Battle Fantasia MUSH - User contributions [en]

2014-10-24 - Do Not Put On a Brave Face

2014-11-03T04:45:05Z

Misparse: Created page with "{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2" |- ! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Do Not Put On a Brave..."

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Do Not Put On a Brave Face'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Mio Kuroki scrapes Tuxedo Mask off the floor and patches as best she can.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mio Kuroki]], [[Mamoru Chiba]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Juuban Public School Theatre
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
1 April 2014 - 10-24-2014
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

It's maybe only forty-five minutes after play practice; everyone but Mamoru, who'd been sweeping up after, was well cleared out as of probably half an hour ago. After all, it's spring break: who wants to hang around in school when they don't have to?

Maybe Mio left something inside, maybe she hadn't gone far and came to the realization that there was a lot more sound in there than there should have been; maybe she saw the shock of blue hair belonging to one Ami Mizuno on her way off-campus, later than everyone else.

Whatever the case, inside the theater is unevenly dark, and dripping wet. The water's evaporating pretty quickly, but some of the chairs are going to be damp for a while. There's a sodden black cloak hanging off the stage, red on the inside; there's a crumpled hat in the middle aisle; there are dress shoes haphazardly dropped on the stage behind the cape.

Way down front, there's a crumpled black mass on the floor, visible between the legs of the chairs that make up the audience's seating, between two rows.

<Pose Tracker> Mio Kuroki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Mio Kuroki had had what is probably the most fortunate teen cigarette in the history of Tokyo when she'd realized she'd left her marked up copy of the book at the theater. So it is that she opens the door inside, and immediately smells the water, clinging and faint though it is.

Mio frowns. That's not supposed to happen. A pipe breaking? A roof leak?

The entranceway into the theater creaks shut behind her. Mio does not turn on the lights. Her eyes gleam in the dark.

Her foot bumps a light object. She crouches down, collecting it. Her feet do not press wetly on the carpet of the aisle.

She comes round the corner, towards that crumpled mass. It is often said that people have eyes that 'gleam,' or burn, and this is typically mere rhetoric, terms to describe a rather striking stare, or perhaps a light and contrasting shade of the iris. For Mio Kuroki, though, it is subtly - but undeniably - true, at least for that moment.

But the subtle illuminance dims faintly, and she lets one foot squash on the carpet - then another - as she draws closer.

"Is this yours?" she says, as she taps the hat back into its proper shape.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

The crumpled mass does not, in fact, move. In the dim light, it's just possible to see shallow, labored breathing. Closer still, and the mask knocked askew gleams in the dim light, brighter by far than its massively bruised and bloody owner, tattered and sodden, in sock feet and tattered regalia.

Just as Mio's squelched nearly close enough to touch, the boy starts to fish his way up toward consciousness and immediately wish he hadn't; he starts to curl in on himself further, then stops, because that hurts too.

"B-bit of-- a mess--" he whispers, not opening his eyes. "M-mio-- ch-ch--..." Yeah that's enough of that. His jaw's killing him.

<Pose Tracker> Mio Kuroki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Mio speaks with more authority. "How badly are you hurt? Do not put on a brave face."

Her shadow falls over the shivering mass, but he may appreciate that. Setting the hat on a nearby seat, Mio continues, "I can feel the cold on you - and I am not the warmest person. If nothing else I will bring you a change of clothes."

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

"Unno," Mamoru's voice floats up as he tries not to move his face. "Hurts. Have c-clothes. Henshin. P-please... just. Don't tell her."

For a second, he hesitates-- not because of his identity, no, Mio's known that for quite some time now. But because he's not sure if he'll be worse off if he changes back. But he's shivering, and shivering hurts too-- so with a soft, dark breaking-apart of the remains of the formalwear, hat and shoes and cape melting away no matter how far from him they are, Tuxedo Kamen lets the transformation go, and it's a dry beat-up mess of a human being on the wet floor.

The swelling visible where he was kicked in the face isn't very attractive, it must be said. And yet-- the eye that'll open is looking up at Mio with a silent plea, belying the words he forces out. His breathing's still carefully shallow. "In... convenient. Think's broken. Need-- to get outside."

<Pose Tracker> Mio Kuroki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

He leaves his form, right in front of her. It is a show of trust and vulnerability, perhaps - or of desperation.

Mio puts a hand on her hip. Her expression is, momentarily, strained, though the details are vague. Worry? Irritation? Maybe it's just how her forehead and cheekbones are shaped.

"Chiba," she says, firmly. "You are speaking in broken sentences. What is broken? Gesture if you must." Her voice gets a note softer. "Once I have tended to you, we will decide what to do next." And now that harsh look /is/ weathering quickly, though it still looks rather stern.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

Trust, certainly-- Usagi trusts her, and Mamoru's come to like her rather a lot over the months, during the play and in those weird social situations that turn into pitched battles. But is it vulnerability, or is it honestly just being out of damns to give right now, combined with the logic of dry clothes? He's certainly miserable enough.

He closes his eyes again and shifts, wincing, freezing when something moves in a way it shouldn't. "Rib." Breathe. "Arm maybe. Kicked head... can't tell."

He looks like he wants to say something else, but flounders, and just exists for a minute.

<Pose Tracker> Mio Kuroki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

"A kicked head? We shall have to trephanate," Mio says, reaching towards Mamoru's temple.

Her fingers are always cold, but cold can be a blessing. It reduces swelling. It helps with focus. It may not be the best choice, but when Mio murmurs, "Surely it won't be as bad as all of that. Breathe as deeply as you can. There is no one else here; you are safe. If you are gone when I return, I will tie bells to your collar at the next rehearsal."

After saying that, she gets up on stage and moves to where the first aid kit is. She pauses several times to glance back, and by the last time she's adding a mimed waggling of the finger. Two minutes later she is back with the case of white plastic - and, this time, she's turned on some of the house lights as well.

"What happened?" she says then: "Did a youma come?"

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

His breathing slows-- trepanning's a joke, obviously, OBVIOUSLY, once he parses the word-- Mamoru's breathing slows and his head clears a little, and the cold is on his head, not messing with his admittedly sketchy core body heat; it's lovely. He's still, under her touch, and he remains still when she makes another not-really-a-joke joke; he doesn't laugh, but he also doesn't move to get up when Mio does.

He tries to breathe more deeply, but it still hurts too much, so instead he just watches her movements with one cracked-open eye. Maybe he wishes he could fall asleep while he's waiting, but he doesn't. He just works on zenning out.

That is, until Mio asks what happened, and then his face twists, which hurts again, which means he winces again. After a second he says with a tiny sigh, closing his eyes, "Mercury. Working for Labyrinth. Wanted to make the point she should be taken seriously-- as if any of us /don't/. I-- I don't want the girls to see."

<Pose Tracker> Mio Kuroki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Mio doesn't see much bleeding. As such her first treatment is to get out some alcohol wipes and start cleaning over the bruised area.

She tsks, once, quietly. Inwardly, she reflects on the irony of the situation, before saying aloud, "How awful. I understand, of course."

After a lingering stroke, Mio's eyes turn towards Mamoru's. "You worry for her, don't you?" Which 'her' is left ambiguous, which may not be the best idea, given how many 'her's' there may be.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

"For all of them," Mamoru's quiet voice comes, no longer stilted, merely exhausted and pained. "They're so good. They're so earnest. They protect this perfect dream none of us can touch-- but they'll make it happen. I know they will. And she's the best of all-- and this is hurting her so badly. You're her friend, too-- you know how much love she has."

There's certainly not as much blood as there'd been on the white front of his tuxedo, on the glove, smudged on the mask. He doesn't even look like he's bleeding anywhere-- anymore, maybe. Abrasions, though-- each one stings with the alcohol, but it's insignificant in comparison, so the boy on the floor just rolls with it.

"And Mercury-- she can't hear, won't hear a word. They did something to her. Labyrinth. Twisted her somehow, like those damned Seals that Nephrite tosses around. She said she has a dream and a purpose now-- but she /did/, she did, Mio-san. What could twist such love to such hatred?"

<Pose Tracker> Mio Kuroki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Mio seems to be taking matters gravely. The thought of how this is wounding Usagi makes her feel a momentary inner impotence, which she expresses externally with a new alcohol swab.

"I don't know," Mio says. "Frustration. Anxiety. Family problems." A beat. "Unrequited love. I cannot say."

"If I were an evil magician," she says as she seems to run low on bits of Mamoru to disinfect, "I would do the smallest change that I could, and I would then place it with bolts of cold steel so that it would be impossible to remove." Mio adds, "Though, my error would be to assume anything was 'impossible.'"

"Do you want something for the pain?" she asks, the first aid kit otherwise about to get latched up.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

Mamoru searches Mio's face for a moment, some of the swelling and roughness in his own already receding, and is left without answers. Perhaps he's only too tired to understand them; perhaps he's as blinded by hope as he ever is.

Instead of an immediate answer, he lifts his hand and lightly places it over Mio's. In contrast to her icy skin, and despite his earlier dousing, his hand is warm. Warmer than it should be, but not feverish: like the glow that may or may not have been in Mio's eyes when first she entered the theatre, there may or may not be something Other in that contact, as well. "No thank you," he finally says, with the smallest of smiles. "A hand up would be nice, though. Then let me get you a coffee, unless I still look like I should go to the hospital or the police."

<Pose Tracker> Mio Kuroki [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Mio's hand warms quickly.

So do her cheeks.

"I," she says, before --

A window. Watching through a window. Seeing him, through a window, talking to several others. Smiling, and then seeing him look up at the sky, at -

Mio's hand draws back, slowly. "I think I can manage that," she says. But notably enough, when she rises and aids Mamoru, she grasps him at the wrist - with cloth in between them.

"And," she says, "I think you will survive, but I would encourage you to eat as well. Perhaps we can pass the Dark Burger on the way."

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

"Perhaps," says Mamoru with a wince behind his smile; he moves slowly, carefully, and the cloth between them goes unremarked, though, yes, noted. "And then I think I may sleep for a week. Mio-san-- thank you..."

Words are inadequate. But so is everything else.

2014-11-02 - She Knows There Is Good Here

2014-11-03T04:17:36Z

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: She Knows There Is Good Here'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Not talking is harder than apology.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Usagi Tsukino|Sailor Moon]], [[Mamoru Chiba|Tuxedo Mask]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Somewhere in the Traditional District
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
4 April 2014 - 11-02-2014
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

It was less harrowing than it's been, lately; maybe it was someone else's monster, maybe it was a distraction youma-- honestly, Sailor Moon could have taken it by herself, but Tuxedo Mask could tell she was alone, and that's the last thing he ever wants her to feel. It probably wasn't a surprise when he showed up; the two of them fighting something together, with no other backup, with no one else there to help, felt to at least the man in the formalwear like it was an echo of earlier days.

Earlier days that feel so long ago, even though it's been less than a year--

Less complicated days, when he was used to being alone, when he had a clear mission and clear priorities, when he was less worried about things, when he had fewer people to worry about.

Days when Sailor Moon had less of a safety net, so certainly days he has no desire to actually return to.

Unlike those earlier days, he doesn't bail as soon as the youma is dust.

Looking down at the pile of disintegrated evil as it blows away and scatters in the wind, minus his hat, he's silent for a second. Then he looks up at Sailor Moon and says, quietly, voice almost carried off by the same breeze that carries away the remains of the demon, "I'd like to talk with you, if that's all right. About our fight."

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

"ESCALATION!"

There is wonder and magic. There is healing. Healing for youmas seems to mean destruction. They speak and react, they express opinions, they have hopes and dreams. Yet, exposed to the same light that cleanses hurt and takes back death, they disappear.

If it is healing, Usagi does not know what the word means.

Sailor Moon teeters on unsteady heels. All the grace goes out of her in moments like this, right after she has shown exactly how graceful she can be. She has gotten better. There is no more breathless swooning or melodramatic staggering. There is certainly not any collapsing into unconsciousness. Maybe she isn't pushing herself in the same way anymore. Magic is a wand and a wish, and neither of those things are very good at explaining themselves.

The pretty soldier finds her balance and sets her stance like Makoto taught her. She exhales, closing her eyes to block everything out for a moment. It doesn't work. Usagi can't find the peace of a clear, unattached mind. She's not sure she even sees the point in doing so.

Tuxedo Mask speaks. Usagi looks over, an expression of curiosity coming easy to her. "Oh?" she replies, like he had mentioned reading something interesting earlier. It takes a moment for realization to lower her gaze.

"Oh. That."

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

It was an act of will not to reach to catch her, steady her at the end; it was an act of will to broach the subject at all. When Sailor Moon's reaction falls out the way it does, Tuxedo Mask is unsurprised, but the pit drops out from the bottom of his stomach anyway.

He briefly closes his eyes behind the mask, suddenly opaque from the outside, hiding his feelings, then--

Despite how bad an idea it is, he reaches up one gloved hand to take it off, to bare his face; he takes a step closer, and Mamoru reaches for Usagi's hand. "I'm sorry," he says, his voice clear and clean and unvarnished, sincere and heartfelt. "I was upset and afraid and hurt, and I hurt you with my reaction. I have answers if you still want them."

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

There's no fire in her to argue this, nor thunder with which to strike. Usagi stays silent, lost in the thoughts that this topic has stirred up. She has no mask to hide her feelings, only her inability to describe them. They're there to see: melancholy, wistfulness, but is that regret or resolve?

"--"

Sailor Moon makes a soft noise of surprise when Mamoru takes her hand. She looks first, sky-blue eyes wide in her sidelong glance. She turns to face him, petrified between stepping forward and shrinking away. Red flushes her cheeks. Uncertainty remains in her expression.

"I..."

The pretty soldier glances down and away, biting her lip while the blowing wind covers the lack of words. "I'm sorry that happened to you. I didn't know what was going on."

She sneaks a look at him, her face still turned mostly away. Her tone is sheepish. "I also kinda forget what we were fighting about exactly?"

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

The older boy's resolve is, at least, holding; in the face of Usagi's hesitation and uncertainty, but lack of anger, he continues to lightly hold her hand, looking down with concern in his face and a smile starting to dance behind his own dark blue eyes.

"I was angry that you were making assumptions when you knew what had happened to me before, and you were angry that I was hiding my feelings and telling you what to do. Which-- I really didn't mean to do. The telling you what to do part," he says ruefully; there's the faintest smile at one corner of his mouth, then. "It didn't occur to me until later that you had no reason to make the connection between what True Feelings did and what Mai did. When it did, I felt like a complete ass. So-- we're both sorry."

His other hand comes up, covering the back of the hand he's already holding; his eyes are bright and unhidden, with no mask of indifference or coldness or blase good cheer to obscure his purposes, with no awkwardness or hesitation, no faltering confidence. He tilts his head a little to follow the direction of her face, trying to meet that snuck look.

There's only him, whoever he really is--

"Usako. You're the only one I've ever been able to count on, and I try to make sure you can count on me. But-- I've missed your smile, and seeing you around when we're not in trouble. I'm always your ally. Can I still be your friend?"

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Oh.

That.

Usagi sets her jaw tightly to not let her guilt out. These things Mamoru recalls, they're things she felt and things she did, but seen through a window. She is looking at herself from another person's room. The echoes of her anger touch a part of her that is still sympathetic. Today's Usagi is not so different from yesterday's. It's not that she forgets now. It's that it's washed away by something else.

He was hurt.

He was alone.

Mai and Eri, she thought they--

His empty apartment.

And then poor Mai--

His empty past.

And Shiori, True Feelings--

His empty family.

And none of them he can trust--

His kindness, even now.

His hope, even after.

His care, always.

Usagi takes her hand away from Mamoru. He doesn't deserve that. Not even when he reaches for it, and it alone, asking for nothing else to be given to him but that small favor--he doesn't deserve it.

She leaps forward with all of her wild, thoughtless abandon, throwing her arms around him and all his hurt, trying to take all of it up into her arms at once. Her words come out with her sobs, but she fights with all of herself to keep speaking.

"Mamo-chan, never ask me that again! You already know--"

This is healing.

She knows he won't turn to ash.

She knows there is good here.

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

The set of Usagi's jaw freezes something in place in Mamoru's heart; as she looks at him, he tries not to let the strain of that show around his eyes, around his mouth; he watches her face--

--so many times he can feel her fear or her hope or any number of reasons her heart screams or dances, far out in the dark of night or close by, but he's so focused on keeping himself jammed wide open so she can't think he's hiding from her that he can't tell. He can't tell what she's feeling. He can't tell from her face or her eyes or her heart what she's feeling, and a small voice at the back of his thoughts hints that this may be close to what he puts her through, sometimes, but this hurts, leaving himself open hurts--

--and she pulls her hand from his and he cracks down the center, face beginning to shut down.

--

''she's suddenly in his arms''

wrapped around him up high, she leapt, she's crying, she's crying and speaking

''Mamo-chan''

Mamoru's cape wrinkles in her grasp; he doesn't care. It flows around them both, and so does her hair, her long, long hair, like spun silk made of moonlight and a black cloak made of the night sky, and he practically crushes her to him like he'll never, ever let go, but all he has for her heart is joy. He's laughing, and his laughter sounds like sobbing, breathless and thick with feeling, and instead of being bowled over, he spins them around once.

"I won't, I won't--" his voice is muffled in her hair; his mask is crushed in one hand, his chest and his arms are warm, "I'll remember-- I know-- I really won't ask you again--!"

They'll fight again, that's certain. But he's sure now-- he's sure there'll still be a place for him even if they do.

If there are any ashes here, they're only the wind-blown remnants of what had been doubt.

File:Mamo1.jpg

2014-11-02T06:12:54Z

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File:Tuxedokamen.png

2014-11-02T06:10:23Z

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File:Tuxedo-night.jpg

2014-11-02T05:59:16Z

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2014-10-23 - Not About Love

2014-10-25T00:29:48Z

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Not About Love'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Mamoru knew this was coming eventually. So did Ami. And they both knew he'd lose.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Ami Mizuno|Dark Mercury]], [[Mamoru Chiba|Tuxedo Mask]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Juuban Public School Theater
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
31 March 2014 - 10-23-2014
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

Most of the cast members have gone home or scattered off to different parts of the school ground; the overhead lights are on, and there's a radio on the stage playing solo classical piano. The sound is tiny and tinny and scratchy in the vastness of the room, and one absurdly tall bespectacled boy is leaning on a broom next to a pile of sawdust and dust-dust and bits of detritus, by the garbage bin.

He's got a book in hand, flipping pages with his thumb-- it's on semiprecious gems and minerals. Apparently it's breaktime from sneezing during cleanup.

He's alone, and he seems eminently comfortable with that state.

<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Ami showed up to practice on time and read her lines, but that's about it. She can't quite be counted on to do much else, at present. No heroics today, it seems; perhaps she felt bad about being so helpful last time as regards the set.

She's disappeared for the moment, letting Mamoru read alone. For a while, he does indeed get to be alone with his thoughts and his book. It doesn't last forever, though... all things, after all, must come to an end.

Heels clack against the floor after a few moments of Mamoru's aloneness -- and emerging from the shadows of the stage is none other than Sailor Mercury. A Sailor Mercury clad in black, mind -- a Sailor Mercury whose tiara terminates in the middle with a data diamond -- but Sailor Mercury nonetheless.

She regards him coolly and quietly for a moment -- but there's a certain eagerness in her expression that can't quite be hidden.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

Heels clack, and Mamoru closes his book. He looks up, and his movements slow down-- the book gets placed, with a long reach, on the edge of the stage.

So do his glasses.

Then the high school senior stands and regards Dark Mercury with something like resignation. "Sure you don't want to beat me at chess instead?" he asks into the silence.

He's perfectly still, but it's not the perfect stillness of arch confidence: it's the no-sudden-movements type. The height disparity might almost make it comical, but somehow no one's laughing-- the boy's pale, and his face is set.

<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

"You know the time for that has passed," Mercury says, coolly, eyes neatly resting on his. "Though I wonder now if there was ever a time for it at all, Mamochan~" Her voice drips with sugar there for just a moment -- but it's solely in hopes of frustrating the older boy.

A gloved hand comes up as she takes another step toward him, asking, "Are you sure you don't want to just leave? I'd hate to break those glasses.... but after how things went last time, I have to remind you that I'm serious."

'Last time'... a fight with Rei that went just poorly enough to make her worry about herself. And, for that matter -- worry about her former friends.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

"Of course I want to just leave. You could crush me without trying," Mamoru says evenly. "I don't have powers like you. Like any of you. The best I could hope for is getting away and only needing a hospital stay."

Still, still, he doesn't henshin; the glasses are safe away up on the stage, and he's here on the floor, paces away from where she stopped. He opens his hands at his sides. "I thought we were friends, at least a bit, in as much as I've ever /had/ friends -- but then Usagi-chan told me you didn't trust me. It shouldn't have been news, honestly."

His hands drop. "But if I turned and walked away, I don't think you'd let me. Am I right, Sailor Mercury?"

<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

"You're right," Ami says, coolly. "And you know what? I was right, too. It just turns out there were even fewer people I should trust than I thought." Taking a long, deep breath, she says, flatly, "It's all about you, though, isn't it? 'Oh no -- I've never had friends.' 'Oh no, the friends of people I care about worry about me.'"

The ensuing roll of Mercury's eyes is long and slow. "Come off it. Do you even listen to yourself when you think those kinds of things?" There's another step closer, now -- this one a hair more threatening, more confident. "It's insulting. But I suppose sitting alone and brooding and feeling sorry for yourself is your normal..."

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

"It's all about what this is doing to your friends," says Mamoru firmly, pulling his mental armor up first. She steps closer, he takes a step back. "I care about you. I worry about you. But I'm not one of you. What is there I could do that your friends couldn't? What is there I could say? This isn't about me at all; you're going to hurt me because it'll hurt them."

Then he gets to the point where he can't back up anymore; he hits the stage, his back to half a wall.

"I'm sorry for what could have been. I'm hopeful for what can be again. Your strength always impressed me, Mercury-- in the field and off it. Your strength -- the strength of all of you -- is only magnified when you're together. And I believe in you, and the friendship of all of you with each other--"

No space left to go, and running out of words, running out of the belief that he can say something she'll hear.

The high-schooler's henshin is an understated thing, dark colors and subdued lights, over and done with in a heartbeat.

"And I believe this is going to hurt me a lot more than it's going to hurt you."

<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

"I doubt that," comes Ami's reply. "And -- /please/, don't patronize me. My /friends/ are fine. And as for you..." She brings her hand up to her mouth, laughing into it lightly. It's not her usual quiet giggle at all -- and in this place, designed for acoustics, it resonates harshly.

"You're right." And with that, she bolts forward rather than merely stepping, aiming a harsh elbow for Tuxedo Mask's stomach. While the old Ami would've started off by spraying bubbles, by trying to gain some sort of tactical advantage, Dark Mercury just goes in.

"Do you have a tone that /isn't/ patronizing?" she adds as she moves in, hoping to throw Tuxedo Mask off balance mentally as well as physically; it's not the greatest comeback, but... it's really more about getting /herself/ into the game than anything else.

COMBAT: Ami Mizuno has used Running Elbow Smash on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: Ami Mizuno has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask narrowly dodges Ami Mizuno's Running Elbow Smash, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Ami Mizuno is Psyched! Tuxedo Mask's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

Throwing himself to the side as Ami rushes him, Tuxedo Mask's detached analytical mind's marveling at her increased speed; he's clipped in the arm, numbing it a little and, indeed, putting him slightly offbalance. His somersault up onto the stage is off form, but he does land upright and on his feet, blocking out the overhead lights as he towers from an even further height advantage-- but it's over fast, since he's backing away from her again, watching every move.

"I could be sarcastic," he allows, "or imperious, but those are easier. When I try for sincerity it always comes out patronizing, I'm not sure why. Got any pointers?"

He's not throwing an attack, he's just-- he's just working on autopilot, trying to find something to throw Ami offbalance while he grasps at whatever shreds of strength he has, in the hopes that he won't /actually/ need the hospital.

COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has used Mantle of the Earth on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask accepts Tuxedo Mask's Mantle of the Earth, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Accelerate and Withstand applied to Tuxedo Mask!

<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Pressing the offense, the shorter Ami doesn't let Tuxedo Mask get in her head; she knows what he's trying to do, and she does her best not to let it get to her. "None I'd like to share with you," she says, doing her best to stick to her advantages.

/Now/ she's ready for bubbles. Raising her hands and crossing her arms, she calls out, "Dark Sabao Spraaaaaaaaay!" Sure enough, what issues forth from around Dark Mercury is indeed a wall of bubbles... but this isn't the pure, fresh water that those who know Ami are used to.

No, this feels... oily. Sticky. It's uncomfortable -- and fatiguing besides. But then... isn't that to be expected, given the circumstances?

COMBAT: Ami Mizuno has used Dark Sabao Spray on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: Ami Mizuno has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask narrowly braces Ami Mizuno's Dark Sabao Spray, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Blind, Cripple, Stun, and Trap applied to Tuxedo Mask!

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

When Mercury lifts her arms in that pose, Tuxedo Mask knows-- thinks he knows-- what's coming; he pulls his cape up around him, ducking behind it and vanishing his hat in with him--

If it were the normal attack, that should have been enough to weather it, but this /isn't/ water. It sticks like un-lit greek fire, rooting him to the spot and soaking through the cape and making his clothes stick to him and beginning to sap his energy.

"Gross, Mizuno-san," he says in mixed disgust and appreciation. "Seriously gross. Maybe you should change its name to black-lung snot rocket--"

He can't move reliably, the stuff's dripping into his face-- but one hand's still holding that hat, and he whips it out from under the now-heavy cape, throwing it at Dark Mercury's face.

COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has used Señor del Antifaz on Ami Mizuno.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Ami Mizuno narrowly dodges Tuxedo Mask's Señor del Antifaz, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Tuxedo Mask is Psyched! Ami Mizuno's Fade ability activates! Blind and Diversion applied to Ami Mizuno!

<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

"You come up with that, and /I'm/ the disgusting one?" comes Mercury's reply, a small sneer starting to reach her face; she knows she's letting him get into her head, but she can't help it. Something about having her new strength be called 'gross' bothers her -- and lowers her guard a little for that hat.

She still hops to the side -- but it totally diverts her attention, and the hop is late enough that it's pretty taxing. Reaching up to her face, she calls forth her visor, rather than press forward. She feels pressured -- and it's times like those that that little tool is at its most important.

At the /very/ least, it gives her time to reassess her surroundings, which is exactly what she needs now.

COMBAT: Ami Mizuno has used Tactical Advisory on Ami Mizuno.
COMBAT: Ami Mizuno has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Ami Mizuno accepts Ami Mizuno's Tactical Advisory, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Ami Mizuno's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

"I'm the one who had to actually ''witness'' snot rockets in the locker room in elementary school," Tuxedo Mask says with a shudder, stumbling back a pace while Ami's regaining her bearings. He lifts a soiled white glove to his face to mop off the worst of the clinging ooze, then unclasps his cape from his shoulders and swirls it back away from him. Maybe it's the rose-scented wind that accompanies the gesture, maybe it's magic-- but it's somehow cleansing, clearing the energy-sapping ooze from him, drying it out some, leaving only the marks of a serious trip to the dry-cleaner's and the tuxedo's owner a little the worse the wear for it.

"What can make you happy? How did they fail you? Do your new friends laugh with you, eat ice cream with you, go to the arcade with you--? Do they love you? If they love you, I'm happy you found that again..."

COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has used Maskerade Rosen on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask accepts Tuxedo Mask's Maskerade Rosen, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cleanse! All of Tuxedo Mask's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Dark Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Fists clenching as Tuxedo Mask continues to stay away from her, Dark Mercury moves closer, visor on now. This line of questioning is making her a little uncomfortable -- so it has to stop. "I don't care about love!" she replies, bitterly. "I wanted a /purpose/ -- I wanted a /dream/! And they gave me that in a way no one else could!"

Her eyes narrow and she begins to advance on Mamoru again -- only this time, she isn't so gentle. Once again raising her hands, she calls out, "Dark Aqua Cutter!" Even if he's started to clean himself off, she can still keep the pressure on... if not /quite/ as well.

Blades of slick black ice surround her waist like an angry belt, and she dashes forward, letting their whirling speed do the work for her. "How /dare/ you act happy for me," she hisses, as they continue to spin around her.

COMBAT: Dark Mercury has used Dark Aqua Cutter on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: Dark Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask perfectly dodges Dark Mercury's Dark Aqua Cutter, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Dodge! Tuxedo Mask's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

Maddening. Not getting hit, he's only making her angrier. But he still believes, somewhere, that maybe words can help. Words are the most powerful things he has-- words of encouragement, of admonishment, of mockery, of comfort-- he still believes. But then, he still believes he can save Zoisite. Hope is a powerful and damning thing.

The tall, thin boy, minus hat and cape now, vaults into the air and somersaults over Mercury's head, landing on his feet on the floor behind and below her.

"You /had/ a purpose, you /had/ a dream-- you had more than one dream, Ami Mizuno! You want to be a doctor, you want to help people get well-- you want to know all that you can, to help keep the people you love safe-- you have a Princess to protect, you have a kingdom to rebuild, you have enemies to defeat-- enemies that will leave the world in ruin, with nothing but bones and ashes and darkness! You're needed, you're loved-- they can't do it without you, and they know it! How did they fail you, Ami-san? Did they not help you when you needed it?"

Then, desperate, hands clenched in fists at his sides, "Did you TELL them you needed help? What could make you drop your ideals, your dreams, your purpose? WHAT?"

COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has used GUTS GUTS GUTS on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask accepts Tuxedo Mask's GUTS GUTS GUTS, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Dark Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

"Those things..." It takes Dark Mercury a moment to formulate a response to that -- there's some truth in those words, certainly, but... "Those weren't things I chose! Those fell into my lap! I didn't choose any of that!" Her fists clench tight, and she rushes in toward Tuxedo Mask, considering her options. She could try to finish him off right now -- but it'd be a waste of energy and she knows it. He's playing it passive because he's waiting for her to overextend.

Just a little longer, she tells herself -- she needs to play along with him just a little longer, and mess with his rhythm.

"Now -- now I have people I really, truly care about -- who really care about me!" There's a hint of desperation there, even as she says it -- and once again, throws up her hands and creates a barrier of inky bubbles around herself. Her course of action seems clear, now.

COMBAT: Dark Mercury has used Dark Sabao Spray on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: Dark Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask perfectly dodges Dark Mercury's Dark Sabao Spray, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Dodge! Tuxedo Mask's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

Except that that aggravating /boy/ leaps out of the way again, his own desperation coming to the fore, now, no matter how hard he tries to keep it reasonable, calm. Civil. Amiable, even. He can't keep it up. "Wanting to be a doctor fell in your LAP?" he repeats incredulously as the viscous attack splatters exactly where he'd been standing a moment ago, some of it splashing up to cling to his shoes-- which he hurriedly kicks off.

So now he's standing in his sock feet, back up on the stage across from Ami, maybe four meters away. "That's not the kind of thing that FALLS IN YOUR LAP, Mizuno. That's the kind of thing you pour all your effort into, that you choose HARD. That's a DREAM. Protecting the Princess, keeping the Dark Kingdom from getting their hands on the Ginzoishou-- maybe that fell in your lap, but it's a clear purpose, tied to a beautiful destiny I can't even dream of-- and one that's impossible without your strength, your patience, your-- your quiet insistence that things be done /right/, that we do our very best--"

And that's when he pulls his cane out of thin air-- maybe his sleeve? Who knows! And brandishes it defensively. His other hand wings out toward Dark Mercury, and the red lightning of one of his roses crackles through the air, beelining for the Dark Soldier, petals first. "And I'm going to do my very best not to let you hurt the other girls or distract them from their duty by taking me out! One more thing to worry about isn't what they need right now!"

COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has used Cavaleiro Luar on Dark Mercury.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Dark Mercury narrowly braces Tuxedo Mask's Cavaleiro Luar, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Blind and Cripple applied to Dark Mercury!

<Pose Tracker> Dark Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Bracing herself for the incoming pain, Ami takes the rose squarely across the face; she winces a little, even though all it leaves is a tiny scratch under her eye. She's got to squint a little -- it /stings/ -- which means...

... well, she's got to do her best here, and there's only one real solution. "Yes! Not that anyone would ever listen to me about /that/," she shoots back, choosing to ignore his talk of the destiny that fell upon her. "And speaking of which... I think it's time for /you/ to stop talking."

Drawing her hands up to either side, Mercury flares out her fingers, drawing the energy of her heart out. Practically glowing, she swoops down toward Tuxedo Mask, slamming her hands into the ground. A veritable tidal wave sprays out from her in all directions as she cries out, "Crash -- /Launcher/!!" The wave threatens to sweep Tuxedo Mask away from the stage -- and maybe even out.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Dark Mercury has used Crash Launcher on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: Dark Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask narrowly braces Dark Mercury's Finisher, Crash Launcher, taking 55 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

"They're learning! You're all learning-- you were all learning together--" cries out Tuxedo Mask, openly pleading now. And all the jumping around's cost him, as did the oily and clinging attack earlier; a cane, no matter how magically it may have appeared, isn't going to block a tidal wave. So he does the best he can to weather it, arm up over his head and deep breath taken, leaning into the wave--

--but the wall of water hits him with tremendous force, an all-encompassing battering ram that sweeps him off his feet and hurls him into the empty audience; he crashes into the chairs and half falls down between them.

It's a long second before a white-washed glove comes up over the top of one, and a sick, wet-sounding coughing fit precedes the hoarsely called words--

"Tuxedo la SMO--" *cough cough* "--KING BOMBER!"

COMBAT: FINISHER! Tuxedo Mask has used Tuxedo la Smoking Bomber on Dark Mercury.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Dark Mercury narrowly dodges Tuxedo Mask's Finisher, Tuxedo la Smoking Bomber, taking 28 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Dark Mercury's Fade ability activates! Stagger, Stun, Tangle, and Trap applied to Dark Mercury!

<Pose Tracker> Dark Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Tuxedo Mask's blast of energy sure hurts Dark Mercury -- but it doesn't stop her from pushing forward, hopping above the majority of the blast and continuing her dead-on assault. There are no words left in her -- she's done talking to Mamoru, she knows better than to try. For the moment, they simply can't understand each other -- that much has become achingly apparent.

Deciding to take a page from her new playbook, she lands neatly in the pile of chairs, seemingly undeterred by its difficult terrain. She wastes no time in going on the offense, either; her leg snaps up with tremendous force, aiming a heel squarely for Mamoru's jaw in the perhaps-vain hope that it'll get him to stop talking. She follows up with a second, slightly lower kick, hoping to make her point /acutely/ clear.

COMBAT: Dark Mercury has used Standing Heavy Kick on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: Dark Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask narrowly braces Dark Mercury's Standing Heavy Kick, taking 1 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Dark Mercury has used Standing Medium Kick on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: Dark Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask fails to brace Dark Mercury's Standing Medium Kick, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

It sure gets him to stop talking; his head snaps back, nearly dislodging his mask, amd his teeth clack together. Since half of him's shielded by the chair he's keeping himself up on, the second kick gets him squarely in the chest and knocks the wind out of him, slamming him back against the seat behind him. He's making that sound people make when they're trying to catch their breath, and he's not doing a lot of thinking clearly-- only clearly enough to raise his arms up to cover his head and slide further down between the rows of chairs. He starts to curl up, body anticipating what his mind currently can't even process.

COMBAT: Dark Mercury has used Chair Kick on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: Dark Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask accepts Dark Mercury's Chair Kick, taking 10 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Dark Mercury has used Standing Heavy Kick on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: Dark Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask accepts Dark Mercury's Standing Heavy Kick, taking 10 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Dark Mercury has used Standing Medium Kick on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: Dark Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask accepts Dark Mercury's Standing Medium Kick, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Tuxedo Mask is unable to keep fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Dark Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Rather than let him off when he's trying to defend himself, Ami just keeps coming. She starts by kicking one of the other chairs in the pile at him with force; when that doesn't do /quite/ enough, she plants one leg in it, then quickly hops and gives it the /other/ leg, too, hoping to leave Mamoru as crushed physically as she hopes he -- and the rest of the team -- will be emotionally.

When she's satisfied with her handiwork, she walks away, fists still clenched. "Change -- over," she says, voice hitching as Dark Mercury evaporates, and once again in her place is perfectly normal student Ami Mizuno.

"See you at the next play practice," she says, offhandedly. For a moment, she considers taking his book with her, too... but no, she thinks -- that's too petty. It distracts from the situation itself. Best to leave him with his pain.

2014-10-09 - Breathtaking Literature

2014-10-12T20:15:47Z

Misparse:

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Breathtaking Literature'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''There's a sale on romance novels. An insanely good sale. And people seem to enjoy them - even if they're acting more tired than usual. Certainly, a deal to be aware of - and one worth taking up!'' 
''It's a Dark Kingdom plot. It's always a Dark Kingdom plot.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Usagi Tsukino|Sailor Moon]], [[Rei Hino|Sailor Mars]], [[Makoto Kino|Sailor Jupiter]], [[Minako Aino]], [[Mamoru Chiba|Tuxedo Mask]], [[Homura Akemi]], [[Madoka Kaname]], [[Kuniko Saito]], [[Nadeshiko Fujisaki]] 
GM: Glittering Crux Masque as Jadeite
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Shibuya Shopping District
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
24 March 2014 - 10-09-2014
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Glittering Crux Masque [Admin (S)] has posed.

It's been the talk of the district for days - a bookshop in Shibuya offering a special promotion. Romance novels, just one hundred yen per customer, one per customer per day. It's blatantly a gimmick meant to lure repeat business, but it seems to be working; customers, predominately female, are drawn to pick up something to relax with. There's also an upswing in hopeful male customers, many of whom wind up buying something else on special to have an excuse to hang around. Overall, business seems to be booming.

There's a few oddities standing out, though. The sheer popularity, while understandable, is a bit extreme - surely not everyone really needs to go back for a new book four days in a row, right? And many of those who purchased the books are utterly exhausted in the morning - up late reading, or something more sinister? There's also minor details - like the abrupt change in policy from a previously rather exclusive shop - but it might be enough to be worth checking out. Worst case, great deal on a book.

The hour is late - the sun having set not long ago, businesses throughout the district starting to close up. The bookshop is one of those with extended hours, and is still open for the inevitable press of customers...and yet, something's not right. From reputation, and from the last few days of Shibuya experience, there should be a line extending out the door at even this hour. Instead...the lights are on, but the shop is dreadfully quiet.

Within the store entrance, the cause is clear. Customers are piled up unconscious against the shelves - some slumped in a seated position, others flat on their faces still holding some cherished tome. Not a one of the scores of people here seems to be the least bit conscious. It's not, however, utterly silent - the sounds of conversation can be heard from the cash register area.

The bookshop's proprietor, a middle-aged woman with a dreadful pair of horn-rimmed glasses, stands silent before what would seem to be the only customer left standing - a blonde-haired man in a crisp white uniform. Those bold enough to venture into the shop at all can clearly hear what he has to say - he's far from quiet.

"Really, now. This should not have been difficult - any of your compatriots could have followed my instructions clearly, so why not you? Stay here, be patient, and make sure as many people as possible receive those books. Was that so much to ask?" Jadeite shakes his head. "You shame your Queen with such rash behaviour - and now, there's all of this to clean up."

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Madoka is a silly girl, a dreamy girl, and in the absence of love letters in her locker is always glad to lose herself in another outlet of paperback fantasy. She also lives in this neighborhood, so perhaps it's that confluence of factors that has made her such easy prey. The last few nights she's been up later and later, hardly sleeping at all, pouring herself into these books, being consumed by them instead of consuming them.

And now she needs one more. Trusted child that she is, her parents don't mind her going out for a late night book shopping spree; bundled up in a puppy dog-eared, soft cream hoodie, stripey-pink leggings and a tan skirt, she sets forth on her quest for cute literature that sometimes makes her blush.

Well, it makes her blush a lot. (The punchline is that she hasn't even selected any of the racier titles.)

She's a little wobbly on her way down the street, but giggles it off as her usual clumsiness and her unusual exhaustion. Her most recent book -- 'Love Among The Star-Cats' -- clutched to her chest, she happens to meet another girl on her way to the same store, and inevitably they strike up a conversation.

"And I loved the part at the end of Chapter Five, where Strongapuss the Magnificent turned out to be Nyanara the Brave all along. She's so brave and wonderful, protecting her friend like that..." Her floaty giggle has a slightly manic edge to it, but the stars in her eyes are real as they look over at Minako Aino. Although quite a bit shorter than her unexpected companion, she's making up the difference by trying to balance on the curb, her free hand flung out and windmilling wildly whenever she starts to lose her balance, which is essentially continuously.

As now; unable to save herself, she stumbles off the curb, then cheerfully, tiredly gets back on. "It's so cool meeting another fan like this! What's your favorite part?"

<Pose Tracker> Minako Aino [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

"When Nyanara and Tama get together, of course!" Minako exclaims, though even her exclamations are lacking in their usual energy. Minako's been tired the past few days; she's waved it off as post-exam fatigue. After all, she was always tired after all those late nights of studying! And her mother's endless nagging this time of year didn't exactly help assuage her exhaustion.

Minako claps a hand to her mouth. "I didn't spoil it for you, did I? /Did I/?"

'Love Among The Star-Cats' was the first book that Minako Aino had bought this week. Today marked day three of her venture to the store. Minako had a hard time passing up a good deal -- and this really was one!

Minako Aino had never been given a generous allowance. In fact, she had spent the whole week following exams trying to convince her mom to give her a raise. But the second Minako got her exam scores back, all her dreams of a fatter pocketbook quickly fell to the wayside.

Normally, Minako was not much of a reader. But she did have two weaknesses: pop idol magazines and pulp romance novels with really ~*~SCANDALOUS~*~ love scenes. And fortunately, this particular bookshop had them in spades -- and at 100 yen a pop!

This sale was almost too good to be true!

<Pose Tracker> Yukimi Amane [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Yukimi Amane, being a bit of a dope who's behind on the times, didn't hear about this sale until just today, after parting ways with Lera and Ikuto at the Starbooks. How could this be?! Romance novels for just a hundred yen! Even if it's only one per customer per day, it's already been going on for several days! All the good books must already be sold out...!

Still, Yukimi, who is a sucker for romance and daydreams, has to rush over to see if she can't find something good for herself. She'd completely expected an enormous line, so when she approaches the shop, at first she thinks she hasn't reached it yet and so passes by it completely. She stops after half a block, looking puzzled, and double-checks the address on the flyer she found. ...She's already passed it, so...

She turns around, looking confused. There's a store with the lights still on... She double-checks the times. It should still be open--maybe it's just not crowded because it's gotten so late? Approaching it again, she finds the names match, and looks inside.

She gasps loudly, claps her hand over her mouth, and ducks down into a crouch and crab-walks backwards out of immediate sight. She hardly needs her partner's warning to tell that something sinister is going on. Not with all those people collapsed inside. Being right there, it's not hard to overhear the loud conversation just within, and Yukimi feels her face redden.

/It's some kind of evil plot,/ she realizes, heart pounding. /That voice sounds familiar.../

(I recognize it as well. Let us withdraw for the moment and return transformed.)

/Okay!/ Yukimi turns around and, not watching where she's going, starts to dash off for a dark spot or alleyway where she can transform unseen. She might well rush right past Madoka and Minako, or perhaps someone else entirely, without even realizing it.

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Kuniko Saito has heard about this HOT DEAL on HOT READS but has not yet had the opportunity to investigate. Now, though, she's made her way up, wearing her cook's whites still, her black nylon valise slung over one shoulder like a briefcase.

Approaching the store, she sees -- no line.

Dang, she thinks, hissing in a breath through clenched teeth. Did they run out...?!

She starts running forwards, towards the shop - and pauses when Yukimi passes near her, which is strange enough to make her skid to a stop. But Yukimi's gone by the time she's turned her head to look.

"Huh?" she says, before her attention turns towards that shop. Silent...

Kuniko steps forwards, several paces, and pauses with a wide-eyed gasp as she sees people sprawled out. She can hear a chiding voice. Sidling to the side, she ducks behind a garbage can, back pressing to a wall.

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"We're late, we're late, augh how is it we're late?!"

Here is the story of how Usagi Tsukino, Makoto Kino, and Rei Hino are late for this most wonderful sale.

DAY 1: "What, no! We have plenty of time! Come on, Rei-chan, are you afraid I'll beat you this time and become the GOD DRIVER?"

DAY 2: "I feel like we were going to do something today."

DAY 3: "Aaaa Mako-chan teach us how to make lunch like that, we have all evening!"

DAYS AFTERWARD: It gets pretty ridiculous.

TODAY: "No, I'm sure it's this bus, see?"

It wasn't.

Usagi dashes down the sidewalk, arms flailing in an entirely counterproductive way (she doesn't account for wind resistance in her day to day life) as she tries to lead her friends to love and, why not, maybe there will be some justice.

But there's no line. Just a few scattered people. Usagi freezes near the entrance, stunned. "Are we... too late?" She slowly turns to look over her shoulder at the other two girls, her shocked expression slowly gaining a smile. "Or are we ''super lucky somehow and we shouldn't question it?''"

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

While Usagi's looking over her shoulder, Mamoru -- in glasses and a grandpa cardigan because somehow he's rocking hipster like he's pretending to be one -- comes around the corner from the other direction. He glances up and down the street. He looks at the girls. "Half an hour ago," he says slowly, "it looked like the fake sale at Osa-P, here."

He reaches up to adjust his glasses, then looks at the door. Then up the street further, where familiar pink and familiar blonde enthuse, he squints; he takes his glasses off and pockets them, all his movements reserved, all serious. "I'm questioning it. But then, I wasn't here for the romance novels."

This last, he says a little too quickly, expression going kind of arch. Moving over to the door himself -- delicately manuevering around Usagi -- Mamoru peers inside, past the shelves. "Oh, damn. Everyone's on the floor."

COMBAT: Mamoru Chiba transforms into Tuxedo Mask!

<Pose Tracker> Homura Akemi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

The winner is he who has one more round in his magazine.

Homura Akemi checks the gunmetal magazine belonging to her Howa Type 89 assault rifle for the third time. Madoka, Minako, and the others were not the only ones whom were up late the past few nights reading. The difference was that Homura was reading books of a different sort, namely those written by Erwin Rommel. His works read pretty easily for the dark-haired teenager. In fact, it was not long before she had read everything that he had ever written. But even the best laid plans break apart when contact is made with the enemy, again his words that Homura had memorized. Another storm was coming and while Homura did not know which was the wind was blowing; she was loathe to be caught unprepared for this one. Nodding her head in approval, she slides the magazine into the belly of the assault rifle and places the weapon among its brothers and sisters on the weapon rack. Her preparations for tonight were complete.

Inside a nearby alleyway (that may or may not be the same one that Yukimi chose), Homura drops from the sky and into a low crouch, her clothes signifying that she was already transformed. She stands up slowly and casually tosses back her hair as she strides forward out from the mouth of the alleyway. Having exited the alley, Homura peers around for where she should begin her patrol. Her entire body stiffens at the sight of a certain cream hoodie and tan skirt wearing girl. Was this coincidence that Madoka Kaname would be out and about on this specific night that Homura already knew was dangerous? No. Homura knew better than to believe in such baldurdash. Keeping as much of a low profile as she can muster, Homura decides to shadow Madoka and Minako for the time being. It was always better to be safe than sorry when Madoka Kaname was involved.

COMBAT: Homura Akemi transforms into Puella Magi Homura!

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Rei was sick to death of this sale and she hasn't even been to the bookstore yet. It's been the talk of the school, and her friends have all been chatting up a storm about it. That in itself is fine..but her grandfather caught wind of it by the second day. Eager to circumvent the one per customer per day rule but lacking in disguises or clones, he's been pestering her to go get something for him too, to double his haul. After shunning his pleas she finally relented, her heart melting to his plaintive wails. Or maybe it was the money he finally offered for three non-sale books of her own choosing. That might also have had something to do with it.

Her grandpa had given her a title to look for, "Day of the Axolotl," after she put her foot down about his first choice, "Doki Doki Unladylike Disco Panic Story." She has no idea what an axolotl is, but if it has a lewd cover then he can forget about it.

Usagi caught wind of her plan to visit the bookstore, /of course./ With gritted teeth, a bulging vein in her forehead, and perhaps a little too much defensiveness too quickly, she insisted that she wasn't going for her own sake, she wouldn't be caught dead reading such stories! Fortunately Makoto's presence gave Usagi somebody to gush over them with, and hopefully that would distract her from teasing a bit..

Her eyebrows raise when they arrive, especially after hearing so many stories about rambunctuous crowds, even in the later hours. Furrowing her brows and turning to Usagi with a hand on her hip, she scowls slightly. "Did it end yesterday without you noticing?" She turns back to the store. "No..grandpa wouldn't have made a mistake like that."

When Mamoru speaks, she glances over her shoulder, registering him before returning her gaze forward, paying him little mind..but as he nears the window, his last comment catches her attention. She whirls towards him in surprise. "What did you say?" Without waiting for an answer, she runs in, throwing the door open to see for herself.

<Pose Tracker> Nadeshiko Fujisaki [Ohtori Academy (5)] has posed.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki is, for her own reasons, not especially a consumer of such romances as these. She spends much too much of her time on baking and dancing and shopping for the rest of the Guardians and homework and helping other children with /their/ homework and (etc) (this is a very long list we're elliding here). Still, occasionally, she finds time in her busy schedule to fret about Baaya, the family housekeeper and caretaker. Baaya, although herself an exceptionally busy woman, /does/ indulge in the occasional romance now and again, and...

And it's been spreading. Nadeshiko's mother isn't half the flawlessly impenetrable iron woman she's taken as by those who don't know her well, but Nadeshiko's never seen her eat three books in as many days, gushing about them openly with Baaya. And she's certainly never seen that happen simultaneous with similar scenes around Ohtori, with teachers complaining of a scourge of exhausted students, and students complaining of a scourge of inattentive teachers. It is the duty of a Guardian to pay attention to these kinds of things!

Which is why, when Baaya surfaced into Nadeshiko's room to ask her to go to the store for her, Nadeshiko set aside her homework and agreed with a smile. Maybe she should go see about these herself.

"They must be very good books!" Temari chimes beside her, flitting from side to side.

"I don't read that much," Nadeshiko admits with an unsteady smile. "I can't say I've read any books good enough to make me lose /this/ much sleep...But I don't know what else it could be."

"I guess we'll find out!" her fairy friend chimes, as Nadeshiko rounds the corner to discover--

Well, saying there's no line might be mistaken, at this point, since there's like 15 high schoolers here, in various stages of alarm. "Hello?" she wonders aloud, waving politely. No Guardian cloak today; late enough she's had time to change, for once. She's sporting her ankle-length skirt and powder-blue vest, instead. "...I'd heard this store would be packed..." she murmurs, concerned.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Makoto is yawning as she trails down the sidewalk in Usagi's wake, one hand raised to cover her mouth while the other arm stretches up behind her head. Mako's been ''wanting'' to check out this bookstore for days, ever since she first heard about the promotion - romance and bargain shopping are, after all, two of her favorite things - but Usagi has a way of wreaking havoc on plans, and Makoto's fatigue today has, sadly, nothing to do with staying up late immersed in a love story.

Being a soldier of love and justice is rough on the sleep schedule.

"...huh?" is Makoto's intelligent response when Usagi first comes to a stop and the three of them take in the distinct absence of a sale crowd. "That's weird..." Brows drawing together in confusion, she glances toward Rei, then back to the store. "No, it was definitely supposed to still be going today. I checked."

On another day, she might've teased Mamoru about his presence here... but she doesn't get the chance before he gets that look inside and his ominous statement squelches flat any hopes of a pleasant evening of shopping and romance novels. As Rei charges toward the door and throws it open, Makoto turns a serious look toward Usagi and begins to reach for the familiar shape of her Jupiter pen. "I think we'd better transform, Usagi-chan," she says in a low murmur

<Pose Tracker> Glittering Crux Masque [Admin (S)] has posed.

Whether due to some stray breeze, the reverberations of footsteps, or simple harsh gravity, one of the displayed piles of books gives way to its own instability and topples. The clatter the tomes make as they hit the ground marks the entrance of several would-be customers at once; the conversation between the storekeeper and the blonde man is, as such, interrupted.

The former says nothing immediately. She looks to the new patrons, then to the collapsed civilians, and then to the blonde man. Whatever her impulse - she will not act without his order. For his part, the uniformed Heavenly King raises one hand to pinch his nose.

"Look at this. More witnesses, and even more to deal with because you could not hold your patience." He shakes his head, looking at those who have entered with disdain. "Well, well. You've stumbled across my subordinate's mess. Do not trouble yourselves with trying to understand; very soon, none of this will be your concern."

Looking over those who have barged in with impassive disdain, he turns back to the woman. "Tidy this up, Manutia, before the entire prefecture stumbles across your mess. The conscious ones first, then dispose of the rest."

She convulses. The horn-rimmed glasses shine with an unearthly light, seeming to twist and shift until they're more akin to a horned mask - and the light of that transformation itself masking another. The prim and proper storekeeper is no more; in her place, a gaunt gangly figure, grey and leathery, with long arms ending in vicious-looking claws. "TIAAAAA!"

Every book in the shop shines at once - a feeling of fatigue falling over the area. Worse, but still manageable, for those actually carrying books bought here. The youma steps slowly over the counter with horribly long legs, hunched over as it looks over the room. How many witnesses are left to remove?...

The jingle of a bell forces a decision. In the blink of an eye, it's gone from the counter, looming over the recently opened door. A pink-haired girl and a blonde-haired one, both previous customers, both having just entered, are faced with a monstrous creature. It grins beneath its horned mask, and holds out open green-tinged claws. First, drain their life energy, then clean up the rest.

COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has fully healed himself. He is now ready to take on 8 opponents!
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque transforms into Youma Form Manutia!

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

"Wow, /really?!?/"

Many people when spoiled on the ending of their new most favorite novel ever would be angry or aghast or resentful. Madoka, however, is enthusiastic, Minako's joy infectious, taken into her and magnified threefold. "Oh my gosh, that's so romantic..." It's a good thing Sayaka isn't here, because she would be teased remorselessly for her aspirations. Except they aren't, not really. This kind of impossible romance is her favorite kind, because she's not at all interested in the real thing. Ask her if there are any cute boys in her life who she's got a crush on, and she'll say no with total honesty. The people who make her blush in /real life/ are totally different from the fantasy boyfriends of books like these.

"It's like that song I heard on youtube recently..."

Normally she wouldn't be so bold, but she's /extra/ loopy right now. When Madoka's energy gutters to dangerously low levels, she has something of a last gasp of frenetic eagerness, a sort of love of the life she's losing, before it's gone forever. Before her light goes out.

She has no idea Homura is nearby, watching, as she clutches her free hand to her chest and warbles in a breathy voice trained only by the Ohtori children's choir back when she was a little girl...

"The warm feeling is c'est la vie / to confine myself to being me! C'est la vie, I want to keep loving you!"

She flips a pink twintail in a precise imitation of a youtube video she's watched about ten billion times, then giggles sleepily. "Have you seen that channel, it's got the same name as the song! 'C'est la vie', it's, um, French or something... I love it so much, everything on it is just the cutest..."

Blithely they have arrived at the store and walked in. Madoka's in a helpless daze; Homura may have been being sneaky but she's essentially oblivious to anything that isn't Minako Aino or two inches in front of her nose.

Like enormous green-tinged claws. She lets out a panicked shriek, trying to grab Minako's shoulder and backpedal them both out of the way, but her momentum is supernaturally leeched away before it can even begin, and she slumps towards the ground. The light is quickly leaving her eyes, replaced by only dullness.

<Pose Tracker> Minako Aino [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

"Really!"

Minako nods her head with enthusiasm, though she feels a sudden wave of dizziness roll over her. Maybe she should sit down? There's a park bench right over there, isn't there? But the store's right around the corner. She should be able to make it there, right? All she needs to do is walk it off!

Right?! Besides, it's nice to talk about the admittedly few books she liked with somebody! Shun-kun might be a voracious reader, but he didn't seem like the type who'd enjoy gossiping about 'Love Among The Star-Cats'. Or any romance novel, for that matter!

How disappointing...!

But one thing that isn't disappointing is the change of topic! Minako's crazy about music, and she's all ready to talk about the latest jams with her newfound pink-haired friend.

Except Madoka's not there to discuss the new Arashi or KAT-TUN single.

She's talking about Minako Aino's very own YouTube channel.

"You know it?!" Minako's channel only has 28 subscribers -- or at least it did, last she checked this morning! She can hardly believe that she's met someone in the flesh who's actually seen it. C'est La Vie.

"That's--" Minako fights, and fails to supress a yawn. She tries again: "That's my YouTube... channel."

Normally, Minako would be far more excited. But somehow, today, it feels like the energy is just being sapped right out of her.

Minako follows in after Madoka, only vaguely aware of her surroundings. Somehow, she can't seem to focus. And maybe that's why she doesn't seem to take note of anything -- or anyone nearby, familiar or no.

And that's why Minako is slow to react when a green claw reaches out towards her. She takes a step backwards, nearly stumbling over Madoka in the process. She's on the verge of reaching for her transformation pen, tucked into her school uniform pocket when slowly, the last of her energy is drained from her body.

Minako crumples to the floor.

<Pose Tracker> Homura Akemi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

The enemy attacks. Madoka falls, drained. And Homura's plan summarily implodes on itself. SNAFU.

Realizing this, Homura Akemi's facial expression becomes an unswerving straight line. It was now time to improvise.

.Out from the 'shield' on her arm, Homura retrieves one of the Japanese assault rifles she had prepped from earlier. She nestles the bulky rifle under one arm as she leaps in and out of time itself. The visible act of this is Homura leap-frogging increasingly closer to the pink-haired girl in the tan skirt at an unnatural speed. There was no time to waste and Homura will do her best to push through the unnatural wave of fatigue that enters the area thanks to the Youma. Afterall, no tiredness in the world would prevent Homura Akemi from trying to dash to her beloved friend's side.

Should the raven-haired gunslinger not be interrupted, she will drop down in front of where Madoka slumped over. Unfortunately, Homura will leave Minako's defense to someone else. Madoka Kaname and her safety was the priority here. Hommando now levels a cold gaze towards the clawed Youma. There was only one sure way for Madoka to get her energy back. She would have to kill this Youma.

The Howa assault rifle gets charged with a simple hand movement and Homura quickly points the weapon at the horned mask wearing monster. Crack-Crack. Homura goes for a headshot.

COMBAT: Homura Akemi has used Bullet Time on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Homura Akemi has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Rei's heart falls. Mamoru was right, the bookstore is strewn with bodies. How he could have been so blase about it eludes her..but now's not the time for that at all. Crouching next to the nearest person, a young teenage girl in earmuffs, she feels for a pulse with two fingers against the victim's neck. It's weak..but it's there. She isn't dead, and hopefully the others aren't either.

There's a muted crash across the store, closer to the main entrance than the side door that Rei had used. Standing up on her tiptoes to peer over the shelf, she can make out a few girls, including../the Princess./ Her lungs fill with water. Another sound, a voice this time..her vision tracks to its source..a slim man with a crown of golden hair, next to an older woman. His outfit is unmistakable, and Rei crouches down in swift alarm, the water in her lungs turning to ice. /Jadeite../

Things were starting bad and getting worse very quickly. Rei doesn't see the woman next to Jadeite transform, but she knows the drill by now, and hears her inhuman shriek. Her eyes are getting strangely heavy, a dull ache throbbing in her temples, energy trickling out and away from her..as the books begin to glow, she gets a suspicion of where her strength is going. Clutching her transformation pen, hidden from view by the shelf, she mutters the words quietly, hoping to catch them by surprise despite the flashiness of her metamorphosis.

The strange field of exhaustion and ennui doesn't affect her so badly now, but it can't be discounted entirely. Standing up with back to the books, knees bent to ensure that she can't be seen over the rows, she very slowly peers around the side..and sees the youma charge straight for Minako and her pink-haired companion. Blanching, she dashes forward, tripping over an unconscious woman in scrubs in her haste before climbing back to her feet.

"Leave them alone, beast! Or in the name of Mars, I will condemn you!" Her voice is panicked, giving the lie to her bluster. She's afraid..and the sight of both girls crumpling to the ground like juiced fruits doesn't help.

COMBAT: Rei Hino transforms into Sailor Mars!
COMBAT: Sailor Mars has used In The Name Of Mars on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Sailor Mars has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito transforms into Poissonnier Kuniko!

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Kuniko stares at the passing hip bone of Mamoru Chiba. Others are moving in, and Kuniko is hearing words she doesn't like. Words like 'dispose' and 'tidy up' and 'mess'. She sidles into the nearby alleyway.

There, her case is opened, and the blue cloth of an apron is drawn out. Tied on... Light glitters up into her arms, through her body, a thrill through darkness and the night.

Adjusting her fisherman's cap, Kuniko kicks down the back door. (Down is an exaggerated term - she actually jimmies the latch open, pulling it aside and marching into the back room.)

The passage past rock-bottom remainders keeps the young chef from seeing them immediately, but the glowing deathly light makes her stagger. Grinding her teeth, she presses forwards, exhaling as she approaches the sales floor.

"I heard all of it, you maniacs! You're going to jail -" Kuniko pauses when she sees that the Youma has revealed its true shape, her eyes going wide, momentarily taken aback. She had suspected, perhaps, some magical crime - books have their own aromas, after all, and must have their own form of Terroir - but this is something different. Something worse.

"I see what's going on here," she says then. "Some kind of a creature... the law isn't equipped to handle crimes like what you've done, and the Magic Association isn't in the business of policing the streets. And your victims can't defend yourself. So the one to judge you's gonna have to be..."

As Mars introduces herself, Kuniko adjusts her cap. "Me."

Her other hand comes up, fast and flashy. Purple objects fly out of it, tumbling through the air - with a sweetly acidic scent to them. Then, the evoked terroir within erupts - alkaline vegetable wrapping and lemon-juice-laden interiors both reaching heights of their mutual receptivity. They bust, and burst, sending fragrant eruptions of flavor around the youma-- and perhaps its neighbor as well.

COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has used Yalanci Dolma on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque fails to dodge Homura Akemi's Bullet Time, taking 34 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque fails to dodge Sailor Mars's In The Name Of Mars, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sailor Mars is Psyched!
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque narrowly dodges Kuniko Saito's Yalanci Dolma, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Glittering Crux Masque's Fade ability activates! Glittering Crux Masque's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"G-guh, Mamoru-san?!" Usagi chokes, twirling around to face him. She glances over her shoulders at first Rei and then Makoto, and in all this commotion she begins to notice: Hey, these are familiar faces! The blonde girl opens her mouth to begin replying or saying hello or asking questions but there's a lot of stuff happening at once and her attention management skills aren't that great--

--oh hey is that Minako and Madoka--

It's about when the monster arrives that Usagi realizes Makoto was saying they should transform. Usagi, face somehow paler, backpedals while clutching frantically at her brooch. She feels like she's falling backward, which isn't unusual but she could also swear that she's not actually losing her balance. This--sinking feeling--spreading through her body--

Bullets. Minako, the princess, in danger. Madoka, her ''friend,'' in danger. This is becoming common for both of them. The surge of panic at this thought helps Usagi stay awake.

Stumbling away in the commotion, the blonde girl somehow manages to flee the scene around a corner. Surely, a civilian like her will forget all this in moments!

Besides, her retreat is being covered by SAILOR MOON.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

Bursting in through a back door, the twintailed warrior gestures accusingly into the shop!

"I was really looking forward to trying to read romance novels! I'm normally a huge fan of romance manga instead, and I was extremely proud of myself for wanting to try something new! Instead, you're confirming my prejudice that books put you to sleep! I won't forgive anyone who attempts to trick young women into not giving reading a chance!"

She spins with grace and poise, hair twirling around her as she strikes a fierce pose.

"I'm the sailor-suited pretty soldier of love and justice, Sailor Moon! And, in the name of the moon, I will punish you!"

COMBAT: Usagi Tsukino transforms into Sailor Moon!
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used In The Name Of The Moon on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque narrowly braces Sailor Moon's In The Name Of The Moon, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon is Psyched! Diversion and Trap applied to Glittering Crux Masque!

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Glancing over his shoulder at Makoto and Usagi and giving them a quick, firm, wide-eyed nod, Mamoru completely misses Madoka and Minako entering while Rei's jamming her way in the door-- which is why when he turns back around, he half-swallows a yelp. "Shimatta!" he bites off. "I've got Aino-san, you three!" he yells, diving into the cloud of fatigue; he disappears into the sudden confusion and it's a tall black swirl of red-lined cape and white mask and gloves that arrives on the scene, ignoring the danger--

(what else can he do?)

''the Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom''

(all doubts are cast aside in favor of logic; if not him, the fighters will lose time not fighting)

--and landing noiselessly next to the crumpled form of Minako Aino. The exhaustion and ennui don't pull at him so badly like this; he can make it outside with her. He can. He knows he can. Expression faintly grim, he swiftly crouches and gathers the long-haired blonde girl, then moves them both the hell out of the way of the influx of magical girls until he can get past them out the door.

It doesn't take long.

Tuxedo Mask spares the quickest of glances in Sailor Moon's direction as he carries Minako out, half-wrapped in his cape; if he manages to catch her gaze, she'll see unquestioning trust and pride, all for her.

Then he's gone with the Princess in his arms.

<Pose Tracker> Nadeshiko Fujisaki [Ohtori Academy (5)] has posed.

Nadeshiko's hand slowly falls, and her eyes tick up to Temari. The little fairy nods and floats away from Nadeshiko's side to take a look in through the windows, and...

"Nadeshiko!" the fairy calls at her; full volume, yet inaudible just the same to most. "It's a monster!"

That'd be when the shriek hits, and Nadeshiko bites out a low, quiet displeasure, before she composes herself. People are scattering, some are even /collapsing/, and Nadeshiko glances in Temari's direction, shouting "Temari!" and moving to skip a short ways away. Her transformation isn't so majestic as Sailor Moon's, but... "Chara Change!"

The little fairy whips up to whirl ephemeral cherry blossoms about her shoulders, and chime a solemn, "Chin! Ton! Shan!"

What actually happens visually is that Nadeshiko's hair ornament changes to a bundle of cherry blossoms, and a naginata appears in her hands in a flash of pink light. She spins it around her fingertips with an expert's grace, takes a long, slow, composed breath. OK. Monster threatening a bunch of people. Amu-chan nowhere to be seen, but there's a lot of others here fighting. This...should be fine. Right.

So she splits the quiet by storming into view - she can't pass the door with a /monster/ right there, so she takes up stance outside it. She drops straight from moving to a low-set weapon stance, eyes flashing with intent. She...doesn't have a cool catch phrase. So she does what she does best: Improvisation. "Back off and go home! Don't think we won't hurt you if you don't! Doing this to innocent peoples' hearts isn't something I'll forgive!"

COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki transforms into Chara Change!
COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki has used Polite Invitation To Depart on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque narrowly dodges Nadeshiko Fujisaki's Polite Invitation To Depart, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Glittering Crux Masque's Fade ability activates! Glittering Crux Masque's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has adjusted his boss levels. He is now ready to take on 6 opponents!

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Funny thing about Sailor Soldiers - where one goes, chances are good you'll find two, and where there are two, you're more than likely to find three. Barely a moment after Tuxedo Mask carries the collapsed Minako out through the door to safety and disappears from view, Sailor Jupiter takes his place, planting herself firmly in the open entryway as though to ensure that no servant of evil can pursue. "We've got things here, Tuxedo Kamen-san - get her to safety!"

Even here at the fringe of the effect she can feel the energy drain tugging at her, pulling at the fatigue that her lack of sleep has left her with, but she stubbornly ignores it for now - there's work to be done. Jupiter's green eyes sweep quickly over the scene within the bookstore, taking in the situation, noting the other magical girls who've already joined the fight. A brief nod of recognition to Kuniko, and then the Senshi of Courage turns her full attention back to the enemy, backing up Sailor Moon's declaration with a fierce glare.

"Preying on people who just want a little romance in their lives is unforgivable!" Even as her voice rings out through the shop, Sailor Jupiter is already raising her hands over her head, calling a wind that sweeps in through the open doorway behind her and fills the room with a fresh scent of blooming springtime flowers. "In the name of Jupiter, we'll beat you down!"

Roses bloom from nowhere in her hands, scattering a flood of petals into the wind that now bears down on the youma in a blizzard of color and fragrance.

COMBAT: Makoto Kino transforms into Sailor Jupiter!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has used Flower Hurricane on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque narrowly braces Sailor Jupiter's Flower Hurricane, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Stun and Trap applied to Glittering Crux Masque!

<Pose Tracker> Glittering Crux Masque [Admin (S)] has posed.

The first indication the youma gets that its targets are not all helpless civilians is Homura's determined gunfire. Bullets crack through the air, and the force sends the youma flying back from the doorway. It's quick to stand once more, but there's cracks in the mask. Condemnations from Sailors Mars and Moon cause it to whip its head around - surprise and caution visible on its monstrous face. It leaps back as Kuniko's Dolma detonate in a cascade around it, but is swiftly caught in the storm of petals. It's looking around frantically, and glances at the door-framed Nadeshiko with a frown. It's outnumbered, and it knows it - escape routes are cut off, and it seems to be gauging which exit is the most easily cleared.

One of the fallen pair is being guarded; the other, carried away by Tuxedo Mask. Jadeite watches that doorway for a long moment, considering what that might signify...but there are more important matters. The scheme was meant to be subtle, and there had been no accounting for the possibility of the Senshi and their ilk interfering. Still, perhaps he can salvage this minor disaster.

"Well, now. It seems this plan has been uncovered. Such a shame - it might not have been as straightforward as posing as a temple attendant, but the Dark Kingdom has enjoyed this bounty all the same. Still, you choose to interfere, as you always do." He scowls at the lot - how dare they interrupy? Enough is enough - he holds up one hand, and an eldritch light shines there. "Perhaps tonight that will end. Manutia - I grant you a chance to redeem yourself. Take this power, and slay all those who oppose you."

From caution and terror to bold glory in an instant - empowered by Jadeite's strength, Manutia lets out a warcry. "TIAAAA!" It moves swiftly - darting about the room faster than before, claws flashing out to tear at the bookshelves without rhyme or reason. A flurry of torn pages masks its passage - but it's no longer dreaming of escape. Only pain.

COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Vicious Critique on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Vulgar Vanity on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Vicious Critique on Nadeshiko Fujisaki.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Royal Marauder on Homura Akemi.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Vicious Critique on Sailor Mars.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Royal Marauder on Kuniko Saito.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito narrowly counters Glittering Crux Masque's Royal Marauder, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Kuniko Saito's Reverse ability activates! Diversion applied to Kuniko Saito!
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito's counterattack, Boning Knife, partially gets through, doing 16 Fatigue damage to Glittering Crux Masque! Critical Counterhit!
COMBAT: Homura Akemi narrowly dodges Glittering Crux Masque's Royal Marauder, taking 22 Fatigue damage! Homura Akemi's Fade ability activates! Homura Akemi's Flash ability activates! Diversion applied to Homura Akemi!
COMBAT: Sailor Mars narrowly dodges Glittering Crux Masque's Vicious Critique, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Sailor Mars's Fade ability activates! Sailor Mars's Flash ability activates! Trap applied to Sailor Mars!
COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki fails to dodge Glittering Crux Masque's Vicious Critique, taking 23 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Sailor Moon narrowly braces Glittering Crux Masque's Vicious Critique, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon's Parry ability activates! Trap applied to Sailor Moon!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter narrowly counters Glittering Crux Masque's Vulgar Vanity, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Bind Break! All of Glittering Crux Masque's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter's counterattack, Supreme Suplex, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Glittering Crux Masque!

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

New Friend C'est La Vie Youtube Creator -- they never did exchange names -- is whisked away. And other magical girls are announcing themselves; Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and some other voices that do not name themselves for the convenience of her fading comprehensions.

She's too weak to do more than allow the shadow of a relieved smile to bloom in the corners of her mouth, the smile that would blossom with joy and excitement upon seeing any of her friends or their friends, with awe and respect upon seeing any of these brave young women in action, and to hide the worry in her heart that she feels every time they put their lives on the lines for everyone else.

All she can do is weakly reach out, with the last of her strength, to grip the back of Homura's heel. The smoothness of her boot barely yields to the tiny pressure of her touch. "Sorry, Homura-chan," she exhales, the whisper of the wind between her teeth. There's an enormous amount of guilt in those two syllables.

This is all her fault. It has to be. It always is.

And now Homura-chan is saving her again, and she doesn't even have the energy to cry.

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

The arrival of the Sailor Senshi and Nadeshiko - as well as that girl with the firearms - is obscurely pleasing to Kuniko. Cool. This should be easier then! 'Easier', she thinks, even as that blonde man speaks.

Kuniko points a thin-bladed knife at him. "Yeah? Your hairstyle's forcing ME to -" She falters, seeing that shine. Her snapback fades, and then the youma moves. Kuniko raises her hands in self-defense -

SHING!

The boning knife, a present from Gordon - Chef - a magical rabbit, a master of cuisine, and her patron in this life of hers - glitters. Kuniko is forced back against a bookshelf, but her blade, honed sharp and kept with love, makes its mark.

Breathing heavily, Kuniko doesn't speak in reply. The knife is slid back into the invisible world of Mise-en-place. Kuniko hunches over-- and a familiar, fragrant smell wafts out from around her. No perfume, this, but a welcome scent of fresh-ground coffee.

"Sailors! Have this - it's a navy special espresso!" Kuniko declares, before spinning the three saucers and their three little cups towards the three sailor-suited champions of three justice -- but that, perhaps, is less than three's proper due, to abuse it in such a way.

The coffee itself is revivifying, fresh and poignant, with a creamy head and - is that a touch of salt in it?

Kuniko may not fully comprehend the nature of their sobriquet.

COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has used Espresso Service on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has used Espresso Service on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has used Espresso Service on Sailor Mars.
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon accepts Kuniko Saito's Espresso Service, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon is Cheered!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter accepts Kuniko Saito's Espresso Service, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sailor Jupiter is Cheered!
COMBAT: Sailor Mars accepts Kuniko Saito's Espresso Service, taking 0 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Homura Akemi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Several people burst through the back doors of the bookstore. Their sudden appearances cause Homura to swivel her assault rifle in their direction. But thankfully, she recognizes Sailor Moon and Kuniko easily enough. Their next actions alone help dissuade any notion that they might be hostiles. Out of the corner of her eye, Homura notices that Minako is grabbed and spirited away by Tuxedo Mask. Good. In times past, Homura herself may have been right alongside Minako and Madoka as they joyously strolled to the bookstore. But those were happier times and this was now. With now being the time where Homura Akemi stands with a military assault rifle in her hands and her long black hair flowing down her back. A time where she has the strength to protect the person dearest to her heart. She will not...she must notlet any harm fall upon Madoka...at all costs.

More allies arrive and Homura realizes that they now have the upper hand in this battle. But this advantage is soon wiped away when the Youma is powered up by Jadeite. This was going to be a tough fight afterall. Madoka's plea and her grabbing of her heel causes Homura Akemi to look away from her target and down at Madoka. The youma takes advantage of this by choosing this precise moment to slash at Homura. The attack was much faster than Homura had anticipated and the black-haired girl must act now purely on instinct. She drops down and embraces what she can of the crumpled Madoka for a last minute time stop that allows the two of them to barely excape getting torn in two by the powered up creature. The only thing remaining in that spot is the girl's assault rifle which rattles against the ground noisily. That was far too close. Homura begrudgingly lets go of Madoka now that they are safely away from that attack. "Madoka, I'll always protect you." She says in a voice barely above a whisper.

There are so many things more that Homura wants to say, but so little time to say them in. Right now, the priority would be to put this creature down as quick as possible which would restore some of Madoka's lost energy. Eveything else was all secondary concerns to Homura Akemi.

"Destroy this creature and everyone gets their energy back," reports Homura bruquely as she reaches into her 'shield' once more to pull out a small tube. She preps the flashbang grenade by removing the safety and pulling the pin. "And cover your eyes." She goes on to instruct to her allies before tossing the grenade underhand at the Youma. With it wearing a mask of sorts, this might be just enough to thoroughly disorient the creature even further. And the more this creature was kept out of whack, the higher chance that Madoka Kaname could be kept safe and out of Kyubey's grasp.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mars [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Lights upon lights upon lights..glowing books and shining energies flying to and fro, arcane assaults and magical modifications and pretty prestidigitations..and in all the sound and the fury, Sailor Mars' spirits lift as she catches up to the circumstances, and feels the charge of battle. It felt good to declare herself, and it even seemed to distract the youma somewhat..both girls are whisked away, pink by black, and Minako by-

/Tuxedo Mask../

A troubled look flits across her face as she glances to Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter. Neither seems worried..and for all his mysteriousness, he's proved an ally before. There is good reason to trust him. Rei /does/ trust him, as much as she can for as little as she knows of him. And if this were anybody else, even one of the other Senshi, she wouldn't have given it a second thought.

But this is the /princess../ and protecting her is their highest duty, above even protecting the innocent and vanquishing evil. Her throat tight, she thinks, her mind bouncing around like dice in a shaking jar. Casting her thoughts out, she can feel Phobos, feel Deimos, outside of the building. She can't send words to them, but she /can/ send /impressions./ Her shoulders drop a little, her stresses very slightly eased as she senses her companions taking flight, following the unconscious princess from high in the sky, black feathers concealed against the night. If anything bad happens, then one of them will stick with Minako, and one will return to her.

Returning her attention to the situation at hand, Rei's eyes goggle as a blaze of light flashes next to her head, perilously close..jumping aside, she couldn't tell what had hit her, but she could feel it. Rubbing her temple, she almost doesn't notice that a coffee cup and saucer fly towards her head. Plucking the cup out of the air with a hand, she spins on her heel, barely catching the saucer on her toe. Standing on one leg like a flamingo, she throws back the coffee in a single gulp. She can feel its heat, but isn't bothered by it so much. She's the Sailor Senshi of fire after all!

"Thanks!"

Kicking the saucer up and grabbing it with her free hand, she places cup in saucer, and brings both to her forehead, planting her feet in the ground in a wide stance. The porcelain pretties burst into flame in her hands, a shimmering orange shooting heatwaves into the air! Her arms both explode forward at once, thrusting the diningware towards the rampaging beast, it shoots like a comet. In its travel, the fire blazes and burns, growing bigger, longer, and taking on a distinctive shape. The coffee cup becomes the brain of a flaming dragon, teeth like torches as it lunges for the demon's flesh.

COMBAT: Sailor Mars has used Searing Serpent on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Sailor Mars has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Homura Akemi has used Flashbang on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Homura Akemi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque fails to brace Homura Akemi's Flashbang, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Blind applied to Glittering Crux Masque!
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque narrowly dodges Sailor Mars's Searing Serpent, taking 22 Fatigue damage! Glittering Crux Masque's Fade ability activates! Glittering Crux Masque's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Sailor Moon surveys the scene with desperate need. Minako: left with Tuxedo Mask. Madoka: left with Shield Girl--no, Homura Akemi. Youma: being super creepy. And--the pretty soldier spares a moment of puzzled, panicked attention for Jadeite.

"You!" is all she can exclaim before Manutia's rampage threatens her. Sailor Moon yelps and darts aside, avoiding a jostled bookshelf and finding herself in claw-grasp of the hideous, empowered monster. She grits her teeth and uses her concern for her friends as a shield, thrusting her hand forward and sparking a brief, silvery shield that stops her from being slashed to ribbons but still sends her toppling backward into another shelf.

The air goes out of her with an "oof!" but, judging from Manutia's strength, it could have been a lot, lot worse. Her mind races for what to do and no matter how good a guardian she tries to be, she can't help but end up at missing Ami all over again. Her breath comes fast. Don't think about that.

Some coffee floats over. Usagi recalls the last time she freaked out at floating food and dutifully takes it in hand, sampling the artful taste. Ami would like this. There, that's something she can focus on: Ami has to try this one day! Usagi gulps the rest of the coffee down because she's kind of a hot mess.

Setting the cup onto a bookshelf, Usagi selects a book that looks important. She chooses by weight and dustiness and finds a truly massive tome that takes two white-gloved hands to manage. The pretty soldier steps out into the store and hefts it over her head.

"HEY! Haven't you heard that old proverb?! Those who attack books are doomed to be attacked by books!"

She has been hanging out with Minako for like a week, seriously.

Sailor Moon throws the volume, now glittering with the lunar magic of Usagi's belief in how important it is, directly at Manutia's head. She is not a great aim.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Sailor Moon Says on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque narrowly dodges Sailor Moon's Sailor Moon Says, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Glittering Crux Masque's Fade ability activates! Glittering Crux Masque's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Nadeshiko Fujisaki [Ohtori Academy (5)] has posed.

Nadeshiko makes the possibly rookie mistake of assuming anyone carting people away from the sight of a monster fight is not taking them to some secret sorcery lab to disect their tasty souls, or whatever. As Madoka (she dimly remembers the Ohtori middle schooler, as well as she remembers any of them at least) and her friend (?) are whisked away from the field, Nadeshiko adjusts her stance to a more threatening one. "He's going to power it up?" she mutters. "Temari, get out of here!"

"STRING 'ER UP BY HER TOES!" Temari jeers at the fighting warriors. Her voice is inaudible; a fairy perceptible only by a select few. Still, perhaps the, uh...encouragement, will linger in the back of their minds.

For Nadeshiko, the only encouragement she gets is a sudden claw across the chest. She moves to leap aside, but is just not fast enough; the hit takes her head on and sends her tumbling backwards, grunting. She liked that sweater! But now this thing's stronger than ever...what's she gonna do...

She has to have faith in the others. They can't just run! It's like Homura said, if they let it go, all these people will lose that energy! For...ever? Is that how this energy works?

Nadeshiko stumbles up to her feet, takes a long, deep breath, and: "OKAY, FINE, YOU LITTLE BOOK NOODLE!!" /Completely loses it/.

Nadeshiko is normally a pretty reliable, quiet-minded girl, but Chara Change changes that equation quite a lot, and so she charges. She doesn't really have a way to play it safe. So she rushes directly into the enhanced, more powerful than ever monster, thrusting and sweeping her naginta with a rapid flurry of precise but powerful strokes. "See how you like it! Ha! Ha! HiiIYA!"

COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki has used Naginata Flurry on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque narrowly counters Nadeshiko Fujisaki's Naginata Flurry, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Glittering Crux Masque is Quipped! Glittering Crux Masque's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque's counterattack, Calamity and Calm, partially gets through, doing 14 Fatigue damage to Nadeshiko Fujisaki!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

The room is a confusion of shredded paper and binding, the mad charge of the youma and its flashing claws. Sailor Jupiter only ust manages to see it bearing down on her, and instinctively shifts her stance to meet the attack, redirecting enough of the force of Manutia's assault to send the claws slicing along her arm and through part of her glove instead of gouging into her body.

Ignoring the sting of pain and the warm trickle of blood underneath the arm of her glove, Jupiter turns a fierce-eyed look towards Jadeite, undaunted. "It doesn't matter how big you talk," she declares. "Your monster won't stop us."

Homura's words have her glacing sidelong, and as Jupiter remembers the fight at the park her lips tighten into a thin line, but she's not stupid enough to ignore the warning; her hand lifts to shield her eyes, averted from the glare of the flashbang as it goes off.

When she looks up again, there's a cup of coffee in front of her.

Surprise flashes across her face then, but Sailor Jupiter doesn't hesitate to reach for the espresso-- "Thanks!" she calls to Kuniko, raising the cup in a quick and sketchy salute before she drinks it down. It's delicious, hot and bracing, and she can practically feel the caffeeine going straight into her blood, restoring all of her flagging energy to full potency. In an abrupt burst of motion she flings the empty cup at the youma's head, not even pausing to aim - it doesn't matter if it hits or not, it's nothing but a feint, meant to distract Manutia for one critical moment before a whipcrack of lightning leaps from Jupiter's fingers.

COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has used Jupiter Thunderbolt on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque narrowly braces Sailor Jupiter's Jupiter Thunderbolt, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Glittering Crux Masque is Quipped!

<Pose Tracker> Glittering Crux Masque [Admin (S)] has posed.

Jadeite vanishes from sight for a moment, reappearing seated atop one of the bookshelves. Manutia has been a helpful enough pawn - though any youma would have served as well in its place, frankly. Still, the Senshi are out in force; as Manutia's rampage is met with knives at at least one judo-throw, he muses on the potential for setting up some sort of trap...

There's a high-pitched whine.

Homura's flashbang detonates, momentarily filling the room with blinding white light. Manutia shades its mask with one claw, while Jadeite is forced to throw up an arm against the light. In the wake of that diversion, the youma suffers further assault - it dives ignobly to one side to avoid the fangs of Sailor Mars's fire dragon, but the flames ignite the fluttering pages around it in a brilliant conflagration. A spinning, shining book whips by - clipping the edge of the mask on its way to slam into Jadeite's bookshelf.

As the shelf wobbles, Nadeshiko charges in. The youma, fed up with the state of affairs, meets this with equally sharp claws - vicious weapons clashing back and forth for a brief exchange, before the youma breaks off with a leap backwards - just in time to slash through the incoming lightning bolt with one claw. Shocking, but better than it might have been. "Tia...."

Perch stabilizing, Jadeite considers those who have dared to oppose him - along with their bold proclamations. The dark-haired Homura, defensive of her charge, gets a moment's consideration. "Indeed. Perhaps we should depart, Manutia, that you might keep that girl's life force." A cruel smile, even as the Youma continues battling.

And, of course there's the Sailor Scouts. Moon, Mars, Jupiter.... "Yes. Me. Are you hoping to be in time to save people here, unlike the other day? Or are you three still lost without Sailor Mercury holding your hands?" He laughs, this time, and waves for Manutia to continue its rampage. Crushing these heroes' spirits is all well and good...but crushing their bodies is so much sweeter a victory to bring to Beryl.

The beleaguered youma, in spite of the assaults on it, is filled with strength not its own. It continues dashing around the room, lashing out at random with lengthly claws. Along the way, though, it grabs a pair of tomes of its own - charging them with dark power, and wielding them as bludgeons against Sailors Moon and Mars!

COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Vicious Critique on Kuniko Saito.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Vicious Critique on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used The Book on Sailor Mars.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used The Book on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Vicious Critique on Nadeshiko Fujisaki.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Vicious Critique on Homura Akemi.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon fails to dodge Glittering Crux Masque's The Book, taking 23 Fatigue damage! Cripple, Stun, and Trap applied to Sailor Moon!
COMBAT: Sailor Mars fails to brace Glittering Crux Masque's The Book, taking 26 Fatigue damage! Cripple, Stun, and Trap applied to Sailor Mars!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter narrowly braces Glittering Crux Masque's Vicious Critique, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Sailor Jupiter's Block ability activates! Sailor Jupiter's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito narrowly dodges Glittering Crux Masque's Vicious Critique, taking 18 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki perfectly dodges Glittering Crux Masque's Vicious Critique, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Nadeshiko Fujisaki's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Homura Akemi fails to counter Glittering Crux Masque's Vicious Critique, taking 19 Fatigue damage! Trap applied to Homura Akemi!
COMBAT: Homura Akemi's counterattack, Suspend Time, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Glittering Crux Masque!

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

'I know,' thinks Madoka. And it's true. She knows Homura will protect her; she's always known. From the moment this stranger appeared in her dreams, and then in her heart, some part of her beyond reason and beyond explanation has had perfect faith in Homura's intentions. She's so confusing, and sometimes cruel. Sometimes she seems to do the wrong things. But that Homura truly believes she's doing them for Madoka, of that she has no doubt.

Dangling limply in Homura's arms, she allows herself to briefly let go, to sink deeper into the waiting gray that is rising up to meet her, in that place where she no longer has to work or worry because there is nothing left to do. Nothing else /to/ do. Nothing she can do.

"Shouldn't... have to," she burbles, semiconscious. Because that, certainly, is true. Homura will always protect Madoka, because Madoka always needs protection. Is always helpless when the going gets tough.

But there's really nothing else she can say, or even think. Drowning in bitter self-recrimination, she succumbs at last to the call of Jadeite's magic, and sleeps deeply, in a place where there are no dreams, not even for a silly girl like her.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"I'm going to hold Mercury-chan's hand again one day, really soon!" Sailor Moon challenges back, cheeks reddening in fluster. She wobbles between decision here--should she engage Jadeite, or the youma? But--

"We have to stop the youma to return everyone's energy!" she gambles on a truth. The villains taunt the heroes with mean truths, right? This seems to line up with what she's seen before!

What also lines up is Manutia's book and Sailor Moon's face. The pretty soldier attempts to leap aside, dancing away from the furious bludgeoning, and it works for all of two swings. There's too much fury and not enough elegance in this duel, and Usagi is overwhelmed by the ferocious strength wielded by the monster. Her shout of pain is cut short as she's not only knocked aside but into a shelf, the two of them tumbling over.

Sailor Moon rolls to her feet, slowly and with marked lack of coordination--her head is spinning. This is some sort of boss fight gimmick, right? Maybe--ugh, she can't think! Instinctively reaching for her moon stick--and rewarded with it, born from a glimmer of silvery magic in thin air, the pretty soldier attempts to buy herself some breathing room with a crescent slash of pale moonlight that leaps cometlike across the room.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used She Did Start Harry Potter Recently on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque narrowly dodges Sailor Moon's She Did Start Harry Potter Recently, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Glittering Crux Masque's Fade ability activates! Glittering Crux Masque's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"Geez!" Kuniko says as she sees a grenade fly through the air. She covers her eyes with one hand, gritting her teeth for the impending BANG -

There it is.

Kuniko is gratified to hear thanks from Sailor Mars, as well as seeing the eagerness of Sailor Moon to guzzle down that bean juice. When Sailor Moon speaks words of wisdom, Kuniko's eyes widen. She does not know any better. '/that's so true/' she thinks, almost visibly --

It's moving. Sharp claws rake at her side, and without her knife at hand, Kuniko can't counterstrike as she did before. Rends appear in her culinary finery, the sea-blue fabric ripping lightly. Gritting her teeth, Kuniko hunches over again, grasping at her side.

"hhh," she breathes out, reaching forwards - and with a clatter of hidden metal, draws out a trio of skewers, glistening with fresh-grilled cheese. They're flung towards the youma, Kuniko saying as she does, "Don't listen to him -- if you want something better in life than just sucking energy and being yelled at, try this!"

And if she doesn't, well, in a little bit they'll burst in a fit of culinary pique. (And she criticized Homura's gunhappiness.... (Well, in her head, at least.))

Kuniko's eyes cut back to Jadeite, seeing people moving in the background. They're alive, she thinks with relief. "So who are you, her supervisor?!" she manages to crack, voice shaky.

COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has used Halloumi Cheese on Skewers on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque fails to dodge Kuniko Saito's Halloumi Cheese on Skewers, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Kuniko Saito is Psyched!

<Pose Tracker> Homura Akemi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Homura Akemi knows that she must step out of time again to avoid the Youma's attack. She also knows that she can't risk Madoka getting caught in the crossfire. Once more, she grabs ahold of Madoka desperately and phases them both out of time and space. But she miscalculates the erratic nature of the creature's attack. She resumes time right as the youma switches directions and simply runs straight into a swiped claw. All Homura can do is shield Madoka from the blow by turning her back to the creature's claw. The claw rips into Homura with a red spray of blood following the brutal attack and Madoka would have the unfortunate opportunity to witness Homura's grimacing reaction first hand. Thankfully, Madoka was fading out of conciousness and would possibly be spared from this nightmare. It was all for the best as Madoka's words were drilling their way deep into Homura's heart. A different kind of pain now filled the violent violet girl. But for Madoka, Homura would gladly bear any kind of pain. It doesn't matter if she shouldn't have to or not, she'll make this same sacrifice everytime...as many times as it takes.

The Puella Magi grits her teeth and turns back around. It was no longer time to 'play nice'. Her shield is activated again and she removes -another- assault rifle from it, a carbon copy of the assault rifle that she left lying on the floor.

This deadly weapon is leveled towards the masked attacker and Homura's thumb moves to operate the switch on the side of the weapon. It had once read the words SEMI, but the weapon is now switched to AUTO. Homura Akemi aims down the sights and pulls the trigger down hard. The weapon violently begins to shake as it spits round after round at the Youma. Homura doesn't stop firing until the entire magazine is spent and every single piece of brass is ejected from the weapon. "Unacceptable," replies the raven-haired girl simply to Jadeite's taunt.

Sailor Moon repeating Homura's advice from before grants a blank look from the Puella Magi. Everyone was more likely to listen to her anyways. Homura knows all too well the pain of trying to get others to listen to her advice. That usually ended poorly and in needless bloodshed and tears. This way was much easier.

COMBAT: Homura Akemi has used Machine Gun Fury on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Homura Akemi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque narrowly counters Homura Akemi's Machine Gun Fury, taking 19 Fatigue damage! Glittering Crux Masque's Reverse ability activates! Stagger applied to Glittering Crux Masque!
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque's counterattack, To Slay A Sparrow, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Homura Akemi!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mars [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Jadeite speaks in his smug fashion. It's amazing how somebody who loses so often could be so cocky! Still..there's a shred of an ember of truth to one part of his words. They're not the same without Ami-chan..not least because there are more burning books around here by the moment, and Sailor Mercury could easily douse the flames.

Angrily flipping her hair at Jadeite's taunts, she points straight at Usagi. "Sailor Moon! Pay no attention to that goon! He's just a buffoon! Crazy as a loo-"

Her moxy is cut short by a bellowing gray-skin American'ing its way straight towards her, clutching a shadow-oozing copy of the Principia and smashing it in her face like a frying pan. Caught unawares, too late to dodge, she attempts to brace herself..and fails utterly. The miserable, accursed gift to humankind collides with her head with a /THWUMP,/ and Sailor Mars falls straight back, falling face up and grunting out a stacatto cry of pain. Sailor Moon falls near her, felled by some other glorious contribution to human understanding, and Rei just /knows/ that she's gonna use this as an excuse to poo poo books without pictures the next time it comes up. Pushing her palms against the pile of books that 'cushioned' her fall, she throws herself back up, tottering on her heels a little before righting herself.

Scanning around to get the lay of the land, Rei doesn't ask Usagi if she's ok, but she does check, and puts a hand on her shoulder, offering a quick smile. She hasn't forgotten what Usagi said to her at the Shrine. Her smile fades as she stares hard at the rampaging marauder. Extending her right arm, she snaps her fingers.

The burning books in the youma's vicinity further enflame..the little fires seem to grow and extend, tapering into a point and wriggling away from the paper pages, as though they were getting sucked into a vacuum cleaner. Instead, the flames writhe away completely, leaving the burnt books damaged but considerably less on fire than before, a few dozen little footlong worms twisting through the air like jellyfish in the water, all sightlessly inching closer to graze against demonhide.

COMBAT: Sailor Mars has used Searing Serpent on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Sailor Mars has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque perfectly dodges Sailor Mars's Searing Serpent, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Glittering Crux Masque's Fade ability activates! Glittering Crux Masque's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

This time when the youma comes at her, Sailor Jupiter simply braces to meet the attack, squaring her stance and raising her arms before her as a shield. Once again, the claws rip through her gloves and leave red lines on her skin, drawing a hiss of breath out through Jupiter's teeth, but there's no time to worry about herself right now - dismay flashes across her face as she sees Manutia going after Sailor Moon and Mars with those massive books, but Sailor Mars is already helping Sailor Moon back up, so Jupiter once again rounds on Jadeite.

This time she looks really pissed.

"''Shut up!''" she shouts up at the Dark General, electricity crackling in the air around her to punctuate the words. "You don't know anything!" She reaches up and grips lightning, arcs of it writhing over her fingers, and for a moment it genuinely looks as though she means to climb the shelves and go after him directly--

--but Homura and Sailor Moon are both right; their duty right now is to end the youma and restore everyone's energy. "I don't want to hear you even say Mercury's name!" Sailor Jupiter snaps instead, and leaps into motion, charging at the youma with fists ablaze.

COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has used Lightning Fist on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque fails to dodge Sailor Jupiter's Lightning Fist, taking 30 Fatigue damage! Sailor Jupiter is Psyched!

<Pose Tracker> Nadeshiko Fujisaki [Ohtori Academy (5)] has posed.

Nadeshiko trades blows with a doubly monstrous Youma, and comes out - well, not shredded to ribbons, so big success there. She staggers away while Manutia jumps back; Nadeshiko's wheezing faintly from the exertions. It got powered up by that general guy - did she hear Sailor Moon call him Jadeite? - And Nadeshiko knows she's already trailing behind Amulet Heart and those like her. She's got the experience to push the most out of her Chara Change, and the trust in Temari too, but without a Character Transformation...She shakes her head. It...won't be an issue forever, she reminds herself.

She sees the attack coming, and grins a little. "Slow!" she jeers, and moves this time; sweeps low below the claw, then yields a step to a second claw, and then pirouettes neatly to the side of a third sweep before Manutia is moving on to someone else. "Still...still OK," she reminds herself. Grips her naginata tighter. She waits for her move. Sailor Mars is casting a flame into th mix, and Nadeshiko decides she doesn't particularly want to be in the middle of a group of blasters going all-out right now, so she does the next best thing. Sailor Moon's right; the youma's gotta go. She sets her stance hard, and hollers, "We need that energy back. Those peoples' hearts and lives aren't yours to play with! ... SO FALL OVER, KID!!" and then WHIPS the naginata at Manutia, blade-first. It being what it is, it won't skewer or pierce. That would be violent! It does, however, impart enough force to bend iron bars or, for instance, send Youma bouncing across a bookstore.

COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki has used Naginata Throw on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque fails to dodge Nadeshiko Fujisaki's Naginata Throw, taking 23 Fatigue damage! Glittering Crux Masque is Quipped!

<Pose Tracker> Glittering Crux Masque [Admin (S)] has posed.

While he doesn't know the full story with all those gathered here, Jadeite is happy to taunt them - and can't help but note that any enemy of Dark Fall defeated is a victory for Beryl. "And of course, if you can't stop her, then none of these people will ever wake up." Perhaps an overstatement, but these meddling youths won't know any better.

Kuniko's question is met with a mocking bow from the bookshelf seat. "Jadeite, of the Four Heavenly Kings. I suppose I could help by informing you that my youma do not eat...cheese." Indeed, Manutia settles on trying to bat the skewers aside, snarling at the explosion. The reveal of a second machine gun is met with immediate action - a quick swipe unleashing a wave of power to scatter half the bullets to one side. Moment by moment, it's getting faster - Sailor Moon's attack only grazing it, and a swift leap carries it out of the path of Mars's flames.

This does, however, carry it into the path of Jupiter's fist and Nadeshiko's naginata - both strikes slamming fully into it. "Tiiiii..." Its fury builds with each moment, and the claws glint strangely.

The taunts, however, are bringing a scowl to Jadeite's face - considerably less calm, he gestures sharply to indicate Sailor Mars and Nadeshiko. "Manutia. Stop playing around - deal with those two, now." The youma, howling, lunges forward - a storm of paper from a hundred ruined books erupting in its wake. Under the cover of the charge, it claws at the two indicated - but this time, there's that ominous green tinge to its claws, and it seems to hunger with each strike. It follows up with a wild charge at Sailor Jupiter - orders or not, it is a being of hate and wrath.

COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Paging Godot on Kuniko Saito.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Paging Godot on Homura Akemi.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Paging Godot on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Ravenous Festivities on Sailor Mars.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Ravenous Festivities on Nadeshiko Fujisaki.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Ravenous Festivities on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon narrowly braces Glittering Crux Masque's Paging Godot, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon's Parry ability activates! Blind applied to Sailor Moon!
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito fails to brace Glittering Crux Masque's Paging Godot, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Blind applied to Kuniko Saito!
COMBAT: Homura Akemi narrowly dodges Glittering Crux Masque's Paging Godot, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Homura Akemi's Fade ability activates! Homura Akemi's Flash ability activates! Blind applied to Homura Akemi!
COMBAT: Sailor Mars fails to dodge Glittering Crux Masque's Ravenous Festivities, taking 43 Fatigue damage! Glittering Crux Masque drains 17 fatigue from Sailor Mars!
COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki narrowly dodges Glittering Crux Masque's Ravenous Festivities, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Nadeshiko Fujisaki's Flash ability activates! Glittering Crux Masque drains 6 fatigue from Nadeshiko Fujisaki!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Sailor Moon's head is still ringing. She tries to concentrate on what's going on: the other girls repositioning and attacking on their own, the youma tearing about the place, Jadeite being Jadeite. It's difficult even to focus on the reclining general. She raises her wand in preemptive wariness.

Even disoriented, Usagi knows how fast this youma is moving. The adjective that comes to mind is 'dangerously.'

She only has a yelp of warning for the others when Manutia is commanded to move. They all heard it too, but Usagi is panicking and wants to do ''something'' to help. The swarm of paper kicks up before her and she is quick to guard herself, reacting to the motion despite the relative lack of danger. It's more obfuscation when she's already having trouble landing a hit.

Usagi bites her lip. It hurts. She hesitates with her wand, and then--hearing the viciousness beyond the confines of her vision--she reacts with unthinking, desirous need. The pretty soldier thrusts her lunar scepter forward, crying out as she wills some kind of resolution, anything--

The wave of ruined books forms into a true wave now, a portion of them rising up like a tower and then crashing down all at once.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Read or Die (or maybe purify) on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter fails to brace Glittering Crux Masque's Ravenous Festivities, taking 40 Fatigue damage! Glittering Crux Masque drains 16 fatigue from Sailor Jupiter!

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Paper storms upwards into Kuniko's face; she staggers back against the shelves, collapsing them; her eyes water as she hisses in and out, heavy rapid breathes as the youma charges around.

Jadeite lays out the stakes.

Stakes, Kuniko thinks. If I had a good slab of tuna, I could...

But does she? No; she hasn't been to Tsukiji in days.

Kuniko reviews the fish she has and is horrified to find that the cupboard is nearly bare. What DOES she have, she thinks - some eel, some bony fish...

She has no answer for Jadeite. Only one anchovy. "But," she says, "with this anchovy..."

A knife moves softly as Kuniko crouches. Is this bravery? It's the focus on the work. She can't devastate this thing, she thinks; but perhaps others can.

"Hey! To go with the coffee, since this is our first time meeting!" Kuniko calls again, spinning another plate on her finger and then tipping it to sail towards Sailor Mars...

On that plate is a spread of white and red. Is it the Japanese flag? No - a ripe tomato, held carefully at the peak of freshness and given a brief dip in salt water after slicing, intermixed with thick slices of mozzarella cheese, the authentic sort made from water buffalo milk. A single anchovy, filleted and spread, with toast points of the most immaculate white bread, brushed with garlic-infused olive oil and toasted on a hot griddle - no crust, merely the perfect points. All of it dressed with white wine vinegar and a crushed and diced leaf of basil, with a small strip of wakame seaweed to add that elusive fusion-cuisine charm.

"I added a little red pepper to the dressing - it seemed to suit you!" Kuniko calls.

COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has used Tomato and Mozarella Antipasta on Sailor Mars.
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Mars accepts Kuniko Saito's Tomato and Mozarella Antipasta, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Withstand applied to Sailor Mars! Cleanse! All of Sailor Mars's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque narrowly dodges Sailor Moon's Read or Die (or maybe purify), taking 41 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Glittering Crux Masque's Fade ability activates! Glittering Crux Masque's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Homura Akemi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Paper flies towards Homura Akemi and she's not able to get completely free of it when she tries to evade. The swarm of once books obscure her vision, but Homura is able to position herself so Madoka is spared from getting any nasty papercuts at the cost of Homura herself getting a few. Homura then drops the magazine from her weapon, pulls a fresh one from her 'shield', and slams the fresh magazine into the magazine well of her assault rifle. She's now ready for action once more without having to pull another assault rifle from her collection.

"I'm reloaded," begins Homura as she slaps the bottom of the magazine that she placed into her weapon. "Your creation has outstayed it's welcome. It's time to see if it has learned to dodge bullets." She remains near Madoka's side with her assault rifle in hand. And the selector switch on her weapon remains on AUTO. But no attack comes outright from the girl, it seems that Homura is taking a slight break from the action. The Puella Magi does not seem completely idle, however. She does stand ready to intercept any blow that is aimed towards the slumped Madoka.

COMBAT: Homura Akemi has used Timely Insight on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Homura Akemi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque fails to dodge Homura Akemi's Timely Insight, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Glittering Crux Masque is Quipped! Analysis performed by Homura Akemi!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mars [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Rei's mouth has gotten her in trouble with a moody boy again. It isn't the first time and it certainly won't be the last. Like a furious grizzly bear, the thing, this Manutia, charges forward in a fear-inspiring display of mass and rage. As it hurtles near Rei prepares to jump over it..but she's distracted by the green stains on the claws, and the thought that it may be poison. It only lasts a beat..and maybe it wouldn't have mattered if it hadn't happened..but with her attention grabbed for a beat her jump is delayed by two. The beast raises its claw like a cat's paw and swipes at her, catching her full on in the stomach and stabbing painfully into her body, the force of its swing throwing her back. She collides headfirst with a bookshelf that totters from side to side, and then falls straight onto her.

Blowing her hair out of her face with a wince, she's glad she's still conscious. A voice calls out to her, and she turns her head to the side to glance at the speaker. It's the coffee pitcher from before. Her ears are ringing, and she can't understand the words that she could hear..but as odd as the appearance of the dish that coasts straight to her is, the question of what to do with it is much more straightforward. She can't see her hands, but she uses them to reach through the books to tug the plate closer. Wriggling slowly and in discomfort, Rei manages to contort it up to her mouth. Her eyes widen. Not only was the dish produced from thin air, it looked /very/ good..and Rei's been to enough expensive restaurants to tell. Her hand wavers as she brings the Italian delicacy to her lips, closing her eyes and savoring the first bite..

/Exquisite.../

Feeling strengthened, she quickens her meal, wolfing down the rest. A shame to do something to such a work of art, but then so's burning books. Battle insists upon its own nature. Empowered by good eating, she grips the solid frame of the shelf, and throws it up and away from her. As she stands, books fall away from her like dead leaves. Heavy ones.

/Burning books.../ a shame indeed. Her trick hadn't worked last time..maybe it was because all of the little fires were too puny to matter. At least it put some fires out...Maybe if..hmm.

She doesn't extend her arm and then snap this time. Rather, Rei shoves it forward while snapping, her attitude much snappier. The fires of the burning books gathered and extended in a single tendril before pulling off completely like a shedded wrapper. This time, though, the fires are at Rei's side, not the youma's. They floating fires gather together, weaving into a powerful rope like strands of twine..and spiral forward towards the monstrosity, singing the air and spraying sparks in its wake, a red rocket.

COMBAT: Sailor Mars has used Searing Serpent on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Sailor Mars has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque narrowly braces Sailor Mars's Searing Serpent, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Nadeshiko Fujisaki [Ohtori Academy (5)] has posed.

"Jadeite," Temari murmurs, from her position in the rafters. "Of the Four Heavenly Kings...?" ...which? Aren't there a lot of those? That's not an uncommon thing to call a group of four! Nadeshiko reads those comics!

Speaking of Nadeshiko, she's got a problem. Her eyes snap up when Jadeite indicates her. She flexes her hand, and any doubts of her powers being magical fade in moments; the spear reappears in her hand with a flash! of sparkling sakura blooms, and Nadeshiko sets herself to defense. "C'mon! Give it a try! I'm right here!" The thing comes shrieking at her; and Nadeshiko moves.

She's like a vision of elegance as she swirls away from the savage claws, swan leaping over a fallen book display and landing on her feet. But the glow of those claw still pulled at her, and when she comes down, it's with ragged, heavy breaths. Still. He's taunting them so. If they can't win this, those people might never wake up? It's all too plausible for Nadeshiko; that's pretty much how X-Eggs work. Sort of. They're a little fuzzy on the details there, honestly...

So she decides to risk it. She sees Sailor Mars winding up as well, and takes her chance. While the spiral snake rushes in Nadeshiko takes a few quick steps and then drops to her knees, stage sliding right under the thread of mystic flame and hopefully preventing the Youma from being able to stop her with its claws. She pushes up with a dancer's grace; quickly spinning up to her feet and lashing out with a full-bodied sweep of her naginata across Manutia's flank! "Can't let you do that!"

COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki has used Naginata Swipe on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque narrowly dodges Nadeshiko Fujisaki's Naginata Swipe, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Glittering Crux Masque's Fade ability activates! Glittering Crux Masque's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

This is getting increasingly out of hand.

For all the confidence that Sailor Jupiter came into this fight with, buoyed up further still by the boost from Kuniko's espresso, the youma's only getting faster, her mad charges harder for any of them to keep up with. Jupiter would shield her friends and allies if she could, but there's no ''time'' - even as she starts to move towards Sailor Mars, Manutia is done and coming at ''her'' with those green-stained claws.

Like before, Jupiter squares her stance, but this time it does no good at all. The monster's claws dig in deep, and past the pain she can feel the way the strength goes out of her, bringing on a wave of dizziness that turns her vision grey around the edges for a moment.

She staggers back several steps from the impact, one hand coming up to hold her bleeding shoulder even as she shakes her head to clear the fog from her eyes. The other girls are still holding up, still fighting, but if this keeps up...

This can't keep up.

She comes to a decision, and Sailor Jupiter's face sets in an expression of hard determination as she sets all of her focus on the youma. No time to look aside to the others, or to try to communicate to them what she means to do - she can't match this thing's speed, but if she can just slow it down long enough for the rest of the magical warriors to get their hits in--

Sailor Jupiter gathers her strength and leaps, hurling herself full-force at the youma with arms outstretched, with every intention of smashing the damn thing right into the floor.

COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has used Supreme Suplex on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque perfectly dodges Sailor Jupiter's Supreme Suplex, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Glittering Crux Masque's Fade ability activates! Glittering Crux Masque's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Glittering Crux Masque [Admin (S)] has posed.

Manutia stands taller in the wake of its assault - it drank deep, and added even more to its stock of life energy. Invigorated, it swings its gangly arms about - an ominous glow glinting behind its mask. What can't it dodge?

It can't dodge a tidal wave of books. Carried forth by moonlight, too broad for the youma to escape in time. As it starts to rise in the wake of the assault, flames crash into its momentarily pinned form, and a blade finds leathery flesh before it can get free. That's the last blow to strike it, though - it leaps high over Jupiter's full-force charge, and meets Homura's steely gaze.

Jadeite, brushing a bit of debris from one sleeve, considers the fight. The youma seems doing well, but...the six facing it are dangerous in their own right. More irksome, they aren't dead. Perhaps discretion and caution are called for. "I believe I said enough playing - if you aren't going to take this seriously, retreat and conserve your energy." He smirks, briefly, toward Homura and Usagi. "This is the difference between the other three and myself - I know when to claim the true pr-"

"TIA!" Manutia hones its claws for a moment - and ignoring Jadite's orders, rushes to continue the fight. Even if it's beginning to tire - victory is close. Victory can be attained! This may be a brief rebellion - but for the next few moments, it's staying focused on the battle. Rushing with stolen energy, it moves to lash out at a handful of those opposing it.

"Manutia! How dare you disobey me - return to the Dark Kingdom, or else-"

COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Doorstopper on Sailor Mars.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Doorstopper on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Doorstopper on Nadeshiko Fujisaki.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Vicious Critique on Kuniko Saito.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Vicious Critique on Homura Akemi.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has used Royal Marauder on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon narrowly dodges Glittering Crux Masque's Royal Marauder, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sailor Moon's Flash ability activates! Diversion and Stun applied to Sailor Moon!
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito narrowly counters Glittering Crux Masque's Vicious Critique, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Kuniko Saito's Reverse ability activates! Trap applied to Kuniko Saito!
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito's counterattack, Boning Knife, partially gets through, doing 15 Fatigue damage to Glittering Crux Masque!
COMBAT: Homura Akemi perfectly dodges Glittering Crux Masque's Vicious Critique, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Homura Akemi's Fade ability activates! Homura Akemi's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter perfectly counters Glittering Crux Masque's Doorstopper, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter's counterattack, Jupiter Thunderbolt, bursts all the way through, doing 10 Fatigue damage to Glittering Crux Masque! Glittering Crux Masque is Quipped!
COMBAT: Sailor Mars narrowly braces Glittering Crux Masque's Doorstopper, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Stun applied to Sailor Mars!
COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki narrowly braces Glittering Crux Masque's Doorstopper, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Nadeshiko Fujisaki's Parry ability activates! Stun applied to Nadeshiko Fujisaki!

<Pose Tracker> Homura Akemi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Homura Akemi keeps her assault rifle leveled at the Youma. She does her best to track her target in her sights as she just waits for the perfect moment to pull the trigger. Even Jadeite's continued taunting is not enough to interrupt Homura's concentration. It doesn't matter how much Homura Akemi knows or doesn't know about this encounter from past timelines anymore. All the young black-haired girl needs to know is what she is going to do next. She is not going to let this creature escape with Madoka's energy as long as Homura still has any energy to spare in this fight.

The moment finally comes when the youma is dead center in her sights. All Homura needs to do now is pull the trigger and send a wall of lead down towards her foe. But the last time she did this, a good portion of her bullets were swiped harmlessly away. Another course of action had to be pursued. Homura Akemi throws down her rifle suddenly, it makes a rather loud noise as it bangs off the ground before it comes skidding to a halt.

But by the time the weapon comes to a complete stop, Homura is gone. When she reappears, she's at the feet of rampaging Youma with a metal device covered in a putty like substance in her hands. This explosive device is planted at the Youma's feet and then Homura disappears again in a flash. Strangely enough, those unconcious individuals whom were close to the blast radius are haphazardly tossed into the corner of the room just as the explosives go off in an attempt to blast the youma straight to whatever hell it originates from.

Hopefully Jadeite will soon realize just how serious Homura Akemi can be.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Homura Akemi has used Time Bomb on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Homura Akemi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque fails to dodge Homura Akemi's Finisher, Time Bomb, taking 107 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Usagi lets out a long breath. She's feeling better now--physically. Emotionally, she's now able to view the literary battlefield with more clarity, and what she sees is...

Smirking.

She is a credulous person. She believes Jadeite's confidence, his claim that he's going to circumvent the usual tale and leave them all hurt and adrift again. She can't think of anything heroic and cool to say to his claim. It puts a clamp around her throat.

Sailor Moon follows Jadeite's gaze in the other direction, finding Homura and giving her a nervous glance. Then the youma screams and it's all action.

The monster rushes. Jadeite admonishes. Usagi stumbles backward out of its swiping sharpness, finding balance with a hand against the wall behind her. She realizes, thoughtlessly and with gut impulse, that this is the moment she has to make count.

Usagi knows Makoto and Rei will do what's best. She hopes Homura will, because she must at least care for Madoka. The other magical girl with them, she looks more than tough enough to handle herself.

There's not enough time for the Planet Attack. But, before they all found the strength of believing in each other, they found the strength of believing in themselves. Well--that's true for the others. Usagi knows whatever strength she has she's borrowing, from her friends or from strangers. She's okay with that. For what she's about to do, she's only giving back.

"Moon Healing..."

Stepping forward with renewed boldness, Sailor Moon raises her crescent wand and traces the broad circle of the moon before her. If Manutia moves with power that is not her own, so does the pretty soldier, though her blessing is one of grace and poise rather than wallowing violence. Nothing touches her. Not explosions, not taunting, nothing.

The silvery light of her etched circle is joined by an array of blues, reds, greens, and oranges, a kaleidoscopic halation that silhouettes her twirling figure.

"ESCALATION!"

With a touch, Sailor Moon gives all this beauty away. The light, the radiance, the emotion--all of it comes rushing outward like her very breath, spreading through the store like her very will: Banish the darkness haunting this place, bring back the light in everyone's eyes.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Sailor Moon has used Moon Healing Escalation on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Rei Hino might know that this isn't purely an Italian dish - though it's based on it. The cheese was gently smoked... it's a dish with real Mediterreanean focus.

MEANWHILE, Manutia strikes outwards, defying Jadeite. That's a little interesting, Kuniko thinks in the tunnel space that comes before she is given a smash upside the head by the rampaging monster; she is ground against a bookcase, which, finally, gives out. Her hat falls off; she sprawls in the wreckage for a moment.

But she still has her knife in her hand, and there is, at least, a scratch to this youma-handled culinary cat.

The world's shaking, just a little. Kuniko pushes herself up. There's another explosion - "Tsk... that firebug!" she says to herself through the ringing of the detonations, her own ears acclimated to noise and clamour by the blessing of Mise-en-place. Fire's spreading.

Kuniko looks at the steel in her hand, the steel in her soul - and straightens up, slamming one hand on a hidden cutting board. "Right," she says. "I--"

Kuniko squints. Why are those people in a heap now?

FOCUS, she thinks. Ingredients are sliced and mingled, and soon -

A bowl is sent towards Sailor Mars. It is an unassuming piece of ceramic. Atop of it, glistening with undulant freshness and the zest of the sea, are thin slices of tuna - sashimi grade, sliced so thin as to be translucent. Atop it is a glisten of orange sauce, sweet and faintly pungent, with essence of pressed garlic infused. Arranged atop it are slivers of green onion --

Forming the sigil for the planet 'Mars'!

That isn't the only wonder. The tuna may seem slightly unusual in its hue, but the reason soon becomes clear. Instead of the pristine white of rice, as is traditional, the thin and sand-hued pasta - couscous - infused with the savor of a simmering dashi stock. And the sand itself has a distinctly martian hue - for it has been thickened gently with a mixture of North African "harissa" chili paste and kuzu starch!

"I thought I was out of tuna," Kuniko observes, even as the manifestation of her passion wends its way to the senshi of passion and fire. "How did I...?"

COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has used Tekkadon au Couscous on Sailor Mars.
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Mars accepts Kuniko Saito's Tekkadon au Couscous, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Empower applied to Sailor Mars! Cleanse! All of Sailor Mars's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Nadeshiko Fujisaki [Ohtori Academy (5)] has posed.

Nadeshiko's got to move again pretty quickly; she snaps her blade up this time, the pole of her naginata taking the hit and letting Nadeshiko off with little more than a few inches of yielded ground. "We can't let her get away!" Nadeshiko barks out, feeling saucy enough to call orders, but it...isn't actually going. "It's staying...?" she wonders, blankly. "Now! Take it down!"

Nadeshiko sets her stance and gets ready to charge in. "You're giving that energy back!" she declares. "I'm not letting you keep even one drop!" And then, manic, "NOW SIT STILL FOR ME WHILE I CUT IT ALL OUT OF YOU LIKE A GOOD GIRL! NAHAHAHA!"

When she hits, it's like a train; a sudden whip and whirl of naginata blades, her arms and spear all but disappearing beneath the speed of her all-out assault. "TA! TA! TA! OOOOURYAAAAAAAAAA! I'll make sure you can't swallow anything ever again!"

Her raucous threats aside, Nadeshiko's aggressive push ends when she realizes she needs to get the hell out of the way of all the blasters, and hurls herself aside just before Homura decides to blow the damn monster up. Nadeshiko tumbles to a stop and quickly clambers to her feet, muttering, "You wanna come over here and try that!?" because she's not in the most passive of moods.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Nadeshiko Fujisaki has used Fujisaki-ryu Meteor Attack on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Her charge meets only air, and Sailor Jupiter nearly stumbles from expecting an impact where there is none; she stops short, re-orienting herself to find Manutia again after the youma vanished over her head.

Almost as soon as she's located the creature, there's a massive brick of a book flying at her face. Jupiter reacts on pure reflex. Her hand is thrown outward, a blast of electricity pouring from her fingers; it meets the literary missile midflight and the poor maltreated tome ''explodes'' into shreds of burned paper and scorched binding even as the lightning traces its path back to strike Manutia herself.

A wisp of steam curls up from her fingertips, and Sailor Jupiter's breath leaves her in a little hiss.

For just a moment she looks upwards again, eyes finding Jadeite once more. "Lost control of your monster, huh?" The words are scathing, but there's a frustration crackling within the Senshi of Thunder, burning in her eyes. She's supposed to be the brawler of the Sailor Senshi, but what good is she doing anyone like this, barely able to land a hit? She can't even ramp up the power, not in the confines of the bookstore with unconscious civilians lying around all over the place--

--or maybe she can. Between one blink and the next, she realizes that the area around Manutia, at least, is clear of helpless victims. Was it that way before? she can't remember, but Sailor Jupiter doesn't question it now. As Homura's explosives go off, as Sailor Moon prepares to unleash the purifying energy of her wand, the little lightning rod that sticks up from the center of Jupiter's tiara is sparking with the gathering charge that tingles in the air around her.

"Once we've cleaned up your mess," she calls out to Jadeite, gathering electricity between her hands, "you're next!"

And then she thrusts her hands outward toward Manutia with a peal of thunder, releasing all that pent-up charge in a searing bolt of white-hot energy as tightly focused as Sailor Jupiter can make it. "SUPREME THUNDER!"

COMBAT: FINISHER! Sailor Jupiter has used Supreme Thunder on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mars [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

How nimble, this fiend..darting and dancing far better than she would have expected. The sale has been going on for a few days..between then and now it must have gorged itself on people's life forces. It had grown strong..and to her dismay, her next strike, while markedly better than its predecessor, clearly wasn't what it would take to defeat it. She needs to think bigger.

Fire spreads more easily in some places than others, and this is no swimming pool. A bookstore isn't the worst place for a fire, but it's a lot closer to it than most places, and the longer the fight wore on, the bigger the inferno will become. And there are a lot of people he-...

As Mars looks to some of the unconscious bodies, they suddenly vanish, every last one of them, all in the blink of an eye. She doesn't have long to ponder it before an ear-shattering explosion rips through the store, making her heart pound and her blood spike with adrenaline. She's seen some truly nasty magic, but..there's just something about a bomb going off. Flinching, she ducks down..and finds at her knees a simple bowl with wondrous contents, her own sigil staring her straight in the face.

/Am I dreaming?/ No, but..how surreal things have become..taking hold of the chopsticks, she plucks up a single slice of the finest tuna, gingerly opening her mouth and laying it upon her tongue like an artifact on an altar..and closes her eyes in pure pleasure. The taste takes her away from the fight for a moment, to another place entirely, even as the temperature distractingly builds all around her. Neural pathways light up, her brain suddenly shifting to process the food and the feelings it inspires in her. Her eyes open, and she sees things differently. The fire is food too. Which means...

She's standing in a banquet hall.

Standing up with the bowl in her hands, Rei lifts it up to her forehead, like an ofuda..and begins to murmur words of prayer, words of power. The bowl begins to glow with an incandescent white light, channeling her mantra like a holy artifact. Consumed with the shining, the white lifts up from the food, and congeals into a single point the size of a marble..and the marble hovers up into the air. Mars takes another bite, with couscous and onion along with the delicate tuna. The fires, all of them, begin to concentrate and extend towards the orb, reaching out with burning tentacles that stretch and narrow into very thin strips. When the flames touch the orb, the rest of the flame is violently sucked in towards it, and in a moment all of the fire in the room is gone, vanished into the tiny white hole.

Sailor Mars continues to eat. This one..this one she's going to /properly/ enjoy. All of the flames that had only just disappeared explode out of the little marble, reds and oranges turned pure, unblemished white. The snowy flames all pour out with the full force of conflagration, exploding out to bathe the youma in its flames.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Sailor Mars has used By Fire Be Cleansed! on Glittering Crux Masque.
COMBAT: Sailor Mars has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque fails to dodge Nadeshiko Fujisaki's Finisher, Fujisaki-ryu Meteor Attack, taking 86 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque fails to dodge Sailor Moon's Finisher, Moon Healing Escalation, taking 141 Fatigue damage! Glittering Crux Masque is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque fails to dodge Sailor Jupiter's Finisher, Supreme Thunder, taking 60 Fatigue damage! Glittering Crux Masque is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Glittering Crux Masque narrowly dodges Sailor Mars's Finisher, By Fire Be Cleansed!, taking 57 Fatigue damage! Glittering Crux Masque is unable to keep fighting! Glittering Crux Masque's Fade ability activates! Glittering Crux Masque's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Glittering Crux Masque [Admin (S)] has posed.

Jadeite's furious condemnation of his youma's rebellion is cut off by the tangible proof of Homura Akemi's conviction - manifested in the form of a thunderous detonation. His eyes widen - in surprise, first, then confusion at the movement of the civilians. Surely, one of them must have been in the blast zone...no?

From the smoke, Manutia emerges - in spite of the additional power from its master, it's grievously injured. In addition to the smoke, blindingly swift were the strikes from the meteoric Nadeshiko - one set of claws is broken entirely. Still, it stands. Ringing from lightning and bomb and blade, it stands.

And then everything goes white. Brilliant moonlight washes over the youma, searing and purifying. It tries to get clear, with every ounce of speed it has left - but just as brilliant, a bolt of lightning tears into it with a thunderous crack, pinning it in place. Determination, and hope.

And finally, passion. The fires that threatened to tear loose in the wake of Homura's bomb bend to Sailor Mars's will - her passion combined with that of her meal, as fuel for the flames. Into the brilliant light the flames rush - and when the light fades, the youma is utterly destroyed. A few traces of unburnt sparkling dust, perhaps; no more.

"...all of you. Do not forget the Dark Kingdom will triumph in the end. And know that there will be a reckoning for this offense." One hand held up as if to ward away the light and flame, Jadeite glowers at those who opposed him. The scheme wasn't utterly ruined - it's only today's claim that is lost - but it is ended. He blames his fool of a youma, and these girls who dared to step in.

Scowling in fury - tempted for an instant to throw caution to the wind and join in the fight himself - Jadeite teleports out of the area. In his wake, the bookstore is left in silence; damage to the shelves is largely repaired, most of the books seem to have survived, and those fallen civilians are slowly, gradually beginning to stir.

2014-10-04 - If She Made a Mistake

2014-10-07T16:35:20Z

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: If She Made a Mistake'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Teenagers being really defensive and touchy and accusational and full of feelings, but on a rooftop in the middle of the night, between looking for witches. This particular iteration is Eri and Mamoru getting in a fight over-- well, kind of over Mai? But also really more like other stuff? And anyway they're mad at each other now.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Eri Shimanouchi]], [[Mamoru Chiba]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Juuban District Public School, the roof
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
10/04/2014 - 23 March 2014
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Sunday.

It was a day of freedom for many. It was a day of disappointment to few. Another day, another trek halfway across the city and back, and no luck to be had.

It left her early evening free, however, as she sat upon the hut housing the stairwell, legs covered by denim jeans dangling off the edge. School was out, and decidedly closed, so there was little risk of someone coming out into the fenced in courtyard below. She cradled a jeweled bracelet in her hands, no longer upon her wrist. It was a rather lavish piece, though perhaps not by Ohtori standards, gold and sapphires mainly. "So." There's a pregnant pause or three that hangs in the air before she asks, "What's going on with Mercury, really?"

Given her actions, there's probably some unusual context there, but she's not speaking on it yet.

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mamoru, also back in his street clothes, is a little tired-looking and a little more quiet than usual, which is an on and off thing anyway. He'd been gazing absently into the distance for a little while when Eri spoke up; now, he glances aside and down at her, head tilted a little. There are a lot of ways he could react to the question, emotionally, but in the end he doesn't pick any of them.

"Labyrinth happened. She felt alone and neglected, and they took advantage of that. Now she's brainwashed and trying to hurt her friends, and working for the people who legitimately try to cause misery so they can harvest it," he finally answers, looking away and slouching a little bit. "Every time one of them tries to talk to her, she fights them. If they don't want to hit back, she fights them harder. I don't know what she's done to other people, and I can't think of anything I can do for her."

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

"Labyrinth happened?" Eri straightens up just a touch. Looking extremely confused, she thinks on it for a while, thinks back to her past with badly dubbed Western movies. "Please don't tell me that guy that's after Madoka-chan is also the Goblin King, or my life just got a whole lot stranger."

She puts a hand to her head and groans. "Well that explains what she was talking about when it comes to finding new friends. She didn't fight me though, unless trouncing me in the Sailor V game counts as fighting."

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Giving Eri something of a side-eye there, Mamoru starts to say something, then laughs -- and it's not a happy laugh, but it ''is'' a real one. "No, it's some bad guy organization answering to some person they call Mobius-sama. Just-- don't ask anyone you don't KNOW is magical about it, because that can get attention dropped on you too."

Finally, Mamoru sighs and hunches over, elbows on his knees and face briefly in his hands before he takes a deep breath and rests his chin on his fists, looking out over the city again. "Yeah. She found new evil friends. Hey-- I didn't know you knew her secret identity." Glance sidelong. "That makes things slightly easier."

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

There's a tick on her expression, when he mentions the word Mobius, just a twitch of the eyebrow. The honorific doesn't seem to blunt the blow any, but soon her facial features smooth out. "How many evil organizations are there anyhow?" Eri rubs a hand to her face, "Life was simpler when I thought there was just 'Dark Fall' as a whole, and monsters which just appear out of nowhere." Like witches. Born from people's despair. So straight forward and complicated at the same time.

Eri looks sideways, her expression showing a small amount of irritation, "And I told you I did, when you sent me that text on staying away from her, remember? I just don't say speak on her secrets out loud." A beat, "Guess I didn't follow that recommendation either, but I don't tend to take advice on staying away from friends well."

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

At least the guy looks chagrined. "I forgot," he admits. "I was kind of preoccupied at the time-- because I have the same reaction, even when I know they're not my friends."

He starts kind of massaging his hand between thumb and forefinger, like he has a cramp there or something, but it's more a distracted thing than anything else. Fishing for good news, he is. Finally he brightens. "Me and Mai-chan are okay, by the way. She thought I wouldn't want to have anything to do with her, but god, that's just--" He shakes his head. Sometimes, Mamoru is crap at words. Usually those having to do with feelings. "Anyway we're cool and!! She's seeing someone."

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Something stiffens in her shoulders. She takes a moment to clasp the jeweled bracelet around her wrist, staring at it again, before turning to face him fully. Bespectacled green eyes look at him unblinking for a moment, before she offers, "Shiori, right? I haven't met her yet. She sounds nice."

Both eyes shut, then open again. It was just a quick blink. "And I don't blame her for that. It's a pretty logical fear, isn't it? You said it yourself." Her voice takes on a slight edge to it, "You wouldn't have, if it wasn't magical possession. You'd be gone, if she'd just erred. Made a mistake."

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

A nod, slightly rueful, about Shiori. And then the upperclassman blinks, both at the 'it's a pretty logical fear, you said so yourself' and then at the sharp tone Eri takes on. There's an immediate denial on the tip of Mamoru's tongue, but he frowns and holds up his hand. He's thinking about it, clearly.

He really, really thinks about it, retreating a little into his own mind, like he's so very good at doing. Part of it's going back and examining what his feelings were in Crown, and part of it's examining his feelings afterwards, and then his feelings at the ill-fated karaoke event.

Slowly, the tall boy shakes his head, and then brings himself out of the reverie and locks eyes with Eri. "No. If she'd made a mistake, I'd have forgiven her. If it had been a bad day to make her say the things she did, I'd've forgiven her. I would have been angry for a while, but I'd have gotten over it."

He shifts, half-turning so he's not quite fully facing Eri -- to do that he'd more or less have to sit crosslegged on top of the stairwell hut, but he's still sitting sideways enough that his legs are dangling off the edge. His face is earnest, his body language open: these, too, are things few people see. And he's not looking away. It's not quite like he levies that weighted attention, but it's related.

"I knew something was very wrong even at the time-- she grabbed my tie and forced it, and I could feel what she was feeling, and it wasn't right at all. Not even a little. Nobody gets rid of a lifetime of guilt in a week, nobody. There wasn't any inside her at all, not for anything. Someday I'd like to see her able to do that for real, but it's the kind of thing that takes time, and the desire to do so. And then Usagi-chan came in-- and things got very... loud. And Mai-chan said some really awful things. But-- I was angrier about Usa, her reaction-- and the situation, and I already suspected Nephrite because of Rune-chan and the others."

He exhales through his teeth, then, and finally looks down and away from Eri, lacing his fingers together and sort of distantly looking at them. "And the night of karaoke... I was still raw, and Usagi-chan was there too, and it was awkward and I hate awkward and Mai-chan was... if it hadn't been Nephrite, and the things I felt from her when she kissed me were really real, then she ''wasn't''... what I said to you was I couldn't talk to her until she was civilized. And people who take without concern over consequences, or take without consent, and who have no compassion or worry for anyone but themselves-- that's not civilized, is it?"

Mamoru looks back up at Eri again, and his lips are thin and a thousand emotions are making his face tight and pinched. "That's not right. If it's an external force doing it, they can be healed, helped. If it's not, they might still be convinced, if something gets through, wakes them up. If they do it and enjoy it and are never sorry, that's-- I can't forgive that. But that's not Mai. That was never Mai."

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

There's a lot of things that could be said, there. She watches him a raise a finger. She listens to everything he states, expressionless. While she may not have the best social skills, she's a rather good listener at least. And when he's finished, her expression is the same. She holds up a hand of her own. Asking for a moment to frame her own thoughts after a minute of silence, she puts the hand down. "Not all of us have the benefit of being an empath you know. People like me need to be told things. And Mai-chan has told me things, like why she has that angry guilt wound up inside of her like a gnarled root. It's not my place to tell you that, and it's not your place to ask either."

She huffs out a breath into the still chill spring air, leaning forward to clasp her hands together, "And I'm not saying you shouldn't be angry about it either, especially if it wasn't magically coerced. It was a violation of trust and boundaries and all of those things which are important, but..." She let's that word linger in the air, perhaps as a preview of things to come, "...if she thinks even for a second that the people in her life that she cares about are going to leave her over one mistake, then she's never going to get over it. Ever. You're just going to contribute to her staying like that forever, and she's going to run herself to the ground some day, because she'll think she can't let up even a little. So saying you're angry when she makes up, that's fine. Setting ground rules? Also okay. Saying you're /gone/ if she makes a mistake? That kind of undermines saying you care about her. What happens if she makes a mistake the next time she drinks. Are you going to say that her when she's drunk isn't her either, that it was never her?"

Her expression has a 'come on' sort of look to it, as she rolls her eyes. "People can let go of something like that at any moment, for any reason, then let it seize hold of them again at a moment's notice. People are complicated like that. They're not some sort of robots that always have to follow set programming just because something shitty happened to them once." She may not be talking about just Mai there either. It might be a tad more personal.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

As Eri goes on, Mamoru's face gradually closes off. She started off expressionless; he ends up that way. But he also doesn't stop watching her, reading her, throughout.

It may not be the best of signs when he takes a moment to speak again once Eri's finished-- a moment where he's still not looking away, where he's still studying her face, her body language.

Finally, he looks away from her and braces his hands against the edge, leaning forward a little. "First," he says quietly, "if it's a benefit, it's because I choose to use it as such even when it hurts. I wouldn't wish it on ''anyone''." That last word is bitten out, the only sign of emotion he lets go, right this moment. "Second, what makes you think I said anything like that to her? What makes you think I would? When it happened, all I could say to her was that I knew something was wrong. I was too busy getting yelled at by a tiny, violent blonde to even think of getting into any more of a conversation than that. Third, what the hell makes you think I hold grudges? Even when I said what pissed you off, what I said was conditional. All she'd've needed to say was sorry. ''Even if she wasn't.''"

Finally, he looks at Eri again, and he lets a little of his own anger and hurt show in his eyes-- and it's not cold. It's not. He can tell there's something else going on there. She's not JUST making assumptions. He can see that much -- and with some of the things Mai's said to him, he also suspects she's projecting somewhat. But it still hurts, it's still insulting, he's still angry. He's just not cutting her off.

"I don't abandon people I care about. It's kind of the definition of caring. I stopped even being mad at her ''the day it happened''. Stop accusing me of things you're afraid I might do because other people do them sometimes."

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Witnessing his anger directing might have made her blanch if she were in any other statement of mind. However, right now, she was protecting someone, and that required her to be herself. Her feelings came out bluntly, without a filter. "If I thought for a moment you said it to her then I wouldn't be here having this conversation. I'd be there with her, wrapping her feelings in cotton, and it'd be completely to the detriment of my own personal survival to be doing that, but I'd do it anyhow."

Unlacing her fingers, she sits up, back straight in the face of his indignant anger, "You seem to think though that I'm basing this on more than I am. I'm just angry over what you said /to me/ and that's it. Hell." She puts one hand on her knee. "What makes you even think I think you're holding a grudge? You said it yourself! You knew it wasn't her all along!" Her other waves in the air, palm open, "That it was magic! That she felt... /wrong/."

The other hand drops to her opposite knee. "Why even say what you did to me then? That if you're wrong, and it's not magic, that you're going home until she becomes a human being? It was days later, and you're /not/ holding a grudge. You forgave her on the same day." She looks straight into his eyes for a while, judging, or perhaps not. "It's okay to feel angry and betrayed when something like that happens, and to tell people that. She'd probably even have appreciated it. Not doing so kind of undermines all of her feelings about you know, her entire life." Eventually she looks down at her hands, "It'd let her know you care, and that you wouldn't give up on her even if she'd screwed up for real."

Looking back up, she leans back on her palms, staring up into the dusk air and sighing softly, "So no, I'm not angry because I think you would abandon her. I'm angry because neither of you know how to express your feelings in a healthy way, and I know it's going to hurt both of you in the long run. Maybe I'm angry at myself too, I don't know."

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"I wouldn't have been able to talk to her about it at all if it had been all her, not until and unless she started caring again. I was ninety-nine percent sure it wasn't, and I wasn't angry with her anymore, but I was still angry, and I was still hurt, and I had the ramifications of it staring me in the face when you brought it up," Mamoru says sharply, his expression going hard, and the chill finally creeping into it. "Of course I snapped."

Fluidly, he gets to his feet, and he stands tall and stiff and stone-faced, face turned down toward Eri, silhouetted by the cooperative moon. "I'm angry with you right now. I'll get over that, too. Since you're so worried about Mai's mental well-being, maybe you should be talking to her, not me. Maybe she knows I care because I kept trying to see her afterwards. Kept texting her. Let her explain to me why I should be angrier than I was, and then explained to her how I needed her friendship and couldn't ever cut her off, not completely, not even if she hurt me on purpose-- like I need yours, and couldn't ever cut you off."

It's between eyeblinks again: there's suddenly a cape in the wind, a hat making him even taller, and the glimmering white mask that's bright even when the rest of him is dark. "But unless there's a reason for me to grind myself into the ground, if I get hurt, I back away. I don't leave my hand on the burning stovetop, I run it under cold water and then go back when the heat's died down. So I'm going to go now. Call me if you need me."

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

There's a moment, when it looks like she's going to say something, then grunts with the effort of forcing the comment back down her throat, swallowing it as if it were a morsel of poorly cooked and ill-chewed meat. Instead she slowly stands, patting herself off, her tone taking on some bitterness, "Alright yeah. It's my fault for not being able to read the situation. How silly of me to ask whether the rumors were true, or whether you thought she was under the influence of magic or not."

Her tone takes on a sarcastic edge, "And forgive me for having the audacity to call you on something like that so you won't screw up her life in the future. You're right, I should probably be talking to Mai instead on things that would /break/ her even more if she knew."

She turns around, speaking towards the air rather than the cape, the mask, and the hat, "Which is why I'm /not/ talking to her on it, and I'm letting the two of you resolve things in your own way. I thought it would be common decency to let you know what a casual comment like that could do to her. Instead I'm just an idiot who doesn't care about your feelings for trying to protect your friendship with her. So go ahead. Be angry. I'm really good at suffering the anger of people I care about."

Fishing out an ear bud from her pocket, she places it in an ear, the other connector goes into a phone. Somehow when she brings out a gem and transforms in a haze of green light, which brings the smell of rain, and the sound of leaves rushing in the wind with her, it remains there. "Good chat. Enjoy your cold shower, I'll be out tracking horrors so I can survive past the Spring Break." With a leap, she's gone.

She pretends there's nothing in her eyes as the verse of a song plays.
<blockquote>o/~ How many tears must be shed...</blockquote>
<blockquote>o/~ Every Heart, Before we can become honest?</blockquote>
<blockquote>o/~ To whom must we proclaim our feelings...</blockquote>
<blockquote>o/~ Every Heart, So that we can no longer feel loneliness?</blockquote>

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

And one more time, Mamoru stares after a friend's retreating back.

One more time, Tuxedo Mask can't actually understand anything about a girl.

One more time, Mamoru reconsiders his decision to come out of his ivory tower.

...one more time, Tuxedo Mask just leaves.

(He is undoubtedly going to eat all of Makoto's chocolate chips again.)

2014-10-03 - Ghost in the Shelves

2014-10-04T22:07:55Z

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Ghost in the Shelves'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''There have been reports of hauntings in the bottom forty, as it were. They were viewed as primarily rumour dreamt up to keep underclassmen away from some of the more dangerous areas, or an elaborate prank, or some kind of setup for a prank-- and then the rumors started including injuries and kids scared speechless and even suddenly-white hair. Still, none of it's proven, and the intrepid members of the Library Island Exploration Club have decided to take one evening and lay it all to rest...''

''...whether 'it all' involves rumors, or actual ghosts.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Shun Minami]], [[Kinzo Hiroyuki]], [[Lera Camry]], [[Maron Kusakabe]], [[Makoto Kino]], [[Lucy Iwai]], [[Fuu Hououji]], and [[Hikaru Shidou]]; emitted by [[Mamoru Chiba]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
[[Library Island]], [[Infinity Institute]]
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
10/03/2014 - 22 March 2014
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Just because it's sunny outside doesn't mean the warm light of the searing ball of plasma hurtling through space reaches the insides of buildings-- or the deep insides. Or the deep, deep insides. It being Saturday, school's out; Infinity being huge, it's echoingly quiet. Given the goals of the day, it's likely unsurprising that the hush has a slightly eerie quality to it.

At least upon entering the library-- well, going through the doors in the skyscraper that lead to it-- the sunshine lends a wistful glow to the mist that hangs over the water, softening the edges of the bridge and the outline of the island in the middle of the lake.

It's still quiet.

Equipment was thoughtfully gathered ahead of time by those club members who, due to other commitments, couldn't be there to help entice new people to join: rucksacks with emergency rations, flashlights, rope, first aid kits, space blankets, extra socks, and extra rope; a few shovels, a couple of compasses, two printouts of the latest available map, hard hats; a Geiger counter, a high definition digital recorder, an EMF reader, several pairs of night vision goggles, and walkie-talkies.

It's a lot of stuff, and newcomers might honestly wonder at the necessity of some of this gear.

The giant doors beckon, and the mist moves around the adventurers despite the profound lack of wind; the hazy shapes of towering bookshelves half-buried in the sand darken the bright fog irregularly to either side of them. At least the path to the doors is relatively clear.

A low, muffled cry sounds from inside, somewhere, and the mist briefly chills.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

When Lucy Iwai told Lera Camry that she should join the Library Island Exploration Club, she didn't have to ask twice. Delving into dungeons sounded like the most amazing, most awesome thing ever. Being here -- as a new member, if technically more of a guest because the new school year hasn't started yet -- is actually a little more scary. There is equipment, and she has a backpack loaded with a spool of rope, a flashlight, and a shovel. She also has a hardhat on.

And, of course, the giant doors are /right/ there. Lera stares up at them and walks forward -- and looks at the bookshelves. This, she realizes, is serious. This looks really haunted! Like there may be ghosts and goblins lurking in there!

She does not ask if this is such a good idea. Instead, she murmurs:

"Coooooooooooool~!"

<Pose Tracker> Shun Minami [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

By contrast, Shun Minami has been a member of the Library Island Exploration Club since he enrolled in Infinity Institute, but due to encroaching finals, student council elections, and various other necessary duties, he hasn't had the time to actually join in on an expedition. That won't do, so when one was scheduled before the very end of the year, he made a point to be able to attend.

It's a bit different from what he expected, though not necessarily in a bad way. The sheer amount of preparation involved in even a single expedition is promising. Shun, for his part, wears a backpack with various necessary supplies and an attitude of total confidence, despite this being his first time out--though not his first time to Library Island, period. He looks around at the others assembled, observing and making note of them; overhearing Lera's starry-eyed comment, he smiles slightly her way, but doesn't yet say anything.

There will be much to learn today.

<Pose Tracker> Maron Kusakabe [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Maron Kusakabe is here again for the usual reason. Because Lucy asked her to come. Actually it was more like she was asked a million times if she'd already made up her mind about joining the club, never giving a definite answer, and finally getting invited along on another excursion because it was easier to get her to agree to that much. It was the perfect angle: knowing that Maron was into occult TV shows, surely asking her to come investigate ghosts would make it impossible to refuse!

Well, agree Maron did, but probably not quite as readily as expected. 'The paranormal is best left to the professionals,' she reminded Lucy once again, the credo of one of her favorite shows. But knowing that wouldn't be much of a dissuasion, she decided to come along just to make sure nobody would get hurt. It's not like there would actually be ghosts involved anyway, right? Even if it's presented as reality TV, those shows are just fiction. There's no such thing as ghosts.

Yes, she is firmly holding onto that belief. Even though Maron has already seen angels, demons, youma, witches, tons of people wielding various magical powers, and oh yeah, /an actual ghost/. Few possess the kind of special talent required to still be skeptical about this stuff despite all of that.

Even so, she can't deny it feels kind of neat, having all this stuff available that they also carry on those shows. It at least /feels/ pretty real this way. And it's by far best preparation that she'd ever had going into these things. Unfortunately, it's also a little heavy. She'd actually feel more confident if she had more freedom of movement. But oh well.

For now, she just moves along with the group, keeping her thoughts to herself. Lera being here is a little awkward, as it always is when dealing with people she already knows, but isn't supposed to know yet. Oh, double life, you always complicate things. She briefly freezes and looks worried when she hears the sound coming from inside, before smiling and deciding, "...probably just the wind."

This isn't the first time she's said that about sounds in the Library. It hasn't been correct yet. But no reason it couldn't be right /this/ time.

<Pose Tracker> Kinzo Hiroyuki [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Kinzo Hiroyuki isn't a part of the Library Island Exploration Club---but he does like helping out, and the excitment typically involved in these kind of expeditions. Also, school is ending soon- he might aswell end 11th Grade with something potentially exciting. He smiles and gives Lera a wave as he leans down and picks up one of the rucksacks. He opens it and looks into it and blinks. Huh, that's a little more than he's used to, even for this kind of thing.

He slings it over his shoulder and smiles. "Hey, Lera. Haven't you been in here before?" he asks curiously, as he follows along with the group, placing a finger underneath his chin. He frowns as he eyes the large door. He looks over to Shun and gives him and a wave and a smile... and then Maron.

He kind of tries very hard not to look at Maron. He still may be a little weird about the last time- with the whole gas trap making him see things and what not. "Yeah, probably just the wind." he seems to agree.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

Fuu Hououji is very big on planning ahead, and would have made sure to load one of those rucksacks up herself. Rope is an absolute must in Library Island, and a good grappling hook doesn't hurt either; two flashlights and extra batteries for both; first-aid kit, a canteen full of clean water .. and so forth. She's dependent on one of her sempai within the club to confirm what's actually necessary, what's a good idea, and what she should leave to the real experts, but she has a sense of what's a REALLY good idea to have along on this expedition.

Her backpack is substantial but not overloaded as she makes her way along with the rest of the group. "Do we have a specific goal for this trip?" she inquires of the others; it may have come up in previous conversation, but she's looking to refresh her memory on what that destination IS. The anime fair was kind of distracting, and she's actually glad to be done with it ...

At least there are some familiar faces in the group, even if there are some unfamiliar ones as well.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Though not a club member herself, Makoto has at least been in the library before - once. That once (plus a series of slightly pleading texts from Mamoru) is enough that she's taken it upon herself to help distribute gear and make sure that everyone going on this expedition has, at a bare minimum, a hard hat and a flashlight. No exceptions.

She's wearing one of the hats herself, of course, her hair pulled back into a practical braid instead of her more usual ponytail. Hitching her shoulders to settle one of the rucksacks into a slightly more comfortable distribution of its weight on the shoulder straps, Mako sweeps her gaze slowly across the assembled group, a last check before they officially head inside.

The question from Fuu brings Makoto's attention toward her, and the tall girl smiles a little. "If I understand right," she answers, "we're going to find out for sure whether there's really a ghost here, or if it's all just rumors." She glances toward Lucy after she says it, a questioning look as though seeking confirmation.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Library Island. New place for Hikaru, but exploring's always fun. She did some last minute preparing and arrived as quickly as she could. Even with her backpack packed fairly full, it's still light enough to move around with. Good thing too, since Hikaru doesn't like being weighed down.

<Pose Tracker> Lucy Iwai [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

Rumors of /ghosts/!

Normally just there being an expedition would have been enough to get Lucy to come. But this, however, has gotten her excited enough to enlist others into the effort, Lera being her newest friend, and Maron being a fellow fan of paranormal investigation shows. Today they're busting out the really specialized equipment, which means this is no joke!

She's greeted everyone with her usual cheer, most of them her friends, though Shun is not someone she's spoken to before. To her eternal pride, she's been put in charge of keeping the group safe, and will be sharing that task with Makoto. Though Lucy doesn't know about her secret identity, she's still very glad for the assistance. She's the kind of person it feels safe to have on your side, she finds!

She nods to Makoto. Much like last time, she has a few notes on what's ahead to read from, and pulls them from her bag, reading from the light attached to her helmet. "The reports indicate that the ghost's sightings were in the area where a person died in an accident back in the fifties, though since the records of that time were partially destroyed, we don't know whether it was a library caretaker, a sixth-grade girl, a tenth-grade boy, or a government agent. We'll be heading to that area, find out if there's really a ghost, and... ah, improvise from there, I suppose!" Lucy sounds rather confident when she says this, smiling.

Then the doors open, and the mist rolls in... All right, the atmosphere in this library has always been a bit unsettling, but this is a new level of ominous. "I-It must be!" she answers Maron, smile frozen in place, but voice suddenly trembling a little.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Empty of immediately visible probably sentient life, the grand first room of the library has a strange quality to its sound: it's partially dampened from echoing by the beautiful carved wooden bookcases lining the massive space and the books that rest sedately on their solid shelves, but only partially. The acoustics of the place lend themselves well to psyching oneself out.

Further into the library, behind shelves beyond one of the corridors leading away from the main hall, perhaps, there's a long, low creaking sound. A chilly breeze comes from that direction, blowing the mist back outside past the ankles of the students. Drafty. Maybe one of the walls needs repairing again.

The maps, at least, seem to outline a reasonable-looking path-- but yes, yes, it ''does'' lead through the sketchy hall in the direction of the breeze.

When the little bit of wind dies down again, stillness reigns once more, and the vastness of the place seems to somehow be emphasizing itself.

Someone ''died''.

Once the group's on its way down the side hall, there's at least the noise of their passing; the gathering of living, breathing young people ''does'' work to disperse the oppressive alone-ness, especially in a smaller space. Books line the walls, some of them clearly not having been moved in years, as they've grown roots. Now and then, the further they go, there are bigger roots that disrupt the floorboards, and then the floor tiles, and then the mossy eroded brick and stone. The light remains a constant, dim and ambient, directionless unless one should be looking at words.

The scent of sea spray hits the air before the distant white noise of the ocean hitting a rocky coast begins to filter in, and faintly, though it could be an artifact of the rhythmic waves' echo, it sounds like someone's crying.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"Nope," Lera replies to Kinzo, smiling sideways at him. "Never! I always wanted to, though. And now I get to!" She nods, before she looks at Shun -- ooh, he's cute! -- and keeps the smile on, and then at Maron. She waves her hand at them, realizing she better introduce herself. Soon enough, she will be their new clubmate! "I'm Lera. Lera Camry. From America! Nice to meet all of you!"

She listens to Lucy's explanation; her eyes widen, a little bit, and she starts to look much more serious about that. Are they here to set a ghost at ease? That is incredible. If a little scary.

She starts moving down the hallway, following the breeze. Lera's head is directed here and there to the books -- trying to get glimpses of titles. She wanted to grow up into a famous mage adventurer, and mage adventurers went into ruins like this, to learn secrets of the past. It may be romantic, but this is what she wanted to grow up to do. She draws a gasp in, though, as she sees the roots that have somehow grown down into floorboards.

"That's... that's something else," Lera murmurs, before she looks up -- and sniffs the air. "The ocean?"

<Pose Tracker> Shun Minami [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Shun's green eyes cross over Maron, who comes off to him as nervous, given the way she freezes at the sound of the 'wind.' Perhaps this is a first expedition for her as well? Beyond that, he doesn't recognize her. Kinzo he *does* recognize, being in the same class as him; Shun also recognizes him from the Student Council speeches. As he recalls, he's running against Hayato as President. Shun considers him for a moment, but doesn't say anything to him yet. Fuu seems well-prepared, and asks decent questions; as Shun recalls, she's a full member of the LIE Club, though he doesn't really know her beyond that. Makoto seems similarly well-prepared, particularly given that she answers Fuu's question concisely, though she *should* be well-prepared given that she's co-leader of this expedition. (Shun allowed her to make him wear a hard hat, but only grudgingly.) Hikaru he almost doesn't notice at first due to her height; when he does, he gives her a brief, wondering look, then finally rests his attention on the leader of the expedition: Lucy Iwai.

He'd greeted her politely enough before. He has no reason *not* to be polite to her, considering she's in charge and he's new to the club. Shun would rather not make any waves, at least in the beginning; he has his own reasons for joining this club, and it's best to integrate as smoothly as possible. For that reason, when Lera introduces herself, he gives her an equally polite nod. "Shun Minami," he counter-self-introduces. "A pleasure to meet you."

He muses over Lucy's range of options; that's some very different people who potentially died. The prospect of it actually being a spirit of the dead is intriguing in its own right, and when the doors roll open, he follows the others' leads.

"Do people die often in Library Island?" he wonders as they begin to work their way through misty hallways and around book-laden shelves. The cold wind blows, punctuating his question, and as they go, he casts looks towards texts that have literally gone to seed, frowning.

The sudden smell of salt and waves jars him from those thoughts, and Shun turns around in time to hear the sound of the ocean. He does not yet hear the crying, or rather, it's not the kind of thing he's naturally attuned to hearing, being a rather alien sound to him until recently. Rather than remark on anything, though, he glances at the others to gauge their reactions.

<Pose Tracker> Maron Kusakabe [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Maron notably didn't actually keep wearing the hard hat she was given. She tried, but her hair got in the way, and soon enough she decided it was too uncomfortable and probably would just look dumb on her anyway. Those are good enough reasons to be a rebel and flake out on a safety precaution.

The Juuban student must have definitely noticed Kinzo, but she hasn't really shown any signs of holding what happened during that gas trap incident against him. Maybe she's forgotten about it?

Of course then he actually speaks in response to her, giving her an excuse to respond in turn. Even if it's actually a response to Lucy, who could obviously use a bit more reassurance. It's just loud enough for anybody to hear. "Of course that's all it was! No need to worry, see, the pervert thinks so too." It's unclear if that was actually intended to be an accusation of some sort, as casually as she said it. The previous unfortunate circumstances might have led to her deciding that that's just what she's going to call Kinzo now.

When Lera introduces herself, Maron expertly handles acting as if this is their first official introduction, cheerfully responding in kind: "Ah, right, my name is Maron Kusakabe!" As a service to the American from America, she adds in English, "<Nice to meet you!>" It's also at least partially out of curiosity regarding the reaction. She hasn't forgotten that this girl seemed to think 'bonjour' was English, too.

The draft blowing through the halls as the group proceeds gives Maron's theory further credence, allowing her confidence in the expedition turning out well to stay pretty high. She just glossed over the story of people dying, until Shun brings it up again, prompting her to immediately assert, "I'm sure those stories are exaggerated. It can't be /that/ dangerous, if students are allowed to explore like this. Why, are you scared?"

She doesn't get to tease about that for very long, however. The ocean sounds and smells didn't really fase her, given what she's already seen down here. But the sounds of crying quickly makes her the one who looks scared, or at the very least worried. "Is... is somebody there?" It's not quite clear who she's asking. If she wanted the person themselves to answer, she probably shouldn't have been speaking as softly as she did.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

"So, we're looking for a ghost ..." Fuu falls silent for a moment as she moves along with the group. "Did anyone bring exorcism supplies, then? Holy water, blessed salt, prayer slips ... something?"

Her, scared of ghosts? She's not telling - but she's taking this at least somewhat seriously, apparently.

<Pose Tracker> Lucy Iwai [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

Lucy is doing her best to have a brave face on for everyone here, but as she walks forward, illuminating the way with her flashlight, it's hard not to wonder about a few things. Things like whether her trusty club, stashed away amidst the many things in her backpack, would even be able to hit a ghost if it turned out to be an evil one. Or whether it was such a good idea to go to a place where, despite how easy it's been to take in stride Library Island's dangerous nature otherwise, someone had actually died.

The company of friends, at least, breaks the uncomfortable silence, and she's glad for that, though Shun's question is not precisely reassuring. "It's the only case I know of, sometimes people do get injured, but the club's main job is to make sure everyone is safe, after all..."

Her voice doesn't tremble anymore, but then the cool wind blows. A chill runs down her spine.

Lucy's nostrils flare as the unmistakable, out-of-place smell of the ocean reaches her, before anyone else, as far as she can tell, seems to notice it. It's rather distracting from the wonderful sights, and when Lera points the smell and sounds, she nods in agreement. How odd. And then... Crying?

Nervously, she checks the Geiger counter attached to her belt. Seems all right for now. (Lucy does not actually know what a Geiger counter is for.) "This way," she says as evenly as she can, leading the group in the direction of the crying sound.

<Pose Tracker> Kinzo Hiroyuki [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Kinzo Hiroyuki turns on a flashlight as he pulls it out of the backpack and sort of shines it into his face at first--- he sort of reacts in a 'ack it blinded me!' manner, he squints and turns it back towards the stacks and hrms a bit to himself, he answers Shun. "I don't think that's a thing that happens often here?" he asks as he looks on ahead at the odd sounds and smells---the kind you don't normally hear in a Library- that you'd expect say- in the Harbor. He raises a brow.

"I wonder what that is." he says.

Then Maron's off calling him a pervert again and het gives a long, sufffffffering sigh. There's really no point in causing an argument about it right now. He's never going to live that gas trap down. Ever.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

As for Makoto... well, she just kind of sighs, stepping very carefully over a tangle of thick, gnarled, moss-covered roots in front of her before pausing momentarily to look at her copy of the map. "Shockingly," she reports, her voice very wry, "the ocean is ''not'' on the map. It might be out of date again."

The look that she turns toward the distant hiss of surf is more curious than wary, though she still moves carefully. "We don't know for ''sure'' there's a ghost," Mako remarks, following Lucy's lead toward the scents of the sea. "I get the impression that a lot of weird things happen down here... I don't know about any of you guys, but I'm not really qualified to perform an exorcism."

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Hikaru is starting to begin to think that this isn't the best idea after all, given how crazy this place is looking. But she reminds herself that even though she's in her civilian form at the moment, she's still a Magic Knight, and if things get to that, well... well, let's just hope they don't get that far in terms of things like that. Let's just hope this is just a spooky coincidence or something like that instead.

Hikaru bites her lower lip as the breeze can be heard blowing by, and then the echo gets to her, which makes her a little more uneasy by the moment. "It's just the ocean, yeah," Hikaru replies, although the hesitancy in her voice indicates she's definitely not feeling right about this. When Fuu mentions ghosts, Hikaru looks at her and cocks an eyebrow while scowling with the other. "Come on, Fuu-chan! Ghosts don't exist! That's just a bunch of nonsense!" Of course, whether Hikaru means that for real is anyone's guess.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Despite the pausing, the trepidation, and the skepticism, the sound of ocean waves is utterly unmoved. Oceans ''move'', they do the moving, they aren't the moved! Unless one asks one of les Sirenes, then it's somewhat less clear.

The odd thing is, the books aren't especially damp, nor is the earthy, broken-up floor of cobbles and moss and tree- and book-roots. The scent is there, the sound is there, but the humidity's even less than what one might expect for a below-basement area carved from caves well below the waterline of the lake that surrounds them.

The air is dry and cool, and the further they proceed, the greener the moss grows and the more organic the bookshelves appear. Overhead is no longer the ceiling of a hallway, but leavy branches arching up into the darkness.

The ocean sound doesn't get any nearer, but the soft crying does-- until it stops abruptly at the calling out.

The end of the hall is in sight, now, and it opens up into a vast space crisscrossed with ladders and stairs and strung overhead with rope bridges, all attached to bookcases of varying heights. Through the center of the room is a large crevasse, with moss growing up the sides and bridged by logs.

An echoing sniffle comes up from inside-- this part of the enormous maze of a library is circled on the maps, with smaller circles inside it of probable sites.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"Nice to meet you both!" Lera says to Shun and Maron. She grins at them, before she lifts a finger up next to her head. There is an incoming (nonsense) lecture about her alleged homeland. "This reminds me of--"

Before she can offer sage advice about the nature of America to Maron and Shun, though, the crying catches her ears. Her raised finger droops down like a wilting flower, before she looks nervously at Lucy. Her mouth opens, before she nods. "Oh no," she says. "I hope it isn't a sad ghost. Does our official club handbook have something on how to send restive spirits to the hereafter? That seems like something that... might be in the manual?"

Lera keeps walking while she talks, though -- and then she sees the crevasse. The sound of the waves, she thinks, is strange. It keeps up when they get to the end, though, and there isn't a sign of an ocean. And the air is not damp -- nor are the books. But more than that, there is something about the waves. Her gold-brown eyes narrow, thoughtfully, and she reaches a hand up, tugging on her hair.

"I think..." She trails off. "There's something with the wave sound, it's not like a normal wave. It's repetitive!"

<Pose Tracker> Shun Minami [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

'Just' the ocean, Hikaru says. 'It might be out of date again,' Makoto says, of the map. They're so *blase* about it. Shun refrains from reacting outwardly, but he finds he has to wonder about Earth humans. The ocean is not typically an indoor feature. Still, for that very reason, it's a point in favor of a certain hypothesis of his...

"I see," Shun says to Lucy. Just one death in the history of the club? Injuries aside, that seems rather impressive, for an Earth organization. He glances over at Fuu when she asks after exorcism equipment. "I'm afraid I didn't. That sort of thing isn't my forte."

Definitely not his forte, he thinks, remembering the exorcism techniques Sailor Mars used on Dark Mercury.

While Shun may be unused to oceans, having grown up in a decidedly dry environment, it does soon strike him as odd that the ocean doesn't get any louder or quieter regardless of where they move to, something that stands out to him when the sound of crying *does* get louder--now loud enough for him to notice it too. It also soon strikes him as odd that the air is so dry if there's supposed to be a body of water linked somewhere in the Library Island space. Frowning, he strains his ears on it as he walks along with and behind the others, noting the earthier progression of their environment with distinct unease. As the minutes progress and they make their way further and further in, Lera voices what he's concluded.

"I've come to the same conclusion," he says, nodding briefly Lera's way. "There's a pattern to it--a loop of about two minutes' worth of variations, I'd estimate."

He pauses.

"It also seems to be moving with us," he adds, as if it weren't creepy enough in here.

<Pose Tracker> Kinzo Hiroyuki [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Kinzo Hiroyuki listens as he looks over to Lera, he's been thinking something seemed off for a bit. It seemed. Timed. Lera notices it too. He nods a bit. "Yeah. It's repeating." he says to Lera and Shun with a smile. "I wonder what it is." he says as he thinks a bit. What makes waves in a repeating pattern?

He looks up and down the mossy stacks, as he huhs. "I don't /think/ there's water anywhere in here. I mean. It's not even very damp."

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

"Actually, the water isn't necessarily that far away," Fuu points out. "The library *is* built on - and into - the island, after all ... but it's a little unusual that we can hear the waves this clearly."

She pauses briefly. "And that the sound stays consistent no matter where we are ..." she adds, as if just realizing that it *IS* of a consistent volume despite where we're going. Combining that with the steady repetition that Lera just mentioned ...

"Maybe it's actually the ghost of a mermaid or something?" she asks lightly - but behind the attempt at a joke, she's starting to try and put the pieces together. She may need more of the pieces to work with first, though.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"The ghost of a mermaid?" Hikaru turns away quickly, her voice sounding like it's disgusted, but in reality, she's trying not to laugh. Her eyes are squeezed shut and her mouth is covered with her hand. "Oh, Fuu-chan..." Hikaru is trying not to laugh even more. Although something about this seems forced.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Makoto's head tilts, her expression turning to one of interest as the others make their observations. "So, it's not actually the ocean, then. That's good, probably." What about this she finds encouraging is hard to say, but she seems cheered nonetheless. "Maybe the map's still good after all." Silver lining?

She looks at her copy again, thoughtful. "We're near some of the likely spots, I think..." Abruptly, a thought seems to occur to Makoto, and she folds up the copy of the map to tuck it under her arm, freeing her hands so that she can dig into her rucksack. After a brief shuffling through the pack's contents, she comes up with the EMF reader. "Not that I've used one of these before," she admits, "but... worth a shot, huh?"

<Pose Tracker> Maron Kusakabe [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"I'd feel better if I could actually see the ocean," Maron remarks mostly to herself. There being an ocean down here somewhere would be no more than par for the course. It's a lot more unnerving when it feels like something is trying to make you think there's an ocean when there actually isn't. There must be a reason. And she's trying very hard not to remember the episode of Paranormal Super Sleuths where the investigators said they smelled the ocean when investigating the house of a man who drowned at sea, which was nowhere near the ocean.

Geh, she remembered it. A sad ghost, huh? No way, it can't be. She's got to take her mind off this somehow. The ocean sounds aren't exactly going to be very soothing under these circumstances. "A-anyway, we should keep an eye out for--"

It's almost involuntarily that Maron turns her head towards one of the bookcases, having seen something out of the corner of her eye. Even when she isn't actively trying to be particularly attentive to detail, spotting something that glints in an unexpected area still draws her attention. She could never turn off her curiosity either, and rather than finish her sentence, finds herself moving towards one of the ruined bookcases. It may look pretty random to others, particularly since she doesn't explain herself, but... her intuition is telling her that this is somehow important.

Though what she actually noticed in there was the glinting of coins, there's also a silver necklace in there. Though the impulse is there to take them, she refrains, remembering another episode from the show - she wouldn't want the ghost to think she was trying to steal from it. ...wait, no, why is she thinking about this again, there isn't any ghost, dangit!

Then her gaze follows the shelves towards the crevasse opening up next to them, and she notices parts of clothing. A faded shoe, old buttons scattered around. There's only one conclusion that she ends up arriving at: those are totally signs that somebody died around here. She starts to back away, immediately slipping and falling on her behind. She doesn't even remember to say 'ow', instead what comes out is, "Wh-what the heck is this doing here?!"

<Pose Tracker> Lucy Iwai [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

Lucy manages a giggle at Makoto's joke, despite the situation. She's been on enough expeditions down here, however, that the bizarre change in the environment doesn't really phase her.

"Not as far as I could tell," Lucy says sadly to Lera's question, "I checked." Then again, she found the unabridged version of the club handbook to be a dauntingly long read, sometimes covering incredibly specific cases with alarmingly vague instructions. For all she knows there may be detailed instructions on how to deal with the unquiet dead, but she hasn't found it despite her best efforts.

"We can try to talk to it," is all Lucy proposes. Who knows, this might actually be all it takes.

Then, Lera makes an odd observation, which a few others chime in to corroborate, but her mind is too far away for it to register. Her childhood has been full of expeditions on her own, finding treasure where it's least expected. Here, of all places, those instincts kick in-- it might be the familiar, almost comforting scent of the ocean. She signs Makoto to watch the group while she steps away from the rest and checks a nearby, half-broken bookcase, unbeknownst to her the one (fellow keen eyed super-sleuth) Maron checked just a second ago...

After searching between the boards, she finds a few coins and a broken, bright silver necklace with an oval locket. She examines the out-of-place objects for a moment, perplexed, before showing them to the rest of the group.

"Look! I found something!" This is precisely the kind of thing Paranormal Super Sleuths warned her about! And THIS is why paranormal investigation should be left to the professionals!

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The stillness of the room grows deeper around them, as if they were caught in the only bubble of life within the immense space. It's almost the thunderous silence right before tinnitus hits, and creeps up on it when there's a lull in conversation-- the sound of the ocean cuts off when Lucy takes the coins and the locket from the ground. Er, floor. And-- the longer the group remains more or less stationary, the less pervasive the scent of the ocean grows.

The EMF reader Makoto's holding cuts the sound problem nicely; its low hum is steady and reassuringly technological, reassuringly mundane, and gives no hints of resident electromagnetic fields greater than those given off by human beings. There's no particular electricity running down here, after all. Should she turn to look at what Lucy's holding up, however, the hum goes up in pitch.

The coins themselves all look old, and a quick glance will date them all at nineteen fifty-five, the year of the accident. The locket is bright: it's old, but it's not at all tarnished, and the clasp doesn't look broken.

The moss beneath Maron is soft and a little slippery, it's not impossible to imagine it might have been so those many years ago; the ground slopes gently down toward the crevasse, but there's a wide log across it right about where Maron would fall in had she been in mid-trip.

Just over the sound of the EMF reader, another sob escapes the gorge, echoing and alone-- but. But. It could just be something falling down and finally hitting, knocked off the ledge when Maron hit the ground.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"Yeah!" Lera agrees with Shun -- and the others, too. They put it eloquently. "And, uh, now that you mention it... the sound is totally following us. That isn't creepy at all, though. Really."

She purses her lips -- and then she hears what Maron (who she has only met once!) asks. She blinks, looking in her direction.

"What the heck is what doing here?" Lera asks Maron, before Lucy lifts up the silver necklace and draws her attention to that. It takes a moment more to notice the shoes, the buttons. Then her eyes begin to widen. They may have found where this person died. But what do they do, now? There isn't anything in the manual about this! Lucy just said so.

So when the sob comes over the sound of Makoto's reader, Lera lets out a yelp -- and a squeak -- and then she /points/ at the crevasse, generally. "G-Ghost!" she says. "The person who died is still here! What do we do! TH-TH-THEY DON'T PREPARE US FOR THIS IN AMERICA SCHOOL!"

<Pose Tracker> Shun Minami [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

The ghost of a mermaid? ...What's a mermaid? Shun decides not to ask.

"It may not be far away, but it shouldn't be this audible inside," Shun points out to Fuu. "Unless..." He pauses, considering, and then listens closely to the sound of the waves. Now that he knows to listen to it, the young man who grew up in a computerized society realizes it: "It's a recording. The speakers," he adds, eyeing the roots crawling in and out of the walls, "are remarkably well-hidden." He rests a hand on his chin, his other hand supporting his elbow. "The sea-salt smell hasn't been constant, though. It's stronger in some places than others. We may be approaching the source, but at an angle."

At that point, Maron and Lucy interrupt to point out the clothes and coins; Maron brings attention to it effectively by dropping to her butt and all but shrieking about it. The sobbing sound is tremendously clear, now, and emerges from the crevasse now in view. Shun frowns at it for a moment, before looking at the oval locket that Lucy cheerfully shows off to the crowd. It's in remarkably pristine condition for something that's been mouldering about for decades.

What *do* they do? Lera poses a good question. Shun has no answers, so he remains silent, opting to learn as much as possible by keeping his mouth shut and eyes and ears open. For the moment, he takes a couple steps closer to the gorge, careful to avoid the slippery moss as he leans in cautiously to see if he can't get a better view.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

When Lucy gestures to her and heads off after Maron, Makoto leaves off fiddling with the EMF reader and straightens slightly, turning her attention back to the group and do a quick headcount. The reader didn't really seem to be doing anything worth noting, anyway, just humming steadily.

At least, until Lucy holds up her find - and the hum of the reader suddenly goes up in pitch.

"Hey," Makoto says, suddenly a bit more tense; with the reader still in one hand, she looks up, sweeping another quick look around to check on each of the others and finding several of them closer to the crevasse than she really likes. "Careful by the edge," she warns, beginning to move closer herself, just in case anyone ends up in need of a swift rescue. "If you panic, that's when accidents happen."

<Pose Tracker> Kinzo Hiroyuki [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Kinzo Hiroyuki watches as Lera picks the items up---and the sound apparently dimishes thereafter. He looks more closely at the layout, and nods at Shun. "It would make sense the sound is artificial-- not many things keep a consistent pace like that." he says a bit as he hrmphs. He closes his eyes a bit as he thinks very carefully, and puts a hand over his mouth for his moment- and he takes a big, big sniff into the air.

"That smell isn't permenant. It's going away." he says with a frown. "Like something or someone sprayed it, or something like that." he says with a hrmmmmmm. She looks over at Makoto as the sob comes over her shoulder and walks on over. "Hey--- is anyone there?" he calls out, since he himself, hasn't tried. He's also nodding at Makoto. "Yeah- I wouldn't want to slip down there." he says.

<Pose Tracker> Maron Kusakabe [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Maron is always doing her best to project an image of strength, no matter what. Her methods aren't complicated. All she has to do is rationalize things in the most optimistic way possible, and have faith that the conclusions she arrives at are 100 percent correct.

The obvious flaw in this is what happens when she loses that faith, which tends to happen when she has evidence to the contrary right in front of her. Granted, it isn't solid, irrefutable evidence that this is indeed marking the spot where someone died. But she's completely convinced that it is, now, and despite Makoto going 'don't panic', she is panicking quite a bit over it. It's a scene straight out of her shows! It's real, it's all real!

And when that sob emerges... Well, this might just be the quickest anybody ever saw anyone shuffle backwards. Maron doesn't even bother to get back to her feet until she's gotten faaaaar away from the cravasse. When she finally does do so, she turns and all but flees in the opposite direction, much of the color drained from her skin. The final remnants of her efforts to save face consist of her suggesting to the group in general, "W-well, looks like we solved the mystery! Ahahaha... guess we can all go home now, right?"

And then she notices Lucy is holding the jewelry from earlier, and she panics all over again. "Lucy!! What are you doing, you're going to get us all cursed! Don't you remember season four, episode thirteen?!"

<Pose Tracker> Lucy Iwai [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

Lucy doesn't hear the very curious bit from Shun about this being a recording. The creepy clues she and Maron have found are enough to make her nervous once more, and it seems it's all starting to get to a few of her companions, none the least of which are Lera and Maron.

She looks down the crevasse, swallowing with an audible gulp and trying her best to steel herself. "Perhaps we should climb down. We have the equipment, after all. Of course, I can't force anyone to follow," she adds... And then, Makoto reminds them to be careful. "Ah! Yes." Lucy takes a few steps away. Safety first, of course!

Then Maron points to the locket still in her hands, and Lucy's expression turns embarassed. Of course! She should have known better, especially since she's one of those supposed to keep everyone safe! And still...

"I know, I know! But this might be an important clue as to who... died here," she says with some difficulty. Maybe opening it will unleash the Mummy's Curse or something equally sinister, but her conscience would never let her live it down if she went in without such a vital piece of the puzzle. She steps away from the rest, just in case this vaporizes her like in that archeologist movie she saw with Eri. Wouldn't want to subject everyone to the same fate.

And slowly, with trembling hands, she opens it. Holding her breath, she finds something inside, which she unfolds, and reads. Her brow furrows deeply, and she mouths a silent, incredulous, flat 'What.'

Lucy Iwai has never looked more teenaged than at this precise moment.

It takes a few agonizing seconds before she shows her findings to the rest of the group.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Everything adds up, really, once what's written on the paper is revealed--

--from the recorded ocean sound to the temporary and dissipating scent they'd been following at irregularly paced intervals, from the faintly magnetized coins to the discrepancy between the age of the other items and the locket, from the curiously same-year coins that look like they've been worn down from use to the fact that all this evidence has apparently lain untouched for generations while clearly being in a recently-remapped area not far off the beaten path...

Once unfolded, the words can be read. They're written in a laboriously tidy hand: 'Damn, I lost the bet.'

Suddenly, echoing back toward them from behind AND ahead, there are running footsteps and the distinct sound of a receding stifled laugh.

<Pose Tracker> Shun Minami [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"Going away?" Shun says, frowning at Kinzo. That would be another explanation for why the smell is stronger in some places than others. But if both the sound and the smell are artificial, and the locket is in pristine condition, then... He breathes a faint sigh, leaning back from the gorge. He eyes Maron during her freakout, though he doesn't say anything--only watches--until she's nearly fled the scene and starts panicking at Lucy for holding that locket. "It's rather late for that," he tells Makoto dryly.

And then Lucy reveals her findings, and Shun sighs again, the sound punctuated by receding laughter. "...I knew it," he murmurs. /What a waste of my time,/ he thinks. Folding his arms, the dark-haired young man looks to Lucy. Tone carefully neutral, he asks her, "Does this sort of thing happen often?"

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"--What?" Makoto's not easily shaken, but even she's starting to get creeped out; despite her warnings to the others, it's hard not to catch a bit of their agitation, and it's with widened eyes that she looks toward Lucy. "What is it?"

She doesn't wait to hear the answer, already moving to look for herself.

Once she's close enough to read the words inside the locket, Makoto stands quite still, her expression blankly dumbfounded.

And then laughter and running footsteps, and Makoto straightens to let out a groan of profound disgust. "...we've been HAD." The hum of the EKG is cut abruptly short as she switches the machine off and begins stuffing it back into her rucksack.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Lera's eyebrow twitches. She doesn't get angry that often -- loud, yes, and impassioned, always -- but when she does, it is remarkable. Her ears and face turns red as she looks down at the words on the revealed paper. She reads them a couple more times, before she looks up at everyone else. Her eyebrow is twitching unhealthily; her hand is curled up into a fist.

Then she turns and looks down the hallway and bellows: "Someone really, REALLY ''SUCKS!''"

<Pose Tracker> Kinzo Hiroyuki [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Kinzo Hiroyuki waits in antcipation! Is it a map? A loved letter of someone so forlorn they lost thier one chance at love they lept into the chasm below in despair!? He then facepalms as the writing is revealed.

"Well. That solves that problem." he says as he leans his head back, and blows upwards , causing his bangs to flitter a bit. He looks over to Shun.

"Well. It was still an adventure of sorts." he smiles. He looks over to Lera. "Woah---" he says. "Now the fun comes to find out who it was." he says.

"So we can make sure they get the wedgie they have coming." he says ominously.

<Pose Tracker> Lucy Iwai [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

It takes a few moments for Lucy to process it all, as she looks uncharacteristically irritable while the others react. That was a mean prank! She might find it funny in retrospect, but for now, she's not in the best of moods. The fact that some of the others are angry enough for several people is actually... comforting, though. Solidarity!

Then, Shun asks that question, and she remembers that she's representing the club, here. An obviously nervous smile returns to her face.

"Not at all, not at all!" she waves her hands around, and addresses not only Shun, but also the rest of the group, "If anyone wanted to join the club officially, I guarantee you we see wonderful sights and find amazing things! Usually. ...No ghosts, though." Maybe they really /don't/ exist, after all.

Then, she grows more serious as she comes up with a theory: "It was probably the work of some senpais, having some fun with new members before they graduated..." ...and Kinzo's idea causes her to grin. Maybe not a wedgie, but... "Yes, I propose we prank them /right back/."

Is this the moment historians would know as the beginning of the Great Infinity Prank War?

<Pose Tracker> Maron Kusakabe [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

With both being fans of the show, Maron is obviously expecting Lucy to do the obvious thing to avoid the curse - return the necklace to where she found it. Surely she's noticed the atmosphere, the encroaching sense of doom, the mere seconds they have until it's too late ticking away.

Lucy instead chooses the open the necklace. "NO, don't--" Maron's hand reaches out in vain, and she freezes entirely, fearful but not knowing what to expect.

When they are not immediately punished for their arrogance, the extended hand is slowly and awkwardly withdrawn. Even now, she's still kind of afraid to ask. But as usual, her curiosity wins out. "...what, what does it say?" she finally asks, a second before the piece of paper is shown to her.

The color is abruptly brought back to Maron's face, along with something else. /Burning fury/. They made a fool out of them - of her, scaring the crap out of her for no reason?! Unforgivable! Somebody has to pay for this!

And somebody will, if she has anything to say about it. Somebody's running, and she's going after them, dumping her backpack on the floor and dashing off at top speed. The sounds could be heard from both directions, but just to be on the safe side, she's running back into the direction they came from, not about to stop until she's either caught someone or cleared the library entirely. Even if she's unlikely to get her hands on anybody, trying will at least make her feel better. ...plus that way she won't have to stay around the others and be embarassed about the way she acted.

Well, that settles it. She was no longer around to hear the latest pitch, but... Lucy will get her wish. She is going to join this stupid club, just on the off chance that one day, she'll be able to find out who did this, and pay them back for it. Surely not the worst motivation anybody's ever had for signing up with a club.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Given the cognitive dissonance, disappointment, disgust, and righteous indignation bubbling and frothing up around the group, it's actually perfectly reasonable that people leave, or give chase, or otherwise express their annoyance. It all added up, didn't it? Every last creepy thing, every last piece of the puzzle was flawed in some way, expensive and clever but impermanent, or occasionally just plain sloppy.

It probably won't be until late at night, or in the middle of a math test, or even next week that the various adventurers realize...

There ''was'' crying. There was crying down there in the yawning crevasse, from a source in amongst the moss and darkness and well out of sight. A source that didn't answer when called to, that didn't cry for help, it was definitely crying-- but there weren't any recent or real signs of a struggle or accident. Either there was a third person who was a very, very good actor, or--

--no, that must have been it. Ghosts aren't real.

2014-09-20 - Once Upon a Midnight Dreary

2014-09-22T13:50:49Z

Misparse:

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Once Upon A Midnight Dreary'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Nephrite receives an unexpected visit from a Raven. A deal is made.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Rue|Princess Kraehe]], [[Nephrite]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Nephrite’s Mansion
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
20 September 2014 – 17 March 2014
|-
|}

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

He doesn't quite know the reason for it. Perhaps the mountain mansion's dark makeup drives them away, or perhaps they simply can't exist in this space that borders so closely on the Dark Kingdom. Either way, his home is always bereft of birds, and thus, the air hangs stagnant and silent around it.

Just how he likes it. The maddening tweet and twitter of birdsong would push his already chaotic mind to the breaking point.

To be fair, Nephrite hasn't spent much time in the more, shall we say, 'mortal' areas of the mansion these past few days. No, his time is spent far more productively in the observatory, the room so infused with enchantment that it barely adheres to earthly geometry at all. It's anybody's guess whether noise from the outside world could penetrate his thoughts in here, where projections of far-off galaxies and long dead constellations hang in the blackened sky. But he certainly hopes not. The stars are known much more for their fickleness than their forgiveness, after all.

Today, the lights that lazily orbit above his head are more mundane than cryptic: it is an average night sky one might see, albeit from a high altitude and on an intensely clear evening. To the right of the great dome, a kind of holographic map of Tokyo is suspended, various dots of color smattered across it in a display likely readable by the Dark General alone. One of these tiny beacons appears unlike the others, however. The only speck of white against the backdrop of criss-crossing grey and red.

Slowly, he brings it more into focus, and almost unbidden, an image of a young girl appears between the map of heaven and the map of Earth. Makoto Kino, as he had seen her on the night of the concert. His eyes linger for a moment.

"You're quite an enigma, aren't you," he remarks to no one in particular. "What are the secrets that you guard?"

The stars, sadly, twinkle in laughter, and provide no answer.

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

There's someone in the house.

A door downstairs slams. It's inside, and loud enough to be heard even in Nephrite's star-scarred sanctum. The memory of the noise hangs in silence for a moment, and then it slams again. No, maybe another door. Two at once--those are definitely different. Then more, and more, building to a rattling crescendo as the paintings and furniture and walls shudder and creak, the sound rising to some unnatural climax where perhaps the groaning begins to sound like violins sliding smoothly up note by note--

Then a blast of chill air throws open the observatory door, rushes about the room, and slams it shut again. No noise. Just dark. Definitely magic. Definitely dark.

"Fascinated by some hulking lump of humanflesh, are you? A low pleasure for a general of the dark queen."

In a shadowed corner of the room, two beast-red eyes reflect the scant light back at Nephrite. The creature steps out--a lump of humanflesh herself, though admittedly more a dancer. Princess Kraehe, resplendent in her twilight-black tutu, stands effortlessly en pointe, arms spread in greeting.

"No fear, general. Your secret is safe with the ravens. I come to give aid, as is our pact."

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

It's hard to say which came first: the slamming of the door somewhere in the mansion, or the prickle of wrongness and intrusion on the back of his neck. Either way, Nephrite is at attention in an instant, battle-hardened mind snapping out of its meditative haze into razor sharp clarity. The Dark Crystal appears in his hand out of nowhere, and he lets it hover threateningly in his hand as he pivots around to survey his territory, which is becoming more and more disturbed by the second.

"Who goes there?" he demands of the slamming doors and creaking walls, amplifying his voice until it booms over the din. He does not have time to do much else -- he barely has time to think before the very threshold to his observatory is thrown open.

And the man is suddenly very glad he stayed his hand, for it is not a foe that greets him at the door, but the familiar form of a certain dancer. Not that he would have much cared had she been hit by a bolt of dark magic, of course; his knowledge of the crow barely extends beyond their exchange at Infinity's pool. But, things being as they are, it would be best not to cause an incident in Dark Fall relations.

"It has been some time, blackbird," he replies after a moment, lowering the Dark Crystal so that it is no longer threatening, but not dispelling it entirely. Even among ostensible allies, some caution must be taken. "I would be curious to know how you located my base of operations. Much about it seems to repel your winged friends." He smiles cynically. "Though you are not the only uninvited guest I've had, of late."

He bristles at her mention of the mortal girl, glancing back at the projected image with a glare. This was, indeed, an unfortunate time to be walked in on, though certainly *not* for the reasons she had implied. "I am fascinated by what she represents. There's no secret for you to keep, I'm afraid. She is as meaningless to me as any of my other targets."

Here, the Dark General turns back to her fully, face as stoic as he can manage, given the circumstances. The mention of aid gets his attention, but Nephrite is no fool. In Dark Fall, as in life, there is always a catch. "Do you speak of our political alliance, 'raven'? Or is your offer more personal in nature?"

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Kraehe tilts her head and affects a pointedly artificial smile. She does not react to the tension of the situation. Being on stage is tension. The audience is the enemy. The prima ballerina shows no fear. This is all familiar territory.

"Find you? How could I not? Here I thought you would have reveled in your ostentatious excess."

The raven princess floats forward, moving not inhumanly but with supreme art of motion that renders her enviably nonchalant. She spins and falls as if struck, landing with theatrical roughness into an invisible chair. Not quite invisible--there is a scratchy-black outline of where the fainting couch supporting her would be. She places the back of one hand to her forehead.

"It's all politics, for all politics are drama. Would you like to make it personal? I'm a prettier catch than your target girl."

Kraehe smiles again. It's a mean smile.

"You have my curiosity, first. What does she represent?"

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

Nephrite opens his mouth to reply to her remark about excess, brow already furrowing in irritation -- but, after a moment's thought, he lets it go, albeit with some effort. He's attempted to explain the reasons behind his extravagant mortal lifestyle: to Zoisite, to Jadeite, to any minion of Dark Fall that happened to mention it, innocently or otherwise. He has learned by now that they prefer to believe he is some kind of foppish debauchee, never mind that he needed such a mountain to focus enough dark energy for stargazing, never mind that his manufactured wealth granted him influence in the mundane world that held up under scrutiny. It just wasn't worth the effort, especially with someone as coyly sardonic as this girl.

So the man doesn't say anything, though mild displeasure is painted all over his expression.

"Typically, a personal alliance is not forged in anonymity," he says when she makes her big show of collapsing onto a barely-material fainting couch. Something in his gut tells him this girl and Zoisite would get along famously.

Or loathe each other, he supposes. Either is as likely as the other.

He grimaces at the talk of beauty and 'catches.' "Funny. I did not think crows liked to be caught," he says, raising an eyebrow. Two can play at witty repartee -- though, admittedly, Nephrite is not the most skilled player. Still, he continues, "The girl represents knowledge I need to complete my mission. A loose end in a plot that could very well stretch across two eras."

The man highly doubts his visitor is aware of the Silver Millennium, so he doesn't bother to elaborate on that point. Besides, though he wants to keep this potential alliance viable, should she truly be useful, it would be catastrophically unwise to reveal all the cards in his hand. "She has proved pliable to the gentler means of interrogation, but the answer eludes me yet."

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"Caught? Who said you'd actually succeed?"

Kraehe stretches luxuriously out on the couch, adopting a position of painting-like languidness rather than theatrical defeat. She looks up at the stars, lips curled upward in an idea of a smile.

"Ah, so you wish to find your way into her heart and steal what's inside. I'm familiar with this game. Tell me of your gentle interrogation. I am curious what sort of velvet gloves dark soldiers put on to hide their stony fingers."

The princess gestures dismissively. "I have kind things to say to you, as well. Have faith in me. I am within your power inside this mansion, aren't I? I would not be able to deny you my punishment should I be lying."

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

"Precisely."

Nephrite crosses his arms slowly, face still as cold as he can manage, though the slightest ghost of a smile hovers at his lips. He should rightfully be furious with this intruder; had another member of Dark Fall arrived in such a way and started swooning on illusory couches, he likely would have thrown them out with little hesitation, diplomacy be damned. But the raven-girl holds his attention, though why he cannot say. It's not quite amusement -- even being only briefly acquainted with her, he knows such a thing would trivialize the threat she represents, as well as the boons he stands to gain from pursuing an alliance with her.

No, it's not amusement. Perhaps he simply appreciates a good wit when it is not aimed exclusively to make him look the fool.

"I have a certain mortal alias that she is fond of. Though whether it is for his wealth or his appearance, I cannot say," the man explains, wondering if he should simply come clean about Masato Sanjouin's true identity. Such things rarely posed a threat between Dark Fall members, but it was probably best to continue playing it safe. At least for the time being. "Romance opens her heart to me well enough. I only wish her mind would do the same." He pauses for a second, recalling the events of the Planets concert, the conversation they had on the rooftop. "Perhaps when terribly dark things begin befalling him, she will loosen her tongue. She is ever eager to prove herself a hero."

But that is quite enough about him.

"You are wise to realize as much," Nephrite confirms, a sly glint igniting in his gaze. "And I'm sure you understand that my information is strictly quid pro quo." He takes a few, powerful strides closer to where she lies on her fainting couch. "Tell me your name, blackbird."

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The dark princess watches with impenetrable amusement as Nephrite considers and speaks. If his tale rouses any reaction in her, she hides it well. It is the audience's place to react. She remains a flawless performance.

When he nears, the dancer rises, slipping her legs off the couch and seating herself to be not so short against his tallness. She looks up, red eyes challenging but not defiantly so. There is confidence there where others would have eagerness to prove.

"I am Kraehe. Daughter of the Raven who slew the Prince. Eater of hearts. Princess of crows."

Kraehe reaches her hand up, offering it for Nephrite to take.

"And I offer you my royal favor. Take it, and you will one day aid my father in regaining his throne. Take it, and I will serve you up this girl's very soul on whatever plate you please."

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

Much ado about princesses these days, isn't there?

Nephrite chuckles once, dryly. "I suppose I should have pegged you as royalty when you blew through my window, stately raven that you are." Granted, he does not recognize any title that his Queen does not recognize, but given her association with Dark Fall and tacit acknowledgement of Beryl herself, he suspects that the two are at least on neutral terms.

He did *say* quid pro quo. And, all his other faults aside, the Dark General is nothing if not a man of his word.

"Very well. I am Nephrite, one of the Dark Kingdom Shitennou, Heavenly King of North America." He narrows his eyes. "Though I believe you suspected as much, else I cannot fathom why you would come to my sanctum here. Barring a tempest on the night's Plutonian shore."

The man takes a few long moments to consider as the crow princess extends her dainty hand in offering. Of course, if she speaks the truth, then he has found a great blessing in the form of Kraehe; but, given what he's seen of her, what are the chances that she speaks truly? He will not swear fealty to her, or the liege that grants her her royal title. Beryl holds that ultimate loyalty and authority, as she soon will over the Earth entire. Short of that, however...

His gloved hand takes hers.

"I accept your generous offer, my lady. On one condition," he begins. Then, with a tug of his arm that is powerful but not forceful, he aims to pull her to her feet. Surely the dancer in her has noticed the parallels of this arrangement to partners in a macabre pas de deux.

"What's the catch?"

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Kraehe lives in stillness while Nephrite decides. The room is deathly silent. Not even a cough. Not even a mutter.

He takes her hand. Her corners of her lips turn up.

Then he pulls her, and she is not pulled--his motion becomes her motion, and she rises with smooth, contemptuous grace, settling into his dancer's embrace rather than falling into it. At every turn, she refuses to give away any part of herself that is not poised. No surprise, no weakness.

Her fingers thread through his. The princess smirks.

"You said it yourself, general. Ravens don't deal in catches. What I spoke to you is every word committed to the page: you want this girl yours, I want my father free. The best stories are a little open ended about what they foreshadow, don't you think?"

Kraehe turns her head to look out into the room, into the stars. "I don't expect you to break your other vows. But if you think your honor is not so great that you won't pay my father back with a worthy service... well, then I was a fool to think well of you, wasn't I?"

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

Kraehe's father is imprisoned somewhere, then. Not terribly surprising to hear -- many of the great magical powers have found themselves bound, in recent days. A great shame.

"How fortunate that our interests coincide," Nephrite says, listening to her words and weighing them against his own good sense. It would benefit him greatly if this arrangement were truly mutually beneficial, but he knows his comrades in darkness. It is only natural to put your interests ahead of your allies'; after all, every inch she gains on him is an inch for her lord father, and an inch away from the Dark Kingdom.

But if that inch translates to a mile loss for the warriors of light, perhaps it is a good decision yet.

His face becomes stern when she reaches the end of her speech, and he raises her hand above her head, icy blue eyes meeting her beastly red. "Do not question my honor, princess. My loyalty is steadfast and unwavering, but I repay my debts. As does my liege." He takes that raised hand -- should she allow it -- and lightly spins her under it. A flourish to punctuate his sincerity.

But something is troubling him at the back of his mind. Something the general can't quite place until the words come out of his mouth, almost of their own accord.

"The girl. When this is done, will she live?" They are quiet words, not much difference in tone or timbre from his usual speech. But the question is undoubtedly sincere, enough so that he follows it up with an addendum. "It would be a waste to let the pawn be wholly taken by the queen."

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Kraehe watches Neprhite as he goes through the motions. He can do as he pleases with her: move her, spin her, pose her when he's done. She watches him through every moment, unblinking, always seeing, always judging.

She is still for a moment past his final words, and the stillness of the observatory is made all the more piercing by her lack of response. Her gaze turns half-lidded, eyelashes nearly hiding the predatory redness. There is perhaps now a hint of truth in her smile.

"She'll live, general. In fact, she won't have truly lived..."

Kraehe slips from his grasp, turning and dancing prettily away.

"...until she's survived."

The princess disappears into the darkness, with only a chill breeze to mark her vanishing.

2014-09-20 - Once Upon a Midnight Dreary

2014-09-22T13:38:24Z

Misparse:

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Once Upon A Midnight Dreary'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Nephrite receives an unexpected visit from a Raven. A deal is made.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Rue|Princess Kraehe]], [[Nephrite]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Nephrite’s Mansion
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
20 September 2014 – 17 March 2014
|-
|}

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
He doesn't quite know the reason for it. Perhaps the mountain mansion's dark makeup drives them away, or perhaps they simply can't exist in this space that borders so closely on the Dark Kingdom. Either way, his home is always bereft of birds, and thus, the air hangs stagnant and silent around it.

Just how he likes it. The maddening tweet and twitter of birdsong would push his already chaotic mind to the breaking point.

To be fair, Nephrite hasn't spent much time in the more, shall we say, 'mortal' areas of the mansion these past few days. No, his time is spent far more productively in the observatory, the room so infused with enchantment that it barely adheres to earthly geometry at all. It's anybody's guess whether noise from the outside world could penetrate his thoughts in here, where projections of far-off galaxies and long dead constellations hang in the blackened sky. But he certainly hopes not. The stars are known much more for their fickleness than their forgiveness, after all.

Today, the lights that lazily orbit above his head are more mundane than cryptic: it is an average night sky one might see, albeit from a high altitude and on an intensely clear evening. To the right of the great dome, a kind of holographic map of Tokyo is suspended, various dots of color smattered across it in a display likely readable by the Dark General alone. One of these tiny beacons appears unlike the others, however. The only speck of white against the backdrop of criss-crossing grey and red.

Slowly, he brings it more into focus, and almost unbidden, an image of a young girl appears between the map of heaven and the map of Earth. Makoto Kino, as he had seen her on the night of the concert. His eyes linger for a moment.

"You're quite an enigma, aren't you," he remarks to no one in particular. "What are the secrets that you guard?"

The stars, sadly, twinkle in laughter, and provide no answer.

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
There's someone in the house.

A door downstairs slams. It's inside, and loud enough to be heard even in Nephrite's star-scarred sanctum. The memory of the noise hangs in silence for a moment, and then it slams again. No, maybe another door. Two at once--those are definitely different. Then more, and more, building to a rattling crescendo as the paintings and furniture and walls shudder and creak, the sound rising to some unnatural climax where perhaps the groaning begins to sound like violins sliding smoothly up note by note--

Then a blast of chill air throws open the observatory door, rushes about the room, and slams it shut again. No noise. Just dark. Definitely magic. Definitely dark.

"Fascinated by some hulking lump of humanflesh, are you? A low pleasure for a general of the dark queen."

In a shadowed corner of the room, two beast-red eyes reflect the scant light back at Nephrite. The creature steps out--a lump of humanflesh herself, though admittedly more a dancer. Princess Kraehe, resplendent in her twilight-black tutu, stands effortlessly en pointe, arms spread in greeting.

"No fear, general. Your secret is safe with the ravens. I come to give aid, as is our pact."

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
It's hard to say which came first: the slamming of the door somewhere in the mansion, or the prickle of wrongness and intrusion on the back of his neck. Either way, Nephrite is at attention in an instant, battle-hardened mind snapping out of its meditative haze into razor sharp clarity. The Dark Crystal appears in his hand out of nowhere, and he lets it hover threateningly in his hand as he pivots around to survey his territory, which is becoming more and more disturbed by the second.

"Who goes there?" he demands of the slamming doors and creaking walls, amplifying his voice until it booms over the din. He does not have time to do much else -- he barely has time to think before the very threshold to his observatory is thrown open.

And the man is suddenly very glad he stayed his hand, for it is not a foe that greets him at the door, but the familiar form of a certain dancer. Not that he would have much cared had she been hit by a bolt of dark magic, of course; his knowledge of the crow barely extends beyond their exchange at Infinity's pool. But, things being as they are, it would be best not to cause an incident in Dark Fall relations.

"It has been some time, blackbird," he replies after a moment, lowering the Dark Crystal so that it is no longer threatening, but not dispelling it entirely. Even among ostensible allies, some caution must be taken. "I would be curious to know how you located my base of operations. Much about it seems to repel your winged friends." He smiles cynically. "Though you are not the only uninvited guest I've had, of late."

He bristles at her mention of the mortal girl, glancing back at the projected image with a glare. This was, indeed, an unfortunate time to be walked in on, though certainly *not* for the reasons she had implied. "I am fascinated by what she represents. There's no secret for you to keep, I'm afraid. She is as meaningless to me as any of my other targets."

Here, the Dark General turns back to her fully, face as stoic as he can manage, given the circumstances. The mention of aid gets his attention, but Nephrite is no fool. In Dark Fall, as in life, there is always a catch. "Do you speak of our political alliance, 'raven'? Or is your offer more personal in nature?"

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Kraehe tilts her head and affects a pointedly artificial smile. She does not react to the tension of the situation. Being on stage is tension. The audience is the enemy. The prima ballerina shows no fear. This is all familiar territory.

"Find you? How could I not? Here I thought you would have reveled in your ostentatious excess."

The raven princess floats forward, moving not inhumanly but with supreme art of motion that renders her enviably nonchalant. She spins and falls as if struck, landing with theatrical roughness into an invisible chair. Not quite invisible--there is a scratchy-black outline of where the fainting couch supporting her would be. She places the back of one hand to her forehead.

"It's all politics, for all politics are drama. Would you like to make it personal? I'm a prettier catch than your target girl."

Kraehe smiles again. It's a mean smile.

"You have my curiosity, first. What does she represent?"

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
Nephrite opens his mouth to reply to her remark about excess, brow already furrowing in irritation -- but, after a moment's thought, he lets it go, albeit with some effort. He's attempted to explain the reasons behind his extravagant mortal lifestyle: to Zoisite, to Jadeite, to any minion of Dark Fall that happened to mention it, innocently or otherwise. He has learned by now that they prefer to believe he is some kind of foppish debauchee, never mind that he needed such a mountain to focus enough dark energy for stargazing, never mind that his manufactured wealth granted him influence in the mundane world that held up under scrutiny. It just wasn't worth the effort, especially with someone as coyly sardonic as this girl.

So the man doesn't say anything, though mild displeasure is painted all over his expression.

"Typically, a personal alliance is not forged in anonymity," he says when she makes her big show of collapsing onto a barely-material fainting couch. Something in his gut tells him this girl and Zoisite would get along famously.

Or loathe each other, he supposes. Either is as likely as the other.

He grimaces at the talk of beauty and 'catches.' "Funny. I did not think crows liked to be caught," he says, raising an eyebrow. Two can play at witty repartee -- though, admittedly, Nephrite is not the most skilled player. Still, he continues, "The girl represents knowledge I need to complete my mission. A loose end in a plot that could very well stretch across two eras."

The man highly doubts his visitor is aware of the Silver Millennium, so he doesn't bother to elaborate on that point. Besides, though he wants to keep this potential alliance viable, should she truly be useful, it would be catastrophically unwise to reveal all the cards in his hand. "She has proved pliable to the gentler means of interrogation, but the answer eludes me yet."

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"Caught? Who said you'd actually succeed?"

Kraehe stretches luxuriously out on the couch, adopting a position of painting-like languidness rather than theatrical defeat. She looks up at the stars, lips curled upward in an idea of a smile.

"Ah, so you wish to find your way into her heart and steal what's inside. I'm familiar with this game. Tell me of your gentle interrogation. I am curious what sort of velvet gloves dark soldiers put on to hide their stony fingers."

The princess gestures dismissively. "I have kind things to say to you, as well. Have faith in me. I am within your power inside this mansion, aren't I? I would not be able to deny you my punishment should I be lying."

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
"Precisely."

Nephrite crosses his arms slowly, face still as cold as he can manage, though the slightest ghost of a smile hovers at his lips. He should rightfully be furious with this intruder; had another member of Dark Fall arrived in such a way and started swooning on illusory couches, he likely would have thrown them out with little hesitation, diplomacy be damned. But the raven-girl holds his attention, though why he cannot say. It's not quite amusement -- even being only briefly acquainted with her, he knows such a thing would trivialize the threat she represents, as well as the boons he stands to gain from pursuing an alliance with her.

No, it's not amusement. Perhaps he simply appreciates a good wit when it is not aimed exclusively to make him look the fool.

"I have a certain mortal alias that she is fond of. Though whether it is for his wealth or his appearance, I cannot say," the man explains, wondering if he should simply come clean about Masato Sanjouin's true identity. Such things rarely posed a threat between Dark Fall members, but it was probably best to continue playing it safe. At least for the time being. "Romance opens her heart to me well enough. I only wish her mind would do the same." He pauses for a second, recalling the events of the Planets concert, the conversation they had on the rooftop. "Perhaps when terribly dark things begin befalling him, she will loosen her tongue. She is ever eager to prove herself a hero."

But that is quite enough about him.

"You are wise to realize as much," Nephrite confirms, a sly glint igniting in his gaze. "And I'm sure you understand that my information is strictly quid pro quo." He takes a few, powerful strides closer to where she lies on her fainting couch. "Tell me your name, blackbird."

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
The dark princess watches with impenetrable amusement as Nephrite considers and speaks. If his tale rouses any reaction in her, she hides it well. It is the audience's place to react. She remains a flawless performance.

When he nears, the dancer rises, slipping her legs off the couch and seating herself to be not so short against his tallness. She looks up, red eyes challenging but not defiantly so. There is confidence there where others would have eagerness to prove.

"I am Kraehe. Daughter of the Raven who slew the Prince. Eater of hearts. Princess of crows."

Kraehe reaches her hand up, offering it for Nephrite to take.

"And I offer you my royal favor. Take it, and you will one day aid my father in regaining his throne. Take it, and I will serve you up this girl's very soul on whatever plate you please."

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
Much ado about princesses these days, isn't there?

Nephrite chuckles once, dryly. "I suppose I should have pegged you as royalty when you blew through my window, stately raven that you are." Granted, he does not recognize any title that his Queen does not recognize, but given her association with Dark Fall and tacit acknowledgement of Beryl herself, he suspects that the two are at least on neutral terms.

He did *say* quid pro quo. And, all his other faults aside, the Dark General is nothing if not a man of his word.

"Very well. I am Nephrite, one of the Dark Kingdom Shitennou, Heavenly King of North America." He narrows his eyes. "Though I believe you suspected as much, else I cannot fathom why you would come to my sanctum here. Barring a tempest on the night's Plutonian shore."

The man takes a few long moments to consider as the crow princess extends her dainty hand in offering. Of course, if she speaks the truth, then he has found a great blessing in the form of Kraehe; but, given what he's seen of her, what are the chances that she speaks truly? He will not swear fealty to her, or the liege that grants her her royal title. Beryl holds that ultimate loyalty and authority, as she soon will over the Earth entire. Short of that, however...

His gloved hand takes hers.

"I accept your generous offer, my lady. On one condition," he begins. Then, with a tug of his arm that is powerful but not forceful, he aims to pull her to her feet. Surely the dancer in her has noticed the parallels of this arrangement to partners in a macabre pas de deux.

"What's the catch?"

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Kraehe lives in stillness while Nephrite decides. The room is deathly silent. Not even a cough. Not even a mutter.

He takes her hand. Her corners of her lips turn up.

Then he pulls her, and she is not pulled--his motion becomes her motion, and she rises with smooth, contemptuous grace, settling into his dancer's embrace rather than falling into it. At every turn, she refuses to give away any part of herself that is not poised. No surprise, no weakness.

Her fingers thread through his. The princess smirks.

"You said it yourself, general. Ravens don't deal in catches. What I spoke to you is every word committed to the page: you want this girl yours, I want my father free. The best stories are a little open ended about what they foreshadow, don't you think?"

Kraehe turns her head to look out into the room, into the stars. "I don't expect you to break your other vows. But if you think your honor is not so great that you won't pay my father back with a worthy service... well, then I was a fool to think well of you, wasn't I?"

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
Kraehe's father is imprisoned somewhere, then. Not terribly surprising to hear -- many of the great magical powers have found themselves bound, in recent days. A great shame.

"How fortunate that our interests coincide," Nephrite says, listening to her words and weighing them against his own good sense. It would benefit him greatly if this arrangement were truly mutually beneficial, but he knows his comrades in darkness. It is only natural to put your interests ahead of your allies'; after all, every inch she gains on him is an inch for her lord father, and an inch away from the Dark Kingdom.

But if that inch translates to a mile loss for the warriors of light, perhaps it is a good decision yet.

His face becomes stern when she reaches the end of her speech, and he raises her hand above her head, icy blue eyes meeting her beastly red. "Do not question my honor, princess. My loyalty is steadfast and unwavering, but I repay my debts. As does my liege." He takes that raised hand -- should she allow it -- and lightly spins her under it. A flourish to punctuate his sincerity.

But something is troubling him at the back of his mind. Something the general can't quite place until the words come out of his mouth, almost of their own accord.

"The girl. When this is done, will she live?" They are quiet words, not much difference in tone or timbre from his usual speech. But the question is undoubtedly sincere, enough so that he follows it up with an addendum. "It would be a waste to let the pawn be wholly taken by the queen."

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Kraehe watches Neprhite as he goes through the motions. He can do as he pleases with her: move her, spin her, pose her when he's done. She watches him through every moment, unblinking, always seeing, always judging.

She is still for a moment past his final words, and the stillness of the observatory is made all the more piercing by her lack of response. Her gaze turns half-lidded, eyelashes nearly hiding the predatory redness. There is perhaps now a hint of truth in her smile.

"She'll live, general. In fact, she won't have truly lived..."

Kraehe slips from his grasp, turning and dancing prettily away.

"...until she's survived."

The princess disappears into the darkness, with only a chill breeze to mark her vanishing.

2014-09-20 - Once Upon a Midnight Dreary

2014-09-22T13:37:54Z

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Once Upon A Midnight Dreary'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Nephrite receives an unexpected visit from a Raven. A deal is made.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Princess Kraehe]], [[Nephrite]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Nephrite’s Mansion
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
20 September 2014 – 17 March 2014
|-
|}

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
He doesn't quite know the reason for it. Perhaps the mountain mansion's dark makeup drives them away, or perhaps they simply can't exist in this space that borders so closely on the Dark Kingdom. Either way, his home is always bereft of birds, and thus, the air hangs stagnant and silent around it.

Just how he likes it. The maddening tweet and twitter of birdsong would push his already chaotic mind to the breaking point.

To be fair, Nephrite hasn't spent much time in the more, shall we say, 'mortal' areas of the mansion these past few days. No, his time is spent far more productively in the observatory, the room so infused with enchantment that it barely adheres to earthly geometry at all. It's anybody's guess whether noise from the outside world could penetrate his thoughts in here, where projections of far-off galaxies and long dead constellations hang in the blackened sky. But he certainly hopes not. The stars are known much more for their fickleness than their forgiveness, after all.

Today, the lights that lazily orbit above his head are more mundane than cryptic: it is an average night sky one might see, albeit from a high altitude and on an intensely clear evening. To the right of the great dome, a kind of holographic map of Tokyo is suspended, various dots of color smattered across it in a display likely readable by the Dark General alone. One of these tiny beacons appears unlike the others, however. The only speck of white against the backdrop of criss-crossing grey and red.

Slowly, he brings it more into focus, and almost unbidden, an image of a young girl appears between the map of heaven and the map of Earth. Makoto Kino, as he had seen her on the night of the concert. His eyes linger for a moment.

"You're quite an enigma, aren't you," he remarks to no one in particular. "What are the secrets that you guard?"

The stars, sadly, twinkle in laughter, and provide no answer.

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
There's someone in the house.

A door downstairs slams. It's inside, and loud enough to be heard even in Nephrite's star-scarred sanctum. The memory of the noise hangs in silence for a moment, and then it slams again. No, maybe another door. Two at once--those are definitely different. Then more, and more, building to a rattling crescendo as the paintings and furniture and walls shudder and creak, the sound rising to some unnatural climax where perhaps the groaning begins to sound like violins sliding smoothly up note by note--

Then a blast of chill air throws open the observatory door, rushes about the room, and slams it shut again. No noise. Just dark. Definitely magic. Definitely dark.

"Fascinated by some hulking lump of humanflesh, are you? A low pleasure for a general of the dark queen."

In a shadowed corner of the room, two beast-red eyes reflect the scant light back at Nephrite. The creature steps out--a lump of humanflesh herself, though admittedly more a dancer. Princess Kraehe, resplendent in her twilight-black tutu, stands effortlessly en pointe, arms spread in greeting.

"No fear, general. Your secret is safe with the ravens. I come to give aid, as is our pact."

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
It's hard to say which came first: the slamming of the door somewhere in the mansion, or the prickle of wrongness and intrusion on the back of his neck. Either way, Nephrite is at attention in an instant, battle-hardened mind snapping out of its meditative haze into razor sharp clarity. The Dark Crystal appears in his hand out of nowhere, and he lets it hover threateningly in his hand as he pivots around to survey his territory, which is becoming more and more disturbed by the second.

"Who goes there?" he demands of the slamming doors and creaking walls, amplifying his voice until it booms over the din. He does not have time to do much else -- he barely has time to think before the very threshold to his observatory is thrown open.

And the man is suddenly very glad he stayed his hand, for it is not a foe that greets him at the door, but the familiar form of a certain dancer. Not that he would have much cared had she been hit by a bolt of dark magic, of course; his knowledge of the crow barely extends beyond their exchange at Infinity's pool. But, things being as they are, it would be best not to cause an incident in Dark Fall relations.

"It has been some time, blackbird," he replies after a moment, lowering the Dark Crystal so that it is no longer threatening, but not dispelling it entirely. Even among ostensible allies, some caution must be taken. "I would be curious to know how you located my base of operations. Much about it seems to repel your winged friends." He smiles cynically. "Though you are not the only uninvited guest I've had, of late."

He bristles at her mention of the mortal girl, glancing back at the projected image with a glare. This was, indeed, an unfortunate time to be walked in on, though certainly *not* for the reasons she had implied. "I am fascinated by what she represents. There's no secret for you to keep, I'm afraid. She is as meaningless to me as any of my other targets."

Here, the Dark General turns back to her fully, face as stoic as he can manage, given the circumstances. The mention of aid gets his attention, but Nephrite is no fool. In Dark Fall, as in life, there is always a catch. "Do you speak of our political alliance, 'raven'? Or is your offer more personal in nature?"

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Kraehe tilts her head and affects a pointedly artificial smile. She does not react to the tension of the situation. Being on stage is tension. The audience is the enemy. The prima ballerina shows no fear. This is all familiar territory.

"Find you? How could I not? Here I thought you would have reveled in your ostentatious excess."

The raven princess floats forward, moving not inhumanly but with supreme art of motion that renders her enviably nonchalant. She spins and falls as if struck, landing with theatrical roughness into an invisible chair. Not quite invisible--there is a scratchy-black outline of where the fainting couch supporting her would be. She places the back of one hand to her forehead.

"It's all politics, for all politics are drama. Would you like to make it personal? I'm a prettier catch than your target girl."

Kraehe smiles again. It's a mean smile.

"You have my curiosity, first. What does she represent?"

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
Nephrite opens his mouth to reply to her remark about excess, brow already furrowing in irritation -- but, after a moment's thought, he lets it go, albeit with some effort. He's attempted to explain the reasons behind his extravagant mortal lifestyle: to Zoisite, to Jadeite, to any minion of Dark Fall that happened to mention it, innocently or otherwise. He has learned by now that they prefer to believe he is some kind of foppish debauchee, never mind that he needed such a mountain to focus enough dark energy for stargazing, never mind that his manufactured wealth granted him influence in the mundane world that held up under scrutiny. It just wasn't worth the effort, especially with someone as coyly sardonic as this girl.

So the man doesn't say anything, though mild displeasure is painted all over his expression.

"Typically, a personal alliance is not forged in anonymity," he says when she makes her big show of collapsing onto a barely-material fainting couch. Something in his gut tells him this girl and Zoisite would get along famously.

Or loathe each other, he supposes. Either is as likely as the other.

He grimaces at the talk of beauty and 'catches.' "Funny. I did not think crows liked to be caught," he says, raising an eyebrow. Two can play at witty repartee -- though, admittedly, Nephrite is not the most skilled player. Still, he continues, "The girl represents knowledge I need to complete my mission. A loose end in a plot that could very well stretch across two eras."

The man highly doubts his visitor is aware of the Silver Millennium, so he doesn't bother to elaborate on that point. Besides, though he wants to keep this potential alliance viable, should she truly be useful, it would be catastrophically unwise to reveal all the cards in his hand. "She has proved pliable to the gentler means of interrogation, but the answer eludes me yet."

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"Caught? Who said you'd actually succeed?"

Kraehe stretches luxuriously out on the couch, adopting a position of painting-like languidness rather than theatrical defeat. She looks up at the stars, lips curled upward in an idea of a smile.

"Ah, so you wish to find your way into her heart and steal what's inside. I'm familiar with this game. Tell me of your gentle interrogation. I am curious what sort of velvet gloves dark soldiers put on to hide their stony fingers."

The princess gestures dismissively. "I have kind things to say to you, as well. Have faith in me. I am within your power inside this mansion, aren't I? I would not be able to deny you my punishment should I be lying."

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
"Precisely."

Nephrite crosses his arms slowly, face still as cold as he can manage, though the slightest ghost of a smile hovers at his lips. He should rightfully be furious with this intruder; had another member of Dark Fall arrived in such a way and started swooning on illusory couches, he likely would have thrown them out with little hesitation, diplomacy be damned. But the raven-girl holds his attention, though why he cannot say. It's not quite amusement -- even being only briefly acquainted with her, he knows such a thing would trivialize the threat she represents, as well as the boons he stands to gain from pursuing an alliance with her.

No, it's not amusement. Perhaps he simply appreciates a good wit when it is not aimed exclusively to make him look the fool.

"I have a certain mortal alias that she is fond of. Though whether it is for his wealth or his appearance, I cannot say," the man explains, wondering if he should simply come clean about Masato Sanjouin's true identity. Such things rarely posed a threat between Dark Fall members, but it was probably best to continue playing it safe. At least for the time being. "Romance opens her heart to me well enough. I only wish her mind would do the same." He pauses for a second, recalling the events of the Planets concert, the conversation they had on the rooftop. "Perhaps when terribly dark things begin befalling him, she will loosen her tongue. She is ever eager to prove herself a hero."

But that is quite enough about him.

"You are wise to realize as much," Nephrite confirms, a sly glint igniting in his gaze. "And I'm sure you understand that my information is strictly quid pro quo." He takes a few, powerful strides closer to where she lies on her fainting couch. "Tell me your name, blackbird."

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
The dark princess watches with impenetrable amusement as Nephrite considers and speaks. If his tale rouses any reaction in her, she hides it well. It is the audience's place to react. She remains a flawless performance.

When he nears, the dancer rises, slipping her legs off the couch and seating herself to be not so short against his tallness. She looks up, red eyes challenging but not defiantly so. There is confidence there where others would have eagerness to prove.

"I am Kraehe. Daughter of the Raven who slew the Prince. Eater of hearts. Princess of crows."

Kraehe reaches her hand up, offering it for Nephrite to take.

"And I offer you my royal favor. Take it, and you will one day aid my father in regaining his throne. Take it, and I will serve you up this girl's very soul on whatever plate you please."

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
Much ado about princesses these days, isn't there?

Nephrite chuckles once, dryly. "I suppose I should have pegged you as royalty when you blew through my window, stately raven that you are." Granted, he does not recognize any title that his Queen does not recognize, but given her association with Dark Fall and tacit acknowledgement of Beryl herself, he suspects that the two are at least on neutral terms.

He did *say* quid pro quo. And, all his other faults aside, the Dark General is nothing if not a man of his word.

"Very well. I am Nephrite, one of the Dark Kingdom Shitennou, Heavenly King of North America." He narrows his eyes. "Though I believe you suspected as much, else I cannot fathom why you would come to my sanctum here. Barring a tempest on the night's Plutonian shore."

The man takes a few long moments to consider as the crow princess extends her dainty hand in offering. Of course, if she speaks the truth, then he has found a great blessing in the form of Kraehe; but, given what he's seen of her, what are the chances that she speaks truly? He will not swear fealty to her, or the liege that grants her her royal title. Beryl holds that ultimate loyalty and authority, as she soon will over the Earth entire. Short of that, however...

His gloved hand takes hers.

"I accept your generous offer, my lady. On one condition," he begins. Then, with a tug of his arm that is powerful but not forceful, he aims to pull her to her feet. Surely the dancer in her has noticed the parallels of this arrangement to partners in a macabre pas de deux.

"What's the catch?"

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Kraehe lives in stillness while Nephrite decides. The room is deathly silent. Not even a cough. Not even a mutter.

He takes her hand. Her corners of her lips turn up.

Then he pulls her, and she is not pulled--his motion becomes her motion, and she rises with smooth, contemptuous grace, settling into his dancer's embrace rather than falling into it. At every turn, she refuses to give away any part of herself that is not poised. No surprise, no weakness.

Her fingers thread through his. The princess smirks.

"You said it yourself, general. Ravens don't deal in catches. What I spoke to you is every word committed to the page: you want this girl yours, I want my father free. The best stories are a little open ended about what they foreshadow, don't you think?"

Kraehe turns her head to look out into the room, into the stars. "I don't expect you to break your other vows. But if you think your honor is not so great that you won't pay my father back with a worthy service... well, then I was a fool to think well of you, wasn't I?"

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
Kraehe's father is imprisoned somewhere, then. Not terribly surprising to hear -- many of the great magical powers have found themselves bound, in recent days. A great shame.

"How fortunate that our interests coincide," Nephrite says, listening to her words and weighing them against his own good sense. It would benefit him greatly if this arrangement were truly mutually beneficial, but he knows his comrades in darkness. It is only natural to put your interests ahead of your allies'; after all, every inch she gains on him is an inch for her lord father, and an inch away from the Dark Kingdom.

But if that inch translates to a mile loss for the warriors of light, perhaps it is a good decision yet.

His face becomes stern when she reaches the end of her speech, and he raises her hand above her head, icy blue eyes meeting her beastly red. "Do not question my honor, princess. My loyalty is steadfast and unwavering, but I repay my debts. As does my liege." He takes that raised hand -- should she allow it -- and lightly spins her under it. A flourish to punctuate his sincerity.

But something is troubling him at the back of his mind. Something the general can't quite place until the words come out of his mouth, almost of their own accord.

"The girl. When this is done, will she live?" They are quiet words, not much difference in tone or timbre from his usual speech. But the question is undoubtedly sincere, enough so that he follows it up with an addendum. "It would be a waste to let the pawn be wholly taken by the queen."

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Kraehe watches Neprhite as he goes through the motions. He can do as he pleases with her: move her, spin her, pose her when he's done. She watches him through every moment, unblinking, always seeing, always judging.

She is still for a moment past his final words, and the stillness of the observatory is made all the more piercing by her lack of response. Her gaze turns half-lidded, eyelashes nearly hiding the predatory redness. There is perhaps now a hint of truth in her smile.

"She'll live, general. In fact, she won't have truly lived..."

Kraehe slips from his grasp, turning and dancing prettily away.

"...until she's survived."

The princess disappears into the darkness, with only a chill breeze to mark her vanishing.

2014-08-24 - Much Ado About Nothing

2014-09-12T00:47:42Z

Misparse:

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Much Ado About Nothing (or, Panic at the Planetarium)'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Makoto and Mamoru go to the planetarium on a rainy evening because they both need a distraction and it was Mamoru's idea and he's a nerd. But... Nephrite's tracking Makoto. And Zoisite's tracking Nephrite. Things get really, really uncomfortable.''

''No, I mean REALLY uncomfortable.''

''It has an OP: http://soundcloud.com/ginadonahue/panic-at-the-planetarium ''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Makoto Kino]], [[Mamoru Chiba]], [[Nephrite]], [[Zoisite]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
The Ohtori Academy Planetarium
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
3 March 2014 - 8/24/2014
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"--been a while since I've been in here. Not since December, probably."

As the door to the planetarium opens, it lets in Mamoru Chiba's voice as well as light spilling from the hallway. "Usually I'm just on the roof or the balcony with my telescope. You can't see what the moon and stars are like ''right now'' in here, it's just a photo, basically."

As he closes the door, the place goes very dark again, and it'll be a couple seconds before their eyes adjust to the very dim light. It's in those seconds that he hangs his coat up next to the door and leans his umbrella against the wall. Then he heads for the giant metal eye in the middle and uses his phone's flashlight to find the controls.

"But if you want silence with your cosmos instead of the breathing of the city or the chorus of the countryside, then outside of going into space... well," he flicks the machine on, and the dome above them goes from black to the glittering and stately array of the night sky in its slow dance. "This is a reasonable substitute."

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"I kind of like the chorus of the countryside," Makoto comments, and her voice is rich with amusement at Mamoru's turn of phrase, but it's nothing but affectionate. She trails after him into the planetarium, moving carefully in the darkness, and as the projector lights up the dome with the sparkle of myriad stars, she laces her fingers behind her head and looks upward in admiration.

The still air of the indoors doesn't speak to her the way it might if they were truly out under the open sky, but still... "It's only a simulation," she says, pitching her voice a little softer without quite realizing that she's doing it, "but it's still beautiful."

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

The definition of insanity is trying the same plan multiple times and expecting different results. Nephrite is many things -- but he is not insane. His interrogation tactics towards the Kino girl had yielded but little, and it is time for a change of tack.

Namely, one that does not involve physical violence, because that only seemed to give her strength. Better to manipulate her weakness instead: her trust in Masato Sanjouin.

He'd been confused, at first, when he saw the tracking dot approach Ohtori's planetarium. He'd always disliked the place, with its artificial sky that muted the stars and turned them into merely baubles to be observed. But it was a secluded enough location for a private talk, concerning one Tuxedo Mask.

Perhaps, while he was there, he could show her a more...complete vision of the stars as well.

It doesn't take long to arrive at Ohtori, thanks to his sports car's powerful engine and a few tweaked stoplights along the way. It would be easier to teleport -- much easier, in fact -- but in truth, Nephrite preferred to avoid using that power as Masato, lest he be spotted by an unsuspecting mortal and his reputation put in question. He does, however, bend reality the slightest bit to find a parking spot close to the planetarium itself, for fear that she would leave before he entered.

Fortunately, those fears are unfounded, for he hears the voice of Makoto even as he walks into the dimly lit theater. "Beautiful though it may be, a simulation will never match the true night sky," he remarks in response to the last words he heard from her. "It is a shame one must use a computer to view even a semblance of it here in Tokyo. When you have seen the night in its full beauty, returning to the washed-out urban atmosphere is...disheartening."

Saying this, he steps closer so as not to speak from the shadows any longer. "Do you have a love of the night sky, Kino-san?"

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Invisible in the darkness, the corners of Mamoru's eyes crinkle up at Makoto's amusement, but he remains silent, straightening up and looking overhead. As he listens to her, he absently starts mapping out the constellations and working out whether the image of the sky they're seeing is exactly on time, from positioning, or if it's off from what's above the clouds outside.

Then the door opens and lets light in again, and for a second, Mamoru can't see anything at all. He stiffens as he hears a third voice and it's familiar -- this is the Student Council tower, it could be a Councilor -- but then he can make out the newcomer's build and see his face, and his shoulders relax. It's just the pompous guy from the poetry slam.

"Sanjouin-san," he greets the man, not quite pointedly, but with a firm establishment of his presence in the room.

His presence.

He's on his home turf; he is, as he's been called, one of Ohtori's kings. But it's not a warning of any kind, it's not the coldness or the aloof amiability he wears like armor around the school -- it's perfectly friendly, and there's almost a laugh behind it.

"The wilderness isn't that far away. It's just raining. But if you feel it's so subpar, why have you come?"

<Pose Tracker> Zoisite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

It's a concern for Nephrite, but not for his troublesome brother-in-arms. One moment, Zoisite-as-Zoë Palissandre is studying in Ohtori's cavernous library; the next, he is ducking out and down an empty stairwell, stepping across the sprawling campus in a single stride as soon as the door closes behind him.

In his manicured hand, Zoë's mobile phone darkens over the word 'PLANETARIUM'.

---<--@ @-->---

Inexplicably, Nephrite will feel a slender arm slip between his side and his own arm, capturing it with the terrible strength only a besotted teenage girl can muster.

"Sanjouin-saaaaaaaan, you didn't wait for meeee! How /could/ you? And after I worked so hard to clear my social schedule for tonight's date!" a feminine voice trills, edged with the watery waver of a young girl's tears. "I know you're busy, but would it have killed you to send me a text message?" Sniffle.

If he looks down, poor Neph will catch a wicked gleam in Zoë's tearful eyes before they're squeezed shut and wiped on his sleeve.

"Ah...c'est Chiba-san," the faux French girl murmurs, looking up from her deathgrip on Masato's arm and blinking a few times to clear the totally manufactured tears from her vibrant green eyes. "Et...pardonnez-moi, but who is your friend?" Though the inquiry is directed at Mamoru, Zoë has let her gaze drift to Makoto. Who, for the record, Zoisite legitimately doesn't recognise.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Makoto does not have Mamoru's degree of self-possession. Even with the forewarning of the light that comes in when the observatory's door opens, she barely manages to keep from letting out an entirely undignified squeak of surprise when she realizes just who has joined them in the star-spangled darkness of the planetarium. "--Sanjouin-san!"

She drops her arms hastily back to her sides as she turns to face him. At least it's dark enough that (she hopes) neither of them can see her blushing. "Well--" she says, tripping a little over the words before she manages to answer, "--yes. Isn't everyone, at least a little?" Her eyes turn upwards again for a moment, once again catching the light of the simulated stars. "No matter how many times you see it, it doesn't get old."

A beat passes, and though it might well be too dark to tell that she's blushing but when she turns her eyes from the dome back toward Nephrite there's a look on her face that Mamoru will probably recognize. She opens her mouth to say something--

--and then there is a gorgeous person latched onto Nephrite's arm and Makoto's face suddenly freezes, her spine going stiff as inwardly her heart cracks just a little. She closes her mouth again, feeling very foolish.

Of course he has a girlfriend. Really, she should have expected it.

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

"That depends on your definition of subpar, Chiba-san," Nephrite-as-Masato says without missing a beat, inclining his head towards the youth. He hadn't seen him when he walked in, and while his presence is a slight disappointment, it is hardly consequential in the grand scheme of things. Besides, after that bit of trickery on the bridge, the high schooler bears investigating on his own merits. "From here, we cannot see the Venus de Milo. We use photographs to rectify this. You do not see the statue when you see the photograph, but is it not worth seeing because of that?" It's a convoluted metaphor -- he can't simply tell these two that there is a *true* night sky that can only be seen from the observatory in his mansion. But he believes his point to be made. (Even if he doesn't mean it completely.)

"And you are right, Kino-san," the long-haired man says with a slight smile, focusing on her once again. "The night sky is a living thing, in some way. Ever-changing, ever in motion, and yet as regular as clockwork. In many ways, it resembles--"

A strong force grasps his left arm out of nowhere, and he cuts himself off mid-sentence, a bit of instinctive defense snapping his head to the side and tensing his muscles. He's half-expecting an attacker. Instead he gets

Zoisite?!

Nephrite can almost not contain his surprise, eyes widening almost unnaturally and taking a reflexive step backwards, though his arm remains firmly in the girl's (boy's?) grasp. /What in hell's name are you thinking??/ he wants to yell, his free fist clenched and trembling with sudden anger. /Is this your plan to have me killed? In Kunzite's jealous rage?/

But, alas, the presence of mortals stills his tongue. Though something akin to bile rises in the back of his throat, the man forces the suave and collected countenance of Masato back onto his face, straightening so as not to look like he's repulsed by the new arrival.

/You'll pay for this, Zoisite./

"Ah, my...apologies," he says through teeth only slightly gritted, "I did not mean to upset you." Manufacturing every gesture, he extends his hand towards the two students, noting bitterly the change in Makoto Kino's expression. Damn. It will take time to undo this *unfortunate* misunderstanding. "These are Mamoru Chiba and Makoto Kino. I happened upon them by happy coincidence."

He lowers his hand, then looks back towards the (no doubt gleeful) Zoisite. "This is...my. date."

(Damn Zoisite didn't even tell him the name of this mortal guise.)

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The world stops and resets for Mamoru Chiba when Zoë Palissandre shows up out of nowhere and attaches herself to Sanjouin's arm. He'd noticed that look on Makoto's face, and started to look amused, but his face freezes as surely as does Mako's, as does Nephrite's. Then it rapidly closes off into distant amusement and faint annoyance.

He shifts a quick glance in Mako's direction, but the ponytailed middle-schooler's gotten that ''other'' look on ''her'' face, and the depth of the ramifications make a little bit of 'oh no' leak past his mask. Probably only enough for Zoisite to see.

Mamoru's hand snakes out quickly to grab Makoto's, and the charge she'll feel is familiar by now.

Calm. The stillness of stone, the quiet of deep caves. The peace of the sunny golden haze of a late August afternoon.

He keeps the distant amusement in his face and voice, which resonates in the dimness. "Zoë Palissandre-san, this is Makoto Kino-san. Sanjouin-san, I didn't know you two were seeing each other; it's such a small world sometimes."

His hand's gripping Makoto's tightly, but it's dark in here and the shadows favor them. His eyes, meanwhile, are desperately trying to read Zoisite's.

<Pose Tracker> Zoisite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

Well, I take that back. Though Zoisite does not recognise Makoto herself, he /does/ pick up on the way tension galvanises her frame the moment her forest green eyes meet his. It's not the same as that which draws Mamoru's noble features taut; no, the disguised spymaster knows heartbreak when he sees it.

Interesting.

Zoisite's head bobs when Mamoru -- sounding more put-upon than ever -- effects the necessary introductions. Even as 'Makoto Kino' is filed away in the back of Zoisite's mind, he is chirping, "Non, non, mais non, I am sure it was just a misunderstanding!" in Zoë's French accent, all smiles now that her 'date' has proved sufficiently contrite.

Seeing each other? "Ahahahaha," Zoë laughs, the sound the tinkling of windchimes, and covers her lush mouth with exquisitely-manicured fingertips. Now fluttering her equally lush eyelashes in false modesty, she fatuously coos, "I would not say that, only that Sanjouin-san has been good enough to extend this poor exchange student a few hours of his valuable time." Masato's arm receives a new squeeze, and then--

--she is gone, crossing the short distance between the couples to clasp Makoto's hands in her own. Green eyes meet green eyes like overlapping leaves, the redheaded girl's sparkling as though with morning dew. "Oh! Mako-chan -- may I call you Mako-chan? -- it's so lovely to meet you! You may call me Zoë-chan -- in fact, I insist upon it~!" Zoisite gushes, breathless. "After all, any friend of Chiba-san's is a friend of mine~!"

Here, she turns her sparkle onto Mamoru -- and, just for him, it gleams briefly with a particular wildness. Almost as if all this chaos was planned.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Makoto has never had a poker face to speak of.

The dim light of the planetarium's projected stars gives her some screen, but even so, everything that she feels is on display for all present to see. It's written across her face and in the way she carries herself, the way that she begins almost to deflate in a growing sense of dejection as Sanjouin-san confirms that he and this beautiful, elegant girl are in fact dating--

--and the way she goes ''absolutely still'' when Mamoru makes the introductions.

It's a good thing that Mamoru takes hold of her hand when he does; it reins her in, gives her a moment to think twice about taking any reckless action. But her eyes have gone hard, and though she's barely moved there's a stiffness in her posture now, the tension of violence carefully leashed. When Zoisite sweeps across the space between them to clasp her hands, just at the moment of contact there's the tiniest crackle of static electricity, not even enough to make a sound and barely enough to feel.

"Sure." Mako's hand stays slack and unresponsive in Zoë's grip, and her voice is utterly flat. "Zoë-chan."

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

Nephrite is, shall we say, selectively observant. He's trained his eyes to search the stars and interpret their slightest movement, sensing the dying throes of stars millions of light years away and mapping the orbits of countless planets. When he's looking upward, he has eyes like a hawk.

This doesn't translate as well when he turns his gaze back down to Earth.

The General sees the minor twitches and reactions of the other three in the planetarium, but their more nuanced implications are all but lost on him. Perhaps he's too distracted by rage at being interrupted like this; perhaps the more delicate aspects of body language simply go over his head. Nevertheless, his eyes stay trained on Makoto for a bit, wondering how she'll react to this new development, though it is *patently* false.

"We're not--" the words jump out before he can stop them, but thankfully, it appears Zoisite -- well, Zoë -- had the same idea, and left his side with one final squeeze. There's a barely audible sigh of relief as he's released of his bonds, and he all but snaps his arms close to his body, leaving little room for an arm to sneak its way in again. "Yes. Zoë here is a fine..." what cursed instrument did he play, again? Ah, right, "pianist. She has accompanied me on the cello a few times, and I am showing her my *fondest* appreciation."

He shoots a smile to the mortal girl that has just the tiniest amount of poison in it, probably nothing that the mortals would pick up on in the dark. It doesn't really change anything, but it felt good to reduce Zoisite to the second (figurative) fiddle. An accompanist, nothing more.

A beat or two passes as the two girls hold hands with one another. He hadn't thought their interaction too suspicious originally, just more of the youngest Shitennou's meddling. But Makoto appears...quite angry, if that posture is any indication. The man furrows his brow a bit in confusion, eyes once again centered on the brunette of amazing strength. He's not entirely sure why she's so suddenly hostile, but if any harm is about to come Zoisite's way, he certainly doesn't want to stop it.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Calm blue ocean. Calm blue ocean. Mamoru hangs tightly onto Makoto's hand until it's obvious Zoi is coming over to clasp the brunette's in his, and then the best he can do is hope with all his heart that she keeps her temper and isn't too--

--that was a very flat voice, wasn't it.

All of his senses are on alert; he doesn't want Zoisite to know that Makoto's magical, though Nephrite will probably sort ''that'' out later, and he's pretty sure that Zoisite will just deliver him to Beryl with a ribbon if Makoto lets on she knows who 'Zoë Palissandre' is.

Diversion. He needs to divert Makoto's attention.

"Hah," he laughs after a second of watching the interaction, then leans to elbow Makoto lightly. "See? You don't have to be jealous!" he teases her, lifting his eyebrows. "It's all right, Palissandre-san. Don't let us keep you two from your dinner of fondest appreciation!"

<Pose Tracker> Zoisite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

As plain as the secrets of the heavens are to Nephrite, so are the minutiae of human behaviour to Zoisite. It's enough for most people.

Makoto, though, is not most people. Her electric passions lend her body language an incandescence, lighting her from within. The Shitennou can feel the static that jumps between their hands, but dismisses it as mundane; what he focuses on instead is her indifferent grip, the two-dimensionality of her reply. She's lightning in a bottle. Is it because Zoë's trampled all over the blooming garden of her teenage love? Young girls /can/ become surprisingly hostile when their romantic aspirations are thwarted...

Wait. Since when has Nephrite played the cello?

"Ohohohoho," Zoë titters, dropping Makoto's hands and springing backward, "yes, such an honour to be given the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of such a promising career~" And, to twist the knife, the redhead throws her arms around Masato -- folded arms and all -- and gives his torso a squeeze. "I hope you'll remember me when you become famous, San~jou~in~san~!" Squeeze, squeeze.

And then Mamoru says the 'J' word, and time stops.

See, it's not that Zoisite didn't know his antics were making Makoto jealous -- far from it; it's that calling it out like this stands to explode them all. (A girl doesn't have to be magical to be dangerous, you know.) What is that idiot thinking?!

Immediately, Zoisite switches into self-preservation mode. "Ohhhh non, non, mais non, Chiba-san, aheheheh," she protests, laughing weakly now, "an- euh- /appreciation/ date needn't be just les deux! Linden Baum has les gateaux fantastiques..."

Nephrite will feel a pinch just above the waistband of his trousers. Think on your feet, stupid!!

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

The various assurances that the connection between Sanjouin-san and Palissandre-san are, unfortunately, rather cold comfort to Makoto at the moment. What a minute ago would have come as a relief pales in comparison to the fact that the three of them - Mamoru, Sanjouin-san, and herself - are standing here in the company of a Dark General, one who ''knows'' who Mamoru is and seems to have some kind of an interest in Sanjouin-san besides.

Mamoru's likely to find elbowing her something like the same experience as elbowing a tree. She scarcely moves. It's not that she can't tell what Mamoru is doing, playing things off as lightly as he is, and in her head Mako understands ''why'' it's absolutely vital that this situation not escalate - but when Mamoru suggests that they leave the other two to whatever Zoisite has planned, Makoto shoots him an incredulous sidelong look.

"Mamoru-san--!" She says it half in an undertone, part protest, part plea. Maybe the urgency in her voice is just the intense embarrassment of a girl who's just had her crush pointed out right in front of the object of it?

Then Palissandre-san (the Dark General) has her (his) arms around Sanjouin-san again and Makoto feels like she's inches from pulling her own hair and just ''screaming''.

"Ah, that's--" She fumbles to reply to Zoe's suggestion, eyes flicking desperately between Mamoru and Masato for some clue as to what either one of them thinks about any of this. "--That's generous of you, Zoe-chan," somehow she manages not to choke on the name, "but we wouldn't want to intrude..."

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

This entire situation is making his blood boil. Were it anybody but two high-priority targets in the room, Nephrite very likely would have blown his cover and given Zoisite the beating he deserved for this interference. Unfortunately, preserving the innocence of Masato Sanjouin in the eyes of the mortals is paramount, and he suspects that is the very reason the youngest Shitennou chose this moment to strike.

No, not strike. Nephrite would have preferred a straightforward attack. Zoisite is *meddling* -- and for what purpose? He can't fathom how this child's play advances the other General's plans in the slightest.

But he can't waste his efforts on figuring out Zoisite, for it is a truly impossible task. Salvaging his reputation with Makoto is far more important, as is keeping his secret identity intact. If his so-called comrade had come here just to expose him -- wait, what's that about jealousy?

And Mamoru Chiba is trying to abscond with Makoto Kino. Unacceptable.

"That's--" he begins, then is cut off for the umpteenth time this evening as Zoisite throws his arms around his chest, circumventing the defenses he'd set up but a minute ago. His face slowly morphs from surprise into barely disguised contempt, only smiling so that this ruse doesn't completely backfire. "Well. I focus more on my conducting career, naturally," he say, stilted. "But I find the cello much more relaxing -- tch!"

The man winces when Zoisite pinches him from behind, and it takes every ounce of self-control he has not to throw the disguised high schooler into the nearest wall. He turns his head and, shrouded by the dark of the planetarium, shoots his 'date' the iciest glare he can muster, Nephrite-the-Shitennou coming out for a split second. /Pinch me again and I swear on my *life* I will make you regret it. Cover or no./

But, after a deep breath, he looks back towards the other two. "It would be our absolute delight to have you along with us. If we are not the ones, in fact, intruding," he says, looking furtively at Makoto. He hadn't suspected it at first, but he supposes there's a possibility that Makoto and Mamoru are romantically involved, them having been together many of the times he appeared as a Shitennou. It isn't a disaster if it is true, but it's better to work out the truth now than to continue with an angle of infatuation blindly.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mamoru's just giving Zoisite the ''widest eyes'' as Makoto hisses at him; he glances toward her and the wide-eyes turns into pleading - ''play along, PLAY ALONG, '''please''''' - for a half second before he reasserts his emotional mask.

He grabs Makoto's hand again and squeezes it, half in reassurance and half in insistence. There's the static of them both, a split second of feedback--

''The stars burn steadily in the sky; there's no flickering, from where they watch.''

''He just stands there under the arch, looking up at the blue and white marble in the sky. "Of course I stand with you," he finally says, voice like forgotten thing, lost and sorrowful and uncertain of the future.''

''But then he repeats it, turning around, and eyes that match the blue of the oceans overhead meet the forest green ones watching him, and they're not uncertain at all. "It's not even a choice. Maybe if we defeat her they'll come to their senses, but..." He shakes his head. "You know she'll always come first."''

--but it's only that steadying calm and determined acceptance in the boy's grip running into Makoto's fury head-on. "You're very sweet, but we can't, I'm sorry," he says firmly. "It's a school night, and I need to finish helping Mako-chan with her assignment. I ''do'', however, have tickets to a performance of Holst's Planets in a couple of days, and I had to cancel-- it would be such a shame if they went to waste!"

Letting go Mako's hand, he looks down at her with a bright smile on his mouth and apology in his eyes for how he's doing this, and claps his hand on the back of her shoulder. "It would make me very happy if you took Sanjouin-san--"

Quick checking-not-checking to see if Masato looks like he might think of objecting! and he looks back at Mako. "--seeing as I know the two of you would appreciate it."

It's like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see if it's done yet.

<Pose Tracker> Zoisite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

Honestly, whatever claptrap Nephrite is spouting to get himself out of the latest hole Zoisite's pushed him into goes in one ear and out the other -- especially now that it's become vastly more important to keep this Makoto girl from coming unglued. That sentiment is what meets Nephrite's full Shitennou glare: marvelously expressive poison-green eyes burn like alchemical fire for him alone. /You are such an idiot!!/

Of course, politeness takes over even the ugliest personal feelings. Inwardly, Zoisite is cursing his lack of control over the situation -- one false move and he's steered this outing into a /double date/ that even he may not be able to salvage -- when Mamoru finally does something useful and provides a rather graceful out. The youngest Shitennou inhales sharply through his nose, relief writ plain upon his elfin features; a heartbeat later, he's wrested his mask back into place.

"Oh my goodness yes it is a school night isn't it," pours from Zoï¿½'s rosebud lips in a breathless rush, the words barely escaping before she's covered her mouth with her delicate hands. "Pardonnez-moi, j'ai oubliï¿½!"

(Never mind that that would mean as indifferent a student as Zoï¿½ Palissandre was in the library on not-a-school-night. Did she ever say she'd come from the library? Zoisite doesn't even know at this point.) "Mais oui- une bonne idï¿½e, Chiba-san!"

Somehow, Zoi's hand has tangled itself in the third of his ponytail streaming over his shoulder. "Euh, Chiba-san," the willowy girl steps away from Nephrite (finally letting go her slackened grip on his torso) to take up a conspiratorial stance by his unoccupied elbow, "perhaps we should give Sanjouin-san et Mako-chan the chance to work out the details between themselves? And," there is a tug on that elbow now, "would you escort me to my dorm? So," in a stage whisper, "I may have a moment with you en privï¿½?"

The look in Zoisite's vivid eyes is strangely desperate.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Feedback buzzes through Makoto for a split second when Mamoru grips her hand, like a flash of an image of another time and place, an instant of disorientation. In the next moment it's passed, but she brings her free hand up to press her fingers to her temple. There's almost too much to parse right now, even without strange sensations flashing through her and leaving her dizzy.

At least Mamoru's efforts at disarming the situation seem to be working - the rigid set of her shoulders has relaxed a little, and the sense of restrained violence that all but crackled in the air around her has faded. She's still on edge, but she manages to turn an apologetic smile towards Nephrite. "He's right... I'm sorry, I'd forgotten too. But--" She breaks off there, glancing sidelong at Mamoru as he claps her on the shoulder and then back to Sanjouin-san, and tries (and completely fails) not to look hopeful. "--I wouldn't mind, if..." She can't quite make herself finish the sentence.

And then Zoe's at Mamoru's elbow and her request has Mako's brows drawing together in concern. It's either a reasonably safe resolution to this whole mess or the worst suggestion yet, and Makoto can't decide which. Maybe Mamoru has a slightly better perspective on how much trouble he'd be in. "Mamoru-san, is that all right with you...?"

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Like the presumptuously regal jerk he is sometimes, Mamoru doesn't even wait for Sanjouin to agree before he's beaming at Makoto's affirmative answer and Zoisite's enthusiastic encouragement. "Excellent. I'll give you the tickets when we get back," he says cheerfully. Then all of a sudden, Zoisite's ''relief'' is registering at the same time that Zoisite's person is approaching his at speed.

Blinking owlishly down at the youngest Shitennou, he leans down when his elbow's tugged, and his eyebrows go up--

Mamoru sees that desperate look and instantly glances over his shoulder at Makoto, who's looking concerned, and who... ah.

Abruptly, his dark blue eyes soften at the eighth-grader, and he gives her a real smile for the first time since Sanjouin got here. He looks so grateful, so terribly, purely grateful. The tiniest of nods at her, and he straightens, turning that smile toward Zoisite. "Sure." Then, businesslike as he pretty much reflexively offers 'Zoe' his arm and starts for the door, "Mako-chan, I'll be back in fifteen minutes, it's not far. Sanjouin-san, nice to see you again. I hope you enjoy the concert, if you've left by the time I'm back."

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

Nephrite is, at the end of the day, a straightforward man. He uses only one mortal disguise, and lives it as honestly as he possibly can, nary a difference between himself and Masato Sanjouin besides name and magical strength. Subterfuge and politics are beyond him, by and large; not because he is unintelligent, mind. Merely because his mind is direct and his heart impatient.

Thus, the only strand of this complicated knot that he has any grasp on is Zoisite's identity. Something prickles his senses -- something tense and wrong -- but he cannot place his finger on its cause, so he attributes it to his rage at the younger man's interruption.

His expression hardens noticeably when Mamoru Chiba excuses both himself and Makoto. All his efforts to get information out of the Kino girl seemed fated to fail, though this time, it is thanks to someone who, at least theoretically, should have supported his goals. He's about to curtly leave the scene as well -- when Chiba mentions something about him going to a concert with Makoto in a few days.

And everything falls into place.

"I would be delighted to go -- if Kino-san would have me for an escort," he all but purrs, his smile becoming a touch more genuine now that his plans weren't about to be driven before him. "Your offer is quite generous, Chiba-san. You have my thanks."

In more ways than one, it would seem, as Zoisite/Zoe finally lets go of him and clings to the young man instead of him. Nephrite's shoulders relax at last; they had been hovering somewhere around his ears a moment prior. "Far be it from me to interrupt your private moment, Pelissandre-san," he says, glancing towards the disguised General with contempt. What sort of business Zoisite had with the mortal, he couldn't guess, but that line of questioning could wait until later, after he made his displeasure about his presence tonight *abundantly* clear. "Kino-san, would you like a ride home? We can discuss the details of our symphony outing without taking up your friend's time."

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

In what seems like barely seconds, Zoe and Mamoru have swept out of the room on their way to the Ohtori dormitories. In their wake, the air inside the planetarium suddenly seems much less tense. Makoto lets out a breath, bringing her hand to the nape of her neck as she finishes processing everything that's transpired in the last few minutes and makes what is almost a visible downshift of mental gears. When she turns her gaze back toward Nephrite, it's with an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry about that, Sanjouin-san," she says. "It was a bit awkward, wasn't it?" --right, he said something about a ride home, didn't he? Letting her hand drop, Makoto makes a polite little bow. "It's kind of you to offer me a ride, but I really should wait for Mamoru-san. He was doing me a favor bringing me here, after all, it'd be rude to just leave on my own."

Not to mention that if Mamoru isn't back in fifteen minutes, she's going to have to go after him, and that's going to be much more difficult if she leaves here without him.

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

"It... was," Nephrite admits, a touch reluctantly. Perhaps he hadn't been as good at disguising his distate for Zoisite's antics as he thought, if the girl had picked up on it. Of course, her male friend had also just implied that she fancied Masato, so it's entirely possible she's referring to that instead. Either way, he's glad that he's finally managed a moment alone with Makoto Kino. "I apologize. Pelissandre-san read more into my invitation than I had truly meant." He returns his hands to the pockets of his jacket, finally resuming his relaxed posture. "But she seems to have recovered fine. And was awfully keen on spending time with your friend Chiba-san. Maybe he was her true goal all along."

He smiles conspiratorially. There's no way Zoisite would stray from Kunzite for one such as Mamoru Chiba, but of course, Masato Sanjouin wouldn't know that.

"That's all right," he replies when she turns down his offer, tilting his head upwards at the projection above them. "You must be considerate of your friends, of course. And we can certainly discuss logistics while we wait for the two of them to return." Here, Nephrite smiles almost mischievously, returning his gaze to ground level.

"But, first -- why don't I show you something?" His eyes almost seem to shine, even in the low light. "After all, you came here to see the stars, did you not?"

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"You might be right about that," Makoto agrees, and laughs a little - but it's an awkward, uncomfortable sound, a joke that isn't very funny. "I hope he'll be okay..." For a moment she glances through the darkness in the direction of the door. For the next fifteen minutes, at least, there's not much she can do about it either way, except to wait and put her faith in Mamoru's faith in Zoisite.

Not a very reassuring thought, that.

Mako lets her attention be pulled back to Sanjouin-san, grateful for the company, and seeing the smile on his face she can't help but smile back. She can feel herself start to blush again, but at least it's a welcome distraction from her worries.

"Yes, I did," she answers, brows lifting in clear curiosity at the question and the somewhat cryptic suggestion that it's attached to. "What did you have in mind...?"

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

Nephrite raises his eyebrows a bit when Makoto makes a quiet comment about her friend's safety, looking at the door the two of them left through. He knows that Zoisite is always to be considered dangerous -- but her? Why did she think Mamoru Chiba was in danger around the pretentious, conniving piano student? Could she possibly--

No. Zoisite is not so loose with his true identity as to risk discovery from a mortal. Still, her concern means she is either desperately paranoid of women hanging around Chiba, or is possessed of an uncommonly sharp intuition. Both are worth considering, and so he doesn't say anything about the odd pairing one way or the other.

Instead, he smiles once again at Makoto, then deliberately makes his way towards the computer controlling the projection.

"I'm sad to say that most within Ohtori do no know how to operate the planetarium to its full capacity," he says as he walks, his voice managing to carry across the room despite the sound-dampening carpet. "Having spent a fair amount of time around telescopes and observatories, I have picked up a few tricks that will let us see the stars and planets in their true glory. Not this mere...projection."

Nephrite says no more as he reaches the computer, reaching down to glide his hands over the keyboard convincingly. In reality, he's doing nothing of the sort; rather, he reaches out with his mind (and a not insignificant amount of magic) to create an invisible viewing field, just the size of the planetarium, on which to project his own images of the cosmos. When he feels the mystical energy settle around the two of them, he smirks, then presses 'enter' with conviction -- just to keep in line with his cover story.

And immediately, the dome above them is alight with the majestic, hurricane-covered enormity that is the planet Jupiter, as though they were standing in front of it themselves, without the intermediary of a telescope.

He stiffens with displeasure when he sees the image; all too often, his power to view the skies centered on whatever was most pressing on his mind. That it is Jupiter before them and not the solar system at large suggests that he has not truly gotten over his failure to abduct Sailor Jupiter in her weakened state, and lingering so on one failure speaks of an uncharacteristic lack of confidence.

But he can sort that out later. Right now, his mission is to dazzle the mortal girl, and if his gut feeling his correct, this sort of magic is just the thing for it.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"Really?" Folding her arms absently behind her, Makoto leans forward a little to watch as he begins to fiddle with the planetarium's controls - although really with only the light of the projection to see by she can scarcely see what the controls even consist of, let alone what he might be doing with them. "I guess I've never thought about it, but to be able to project the way the night sky changes--"

She doesn't manage to finish the thought, because just as she says 'changes' the simple projection of a starry sky is replaced by the sight of Jupiter looming vast before and above her in the spangled darkness of space, and Makoto's voice breaks off sharply as her throat closes and for a moment she forgets how to breathe.

It's a shock like a lightning strike, like a blow to the chest that takes the air out of her lungs. The sight of the gas giant in its full, enormous glory would be awe-inspiring even if it meant nothing to her personally... but it does, because she ''knows'' this view. It's familiar, on some deep gut level in s way that she can't begin to define, as familiar as her pretty little apartment or her own face in the mirror.

Her hand reaches up towards the oval of the great red storm that swirls perpetually in Jupiter's lower hemisphere, larger than the Earth. "...Incredible," she breathes, barely more than a whisper.

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

"It is, isn't it?" Nephrite says, managing to catch Makoto's whisper from halfway across the room. "A beautiful subject for a symphony. All the planets in our system are."

Of course, the planets orbiting Sol are the least of what he could show her, if he wanted to. He could all but transport them to another galaxy, fly in close to a supernova or map out the constellations as seen from the surface of Nemesis, the dark planet. In focusing so much on their predictive power, it is easy for him to forget how awe-inspiring the stars could be, especially when viewed with his brand of astrological magic.

Such gifts had died out with the rest of the arcane arts, and he remains one of the few practicioners in this system. Makoto likely doesn't realize the rare gift he's giving her -- and it is better that she doesn't. Masato the talented astronomer is a more convincing disguise than Masato the celestial magician.

A *little* bit of mystique certainly couldn't go awry, though. Many mortals are drawn to what they do not understand.

With a few (perfunctory) taps on the keyboard, Nephrite pulls the viewing angle back to encompass the entire solar system as it is aligned this very moment, then walks back down the aisle of seats, back to where the girl is standing. "Have you ever been to the symphony, Kino-san?" he asks, figuring that they should get this worked out before Mamoru reenters with 'Zoe'. "We are fortunate to have a wonderful hall, here in Tokyo."

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Makoto is slow to answer, still staring wide-eyed at the vision of Jupiter, encircled by its moons and the gossamer arc of its rings. It's only when the view changes, shifting back from its focus on Jupiter to show the larger scope of the whole solar system, that she begins to recover her self-possession a little - the sight is still incredible, to be sure, but it no longer swamps her with that strange sense of familiarity, and she's able to drag her gaze downward to Nephrite again and reluctantly shake her head.

"I haven't," she admits. "The tickets are pretty expensive, so it's not really something I can just do on a whim... I wanted to see that free event that was going to happen recently, but - well, things came up."

Her head ducks in embarrassment, but only for a moment. In the next moment Makoto is looking up at Sanjouin-san again with an expression of earnest relief. "I didn't get the chance to say so before," she says, "but I'm glad that you're all right. I heard about what happened - the, um," what was the official story in the news again? "--gas leak."

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

Nephrite isn't totally surprised when Makoto admits that she's never been to the symphony. Though there were cheap ways to get tickets if you knew the right people, more often than not, seats were quite expensive, often beyond the budget of a student. It would be easy, then, to woo her with the high-class spectacle of the grand hall, and the upper crust that made a habit of being seen at the symphony. In fact--

"Chiba-san's offer is most generous, then, if it gives you the chance to experience the symphony for the first time," he says, the ghost of a plan beginning to form behind his gentlemanly facade. "Being the conductor, I may be able to get the seats upgraded to a box, if I make a few calls. You'll like it much better, both the view and the acoustics are superb." He won't have to use magic for this goal, for once, because Masato Sanjouin's status is enough to get one of the best seats in the house. "There's a cafe close to the hall itself as well, if you'd like to eat beforehand. Symphonies are lengthy affairs, after all."

When she mentions a gas leak, Nephrite blinks slowly in confusion, trying to keep his face as neutral as possible while he figured out what she was referring to. Luckily, it doesn't take all that long: the mortals found some explanation or other for the disaster during the teenager-pandering concert, and seeing as he had been the conductor that night, it followed that she would be concerned for his wellbeing. He affects a grateful smile.

"Thank you -- it was quite the scare. A shame that it happened during an outreach performance, but it is fortunate no one was hurt."

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"It really is..." Makoto can't quite look at him while they're talking about this; she turns her gaze away, looking out across the illusionary starscape. If it hadn't been for the necessity of trying to stick convincingly to the official version of events, she might've already given into temptation and called him... but Mako knows as well as anyone that she's a terrible liar, and if she says anything else about that evening she's sure she won't be able to keep from giving away something that she shouldn't.

Fortunately, there's a much more immediate subject occupying her thoughts, because Mamoru's spur-of-the-moment suggestion is quickly turning from an unexpected stroke of fortune into actually too good to be true. "...I'm looking forward to getting to see a proper performance," Mako says, trying hard not to fluster and feeling like she must be turning several different shades of pink. "Ah, but you don't need to go to that much trouble on my account. After all, the whole thing is something that Mamoru-san kind of decided on his own..."

Or so Makoto says, but the look on her face when she glances back toward him tells a very different story. It's all faintly disbelieving hope and starstruck admiration; she's completely smitten, soaking up the gentlemanly attention like dry ground soaks up rainfall.

-----
'''''MEANWHILE'''''
-----

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The rain outside's at least dropped off to a light drizzle, and as soon as they get down to the ground floor, Mamoru pauses -- doesn't bother trying to dislodge Zoisite if the Shitennou is still on his arm -- and one-handedly flips up and opens his umbrella. It is, of course, big enough to shield them both.

And then it's toward the dormitories, the soft evening dampening the sound around them. Mamoru seems to be chewing on something in the back of his head, but when isn't he?

Finally it comes out. "What in god's name were you doing?" he asks, letting out an incredulous laugh-- and then he shakes his head. "No, no. First, what's wrong?"

<Pose Tracker> Zoisite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

Both of them under an umbrella. As if the Ohtori rumour mill needed any more grist!

But that's only a blip on Zoisite's mental radar just now, as he comes to a stop under a lightpole and steps away from Mamoru, folding his arms. Even explaining what he was /doing/ there would be stepping over a line he's not yet willing to cross.

There are a lot of lines here, at that. Has he finally lied himself into a corner?

"...You're sending your friend into a trap," the disguised Shitennou finally replies, still looking away. "Nephrite will be at that concert."

It's as much as he can say. What goes unsaid clings to his willowy frame like the drizzle beyond the umbrella.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The best way to deal with Ohtori's rumor mill, Mamoru has found, is to basically fail to care what it says, and, when bored, feed it disinformation. It's a blip on Zoi's radar, but it doesn't even occur to the black-haired boy that it could start talk.

Instead, he stands there, shaded from the lamplight by his big umbrella, looking at the redhead in the misting drizzle. His face is white in the shadow, and his mouth thin and pinched. "He's obsessed with her and I have no idea why," he says, voice halting and low, breath refusing to behave properly. "He came to her ''house''. He tortured her. It was after you visited me. We were eating eclairs she made..."

He trails off. Does this count as giving information to the enemy? He's telling on Nephrite, not on Jupiter.

But-- is Luna right? Or are his goals the same and his methods different? Do his methods even have merit? Makoto backed him leaving with Zoisite. Makoto ''has'' his back. All these unspoken things, on both sides--

The shadow of the umbrella shifts, moving through Zoi's field of vision. He's offering the Dark General his umbrella; a gift, or a loan, not to share. "That looks like wool," he says, finally. "You'll be miserable if it gets too wet."

It's a sort of thanks. It's also a piece of the mundane to ground him, to ground the not-conversation.

<Pose Tracker> Zoisite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

'Ignoring rumours' is probably a skill that comes more easily to Mamoru, honestly.

Zoisite saw the condition the blue-eyed boy was in after Nephrite's attack, yet it pales in comparison to what meets his eyes when he turns around. Unlike that time, though, Zoisite's own expression simply tightens into a frown. "He does that," the redhead remarks, exhaling. "Obsesses over things, I mean. He's driven to fixate on anything that eludes his understanding, and he'll beat his fool head against it until it yields up its secrets to him." Viridian eyes roll. "So I suspect she confounds him in some way."

It certainly explains why he's trying to get close to her, Zoisite thinks to himself. Lucky for him she isn't impervious to his...charms.

He taps his chin with his fingertip, mulling over how much to disclose. Caught thus in his thoughts, Mamoru's gesture takes Zoisite by surprise. Wool? "Oh, uh," he shoots a look down to his sweater, "yes. But I can protect myself with magic- I mean, you don't..."

Gingerly, without meeting Mamoru's oceanic eyes, Zoisite reaches out to accept the umbrella.

"...Er. Ahem." Eclairs. How ironic, that she should make eclairs for the man who's attacked her more than once? (Yes, the fact that Zoisite is making this observation is, itself, ironic. Shut up.) "That man, Sanjouin..."

How far can he go before he endangers himself?

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Somehow -- that mundanity's brought color back to the eleventh-grader's face. He's remembered how to breathe. He gives Zoisite a small half-smile that doesn't really reach the oceanic eyes Zoi won't meet, then sticks his hands in his pockets. His own jacket's leather, it'll stand the rain, even without magic or an umbrella.

''Nephrite obsesses. He fixates on things that he doesn't understand.'' Then, Sanjouin. Mamoru's expression, for just a split second, is priceless. "He's a pompous ass," he supplies, almost interrupting. "I have no idea what she sees in him."

Talk about irony.

"But I guess I'll be babysitting ''that'' date," says the ridiculously tall boy, glancing away, himself. His shoulders hunch in a little bit. And then, still looking away, he says without changing anything in his tone, "Zoe should probably transfer back home."

<Pose Tracker> Zoisite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

Mamoru's just-barely-not-an-interruption elicits a peal of abrupt laughter from Zoisite, who very nearly drops the umbrella when his hand flies to his mouth midway through. By the time he's reined in his outburst, Mamo's gone all hangdog again. Good grief.

"And why should Zoë do anything of the sort?" the redhead demands, hand on hip. "I'm not discarding a mortal cover just because you don't want me complicating your babysitting detail." Though it might actually be...wise...for Zoë to accompany Mamoru, from a certain perspective.

This realisation dawns slowly across Zoisite's face, culminating in a brief mask of horror before the Shitennou vigorously shakes his head, returning it to a simple frown.

After a moment, though, he sighs. "Just..." He hates Nephrite and his loyalties lie with Kunzite, not Beryl or any other authority in the Dark Kingdom, so why is this so hard? "Keep her away from Sanjouin, if you care for her. Not for my sake," Zoi clarifies, remembering his ruse, "but for her own. And yours, I suppose, if you're dumb enough to try rescuing her."

This is stupid. Darkness take all of them for putting him in these stupid situations!!

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Not so much hangdog as--

Well. It ''is'' difficult.

"That's not why you should discard a mortal cover, no," Mamoru says, glancing back over toward Zoisite at the indignation. He listens to the rest, of course; he very much listens to 'keep her away from Sanjouin' -- that'll be some interesting juggling -- and stows it someplace to analyze for practical methodolgy in the background.

But it's clear in those eyes, the presence in his voice and posture reflected behind them and given weight, that he wants Zoisite to understand something. He's also a little astonished that he was actually too oblique, so his eyebrows are up a little, too.

"If you want to popcorn, you can. But please take care. I wouldn't suggest it unless I thought you might end up with the impression that I'd set a trap. Who I'm with is watched."

<Pose Tracker> Zoisite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

Zoisite may be the sharpest of the Heavenly Four, but even he has his off nights.

Of course, when his companion remarks on potential traps, the Shitennou's consternation evaporates in favour of laughter. "You? Set a trap? Please. You don't have a deceitful bone in your body, Mamoru Chiba." With a chuckle, "If you could bring yourself to set one, you'd probably warn me before it sprung so I wouldn't get hurt as I were captured."

More importantly, Mamoru's being watched. "Well of course you are," Zoisite airily replies, twirling one hand. "How do you think I knew where to find you tonight?" Never mind that the message came from /Nephrite's/ surveillance detail. "Though...I hadn't thought /your/ side would keep as close an eye on your activities as mine do ours. But, well," he shrugs, "your feline friends /are/ dreadfully untrusting, aren't they?"

Eyes that had closed for drama's sake open slightly then, staying slyly heavy-lidded as Zoisite trains their emerald gaze on Mamoru.

"Anyway. What does it matter? You've already told your friends all about me, I'm sure." Zoi's mouth twists, as though he's trying and failing not to smile. "Unless your association with me renders your loyalty suspect."

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"You're only saying that because you know me," Mamoru says wryly of the aspersions Zoisite's cast on his potential for duplicity, and then he shrugs lightly. "I'm just still a bit nervous of my 'fragile human body being introduced to as many crystal knives as possible'."

A glance cast back up toward the tower, and then Mamoru smiles a little and looks back down at the redheaded General. The casual assumption that he's already told his friends all about Zoisite-- finally his hands come out of his pockets, and he spreads them grandly. "You ''do'' know me."

The fact that he doesn't explicitly address questions about his loyalty probably answers them fairly effectively. He chuffs out a little breath, misting in the humid air. "Anyway, I'd-- better get back up there, or Sanjouin's going to think I'm not coming back and make some kind of move on Mako-chan."

Awkwardly, the tall boy hesitates a second. "If it comes down to it, Nephrite's not dumb enough to fall for the covered-in-flour ghost-hero trick, is he?"

Mamoru Chiba

2014-09-09T18:53:46Z

Misparse:

__NOTOC__
{|style="-moz-border-radius: 10px;background: #FFFFFF;width=80%;padding:5px"
|-
|
{|style="border:2px solid black;background: #FFFFFF;width: 30.5em;float: right;clear: right;vertical-align: top;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0.5em"
|-
!colspan="2" style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%;text-align: center;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px"|Details
|-
|'''Name''' || Mamoru Chiba
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''AKA''' || Tuxedo Mask, Tuxedo Kamen, Prince Endymion
|-
|'''Cast''' || [[Characters#Bishoujo_Senshi_Sailor_Moon|Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon]]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Gender''' || Male
|-
|'''Age/Birthday''' || 17 (August 3rd)
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Sign''' || Leo
|-
|'''School''' || [[School: Ohtori Academy|Ohtori Academy]] (Grade 11)
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Eyes/Hair''' || Blue/Black
|-
|'''Blood Type''' || A
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Favorite Food''' || Chocolate
|-
|'''Least Favorite Food''' || None
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Favorite Subject''' || Physics
|-
|'''Least Favorite Subject''' || None
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Dislikes''' || Needles
|-
|'''On-Grid Kisses''' || 4
|}

{|style="border:2px solid black;background: #FFFFFF;width: 22.5em;vertical-align: top;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0 0 0 0.5em"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%;text-align: center;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px"|Tuxedo Kamen
|-
| <center>[[File:TuxedoMask.jpg]]</center>
|-
|style="text-align: center"| ''I don't always fight evil, but when I do, it's by moonlight.''
|}
 
{|style="text-align: left; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Profile
|-
| Mamoru Chiba's a wealthy orphan with no recollection of his life before his parents' death when he was six, a well-respected and incredibly intelligent guy, and an accomplished and well-rounded student at Ohtori Academy's high school. He ~''moonlights''~ as the mysterious Tuxedo Kamen to aid the Sailor Senshi with encouragement, guidance, and his own fighting skills. He can frequently be found reading in parks or standing in busy places like a rock in a stream, but at the end of the day, he has a mission. A beautiful princess in his dreams has told him to find the Silver Crystal: if he does, it will gain him his memories and give him the answers he seeks to the burning questions of his unquiet life.
|}
 
{|style="text-align: left; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Relationships
|-
| '''[[Usagi Tsukino]]''': She does her job with her whole heart, and she feels things so deeply, and is filled with such indignant fury at injustices that she makes Mamoru believe that there might be someone else out there who thinks like he does. He will, and does, drop everything to help her if she's in trouble; she mystifies and intrigues him, and tugs at his heart in ways he can't begin to explain. He also can not, for the life of him, stop trolling her, and her indecisiveness drives him up the wall. (Knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Mami Tomoe]]''': Most polite and stylish magical girl that Mamoru knows. Both ass-kicking and charming, she shares his desire to protect Usagi; he cannot fault anyone for wanting to do that. She makes amazingly delicious cake and doesn't lose her temper at Nanami. Nevertheless, she is also amazingly fun to tease. (Technically knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Asagao Uekawa]]''': Cannot keep a secret to save her life, omg. Tuxedo Kamen made friends with Sailor Vega only after first making her cry, after which he kind of panicked and apologised a lot and bought her ice cream. (Knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Eri Shimanouchi]]''': The impressions Mamoru gets from Eri are that she's sort of inherently kind of sorrowful, very giving, very protectively opinionated, and inclusive. He also now knows she's very afraid, and harbors great guilt. She is one of his best friends, and will not hesitate to kick him in the conscience if she thinks he needs it. (Knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Ami Mizuno]]''': <s>Study group buddy and Senshi of Wisdom, Mamoru feels nothing but affection and respect toward Sailor Mercury-- she hasn't even glared daggers at Tuxedo Kamen over the Princess and the Silver Crystal yet, and her dedication to her studies in spite of her fighting evil by moonlight is something he admires greatly.</s> GONE EVIL, BACK AFTER LABOR DAY
|-
| '''[[Anthy Himemiya]]''': Not the princess, but, she ''does'' need help, and if he can get her that help, then he will. (Knows his secret identity AND his secret-secret identity that not even he knows.)
|-
| '''[[Takeo Akamizu]]''': Can't stop being Captain Kirk for five minutes, but takes failure very gracefully. At the very least, Takeo seems to be determined to be Mamoru's rival, and that's really funny.
|-
| '''[[Hayate]]''': The Leafe Knight of Wind -- the horrors he has to fight are deeply rooted in wrongness, and as brusque as the man might be, he's dedicated and good at his job, and has earned Tuxedo Kamen's respect... at least, in fighting ability and dedication. Mamoru isn't impressed by some of the guy's strategic decisions.
|-
| '''[[Mai Tokiha]]''': One of Mamoru's best friends, she knows way more about him than he'd normally be comfortable with, except that he also knows things about her that she keeps close. Much to her chagrin, he frequently goes to her for advice; she almost never fails to sass him and keep him on his toes. Sometimes there's almost something else there. (Knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Shiori Takatsuki|True Feelings]]''': The knives may be sheathed, but THE PAIN LINGERS ON. She's Sailor Moon's friend, but she's a very very broken person, and Mamoru knows this all too well-- neither of them knows the other's secret identity, thank God.
|-
| '''[[Minako Aino|Sailor V]]''': <s>Keeping to herself-- but out of care rather than uncaring. Mamoru disagrees with her, but respects her reasoning and her decision.</s> THE PRINCESS?!?! Well... uh...
|-
| '''[[Mio Kuroki]]''': Usagi likes her. Usagi calls her Mio-chan. Usagi thought he was ''dating'' Mio. Frankly, Mio gives Mamoru the screaming mimis, because there's always at least two layers of unspoken meaning under everything she says to him, and none of it feels like it's very ''comfortable'' meaning. Also she tries to be sexy at him and that's not something that tends to go over well. (And now, THANKS VEGA, she also knows his secret identity.) '''UPDATE:''' Not so bad! Good director!
|-
| '''[[Zoisite]]''': <s>In another life, this boy was one of his protectors, advisors, and brothers. In this life, Zoisite hates both Mamoru Chiba's guts AND Tuxedo Kamen's, and Mamoru is confused and dismayed by the reactions they have to each other: Zoisite is clearly a bad guy, and extremely petty and vindictive, but he awakens feelings of loss and grief and familiarity in Mamoru instead of just pissing him off.</s> IT'S COMPLICATED. Mamoru being willing to believe that Zoisite might need help getting out of the Dark Kingdom pretty much has Luna ready to feed him to a woodchipper.
|-
| '''[[Sakura Akagi|Japanese Cherry Blossom]]''': Willing to help Tuxedo Kamen with his missing memories as much as she can-- after him just asking. The kindness of strangers occasionally blows Mamoru away.
|-
| '''[[Runealy Waldia|Princess Runealy]]''': Way nicer to Mamoru than he feels he deserves. Another one of Usagi's multitude of friends, but in her case, she really means it. They've, since Rune had trouble with getting possessed by one of Nephrite's Dark Seals and Mamoru tried to talk her down, gradually become closer; they have a little information exchange going on in the background, as well.
|-
| '''[[Makoto Kino]]''': Mamoru's always liked the Senshi of Courage, even if in the past, he's occasionally felt somewhat redundant with her around. Now that he's actually gone to her for help and opened up to her some, and she's taken him in and they've had each other's backs regarding the Shitennou and Dark Mercury, he feels less alone.
|-
| '''[[Nephrite]]''': OMG THAT GUY. While Mamoru thinks Masato Sanjouin is kind of a pompous ass and a little shady but otherwise harmless, he is ONE HUNDRED PERCENT PISSED OFF at Nephrite and will enable Sailor Jupiter caving his face in in every possible way he can think of.
|-
| '''Also to varying levels''': [[Kuniko Saito]], [[Ikiko Hisakata]], [[Kinzo Hiroyuki|Dark Amber]], [[Lucy Iwai]], [[Nori Ankou]], [[Lingshen Chao]], [[Homura Akemi]], [[Michiru Kaioh|Sailor Neptune]], [[Haruka Tenoh|Sailor Uranus]], [[Fuu Hououji]], [[Ruma Hino]], [[Jadeite]], [[Rei Hino|Sailor Mars]], [[Nanoha Takamachi]], [[Ren Aizawa]], [[Kyouko Sakura]], [[Ikuto Tsukiyomi]],
|}
 
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|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Soundtrack!
|-
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mREi_Bb85Sk Mason Williams - Classical Gas]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiE9Hy4qpvE BSSM OST - Tuxedo Mask Theme]
|-
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Yc3HhSl1Q Muse - Knights of Cydonia]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdAS7EDuF6Y Los Fabulosos Cadillacs - Matador]
|-
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6zDfxZ4NcE Yoko Kanno - Tank!]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFknfHIPPQc The Super Moonies - Tuxedo Mask im kaltem Eis und Schnee]
|-
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUVT1NZtZPo Doris Day - Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|[https://soundcloud.com/ginadonahue/nothing-in-kamen JadziaTrax - Nothing in Kamen]
|}
 
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!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Logs
|-
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|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Cutscenes
|-
|
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{|style="text-align: center; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Gallery
|-
|<gallery height=320px>
File:Mamoru-henshin.jpg
File:Mamo2.jpg
File:Tuxedo-night.jpg
File:Maamoru.png
File:Smc-tux.png
File:Unmdance.png
File:Mamo1.jpg
File:Tuxedokamen.png
</gallery>
|}
[[Category:Characters]]

2014-04-24 - And Then It Got Worse

2014-09-09T18:39:43Z

Misparse:

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: And Then It Got Worse'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''After his horribly-ending conversation with Mai, Tuxedo Kamen runs into that girl who tried to flatten Vega in the dance-battle Starfall. Oh god Utena cast why won't you stop being Ohtori for five goddamn minutes. Hearts are wrung. Mamoru is pretty sure today is just the worst invention. Shiori's not too happy either.''

'''''Warning:''' Contains a non-consensual forceful kiss.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Shiori Takatsuki|True Feelings]], [[Mamoru Chiba|Tuxedo Mask]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Somewhere in the Shitamachi district!
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
4 January 2014 - 4/24/14
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

For early January, it's a relatively mild night. The air's still cold enough that breathing clouds it, the wind still creeps through fabric to leach warmth from skin, and old snow from the night before is piled in the corners of everything.

Mere moments ago, a fierce and wordless battle ended in an empty parking lot between buildings; now, the surviving participant's leapt upward to one of the rooftops that overlooks it, and leans heavily on the low wall at the edge, looking down at the dissipating dust and foul mist that remain of his opponent.

He's breathing hard, and his white-gloved hands grip the concrete lip of the wall, steadying himself. It's not more than you can handle if you're still alive at the end, right?

Hunched over like that, Tuxedo Mask's glossy midnight cape is pooled on the silver-painted tar, and he's half in shadow-- facing away, his brilliant white mask isn't even visible. His heart's still pounding in his ears.

<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

There have been other battles, of course. But a particular hunter did not find everything she was looking for. No, somebody else covered at least one of them, perhaps more; the foul mist is something Shiori's seen a few times already tonight. Her Tuner work has kept her busy, after all, which is good--without school, it's terribly easy to just get /bored/. But... Something interesting has happened, at least.

One interesting thing.

The purples and greens of Shiori's outfit blend easily into the shadows; they're largely dark colors, and her own mask (covering about her eyes and nose, largely) only helps to conceal her a little. She doesn't have a cape, as usual. Her bootfalls are soft against the concrete of the roof.

Her dagger is pointed downward, away from tender bits of person. "...My, my," the magical gardender says as she steps out of the shadows. "Someone's worked up a sweat, hasn't he?"

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Perhaps satisfyingly startledly, the boy in the mask stands and turns, cape whirling around him; the adrenaline from his fight had already begun to wear off, but it's all of a sudden slammed through his system again, and his gloved hands are in fists at his sides, posture defensive. Oh indeed it's Tuxedo Mask, looking somewhat ragged about the edges, narrowed eyes barely visible behind ghostly white lenses.

When he sees it's the girl who attacked Sailor Vega at the end of the dance battle (seriously, dance battle? maybe he's just remembering it incorrectly), he remains wary, but straightens. His mouth's a thin, tight line. "It happens."

<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

The girl in the other mask leans against the wall that marks a door back down into the building, arms crossed. She smiles over at Tuxedo Mask. It is not really the same sort of smile that, say, Sailor Moon might offer. It's different from that. She carries herself with something like confidence, though, and looks to him with the same.

It was definitely a dance battle.

"Oh, someone's polite. After all that, you can't even manage to say 'hi'? And after you get in the middle of my hunt, too."

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Tuxedo Mask lets out a fairly plainly vexed sigh and just sits on the ledge, not making any pretenses about the fact that he's tired and in a bad mood. It's a kind of confidence in and of itself; he's not bothering to posture, after all. "Hi," he says grudgingly.

He hasn't looked away from Shiori once, and he doesn't do so now-- she took him out once already, and he has no doubt she could do it again if she wanted to. After a second, he adds, frowning a little, "Look. I don't know who you are, I have no idea what your beef was with Sailor Vega, I didn't mean to interrupt any hunt you have going here, and I just need to catch my breath before I go home. So-- I'm sorry if I cost you something. And I don't want to fight you."

<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Shiori, in turn, displays no particular evidence that she /cares/ that Tuxedo Mask is vexed. She is the cool monster hunter, after all, in her element and where she ought to be. He says 'hi', and she smiles back, the expression this time a little more pleasant.

"I don't even know who Sailor Vega is," the Tuner replies blithely. "Or who you are, really. I mean, I know you like to meddle. But I don't even know what you call yourself." Beat. Shiori pushes off of the wall, and steps a little closer, footstep by footstep. "The hunt doesn't matter. I mean, now the monsters are gone and they aren't going to hurt anybody. That's the whole point, right? Sure, I could've made a little money, but that's not what really matters. Right?" Headtilt.

"Well, that's very gallant of you. But if I wanted to fight you, why would I walk over all nice and pleasant to chat? You didn't know I was here," she points out.

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Everyone. Is. Lecturing. Him. Every. Day.

Mamoru's jaw works, and he sits forward a little, bracing his arms at his sides with his hands around the edge of the low wall. Now he just looks unhappy. "Not so much gallant as tired. And I don't know: the people I've run into who made mention of their hunts with an emphasis on the possessive--"

He's a masked ''nerd''.

"--have gotten somewhat violent over it. I'm glad you're focused on the end result. It's the important part to ''me''." He finally looks away, but he keeps the girl within his field of view; he hesitates for a second, because he doesn't want to tower, but-- it's another thing he can't help, and she's being really confusing and talking about manners, so he takes a wild guess and stands up to bow slightly. Nothing fancy, just the greeting variety. "I'm Tuxedo Kamen. Sorry I'm in a rotten mood."

<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Well, of course! What better way to aspire to confidence than to tell someone else what they're doing wrong?

"You don't /look/ like you're about to fall over or something, so there's that?" Shiori asks, and then laughs a little in return as he talks about /possessiveness/. "I guess that's fair. Besides, you aren't even my competition." Though to say she's actually as calm as she's pretending to be would be pretty false. Just the reminder of that entire situation is enough to gnaw at her, a knot forming in the pit of her stomach that slowly ticks onward like water dripping from a leaky faucet.

She's being confusing, but she's confusing herself a bit, too. It's only fair.

She looks up at him as he towers. And then bows. And she bows back, in fact. "I'm the expert Tuner agent, True Feelings. You can call me True."

"I don't mind that you're in a bad mood. It's pretty natural, isn't it? The world isn't exactly a fun place all the time, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"True," the older boy repeats with a little nod when Shiori introduces herself. He's not moving away, but he does turn a little, and his eyes do finally leave the girl at her question. He looks out over the city, considering it for a moment before answering.

That answer is quiet and thoughtful. "No, but what is? If everything were fun all the time, it wouldn't be fun, because there'd be nothing to compare it to. As much as it's tempting to wish for peace and joy forever, you only get the former if you're dead and the latter if you're a dead saint."

<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

That could be the point at which Shiori takes the knife and drives it right towards Tuxedo Kamen's back, using her other hand to steady him a bit to make sure it really goes through, instead of sending him over the railing. He's tired, after all, and she's strong, and the weapon is very sharp. She can move it very quickly. And that would be a good payback for before.

...That /doesn't/ happen. Instead, Shiori also walks to the railing, setting her palms down and looking out over the city as well.

"You shouldn't be so cynical, Tuxedo Kamen-san." There's a hint of a smile in her voice. "There are beautiful things, too. And you shouldn't underestimate wishes. If you truly believe..."

She turns to look at him, "Then you'll see your miracle, one day."

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Blissfully unaware of the standard method of operation in these situations, Tuxedo Kamen only half turns his head to look at True Feelings sidelong, and give her a little smile. It's the first one of the evening, and it's small, but--

--it's thoroughly genuine, and his eyes are fully visible behind the mask, now, and the feeling's echoed in them. In his face there's relief; she's just brought to mind what's ''not'' wrong in his world. Preoccupation ruled by affection.

"You're right. There are. For all its faults, this planet ''is'' beautiful, and it's home to endless wonder in addition to all the pain and suffering."

He looks out again, and he doesn't laugh, or smile harder, but he's more relaxed-- and the the little smile's still there. "Thank you for reminding me."

<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Relief, is it? Shiori, still masked as True Feelings, looks to those now-visible eyes, processes the relief in them. Her smile remains, and her head even tilts slightly, eyes closed as she seems to accept that feeling and appreciate it for herself, too.

They fought, last time she saw him. She wanted to hurt him. She still wants to show him how pointless what he was doing was. But now, she's helped, instead. Did she mean to? ...What did she even want, talking to him? She thought she was...

"Faults make things beautiful, I think," she says.

The faults are all she can see.

"Nothing completely flawless can really even be very interesting, right?"

One can. Just one.

"And there's nothing like the view of the city at night to remind you about all the different people here."

They'd hate her, if they knew. They should. It's the right way to feel.

Shiori, too, looks out again, sighing lightly as she rights herself, a happy expression that shows her own way of relaxing. He thanks her, and she nods, a little, and only responds after a few moments' silence. "Oh, you're welcome," sh answers. "I think it's important to never give up hope."

Shiori feels like she's going to throw up.

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Faults make things beautiful: like being a crybaby, or laziness, or klutziness, or zero restraint while eating in company--

Nothing completely flawless can even be very interesting: a truism.

The city at night: in the moonlight, or lit only by artificial light, it's a testament to determination and creativity just as much as it is to greed and competition.

All the different people in it: every one of them means something to someone, and even if he didn't connect, he saw them. They're all important. They're all real. They all have feelings. Feelings he has to be more cautious of in the future, but that's part of the price of having friends.

The preoccupied smile plays at the corner of Tuxedo Mask's mouth, throughout, and at Shiori's very last statement, it turns brilliant and he focuses on her. "That's part of why I do this. I don't want other people to give up hope, either."

<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Shiori says all of these things as if on autopilot, really; they're the things she's supposed to say, the things she ought to believe so that people will like her and want to be around her. Her friend Sailor Moon would approve if she said these things. Sometimes, she even believes them herself. One, in particular, she clings to.

But everything is just getting too far out of hand.

This isn't the perfect person Shiori wanted to talk with. The people out there are frightening. And faults only remind her of how worthless she is, if anyone really knew. And yet...

Tuxedo Mask /smiles/ at her, brilliantly like the morning through the trees. He wants to help others, to give them hope. He can recover so easily, just like that, just from some things she said because she had to say something.

The knot in her stomach has grown worse. She feels sick. It's all /wrong/, and it feels like something is trying to tear itself apart within her--

"..." She says nothing. She just looks up into his eyes, and smiles. And then, she's in motion. She leans upward, and slips her arms around his neck, pulling him down toward her in turn. The purple-haired girl's lips press against his, and she kisses him with the force of her fractured feelings.

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It's sudden and fierce, and it's a complete and total shock to Mamoru.

a) SHIT, MAI WAS RIGHT, SHIT, NEVER LEAVING THE APARTMENT AGAIN, OH MY GOD.

b) noooooooooooooooooooo

c) panic because

oh no

he doesn't even have time to break out of his frozen shock and the fact that he's being kissed before his mind and heart flood with a cacophony of tragic feelings and confusion and hurt. Self-loathing, hopelessness, worthlessness, fear, sickness, an inherent feeling that things are so very unnervingly ''wrong''.

And zero sexual interest.

It's a desperate thing this girl is doing, not one full of the kind of desire he instinctively withdraws from-- but broken, so very, very broken.

And he feels every single piece of that pain as if it were his, and Mai told him-- but, no, no, in this case Mai is wrong, because this girl doesn't want ''him''. He's there and he's somehow safer than other things.

Something fractures in Mamoru Chiba's heart.

It's a second, two seconds, and Tuxedo Mask thaws from his tense startlement, and is coming to a decision as he swims determinedly upward through the echoes of Shiori's feelings-- and then it's very quickly made as he feels her mouth open under his.

His hands come up to gently detach True Feelings' arms from around his neck, which doesn't work very well; he does pull back from the kiss, at least. And if Shiori looks at his eyes, in that moment, they literally mirror her pain and emotional turmoil.

<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Shiori does not understand his thoughts, of course. She has no particular pipeline to them, and for all that she speaks of understanding someone's feelings... well, she doesn't understand /his/ at the moment. She's just going to change them a little, redirect them, that's all, and then everything will be fine again. It will be something she can understand.

She does understand that he's pulling back, however. That much is plain. His hands find little; with the power of her magic, she's stronger than a girl of her size and apparently frailty should be expected to be by far. Still, she does not look at first; her eyes are still closed, and she does not look like she's feeling any of those things. "What's the matter? Are you shy? It's all right."

Her eyes open, and she sees it. Her eyes lose the facade of slow relaxation for a moment.

Ah. No, that must be it; that's fine, that look is perfect. He's really looking back at her, really understanding. It's not some familiar thing that should make her recoil, it's--

"Was I too sudden? ...I have to admit, it's a little cold up here, don't you
think? And there's no one here, since you found the last of the monsters." She leans
closer agan, with a sigh. "I think we could be much better friends than we are. It's
lonely to fight on your own, isn't it?"

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It's reactions he's expecting, more or less, at least for the moment. That doesn't make them any easier to deal with, that doesn't make it any easier for Mamoru to figure out what he should do, or how. He's tired, it's been a hell of a week so far, and his mind is still on overdrive trying to separate his own complicated feelings from Shiori's.

Also, his face is red.

She's talking, she was afraid for a second, but she's not now, and she's talking, and the words wash over the teenaged boy before he goes back to pin them down, parse them properly.

The pain is still there in his eyes, blue and a little too bright. "We can be friends," he says very very quietly, "and if you need my help, you can call me. You don't have to fight alone."

One gloved hand comes up to somewhat awkwardly pat Shiori's back as she leans up against him. "I'd offer you cocoa to warm you up, but I was a jerk and didn't think to bring any."

<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

His face /is/ red. Shiori, of course, takes this largely as an encouraging sign. She is having less trouble moving ahead, because 'slowing down to parse things' is exactly the /opposite/ of what the purple-haired Tuner is wanting to do just at this moment. She would rather forge ahead in a direction that seems safer and more sensible.

Besides, he's in pain, somehow. She can help about that. Nevermind that moments ago she wanted something entirely different than to help him, and nevermind that he got this look /after/. That wouldn't make any sense anyway. This is simple; it's predictable.

"We can?" she asks back, sounding relieved. "I'd like that. I know we got off to a rocky start, but..." She trails off, and her back is patted slightly. Well, it's something.

"That's fine," she says. "Cocoa's bad for my diet anyway. I can think of other ways to warm up. ...Why don't you sit down?"

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

O-other ways. To warm up. Uh.

Can a smile be strangled? Yes, yes it can. Tuxedo Kamen looks, in fact, wildly uncomfortable. He is familiar, intellectually, with the concepts of 'casual sex' and 'friends with benefits' but wow, woah, no way. He's tense again, and he moves to pull away further, to detach completely.

"No, I-- I'm not available," he manages to get out. "Like that. I have to go home. But I meant what I said-- about if you need help, or if you need a friend-- do you know how to get in touch with Sailor Moon? I fight with her, she knows the quickest ways to contact me--"

<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Anything can be strangled if you're willing to work hard and get creative.

This time, however, Tuxedo Mask /is/ able to pull away, as Shiori's grip is not so tight as it was. "Oh... You're with someone else?" she asks. "...I should've expected as much. Probably the girl from before." She hesitates for a moment, seeming...

Well, seeming /something/; she maintains the same body language as before, but her voice sounds thoughtful, as if going through some old records and seeing what she might find.

"You should--" Pause. What he said, sure, in fact that actually keeps her a little steady, considering. He's acting like he's supposed to act. "Sailor Moon and I are good friends, actually."

Shiori smiles, then, and this time it's more distant but also a bit more honest. "There's a lot I'd do for her. ...But I'd hate to worry her like that. It wouldn't make me much of a friend."

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Tuxedo Mask doesn't correct True Feelings; if she wants to think he's involved with Vega, it's not a problem. The fact that he's not actually ''with'' Sailor Moon makes any kind of correction more confusing anyway.

Besides, Shiori's still talking-- and, well, she's talking about his favorite subject. WHO'S A FRIEND OF HERS.

There is immediate relief, and he looks tremendously less stressed all of a sudden. Brighter, too. His reaction to the last parts of what she says, it's another brilliant smile at 'we're good friends', and then amused affection. "She does worry a lot. And she loves her friends so much-- you couldn't have a better one."

This time, it is most definitely a sweeping bow he flourishes, as he takes a step back. "True Feelings, I'm glad we met properly." He straightens up, then, still smiling. "I'll ask Sailor Moon how to contact you so I can give you a number to call if you ''do'' need my help, but with someone like her--"

He laughs as he steps up on the ledge. "You ''really'' don't have to fight alone." One hand to where the brim of his hat would be if he were wearing it; panto hat-tip. And then he drops off into the shadows and vanishes.

He is going to go home and have nightmares for a change of pace.

<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

It's not a problem yet. It might become one in the future. ...But it's true that any other sort of correction would get awkward quickly.

He feels better from just that? From--ah. Of course. The affection in his voice is plain, the smile obvious. Shiori smiles back, of course, since she is talking about her good friend, after all.

He makes his grand bow, and she covers her mouth with a hand as she giggles a little over the drama of it all "Me too. It was fun to meet you," she says. "No hard feelings, right? ...I still bet we can be good friends, too."

Usagi loves her friends. Usagi's like her, though, isn't she? She's not so different. Shiori's seen it. She's...

Tuxedo Mask drops into the shadows, and Shiori looks after, vaguely, in the darkness.

Sailor Moon is like her. She has to be. There's no way that...

Shiori feels sick again, as she takes to the other side of the building, and starts making her way down.

2014-08-23 - So Be It

2014-08-30T21:56:50Z

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: So Be It'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Makoto and Mamoru have news and intel they need to give to Luna. Mamoru expects the Spanish Inquisition. Instead, there is Usagi. Then there is the Spanish Inquisition. THEN THERE ARE MAKOTO AND USAGI. In other words, Sailor Moon saves Tuxedo Mask again!''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Makoto Kino]], [[Mamoru Chiba]], [[Usagi Tsukino|Usagi Tsukino and Luna]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Seaside Park
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Monday, 3 March 2014 - 8/23/2014
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"I ''have'' to tell her about Nephrite, it's important," Mamoru's telling Makoto, there on the parkbench in the afternoon, maybe an hour after school and an hour before either study groups or senshi meetings might take place. He swirls his can of coffee around, facing ahead and keeping his sunglasses on. "I mean, if you want to tell her, that's fine, but after the business at that concert, even Rune-chan is worried for you. It's not even just probably important, it *is* important."

It's sunny out, at least. The warmer weather of the day has Mamoru only wearing his uniform jacket against the breeze; his motorcycle jacket and helmet are on the bench next to him, on the other side from Makoto, and his school bag's at the bottom of the pile. "But either way, we should operate under the assumption that he ''doesn't'' know who you are unless there's actual proof otherwise. I mean. We can be as careful as if he ''does'' know, but never ever call attention... I don't think Mizuno-san would have told, even now."

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"It's not like I wasn't planning on saying anything." Makoto's got her hands behind her head in that way she does, leaned back on the bench and looking up at the sky. "But Nephrite being scary isn't really news... Don't you think that it was probably just because I'm one of the Sailor Senshi? That last time at the symphony, I mean. He said some stuff about trying to lure us out before, when we fought him at the Infinity Pool - I was just the one who happened to show up."

Bringing her arms back down, she straightens a little to look over at Mamoru. "Anyway," she says, "I feel like you're right that he still doesn't know. If he'd figured out that Makoto Kino and Sailor Jupiter were the same person, I don't think he'd have been able to keep from gloating at me about it. And I'm sure that Ami-chan hasn't spread anything around."

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Long ago,

"It is because of the Earth. We were never meant to have contact. Not like this."

It's like the silk of her dress is all there is to her, Luna thought. Even slumped into her arms, there was so little weight to Princess Serenity. She really was a fey creature.

"This is why the queen regulates contact, princess. The Earth is so vulnerable. It is a dangerous place."

Speaking of evil and pain to the younger Serenity, even in these mild terms, raised Luna's hackles. At least, it would if she had them in this form. Humans were so strange. More than any of her people, save perhaps Artemis, Luna loved them. When she left the service of her home's people to stay forever by Queen Serenity's side, Luna did so without doubts. She ran her hand across the princess's silvery hair.

"It will be alright. After this, the queen will surely set our worlds apart again. Princess Jupiter will not cry anymore--"

"No."

Luna paused. This was a new feeling in the princess' voice.

"Pardon me?"

Serenity lifted her head, her crystalline eyes shining with an inner light. "I will not let her. I must see them again. Why should we ever be apart?"

Luna's throat clenched tight.

Now,

"I know it hurts, Usagi-chan," says Luna. She wiggles her paws. Usagi insisted on carrying her in her arms, and that ended up with her being in the most undignified position of having her belly and feet upward. It's not so bad, really. "It really is necessary. Think of everything at risk."

Usagi walks the path slowly. She still had time. Or maybe she didn't. She is too nervous to check her phone for the hour. It doesn't matter. People expect her to be late.

"I know, Luna-chan."

Luna-chan. Luna really did feel like a Luna-chan sometimes.

"You saw what they did to Tokyo that night at the tower. They'd do it to the entire world if they could. That's their goal."

Usagi squeezes her arms tight. Luna makes a squeaking noise. She saw what they did to Tokyo. She was almost the only one left to see.

Luna squirms. "Let me up on your shoulder. We're almost there."

Usagi smiles. The two emotions combining feels weird. She had felt sad and happy many times before, but it was so extreme these days. It's like she's waking up. "Luna-chan, you'd look fierce no matter how I carried you!"

Luna finds her balance on Usagi's shoulder, running a paw over her whiskers. "Years of practice."

"Aaaaa, that's such a cool answer," Usagi croons in wonderment. They both turn the corner and stumble upon Mamoru and Makoto.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"I didn't think you wouldn't tell," Mamoru says, hand moving to his pocket and then hesitating; he lifts it again, checking the time on his wristwatch. "I wouldn't think she'd make ''you'' wait. I wonder if everything's--"

Wondering if everything's all right with Luna basically means wondering if everything's all right with Usagi, which means checking with his heart, which means that Mamoru's senses abruptly blaze with Usagi's presence as the girl and the cat turn the corner.

For no reason he can tell immediately, the older boy's immensely irritated.

Long ago,

Fury and hurt crush the young prince in equal measure; affront at Beryl and her lies and magics burn in him as much as the icy, sick feeling of betrayal fluttering deep within.

And yet--

--the look of accusation on Queen Serenity's advisor's face cuts like a knife, sharp and immediate. But it's not his fault, he wants to say. It's not his fault.

Now,

"Did you have detention again?" is all Mamoru asks, his fingers tightening on his coffee can to hide the trembling; his gaze is fixed on Usagi's face, rather than looking at Luna's.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"Usagi-chan!" Makoto hops immediately to her feet, and leaving her own opened can of coffee behind on the bench she picks up the unopened one that was sitting next to it and goes to offer it to her friend. "Here, this is yours."

Mamoru's question gets the briefest exasperated glance over Mako's shoulder, and then she turns her gaze back to Usagi and smiles. "Don't listen to him," she assures, "you weren't that late. Hi Luna," she adds, only slightly belatedly expanding the greeting to include the space cat and looking just faintly sheepish as she does.

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"Why would you assume an adorable girl like me has detention! HOW CRUDE," Usagi bellows in tiny fury, using her vocabulary word for the day.

"Oh thanks Mako-chan," she continues, turning sweet as she takes the drink from her friend. The blonde girl beams up at her. Luna looks mysterious.

"Makoto-san," says Luna. "You both have information, then."

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Watching the brief glare is dangerous; Mamoru almost feels bad for a second, and his expression flickers--

--but Usagi's yelling relaxes him; if she's mad she's all right. So he rolls his eyes instead, and instead of politely getting up, he slouches a little further into the bench and sips his coffee. "You go ahead first," he tells Makoto, lowering the can and holding it in both hands. He almost says something else, then doesn't.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"Right," says Makoto, and suddenly restless she wanders around to the back of the bench, picking up her can of coffee again and leaning to rest her forearms on the bench's top edge. "A couple of things. First of all, I ran into Nephrite again." She's talking kind of fast through this part; it is clearly not the information she *wants* to share, but it needs to be done and she's trying to get through it quickly. "At that symphony thing - he showed up with a youma, and that other guy with the blue hair who keeps trying to steal people's energy turned up as well, and they started catfighting over who was worse and it was all kind of a mess."

Thinking back to her performance at the symphony hall makes Mako sigh, and she looks down at the bench seat. "There were some other magical girls there and we ran them off, but with two different monsters to fight - well," she cuts herself short. "Anyway, Nephrite wanted to capture me. He was pretty specific about it. He said something about seeing what 'Queen Beryl' thought of me. I gave him something to think about," she lifts a hand from the coffee can and wiggles her fingers in the air to illustrate - something-- "and the other girls ran him off."

Makoto stops there for a moment, just long enough for a quick swallow of coffee. "I don't think he was after Sailor Jupiter specifically," she says, her gaze still fixed on the seat of the bench in front of her, wavy brown bangs shading her eyes. "He's probably just looking to capture a Sailor Senshi, and I happened to be there. But we should all be really careful. I get the feeling he wont give up easily." She draws in a deep breath, and finally looks up. "So, that's the first thing."

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Usagi wobbles uncertainty. She wants to sit down but Luna is busy looking official. She tries to take a drink while not disturbing her shouldercat. It's a painstakingly slow process.

Luna listens silently and with grave intent.

"What is the second thing?" she says with utmost neutrality. Cats have excellent poker faces.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

As Mamoru listens, he absently watches Usagi while Usagi's watching Makoto, but he avoids looking at Luna to see if she's looking at him because that traditionally doesn't end well. But as he listens, he also starts looking a little grim, and by the time Makoto's finished with her telling of the Nephrite situation, he's looking at his coffee can again.

He stays quiet; Luna's urged Makoto on, and he spends the next minute perfecting the schooling of his expression.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

At Luna's prompting, Makoto smiles, seeming relieved to move on from the subject of Nephrite. "The other thing is better," she says. "I found one of the people from Labyrinth - the guys who hurt Ami-chan."

She straightens up a bit, bracing one hand on the back of the bench now while the other holds her coffee. "A woman with white hair, dressed in red and black. She said her name was 'Eas', and that she was the one who brainwashed Ami-chan." Although this news, Mako clearly feels, is better than the other information she had to share, her expression nevertheless grows more and more serious as she speaks. "She got away from me after I beat up her monster. From the way she talked, though, she wouldn't be able to undo what she did to Ami-chan even if I'd caught her. I don't know if that's true or not, but either way, I think it's going to be up to Moon Healing." Her eyes turn toward Usagi; the look is a determined one, but for her friend Mako flashes an encouraging smile. "So I think the best thing to do is just focus on Ami-chan now. Once we get her back to normal, it sounded like that Eas girl wouldn't come after her any more."

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Usagi is making that face where she's trying not to pay attention to something but she totally is. Well, mostly. Drinking this coffee with a cat on her shoulder is legitimately tough and at several points her attention is absorbed.

Luna listens further. Usagi looks up sharply at the mention of Ami, more pale than usual--it's easy to tell because despite her complexion, her cheeks are very often flushed. Not so right now. By the end of what's been said, the blonde girl is gripping her brooch tightly.

"That's good work, Makoto-san," says Luna. She speaks somewhat more slowly. She must be distracted, or considering something. "It will be something to keep in mind when we approach Ami-san. Maybe we'll find more information by then."

Usagi fidgets.

"What about you?" says Luna, turning her gaze onto Mamoru.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Luna asks, and for the length of a heartbeat, the bottom drops out of his stomach. But one thing Mamoru's gotten good at in his years at Ohtori is keeping his face from telling any stories he doesn't want it to, and the outward deathgrip on his emotions is always an excellent focus for attempts at legitimate detachment.

His gaze only briefly flickers back toward Usagi before it fixes on Luna, and he takes his sunglasses off and folds them. He won't hide behind them, his face is a better mask right now.

"I went to Mako-chan because Zoisite finally looked up my address and stopped by. Nephrite apparently claimed to have killed Tuxedo Mask, and I guess Zoisite was checking to see if it was true."

The older teenager doesn't really stop; he just paces his words carefully. "He didn't hurt me, and I didn't tell him anything, but he could see the shape I was in. He told me to recuperate so he could see the look on Nephrite's face when he turned out to be wrong, then left. After that I left; I don't want him to be able to find me any time he wants.

"Mako-chan came to get me, we got to her place, and not ten minutes later, Nephrite showed up. Just teleported into her apartment. And he demanded to know what she knew about Mobius. We'd both been asking around, see what we could find out -- he didn't recognise either of us as anything but civilians, and-- and--"

And Mamoru falters, glancing from Luna to Usagi again, and then he reaches up to run his hand through his hair; he briefly looks away before continuing. "Anyway, he didn't find out our identities, and he just... left. The point is, Nephrite's focusing on Makoto Kino, as far as we can tell, for some reason totally independent of his hassling Jupiter. And he knows we're friends." Quick, sharp breath. "The fact that he legitimately tried to kidnap Jupiter in that last fight, was telling his youma to kill everyone but her, and was beating up his own youma for doing anything except focusing on that-- that had Princess Runealy coming to me, concerned for her."

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Long ago,

Jupiter's princess faces Luna squarely, standing as solid and firm as the oak that's sacred to her planet. She's through with crying now - her green eyes are dry and hard and dangerous.

There will be a battle coming soon, and she knows it. There is no more time for tears.

"You don't need to worry, Luna," she says, and her voice is firm. "Whatever they were, the Heavenly Kings of Earth are our enemies now. That's all that matters."

She makes herself believe it, drowns out the grief in her heart with thunder.

"No matter what happens, I'll protect Princess Serenity without fail."

Now,

"It's my own fault," Makoto puts in quietly. Despite her best efforts, she's looking guilty now, and she can't quite seem to find a place to settle her eyes. "I should've been more careful about asking around about Mobius." The can of coffee dangles from her hand. She swirls it absently in small, slow circles. "I don't know why he's so worked up about it. But at least if he's got it in his head to focus on me, he's not getting any closer to the princess."

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Mamoru knows exactly how difficult it is to tell what a cat is thinking.

Usagi is simple. She doesn't look well. She tries to put on a fierce face, but it's the only thing she can do to prop herself up. Her can crinkles as she squeezes it more tightly over the course of Mamoru's story. She looks away and brushes at her eyes.

Luna focuses on remaining still. She wants to speak up. She wants to yell and to chastise and to shove Makoto back into her room where she'll be safe and comfortable and alive.

Makoto has the right of it, though.

Effort spent trying to kill her is effort not spent on trying to kill the princess.

Luna takes a moment to quietly reprimand herself for having hoped to avoid casualties.

"I warned you about this, Chiba-san," says Luna. She does not sound angry. It's only resignation. "I'm sorry that it has brought Makoto-san so close to being discovered. I'm sure you understand the importance of making sure that this does not happen to any of the other sailor soldiers. Especially not our princess."

She fixes her gaze on Mamoru for a long moment. The implication is there. It's too bad you know this much about us so that you can do this.

"We can use this to set a trap, right?" Usagi speaks quickly and with far to much hope in her voice. "Like, we could--"

Luna lowers her head. "We need to focus on one thing at a time. The Dark Kingdom won't stop until they've discovered the location of the Silver Crystal. If they stop the princess, they have all the time in the world to finish looking for it. The easiest way to stop the princess is to stop us. So, we don't give them any more than they've already taken. We're not fighting them on equal terms."

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Would you prefer I stopped telling you things, Luna-san?" Mamoru asks a little coldly, after a moment's staring at the moon cat. He doesn't look at Makoto, he doesn't look at Usagi. "I'm sorry you feel the way you do, but I would think you'd want to know when they move against the Senshi."

He gets up off the park bench and calmly turns his wrist to unclasp the watch. "If I didn't have your goals at heart, I wouldn't tell you things I thought would make you trust me less." He briefly turns to press the watch into Makoto's hands, and his face is schooled into impassivity.

"Instead of fretting over what a liability I am," he says with regally graceful irony, sticking his hands in his pockets and standing with casual carelessness, "It might help to suss out how Nephrite knew where to find Mako-chan when he doesn't know she's Jupiter, and why he's interested. Aside from her almost breaking his jaw without henshining."

He can't look. He can't look at Usagi. He--

--he looks at Usagi, and doesn't just-- leave. He'd planned to stalk off. Instead, he closes his eyes for a second, then turns his head away so none of them can see his face. Even pretends he's just gotten a text, taking out his phone and looking at its screen and stuff.

It's too real, it's too-- what he has, it's too valuable to throw away in a fit of old habits. But Mamoru Chiba still doesn't want the guardian cat to see his face, not when it's so close to showing what he feels.

"If you want me to leave so you can have a proper meeting," he says after a cool second, "I'll be on my way."

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"Hey, wait a minute--!" Mamoru is pushing his watch communicator into her hand, and abruptly Makoto is standing up straight to her full height, looking from Mamoru to Luna to Usagi and back again with a look of troubled confusion on her face. If he leaves now she has no way to stop it that wouldn't break more than it fixes - but but he's not going just yet, so gripping the communicator in her hand, Makoto turns her gaze back toward the cat.

"Luna, aren't you being unfair? We already said that Nephrite wasn't Mamoru-san's fault. I was asking around about Mobius and he found out about it somehow, so if you're going to blame anyone it should be me."

Her green eyes flick briefly to meet Usagi's, a questioning look, but Mako doesn't truly know where her friend stands on this and she can't very well ask Usagi to take sides. She can only pick her own ground.

"If Mamoru-san hadn't been there to bluff him, there's no telling what would've happened. Nephrite could've killed me - or worse. He could've found out everything, and then where would we be?"

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Luna watches with slitted pupils. Usagi starts, beginning to move forward but ultimately stifled by her reflex to stay still.

"Mamoru-san," Usagi murmurs, looking trapped.

"I will not be blackmailed into tolerating your indiscretion," says the black cat. She leans forward, balanced with unearthly grace. Usagi wobbles. "Even if you care for the senshi, Mamoru Chiba, you can still destroy us all with your careless bravado!"

Luna stops and briefly closes her eyes. Usagi makes a small, concerned noise, turning to see the cat out of the corner of her eyes. It's difficult with their positions. "Luna-chan?"

No. Not Luna-chan. Not right now.

"When will the next time be?" Luna continues. "The next time that your personal satisfaction comes before the good of the world? How many times will you throw yourself into danger without realizing you bring everyone else with you?"

"Mamo-chan!"

Usagi stumbles forward, reaching desperately for Mamoru. Luna makes a brief, sharp yelp, tumbling from the blonde girl's shoulder and down her back. She catches on to Usagi's sailor collar, holding on but just barely.

Usagi clutches Mamoru's hand in both of hers, wrapping her fingers through his, around his wrist, anywhere she can to get a hold of him with the phone in the way. She is not strong, but she holds on with all her strength.

"Why are we fighting?! If everything we do puts everyone in danger, then that means we should all work together to find the best solution for all of us!"

Luna shifts, trying to find some sense of purchase in this new situation. She sounds bemused. "Usagi-chan?"

Usagi looks up at Mamoru, eyes shimmering as they have a thousand times before and perhaps will for the rest of her life. "Don't go. If we try, we can find a way. I'm sure of it."

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

For a half second, as Makoto's stepping in between the cat half of the argument and the Mamoru side of it, the tall boy's dark blue eyes land on her. His face, he's trying so hard to keep his face in control, his expression cool and aloof, but it's a fierce battle. His eyes are the only things that show both his tension and his gratitude: Mako has his back.

And then-- then Usagi's watching him, he can feel her watching him; he vaguely hears his name from her while Luna snaps at him, and then his eyes are cold indeed, locked on the red eyes of the moon cat. "So you think I'm trying to blackmail you?" he talks over her because she's not giving him a chance to answer. "I just want to know what you ''want'' me to--"

She's still bulling through, and Mamoru's eyes are icy, and then

''Mamo-chan!''

her warm small fingers

fit around his hand, and Mamoru loses all of the anger, looking at Usagi. Before, Luna looked resigned. Right now, the black-haired upperclassman looks so full of emotions he doesn't know how to process, all of them, that he just looks lost.

Then the corner of his mouth quirks up a little, and his expression gentles for a second. "I won't," Mamoru says very quietly. "Don't cry. You're right. Of course you're right. I just don't know what ''to'' do."

He briefly puts his hand over Usagi's on his other hand, phone and all, then deftly extricates the phone from the grasp situation and looks over Usagi's shoulder at Luna, then to Mako. Then to Luna again. "You said if I throw myself into danger I'm throwing everyone else into danger. But the only danger I've been throwing myself into is to *prevent* harm or damage coming to the true guardians of the Princess. I wish it ''were'' bravado and selfishness, Luna-san. It would certainly be easier."

His hand in Usagi's is warm, too, and it's solid and steady. But he doesn't hold on any longer than she keeps that grip. And then he says very, very quietly, and very, very ruefully, "I was very glad to have that communicator on the bridge."

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

A frown is darkening Makoto's face, turning her eyes hard - but then Usagi moves, calls out, and it's like the ground feels more solid beneath Mako's feet. A breath goes out of her, and her expression relaxes.

She moves to join the others now, coming closer to place herself alongside Usagi and Mamoru both in a gesture of solidarity. "You're right, Usagi-chan," she chimes in her own agreement, before looking to Luna again. "It's not that complicated, is it? If you're worried about Mamoru-san's judgment, then we should be watching his back so that we can stop him if it looks like he's making a mistake. It's dangerous no matter what we do, so it's safest for everyone if we combine our strength."

She stands very straight, a squared and solid stance that says as clearly as words how she's prepared to dig in her heels about this. If she'd had any doubts before, Usagi's words have washed them all away. "The Dark Generals don't work together, right? They're competitors. Aren't we supposed to be better than them?"

And then Makoto lifts her eyes to Mamoru's, and she smiles. "I was glad, too, you know." Her hand extends, holding the communicator watch out to him. "I'd have been in a lot of trouble if you hadn't had this."

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Luna steadies herself, and then bounds off Usagi's back. She pads a few feet away and then turns around, sitting again on the pavement. Her bright-eyed gaze cuts from one person to the other.

Usagi doesn't notice. She beams up at Mamoru. She trusts him. She can't hide something like that. The blonde girl looks from him to Makoto, extricating one of her hands to reach for her. If she still looks like she's about to cry, it's because she's still emotional. Just different emotions.

Luna bows her head in contemplation. She makes a chuffing noise. Usagi turns to look over her shoulder. "Remember that this started because you went against my advice in order to satisfy curiosity about your memories. I realize they are important to you, but trust me when I say that you may end up paying too much for what you find."

The cat looks back up. "Usagi-chan is the leader of the princess' guardians. If this is her decision, then so be it."

Usagi bites her lip and is silent for a moment. Then, turning back to Mamoru and Makoto, she squeezes them both and smiles anew.

"It is. It's the only decision I could make."

2014-08-24 - Much Ado About Nothing

2014-08-25T14:45:19Z

Misparse:

Mamoru Chiba

2014-08-25T13:30:48Z

Misparse:

__NOTOC__
{|style="-moz-border-radius: 10px;background: #FFFFFF;width=80%;padding:5px"
|-
|
{|style="border:2px solid black;background: #FFFFFF;width: 30.5em;float: right;clear: right;vertical-align: top;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0.5em"
|-
!colspan="2" style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%;text-align: center;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px"|Details
|-
|'''Name''' || Mamoru Chiba
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''AKA''' || Tuxedo Mask, Tuxedo Kamen, Prince Endymion
|-
|'''Cast''' || [[Characters#Bishoujo_Senshi_Sailor_Moon|Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon]]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Gender''' || Male
|-
|'''Age/Birthday''' || 17 (August 3rd)
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Sign''' || Leo
|-
|'''School''' || [[School: Ohtori Academy|Ohtori Academy]] (Grade 11)
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Eyes/Hair''' || Blue/Black
|-
|'''Blood Type''' || A
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Favorite Food''' || Chocolate
|-
|'''Least Favorite Food''' || None
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Favorite Subject''' || Physics
|-
|'''Least Favorite Subject''' || None
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Dislikes''' || Needles
|-
|'''On-Grid Kisses''' || 3
|}

{|style="border:2px solid black;background: #FFFFFF;width: 22.5em;vertical-align: top;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0 0 0 0.5em"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%;text-align: center;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px"|Tuxedo Kamen
|-
| <center>[[File:TuxedoMask.jpg]]</center>
|-
|style="text-align: center"| ''I don't always fight evil, but when I do, it's by moonlight.''
|}
 
{|style="text-align: left; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Profile
|-
| Mamoru Chiba's a wealthy orphan with no recollection of his life before his parents' death when he was six, a well-respected and incredibly intelligent guy, and an accomplished and well-rounded student at Ohtori Academy's high school. He ~''moonlights''~ as the mysterious Tuxedo Kamen to aid the Sailor Senshi with encouragement, guidance, and his own fighting skills. He can frequently be found reading in parks or standing in busy places like a rock in a stream, but at the end of the day, he has a mission. A beautiful princess in his dreams has told him to find the Silver Crystal: if he does, it will gain him his memories and give him the answers he seeks to the burning questions of his unquiet life.
|}
 
{|style="text-align: left; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Relationships
|-
| '''[[Usagi Tsukino]]''': She does her job with her whole heart, and she feels things so deeply, and is filled with such indignant fury at injustices that she makes Mamoru believe that there might be someone else out there who thinks like he does. He will, and does, drop everything to help her if she's in trouble; she mystifies and intrigues him, and tugs at his heart in ways he can't begin to explain. He also can not, for the life of him, stop trolling her, and her indecisiveness drives him up the wall. (Knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Mami Tomoe]]''': Most polite and stylish magical girl that Mamoru knows. Both ass-kicking and charming, she shares his desire to protect Usagi; he cannot fault anyone for wanting to do that. She makes amazingly delicious cake and doesn't lose her temper at Nanami. Nevertheless, she is also amazingly fun to tease. (Technically knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Asagao Uekawa]]''': Cannot keep a secret to save her life, omg. Tuxedo Kamen made friends with Sailor Vega only after first making her cry, after which he kind of panicked and apologised a lot and bought her ice cream. (Knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Eri Shimanouchi]]''': The impressions Mamoru gets from Eri are that she's sort of inherently kind of sorrowful, very giving, very protectively opinionated, and inclusive. He also now knows she's very afraid, and harbors great guilt. She is one of his best friends, and will not hesitate to kick him in the conscience if she thinks he needs it. (Knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Ami Mizuno]]''': <s>Study group buddy and Senshi of Wisdom, Mamoru feels nothing but affection and respect toward Sailor Mercury-- she hasn't even glared daggers at Tuxedo Kamen over the Princess and the Silver Crystal yet, and her dedication to her studies in spite of her fighting evil by moonlight is something he admires greatly.</s> GONE EVIL, BACK AFTER LABOR DAY
|-
| '''[[Anthy Himemiya]]''': Not the princess, but, she ''does'' need help, and if he can get her that help, then he will. (Knows his secret identity AND his secret-secret identity that not even he knows.)
|-
| '''[[Takeo Akamizu]]''': Can't stop being Captain Kirk for five minutes, but takes failure very gracefully. At the very least, Takeo seems to be determined to be Mamoru's rival, and that's really funny.
|-
| '''[[Hayate]]''': The Leafe Knight of Wind -- the horrors he has to fight are deeply rooted in wrongness, and as brusque as the man might be, he's dedicated and good at his job, and has earned Tuxedo Kamen's respect... at least, in fighting ability and dedication. Mamoru isn't impressed by some of the guy's strategic decisions.
|-
| '''[[Mai Tokiha]]''': One of Mamoru's best friends, she knows way more about him than he'd normally be comfortable with, except that he also knows things about her that she keeps close. Much to her chagrin, he frequently goes to her for advice; she almost never fails to sass him and keep him on his toes. Sometimes there's almost something else there. (Knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Shiori Takatsuki|True Feelings]]''': The knives may be sheathed, but THE PAIN LINGERS ON. She's Sailor Moon's friend, but she's a very very broken person, and Mamoru knows this all too well-- neither of them knows the other's secret identity, thank God.
|-
| '''[[Minako Aino|Sailor V]]''': <s>Keeping to herself-- but out of care rather than uncaring. Mamoru disagrees with her, but respects her reasoning and her decision.</s> THE PRINCESS?!?! Well... uh...
|-
| '''[[Mio Kuroki]]''': Usagi likes her. Usagi calls her Mio-chan. Usagi thought he was ''dating'' Mio. Frankly, Mio gives Mamoru the screaming mimis, because there's always at least two layers of unspoken meaning under everything she says to him, and none of it feels like it's very ''comfortable'' meaning. Also she tries to be sexy at him and that's not something that tends to go over well. (And now, THANKS VEGA, she also knows his secret identity.) '''UPDATE:''' Not so bad! Good director!
|-
| '''[[Zoisite]]''': <s>In another life, this boy was one of his protectors, advisors, and brothers. In this life, Zoisite hates both Mamoru Chiba's guts AND Tuxedo Kamen's, and Mamoru is confused and dismayed by the reactions they have to each other: Zoisite is clearly a bad guy, and extremely petty and vindictive, but he awakens feelings of loss and grief and familiarity in Mamoru instead of just pissing him off.</s> IT'S COMPLICATED. Mamoru being willing to believe that Zoisite might need help getting out of the Dark Kingdom pretty much has Luna ready to feed him to a woodchipper.
|-
| '''[[Sakura Akagi|Japanese Cherry Blossom]]''': Willing to help Tuxedo Kamen with his missing memories as much as she can-- after him just asking. The kindness of strangers occasionally blows Mamoru away.
|-
| '''[[Runealy Waldia|Princess Runealy]]''': Way nicer to Mamoru than he feels he deserves. Another one of Usagi's multitude of friends, but in her case, she really means it. They've, since Rune had trouble with getting possessed by one of Nephrite's Dark Seals and Mamoru tried to talk her down, gradually become closer; they have a little information exchange going on in the background, as well.
|-
| '''[[Makoto Kino]]''': Mamoru's always liked the Senshi of Courage, even if in the past, he's occasionally felt somewhat redundant with her around. Now that he's actually gone to her for help and opened up to her some, and she's taken him in and they've had each other's backs regarding the Shitennou and Dark Mercury, he feels less alone.
|-
| '''[[Nephrite]]''': OMG THAT GUY. While Mamoru thinks Masato Sanjouin is kind of a pompous ass and a little shady but otherwise harmless, he is ONE HUNDRED PERCENT PISSED OFF at Nephrite and will enable Sailor Jupiter caving his face in in every possible way he can think of.
|-
| '''Also to varying levels''': [[Kuniko Saito]], [[Ikiko Hisakata]], [[Kinzo Hiroyuki|Dark Amber]], [[Lucy Iwai]], [[Nori Ankou]], [[Lingshen Chao]], [[Homura Akemi]], [[Michiru Kaioh|Sailor Neptune]], [[Haruka Tenoh|Sailor Uranus]], [[Fuu Hououji]], [[Ruma Hino]], [[Jadeite]], [[Rei Hino|Sailor Mars]], [[Nanoha Takamachi]], [[Ren Aizawa]], [[Kyouko Sakura]], [[Ikuto Tsukiyomi]],
|}
 
{|style="text-align: left; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Soundtrack!
|-
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mREi_Bb85Sk Mason Williams - Classical Gas]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiE9Hy4qpvE BSSM OST - Tuxedo Mask Theme]
|-
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Yc3HhSl1Q Muse - Knights of Cydonia]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdAS7EDuF6Y Los Fabulosos Cadillacs - Matador]
|-
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6zDfxZ4NcE Yoko Kanno - Tank!]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFknfHIPPQc The Super Moonies - Tuxedo Mask im kaltem Eis und Schnee]
|-
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUVT1NZtZPo Doris Day - Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|[https://soundcloud.com/ginadonahue/nothing-in-kamen JadziaTrax - Nothing in Kamen]
|}
 
{|style="text-align: left; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Logs
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
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}}
|}
 
{|style="text-align: left; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Cutscenes
|-
|
{{#dpl: |notcategory = logs
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|ordermethod = title
|category = cutscenes
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
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}}
|}
 
{|style="text-align: center; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Gallery
|-
|<gallery height=320px>
File:Mamoru-henshin.jpg
File:Mamo2.jpg
File:Tuxedo-night.jpg
File:Maamoru.png
File:Smc-tux.png
File:Unmdance.png
File:Mamo1.jpg
File:Tuxedokamen.png
</gallery>
|}
[[Category:Characters]]

2014-08-24 - Much Ado About Nothing

2014-08-25T13:05:59Z

File:Mamo2.jpg

2014-08-22T19:29:00Z

Misparse:

Mamoru Chiba

2014-08-22T19:28:55Z

Misparse:

__NOTOC__
{|style="-moz-border-radius: 10px;background: #FFFFFF;width=80%;padding:5px"
|-
|
{|style="border:2px solid black;background: #FFFFFF;width: 30.5em;float: right;clear: right;vertical-align: top;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0.5em"
|-
!colspan="2" style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%;text-align: center;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px"|Details
|-
|'''Name''' || Mamoru Chiba
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''AKA''' || Tuxedo Mask, Tuxedo Kamen, Prince Endymion
|-
|'''Cast''' || [[Characters#Bishoujo_Senshi_Sailor_Moon|Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon]]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Gender''' || Male
|-
|'''Age/Birthday''' || 17 (August 3rd)
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Sign''' || Leo
|-
|'''School''' || [[School: Ohtori Academy|Ohtori Academy]] (Grade 11)
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Eyes/Hair''' || Blue/Black
|-
|'''Blood Type''' || A
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Favorite Food''' || Chocolate
|-
|'''Least Favorite Food''' || None
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Favorite Subject''' || Physics
|-
|'''Least Favorite Subject''' || None
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Dislikes''' || Needles
|-
|'''On-Grid Kisses''' || 3
|}

{|style="border:2px solid black;background: #FFFFFF;width: 22.5em;vertical-align: top;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0 0 0 0.5em"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%;text-align: center;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px"|Tuxedo Kamen
|-
| <center>[[File:TuxedoMask.jpg]]</center>
|-
|style="text-align: center"| ''I don't always fight evil, but when I do, it's by moonlight.''
|}
 
{|style="text-align: left; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Profile
|-
| Mamoru Chiba's a wealthy orphan with no recollection of his life before his parents' death when he was six, a well-respected and incredibly intelligent guy, and an accomplished and well-rounded student at Ohtori Academy's high school. He ~''moonlights''~ as the mysterious Tuxedo Kamen to aid the Sailor Senshi with encouragement, guidance, and his own fighting skills. He can frequently be found reading in parks or standing in busy places like a rock in a stream, but at the end of the day, he has a mission. A beautiful princess in his dreams has told him to find the Silver Crystal: if he does, it will gain him his memories and give him the answers he seeks to the burning questions of his unquiet life.
|}
 
{|style="text-align: left; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Relationships
|-
| '''[[Usagi Tsukino]]''': She does her job with her whole heart, and she feels things so deeply, and is filled with such indignant fury at injustices that she makes Mamoru believe that there might be someone else out there who thinks like he does. He will, and does, drop everything to help her if she's in trouble; she mystifies and intrigues him, and tugs at his heart in ways he can't begin to explain. He also can not, for the life of him, stop trolling her. At least, in civvies. (Knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Mami Tomoe]]''': Most polite and stylish magical girl that Mamoru knows. Both ass-kicking and charming, she shares his desire to protect Usagi; he cannot fault anyone for wanting to do that. She makes amazingly delicious cake and doesn't lose her temper at Nanami. Nevertheless, she is also amazingly fun to tease. (Technically knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Asagao Uekawa]]''': Cannot keep a secret to save her life, omg. Tuxedo Kamen made friends with Sailor Vega only after first making her cry, after which he kind of panicked and apologised a lot and bought her ice cream. (Knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Eri Shimanouchi]]''': The impressions Mamoru gets from Eri are that she's sort of inherently kind of sorrowful, very giving, very protectively opinionated, and inclusive. He also now knows she's very afraid, and harbors great guilt. She is one of his best friends, and will not hesitate to kick him in the conscience if she thinks he needs it. (Knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Ami Mizuno]]''': Study group buddy and Senshi of Wisdom, Mamoru feels nothing but affection and respect toward Sailor Mercury-- she hasn't even glared daggers at Tuxedo Kamen over the Princess and the Silver Crystal yet, and her dedication to her studies in spite of her fighting evil by moonlight is something he admires greatly.
|-
| '''[[Anthy Himemiya]]''': Not the princess, but, she ''does'' need help, and if he can get her that help, then he will. (Knows his secret identity AND his secret-secret identity that not even he knows.)
|-
| '''[[Takeo Akamizu]]''': Can't stop being Captain Kirk for five minutes, but takes failure very gracefully. At the very least, Takeo seems to be determined to be Mamoru's rival, and that's really funny.
|-
| '''[[Hayate]]''': The Leafe Knight of Wind -- the horrors he has to fight are deeply rooted in wrongness, and as brusque as the man might be, he's dedicated and good at his job, and has earned Tuxedo Kamen's respect.
|-
| '''[[Mai Tokiha]]''': One of Mamoru's best friends, she knows way more about him than he'd normally be comfortable with, except that he also knows things about her that she keeps close. Much to her chagrin, he frequently goes to her for advice; she almost never fails to sass him and keep him on his toes. (Knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Shiori Takatsuki|True Feelings]]''': The knives may be sheathed, but THE PAIN LINGERS ON. She's Sailor Moon's friend, but she's a very very broken person, and Mamoru knows this all too well-- neither of them knows the other's secret identity, thank God.
|-
| '''[[Minako Aino|Sailor V]]''': Keeping to herself-- but out of care rather than uncaring. Mamoru disagrees with her, but respects her reasoning and her decision.
|-
| '''[[Mio Kuroki]]''': Usagi likes her. Usagi calls her Mio-chan. Usagi thought he was ''dating'' Mio. Frankly, Mio gives Mamoru the screaming mimis, because there's always at least two layers of unspoken meaning under everything she says to him, and none of it feels like it's very ''comfortable'' meaning. Also she tries to be sexy at him and that's not something that tends to go over well. (And now, THANKS VEGA, she also knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Zoisite]]''': In another life, this boy was one of his protectors, advisors, and brothers. In this life, Zoisite hates both Mamoru Chiba's guts AND Tuxedo Kamen's, and Mamoru is confused and dismayed by the reactions they have to each other: Zoisite is clearly a bad guy, and extremely petty and vindictive, but he awakens feelings of loss and grief and familiarity in Mamoru instead of just pissing him off.
|-
| '''[[Sakura Akagi|Japanese Cherry Blossom]]''': Willing to help Tuxedo Kamen with his missing memories as much as she can-- after him just asking. The kindness of strangers occasionally blows Mamoru away.
|-
| '''[[Runealy Waldia|Princess Runealy]]''': Way nicer to Mamoru than he feels he deserves. Another one of Usagi's multitude of friends, but in her case, she really means it.
|-
| '''People Mamo is keeping track of''': [[Kuniko Saito]], [[Ikiko Hisakata]], [[Ichigo Momomiya]], [[Kinzo Hiroyuki|Dark Amber]], [[Lucy Iwai]], [[Nori Ankou]], [[Lingshen Chao]], [[Homura Akemi]], [[Michiru Kaioh|Sailor Neptune]], [[Haruka Tenoh|Sailor Uranus]], [[Fuu Hououji]], [[Ruma Hino]], [[Jadeite]], [[Rei Hino|Sailor Mars]]
|}
 
{|style="text-align: left; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Soundtrack!
|-
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mREi_Bb85Sk Mason Williams - Classical Gas]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiE9Hy4qpvE BSSM OST - Tuxedo Mask Theme]
|-
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Yc3HhSl1Q Muse - Knights of Cydonia]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdAS7EDuF6Y Los Fabulosos Cadillacs - Matador]
|-
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6zDfxZ4NcE Yoko Kanno - Tank!]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFknfHIPPQc The Super Moonies - Tuxedo Mask im kaltem Eis und Schnee]
|-
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUVT1NZtZPo Doris Day - Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|[https://soundcloud.com/ginadonahue/nothing-in-kamen JadziaTrax - Nothing in Kamen]
|}
 
{|style="text-align: left; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Logs
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|ordermethod = title
|notcategory = cutscenes
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
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}}
|}
 
{|style="text-align: left; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Cutscenes
|-
|
{{#dpl: |notcategory = logs
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|notcategory = News Files
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{|style="text-align: center; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Gallery
|-
|<gallery height=320px>
File:Mamoru-henshin.jpg
File:Mamo2.jpg
File:Tuxedo-night.jpg
File:Maamoru.png
File:Smc-tux.png
File:Unmdance.png
File:Mamo1.jpg
File:Tuxedokamen.png
</gallery>
|}
[[Category:Characters]]

Mamoru Chiba

2014-08-22T19:25:53Z

Misparse:

__NOTOC__
{|style="-moz-border-radius: 10px;background: #FFFFFF;width=80%;padding:5px"
|-
|
{|style="border:2px solid black;background: #FFFFFF;width: 30.5em;float: right;clear: right;vertical-align: top;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0.5em"
|-
!colspan="2" style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%;text-align: center;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px"|Details
|-
|'''Name''' || Mamoru Chiba
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''AKA''' || Tuxedo Mask, Tuxedo Kamen, Prince Endymion
|-
|'''Cast''' || [[Characters#Bishoujo_Senshi_Sailor_Moon|Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon]]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Gender''' || Male
|-
|'''Age/Birthday''' || 17 (August 3rd)
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Sign''' || Leo
|-
|'''School''' || [[School: Ohtori Academy|Ohtori Academy]] (Grade 11)
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Eyes/Hair''' || Blue/Black
|-
|'''Blood Type''' || A
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Favorite Food''' || Chocolate
|-
|'''Least Favorite Food''' || None
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Favorite Subject''' || Physics
|-
|'''Least Favorite Subject''' || None
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|'''Dislikes''' || Needles
|-
|'''On-Grid Kisses''' || 3
|}

{|style="border:2px solid black;background: #FFFFFF;width: 22.5em;vertical-align: top;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0 0 0 0.5em"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%;text-align: center;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px"|Tuxedo Kamen
|-
| <center>[[File:TuxedoMask.jpg]]</center>
|-
|style="text-align: center"| ''I don't always fight evil, but when I do, it's by moonlight.''
|}
 
{|style="text-align: left; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Profile
|-
| Mamoru Chiba's a wealthy orphan with no recollection of his life before his parents' death when he was six, a well-respected and incredibly intelligent guy, and an accomplished and well-rounded student at Ohtori Academy's high school. He ~''moonlights''~ as the mysterious Tuxedo Kamen to aid the Sailor Senshi with encouragement, guidance, and his own fighting skills. He can frequently be found reading in parks or standing in busy places like a rock in a stream, but at the end of the day, he has a mission. A beautiful princess in his dreams has told him to find the Silver Crystal: if he does, it will gain him his memories and give him the answers he seeks to the burning questions of his unquiet life.
|}
 
{|style="text-align: left; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Relationships
|-
| '''[[Usagi Tsukino]]''': She does her job with her whole heart, and she feels things so deeply, and is filled with such indignant fury at injustices that she makes Mamoru believe that there might be someone else out there who thinks like he does. He will, and does, drop everything to help her if she's in trouble; she mystifies and intrigues him, and tugs at his heart in ways he can't begin to explain. He also can not, for the life of him, stop trolling her. At least, in civvies. (Knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Mami Tomoe]]''': Most polite and stylish magical girl that Mamoru knows. Both ass-kicking and charming, she shares his desire to protect Usagi; he cannot fault anyone for wanting to do that. She makes amazingly delicious cake and doesn't lose her temper at Nanami. Nevertheless, she is also amazingly fun to tease. (Technically knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Asagao Uekawa]]''': Cannot keep a secret to save her life, omg. Tuxedo Kamen made friends with Sailor Vega only after first making her cry, after which he kind of panicked and apologised a lot and bought her ice cream. (Knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Eri Shimanouchi]]''': The impressions Mamoru gets from Eri are that she's sort of inherently kind of sorrowful, very giving, very protectively opinionated, and inclusive. He also now knows she's very afraid, and harbors great guilt. She is one of his best friends, and will not hesitate to kick him in the conscience if she thinks he needs it. (Knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Ami Mizuno]]''': Study group buddy and Senshi of Wisdom, Mamoru feels nothing but affection and respect toward Sailor Mercury-- she hasn't even glared daggers at Tuxedo Kamen over the Princess and the Silver Crystal yet, and her dedication to her studies in spite of her fighting evil by moonlight is something he admires greatly.
|-
| '''[[Anthy Himemiya]]''': Not the princess, but, she ''does'' need help, and if he can get her that help, then he will. (Knows his secret identity AND his secret-secret identity that not even he knows.)
|-
| '''[[Takeo Akamizu]]''': Can't stop being Captain Kirk for five minutes, but takes failure very gracefully. At the very least, Takeo seems to be determined to be Mamoru's rival, and that's really funny.
|-
| '''[[Hayate]]''': The Leafe Knight of Wind -- the horrors he has to fight are deeply rooted in wrongness, and as brusque as the man might be, he's dedicated and good at his job, and has earned Tuxedo Kamen's respect.
|-
| '''[[Mai Tokiha]]''': One of Mamoru's best friends, she knows way more about him than he'd normally be comfortable with, except that he also knows things about her that she keeps close. Much to her chagrin, he frequently goes to her for advice; she almost never fails to sass him and keep him on his toes. (Knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Shiori Takatsuki|True Feelings]]''': The knives may be sheathed, but THE PAIN LINGERS ON. She's Sailor Moon's friend, but she's a very very broken person, and Mamoru knows this all too well-- neither of them knows the other's secret identity, thank God.
|-
| '''[[Minako Aino|Sailor V]]''': Keeping to herself-- but out of care rather than uncaring. Mamoru disagrees with her, but respects her reasoning and her decision.
|-
| '''[[Mio Kuroki]]''': Usagi likes her. Usagi calls her Mio-chan. Usagi thought he was ''dating'' Mio. Frankly, Mio gives Mamoru the screaming mimis, because there's always at least two layers of unspoken meaning under everything she says to him, and none of it feels like it's very ''comfortable'' meaning. Also she tries to be sexy at him and that's not something that tends to go over well. (And now, THANKS VEGA, she also knows his secret identity.)
|-
| '''[[Zoisite]]''': In another life, this boy was one of his protectors, advisors, and brothers. In this life, Zoisite hates both Mamoru Chiba's guts AND Tuxedo Kamen's, and Mamoru is confused and dismayed by the reactions they have to each other: Zoisite is clearly a bad guy, and extremely petty and vindictive, but he awakens feelings of loss and grief and familiarity in Mamoru instead of just pissing him off.
|-
| '''[[Sakura Akagi|Japanese Cherry Blossom]]''': Willing to help Tuxedo Kamen with his missing memories as much as she can-- after him just asking. The kindness of strangers occasionally blows Mamoru away.
|-
| '''[[Runealy Waldia|Princess Runealy]]''': Way nicer to Mamoru than he feels he deserves. Another one of Usagi's multitude of friends, but in her case, she really means it.
|-
| '''People Mamo is keeping track of''': [[Kuniko Saito]], [[Ikiko Hisakata]], [[Ichigo Momomiya]], [[Kinzo Hiroyuki|Dark Amber]], [[Lucy Iwai]], [[Nori Ankou]], [[Lingshen Chao]], [[Homura Akemi]], [[Michiru Kaioh|Sailor Neptune]], [[Haruka Tenoh|Sailor Uranus]], [[Fuu Hououji]], [[Ruma Hino]], [[Jadeite]], [[Rei Hino|Sailor Mars]]
|}
 
{|style="text-align: left; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Soundtrack!
|-
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mREi_Bb85Sk Mason Williams - Classical Gas]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiE9Hy4qpvE BSSM OST - Tuxedo Mask Theme]
|-
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Yc3HhSl1Q Muse - Knights of Cydonia]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdAS7EDuF6Y Los Fabulosos Cadillacs - Matador]
|-
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6zDfxZ4NcE Yoko Kanno - Tank!]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFknfHIPPQc The Super Moonies - Tuxedo Mask im kaltem Eis und Schnee]
|-
|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUVT1NZtZPo Doris Day - Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps]
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
|[https://soundcloud.com/ginadonahue/nothing-in-kamen JadziaTrax - Nothing in Kamen]
|}
 
{|style="text-align: left; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Logs
|-
|
{{#dpl: |category = logs
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|ordermethod = title
|notcategory = cutscenes
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
|suppresserrors = yes
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}
|}
 
{|style="text-align: left; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Cutscenes
|-
|
{{#dpl: |notcategory = logs
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|notcategory = News Files
|ordermethod = title
|category = cutscenes
|columns = 2
|rowcolformat=width=100%
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{|style="text-align: center; border: black solid 2px;background:#FFFFFF;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0"
|-
!style="color:white;background:#000033;font-size: 100%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Gallery
|-
|<gallery height=320px>
File:Mamoru-henshin.jpg
File:Tuxedo-night.jpg
File:Maamoru.png
File:Smc-tux.png
File:Unmdance.png
File:Mamo1.jpg
File:Tuxedokamen.png
</gallery>
|}
[[Category:Characters]]

File:Smc-tux.png

2014-08-22T19:25:46Z

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File:Maamoru.png

2014-08-22T19:23:03Z

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File:Tuxedo-night.jpg

2014-08-22T19:13:09Z

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File:Mamo1.jpg

2014-08-22T19:11:31Z

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File:Unmdance.png

2014-08-22T19:04:35Z

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File:Tuxedokamen.png

2014-08-22T19:03:15Z

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File:Mamoru-henshin.jpg

2014-08-22T18:58:18Z

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File:TuxedoMask.jpg

2014-08-22T18:04:59Z

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2014-08-18 - The Power of a Wounded Heart

2014-08-22T18:03:48Z

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: The Power of a Wounded Heart'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''In which Mamoru unknowingly picks the worst possible person to talk to about good magical girls going evil.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mamoru Chiba|Tuxedo Mask]], [[Hayate]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Juuban Public School, on the roof
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
28 February 2014 - 8/18/2014
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

It's night and the sky's overcast, bright from the moon above and the city below; light pollution makes the chilly haze a visible thing, muted as it may be. Hat weaponized during the fight and vanished, Tuxedo Kamen is still tall and thin, but he looks much more the seventeen he is without it.

The mist clings to everything, including the foul ashes of the thing they just killed, and the masked teenager'd be writing this set of white tie and tails if it weren't magical henshin clothing.

Instead of saying anything remotely related to demon larvae or the horrible feeling of energy being leeched and devoured, Tuxedo Mask glances up and over at the Leafe Knight of Wind. "Do you know anything about someone or something called Mobius?"

<Pose Tracker> Hayate [None] has posed.

The question, apropos of nothing as it is, brings Hayate's eyes sharply toward Tuxedo Kamen, dragging his thoughts away from whatever dark path they'd been turned down. He hasn't seemed any more satisfied with this job well done than he was that night several months ago in Hokkaido, and the frown that seems as though it must practically live on his face has an even grimmer cast to it... at least, until the young man in formalwear asks about Mobius, and then Hayate just looks sharp and guarded.

"No," he answers, prompt and blunt and not leaving any room for ambiguity. "I haven't heard anything." There's a question in that stare of his, even if it's not one that he gives voice to: Why ask?

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The white mask's translucent, but not entirely transparent: it hides Tuxedo Kamen's eyes right now, reflecting the glow of the city's nighttime. His expression's thoughtful as he takes Hayate's in, studying it.

He doesn't look away from the Leafe Knight.

"Apparently it-- or he, or she, or they-- holds the responsibility for pulling one of my allies down the path of darkness. We don't know if she's possessed, or if they've twisted her mind or drugged her or put her under some kind of spell... she's a good person, when she's herself."

He finally looks aside, gaze cast over the lights below, overlooking the streets of Azabu-Juuban. "And she was talking about misery energy and Mobius. So, asking around."

<Pose Tracker> Hayate [None] has posed.

Something comes over the Leafe Knight's face as he listens to the explanation. It's a subtle shift, difficult to see happening, but suddenly his expression harder than it was before, and lurking in his eyes there's a deep weariness that even the diffuse and uncertain light here on the rooftop can't quite obscure.

He turns his back toward Tuxedo Mask, looking off instead across the city as though at something far distant. "So," he says, voice utterly flat, "you're blaming it all on this 'Mobius'?"

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Not all of it," the boy says, leaning against the railing around the roof of the school, arms crossed in front of him. He doesn't see Hayate's expression, but he can hear the flatness in the man's voice-- only, his answer's neither defensive nor hurried. "The rest of the girls feel guilty enough about it, and the things she's apparently said to them have struck home often enough, that it's most likely there was a hurt this Mobius was able to latch on to."

He doesn't sound bitter, but he does sound tired and a little lost. "Maybe she felt like she was useful instead of loved. Or maybe not even useful. But that hurt wouldn't have turned around without some kind of influence. There's a difference between revenge and actually endangering the planet."

<Pose Tracker> Hayate [None] has posed.

A breath chuffs out of Hayate, too short and harsh and bitter to be called a laugh. "If that's what you think, Tuxedo Kamen," he says, turning now to fix those sharp blue eyes on the young man, "then you're a fool." His face is more than hard now, and even in the darkness there's something simmering there, taut and angry. "There's no difference but scale."

Hayate folds his arms over his chest, stands stiff and tall and drawn up into himself. "What did you think would happen, putting girls out onto the battlefield and telling them to fight? What do you think becomes of power when the heart's wounded?"

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

That... was not what Mamoru expected. He turns around on the railing to lean against it sideways, crossing his arms and tilting his head back slightly, expression mild. His eyes are hidden by the mask, now; its lenses are opaque from the outside, obscuring even the shape of his eyes. No way to read them.

His voice isn't quite cold, certainly isn't defensive-- it's not even patient. It's calm and matter-of-fact. "Who would you have do the fighting instead? Us? We just took twenty gruelling minutes to kill something Sailor Moon could have curbstomped in under one."

The boy straightens up, then, brushing off his tattered formalwear, tall and composed. "You sound like you have personal experience in the matter. And it sounds like it didn't end well. I'm sorry for that."

<Pose Tracker> Hayate [None] has posed.

"If that's what it takes," Hayate snaps back - but then he seems to catch himself and closes his mouth, lips pressing into a thin line, a visible effort at maintaining composure. Rather than go on facing the opaque stare of Tuxedo Kamen's mask, he looks away again to the distant horizon.

"...it isn't about me," he says, and maybe even believes that it's true. "Power shouldn't be an obligation. I won't ask anyone to do what I can't do for myself."

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"The things that go wrong in this world are too wrong to rely on the hope that you can take care of things alone," Tuxedo Kamen says, motionless, watching Hayate. "Should, shouldn't-- that doesn't matter. What matters is that people have a chance to be happy."

He falls silent for a moment, and then he straightens his shoulders, refuses to look tired. His voice is reasonable, is even. "I do my best, and frequently my best is giving whatever aid I can to the ones who really ''can'' save everyone. The ones who ''can'' bring light to the dark, who ''can'' banish the evil things from this world. If they can fight, if they're willing to fight, if they have the power to do things I don't, then who am I to do anything but help shore them up so the burden isn't so heavy?"

Still watching Hayate, he takes a step closer. "I'll ask. Because what I can do on my own isn't enough, and because ''failing'' to ask for help is foolish when the stakes are as high as they are. I'll do everything in my power to help them accomplish what's asked of them, but one thing I will never do is take away their choice of whether or not to do it."

There's a pause. "But I'm pretty sure this is about you."

<Pose Tracker> Hayate [None] has posed.

As Tuxedo Mask speaks, the Knight of Wind stands very, very still. Even when he takes that step closer, there's scarcely any sign that Hayate is even still listening, save that - if one looks closely enough - he's watching the young man in the tuxedo sidelong, eyes fixed on him in a steady stare.

After that final remark, he is silent for some time.

At last, he lets out a quiet breath. "...do what you want," he says, his voice heavy and resigned and still sounding a little bitter. "I can't change your mind. But take care," he warns. "Your support can become a chain, too."

The wind picks up, whipping across the rooftop, tugging and fluttering at Tuxedo Kamen's cape and lifting Hayate's long hair as though with chilly fingers. "For your sake, I hope your choices are better than mine," Hayate says, and then in a rush of moving air he's simply gone.

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"I hope you ask for help," Mamoru sighs into the wind after the Leafe Knight's vanished.

Which, speaking of, the masked gentleman in the tattered finery takes out his cellphone and texts a magical girl for couch space.

2014-08-20 - He Was After Jupiter

2014-08-22T18:02:50Z

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: He Was After Jupiter'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Princess Runealy has some distressing news for Mamoru, figuring he has a handier way of contacting the Senshi than she does.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Runealy Waldia]], [[Mamoru Chiba]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
The banks of the Tama River
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
1 March 2014 - 8/20/2014
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Runealy Waldia [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

Rune's request to see Mamoru had sounded pretty serious in texts and phone calls, and eventually arrangements were made to meet up alongside one of the more common picnicking spots by the Tama River.

So in the hours leading up to Saturday evening, she kept busy. A sufficiently wide blanket for picnic use would have to be acquired and set up, after all. And it just wouldn't do to invite a guest and friend she holds in such high esteem without having some kind of a meal ready. A few cardboard boxes rest near the blanket's center, their markings suggesting they are from the Midori-ya Bakery. That's out of the way, there were probably other bakeries that were closer... but Runealy was glad to go the extra length to do business with one of the few places that had let her buy food with obviously foreign money when she first arrived in Tokyo several months ago; they had earned extraordinary customer loyalty.

With everything in place, Rune gazes up at the sky and waits. It's not quite sunset yet, so there is still enough light out to make one's way along the riverside. Enough light to see that she sits alone, and a little anxiety is starting to take hold.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

There's a telltale rush of silk and light tapping of dress shoes against pavement behind Runealy a little ways, and then Mamoru calls out as he approaches, "Afternoon, Rune-chan."

He looks perfectly well, though somewhat rumpled; he's got a leather jacket on over a white button-down shirt and black jeans, and he's carrying hot chocolates in takeaway cups.

It's obvious his eyes light up when he sees the Midori-ya boxes, and they're warm and amused when he turns them to Runealy, offering her one of the cups. "Did you have cake for breakfast, too?" he teases.

<Pose Tracker> Runealy Waldia [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

"Ah!?" Even that simple greeting startles Rune, who was lost enough in thought that she outright didn't notice Mamoru until he spoke! After a few seconds of scrambling to compose herself, she looks up to him and smiles despite - or maybe due to - his joking. "Maybe I did." She takes the drink with a quiet 'thanks', having a quick sip before setting it down beside herself.

The drink is nice, but Mamoru is her real focus right now and her eyes soon return to him. "It's good to see you out and around again!" It's possible she might have seen him in passing, but this is her first chance to really see up close that he seems to have recovered from Nephrite's assault. "Go ahead and sit down wherever you want, okay?"

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Thank you," the older boy says, smiling a little lopsidedly -- whether it's for the 'out and around' cheer or the offer to sit how he likes, or both, is open to interpretation. He bends to put his own hot chocolate down first, across from the otherworldly princess in the awesome jacket, then fluidly folds himself onto the blanket, sitting tailor-style.

His energy level is fairly high, too: his motions are still reserved, but they're quick and no longer stiff. He doesn't ''quite'' immediately reach for the boxes, but it's also clear his focus is split between Rune and the delicious temptation.

Hot cocoa once more in his hands, Mamoru lifts his eyebrows at the seventh grader. "So what is this about, exactly?"

<Pose Tracker> Runealy Waldia [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

Runealy shifts around on the blanket to give Mamoru plenty of space to sit down. She does this even if he doesn't look like he needs a spot anywhere near her, perhaps recalling his requests when they met on a rooftop one night. It wasn't a very happy meeting.

And as Mamoru asks a very good question, it's possible this meeting won't fare much better despite the hospitality that has been arranged. Rune doesn't answer immediately, looking down to sort out her thoughts. Yet after a few seconds, a response does come. "Nephrite. It's about Nephrite. I met him. Not just one of his monsters, but him too. He's... he's out for something, but I don't know what it is exactly. I wanted to tell you what I saw in case it helps someone, though. You, or Sailor Moon, or anyone else that he seems to be after. Were you at the Searrs Symphony Hall the other day?" Rune didn't see him there, but in a crowd that big that doesn't prove much on its own.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mamoru is very bad at contact, it's true. In observation, though, Runealy will have found, by now, that it's not at all personal. If one were to look for it, one would see he tends to strive to avoid touching anyone at all.

Tends to. There are a few exceptions.

Noticing Rune's gone quiet and uncomfortable, the high schooler goes to give her time (among more ulterior motives, like eating cakes) by setting his cocoa down again and opening the boxes. "Itadakimasu," he says half under his breath, looking somewhat sheepish.

Then Rune's found the words, and Mamoru's expression stills and grows serious. Not stiff, at least, and not angry, but his full attention is on the girl, and that's a weighty thing in and of itself.

"I wasn't." He wasn't fast enough to get cake in his mouth before the subject settled in. "What happened?"

<Pose Tracker> Runealy Waldia [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

Once opened, The Midori-ya boxes are revealed to be an improvised 'variety pack'; Rune had no idea what Mamoru might like, so she picked out bakery fare at random in the hopes something in there would suit his tastes. Whether it's cake, pastries, cookies, or something else entirely... there isn't a lot of any one thing, but there's plenty to pick from. Notably, she isn't eating much right now.

"A lot of things. One of the performers was drained, and a monster emerged from them! Just like it did with me." Despite her muddled memories of that week, that one thing stayed in her mind very well and recalling it here causes her to shudder. "If it was just that, I could have told you as a text message. What really worries me is that he was there, shouting out orders to it. Any time it tried to do anything to watch out for itself, he'd hit and threaten it. And he wanted it to focus on the same thing each time..."

An uncomfortable silence comes over the princess, then she gathers the nerve to say it: "He kept saying he wanted all of us dead except Sailor Jupiter. He was very clear about wanting her alive... 'nominally alive', was how he put it. He even tried to... to take her away. I don't know where he was going or why, but..."

She redirects that thought with several headshakes. "He didn't get that far. Still, he tried and it sounded like he had his eyes on doing it the whole time. It probably wasn't just something he decided on all of a sudden! I thought you should know too, since you said he was after you?"

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

All of a sudden, Mamoru goes pale, and he's suddenly not even hungry for the ''chocolate'' parts of the array of baked goods. He sets his plate down and listens, still, with all of his attention.

By the rime Runealy finishes, the boy looks sick with worry.

"Well," he says hesitantly, voice slow and low, "he's willing to kill me at the drop of a hat as Mamoru Chiba, but only-- only to hurt Sailor Jupiter's... civilian identity. Shimatta--!"

Suddenly he's curled in on himself some, and he runs a hand through his hair, leaving it in wild disarray. "Does he know who she is? How did he even know where to find her? We tried so hard to keep him from finding out--"

Was it all for nothing?

Then he shakes his head, eyes squeezed shut. "He wasn't after me. He was after ''her''. A different Dark General's the one who's been focused on me-- I had good reason to believe he hadn't told anyone, but he may have gotten impatient. Or maybe Mercury--"

All of a sudden, he looks devastated. "I hope they'll listen. Damn it."

<Pose Tracker> Runealy Waldia [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

A different General? Rune often seems to be lacking one critical detail when she tries to piece together what's going on, and the confusion is plain to see on her face as she realizes the mistake. Yet she doesn't get long to reflect on this mistake, as Mamoru has introduced a whole new angle to what Nephrite might be trying to accomplish. "Wait a minute. So one of them is set on getting to you, and Nephrite is after her? I don't know what he knows about Jupiter, if you were asking me." Mamoru might have just been thinking aloud, for all Runealy knows.

"Honestly, all ''I'' know about her is she seems to be a lot like the others. Like Moon, Mercury, and Mars too... quick to stand up to monsters and do what's right. I admire that, but it's about all I know about her. Still, I didn't want any of this to take you or her or anyone else by surprise!" She shifts around on the picnic blanket; this had already been an uncomfortable topic. Learning that the problem seems to be even deeper than she first realized is unsettling, and Rune fails to hide it very well.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Zoisite is preoccupied with me, and I'm hedging a lot of bets on the fact that he's sitting on the information he has on me, probably as some kind of bargaining chip later," Mamoru explains hurriedly, rifling through his pockets for his phone. He immediately starts texting as he continues to speak, fighting what's very likely nausea.

"He's why I can't stay at home right now; he knows my address, and if he tells the rest who I am, I'm a sitting duck. I went to go stay with Jupiter, but then Nephrite showed up at her house and started interrogating her. He showed up again a couple of days later, where she was-- it got ugly. Sailor Moon saved us both that time. In general, the Dark Kingdom's after the same things we are, but for evil purposes. Their hatred runs deep and ancient. It's also complicated."

The explanation, as Mamoru gradually falls into history professor mode, seems to have at least calmed his physiological reactions to the awful information; his hands are steady and some of his color's returned, and he doesn't look actively sick anymore. He looks back up from his phone as he hits send.

"Speaking of not taking by surprise: be wary of Mercury. She's brainwashed or something right now, and working for someone called Mobius. I think she only has it out for the Senshi, but god only knows." His tone is calm, his voice even; whatever his guts are telling him, the eleventh-grader's got himself under control again. Mamoru lacking his composure isn't good for ''anyone's'' morale.

<Pose Tracker> Runealy Waldia [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

Zoisite is a new name to Rune, and she whisper-repeats it both for memorization and to see if it brings up anything at all in her mind. No such luck, and she doesn't dare ask for more details on him while Mamoru is texting. Even the tech-ignorant princess knows enough about cell phones to recognize that action for exactly what it is, and she has to assume Mamoru is doing it to get an important message out ''right now''; he doesn't strike her as the type to just get so openly bored mid-conversation to be texting others on a whim when someone is right there.

And as Mamoru lays out his own problem, it's Rune's turn to look sickened. Some of this she already knew about. He told her some of the details earlier. Hearing them in person, putting a face to it, just lets it impact her all over again. "That's horrible! Not being able to go home, when it's right there and it's part of who you are, because they might be watching..." The thought trails off, but it rattles her anyway; she has a very keen idea of what it's like to have to stay away from home, just for different (and somewhat more optimistic) reasons in her case. That's still enough for her voice to have been speaking lower and softer, sympathetic to Mamoru's plight.

Then he introduces yet another problem. "Mercury!?" Runealy knows her. Not in great detail, but well enough that the news causes her to lean back in wide-eyed alarm! "No way... that's..." She forces herself to stop stammering from shock, and instead ask something: "Does that need to be kept quiet, like how it was with your being away from school?"

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The phone gets pocketed, then, and it's only a little tentatively that Mamoru picks his hot cocoa up again. But then he drinks it relatively quickly; it's starting to cool off in the chilly February air. His previous good cheer probably won't be returning today; his expression is grave.

"I don't know. It's probably delicate. You'd mentioned knowing her, so I thought you should know, but I should really talk to--" The tall, thin boy sighs, glancing absently at the pastries without really seeing them. "--the one who's calling the shots right now."

The upperclassman's silent for a moment, frowning in thought. "Anyway, you ''know'' anyone can be hurt by this kind of thing, twisted. It's not the same kind, so I don't know how to fix it, but I'm trying to find out."

Finally, he glances back up and smiles crookedly. "My home is only my home because I call it that: it's comfortable and familiar and has locks, and my things are there, but it could be anywhere else. The place isn't important."

<Pose Tracker> Runealy Waldia [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

Rune makes no move to push meals on Mamoru. She knew appetites might be lost in a hurry with this news, but wanted the food to be there just in case. If hot chocolate is as far as it goes for now, it makes sense; she's barely touching her own drink. Instead, she just sits and rocks about a little... an idle motion used to try to calm herself. "If you're saying it's delicate, then I'll believe that. I won't go shouting it from the rooftops or telling everyone, but I'll keep an eye on it. If Mercury's being used like that..."

It's not quite the same, she knows. Mamoru has pointed that out, but she can't help silently wondering what might happen. Would Mobius' agents - a group she knows only the most vague things about - treat Mercury like Nephrite uses the monsters made from drained energy? Like a convenient, disposable 'soldier' to use to get what they want while reducing the risk to oneself? Rune has seen how some of them are casually mistreated and threatened; how much more so for an 'outsider' like Mercury? All these thoughts bring Rune to a near-breathless conclusion: "I'll be careful. If there's anything I can do to help you, whether it's with figuring this out or getting them to leave you alone while you help her... just say it."

The correction on how he feels about his home goes without comment. She heard it, and there's a brief wince due to Mamoru's words, but she doesn't press the topic.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Surely he has places that mean more to him-- surely. Something inside Mamoru is trying very hard not to ache over Runealy's visceral reaction to his inability to go home, or over her reaction to his explanation.

He's glad she doesn't press; there are too many burning questions he's given up on answers for.

There is, however, a smile composed entirely of wry grace and affectionate gratitude. This is the kind of thing he had been cutting himself off from--

--this is the kind of thing Ami couldn't see. The smile fades. "I will," Mamoru promises somberly. "I have to talk to the Senshi, see if there's some kind of plan already in place. I don't want to accidentally sabotage anything. But as far as Zoisite and Nephrite go-- I'm pretty sure Jupiter's in more danger than I am. Nephrite is about as subtle as a brick coated in Greek fire thrown through a plate glass window, and as strong and tough as she is, he can't keep going after her without something giving. I don't want it to be her."

<Pose Tracker> Runealy Waldia [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

"In other words, he'll just try it again? He'll make another monster to throw away, and hope that gives him another chance?" While talk of 'Greek fire' is alien to Rune, she got most of the idea. "That's not fair! It's not like she did anything to deserve being... being..." Rune struggles for the right word, but eventually decides on "''hunted'' like that. Don't worry, I'm not going to sabotage things either." She doesn't dare try to make plans about it; most of hers have gone very poorly even when she knows plenty about the situation. How much more so when she's going on second and third-hand information? Best to leave this to those who really know what's happening.

Hot cocoa proves to be a nice way to gather her thoughts, and Runealy takes a long sip to do that before setting it down. "I'm going to keep my eyes open, though. For her, and you too. I don't like how we keep meeting like this!" She's upset, but trying to channel it toward something more optimistic. "I remember when we met at the ski resort. That was pretty fun, and one way or another... let's get this taken care of, so we can do something like that again. We can make it happen, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

For all he told Hayate the other night, for all his good intentions, for all his respect, and for all he reacts to things too-- Mamoru still forgets, so very easily, that not everyone clamps down on their feelings and shoves them into lockboxes in order to deal with problems. He forgets so quickly that frequently, in the company he keeps, reactions and morale are just as important off the battlefield as on it.

His mouth twists into a small frown; he finishes off his drink. "I'm sorry. It does always seem to be bad news, doesn't it?" He looks for something to say, anything to say, to reassure Runealy, and finally, he just gives her a slight smile. "But sure, we can make it happen. It might be harder without snow, though."

<Pose Tracker> Runealy Waldia [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

"Don't apologize," Rune starts to respond. "You're not the one causing it, so..." She cuts off to let Mamoru finish what he wants to say, and that little piece of wit proves to be very well timed. "Wh...!" Surprise turns to a quick laugh, then a flustered but pleased "You know what I meant!" Her choice of words might be protesting, but Rune is taking this in pretty good humor.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

A fleeting, half-suppressed grin, and Mamoru glances away, then down at his empty cup, and at his plate with the slice of chocolate cake on it. Then he looks back up at Runealy and his expression is amused, affection behind it. "I do," he admits, "but I'm not usually like that. We ''can'' fix all of this, though, don't worry."

Then he pauses and glances down again, as if discovering the pastries for the first time. "Oh man, we should eat these before they get stale!"

2014-08-02 - A Mermaid Youma's Desperation! Nephrite Kills Tuxedo Mask

2014-08-22T18:01:37Z

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: A Mermaid Youma's Desperation! Nephrite Kills Tuxedo Mask'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''It's time for another one of Nephrite's Dark Seals! Today, it's a swimmer at Infinity Institute, and a surprising number of people object, for a surprising variety of reasons. The fight is spectacularly fierce.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Nephrite]], [[Rue|Princess Kraehe]], [[Makoto Kino|Sailor Jupiter]], [[Mamoru Chiba|Tuxedo Mask]], [[Reika Aoki|Cure Beauty]], [[Kinzo Hiroyuki|Dark Amber]], [[Fuu Hououji]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Infinity Institute, Pool Floor
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
21 February 2014 - 8/2/2014
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

It's a dark, rainy evening, a perfect crown for a dark, rainy day. What started as a grey drizzle earlier in the day has built until a full-on storm now pours down over Infinity's campus, rain falling in great sheets against the glass walls of Infinity's indoor pool. The lights flicker occasionally, threatening to go out completely; really, they shouldn't even be on at this hour. And they wouldn't be -- except for the boy who is swimming furiously up and down his lane in the pool. He's undeniably fast, but his technique is sloppy, inefficient. The splash from the fury of his strokes cause the entire pool to ripple, some water spilling over the edge and onto the impeccably clean tile.

The young man finally reaches a hand out to the edge of the pool, pushed to his limit. His breathing is gasping and labored, and he clearly needs a rest, but if his posture is any indication, it's not about to happen. He's just about to kick off again when he seems to spot a figure in the shadows. One that he recognizes. The one that gave him the advice that improved his swimming so much.

"Sanjouin-sensei?"

But the figure who walks into the light is not Masato Sanjouin. It is Nephrite, General of the Dark Kingdom. And he is not a friend.

"His energy has reached its peak. Awaken, Aquata!"

The silhouette of a Dark Seal blinks a few times on his swim cap before letting out green light, from which a shadow emerges, shaped like a mermaid of old, the one who would bring sailors to their watery graves. And that is what he intends to do tonight.

COMBAT: Nephrite has fully healed himself. He is now ready to take on 4 opponents!

<Pose Tracker> Rue [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Rainy days suit Rue when she is away from Gold Crown Town. It does so many things to alleviate the ugliness of the human world. Most pleasantly, it forces all those hideous people inside! And not just inside, but often to their own devices, in their rooms, behind doors and walls where Rue does not have to see them.

It is one of the few things that makes existence in such a crowded, noisy, repulsive a little more bearable.

As such, Rue is roaming the halls, because she actually has not seen most of the Infinity Institute. It's always so populated. The classrooms are empty at this hour, so this wing is devoid of life. She hums to keep herself company. The candle she is holding is a poor friend, you see.

A chilling wind blows. The candle goes out, proving its fickleness. Rue stops, not in total darkness but nevertheless taken by a dark mood. She furrows her brow and then turns to look down the hall, and then up it, and finally through the floor and toward the swimming pool. Ah, there it is.

"Really?!" she hisses, hurling the candle down the hall. What little illumination cast by the emergency lighting dims and goes out.

With a shriek and a swirl of feathers, Nephrite is forced to share the stage with another. She stands en pointe, one leg extended behind her, arms spread like wings. Her eyes are closed.

"Are you really going to ruin my day? They're going to start showing up any moment now." Princess Kraehe's eyes spring open. They glow red, reflecting the overhead lighting like an animal in the dark. She spins with painstaking exactness, straightening her back to stand with both feet on the ground as she twirls.

"I wanted ''quiet.''"

<Pose Tracker> Kinzo Hiroyuki [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

One moment, a boy is sinking in the pool, another moment, he is not. It's really weird, like a frame of time was missing within one tenths of a second, there's even some vauge tell tale of someone having dipped there hand or arm in, in this missing frame.

Instead, what you have appearing, suddenly, nearby is a wet, unconcious boy and an older boy in a brown cape, and victorian suitcoat who is standing up to a straight as two fingers retrat from the boy's wrist, upon making sure he's not in immmediate danger at a cursory check of his pulse. When he's positive the boy is not drowning himself into a further bad situation, the figure turns to face Nephrite and...... the upset Princess Kraehe.

"Actually. A moment ago." he asides to Kraehe, looking more directly at Nephrite.

"What's this about today. Is it......draining swimmers of thier energy because only the energy gained from a TRUE professional swim team member can power the jewel of I don't give a damn-day?" he asks in the most sarcastically inclinded tone one can imagine.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"Jupiter Power - *Make Up.*"

The voice in which the well-rehearsed transformation phrase is spoken is more clipped and determined than usual, almost more like a statement of purpose rather than the usual shout. The effect is the same, however - outside, thunder rumbles, and down the hall from the entrance to the poor area electricity flickers wildly for several seconds before Sailor Jupiter comes striding into view.

Only moments ago, Makoto had been kicking herself for the poorly-considered impulse that had brought her to Infinity Academy, one of what seems to be a whole string of bad decisions she's been making lately and which had, as far as she could tell, accomplished absolutely nothing except to get her lost in the empty halls and waiting out a storm she would've known was coming if she'd been paying more attention to what her senses had to tell her.

When she turned a corner just in time to see that swirl of black feathers and hear Kraehe's shriek, however, she could hardly pass by without getting involved.

Now, crossing her arms in front of her, she takes in the scene at the pool area with narrowed eyes. "Athletes train hard to improve themselves and excel," she states. "Whoever you are, I won't let you selfishly take that energy for yourself."

<Pose Tracker> Reika Aoki [Infinity Institute (7)] has posed.

"Don't you think should be campaigning more, Reika-san?" A handsome classmate with tousled brown hair walked at her side through the Infinity Halls, the atmosphere of the evening giving Infinity's glass tower a positively gloomy and foreboding atmosphere. Putting a single finger to her chin, she tilted her head upwards as if in deep thought. She always appeared to be that way when contemplating something, even over the simplest of matters.

"Do you really think I ought to? Shouldn't we be devoting our time to some of our more recent initiatives? We haven't made as much progress as we ought to on the story book reading I'd like to have for Juuban elementary." Her classmate shook his head, with a smile that looked equal parts affectionate and condescending. "They'll keep. What won't is your student council position if you neglect to secure it."

Silent for a time, she walked through the darkened halls at his time, before finally deflecting, "I need to spend some time on the archery range, I don't want to become careless with practice." "The range is closed at this hour.. hey, what's that noise anyhow?"

It was only then that Reika noticed that distinct feeling, almost like a pulse in the air as the seal activates. A moment later, something more 'familiar' joins with it, and she blanches, ceasing in her walk as she answers him. "It's probably just the storm." With an otherwise unchanging expression, she pulls out her phone, and starts trying to make a text, only to realize the reception has decided to be fickle at a bad time. 'No Service' appears at the top left corner.

"Always at the worst times." She murmurs, as her classmate gave her a strange look, "Is something wrong Reika-san?" "No. Please go on ahead without me, Irie-san. I need to swing by my locker again." "I'll escort y-" She cut him off, "Ah, thank you, but no. That won't be necessary."

Looking perplexed, he finally offered, "Alright, you have a good evening." She released her breath only once he was out of sight, only then quickening her pace to somewhere out of sight before gripping a white compact, adorned with a pink ribbon. Opening it suddenly, she mouthed the words, "Pretty Cure, Smile Charge!"

~Soon~ Sensing something was wrong wasn't an 'exact' science, so it took her a while to find her way to Juuban's pool. She enters less dramatically, shoving open the door and running into the room at a speed which would assuredly be frowned upon by even the most lenient lifeguard, she stops short however, with the Mermaid standing between her and the person who really has captured her attention. Though her expression is unchanging, her question is terse. "Has the Raven been joined by a danseur?"

It takes a supreme effort of will to tear her gaze away from her and the person with her to place it squarely upon Aquata, scrutinizing every detail about the creature.

COMBAT: Cure Beauty performs an analysis on Nephrite!
COMBAT: Cure Beauty has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Pool rooms always have venting windows, even if they're up high. A school like Infinity? They're large windows, ''and'' they're up high. They start roughly the quivalent of one storey above the pool, and the darkness and the storm outside don't make for moonlit silhouettes: that makes them a decent place for Tuxedo Mask to linger, watching.

There'll be plenty of people that show up to right this wrong.

He watches the boy begin to sink, and almost moves; he sees Kraehe's entrance and challenge, and the blue eyes behind the mask flicker to watch Dark Amber save the kid and throw the second challenge. When Sailor Jupiter shows, he pulls back into the shadow of the window's ledge, and he views Cure Beauty's entrance with detachment.

Oh he'll step in if he's needed. But-- for now, the bulk of the attention of the masked gentleman in formalwear is on the edges, away from the center stage, away from the main drama.

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

Some days ago, the stars had heralded a great disturbance for the Senshi. Nephrite, shaken from his meditation, had attempted to wrest the meaning and nature of this disturbance from the celestial powers, but they had remained reticent, unwilling to divulge anything more. So the Dark General decided on a more practical approach to his investigation, one that might have a few benefits on the side as well. Draw them out with a Dark Seal.

Unfortunately, instead of sailor-suited warriors, he gets a crow. More specifically, ballet dancer -- tutu and all -- squawking at him to be quiet.

Nephrite looks her way as she twirls, puzzlement quickly fading beyond curiosity and into annoyance. "The appearance of the Senshi is exactly what I want. I don't much care for your quiet. If it is that precious to you, go seek it somewhere else." Something in his gut tells him that this new arrival is not here to attack Aquata, so he does not lash out beyond that. Instead, his eyes dart towards the pool as there appears to be a blip in reality, and a magical fighter who had opposed Principessa appears at its edge, victim in hand. That sort of power is...troubling. But he certainly doesn't let his face reflect that thought.

"Such spirited words," he mocks the Perfume Warrior. "But you are mistaken. Look at the boy: do you truly believe his energy is worth anything, even at its peak?" Nephrite crosses his arms, then leaps onto a rafter as he sees Sailor Jupiter and Cure Beauty arrive on the scene. "No. I have used him merely to draw you out. Now that you are here, my servant will kill you."

The dread mermaid makes to do just that, finally materializing completely and hovering a half-inch over the surface of the water. Looking around at her opponents, she tosses her head back and screams, evoking both the primal fear of the ocean and the sorrow of those drowned at sea.

COMBAT: Nephrite has used Sirens Wail on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: Nephrite has used Sirens Wail on Cure Beauty.
COMBAT: Nephrite has used Sirens Wail on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Nephrite has used Sirens Wail on Dark Amber.
COMBAT: Nephrite has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Beauty narrowly dodges Nephrite's Sirens Wail, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Beauty is Quipped! Diversion, Stagger, and Stun applied to Cure Beauty!
COMBAT: Dark Amber narrowly counters Nephrite's Sirens Wail, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Dark Amber is Quipped! Dark Amber's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Dark Amber's counterattack, Amber Bladestorm, partially gets through, doing 14 Fatigue damage to Nephrite! Stun applied to Nephrite!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter narrowly braces Nephrite's Sirens Wail, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Jupiter is Quipped! Sailor Jupiter's Block ability activates! Sailor Jupiter's Parry ability activates! Diversion, Stagger, and Stun applied to Sailor Jupiter!
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask fails to dodge Nephrite's Sirens Wail, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Tuxedo Mask is Quipped! Diversion, Stagger, and Stun applied to Tuxedo Mask!
COMBAT: Nephrite has fully healed himself. He is now ready to take on 5 opponents!

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Kraehe turns her head sharply to stare at Dark Amber when he appears. After he has said his piece, she glances back to Nephrite.

"Oh, he's absolutely charming, isn't he?"

The ballerina takes a weightless step backward, crossing her arms and regarding the gathering forces of good with malice written behind a beautiful mask. "I'll stay and watch your grisly business, you jackbooted herald. Are we not allies in infamy? I'll soothe your wounds with my sweet words."

Her red eyes narrow as Cure Beauty finds her cue, and narrow further when she delivers her lines.

"Today I am an artist only by the ever-looming shadow of my towering skill, frozen girl. Dance well so that you do not die before our next meeting! I only devour that which I kill myself."

The raven princess spreads her arms, rising into the rafters by the grace of invisible wings. Her red eyes are more visible in the shadows.

"A box seat, then, general. Do you always watch the corps carry out their busywork?"

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

"Iyashi no Kaze!"

The voice comes, of all places, from the doorway girls' locker room, the soothing breeze of the Winds of Healing blowing forth to bathe heroes and heroines and help offset the effects of the dark mermaid's shriek - and the Magic Knight of Wind emerges to join her allies. "I heard a scream just now," she explains, unslinging her bow and readying an arrow. "I'll ask for the details later; I gather this is our enemy for the evening?" she inquires, tilting her head briefly at the mermaid youma.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Iyashi no Kaze on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Iyashi no Kaze on Cure Beauty.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Iyashi no Kaze on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter accepts Fuu Hououji's Iyashi no Kaze, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Sailor Jupiter's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Cure Beauty accepts Fuu Hououji's Iyashi no Kaze, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Cure Beauty's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask accepts Fuu Hououji's Iyashi no Kaze, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Tuxedo Mask's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Dark Amber frowns as he shakes his head. "You wouldn't not be the one to use the siren call......" he says with a low smirk as a wave of sound passes over him, causing him to wince and falter, just a bit. "Of--of a false pretense to get our attention before. Nor the last!" he calls out as he replies with a quick flick of his wrist, sending out a wave of blades into the wake to fly out at Nephrite's Youma.

Of course he gathers a quick magical charge in his right hand as he jumps forward, letting out a wave of his own dark brown flavorted energy wreckloose against the creature, trying to wear down it's own powers and abilities in it's wake.

He smirks as Fuu arrives. "Good timing, as always~" he sings out just a bit to her.

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Dark Amber frowns as he shakes his head. "You wouldn't not be the one to use the siren call......" he says with a low smirk as a wave of sound passes over him, causing him to wince and falter, just a bit. "Of--of a false pretense to get our attention before. Nor the last!" he calls out as he replies with a quick flick of his wrist, sending out a wave of blades into the wake to fly out at Nephrite's Youma.

Of course he gathers a quick magical charge in his right hand as he jumps forward, letting out a wave of his own dark brown flavorted energy wreckloose against the creature, trying to wear down it's own powers and abilities in it's wake.

Princess Kraehe remarks upon his ability to be charming- or really, lack thereofe. This gives him a short smile.

"Why is this familar....." he muses a bit.

COMBAT: Dark Amber has used Amber Blight on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Dark Amber has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Beauty [Infinity Institute (7)] has posed.

Even while you're studying someone or something, you can be distracted. A wail of primal fear of the seas does that admirably. Cure Beauty pales, even if she remains otherwise outwardly unshakable. The air grows more chill, not simply the biting cold of an ocean breeze, but more arctic in nature. "Is that you see a life as? Energy that can be gathered? Something that can be used?" A crackling sound resounds, as something snaps into her hand, a blade of gleaming frost. "How short-sighted and cruel."

Any sort of bravado however, is sucked out of her by Kraehe's address. She tries not to look at those scarlet eyes, but fails, seeing the ever-looming spectre of that massive Raven in her mind's eye. To Beauty's credit, she maintains all of her emotional equilibrium in light of those memories, but it's task harder than she'd care to admit. "That sounds so dismal, to see people as nothing more than something to be toyed with, then devoured for their inferior artistry. Is this your path, Raven Princess?"

She doesn't wait for an answer, Fuu's healing winds wash over her, releasing the grip of fear upon her and she suddenly advances in response. Upon the water, she continues her fast break, small ice floes appearing and vanishing beneath her feat as she balances on each, even running full tilt. As she reaches Aquata, she continues to charge on by, the blade trailing cerulean snow as it slashes past her, trying to coat her scales with a layer of rime and hoarfrost with even the slightest graze.

COMBAT: Cure Beauty has used Precure Beauty Frostbite on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Cure Beauty has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Nephrite perfectly counters Cure Beauty's Precure Beauty Frostbite, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter!
COMBAT: Nephrite's counterattack, Driftwood Spear, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Cure Beauty!
COMBAT: Nephrite narrowly braces Dark Amber's Amber Blight, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Exhausted applied to Nephrite!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

The mermaid's scream crashes over the gathered warriors, and though Sailor Jupiter squares her shoulders and braces herself solidly against it, it hits her with the force of a breaking wave. If it had been designed and chosen specifically to aim for her weaknesses, the assault could scarcely have found the mark better - fear and grief assail a heart already struggling with fear and grief, and Jupiter shudders, head bowing. She can almost feel herself sinking into the depths.

The ocean. Water. A cold and endless blue.

The gentle wind of the Magic Knight's power washes soothingly over her, driving back some of the chill and reminding Sailor Jupiter where she is. She straightens herself with a somewhat shaky breath, and looks gratefully in Fuu's direction. "Thank you," she says.

That's right, Makoto tells herself. She has things to do.

When she turns her eyes upward toward Nephrite in his perch high overhead, her eyes are narrow again and hard. "Get ready to be disappointed," she tells him. "There's something important I have to take care of... so there's absolutely no way I can die here today."

She lifts her hands, and another wind sweeps through over the pool, this one smelling sweetly of flowers and soon to bombard Aquata with a dizzying barrage of petals. "Flower Hurricane!"

COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has used Flower Hurricane on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Nephrite narrowly dodges Sailor Jupiter's Flower Hurricane, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Nephrite's Fade ability activates! Nephrite's Flash ability activates! Blind, Stun, and Trap applied to Nephrite!

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

High up in the window, the siren's dread wail hits Tuxedo Mask like a ton of bricks aimed at the heart and the eardrums, and he tries to get out of its way, to stave it off, anything -- he holds white gloved hands to his ears, and his eyes glisten and shut tight behind the mask. He teeters on the edge of the sill--

--and then the holy wind comes to push him back up, to clear away the horror and the sorrow from the air. The holy wind also, incidentally, makes his cape billow; timing is such that the storm outside obliges the moment with a streak of lightning and a crack of thunder, and the raw emotion the siren just stabbed him with is evident in his voice as determination most grim.

"Dark Amber! Cure Beauty! Do your best and you can take on any foe-- don't let this evil mermaid dictate sadness and despair, not when you know what good there is in the world! Wind Knight-- I thank you for your timing! Sailor Jupiter-- HE STABBED SAILOR MOON, BREAK HIS FACE."

COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has used Tuxedo Night on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has used Tuxedo Night on Dark Amber.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has used Tuxedo Night on Cure Beauty.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Dark Amber accepts Tuxedo Mask's Tuxedo Night, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Dark Amber is Cheered!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter accepts Tuxedo Mask's Tuxedo Night, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Jupiter is Cheered!
COMBAT: Cure Beauty accepts Tuxedo Mask's Tuxedo Night, taking 0 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

"Allies?" Nephrite says at Princess Kraehe's words, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. He had not seen her before, but it's not a stretch to believe that she fights on the side of darkness, judging by her outfit and general attitude. "I'm afraid your frozen girl won't be doing much dancing this evening. Aquata!"

The single word is enough to command the monstrous youma, who had just deflected Cure Beauty's word with a sharp hunk of driftwood. Tossing it aside, she raises her pallid blue-grey arms, and two tendrils of water reach upward to grab the Pretty Cure and pull her under the waves of the pool, not to surface again.

Before he can see the outcome, the general looks back towards the raven princess. "My youma are an extension of my will. My words are their thoughts, my hands their actions. They merely provide a vessel for human energy, and an extra body to go where I cannot. Rest assured, I am not looking on passively."

Speaking of human energy, the words of Tuxedo Mask reach his ears, and Nephrite turns around to see the suited man that he has faced in battle twice now. He smirks, pleased at the anger in his voice when he brings up what Poema had done to Sailor Moon. "A proud achievement of mine, to be sure. I notice the soldier of the Moon is not among your number tonight. Nor are any of the others besides yourself, Jupiter. You must be feeling quite...abandoned," he says, now directing his words towards the green-colored Senshi. He's not quite sure what all is happening in their group at the moment, but his instincts tell him that if she's alone, not everything is good. "Either way, I am in no mood to hear your preaching tonight, Mask."

On cue, Aquata removes a seaweed strand from her hair, fashions it into a noose, then shoots it towards Tuxedo Mask, hand still holding onto the end of the ropey tendril to absorb whatever energy it steals.

At least, that was the plan. When a wave of amber energy and a hurricane of flower petals sweep over her, she loses her concentration somewhat. Blinded by the pink pollen, the mermaid lets out a scream of frustration, sending a tidal wave towards several of the warriors currently on the battlefield.

COMBAT: Nephrite has used Tidal Wave on Dark Amber.
COMBAT: Nephrite has used Tidal Wave on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Nephrite has used Seaweed Noose on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: Nephrite has used Arms of the Ocean on Cure Beauty.
COMBAT: Nephrite has used Precision Strike on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Nephrite has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Beauty narrowly counters Nephrite's Arms of the Ocean, taking 19 Fatigue damage! Cure Beauty's Tactician ability activates! Cripple applied to Cure Beauty!
COMBAT: Cure Beauty's counterattack, Precure Beauty Snowburst, partially gets through, doing 5 Fatigue damage to Nephrite! Critical Counterhit! Diversion applied to Nephrite!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji fails to dodge Nephrite's Tidal Wave, taking 18 Fatigue damage! Nephrite is Psyched! Exhausted applied to Fuu Hououji!
COMBAT: Dark Amber narrowly braces Nephrite's Tidal Wave, taking 14 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: The entered attack name could match more than one available attack. Please try being more specific.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask narrowly counters Nephrite's Seaweed Noose, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Nephrite drains 4 fatigue from Tuxedo Mask!
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask's counterattack, At The Last Second!, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Nephrite!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter narrowly counters Nephrite's Precision Strike, taking 0 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter's counterattack, Jupiter Thunderbolt, partially gets through, doing 7 Fatigue damage to Nephrite! Nephrite is Quipped!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Beauty [Infinity Institute (7)] has posed.

As the ocean's arms rise up to reach for her, she balances on an ice floe, spinning around into a backhand slash. A whiteout burst of snow billows above the pool, obscuring vision. However, for whatever mastery she may have over ice, the water is the Youma's domain. She's dragged under, and Nephrite's words ring true, she won't be doing too much dancing underwater.

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"I see people for what they are. Hideous, callow creatures!" Kraehe calls back, her voice high and fierce. "What reason do I have to see them as anything else? You are not inspiring confidence!"

The raven princess looks up to Nephrite, and then says with complete seriousness: "You didn't watch the presentation?"

She listens further to Nephrite's explanation, and then crosses her arms and looks upward toward the ceiling. Kraehe watches this nothing-is-there for a long moment, and then returns her red gaze to Nephrite. "The puppet master must be situated above his puppets, of course."

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

While her allies continue to engage the youma mermaid, both familiar and unfamiliar faces, the Wind Knight takes a moment to look over their opponent Thanks are answered with a smile and a quick but polite nod; she'll have to be more extensively polite later. Assuming there is a later, of course -

Which is when the youma answer to Final Fantasy's water summons, Leviathan, makes like the sea-serpent Eidolon and tries to drown most of them. The resulting wave hits the Wind Knight hard enough to wash her off her feet and slap her against the wall (or the fence, if it's an outdoor pool), leaving her coughing and spitting up water.

Fortunately, her bow and her arrows aren't really affected or weakened by submersion; she comes back up to her knees for now, drawing the arrow back, and letting it fly at Aquata. Her aim isn't great at the moment, but she can't let the others do all of the fighting.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Basic Archery on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Nephrite narrowly counters Fuu Hououji's Basic Archery, taking 5 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Nephrite's counterattack, Waterspout, partially gets through, doing 2 Fatigue damage to Fuu Hououji! Bind Break! All of Nephrite's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

People are getting dragged under the pool, and Nephrite's gloating, and the girl who slapped him like a piledriver for trying to dance with her is being annoyedly on the Dark General's side, and--

--right, noose, headed his way. There's a flicker of the sharp-dressed man's white glove, and then crackling red lightning as a rose cuts through the air and slices the noose in half while it's in flight. Unfortunately for Tuxedo Kamen, the wet remains of the clinging magic seaweed hit him: although it can't pull him down or bind him up, it's caustic, and it siphons energy away from him before drying up and flaking off. Meanwhile, there's water, water everywhere, and noplace to land that can guarantee any kind of traction. Stupid tiles. Stupid tidal waves.

Goddamn Nephrite.

"She's not alone," the youth calls out, loud and clear and firm, taking his hat from his head. "She'll never be alone! Unlike you-- even among your allies, you stand alone, don't you?"

Tuxedo Kamen stands tall, still up high, his white mask gleaming in the darkness. Like it's a cue, lightning flashes outside the windows again, making the water that's everywhere sparkle and the white tiles light up with a lurid flash. In that moment, he spins on his heel and flings his hat, not for the youma, but for Nephrite's face. If the bad guys' focus is on ''him'', Jupiter can--

COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has used Se?or del Antifaz on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Nephrite narrowly dodges Tuxedo Mask's Se?or del Antifaz, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Tuxedo Mask is Psyched! Nephrite's Fade ability activates! Nephrite's Flash ability activates! Diversion applied to Nephrite!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"He WHAT?!" Sailor Jupiter's voice rises sharply above the noise of the storm outside, and if anyone present thought she was angry before, it's only because they'd never seen her as she is now - face hard, eyes fierce, fairly *crackling* with an intense and focused fury. Any lingering uncertainty that Aquata's shriek might have left in Jupiter's heart is swept away in an instant - this fight is *personal* now.
"Shut up!" is her answer to Nephrite's taunting, and it's punctuated by the thin, bright line of electricity that leaps from her fingertips directly into the mermaid youma's body in a miniature echo of the lightning strike that flashes outside. "Don't talk like you know anything about my friends!"

Energy still sizzling and sparking around her hand, Jupiter raises her fist defiantly in the air. "Even when we're apart..." She's already starting forward as the electrical buildup mounts, thunder rumbling a warning outside. "...they're always giving me strength!"

She breaks into a run, and then she *leaps,* springboarding once off the precarious footing of a floating piece of ice before coming down fist-first, trailing an arc of lightning as she goes.

COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has used Lightning Fist on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Dark Amber raises his arms as a torrent of water rushes up and overhead. He manages to brace the water, swaying on his feet, but not being overtly moved, or allowing himself to push along. "Of course, Tuxedo Kamen." he calls back. "There's no doubt." he calls back. He frowns as he hrmphs. He looks between Nephrite and Tuxedo Kamen for a moment... regarding the two's banter back and forth, and the claim of 'He stabbed Sailor Moon'. This makes him frown just a little, but he hrmphs.
"But... Tuxedo Kamen"

He watches as he follows through with the hit. "Don't let your memories on this matter cloud your current judgement. Be sure this is his time." he asides. "And be sure you and your friend can see it through."

That Tidbit of counter advice given, he extends both his wrist blades again.

"However, things are looking good in our favor so far.", as he faces the Youma again.

COMBAT: Dark Amber has used Steel Your Memories on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: Dark Amber has finished attacking.
COMBAT: You don't have an incoming attack from Steel. Please check +queue to see your incoming attacks.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask accepts Dark Amber's Steel Your Memories, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Withstand applied to Tuxedo Mask!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Beauty [Infinity Institute (7)] has posed.

"People have so much inner beauty in their individual stories. In every single one there is a struggle to be better and nobler than they believe they are. Some fail, but that beauty is still always there, ready to be reclaimed. And what ugliness is there in inexperience? It has a charm all it's..." The ocean's arms rise up to reach for her, and she's cut off by the impressing need to react.

She balances upon an ice floe and spins around into a backhand slash. A burst of snow billows above the pool, obscuring vision. However, for whatever mastery she may have over ice, the water is the Youma's domain. She's dragged under, and Nephrite's words ring true, she won't be doing much dancing underwater.

Calming her mind, she brings her feet forward, then down and pushes against it with all of the Pretty Cure infused might. She launches upwards out of the water, and towards Aquata like a javelin, sword leading. As she breaks water, the splashing droplets freeze, bringing a sudden whiteout that leaves the feel of winter and a rain of sparkling snow drifting temporarily through the air.

COMBAT: Cure Beauty has used Precure Beauty Whiteout on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Cure Beauty has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Nephrite fails to brace Sailor Jupiter's Lightning Fist, taking 32 Fatigue damage! Sailor Jupiter is Psyched!
COMBAT: Nephrite narrowly counters Cure Beauty's Precure Beauty Whiteout, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Cure Beauty is Psyched!
COMBAT: Nephrite's counterattack, Seaweed Noose, partially gets through, doing 9 Fatigue damage to Cure Beauty! Nephrite drains 5 fatigue from Cure Beauty!

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

"Yes. That is my point entirely," Nephrite replies to Kraehe, amused at her remarks. "I wonder. Who is it that pulls your strings, blackbird?" He doesn't intend it as an insult so much as a roundabout way of asking 'who do you work for'. If asked the same, he would reply without hesitation, of course. Queen Beryl commands his actions, and he finds no shame in that. Only pride. He looks away to address Tuxedo Mask, who has chimed in with his own naive comments.

"Ah, but there is a difference between 'alone' and 'abandoned', isn't there?" he says, his stoic face betrayed a small smile. "I fight alone by choice. I highly doubt that Jupiter chooses to be without her allies today." At this, the girl in question speaks up, a lightning bolt shooting towards where he stands. He stops it with an outstretched hand, though he (almost) winces from the sting of it.

"On the contrary, my dear Senshi. I know the stars, and the stars know all. Your 'friends' are no exception." His eyes flash smugly. "I wonder -- perhaps it is you who does not know your friends?" He's lying through his teeth, of course. He doesn't know much of anything about the current Senshi situation, though he's hoping he can coax out a hint or two from the distraught soldier.

The man is caught totally off guard, however, when Tuxedo Mask's hat comes spinning towards him like a circular blade of a saw. He briefly flashes in and out of reality to avoid the razor-sharp rim, but misjudges his distance, and one sleeve of his uniform is cut open, the tiniest hint of green blood oozing out from underneath it. Nephrite's rage boils within him, his face hardening into an expression of deadly focus.

"Aquata. Kill these insolent fools."

Below him, the youma shrieks in obedience, commanding a waterspout around her that washes away the remnants of amber and pink, catching an arrow from the Wind Knight as it does so. Unfortunately, this cone of water around her blinds her to the oncoming danger of Sailor Jupiter's furious fist, which she cannot dodge as it runs into her. The current sparks along her damp body as the mermaid cries out in pain, then commands a tendril of seaweed from her hair to reach around her neck and /tighten/. She does the same for the approaching Precure, with minimal success. Angered and in pain, Aquata seizes control of the pool waters once again to bring the remaining magical warriors under and drown them, its liquid mass reaching out for each of them with strong, fluid arms.

COMBAT: Nephrite has used Seaweed Noose on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Nephrite has used Arms of the Ocean on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: Nephrite has used Arms of the Ocean on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Nephrite has used Arms of the Ocean on Dark Amber.
COMBAT: Nephrite has used Arms of the Ocean on Cure Beauty.
COMBAT: Nephrite has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Beauty narrowly dodges Nephrite's Arms of the Ocean, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cripple applied to Cure Beauty!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter perfectly dodges Nephrite's Seaweed Noose, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji fails to dodge Nephrite's Arms of the Ocean, taking 31 Fatigue damage! Cripple applied to Fuu Hououji!
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask fails to dodge Nephrite's Arms of the Ocean, taking 30 Fatigue damage! Cripple and Trap applied to Tuxedo Mask!
COMBAT: Dark Amber fails to dodge Nephrite's Arms of the Ocean, taking 28 Fatigue damage! Trap applied to Dark Amber!

<Pose Tracker> Princess Kraehe [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"You'll find the ravens flying above even the scaffolding, puppeteer," the ballerina replies, her tone pointed. "I am my father's daughter. That is enough."

Kraehe catches sight of that damnable hat. She presses her lips thin, even as it does her work for her and makes Nephrite look flustered. As much as Kraehe enjoys being the best in the room, the memories of

tuxedos

and

HUMAN DANCING

put a shiver in her spine. She hugs her arms to her chest, turning sharply away. A quartet of violins play a dramatic sting. As in, literal, disembodied music. The lead violin goes on to deliver a low, mournful line in the background.

"I'll leave you to practice your ghastly trade, then." The princess glances back to Nephrite, a grim smile curling her lips. "Until your queen next calls court!"

With a whirl and a storm of black feathers, Kraehe disappears. The violins sadly cease.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

The Wind Knight is still kneeling - or on one knee, at least - when the water reaches for her again.

And slams her into the wall or the fence or whatever, *again*, leaving her curled up around herself and coughing up a lung - or at least trying to expel the water that found its way down the wrong pipe. Fortunately, she manages to get the water out and regain her breath, but her head is spinning too badly for her to get up. She probably should wrap her attention around another casting of the Winds of Healing, but this monster's offensive power is overwhelming her, and probably the others - she can't even focus on where her allies ARE at the moment.

She can, however, squint through her glasses and confirm where the monster is - none of her allies are that set of colors, at any rate - and she clears her throat before holding her left hand out towards Aquata. "Imashime no Kaze!!" she calls out, and a whirlwind forms - the Winds of Admonishment manifesting to try and bind the youma in place, restricting its movement and its attacks, if she can 'lock in' the spell properly. If nothing else, maybe she can buy an opening that somebody else can capitalize on.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Imashime no Kaze on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Dark Amber is actually tugged under this time, despite his best intents to try to stay above water, or at least, not allow himself to be pushed around by it so much. Regardless, he gets washed under the wave of oncoming water. He manages to eventually get free when one of his chains rocket out, taking him along with it, too the rafters a moment. WELL. He frowns as he hrmphs, and turns back onto the Youma. He sighs and dives back downwards as he brings his hand up and extends his blade again, this time trying to come down with a hard striking motion downwards into the 'Mermaid' creature--- Aquata, was it?....

"I wonder......." he muses a bit as blade flashes across his vision, and hbopefully, across the form of the creature. He doesn't finish the sentiment.

COMBAT: Dark Amber has used Amber Striker on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Dark Amber has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Nephrite narrowly dodges Dark Amber's Amber Striker, taking 33 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Nephrite's Fade ability activates! Nephrite's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Nephrite narrowly braces Fuu Hououji's Imashime no Kaze, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji is Psyched! Cripple and Trap applied to Nephrite!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

The tendril of seaweed lashes out at Sailor Jupiter, only to whip through empty air as Jupiter ducks neatly away. She ends up standing on another piece of Cure Beauty's ice, a situation that can't last for long - wavering but keeping her balance for a moment, she quickly takes stock.

It's too dangerous to use lightning right now, with so many of her allies in the water. Nephrite is out of her reach up there in the rafters, so...

...Mako fixes her attention on the mermaid, turning her face away from the Dark General rather than have to admit that she has no answer for him. As much as she'd *dearly* love to punch his face in, she gathers herself and springs once more at Aquata - no lightning this time, just a good old-fashioned body-check. She'll beat the stupid thing against the bottom of the pool if she has to.

COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has used Supreme Suplex on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Beauty [Infinity Institute (7)] has posed.

Well at least she got to take a breath. A tendril of Seaweed yanks her backwards in mid-air, before she's able to land outside of the pool. An extremity fashioned by water tries to finish the job of drowning her. Fortunately, this time, as she's reached for, she freezes a part of the pool, and goes under herself as she's reached for. It crashes upon the floe of ice like a wave might, before she surges out of the pool.

It was a very minor victory given the seaweed tendril still wrapped around her, but at least she was out. Her chest heaves, as she gulps in air, she stands with a dignity and grace that seem to belie her true state. Even her hair seems to give lie to this with how lustrous full-bodied it looks despite having just been underwater. So tethered to Aquata, she leaps right at her, blade leading. She slashes again at the mermaid Youma, trailing sparkling snowflakes in her wake.

COMBAT: Cure Beauty has used Precure Beauty Frostbite on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Cure Beauty has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Nephrite fails to dodge Sailor Jupiter's Supreme Suplex, taking 26 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Nephrite narrowly counters Cure Beauty's Precure Beauty Frostbite, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Beauty is Psyched!
COMBAT: Nephrite's counterattack, Driftwood Spear, partially gets through, doing 9 Fatigue damage to Cure Beauty!

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Tuxedo Mask has a mantra. Well, he has several. The one he's currently using is 'Jupiter will gig 'em'. It's not clever, but it works just as well as something like 'guts guts guts'.

His face isn't even grim anymore, it's not even angry: it's just calm. It's calm as the water comes up and grabs him at Nephrite's youma's command; it's calm as the raven girl turns away to the sound of elegant music; it's calm as the fighting gets desperate.

As he's being dragged into the pool and under water, he can't move much, and he's about to not be able to breathe much-- but he can move a little bit.

It's enough. It's enough to ensure that the others will be able to stop this nonsense. He doesn't waste words: he takes a deep gulp of air and squirms one arm free to fling it outward at the water clinging to the others, slowing them down.

Once more, crackling red assaults the air, and beautiful brilliant red roses, more swift than darts and just as sharp, cut through the ropes of mobile water and quite literally boil it away on contact: the others are free to act without restriction.

COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has used Maskerade Rosen on Dark Amber.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has used Maskerade Rosen on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has used Maskerade Rosen on Cure Beauty.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Beauty accepts Tuxedo Mask's Maskerade Rosen, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Cure Beauty's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Dark Amber accepts Tuxedo Mask's Maskerade Rosen, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Dark Amber's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji accepts Tuxedo Mask's Maskerade Rosen, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Fuu Hououji's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

And away goes the mysterious raven princess, accompanied by a quartet of perfectly tuned strings. An odd encounter, to be sure; Nephrite is not quite sure why his Queen hasn't subjugated the rest of Dark Fall yet, so meeting other non-Dark Kingdom members always sets him the slightest bit on edge. But she's gone now, and while Nephrite quietly files her words away for further analysis, he focuses his attention on the present with deadly clarity.

What he sees makes him cringe. Aquata, savvy enough to try and pull the warriors under the waves, is thwarted when the blasted Tuxedo Mask breaks their watery binds with a skilled rose throw, leaving them to fight freely once again. Worse, the soldier of Jupiter appears to be deriving strength from hardship, for she wordlessly plows into the mermaid monster, sending her reeling backwards until she hits the wall with a near building-shaking impact.

There's total silence for a moment, then she shrieks in pain as her tail divides in two, reforming painfully into a pair of legs. It appears that this is her fate when she is not in or above a body of water. As she rights herself, she lets out another stricken cry, shifting her weight from one cursed foot to the next.

If any among them can recall their fairy tales, they'll remember that the original Little Mermaid felt like she was walking on broken glass whenever she took a step on her human feet.

Nephrite decides she will need his help. The human's energy was too weak, after all.

Teleporting to be closer to his youma, he summons his Dark Crystal and shoots a bolt of black lightning into the creature. Even in her weakened state, she feeds off its caustic energy, and slowly appears more stable, more sure of herself. Still, it would be unwise to remain in this state for much longer.

Aquata pushes her arms forward, demanding that the waters of the pool throw themselves against the wall, to make those in the wave's path know the pain she suffered -- still suffers. And, to ease her pain, she summons a spout of dark water from nowhere, dissipating the winds around her and trapping Sailor Jupiter in a small circle with her, surrounded on all sides by the youma's element. Using this, she summons another spear of driftwood and flings it at the one who had done so much damage to her.

Nephrite watches from above, unmoved.

COMBAT: Nephrite has used Tidal Wave on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: Nephrite has used Tidal Wave on Dark Amber.
COMBAT: Nephrite has used Waterspout on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Nephrite has used Driftwood Spear on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Nephrite has used Dark Gift on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Nephrite has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Nephrite accepts Nephrite's Dark Gift, taking 0 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Dark Amber fails to dodge Nephrite's Tidal Wave, taking 24 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Nephrite is Psyched!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter narrowly braces Nephrite's Driftwood Spear, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Sailor Jupiter's Block ability activates! Sailor Jupiter's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly counters Nephrite's Waterspout, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Bind Break! All of Nephrite's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji's counterattack, Reppu no Ya, partially gets through, doing 15 Fatigue damage to Nephrite! Critical Counterhit!
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask narrowly braces Nephrite's Tidal Wave, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Exhausted applied to Tuxedo Mask!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Beauty [Infinity Institute (7)] has posed.

As she's struck with a spear of driftwood, it thunks against her, tearing off some fabric of her uniform. She lands, and has time to catch her breath, only to watch.. in absolute horror, as the Youma's legs reform on land, and the agony as she takes one step, after another.

Cure Beauty recognizes the old tales. She was a Guardian of fairy tales and their realm. Not only had she read many of them in her youth, but she had made it a point to broaden her knowledge once this mantle was forced upon her. Some part of her wonders if Aquata was really a part of the Bad End Kingdom. She suddenly straightens, the dignified smile that often appeared upon her features fading as she looked at Nephrite, she raises her voice for the first time that they've witnessed. "What did you do to her?!" It's an accusation, as if he were responsible for some far greater crime in her eyes.

And then, she lowers her blade, to a casual position, as she addresses the Youma. "You don't need to do this. Like in the story of the mermaid, you can dream of something different and better than the existence he's laid out for you!" She certainly doesn't approach, as she recognizes the threat he poses, and the fact that she's going to likely have to destroy her makes her very sad.

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

He went under; he was under. And then the youma calls the water up out of the pool and sends it rushing toward the wall, slamming everyone in the water into the tile and concrete and rebar with it--

--and Tuxedo Kamen, in sock feet and missing his cape and (long since) his hat, hits the wall with a solid crack and uses it to kick off, head spinning as he gasps with burning lungs as soon as the water's receded enough. That kicking off? That's done explicitly to take advantage of the slick tiles. He's on the floor, sure, but the guy's suddenly rocketing toward the youma's shaky legs: bowling for monsters.

Or maybe...

[|B)

...playing pool.

COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has used Slip'n'Slide of the Damned on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Beauty has used Your Story doesn't have to End on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Cure Beauty has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

The rose thrown by the mysterious man in a tuxedo and a mask pierces through the water, freeing the Wind Knight to get back to her feet with a call of, "Thank you very much!" to him. She's seen Tuxedo Mask around at a few other battles, but isn't sure who else he normally fights beside.

The way the youma shrieks in pain when she assumes a humanoid shape with legs makes the Magic Knight of Wind cringe a bit, her attention drawn away from that mystery - and she DOES remember that old fairy tale, as luck would have it. Then there's a waterspout headed her way, and she whips another arrow out from her quiver, marshalling her magic and her willpower. "Reppuu no Ya!" she calls out, and as she looses the arrow, a surge of wind wraps around the shaft to straighten its flight and accelerate it towards the target at the same time; the enchanted shaft plows right through the waterspout and on towards the youma, smacking solidly into it. It's not enough to completely spare the Magic Knight from further injury, but it lessens what could have been very painful to merely stinging ...

And Aquata has broken out of the Imashime no Kaze, at some point, she realizes. Well, if she can't keep the monster bound with her wind magic, she'll have to fall back on other options. For now, she readies another arrow - not backed by wind magic this time, but merely by her own skills as an archer ..

And she tries to pin Aquata's legs together while the youma is still over relatively-dry land.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Trick Arrow Shot on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Dark Amber watches as Tuxedo Mask gets pullled under, with wide eyes... but.... no. Tuxedo Mask knows what he's doing. He can read the expression on his face. However, the momentary distraction prvents him from realizing that the creature is gathering her power again, as he atempts to leap to the rafters again. He doesn't quiiiite make it, being caught under again. Another quick breath before he just lets himself go with the floow and eventually, the water will find it's way out. When he stops, eventually, as he works himself up to his legs with a shake. Yeah---yeah this one may need an ER visit when this is over.

He flings a chain through the air, trying to wrap the thing up in a binding chain of amber.... maybe keep it weighed down in it's own mess for a bit if he's luckily.

COMBAT: Dark Amber has used Binding Amber Chain on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Dark Amber has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Nephrite fails to dodge Tuxedo Mask's Slip'n'Slide of the Damned, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Exhausted applied to Nephrite!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Cut off from her allies in the middle of the circle of dark, swirling water, Sailor Jupiter sees the spear of driftwood come flying at her and instinctively snaps up her arm to smack it away from her. The rough wood rips through her glove, drawing blood, but instead of impaling her the way it was meant to it goes spinning away, splashing into the wall of water to be carried upwards in its current.

"My turn," says Jupiter, and raises her fist.

Perhaps if she weren't riding on so much righteous fury, she too might have remembered the old fairy tale. Maybe if she weren't cut off from the others within the circle of water, she'd have heard Cure Beauty, and it might have caused her to think twice about this whole situation.

Instead, electricity once more arcing over her fingers and around her hand, Sailor Jupiter drives her fist straight for the youma's face.

COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has used Lightning Fist on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Nephrite fails to brace Dark Amber's Binding Amber Chain, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Dark Amber is Psyched! Tangle applied to Nephrite!
COMBAT: Nephrite fails to dodge Fuu Hououji's Trick Arrow Shot, taking 7 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Nephrite narrowly counters Cure Beauty's Your Story doesn't have to End, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Nephrite is Quipped!
COMBAT: Nephrite's counterattack, But It Does, partially gets through, doing 5 Fatigue damage to Cure Beauty! Cure Beauty is Quipped!
COMBAT: Nephrite perfectly dodges Sailor Jupiter's Lightning Fist, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Nephrite's Fade ability activates! Nephrite's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

Nephrite laughs -- an actual laugh, not just a dry chuckle -- at Cure Beauty's words, then teleports directly in front of her so that he can look her in the eye.

"You have some nerve, little girl. I will give you that," he says, towering over her and her torn uniform menacingly, Dark Crystal hovering in one hand. "But you are blindly naive. To look at this monster and see anything but molded clay, crafted only to serve myself and the Dark Kingdom. It surpasses mere idealism into stupidity." The crystal in his hand sparks, and a single bolt of lightning shoots towards the icy warrior as punishment for her hubris. "Real life is not like a children's storybook. Learn the difference or suffer."

The general steps to the side as more attacks are flung towards the youma, ensuring that he is not caught in the crossfire. At long last, Aquata seems to avoid Sailor Jupiter's damaging attack, only to be hit by two more: an arrow from the Wind Knight, the tip of a chain from Dark Amber, and Tuxedo Mask himself, having used the momentum from the tidal wave to propel himself forward. The not-mermaid is pushed back, away from the water that would soothe her pain, crying out every time one of her blighted feet makes contact with the ground. Eventually, she is thrown back into the wall herself, overwhelmed. Nephrite scoffs at her weakness.

"Aquata: I will lend you my power. Finish these scum and return their energy to our great ruler."

The youma steels herself, stands up, and screams. For she is capable of little else.

And the windows of the pool burst open, the storm from outside blowing in at full force as it rushes to the master that summoned it. True to his word, the Dark General shoots an infusion of darkness into his youma, who immediately channels it through her hands and into the air. Red and black clouds spawn from nowhere, as do bolts of black lightning and booming thunder. The waves of the pool spring to life one final time to pull the fighters under, while the sheets of rain from the false clouds batter those still standing with the force of razor-sharp hailstones.

For a moment, the indoor pool is transformed into an angry sea, and the pathetic pawn into its goddess, calling down the wind, rain, and lightning. They will know the fury of the ocean before they meet their end in its depths.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Nephrite has used Sailors Take Warning on Tuxedo Mask.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Nephrite has used Sailors Take Warning on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Nephrite has used Sailors Take Warning on Cure Beauty.
COMBAT: Nephrite has used Arms of the Ocean on Dark Amber.
COMBAT: Nephrite has used Arms of the Ocean on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Nephrite has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Dark Amber fails to dodge Nephrite's Arms of the Ocean, taking 36 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cripple and Trap applied to Dark Amber!
COMBAT: Cure Beauty narrowly braces Nephrite's Finisher, Sailors Take Warning, taking 11 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter narrowly braces Nephrite's Finisher, Sailors Take Warning, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Sailor Jupiter's Block ability activates! Sailor Jupiter's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Nephrite's Arms of the Ocean, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Cripple and Trap applied to Fuu Hououji!
COMBAT: Tuxedo Mask narrowly dodges Nephrite's Finisher, Sailors Take Warning, taking 32 Fatigue damage! Tuxedo Mask is unable to keep fighting! Tuxedo Mask's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Real life is like a grown-up's storybook.

Tuxedo Kamen can barely see; the chlorinated water makes his eyes burn, his ears are ringing, his inhuman strength is beyond flagging and well into the area of trembling limbs. His once-black formalwear is shredded and brown from the pool water, and the calm he'd settled into before is still there, tinged with mixed accusation and sorrow.

Behind the white mask, which against all odds is still on his face, his red-rimmed blue eyes stay locked on Nephrite as the man lands in front of Cure Beauty and lectures her, and as he gives the youma his power-- and as the youma screams.

Unsteadily, he starts to get to his feet--

--and the hail and the wind and the rain rip at him, bringing him back down to his knees. Still, his gaze never wavers. He's still looking at Nephrite, expression cold and spirit unbroken, when the wall of water crashes into him and pulls him under one more time.

This time, red blooms in the waves.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Beauty [Infinity Institute (7)] has posed.

The sudden zap, and jolt of electricity takes Beauty off-guard, sending her to her knees even as Zoisite descends to chide her for her naivete. "You're wrong!" She states in defiance, "The stories we tell children matter! They teach them valuable lessons, which allow them to grow up to become better people! The delight and awe they feel carries over to adulthood, and help them learn they don't have to become jaded and bitter from the ugliness they encounter!"

Beauty's open defiance is met by the pounding fury of the ocean, and she stands firm throughout the storm's wrath with arms shielding her face. The sheer force of it causes her boots to skid against the ground, before she's driven to her knees. It takes the formation of a literal ice patch behind her heels to keep her from being blown away.

At the end of it, she's breathing hard, her entire body is covered with wounds, but she's still upright..

"I'm sorry." She says to the Youma. Even if she was truly just evil power fashioned within clay, she still feels some measure of sympathy for her. Raising her smile compact to her chest, it becomes a cerulean starburst of power, she raises herself upright, and suddenly performs a half-turn spin, raising it up to her right hand, "Pretty Cure!"

Her left hand draws an X in mid-air. "Beauty..." She juts a hand downward into a | between the X which grows outward forming a sublime masterpiece of transparent fractals, a snowflake. "...Blizzard!"

The snowflake dissolves into a storm of sparkling snow, and ice that flows outwards into a storm over a wide area, freezing every drop of moisture that comes between it and it's target.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Beauty has used Beauty Blizzard on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Cure Beauty has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

Another blast of water slams the Magic Knight of Wind against the wall hard enough for her to collapse to her knees ... which, ironically, means she's not in the full teeth of the storm when it gets pulled in from the outside. The Wind Knight has to take a few seconds to catch her breath and gather her focus, too ... but there's a little bit of anger in the back of her head now. Somebody ELSE is harnessing the wind.

Which wouldn't be so bad if it were at least an ally doing it. But this is the *bad guys* commanding the elements as a weapon ... and the Wind Knight takes advantage of the wall at her back to push herself back to her feet. "You want to make the storm your weapon ... let me show you how it's done!"

She steps forward, forcing herself to remain vertical as she gathers her will and her magic, bringing her arms up and back before she shouts, "MIDORI NO SHIPPUU!!" and whips her arms forward, left then right - and the Emerald Tornado erupts, a vortex of rending wind tinted green by her power as it pierces the opposing tempest, trying to lift Aquata into the air and hold her immobile for Cure Beauty's own icy finisher - and for the others, as they unleash their attacks in turn.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Fuu Hououji has used Midori no Shippu: Full on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Nephrite narrowly braces Fuu Hououji's Finisher, Midori no Shippu: Full, taking 28 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Nephrite narrowly dodges Cure Beauty's Finisher, Beauty Blizzard, taking 28 Fatigue damage! Nephrite's Fade ability activates! Nephrite's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Dark Amber manages to barely, barely keep above the waves this time, as he grabs a bar. He closes his eyes and he just weathers it out. Think good thoughts.... think. good. thoughts. Nrgg, but where's Aimi when you /need/ her? He manages to not completely sccummb, however, looks like he should had, a few moments ago. He stands up to his feet. "We still draw breath....." he insists. But where's Tuxedo Mask!?

Regardless, that's not at the forefront of his mind, right now is concentrating... as as he can through the haze that his mind currently is in. He closes his minds and.....

With a brown wisp, appears overhead of the youma, trying to draw his hand back and shove it against the thing's forehead. "Dark Amber......"

Then there's just an explosion of sharded, gem-like amber in his wake. "Crush....!"
COMBAT: FINISHER! Dark Amber has used Dark Amber Crush on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Dark Amber has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Nephrite narrowly braces Dark Amber's Finisher, Dark Amber Crush, taking 49 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"--TUXEDO MASK!" The cry rips from Sailor Jupiter's throat as she sees her ally vanish beneath the roiling water, her voice rising above the howl of the storm winds. Those winds batter at her, lashing her hair around her face, stinging her with rain, but she barely seems to notice - it's what Nephrite's done to his youma, the things he's said to her, what he's done to her *friend* that has her eyes wide with shock and horror.

"How dare you..." Her fists clench at her sides, electricity already beginning to spark around her with the force of her emotions. For a moment she's almost too furious to care that in all this water there's no way she could avoid catching *everyone* if she were to call down the lightning now, desperately has to remind herself that it wouldn't be worth it...

...until Cure Beauty freezes the water around the youma, and the Magic Knight's whirlwind lifts Aquata up from the waves, and suddenly Jupiter has a clear, perfect shot.

"How DARE you!" she shouts again, the tiny lightning rod beginning to rise from her tiara in a halo of crackling energy. "I'll show you a *true* storm! My guardian, Jupiter!" She's calling out to the sky now, not the fake storm clouds within the room, but the real stormy sky outside through the broken windows. "Answer my call! Lend me your power! BRING DOWN THE LIGHTNING!"

She throws out her hand, pointing at the youma, energy building around her in blazing arcs until she's all but silhouetted within it. "SUPREME THUNDER!"

Thunder booms outside in answer, a wall-shaking clap of sound as a column of lightning races down from the sky through an empty window frame towards the mermaid.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Sailor Jupiter has used Supreme Thunder on Nephrite.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Nephrite fails to brace Sailor Jupiter's Finisher, Supreme Thunder, taking 108 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

Another Senshi to tick off the list, if the bubbling cloud of red in the water is any indication. Nephrite smiles, satisfied. True, Tuxedo Mask had done little more than throw roses, hats, and flowery words, but the other Senshi seemed to value his presence highly. His death will certainly be a blow to their morale, even if he couldn't quite discern what great event the stars had previously foretold.

Then the more powerful attacks begin, and the general teleports to a shadowy rafter a safe distance away from Aquata. For all he claims that his youma are extensions of himself, it is only they who feel the pain of retribution.

As her hold on the storm weakens, creature feels herself lifted out from the water by powerful winds, causing her tail to split once more into a pair of pained legs. Before she can scream, however, an icy wind blasts her with gale force, freezing the remaining droplets of water on her that give her strength, all the while cutting her with bits of razor ice. Cure Beauty's apology grows meaningless as Dark Amber conjures an explosion of amber above her head and rains down the crushed pieces of gems, sticking into her skin and burrowing between her scales.

She squirms, flails, and cries as the true power of lightning gathers around Sailor Jupiter, but it is not enough to save her from the blast that very nearly rocks the building. A blinding bolt of Jupiter's thunder crashes down, /through/ her body.

And she disintegrates completely, a cloud of dust blowing away in the wind.

Where she used to stand is a ball of transparent vital energy that immediately begins to unravel, flowing naturally back into the collapsed boy, who by some miracle had avoided becoming collateral damage in the great battle. A rivulet of this flow strays away from the rest and goes, instead, towards Nephrite, who hovers above the battlefield while he collects the energy in the Dark Crystal, which pulses with added power. It is a very, very small amount compared to what he got from the last battle. But, considering the other victories of the fight, he does not mind.

"Well done, warriors. You have defeated poor Aquata at long last," he says, his tone patronizing. "I'm sure Tuxedo Mask would be glad to know he gave his life for such /selfless/ fighters. Spouting childish rhetoric while letting a friend fall in battle. Truly, it is you who have the moral high ground here." The man grasps the Dark Crystal, now that the energy has returned (almost) completely into its host. "You will see more of me, I assure you."

His eyes linger over each member of the battle, though especially long over Sailor Jupiter and the bloody splash of water in the pool. And with that, Nephrite vanishes into thin air.

-----
:EPILOGUE
-----

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

AND THEN.... that attack pretty much took it out of him. He was on edge. Now he's pretty well passed that. He hears a lot of voices. Some sort of insitutation Tuxedo Kamen is dead!? Surely not He looks around frantically as these words cause him to come too and spout out vitriol at Nephrite. "This bad memory you had create tonight......!" he snaps.

"I'll PIERCE YOUR DAMN HEART WITH IT." he calls out as he looks around frantically. Tuxedo Kamen went......

He jumps into the rafters and peers down into the pool as he spots the black caped figured in the water. He goes ahead and dives in.......

Immediatly after a chain with a blade on the other end shoots out pool and sort of ziplines Dark Amber and Tuxedo Mask onto the pavement by the pool with a little roll.

Pulse check. He uses the same method he did with the boy from earlier. Two fingers against the wrist. This is probably not medically accurate in any sense.

Like you care.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

The youma is history, and Nephrite is gone... but though he may have been defeated, he got in the last word, and he aimed it well. As stillness descends, broken for the most part only by the rain coming in through the broken windows, Sailor Jupiter's gaze falls to the dark shape floating in the pool in a cloud of pink... and, stricken, she wavers and drops to her knees. "..I..."

Maybe Nephrite is right. Maybe he was right about *everything.* She scrambles toward the edge of a pool on hands and knees in a sudden, clumsy panic. She's got to get him out of the water - he can't be dead, everything's already wrong as it is--

Fortunately, Dark Amber was more on the ball, and by the time she reaches the edge of the pool he's already towed Tuxedo Kamen safely out onto (relatively) dry ground. With no notion of what she can possibly do to help, Jupiter hovers anxiously, watching with wide eyes. "Is he...?"

<Pose Tracker> Cure Beauty [Infinity Institute (7)] has posed.

It's still difficult for her to watch, as Aquata is destroyed. Even with the reassurance that she's formed from clay and darkness. Weren't humans formed from clay in some myths, after all? She eventually tears her gaze away, looking at her patronizing master with an unflinching expression, until she comprehends exactly what he's said. The condescension may be very much warranted in this case.

She's already taking off for the pool, when she realizes that Dark Amber has already acted. Her pace is hurried to his side, but it doesn't break her aura of calm. While he has his hand on her pulse, she instead kneels and puts her ear down to his chest to make certain it's rising and falling.

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

'"'that Tuxedo Mask gave his life for"''

The pool water's murky from cement dust and pink from blood. As it stills it gets darker around the boy at the bottom of the pool, until Dark Amber stirs the water again and the stinging chlorine is possible to see through. There's the masked hero, facedown, drifting slightly; he's dead weight to pull up, but at least the cape is gone.

Set down on the tiles, he's a dodden mess of bleached-brown silk rags, his shoes and gloves are missing, and he's got a zillion tiny cuts and abrasions, and it's the back of his head that's bleeding, but that's all incidental. In order: his pulse is present but thready, his lips are bluish, and no, he's not breathing. His chest isn't rising and falling.

It's not just the pulse Dark Amber finds, though--

At the contact of skin on skin, the Perfume Warrior will find himself plunged into what actually seems like another world for a moment, before it's recognisable as memory. A pale hallway, airy, carved from luminous white stone, with wide steps between arches open to the outside. The point of view moves toward the stars and up them, and there's the glowing and backlit figure of a beautiful girl at the top, standing at the balcony railing. Her gown is a diaphanous white thing, and she's ethereal and sorrowful.

Her voice is like a forgotten melody, and a sense of desperate longing and gut-wrenching homesickness permeates everything, but it's not part of the memory. Or dream--? "The silver Crystal," she chimes, "please, you must--"

She freezes, panic entering her voice. "End--"

Everything's suddenly dark, and immediately thereafter, there's warm gold everywhere and Kinzo's abruptly back in the dim wreck of the pool room holding Tuxedo Mask's wrist and the unconscious boy's chest is suddenly convulsing with being about to cough up half the pool.

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Dark Amber doesn't have a pulse... "Goddamn! He's not------"

Then... well. Suddenly being 'transported to a dream world' isn't the most insane thing that's happened to him this year, but familarity sets in. He's in a memory. Or so. He thinks. He spies the girl, her tone of voice.... the memory reeks of homesickness, a bad memory, or one,... associated with something terrible. 'Find the Silver Crystal'? What..... could- is this one of Tuxedo Kamen's memories? But why? What happened to cause this? Does he NEED To know or-----

Then suddenly, a burst of gold and he's convulsing and about to cought....

"---breathing....." he sort of sakes his head a bit and grabs it.

"....I didn't go anywhere just now... right?" he asks to the gathered group concernedly.

"I...I think I need, a minute." he says grabbing his forehead.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

For half a heartbeat, the bottom drops out from under Sailor Jupiter at Dark Amber's words. How could this have happened? How could she have *let* it happen?

Then, mercifully, Tuxedo Mask begins coughing and the breath goes out of Jupiter in a sudden, relieved rush. He's alive. They're alive. They're all kind of a *mess,* but at least everyone is alive. Righting herself a bit, she moves to support Tuxedo mask. "Easy there," she says, looking worriedly from him to Dark Amber and back. "You didn't go anywhere. Are you okay?" The question encompasses all three of them, as she looks again to Dark Amber and then to Cure Beauty. "Is everyone okay?"

Please be okay. Punching bad things is one matter, but Jupiter doesn't know what to do when her friends aren't okay.

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Dark Amber nods. "Yeah, just..... nevermind. I guess my ... powers must have kicked in or something. Sorry." he says as he shakes his head. He keeps it to himself otherwise. He looks around. "I'm alright. I should probably go check myself into the hospital after this." he says as he stands up with a shaky stance. "Shouldn't he go, too?" he asks, motioning to Tuxedo Kamen.

"He seems to be coming to at least now..." he says.

<Pose Tracker> Tuxedo Mask [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

'Coming to' is probably a generous term for it; it's pure reflex that causes the boy to curl in and sideways, supported by Jupiter as he coughs out the nasty pool water. And then he just shivers, not with-it enough to answer just yet. Sirens begin to approach, audible through the broken windows, still letting in the wind and rain from the natural storm outside.

Tuxedo Kamen might not be okay right this second, but he ''will'' be all right.

Will Sailor Jupiter?

2014-08-17 - Storms on the Rainbow Bridge! Mako-chan's Heart is Tested

2014-08-22T17:59:38Z

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Storms on the Rainbow Bridge! Mako-chan's Heart is Tested'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Makoto has a really, really, really bad day. First Dark Mercury invites her over to ruin it, and then Nephrite stops by to make sure it's ruined, and after all that, the only person who can save a day that totally spoiled is Sailor Moon. Luckily, much to Nephrite's consternation, she's not dead after all!''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Makoto Kino|Sailor Jupiter]], [[Ami Mizuno|Dark Mercury]], [[Nephrite]], [[Usagi Tsukino|Sailor Moon]], [[Mamoru Chiba]], [[Mio Kuroki]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
The Rainbow Bridge
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
27 February 2014 - 8/17/2014
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Shoe lockers are always the target of notes -- though this note had been a little on the unusual side. All it offers is a short, clipped command -- 'Meet me at the Rainbow Bridge after school.' Typed, it offers no indication of its potential sender -- perhaps a love confession? Or something else entirely, perhaps...

The bridge is much emptier than it should be this early in the day; indeed, not a single soul seems to be on it. It's possible the note was a prank, of course -- but then, would that explain /no/ people? If ever there was a time to have a bad feeling about something, this was it.

It seems a little cold, even for February...

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

When she first finds the note in her shoe locker, Makoto is more surprised and curious than anything. Such a plain, terse message doesn't really seem to her like a prelude to a love confession - and anyway, who'd be leaving ''her'' a love letter? - but if that's not it, what else could it be about, and who could it be from?

Only one way to find out. With all sorts of possibilities running around in her mind, Mako leaves school and heads straight for the bridge, school bag in hand and tiny little hopes fluttering in her heart.

When she reaches the Rainbow Bridge and finds it strangely deserted, however - Makoto's green eyes go sharp and wary as she looks around her. Even in the cold of February, at this time of day there should be ''someone'' around. For there to be no one in sight at all... something is definitely not right.

Her fingertips seek out the smooth surface of her transformation pen, and lifting her face toward the bay Makoto closes her eyes, searching for answers in the cold salt wind that blows in off of the water, for some sense of what's coming.

''What is it?''

<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

No cars, no people. It's downright eerie -- and it stays the case. As Makoto reaches for her transformation pen, she feels the vague sensation of a presence behind her for a split second; if she looks, it's gone, of course.

Another moment, however, and the likely source reveals herself -- and it is, of course, Ami, or more accurately, Dark Mercury. It certainly makes sense -- Ami's still been in school, and indeed, seems to have taken to it with a newfound vigor -- but... why?

Her regard for Makoto is much chillier than the wind. "I'm glad you came," she says, with a smile on her face -- one a little too sharp to indicate a sudden change of heart. "I've been looking forward to this."

Though her posture doesn't indicate any loss of her nerve, there /is/ a very slight hitch in her voice as she asks, "... Are you sure you won't come with me? To Labyrinth?" She knows the answer... but knowing the answer and asking anyway is part of good science.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Makoto turns sharply, eyes opening - and when Dark Mercury makes her entrance, she understands just slightly too late what the purpose of the note was, and a look of something like resignation, tinged with sorrow, comes over her face.

Oh. Of course.

She listens to Ami speak, watches that cold, sharp smile on her friend's face with troubled eyes. The wind stirs her hair around her face, but Makoto doesn't move a muscle, swept by a brief but dizzying feeling of deja vu--

(Have they had this conversation before?)

The feeling passes. Mako's hand closes around her transformation pen, but she doesn't take it out yet.

"Ami-chan..." Her voice is steady, quiet. "You know I can't do that. You shouldn't, either." As she searches her friend's face, a pleading note creeps into Makoto's eyes. "I know I don't understand everything you've been going through, but - joining those guys and helping them hurt people - it can't really make you happy, can it?"

<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Clenching her fists, Ami says, "It can. It does." She takes a half-step forward, eyes narrowed. "And you're right -- you /don't/ understand." She stays still, but the air starts to get chillier still, just slightly; something's building inside her.

The data diamond that now forms the center of her tiara glints just slightly as she says, "At least when you were alone, you were the /good/ kind of alone. No one /expects/ anything from /you/."

Ami's voice is much less steady as she says, "You don't have to be afraid that if you decide you want to do something else, people will stop caring about you! You don't have to be scared that people will stop loving you if you fail!" Regarding Mako much more coolly than before, Ami finishes, "Mobius-sama let me find a purpose -- one that won't leave me. One last time, Mako-chan. Come with me to Labyrinth." How quickly she's talked herself back out of caring.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

''Beware,'' whispers the breeze that swirls over the bridge. ''Beware.''

Ami's words strike home; Makoto flinches, hurt and regret furrowing her brow. "Is that really how we made you feel...?" she whispers. How could they have failed so badly? Even though Ami is such a precious friend--

There's nothing for Makoto do but bow her head in abject apology. "I'm sorry," she says, in a voice that shakes faintly with emotion. "I'm sorry that you felt like that, and we didn't notice. If we'd known, we would've told you right away how that could never happen."

Now at last she takes out the Jupiter pen, lifting her hand to raise it over her head even as she almost cringes away from it. She doesn't want to do this. The words come out not as a shout of command, but heavy instead with sorrow and resignation: "Jupiter power - Make Up."

In an instant, electricity blooms from the pen's Jupiter symbol, swirling around her in a rush of crackling energy, transforming Makoto Kino into Sailor Jupiter. As the dazzle of light fades away, she faces her friend with eyes filled with sorrow. "You should know already, Ami-chan... there's no good kind of alone."

COMBAT: Makoto Kino transforms into Sailor Jupiter!
COMBAT: Ami Mizuno transforms into Youma Form Dark Sailor Mercury!

<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

The apology comes too late; Ami's stopped listening by this point -- she hears, but she refuses, adamantly, to actually /listen/. Her eyes rest on Makoto as she transforms, and in the light of the rainbow bridge, Ami waits for Makoto to finish transforming. Her teeth grind, and in an uncharacteristically forward maneuver, she rushes straight up to Sailor Jupiter.

"I suppose you'd know best," Mercury chides, as she comes in for a forceful uppercut, wreathed in chilly bubbles. They're just that little bit murkier and oilier than her former waves of pure, fresh water.

"Do you miss it, then? Do you miss having someone helpless to protect?" She's just trying to hurt Jupiter now -- throwing out anything she can think of. "Is that why you won't come -- because in Labyrinth, I'm not weak anymore?"

COMBAT: Dark Mercury has used Dark Aqua Ribbon Upper on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Dark Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter fails to dodge Dark Mercury's Dark Aqua Ribbon Upper, taking 49 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

She should've been expecting it, but she wasn't. Makoto is still flat-footed as Dark Mercury rushes her; she tries to get out of the way of Ami's punch, but too late, and the fist slams squarely into her jaw, releasing the torrent of dark bubbles into her face. She reels and staggers backwards, knocked so badly off balance that she goes down onto one knee and has to catch herself with a hand to the ground, stars dancing in her vision from the force of the impact.

"--That's not it!" Her sinuses stinging from the rank water the bubbles forced up her nose, Sailor Jupiter drags her gloved hand over her face to clear her eyes, then pushes herself back up onto her feet. This time, she takes a defensive posture, crossing her arms in front of her. The message is clear - she has no intention of attacking. "I've never once thought you were weak! I only protected you because you're important to me!"

<Pose Tracker> Dark Mercury [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" Ami asks, watching Sailor Jupiter withdraw into that defensive posture. "I nearly broke your jaw, and you /still/ won't attack me!" She hangs back for a few moments as well, but it's not out of mercy -- just out of anger.

"Of all the people I expected to start crying and whining in a fight... I thought /you/, at least, would be able to find it in your heart. But no -- you're afraid of hurting me. So you won't." Walking toward Makoto slowly and evenly, she levels her gaze at her, saying, "Do you really expect me to be /moved/ by that? That by refusing to fight back, you'll appeal to some 'better nature' in me?"

Reaching out toward Jupiter, she moves not to hurt her, as such -- but just to reach for her chin and cup it roughly. "If you really respected me -- if you /really/ thought I wasn't weak -- you'd come at me with everything you have," she explains, clearly angry... but with just a hint of the hurt driving that anger underneath.

COMBAT: Dark Mercury has used Surgical Wit on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Dark Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter narrowly braces Dark Mercury's Surgical Wit, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Jupiter is Quipped! Sailor Jupiter's Block ability activates! Sailor Jupiter's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Sailor Jupiter holds her ground as Ami walks toward her, right up until the moment that hand reaches up toward her face - then she jerks back away from the touch, a single half-step putting a small amount of space between them.

Her defensive stance doesn't change, however. Though her shoulders twitch as Ami's words strike home, a tiny breath hitching in through her teeth, she still offers no aggression. "...if that's how you feel, then I can't help it," she says. "It has nothing to do with whether you're strong or weak. You're my ''friend,'' Mercury. Even if you hate me now, you're still my friend. I can't fight you."

<Pose Tracker> Dark Mercury [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Looking away as if in disgust, Mercury spits, "If we were friends, you'd fight harder for me. If you loved me, you'd hurt me." Everyone else who does seems to, Ami reminds herself -- a thought that leaves her muscles tense and her heart all the more in the fight. "I'm ashamed I asked you to come." She continues moving toward Makoto, her pace as even and casual as before.

At point-blank range now, she raises her hands, crying out, "Dark Sabao Spray!!" The world around them fills with bubbles and mist, going from the pleasant blue of the sky and the bay to an oozey, inky green. Cold and clinging, the mist envelops the senshi, making it hard to see save for vague silhouettes...

COMBAT: Dark Mercury has used Dark Sabao Spray on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Dark Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter fails to dodge Dark Mercury's Dark Sabao Spray, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Blind, Cripple, and Stun applied to Sailor Jupiter!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Once again, Sailor Jupiter tries too late to duck out of the way of the attack, only to be deluged in bubbles - even if she could've avoided the spray itself, there's no escaping the oppressive cloud of mist that now surrounds her, stealing away sight and leeching the warmth from her skin.

Wrapping her arms around herself against the chill, she searches the fog, eyes straining to try to pick out Ami's shape in the shifting, indistinct shadows around her. "Fighting for you and fighting you aren't the same thing," she insists. "You're not my enemy, so how could I possibly fight you? It's because I love you that I can't hurt you! Please, Mercury--"

<Pose Tracker> Dark Mercury [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"You just love the /idea/ of me," Ami's voice says, from the shadows. "If you /really/ loved me, you'd either fight back or come with me! This is just embarrassing!" Her voice seems to come from all around -- making her sudden advance all the more startling.

It's not like Ami to come in this close to fight with such regularity -- she can do it, she's gotten... /more/ comfortable, in close, over time -- but she's gotten much more physical, stepping out of the fog with a forceful kick to the stomach with those long swimmer's legs.

"I wonder if Sailor Moon will be this much of an embarrassment," she remarks, absently, as she comes in.

COMBAT: Dark Mercury has used Standing Medium Kick on Sailor Jupiter.
COMBAT: Dark Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter narrowly braces Dark Mercury's Standing Medium Kick, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sailor Jupiter's Block ability activates! Sailor Jupiter's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

The kick lands solidly; Jupiter's breath goes out of her in a sharp, startled "--nnh!" and her lips curl back in a grimace from her gritted teeth. Still, though, she doesn't bend or falter, just looks toward Mercury through the blinding mist.

"What would it prove for me to fight you? It wouldn't change your mind, would it?" Makoto's voice is quiet, but thick with feeling. "I can't make my feelings reach you that way. I don't know what to do, or how to help you... I just don't want you to be hurt any more."

Though she can't see clearly, she reaches out both hands, palms up, open and pleading. "Please come back, Mercury. Whatever's wrong, we can make it right together, I know we can."

<Pose Tracker> Dark Mercury [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"..." Makoto brings up a good point. What /was/ Ami expecting? That Makoto'd come with her? That she'd fight Ami, and lose, and then she could carry her off to Labyrinth and she'd see the light just like Ami had? That she'd fight Ami, and win, and... and then what, exactly?

She takes a deep breath, turning her whole body away. "... you really don't get it, do you? There's nothing wrong. Not anymore." ... maybe the only thing she was really planning was to make Makoto miserable.

Mission accomplished, she reflects, as her boots clack-clack-clack back away from the bridge.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"...That's..."

Part of Makoto screams at her not to just let Ami leave - to go after her, to stop her, to do ''something'' to make her understand how wrong this all is. The rest of her flounders in confusion and hurt. Trapped in a storm of conflicting emotions, not sure what to do or if there's anything she ''can'' do that would even be of any help, she can only stand helplessly and watch as Ami's figure dissolves into the lingering mist and at last even the sound of her friend's footsteps has died away.

Silence descends, filled only by the sounds of the bay. Jupiter wavers on her feet, and then her legs give out beneath her and she crumples slowly down onto her knees. The air stirs around her, the tiniest crackle of static electricity, and then Sailor Jupiter is gone and it's just Makoto, sitting forlornly on the empty Rainbow Bridge, shoulders trembling with the futile effort of holding back tears.

"...That's not true at all," she whispers, but Ami's long gone.

COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter transforms into Makoto Kino!
COMBAT: Dark Mercury transforms into Ami Mizuno!

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

Nephrite has had plenty of time to think since he last visited Makoto Kino.

When he left her humble apartment that night, he had all but sworn that he would track her down again immediately, not wasting any time in unraveling the mysteries surrounding her. Leaving her as a loose end was not only negligent and irresponsible -- it was dangerous. Very rarely did mortal girls move in the circles of magic with no reason. The sooner he hunted her down and wrested the truth from her, the more secure the interests of the Dark Kingdom would be.

And yet...here he is, atop his crystalline throne with a glass of whiskey in one hand. No results, no answers. Simply tracking the map of Tokyo in his observatory, following one very specific speck of light as it moved throughout the day. He has been holding back. *Intentionally*, he tells himself. To plan his next move carefully, to ensure there would be no repeats of catching the girl with a friend.

But is that really--

/Of course that's the reason,/ he thinks as he takes a drink, eyes not moving from the map above him. But he is not as able to efficiently kill the doubt, not like he has in the past. It's a supremely unsettling feeling. And it all started with her.

No more. Stars as his witness, he is putting an end to this tonight. With a flickering of shadow and a last glance towards his location, Nephrite disappears.

Only to land in a chill mist.

"Wh--" he says with a slight startle, bringing an arm to his face to keep away the encroaching cold. This...why would Makoto Kino be in a place like this? Silently, the general summons his Crystal and lets out a dark pulse that sends the billowing mass away. Not dissipating it completely, for he can tell it came from a powerful magic user and he does not feel like wasting his own strength to eradicate it. But it clears the area of the deadly chill, and lifts the shroud on their silhouettes.

He still has not found his mark, but he knows she is there. "It seems you have a knack for getting into trouble, girl."

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

She's really not sure how long she stays there alone, shivering in the lingering mist of Dark Mercury's power, drowning in her own emotions. Maybe it hasn't been very long at all, although it feels like it's been hours since Ami walked away.

All that Makoto knows is that suddenly she snaps back to awareness to find herself no longer alone - and somehow she knows that voice, knows who it is even before the pulse of dark power rolls back the fog enough to reveal her sitting there.

"--Nephrite." She breathes out the name before it can even occur to her to think better of speaking.

The memory of everything that happened that night in her apartment rushes through her head, and in an instant she's drawn so tense that she almost vibrates with it. She should've been more careful - he'd said it wasn't over, she should've known he'd be back, but for him to find her now, like this--

Her chin lifts, mouth tight, eyes hard despite the lingering glimmer of tears. "Go away," she says mulishly, voice flat and heavy and more tired than she'd like. "I don't have time for you today."

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

He has not yet seen the Kino girl -- though his teleportation skills were exact, the mist had thrown him off some, unfortunately losing him the element of surprise and a preliminary survey of their surroundings. Now that he has a slightly less hindered view, his tactician's mind begins scanning what he can see, peering through the dispersing clouds to see the horizon. The Rainbow Bridge, if the multicolored lights coming into view are any indication. An odd place for a student to be so late at night, especially enshrouded by magical fog.

"I'm afraid you don't give me orders, Makoto Kino," Nephrite says with a single, harsh laugh, beginning to turn around to look her in the eye. "If you had given me the answers I sought the first time, perhaps I wouldn't--"

He is not a man easily surprised, but he feels the words die in his mouth as he takes in the battered form of the girl, finally putting together the evidence of the scene. The remote location. The remains of magical combat. Her wounds and exhaustion, not only in body, but in spirit, if her eyes and voice are any indication. Makoto Kino had just been assailed by someone and left for dead.

A curious change comes over the man. Not any kind of softness, nor a dampening of his drive or cruel intentions. For a brief moment, he closes his mouth and maintains a taut, almost emotionless expression. And his eyes glint with...pity?

If it was, it morphs quickly into condescension, and he adopts the mien of a predator who decided the prey was not worth stalking. "Tell me what transpired here. Immediately."

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"No." Makoto's answer is quiet, immediate, and stubborn beyond all reason. Her heart is racing, her body is stiff and aching and she has to get up, she can't just keep on sitting here like this waiting for him to get around to finish what he started before.

With this thought, she draws in a deep breath and begins to pick herself up, getting slowly and ungracefully back onto her feet and wavering for a moment before she braces her stance enough to be sure that she can stay upright. She's not in much of a shape to fight, and even if she were she's already had it demonstrated in abundant clarity just what the difference in their strength is, but--

"We went over this already, didn't we?" Mako says, and can't keep herself from wincing a little, sure that this is not going to help her situation even as she pushes right along and keeps talking. "I'm not going to tell you anything. What difference does it make to you, anyway?"

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

No? She stands before a conduit of power greater than anything she has ever known -- and she chooses to say no?

Nephrite's eyes alight with surprise, though that is almost outweighed by the anger that such a simple response sparks in him. What unimaginable audacity, what great stupidity compels her to keep standing up before him? Beaten and broken, chilled to the core, she should barely have any strength left in her. And yet she chooses to fight.

His expression hardening again, he closes the distance between them and shoves her roughly to the ground again, not abiding them standing even near the same height. No, he is the superior here. /He/ is the one with power, she the one choosing to tempt fate with her defiance. She would do well to remember that, as well as the fact that his actions are /merciful/ compared to what they could be.

The man tries to sound calm and composed when he responds to her, but he can't quite manage it. His baritone voice is live with righteous fury, and he can barely contain the strain behind his words. Showing emotion like this to the enemy is a weakness, but as it stands, it is one he has no control over.

"You dare to ask questions of me? You are a /worm/ compared to the might of the Dark Kingdom, and yet you continue to spit in my face. What will it take to demonstrate my full strength?" he all but yells, standing menacingly above her as a rumble of thunder sounds in the distance. "Should I crush this bridge with a thought? Should I command my ghost to possess your mind and wrest each secret you've ever kept until I find what I'm looking for? Should I find this friend of yours and show them that, in this world, there are many, many worse things than the anonymous Mobius you claimed hurt them so badly? Should I perhaps do that while you *watch*?"

A lightning bolt streaks across the sky, and Nephrite takes a deep breath and swallows, fighting to contain his rage at her insolence. He should not be the one upset in this situation; the fact that he is is a terrible sign. It means she's winning, just by standing up and saying no. He can't have that.

He takes a step backward, a veneer of icy neutrality once again coming over his expression. "You have no reason to hide what I'm asking of you, Kino. You were clearly attacked. What allegiance do you owe the attacker?"

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

--running her mouth was clearly a mistake.

Alarm flashes across Makoto's face; wide-eyed, she begins to recoil as Nephrite closes the space between them, but her reactions are far from at their best and in seconds she's sprawling, flung backwards onto the hard surface of the bridge.

Even now, faced with the Dark General's towering wrath, she refuses to stay down - Mako pushes herself back and away from him, scrambling to get her feet back underneath her with her pulse hammering in her ears in an echo of the distant growl of the thunder. As she lurches back up to her feet, her thoughts race: what should she do?

(''Be strong,'' says the storm wind that's picked up to whip across the open bridge.)

(''Fight,'' says the flash of lightning across the heavy black clouds.)

In the midst of Nephrite's litany of furious threats he can see it on her face when a shot hits the mark - it's only the very last threat, to find Ami and make Makoto watch her suffer, that sets Mako's eyes alight with shock and fury and horror, and whatever course of action she might possibly have entertained before, rather than be cowed she faces him with more fierce determination than ever.

Her shoulders twitch just slightly as Nephrite asks what allegiance she could possibly owe the one who attacked her. This time she doesn't dare say a word. The answer is too close to the surface, far too close to being ''right there'' for him to put together if she gives anything away and she knows she can't trust herself to lie, so instead she presses her lips tightly together and stares back at him.

As she does, her hand finds her pocket amidst the pleats of her skirt and closes once more around her transformation pen.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

He'd been out walking by night with a book, a flashlight, an umbrella under one arm, and an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. No matter how many times he read that third paragraph on page two-hundred-forty-seven, he couldn't actually parse it.

Cutting across via the rainbow bridge, that uneasy feeling starts to solidify; the lingering chill on its outlying edges and the mist that clings to everything despite being mostly dispersed by Nephrite's power and the night breeze, they solidify it.

Stopping in his tracks at what he sees up ahead -- Nephrite's back, Makoto's ragged appearance -- he swiftly crouches to put down all the things and shoves up his sleeve to get at the communicator Luna never took away from him.

Mamoru Chiba sees trouble, and with the press of a button and a quiet little beep, he calls the one person that can help them.

"Sailor Moon!" he whispers urgently, pressing up against the rail, making himself one with the architecture. "Come help! Please! It's Nephrite -- he has Makoto! I'm going to try to buy her some time -- we're on the Rainbow Bridge! Hurry!"

And he ''has'' to buy time. And he can't buy time with a rose: with the amount of coincidences stacked up against them in the first place, and the fact that Nephrite's so determined to harsh on Makoto without having any idea she's Sailor Jupiter, he ''can't''. But going in swinging would be even dumber than anything else he's tried to pull lately, would only make her pull her hand from her pocket with a pen in it.

There's no dramatic entrance here, no spanish guitar and castanets: just a swirl of mist and the rumbling of distant but approaching thunder, and Makoto's friend from last time Nephrite hassled her is standing tall in the middle of the bridge, taking his glasses off and putting them in their case.

"Why do you keep going after her?" demands Mamoru, voice ringing out across the expanse.

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

Beneath the bridge, the sea roils, waves crashing ominously against the supports and blowing thin mists of ocean spray onto the bridge. He cannot tell if this is his influence, or if the sea is that agitated by the brewing storm. Though it would be a true testament to his power if the very planet was responding to his emotions, he dearly hopes it is simply nature showing her wrath. To be this impassioned -- this /unhinged/ -- by a mere human girl is unacceptable.

Not even a word now. No, with nothing more than a glance, she stands up once more, against the pain he knows she is feeling. Against his might as well, for he has no doubt made it abundantly clear what he is capable of. Not even a word. Just a crackle of thunder and a defiant stare.

Nephrite snaps.

"Answer me!" he shouts, near-screaming, propelling her backwards with the force of a magic blast. "You idiot girl, I will not be mocked! Play at being a hero all you like. It will get you nowhere. It will get you nothing except your own doom!" He casts the same magic again to hurl her backward ever further, almost reaching the edge of the bridge itself. Beneath them, a wave breaks violently against a support. "If you are so desperate to seek death, I will give you what you want!"

He almost does. A second or two more, and the man is not sure what he would have done, blinded by fury and foaming at the figurative mouth. But the sound of another familiar voice breaks through the noise of the turbulent sea and sky, and Nephrite looks over to see Mamoru Chiba.

Perfect.

With a half-maddened glance towards Makoto, he disappears. And a nanosecond later, he is behind the boy, a strong hand chopping the sensitive place where neck meets shoulder. In a barely visible flash, he is in front again, bringing a knee up into his gut like a battering ram. Then, hand like a vice grip, he takes him by the collar of his shirt, leaps onto the railing of the bridge, and holds his hostage forward, one flick of the wrist away from meeting the all-too-angry ocean.

"Look on, Makoto Kino! Look on and see as your friend pays for your sins!" he calls out, eyes affixed on the beaten girl, unmoving.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

It's amazing how quickly the weather can change.

By luck or chance Makoto sees Mamoru over Nephrite's shoulder through the faint remaining traces of mist, close enough to recognize, just as he's crouching down and pushing up his sleeve in a way that she knows can only mean one thing.

Her empty hand leaves her pocket.

In the next instant Nephrite's blast of magic slams into her, knocking her backwards off her feet and sending her sprawling with an impact that awakens a whole host of aches old and new through her body. Clenching her teeth against the pain, she begins to struggle up once more - only for the next blast to hit her, and this time she goes flying, tumbling several yards across the surface of the bridge before she comes to rest near the edge with her eyes watering from pain.

And still she refuses to stay down, though every joint seems to scream in protest as she gathers herself. She's halfway up, on her hands and knees--

--and then Mamoru is there calling out to Nephrite and the color drains from Makoto's face in a sharp spike of sheer panic. "Mamoru-san, don't--!"

Too late, too slow, Nephrite is already in motion, doing exactly what he'd threatened to do, and Sailor Moon must be on her way but there's no telling if it'll be in time. Makoto lurches to her feet, throwing herself toward Nephrite and Mamoru with her hand outflung before her and no idea what she's going to do but she has to do ''something'' or--

A scream rips from her throat as lightning splits the sky. "''STOP!''"

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mamoru blinks, pocketing his glasses case, and is in the process of whipping around to see where Nephrite went when the pile-driver of Nephrite's vicious fury slams into the space between his neck and shoulder; he sees white for a second, and tries to bulldoze through the pain to brace for whatever next hit is coming--

--but that's teleportation, he has no ''time''. He has no time before Nephrite's knee is jamming into his guts and he's instantly doubling over, and before he can even form the half-coherent beginnings of a reaction, his shirt collar is bunched up in Nephrite's hand and everything hurts and he's not standing on anything and everything's so much colder.

Everything except for his heart, beating hard and fast, as he rallies his faltering focus on that bright star of emotion he can feel rocketing toward them. He brings his hands up, ignoring his shoulder and his midsection in favor of gripping Nephrite's arm to allay some of his own weight and give himself a little air.

And then lightning splits the sky and Makoto's rushing them, and Mamoru sets his face and wills her to meet his eyes. He's hurting, he's in danger, but it'll be okay. She's coming, it'll be okay. They're not alone, it'll be okay. There's pain, god OF COURSE there's pain, but that calm that he lent her in the last fight, it's all over his face, trying to reassure.

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

It takes nights like this to keep Usagi alive.

It's not that she hates being Sailor Moon. She knows how important she is now. Without the moon and stars and planets in the sky, there would be only city lights and violent storms to make the night safe. She has seen the city go dark. She has seen storms kill.

It makes moments like this mean more. The storm was outside, made comforting by the rhythm it beat through the house. The lights inside were a cheering glow against the dark. She was so glad to share it all with a friend. Maybe Mio could somehow feel Usagi's thankfulness for it all. Maybe it came through in a warmth in her words and her smiles. She wanted it to be true. If she felt joy, she wanted to give it to someone like Mio. Mio is saving her right now. It is her friendship that keeps Usagi awake.

There is a line through all this, right to her heart. It is a useful connection. The cold it let inside her woke her up and made her ready. It was still cold. Usagi listened to message and put her phone away. She said sorry to Mio, but the meaning was in her eyes, not her words. She went into the night.

This is Nephrite's storm. It is angry and cruel. It holds people hostage in their homes. Now more than ever, Usagi wanted to believe that there is good in everything. A storm like this also drove people into each others arms.

Mamoru pleads. Makoto rushes. Nephrite rages. When they meet, everything will fall apart. Unless--

PING

A metal shape strikes the bridge before Makoto's feet. It sparks, disappearing into the night on a ricochet. The clouds are forced apart. In the moonlight it reveals, a small shape stands atop the nearest grand arch. Sailor Moon leaps, taking blind faith in her descent.

"IN THE NAME--"

She reaches out. Her white glove glows red with her heart's longing. It splits into silken shapes, a dozen ribbons to pry apart Nephrite and tenderly hold Mamoru Chiba. Her tiara comes flying back. She catches it without looking.

"--OF THE MOON!"

The space-dark gem set into its center gleams with her light. She raises it high, still in her hand, still gripped with intensity. Sailor Moon lands between the unawake senshi and the dark general, feet spread in a strong stance that Makoto taught her. She pulls hard, using her skill to turn Nephrite's strength against him and take Mamoru away. Usagi does not have Makoto's strength, but Makoto also has finesse. Usagi saw that in her and never forgot.

She calls to the moon, and her patron answers. A beam splits the sky, a thin light that falls to tiara. There, Sailor Moon can give it all her feeling. It grows powerful then, brightening, brighter still, a silvery-pale lightning bolt crackling with love and courage. She almost can't hold it all. If Makoto wasn't behind her, if she wasn't in the very way she carried herself now, she wouldn't be able to.

In one arm, she holds Mamoru Chiba. In the other, she holds justice. The ribbons of her half-formed sailor suit fly wildly behind her, catching the moonlight.

"I WILL PUNISH YOU!"

Sailor Moon brings it all crashing down. When she slams her tiara downward, the silvery pillar of her passion becomes a sword of legendary might, a sword with which to seal away Nephrite's malice.

<Pose Tracker> Mio Kuroki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Mio Kuroki has lived and breathed drama when not in class for quite some time. It was welcome to go over to someone's home for a while.

Mio's own home is cold and empty. She had seemed wondering, curious, to see things. Eating a light supper with the parents, the younger sibling, of Usagi Tsukino was something which seemed to strike a genuine chord with Mio; her pleasantries were heartfelt and she had even been shown a spare room or two with all due honor, and with all due impression.

Not that long ago, this would have been a black day promising of darkness beforehand. Maybe someday it will be otherwise.

In theory, she had studied, but after an hour of perhaps surprisingly piquant revision she had gotten bored. She had eaten a shrimp cracker and watched television on a small set. She had remarked on the costumes on a variety program, and on the fury of the wind outside.

And then came a call.

Her eyes had been knowing when Usagi apologized. She had demurred - and said there was nothing to apologize for. She would not be there when Usagi returned, she had said - but she'd see her after school, she was sure.

And then she was gone.

Stepping out into the storm despite the offer of a spare futon, Mio Kuroki walks away from that house, her heart peculiarly warm. The wind whips around her, but the rain does not touch her. Tilting her head back, she savors the wind.

With no one to hear, she speaks her heart. "A new world... only the tiniest shred of that past remains. Once it is gone - yes; then, perhaps, I will make the world truly wonderful."

She inhales, sharply, her eyes pricking with tears. "It will be the perfect memorial of you. I will call it for you, I think. May it last a thousand thousand years; they will call this world,"

But thunder rolls, hiding four syllables that fall from her lips.

Mio Kuroki returns home alone.

<Pose Tracker> Nephrite [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.

That. That is what he wants. That shout of desperation, of fear. It is the sound of his approaching victory. When the boy's body hits the water, she will talk. She will--

It comes out of nowhere; he hadn't even thought to look at the hostage he holds, much too focused on the true goal of this psychological torture. But it's as though a lightning bolt strikes his hand, and before he can so much as turn his head, his vision is divested from reality and he is plunged into a sea of white light. It's not real. It's a trick, some sort of last ditch effort to outwit him. If he simply holds steady, there will be nothing to...to...

("This one," a hand gloved in white gestures down at a scroll of parchment dotted with constellations, then rises up and points to the sky. They are on a balcony of cream-white marble underneath a canopy of night, the stars sparkling like diamonds against black velvet. That is one of the greatest blessings of the Earth -- the atmosphere is so pure, one can see the galaxy with unmatched clarity. "This one is Cassiopeia, the vain queen. Here," Nephrite once again points to the starmap, then back to the crystal-clear sky, "you can see the outline of her throne. And -- here, if you look a little to this side," the man continues, shifting his focus to another grouping of stars, "you will see Orion. He is especially easy to spot by his belt."

He turns his gaze towards the youth beside him, several years his junior but coming into manhood as gracefully as a prince could. His eyes are filled with just as much wonder as his own were when he first began mapping the stars, learning their language and surveying the galaxy from his chambers on Earth. Nephrite can't help but smile, though. Even with an infinity of stars and galaxies, the boy still trains his eyes on the Moon.

"Endymion, do you know why it is I study the skies?" he asks, standing by his side as both their cloaks billow in a slight breeze. "We can hardly tell from here, but each constellation -- each single star, nebula, and galaxy -- each of them is alive. Alive with billions of people just like us, alive with histories and kingdoms that rise and fall. The beauty of life that sustains our Silver Millennium is not isolated to our corner of the universe. It is everywhere, as vast as all of existence. And though the stars are not historians, they are storytellers. It is easy to forget that we are not alone. But when you do -- and we all do sometimes," he says solemnly, but then smiles gently once again, and lifts his arms in an arc to the sky, "we only need to look above us, and we'll find our way.")

...no. No. It was an illusion, a trick. He is a Shitennou of the Dark Kingdom, the great Nephrite. He who could command the stars to his will, conjure mountains and lakes, take away the very essence of life if he desired to. He /knew/ his memories of the life before, of the Kingdom that starved his people, levelled his forests, and sat in their ivory towers to laugh at their plight. He'd dedicated his life to fighting that regime, as well as the Prince who could not find the strength to break their silver shackles.

(hadn't

:he?)

The roiling of his emotions -- the rage, the frustration, the bloodlust, the /doubt/ -- comes crashing over him once more as the sea of light and illusion-memories fades from his sight, and with a cry to shatter earth itself, Nephrite lets the boy drop, needing to see him fall to his doom to ensure that his underhanded tactic dies with him.

Instead, red-pink ribbons come out of nowhere, and a circlet of light collides with the ground in front of his feet. His eyes go wide with shock, then confusion. Then...trepidation.

/It can't be./

He slowly turns his head towards the sky, and there stands the silhouette he knows all too well, bathed in the silvery moonlight.

"I...killed you," is all he can manage as the boy is pulled from his hand, and the Senshi of the Moon lands directly in front of him, an untold amount of power gathering around her and her half-undone fuku. "I saw you fall. How.../how/--"

The flash of light and pure energy nearly knocks him backward, and he has to bring his arms up to his eyes to keep himself from being blinded. When he can finally (barely) see again, he sees her, holding a sword, backed by the mortal girl who knew too much and the young man who almost paid the price.

The Dark General clenches his fist and grinds his teeth, dark auburn hair billowing about him as the storm picks up once more. No matter. Her time will come, and she and every Senshi will fall.

But it is not today. He has let himself unravel, touched upon a well of emotion within himself that he scarcely knew existed, and even now, it threatens to overwhelm him. The soldier of the Moon is clearly in her element -- he is not. Though he will face censure from his Queen, surely he benefited the Dark Kingdom more living than dead.

He could only hope.

Nephrite looks over the small assembly once more, hair blowing in the wind that sweeps the bridge they stand on. How the clouds have held in their storm so long, he will never know. "You have not won, Sailor Moon. Treasure this moment of victory well, for you shall not have another from me." With a mighty leap, he clears a hundred feet easily, hovering above them for a few seconds more before vanishing completely.

Makoto, and Makoto only, will hear the whisper in her mind: /You will be seeing me again, girl./

A few drops fall tentatively from the sky, and the downpour comes at long last.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Makoto screams, Nephrite bellows and lets go, and there isn't even a half-second for Mamoru to calculate how soon he can henshin on the way down before there's that breathtakingly unmistakeable PING of tiara on asphalt and he's abruptly cradled by ribbons--

--''ribbons like light''--

--but it's nothing at all like when Mami Tomoe or Sailor Vega entangled and bound him; he's being held, gently, as his head spins and he tries to clear it from whatever else just happened. He still hurts, but he can breathe, and he feels

safe

warm

there's such brightness

and all of a sudden he's held against Sailor Moon, leaning his tall form on her diminutive and heart-stoppingly powerful one, and she has PUT. HER. FOOT. DOWN.

His heart's beating so fast, so loud, he's sure everyone can hear it. All he can do is watch, wide-eyed, as he works on catching his breath, on healing himself, on trying to parse this avenging angel's beautiful fury.

Still wide, his dark blue eyes are clear by the time Nephrite's telling Sailor Moon she's not won, and when the Dark General leaves and the downpour starts, his breath hitches and he lets out a tiny, disbelieving laugh, still hanging on. "Like hell you didn't win. Th-thank you, Sailor Moon. That was... that was incredible..."

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

For Makoto, it's as though the space of a single second plays out in agonizingly slow motion. As the scream leaves her she can see Nephrite holding Mamoru out over the bay with perfect clarity, every detail sharply illuminated by the unforgiving flash of the lightning. Too far, too slow, too weak - even as she pushes her body to the limit, she knows there's nothing she can do, knows it with an absolute and unbearable certainty.

(--sharp as the blade of a sword through her body; she can almost ''feel'' it go through her--)

Then the tiara PINGs off the ground in front of her feet, interrupting her headlong run as sharply as the snapping of a wire, and the heavens open and the storm gives way to moonlight.

And everything's okay.

...Almost. Nephrite's gone, but Makoto hears his voice as though he's right there beside her speaking into her ear, and it's like a jolt of static discharge right up her spine. Her breath catches in a sharp little indrawn gasp and for a moment she just stands there, frozen in place, wide-eyed.

Only when the first drops of cold rain from above splash against her cheek does the spell break. It's all right. Nephrite's gone (for now), and Sailor Moon is there and she is ''glorious'' and Mamoru is right beside her and Makoto's breath goes out of her in a shuddering sigh. She crosses the space between herself and her friends in a few steps until she can throw her arms around both of them. "Usagi-chan!"

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Sailor Moon is resolute in the face of Nephrite's vicious incredulity. She says nothing, but holds fast to her tiara. Its brightness is still painfully pure to an evil eye.

He leaves.

The rain falls.

Mamoru says something. She wobbles. Her ribbons grow slack. Just as Makoto comes to take them up in her arms, Usagi begins to fall backward. There is no one but Usagi now, a middle school girl in bunny pajamas. Her hair isn't even in odango.

"I think I forgot my phone," she murmurs. She sounds out of it, though it's hard to believe that she's in danger of falling asleep in this very place. She slumps into Makoto, heedless of comfortable position.

<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

There's a faint smile on Mamoru's face as he finally relaxes, standing straight-- and then his warm ungloved hands are on their shoulders. Won't do anything for sleepiness, but the dim golden glow might at least do something to help Makoto.

"Are you all right, Mako-chan? Do you two need me to take you home?" he asks, and then Usagi mumbles something about her phone as they proceed to get absolutely drenched, and a look of horror crosses his face. "Oh god DAMN it," he says as he glances back behind them at his forlorn pile of stuff on the bridge. "My book!"

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Makoto is none too steady on her own feet, but somehow she manages to brace herself enough to support Usagi's weight, arm curling protectively around her friend. The warm golden glow from Mamoru's hand on her shoulder helps, giving her strength enough to hold up, driving back the bone-deep chill.

Her school bag is getting soaked, too, but oh well.

Mako draws in a deep breath, lets it back out. "...Sorry, Usagi-chan. Mamoru-san. I'm okay. We should..." The rain pours down around them, soaking everything through, and Mako can't hold back a shiver. "...we should get out of here."