads out of the way that attempt to resist his flow. A strong blow is aimed at the creature's foot, which it merely steps out of the way of. "I should have expected tha--"

What he didn't expect is the opposite foot coming in for a massive kick! "Oh jeez!" A reflexive Bubble Shield comes up to block it, preventing Steven from taking any damage! Awesome!

...Though the Terribad did have one thing on its side: Physics. The Bubbled Steven goes hurdling in the direction kicked, and begins bouncing off walls and objects. The boy inside is attempting to stabilize himself as he flies when he hears one of the supergirls call out to help with the tower of numbers! "Gimme a sec! I think... Yes!"

A bounce off the ground seems to have Steven not flipping around crazy while flying toward the wall of the Twin Swan school. He turns toward it, shield aiming at the wall at the point of impact. The Shield clangs agaisnt the wall, and emits a vicious ripple of energy, sending Steven flying at the numbers in a pink cannonball!

COMBAT: Steven Universe has joined the combo started by Cure Heart!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Again, Ami attempts to dive out of the way of an impossibly large assault from the Terribad -- and this time, it doesn't go so hot. She technically gets out of the path, but this time she lands more or less face-first; it feels pretty miserable.

As she staggers back to her feet, clearly agonized, she hears the cry for a synchronized attack... and while she isn't feeling quite strong enough to contribute /much/ just yet, she knows it's probably the best plan they're going to get.

All she musters is a modestly-sized blast of wintery mist, which streaks up behind Lera's strike.

COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has joined the combo started by Cure Heart!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Melody [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The most despised of digits shatters as a blooming flower of music-fueled light slams into the calculator, and Cure Melody turns to Cure Rhythm with a grin and a high-five. "We did it! Take that, math score!"

There's a pause. "...not that that was the grade I got or anything..." She coughs - and then lets out a resounding cheer as Cure Fortune's attack makes the Terribad's day even worse. "Nice one!"

She glances to Cure Pine, grinning self-consciously. "Hey, if it works...for the sake of delicious cupcakes, I'll vanquish even the worst math pro...." Melody trails off, looking up as a titanic number blots out the very sun. Factorials - truly, the worst of numbers.

It's too big. It's too big a number to even fathom having to deal with - hey, she's not in high school, she gets to avoid factorials for a little longer! There's a rush to try to stop it, but...

"...divide and conquer, right?" She claps hands against Rhythm - to psyche herself up if nothing else - then runs for the wall. Runs up the wall, a warcry building in volume as she runs up to meet it - and then pushes off the wall, swinging at the digits with a kick. Maybe if she can cut it down by a factor, it'll be easier to deal with?

Just let those factors rain down on the calculator...

COMBAT: Cure Melody has used Crescendo Kick on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

More weaponized numbers go flying; the Wind Knight dodges what she's able to ... but even though she's finally managed to clear the mold from her glasses, there's a new problem. And it is, literally, a very big problem.

"All together," she nods to Cure Heart, gathering up her magic and looking towards the now-descending projectile. Slowing it, even stopping it, won't be enough; it has to be completely obliterated, along with the monster. Possibly it can be reversed, turned against the Terribad, but either way they have to blast completely through the falling number.

"EMERALD CYCLONE!!!"

Rather than turning the fury of the storm loose without control, therefore, the Magic Knight of Wind focuses her most powerful attack carefully, trying to bolster her allies' attacks as well as tearing away at the Terribad's final strike. The Emerald Cyclone should carry enough force to help degrade the numeric projectile's speed, maybe even buy a few seconds more for the other magical girls (and Steven) to do additional damage, whether all at once or by chipping away at the total.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Fuu Hououji has used Emerald Cyclone: Focused on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Rhythm [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Rhythm gives Melody a nod and jumps up with her to join in on the attack. However, she didn't count on the sheer size of the number and is force to brace herself. It shoves her back, wanting to knock her down, but she just managed to hold her ground. Determined not to give up, she calls out "Don't give up!" and goes in for a punch.

COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has used Octave Punch on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Rhythm's Octave Punch, taking 1 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Melody's Crescendo Kick, taking 1 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Pine marvels a bit at the ferocity of Fortune's punch with the flash of holy light behind it, before shaking her head at Melody with a rueful smile. She doesn't comment on what that girl can accomplish if given cupcakes, instead trying to bring her attention back to the battle, "I think we're going to pull this off!"

... but maybe she spoke too soon, because the Terribad after being juggled by the Harmony Shot and Starbust punches starts creating numbers overhead in a frenzy.

One number descends after another. She catches a bus sized one, and casts it aside only with visible strain as she lands. Breathing hard from the effort of keeping them at bay. Which is when she notices the sky just got really dark and looks up.

You know, when the world comes crashing down sometimes there are just things felt in your heart, in your soul that you have to do as a Pretty Cure. An instinct that tells you what will happen if something like that giant number like that hits the ground on the unsuspecting masses.

So when Cure Heart calls for it, she already feels it. "Right!" She's already bending at the knees, before launching herself skyward in a leap which takes her up many stories at a time.

Unfortunately, she's feeling the wear of the battle on her, and all she can hope is that her efforts add to what the others are doing. She descends with a golden boot outstretched at the same time as Cure Heart, Lera, and Steven, and kicks the larger mass on her descent, repeatedly, one time after another to try to make small adjustments to steer it on its descent.

"Come on..." Melody and Rhythm are helping too by blasting away smaller numbers to make the mass more manageable. "... we can do this. I know we can do this!"

Baby steps! But maybe, just maybe with everyone working together could steer it where it needs to go, and keep the people below out of harm's way.

COMBAT: Cure Pine has joined the combo started by Cure Heart!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Blasts and blows pour upwards. They pound towards the tumbling number. Magical girls and one magical boy with a magical shield work together to strike the falling numbers again and again. Alone, each blow can't possibly be much against a six-digit number.

But it is falling. And little strikes come with something else. Momentum.

Cure Heart pounds on the number a few more times in the air. Wintery mist flows in; Steven hurtles in too. Lera strikes in with a blade. Cure Pine lends her weary support, her boot striking at the same time as Cure Heart's. Separately, they are small blows. But they are not truly separate.

Cure Heart's eyes positively shine - and she rears back to once again nail the number as hard as she can.

Blow by blow, the team of magical persons fight to break up the big number - and try to divert what's left down onto the Terribad lying below!

COMBAT: COMBO! Cure Heart, Sailor Mercury, Cure Pine, Lera Camry, and Steven Universe have used Combo: Work Together! Our Sweet Dunk, composed of Team Gambit Shenanigans, Mercury Aqua Mist, Pretty Cure Drive, Inferno Slasher, and Pink Pinball!, on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Heart has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Fuu Hououji's Finisher, Emerald Cyclone: Focused, taking 34 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Cure Heart, Sailor Mercury, Cure Pine, Lera Camry, and Steven Universe's Combo: Work Together! Our Sweet Dunk, taking 117 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Heart, Sailor Mercury, Cure Pine, Lera Camry, and Steven Universe are Psyched! Stagger applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune lands back on the ground after her Star Burst, and watches it warily. The fact that it's not springing up again is somewhat concerning, but she decides to try and finish things right here, right now. She reaches for a brace on her arm, and spins the dial on it...

Only to get waylaid by gigantic numbers. She dodges the smaller numbers, and the larger numbers, but as the numbers get larger one of them collides with her like a bus. She spins away from it, managing to deflect most of the blow.

Then the giant, skyscraper-like number begins to fall down. She looks around at all the other people fighting the Terribad.

She hears Mana's call for teamwork, but she doesn't seem to acknowledge her, her focus remaining on the falling numbers. But when everyone else started to push the number back, she leaps up and joins everyone else pushing it back, punching it as hard as she can. When the number changes its course, though? She immediately disengages, launching herself directly down at the fallen Terribad, attempting to give it a solid kick in the face for good measure!

COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used High Number Kick on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Fortune's High Number Kick, taking 20 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

The titanic 362880 was originally plunging towards the group parallel to the ground, which would cause incredible collateral damage, not to mention magical-girl-destruction. Cures Heart and Pine, Lera, Steven, Sailor Mercury and the Magic Knight of Wind team up to, through kicks and slash and body-block and mist and wind respectively, keep smacking one side of it at an angle, to try to alter its trajectory into being somewhat more perpendicular to the planet... and directly on top of the Terribad.

At first, it's just too big to move. But then the other Pretty Cure, Melody and Rhythm, leap up and start cutting it down to size. The first hit, Rhythm's punch, is simply tiny against its bulk. At first it seems like nothing happens. But then the huge number splits in two, with a crack like the first thaw of a mighty river, into two 181440s.

Melody's kick sends them soaring into each other, and a moment later there are four far more manageable, merely stretch-limo-length, tour-bus-sized 90720s.

/These/ are very wieldy. Cure Heart and Steven impact one of them at the same time, and it's the first to plunge directly at the cratered Terribad, trailing pink sparkles. Lera and Sailor Mercury's plasma and ice direct the next one with a splash of orange and blue; Pine's kick and Fuu's cyclone the last, green and yellow glitter everywhere.

What a beautiful rainbow of consecutive destruction!

WHAM!
WHAM!
WHAM!
WHAM!

Falling like a shooting star, Fortune impacts somewhere during the enormous cloud of smokey numerical debris, which lights everything up a brilliant purple.

And yet, as the explosion clears... it remains.

...and it gets up. Not at the encouragement of Namakelder, who at some point seems to have left, either because he didn't want to stick around to see the end or because he has other monsters to create in another part of Tokyo (not a comforting thought, that). Rather, purely fueled by its own terrible despair, it manages to take a knee.

The last dozen or so Kindabads in the area all rush forward, rapidly executing an acrobatic pyramid that, straining, helps lever the Terribad all the way back to its feet.

It has no sunglasses, and no face... it fired that massive number blind, after all. But once again the Kindabads are there to help -- a pair of them rip the cloth awning off of a nearby, business-lunch-only ramen stand, and the rest, in tandem, tie it around the Terribad's head like a blindfold.

At the same time, the Terribad attaches the ruler to the book like the haft to a spearhead... and once it's properly blindfolded, like a samurai of old, it takes a deadly-looking stance.

"TERRIBAAAAAAAAD!"

Charging into the landing magical girls, it sweeps the somehow razor-sharp book this way and that like a massive naginata, trying to thresh them all like wheat. "CHOIIIII!" call the Kindabads, encouragingly directing it, somewhat Marco Polo style, towards the group whenever the Terribad starts to get off course. Its nastiest slashes go towards Cure Heart, the Magic Knight of Wind, and Lera, each of which has just earned its exceptional ire through their equally exceptional contributions to the power of teamwork.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Harvest of Grades on Cure Melody.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Harvest of Grades on Cure Rhythm.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Harvest of Grades on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Harvest of Grades on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Harvest of Grades on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Harvest of Grades on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Honoka Yukishiro has used Sortagrim Reaping on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Honoka Yukishiro has used Sortagrim Reaping on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Honoka Yukishiro has used Sortagrim Reaping on Cure Heart.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Harvest of Grades, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Cure Melody narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Harvest of Grades, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Cure Melody's Block ability activates! Cure Melody's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Harvest of Grades, taking 23 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Heart fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Finisher, Sortagrim Reaping, taking 143 Fatigue damage! Cure Heart is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Lera Camry fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Finisher, Sortagrim Reaping, taking 166 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Lera Camry is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Steven Universe narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Harvest of Grades, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Steven Universe's Block ability activates! Steven Universe's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Harvest of Grades, taking 23 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Rhythm's Fade ability activates! Cure Rhythm's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Harvest of Grades, taking 12 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Melody [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The towering total is too much for anyone to tackle alone, as Cure Melody swiftly discovers - but with Cure Rhythm's help, she's able to cut the problem down to size. Rebounding off the now-smaller numbers, she tumbles back into a skid, sliding back alongside Cure Rhythm. Everything seemed lost...but everyone's strength, added together, was enough to overcome the counting catastrophe.

It brings a warm smile to her face - but the calculator Terribad is getting back up, and that mold is spreading as it charges forward. The blow catches her on crossed arms, and launches her up into the air...

But in the air, she catches Rhythm's hand, and the two descend side by side. Cure Melody calls out boldly to the monster, and to everyone fighting it. "Everyone you've hurt today...their voices are singing out! It's time to finish this!"

She turns to Rhythm, beaming. "Time to clear this up, so we can go study over those cupcakes of yours!" In spite of the surrounding darkness, that ominous mold, everything with this Mirage Empire or whatever it was...she's smiling at her friend. Hands clasp...

...and music resounds.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Melody has started a combo targeting Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"It's still standing!" Lera yells, in disbelief, as the explosion and smoke clear out. The Terribad is revealed there and her eyes widen; she sees the huge bladed book coming down for her. She tries to fly sharply to the left. The book is far too imsense for that.

<Look out! Protecti--> Soaring Sky starts to chime. It comes too late; the blade hits Lera's back as she tries to soar away from it, and her Barrier Jacket flashes to prevent the damage from being fatal. It still applies so much force that the orange-haired high schooler goes flying. She slams hard into the ground.

Her sword is dropped; Lera hits, rolls, and comes to a stop. Then she crumples down into a heap, knocked unconscious. She doesn't get back up right now.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Cure Heart lands on top of a very large number, which lands on top of a very large Terribad. She tumbles off after a few seconds and lands with a click of heels. "That was great!" she calls out, puming a fist in the air and hopping in place a couple of times. "Such great teamwork!!"

Ten the Terribad just gets up and hits her so hard she goes sailing though the air for about a hundred feet and crashes through a nearby parked car. She's hurled into it so hard that she actually blows through the back door and knocks the thing over. Her legs twitch in the air a couple of times.

"You know what...? I could really go for one of those peach-jam buns," she says with a sigh before closing her eyes and slumping into the backseat of the car.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Rhythm [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Her rising punch managed to split the number in half, and Cure Melody divided it further. As Cure Rhythm falls back, she smiles in satisfaction, watching as those numbers get slammed into the Terribad.

But it's getting back up, and she has to leap wildly to avoid getting slammed into a building. Eventually, in midair, she catches Cure Melody's hand, nodding firmly. "Ruining everyone's plans...unforgiveable!"

...and then she has to just shake her head at Cure Melody. "I swear, Melody, you're going to eat so many cupcakes you'll be too hyped up to study - which defeats the purpose!" But she's smiling, as they land on the ground.

Step, step, step-step. The rhythm of their heels clacking on pavement summon shining music to burn away the mold near them, to sing a melody of happiness and joy, to shine as a golden treble clef. Together, they call out:

"Pretty Cure Passionato... HARMONY!"

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Rhythm has joined the combo started by Cure Melody!
COMBAT: COMBO! FINISHER! Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm have used Pretty Cure Passionato Harmony on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Finisher, Sortagrim Reaping, taking 47 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Pressing her foot off the number one last time as it impacts, she flips backwards just as the mass of numbers strikes the Terribad center mass. "We-we did it." She sounds more relieved than excited. Yet even as she was back flipping away she realizes it was getting up. Pressing off a nearby building with her foot, she rebounds with a twist to try to try to avoid being scythed away by its razor sharp book.

It comes close enough that it grazes her fantastically yellow frills, the rush of wind in it's aftermath knocking her off course with a shriek.

She only barely manages to right herself before she'd be knocked into an office building, tucking herself into a more controlled descent back towards the ground. "Lera! Cure Heart!" She cries out as she catches sight of their horribad state in the middle of it all. Mid-flip she puts her hand to her side, and grasps her Linkrun. Kirun descends with a joyful "KIIII!"

Into the top with a twist as she runs her fingers across the touchpad simultaneously. The Pine flute appears mid-air, even as she lands, it twirls like a baton on it's downward arc into her outstretched hand. She whirls it around, and exchanges her grip to hold it like an actual flute, as she runs her fingers across the rainbow keys, "Everyone is working so hard to get into high school. I won't let you be more than a stumbling block for them! Heal, harmony of faith! Cure Stick, Pine Flute!"

One by one they light up in prismatic colors with concentric circles of light and sound erupting melodiously from it. She changes to presenting it like a wand, flourishing it this way and that side to side as she speaks the incantation. "Nasty things, nasty things, fly away..." A hop as she raises it skyward, before cutting it downward, the moment her heels touch the ground, she traces it in a diamond pattern, "...Pretty Cure Healing Prayer -" She juts it forward, and the diamond responds, launching at the Terribad, trailing hearts and golden sparkles, "-FRESHHHHHH!"

If it impacts just behind Melody and Rhythm's passionate music of happiness, then the light seems to grow, yellow hued hearts beginning to orbit it like an atom, Cure Pine straining to keep up the purifying power behind it. Yet she's only one girl, one heart, one set of beliefs. It's clear she won't be able to keep this up for long.

She turns her head, giving Cure Fortune an almost desperate look, pleading in it's own way to aid the other Pretty Cure. Yet she doesn't speak her need in words, she feels like if she does then her magic will just collapse upon itself from the distraction.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Pine has used Precure Healing Prayer Fresh! on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

The onrush of scything strikes catches Ami off-guard, but the Sailor Senshi doesn't let that get the best of her; she does her best to protect herself as the Terribad advances, clenching her fists tight. She has to hang in there a little longer -- and she does, moving /forward/ to get clipped with the flat of the book instead of with the sharper parts.

Crossing her arms in front of her and summoning forth another ball of energy, Sailor Mercury backpedals a little before sweeping her arms out to either side with a cry of, "Double Sabao Spray Freezing!"

The heightening intensity of her bubbles continues; this time, they sweep out in a wide arc across the Kindabads and the Terribad itself, bitter cold. If it doesn't keep moving, it just might get frozen solid amid the bubbles.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Sailor Mercury has used Double Sabao Spray Freezing on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

You really would think the Terribad would have been taken out of the fight by now - or the fight taken out of it, at any rate. Certainly the Wind Knight feels like she doesn't have much left in her.

But the Terribad has reinforcements, of a sort. The Kindabads are actively supporting their leader now, whereas Lera and one of the Cures are both out of the fight. The odds are, in short, not very good - and they're starting to get worse.

"And to think that I like math," the Wind Knight comments quietly, mustering her reserves of energy. She's starting to wonder whether this is like one of those boss fights where you HAVE to take out the minions before the actual boss can be defeated ... but she has one more big spell she can use. It takes some observation and some careful timing to find the right opening to cast it, but ...

"Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi!!"

The opening presents itself, and the Wind Knight sends another tornado at the monsters. The spell doesn't actually take form until it's gone past her allies, as a further precaution - but what energy the Magic Knight of Wind didn't invest in the spell itself is rapidly eaten up by trying to keep the Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi from running out of control.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Steven rebounds off the skyscraper of numbers, boucnes around a few mroe times, then comes to a stop, appearing rather dizzy and stumbling around. "DId anyone catch the license plate on that warp pad..." he says, slowly coming to. "Okay... well, that was fun! Vomit-y, but fun."

The numbers are crunched back in the Terribads face, but that doesn't yet stop it!

Though... inspiration comes from an adorable source. Rhythm and Melody break out into an attacking dance number with a sweet tune that just gets the boy jazzed. It might be jazz. Maybe?

"Get your funky flow on, girls!" he calls over to them, kinda dancing on his own. As he does, gemstones appear and begin to float around his shield in an orbiting pattern, and seem to almost channel the light from the sun. At least it looks like it is. It could be calling something else forth.

A Vivid Amethyst.
A Lustrous Pearl.
A Sparkling Garnet.

They spin, faster and faster, as steven points the shield slowly at the creature. "You shouldnt have messed with my and my friends!" Steven proclaims. He knows the shield is about to do something important, yet he is unsure what exactly, until the light the gems seem to channel connect in the center of the shield, and form a powerful beam of rose tinted energy, right at the Terribad!

COMBAT: FINISHER! Steven Universe has used Believe In Steven on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune lands back on the ground, below the remains of the giant numbers. She watches as the firepower from all the other magical girls collide with the Terribad...

But when the smoke subsides, it's still there. Not only that, it's getting back up. Her eyes scan the area to see if there are any other Kindabads left, but she doesn't seem to see any.

She turns to the Terribad, and raises her brace to the sky. It gives off a brilliant flash of light. Cure Fortune spins and spins. "Light of the Stars! Turn into sacred power!" She spins the dial on her brace, slapping it once. "Pretty Cure!" She spins her arms around each other, generating purple light which she raises above her head, forming into a star. "Stardust!" She then brings it down in front of her, spinning twice more before PUNCHING it towards the Terribad. "Shooooot!" As it races towards the enemy, she turns away from the monster, and raises her brace yet again. "Stars! Return to the skies!"

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Fortune has used Pretty Cure Stardust Shoot on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm's Finisher, Combo: Pretty Cure Passionato Harmony, taking 154 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Pine's Finisher, Precure Healing Prayer Fresh!, taking 119 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Sailor Mercury's Finisher, Double Sabao Spray Freezing, taking 85 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Fuu Hououji's Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi, taking 30 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Steven Universe's Finisher, Believe In Steven, taking 81 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Fortune's Finisher, Pretty Cure Stardust Shoot, taking 125 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Once the Terribad's blind samurai kata is through, it slumps... but feels, with satisfaction, that a couple of its enemies' bodies have hit the ground. Jerking its head upward, it shouts a "TERRIBAD!" so hot and fierce that it might as well be a kiai, cheered on by its Kindabad minions. It's a warning. It's a challenge.

It's a bluff.

And the girls call it together -- with a golden treble clef blast, a pineapple-fresh diamond of pure healing energy, the double torrent of icy Mercury, a vicious tornado and an immensely powerful pink beam.

Finally, a purple star crucifies the Terribad mid-destruction, and more stars spin around it as everything goes white.

When the radiance fades, the Terribad and Kindabads are gone, and so is all the mold. Shiina Suzuki is out of her mirror, blinking at the entrance to Twin Swans and likely to burst back into song at any moment. Indeed, everything is quite back to normal, with hardly a trace of battle. There is only one... and it pops out of the nose of Cure Fortune's fairy, when Glassan sneezes violently.

"Look, it's the power of a super-calculator!" They're a couple of cards with little people drawn on them, quickly vanished in some kind of notebook, which in turn the fairy stores wherever fairies store such things.

---

But Tokyo is massive.

And the Phantom Empire's reach is long... and ruthless.

This wasn't the only place attacked today.

Images of terrible battles, not all of them going the way of Shinjuku's, flicker on magical mirrors hung in a circle around a strange and mysterious room. In the middle stands a bluenette, who folds his arms as he gazes at what he knows, in his heart, is the beginning of the war he never wanted -- and fears cannot be won.

"This is it... the Invasion."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

When the purifying radiance is gone almost all signs of the destruction go with it. Pine kind of blinks her eyes at the return of the cheerful girl who'd passed her by earlier standing in front of the cram school. "It's over." She sighs heavily, bone weary, ignorance of the true scope of this invasion driving her words.

A flash of yellow light causes the Pine Flute ot materialize back into the phone at her side. She turns at the sneeze, looking somewhat confused by the fairy's gift at first but then deciding it's not all that different from how... Chiffon does everything she does. She's starting to limp towards Lera and Cure Heart to check on them but...

... something in her step catches, as she stops her walk, and turns towards Cure Fortune, "Cure Fortune wasn't it? Do you know what's going on? What's this Phantom Empire? This all seemed very personal..." She looks down and to the left, "...given what you said about them stealing someone precious to you." She hesitantly looks back at her, though not directly so.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

From the backseat of the wrecked Mitsubishi, a lone right fist rises up, clenched. "I'M GOOD," Cure Heart shouts. She actually sounds like it, too.

She sits up, and coughs up a mouthful of integers.

"My mouth tastes like advanced trigonometry," she complains.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

With everything back to normal, Cure Fortune finally allows herself to breathe a sigh of relief. She turns away from where the Terribad used to be, and regards the area now that all the mold is gone. Everyone can breathe a lot more easily now that Namakelder was gone. She had seen him before, but she had always been confused about why Namakelder's minions created mold. It just seemed so out of place. Or maybe that was the point.

She looks at the cards that were sneezed out by Glassan, some of which had... a teacher's outfit? They're placed in the fairy binder about the time Cure Pine addresses Fortune.

Fortune doesn't look at Pine when she replies, ignoring her words about the situation being personal. "The Phantom Empire..." She begins, "Is a group of people who want to cause misery." She looks towards Pine just enough to get her in her vision. "The Blue Sky Kingdom was conquered by them. The kingdom's princess just /let/ them go free," Fortune's voice gains something of an edge. "and they took the entire kingdom over. Now..." She turns back, away from Pine and towards the rest of Tokyo. "They're coming here."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Empire sounds rather ominous, just the imperialistic implications of the word. Breathing a sigh of relief when Cure Heart shouts and sits up, she nods at Fortune, "That sounds a little like Labyrinth... but..." Were they really so like them? "...something about them seems really different." Maybe it was just the way Namakelder interacted with Fortune that tips her off to that, but also the monsters they created.

It's the statement that the Princess of that Kingdom just let them go free that causes Cure Pine to look up at her, eyes wide, "Why would she do something so dangerous!?" She blurts out, she has no reason to disbelieve her words, instead it's more shock that someone would cause the fall of their own kingdom.

Again her breath catches at the thought they were coming here. It seemed like they were pressed from all sides given all myriad of fronts of attack they were fending off, and after a moment she looks down, seeming somewhat dispirited from a new one arising. But after turning it over in her head, she looks back up, "... Is there anything different that we should know about fighting them or the kinds of targets their leaders pick? Like..." She holds up a finger, "...for instance, Labyrinth doesn't pick people, they pick things and collect the misery they cause. What is the Phantom Empire creating misery for?"

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

With a wince, Cure Heart tumbles out of the damaged car. She takes a moment to dust herself off befoe letting out a heavy breath. She's sore and she's tired and part of her wants to go get a peach bun and curl up in bed until she feels better.

She decides not to. She just goes sauntering towards the remaining knot of Precures, doing her best not to look hurt. She even manages a smile as she listens in, though it fades to a frown as Cure Fortune tells her tale.

"That sounds just like the Selfish Kingdom!" Charle gasps from Mana's hip. "They took over the Trump Kingdom and now they're coming here too!"

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

The moment Pine also acknowledges the Princess of the Blue Sky Kingdom, Fortune spins back towards Pine. "I don't know! I don't think she knew what she was doing, and I don't think she ever knew!" She stops after this, taking a deep breath or two to settle herself down.

Glassan, floats on over to rejoin the group. "They like to target really happy people, turning their happiness into despair. I think..." She thinks for a moment before returning to looking at the Cures. "I don't think they're powering anything, they just want to put everyone into those mirrors, like they did to the Blue Sky Kingdom."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The heat in Fortune's words takes her off guard, as she visibly recoils a step back, "If she didn't know then..." Her volume drops to something of a murmur, though not so low then it couldn't be heard, "...why are you so angry with her?"

Her eyes drift over to Heart anhd Charle, widening again... two new Cures, two new foes. "Wait, there's another Kingdom invading too?!" It was a lot to take in. And there's quite a bit she'd like to ask about the Selfish Kingdom too, but given that she'd witnessed this invasion she's going to ask more about this one first.

She looks at Glassan as she explains, and doesn't quite nod, because there's something more visceral to this information. Something that she couldn't just accept and digest so easily, "That's what they want!? It just seems so... so... cruel. Like... misery just for misery's sake."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"That's terrible," Cure Heart murmurs, her right hand coming up to cradle her left bicep without her really thinking about it. She's in quite a bit more pain than she would like to vocalize. "That they're putting everyone into mirrors...." She winces a little.

The wince passes to a simple, steady smile, he eyes bright and sure. "It'll be okay," she assures the pair of Cures before her, though she's mostly talking to Fortune since she seems to be the most upset. "We'll help you whenever we can! We'll definitely get to work together." She nods with utter, utter confidence - nothing arrogant about it, just a /surety./

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

... After meeting Cure Sword, there's something about Cure Heart's statement that's worrisome to her. She'd thought all Pretty Cure would work together in the past and it didn't quite work out that way. So instead, she gives a nervous chuckle and rubs her chin with a finger, "Uh... that is assuming you wouldn't mind working with other Pretty Cure on occasion."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Cure Heart nods briskly back to Cure Pine, rocking back on her heels, then forward, eyes practically shining. "I'd love that!" she says, her hand falling from her arm to clasp with the opposite over her heart brooch. "It's always better to help each other out whenever you can!"

She holds her hand out to Cure Pine, then, and holds eye contact, chin coming up. It's almost as if she's forgotten she's hurt. "I'm Cure Heart. It's nice to meet you!"

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune keeps going with the words and the loud sounds. "Because she shouldn't have done it! It's her fault that..." Her face drops and her voice lowers to a strained whisper. "that..."

Cure Pine's surprise about the Selfish Kingdom is mirrored by Fortune, who softens just a little bit. But that disappears when the other Cures talk about helping each other, which kind of bristles Fortune just a little bit. She turns away from the Cures. "Don't misunderstand, I'm just in it to destroy the Phantom Kingdom and save the world. This is all just a convenience."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"Huh?" She looks so very bewildered by Heart who'd been injured so badly offering casual introductions, "Well it's very nice to meet you Cure Heart. I'm Cure Pine." A beat, "But..."

She looks down at her hand, then back up at her. She was a future vet, so she had a sort of caregiver's instinct there, "...are you sure you shouldn't be taking it easy?" She very hesitantly takes that hand, wondering if she shouldn't just bow her head instead, like she's afraid she might hurt her merely by gripping it.

Once the handshake is over, she gives Fortune a longer look, "...but you said she didn't know." She whispers. Wondering just how well placed her anger is, or if maybe it was a mistake to test it further.

At the end of her last statement, she nods, "I understand. We'll still help in whatever way we can. None of us are going to stand by and let them take over our world either."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"I'll be alright," Cure Heart assures, shaking Cure Pine's hand with a big smile that neatly papers over the fact that she looks like she's just been hit by a bus. "Don't worry about me! So long as all those students are alright, I'll be fine!"

Down on Cure Heart's hip, Charle puffs her cheeks out a little and looks up at her Precure with evident worry.

She seems about to say something, but the sight of Cure Fortune bristling and turning away actually takes her aback. Without it, she looks every bit the badly hurt and badly inexperienced Precure that she is, her chin dropping and her shoulders slouching just a little. Then Pine fills in with just the sentiment she was thinking.

Her smile returns again. It's quiet and sure, more subdued this time. "Then I hope you have good luck. I'm sure we'll see each other again."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

It takes a moment for Cure Fortune to join in on the naming festivities, turning back to the other Cures. "I'm Cure Fortune." She doesn't say too much more. She watches Cure Pine mother-hen over Cure Heart's wounds for a moment, though she doesn't join in. Ignoring still Pine's words on the Blue Sky Princess, she does however nod a little slightly when the two of them talk about standing together to stop the world from being taken over.

But that's it. Fortune turns away, and her ribbon wings expand and glow again. She pushes off from the ground and takes flight, away from the battlefield and the other Cures.

Glassan looks at Pine and Heart worryingly, before she floats off towards her own Cure.

2015-12-16 - The Terribads Try To Take Tokyo

2016-01-11T04:53:58Z

Lucientes: On Battle Fantasia, math homework is a team effort.

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: <Your title>'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''The Phantom Empire begins an attack on Tokyo, by transforming a girl's happiness into despair.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Lera Camry]], [[Mana Aida|Cure Heart]], [[Hibiki Houjou|Cure Melody]], [[Steven Universe]], [[Ami Mizuno|Sailor Mercury]], [[Fuu Hououji]], [[Kanade Minamino|Cure Rhythm]], [[Inori Yamabuki|Cure Pine]], [[Iona Hikawa|Cure Fortune]] 
GM: Honoka Yukishiro
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Haneda Airport
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Sep 15 2014 - 12/16/2015
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Okinawa might as well have been in another lifetime, because back in Tokyo, autumn is in full swing. The leaves are just beginning to turn, shimmering with hints of scarlet and gold, and a chilly breeze occasionally blusters through the streets, the herald of oncoming frost. The sounds, sights and smells of school are paramount; kids swinging beautifully wrapped bento (or a few yen for curry bread) back and forth on their way to school; and struggling beneath the burden of large stacks of books on the way home.

Especially beleaguered are the ninth graders, who will, in another few months, face the greatest academic challenge of their career thus far: high school entrance exams. Every subject's teacher has given the class a stern lecture, a list of study guides, and advice about after-school 'cram school' study programs.

There are several truly impressive seminars, but the best of the best is in the heart of Yamanote, surrounded by mountains of glass and chrome. It remains hunkered low to the ground as though clinging with all its might, refusing to be blown away -- and the only thing that has allowed this merely three-story building to stand the test of time, development, and rising property values, is its sheer history of excellence.

Anyone can attend the Twin Swans cram school, but only the dedicated can stay; at the end of each week, they administer a practice exam, and anyone who has failed to master the material is replaced. The waiting list is essentially infinite -- there are always more students eager to throw themselves onto the machine (or be thrown by their parents, anyway).

A garden of brightly-colored school uniforms mingle outside, somehow forming a contiguous clump even as they're buffeted by the tides of salarymen, executives, shoppers and tourists who throng along this major avenue. It is the first day of a new sequence at Twin Swans, and all of their first day in the program. One, Juuban Middle School 9th grader Shiina Suzuki, is especially starry-eyed. She sings to herself quietly as she marches towards these hallowed halls.

o/` "Laaaaa, I'm gonna work really hard / study every day / and every night too! Laaaaa, I'm gonna work so hard / I pass the test / into Mama's high school..." o/`

Most adults smother smiles as they pass this pigtailed studymaniac, but one has to choke back his own vomit. "Being woken up from a nap by a song about hard work... truly, this must be hell, cheerio." He's perched on the roof of the cram school, dapper in top hat, long coat and cane. Little antennae sprout from the hat, not dissimilar to a grasshopper's.

His golden eyes narrow. "But today, at long last, we shall step out of the shadows and take this hideously productive city face on, pip pip."

Leaping down to balance on a nearby lamppost, he points his cane straight at young Shiina. "NOW! LET THE FUTURE REFLECTED BY THE MIRROR TURN TERRIBLE!" A blast of light later, the girl is trapped inside a dark mirror, bound by ribbons. Her eyes are closed, her face overwrought with despair. "COME OUT, TERRIBAD!"

All that's left of the girl is that sad reflection... and the immense monster that has taken her place, out in the real world. It is a good twenty feet tall, but with squat proportions. Black legs and arms emerge from its torso, which is a calculator; it holds a book in one hand, and a ruler in the other. Mirrored red sunglasses hide its face, and a jaunty green scarf is hung around its neck.

As soon as it takes its first stomping step into the street, horrible blooms of mold -- green and blue and pink and purple -- coat the area all around, and people, in turn, begin to cough, poison entering their lungs. The mere presence of this monster is transforming Tokyo into an environment not at all suited for human life!

And sprouting alongside the cloudlike mold are human-sized creatures that could not be more unlike clouds. They're of simple construction, the Kindabads, a black body with gray boots, gloves, and belt. Their red sunglasses match the Terribad's, and is the only thing that gives them the idea of a face -- otherwise, their heads could be mistaken for black marbles.

"CHOIIIIIII!" they shout as one, their kinda scary battle cry, as they try to topple and tangle every passerby in sight, rather than allowing them to escape the encroaching mold.

Up on his lamppost, Namakelder smirks with pure satisfaction. "Ahahahaha! The time has come! This world now belongs to Queen Mirage and her Phantom Empire!"

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro transforms into Terribad and Kindabads!!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has fully healed herself. She is now ready to take on 10 opponents!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lera Camry passed her high school entrance exams long ago, of course. She has been in high school for months now; she is helping with some English studying, though, as a volunteer position. What better way to put her skills (that may be one word for it) as a native speaker (she is not) to use?

She stops and sighs, though, trying to keep her cheer up; it doesn't last long, though, because being near people preparing for such exams is leads to no small amount of sympathetic stress. She looks up with alarm, though, when she hears voices cry out:

'CHOIIIIIII!'

The orange-haired girl's head snaps to look at the gigantic monster /and/ the human-sized creatures running around it. Her amber eyes widen; the bag on her shoulder slips when her shoulders tense up. "Wh-what is...?"

<I've never seen anything like it!> Soaring Sky states. <Lera, we better...>

"Right!" Lera cries out. "Soaring Sky, SET UP!"

<Get set!>

There is a flash of green light, underneath her feet. It shoots up around her; her jacket ruffles outward as it forms, long and green. A feather charm appears in her hair, the orange-tipped feather flashing into existence. Lera winks -- and a broadsword-shaped Armed Device appears in her hand, stretched out and pointed towards the Kindabads. Then, she glances up at the Terribad, and finally the Namakelder.

"We're not gonna let you conquer the world!" she yells. "Th--that just won't fly at all, y'know?"

<Gladiator Form!> Soaring Sky chimes. The broadsword splits up the middle, into two bronze-colored sabers. With one in each hand, Lera dives at the Kindabads; she leads with the left, slashing for one. Then the girl pivots on her right heel, the right sword slashing for a second Kindabad, and ends with a stab from the right saber at the third solder of the Phantom Empire. <Rapid Skyfall!>

COMBAT: Lera Camry transforms into Barrier Jacket Perihelion!
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Rapid Skyfall on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to counter Lera Camry's Rapid Skyfall, taking 27 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Strength In Numbers, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Lera Camry!

<Pose Tracker> Mana Aida [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

For Mana Aida, worries about cram school and graduation are still a long ways away.

Well, okay, a year away.

That doesn't stop her from skipping her way towards the cram school, though, a large box of something tucked under her arm. The sweet scent of warm peach-jam buns wafts from the box as she skips along. She's not alone, though.

"Mana, those smell so good!" Charle, the tiny fairy, whispers from the book bag slung over Mana's other arm. "Are you sure we can't have any...?"

"Mmnt-mmn!" Mana says with a shake of her head and a smile. "These are for the students who are waiting in line to study! You can't cram on an empty stomach, you know! And there's nothing like my dad's peach-jam buns to keep your energy up!" She grins and indulges in a twirl, nearly dislodging both a couple of buns and a startled Charle.

And then, suddenly, something happens in the distance. Mana gasps and touches her free hand to her heart as she stares ahead, watching the glasses-wearing... something... spring into existence. Something wearing a calculator.

"Mana!" Charle exclaims, eyes wide as she wiggles out of Mana's book bag. "That's--"

Mana presses her lips together, surprise giving way to focus. "Is it an Ego?"

"I don't think so," Charle murmurs worriedly. "I don't... I don't know /what/ it is."

Mana knits her brows a little - she's not an experienced enough fighter to grasp what she's facing. "...But it doesn't matter," she finally says with a sharp nod. "We've got to do something. Charle--!"

"Mm!" The tiny fairy pops up into the air, and Mana steps into a side alley just in time for the little pink sprite to poof into a puff of smoke and emerge as a cell phone. "Charle!!"

Quickly, Mana grasps her Lovely Commune and drags her finger across the screen to spell out four letters. Charle is kind enough to call them out.

"L~ O~ V~ E~"

The heart at the centre of the PDA pulses - and in a shimmer of magic, Mana lets the transformation begin.

A few seconds pass.

And then there's a sudden click of heels as a blur of blonde hair and pink and magenta touches down. With a twirl, the arriving Precure spins about and comes to bear with a smile.

"Overflowing love!
"Cure Heart!!"

With a broad, steady smile, she brings her hands up to the brooch at her chest to form a heart.

"Poor calculator-san who has lost his love," she says, the heart coming up with a twinkle. "Cure Heart will restore your beating heart!"

COMBAT: Mana Aida transforms into Cure Heart!
COMBAT: Cure Heart has used Cure Heart Will Restore Your Beating Heart on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Heart has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Heart's Cure Heart Will Restore Your Beating Heart, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cure Heart is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

There stands, amid the crowd, an embodiment of utmost despair. Clad in the baby blue of an Infinity middle school uniform, Hibiki Houjou looks upon her schoolbooks and despairs. It's a tight-packed crowd, and she's stuck between several taller students - left with little to focus on but the tests hastily stuffed into the pages of her book. Hidden well enough that none can see just what the number on her last math test was.

One might, however, be able to hazard a guess as to how many digits that number is....and so, Hibiki's despair.

"I'm doomed. Totally, utterly, doomed. I'm sorry, Kanade, but after this year it's going to be goodbye, there's no way I'm going to be able to keep up..." She looks up at the building looming overhead, with promises of academic glory...and a shining light ready to burn those fools who reach for something they cannot attain. Finally, though, she turns to Kanade, eyes wide and imploring. "You'll...you'll still come visit me after going ahead, right?..."

And then - absolute -cheerfulness- in the face of academia, enough to break her despair and instead leave her temple twitching. "...did she have this fabled 'too much sugar' you keep claiming exists? Because if studying's that fun..." Hibiki turns, ready to give the girl a piece of her mind-

-and catches a glimpse of Namakelder, unleashing the monster within. The Terribad looms, it gleams, it seems even more invested in studying than the girl was - and the world becomes that much more terrible. "What in the world - ack, ack!" The clouds leave her coughing, just as the gloating begins... "...we wanted to try to do a little better, and you're ruining that with this kind of scheme?!"

She catches Kanade's eye, reaching into her pocket for the instrument within as those around her begin to fall. "Unforgivable!"

There is light. There is miraculous music. And there is a figure in ruffled pink, sprinting through the ominous fog towards the nearest gathering of the monstrous horde. "Strumming the wild rhythm - Cure Melody! And thank you so much for giving me something to hit besides the books!"

She's going to be doing a lot of non-book hitting, if she has anything to say about it.

COMBAT: Hibiki Houjou transforms into Cure Melody!
COMBAT: Cure Melody has used 3/4 Punch on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Cure Melody's 3/4 Punch, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Another field trip of sorts!

Well, sort of. Steven had been directed to check out the Twin Swan, a school dedicated to help others study. If they have the aptitude for it, that is. While the small child does not require it yet, it is good to know about fofered facilities. You never know whe nsomething comes up that onen eeds a little extra help with, am I right?

Mr. Universe seems to be mingling with a group of kids his age, still dressed in his school uniform, looking rather dapper in it, if he says so himself! "So they help people that are having trouble with subjects? That sounds really cool! I am having a little difficulty with math, but I am getting help from my teacher. if it gets much harder though...!"

Ofcourse, everything jsut goes utterly south, as a nearby student gets captured in a... mirror? What? "Is that part of the hazing I hear about in older grades?" And then a rather nefarious looking thing appears that is definitely not part of high school hazing tradition. "...A monster! Oh yeah! Someone is itching for a fight! I am still amped up after yesterday's softball game!"

"Wish the Gems were here," he says to hismelf as the mold cloys at the air around. He can hold his breath for longer than most people for unknown reasons, but everyone else might be in trouble! "Badguy! You chose a bad time to attack! Because I, Steven Universe, will stop you! Yeah, that's right! Me!" The boy holds his hand up and summons a beautiful rosate shield adorned with a gemstone and thorn pattern to his forearm.

The boy then proceeds to, rather than attack, taunt the giant creature! Yes, a small child has the gall to taunt a giant monster. He blows a /mean/ raspberry at it, what whatever good that will do. "Now let her go, or you'll get more where that came from!"

Hopefully more superheroes show up while he buys time! They do seem to be everywhere in Japan. Not that that is a bad thing. It is pretty awesome, actually!

COMBAT: Steven Universe transforms into Steven Quartz Universe!
COMBAT: Steven Universe has used AND STEVEN! on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Steven Universe's AND STEVEN!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Steven Universe is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Flight of the Kindabads, partially gets through, doing 8 Fatigue damage to Steven Universe!

<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cram school, and moreover, a cram school with nigh-constant mock exams!

Needless to say, Ami Mizuno is absolutely here. This possibly exceeds even 'water' as her element, and accordingly, she's squarely within earshot of that song... and its subsequent end.

She rushes toward the shouting monster -- and when she sees it, sure enough, she then immediately gets around a corner again and fishes out her transformation pen. Raising it to the sky, she cries out, "Mercury Power -- Make Up!"

In moments, Sailor Mercury joins the battle! Rounding the corner back onto the street, she locks eyes with the monster, saying, "Everyone here has been working so hard to pass their exams! To disrupt that hard work is unforgivable!" As bubbles roll off of her in waves, she declares, "In the name of Mercury -- I will punish you!" She's hoping that the bubbles can keep that nasty choking mold away from her.

COMBAT: Ami Mizuno transforms into Sailor Mercury!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has used In The Name Of Mercury on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has adjusted her boss levels. She is now ready to take on 9 opponents!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Sailor Mercury's In The Name Of Mercury, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Mercury is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates! Exhausted, Stagger, and Tangle applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

While Infinity Institute students don't necessarily have to worry about entrance exams to advance from the middle-school tier to the high-school classes, extra preparation certainly never hurts; Kuu Hououji still remembers the comparative shock between the last day of ninth grade and the first day of tenth. She was better prepared for it than some of her peers, to be sure ... but she still advised her younger sister Fuu to take advantage of every opportunity to bone up on the material.

So Fuu has been attending Twin Swans, much as she was hoping to completely avoid cram schools. The challenge is relatively invigorating, though, and her archery skills remain solid enough that the (very understanding) team captain is willing to let Fuu miss some team practice sessions. So it's mostly her gaming time that suffers.

Fuu can live with that.

Fuu glances up from a pocket flash-card 'notebook' with a smile at Shiina's quiet singing, and continues on her way towards the doors -

And she's barely two meters away when the sudden unleashing of a monster, and mold, and additional mooks blows against her back, whipping her hair around her face and her skirt around her legs with a blast that seems to have been distilled from last winter's trip to Hokkaido. She immediately runs like hell, not even turning to look back at what just happened; she's just ahead of the mold as she vanishes around the corner of a wall.

"Belief becomes power ... Winds, guide me!!"

A cloud of mold precariously near to where Fuu disappeared is disturbed, then dispersed by a stray eddy of autumn breeze, and then a mostly-green blurr ascends from behind that corner. "Whosoever would prey upon honest students seeking to do their best -"

The Magic Knight of Wind alights on a lamppost, still weaponless as she aims her hands at the Terribad. "- prepare to face the fruits of good students' diligence, first-hand! WINDS OF ADMONISHMENT!!"

And with those last words, the Wind Knight conjures a tornado to try and bind the Terribad where it stands. Her first inclination would have been to enclose all of the mold and the lesser monsters with it, but there are too many civilians who are already being contaminated; she doesn't want to trap them in her spell, though.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji transforms into Magic Knight!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has fully healed herself.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Admonishment on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Kanade Minamino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Kanade pats her friend's shoulder as she attempt to give her an encouraging smile. "It's not that bad, Hibiki." She glances at the dreaded number again and winces. "Okay, this time it's that bad, but that doesn't mean you can't improve."

She tries to think of ways to cheer up her friend. Maybe she should try that idea she had of making a reward system out of cupcakes to help her study.

She gave a nervous chuckle as Hibiki shot daggers at the happy girl. "Now, Hibiki, you're over-"

She cut herself off as Namakelder and the monster catches her off guard. She barely has time to react before she finds herself coughing and hacking. "Is this a new enemy?" she tried to ask her friend. Then she hears the gloating...

"People are trying their hardest and you mock them for that!" She catch her partner's eye and brings out her Cure module. "Unforgivable!"

Bright lights and music notes twirl around her and within moments Kanade disappears and Cure Rhythm takes her place.

"Strumming the tranquil melody! Cure Rhythm!" She would make this monster pay for causing so much misery.

COMBAT: Kanade Minamino transforms into Cure Rhythm!
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has used Pretty Cure Kick on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

A future vet has to study hard to get into a good high school which is why Inori Yamabuki placed herself on the waiting list to begin with, months back...

"Inori. Your turn came at Twin Swans came through in the mail today. Congratulations! I know you'll make us proud."

.../Before/ she awakened as a Pretty Cure, and everything that surrounds that, as well as dancing lessons.

Carrying her book bag over her school uniform shoulder, her posture is somewhat slumped by sheer fatigue after coming directly from a hard day of classes straight to cram school, mingling with all the other hopeful ninth graders trying to make it into their high school of choice. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to survive on this schedule." A worried, "Kiiii..." tried to soothe her from within her Linkrun.

But suddenly a cheerful girl at Juuban skips by, all pigtails and song. It brings a smile to Inori's face, the girl's cheerfulness reminding her a little of someone she knows as her back straightens. "But I've got to try! I have to believe that I can handle it."

Still she doesn't have as much pep in her step and she's nearly a block back when it happens. The shout isn't one she catches, but she sees the blast of light and power. And a calculator rising above everything.

Amongst the screams and the fleeing people, Inori finds herself having backpeddled, before tripping, and landing hard on her backside, gawking a bit at the creature, "A calculator? W-Why is a calculator attacking!?"

Mold starts forming everywhere causing her nose to wrinkle, and other smaller creatures pour out of it, giving more urgency to her retreat and she scrambles backwards, on her palms, picking herself up quickly and dashing down an alleyway. She utters a sigh of despair, "I'm going to be late." But that doesn't stop her from doing what needs to be done.

Taking out her Linkrun, she inserts a key at the top, before shouting, "Change! Pretty Cure - Beat Up!"

With a flash of gold, she takes a leap of faith and careens out of the air, back on the block, landing with a click of heels on concrete. She puts her fingers together, shaped like a heart, "The yellow heart is the symbol of faith!" She spreads her hands out, "Freshly Harvested-" Twirling in a circle before taking an energetic hop in the air, she pumps a fist into the air, "Cure Pine!"

Upon landing she's charging into the midst of the throng of kindabads, trying to kick one in the face, before attempting to hop off of it, and perform a leaping punch into one. On the last, she tries to grab ahold of its wrists and twirl it in a circle before casting it amidst the others.

Over to the side there's a new Pretty Cure she doesn't recognize, calling out the Calculator monster, and she seems surprised as she calls out to Cure Heart, "Oh! A new Pretty Cure? Do you happen to know what's going on?" She asks Cure Heart, before catching sight of Melody and Rhythm, "Rhythm! Melody! You're here too!? Oh!" She tries to work her way over to them before asking Rhythm somewhat surreptitiously, "Was Melody giving you a hard time over cram school?"

COMBAT: Inori Yamabuki transforms into Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pineapple Express on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Fuu Hououji's Winds of Admonishment, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Fuu Hououji is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates! Cripple and Trap applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Pine's Pineapple Express, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Rhythm's Pretty Cure Kick, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona Hikawa has also been around the cram school for a similar reason: she had wanted to brush up on her academics. She could always use the brushing up. Plus, it kept her mind off of... more recent events. So she emerges from the cram school, not with the frown and despair, but just a sense of determination.

She's wearing her usual Juuban uniform, her bookbag curled around one arm, but she's got some sort of... stuffed toy she's clutching to her chest. It looks like a purple ladybug with large purple glasses. Girl and toy walks along for a few moments, before the stuffed toy suddenly moves! "Iona, look!"

"Wha?" Iona turns just in time to witness Shiina get placed inside the terrible mirror. Her eyes narrow as she lets go of the toy. Instead of falling, however, it starts to float. "Get ready!" Glassan, the fairy, shouts.

Iona nods and reaches for the tiny mirror hanging from her shirt. She opens it, pulling out two cards which she places inside and closes again. There's a flash of light, and what was once Iona is another Pretty Cure! She brings a hand forward, moving it up and down in a figure of a star. "The star of hope that glitters in the night sky! Cure Fortune!"

The light from the transformation doesn't even fade before Cure Fortune comes tearing out, dashing for the largest target, the Terribad, trying to give it a one-two punch.

COMBAT: Iona Hikawa transforms into Cure Fortune!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Fortunate Punch on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Fortune's Fortunate Punch, taking 16 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

There are, for the time being, an apparently unlimited number of Kindabads; the little black fellows come from around corners and through doorways and anywhere else touched by that poisonous and unearthly mold. That doesn't mean it isn't worthwhile to engage them, though. If you don't bail out the sinking ship...

And Lera tears through three of them like butter. It isn't a messy business; there is no gore and no splatter. Whatever these shadowy things are, they seem to disperse on impact. Cure Melody forces two more back with her fists, Cure Rhythm, two with her feet -- their leaping out of the way is perhaps a bit less viscerally satisfying, but they did just cause the Kindabads to, specifically, leap /away/ from the twin boys they were about to toss into a cloud of mold that used to be the escalator entrance to a major corporate skyscraper. More mold is trickling its way up the building, vein-ily. The boys, wisely, make a run for it, joining the stampede of humanity crushing its way down the block away from this catastrophe.

Unfortunately, the driven-back Kindabads leap /towards/ Steven Universe, joined by a half dozen of their buddies, eager to surround the little boy and give him a good pounding! Or maybe carry him off on their shoulders to never be seen again. Their arrival blocks his raspberry from their greater soldier's vision, alas. The tide of Kindabads is eager to surround Lera, Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm as well, an assault from all directions. Cure Pine bowls into it, taking another group out, but for every Kindabad smote, two more seem to take their place, screaming "CHOIIIIII!!!" Still more few notice Cure Heart standing a little apart from the crowd (though the Terribad doesn't seem to have much interest in the threat to its supposed heart), and take this as a sign of weakness. They pounce en masse, fists- and feet-first.

From his lamppost, Namakelder looks down at Lera, twirling his pole idly. His voice is clipped and precise and sort of weirdly overpolite, as though he's engaging in formalities that don't quite belong in this culture, or perhaps even this world.

"Your grammar is terrible, miss, wot wot. You're not 'going to' let me conquer the world. And I'd like to see you stop me, pip pip. The Blue Sky Kingdom was just our first stop -- we're spreading despair over all the worlds!"

His eyes narrow at the announcement of the arrival of various Pretty Cure. "You're all a real nuisance, cheerio. Wouldn't it be easier to just kick back and relax, 'Cure Melody'? We're not so different -- it's so much easier to coast along than work so very hard."

Tipping his top hat at the furious Sailor Senshi, he adds, "It's a very good thing I'm not looking for your forgiveness, isn't it, pip pip?"

Mercury's bubbles do indeed seem to keep the mold down, at least in her immediate area, and the Terribad's sunglasses narrow as though they were eyes. "TERRIBAD!" it yells, by way of battle cry and self-identification, before slamming forward with massive book and ruler in tandem, trying to crush the girl into the pavement.

The momentum of this motion carries it past the Magic Knight's tornado, which blows its green scarf right into its face. This makes it impossible for it to bring the ruler up in time to block Cure Fortune, who lands two solid punches, WHAM!, WHAM!, that create a spiderweb crack on those red glasses.

For a long moment, it seems like the Terribad will stagger backwards and slowly fall towards the ground, but it recovers at the last second, handspringing massively upwards, to fall, huge feet-first, towards the one that broke its face. And Kindabads surround her on all sides, trying to block Cure Fortune's escape! Some of them, near the Magic Knight of Wind, start pumping their arms up and down with perky chants of "CHOI! CHOI! CHOI!" which seems to be making the mold grow faster and more horribly than before, closing in on her even from above and below...

"Hmmmm... you look familiar," Namakelder remarks to Fortune. "But we can't have met before, or you would already be in despair, cheerio."

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Cure Melody.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Cure Rhythm.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Punches Come In Terrible Twoes on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Cure Heart.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Not Terrible At Kicking Butt on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Environmental Hazard on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Heart narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Cure Heart's Fade ability activates! Cure Heart's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Pine's Reverse ability activates! Cure Pine's Tactician ability activates! Diversion, Exhausted, and Trap applied to Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Cure Pine's counterattack, Pineapple Reverse, partially gets through, doing 21 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Reverse ability activates! Lera Camry's Tactician ability activates! Diversion, Exhausted, and Trap applied to Lera Camry!
COMBAT: Lera Camry's counterattack, Aura Surge, partially gets through, doing 12 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro! Diversion and Tangle applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Not Terrible At Kicking Butt, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Stun applied to Cure Fortune!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Punches Come In Terrible Twoes, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sailor Mercury's Fade ability activates! Sailor Mercury's Flash ability activates! Exhausted applied to Sailor Mercury!
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Cure Rhythm's Fade ability activates! Cure Rhythm's Flash ability activates! Diversion and Exhausted applied to Cure Rhythm!
COMBAT: Cure Melody narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Cure Melody's Block ability activates! Cure Melody's Parry ability activates! Diversion, Exhausted, and Trap applied to Cure Melody!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Environmental Hazard, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates! Blind applied to Fuu Hououji!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"Pine!" Lera calls out to the yellow Cure -- and then flashes a grin. "And Rhythm and Melody, too, and--" She blinks, though, at Cure Heart. She hasn't had the chance to meet her. It doesn't last long; she grins and nods at them all. "Glad you're all here, y'know? There's kind of a lot of these things and--"
Another Pretty Cure that she hasn't met! The Device wielder turns to stare at Fortune, for a moment, before she looks back at the horde of Kindabads. The way they dissipated like smoke is remarkable, she thinks. Her eyes narrow, as they come rushing in for her -- and Namakelder yells down at her.

"M-my grammar is totally amazing and great, y'know!?" she yells at him. Somehow, she makes it a question. "I-I'm always speaking clearly and effectively and--kyaaah!"

The tide of Kindabads close around the mage and she is, for a moment, vanished underneath the sea of shadowy figures. But then there is a bright flash of light -- <Aura Surge!> -- and her blade swings through a bunch, casting back many of them. A few still cling to her arms and legs; others press in. Lera focuses for a moment, light shimmering up Soaring Sky's length.

Rings of light appear around her, then burst out, striking at the nearby Kindabads -- rather than the binding spells they were meant to dispel. The effect, however, may be much the same.

<Bind Break!>

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Bind Break on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"Oh wow, it's more Precure!" Cure Heart gasps as Rhythm and Melody - and Pine and Fortune! - all come exploding into the picture.

"I didn't think there were others!" Charle gasps from her position on Mana's hip. "I mean, um... I guess Cure Sword...?"

Cure Heart blinks a little, then steps forward, shaking her head back towards Cure Pine. "Mmn! No, all I saw was this monster and all those little ones," she says, amazement giving way to focus now that there's a goal in front of her.

Well, giving way except for a big smile and a, "And, hi! I'm Cure Heart. Nice to meet you! Even if it's like thiiiyaaaaaaaa~n~"

Cure Heart's impulses towards being gregarious combine with her experience to trip her up - she gets so sidetracked trying to say hi to Pine that the Kindabad tide swamps her before she really realizes what's happening. With a yelp, she stumbles back as a couple of them rush close. She recovers quickly, managing to hurtle backwards with a sharp leap, then taking another one off to the side to elude a couple more that come hurtling at her.

"Phew! That was close," she says with a self-effacing sort of smile as she lands in a crouch.

Then she straightens up and raises her voice, shouting out towards Namakelder on the lamppost with a sudden burst of indignation - what he says strikes a chord. "That's not true!" she calls out. "Even if it's hard to do something worthwhile, it's still important to try your best all the time! Working hard for something means it matters to you! All these students coming here, it's important to them to get into a good high school and succeed! Besides -- coasting along just means you're making other people work twice as hard for you-"

With a flick of fluffy blonde hair, Cure Heart sinks into a crouch - then springs forward again. "- and that's selfish!" she calls as she hurtles into the air.

"And you /shouldn't be selfish!/" Cure Heart finishes as she plunges into the throng of Kindabads - aiming to slam feet-first into one with a flying dropkick! A dropkick that, if it connects, she's hoping will send the target Kindabad ricocheting into its fellows like a bowling ball!

COMBAT: Cure Heart has used Pretty Cure Kick on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Heart has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Lera Camry's Bind Break, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates! Bind Break! All of Lera Camry's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Cure Heart's Pretty Cure Kick, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Honoka Yukishiro's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Strength In Numbers, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Cure Heart!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Melody [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Shadows scattering from where fist and foot have struck down a pair of the Kindabads, Cure Melody finally answers her partner. "You're darn right it's that bad! Okay, maybe not all the classes, but you know how vicious the tests are going to be this year!" Snarling, she follows through to take out another of the Kindabads, and startles as Cure Pine calls out.

"Pine!...nah, I need the help, I'll admit that much. But isn't there some way we can, I don't know...beat up the test? Do you know anyone who can turn our next math test into a giant monster?"

She's kidding. PRobably. Mostly.

But...there's no end to them. Even others standing against the tide - unrecognized Cures among them - can't defy the fact that this monster seems to have brought a small army. There's no chance to even get close to the Terribad, with this many Kindabads in the way...and she clenches her fists as Namakelder speaks up.

"Not so different?! I'm not the one wearing a -top hat-! And sure, I'd love to relax - but I'm not backing down from what needs to be done!" She glances to Cure Rhythm, with a faint smile. Looking to her for support...

...or as the reason she's not allowed to back down. Ahem.

The Kindabads lunge forward, Rhythm leaping back while Melody stands her ground, fending off blow after blow. For all her words, she's driven back, step by step...and then an idea brings delight to her eyes, one hand reaching out behind her with blind trust. "Rhythm! Care to take this one?" She pulls, swinging her partner around to attack the Kindabads in force - trusting that Rhythm will return the favor.

Round and round, kick by kick, dancing violence to a just off-tempo beat~

COMBAT: Cure Melody has started a combo targeting Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Steven Universe fails to brace Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Diversion, Exhausted, and Trap applied to Steven Universe!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The gathering Kindabads around her perch prompt the Wind Knight to look down at them with a puzzled look - but a short-lived one, since she quickly notices they're basically exhorting the mold to grow even faster. She promptly does the smart thing, and leaps away ...

Or at least, it would NORMALLY be the smart thing. She didn't realize any of the mold had already accumulated ABOVE her perch, and only picks up on that oversight when she winds up plowing face-first through a clump of it.

Of *course* the stuff clings to her glasses - although her unprotected face doesn't necessarily fare much better; she spares a moment to wipe her face clean as quickly as she can with her sleeve. By the time she lowers her arm, the stinging is abating a little ... but she still can't see clearly enough for precision attacks.

On the bright side, the minions are numerous enough and uniquely shaped, so she doesn't have to be THAT precise. Her sword materializes and she starts swinging ... or, well, spinning. Or both.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Spinning Slash on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Fuu Hououji's Spinning Slash, taking 15 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Even if Sailor Mercury isn't the type to get /too/ mad at her opponents, there's something about being talked down to that gets under her skin more than she'd care to admit -- and it renders her a little late with her leap to the side of that hammering blow. When she lands, it's with a thud rather than graceful; she winces, but kips back up.

Taking a moment to catch her breath and assess her situation, Sailor Mercury considers whether to focus her attention on the larger monster, or the swarm. Her snap judgment says that the /best/ things she can do in this situation... don't actually require her to make a choice.

So, naturally, she begins to form a ball of blue-white light between her hands. With a twirl, she crosses her arms and then lets the energy fly... in the form of even more tiny bubbles, obscuring the monsters' vision and hopefully opening up some new lines of attack for the other assembled magical girls.

COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has used Sabao Spray! on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Sailor Mercury's Sabao Spray!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Reverse ability activates! Blind and Stun applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Flight of the Kindabads, partially gets through, doing 8 Fatigue damage to Sailor Mercury!

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Perhaps taunting the swarming things' boss was a bad idea. Who is to tell? It was fun. "Hey! Move! I was insulting the monster! Go away-- ahh!" Steven is u=quickly surrounded and the poundings come. The boy retreats under his shield in a porcupine style, ducking down, though it doesn't stop well placed kicks. "What are these guys?! They look wierd!"

The gem child looks around through the shield partly, and waits for a moment when nothing is hitting, before springing into action. The second comes, and the boy explodes upward, erecting a Bubble Shield around himself, then immediately expanding it in all directions, attempting to send... whatever those guys are, flying!

"I may be a kid, but I am a Crystal Gem! It will take more than badguy minions to defeat me!" At which point he attempts to charge through the crowd, attempting to close distance between him and the giant leader! And whoever that is talking with a funny accent.

COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Repelling Shield on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Steven Universe's Repelling Shield, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Cripple applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Rhythm [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Rhythm kicks through some of the kindabads causing them to scatter away in shadow. She hears the cries of other Pretty Cures, including one she's never seen before. Just how many Pretty Cures were there in their world? She made a note to ask Hummy later about.

Pine's voice rang out, letting her feel relieved in a moment. "It's more she's giving herself a hard time," she admitted to her friend. She sighs at Melody's question of beating up the test. "They really don't work that way-"

The Namakelder speaks and she can't help but notice Melody glances her way as she says it and smirks. Nope! No way would she ever like her partner get off that easily. The kindabads lunge and Rhythm dodges and stumbles slightly making her hiss in pain. "Watch yourself Pine! she warns her friend.

Then Melody gives her that look, the look that caused endless amount of trouble and fun in their childhoods. Gleefully, Rhythm takes Melody's hand while shouting "With pleasure!" As she lets her friend swing her, Rhythm uses the force and speed to kick into the kindabads. Quickly, she returns the favor and lets Melody have a turn by swinging. In perfect harmony, the pair swing each other as if it was a dance they had done a hundred times before.

COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has joined the combo started by Cure Melody!
COMBAT: COMBO! Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm have used Pretty Cure Jazz Swing on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm's Combo: Pretty Cure Jazz Swing, taking 36 Fatigue damage! Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm are Psyched! Stagger, Stun, and Tangle applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"Oh. So you don't..." A finger crooks at her chin as she laughs nervously, "I see! Well it's nice to meet you Cure Heart, I'm Cure Pine!" Another new Cure joins them, a literal star of hope by her own words, blasting right into the monster. She sounds relieved, "Thank goodness so many Pretty Cure managed to make it today!"

Melody's question takes her off guard, and she laughs nervously again, "Melody. I don't think you should count on a giant monster attack all the time to get out of an exam..."

Before she nods sympathetically to Rhythm, wishing Melody would think better of herself on that front. "...maybe we can find a way to study that suits her better after we make it out of this." She spots Lera in the air, "It really is. I don't know if the others are nearby so we'll have to manage somehow!"

Nodding at Rhythm's warning, she calls back, "You too!" Kindabads are everywhere, swarming her like angry clay dolls. A punch here, another there. And several are latching onto her ankles, hampering her movement. Another is coming at her hoping to score a decisive blow. She sways to the left, as its haymaker nicks her sidetail.

Her hands whip up to grab it's wrist. Turning at the waist, she tosses it over her shoulder like she's going to throw it, but doesn't let go. Instead slamming it into whole masses of them, batting them away like she were scattering rats with a broom. It's only after whirling it around several times does she let it go, bowling over about a half dozen more like they were ten pins.

The mold is growing up and everywhere, and despite her ankles feeling decidedly bruised, she dashes, using footwork to try to glide this way left and right on her approach towards the monster, raising her arms to block blows from Kindabads.

At the last moment she does a small crow hop, before attempting a leaping strike with a twist of her hips to add extra power to a punch right into the '8' key of the calculator, which if it connects is something that might just cause its display to go wild, "Don't listen to him! We can stop him if we all work together, even if the odds are against us! It's not just simple math. I believe we can do it!"

COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pineapple Punch on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune lands after the punches connect, watching the Terribad fall to the ground. She keeps her eye on it as it springs up and up, trying to stomp on her like some sort of mushroom. She raises her arms to block the energy from the kick, but she leaps backwards to slip out from under the Terribad. She turns to see the swarm of Kindabads form up around her to try and block her escape.

Namakelder's words ring at Fortune, and she looks up to where he stands, turning to face him directly. "I am Cure Fortune! Your people stole someone precious from me!" She then turns and descends at the Kindabads, kicking one, punching another, and repeating this action for quite some time

Glassan floats nearby, pondering the situation while Fortune goes to town. "They're just now invading with this force? Where's that old lady with the umbrella? She's gotta be around here somewhere, and not just doin' reconnaissance."

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Cure Pine's Pineapple Punch, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Reverse ability activates! Exhausted applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Catch and Release, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Kindaclearin' Kindabads on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Fortune's Kindaclearin' Kindabads, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Q: How many magical girls does it take to face an army of Kindabads?

A: Two. One would get overwhelmed; any more than that is overkill.

And so it is that the Kindabads get overkilled in /droves/ -- Lera's rings of magical light send a bunch of them leaping away from her and directly into the path of Cure Heart's kick-victim-cum-bowling-ball. They all go flying, but there are so many more.

Fortunately, Cure Melody and Rhythm work in beautiful harmony, and their unstoppable waltz across the battlefield leaves a trail of evaporating bodies in their wake. And the Magic Knight of Wind discovers that the mold that was beginning to surround her is also making it hard for the Kindabads to see her and her sword, and she slices down the ones surrounding her like they're so much moldy cheese.

There are a few more who seem to be making it their personal mission to draw pins out of -- somewhere, there aren't obvious pockets on their smooth black bodies -- and individually pop all of Sailor Mercury's bubbles (as well as give her a sharp poke, once or twice) with taunting calls of "ChoichoichoichoichoichoichoichoiCHOIIIII!" Still, they can't get them all, and a cool mist descends upon the area. It's a lot more pleasant to breathe than the mold.

Steven winds up putting an end to their anti-bubble rampage with a bubble of his own; gloriously pink, it sends them flying back to vanish on their rather rough impact with the ground. He'll have no luck approaching Namakelder, though; the man's on a lamppost, and quite out of reach.

"Neither am I, wot wot," the man says with a yawn, as to Cure Melody's assertion that she won't back down from what needs to be done. "Did we, Cure Fortune? Yes... I can see it in your eyes, your despair. Good!"

Fortune also finds success thinning out the Kindabads around her with myriad punches and kicks, and now there's breathing room to attack the Terribad in earnest. Cure Pine's the first to get there, but finds her fist caught by the stubby fingers not needed to keep ahold of that ruler, and then, with an over-the-head hammer throw, she's bodily flung away! Thankfully, her landing is softer than it might have been, since she's hurled directly onto a cushion of mold. Less thankfully, that mold has a tendency to inspire a great deal of choking and coughing when it's in close proximity!

"Time to clean up, cheerio!" Namakelder gestures towards the group with his cane, and the Terribad resolidifies its grip on its ruler. Then, with a flourishing spin -- not unlike that of someone holstering a revolver -- it swaps the way it's gripping said ruler, such that the point is facing /it/ instead of the crowd.

And at blurrily high speeds, it starts punching out numbers on the calculator! It may be a good thing Pine didn't manage to impact, because for every digit that gets pushed, its replicate soars forward from the screen to try to conk a girl right in the face!

It starts with single digits, 8s and 4s and 9s and 2s, each of them the same green as its scarf, and soon the battlefield has numbers flying everywhere at viciously high speeds.

What's going to happen if it finds the multiplication button?!

"TERRIBAAAAAD!!"

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Cure Melody.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Cure Rhythm.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Environmental Hazard on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Cure Heart.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Your Number's Up on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Environmental Hazard, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine's Block ability activates! Cure Pine's Parry ability activates! Cripple applied to Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Cure Heart narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Cure Heart's Block ability activates!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 16 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 19 Fatigue damage! Sailor Mercury's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury's counterattack, Mercury Crash Launcher, partially gets through, doing 27 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro! Critical Counterhit!
COMBAT: Cure Melody narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 9 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Melody's counterattack, I Didn't Count On This!, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 31 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 21 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Fade ability activates! Lera Camry's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 29 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm's counterattack, Keeping Time, partially gets through, doing 4 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Steven Universe narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Your Number's Up, taking 7 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Looking up towards Cure Pine again, Cure Heart's eyes downright shine. "I didn't even know there /were/ so many Pretty Cure!"

"I wonder if they're from Trump Kingdom, too," Charle murmurs from Mana's hip. "But I didn't think there were any others."

"We should ask them later!" Cure Heart answers. She smiles as she takes advantage of a short breather, momentarily watching how the other Precures fight - the teamwork between Rhythm and Melody especially. Her eyes shine.

And then - everyone's number is up.

With a squeak, Cure Heart throws her arms up, planting her heels against the turf and crossing her forearms to block an ugly number 9 that comes steamrolling towards her. The digit slams into her like a freight train. A few number 1s follow. Cure Heart squeezes an eye closed and winces, breath catching at the force of the impact. It hurts - but somehow it hurts a lot less than she would have were she still strolling around as Mana Aida, regular girl. "That's... that's the worst way to use a calculator!"

Then she widens her eyes as something occurs to her.

"Charle! Hang on!" she shouts - and she begins to sprint forward, just as more numbers begin to pile up.

A number 8 booms towards her - and Cure Heart suddenly lunges at it at full speed, tucking one leg up. She sails towards the number -

- over it -

- and kicks off the 8 in midair, her arm thrown back to try and steer herself as she goes sailing towards the Terribad in the calculator suit.

"I've been in math class long enough to know how calculators work!!" Cure Heart shouts as she hurtles in, swinging her arm forward with a sudden explosion of force. Her fist unclenches, hand swinging out towards the calculator -

- as she attempts to slap one of the buttons higher up on the device.

C

COMBAT: Cure Heart has used Brought To You By The Letter C on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Heart has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Cure Heart's Brought To You By The Letter C, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Cure Heart is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Suddenly, numbers. Numbers, flying all around. NUMBERS EVERYWHERE.

The Wind Knight does what she can to protect herself, but it appears that numbers are crunching her today instead of the other way around. She staggers back under the arithmetical assault, guarding her face with the bracer on her right forearm; her breastplate blocks some of the worst of the impacts, but kinetic energy has to go somewhere.

An opening presents itself shortly, though - and when it does, the Magic Knight of Wind is prepared to capitalize. Her sword vanishes; her bow and quiver appear, and as she squints through a mostly-clear spot on her glasses, she lines up an arrow, not aiming for any of the calculator buttons ...

But for the calculator's *screen*.

The arrow flies, as she looses when she thinks her shot is lined up, rather than waiting for the 'feel' to be perfectly correct. If she takes too long setting up her shot, the numbers might start crunching her again; hitting the monster off-target is preferable, at this point, to not hitting the monster at all.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Trick Arrow Shot on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"It's attacking us with math!" Lera wails.

<Dodge it!>

The Midchildan weaves through a pair of 4's. Then, though, a 9 strikes into Lera and sends her into a vicious spin. She yelps as she slams into the ground, sending a plume of dirt and dust up into the air where she strikes. Lera yelps; she hops to her feet and shakes her head. She takes a deep breath, before she looks up. She peers around a moment.

Lera looks at Cure Heart -- then, she glances at Cure Pine and Sailor Mercury, too -- and nods her head. The girl nods. "C'mon!" she yells. "I dunno what this is, but... we add up to more than it, y'know? We can all work together! Like we did back on Okinawa!"

<Was that--did you just--a math-->

"Focus, Sky!"

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Soaring Heart on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Soaring Heart on Cure Heart.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Soaring Heart on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury accepts Lera Camry's Soaring Heart, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Mercury is Cheered!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro perfectly counters Fuu Hououji's Trick Arrow Shot, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! Honoka Yukishiro's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Strength In Numbers, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Fuu Hououji!
COMBAT: Cure Heart accepts Lera Camry's Soaring Heart, taking 0 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Pine accepts Lera Camry's Soaring Heart, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine is Cheered!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Summoning up more blue-white light, Mercury faces the oncoming digits head-on. As they streak for her, she responds by slamming her hands into the ground with a cry of, "Mercury Crash Launcher!"

The resultant torrent of bright blue-white fresh water, almost icy, engulfs some of the smaller numbers; a 9 and an 8 punch through the wave as it heads for the swarm of Kindabads and the Terribad, and a 2 sails neatly over it to hit her in the head.

Staggering forward just the same, Sailor Mercury processes what's happening -- it's a math attack. Looking to Lera, she gives the other girl a nod before returning her attention to the Terribad. Continuing her plan of 'deluge with bubbles to create openings for everyone else,' she goes through much the same motions as she did before; a ball of blue-white light, a twirl, a crossing of the arms, only this time...

"Sabao Spray Freezing!"

... it's /biting/ cold, rather than merely unpleasant.

COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has used Sabao Spray Freezing on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Steven breaks free of all his large numbered-oppressors, and attempts to make his way to the accented jerk. Of course, as usual, he is out of reach. The boy can only frown intensely at his height problem rears its ugly head high above him once more. "I'll be tall... one day," Steven says to himself. If only he could get the hang of shapeshifting like Amethyst...

And, while in his gravity based reverie, theres suddenly numbers made of some kind of energy everywhere! The hybrid child attempts to roll out of the way, but an awry number seven clips his leg and causes the dodge to roll into a fencepost with a thud. "Ow... I think I get the joke about why six is afraid of seven..."

The boy instead turns his attention to the large creature now that the lesser ones have been thinned some. He charges through the crowd, hitting any Kindabad that is unfortunate enough to be in the way as he charges right at the big bad Terribads feet!

Nothing hurts more than a stubbed toe at the wrong angle.

COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Shield Bash on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Sailor Mercury's Sabao Spray Freezing, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates! Stun and Tangle applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro perfectly dodges Steven Universe's Shield Bash, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Melody [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

It's a dance of joy and teamwork, carrying two Pretty Cure across the plaza. Cure Melody is positively beaming - flashing grins to friends and allies, and alternating between kicking Kindabads into oblivion and swinging her best friend into a position to do the same. As the impromptu swing dance comes to an end, they stand amid the ominous mold and evaporating shadows, triumphant.

A moment, to answer Pine: "I'm not counting on it all the time! I'm just saying, being able to beat up a test would be a lot easier..." Namakelder taunts them anew, and Melody looks up to where the man perches, eyes narrowed. "What makes you think you can beat us, anyway? If we work in concert, nothing can..."

...she didn't count on the numbers. Eyes widened in horror, Cure Melody starts actually running, punching wildly at all the numbers flying her way. A few get through her flailing fists, but the majority get scattered...more or less everywhere except the calculator that launched them. Breathing heavily, she glares down at the numbers that hit her...several blazing green eights, a reminder she never wanted.

"Terribad seems like a fitting name, whatever you are! Rhythm - let's hit that button so hard it'll never work again!" Filled with a grudge against the number eight, and determination to bring this rampage to a close, she runs forward - reaching out for Rhythm's hand. Where they meet, light blossoms... "Pretty Cure Harmony..."

COMBAT: Cure Melody has started a combo targeting Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Rhythm [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

They were time perfectly, almost as if they were one being, as they swung literally through their enemies. Rhythm laughed, almost not remembering they were in the middle of a swarm of shadows.

She looks to Pine. "I have an idea for a cupcake reward system! I'll ask your help for it later-" She trails off as Namakelder starts to taunts and glares along with her partner. "That's right! When we work together, we're unbeatable!"

Almost as if to prove them wrong they were struck by numbers. Rhythm did her best to counter, except there were more than she, no pun intended counted on. She yelped as they struck her and left bruises on her arms. That 7, 8 and 9 were quite hungry for damage.

Rhythm climbs back to her feet just as Melody's hand reaches towards her, both of them glowing. Sensing her intent, Rhythm takes hold "Harmony ShoT!"

COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has joined the combo started by Cure Melody!
COMBAT: COMBO! Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm have used Pretty Cure Harmony Shot on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm's Combo: Pretty Cure Harmony Shot, taking 94 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"We've all come together in a crisis before. I'm sure you'll meet the others soon." Pine replies to Heart softly, though she misses the exchange on where they're from. She at least doesn't suspect that they're from the Kingdom of Sweets, they'd found their fourth Cure and she was decidedly red!

The exchange between Cure Fortune and the man in the top hat has drawn her attention. She doesn't exactly know what's going on, but when he says that, "Stop taking pleasure in the pain you're causing her!" For some reason, it seemed far more personal and cruel to her than a Labyrinth Executive exulting in misery.

Pine sideeyes Melody, though there's this affectionate smile there, she's trying hard not to giggle, "Doesn't that just mean you should just study a bit harder, if you think that?" Before nodding at Rhythm's 'method', "With your cupcakes on the line I know you'll be able to get her to focus!"

Her attack is stopped quite suddenly by stubby fingers, and before she knows it she's hurled into a pile of mold. Pine thuds down, creating a Pretty Cure sized dent in it its softness. The problem is it's everywhere, all over her and... she begins to cough, softly at first, but it becomes more of a hacking cough as she pinches her nose and waves a hand, and tries to get out of there.

She feels a bit wobbly after inhaling that many fumes, her chest hurting and her muscles numb.

It's only then that she sees the devastation caused by raining numbers, "O-Oh... I'm really glad I didn't hit that button." It's somewhat worrisome when Cure Heart acts like they're going for the Calculator again, but her eyes light up when she realizes which button they're going for, "Good idea!"

She's still waving a hand in front of her face when Lera calls out to her. It really was like that wasn't it? They'd worked together to overcome hopeless odds before at the spectral tree. They'd done it again against the Cybody infected by twisted darkness, and yet again in Okinawa against a situation that seemed impossible. Her eyes widen, and then she nods at her, a fist clenching in determination, "You're right. I believe we can't be overcome..." She waits for Rhythm and Melody to set up their shot with blossoming light, "...so easily!"

She feels a surge of adrenaline born out of belief, as she dashes forward again, and slams a heeled boot right into the creature's shin. She hopes the surge of energy will help her shake off just how /terribad/ this monster is making her feel with all of its attacks really wearing on her. "So long as we try our hardest!"

COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Enduring Conviction on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Pine's Enduring Conviction, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates! Bind Break! All of Cure Pine's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune listens to the grasshopper man, and turns away with a "Hmph." as she continues to brawl Kindabads. She grabs one and throws it into another, but her brawling is cut short as the Terribad begins to assign her a number. In fact, it assigns her a whole lot of numbers. Small numbers fly at her. Fortune's waist ribbon expands and glows purple, and the Cure takes flight as she tries her best to avoid all of the numbers shooting at her, but as the numbers grow in... er, number, they also grow in size! When they get to 7 and 8, they get too large and too numerous to dodge, and a number of them impacts her body, causing her to fall to the ground.

Cure Fortune slowly climbs to her feet and addresses Namakelder again. "I'm not going to let you destroy this city's happiness!" She notices, now, the effects the other magical girls are having on the Terribad, from the small kid trying to attack the Terribad's feet to the arrows in the screen, to the cold fog, to the... other Cures? This actually stops Fortune for a few seconds, as the fact that she's not fighting alone finally reaches her.

But, she puts that out of her mind, for now, as she takes flight again. She rears a fist back. "Fortune! Staaarr Burst!" Energy crackles around her fist as she swings directly at the crack she had made at the beginning of the fight.

Glassan, meanwhile, floats at the edge of the battle. She ponders the rest of Team Good. "Hmm, Blue didn't tell us there were more of them."

COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Fortune Starburst on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Fortune's Fortune Starburst, taking 54 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

The fact that the Terribad responds to various clever tactics with its own cleverness (and/or desperation), rather than simply standing there and taking it, is a solid indication that if they were to properly connect, they would actually cause real problems.

For example, Cure Heart goes for that magnificent C with an equally magnificent smack, but the monster wheels its arms, flailing backwards and out of the way -- at an angle that causes her to connect with the M instead. Its last number was an 8, which goes speeding towards her at point-blank.

And when the Magic Knight of Wind's arrow goes speeding towards the screen, it hastily goes clickaclickaclick and sends a small army of numbers in the way to make a wall. More 8s, of course -- they have the best coverage.

It's not too busy to step out of the way of Steven's charge, though, nor too busy to, with its other foot, try to punt the kid back to where he came from. That's one way to fly! Sailor Mercury's icy blast, though, catches the Terribad in midswing, "Terri--?" and then Cure Pine kicks it right in the shin, sending what was merely 'wobbling off balance' into 'reeling' territory.

Which leaves Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm free to explode the 8 button off of the calculator in a burst of light. It tears free from the plastic housing and tumbles down the street, while the greater monster goes crashing backwards and hits the ground hard, pushing out a spiderweb of cracks beneath it on the pavement.

But not as hard, it must be said, as Cure Fortune hits /it/, in turn. The weird red glasses shatter in a burst of holy violet light, leaving the beast blind and groping. It doesn't bother getting up, knowing that it must try to end the battle here and now. That means that when numbers start shooting out of its screen, they fly straight up -- and then fall straight down.

Numbers like 1024. And 8312. And...

'9!'

...362880, which is like a skyscraper hurtling towards the ground. It will smoosh everyone and everything into whatever combination of 'mist' and 'smear' and 'pancake' floats their visual boat, unless it is stopped... which nobody could possibly do alone.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Cure Melody.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Cure Rhythm.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Up, Up And Away on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Feighted Strike on Cure Heart.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Factorial Of The Day on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 33 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine's Block ability activates! Cure Pine's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Heart narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Feighted Strike, taking 13 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Heart's counterattack, Heart Cross Counter, partially gets through, doing 5 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 35 Fatigue damage! Cure Fortune's Fade ability activates! Cure Fortune's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Melody narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Cure Melody's Block ability activates! Cure Melody's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 35 Fatigue damage! Sailor Mercury's Fade ability activates! Sailor Mercury's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 34 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Factorial Of The Day, taking 40 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Fade ability activates! Lera Camry's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Steven Universe perfectly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Up, Up And Away, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter!
COMBAT: Steven Universe's counterattack, Bubble Shield, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Cure Heart manages to crane her neck just enough to flash a big, wide smile back at Lera. "Mmhmm! We can do it if we work together!!"

Then her palm smacks into the wrong button.

"That isn't a C!" she yelps - and without thinking, she slams her other hand forward, straight at the 8. The blow hits solidly but off-centre, and the digit tumbles up and hits her in the shoulder, leaving her to tumble, bounce off the calender and plunge to the ground. She bounces a couple of times before rolling over a bit awkwardly to straighten herself, brushing off her skirt.

She manages it with sufficient aplomb to snap a wave to Cure Fortune, and a big bright smile with it. "Hello! Let's do out best, okay~?" Taking a hit or not, she seems to recover almost instantly. Even the failure of her clever gambit doesn't slow her down for one single second.

The sight of a colossal number hurtling down towards the Earth, though - that's not good.

Cure Heart bites down to her bottom lip. Focuses for a second.

"Everyone!" she shouts as she runs forward, clenching both fists. "Let's hit it all at the same time! We can't let it fall on everyone!" She smiles a wide smile as she throws one arm back in readiness, her eyes flashing with sudden confidence. "We can definitely bounce that thing right back onto that monster if we all work together--!"

She hesitates no longer. She kicks off into a soaring leap, almost rocketing into the air. It's a leap every bit as high as the one she vaulted herself into accidentally on her first day as Cure Heart. This time, though, she means to jump that high. She actually sails up past the number - then pushes herself downwards, plunging heels-first towards it.

"MAYBE THIS WAS A BIT TOO HIGH," she yelps as she dives in - and attempts to just /wallop/ the number with as hard of a kick as she can muster. It might not be enough to destroy it - and alone, it won't be enough to change its course towards the Terribad waiting below.

But with more than one magical girl on the job--

COMBAT: Cure Heart has started a combo targeting Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lera nods, sharply, back to Cure Pine. She takes a deep breath, then she looks up at the Terribad. Then, she looks up, and sees the huge number crashing down towards her. She yelps; Lera jumps to the side, but she can't quite get away in time. The edge of it smashes into her. She rolls backward from the big number; she hits the ground and rolls a couple of times, before she comes back up, and stares up at the numbers. The damage they could do...!

But, she promised Cure Heart they would work together. She brings her two swords back together -- <Striker Form.> -- and they click together. She watches Heart rush, leaping into the air, and then she runs after it. She pivots in midair, flying up to join her. She doesn't use a kick.

Instead, her sword ignites with plasma that rushes up the edge. Lera does a pivot, swinging the weapon around at the numbers. "Right behind you!" she yells at Heart. She slams the weapon forward, striking for the numbers in tandem with Cure Heart, and--

COMBAT: Lera Camry has joined the combo started by Cure Heart!

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Steven makes his way toward the Terribad with gusto, knocking Kidnabads out of the way that attempt to resist his flow. A strong blow is aimed at the creature's foot, which it merely steps out of the way of. "I should have expected tha--"

What he didn't expect is the opposite foot coming in for a massive kick! "Oh jeez!" A reflexive Bubble Shield comes up to block it, preventing Steven from taking any damage! Awesome!

...Though the Terribad did have one thing on its side: Physics. The Bubbled Steven goes hurdling in the direction kicked, and begins bouncing off walls and objects. The boy inside is attempting to stabilize himself as he flies when he hears one of the supergirls call out to help with the tower of numbers! "Gimme a sec! I think... Yes!"

A bounce off the ground seems to have Steven not flipping around crazy while flying toward the wall of the Twin Swan school. He turns toward it, shield aiming at the wall at the point of impact. The Shield clangs agaisnt the wall, and emits a vicious ripple of energy, sending Steven flying at the numbers in a pink cannonball!

COMBAT: Steven Universe has joined the combo started by Cure Heart!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Again, Ami attempts to dive out of the way of an impossibly large assault from the Terribad -- and this time, it doesn't go so hot. She technically gets out of the path, but this time she lands more or less face-first; it feels pretty miserable.

As she staggers back to her feet, clearly agonized, she hears the cry for a synchronized attack... and while she isn't feeling quite strong enough to contribute /much/ just yet, she knows it's probably the best plan they're going to get.

All she musters is a modestly-sized blast of wintery mist, which streaks up behind Lera's strike.

COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has joined the combo started by Cure Heart!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Melody [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The most despised of digits shatters as a blooming flower of music-fueled light slams into the calculator, and Cure Melody turns to Cure Rhythm with a grin and a high-five. "We did it! Take that, math score!"

There's a pause. "...not that that was the grade I got or anything..." She coughs - and then lets out a resounding cheer as Cure Fortune's attack makes the Terribad's day even worse. "Nice one!"

She glances to Cure Pine, grinning self-consciously. "Hey, if it works...for the sake of delicious cupcakes, I'll vanquish even the worst math pro...." Melody trails off, looking up as a titanic number blots out the very sun. Factorials - truly, the worst of numbers.

It's too big. It's too big a number to even fathom having to deal with - hey, she's not in high school, she gets to avoid factorials for a little longer! There's a rush to try to stop it, but...

"...divide and conquer, right?" She claps hands against Rhythm - to psyche herself up if nothing else - then runs for the wall. Runs up the wall, a warcry building in volume as she runs up to meet it - and then pushes off the wall, swinging at the digits with a kick. Maybe if she can cut it down by a factor, it'll be easier to deal with?

Just let those factors rain down on the calculator...

COMBAT: Cure Melody has used Crescendo Kick on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

More weaponized numbers go flying; the Wind Knight dodges what she's able to ... but even though she's finally managed to clear the mold from her glasses, there's a new problem. And it is, literally, a very big problem.

"All together," she nods to Cure Heart, gathering up her magic and looking towards the now-descending projectile. Slowing it, even stopping it, won't be enough; it has to be completely obliterated, along with the monster. Possibly it can be reversed, turned against the Terribad, but either way they have to blast completely through the falling number.

"EMERALD CYCLONE!!!"

Rather than turning the fury of the storm loose without control, therefore, the Magic Knight of Wind focuses her most powerful attack carefully, trying to bolster her allies' attacks as well as tearing away at the Terribad's final strike. The Emerald Cyclone should carry enough force to help degrade the numeric projectile's speed, maybe even buy a few seconds more for the other magical girls (and Steven) to do additional damage, whether all at once or by chipping away at the total.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Fuu Hououji has used Emerald Cyclone: Focused on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Rhythm [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Rhythm gives Melody a nod and jumps up with her to join in on the attack. However, she didn't count on the sheer size of the number and is force to brace herself. It shoves her back, wanting to knock her down, but she just managed to hold her ground. Determined not to give up, she calls out "Don't give up!" and goes in for a punch.

COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has used Octave Punch on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Rhythm's Octave Punch, taking 1 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Melody's Crescendo Kick, taking 1 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Pine marvels a bit at the ferocity of Fortune's punch with the flash of holy light behind it, before shaking her head at Melody with a rueful smile. She doesn't comment on what that girl can accomplish if given cupcakes, instead trying to bring her attention back to the battle, "I think we're going to pull this off!"

... but maybe she spoke too soon, because the Terribad after being juggled by the Harmony Shot and Starbust punches starts creating numbers overhead in a frenzy.

One number descends after another. She catches a bus sized one, and casts it aside only with visible strain as she lands. Breathing hard from the effort of keeping them at bay. Which is when she notices the sky just got really dark and looks up.

You know, when the world comes crashing down sometimes there are just things felt in your heart, in your soul that you have to do as a Pretty Cure. An instinct that tells you what will happen if something like that giant number like that hits the ground on the unsuspecting masses.

So when Cure Heart calls for it, she already feels it. "Right!" She's already bending at the knees, before launching herself skyward in a leap which takes her up many stories at a time.

Unfortunately, she's feeling the wear of the battle on her, and all she can hope is that her efforts add to what the others are doing. She descends with a golden boot outstretched at the same time as Cure Heart, Lera, and Steven, and kicks the larger mass on her descent, repeatedly, one time after another to try to make small adjustments to steer it on its descent.

"Come on..." Melody and Rhythm are helping too by blasting away smaller numbers to make the mass more manageable. "... we can do this. I know we can do this!"

Baby steps! But maybe, just maybe with everyone working together could steer it where it needs to go, and keep the people below out of harm's way.

COMBAT: Cure Pine has joined the combo started by Cure Heart!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Blasts and blows pour upwards. They pound towards the tumbling number. Magical girls and one magical boy with a magical shield work together to strike the falling numbers again and again. Alone, each blow can't possibly be much against a six-digit number.

But it is falling. And little strikes come with something else. Momentum.

Cure Heart pounds on the number a few more times in the air. Wintery mist flows in; Steven hurtles in too. Lera strikes in with a blade. Cure Pine lends her weary support, her boot striking at the same time as Cure Heart's. Separately, they are small blows. But they are not truly separate.

Cure Heart's eyes positively shine - and she rears back to once again nail the number as hard as she can.

Blow by blow, the team of magical persons fight to break up the big number - and try to divert what's left down onto the Terribad lying below!

COMBAT: COMBO! Cure Heart, Sailor Mercury, Cure Pine, Lera Camry, and Steven Universe have used Combo: Work Together! Our Sweet Dunk, composed of Team Gambit Shenanigans, Mercury Aqua Mist, Pretty Cure Drive, Inferno Slasher, and Pink Pinball!, on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Heart has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Fuu Hououji's Finisher, Emerald Cyclone: Focused, taking 34 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Cure Heart, Sailor Mercury, Cure Pine, Lera Camry, and Steven Universe's Combo: Work Together! Our Sweet Dunk, taking 117 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Heart, Sailor Mercury, Cure Pine, Lera Camry, and Steven Universe are Psyched! Stagger applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune lands back on the ground after her Star Burst, and watches it warily. The fact that it's not springing up again is somewhat concerning, but she decides to try and finish things right here, right now. She reaches for a brace on her arm, and spins the dial on it...

Only to get waylaid by gigantic numbers. She dodges the smaller numbers, and the larger numbers, but as the numbers get larger one of them collides with her like a bus. She spins away from it, managing to deflect most of the blow.

Then the giant, skyscraper-like number begins to fall down. She looks around at all the other people fighting the Terribad.

She hears Mana's call for teamwork, but she doesn't seem to acknowledge her, her focus remaining on the falling numbers. But when everyone else started to push the number back, she leaps up and joins everyone else pushing it back, punching it as hard as she can. When the number changes its course, though? She immediately disengages, launching herself directly down at the fallen Terribad, attempting to give it a solid kick in the face for good measure!

COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used High Number Kick on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Fortune's High Number Kick, taking 20 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

The titanic 362880 was originally plunging towards the group parallel to the ground, which would cause incredible collateral damage, not to mention magical-girl-destruction. Cures Heart and Pine, Lera, Steven, Sailor Mercury and the Magic Knight of Wind team up to, through kicks and slash and body-block and mist and wind respectively, keep smacking one side of it at an angle, to try to alter its trajectory into being somewhat more perpendicular to the planet... and directly on top of the Terribad.

At first, it's just too big to move. But then the other Pretty Cure, Melody and Rhythm, leap up and start cutting it down to size. The first hit, Rhythm's punch, is simply tiny against its bulk. At first it seems like nothing happens. But then the huge number splits in two, with a crack like the first thaw of a mighty river, into two 181440s.

Melody's kick sends them soaring into each other, and a moment later there are four far more manageable, merely stretch-limo-length, tour-bus-sized 90720s.

/These/ are very wieldy. Cure Heart and Steven impact one of them at the same time, and it's the first to plunge directly at the cratered Terribad, trailing pink sparkles. Lera and Sailor Mercury's plasma and ice direct the next one with a splash of orange and blue; Pine's kick and Fuu's cyclone the last, green and yellow glitter everywhere.

What a beautiful rainbow of consecutive destruction!

WHAM!
WHAM!
WHAM!
WHAM!

Falling like a shooting star, Fortune impacts somewhere during the enormous cloud of smokey numerical debris, which lights everything up a brilliant purple.

And yet, as the explosion clears... it remains.

...and it gets up. Not at the encouragement of Namakelder, who at some point seems to have left, either because he didn't want to stick around to see the end or because he has other monsters to create in another part of Tokyo (not a comforting thought, that). Rather, purely fueled by its own terrible despair, it manages to take a knee.

The last dozen or so Kindabads in the area all rush forward, rapidly executing an acrobatic pyramid that, straining, helps lever the Terribad all the way back to its feet.

It has no sunglasses, and no face... it fired that massive number blind, after all. But once again the Kindabads are there to help -- a pair of them rip the cloth awning off of a nearby, business-lunch-only ramen stand, and the rest, in tandem, tie it around the Terribad's head like a blindfold.

At the same time, the Terribad attaches the ruler to the book like the haft to a spearhead... and once it's properly blindfolded, like a samurai of old, it takes a deadly-looking stance.

"TERRIBAAAAAAAAD!"

Charging into the landing magical girls, it sweeps the somehow razor-sharp book this way and that like a massive naginata, trying to thresh them all like wheat. "CHOIIIII!" call the Kindabads, encouragingly directing it, somewhat Marco Polo style, towards the group whenever the Terribad starts to get off course. Its nastiest slashes go towards Cure Heart, the Magic Knight of Wind, and Lera, each of which has just earned its exceptional ire through their equally exceptional contributions to the power of teamwork.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Harvest of Grades on Cure Melody.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Harvest of Grades on Cure Rhythm.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Harvest of Grades on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Harvest of Grades on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Harvest of Grades on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Harvest of Grades on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Honoka Yukishiro has used Sortagrim Reaping on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Honoka Yukishiro has used Sortagrim Reaping on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Honoka Yukishiro has used Sortagrim Reaping on Cure Heart.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Harvest of Grades, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Cure Melody narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Harvest of Grades, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Cure Melody's Block ability activates! Cure Melody's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Harvest of Grades, taking 23 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Heart fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Finisher, Sortagrim Reaping, taking 143 Fatigue damage! Cure Heart is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Lera Camry fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Finisher, Sortagrim Reaping, taking 166 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Lera Camry is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Steven Universe narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Harvest of Grades, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Steven Universe's Block ability activates! Steven Universe's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Harvest of Grades, taking 23 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Rhythm's Fade ability activates! Cure Rhythm's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Harvest of Grades, taking 12 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Melody [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The towering total is too much for anyone to tackle alone, as Cure Melody swiftly discovers - but with Cure Rhythm's help, she's able to cut the problem down to size. Rebounding off the now-smaller numbers, she tumbles back into a skid, sliding back alongside Cure Rhythm. Everything seemed lost...but everyone's strength, added together, was enough to overcome the counting catastrophe.

It brings a warm smile to her face - but the calculator Terribad is getting back up, and that mold is spreading as it charges forward. The blow catches her on crossed arms, and launches her up into the air...

But in the air, she catches Rhythm's hand, and the two descend side by side. Cure Melody calls out boldly to the monster, and to everyone fighting it. "Everyone you've hurt today...their voices are singing out! It's time to finish this!"

She turns to Rhythm, beaming. "Time to clear this up, so we can go study over those cupcakes of yours!" In spite of the surrounding darkness, that ominous mold, everything with this Mirage Empire or whatever it was...she's smiling at her friend. Hands clasp...

...and music resounds.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Melody has started a combo targeting Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"It's still standing!" Lera yells, in disbelief, as the explosion and smoke clear out. The Terribad is revealed there and her eyes widen; she sees the huge bladed book coming down for her. She tries to fly sharply to the left. The book is far too imsense for that.

<Look out! Protecti--> Soaring Sky starts to chime. It comes too late; the blade hits Lera's back as she tries to soar away from it, and her Barrier Jacket flashes to prevent the damage from being fatal. It still applies so much force that the orange-haired high schooler goes flying. She slams hard into the ground.

Her sword is dropped; Lera hits, rolls, and comes to a stop. Then she crumples down into a heap, knocked unconscious. She doesn't get back up right now.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Cure Heart lands on top of a very large number, which lands on top of a very large Terribad. She tumbles off after a few seconds and lands with a click of heels. "That was great!" she calls out, puming a fist in the air and hopping in place a couple of times. "Such great teamwork!!"

Ten the Terribad just gets up and hits her so hard she goes sailing though the air for about a hundred feet and crashes through a nearby parked car. She's hurled into it so hard that she actually blows through the back door and knocks the thing over. Her legs twitch in the air a couple of times.

"You know what...? I could really go for one of those peach-jam buns," she says with a sigh before closing her eyes and slumping into the backseat of the car.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Rhythm [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Her rising punch managed to split the number in half, and Cure Melody divided it further. As Cure Rhythm falls back, she smiles in satisfaction, watching as those numbers get slammed into the Terribad.

But it's getting back up, and she has to leap wildly to avoid getting slammed into a building. Eventually, in midair, she catches Cure Melody's hand, nodding firmly. "Ruining everyone's plans...unforgiveable!"

...and then she has to just shake her head at Cure Melody. "I swear, Melody, you're going to eat so many cupcakes you'll be too hyped up to study - which defeats the purpose!" But she's smiling, as they land on the ground.

Step, step, step-step. The rhythm of their heels clacking on pavement summon shining music to burn away the mold near them, to sing a melody of happiness and joy, to shine as a golden treble clef. Together, they call out:

"Pretty Cure Passionato... HARMONY!"

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Rhythm has joined the combo started by Cure Melody!
COMBAT: COMBO! FINISHER! Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm have used Pretty Cure Passionato Harmony on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Finisher, Sortagrim Reaping, taking 47 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Pressing her foot off the number one last time as it impacts, she flips backwards just as the mass of numbers strikes the Terribad center mass. "We-we did it." She sounds more relieved than excited. Yet even as she was back flipping away she realizes it was getting up. Pressing off a nearby building with her foot, she rebounds with a twist to try to try to avoid being scythed away by its razor sharp book.

It comes close enough that it grazes her fantastically yellow frills, the rush of wind in it's aftermath knocking her off course with a shriek.

She only barely manages to right herself before she'd be knocked into an office building, tucking herself into a more controlled descent back towards the ground. "Lera! Cure Heart!" She cries out as she catches sight of their horribad state in the middle of it all. Mid-flip she puts her hand to her side, and grasps her Linkrun. Kirun descends with a joyful "KIIII!"

Into the top with a twist as she runs her fingers across the touchpad simultaneously. The Pine flute appears mid-air, even as she lands, it twirls like a baton on it's downward arc into her outstretched hand. She whirls it around, and exchanges her grip to hold it like an actual flute, as she runs her fingers across the rainbow keys, "Everyone is working so hard to get into high school. I won't let you be more than a stumbling block for them! Heal, harmony of faith! Cure Stick, Pine Flute!"

One by one they light up in prismatic colors with concentric circles of light and sound erupting melodiously from it. She changes to presenting it like a wand, flourishing it this way and that side to side as she speaks the incantation. "Nasty things, nasty things, fly away..." A hop as she raises it skyward, before cutting it downward, the moment her heels touch the ground, she traces it in a diamond pattern, "...Pretty Cure Healing Prayer -" She juts it forward, and the diamond responds, launching at the Terribad, trailing hearts and golden sparkles, "-FRESHHHHHH!"

If it impacts just behind Melody and Rhythm's passionate music of happiness, then the light seems to grow, yellow hued hearts beginning to orbit it like an atom, Cure Pine straining to keep up the purifying power behind it. Yet she's only one girl, one heart, one set of beliefs. It's clear she won't be able to keep this up for long.

She turns her head, giving Cure Fortune an almost desperate look, pleading in it's own way to aid the other Pretty Cure. Yet she doesn't speak her need in words, she feels like if she does then her magic will just collapse upon itself from the distraction.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Pine has used Precure Healing Prayer Fresh! on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

The onrush of scything strikes catches Ami off-guard, but the Sailor Senshi doesn't let that get the best of her; she does her best to protect herself as the Terribad advances, clenching her fists tight. She has to hang in there a little longer -- and she does, moving /forward/ to get clipped with the flat of the book instead of with the sharper parts.

Crossing her arms in front of her and summoning forth another ball of energy, Sailor Mercury backpedals a little before sweeping her arms out to either side with a cry of, "Double Sabao Spray Freezing!"

The heightening intensity of her bubbles continues; this time, they sweep out in a wide arc across the Kindabads and the Terribad itself, bitter cold. If it doesn't keep moving, it just might get frozen solid amid the bubbles.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Sailor Mercury has used Double Sabao Spray Freezing on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

You really would think the Terribad would have been taken out of the fight by now - or the fight taken out of it, at any rate. Certainly the Wind Knight feels like she doesn't have much left in her.

But the Terribad has reinforcements, of a sort. The Kindabads are actively supporting their leader now, whereas Lera and one of the Cures are both out of the fight. The odds are, in short, not very good - and they're starting to get worse.

"And to think that I like math," the Wind Knight comments quietly, mustering her reserves of energy. She's starting to wonder whether this is like one of those boss fights where you HAVE to take out the minions before the actual boss can be defeated ... but she has one more big spell she can use. It takes some observation and some careful timing to find the right opening to cast it, but ...

"Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi!!"

The opening presents itself, and the Wind Knight sends another tornado at the monsters. The spell doesn't actually take form until it's gone past her allies, as a further precaution - but what energy the Magic Knight of Wind didn't invest in the spell itself is rapidly eaten up by trying to keep the Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi from running out of control.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Steven rebounds off the skyscraper of numbers, boucnes around a few mroe times, then comes to a stop, appearing rather dizzy and stumbling around. "DId anyone catch the license plate on that warp pad..." he says, slowly coming to. "Okay... well, that was fun! Vomit-y, but fun."

The numbers are crunched back in the Terribads face, but that doesn't yet stop it!

Though... inspiration comes from an adorable source. Rhythm and Melody break out into an attacking dance number with a sweet tune that just gets the boy jazzed. It might be jazz. Maybe?

"Get your funky flow on, girls!" he calls over to them, kinda dancing on his own. As he does, gemstones appear and begin to float around his shield in an orbiting pattern, and seem to almost channel the light from the sun. At least it looks like it is. It could be calling something else forth.

A Vivid Amethyst.
A Lustrous Pearl.
A Sparkling Garnet.

They spin, faster and faster, as steven points the shield slowly at the creature. "You shouldnt have messed with my and my friends!" Steven proclaims. He knows the shield is about to do something important, yet he is unsure what exactly, until the light the gems seem to channel connect in the center of the shield, and form a powerful beam of rose tinted energy, right at the Terribad!

COMBAT: FINISHER! Steven Universe has used Believe In Steven on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune lands back on the ground, below the remains of the giant numbers. She watches as the firepower from all the other magical girls collide with the Terribad...

But when the smoke subsides, it's still there. Not only that, it's getting back up. Her eyes scan the area to see if there are any other Kindabads left, but she doesn't seem to see any.

She turns to the Terribad, and raises her brace to the sky. It gives off a brilliant flash of light. Cure Fortune spins and spins. "Light of the Stars! Turn into sacred power!" She spins the dial on her brace, slapping it once. "Pretty Cure!" She spins her arms around each other, generating purple light which she raises above her head, forming into a star. "Stardust!" She then brings it down in front of her, spinning twice more before PUNCHING it towards the Terribad. "Shooooot!" As it races towards the enemy, she turns away from the monster, and raises her brace yet again. "Stars! Return to the skies!"

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Fortune has used Pretty Cure Stardust Shoot on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm's Finisher, Combo: Pretty Cure Passionato Harmony, taking 154 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Pine's Finisher, Precure Healing Prayer Fresh!, taking 119 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Sailor Mercury's Finisher, Double Sabao Spray Freezing, taking 85 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Fuu Hououji's Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi, taking 30 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Steven Universe's Finisher, Believe In Steven, taking 81 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Fortune's Finisher, Pretty Cure Stardust Shoot, taking 125 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Once the Terribad's blind samurai kata is through, it slumps... but feels, with satisfaction, that a couple of its enemies' bodies have hit the ground. Jerking its head upward, it shouts a "TERRIBAD!" so hot and fierce that it might as well be a kiai, cheered on by its Kindabad minions. It's a warning. It's a challenge.

It's a bluff.

And the girls call it together -- with a golden treble clef blast, a pineapple-fresh diamond of pure healing energy, the double torrent of icy Mercury, a vicious tornado and an immensely powerful pink beam.

Finally, a purple star crucifies the Terribad mid-destruction, and more stars spin around it as everything goes white.

When the radiance fades, the Terribad and Kindabads are gone, and so is all the mold. Shiina Suzuki is out of her mirror, blinking at the entrance to Twin Swans and likely to burst back into song at any moment. Indeed, everything is quite back to normal, with hardly a trace of battle. There is only one... and it pops out of the nose of Cure Fortune's fairy, when Glassan sneezes violently.

"Look, it's the power of a super-calculator!" They're a couple of cards with little people drawn on them, quickly vanished in some kind of notebook, which in turn the fairy stores wherever fairies store such things.

---

But Tokyo is massive.

And the Phantom Empire's reach is long... and ruthless.

This wasn't the only place attacked today.

Images of terrible battles, not all of them going the way of Shinjuku's, flicker on magical mirrors hung in a circle around a strange and mysterious room. In the middle stands a bluenette, who folds his arms as he gazes at what he knows, in his heart, is the beginning of the war he never wanted -- and fears cannot be won.

"This is it... the Invasion."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

When the purifying radiance is gone almost all signs of the destruction go with it. Pine kind of blinks her eyes at the return of the cheerful girl who'd passed her by earlier standing in front of the cram school. "It's over." She sighs heavily, bone weary, ignorance of the true scope of this invasion driving her words.

A flash of yellow light causes the Pine Flute ot materialize back into the phone at her side. She turns at the sneeze, looking somewhat confused by the fairy's gift at first but then deciding it's not all that different from how... Chiffon does everything she does. She's starting to limp towards Lera and Cure Heart to check on them but...

... something in her step catches, as she stops her walk, and turns towards Cure Fortune, "Cure Fortune wasn't it? Do you know what's going on? What's this Phantom Empire? This all seemed very personal..." She looks down and to the left, "...given what you said about them stealing someone precious to you." She hesitantly looks back at her, though not directly so.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

From the backseat of the wrecked Mitsubishi, a lone right fist rises up, clenched. "I'M GOOD," Cure Heart shouts. She actually sounds like it, too.

She sits up, and coughs up a mouthful of integers.

"My mouth tastes like advanced trigonometry," she complains.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

With everything back to normal, Cure Fortune finally allows herself to breathe a sigh of relief. She turns away from where the Terribad used to be, and regards the area now that all the mold is gone. Everyone can breathe a lot more easily now that Namakelder was gone. She had seen him before, but she had always been confused about why Namakelder's minions created mold. It just seemed so out of place. Or maybe that was the point.

She looks at the cards that were sneezed out by Glassan, some of which had... a teacher's outfit? They're placed in the fairy binder about the time Cure Pine addresses Fortune.

Fortune doesn't look at Pine when she replies, ignoring her words about the situation being personal. "The Phantom Empire..." She begins, "Is a group of people who want to cause misery." She looks towards Pine just enough to get her in her vision. "The Blue Sky Kingdom was conquered by them. The kingdom's princess just /let/ them go free," Fortune's voice gains something of an edge. "and they took the entire kingdom over. Now..." She turns back, away from Pine and towards the rest of Tokyo. "They're coming here."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Empire sounds rather ominous, just the imperialistic implications of the word. Breathing a sigh of relief when Cure Heart shouts and sits up, she nods at Fortune, "That sounds a little like Labyrinth... but..." Were they really so like them? "...something about them seems really different." Maybe it was just the way Namakelder interacted with Fortune that tips her off to that, but also the monsters they created.

It's the statement that the Princess of that Kingdom just let them go free that causes Cure Pine to look up at her, eyes wide, "Why would she do something so dangerous!?" She blurts out, she has no reason to disbelieve her words, instead it's more shock that someone would cause the fall of their own kingdom.

Again her breath catches at the thought they were coming here. It seemed like they were pressed from all sides given all myriad of fronts of attack they were fending off, and after a moment she looks down, seeming somewhat dispirited from a new one arising. But after turning it over in her head, she looks back up, "... Is there anything different that we should know about fighting them or the kinds of targets their leaders pick? Like..." She holds up a finger, "...for instance, Labyrinth doesn't pick people, they pick things and collect the misery they cause. What is the Phantom Empire creating misery for?"

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

With a wince, Cure Heart tumbles out of the damaged car. She takes a moment to dust herself off befoe letting out a heavy breath. She's sore and she's tired and part of her wants to go get a peach bun and curl up in bed until she feels better.

She decides not to. She just goes sauntering towards the remaining knot of Precures, doing her best not to look hurt. She even manages a smile as she listens in, though it fades to a frown as Cure Fortune tells her tale.

"That sounds just like the Selfish Kingdom!" Charle gasps from Mana's hip. "They took over the Trump Kingdom and now they're coming here too!"

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

The moment Pine also acknowledges the Princess of the Blue Sky Kingdom, Fortune spins back towards Pine. "I don't know! I don't think she knew what she was doing, and I don't think she ever knew!" She stops after this, taking a deep breath or two to settle herself down.

Glassan, floats on over to rejoin the group. "They like to target really happy people, turning their happiness into despair. I think..." She thinks for a moment before returning to looking at the Cures. "I don't think they're powering anything, they just want to put everyone into those mirrors, like they did to the Blue Sky Kingdom."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The heat in Fortune's words takes her off guard, as she visibly recoils a step back, "If she didn't know then..." Her volume drops to something of a murmur, though not so low then it couldn't be heard, "...why are you so angry with her?"

Her eyes drift over to Heart anhd Charle, widening again... two new Cures, two new foes. "Wait, there's another Kingdom invading too?!" It was a lot to take in. And there's quite a bit she'd like to ask about the Selfish Kingdom too, but given that she'd witnessed this invasion she's going to ask more about this one first.

She looks at Glassan as she explains, and doesn't quite nod, because there's something more visceral to this information. Something that she couldn't just accept and digest so easily, "That's what they want!? It just seems so... so... cruel. Like... misery just for misery's sake."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"That's terrible," Cure Heart murmurs, her right hand coming up to cradle her left bicep without her really thinking about it. She's in quite a bit more pain than she would like to vocalize. "That they're putting everyone into mirrors...." She winces a little.

The wince passes to a simple, steady smile, he eyes bright and sure. "It'll be okay," she assures the pair of Cures before her, though she's mostly talking to Fortune since she seems to be the most upset. "We'll help you whenever we can! We'll definitely get to work together." She nods with utter, utter confidence - nothing arrogant about it, just a /surety./

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

... After meeting Cure Sword, there's something about Cure Heart's statement that's worrisome to her. She'd thought all Pretty Cure would work together in the past and it didn't quite work out that way. So instead, she gives a nervous chuckle and rubs her chin with a finger, "Uh... that is assuming you wouldn't mind working with other Pretty Cure on occasion."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Cure Heart nods briskly back to Cure Pine, rocking back on her heels, then forward, eyes practically shining. "I'd love that!" she says, her hand falling from her arm to clasp with the opposite over her heart brooch. "It's always better to help each other out whenever you can!"

She holds her hand out to Cure Pine, then, and holds eye contact, chin coming up. It's almost as if she's forgotten she's hurt. "I'm Cure Heart. It's nice to meet you!"

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune keeps going with the words and the loud sounds. "Because she shouldn't have done it! It's her fault that..." Her face drops and her voice lowers to a strained whisper. "that..."

Cure Pine's surprise about the Selfish Kingdom is mirrored by Fortune, who softens just a little bit. But that disappears when the other Cures talk about helping each other, which kind of bristles Fortune just a little bit. She turns away from the Cures. "Don't misunderstand, I'm just in it to destroy the Phantom Kingdom and save the world. This is all just a convenience."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"Huh?" She looks so very bewildered by Heart who'd been injured so badly offering casual introductions, "Well it's very nice to meet you Cure Heart. I'm Cure Pine." A beat, "But..."

She looks down at her hand, then back up at her. She was a future vet, so she had a sort of caregiver's instinct there, "...are you sure you shouldn't be taking it easy?" She very hesitantly takes that hand, wondering if she shouldn't just bow her head instead, like she's afraid she might hurt her merely by gripping it.

Once the handshake is over, she gives Fortune a longer look, "...but you said she didn't know." She whispers. Wondering just how well placed her anger is, or if maybe it was a mistake to test it further.

At the end of her last statement, she nods, "I understand. We'll still help in whatever way we can. None of us are going to stand by and let them take over our world either."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"I'll be alright," Cure Heart assures, shaking Cure Pine's hand with a big smile that neatly papers over the fact that she looks like she's just been hit by a bus. "Don't worry about me! So long as all those students are alright, I'll be fine!"

Down on Cure Heart's hip, Charle puffs her cheeks out a little and looks up at her Precure with evident worry.

She seems about to say something, but the sight of Cure Fortune bristling and turning away actually takes her aback. Without it, she looks every bit the badly hurt and badly inexperienced Precure that she is, her chin dropping and her shoulders slouching just a little. Then Pine fills in with just the sentiment she was thinking.

Her smile returns again. It's quiet and sure, more subdued this time. "Then I hope you have good luck. I'm sure we'll see each other again."

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

It takes a moment for Cure Fortune to join in on the naming festivities, turning back to the other Cures. "I'm Cure Fortune." She doesn't say too much more. She watches Cure Pine mother-hen over Cure Heart's wounds for a moment, though she doesn't join in. Ignoring still Pine's words on the Blue Sky Princess, she does however nod a little slightly when the two of them talk about standing together to stop the world from being taken over.

But that's it. Fortune turns away, and her ribbon wings expand and glow again. She pushes off from the ground and takes flight, away from the battlefield and the other Cures.

Glassan looks at Pine and Heart worryingly, before she floats off towards her own Cure.